gutenberg. castes and tribes of southern india by edgar thurston, c.i.e., superintendent, madras government museum; correspondant étranger, société d'anthropologie de paris; socio corrispondante, societa, romana di anthropologia. assisted by k. rangachari, m.a., of the madras government museum. volume vii--t to z government press, madras 1909. castes and tribes of southern india. volume vii. t tabelu (tortoise).--a sept of aiyarakulu, and section of gazula kapu and koppala velama. taccha kurup.--barbers who shave malabar kammalans. tacchan.--the name of the carpenter sub-division of kammalans, and further returned, at the census, 1891, as an occupational sub-division by some paraiyans. taccha karaiyan has been recorded as a name for some members of the karaiyan fishing caste. the tacchasastram, or science of carpentry, prescribes in minute details the rules of construction. tacchanadan muppan.--recorded, in the madras census reports, 1891 and 1901, as a sub-division of kuricchans, and of kurumbas of the nilgiris. tadan.--see dasari. tagara.--a section of poroja. takru.--a class of muhammadan pilots and sailors in the laccadive islands. (see mappilla.) talaivan (a chief).--a title of the maravans. jadi or jati talaivan is the name of the hereditary chief of the paravas of tinnevelly, who, at times of pearl fisheries, receives a fixed share of the 'oysters.' talamala.--a sub-division of kanikar. talayari.--the talayari (talai, head) or chief watchman, or uddari (saviour of the village), is a kind of undepartmental village policeman, who is generally known as the talari. among other duties, he has to follow on the track of stolen cattle, to act as a guard over persons confined in the village choultry (lock-up), to attend upon the head of the village during the trial of petty cases, to serve processes, and distrain goods. in big villages there are two or three talayaris, in which case one is a paraiyan, who officiates in the paraiya quarter. in parts of the telugu country, the mutrachas, who are the village watchmen, are known as talarivallu, or watchman people, and, in like manner, the bedars are called talarivandlu in the kurnool and bellary districts. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the tanjore district (1906), that "from the earliest years of the british occupation of the country, fees were paid to the talaiyari or village watchman. he was probably survival of a state of society in which kavalgars did not exist, and his duties were, it seems, to look after the villagers' fields and threshing floors. at any rate, he continued in existence even after the abolition of the kaval system (see maravan), and was declared by the early police regulation (xi of 1816) to be part of the regular police establishment. practically he did little real police duty, and in 1860, when the mufassal police was reorganised, all claims to the services of the talaiyari as a servant of the state were formally abandoned, the inspector-general of police having reported that any attempt to utilise the talaiyari body would be fruitless and unpopular. talaiyaris still continue to be employed and paid by the ryots (cultivators) as the private guardians of their crops and harvested grain. recently, however, the district was brought into line with the rest of the presidency by the creation of a new force of talaiyaris, who now perform the police duties assigned to such persons elsewhere. they are provided with lathis (sticks) and badges, and are a useful auxiliary to the police." tali.--"the tali," bishop caldwell writes, [1] "is the hindu sign of marriage, answering to the ring of european christendom. i have known a clergyman refuse to perform a marriage with a tali, and insist upon a ring being used instead. a little consideration will show that the scrupulous conscience can find no rest for itself even in the ring; for, if the ring is more christian than the tali, it is only because its use among christians is more ancient. every one knows that the ring has a pagan origin, and that, for this reason, it is rejected by quakers." "the custom," wagner informs us, [2] "of wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand had unquestionably a pagan origin. both the greeks and the romans called the fourth left-hand finger the medicated finger, and used it to stir up mixtures and potions, out of the belief that it contained a vein, which communicated directly with the heart, and therefore nothing noxious could come in contact with it, without giving instant warning to that vital organ." the marriage badge, as it occurs in southern india, is, broadly speaking, of two types. the one in use among the tamil castes is oblong in shape, with a single or double indentation at the base, and rounded at the top. the corresponding bottu or sathamanam of the telugu and canarese castes is a flat or cup-shaped disc. the tali in use among various malayalam castes at the tali-kettu ceremony is a long cylinder. tali-kettu kalyanam (tali-tying marriage).--a ceremony gone through by nayar girls, and girls of some other malayalam castes, in childhood. of those who gave evidence before the malabar marriage commission, some thought the tali-kettu was a marriage, some not. others called it a mock marriage, a formal marriage, a sham marriage, fictitious marriage, a marriage sacrament, the preliminary part of marriage, a meaningless ceremony, an empty form, a ridiculous farce, an incongruous custom, a waste of money, and a device for becoming involved in debt. "while," the report states, "a small minority of strict conservatives still maintain that the tali-kettu is a real marriage intended to confer on the bridegroom a right to cohabit with the bride, an immense majority describe it as a fictitious marriage, the origin of which they are at a loss to explain. and another large section tender the explanation accepted by our president (sir t. muttusami aiyar), that in some way or other it is an essential caste observance preliminary to the formation of sexual relations." in summing up the evidence collected by him, mr. lewis moore states [3] that it seems to be proved beyond all reasonable doubt that "from the sixteenth century at all events, and up to the early portion of the nineteenth century, the relations between the sexes in families governed by marumakkathayam (inheritance in the female line) were of as loose a description as it is possible to imagine. the tali-kettu kalyanam, brought about by the brahmans, brought about no improvement, and indeed, in all probability, made matters much worse by giving a quasi-religious sanction to a fictitious marriage, which bears an unpleasant resemblance to the sham marriage ceremonies performed among certain inferior castes elsewhere as a cloak for prostitution (see deva-dasi). as years passed, some time about the opening of the nineteenth century, the kerala mahatmyam and keralolpathi were concocted, probably by nambudris, and false and pernicious doctrines as to the obligations laid on the nayars by divine law to administer to the lust of the nambudris were disseminated abroad. the better classes among the nayars revolted against the degrading system thus established, and a custom sprang up, especially in north malabar, of making sambandham a more or less formal contract, approved and sanctioned by the karnavan (senior male) of the tarwad [4] to which the lady belonged, and celebrated with elaborate ceremony under the pudamuri (female cloth cutting) form. that there was nothing analogous to the pudamuri prevalent in malabar from a.d. 1500 to 1800 may, i think, be fairly presumed from the absence of all allusion to it in the works of the various european writers." according to act iv, madras, 1896, sambandham means an alliance between a man and woman, by reason of which they, in accordance with the custom of the community to which they belong, or either of them belongs, cohabit or intend to cohabit as husband and wife. tambala.--the tambalas are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as "telugu-speaking temple priests. their social position differs in different localities. they are regarded as brahmans in godavari, kistna and nellore, and as sudras in the other telugu districts." it is noted, in the census report, that the tambalas are described by c. p. brown as a class of beggars, who worship siva, and who beat drums; secular priests, etc. these men are generally sudras, but wear the sacred thread. "it is said that, during his peregrinations in the north, sankaracharya appointed tamil brahmans to perform temple services in all the saiva shrines. hence the telugu people, in the midst of whom the tamilians lived, called them the tambalas (tamils). they are not now, however, regarded as brahmans, whatever their original position may have been. they will eat only with brahmans. most of them are saivites, and a few are lingayats. the smarta brahmans officiate as their priests at birth, marriage, and death ceremonies. they do not eat animal food, and all their religious rites are more or less like those of brahmans. their usual titles are aiya and appa." tamban.--one of the divisions of kshatriyas in travancore. (see tirumalpad.) tambi (younger brother).--a term of affection in the tamil country, used especially when a younger person is being addressed. it is also recorded as an honorific title of nayars in travancore, and a suffix to the names of nayar sons of travancore sovereigns. tambiran.--the name for pandaram managers of temples, e.g., at tiruvadudurai in tanjore and mailam in south arcot. tamburan.--for the following note on the rajahs or tamburans, i am indebted to the travancore census report, 1901. "they form an endogamous community of kshatriyas, and live as seven families in travancore. they are distinguished by the localities in which they reside, viz., mavelikkara, ennaikkat, kartikapalli, mariappalli, tiruvalla, praikkara, and aranmula. they are all related by blood, the connection between some of them being very close. like the koiltampurans, all the members of their community observe birth and death pollution with reference to each other. their original home is kolattunat in north malabar, and their immigration into travancore, where the reigning family is of the kolattunat stock, was contemporaneous, in the main, with the invasion of malabar by tippu sultan. the first family that came into the country from kolattunat was the putuppalli kovilakam in the 5th century m.e. (malabar era). the travancore royal family then stood in need of adoption. the then rajah arranged through a koiltampuran of tattarikkovilakam to bring from kolattunat two princesses for adoption, as his negotiations with the then kolattiri were fruitless. the puttuppali kovilakam members thus settled themselves at kartikapalli, the last of whom died in 1030 m.e. the next family that migrated was cheriyakovilakam, between 920 and 930 m.e. they also came for adoption. but their right was disputed by another house, pallikkovilakam. they then settled themselves at aranmula. the third series of migrations were during the invasion of malabar by tippu in 964 m.e. all the rajahs living there at the time came over to travancore, of whom, however, many returned home after a time. the rajahs, like the koiltampurans, belong to the yajurveda section of dvijas, but follow the sutra laid down by baudhayana. their gotra is that of bhargava, i.e., parasurama, indicating in a manner that these are kshatriyas who were accepted by parasurama, the uncompromising brahmin of the hindu puranas. they have all the brahminical samskaras, only the brahmin priest does most of them on their behalf. chaulam, or tuft ceremony, is performed along with upanayanam. the samavartanam, or termination of the pupil stage, is celebrated on the fourth day of the thread investiture. instruction in arms is then given to the kshatriya boy, and is supposed to be kept up until the requisite skill has been obtained. the tali-tying (mangalya dharanam or pallikkettu of a raja lady) is done by a koiltampuran, who thereafter lives with her as her married husband. the kanyakadanam, or giving away of the bride, is performed by the priest who attends also to the other sastraic rites. the males take sudra consorts. if the first husband leaves by death or otherwise, another koiltampuran may be accepted. this is not called marriage, but kuttirikkuka (living together). at sradhas (memorial services), the karta, or performer of the ceremony, throws a flower as a mark of spiritual homage at the feet of the brahmins who are invited to represent the manes, and greets them in the conventional form (namaskara). the priest does the other ceremonies. after the invited brahmins have been duly entertained, oblations of cooked rice are offered to the ancestors by the karta himself. they are to repeat the gayatri ten times at each sandhya prayer, together with the panchakshara and the ashtakshara mantras. their caste government is in the hands of the nambutiri vaidikas. their family priests belong to the class of malayala pottis, known as tiruveli pottis. besides the ordinary names prevalent among koiltampurans, names such as martanda varma, aditya varma, and udaya varma are also met with. pet names, such as kungaru, kungappan, kungoman, kungunni, unni and ampu are common. in the travancore royal house, the first female member always takes the name of lakshmi and the second that of parvati. tamoli.--a few members of this north india caste of betel-leaf sellers have been returned at times of census. i am unable to discover in what district they occur. tambuli or tamuli is recorded as a caste of betel-leaf sellers in bengal, and tamboli as a caste carrying on a similar occupation in the bombay presidency. tanamanadu.--a sub-division of valaiyan. tanda.--the word literally refers to a settlement or encampment of the lambadis, by some of whom it is, at times of census, returned as a tribal synonym. tandan.--it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1891, that "in walluvanad and palghat (in malabar) tandan is a distinct caste. the ceremonies observed by tandans are, in general outline, the same as those of the southern tiyyans, but the two do not intermarry, each claiming superiority over the other. there is a custom which prohibits the tandan females of walluvanad from crossing a channel which separates that taluk from mankara on the palghat side." the tandans of malabar are described by mr. f. fawcett as a people allied to the izhuvans, who observe the custom of fraternal polyandry, which the izhuvans abhor. for the following note on the tandans of travancore, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. the castemen are known as uralis to the south of varkallay, and tandans to the north of it. in some places to the east of kottarakaray, they were popularly termed mutalpattukar, or those who receive the first perquisite for assistance rendered to carpenters. in the days when there were no saws, the rough instruments of the tandan served their purpose. hence some members of the caste were called tacchan (carpenter). tandan is derived from the sanskrit dandanam or punishment, as, in ancient times, men of this caste were employed to carry out the punishments that were inflicted by the authorities upon offenders. for the execution of such punishments, the tandans were provided with swords, choppers and knives. as they were also told off to guard the villages (ur) of which they happened to be inhabitants, they acquired the title of urali. in some places, tandans are also called velans. males and females have respectively the title muppan and muppatti, meaning an elder. in addressing members of higher castes, the tandans call themselves kuzhiyan, or dwellers in pits. the tandans are said to have once belonged to the same caste as the izhuvans, but to have fallen away from that position. they must, in times gone by, have joined the military service of the various states in malabar. they were, in some places, given rent-free lands, called urali parambu, in return for the duties they were expected to perform. with the return of peaceful times, their occupation changed, and the climbing of palm trees, to extract the juice thereof, became their most important calling. they are also largely engaged in the manufacture of ropes. many families still receive the mutalpattu, or allowance from the carpenters. the tandans are divided into four endogamous sections, called ilanji, puvar, irunelli, and pilakkuti. the ornaments of the women are, besides the minnu, wreaths of red and red and black beads. nowadays the gold gnattu of the nayars is also worn. tattooing is popular. even males have a crescent and a dot tattooed on the forehead, the corresponding mark in females being a line from the nasal pit upwards. among the devices tattooed on the arms are the conch shell, lotus, snake, discus, etc. in their food and drink the tandans resemble the iluvans. the priests of the tandans are called tanda kuruppus, and they are also the caste barbers. the chief deity of the tandans is bhadrakali, at whose shrines at mandaikkad, cranganore, and sarkkaray, offerings are regularly made. at the last place, a tandan is the priest. the chief days for the worship of this deity are bharani asterism in march and pattamudayam in april. november is a particularly religious month, and the day on which the kartikay star falls is exclusively devoted to worship. the first sunday in january is another religious occasion, and on that day cooked food is offered to the rising sun. this is called pogala. maruta, or the spirit of smallpox, receives special worship. if a member of the caste dies of this disease, a small shed is erected in his memory either at his home or near the local bhadrakali shrine, and offerings of sweetmeats and toddy are made to him on the 28th of makaram (january-february). chitragupta, the accountant of yama, the god of death, is worshipped on the full-moon day in april-may. ancestor worship is performed on the new-moon day in july. a girl's tali-tying ceremony, which is called kazhuttukettu, takes place when she is between seven and twelve years old. the bridegroom is a relative called machchampi. the kuruppu receives a money present of 2 1/2 fanams for every tali tied in his presence. though more than one girl may go through the ceremony in the same pandal (booth), each should have a separate bridegroom. the relations between the bride and bridegroom are dissolved by the father of the former paying the latter sixteen rasi fanams. the daughter of a man's paternal aunt or maternal uncle may be claimed as murappen or lawful bride. the sambandham, or actual marriage, takes place after a girl has reached puberty. a family is regarded as out-caste, if she has not previously gone through the tali-tying ceremony. only the eldest member of a family is cremated, the rest being buried. death pollution lasts for ten days. the anniversary of a death is celebrated at the sea-shore, where cooked food, mixed with gingelly (sesamum) is offered to the departed, and thrown into the sea. tandan.--the tandan is the hereditary headman of a tiyan tara (village), and is a tiyan by caste. he is appointed by the senior rani of the zamorin's family, or by some local raja in territories outside the jurisdiction of the zamorin. the tandan is the principal person in the decision of caste disputes. he is expected to assist at the tali-tying, puberty, marriage and pregnancy ceremonies of members of the caste. his formal permission is required before the carpenter can cut down the areca palm, with which the shed in which the tali is tied is constructed. in cases of divorce, his functions are important. when a new house is built, a house-warming ceremony takes place, at which the tandan officiates. fowls are sacrificed, and the right leg is the tandan's perquisite. he is a man of importance, not only in many affairs within his own caste, but also in those of other castes. thus, when a nayar dies, it is the tandan's duty to get the body burnt. he controls the washerman and barber of the tara, and can withdraw their services when they are most needed. he officiates, moreover, at marriages of the artisan classes. tangalan.--a sub-division of paraiyan. the word indicates one who may not stand near, in reference to their belonging to the polluting classes. tangedu.--tangedu or tangedla (cassia auriculata) has been recorded as an exogamous sept of kapu and padma sale. the bark of this shrub is one of the most valuable indian tanning agents, and is, like myrabolams (terminalia fruits), used in the manufacture of indigenous dyes. tantuvayan (thread-wearer).--an occupational name used by various weaving castes. tapodhanlu.--the name, meaning those who believe in self-mortification as wealth, adopted by some telugu mendicants. tarakan.--see muttan. tartharol.--the name, recorded by dr. w. h. r. rivers, [5] of a division of the todas. tartal is also given by various writers as a division of this tribe. tarwad.--defined by mr. wigram [6] as a marumakkathayam family, consisting of all the descendants in the female line of one common female ancestor. tassan.--a malayalam synonym for the telugu dasari. tattan.--the goldsmith section of the tamil and malayalam kammalans. teivaliol.--the name, recorded by dr. w. h. r. rivers, [5] of a division of the todas. telaga.--"the telagas," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [7] "are a telugu caste of cultivators, who were formerly soldiers in the armies of the hindu sovereigns of telingana. this may perhaps account for the name, for it is easy to see that the telugu soldiers might come to be regarded as the telugus or telagas par excellence. the sub-divisions returned under this name show that there has been some confusion between the telagas proper, and persons who are members of other telugu castes. the telagas are vaishnavites, and have brahmans for their priests. their customs closely resemble those of the kapus. they eat flesh, but are not allowed to drink liquor. they are usually farmers now, but many still serve as soldiers, though their further recruitment has recently been stopped. their common titles are naidu and dora." in a note on the telagas and vantaris (strong men), it is suggested that they should be classed with the kapus, of which caste they are an offshoot for the following reasons:--"(1) members of the three classes admit that this is so; (2) a collation of the intiperulu or septs shows that the same names recur among the three classes; (3) all three interdine, and intermarriage between them is not rare. a poor telaga or vantari often gives his daughter in marriage to a rich kapu. the telagas and vantaris are highly brahmanised, and will have a brahman for their guru, and get themselves branded at his hands. a kapu is generally content with a satani or jangam. though they do not differ in their marriage and funeral rites from the kapus, they usually marry their girls before puberty, and widow remarriage and divorce are disallowed. a kapu is invariably a cultivator; a vantari was in olden days a sepoy, and, as such, owned inam (rent-free) lands. even now he has a prejudice against ploughing jirayati (ordinarily assessed) lands, which a kapu has no objection to do. similarly, a telaga takes pride in taking service under a zamindar, but, unlike the vantari, he will plough any land. kapu women will fetch their own water, and carry meals to the fields for their fathers and husbands. the women of the other classes affect the gosha system, and the men carry their own food, and fetch water for domestic purposes, or, if well-to-do, employ kapus for these services. it may be added that rich kapus often exhibit a tendency to pass as telagas." telikula.--the telikulas are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a telugu oil-presser caste, which should not be confused with tellakula, a synonym for tsakala, or with telli, a caste of oriya oil-pressers." telikula is a synonym for the ganiga or gandla caste of oil-pressers, derived from the oil (gingelly: sesamum indicum), whereas the names ganiga and gandla refer to the oil-mill. in the northern circars, the name telikula is used in preference to ganiga or gandla, and the oil-pressers in that part of the country are known as telikula-vandlu. the telikulas are onteddu, i.e., use a single bullock for working the oil-mill, whereas, among the ganigas, there are both onteddu and rendeddu sections, which employ one and two bullocks respectively. tellakula (white clan).--recorded, in the census report, 1901, as a synonym for tsakala. according to the rev. j. cain, [8] the tellakulas are telugu washermen (tsakalas), who, in consequence of having obtained employment as peons in government offices, feel themselves to be superior to other members of their caste. telli.--the tellis are the oil-pressers of the oriya country, whose caste name is derived from telo, oil. they are apparently divided into three endogamous sections, named holodia, bolodia, and khadi. the original occupation of the holodias is said to have been the cultivation and sale of turmeric. they may not carry turmeric and other articles for sale on the back of bullocks, and consequently use carts as a medium of transport thereof. and it is further contrary to their caste rules even to assist in loading or unloading packs carried by bullocks. the bolodias receive their name from the fact that they carry produce in the form of oil-seeds, etc., on pack bullocks, bolodo being oriya for bullock. the khadis are mainly engaged in expressing various oils in oil-mills, and this occupation is also carried on by some members of the other sections. all tellis seem to belong to one gotra, called karthikeswara. the caste title is sahu. in social position the tellis, unlike the tamil vaniyans (oil-pressers), are on a par with the agricultural castes, and are one of the panchapatako, or five castes from which individuals are selected to decide serious issues which arise among the badhoyis. the headman of the tellis is called behara, and he is assisted by a bhollobaya, and in some places apparently by another officer called pento. it is considered by the tellis as a breach of caste rules to sail in a boat or ship. if a cow dies with a rope round its neck, or on the spot where it is tethered, the family which owned it is under pollution until purification has been effected by means of a pilgrimage, or by bathing in a sacred river. the holodias will not rear male calves at their houses, and do not castrate their bulls. male calves are disposed of by sale as speedily as possible. those holodias who are illiterate make the mark (nisani) of a ball of turmeric paste as a substitute for their autograph on documents. in like manner, the nisanis of the bolodias and khadis respectively are the leather belt of a bullock and curved pole of the oil-mill. among nisanis used by other oriya castes, the following may be noted:- korono (writer caste), style. ravulo (temple servants), trident. bavuri (basket-makers and earth-diggers), sickle. dhoba (washermen) fork used for collecting firewood. brahman, ring of dharba grass, such as is worn on ceremonial occasions. in their marriage ceremonies, the tellis observe the standard oriya type, with a few variations. on the day before the wedding, two young married women carry two new pots painted white on their heads. to support the pots thereon, a single cloth, with the two ends rolled up to form a head-pad, must be used. the two women, accompanied by another married woman carrying a new winnowing basket, and mokkuto (forehead chaplet), proceed, to the accompaniment of the music of a chank shell and pipes, to a temple, whereat they worship. on their way home, the two girls, according to the custom of other oriyas castes, go to seven houses, at each of which water is poured into their pots. during the marriage ceremony, after the ends of the cloths of the bride and bridegroom have been tied together, they exchange myrabolams (terminalia fruits) and areca nuts. until the close of the ceremonies, they may not plunge into a tank (pond) or river, and, in bathing, may not wet the head. most of the tellis are paramarthos, and follow the chaitanya form of vaishnavism, but some are smartas, and all worship takuranis (village deities). telugu.--telugu or telaga is used as a linguistic term indicating a person who speaks that language. it has, at recent times of census, been returned as a sub-division of various classes, e.g., agasa, balija, banajiga, bedar, bestha, devanga, holeya, kumbara, rachewar, tsakala, and uppara. further, telugu vellala appears as a synonym of velama, and telugu chetti as a synonym of saluppan. ten (honey).--ten or jen has been recorded as a sub-division or exogamous sept of jungle kurumbas and holeyas. some irulas style themselves ten padaiyachi or ten vanniyan, padaiyachi and vanniyan being a title and synonym of the pallis. tendisai (southern country).--recorded as a division of vellalas in the madura and coimbatore districts. tene (millet: setaria italica).--an exogamous sept of holeya. tengina (cocoanut palm).--the name of a section of halepaiks, who tap the cocoanut for extracting toddy. tennam.--tennam (cocoanut) or tennanjanar (cocoanut tappers) is recorded as the occupational name of shanan. tenkayala (cocoanut) occurs as an exogamous sept of yanadi, and the equivalent tennang as a tree or kothu of kondaiyamkotti maravans. tennilainadu.--a territorial sub-division of kallan. terkattiyar (southerner).--a term applied to kallan, maravan, agamudaiyan, and other immigrants into the tanjore district. at mayavaram, for example, it is applied to kallans, agamudaiyans, and valaiyans. tertal.--a division of toda. teruvan.--a synonym of the malabar chaliyans, who are so called because, unlike most of the west coast castes, they live in streets (teru). tevadiyal (servant of god).--the tamil name for deva-dasis. tevan (god) occurs as a title of maravans. teyyambadi.--a section of ambalavasis or temple servants in malabar, the members of which dance and sing in bhagavati temples, and perform a song called nagapattu (song in honour of serpents) in private houses, which is supposed to be effective in procuring offspring. [9] thadla.--thadla or thalla, meaning rope, is an exogamous sept of devanga and karna sale. thakur.--about a hundred members of this caste are returned, in the madras census report, 1901, as belonging to a bombay caste of genealogists and cultivators. it is recorded, in the bombay gazetteer, that "inferior in rank to marathas, the thakurs are idle and of unclean habits. though some of them till and twist woollen threads for blankets, they live chiefly by begging and ballad singing. at times they perform plays representing events mentioned in the purans and ramayan, and showing wooden puppets moved by strings." thalakokala (female cloths).--an exogamous sept of devanga. thalam (palmyra palm).--an exogamous sept or illam of kanikar. thamballa (sword bean: canavalia ensiformis).--an exogamous sept of tsakalas, members of which will not eat the bean. thamburi.--a class of people in mysore, who are muhammadans, dress like lambadis, but do not intermarry with them. (see lambadi.) thanda pulayan.--for the following note, i am indebted to mr. l. k. ananthakrishna aiyar. [10] the thanda pulayans constitute a small division of the pulayans, who dwell in south malabar and cochin. the name is given to them because of the garment worn by the females, made of the leaves of a sedge, called thanda (apparently scirpus articulatus), which are cut into lengths, woven at one end, and tied round the waist so that they hang down below the knees. the following story is told with regard to the origin of this costume. a certain high-caste man, who owned lands in those parts, chanced to sow seeds, and plant vegetables. he was surprised to find that not a trace of what he sowed or planted was to be seen on the following day. with a view to clearing up the mystery, he kept a close watch during the night, and saw certain human beings, stark naked, come out of a hole. they were pursued, and a man and a woman were caught. impressed with a sense of shame at their wretched condition, the high-caste man threw his upper garment to the male, but, having nothing to give as a covering for the woman, threw some thanda leaves over her. the thanda pulayans are also called kuzhi pulayans, as they were found emerging from a pit (kuzhi). the leafy garment is said to be fast going out of fashion, as mappillas, and others who own the pulayans, compel them to wear cotton cloths. according to the rev. w. j. richards, a division of the pulayans, who are called kanna pulayans, and found near alleppey, wear rather better, and more artistically made aprons. [11] the following legend is current regarding the origin of the thanda pulayans. in the south, the pulayans are divided into the eastern and western sections. the former were the slaves of duryodhana, and the latter were attached to the pandus. these formed the two rival parties in the war of the mahabaratha, and the defeat of duryodhana was the cause of their degradation. the thanda pulayans appear to have been the slaves of the soil till 1854, when they were emancipated. even now, their condition has not undergone much material improvement. though they are left more to themselves, they still work for farmers or landlords for a daily wage of paddy (unhusked rice). if they run away, they are brought back, and punished. there is a custom that, when a farmer or landlord wants a few pulayans to work in the fields, he obtains their services on payment of fifteen to twenty rupees to them, or to their master. when a pulayan's services are thus obtained, he works for his new master for two edangalis of paddy a day. they can obtain their liberation on the return of the purchase-money, which they can never hope to earn. having no property which they can claim as their own, and conscious perhaps that their lot will be the same wherever they go, they remain cheerful and contented, drudging on from day to day, and have no inclination to emigrate to places where they can get higher wages. the cherumars of palghat, on the contrary, enjoy more freedom. many go to the wynad, and some to the kolar gold-fields, where they receive a good money-wage. the thanda pulayans work, as has been said, for some landlord, who allows them small bits of land. the trees thereon belong to the master, but they are allowed to enjoy their produce during their residence there. when not required by the master, they can work where they like. they have to work for him for six months, and sometimes throughout the year. they have little to do after the crop has been garnered. they work in the rice-fields, pumping water, erecting bunds (mud embankments), weeding, transplanting, and reaping. men, women, and children may be seen working together. after a day's hard work, in the sun or rain, they receive their wages, which they take to the nearest shop, called mattupitica (exchange shop), where they receive salt, chillies, etc., in exchange for a portion of the paddy, of which the remainder is cooked. the master's field must be guarded at night against the encroachment of cattle, and the depredations of thieves and wild beasts. they keep awake by shouting aloud, singing in a dull monotone, or beating a drum. given a drink of toddy, the pulayans will work for any length of time. it is not uncommon to see them thrashed for slight offences. if a man is thrashed with a thanda garment, he is so much disgraced in the eyes of his fellow men, that he is not admitted into their society. some improve their condition by becoming converts to christianity. others believe that the spirits of the departed would be displeased, if they became christians. the thanda pulayan community is divided into exogamous illams, and marriage between members of the same illam is forbidden. their habitations are called matams, which are miserable huts, supported on wooden posts, sometimes in the middle of a paddy field, with walls of reeds, bamboo mats or mud, and thatched with grass or cocoanut leaves. a few earthen pots, bamboo vessels, and cocoanut shells constitute their property. they are denied admission to the markets, and must stand at a distance to make their purchases or sales. pulayan girls are married either before or after attaining puberty, but there is special ceremony, which is performed for every girl during her seventh or eighth year. this is called thanda kalyanam, or thanda marriage. it consists in having the girl dressed at an auspicious hour in the leafy garment by a woman, generally a relative, or, in her absence, by one selected for the purpose. the relations and friends are entertained at a feast of curry and rice, fish from the backwater, and toddy. prior to this ceremony, the girl is destitute of clothing, except for a strip of areca bark. at the marriage ceremony, the tali (marriage badge) is made of a piece of a conch shell (turbinella rapa), which is tied on the bride's neck at an auspicious hour. she is taken before her landlord, who gives her some paddy, and all the cocoanuts on the tree, beneath which she happens to kneel. when the time has come for her to be taken to the hut of the bridegroom, one of her uncles, taking her by the hand, gives her into the charge of one of her husband's uncles. on the third morning, her paternal and maternal uncles visit her at the hut of the bridegroom, by whom they are entertained. they then return, with the bride and bridegroom, to the home of the former, where the newly-married couple stay for three days. to ascertain whether a marriage will be a happy one, a conch shell is spun round. if it falls to the north, it predicts good fortune; if to the east or west, the omens are favourable; if to the south, very unfavourable. the thanda pulayans follow the makkathayam law of inheritance (from father to son). they have their tribal assemblies, the members of which meet together on important occasions, as when a woman is charged with adultery, or when there is a theft case among them. all the members are more or less of equal status, and no superior is recognised. they swear by the sun, raising their hands, and saying "by the sun i did not." other oaths are "may my eyes perish" or "may my head be cut off by lightning." every kind of sickness is attributed to the influence of some demon, with whom a magician can communicate, and discover a means of liberation. the magician, when called in professionally, lights a fire, and seats himself beside it. he then sings, mutters some mantrams (prayers), and makes a discordant noise on his iron plate (kokkara). the man or woman, who is possessed by the demon, begins to make unconscious movements, and is made to speak the truth. the demon, receiving offerings of fowls, sheep, etc., sets him or her free. a form of ceremonial, called urasikotukkuka, is sometimes performed. at a place far distant from the hut, a leaf, on which the blood of a fowl has been made to fall, is spread on the ground. on a smaller leaf, chunam (lime) and turmeric are placed. the person who first sets eyes on these becomes possessed by the demon, and sets free the individual who was previously under its influence. in the event of sickness, the sorcerer is invited to the hut. he arrives in the evening, and is entertained with food, toddy, and betel. he then takes a tender cocoanut, flower of the areca palm, and some powdered rice, which he covers over with a palm leaf. the sick person is placed in front thereof, and a circle is drawn round him. outside the circle, an iron stylus is stuck in the ground. the demon is supposed to be confined within the circle, and makes the patient cry out "i am in pai (influence of the ghost) and he is beating me," etc. with the promise of a fowl or sheep, or offerings thereof on the spot, the demon is persuaded to take its departure. sometimes, when the sorcerer visits a house of sickness, a rice-pan containing three betel leaves, areca nuts, paddy, tulsi (ocimum sanctum), sacred ashes, conch and cowry (cypræa moneta) shells, is placed in the yard. the sorcerer sits in front of the pan, and begins to worship the demon, holding the shells in his hands, and turning to the four points of the compass. he then observes the omens, and, taking his iron plate, strikes it, while he chants the names of terrible demons, mullva, karinkali, aiyinar, and villi, and utters incantations. this is varied by dancing, to the music of the iron plate, sometimes from evening till noon on the following day. the sick person works himself up into the belief that he has committed some great sin, and proceeds to make confession, when a small money fine is inflicted, which is spent on toddy for those who are assembled. the thanda pulayans practice maranakriyas, or sacrifices to certain demons, to help them in bringing about the death of an enemy or other person. sometimes affliction is supposed to be brought about by the enmity of those who have got incantations written on a palm leaf, and buried in the ground near a house by the side of a well. a sorcerer is called in to counteract the evil charm, which he digs up, and destroys. when a member of the tribe has died an unnatural death, a man, with a fowl and sword in his hands, places another man in a pit which has been dug, and walks thrice round it with a torch. after an hour or two, the man is taken out of the pit, and goes to a distance, where certain ceremonies are performed. the thanda pulayans worship the gods of brahmanical temples at a distance of nearly a quarter of a mile. a stone is set up in the ground, on which they place tender cocoanuts and a few puttans (cochin coins). a temple servant takes these to the priest, who sends in return some sandal paste, holy water, and flowers. they worship, as has been already hinted, demons, and also the spirits of their ancestors, by which small brass figures of males and females representing the pretas (ghosts) are supposed to be possessed. they worship, among others, kandakarnan, kodunkali, bhairavan, and arukola pretas, who are lodged in small huts, and represented by stones. in the month of may, they celebrate a festival, which lasts for several days. chrysanthemum and thumba (apparently leucas aspera) flowers are used in the performance of worship, and paddy, beaten rice, tender cocoanuts, toddy, etc., are offered up. there is a good deal of singing, drum-beating and devil-dancing by men and women, who on this occasion indulge liberally in toddy. the pandavas, whom they call anju thamburakkal, are favourite deities. they devise various plans for warding off the evil influence of demons. some, for example, wear rolls of palm leaf, with incantations written on them, round their necks. others hang baskets in the rice fields, containing peace offerings to the gods, and pray for the protection of the crop. wherever there is a dense forest, matan and kali are supposed to dwell, and are worshipped. from the end of november to april, which is the slack season, the thanda pulayans go about dancing from hut to hut, and collecting money to purchase fowls, etc., for offerings. club-dancing is their favourite amusement, and is often indulged in at night by the light of a blazing fire. the dancers, club in hand, go round in concentric circles, keeping time to the songs which they sing, striking each other's clubs, now bending to ward off a blow on the legs, or rising to protect the head. the dead are buried, and lighted torches are set up all round the grave, on to which the relations of the dead person throw three handfuls of rice. near it, squares are made in rice flour, in each of which a leaf with rice flour and paddy, and a lighted torch or wick is placed. the chief mourner, who should be the son or nephew, carrying a pot of water, goes several times round the grave, and breaks the pot over the spot where the head rests. a few grains of rice are placed at the four corners of the grave, and a pebble is laid on it, with mantrams to keep off jackals, and to prevent the spirit from molesting people. every morning the chief mourner goes to the grave, and makes offerings of boiled rice, gingelly (sesamum indicum) seeds, and karuka grass. on the fourteenth day, he has an oil-bath, and, on the following day, the pulayans of the village (kara) have a feast, with singing and beating of drums. on the sixteenth day, which is pulakuli or day of purification, the chief mourner makes offerings of rice balls, the guests are fed, and make a present of small coin to the songster who has entertained them. similar offerings of rice balls are made to the spirit of the deceased person on the new-moon day in the month of kartigam. during the period of pollution, the chief mourner has to cook his own food. the spirits of deceased ancestors are called chavar (the dead), and are said to manifest themselves in dreams, especially to near relations, who speak in the morning of what they have seen during the night. they even say that they have held conversation with the deceased. the rev. w. j. richards informs us that he once saw "a little temple, about the size of a large rabbit-hutch, in which was a plank for the spirits of the deceased ancestors to come and rest upon. the spirits are supposed to fish in the backwaters, and the phosphorescence, sometimes seen on the surface of the water, is taken as an indication of their presence." [12] the thanda pulayans will not eat with the ulladans or parayans, but stand at a distance of ninety feet from brahmans and other high-caste people. they are short of stature and dark-skinned. like the cherumans, the women adorn their ears, necks, arms and fingers with masses of cheap jewellery. thappata (drum).--an exogamous sept of odde. thathan (a vaishnavite mendicant).--the equivalent of the telugu dasari. thatichettu (palmyra palm).--an exogamous sept of karna sale and odde. thavadadari.--the name of a section of the valluvans (priests of the paraiyans), who wear a necklace of tulsi beads (thavadam, necklace, dhari, wearer). the tulsi or basil (ocimum sanctum) is a very sacred plant with hindus, and bead necklaces or rosaries are made from its woody stem. thelu (scorpion).--thelu and thela are recorded as exogamous septs of padma sale and madiga. the canarese equivalent chelu occurs as a sept of kuruba. thenige buvva.--a sub-division of madigas, who offer food (buvva) to the god in a dish or tray (thenige) at marriages. thikka (simpleton).--a sub-division of kuruba. thippa (rubbish heap).--an exogamous sept of karna sale. thogamalai korava.--recorded [13] as a synonym of a thief class in the southern districts of the madras presidency. in a recent note on the koravas, mr. f. fawcett writes that "a fact to be noted is that people such as the members of the well-known thogamalai gang, who are always called koravas by the police, are not koravas at all. they are simply a criminal community, into which outsiders are admitted, who give their women in marriage outside the caste, and who adopt children of other castes." thogaru (bitter).--an exogamous sept of musu kamma. thoka (tail).--an exogamous sept of yerukala. thonda (cephalendra indica).--an exogamous sept of musu kamma, and gotra of janappans, members of which abstain from using the fruit or leaves of the thonda plant. thumma (babul: acacia arabica).--an exogamous sept of mala and padma sale. the bark, pods, and leaves of the babul tree are used by tanners in the preparation of hides and skins, or as a dye. thumu (iron measure for measuring grain).--an exogamous sept of mutracha. thupa (ghi, clarified butter).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. thurpu (eastern).--a sub-division of yerukala and yanadi. thuta (hole).--an exogamous sept of devanga. tigala.--tigala is summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a canarese synonym for the tamil palli; applied also by the canarese people to any tamil sudras of the lower castes." in parts of the mysore country, the tamil language is called tigalu, and the canarese madhva brahmans speak of tamil smarta brahmans as tigalaru. some of the tigalas, who have settled in mysore, have forgotten their mother-tongue, and speak only canarese, while others, e.g., those who live round about bangalore, still speak tamil. in their type of cranium they occupy a position intermediate between the dolichocephalic pallis and the sub-brachy cephalic canarese classes. the difference in the type of cranium of the tigalas and tamil pallis is clearly brought by the following tabular statements of their cephalic indices:-a. tigala- 68 * 69 70 71 * 72 ***** 73 **** 74 * 75 * 76 ***** 77 **** 78 ***** 79 *** 80 *** 81 **** 82 * 83 84 ** b. palli- 64 * 65 66 67 ** 68 * 69 * 70 * 71 **** 72 ***** 73 ******* 74 **** 75 ******** 76 * 77 * 78 * 79 ** 80 * the tigalas are kitchen and market gardeners, and cultivate the betel vine. they apparently have three divisions, called ulli (garlic or onions), ele (leaf), and arava (tamil). among the ulli tigalas, several sub-divisions, and septs or budas named after deities or prominent members of the caste, exist, e.g.:- i. lakkamma- tota devaru (garden god). dodda devaru (big or chief god). dodda narasayya. dodda nanjappa. ii. ellamma- narasayya. muddanna. iii. sidde devaru. the tigalas have a headman, whose office is hereditary, and who is assisted by a caste servant called mudre. council meetings are usually held at a fixed spot, called goni mara katte or mudre goni mara katte, because those summoned by the mudre assemble beneath a goni (ficus mysorensis) tree, round which a stone platform is erected. the tree and platform being sacred, no one may go there on wearing shoes or sandals. the members of council sit on a woollen blanket spread before the tree. like the pallis or vanniyans, the tigalas call themselves agni vanni, and claim to be descended from the fire-born hero agni banniraya. in connection with the tigalas who have settled in the bombay presidency, it is noted [14] that "they are a branch of the mysore tigalas, who are tamil palli emigrants from the madras presidency, and, like the palli, claim a kshatriya origin." the tigalas possess a manuscript, said to be a copy of a sasana at conjeeveram (kanchi), from which the following extracts are taken. "this is a kanchi sasana published by aswaththa narayanswami, who was induced to do so by the god varadaraja of conjeeveram. this sasana is written to acquaint the descendants of the mahapurusha agni banniraya with the origin, doings, and gotra of their ancestor banniraya. this banniraya sprang from fire, and so is much beloved by vishnu the many-armed, the many-eyed, and the bearer of the chank and chakram, and who is no other than narayana, the lord of all the worlds great and small, and the originator of the vedas and vedanta.... all those who see or worship this sasana relating to agni banniraya, who obtained boons from the trimurthis, devatas, and rishis, and who is the ancestor of the tigalas, will be prosperous, and have plenty of grain and children. those who speak lightly of this caste will become subject to the curses of banniraya, trimurthis, rishis, and devas. the glory of this sasana is great, and is as follows:--the keeping and worshipping of this purana will enable the tigalas of the karnataka country to obtain the merit of surapadavi (the state of devas), merit of doing puja to a thousand lingams, a lakh of cow gifts, and a hundred kannikadanams (gifts of virgins for marriage)." the sasana is said to have been brought to the canarese country because of a quarrel between the pallis and the tigalas at the time of a tigala marriage. the tigalas were prevented from bringing the various biruthus (insignia), and displaying them. the sasana was brought by the tigalas, at an expenditure of rs. 215, which sum was subsequently recovered from the pallis. tigala occurs further as the name of a sub-division of holeya. tikke (gem).--a gotra of kurni. ti (fire) kollan.--a sub-division of kollan. tinda (polluting).--a sub-division of kanisan. tinda kuruppu, meaning a teacher who cannot approach, is a synonym of the kavutiyan barber caste. tiperum (ti, fire).--a sub-division of kollan blacksmiths. tiragati gantlavallu (wandering bell hunters).--stated, in the manual of the vizagapatam district, to repair hand-mills, catch antelopes, and sell the skins thereof. in hunting, they use lights and bells. tirlasetti (the name of a balija chetti).--an exogamous sept of yanadi. tirumalpad.--tirumalpad has been summed up as "one of the four divisions of kshatriyas in travancore. the term, in its literal sense, conveys the idea of those who wait before kings. in mediæval times the tirumalpads were commanders of armies." by mr. wigram [15] tirumalpad is defined as a member of a royal family. in the madras census report, 1891, it is stated that "there are two tirumalpads, one a samanta, and the other a so-called kshatriya. the former observes customs and manners exactly similar to eradis and nedungadis. in fact, these are all more or less interchangeable terms, members of the same family calling themselves indifferently eradi or tirumalpad. the kshatriya tirumalpad wears the sacred thread, and the rites he performs are similar to those of brahmans, whose dress he has also adopted. he has, however, like nayars, tali-kettu and sambandham separately. his females take nambudiri consorts by preference, but may have husbands of their own caste. their inheritance is in the female line, as among nayars and samantas. generally the females of this caste furnish wives to nambudiris. the touch of these females does not pollute a nambudiri as does that of nayars and samantas, and, what is more, nambudiris may eat their food. the females are called nambashtadiri." for the following note on tampans and tirumalpads, i am indebted to the travancore census report, 1901. "the tampans and tirumalpats come under the category of malabar kshatriyas.the word tampan is a contraction of tampuran, and at one time denoted a ruling people. when they were divested of that authority by the ilayetattu svarupam, they are said to have fallen from the status of tampurans to tampans. their chief seat is the vaikam taluk. the tirumalpats do not seem to have ruled at all. the word tirumulpatu indicates those that wait before kings. there is an old sanskrit verse, which describes eight classes of kshatriyas as occupying kerala from very early times, namely (1) bhupala or maha raja, such as those of travancore and cochin, (2) rajaka or rajas, such as those of mavelikara and kotungallur, (3) kosi or koiltampuran, (4) puravan or tampan, (5) sripurogama or tirumulpat, (6) bhandari or pantarattil, (7) audvahika or tirumalpat, (8) cheta or samanta. from this list it may be seen that two classes of tirumulpats are mentioned, namely, sripurogamas who are the waiters at the raja's palace, and the audvahikas who perform udvaha or wedding ceremony for certain castes. both these, however, are identical people, though varying in their traditional occupations. the chief seats of the tirumulpats are shertallay and tiruvalla." the tampans and tirumulpats are, for all purposes of castes, identical with other malabar kshatriyas. every tampan in travancore is related to every other tampan, and all are included within one circle of death and birth pollution. their manners and customs, too, are exactly like those of other kshatriyas. they are invested with the sacred thread at the sixteenth year of age, and recite the gayatri (hymn) ten times thrice a day. the nambutiri is the family priest, and (death) pollution lasts for eleven days. the kettukalyanam, or tali-tying ceremony, may be performed between the seventh and the fourteenth year of age. the tali is tied by the aryappattar, while the namputiris recite the vedic hymns. their consorts are usually namputiris, and sometimes east coast brahmans. like all the malabar kshatriyas, they follow the marumakkathayam system of inheritance (through the female line). tampans and tirumulpats are often the personal attendants of the travancore maharajas, whom they serve with characteristic fidelity and devotion.the tirumulpats further perform the tali-tying ceremony of the nayar aristocracy. the names of the tirumulpats and tampans are the same as those of other classes of kshatriyas. the title varma is uniformly added to their names. a few families among these, who once had ruling authority, have the titular suffix bhandarattil, which is corrupted into pantarattil. the tampans call themselves in documents koviladhikarikal, as they once had authority in kovils or palaces. tiruman (holy deer).--an exogamous section of kallan. tirumudi (holy knot).--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as "bricklayers, whose women are usually prostitutes; found chiefly in salem and coimbatore. they are either vettuvans or kaikolans. kaikolan women, when they are dedicated to the temple, are supposed to be united in wedlock with the deity. tiruvalluvan.--a sub-division of valluvan. tiruvalluvar, the author of the kural, is said to have belonged to the valluva caste. tiru-vilakku-nagarattar (dwellers in the city of holy lamps).--a name assumed by vaniyans (oil-pressers). tiyadi.--a synonym of the tiyattunni section of ambalavasis (see unni). tiyan.--the tiyans, and izhuvans or iluvans, are the malayalam toddy-drawing castes of malabar, cochin, and travancore. the following note, except where otherwise indicated, is taken from an account of the tiyans of malabar by mr. f. fawcett. the tiyans in malabar number, according to the census returns, 512,063, or 19·3 per cent. of the total population. the corresponding figures for the izhuvans are 101,638, or 3·8 per cent. the tiyans have been summed up [16] as the middle class of the west coast, who cultivate the ground, take service as domestics, and follow trades and professions--anything but soldiering, of which they have an utter abhorrence. the marumakkatayam system (inheritance through the female line), which obtains in north malabar, has favoured temporary connections between european men and tiyan women, the children belonging to the mother's tarvad. children bred under these conditions, european influence continuing, are often as fair as europeans. it is recorded, in the report of the malabar marriage commission, 1894, that "in the early days of british rule, the tiyan women incurred no social disgrace by consorting with europeans, and, up to the last generation, if the sudra girl could boast of her brahman lover, the tiyan girl could show more substantial benefits from her alliance with a white man of the ruling race. happily, the progress of education, and the growth of a wholesome public opinion, have made shameful the position of a european's concubine; and both races have thus been saved from a mode of life equally demoralising to each." on this point, mr. l. k. anantha krishna iyer writes as follows. [17] "it is true that there is an elevation both physically and mentally in the progeny of such a parentage. on making enquiries about this, i learn from a respectable and educated tiyan gentleman that this union is looked upon with contempt by the respectable class of people, and by the orthodox community. i am further informed that such women and children, with their families, are under a ban, and that respectable tiya gentlemen who have married the daughters of european parentage are not allowed to enjoy the privileges of the caste. there are, i hear, several such instances in calicut, tellicherry, and cannanore. women of respectable families do not enter into such connection with europeans." it is commonly supposed that the tiyans and izhuvans came from ceylon. it is recorded, in the south canara manual, that "it is well known that both before and after the christian era there were invasions and occupations of the northern part of ceylon by the races then inhabiting southern india, and malabar tradition tells us that some of these dravidians migrated again from iram or ceylon northwards to travancore and other parts of the west coast of india, bringing with them the cocoanut or southern tree (tengina mara), and being known as tivars (islanders) or iravars, which names have since been altered to tiyars and ilavars. dr. caldwell derives iram from the sanskrit simhala through the pali sihala by the omission of the initial s." it is noted by bishop caldwell [18] that there are traces of a common origin of the iluvans and shanars, shanar (or shener), for instance, being a title of honour amongst the travancore ilavars. and it is further recorded [19] that there is a tradition that the shanars came originally from ceylon. the izhuvans are supposed to derive their caste name from izha dwipa (island) or simhala dwipa (both denoting ceylon). in a tamil puranic work, quoted by mr. anantha krishna iyer, mention is made of a king illa of ceylon, who went to chidambaram in the tamil country of southern india, where a religious discussion took place between the buddhist priests and the saivite devotee manickavachakar in the presence of king illa, with the result that he was converted to the saivite faith. from him the iluvans are said to be descended. the tiyans are always styled izhuvan in documents concerning land, in which the zamorin, or some brahman or nayar grandee, appears as landlord. the tiyans look down on the izhuvans, and repudiate the relationship. yet they cannot but submit to be called izhuvan in their documents, for their nayar or brahman landlord will not let them have the land to cultivate, unless they do so. it is a custom of the country for a man of a superior caste to pretend complete ignorance of the caste of an individual lower in the social scale. thus, in the wynad, where there are several jungle tribes, one is accustomed to hear a man of superior caste pretending that he does not know a paniyan from a kurumba, and deliberately miscalling one or the other, saying "this paniyan," when he knows perfectly well that he is a kurumba. it is quite possible, therefore, that, though tiyans are written down as izhuvans, the two were not supposed to be identical. state regulations keep the izhuvans of cochin and travancore in a position of marked social inferiority, and in malabar they are altogether unlettered and uncultured. on the other hand, the tiyans of malabar provide magistrates, sub-judges, and other officials to serve his majesty's government. it may be noted that, in 1907, a tiya lady matriculate was entertained as a clerk in the tellicherry post-office. a divagation must be made, to bring the reader to a comprehension of the custom surrounding mattu, a word signifying change, i.e., change of cloth, which is of sufficient importance to demand explanation. when a man or woman is outcasted, the washerwoman (or man) and the barber of the community (and no other is available) are prohibited from performing their important parts in the ceremonies connected with birth, death, and menstruation. a person who is in a condition of impurity is under the same conditions; he or she is temporarily outcasted. this applies to nambutiris and nayars, as well as to the tiyans. now the washerwoman is invariably of the tiyan caste. there are mannans, whose hereditary occupation is washing clothes for nambutiris and nayars, but, for the most part, the washerwoman who washes for the nayar lady is of the tiyan caste. a woman is under pollution after giving birth to a child, after the death of a member of her tarvad, and during menstruation. and the pollution must be removed at the end of the prescribed period, or she remains an outcaste--a very serious thing for her. the impurity is removed by receiving a clean cloth from the washerwoman, and giving in exchange her own cloth to be washed. this is mattu, and, be it noted, the cloth which gives mattu is one belonging to the washerwoman, not to the person to be purified. the washerwoman gives her own cloth to effect the purification. theoretically, the tiyan has the power to give or withhold mattu, and thus keep any one out of caste in a state of impurity; but it is a privilege which is seldom if ever exercised. yet it is one which he admittedly holds, and is thus in a position to exercise considerable control over the nambutiri and nayar communities. it is odd that it is not a soiled cloth washed and returned to the person which gives purification, but one of the washerwoman's own cloths. so the mattu may have a deeper meaning than lies in mere change of cloth, dressing in a clean one, and giving the soiled one to a person of inferior caste to wash. this mattu is second in importance to no custom. it must be done on the last day of pollution after birth and death ceremonies, and menstruation, or the person concerned remains outcasted. it is noteworthy that the izhuvans know nothing of mattu. an izhuvan will eat rice cooked by a tiyan, but a tiyan will not eat rice cooked by an izhuvan--a circumstance pointing to the inferiority of the izhuvan. a nayar, as well as a tiyan, will partake of almost any form of food or drink, which is prepared even by a mappilla (malabar muhammadan), who is deemed inferior to both. but the line is drawn at rice, which must be prepared by one of equal caste or class, or by a superior. an izhuvan, partaking of rice at a tiyan's house, must eat it in a verandah; he cannot do so in the house, as that would be defilement to the tiyan. not only must the izhuvan eat the rice in the verandah, but he must wash the plates, and clean up the place where he has eaten. again, an izhuvan could have no objection to drinking from a tiyan's well. further, there is practically no mixture in the distribution of tiyans and izhuvans. where there are izhuvans there are no tiyans, and vice versâ. [in a photograph of a group of izhuvan females of palghat eating their meal, which was sent to me, they are all in a kneeling posture, with the buttocks supported on the heels. they are said to assume the same attitude when engaged in grinding and winnowing grain, and other occupations, with a resultant thickening of the skin over the knees.] differences, which might well come under the heading marriage, may be considered here, for the purpose of comparison between the tiyans and izhuvans. during the preliminaries to the marriage ceremony among the tiyans, the date of the marriage having been fixed in the presence of the representatives of the bride and bridegroom, the following formula is repeated by the tandan or headman of the bride's party. translated as accurately as possible, it runs thus. "the tara and changati of both sides having met and consulted; the astrologer having fixed an auspicious day after examining the star and porutham; permission having been obtained from the tara, the relations, the illam and kulam, the father, uncle, and the brothers, and from the eight and four (twelve illams) and the six and four (ten kiriyams); the conji and adayalam ceremonies and the four tazhus having been performed, let me perform the kanjikudi ceremony for the marriage of ... the son of ... with ... daughter of ... in the presence of muperium." this formula, with slight variations here and there, is repeated at every tiyan marriage in south malabar. it is a solemn declaration, giving validity to the union, although, in the way that custom and ritual survive long after their original significance has been forgotten, the meaning of many of the terms used is altogether unknown. what, for instance, is the meaning of muperium? no one can tell. but a few of the terms are explainable. tara. the tara was the smallest unit in the ancient government system, which, for want of a better term, we may style feudal. it was not exactly a village, for the people lived apart. each tara had its nayar chieftain, and also its tiyan chief or tandan, its astrologer, its washerman, its goldsmith, and other useful people, each serving the community for the sake of small advantages. each tara was its own world. changati (friend). the friends of both parties which negotiated the marriage. porutham (agreement). examination of the horoscopes of the boy and girl makes it possible to ascertain whether there is agreement between the two, and the union will be propitious. illam. here intended to mean the father's family. kulam. the name, derived from kula a branch, here denotes the mother's family. twelve illams, ten kiriyams. the word illam, now used exclusively for the residence of a nambutiri, is supposed to have been used in days of old for the house of a person of any caste. and this supposition is said to find support in the way that a tiyan coming from the south is often greeted in south canara. thus, a malabar tiyan, travelling to the celebrated temple at gokarnam in south canara, is at once asked "what is your illam and kiriyam?" he has heard these terms used in the foregoing formula during his own or another's marriage ceremony, but attached no meaning to them. to the man of south canara they have genuine meaning. one should be able to answer the question satisfactorily, and thus give a proper account of himself. if he cannot, he gets neither food nor water from the south canara tiyan. this also holds good, to some extent, in the case of a southern tiyan visiting the northern parts of the cherakal taluk of malabar. the ten illams of south malabar are as follows:- tala kodan. nellika (phyllanthus emblica). paraka or varaka. ala. ten kudi or tenan kudi. padayan kudi. kannan. varakat. kytat inferior. puzhampayi or bavu the illams of north malabar are said to be- nellika. pullanhi. vangeri. koyikkalan. padayam kudi. tenan kudi. manan kudi. vilakkan kudi. marriage is strictly forbidden between two persons belonging to the same illam. the bride and bridegroom must belong to different illams. in fact, the illams are exogamous. members of some of the illams were allowed certain privileges and dignities. thus, the men of the varakat illam (varaka tiyans) were in the old days permitted to travel in a mancheel (a hammock-cot slung on a pole). they were allowed this privilege of higher caste people, which was prohibited to the tiyans of other illams. but, should one of them, when travelling in a mancheel, happen to see a rajah or a nayar, he was obliged to hang one of his legs out of it in token of submission. the varaka tiyans were further allowed to wear gold jewels on the neck, to don silken cloths, to fasten a sword round the waist, and to carry a shield. the sword was made of thin pliable steel, and worn round the waist like a belt, the point being fastened to the hilt through a small hole near the point. a man, intending to damage another, might make an apparently friendly call on him, his body loosely covered with a cloth, and to all appearances unarmed. in less than a second, he could unfasten the sword round his waist, and cut the other down. the well-known mannanar belonged to the varakat illam. those who know malabar will recall to mind the benevolent but strange institution which he initiated. he provided a comfortable home for nambutiri women who were thrown out of caste, and thus in the ordinary course of events doomed to every misery and degradation to be found in life. on being outcasted, the funeral ceremonies of nambutiri women were performed by her own people, and she became dead to them. she went to the mannanar, and her birth ceremonies were performed, so that she might begin life anew in a state of purity. if, on arrival, she entered by the left door, she was his wife, if by the front door, his sister. it is said that, when their chief, mannanar of the aramana, is destitute of heirs, the tiyans of kolattanad go in procession to the kurumattur nambutiri (the chief of the peringallur brahmans) and demand a brahman virgin to be adopted as sister of mannanar, who follows the marumakkatayam rule of succession. this demand, it is said, used to be granted by the nambutiris assembling at a meeting, and selecting a maiden to be given to the tiyans. kiriyam is said to be a corrupt form of the sanskrit word griham (house), but this seems rather fanciful. there are said to have been about two kiriyams for each village. the names of only three are known to me, viz., karumana, kaita, and kampathi. there is a village called karumana, near the temple of lakshmipuram in south canara. karumana is applied as a term to signify a tiyan during the ordinary devil-dancing in temples, when an oracular utterance is delivered. the oracle always addresses the tiyan as "my karumana," not as "my tiyan." the only other use of the word is in karumana acharam (the customs of the tiyans). other outward and visible differences between tiyan and izhuvan marriages are these. the south malabar tiyan bridegroom, dressed as if for a wrestling match, with his cloth tied tight about his loins, carries a sword and shield, and is escorted by two companions similarly equipped, dancing their way along. the izhuvan does not carry a sword under any circumstances. the chief feature of his wedding ceremony is a singing match. this, called the vatil-tura-pattu, or open the door song, assumes the form of a contest between the parties of the bridegroom and bride. the story of krishna and his wife rukmini is supposed to be alluded to. we have seen it all under slightly different colour at conjeeveram. krishna asks rukmini to open the door, and admit him. she refuses, thinking he has been gallivanting with some other lady. he beseeches; she refuses. he explains, and at length she yields. the song is more or less extempore, and each side must be ready with an immediate answer. the side which is reduced to the extremity of having no answer is beaten and under ignominy. i pass on to the subject of personal adornment of the tiyans:-(a) north malabar, males- 1. a horizontal dab made with white ashes on either side of the forehead and chest, and on the outside of each shoulder. 2. two gold ear-rings (kadakkan) in each ear. a silver chain hanging from the sheath of his knife, and fastened with a boss. two tambak (copper, brass and silver) rings on the ring finger of the left hand. 3. a gold kadakkan in each ear, and an iron ring on the ring finger of the left hand. 4. a thorn in each ear (another was similarly ornamented). not married. 5. a gold ear-ring in each ear. an iron ring on the little finger of the left hand. two silver rings, in which is set a piece of hair from an elephant's tail, on the little finger of the right hand. a few individuals wore brass rings, and some had ear-rings, in which a red stone was set. amulets were worn by some in little cylindrical cases on a string, to protect the wearer against enemies, the evil eye, or devils. one man wore a silver girdle, to which an amulet in a case was fastened, underneath his cloth, so that it was not in view to the public. one individual only is noted as having been tattooed, with a circular mark just above his glabella. the arms of a good many, and the abdomen of a few, bore cicatrices from branding, apparently for the purpose of making them strong and relieving pains. (b) south malabar, males. in the country parts, the waist cloth is always worn above the knee. about a third of the individuals examined wore ear-rings. the ears of all were pierced. those who were without ear-rings had no scruples about wearing them, but were too poor to buy them. 1. blue spot tattooed over the glabella. 2. silver amulet-case, containing fifteen gold fanams, at the waist. he said that he kept the coins in the receptacle for security, but i think it was for good luck. 3. ear-ring (kadakkan) in each ear. a copper amulet-case, containing a yantram to keep off devils, at the waist. 4. four silver amulet-cases, containing yantrams on a copper sheet for curing some ailment, at the waist. 5. two gold kadakkans in each ear. a white spot over the glabella. (c) north malabar, females. in olden days, the women used to wear coloured and striped cloths round the waist, and hanging to the knees. the breast was not covered. the body above the waist was not allowed to be covered, except during the period of death pollution. nowadays, white is generally the colour to be seen, and the body is seldom covered above the waist--never one may say, except (and then only sometimes) in the towns. the izhuvan women in malabar always wear blue cloths: just one cloth rolled tightly round the waist, and hanging to the knees. of late, they have taken to wearing also a blue cloth drawn tight over the breast. ornaments. the thodu, which is now sometimes worn by tiyan women, is not a tiyan ornament. the ear-rings, called kathila and ananthod, are the tiyan ornaments, and look like strings of gold beads with pendants. discs of white metal or lead are used to stretch and keep open the dilated lobes of the ears, in which gold ornaments are worn when necessary or possible. venetian sequins, real or imitation, known in malabar as amada, are largely used for neck ornaments. there is a malabar proverb that one need not look for an insect's burrow in amada, meaning that you cannot find anything vile in a worthy person. turning now to the subject of marriage. in the ordinary course of things, a marriage would not be made between a tiyan girl of south malabar and a tiyan man of north malabar, for the reason that the children of such a marriage would inherit no property from the family of either parent. the husband would have no share in the property of his family, which devolves through the women; nor would the wife have any share in that of her family, which is passed on through the men. so there would be nothing for the children. but, on the other hand, marriage between a girl of the north and a man of the south is a different thing. the children would inherit from both parents. as a rule, tiyans of the north marry in the north, and those of the south in the south. it was generally admitted that it was formerly the custom among the tiyans in south malabar for several brothers--in fact all of them--to share one wife. two existing instances of this custom were recorded. the arrangement of a marriage, and the ceremonial which will now be described, though pertaining strictly to the calicut taluk of south malabar, are sufficiently representative of a tiyan marriage anywhere. there is, however, this difference, that, in north malabar, where inheritance through females obtains, and the wife invariably resides in her own tarwad or family home, there is never any stipulation concerning a girl's dowry. in south malabar, where inheritance is through the males, and where the wife lives in her husband's house, the dowry in money, jewels, or furniture, is as a rule settled beforehand, and must be handed over on the wedding day. in the calicut taluk, we find an exception to this general rule of south malabar, where the subject of the dowry is not usually mentioned. in north malabar, gifts of jewels are made in proportion as the bride's people are wealthy and generous. what is given is in the way of a gift, and forms no feature in the marital agreement. the first step to be taken in connection with marriage is examination of the horoscopes of the boy and girl, in order to ascertain whether their union will be one of happiness or the reverse. while this is being done by the panikkar (malabar astrologer), the following persons should be present:-(a) on the part of the bridegroom- 1. tandan, or chief of the tara. 2. father, or other elder in the family. 3. uncle, i.e., the mother's brother. in malabar the word uncle means maternal uncle. 4. sisters' husbands. 5. four or more friends or companions. 6. any number of relations and friends. (b) on the part of the bride- 1. tandan of her tara. 2. father,or other guardian. 3. uncle. 4. four or more friends. 5. the astrologer of her tara. 6. friends and relations. the ceremony must be performed at the house of the girl's family. her father's consent is necessary, but his presence is not essential at this or the two subsequent ceremonies in connection with the marriage. the tandan, it may be noted, is the caste governmental head in all matters affecting his own caste and the artisans. he is a tiyan, and his office, which is authorised by the local rajah, or rather by his senior rani, is hereditary. in exceptional cases, however, the hereditary right may be interrupted by the rani appointing some one else. the tandan of the tara is required to assist at every ceremony connected with marriage, at the ceremony when a girl attains puberty, at that of tying the tali, and at the fifth and seventh months of pregnancy. his formal permission is required before the carpenter can cut down the areca palm, with which the little shed in which the tali is tied is constructed. in cases of divorce, his functions are important. when a new house is built, there must be a house-warming ceremony, at which the tandan officiates. fowls are sacrificed, and the right leg is the tandan's perquisite. he is a man of importance, not only in many affairs within his own caste, but also in those of other castes. thus, when a nayar dies, it is the tandan's duty to get the body burnt. he controls the washerman and barber of the tara, and can withdraw their services when they are most needed. he officiates, moreover, at marriages of the artisan class--carpenters, braziers, goldsmiths and blacksmiths. a group of taras forms what is called a desam, the koyma or "sovereignty" of which is represented by a nayar tarwad. it is through the head or karnavan (really the chieftain) of this tarwad that the tandan approaches the raja in matters of appeal, and the like. the tandan is to some extent under his guidance and control, but he must provide the tandan with a body-guard of two nayars on occasions of marriages. in the old days, it may be mentioned, the tandans of the taras within the rule of the zamorin were always appointed by his senior rani. the term tandan must not be confounded with the tandars, a people of the palghat taluk, who appear to be allied to the izhuvans. these tandars observe the custom of paternal polyandry, while the izhuvans abhor it. the procedure observed in the examination of horoscopes is as follows. the tandan of the bride's tara gives a grass or palmyra palm leaf mat to the astrologer to sit on, and supplies mats or seats for the bridegroom's party. the common sleeping mat of wild pine leaves, or a wooden stool, must, on no account, be given for the astrologer to sit on. it may be day or night when the ceremony takes place, but, whatever the hour may be, a lamp having five, seven, nine, or eleven cotton wicks, must be burning in front of the astrologer. the tandan's wife puts it in its place. then the boy's uncle hands over the boy's horoscope to his tandan, who passes it on to the girl's tandan. the girl's father hands her horoscope to their tandan, who, when he has received them both, passes them on to the astrologer. the two horoscopes should agree on twenty-one points--a requirement which might prove awkward, were it not that a balance in favour of beneficent influences is generally allowed to admit of the marriage taking place. in the case of agreement, the boy's uncle, through his tandan, then pays two fanams [20] (eight annas)--one for each horoscope--to the astrologer. when there is disagreement, the girl's uncle pays the money. the horoscopes (which have been privately examined beforehand to make sure of no disagreement) are returned to their respective owners. after the examination of the horoscope, there is a feast with plenty of sweetmeats. the next item is the conjee (rice gruel) ceremony, at which the following should be present:-(a) on the part of the boy- 1. father, his brother, or some one representing him. 2. husbands of all married sisters. 3. uncle. 4. tandan of his tara. 5. neighbours and friends. (b) on the part of the girl- 1. uncle. 2. relations of married sisters. 3. relations of married brothers. 4. tandan of her tara. 5. astrologer of her tara. 6. relations and friends. the horoscopes are again formally examined by the astrologer, who announces that their agreement augurs a happy wedded life. the boy's uncle pays him two fanams. the girl's uncle takes the two horoscopes, which have just been tied together, from the astrologer, and hands them to the tandan of the girl's tara, who passes them on to the tandan of the boy's tara. they are handed by him to the boy's uncle. the astrologer then writes on a palmyra leaf a note for each party to the marriage, stating the auspicious day and hour for the final ceremony, the hour at which the bride should leave her house, and the hour for her arrival at the house of the bridegroom. the following programme is then gone through. in the verandah, facing east, before the front door, is spread an ordinary sleeping mat, over it a grass mat, and over that a plain white cloth which has been washed and is not a new one. on the floor close by, the following articles are placed:-a lamp, having an odd number of cotton wicks, which is kept lighted whatever the hour of day it may be; a measure, called nazhi, made of jak tree (artocarpus integrifolia) wood, filled to overflowing with rice, and placed on a flat bell-metal plate (talika); a plain white cloth, washed but not new, neatly folded, and placed on the metal plate to the right (south) of the rice; a small bell-metal vessel (kindi), having no handle, filled with water. the lamp is placed on the south side of the mat, the plate next to it (to the north), and the kindi at a little distance to the left (the north). the people who sit on the mat always face the east. the mat having been spread, the various articles just mentioned are brought from the central room of the house by three women, who set them in their places. the tandan's wife carries the lamp, the eldest woman of the house the bell-metal plate, and some other woman the kindi. the tandan of the boy's tara, the boy's sister's husband, and a friend then sit on the mat covered with a cloth. if the boy has two brothers-in-law, both sit on the mat, to the exclusion of the friend. the senior woman of the house then hands three plates of rice conjee to the tandan of the girl's tara, who places them in front of the three persons seated on the mat. to the right of each plate, a little jaggery (unrefined sugar) is placed on a piece of plantain leaf. each of those seated takes about a spoonful of conjee in his right hand. the tandan repeats the formula, which has already been given, and asks "may the conjee be drunk"? he answers his question by drinking some of the conjee, and eating a little jaggery. all three then partake of the conjee and jaggery, after which they rise from the mat, and the plates and mat are removed. the place is cleaned, and the mats are again put down, while betel is distributed. the two tandans then sit on the mat. the girl's tandan picks up a bundle of about twenty-five betel leaves, and gives half to the boy's tandan. the tandans exchange betel leaves, each giving the other four. the boy's tandan then folds four fanams (one rupee) in four betel leaves, which he hands to the girl's tandan, saying "may the conjee ceremony be performed"? the tandans again exchange betel leaves as before, and distribute them to all the castemen present, beginning with the uncles of the boy and girl. the proceedings in the verandah are now over. the next part of the ceremony takes place in the middle room of the house, where the mats, lamp, and other articles are arranged as before. the two tandans sit on the mat with the boy on the right and the girl on the left, facing east. the boy's uncle stands in front of the tandans, facing west, and the girl's uncle behind them, facing east. the boy's father gives to the boy's uncle two new plain white cloths, with twenty-one fanams (rs. 5-4) placed on them. when presenting them, he says "let the adayalam be performed" three times, and the girl's uncle says thrice "let me receive the adayalam." the tandans again exchange betel leaves, and distribute them among the castemen. then follows a feast, and more betel. the date of the wedding has now to be fixed. they congregate in the middle room once more, and the tandans sit on the mat. the girl's tandan shares a bundle of betel leaves with the boy's tandan, who, taking therefrom four leaves, places two rupees on them, and gives them to the girl's tandan. the boy's party supplies this money, which is a perquisite of the tandan. when handing over the leaves and the coins, the boy's tandan says "on ... (naming a date) ... and ... (the bride and bridegroom), and friends, and four women will come. then you must give us the girl, and you must prepare the food for that day." the other tandan replies "if you bring six cloths and forty-two fanams (rs. 10-8) as kanam, and two fanams for the muchenan (the girl's father's sister's son), the girl will be sent to you." the cloths should be of a kind called enna kacha, each four cubits in length, but they are not now procurable. kanam is a term used in land tenures, for which there is no precise equivalent in english. it is a kind of mortgage paid by a tenant to a landlord. the former is liable to eviction by the latter, when he obtains better terms for his land from another tenant--a condition of modern growth breeding much mischief and bad blood. but, when a tenant is evicted, he is entitled, according to law, to the value of certain improvements on the land, including eight annas for each tree which he has planted. the kanam is paid by the boy's sister or sisters. his tandan addresses his brother-in-law or brothers-in-law in the words "on ... (mentioning a date), you must come early in the day, with rs. 10-8 as kanam," and gives him or them four betel leaves. those assembled then disperse. the boy's people may not go to the girl's house before the day appointed for the marriage. the next item in connection with a marriage is the issue of invitations to the wedding. the senior women of the boy's house, and the tandan, invite a few friends to assemble at the house of the bridegroom. the mat, lamp, and other articles are placed in the middle room. the bridegroom (manavalan) sits on the mat, with a friend on either side of him. he has previously bathed, and horizontal daubs of sandal paste have been placed on his forehead, breast, and arms. he wears a new cloth, which has not been washed. his tandan has adorned him with a gold bracelet on his right wrist, a knife with a gold or silver handle at the waist, and a gold or silver waist-belt or girdle over the loin-cloth. the bracelet must have an ornamental pattern, as plain bracelets are not worn by men. the girdle is in the form of a chain. besides these things, he must wear ear-rings, and he should have rings on his fingers. his sister who pays the kanam dresses in the same style, but her cloths may be of silk, white without a pattern in the border, and she wears gold bracelets on both wrists. all enjoy a good meal, and then set out, and visit first the house of the tandan. he and his wife walk in front, followed by the boy's elder sisters, if he has any. then comes the bridegroom with a friend before and behind him, with a few women bringing up the rear. at the tandan's house there is another meal, and then three, five, or seven houses are visited, and invitation to the wedding given in person. the proceedings for the day are then over, and, after three days, the brother-in-law, uncle, and all others receive invitations. on the occasion of the marriage ceremony, the barber first shaves the bridegroom's head, leaving the usual forelock on the crown, which is never cut. he performs the operation in a little shed to the east of the house, and a plantain leaf is placed so that the hair may fall on it. as a rule, the barber sits in front of the person whose hair he is shaving, while the latter, sitting cross-legged on the ground, bends forward. but, on this occasion, the bridegroom sits on a low wooden stool. close by are a lamp and a measure of rice on a plantain leaf. the barber also shaves the two friends of the bridegroom (changathis), and receives a fanam and the rice for his trouble. the three youths then bathe, smear themselves with sandal paste, and proceed to dress. the bridegroom must wear round the loins a white cloth, new and unwashed. round the top of the loin cloth he wears a narrow waist-band (kacha) of silk, from 14 to 21 cubits in length, with the ends hanging in front and behind. over the shoulders is thrown a silk lace handkerchief. he puts in his ears gold ear-rings, round the neck a necklace called chakra (wheel) mala, [21] on the right wrist a gold bracelet, gold rings on the fingers, a gold or silver chain round the loins, and a gold or silver-handled knife with a sheath of the same metal. the two companions are dressed in much the same way, but they wear neither necklace nor bracelet. the women wear as many ornaments as they please. sisters of the bridegroom must wear bracelets on both wrists, a necklace, and a silk cloth (virali) on the shoulders. the bracelet worn by men is called vala, and must be made of one piece of metal. those worn by women are called kadakam, and must be made in two pieces. when all are ready, mats, and other things are once more placed in the middle room, and the bridegroom and his two companions sit on the mats. they at once rise, and proceed to the little shed which has been erected in the front yard, and again seat themselves on the mats, which, with the other articles, have been brought thither from the middle room. then the tandan gives betel to the bridegroom and his two companions, who must chew it. the tandan's wife, the elder woman of the house, and the bridegroom's sisters sprinkle rice on their heads. the tandan gives a sword to the bridegroom and each of his companions. the procession then starts. in front walk two nayars supplied by the koyma of the desam (represented by the nayar landlord). then come the tandan and a few elders, followed by the tandan's wife and some of the elder women, the bridegroom with his two companions, his sisters, and finally the general crowd. as the procession moves slowly on, there is much dancing, and swinging of swords and shields. at the bride's house, the party is received by the wife of the tandan of the tara holding a lighted lamp, the oldest woman of the family with a plate containing a measure of rice and a folded cloth, and another woman, who may be a friend, with a kindi of water. they sprinkle a little rice on the heads of the party as they enter the yard. the bridegroom sits on a mat, close to which the lamp and other articles are set. the bride's tandan takes charge of the swords, betel is distributed, and a hearty meal partaken of. the six cloths, which the bridegroom is required to bring are in reality three double cloths, one of which is for the use of the bride. it is the privilege of the bridegroom's sisters and the tandan's wife to dress her. her waist-cloth is tied in a peculiar way for the occasion, and she is enveloped from head to foot in a silken cloth, leaving only the eyes visible. the bridegroom, after his arrival at the bride's house, has to put on a peculiar turban of conical shape, made of a stiff towel-like material, tied round with a silk handkerchief. the bridegroom's sister leads the bride to the little shed (pandal) in the yard, and seats her behind the bridegroom. the kanam, and the remaining four cloths are then given by the bridegroom's sister to the bride's mother, and they, having tied a silk handkerchief across the body like a brahman's thread, stand behind the bridegroom, the mother to the right and the sister to the left. the latter says three times "let the kanam be given," and hands it to the bride's mother, who, as she receives it, says thrice "let me receive the kanam." the mother at once hands it over to her husband, or the senior male member of the family. the tandan then places plantain leaves, for use as plates, before the bridegroom and his two companions, and, facing the bridegroom, holds a vessel of cooked rice in front of him. the bride's mother, standing behind him, serves out thrice some rice out of the pot on to the leaf in front of the bridegroom, and the tandan does the same for his two companions. the bride's mother then mixes some plantains, pappadams (large thin biscuits), sugar, and ghi (clarified butter) with the rice on the bridegroom's leaf-plate, and offers the food to him three times. she will not, however, allow him to taste it. it is taken from his lips, and removed by the washerwomen. the bridegroom's sister has the same play with the bride. the rice, which has thus been made a feature of the ceremony, is called ayini. a few days prior to the marriage, two small bundles of betel leaves, each containing areca nuts, half a dozen tobacco leaves, and two fanams are given by the bridegroom to the nayar chieftain of the desam as his fee for furnishing an escort. in return for these offerings, he gives a new cloth to the bridegroom. three measures of raw rice, ten or twelve pappadams, plantains, a cocoanut, and some dry uncooked curry-stuff are given by the bridegroom to each of the nayars provided as escort on the eve of the marriage. when they arrive on the scene on the wedding day, they are given some beaten rice, rice cakes, cocoanuts, plantains, and a drink of arrack (spirit). when the bride's parents and relations come for the vathil ceremony, the same escort is provided, and the same presents are given. just as the bridegroom and all are ready to leave, the bride's father's sister's son called the machunan, steps forward, and demands two fanams from the bridegroom's party in return for permission to take away the bride. he gets his money, and the party starts for the bridegroom's house, after rice has been sprinkled over the heads of the contracting couple, the sisters of the bridegroom leading the bride. the swords, which have been returned by the tandan, are again used in flourishing and dancing en route. it is a prevalent custom throughout southern india that a girl's father's sister's son has the first right to her hand in marriage. this obtains not only among the dravidian peoples, but also among brahmans. the malayalam word for son-in-law (marumakan) means nephew. if a stranger should marry a girl, he also is called nephew. but the unmarried nephew, having the first admitted right to the girl, must be paid eight annas, or two fanams, before he will allow her to be taken away. the argument is said to be as follows. a sister pays forty-two fanams as kanam for her brother's wife. when the product, i.e., a daughter, is transferred to a stranger, the son claims compensation on his mother's investment at the same rate as that at which a cocoanut tree is valued--eight annas. at all events, the nephew has the first right to a girl, and must be compensated before she can be taken away by another. at the bridegroom's house, the party is received by the wife of the tandan and the lady of the house. following the bride should come her parents and other relations, two nayars representing the chieftain, and the tandan of his tara. the formalities with mats and rice are gone through as before. rice is sprinkled over the heads, the tandan receives the swords, and all sit in the shed. the ayini rice ceremony is repeated for the bride by the bridegroom's mother and sisters. the happy pair then proceed to the inner room of the house, where sweetmeats are served to them. then is observed, as a rule, the asaram or gift ceremony. relations are expected to give 101 fanams (rs. 25-4), but the poorest of them are allowed to reduce the gift to 21 fanams (rs. 5-4), and the others give according to their means. these gifts are supposed to be repaid with interest. the tandan sees that a regular account of all the gifts is made out, and handed over to the bridegroom, and receives eight annas for his trouble. the accountant who prepares the accounts, and the person who tests the genuineness of the coins, each receives a bundle of betel leaves, four areca nuts, and two tobacco leaves. betel leaves, areca nuts, and tobacco, are also given to each giver of gifts. after this, there is the vatil or house ceremony. two large bundles of betel leaves are prepared, each of which contains a thousand or fifteen hundred leaves, and with them are placed forty or fifty tobacco leaves, and seventy to a hundred areca nuts. the bride's tandan pays two or four rupees as vatil kanam to the tandan of the bridegroom, who hands the money to the bridegroom's father. the bridegroom then places one bundle of betel leaves, with half the tobacco and areca nuts, before the bride's father, and the other before her mother, and they are distributed by the tandan of the girl's tara and his wife among the men and women who are present. sweetmeats are then distributed, and the marriage ceremony is concluded. a formal visit must be made subsequently by the women of the bride's house to the bridegroom's, and is returned by the bride and bridegroom. the first visit is paid by a party consisting of the bride's mother, her uncle's and brother's wives, the wife of the tandan, and other relations. they are expected to bring with them plenty of sweetmeats and bread for general distribution. when the return visit is made by the bride and bridegroom, the sister of the latter, and other relations and friends, should accompany them, and they should take with them a lot of betel leaves, areca nuts, tobacco, and sweetmeats. this exchange of visits does not, however, complete those which are de rigueur. for, at the next onam and vishu festivals, the newly married couple should visit the house of the bride's family. onam is the beginning of the first harvest, and vishu the agricultural new year. on these occasions, the bridegroom takes with him the inevitable betel leaves, and presents a new cloth to the parents of the bride and every one else in the house. when the annual tiruvathira festival takes place between the betrothal and marriage ceremonies, the bridegroom is expected to send to the temple, through his tandan and one of his own relations, a quantity of ripe and unripe plantains. the ceremonies which have been described differ considerably from those of the tiyans of north malabar, where the marumakkatayam law of inheritance obtains. these are very simple affairs. in the calicut taluk, a man can marry only one wife at a time. but, when a wife is barren, a leper, or suffering from incurable disease, her husband may, with her formal permission, marry another wife. a bride may be of any age. where there is no stipulation as to dowry, it is a point of honour to give the girl as many jewels as the bridegroom can afford. widows may remarry. divorce is admissible, when the grounds for it are sufficient. and, when we find that incompatibility of temper is among these, it is safe to say that it is fairly easy of accomplishment. no specific reason need, in fact, be assigned. when it is the man who wishes to get rid of his wife, he must pay her all her expenses towards the marriage, as assessed by persons of the caste who fill the rôle of mediators. he has to give up jewels received from his wife's family, and must, in some cases, pay the discarded wife something on account of her loss of virginity--a circumstance, which might make it difficult for her to obtain another husband. if the wife wishes to get rid of her husband, she must pay up all his expenses towards the marriage. the party found to be in the wrong must pay a fee of five to twenty rupees to the tandan and all present, the relations excepted. the amount is distributed then and there. the procedure to be adopted in effecting divorce is as follows. the tandans of both sides, uncles and relations, and sometimes the fathers, assemble at the house of the wife, the tandan, or one of the relations. to the left of a burning lamp are placed two small wooden stools. on one of these are laid a small towel with four fanams (one rupee) tied up in a corner of it, and another towel with a little rice and four fanams tied up in it. close by is the other stool, on which the wife's uncle stretches a single thread taken from his own cloth. the husband carries this stool to the gate, and says three times to the wife's brother, father, or uncle--"your sister's (daughter's or niece's) matrimonial connection is severed." he then blows away the thread, throws the stool down, and departs for ever. this little ceremony cannot be performed at the husband's house, as it would involve perpetual banishment from his own house. the coins in the cloths go to the tandans. it is the uncle who gives these cloths, because it was he who received the two cloths at the conjee ceremony. a marriage cannot be dissolved unless both parties agree. a girl is under pollution for four days from the commencement of the first menstrual period. during this time she must keep to the north side of the house, where she sleeps on a grass mat of a particular kind, in a room festooned with garlands of young cocoanut leaves. round the mat is a narrow ridge made of paddy (unhusked rice), rice, and flowers of the cocoanut and areca palms. a lamp is kept burning, near which are placed the various articles already described in connection with marriage. another girl keeps her company and sleeps with her, but she must not touch any other person, tree or plant. she further must not see the sky, and woe betide her if she catches sight of a crow or cat. her diet must be strictly vegetarian, without salt, tamarinds, or chillies. she is armed against evil spirits with an iron knife carried on her person, or placed on the mat. on the first day, she is seated on a wooden stool in the yard to the east of the house. the fresh spathe of a cocoanut is cut in front of her. the bunch of blossoms is placed in a copper pot painted with perpendicular lines of chunam (lime), and a horizontal line at the top and bottom. the spathe of an areca palm is similarly treated, and, if the contents of both spathes are plentiful, it is regarded as a good augury of fertility. the wife of the girl's uncle, or, if she is married, her husband's sister pours some gingelly (sesamum) oil over her head, on the top of which a gold fanam has been placed. failing such relations, the wife of the tandan officiates. the operation is repeated by two other women, relatives if possible. the oil is poured from a little cup made from a leaf of the jak tree (artocarpus integrifolia), flows over the forehead, and is received with the fanam in a dish. it is a good omen if the coin falls with the obverse upwards. rice is cooked with jaggery, and given to the girl. the other women partake thereof, and then have a feast by themselves. the anointing with oil is the only bath the girl has until the fourth day. on the third day, she is not allowed to eat rice in any form, but she may partake of any other grain in the form of cakes. her uncle's wife, husband's sister, and other relations, give her presents of cakes and bread. during the night, the mattu, or cloth-changing ceremony, takes place. first of all, the washerman comes along with the washerwoman, carrying two washed cloths. in the front yard of the house a lamp with an odd number of wicks is burning. in a bamboo basket are a small measure (edangali) of paddy heaped up on a plantain leaf, a measure of rice on another leaf, two separate quarter measures thereof, a piece of turmeric, a little straw, a piece of coir (cocoanut fibre), and a cocoanut. as soon as he enters, the washerman, using the straw and coir skilfully, makes a bundle of the contents of the basket, and places it near the lamp, which is standing on a wooden stool. a cocoanut is cut in half, and placed, half on each side, by the stool. thereon is set a flat bell-metal dish, containing a little rice and seven rolls of betel leaves and areca nuts. the washerwoman, having received the mattu from the woman, places it on his head and proceeds to sing a song, at the conclusion of which he says solemnly three times "let me place the mattu." he then places the cloths on the bundle, which is on the stool. the girl's uncle's wife, and four other women, have by this time emerged from the middle room of the house, carrying a lighted lamp, a plate with a measure of rice, and a kindi as before. the uncle's wife, having covered her breast with a silk cloth, and wearing all her ornaments, leads the other four women as they walk thrice round the mattu. she then places a fanam (or a four-anna piece) on the mattu, lifts the stool, bundle and all, with one hand on the mattu and the other below the stool, and leads the procession of the women, with the lamp and other articles, to the room where the girl has been sleeping. she deposits her burden near the spot where the girl has laid her head. a general feast then takes place, and the washerman appropriates the fanam, and the paddy and rice spread in the yard. so ends the third day of these strange observances. on the fourth day, the girl bathes in a neighbouring pool, with some ceremonial. before she leaves the house, the washerman fixes in the ground a branch of a certain tree, to the top and bottom of which he ties the two ends of a long line of thin coir rope or yarn. this is supposed to represent the bow of kama, the indian cupid. he erects a miniature temple-like structure of young cocoanut leaves, with the stems of young plantains near it, by the side of the pool. close to it, he places a burning lamp, and a small quantity of rice and paddy, each on a separate plantain leaf. near them he sets a cocoanut, which has been blackened with charcoal, on some rice spread on a plantain leaf, a cocoanut reddened with turmeric and chunam on raw rice, and another on a leaf, containing fried paddy. [22] he further deposits a few plantains, and two other cocoanuts. before the girl leaves the house, clad in one of the cloths brought on the previous night, she is well rubbed all over with oil, and the four or six women [23] who accompany her are similarly treated. leading the way, they are followed by a number of women to the pool, where the girl and her companions bathe. after the bath, they stand by the side of the pool, facing east and holding lighted cotton-wicks in their hands, and go round the miniature temple three times, throwing the wicks into it. the washerman again breaks out into song, accompanying himself by striking a bell-metal plate with a stick. when he has finished, and gone through a little more business on his own account, the girl's husband or brother (if she is unmarried) appears on the scene. he holds aloft the coir string, under the lower end of which a cocoanut has been placed on the ground. the girl passes three times forwards and backwards without touching it. two cotton wicks, lighted at both ends, are laid on the cocoanut, and the girl should cut the wicks and the cocoanut through, completely severing them, with one blow of a strong knife or chopper. if she is successful, the omen is considered good. the girl, with her party, then bathes a second time. as she comes out of the water, she kicks out backwards like a mule, and sends the stem with the single cocoanut attached flying into the water with her right foot. the second mattu cloth is then brought, and she is clad in it. then she is full dressed and ornamented and led back to the house with a silk canopy over her head. she is taken to the middle room, and cakes and rice are given to her to eat. a feast is then held. the girl has so far been purified as regards most affairs of life, but she cannot touch any cooking-vessel until she has undergone yet another ceremony. this takes place on the seventh or ninth day after the first appearance of the menses. every day until then the girl is rubbed with gingelly oil and turmeric. three ordinary earthenware cooking-pots are piled, one above the other, in the kitchen. the uppermost pot contains cooked rice, the middle one rice boiled with jaggery, and the lowest curry. the pots must be new, and are marked with perpendicular daubs of chunam. seated on a low wooden stool to the west of the pots, the girl, facing the east, touches each pot with a knife. when the first of all these menstruation ceremonies has taken place at the house of the girl's husband, her mother brings some cakes on this last day. if it has been performed at her father's house, her husband's sister should bring the cakes. they are distributed among all present, and a small meal is partaken of. all the expenses of the first, and seventh or ninth day ceremonies, are borne by the people of the house, who may be those of the family of the girl's father or husband. the expenses of the ceremonial of the fourth day are defrayed by the girl's husband if they have been performed at her father's house, and vice versâ. the young wife has an easy time of it until the fifth month of her pregnancy, when she must again submit to becoming the subject for ceremonial. then takes place the belikala, for the purpose of appeasing some of the many malignant spirits, who are unceasing in their attempts to destroy infants in the womb. this consists for the most part of offerings, which are repeated in the seventh month. they are performed by members of the mannan (washerman) and panan (exorcists and devil-dancers) castes. at the commencement thereof, there is a feast. a structure, in shape something like a muhammadan taboot, [24] about five feet in height, is erected in the front yard of the house. it is made of stems of young plantain trees, and festooned with leaves of young cocoanut palms. the floor of the little edifice, and the ground outside it to the west, are strewn with charcoal made from paddy husk, on which are made magic squares of white rice flour, intermingled with red, green, and yellow, each colour being compounded with specified substances. the squares are not always the same, but are prepared for each occasion, so as to suit the particular spirit which is to be invoked and appeased. the pregnant woman, with six female companions, leaves the middle room of the house, carrying the usual lamp and other articles, and they walk seven times round the edifice. before completing the last round, each throws into it a burning wick. they then stand to the west of it, facing east, and sit down. the mannans invoke the spirit in song, accompanied by the clang of metal plates beaten with sticks. drums must not be used. the music and weird devil-dancing go on more or less all night, and by morning some of the most nervous of the women, overcome by the spirit, go into fits. the fees for the devil-dancing are paid by the pregnant woman's father. last of all, a live cock is held against the forehead of the woman, mantrams (magical formulæ) are repeated, and rice is thrown over her head. if she should have a fit, the head of the cock is cut off, and the blood offered to the demon spirit. if, however, she does not suffer from undue excitement, the cock is simply removed alive. she is left in peace for the next two months, when she goes to her father's house, at which there is more devil-dancing at another belikala ceremony. the fees are paid by the woman's husband. they vary from five to thirty-two rupees, according to the cost of the edifice which is erected, and the quality of the dancing. the invocation of some of the devils requires specially trained dancers who must be paid high fees. on the morning following the dance, the tamarind juice drinking ceremony takes place at the house of the woman's father. the fees in connection with this are debited to the husband. taking advantage of an auspicious moment, the husband and two companions bathe in the early morning, and make a neat toilette, the husband wearing a necklace. they then go to the nearest tamarind, and pluck three small leafy twigs, which they bring to the house. the husband's sister pounds the leaves in a mortar in a little shed or pandal in the front yard. the juice is then strained through a new double cloth eight cubits in length by the husband's sisters. if he has no sisters, this should be done by his and his wife's mothers. rice conjee is then prepared with water, in which the tamarind juice has been mixed. the husband, and his two companions, sit under the pandal, where the usual lamp and other articles have been placed, with the wife behind him. her brother then feeds him thrice with the conjee from a small gold spoon. the husband's sister feeds the wife in like manner. one of the three twigs is planted by the husband in the front yard, and his wife waters it every day until the child is born. in the ninth month, the husband's sister presents his wife with a couple of pounds of cummin seed and jaggery. the woman who brings this little gift should be given some cakes and sweetmeats. during pregnancy, a woman always wears an amulet concealed within a cylindrical tube on her neck, to protect her against malignant spirits. the young wife's child is born at her father's house, where she is under the care of her mother. when the child is born, the brother of the newly made mother goes out into the yard, and strikes the ground three times with the stem of a dry cocoanut palm leaf. if the child is a boy, he emits a long drawn out ku-u-u-u in high falsetto as he does so. it is then the duty of the brother and the midwife to go and inform the father of the event. the midwife receives from him her fee, and a present of a cloth, and other presents from his sisters. if the child is a boy, the brother receives a cloth, and, if a girl, a cloth and a bell-metal plate. the event of the birth of a child carries with it, as in the case of death, pollution to every one in the house. this is partially removed by ceremonies on the third day, and wholly by further ceremonies on the ninth or eleventh day, whichever happens to be the more auspicious--a tuesday for example. any one coming to the house before the first ceremonies have taken place must bathe and wash his or her cloth to remove the pollution. any one visiting the house after the first, but before the second ceremony, need not bathe, but cannot eat any food in the house. the men of the household can get no rice at home until after the second ceremony has been performed, and they are consequently compelled to board elsewhere for the time being. a washerwoman carries out the purification rites, assisted by a barber woman. first of all, the floors of all the rooms are smeared with cow-dung. all clothes in use are given to the washerwoman. the women rub their bodies all over with oil, and the washerwoman brings mattu for them. the barber woman sprinkles a mixture of cow's milk and karuka grass leaves over the women, who then go to a pool and bathe. when the milk is about to be sprinkled, the usual lamp, rice on a metal plate, and kindi of water are produced. the barber woman takes the rice and one fanam, and receives also some cocoanut and gingelly (sesamum) oil. much the same things are given to the washerwoman. the second ceremony is just like the first, but, even after its completion, the women of the house cannot touch any cooking-vessels until after the fifteenth day. the ceremony of touching the cooking pots, as at the time of the first menstrual period, is then performed. these three purificatory ceremonies must be performed after every birth. on the twenty-seventh or fortieth day after the birth of a child, the mother and the infant are taken back to the husband's house, and cow's milk is for the first time given to the child. this event, which has all the solemnity of a regular function, takes place in the middle room, where the lamp, mat and other articles have been arranged. the child's paternal grandfather, father's elder brother, or other senior man administers the milk, which has been boiled. a gold bracelet is dipped in it, and the drops of milk are made to fall into the child's mouth. as this is being done, the celebrant whispers in the child's right ear the name which will be formally given to it in the sixth month. the eldest son is always named after the paternal grandfather, and the second after the father. in like manner, the eldest girl is named after its own mother. relations and friends take this opportunity to make presents of bracelets and other articles to the infant. a feast is then held. after the ceremony is over, the parents of the child's mother have to send about half a bag of rice flour mixed with jaggery to her husband's house. for the first six months of its life, a child's food consists of nature's fount and cow's milk. it is then, before the sixth month is over, given boiled rice for the first time. the ceremony takes place either in the middle room of its father's house, or at a temple. the child's grandfather, or the eldest male member of the family, sits on a mat, and takes the child in his lap. with a gold ring he applies honey three times to its mouth, and then gives it a little rice three times. female relations who are present follow his example, giving the child first honey, and then rice. several women, with the lighted lamp and other articles, carry the child into the yard, to show it the sky. they go round a cocoanut tree, and stand before the front door, facing west. an elder among the women of the house stands at the front door, calls out the name of the child three times, and asks it to come inside. the relations give little presents of ornaments, and there is a feast. it will be observed that even a child's life is not entirely free from ceremonial. when it has grown up, it undergoes more of it, and, when it has lived its course on earth, is the subject of still more ceremonial long after it is dead. all these affairs involve some expenditure, but the one which literally runs away with money is marriage. the others are not extravagances, nor are they as costly as might be implied from the continual feasting of a large number of people. we must not think of these feasts as of a banquet at the carlton, but as simple affairs, at which simple people are content with simple though pleasing fare. when a child is provided by nature with teeth, it is the subject of a little ceremony, during which it is expected to disclose its natural propensities. the usual mat and other articles are arranged, and there are in addition a large flat bell-metal plate containing a rice cake, a knife, a palmyra leaf grantham (book), a cocoanut, and a gold ornament. the child is let loose, and allowed to pick out anything from the plate. if it takes the cake, it will be greedy; if the knife, brave; if the book, learned; if the cocoanut, a landlord; and, if the gold ornament, rich. a child's head is shaved in the third or fifth year. the barber, who performs the operation, is allowed to take away the rice which, with the lamp, is at hand. he also receives a fanam and a new cloth. the people of the child's mother bring rice cakes. the last day of the dasara festival in the fifth year of a child's life is that on which instruction in the alphabet begins. a teacher, who has been selected with care, or a lucky person holds the child's right hand, and makes it trace the fifty-one letters of the malayalam alphabet on raw rice spread on a plate. the fore-finger, which is the one used in offering water to the souls of the dead and in other parts of the death ceremonies, must not be used for tracing the letters, but is placed above the middle finger, merely to steady it. for the same reason, a doctor, when making up a pill, will not use the fore-finger. when, later on, the child goes to the village school, the fifty-one letters are written one by one on its tongue with a gold style, if one is available. as each letter is formed, the child has to repeat the sound of it. the lobes of both a child's ears are bored with a golden pin or a thorn. the helix of the ear is not bored for the purpose of inserting ornaments in it, but is sometimes bored as a remedy for disease, e.g., hernia. everywhere else in southern india, it is common for people of almost every class to have the helix of the left ear bored. the tali-tying ceremony must be performed before a girl attains puberty. the tiyan tali is usually of gold, and worth about half-a-crown. it is not the one which is worn in every day life, but the one which is used in the ceremony about to be described. throughout southern india, the tali is the ordinary symbol of marriage among hindus, and it is even worn by syrian christians. in malabar, and the native states of cochin and travancore, it is a symbol of marriage, with which a girl is ceremoniously adorned, as a rule before she is affianced. the ceremony occupies three days, on the last of which the tali is tied. on the first day, a shed or pandal is erected in the front yard. within it a similar structure is prepared with the leaves of an areca palm, which has been cut down at an auspicious moment, and with the formal sanction of the tandan of the tara. this inner pandal is tastefully decorated with pictures and flowers. it is important to note that this little pandal must not be begun until the first day of the ceremony. on this day, the carpenter of the tara brings a low wooden seat, rather long and narrow, made from the pala tree (alstonia scholaris), which must be cut at an auspicious moment, for which he receives one fanam. this seat is called mana. [25] a grass mat is spread in the middle room of the house, with a white cloth over it, on which the mana is placed. a lamp, vessel of water, and the usual paraphernalia are arranged on the ground to the south close by. when these preliminaries have been completed, the girl is brought by the uncle's wife to the pandal, and seated on a stool. in front of her, a lamp, and other things which are a feature in all ceremonials, and a measure of paddy are placed on the ground, a gold fanam is put on her head, and over it gingelly oil is poured. as the coin falls from the forehead, it is caught in a cup. it is important which side falls uppermost. the girl is then taken to a pool for bathing, and returns to the pandal. she is conducted to the middle room of the house in procession, with a silk canopy over her head and women carrying lamps, etc. she is confined in this room, which is decorated in the manner described when speaking of the menstruation ceremony, until the third day. she sleeps on a mat, surrounded by a little ridge of rice and paddy, cocoanut and areca palm flowers, and near her head is a copper pot marked with vertical daubs of white. the blacksmith of the tara brings a little stick, called charathkot, with an iron blade at one end, which is supposed to represent an arrow of kama. this the girl keeps constantly at her side, and carries in her hand when compelled by nature to leave the room. while confined in the room, she is not allowed to eat fish, flesh, or salt, or see any animals, especially a cat, dog, or crow. on the third day, the tali is prepared on the spot by the village goldsmith. the girl's uncle gives him the gold, which he melts, and works at in the pandal at an auspicious moment. the paddy and rice, which, with the lamp and vessel of water, have been in evidence during the operations, are given to the goldsmith, with a fanam for his labour. a weaver brings two new cloths, of a particular kind called mantra-kodi, for which the girl's uncle pays. one is worn by the girl, and the mana is covered with the other. the girl is taken to bathe, and, after the bath, is richly dressed and ornamented, and brought in procession, with a canopy over her head, to the house, where she is conducted to the inner room. the mana is then placed, with the cloth near it, on a grass mat in the inner pandal. the uncle's wife sits on the mat, and the uncle lifts the girl, carries her three times round the pandal, and deposits her in his wife's lap. the astrologer, who is present, indicates the moment when the tali should be tied. the girl's father gives him a fanam, and receives from him a little rice, called muhurtham (auspicious time). when the psychological moment has arrived he sprinkles the rice on the girl's head, saying "it is time." the tali is then tied round the girl's neck by the uncle's wife. at the upper end of the tali is a ring, through which the thread passes. the thread which is used for the purpose is drawn from the cloth with which the mana has been covered. [it is odd that there are some families of nayars, who are not allowed to use a tali with a ring to receive the string, and are therefore obliged to make a hole in the tali itself.] as soon as the tali has been tied on the girl's neck, a number of boys burst into song, praising ganapathi (the elephant god), and descriptive of the marriage of king nala and damayanti, or of sri krishna and rukmani. every one joins in, and the song ends with shouts and hurrahs. a mock feeding ceremony is then carried out. three plantain leaves are spread in front of the girl in the pandal, and rice, plantains, and pappadams are spread thereon. the uncle's wife offers some of each to the girl three times, but does not allow her to touch it with her lips. the girl is then taken to a temple, to invoke the god's blessing. the description which has just been given is that of the ceremony which is performed, if the girl has not been affianced. if a husband has been arranged for her, it is he who ties the tali, and his sister takes the place of the uncle's wife. otherwise the ceremony is the same, with this difference, however, that, when the husband ties the tali, there can be no divorce, and the girl cannot remarry in the event of his death. in north, as in south malabar, the tali-tying ceremony is always performed before puberty, and occupies four days. this is the orthodox procedure. the girl wears a cloth provided by the washerwoman. she is taken from the middle room of the house to the yard, and there seated on a plank of pala wood. placed in front of her are a small measure of rice and paddy, a washed white cloth, and a small bell-metal vessel (kindi) on a bell-metal plate. the barber pours cocoanut water on her head, on which a silver and copper coin have been placed. one of her relations then pours water from a vessel containing some raw rice over her head, using two halves of a cocoanut as a spout. the girl is then taken back to the middle room, where she remains for three days. there is a feast in the evening. on the fourth day, a pandal is erected in the front yard, and decorated. the girl is taken to bathe at a neighbouring pool, preceded by women carrying a lamp, a kindi of water, and other things which have been already described. during her absence, the barber performs puja to ganapathi in the pandal. after bathing, she cuts a cocoanut in half, and returns in procession, with a silk canopy over her head, amid music and singing, and enters the middle room of the house. the barber woman ties a gold ornament (netti pattam) on her forehead, which she marks with sandal paste, and blackens her eyes with eye-salve. the uncle's wife, preceded by women bearing a lamp and other articles, carries the mana, covered with cloth, from the middle room to the pandal. she walks three times round the pandal, and places the mana on a grass mat, over which has been spread some paddy and some rice where the girl will put her foot. the women who have carried the lamp, etc., return to the room, and escort the girl to the pandal. she walks thrice round it, and takes her seat on the mana. the barber hands her a little rice, which she throws on the lighted lamp, and articles which have been used in the puja to ganapathi, and on the post supporting the south-west corner of the pandal. this post should be of pala wood, or have a twig of that tree tied to it. more rice is handed to the girl, and she throws it to the cardinal points of the compass, to the earth, and to the sky. a small earthen pot containing rice, a cocoanut, betel, and areca nuts, is placed near the girl. into this a variety of articles, each tied up separately in a piece of plantain leaf, are placed. these consist of a gold coin, a silver coin, salt, rice, paddy, turmeric, charcoal, and pieces of an old cadjan leaf from the thatch of the house. the mouth of the pot is then covered over with a plantain leaf tied with string. the girl sprinkles rice three times over the pot, makes a hole in the leaf, and picks out one of the articles, which is examined as an augur of her destiny. betel leaves and areca nuts are then passed twice round her head, and thrown away. she next twists off a cocoanut from a bunch hanging at a corner of the pandal. then follows the presentation of cloths called mantra-kodi. these must be new, and of a particular kind. each of her relations throws one of these cloths over the girl's head. half of them (perhaps ten or twelve) go to the barber, who, at this point, pours cocoanut water from the leaf of a banyan tree on her head, on which a silver and copper coin have been placed. the astrologer is then asked whether it is time to tie the tali, and replies three times in the affirmative. the barber woman hands the tali strung on a thread to the girl's uncle's wife, who ties it round the girl's neck. the barber woman then pours water on the girl's hands. three times the water is flung upwards, and then to the east, west, south, and north. a cotton wick, steeped in oil, is then twisted round a piece of bamboo, and stuck on a young cocoanut. the girl is asked if she sees the sun, looks at the lighted wick, and says that she does. she is then taken to a cocoanut tree, preceded by the lamp, etc. she walks three times round the tree, and pours water over the root. the ceremony is now concluded, and the girl is marched back to the middle room. a variation of the tali-tying ceremony, as performed in chavakad on the coast between calicut and cochin, may be briefly described, because it possesses some interesting features. it is always done by the intended husband, or some one representing him. seven days prior to the beginning of the ceremony, the carpenter of the tara, with the permission of the tandan (here called avakasi), cuts down an areca palm, and fixes part of it as the south-east post of the booth, at which the tali will be tied. on the sixth day, the girl is formally installed in the middle room of the house. the carpenter brings a mana of pala wood, the cost of which is paid by the father, and does puja to it. the bridegroom's party arrive. a lamp is lighted in the booth, which is at this time partly, but not entirely, made ready. near the lamp are placed a measure of paddy, half a measure (nazhi) of rice, a looking-glass, a kindi of water, and a wooden cheppu (a rude vessel with a sliding cover). the wives of the tandan and uncle, together with some other women, bring the girl, and seat her on the mana. the uncle's wife parts her hair, and places a gold fanam on her crown. the tandan's wife then pours a little oil on it over a leaf of the jak tree three times. the other women do the same. the girl is then taken to a pool, and bathed. before her return, the mana should be placed ready for her in the middle room of the house. in the evening there is a feast. on the day but one following, the tali is tied. the last post of the booth is put up, and it is completed and decorated on the tali-tying day. a lamp, looking-glass, and other things are put in it. a grass mat is spread on the floor, and a kambli (blanket) and a whitewashed cloth are placed over it. on either side of it is placed a pillow. the bridegroom and his party wait in an adjoining house, for they must not appear on the scene until the psychological moment arrives. the tandan of the bridegroom's tara, with a few friends, comes first, and hands over two cloths and ten rupees eight annas to the bride's tandan. the girl is dressed in one of these cloths, and led to the booth, the bridegroom's sister holding her by the hand. she sits on the mana, which has been brought, and placed on the cloth, by her uncle. the bridegroom comes in procession, carried on his uncle's shoulders. the girl is still a child, and he is only a few years her senior. his uncle puts him down on the right side of the girl, after walking thrice round the booth. the girl's uncle's wife sits close to her, on the other side, on the mana. her father asks the astrologer three times if it is the proper time to tie the tali, and is answered thrice in the affirmative. then the boy bridegroom ties the tali on the girl's neck. the boy and girl sing out a chorus in praise of ganapathi, and end up with three loud shouts and hurrahs. then the boy seats himself on the ground, outside the pillow. the girl is taken inside the house, and, after a general feast, is brought back, and seated on the mana, and rice and flowers are sprinkled. no money is paid to the uncle's son, as at calicut. the boy bridegroom pays eight annas to his sister for leading the bride by the hand. when the marriage has been done by proxy, the boy bridegroom is selected from a tarwad into which the girl might marry. he stays at the girl's house for three days, and, on the fourth day, the boy and girl are taken to a temple. a formal divorce is effected, and the boy is taken away. it will not be worth while to attempt a description of the marriage ceremony of the tiyans of north malabar, because there is none, or next to none. there the tiyans and all classes, including even the muhammadan mappillas, follow the rule of marumakkatayam, or inheritance through females from uncle to nephew. the children have no right to their father's property. either party may annul the marital union at will, without awarding any compensation; and, as its infraction is easy and simple, so is its institution. nor is there any rigid inquiry as to the antecedents of either party. it is an affair of mutual arrangement, attended with little formality. proceeding to the girl's house, accompanied by a few friends, the intending husband takes with him a couple of cloths, one for the girl, and the other for her mother. in parts of north malabar, the tiyan women wear an ornament called chittu (ring) in a hole bored in the top of the helix of each ear. the holes are bored in childhood, but the chittu is not worn until the girl forms a marital union with a man. the chittus are made on the spot at the time, in the marriage pandal erected for the occasion, the girl's uncle providing the gold. they are never removed during life, except in cases of dire distress. "to sell chittu" is equivalent to having become a pauper. it is supposed that, in olden days, the marriage ceremonies lasted over seven days, and were subsequently reduced to seven meals, or three and a half days, and then to one day. now the bridegroom remains the first night at the bride's house, and then takes her to his home. before they leave, a cocoanut, the outer husk of which has been removed, is placed on a stool of pala wood, and one of the bridegroom's party must smash it with his fist. some of the more orthodox in north malabar observe the formality of examining horoscopes, and a ceremony equivalent to the conjee-drinking ceremony which has been described, called achara kaliana, and the payment of kanam in the shape of forty-one fanams, instead of forty-two as in south malabar. in connection with fanams it may be noted that the old gold fanam is reckoned as worth four annas, whereas five silver or velli fanams make a rupee. everywhere in rural malabar, calculations are made in terms of velli fanams thus:- 10 pice (1/12 of an anna) = 1 velli. 5 vellis = 1 rupee. bazaar men, and those who sell their small stock at the weekly markets all about the country, arrange their prices in vellis. when the death of a tiyan is expected, all the relations draw near, and await the fateful moment. the person who is about to die is laid on the floor of the middle room, for it is inauspicious to die on a cot. we will suppose that the dying man is a parent and a landlord. each of the sons and daughters gives him a little conjee water, just before he passes away. at the moment of death, all the women bawl out in lamentations, giving the alarm of death. the cheruman serfs in the fields join in the chorus, and yell out an unintelligible formula of their own. absent relations are all formally invited. from the houses of the son's wife and daughter's husband are sent quantities of jak fruits, unripe plantains, and cocoanuts, as death gifts. one half of the husks of the cocoanuts is removed, and the other half left on the shell. after the cremation or burial, these articles are distributed among those present by the tandan, who receives an extra share for his trouble. when life is extinct, the body is placed with the head to the south, and the thumbs and big toes are tied together. it is then taken out into the yard, washed, bathed in oil, dressed in a new cloth, and brought back to the middle room. a cocoanut is cut in two, and the two halves, with a lighted wick on each, are placed at the head and foot. the house-owner spreads a cotton cloth over the corpse, and all the relations, and friends, do the same. any one who wishes to place a silk cloth on the corpse may do so, but he must cover it with a cotton cloth. the body is then removed for burial or cremation, and placed near the grave or funeral pyre. it is the rural rule that elderly persons and karnavans of tarwads are cremated, and others buried. the barber, whose function it is to perform the purificatory rites, now removes, and retains as his perquisite, all the cloths, except the last three covering the corpse. as it is being borne away to the place of burial or cremation, water mixed with cow-dung is sprinkled behind it in the yard. the eldest son, who succeeds to the property and is responsible for the funeral ceremonies, then tears crosswise a piece of the cloth which has been placed over the corpse by the people of the house, and ties it round his forehead. he holds one end of the cloth while the barber holds the other, and tears off the piece. the barber then cuts three holes in the remainder of this cloth covering the body, over the mouth, navel, and pubes. a little water and rice are poured over a gold fanam through the slit over the mouth. all who observe the death pollution, i.e., sons, grandsons, nephews, younger brothers and cousins, offer water and rice in the same manner, and walk three times round the grave or pyre. the barber then breaks a pot of water over the grave. no other ceremonial is observed on this day, on which, and during the night, rice must not be eaten. if the body has been cremated, a watch is kept at the burning ground for five days by panans, who beat drums all night to scare away the evil spirits which haunt such spots. early on the second day, all who are under pollution are shaved. the operation is attended with some ceremonial, and, before it is commenced, a lighted lamp, a measure of rice and paddy on a plantain leaf must be at hand. the paddy and rice are a perquisite of the barber. those who have been shaved bathe, and then follows the crow-feeding ceremony. rice is boiled in a bell-metal vessel over a hearth prepared with three young cocoanuts. the eldest son, who tore the cloth of succession from the corpse, makes the rice into two little balls, places them on a plantain leaf, and offers them to the spirit of the departed by pouring libations of water on them over a blade of karuka grass. men and women who are under pollution then do the same. the rice balls are eaten by crows. this little ceremony is performed daily until the eleventh or thirteenth day, when the period of death pollution comes to an end. if the eleventh day happens to fall on a tuesday or friday, or on any inauspicious day, the period is extended to the thirteenth day. when the period of death pollution is partly in one month, and partly in another, another death in the house within the year is expected. preceding the sanchayanam, which occupies the fifth day, there is the lamp-watching on the previous night. in the south-east corner of the middle room, a little paddy is heaped up, and on it is placed a bell-metal plate with an iron lamp having five or seven lighted wicks on it. under the lamp is a little cow-dung, and close to it is a bunch of cocoanut flowers. the lamp must be kept burning until it is extinguished on the following day. in the case of the death of a male, his niece watches the lamp, and in that of a female her daughter, lying near it on a grass mat. the sanchayanam is the first stage in the removal of death pollution, and, until it is over, all who come to the house suffer from pollution, and cannot enter their own house or partake of any food without bathing previously. when the body has been cremated, the fragments of calcined bones are collected from the ashes, and carried in procession to the sea, or, if this is far away, into a river. the members of the family under pollution then rub their bodies all over with oil, and the barber sprinkles a mixture of cow's milk over their heads, using a blade of karuka grass as a spout. they then bathe, and the eldest son alone observe mattu. the crow-feeding ceremony follows, and, when this is over, the three cocoanuts which were used as a hearth are thrown away. a large bell-metal vessel filled with water is now placed in the front yard before the door of the house. the barber carries the still burning lamp from the middle room, and sets it on the ground near the pot of water. the women who are under pollution come from the middle room, each carrying a lighted wick, walk thrice round the pot, and throw the wicks into the water. the woman who has watched the lamp puts four annas into the pot, and the others deposit a few pies therein. the eldest son now lights a wick from the iron lamp which is about to be extinguished, and with it lights a lamp in the middle room. the barber then dips the iron lamp in the water, and picks out the money as his perquisite. the water is poured on the roots of a cocoanut tree. the bell-metal vessel becomes the property of the woman who watched the lamp, but she cannot take it away until she leaves the house after the pula-kuli ceremony. when the lamp has been extinguished, a woman, hired for the occasion, is seated on a cocoanut leaf in the front yard. the tandan pours oil on her head three times, and she receives a little betel and two annas. she rises, and leaves the place without turning back, taking the pollution with her. betel is then distributed. those who provided the death gifts on the day of the death must on this day bring with them a bag of rice, and about four rupees in money. they have also to give eight annas to the barber. a folded handkerchief is first presented to the barber, who formally returns it, and receives instead of it the eight annas. before the people disperse, the day of the pula-kuli is settled. pula-kuli, or washing away the pollution, is the final ceremony for putting off the unpleasant consequences of a death in a family. first of all, the members thereof rub themselves all over with oil, and are sprinkled by the barber with cow's milk and gingelly oil. they then bathe. the barber outlines the figure of a man or woman, according to the sex of the deceased, with rice flour and turmeric powder, the head to the south, in the middle room of the house. the figure is covered with two plantain leaves, on each of which a little rice and paddy are heaped. over all is spread a new cloth, with a basket containing three measures of paddy upon it. the eldest son (the heir) sits facing the south, and with a nazhi measures out the paddy, which he casts to the south, east, and west--not the north. he repeats the performance, using the fingers of the left hand closed so as to form a cup as a measure. then, closing the first and fourth fingers firmly with the thumb, using the left hand, he measures some paddy in the same manner with the two extended fingers. rice is treated in the same way. a nazhi of paddy, with a lighted wick over it, is then placed in a basket. the eldest son takes the nazhi in his left hand, passes it behind his body, and, receiving it with his right hand, replaces it in the basket. the wick is extinguished by sprinkling it with water three times. at the head of the figure on the floor is placed a clean cloth--the washerman's mattu. it is folded, and within the folds are three nazhis of rice. on the top of it a cocoanut is placed. in the four corners a piece of charcoal, a little salt, a few chillies, and a gold fanam are tied. the eldest son, who is always the protagonist in all the ceremonies after death, lifts the cloth with all its contents, places it on his head, and touches with it his forehead, ears, each side and loins, knees and toes. he does this three times. the plantain leaves are then removed from the figure. a little turmeric powder is taken from the outline, and rubbed on the forehead of the eldest son. he then bows thrice to the figure, crossing his legs and arms so that the right hand holds the left ear, and the left the right ear, and touches the ground with the elbow-joints. it is no joke to do this. all this time, the eldest son wears round his forehead the strip torn from the cloth which covered the corpse. there is nothing more to be done in the middle room for the present, and the eldest son goes out into the yard, and cooks the rice for the final feed to the crows. three nazhis of this rice must be pounded and prepared for cooking by the woman who watched the lamp on the fourth night after death. having cooked the rice, the eldest son brings it into the middle room, and mixes it with some unrefined sugar, plantains and pappadams, making two balls, one large and one small. each of these he places on a plantain leaf. then some puja is done to them, and offerings of rice are made over a gold fanam. the balls are given to the crows in the yard, or, in some cases, taken to the sea or a river, and cast into the water. when this course is adopted, various articles must be kept ready ere the return of the party. these comprise a new pot containing water, a branch of areca blossoms, mango leaves, a kindi containing a gold fanam or gold ring, a little salt and rice, each tied up in a piece of cloth, and a few chillies. the mouth of the pot is covered with a plantain leaf, and secured. there are also two stools, made of pala and mango wood. the eldest son sits on one of these, and places his feet on the other, so that he does not touch the ground. the water in the pot is sprinkled with mango leaves by the barber to the north, south, east and west, and on the head of the son. the remainder of the water is then poured over his head. the barber then sprinkles him with cocoanut water, this time using areca blossoms, and makes him sip a little thereof. the barber makes a hole in the plantain leaf, and picks out the contents. the eldest son bathes, and after the bath there is a presentation of gifts. the barber, sitting in the verandah beside the son, first gives to each person under pollution a little salt and raw rice, which they eat. he then gives them a little betel leaf and a small piece of areca nut, and receives in return a quarter of an anna. the eldest son chews the betel which he has received, and spits into a spittoon held by the barber, whose property it becomes. then to the barber, who has been presented with a new mat to sit on and new cloth to wear before he seats himself in the verandah, are given an ear-ring such as is worn by tiyan women, a silk cloth, a white cotton cloth, and a few annas. if the deceased has been cremated he is given six fanams, and, if buried, five fanams as the fee for his priestly offices. on an occasion of this kind, several barbers, male and female, turn up in the hope of receiving presents. all who help during the various stages of the ceremonial are treated in much the same way, but the senior barber alone receives the officiating fee. it is odd that the barbers of the four surrounding villages are entitled to receive gifts of new cloths and money. those under death pollution are forbidden to eat fish or flesh, chew betel, or partake of jaggery. the restriction is removed on the pula-kuli day. the last act for their removal is as follows. the barber is required to eat some jaggery, and drink some conjee. after this, the eldest son, the tandan, and a neighbour, sit on a mat spread in the middle of the house, and formally partake of conjee and jaggery. the pula-kuli is then over. it is a sacred duty to a deceased person who was one of importance, for example the head of a family, to have a silver image of him made, and arrange for it being deposited in some temple, where it will receive its share of puja (worship), and offerings of food and water. the new-moon day of the months karkitakam (july-august), tulam (october-november), and kumbham (february-march) is generally selected for doing this. the temples at tirunelli in wynad and tirunavayi, which are among the oldest in malabar, were generally the resting-places of these images, but now some of the well-to-do deposit them much further afield, even at benares and ramesvaram. a silver image is presented to the local siva temple, where, for a consideration, puja is done every new-moon day. on each of these days, mantrams are supposed to be repeated a thousand times. when the image has been the object of these mantrams sixteen thousand times, it is supposed to have become eligible for final deposit in a temple. it is this image which rests in the temple at tirunavayi, or elsewhere. an annual sradh ceremony is performed for the sake of the spirit of the deceased, at which crows are fed in the manner already described, and relations are fed. on the night of this day, some sweetmeats or cakes, such as the deceased was fond of during life, are offered to the spirit. a lamp is placed on a stool, and lighted in the middle room of the house, with a kindi of water and a young cocoanut near it. the cakes or sweetmeats are placed in front of the stool. children sprinkle rice over it, and the door is shut for a quarter of an hour. the individual who feeds the crows should partake of only one meal, without fish or flesh, on the previous day. another ceremony, which is necessary for the repose of the dead, is called badha-velichatu-variethal, or bringing out the spirit. it cannot be performed until at least a year after death, for during that period the spirit is in a sort of purgatory. after that, it may be invoked, and it will answer questions. the ceremony resembles the nelikala pregnancy ceremony. the performers are panans or washermen. some little girls are seated in front of a booth in the yard. the celebrant of the rite sings, invoking the spirit of the deceased. late at night, one of the girls becomes possessed by the spirit, and, it is said, talks and acts just like the deceased, calling the children, relations and friends by name, talking of the past, and giving commands for the future conduct of the living members of the family. after this, the spirit is severed from earthly trammels, and attains heavenly bliss. the wood used for the purpose of cremation is that of a mango tree, which must be cut down after the death. a little sandalwood and cuscus (grass) roots are sometimes added to the pyre. in these days, when the important and interesting features of ceremonial are fast disappearing, it is not surprising that dried cakes of cow-dung are superseding the mango wood. among other ceremonies, there is one called kutti puja, which is performed when a newly built house is taken charge of. vastu purusha is the name of the supreme being which, lying on its back with its head to the north-east and legs to the south-west, supports the earth. or rather the earth is but a small portion of this vast body. forests are its tiny hairs, oceans its blood-vessels, and the wind its breath. in this body are fifty-three deities, who are liable to disturbance when the surface of the earth is dug, when trees are felled, foundations laid, and a house built. these angry beings must be propitiated, or there will be untimely deaths, poverty, and sickness among the inmates. the ceremony is performed in the following manner. a square with fifty-three columns is made with rice flour in the middle room of the house, and each column is filled with yellow, red, and black powder. a plantain leaf is placed over it, and a few measures of paddy are set on the top of the leaf. on this is placed another leaf, with various kinds of grain, plantains, cocoanuts, and jaggery on it. the carpenter, who is the architect and builder of the house, then performs puja with flowers, incense and lights, and the troublesome imp-spirit gulikan is propitiated with toddy and arrack, and a fowl which is decapitated for him. then all the workmen--carpenters, masons, and coolies--walk thrice round the house, breaking cocoanuts on the walls and doors, and howling in order to drive away all evil spirits which may by chance be lurking about the place. after this, they are all fed until they cry out "we are satisfied, and want no more." they are given cloths and other presents, and the chief feature of the ceremony takes place. this is the formal handing over of the house by the carpenter. he hands it over to a third person, and never directly to the owner. it is not always easy to find a third person who is willing to undertake the responsibility, and who is at the same time suitable for the gulikan who is dispossessed of the house, and pursues him henceforth, following him who first receives charge of the house. he should be a man who brings luck, cheerful and contented, having a family, and not labouring under any disorder or sickness of body. there is, or was a few years ago, an old nayar living not far from calicut, who was much sought after to fulfil the functions of third person on these occasions, and all the houses he received prospered. the third person is generally a poor man, who is bribed with presents of cloths, money and rice, to undertake the job. he wears one of the new cloths during the ceremony. when the carpenter's ceremonies have been completed, this man is taken to the middle room of the house, and made to stand facing the door, with each foot on a plantain leaf. pieces of the thatch are tied to the four corners of his cloth. he shuts the door, opens it, and shuts it again. the carpenter calls from without, asking him whether he has taken charge of the house. he replies evasively "have the carpenters and workmen received all their wages? if they have, i take charge of the house." the carpenter does not answer the question, for, if he did so, the mischief would be transferred to him through the house-owner. so he says "i did not ask you about my wages. have you taken charge of the house?" the man inside answers as before, adding "otherwise not." the carpenter again says "i did not ask you about my wages. answer me straight. have you, or have you not taken charge of the house?" the man inside replies "i have taken charge of the house," and opens the door. taking in his hands the plantain leaves on which he stood, he runs away as fast as he can without looking back. this he must not do on any account. the people pelt him with plantains, and hoot at him as he runs, and water mingled with cow-dung is sprinkled in his path. after all this, cow's milk is boiled with a little rice in the house, of which every one partakes, and the owner assumes charge of his house. in the pre-british days, a few of the well-to-do families of tiyans lived in houses of the kind called nalapura (four houses), having an open quadrangle in the centre. but, for the most part, the tiyans--slaves of the nayars and nambutiris--lived in a one-roomed thatched hut. nowadays, the kala pura usually consists of two rooms, east and west. toddy-drawing, and every thing connected with the manufacture and sale of arrack (country liquor) and unrefined sugar, form the orthodox occupation of the tiyan. but members of the community are to be found in all classes of society, and in practically all professions and walks of life. it is interesting to find that the head of a tiyan family in north malabar bears the title cherayi panikar, conferred on the family in the old days by a former zamorin. a title of this kind was given only to one specially proficient in arms. even in those days there were tiyan physicians, bone-setters, astrologers, diviners, and sorcerers. it is easy to identify the toddy-tapper by the indurated skin of the palms, fingers, inner side of the forearms, and the instep. the business of toddy-tapping involves expert climbing, while carrying a considerable paraphernalia, with no adventitious aid other than can be got out of a soft grummet of coir to keep the feet near together, while the hands, with the arms extended, grasp the palm tree. the profession is rarely adopted before the age of eighteen, but i have seen a man who said he began when he was twelve years old. it is very hard work. a tapper can work about fifteen trees, each of which he has to climb three times a day. in the northern districts of the madras presidency, among the telugu population, the toddy-drawers use a ladder about eight or nine feet in length, which is placed against the tree, to avoid climbing a third or a fourth of it. while in the act of climbing up or down, they make use of a wide band, which is passed round the body at the small of the back, and round the tree. this band is easily fastened with a toggle and eye. the back is protected by a piece of thick soft leather. it gives great assistance in climbing, which it makes easy. all over the southernmost portion of the peninsula, among the shanans and tiyans, the ladder and waist-band are unknown. they climb up and down with their hands and arms, using only the grummet on the feet. the tiyan toddy-tapper's equipment consists of a short-handled hatchet, about seven inches square, of thin iron, sheathed in a wooden case, and fastened to a waist-belt composed of several strings of coir yarn, to which is hung a small pot of gummy substance obtained by bruising the leaves of the aichil plant. a vessel holding a couple of gallons, made out of the spathe of the areca palm, is used for bringing down the toddy. tucked into the waist-belt is a bone loaded with lead at either end, which is used for tapping the palm to bring out the juice. a man once refused to sell at any price one of these bones--the femur of a sambar (cervus unicolor), which had such virtue that, according to its owner, it would fetch palm juice out of any tree. the garb of the tapper at work consists of a short cloth round the loins, and (always during the rains, and often at other times) a head-covering somewhat pointed in shape, made of the leaves of the cocoanut palm placed together as in a clinker-built boat, or of a rounded shape, made out of the spathe of the areca palm. the toddy-tapper should go through the show of reverence by touching the cocoanut tree with the right hand, and then applying his hand to the forehead, every time he prepares to climb a tree. in connection with toddy-drawing, the following note occurs in the gazetteer of malabar. "the tapper and the toddy shopkeeper are generally partners, the former renting the trees, paying the tree-tax, and selling the toddy at fixed prices to the latter. sometimes the shopkeeper pays both rent and tax, and the tapper is his servant paid by the bottle. the trees are rented half yearly, and the rent varies between re. 1 and re. 1-8-0 per tree. they are fit for tapping as soon as they come into bearing, but four years later and in the succeeding decade are most productive. they are seldom tapped for more than six months in the year, and the process, though it shortens the life of the tree, improves the yield of nuts in the rest of the year. the tapper's outfit is neither costly nor elaborate. a knife in a wooden case, a bone weighted with lead (the leg bone of a sambhur for choice), a few pots, and two small rings of rope with which to climb complete the tale. operations begin when the spathe is still enclosed by its sheath. once a day the spathe is gently bruised on either side with the bone, and on the third and following days a thin slice is cut off the end twice a day. on the fifteenth day drawing begins, and the bruising ceases. sheath and spathe are swathed for the greater part of their length in a thick covering of leaves or fibre; the ends are still cut off twice or three times a day, but, after each operation, are smeared with a paste made of leaves and water with the object, it is said, of keeping the sap from oozing through the wound and rotting the spathe. the leaves used for this purpose are those of the éechal or vetti tree, which are said to be one and the same (aporosa lindleyana); but in british cochin, where the tree does not grow, backwater mud is utilised. round the space between the end of the sheath and the thick covering of leaves a single leaf is bound, and through this the sap bleeds into a pot fastened below. the pot is emptied once a day in the morning. the yield of sap varies with the quality of the tree and the season of the year. in the hot months the trees give on an average about a bottle a day, in the monsoon and succeeding months as much as three bottles. in the gardens along the backwaters, south of chettuvayi, messrs. parry & co. consider that in a good year they should get a daily average of three bottles or half a gallon of toddy per tree. a bottle of toddy sells for three or four pies." in connection with the coir industry, it is noted, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "the husks of the cocoanuts are buried in pits as near as possible to the waterline of rivers, backwaters and creeks, and are left to soak for six months, a year, or even eighteen months--the longer the better. the colour of the yarn, and thereby the quality, depends very much on the water in which the husks are steeped. it should be running water, and, if possible, fresh water. if the water be salt, the yarn may at first be almost white, but in a damp climate it soon becomes discoloured and blotchy. as soon as the husks are taken out of the pits, the fibre is beaten out with short sticks by tiyattis (tiyan females) and women of the vettuvan caste. it is dried in the sun for twelve hours, and is then ready for sale to native merchants at calicut and cochin, who in their turn deal with the european firms. the fibre is twisted into yarn by tiyattis and other women, and in that form the greater part of the coir made in malabar is exported from cochin to all parts of the world, but chiefly to the united kingdom and germany." it has been said that "in north malabar the preparation of coir is a regular cottage industry of the most typical kind. throughout the year, wherever one goes, one hears the noise of the women hammering out the fibre, and sees them taking, in the evening, that part of it which they have rolled into yarn to the nearest little wayside shop, to be exchanged for salt, chillies, paddy, etc. but, in the north of the district, nothing of the kind goes on, and the coir is commonly used as fuel." it has been already stated that marumakkatayam, or inheritance through nephews, is the invariable rule in north malabar, being followed even by the muhammadan mappillas. in south malabar, where the tiyans do not observe marumakkatayam, the property devolves through the sons. all sons share alike. daughters have no share. the practice of polyandry, which still exists in malabar among the tiyans (and other classes), and which was probably once general, tends to prevent dispersion of the family property. although theoretically all sons share the property of their father, it is the eldest son who succeeds to possession and management of the tarwad property. the others are entitled to maintenance only, so long as they remain in the same tarwad house. it is the same among the izhuvans. beef, as in the case of all hindus, is forbidden as an article of diet. the staple food is rice with fish curry. the common beverage is conjee, but this is being supplanted by tea, coffee, lemonade, and soda-water. a loin-cloth, which should not reach to the knees, with a madras handkerchief on the shoulders, is the orthodox dress of the males, and a double loin-cloth that of females. women were not allowed to wear anything above the waist, except when under death pollution. any colour might be worn, but white and blue are most common. a ring, composed of hollow gold beads, called mani-kathila, is the proper ornament for a tiyan woman's ear. twenty or thirty, with a pendant in the middle, might be worn. gold or silver bracelets could be worn. hollow silver bracelets were worn by girls until the birth of their first child. but times have changed, and nowadays tiyan women wear the ornaments which, strictly speaking, appertain to nayar and brahman women. their mode of tying the hair, and even their dress, which is inclined to follow the fashion of the christians, has changed. in olden days, a tiyan woman could wear an ornament appropriate for a nayar on a special occasion, but only with the permission of the nayar landlord, obtained through the tandan, on payment of a fee. in north malabar a good round oath is upon perumal iswaran, the god of the shrine at kotiyur. in south malabar it is common to swear by kodungallur bhagavati, or by guruvayur appan, local deities. the tandan is the principal person in the tara, to decide all caste disputes. in south malabar, he is, as a rule, appointed by the senior rani of the zamorin. a fee of anything up to 101 fanams (rs. 25-4-0) must be paid to this lady, when she appoints a tandan. when there is a problem of any special difficulty, it is referred to her for decision. in territories other than those within the power of the zamorin, the local raja appoints the tandan, and gives the final decision in special cases. as we have seen, the tiyan is always to some extent subordinate to a nayar overlord, but he is not bound to any particular one. he can go where he likes, and reside anywhere, and is not bound to any particular chief, as is the nayar. it is noted by general e. f. burton, [26] in connection with bygone days, that "such was the insolent pride of caste that the next (and very respectable) class of hindus, the teers, were not allowed to come near the nairs, under penalty of being cut down by the sword, always naked and ready." in connection with the religion of the tiyans, i may commence with an old tradition, which is no doubt from a brahmanic source. once upon a time there were seven heavenly damsels, who used to bathe every day before dawn in a lake situated in a forest. siva found this out, and appeared as a fire on the bank, at which the girls warmed themselves. having thus lured them, the god made all of them mothers. seven beautiful boys were born, and siva presented them to parvati, who treated them as if they were her own sons. they were taken to mount kailasa, and employed in preparing toddy for the mysterious and wonderful sakti worship. daily they brought the toddy at the moment when it was required for the golden pot. parvati embraced the boys all at once, and they became one. on a certain day, this boy sent the sacred toddy in charge of a brahman, who became curious to know the virtues of the mysterious liquid. as he rested on a river bank thinking about it, he drank a little, and filled the vessel up with water. then he reached kailasa too late for the daily worship. siva was angry, and ordered the saunika boy (parvati's name for him) to be brought before him. but the boy had been told what had happened, and cut off the head of the brahman, who had confessed to him. seeing the boy coming along carrying a brahman's head, siva was astonished, and commanded him to approach nearer. the boy explained that it was not a heinous crime to cut off the head of one who had prevented the sakti worship. siva said that the killing of a brahman was the worst of crimes, and put the perpetrator out of caste. he would not listen to the boy, who replied that whoever prevented sakti worship was a chandala, and condemned him. the boy asked for death at siva's hands. the request pleased the god, who forgave him. the boy had to remain out of caste, but was initiated into the mysteries of sakti worship as the surest means of salvation, and to him was given the exclusive privilege of performing sakti worship with liquor. he was commanded to follow, and imitate the brahmans in everything, except in the matter of repeating the sacred mantrams. by tantrams (signs with the hands) he eventually obtained the merit of making puja with mantrams. he was the first tiyan. it is pretty safe to say that all the ideas of the tiyans connected with pure hinduism--the hinduism of the vedas--and of tradition, of which we see very little in southern india, and which in malabar is more perverted in confused ideas than perhaps elsewhere, those relating to re-birth, karma, pilgrimages to benares and distant temples are borrowed from the brahmans. in the ceremonies which have been described, notably in those connected with marriage and death, we have seen the expression of many hindu ideas. not so is all that relates to offerings to the dead. that is the common property of all the children of men. a main feature in the religion of the tiyan is that it is largely connected with sakti worship. some brahmans indulge therein, but they are unable, like the tiyans, to use arrack in connection with it, and are obliged to use, instead of this requisite, milk or honey. siva, not exactly a vedic entity, and sakti, are supposed to be the two primordial and eternal principles in nature. sakti is, perhaps, more properly the vital energy, and sakti worship the worship of the life principle in nature. we are not considering the abstract meaning of the term sakti; nor are we now thinking of the siva of monier williams or max müller. we are in malabar, where the hinduism of the vedas is in almost hopeless confusion, and mingled with animism and nearly every other kind of primitive religious idea. it is not therefore at all an easy task to represent in words anything like a rational conception of what the religion of the tiyan really is. the poor and ignorant follow, in a blind ignorant way, hinduism as they know it and feel it. their hinduism is very largely imbued with the lower cult, which, with a tinge of hinduism, varied in extent here and there, is really the religion of the people at large all over southern india. the tiyans have a large share of it. to the actions of evil and other spirits are attributable most, if not all of the ills and joys of life. the higher hinduism is far above them. nevertheless, we find among them the worship of the obscure and mysterious sakti, which, unfortunately, is practiced in secret. nobody seems to be in the least proud of having anything to do with it. in fact, they are rather ashamed to say anything about it. those who, so to speak, go in for it are obliged to undergo preliminary purificatory ceremonies, before the great mystery can be communicated to them. the mantram, which is whispered by the guru (religious preceptor) in the ear of the devotee is said to be "brahma aham, vishnu aham, bhairavu aham" (i am brahma, i am vishnu, i am bhairavan). it is believed that each individual is a spark of the divinity. having in him the potentiality of the supreme being, he can develop, and attain godhood. there is no distinction of caste in sakti worship. the devotees may belong to the highest or to the lowest castes, though i doubt very much whether the nambutiri brahmans indulge in it. the novices, of whatever caste, eat and drink together during the period of puja. men and women participate in the secret rites. a solemn oath is taken that the mystery of sakti will not be revealed, except with the permission of the guru, or on the death-bed. the spirit of the goddess (for sakti is thought of as the female principle) must be withdrawn from the body of the sakti worshipper when he is at the point of death. a lamp is lighted beside him. a few leaves of the tulsi plant (ocimum sanctum), a little rice, and a lighted wick are given to the dying man. holding these things, he makes three passes over his body from head to foot, and, as it were, transfers the spirit to the next man, at the same time communicating his wishes about continuing the worship, and so on. when a man dies before this separation or transfer has been accomplished, a brahman must be called in, who, with a silver image representing the deceased, makes symbolic transference of the sakti spirit. it must be done somehow, or the soul of the deceased cannot attain salvation. it is said that, like many other things in this land, sakti worship has undergone degeneration, that such lofty ideas and feelings as may have once pervaded it have more or less disappeared, and that the residue is not very edifying. be this as it may, in every tara there is a bhagavati temple for tiyans, where tiyans officiate as priests. the komaram (oracle) of the bhagavati temple is clothed in red, and embellished with red sandal paste mixed with turmeric. bhagavati is always associated with various jungle spirits or gods, whose komarams always wear black. there is no daily worship in tiyan temples, with the exception of a few in the neighbourhood of cannanore. but there is an annual celebration of puja during the mannalam (forty day) period, commencing on the first of the month vrischikam (15th november). lamps are lighted, and worship is begun on this day, and continued for forty days. at its conclusion, the jungle gods retire to the jungle until the next year. a death in the family of a komaram involves, i believe, some postponement of the rites. the period is supposed to be first part of the functional activity of the earth, which ends somewhere about the 21st of june. it is during this period that sakti worship is carried on. the temple of subramania at palni in the madura district is a favourite objective for tiyan pilgrims. the subject of pilgrimages to this temple has been touched on in my note on the nayars (see nayar). the bhagavati temple at kodungallur in cochin territory on the coast is another favourite place of pilgrimage among the tiyans. all classes of people, with the exception of brahmans, undertake this pilgrimage. everyone under a vow, proceeding to the festival, which takes place in february or march, carries with him a cock, which is beheaded at the shrine. under the perumals, pilgrimage to kodungallur was somewhat compulsory. this temple was a fruitful source of revenue to the state, for not only the tiyans, but the fisherman and artisan castes had their own temple in every tara in the land, and the muppan--the komaram--of each temple was under an obligation to contribute yearly gifts to the temple at kodungallur. rent for the temple lands was set at a nominal figure--a mere pepper-corn rent as acknowledgment of sovereign right. rent might not be paid in times of trouble, but the gifts eked out of superstition were unfailing. it is not surprising, therefore, that learning and advancement among the inferior castes did not receive much encouragement from the rulers of those days. the temple of kotiyur in north malabar is also a shrine to which tiyans make pilgrimage. indeed, it may be said that they follow hinduism generally in rather a low form, and that sakti worship is perhaps more peculiarly theirs than others', owing to their being able to use arrack, a product of the palm, and therefore of their own particular métier. the highest merit in sakti can be reached only through arrack. the sakti goddess, bhagavati, the tiyans look upon as their own guardian spirit. as instancing the mixture and confusion of religious ideas in malabar, it may be mentioned that mappillas have been known to indulge in sakti worship, and tiyans to have made vows, and given offerings at mappilla mosques and christian churches. vows to the well-known mosque at mambram are made by people of almost every caste. it is not uncommon to present the first fruit of a jak tree, or the milk of a cow when it brings forth its first calf, to the local tangal or mappilla priest. in many, perhaps in most tiyan houses, offerings are made annually to a bygone personage named kunnath nayar, and to his friend and disciple kunhi rayan, a mappilla. it is probable that they excelled in witchcraft and magic, but, according to the story, the nayar worshipped the kite until he obtained command and control over all the snakes in the land. the offerings are made in order to prevent accidents from snakes. the snake god will also give children to the family, and promote domestic prosperity. men without offspring worship him. leprosy and the death of a child are believed to be the consequence of killing a snake. there are mappilla devotees of kunnath nayar and kunhi rayan, who exhibit snakes in a box, and collect alms. there is a snake mosque near manarghat, at the foot of the nilgiri hills, which has its annual festival. the alms are collected ostensibly for this mosque. an interesting story, which is the legendary account of the exodus of the artisans from malabar, and their return with the tiyans, is narrated by the panans. there were, in olden times, five recognised classes, which includes the asaris (carpenters), musaris (workers in bell-metal), thattans (goldsmiths), and perin-kollans (blacksmiths). the fifth class is unknown. when an individual of the artisan classes dies, the panan of the tara must bring a death gift to the house, which consists of cocoanuts and jak fruits or plantains. the panan places the gift in the yard and repeats a long formula, which he has learnt by heart. it is very likely that he knows little or nothing of its meaning. but he reels it off, and at its conclusion the gifts are accepted. the same formula is also always repeated among the carpenters, goldsmiths, and blacksmiths during wedding and tali-tying ceremonies. it relates how the artisans deserted the land of cheraman perumal, and sought an asylum in the country of the izhuvans with the island king, and how the perumal sent the panan to bring them back. every one knows this old story, and believes it firmly. it must be learnt by heart, and the panan gives it in the yard when a member of the artisan classes dies. the story is to the following effect. during the four yugams, kreta, treta, dwapara, and kali, many kings reigned over the earth. parasu raman destroyed the kshatriya kings on twenty-one occasions, and was obliged to make atonement in expiatory ceremonies. he worshipped varuna, the ocean god, and recovered from the sea a hundred and sixty kathams of land, consisting of kolanad (?), venad (travancore), kanya kumari (cape comorin), cheranad, and malayalam up to changala vazhi beyond the anaimalai hills. cheraman perumal was the ruler of this land, in which were the four castes. his capital was at tiruvanja kolam. one day, veluthedan [27] chiraman was washing the perumal's cloths in a tank. he beat the cloths on a stone which was flat on the ground, and held one of the cloths in his hand. a girl of the carpenter caste, ayyesvari by name, was just then going to the tank to bathe after her monthly period. she called out "ho! kammal. [28] that is not the way to wash cloths. put a small stone under one end of your washing stone, so as to make it slope a little. then hold both ends of the cloth in your hand, and beat the middle of the cloth on the stone." the veluthedan did so, and found that he washed better, and the cloths were whiter. the perumal asked him "were you not washing the cloths before? who washed them to-day?" to which the veluthedan replied "oh! tamburan (chief or lord), a carpenter girl instructed your slave to-day how to wash cloths properly. may perumal be pleased to order the girl to be given to your slave as his wife." perumal then said "to whatever caste she may belong, you may take her by force, and will not lose your caste." having received the king's permission, veluthedan chiraman concealed himself near the carpenter's house, and, when the girl opened the door to sweep the yard at dawn, he seized her, and carried her off to his house. carpenter sankaran of tiruvanja kalam went to the perumal, and complained that veluthedan kammal had carried away his daughter, and disgraced him. he asked the perumal whether he would give him an armed guard to rescue her. to which the perumal replied "i will not help either party with armed men. you must fight it out among yourselves." then the five classes of artisans consulted one another, and made common cause. the panans, perin malayans, and chen (red) koravans joined the artisans. the ven thachans, velans, paravans, vettuvans, kanisan panikars, and the pandi pulluvans of vellalanad joined the other side. there was war for twelve years. in the end, the artisans were defeated. they said among themselves "we have been defeated by the fourteenth caste of veluthedan nayar, who carried away our daughter. let us leave this country." so 7,764 families, with the women and children, tied up their mats, and left cheraman perumal's country, and went to izhuva land, which was beyond it. they went before the izhuva king (island king), and told him their story. now cheraman perumal used to be shaved every fifteen days. when the barber (velakathalavan) was sent for, he came without his knife (razor), as his wife had buried it. he said "oh! tamburan, have mercy on your slave. your slave's knife was given to the blacksmith to be mended, and he took it away with him. he gave me this piece of iron, saying "if you want the knife made ready for use, you must come to the izhuva land for it, and we will mend it on our return." so perumal had to go without shaving, and his hair grew like a rishi's. as there were neither carpenters nor smiths to make implements, agriculture was almost at a standstill; and, as there were no goldsmiths, the tali-tying ceremonies could not be performed. nor could the rice-giving ceremony be done, for want of the "neck-rings." then cheraman perumal obtained advice, and resolved to send the mannan (washerman of the tiyans), who was included in the fourteenth caste, and the panan, who belonged to the eleventh caste. the perumal gave to each of them a thousand fanams, and told them to go to the izhuva country, and bring back the kammalans (artisans). they wandered over various countries, stopping wherever they found a house. the panan, being clever, was able to live by his wits, and spent no money of his own. the mannan, on the contrary, spent all his money. they passed ramapuri, and reached trichivampuri. then the mannan asked the panan for a loan, which was refused. on friday at noon, the mannan left the panan, saying "the panan is no companion for the mannan." he returned to the perumal and reported his failure, and the panan's refusal to lend him money. the panan went on, crossing rivers, canals, and ferries, and at last reached the izhuva king's country. he entered the reception hall. at that moment, the king's goldsmith, who had just finished making a golden crown for him, had put it on his own head, to test its suitability for wearing. the panan thought he was the king, and made obeisance to him. the kammalans recognised him. he discovered his mistake too late, for he had addressed the goldsmith as tamburan. so, to this day, the panans, when addressing goldsmiths, say tamburan. the panan told the kammalans of his mission, but they refused to return unless full reparation was made for the abduction of the carpenter girl, and certain social disabilities were removed. the 7,764 families of kammalans asked the izhuva king his advice, and he said that they should not go away. so the kammalans sent the panan back, and gave him the following presents, in order to demonstrate to the perumal that they were in comfortable circumstances:- gold valam-piri (a sort of string worn over the right shoulder); silver edam-piri (a similar sort of string worn on the left shoulder); gold netti-pattam (to be tied on the forehead); gold bracelet; gold ornament for the hair. the kammalans sent word to the perumal that they would not return, unless they were given a girl in place of the carpenter's daughter, who had been abducted, and certain privileges were granted to them. at the same time, they promised the panan that they would share their privileges with him, if he was successful. so the panan returned, and appeared before the perumal, who asked him where the kammalans were. the panan removed his gold cap, and put it under his arm, and replied that they were prosperous, and not anxious to return. saying so, he placed before the perumal the rich presents given by the kammalans, and told the king that they would not return, unless they were given a girl and certain concessions. the perumal told the panan to go back, and invite the kammalans to return on their own terms. he said they would catch the first girl they met on the way to his palace, and all their demands were granted. the panan arrived again in the izhuva country, and told the kammalans what the perumal had said. they went to the izhuva king, and obtained his permission to return to their own country. then they caught an izhuva boy, and confined him. the king asked them why they did so. they replied that they had lived for twelve years [29] as his subjects, and would never recognise any other king, so they wanted the izhuva boy to represent him. the king consented. when they started, the boy began to cry. a nasrani, [30] by name thomma (thomas), was taken to accompany and protect the boy. the kammalans travelled to their own country, and appeared before cheraman perumal. on the way, they found a girl of the variar caste plucking flowers, and caught her by the hand. all the five classes claimed her. at last it was resolved to unite her with the izhuva boy, their tandan, who represented their king, and treat her as their sister. cheraman perumal confirmed his promise, and granted the following privileges to the kammalans:-1. to make ceilings for their houses. 2. to make upstairs houses to live in. 3. to put up single staircases, consisting of one pole, in which notches are cut, or pegs are stuck alternately, for the feet. 4. to have a gate-house. 5. to perform the tali-tying ceremonies of their girls in a booth having four posts or supports; to place within it, on a stool, a looking-glass with a handle, and the ramayana; and to place a silk cloth on the girl's head. 6. to do arpu at the conclusion of the tali-tying ceremony (vel! arpu! is yelled out by the boys). 7. to cook rice in copper vessels on occasions of marriage and other ceremonies, and to serve sugar and pappadams at their feasts. 8. to hold the umbrella and taza (a sort of umbrella), which are carried in front of processions. 9. to clap hands, and dance. 10. to keep milch-cows for their own use. permission was further granted for the kammalans to wear the following ornaments. 1. netti-pattam, worn on the forehead during the tali-tying ceremony. 2. ananthovi, a ear ornament named after anandan, the endless, the serpent on which vishnu reposes. the serpent is sometimes represented with its tail in its mouth, forming a circle, an endless figure. ananthovi is the central pendant of the ear-ring worn by tiyan women among their kathila (ordinary gold ear-rings). it resembles a serpent in form. it is worn by men of the tiyan and artisan castes on special occasions. 3. waist zone or girdle. 4. bracelets. 5. anklet with two knobs, formed of two pieces screwed together. 6. puli-mothiram, or tiger's claws mounted in gold, worn by children. 7. podippu, a knot of cotton-thread at the end of the string on which coins are hung as ornaments. 8. kalanchi, a gold knob above the podippu, which represents a flower. 9. necklace. 10. edakam and madkam-tali, neck ornaments, in one of which are set twenty-one stones. 11. cotton thread above the gold thread on the neck. the perumal conferred like privileges upon the family (tiruvarankath) of the panan who brought back the kammalans. he wore all his ornaments, and made his obeisance to the perumal. he had, however, taken off his gold cap. the perumal said "what you have removed, let it be removed." so he lost the privilege of wearing a gold cap. the perumal blessed the kammalans, and they returned to their villages. they made a separate house for the izhuva boy and the variar girl, and maintained them. the izhuva boy, who was the first tiyan to come to malabar, brought with him the cocoanut, and retained the right to cultivate and use it. to this day, the people of the serf castes--cherumans, kanakans, and the like--use the word varian when addressing tiyans, in reference to their descent from the variar girl. the orthodox number of classes of kammalans is five. but the artisans do not admit the workers in leather as of their guild, and say there are only four classes. according to them, the fifth class was composed of the copper-smiths, who did not return to malabar with the others, but remained in izhuva land. nevertheless, they always speak of themselves as the aiyen kudi or five-house kammalans. there is a variant of the legend of the exodus, told by the asaris (carpenters), which is worth narrating. their version of the story is repeated among themselves, and not by the panan, at every marriage and tali-tying ceremony. they identify the village of the perumal's washerman as kanipayyur. this is the name of a nambutiri's illam in the ponani taluk of malabar. the nambutiri is, it may be mentioned, considered to be the highest extant authority in architecture. disputed points relating to this subject are referred to him, and his decision is final, and accepted by all carpenters and house-builders. the washerman's stone is said to have been lying flat in the water. the girl ayyesvari was also of kanipayyur, and was carried off as in the former story. but there was no request for an armed guard to rescue her. the perumal was, instead, asked to make the washerman marry her, and thus avoid disgrace. he consented to do so, and all the 7,764 families of the five classes of kammalans assembled for the wedding. an immense booth, supported on granite pillars, was erected. the washerman and his party were fed sumptuously. but the booth had been so constructed that it could be made to collapse instantaneously. so the kammalans went quietly outside, and, at a given signal, the booth collapsed, and crushed to death the washerman and his friends. after this, the kammalans fled, and remained one year, eight months and eleven days in the izhuva country. negotiations were carried on through the izhuva king, and the kammalans returned under his guarantee that their demands would be complied with. the izhuva king sent his own men and the nasrani to the capital of the perumal. the story of the exodus and the return was inscribed on granite stone with solemn rites, and in the presence of witnesses. this was buried at the northern gate of the tiruvanchakulam temple on friday, the eighth of the month of kanni. it was resolved that, in any case of doubt, the stone should be unearthed. and it was only after all this had been done that the izhuva king's envoy returned to him. then the kammalans came back to malabar. according to the carpenters, the copper-smiths did not return. they say that eighteen families of asaris remained behind. some of these returned long afterwards, but they were not allowed to rejoin the caste. they are known as puzhi tachan, or sand carpenters, and patinettanmar, or the eighteen people. there are four families of this class now living at or near parpangadi. they are carpenters, but the asaris treat them as outcastes. there is yet another variant of the story of the exodus, which is obviously of recent manufacture, for a pattar brahman is brought in, and gives cunning advice. we know that the pattars are comparatively new comers in malabar. the tiyans have recently been summed up as follows. [31] "the tiyas have always been characterised by their persevering and enterprising habits. a large percentage of them are engaged in various agricultural pursuits, and some of the most profitable industries of malabar have from time out of mind been in their hands. they are exclusively engaged in making toddy and distilling arrack. many of them are professional weavers, the malabar mundu being a common kind of cloth made by them. the various industries connected with cocoanut cultivation are also successfully carried on by the tiyas. for example, the manufacture of jaggery (crude sugar) is an industry in which a considerable number of the tiyas are profitably engaged. the preparation of coir from cocoanut fibre is one of their hereditary occupations, and this is done almost wholly by their women at home. they are very skilful in the manufacture of coir matting and allied industries. commercial pursuits are also common among them. apart from their agricultural and industrial inclinations, the tiyas give evidence of a literary taste, which is commendable in a people who are living under conditions which are anything but conducive to literary life. they have among them good sanskrit scholars, whose contributions have enriched the malayalam literature; physicians well versed in hindu systems of medicine; and well-known astrologers, who are also clever mathematicians. in british malabar, they have made considerable progress in education. in recent years, there has been gaining ground among the tiyas a movement, which has for its object the social and material improvement of the community. their leaders have very rightly given a prominent place to industry in their schemes of progress and reform. organisations for the purpose of educating the members of the community on the importance of increased industrial efforts have been formed. the success which has attended the industrial exhibition conducted by the members of the community at quilon, in 1905, has induced them to make it a permanent annual event. some of their young men have been sent to japan to study certain industries, and, on their return, they hope to resuscitate the dying local industries, and to enter into fresh fields of industry awaiting development. factories for the manufacture of coir matting and allied articles have been established by the tiyas in some parts of travancore and cochin." in 1906, the foundation stone of a tiya temple at tellicherry was laid with great ceremony. in the following year, a very successful industrial exhibition was held at cannanore under the auspices of the sri narayan dharma paripalana yogam. still more recently, it was resolved to collect subscriptions for the establishment of a hostel for the use of tiya youths who come from other places to tellicherry for educational purposes. tiyoro.--the tiyoros are described, in the madras census report, 1901, as "oriya fishermen, who also make lotus-leaf platters. they have four endogamous sections, viz., torai, ghodai, artia, and kulodondia." it has been suggested that the caste name is a corruption of the sanskrit tivara, a hunter. (see risley, tribes and castes of bengal, tiyar.) toda.--quite recently, my friend dr. w. h. rivers, as the result of a prolonged stay on the nilgiris, has published [32] an exhaustive account of the sociology and religion of this exceptionally interesting tribe, numbering, according to the latest census returns, 807 individuals, which inhabits the nilgiri plateau. i shall, therefore, content myself with recording the rambling notes made by myself during occasional visits to ootacamund and paikara, supplemented by extracts from the book just referred to, and the writings of harkness and other pioneers of the nilgiris. the todas maintain a large-horned race of semi-domesticated buffaloes, on whose milk and its products (butter and ney) [33] they still depend largely, though to a less extent than in bygone days before the establishment of the ootacamund bazar, for existence. it has been said that "a toda's worldly wealth is judged by the number of buffaloes he owns. witness the story in connection with the recent visit to india of his royal highness the prince of wales. a clergyman, who has done mission work among the todas, generally illustrates bible tales through the medium of a magic-lantern. one chilly afternoon, the todas declined to come out of their huts. thinking they required humouring like children, the reverend gentleman threw on the screen a picture of the prince of wales, explaining the object of his tour, and, thinking to impress the todas, added 'the prince is exceedingly wealthy, and is bringing out a retinue of two hundred people.' 'yes, yes,' said an old man, wagging his head sagely, 'but how many buffaloes is he bringing?'" the todas lead for the most part a simple pastoral life. but i have met with more than one man who had served, or who was still serving government in the modest capacity of a forest guard, and i have heard of others who had been employed, not with conspicuous success, on planters' estates. the todas consider it beneath their dignity to cultivate land. a former collector of the nilgiris granted them some acres of land for the cultivation of potatoes, but they leased the land to the badagas, and the privilege was cancelled. in connection with the todas' objection to work, it is recorded that when, on one occasion, a mistake about the ownership of some buffaloes committed an old toda to jail, it was found impossible to induce him to work with the convicts, and the authorities, unwilling to resort to hard remedies, were compelled to save appearances by making him an overseer. the daily life of a toda woman has been summed up as lounging about the mad or mand (toda settlement), buttering and curling her hair, and cooking. the women have been described as free from the ungracious and menial-like timidity of the generality of the sex in the plains. when europeans (who are greeted as swami or god) come to a mand, the women crawl out of their huts, and chant a monotonous song, all the time clamouring for tips (inam). even the children are so trained that they clamour for money till it is forthcoming. as a rule, the todas have no objection to europeans entering into their huts, but on more than one occasion i have been politely asked to take my boots off before crawling in on the stomach, so as not to desecrate the dwelling-place. writing in 1868, dr. j. shortt makes a sweeping statement that "most of the women have been debauched by europeans, who, it is sad to observe, have introduced diseases to which these innocent tribes were once strangers, and which are slowly but no less surely sapping their once hardy and vigorous constitutions. the effects of intemperance and disease (syphilis) combined are becoming more and more apparent in the shaken and decrepit appearance which at the present day these tribes possess." fact it undoubtedly is, and proved both by hospital and naked-eye evidence, that syphilis has been introduced among the todas by contact with the outside world, and they attribute the stunted growth of some members of the rising generation, as compared with the splendid physique of the lusty veterans, to the results thereof. it is an oft-repeated statement that the women show an absence of any sense of decency in exposing their naked persons in the presence of strangers. in connection with the question of the morality of the toda women, dr. rivers writes that "the low sexual morality of the todas is not limited in its scope to the relations within the toda community. conflicting views are held by those who know the nilgiri hills as to the relations of the todas with the other inhabitants, and especially with the train of natives which the european immigration to the hills has brought in its wake. the general opinion on the hills is that, in this respect, the morality of the todas is as low as it well could be, but it is a question whether this opinion is not too much based on the behaviour of the inhabitants of one or two villages [e.g., the one commonly known as school or sylk's mand] near the european settlements, and i think it is probable that the larger part of the todas remain more uncontaminated than is generally supposed." i came across one toda who, with several other members of the tribe, was selected on account of fine physique for exhibition at barnum's show in europe, america and australia some years ago, and still retained a smattering of english, talking fondly of 'shumbu' (the elephant jumbo). for some time after his return to his hill abode, a tall white hat was the admiration of his fellow tribesmen. to this man finger-prints came as no novelty, since his impressions were recorded both in england and america. writing in 1870, [34] colonel w. ross king stated that the todas had just so much knowledge of the speech of their vassals as is demanded by the most ordinary requirements. at the present day, a few write, and many converse fluently in tamil. the nilgiri c.m.s. tamil mission has extended its sphere of work to the todas, and i cannot resist the temptation to narrate a toda version of the story of dives and lazarus. the english say that once upon a time a rich man and a poor man died. at the funeral of the rich man, there was a great tamasha (spectacle), and many buffaloes were sacrificed. but, for the funeral of the poor man, neither music nor buffaloes were provided. the english believe that in the next world the poor man was as well off as the rich man; so that, when any one dies, it is of no use spending money on the funeral ceremonies. two mission schools have been established, one at ootacamund, the other near paikara. at the latter i have seen a number of children of both sexes reading elementary tamil and english, and doing simple arithmetic. a few years ago a toda boy was baptised at tinnevelly, and remained there for instruction. it was hoped that he would return to the hills as an evangelist among his people. [35] in 1907, five young toda women were baptised at the c.m.s. mission chapel, ootacamund. "they were clothed in white, with a white cloth over their heads, such as the native christians wear. a number of christian badagas had assembled to witness the ceremony, and join in the service." the typical toda man is above medium height, well proportioned and stalwart, with leptorhine nose, regular features, and perfect teeth. the nose is, as noted by dr. rivers, sometimes distinctly rounded in profile. an attempt has been made to connect the todas with the lost tribes; and, amid a crowd of them collected together at a funeral, there is no difficulty in picking out individuals, whose features would find for them a ready place as actors on the ober ammergau stage, either in leading or subordinate parts. the principal characteristic, which at once distinguishes the toda from the other tribes of the nilgiris, is the development of the pilous (hairy) system. the following is a typical case, extracted from my notes. beard luxuriant, hair of head parted in middle, and hanging in curls over forehead and back of neck. hair thickly developed on chest and abdomen, with median strip of dense hairs on the latter. hair thick over upper and lower ends of shoulder-blades, thinner over rest of back; well developed on extensor surface of upper arms, and both surfaces of forearms; very thick on extensor surfaces of the latter. hair abundant on both surfaces of legs; thickest on outer side of thighs and round knee-cap. dense beard-like mass of hair beneath gluteal region (buttocks). superciliary brow ridges very prominent. eyebrows united across middle line by thick tuft of hairs. a dense growth of long straight hairs directed outwards on helix of both ears, bearing a striking resemblance to the hairy development on the helix of the south indian bonnet monkey (macacus sinicus). the profuse hairy development is by some todas attributed to their drinking "too much milk." nearly all the men have one or more raised cicatrices, forming nodulous growths (keloids) on the right shoulder.these scars are produced by burning the skin with red-hot sticks of litsæa wightiana (the sacred fire-stick). the todas believe that the branding enables them to milk the buffaloes with perfect ease, or as dr. rivers puts it, that it cures the pain caused by the fatigue of milking. "the marks," he says, "are made when a boy is about twelve years old, at which age he begins to milk the buffaloes." about the fifth month of a woman's first pregnancy, on the new-moon day, she goes through a ceremony, in which she brands herself, or is branded by another woman, by means of a rag rolled up, dipped in oil and lighted, with a dot on the carpo-metacarpal joint of each thumb and on each wrist. the women are lighter in colour than the men, and the colour of the body has been aptly described as of a café-au-lait tint. the skin of the female children and young adults is often of a warm copper hue. some of the young women, with their raven-black hair dressed in glossy ringlets, and bright glistening eyes, are distinctly good-looking, but both good looks and complexion are short-lived, and the women speedily degenerate into uncomely hags. as in maori land, so in toda land, one finds a race of superb men coupled to hideous women, and, with the exception of the young girls, the fair sex is the male sex. both men and women cover their bodies with a white mantle with blue and red lines, called putkuli, which is purchased in the ootacamund bazar, and is sometimes decorated with embroidery worked by the toda women. the odour of the person of the todas, caused by the rancid butter which they apply to the mantle as a preservative reagent, or with which they anoint their bodies, is quite characteristic. with a view to testing his sense of smell, long after our return from paikara, i blindfolded a friend who had accompanied me thither, and presented before his nose a cloth, which he at once recognised as having something to do with the todas. in former times, a badaga could be at once picked out from the other tribes of the nilgiri plateau by his wearing a turban. at the present day, some toda elders and important members of the community (e.g., monegars or headmen) have adopted this form of head-gear. the men who were engaged as guides by dr. rivers and myself donned the turban in honour of their appointment. toda females are tattooed after they have reached puberty. i have seen several multiparæ, in whom the absence of tattoo marks was explained either on the ground that they were too poor to afford the expense of the operation, or that they were always suckling or pregnant--conditions, they said, in which the operation would not be free from danger. the dots and circles, of which the simple devices are made up, [36] are marked out with lamp-black made into a paste with water, and the pattern is pricked in by a toda woman with the spines of berberis aristata. the system of tattooing and decoration of females with ornaments is summed up in the following cases:-1. aged 22. has one child. tattooed with three dots on back of left hand. wears silver necklet ornamented with arcot two-anna pieces; thread and silver armlets ornamented with cowry (cypræa moneta) shells on right upper arm; thread armlet ornamented with cowries on left forearm; brass ring on left ring finger; silver rings on right middle and ring fingers. lobes of ears pierced. ear-rings removed owing to grandmother's death. 2. aged 28. tattooed with a single dot on chin; rings and dots on chest, outer side of upper arms, back of left hand, below calves, above ankles, and across dorsum of feet. wears thread armlet ornamented with young cowries on right forearm; thread armlet and two heavy ornamental brass armlets on left upper arm; ornamental brass bangle and glass bead bracelet on left wrist; brass ring on left little finger; two steel rings on left ring finger; bead necklet ornamented with cowries. 3. aged 35. tattooed like the preceding, with the addition of an elaborate device of rings and dots on the back. 4. aged 35. linen bound round elbow joint, to prevent chafing of heavy brass armlets. cicatrices of sores in front of elbow joint, produced by armlets. 5. aged 23. has one child. tattooed only below calves, and above ankles. the following are the more important physical measurements of the toda men, whom i have examined:- av. max. min. cm. cm. cm. stature 169.8 186.8 157.6 cephalic length 19.4 20.4 18.2 do. breadth 14.2 15.2 13.3 do. index 73.3 81.3 68.7 nasal height 4.7 4.9 4.6 do. breadth 3.6 3.8 3.4 do. index 74.9 79.9 70. allowing that the cephalic index is a good criterion of racial or tribal purity, the following analysis of the toda indices is very striking:- 69 ** 70 ******* 71 *********** 72 ******* 73 ************** [37] 74 ********************* 75 ********* 76 ****** 77 * 78 * 79 * 80 81 * a thing of exceeding joy to the todas was my salter's hand-dynamometer, the fame of which spread from mand to mand, and which was circulated among the crowd at funerals. great was the disgust of the assembled males, on a certain day, when the record of hand-grip for the morning (73 lbs.) was carried off by a big-boned female, who became the unlovely heroine of the moment. the largest english feminine hand-grip, recorded in my laboratory note-book, is only 66 lbs. one toda man, of fine physique, not satisfied with his grip of 98 lbs., went into training, and fed himself up for a few days. thus prepared, he returned to accomplish 103 lbs., the result of more skilful manipulation of the machine rather than of a liberal dietary of butter-milk. the routine toda dietary is said to be made up of the following articles, to which must be added strong drinks purchased at the toddy shops:-(a) rice boiled in whey. (b) rice and jaggery (crude sugar) boiled in water. (c) broth or curry made of vegetables purchased in the bazar, wild vegetables and pot-herbs, which, together with ground orchids, the todas may often be seen rooting up with a sharp-pointed digging-stick on the hill-sides. the todas scornfully deny the use of aphrodisiacs, but both men and women admit that they take salep misri boiled in milk, to make them strong. salep misri is made from the tubers (testicles de chiens) of various species of eulophia and habenaria belonging to the natural order orchideæ. the indigenous edible plants and pot-herbs include the following:-(1) cnicus wallichii (thistle).--the roots and flower-stalks are stripped of their bark, and made into soup or curry. (2) girardinia heterophylla (nilgiri nettle).--the tender leafy shoots of vigorously growing plants are gathered, crushed by beating with a stick to destroy the stinging hairs, and made into soup or curry. the fibre of this plant, which is cultivated near the mands, is used for stitching the putkuli, with steel needles purchased in the bazar in lieu of the more primitive form. in the preparation of the fibre, the bark is thrown into a pot of boiling water, to which ashes have been added. after a few hours' boiling, the bark is taken out and the fibre extracted. (3) tender shoots of bamboos eaten in the form of curry. (4) alternanthera sessilis. pot-herbs. stellaria media. amarantus spinosus. amarantus polygonoides. the following list of plants, of which the fruits are eaten by the todas, has been brought together by mr. k. rangachari:-eugenia arnottiana.--the dark purple juice of the fruit of this tree is used by toda women for painting beauty spots on their faces. rubus ellipticus. wild raspberry. rubus molucanus. rubus lasiocarpus. fragaria nilgerrensis, wild strawberry. elæagnus latifolia. said by dr. mason to make excellent tarts and jellies. gaultheria fragrantissima. rhodomyrtus tomentosa, hill gooseberry. loranthus neelgherrensis. parasitic on trees. loranthus loniceroides. elæocarpus oblongus. elæocarpus munronii. berberis aristata. barberry. berberis nepalensis. solanum nigrum. vaccinium leschenaultii. vaccinium nilgherrense. toddalia aculeata. ceropegia pusilla. to which may be added mushrooms. a list containing the botanical and toda names of trees, shrubs, etc., used by the todas in their ordinary life, or in their ceremonial, is given by dr. rivers. [38] fire is, in these advanced days, obtained by the todas in their dwelling huts for domestic purposes from matches. the men who came to be operated on with my measuring instruments had no hesitation in asking for a match, and lighting the cheroots which were distributed amongst them, before they left the paikara bungalow dining-room. within the precincts of the dairy temple the use of matches is forbidden, and fire is kindled with the aid of two dry sticks of litsæa wightiana. of these one, terminating in a blunt convex extremity, is about 2' 3'' long; the other, with a hemispherical cavity scooped out close to one end, about 2 1/2'' in length. a little nick or slot is cut on the edge of the shorter stick, and connected with the hole in which the spindle stick is made to revolve. "in this slot the dust collects, and, remaining in an undisturbed heap, seemingly acts as a muffle to retain the friction-heat until it reaches a sufficiently high temperature, when the wood-powder becomes incandescent." [39] into the cavity in the short stick the end of the longer stick fits, so as to allow of easy play. the smaller stick is placed on the ground, and held tight by firm pressure of the great toe, applied to the end furthest from the cavity, into which a little finely powdered charcoal is inserted. the larger stick is then twisted vigorously, "like a chocolate muller" (tylor) between the palms of the hands by two men, turn and turn about, until the charcoal begins to glow. fire, thus made, is said to be used at the sacred dairy (ti), the dairy houses of ordinary mands, and at the cremation of males. in an account of a toda green funeral, [40] mr. walhouse notes that "when the pile was completed, fire was obtained by rubbing two dry sticks together. this was done mysteriously and apart, for such a mode of obtaining fire is looked upon as something secret and sacred." at the funeral of a female, i provided a box of tändstickors for lighting the pyre. a fire-stick, which was in current use in a dairy, was polluted and rendered useless by the touch of my brahman assistant! it is recorded by harkness [41] that a brahman was not only refused admission to a toda dairy, but actually driven away by some boys, who rushed out of it when they heard him approach. it is noted by dr. rivers that "several kinds of wood are used for the fire-sticks, the toda names of these being kiaz or keadj (litsæa wightiana), mors (michelia nilagirica), parskuti (elæagnus latifolia), and main (cinnamomum wightii)." he states further that, "whenever fire is made for a sacred purpose, the fire-sticks must be of the wood which the todas call kiaz or keadj, except in the tesherot ceremony (qualifying ceremony for the office of palol) in which the wood of muli is used. at the niroditi ceremony (ordination ceremony of a dairyman), "the assistant makes fire by friction, and lights a fire of mulli wood, at which the candidate warms himself." it is also recorded by dr. rivers that "in some toda villages, a stone is kept, called tutmûkal, which was used at one time for making fire by striking it with a piece of iron." the abode of the todas is called a mad or mand (village or hamlet), which is composed of huts, dairy temple, and cattle-pen, and has been so well described by dr. shortt, [42] that i cannot do better than quote his account. "each mand," he says, "usually comprises about five buildings or huts, three of which are used as dwellings, one as a dairy, and the other for sheltering the calves at night. these huts form a peculiar kind of oval pent-shaped [half-barrel-shaped] construction, usually 10 feet high, 18 feet long, and 9 feet broad. the entrance or doorway measures 32 inches in height and 18 inches in width, and is not provided with any door or gate; but the entrance is closed by means of a solid slab or plank of wood from 4 to 6 inches thick, and of sufficient dimensions to entirely block up the entrance. this sliding door is inside the hut, and so arranged and fixed on two stout stakes buried in the earth, and standing to the height of 2 1/2 to 3 feet, as to be easily moved to and fro. there are no other openings or outlets of any kind, either for the escape of smoke, or for the free ingress and egress of atmospheric air. the doorway itself is of such small dimensions that, to effect an entrance, one has to go down on all fours, and even then much wriggling is necessary before an entrance is effected. the houses are neat in appearance, and are built of bamboos closely laid together, fastened with rattan, and covered with thatch, which renders them water-tight. each building has an end walling before and behind, composed of solid blocks of wood, and the sides are covered in by the pent-roofing, which slopes down to the ground. the front wall or planking contains the entrance or doorway. the inside of a hut is from 8 to 15 feet square, and is sufficiently high in the middle to admit of a tall man moving about with comfort. on one side there is a raised platform or pial formed of clay, about two feet high, and covered with sambar (deer) or buffalo skins, or sometimes with a mat. this platform is used as a sleeping place. on the opposite side is a fire place, and a slight elevation, on which the cooking utensils are placed. in this part of the building, faggots of firewood are seen piled up from floor to roof, and secured in their place by loops of rattan. here also the rice-pounder or pestle is fixed. the mortar is formed by a hole dug in the ground, 7 to 9 inches deep, and hardened by constant use. the other household goods consist of three or four brass dishes or plates, several bamboo measures, and sometimes a hatchet. each hut or dwelling is surrounded by an enclosure or wall formed of loose stones piled up two or three feet high [with openings too narrow to permit of a buffalo entering through it]. the dairy is sometimes a building slightly larger than the others, and usually contains two compartments separated by a centre planking. one part of the dairy is a store-house for ghee, milk and curds, contained in separate vessels. the outer apartment forms the dwelling place of the dairy priest. the doorways of the dairy are smaller than those of the dwelling huts. the flooring of the dairy is level, and at one end there is a fire-place. two or three milk pails or pots are all that it usually contains. the dairy is usually situated at some little distance from the habitations. the huts where the calves are kept are simple buildings, somewhat like the dwelling huts. in the vicinity of the mands are the cattle-pens or tuels[tu], which are circular enclosures surrounded by a loose stone wall, with a single entrance guarded by powerful stakes. in these, the herds of buffaloes are kept at night. each mand possesses a herd of these animals." it is noted by dr. rivers that "in the immediate neighbourhood of a village there are usually well-worn paths, by which the village is approached, and some of these paths or kalvol receive special names. some may not be traversed by women. within the village there are also certain recognised paths, of which two are specially important. one, the punetkalvol, is the path by which the dairy man goes from his dairy to milk or tend the buffaloes; the other is the majvatitthkalvol, the path which the women must use when going to the dairy to receive butter-milk (maj) from the dairy man. women are not allowed to go to the dairy or to other places connected with it, except at appointed times, when they receive buttermilk." in addition to the dairies which in form resemble the dwelling-huts, the todas keep up as dairy-temples certain curious conical edifices, of which there are said to be four on the nilgiri plateau, viz., at the muttanad mand, near kotagiri, near sholur, and at mudimand. the last was out of repair a few years ago, but was, i was informed, going to be rebuilt shortly. it is suggested by dr. rivers as probable that in many cases a dairy, originally of the conical form, has been rebuilt in the same form as the dwelling-hut, owing to the difficulty and extra labour of reconstruction in the older shape. the edifice at the muttanad mand (or nodrs), at the top of the sigur ghat, is known to members of the ootacamund hunt as the toda cathedral. it has a circular stone base and a tall conical thatched roof crowned with a large flat stone, and is surrounded by a circular stone wall. to penetrate within the sacred edifice was forbidden, but we were informed that it contained milking vessels, dairy apparatus, and a swami in the guise of a copper bell (mani). the dairyman is known as the varzhal or wursol. in front of the cattle-pen of the neighbouring mand, i noticed a grass-covered mound, which, i was told, is sacred. the mound contains nothing buried within it, but the bodies of the dead are placed near it, and earth from the mound is placed on the corpse before it is removed to the burning-ground. at "dry funerals" the buffalo is said to be slain near the mound. it has been suggested by colonel marshall [43] that the "boa or boath [poh.] is not a true toda building, but may be the bethel of some tribe contemporaneous with, and cognate to the todas, which, taking refuge, like them, on these hills, died out in their presence." despite the hypothesis of dr. rivers that the todas are derived from one or more of the races of malabar, their origin is buried among the secrets of the past. so too is the history of the ancient builders of cairns and barrows on the nilgiri plateau, which were explored by mr. breeks when commissioner of the nilgiris. [44] the bulk of the breeks' collection is now preserved in the madras museum, and includes a large series of articles in pottery, quite unlike anything known from other parts of southern india. concerning this series, mr. r. bruce foote writes as follows. [45] "the most striking objects are tall jars, many-storied cylinders, of varying diameter with round or conical bases, fashioned to rest upon pottery ring-stands, or to be stuck into soft soil, like the amphoræ of classical times. these jars were surmounted by domed lids. on these lids stood or sat figures of the most varied kind of men, or animals, much more rarely of inanimate objects, but all modelled in the rudest and most grotesque style. grotesque and downright ugly as are these figures, yet those representing men and women are extremely interesting from the light they throw upon the stage of civilization their makers had attained to, for they illustrate the fashion of the garments as also of the ornaments they wore, and of the arms or implements carried by them. the animals they had domesticated, those they chased, and others that they probably worshipped, are all indicated. many figures of their domestic animals, especially their buffaloes and sheep, are decorated with garlands and bells, and show much ornamentation, which seems to indicate that they were painted over, a custom which yet prevails in many parts." among the most interesting figures are those of heavily bearded men riding on horses, and big-horned buffaloes which might have been modelled from the toda buffaloes of to-day, and, like these, at funerals and migration ceremonies, bear a bell round the neck. two forms of toda dairy have so far been noticed. but there remains a third kind, called the ti mand, concerning which dr. rivers writes as follows. "the ti is the name of an institution, which comprises a herd of buffaloes, with a number of dairies and grazing districts, tended by a dairy-man priest called palol, with an assistant called kaltmokh. each dairy, with its accompanying buildings and pasturage, is called a ti mad, or ti village. the buffaloes belonging to a ti are of two kinds, distinguished as persiner and punir. the former are the sacred buffaloes, and the elaborate ceremonial of the ti dairy is concerned with their milk. the punir correspond in some respects to the putiir of the ordinary village dairy, and their milk and its products are largely for the personal use and profit of the palol, and are not treated with any special ceremony. during the whole time he holds office, the palol may not visit his home or any other ordinary village, though he may visit another ti village. any business with the outside world is done either through the kaltmokh, or with people who come to visit him at the ti. if the palol has to cross a river, he may not pass by a bridge, but must use a ford, and it appears that he may only use certain fords. the palol must be celibate, and, if married, he must leave his wife, who is in most cases also the wife of his brother or brothers." i visited the ti mand near paikara by appointment, and, on arrival near the mand, found the two palols, well-built men aged about thirty and fifty, clad in black cloths, and two kaltmokhs, youths aged about eight and ten, naked save for a loin-cloth, seated on the ground, awaiting our arrival. as a mark of respect to the palols, the three todas who accompanied me arranged their putkulis so that the right arm was laid bare, and one of them, who was wearing a turban, removed it. a long palaver ensued in consequence of the palols demanding ten rupees to cover the expenses of the purificatory ceremonies, which, they maintained, would be necessary if i desecrated the mand by photographing it. eventually, however, under promise of a far smaller sum, the dwelling-hut was photographed, with palols, kaltmokhs, and a domestic cat seated in front of it. in connection with the palol being forbidden to cross a river by a bridge, it may be noted that the river which flows past the paikara bungalow is regarded as sacred by the todas, and, for fear of mishap from arousing the wrath of the river god, a pregnant toda woman will not venture to cross it. the todas will not use the river water for any purpose, and they do not touch it unless they have to ford it. they then walk through it, and, on reaching the opposite bank, bow their heads. even when they walk over the paikara bridge, they take their hand out of the putkuli as a mark of respect. concerning the origin of the paikara river, a grotesque legend was narrated to us. many years ago, the story goes, two todas, uncle and nephew, went out to gather honey. after walking for a few miles they separated, and proceeded in different directions. the uncle was unsuccessful in the search, but the more fortunate nephew secured two kandis (bamboo measures) of honey. this, with a view to keeping it all for himself, he secreted in a crevice among the rocks, with the exception of a very small quantity, which he made his uncle believe was the entire product of his search. on the following day, the nephew went alone to the spot where the honey was hidden, and found, to his disappointment, that the honey was leaking through the bottom of the bamboo measures, which were transformed into two snakes. terrified at the sight thereof, he ran away, but the snakes pursued him (may be they were hamadryads, which have the reputation of pursuing human beings). after running a few minutes, he espied a hare (lepus nigricollis) running across his course, and, by a skilful manoeuvre, threw his body-cloth over it. mistaking it for a man, the snakes followed in pursuit of the hare, which, being very fleet of foot, managed to reach the sun, which became obscured by the hoods of the reptiles. this fully accounts for the solar eclipse. the honey, which leaked out of the vessels, became converted into the paikara river. in connection with the migrations of the herds of buffaloes, dr. rivers writes as follows. "at certain seasons of the year, it is customary that the buffaloes both of the village and the ti should migrate from one place to another. sometimes the village buffaloes are accompanied by all the inhabitants of the village; sometimes the buffaloes are only accompanied by their dairy-man and one or more male assistants. there are two chief reasons for these movements of the buffaloes, of which the most urgent is the necessity for new grazing-places.... the other chief reason for the migrations is that certain villages and dairies, formerly important and still sacred, are visited for ceremonial purposes, or out of respect to ancient custom." for the following note on a buffalo migration which he came across, i am indebted to mr. h. c. wilson. "during the annual migration of buffaloes to the kundahs, and when they were approaching the bridle-path leading from avalanche to sispara, i witnessed an interesting custom. the toda family had come to a halt on the far side of the path; the females seated themselves on the grass, and awaited the passing of the sacred herd. this herd, which had travelled by a recognised route across country, has to cross the bridle-path some two or three hundred yards above the avalanche-sispara sign-post. both the ordinary and sacred herd were on the move together. the former passed up the sispara path, while the latter crossed in a line, and proceeded slightly down the hill, eventually crossing the stream and up through the sholas over the steep hills on the opposite side of the valley. as soon as the sacred herd had crossed the bridle-path, the toda men, having put down all their household utensils, went to where the women and girls were sitting, and carried them, one by one, over the place where the buffaloes had passed, depositing them on the path above. one of the men told me that the females are not allowed to walk over the track covered by the sacred herd, and have to be carried whenever it is necessary to cross it. this herd has a recognised tract when migrating, and is led by the old buffaloes, who appear to know the exact way." the tenure under which lands are held by the todas is summed up as follows by mr. r. s. benson in his report on the revenue settlement of the nilgiris, 1885. "the earliest settlers, and notably mr. sullivan, strongly advocated the claim of the todas to the absolute proprietary right to the plateau [as lords of the soil]; but another school, led by mr. lushington, has strongly combated these views, and apparently regarded the todas as merely occupiers under the ryotwari system in force generally in the presidency. from the earliest times the todas have received from the cultivating badagas an offering or tribute, called gudu or basket of grain, partly in compensation for the land taken up by the latter for cultivation, and so rendered unfit for grazing purposes, but chiefly as an offering to secure the favour, or avert the displeasure of the todas, who, like the kurumbas (q.v.), are believed by the badagas to have necromantic powers over their health and that of their herds. the european settlers also bought land in ootacamund from them, and to this day the government pays them the sum of rs. 150 per mensem, as compensation for interference with the enjoyment of their pastoral rights in and about ootacamund. their position was, however, always a matter of dispute, until it was finally laid down in the despatch of the court of directors, dated 21st january, 1843. it was then decided that the todas possessed nothing more than a prescriptive right to enjoy the privilege of pasturing their herds, on payment of a small tax, on the state lands. the court desired that they should be secured from interference by settlers in the enjoyment of their mands, and of their spots appropriated to religious rites. accordingly pattas were issued, granting to each mand three bullahs (11.46 acres) of land. in 1863 mr. grant obtained permission to make a fresh allotment of nine bullahs (34.38 acres) to each mand on the express condition that the land should be used for pasturage only, and that no right to sell the land or the wood on it should be thereby conveyed. it may be added that the so-called toda lands are now regarded as the inalienable common property of the toda community, and unauthorised alienation is checked by the imposition of a penal rate of assessment (g.o., 18th april 1882). up to the date of this order, however, alienations by sale or lease were of frequent occurrence. it remains to be seen whether the present orders and subordinate staff will be more adequate than those that went before to check the practices referred to." with the view of protecting the toda lands, government took up the management of these lands in 1893, and framed rules, under the forest act, for their management, the rights of the todas over them being in no way affected by the rules of which the following is an abstract:-1. no person shall fell, girdle, mark, lop, uproot, or burn, or strip off the bark or leaves from, or otherwise damage any tree growing on the said lands, or remove the timber, or collect the natural produce of such trees or lands, or quarry or collect stone, lime, gravel, earth or manure upon such lands, or break up such lands for cultivation, or erect buildings of any description, or cattle kraals; and no person or persons, other than the todas named in the patta concerned, shall graze cattle, sheep, or goats upon such lands, unless he is authorised so to do by the collector of nilgiris, or some person empowered by him. 2. the collector may select any of the said lands to be placed under special fire protection. 3. no person shall hunt, beat for game, or shoot in such lands without a license from the collector. 4. no person shall at any time set nets, traps, or snares for game on such lands. 5. all todas in the nilgiri district shall, in respect of their own patta lands, be exempt from the operation of the above rules, and shall be at liberty to graze their own buffaloes, to remove fuel and grass for their domestic requirements, and to collect honey or wax upon such lands. they shall likewise be entitled to, and shall receive free permits for building or repairing their mands and temples. 6. the collector shall have power to issue annual permits for the cultivation of grass land only in toda pattas by todas themselves, free of charge, or otherwise as government may, from time to time, direct; but no toda shall be at liberty to permit any person, except a toda, to cultivate, or assist in the cultivation of such lands. in 1905, the todas petitioned government against the prohibition by the local forest authorities of the burning of grass on the downs, issued on the ground of danger to the sholas (wooded ravines or groves). this yearly burning of the grass was claimed by the todas to improve it, and they maintained that their cattle were deteriorating for want of good fodder. government ruled that the grass on the plateau has been burnt by the inhabitants at pleasure for many years without any appreciable damage to forest growth, and the practice should not be disturbed. concerning the social organisation of the todas, mr. breeks states that they are "divided into two classes, which cannot intermarry, viz., dêvalyâl and tarserzhâl. the first class consists of peiki class, corresponding in some respects to brahmans; the second of the four remaining classes the pekkan, kuttan, kenna, and todi. a peiki woman may not go to the village of the tarserzhâl, although the women of the latter may visit peikis." the class names given by mr. breeks were readily recognised by the todas whom i interviewed, but they gave terthal (comprising superior peikis) and tarthal as the names of the divisions. they told me that, when a terthal woman visits her friends at a tarthal mand, she is not allowed to enter the mand, but must stop at a distance from it. todas as a rule cook their rice in butter-milk, but, when a terthal woman pays a visit to tarthal mand, rice is cooked for her in water. when a tarthal woman visits at a terthal mand, she is permitted to enter into the mand, and food is cooked for her in buttermilk. the restrictions which are imposed on terthal women are said to be due to the fact that on one occasion a terthal woman, on a visit at a tarthal mand, folded up a cloth, and placed it under her putkuli as if it was a baby. when food was served, she asked for some for the child, and on receiving it, exhibited the cloth. the tarthals, not appreciating the mild joke, accordingly agreed to degrade all terthal women. according to dr. rivers, "the fundamental feature of the social organisation is the division of the community into two perfectly distinct groups, the tartharol and the teivaliol [=dêvalyâl of breeks]. there is a certain amount of specialisation of function, certain grades of the priesthood being filled only by members of the teivaliol. the tartharol and teivaliol are two endogamous divisions of the toda people. each of these primary divisions is sub-divided into a number of secondary divisions [clans]. these are exogamous. each class possesses a group of villages, and takes its name from the chief of these villages, etudmad. the tartharol are divided into twelve clans, the teivaliol into six clans or madol." when a girl has reached the age of puberty, she goes through an initiatory ceremony, in which a toda man of strong physique takes part. one of these splendid specimens of human muscularity was introduced to me on the occasion of a phonograph recital at the paikara bungalow. concerning the system of polyandry as carried out by the todas, dr. rivers writes as follows. "the todas have long been noted as a polyandrous people, and the institution of polyandry is still in full working order among them. when the girl becomes the wife of a boy, it is usually understood that she becomes also the wife of his brothers. in nearly every case at the present time, and in recent generations, the husbands of a woman are own brothers. in a few cases, though not brothers, they are of the same clan. very rarely do they belong to different clans. one of the most interesting features of toda polyandry is the method by which it is arranged who shall be regarded as the father of a child. for all social and legal purposes, the father of a child is the man who performs a certain ceremony about the seventh month of pregnancy, in which an imitation bow and arrow are given to the woman. when the husbands are own brothers, the eldest brother usually gives the bow and arrow, and is the father of the child, though, so long as the brothers live together, the other brothers are also regarded as fathers. it is in the cases in which the husbands are not own brothers that the ceremony becomes of real social importance. in these cases, it is arranged that one of the husbands shall give the bow and arrow, and this man is the father, not only of the child born shortly afterwards, but also of all succeeding children, till another husband performs the essential ceremony. fatherhood is determined so essentially by this ceremony that a man who has been dead for several years is regarded as the father of any children born by his widow, if no other man has given the bow and arrow. there is no doubt that, in former times, the polyandry of the todas was associated with female infanticide, and it is probable that the latter custom still exists to some extent, though strenuously denied. there is reason to believe that women are now more plentiful than formerly, though they are still in a distinct minority. any increase, however, in the number of women does not appear to have led to any great diminution of polyandrous marriages, but polyandry is often combined with polygyny. two or more brothers may have two or more wives in common. in such marriages, however, it seems to be a growing custom that one brother should give the bow and arrow to one wife, and another brother to another wife." the pregnancy ceremony referred to above is called pursutpimi, or bow (and arrow) we touch. according to the account given to me by several independent witnesses, the woman proceeds, accompanied by members of the tribe, on a new moon-day in the fifth or seventh month of her pregnancy, to a shola, where she sits with the man who is to become the father of her child near a kiaz tree (eugenia arnottiana). the man asks the father of the woman if he may bring the bow, and, on obtaining his consent, goes in search of a shrub (sophora glauca), from a twig of which he makes a mimic bow. the arrow is represented by a blade of grass called nark (andropogon schoenanthus). meanwhile a triangular niche has been cut in the kiaz tree, in which a lighted lamp is placed. the woman seats herself in front of the lamp, and, on the return of the man, asks thrice "whose bow is it?" or "what is it?" meaning to whom, or to which mand does the child belong? the bow and arrow are handed to the woman, who raises them to her head, touches her forehead with them, and places them near the tree. from this moment the lawful father of the child is the man from whom she has received the bow and arrow. he places on the ground at the foot of the tree some rice, various kinds of grain, chillies, jaggery (crude sugar), and salt tied in a cloth. all those present then leave, except the man and woman, who remain near the tree till about six o'clock in the evening, when they return to the mand. the time is determined, in the vicinity of ootacamund, by the opening of the flowers of onothera tetraptera (evening primrose), a garden escape called by the todas aru mani puv (six o'clock flower), which opens towards evening. [46] it may be noted that, at the second funeral of a male, a miniature bow and three arrows are burnt with various other articles within the stone circle (azaram). a few years ago (1902), the todas, in a petition to government, prayed for special legislation to legalise their marriages on the lines of the malabar marriage act. the government was of opinion that legislation was unnecessary, and that it was open to such of the todas as were willing to sign the declaration prescribed by section 10 of the marriage act iii of 1872 to contract legal marriages under the provision of that act. the treasury deputy collector of the nilgiris was appointed registrar of toda marriages. no marriage has been registered up to the present time. the practice of infanticide among the todas is best summed up in the words of an aged toda during an interview with colonel marshall. [47] "i was a little boy when mr. sullivan (the first english pioneer of the nilgiris) visited these mountains. in those days it was the custom to kill children, but the practice has long died out, and now one never hears of it. i don't know whether it was wrong or not to kill them, but we were very poor, and could not support our children. now every one has a mantle (putkuli), but formerly there was only one for the whole family. we did not kill them to please any god, but because it was our custom. the mother never nursed the child, and the parents did not kill it. do you think we could kill it ourselves? those tell lies who say we laid it down before the opening of the buffalo-pen, so that it might be run over and killed by the animals. we never did such things, and it is all nonsense that we drowned it in buffalo's milk. boys were never killed--only girls; not those who were sickly and deformed--that would be a sin; but, when we had one girl, or in some families two girls, those that followed were killed. an old woman (kelachi) used to take the child immediately it was born, and close its nostrils, ears, and mouth with a cloth thus--here pantomimic action. it would shortly droop its head, and go to sleep. we then buried it in the ground. the kelachi got a present of four annas for the deed." the old man's remark about the cattle-pen refers to the malagasy custom of placing a new-born child at the entrance to a cattle-pen, and then driving the cattle over it, to see whether they would trample on it or not. [48] the missionary metz [49] bears out the statement that the toda babies were killed by suffocation. at the census, 1901, 453 male and 354 female todas were returned. in a note on the proportion of the sexes among the todas, mr. r. c. punnett states [50] that "all who have studied the todas are agreed upon the frequency of the practice (of infanticide) in earlier times. marshall, writing in 1872, refers to the large amount of female infanticide in former years, but expresses his conviction that the practice had by that time died out. marshall's evidence is that of native assurance only. dr. rivers, who received the same assurance, is disinclined to place much confidence in native veracity with reference to this point, and, in view of the lack of encouragement which the practice receives from the indian government, this is not altogether surprising. the supposition of female infanticide, by accounting for the great disproportion in the numbers of the sexes, brings the todas into harmony with what is known of the rest of mankind." in summarising his conclusions, mr. punnett notes that:-(1) among the todas, males predominate greatly over females. (2) this preponderance is doubtless due to the practice of female infanticide, which is probably still to some extent prevalent. (3) the numerical preponderance of the males has been steadily sinking during recent years, owing probably to the check which foreign intercourse has imposed upon female infanticide. in connection with the death ceremonies of the todas, dr. rivers notes that "soon after death the body is burnt, and the general name for the ceremony on this occasion is etvainolkedr, the first day funeral. after an interval, which may vary greatly in length, a second ceremony is performed, connected with certain relics of the deceased which have been preserved from the first occasion. the toda name for this second funeral ceremony is marvainolkedr, the second day funeral, or 'again which day funeral.' the funeral ceremonies are open to all, and visitors are often invited by the todas. in consequence, the funeral rites are better known, and have been more frequently described than any other features of toda ceremonial. like nearly every institution of the todas, however, they have become known to europeans under their badaga names. the first funeral is called by the badagas hase kedu, the fresh or green funeral, and the term 'green funeral' has not only become the generally recognised name among the european inhabitants of the nilgiri hills, but has been widely adopted in anthropological literature. the second funeral is called by the badagas bara kedu, the 'dry funeral,' and this term also has been generally adopted." the various forms of the funeral ceremonies are discussed in detail by dr. rivers, and it must suffice to describe those at which we have been present as eye-witnesses. i had the opportunity of witnessing the second funeral of a woman who had died from smallpox two months previously. on arrival at a mand on the open downs about five miles from ootacamund, we were conducted by a toda guide to the margin of a dense shola, where we found two groups seated apart, consisting of (a) women, girls, and brown-haired female babies, round a camp fire; (b) men, boys, and male babies, carried, with marked signs of paternal affection, by their fathers. in a few minutes a murmuring sound commenced in the centre of the female group. working themselves up to the necessary pitch, some of the women (near relatives of the deceased) commenced to cry freely, and the wailing and lachrymation gradually spread round the circle, until all, except little girls and babies who were too young to be affected, were weeping and mourning, some for fashion, others from genuine grief. in carrying out the orthodox form of mourning, the women first had a good cry to themselves, and then, as their emotions became more intense, went round the circle, selecting partners with whom to share companionship in grief. gradually the group resolved itself into couplets of mourners, each pair with their heads in contact, and giving expression to their emotions in unison. before separating to select a new partner, each couple saluted by bowing the head, and raising thereto the feet of the other, covered by the putkuli. [i have seen women rapidly recover from the outward manifestations of grief, and clamour for money.] from time to time the company of mourners was reinforced by late arrivals from distant mands, and, as each detachment, now of men and now of women, came in view across the open downs, one could not fail to be reminded of the gathering of the clans on some highland moor. the resemblance was heightened by the distant sound as of pipers, produced by the kota band (with two police constables in attendance), composed of four kotas, who made a weird noise with drums and flutes as they drew near the scene of action. the band, on arrival, took up a position close to the mourning women. as each detachment arrived, the women, recognising their relatives, came forward and saluted them in the manner customary among todas by falling at their feet, and placing first the right and then the left foot on their head. shortly after the arrival of the band, signals were exchanged, by waving of putkulis, between the assembled throng and a small detachment of men some distance off. a general move was made, and an impromptu procession formed, with men in front, band in the middle, and women bringing up the rear. a halt was made opposite a narrow gap leading into the shola; men and women sat apart as before; and the band walked round, discoursing unsweet music. a party of girls went off to bring fire from the spot just vacated for use in the coming ceremonial, but recourse was finally had to a box of matches lent by one of our party. at this stage we noticed a woman go up to the eldest son of the deceased, who was seated apart from the other men, and would not be comforted in spite of her efforts to console him. on receipt of a summons from within the shola, the assembled toda men and ourselves swarmed into it by a narrow track leading to a small clear space round a big tree, from a hole cut at the base of which an elderly toda produced a piece of the skull of the dead woman, wrapped round with long tresses of her hair. it now became the men's turn to exhibit active signs of grief, and all of one accord commenced to weep and mourn. amid the scene of lamentation, the hair was slowly unwrapt from off the skull, and burned in an iron ladle, from which a smell as of incense arose. a bamboo pot of ghi was produced, with which the skull was reverently anointed, and placed in a cloth spread on the ground. to this relic of the deceased the throng of men, amid a scene of wild excitement, made obeisance by kneeling down before it, and touching it with their foreheads. the females were not permitted to witness this stage of the proceedings, with the exception of one or two near relatives of the departed one, who supported themselves sobbing against the tree. the ceremonial concluded, the fragment of skull, wrapt in the cloth, was carried into the open, where, as men and boys had previously done, women and girls made obeisance to it. a procession was then again formed, and marched on until a place was reached, where were two stone-walled kraals, large and small. around the former the men, and within the latter the women, took up their position, the men engaging in chit-chat, and the women in mourning, which after a time ceased, and they too engaged in conversation. a party of men, carrying the skull, still in the cloth, set out for a neighbouring shola, where a kedu of several other dead todas was being celebrated; and a long pause ensued, broken eventually by the arrival of the other funeral party, the men advancing in several lines, with arms linked, and crying out u, hah! u, hah, hah! in regular time. this party brought with it pieces of the skulls of a woman and two men, which were placed, wrapt in cloths, on the ground, saluted, and mourned over by the assembled multitude. at this stage a small party of kotas arrived, and took up their position on a neighbouring hill, waiting, vulture-like, for the carcase of the buffalo which was shortly to be slain. several young men now went off across the hill in search of buffaloes, and speedily re-appeared, driving five buffaloes before them with sticks. as soon as the beasts approached a swampy marsh at the foot of the hill on which the expectant crowd of men was gathered together, two young men of athletic build, throwing off their putkulis, made a rush down the hill, and tried to seize one of the buffaloes by the horns, with the result that one of them was promptly thrown. the buffalo escaping, one of the remaining four was quickly caught by the horns, and, with arms interlocked, the men brought it down on its knees, amid a general scuffle. in spite of marked objection and strenuous resistance on the part of the animal--a barren cow--it was, by means of sticks freely applied, slowly dragged up the hill, preceded by the kota band, and with a toda youth pulling at its tail. arrived at the open space between the kraals, the buffalo, by this time thoroughly exasperated, and with blood pouring from its nostrils, had a cloth put on its back, and was despatched by a blow on the poll with an axe deftly wielded by a young and muscular man. on this occasion no one was badly hurt by the sacrificial cow, though one man was seen washing his legs in the swamp after the preliminary struggle with the beast. but colonel ross-king narrates how he saw a man receive a dangerous wound in the neck from a thrust of the horn, which ripped open a wide gash from the collar-bone to the ear. with the death of the buffalo, the last scene, which terminated the strange rites, commenced; men, women, and children pressing forward and jostling one another in their eagerness to salute the dead beast by placing their hands between its horns, and weeping and mourning in pairs; the facial expression of grief being mimicked when tears refused to flow spontaneously. the ceremonial connected with the final burning of the relics and burial of the ashes at the stone circle (azaram) are described in detail by dr. rivers. a few days after the ceremony just described, i was invited to be present at the funeral of a young girl who had died of smallpox five days previously. i proceeded accordingly to the scene of the recent ceremony, and there, in company with a small gathering of todas from the neighbouring mands, awaited the arrival of the funeral cortége, the approach of which was announced by the advancing strains of kota music. slowly the procession came over the brow of the hill; the corpse, covered by a cloth, on a rude ladder-like bier, borne on the shoulders of four men, followed by two kota musicians; the mother carried hidden within a sack; relatives and men carrying bags of rice and jaggery, and bundles of wood of the kiaz tree (eugenia arnottiana) for the funeral pyre. arrived opposite a small hut, which had been specially built for the ceremonial, the corpse was removed from the bier, laid on the ground, face upwards, outside the hut, and saluted by men, women, and children, with the same manifestations of grief as on the previous occasion. soon the men moved away to a short distance, and engaged in quiet conversation, leaving the females to continue mourning round the corpse, interrupted from time to time by the arrival of detachments from distant mands, whose first duty was to salute the dead body. meanwhile a near female relative of the dead child was busily engaged inside the hut, collecting together in a basket small measures of rice, jaggery, sago, honey-comb, and the girl's simple toys, which were subsequently to be burned with the corpse. the mourning ceasing after a time, the corpse was placed inside the hut, and followed by the near relatives, who there continued to weep over it. a detachment of men and boys, who had set out in search of the buffaloes which were to be sacrificed, now returned driving before them three cows, which escaped from their pursuers to rejoin the main herd. a long pause ensued, and, after a very prolonged drive, three more cows were guided into a marshy swamp, where one of them was caught by the horns, and dragged reluctantly, but with little show of fight, to the strains of kota drum and flute, in front of the hut, where it was promptly despatched by a blow on the poll. the corpse was now brought from within the hut, and placed, face upwards, with its feet resting on the forehead of the buffalo, whose neck was decorated with a silver chain, such as is worn by todas round the loins, as no bell was available, and the horns were smeared with butter. then followed frantic manifestations of grief, amid which the unhappy mother fainted. mourning over, the corpse was made to go through a form of ceremony, resembling that which is performed during pregnancy with the first child. a small boy, three years old, was selected from among the relatives of the dead girl, and taken by his father in search of a certain grass (andropogon schoenanthus) and a twig of a shrub (sophora glauca), which were brought to the spot where the corpse was lying. the mother of the dead child then withdrew one of its hands from the putkuli, and the boy placed the grass and twig in the hand, and limes, plantains, rice, jaggery, honey-comb, and butter in the pocket of the putkuli, which was then stitched with needle and thread in a circular pattern. the boy's father then took off his son's putkuli, and replaced it so as to cover him from head to foot. thus covered, the boy remained outside the hut till the morning of the morrow, watched through the night by near relatives of himself and his dead bride. [on the occasion of the funeral of an unmarried lad, a girl is in like manner selected, covered with her putkuli from head to foot, and a metal vessel filled with jaggery, rice, etc., to be subsequently burnt on the funeral pyre, placed for a short time within the folds of the putkuli. thus covered, the girl remains till next morning, watched through the dreary hours of the night by relatives. the same ceremony is performed over the corpse of a married woman who has not borne children, the husband acting as such for the last time, in the vain hope that the woman may produce issue in heaven.] the corpse was borne away to the burning-ground within the shola, and, after removal of some of the hair by the mother of the newly wedded boy, burned, with face upwards, amid the music of the kota band, the groans of the assembled crowd squatting on the ground, and the genuine grief of the nearest relatives. the burning concluded, a portion of the skull was removed from the ashes, and handed over to the recently made mother-in-law of the dead girl, and wrapped up with the hair in the bark of the tud tree (meliosma pungens). a second buffalo, which, properly speaking, should have been slain before the corpse was burnt, was then sacrificed, and rice and jaggery were distributed among the crowd, which dispersed, leaving behind the youthful widower and his custodians, who, after daybreak, partook of a meal of rice, and returned to their mands; the boy's mother taking with her the skull and hair to her mand, where it would remain until the celebration of the second funeral. no attention is paid to the ashes after cremation, and they are left to be scattered by the winds. a further opportunity offered itself to be present at the funeral of an elderly woman on the open downs not far from paikara, in connection with which certain details possess some interest. the corpse was, at the time of our arrival, laid out on a rude bier within an improvised arbour covered with leaves and open at each end, and tended by some of the female relatives. at some little distance, a conclave of toda men, who rose of one accord to greet us, was squatting in a circle, among whom were many venerable white-turbaned elders of the tribe, protected from the scorching sun by palm-leaf umbrellas. amid much joking, and speech-making by the veterans, it was decided that, as the eldest son of the deceased woman was dead, leaving a widow, this daughter-in-law should be united to the second son, and that they should live together as man and wife. on the announcement of the decision, the bridegroom-elect saluted the principal todas present by placing his head on their feet, which were sometimes concealed within the ample folds of the putkuli. at the funeral of a married woman, three ceremonies must, i was told, be performed, if possible, by a daughter or daughter-in-law, viz.:-(1) tying a leafy branch of the tiviri shrub (atylosia candolleana) in the putkuli of the corpse; (2) tying balls of thread and cowry shells on the arm of the corpse, just above the elbow; (3) setting fire to the funeral pyre, which was, on the present occasion, done by lighting a rag fed with ghi with a match. the buffalo capture took place amid the usual excitement, and with freedom from accident; and, later in the day, the stalwart buffalo catchers turned up at the travellers' bungalow for a pourboire in return, as they said, for treating us to a good fight. the beasts selected for sacrifice were a full-grown cow and a young calf. as they were dragged near to the corpse, now removed from the arbour, butter was smeared over the horns, and a bell tied round the neck. the bell was subsequently removed by kotas, in whose custody, it was said, it was to remain till the next day funeral. the death-blow, or rather series of blows, having been delivered with the butt end of an axe, the feet of the corpse were placed at the mouth of the buffalo. in the case of a male corpse, the right hand is made to clasp the horns. [it is recorded by dr. rivers that, at the funeral of a male, men dance after the buffalo is killed. in the dancing a tall pole, called tadri or tadrsi, decorated with cowry shells, is used.] the customary mourning in couples concluded, the corpse, clad in four cloths, was carried on the stretcher to a clear space in the neighbouring shola, and placed by the side of the funeral pyre, which had been rapidly piled up. the innermost cloth was black in colour, and similar to that worn by a palol. next to it came a putkuli decorated with blue and red embroidery, outside which again was a plain white cloth covered over by a red cotton cloth of european manufacture. seated by the side of the pyre, near to which i was courteously invited to take a seat on the stump of a rhododendron, was an elderly relative of the dead woman, who, while watching the ceremonial, was placidly engaged in the manufacture of a holly walking-stick with the aid of a glass scraper. the proceedings were watched on behalf of government by a forest guard, and a police constable who, with marked affectation, held his handkerchief to his nose throughout the ceremonial. the corpse was decorated with brass rings, and within the putkuli were stowed jaggery, a scroll of paper adorned with cowry shells, snuff and tobacco, cocoanuts, biscuits, various kinds of grain, ghi, honey, and a tin-framed looking-glass. a long purse, containing a silver japanese yen and an arcot rupee of the east india company, was tied up in the putkuli close to the feet. these preliminaries concluded, the corpse was hoisted up, and swung three times over the now burning pyre, above which a mimic bier, made of slender twigs, was held. the body was then stripped of its jewelry, and a lock of hair cut off by the daughter-in-law for preservation, together with a fragment of the skull. i was told that, when the corpse is swung over the pyre, the dead person goes to amnodr (the world of the dead). in this connection, dr. rivers writes that "it would seem as if this ceremony of swinging the body over the fire was directly connected with the removal of the objects of value. the swinging over the fire would be symbolic of its destruction by fire; and this symbolic burning has the great advantage that the objects of value are not consumed, and are available for use another time. this is probably the real explanation of the ceremony, but it is not the explanation given by the todas themselves. they say that long ago, about 400 years, a man supposed to be dead was put on the funeral pyre, and, revived by the heat, he was found to be alive, and was able to walk away from the funeral place. in consequence of this, the rule was made that the body should always be swung three times over the fire before it is finally placed thereon." [colonel marshall narrates the story that a toda who had revived from what was thought his death-bed, has been observed parading about, very proud and distinguished looking, wearing the finery with which he had been bedecked for his own funeral, and which he would be permitted to carry till he really departed this life.] as soon as the pyre was fairly ablaze, the mourners, with the exception of some of the female relatives, left the shola, and the men, congregating on the summit of a neighbouring hill, invoked their god. four men, seized, apparently in imitation of the kota devadi, with divine frenzy, began to shiver and gesticulate wildly, while running blindly to and fro with closed eyes and shaking fists. they then began to talk in malayalam, and offer an explanation of an extraordinary phenomenon, which had appeared in the form of a gigantic figure, which disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. at the annual ceremony of walking through fire (hot ashes) in that year, two factions arose owing to some dissension, and two sets of ashes were used. this seems to have annoyed the gods, and those concerned were threatened with speedy ruin. but the whole story was very vague. the possession by some todas of a smattering of malayalam is explained by the fact that, when grazing their buffaloes on the northern and western slopes of the nilgiris, they come in contact with malayalam-speaking people from the neighbouring malabar district. at the funeral of a man (a leper), the corpse was placed in front of the entrance to a circle of loose stones about a yard and a half in diameter, which had been specially constructed for the occasion. just before the buffalo sacrifice, a man of the paiki clan standing near the head of the corpse, dug a hole in the ground with a cane, and asked a kenna who was standing on the other side, "puzhut, kenna," [51] shall i throw the earth?--three times. to which the kenna, answering, replied "puzhut"--throw the earth--thrice. the paiki then threw some earth three times over the corpse, and three times into the miniature kraal. it is suggested by dr. rivers that the circle was made to do duty for a buffalo pen, as the funeral was held at a place where there was no tu (pen), from the entrance of which earth could be dug up. several examples of laments relating to the virtues and life of the deceased, which are sung or recited in the course of the funeral ceremonies, are given by dr. rivers. on the occasion of the reproduction of a lament in my phonograph, two young women were seen to be crying bitterly. the selection of the particular lament was unfortunate, as it had been sung at their father's funeral. the reproduction of the recitation of a dead person's sins at a badaga funeral quickly restored them to a state of cheerfulness. the following petition to the collector of the nilgiris on the subject of buffalo sacrifice may be quoted as a sign of the times, when the todas employ petition-writers to express their grievances:-"according to our religious custom for the long period, we are bringing forward of our killing buffaloes without any irregular way. but, in last year, when the late collector came to see the said place, by that he ordered to the todas first not to keep the buffaloes without feeding in the kraal, and second he ordered to kill each for every day, and to clear away the buffaloes, and not to keep the buffaloes without food. we did our work according to his orders, and this excellent order was an ample one. now this ----, a chief of the todas, son of ----, a deceased toda, the above man joined with the moniagar of ---village, joined together, and, dealing with bribes, now they arose against us, and doing this great troubles on us, and also, by this great trouble, one day mr. ---came for shooting snapes (snipe) by that side. by chance one grazing buffalo came to him, push him by his horns very forcely, and wounded him on his leg. by the help of another gentleman who came with him he escaped, or he would have die at the moment. now the said moniagar and ---joined together, want to finish the funeral to his late father on the 18th instant. for this purpose they are going to shut the buffaloes without food in the kraal on the 18th instant at 10 o'clock. they are going to kill the buffaloes on the 19th instant at 4 o'clock in the evening. but this is a great sin against god. but we beg your honour this way. that is, let them leave the buffaloes in the grazing place, and ask them to catch and kill them at the same moment. and also your honour cannot ordered them to keep them in the kraal without food. and, if they will desire to kill the buffaloes in this way, these buffaloes will come on us, and also on the other peoples one who, coming to see funs on those day, will kill them all by his anxious. and so we the todas begs your honour to enquire them before the 18th, the said funeral ceremony commencing, and not to grant the above orders to them." a whit monday at paikara was given up to an exhibition of sports and games, whereof the most exciting and interesting was a burlesque representation of a toda funeral by boys and girls. a toda, who was fond of his little joke, applied the term pacchai kedu (green funeral) to the corpses of the flies entrapped by a viscous catch'em-alive-oh on the bungalow table. to the mock funeral rites arrived a party of youths, as from a distant mand, and crying out u, hah, in shrill mimicry of their elders. the lad who was to play the leading part of sacrificial buffalo, stripping off his putkuli, disappeared from sight over the brow of a low hillock. above this eminence his bent and uplifted upper extremities shortly appeared as representatives of the buffalo horns. at sight thereof, there was a wild rush of small boys to catch him, and a mimic struggle took place, while the buffalo was dragged, amid good-tempered scuffling, kicks, and shouting, to the spot where the corpse should have been. this spot was, in the absence of a pseudo-dead body or stage dummy, indicated by a group of little girls, who had sat chatting together till the boy-beast arrived, when they touched foreheads, and went, with due solemnity, through the orthodox observance of mourning in couples. the buffalo was slain by a smart tap on the back of the head with a cloth, which did duty for an axe. as soon as the convulsive movements and twitchings of the death struggle were over, the buffalo, without waiting for an encore, retired behind the hillock once more, in order that the rough and tumble fight, which was evidently the chief charm of the game, might be repeated. the buffalo boy later on came in second in a flat race, and he was last seen protecting us from a mischievous-looking member of his herd, which was grazing on the main-road. toda buffaloes, it may be noted, are not at all popular with members of the ootacamund hunt, as both horses and riders from time to time receive injuries from their horns, when they come in collision. while the funeral game was in progress, the men showed off their prowess at a game (eln), [52] corresponding to the english tip-cat, which is epidemic at a certain season in the london bye-streets. it is played with a bat like a broomstick, and a cylindrical piece of wood pointed at both ends. the latter is propped up against a stone, and struck with the bat. as it flies off the stone, it is hit to a distance with the bat, and caught (or missed) by the out fields. at the muttanad mand, we were treated to a further exhibition of games. in one of these, called narthpimi, a flat slab of stone is supported horizontally on two other slabs fixed perpendicularly in the ground so as to form a narrow tunnel, through which a man can just manage to wriggle his body with difficulty. two men take part in the game, one stationing himself at a distance of about thirty yards, the other about sixty yards from the tunnel. the front man, throwing off his mantle, runs as hard as he can to the tunnel, pursued by the 'scratch' man, whose object is to touch the other man's feet before he has squeezed himself through the tunnel. another sport, which we witnessed, consists of trial of strength with a heavy globular stone, the object being to raise it up to the shoulder; but a strong, well-built-man--he who was entrusted with slaying the funeral buffalo--failed to raise it higher than the pit of the stomach, though straining his muscles in the attempt. a splendidly made veteran assured me that, when young and lusty, he was able to accomplish the feat, and spoke sadly of degeneration in the physique of the younger members of the tribe. mr. breeks mentions that the todas play a game resembling puss-in-the-corner, called karialapimi, which was not included in the programme of sports got up for our benefit. dr. rivers writes that "the todas, and especially the children, often play with mimic representations of objects from practical life. near the villages i have seen small artificial buffalo-pens and fireplaces made by the children in sport." i have, on several occasions, come across young children playing with long and short pieces of twigs representing buffaloes and their calves, and going solemnly through the various incidents in the daily life of these animals. todas, both old and young, may constantly be seen twisting flexible twigs into representations of buffaloes' heads and horns. of toda songs, the following have been collected:- sunshine is increasing. mist is fast gathering. rain may come. thunder roars. clouds are gathering. rain is pouring. wind and rain have combined. oh, powerful god, may everything prosper! may charity increase! may the buffaloes become pregnant! see that the buffaloes have calves. see that the barren women have children. go and tell this to the god of the land. keygamor, eygamor (names of buffaloes). evening is approaching. the buffaloes are coming. the calves also have returned. the buffaloes are saluted. the dairy-man beats the calves with his stick. milk has been offered to the bell. it is growing dark. this is a buffalo with beautiful horns. a buffalo stupidly given away by the badaga. a buffalo brought to the kandal mand. innerovya (name of buffalo). like this buffalo there is no other. parkur (name of a toda). like him there is no man. the sun is shining. the wind is blowing. rain is coming. the trees are in flower. tears are falling. the nose is burning. he is coming, holding up his umbrella. he is coming, wearing a good body-cloth. he is coming, wearing a good under-cloth. he (the palol) is coming, wearing a black cloth. he is coming, holding his walking-stick of palai wood. i have a god. what is to become of me? i am inclined to cry, my heart being heavy. oh, my child! do not cry. it is still crying. thuree. thuree. see. be quiet. a robust bull buffalo. ach! ach! a big buffalo not intended for killing. ach! ach! is leading the cow buffalo. ah! ah! two or three men are driving it. ah! ah! song in honour of the arrival of the maharani-regent of mysore at ootacamund. all we todas go to her house, and dance before her. she gives us fifteen rupees. she comes near our women, and talks to them. she gives cloths to us. next day we take milk, eight bottles in the morning, four in the evening. month by month she pays us for our milk. she goes back to mysore, and, when she goes, we stand in a row before her. she gives us presents; cloths and three rupees. the women cut their hair, and stand before her. marriage song. boys and girls are singing. much money are they spending. to the girl her father is giving five buffaloes. the husband tells his wife that she must curl her hair. if her hair is curled, all the people will rejoice. the buffalo is slain, and now we must all dance. why are not more people here? more should come. my buffalo is big, very big. go quickly and catch it. the todas are all there. they are standing in a row. who will run, and catch the buffalo first? to him will a present of five rupees be given. i will go and catch it first. the todas are all fighting. the todas are all feasting. people give them rice. the buffalo is coming. two men run to catch it by the neck. ten men collect the buffaloes. they pen them in a kraal. at one o'clock we take our food. the buffalo is running, and i hit it on the back with a stick. it swerves aside, but i drive it back to the path. night comes, and we all dance. next morning at ten o'clock we bring out the buffalo, and slay it. at four in the morning we wrap rice and grain in a white cloth, and burn it. at eleven we cut the hair of the boys and girls. at four in the morning the priest goes to the temple (dairy). he lights the lamp. at eight he milks his buffaloes. he puts on no cloth. he places butter and ghi before the god. then he grazes his buffaloes, and eats his food. then he puts on his cloth. at three in the afternoon he goes again to the temple. he kindles a fire, and lights the lamp. he puts milk in a chatty, and churns it into butter with a cane. he mixes water with the butter-milk, and gives it to the women to drink. he alone may sleep in the temple. at four in the morning he lets out the buffaloes to graze. at seven he milks them. the woman's house is down the hill. the priest must not go in unto the woman. he may not marry. when he is twenty, he may not enter the temple. another is made priest in his stead. the religious institutions of the todas, including the elaborate dairy ritual, and their religion, are described in full detail by dr. rivers. the todas have been to some extent influenced by hinduism, and some visit the temples at nanjengod in mysore, karamadai in the coimbatore district, and other shrines, whereat they worship, present votive offerings, and pray for offspring, etc. writing in 1872, mr. breeks remarked that "about ootacamund, a few todas have latterly begun to imitate the religious practices of their native neighbours. occasionally children's foreheads are marked with the siva spot, and my particular friend kinniaven, after an absence of some days, returned with a shaven head from a visit to the temple of siva at nanjengudi." a man who came to my laboratory had his hair hanging down in long tails reaching below his shoulders. he had, he said, let it grow long because his wife, though married five years, had borne no child. a child had, however, recently been born, and, as soon as the second funeral of a relation had been performed, he was going to sacrifice his locks as a thank-offering at the nanjengod temple. the following extracts from my notes will serve to illustrate the practice of marking (in some instances apparently for beauty's sake) and shaving as carried out at the present day. (1) man, aged 28. has just performed a ceremony at the ti mand. white curved line painted across forehead, and dots below outer ends thereof, on glabella, and outside orbits. smeared with white across chest, over outer side of upper arms and left nipple, across knuckles and lower end of left ulna, and on lobes of ears. (2) man, aged 21. painted on forehead as above. smeared over chest and upper eye lids. (3) man, aged 35. white spot painted on forehead. (4) man, aged 30. hair of head and beard cut short owing to death of grandfather. (5) boy, aged 12. shock head of hair, cut very short all over owing to death of grandfather. (6) girl, aged 8. hair shaved on top, back and sides of head, and in median strip from vertex to forehead. (7) boy, aged 6. white spot painted between eyebrows. hair shaved on top and sides of head, and in median strip from vertex to forehead. hair brought forward in fringe over forehead on either side of median strip, and hanging down back of neck. (8) male child, aged 18 months. white spot painted between eyebrows. shaved on top and sides of head. todupuzha vellala.--for the following note, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. besides the nanchinad vellalas, there are, in travancore, two sections of the vellala caste, inhabiting the mountainous todupuzha taluk. these are the tenkanchi and kumbakonam vellalas. the former are known by the popular name of anjuttilkar, or the five hundred, and the latter are designated munnutilkar, or the three hundred, in reference to the number of families which originally settled in the taluk. like the nanchinad vellalas, they take the title of pillai, and, in special cases, the honorific prefix kanakku. the tenkanchi vellalas appear to have dwelt originally in the tenkasi taluk of the tinnevelly district, and to have emigrated, as the legend goes, on account of the demand of a vaduka ruler for the hand of a member of their community in marriage. the vadakkumkur rajas were ruling over todupuzha at the time of their migration, and afforded them a safe asylum. the kumbakonam vellalas believe that they emigrated to travancore about the commencement of the malabar era from kumbakonam in the tanjore district. both divisions speak malayalam, but there are clear indications in their speech that their mother-tongue was once tamil, and they always use that language in their ceremonial writings. the anjuttilkar women have adopted the dress and ornaments of the nayars. both sections wear the tuft of hair in front, but the munnutilkar women do not tie the hair on the left side like the nayars and anjuttilkars, but behind like the pandi vellalas. nor do the anjuttilkar women wear a white dress like the tenkanchis, but a coloured cloth, sixteen cubits in length, in orthodox tamil fashion. again, while the tenkanchi women largely resort to the todu and other nayar ornaments, the kumbakonam women are more conservative, and wear only the pampadam and melidu, though they sometimes wear jewels, such as the nagapata tali for the neck. both sections are saivites, in the sense that they abstain from flesh and fish. their principal occupation is agriculture. they worship the two mountain deities bhadrakali and durga. in the kirikkot muri of the karikkod property there is a temple dedicated to siva or unnamalanathar, with a large amount of property attached to it. this belongs to the tenkanchi vellalas, and a malayalam brahman performs the priestly functions. the kumbakonam vellalas have their own temples, such as the ankalamma koil, annamala matam, virabhadran koil, etc., and worship, besides the principal gods of the hindu pantheon, such minor deities as virabhadran, karuppan, bhairavan, mariamman, and muttaramman. the priests of both sections are east coast brahmans, who live in the todupuzha taluk. as their profession is regarded by other brahmans as degrading, they, especially in the case of the kumbakonam vellalas, perform their duties stealthily. the headman of the kumbakonam section lives in the periyakulam taluk of the madura district, and, by his order, an image of siva is worshipped at their homes. divorce is not permitted on any ground, and, in ancient days, widow remarriage was forbidden. there is a legend that a woman of this caste, who was a friend of the daughter of a certain vadakkumkur rajah, was so aggrieved at the news of her newly married husband's death that, at her intercession, the rajah issued a proclamation permitting the remarriage of widows. if no husband has been found for a girl before she reaches puberty, certain propitiatory rites have to be performed, at which one of her female relations represents her. on the fourth day of the marriage ceremony, the bride and bridegroom, before they bathe, rub each other's bodies with oil, and, going to a large caldron containing water, throw a gold and silver ring into it, and pick them out three times. inheritance of both sections is from father to son (makkathayam). a sambandham alliance does not confer any rite of inheritance. the names of both sections are such as are unknown among nayars, e.g., sivalingam, arunachalam, chidambaram, arumukham. the tenkanchis are considered to be higher in the social scale than the kumbakonam section, as they observe only twelve days' death pollution, whereas the latter are under pollution for sixteen days. the tenkanchis may enter the temple, and, like nayars, stand on the left side of the inner shrine, whereas the kumbakonam vellalas may proceed only as far as the balikkalpura, or out-house of the temple, and not enter the nalambalam. again, butter-milk is freely received by brahmans from the tenkanchis, but not from members of the kumbakonam section. while pandi vellalas will not receive food from the tenkanchis, or give their daughters in marriage to them, the latter will not intermarry with the nanchinad vellalas. togata.--the togatas are telugu weavers, most numerous in the cuddapah district, who manufacture the coarsest kind of cotton cloths, such as are worn by the poorer classes. they are generally vaishnavites, wear the sacred thread, and have for their priests vaishnava brahmans or satanis. they eat flesh, and their widows are allowed to remarry. writing concerning the togatas in 1807, buchanan states [53] that "widows cannot marry again, but are not expected to kill themselves. the panchanga, or village astrologer, attends at births, marriages, funerals, at the ceremonies performed in honour of their deceased parents, and at the building of a new house, and on each occasion gets a fee of one fanam, or eight pence. on other occasions, when a weaver wants to pray, he calls in a satanana, who reads something in an unknown language, and gives the votary some holy water, which he consecrates by pouring it on the head of a small image that he carries about for the purpose." as regards their origin, some togatas claim to be sons of chaudesvari, who threw some rice on to the fire, from which sprang a host of warriors, whose descendants they are. others give puppandaja rishi as the name of their ancestor. concerning chaudesvari, mr. francis writes as follows. [54] "connected with the margosa tree (melia azadirachta) is the worship of chaudesvari, the goddess of the togata caste of weavers. she is supposed to reside in margosa trees, and either the tree itself, or a stone representing the goddess and placed at its foot, is worshipped by the togatas at certain seasons, such as the telugu new year day. apparently the other weaver castes take no share in the ceremonies. they consist largely of animal sacrifices. nevertheless, a particular class of brahmans, called nandavarikula brahmans, take a prominent part in the festival. this name nandavarikula is derived from the village of nandavaram in kurnool, and doubtless many stories are prevalent there about this sub-division. the account given at tadpatri, where they are fairly numerous, is as follows. once upon a time, a king from southern india went on a pilgrimage with his wife to benares. while there, he unwittingly incurred a nameless but heinous pollution. horrified, he applied to some brahmans there to purify him, promising them half his kingdom in return. they asked for some tangible record of this promise, and the king called upon the goddess chaudesvari, who had a temple near by, to witness his oath. the purification was effected, and he departed home. later on the brahmans came south, and asked for the fulfilment of his promise. the king declared that he could not remember having made any such undertaking. the brahmans accordingly went to benares, and asked chaudesvari to come south, and bear witness to the king's oaths. she agreed, on the usual condition that they should go in front, and not look back at her as she came. as happens in other stories of the same kind, they are said to have broken the condition. at nandavaram they looked back, and the goddess instantly stopped, and remained immoveable. a temple was built for her there, and the brahmans remained in the south, and still take part in the worship of chaudesvari which the togatas inaugurate, even though she is not one of the hindu pantheon, and delights in animal sacrifice. at tadpatri other castes besides the togatas help at the festival." though chaudesvari is the patron god of the togatas, they also worship poleramma, ellamma, kotamma, and other minor deities. the original occupation of the togatas is said to have been dyeing, but, at the present day, owing to the depression in the hand-loom weaving industry, a large number have taken to cultivation. like many other telugu castes, they have exogamous septs, of which the following are examples:- patha, old. kambhapu, pillar. nili, indigo. madaka, plough. bana, pot. jilakara, cummin seed. annam, food. mékala, goat. gopalam, alms. samanthi, chrysanthemum indicum. gurram, horse. perumal, a god. bandari, treasurer? gudditi. pujaris (priests) for temple worship are always elected from the perumal sept, and caste messengers from the bandari sept, if they are represented in a settlement. torches are generally carried, at processions, by men of the gudditi sept. members of the gurram sept are not allowed to ride on horseback. the panchayat (village council) system is in vogue, but, in some places, a headman is selected, as occasion requires. in their marriage and funeral ceremonies, the togatas closely follow the telugu standard puranic form of ceremonial. the dead are buried in a recumbent posture. on the last day of the death rites, the satani gives arrack (liquor) to the togatas, as to the padma sales, in lieu of holy water (thirtham). tohala.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small class of oriya hill cultivators and petty traders in the ganjam agency. tolagari.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a sub-caste of mutracha. in the north arcot manual the tolagaris are described as a small cultivating caste, who were formerly hunters, like the palayakkarans. tolar (wolf).--an exogamous sept of halepaik. the equivalent tolana occurs as a sept of moger. tolkollan.--the tolkollans or tolans (skin people) are summed up in the madras census report, 1901, as "leather workers and dyers, and also gymnasts and teachers of gymnastics. they are also called vatti kurup, chaya kurup, and vil kurup. their title is kurup." the tolkollans are stated [55] to be "blacksmiths by caste, who abandoned their hereditary trade for leather work, and they are chiefly employed by mappillas. one peculiar custom in this caste is that two or more brothers may have one wife in common. only those in good circumstances indulge in the luxury of a private wife. the following information furnished by mr. s. vaidyanadha aiyar, the headmaster of the school of commerce, calicut, gives some information regarding leather work in malabar:-(a) boots and shoes of country make and english pattern. (b) harness making. (c) native shoes (ceruppu). these are of the special pattern peculiar to malabar, and are largely used by all classes of the hindu and mappilla communities. the arabs who visit this coast once a year purchase a considerable number to take back with them. the price of a pair varies from rs. 1-8-0 to rs. 5. those with ornamental gold lace work cost from rs. 10 to rs. 50. these shoes are generally used by well-to-do mappillas. white of egg is used to give a creaking sound to the shoes. this work is mainly done by tholperunkollans and mappillas, and the latter show more skill in finish and ornamental work. (d) knife sheaths. almost every nayar, tiyan and mappilla carries a knife about a foot in length, and there is a demand for leather sheaths. these are made by panans as well as by tholperunkollans and mappillas. (e) leather baskets are also made, and are largely used as receptacles for carrying pepper, paddy (rice), and other grain. (f) winnowing fans are made of leather, and are used in pepper and paddy yards, etc. (g) muttu ceruppu (clogs) are leather shoes with wooden soles. these are largely used during the rainy season." tollakkadan (one with a big hole in the lobes of his ears).--taken, at the census, 1901, as a sub-caste of shanan, as those returning the name, who are vendors of husked rice in madras, used the shanan title nadan. the equivalent tollakadu was returned as a sub-division of konga vellala. tol mestri.--a sub-division of semman. tondaman.--it is stated, in the madras census report, 1901, that the tondamans are "also called sunnambukkaran (q.v.), a tamil caste of lime (chunam) burners found only in the tinnevelly district. they are said to be a branch of the kallans who migrated to tinnevelly from pudukkottai, or the tondaman's country. its members are now drummers and pipers as well as lime-burners. brahmans are their purohits, but they are not allowed to go into hindu temples. they will eat in the houses of maravans. their title is solagan." it is noted, in the same report, that the semman caste "has two sub-divisions, tondaman and tol-mestri, and men of the former take wives from the latter, but men of the latter may not marry girls of the former." tondaman is the family name of the raja of pudukkottai, a native state surrounded by the british districts of tanjore, madura, and trichinopoly. the raja is the head of the kallan caste. copper coins, called amman kasu, are current only within the state, and their greatest distribution is during navaratri or dusserah, when they are issued to the people with a dole of rice every day during the nine days of the festival. they bear on one side the word "vijaya," meaning victory, or more probably having reference to our faithful ally vijaya ragunatha tondaman, in whose reign they were first struck, it is said in 1761, after the surrender of pondicherry to the british. tondamandalam.--the name of a sub-division of vellala, derived from tondanadu, the ancient pallava country. tonti.--the tontis are said to be cotton-weavers of bengal, who have settled in ganjam. [56] the name denotes threadmen, and the weaving of rough white cloths is the traditional occupation of the caste. all tontis belong to a single gotra named after kasyapa, one of the seven important rishis, and the priest of parasurama. various bamsams or exogamous septs, the names of some of which occur also as titles, exist, e.g., biswalo, dasso, palo, bono, chondo, parimaniko, korono, behara, and mahapatro. the marriage and death ceremonies conform to the standard oriya type. on the fourth day of the marriage rites, a bhondari (barber) is presented with some beaten rice and sugar-candy in a new earthen pot. these are sold to those who have assembled, and the proceeds go to the bhondari. the corpse of a dead person is washed at the burning ground, instead of, in accordance with the common custom among other castes, at the house. toppa tali.--a name applied to certain vaniyans in the north arcot district, owing to the peculiar tali (marriage badge) which married women wear. torai.--a title of various oriya castes. toreya.--the toreyas are a canarese class, living chiefly in the tamil districts of coimbatore and salem. they are said to have been originally fishermen and palanquin bearers, and the name is derived from turai, a river ghat. most of them are now cultivators, especially of the betel vine (piper betle). those whom i examined at coimbatore were earning their living as betel and sugar-cane cultivators, vendors of tobacco, bakers, cloth merchants, contractors, petty traders, and police constables. by the coimbatore toreyas, the following endogamous divisions were returned:- elai, leaf. betel cultivators. chunam, lime. lime burners. gazul, glass bangle. the toreya caste is said to have originated from the bangles of machyagandhi or gandhavati, the daughter of a fisherman on the jumna. she was married to king shantanu of hastinapur, who was one of the ancestors of the heroes of the mahabharata. many exogamous septs exist among the toreyas, of which the following are examples:- belli, silver. may not wear silver toe-rings. naga, snake. the members of the sept, at times of marriage, worship ant-hills, which are the home of snakes. alwar or garuda. chinnam, gold. kansugaje, small bronze bells, tied to the legs when dancing. urukathi, a kind of knife. vajjira, diamond. vasishta, a hindu saint. mogila, clouds. onne (pterocarpus marsupium). do not mark their foreheads with the juice from the trunk of this tree. kuzhal, the flute played by shepherd boys and snake charmers. if the sound thereof is heard during a meal, what remains of the food should be thrown away. rakshasa, a giant. do not celebrate the dipavali festival in honour of the victory over, and death of, a rakshasa. erumai, buffalo. the headman of the caste is called ejaman, who has under him an officer entitled dalavayi. the caste messenger bears the name of kondikar. these three offices are hereditary. the ejaman presides at council meetings which are held at the temple of the caste. the eldest member of each family is entitled to a seat on the council. those who come late to a meeting thereof prostrate themselves before the assembly. witnesses before the council have to take an oath, which is administered by the kondikar. he makes the witness stand within a circle drawn on the ground, and makes him repeat the formula "before god and the elders assembled, with the sky above and the earth beneath, i will state only the truth." the kondikar then takes up a pinch of earth, and puts it on the head of the witness. for merely threatening to beat a person with shoes, the offender has to feed twenty-five castemen. if he takes the shoes in his hands he must feed fifty, and, if he actually resorts to beating with them, he has to feed a hundred men. in addition, the culprit has to pay a small fine, and both parties have to be purified at the temple. a similar punishment is enforced for beating, or threatening to beat with a broom. for adultery the guilty person is excommunicated, and is admitted back into the caste only after the death of one of the parties concerned. he then has to feed a large number of castemen, or pay a money fine, and, prostrating himself before the assembly, he is beaten with a tamarind switch. he further makes obeisance to the ejaman, and washes his feet. the ejaman then purifies him by a small piece of burning camphor in his mouth. when a married girl reaches puberty, she is taken to her father's house, and her husband constructs a hut with branches of ficus glomerata. on the last day of her confinement therein, the hut is pulled down, and the girl sets fire to it. the house is purified, and the female relations go to the houses of the ejaman and caste people, and invite them to be present at a ceremonial. a small quantity of turmeric paste is stuck on the doors of the houses of all who are invited. the relations and members of the caste carry betel, and other articles, on trays in procession through the streets. the girl is seated on a plank, and the trays are placed in front of her. rice flour, fruits, betel, etc., are tied in her cloth, and she is taken into the house. in the case of an unmarried girl, the hut is built by her maternal uncle. marriage is always celebrated at the house of the bridegroom, as there is a legend that a rajah belonging to the toreya caste had a son, who was taken to the house of his bride elect, and there murdered. the bridegroom's father and relations go to the house of the bride, and make presents of money, cloths, ornaments, etc. they also have to make obeisance to, and feed five married women sumptuously. pandals (booths) are constructed at the houses of both the bride and bridegroom. five married women go, on behalf of each of the contracting parties, to their houses, and pound rice there. on the second day, five such women fetch water from a tank, and bathe the bride and bridegroom respectively. the ten women then go to the potter's house, and bring five decorated pots. three of these are taken to a tank, and filled with water. on the following day, the bridegroom and his sister take the two remaining pots to the tank, and fill them with water. the five pots are placed in the pandal, and represent the household gods. the relations of the bridegroom take twelve kinds of ornaments, a new cloth, flowers, etc., to the house of the ejaman, and go with him to the bride's house. she is then bathed, and decked with finery. a brahman does puja (worship) and ties on her forehead a mandaikettu or bashingham (chaplet) made of gold leaf or tinsel. she is then carried in procession to the house of the bridegroom. meanwhile, the brahman ties a mandaikettu on the forehead of the bridegroom, who puts on the sacred thread, and sits within the pandal, holding a katar (dagger) in his hand, and closed in by a screen. the bride goes thrice round this screen, and the brahman does puja and gives advice (upadesam) to the couple. the screen is then lowered slightly, and the bride and bridegroom garland each other. the bride's parents place a few gingelly (sesamum) seeds in the hand of the bridegroom, and pour water thereon, saying that their daughter belongs to him, and telling him to take care of her. the tali, after being blessed by those assembled, is given by the brahman to the bridegroom, who ties it on the bride's neck. the screen is then removed, and the couple sit side by side. the sacred fire is lighted, their hands are linked together, and the ends of their cloths tied together. they then leave the pandal, and, placing their feet on a grindstone, look at the pole-star (arundati). entering the pandal once more, they sit therein, and the elders bless them by throwing rice coloured with turmeric over their heads. on the fourth day, they again sit within the pandal, and cooked rice, coloured white, red, yellow, green, and black, on five trays, and nine lighted wicks on a tray are waved before them. five married men and women, holding a string, stand round them in a circle, within which is the bride's brother with a twig of pipal (ficus religiosa). the bridegroom places his hands together, and small rice cakes are placed on the head, shoulders, bend of the elbows and knees, and between the fingers of the couple. they are then bathed, and, taking betel in their hands, bow to the four corners of the earth. the bridegroom makes a namam (vaishnavite sect mark), or places vibhuti (sacred ashes) on the twelve posts of the pandal, and the bride places a little cooked rice and water before each post, to which camphor is burnt, and puja done. they then start for the bride's house, but the bride's sister meets them at the entrance thereto, and will not allow them to go in until she has extracted a promise that their child shall marry hers. the bride proceeds to a tank, sowing some paddy (rice) on the way thither, and brings back a pot of water, with which she washes her husband's hands and feet. husband and wife then feed each other with a small quantity of rice and milk. their hands are then cleaned, and the bride's brother puts a gold ring on the finger of the bridegroom. a tray with betel leaves and areca nuts is brought, and the bridegroom ties three handfuls thereof in his cloth. the newly married couple then worship at the temple. on the fifth day, they carry the earthen pots to a river, and, on their return, five married women are worshipped and fed. five men have to come forward as sureties for the good behaviour of the couple, and declare before those assembled that they will hold themselves responsible for it. in the evening the pair go to the bride's house, and rub oil over each other's head before bathing in turmeric water. on the following day they repair to the house of the bridegroom. the corpse of a dead toreya is placed in a pandal constructed of cocoanut leaves and stems of the milk-hedge (euphorbia tirucalli). sect marks are placed on the foreheads of the corpse and the widow. the son of the deceased dons the sacred thread. the funeral ceremonies resemble, in many particulars, those of the oddes. a mound is piled up over the grave. a paraiyan places a small twig of the arka plant (calotropis gigantea) in three corners of the grave, leaving out the north-east corner, and the son puts a small coin on each twig. as he goes round the grave with a water-pot and fire-brand, his maternal uncle, who stands at the head of the grave, makes holes in the pot. on the third, fifth, seventh, or ninth day, the widow, dressed in new cloths, and bedecked with ornaments and flowers, is taken to the burial-ground, with offerings of milk, ghi (clarified butter), tender cocoanut, sandal, camphor, etc. five small stones, smeared with turmeric and lime, are set up at the head of the grave, and worshipped. the widow goes thrice round the grave, and seats herself near the head thereof. her brother holds up her arms, and one of her husband's male relations breaks her bangles. she breaks, and throws her tali on the grave, with the flowers which adorn her. her ornaments are removed, and she is covered with a cloth, and taken to a river, where she is rubbed with cow-dung and bathed. the son and other relatives go to the temple with butter and other articles. a brahman does puja, and shuts the doors of the temple. the son, with his back to the temple, throws a little butter on the doors, which are then opened by the brahman. this is done thrice. on the seventh day, pollution is removed by sprinkling holy water, and the caste people are fed. a widow remains in seclusion (gosha) for three months. sradh (memorial ceremony) is performed. the toreyas worship both siva and vishnu, but consider ayodhya raman as their special deity, and sacrifice sheep and fowls to koriamma. toreya.--a sub-division of the badagas of the nilgiris. tota (garden).--recorded as a sub-division of cultivating balijas, and an exogamous sept of boya, chenchu, vada balija (or mila), mutracha and bonthuk savara. the equivalent tota occurs as an exogamous sept of kapu and yanadi. tota devaru, or garden god, is the name of an exogamous sept of the tigala gardeners and cultivators. totakura (amarantus gangeticus).--an exogamous sept of kamma. toththala or tottadi.--a sub-division of velama. toti.--the toti or totti is one of the village communal servants. the name has been derived from tondu, to dig, or tott, to go round, as the toti is the purveyor of news, and has to summon people to appear before the village council. the functions of this useful person to the community have been summed up as follows by a district official. [57] "this individual has all the dirty work of the village allotted to him. he is of the lowest caste, and hence makes no scruple of doing any manner of work that he may be called upon to perform. the removal and sepulture of unclaimed dead bodies, the cleansing of choultries, rest-houses and the like, where travellers carrying infectious diseases might have halted, and other gruesome duties are entrusted to him. in spite of all this, the toti is one of the most trusted of the humbler servants of the village community. considering his humble status and emoluments, which average between rs. 3 and rs. 4 a month, his honesty with regard to pecuniary matters is wonderful. he may be trusted with untold wealth, as is often done when he is the sole custodian of the revenue collections of his village to the tune of several thousands at a time, when on their way from the collecting officers to the government treasury." testimony is borne to the industry of the toti in the proverb that if you work like a toti, you can enjoy the comforts of a king. in the madras census report, 1891, toti is returned as a sub-division of chakkiliyan. the toti of mysore is defined by mr. l. rice [58] as a menial among the village servants, a deputy talari, who is employed to watch the crops from the growing crop to the granary. odiya toti is a tamil synonym for oriya haddis employed as scavengers in municipalities in the tamil country. tottiyan.--in the census report, 1901, mr. w. francis writes that the tottiyans are "telugu cultivators. the tottiyans or kambalattans of the tanjore district are, however, said to be vagrants, and to live by pig-breeding, snake-charming, and begging. so are the sub-division called kattu tottiyans in tinnevelly. the headman among the tinnevelly tottiyans is called the mandai periadanakkaran or servaikaran. their marriages are not celebrated in their houses, but in pandals (booths) of green leaves erected for the purpose on the village common. however wealthy the couple may be, the only grain which they may eat at the wedding festivities is either cumbu (pennisetum typhoideum) or horse-gram (dolichos biflorus). the patron deities of the caste are jakkamma and bommakka, two women who committed sati. the morality of their women is loose. the custom of marrying boys to their paternal aunt's or maternal uncle's daughter, however old she may be, also obtains, and in such cases the bridegroom's father is said to take upon himself the duty of begetting children to his own son. divorce is easy, and remarriage is freely allowed. they offer rice and arrack (alcoholic liquor) to their ancestors. the kattu tottiyans will eat jackals, rats, and the leavings of other people. tottiya women will not eat in the houses of brahmans, but no explanation of this is forthcoming. the men wear silver anklets on both legs, and also a bracelet upon one of the upper arms, both of which practices are uncommon, while the women wear bangles only on the left arm, instead of on both as usual. some of the zamindars in madura belong to this caste. the caste title is nayakkan." at the census, 1901, kudulukkaran was returned as a sub-caste of the tottiyans in madura and tinnevelly. the urumikkaran, meaning those who play on the drum called urumi, are said to be tottiyans in madura and paraiyans elsewhere. "the tottiyans or kambalattans," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [59] "are a caste of telugu cultivators settled in the districts of madura, tinnevelly, coimbatore and salem. they are probably the descendants of poligars and soldiers of the nayakkan kings of vijayanagar, who conquered the madura country about the beginning of the sixteenth century. as regards the origin of their caste, the tottiyans say with pride that they are the descendants of the eight thousand gopastris (milkmaids) of krishna--a tradition which seems to indicate that their original occupation was connected with the rearing and keeping of cattle. the most important sub-divisions are kollar and erkollar, the tamil form of the telugu golla and yerragolla, which are now shepherd castes, though probably they formerly had as much to do with cattle as sheep. another large sub-division is kille or killavar, which i take to be a corruption of the telugu kilari, a herdman. the bride and bridegroom, too, are always seated on bullock saddles. they do not wear the sacred thread. most of them are vaishnavites, some of whom employ brahman priests, but the majority of them are guided by gurus of their own, called kodangi nayakkan. [it is noted, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that caste matters used to be settled by the mettu nayakkan or headman, and a kodangi nayakkan, or priest, so called because he carried a drum.] each family has its own household deity, which appears to be a sort of representation of departed relations, chiefly women who have burned themselves on the funeral pile of their husbands, or have led a chaste and continent life, or died vestals. their girls are married after they have attained maturity. adultery is no crime when committed within the family circle, but a liaison with an outsider involves expulsion from the caste. it is said that their newly married girls are even compelled to cohabit with their husband's near relatives. [it is further said to be believed that ill-luck will attend any refusal to do so, and that, so far from any disgrace attaching to them in consequence, their priests compel them to keep up the custom, if by any chance they are unwilling. [60]] the pongu tree (pongamia glabra) is the sacred tree of the caste. suttee was formerly very common, and the remarriage of widows is discouraged, if not actually forbidden. the dead are generally burned. both men and women are supposed to practice magic, and are on that account much dreaded by the people generally. they are especially noted for their power of curing snake-bites by means of mystical incantations, and the original inventor of this mode of treatment has been deified under the name pambalamman. they are allowed to eat flesh. the majority speak telugu in their houses." the traditional story of the migration of the tottiyans to the madura district is given in several of the mackenzie manuscripts, and is still repeated by the people of the caste. "centuries ago, says this legend, the tottiyans lived to the north of the tungabhadra river. the muhammadans there tried to marry their women, and make them eat beef. so one fine night they fled southwards in a body. the muhammadans pursued them, and their path was blocked by a deep and rapid river. they had just given themselves up for lost when a pongu (pongamia glabra) tree on either side of the stream leant forward, and, meeting in the middle, made a bridge across it. over this they hurried, and, as soon as they had passed, the trees stood erect once more, before the mussulmans could similarly cross by them. the tottiyans in consequence still reverence the pongu tree, and their marriage pandals (booths) are always made from its wood. they travelled on until they came to the city of vijayanagar, under whose king they took service, and it was in the train of the vijayanagar armies that they came to madura." [61] the tottiyans are most numerous in the madura and tinnevelly districts, and include two grades in the social scale. of these, one consists of those who are engaged in cultivation, and petty zamindars. the other is made up of those who wander about begging, and doing menial work. between the two classes there is neither interdining nor intermarriage. in districts other than madura and tinnevelly, the name tottiyan is applied by tamil-speaking castes to the jogis, who are beggars and pig breeders, and, like the tottiyans, speak telugu. the following legend is current, to account for the division of the tottiyans into two sections. they once gave a girl in marriage to a muhammadan ruler, and all the tottiyans followed him. a large number went to sleep on one side of a river, while the rest crossed, and went away. the latter are represented today by the respectable section, and the begging class is descended from the former. to this day the muhammadans and tottiyans of the trichinopoly district are said to address each other as if they were relations, and to be on terms of unusual intimacy. in the madura district, the tottiyans are apparently divided into three endogamous sections, viz., vekkili, thokala, and yerrakolla, of which the last is considered inferior to the other two. other names for the vekkili section are kambalattar, or raja kambalattar. in some places, e.g., in tinnevelly, there seem to be six divisions, thokala, chilla or silla, kolla, narasilla, kanthikolla and pala. of these, pala may intermarry with chilla, but the other four are endogamous. as examples of exogamous septs occurring among the yerrakollas may be noted chikala (broom), and udama (lizard, varanus), of which the latter also occurs as an exogamous sept of the kapus. in the neighbourhood of nellakota in the madura district, the yerrakollas have a group of seven septs called revala, gollavirappa, kambli-nayudi, karadi (bear), uduma, chila, and gelipithi. intermarriage between these is forbidden, as they are all considered as blood-relations, and they must marry into a group of seven other septs called gundagala, busala, manni, sukka, alivirappa, sikka, and madha. the names of these septs are remembered by a system of mnemonics. in a note on the tottiyans of the trichinopoly district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes as follows. "three endogamous sub-divisions exist in the caste, namely, the erra (red) gollas or pedda inti (big family), the nalla (black) gollas or chinna inti (small family), and the valus, who are also called kudukuduppai tottiyans. the valus are said to be a restless class of beggars and sorcerers. the red gollas are, as a rule, fairer than the blacks (whence perhaps the names). the women of the former wear white cloths, while those of the latter do not. again, they tie their hair in different ways, and their ornaments differ a good deal. the red women carry no emblem of marriage at all, while the black women wear the pottu. the reds allow their widows to remarry, but the blacks do not. both sections have exogamous sections, called kambalams--the reds fourteen, and the blacks nine. the reds are divided, for purposes of caste discipline, into nine nadus and the blacks into fourteen mandais. each village is under a headman called the ur-nayakan, and each nadu or mandai under a pattakaran. the former decide petty disputes, and the latter the more serious cases. the pattakaran is treated with great deference. he is always saluted with clasped hands, ought never to look on a corpse, and is said to be allowed to consort with any married woman of the caste." the tottiyans are supposed to be one of the nine kambalam (blanket) castes, which, according to one version, are made up of kappiliyans, anappans, tottiyans, kurubas, kummaras, parivarams, urumikkarans, mangalas, and chakkiliyans. according to another version, the nine castes are kappiliyan, anappan, tottiyan, kolla tottiyan, kuruba, kummara, medara, odde, and chakkiliyan. at tribal council-meetings, representatives of each of the nine kambalams should be present. but, for the nine castes, some have substituted nine septs. the vekkiliyans seem to have three headmen, called mettu nayakan, kodia nayakan, and kambli nayakan, of whom the first mentioned is the most important, and acts as priest on various ceremonial occasions, such as puberty and marriage rites, and the worship of jakkamma and bommakka. the kambli nayakan attends to the purification of peccant or erring members of the community, in connection with which the head of a sheep or goat is taken into the house by the kambli nayakan. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "persons charged with offences are invited to prove their innocence by undergoing ordeals. these are now harmless enough, such as attempting to cook rice in a pot which has not been fired, but turnbull says that he saw the boiling oil ordeal in 1813 in pudukkottai territory. perhaps the most serious caste offence is adultery with a man of another community. turnbull says that women convicted of this used to be sentenced to be killed by chakkiliyans, but nowadays rigid excommunication is the penalty." the kambalam caste is so called because, at caste council meetings, a kambli (blanket) is spread, on which is placed a kalasam (brass vessel) filled with water, and containing margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, and decorated with flowers. its mouth is closed by mango leaves and a cocoanut. a correspondent writes to me that "the zamindars in the western parts of madura, and parts of tinnevelly, are known as kambala palayapat. if a man belongs to a zamindar's family, he is said to be of the raja kambala caste. the marriage ceremony is carried out in two temporary huts erected outside the village, one for the bridegroom, the other for the bride. the tali is tied round the bride's neck by an elderly female or male belonging to the family. if the marriage is contracted with a woman of an inferior class, the bridegroom's hut is not made use of, and he does not personally take part in the ceremony. a dagger (kattar), or rude sword, is sent to represent him, and the tali is tied in the presence thereof." in a zamindari suit, details of which are published in the madras law reports, vol. xvii, 1894, the judge found that the plaintiff's mother was married to the plaintiff's father in the dagger form; that a dagger is used by the saptur zamindars, who are called kattari kamaya, in the case of inequality in the caste or social position of the bride; that, though the customary rites of the kambala caste were also performed, yet the use of the dagger was an essential addition; and that, though she was of a different and inferior caste to that of the plaintiff's father, yet that did not invalidate the marriage. the defendant's argument was that the dagger was used to represent the zamindar bridegroom as he did not attend in person, and that, by his non-attendance, there could have been no joining of hands, or other essential for constituting a valid marriage. the plaintiff argued that the nuptial rites were duly performed, the zamindar being present; that the dagger was there merely as an ornament; and that it was customary for people of the zamindar's caste to have a dagger paraded on the occasion of marriages. the judge found that the dagger was there for the purpose of indicating that the two ladies, whom the zamindar married, were of an inferior caste and rank. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that, when a tottiyan girl attains maturity, "she is kept in a separate hut, which is watched by a chakkiliyan. marriage is either infant or adult. a man has the usual claim to his paternal aunt's daughter, and so rigorously is this rule followed that boys of tender years are frequently married to grown women. these latter are allowed to consort with their husband's near relations, and the boy is held to be the father of any children which may be born. weddings last three days, and involve very numerous ceremonies. they take place in a special pandal erected in the village, on either side of which are smaller pandals for the bride and bridegroom. two uncommon rites are the slaughtering of a red ram without blemish, and marking the foreheads of the couple with its blood, and the pursuit by the bridegroom, with a bow and arrow, of a man who pretends to flee, but is at length captured and bound. the ram is first sprinkled with water, and, if it shivers, this, as usual, is held to be a good omen. the bride-price is seven kalams of kumbu (pennisetum typhoideum), and the couple may eat only this grain and horse-gram until the wedding is over. a bottu (marriage badge) is tied round the bride's neck by the bridegroom's sister." concerning the marriage ceremonies of the yerrakollas, i gather that, on the betrothal day, kumbu must be cooked. food is given to seven people belonging to seven different septs. they are then presented with betel leaves and areca nuts and four annas tied in a cloth, and the approaching marriage is announced. on the wedding day, the bride and bridegroom are seated on planks on the marriage dais, and milk is sprinkled over them by people of their own sex. a few hours later, the bridegroom takes his seat in the pandal, whither the bride is brought in the arms of her maternal uncle. she sits by the side of the bridegroom, and the mettu nayakan links together the little fingers of the contracting couple, and tells them to exchange rings. this is the binding portion of the ceremony, and no bottu is tied round the bride's neck. at a marriage among the vekkiliyans, two huts are constructed in an open space outside the village, in front of which a pandal is erected, supported by twelve posts, and roofed with leafy twigs of the pongu tree and mimusops hexandra. on the following day, the bride and bridegroom are conducted to the huts, the bride being sometimes carried in the arms of her maternal uncle. they worship the ancestral heroes, who are represented by new cloths folded, and placed on a tray. the bridegroom's sister ties the bottu on the bride's neck inside her hut, in front of which kumbu grain is scattered. betel and a fanam (coin) are placed in the bride's lap. on the third day the bridegroom is dressed up, and, mounting a horse, goes, accompanied by the marriage pots, three times round the huts. he then enters the bride's hut, and she is carried in the arms of the cousins of the bridegroom thrice round the huts. the contracting couple then sit on planks, and the cousins, by order of the mettu nayakan, link their little fingers together. they then enter the bridegroom's hut, and a mock ploughing ceremony is performed. coming out from the hut, they take up a child, and carry it three times round the huts. this is, it is said, done because, in former days, the tottiyan bride and bridegroom had to remain in the marriage huts till a child was born, because the mettu nayakan was so busy that he had no time to complete the marriage ceremony until nearly a year had elapsed. at a wedding among the nomad tottiyans, a fowl is killed near the marriage (araveni) pots, and with its blood a mark is made on the foreheads of the bride and bridegroom on their entry into the booths. the vekkiliyans sacrifice a goat or sheep instead of a fowl, and the more advanced among them substitute the breaking of a cocoanut for the animal sacrifice. in connection with marriage, mr. hemingway writes that "the tottiyans very commonly marry a young boy to a grown woman, and, as among the konga vellalas, the boy's father takes the duties of a husband upon himself until the boy is grown up. married women are allowed to bestow their favours upon their husbands' relations, and it is said to be an understood thing that a man should not enter his dwelling, if he sees another's slippers placed outside as a sign that the owner of them is with the mistress of the house. intercourse with men of another caste is, however, punished by expulsion, and widows and unmarried girls who go astray are severely dealt with. formerly, it is said, they were killed." at a tottiyan funeral, fire is carried to the burning-ground by a chakkiliyan, and the pyre is lighted, not by the sons, but by the sammandhis (relations by marriage). the tottiyans of the madura district observe the worship of ancestors, who are represented by a number of stones set up somewhere within the village boundaries. such places are called male. according to mr. hemingway, when a member of the caste dies, some of the bones are buried in this shed, along with a coin, and a stone is planted on the spot. the stones are arranged in an irregular circle. the circles of the yerrakollas are exceedingly simple, and recall to mind those of the nayadis of malabar, but without the tree. the stones are set up in an open space close to the burning-ground. when a death occurs, a stone is erected among the ashes of the deceased on the last day of the funeral ceremonies (karmandhiram), and worshipped. it is immediately transferred to the ancestral circle. the male of the vekkiliyan section of the tottiyans consists of a massive central wooden pillar, carved with male and female human figures, set up in a cavity in a round boulder, and covered over by a conical canopy supported on pillars. when this canopy is set in motion, the central pillar appears to be shaking. this illusion, it is claimed, is due to the power of the ancestral gods. all round the central pillar, which is about ten feet high, a number of stones of different sizes are set up. the central pillar represents jakkamma and other remote ancestors. the surrounding stones are the representatives of those who have died in recent times. like the yerrakollas, the vekkiliyans erect a stone on the karmandhiram day at the spot where the body was cremated, but, instead of transferring it at once to the ancestral circle, they wait till the day of periodical male worship, which, being an expensive ceremonial, may take place only once in twelve years. if the interval is long, the number of stones representing those who have died meanwhile may be very large. news of the approaching male worship is sent to the neighbouring villages, and, on the appointed day, people of all castes pour in, bringing with them several hundred bulls. the hosts supply their guests with fodder, pots, and a liberal allowance of sugar-cane. refusal to bestow sugar-cane freely would involve failure of the object of the ceremonial. after the completion of the worship, the bulls are let loose, and the animal which reaches the male first is decorated, and held in reverence. its owner is presented with cloths, money, etc. the ceremony may be compared with that of selecting the king bull among the kappiliyans. self-cremation is said [62] to have been "habitually practiced by tottiya widows in the times anterior to british domination; and great respect was always shown to the memory of such as observed the custom. small tombs termed thipanjankovil (fire-torch temple) were erected in their honour on the high-roads, and at these oblations were once a year offered to the manes of the deceased heroines. sati was not, however, compulsory among them, and, if a widow lived at all times a perfectly chaste and religious life, she was honoured equally with such as performed the rite." it is noted, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "sati was formerly very common in the caste, and the two caste goddesses, jakkamma and bommayya, are deifications of women who thus sacrificed themselves. every four years a festival is held in their honour, one of the chief events in which is a bullock race. the owner of the winning animal receives a prize, and gets the first betel and nut during the feast. the caste god is perumal, who is worshipped in the form of a curry-grinding stone. the story goes that, when the tottiyans were fleeing to the south, one of their women found her grinding-stone so intolerably heavy that she threw it away. it, however, re-appeared in her basket. thrown away again, it once more re-appeared, and she then realised that the caste god must be accompanying them." "the tottiyans," mr. hemingway writes, "do not recognise the superiority of brahmans, or employ them as priests at marriages or funerals. they are deeply devoted to their own caste deities. some of these are bommaka and mallamma (the spirits of women who committed sati long ago), virakaran or viramati (a bridegroom who was killed in a fight with a tiger), pattalamma (who helped them in their flight from the north), and malai tambiran, the god of ancestors. muttalamma and jakkamma are also found. malai tambiran is worshipped in the male. the tottiyans are known for their uncanny devotion to sorcery and witchcraft. all of them are supposed to possess unholy powers, especially the nalla gollas, and they are much dreaded by their neighbours. they do not allow any stranger to enter their villages with shoes on, or on horseback, or holding up an umbrella, lest their god should be offended. it is generally believed that, if any one breaks this rule, he will be visited with illness or some other punishment." the tottiyans have attached to them a class of beggars called pichiga vadu, concerning whose origin the following legend is narrated. there were, once upon a time, seven brothers and a sister belonging to the irrivaru exogamous sept. the brothers went on a pilgrimage to benares, leaving their sister behind. one day, while she was bathing, a sacred bull (nandi) left its sperm on her cloth, and she conceived. her condition was noticed by her brothers on their return, and, suspecting her of immorality, they were about to excommunicate her. but they discovered some cows in calf as the result of parthenogenesis, and six of the brothers were satisfied as to the girl's innocence. the seventh, however, required further proof. after the child was born, it was tied to a branch of a dead chilla tree (strychnos potatorum), which at once burst into leaf and flower. the doubting brother became a cripple, and his descendants are called pichiga varu, and those of the baby chilla varu. traivarnika (third caste men).--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a section of komatis (who claim to be vaisyas, or members of the third caste of manu), who follow the details of brahmanical customs more scrupulously than the others. they are described, in the vizagapatam manual, as followers of the ramanuja faith, who deal chiefly in gold and silver, and ornaments made thereof. triputa (ipomæa turpethum, indian jalap).--a sept of viramushti. tsakala.--the tsakalas, sakalas, or chakalas, who derive their name from chaku (to wash), are the washermen of the telugu country, and also act as torch and palanquin bearers. in the census report, 1901, tellakula (the white class) is given as a synonym. the rev. j. cain writes [63] that the "tellakulavandlu are really washermen who, in consequence of having obtained employment as peons (orderlies) in government offices, feel themselves to be superior to their old caste people. in their own towns or villages they acknowledge themselves to be washermen, but in other places they disclaim all such connection." it is noted in the kurnool manual (1886) that, in the cumbum division, "they serve as palanquin-bearers, and are always at the mercy of government officials, and are compelled to carry baggage for little or no wage. some are inamdars (landholders), while others work for wages." the ordinary tsakalas are called bana tsakala, in contradistinction to the guna or velama tsakala. bana is the telugu name for the large pot, which the washermen use for boiling the clothes. [64] the guna tsakalas are dyers. in a note on the velamas, mr. h. a. stuart writes [65] that "some say they form a sub-division of the balijas, but this they themselves most vehemently deny, and the balijas derisively call them guni sakalavandlu (hunchbacked washermen). the pride and jealousy of hindu castes was amusingly illustrated by the velamas of kalahasti. the deputy tahsildar of that town was desired to ascertain the origin of the name guni sakalavandlu, but, as soon as he asked the question, a member of the caste lodged a complaint of defamation against him before the district magistrate. the nickname appears to have been applied to them because in the northern districts some print chintz, and, carrying their goods in a bundle on their backs, walk stooping like a laden washerman. this derivation is more than doubtful, for, in the godavari district, the name is guna sakalavandlu, guna being the large pot in which they dye the chintzes." like other telugu castes, the tsakalas have exogamous septs or intiperu, among which chimala (ant) is of common occurrence. members of the gummadi sept do not cultivate, or eat the fruit of cucurbita maxima (gummadi), and those of the magili pula gotra avoid the fruit of pandanus fascicularis. in like manner, sword beans (canavalia ensiformis) may not be eaten by those who belong to the thamballa gotra. among the sub-divisions of the caste are reddi bhumi (reddi earth), murikinati, pakanati (eastern country), desa, and golkonda. of these, some are also sub-divisions of other telugu classes, as follows:-desa or desur balija--kapu. murikinati or murikinadu--kamsala, mangala, mala and razu. pakanati--balija, golla, kamsala, kapu, and mala. reddi bhumi--mala, mangala. at the census, 1891, odde was recorded as a sub-division of the tsakalas, and it is noted in the vizagapatam manual (1869) that the vadde or odde cakali wash clothes, and carry torches in that district. the name odde tsakala refers to oriya-speaking washermen. telugus call the oriya country odra or odde desam and oriyas odra or odde vandlu. like the tamil vannans, the tsakalas prepare for various castes torches for processional or other ceremonial occasions, and the face cloth, and paddy piled up at the head of a corpse, are their perquisite. the reddi bhumi and other sub-divisions wash the clothes of all classes, except malas and madigas, while the desa and golkonda sub-divisions will wash for both malas and madigas, provided that the clothes are steeped in water, and not handed to them, but left therein, to be taken by the washerman. every village has its families of washermen, who, in return for their services, receive an allowance of grain once a year, and may have land allotted to them. whenever a goat or fowl has to be sacrificed to a deity, it is the privilege of the tsakala to cut off the head, or wring the neck of the animal. when kapu women go on a visit to a distant village, they are accompanied by a tsakala. at a kapu wedding, a small party of kapus, taking with them some food and gingelly (sesamum) oil, proceed in procession to the house of a tsakala, in order to obtain from him a framework made of bamboo or sticks, over which cotton threads (dhornam) are wound, and the ganga idol, which is kept in his custody. the food is presented to him, and some rice poured into his cloth. receiving these things, he says that he cannot find the dhornam and idol without a torch-light, and demands gingelly oil. this is given to him, and the kapus return with the tsakala carrying the dhornam and idol to the marriage house. the tsakala is asked to tie the dhornam to the pandal (marriage booth) or roof of the house, and he demands some paddy (unhusked rice) which is heaped up on the ground. standing thereon, he ties the dhornam. at a panta kapu wedding, the ganga idol, together with a goat and kavadi (bamboo pole), with baskets of rice, cakes, betel leaves and areca nuts, is carried in procession to a pond or temple. the washerman, dressed up as a woman, heads the procession, and keeps on dancing and singing till the destination is reached. at the conclusion of the ceremonial, he takes charge of the idol, and goes his way. among the panta reddis of the tamil country, the idol is taken in procession by the washerman, who goes to every reddi house, and receives a present of money. at a wedding among the idigas (telugu toddy-drawers), the brother of the bride is fantastically dressed, with margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves in his turban, and carries a bow and arrow. this kodangi (buffoon) is conducted in procession to the temple by a few married women, and made to walk over cloths spread on the ground by the village washerman. the cloth worn by a kapu girl at the time of her first menstrual ceremony is the perquisite of the washerwoman. the tribal deity of the tsakalas is madivalayya, in whose honour a feast, called mailar or mailar pandaga, is held in january immediately after the pongal festival. small models of pots, slabs of stone such as are used for beating the wet clothes on, and other articles used in their work, are made in rice and flour paste. after they have been worshipped, fruits, cooked vegetables, etc., are offered, and a sheep or goat is sacrificed. some of its blood is mixed with the food, of which a little is sprinkled over the pots, stones, etc., used during washing operations. if this ceremonial was not observed, it is believed that the clothes, when boiling in the water pot, would catch fire, and be ruined. the festival, which is not observed by the desa and golkonda tsakalas, lasts for five or seven days, and is a time of holiday. at the first menstrual ceremony, the maternal uncle of the girl has to erect a hut made of seven different kinds of sticks, of which one must be from a strychnos nux-vomica tree. the details of the marriage ceremony are very similar to those of the balijas and kammas. the distribution of pan-supari, and the tying of the dhornam to the pandal must be carried out by an assistant headman called gatamdar. on the last day, a goat or sheep is sacrificed to the marriage pots. liberal potations of toddy are given to those who attend the wedding. the tsakalas have a caste beggar called mailari, or patam, because he carries a brass plate (patam) with the figure of a deity engraved on it. he is said to be a lingayat. tsalla or challa (butter-milk).--an exogamous sept of mala. tsanda or chanda (tax or subscription).--an exogamous sept of kamma and medara. tulabharam.--in his description [66] of the tulabharam or tulapurushadanam ceremony performed by the maharajas of travancore, mr. shungoony menon explains that the latter word is a compound of three sanskrit words, tula (scales), purusha (man), and danam (gift, particularly of a religious character). and he gives the following description of the ceremonial, for the performance of which a tulamandapam is erected, wherein the scales are set up, and the weighing and other rites performed. on the eighth day "after worshipping and making offerings, the maharaja proceeds to the tulamandapam, where, in the south-east corner, he is sprinkled with punyaham water. then he goes to the side room, where the 'nine grains' are sown in silver flower pots, where the acharya anoints him with nine fresh-water kalasas. thence the maharaja retires to the palace, changes clothes, wears certain jewels specially made for the occasion, and, holding the state sword in his right hand and the state shield in his left, he proceeds to the pagoda; and, having presented a bull elephant at the foot of the great golden flagstaff, and silks, gold coins, jewels and other rich offerings in the interior, he walks round by the sevaimandapam, and re-enters the tulamandapam. he walks thrice round the scales, prostrates himself before it, bows before the priests and elderly relatives, and obtains their sanction to perform the tulapurushadanam. he then mounts the western scale, holding yama's and surya's pratimas in his right and left hand respectively. he sits facing to the east on a circular heavy plank cut out of fresh jack-wood (artocarpus integrifolia), and covered with silk. he repeats mantras (prayers) in this position. the opposite or eastern scale then receives the gold, both coined and in ingots, till it not only attains equality but touches the ground, and the scale occupied by the maharaja rises high. the maharaja then comes down, and, sitting facing to the east, places the gold, the tulupurusha pratima and other pratimas, with flowers, sandal paste, etc., in a basin of water, and, meditating on brahma or the supreme being, he offers the contents to brahmans generically." of the gold placed in the scale, one-fourth is divided among the priests who conduct the ceremony, and the remaining three-fourths are distributed among brahmans. for use in connection with the ceremony, gold coins, called tulabhara kasu, are specially struck. they bear on one side the malayalam legend sri padmanabha, and on the other a chank shell. in connection with the tulabharam ceremony as performed at the temple of kali, the goddess of cholera and small-pox at cranganore in the cochin state, mr. t. k. gopal panikkar writes as follows. [67] "when a man is taken ill of any infectious disease, his relations generally pray to this goddess for his recovery, solemnly covenanting to perform what goes by the name of a thulabharam ceremony. the process consists in placing the patient in one of the scale-pans of a huge balance, and weighing him against gold or more generally pepper (and sometimes other substances as well) deposited in the other scale-pan. then this weight of the substance is offered to the goddess. this is to be performed right in front of the goddess in the temple yard." in connection with weighing ceremonies, it may be noted that, at mulki in south canara, there is a temple of venkateswara, which is maintained by konkani brahmans. a konkani brahman, who is attached to the temple, becomes inspired almost daily between 10 and 11 a.m. immediately after puja (worship), and people consult him. some time ago, a rich merchant (a baniya from gujarat) consulted the inspired man (darsana) as to what steps should be taken to enable his wife to be safely delivered. the darsana told him to take a vow that he would present to the god of the temple silver, sugar-candy, and date fruits, equal in weight to that of his wife. this he did, and his wife was delivered of a male child. the cost of the ceremonial is said to have been five thousand rupees. tulabina.--the tulabinas are a class of cotton-cleaners, who are scattered over the ganjam district, and said to be more numerous in cuttack. it is suggested that the name is derived from tula, the beam of a balance, and bina (or vina) a stringed musical instrument. the apparatus used by them in cleaning cotton, which bears a fanciful resemblance to a vina, is suspended by a rope so that it is properly balanced, and the gut-string thereof struck with a dumb-bell shaped implement, to set it vibrating. tulasi (ocimum sanctum, sacred basil).--a sub-division of velama, and gotra of komati. the tulsi plant is planted in hindu houses and worshipped by women, and the wood is made into beads for rosaries. tulukkar (turks).--a tamil name sometimes applied to muhammadans. tuluva.--tulu, tuluva, or tuluvan occurs as the name of a sub-division of the tamil vellalas, and of the agasas, billavas, gaudas, kumbaras, and other classes in south canara. the equivalent tulumar is recorded as a sub-caste of mavilan, which speaks tulu. concerning the tuluva vellalas, mr. h. a. stuart writes [68] that these are immigrants from the tulu country, a part of the modern district of south canara. mr. nelson is of opinion that these are the original vellalas, who were invited to tondamandalam after its conquest by the chola king adondai chakravarti. [69] tunnaran (tailor).--an occupational sub-division of nayar. tupakala.--tupakala or tupaki (gun) has been recorded as an exogamous sept of balija, kavarai, and yanadi. turaka.--recorded as a sept of kuruba. it is further a telugu name sometimes applied to muhammadans. there is also a thief class, known as bhattu turaka. (see bhatrazu.) turuvalar.--recorded in the salem manual as a caste name, by which some of the vedans call themselves. "the turuvalar are distinguished as the kattukudugirajati, a name derived from a custom among them which authorizes informal temporary matrimonial arrangements." u udasi.--a few members of this central india sect of religious mendicants and devotees have been returned at times of census. it is said to have been founded three hundred years ago by one gopaldas. udaiya.--udaiya, meaning lord, is the title of many well-to-do lingayats and of some jains, and udaiya or wodeiyar occurs as the name of a lingayat sub-division of the badagas of the niligiri hills. the maharajas of mysore belong to the wodeiyar dynasty, which was restored after the muhammadan usurpation of haidar ali and tipu sultan. the name of the present maharaja is sri krishna raja wodeiyar bahadur. udaiyan.--it is noted in the madras census report, 1891, that "the four tamil castes nattaman, malaiman, sudarman (or suruthiman), and udaiyan are closely connected. the last is probably a title rather than a caste, and is the usual agnomen of the nattamans, malaimans, and sudarmans, as also of the potter caste (kusavan). nattaman means a man of the plains, malaiman a man of the hills, and sudarman one who does good, a hero. nattampadi is another form of nattaman. tradition traces the descent of the three castes from a certain deva raja, a chera king, who had three wives, by each of whom he had a son, and these were the ancestors of the three castes. there are other stories, but all agree in ascribing the origin of the castes to a single progenitor of the chera dynasty. it seems probable that they are descendants of the vedar soldiers of the kongu country, who were induced to settle in the eastern districts of the chera kingdom. additional evidence of the important position they once held is afforded by the titles pandariyar, pandarattar (custodians of the treasury), which some of them still use. some of them again are locally styled poligars (palayakkaran) by the ordinary ryots, and the title kavalgar is not infrequent." in a note on the udaiyans, malaiyamans, nattamans, and sudarmans of the trichinopoly district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes as follows. "though, in the census report, 1901, they are shown as separate castes, in this district they are endogamous sub-divisions of one and the same caste, namely the udaiyans. the three sub-divisions are unanimous in saying that they are the descendants of the three paraiyan foster-daughters of the poetess auvaiyar, all of whom became the wives of the king of tirukkoyilur in south arcot, a certain daivika, who was warned that only by marrying these women could he save his family from disaster. the chola, pandya, and chera kings were present at the wedding, and, on their blessing the bridegroom and his brides, they were themselves blessed by the poetess, to whom the chera kingdom owes its unfailing rain, the chola country its rice fields, and the pandyan realm its cotton. the poorness of the last blessing is due to the fact that the pandya king was slow to offer his good wishes. the three sub-divisions eat together, and recognise the tie of a common descent, but do not intermarry. the section called arisakkara nattaman is looked down upon by the rest, and may not intermarry with any of them. all have well-defined exogamous sub-divisions, called kanis, derived from places where their different ancestors are supposed to have lived, e.g., kolattur, kannanur, ariyalur. the udaiyans put on sacred threads at marriages and funerals, and some of them have recently begun to wear them always. they are generally cultivators, and, with the exception of the sudarmans, who are supposed to have a turn for crime, are law-abiding citizens. one section of the sudarmans, the muppans of kapistalam in tanjore, have a bad reputation for criminality. a curious practice is that, before arranging a marriage, it is customary for the bride's party to go to the bridegroom's house, to dine with him, and test his health by seeing how much he can eat. they allow a boy, whose suit for the hand of a girl within certain degrees of relationship is refused by her parents, to marry the girl, notwithstanding, by tying a tali (marriage emblem) round her neck. they also permit the betrothal of infants, the form observed being to present the child with a new cloth and a mat, and to apply sacred ashes to its forehead. at their funerals, the mourning party has to chew some rice and spit it out on the return from the burning-ground, and, on the sixteenth day, the widow is made to worship a light, and to touch a salt pot. the nattaman women do not, as a rule, cover their breasts. the lobes of their ears are very distended, and they tattoo their chins and cheeks in the paraiyan fashion. this is supposed to be in recollection of their origin. the malaiyaman women wear their tali on a golden wire instead of on a thread." "the udaiyans," mr. francis writes, [70] are a caste, which is specially numerous in south arcot. most of them are cultivators, and in kallakurchi many are also money-lenders on a large scale. they adopt numerous different titles in an indiscriminate way, and four brothers have been known to call themselves respectively nayak, pillai, mudali, and udaiyan. they have three sub-divisions--malaiyaman, nattaman, and sudarman--which all admit that they are descended from one common stock, will usually dine together, but do not intermarry. some of the caste, however, are now turning vegetarians, and these will not only not eat with the others, but will not let their girls marry them. they do not, nevertheless, object to their sons taking brides from the meat-eating classes, and thus provide an interesting, if small, instance of the (on this coast) uncommon practice of hypergamy. in all general matters the ways of the three sub-divisions are similar. sudarmans are uncommon in this district, and are stated to be chiefly found in trichinopoly and tanjore. the udaiyans say that the three groups are the descendants of a king who once ruled at tirukkoyilur, the first of whom took the hilly part of his father's country, and so was called malaiyaman; the second the level tracts, whence his name nattaman, and the third was the scholar of the family, and learned in the holy books (srutas), and so was called sudarman. these udaiyans are the caste from which were drawn some of the kavalgars (watchmen) who, in pre-british days, were appointed to perform police duties, and keep the country clear of thieves; and some of the descendants of these men, who are known to their neighbours as poligars, and still have considerable local influence, are even now to be met with. the connection of the members of the caste with the vepur (criminal) paraiyans, which is of course confined to the less reputable sections among them, seems to have had its origin in the days when they were still head kavalgars, and these paraiyans were their talaiyaris, entrusted, under their orders, with police duties in the different villages. it now consists in acting as receivers of the property these people steal, and in protecting them in diverse ways--finding and feeing a vakil (law pleader) for their defence, for instance--when they are in trouble with the police. it is commonly declared that their relations are sometimes of a closer nature, and that the wives of veppur paraiyans who are in enforced retirement are cared for by the udaiyans. to this is popularly attributed the undoubted fact that these paraiyans are often much fairer in complexion than other members of that caste." the village of mangalam in the south arcot district is "chiefly interesting on account of its being the only village in the district where buffalo sacrifices on any scale are still regularly made. buffaloes are dedicated to the kali shrine in mangalam even by persons in the salem, tanjore and trichinopoly districts, and the village is commonly known as maduvetti mangalam, or buffalo-sacrificing mangalam. when a man or any of his belongings gets seriously sick, he consecrates an animal to this shrine, and, if the illness ends favourably, it is sent to its fate at the temple on the date of the annual sacrifice (may-june). when the buffalo is dedicated, a piece of saffron-coloured cloth, in which is placed some small coin and a cadjan (palm) leaf containing an announcement of the dedication, is tied to its horns, and it is allowed to roam wherever it likes through the fields. on the day of the sacrifice, fourteen of the best of the animals which have been dedicated and brought to the temple are selected, and seven of them are tied to an equal number of stone posts in front of the goddess' shrine. the pujari (priest), who is an udaiyan by caste, then walks down the line, and beheads them one after the other. the goddess is next taken round on a car, and, on her return to the temple, the other seven buffaloes are similarly killed. the animals which are not selected are sold, and the proceeds paid into the temple treasury. there are two images in the temple, one of kali, and the other, which is placed at the back of the shrine, of mangalayachi. the latter goddess does not approve of animal sacrifices, and, while the above ceremonies are proceeding, a blanket is hung in front of her so that she may not see them." [71] it is noted by bishop whitehead that, a few years ago, an untoward event occurred in connection with a pidari festival at a village in the trichinopoly district. "the festival had commenced, and the pujari had tied the kapu (cord dyed with turmeric) on his wrist, when a dispute arose between the trustees of the shrine, which caused the festival to be stopped. the dispute could not be settled, and the festival was suspended for three years, and, during all that time, there could be no marriages among the udaya caste, while the poor pujari, with the kapu on his wrist, had to remain the whole of the three years in the temple, not daring to go out lest pidari in her wrath should slay him." it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, that "the nattamans say they originally settled in south arcot, and then spread to tanjore and trichinopoly, and finally to madura, and this theory is supported by the fact that they have fifteen exogamous sub-divisions called kanis or fields, which are all named after villages (e.g., ariyalur, puththur) in the first three of these districts. a man has a right to marry the daughter of his father's sister, and, if she is given to another man, the father's sister has to return to her father or brother the dowry which she received at the time of her marriage, and this is given to the man who had the claim upon the girl. the same custom occurs among the kuravans and the kallans. the eldest son in each family has to be named after the god of the village which gives its name to the kani or sept to which the family belongs, and the child is usually taken to that village to be named. marriage is infant or adult. widow marriage is forbidden. brahmans are employed for ceremonies, but these are not received on terms of equality by other brahmans. both cremation and burial are practised. vellalas will eat with nattamans. the caste title is udaiyan." another title is nayinar, which is also used by pallis and jains. there is a proverb "nattumuththinal nayinar", i.e., when the nattaman ripens, he is a nayinar. at the census, 1901, some nattamans returned themselves as natramiludaiyan, meaning the repository of chaste tamil; and ur-udaiyan (lord of a village) was given as their caste name. nattaman also occurs as a sub-division of the pallis. under the name nattamadi, the nattamans are described in the tanjore manual as "peasant population. some are ryotwari land-holders in their own right and possess large estates. the word is derived from nattam, village, and is used in three forms, nattamakkal, nattamar, and nattamadi. a considerable proportion are converts to the roman catholic religion, and, in the neighbourhood of vallam, there are very few who profess any other faith." in the madura manual, the nattambadiyans are further described as being "usually respectable cultivators. they are said to have emigrated into the madura country not more than about eight years ago. they are an interesting class of tamils, inasmuch as very many of them have adopted the roman catholic faith under the leadership of the jesuit missionaries. they are said to be a fine race physically; finer even than the vellalans. they are also called udaiyans, and tradition says that they came from the toreiyur nadu or district in tanjore, from a village called udeiyapaleiyam. they are chiefly resident in the great zamindaris, and contrast favourably with the maravans, being very orderly, frugal, and industrious." i am informed that nattaman women will do cooly work and carry food for their husbands when at work in the fields, but that malaiman women will not do so. the sudarmans are described, in the madras census report, 1901, as "cultivators chiefly found in the districts of tanjore and trichinopoly. they are imitating the brahmans and vellalas in their social customs, and some of them have left off eating meat, with the idea of raising themselves in general estimation; but they nevertheless eat in the houses of kallans and idaiyans. their title is muppan." some sudarmans, i am told, have become agamudaiyans. uddari.--a synonym for the village taliyari. uddu (phaseolus mungo).--an exogamous sept of kappiliyan. udhdhandra.--a title conferred by zamindars on some kurumos. uduma.--uduma or udumala, meaning the lizard varanus, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of boya, kapu, tottiyan, and yanadi. ugrani.--a village servant in south canara, appointed to watch the store-rooms (ugrana), e.g., the village granary, treasury, or bhuta-sthana. in 1907, the powers of village policeman were conferred on the ugrani, who now wears a brass badge on his arm, with the words village police in the vernacular engraved on it. it is the duty of the ugrani to report the following to the village magistrate:-1. the commission of grave crimes, such as theft, house-breaking, robbery, dacoity, accidental deaths, suicides, etc. 2. the existence of disputes in connection with landed property, likely to give occasion to any fight or rioting. 3. the arrival of fakirs, bairagis, or other strangers in the village. 4. the arrival or residence in the village of any person whom the villagers suspect to be a bad character. 5. the commission of mischief in respect of any public property, such as roads, road avenues, bridges, cattle pounds, government trees on unreserved lands, etc. uliyakaran.--a synonym, denoting menial servant, of parivaram. ulladan.--it is recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, that "the ullatans and nayatis are found in the low country, as well as on the hills. at a remote period, certain ullata families from the plains settled themselves at talpurakkotta near sabarimala, and even to-day pilgrims to sabarimala consider this place as sacred. in the low country, the offerings to the same deities as the ullatans worship are offered by the valans. hence the ullatans were called by them kochchuvalans. the place near sabarimala where they once dwelt is known as kochuvalakkuti, or the cottage of the kochchuvalan. most of these ullatans have left this place for fear of wild beasts, and are now straying in the woods with no fixed abode. it is said that they are the descendants from a nambutiri woman, who, on being proclaimed an outcast, said ullatana, meaning that (the offence for which she was ostracised) is true. [according to another derivation, the name is derived from ull, within, and otunnu, runs, and means one who runs away into the forest at the sight of a member of any of the higher castes.] they are good hunters, and experts in the collection of wax and other forest produce. a curious marriage custom, prevalent among them, is thus related by dr. day. 'a large round building is made of leaves, and inside this the bride is ensconced. all the eligible young men of the village then assemble, and form a ring round this hut. at a short distance sits the girl's father or the nearest male relative with tom-tom in his hands, and a few more musical instruments complete the scene. presently the music begins. the young men, each armed with a bamboo, commence dancing round the hut, into which each of them thrusts his stick. this continues about an hour, when the owner of whichever bamboo she seizes becomes the fortunate husband of the concealed bride. a feast then follows.' [72] they subsist chiefly on fruits, wild yams, and other forest products, and eke out a wretched existence. when armed with guns, they make excellent sportsmen." it is noted by the rev. s. mateer [73] that the ulladans "subsist chiefly on wild yams, arrowroot, and other esculents, which they find in the jungle, and for the grubbing up of which they are generally armed with a long pointed staff. they also further enjoy the fruits of the chase, and are adepts in the use of the bow and arrow. the arrow they use has an iron spear-head, and an ulladan has been known to cut a wriggling cobra in half at the first shot. they were claimed as the property of celebrated hill temples, or great proprietors, who exacted service of them, and sometimes sold their services to nairs, syrians, and others. a few ulladans in the low country say they or their fathers were stolen in childhood, and brought down as slaves." at kottayam in travancore, i came across a party of ulladans carrying cross-bows. these were said to be used for catching fish in rivers, lagoons, and tanks. the arrow is between two and three feet in length, and has an iron hook at one end. attached to it is a thin but strong string, one end of which is tied to the hook, while the other end passes through a small hole in the wooden part of the arrow, and is fastened to the cross-bar of the bow. this string is about thirty feet in length, and serves not only to drag the captured fish out of the water, and land it, but also to prevent the arrow from being lost. the origin of the cross-bow, which i have not found in the possession of any other tribe, puzzled me until the word firingi was mentioned in connection with it. the use of this word would seem to indicate that the cross-bow is a survival from the days of the portuguese on the west coast, firingi (a frank) or parangi being used by natives for european or portuguese. for the following note on the ulladans of the cochin state, i am indebted to mr. l. k. anantha krishna iyer. [74] "their huts are situated in the forest of the plains, by the side of paddy (rice) flats, or in cocoanut gardens remote from those of the members of the higher castes. only christian moplahs are found in the neighbourhood. their huts are erected on short bamboo posts, the roof and four sides of which are covered with plaited cocoanut leaves. a bamboo framework, of the same leaves, serves the purpose of a door. a few plaited cocoanut leaves, and a mat of their own weaving, form the only furniture, and serve as beds for them at night. their vessels in domestic use consist of a few earthen pots for cooking and keeping water in, and a few shallow earthen dishes, from which they drink water, and take their food. some large pieces of the bark of the areca palm, containing salt, chillies, etc., were also seen by me. what little they possess as food and clothing is placed in small baskets suspended from the framework of the roof by means of wooden hooks. "the caste assembly consists of the elderly members of the caste. there is a headman, who is called muppan, and he has an assistant who is known as ponamban. the headman has to preside at all marriage and funeral ceremonies, and to decide all disputes connected with the caste. the caste assembly meets chiefly to deal with cases of immorality. the guilty parties are summoned before the assembly. the headman, who presides, inquires into the matter, and, in the event of the accused parties confessing their guilt, they are taken before his highness the raja, who is informed of the circumstances. the male culprit is sometimes beaten or fined. the woman is given some water or the milk of a green cocoanut, and this is supposed to set her free from all sin. when a fine is imposed, it is sometimes spent on the purchase of toddy, which is shared among the castemen present. the headman gets a few puthans (cochin coins) for his trouble. "in religion, the ulladans are pure animists or demon worshippers. all cases of sickness, and other calamities, are attributed to the malignant influence of demons, whom it is necessary to propitiate. they worship kappiri, thikutti, and chathan, all of whom are represented by a few stones placed under a thatched roof called kottil. offerings of rice flour, sheep, fowls, toddy, rice, cocoanuts and plantains, are given on fridays in the month of kanni (september-october). one of the castemen acts as velichapad (oracle), and speaks as if by inspiration. he also casts out demons from the bodies of women who are believed to be influenced by them. when he resumes his former self, he takes half the offerings to himself, allowing the other half for distribution among the bystanders. they also worship the spirits of the departed members of their families, who, they think, sometimes appear to them in dreams, and ask them for whatever they want. they believe that, in the event of their neglecting to give what is asked, these spirits will cause serious calamity to their family. "the ulladans generally bury their dead in special places called chotala, but some of them bury the corpse a few yards away from their huts. the young are buried deep in the ground, while the old ones are buried not so deep. the dead body is placed on a new piece of cloth spread on a bamboo bier, which is carried by the relatives to the grave-yard. the castemen of the neighbourhood, including the relations and friends of the deceased, accompany the bier to the burial-ground, and return home after bathing. the members of the family fast for the night. they observe pollution for fifteen days, and, on the morning of the sixteenth day, the thalippan (barber priest) comes and cleans the huts and its surrounding, and sprinkles cow-dung mixed with water on the members of the family as they return from bathing, in order that they may be freed from pollution. they entertain their castemen on that day. it is a custom among the ulladans, pulayas, and other low classes, that, when they are invited to a feast, they bring with them some rice, curry stuffs, toddy, or a few annas to meet the expenses of the feast. very often the above articles are obtained as a gift from the charitably disposed members of the higher castes. at the end of the year, a similar feast is given to the castemen. among the ulladans, the nephew is the chief mourner, for he usually succeeds to the property of the dead, and proves his right of ownership by acting as the chief mourner. "the ulladans on the sea-coast make boats, and cut timber. their brethren in the interior gather honey, and collect minor forest produce, and sell it to contractors. during the agricultural season, they engage in every kind of agricultural work, such as ploughing, sowing, transplanting, reaping, etc. they also graze the cattle of the farmers. they get a few annas worth of paddy (unhusked rice) for their labour. for most of the months in the year they are in a half-starving condition, and resort to eating wild roots, and animals, which they can get hold of (e.g., rats, tortoises, fish, or crocodiles). they know where rats are to be found. they thrust a long stick into their holes, moving it so violently as to kill them there, or forcing them to come out, when they catch and kill them. very often in the rural parts, both men and women are found with long poles ready to be thrust into any holes there may be by the side of a fence, or where bamboos are growing luxuriantly. they also catch crocodiles. they place the carcase of a fowl, sheep, or other animal, on the bank of a canal, or by the side of a tank where crocodiles are to be found. into it is thrust a pointed piece of iron, fastened to a long cord. when a crocodile comes out of the water to eat it, or tries to get away with it, the piece of iron is fixed firmly into its mouth, upon which the ulladans, who are watching, approach and kill it with their clubs and knives. they catch fish by means of bait, and by poisoning the water. they are also very skilful in spearing fish swimming near the surface. they are more trackers of game than hunters, and very often accompany moplahs, who go out hunting to provide themselves with meat of all kinds for feasts during their weddings. the ulladans are engaged only as beaters. for this service, they are given meals during the wedding, in addition to three annas worth of paddy for each beater. they are armed with clubs, and seldom go with dogs, fearing that they may drive away the game. when any animal is killed in hunting, the right side of the back of the animal goes to the government. it is given to the forest officer, who auctions it, and the money obtained is sent to the taluk treasury. the left side of the back goes to the member of the party who shoots the animal. he also gets the face with the tongue. the headman among the ulladans also gets a share. the remainder of the carcase is equally divided among the members who have formed the party. should any dispute arise regarding the division of the game, the man who shoots the animal is entrusted with the settlement of the dispute, and his decision is final. in cases where the hunting party is organised by the moplahs, the ulladans get wages and meals for their trouble. in places where elephant pits are dug, hunting is forbidden. "as regards their social status, the ulladans, like the nayadis, form the chandalas of the plains. their approach to within a radius of sixty-four feet pollutes brahmans, and all higher castes, including the sudras (nayars). the ulladans cannot walk along the public roads, or come to the bazaars. nor can they approach the precincts of any town or locality where the members of higher castes reside. the pulayas and parayas profess to be polluted by them. it is curious to note that the ullada women consider it degrading to go to work like the pulaya woman. they say that their husbands have to provide for them." ulli (onions or garlic).--a sub-division of the tigala market-gardeners. the equivalent ullipoyala occurs as an exogamous sept of golla, and ulligadda as a sept of boya and korava. ulumban.--it is recorded in the gazetteer of malabar that "an endogamous sub-caste (of nayars) of foreign origin are the ulumbans or cowherds. according to one tradition, they were originally immigrants from dvaraka (guzerat). their original occupation still survives in the privileges of supplying ghee (clarified butter) for the abhishegam or libation at the great annual festival at the jungle shrine of kottiyur, and of supplying butter-milk to the tiruvangad temple at tellicherry, which are exercised by families of this caste; and in the general privilege of offering milk in any temple without previous ablution." uluvala (seeds of horse-gram: dolichos biflorus).--an exogamous sept of boya and jogi. ungara.--ungara and ungarala, meaning rings, have been recorded as exogamous septs of balija and kuruba. unittiri.--unittiri, or unyatiri, meaning, it is said, venerable boy, has been recorded as a sub-division of samantam. unnittan appears, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a title of nayars, and is said to be derived from unni, small, tan, a title of dignity. unnekankana.--a sub-division of kurubas, who tie a woollen thread (unne kankana) round the wrist at times of marriage. unni.--for the following note on the unnis of travancore, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. the word unni, whatever its significance may have been of old, at present forms the common title of four castes of the ambalavasi group, whose manners and custom differ considerably in their details. they are known, respectively, as pushpakans, brahmanis, tiyattunnis, and nattu pattars, their social precedence being in this order. pushpakan comes from pushpa, which in sanskrit means either a flower or menses. brahmanis, more vulgarly known as pappinis, are so named because they perform some of the priestly functions of the brahmans for the sudra population of travancore. tiyattunnis, also known as taiyampatis in british malabar, are so called from the peculiar religious service they perform in some hindu temples. nattu pattars are also known as pattar unnis and karappuram unnis. unni means a child, and is used as an honorific term to denote the male children of a nambutiri's household. the reason why these ambalavasi castes came to be so called was that they were looked upon as more respectable than the nayars, by whom the term must doubtless have been made use of at first. the pushpakans are said to be divided into three classes, namely pushpakans, nambiassans, and puppallis. the first section live only as far south as evur in central travancore, and are called nambiyars in the north. the nambiyassans live in cochin and north travancore, while the puppallis are found only towards the south. there are no sub-divisions among the brahmanis and karappuramunnis. but the tiyattunnis are divided into two classes, namely the tiyatinambiyans of the north, who are generally employed in the temples of sastha, and tiyattunnis proper, who perform a similar function in the shrines of bhadrakali. women are also known as atovarammamar and kovillammamar. pushpakans are said to have arisen out of the union of a brahman woman in her menses with her husband. parasurama set them apart, and gave them the occupation of making garlands in the temples of malabar. though this derivation is given in the keralamahatmya, it may be more easily believed that pushpakan is derived from the occupation of working in flowers. puppalli, at any rate, is thus derived, and, as palli signifies anything sacred, the caste name arose from the occupation of preparing garlands for deities. nambiyassans, called also nambiyars and nambis, must have been, as also the puppallis and brahmanis, one with the pushpakans. in some places, nambiyassans are known to have kept gymnasia and military training schools. the brahmanis must have undergone some degree of degradation because of the religious songs which they sang during the marriages of the nayars, while those who did not take part therein became, as it were, a separate sept. another tradition, accounting for the origin of the caste, is that, as in primitive ages early marriages prevailed among the malayala brahmans, the family of the nambutiri who first married his daughter after puberty was excommunicated, and gave origin to the pushpakas. this is untrue, as, in vedic times, adult marriage was the rule, and the nambutiris in this respect have been known to follow a more primitive custom than the brahmans of the east coast. the tiyattunnis are said to be the descendants of a bhuta or demon directed by siva to sing songs in praise of bhadrakali, and appease her anger after the murder of darika. they must from the first have formed a distinct section of the ambalavasis. the karappuram unnis are supposed to have been elevated to their present status by cheraman perumal, one of the rulers of ancient kerala, as, though belonging to the sudra caste, they were obliged on one occasion to perform brahmanical service for him. perumal is believed to have permitted them to take the title of unni, and call themselves pattar, by which name east coast brahmans are known in malabar. thus they came to own the three names nattu pattar, pattar unni, and karappuram unni, karappuram or shertallay being the territory where the sept received the above-mentioned social elevation from their sovereign. even now, many of them reside in the taluks of ambalapuzha and shertallay. the house of a pushpaka is variously known as pushpakam, pumatum, or padodakam, the last signifying a place where the water falls from the feet of the deity, on account of its close proximity to the temple, where the daily avocation of the pushpaka lies. the houses of the tiyattunnis and nattu pattars are only known by the name of bhavanam. as in the case of the brahmans, the pushpanis and brahmanis cover their bodies with a piece of cloth, carry an umbrella, and are accompanied by nayar servant-maids when they go out in public. the women have one more fold in their dress than the nambutiris. the neck ornament of women is the cherutali-kuttam, and the ear ornament the katila. bell-metal bangles are worn round the wrists. female tiyattunnis and nattu pattars do not wear the last, and are generally unaccompanied by nayar servant-maids when they go out. pushpakans are believed to be the most fitting caste for the preparation of flower garlands to be used in temples. they also assist in the preparation of the materials for the daily offering. nambiyassans were instructors in arms in days of old, and kalari or gymnasia are owned by them even at the present day. their punyaha, or purificatory ceremony after pollution, is performed by pushpakans. brahmani women sing religious songs on the occasion of marriage among all castes from kshatriyas to nayars. in kumaranallur and other bhagavati shrines, women are employed to sing propitiatory songs, while the men make garlands, sweep the floor of the inner court-yard and plinth, clean the temple vessels, and carry the lamp when images are taken round in procession. it is only the first of these temple services that the pushpakas do, and their women never go out to sing on marriage occasions. the word tiyattu or teyyatu is said to be a corruption of daivamattu, or dancing to please the deity. according to one tradition, they were degraded from pushpakas for undertaking service in the temples. in more orthodox times, tiyattu could be performed only in temples and brahman houses, but now sudras also share the privilege of inviting the tiyattunnis to their homes for this purpose, though the ceremony cannot be performed in their houses without a previous punyaha. the rite is extremely popular when epidemic disease prevails. ganapati and bhadrakali are, as a preliminary measure, worshipped, to the accompaniment of musical instruments. as this has to be done in the noon, it is called uchchappattu, or noon-day song. in the evening, an image of bhadrakali is drawn on the ground with powders of five colours, white, yellow, black, green and red. at night, songs are sung in praise of that deity by the tiyattunni and his followers. a member of the troupe then plays the part of bhadrakali in the act of murdering the demon darika, and, in conclusion, waves a torch before the inmates of the house, to ward off the evil eye, which is the most important item in the whole ceremony. the torch is believed to be given by siva, who is worshipped before the light is waved. the karappuram unnis, unlike the other septs of their class, are mostly agriculturists. the unnis are all smartas, but a partiality for bhadrakali is manifested by the tiyattunnis and brahmanis. all social matters among the unnis are superintended by nambutiri brahmans, but, in all that directly touches the social well-being, their own headmen are the judges. before entering a pushpaka's house for the observation of any ceremony, the nambutiris insist upon the performance of punyaha. though the superiority of ilayatus is acknowledged, they are never employed by the pushpakas for priestly functions. the ilayatus are believed to have once been the priests of the nattu pattars, though at the present time learned men from their own sept are employed for this purpose. the punyaha is, however, performed through the agency of nambutiris. the priests of the nambiyassans, tiyattunnis, and brahmanis are ilayatus. adult marriage prevails, twelve being the earliest age of a girl when she ceases to be single. on the evening of the day before the wedding, the bride has a ceremonial bath, and performs the ceremony of growing a jasmine shoot, the flowers of which she should cull and present as an offering to the deity. on the marriage day, the bridegroom's party arrives in procession at the house of the bride, who awaits them with her face covered, and holding a brass mirror and garland of flowers in her hands. her veil is removed, and the contracting couple gaze at each other. at the auspicious hour their hands are joined, and other items of the marriage rites carried out. in connection with a pushpaka marriage, ammana attam or tossing of metal balls, kaikottikali or the circular dance, and yatrakali are among the amusements indulged in. divorce was common among the pushpakas in bygone days, but, at the present time, the marriage tie is usually permanent, and it is only after the first husband's death that cloths may be received from a malayala brahman in token of sambandham (alliance). the brahmanis, however, have not given up the practice of divorce. nambiyassans, puppallis, pattar unnis, and brahmanis follow the marumakkattayam system of inheritance (through the female line), while the pushpakas and tiyattunnis are makkattayis, and follow the law of inheritance from father to son. the offspring of a brahmani by a pushpaka woman are regarded as issue in a makkattayam family. as is the custom among the nambutiris, only the eldest son marries, the other sons remaining as snatakas, and contracting alliances with nayar women. the illam nayars, however, do not give their daughters to the unnis. the jatakarma, though not strictly proper, is observed in modern days. the namakarana takes place, along with the annaprasana, in the sixth month after birth. the chaula is performed in the third year, though, among the nattu pattars, it is a preliminary ceremony before upanayana. the proper time for the performance of the upanayana is between the eighth and sixteenth year. samavartana takes place on the fourteenth day after upanayana. pollution lasts for only ten days among the tiyattunnis, whereas the brahmanis observe twelve, and the nattu pattars thirteen days' pollution. ten gayatris (hymns) are allowed to be recited thrice daily. the pushpakas are the highest of the thread-wearing sections of the ambalavasis, according to their traditional origin as well as their religious and social practices. the pattar unnis are the lowest, and are only a step higher than the kurukkals. consecrated water and flowers are not given to them directly by the temple priest, but they may stand on the right side of the stone steps leading to the inner shrine. this is the rule with all ambalavasi divisions. other ambalavasis do not receive food from the unnis. these sections of the unnis which have ilayatus for their priests accept food from them. as the pushpakas proper employ only nambutiris for purificatory purposes, the latter freely cook food in their houses, as in those of the muttatus. it is recorded by mr. logan [75] that the tiyattunnis or tiyadis (ti, fire; attam, play) are "a class of pseudo-brahmans in malabar, who derive their name from the ceremony of jumping through fire before temples." mr. subramani aiyar writes, in this connection, that "i do not think mr. logan is quite right when he describes the service of the tiyattunnis as jumping through fire. it is dancing with lighted wicks in the hands, to exorcise the genius representing the evil eye, or as a propitiatory service in temples. it answers to the pallippanna and kolantullal of the kaniyans. a figure of bhadrakali is drawn on the ground with powders of different colours, and the chief incidents in the incarnate life of the deity are recited by the tiyattunnis. after this, some cocoanuts are broken in two, and lighted wicks are then placed before the presiding deity if done in a temple as a propitiatory service, or before any particular individual or individuals, if the object is to free him or them from the effect of the evil eye." uppalavar (salt workers).--a synonym of alavan. uppara.--for the following note, i am mainly indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. uppiliyan, uppara, uppara or uppaliga, are different names for a class of people, who followed the same professional occupation, the manufacture of salt (uppu), in various parts of southern india. the uppiliyans live in the tamil country, and speak tamil; the upparas in the telugu country, and speak telugu; while the upparas inhabit the mysore province and the districts bordering thereon, and speak canarese. the upparas are described by mr. h. a. stuart [76] as "a caste of tank-diggers and earth-workers, corresponding to the uppiliyans of the tamil districts. they resemble greatly the oddes (voddas or wudders) in appearance, customs, and manner of earning a living. their traditional occupation is, as the name implies, manufacturing earth-salt. they profess to be saivites and vaishnavites, but practically worship village deities, e.g., sunkalamma, timmappa, and jambulamma." it is possible that the uppiliyans, upparas, and upparas were originally a homogeneous caste, the members of which, in course of time, migrated to different parts of the country, and adopted the language of the locality in which they settled. the causes, which may have led to the breaking up of the caste, are not far to seek. the original occupation thereof, according to the legendary story of its origin, was tank, channel, and well digging. southern india depended in days gone by, as at the present time, mainly on its agricultural produce, and people were required, then as now, to secure, conserve, and distribute the water, which was essential for agricultural prosperity. inscriptions, such as those quoted by mr. v. venkayya, [77] bear testimony to the energy displayed by former rulers in southern india in having tanks, wells, and irrigation channels constructed. uppiliyans, upparas or upparas, are, at the present day, found all over the madras presidency, from ganjam in the north to tinnevelley in the south. from early times they seem to have, in addition to the work already indicated, been engaged in bricklaying, house-building, the construction of forts, and every kind of earth-work. writing concerning the telugu upparas at the beginning of the nineteenth century, buchanan states [78] that "their proper occupation is the building of mud walls, especially those of forts." a very important occupation of these people was the manufacture of earth-salt and saltpetre, of which the latter was an important ingredient in the manufacture of gunpowder. "throughout india," dr. g. oppert writes, [79] "saltpetre is found, and the hindus are well acquainted with all its properties; it is even commonly prescribed as a medicine. india was famous for the exportation of saltpetre, and is so. the dutch, when in india, traded especially in this article." the uppiliyans say that they are descended from a man who was created to provide salt for the table of their god, but lost the favour of the deity because his wife bartered the salt for some glass bangles. in his wrath he put his wife into the oven to kill her, but she escaped through a hole in the back. as evidence of the truth of the story, they point to the facts that their women wear no glass bangles, and that their ovens always have a hole in them. the caste further traces its descent from a mythical individual, named sagara, to whom is ascribed the digging of the bay of bengal. his story is narrated in the vishnu purana, [80] and is briefly as follows. sagara was son of bahu, who was overrun by the haihayas and talajanghas, and consequently retired to the forest, where, near the hermitage of muni aurva, one of his queens conceived. a rival queen poisoned her, so as to prevent her from being delivered of the child. meanwhile, bahu waxed old, and his pregnant wife prepared to ascend the funeral pyre with him. but the muni forbade her, saying that she was going to be the mother of an universal emperor. she accordingly desisted from the desperate act, and a splendid boy was born, and the poison expelled along with him. the muni, on this account, gave him the name of sagara, meaning with poison. as he grew up, the boy came to know of the troubles of his father, and resolved to recover his kingdom. he put to death nearly the whole of the haihayas, and made the others acknowledge his suzerainty. he had two wives, by one of whom he had a son named asamanja, and by the other sixty thousand sons. he subsequently performed the asvamedha or sacrifice of a horse, which was guarded by his sons. the animal was, however, carried off by some one into a chasm in the earth. sagara commanded his sons to search for the steed, and they traced him by the impressions of the hoofs to the chasm, which he had entered. they proceeded to enlarge it, and dug downwards, each for a league. coming to patala, they saw the horse wandering freely about, and at no great distance from it was kapila rishi, sitting in meditation. exclaiming "this is the villain who has maliciously interrupted our sacrifice, and stolen the horse, kill him, kill him," they ran towards him with uplifted weapons. the rishi raised his eyes, and for an instant looked upon them, and they became reduced to ashes by the sacred flame that darted from him. on learning of the death of his sons, sagara sent amsumat, the son of asamanja, to secure the animal. he went by the deep path which his father and uncles had dug, and, arriving at the place where kapila was, propitiated him with an obeisance. the rishi gave him the horse, to be delivered to his father, and in conferring the boon which amsumat prayed for, said that his grandson would bring down the divine ganges, whose "waters shall wash the bones and ashes of thy grandfather's sons," and raise them to swarga. sagara then completed his sacrifice, and, in affectionate memory of his sons, called the chasm which they had dug sagara. this is still the name of the ocean, and especially of the bay of bengal at the mouth of the ganges, which, in accordance with the boon of kapila, was brought down to earth by amsumat's grandson bhagiratha, from whom it received the name of bhagirathi, which it retains to this day. such is the story of the origin of the caste, members of which often call it sagara kula, or the family of sagara. as his sons excavated the ocean, so they dig tanks, channels, wells, etc. in the mysore census reports, the upparas are said to be called "uppara in the eastern, uppaliga in the southern, and melu (west) sakkre in the western districts. [some explain that they work in salt, which is more essential than sugar, and that mel sakkare means superior sugar.] this caste is divided into the telugu and karnataka sub-divisions. the latter make earth-salt, while the former work as bricklayers and builders. the well-to-do section of the caste further undertake public works on contract, and some of them are good architects of ordinary hindu houses, which do not call for much scientific precision. there are also agriculturists and labourers among them." in the madras presidency, at the present day, some members of the caste are well and tank diggers, house-builders or bricklayers; others are agricultural labourers, or village servants. a few are earth-work contractors, or, as at muthialpet near conjeeveram, yarn dyers. some are in the service of government as police constables. the women are very hard-working, and help their husbands at their work. to this fact is said to be due the high rate at which the bride-price is fixed. the well-kept roads of the city of madras are the work of a colony of upparas, who have settled there. the following curious custom is recorded by the rev. j. cain in a note [81] on the tank-diggers of the godavari district. "a disturbance in a little camp of tank-diggers confirmed a statement which i heard at masulipatam as to the manner in which the tank-diggers divide their wages. they had been repairing the bank of a tank, and been paid for their work, and, in apportioning the shares of each labourer, a bitter dispute arose because one of the women had not received what she deemed her fair amount. on enquiry, it turned out that she was in an interesting condition, and therefore could claim not only her own, but also a share for the expected child. this had been overlooked, and, when she asserted her right to a double portion, those who had already received their money objected to part with any, although they acknowledged that the claim was fair and just." by the madras salt act, 1889, it is enacted that any person who-(a) removes any salt without or in excess of the permits necessary by this act; or (b) except for agricultural or building purposes, excavates, collects or possesses salt-earth in any local area where it is contraband salt; or (c) manufactures contraband salt in any other way than by excavating or collecting salt-earth; or (d) purchases, obtains, possesses, sells or weighs contraband salt other than salt-earth, knowing or having reason to believe it to be contraband; or (e) refines saltpetre without such license as is prescribed by the act; or (f) attempts to commit, or within the meaning of the indian penal code abets the commission of any of the above acts, shall on conviction be punishable for every such offence with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or with fine not exceeding five hundred rupees, or with both. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the bellary district, that "at the time when the company came into possession of the district, the salt consumed in it was of two kinds, namely, the earth-salt manufactured from saline soils by men of the uppara caste, and the marine salt made on the west coast. the latter was imported by the lambadis and korachas, who brought it up the ghats by means of large droves of pack-bullocks. the earth-salt was made in what were known as modas, which were peculiar to the ceded districts, and were especially common in bellary. a heap of earth was piled up, and on the top of it were hollowed out one or more circular basins, some five feet in diameter and two feet deep. from the bottom of these basins, channels lined with chunam (lime) ran down to one or more reservoirs similarly lined. salt-earth was collected in the places where it effloresced naturally in the dry months, and taken to the moda on pack-buffaloes. it was thrown into the basins, and then a quantity of water was poured upon it. the brine so obtained flowed through the channels at the bottom of the basins into the reservoirs. from these it was baled with chatties (pots) into a set of masonry evaporating pans, carefully levelled and plastered with chunam, where it was left to be converted into salt by solar evaporation. each lot of salt-earth, which was thus lixiviated, was taken from the basins and thrown outside them, and this process constantly repeated gradually raised the level of the moda and the basins, which were perpetually being re-made on the top of it. some of the modas gradually grew to be as much as twenty feet in height. when they became too high for the buffaloes to carry the salt-earth up to their summits with comfort, they were abandoned, and others started elsewhere. the earth-salt made in this manner was neither so good nor so strong as marine salt, but it was much used by the poorer classes and for cattle, and thus interfered with the profits of the government salt monopoly, which was established in 1805. as early as 1806, therefore, it was proposed to prohibit its manufacture. the chief arguments against any such step were that it would inflict hardship upon the upparas who made the salt, and upon the poorer classes who consumed it, and, for the next three quarters of a century, a wearisome correspondence dragged on regarding the course which it would be proper to pursue. in 1873, mr. g. thornhill, member of the board of revenue, visited the ceded districts, to see how matters stood. he reported that it was not possible to check the competition of the earth-salt with the government marine salt by imposing an excise duty, as the modas were numerous and scattered. for similar reasons, and also because all the upparas were very poor, a license-tax was out of the question. at the same time he calculated that the loss to government due to the system was from eight to ten lakhs annually, and, seeing that government salt was obtainable in bellary as cheaply as in other inland districts, he recommended that the industry should be gradually suppressed. government agreed, and ordered that the opening of new modas should be prohibited, and that those in existence should be licensed, with reference to their productive capacity, at rates to increase by annual increments until 1879, when the full duty leviable on sea-salt should be imposed on their entire produce. these measures, though they checked the manufacture, failed to entirely protect the revenue, and, in 1876, the madras salt commission and board of revenue concurred in recommending that the manufacture of earth-salt should be at once and entirely suppressed. the government of india agreed, and in 1880 orders were given that the modas should all be destroyed, reasonable compensation being paid to their owners. the manufacture of earth-salt in the district is now entirely a thing of the past, though in many places the remains of the old modas may still be seen. some of the upparas, however, still go annually to the nizam's dominions in the dry season, and make earth-salt by the old methods for sale there. apparently they agree with the nizam's government to pay a certain fee, one-fourth of which is paid in advance, for the privilege. if the season is sufficiently dry, they make a small profit, but if, on the other hand, it is wet, manufacture is impossible, and they lose the amount of the fee, and their labour as well." a good deal of saltpetre is still made by members of the caste in various parts of the madras presidency by lixiviating the alkaline efflorescence of the earth. for this purpose, licenses are obtained annually from the salt department. crude saltpetre is sold for manure on coffee estates, and also used in the manufacture of fireworks. speaking different languages, and living in different parts of the country, the uppiliyans, upparas, and upparas do not intermarry, though, where they are found close together, they interdine. the caste recognises the authority of its headmen, who are called periyathanakaran, ejaman, etc., and are assisted in some places, for example madras, by a jatibidda (son of the caste), who does the duties of caste peon or messenger, summoning members to a caste council-meeting, and so on. the usual punishments inflicted by a caste council are excommunication, fine, and the giving of a caste dinner. i am informed that, among the canarese upparas, a woman found guilty of adultery is punished as follows. a lock of her hair is cut off, and she is bathed in cold water, and made to drink a little cow-dung water. she is then taken to the temple, where the pujari (priest) sprinkles holy water over her head. a fine is paid by her family. a man, who is proved guilty of a similar offence, has one side of his moustache and one of his eyebrows shaved off, and the hair of his head is removed in three parallel lines. seven small booths are constructed of straw, and set on fire. through this the man has to pass. he is then plunged into a tank, and, after bathing therein, he is sprinkled with holy water. i am told that a woman has also to go through the fire ordeal. girls are married either before or after puberty, but usually after. among the uppiliyans and upparas, it is customary for a man to claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. the ceremonies in connection with marriage vary in accordance with the locality. amongst the uppiliyans of madura, the tali (marriage badge) is usually tied to the bride's neck by a special woman, resident in her village, called sirkari. in some places it is tied, as among some other tamil castes, by the bridegroom's sister. among the telugu and canarese sections, it is tied by the bridegroom himself. by the upparas of south canara, the dhare marriage rite is performed, in which the father of the bride pours water from a vessel over the united hands of the contracting couple. i am told that, among some canarese upparas, the bridegroom's head is shaved, and, after bathing, he puts on a double brass wire corresponding to the sacred thread of the brahmans, which he wears for five days. among the telugu upparas there are two sub-divisions, which are called, according to the amount of the bride-price, yedu (seven) madala and padaharu (sixteen) madala, a mada being equal to two rupees. some say that mada refers to the modas (heaps of earth) used in former times. at a marriage among some uppiliyans, it is customary for the bride and bridegroom to sit inside a wall made of piled up water pots, with the ends of their cloths tied together, while some of the women present pour water from the pots over their heads. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and i gather that, among the upparas, a widow may only marry a widower, and vice versâ. in a note on the uppiliyans of the trichinopoly district, mr. f. r. hemingway states that "some of the marriage ceremonies are peculiar. they allow an unborn boy to be betrothed to his unborn cousin. the bride has to be asked in marriage a number of times, before consent is given, lest it be thought that she is yielding too easily. the marriage is performed at her house, lest it should be thought that her parents are forcing her on the bridegroom. the caste does not use the marriage pole or paligai pots. instead of the usual turmeric threads, the wrists of the contracting couple are tied together with wool. a curious custom among the tamil section is that, at the beginning of the ceremonies, both on the first and second day, three matrons wash their faces in turmeric water, and the bride and bridegroom are bathed with the water used by them. they also have unusual observances connected with a girl's attainment of maturity. a husband may not look into his bride's eyes until this occurs. when she has at length attained maturity, the husband comes to his bride's house with a sheep and some vegetables, and kills the former. his brother-in-law then marks his forehead with the sheep's blood. the husband eats some plantain and milk, and spits it out at his bride, who is made to stand behind a screen. if the girl has attained maturity before her marriage, the tamil section of the caste make her walk over seven wooden hoops on the wedding day. the husband has to give his formal consent to the ceremony, and a washerman has to be present. the telugus perform this rite on the last day of the girl's first menstrual period, and her maternal uncle has to be present. the uppiliyans allow the remarriage of widows and divorced women. a man may not shave until he marries a virgin, and, if he does not do so, he has to remain unshaved all his life." the dead are, as a rule, buried. among the uppiliyans, who occupy a higher social position than the canarese and telugu sections, death pollution is observed for seven days. among the upparas, the period of pollution is sixteen days. concerning the death ceremonies, mr. hemingway writes as follows. "widows of the tamil section never remove their tali, but leave it till it drops off of itself. when a man dies, his widow is made to pretend he is still alive, and bathes him with oil, and puts garlands on him. if a man is to be buried, the chief mourner pretends to dig the grave. the karumantaram, or final death ceremony, of the tamil section consists merely in taking some milk to an erukka (calotropis gigantea) shrub on the sixteenth evening, just before the jackals begin to howl. they pour it over the shrub with the help of a barber, saying 'go to swarga (the abode of indra), and make your way to kailasam (heaven).'" some members of the caste are vaishnavites, and others saivites. in some places, the former are branded by their gurus, who are vaishnava brahmans. they also worship various village deities, which vary according to the place of residence. in the census report, 1891, the worship of sunkalamma, jambulamma, and timmappa is noted. it is stated by mr. hemingway that "the uppiliyans have a caste god, named karuvandaraya bommadeva. he has no temple, but all the uppiliyans in a village join in offering him an annual sacrifice in tai (january-february), before the earth is scraped for the first time in the season for making saltpetre. they use avaram (cassia auriculata) flowers and river sand in this worship. they also have three special caste goddesses, called tippanjal, who are supposed to be women who committed sati. they have also brahman gurus, who visit them every year, and bless their salt pits." concerning the caste organisation of the uppiliyans, mr. hemingway writes that "when a complaint of a caste offence is made, notice is sent to the pattakkaran (headman), and to the whole uppiliyan community in the neighbourhood, notifying the accusation and the provisional expulsion of the accused. a second notice summons the community to a panchayat (council), which is presided over by at least two or three pattakkarans, the caste god being represented by some avaram flowers, a pot of water, and margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves. if acquitted, the accused is made to touch the water pot in token of his innocence. if he is convicted, both he and the complainant are fined, the latter for the purification of his house, if it has been polluted by the offence. the purification is performed by a man of the marudur nadu called rettai vilakkukaran (man of two lights), who eats a meal in the polluted house, with his hands held behind his back." it was recently noted that the upparas are, as a rule, uneducated, and their ignorance of the three r's often leads to bitter disputes among themselves and with their employers in disbursing their wages. some years ago, one of the madras missions opened a school for the benefit of this backward caste. in 1906, the hindu educational mission of madras started a night and day school, upparapalaiyam arya pathasala, in the upparapalaiyam quarter of madras. there is a telugu proverb to the effect that one is ruined both ways, like an uppara who has turned sanyasi (ascetic), in reference to the fact that he neither follows his ancestral occupation, nor is tolerated in his new calling. the usual caste title is chetti. uppara occurs as a synonym of kusa holeya. uppu (salt).--a sub-division of balijas and koravas, who trade in salt, which they carry about the country in panniers on donkeys or bullocks. it is also an occupational sub-division of komati. the equivalent uppa is an exogamous sept of kelasi. uppukottei occurs as a division of maravan, upputholuvaru (salt-carriers) as an exogamous sept of odde, and uppiri (salt-earth) as a sept of kuruba. urali.--in the madras census report, 1891, the uralis are described as "a caste of agricultural labourers found chiefly in the districts of madura and trichinopoly. the word urali means a ruler of a village. like the ambalakkarans, they trace their descent from one mutturaja, and the only sub-division returned by any number is mutracha. they also assert that they were formerly employed as soldiers. in the wynad there is a section of kurumbas called urali kurumbas, and it is not improbable that these uralis of the tamil country are an offshoot of the great kurumba race." the uralis are further summed up in the same report, as "agricultural labourers in coimbatore, trichinopoly, and madura. there seems to be some connection between the uralis and the ambalakkarans or muttiriyans. muttiriyan is a sub-division of both urali and ambalakkaran, and both of these are found in the same districts. perhaps the uralis are an offshoot of the tamil valaiyans, which by change of occupation has transformed itself into a distinct caste (see ambalakkaran). the caste is split up into a number of sub-divisions, called after the name of the tract or nadu in trichinopoly which each inhabits. to get back into the caste, an excommunicated man has to kill a sheep or goat before the elders, and mark his forehead with the blood. he then gives a feast to the assembly, and puts part of the food on the roof of his house. if the crows eat this, he is received back into the caste. [brahmans always put out portions of the sraddha offerings in the same way, and judge whether they are acceptable or not by noting if the crows eat them or not.] marriage is infant or adult. a man detected in an intrigue with an unmarried woman is fined, and has to marry her, and at the wedding his waist string is tied round her neck instead of a tali. the well-to-do people of the caste employ brahmans as priests, but others content themselves with their own elders. widows and divorced women may marry again. the dead are either burned or buried. the richer members of the caste perform sraddha (memorial service for the dead). they drink alcohol, and eat fowls, mutton, pork, fish, rats, etc. in social position they come below the idaiyans, tottiyans, and kallans. their title is kavandan." for the following note on the uralis of the trichinopoly district, i am indebted to mr. f. r. hemingway. "they say that they were originally kshatriyas living in 'alipuram near oudh,' and left that place in search of adventure, or in consequence of disputes at home, leaving their wives behind them, and finally settled in the south, where they married serving women (pulukkachis). they say that they belong to the mutturaja kuttam, a phrase they cannot explain, and protest that the ambalakkarans, who make a similar claim, have no ground for so doing. they seem to eat with no other caste on equal terms, but will, of course, accept separate meals from vellalans. they are split into seven nadus, which are in effect endogamous sub-divisions. these are called after villages in the country inhabited by the caste, namely, vadaseri, pilluru, sengudi, kadavangudi or virali, talakka, paluvinji or magali, and marungi. the members of the first three of these nadus are called vadaseri uralis, and those of the other four nattu-simai uralis, kunduva-nattu-tokkadus, or nandutindis. all of them will mess together. they say that the nadus were originally intended to facilitate the decision of caste disputes, and they are still the unit of self-government. each nadu has a headman, who exercises supreme control over the villages included within it. the uralis also have a number of exogamous septs called karais by the vadaseris and kaniyacchis by the nattu-simais, which are called after the names of places. they are generally cultivators, but are said sometimes to be given to crime. they wear the sacred thread on occasions of marriages and funerals. the women can be recognised by their dress, the kusavam being spread out behind, and a characteristic pencil-shaped ornament (kuchu) being suspended from the neck. some of their marriage and funeral customs are peculiar. among the nattu-simais, the betrothal is ratified by the maternal uncle of each of the pair solemnly measuring out three measures of paddy (rice) in the presence of the other party at their house. at their funerals, the bier is not brought into the village, but left outside, and the corpse is carried to it. among the vadaseris, while preparations are being made for the removal of the body, a paraiyan woman performs a dance. among the nattu-simais this is done on the ettu day. on the second day after the funeral, the relatives of the deceased dip their toes in a mortar full of cow-dung water placed in front of his house, and put sacred ashes on the head. the karumantaram, or final death ceremony, is only performed by the rich. it can take place at any time after the third day. the ettu ceremony is similarly performed at any time after the third day, and is attended with a curious ritual. both sections of the caste erect a booth, in which three plantain trees are planted, and the chief mourner and his cousins stand there all day to receive the condolences of their friends. from this point the practice of the two sections differs in small points of detail. among the vadaseris, the friends come one by one, and are asked by the chief mourner, "will you embrace, or will you strike your forehead?" in reply, the friend either closes the open hand of the chief mourner with his own as a form of embrace, or flings himself on the ground in the booth, and weeps. each visitor then goes to a meeting of the nadu which is being held outside the village, and a paraiyan and three uralis inform the headman who have visited the booth and who have not, and ask if it may be removed. permission being given, the plantains are cut down, and the woman-folk wail round a chembu (vessel) placed there. all then proceed to the nadu meeting, where a turban is put on a paraiyan, a dancing-girl and a pandaram, and the paraiyan (called nattu samban) beats his drum, and pronounces a blessing on the nadu. finally all repair to the house of the deceased, where the headman puts three handfuls of kambu (millet) into the cloth of his wife or some other member of the family, and throws a mortar on the ground. punishments for caste offences take some curious forms. a margosa (melia azadirachta) leaf is put on the house of anyone who is excommunicated. if a man seduces a girl of the caste, an enquiry is held, and the pair are married. the waist-string of the man is tied round the neck of the woman, and a tottiyan is called in to take away the pollution which they and their relatives have incurred. they are taken to a tank (pond), where 108 holes have been made by the tottiyan, and are made to bathe in every hole, sprinkling the water over their heads. a sheep is then killed by a tottiyan and a chakkiliyan, its head is buried, and the couple and their relatives are made to walk over the spot. the blood of the animal is then smeared on their foreheads, and they all have to bathe again. they are next given cow's urine to drink, and then once more bathe. after that they are given milk, and are made to prostrate themselves before the panchayat (council). finally they have to give a feast to the panchayat, at which a part of the food is offered to the crows, and the purification is not complete till the birds have partaken thereof. the uralis are fond of shikar (hunting). on the sivaratri night, sacrifices are offered to their family gods, and, on the following day, all the men of the village go out hunting. they have a head shikari (huntsman), called kavettaikaran, who receives every animal which is killed, cuts off its head, and breaks its legs. the head is given to the man who killed the animal, and the rest is shared among the castemen." of the uralis who inhabit the hill country of travancore, the following account is given in the travancore census report, 1901. "the uralis are a class of hill tribes resident in the cardamom hills. they are chiefly found in the tracts known as kunnanat, velampan, kurakkanat, mannukat, kalanat, and periyur. the headman of the uralis in each of these areas is called a kanikkaran. tradition tells us that they were the dependents of the kings of madura, and that their duty was to hold umbrellas in times of state processions. in ancient times, many of the parts now included in the todupuzha taluk belonged to the kingdom of madura. once, when the king came to neriyamangalam, the ancestors of these uralis are said to have accompanied him, and to have been left there to rule (ali) that locally (ur). the males dress like the low-country people, with cloths about four cubits long extending from the hip to the knee. another cloth, about one or two cubits in length, is put over the back, one end of which passes under their right arm and the other over the shoulder, both meeting in front over the chest, where they are tied together in a peculiar knot by folding the extremities, thus forming a bag wherein to contain their wayside necessaries. females wear two pieces of cloth, nine and two and a half cubits in length respectively, and folded in the middle. the larger is the lower garment, and the smaller upper garment is worn with two ends tied around the neck. males wear brass finger and toe-rings, sometimes of silver. some adorn their necks with wreaths of beads, from fifteen to thirty in number. females wear ear-ornaments known as katumani, which are rings of metal wire, four or five in number. males generally allow their hair to grow, the face alone being now and then shaven. the uralis eat rice for six months of the year, and subsist on roots, fruits, and other forest produce during the remaining half. a large portion of the paddy (rice) that the uralis gather by cultivation goes to the low country in exchange for clothing and salt. the flesh of most animals is eaten, but the elephant and buffalo are held in such great respect that no urali ever ventures to hurt them. even the approach of the buffalo is religiously avoided. they begin to fell forest trees in dhanu (december-january), and seeds are sown by the end of metam (april-may). they have only a katti, which is a kind of chopping knife, for purposes of ploughing. after cultivation they change their abodes. they put up huts in the vicinity of the cultivated areas, and use bamboo and reeds as materials. after leaving the old, and before putting up the new hut, they live for several days in caves or under trees. they are very good watchmen, and take great care in putting up fences, weeding, and protecting cultivation from wild animals. they make excellent mats of reed. they are clever huntsmen, and are passionately attached to their hunting dogs. they hoard their grains in wicker baskets called virivallam. they possess copper and brass vessels, mortar, chopping knives, sickles, spades, flint and steel. a man after marriage lives with his wife, apart from his parents. pollution of a very aggravated kind is observed during the menstrual and puerperal periods. on these occasions a separate matam (hut), called the pattu-pandal, is put up at a distance from the dwelling hut. here the woman stays for three days. after bathing on the fourth day, she shifts to another matam still nearer, and stays there for one or two days. on the seventh day she rejoins the family. in cases of confinement, twelve days are spent in the remotest hut, and five days in the nearer one. but for another period of twenty days the woman is not permitted to touch any one in the house, or even the roofing of the hut. during these days food is prepared by others, and given to her. the water in which those who are confined, and those who are in their menses bathe, is considered to be defiled beyond remedy. hence, for bathing purposes some secluded and out-of-the-way pool, called pattuvellam, is selected. uralis coming to the low country hesitate to drink water, on the score that it might be thus polluted. when the woman delivers herself of her first child, her husband observes three days' pollution, but none for subsequent confinements. on all such occasions, the maternal relations of the woman have to observe five days' pollution. on the eighteenth day after birth, the eldest member of the family names the child, and bores the ear. the head of the child is shaved as soon as it is able to walk, and a tuft of hair is left in front. the corpses of the uralis are not burnt, but buried at a sufficient distance from the house. a new cloth is put into the grave by each relative. after filling in the grave, they erect a shed over it, within which the chopping knife of the deceased, a quantity of boiled rice, and some chewing materials (betel and nuts) are placed. after the lapse of seven years, an offering of food and drink is made to the departed soul. death pollution lasts for sixteen days. the uralis address their father as appan, and maternal uncle as achchan. marumakkathayam is the prevailing form of inheritance (in the female line). marriage is settled by the parents. there is no tali symbol to indicate the wedded state. after the marriage is settled, the girl is merely sent to the pandal or hut of the husband. the uralis intermarry with the ulladans, and in rare cases with muduvans. remarriage is permitted. an urali, wishing to get married into a particular family, has to wed into the family a girl belonging to his own. the uralis have a fine ear for music, and sing many songs in the night before going to bed. like the kanis (kanikars), they resort to enchantments called cheppuka and chattuka for the cure of diseases. their would-be sorcerers have to leave the community, and wander alone in the forest for a number of months. they are said to then get into a trance, when their forefathers appear before them as maidens, and teach them the mystic arts. the uralis bear their loads only on the back, and never on the head. they never go to distant places without their chopping knife. they are good forest guides." the uralis are stated by the rev. s. mateer [82] to practice polyandry like the todas. urali is further a synonym of the tandans of travancore, in reference, it is said, to their having been guardians of villages (ur) in former times. it is also the title of the headman of the kuravas of travancore and a synonym of the kolayans of malabar. urali.--the uralis, who form the subject of the present note, dwell at an altitude of 1,800 feet in the jungles of dimbhum in the coimbatore district, where a forest bungalow, situated on a breezy ridge overlooking the plains, formed a convenient centre from which to study both uralis and the more primitive sholagas. the uralis are familiar with the badagas, who have a settlement not many miles distant; the todas, who occasionally migrate across the adjacent nilgiri frontier in search of grazing land for their buffaloes; and the kurumbas and irulas, who inhabit the lower slopes of the nilgiris, which run down to coimbatore. with the civilised world they are acquainted, as they carry loads to the plains, and run down to market at the town of sathyamangalam, which is only seventeen miles distant from dimbhum. like the nilgiri badagas, they are clad in turban, and long flowing body-cloth, white (when new), or striped with red and blue. the hair is worn long and unkempt, or shaved á la hindu with kudimi in mimicry of the more civilised classes. a man was introduced to us as an expert mimic of the note of the paroquet, peacock, jungle-fowl and other forest birds; and a small party improvised, in front of the bungalow, a bird trap cleverly constructed out of stones, an iron plate from the camp kitchen, bamboo, and rope made on the spot from the bark of ficus tsiela. the making of fire with flint and steel is fast disappearing in favour of safety matches. the uralis say that they are men of seven kulams (i.e., having seven posts to the marriage booth), and are children of billayya, while they describe the sholagas as men of five kulams and children of karayya. they call themselves uralis or irulas, and, when questioned, say that, as billayya and karayya are brothers, they may also be called sholagas. but there is no intermarriage between uralis and sholagas, though members of the two tribes sometimes interdine. according to another legend, the uralis and sholagas are both descended from karayan, and the sivacharis (lingayats) from billaya or madheswaram (see sholaga). they speak a patois of mixed tamil and canarese, and have a number of exogamous septs, the meaning of the names of which is not clear. they indulge in a large repertoire of nicknames, for the most part of a personal nature, such as donkey-legged, big-navelled, pot-bellied, hare-lipped, hairy like a bear or the tail of a mungoose, toothless, lying, brought up on butter-milk. one man was named kothe kallan (kotha, a stone), because he was born on a rock near kotagiri. the majority of the tribe earn a modest livelihood by collecting minor forest produce, such as myrabolams, wax and honey, and poles for use as primitive breaks for country carts during the ascent of the ghat road. these poles are tied to the carts by ropes, and trail behind on the ground, so that, when the cart stops, the backward course of the wheels is arrested. some till the soil, and cultivate various kinds of food-grains. others are sheep and cattle owners. a few families possess land, which is given free of rent by the forest department, on condition that they work for the department whenever their services are required. as a class they are not inclined to do hard work, and they appear to get into the clutches of money-lending chettis. their staple food is ragi (eleusine coracana). but they eat also sheep, fowls, goat, deer, pigeons and doves, black monkeys, wild boar, hare, hedgehogs, paroquets, quails and partridges, jungle-fowl, woodcock, woodpeckers, and other denizens of the jungle. a man who was asked whether they eat beef, cats, toads, bears, or white monkeys, expectorated violently at the mention of each, and the suggestion of the first three produced the most explosive oral demonstration. tribal disputes are referred to a headman, called yejamana, who must belong to the exogamous sept called sambe, and whose appointment is an hereditary one. to assist him, three others, belonging to the kalkatti, kolkara and kurinanga septs, whose hereditary titles are pattagara, gouda and kolkara, are appointed. the kolkara has to invite people to the panchayat (tribal council), collect the fines inflicted, and be present on the occasion of marriages. a woman who, after marriage, refuses to live with her husband, is punished thus. she is tied to a tree, and the kolkaran empties the contents of a hornet or wasp's nest at her feet. after a few minutes the woman is questioned, and, if she agrees to live with her husband, she must, in token of assent, lick a mark made on his back by the kolkara with fowl's excrement, saying "you are my husband. in future i shall not quarrel with you, and will obey you." even after this ordeal has been gone through, a woman may, on payment of a fine, leave her husband in favour of another man of the tribe. when a girl reaches puberty, she is anointed, decorated with jewelry, and made to occupy a separate hut for seven days, during which time two young girls keep her company. on the eighth day, all three bathe in a pond or stream, and return in their wet clothes to the girl's home, where they sit on a pestle placed in front of the door. a plantain leaf is then placed in front of them, on which cooked rice and curry are spread. a child, aged about eight or nine months, is set in the girl's lap, and she feeds the infant with a small quantity of rice, of which she herself swallows a few mouthfuls. those assembled then sit down to a meal, at the conclusion of which they wash their hands in a dish, and the girl throws the water away. the feast concluded, the spot is sprinkled with cowdung water, and cleaned up by the girl. marriage is either infant or adult, but, as a rule, the latter. the match-making is carried out by the boy's parents, who, with his other relations, pay two visits, one with and one without the boy, to the parents of the girl. at the first visit a present of ragi, and at the second of plantains, rice, and millet pudding is made. the party must be received with due respect, which is shown by taking hold of the walking-sticks of the guests on arrival, and receiving them on a mat spread inside the house. the customary form of salute is touching the feet with both hands, and raising them, with palms opposed, to the forehead. before taking their seats, the guests salute a vessel of water, which is placed on the mat, surrounded by betel leaves and nuts. a flower is placed on the top of the stone or figure which represents the tribal goddess, and, after puja (worship) has been done to it, it is addressed in the words "oh, swami! drop the flower to the right if the marriage is going to be propitious, and to the left if otherwise." should the flower remain on the image, without falling either way, it is greeted as a very happy omen. on the occasion of the betrothal ceremony, if the bridegroom's party, on their way to the bride's village, have to cross a stream, running or dry, the bridegroom is not allowed to walk across it, but must be carried over on the back of his maternal uncle. as they approach the bride's home, they are met by the kolkara and two other men, to whom the kolkara, after receiving the walking-sticks of the guests, hands them over. failure to do so would be an act of discourtesy, and regarded as an insult to be wiped out by a heavy fine. when the procession arrives at the house, entrance into the marriage booth is prevented by a stick held across it by people of the bride's village. a mock struggle takes place, during which turmeric water is thrown by both sides, and an entrance into the house is finally effected. after a meal has been partaken of, the bridal party proceed to the village of the bridegroom, where the bride and bridegroom are lodged in separate houses. in front of the bridegroom's house a booth, supported by twelve posts arranged in four rows, has been erected. the two pillars nearest the entrance to the house are called murthi kamba. into the holes made for the reception of these, after a cocoanut has been broken, ghi (clarified butter), milk, and a few copper coins are placed. the bridal pair, after an oil bath, are led to the booth, decorated with jewels and wearing new cloths, and made to sit on a plank. a cocoanut is broken, and they salute a vessel placed on a plate. the bridal party then adjourn to a pond or stream, and do puja to their god. on the return thence the bridal couple must be accompanied by their maternal uncles, who should keep on dancing, while cocoanuts are broken in front of them till the house is reached. the contracting parties then again sit on the plank with their little fingers linked, while the bride money (theravu) is paid to the father-in-law, and the milk money (pal kuli) to the mother-in-law. the tali (a golden disc) is then tied on to the bride's neck by some female relation of the bridegroom, and the bride and bridegroom, after saluting those assembled, enter the house, where the young wife is at once told to cook some rice, of which she and her husband partake from the same leaf plate. there exists, among the uralis, a kind of informal union called kuduvali. a man and woman will, by mutual agreement, elope into the jungle, and live there together, till they are discovered and brought back by their relations. a panchayat (council) is held, and they are recognised as man and wife if the bride money and fine inflicted are paid. failure to pay up would render them liable to excommunication. to celebrate the event, a feast must be given by the man; and, if he should die without having fed the community, any children born to him are considered as illegitimate. in such a case, the widow or her near relatives are asked to give food to at least a few before the corpse is removed, so as to legitimatise the children. the uralis bury their dead, and the death ceremonies are, to a certain extent, copied from those of the badagas. as soon as a member of the tribe dies, the corpse is anointed, washed, and dressed in new clothes and turban. on the face three silver coins are stuck, viz.:--a rupee on the forehead, and a quarter rupee outside each eye. when all have assembled for the funeral, the corpse is brought out and placed under a car (teru) of six storeys, made of bamboo and sticks, covered with coloured cloths and flags, and having at the top a kalasa (brass vessel) and umbrella. to the accompaniment of a band a dance takes place around the car, and the procession then moves on to the burial-ground, where a cow buffalo is brought near the car, and a little milk drawn and poured three times into the mouth of the corpse. a cow and one or two calves are taken round the car, and the calves presented to the sister of the deceased. the car is then broken up, after the decorations have been stripped off. the corpse is buried either on the spot, or taken away to distant nirgundi, and buried there. on the eighth day after the funeral or return from nirgundi, the eldest son of the deceased has his head shaved, and, together with his brother's wife, fasts. if the funeral has been at nirgundi, the son, accompanied by his relations, proceeds thither after tying some cooked rice in a cloth. on arrival, he offers this to all the memorial stones in the burial-ground (goppamane), and erects a stone, which he has brought with him, in memory of the deceased. he then anoints all the stones with ghi, which is contained in a green bamboo measure. he collects the rice, which has been offered, and one of the party, becoming inspired, gives vent to oracular declarations as to the season's prospects, the future of the bereaved family, etc. the collected rice is regarded as sacred, and is partaken of by all. each sept has its own goppamane, which is a rectangular space with mud walls on three sides. in cases in which the corpse has been buried close to the village, the grave is marked by a file of stones. two or three years afterwards, the body is exhumed, and the bones are collected, and placed in front of the house of the deceased. all the relations weep, and the son conveys the bones to nirgundi, where he buries them. on the eighth day he revisits the spot, and erects a stone with the ceremonial already described. the uralis worship a variety of minor deities, and sacrifice sheep and goats to palrayan. they observe two annual festivals, viz.:--(a) thai nombu, when the whole house is cleaned, and margosa (melia azadirachta) twigs and spikes of achyranthes aspera are tied together, and placed in front of the house over the roof, or stuck into the roof overhanging the entrance. a sumptuous repast is partaken of. this ceremonial takes place in the month thai (december-january). (b) in the month vyasi (march-april) a large trough is placed close to a well, and filled with a mixture of salt and water. the cattle, decorated with leaves and flowers, are brought, one by one, to the trough, and made to drink the salt water. uril parisha.--a class of mussad. uru.--ur, uru, meaning village, is the name of a division of bedar, boya, golla, korava, kuruba, madiga, and odde. the bedars and boyas are divided into two main divisions, uru or those who dwell in villages, and myasa (grass-land or forest people) who live away from villages. in like manner, the uru oddes are those who have abandoned a nomad life, and settled in villages. among some of the tamil cultivating classes, the headman is known as the ur goundan. ur-udaiyan (lord of a village).--a synonym of nattaman. urukathi (a kind of knife).--an exogamous sept of toreva. urukkaran, a class of muhammadan pilots and sailors in the laccadive islands. (see mappilla.) urumikkaran.--the urumikkarans, or those who play on the drum (urumi), are said [83] to be "tottiyans in madura, and parayans elsewhere." the kappiliyans say that they migrated with the urumikkarans from the banks of the tungabadra river, because the tottiyans tried to ravish their women. at a kappiliyan wedding, a urumikkaran must be present at the distribution of betel on the second day, and at the final death ceremonies a urumikkaran must also be present. usira (usirika, phyllanthus emblica).--a sept of komati. utla.--utla or utlavadu has been recorded as an occupational sub-caste of yerukala, and an exogamous sept of boya and padma sale. the name is derived from utlam, a hanging receptacle for pots, made of palmyra fibre, which some yerukalas make and sell. [84] uttareni (achyranthes aspera).--an exogamous sept of boya. uyyala (a swing).--an exogamous sept of mala, mutracha, and yerukala. during the marriage ceremonies of brahmans and some non-brahman castes, the bride and bridegroom are seated in a swing within the marriage booth, and songs called uyyala patalu (swing songs) are sung by women to the accompaniment of music. v vada.--on the coast of ganjam and vizagapatam, the sea fishermen are either vadas or jalaris, both of which are telugu castes. the fishing operations are carried on by the men, and the fish are sold by the women in markets and villages. various oriya castes, e.g., kevuto, kondra, tiyoro, etc., are employed as fishermen, but only in fresh-water. the vadas seem to be a section of the palles, with whom they will interdine and intermarry. they call themselves vada balijas, though they have no claim to be regarded as balijas. sometimes they are called kalasis by oriya people. socially the vadas occupy a low position. their language is a corrupt and vulgar form of telugu. the men wear a conical palm leaf cap, such as is worn by the pattanavan fishermen in the tamil country. in the presence of a superior, they remove their loin-cloth and place it round their neck and shoulders as a mark of respect. among many other castes, this would, on the contrary, be regarded as an act of impertinence. like other telugu castes, the vadas have exogamous intiperus, some of which seem to be peculiar to them, e.g., mailapilli, ganupilli, sodupilli, davulupilli. other intiperus are such as are common to many telugu castes. the caste headmen are entitled kularaju and pilla, and the appointments are apparently held by members of particular septs. at chatrapur, for example, they belong to the mailapilli and vanka septs. there is also a caste servant styled samayanodu. the headmen seem to have more power among the vadas than among other telugu castes, and all kinds of caste matters are referred to them for disposal. they receive a fee for every marriage, and arrange various details in connection with the wedding ceremonial. this is based on the telugu type, with a few variations. when a young man's relations proceed to the house of the girl whom it is proposed that he should marry, the elders of her family offer water in a brass vessel to their guests, if they approve of the match. during the marriage rites, the bride and bridegroom sit within a pandal (booth), and the men of the bridegroom's party exhibit to those assembled betel leaf, areca nuts, oil, turmeric paste, etc., in which no foreign matter, such as fragments of paper, rags, etc., must be found. if they are discovered, a fine is inflicted. there is exhibited in the madras museum a collection of clay figures, such as are worshipped by fishermen on the ganjam coast, concerning which mr. h. d'a. c. reilly writes to me as follows. "i am sending you specimens of the chief gods worshipped by the fishermen. the tahsildar of berhampur got them made by the potter and carpenter, who usually make such figures for the gopalpur fishermen. i have found fishermen's shrines at several places. separate families appear to have separate shrines, some consisting of large chatties (earthen pots), occasionally ornamented, and turned upside down, with an opening on one side. others are made of brick and chunam (lime). all that i have seen had their opening towards the sea. two classes of figures are placed in these shrines, viz., clay figures of gods, which are worshipped before fishing expeditions, and when there is danger from a particular disease which they prevent; and wooden figures of deceased relations, which are quite as imaginative as the clay figures. figures of gods and relations are placed in the same family shrine. there are hundreds of gods to choose from, and the selection appears to be a matter of family taste and tradition. the figures, which i have sent, were made by a potter at venkatarayapalle, and painted by a carpenter at uppulapathi, both villages near gopalpur. the tahsildar tells me that, when he was inspecting them at the gopalpur travellers' bungalow, sixty or seventy fisher people came and worshipped them, and at first objected to their gods being taken away. he pacified them by telling them that it was because the government had heard of their devotion to their gods that they wanted to have some of them in madras." the collection of clay figures includes the following:-bengali babu wears a hat, and rides on a black horse. he blesses the fishermen, secures large hauls of fish for them, and guards them against danger when out fishing. it has been observed that "this affinity between the ganjam fishermen and the bengali babu, resulting in the apotheosis of the latter, is certainly a striking manifestation of the catholicity of hero-worship, and it would be interesting to have the origin of this particular form of it, to know how long, and for what reasons the conception of protection has appealed to the followers of the piscatory industry. it was sir george campbell, the lieutenant-governor of bengal, who compelled his bengali officials, much against their inclination, to cultivate the art of equitation." samalamma wears a red skirt and green coat, and protects the fishermen from fever. rajamma, a female figure, with a sword in her right hand, riding on a black elephant. she blesses barren women with children, and favours her devotees with big catches when they go out fishing. yerenamma, riding on a white horse, with a sword in her right hand. she protects fishermen from drowning, and from being caught by big fish. bhagirathamma, riding on an elephant, and having eight or twelve hands. she helps fishermen when fishing at night, and protects them against cholera, dysentery, and other intestinal disorders. nukalamma wears a red jacket and green skirt, and protects the fishing community against small-pox. orusandi ammavaru prevents the boats from being sunk or damaged. bhagadevi rides on a tiger, and protects the community from cholera. veyyi kannula ammavaru, or goddess of a thousand eyes, represented by a pot pierced with holes, in which a gingelly (sesamum) oil light is burnt. she attends to the general welfare of the fisher folk. the chief sea goddess of the vadas seems to be orusandiamma, whose image must be made out of the wood of the nim (melia azadirachta) tree. she is supposed to have four arms. many of the pot temples set up on the sea-shore are her shrines. on no account should she be provoked, lest the fishing boat should be upset. she is regarded as constantly roaming over the sea in a boat at night. associated with her is a male deity, named ramasondi, who is her brother. his vahanam (vehicle) is an elephant. orusandi is worshipped separately by each family. at the time of worship, flowers, two cloths, a fowl, a goat, and a bottle of toddy or arrack, are carried in procession to the sea-shore. before the procession starts, people collect in front of the house of the person who is doing the puja (worship), and tie him and the goat to a long post set up in front thereof. a toy boat is placed before the post, and ramasondi is invoked by a person called mannaru, who becomes inspired by the entrance of the deity into him. a fowl is sacrificed, and, with the boat on his head, the mannaru proceeds towards the shore. orusandi is then invoked, but does not come so easily as ramasondi. repeated invocations are necessary before some one becomes inspired. the goat, post, and a pot shrine for the goddess are taken to the shore. a small platform is erected there, on which the shrine, smeared with chunam (lime), is placed, and in it the image is deposited. worship is then performed, and the goat sacrificed if it crawls along on all fours and shivers. if it does not do so, another goat is substituted for it. as every family sets up its own pot shrine, the number of these is considerable, and they extend over several furlongs. the sea goddess marulupolamma is housed in a small shed made of date palm leaves. a goddess who is very much feared, and worshipped at the burial-ground, is bulokamma. her worship is carried out at noon or midnight. she is represented by a pot, of which the neck is removed. in the sides of the pot four holes are made, into each of which a twig is inserted. the ends of the twigs are tied together with thread, so that they represent a miniature pandal (booth). the pot is carried by a mannaru, dressed up like a woman in black and white cloths, together with another pot representing enuga sakthi. the former is carried in the bend of the left elbow, and the latter on the head. the pots are accompanied in procession to the burial-ground, and on the way thither some one becomes inspired, and narrates the following legend:--"i am bulokasakthi. ages ago i was in an egg, of which the upper half became the sky and the lower half the earth, and was released. the moon was the mark on my forehead, and the sun was my mirror. seven gadhis (a measure of time) after my birth, a west wind arose. by that time i had grown into an adult woman, and so i embraced the wind, which impregnated me, and, after nine gadhis, brahma was born. he grew into a young man, and i asked him to embrace me, but he refused, and, as a curse, i caused him to become a stone. vishnu underwent the same fate, but siva promised to satisfy me, if i gave him my third eye, shoulder-bag, and cane. this i did, and lost my power. then all the water disappeared, and i was covered with mud. siva again caused water to appear, and of it i took three handfuls, and threw them over my body. the third handful consumed me, and reduced me to ashes. from these were created sarasvati, parvati, and bulokamma. i am that bulokamma. i asked a favour of siva. he made me remain within this earth, and, drawing three lines, said that i should not come out, and should receive offerings of fowls and goats." at this stage, a chicken is given to the mannaru, who bites, and kills it. at the burial-ground worship is performed, and a goat sacrificed. the goddess being confined within the earth, no shrine is erected to her, and she is not represented by an image. a small pandal is erected, and the pot placed near it. the goddess kalimukkamma is represented by a paper or wooden mask painted black, with protruding tongue. with her is associated her brother baithari. she is believed to be one of the sisters created by brahma from his face at the request of iswara, the others being polamma, maridipoli, kothapoli, jungapoli, nukapoli, runjamma, and kundamma. the shrine of kalimukkamma is a low hut made of straw. at the time of worship to her, a mannaru, dressed up as a woman, puts on the mask, and thus represents her. a stone slab, containing a figure of kalimukkamma, is carried by a woman. she is the only goddess who may be represented by a stone. to her pigs are offered. peddamma or polamma is represented by a wooden effigy. along with her, maridiamma is also worshipped. the offerings to peddamma consist of a goat or sheep, and a pot of milk. a pig is sacrificed to maridiamma. when the people proceed in procession to the place of worship, a toy cart is tied to the person representing maridiamma, and some one must carry a toy boat. at a distance from the house, the cart is detached, and a pig is killed by an abdominal incision. samalamma is a mild goddess, with vegetarian propensities, to whom animal food must not be offered. she is associated with the aforesaid bengali babu riding on a horse. her image may only be carried by young girls, and grown-up women may not touch it. of the sakthis worshipped by the vadas, the chief is koralu sakthi. the man who performs the worship is tied to a country cart, to which a central stake, and a stake at each corner are attached. dressed up in female attire, he drags the cart, with which he makes three rounds. a chicken is then impaled on each of the corner stakes, and a pig on the central stake. in former times, the images of the deities were made in clay, but it has been found by experience that wooden images are more durable, and do not require to be replaced so often. along with the images of gods and goddesses, the vadas place figures representing deceased relatives, after the peddadinam (final death ceremony). the mannarus are very important individuals, for not only do they perform worship, but are consulted on many points. if a man does not secure good catches of fish, he goes to the mannaru, to ascertain the cause of his bad luck. the mannaru holds in his hand a string, to which a stone is tied, and invokes various gods and goddesses by name. every time a name is mentioned, the stone either swings to and fro like a pendulum, or performs a circular movement. if the former occurs, it is a sign that the deity whose name has been pronounced is the cause of the misfortune, and must be propitiated in a suitable manner. vadakkupurattu.--a synonym, meaning belonging to the north side of the temple, of marans in travancore. vadra.--vadra, vadrangi, or vadla is a name of a sub-division of telugu kamsalas, the professional calling of which is carpentering. it is noted, in the gazetteer of tanjore, that "wood-carving of a very fair quality is done at several places in the tanjore district by a class of workmen called car carpenters, from the fact that their skill is generally exercised in carving images on temple cars. they are found at tanjore, mannargudi, tiruvadaturai and tiruvadi, and perhaps elsewhere. the workmen at the last-named place are vaddis. the vaddis of the godavari district are also found to do wood-carving, sometimes with great skill." vadugan.--at the census, 1891, 180,884 individuals were returned as vadugan, which is described as meaning "a native of the northern or telugu country, but in ordinary usage it refers to the balijas." i find, however, that 56,380 vadugars have returned their sub-division as kammavar or kammas, and that the term has been used to denote many telugu castes. at the census, 1901, the number of people returning themselves as vadugan dropped to 95,924, and the name is defined by the census superintendent as a "linguistic term meaning a telugu man, wrongly returned as a caste name by kammas, kapus and balijas in the tamil districts." in the salem manual, vaduga is noted as including all who speak telugu in the tamil districts, e.g., odde, bestha, etc. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "of the same social standing as the kammalans are the vadugans (northerners), a makkattayam caste of foreigners found in palghat and the adjoining part of waluvanad. they are divided into two exogamous classes, one of which is regarded as inferior to the other, and performs purificatory ceremonies for the caste. they cut their hair close all over the head, and have no kudumis (hair knot)." it is noted by mr. l. moore [85] that "xavier, writing in 1542 to 1544, makes frequent references to men whom he calls badages, who are said to have been collectors of royal taxes, and to have grievously oppressed xavier's converts among the fishermen of travancore." [86] dr. caldwell, alluding to xavier's letters, says [87] that these badages were no doubt vadages or men from the north, and is of opinion that a jesuit writer of the time who called them nayars was mistaken, and that they were really nayakans from madura. i believe, however, that the jesuit rightly called them nayars, for i find that father organtino, writing in 1568, speaks of these badages as people from narasinga, a kingdom north of madura, lying close to bishnaghur. bishnaghur is, of course, vijayanagar, and the kingdom of narasinga was the name frequently given by the portuguese to vijayanagar. there is a considerable amount of evidence to show that the nayars of malabar are closely connected by origin with the nayakans of vijayanagar." (see nayar.) vadugayan (telugu shepherd).--a tamil synonym for golla. vagiri or vagirivala.--see kuruvikkaran. vagiti (doorway or court-yard).--an exogamous sept of jogi. vaguniyan.--see vayani. vaidyan.--vaidyon or baidya, meaning physician or medicine-man, occurs as a title of kshaurakas, billavas, and pulluvans, and, at times of census, has been returned as an occupational sub-division of paraiyans. village physicians are known as vaidyans, and may belong to any caste, high or low. the vaidyan diagnoses all diseases by feeling the pulse, and, after doing this for a sufficiently long time, remarks that there is an excess of vatham, pitham, ushnam, and so on. his stock phrases are vatham, pitham, ushnam, sleshmam, karakam, megham or meham, saithyam, etc. orthodox men and women do not allow the vaidyan to feel the pulse by direct contact of the fingers, and a silk cloth is placed on the patient's wrist. the pulse of males is felt with the right hand, and that of females with the left. some vaidyans crack the finger and wrist-joints before they proceed to feel the pulse. some are general practitioners, and others specialists in the treatment of fever, piles, jaundice, syphilis, rheumatism, and other diseases. the specialists are generally hereditary practitioners. in the treatment of cases, the vaidyan prescribes powders and pills, and a decoction or infusion (kashayam) of various drugs which can easily be obtained at the village drug-shop, or with the help of the village herbalist. among these are ginger, pepper, abies webbiana, acorus calamus, nim (melia azadirachta), or andrographis paniculata sticks, alpinia galanga, etc. if the medicine has to be taken for a long time, the drugs are compounded together in the form of a lehyam, e.g., bilvadi, kushpanda, and purnadi lehyam. some vaidyans prepare powders (basmam), such as swarna (gold) basmam, pavala (coral powder) basmam, or sankha (chank shell powder) basmam. special pills (mathre), prepared at considerable cost, are sometimes kept by vaidyans, and passed on from generation to generation as heirlooms. such pills are usually intended for well-known specific diseases. these pills are used in very minute quantities, and consequently last for a long time. a drop of honey or butter is placed on a slab of sandstone, on which the pill is rubbed. the honey or butter is then administered to the patient. a standing rule of the vaidyan is to keep his patient on a very low diet, such as rice gruel without salt. his usual saying is "langanam paramoushadam," i.e., fasting is an excellent medicine. a well-known treatment in cases of jaundice is the drinking of curds, in which twigs of phyllanthus niruri have been well mashed. in a very interesting note [88] on couching of the lens as practiced by native practitioners, major r. h. elliot, i.m.s., writes as follows. "the ignorance and stupidity of the ryot (villager) is so great that he will not very infrequently try one eye in an english hospital, and one in a vaithyan's hands. it is a very common thing for a native patient to deny ever having visited a native doctor, when he first comes to hospital. after the other eye has been successfully operated on, he will sometimes own up to the fact.... here in the south, there appear to be two classes of operators, the resident men who live for long periods in one bazaar, and the travellers who move continuously from place to place. both are mahomedans. the former appear to get somewhat better results than the latter, and are spoken of as 'men of experience.' the latter seem never to stop long in one place. they collect a number of victims, operate on them, and then move on before their sins can find them out. both kinds of operators seem to be innocent of any attempt at securing asepsis or antisepsis; they use a dirty needle or a sharp wooden skewer; no anæsthetic is employed; a bandage is kept on for ten days, and counter-irritation is freely resorted to, to combat iritis, etc. many of the victims are ashamed to come to a european hospital after the failure of their hopes. it has been said that, if the vaithyan did not get good results, he would be dropped, and the practice would die out. this remark can only have come from one who knew nothing of the indian character, or the crass ignorance of the lower classes of the people. it is hard for those who have not lived and worked among them to realise how easily the ryot falls a dupe to impudent self-advertisement. he is a simple kindly person, whose implicit trust in confident self-assertion will bring him to grief for many another generation. the vision of these poor unfortunate people sitting down in a dusty bazaar to let an ignorant charlatan thrust a dirty needle into their blind eyes has evoked the indignation of the english surgeon from the time of our first occupation of the country. side by side with a well-equipped english hospital, which turns out its ninety odd per cent. of useful vision, there sits in the neighbouring bazaar even to-day the charlatan, whose fee is fixed at anything from 3d. to 8 shillings, plus, in every case, a fowl or other animal. the latter is ostensibly for sacrificial purposes, but i understand ends uniformly in the vaithyan's curry-pot. weirdest, perhaps, of all the vaithyan's methods is the use of the saffron-coloured rag, with which pus is wiped away from the patient's inflamed eye. on this colour, the pus, etc., cannot be seen, and therefore all is well. it is the fabled ostrich again, only this time in real life, with vital interests at stake." it is noted [89] in connection with the various classes of nambutiri brahmans that "the vaidyans or physicians, known as mussads, are to study the medical science, and to practice the same. as the profession of a doctor necessitates the performance of surgical operations entailing the shedding of blood, the mussads are considered as slightly degraded." further information concerning native medicine-men will be found in the articles on kusavans and mandulas. vaikhanasa.--followers of the rishi vaikhanasa. they are archaka brahman priests in the telugu country. vairavan kovil.--an exogamous section or kovil (temple) of nattukottai chetti. vairavi.--the equivalent of bairagi or vairagi. recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a sub-caste of pandaram. they are found only in the tinnevelly district, where they are measurers of grain, and pujaris in village temples." in the madura district, vairavis are members of the melakkaran caste, who officiate as servants at the temples of the nattukottai chettis. vaisya.--vaisya is the third of the traditional castes of manu. "it is," mr. francis writes, [90] "doubtful whether there are any true dravidian vaisyas, but some of the dravidian trading castes (with the title chetti), notably the komatis, are treated as vaisyas by the brahmans, though the latter do not admit their right to perform the religious ceremonies which are restricted by the vedas to the twice-born, and require them to follow only the puranic rites. the muttans (trading caste in malabar) formerly claimed to be nayars, but recently they have gone further, and some of them have returned themselves as vaisyas, and added the vaisya title of gupta to their names. they do not, however, wear the sacred thread or perform any vedic rites, and nayars consider themselves polluted by their touch." some vellalas and nattukottai chettis describe themselves as being bhu (earth) vaisyas, and some gollas claim to be regarded as go(cow) vaisyas. [90] some ganigas and nagartas call themselves dharmasivachar vaisyas, [91] and, like the canarese ganigas (oil-pressers), the tamil oil-pressers (vaniyan) claim to rank as vaisyas. vaisya brahman is noted [92] as being a curious hybrid name, by which the konkani vanis (traders) style themselves. a small colony of "baniyans," who call themselves jain vaisyas, is said [93] to have settled in native cochin. vaisya is recorded as the caste of various title-holders, whose title is chetti or chettiyar, in the madras quarterly civil list. vajjira (diamond).--an exogamous sept of toreya. vakkaliga.--see okkiliyan. valagadava.--an occupational name for various classes in south canara, e.g., sappaligas, mogilis, and patramelas, who are engaged as musicians. valai (net).--the name, said to indicate those who hunt with nets, of a section of paraiyans. the ambalakkarans, who are also called valaiyans, claim that, when siva's ring was swallowed by a fish in the ganges, one of their ancestors invented the first net made in the world. valaiyal.--a sub-division of kavarai, i.e., the tamil equivalent of gazula (glass bangle) balija. valaiyan.--the valaiyans are described, in the manual of madura district (1868), as "a low and debased class. their name is supposed to be derived from valai, a net, and to have been given to them from their being constantly employed in netting game in the jungles. many of them still live by the net; some catch fish; some smelt iron. many are engaged in cultivation, as bearers of burdens, and in ordinary cooly work. the tradition that a valaiya woman was the mother of the vallambans seems to show that the valaiyans must be one of the most ancient castes in the country." in the tanjore manual they are described as "inhabitants of the country inland who live by snaring birds, and fishing in fresh waters. they engage also in agricultural labour and cooly work, such as carrying loads, husking paddy (rice), and cutting and selling fire-wood. they are a poor and degraded class." the valaiyans are expert at making cunningly devised traps for catching rats and jungle fowl. they have "a comical fairy-tale of the origin of the war, which still goes on between them and the rat tribe. it relates how the chiefs of the rats met in conclave, and devised the various means for arranging and harassing the enemy, which they still practice with such effect." [94] the valaiyans say that they were once the friends of siva, but were degraded for the sin of eating rats and frogs. in the census report, 1901, the valaiyans are described as "a shikari (hunting) caste in madura and tanjore. in the latter the names ambalakaran, servaikaran, vedan, siviyan, and kuruvikkaran are indiscriminately applied to the caste." there is some connection between ambalakarans, muttiriyans, mutrachas, uralis, vedans, valaiyans, and vettuvans, but in what it exactly consists remains to be ascertained. it seems likely that all of them are descended from one common parent stock. ambalakarans claim to be descended from kannappa nayanar, one of the sixty-three saivite saints, who was a vedan or hunter by caste. in tanjore the valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin, and in that district ambalakaran and muttiriyan seem to be synonymous with valaiyan. moreover, the statistics of the distribution of the valaiyans show that they are numerous in the districts where ambalakarans are few, and vice versâ, which looks as though certain sections had taken to calling themselves ambalakarans. the upper sections of the ambalakarans style themselves pillai, which is a title properly belonging to vellalas, but the others are usually called muppan in tanjore, and ambalakaran, muttiriyan, and servaikaran in trichinopoly. the usual title of the valaiyans, so far as i can gather, is muppan, but some style themselves servai and ambalakaran." the madura valaiyans are said [95] to be "less brahmanised than those in tanjore, the latter employing brahmans as priests, forbidding the marriage of widows, occasionally burning their dead, and being particular what they eat. but they still cling to the worship of all the usual village gods and goddesses." in some places, it is said, [96] the valaiyans will eat almost anything, including rats, cats, frogs and squirrels. like the pallans and paraiyans, the valaiyans, in some places, live in streets of their own, or in settlements outside the villages. at times of census, they have returned a large number of sub-divisions, of which the following may be cited as examples:- monathinni. those who eat the vermin of the soil. pasikatti (pasi, glass bead). saragu, withered leaves. vanniyan. synonym of the palli caste. vellamputtu, white-ant hill. in some places the saruku or saragu valaiyans have exogamous kilais or septs, which, as among the maravans and kallans, run in the female line. brothers and sisters belong to the same kilai as that of their mother and maternal uncle, and not of their father. it is stated, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "the valaiyans are grouped into four endogamous sub-divisions, namely, vahni, valattu, karadi, and kangu. the last of these is again divided into pasikatti, those who use a bead necklet instead of a tali (as a marriage badge), and karaikatti, those whose women wear horsehair necklaces like the kallans. the caste title is muppan. caste matters are settled by a headman called the kambliyan (blanket man), who lives at aruppukottai, and comes round in state to any village which requires his services, seated on a horse, and accompanied by servants who hold an umbrella over his head and fan him. he holds his court seated on a blanket. the fines imposed go in equal shares to the aramanai (literally palace, i.e., to the headman himself), and to the oramanai, that is, the caste people. it is noted by mr. f. r. hemingway that "the valaiyans of the trichinopoly district say that they have eight endogamous sub-divisions, namely, sarahu (or saragu), ettarai koppu, tanambanadu or valuvadi, nadunattu or asal, kurumba, vanniya, ambunadu, and punal. some of these are similar to those of the kallans and ambalakarans." in the gazetteer of the tanjore district, it is recorded that the valaiyans are said to possess "endogamous sub-divisions called vedan, sulundukkaran and ambalakkaran. the members of the first are said to be hunters, those of the second torch-bearers, and those of the last cultivators. they are a low caste, are refused admittance into the temples, and pollute a vellalan by touch. their occupations are chiefly cultivation of a low order, cooly work, and hunting. they are also said to be addicted to crime, being employed by kallans as their tools." adult marriage is the rule, and the consent of the maternal uncle is necessary. remarriage of widows is freely permitted. at the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom's sister takes up the tali (marriage badge), and, after showing it to those assembled, ties it tightly round the neck of the bride. to tie it loosely so that the tali string touches the collar-bone would be considered a breach of custom, and the woman who tied it would be fined. the tali-tying ceremony always takes place at night, and the bridegroom's sister performs it, as, if it was tied by the bridegroom, it could not be removed on his death, and replaced if his widow wished to marry again. marriages generally take place from january to may, and consummation should not be effected till the end of the month adi, lest the first child should be born in the month of chithre, which would be very inauspicious. there are two tamil proverbs to the effect that "the girl should remain in her mother's house during adi," and "if a child is born in chithre, it is ruinous to the house of the mother-in-law." in the gazetteer of the madura district, it is stated that "at weddings, the bridegroom's sister ties the tali, and then hurries the bride off to her brother's house, where he is waiting. when a girl attains maturity, she is made to live for a fortnight in a temporary hut, which she afterwards burns down. while she is there, the little girls of the caste meet outside it, and sing a song illustrative of the charms of womanhood, and its power of alleviating the unhappy lot of the bachelor. two of the verses say:- what of the hair of a man? it is twisted, and matted, and a burden. what of the tresses of a woman? they are as flowers in a garland, and a glory. what of the life of a man? it is that of the dog at the palace gate. what of the days of a woman? they are like the gently waving leaves in a festoon. "divorce is readily permitted on the usual payments, and divorcées and widows may remarry. a married woman who goes astray is brought before the kambliyan, who delivers a homily, and then orders the man's waist-string to be tied round her neck. this legitimatises any children they may have." the valaiyans of pattukkottai in the tanjore district say that intimacy between a man and woman before marriage is tolerated, and that the children of such a union are regarded as members of the caste, and permitted to intermarry with others, provided the parents pay a nominal penalty imposed by the caste council. in connection with the valaiyans of the trichinopoly district, mr. hemingway writes that "they recognise three forms of marriage, the most usual of which consists in the bridegroom's party going to the girl's house with three marakkals of rice and a cock on an auspicious day, and in both parties having a feast there. sometimes the young man's sister goes to the girl's house, ties a tali round her neck, and takes her away. the ordinary form of marriage, called big marriage, is sometimes used with variations, but the valaiyans do not like it, and say that the two other forms result in more prolific unions. they tolerate unchastity before marriage, and allow parties to marry even after several children have been born, the marriage legitimatising them. they permit remarriage of widows and divorced women. women convicted of immorality are garlanded with erukku (calotropis gigantea) flowers, and made to carry a basket of mud round the village. men who too frequently offend in this respect are made to sit with their toes tied to the neck by a creeper. when a woman is divorced, her male children go to the husband, and she is allowed to keep the girls." the tribal gods of the valaiyans are singa pidari (aiyanar) and padinettampadi karuppan. once a year, on the day after the new-moon in the month masi (february to march), the valaiyans assemble to worship the deity. early in the morning they proceed to the aiyanar temple, and, after doing homage to the god, go off to the forest to hunt hares and other small game. on their return they are met by the valaiyan matrons carrying coloured water or rice (alam), garlands of flowers, betel leaves and areca nuts. the alam is waved over the men, some of whom become inspired and are garlanded. while they are under inspiration, the mothers appeal to them to name their babies. the products of the chase are taken to the house of the headman and distributed. at a festival, at which mr. k. rangachari was present, at about ten o'clock in the morning all the valaiya men, women, and children, dressed up in holiday attire, swarmed out of their huts, and proceeded to a neighbouring grove. the men and boys each carried a throwing stick, or a digging stick tipped with iron. on arrival at the grove, they stood in a row, facing east, and, throwing down their sticks, saluted them, and prostrated themselves before them. then all took up their sticks, and some played on reed pipes. some of the women brought garlands of flowers, and placed them round the necks of four men, who for a time stood holding in their hands their sticks, of which the ends were stuck in the ground. after a time they began to shiver, move quickly about, and kick those around them. under the influence of their inspiration, they exhibited remarkable physical strength, and five or six men could not hold them. calling various people by name, they expressed a hope that they would respect the gods, worship them, and offer to them pongal (boiled rice) and animal sacrifices. the women brought their babies to them to be named. in some places, the naming of infants is performed at the aiyanar temple by any one who is under the influence of inspiration. failing such a one, several flowers, each with a name attached to it, are thrown in front of the idol. a boy, or the pujari (priest) picks up one of the flowers, and the infant receives the name which is connected with it. the valaiyans are devoted to devil worship, and, at orattanadu in the tanjore district, every valaiyan backyard is said to contain an odiyan (odina wodier) tree, in which the devil is supposed to live. [97] it is noted by mr. w. francis [98] that "certain of the valaiyans who live at ammayanayakkanur are the hereditary pujaris to the gods of the sirumalai hills. some of these deities are uncommon, and one of them, papparayan, is said to be the spirit of a brahman astrologer whose monsoon forecast was falsified by events, and who, filled with a shame rare in unsuccessful weather prophets, threw himself off a high point on the range." according to mr. hemingway, the valaiyans have a special caste god, named muttal ravuttan, who is the spirit of a dead muhammadan, about whom nothing seems to be known. the dead are as a rule buried with rites similar to those of the kallans and agamudaiyans. the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are performed on the sixteenth day. on the night of the previous day, a vessel filled with water is placed on the spot where the deceased breathed his last, and two cocoanuts, with the pores ('eyes') open, are deposited near it. on the following morning, all proceed to a grove or tank (pond). the eldest son, or other celebrant, after shaving and bathing, marks out a square space on the ground, and, placing a few dry twigs of ficus religiosa and ficus bengalensis therein, sets fire to them. presents of rice and other food-stuffs are given to beggars and others. the ceremony closes with the son and sapindas, who have to observe pollution, placing new cloths on their heads. mr. francis records that, at the funeral ceremonies, "the relations go three times round a basket of grain placed under a pandal (booth), beating their breasts and singing:- for us the kanji (rice gruel): kailasam (the abode of siva) for thee; rice for us; for thee svargalokam, and then wind turbans round the head of the deceased's heir, in recognition of his new position as chief of the family. when a woman loses her husband, she goes three times round the village mandai (common), with a pot of water on her shoulder. after each of the first two journeys, the barber makes a hole in the pot, and at the end of the third he hurls down the vessel, and cries out an adjuration to the departed spirit to leave the widow and children in peace." it is noted, in the gazetteer of the tanjore district, that "one of the funeral ceremonies is peculiar, though it is paralleled by practices among the paraiyans and karaiyans. when the heir departs to the burning-ground on the second day, a mortar is placed near the outer door of his house, and a lamp is lit inside. on his return, he has to upset the mortar, and worship the light." valan.--for the following note on the valan and katal arayan fishing castes of the cochin state, i am indebted to mr. l. k. anantha krishna aiyar. the name valan is derived from vala, meaning fish in a tank. some consider the word to be another form of valayan, which signifies a person who throws a net for fishing. according to the tradition and current belief of these people, they were brought to kerala by parasurama for plying boats and conveying passengers across the rivers and backwaters on the west coast. another tradition is that the valans were arayans, and they became a separate caste only after one of the perumals had selected some of their families for boat service, and conferred on them special privileges. they even now pride themselves that their caste is one of remote antiquity, and that vedavyasa, the author of the puranas, and guha, who rendered the boat service to the divine rama, sita, and lakshmana, across the ganges in the course of their exile to the forest, were among the caste-men. there are no sub-divisions in the caste, but the members thereof are said to belong to four exogamous illams (houses of nambutiris), namely, alayakad, ennalu, vaisyagiriam, and vazhapally, which correspond to the gotras of the brahmans, or to four clans, the members of each of which are perhaps descended from a common ancestor. according to a tradition current among them, they were once attached to the four nambutiri illams above mentioned for service of some kind, and were even the descendants of the members of the illams, but were doomed to the present state of degradation on account of some misconduct. evidently, the story is looked up to to elevate themselves in social status. i am inclined to believe that they must have been the atiyars (slaves) of the four aforesaid brahman families, owing a kind of allegiance (nambikooru) like the kanakkans to the chittur manakkal nambutripad in perumanam of the trichur taluk. even now, these brahman families are held in great respect by the valans, who, when afflicted with family calamities, visit the respective illams with presents of a few packets of betel leaves and a few annas, to receive the blessings of their brahman masters, which, according to their belief, may tend to avert them. the low sandy tract of land on each side of the backwater is the abode of these fishermen. in some places, more especially south of cranganore, their houses are dotted along the banks of the backwater, often nearly hidden by cocoanut trees, while at intervals the white picturesque fronts of numerous roman catholic and romo-syrian churches are perceived. these houses are in fact mere flimsy huts, a few of which, occupied by the members of several families, may be seen huddled together in the same compound abounding in a growth of cocoanut trees, with hardly enough space to dry their fish and nets. in the majority of cases, the compounds belong to jenmis (landlords), who lease them out either rent-free or on nominal rent, and who often are so kind as to allow them some cocoanuts for their consumption, and leaves sufficient to thatch their houses. about ten per cent. of their houses are built of wood and stones, while a large majority of them are made of mud or bamboo framework, and hardly spacious enough to accommodate the members of the family during the summer months. cooking is done outside the house, and very few take rest inside after hard work, for their compounds are shady and breezy, and they may be seen basking in the sun after midnight toil, or drying the nets or fish. their utensils are few, consisting of earthen vessels and enamel dishes, and their furniture of a few wooden planks and coarse mats to serve as beds. the girls of the valans are married both before and after puberty, but the tali-kettu kalyanam (tali-tying marriage) is indispensable before they come of age, as otherwise they and their parents are put out of caste. both for the tali-tying ceremony and for the real marriage, the bride and bridegroom must be of different illams or gotras. in regard to the former, as soon as an auspicious day is fixed, the girl's party visit the aravan with a present of six annas and eight pies, and a few packets of betel leaves, when he gives his permission, and issues an order to the ponamban, his subordinate of the kadavu (village), to see that the ceremony is properly conducted. the ponamban, the bridegroom and his party, go to the house of the bride. at the appointed hour, the ponambans and the castemen of the two kadavus assemble after depositing six annas and eight pies in recognition of the presence of the aravan, and the tali is handed over by the priest to the bridegroom, who ties it round the neck of the bride amidst the joyous shouts of the multitude assembled. the ceremony always takes place at night, and the festivities generally last for two days. it must be understood that the tali tier is not necessarily the husband of the girl, but is merely the pseudo-bridegroom or pseudo-husband, who is sent away with two pieces of cloth and a few annas at the termination of the ceremony. should he, however, wish to have the girl as his wife, he should, at his own expense, provide her with a tali, a wedding dress, and a few rupees as the price of the bride. generally it is the maternal uncle of the girl who provides her with the first two at the time of the ceremony. the actual marriage is more ceremonial in its nature. the maternal uncle, or the father of a young valan who wishes to marry, first visits the girl, and, if he approves of the match for his nephew or son, the astrologer is consulted so as to ensure that the horoscopes agree. if astrology does not stand in the way, they forthwith proceed to the girl's house, where they are well entertained. the bride's parents and relatives return the visit at the bridegroom's house, where they are likewise treated to a feast. the two parties then decide on a day for the formal declaration of the proposed union. on that day, a valan from the bridegroom's village, seven to nine elders, and the ponamban under whom the bride is, meet, and, in the presence of those assembled, a valan from each party deposits on a plank four annas and a few betel leaves in token of enangu mattam or exchange of co-castemen from each party for the due fulfilment of the contract thus publicly entered into. then they fix the date of the marriage, and retire from the bride's house. on the appointed day, the bridegroom's party proceed to the bride's house with two pieces of cloth, a rupee or a rupee and a half, rice, packets of betel leaves, etc. the bride is already dressed and adorned in her best, and one piece of cloth, rice and money, are paid to her mother as the price of the bride. after a feast, the bridal party go to the bridegroom's house, which is entered at an auspicious hour. they are received at the gate with a lamp and a vessel of water, a small quantity of which is sprinkled on the married couple. they are welcomed by the seniors of the house and seated together, when sweets are given, and the bride is formally declared to be a member of the bridegroom's family. the ceremony closes with a feast, the expenses in connection with which are the same on both sides. a man may marry more than one wife, but no woman may enter into conjugal relations with more than one man. a widow may, with the consent of her parents, enter into wedlock with any member of her caste except her brothers-in-law, in which case her children by her first husband will be looked after by the members of his family. divorce is effected by either party making an application to the aravan, who has to be presented with from twelve annas to six rupees and a half according to the means of the applicant. the aravan, in token of dissolution, issues a letter to the members of the particular village to which the applicant belongs, and, on the declaration of the same, he or she has to pay to his or her village castemen four annas. when a valan girl comes of age, she is lodged in a room of the house, and is under pollution for four days. she is bathed on the fourth day, and the castemen and women of the neighbourhood, with the relatives and friends, are treated to a sumptuous dinner. there is a curious custom called theralikka, i.e., causing the girl to attain maturity, which consists in placing her in seclusion in a separate room, and proclaiming that she has come of age. under such circumstances, the caste-women of the neighbourhood, with the washerwoman, assemble at the house of the girl, when the latter pours a small quantity of gingelly (sesamum) oil on her head, and rubs her body with turmeric powder, after which she is proclaimed as having attained puberty. she is bathed, and lodged in a separate room as before, and the four days' pollution is observed. this custom, which exists also among other castes, is now being abandoned by a large majority of the community. in respect of inheritance, the valans follow a system, which partakes of the character of succession from father to son, and from maternal uncle to nephew. the self-acquired property is generally divided equally between brothers and sons, while the ancestral property, if any, goes to the brothers. the great majority of the valans are mere day-labourers, and the property usually consists of a few tools, implements, or other equipments of their calling. the valans, like other castes, have their tribal organisation, and their headman (aravan or aravar) is appointed by thitturam or writ issued by his highness the raja. the aravan appoints other social heads, called ponamban, one, two, or three of whom are stationed at each desam (village) or kadavu. before the development of the government authority and the establishment of administrative departments, the aravans wielded great influence and authority, as they still do to a limited extent, not only in matters social, but also in civil and criminal disputes between members of the community. for all social functions, matrimonial, funeral, etc., their permission has to be obtained and paid for. the members of the community have to visit their headman, with presents of betel leaves, money, and sometimes rice and paddy (unhusked rice). the headman generally directs the proper conduct of all ceremonies by writs issued to the ponambans under him. the ponambans also are entitled to small perquisites on ceremonial occasions. the appointment of aravan, though not virtually hereditary, passes at his death to the next qualified senior member of his family, who may be his brother, son, or nephew, but this rule has been violated by the appointment of a person from a different family. the aravan has the honour of receiving from his highness the raja a present of two cloths at the onam festival, six annas and eight pies on the athachamayam day, and a similar sum for the vishu. at his death, the ruler of the state sends a piece of silk cloth, a piece of sandal-wood, and about ten rupees, for defraying the expenses of the funeral ceremonies. the valans profess hinduism, and siva, vishnu, and the heroes of the hindu puranas are all worshipped. like other castes, they entertain special reverence for bhagavathi, who is propitiated with offerings of rice-flour, toddy, green cocoanuts, plantain fruits, and fowls, on tuesdays and fridays. a grand festival, called kumbhom bharani (cock festival), is held in the middle of march, when nayars and low caste men offer up cocks to bhagavathi, beseeching immunity from diseases during the ensuing year. in fact, people from all parts of malabar, cochin, and travancore, attend the festival, and the whole country near the line of march rings with shouts of "nada, nada" (walk or march) of the pilgrims to cranganore, the holy residence of the goddess. in their passage up to the shrine, the cry of "nada, nada" is varied by unmeasured abuse of the goddess. the abusive language, it is believed, is acceptable to her, and, on arrival at the shrine, they desecrate it in every conceivable manner, in the belief that this too is acceptable. they throw stones and filth, howling volleys of abuse at the shrine. the chief of the arayan caste, koolimuttah arayan, has the privilege of being the first to be present on the occasion. the image in the temple is said to have been recently introduced. there is a door in the temple which is apparently of stone, fixed in a half-opened position. a tradition, believed by hindus and christians, is attached to this, which asserts that st. thomas and bhagavathi held a discussion at palliport about the respective merits of the christian and hindu religions. the argument became heated, and bhagavathi, considering it best to cease further discussion, decamped, and, jumping across the cranganore river, made straight for the temple. st. thomas, not to be outdone, rapidly gave chase, and, just as the deity got inside the door, the saint reached its outside, and, setting his foot between it and the door-post, prevented its closure. there they both stood until the door turned to stone, one not allowing its being opened, and the other its being shut. another important festival, which is held at cranganore, is the makara vilakku, which falls on the first of makaram (about the 15th january), during the night of which there is a good deal of illumination both in and round the temple. a procession of ten or twelve elephants, all fully decorated, goes round it several times, accompanied by drums and instrumental music. chourimala iyappan or sastha, a sylvan deity, whose abode is chourimala in travancore, is a favourite deity of the valans. in addition, they worship the demi-gods or demons kallachan muri and kochu mallan, who are ever disposed to do them harm, and who are therefore propitiated with offerings of fowls. they have a patron, who is also worshipped at cranganore. the spirits of their ancestors are also held in great veneration by these people, and are propitiated with offerings on the new moon and sankranthi days of karkadakam, thulam, and makaram. the most important festivals observed by the valans in common with other castes are mandalam vilakku, sivarathri, vishu, onam, and desara. mandalam vilakku takes place during the last seven days of mandalam (november to december). during this festival the valans enjoy themselves with music and drum-beating during the day. at night, some of them, developing hysterical fits, profess to be oracles, with demons such as gandharva, yakshi, or bhagavathi, dwelling in their bodies in their incorporeal forms. consultations are held as to future events, and their advice is thankfully received and acted upon. sacrifices of sheep, fowls, green cocoanuts, and plantain fruits are offered to the demons believed to be residing within, and are afterwards liberally distributed among the castemen and others present. the sivarathri festival comes on the last day of magha. the whole day and night are devoted to the worship of siva, and the valans, like other castes, go to alvai, bathe in the river, and keep awake during the night, reading the siva purana and reciting his names. early on the following morning, they bathe, and make offerings of rice balls to the spirits of the ancestors before returning home. the valans have no temples of their own, but, on all important occasions, worship the deities of the temples of the higher castes, standing at a long distance from the outer walls of the sacred edifice. on important religious occasions, embrans are invited to perform the kalasam ceremony, for which they are liberally rewarded. a kalasam is a pot, which is filled with water. mango leaves and dharba grass are placed in it. vedic hymns are repeated, with one end of the grass in the water, and the other in the hand. water thus sanctified is used for bathing the image. from a comparison of the religion of the valans with that of allied castes, it may be safely said that they were animists, but have rapidly imbibed the higher forms of worship. they are becoming more and more literate, and this helps the study of the religious works. there are some among them, who compose vanchipattu (songs sung while rowing) with plots from their puranic studies. the valans either burn or bury their dead. the chief mourner is either the son or nephew of the dead person, and he performs the death ceremonies as directed by the priest (chithayan), who attends wearing a new cloth, turban, and the sacred thread. the ceremonies commence on the second, fifth, or seventh day, when the chief mourner, bathing early in the morning, offers pinda bali (offerings of rice balls) to the spirit of the deceased. this is continued till the thirteenth day, when the nearest relatives get shaved. on the fifteenth day, the castemen of the locality, the friends and relatives, are treated to a grand dinner, and, on the sixteenth day, another offering (mana pindam) is made to the spirit of the departed, and thrown into the backwater close by. every day during the ceremonies, a vessel full of rice is given to the priest, who also receives ten rupees for his services. if the death ceremonies are not properly performed, the ghost of the deceased is believed to haunt the house. an astrologer is then consulted, and his advice is invariably followed. what is called samhara homam (sacred fire) is kept up, and an image of the dead man in silver or gold is purified by the recitation of holy mantrams. another purificatory ceremony is performed, after which the image is handed over to a priest at the temple, with a rupee or two. this done, the death ceremonies are performed. the ears of valan girls are, as among some other castes, pierced when they are a year old, or even less, and a small quill, a piece of cotton thread, or a bit of wood, is inserted into the hole. the wound is gradually healed by the application of cocoanut oil. a piece of lead is then inserted in the hole, which is gradually enlarged by means of a piece of plantain, cocoanut, or palmyra leaf rolled up. the valans are expert rowers, and possess the special privilege of rowing from thripunathura the boat of his highness the raja for his installation at the cochin palace, when the aravan, with sword in hand, has to stand in front of him in the boat. further, on the occasion of any journey of the raja along the backwaters on occasions of state functions, such as a visit of the governor of madras, or other dignitary, the headman leads the way as an escort in a snake-boat rowed with paddles, and has to supply the requisite number of men for rowing the boats of the high official and his retinue. the katal arayans, or sea arayans, who are also called katakkoti, are lower in status than the valans, and, like them, live along the coast. they were of great service to the portuguese and the dutch in their palmy days, acting as boatmen in transhipping their commodities and supplying them with fish. the katal arayans were, in former times, owing to their social degradation, precluded from travelling along the public roads. this disability was, during the days of the portuguese supremacy, taken advantage of by the roman catholic missionaries, who turned their attention to the conversion of these poor fishermen, a large number of whom were thus elevated in the social scale. the katal arayans are sea fishermen. on the death of a prince of malabar, all fishing is temporarily prohibited, and only renewed after three days, when the spirit of the departed is supposed to have had time enough to choose its abode without molestation. among their own community, the katal arayans distinguish themselves by four distinct appellations, viz., sankhan, bharatan, amukkuvan, and mukkuvan. of these, amukkuvans do priestly functions. the castemen belong to four septs or illams, namely, kattotillam, karotillam, chempotillam, and ponnotillam. katal arayan girls are married both before and after puberty. the tali-tying ceremony, which is compulsory in the case of valan girls before they come of age, is put off, and takes place along with the real marriage. the preliminary negotiations and settlements thereof are substantially the same as those prevailing among the valans. the auspicious hour for marriage is between three and eight in the morning, and, on the previous evening, the bridegroom and his party arrive at the house of the bride, where they are welcomed and treated to a grand feast, after which the guests, along with the bride and bridegroom seated somewhat apart, in a pandal tastefully decorated and brightly illuminated, are entertained with songs of the velan (washerman) and his wife alluding to the marriage of sita or parvathi, in the belief that they will bring about a happy conjugal union. these are continued till sunrise, when the priest hands over the marriage badge to the bridegroom, who ties it round the neck of the bride. the songs are again continued for an hour or two, after which poli begins. the guests who have assembled contribute a rupee, eight annas, or four annas, according to their means, which go towards the remuneration of the priest, songsters, and drummers. the guests are again sumptuously entertained at twelve o'clock, after which the bridegroom and his party return with the bride to his house. at the time of departure, or nearly an hour before it, the bridegroom ties a few rupees or a sovereign to a corner of the bride's body-cloth, probably to induce her to accompany him. just then, the bride-price, which is 101 puthans, or rs. 5-12-4, is paid to her parents. the bridal party is entertained at the bridegroom's house, where, at an auspicious hour, the newly married couple are seated together, and served with a few pieces of plantain fruits and some milk, when the bride is formally declared to be a member of her husband's family. if a girl attains maturity after her marriage, she is secluded for a period of eleven days. she bathes on the first, fourth, seventh, and eleventh days, and, on the last day the caste people are entertained with a grand feast, the expenses connected with which are met by the husband. the katal arayans rarely have more than one wife. a widow may, a year after the death of her husband, enter into conjugal relations with any member of the caste, except her brother-in-law. succession is in the male line. the katal arayans have headmen (aravans), whose duties are the same as those of the headmen of the valans. when the senior male or female member of the ruling family dies, the aravan has the special privilege of being the first successor to the masnad with his tirumul kazcha (nuzzer), which consists of a small quantity of salt packed in a plantain leaf with rope and a venetian ducat or other gold coin. during the period of mourning, visits of condolence from durbar officials and sthanis or noblemen are received only after the aravan's visit. when the bhagavathi temple of cranganore is defiled during the cock festival, koolimutteth aravan has the special privilege of entering the temple in preference to other castemen. the katal arayans profess hinduism, and their modes of worship, and other religious observances, are the same as those of the velans. the dead are either burnt or buried. the period of death pollution is eleven days, and the agnates are freed from it by a bath on the eleventh day. on the twelfth day, the castemen of the village, including the relatives and friends, are treated to a grand feast. the son, who is the chief mourner, observes the diksha, or vow by which he does not shave, for a year. he performs the sradha (memorial service) every year in honour of the dead. some of the methods of catching fish at cochin are thus described by dr. francis day. [99] "cast nets are employed from the shore, by a number of fishermen, who station themselves either in the early morning or in the afternoon, along the coast from 50 to 100 yards apart. they keep a careful watch on the water, and, on perceiving a fish rise sufficiently near the land, rush down and attempt to throw their nets over it. this is not done as in europe by twisting the net round and round the head until it has acquired the necessary impetus, and then throwing it; but by the person twirling himself and the net round and round at the same time, and then casting it. he not infrequently gets knocked over by a wave. when fish are caught, they are buried in the sand, to prevent their tainting. in the wide inland rivers, fishermen employ cast nets in the following manner. each man is in a boat, which is propelled by a boy with a bamboo. the fisherman has a cast net, and a small empty cocoanut shell. this last he throws into the river, about twenty yards before the boat, and it comes down with a splash, said to be done to scare away the crocodiles. as the boat approaches the place where the cocoanut shell was thrown, the man casts his net around the spot. this method is only for obtaining small fish, and as many as fifteen boats at a time are to be seen thus employed in one place, one following the other in rapid succession, some trying the centre, others the sides of the river. "double rows of long bamboos, firmly fixed in the mud, are placed at intervals across the backwater, and on these nets are fixed at the flood tide, so that fish which have entered are unable to return to the sea. numbers of very large ones are occasionally captured in this way. a species of chinese nets is also used along the river's banks. they are about 16 feet square, suspended by bamboos from each corner, and let down like buckets into the water, and then after a few minutes drawn up again. a piece of string, to which are attached portions of the white leaves of the cocoanut tree, is tied at short intervals along the ebb side of the net, which effectually prevents fish from going that way. a plan somewhat analogous is employed on a small scale for catching crabs. a net three feet square is supported at the four corners by two pieces of stick fastened crosswise. from the centre of these sticks where they cross is a string to pull it up by or let it down, and a piece of meat is tied to the middle of the net inside. this is let down from a wharf, left under water for a few minutes, and then pulled up. crabs coming to feed are thus caught. "fishing with a line is seldom attempted in the deep sea, excepting for sharks, rays, and other large fish. the hooks employed are of two descriptions, the roughest, although perhaps the strongest, being of native manufacture; the others are of english make, denominated china hooks. the hook is fastened to a species of fibre called thumboo, said to be derived from a seaweed, but more probably from one of the species of palms. the lines are either hemp, cotton, or the fibre of the talipot palm (caryota urens), which is obtained by maceration. in europe they are called indian gut. "trolling from the shore at the river's mouth is only carried on of a morning or evening, during the winter months of the year, when the sea is smooth. the line is from 80 to 100 yards in length, and held wound round the left hand; the hook is fastened to the line by a brass wire, and the bait is a live fish. the fisherman, after giving the line an impetus by twirling it round and round his head, throws it with great precision from 50 to 60 yards. a man is always close by with a cast net, catching baits, which he sells for one quarter of an anna each. this mode of fishing is very exciting sport, but is very uncertain in its results, and therefore usually carried on by coolies either before their day's work has commenced, or after its termination. "fishing with a bait continues all day long in cochin during the monsoon months, when work is almost at a standstill, and five or six persons may be perceived at each jetty, busily engaged in this occupation. the bagrus tribe is then plentiful, and, as it bites readily, large numbers are captured. "fishing in small boats appears at times to be a dangerous occupation; the small canoe only steadied by the paddle of one man seated in it looks as if it must every minute be swamped. very large fish are sometimes caught in this way. should one be hooked too large for the fisherman to manage, the man in the next boat comes to his assistance, and receives a quarter of the fish for his trouble. this is carried on all through the year, and the size of some of the bagri is enormous. "fish are shot in various ways, by a chittagong bamboo, which is a hollow tube, down which the arrow is propelled by the marksman's mouth. this mode is sometimes very remunerative, and is followed by persons who quietly sneak along the shores, either of sluggish streams or of the backwater. sometimes they climb up into trees, and there await a good shot. or, during the monsoon, the sportsman quietly seats himself near some narrow channel that passes from one wide piece of water into another, and watches for his prey. other fishermen shoot with bows and arrows, and again others with cross-bows, the iron arrow or bolt of which is attached by a line to the bow, to prevent its being lost. but netting fish, catching them with hooks, or shooting them with arrows, are not the only means employed for their capture. bamboo labyrinths, bamboo baskets, and even men's hands alone, are called into use. "persons fish for crabs in shallow brackish water, provided with baskets like those employed in europe for catching eels, but open at both ends. the fishermen walk about in the mud, and, when they feel a fish move, endeavour to cover it with the larger end of the basket, which is forced down some distance into the mud, and the hand is then passed downward through the upper extremity, and the fish taken out. another plan of catching them by the hand is by having two lines to which white cocoanut leaves are attached tied to the fisherman's two great toes, from which they diverge; the other end of each being held by another man a good way off, and some distance apart. on these lines being shaken, the fish become frightened, and, strange as it may appear, cluster for protection around the man's feet, who is able to stoop down, and catch them with his hands, by watching his opportunity. "bamboo labyrinths are common all along the backwater, in which a good many fish, especially eels and crabs, are captured. these labyrinths are formed of a screen of split bamboos, passing perpendicularly out of the water, and leading into a larger baited chamber. a dead cat is often employed as a bait for crabs. a string is attached to its body, and, after it has been in the water some days, it is pulled up with these crustacea adherent to it. persons are often surprised at crabs being considered unwholesome, but their astonishment would cease, if they were aware what extremely unclean feeders they are. "fish are obtained from the inland rivers by poisoning them, but this can only be done when the water is low. a dam is thrown across a certain portion, and the poison placed within it. it generally consists of cocculus indicus (berries) pounded with rice; croton oil seeds, etc." valangai.--valangai, valangan, valangamattan, or balagai, meaning those who belong to the right-hand faction, has, at times of census, been returned as a sub-division, synonym or title of deva-dasis, holeyas, nokkans, panisavans, paraiyans, and saliyans. some deva-dasis have returned themselves as belonging to the left-hand (idangai) faction. valayakara chetti.--a tamil synonym of gazula balijas who sell glass bangles. the equivalent vala chetti is also recorded. valekara.--a badaga form of billekara or belted peon. the word frequently occurs in badaga ballads. taluk peons on the nilgiris are called valekaras. vali sugriva.--a synonym of the lambadis, who claim descent from vali and sugriva, the two monkey chiefs of the ramayana. valinchiyan.--see velakkattalavan. valiyatan (valiya, great, tan, a title of dignity).--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a title of nayar. vallabarayan.--a title of occhan. vallamban.--the vallambans are a small tamil cultivating class living in the tanjore, trichinopoly, and madura districts. they are said [100] to be "the offspring of a vellalan and a valaiya woman, now a small and insignificant caste of cultivators. some of them assert that their ancestors were the lords of the soil, for whose sole benefit the vellalans used to carry on cultivation. tradition makes the vellambans to have joined the kallans in attacking and driving away the vellalans. it is customary among the vallambans, when demising land, to refer to the fact of their being descendants of the vallambans who lost vallam, i.e., the vallama nadu in tanjore, their proper country." some vallambans claim to be flesh-eating vellalas, or to be superior to kallans and maravans by reason of their vellala ancestry. they call themselves vallamtotta vellalas, or the vellalas who lost vallam, and say that they were vellalas of vallam in the tanjore district, who left their native place in a time of famine. portions of the madura and tanjore districts are divided into areas known as nadus, in each of which a certain caste, called the nattar, is the predominant factor. for example, the vallambans and kallans are called the nattars of the palaya nadu in the sivaganga zemindari of the madura district. in dealing with the tribal affairs of the various castes inhabiting a particular nadu, the lead is taken by the nattars, by whom certain privileges are enjoyed, as for example in the distribution to them, after the brahman and zamindar, of the flowers and sacred ashes used in temple worship. for the purposes of caste council meetings the vallambans collect together representatives from fourteen nadus, as they consider that the council should be composed of delegates from a head village and its branches, generally thirteen in number. it is noted by mr. f. r. hemingway that the vallambans "speak of five sub-divisions, namely, chenjinadu, amaravatinadu, palayanadu, melnadu, and kilnadu. the mel and kilnadu people intermarry, but are distinguishable by the fact that the former have moustaches, and the latter have not. the women dress like the nattukottai chettis. tattooing is not allowed, and those who practice it are expelled from the caste. the men generally have no title, but some who enjoy state service inams call themselves ambalakaran. the melnadu people have no exogamous divisions, though they observe the rule about kovil pangolis. the kilnadus have exogamous kilais, karais, and pattams." as examples of exogamous septs, the following may be cited:--solangal (chola), pandiangal (pandyan), nariangal (jackal), and piliyangal (tiger). the headman of the vallambans is referred to generally as the servaikaran. the headman of a group of nadus is entitled nattuservai, while the headman of a village is known as ur servai, or simply servai. marriage is celebrated between adults, and the remarriage of widows is not objected to. it is stated [101] that "the maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter is claimed as a matter of right by a boy, so that a boy of ten may be wedded to a mature woman of twenty or twenty-five years, if she happens to be unmarried and without issue. any elderly male member of the boy's family--his elder brother, uncle, or even his father--will have intercourse with her, and beget children, which the boy, when he comes of age, will accept as his own, and legitimatise." this system of marriage, in which there is a marked disparity in the ages of the contracting couple, is referred to in the proverb: "the tali should be tied at least by a log of wood." the marriage rites are as a rule non-brahmanical, but in some well-to-do families the services of a brahman purohit are enlisted. the presence of the umbalakaran or caste headman at a marriage is essential. on the wedding day the contracting couple offer, at their homes, manaipongal (boiled rice), and the alangu ceremony is performed by waving coloured rice round them, or touching the knees, shoulders, and head with cakes, and throwing them over the head. the wrist-threads, consisting of a piece of old cloth dyed with turmeric, are tied on by the maternal uncle. cooked rice and vegetables are placed in front of the marriage dais, and offered to the gods. four betel leaves are given to the bridegroom, who goes round the dais, and salutes the four cardinal points of the compass by pouring water from a leaf. he then sits down on a plank on the dais, and hands the tali (marriage badge) to his sister. taking the tali, she proceeds to the bride's house, where the bride, after performing the alangu ceremony, is awaiting her arrival. on reaching the house, she asks for the bride's presents, and one of her brothers replies that such a piece of land, naming one, is given as a dowry. the bridegroom's sister then removes the string of black and gold beads, such as is worn before marriage, from the bride's neck, and replaces it by the tali. the conch shell should be blown by women or children during the performance of manaipongal, and when the tali is tied. the bride is conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, and sits with him on the dais while the relations make presents to them. the messenger who conveys the news of a death in the community is a paraiyan. the corpse is placed within a pandal (booth) supported on four posts, which is erected in front of the house. some paddy (unhusked rice) is poured from a winnow on to the ground, and rice is thrown over the face of the corpse. on the second day rice, and other articles of food, are carried by a barber to the spot where the corpse has been buried or burnt. if the latter course has been adopted, the barber picks out some of the remains of the bones, and hands them to the son of the deceased. on the third day, the widow goes round the pandal three times, and, entering within it, removes her tali string, and new clothes are thrown over her neck. on the sixteenth day the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are performed. a feast is given, and new cloths are tied on the heads of those under pollution. pollution lasts for thirty days. the vallambans profess to be saivaites, but they consider periya nayaki of velangkudi as their tribal goddess, and each nadu has its own special deity, such as vembu aiyanar, nelliyandi aiyanar, etc. in some places the tribal deity is worshipped on a tuesday at a festival called sevvai (tuesday). on this day pots containing fermented rice liquor, which must have been made by the caste people and not purchased, are taken to the place of worship. on a friday, those families which are to take part in the festival allow a quantity of paddy (rice) to germinate by soaking it in water, and on the following tuesday flower spikes of the palmyra palm are added to the malted rice liquor in the pots. the pots of ordinary families may be placed in their houses, but those of the umbalakarans and servaikarans must be taken to the temple as representing the deity. into these pots the flower spikes should be placed by some respected elder of the community. a week later, a small quantity of rice liquor is poured into other pots, which are carried by women to the temple car, round which they go three times. they then throw the liquor into a tank or pond. the pots of the umbalakaran and servaikaran must be carried by young virgins, or grown-up women who are not under menstrual pollution. one of the women who carries these pots usually becomes possessed by the village deity. at the time of the festival, cradles, horses, human figures, elephants, etc., made by the potter, are brought to the temple as votive offerings to the god. valli ammai kuttam.--a synonym of the koravas, meaning followers of valli ammai, the wife of the god subrahmanya, whom they claim to have been a korava woman. vallodi.--the name denotes a settlement in the valluvanad taluk of malabar, and has been returned as a sub-division of nayar and samantan, to which the raja of valluvanad belongs. valluvan.--the valluvans are summed up by mr. h. a. stuart [102] as being "the priests of the paraiyans and pallans. tiruvalluvar, the famous tamil poet, author of the kural, belonged to this caste, which is usually regarded as a sub-division of paraiyans. it appears that the valluvans were priests to the pallava kings before the introduction of the brahmans, and even for some time after it. [103] in an unpublished vatteluttu inscription, believed to be of the ninth century, the following sentence occurs 'sri velluvam puvanavan, the uvac'chan (oc'chan) of this temple, will employ daily six men for doing the temple service.' again, the valluvans must have formerly held a position at least equal to that of the vellalas, if the story that tiruvalluva nayanar married a vellala girl is true. [104] he is said to have "refused to acknowledge the distinctions of caste, and succeeded in obtaining a vellala woman as his wife, from whom a section of the valluvans say it has its descent. as their ancestor amused himself in the intervals between his studies by weaving, they employ themselves in mending torn linen, but chiefly live by astrology, and by acting as priests of paraiyans, and officiating at their funerals and marriages, though some refuse to take part in the former inauspicious ceremony, and leave the duty to those whom they consider impure valluvans called paraiya tadas. another section of the valluvans is called alvar dasari or tavadadhari (those who wear the necklace of tulsi beads). both saivites and vaishnavites eat together, but do not intermarry. unlike paraiyans, they forbid remarriage of widows and even polygamy, and all males above twelve wear the sacred thread." according to one account, the valluvans are the descendants of an alliance between a brahman sage and a paraiyan woman, whose children complained to their father of their lowly position. he blessed them, and told them that they would become very clever astrologers, and, in consequence, much respected. at the travancore census, 1901, the valluvans were defined as a sub-division of the pulayas, for whom they perform priestly functions. "both men and women are employed as astrologers and doctors, and are often consulted by all classes of people. in many villages they have the privilege of receiving from each ryot a handful of grain during the harvest time." [105] of three valluvans, whom i interviewed at coimbatore, one, with a flowing white beard, had a lingam wrapped up in a pink cloth round the neck, and a charm tied in a pink cloth round the right upper arm. another, with a black beard, had a salmon-coloured turban. the third was wearing a discarded british soldier's tunic. all wore necklaces of rudraksha (elæocarpus ganitrus) beads, and their foreheads were smeared with oblong patches of sandal paste. each of them had a collection of panchangams, or calendars for determining auspicious dates, and a bundle of palm leaf strips (ulla mudyan) inscribed with slokas for astrological purposes. their professional duties included writing charms for sick people, preparing horoscopes, and making forecasts of good or evil by means of cabalistic squares marked on the ground. some valluvans would have us believe that those who officiate as priests are not true valluvans, and that the true valluvan, who carries out the duties of an astrologer, will not perform priestly functions for the paraiyans. the most important sub-divisions of the valluvans, returned at times of census, are paraiyan, tavidadari, and tiruvalluvan. from information supplied to me, i gather that there are two main divisions, called arupathu katchi (sixty house section) and narpathu katchi (forty house section). the former are supposed to be descendants of nandi gurukkal, and take his name as their gotra. the gotra of the latter is sidambara sayichya ayyamgar. sidambara, or chidambaram, is the site of one of the most sacred siva temples. the sub-division alvar claims descent from tiruppan alvar, one of the twelve vaishnava saints. in the tanjore district, the valluvans have exogamous septs or pattaperu, named after persons, e.g., marulipichan, govindazhvan, etc. the valluvans include in their ranks both vaishnavites and saivites. the majority of the latter, both males and females, wear the lingam. the affairs of the community are adjusted by a caste council and there are, in most places, two hereditary officers called kolkaran and kanakkan. at the betrothal ceremony the bride's money (pariyam), betel, jewels, flowers, and fruit, are placed in the future bride's lap. the money ranges from seven to ten rupees if the bridegroom's village is on the same side of a river as the bride's, and from ten to twenty rupees if it is on the other side. a small sum of money, called uramurai kattu (money paid to relations) and panda varisai (money paid in the pandal), is also paid by the bridegroom's party for a feast of toddy to the relations. this is the proper time for settling caste disputes by the village council. on the wedding day, the milk-post, consisting of a green bamboo pole, is set up, and a number of pots, brought from the potter's house, are placed near it. on the dais are set four lamps, viz., an ordinary brass lamp, kudavilakku (pot light), alankara vilakku (ornamental light), and paligai vilakku (seedling light). the bride and bridegroom bring some sand, spread it on the floor near the dais, and place seven leaves on it. cotton threads, dyed with turmeric, are tied to the pots and the milk-post. on the leaves are set cakes and rice, and the contracting couple worship the pots and the family gods. the valluvan priest repeats a jumble of corrupt sanskrit, and ties the kankanams (threads) on their wrists. they are then led into the house, and garlanded with jasmine or nerium flowers. the pots are arranged on the dais, and the sand is spread thereon close to the milk-post. into one of the pots the female relations put grain seedlings, and four other pots are filled with water by the bridegroom's party. a small quantity of the seedlings is usually wrapped up in a cloth, and placed over the seedling pot. next morning the bundle is untied, and examined, to see if the seedlings are in good condition. if they are so, the bride is considered a worthy one; if not, the bride is either bad, or will die prematurely. the usual nalagu ceremony is next performed, bride and bridegroom being anointed with oil, and smeared with phaseolus mungo paste. this is followed by the offering of food on eleven leaves to the ancestors and house gods. towards evening, the dais is got ready for its occupation by the bridal couple, two planks being placed on it, and covered with cloths lent by a washerman. the couple, sitting on the planks, exchange betel and paddy nine or twelve times, and rice twenty-seven times. the priest kindles the sacred fire (homam), and pours some ghi (clarified butter) into it from a mango leaf. the bridegroom is asked whether he sees arundati (the pole-star) thrice, and replies in the affirmative. the tali is shown the sky, smoked over burning camphor, and placed on a tray together with a rupee. after being blessed by those present, it is tied round the neck of the bride by the bridegroom, who has his right leg on her lap. on the second day there is a procession through the village, and, on the following day, the wrist-threads are removed. in some places, the valluvans, at their marriages, like the pallis and some other castes, use the pandamutti, or pile of pots reaching to the top of the pandal. the saivite lingam wearers bury their dead in a sitting posture in a niche excavated in the side of the grave. after death has set in, a cocoanut is broken, and camphor burnt. the corpse is washed by relations, who bring nine pots of water for the purpose. the lingam is tied on to the head, and a cloth bundle, containing a rupee, seven bilva (ægle marmelos) leaves, nine twigs of the tulsi (ocimum sanctum), and nine leucas aspera flowers, to the right arm. the corpse is carried to the grave on a car surmounted by five brass vessels. the grave is purified by the sprinkling of cow's urine and cow-dung water before the corpse is lowered into it. on the way to the burial-ground, the priest keeps on chanting various songs, such as "this is kailasa. this is kailasa thillai (chidambaram). our request is this. nallia mutthan of the nandidarma gotra died on thursday in the month thai in the year subakruthu. he must enter the fourth stage (sayichyam), passing through salokam, samipa, and sarupa. he crosses the rivers of stones, of thorns, of fire, and of snakes, holding the tail of the bull nandi. to enable him to reach heaven safely, we pound rice, and put lights of rice." the priest receives a fee for his services, which he places before an image made on the grave after it has been filled in. the money is usually spent in making a sacred bull, lingam, or stone slab, to place on the grave. on the third day after death, the female relatives of the deceased pour milk within the house into a vessel, which is taken by the male relatives to the burial-ground, and offered at the grave, which is cleaned. a small platform, made of mud, and composed of several tiers, decreasing in size from below upwards, is erected thereon, and surmounted by a lingam. at the north and south corners of this platform, a bull and paradesi (mendicant) made of mud are placed, and at each corner leaves are laid, on which the offerings in the form of rice, fruits, vegetables, etc., are laid. the final death ceremonies are celebrated on the seventeenth day. a pandal (booth) is set up, and closed in with cloths. within it are placed a pot and five pestles and mortars, to which threads are tied. five married women, taking hold of the pestles, pound some rice contained in the pot, and with the flour make a lamp, which is placed on a tray. the eldest son of the deceased goes, with the lamp on his head, to an enclosure having an entrance at the four cardinal points. the enclosure is either a permanent one with mud walls, or temporary one made out of mats. within the enclosure, five pots are set up in the centre, and four at each side. the pots are cleansed by washing them with the urine of cows of five different colours, red, white, black, grey, and spotted. near the pots the articles required for puja (worship) are placed, and the officiating priest sits near them. the enclosure is supposed to represent heaven, and the entrances are the gates leading thereto, before which food is placed on leaves. the eldest son, with the lamp, stands at the eastern entrance, while siva is worshipped. the priest then repeats certain stanzas, of which the following is the substance. "you who come like siddars (attendants in the abode of siva) at midnight, muttering siva's name, why do you come near sivapadam? i will pierce you with my trident. get away. let these be taken to yamapuri, or hell." then siva and parvati, hearing the noise, ask "oh! sons, who are you that keep on saying hara, hara? give out truly your names and nativity." to which the reply is given "oh! lord, i am a devotee of that being who graced markandeya, and am a virasaiva by faith. i have come to enter heaven. we have all led pure lives, and have performed acts of charity. so it is not just that we should be prevented from entering. men who ill-treat their parents, or superiors, those addicted to all kinds of vice, blasphemers, murderers, perverts from their own faith and priests, and other such people, are driven to hell by the southern gate." at this stage, a thread is passed round the enclosure. the son, still bearing the lamp, goes from the eastern entrance past the south and western entrances, and, breaking the thread, goes into the enclosure through the northern entrance. the nandikol (hereditary village official) then ties a cloth first round the head of the eldest son, and afterwards round the heads of the other sons and agnates. the valluvans abstain from eating beef. though they mix freely with the paraiyans, they will not eat with them, and never live in the paraiyan quarter. the valluvans are sometimes called pandaram or valluva pandaram. in some places, the priests of the valluvans are vellala pandarams. valluvan.--a small inferior caste of fishermen and boatmen in malabar. [106] valmika.--valmika or valmiki is a name assumed by the boyas and paidis, who claim to be descended from valmiki, the author of the ramayana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill (valmikam) grew up round him. in a note before me, valmiki is referred to as the spenser of india. in the north arcot manual, valmikulu, as a synonym of the vedans, is made to mean those who live on the products of ant-hills. val nambi.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a synonym for mussad. nambi is a title of brahmans, and val means a sword. the tradition is that the name arose from the ancestors of the caste having lost some of the privileges of the vedic brahmans owing to their having served as soldiers when malabar was ruled by the brahmans prior to the days of the perumals." valuvadi.--the valuvadis are returned, in the madras census report, 1901, as cultivators in the pudukottai state. i am informed that the valuvadis are a section of the valaiyan caste, to which the zamindar of nagaram belongs. the name valuvadi was originally a title of respect, appended to the name of the nagaram zamindars. the name of the present zamindar is balasubramanya valuvadiar. thirty years ago there is said to have been no valuvadi caste. some valaiyans in prosperous circumstances, and others who became relatives of the nagaram zamindar by marriage, have changed their caste name, to show that they are superior in social status to the rest of the community. vamme.--a gotra of janappans, the members of which abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water contained in the pot. vana palli.--a name, meaning forest palli, assumed by some irulas in south arcot. vandikkaran.--an occupational name for nayars who work as cartmen (vandi, cart) for carrying fuel. vandula or vandi raja.--a sub-division of bhatrazu, named after one vandi, who is said to have been a herald at the marriage of siva. vangu (cave).--a sub-division of irula. vani.--"the vanis or bandekars," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [107] "have been wrongly classified in the census returns (1891) as oil-pressers; they are in reality traders. they are said to have come from goa, and they speak konkani. their spiritual guru is the head of the kumbakonam math." in the census report, 1901, it is noted that vani, meaning literally a trader, is a konkani-speaking trading caste, of which bandekara is a synonym. "they ape the brahmanical customs, and call themselves by the curious hybrid name of vaisya brahmans." hari chetti has been returned as a further synonym. vaniyan.--the vaniyans are, mr. francis writes, [108] "oil-pressers among the tamils, corresponding to the telugu gandlas, canarese ganigas, malabar chakkans, and oriya tellis. for some obscure reason, manu classed oil-pressing as a base occupation, and all followers of the calling are held in small esteem, and, in tinnevelly, they are not allowed to enter the temples. in consequence, however, of their services in lighting the temples (in token of which all of them, except the malabar vaniyans and chakkans, wear the sacred thread), they are earning a high position, and some of them use the sonorous title of joti nagarattar (dwellers in the city of light) and tiru-vilakku nagarattar (dwellers in the city of holy lamps). they employ brahmans as priests, practice infant marriage, and prohibit widow marriage, usually burn their dead, and decline to eat in the houses of any caste below brahmans. however, even the washermen decline to eat with them. like the gandlas they have two sub-divisions, ottai-sekkan and irattai-sekkan, who use respectively one bullock and two bullocks in their mills. oddly enough, the former belong to the right-hand faction, and the latter to the left. their usual title is chetti. the name vanuvan has been assumed by vaniyans, who have left their traditional occupation, and taken to the grain and other trades." "the word vanijyam," mr. h. a. stuart informs us, [109] "signifies trade, and trade in oil, as well as its manufacture, is the usual employment of this caste, who assert that they are vaisyas, and claim the vaisya-apuranam as their holy book. they are said to have assumed the thread only within the last fifty or sixty years, and are reputed to be the result of a yagam (sacrifice by fire) performed by a saint called vakkuna maharishi. the caste contains four sub-divisions called kamakshiamma, visalakshiamma, ac'chu-tali, and toppa-tali, the two first referring to the goddesses principally worshipped by each, and the two last to the peculiar kinds of talis, or marriage tokens, worn by their women. they have the same customs as the beri chettis, but are not particular in observing the rule which forbids the eating of flesh. a bastard branch of the vaniyas is called the pillai kuttam, which is said to have sprung from the concubine of a vaniyan, who lived many years ago. the members of this class are never found except where vaniyans live, and are supposed to have a right to be fed and clothed by them. should this be refused, they utter the most terrible curse, and, in this manner, eventually intimidate the uncharitable into giving them alms." in the census report, 1891, mr. stuart writes further that the vaniyans "were formerly called sekkan (oil-mill man), and it is curious that the oil-mongers alone came to be called vaniyan or trader. they have returned 126 sub-divisions, of which only one, ilai vaniyan, is numerically important. one sub-division is iranderudu, or two bullocks, which refers to the use of two bullocks in working the mill. this separation of those who use two bullocks from those who employ only one is found in nearly every oil-pressing caste in india. the vaniyans of malabar resemble the nayars in their customs and habits, and neither wear the sacred thread, nor employ brahmans as priests. in north malabar, nayars are polluted by their touch, but in the south, where they are called vattakadans, they have succeeded in forcing themselves into the ranks of the nayar community. a large number of them returned nayar as their main caste." in this connection, mr. francis states [110] that followers of the calling of oil-pressers (chakkans) are "known as vattakadans in south malabar, and as vaniyans in north malabar; but the former are the higher in social status, the nayars being polluted by the touch of the vaniyans and chakkans but not by that of the vattakadans. chakkans and vaniyans may not enter brahman temples. their customs and manners are similar to those of the nayars, who will not, however, marry their women." of the vaniyans of cochin, it is stated in the cochin census report, 1901, that "they are vaisyas, and wear the sacred thread. in regard to marriage, inheritance, ceremonies, dress, ornaments, etc., there is practically no difference between them and the konkanis. but, as they do not altogether abstain from meat and spirituous liquors, they are not allowed free access to the houses of konkanis, nor are they permitted to touch their tanks and wells. they are saivites. they have their own priests, who are called panditars. they observe birth and death pollution for ten days, and are like brahmans in this respect. they are mostly petty merchants and shop-keepers. some can read and write malayalam, but they are very backward in english education." the oils expressed by the vaniyans are said to be "gingelly (sesamum indicum), cocoanut, iluppei (bassia longifolia), pinnei (calophyllum inophyllum), and ground-nut (arachis hypogæa). according to the sastras the crushing of gingelly seeds, and the sale of gingelly oil, are sinful acts, and no one, who does not belong to the vaniyan class, will either express or sell gingelly oil." [111] when a vaniyan dies a bachelor, a post-mortem mock ceremony is performed as by the ganigas, and the corpse is married to the arka plant (calotropis gigantea), and decorated with a wreath made of the flowers thereof. vankayala (brinjal or egg plant: solanum melongena).--an exogamous sept of golla. the fruit is eaten by natives, and, stuffed with minced meat, is a common article of anglo-indian dietary. vanki (armlet).--a gotra of kurni. vannan.--the vannans are washermen in the tamil and malayalam countries. the name vannan is, mr. h. a. stuart writes, [112] "derived from vannam, beauty. there is a tradition that they are descendants of the mythological hero virabadra, who was ordered by siva to wash the clothes of all men, as an expiation of the sin of putting many people to death in daksha's yaga. hence the tamil washermen are frequently called virabadran. having to purify all the filthy linen of the villagers, they are naturally regarded as a low, unclean class of sudras, and are always poor. they add to their income by hiring out the clothes of their customers to funeral parties, who lay them on the ground before the pall-bearers, so that these may not step upon the ground, and by letting them out on the sly to persons wishing to use them without having to purchase for themselves. in social standing the vannans are placed next below the barbers. they profess to be saivites in the southern districts, and vaishnavites in the north. the marriage of girls generally takes place after puberty. widow remarriage is permitted among some, if not all, sub-divisions. divorce may be obtained by either party at pleasure on payment of double the bride-price, which is usually rs. 10-8-0. they are flesh-eaters, and drink liquor. the dead are either burned or buried. the pothara (or podora) vannans are of inferior status, because they wash only for paraiyans, pallans, and other inferior castes." it is noted, in the madura manual, that those who have seen the abominable substances, which it is the lot of the vannans to make clean, cannot feel any surprise at the contempt with which their occupation is regarded. in the tanjore manual, it is recorded that, in the rural parts of the district, the vannans are not allowed to enter the house of a brahman or a vellala; clothes washed by them not being worn or mixed up with other clothes in the house until they have undergone another wash by a caste man. it is on record that, on one occasion, a party of europeans, when out shooting, met a funeral procession on its way to the burial-ground. the bier was draped in many folds of clean cloth, which one of the party recognised by the initials as one of his bed-sheets. another identified as his sheet the cloth on which the corpse was lying. he cut off the corner with the initials, and a few days later the sheet was returned by the washerman, who pretended ignorance of the mutilation, and gave as an explanation that it must have been done, in his absence, by one of his assistants. on another occasion, a european met an eurasian, in a village not far from his bungalow, wearing a suit of clothes exactly similar to his own, and, on close examination, found they were his. they had been newly washed and dressed. the most important divisions numerically returned by vannans at times of census are pandiyan, peru (big), tamil, and vaduga (northerner). it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that vannan "is rather an occupational term than a caste title, and, besides the pandya vannans or vannans proper, includes the vaduga vannans or tsakalas of the telugu country, and the palla, pudara, and tulukka vannans, who wash for the pallans, paraiyans, and musalmans respectively. the pandya vannans have a headman called the periya manishan (big man). a man can claim the hand of his paternal aunt's daughter. at weddings, the bridegroom's sister ties the tali (marriage badge). nambis officiate. divorce is freely allowed to either party on payment of twice the bride-price, and divorcées may marry again. the caste god is gurunathan, in whose temples the pujari (priest) is usually a vannan. the dead are generally burnt, and, on the sixteenth day, the house is purified from pollution by a nambi." some vannans have assumed the name irkuli vellala, and rajakan and kattavaraya vamsam have also been recorded as synonyms of the caste name. the vannans of malabar are also called mannan or bannan. they are, mr. francis writes, [113] "a low class of malabar washermen, who wash only for the polluting castes, and for the higher castes when they are under pollution following births, deaths, etc. it is believed by the higher castes that such pollution can only be removed by wearing clothes washed by mannans, though at other times these cause pollution to them. the washing is generally done by the women, and the men are exorcists, devil-dancers and physicians, even to the higher castes. their women are midwives, like those of the velakkatalavan and velan castes. this caste should not be confused with the mannan hill tribe of travancore." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "the mannans, a makkattayam caste of south malabar, apparently identical with the marumakkattayam vannans of the north, are a caste of washermen; and their services are indispensable to the higher castes in certain purificatory ceremonies when they have to present clean cloths (mattu). they are also devil-dancers and tailors. they practice fraternal polyandry in the south. mannans are divided into two endogamous classes, peru-mannans (peru, great), and tinda-mannans (tinda, pollution); and, in walavanad, into four endogamous classes called choppan, peru-mannan, punnekadan, and puliyakkodam. the tinda-mannan and puliyakkodam divisions perform the purificatory sprinklings for the others." the services of the mannan, mr. t. k. gopal panikkar writes, [114] "are in requisition at the nayar thirandukalianam ceremonies on the attainment of puberty by a girl, when they sing ballads, and have to bring, for the girl's use, the mattu or sacred dress. then, on occasions of death pollution, they have a similar duty to perform. among the nayars, on the fourth, or rarely the third day after the menses, the woman has to use, during her bath, clothes supplied by mannan females. the same duty they have to perform during the confinement of nayar females. all the dirty cloths and bed sheets used, these mannan females have to wash." mr. s. appadorai iyer informs us that those mannans who are employed by the kammalan, or artisan class, as barbers, are not admitted into the mannan caste, which follows the more honourable profession of washing clothes. the mannans perform certain ceremonies in connection with mundian, the deity who is responsible for the weal or woe of cattle; and, at puram festivals, carry the vengida koda or prosperity umbrella, composed of many tiers of red, green, orange, black and white cloth, supported on a long bamboo pole, before the goddess. it is recorded by bishop whitehead [115] that, in various places in malabar, there are temples in honour of bhagavati, at which the pujaris (priests) are of the vannan caste. "there is an annual feast called gurusi tarpanam (giving to the guru) about march, when the hot weather begins, and the people are at leisure. its object is to appease the wrath of the goddess. during the festival, the pujari sits in the courtyard outside the temple, thickly garlanded with red flowers, and with red kunkuma marks on his forehead. goats and fowls are then brought to him by the devotees, and he kills them with one blow of the large sacrificial sword or chopper. it is thought auspicious for the head to be severed at one blow, and, apparently, pujaris who are skilful in decapitation are much in request. when the head is cut off, the pujari takes the carcase, and holds it over a large copper vessel partly filled with water, turmeric, kunkuma, and a little rice, and lets the blood flow into it. when all the animals are killed, the pujari bails out the blood and water on the ground, uttering mantrams (sacred lines or verses) the while. the people stand a little way off. when the vessel is nearly empty, the pujari turns it upside down as a sign that the ceremony is ended. during these proceedings, a number of vannans, dressed in fantastic costumes, dance three times round the temple. during the festival, processions are held round the various houses, and special swords with a curved hook at the end, called palli val (great or honourable sword), are carried by the worshippers. these swords are worshipped during the dusserah festival in october, and, in some shrines, they form the only emblem of the deity. the tiyans have small shrines in their own gardens sacred to the family deity, which may be bhagavati, or some demon, or the spirit of an ancestor. once a year, vannans come dressed in fancy costume, with crowns on their heads, and dance round the courtyard to the sound of music and tom-toms, while a tiyan priest presents the family offerings, uncooked rice and young cocoanuts, with camphor and incense, and then rice fried with sugar and ghi (clarified butter)." in an account of the tiyans, mr. logan writes [116] that "this caste is much given to devil-charming, or devil-driving as it is often called. the washermen (vannan) are the high priests of this superstition, and with chants, ringing cymbals, magic figures, and waving lights, they drive out evil spirits from their votaries of this caste at certain epochs in their married lives. one ceremony in particular, called teyyattam--a corrupt form of deva and attam, that is, playing at gods--takes place occasionally in the fifth month of pregnancy. a leafy arbour is constructed, and in front of it is placed a terrible figure of chamundi, the queen of the demons, made of rice flour, turmeric powder, and charcoal powder. a party of not less than eighteen washermen is organized to represent the demons and furies--kuttichattan (a mischievous imp), and many others. on being invoked, these demons bound on to the stage in pairs, dance, caper, jump, roar, fight, and drench each other with saffron (turmeric) water. their capers and exertions gradually work up their excitement, until they are veritably possessed of the devil. at this juncture, fowls and animals are sometimes thrown to them, to appease their fury. these they attack with their teeth, and kill and tear as a tiger does his prey. after about twenty minutes the convulsions cease, the demon or spirit declares its pleasure, and, much fatigued, retires to give place to others; and thus the whole night is spent, with much tom-tomming and noise and shouting, making it impossible, for europeans at least, to sleep within earshot of the din." vannattan.--a synonym of veluttedan, the caste of washermen, who wash for nayars and higher castes. vanni kula kshatriya.--a synonym of the pallis, who claim to belong to the fire race of kshatriyas. vanniyan.--a synonym of palli. the name further occurs as a sub-division of ambalakaran and valaiyan. some maravans also are known as vanniyan or vannikutti. ten (honey) vanniyan is the name adopted by some irulas in the south arcot district. vantari.--see telaga. vanuvan.--a name assumed by vaniyans who have abandoned their hereditary occupation of oil-pressing, and taken to trade in grain and other articles. varakurup.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a title of malayalam paravans. varige (millet).--an exogamous sept of kapu. variyar.--for the following note on the variyar section of the ambalavasis, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. the name is believed to be derived from parasava, which, according to yajnavalkya and other law-givers, is the name given to the son of a brahman begotten on a sudra woman, and suggests the fact that the variyar is no brahman, though the blood of the latter may course through his veins, and though such marriages were regarded as sacraments in early days. this is the derivation given by pachumuttalu in his keralaviseshamahatmya, who adds that the chief occupation of the variyars is to sweep the floor of the temples. in some of the asauchavidhis (works on pollution) of kerala, the commentator explains the word parasava as variya. many variyars add the title parasava to their name, when writing in sanskrit. some derive the word from varija or one born of water, in accordance with a tradition that parasurama created from water a class of persons for special service in temples, and to take the place of sudras, who, being meat-eaters, were ineligible for the same. others again, like the late professor sundaram pillay, would take variyar as being derived from varuka, to sweep. recently, some ingenuity has been displayed in splitting the word into two words, giving it a meaning equivalent to pseudo-aryan. the title asan, or teacher, is possessed by certain families, whose members have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen's houses. in mediæval times, many variyar families received royal edicts, conferring upon them the privileges of being tutors and astrologers. these special rights are even now possessed by them. the following legend is narrated concerning the origin of the variyars. a sudra woman removed a bone from within a temple in obedience to the wish of certain brahman priests, and was excommunicated from her caste. the priests, on hearing this, were anxious to better her condition, and made her the progenitor of a class of ambalavasis or temple servants, who were afterwards known as variyars. according to another legend, the corpse of a maran, which was found inside a nambutiri's house, was promptly removed by certain nayars, who on that account were raised in the social scale, and organised into a separate caste called variyar. there is a still further tradition that, in the treta yuga, a sudra woman had five sons, the first of whom became the progenitor of the tiyatunnis, and the second that of variyars. a fourth account is given in the keralamahatmya. a young brahman girl was married to an aged man. not confident in unaided human effort, under circumstances such as hers, she devoted a portion of her time daily to preparing flower garlands for the deity of the nearest temple, and conceived. but the brahman welcomed the little stranger by getting the mother thrown out of caste. her garlands could no longer be accepted, but, nothing daunted, she worked as usual, and made a mental offering of the garlands she prepared, which, through an unseen agency, became visible on the person of the deity. though the people were struck with shame at their unkind treatment of the innocent girl, they were not prepared to take her back. the variyan caste was accordingly constituted, and her child was brought up by the azhancheri tambrakkal, and accommodated in the padippura or out-house at the entrance gate. in the pasupata tantra, the variyars are called kailasavasins, or those who live in kailas, as they are supposed to be specially devoted to the worship of siva. kailasa is the abode of siva, whither the blessed go after death. the variyars of travancore are divided into four groups, called onattukara, venattukara, ilayetattunad (or ilayathu), and tekkumkur. the venattukaras have the privilege of interdining with the onattukaras, and having their ceremonies performed by priests from that group. but the ceremonies of the onattukaras appear to be performed without the venattukaras being admitted into their midst. the third and fourth groups take food in the houses of the first and second, though the reverse seldom happens. the variyars in british malabar are divided into several other groups. the variyars are generally well-read, especially in sanskrit, make excellent astrologers, and are also medical practitioners. a variyar's house is called variyam, as the pisharati's is known as pisharam. married women have the hair-knot on the left side of the head, like nayar ladies. they cover the breast with a folded cloth, and never wear a bodice or other innovations in the matter of dress. the marriage ornament is called matra, and is in the shape of a maddalam or drum. other neck ornaments are called entram and kuzhal. the todu, or ornament of nayar women, is worn in the ear-lobes. women mark their foreheads, like nambutiri ladies, with sandal paste. the variyars, pushpakans, and pisharatis, are said to constitute the three original garland-making castes of malabar, appointed by parasurama. at the present day, in all the important temples, except in south travancore, where kurukkals perform that function, garlands can only be prepared by one of these castes. the technical occupation of a variyar in a temple is called kazhakam, which is probably derived from the dravidian root kazhaku, to cleanse. kazhakam is of two kinds, viz., malakkazhakam or garland-making service, and talikkazhakam or sweeping service, of which the former is more dignified than the latter. under the generic term kazhakar are included making flower garlands for the temple, preparing materials for the offering of food, sweeping the beli offering, carrying lights and holding umbrellas when the god is carried in procession, having the custody of the temple jewels, etc. the variyar is at the beck and call of the temple priest, and has to do sundry little services from morning till evening. he is remunerated with some of the cooked food, after it has been offered to the deity. the variyars are to saivite temples what the pisharatis are to vaishnavite temples. their prayers are prominently addressed only to siva, but they also worship vishnu, subramanya, sasta, ganesa, and bhadrakali. their chief amusement is the farce called kuttappathakam, the hero of which is one vankala nikkan, and the heroine naityar. an ilayatu is the stage-manager, and a pisharati the actor. parangotan is the buffoon, and mappa his wife. in the eighteenth century, a grand festival lasting over twenty-eight days, called mamangam, was celebrated in british malabar. the above characters are represented as proceeding to this festival, which came off once in twelve years on the magha asterism in the month of magha, and is hence popularly called mahamagha. the variyar caste is governed in all matters by the nambutiri brahmans, but they have their own priests. the ilayatus believe that they were the preceptors of all the ambalavasi castes in former times, but were dislodged from that position owing to most of them employing priests from among their own caste men. even at the present day, ilayatus are known to express their displeasure when they are asked to drink water from a variyar's well. as, however, consecrated water from the nambutiris is taken to a variyar for its purification, they entertain no scruples about cooking their food there, provided they carry with them the aupasana fire. inheritance among the variyars of cochin and british malabar is in the female line (marumakkathayam). among the variyars of travancore, chiefly these belonging to the onattukara section, a kind of qualified makkathayam prevails, in accordance with which both sons and daughters have an equal right to inherit ancestral property. the eldest male member is entitled to the management of the estate in all undivided families. partition, however, is largely followed in practice. the tali-kettu ceremony of the variyars generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty, and, in the case of boys, after the ceremony of sivadiksha has been performed, that is between the twelfth and sixteenth years. if the marriage is in the kudi-vaippu form, or, in other words, if there is an intention on the part of both parties to treat the marital alliance as permanent, no separate sambandham need be celebrated afterwards; and, in all cases where marriages are celebrated between members of the same section, the kudi-vaippu form is in vogue. if a girl is unmarried when she reaches puberty, she is not permitted to take part in any religious ceremonies, or enter any temple until she is married. the first item of a variyar's marriage is ayani-unu, when the bridegroom, decked in new clothes and ornaments, dines sumptuously with his relations. he then goes in procession to the bride's house, and, after bathing, puts on clothes touched by the bride. after this some prayers are recited, and a sacrifice is offered. the bride is then brought to the marriage hall, and, all the brahmanical rites are strictly observed. after sunset, some grass and a leopard's skin are placed on the floor on which white cloth is spread. the bridegroom, who is seated on the northern side, worships ganapati, after which the couple take their seats on the cloth bed spread on the floor. lights are then waved in front of them. this ceremony is known as dikshavirikkuka. in the kudi-vaippu form of marriage, the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, where the dikshavirippu is observed. otherwise the marital rite becomes a mere tali-kattu ceremony, and the girl, when she comes of age, may receive clothes in token of conjugal connection with another person. when the first husband dies, clothes may be received from another variyar, or a brahman, whose wife the woman becomes. most of the ceremonies observed by malayali brahmans are also performed by the variyars, the vratas and upanayana being among those which are omitted. sivadiksha, as already indicated, is observed between the twelfth and sixteenth years. the festival lasts for four days, though the religious rites are over on the first day. at an auspicious hour, the priest and the variyar youth put on the tattu dress, or dress worn for ceremonial purposes, and worship a pot full of water with incense and flowers, the contents of which are then poured by the priest over the youth. the priest and a maran then perform the tonsure, and the youth bathes. some nambutiris are then engaged to perform the purificatory rite, after which the variyar wears the tattu as well as an upper cloth, marks his forehead with ashes and sandal paste, and decorates himself with jewels, rudraksha (elæocarpus ganitrus) beads, and flowers. alms are received by the young variyar from his mother, and he takes seven steps in a northerly direction which symbolise his pilgrimage to benares. it is only after the performance of this rite that the variyar is believed to become a grihastha (married person, as opposed to a bachelor). the funeral rites of the caste have been elaborated in many places. death pollution lasts for twelve days, and the sanchayana (milk ceremony) is observed on the seventh or ninth day. anniversary ceremonies are celebrated in memory of close relations, and others are propitiated by the performance of sradh, and the feeding of a variyar on a new-moon day. in an account of a royal wedding in travancore in 1906, i read that "a number of variyars left the thevarathu koikal, or palace where worship is performed, for a compound (garden) close by to bring an areca palm. it is supposed that they do this task under divine inspiration and guidance. one man is given a small rod by the potti or priest in the palace, and, after receiving this, he dances forward, followed by his comrades, and all wend their way to a compound about a furlong away. on reaching the spot, they uproot a big areca palm without the use of any implement of iron, and take it away to the thevarathu koikal without its touching the ground, to the accompaniment of music. they then plant it in front of the portico, and do some puja (worship) after the manner of brahmans. the function is comparable to the dhwajarohanam, or hoisting of the flag during temple utsavams. the variyars dance round the tree, singing songs, and performing puja. a piece of white cloth is tied to the top of the tree, to serve as a flag, and a lamp is lighted, and placed at the foot of the tree." the variyars are described, in the gazetteer of malabar, as "a caste whose traditional duty is to sweep the temple precincts (varuga). at the present day, some members of the caste are important land-owners or petty chieftains, occupying a very high social position. they generally follow the marumakkatayam principle, but they have also a form of marriage called kudivekkal similar to the brahman sarvasvadhanam, by which the wife is adopted as a member of the family into which she marries, and her children also belong to it. the variyar's names and ceremonies indicate sivaite proclivities, just as those of the pisharodi are tinged with vishnavism. the variyar's house is called a variyam, and his woman-folk varassiars. this class is perhaps the most progressive among the ambalavasis, some of its members having received a western education and entered the learned professions." varugu bhatta.--a mendicant class, which begs from perikes. varuna.--some pattanavan fishermen have adopted the name of varunakula vellala or varunakula mudali after varuna the god of the waters. vasa (new).--a sub-division of kurubas, who are said to weave only white blankets. vasishta.--a brahmanical gotra adopted by khatris and toreyas. vasishta, one of the seven great rishis, was the son of mitra and varuna, whose quarrels with viswamitra are narrated in the ramayana. vastra.--one division of the koragas is called vastra, meaning cloths such as are used as a shroud for a corpse, which were given to them as an act of charity, the wearing of new cloths by them being prohibited. vastrala (cloth) further occurs as an exogamous sept of the karna sale and devanga weavers. vattakadan.--recorded as a sub-division of nayar, the occupation of which is expressing oil, chiefly for use in temples. mr. f. fawcett writes [117] that, in north malabar, he has frequently been told by nayars of the superior classes that they do not admit the vattakadans to be nayars. according to them, the vattakadans have adopted the honorary affix nayar to their names quite recently. in the madras census report, 1891, vattakadan is stated to be a synonym of vaniyan; and in the report, 1901, this name is said to mean a native of vattakad, and to be given to the chakkans. vatte (camel).--a gotra of kurni. vatti.--vatti or vattikurup has been recorded at times of census as a sub-division of nayar, and a synonym of kavutiyan and tolkollan. vatti is said to mean one who prays for happiness. vayani.--the vayanis, vayinis, vaguniyans, or pavinis, are a section of madigas, the members of which play on a single-stringed mandoline, and go about from village to village, singing the praises of the village goddesses. each vayani has his recognised beat. he plays a prominent part in the celebration of the annual festival of the village goddess, and receives a sacred thread (kappu), which is usually tied to his mandoline, before the commencement of the festival. he regards himself as superior in social position to ordinary madigas, with whom he will not marry. the name vayani is said to be a corruption of varnane, meaning to describe. in some localities, e.g., the chingleput district, the vayani enjoys mirasi rights in connection with land. vedan.--the vedans are described by mr. h. a. stuart, in the north arcot manual, as having been "formerly hunters and soldiers, and it is this caste which furnished a considerable and valuable contingent to the early hindu kings, and later to the armies of hyder and tippoo. they are supposed by some to be the remnants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula, and identical with the veddahs of ceylon. they are also called valmikulu, which means those who live on the products of ant-hills (valmikum)." it is noted, in the census report, 1891, that the two castes bedar (or boya) and vedan were, "through a misapprehension of instructions, treated as identical in the tabulation papers. the two words are, no doubt, etymologically identical, the one being canarese and the other tamil, but the castes are quite distinct." it may be noted that the name valmika or valmiki is assumed by the boyas, who claim descent from valmiki, the author of the ramayana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill grew up round him. in the madras census report, 1901, the vedans are described as "a tamil-speaking labouring and hunting caste, the members of which were formerly soldiers, and subsequently dacoits. the name means a hunter, and is loosely applied to the irulas in some places (e.g., chingleput). there is some connection between the vedans and tamil vettuvans, but its precise nature is not clear. the vettuvans now consider themselves superior to the vedans, and are even taking to calling themselves vettuva vellalas. marriage (among the vedans) is either infant or adult. widows may marry their late husband's brother or agnates. some employ brahmans as priests. they either burn or bury their dead. they claim descent from kannappa nayanar, one of the sixty-three saivite saints. ambalakarans also claim to be descended from kannappa nayanar. in tanjore, the valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin. the title of the vedans is nayakkan." in the madura manual, the vedans are described as a very low caste, who get their living in the jungles. they are not numerous now. they appear to have been naked savages not very long ago, and their civilisation is far from complete. they are held in the greatest contempt by men of all classes. they are described further, in the coimbatore manual, as "a very degraded, poor tribe, living by basket-making, snaring small game, and so on. they speak a low canarese, and are as simple as savage. the delight of a party at the gift of a rupee is something curious." in the salem district some vedans are said [118] to be "known by the caste name tiruvalar, who are distinguished as the kattukudugirajati, a name derived from a custom among them, which authorises temporary matrimonial arrangements." the following story in connection with bears and vedans is worthy of being placed on record. the bears are said to collect ripe wood-apples (feronia elephantum) during the season, and store them in the forest. after a small quantity has been collected, they remove the rind of the fruits, and heap together all the pulp. they then bring honey and petals of sweet-smelling flowers, put them on the heap of pulp, and thresh them with their feet and with sticks in their hands. when the whole has become a consistent mass, they feed on it. the vedan, who knows the season, is said to drive off the bears by shooting at them, and rob them of their feast, which is sold as karadi panchamritham, or bear delicacy made of five ingredients. the vedars of travancore are summed up by the rev. s. mateer [119] as "living in jungle clearings or working in the rice fields, and formerly sold and bought as slaves. they have to wander about in seasons of scarcity in search of wild yams, which they boil and eat on the spot, and are thorough gluttons, eating all they can get at any time, then suffering want for days. polygamy is common, as men are not required to provide for the support of their wives. some, who have been converted to christianity, show wonderful and rapid improvement in moral character, civilisation and diligence." for the following note on the mala (hill) vedans of travancore, i am indebted to mrs. j. w. evans. [120] "they live in wretched huts amid the rice-flats at the foot of the hills, and are employed by farmers to guard the crops from the ravages of wild beasts. the upper incisor teeth of both men and women are filed to a sharp point, like crocodile's fangs. one ugly old man, tiruvatiran by name (the name of a star), had the four teeth very slightly filed. on being pressed for the reason why he had not conformed to mala vedar fashion, he grinned, and said 'what beauty i was born with is enough for me.' probably the operation had been more painful than he could bear, or, may be, he could not afford to pay the five betel leaves and areca nuts, which are the customary fee of the filer. any man may perform the operation. a curved bill-hook, with serrated edge, is the instrument used. on being asked whether they had any tradition about the custom of tooth-filing, they replied that it was to distinguish their caste, and the god chattan would be angry if they neglected the custom. it may be noted that tooth-filing is also practiced by the jungle kadirs (q.v.). both males and females wore a cotton loin-cloth, mellowed by wear and weather to a subtle greenish hue. red and blue necklaces, interstrung with sections of the chank shell (turbinella rapa) adorned the necks and chests. one woman was of special interest. her neck and breasts were literally concealed by a medley of beads, shells, brass bells, and two common iron keys--these last, she said, for ornament. around her hips, over her cloth, hung several rows of small bones of pig and sambar (cervus unicolor). the mala vedans find these bones in the jungle. an aged priest said that he used to perform devil-dancing, but was now too stiff to dance, and had to labour like the younger men. the mala vedans apparently possess no temples or shrines, but hindus permit them to offer money at the hindu shrines from a distance, at times of sudden sickness or during other seasons of panic. their god chattan, or sattan, has no fixed abode, but, where the mala vedans are, there is he in the midst of them. they bury their dead in a recumbent posture, near the hut of the deceased. the mala vedans practice the primitive method of kindling fire by the friction of wood (also practiced by the kanakars), and, like the kanakars, they eat the black monkey. their implements are bill-hooks, and bows and arrows. they weave grass baskets, which are slung to their girdles, and contain betel, etc." the more important measurements of twenty-five mala vedans examined by myself were- max. min. average. stature (cm.) 163.8 140.8 154.2 cephalic index 80.9 68.8 73.4 nasal index 102.6 71.1 85.0 the figures show that, like other primitive jungle tribes in southern india, the mala vedans are short of stature, dolichocephalic, and platyrhine. the following menstrual ceremony has been described [121] as occurring among the vedans of travancore. "the wife at menstruation is secluded for five days in a hut a quarter of a mile from her home, which is also used by her at childbirth. the next five days are passed in a second hut, half way between the first and her house. on the ninth day her husband holds a feast, sprinkles his floor with wine, and invites his friends to a spread of rice and palm wine. until this evening, he has not dared to eat anything but roots, for fear of being killed by the devil. on the tenth day he must leave his house, to which he may not return until the women, his and her sister have bathed his wife, escorted her home, and eaten rice together. for four days after his return, however, he may not eat rice in his own house, or have connection with his wife." vedunollu.--a gotra of ganigas, members of which may not cut nyctanthes arbor-tristis. the flowers thereof are much used in hindu worship, as the plant is supposed to have been brought from heaven by krishna for his wife satyabhama. veginadu.--a sub-division of komatis, who belong to the vegi or vengi country, the former name of part of the modern kistna district. the vegina komatis are said to have entered the fire-pits with the caste goddess kanyakamma. vekkali puli (cruel-legged tiger).--an exogamous section of kallan. vel (lance).--a sub-division of malayalam paraiyans, and an exogamous sept or sub-division of kanikars in travancore. velanmar (spearmen) occurs as a name for the hill tribes of travancore. velakkattalavan.--velakkattalavan or vilakkattalavan is stated in the travancore census report, 1901, to indicate chieftains among barbers, and to be the name for members of families, from which persons are selected to shave kings or nobles. in the madras census report, 1891, velakkattalavan is said to be "the name in south malabar of the caste that shaves nayars and higher castes. the same man is called in north malabar valinchiyan, navidan, or nasiyan. in dress and habits the caste resembles nayars, and they call themselves nayars in the south. many returned their main caste as nayar. the females of this caste frequently act as midwives to nayars. in north malabar, the valinchiyan and nasiyan follow the nayar system of inheritance, whereas the navidan has inheritance in the male line; but, even amongst the latter, tali-kettu and sambandham are performed separately by different bridegrooms. in south malabar the caste generally follows descent in the male line, but in some places the other system is also found." sudra kavutiyan is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a synonym of velakkatalavan. velama.--the velamas, or, as they are sometimes called, yelamas, are a caste of agriculturists, who dwell in the telugu country and ganjam. concerning them mr. h. a. stuart writes as follows. [122] "who the velamas were it seems difficult to decide. some say they form a sub-division of the balijas, but this they themselves most vehemently deny, and the balijas derisively call them guna sakala (or tsakala) vandlu (hunch-backed washermen). the pride and jealousy of hindu castes was amusingly illustrated by the velamas of kalahasti. the deputy tahsildar of that town was desired to ascertain the origin of the name guni sakalavandlu, but, as soon as he asked the question, a member of the caste lodged a complaint of defamation against him before the district magistrate. the nickname appears to have been applied to them, because, in the northern districts, some print chintzes, and, carrying their goods in a bundle on their backs, walk stooping like a laden washerman. this derivation is more than doubtful, for, in the godavari district, the name is guna sakalavandlu, guna being the big pot in which they dye the chintzes. some velamas say that they belong to the kammas, but divided from them in consequence of a difference of opinion on the subject of gosha, most velama females being now kept in seclusion. [in the kurnool manual it is noted that the velama women are supposed to be gosha, but, owing to poverty, the rule is not strictly observed.] both kammas and velamas, before they divided, are said to have adopted gosha from the muhammadans, but, finding that they were thus handicapped in their competition with other cultivating castes, it was proposed that the original custom of their ancestors should be reverted to. those who agreed signed a bond, which, being upon palm leaf, was called kamma, and from it they took this name. the dissentients retained gosha, and were therefore called outsiders or velamas. this does not, however, explain what the original name of the caste was, and the truth of the story is doubtful. since this dispute, the velamas have themselves had a split on the subject of gosha, those who have thrown it off being called adi or original velamas, and the others padma velamas. the velamas seem to have come south with the vijayanagara kings, and to have been made menkavalgars, from which position some rose to be poligars. now they are chiefly the hangers-on of poligars or cultivators. to distinguish them from the vellalas in the southern taluks, they call themselves telugu vellalas, but it seems very improbable that the velamas and vellalas ever had any connection with one another. they are styled naidus." [the velamas style themselves telugu vellalas, not because of any connection between the two castes, but because they are at the top of the telugu castes as the vellalas are of the tamil castes. for the same reason, vellalas are sometimes called arava (tamil) velamalu.] the most important sub-divisions returned by the velamas at the census, 1891, were kapu, koppala, padma, ponneti, and yanadi. "it is," the census superintendent writes, "curious to find the yanadi sub-division so strongly represented, for there is at the present day a wide gulf between velamas and yanadis" (a telugu forest tribe). in the vizagapatam manual, a class of cultivators called yanadulu is referred to; and, in the madras census report, 1901, it is recorded that entries under the name yanati "were clubbed with yanadi; but it has since been reported that, in bissam-acuttack taluk of the vizagapatam agency, there is a separate caste called yanati or yeneti dora which is distinct from yanadi." it would appear that, as in the south, the velamas call themselves telugu vellalas, so in the north they call themselves yanatis. concerning the guna velamas, the rev. j. cain writes [123] that "in years gone by, members of this class, who were desirous of getting married, had to arrange and pay the expenses of two of the palli (fisherman) caste, but now it is regarded as sufficient to hang up a net in the house during the time of the marriage ceremony." the custom had its origin in a legend that, generations ago, when all the members of the caste were in danger of being swept off the face of the earth by some of their enemies, the pallis came to the rescue with their boats, and carried all the guna velamas to a place of safety. the guna velamas, mr. cain continues, were "formerly regarded as quite an inferior caste, but, as many members of it have been educated in anglo-vernacular schools, they have found their way into almost every department and risen in the social scale. their caste occupation is that of dyeing cloth, which they dip into large pots (gunas). the term guna tsakala is one of reproach, and they much prefer being called velamalu to the great disgust of the raca (raja) velamalu." to the raca velama section belong, among other wealthy land-owners, the rajas of bobbili, venkatagiri, pittapur, and nuzvid. at the annual samasthanam meeting, in 1906, the maharaja of bobbili announced that "none of the velamavaru were working in any of the offices at the time when i first came to bobbili. there were then a small number acting as mere supervisors without clerical work. only from the commencement of my administration these people have been gradually taken into the office, and induced to read at the high school." for the following note on the velamas who have settled in the vizagapatam district, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the following sub-divisions of the caste may be noted:-(1) pedda or padma found chiefly in the bobbili taluk. those composing it are said to be the descendants of the military followers and dependents of pedda rajudu, the founder of the bobbili family, who received a territorial grant in 1652 from sher muhammad khan, the moghul fauzdar of chicacole. it is to this sub-division that orme refers, when he says [124] that they "esteem themselves the highest blood of native indians, next to the brahmans, equal to the rajpoots, and support their pre-eminence by the haughtiest observances, insomuch that the breath of a different religion, and even of the meaner indians, requires ablution; their women never transfer themselves to a second, but burn with the husband of their virginity." the remarriage of widows is forbidden, and women remain gosha (in seclusion), and wear gold or silver bangles on both wrists, unlike those of the koppala section. the title of members of this sub-division is dora. (2) kamma velama found chiefly in the kistna district, from which some families are said to have emigrated in company with the early rajas of vizianagram. they are met with almost solely in the town of vizianagram. the remarriage of widows is permitted, but females are gosha. the title is nayudu. (3) koppala, or toththala, who do not shave their heads, but tie the hair in a knot (koppu) on the top of the head. they are divided into sections, e.g., naga (cobra), sankha (chank shell, turbinella rapa), tulasi (ocimum sanctum), and tabelu (tortoise). these have no significance so far as marriage is concerned. they are further divided into exogamous septs, or intiperulu, of which the following are examples:--nalla (black), doddi (court-yard, cattle-pen or sheep-fold), reddi (synonym of kapu). the custom of menarikam, by which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is observed. a brahman officiates at marriages. widows are permitted to remarry seven times, and, by an unusual custom, an elder brother is allowed to marry the widow of his younger brother. women wear on the right wrist a solid silver bangle called ghatti kadiyam, and on the left wrist two bangles called sandelu, between which are black glass bangles, which are broken when a woman becomes a widow. the titles of members of this sub-division are anna, ayya, and, when they become prosperous, nayudu. in a note on the velamas of the godavari district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes that they "admit that they always arrange for a mala couple to marry, before they have a marriage in their own houses, and that they provide the necessary funds for the mala marriage. they explain the custom by a story to the effect that a mala once allowed a velama to sacrifice him in order to obtain a hidden treasure, and they say that this custom is observed out of gratitude for the discovery of the treasure which resulted. the rev. j. cain gives [125] a similar custom among the velamas of bhadrachalam in the godavari district, only in this case it is a palli (fisherman) who has to be married." there is, a correspondent informs me, a regular gradation in the social scale among the velamas, kammas, and kapus, as follows:- velama dora = velama esquire. kamma varu = mr. kamma. kapu. a complaint was once made on the ground that, in a pattah (title-deed), a man was called kamma, and not kamma varu. it is noted by mr. h. g. prendergast [126] that the custom of sending a sword to represent an unavoidably absent bridegroom at a wedding is not uncommon among the telugu razus and velamas. velampan (rope-dancer).--possibly a name for the koravas of malabar, who perform feats on the tight-rope. velan.--as a diminutive form of vellala, velan occurs as a title assumed by some kusavans. velan is also recorded as a title of paraiyans in travancore. (see panan.) for the following note on the velans of the cochin state, i am indebted to mr. l. k. anantha krishna iyer. [127] the velans, like the panans, are a caste of devil-dancers, sorcerers and quack doctors, and are, in the northern parts of the state, called perumannans or mannans (washermen). my informant, a perumannan at trichur, told me that their castemen south of the karuvannur bridge, about ten miles south of trichur, are called velans, and that they neither interdine nor intermarry, because they give mattu (a washed cloth) to carpenters to free them from pollution. the mannans, who give the mattu to izhuvans, do not give it to kammalans (artisan classes), who are superior to them in social status. the velans at ernakulam, cochin, and other places, are said to belong to eight illams. a similar division into illams exists among the perumannans of the trichur taluk. the perumannans of the chittur taluk have no knowledge of this illam division existing among them. the following story was given regarding the origin of the velans and mannans. once upon a time, when parameswara and his wife parvati were amusing themselves, the latter chanced to make an elephant with earth, which was accidentally trodden on by the former, whence arose a man who stood bowing before them. he was called the mannan because he came out of man (earth), and to him was assigned his present occupation. this tradition is referred to in the songs which are sung on the fourth day of a girl's first menses, when she takes a ceremonial bath to free her from pollution. the velans are found all over the southern parts of the state, as their brethren are in the northern parts. they live in thatched huts in cocoanut gardens, while the mannans occupy similar dwellings in small compounds either of their own, or of some landlord whose tenant they may be. when a girl attains puberty, she is at once bathed, and located in a room in the hut. her period of seclusion is four days. on the morning of the fourth day, she is seated in a pandal (booth) put up in front of the hut, and made to hold in her hand a leafy vessel filled with rice, a few annas and a lighted wick, when a few of the castemen sing songs connected with puberty till so late as one or two o'clock, when the girl is bathed. after this, the castemen and women who are invited are feasted along with the girl, who is neatly dressed and adorned in her best. again the girl takes her seat in the pandal and the tunes begin, and are continued till seven or eight o'clock next morning, when the ceremony comes to an end. the songsters are remunerated with three paras of paddy (unhusked rice), twenty-eight cocoanuts, thirteen annas and four pies, and two pieces of cloth. the songs are in some families postponed till the sixteenth day, or to the day of the girl's marriage. very poor people dispense with them altogether. the following is a translation of one of the songs. one day a girl and her friends were playing merrily on the banks of a river, when one of them noticed some blood on her dress. they took her home, and her parents believed it to have been caused by some wound, but on enquiry knew that their daughter was in her menses. the daughter asked her mother as to what she did with the cloth she wore during her menses, when she was told that she bathed and came home, leaving it on a branch of a mango tree. on further enquiry, she knew that the goddess ganga purified herself by a bath, leaving her cloth in the river; that the goddess earth buried it in earth; and that panchali returned home after a bath, leaving her dress on a branch of a banyan tree. unwilling to lose her dress, the girl went to the god parameswara, and implored his aid to get somebody to have her cloth washed. when muttering a mantram (prayer), he sprinkled some water, a few drops of which went up and became stars, and from a few more, which fell on the leaves of a banyan tree, there came out a man, to whom was assigned the task of washing the cloths of the women in their courses, wearing which alone the women are purified by a bath. when a young man of the velan caste has attained the marriageable age, his father and maternal uncle select a suitable girl as a wife, after a proper examination and agreement of their horoscopes. the preliminaries are arranged in the hut of the girl, and a portion of the bride's price, fifteen fanams, is paid. the auspicious day for the wedding is fixed, and the number of guests that should attend it is determined. the wedding is celebrated at the girl's hut, in front of which a shed is put up. the ceremony generally takes place at night. a few hours before it, the bridegroom and his party arrive at the bride's hut, where they are welcomed, and seated on mats spread on the floor in the pandal (shed). at the auspicious hour, when the relatives on both sides and the castemen are assembled, the bridegroom's enangan (relation by marriage) hands over a metal plate containing the wedding suit, the bride's price, and a few packets of betel leaves and nuts to the bride's enangan, who takes everything except the cloth to be given to the bride's mother, and returns the plate to the same man. the bridegroom's sister dresses the bride in the new cloth, and takes her to the pandal, to seat her along with the bridegroom, and to serve one or two spoonfuls of milk and a few pieces of plantain fruit, when the bride is formally declared to be the wife of the young man and a member of his family. the guests assembled are treated to a feast, after which they are served with betel leaves, nuts, and tobacco. the rest of the night is spent in merry songs and dancing. the songs refer to the marriage of sita, the wife of rama, of subhadra, wife of arjuna, and of panchali, wife of the pandavas. next morning, the bride's party is treated to rice kanji (gruel) at eight o'clock, and to a sumptuous meal at twelve o'clock, after which they repair to the bridegroom's hut, accompanied by the bride, her parents and relations, all of whom receive a welcome. the formalities are gone through here also, and the bride's party is feasted. on the fourth morning, the newly married couple bathe and dress themselves neatly, to worship the deity at the local temple. after dinner they go to the bride's hut, where they spend a week or two, after which the bridegroom returns to his hut with his wife. it is now that the bride receives a few ornaments, a metal dish for taking meals, a lamp, and a few metal utensils, which vary according to the circumstances of her parents. henceforward, the husband and wife live with the parents of the former in their family. among the mannans of the northern parts of the state, the following marriage customs are found to prevail. the bridegroom's father, his maternal uncle, enangan, and the third or middle man, conjointly select the girl after due examination and agreement of horoscopes. the preliminaries are arranged as before, and the day for the wedding is determined. at the auspicious moment on the wedding day, when the relatives on both sides and the castemen are assembled at the shed in front of the bride's hut, the bridegroom's father takes up a metal plate containing the wedding dress, the bride's price (twelve fanams), and a few bundles of betel leaves, nuts and tobacco, and repeats a formula, of which the substance runs thus. "a lighted lamp is placed in the shed. four mats are spread round it in the direction of east, west, north and south. a metal plate, containing rice, flowers and betel leaves, is placed in front of the lamp, and the elderly members of the caste and the relatives on both sides are assembled. according to the traditional custom of the caste, the young man's father, maternal uncle, enangan, and the middle man conjointly selected the girl after satisfying themselves with due agreement of horoscopes, and ascertaining the illams and kriyams on both sides. they have negotiated for the girl, and settled the day on which the marriage is to take place. in token of this, they have taken meals in the bride's family. the claims of the girl for two pieces of cloth for the onam festival, two fanams or nine annas for thiruwatira (a festival in dhanu, i.e., december-january), and vishu, are satisfied, and she is by the young man taken to the village festival. they have now come for the celebration of the wedding. there have been times when he has heard of 101 fanams as the price of the bride, and has seen 51 fanams as the price of the same, but it is now 21 fanams. it thus varies, and may be increased or diminished according to the will, pleasure, and means of the parties. with four fanams as the price of the bride and eight fanams for ornaments, and with the bundles of betel leaves, nuts, and the wedding dress in a metal plate, may i, ye elderly members, give it to the girl's parents?" "shall i," answers the girl's father, "accept it?" receiving it, he gives it to his brother-in-law, who gives it to the enangan, and he takes everything in it except the wedding suit, which he hands over to the bridegroom's enangan, who gives it to the bridegroom's sister, to have the bride dressed in it. the other portions of the ceremony are the same as those described above. in palghat and the chittur taluk, the following declaration is made. "according to the customary traditions of the caste, when a young man of one locality comes to tame a girl of another locality, and takes her as his wife, ye elderly members assembled here, may these four bundles of betel leaves, four measures of rice, two pieces of cloth, and ten fanams be given to the bride's parents?" "shall these be accepted?" says the bride's enangan. when the bride accompanies the bridegroom to his hut, the following formal statement is made. "thrash thou mayst, but not with a stick. thou mayst not accuse her of bad conduct. thou mayst not cut off her ears, breasts, nose and tufts of hair. thou mayst not take her to a tank (to bathe), or to a temple (for swearing). thou mayst keep and protect her as long as thou wantest. when thou dost not want her, give her maintenance, and take back the children, for they are thine own." polygamy is not prohibited, but is rarely practiced by the velans and mannans. they are very poor, and find it difficult to support their wives and children born in a single married life. want of children, bodily defect or incurable disease, or want of additional hands for work, may sometimes induce them to take more than one wife. polyandry does not prevail among the velans, but is common among the mannans of the northern parts of the state. a velan woman who loses her husband may marry another of her caste, if she likes, a year after her husband's death. the formalities of the wedding consist in the husband giving two pieces of cloth to the woman who wishes to enter into wedlock with him. after this she forfeits all claim on the property of her former husband. among the mannans, a widow may marry any one of her brothers-in-law. a woman committing adultery with a member of her own caste is well thrashed. one who disposes of herself to a member of a lower caste is sent out of caste. she may then become a christian or muhammadan convert. if an unmarried young woman becomes pregnant, and this is known to her castemen, they convene a meeting, and find out the secret lover, whom they compel to take her as his wife. very often they are both fined, and the fine is spent on toddy. both among the velans and mannans, divorce is easy. a man who does not like his wife has only to take her to her original home and give charge of her to her parents, informing them of the circumstances which have induced him to adopt such a course. a woman who does not like her husband may relinquish him, and join her parents. in both cases, the woman is at liberty to marry again. when a woman is pregnant, the ceremony of pulikuti (drinking of tamarind juice) is performed for her during the ninth month at the hut of her husband. the juice is extracted from tamarind (tamarindus indica), kotapuli (garcinia cambogia), nerinjampuli (hibiscus surattensis) and the leaves of ambazhampuli (spondias mangifera). a large branch of ambazhampuli is stuck in the ground in the central courtyard, near which the pregnant woman is seated. the husband gives her three small spoonfuls, and then seven times with her cherutali (neck ornament) dipped in the juice. among the washermen, the woman's brother gives it three times to her. should her sister-in-law give it in a small vessel, she has a claim to two pieces of cloth. after this, a quarter measure of gingelly (sesamum) oil is poured upon her head, to be rubbed all over her body, and she bathes, using acacia intsia as soap. those of her relatives and the castemen who are invited are sumptuously fed. some of them crack jokes by asking the pregnant woman to promise her baby son or daughter to theirs when grown up. all bless her for a safe delivery and healthy child. a woman who is about to become a mother is lodged in a separate room for her delivery, attended by her mother and one or two grown-up women, who act as midwives. the period of pollution is fifteen days. for the first three days the woman is given a dose of dried ginger mixed with palmyra (borassus flabellifer) jaggery (crude sugar), and for the next three days a mixture of garlic and jaggery. her diet during the first three days is rice kanji with scrapings of cocoanut, which are believed to help the formation of the mother's milk. for the next three days, the juice of kotapuli (garcinia cambogia), cumin seeds, and kotal urikki (achyranthes aspera), and of the leaves of muringa (moringa pterygosperma) is given, after which, for a few more days, a dose of the flesh of fowl mixed with mustard, cumin seeds and uluva (trigonella foenum-græcum) boiled in gingelly oil is taken. she bathes in water boiled with medicinal herbs on the fourth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and sixteenth days. on the morning of the sixteenth day, her enangathi (enangan's wife) cleans her room with water mixed with cow-dung, and sweeps the compound. wearing a mattu (washed cloth) brought by a washerman, she bathes to be freed from pollution. she may now enter the hut, and mingle with the rest of the family. among velans and mannans, the sons inherit the property of their fathers, but they are very poor, and have little or nothing to inherit. velans and mannans practice magic and sorcery. all diseases that flesh is heir to are, in the opinion of these people, caused by malignant demons, and they profess to cure, with the aid of their mantrams and amulets, people suffering from maladies. the muttering of the following mantram, and throwing of bhasmam (holy ashes), in propitiation of the small-pox demon is believed to effect a cure. (1) om, oh! thou, pallyamma, mother with tusk-like teeth, that in demoniacal form appearest on the burning ground called omkara, with burning piles flaming around, with one breast on one of thy shoulders, and playing with the other as with a ball, with thy tongue stretched out and wound round thy head, with grass, beans, and pepper in thy left hand, with gingelly seeds and chama grains in thy right hand, that scatterest and sowest broadcast the seeds of small-pox; oh! let the seeds that thou hast sown, and those that thou hast not sown, dry up inside, and get charred outside. be thou as if intoxicated with joy! protect thou, protect thou! (2) malign influence of birds on children. oh! thou round-eyed, short karinkali with big ears, born from the third incessantly burning eye of siva, come, come and be in possession. if this mantram be muttered sixteen times, and bhasmam thrown over the body of a child, the operator breathing violently the while, a cure will be effected. if the mantram be muttered in a vessel of water the same number of times, and the child bathed in it, the cure will be equally effective. (3) to cure fits and fever. oh! thou swine-faced mother, thou catchest hold of my enemy, coming charging me, by the neck with thy tusks thrust into his body; draggest him on the ground, and standest slowly chewing and eating, thrusting thy tusks, rubbing again, and wearing down his body, chewing once more and again; thou, mother that controllest 41,448 demons presiding over all kinds of maladies, seventy-two bhiravans, eighteen kinds of epileptic fits (korka), twelve kinds of muyalis and all other kinds of illness, as also kandakaranans (demons with bell-shaped ears), be under my possession so long as i serve thee. this mantram should be repeated sixteen times, with bhasmam thrown on the body of the patient. (4) oh! bhadrakali, thou hast drunk the full cup. oh! thou that holdest the sword of royalty in thy right hand, and that half sittest on a high seat. place under control, as i am piously uttering the mantrams to serve thee, all demons, namely yakshi, gandharvan, poomalagandharvan, chutali, nirali, nilankari, chuzali, and many others who cause all kinds of illness that flesh is heir to. oh! holy mother, bhadrakali, i vow by my preceptor. (5) for devil driving. oh! thou, karinkutti (black dwarf) of vedapuram in vellanad, that pluckest the fruits of the right hand branch of the strychnine tree (strychnos nux-vomica), and keepest toddy in its shell, drinking the blood of the black domestic fowl, drumming and keeping time on the rind of the fruit, filling and blowing thy pipe or horn through the nose. oh! thou primeval black dwarf, so long as i utter the proper mantrams, i beg thee to cause such demons as would not dance to dance, and others to jump and drive them out. oh! thou, karinkutti, come, come, and enable me to succeed in my attempts. (6) oh! thou goddess with face. oh! thou with face like that of a bear, and thou, a hunter. i utter thy mantrams and meditate upon thee, and therefore request thee to tread upon my enemies, burst open their bodies to drink their blood, and yawn to take complete rest; drive out such demons as cause convulsions of the body both from within and without, and all kinds of fever. scatter them as dust. i swear by thee and my preceptor. swahah. (7) for the evil eye. salutations to thee, oh! god. even as the moon wanes in its brightness at the sight of the sun, even as the bird chakora (eraya) disappears at the sight of the moon; even as the great vasuki (king of serpents) vanishes at the sight of chakora; even as the poison vanishes from his head; so may the potency of his evil eye with thy aid vanish. (8) to cause delay in the occurrence of menses. salutation to thee, oh! mars (the son of the goddess earth). if this mantram is muttered on a thread dyed yellow with turmeric, and if the thread be placed on both the palms joined together, and if the number of days to which the occurrence of the menses should be delayed be thought of, the postponement will be procured by wearing it either round the neck or the loins. the thread with a ring attached to it, and worn round the neck is equally effective. (9) to prevent cows from giving milk. om, koss, dry up the liquid, kindly present me with thy gracious aspect. oh! thou with the great sword in thy hands, the great trident, dry up the cow's udder even as a tiger, i swear by thee and my preceptor. (10) to cause cows to give milk. even as the swelling on the holy feet of mahadeva due to the bite of a crocodile has subsided and gone down, so go down. i swear by my preceptor. (11) to remove a thorn from the sole of the foot. when parameswara and parvathi started on their hunting expedition, a thorn entered the foot of her lady-ship. it was doubted whether it was the thorn of a bamboo, an ant, or a strychnine tree. even so may this poison cease to hurt, oh! lord. i swear by my preceptor. (12) to effect metamorphosis. take the head of a dog and burn it, and plant on it vellakutti plant. burn camphor and frankincense, and adore it. then pluck the root. mix it with the milk of a dog and the bones of a cat. a mark made with the mixture on the forehead will enable any person to assume the figure of any animal he thinks of. (13) before a stick of the malankara plant, worship with a lighted wick and incense. then chant the sakti mantram 101 times, and mutter the mantram to give life at the bottom. watch carefully which way the stick inclines. proceed to the south of the stick, and pluck the whiskers of a live tiger, and make with them a ball of the veerali silk, string it with silk, and enclose it within the ear. stand on the palms of the hand to attain the disguise of a tiger, and, with the stick in hand, think of a cat, white bull, or other animal. then you will, in the eyes of others, appear as such. (14) take the nest of a crow from a margosa tree, and bury it at the cremation ground. then throw it into the house of your enemy. the house will soon take fire. (15) take the ashes of the burial-ground on which an ass has been rolling on a saturday or sunday, and put it in the house of your enemy. the members of the family will soon quit the house, or a severe illness will attack them. the velans and mannans are animists, and worship demoniacal gods, such as chandan, mundian, kandakaranan, karinkutti, and chathan. all of them are separately represented by stones located underneath a tree in the corners of their compounds. offerings of sheep, fowls, plantain fruits, cocoanuts, parched rice and beaten rice, are made to them on the tenth of dhanu (last week in december), on a tuesday in makaram (january-february), and on kumbham bharani (second asterism in march-april). they also adore the goddess bhagavathi and the spirits of their departed ancestors, who are believed to exercise their influence in their families for good or evil. sometimes, when they go to cranganore to worship the goddess there, they visit the senior male members of the local nayar, kammalan and izhuvan families to take leave of them, when they are given a few annas with which they purchase fowls, etc., to be given as offerings to the local goddess. wooden or metal images, representing the spirits of their ancestors, are located in a room of their huts, and worshipped with offerings on new moon and sankranti nights. the velans and mannans either burn or bury the dead. the son is the chief mourner who performs the funeral rites, and the nephews and brothers take part in them. their priests are known as kurup, and they preside at the ceremonies. death pollution lasts for sixteen days, and on the morning of the sixteenth day the hut of the dead person is well swept and cleansed by sprinkling water mixed with cowdung. the members of the family, dressed in the mattu (a washed cloth worn before bathing) brought by the washerman, bathe to be free from pollution. the castemen, including their friends and relations, are invited and feasted. a similar funeral feast is also held at the end of the year. the chief occupation of the velans and mannans is the giving of mattu to brahmans, kshatriyas, anthalarajatis, nayars, kammalans and izhuvans, for wearing before going to bathe on the day on which they are freed from pollution. a girl or woman in her courses on the morning of the fourth day, a woman in confinement on the fifth, ninth, eleventh and sixteenth days, and all the members of a family under death pollution on the sixteenth day, have to use it. they bathe wearing the washed cloth, and return it as soon as the bath is over. it may either belong to the washerman, or have been previously given to him by the members of the family. he gets an anna or a measure of paddy for his service to a woman in her menses, and a para of paddy or six annas for birth and death pollutions. the velans give the mattu to all the castes above mentioned, while the mannans refuse to give it to the kammalans, and thereby profess themselves to be superior in status to them. they wash clothes to dress the idols in some of the high caste temples. their washing consists in first plunging the dirty cloths in water mixed with cowdung, and beating them on a stone by the side of a tank (pond), canal or river, and again immersing them in water mixed with wood ashes or charamannu, after which they are exposed to steam for a few hours, and again beaten on the stone, slightly moistening in water now and then, until they are quite clean. they are then dried in the sun, and again moistened with a solution of starch and indigo, when they are exposed to the air to dry. when dry, they are folded, and beaten with a heavy club, so as to be like those ironed. the velans of the cranganore, cochin, and kanayannur taluks, climb cocoanut trees to pluck cocoanuts, and get about eight to ten annas for every hundred trees they go up. they make umbrellas. some among them practice magic and sorcery, and some are quack doctors, who treat sickly children. some are now engaged in agricultural operations, while a few make beds, pillows, and coats. there are also a few of them in every village who are songsters, and whose services are availed of on certain ceremonial occasions, namely, on the bathing day of a girl in her first menses, on the wedding night, and when religious ceremonies are performed, and sacrifices offered to their gods. some are experts in drum-beating, and are invited by low caste people of the rural parts. the mannans also follow the same occupations. the velans and mannans eat at the hands of all castes above them, namely, brahmans, kshatriyas, nayars, and izhuvans. the former take food from kammalans, while the latter abstain from so doing. they do not eat the food prepared by kaniyans, panans, vilkurups, or other castes of equal or inferior status. they have to stand at a distance of twenty-four feet from brahmans. they have their own barbers, and are their own washermen. they stand far away from the outer wall of the temples of high castes. they are not allowed to take water from the wells of high caste sudras, nor are they allowed to live in their midst. the following note on the velans of travancore has been furnished by mr. n. subramani iyer. the word velan has been derived from vel a spear, and also from vela work. the usual title of the velans is panikkan. they are believed to be divided into four classes, viz., bharata velan, vaha velan, pana velan, and manna velan. while the last of these sections, in addition to their traditional occupation, are washermen and climbers of areca palm trees, the pana velans take sawing as a supplementary employment. some of the members of the first and second classes are also physicians. this classification is gradually going out of vogue. the velans are said traditionally to have been descended from siva, who, on one occasion, is believed to have removed the evil effects of the sorcery of demons upon vishnu by means of exorcism. as this kind of injury began to increase among men, a man and woman were created by this deity, to prevent its dire consequences. in the keralolpatti, this caste is mentioned as velakkuruppu. but at present the puranadis, who are the barbers and priests of this class, are known by this name. a puranadi means one who stands outside, and is not admitted as of equal rank with the velans proper. the puranadis are not washermen. commensal relations exist only between the male members of the velans and puranitis (puranadi females). the velans perform a number of useful services in the body politic of malabar. in the keralolpatti their duty is said to be the nursing of women in their confinement. in the kerala-visesha-mahatmya, exorcism, climbing of trees, and washing clothes, are mentioned as their occupations. there are various kinds of exorcism, the chief being velan tullal and velan pravarti. the former is a kind of masque performed by the velans for warding off the effects of the evil eye, and preventing the injurious influences of demons and spirits. atavi is a peculiar female divinity worshipped by the caste, by whose help these feats are believed to be performed in the main. she, and a host of minor gods and goddesses, are represented by them, and a dance commences. after it is over, all the characters receive presents. velan pravarti, or otuka, may either last for eleven days, or may be finished on a minor scale within three days, and in emergent cases even in one day. a puranadi acts as buffoon, and serves the purpose of a domestic servant on the occasion. this is called pallipana when performed in temples, pallipperu when in palaces, and velan pravarti or satru-eduppu in the case of ordinary people. this is also done with a view to prevent the effect of the evil eye. on the first day, a person representing the enchanted man or woman is placed in a temporary shed built for the purpose, and lights are waved before him. on the third day, a pit is dug, and a cock sacrificed. on the fourth day, the pattata bali, or human sacrifice, takes place. a person is thrown into a pit which is covered with a plank of wood, upon which sacrifices are offered. the buried person soon resuscitates himself, and, advancing as if possessed, explains the cause of the disease or calamity. on the eighth day, figures of snakes, in gold or silver, are enclosed in small copper vessels, and milk and fruit are offered to them. on the ninth day, the velans worship the lords of the eight directions, with brahma or the creator in the midst of them. on the tenth day, there is much festivity and amusement, and the mahabharata is sung in a condensed form. the chief of the velans becomes possessed, and prays that, as the pandavas emerged safely from the sorcery of the kauravas, the person affected by the calamity may escape unhurt. on the last day, animals are sacrificed at the four corners of the compound surrounding the house. no special rite is performed on the first day, but the ituvanabali, kuzhibali, pattatabali, kitangubali, patalabali, sarakutabali, pithabali, azhibali, digbali, and kumpubali, are respectively observed during the remaining ten days. the pana, of which rite the breaking of cocoanuts is the most important item, completes this long ceremony. it was once supposed that the bharata velans exorcised spirits in the homes of high caste hindus, the same work being done among the middle classes by the vaha velans, and among the low by the manna velans. this rule does not hold good at the present day. the velans are also engaged in the event of bad crops. besides standing thirty-two feet apart from hindu temples, and worshipping the divinities therein, the velans erect small sanctuaries for siva within their own compounds, called kuriyala. they worship this deity in preference to others, and offer tender cocoanuts, fried rice, sugar, and plantain fruits to him on the uttradam day in the month of august. velanati (foreign).--a sub-division of kapus, and other telugu castes, and of telugu brahmans. velanga (wood apple: feronia elephantum).--an exogamous sept of muka dora. velichchapad.--of the velichchapads, or oracles, of malabar, the following account is given by mr. f. fawcett. [128] "far away in rural malabar, i witnessed the ceremony in which the velichchapad exhibited his quality. it was in the neighbourhood of a nayar house, to which thronged all the neighbours (nayars), men and women, boys and girls. the ceremony lasts about an hour. the nayar said it was the custom in his family to have it done once a year, but could give no account of how the custom originated; most probably in a vow, some ancestor having vowed that, if such or such benefit be received, he would for ever after have an annual performance of this ceremony in his house. it involved some expenditure, as the velichchapad had to be paid, and the neighbours had to be fed. somewhere about the middle of the little courtyard, always as clean as a dinner table, the velichchapad placed a lamp (of the malabar pattern) having a lighted wick, a kalasam (brass vessel), some flowers, camphor, saffron (turmeric) and other paraphernalia. bhagavati was the deity invoked, and the business involved offering flowers, and waving a lighted wick round the kalasam. the velichchapad's movements became quicker, and, suddenly seizing his sword (nandakam), he ran round the courtyard (against the sun, as sailors say) shouting wildly. he is under the influence of the deity who has been introduced into him, and he gives oracular utterances to the deity's commands. what he said i know not, and no one else seemed to know or care in the least, much interested though they were in the performance. as he ran, every now and then he cut his forehead with the sword, pressing it against the skin and sawing vertically up and down. the blood streamed all over his face. presently he became wilder and wilder, and whizzed round the lamp, bending forward towards the kalasam. evidently some deity, some spirit was present here, and spoke through the mouth of the velichchapad. this, i think, undoubtedly represents the belief of all who were present. when he had done whizzing round the kalasam, he soon became a normal being, and stood before my camera. the fee for the self-inflicted laceration is one rupee, some rice, etc. i saw the velichchapad about three days afterwards, going to perform elsewhere. the wound on his forehead had healed. the careful observer can always identify a velichchapad by the triangular patch over the forehead, where the hair will not grow, and where the skin is somewhat indurated." veliveyabadina razu.--the name, denoting razus who were thrown out, of a class said to be descended from razus who were excommunicated from their caste. [129] veliyam.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a title of nayars. in the same report veliyattu is described as synonymous with pulikkappanikkan, a sub-division of nayar. vellaikaran (white man).--a tamil name for european. vellala.--"the vellalas," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [130] "are the great farmer caste of the tamil country, and they are strongly represented in every tamil district. the word vellalan is derived from vellanmai [vellam, water, anmai, management?] meaning cultivation, tillage. dr. oppert [131] considers vellalan to be etymologically connected with pallan, palli, etc., the word meaning the lord of the vallas or pallas. the story of their origin is as follows. many thousands of years ago, when the inhabitants of the world were rude and ignorant of agriculture, a severe drought fell upon the land, and the people prayed to bhudevi, the goddess of the earth, for aid. she pitied them, and produced from her body a man carrying a plough, who showed them how to till the soil and support themselves. his offsprings are the vellalas, who aspire to belong to the vaisya caste, since that includes govaisyas, bhuvaisyas, and dhanavaisyas (shepherds, cultivators and merchants). a few, therefore, constantly wear the sacred thread, but most put it on only during marriages or funerals as a mark of the sacred nature of the ceremony." the traditional story of the origin of the vellalas is given as follows in the baramahal records. [132] "in ancient days, when the god paramesvaradu and his consort the goddess parvati devi resided on the top of kailasa parvata or mount of paradise, they one day retired to amuse themselves in private, and by chance visvakarma, the architect of the devatas or gods, intruded on their privacy, which enraged them, and they said to him that, since he had the audacity to intrude on their retirement, they would cause an enemy of his to be born in the bhuloka or earthly world, who should punish him for his temerity. visvakarma requested they would inform him in what part of the bhuloka or earthly world he would be born, and further added that, if he knew the birth place, he would annihilate him with a single blow. the divine pair replied that the person would spring up into existence from the bowels of the earth on the banks of the ganga river. on this, visvakarma took his sword, mounted his aerial car, and flew through the regions of ether to the banks of the ganga river, where he anxiously waited the birth of his enemy. one day visvakarma observed the ground to crack near him, and a kiritam or royal diadem appeared issuing out of the bowels of the earth, which visvakarma mistook for the head of his adversary, and made a cut at it with his sword, but only struck off the kiritam. in the meantime, the person came completely out of the earth, with a bald pate, holding in his hand a golden ploughshare, and his neck encircled with garlands of flowers. the angry visvakarma instantly laid hold on him, when the gods brahma, vishnu and siva, and the supporters of the eight corners of the universe, appeared in all their glory, and interceded for the earth-born personage, and said to visvakarma thou didst vow that thou wouldst annihilate him with a single blow, which vow thou hast not performed; therefore with what justice hast thou a second time laid violent hands on him? since thou didst not succeed in thy first attempt, it is but equitable that thou shouldst now spare him. at the intercession and remonstrance of the gods, visvakarma quitted his hold, and a peace was concluded between him and his enemy on the following stipulation, viz., that the pancha jati, or five castes of silversmiths, carpenters, ironsmiths, stone-cutters, and braziers, who were the sons of visvakarma, should be subservient to the earth-born person. the deities bestowed on the person these three names. first bhumi palakudu or saviour of the earth, because he was produced by her. second, ganga kulam or descendant of the river ganga, by reason of having been brought forth on her banks. third, murdaka palakudu or protector of the plough, alluding to his being born with a ploughshare in his hand, and they likewise ordained that, as he had lost his diadem, he should not be eligible to sovereignty, but that he and his descendants should till the ground with this privilege, that a person of the caste should put the crown on the king's head at the coronation. they next invested him with the yegnopavitam or string, and, in order that he might propagate his caste, they gave him in marriage the daughters of the gods indra and kubera. at this time, the god siva was mounted on a white bullock, and the god dharmaraja on a white buffalo, which they gave him to plough the ground, and from which circumstance the caste became surnamed vellal warus or those who plough with white bullocks. after the nuptials, the deities departed to their celestial abodes. murdaka palakulu had fifty-four sons by the daughter of the god indra, and fifty-two by the daughter of the god kubera, whom he married to the one hundred and six daughters of nala kubarudu, the son of kubera, and his sons-in-law made the following agreement with him, viz., that thirty-five of them should be called bhumi palakulu, and should till the ground; thirty-five of them named vellal shetti, and their occupation be traffic; and thirty-five of them named govu shetlu, and their employment breeding and feeding of cattle. they gave the remaining one the choice of three orders, but he would not have any connexion with any of them, from whence they surnamed him agmurdi or the alien. the agmurdi had born to him two thousand five hundred children, and became a separate caste, assuming the appellation of agmurdi vellal waru. the other brothers had twelve thousand children, who intermarried, and lived together as one caste, though their occupations were different.... during the reign of krishna rayalu, whose capital was the city of vijayanagaram or city of victory, a person of the vellal caste, named umbhi or amultan mudaliyar, was appointed sarvadhikari or prime minister, who had a samprati or secretary of the caste of gollavaru or cowherds, whose name was venayaterthapalli. it so happened that a set of bhagavata sevar, or strolling players, came to the city, and one night acted a play in the presence of krishna rayalu and his court. in one of the acts, a player appeared in the garb and character of a female cowherd, and, by mimicking the actions and manners of that caste, afforded great diversion both to the raja and his courtiers. but no person seemed to be so much pleased as the prime minister, which being perceived by his secretary, he determined on making him pay dear for his mirth by turning the vellal caste into ridicule, and thus hurt his pride, and take revenge for the pleasure he expressed at seeing the follies of the cowherd caste exposed. for that purpose, he requested the players, when they acted another play, to dress themselves up in the habit of a female of the vellal caste. this scheme came to the ears of the prime minister, who, being a proud man, was sadly vexed at the trick, and resolved on preventing its being carried into execution; but, having none of his own caste present to assist him, and not knowing well how to put a stop to the business, he got into his palanquin, and went to a canardha shetti or headman of the right-hand caste, informed him of the circumstance, and begged his advice and assistance. the shetti replied 'formerly the left-hand caste had influence enough with government to get an order issued forbidding the right-hand caste to cultivate or traffic; therefore, when we quarrel again, do you contrive to prevent the ryots of the vellal caste from cultivating the ground, so that the public revenue will fall short, and government will be obliged to grant us our own terms; and i will save you from the disgrace that is intended to be put on you. the prime minister agreed to the proposal, and went home. at night, when the players were coming to the royal presence to act, and one of them had on the habit of a female of the vellal caste, the canardha shetti cut off his head, and saved the honour of the prime minister. the death of the player being reported to the raja krishna rayalu, he enquired into the affair, and finding how matters stood, he directed the prime minister and his secretary to be more circumspect in their conduct, and not to carry their enmity to such lengths.' since that time, the vellal castes have always assisted the right-hand against the left-hand castes." (see kammalan.) at the time of the census, 1871, some vellalas claimed that they had been seriously injured in reputation, and handled with great injustice, in being classed as sudras by the municipal commissioners of madras in the classification of hindus under the four great divisions of brahmans, kshatriyas, vaisyas, and sudras. in their petition it was stated that "we shall first proceed to show that the vellalas do come exactly within the most authoritative definition given of vysias, and then point out that they do not come within the like definition of sudras. first then to the definition of vysia, manu, the paramount authority upon these matters, says in paragraph 90 of his institutes:--'to keep herds of cattle, to bestow largesses, to sacrifice, to read the scripture, to carry on trade, to lend at interest, and to cultivate land, are prescribed or permitted to a vysia.'" in the course of the petition, the vellalas observed that "it is impossible to imagine that the vellalas, a race of agriculturists and traders, should have had to render menial service to the three higher classes; for the very idea of service is, as it needs must be, revolting to the vellala, whose profession teaches him perfect independence, and dependence, if it be, upon the sovereign alone for the protection of his proper interests. hence a vellala cannot be of the sudra or servile class. besides, that the vellalas are recognised as a respectable body of the community will also appear from the following. there was a ceremony called tulabharam (weighing in scales) observed by the ancient kings of, at some part of their lives, distributing in charity to the most deserving gold and silver equal to the weight of their persons; and tradition alleges that, when the kings of tanjore performed this ceremony, the right to weigh the king's person was accorded to the vellalan chettis. this shows that the vellalas have been recognised as a respectable body of mercantile men in charge of weights and measures (manu 30, chap. 9). so also, in the halasya puranam of madura, it is said that, when the king somasundara pandien, who was supposed to be the very incarnation of siva, had to be crowned, there arose a contention as to who was to put the crown on his head. after much discussion, it was agreed that one of the vellalas, who formed the strength of the community (note the fact that manu says that vysia came from the thighs of the supreme deity, which, as an allegory, is interpreted to mean the strength of the state) should be appointed to perform that part of the ceremony. also, in kamban's ramayana, written 1,000 and odd years ago, it is said that the priest vasista handed the crown to a vellala, who placed it upon great rama's head." in 'the tamils eighteen hundred years ago,' mr. v. kanakasabhai writes that "among the pure tamils, the class most honoured was the arivar or sages. next in rank to the arivar were the ulavar or farmers. the arivars were ascetics, but, of the men living in society, the farmers occupied the highest position. they formed the nobility, or the landed aristocracy, of the country. they were also called vellalar, 'lords of the flood,' or 'karalar,' 'lords of the clouds,' titles expressive of their skill in controlling floods, and in storing water for agricultural purposes. the chera, chola and pandyan kings, and most of the petty chiefs of tamilakam, belonged to the tribe of vellalas. the poor families of vellalas who owned small estates were generally spoken of as the veelkudi-uluvar or 'the fallen vellalas,' implying thereby that the rest of the vellalas were wealthy land-holders. when karikal the great defeated the aruvalar, and annexed their territory to his kingdom, he distributed the conquered lands among vellala chiefs. [133] the descendants of some of these chiefs are to this day in possession of their lands, which they hold as petty zamindars under the british government. [134] the vellala families who conquered vadukam, or the modern telugu country, were called velamas, and the great zamindars there still belong to the velama caste. in the canarese country, the vellalas founded the bellal dynasty, which ruled that country for several centuries. the vellalas were also called the gangakula or gangavamsa, because they derived their descent from the great and powerful tribe named gangvida, which inhabited the valley of the ganges, as mentioned by pliny and ptolemy. a portion of mysore which was peopled mostly by vellalas was called gangavadi in the tenth and eleventh centuries of the christian era. another dynasty of kings of this tribe, who ruled orissa in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, was known as the gangavamsa.... in the earliest tamil grammar extant, which was composed by a brahman named tholkappiyan, in the first or second century b.c., frequent allusions are made to the arivar or sages. but, in the chapter in which he describes the classes of society, the author omits all mention of the arivar, and places the brahmins who wear the sacred thread as the first caste. the kings, he says, very guardedly, and not warriors, form the second caste, as if the three kings chera, chola and pandy could form a caste; all who live by trade belong to the third caste. he does not say that either the kings or the merchants wear the sacred thread. then he singles out the vellalas, and states that they have no other calling than the cultivation of the soil. here he does not say that the vellalas are sudras, but indirectly implies that the ordinary vellalas should be reckoned as sudras, and that those vellalas who were kings should be honoured as kshatriyas. this is the first attempt made by the brahmins to bring the tamils under their caste system. but, in the absence of the kshatriya, vaisya, and sudra castes in tamilakam, they could not possibly succeed; and to this day the vellala does not take meals at the hands of a padaiyadchi, who calls himself a kshatriya, or a merchant who passes for a vaisya." in speculating on the origin of the vellalas, mr. j. h. nelson [135] states that "tradition uniformly declares them to be the descendants of foreign immigrants, who were introduced by the pandyas: and it appears to be extremely probable that they are, and that an extensive vellala immigration took place at a rather remote period, perhaps a little before or after the colonization of the tonda-mandala by adondai chakravarti. the vellalas speak a pure dialect of tamil, and no other language. i have not heard of anything extraordinary in the customs prevailing among them, or of any peculiarities pointing to a non-tamil origin.... with regard to the assertion so commonly made that the pandyas belonged to the vellala caste, it is observable that tradition is at issue with it, and declares that the pandyas proper were kshatriyas: but they were accustomed to marry wives of inferior castes as well as and in addition to wives of their own caste; and some of their descendants born of the inferior and irregularly married wives were vellalans, and, after the death of kun or sundara pandya, formed a new dynasty, known as that of the pseudo-pandyas. tradition also says that arya nayaga muthali, the great general of the sixteenth century, was dissuaded by his family priest from making himself a king on the ground that he was a vellalan, and no vellalan ought to be a king. and, looking at all the facts of the case, it is somewhat difficult to avoid coming to the conclusion that the reason assigned for his not assuming the crown was the true one. this, however, is a question, the settlement of which requires great antiquarian learning: and it must be settled hereafter." in the madras census report, 1871, the vellalas are described as "a peace-loving, frugal, and industrious people, and, in the cultivation of rice, betel, tobacco, etc., have perhaps no equals in the world. they will not condescend to work of a degrading nature. some are well educated, and employed in government service, and as clerks, merchants, shop-keepers, etc., but the greater part of them are the peasant proprietors of the soil, and confine their attention to cultivation." in the madura manual, it is recorded that "most vellalans support themselves by husbandry, which, according to native ideas, is their only proper means of livelihood. but they will not touch the plough, if they can help it, and ordinarily they do everything by means of hired servants and predial slaves. in the sathaga of narayanan may be found a description of their duties and position in society, of which the following translation appears in taylor's work, the oriental mss. the vellalans, by the effect of their ploughing (or cultivation), maintain the prayers of the brahmans, the strength of kings, the profits of merchants, the welfare of all. charity, donations, the enjoyments of domestic life, and connubial happiness, homage to the gods, the sastras, the vedas, the puranas, and all other books, truth, reputation, renown, the very being of the gods, things of good report or integrity, the good order of castes, and (manual) skill, all these things come to pass by the merit (or efficacy) of the vellalan's plough. those vellalans who are not farmers, husbandmen, or gardeners, are employed in various ways more or less respectable; but none of them will condescend to do work of a degrading nature. some of them are merchants, some shop-keepers, some government servants, some sepoys, some domestic servants, some clerks, and so forth." in the tanjore manual, it is stated that "many vellalars are found in the government service, more especially as karnams or village accountants. as accountants they are unsurpassed, and the facility with which, in by-gone days, they used to write on cadjan or palmyra leaves with iron styles, and pick up any information on any given points from a mass of these leaves, by lamp-light no less than by daylight, was most remarkable. running by the side of the tahsildar's (native revenue officer) palanquin, they could write to dictation, and even make arithmetical calculations with strictest accuracy. in religious observances, they are more strict than the generality of brahmans; they abstain from both intoxicating liquors and flesh meat." in the coimbatore manual, the vellalas are summed up as "truly the backbone of the district. it is they who, by their industry and frugality, create and develop wealth, support the administration, and find the money for imperial and district demands. as their own proverb says:--the vellalar's goad is the ruler's sceptre. the bulk of them call themselves goundans." in the salem manual, the vellala is described as "frugal and saving to the extreme; his hard-working wife knows no finery, and the vellalichi, (vellala woman) willingly wears for the whole year the one blue cloth, which is all that the domestic economy of the house allows her. if she gets wet, it must dry on her; and, if she would wash her sole garment, half is unwrapped to be operated upon, which in its turn relieves the other half, that is then and there similarly hammered against some stone by the side of the village tank (pond), or on the bank of the neighbouring stream. their food is the cheapest of the 'dry' grains which they happen to cultivate that year, and not even the village feasts can draw the money out of a vellalar's clutches. it is all expended on his land, if the policy of the revenue administration of the country be liberal, and the acts of government such as to give confidence to the ryots or husbandmen; otherwise their hoarded gains are buried. the new moon, or some high holiday, may perhaps see the head of the house enjoy a platter of rice and a little meat, but such extravagance is rare." the vellalas are summed up by 'a native,' [136] as being "found in almost every station of life, from the labourer in the fields to the petty zamindar (landholder); from the owner of plantations to the cooly who works at coffee-picking; from the deputy collector to the peon in his office." it is recorded, in the census report, 1871, that a vellala had passed the m.a. degree examination of the madras university. the occupations of the vellalas whom i examined in madras were as follows:- cart-driver. bricklayer. cooly. varnisher. painter. watchman. cultivator. gardener. compositor. railway fireman. peon. student. in an excellent summary of the vellalas [137] mr. w. francis writes as follows. "by general consent, the first place in social esteem among the tamil sudra castes is awarded to them. to give detailed descriptions of the varying customs of a caste which numbers, as this does, over two and a quarter millions, and is found all over the presidency, is unnecessary, but the internal construction of the caste, its self-contained and distinct sub-divisions, and the methods by which its numbers are enhanced by accretions from other castes, are so typical of the corresponding characteristics of the madras castes, that it seems to be worth while to set them out shortly. "the caste is first of all split up into four main divisions, named after the tract of country in which the ancestors of each originally resided. these are (1) tondamandalam, or the dwellers in the pallava country, the present chingleput and north arcot districts, the titles of which division are mudali, reddi and nainar; (2) soliya (or sozhia), or men of the chola country, the tanjore and trichinopoly districts of the present day, the members of which are called pillai; (3) pandya, the inhabitants of the pandyan kingdom of madura and tinnevelly, which division also uses the title of pillai; and (4) konga, or those who resided in the konga country, which corresponded to coimbatore and salem, the men of which are called kavandans. the members of all these four main territorial divisions resemble one another in their essential customs. marriage is either infant or adult, the puranic wedding ceremonies are followed, and (except among the konga vellalas) brahmans officiate. they all burn their dead, observe fifteen days' pollution, and perform the karumantaram ceremony to remove the pollution on the sixteenth day. there are no marked occupational differences amongst them, most of them being cultivators or traders. each division contains both vaishnavites and saivites, and (contrary to the rule among the brahmans) differences of sect are not of themselves any bar to intermarriage. each division has pandarams, or priests, recruited from among its members, who officiate at funerals and minor ceremonies, and some of these wear the sacred thread, while other vellalas only wear it at funerals. all vellalas perform sraddhas (memorial services), and observe the ceremony of invoking their ancestors on the mahalaya days (a piece of ritual which is confined to the twice-born and the higher classes of sudras); all of them decline to drink alcohol or to eat in the houses of any but brahmans; and all of them may dine together. yet no member of any of these four main divisions may marry into another, and, moreover, each of them is split into sub-divisions (having generally a territorial origin), the members of which again may not intermarry. thus tondamandalam are sub-divided into the tuluvas, who are supposed to have come from the tulu country; the poonamallee (or pundamalli) vellalas, so called from the town of that name near madras; and the kondaikattis (those who tie their hair in a knot without shaving it). none of these three will intermarry. the soliya vellalas are sub-divided into the vellan chettis, meaning the vellala merchants (who are again further split up into three or four other territorial divisions); the kodikkals (betel-garden), who grow the betel-vine; and the kanakkilinattar, or inhabitants of kanakkilinadu. these three similarly may not intermarry, but the last is such a small unit, and girls in it are getting so scarce, that its members are now going to other sub-divisions for their brides. the pandya vellalas are sub-divided into the karkattas or karaikatus, who, notwithstanding the legends about their origin, are probably a territorial sub-division named from a place called karaikadu; the nangudis and panjais, the origin of whom is not clear; the arumburs and sirukudis, so called from villages of those names in the pandya country; the agamudaiyans, who are probably recruits from the caste of that name; the nirpusis, meaning the wearers of the sacred ashes; and the kottai vellalas or fort vellalas. these last are a small sub-division, the members of which live in srivaikuntam fort (in tinnevelly), and observe the strictest gosha (seclusion of females). though they are, as has been seen, a sub-division of a caste, yet their objection to marry outside their own circle is so strong that, though they are fast dying out because there are so few girls among them, they decline to go to the other sub-divisions for brides. [see kottai vellala.] the kongas are sub-divided into the sendalais (red-headed men), paditalais (leaders of armies), vellikkai (the silver hands), pavalamkatti (wearers of coral), malaiyadi (foot of the hills), tollakadu (ears with big holes), attangarais (river bank), and others, the origin of none of which is clearly known, but the members of which never intermarry. in addition to all these divisions and sub-divisions of the vellala caste proper, there are nowadays many groups which really belong to quite distinct castes, but which call themselves vellalas, and pretend that they belong to that caste, although in origin they had no connection with it. these nominally cannot intermarry with any of the genuine vellalas, but the caste is so widely diffused that it cannot protect itself against these invasions, and, after a few generations, the origin of the new recruits is forgotten, and they have no difficulty in passing themselves off as real members of the community. the same thing occurs among the nayars in malabar. it may be imagined what a mixture of blood arises from this practice, and how puzzling the variations in the cranial measurements of vellalas taken at random are likely to become. instances of members of other castes who have assumed the name and position of the vellalas are the vettuva vellalas, who are really vettuvans; the puluva vellalas, who are only puluvans; the illam vellalas, who are panikkans; the karaiturai (lord of the shore) vellalas, who are karaiyans; the karukamattai (palmyra leaf-stem) vellalas, who are shanans; the gazulu (bangle) vellalas, who are balijas; the guha (rama's boat-man) vellalas, who are sembadavans; and the irkuli vellalas, who are vannans. the children of dancing-girls also often call themselves mudali, and claim in time to be vellalas; and even paraiyans assume the title pillai, and trust to its eventually enabling them to pass themselves off as members of the caste." the name acchu vellala has been assumed by some karaiyans, and pattanavans call themselves varunakula vellala or varunakula mudali, after varuna, the god of the waters. at times of census, many hill malayalis return themselves as vellalas, in accordance with their tradition that they are vellalas who migrated to the hills. some thieving koravas style themselves aghambadiar vellala or pillai, and have to some extent adopted the dress and manners of the vellalas. [138] in travancore, to which state some vellalas have migrated, males of the deva-dasi (dancing-girl) caste sometimes call themselves nanchinad vellalas. there is a tamil proverb to the effect that a kallan may come to be a maravan. by respectability he may develop into an agamudaiyan, and, by slow degrees, become a vellala. according to another proverb, the vellalas are compared to the brinjal (solanum melongena) fruit, which will mix palatably with anything. the account of the divisions and sub-divisions of the vellalas recorded above may be supplemented from various sources:-1. arampukutti, or arambukatti (those who tie flower-buds). according to mr. j. a. boyle, [139] the name indicates vellalas with wreaths of the aram flower, which is one of the decorations of siva. they are, he writes, "a tribal group established in a series of villages in the ramnad territory. the family tradition runs that they emigrated five centuries ago from the tondamandalam, and that the migration was made in devendra vimanam or covered cars; and this form of vehicle is invariably used in marriage ceremonies for the conveyance of the bride and bridegroom round the village. the women never wear a cloth above the waist, but go absolutely bare on breast and shoulders. the two rivers which bound this district on the north and south are rigid limits to the travels of the women, who are on no pretext allowed to cross them. it is said that, if they make vows to the deity of a celebrated temple in tanjore, they have to perform their pilgrimage to the temple in the most perfect secrecy, and that, if detected, they are fined. intermarriage is prohibited 'beyond the rivers.' it is, with the men, a tradition never to eat the salt of the sirkar (government), or take any service under government." 2. chetti. the members of the vellalan subdivision of chetti are "said to be pure vellalas, who have taken the title of chetti. in ancient times, they had the prerogative of weighing the person of kings on occasion of the tulabharam ceremony. (see tulabharam.) they were, in fact, the trading class of the tamil nation in the south. but, after the immigration of the more skilful telugu komatis and other mercantile classes, the hereditary occupation of the vellan chettis gradually declined, and consequently they were obliged to follow different professions. the renowned poet pattanattar is said to have belonged to this caste." [140] 3. karaikkat or karkatta. the name is said to mean vellalas who saved or protected the clouds, or waiters for rain. their original profession is said to have been rain-making. their mythological origin is as follows. "in old times, a quarrel happened between the raja of pandya desa and the god devendra, and things went to such lengths that the angry god commanded the clouds not to send down any rain on pandya desa, so that the inhabitants were sorely distressed by the severe drought, and laid their complaints before the raja, who flew into a rage, marched his army against devendra, defeated him in battle, seized on the clouds and put them in prison, in consequence of which not a drop of rain fell on any part of the bhuloka or earthly world, which threw the people into a great consternation, and the whole with one accord addressed their prayers to devendra, the god of the firmament, and beseeched him to relieve them from their present distress. devendra sent an ambassador to the raja of pandya desa, and requested that he would release the clouds, but he refused to do it unless they gave security for their future good behaviour, and likewise promise that they would never again withhold the rain from falling in due season on his kingdom. at this juncture, the vellal caste of pandya desa became security for the clouds, and, from that circumstance, were surnamed karakava vellal waru, or redeemers of the clouds." [141] in an interesting account of the karaikat vellalas of the palni hills by lieutenant ward in 1824, [142] it is recorded that "their ceremonies, it is said, are performed by pandarams, although brahmans usually officiate as priests in their temples. they associate freely with the kunnavans, and can eat food dressed by them, as also the latter can eat food dressed by a karakat vellalan. but, if a kunnavan is invited to the house of a karakat vellalan, he must not touch the cooking utensils, or enter the cooking-room. wives are accustomed, it is supposed, to grant the last favor to their husband's relations. adultery outside the husband's family entails expulsion from caste, but the punishment is practically not very severe, inasmuch as a kunnavan can always be found ready to afford protection and a home to the divorcée. a man who disgraces himself by an illicit connection with a woman of a lower caste than his own is punished in a similar manner. formerly the punishment was in either case death." it is recorded [143] that "in 1824 the karakat vellalas were accustomed to purchase and keep predial slaves of the poleiya caste, giving thirty fanams for a male, and fifty for a female. the latter was held to be the more valuable, as being likely to produce children for the benefit of her owner." it is said that, among the karaikkat vellalas, a peculiar ceremony, called vilakkidu kalyanam, or the auspicious ceremony of lighting the light, is performed for girls in the seventh or ninth year or later, but before marriage. the ceremony consists in worshipping ganesa and the sun at the house of the girls' parents. her maternal uncle gives her a necklace of gold beads and coral, and a new cloth. all the relations, who are invited to be present, make gifts to the girl. the women of this section wear this ornament, which is called kodachimani (hooked jewel), even after marriage. 4. kondaikatti. said [144] to consider themselves as the highest and proudest of the vellalas, because, during the nabob's government, they were employed in the public service. they are extremely strict in their customs, not allowing their women to travel by any public conveyance, and punishing adultery with the utmost severity. kondaikatti literally means one who ties his hair in a knob on the top of his head, but the name is sometimes derived from kondai, a crown, in connection with the following legend. a quarrel arose between the komatis and vellalas, as to which of them should be considered vaisyas. they appeared before the king, who, being unable to decide the point at issue, gave each party five thousand rupees, and told them to return after trading for five years. the vellalas spent one-fifth of the sum which they received in cultivating land, while the komatis spent the whole sum in trading. at the end of the allotted time, the vellalas had a bumper crop of sugar-cane, and all the canes contained pearls. the komatis showed only a small profit. the king was so pleased with the vellalas, that he bestowed on them the right to crown kings. 5. kumbakonam. vellalas, who migrated from kumbakonam in the tanjore district to travancore. 6. kummidichatti. recorded, in the manual of the north arcot district, as a sub-division, regarded as low in position, which carried the pot (chatti) of fire at vellala funerals. it is said that, in default of kummidichattis, ordinary vellalas now have to carry their own fire at funerals. 7. nangudi or savalai pillaimar. (see nangudi.) 8. tendisai (southern country). they are found in the coimbatore district, and it has been suggested that they are only a branch of the konga vellalas. 9. tenkanchi. vellalas, who migrated from tenkasi in the tinnevelly district to travancore. (see todupuzha vellala.) 10. tuluva. immigrants from the tulu country, a part of the modern district of south canara. mr. nelson [145] is of opinion that these are the original vellalas, who were invited to tondamandalam after its conquest by the chola king adondai chakravarti. they are now found in all the tamil districts, but are most numerous in north and south arcot and chingleput. it is noted, in carr's "descriptive and historical papers relating to the seven pagodas," that "adondai chiefly distinguished kanchipuram (conjeeveram) and tripati as his place of residence or capital. the era of adondai is not higher up than the seventh century of our reckoning. he is said to have brought the brahmans from sri sailam in telingana, and certainly attracted a large colony of sudra vellalas, or agriculturists, from tuluva or northern canara." at conjeeveram, there are a nattar and a desayi, whose authority, in olden times, extended over the whole presidency. the nattar must be a tuluva vellala, and the desai a ralla balija. the two offices conjointly are known as the nadu desam. the authority of these officers has in great measure ceased, but some still go to the nadu desam for appeal. for purposes of caste organisation, conjeeveram is regarded as the head-quarters. all sections of the tondamandalam vellalas are divided into twenty-four kottams and seventy-nine nadus. the latter are subject to the former. the following legendary account of the tondamandalam vellalas is given in the baramahal records. "during the reign of a certain raja of choladesa, a kingdom supposed to have comprised the present provinces south of the river kaveri, the countries between the kistna and kaveri were quite a wilderness, in which many families of the kurbavar caste or shepherds resided here and there in villages surrounded by mud walls. on a time, the raja came forth into the wilds to take the diversion of hunting, and, in traversing the woods, he came to a place in the vicinity of the present town of conjeeveram in the kingdom of arcot, where he met with a naga kanya or celestial nymph, fell in love with her, and asked her to yield to his embraces. she replied, 'if i consent to your proposal, and bear you a son, will you make him your successor in the kingdom?' he rejoined 'i will,' and she asked him who should witness his promise. he answered 'the earth and sky,' but she said that two witnesses were not sufficient, and that there must be a third. there happened to be a tree called adhonda near them, and the raja replied 'let the fruit of this adhonda tree be the third witness.' when she was satisfied respecting the witnesses, she granted the raja his desires, and, after he had remained with her a short time, he took his leave, and returned to his metropolis, and, in a little while, abdicated his throne in favour of his eldest son, who managed the affairs of the kingdom. to return to the naga kanya, she conceived and brought forth a son, who remained with her three or four years, and then visited the different rishis or hermits who resided in the forest, and learnt from them to use the sword, the bow and arrow, and the art of war, and obtained from them a knowledge of the whole circle of sciences. by this time he had attained the age of sixteen years, and, coming to his mother, he requested her to tell him who was his father. she answered 'thy father is the chola raja.' he replied 'i will go to him, but who is to bear witness to the truth of your assertion?' she rejoined 'the earth, sky, and the fruit of the adhonda tree are witness to what i have told you.' the son plucked one of the berries of the adhonda tree, hung it by a string to his neck, took his sword and other weapons, and set out for his father's capital. he one day took an opportunity of accompanying some of the nobles to the darbar, and called out to the old raja 'behold your son.' the raja replied 'i know nothing of thee;' upon which the young man repeated everything which his mother had told him, but it had no effect on the raja. when the son found that his father was determined not to acknowledge him he challenged him to single combat, but the raja, not thinking it proper to accept a challenge from a rash youth, demanded if he had any witnesses to prove his claim. he answered 'the earth and sky, and the fruit of the adhonda tree, which i wear suspended from my neck, are witnesses to the truth of my assertion.' this circumstance brought the old occurrence to the raja's recollection, and he owned his son, and told him that, as he had already abdicated the throne, he trusted he would not insist upon the fulfilling of the promise which had been made to his mother, but consent to live in a private station under the dominion of his elder half-brother. the young man nobly replied 'i with pleasure waive the performance of your promise, but point out to me your enemy, and assist me with some troops, and i will conquer a kingdom for myself.' the raja gave him an army, and directed him to subdue the kurubavaru or shepherds, to clear the woods, and to form himself a kingdom between the rivers kistna and kaveri. he accordingly advanced into the wilderness, and, without meeting much opposition, soon subjected the kurubavaru, who, knowing nothing of cultivation or sinking of tanks or watering the country from the rivers, and the conqueror wishing to introduce agriculture among them, he was obliged to repair to his father, and make known his difficulties. the raja was much pleased with the enterprising spirit of his son, conferred on him the title of adhonda chakra, wrote and permitted him to take with him such of the vellala caste as chose to emigrate. the young raja held out great encouragement, and got a number of adventurers of that caste to accompany him back, to whom he gave large grants of waste land, and told them to pitch upon such spots of ground as met with their approbation, and they fixed upon the forts, districts, and villages belonging to the kurubavaru caste, which consisted of twenty-four forts, eighty-one districts, and one thousand and nine hundred villages. this country was formerly named dandaka aranya. dandaka is the name of a famous rakshasa or giant, who is mentioned in the ramayana, and aranya signifies a wilderness. it was also called dhuntra nadu, or the middle country, and the new raja named it dhanda mandalam, or country of the tree dhonda, alluding to the fruit of the adhonda or dhonda tree, which bore testimony to his descent. the emigrants of the vellala caste surnamed themselves dhonda mandala vellala varu, and are now corruptly called tondamandala vellala varu." in connection with the sub-divisions of the vellalas, mr. hemingway, in a note on the vellalas of the trichinopoly district, gives some still further information. "the kondaikattis are so-called from the peculiar way in which they used to wear their hair--a custom no longer observed. they are split into two sections, called melnadu and kilnadu (westerns and easterns). the dakshinattans (south country men) are immigrants from tinnevelly. the members of the karaikkattar sub-division in the udaiyarpalaiyam taluk are rather looked down on by other vellalans as being a mixed race, and are also somewhat contemptuously called yeruttu-mattu (pack-bullocks), because, in their professional calling, they formerly used pack-bullocks. they have a curious custom by which a girl's maternal uncle ties a tali (marriage badge) round her neck when she is seven or eight years old. the panjukkara chettis live in the udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. the name is an occupational one, and denotes cotton-men, but they are not at the present day connected with the cotton trade. the solapuram (or cholapuram) chettis are apparently called after the village of that name in the kumbakonam taluk of tanjore. the solias (or cholias) are numerous and ubiquitous. they are generally regarded as of doubtful descent, since parvenus, who wish to be considered vellalans, usually claim to belong to this sub-division. the more respectable pandarams, the thambirans who own temples and matams, and the oduvar or adi saival, belong to the sozhia section. the uttunattu sub-division is local in origin. its head-quarters is the country round uttatur. the members thereof are the special devotees of the siva of that place. the arunattus (six nadus) are also called mottai (shaved) vellalans, apparently because they always shave their moustache, and wear only a very small kudumi (hair-knot). some of their customs are unlike those of the rest of the caste. they have exogamous septs, their widows always dress in white and wear no ornaments (a rule not universally observed in any other sub-division), they never marry their sister's daughter, and their wives wear the tali (marriage badge), like the panta reddis, on a golden thread. of their six nadus, three of which are supposed to have been located on each side of the aiyar river, only two are now recognised. these are the serkudi nadu in namakkal taluk and the omandur nadu of musiri. the yelur (seven villages) vellalas are very few and far between. there is a small colony of tuluvas, engaged in dyeing, at illuppur. the malaikandas are only found near the ratnagiri hill in the kulittalai taluk. they take their name from the fact that they are required to look at the ratnagiri hill when they get up in the morning. they are devotees of the god there. the kaniyalans (landowners) are scarce, but widely distributed, since the man who carries the pot of blood, when animals are sacrificed at festivals to the village goddesses, must belong to this sub-division. the kodikkal vellalans are so-called from their occupation of betel cultivation, which they still pursue largely." the konga vellalas differ so strikingly from the rest in many of their customs that a separate account of them is given. (see konga vellala.) it is noted by mr. hemingway that some vellalas "observe a curious custom (derived from brahmans) with regard to marriage, which is not unknown among other communities. a man marrying a second wife after the death of his first has to marry a plantain tree, and cut it down before tying the tali, and, in the case of a third marriage, a man has to tie a tali first to the erukkan (arka: calotropis gigantea) plant. the idea is that second and fourth wives do not prosper, and the tree and the plant are accordingly made to take their places." a peculiar ceremony, called sevvai (tuesday) pillayar, is performed by some vellala women. it is also called avvai nonbu, because the tamil poetess observed it. the ceremony takes place twice in the year, on a tuesday in the months of thai (february-march) and audi (august-september). it is held at midnight, and no males, even babies in arms, may be present at it, or eat the cakes which are offered. a certain number of women club together, and provide the necessary rice, which is measured on the back of the hand, or in a measure similar to those used by madras milk-sellers, in which the bottom is fixed high up in the cylinder. at the house where the ceremony is to be performed the rice is pounded into flour, and mixed with leaves of pongamia glabra and margosa (melia azadirachta). the mixture is then made into cakes, some flat, and some conical, to represent pillayar (ganesa). flowers, fruits, betel, turmeric, combs, kunkumam (red powder), and other articles required in connection with the pillayar worship, are also taken to the room in which the rites are performed. of these it has been impossible to gather an account, as the women refused to describe them, lest ruin should fall on their families. some say that, during the ceremony, the women are stark-naked. in an account of an annual ceremony at trichinopoly in connection with the festival of kulumai amman, who is the guardian deity against epidemics, bishop whitehead records [146] that "a very fat pujari (priest) of the vellala caste is lifted up above the vast crowd on the arms of two men. some two thousand kids are then sacrificed, one after the other. the blood of the first eight or nine is collected in a large silver vessel holding about a quart, and handed up to the pujari, who drinks it. then, as the throat of each kid is cut, the animal is handed up to him, and he sucks, or pretends to suck the blood out of the carcase." of proverbs relating to the vellalas, the following may be cited:-agriculture is no agriculture, unless it is performed by the vellalas. the vellala ruined himself by gaudy dress; the courtesan ruined herself by coquetry and affectation. of all the sections of the sudras, the vellala is foremost; and, of all the thefts committed in the world, those of the kallans are most notorious. though you may face an evil star, never oppose a vellala. though apparently the vellala will not ruin you, the palm leaf, on which he writes about you, will certainly ruin you for ever. in the madras census report, 1891, vellala is recorded as a caste of jains. in this connection, it is noted by mr. hemingway that the nainans or nayinars (q.v.) and the karaikkattans of the udaiyarpalaiyam taluk are thought to be descended from jains who were converted to the hindu faith. vellan chetti.--a name, denoting vellala merchant, taken by some vellalas. velli (silver).--see belli. velnati.--a sub-division of kapu, named after the old velnadu division of the telugu country. veloma.--defined as "one of the two classes of sudras, viz., anuloma and veloma. the term veloma is applied to those born of a lower caste male and higher caste female." veluttedan.--the veluttedan is defined in the madras census report, 1891, as "the washerman of the nayars and higher castes in malabar. he calls himself a nayar, and, in many cases, was returned as of that main caste, but these have been separated in abstraction. the caste is called vannattan in north malabar. the veluttedans follow the marumakkatayam law of inheritance in the north, and makkatayam in the south. they have tali-kettu and sambandham separately. their dress and habits are the same as those of nayars." in the madras census report, 1901, bannata is given as a canarese synonym for the caste name. in the travancore and cochin census reports, 1901, veluttetan and veluthedan are given respectively as an occupational title and sub-division of nayars. for the following note on the veluttedans of travancore, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. the name is believed to signify a place where clothes are bleached. in the early settlement records the designation recorded is ayavu, in all probability an old synonym for washing. the south travancore veluttedans are said to be divided into two endogamous septs, paravur and attingal, with four exogamous septs in each; but these distinctions may be said to have now lost their vigour and force. there is a current tradition that once upon a time a brahman was washing cloths for a friend, and was on that account thrown out of caste by parasurama. the occupation of the veluttedans is washing cloths for all high-caste hindus down to the sudras, in which profession, for neatness and purity at any rate, if not for promptitude, they stand above the vannans and chayakkarans of the east coast, both of whom have now entered the field in competition with them, and, at least in the most civilised parts of the state, not entirely without success. in no case do the castemen receive cloths from classes lower in social rank than the sudras, and this is pointed to with pride as one of the causes which keep them in their present elevated scale. it need hardly be said that, in their traditional occupation, the veluttedans are largely and materially assisted by their females, the veluttedathis. they do not live in a group together, but are conveniently scattered about, so as to avoid competition one with another. their main profession is, in many cases, supplemented by agriculture. there are absolutely no educated men among them, and, as long as machine-laundries are not introduced into the country, they have no reason to abandon the profession of their forefathers in pursuit of alien ones. in the matter of food and drink, as also in their dress and ornaments, they resemble the nayars. clothes, it may be mentioned, are never bought by veluttedans, as they are always in possession, though temporarily, of other peoples' apparel. tattooing prevails only in south travancore. they cannot enter brahmanical shrines, but are permitted to stand outside the talakkal or stone-paved walk round the inner sanctuary, by which the image is taken in daily procession. besides standing here and worshipping the higher hindu deities, they also engage in the propitiation of the minor village deities. there are two headmen in each village, who punish social delinquents, and preside over caste ceremonials. on the twenty-eighth day after the birth of a child, the name-giving ceremony is performed, and a thread is tied round the infant's neck. those who can afford it celebrate the first food-giving. the tali-tying and sambandham ceremonies are performed separately, just like nayars. the former is known as muhurtham or auspicious occasion. the marriage badge is called unta minnu or puliyilla minnu. the details of the marriage ceremony do not differ from those of the nayars. the ayani unu, bhutakkalam, appam poli, and avaltitti are all important items, and, at least in south travancore, seldom failed to be gone through. in poor families the mother, without any formal ceremonial, ties the tali of the girl before she is twelve years old, after an oblation of cooked food to the rising sun. this is called bhagavan tali, or god's marriage ornament. freedom of divorce and remarriage exist. the pulikuti (tamarind) is an indispensable ceremonial, to be gone through by a pregnant woman. inheritance devolves in the female line (marumakkattayam). the clothes washed by veluttedans are used by nambutiri brahmans, without previous washing as on the east coast, for all religious purposes; and clothes polluted by a member of a low caste are purified by the veluttedan sprinkling ashes and water over them. vemu (margosa or nim: melia azadirachta).--an exogamous sept of muka dora. vengai puli (cruel-handed tiger).--an exogamous section of kallan. veralu iche kapulu or velu iche kapulu (those who dedicate their fingers).--see morasu. veshya (sansk: beshya).--a name denoting prostitute, applied to dancing-girls. vetagiri.--a tamil class found in the chingleput district. the members thereof are employed in hunting, cultivation, and the manufacture of wild date baskets. their title is nayakan. vettaikaran (hunter).--an occupational name of boyas, irulas, and koravas, returned at times of census. vettile (betel vine: piper betle).--a kothu or tree of kondaiyamkotti maravans. vettiyan.--vettiyan is the name applied to one of the officials of a tamil paraiyan settlement, who is also called toti or thotti. the former title is said to be more respectful as an appellation than the latter, but this is a distinction without a difference. [147] the name vettiyan is said to be equivalent to bittiyan (bitti, for nothing), or one who does service, e.g., collecting grass, firewood, etc., without remuneration. toti is derived from thott, to go round, as he is the purveyor of news, and has to summon people to appear before the village tribunal, or from tondu, to dig. the duties of the vettiyan are multifarious. he it is who goes round the rice fields, and diverts the water-courses to the various fields, according to the rights of the ryots (agriculturists). the vettiyan beats the drum for public notices and ceremonies. as a servant of government, he has to carry the revenue which has been collected to the treasury. he is sometimes entrusted with large sums of money, and has never been known to abscond with it. it is said that the village munsiff will trust the vettiyan, but not the taliari, who is never sent alone with money. the vettiyan is in charge of the burial ground, and those who repair thither have to pay him for his services. he is also the grave-digger, and officiates when a paraiyan corpse is burnt or buried. hence the tamil proverb against meddling in what ought to be left to some one else:--"let the vettiyan and corpse struggle together." at a paraiyan funeral, the vettiyan, in some places, carries the pot of fire to the grave. to bring down rain, some of the lower classes, instead of addressing their prayers to the rain-god varuna, try to induce a spirit or devata named kodumpavi (wicked one) to send her paramour sukra to the affected area. the belief seems to be that sukra goes away to his concubine for about six months, and, if he does not return, drought ensues. the ceremony consists in making a huge figure of kodumpavi in clay, which is placed on a cart, and dragged through the streets for seven to ten days. on the last day, the final death ceremonies of the figure are celebrated. it is disfigured, especially in those parts which are usually concealed. vettiyans, who have been shaved, accompany the figure, and perform the funeral ceremonies. this procedure is believed to put kodumpavi to shame, and to get her to induce sukra to return and stay the drought. at paraiyan marriages certain pots are worshipped, and it is, in some places, the vettiyan who says "the sun, the moon, the pots, and the owner of the girl have come to the marriage booth. so make haste, and fill the pots with water." the office of the vettiyan village official is hereditary, and the holder of it is entitled to some respect among his brethren, and to certain emoluments in kind, e.g., grain at the harvest season. there is a proverb that "whatever may be the wealth of the lord who comes to rule over him, his duty of supplying him with a bundle of grass is not to cease." this relates to the demands which were, and perhaps are still, made on him in rural parts of the country. in some places, lands, called vettiyan maniyam, are given rent-free to vettiyans. the vettiyan is said to possess the right of removing dead cattle from villages, and in return to supply leather for agricultural purposes. he is further said to make drum heads and tom-toms from raw hides. [148] the vettiyans belong to the right-hand section during disputes between the right and left hand factions. vettuvan.--the tamil vettuvans are described, in the madras census report, 1901, as "an agricultural and hunting caste, found mainly in salem, coimbatore, and madura. the name means 'a hunter.' they are probably of the same stock as the vedans, though the exact connection is not clear, but they now consider themselves superior to that caste, and are even taking to calling themselves vettuva vellalas. tradition says that the konga kings invited vettuvans from the chola and pandya countries to assist them against the keralas. another story says that the caste helped the chola king aditya varma to conquer the kongu country during the latter part of the ninth century. in paragraph 538 of the census report, 1891, reference is made to the belief that the vedans are identical with the veddahs of ceylon. in connection with this supposition, it is reported that the vettuvans worship a goddess called kandi-amman, which may possibly mean 'the goddess of kandy' (in ceylon). of the endogamous sections into which the caste is divided, the most numerically important are venganchi, kilangu (root), pasari, viragu (firewood), pannadai (sheath of the cocoanut leaf), and villi (bow). they have their own barbers, who seem also to form a separate sub-division, and are called vettuva ambattans or navidans, both of which words mean barber. they are said to refuse to serve any one lower than a konga vellala. nominally they are hindus, but they are said to worship the seven kannimars, or aboriginal goddesses, to whom the irulas also pay homage. they eat meat and drink alcohol, though some of those who are endeavouring to increase their social repute are taking to vegetarianism. widow marriage is forbidden. they either burn or bury the dead, but no ceremonies are performed for deceased ancestors. their customs are thus a curious mixture of those followed by high castes and low ones. their ordinary title is kavandan." of the malayalam vettuvans, who live in malabar and the southern portion of the south canara district, it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, that they are "agricultural serfs, shikaris (hunters), and collectors of forest produce, who live in the malabar jungles. they have two endogamous sub-divisions, called kodi and peringala. the former keep their hair long, and their women wear a cloth. the latter have top-knots, and their women dress in leaves, which they wear only round their waists, and renew daily. the latter are an unclean set of people, who live in rude bamboo and reed huts, and will eat anything down to carrion. yet they consider themselves superior to cherumans and pulaiyans, and are careful not to be polluted by them. this same name is also borne by a class of masons and salt-workers in the low country in malabar." the malabar vettuvans are said to have a fantastic legend, showing that they were not originally as low as they are at the present day in the social scale. "it is related that one of their tribe went and asked a high-caste nayar to give him a daughter in marriage. the nayar offered to do so on condition that the whole tribe would come to his place and dance on berries, each one who fell to be shot with arrows. the tribe foolishly agreed to the condition, and went and danced, with the result that, as each one tripped and fell, he or she was mercilessly shot dead with arrows. a little girl who survived this treatment was secretly rescued, and taken away by a compassionate nayar, who married her into his family. from this union, the present day vettuvans affirm their origin is to be traced. up to this day they hold the caste of that particular nayar in very great veneration." [149] the costume of these vettuvans has been described as follows. [150] "the men wear a short loin-cloth, secured round the waist by a belt which is also used as a sling during hunting expeditions. they also wear brass ear-rings, and grow a bit of moustache, and a little stumpy beard. the dress of the women consists of three clusters of long leaves, suspended from the waist and tied on by a cheap girdle. according to a tribal legend, when, in the morning of time, costumes were being distributed by the deity to the various races of the earth, the vettuva women, being asked to choose between a costume which needed to be changed daily, and one which needed to be changed only yearly, readily expressed a preference for the former, and the deity, considering this an unpardonable piece of vanity, decreed that thenceforth the women should dress in leaves gathered fresh every morning. whenever it is suggested to them that they should adopt some more lasting apparel, the vettuva women answer that they are carrying out the mandate of the deity, and can abandon their present dress only if the deity appears in person, and sanctions a change." on the occasion of a recent visit of the governor of madras to south canara, a party of vettuvans was paraded before him. one of the men was wearing an aluminium coronation medal, and, on being asked by the collector who had given it to him, he folded his arms obsequiously, and replied 'my tamburan' (landlord). in a recent note on the leaf-wearing vettuvans, it is stated that "they believe that the sun travels, after it has set, through a hole in the bowels of the earth, and emerges at morning in the east. the way they calculate time is interesting. a vettuvan says that his children were born when his master sowed paddy (rice) on such and such hills. they are a very truthful lot, of good moral character, the chastity of their womankind being held very sacred." the malabar vettuvans are summed up by mr. t. k. gopal panikkar [151] as being "not exactly slaves, but their social position justifies their classification amongst the slave races. they live on the cocoanut plantations of the nairs, and other well-to-do classes. they lead a hand-to-hand existence on the wages which they obtain for hedging and fencing cocoanut plantations, plucking cocoanuts, tilling, and other allied work. they live, with their wives and children, and sometimes other relations as well, in houses small but more decent-looking than the mere huts of the other lower classes. in point of caste restrictions they are certainly better circumstanced; and their daily contact with the higher classes in the ordinary concerns of life affords them greater facilities for increased knowledge and civilisation than their brother citizens of the slave races enjoy. they are much addicted to toddy-drinking, but their principal food is rice. their condition is never so intolerably wretched as that of the other classes. they are sometimes employed by cultivators for agricultural purposes. their females occupy themselves in the fields during the harvest season, but they also make thatch for houses of cocoanut leaves woven after a set model during the thatching season about december or january. their males wear ear-rings of brass, and their females adorn themselves with nose, finger, and neck ornaments of brass or beads. the one piece of cloth supplied annually by the masters, to whose plantations they are attached, forms the dress both for males and females, which they tie round their waists. they do not eat carrion, but are exceedingly fond of fish, the flesh of the civet, and the rat, and of some other animals not generally eaten by other classes. they observe death pollution like the higher classes of malabar, and the period of observance varies according to the particular class or caste, to which their masters belong. for instance, if they belong to a nair's plantation, such period is fifteen days, and, if to a brahmin's, it is ten days; nairs and brahmins observing pollution for these periods respectively. the priests who officiate at their ceremonials are selected from among their own tribesmen or enangers, whose express recognition is necessary to give validity to the performance of the ceremony. their marriage customs are very like those of the tiyyars, excepting that the feasting and revelry are not so pompous in their case. like the nairs, they retain the front knot. the only offences of general occurrence among them are petty cases of theft of cocoanuts, plantains, areca nuts, and roots of common occurrence. the vettuvans believe in a supreme creator, whom they name and invoke as paduchathampuram, i.e., the king who created us. likewise, they believe in certain evil deities, to whom they make offerings at particular times of the year. they are not, like the other classes, distinguished by loyalty to their masters, but are a very ungrateful sect, and their very name, viz., nambu vettuvan, has passed into a bye-word for ingratitude of all kinds." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "the vettuvans of chirakkal taluk are a low caste of jungle cultivators and basket makers, distinguished by the survival amongst their women of the custom of dressing in leaves, their only clothing being a kind of double fan-shaped apron of leaves tied round the waist with a rolled cloth. they live in huts made of split bamboo and thatched with elephant grass, called kudumbus. the vettuvans are divided into fourteen illams, which seem to be named after the house names of the janmis (landlords) whom they serve. their headmen, who are appointed by their janmis, are called kiran, or sometimes parakutti (drummer). amongst the vettuvans, when labour begins, the woman is put in a hole dug in a corner of the hut, and left there alone with some water till the cry of the child is heard." for the following note on the vettuvans of the cochin state, i am indebted to mr. l. k. anantha krishna aiyar. [152] "the vettuvans are also called vettuva pulayas. they are pure agricultural labourers, taking part in every kind of work connected with agriculture, such as ploughing, sowing, weeding, transplanting, pumping water, and reaping. they are more day labourers. the males get two edangazhis of paddy (hardly worth 2 annas), and the females an edangazhi and a half. in times of scarcity, they find it difficult to support themselves. "when an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, her parents, as soon as they become aware of the fact, inform their local headman (kanakkan or kuruppan), who convenes a meeting of the elderly members of the community for the purpose of summoning the secret lover, and prosecuting the necessary enquiries. in the event of the confession of the charge, he is asked to marry her. the matter does not end there. they go to the local thandan, and relate to him the incident, who thereupon gives him water in a vessel (kindi vellam). the woman is asked to drink this as well as some cow-dunged water, and is then made to let flow a few drops of blood from the body. after this he says 'dhosham thirnu' (free from guilt). should, however, the lover be unwilling to marry her, he is thrashed and placed under a ban. if they are related to each other, they are both turned out of caste. the woman who is freed from guilt can marry again. the thandan gets as his perquisite four annas out of the fine imposed, four packets of betel leaf, eight areca nuts, and three tobacco leaves. their headman also has a share of the fine, etc. the balance which then remains is spent on toddy, and beaten rice for those assembled. "the vettuvans profess the lower forms of hinduism. their chief gods are chevva, chathan, karinkutti, parakutti, kappiri and kandakaranan, and also namburi thamburan. they give regular offerings to them, lest the gods should become angry, and cause serious calamities to the members of their families. images of gods are made of bell-metal, and worshipped in their huts. the deceased ancestors are also worshipped as gods, to whom are given a different kind of offerings. toddy is an indispensable item in their offerings to them. in ooragam and its neighbourhood, when i took my notes on the vettuvans, i was told that there was no tree-tapping, and that toddy brought to them for sale was largely adulterated with water, and very costly. their gods were very angry, for they were not satisfied with it. they caused fever, deafness, blindness, and other disorders. they worship kali also. kumbhom bharani is an important festival to them. on the morning of this day, tunes are played in honour of the goddess. there are special songs called thottampattu. sacrifices are offered to the deity very early. a puja (worship) is also performed for the sword, anklets, and bells worn round the loins, all placed in front of the deity, and songs are again sung. one of them turns a velichchapad (oracle), who speaks as if by inspiration. wearing the above ornaments, they go to a temple, in front of which they empty out on a mat a few paras of paddy, and again play and sing. "the funeral ceremonies of the vettuvans are somewhat elaborate. when a member of the caste breathes his last, his relations, friends, and other castemen of the kara (settlement) are all informed of the event. they attend, and take part in the obsequies. the dead body is bathed, and dressed in a piece of new cloth. some gold, rubbed on a stone in water, is poured into his mouth by his sons and daughters. karuvanguka, or gurutvam vanguka, is an important ceremony performed by his sons and daughters. it consists in taking sixteen small bits of plantain leaves, with some rice on each, and placing them on the forehead, neck, chest, loins, thighs, hands, legs, feet, etc., washing the last two, and collecting the water, which is taken in by the members junior to him in the family. after this, the dead body is placed on the bier, which is carried by four persons to the grave. the nearest relatives of the family, four in number, called bhedakars, with a mundu (cloth) tied round their heads, walk in front of the procession. the grave is dug, and a new cloth is spread, and the corpse laid on it. it is filled in with layers of earth and stones, to prevent dogs and jackals from disturbing the dead body. all those who have accompanied the chief mourner bathe, and return home. the members of the family fast for the night. the eldest son, who is the chief mourner, bathes in the early morning, and offers the pinda bali (offering of rice) to the spirit of the departed for fifteen days. on the seventh day, the chief mourner, and the enangan, go to the graveyard, and level the slightly raised part of the grave. a piece of stone, kept near the foot, is taken, and placed on a leaf. some toddy, arrack (alcoholic liquor) and water of the tender cocoanut, are poured over it as offerings. by some magic, the spirit is supposed to be living in it. it is brought home, and placed in a cocoanut shell containing oil mixed with turmeric, and kept outside the hut until the pollution is over. the pollution lasts for fifteen days, and on the night of the fifteenth day they fast. on the morning of the sixteenth day, all the castemen of the kara who are invited bring with them rice, curry-stuffs, and toddy. rubbing themselves with oil, they all go to bathe, after which the enangan sprinkles cowdunged water, to show that they are freed from pollution. the stone is also purified by a dip in water, and then brought home. those who have assembled are fed, and then depart. the chief mourner, who has to perform the diksha, does not shave for a year, bathes in the early morning, and offers the bali before going to work. this he continues for a year, at the end of which he gets himself shaved, and celebrates a feast called masam in honour of the departed. the stone, representing the deceased, is placed on a seat in a conspicuous part of the hut. an image of wood or copper sometimes takes its place. it is thenceforward worshipped, and believed to watch over the welfare of the family. regular offerings are given to it on karkadagom and thulam sankranthi, onam, vishu, and the festival day of the local temple. "the castes below the vettuvans are pulayan, nayadi, and ullatan. they consider themselves superior to pulayas, and are careful not to be polluted by them. a vettuvan who is polluted by a nayadi or ulladan fasts for seven days, subsisting on water, tender cocoanuts, and toddy. on the eighth day he bathes, and takes his regular meals. as the vettuvans are chandalars, any distance less than sixty-four feet will pollute the higher castes. they stand at a distance of twenty-four feet from kammalar. nayadis and ullatans stand far from them. owing to their disabilities and low wages, many turn either christians or muhammadans, and work for wages of two and a half to three annas a day." there is a class of people in malabar called vettan or vettuvan, which must not be confused with the jungle vettuvan. these people were, it is said, [153] "once salt-makers, and are now masons, earth-workers, and quarrymen. they are said to be divided into two classes, the marumakkattayam (with inheritance in the female line) regarded as indigenous to malabar, and the makkattayam (with inheritance from father to son), said to be immigrants from the south." vibhaka gunta.--recorded in the madras census report as "a low class of wandering beggars; clubbed with mala." some malas in the vizagapatam district possess gunta manyams, or petty fields, and supplement their income by begging. vignesvara.--a synonym for the elephant god ganesa, which occurs as a gotra of nagaralu. the equivalent vinayaka is a gotra of medara. vilkurup.--the vilkuruppu or vilkollakuruppu are the priests and barbers of the malayalam kammalans, and also makers of umbrellas and bows (vil) and arrows. in former times they supplied the latter articles for the malabar infantry. malabar and travancore are, par excellence, the home of the palm-leaf umbrella, which still holds its own against umbrellas of european manufacture, which were, in 1904-1905, imported into india to the value of rs. 18,95,064. a native policeman, protecting himself from the sun with a long-handled palm umbrella, is a common object in towns and villages on the west coast. concerning the vilkurups of the cochin state, mr. l. k. anantha krishna aiyar writes as follows. [154] "in former times, their occupations were training low caste men to arms and athletic feats, to use sticks in fighting, and also to the use of bows and arrows, and pial school teaching. in these days of civilisation, their services are no longer required for these purposes, and they are employed in shampooing, umbrella making, and quarrying laterite stones for building purposes. in nayar families, during tali-tying ceremonies, they have to give a bow and a few arrows. during the onam festival also, they have to give a bow and arrows to every nayar house, for which they get some paddy (rice), curry stuffs, a cocoanut, and some oil. when they are called in for shampooing, three oils are well boiled, and cooled. the patient lies on a plank, oil is poured over him, and every part of his body is well shampooed, and afterwards he is bathed in water boiled with medicinal herbs. the vilkurups eat at the hands of brahmans, nayars, izhuvans, and kammalans, but abstain from taking the food of barbers, washermen, panans, kaniyans, and other low castes. they have to stand at a distance of thirty-two feet from brahmans and nayars. pulayans and parayans have to stand at a great distance. they live in localities occupied by the izhuvans. they cannot approach the brahman temples, but have to stand far away from the outer wall. they are their own barbers and washermen." villasan (bowmen).--a synonym of malayalam kammalans, who formerly had to supply bows and arrows for the travancore army. villi.--villi (bow) or villiyan (bowmen) has been recorded as a synonym of the irulas of chingleput. villi also occurs as a sub-division of vettuvan, a hunting caste of the tamil country. villu vedan (huntsmen using bows).--a synonym of eravallar. vilyakara.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a sub-caste of servegara or kotegara." vilyakara, valekara and olekara are names indicating the occupation of a servant under government or a private individual. vinka (white-ant: termites).--an exogamous sept of jatapu. vipravinodi.--in a note on the vipravinodis, mr. c. hayavadana rao writes that they are said to be the descendants of a brahman by a lingayat woman. they are lingayats, and are called vipravinodi because they perform acrobatic feats before vipras, or brahmans. they generally travel about the country with their wives and children. one of their favourite feats is throwing up three stone or wooden balls in the air, and catching them, or rolling them over various parts of the body. when they perform before a mixed audience, they call themselves naravidya varu, which is said to be an abbreviated form of narulu mechche vidyalu chese varu, or those who perform feats which men praise. the dead are buried in a sitting posture. virabhadra.--a synonym of the tamil washermen (vannan), whose patron deity is virabhadra, from whom they claim descent. viragu (firewood).--a sub-division of vettuvan. virakudiyan.--a synonym of panisavans, who are engaged in blowing the conch shell on ceremonial occasions. virala (heroes).--an exogamous sept of golla and kapu. vira magali (a god).--an exogamous section of kallan. viramushti.--for the following account of the viramushtis in the vizagapatam district, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. they are lingayats, but do not, as a rule, wear the lingam, as it is the custom to postpone initiation until death, when the linga is tied on the corpse by a jangam before it is buried. those who are initiated during life wear the linga suspended from the neck. the viramushtis seem to have several sub-divisions, e.g., naga mallika (rhinacanthus communis), the roots of which are believed to cure snake-bite, puccha kaya (citrullus colocynthis), triputa (ipomoea turpethum), and ramadosa (cucumis melo). girls are married before or after puberty. the menarikam custom, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is observed. a voli (bride-price) of sixteen rupees, or half a tola of gold, in the form of jewelry, is given to the bride. the viramushtis are professional acrobats and mendicants, and are attached to the devangas and komatis. the following legends are current to account for their connection with these castes. in days gone by, there was, in a big town, a great lingayat mutt (monastery) named basavanna mandiram, presided over by a jangam priest named basavanna. the mutt contained three hundred crores of lingayat priests, and great wealth was stored in it. this the viramushtis guarded against thieves. a telaga, chikayya by name, who was a professional thief, determined to plunder the mutt, in order to satisfy his mistress. one night, when the viramushtis were fast asleep, he entered the mutt, but, when he saw a number of jangams engaged in devout worship, he abandoned his project, and determined to turn lingayat. accordingly, at day-break, he advanced to the place where the head of the mutt was seated, made known to him who he was, and informed him of his resolution. opinions were divided as to the fitness of receiving such an applicant, but it was finally decided that, if a man repented, he was a fit person to be received into the lingayat fold, as the linga recognises no caste. the linga was accordingly tied on his neck. from that time chikayya became a new man and a true jangam, and went from place to place visiting sacred shrines. one day he happened to be at a place where lived a merchant prince, who never dined except in the company of a jangam. on the suggestion of his wife nilakuntaladevi, an invitation to dine was sent to chikayya, who accepted it. after dinner, the merchant went out on business, and nilakuntaladevi, noticing what a beautiful man chikayya was, fell in love with him. he, however, rejected her advances, and ran away, leaving his knapsack behind him. nilakuntaladevi cut off her golden necklace, and, having placed it in the knapsack, ran after chikayya, and threw it at him, asking him to accept it. she then inflicted several cuts on herself, and, as soon as her husband returned home, complained that the jangam had stolen her necklace, and attempted to ravish her. information was sent to basayya, the head of the mutt, and a council meeting summoned, at which it was decided that chikayya should have his head cut off. the order to carry out this act was given to the viramushtis, who went in search of him, and at last found him beneath the shade of a tree overhanging the bank of a river, engaged in worshipping his linga, which was in his hand. on searching the knapsack, they found the necklace, and proceeded to cut off chikayya's head, which went several hundred feet up into the air, and travelled towards the mutt, whither the headless trunk followed on foot. on their return to the mutt, the viramushtis found that the three hundred crores of priests had been miraculously beheaded, and the place was a vast pool of blood. as soon, however, as the head and body of chikayya approached, they became re-united, and siva, appearing on the scene, translated him to kylas (heaven). at the same time, he restored the priests to life, and inflicted the following four curses on the viramushtis:--(1) they were not to build or use houses, and are consequently found living under trees outside villages; (2) they were not to sleep on a cot; (3) they were not to use the wild broom-stick; (4) they were not to set up permanent ovens for cooking purposes, but to make impromptu stoves out of three stones. taking compassion on them, the devangas promised to give the viramushtis a small sum of money annually, and to contribute towards their marriage expenses. the viramushtis are said to have become attached to the komatis subsequent to the above incident. the story goes that some komatis asked them to delay for three and half hours the march of vishnuvardhana raja, who was advancing with a view to marrying the daughter of one of them, named vasavakanya (now deified into kanyakamma). this the viramushtis did by entertaining the raja with their acrobatic feats. meanwhile, the komatis made a number of fire-pits, and put an end to themselves. vishnuvardhana arrived too late, and had his head cut off. the viramushtis prayed to vasavakanya, inasmuch as they had lost both the raja, who promised them a grant of land in return for their performance, and herself, who had promised to give a lump of gold to each gotra. the komatis replied in a body that each family of their caste would in future give the viramushtis an annual present of money, and help in defraying the expenses of their marriages. in accordance with the above legends, the viramushtis usually beg only from devangas and komatis. when they approach a village, they generally halt under a tree, and, early in the morning, dress up as acrobats, and appear with daggers, sticks, etc., crying good luck! good luck! they caper about as they advance, and, when they reach a devanga or komati house, perform their acrobatic feats, and wind up with a eulogium of the caste. money and food are then doled out to them. whenever a devanga, lingayat komati, or other lingayat wants to make a hero (vira) of a deceased member of his family, he sends for a viramushti (or hero-maker), and has a slab planted, with a recognised ceremonial, at the spot where he is buried. in a further note on the viramushtis i am informed that they correspond to the virabhadra kayakams of the canarese lingayats, like whom they dress up, and adorn themselves with small lingams, the figure of virabhadra, a sword, a plate bearing a star, and heads of asuras (demons). every important saivite temple has one or two viramushtis attached to it, and they are supposed to be servants of the god siva. one of their chief duties is to guard the idol during processions, and on other occasions. if, during a car procession, the car will not move, the viramushtis cut themselves with their swords until it is set in motion. there is a tamil proverb that the siva brahman (temple priest) eats well, whereas the viramushti hurts himself with the sword, and suffers much. the custom is said to be dying out. the principal occupation of the viramushtis is begging from beri chettis, devangas, komatis, and washermen. in former days, they are said to have performed a ceremony called pavadam. when an orthodox lingayat was insulted, he would swallow his lingam, and lie flat on the ground in front of the house of the offender, who had to collect some lingayats, who would send for a viramushti. he had to arrive accompanied by a pregnant viramushti woman, pujaris (priests) of draupadi, pachaiamman and pothuraja temples, a sembadava pujari, pambaikarans, udukkaikarans, and some individuals belonging to the nearest lingayat mutt. arrived at the house, the pregnant woman would sit down in front of the person lying on the ground. with his sword the viramushti man then made cuts in his scalp and chest, and sprinkled the recumbent man with the blood. he would then rise, and the lingam would come out of his mouth. besides feeding the people, the offender was expected to pay money as pavadam to the viramushtis and mutts. some viramushtis style themselves vastad, or athletes, in reference to their professional occupation. viranattan.--the name denotes those who play on a drum called viranam. it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, that the viranattans "were originally temple servants, but now do miscellaneous day labour. their females are prostitutes. their titles are mestri and mudali." viranollu.--viranollu and viththanollu are gotras of ganigas, who may not cut the wood-apple (feronia elephantum). virasaiva.--a synonym for lingayat. some lingayats claim to be virasaiva brahmans. visalakshiamma.--recorded, in the manual of the north arcot district, as a sub-division of vaniyan. visalakshiamma is the goddess of benares, who is said to be the sister of minakshi of madura and kamakshi of conjeeveram. visalakshi means literally one with beautiful eyes, and is a name of parvati, who is described as possessing large and beautiful eyes. viswakarma.--viswakarma and viswa brahman are synonyms for kammalan, the members of which class claim descent from the five faces of viswakarma, the architect of the gods. vitugula-vandlu.--a fanciful name, meaning hunters or gallants, adopted by boyas. vodari.--see odari. vodda.--see odde. vodo.--a small caste of oriya basket-makers and cultivators in the vizagapatam agency. vojali.--see ojali. vokkiliyan (cultivator).--a sub-division of kappiliyan, and tamil form of vakkaliga. (see okkiliyan.) vudupulavallu.--an occupational name for balijas, velamas, etc., who paint chintzes. vyadha (forest men).--a synonym of myasa bedars. vyapari.--a trading section of nayar. vyasa (the name of a sage or rishi).--a sub-division of balija. w wahabi.--the wahabis are a sect of muslim revivalists founded by muhammad ibn 'abdu'l wahhab, who was born in a.d. 1691. wahabyism has been defined as the puritanism of islam, "hated by the so-called orthodox musalmans, as the lutherans were hated by leo, and the covenanters by claverhouse." [155] it is recorded, in the manual of north arcot (1895), that since 1806 (the year of the vellore mutiny) "two alarms have been raised in the district, both at vellore, which is largely inhabited by muhammadans. the last alarm occurred in 1869. early in may of that year, anonymous petitions were received by the joint magistrate and the assistant superintendent of police, stating that the wahabi muhammadans of vellore were in league against government, and had arranged a plot for the massacre of all the european residents, in which the 28th regiment of native infantry, then stationed at vellore, was deeply implicated. an east indian subordinate of the public works department also reported that he had overheard a muhammadan munshi of the small cause court speaking to a shopman of his faith about the seditious preaching of a certain khazi. the munshi was sent for, and described what he said had occurred in a certain mosque, where sedition had been openly advocated by a wahabi missionary who had recently arrived from hyderabad, as well as by others." it appeared, from the investigations of the inspector-general of police, that the whole affair had been nothing more than a conspiracy among the orthodox muhammadans to arouse alarm regarding the designs of the wahabis, and to prevent these sectarians from frequenting their mosques. wudder.--see odde. wynad.--returned, at times of census, as a territorial division of chetti. there are at gudalur near the boundary between the nilgiri district and malabar, and in the wynad, two classes called, respectively, mandadan chettis (q.v.) and wynadan chettis. the following account of the wynadan or wynaadan chettis is given in the gazetteer of the nilgiris. "they speak malayalam, and follow marumakkatayam (inheritance in the female line). they say they were originally vellalas from coimbatore, followed makkatayam (inheritance from father to son), spoke tamil, and wore the tamil top-knot. in proof of this, they point out that at their weddings they still follow certain tamil customs, the bridegroom wearing a turban and a red cloth with a silver girdle over it and being shaved, and the woman putting on petticoats and nose-rings. they have headmen called kolapallis, subordinate to whom are mantiris, but these are liable to be overruled by a nad council. no wedding may take place without the headman's leave. two forms of marriage are recognised. in one, the couple exchange garlands after the tamil fashion, and the father (a relic of the makkatayam system) conducts the ceremony. preliminaries are arranged by go-betweens, and the chief of the numerous rites is the placing of a bracelet on the girl's upper arm under a pandal (booth) before the priest and the assembled relatives. the other form is simpler. the bridegroom goes to the girl's house with some men friends, and, after a dinner there, a go-between puts on the bangle. before marriage, a tali-kettu ceremony resembling that of the nayars is often gone through, all the girls of a family who are of marriageable age having talis tied round their necks on the same day by a maternal uncle. married women are allowed intimacy with their husbands' brothers. widows are permitted to marry again. the dead are usually burnt, but those who have met their deaths by accidents and epidemics are buried. water from a vessel containing rice and a gold coin is poured into a dying person's mouth. should the spirit of the dead disturb the dreams of the relatives, a hut for it is built under an astrologer's directions close to the house, and in this lights are lit morning and evening, and periodical offerings of food are made. the wynaadan chettis reverence the deities in the ganapati, mahamari and kalimalai tambiran temples near sultan's battery, airu billi of the kurumbas, and one or two others. the women wear in their distended ear-lobes gold discs which are so characteristic of the nayars, and many necklaces. they wear two white cloths, tying one round the waist and another across their breasts." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that the wynad or wynaadan chettis "claim to be sudras, and are in appearance and customs very similar to the nayars. they are polluted by all castes below nayars. their marriage customs seem to be a mixture of east and west coast practices. they follow the marumakkattayam system, and perform the tali-kettu kalianam; but this is done on the tenth day after puberty, and two talis have to be tied on the girl, one by her maternal uncle, and one by the senior female of her house. they also celebrate a regular marriage ceremony, at which a bracelet is put on the bride's right arm, and bride and bridegroom garland each other; while next morning a kanam or bride-price has to be paid to the bride's karnavan (senior male in a family). they are bold shikaris (sportsmen), and tiger spearing is a favourite pastime, closely connected with their religion. "the tiger is encircled by a wall of netting six feet high, which is gradually closed up, and then speared. the carcass is not skinned, but is stretched on a pole, and hung up as a sacrifice to their deity." y yadava.--yadava, meaning descendants of king yadu, from whom krishna was descended, has been recorded as a synonym or title of idaiyan, and a sub-division of golla and koracha. there is a tradition among the idaiyans that krishna was brought up by their caste. yakari.--see ekari. yanadi.--the yanadis are a dark-skinned, platyrhine tribe, short of stature, who inhabit the telugu country. the name has been the subject of much etymological speculation. some derive it from a (privative) and nathu (lord or protector), and it may mean those who are not included in the ruling or principal caste. again, it has been derived from yanam (boat) and adi (means). but the yanadis are not known to have plied, nor do they now ply boats at sriharikota, their chief place of residence, which is on the coast. the word would seem to be derived from the sanskrit anadi, or those whose origin is not traceable. the people perhaps elongated the vowel-sound, so that it became yanadi. in like manner, the native graduate of the madras university talks of himself as being, not a b.a. or m.a., but b.ya. or m.ya. and a billiard-marker will call the game yeighty-yeight instead of eighty-eight. the tradition of the yanadis as to their origin is very vague. some call themselves the original inhabitants of the wilds in the neighbourhood of the pulicat lake, where they hunted and fished at will, until they were enslaved by the reddis. others say that the reddi (or manchi?) yanadis were originally chenchus, a small but superior class, and that they fled from oppression and violence from the mountains in the west, and amalgamated themselves with the common yanadis. the common deity of both chenchus and manchi yanadis is chenchu devudu. between the yanadi and the chenchu, however, there is no love lost. they can be seen living close together, but not intermingling, on the nallamalais, and they differ in their social customs. yanadi chenchu is said to be the name given by brahmans to the chenchus. [156] the following legend concerning the yanadis is narrated by mackenzie. [157] "of old, one named raghava brought with him sixty families from pacanatti district, locating himself with them at sriharicotta, and, clearing the country, formed raghavapuram. the people by degrees spread through a few adjoining districts. a rishi, who came from benares, and was named ambikesvarer, resided in mad'hyaranya (or the central wilderness), and there, daily bathing in a river, paid homage to siva. these wild people of their own accord daily brought him fruits and edibles, putting them before him. at length he inquired of them the reason. they replied that their country was infested by a terrible serpent, and they wished to be taught charms to destroy it, as well as charms for other needful purposes. he taught them, and then vanished away." it is an advantage for a european to have a yanadi as a camp servant, as he can draw water from any caste well. the yanadi can also wash, and carry water for brahmans. the animistic nature of their religion; the production of fire by friction; the primitive hunting and fishing stage in which a number remain; the almost raw animal food which they eat, after merely scorching or heating the flesh of the game they kill, indicate that the yanadis have not yet emerged from a primitive stage of culture. they make fire by friction with sticks from the following trees:- protium caudatum (konda ragi). bauhinia racemosa (aree chettu). ficus. sp. (kallu jeevee chettu). ptereospermum suberifolium (tada). a tree belonging to the nat. order laurineæ. cordia monoica (female tree). two sticks are prepared, one short, the other long. in the former a square cavity is scooped out, and it is held firmly on the ground, while the long stick is twisted rapidly to and fro in the cavity. no charcoal powder is used, but a rag, or even dried leaves are set fire to. the head-quarters of the yanadis is the island of sriharikota in the nellore district. their primitive condition attracted notice in 1835, when the island came into the possession of the government, which endeavoured to ameliorate their position by supplying them with a liberal allowance of grain, clothing, tobacco, and money, in return for the jungle produce, which they collected. the demand for labour naturally rose, and the government offered to pay to parents 2 annas 6 pies on the birth of a male, and 1 anna 3 pies on the birth of a female child--a bounty on productivity justified by special local causes. in 1858, the government opened a school for the teaching of telugu, which was rendered attractive by offers of rice and clothing to those who attended it. an industrial department gave lessons in basket-making, and land was assigned for the cultivation of chay-root (oldenlandia umbellata), which yields the beautiful red dye formerly much employed in the dyeing of cotton fabrics, but has had its nose put out of joint by the introduction of aniline and alizarin dyes. but the industries proved unsuccessful, and the strength of the school gradually declined, so that it was abolished in 1877. at the census, 1891, the yanadis returned as many as 89 sub-divisions, of which the two most important numerically were chenchu and manchi. a division into classes exists according to dietary, occupation, residence, etc. there are, for example, the reddi yanadis, the challa (refuse-eating), adavi, and kappala (frog-eaters). the reddi yanadis are a settled class, employed chiefly as cooks by the panta reddis. they do not mingle with the challa and adivi sections, whom they regard as out-castes. if a reddi yanadi woman's husband dies, abandons, or divorces her, she may marry his brother, and, in the case of separation or divorce, the two brothers will live on friendly terms with each other. the challas are also known as garappa (dry-land) or chatla (tree). they reside in huts on the borders of villages in the service of the community, and live on jungle produce, and by snaring and hunting game. the reddi and challa yanadis are occasionally employed as kavalgars, or village watchmen, in the kistna and godavari districts. in the venkatagiri zemindari the yanadis are among the recognised servants of the village community as procurers of charcoal for the blacksmith. the adavi yanadis are, as the name implies, jungle-men. the manchi or good yanadis are a small superior class. the yanadis of the north arcot district, it may be noted, are chenchu worshippers, and go by that name. they are non-frog-eaters, and do not permit the kappala, or frog-eaters, even to touch their pots. some yanadis of the nellore district feed on the refuse of the table. the somari, or idle yanadis, live in the kavali taluk of that district. they do scavenging work, and eat the refuse food thrown away by people from the leaf plate after a meal. the following are some of the house-names of families living in nellore, sriharikota, tada, and kambakam:-(a) manchi yanadis- bandi, cart. chembetti, hammer. chilakala, paroquet. dhoddi, sheep-fold. igala, house-fly. enthodu, a village. illa, of a house. kathtlula, sword. kanur, a village. kotlu, cow-shed. mekala, goat. manikala, measure. pamula, snake. tenkayala, cocoanut. totla, garden. tupakala, gun. udamala, water-lizard. jandayi, flag. marrigunta, pond near a fig-tree. (b) challa yanadi- nerigi mekala, a kind of goat. elugu, bear. thirlasetti, name of a balija chetti. all these names represent exogamous septs. in every case, the house-name was known only to old men and women, and they, as a rule, did not know the house-names of their neighbours or relations. many of the names are derived from villages, or persons of other castes, on whose land they may live, and are probably new names adopted instead of the original ones. for the purpose of their register, forest officers invent prefixes by which yanadis with the same family name can be distinguished, e.g., kee chenchugadu, permadu budthagadu, to distinguish them from other chenchugadus, and budthagadus. the same practice is resorted to by planters, who give "estate names" to their coolies. yanadis will not eat with madigas or paraiyans, and observe some principle in partaking of the refuse of the table. thus, for a chinna yanadi to eat the refuse of the mondis, oddes, or yerukalas, would involve excommunication, which is always pronounced by a balija chetti, whose decision is final and binding. restoration to caste can be secured by undergoing a personal ordeal, by giving a feast, and promising good behaviour in the future. the ordeal takes the form of scalding of the tongue with hot gold by the balija chetti. it is curious that there has recently grown up a tendency for members of other castes to join the yanadi community. there are instances of barbers, weavers, fishermen, and even komatis being admitted into the yanadi fold. the headman, who goes by the name of kulampedda or pedda yanadi, exercises general social control over a group, known as a guddem, ordinarily of about twenty huts. he decides social questions, sometimes on his own responsibility, by excommunicating or fining; sometimes acting on the advice of a council of his castemen. until quite recently, the tribe remained under the guidance of a hereditary leader of sriharikota, who wielded immense power. the paraiyans have risen superior to the yanadis as a community, supplying among themselves their own artisans, weavers, carpenters, barbers, priests, teachers, etc., while the yanadis are only just beginning to move in this direction. the language of the yanadis is telugu, but some words are compounds of telugu and tamil, e.g., artichedi for plantain, pandikutti for pig. the yanadis know the forest flora well, and the uses of the various trees and shrubs, which yield good firewood, etc. they call the roller (coracias indica) the milk bird, in the belief that, when a cow goes dry, she will yield milk if a feather of the roller is put in the grass for her to swallow. the crow-pheasant (centropus sinensis) is to them the prickly-pear crow; florikin the ground peacock; the fan-tail snipe the pond snipe; and the pin-tail the rice field snipe. at the census, 1891, 84,339 yanadis were returned as hindus, and 549 as animists. their places of worship are not temples, but houses, called devara indlu (houses of the gods), set apart for every centre. they worship a household god, a village goddess of local importance, and a deity of wider repute and influence. chenchu devudu is invariably the household god. poleramma or ankamma is in charge of a local area for weal or woe. subbarayudu, venkateswaralu, panchala, narasimhulu, and others, are the gods who control destinies over a wider area. the yanadis are their own priests. the objects of worship take various forms: a wooden idol at sriharikota; bricks; stones; pots of water with margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves; images of gods drawn on the walls of their houses; or mere handfuls of clay squeezed into shape, and placed on a small platform erected under an aruka tree, which, like other hindus, they hold sacred. they use a red powder, flowers, turmeric, etc., for worship; burn camphor and incense; and distribute fruit, dhal (pulse of cajanus indicus), and the like. in worshipping ancestors, they resemble the kurumbas. the house of the gods is a sanctum, into which no polluting object is allowed to enter. the most pious perform rites every friday. at sriharikota they do so once a fortnight, or once a month. the ordinary yanadi only worships on occasion of a marriage, funeral, etc. a belief lingers that the pious are en rapport with the deity, who converses with them and even inspires them. the goddess receives animal sacrifices, but chenchu devudu is a strict vegetarian, whose votaries are bound, at times of worship, to subsist on a single daily meal of roots and fruits. the yanadis, like hindus, wear sect marks, and are even divided into vaishnavites and saivites. they are supposed, during worship, to endow inanimate objects, and the spirits of geographical features, with life and mind, and supernatural powers. some yanadis are converts to christianity. the yanadis live in low conical huts, rudely built of bamboo and palmyra leaves, grass, or millet stalks, with a small entrance, through which grown-up people have to creep. the hut affords protection from the sun and rain, but the yanadis generally cook, eat, and sleep outside. the staple food of the yanadis, apart from bazar purchases, consists of the following:-animals:--sambar deer, wild goat, bear, porcupine, boar, land tortoise, hare, bandicoot and jerboa rat, varanus (lizard), mungoose, and fish. vegetables and fruit:--dioscorea (yams); pith and fruit of phoenix sylvestris (date palm); fruit kernel of cycas circinalis, eaten after thorough soaking in water; and fruits of eugenia alternifolia and jambolana (black plum), carissa carandas and spinarum, buchanania acuminata, and mimusops hexandra. they are, like the irulas of chingleput, very partial to sour and fermented rice-water, which is kept by the higher classes for cattle. this they receive in exchange for headloads of fuel. for some time past they have been stopped by the forest officers from drinking this pulusunillu, as it makes them lazy, and unfit for work. the marriage ceremony is no indispensable necessity. the adavi yanadis, as a rule, avoid it; the reddi yanadis always observe it. the parents rarely arrange alliances, the parties concerned managing for themselves. maturity generally precedes marriage. seduction and elopement are common occurrences, and divorce is easily obtained. adultery is no serious offence; widows may live in concubinage; and pregnancy before marriage is no crime. by nature, however, the yanadis are jealous of conjugal rights, and attached to their wives. widowhood involves no personal disfigurement, or denial of all the emblems of married life. a widow has been known to take, one after another, as many as seven husbands. the greater the number of her husbands, the more exalted is the status of a widow in society, and the stronger her title to settle disputes on questions of adultery, and the like. polygamy is common, and a yanadi is known to have had as many as seven wives, whom he housed separately, and with whom he lived by turns. the marriage ceremony is undergoing change, and the simple routine developing into a costly ceremonial, the details of which (e.g., the "screen scene") are copied from the marriage rites of higher castes in the telugu country. until quite recently, the flower of the tangedu (cassia auriculata) did duty for the tali, which is now a turmeric-dyed cotton thread with a gold bottu suspended from it. the auspicious hour is determined by a very simple process. the hour is noon, which arrives when a pole, two feet high, stuck vertically on the marriage platform, ceases to throw a shadow. the pole has superseded the arrow used of old, and sometimes a purohit is consulted, and gives the hour from his calendar. as a punishment for adultery, the unfaithful woman is, at sriharikota, made to stand, with her legs tied, for a whole day in the sun, with a basket full of sand on her head. the maternal uncle receives a measure of rice, a new cloth, and eight annas, at the head-shaving ceremony of his nephew. at this ceremony, which is a borrowed custom, the uncle plucks a lock of hair from the head of the lad, and ties it to a bough of the aruka tree. the head is shaved, and the lad worships the village goddess, to whom a fowl is offered. the guests are feasted, and the evening is spent in a wild torch-light dance. at the first menstrual period, a yanadi girl occupies a hut erected for the purpose, which must have within it at least one stick of strychnos nux-vomica, to drive away devils. on the ninth day the hut is burnt down, and the girl cleanses herself from pollution by bathing. a woman, after confinement, feeds for three days on the tender leaves, or cabbage of the date palm (phoenix sylvestris), and then on rice. margosa leaves, and sometimes the leaves of other trees, and the knife with which the umbilical cord was cut, are placed under the infant's head for six days. a net is hung in front of the door, to keep out devils. the baby is given a name by the soothsayer, who pretends to be in communication on the subject with the god or goddess. the yanadis pose as prophets of human destinies, and, like the nilgiri kurumbas, pretend to hold intercourse with gods and goddesses, and to intercede between god and man. every village or circle has one or more soothsayers, who learn their art from experts under a rigid routine. the period of pupilage is a fortnight spent on a dietary of milk and fruits with no cooked meat, in a cloister in meditation. the god or goddess ankamma, poleramma, venkateswaralu, subbaroyadu, or malakondroyadu, appears like a shadow, and inspires the pupil, who, directly the period of probation has ceased, burns camphor and frankincense. he then sings in praise of the deity, takes a sea bath with his master, gives a sumptuous feast, and becomes an independent soothsayer. the ardent soothsayer of old wrought miracles, so runs the story, by stirring boiling rice with his hand, which was proof against scald or hurt. his modern brother invokes the gods with burning charcoal in his folded hands, to the beat of a drum. people flock in large numbers to know the truth. the word is rangampattedhi in north arcot and sodi in nellore. the soothsayer arranges chenchu devudu and the local gods in a separate devara illu or house of god, which is always kept scrupulously clean, and where worship is regularly carried on. the auspicious days for soothsaying are friday, saturday, and sunday. the chief soothsayer is a male. the applicant presents him with betel nuts, fruit, flowers, and money. the soothsayer bathes, and sits in front of his house smeared with black, white, red, and other colours. his wife, or some other female, kindles a fire, and throws frankincense into it. he beats his drum, and sings, while a woman from within repeats the chant in a shrill voice. the songs are in praise of the deity, at whose and the soothsayer's feet the applicant prostrates himself and invokes their aid. the soothsayer feels inspired, and addresses the supplicant thus: "you have neglected me. you do not worship me. propitiate me adequately, or ruin is yours." the future is predicted in song. in these predictions the rural folk place abundant faith. the yanadis bury their dead. the corpse is laid on leaves in front of the hut, washed and clad. pelalu (parched rice) is thrown over the corpse by the son and all the agnates. it is eventually placed on a bier, covered with a new cloth, and carried to the burial ground, by the sons, or, in the absence thereof, the sapindas. at a fixed spot near the grave, on which all corpses are placed, a cross is drawn on the ground, the four lines of which represent the four cardinal points of the compass. close to the corpse are placed betel leaves and nuts, and a copper coin. all present then proceed to the spot where the grave is to be dug, while the corpse is left in charge of a yanadi called the bathyasthadu, who, as a rule, belongs to a different sept from that of the deceased. the corpse is laid on a cloth, face downwards, in the grave. the eldest son, followed by the other relatives, throws three handfuls of earth into the grave, which is then filled in. on their return home, the mourners undergo purification by bathing before entering their huts. in front of the dead man's hut, two broken chatties (pots) are placed, whereof one contains ash-water, the other turmeric-water. into each chatty a leafy twig is thrown. those who have been present at the funeral stop at the chatties, and, with the twig, sprinkle themselves first with the ash-water, and then with the turmeric-water. inside the hut a lighted lamp, fed with gingelly oil, is set up, before which those who enter make obeisance before eating. the chinnadinamu ceremony, whereof notice is given by the bathyasthadu, is usually held on the third day after death. every group (gudem) or village has its own bathyasthadu, specially appointed, whose duty it is to convey the news of death, and puberty of girls, to all the relatives. tupakis will never nominate a tupaki as their bathyastha, but will select from a mekala or any sept except their own. on the morning of the chinnadinamu, the eldest son of the deceased cooks rice in a new pot, and makes curries and cakes according to his means. these are made up into six balls, which are placed in a new basket, and taken to the burial-ground. on reaching the spot where the cross-lines were drawn, a ball of rice is placed thereon, together with betel leaves and nuts and a copper coin. the bathyasthadu remains in charge thereof, while those assembled proceed to the grave, whereon a pot of water is poured, and a stone planted at the spot beneath which the head lies. the stone is anointed with shikai (fruit of acacia concinna) and red powder, and milk poured over it, first by the widow or widower and then by the relations. this ceremony concluded, the son places a ball of rice at each corner of the grave, together with betel and money. milk is poured over the remaining ball, which is wrapped in a leaf, and buried over the spot where the abdomen of the deceased is situated. close to the grave, at the southern or head end, three stones are set up in the form of a triangle, whereon a new pot full of water is placed. a hole is made in the bottom of the pot, and the water trickles out towards the head of the corpse. this concludes the ceremony, and, as on the day of the funeral, purification by bathing, ash-water and turmeric-water, is carried out. the peddadinamu ceremony is performed on the sixteenth, or some later day after death. as on the chinnadinamu, the son cooks rice in a new pot. opposite the entrance to the hut a handful of clay is squeezed into a conical mass, representing the soul of the deceased, and stuck up on a platform. the eldest son, taking a portion of the cooked rice, spreads it on a leaf in front of the clay image, before which incense is burnt, and a lamp placed. the image, and the remainder of the food made up into four balls, are then carried by the son to a tank (pond). as soon as the relatives have assembled there, the recumbent effigy of a man is made, close to the edge of the tank, with the feet towards the north. the conical image is set up close to the head of the effigy, which is anointed by the relatives as at the chinnadinamu, except that no milk is poured over it. the four balls of rice are placed close to the hands and feet of the effigy, together with betel and money, and the son salutes it. the agnates then seat themselves in a row between the effigy and the water, with their hands behind their backs, so as to reach the effigy, which is moved slowly towards the water, into which it finally falls, and becomes disintegrated. the proceedings conclude with distribution of cloths and cheroots, and purification as before. the more prosperous yanadis now engage a brahman to remove the pollution by sprinkling water over them. during the peddadinamu incessant music and drum-beating has been going on, and is continued till far into the night, and sometimes the ceremonial is made to last over two days, in order that the yanadis may indulge in a bout of music and dancing. the yanadis are expert anglers, catching fish with a triangular net or wicker basket. they also excel in diving for and catching hold of fish concealed in crevices of rocks or buried in mud, and assist european sportsmen by marking down florikin. those who are unable to count bring in a string with knots tied in it, to indicate the number of birds marked. they catch bandicoot rats by a method known as voodarapettuta. a pot is stuffed with grass, into which fire is thrown. the mouth of the pot is placed against the hole made by the bandicoot, and smoke blown into the hole through a small slit in the pot. the animal becomes suffocated, and tries to escape through the only aperture available, made for the occasion by the yanadi, and, as it emerges, is killed. they are fearless in catching cobras, which they draw out of their holes without any fear of their fangs. they pretend to be under the protection of a charm, while so doing. a correspondent writes that a cobra was in his grounds, and his servant got a yanadi, who had charge of the adjoining garden, to dislodge it. the man was anxious to catch it alive, and then, before killing it, carefully removed the poison-sac with a knife, and swallowed it as a protection against snake-bite. the yanadis are good shikaris (huntsmen), and devoid of fear in the jungle. they hold licenses under the arms act, and being good shots, are great at bagging tigers, leopards, porcupines, and other big and small game. after an unsuccessful beat for spotted deer, a friend informs me, the yanadis engaged therein erected a cairn of twigs and stones several feet high, round which they danced with gradually quickening step, to the refrain in telugu 'nothing comes.' then, to the same tune, they danced round it in the opposite direction. the incantation concluded, the beat was continued and a stag duly appeared on the scene--and was missed! they gather honey from bee-hives on hill tops and cliffs which are precipitous and almost inaccessible, and perilous to reach. the man climbs down with the help of a plaited rope of pliant bamboo, fastened above to a peg driven firmly into a tree or other hard substance, and takes with him a basket and stick. he drives away the bees at the first swing by burning grass or brushwood beneath the hives. the next swing takes him closer to the hive, which he pokes with the stick. he receives the honey-comb in the basket, and the honey flows out of it into a vessel adjusted to it. when the basket and vessel are full, he shakes the rope, and is drawn up by the person in charge of it, who is almost always his wife's brother, so that there may be no foul play. he thus collects a considerable quantity of honey and wax, for which he receives only a subsistence wage from the contractor, who makes a big profit for himself. the following list of minor forest products, chiefly collected by government yanadis, is given in the nellore district gazette:- chay root (oldenlandia umbellata), which, by a quaint misprint, appears as cheroot. kanuga (pongamia glabra). sarsaparilla (hemidesmus indicus). nux vomica (strychnos nux-vomica). tangedu (cassia auriculata). soap nut (sapindus trifoliatus). achilla weed (lichens). ishwarac (aristolochia indica). vishabuddi (sida carpinifolia). kukkapala (tylophora asthmatica). honey. rattan (calamus rotang). tamarind (tamarindus indicus). neredu (eugenia jambolana). surati bark (ventilago madraspatana). in the interests of the yanadis it is laid down, in the gazette, that "the yanadi villages must be encouraged, and the people paid at least once a week for the produce they collect. this must be done by the maistry (overseer) going up and down the main ride every day during the collection season, checking the collections, and paying for them on the spot. the yanadis will, of course, camp out in the reserve when collecting produce, and not return, as heretofore, every three days to sriharikota, thus wasting 45 per cent. of their time in the mere coming and going, apart from the fact that, under the old system, the produce from some parts of the reserves was never collected at all, as no one visited them." the yanadis dance on festive occasions, at ceremonies, and occasionally for begging, smearing the body with turmeric, wearing flowers, singing meaningless songs, and drumming in rude fashion "dambukku, dambukku." their only wind instrument is the bag-pipe, but they play on the snake charmer's reed as an accompaniment. their dance is full of indecent suggestion. they have of late trained themselves for the stage, and there are several troupes of bhagavathulu. to the rev. g. n. thomssen, of the telugu mission, bapatla, i am indebted for the following account of a yanadi dance. "especially at night, they love to gather in some part of the jungle where they have their huts, and, having gathered a pile of palmyra leaves, burn them one by one as torches, while a number of men and women begin to dance their quaint, weird jungle dance, which is to represent the experiences of the hunters in their wanderings. the chief actors, or dancers, are dressed fantastically. they are almost nude, but dangling from their loins are palmyra baskets, in which they gather edible bulbs and roots, dead rats, snakes, etc., which are prized as something to fill the stomach. suddenly the actors fell on the ground. one of them cries out 'thelu' (scorpion). then the other asks where, and is shown the place where the scorpion is supposed to have stung the sufferer, while the choir sing:- alas! the scorpion stings. o! o! the scorpion stings. which finger? ah! the middle one. as soon as i was stung, the poison into my head ascends. ayo! ayo! what shall i do? bring down the poison with yilledu. this chant is kept up for a long time, when suddenly another of the actors falls on the ground, and writhes like a snake. the yanadis are a very supple race, and, when dancing, especially when writhing on the ground, one sees a display of muscular action that makes one believe that the human body is capable of all the twists and turns of a serpent. when the actor is representing the man bitten by a snake, one hears quaint cries while the snake is sought in the hair, ears, and nose, basket and loin-cloth. the choir now sings the following:- come down to catch the snake, o! snake-charmer, behold the standing snake. be sure the pipe sounds well. come, come, with the big snakes in the basket, and the little ones in the lock of your hair. when i went down the bank of the yerracheru, and saw the harvest cut, the cobra crawled beneath the harvester. ayo! ayo! ayo! to see this action song, and to hear these strange people, is one of the queerest experiences of native aboriginal life. the dancers, and the spectators who form the choir, all become very excited, and even the european, seeing the tamasha (spectacle), is infected with the excitement. the actors are bathed in perspiration, but the dance is kept up nevertheless, and only when their large stock of palmyra leaf torches is exhausted will they stop and take their rest." in their nomadic life the yanadis have learnt by experience the properties and uses of herbs and roots, with which they treat fever, rheumatism, and other diseases. they have their own remedies for cobra bite and scorpion sting. it is said that the yanadis alone are free from elephantiasis, which affects the remaining population of sriharikota. it is noted by the rev. g. n. thomssen that "while it has been impossible to gather these people into schools, because of their shyness and jungle wildness, christian missionaries, especially the american baptist missionaries, have succeeded in winning the confidence of these degraded children of nature, and many of them have joined the christian church. some read and write well, and a few have even learned english. we have a small, but growing settlement of christianised yanadis at bapatla." to sum up the yanadi. it is notorious that, in times of scarcity, he avoids the famine relief works, for the simple reason that he does not feel free on them. nevertheless, a few are in the police service. some are kavalgars (watchmen), farm labourers, scavengers, stone-masons or bricklayers, others are pounders of rice, or domestic servants, and are as a rule faithful. they earn a livelihood also in various subsidiary ways, by hunting, fishing, cobra-charming, collecting honey or fuel, rearing and selling pigs, practicing medicine as quacks, and by thieving. "an iron implement," mr. f. s. mullaly writes, [158] called the sikkaloo kol, is kept by them ostensibly for the purpose of digging roots, but it is really their jemmy, and used in the commission of burglary. it is an ordinary iron tool, pointed at both ends, one end being fitted in a wooden handle. with this they can dig through a wall noiselessly and quickly, and many houses are thus broken into in one night, until a good loot is obtained. house-breakings are usually committed during the first quarter of the moon. yanadis confess their own crimes readily, but will never implicate accomplices.... women are useful in the disposal of stolen property. at dusk they go round on their begging tours selling mats, which they make, and take the opportunity of dropping a word to the women of cheap things for sale, and the temptation is seldom resisted. stolen property is also carried in their marketing baskets to the village grocer, the komati. among the wild (adavi) yanadis, women are told off to acquire information while begging, but they chiefly rely on the liquor-shopkeepers for news, which may be turned to useful account." [159] yanati.--the yanatis, yenetis, or enetis, are a class of cultivators in the ganjam and vizagapatam districts, between whom and the yanadis some confusion has arisen. for example, it is noted, in the madras census report, 1891, that it is curious to find the yanadi sub-division of the velamas so strongly represented, for there is at the present day a wide gulf between velamas and yanadis. again, in the census report, 1901, it is noticed under the heading yanati that "entries of this name were clubbed with yanadi, but it has since been reported that, in bissumcuttack taluk of the vizagapatam agency, there is a separate caste called yanati or yeneti dora, which is distinct from either yanadi or konda dora." it is said that the yanatis of ganjam also go by the name of entamara and gainta or gayinta. yata.--the yatas are the toddy-drawers of ganjam and vizagapatam. the caste name is a corrupt form of ita, meaning date palm, from which the toddy is secured. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, that "toddy is obtained from the palmyra (borassus flabellifer) and date palm (phoenix sylvestris). the toddy-drawers are usually of the yata and segidi castes. the palmyra is tapped by cutting off the end of the flower spathe, and the date palm by making an incision, like an inverted v, close under the crown of leaves. in the zamindaris, little care is taken to see that date trees are not over-tapped, and hundreds of trees may be seen ruined, and even killed by excessive tapping." many members of the caste are engaged in the manufacture of baskets and boxes from palm leaves. the yatas are said to be responsible for a good deal of the crime in portions of the vizagapatam district. for the following note on the yatas of the vizagapatam district, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. they are a telugu-speaking people, and the caste is organised on the same lines as many other telugu castes. in each locality where they are settled, there is a headman called kulampedda, who, with the assistance of the caste elders, settles disputes and affairs affecting the community. the caste is, like other telugu castes, divided up into numerous intiperus or exogamous septs. the custom of menarikam, according to which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is the rule. if the girl, whom a man claims in accordance with this custom, is not given to him, his mother raises such a howl that her brother is compelled by the castemen to come to terms. if he still refuses to give up his daughter, and bestows her on another man, the protest of his sister is said to destroy the happiness of the pair. girls are married before or after puberty. the marriage ceremonies last over three days, and are carried out either at the house of the bride or bridegroom, the former if the parents are prosperous and influential people in the community. a brahman officiates, and ties the satamanam on the bride's neck. on the evening of the third day, at the bride's house, presents called katnam, in the shape of rings, waist-bands, and a gold bangle for the right upper arm, are given to the bridegroom. the value of these presents bears a fixed proportion to that of the voli or bride-price. the pair live for three days at the bride's house, and then proceed to the house of the bridegroom, where they stay during the next three days. they then return to the home of the bride, where they once more stay for three days, at the end of which the bridegroom returns to his house. the consummation ceremony is a separate event, and, if the girl has reached puberty, takes place a few days after the marriage ceremony. the remarriage of widows is permitted. the satamanam is tied on the bride's neck by the kulampedda. divorce is also recognised, and a man marrying a divorced woman has to pay twelve rupees, known as moganaltappu, or new husband's fine. the divorced woman has to return all the jewellery which was given to her by her former husband. the dead are cremated, and a man of the washerman caste usually assists in igniting the pyre. there is an annual ceremony in memory of the dead, at which the house is cleaned, and purified with cow-dung. a meal on a more than usually liberal scale is cooked, and incense and camphor are burnt before the entrance to the house. food is then offered to the dead, who are invoked by name, and the celebrants of the rite partake of a hearty meal. the usual caste titles are naidu and setti. yeddula (bulls).--an exogamous sept of boya and kapu. yedu madala (seven madalas).--the name of a section of upparas, indicating the amount of the bride-price. a madala is equivalent to two rupees. yelka meti (good rat).--an exogamous sept of boya. yemme.--yemme, emme, or yemmalavaru, meaning buffalo or buffalo people, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of bedar or boya, kurni, kuruba, madiga, and vakkaliga. yenne (oil).--a sub-division of ganiga. yenuga.--yenuga or yenigala, meaning elephant, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of kapu, the members of which will not touch ivory. yenumala.--yenumala or yenamaloru, meaning buffalo or buffalo people, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of balija, boya, madiga, and odde. yeravallar.--see eravallar. yerlam.--a division of kapus, so called after a brahman girl named yerlamma, who was excommunicated for not being married, and bore children to a kapu. yerra (red).--a sub-division of golla and kapu, and an exogamous sept of devanga. yerudandi.--see erudandi. yogi gurukkal.--the yogi gurukkals are described in the madras census report, 1891, as "a malayalam-speaking beggar caste. they are also priests in kali temples, and pial schoolmasters. they bury their dead in a sitting posture (like sanyasis)." the pial, it may be noted, is a raised platform under the verandah, or on either side of the door of a house, in which village schools are held. the yogi gurukkals are scattered about malabar, and their chief occupation seems to be the performance of worship to kali or durga. they officiate as priests for mukkuvans and tiyans. among the mukkuvans, puja (worship) to kali at the annual festival has to be done by a yogi gurukkal, whereas, on ordinary occasions, it may be done by a mukkuvan, provided that he has been initiated by a yogi gurukkal. in their customs, the yogi gurukkals closely follow the nayars. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "the yogi gurukkals of north malabar are a caste which, though low in the social scale, is not regarded as conveying distance pollution. they perform sakti puja in their own houses, to which no one outside the caste is allowed to attend; they also perform it for nayars and tiyans. they are celebrated sorcerers and exorcists, and are also schoolmasters by profession." zonnala (millet: sorghum vulgare).--zonnala, or the equivalent zonnakuti, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of kapu. the koyis hold a festival when the zonna crop is ready to be cut, at which a fowl is killed in the field, and its blood sprinkled on a stone set up for the purpose. printed by the superintendent, government press, madras. agents for the sale of madras government publications. in the east. r. cambray & co., calcutta. combridge & co., madras. t. coopooswami naicker & co., madras. higginbotham & co., mount road, madras. v. kalyanarama iyer & co., esplanade, madras. s. murthy & co., kapalee press, madras. g. a. natesan & co., madras. p. r. rama iyar & co., madras. radhabai atmaram sagun, bombay. sarasvati publishing house, popham's broadway, madras. e. seymour hale, bombay. [160]t. k. sitarama aiyar, kumbakónam. d. b. taraporevala sons & co., bombay. temple & co., georgetown, madras. thacker & co. (limited), bombay. thacker, spink & co., calcutta. thompson & co., madras. in england. e. a. arnold, 41 and 43, maddox street, bond street, w., london. b. h. blackwell, 50 and 51, broad street, oxford. constable & co., 10, orange street, leicester square, w.c., london. deighton, bell & co., cambridge. t. fisher unwin, 1, adelphi terrace, w.c., london. grindlay & co., 54, parliament street, s.w., london. henry s. king & co., 65, cornhill, e.c., london. p. s. king & son, 2 and 4, great smith street, westminster, s.w., london. kegan paul, trench, trübner & co., 43, gerrard street, soho, w., london. luzac & co., 46, great russell street, w.c., london. b. quaritch, 11, grafton street, new bond street, w., london. w. thacker & co., 2, creed lane, e.c., london. on the continent. friedländer & sohn, 11, carlstrasse, berlin. otto harrassowitz, leipzig. rudolf haupt, 1, dorrienstrasse, leipzig, germany. karl w. hiersemann, leipzig. ernest leroux, 28, rue bonaparte, paris. martinus nijhoff, the hague, holland. notes [1] ind. ant. iv, 1875. [2] manners, customs, and observances. [3] malabar law and custom, 1905. [4] tarwad: a marumakkathayam family, consisting of all the descendants in the female line of one common female ancestor. [5] the todas, 1906. [6] malabar law and custom. [7] madras census report, 1891. [8] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [9] gazetteer of malabar. [10] monograph eth. survey, cochin no. 1, 1905. [11] ind. ant., ix, 1880. [12] ind. ant., ix. 1880. [13] f. s. mullaly. criminal classes of the madras presidency. [14] monograph, eth. survey, bombay, no. 93, tigala, 1907. [15] malabar law and custom. [16] lieutenant-general e. f. burton. an indian olio. [17] monograph ethnog. survey of the cochin state, no. 10, izhuvas, 1905. [18] the tinnevelly shanars, 1849. [19] madras census report, 1871. [20] a fanam is a small gold coin, worth about four annas, which was formerly current in southern india, but is no longer in circulation. [21] other kinds of necklaces are the mullapu (jasmine flower) mala, avil (beaten rice) mala, so called from the shape of the links, mani mala or bead necklace, and pavizham (coral) mala. these are all worn by women. [22] ordinarily, paddy is partly boiled before it is pounded to remove the husk. raw rice is obtained by pounding the paddy, which has not undergone any boiling. [23] there must in all be five or seven females. [24] the taboot is a model of a muhammadan mausoleum, intended to represent the tomb of husain, which is carried in procession during the moharram festival. [25] manavalan = bridegroom; manavati = bride. [26] an indian olio. [27] the washerman of the nambutiris and nayars is called veluthedan. [28] nayars are addressed as kammal by tiyans and artisans. [29] the number twelve, so significant in malabar. [30] nasrani (nazarene) is a term for christians on the west coast. [31] indian review, oct. 1906. [32] the todas. 1906. [33] ney = ghi or clarified butter. [34] aboriginal tribes of the nilgiri hills. [35] madras diocesan magazine, november, 1907. [36] see madras museum bull., iv, 1896, pl. xii. [37] average 73. [38] op. cit., appendix iv, 738. [39] r. bache. royal magazine, august 1901. [40] ind. ant., iii, 1874. [41] description of a singular aboriginal race inhabiting the summit of the neilgherry hills, 1832. [42] op. cit. [43] a phrenologist among the todas, 1873. [44] j. w. breeks. account of the primitive tribes and monuments of the nilgiris, 1873. [45] catalogue of the prehistoric antiquities, government museum, madras, 1901. [46] i have seen this plant growing on the grass in front of the paikara bungalow. [47] op. cit. [48] ellis. history of madagascar. [49] tribes inhabiting the neilgherry hills. by a german missionary, 1856. [50] proc. cambridge philosoph. soc., xii, 1904. [51] "puzhutkina--shall i throw earth?" rivers. [52] called by breeks ilata, which, dr. rivers suggests, is a badaga name. [53] journey through mysore, canara, and malabar. [54] gazetteer of the anantapur district. [55] a. chatterton. monograph on tanning and working in leather. madras, 1904. [56] cf. tanti. risley, tribes and castes of bengal. [57] madras mail, 1906. [58] mysore and coorg gazetteer. [59] madras census report, 1891. [60] manual of the madura district. [61] gazetteer of the madura district. [62] manual of the madura district. [63] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [64] ibid. [65] manual of the north arcot district. [66] history of travancore, 1878. [67] malabar and its folk, madras, 1900. [68] madras census report, 1891. [69] manual of the madura district. [70] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [71] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [72] cf. nayadi. [73] native life in travancore, 1883. [74] monograph, eth. survey, cochin, no. 9, 1906. [75] manual of the malabar district. [76] manual of the north arcot district. [77] archæolog. survey of india. annual report, 1902-1903. [78] journey through mysore, canara and malabar. ed., 1807. [79] on the weapons, army organization, and political maxims of the ancient hindus, with special reference to gunpowder and fire-arms, madras, 1880. [80] vide f. hall's edition of h. h. wilson's vishnu purana, 1864. iii. 289-303. [81] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [82] native life in travancore. [83] madras census report, 1901. [84] madras census report, 1901. [85] malabar law and custom, 3rd ed., 1905. [86] father coleridge's life and letters of st. francis xavier. [87] history of tinnevelly. [88] indian medical gazette, xli, 8, 1906. [89] cochin census report, 1901. [90] madras census report, 1901. [91] mysore census report, 1891. [92] madras census report, 1901. [93] n. sankuni wariar, ind. ant. xxi, 1892. [94] gazetteer of the madura district. [95] madras census report, 1901. [96] ibid., 1891. [97] gazetteer of the tanjore district. [98] gazetteer of the madura district. [99] the land of the permauls, or cochin, its past and its present, 1863. [100] manual of the madura district. [101] manual of the madura district. [102] madras census report, 1891, and manual of the north arcot district. [103] see divakaram and chudamani nikhandu. [104] see life of tiruvalluvar, in lazarus' edition of the kural. [105] madras census report, 1891. [106] gazetteer of malabar. [107] manual of the south canara district. [108] madras census report, 1901. [109] manual of the north arcot district. [110] madras census report, 1901. [111] manual of the tanjore district. [112] manual of the north arcot district; madras census report, 1891. [113] madras census report, 1901. [114] malabar and its folk, 1900. [115] madras dioc: magazine, 1906. [116] manual of malabar. [117] madras museum bull. iii, 3. 1901. [118] manual of the salem district. [119] native life in travancore. [120] madras museum, bull. iii, i, 1900. [121] crawley. the mystic rose. fide jagor. zeitsch: ethnol. xi, 164. [122] manual of the north arcot district. [123] ind. ant. viii, 1879. [124] history of the military transactions in indostan. [125] ind. ant. viii, 1879. [126] ind. ant. xx, 1891. [127] monograph eth. survey of cochin, no. 12, 1907. [128] madras museum bull. iii, 3, 1901. [129] rev. j. cain, ind. ant., viii, 1879. [130] madras census report, 1891, and manual of the north arcot district. [131] madras journal of literature and science, 188-788, p. 134, where the etymology of the name vellala is fully discussed. [132] section iii. inhabitants, government press, madras, 1907. [133] thondai-nandalap-paddiyam. [134] the zamindars of cheyur, chunampet, etc., in the chingleput district. [135] manual of the madura district. [136] pen and ink sketches of south india. [137] madras census report, 1901. [138] m. paupa rao naidu. history of railway thieves, 1900. [139] ind. ant. iii, 1874. [140] madras census report, 1891. [141] baramahal records. [142] manual of the madura district. [143] manual of the madura district. [144] manual of the north arcot district. [145] manual of the madura district. [146] madras museum bull., v. 3, 1907. [147] manual of the salem district, 1883. [148] a. chatterton. monograph on tanning and working in leather, 1904. [149] madras mail, 1907. [150] ibid. [151] malabar and its folk, 1900. [152] monograph, ethnological survey of cochin, 1905. [153] gazetteer of malabar. [154] monograph, eth. survey of cochin. [155] ind. ant., x, 1881, p. 69. [156] manual of the kurnool district. [157] catalogue raisonné of oriental manuscripts, iii, 1862. [158] notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency, 1892. [159] this note is based on an article by mr. ranga rao, with additions. [160] agent for sale of the legislative department publications. gutenberg. castes and tribes of southern india by edgar thurston, c.i.e., superintendent, madras government museum; correspondant étranger, société d'anthropologie de paris; socio corrispondante, societa, romana di anthropologia. assisted by k. rangachari, m.a., of the madras government museum. volume vi--p to s government press, madras 1909. castes and tribes of southern india. volume vi. p palli or vanniyan.--writing concerning this caste the census superintendent, 1871, records that "a book has been written by a native to show that the pallis (pullies or vanniar) of the south are descendants of the fire races (agnikulas) of the kshatriyas, and that the tamil pullies were at one time the shepherd kings of egypt." at the time of the census, 1871, a petition was submitted to government by representatives of the caste, praying that they might be classified as kshatriyas, and twenty years later, in connection with the census, 1891, a book entitled 'vannikula vilakkam: a treatise on the vanniya caste,' was compiled by mr. t. aiyakannu nayakar, in support of the caste claim to be returned as kshatriyas, for details concerning which claim i must refer the reader to the book itself. in 1907, a book entitled varuna darpanam (mirror of castes) was published, in which an attempt is made to connect the caste with the pallavas. kulasekhara, one of the early travancore kings, and one of the most renowned alwars reverenced by the sri vaishnava community in southern india, is claimed by the pallis as a king of their caste. even now, at the parthasarathi temple in triplicane (in the city of madras), which according to inscriptions is a pallava temple, pallis celebrate his anniversary with great éclat. the pallis of komalesvaranpettah in the city of madras have a kulasekhara perumal sabha, which manages the celebration of the anniversary. the temple has recently been converted at considerable cost into a temple for the great alwar. a similar celebration is held at the chintadripettah adikesava perumal temple in madras. the pallis have the right to present the most important camphor offering of the mylapore siva temple. they allege that the temple was originally theirs, but by degrees they lost their hold over it until this bare right was left to them. some years ago, there was a dispute concerning the exercise of this right, and the case came before the high court of madras, which decided the point at issue in favour of the pallis. one of the principal gopuras (pyramidal towers) of the ekamranatha temple at big conjeeveram, the ancient capital of the pallavas, is known as palligopuram. the pallis of that town claim it as their own, and repair it from time to time. in like manner, they claim that the founder of the chidambaram temple, by name sweta varman, subsequently known as hiranya varman (sixth century a.d.) was a pallava king. at pichavaram, four miles east of chidambaram, lives a palli family, which claims to be descended from hiranya varman. a curious ceremony is even now celebrated at the chidambaram temple, on the steps leading to the central sanctuary. as soon as the eldest son of this family is married, he and his wife, accompanied by a local vellala, repair to the sacred shrine, and there, amidst crowds of their castemen and others, a homam (sacrificial fire) is raised, and offerings are made to it. the couple are then anointed with nine different kinds of holy water, and the vellala places the temple crown on their heads. the vellala who officiates at this ceremony, assisted by the temple priests, is said to belong to the family of a former minister of a descendant of hiranya varman. it is said that, as the ceremony is a costly one, and the expenses have to be paid by the individual who undergoes it, it often happens that the eldest son of the family has to remain a bachelor for half his lifetime. the pallis who reside at st. thomé in the city of madras allege that they became christians, with their king kandappa raja, who, they say, ruled over mylapore during the time of the visit of st. thomas. in 1907, mr. t. varadappa nayakar, the only high court vakil (pleader) among the palli community practising in madras, brought out a tamil book on the history of the connection of the caste with the ancient pallava kings. in reply to one of a series of questions promulgated by the census superintendent, it was stated that "the caste is known by the following names:--agnikulas and vanniyas. the etymology of these is the same, being derived from the sanskrit agni or vahni, meaning fire. the following, taken from dr. oppert's article on the original inhabitants of bharatavarsa or india, explains the name of the caste with its etymology:--'the word vanniyan is generally derived from the sanskrit vahni, fire. agni, the god of fire, is connected with regal office, as kings hold in their hands the fire-wheel or agneya-chakra, and the vanniyas urge in support of their name the regal descent they claim.' the existence of these fire races, agnikula or vahnikula (vanniya), in north and south india is a remarkable fact. no one can refuse to a scion of the non-aryan warrior tribe the title of rajputra, but in so doing we establish at once aryan and non-aryan rajaputras or rajputs. the vanniyan of south india may be accepted as a representative of the non-aryan rajput element." the name vanniyan is, mr. h. a. stuart writes, [1] "derived from the sanskrit vanhi (fire) in consequence of the following legend. in the olden times, two giants named vatapi and mahi, worshipped brahma with such devotion that they obtained from him immunity from death from every cause save fire, which element they had carelessly omitted to include in their enumeration. protected thus, they harried the country, and vatapi went the length of swallowing vayu, the god of the winds, while mahi devoured the sun. the earth was therefore enveloped in perpetual darkness and stillness, a condition of affairs which struck terror into the minds of the devatas, and led them to appeal to brahma. he, recollecting the omission made by the giants, directed his suppliants to desire the rishi jambava mahamuni to perform a yagam, or sacrifice by fire. the order having been obeyed, armed horse men sprung from the flames, who undertook twelve expeditions against vatapi and mahi, whom they first destroyed, and afterwards released vayu and the sun from their bodies. their leader then assumed the government of the country under the name rudra vanniya maharaja, who had five sons, the ancestors of the vanniya caste. these facts are said to be recorded in the vaidiswara temple in the tanjore district." the vaidiswara temple here referred to is the vaidiswara kovil near shiyali. mr. stuart adds that "this tradition alludes to the destruction of the city of vapi by narasimha varma, king of the pallis or pallavas." vapi, or va-api, was the ancient name of vatapi or badami in the bombay presidency. it was the capital of the chalukyas, who, during the seventh century, were at feud with the pallavas of the south. "the son of mahendra varman i," writes rai bahadur v. venkayya, "was narasimha varman i, who retrieved the fortunes of the family by repeatedly defeating the cholas, keralas, kalabhras, and pandyas. he also claims to have written the word victory as on a plate on pulikesin's [2] back, which was caused to be visible (i.e., which was turned in flight after defeat) at several battles. narasimha varman carried the war into chalukyan territory, and actually captured vatapi their capital. this claim of his is established by an inscription found at badami, from which it appears that narasimha varman bore the title mahamalla. in later times, too, this pallava king was known as vatapi konda narasingapottaraiyan. dr. fleet assigns the capture of the chalukya capital to about a.d. 642. the war of narasimha varman with pulikesin is mentioned in the sinhalese chronicle mahavamsa. it is also hinted at in the tamil periyapuranam. the well-known saint siruttonda, who had his only son cut up and cooked in order to satisfy the appetite of the god siva disguised as a devotee, is said to have reduced to dust the city of vatapi for his royal master, who could be no other than the pallava king narasimha varman." i gather, from a note by mr. f. r. hemingway, that the pallis "tell a long story of how they are descendants of one vira vanniyan, who was created by a sage named sambuha when he was destroying the two demons named vatapi and enatapi. this vira vanniyan married a daughter of the god indra, and had five sons, named rudra, brahma, krishna, sambuha, and kai, whose descendants now live respectively in the country north of the palar in the cauvery delta, between the palar and pennar. they have written a puranam and a drama bearing on this tale. they declare that they are superior to brahmans, since, while the latter must be invested with the sacred thread after birth, they bring their sacred thread with them at birth itself." "the vanniyans," mr. nelson states, [3] "are at the present time a small and obscure agricultural caste, but there is reason to believe that they are descendants of ancestors who, in former times, held a good position among the tribes of south india. a manuscript, abstracted at page 90 of the catalogue raisonné (mackenzie manuscripts), states that the vanniyans belong to the agnikula, and are descended from the muni sambhu; and that they gained victories by means of their skill in archery. and another manuscript, abstracted at page 427, shows that two of their chiefs enjoyed considerable power, and refused to pay the customary tribute to the rayar, who was for a long time unable to reduce them to submission. armies of vanniyans are often mentioned in ceylon annals. and a hindu history of ceylon, translated in the royal as. soc. journal, vol. xxiv, states that, in the year 3300 of the kali yuga, a pandya princess went over to ceylon, and married its king, and was accompanied by sixty bands of vanniyans." the terms vanni and vanniyan are used in tamil poems to denote king. thus, in the classical tamil poem kalladam, which has been attributed to the time of tiruvalluvar, the author of the sacred kural, vanni is used in the sense of king. kamban, the author of the tamil ramayana, uses it in a similar sense. in an inscription dated 1189 a.d., published by dr. e. hultzsch, [4] vanniya nayan appears among the titles of the local chief of tiruchchuram, who made a grant of land to the vishnu temple at manimangalam. tiruchchuram is identical with tiruvidaichuram about four miles south-east of chingleput, where there is a ruined fort, and also a siva temple celebrated in the hymns of tirugnana sambandhar, the great saiva saint who lived in the 9th century. local tradition, confirmed by one of the mackenzie manuscripts, [5] says that this place was, during the time of the vijayanagar king krishna raya (1509-30 a.d.), ruled over by two feudal chiefs of the vanniya caste named kandavarayan and sendavarayan. they, it is said, neglected to pay tribute to their sovereign lord, who sent an army to exact it. the brothers proved invincible, but one of their dancing-girls was guilty of treachery. acting under instructions, she poisoned kandavarayan. his brother sendavarayan caught hold of her and her children, and drowned them in the local tank. the tank and the hillock close by still go by the name of kuppichi kulam and kuppichi kunru, after kuppi the dancing-girl. an inscription of the vijayanagar king deva raya ii (1419-44 a.d.) gives him the title of the lord who took the heads of the eighteen vanniyas. [6] this inscription records a grant by one muttayya nayakan, son of mukka nayakan of vanniraya gotram. another inscription, [7] dated 1456 a.d., states that, when one raja vallabha ruled at conjeeveram, a general, named vanniya chinna pillai, obtained a piece of land at sattankad near madras. reference is made by orme [8] to the assistance which the vaniah of sevagherry gave muhammad yusuf in his reduction of tinnevelly in 1757. the vaniah here referred to is the zamindar of sivagiri in the tinnevelly district, a vanniya by caste. vanniyas are mentioned in ceylon archives. wanni is the name of a district in ceylon. it is, mr. w. hamilton writes, [9] "situated towards trincomalee in the north-east quarter. at different periods its wannies or princes, taking advantage of the wars between the candian sovereigns and their european enemies, endeavoured to establish an authority independent of both, but they finally, after their country had been much desolated by all parties, submitted to the dutch." further, sir j. e. tennent writes, [10] that "in modern times, the wanny was governed by native princes styled wannyahs, and occasionally by females with the title of wunniches." the terms sambhu and sambhava rayan are connected with the pallis. the story goes that agni was the original ancestor of all kings. his son was sambhu, whose descendants called themselves sambhukula, or those of the sambhu family. some inscriptions [11] of the time of the chola kings kulottunga iii and raja raja iii record sambukula perumal sambuvarayan and alagiya pallavan edirili sola sambuvarayan as titles of local chiefs. a well-known verse of irattayar in praise of conjeeveram ekamranathaswami refers to the pallava king as being of the sambu race. the later descendants of the pallavas apparently took sambuvarayar and its allied forms as their titles, as the pallis in tanjore and south arcot still do. at conjeeveram there lives the family of the mahanattar of the vanniyans, which calls itself "of the family of vira sambu." "the name vanniyan," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [12] seems to have been introduced by the brahmans, possibly to gratify the desire of the pallis for genealogical distinction. padaiyachi means a soldier, and is also of late origin. that the pallis were once an influential and independent community may be admitted, and in their present desire to be classed as kshatriyas they are merely giving expression to this belief, but, unless an entirely new meaning is to be given to the term kshatriya, their claim must be dismissed as absurd. after the fall of the pallava dynasty, the pallis became agricultural servants under the vellalas, and it is only since the advent of british rule that they have begun to assert their claims to a higher position." further, mr. w. francis writes [13] that "this caste has been referred to as being one of those which are claiming for themselves a position higher than that which hindu society is inclined to accord them. their ancestors were socially superior to themselves, but they do not content themselves with stating this, but in places are taking to wearing the sacred thread of the twice-born, and claim to be kshatriyas. they have published pamphlets to prove their descent from that caste, and they returned themselves in thousands, especially in godavari, as agnikula kshatriyas or vannikula kshatriyas, meaning kshatriyas of the fire race." "as a relic," it has been said, [14] "of the origin of the vannikula kshatriyas from fire, the fire-pot, which comes in procession on a fixed day during the annual festivities of draupadi and other goddesses, is borne on the head of a vanniya. also, in dramatic plays, the king personæ (sic) has always been taken by a kshatriya, who is generally a vanniya. these peculiarities, however, are becoming common now-a-days, when privileges peculiar to one caste are being trenched upon by other caste men. in the tirupporur temple, the practice of beating the mazhu (red-hot iron) is done by a dancing-girl serving the vanniya caste. the privilege of treading on the fire is also peculiar to the vanniyas." it is recorded by mr. francis [15] that, in the south arcot district, "draupadi's temples are very numerous, and the priest at them is generally a palli by caste, and pallis take the leading part in the ceremonies at them. why this should be so is not clear. the pallis say it is because both the pandava brothers and themselves were born of fire, and are therefore related. festivals to draupadi always involve two points of ritual--the recital or acting of a part of the mahabharata and a fire-walking ceremony. the first of these is usually done by the pallis, who are very fond of the great epic, and many of whom know it uncommonly well. [in the city of madras there are several draupadi amman temples belonging to the pallis. the fire-walking ceremony cannot be observed thereat without the help of a member of this caste, who is the first to walk over the hot ashes.] kuvvakkam is known for its festival to aravan (more correctly iravan) or kuttandar, which is one of the most popular feasts with sudras in the whole district. aravan was the son of arjuna, one of the five pandava brothers. local tradition says that, when the great war which is described in the mahabharata was about to begin, the kauravas, the opponents of the pandavas, sacrificed, to bring them success, a white elephant. the pandavas were in despair of being able to find any such uncommon object with which to propitiate the gods, until arjuna suggested that they should offer up his son aravan. aravan agreed to yield his life for the good of the cause, and, when eventually the pandavas were victorious, he was deified for the self-abnegation which had thus brought his side success. since he died in his youth, before he had been married, it is held to please him if men, even though grown up and already wedded, come now and offer to espouse him, and men who are afflicted with serious diseases take a vow to marry him at his annual festival in the hope of thereby being cured. the festival occurs in may, and for eighteen nights the mahabharata is recited by a palli, large numbers of people, especially of that caste, assembling to hear it read. on the eighteenth night, a wooden image of kuttandar is taken to a tope (grove), and seated there. this is the signal for the sacrifice of an enormous number of fowls. every one who comes brings one or two, and the number killed runs literally into thousands. such sacrifices are most uncommon in south arcot, though frequent enough in other parts of the presidency--the ceded districts for example--and this instance is noteworthy. while this is going on, all the men who have taken vows to be married to the deity appear before his image dressed like women, make obeisance, offer to the priest (who is a palli by caste) a few annas, and give into his hands the talis (marriage badges) which they have brought with them. these the priest, as representing the god, ties round their necks. the god is brought back to his shrine that night, and when in front of the building he is hidden by a cloth being held before him. this symbolises the sacrifice of aravan, and the men who have just been married to him set up loud lamentations at the death of their husband. similar vows are taken and ceremonies performed, it is said, at the shrines to kuttandar at kottattai (two miles north-west of porto novo), and adivarahanattum (five miles north-west of chidambaram), and, in recent years, at tiruvarkkulam (one mile east of the latter place); other cases probably occur." the pallis, mr. francis writes further, [16] "as far back as 1833 tried to procure a decree in pondicherry, declaring that they were not a low caste, and of late years they have, in this (south arcot) district, been closely bound together by an organisation managed by one of their caste, who was a prominent person in these parts. in south arcot they take a somewhat higher social rank than in other places--tanjore, for example--and their esprit de corps is now surprisingly strong. they are tending gradually to approach the brahmanical standard of social conduct, discouraging adult marriage, meat-eating, and widow re-marriage, and they also actively repress open immorality or other social sins, which might serve to give the community a bad name. in 1904 a document came before one of the courts, which showed that, in the year previous, the representatives of the caste in thirty-four villages in this district had bound themselves in writing, under penalty of excommunication, to refrain (except with the consent of all parties) from the practices formerly in existence of marrying two wives, and of allowing a woman to marry again during the lifetime of her first husband. some of the caste have taken to calling themselves vannikula kshatriyas or agnikula kshatriyas, and others even declare that they are brahmans. these last always wear the sacred thread, tie their cloths in the brahman fashion (though their women do not follow the brahman ladies in this matter), forbid widow remarriage, and are vegetarians." some palli poligars have very high-sounding names, such as agni kudirai eriya raya ravutha minda nainar, i.e., nainar who conquered raya ravutha and mounted a fire horse. this name is said to commemorate a contest between a palli and a ravutha, at which the former sat on a red-hot metal horse. further names are samidurai surappa sozhaganar and anjada singam (fearless lion). some pallis have adopted gupta as a title. a few palli families now maintain a temple of their own, dedicated to srinivasa, at the village of kumalam in the south arcot district, live round the temple, and are largely dependent on it for their livelihood. most of them dress exactly like the temple battars, and a stranger would certainly take them for battar brahmans. some of them are well versed in the temple ritual, and their youths are being taught the sandyavandhana (morning prayer) and vedas by a brahman priest. ordinary palli girls are taken by them in marriage, but their own girls are not allowed to marry ordinary pallis; and, as a result of this practice of hypergamy, the kumalam men sometimes have to take to themselves more than one wife, in order that their young women may be provided with husbands. these kumalam pallis are regarded as priests of the pallis, and style themselves kovilar, or temple people. but, by other castes, they are nicknamed kumalam brahmans. they claim to be kshatriyas, and have adopted the title rayar. other titles, "indicating authority, bravery, and superiority," assumed by pallis are nayakar, varma, padaiyachi (head of an army), kandar, chera, chola, pandya, nayanar, udaiyar, samburayar, etc. [17] still further titles are pillai, reddi, goundan, and kavandan. some say that they belong to the chola race, and that, as such, they should be called chembians. [18] iranya varma, the name of one of the early pallava kings, was returned as their caste by certain wealthy pallis, who also gave themselves the title of solakanar (descendant of chola kings) at the census, 1901. in reply to a question by the census superintendent, 1891, as to the names of the sub-divisions of the caste, it was stated that "the vanniyans are either of the solar and lunar or agnikula race, or ruthra vanniyar, krishna vanniyar, samboo vanniyar, brahma vanniyar, and indra vanniyar." the most important of the sub-divisions returned at the census were agamudaiyan, agni, arasu (raja), kshatriya, nagavadam (cobra's hood, or ear ornament of that shape), nattaman, olai (palm leaf), pandamuttu, and perumal gotra. pandamuttu is made by winslow to mean torches arranged so as to represent an elephant. but the pallis derive the name from panda muttu, or touching the pandal, in reference to the pile of marriage pots reaching to the top of the pandal. the lowest pot is decorated with figures of elephants and horses. at a marriage among the pandamuttu pallis, the bride and bridegroom, in token of their kshatriya descent, are seated on a raised dais, which represents a simhasanam or throne. the bride wears a necklace of glass beads with the tali, and the officiating priest is a telugu brahman. other sub-castes of the pallis, recorded in the census report, 1901, are kallangi in chingleput, bearing the title reddi, and kallaveli, or kallan's fence, in the madura district. the occupational title kottan (bricklayer) was returned by some pallis in coimbatore. in the salem district some pallis are divided into anju-nal (five days) and pannendu-nal (twelve days), according as they perform the final death ceremonies on the fifth or twelfth day after death, to distinguish them from those who perform them on the sixteenth day. [19] another division of pallis in the salem district is based on the kind of ear ornament which is worn. the olai pallis wear a circular ornament (olai), and the nagavadam pallis wear an ornament in shape like a cobra and called nagavadam. the pallis are classed with the left-hand section. but the census superintendent, 1871, records that "the wives of the agricultural labourers (pallis) side with the left hand, while the husbands help in fighting the battles of the right; and the shoe-makers' (chakkiliyan) wives also take the side opposed to their husbands. during these factional disturbances, the ladies deny to their husbands all the privileges of the connubial state." this has not, however, been confirmed in recent investigations into the customs of the caste. the pallis are saivites or vaishnavites, but are also demonolaters, and worship mutyalamma, mariamma, ayanar, muneswara, ankalamma, and other minor deities. writing nearly a century ago concerning the vana pallis settled at kolar in mysore, buchanan states [20] that "they are much addicted to the worship of the saktis, or destructive powers, and endeavour to avert their wrath by bloody sacrifices. these are performed by cutting off the animal's head before the door of the temple, and invoking the deity to partake of the sacrifice. there is no altar, nor is the blood sprinkled on the image, and the body serves the votaries for a feast. the pallivanlu have temples dedicated to a female spirit of this kind named mutialamma, and served by pujaris (priests) of their own caste. they also offer sacrifices to mariamma, whose pujaris are kurubaru." huge human figures, representing mannarswami in a sitting posture, constructed of bricks and mortar, and painted, are conspicuous objects in the vicinity of the lawrence asylum press, mount road, and in the kottawal bazar, madras. at the village of tirumalavayal near avadi, there is a similar figure as tall as a palmyra palm, with a shrine of pachaiamman close by. mannarswami is worshipped mainly by pallis and beri chettis. an annual festival is held in honour of pachaiamman and mannarswami, in which the beri chettis take a prominent part. during the festivals of village deities, the goddess is frequently represented by a pile of seven pots, called karagam, decorated with garlands and flowers. even when there is an idol in the temple, the karagam is set up in a corner thereof, and taken daily, morning and evening, in procession, carried on the head of a pujari or other person. on the last day of the festival, the karagam is elaborately decorated with parrots, dolls, flowers, etc., made of pith (æschynomene aspera), and called pu karagam (flower pot). the pallis live in separate streets or quarters distinctively known as the palli teru or kudi teru (ryots' quarter). the bulk of them are labourers, but many now farm their own lands, while others are engaged in trade or in government service. the occupations of those whom i have examined at madras and chingleput were as follows:- merchant. cultivator. bullock and pony cart driver. printer. lascar. sweetmeat vendor. flower vendor. fitter. sawyer. oil-presser. gardener. polisher. bricklayer. mason. some of the chingleput palli men were tattooed, like the irulas, with a dot or vertical stripe on the forehead. some irulas, it may be noted en passant, call themselves ten (honey) vanniyans, or vana (forest) pallis. like many other castes, the pallis have their own caste beggars, called nokkan, who receive presents at marriages and on other occasions. the time-honoured panchayat system still prevails, and the caste has headmen, entitled perithanakkaran or nattamaikkaran, who decide all social matters affecting the community, and must be present at the ceremonial distribution of pansupari. the kovilars, and some others who aspire to a high social status, practice infant marriage, but adult marriage is the rule. at the betrothal ceremony, the future bridegroom goes to the house of his prospective father-in-law, where the headman of the future bride must be present. the bridegroom's headman or father places on a tray betel, flowers, the bride-price (pariyam) in money or jewels, the milk money (mulapal kuli), and a cocoanut. milk money is the present given to the mother of the bride, in return for her having given nourishment to the girl during her infancy. all these things are handed by the bridegroom's headman to the father or headman of the bride, saying "the money is yours. the girl is ours." the bride's father, receiving them, says "the money is mine. the girl is yours." this performance is repeated thrice, and pan-supari is distributed, the first recipient being the maternal uncle. the ceremony is in a way binding, and marriage, as a rule, follows close on the betrothal. if, in the interval, a girl's intended husband dies, she may marry some one else. a girl may not marry without the consent of her maternal uncle, and, if he disapproves of a match, he has the right to carry her off even when the ceremony is in progress, and marry her to a man of his selection. it is stated, in the vannikula vilakkam, that at a marriage among the pallis "the bride, after her betrothal, is asked to touch the bow and sword of the bridegroom. the latter adorns himself with all regal pomp, and, mounting a horse, goes in procession to the bride's house where the marriage ceremony is celebrated." the marriage ceremony is, in ordinary cases, completed in one day, but the tendency is to spread it over three days, and introduce the standard puranic form of ritual. on the day preceding the wedding-day, the bride is brought in procession to the house of the bridegroom, and the marriage pots are brought by a woman of the potter caste. on the wedding morning, the marriage dais is got ready, and the milk-post, pots, and lights are placed thereon. bride and bridegroom go separately through the nalagu ceremony. they are seated on a plank, and five women smear them with oil by means of a culm of grass (cynodon dactylon), and afterwards with phaseolus mungo (green gram) paste. water coloured with turmeric and chunam (arathi) is then waved round them, to avert the evil eye, and they are conducted to the bathing-place. while they are bathing, five small cakes are placed on various parts of the body--knees, shoulders, head, etc. when the bridegroom is about to leave the spot, cooked rice, contained in a sieve, is waved before him, and thrown away. the bridal couple are next taken three times round the dais, and they offer pongal (cooked rice) to the village and house gods and the ancestors, in five pots, in which the rice has been very carefully prepared, so as to avoid pollution of any kind, by a woman who has given birth to a first child. they then dress themselves in their wedding finery, and get ready for the tying of the tali. meanwhile, the milk-post, made of odina wodier, erythrina indica, or the handle of a plough, has been set up. at its side are placed a grindstone, a large pot, and two lamps called kuda-vilakku (pot light) and alankara-vilakku (ornamental light). the former consists of a lighted wick in an earthenware tray placed on a pot, and the latter of a wooden stand with several branches supporting a number of lamps. it is considered an unlucky omen if the pot light goes out before the conclusion of the ceremonial. it is stated by mr. h. a. stuart [21] that in the north arcot district "in the marriage ceremony of the vanniyans or pallis, the first of the posts supporting the booth must be cut from the vanni (prosopis spicigera), a tree which they hold in much reverence because they believe that the five pandava princes, who were like themselves kshatriyas, during the last year of their wanderings, deposited their arms in a tree of this species. on the tree the arms turned into snakes, and remained untouched till the owners' return." the prosopis tree is worshipped in order to obtain pardon from sins, success over enemies, and the realisation of the devotee's wishes. when the bride and bridegroom come to the wedding booth dressed in their new clothes, the brahman purohit gives them the threads (kankanam), which are to be tied round their wrists. the tali is passed round to be blessed by those assembled, and handed to the bridegroom, who ties it on the bride's neck. while he is so doing, his sister holds a light called kamakshi vilakku. kamakshi, the goddess at conjeeveram, is a synonym for siva's consort parvathi. the music of the flute is sometimes accompanied by the blowing of the conch shell while the tali is being tied, and omens are taken from the sounds produced thereby. the tali-tying ceremony concluded, the couple change their seats, and the ends of their clothes are tied together. rice is thrown on their heads, and in front of them, and the near relations may tie gold or silver plates called pattam. the first to do this is the maternal uncle. bride and bridegroom then go round the dais and milk-post, and, at the end of the second turn, the bridegroom lifts the bride's left foot, and places it on the grindstone. at the end of the third turn, the brother-in-law, in like manner, places the bridegroom's left foot on the stone, and puts on a toe-ring. for so doing, he receives a rupee and betel. the contracting couple are then shown the pole-star (arundhati), and milk and fruit are given to them. towards evening, the wrist-threads are removed, and they proceed to a tank for a mock ploughing ceremony. the bridegroom carries a ploughshare, and the bride a small pot containing conji (rice gruel). a small patch of ground is turned up, and puddled so as to resemble a miniature field, wherein the bridegroom plants some grain seedlings. a miniature pillayar (ganesa) is made with cow-dung, and betel offered to it. the bridegroom then sits down, feigning fatigue, and the bride gives him a handful of rice, which his brother-in-law tries to prevent him from eating. the newly-married couple remain for about a week at the bride's house, and are then conducted to that of the bridegroom, the brother-in-law carrying a hundred or a hundred and ten cakes. before they enter the house, coloured water and a cocoanut are waved in front of them, and, as soon as she puts foot within her new home, the bride must touch pots containing rice and salt with her right hand. a curious custom among the pallis at kumbakonam is that the bride's mother, and often all her relatives, are debarred from attending her marriage. the bride is also kept gosha (in seclusion) for all the days of the wedding. [22] it is noted by mr. hemingway that some of the pandamuttu pallis of the trichinopoly district "practice the betrothal of infant girls, the ceremony consisting of pouring cow-dung water into the mouth of the baby. they allow a girl to marry a boy younger than herself, and make the latter swallow a two-anna bit, to neutralise the disadvantages of such a match. weddings are generally performed at the boy's house, and the bride's mother does not attend. the bride is concealed from view by a screen." it is said that, some years ago, a marriage took place at panruti near cuddalore on the old svayamvara principle described in the story of nala and damayanti in the mahabharata. according to this custom, a girl selects a husband from a large number of competitors, who are assembled for the purpose. widow remarriage is permitted. at the marriage of a widow, the tali is tied by a married woman, the bridegroom standing by the side, usually inside the house. widow marriage is known as naduvittu tali, as the tali-tying ceremony takes place within the house (naduvidu). to get rid of the pollution of the first menstrual period, holy water is sprinkled over the girl by a brahman, after she has bathed. she seats herself on a plank, and rice cakes (puttu), a pounding stone, and arathi are waved in front of her. sugar and betel are then distributed among those present. the dead are sometimes burnt, and sometimes buried. as soon as an individual dies, the son goes three times round the corpse, carrying an iron measure (marakkal), wherein a lamp rests on unhusked rice. the corpse is washed, and the widow bathes in such a way that the water falls on it. omission to perform this rite would entail disgrace, and there is an abusive phrase "may the water from the woman's body not fall on that of the corpse." the dead man and his widow exchange betel three times. the corpse is carried to the burning or burial-ground on a bamboo stretcher, and, on the way thither, is set down near a stone representing arichandra, to whom food is offered. arichandra was a king who became a slave of the paraiyans, and is in charge of the burial-ground. by some pallis a two-anna piece is placed on the forehead, and a pot of rice on the breast of the corpse. these are taken away by the officiating barber and paraiyan respectively. [23] men who die before they are married have to go through a post-mortem mock marriage ceremony. a garland of arka (calotropis gigantea) flowers is placed round the neck of the corpse, and mud from a gutter is shaped into cakes, which, like the cakes at a real marriage, are placed on various parts of the body. a curious death ceremony is said by mr. hemingway to be observed by the arasu pallis in the trichinopoly district. on the day after the funeral, two pots of water are placed near the spot where the corpse was cremated. if a cow drinks of the water, they think it is the soul of the dead come to quench its thirst. in some places, palli women live in strict seclusion (gosha). this is particularly the case in the old palaigar families of ariyalur, udaiyarpalaiyam, pichavaram, and sivagiri. the caste has a well-organised sangham (association) called chennai vannikula kshatriya maha sangham, which was established in 1888 by leaders of the caste. besides creating a strong esprit de corps among members of the caste in various parts of the madras presidency, it has been instrumental in the opening of seven schools, of which three are in madras, and the others at conjeeveram, madhurantakam, tirukalikundram and kumalam. it has also established chuttrams (rest-houses) at five places of pilgrimage. chengalvaraya nayakar's technical school, attached to pachaiappa's college in madras, was founded in 1865 by a member of the palli caste, who bequeathed a large legacy for its maintenance. there is also an orphanage named after him in madras, for palli boys. govindappa nayakar's school, which forms the lower secondary branch of pachaiappa's college, is another institution which owes its existence to the munificence of a member of the palli caste. the latest venture of the pallis is the publication of a newspaper called agnikuladittan (the sun of the agnikula), which was started in 1908. concerning the pallis, pallilu, or palles, who are settled in the telugu country as fishermen, carpenters, and agriculturists, mr. h. a. stuart writes [24] that "it seems probable that they are a branch of the great palli or vanniya tribe, for buchanan refers to the mina (fish) pallis and vana pallis." as sub-castes of these pallis, vada (boatmen), marakkadu and edakula are given in the census report, 1901. in the north arcot manual, palli is given as a sub-division of the telugu kapus. in some places the pallis call themselves palle kapulu, and give as their gotram jambumaharishi, which is a gotram of the pallis. though they do not intermarry, the palle kapulu may interdine with the kapus. concerning the caste-beggars of the pallis, and their legendary history, i read the following account. [25] "i came upon a noisy procession entering one of the main streets of a town not far from madras. it was headed by spearmen, swordsmen, and banner-bearers, the last carrying huge flags (palempores) with representations of lions, tigers, monkeys, brahmany kites, goblins and dwarfs. the centre of attraction consisted of some half dozen men and women in all the bravery of painted faces and gay clothing, and armed with swords, lances, and daggers. tom-toms, trumpets, cymbals, and horns furnished the usual concomitant of ear-piercing music, while the painted men and women moved, in time with it, their hands and feet, which were encircled by rows of tiny bells. a motley following of the tag-rag and bob-tail of the population, which had been allured thither by the noise and clamour, brought up the rear of the procession, which stopped at each crossing. at each halt, the trumpeters blew a great and sonorous blast, while one of the central figures, with a conspicuous abdominal development, stepped forward, and, in a stentorian voice, proclaimed the brave deeds performed by them in the days gone by, and challenged all comers to try conclusions with them, or own themselves beaten. i was told that the chief personages in the show were jatipillays (literally, children of the caste), who had arrived in the town in the course of their annual tour of the country, for collecting their perquisites from all members of the palli or padiachi caste, and that this was how they announced their arrival. the perquisite levied is known as the talaikattu vari (poll-tax, or literally the turban tax), a significant expression when it is borne in mind that only the adult male members of the caste (those who are entitled to tie a cloth round their heads) are liable to pay it, and not the women and children. it amounts to but one anna per head, and is easily collected. the jatipillays also claim occult powers, and undertake to exhibit their skill in magic by the exorcism of devils, witchcraft and sorcery, and the removal of spells, however potent. this operation is called modi edukkirathu, or the breaking of spells, and sometimes the challenge is taken up by a rival magician of a different caste. a wager is fixed, and won or lost according to the superior skill of the challenger or challenged. entering into friendly chat with one of the leading members of the class, i gleaned the following legend of its origin, and of the homage accorded to it by the pallis. in remote times, when salivahana was king of the chola country, with its capital at conjeeveram, all the principal castes of south india had their head-quarters at the seat of government, where each, after its own way, did homage to the triple deities of the place, namely, kamakshi amman, ekambrasvarar, and sri varadarajaswami. each caste got up an annual car festival to these deities. on one of these occasions, owing to a difference which had arisen between the seniyans (weavers), who form a considerable portion of the population of conjeeveram, on one side, and the pallis or vanniyans on the other, some members of the former caste, who were adepts in magic, through sheer malevolence worked spells upon the cars of the pallis, whose progress through the streets first became slow and tedious, and was finally completely arrested, the whole lot of them having come to a stand-still, and remaining rooted on the spot in one of the much frequented thoroughfares of the city. the pallis put on more men to draw the cars, and even employed elephants and horses to haul them, but all to no purpose. as if even this was not sufficient to satisfy their malignity, the unscrupulous seniyars actually went to king salivahana, and bitterly complained against the pallis of having caused a public nuisance by leaving their cars in a common highway to the detriment of the public traffic. the king summoned the pallis, and called them to account, but they pleaded that it was through no fault of theirs that the cars had stuck in a thoroughfare, that they had not been negligent, but had essayed all possible methods of hauling them to their destination by adding to the number of men employed in pulling them, and by having further tried to accelerate their progress with the aid of elephants, camels, and horses, but all in vain. they further declared their conviction that the seniyars had played them an ill-turn, and placed the cars under a spell. king salivahana, however, turned a deaf ear to these representations, and decreed that it was open to the pallis to counteract the spells of their adversaries, and he prescribed a period within which this was to be effected. he also tacked on a threat that, in default of compliance with his mandate, the pallis must leave his kingdom for good and ever. the pallis sought refuge and protection of the goddess kamakshi amman, whose pity was touched by their sad plight, and who came to their aid. she appeared to one of the elders of the caste in a dream, and revealed to him that there was a staunch devotee of hers--a member of their caste--who alone could remove the spells wrought by the seniyars, and that this man, ramasawmy naikan, was prime minister in the service of the kodagu (coorg) raja. the desperate plight they were in induced the pallis to send a powerful deputation to the raja, and to beg of him to lend them the services of ramasawmy naik, in order to save them from the catastrophe which was imminent. the raja was kind enough to comply. the naik arrived, and, by virtue of his clairvoyant powers, took in the situation at a glance. he found myriads of imps and uncanny beings around each of the car-wheels, who gripped them as by a vice, and pulled them back with their sinewy legs and hands every time an attempt was made to drag them forwards. ramasawmy naik by no means liked the look of things, for he found that he had all his work cut out for him to keep these little devils from doing him bodily harm, let alone any attempt to cast them off by spells. he saw that more than common powers were needed to face the situation, and prayed to kamakshi amman to disclose a way of overcoming the enemy. after long fasting and prayers, he slept a night in the temple of kamakshi amman, in the hope that a revelation might come to him in his slumber. while he slept, kamakshi amman appeared, and declared to him that the only way of overcoming the foe was for the pallis to render a propitiatory sacrifice, but of a most revolting kind, namely, to offer up as a victim a woman pregnant with her first child. the pallis trembled at the enormity of the demand, and declared that they would sooner submit to salivahana's decree of perpetual exile than offer such a horrible sacrifice. ramasawmy naik, however, rose to the occasion, and resolved to sacrifice his own girl-wife, who was then pregnant with her first child. he succeeded in propitiating the deity by offering this heroic sacrifice, and the spells of the seniyars instantly collapsed, and the whole legion of imps and devils, who had impeded the progress of the pallis' car, vanished into thin air. the coast having thus been cleared of hostile influences, ramasawmy naik, with no more help than his own occult powers gave him, succeeded in hauling the whole lot of cars to their destination, and in a single trip, by means of a rope passed through a hole in his nose. the pallis, whose gratitude knew no bounds, called down benedictions on his head, and, falling prostrate before him, begged him to name his reward for the priceless service rendered by him to their community. ramasawmy naik only asked that the memory of his services to the caste might be perpetuated by the bestowal upon him and his descendants of the title jati-pillay, or children of the caste, and of the privilege of receiving alms at the hands of the pallis; and that they might henceforth be allowed the honour of carrying the badges of the caste--banners, state umbrellas, trumpets, and other paraphernalia--in proof of the signal victory they had gained over the seniyars." palli dasari.--a name for tamil-speaking dasaris, as distinguished from telugu-speaking dasaris. palli idiga.--a name given by telugu people to tamil shanans, whose occupation is, like that of idigas, toddy-drawing. pallicchan.--a sub-division of nayars, the hereditary occupation of which is palanquin-bearing. in the cochin census report, the pallicchans are recorded as being palanquin-bearers for brahmans. pallikkillam.--an exogamous sept or illam of tamil panikkans. palua.--a sub-division of badhoyi. pambaikkaran.--an occupational name for paraiyans, who play on a drum called pambai. pambala.--the pambalas, or drum (pamba) people, are malas who act as musicians at mala marriages and festivals in honour of their deities. they also take part in the recitation of the story of ankamma, and making muggu (designs on the floor) at the peddadinamu death ceremony of the gamallas. pammi (a common lamp).--an exogamous sept of devanga. pamula (snake people).--a name for snake-charming koravas, and jogis, who, in the character of itinerant showmen, exhibit snakes to the public. the name also occurs as an exogamous sept of mala and yanadi. panam (palmyra palm: borassus flabellifer.)--a sub-division of shanan. it also occurs as a branch or kothu of kondaiyamkotti maravans. panan.--the tamil panans are said, in the census report, 1901, to be also called mestris. they are "tailors among tamils in madura and tinnevelly. they employ brahmans and vellalas as purohits. though barbers and washermen will not eat food prepared by them, they are allowed to enter hindu temples." the malayalam panans are described in the same report as "exorcists and devil-dancers. the men also make umbrellas, and the women act as midwives. in parts they are called malayans, and they may be descendants of that hill tribe who have settled in the plains." in the south canara manual, the panans are said to be "the malayalam caste corresponding to the nalkes and pombadas. they are numerous in malabar, where they are also known by the name of malayan. the devils whom they personify are supposed to have influence over crops, and at the time of harvest the panans go about begging from house to house, dancing with umbrellas in their hands. on such occasions, however, it is only boys and girls who personify the demons." "the village magician or conjurer," mr. gopal panikkar writes, [26] "goes by different names, such as panan, malayan, etc. his work consists in casting out petty devils from the bodies of persons (chiefly children) possessed, in writing charms for them to wear, removing the pernicious effects of the evil eye, and so on." on certain ceremonial occasions, the panan plays on an hour-glass shaped drum, called thudi. in an account of the funeral ceremonies of the tiyans, mr. logan writes [27] that "early on the morning of the third day after death, the kurup or caste barber adopts measures to entice the spirit of the deceased out of the room in which he breathed his last. this is done by the nearest relative bringing into the room a steaming pot of savoury funeral rice. it is immediately removed, and the spirit, after three days' fasting, is understood greedily to follow the odour of the tempting food. the kurup at once closes the door, and shuts out the spirit. the kurup belongs to the panan caste. he is the barber of the polluting classes above cherumans, and by profession he is also an umbrella maker. but, curiously enough, though an umbrella maker, he cannot make the whole of an umbrella. he may only make the framework; the covering of it is the portion of the females of his caste. if he has no female relative of his own capable of finishing off his umbrellas, he must seek the services of the females of other families in the neighbourhood to finish his for him. the basket-makers are called kavaras. nothing will induce them to take hold of an umbrella, as they have a motto, do not take hold of panan's leg." in an account of a ceremonial at the pishari temple near quilandy in malabar, mr. f. fawcett writes [28] that "early on the seventh and last day, when the morning procession is over, there comes to the temple a man of the panan caste. he carries a small cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella which he has made himself, adorned all round the edges with a fringe of the young leaves of the cocoanut palm. the umbrella should have a long handle, and with this in his hand he performs a dance before the temple. he receives about 10 lbs. of raw rice for his performance." it is further recorded by mr. fawcett that, when a tiyan is cremated, a watch is kept at the burning-ground for five days by panans, who beat drums all night to scare away the evil spirits which haunt such spots. the following account of the panans is given in the gazetteer of malabar. "the name is perhaps connected with pan, music. they follow the makkattayam family system (of inheritance from father to son), and practice fraternal polyandry. in south malabar there are said to be four sub-divisions, called tirurengan, kodaketti (umbrella tying), minpidi (fish catching), and pulluvan, of which the last named is inferior in status to the other three. they are also divided into exogamous illams or kiriyams. they worship kali, and inferior deities such as parakutti, karinkutti, gulikan, and kutti chattan. their methods of exorcism are various. if any one is considered to be possessed by demons, it is usual, after consulting the astrologer, to ascertain what murti (lit. form) is causing the trouble, to call in panans, who perform a ceremony called teyattam, in which they wear masks, and, so attired, sing, dance, tom-tom, and play on rude and strident pipes. other of their ceremonies for driving out devils called ucchaveli seem to be survivals of imitations of human sacrifice, or instances of sympathetic magic. one of these consists of a mock living burial of the principal performer, who is placed in a pit which is covered with planks, on the top of which a sacrifice (homam) is performed with a fire kindled with jack (artocarpus integrifolia) branches. in another variety, the panan cuts his left forearm, and smears his face with the blood thus drawn. panans also take part with mannans in various ceremonies at badrakali and other temples, in which the performers personate, in suitable costumes, some of the minor deities or demons, and fowls are sacrificed, while a velicchapad dances himself into a frenzy, and pronounces oracles." it is further noted, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "to constitute a valid divorce, the husband pulls a thread from his cloth, and gives it to his wife's brother, saying 'your parisha is over.' it is a traditional duty of the panans to furnish a messenger to announce to an izhuvan (or tandan) girl's mother or husband (according to where she is staying) that she has attained puberty." in the census report, 1901, anjuttan (men of the five hundred) and munnuttan (men of the three hundred) are returned as sub-castes of the malayalan panans. for the following account of the panans of travancore, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. the word is of tamil origin, and means a tailor. the title taken by them is panikkan, the usual honorific appellation of most of the industrial castes of malabar. they are supposed to be one with the panans of the tamil country, though much below them in the social scale. they observe a pollution distance of thirty-six feet, but keep mannans and vedans at a distance of eight, and pulayas and paraiyas at a distance of thirty-two feet from them. they are their own barbers and washermen. they will eat food prepared by kammalans, of whom there is a tradition that they are a degraded branch. tiruvarangan, one of the popular sages of malabar, who are reputed to be the descendants of a paraiya woman, is said to have been a panan, and the panans pay him due reverence. in the keralolpatti, the traditional occupation of the panans is said to be exorcism, and in british malabar this occupation seems to be continued at the present day. umbrella-making is a secondary occupation for the men. in travancore, however, the only occupation pursued by the panans is tailoring. the tali-kettu celebration takes place before the girl attains puberty. if this ceremony is intended to signify a real marriage, the girl is taken to her husband's house on the fourth day of the first menstrual period, and they remain thenceforth man and wife. otherwise a sambandham ceremony has to be performed either by the tali-tier or some one else, to establish conjugal relations. inheritance is mostly paternal. the dead are buried, and death pollution lasts for sixteen days. the spirits of deceased ancestors are appeased once a year by the offering of cooked food on the new-moon day in the month of karkatakam (july-august). ancestors who died from some untoward accident are propitiated in the month of avani (august-september) by offerings of flesh and liquor. the latter ceremonial is termed vellamkuli or water drinking. small earthen sheds, called gurusalas or kuriyalas and matams, are erected in memory of some ancestors. the following account of the panans of the cochin state is extracted from a note by mr. l. k. ananta krishna aiyar. [29] "the panans give, as the traditional account of their origin, a distorted version of the tradition as to the origin of the izhuvans, which is found in the mackenzie manuscripts. the panan version of the story is as follows. one day a washerman of cheraman perumal chanced to wash his dress very clean. on being asked by the perumal as to the cause of it, the washerman said that it was due to the suggestion of a handsome carpenter girl, who saw him while washing. the perumal, pleased with the girl, desired her to be married to his washerman. the parents of the girl were duly consulted, and they could not refuse the offer, as it came from their sovereign. but his fellow carpenters resented it, for, if the proposal was accepted, and the marriage celebrated, it might not only place the members of her family under a ban, but would also bring dishonour to the castemen. to avert the contemplated union, they resorted to the following device. a pandal (marriage booth) was erected and tastefully decorated. just at the auspicious hour, when the bridegroom and his party were properly seated on mats in the pandal, the carpenters brought a puppet exactly resembling the bride, and placed it by his side, when suddenly, by a clever artifice, the carpenters caused the building to tumble down, and thereby killed all those who were in it. they immediately left the perumal's country, and took refuge in the island of ceylon. the ruler was much embarrassed by the disaster to the washerman, and by the flight of the carpenters, for he had none in his country to build houses. a few panans were sent for, and they brought the carpenters back. on their return, they were given some fruit of the palmyra palm, which they ate. they sowed the seeds in their own places, and these grew into large fruit-bearing palms. the panans possessed the privilege of keeping these trees as their own, but subsequently made them over to the izhuvans, who, in memory of this, give even to-day two dishes of food to the panans on all ceremonial occasions in their houses. they have been, on that account, called by the izhuvans nettaries, for their having originally planted these trees. "there are no titles among the panans, but one, who was brought for examination at trichur, told me that one of his ancestors got the title of panikkan, and that he had the privilege of wearing a gold ear-ring, carrying a walking-stick lined with silver, and using a knife provided with a style. kapradan is a title given to the headman in the palghat taluk. in palghat, when the kapradan dies, the raja is informed, and he sends to the chief mourner (the son) a sword, a shield, a spear, a few small guns with some gunpowder, a silver bangle, and a few necklaces. as the dead body is taken to the burial ground, the chief mourner, wearing the ornaments above mentioned, goes behind it. in front go a few persons armed with the weapons referred to. three discharges are made (1) when the dead body is removed from the house, (2) when it is placed on the ground, (3) when it is burnt. the next day, the chief mourner pays his respects to the raja, with an umbrella of his own making, when the raja bestows upon him the title of kapradan. "there are magicians and sorcerers among the panans, who sometimes, at the request even of the high-caste men, practice the black art. some of the panans, like the parayans, engage in magical rites of a repulsive nature, in order to become possessors of a powerful medicine, the possession of which is believed to confer the power of obtaining anything he wishes. they also believe in the existence of a demoniacal hierarchy. changili karuppan, pechi, oodara karuppan, kali, chotala karuppan, chotala bhadrakali, yakshi, gandharvan, and hanuman are the names of the chief demons whom they profess to control with the aid of mantrams (consecrated formulæ) and offerings. they also profess that they can send one or more of these demons into the bodies of men, and cast them out when persons are possessed of them. they profess to cure all kinds of diseases in children with the aid of magic and medicines, and all the castemen believe that harm or even death may be caused to men with the aid of sorcerers. in such cases, an astrologer is consulted, and, according to his calculations, the aid of a magician is sought for. when a person is suffering from what are believed to be demoniacal attacks, he is relieved by the performance of the following ceremony, called pathalahomam. a pit about six feet in length, three feet in depth, and a foot or two in breadth, is dug. a panan, covered with a new piece of cloth, is made to lie in the pit, which is filled in with earth, leaving a small hole for him to breathe. over the middle of his body, the earth is raised and made level. a sacred fire (homam) is made over this with the branches of a jack tree. near it a large square is drawn with sixty-four small divisions, in each of which a small leaf, with some paddy (unhusked rice), rice, flour, and lighted torches, is placed. gingelly (sesamum) seeds, mustard seeds, grains of chama (panicum miliaceum), horse gram (dolichos biflorus), eight fragrant things, the skin of snakes, dung of the elephant, milk of the pala tree, twigs of the banyan tree, dharba grass, nila narakam (naregamia alata) oil, and ghee (clarified butter) are put into it until it burns bright. the sick man is brought in front of it, and the sorcerer authoritatively asks him--or rather the demon residing in his body--to take these things. the sorcerer puts the above mentioned substances into the fire, muttering all the while his mantrams invoking the favour of vira bhadra or kandakaruna. the significance of these is 'oh! kandakaruna, the king of the devas, i have no body, that is, my body is getting weaker and weaker, and am possessed of some demon, which is killing me, kindly help me, and give me strength.' this done, another operation is begun. a fowl is buried, and a small portion of the earth above it is raised and made level. the figure of a man is drawn by the side of it. three homams (sacred fires) are raised, one at the head, one in the middle, and one at the feet. the above mentioned grains, and other substances, are put into the fire. a large square with sixty-four smaller squares in it is drawn, in each of which a leaf, with grains of paddy, rice, and flowers, is placed. another mantram in praise of the demons already mentioned is uttered, and a song is sung. after finishing this, a small structure in the form of a temple is made. a small plantain tree is placed by the side of it. a padmam is drawn, and a puja (worship) is performed for the paradevatha, the queen of demons. the sorcerer makes offerings of toddy, beaten rice, plantains, and cocoanuts, and soon turns oracle, and, as one inspired, tells what the deity wishes, and gives information as regards the departure of the demons from the body. it is now believed that the patient is free from all demoniacal attacks. the buried man is exhumed, and allowed to go home. "in the palghat taluk, the following form of sorcery is practiced, which is believed to relieve persons from demoniacal attacks and disease. if, in the house of any casteman, it is suspected that some malign influence is being exercised by demons, a panan is sent for, who comes in the evening with his colleagues. a homam is lighted with the branches of the trees already mentioned, and into it are thrown six kinds of grains, as well as oil and ghee. as this is being done, kallatikode nili, the presiding archdemon, is propitiated with songs and offerings. the next part of the ceremony consists in bringing a bier and placing a panan on it, and a measure of rice is placed at his head. he is, as in the case of a dead body, covered with a piece of new cloth, and a small plantain tree is placed between the thighs. at his head a sheep and at his feet a fowl are killed. he pretends gradually to recover consciousness. in this state he is taken outside the compound. the panan, lying on the bier, evidently pretends to be dead, as if killed by the attack of some demon. the propitiation with songs and offerings is intended to gratify the demons. this is an instance of sympathetic magic. "some among the panans practice the oti (or odi) cult, like the parayas. the following medicines, with the aid of magic, are serviceable to them in enticing pregnant women from their houses. their preparation is described as follows. a panan, who is an adept in the black art, bathes early in the morning, dresses in a cloth unwashed, and performs puja to his deity, after which he goes in search of a kotuveli plant (manihot utilissima). when he finds such a one as he wants, he goes round it three times every day, and continues to do so for ninety days, prostrating himself every day before it. on the last night, which must be a new-moon night, at twelve o'clock he performs puja to the plant, burning camphor, and, after going round it three times, prostrates himself before it. he then places three small torches on it, and advances twenty paces in front of it. with his mouth closed, and without any fear, he plucks the plant by the root, and buries it in the ashes on the cremation ground, on which he pours the water of seven green cocoanuts. he then goes round it twenty-one times, muttering all the while certain mantrams, after which he plunges himself in the water, and stands erect until it extends to his mouth. he takes a mouthful of water, which he empties on the spot, and then takes the plant with the root, which he believes to possess peculiar virtues. when it is taken to the closed door of a house, it has the power to entice a pregnant woman, when the foetus is removed (cf. article parayan). it is all secretly done on a dark midnight. the head, hands and legs are cut off, and the trunk is taken to a dark-coloured rock, on which it is cut into nine pieces, which are all burned until they are blackened. at this stage, one piece boils, and is placed in a new earthen pot, with the addition of the water of nine green cocoanuts. the pot is removed to the burial-ground. the panan performs a puja here in favour of his favourite deity. here he fixes two poles deep in the earth, at a distance of thirty feet from each other. the poles are connected by a strong wire, from which is suspended the pot to be heated and boiled. seven fire-places are made, beneath the wire. the branches of bamboo, katalati (achyranthes emblica), conga (bauhinea variegata), cocoanut palm, jack tree (artocarpus integrifolia), and pavatta (pavatta indica), are used in forming a bright fire. the mixture in the pot soon boils and becomes oily, at which stage it is passed through a fine cloth. the oil is preserved, and a mark made with it on the forehead enables the possessor to realise anything that is thought of. the sorcerer must be in a state of vow for twenty-one days, and live on a diet of chama kanji. the deity, whose aid is necessary, is propitiated with offerings. "one of the ceremonies which the panans perform is called thukil onarthuka (waking thukil, a kind of drum). in the month of karkadakam (july-august), a panan, with his wife, provided with a drum and kuzhithalam (circular bell-metal cymbals), goes to the houses of brahmans and nayars after midnight, and sings sacred songs. during the week, they sing standing underneath a banyan tree near the western gate of the trichur temple. from the temple authorities they get five measures of paddy, half a measure of rice, some gingelly oil, and a cocoanut. for their services in other houses, they receive a similar remuneration. this is intended to drive evil spirits, if any, from houses. another of their festivals is known as panan kali. the traditional account therefor is as follows. once, when a panan and his wife went to a forest to bring bamboos for the manufacture of umbrellas, they missed their way, night approached, and they could not return. they began to be frightened by the varieties of noise heard by them in the wilderness. they collected pieces of dry bamboo and leaves of trees, and burned them. in the presence of the light thus obtained, the woman caught hold of a creeper hanging from a tree, and danced in honour of bhagavathi, while her husband sang songs praising her. the day dawned at last, and they found their way home in safety. in memory of this incident, the panans organise a party for a regular play. there are ten male and two female actors, and the play is acted during the whole night. "the religion of the panans consists of an all-pervading demonology. their chief gods are mukkan, chathan, kappiri, malankorathi, and kali. pujas are performed to them on the first of medom (april-may), karkadakam (july-august), desara, and on tuesday in makaram (january-february). these deities are represented by stones placed under a tree. they are washed with water on the aforesaid days, and offerings of sheep and fowls, malar (parched rice), plantains, cocoanuts, and boiled rice are made to them. their belief is that these deities are ever prone to do harm to them, and should therefore be propitiated with offerings. the panans also worship the spirits of their ancestors, who pass for their household gods, and whose help they seek in all times of danger. they fast on new-moon nights, and on the eleventh night after full-moon or new-moon. "the panan is the barber of the polluting castes above cherumans. by profession he is an umbrella-maker. panans are also engaged in all kinds of agricultural work. in villages, they build mud walls. their women act as midwives. "as regards social status, the panans eat at the hands of brahmans, nayars, kammalans, and izhuvans. they have to stand at a distance of thirty-two feet from brahmans. panans and kaniyans pollute one another if they touch, and both bathe should they happen to do so. they are their own barbers and washermen. they live in the vicinity of the izhuvans, but cannot live in the nayar tharas. nor can they take water from the wells of the kammalans. they cannot approach the outer walls of brahman temples, and are not allowed to enter the brahman streets in palghat." in the census report, 1891, panan occurs as a sub-division of the paraiyans. their chief occupation as leather-workers is said to be the manufacture of drum-heads. [30] panasa.--the panasas are a class of beggars in the telugu country, who are said to ask alms only from kamsalas. the word panasa means constant repetition of words, and, in its application to the panasa, probably indicates that they, like the bhatrazu bards and panegyrists, make up verses eulogising those from whom they beg. it is stated in the kurnool manual (1886) that "they take alms from the beri komatis and goldsmiths (kamsalas), and no others. the story goes that, in golkonda, a tribe of komatis named bacheluvaru were imprisoned for non-payment of arrears of revenue. finding certain men of the artificer class who passed by in the street spit betel nut, they got it into their mouths, and begged the artificers to get them released. the artificers, pitying them, paid the arrears, and procured their release. it was then that the kamsalis fixed a vartana or annual house-fee for the maintenance of the panasa class, on condition that they should not beg alms from the other castes." the panasas appear every year in the kurnool district to collect their dues. pancha.--pancha, meaning five, is recorded as a sub-division of the linga balijas, and panchachara or panchamsale as a sub-division of lingayats. in all these, pancha has reference to the five acharas or ceremonial observances of the lingayats, which seem to vary according to locality. wearing the lingam, worshipping it before meals, and paying reverence to the jangam priests, are included among the observances. panchala.--a synonym for canarese kammalans, among whom five (panch) classes of workers are included, viz., gold and silver, brass and copper, iron, and stone. panchalinga (five lingams).--an exogamous sept of boya. the lingam is the symbol of siva. panchama.--the panchamas are, in the madras census report, 1871, summed up as being "that great division of the people, spoken of by themselves as the fifth caste, and described by buchanan and other writers as the pancham bandam." according to buchanan, [31] the pancham bandum "consist of four tribes, the parriar, the baluan, the shekliar, and the toti." buchanan further makes mention of panchama banijigaru and panchama cumbharu (potters). the panchamas were, in the department of public instruction, called "paraiyas and kindred classes" till 1893. this classification was replaced, for convenience of reference, by panchama, which included chacchadis, godaris, pulayas, holeyas, madigas, malas, pallans, paraiyans, totis, and valluvans. "it is," the director of public instruction wrote in 1902, "for government to consider whether the various classes concerned should, for the sake of brevity, be described by one simple name. the terms paraiya, low caste, outcaste, carry with them a derogatory meaning, and are unsuitable. the expression pancham banda, or more briefly panchama, seems more appropriate." the government ruled that there is no objection to the proposal that paraiyas and kindred classes should be designated panchama bandham or panchama in future, but it would be simpler to style them the fifth class. the following educational privileges according to the various classes classified as panchama may be noted:-(1) they are admitted into schools at half the standard rates of fees. (2) under the result grant system (recently abolished), grants were passed for panchama pupils at rates 50 per cent. higher than in ordinary cases, and 15 per cent. higher in backward localities. (3) panchama schools were exempted from the attendance restriction, i.e., grants were given to them, however small the attendance. ordinary schools had to have an attendance of ten at least to earn grants. (4) panchama students under training as teachers get stipends at rates nearly double of those for ordinary hindus. an interesting account of the system of education at the olcott panchama free schools has been written by mrs. courtright. [32] panchama is returned, in the census reports, 1891 and 1901, as a sub-division of balija and banajiga. pancharamkatti.--a sub-division of idaiyan, which derives its name from the neck ornament (pancharam) worn by the women. pandamuttu.--a sub-division of palli. the name is made by winslow to mean a number of torches arranged so as to represent an elephant. the pallis, however, explain it as referring to the pile of pots, which reaches to the top of the marriage pandal (pandal, booth, mutti, touching). the lowest pot is decorated with figures of elephants and horses. pandaram.--pandaram is described by mr. h. a. stuart [33] as being "the name rather of an occupation than a caste, and used to denote any non-brahmanical priest. the pandarams seem to receive numerous recruits from the saivite sudra castes, who choose to make a profession of piety, and wander about begging. they are in reality very lax in their modes of life, often drinking liquor and eating animal food furnished by any respectable sudra. they often serve in siva temples, where they make garlands of flowers to decorate the lingam, and blow brazen trumpets when offerings are made, or processions take place. tirutanni is one of the chief places, in which they congregate." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the trichinopoly district, that "the water for the god's bath at ratnagiri is brought by a caste of non-brahmans known as tirumanjana pandarams, who fetch it every day from the cauvery. they say that they are descended from an aryan king, who came to the god with the hope of getting rubies from him. the god, in the guise of a brahman, tested his devotion by making him fill a magic vessel with cauvery water. the vessel would not fill, and the aryan stranger in a fit of anger cut off the brahman's head. the dead body at once turned into a lingam, and the aryan was ordered to carry water for the temple till eternity." pandaram is used both as the name of a caste, and of a class composed of recruits from various castes (e.g., vellala and palli). the pandaram caste is composed of respectable people who have settled down as land-holders, and of sanyasis and priests of certain matams (religious institutions), and managers of richly endowed temples, such as those at tiruvadudurai in tanjore and mailam in south arcot. the common name for these managers is tambiran. the caste pandarams are staunch saivites and strict vegetarians. those who lead a celibate life wear the lingam. they are said to have been originally sozhia vellalas, with whom intermarriage still takes place. they are initiated into the saivite religion by a rite called dhikshai, which is divided into five stages, viz., samaya, nirvana, visesha, kalasothanai, and acharya abhishekam. some are temple servants, and supply flowers for the god, while others sing devaram (hymns to the god) during the temple service. on this account, they are known as meikaval (body-guard of the god), and oduvar (reader). the caste pandarams have two divisions, called abhisheka and desikar, and the latter name is often taken as a title, e.g., kandasami desikar. an abhisheka pandaram is one who is made to pass through some ceremonies connected with saiva agama. the mendicant pandarams, who are recruited from various classes, wear the lingam, and do not abstain from eating flesh. many villages have a pandaram as the priest of the shrine of the village deity, who is frequently a palli who has become a pandaram by donning the lingam. the females are said to live, in some cases, by prostitution. the lingayat pandarams differ in many respects from the true lingayats. the latter respect their jangam, and use the sacred water, in which the feet of the jangam are washed, for washing their stone lingam. to the pandarams, and tamil lingayats in general, this proceeding would amount to sacrilege of the worst type. canarese and telugu lingayats regard a jangam as superior to the stone lingam. in the matter of pollution ceremonies the tamil lingayats are very particular, whereas the orthodox lingayats observe no pollution. the investiture with the lingam does not take place so early among the tamil as among the canarese lingayats. for the following note, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. "dr. h. h. wilson [34] is of opinion that the word pandaram is 'more properly panduranga, pale complexioned, from their smearing themselves with ashes. it is so used in hemachandra's history of mahavira, when speaking of the saiva brahmans.' a more popular derivation of the name is from bandaram, a public treasury. a good many well-to-do pandarams are managers of siva temples in southern india, and accordingly have the temple treasuries under their care. it is, however, possible that the name has been acquired by the caste by reason of their keeping a yellow powder, called pandaram, in a little box, and giving it in return for the alms which they receive. opinions are divided as to whether the pandarams are lingayats or not. the opinion held by f. w. ellis, the well-known tamil scholar and translator of the kural of tiruvalluvar, is thus summarised by colonel wilks. [35] "mr. ellis considers the jangam of the upper countries, and the pandaram of the lower, to be of the same sect, and both deny in the most unequivocal terms the doctrine of the metempsychosis. a manuscript in the mackenzie collection ascribes the origin of the pandarams as a sacerdotal order of the servile caste to the religious disputes, which terminated in the suppression of the jain religion in the pandian (madura) kingdom, and the influence which they attained by the aid which they rendered to the brahmans in that controversy, but this origin seems to require confirmation. in a large portion, perhaps in the whole of the brahmanical temples dedicated to siva in the provinces of arcot, tanjore, trichinopoly, madura and tinnevelly, the pandaram is the highest of the temple, and has the entire direction of the revenues, but allows the brahmans to officiate in the ceremonial part according to their own good pleasure, as a concern altogether below his note. he has generally the reputation of an irreproachable life, and is treated by the brahmans of the temple with great reverence, while on his part he looks with compassion at the absurd trifles which occupy their attention. these facts seem to point to some former revolution, in which a jangam government obtained a superiority over the brahmanical establishments, and adopted this mode of superseding the substantial part of their authority. it is a curious instance of the sooder (sudra) being the spiritual lord of the brahman, and is worthy of further historical investigation." dr. wilson [36] also thinks that the pandarams are lingayats. mr. h. a. stuart [37] says that they are a class of priests who serve the non-brahman castes. they have returned 115 sub-divisions, of which only two are sufficiently large to require mention, andi of tinnevelly and malabar, and lingadari of chingleput and tinnevelly. andi is a quasi-caste of beggars recruited from all castes, and the lingadari pandarams are the same as jangams. pandaram is, in fact, a class name rather than the name of a caste, and it consists of priests and beggars. mr. c. p. brown [38] thinks that the pandarams are not lingayats. 'the saiva worshippers among the tamils are called pandarams: these are not vira saivas, nor do they wear the linga or adore basava. i name them here chiefly because they are often mentioned as being vira saivas, whereas in truth they are (like the smartas) purva saivas, and worship the image of siva in their houses.' it must be remarked that mr. brown appears to have had a confused idea of pandarams. pandarams wear the linga on their bodies in one of the usual modes, are priests to others professing the lingayat religion, and are fed by them on funeral and other ceremonial occasions. at the same time, it must be added that they are--more especially the begging sections--very lax as regards their food and drink. this characteristic distinguishes them from the more orthodox lingayats. moreover, lingayats remarry their widows, whereas the pandarams, as a caste, will not. "pandarams speak tamil. they are of two classes, the married and celibate. the former are far more numerous than the latter, and dress in the usual hindu manner. they have the hind-lock of hair known as the kudumi, put on sacred ashes, and paint the point between the eyebrows with a sandal paste dot. the celibates wear orange-tawny cloths, and daub sacred ashes all over their bodies. they allow the hair of the head to become matted. they wear sandals with iron spikes, and carry in their hands an iron trisulam (the emblem of siva), and a wooden baton called dandayudha (another emblem of siva). when they go about the streets, they sing popular tamil hymns, and beat against their begging bowl an iron chain tied by a hole to one of its sides. married men also beg, but only use a bell-metal gong and a wooden mallet. most of these help pilgrims going to the more famous siva temples in the madras presidency, e.g., tirutani, palni, tiruvannamalai, or tirupparankunram. among both sections, the dead are buried in the sitting posture, as among other lingayats. a samadhi is erected over the spot where they are buried. this consists of a linga and bull in miniature, which are worshipped as often as may be found convenient. "the managers of temples and mutts (religious institutions), known as pandara sannadhis, belong to the celibate class. they are usually learned in the agamas and puranas. a good many of them are tamil scholars, and well versed in saiva siddhanta philosophy. they call themselves tambirans--a title which is often usurped by the uneducated beggars." in the census report, 1901, vairavi is returned as a sub-caste of pandaram, and said to be found only in the tinnevelly district, where they are measurers of grains and pujaris in village temples. vairavi is further used as a name for members of the melakkaran caste, who officiate as servants at the temples of the nattukottai chettis. pandaram is a title of the panisavans and valluvan priests of the paraiyans. a class of people called hill pandarams are described [39] by the rev. s. mateer as "miserable beings without clothing, implements, or huts of any kind, living in holes, rocks, or trees. they bring wax, ivory (tusks), and other produce to the arayans, and get salt from them. they dig roots, snare the ibex (wild goat, hemitragus hylocrius) of the hills, and jungle fowls, eat rats and snakes, and even crocodiles found in the pools among the hill streams. they were perfectly naked and filthy, and very timid. they spoke malayalam in a curious tone, and said that twenty-two of their party had been devoured by tigers within two monsoons." concerning these hill pandarams, mr. n. subramani aiyar writes that they live on the banks of streams in crevices of rocks, caves, and hollows of trees. they are known to the dwellers on the plains as kattumanushyar, or forest men. they clad themselves in the bark of trees, and, in the rainy and cold seasons, protect their bodies with plantain leaves. they speak a corrupt form of tamil. they fear the sight of other men, and try to avoid approaching them. a former european magistrate of the cardamom hills took some of them to his residence, but, during their three days' stay there, they refused to eat or talk. there is a chieftain for every four hills, but his authority is little more than nominal. when women are married, the earth and hills are invoked as witnesses. they have hindu names, such as raman, kittan (krishna), and govindan. in a lecture delivered some years ago at trivandrum, mr. o. h. bensley described the hill pandarams as being "skilful in catching fish, their mode of cooking which is to place the fish on roots on a rock, and cover them with fire. they keep dogs, and, by their aid, replenish their larder with rats, mungooses, iguanas (lizard, varanus), and other delicacies. i was told that the authority recognised by these people is the head arayan, to whom they give a yearly offering of jungle produce, receiving in exchange the scanty clothing required by them. we had an opportunity of examining their stock-in-trade, which consisted of a bill-hook similar to those used by other hillmen, a few earthen cooking-pots, and a good stock of white flour, which was, they said, obtained from the bark of a tree, the name of which sounded like ahlum. they were all small in stature, with the exception of one young woman, and, both in appearance and intelligence, compared favourably with the uralis." pandariyar.--pandariyar or pandarattar, denoting custodians of the treasury, has been returned as a title of nattaman, malaiman, and sudarman. pandava-kulam.--a title, indicative "of the caste of the pandava kings," assumed by jatapus and konda doras, who worship the pandavas. the pandava kings were the heroes of the mahabharata, who fought a great battle with the kauravas, and are said to have belonged to the lunar race of kshatriyas. the pandavas had a single wife named draupadi, whom the pallis or vanniyans worship, and celebrate annually in her honour a fire-walking festival. the pallis claim to belong to the fire race of kshatriyas, and style themselves agnikula kshatriyas, or vannikula kshatriyas. pandi (pig).--recorded as an exogamous sept of asili, boya, and gamalla. pandipattu (pig catchers) and pandikottu (pig killers) occur as exogamous septs of odde. pandito.--pandit or pundit (pandita, a learned man) has been defined [40] as "properly a man learned in sanskrit lore. the pundit of the supreme court was a hindu law-officer, whose duty it was to advise the english judges when needful on questions of hindu law. the office became extinct on the constitution of the high court (in 1862). in the mahratta and telugu countries, the word pandit is usually pronounced pant (in english colloquial punt)." in the countries noted, pant occurs widely as a title of brahmans, who are also referred to as pantulu varu. the titles sanskrit pundit, telugu pundit, etc., are still officially recognised at several colleges in the madras presidency. pandit sometimes occurs as an honorific prefix, e.g., pandit s. m. natesa sastri, and panditan is a name given to tamil barbers (ambattan). in some parts of the tamil country, panditar is used as a name for madhva brahmans, because, it is said, many of them were formerly engaged as pandits at the law courts. pandito is further the name of "an oriya caste of astrologers and physicians. they wear the sacred thread, and accept drinking water only from brahmans and gaudos. infant marriage is practiced, and widow marriage is prohibited." [41] i am informed that these panditos engage brahmans for their ceremonials, do not drink liquor, and eat fish and mutton, but not fowls or beef. the females wear glass bangles. they are known by the name of khodikaro, from khodi, a kind of stone, with which they write figures on the floor, when making astrological calculations. the stone is said to be something like soapstone. pandita occurs as an exogamous sept of stanikas. pandya.--the territorial name pandya, pandiya, pandiyan, or pandi has been returned, at recent times of census, as a sub-division of various tamil classes, e.g., ambattan, kammalan, occhan, pallan, vannan, and vellala. pandiya is further a title of some shanans. in travancore, pandi has been returned by some izhavans. the variant pandiangal occurs as an exogamous sept of the tamil vallambans, and pandu as a tamil synonym for kapu or reddi. panikkar.--panikkar, meaning teacher or worker, has been recorded, in the malayalam country, as a title of barbers, kammalan, maran, nayar, panan, and paraiyan. in former times, the name was applied, in malabar, to fencing-masters, as the following quotations show :- 1518. "and there are very skilful men who teach this art (fencing), and they are called panicars."--barbosa. 1553. "and when the naire comes to the age of 7 years, he is obliged to go to the fencing-school, the master of which (whom they call panical) they regard as a father, on account of the instruction he gives them."--barros. 1583. "the maisters which teach them be graduates in the weapons which they teach, and they be called in their language panycaes."--castaneda. a class of people called panikkan are settled in the madura and tinnevelly districts. some of them are barbers to shanans. others have taken to weaving as a profession, and will not intermarry with those who are employed as barbers. "the panikkans are," mr. francis writes, [42] "weavers, agriculturists, and traders. they employ brahmans as priests, but these are apparently not received on terms of equality by other brahmans. the panikkans now frequently call themselves illam vellalas, and change their title in deeds and official papers from panikkan to pillai. they are also taking to wearing the sacred thread and giving up eating meat. the caste is divided into three vagais or endogamous classes, namely, mital, pattanam, and malayalam, and each of these again has five partly exogamous septs or illams (families), namely, muttillam, toranattillam, pallikkillam, manjanattillam, and soliya-illam. it is stated that the mital and pattanam sections will eat together though they do not intermarry, but that the malayalam section can neither dine with nor marry into the other two. they are reported to have an elaborate system of caste government, under which eleven villages form a gadistalam (or stage), and send representatives to its council to settle caste matters; and eleven gadistalams form a nadu (or country), and send representatives to a chief council, which decides questions which are beyond the competence of the gadistalams." the occurrence of malayam as the name of a sub-division, and of the malayalam word illam as that of the exogamous septs, would seem to indicate that the panikkans are immigrants from the westward into the tamil country. panimagan (work children).--a name for mukkuvans who are employed as barbers for members of their caste. panisavan.--panisavan is defined in the salem manual as "a corruption of paniseygiravan (panisaivon), literally meaning one who works (or does service), and is the caste name of the class, whose business it is to carry news of death to the relations of the deceased, and to blow the tharai or long trumpet." according to mr. h. a. stuart, [43] panisavan appears to answer among the tamilians to the dasaris or tadas of the telugus. it is a mendicant caste, worshipping siva. unlike the tadas, however, they often employ themselves in cultivation, and are, on the whole, a more temperate and respectable class. their priests are brahmans, and they eat flesh, and drink alcoholic liquor very freely. the dead are generally burned. there are two classes of panisavans, of which one works for the right-hand section, and the other for the left. this division is purely professional, and there is apparently no bar to intermarriage between the two classes. the insignia of a panisavan are the conch-shell (turbinella rapa) and tharai, which he supports from the ground by means of a bamboo pole while he blows it. at marriage processions, it is his duty to go in front, sounding the tharai from time to time. on such occasions, and at festivals of the village goddesses, the tharai is decorated with a string bearing a number of small triangular pieces of cloth, and tufts of yak's hair. the cloth should be white for the right-hand section, and of five different colours for the left. at the present day, the panisavan is more in request for funerals than for weddings. in the city of madras, all the materials necessary for the bier are sold by panisavans, who also keep palanquins for the conveyance of the corpse in stock, which are let out on hire. at funerals, the panisavan has to follow the corpse, blowing his conch-shell. the tharai is only used if the deceased was an important personage. when the son goes round the corpse with a pot of water, the panisavan accompanies him, and blows the conch. on the last day of the death ceremonies (karmandhiram), the panisavan should be present, and blow his conch, especially when the tali (marriage badge) is removed from a widow's neck. in some places, the panisavan conveys the news of death, while in others this duty is carried out by a barber. in the chingleput and north arcot districts, the panisavans constitute a separate caste, and have no connection with the nokkans, who are beggars attached to the palli or vanniyan caste. in south arcot and tanjore, on the other hand, the name nokkan is used to signify the caste, which performs the duties of the panisavan, for which it seems to be a synonym. the panisavans of the tinnevelly district have nothing in common with those of the northern districts, e.g., chingleput and north arcot, whose duty it is to attend to the funeral ceremonies of the non-brahman castes. the main occupations of the tinnevelly panisavans are playing in temples on the nagasaram (reed instrument), and teaching deva-dasis dancing. another occupation, which is peculiar to the tinnevelly panisavans, is achu velai, i.e., the preparation of the comb to which the warp threads of a weaving loom are tied. socially the panisavans occupy a lowly position, but they use the title pulavar. their other titles are pandaram, pillai, and mudali. paniyan.--the paniyans are a dark-skinned tribe, short in stature, with broad noses, and curly or wavy hair, inhabiting the wynad, and those portions of the ernad, calicut, kurumbranad and kottayam taluks of malabar, which skirt the base of the ghats, and the mudanad, cherangod, and namblakod amshams of the nilgiri district. a common belief, based on their general appearance, prevails among the european planting community that the paniyans are of african origin, and descended from ancestors who were wrecked on the malabar coast. this theory, however, breaks down on investigation. of their origin nothing definite is known. the nayar janmis (landlords) say that, when surprised in the act of some mischief or alarmed, the paniyan calls out 'ippi'! 'ippi'! as he runs away, and they believe this to have been the name of the country whence they came originally; but they are ignorant as to where ippimala, as they call it, is situated. kapiri (africa or the cape?) is also sometimes suggested as their original habitat, but only by those who have had the remarks of europeans communicated to them. the paniyan himself, though he occasionally puts forward one or other of the above places as the home of his forefathers, has no fixed tradition bearing on their arrival in malabar, beyond one to the effect that they were brought from a far country, where they were found living by a raja, who captured them, and carried them off in such a miserable condition that a man and his wife only possessed one cloth between them, and were so timid that it was only by means of hunting nets that they were captured. the number of paniyans, returned at the census, 1891, was 33,282, and nine sub-divisions were registered; but, as mr. h. a. stuart, the census commissioner, observes:--"most of these are not real, and none has been returned by any considerable number of persons." their position is said to be very little removed from that of a slave, for every paniyan is some landlord's 'man'; and, though he is, of course, free to leave his master, he is at once traced, and good care is taken that he does not get employment elsewhere. in the fifties of the last century, when planters first began to settle in the wynad, they purchased the land with the paniyans living on it, who were practically slaves of the land-owners. the paniyans used formerly to be employed by rich receivers as professional coffee thieves, going out by night to strip the bushes of their berries, which were delivered to the receiver before morning. unlike the badagas of the nilgiris, who are also coffee thieves, and are afraid to be out after dark, the paniyans are not afraid of bogies by night, and would not hesitate to commit nocturnal depredations. my friend, mr. g. romilly, on whose estate my investigation of the paniyans was mainly carried out, assures me that, according to his experience, the domesticated paniyan, if well paid, is honest, and fit to be entrusted with the responsible duties of night watchman. in some localities, where the janmis have sold the bulk of their land, and have consequently ceased to find regular employment for them, the paniyans have taken kindly to working on coffee estates, but comparatively few are thus employed. the word paniyan means labourer, and they believe that their original occupation was agriculture as it is, for the most part, at the present day. those, however, who earn their livelihood on estates, only cultivate rice and ragi (eleusine coracana) for their own cultivation; and women and children may be seen digging up jungle roots, or gathering pot-herbs for food. they will not eat the flesh of jackals, snakes, vultures, lizards, rats, or other vermin. but i am told that they eat land-crabs, in lieu of expensive lotions, to prevent baldness and grey hairs. they have a distinct partiality for alcohol, and those who came to be measured by me were made more than happy by a present of a two-anna piece, a cheroot, and a liberal allowance of undiluted fiery brandy from the meppadi bazar. the women are naturally of a shy disposition, and used formerly to run away and hide at the sight of a european. they were at first afraid to come and see me, but confidence was subsequently established, and all the women came to visit me, some to go through the ordeal of measurement, others to laugh at and make derisive comments on those who were undergoing the operation. practically the whole of the rice cultivation in the wynad is carried out by the paniyans attached to edoms (houses or places) or devasoms (temple property) of the great nayar landlords; and chettis and mappillas also frequently have a few paniyans, whom they have bought or hired by the year at from four to eight rupees per family from a janmi. when planting paddy or herding cattle, the paniyan is seldom seen without the kontai or basket-work protection from the rain. this curious, but most effective substitute for the umbrella-hat of the malabar coast, is made of split reeds interwoven with 'arrow-root' leaves, and shaped something like a huge inverted coal-scoop turned on end, and gives to the individual wearing it the appearance of a gigantic mushroom. from the nature of his daily occupation the paniyan is often brought in contact with wild animals, and is generally a bold, and, if excited, as he usually is on an occasion such as the netting of a tiger, a reckless fellow. the young men of the villages vie with each other in the zeal which they display in carrying out the really dangerous work of cutting back the jungle to within a couple of spear-lengths of the place where the quarry lies hidden, and often make a show of their indifference by turning and conversing with their friends outside the net. years ago it was not unusual for people to come long distance for the purpose of engaging wynad paniyans to help them in carrying out some more than usually desperate robbery or murder. their mode of procedure, when engaged in an enterprise of this sort, is evidenced by two cases, which had in them a strong element of savagery. on both these occasions the thatched homesteads were surrounded at dead of night by gangs of paniyans carrying large bundles of rice straw. after carefully piling up the straw on all sides of the building marked for destruction, torches were, at a given signal, applied, and those of the wretched inmates who attempted to escape were knocked on the head with clubs, and thrust into the fiery furnace. the paniyans settle down happily on estates, living in a settlement consisting of rows of huts and detached huts, single or double storied, built of bamboo and thatched. during the hot weather, in the unhealthy months which precede the advent of the south-west monsoon, they shift their quarters to live near streams, or in other cool, shady spots, returning to their head quarters when the rains set in. they catch fish either by means of big flat bamboo mats, or, in a less orthodox manner, by damming a stream and poisoning the water with herbs, bark, and fruit, which are beaten to a pulp and thrown into the water. the fish, becoming stupified, float on the surface, and fall an easy and unfairly earned prey. it is recorded by mr. h. c. wilson [44] that the section of the moyar river "stretching from the bottom of the pykara falls down to the sheer drop into the mysore ditch below teppakadu is occupied principally by carnatic carp. in the upper reaches i found traces of small traps placed across side runners or ditches, which were then dry. they had evidently been in use during the last floods, and allowed to remain. constructed of wood in the shape of a large rake head with long teeth close together, they are fastened securely across the ditch or runner at a slight angle with teeth in the gravel. the object is to catch the small fry which frequent these side places for protection during flood times. judging by their primitive nature and poor construction, they are not effective, but will do a certain amount of damage. the nearest hamlet to this place is called torappalli, occupied by a few fisher people called paniyans. these are no doubt the makers of the traps, and, from information i received, they are said to possess better fry and other traps. they are also accredited with having fine-mesh nets, which they use when the waters are low." in 1907, rules were issued, under the indian fisheries act, iv of 1897, for the protection of fish in the bhavani and moyar rivers. these rules referred to the erection and use of fixed engines, the construction of weirs, and the use of nets, the meshes of which are less than one and a half inches square for the capture or destruction of fish, and the prohibition of fishing between the 15th march and 15th september annually. notice of the rules was given by beat of tom-tom (drum) in the villages lying on the banks of the rivers, to which the rules applied. the paniyan language is a debased malayalam patois spoken in a curious nasal sing-song, difficult to imitate; but most of the paniyans employed on estates can also converse in kanarese. wholly uneducated and associating with no other tribes, the paniyans have only very crude ideas of religion. believing in devils of all sorts and sizes, and professing to worship the hindu divinities, they reverence especially the god of the jungles, kad bhagavadi, or, according to another version, a deity called kuli, a malignant and terrible being of neither sex, whose shrines take the form of a stone placed under a tree, or sometimes a cairn of stones. at their rude shrines they contribute as offerings to the swami (god) rice boiled in the husk, roasted and pounded, half-a-cocoanut, and small coins. the banyan and a lofty tree, apparently of the fig tribe, are reverenced by them, inasmuch as evil spirits are reputed to haunt them at times. trees so haunted must not be touched, and, if the paniyans attempt to cut them, they fall sick. some paniyans are believed to be gifted with the power of changing themselves into animals; and there is a belief among the paniyan dwellers in the plains that, if they wish to secure a woman whom they lust after, one of the men gifted with this special power goes to her house at night with a hollow bamboo, and encircles the house three times. the woman then comes out, and the man, changing himself into a bull or dog, works his wicked will. the woman, it is believed, dies in the course of two or three days. in 1904 some paniyans were employed by a mappilla (muhammadan) to murder his mistress, who was pregnant, and threatened that she would noise abroad his responsibility for her condition. he brooded over the matter, and one day, meeting a paniyan, promised him ten rupees if he would kill the woman. the paniyan agreed to commit the crime, and went with his brothers to a place on a hill, where the mappilla and the woman were in the habit of gratifying their passions. thither the man and woman followed the paniyans, of whom one ran out, and struck his victim on the head with a chopper. she was then gagged with a cloth, carried some distance, and killed. the two paniyans and the mappilla were sentenced to be hanged. monogamy appears to be the general rule among the paniyans, but there is no obstacle to a man taking unto himself as many wives as he can afford to support. apparently the bride is selected for a young man by his parents, and, in the same way that a wealthy european sometimes sends his betrothed a daily present of a bouquet, the more humble paniyan bridegroom-elect has to take a bundle of firewood to the house of the fiancée every day for six months. the marriage ceremony (and the marriage knot does not appear to be very binding) is of a very simple nature. the ceremony is conducted by a paniyan chemmi (a corruption of janmi). a present of sixteen fanams (coins) and some new cloths is given by the bridegroom to the chemmi, who hands them over to the parents of the bride. a feast is prepared, at which the paniyan women (panichis) dance to the music of drum and pipe. the tali (or marriage badge) is tied round the neck of the bride by the female relations of the bridegroom, who also invest the bride with such crude jewelry as they may be able to afford. the chemmi seals the contract by pouring water over the head and feet of the young couple. it is said [45] that a husband has to make an annual present to his wife's parents; and failure to do so entitles them to demand their daughter back. a man may, i was told, not have two sisters as wives; nor may he marry his deceased wife's sister. remarriage of widows is permitted. adultery and other forms of vice are adjudicated on by a panchayat (or council) of headmen, who settle disputes and decide on the fine or punishment to be inflicted on the guilty. at nearly every considerable paniyan village there is a headman called kuttan, who has been appointed by nayar janmi to look after his interests, and be responsible to him for the other inhabitants of the village. the investiture of the kuttan with the powers of office is celebrated with a feast and dance, at which a bangle is presented to the kuttan as a badge of authority. next in rank to the kuttan is the mudali or head of the family, and they usually constitute the panchayat. both kuttan and mudali are called muppanmar or elders. the whole caste is sometimes loosely spoken of as muppan. in a case of proved adultery, a fine of sixteen fanams (the amount of the marriage fee), and a sum equal to the expenses of the wedding, including the present to the parents of the bride, is the usual form of punishment. the chemmi or shemmi is, i am informed, a sort of priest or minister. he was appointed, in olden days, by the chieftains under whom the paniyans worked, and each chemmi held authority over a group of villages. the office is hereditary, but, should a chemmi family fail, it can be filled up by election. no ceremony takes place in celebration of the birth of children. one of the old women of the village acts as midwife, and receives a small present in return for her services. as soon as a child is old enough to be of use, it accompanies its parents to their work, or on their fishing and hunting expeditions, and is initiated into the various ways of adding to the stock of provisions for the household. the dead are buried in the following manner. a trench, four or five feet deep, and large enough to receive the body to be interred, is dug, due north and south, on a hill near the village. at the bottom of this excavation the earth is scooped out from the western side on a level with the floor throughout the length of the grave, so as to form a receptacle for the corpse, which, placed on a mat, is laid therein upon its left side with the head pointing to the south and the feet to the north. after a little cooked rice has been put into the grave for the use of the departed spirit, the mat, which has been made broad enough for the purpose, is folded up and tucked in under the roof of the cavity, and the trench filled up. it has probably been found by experience that the corpse, when thus protected, is safe from the ravages of scavenger jackals and pariah dogs. for seven days after death, a little rice gruel is placed at distance of from fifty to a hundred yards from the grave by the chemmi, who claps his hands as a signal to the evil spirits in the vicinity, who, in the shape of a pair of crows, are supposed to partake of the food, which is hence called kaka conji or crow's rice. the noombu or mourning ceremonies are the ti polay, seven days after death; the kaka polay or karuvelli held for three years in succession in the month of magaram (january-february); and the matham polay held once in every three or four years, when possible, as a memorial service in honour of those who are specially respected. on all these occasions the chemmi presides, and acts as a sort of master of the ceremonies. as the ceremonial carried out differs only in degree, an account of the kaka polay will do for all. in the month of magaram, the noombukarrans or mourners (who have lost relatives) begin to cook and eat in a pandal or shed set apart from the rest of the village, but otherwise go about their business as usual. they wash and eat twice a day, but abstain from eating meat or fish. on the last day of the month, arrangements are made, under the supervision of the chemmi, for the ceremony which brings the period of mourning to a close. the mourners, who have fasted since daybreak, take up their position in the pandal, and the chemmi, holding on his crossed arms two winnowing sieves, each containing a seer or two of rice, walks round three times, and finally deposits the sieves in the centre of the pandal. if, among the male relatives of the deceased, one is to be found sufficiently hysterical, or actor enough, to simulate possession and perform the functions of an oracle, well and good; but, should they all be of a stolid temperament, there is always at hand a professional corresponding to the komaran or vellichipad of other hindus. this individual is called the patalykaran. with a new cloth (mundu) on his head, and smeared on the body and arms with a paste made of rice flour and ghi (clarified butter), he enters on the scene with his legs girt with bells, the music of which is supposed to drive away the attendant evil spirits (payanmar). advancing with short steps and rolling his eyes, he staggers to and fro, sawing the air with two small sticks which he holds in either hand, and works himself up into a frenzied state of inspiration, while the mourners cry out and ask why the dead have been taken away from them. presently a convulsive shiver attacks the performer, who staggers more violently and falls prostrate on the ground, or seeks the support of one of the posts of the pandal, while he gasps out disjointed sentences, which are taken to be the words of the god. the mourners now make obeisance, and are marked on the forehead with the paste of rice flour and ghi. this done, a mat is spread for the accommodation of the headmen and chemmi; and the patalykaran, from whose legs the bells have been removed and put with the rice in the sieves, takes these in his hands, and, shaking them as he speaks, commences a funeral chant, which lasts till dawn. meanwhile food has been prepared for all present except the mourners, and when this has been partaken of, dancing is kept up round the central group till daybreak, when the pandal is pulled down and the kaka polay is over. those who have been precluded from eating make up for lost time, and relatives, who have allowed their hair to grow long, shave. the ordinary paniyan does not profess to know the meaning of the funeral orations, but contents himself with a belief that it is known to those who are initiated. the women attend the ceremony, but do not take part in the dance. in fact, the nearest approach to a dance that they ever attempt (and this only on festive occasions) resembles the ordinary occupation of planting rice, carried out in dumb show to the music of a drum. the bodies of the performers stoop and move in time with the music, and the arms are swung from side to side as in the act of placing the rice seedlings in their rows. to see a long line of paniyan women, up to their knees in the mud of a rice field, bobbing up and down and putting on the pace as the music grows quicker and quicker, and to hear the wild yells of hou! hou! like a chorus of hungry dogs, which form the vocal accompaniment as they dab the green bunches in from side to side, is highly amusing. the foregoing account of the paniyan death ceremonies was supplied by mr. colin mackenzie, to whom, as also to mr. f. fawcett, mr. g. romilly, and martelli, i am indebted for many of the facts recorded in the present note. from mr. fawcett the following account of a further ceremony was obtained:-at a paniyan village, on a coffee estate where the annual ceremony was being celebrated, men and boys were dancing round a wooden upright to the music of a small drum hanging at the left hip. some of the dancers had bells round the leg below the knee. close to the upright a man was seated, playing a pipe, which emitted sounds like those of a bagpipe. in dancing, the dancers went round against the sun. at some little distance a crowd of females indulged in a dance by themselves. a characteristic of the dance, specially noticeable among the women, was stooping and waving of the arms in front. the dancers perspired freely, and kept up the dance for many hours to rhythmic music, the tune of which changed from time to time. there were three chief dancers, of whom one represented the goddess, the others her ministers. they were smeared with streaks on the chest, abdomen, arms and legs, had bells on the legs, and carried a short stick about two feet in length in each hand. the sticks were held over the head, while the performers quivered as if in a religious frenzy. now and again, the sticks were waved or beaten together. the paniyans believe that, when the goddess first appeared to them, she carried two sticks in her hands. the mock goddess and her attendants, holding the sticks above the head and shivering, went to each male elder, and apparently received his blessing, the elder placing his hand on their faces as a form of salutation, and then applying his hand to his own face. the villagers partook of a light meal in the early morning, and would not eat again until the end of the ceremony, which concluded by the man-goddess seating himself on the upright, and addressing the crowd on behalf of the goddess concerning their conduct and morality. the paniyans "worship animistic deities, of which the chief is kuli, whom they worship on a raised platform called kulitara, offering cocoanuts, but no blood." [46] they further worship kattu bhagavati, or bhagavati of the woods. "shrines in her honour are to be found at most centres of the caste, and contain no image, but a box in which are kept the clothing and jewels presented to her by the devout. an annual ceremony lasting a week is held in her honour, at which the komaran and a kind of priest, called nolambukaran, take the chief parts. the former dresses in the goddess' clothing, and the divine afflatus descends upon him, and he prophesies both good and evil." games.--a long strip of cane is suspended from the branch of a tree, and a cross-bar fixed to its lower end. on the bar a boy sits, and swings himself in all directions. in another game a bar, twelve to fourteen feet in length, is balanced by means of a point in a socket on an upright reaching about four feet and-a-half above the ground. over the end of the horizontal bar a boy hangs, and, touching the ground with the feet, spins himself round. some paniyans have a thread tied round the wrist, ankle, or neck, as a charm to ward off fever and other diseases. some of the men have the hair of the head hanging down in matted tails in performance of a vow. the men wear brass, steel, and copper rings on their fingers and brass rings in the ears. the women, in like manner, wear finger rings, and, in addition, bangles on the wrist, and have the lobes of the ears widely dilated, and plugged with cadjan (palm leaf) rolls. in some the nostril is pierced, and plugged with wood. the paniyans, who dwell in settlements at the base of the ghats, make fire by what is known as the malay or sawing method. a piece of bamboo, about a foot in length, in which two nodes are included, is split longitudinally into two equal parts. on one half a sharp edge is cut with a knife. in the other a longitudinal slit is made through about two-thirds of its length, which is stuffed with a piece of cotton cloth. it is then held firmly on the ground with its convex surface upwards, and the cutting edge drawn, with a gradually quickening sawing motion, rapidly to and fro across it by two men, until the cloth is ignited by the incandescent particles of wood in the groove cut by the sharp edge. the cloth is then blown with the lips into a blaze, and the tobacco or cooking fire can be lighted. at pudupadi an elephant mahout was jealously guarding a bit of bamboo stick with notches cut in it, each notch representing a day for which wages were due to him. the stick in question had six notches, representing six days' wages. average height 157.4 cm. nasal index 95 (max. 108.6). the average distance from the tip of the middle finger to the top of the patella was 4.6 cm. relative to stature = 100, which approximates very closely to the recorded results of measurement of long-limbed african negroes. panjai.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a sub-division of pandya vellala. the name panjai, indicating a poverty-stricken individual, is usually applied to mendicant pandarams. panjaram.--panjaram or pancharamkatti is the name of a sub-division of the idaiyans, derived from the peculiar gold ornament, which the women wear. it is said that, in this division, widow marriage is commonly practiced, because krishna used to place a similar ornament round the necks of idaiyan widows of whom he became enamoured, and that this sub-division was the result of his amours with them. panjukkara (cotton-man).--an occupational name of a sub-division of vellalas, who are not at the present day connected with the cotton trade. they call themselves panjukkara chettis. the equivalent panjari (pinjari) or panjukotti occurs as a tamil synonym for dudekula (muhammadan cotton-cleaners). pannadai (sheath of the cocoanut leaf).--a sub-division of vettuvan. pannaiyan.--a title of alavan. pannara.--a sub-division of mali. pannendu nal (twelve days).--a name for those pallis who, like brahmans, perform the final death ceremonies on the twelfth day. pannirendam (twelfth) chetti.--a section of the chettis. pano.--in the madras census report, 1891, the panos are described as "a caste of weavers found in the ganjam district. this caste is no doubt identical with the pans, a weaving, basket-making, and servile caste of orissa and chota nagpore. the panos occupy the same position among the khonds of ganjam as the dombs hold among the inhabitants of the vizagapatam hills, and the words pano and dombo are generally regarded as synonyms [see domb]. the members of the sitra sub-division are workers in metal." it is further noted, in the census report, 1901, that the panos are "an extensive caste of hill weavers found chiefly in the ganjam agency. the khond synonym for this word is domboloko, which helps to confirm the connection between this caste and the dombas of vizagapatam. they speak khond and oriya." in a note on the panos, i read that "their occupations are trading, weaving, and theft. they live on the ignorance and superstition of the khonds as brokers, pedlars, sycophants, and cheats. in those parts where there are no oriyas, they possess much influence, and are always consulted by the khonds in questions of boundary disputes." in a brief account of the panos, mr. c. f. maccartie writes [47] that "the panos, also known by the title of dombo or sitra in some parts, are supposed to be paraiya [telugu mala] emigrants from the low country. their profession is weaving or brass work, the monotony of which they vary by petty trading in horns, skins and live cattle, and occasionally enliven by house-breaking and theft at the expense of the khonds, who have an incautious trick of leaving their habitations utterly unguarded when they go off to the hills to cultivate. [in the madras census report, 1901, the sitras are said to be supposed to be the progeny of a khond man and a haddi woman, who manufacture the brass rings and bangles worn by the khonds.] the panos are drunken, immoral, and dirty in their habits. the khonds refuse to eat with them, but i do not find that this objection extends to drinking, at which both khond and pano display surprising capabilities. panos are also the professional musicians of the country, and attend weddings, deaths and sacrifices in this character, for which they are recompensed with food, liquor, and cloths. the generality of khond and pano houses are constructed of broad sâl (shorea robusta) logs, hewn out with the axe and thatched with jungle grass, which is impervious to white-ants. in bamboo jungles, of course, bamboo is substituted for sâl. the panos generally affect a detached quarter, known as dombo sai. intermarriage between khonds, panos, and uriyas is not recognised, but cases do occur when a pano induces a khond woman to go off with him. she may live with him as his wife, but no ceremony takes place. [a few years ago, a young khond was betrothed to the daughter of another khond, and, after a few years, managed to pay up the necessary number of gifts. he then applied to the girl's father to name the day for the marriage. before the wedding took place however, a pano went to the girl's father, and said that she was his daughter (she had been born before her parents were married), and that he was the man to whom the gifts should have been paid. the case was referred to a council, which decided in favour of the pano.] if a pano commits adultery with a khond married woman, he has to pay a paronjo, or a fine of a buffalo to the husband (who retains his wife), and in addition a goat, a pig, a basket of paddy (rice), a rupee, and a load of pots. there is close communication between the panos and the khonds, as the former act as the advisers of the latter in all cases of doubt or difficulty. the uriyas live apart from both, and mix but little with either, except on the occasion of sacrifices or other solemn assemblages, when buffaloes are slaughtered for panos and khonds, and goats or sheep for uriya visitors. [it is noted, in the ganjam manual, in connection with khond death ceremonies, that "if a man has been killed by a tiger, purification is made by the sacrifice of a pig, the head of which is cut off with a tangi (axe) by a pano, and passed between the legs of the men in the village, who stand in a line astraddle. it is a bad omen to him, if the head touches any man's legs.] among the products of the jungles may be included myrabolams (terminalia fruits), tasar silk cocoons, and dammer, all of which are bartered by the finders to trading panos in small quantities, generally for salt." in the ganjam maliahs, the jungles are said to be searched by panos for tasar cocoons, and, just across the border in boad, the collection of these cocoons is a regular industry among them. small portions of jungle are regularly reserved, and divided up into small allotments. each of these is given to a pano for rent, and here he cultivates the silkworms, and collects the silk, which is sent to berhampur and sambalpur for manufacture. the panos are divided into two distinct sections, viz., the khonda panos who live amidst the khonds, and the desa panos of the plains. the former have adopted some of the customs of the khonds, while the latter follow the customs of the uriya castes which dwell in the lowland. the khond panos are governed by the molikos (headmen) of the khonds. in some cases, the fines inflicted for breach of caste rules are rather severe. for example, in the neighbourhood of baliguda, a man who is convicted of adultery has to pay two rupees, and give two buffaloes to the council which tries the case. further south, for a similar offence twelve buffaloes are demanded, and the culprit has to pay twice the amount of the bride-price to the injured husband. the desa panos conform to the standard uriya type of caste council, and have a headman called behara, who is assisted by a nayako, and caste servants entitled bhollobaya or gonjari. the marriage ceremonies of the desa panos are closely allied to those of the dandasis and haddis, whereas those of the khonda panos bear a close resemblance to the ceremonies of the khonds. like khond girls, unmarried khond pano girls sleep in quarters (dhangadi) specially set apart for them, and, as among the khonds, wedding presents in the form of gontis are given. it is noted with reference to the khonds, in the ganjam manual, that "the bride is looked upon as a commercial speculation, and is paid for in gontis. a gonti is one of anything, such as a buffalo, a pig, or a brass pot; for instance, a hundred gontis might consist of ten bullocks, ten buffaloes, ten sacks of corn, ten sets of brass, twenty sheep, ten pigs, and thirty fowls." at a khond pano marriage, the fingers of the contracting couple are linked together, and an important item of the ceremonial, which adds dignity thereto, is placing in front of the house at which a marriage is being celebrated a big brass vessel containing water, with which the guests wash their feet. the panos pay reverence to ancestors, to whom, when a death occurs in a family, food is offered. in some pano villages, when a child is born, it is customary to consult a pujari (priest) as to whether the grandfather or great-grandfather is re-born in it. if the answer is in the affirmative, pigs are sacrificed to the ancestors. some panos have adopted the worship of takuranis (village deities), to whom rice and turmeric are offered by placing them before the image in the form of a figure-of-eight. a fowl is sacrificed, and its blood allowed to flow on to one loop of the figure. in some places, dharmadevata and gagnasuni are worshipped, a castrated goat being sacrificed annually to the former, and fowls and an entire goat to the latter. pano women, who live among the khonds, tattoo their faces in like manner, and in other respects resemble khond women. i am informed that, on more than one occasion, panos have been known to rifle the grave of a european, in the belief that buried treasure will be found. panta (a crop).--a sub-division of kapu and yanadi. in the gazetteer of south arcot, pan reddi is recorded as a caste of telugu-speaking ryots (kapus). pantala.--recorded, in travancore, as a sub-division of samantan. the name is said to be derived from bhandarattil, or belonging to the royal treasury. pantari.--recorded, in the travancore census report, as synonymous with the idacheri sub-division of nayar. pantrantu vitan is also there recorded as a sub-division of nayar. pappadam.--people calling themselves pappadam chetti are largely found in malabar, living by the manufacture and sale of cakes called pappadam, which are purchased by all classes, including nambutiri brahmans. pappini.--a name for brahmanis, a class of ambalavasi. pappu (split pulse).--an exogamous sept of balija. paradesi.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a class of malayalam beggars. the name indicates strangers (paradesa, a foreign country), and is applied to the white jews of cochin, in connection with whom it occurs in sirkar (state) accounts and royal writs granted to them. paraiya tada.--recorded, in the north arcot manual, as a name for those who are considered impure valluvans. the name literally means paraiya tadan or dasari. paraiyan.--the paraiyans or, as they are commonly termed, pariahs of the tamil country number, according to recent census returns, over two million souls, and a large proportion of those who returned themselves as native christians are said also to belong to this class. for the following note i am mainly indebted to an account of the paraiyans by the rev. a. c. clayton. [48] the late bishop caldwell derived the name paraiyan from the tamil word parai a drum, as certain paraiyans act as drummers at marriages, funerals, village festivals, and on occasions when government or commercial announcements are proclaimed. mr. h. a. stuart, however, seems to question this derivation, remarking [49] that "it is only one section of paraiyans that act as drummers. nor is the occupation confined to paraiyans. it seems in the highest degree improbable that a large, and at one time powerful, community should owe its name to an occasional occupation, which one of its divisions shares with other castes. the word paraiyan is not found in divakaram, a tamil dictionary of the eleventh century a.d., and the word pulayan was then used to denote this section of the population, as it is still in malayalam to this day." in the legend of the saivite saint, nandan is, in the prose version of the periya puranam, called a pulayan, though a native of sholamandalam, which was a distinctly tamil kingdom. mr. w. francis writes [50] that "the old tamil poems and works of the early centuries of the christian era do not mention the name paraiyan, but contain many descriptions of a tribe called the eyinas, who seem to have been quite distinct from the rest of the population, and did not live in the villages, but in forts of their own. ambur and vellore are mentioned as the sites of two of these. they may perhaps have been the ancestors of the paraiyans of to-day." in a note on the paraiyans, sonnerat, writing [51] in the eighteenth century, says that "they are prohibited from drawing water from the wells of other castes; but have particular wells of their own near their inhabitations, round which they place the bones of animals, that they may be known and avoided. when an indian of any other caste permits a paraiya to speak to him, this unfortunate being is obliged to hold his hand before his mouth, lest the indian may be contaminated with his breath; and, if he is met on the highway, he must turn on one side to let the other pass. if any indian whatever, even a choutre, by accident touches a paraiya, he is obliged to purify himself in a bath. the brahmans cannot behold them, and they are obliged to fly when they appear. great care is taken not to eat anything dressed by a paraiya, nor even to drink out of the vessel he has used; they dare not enter the house of an indian of another caste; or, if they are employed in any work, a door is purposely made for them; but they must work with their eyes on the ground; for, if it is perceived they have glanced at the kitchen, all the utensils must be broken. the infamy of the paraiyas is reflected on the europeans: last are held in more detestation, because, setting aside the little respect they have for the cow, whose flesh they eat, the indians reproach them with spitting in their houses, and even their temples: that when drinking they put the cup to their lips, and their fingers to their mouths in such a manner that they are defiled with the spittle." paraiyans are to be found throughout the tamil districts from north arcot to tinnevelly, and in the southern extremity of the native state of travancore. in the telugu country the malas and madigas and in the canarese country the holeyas take their place. some of the most common names of paraiyan males are- kanni or kanniyappan. raman or ramaswami. raju. velu. muttan. mari. kanagan. subban. nondi. tambiran. perumal. viran. sellan. amavasi. among females the most common names are tai, parpathi, ammai, kanni, muttammal, rajammal, ammani, selli, gangammal. in one village, where the paraiyans were almost all vaishnavas, by profession not by practice, mr. clayton found the inhabitants all named after heroes of the mahabharata, and dirty naked children answered to the names of ikshvakan, karnan, bhiman, and draupadi. it is usual to give the father's name when distinguishing one paraiyan from another, e.g., tamburan, son of kannan. in legal documents the prefix para denotes a paraiyan, e.g., para kanni, the paraiyan kanni, but this is a purely clerical formula. the paraiyan delights in nicknames, and men sometimes grow so accustomed to these that they have almost forgotten their real names. the following nicknames are very common :- nondi, lame. kallan, thief. kullan, dwarf. vellei, white or light complexioned. kannan, with eyes. muthalai, crocodile. kudiyan, drunkard. no name, indicating virtue or merit, is given, lest the wrath of malevolent spirits should be aroused. at the census, 1891, 348 sub-divisions were returned, of which the following were strongest in point of numbers :--amma found chiefly in tanjore and madura; katti in salem and trichinopoly; kizhakkatti (eastern) in salem; koliyan (weavers) in chingleput, tanjore and trichinopoly; konga in salem; korava in coimbatore; kottai (fort) in south arcot; morasu (drum) in salem; mottai in madura; pacchai (green) in coimbatore; samban in south arcot; sangidum (sanku, conch, or chank shell) in coimbatore; sozhia (natives of the sozha or chola country) in tanjore and madura; tangalan in north and south arcot, chingleput, salem, and trichinopoly; and valangamattu in south arcot. the members of the various sub-divisions do not intermarry. it has been suggested to me that the morasu paraiyans, included in the above list, are canarese holeyas, who have settled in the tamil country. in the south their women, like the kallans, wear a horsehair thread round the neck. as additional sub-divisions, the following may be noted :-aruththukattatha, or those who, having once cut the tali-string, do not tie it a second time, i.e., those who do not permit remarriage of widows. valai (a net).--paraiyans who hunt. sanku (conch-shell).--those who act as conch-blowers at funerals. thatha.--thathan is the name given to mendicants who profess vaishnavism. such paraiyans are vaishnavites, and some are beggars. in the census report, 1901, mr. francis notes that the term paraiyan "is now almost a generic one, and the caste is split up into many sub-divisions, which differ in manners and ways. for example, the koliyans, who are weavers, and the valluvans, who are medicine men and priests and wear the sacred thread, will not intermarry or eat with the others, and are now practically distinct castes." as occupational titles of paraiyans mr. francis gives urumikkaran and pambaikkaran, or those who play on drums (urumi and pambai), and podarayan or podara vannan, who are washermen. the title valangamattan, or people of the right-hand division, is assumed by some paraiyans. mr. clayton states that he knows of no legend or popular belief among the paraiyans, indicating that they believe themselves to have come from any other part of the country than that where they now find themselves. there is, however, some evidence that the race has had a long past, and one in which they had independence, and possibly great importance in the peninsula. mr. stuart mentions [52] that the valluvans were priests to the pallava kings before the introduction of the brahmans, and even for some time after it. he quotes an unpublished vatteluttu inscription, believed to be of the ninth century, in which it is noted that "sri valluvam puvanavan, the uvacchan (or temple ministrant), will employ six men daily, and do the temple service." the inference is that the valluvan was a man of recognised priestly rank, and of great influence. the prefix sri is a notable honorific. by itself this inscription would prove little, but the whole legendary history of the greatest of all tamil poets, tiruvalluvar, "the holy valluvan," confirms all that can be deduced from it. his date can only be fixed approximately, but it is probable that he flourished not later than the tenth century a.d. it is safe to say that this extraordinary sage could not have attained the fame he did, or have received the honours that were bestowed upon him, had not the valluvans, and therefore the paraiyans, been in the circle of respectable society in his day. this conjecture is strengthened by the legend that he married a vellala girl. the same hypothesis is the only one that will account for the education and the vogue of the sister of the poet, the aphoristic poetess avvei. in the census report, 1901, mr. francis mentions an inscription of the chola king raja raja, dated about the eleventh century a.d., in which the paraiyan caste is called by its own name. it had then two sub-divisions, the nesavu or weavers, and ulavu or ploughmen. the caste had even then its own hamlets, wells and burning-grounds. there are certain privileges possessed by paraiyans, which they could never have gained for themselves from orthodox hinduism. they seem to be survivals of a past, in which paraiyans held a much higher position than they do now. it is noted by mr. m. j. walhouse [53] that "in the great festival of siva at trivalur in tanjore the headman of the pareyars is mounted on the elephant with the god, and carries his chauri (yak-tail fly fan). in madras, at the annual festival of egatta, the goddess of the black, [54] now george, town, when a tali is tied round the neck of the idol in the name of the entire community, a pareyan is chosen to represent the bridegroom. at melkotta in mysore, the chief seat of the followers of ramanuja acharya, and at the brahman temple at belur, the holeyas or pareyars have the right of entering the temple on three days in the year specially set apart for them." at melkote, the holeyas and madigas are said to have been granted the privilege of entering the sanctum sanctorum along with brahmans and others on three days by ramanuja. in 1799, however, the right to enter the temple was stopped at the dhvajastambham, or consecrated monolithic column. at both belur and melkote, as soon as the festival is over, the temples are ceremonially purified. at sriperumbudur in the chingleput district, the paraiyans enjoy a similar privilege to those at tiruvalur, in return for having sheltered an image of the locally-worshipped incarnation of vishnu during a muhammadan raid. it is noted by mr. stuart that the lower village offices, the vettiyan, taliari, dandasi or barike, and the toti, are, in the majority of madras villages, held by persons of the paraiyan caste. paraiyans are allowed to take part in pulling the cars of the idols in the great festivals at conjeeveram, kumbakonam, and srivilliputtur. their touch is not reckoned to defile the ropes used, so that other hindus will pull with them. with this may be compared the fact that the telugu malas are custodians of the goddess gauri, the bull nandi, and ganesa, the chief gods of the saiva kapus and balijas. it may also be noted that the komatis, who claim to be vaisyas, are bound to invite madigas to their marriages, though they take care that the latter do not hear the invitation. mr. clayton records that he has heard well-authenticated instances of brahman women worshipping at paraiyan shrines in order to procure children, and states that he once saw a paraiyan exorciser treating a brahman by uttering mantrams (consecrated formulæ), and waving a sickle up and down the sufferer's back, as he stood in a threshing floor. in a note on the paraiyans of the trichinopoly district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes as follows. "they have a very exalted account of their lineage, saying that they are descended from the brahman priest sala sambavan, who was employed in a siva temple to worship the god with offerings of beef, but who incurred the anger of the god by one day concealing a portion of the meat, to give it to his pregnant wife, and was therefore turned into a paraiyan. the god appointed his brother to do duty instead of him, and the paraiyans say that brahman priests are their cousins. for this reason they wear a sacred thread at their marriages and funerals. at the festival of the village goddesses, they repeat an extravagant praise of their caste, which runs as follows. 'the paraiyans were the first creation, the first who wore the sacred thread, the uppermost in the social scale, the differentiators of castes, the winners of laurels. they have been seated on the white elephant, the vira sambavans who beat the victorious drum.' it is a curious fact that, at the feast of the village goddess, a paraiyan is honoured by being invested with a sacred thread for the occasion by the pujari (priest) of the temple, by having a turmeric thread tied to his wrists, and being allowed to head the procession. this, the paraiyans say, is owing to their exalted origin." in times of drought some of the lower orders, instead of addressing their prayers to the rain god varuna, try to induce a spirit or devata named kodumpavi (wicked one) to send her paramour sukra to the affected area. the belief seems to be that sukra goes away to his concubine for about six months, and, if he does not then return, drought ensues. the ceremony consists in making a huge figure of kodumpavi in clay, which is placed on a cart, and dragged through the streets for seven to ten days. on the last day, the final death ceremonies of the figure are celebrated. it is disfigured, especially in those parts which are usually concealed. vettiyans (paraiyan grave-diggers), who have been shaved, accompany the figure, and perform the funeral ceremonies. this procedure is believed to put kodumpavi to shame, and to get her to induce sukra to return, and stay the drought. paraiyans are said [55] to wail as though they were at a funeral, and to beat drums in the funeral time. the paraiyans are said by mr. francis [56] to have a curious share in the ceremonies in connection with the annual buffalo sacrifice at the kali shrine at mangalam in south arcot. "eight men of this community are chosen from eight adjoining villages, and one of them is selected as leader. his wife must not be with child at the' time, and she is made to prove that she is above all suspicion by undergoing the ordeal of thrusting her hand into boiling gingelly (sesamum) oil. on each of ten days for which the festival lasts, this paraiyan has to go round some part of the boundaries of the eight villages, and he is fed gratis by the villagers during this time. on the day of the sacrifice itself, he marches in front of the priest as the latter kills the buffaloes. the paraiyans of the eight villages have the right to the carcases of the slaughtered animals." the paraiyans know the village boundaries better than anyone else, and are very expert in this matter, unerringly pointing out where boundaries should run, even when the government demarcation stones are completely overgrown by prickly-pear, or have been removed. mr. stuart records a custom which prevails in some parts of making a paraiyan walk the boundaries of a field with a pot of water on his head, when there is any dispute about their exact position. he thinks that the only satisfactory explanation of this is that the connection of the paraiyans with the soil is of much longer standing than that of other castes. the admitted proprietary right which paraiyans have in the site known as cheri-nattam, on which their huts stand, is a confirmation of this. these sites are entered as such on the official village maps. they cannot be taken from the paraiyans, and date from time immemorial. throughout the whole of the tamil country it is usual to find that the land allotted for house-site (nattam) is in two portions in every village (ur). one part is known by the sanskrit name gramam (village), the inhabited place. the other is called by the dravidian name cheri (gathering place). sometimes the latter is called by the fuller title paracheri (anglice parcheri, parcherry), i.e., the gathering place of the paraiyans. in the gramam live the brahmans, who sometimes dwell, in a quarter by themselves known as the agrahara, and also other hindus. in the paracheri live the paraiyans. the paracheri and the gramam are always separated, at least by a road or lane, and often by several fields. and not only is it usual thus to find that, in every village, the paraiyans as a community possess a house-site, but there are many cases in which more than one cheri is attached to a gramam. this seems to repudiate the suggestion that at some period or periods the higher castes relegated the paraiyans to these cheris. indeed, in some cases, the very names of the cheris suggest what appears to be the more correct view, viz., that the cheris had a distinct origin. for instance, the whole revenue village of teiyar near chingleput consists of one sudra gramam and seven paraiyan cheris, each with a name of its own, periyapilleri, komancheri, etc. in other cases, e.g., ideipalayam in the north of the district, and varadarajapuram near vandalur, only paraiyan hamlets exist; there is no gramam. in south arcot there are at least two villages, govindanallur and andapet, inhabited only by paraiyans, where even the maniyakkaran (munsiff or village headman) is a paraiyan. other instances might be quoted in proof of the same opinion. and, when the ceremonial antipathy between brahman and paraiyan is examined, it points in the same direction. it is well known that a brahman considers himself polluted by the touch, presence, or shadow of a paraiyan, and will not allow him to enter his house, or even the street in which he lives, if it is an agrahara. but it is not so well known that the paraiyans will not allow a brahman to enter the cheri. should a brahman venture into the paraiyan's quarter, water with which cow-dung has been mixed is thrown on his head, and he is driven out. it is stated [57] by captain j. s. f. mackenzie that "brahmans in mysore consider that great luck will await them if they can manage to pass through the holeya quarter of a village unmolested, and that, should a brahman attempt to enter their quarters, they turn out in a body and slipper him, in former times it is said to death." some brahmans consider a forsaken paracheri an auspicious site for an agrahara. a very peculiar case is that of the gramam founded for, and occupied by the clerks of the earliest collectors (district magistrates) of the jagir of karunguli from 1795 to 1825 a.d. these clerks were brahmans, and it was called the agraharam. it was deserted when the head-quarters of the collector were removed to conjeeveram. it is now occupied by paraiyans, but is still called the agraharam. the facts, taken together, seem to show that the paraiyan priests (valluvans), and therefore the paraiyans as a race, are very ancient, that ten centuries ago they were a respectable community, and that many were weavers. the privileges they enjoy are relics of an exceedingly long association with the land. the institution of the paracheri points to original independence, and even to possession of much of the land. if the account of the colonisation of tondeimandalam by vellalans in the eighth century a.d. is historic, then it is possible that at that time the paraiyans lost the land, and that their degradation as a race began. the paraiyans have long been a settled race. and, though a number of them emigrate to ceylon, mauritius, south africa, the west indies, the straits settlements, and even to fiji, the vast majority live and die within a mile or two of the spot where they were born. the houses in which they live are not temporary erections, or intended for use during certain seasons of the year only. the rudest form is a hut made by tying a few leaves of the palmyra palm on to a framework of poles or bamboos. the better class of houses are a series of rooms with low mud walls and thatched roof, but generally without doors, surrounding a small courtyard, in which the family goats, buffaloes, and fowls have their homes. the cooking is done anywhere where it is convenient either indoors or out, as there is no fear of pollution from the glance or shadow of any passer-by. very occasionally the walls of the house, especially those facing the street, are whitewashed, or decorated with variegated patterns or figures in red and white. paraiya women, like higher caste women, are much given to tracing exceedingly intricate symmetrical designs (kolam) with rice flour on the smooth space or pathway immediately before the doors of their houses, it is said, to prevent the entrance of evil spirits. mr. s. p. rice writes to me that the patterns on the floor or threshold are generally traced with white powder, e.g., chalk, as rice is too costly; and that the original object of the custom was not to drive away evil spirits, but to provide food for the lowest creatures of creation--ants, insects, etc. admissions to the paraiyan caste from higher castes sometimes occur. mr. clayton records having met an aiyangar brahman who was working as a cooly with some paraiyan labourers at kodaikanal on the palni hills. he had become infatuated with a paraiya woman, and had consequently been excommunicated, and became a paraiyan. in every paraiya settlement a small number of the more important men are known as panakkaran (money-man). the application of the term may, mr. clayton suggests, be due to their comparative opulence, or may have arisen from the custom of paying them a small sum (panam) for various services to the community. but panikkar or panakkar is usually said to be derived from pani, meaning work. they form a committee or council to decide ordinary quarrels, and to amerce the damages in cases of assault, seduction, rape, and adultery. they have power to dissolve marriages on account of the wife, or if the husband has deserted his wife. in these cases their authority is really based on the public opinion of the paracheri, and goes no further than that public opinion will enforce it. there is no headman in a paraiya hamlet corresponding to the munsiff or village magistrate of the hindu village (grama). in modern practice the paraiyans are, for police purposes, under the authority of the munsiff of the grama, and there is a growing tendency on their part to refer all disputes and assaults to the munsiff, or even directly to the police. on the other hand, cases of a more domestic nature, such as disputes about betrothals, seduction, etc., are still dealt with, generally acutely and fairly, by the village council. it should be added that the rank of panakkaran is hereditary, and is regarded as honourable. the paraiyans, like all the other right-hand castes, come under the jurisdiction of the desayi chettis, who have held a sort of censorship since the days of the nawabs of arcot over some twenty-four of these right-hand castes, chiefly in north arcot. the desayi chetti has nominal power to deal with all moral offences, and is supposed to have a representative in every village, who reports every offence. but, though his authority is great in north arcot, and the fines levied there bring in an income of hundreds of rupees yearly, it is not so much dreaded in other districts. the punishment usually inflicted is a fine, but sometimes a delinquent paraiyan will be made to crawl on his hands and knees on the ground between the legs of a paraiya woman as a final humiliation. the punishment of excommunication, i.e., cutting off from fire and water, is sometimes the fate of the recalcitrant, either before the council or the desayi chetti, but it is seldom effective for more than a short time. mr. k. rangachari adds that, in certain places, the desayi chetti appoints the panakkaran, who is subordinate to the desayi, and that a man called the variyan or shalavathi is sometimes appointed as assistant to the panakkaran. he also mentions some other punishments. the fine for adultery is from 7 pagodas 14 fanams to 11 pagodas, when the wronged woman is unmarried. if she is married, the amount ranges from 12 pagodas 14 fanams to 16 pagodas. the fine is said to be divided between the woman, her husband, the members of council, and the panakkarans. formerly an offender against the paraiyan community was tied to a post at the beginning of his trial, and, if found guilty, was beaten. he might escape the flogging by paying a fine of two fanams per stripe. sometimes a delinquent is paraded through the hamlet, carrying a rubbish basket, or is ordered to make a heap of rubbish at a certain spot. or a cord is passed from one big toe over the bowed neck of the culprit, and tied to his other big toe, and then a stone is placed on his bent back. in some places, when an unmarried woman is convicted of adultery, she is publicly given a new cloth and a bit of straw or a twig, apparently in mockery. it is said that formerly, if the chastity of a bride was suspected, she had to pick some cakes out of boiling oil. this she had to do just after the tali had been tied in the wedding ceremony. her hair, nails, and clothes were examined, to see that she had no charm concealed. after lifting the cakes from the oil, she had to husk some rice with her bare hand. if she could do this, her virtue was established. in the south arcot district, according to mr. francis, [58] the paraiyans "have caste headmen called the periya (big) nattan and the chinna (little) nattan or tangalan (our man), whose posts are usually hereditary. the tangalan carries out the sentence of caste panchayats, administering a thrashing to the accused for example, if such be the order of the court. of the fines inflicted by these assemblies, a fifth is usually handed over to the local mariamma shrine, and the remaining four-fifths are laid out in drinks for the panchayatdars. until recently, a part of the fine was in some cases, in these parts, paid to the local poligar." excommunicated paraiyans are said to go to a mythical place called vinnamangalam. in some documents signed by paraiyans, the words "if i fail to fulfil the conditions of our agreement, i shall go to vinnamangalam" are inserted. in all enquiries by the police, the council, or the desayi chetti, the paraiyan only tells what in his opinion it is expedient to tell. but evidence given after burning a piece of camphor is said to be reliable. the attainment of puberty by girls is a subject of greedy curiosity to most of the women in a paraiya village. this has been said to be due to the fact that "the menstrual fluid is held in horror, dire consequences being supposed to result from not merely the contact, but even the very sight of it. hence the isolation and purification of women during the menstrual period, and the extreme care and anxiety with which the first approach of puberty in a girl is watched." the girl at once begins to wear a covering of some sort, even it be the most pathetic rag, over her left shoulder and breast. till this time, a bit of cotton cloth round her waist has been considered sufficient. among the tangalan paraiyans, when a girl attains puberty, she is kept apart either in the house or in a separate hut. pollution is supposed to last eight days. on the ninth day, the girl is bathed, and seated in the courtyard. ten small lamps of flour paste (called drishti mavu vilakku), to avert the evil eye, are put on a sieve, and waved before her three times. then coloured water (arati or alam) and burning camphor are waved before her. some near female relatives then stand behind her, and strike her waist and sides with puttu (flour cake) tied in a cloth. this is believed to make her strong. at the same time other women strike the ground behind the girl with a rice-pestle. then presents are given to the girl. in some places the girl is beaten within the house by her mother-in-law or paternal aunt. the latter repeatedly asks the girl to promise that her daughter shall marry her paternal aunt's son. in marriages among the paraiyans, difference in religion is of little moment. a christian paraiyan will marry a heathen girl, though it should be said that she is usually baptised at or about the time of the marriage. a christian girl is sometimes married to a heathen paraiyan. mr. clayton thinks that the fact that certain paraiyans paint the namam of vishnu on their foreheads, while others smear their foreheads with the ashes of siva, prevents marriages between them. the bridegroom must be older than the bride. subject to this condition, it is usual for a youth to marry his father's sister's daughter, or his mother's brother's daughter. a girl should be married to her mother's brother's son if he is old enough, but not, as among the konga vellalas and some reddis, if he is a child. in short, paraiyans follow the usual tamil custom, but it is often neglected. marriage contracts are sometimes made by parents while the parties most concerned are still infants, often while they are still children; in the majority of cases when the girl attains the marriageable age. the bridegroom may be many years older than the bride, especially when custom, as noted above, settles who shall be his bride. the bride has absolutely no choice in the matter; but, if the bridegroom is a man of some years or position, his preferences are consulted. the elder sister should be given in marriage before her younger sisters are married. the arrangements are more or less a bargain. presents of clothes, paltry jewels, rice, vegetables, and perhaps a few rupees, are exchanged between the families of the bride and bridegroom. the household that seeks the marriage naturally gives the larger gifts. the actual marriage ceremony is very simple. the essential part is the tying of a small token or ornament (tali), varying in value from a few annas to four or five rupees by a turmeric-stained string, round the neck of the bride. this is done by the bridegroom in the presence of a valluvan, who mutters some kind of blessing on the marriage. a series of feasts, lasting over two or three days, is given to all the relatives of both parties by the parents of the newly-married couple. the bride and bridegroom do not live together immediately, even if the girl is old enough. the exact date at which their life together may begin is settled by the bride's mother. the occasion, called soppana muhurtham, is celebrated by another feast and much merry-making, not always seemly. the following detailed account of the marriage ceremonies among the tangalan paraiyans was furnished by mr. k. rangachari. the parents or near relations of the contracting parties meet, and talk over the match. if an agreement is arrived at, an adjournment is made to the nearest liquor shop, and a day fixed for the formal exchange of betel leaves, which is the sign of a binding engagement. a paraiyan, when he goes to seek the hand of a girl in marriage, will not eat at her house if her family refuse to consider the alliance, to which the consent of the girl's maternal uncle is essential. the paraiyan is particular in the observation of omens, and, if a cat or a valiyan (a bird) crosses his path when he sets out in quest of a bride, he will give her up. the betrothal ceremony, or pariyam, is binding as long as the contracting couple are alive. they may live together as man and wife without performing the marriage ceremony, and children born to them are considered as legitimate. but, when their offspring marry, the parents must first go through the marriage rites, and the children are then married in the same pandal on the same day. at the betrothal ceremony, the headman, father, maternal uncle, and two near relations of the bridegroom-elect, proceed to the girl's house, where they are received, and sit on seats or mats. drink and plantain fruits are offered to them. some conversation takes place between the headmen of the two parties, such as "have you seen the girl? have you seen her house and relations? are you disposed to recommend and arrange the match?" if he assents, the girl's headman says "as long as stones and the kaveri river exist, so that the sky goddess akasavani and the earth goddess bhumadevi may know it; so that the water-pot (used at the marriage ceremony), and the sun and moon may know it; so that this assembly may know it; i ... give this girl." the headman of the bridegroom then says "the girl shall be received into the house by marriage. these thirty-six pieces of gold are yours, and the girl is mine." he then hands betel leaves and areca nuts to the other headman, who returns them. the exchange of betel is carried out three times. near the headmen is placed a tray containing betel nuts, a rupee, a turmeric-dyed cloth in which a fanam (2 1/2 annas) is tied, a cocoanut, flowers, and the bride's money varying in amount from seven to twenty rupees. the fanam and bride's money are handed to the headman of the girl, and the rupee is divided between the two headmen. on the betrothal day, the relations of the girl offer flowers, cocoanuts, etc., to their ancestors, who are supposed to be without food or drink. the paraiyans believe that the ancestors will be ill-disposed towards them, if they are not propitiated with offerings of rice and other things. for the purpose of worship, the ancestors are represented by a number of cloths kept in a box made of bamboo or other material, to which the offerings are made. on the conclusion of the ancestor worship, the two headmen go to a liquor shop, and exchange drinks of toddy. this exchange is called mel sambandham kural, or proclaiming relationship. after the lapse of a few days, the girl's family is expected to pay a return visit, and the party should include at least seven men. betel is again exchanged, and the guests are fed, or presented with a small gift of money. when marriage follows close on betrothal, the girl is taken to the houses of her relations, and goes through the nalugu ceremony, which consists of smearing her with turmeric paste, an oil bath, and presentation of betel and sweets. the auspicious day and hour for the marriage are fixed by the valluvan, or priest of the paraiyans. the ceremonial is generally carried through in a single day. on the morning of the wedding day, three male and two married female relations of the bridegroom go to the potter's house to fetch the pots, which have been already ordered. the potter's fee is a fowl, pumpkin, paddy, betel, and a few annas. the bride, accompanied by the headman and her relations, goes to the bridegroom's village, bringing with her a number of articles called petti varisai or box presents. these consist of a lamp, cup, brass vessel, ear-ornament called kalappu, twenty-five betel leaves and areca nuts, onions, and cakes, a lump of jaggery (crude sugar), grass mat, silver toe-ring, rice, a bundle of betel leaves and five cocoanuts, which are placed inside a bamboo box. the next item in the proceedings is the erection of the milk-post, which is made of a pestle of tamarind or soymida febrifuga wood, or a green bamboo. to the post leafy twigs of the mango or pipal (ficus religiosa) are tied. in some places, a pole of the odina wodier tree is said to be set up, and afterwards planted near the house, to see if it will grow. near the marriage dais a pit is dug, into which are thrown nine kinds of grain, and milk is poured. the milk-post is supported on a grindstone painted with turmeric stripes, washed with milk and cow's urine, and worshipped, with the valluvan as the celebrant priest. the post is then set up in the pit by three men and two women. a string with a bit of turmeric (kankanam) is tied to the milk-post, and to it and the dais boiled rice is offered. kankanams are also tied round the wrists of the bride and bridegroom. the bridegroom's party go to the temple or house where the bride is awaiting them, bringing with them a brass lamp, vessel and cup, castor and gingelly oil, combs, confectionery, turmeric, and betel leaves. the procession is headed by paraiyans beating tom-toms, and blowing on trumpets. when their destination is reached, all take their seats on mats, and the various articles which they have brought are handed over to the headman, who returns them. the bride is then taken in procession to the marriage house, which she is the first to enter. she is then told to touch with her right hand some paddy, salt, and rice, placed in three pots inside the house. touching them with the left hand would be an evil omen, and every mishap which might occur in the family would be traced to the new daughter-in-law. the bride and bridegroom next go through the nalugu ceremony, and some of the relations proceed with the ceremony of bringing sand (manal vari sadangu). a cousin of the bridegroom and his wife take three pots called sal karagam and kuresal, and repair to a river, tank (pond) or well, accompanied by a few men and women. the pots are set on the ground, and close to them are placed a lamp, and a leaf with cakes, betel leaves and nuts set on it. puja (worship) is made to the pots by burning camphor and breaking cocoanuts. the vettiyan then says "the sun, the moon, the pots, and the owner of the girl have come to the pandal. so make haste and fill the pot with water." the woman dips a small pot in water, and, after putting some sand or mud into a big pot, pours the water therein. the pots are then again worshipped. after the performance of the nalugu, the bridal couple go through a ceremony for removing the evil eye, called "sige kazhippu." a leaf of ficus religiosa, with its tail downwards, is held over their foreheads, and all the close relations pour water over it, so that it trickles over their faces; or seven cakes are placed by each of the relations on the head, shoulders, knees, feet, and other parts of the body of the bridegroom. the cakes are subsequently given to a washerman. the parents of the bridal couple, accompanied by some of their relations, next proceed to an open field, taking with them the cloths, tali, jewels, and other things which have been purchased for the wedding. a cloth is laid on the ground, and on it seven leaves are placed, and cooked rice, vegetables, etc., heaped up thereon. puja is done, and a goat is sacrificed to the ancestors (tangalanmar). by some the offerings are made to the village goddess pidari, instead of to the ancestors. meanwhile the bridegroom has been taken in procession round the village on horseback, and the headmen have been exchanging betel in the pandal. on the bridegroom's return, he and the bride seat themselves on planks placed on the dais, and are garlanded by their maternal uncle with wreaths of nerium odorum flowers. the maternal uncle of the bride presents her with a ring. in some places, the bride is carried to the dais on the shoulders or in the arms of the maternal uncle. while the couple are seated on the dais the valluvan priest lights the sacred fire (homam), and, repeating some words in corrupt sanskrit, pours gingelly oil into the fire. he then does puja to the tali, and passes it round, to be touched and blessed by those assembled. the bridegroom, taking up the tali, shows it through a hole in the pandal to the sky or sun, and, on receipt of permission from those present, ties it round the neck of the bride. thin plates of gold or silver, called pattam, are then tied on the foreheads of the contracting couple, first by the mother-in-law and sister-in-law. with brahman and non-brahman castes it is customary for the bride and bridegroom to fast until the tali has been tied. with paraiyans, on the contrary, the rite is performed after a good meal. towards the close of the marriage day, fruit, flowers, and betel are placed on a tray before the couple, and all the kankanams, seven in number, are removed, and put on the tray. after burning camphor, the bridegroom hands the tray to his wife, and it is exchanged between them three times. it is then given to the washerman. the proceedings terminate by the two going with linked hands three times round the pandal. on the following day, the bride's relatives purchase some good curds, a number of plantains, sugar and pepper, which are mixed together. all assemble at the pandal, and some of the mixture is given to the headman, the newly married couple, and all who are present. all the articles which constitute the bride's dowry are then placed in the pandal, and examined by the headman. if they are found to be correct, he proclaims the union of the couple, and more of the mixture is doled out. this ceremony is known as sambandham kural or sambandham piriththal (proclaiming relationship). two or three days after the marriage, the bridegroom goes to the house of the bride, and remains there for three days. he is stopped at the entrance by his brother-in-law, who washes his feet, puts rings on the second toe, and keeps on pinching his feet until he has extracted a promise that the bridegroom will give his daughter, if one is born to him, in marriage to the son of his brother-in-law. the ring is put on the foot of the bride by her maternal uncle at the time of the marriage ceremony, after the wrist threads have been removed. in some places it is done by the mother-in-law or sister-in-law, before the tali is tied, behind a screen. polygamy is not common among the paraiyans, but mr. clayton has known a few instances in which a paraiyan had two regularly married wives, each wearing a tali. but it is very common to find that a paraiyan has, in addition to his formally married wife, another woman who occupies a recognised position in his household. the first wears the tali. the other woman does not, but is called the second wife. she cannot be dismissed without the sanction of the paracheri council. the man who maintains her is called her husband, and her children are recognised as part of his family. mr. clayton believes that a second wife is usually taken only when the more formally married wife has no children, or when an additional worker is wanted in the house, or to help in the daily work. thus a horsekeeper will often have two wives, one to prepare his meals and boil the gram for the horse, the other to go out day by day to collect grass for the horse. the tamil proverb "the experience of a man with two wives is anguish" applies to all these double unions. there are constant quarrels between the two women, and the man is generally involved, often to his own great inconvenience. it is quite common for a paraiyan to marry his deceased wife's sister, if she is not already married. a paraiya woman usually goes to her mother's house a month or two before she expects the birth of her first child, which is born there. sometimes a medicine woman (maruttuvacchi), who possesses or professes some knowledge of drugs and midwifery, is called in, if the case is a bad one. generally her barbarous treatment is but additional torture to the patient. immediately after the birth of the child, the mother drinks a decoction called kashayam, in which there is much ginger. hence the tamil proverb "is there any decoction without ginger in it?" about a week after the birth, the mother, as a purificatory ceremony, is rubbed with oil and bathed. among sudras there is a family ceremony, to which the sanskrit name simanta has been assigned, though it is not the true simanta observed by brahmans. it occurs only in connection with a first pregnancy. the expectant mother stands bending over a rice mortar, and water or human milk is poured on her back by her husband's elder or younger sister. money is also given to buy jewels for the expected child. the ceremony is of no interest to anyone outside the family. hence the proverb "come, ye villagers, and pour water on this woman's back." this is used when outsiders are called in to do for a member of a family what the relatives ought to do. this ceremony is sometimes observed by paraiyans. among brahmans it is believed to affect the sex of the child. it should be added that it is firmly believed that, if a woman dies during pregnancy or in childbed, her spirit becomes an exceedingly malignant ghost, and haunts the precincts of the village where she dies. a widow does not wear the tali, which is removed at a gathering of relatives some days after her husband's death. "the removal of the tali of a widow," mr. francis writes, [59] "is effected in a curious manner. on the sixteenth day after the husband's death, another woman stands behind the widow, who stoops forward, and unties the tali in such a way that it falls into a vessel of milk placed to receive it. adoption ceremonies are also odd. the adoptee's feet are washed in turmeric water by the adopter, who then drinks a little of the liquid. adoption is accordingly known as manjanir kudikkiradu, or the drinking of turmeric water, and the adopted son as the manjanir pillai, or turmeric water boy." paraiya women do not wear any distinctive dress when they are widows, and do not shave their heads. but they cease to paint the vermilion mark (kunkumam) on their foreheads, which married women who are living with their husbands always wear, except at times when they are considered ceremonially unclean. the widow of a paraiyan, if not too old to bear children, generally lives with another man as his wife. sometimes she is ceremonially married to him, and then wears the tali. a widow practically chooses her own second husband, and is not restricted to any particular relative, such as her husband's elder or younger brother. the practice of the levirate, by which the younger brother takes the widow of the elder, is non-existent as a custom among paraiyas, though instances of such unions may be found. indeed the popular opinion of the tamil caste credits the paraiyan with little regard for any of the restrictions of consanguinity, either prohibitive or permissive. "the palmyra palm has no shadow: the paraiyan has no regard for seemliness" is a common tamil proverb. it is stated, in the madras census report, 1891, that "the paraiyans have been but little affected by brahmanical doctrines and customs, though in respect to ceremonies they have not escaped their influence. paraiyans are nominally saivites, but in reality they are demon worshippers." the homakulam tank in the south arcot district is reputed to be the place where nanda, the paraiyan saint, bathed before he performed sacrifice preparatory to his transfiguration to brahmanhood. [60] brahman influence has scarcely affected the paraiyan at all, even in ceremonial. no paraiyan may enter any vaishnava or saiva temple even of the humblest sort, though of course his offerings of money are accepted, if presented by the hands of some friendly sudra, even in such exclusive shrines as that of sri vira raghava swami at tiruvallur. it is true that paraiyans are often termed saivites, but there are many nominal vaishnavas among them, who regularly wear the namam of vishnu on their foreheads. the truth is that the feminine deities, commonly called devata, have been identified by hindus with the feminine energy of siva, and thus the paraiyans who worship them have received the sectarian epithet. as a matter of fact, the wearing of the namam of vishnu, or the smearing of the ashes of siva, is of no meaning to a paraiyan. they are neither saivites nor vaishnavites. like all other dravidians, the paraiyans acknowledge the existence of a supreme, omnipresent, personal spiritual being, the source of all, whom they call kadavul (he who is). kadavul possesses no temples, and is not worshipped, but he is the highest conception of paraiya thought. paraiyans worship at least three classes of godlings or devata, generally called the mothers (amma). sometimes they are worshipped as the virgins (kanniyamma) or the seven virgins. these mothers may be worshipped collectively in a group. they are then symbolised by seven stones or bricks, perhaps within a little enclosure, or on a little platform in the paraiya hamlet, or under a margosa (melia azadirachta) tree, or sheltered by a wattle hut, or even by a small brick temple. this temple is universally known as the amman koil. more usually, one particular mother is worshipped at the paraiya shrine. she is then called the grama devata, or village goddess, of the particular hamlet. the names of these goddesses are legion. each village claims that its own mother is not the same as that of the next village, but all are supposed to be sisters. each is supposed to be the guardian of the boundaries of the cheri or gramam where her temple lies, sometimes of both gramam and cheri. she is believed to protect its inhabitants and its livestock from disease, disaster and famine, to promote the fecundity of cattle and goats, and to give children. in a word, she is called the benefactress of the place, and of all in it who worship her. the following are a few of the names of these village tutelary deities:- ellamma, goddess of the boundary, worshipped by tamil and telugu paraiyans. mungilamma, bamboo goddess. padeiyattal or padeiyacchi. parrapotamma, a telugu goddess supposed to cure cattle diseases. pidariyamma, sometimes called ellei pidari. the symbol of the goddess may be a conical stone, or a carved idol. occasionally a rude figure of the bull nandi, and an iron trident mark the shrine. a lamp is often lighted before it at night. the ceremonial of worship of all classes of devata is very simple. the worshipper prostrates himself before the symbol of the deity, whether one stone, seven stones, or an image. he anoints it with oil, smears it with saffron, daubs it with vermilion, garlands it with flowers (nerium odorum by preference), burns a bit of camphor, and circumambulates the shrine, keeping his right side towards it. on special occasions he breaks cocoanuts, kills fowls, goats or sheep, of which the two last must be killed at one blow, pours out their blood, perhaps offers a little money, and goes his way, satisfied that he has done his best to propitiate the devata whom he has honoured. special shrines attain very great fame. thus the goddess bavaniyammal of periyapalayam, some sixteen miles from madras, is well known, and crowds come to her annual festival. paraiyans, pallis, and chakkilians form the majority of the worshippers, but of late years sudras and even brahmans are to be found at her shrine. the homage rendered to her is twofold. her worshippers sacrifice some thousands of sheep on the river bank outside her temple, and, entirely divesting themselves of their garments, and covering themselves with bunches of margosa leaves, go round the temple. except on the five sundays, usually in july and august, on which the festival is held, the shrine is forsaken, and the goddess is said to be a vegetarian; but on the five festival sundays she is said to be as greedy for flesh as a leather-dresser's (chakkiliyan) wife. two goddesses hold a position distinct from the mothers as a group, or as tutelary goddesses. these are gangammal and mariyattal, and their peculiarity is that they are itinerant deities. gangammal is often described as the goddess of cholera, and mariyattal, as the goddess of small-pox, though both diseases are frequently ascribed to the latter. mariyattal is worshipped under the names of poleramma and ammavaru by telugus. for instance, near arcotkuppam in the north arcot district, a festival is held in honour of gangammal in the tamil month vaikasi (may-june), in which sudras join. the main feature of the festival is the boiling of new rice as at pongal. men also put on women's clothes, and perform grotesque dances. in the same way, in the ten days' festival in honour of mariyattal held at uttaramallur during the tamil month avani (august), the goddess is carried about by washermen (vannan), who perform a kind of pantomime (vilas) in her honour. there is a curious belief that these goddesses (or gangammal, if they are distinguished) must travel along roads and paths, and cannot go across country, and that they cannot pass over the leaves of the margosa or the stems of the plant called in tamil perandei (vitis quadrangularis). consequently, when cholera is about, and the goddess is supposed to be travelling from village to village seeking victims, branches of margosa and long strings of perandei are placed on all the paths leading into the gramam or cheri. sometimes, also, leaves of the margosa are strung together, and hung across the village street. these are called toranam. besides the deities already referred to, there are a number of ghosts, ghouls, and goblins (pey or pisasu), whom paraiyans propitiate. mathureiviran and virabadran are, for example, two well-known demons. among tamil paraiyans there are families in almost every village, who hold a kind of sacerdotal rank in the esteem of their fellows. they are called valluvans, valluva pandarams, or valluva paraiyans. their position and authority depend largely on their own astuteness. sometimes they are respected even by brahmans for their powers as exorcists. it is often impossible to see any difference between the valluvans and the ordinary paraiyans, except that their houses are usually a little apart from other houses in the cheri. they take a leading part in local paraiya festivals. at marriages they pronounce the blessing when the tali is tied round the bride's neck. in cases of supposed possession by demons, or by the mothers, the valluvan is consulted as to the meaning of the portent, and takes part in driving the spirit out of the victim, sometimes using violence and blows to compel the spirit to deliver its message and be gone. the census report, 1901, states that valluvans do not eat or intermarry with other sections of the paraiyans. mr. clayton is unable to confirm this, and is inclined to doubt whether it is generally true. the dead are buried as a rule, but sometimes the corpses are burnt. a portion of the village waste land is allotted for the purpose. only paraiyans are buried in it. the funeral rites are very simple. the corpse is carried on a temporary litter of palm leaf mats and bamboos, wrapped in a cotton cloth, which is a new one if it can be afforded, and interred or burnt. about the third or fifth day after death, the pal sadangu, or milk ceremony, should take place, when some milk is poured out by the next-of-kin as an offering to the spirit of the deceased. this spirit is then supposed to assume a sort of corporeity, and to depart to the place of respite till fate decrees that it be re-born. this ceremony is accompanied by a family feast. on the fifteenth day after death, another family gathering is held, and food is offered to the spirit of the dead person. this ceremony is called karumantaram, or expiatory ceremony. occasionally, for some months after the death, a few flowers are placed on the grave, and a cocoanut is broken over it; and some attempt is even made to recognise the anniversary of the date. but there is no regular custom and it is probably an imitation of brahmanical usages. the ordinary paraiyan's conception of life after death is merely a vague belief that the departed soul continues its existence somewhere. he has no ordered eschatology. if a first-born male child dies, it is buried close to or even within the house, so that its corpse may not be carried off by a witch or sorcerer, to be used in magic rites, as the body of a first-born child is supposed to possess special virtues. it is noted by mr. h. a. stuart [61] that "the tangalans profess to have once been a very respectable class, and wear the sacred thread at weddings and funerals, while the other divisions never assume it." the following note on the death ceremonies of the paraiyans at coimbatore was supplied by mr. v. govindan. if the deceased was a married man, the corpse is placed in a sitting posture in a booth made of twigs of margosa and milk-hedge (euphorbia tirucalli), and supported behind by a mortar. the widow puts on all her ornaments, and decorates her hair with flowers. she seats herself on the left side of the corpse, in the hands of which some paddy (unhusked rice) or salt is placed. taking hold of its hands, some one pours the contents thereof into the hands of the widow, who replaces them in those of the corpse. this is done thrice, and the widow then ties the rice in her cloth. on the way to the burial ground (sudukadu), the son carries a new pot, the barber a pot of cooked rice and brinjal (solanum melongena) fruits and other things required for doing puja. the paraiyan in charge of the burial ground carries a fire-brand. the mats and other articles used by the deceased, and the materials of which the booth was made, are carried in front by the washerman, who deposits them at a spot between the house of the deceased and the burial ground called the idukadu, which is made to represent the shrine of arichandra. arichandra was a king, who became a slave of the paraiyans, and is in charge of the burial ground. at the idukadu the corpse is placed on the ground, and the son, going thrice round it, breaks the pot of rice near its head. the barber makes a mark at the four corners of the bier, and the son places a quarter anna on three of the marks, and some cowdung on the mark at the north-east corner. the widow seats herself at the feet of the corpse, and another widowed woman breaks her tali string, and throws it on the corpse. arrived at the grave, the gurukal (priest) descends into it, does puja and applies vibhuti (sacred ashes) to its sides. the body is lowered into it, and half a yard of cloth from the winding-sheet is given to the paraiyan, and a quarter of a yard to an andi (religious mendicant). the grave is filled in up to the neck of the corpse, and bael (ægle marmelos) leaves, salt, and vibhuti are placed on its head by the gurukal. the grave is then filled in, and a stone and thorny branch placed at the head end. as the son goes, carrying the water-pot, three times round the grave, the barber makes a hole in the pot, which is thrown on the stone. the son and other relations bathe and return to the house, where a vessel containing milk is set on a mortar, and another containing water placed at the door. they dip twigs of the pipal (ficus religiosa) into the milk, and throw them on the roof. they also worship a lighted lamp. on the third day, cooked rice, and other food for which the deceased had a special liking, are taken to the grave, and placed on plantain leaves. puja is done, and the crows are attracted to the spot. if they do not turn up, the gurukal prays, and throws up water three times. on the seventeenth day, the son and others, accompanied by the gurukal, carry a new brick and articles required for puja to the river. the brick is placed under water, and the son bathes. the articles for puja are spread on a plantain leaf, before which the son places the brick. puja is done to it, and a piece of new cloth tied on it. it is then again carried to the water, and immersed therein. the ceremonial concludes with the lighting of the sacred fire (homam). the death ceremonies of the paraiyan, as carried out in the chingleput district, are thus described by mr. k. rangachari. the corpse is washed, dressed, and carried on a bier to the burning or burial ground. just before it is placed on the bier, all the relations, who are under pollution, go round it three times, carrying an iron measure round which straw has been wrapped, and containing a light. on the way to the burial ground, the son or grandson scatters paddy, which has been fried by the agnates. a pot of fire is carried by the vettiyan. at a certain spot the bier is placed on the ground, and the son goes round it, carrying a pot of cooked rice, which he breaks near the head of the corpse. this rice should not be touched by man or beast, and it is generally buried. when the corpse has been placed on the pyre, or laid in the grave, rice is thrown over it by the relations. the son, carrying a pot of water, goes thrice round it, and asks those assembled if he may finish the ceremony. on receiving their assent, he again goes three times round the corpse, and, making three holes in the pot, throws it down, and goes home without looking back. if the dead person is unmarried, a mock marriage ceremony, called kanni kaziththal (removing bachelorhood), is performed before the corpse is laid on the bier. a garland of arka (calotropis gigantea) flowers and leaves is placed round its neck, and balls of mud from a gutter are laid on the head, knees, and other parts of the body. in some places a variant of the ceremony consists in the erection of a mimic marriage booth which is covered with leaves of the arka plant, flowers of which are placed round the neck as a garland. on the third day after death, cooked rice, milk, fruits, etc., are offered to the soul of the departed on two leaves placed one near the head, the other near the feet of the corpse. of these, the former is taken by men, and the latter by women, and eaten. the karmanthiram, or final ceremony, takes place on the twelfth or sixteenth day. all concerned in it proceed to a tank with cooked rice, cakes, etc. a figure of ganesa (pillayar) is made with mud, and five kalasam (vessels) are placed near it. the various articles which have been brought are set out in front of it. two bricks, on which the figures of a man and woman are drawn, are given to the son, who washes them, and does puja to them after an effigy has been made at the waterside by a washerman. he then says "i gave calves and money. enter kailasam (the abode of siva). find your way to paralokam (the other world). i gave you milk and fruit. go to the world of the dead. i gave gingelly (sesamum) and milk. enter yamalokam (abode of the god of death). eleven descendants on the mother's side and ten on the father's, twenty-one in all, may they all enter heaven." he then puts the bricks into the water. on their return home, the sons of the deceased are presented with new clothes. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the tanjore district, that, when a man dies, camphor is not burnt in the house, but at the junction of three lanes. some paraiyans, on the occurrence of a death in a family, put a pot filled with dung or water, a broomstick and a fire-brand at some place where three roads meet, or in front of the house, in order to prevent the ghost from returning. an impression of the dead man's palm is taken in cow-dung, and stuck on the wall. in some places, e.g., at tirutturaippundi, the paraiyans observe a ceremony rather like that observed by valaiyans and karaiyans on the heir's return from the burning-ground on the second day. three rice-pounders and a chembu (vessel) of water are placed outside the door, and the heir sits on these, chews a piece of fish, spits thrice, and then goes and worships a light burning in the house. tattooing is practiced on women and children of both sexes, but not on grown men. with children it is confined to a simple line drawn down the forehead. among paraiyans who have become roman catholics, the device is sometimes a cross. women, like those of other tamil castes, frequently have their arms elaborately tattooed, and sometimes have a small pattern between the breasts. a legend runs to the effect that, many years ago, a paraiyan woman wished her upper arms and chest to be tattooed in the form of a bodice. the operation was successfully carried out till the region of the heart was reached, and then a vulnerable part was punctured by the needles, with the result that the woman died. whence has arisen a superstitious objection to tattooing of the breasts. sometimes an arei-mudi, shaped like the leaf of the puvarasa tree (thespesia populnea), made of silver or silvered brass, is tied round the waist of female infants as an ornament. small, flat plates of copper, called takudu, are frequently worn by children. one side is divided into sixteen squares, in which, what look like the telugu numerals nine, ten, eleven and twelve are engraved. on the other side a circle is drawn, which is divided into eight segments, in each of which a telugu letter is inscribed. this charm is supposed to protect the wearer from harm coming from any of the eight cardinal points of the indian compass. charms, in the form of metal cylinders, are worn for the same purpose by adults and children, and procured from some exorcist. similar or the same charms are worn to avoid the baneful influence of the evil eye. to prevent this from affecting their crops, paraiyans put up scarecrows in their fields. these are usually small broken earthen pots, whitewashed or covered with spots of whitewash, or even adorned with huge clay noses and ears, and made into grotesque faces. they are set up on the end of poles, to attract the eye of the passer-by from the crop. for the same reason more elaborate figures, made of mud and twigs, in human shape, are sometimes set up. before wells are sunk, a charmer (mantirakkaran) is called in to recite spells and find a likely spot, cocoanuts are broken, and the milk thereof poured out to propitiate the gods of the place. the paraiyans are very largely employed as domestic servants by europeans. and it has been said that "so necessary to the comfort of the public is the paraiya that orthodox brahman gentlemen may be seen employing paraiya coachmen and syces (footmen). the christian paraiya has become 'native christian' caste, and has achieved, among other things, university honours, the wearing of the surplice, and the rod of the pedagogue." [62] vast numbers of paraiyans are agricultural labourers. till a score or so of years ago some were actually bond serfs, and there are instances on record in quite recent years, which show that it was no infrequent thing for a paraiyan to mortgage his son as security for the repayment of a loan. some paraiya families own much land. it is noted by mr. francis [63] that in the south arcot district, "their numbers, and the comparative wealth which ground-nut (arachis hypogæa) cultivation has brought them, have caused them to take a rather better social position here than elsewhere, and they are actually beginning to copy the social ways of the higher castes, sometimes burning their dead (though those who have died of cholera or small-pox are still always buried), marrying their children when infants, and looking with disfavour on the remarriage of widows." current tamil speech and custom divide the landless labouring paraiyans into padiyal and kuliyal. the padiyal is definitely and hereditarily attached to some land-holding family in the hindu grama. he can work for no one else, and cannot change masters. his privilege is that in times of drought and famine his master must support him. the kuliyal is a mere day labourer, only employed, and therefore only receiving pay (kuli) when required. he has no claim for maintenance in seasons of scarcity, and, though no man's serf, is worse off than the padiyal. three communal servants, the grave-digger (vettiyan), watchman (talaiyari), and scavenger (toti) are all paraiyans. the vettiyan officiates when a corpse is buried or burned. hence the proverb against meddling in what ought to be left to some one else:--"let the vettiyan and the corpse struggle together." the rev. h. jensen notes [64] in connection with this proverb that "when fire is applied to the pyre at the burning-ground, it sometimes happens that the muscles of the corpse contract in such a fashion that the body moves, and the grave-digger has to beat it down into the fire. it looks as if the two were engaged in a struggle. but no one else should interfere. the grave-digger knows his own work best." it is noted by mr. h. a. stuart [65] that "among the lower class of vellam paraiyans, who are the village totis, the following legend is current, accounting for the perquisites which they get for performing the menial work of the village. when adi sesha was supporting the earth, he became weary, and prayed to siva for assistance. siva ordered a paraiyan to beat upon his drum, and cry 'let the ripe decay.' the paraiyan enquired what should be his reward, and was granted the following privileges, viz., mankuli (reward for burning corpses), san tuni (a span cloth), vaykkarisi (the rice in the corpse's mouth), pinda soru (morsel of boiled rice), and suttu kuli (fee for bringing firewood). this seemed to the paraiya very little, and so, to increase the death-rate and consequently his perquisites, he cried 'let the ripe and the unripe decay.' the swami (god) remonstrated with him, for the result of his cry was that children and the middle-aged among men died. the man pleaded poverty, and was given four additional privileges, viz., a merkal to measure grain, a rod to measure the ground, a scythe to cut grass, and the privilege of carrying the karagam-pot when annually running over the village boundary. all the above privileges still belong to the village vettis, who receive fees for performing the duties referred to in the legend." some paraiyans eat carrion, and mr. clayton has known them dig up a buffalo which had been buried some hours, and eat its flesh. it is said that even the lowest paraiyans will not eat the flesh of cows, but leave that to the leather-dressers (chakkiliyans). mr. stuart, however, states [66] that "the konga paraiyans and the vellam paraiyans, who do scavenging work, will eat cows that have died a natural death, while tangalans only eat such as have been slaughtered." in time of famine, the paraiyans dig into ant-hills to rob the ants of their store of grass seed. this is called pillarisi or grass rice. there are many proverbs in tamil, which refer to paraiyans, from which the following are selected:-(1) if a paraiyan boils rice, will it not reach god? i.e., god will notice all piety, even that of a paraiyan. (2) when a paraiya woman eats betel, her ten fingers (will be daubed with) lime. the paraiya woman is a proverbial slut. (3) though a paraiya woman's child be put to school, it will still say ayye. ayye is vulgar tamil for aiyar, meaning sir. (4) the palmyra palm has no shadow; the paraiyan has no decency. a contemptuous reference to paraiya morality. (5) the gourd flower and the paraiyan's song have no savour. paraiyans use this saying about their own singing. (6) though seventy years of age, a paraiyan will only do what he is compelled. (7) you may believe a paraiyan, even in ten ways; you cannot believe a brahman. almost the only saying in favour of the paraiyan. (8) is the sepoy who massacred a thousand horse now living in disgrace with the dogs of the paracheri? (9) paraiyan's talk is half-talk. a reference to paraiya vulgarisms of speech. (10) like paraiya and brahman, i.e., as different as possible. (11) not even a paraiyan will plough on a full moon day. (12) paracheri manure gives a better yield than any other manure. (13) the drum is beaten at weddings, and also at funerals. said, according to the rev. h. jensen, of a double-dealing unreliable person, who is as ready for good as for evil. (14) the harvest of the paraiya never comes home. the term paraiya, it may be noted, is applied to the common dog of indian towns and villages, and to the scavenger kite, milvus govinda. the paraiyans are included by mr. f. s. mullaly in his 'notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency.' "the local criminals," he writes, "throughout the presidency in all villages are the paraiyas, and, though they cannot be considered de facto a criminal tribe, yet a very large proportion of the criminals of the presidency are of this caste, notable among them being the vepur paraiyas of south arcot." for an account of these vepur paraiyas and their methods i must refer the reader to mr. mullaly's description thereof. concerning these criminal paraiyans, mr. francis writes as follows. [67] "there is one branch of them in suttukulam, a hamlet of cuddalore. they are often known as the tiruttu (thieving) paraiyans. the crimes to which they are most addicted are house-breaking and the theft of cattle, sheep and goats, and the difficulty of bringing them to book is increased by the organised manner in which they carry on their depredations. they are, for example, commonly in league with the very heads of villages, who ought to be doing their utmost to secure their arrest, and they have useful allies in some of the udaiyans of these parts. it is commonly declared that their relations are sometimes of a closer nature, and that the wives of vepur paraiyans who are in enforced retirement are cared for by the udaiyans. to this is popularly attributed the undoubted fact that these paraiyans are often much fairer in complexion than other members of that caste." it is said to be traditional among the vepur paraiyans that the talis (marriage badges) of hindu women and lamps should not be stolen from a house, and that personal violence should not be resorted to, except when unavoidably necessary for the purpose of escape or self-defence. in a kindly note on the paraiya classes, surgeon-major w. r. cornish sums them up as follows. [68] "a laborious, frugal, and pleasure-loving people, they are the very life-blood of the country, in whatever field of labour they engage in. the british administration has freed them, as a community, from the yoke of hereditary slavery, and from the legal disabilities under which they suffered; but they still remain in the lowest depths of social degradation. the christian missionaries, to their undying honour be it said, have, as a rule, persevered in breaking through the time-honoured custom of treating the paraiya as dirt, and have admitted him to equal rights and privileges in their schools and churches, and, whatever may be the present position of the paraiya community in regard to education, intelligence, and ability to hold a place for themselves, they owe it almost wholly to the christian men and women who have given up their lives to win souls for their great master." paraiyans of malabar, cochin and travancore.--for the following note on the paraiyans or paraiyas of cochin i am indebted to mr. l. k. anantha krishna aiyar. [69] paraiyas belong to a very low caste of the agrestic serfs of cochin, next to pulayas in order of social precedence. they will eat at the hands of all castes, save ulladans, nayadis, and pulayas. but orthodox pulayas have to bathe five times, and let blood flow, in order to be purified from pollution if they touch a paraiya. in rural parts, a paraiya's hut may be seen far away on the hill-side. at the approach of a member of some higher caste, the inmates run away to the forest. they cannot walk along the public roads, or in the vicinity of houses occupied by the higher castes. it is said that they at times steal the children of nayars, and hide them in the forest, to bring them up as their own. they are extremely filthy in person and habits. they very rarely bathe, or wash their bodies, and a cloth, purchased at harvest time, is worn till it falls to pieces. they will eat the flesh of cattle, and are on this account despised even by the pulayas. they are their own barbers and washermen. a legend runs to the effect that vararuchi, the famous astrologer, and son of a brahman named chandragupta and his brahman wife, became the king of avanthi, and ruled till vikramaditya, the son of chandragupta by his kshatriya wife, came of age, when he abdicated in his favour. once, when he was resting under an ashwastha tree (ficus religiosa), invoking the support of the deity living therein, he overheard the conversation of two gandarvas on the tree, to the effect that he would marry a paraiya girl. this he prevented by requesting the king to have her enclosed in a box, and floated down a river with a nail stuck into her head. the box was taken possession of by a brahman, who was bathing lower down, and, on opening it, he found a beautiful girl, whom he considered to be a divine gift, and regarded as his own daughter. one day the brahman, seeing vararuchi passing by, invited him to mess with him, and his invitation was accepted on condition that he would prepare eighteen curries, and give him what remained after feeding a hundred brahmans. the brahman was puzzled, but the maiden, taking a long leaf, placed thereon a preparation of ginger corresponding to eighteen curries, and with it some boiled rice used as an offering at the vaiswadeva ceremony, as the equivalent of the food for brahmans. knowing this to be the work of the maiden, vararuchi desired to marry her, and his wish was acceded to by the brahman. one day, while conversing with his wife about their past lives, he chanced to see a nail stuck in her head, and he knew her to be the girl whom he had caused to be floated down the stream. he accordingly resolved to go on a pilgrimage with his wife, bathing in rivers, and worshipping at temples. at last they came to kerala, where the woman bore him twelve sons, all of whom, except one, were taken care of by members of different castes. they were all remarkable for their wisdom, and believed to be the avatar (incarnation) of vishnu, gifted with the power of performing miracles. one of them was pakkanar, the great malayalam bard. once, it is said, when some brahmans resolved to go to benares, pakkanar tried to dissuade them from so doing by telling them that the journey to the sacred city would not be productive of salvation. to prove the fruitlessness of their journey, he plucked a lotus flower from a stagnant pool, and gave it to them with instructions to deliver it to a hand which would rise from the ganges, when they were to say that it was a present for the goddess ganga from pakkanar. they did as directed, and returned with news of the miracle. pakkanar then led them to the stagnant pool, and said "please return the lotus flower, oh! ganga," when it appeared in his hand. pakkanar is said to have earned his living by the sale of the wicker-work, which he made. one day he could not sell his baskets, and he had to go starving. a neighbour, however, gave him some milk, which pakkanar accepted, and told the donor to think of him if ever he was in danger. the neighbour had a married daughter living with him, who, some time after, was dying of snake-bite. but her father remembered the words of pakkanar, who came to the rescue, and cured her. one of pakkanar's brothers was named narayana branthan, who pretended to be a lunatic, and whose special delight was in rolling huge stones up a hill, for the pleasure of seeing them roll down. though the son of a brahman, he mixed freely with members of all castes, and had no scruple about dining with them. a nambutiri brahman once asked him to choose an auspicious day for the performance of his son's upanayanam (thread ceremony). he selected a most inauspicious day and hour, when the boy's family assembled and asked narayana whether the rite should be celebrated. he told the father to look at the sky, which became brilliantly illuminated, and a brahman was seen changing his sacred thread. the omen being considered favourable, the investiture ceremony was proceeded with. the paraiyas of malabar and cochin are celebrated for their knowledge of black magic, and are consulted in matters relating to theft, demoniacal influence, and the killing of enemies. whenever anything is stolen, the paraiya magician is consulted. giving hopes of the recovery of the stolen article, he receives from his client some paddy (rice) and a few panams (money), with which he purchases plantain fruits, a cocoanut or two, toddy, camphor, frankincense, and rice flour. after bathing, he offers these to his favourite deity parakutti, who is represented by a stone placed in front of his hut. rattling an iron instrument, and singing till his voice almost fails, he invokes the god. if the lost property does not turn up, he resorts to a more indignant and abusive form of invocation. if the thief has to be caught, his prayers are redoubled, and he becomes possessed, and blood passes out of his nose and mouth. when a person is ill, or under the influence of a demon, an astrologer and a magician named by the former are consulted. the magician, taking a cadjan (palm) leaf or copper or silver sheet, draws thereon cabalistic figures, and utters a mantram (prayer). rolling up the leaf or sheet, he ties it to a thread, and it is worn round the neck in the case of a woman, and round the loins in the case of a man. sometimes the magician, taking a thread, makes several knots in it, while reciting a mantram. the thread is worn round the neck or wrist. or ashes are thrown over a sick person, and rubbed over the forehead and breast, while a mantram is repeated. of mantrams, the following may be cited as examples. "salutation to god with a thousand locks of matted hair, a thousand hands filling the three worlds and overflowing the same. oh! goddess mother, out of the supreme soul, descend. oh! sundara yaksha (handsome she-devil), swaha (an efficacious word)." "salutation to god. he bears a lion on his head, or is in the form of a lion in the upper part of his body. in the mooladhara sits garuda, the lord of birds, enemy of serpents, and vahana (vehicle) of vishnu. he has lakshmana to the left, rama to the right, hanuman in front, ravana behind, and all around, above, below, everywhere he has sri narayana swaha. mayst thou watch over or protect me." the paraiyans are notorious for the performance of marana kriyakal, or ceremonies for the killing of enemies. they resort to various methods, of which the following are examples:-(1) make an image in wax in the form of your enemy. take it in your right hand, and your chain of beads in your left hand. then burn the image with due rites, and it shall slay your enemy in a fortnight. (2) take a human bone from a burial-ground, and recite over it a thousand times the following mantra:--"oh, swine-faced goddess! seize him, seize him as a victim. drink his blood; eat, eat his flesh. oh, image of imminent death! malayala bhagavathi." the bone, thrown into the enemy's house, will cause his ruin. odi or oti cult (breaking the human body) is the name given to a form of black magic practiced by the paraiyans, who, when proficient in it, are believed to be able to render themselves invisible, or assume the form of a bull, cat, or dog. they are supposed to be able to entice pregnant women from their houses at dead of night, to destroy the foetus in the womb, and substitute other substances for it; to bring sickness and death upon people; and so to bewitch people as to transport them from one place to another. a paraiya who wishes to practice the cult goes to a guru (preceptor), and, falling at his feet, humbly requests that he may be admitted into the mysteries of the art. the master first tries to dissuade him, but the disciple persists in the desire to learn it. he is then tried by various tests as to his fitness. he follows his master to the forests and lonely places at midnight. the master suddenly makes himself invisible, and soon appears before him in the form of a terrible bull, a ferocious dog, or an elephant, when the novice should remain calm and collected. he is also required to pass a night or two in the forest, which, according to his firm belief, is full of strange beings howling horribly. he should remain unmoved. by these and other trials, he is tested as to his fitness. having passed through the various ordeals, the guru initiates him into the brotherhood by the performance of puja on an auspicious day to his favourite nili, called also kallatikode nili, through whose aid he works his black art. flesh and liquor are consumed, and the disciple is taught how to prepare pilla thilam and angola thilam, which are the potent medicines for the working of his cult. the chief ingredient in the preparation of pilla thilam, or baby oil, is the sixth or seventh month's foetus of a primipara, who should belong to a caste other than that of the sorcerer. having satisfied himself that the omens are favourable, he sets out at midnight for the house of the woman selected as his victim, and walks several times round it, waving a cocoanut shell containing a mixture of lime and turmeric water (gurusi), and muttering mantrams to secure the aid of the deity. he also draws yantrams (cabalistic devices) on the ground. the woman is compelled to come out of her house. even if the door is locked, she will bang her head against it, and force it open. the sorcerer leads her to a retired spot, strips her naked, and tells her to lie flat on the ground. this she does, and a vessel made of a gourd (lagenaria) is placed close to her vagina. the uterus then contracts, and the foetus emerges. sometimes, it is said, the uterus is filled with some rubbish, and the woman instantly dies. care is taken that the foetus does not touch the ground, as the potency of the drug would thereby be ruined. the foetus is cut to pieces, and smoked over a fire. it is then placed in a vessel provided with a few holes, below which is another vessel. the two are placed in a larger receptacle filled with water, which is heated over a fire. from the foetus a liquid exudes, which is collected in the lower vessel. a human skull is then reduced to a fine powder, which is mixed with a portion of the liquid (thilam). with the mixture a mark is made on the forehead of the sorcerer, who rubs some of it over various parts of his body, and drinks a small quantity of cow-dung water. he then thinks that he can assume the form of any animal he likes, and achieve his object in view, be it murder or bodily injury. the magic oil, called angola thilam, is extracted from the angola tree (alangium lamarckii), which bears a very large number of fruits. one of these is believed to be endowed with life and power of motion, and to be capable of descending and returning to its original position on dark nights. its possession can be attained by demons, or by an expert watching at the foot of the tree. when it has been secured, the extraction of the oil involves the same operations as those for extracting the pilla thilam, and they must be carried out within seven hours. a mark made on the forehead with the oil enables its wearer to achieve his desires, and to transform himself into some animal. when a person has an enemy whom he wishes to get rid of, the paraiya magician is consulted, and the name of the enemy given to him. identifying his residence, the paraiya starts off on a dark night, and anyone whom he comes across is at once dispatched with a blow. the victim comes out of his house in a state of stupefaction, and the magician puts him to death either by a blow on the head, or by suffocating him with two sticks applied to his neck. odi cult is said to have been practiced till only a few years ago in the rural parts of the northern part of the state, and in the taluks of palghat and walluvanad in malabar, and even now it has not entirely died out. but cases of extracting foetuses and putting persons to death are not heard of at the present day, owing to the fear of government officials, landlords, and others. the story is current of a nayar village official, who had two fine bullocks, which a mappila wished to purchase. the nayar, however, was unwilling to part with them. the mappila accordingly engaged some men to steal the animals. availing themselves of the absence of the nayar from home, the robbers went to his house, where they saw a paraiya and his wife practicing the odi cult, and compelling a young woman to come out of the house, and lie on the ground. catching hold of the paraiya, the robbers tied him to a tree, and secured him. the man and his wife were beaten, and the would-be robbers rewarded with a present of the bullocks. the paraiyans have no temples of their own, but worship siva or kali. according to a legend, in tretayuga (the second age), a paraiya named samvara, and his wife pulini were living in a forest, and one day came across a sivalinga (stone lingam) at a dilapidated temple, which they kept, and worshipped with offerings of flesh, and by smearing it with ashes from the burial-ground. on a certain day, no ashes were available, and the woman offered to have her body burnt, so that the ashes thereof might be used. with much reluctance her husband sacrificed her, and performed puja. then he turned round to offer, as usual, the prasadam to his wife forgetting that she was dead, and he was surprised to see her standing before him, receiving his offering (prasadam), in flesh and blood. highly pleased with their conduct, siva appeared in person before them, and gave them absolution. in every small village in the rural parts, is a small bhagavati temple, to the deity of which the paraiyas are devotedly attached, and look to it for protection in times of cholera, small-pox, or other calamities. kodungallur bhagavati is their guardian deity, and they take part in the festivals (yela) at the shrine. a few days before the festival, a piece of cloth is given to the velichapad (oracle), who dresses himself in it, wears a piece of red cloth round his neck, a peculiar dress around his loins, and ties a few small bells (chelamba) round his legs. accompanied by others with drums and fife and a basket, he goes to every nayar house daily for seven days, and receives presents of paddy, wherewith to defray the expenses of the festival. during the celebration thereof, the velichapad and others go to a shed at a distance from the temple (kavu), some dressed up as ghosts, and dance and sing, to the accompaniment of a band, in honour of the deity. in a note on the paraiyans of malabar, mr. t. k. gopaul panikkar writes [70] that "at certain periods of the year the paraiyas have to assume the garb of an evil deity, with large head-dresses and paintings on the body and face, and tender cocoanut leaves hanging loose around their waists, all these embellishments being of the rudest patterns. with figures such as these, terror-striking in themselves, dancing with tom-toms sounding and horns blowing, representing the various temple deities, they visit the nair houses, professing thereby to drive off any evil deities that may be haunting their neighbourhood. after their dues have been given to them, they go their ways; and, on the last day, after finishing their house-to-house visits, they collect near their special temples to take part in the vela tamasha (spectacle)." on the first of every month, a ceremony called kalasam is performed on behalf of the spirits of the departed. fish, cooked meat, rice, parched grain, plantain fruits, cocoanuts, toddy, and other things, are placed on a leaf with a lighted lamp in front of it. a prayer is then uttered, expressing a hope that the ancestors will partake of the food which has been procured for them with much difficulty, and protect the living. one man, becoming inspired, acts the part of an oracle, and addresses those assembled. the following story is narrated concerning the origin of the elankunnapuzha temple on the island of vypin. when some paraiyas were cutting reeds, one of them discovered a remarkable idol and fell into a trance, under the influence of which he informed the raja of cochin that the idol originally belonged to the trichendur temple in tinnevelly, and that he must build a shrine for it. this was accordingly done, and to the paraiyan who discovered the idol a daily allowance of rice, and a larger quantity of rice during the annual temple festival were given. in return, he had to supply cadjan (palm leaf) umbrellas used at the daily procession, and bamboo baskets required for washing the rice offered to the idol. these allowances were received by the perum or big paraiyan up to a recent date, even if he is not receiving them at the present day. when a paraiyan woman is delivered, she is secluded for two weeks in a temporary hut erected at a short distance from the dwelling hut. on the tenth day, some male member of the family goes to his brahman or nayar landlord, from whom he receives some milk, which is sprinkled over the woman and her infant. she can then come to the verandah of her home, and remains there for five days, when she is purified by bathing. the temporary hut is burnt down. the dead are buried, and the corpse, after being laid in the grave, is covered with a mat. the paraiyas are engaged in the manufacture of wicker baskets, bamboo mats, and cadjan umbrellas. they also take part in all kinds of agricultural work, and, when ploughing, will not use buffaloes, which are regarded as unclean beasts, the touch of which necessitates a ceremonial ablution. many paraiyans become converts to christianity, and thereby receive a rise in the social scale, and a freedom from the disabilities under which their lowly position in the social scale places them. in 1829 several natives of malabar were charged with having proceeded, in company with a paraiyan, to the house of a pregnant woman, who was beaten and otherwise ill-treated, and with having taken the foetus out of her uterus, and introduced in lieu thereof the skin of a calf and an earthen pot. the prisoners confessed before the police, but were acquitted, mainly on the ground that the earthen pot was of a size which rendered it impossible to credit its introduction during life. in 1834 the inhabitants of several villages in malabar attacked a village of paraiyans on the alleged ground that deaths of people and cattle, and the protracted labour of a woman in childbed, had been caused by the practice of sorcery by the paraiyans. they were beaten inhumanely, with their hands tied behind their backs, so that several died. the villagers were driven, bound, into a river, immersed under water so as nearly to produce suffocation, and their own children were forced to rub sand into their wounds. their settlement was then razed to the ground and they were driven into banishment. the following extract is taken from a note on the paraiyans of travancore by mr. n. subramani aiyar. the paraiyas may be broadly divided into two classes, viz., the tamil-speaking paraiyas of the east coast who are found in considerable numbers in the southern taluks, and the indigenous paraiyas, who mostly abound in central travancore, avoiding the sea-coast taluks. the latter only are considered here. the titles owned by some are velan conferred upon certain families for their skill in magic; panikkan; and muppan. the paraiyas may be mainly divided into four divisions, viz., vellam (water or jaggery?), vel (a lance), natuvile (middle), and pani (work). the last is considered to be the lowest in the social scale, and members thereof are not admitted into the houses of the other divisions. one theory of the origin of the paraiyas is that they were formerly one with the pulayas, from whom they separated on account of their eating beef. the paraiyas have a dialect of their own, with which the pulayas are not familiar, and which would seem to be worthy of study. in the keralolpathi, they are classed as one of the sixteen hill tribes. concerning their origin the following tradition is current. they were originally brahmans, but, on certain coparceners partitioning the common inheritance, the carcase of a cow, which was one of the articles to be partitioned, was burnt as being useless. a drop of oil fell from the burning animal on to one of the parties, and he licked it up with his tongue. for this act he was cast out of society, and his descendants, under the name of paraiyas, became cow-eaters. pakkanar is said to have been born a paraiyan, though subsequent tradition honours him with brahmanical parentage. the houses of the paraiyas are, like those of the pulayas, mean thatched sheds, with a couple of cocoanut leaves often serving as the wall between one room and another. the village sites are shifted from place to place, according to the exigencies of the inhabitants thereof. the paraiyas imbibe freely, and toddy is the drink most scrupulously prescribed for those who are under a vow. like the pulayas, the paraiyas work in the rice fields and cocoanut gardens, and are employed in hill cultivation, and the manufacture of wicker baskets. the sun god is their principal deity, and in his name all solemn oaths are uttered. it is believed that the brahman who originally became a paraiya cursed brahma. to remove the evil effects of the curse, the sun gave to his descendants as objects of worship forty-eight thousand gods and eight special deities. a certain portion of the house is regarded as their own, and to them offerings of beaten rice and toddy are made on the first of every month, and, if convenient, every tuesday and friday. to these deities small shrines are dedicated, whereat the priests, on the 28th of makaram (january-february), become inspired, and answer questions concerning the future put to them by the assembled paraiyas. the priests are known as kaikkarans, and belong ordinarily to the lowest or pani division. adultery, be it said to the credit of the paraiyas, is an offence which is severely punished. the man is fined, and the erring woman has to jump over a fire which is blazing in a deep pit. this ordeal recalls to mind the smarthavicharam of the namburi brahman. pollution, on the occurrence of the first monthly period, lasts for seven days. the headmen and elders, called jajamanmar and karanavanmar, are invited to attend, and direct four women of the village to take the girl to a hut erected at a considerable distance from the house. this hut is called pachchakottilil kutiyiruttuka, or seating a person within a hut made of green leaves. on the fourth day the girl has a bath, and the kaikkaran waves paddy and flowers in front of her. on the morning of the eighth day the shed is burnt down, and the place occupied by it cleansed with water and cow-dung. the girl bathes, and is thus rendered free from pollution. a woman, during her menses, should remain at a distance of sixty-four feet from others. the paraiyas observe two marriage rites, the tali-kettu and sambandham. the former ceremony must be performed before the girl reaches puberty, and the tali-tier is her maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's son. the kaikkaran invites at least four headmen to be present, and they prescribe the manner in which the ceremony is to be performed. the auspicious time for the marriage celebration is fixed by a kaniyan (astrologer), and, on the day before the wedding, the kaikkaran invites the paraiyas of the village to be present at the tunniruttal, or erection of the pandal (booth). all those who attend are presented with betel, tobacco, and a liberal allowance of toddy. the next item in the programme is the vachchorukkal, or placing beaten and cooked rice, flowers, toddy, and other things in the pandal, under the direction of the kaikkaran. some of the assembled males then sing a song called maranpattu, or song of the god of love. the bride then becomes inspired, and dances, while the sorcerer rolls out mystic hymns. on the following morning, the bridegroom goes to the home of the bride in procession, and is led to a wooden seat in the centre of the pandal, where he is joined by the bride, who seats herself on his left. he then ties the minnu (marriage badge) round her neck, and retires with her to the maniyara, or bedroom, where they remain together for some minutes. on the final day of the ceremonies, the bride is bathed. when a kaikkaran dies, a conch shell is buried with the corpse. once a year, and on some new moon day, offerings are made to all the deceased ancestors. the paraiyas have a dramatic entertainment called paraiyan kali, in which the performer plays his part, standing on a mortar, to the accompaniment of music. paraiyas are required to keep at a distance of 128 feet from brahmans, i.e., double the distance required of a pulaya. but they will not receive food at the hands of the pulayas. in a further note on the "paraiya caste in travancore," the rev. s. mateer writes as follows. [71] "they were formerly bought and sold like cattle, starved, flogged 'like buffaloes,' made to work all day for a little rice, and kept at a distance as polluted; and they still are in a position of subservience and deep degradation, not vitally differing from that of the pulayas and vedars. one particular characteristic of this caste, and most offensive to others, is that they eat the flesh of bullocks and cows left dead by the roadside. they cut it up, and bear it away; what they leave the vultures and dogs devour. this disgusting practice is to a great extent disappearing among the christian castes. the paraiyas of nevandrum (trivandrum?) district live in clusters of huts, and eat the putrid flesh of dead cattle, tigers, and other animals. their girls are 'married' when very young for mere form to their cousins, but, when grown up, are selected by others, who give them a cloth, and live with them in concubinage. cases of polygamy occur, and sometimes also of polyandry. they eat the seed of ochlandra rheedii, which abounds in an unusually dry season, as does also the bamboo. jungle roots, land crabs, and snails form part of their food. some of them have enough of rice at harvest time, but seldom at any other period of the year. they are zealous devil worshippers, their chief demons being madan (the cow one), rathachamandy mallan (the giant) and muvaratta mallan, karunkali (black kali), chavus (departed spirits), bhutham, mantramurtti, and other murttis (ghosts), with many other evil beings, to whom groves and altars are dedicated. the souls of their deceased ancestors are called marutta (ghosts), for whose worship young cocoanut leaves are tied at the bottom of a tree, and a small shed is erected on poles, and decorated with garlands of flowers. presents of cocoanuts, parched rice, and arrack are offered, and cocks killed in sacrifice. in the devil-dancing they use clubs and rattans, bells, handkerchiefs, and cloths dedicated to their deities. other castes generally dread incurring the displeasure and malice of these deities. sudras and shanars frequently employ the paraiya devil-dancers and sorcerers to exorcise demons, search for and dig out magical charms buried in the earth by enemies, and counteract their enchantments; and, in cases of sickness, send for them to beat the drum, and so discover what demon has caused the affliction, and what is to be done to remove it. sometimes a present of a cow is given for those services. these pretended sorcerers are slightly acquainted with a few medicines, profess to cure snake-bite, and can repeat some tales of the hindu gods. they also profess to discover thieves, who sometimes indeed through fear actually take ill, confess, and restore the property. one priest whom i knew used to pretend that he had a 'bird devil' in his possession, by which he could cast out other devils. on one occasion, however, when he made the attempt in the presence of a large concourse of sudras and others, he utterly failed, and hurt himself severely by beating his chest with a cocoanut and leaping into the fire. he soon after resolved to abandon this course of life, and became a christian. "after the wife's confinement, the husband is starved for seven days, eating no cooked rice or other food, only roots and fruits, and drinking only arrack or toddy. the shed, in which she was confined, is burnt down. "in cases of sickness, the diviner is first consulted as to its cause. he names a demon, and offerings are demanded of rice, fruits, flowers, and fowls. being daily supplied with these articles, the diviner spreads cow-dung thinly over a small space in the yard, where he places the offerings on three plantain leaves, invokes the presence of the demons, dances and repeats mantras, looking towards the east. he catches the demon that is supposed to come in an old piece of cloth filled with flowers and parched rice, and carries both demon and offerings into the jungle, where, again preparing a spot as before, two torches are set, the food arranged, and, after further mantras, a fowl is sacrificed. he takes the whole afterwards for himself, gets a good meal, and is also paid twelve chuckrams (small silver coins) for the service. "in cases of small-pox, one who has had this disease is called in to attend. he takes the patient to a temporary hut in a lonely place, and is well paid, and supplied with all that he requires. through fear, none of the relatives will go near. should the patient die, the attendant buries him on the spot, performing the ceremonies himself, then comes to the house, repeats mantras, and waves his hands round the head of each to remove further alarm. if a woman with child dies, she is buried at a great distance away. occasionally the remains of an aged man are burnt on a funeral pile, as being more honourable than burial, and providing some merit to the soul. "let us pay a visit to one of the rural hamlets of the kolam paraiyans, a considerable sub-division of this caste. the cattle manure is saved, but handed over to the sudra farmers. the paraiyas plant a few trees around their settlement as otti (mortgage) and kurikanam (a kind of tenant right), then pay a sum to the sudra landowner to permit them to enjoy the produce, as it is so difficult for them to get waste lands registered in their own name. some have cleared lands, and possess a few cocoanut and betel-nut palms, mangoes, etc. they may have a few cattle also, and let out a milch cow to the shepherds at one rupee per month. they grow some vegetables, etc., in waste valley lands temporarily cleared and cultivated. they work in the rice fields, sowing, planting, and reaping, for which they are paid in paddy. during the slack season they work at making mats of ochlandra rheedii, for which the men bring loads of the reeds from the hills, and the women do the work of plaiting. this art they are said to have learnt from the kanikar hill-men. "some paraiyas in nanjinad have enjoyed ancestral property for six generations, and a few still have good properties. titles were purchased for money of the rajas of travancore, e.g., sambavan, an old name for pandi paraiyas. the raja gave to such a headman a cane, and authority to claim a double allowance of betel, etc. he, however, had in his turn to give double at funerals and festivals to his visitors. this head paraiyan would be met with drums and marks of honour by his people, and the arrangement would enable the government to rule the paraiyas more easily. it is said that some raja, fleeing in war, hid himself in paraiya huts at changankadei, and was thereby saved, for which he gave them a small grant of land producing a few fanams annually, which they still enjoy. they have a tradition that, in m.e. 102 (a.d. 927), one vanji mannan raja granted privileges to paraiyas. during the war with tippu, proclamation was made that every paraiyan in this district must have a nayar or master, and belong to some one or other. all who were not private property would be made slaves of the sirkar (government), which was greatly dreaded on account of the merciless oppression, and obliged to cut grass for the troops, and do other services. many, therefore, became nominally slaves to some respectable man, asking it as a kindness to free them from government slavery. several respectable families begged the namburi high priest, visiting suchindram and other temples, to call them his slaves, for which they paid him one fanam a head per annum. this payment is still kept up. this priest conferred upon them additional benefits, for in their troubles and oppressions, he wrote to the government, requiring from them justice and proper treatment. the slaves of the namburi would also be treated with consideration on account of his sacred position and rank. these families, 'potty slaves,' still intermarry only among themselves, as in this case the wife could not be claimed by a different owner from the husband's. "lastly, as to the paraiyas of north travancore. their condition seems lowest of all, as they enter further into the malayalam country, and enjoy fewer opportunities of escape from caste degradation and from bitter servitude. 'their own tradition,' the rev. g. matthan writes, [72] 'has it that they were a division of the brahmans, who were entrapped into a breach of caste by their enemies, through making them eat beef. they eat carrion and other loathsome things. the carcases of all domestic animals are claimed by them as belonging to them by right. they frequently poison cows, and otherwise kill them for the sake of their flesh. they are also charged with kidnapping women of the higher castes, whom they are said to treat in the most brutal manner. it is their custom to turn robbers in the month of february, in which month they pretend the wrong was done them, to break into the houses of the brahmans and nairs, and to carry away their women, children, and property, to which they are actuated more by motives of revenge than of interest, and to justify which they plead the injury their caste had received from these parties. in former times, they appear to have been able to perpetrate these cruelties almost with impunity, from the fear of which the people still betray great uneasiness, though the custom has now grown into disuse.'" parasaivan.--a title of occhans, who are saivites, and priests at temples of grama devatas (village deities). in the malayalam country parasava occurs as a title of variyar, a section of ambalavasi. the word indicates the son of a brahman by a sudra woman. parava.--the tulu-speaking paravas of south canara are, like the nalkes and pombadas, devil-dancers, and are further employed in the manufacture of baskets and umbrellas. socially, they occupy a higher position than the nalkes, but rank below the pombadas. the bhuthas (devils) whose disguise they assume are kodamanitaya and the baiderukalu, who may not be represented by nalkes; and they have no objection to putting on the disguise of other bhuthas. paravas are engaged for all kinds of devil-dances when nalkes are not available. (see nalke.) paravan.--concerning the origin of the parava fishing community of the south-east coast, the following legends are current. [73] the author of the historia ecclesiastica (published in tamil at tranquebar in 1735) identifies them with the parvaim of the scriptures, and adds that, in the time of solomon, they were famous among those who made voyages by sea; but it does not appear that there is any solid foundation for this hypothesis. it is the general belief among the paravas that their original country was ayodhya, or oudh; and it appears that, previously to the war of mahabharata, they inhabited the territory bordering on the river yamuna or jumna. at present they are chiefly found in the seaport towns of the tinnevelly district in the south of india, and also in some of the provinces on the north-west coast of ceylon. with regard to their origin, there is a variety as well as discordancy of opinions. some of the tantras represent them to be descended from a brahman by a sudra woman, while the jatibedi nul (a work of some celebrity among the tamils) states them to be the offspring of a kurava (or basket-maker) begotten clandestinely on a female of the chetty (or merchant) tribe. but the paravas have among themselves quite a different tradition concerning their origin, which is founded on mythological fable. they relate that their progenitors were of the race varuna (god of the sea), and on the occasion, when siva had called kartikeya (god of arms) into existence, for destroying the overwhelming power of the asuras (evil spirits), they sprang up with him from the sacred lake sarawana, and were like him nursed by the constellation kartika. at the close of the last kalpa, when the whole earth was covered with a deluge, they constructed a dhoni or boat, and by it escaped the general destruction; and, when dry land appeared, they settled on the spot where the dhoni rested; hence it is called dhonipura, or the city of the boat. the paravas were once a very powerful people, and no doubt derived much of their ascendancy over other tribes from their knowledge of navigation. they had a succession of kings among them, distinguished by the title of adiyarasen, some of whom seem to have resided at uttara kosamangay, called at that time the city of mangay, a famous place of hindu pilgrimage in the neighbourhood of ramnad. in the purana entitled valevisu puranam we meet with the following fable. parvati, the consort of siva, and her son kartikeya, having offended the deity by revealing some ineffable mystery, were condemned to quit their celestial mansions, and pass through an infinite number of mortal forms, before they could be re-admitted to the divine presence. on the entreaty of parvati, however, they were allowed, as a mitigation of the punishment, each to undergo but one transmigration. and, as about this time, triambaka, king of the paravas, and varuna valli his consort were making tapas (acts of devotion) to obtain issue, parvati condescended to be incarnated as their daughter under the name of tiryser madente. her son kartikeya, transforming himself into a fish, was roaming for some time in the north sea. it appears, however, that he left the north, and made his way into the south sea, where, growing to an immense size, he attacked the vessels employed by the paravas in their fisheries, and threatened to destroy their trade. whereupon the king triambaka made a public declaration that whoever would catch the fish should have his daughter to wife. siva, now assuming the character of a parava, caught the fish, and became re-united to his consort. in that section of the mahabharata entitled adiparva it is said that the king of the paravas, who resided on the banks of the jumna, having found an infant girl in the belly of a fish, adopted her as his own daughter, giving her the name of machchakindi, and that, when she grew up, she was employed, as was customary with the females of the parava tribe, to ferry passengers over the river. on a certain day, the sage parasara having chanced to meet her at the ferry, she became with child by him, and was subsequently delivered of a son, the famous vyasa who composed the puranas. her great personal charms afterwards induced king santanu of the lunar race to admit her to his royal bed, and by him she became the mother of vichitravirya, the grandsire of the pandavas and kauravas, whose contentions for the throne of hastinapura form the subject of the mahabharata. hence the paravas boast of being allied to the lunar race, and call themselves accordingly, besides displaying at their wedding feasts the banners and emblems peculiar to it. in the drama of alliarasany, who is supposed to have resided at kudremalle on the north-west coast of ceylon, the paravas act a conspicuous part. we find them employed by the princess in fishing for pearls off the coast, and that under a severe penalty they were obliged to furnish her with ten kalams of pearls every season. it is noted, in the madras census report, 1901, that "there are in reality three castes which answer to the name paravan, and which speak tamil, malayalam, and canarese respectively. probably all three are descended from the tamil paravans or paratavans. the tamil paravans are fishermen on the sea coast. their head-quarters is tuticorin, and their headman is called talavan. they are mostly native christians. they claim to be kshatriyas of the pandyan line of kings, and will eat only in the houses of brahmans. the malayalam paravans are shell collectors, lime burners and gymnasts, and their women act as midwives. their titles are kurup, varakurup, and nurankurup (nuru, lime). the canarese paravas are umbrella-makers and devil-dancers." it has been suggested that the west coast paravas are the descendants of those who fled from tinnevelly, in order to avoid the oppression of the muhammadans. in the census report, 1871, the paravas are summed up as being a fishing caste on the madura and tinnevelly coast, who "were found by the portuguese, on their arrival in india, to be groaning under the muhammadan yoke, and were assisted by the portuguese on condition of their becoming christians. this general conversion, for political ends, explains why the fishing population of the present day along the south-east coast is to a considerable extent roman catholic." it is noted by mr. s. p. rice [74] that the fishermen "who live in the extreme south are devout catholics, and have preserved the portuguese names by which their fathers were baptized into the church, so that, incongruous as it sounds, jose fernandez and maria santiago are but humble folk, catching fish in a primitive way, with no more clothing on than a small loin cloth and a picture of the virgin." concerning the paravas, baldæus [75] writes as follows. "the kingdom of trevancor borders upon that of coulang: all along the sea-shore inhabit the paruas, who being for the most part christians, you see the shore all along as far as comoryn, and even beyond it to tutecoryn, full of little churches, some of wood, others of stone. these people owe their conversion to franciscus xaverius, he being the first who planted the principles of christianity among them; they being so much taken with the reasonableness of the ten commandments, that they receiv'd baptism in great numbers, tho an accidental quarrel between a parua and a mahometan prov'd a strong motive to their conversion.... the paruas being sorely oppress'd by the mahometans, one john de crus, a native of malabar, but who had been in portugal, and honourably treated by john, the then king of portugal, advised them to seek for aid at cochin against the moors, and to receive baptism. accordingly some of the chief men among them (call'd patangatays in their language) were sent upon that errand to cochin, where being kindly receiv'd, they (in honour of him who had given his advice) took upon them the sirname of crus, a name still retain'd by most persons of note among the paruas. in short, being deliver'd from the moorish yoke, and the pearl-fishery (which formerly belong'd to them) restor'd to the right owners, above 20,000 of them receiv'd baptism." "the commencement of the roman catholic mission in tinnevelly," bishop caldwell writes, [76] "dates from 1532, when certain paravas, representatives of the paravas or fishing caste, visited cochin for the purpose of supplicating the aid of the portuguese against their muhammadan oppressors, and were baptized there by michael vaz, vicar-general of the bishop of goa. the same ecclesiastic, with other priests, accompanied the fleet which sailed for the purpose of chastising the muhammadans, and, as soon as that object was accomplished, set about baptizing the paravas all along the coast, in accordance with the agreement into which their representatives had entered. the entire parava caste adopted the religion of their portuguese deliverers and most of them received baptism. some, however, did not receive baptism for some cause till xavier's time, ten years afterwards. xavier, on his arrival in the south, could not speak tamil, and spent some months in committing to memory tamil translations of the creed, lord's prayer, ave maria, and decalogue. he then proceeded to visit all the villages of the coast, bell in hand, to collect the inhabitants, and gave them christian instruction. the paravas thus christianised--called generally at that time the comorin christians--inhabited thirty villages, and numbered, according to the most credible account, twenty thousand souls. these villages extended all the way along the coast at irregular intervals from cape comorin to the island promontory of ramesvaram, if not beyond. it does not appear that any village in the interior joined in the movement." "it appears," mr. casie chitty states, "that the portuguese treated the paravas with great kindness, permitted intermarriages, and even allowed them to assume their surnames, so that we find among them many da limas, da cruzs, da andrados, da canhas, etc. they gave the chief of the paravas the title of dom, and allowed him the exclusive right of wearing a gold chain with a cross as a badge of nobility. [the name of a recent hereditary chief or jati talaivan or talaivamore of the paravas was gabriel de cruz lazarus motha vas.] as soon as the dutch took possession of tutocoryn (tuticorin) and other adjacent towns where the paravas are found, they employed dr. baldæus and a few other ministers of their persuasion to suppress the roman catholic faith, and to persuade the paravas to adopt their own in its stead; but in this they met with a total failure, and were once very nearly bringing on a general revolt. notwithstanding the intolerance of the dutch with regard to the romish church, the paravas still remember them with gratitude, as they afforded them the means of extensive livelihood by establishing in their principal town (tutocoryn) a public manufactory of cloth, and thus maintaining a considerable working capital." concerning the history of the paravas, and their connection with the pearl-fisheries on the indian side of the gulf of manaar, much information is given by mr. j. hornell, [77] from whose account the following extracts are taken. "when the portuguese rounded cape comorin, they found the pearl fisheries of the gulf of manaar in the hands of the paravas, whom tradition shows to have had control of this industry from time immemorial. of the origin of these people we know extremely little. we know, however, that in the old days, from 600 b.c. and for 1,500 years or more thereafter, the country now comprehended in the districts of madura and tinnevelly formed the great tamil kingdom of pandya. and, in the old tamil work called the kalveddu, the position of the pearl-fishing caste to this monarchy is incidentally mentioned in the following extract: 'vidanarayanen cheddi and the paravu men who fished pearls by paying tribute to alliyarasani, daughter of pandya, king of madura, who went on a voyage, experienced bad weather in the sea, and were driven to the shores of lanka, where they founded karainerkai and kutiraimalai. vidanarayanen cheddi had the treasures of his ship stored there by the paravas, and established pearl fisheries at kadalihilapam and kallachihilapam, and introduced the trees which change iron into gold.' in the maduraik-kanchi the paravas are described as being most powerful in the country round korkai. 'well fed on fish and armed with bows, their hordes terrified their enemies by their dashing valour.' the maduraik-kanchi describes korkai as the chief town in the country of parathavar and the seat of the pearl fishery, with a population consisting chiefly of pearl divers and chank cutters. [78] when the pandyan kingdom was powerful, the paravas had grants of certain rights from the monarchy, paying tribute from the produce of the fisheries, and receiving protection and immunity from taxation in return. the conditions under which the paravas lived at the opening of the sixteenth century are graphically set forth in a report, dated 19th december, 1669, written by van reede and laurens pyh, respectively commandant of the coast of malabar and canara and senior merchant and chief of the sea-ports of madura. under the protection of those rajas there lived a people, which had come to these parts from other countries [79]--they are called paravas--they lived a seafaring life, gaining their bread by fishing and by diving for pearls; they had purchased from the petty rajas small streaks of the shore, along which they settled and built villages, and they divided themselves as their numbers progressively increased. in these purchased lands they lived under the rule of their own headmen, paying to the rajas only an annual present, free from all other taxes which bore upon the natives so heavily, looked upon as strangers, exempt from tribute or subjection to the rajas, having a chief of their own election, whose descendants are still called kings of the paravas, and who drew a revenue from the whole people, which in process of time has spread itself from quilon to bengal. their importance and power have not been reduced by this dispersion, for they are seen at every pearl fishery (on which occasions the paravas assemble together) surpassing in distinction, dignity and outward honours all other persons there. the pearl fishery was the principal resource and expedient from which the paravas obtained a livelihood, but as from their residence so near the sea they had no manner of disposing of their pearls, they made an agreement with the rajas that a market day should be proclaimed throughout their dominions, when merchants might securely come from all parts of india, and at which the divers and sutlers necessary to furnish provisions for the multitude might also meet; and, as this assemblage would consist of two different races, namely, the paravas and subjects of the rajas, as well as strangers and travellers, two kinds of guards and tribunals were to be established to prevent all disputes and quarrels arising during this open market, every man being subject to his own judge, and his case being decided by him; all payments were then also divided among the headmen of the paravas, who were the owners of that fishery, and who hence became rich and powerful; they had weapons and soldiers of their own, with which they were able to defend themselves against the violence of the rajas or their subjects. the moors who had spread themselves over india, and principally along the coasts of madura, were strengthened by the natives professing muhammadanism, and by the arabs, saracens, and the privateers of the sammoryn, [80] and they began also to take to pearl-diving as an occupation, but being led away by ill-feeling and hope of gain, they often attempted to outreach the paravas, some of whom even they gained to their party and to their religion, by which means they obtained so much importance, that the rajas joined themselves to the moors, anticipating great advantages from the trade which they carried on, and from their power at sea; and thus the paravas were oppressed, although they frequently rose against their adversaries, but they always got the worst of it, until at last in a pearl fishery at tutucoryn, having purposely raised a dispute, they fell upon the moors, and killed some thousands of them, burnt their vessels, and remained masters of the country, though much in fear that the moors, joined by the pirates of calicut, would rise against them in revenge. the portuguese arrived about this time with one ship at tutucoryn; the paravas requested them for assistance, and obtained a promise of it, on conditions that they should become christians; this they generally agreed to, and, having sent commissioners with some of the portuguese to goa, they were received under the protection of that nation, and their commissioners returned with priests, and a naval force conveying troops, on which all the paravas of the seven ports were baptized, accepted as subjects of the king of portugal, and they dwindled thus from having their own chiefs and their own laws into subordination to priests and portuguese, who however settled the rights and privileges of the paravas so firmly that the rajas no longer dared interfere with them, or attempt to impede or abridge their prerogative; on the contrary they were compelled to admit of separate laws for the paravas from those which bound their own subjects. the portuguese kept for themselves the command at sea, the pearl fisheries, the sovereignty over the paravas, their villages and harbours, whilst the naick of madura, who was a subject of the king of the carnatic, made himself master at this time of the lands about madura, and in a short time afterwards of all the lower countries from cape comoryn to tanjore, expelling and rooting out all the princes and land proprietors, who were living and reigning there; but, on obtaining the sovereignty of all these countries, he wished to subject the paravas to his authority, in which attempt he was opposed by the portuguese, who often, not being powerful enough effectually to resist, left the land with the priests and paravas, and went to the islands of manaar and jaffnapatam, from whence they sent coasting vessels along the madura shores, and caused so much disquiet that the revenue was ruined, trade circumscribed, and almost annihilated, for which reasons the naick himself was obliged to solicit the portuguese to come back again. the political government of india, perceiving the great benefit of the pearl fishery, appointed in the name of the king of portugal military chiefs and captains to superintend it, leaving the churches and their administration to the priests. those captains obtained from the fisheries each time a profit of 6,000 rix-dollars for the king, leaving the remainder of the income from them for the paravas; but, seeing they could not retain their superiority in that manner over the people, which was becoming rich, luxurious, drunken, with prosperity, and with the help of the priests, who protected them, threatening the captains, which often occasioned great disorders, the latter determined to build a fort for the king at tutucoryn, which was the chief place of all the villages; but the priests who feared by this to lose much of their consequence as well as of their revenue, insisted that, if such a measure was proceeded with, they would all be ruined, on which account they urged on the people to commit irregularities, and made the paravas fear that the step was a preliminary one to the making all of them slaves; and they therefore raised such hindrances to the work that it never could be completed. "the paravas," mr. hornell continues, "although the original holders of the fishery rights, had begun, prior to the arrival of the portuguese, to feel the competition of the restless muhammadan settlers on the coast, who, coming, as many must have done, from the coast of the persian gulf, knew already all there was to know of pearl-fishing. the descendants of these arabs and their proselytes, known as moros to the portuguese, are the moormen or lubbais of to-day. their chief settlement was kayal, a town situated near the mouth of the river tambrapurni, and which in marco polo's time (1290-91) was a great and noble city. it shared with tuticorin for fully 500 years the honour of being one of the two great pearl markets of the coast--the one being the moor, the other the parava, head-quarters.... menezes, writing in 1622, states that for many years the fisheries had become extinct because of the great poverty into which the paravas had fallen. tuticorin, and the sovereignty of the pearl banks and of the paravas, passed to the dutch in 1658. in the report of the pearl fishery, 1708, the following entries occur in the list of free stones according to ancient customs:- 96 1/2 to the naick of madura--4 xtian, 92 1/2 moorish; 10 to head moorman of cailpatnam--5 xtian, 5 moorish. 60 to theuver--60 moorish. 185 to the pattangatyns of this coast--all xtian stones. "the 185 stones," mr. hornell writes, "given to the pattangatyns or headmen of the paravas was in the nature of remuneration to these men for assistance in inspecting the banks, in guarding any oyster banks discovered, in recruiting divers, and in superintending operations during the course of the fishery.... in 1889, the madras government recorded its appreciation of the assistance rendered by the jati talaivan, and directed that his privilege of being allowed the take of two boats be continued. subsequently, in 1891, the government, while confirming the general principle of privilege remuneration to the jati talaivan, adopted the more satisfactory regulation of placing the extent of the remuneration upon the basis of a sliding scale, allowing him but one boat when the government boats numbered 30 or less, two for 31 to 60 boats, three for 61 to 90 boats employed, and so on in this ratio. the value of the jati talaivan's two privilege boats in the 1890 fishery was rs. 1,424, in that of 1900 only rs. 172." the jadi talaivan is said to have been denominated by the dutch the prince of the seven havens. it is noted in the pearl fishery report, 1900, that "the paravas are a constant source of trouble, both on the banks and in the kottoo (shed), where they were constantly being caught concealing oysters, which of course were always confiscated. only one arab was caught doing this, and his companions abused him for disgracing them." according to mr. casie chitty, the paravas are divided into thirteen classes, viz.:- headmen. dealers in cloth. divers for corals. sailors. divers for pearl-oysters. divers for chanks. packers of cloth. fishers who catch tortoises (turtles). fishers who catch porpoises. fishers who catch sharks and other fish. palanquin bearers. peons, who wait about the person of the chief. fishers, who catch crabs. it is noted by canon a. margoschis that the parava females are famous for the excessive dilatation of the lobes of the ears, and for wearing therein the heaviest and most expensive gold ear jewels made of sovereigns. ordinary jewels are said to cost rs. 200, but heavy jewels are worth rs. 1,000 and even more. the longer the ears, the more jewels can be used, and this appears to be the rationale of elongated ears. in a recent account of a parava wedding in high life, i read [81] that "the bride and bridegroom proceeded to the church at the head of an imposing procession, with music and banners. the service, which was fully choral, was conducted by a priest from their own community, after which the newly wedded couple went in procession to the residence of the jati talavamore, being escorted by their distinguished host in person. the jati talavamore, who wore a picturesque, if somewhat antiquated, robe, rode in a gorgeously upholstered palanquin, with banners, trophies, elephants, and other emblems of his high office. the bride, who was resplendent with diamonds, was becomingly attired in a purple benares sari with gold floral designs, and wore a superb kincob bodice." in a note on the paravans of travancore, mr. n. subramani aiyar writes that "they are found in most taluks of the state. the title sometimes used by them is kuruppu. the paravans of chengannur and tiruvella call themselves chakka, a word supposed by the castemen to be derived from slaghya or praiseworthy, but perhaps more correctly from chakku, the basket carried by them in their hands. the paravans are divided into numerous sections. in the south, the tamil-speaking division follows the makkathayam, while all the malayalam-speaking sections follow the marumakathayam law of inheritance. there is also a difference in the dress and ornaments of the two sections, the former adopting the fashion of the east coast, and the latter that of the west. the travancore paravas are really one with the tamil-speaking paravas of the east coast. while most of them became converts to christianity, in travancore they have tried to preserve their separate existence, as they had already spread into the interior of the country before the proselytism of st. xavier had made its enduring mark on the sea-coast villages. there is a curious legend about the settlement of the chakkas in central travancore. formerly, it would appear, they were sudras, but, for some social offence committed by them, they were outcasted by the edappalli chieftain. they were once great devotees of sri krishna, the lord of tiruvaranmulai in the tiruvella taluk. the paravas say further that they are descended from a high-caste woman married to an izhava. the word parava is accordingly derived from para, which in sanskrit means foreign. the paravas engage in various occupations, of which the most important in central travancore are climbing palm trees, catching fish, and washing clothes for christians, muhammadans, and depressed classes of hindus. in south travancore they make wicker baskets, rattan chairs, and sofas. women, in all parts of the state, are lime and shell burners. they worship at the aranmula temple, and pay special worship to bhadrakali. their priest is known as parakuruppu, who, having to perform four different functions, is also entitled nalonnukaran. it is his duty to preside at marriage and other rites, to be caste barber, to carry the news of death to the relations, and to perform the priestly functions at funerals. the paravas perform both the tali-kettu and sambandham ceremonies." parel maddiyala.--barbers of the billavas. parenga.--a sub-division of gadaba. pariah.--see paraiyan. parikimuggula.--professional tattooing women in the telugu country. the name refers to the patterns (parika or muggu), which they carry about with them, as designs for tattooing or to be drawn on the floor on occasions of festival and ceremonial. parivara.--a sub-division of bant. parivaram.--it is noted, in the census report, 1891, that "this is a caste, which presents some difficulty. parivaram means 'an army, a retinue,' and it is alleged that the people of this caste were formerly soldiers. parivaram is found as a sub-division of maravan and agamudaiyan, and the parivaras of madura and tinnevelly are probably either a sub-division or an offshoot of the maravans. in coimbatore, the only other district in which the parivaras are numerous, they seem to be a sub-division of toreyas, a fishing caste, and mr. rice, in his gazetteer (of mysore), says that parivara is a synonym of besta." further, in the census report, 1901, it is stated that "the word parivaram means 'a retinue,' and was probably originally only an occupational term. it is now-a-days applied to the domestic servants and the tottiya zamindars in the districts of coimbatore, trichinopoly, madura, and tinnevelly, who are recruited from several castes, but have come to form a caste by themselves. the kotaris of south canara are a somewhat parallel case, and probably in time the paiks among the oriyas, and the khasas, who are servants to the telugu zamindars, will similarly develop into separate castes. the caste is said to require all its members of both sexes to do such service for its masters as they may require. persons of any caste above the paraiyas are admitted into its ranks, and the men in it may marry a woman of any other caste with the permission of the zamindar under whom they serve. they do not habitually employ brahmans as priests, and in places the head of the tottiyan caste conducts their ceremonies. their titles are maniyagaran and servaigaran. the latter is also used by the agamudaiyans." the title servaigaran or servaikaran indicates that members of the caste do servai, or service, and the further title uliyakkaran is a sign that they do uliyam, or menial work. servaikaran is also a title of the tamil ambalakarans, agamudaiyans, kallans, and maravans, and the canarese toreyas, some of whom have settled in the tamil districts of madura and coimbatore. it also occurs as a synonym of the canarese kotegaras. the illegitimate offspring of maravans, kallans, and agamudaiyans, are said to become members of the mixed parivaram caste. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that the parivaram caste "is divided into two endogamous sections; the chinna uliyam (little services) who are palanquin-bearers, and have the title tevan, and the periya uliyam (big services), who are called maniyakaran. the kombai parivarams, who are the servants of the kappiliyan zamindars of kombai and tevaram in the periyakulam taluk, are a separate community, and do not intermarry with the others. when a girl attains maturity, she is kept for sixteen days in a hut, which is guarded at night by her relations. this is afterwards burnt down, and the pots she used are broken into very small pieces, as there is an idea that, if rain-water collects in any of them, the girl will be childless. some of the ceremonies at weddings are unusual. on the first day, a man takes a big pot of water with a smaller empty pot on top of it, and marches three times round the open space in front of the bride's house. with him march the happy couple carrying a bamboo, to which are tied in a turmeric-coloured cloth the nine kinds of grain. after the third journey round, these things are put down at the north-east corner, and the marriage pandal is made by bringing three more poles of the same size. afterwards the wrists of the couple are tied together, and bridegroom's brother carries the pair a short distance. they plunge their hands into a bowl of salt. next the husband takes an ordinary stone rolling-pin, wraps it in a bit of cloth, and gives it to his wife, saying 'take the child; i am going to the palace.' she takes it, replying 'yes, give me the child, the milk is ready.' this has to be repeated three times in a set formula. several other odd rites are observed. brahmans officiate, and the bridegroom's sister, as usual, ties the tali. divorce is allowed to both sides. adultery within the caste, or with the zamindar, is tolerated. the husbands accept as their own any children their wives may bear to the zamindar. such children are called chinna kambalattar, and may marry with tottiyans. but adultery outside the caste is most rigorously prohibited, and sternly punished with excommunication. a mud image of the girl who so offends is made, two thorns are poked into its eyes, and it is thrown away outside the village." pariyari (doctor).--a name given to tamil barbers (ambattan), who practice as barber-surgeons. pariyata.--five individuals were recorded, at the census, 1901, under the name pariyata or parit, as members of a bombay caste of washermen in south canara. parvatha.--parvatha or parvathala, meaning hill or mountain, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of gamalla, kapu, mala, and medara. pasi.--a few members of this bengal caste of toddy-drawers were returned at the madras census, 1901. the name is said to be derived from pasa, a noose or cord, probably in reference to the sling used by them in climbing palm trees. [82] pasi, meaning coloured glass beads, occurs as a sub-division of idaiyan, and the equivalent pasikatti as a sub-division of valaiyan. pasu.--pasu (cow) or pasula has been recorded as an exogamous sept of boya, mala and madiga, and a sub-division of west coast pulayans, who eat beef. pasupula (turmeric).--pasula or pasupula is an exogamous sept of boya and devanga. pasupuleti occurs as a sub-division of balija. see arashina. patabonka.--a sub-division of bonka. patali.--an occupational name applied to priests of temples and bhuthasthanas (devil shrines), and stanikas in south canara. patha (old).--a sub-division of idiga, and a sept of togata. pathanchitannaya (green pea sept).--an exogamous sept of bant. pathi (cotton).--a sub-division of kurubas, who use a wrist-thread made of cotton and wool mixed during the marriage ceremony. also an exogamous sept of gudala and padma sale. pathinettan.--the pathinettan or eighteen are carpenters in malabar, who "are said to be the descendants of the smiths who remained to attend to the repairs to the eighteen temples, when the rest of the community fled to ceylon, as related in the tradition of the origin of the tiyans". [83] paththar.--a section of saivite chettis, who wear the lingam, and have separated from the acharapakam chettis. they bury their dead in a sitting posture. a bamboo stick is tied to the kudumi (hair-knot) of the corpse, and the head pulled by its means towards the surface of the grave. paththar is also a name given to goldsmiths by other castes. patnaik.--a title of karnam. patnulkaran.--the patnulkarans are described, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a caste of foreign weavers found in all the tamil districts, but mainly in madura town, who speak patnuli or khatri, a dialect of gujarati, and came originally from gujarat. they have always been known here as patnulkarans, or silk thread people. they are referred to in the inscriptions of kumara gupta (a.d. 473) at mandasor, south of gujarat, by the name of pattavayaka, which is the sanskrit equivalent of patnulkaran, and the sasanam of queen mangammal of madura, mentioned below, speaks of them by the same name, but lately they have taken to calling themselves saurashtras from the saurashtra country from which they came. they also claim to be brahmans. they thus frequently entered themselves in the schedules as saurashtra brahmans. they are an intelligent and hard-working community, and deserve every sympathy in the efforts which they are making to elevate the material prosperity of their members and improve their educational condition, but a claim to brahmanhood is a difficult matter to establish. they say that their claim is denied because they are weavers by profession, which none of the southern brahmans are, and because the brahmans of the tamil country do not understand their rites, which are the northern rites. the mandasor inscriptions, however, represent them as soldiers as well as weavers, which does not sound brahmanical, and the tamil brahmans have never raised any objections to the gauda brahmans calling themselves such, different as their ways are from those current in the south. in madura their claim to brahmanhood has always been disputed. as early as 1705 a.d. the brahmans of madura called in question the patnulkarans' right to perform the annual upakarma (or renewal of the sacred thread) in the brahman fashion. [eighteen members of the community were arrested by the governor of madura for performing this ceremony.] the matter was taken to the notice of the queen mangammal, and she directed her state pandits to convene meetings of learned men, and to examine into it. on their advice, she issued a cadjan (palm leaf) sasanam (grant) which permitted them to follow the brahmanical rites. but all the twice-born--whether brahmans, kshatriyas, or vaisyas--are entitled to do the same, and the sasanam establishes little. the patnuls point out that, in some cases, their gotras are brahmanical. but, in many instances which could be quoted, kshatriyas had also brahmanical gotras." it is stated, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that the inscription at mandasor in western malwa "relates how the pattavayas, as the caste was then called, were induced to migrate thither from lata on the coast of gujarat by king kumara gupta (or one of his lieutenants), to practice there their art of silk-weaving. the inscription says many flattering things about the community, and poetically compares the city to a beautiful woman, and the immigrants to the silk garments in which she decks herself when she goes to meet her lover. [the inscription further records that, while the noble bandhuvarman was governing this city of dasapura, which had been brought to a state of great prosperity, a noble and unequalled temple of the bright-rayed (sun) was caused to be built by the silk-cloth weavers (pattavayair) as a guild with the stores of wealth acquired by (the exercise of their) craft.] on the destruction of mandasor by the mussalmans, the pattavayas seem to have travelled south to devagiri, the modern daulatabad, the then capital of the yadavas, and thence, when the mussalmans again appeared on the scene at the beginning of the fourteenth century, to vijayanagar, and eventually to madura. a curious ceremony confirming this conjecture is performed to this day at patnulkaran weddings in south india. before the date of the wedding, the bridegroom's party go to the bride's house, and ask formally for the girl's hand. her relations ask them in a set form of words who they are, and whence they come, and they reply that they are from sorath (the old name for saurashtra or kathiawar), resided in devagiri, travelled south (owing to mussalman oppression) to vijayanagar, and thence came to madura. they then ask the bride's party the same question, and receive the same reply. a marathi ms., prepared in 1822 at salem under the direction of the then collector, mr. m. d. cockburn, contains the same tradition. mr. sewell's 'a forgotten empire: vijayanagar' shows how common silk clothing and trappings were at vijayanagar in the days of its glory. most of the patnulkarans can still speak telugu, which raises the inference that they must have resided a long time in the telugu country, while their patnuli contains many canarese and telugu words, and they observe the feast of basavanna (or boskanna), which is almost peculiar to the bellary country. after the downfall of vijayanagar, some of the caste seem to have gone to bangalore, for a weaving community called patvegars, who speak a dialect similar to patnuli, still reside there." concerning the patnulis who have settled in the mysore province, it is noted, in the mysore census report, 1891, that "with silk they manufacture a fine stuff called katni, which no other weavers are said to be able to prepare. it is largely used by mussalmans for trousers and lungas (gowns). it is said that haider ali, while returning from his expeditions against madras, forcibly brought with him some twenty-five families of these weavers, who were living in the tanjore district, and established them at ganjam near seringapatam, and, in order to encourage silk and velvet weaving, exempted them from certain taxes. the industry flourished till the fall of seringapatam, when most of the class fled from the country, a few only having survived those troublous times. at present there are only 254 souls returned to these people, employed in making carpets in bangalore." "the patnulkars," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [84] "say that they were originally brahmans, living in a town of surat called devagiri, in which twelve streets were entirely peopled by them. for some reason, of which they profess themselves to be ignorant, the residents of one of these streets were excommunicated by the rest of the caste, and expelled. they travelled southwards, and settled in tirupati, arni, and vellore, as well as in trichinopoly, tanjore, madura, and other large towns, where they carried on their trade of silk-weaving. another story is to the effect that they were bound to produce a certain number of silken cloths at each dipavali feast in devagiri for the goddess lakshmi. one year their supply fell short, and they were cursed by the goddess, who decreed that they should no longer be regarded as brahmans. they, however, still claim to be such, and follow the customs of that caste, though they refuse to eat with them. they acknowledge priests from among themselves, as well as from among brahmans, and profess to look down upon all other castes. in religion they are divided into smartas, vaishnavas, and vyaparis, some among the smartas being lingayats. those who can write usually employ the telugu characters in writing their language." the patnulkarans, according to one tradition, claim descent from a certain brahman sage, known as tantuvardhanar, meaning literally a person who improves threads, i.e., manufactures and weaves them into cloths. this is, it is suggested, probably only an eponymous hero. in the manual of the madura district, the patnulkarans are described as "a caste of surat silk-weavers, whose ancestors were induced to settle in madura by one of the earlier nayakkan kings, or in response to an invitation from tirumala naik, and who have thriven so well that they now form by far the most numerous of all the castes resident in the town of madura. they are very skilful and industrious workmen, and many of them have become very wealthy. they keep altogether aloof from other castes, and live independently of general society, speaking a foreign tongue, and preserving intact the customs of the land of their origin. they are easily distinguished in appearance from tamils, being of a light yellowish colour, and having handsomer and more intelligent features. they are called chettis or merchants by tamils." in a recent note, [85] the patnulkarans of madura are described as being "exceedingly gregarious; they live together in large numbers in small houses, and their social status in the country is quite unsettled. though they delight to call themselves saurashtra brahmans, the tamils consider them to be a low caste. like the brahmans, they wear the sacred thread, and tack on to their names such titles as iyengar, iyer, rao, bhagavather, sastrigal, and so forth, though the conservatives among them still cling to the time-honoured simple chetti. child marriage is the rule, and widow marriage is never practiced. hindus by religion, they worship indiscriminately both the siva and vaishnava deities, but all of them wear big iyengar namams on their foreheads, even more prominently than do the real iyengars themselves. all of them pass for pure vegetarians. the proud position of madura to this day as second city in the presidency is mainly, if not solely, due to her prosperous and industrious community of saurashtra merchants and silk-weavers, who have now grown into nearly half her population, and who have also come to a foremost place among the ranks of her citizens. they have their representatives to-day in the municipal councils and in the local and district boards. their perseverance has won for them a place in the devastanam committee of one of the most prosperous temples in the district. but, in spite of their affluence and leading position it must be confessed that they are essentially a 'backward class' in respect of english education and enlightenment. they are, however, making steady progress. an english high school for saurashtra boys, and a number of elementary schools for girls, are now maintained by the saurashtra sabha for the proper education of their children." in 1906, a member of the community was appointed a member of the committee of the sri kalla alagar temple in the madura district. in an order of the director of public instruction, in 1900, it was laid down that "saurashtras having been recognised (in 1892) as a backward class falling under pattunulgars, the manager cannot continue to enjoy the privileges accorded under the grant-in-aid code to schools intended for backward classes, if he returns his pupils as brahmans. if the pupils have been returned as saurashtra brahmans, the manager should be requested to revise, as no such caste is recognised." a deputation had an interview with the director, and it was subsequently ruled that "saurashtras will continue to be treated as a backward class. pupils belonging to the above class should invariably be returned in future as saurashtras, whether the word brahman is added or not." in a "history of the saurashtras in southern india" [86] it is recorded that "when the saurashtras settled in the south, they reproduced the institutions of their mother country in the new land; but, owing to the influence of the southern dravidians, some of the institutions became extinct. during their migrations, the men were under the guidance of their leader, and the process of migration tended to increase the power of kinship. the people were divided into four heads, called goundas (chiefs), saulins (elders), voyddoos (physicians), and bhoutuls (religious men). some traces of the division still survive in the now neglected institution of goundans. the goundans were supposed to be responsible for the acts and doings of their men. the masses enjoyed the property under the joint undivided hindu family system as prescribed in the code of manu. the chiefs were the judges in both civil and criminal affairs. they were aided in deciding cases by a body of nobles called saulins. the office of the saulins is to make enquiries, and try all cases connected with the community, and to abide by the decision of the chiefs. the voyddoos (pandits) and bhoutuls (josis and kavis also ranked with voyddas and bhoutuls) had their honours on all important occasions, and they are placed in the same rank with the elders. the karestuns, or the commons, are the whole body of the masses. their voice is necessary on certain important occasions, as during the ceremonies of excommunication, and prayaschittas for admitting renegades, and during periodical meetings of the community. the goundans at present are not exercising any of their powers, except in some religious matters. saurashtra brahmans were originally leading a purely religious life, but now they have begun to do business of different descriptions fitted to their position. their chief occupation is agriculture, but some are trading, dyeing and weaving; however, it can be safely affirmed that their business interferes in no way with their religious creed and ceremonies. the name patnulgar means silk weavers, and is sometimes erroneously applied to the saurashtras too; but, on the contrary, the term strictly applies to all classes of weavers in southern india, called seniyars, kaikkolars, devangas, kshatris (khattris), parayas, sengundas, mudaliars, saliyurs, padmasalays, but not to the saurashtras in any way. the saurashtras are now seen as a mercantile community. they are brave but humble, god-fearing, hospitable, fond of festivities and amusement. the saurashtras, it is said, were originally a class of sun worshippers, from soura meaning sun, but the term saurashtra means inhabitants of the fruitful kingdom. their religion is hinduism, and they were originally madhvas. after their settlement in southern india, some of them, owing to the preachings of sankaracharya and ramanujacharya, were converted into saivites and vaishnavites respectively. the saurashtras belong to the aksobhya and sankaracharya matas. the saurashtras, like other nations of india, are divided into four great divisions, viz., brahma, kshatriya, vaisya and sudra. the vaisyas and sudras are to be found in almost all towns and villages, and especially at tirupati, nagari, naranavanam, arni, kottar, palani, palamcottah, vilangudi, and viravanallur." the affairs of the patnulkarans at madura are managed by a saurashtra sabha, which was started in 1895. among the laudable objects for which the sabha was established, the following may be noted:-(a) to manage the madura saurashtra school, and establish reading-rooms, libraries, etc., with a view to enable members of the saurashtra community to receive, on moderate terms, a sound, liberal, general and technical education. (b) to manage the temple known as the madura sri prasanna venkateswara swami's temple, and contribute towards its maintenance by constructing, repairing and preserving buildings in connection therewith, making jewels, vehicles and other things necessary therefor, and conducting the festivals thereof. (c) to found charitable institutions, such as orphanages, hospitals, poor-houses, choultries (resting-places for travellers), water-sheds, and other things of a like nature for the good of the saurashtra community. (d) to give succour to the suffering poor, and the maimed, the lame, and the blind in the saurashtra community. (e) to give pecuniary grants in aid of upanayanams (thread marriages) to the helpless in the saurashtra community. (f) to erect such works of utility as bathing ghauts, wells, water fountains, and other works of utility for the benefit of the saurashtra community. (g) to fix and raise subscriptions known as mahamais (a sort of income-tax). among the subjects of the lectures delivered in connection with the saurashtra upanyasa sabha at madura in 1901 were the life of mrs. annie besant, the paris exhibition of 1900, mr. tata and higher education, saurashtra bank, columbus, and the saurashtra reform hotel. a few years ago, the saurashtra community submitted a memorial to the governor of madras to the effect that "as the backward saurashtra community have not the requisite capital of half a lakh of rupees for imparting to their members both general and technical education, the saurashtra sabha, madura, suggests that a lottery office may be kept for collecting shares at one rupee each from such of the public at large as may be willing to give the same, on the understanding that, every time the collections aggregate to rs. 6,250, rs. 250 should be set apart for the expenses of working the said office, and two-thirds of the remainder for educational purposes, and one-third should be awarded by drawing lots among the subscribers in the shape of five prizes, ranging from rs. 1,000 to rs. 125." in passing orders on this sporting scheme, the government stated that it was not prepared to authorise the lottery. it has been well said [87] that the patnulkarans have a very strong esprit de corps, and this has stood them in good stead in their weaving, which is more scientifically carried on, and in a more flourishing condition than is usual elsewhere. for the following note on the patnulkaran weavers of madura, i am indebted to mr. a. chatterton, director of technical enquiries:--"as a general rule, they are in a flourishing condition, and much better off than the saurashtra weavers in salem. this is probably due to the fact that the bulk of the madura trade is in a higher class of cloth than at salem, and the weavers are consequently less affected by fluctuations in demand for their goods due to seasonal variations. in various ways the saurashtras of madura have furnished evidence that they are a progressive community, particularly in the attention which they pay to education, and the keenness with which they are on the look-out for improvements in the methods of carrying out their hereditary craft. nearly all the so-called improvements have been tried at madura, and the fact that they have rejected most of them may be taken to some extent as evidence of their unsuitability for indian conditions. some time ago, one a. a. kuppusawmy iyer invented certain improvements in the native shedding apparatus, whereby ornamental patterns are woven along the borders, and on the ends of the better class of silk and cotton cloths. this apparatus was undoubtedly a material improvement upon that which is ordinarily used by the weaver, and it has been taken up extensively in the town. it is said that there are 350 looms fitted with this shedding apparatus, and the inventor, who has obtained a patent for it, is trying to collect a royalty of rs. 1-4-0 a month on each loom. but this claim is resisted by a combination of the weavers using this shedding apparatus, and a suit is at the present time (1907) pending in the district court. one of the most important weaving enterprises at madura is the meenakshi weaving company, the partners of which are ramachandra iyer, muthurama iyer, and kuppusawmy iyer. their subscribed capital is rs. 1,00,000, of which they are spending no less than rs. 40,000 on building a weaving shed and office. the madura dyeing industry is in the hands of the saurashtras, and the modern phase dates back only as far as 1895, when mr. tulsiram started dyeing grey yarn with alizarine red, and, in the twelve years which have since elapsed, the industry has grown to very large proportions. the total sales at madura average at present about 24 lakhs a year. there are from 30 to 40 dye-houses, and upwards of 5,000 cwt. of alizarine red is purchased every year from the badische aniline soda fabrik. the yarn is purchased locally, mainly from the madura mills, but, to some extent, also from coimbatore and tuticorin. the mordanting is done entirely with crude native earths, containing a large percentage of potassium salts. drying the yarn presents considerable difficulty, especially in the wet weather. to secure a fast even colour, the yarn is mordanted about ten times, and dyed twice, or for very superior work three times, and between each operation it is essential that the yarn should be dried. the suburbs of madura are now almost entirely covered with drying yards." in a note on the patnulkarans who have settled in travancore, mr. n. subramani aiyar writes as follows. "the patnulkarans are generally of yellowish tinge, and in possession of handsomer and more intellectual features than the tamil castes, from which they may be easily differentiated by even a casual observer. they are, however, more fair than cleanly. they keep in travancore, as elsewhere, aloof from other castes, and live independently of general society, speaking a foreign language. this they have preserved with astonishing attachment, and recently a saurashtra alphabet has been invented, and elementary books have begun to be written in that dialect. they are a very conservative class, religious enthusiasts of a very remarkable order, and skilful and industrious workmen. they take a peculiar pleasure in music, and many of them are excellent songsters. there are many kinds of amusement for both men and women, who generally spend their leisure in singing songs of a devotional nature. they believe largely in omens, of which the following may be noted:-good.--a pot full of water, a burning light, no brahmans, a sudra, a cow, a married woman, and gold. bad.--a barber, a patient, a person with some bodily defect, fuel, oil, a donkey, a pick-axe, a broom, and a fan. "on entering a patnulkaran's house, we are led to a courtyard, spacious and neat, where all the necessary arrangements are made for weaving purposes. the patnulkarans live in streets. a male patnulkaran resembles a tamil vaishnava brahman in outward appearance, but the women follow the custom of the telugu brahmans alike in their costume and ornaments. their jewels exactly resemble those of the telugu brahman women, and indicate a temporary residence of the caste in the telugu country on the way from gujarat to madura. there is a tamil proverb to the effect that, if a male patnulkaran is seen without his wife, he will be taken for a vaishnava brahman, whereas, in the case of the tatan caste, a woman without her husband will be taken for an aiyangar. children wear the karai round the neck. tattooing prevails on a very large scale. "the patnulkarans may be divided into three classes on a religious basis, viz., (1) pure vaishnavites, who wear the vertical vaishnavite mark, and call themselves vadakalas or northerners; (2) those who are mainly smartas; (3) sankara vaishnavas, who wear gopi (sandal paste) as their sect-mark. it is to the last of these religious sects that the travancore patnulkarans belong, though, in recent times, a few smartas have settled at kottar. all these intermarry and interdine, and the religious difference does not create a distinction in the caste. the chief divinity of the patnulkarans is venkatachalapati of tirupati. the month in which he is most worshipped is kanni (september-october), and all the saturdays and the tiruvonam star of the month are particularly devoted to his adoration. one of their men becomes possessed on any of these days, and, holding a burning torch-light in his hand, touches the foreheads of the assembled devotees therewith. the patnulkarans fast on those days, and take an image of garuda in procession through the street. the dipavali, pannamasi in chittiray, and the vaikuntha ekadasi are other important religious days. the dusserah is observed, as also are the festivals of sri rama navami, ashtami, rohini, avani avittam, and vara lakshmivratam. formal worship of deities is done by those who have obtained the requisite initiation from a spiritual preceptor. women who have husbands fast on full-moon days, mondays, and fridays. the serpent and the banyan tree are specially worshipped. women sing songs in praise of lakshmi, and offer fruits and cocoanuts to her. the patnulkarans have a temple dedicated to sri rama at kottar. this temple is visited even by brahmans, and the priests are aiyangars. the acharya, or supreme religious authority of the patnulkarans, in travancore is a vaishnava brahman known as ubhaya vedanta koti kanyakadana tatachariyar, who lives at aravankulam near tinnevelly, and possesses a large number of disciples. once a year he visits his flock in travancore, and is highly respected by them, as also by the maharaja, who makes a donation of money to him. elders are appointed to decide social disputes, and manage the common property of the caste. in travancore there are said to be only three families of patnulkaran priests. for the higher ceremonies, brahman priests are employed. "a girl's marriage is usually celebrated before puberty, and sometimes when she is a mere child of four or five. great importance is attached to gotras or exogamous septs, and it is said that the septs of the bride and bridegroom are conspicuously inscribed on the walls of a marriage house. in the selection of an auspicious hour (muhurtam) for a marriage, two favourable planetary situations, one closely following the other, are necessary; and, as such occasions are rare, a number of marriages take place at one time. a man may claim his maternal uncle's daughter as his wife, and polygamy is permitted. the marriage ceremonial resembles the brahmanical rites in many points. on the fourth day, a ceremonial observed by telugu brahmans, called nagabali, is performed. the marriage badge, which is tied on the bride's neck, is called bottu. [from a note on the marriage ceremonies among the patnulkarans of madura, i gather that, as among telugu and canarese castes, a number of pots are arranged, and worshipped. these pots are smaller and fewer in number than at a telugu or canarese wedding. a figure of a car is drawn on the wall of the house with red earth or laterite. [88] on it the name of the gotra of the bridegroom is written. on the fourth day, the nagavali (or offering to devas) is performed. the contracting couple sit near the pots, and a number of lights are arranged on the floor. the pots, which represent the devas, are worshipped.] "the namakarana, or name-giving ceremony, is performed on the eleventh day after birth. an eighth child, whether male or female, is called krishna, owing to the tradition that krishna was born as the eighth child of vasudeva. babies are affectionately called duddu (milk) or pilla (child). the annaprasana, or first feeding of the child, is sometimes celebrated at the end of the first year, but usually as a preliminary to some subsequent ceremony. sometimes, in performance of a vow, boys are taken to the shrine at tirupati for the tonsure ceremony. the upanayana is performed between the seventh and twelfth years, but neither brahmacharya nor samavartana is observed. "the dead are burnt, and the remains of the bones are collected and deposited under water. death pollution lasts only for ten days. the sradh, or annual ceremony, when oblations are offered to ancestors, is observed. widows are allowed to retain their hair, but remove the bottu. unlike brahman women, they chew betel, and wear coloured cloths, even in old age." the patnulkarans have a secret trade language, concerning which mr. c. hayavadana rao writes as follows. "the most remarkable feature about it is the number of terms and phrases borrowed from the craft, to which special meanings are given. thus a man of no status is stigmatised as a rikhta khandu, i.e., a spindle without the yarn. similarly, a man of little sense is called a mhudha, the name of a thick peg which holds one side of the roller. likewise, a talkative person is referred to as a rhetta, or roller used for winding the thread upon spindles, which makes a most unpleasant creaking noise. kapiniker, from kapini, a technical term used for cutting the loom off, means to make short work of an undesirable person. a man who is past middle age is called porkut phillias, which, in weavers' parlance, means that half the loom is turned." patra.--the patras are an oriya caste, which is divided into two sections, one of which is engaged in the manufacture of silk (pata) waist-threads, tassels, etc., and the other in weaving silk cloths. the members of the two sections do not interdine. the former have exogamous septs or bamsams, the names of which are also used as titles, e.g., sahu, patro, and prushti. the latter have exogamous septs, such as tenga, jaggali, telaga, and mahanayako, and behara and nayako as titles. the chief headman of the cloth-weaving section is called mahanayako, and there are other officers called behara and bhollobaya. the headman of the other section is called senapati, and he is assisted by a dhanapati. infant marriage is the rule, and, if a girl does not secure a husband before she reaches maturity, she must, if she belongs to the cloth-weaving section, go through a form of marriage with an old man, and, if to the other section, with an arrow. the telugu patras are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a telugu caste of hunters and cultivators, found chiefly in the districts of cuddapah and kurnool. it has two divisions, the doras (chiefs), and gurikalas (marksmen), the former of which is supposed to be descended from the old poligars (feudal chiefs), and the latter from their followers and servants. this theory is supported by the fact that, at the weddings of gurikalas, the doras receive the first pan-supari (betel leaf and areca nut). widows may not remarry, nor is divorce recognised. they usually employ brahmans at marriages, and satanis at funerals. though they are vaishnavites, they also worship village deities, such as gangamma and ellamma. they bury their dead, and perform annual sraddhas (memorial services for the dead). they will eat with gollas. their title is naidu." patramela.--patramela, or patradeva, is the name of a class of dancing girls in south canara. patramela, mr. h. a. stuart writes, [89] is the name by which the konkani kalavants (courtezans) are known above the ghauts. patro.--the title of the head of a group of villages in ganjam, and also recorded, at times of census, as a title of alia, kalinga komati, dolai, and jaggala. the conferring of a cloth (sadhi) on a patro is said to be emblematic of conferring an estate. the patro, among other perquisites, is entitled to a fee on occasions of marriage. i am informed that, in the ganjam maliahs, if a kondh was unable to pay the fee, he met his love at night beneath two trysting trees, and retired with her into the jungle for three days and nights. patrudu.--the title, meaning those who are fit to receive a gift, of aiyarakulu and nagaralu. pattadhikari.--a class of jangams, who have settled head-quarters. pattan.--the equivalent of the brahman bhatta. a name by which some kammalans, especially goldsmiths, style themselves. pattanavada.--a synonym for the moger fishing caste, the settlements of which are called pattana. pattanavan.--the fishermen on the east coast, from the kistna to the tanjore district, are popularly called karaiyan, or sea-shore people. some karaiyans have, at times of census, returned themselves as taccha (carpenter) karaiyans. pattanavan means literally a dweller in a town or pattanam, which word occurs in the names of various towns on the sea-coast, e.g., nagapattanam (negapatam), chennapattanam (madras). the pattanavans have two main divisions, periya (big) and chinna (small), and, in some places, for example, at nadukuppam in the nellore district, exogamous septs, e.g., gengananga, peyananga, kathananga (children of ganga, peyan, and kathanar), and kullananga (children of dwarfs). in the telugu country, they go by the name of pattapu or tulivandlu. some pattanavans give themselves high-sounding caste titles, e.g., ariyar, ayyayiraththalaivar (the five thousand chiefs), ariya nattu chetti (chettis of the ariyar country), acchu vellala, karaiturai (sea-coast) vellala, varunakula vellala or varunakula mudali after varuna, the god of the waters, or kurukula vamsam after kuru, the ancestor of the kauravas. some pattanavans have adopted the title pillai. the pattanavans are said to be inferior to the sembadavans, who will not accept food at their hands, and discard even an earthen pot which has been touched by a pattanavan. concerning the origin of the caste, there is a legend that the pattanavans were giving silk thread to siva, and were hence called pattanavar, a corruption of pattanaivor, meaning knitters of silk thread. they were at the time all bachelors, and siva suggested the following method of securing wives for them. they were told to go out fishing in the sea, and make of their catch as many heaps as there were bachelors. each of them then stood before a heap, and called for a wife, who was created therefrom. according to another story, some five thousand years ago, during the age of the lunar race, there was one dasa raja, who was ruling near hastinapura, and was childless. to secure offspring, he prayed to god, and did severe penance. in answer to his prayer, god pointed out a tank full of lotus flowers, and told the king to go thither, and call for children. thereon, five thousand children issued forth from the flowers, to the eldest of whom the king bequeathed his kingdom, and to the others money in abundance. those who received the money travelled southward in ships, which were wrecked, and they were cast ashore. this compelled them to make friends of local sea fishermen, whose profession they adopted. at the present day, the majority of pattanavans are sea-fishermen, and catch fish with nets from catamarans. "fancy," it has been written, [90] "a raft of only three logs of wood, tied together at each end when they go out to sea, and untied and left to dry on the beach when they come in again. each catamaran has one, two or three men to manage it; they sit crouched on it upon their heels, throwing their paddles about very dexterously, but remarkably unlike rowing. in one of the early indian voyager's log-books there is an entry concerning a catamaran: 'this morning, 6 a.m., saw distinctly two black devils playing at single stick. we watched these infernal imps about an hour, when they were lost in the distance. surely this doth portend some great tempest.' it is very curious to watch these catamarans putting out to sea. they get through the fiercest surf, sometimes dancing at their ease on the top of the waters, sometimes hidden under the waters; sometimes the man completely washed off his catamaran, and man floating one way and catamaran another, till they seem to catch each other again by magic." in 1906, a fisherman was going out in his catamaran to fish outside the madras harbour, and was washed off his craft, and dashed violently against a rock. death was instantaneous. of the catamaran, the following account is given by colonel w. campbell. [91] "of all the extraordinary craft which the ingenuity of man has ever invented, a madras catamaran is the most extraordinary, the most simple, and yet, in proper hands, the most efficient. it is merely three rough logs of wood, firmly lashed together with ropes formed from the inner bark of the cocoanut tree. upon this one, two, or three men, according to the size of the catamaran, sit on their heels in a kneeling posture, and, defying wind and weather, make their way through the raging surf which beats upon the coast, and paddle out to sea at times when no other craft can venture to face it. at a little distance, the slight fabric on which these adventurous mariners float becomes invisible, and a fleet of them approaching the land presents the absurd appearance of a host of savage-looking natives wading out towards the ship, up to their middle in water." "a catamaran," lady dufferin writes, [92] in an account of a state arrival at madras, "is two logs of wood lashed together, forming a very small and narrow raft. the rower wears a 'fool's cap,' in which he carries letters (also betel and tobacco), and, when he encounters a big wave, he leaves his boat, slips through the wave himself, and picks up his catamaran on the other side of it. some very large deep barges (masula boats), the planks of which are sewn together to give elasticity, and the interstices stuffed with straw, came out for us, with a guard of honour of the mosquito fleet, as the catamarans are called, on either side of them; two of the fool's cap men, and a flag as big as the boat itself, on each one." the present day masula or mussoola boat, or surf boat of the coromandel coast, is of the same build as several centuries ago. it is recorded, [93] in 1673, that "i went ashore in a mussoola, a boat wherein ten men paddle, the two aftermost of whom are the steers-men, using their paddles instead of a rudder: the boat is not strengthened with knee-timber, as ours are; the bended planks are sowed together with rope-yarn of the cocoe, and calked with dammar so artificially that it yields to every ambitious surf. otherwise we could not get ashore, the bar knocking in pieces all that are inflexible." the old records of madras contain repeated references to europeans being drowned from overturning of masula boats in the surf, through which a landing had to be effected before the harbour was built. in 1907, two madras fishermen were invested with silver wrist bangles, bearing a suitable inscription, which were awarded by the government in recognition of their bravery in saving the lives of a number of boatmen during a squall in the harbour. the following are the fishes, which are caught by the fishermen off madras and eaten by europeans:- cybium guttatum, bl. schn. seir. cybium commersonii, lacep. seir. cybium lanceolatum, cuv. & val. seir. sillago sihama, forsk. whiting. stromateus cinereus, bloch.- immature, silver pomfret. adult, grey pomfret. stromateus niger, bloch. black pomfret. mugal subviridis, cuv. & val. mullet. psettodes erumei, bl. schn. 'sole.' lates calcarifer, bloch. cock-up; the begti of calcutta. lutjanus roseus, day. lutjanus marginatus, cuv. & val. polynemus tetradactylus, shaw. chorinemus lysan, forsk. 'whitebait.' the pattanavans are saivites, but also worship various minor gods and grama devatas (village deities). in some places, they regard kuttiyandavan as their special sea god. to him animal sacrifices are not made, but goats are sacrificed to sembu virappan or minnodum pillai, an attendant on kuttiyandavan. in tanjore, the names of the sea gods are pavadairayan and padaithalaidaivam. before setting out on a fishing expedition, the pattanavans salute the god, the sea, and the nets. in the tanjore district, they repair their nets once in eight days, and, before they go out fishing, pray to their gods to favour them with a big catch. on a fixed day, they make offerings to the gods on their return from fishing. the gods pavadairayan and padaithalaidaivam are represented by large conical heaps of wet sand and mud, and ayyanar, ellamma, kuttiyandavar, muthyalrouthar and kiliyendhi by smaller heaps. at the masimakam festival, the pattanavans worship their gods on the sea-shore. the names jattan and jatti are given to children during the jatre or periodic festival of the village goddesses. the pattanavans afford a good example of a caste, in which the time-honoured village council (panchayat) is no empty, powerless body. for every settlement or village there are one or more headmen called yejamanan, who are assisted by a thandakaran and a paraiyan chalavathi. all these offices are hereditary. questions connected with the community, such as disrespect to elders, breach of social etiquette, insult, abuse, assault, adultery, or drinking or eating with men of lower caste, are enquired into by the council. even when disputes are settled in courts of law, they must come before the council. within the community, the headman is all powerful, and his decision is, in most instances, considered final. if, however, his verdict is not regarded as equitable, the case is referred to a caste headman, who holds sway over a group of villages. no ceremony may be performed without the sanction of the local headman, and the details of ceremonies, except the feasting, are arranged by the headman and the thandakaran. in the case of a proposed marriage, the match is broken off if the headman objects to it. he should be present at the funeral rites, and see that the details thereof are properly carried out. it is the duty of the chalavathi to convey the news of a death to the relations. should he come to the shore when the fishes are heaped up, he has the right to take a few thereof as his perquisite. the thandakaran, among other duties, has to summon council meetings. when the members of council have assembled, he ushers in the parties who have to appear before it, and salutes the assembly by prostrating himself on the floor. the parties take a bit of straw, or other object, and place it before the headman in token that they are willing to abide by the decision of the council. this formality is called placing the agreement (muchchilika). the consent of the maternal uncles is necessary before a pair can be united in matrimony. when the wedding day has been fixed, the bridegroom's party distribute grama thambulam (village pan-supari or betel) to the headman and villagers. the marriage milk-post is made of mimusops hexandra, erythrina indica, casuarina equisetifolia, the green wood of some other tree, or even a pestle. in one form of the marriage ceremony, which varies in detail according to locality, the bridegroom, on the arrival of the bride at the pandal (booth), puts on the sacred thread, and the brahman purohit makes the sacred fire, and pours ghi (clarified butter) into it. the bridegroom ties the tali round the bride's neck, and the maternal uncles tie flat silver or gold plates, called pattam, on the foreheads of the contracting couple. rings are put on their second toes by the brother-in-law of the bridegroom and the maternal uncle of the bride. towards evening, the sacred thread, the threads which have been tied to the marriage pots and the milk-post, and grain seedlings used at the ceremony, are thrown into the sea. some pattanavans allow a couple to live together as man and wife after the betrothal, but before the marriage ceremony. this is, however, on condition that the latter is performed as soon as it is convenient. the remarriage of widows is freely permitted. no marriage pandal is erected, and the bridegroom, or a female relation, ties the tali on the bride's neck within the house. such marriage is, therefore, called naduvittu (interior of the house) tali. when a woman, who has been guilty of adultery, is remarried, a turmeric string is substituted for the golden tali, and is tied on the bride's neck by a woman. some pattanavans have adopted the custom of burying their dead in a seated posture (samathi). if a corpse is cremated, fire is carried to the burning-ground by a barber. when the corpse has been laid on the pyre, rice is thrown over it. the son, accompanied by a barber and a panisavan or washerman, and carrying a pot of water on his shoulder, goes thrice round the pyre. at the third round, the panisavan or washerman makes holes in the pot, and it is thrown away. on the day of the funeral, all the agnates shave their heads. on the following day, they go to the burial or burning ground with tender cocoanuts, milk, cakes, etc., and arichandra, who presides over the burial-ground, is worshipped. milk is then poured over the grave, or the remains of the bones, which are thrown into the sea. on the night of the fifteenth day, panisavans blow the conch and horn, and red cloths are presented to the widow of the deceased by her relations. at about 4 a.m., a white cloth is thrown on her neck, and the tali string is cut by an old woman. the tali is removed therefrom, and dropped into a new pot filled with water. hence, a form of abuse among pattanavan women is, may your tali be snapped, and thrown into water. the tali is removed from the pot, which is thrown into the sea. the tali is laid on a dish containing milk, and all those who visit the widow must set eyes on it before they see her. in the city of madras, the pattanavans have the privilege of supplying bearers at temples, and the atmosphere surrounding them as they carry the idols on their sturdy shoulders through triplicane is said to be "redolent of brine and the toddy shop." in a judgment of the high court of judicature, madras, it is recorded that, in the eighteenth century, some boat-owners and boatmen belonging to the curukula vamsha or varunakula mudali caste, who were residing at chepauk in the city of madras, had embraced christianity, and worshipped in a chapel, which had been erected by voluntary contributions. in 1799 the site of their village was required for public purposes, and they obtained in lieu of it a grant of land at royapuram, where a chapel was built. partly by taxes levied on boatmen, and partly by tolls they were allowed to impose on persons for frequenting the royapuram bazar, a fund was formed to provide for their spiritual wants, and this fund was administered by the marine board. in 1829, a portion of the fund was expended in the erection of the church of st. peter, royapuram, and the fund was transferred to government. the administration of the fund has been the source of litigation in the high court. [94] it is noted by mrs. f. e. penny that some of the fisherfolk "adopted xavier as their special patron saint, and, as time passed, almost deified him. in the present day, they appeal to him in times of danger, crying 'xavier! xavier! xavier!' in storm and peril. even if they are unfortunate in their catch when fishing, they turn to their saint for succour." as a numismatist, i resent the practice resorted to by some fishermen of melting old lead coins, and converting them into sinkers for their nets. pattapu.--pattapu for tulivandlu is a name for tamil pattanavans, who have migrated to the telugu country. pattapu also occurs as a sub-division of yerukala. pattar.--the pattars are tamil brahmans, who have settled in malabar. the name is said to be derived from the sanskrit bhatta. it is noted, in the madras census report, 1901, that pattar (teacher) has been recently assumed as a title by some nokkans in tanjore. (see brahman.) pattariar.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a tamil corruption of pattu saliyan (silk-weaver). pattariar or pattalia is a synonym of tamil-speaking saliyans. pattegara (headman).--an exogamous sept of okkiliyan. pattindla (silk house).--an exogamous sept of tota balija. pattola menon.--recorded, in the cochin census report, 1901, as a sub-caste of nayars, who are accountants in aristocratic families. pattukuruppu.--recorded in the travancore census report, 1901, as synonymous with vatti, a sub-division of nayar. pattu sale.--a sub-division of sales, who weave silk (pattu) fabrics. pattuvitan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. patvegara.--the patvegaras or pattegaras (pattu, silk) of south canara are described by mr. h. a. stuart [95] as "a canarese caste of silk weavers. they are hindus, and worship both siva and vishnu, but their special deity is durga paramesvari at barkur. they wear the sacred thread, and employ brahmans for ceremonial purposes. they are governed by a body called the ten men, and pay allegiance to the guru of the ramachandra math (religious institution). they are divided into balis (septs) and a man may not marry within his own bali. polygamy is allowed only when a wife is barren, or suffers from some incurable disease, such as leprosy. the girls are married in infancy, and the binding portion of the ceremony is called dhare (see bant). widow marriage is not permitted, and divorce is only allowed in the case of an adulterous wife. they follow the ordinary hindu law of inheritance. the dead are cremated. the sradha (memorial) ceremony is in use, and the mahalaya ceremony for the propitiation of ancestors in general is performed annually. female ancestors are also worshipped every year at a ceremony called vaddap, when meals are given to married women. they eat fish but not meat, and the use of alcohol is not permitted." in the mysore census report, 1891, the patvegars are described as "silk weavers who speak a corrupt marathi conglomerate of guzarati and hindi. they worship all the hindu deities, especially the female energy under the name of sakti, to which a goat is sacrificed on the night of the dasara festival, a musalman slaughtering the animal. after the sacrifice, the family of the patvegar partake of the flesh. many of their females are naturally fair and handsome, but lose their beauty from early marriage and precocity." a few pattegaras, who speak a corrupt form of marathi, are to be found in the anantapur district. pavalamkatti (wearers of corals).--a sub-division of konga vellala. pavini.--see vayani. payyampati.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. pedakanti.--pedakanti or pedaganti is the name of a sub-division of kapu. it is said by some to be derived from a place called pedagallu. by others it is derived from peda, turned aside, and kamma, eye, indicating one who turns his eyes away from a person who speaks to him. yet another suggestion is that it means stiff-necked. pedda (big).--a sub-division of boya, bagata, konda dora, pattapu, and velama. peddammavandlu.--a fancy name taken by some telugu beggars. pedditi.--a sub-division of golla, some members of which earn a livelihood by begging and flattery. pegula (intestines).--an exogamous sept of boya. pekkan.--a division of toda. pendukal (women).--a name applied to deva-dasis in travancore. pengu.--a sub-division of poroja. pennegara.--konkani-speaking rice-beaters in south canara. pentiya.--the pentiyas also call themselves holuva and halaba or halba. in the madras census report, 1901, they are called pantia as well as pentiya, and described as oriya betel-leaf (panno) sellers. their occupation, in the jeypore agency tracts, is that of cultivators. according to mr. c. hayavadana rao, to whom i am indebted for the following note, numbers of them migrated thither from bustar, and settled at pentikonna, and are hence called pentikonaya or pentiya. their language is halba, which is easily understood by those who speak oriya. they are divided into two endogamous sections, called bodo (big or genuine), and sanno (little), of whom the latter are said to be illegitimate descendants of the former. the bodos are further sub-divided into a series of septs, e.g., kurum (tortoise), bhag (tiger), nag (cobra), and surya (sun). the caste is highly organized, and the head of a local centre is called bhatha nayako. he is assisted by a pradhani, an umriya nayako, and dolayi. the caste messenger is called cholano, and he carries a silver baton when he summons the castemen to a meeting. an elaborate ceremony is performed when a person, who has been tried by the caste council, is to be received back into the caste. he is accompanied to the bank of a stream, where his tongue is burnt with a gold or silver wire or ornament by the bhatha nayako, and some offerings from the jagannatha temple at puri are given to him. he is then taken home, and provides a feast, at which the nayako has the privilege of eating first. he has further to make a present of cloths to the assembled elders, and the four heads of the caste receive a larger quantity than the others. the feast over, he is again taken, carrying some cooked rice, to the stream, and with it pushed therein. this ceremonial bath frees him from pollution. girls are married either before or after puberty. a man can claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. the bridegroom's party proceed, with the bridegroom, to the bride's village, and take up their abode in a separate house. they then take three cloths for the bride's mother, three rupees for her father, and a cloth and two annas for each of her brothers, and present them together with rice, liquor, and other articles. pandals (booths) are erected in front of the quarters of the bridal couple, that of the bridegroom being made of nine, and that of the bride of five sal (shorea robusta) poles, to which a pot containing myrabolams (terminalia fruits) and rice is tied. the couple bathe, and the bridegroom proceeds to the house of the bride. the desari, who officiates, dons the sacred thread, and divides the pandal into two by means of a screen or curtain. the couple go seven times round the pandal, and the screen is removed. they then enter the pandal, and the desari links their little fingers together. the day's ceremony concludes with a feast. on the following day, the bride is conducted to the house of the bridegroom, and they sprinkle each other with turmeric water. they then bathe in a stream or river. another feast is held, with much drinking, and is followed by a wild dance. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and a younger brother may marry the widow of his elder brother. the dead are burnt, and death pollution is observed for ten days, during which the relatives of the deceased are fed by members of another sept. on the tenth day a caste feast takes place. the pentiyas are said [96] to distribute rice, and other things, to brahmans, once a year on the new-moon day in the month of bhadrapadam (september-october), and to worship a female deity named kamilli on saturdays. no one, i am informed, other, i presume, than a pentiya, would take anything from a house where she is worshipped, lest the goddess should accompany him, and require him to become her devotee. the caste title is nayako. peraka (tile).--an exogamous sept of devanga. perike.--this word is defined, in the madras census report, 1901, as meaning literally a gunny bag, and the perikes are summed up as being a telugu caste of gunny bag (goni) weavers, corresponding to the janappans of the tamil districts. gunny bag is the popular and trading name of the coarse sacking and sacks made from the fibre of jute, much used in indian trade. it is noted, in the census report, 1891, that "the perikes claim to be a separate caste, but they seem to be in reality a sub-division, and not a very exalted sub-division, of balijas, being in fact identical with the uppu (salt) balijas. their hereditary occupation is carrying salt, grain, etc., on bullocks and donkeys in perikes or packs. perike is found among the sub-divisions of both kavarai and balija. some of them, however, have attained considerable wealth, and now claim to be kshatriyas, saying that they are the descendants of the kshatriyas who ran away (piriki, a coward) from the persecution of parasurama. others again say they are kshatriyas who went into retirement, and made hills (giri) their abode (puri)." these perike 'kshatriyas' are known as puragiri kshatriya and giri razu. the periki balijas are described, in the vizagapatam manual, as chiefly carrying on cultivation and trade, and some of them are said to hold a high position at 'the presidency' (madras) and in the vizagapatam district. perike women appear to have frequently committed sati (or suttee) on the death of their husbands in former days, and the names of those who thus sacrificed their lives are still held in reverence. a peculiar custom among the perikes is the erection of big square structures (brindavanam), in which a tulsi (ocimum sanctum) is planted, on the spot where the ashes of the dead are buried after cremation. i am informed that a fine series of these structures may be seen at chipurapalli, close to vizianagram. as a mark of respect to the dead, passers-by usually place a lac bangle or flowers thereon. the usual titles of the perikes are anna and ayya, but some style themselves rao (= raya, king) or rayadu, in reference to their alleged kshatriya origin. for the following note on the perikes of the godavari district, i am indebted to mr. f. r. hemingway. "like some of the kammas, they claim to be of kshatriya stock, and say they are of the lineage of parasu rama, but were driven out by him for kidnapping his sister, while pretending to be gunny-bag weavers. they say that they were brought to this country by king nala of the mahabharata, in gratitude for their having taken care of his wife damayanti when he quitted her during his misfortunes. they support the begging caste of varugu bhattas, who, they say, supported them during their exile, and to whom they gave a sanad (deed of grant) authorising them to demand alms. these people go round the perike houses for their dues every year. the pisu perikes, who still weave gunny-bags, are said not to belong to the caste proper, members of which style themselves racha perikes. "the perikes say that, like the komatis, they have 101 gotras. their marriage ceremonies are peculiar. on the day of the wedding, the bride and bridegroom are made to fast, as also are three male relatives, whom they call suribhaktas. at the marriage, the couple sit on a gunny-bag, and another gunny, on which a representation of the god mailar is drawn or painted, is spread between them. the same god is drawn on two pots, and these, and also a third pot, are filled with rice and dhal (cajanus indicus), which are cooked by two married women. the food is then offered to mailar. next, the three suribhaktas take 101 cotton threads, fasten them together, and tie seven knots in them. the bride and bridegroom are given cloths which have been partly immersed in water coloured with turmeric and chunam (lime), and the suribhaktas are fed with the rice and dhal cooked in the pots. the couple are then taken round the village in procession, and, on their return, the knotted cotton threads are tied round the bride's neck instead of a tali. some perikes style themselves sathu vandlu, meaning a company of merchants or travellers. perike muggula is the name of a class of telugu mendicants and exorcists. periya (big).--periya or periyanan has been recorded as a sub-division of karalan, kunnuvan, occhan, and pattanavan. the equivalent peru or perum occurs as a sub-division of the malayalam kollans and vannans and perim of kanikars. periya illom is the name of an exogamous illom of kanikars in travancore. perugadannaya (bandicoot rat sept).--an exogamous sept of bant. perum tali (big tali).--a sub-division of idaiyan, and of kaikolans, whose women wear a big tali (marriage badge). perumal.--perumal is a synonym of vishnu, and the name is taken by some pallis who are staunch vaishnavites. a class of mendicants, who travel about exhibiting performing bulls in the southern part of the madras presidency, is known as perumal madukkaran or perumal erudukkaran. perumalathillom, meaning apparently big mountain house, is an exogamous sept or illom of the kanikars of travancore. pesala (seeds of phaseolus mungo: green gram).--an exogamous sept of jogi. peta (street).--a sub-division of balija. pettigeyavaru (box).--a sub-division of gangadikara vakkaliga. pichiga (sparrow).--an exogamous sept of boya and devanga. the equivalent pital occurs as a sept of mala. pichigunta.--the name pichigunta means literally an assembly of beggars, who are described [97] as being, in the telugu country, a class of mendicants, who are herbalists, and physic people for fever, stomach-ache, and other ailments. they beat the village drums, relate stories and legends, and supply the place of a herald's office, as they have a reputation for being learned in family histories, and manufacture pedigrees and gotras (house names) for kapus, kammas, gollas, and others. the picchai or pinchikuntar are described in the salem manual as "servants to the kudianavars or cultivators--a name commonly assumed by vellalas and pallis. the story goes that a certain vellala had a hundred and two children, of whom only one was a female. of the males, one was lame, and his hundred brothers made a rule that one would provide him with one kolagam of grain and one fanam (a coin) each year. they got him married to a telugu woman of a different caste, and the musicians who attended the ceremony were paid nothing, the brothers alleging that, as the bridegroom was a cripple, the musicians should officiate from charitable motives. the descendants of this married pair, having no caste of their own, became known as picchi or pinchikuntars (beggars, or lame). they are treated as kudipinnai (inferior) by vellalas, and to the present day receive their prescribed miras (fee) from the vellala descendants of the hundred brothers, to whom, on marriage and other festivals, they do service by relating the genealogies of such vellalas as they are acquainted with. some serve the vellalas in the fields, and others live by begging." [97] the caste beggars of the tottiyans are known as pichiga-vadu. pidakala (cow-dung cakes or bratties).--an exogamous sept of devanga. dried cow-dung cakes are largely used by natives as fuel, and may be seen stuck on to the walls of houses. pidaran.--a section of ambalavasis, who, according to mr. logan [98] "drink liquor, exorcise devils, and are worshippers of bhadrakali or of sakti. the name is also applied to snake-catchers, and it was probably conferred on the caste owing to the snake being an emblem of the human passion embodied in the deities they worship." pilapalli.--the pilapallis are a small caste or community in travancore, concerning which mr. s. subramanya aiyar writes as follows. [99] "the following sketch will show what trifling circumstances are sufficient in this land of parasurama to call a new caste into existence. the word pilapally is supposed to be a corruption of belal thalli, meaning forcibly ejected. it therefore contains, as though in a nutshell, the history of the origin of this little community, which it is used to designate. in the palmy days of the chempakasseri rajas, about the year 858 m.e., there lived at the court of the then ruling prince at ambalappuzha a namburi brahman who stood high in the prince's favour, and who therefore became an eye-sore to all his fellow courtiers. the envy and hatred of the latter grew to such a degree that one day they put their heads together to devise a plan which should at once strip him of all influence at court, and humble him in the eyes of the public. the device hit upon was a strange one, and characteristic of that dim and distant past. the namburi was the custodian of all presents made to the prince, and as such it was a part of his daily work to arrange the articles presented in their proper places. it was arranged that one day a dead fish, beautifully tied up and covered, should be placed among the presents laid before the prince. the victim of the plot, little suspecting there was treachery in the air, removed all the presents as usual with his own hand. his enemies at court, who were but waiting for an opportunity of humbling him to the dust, thereupon caused the bundle to be examined before the prince, when it became evident that it contained a dead fish. now, for a namburi to handle a dead fish was, according to custom, sufficient to make him lose caste. on the strength of this argument, the prince, who was himself a brahmin, was easily prevailed upon to put the namburi out of the pale of caste, and the court favourite was immediately excommunicated. there is another and a slightly different version of the story, according to which the namburi in question was the hereditary priest of the royal house, to whom fell the duty of removing and preserving the gifts. in course of time he grew so arrogant that the prince himself wanted to get rid of him, but, the office of the priest being hereditary, he did not find an easy way of accomplishing his cherished object, and, after long deliberation with those at court in whom he could confide, came at last to the solution narrated above. it is this forcible ejection that the expression belal thalli (afterwards changed into pilapally) is said to import.... it appears that the unfortunate namburi had two wives, both of whom elected to share his fate. accordingly, the family repaired to paravur, a village near kallarkode, where their royal patron made them a gift of land. although they quitted ambalapuzha for good, they seem to have long owned there a madathummuri (a room in a series, in which brahmins from abroad once lived and traded), and are said to be still entitled daily to a measure of palpayasom from the temple, a sweet pudding of milk, rice and sugar, celebrated all over malabar for its excellence. the progeny of the family now count in all about ninety members, who live in eight or nine different houses." pillai.--pillai, meaning child, is in the tamil country primarily the title of vellalas, but has, at recent times of census, been returned as the title of a number of classes, which include agamudaiyan, ambalakaran, golla, idaiyan, nayar, nokkan, panisavan, panikkan, paraiyan, saiyakkaran, sembadavan and senaikkudaiyans. pilla is further used as the title of the male offspring of deva-dasis. many paraiyan butlers of europeans have assumed the title pillai as an honorific suffix to their name. so, too, have some criminal koravas, who pose as vellalas. pillaikuttam.--recorded, in the manual of the north arcot district, as a bastard branch of vaniyan. pillaiyarpatti (ganesa village).--an exogamous section or kovil of nattukottai chetti. pilli (cat).--an exogamous sept of chembadi, mala, and medara. pindari.--in the madras census report, 1901, fifty-nine pindaris are returned as a bombay caste of personal servants. they are more numerous in the mysore province, where more than two thousand were returned in the same year as being engaged in agriculture and government service. the pindaris were formerly celebrated as a notorious class of freebooters, who, in the seventeenth century, attached themselves to the marathas in their revolt against aurangzib, and for a long time afterwards, committed raids in all directions, extending their operations to southern india. it is on record that "in a raid made upon the coast extending from masulipatam northward, the pindaris in ten days plundered 339 villages, burning many, killing and wounding 682 persons, torturing 3,600, and carrying off or destroying property to the amount of £250,000." [100] they were finally suppressed, in central india, during the viceroyalty of the marquis of hastings, in 1817. pindi (flour).--an exogamous sept of mala. pinjari (cotton-cleaner).--a synonym for dudekula. pinjala (cotton) occurs as an exogamous sept of devanga. pippala (pepper: piper longum).--an exogamous sept or gotra of gamalla and komati. pisharati.--the pisharatis or pisharodis are summed up in the madras census report, 1901, as being a sub-caste of ambalavasis, which makes flower garlands, and does menial service in the temples. as regards their origin, the legend runs to the effect that a swamiyar, or brahman ascetic, once had a disciple of the same caste, who wished to become a sanyasi or anchorite. all the ceremonies prior to shaving the head of the novice were completed, when, alarmed at the prospect of a cheerless life and the severe austerities incidental thereto, he made himself scarce. pishara denotes a sanyasi's pupil, and as he, after running away, was called pisharodi, the children born to him of a parasava woman by a subsequent marriage were called pisharatis. in his 'early sovereigns of travancore,' mr. sundaram pillay says that the pisharati's "puzzling position among the malabar castes, half monk and half layman, is far from being accounted for by the silly and fanciful modern derivation of pisharakal plus odi, pisharakal being more mysterious than pisharati itself." it is suggested by him that pisharati is a corruption of bhattaraka-tiruvadi. according to the jati-nirnaya, the bhattarakas are a community degraded from the brahmans during the treta yuga. as far as we are able to gather from mediæval travancore inscriptions, an officer known as pidara-tiruvadi was attached to every temple. it is known that he used to receive large perquisites for temple service, and that extensive rice-lands were given to the bhattakara of nelliyur. it is noted, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "the traditional etymology of the name pisharodi refers it to a sanyasi novice, who, deterred by the prospects of the hardship of life on which he was about to enter, ran away (odi) at the last moment, after he had been divested of the punul (thread), but before he had performed the final ceremony of plunging thrice in a tank (pond), and of plucking out, one at each plunge, the last three hairs of his kudumi (the rest of which had been shaved off). but the termination 'odi' is found in other caste titles such as adiyodi and vallodi, and the definition is obviously fanciful, while it does not explain the meaning of pishar." the houses of pisharatis are called pisharam. their primary occupation is to prepare garlands of flowers for vaishnava temples, but they frequently undertake the talikazhakam or sweeping service in temples. being learned men, and good sanskrit scholars, they are employed as sanskrit and malayalam tutors in the families of those of high rank, and, in consequence, make free use of the title asan. they are strict vaishnavites, and the ashtakshara, or eight letters relating to vishnu, as opposed to the panchakshara or five letters relating to siva, forms their daily hymn of prayer. they act as their own caste priests, but for the punyaha or purificatory ceremony and the initiation into the ashtakshara, which are necessary on special occasions, the services of brahmans are engaged. the pisharatis celebrate the tali-kettu ceremony before the girl reaches puberty. the most important item therein is the joining of the hands of the bride and bridegroom. the planting of a jasmine shoot is observed as an indispensable preliminary rite. the events between this and the joining of hands are the same as with other ambalavasis. the bride and bridegroom bathe, and wear clothes touched by each other. the girl's mother then gives her a wedding garland and a mirror, with which she sits, her face covered with a cloth. the cherutali, or marriage ornament, is tied by the bridegroom round the girl's neck. if this husband dies, the tali has to be removed, and the widow observes pollution. her sons have to make oblations of cooked rice, and, for all social and religious purposes, the woman is regarded as a widow, though she is not debarred from contracting a sambandham (alliance) with a man of her own caste, or a brahman. if the wife dies, the husband has, in like manner, to observe pollution, and make oblations of cooked rice. there are cases in which the tali-kettu is performed by a pisharati, and sambandham contracted with a brahman. if the tali-tier becomes the husband, no separate cloth-giving ceremony need be gone through by him after the girl has reached puberty. inheritance is in the female line, so much so that a wife and children are not entitled to compensation for the performance of a man's funeral rites. no particular month is fixed for the name-giving rite, as it suffices if this is performed before the annaprasana ceremony. the maternal uncle first names the child. when it is four or six months old, it is taken out to see the sun. on the occasion of the annaprasana, which usually takes place in the sixth month, the maternal uncle gives the first mouthful of cooked rice to the child by means of a golden ring. the yatrakali serves as the night's entertainment for the assembled guests. nambutiris are invited to perform the purificatory ceremony known as punyaha, but the consecrated water is only sprinkled over the roof of the house. the inmates thereof protrude their heads beneath the eaves so as to get purified, as the brahmans do not pour the water over them. the chaula or tonsure takes place at the third year of a child's life. the maternal uncle first touches the boy's head with a razor, and afterwards the maran and barber do the same. the initiation into the ashtakshara takes place at the age of sixteen. on an auspicious day, a brahman brings a pot of water, consecrated in a temple, to the pisharam, and pours its contents on the head of the lad who is to be initiated. the ceremony is called kalasam-ozhuk-kua, or letting a pot of water flow. after the teaching of the ashtakshara, the youth, dressed in religious garb, makes a ceremonial pretence of proceeding on a pilgrimage to benares, as a brahman does at the termination of the brahmacharya stage of life. it is only after this that a pisharati is allowed to chew betel leaf, and perform other acts, which constitute the privileges of a grihastha. the funeral rites of the pisharatis are very peculiar. the corpse is seated on the ground, and a nephew recites the ashtakshara, and prostrates himself before it. the body is bathed, and dressed. a grave, nine feet deep and three feet square, is dug in a corner of the grounds, and salt and ashes, representing all the panchabhutas, are spread. the corpse is placed in the grave in a sitting posture. as in the case of a sanyasi, who is a jivanmukta, or one liberated from the bondage of the flesh though alive in body, so a dead pisharati is believed to have no suitable body requiring to be entertained with any post-mortem offerings. a few memorial rites are, however, performed. on the eleventh day, a ceremony corresponding to the ekoddishta sradh of the brahman is carried out. a knotted piece of kusa grass, representing the soul of the deceased, is taken to a neighbouring temple, where a lighted lamp, symbolical of maha vishnu is worshipped, and prayers are offered. this ceremony is repeated at the end of the first year. [101] some pisharatis are large land-owners of considerable wealth and influence. [102] pisu perike.--perikes who weave gunny-bags. pitakalu (dais, on which a priest sits).--an exogamous sept of odde. pittalavadu.--a telugu name for kuruvikkarans. podapotula.--a class of mendicants, who beg from gollas. podara vannan.--the podara, podarayan or pothora vannans are washermen of inferior social status, who wash clothes for pallans, paraiyans, and other low classes. podhano.--recorded, at times of census, as a title of bolasi, gaudo, kalingi, kudumo, and samantiya. the samantiyas also frequently give it as the name of their caste. poduval.--defined by mr. wigram [103] as one of the ambalavasi castes, the members of which are as a rule employed as temple watchmen. writing concerning the mussads or muttatus, mr. n. subramani aiyar states that they are known as muttatus or mussatus in travancore and cochin, and potuvals (or poduvals) or akapotuvals in north malabar. potuval means a common person, i.e., the representative of a committee, and a muttatu's right to this name accrues from the fact that, in the absence of the nambutiri managers of a temple, he becomes their agent, and is invested with authority to exercise all their functions. the work of an akapotuval always lies within the inner wall of the shrine, while that of the purappotuval, or potuval proper, lies outside. from travancore, poduvan or potuvan is recorded as a synonym or sub-division of marans, who are employed at funerals by various castes. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "pura pothuvals are of two classes, chenda pothuvals or drum pothuvals, and mala pothuvals or garland pothuvals, the names of course referring to the nature of the service which they have to render in the temple. the chenda pothuvals would appear to be closely connected with the marars or marayars, who are also drummers. mala pothuvals follow marumakkattayam (inheritance in the female line), their women having sambandham (alliance) with men of their own caste or with brahmans, while the men can have sambandham in their own caste, or with nayar women of any of the sub-divisions below kiriyattil. their women are called pothuvarassiar or pothuvattimar." it is further recorded [104] that, in some cases, for instance among mala pothuvals and marars in south malabar, a fictitious consummation is an incident of the tali-kettu ; the girl and manavalan (bridegroom) being made to lie on a bed together, and left there alone for a few moments. amongst the mala pothuvals this is done twice, once on the first and once on the last day, and they apparently also spend the three nights of the ceremony in the same bed-chamber, but not alone, an enangatti sleeping there as chaperone. in these two castes, as in most if not all others, the ceremony also entails the pollution of the girl and her bridegroom. amongst the marars, they are purified by a nambudiri after they leave their quasi-nuptial couch. amongst the mala pothuvals, they are not allowed to bathe or to touch others during the wedding till the fourth day, when they are given mattu (change of cloths) by the veluttedan." podala occurs as a canarese form of poduval. pogandan.--a synonym of pondan. pokanati.--pokanati or pakanati is a sub-division of kapu. poladava.--a synonym of gatti. poligar (feudal chief).--a synonym of palayakkaran. according to yule and burnell, [105] the poligars "were properly subordinate feudal chiefs, occupying tracts more or less wild, and generally of predatory habits in former days. they are now much the same as zemindars (land-owners) in the highest use of that term. the southern poligars gave much trouble about a hundred years ago, and the 'poligar wars' were somewhat serious affairs. in various assaults on panjalamkurichi, one of their forts in tinnevelly, between 1799 and 1801, there fell fifteen british officers." the name poligar was further used for the predatory classes, which served under the chiefs. thus, in munro's 'narrative of military operations' (1780-84), it is stated that "the matchlock men are generally accompanied by poligars, a set of fellows that are almost savages, and make use of no other weapon than a pointed bamboo spear, 18 or 20 feet long." the name poligar is given to a south indian breed of greyhound-like dogs in the tinnevelly district. pombada.--a small class of canarese devil-dancers, who are said, [106] in south canara, to resemble the nalkes, but hold a somewhat higher position, and in devil-dances to represent a better class of demons. unlike the nalkes and paravas, they follow the aliya santana system of inheritance. they speak tulu, and, in their customs, follow those of the billavas. there are two sections among the pombadas, viz., bailu, who are mainly cultivators, and padarti, who are chiefly engaged in devil-dancing. the pombadas are not, like the nalkes and paravas, a polluting class, and are socially a little inferior to the billavas. they do not wear the disguises of the bhuthas (devils) nicha, varte, and kamberlu, who are considered low, but wear those of jumadi, panjurli, jarandaya, mahisandeya, and kodamanithaya. ullaya or dharmadevata is regarded as a superior bhutha, and the special bhutha of the pombadas, who do not allow nalkes or paravas to assume his disguise. during the jumadi kola (festival), the pombada who represents the bhutha jumadi is seated on a cart, and dragged in procession through the streets. (see nalke.) pon chetti (gold merchant).--a synonym of malayalam kammalan goldsmiths. pon (gold) illam.--a section of mukkuvans. pondan.--"there are," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [107] "only twenty-eight persons of this caste in malabar, and they are all in calicut. these are the palanquin-bearers of the zamorin. they are in dress, manners, customs, and language entirely tamilians, and, while the zamorin is polluted by the touch of any ordinary tamilian, these pondans enjoy the privilege of bearing him in a palanquin to and from the temple every day. now there is a sub-division of the tamil idaiyans by name pogondan, and i understand that these pogondans are the palanquin-bearers of the idaiyan caste. it seems probable that the founder, or some early member of the zamorin, obtained palanquin-bearers of his own (cowherd) caste and granted them privileges which no other tamilians now enjoy." pondra.--pondra, or ponara, is a sub-division of mali. ponganadu.--ponganadu and ponguvan have been recorded, at times of census, as a sub-division of kapu. a corrupt form of pakanati. ponnambalaththar.--a class of mendicants, who have attached themselves to the kaikolans. ponnara.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. poruvannurkaran.--a class of carpenters in malabar. poroja.--the porojas or parjas are hill cultivators found in the agency tracts of ganjam and vizagapatam. concerning them, it is noted, in the madras census report, 1871, that "there are held to be seven classes of these parjas, which differ from each other in points of language, customs, and traditions. the term parja is, as mr. carmichael has pointed out, merely a corruption of a sanskrit term signifying a subject, and it is understood as such by the people themselves, who use it in contradistinction to a free hill-man. 'formerly,' says a tradition that runs through the whole tribe, 'rajas and parjas were brothers, but the rajas took to riding horses (or, as the barenja parjas put it, sitting still) and we became carriers of burdens and parjas.' it is quite certain, in fact, that the term parja is not a tribal denomination, but a class denomination, and it may be fitly rendered by the familiar epithet of ryot (cultivator). i have laid stress on this, because all native officials, and every one that has written about the country (with the above exception), always talk of the term parja as if it signified a caste. there is no doubt, however, that by far the greater number of these parjas are akin to the khonds of the ganjam maliahs. they are thrifty, hard-working cultivators, undisturbed by the intestine broils which their cousins in the north engage in, and they bear in their breasts an inalienable reverence for their soil, the value of which they are rapidly becoming acquainted with. the parja bhumi (land) is contained almost entirely in the upper level. parts to the south held under pachipenta and madugulu (madgole) are not parja bhumi, nor, indeed, are some villages to the north in the possession of the khonds. their ancient rights to these lands are acknowledged by colonists from among the aryans, and, when a dispute arises concerning the boundaries of a field possessed by recent arrivals, a parja is usually called in to point out the ancient land-marks." the name poroja seems to be derived from the oriya, po, son, and raja, i.e., sons of rajas. there is a tradition that, at the time when the rajas of jeypore rose into prominence at nandapur, the country was occupied by a number of tribes, who, in return for the protection promised to them, surrendered their rights to the soil, which they had hitherto occupied absolutely. i am informed that the porojas, when asked what their caste is, use ryot and poroja as synonymous, saying we are porojas; we are ryot people. the parji language is stated by mr. g. a. grierson [108] to have "hitherto been considered as identical with bhatri. bhatri has now become a form of oriya. parji, on the other hand, is still a dialect of gondi." the bhatras are a tribe inhabiting the state of bastar in the central provinces. the porojas are not a compact caste, but rather a conglomerate, made up of several endogamous sections, and speaking a language, which varies according to locality. these sections, according to mr. c. hayavadana rao, to whom i am indebted for much of the present note, are-(1) barang jhodia, who eat beef and speak oriya. (2) pengu poroja, subdivided into those who eat the flesh of the buffalo, and those who do not. they speak a language, which is said to bear a close resemblance to kondhs. (3) khondi or kondi poroja, who are a section of the kondhs, eat beef and the flesh of buffaloes, and speak kodu or kondh. (4) parengi poroja, who are a section of the gadabas. they are subdivided into those who eat and do not eat the flesh of buffaloes, and speak a gadaba dialect. (5) bonda, bunda, or nanga poroja, who are likewise a section of the gadabas, call themselves bonda gadaba, and speak a dialect of gadaba. (6) tagara poroja, who are a section of the koyas or koyis, and speak koya, or, in some places, telugu. (7) dur poroja, also, it is said, known as didayi poroja, who speak oriya. among the barang jhodias, the gidda (vulture), bagh (tiger), and nag (cobra) are regarded as totems. among the pengu, kondhi and dur divisions, the two last are apparently regarded as such, and, in addition to them, the bonda porojas have mandi (cow). in the barang jhodia, pengu, and kondhi divisions, it is customary for a man to marry his paternal aunt's daughter, but he cannot claim her as a matter of right, for the principle of free love is recognised among them. the dhangada and dhangadi basa system, according to which bachelors and unmarried girls sleep in separate quarters in a village, is in force among the porojas. when a marriage is contemplated among the barang jhodias, the parents of the young man carry two pots of liquor and some rice to the parents of the girl, who accept the present, if they are favourable to the match. if it is accepted, the future bridegroom's party renew the proposal a year later by bringing five kunchams of rice, a new female cloth, seven uddas of liquor, and a sum of money ranging from fifteen to fifty rupees. on the following evening, the bride, accompanied by her relations, goes to the village of the bridegroom. outside his house two poles have been set up, and joined together at the top by a string, from which a gourd (cucurbita maxima) is suspended. as soon as the contracting couple come before the house, a tall man cuts the gourd with his tangi (axe) and it falls to the ground. the pair then enter the house, and the bride is presented with a new cloth by the parents of the bridegroom. opposite the bridegroom's house is a square fence, forming an enclosure, from which the bride's party watch the proceedings. they are joined by the bride and bridegroom, and the parents of the latter distribute ragi (eleusine corocana) liquor and ippa (bassia) liquor. a dance, in which both males and females take part, is kept up till the small hours, and, on the following day, a feast is held. about midday, the bride is formally handed over to the bridegroom, in the presence of the janni and mudili (caste elders). she remains a week at her new home, and then, even though she has reached puberty, returns to her father's house, where she remains for a year, before finally joining her husband. in another form of marriage among the barang jhodias, the bride is brought to the house of the bridegroom, in front of which a pandal (booth), made of six poles, is set up. the central pole is cut from the neredi chettu (eugenia jambolana). at the auspicious moment, which is fixed by the disari, the maternal uncle of the bridegroom sits with the bridegroom on his lap, and the bride at his feet. castor-oil is then applied by the bridegroom's father, first to the bridegroom, and then to the bride. a feast follows, at which fowls and liquor are consumed. on the following day, the newly-married couple bathe, and the ceremonies are at an end. i am informed by mr. h. c. daniel that there is a custom among the porojas, and other classes in vizagapatam (e.g., gadabas, ghasis, and malis), according to which a man gives his services as a goti for a specified time to another, in return for a small original loan. his master has to keep him supplied with food, and to pay him about two rupees at the dussera festival, as well as making him a present of a cloth and a pair of sandals. the servant must do whatever he is told, and is practically a slave until the specified time is over. a man may give his son as a goti, instead of himself. it is also fairly common to find a man serving his prospective father-in-law for a specified time, in order to secure his daughter. men from the plains, usually of the komati caste, who have come to the hills for the purpose of trade, go by the local name of sundi. they are the chief upholders of the goti system, by which they get labour cheap. mr. daniel has never heard of a goti refusing to do his work, the contract being by both sides considered quite inviolable. but a case was recently tried in a munsiff's court, in which a goti absconded from his original master, and took service with another, thereby securing a fresh loan. the original master sued him for the balance of labour due. the language of the bonda porojas, as already indicated, connects them closely with the gadabas, but any such connection is stoutly denied by them. the names bonda and nanga mean naked, and bear reference to the fact that the only clothing of the women is a strip of cloth made from setukudi or ankudi chettu, or kareng fibre. in a note on the bhondas of jaipur, mr. j. a. may informs us [109] that the female attire "consists of just a piece of cloth, either made of kerong bark and manufactured by themselves, or purchased from the weavers, about a foot square, and only sufficient to cover a part of one hip. it is attached to their waists by a string, on which it runs, and can be shifted round to any side. a most ludicrous sight has often been presented to me by a stampede among a number of these women, when i have happened to enter a village unexpectedly. on my approach, one and all hurried to their respective dwellings, and, as they ran in all directions, endeavoured to shift this rag round to the part most likely to be exposed to me." the bonda women have glass bead and brass ornaments hung round their necks, and covering their bosoms. the legend, which accounts for the scanty clothing of the bondas, runs to the effect that, when sita, the wife of rama, was bathing in a river, she was seen by women of this tribe, who laughed at and mocked her. thereon, she cursed them, and ordained that, in future, all the women should shave their heads, and wear no clothing except a small covering for decency's sake. there is a further tradition that, if the bonda women were to abandon their primitive costume, the whole tribe would be destroyed by tigers. the shaving of the women's heads is carried out, with a knife lent by the village komaro (blacksmith), by a member of the tribe. round the head, the women wear a piece of bamboo tied behind with strings. in one form of marriage, as carried out by the bondas, a young man, with some of his friends, goes to the sleeping apartment of the maidens, where each of them selects a maid for himself. the young men and maidens then indulge in a singing contest, in which impromptu allusions to physical attributes, and bantering and repartee take place. if a girl decides to accept a young man as her suitor, he takes a burning stick from the night fire, and touches her breast with it. he then withdraws, and sends one of his friends to the girl with a brass bangle, which, after some questioning as to who sent it, she accepts. some months later, the man's parents go to the girl's home, and ask for her hand on behalf of their son. a feast follows, and the girl, with a couple of girls of about her own age, goes with the man's parents to their home. they send five kunchams of rice to the parents of the girl, and present the two girls with a similar quantity. the three girls then return to their homes. again several months elapse, and then the man's parents go to fetch the bride, and a feast and dance take place. the pair are then man and wife. in another account of the marriage customs of the nanga porojas, it is stated that pits are dug in the ground, in which, during the cold season, the children are put at night, to keep them warm. the pit is about nine feet in diameter. in the spring, all the marriageable girls of a settlement are put into one pit, and a young man, who has really selected his bride with the consent of his parents, comes and proposes to her. if she refuses him, he tries one after another till he is accepted. on one occasion, a leopard jumped into the pit, and killed some of the maidens. in a note on bhonda marriage, mr. may writes [110] that "a number of youths, candidates for matrimony, start off to a village, where they hope to find a corresponding number of young women, and make known their wishes to the elders, who receive them with all due ceremony. the juice of the salop (sago palm) in a fermented state is in great requisition, as nothing can be done without the exhilarating effects of their favourite beverage. they then proceed to excavate an underground chamber (if one is not already prepared), having an aperture at the top, admitting of the entrance of one at a time. into this the young gentlemen, with a corresponding number of young girls, are introduced, when they grope about and make their selection, after which they ascend out of it, each holding the young lady of his choice by the forefinger of one of her hands. bracelets (the equivalent of the wedding ring) are now put on her arms by the elders, and two of the young men stand as sponsors for each bridegroom. the couples are then led to their respective parents, who approve and give their consent. after another application of salop and sundry greetings, the bridegroom is permitted to take his bride home, where she lives with him for a week, and then, returning to her parents, is not allowed to see her husband for a period of one year, at the expiration of which she is finally made over to him." in a still further account of marriage among the bondas, i am informed that a young man and a maid retire to the jungle, and light a fire. then the maid, taking a burning stick, applies it to the man's gluteal region. if he cries out am! am! am! he is unworthy of her, and she remains a maid. if he does not, the marriage is at once consummated. the application of the brand is probably light or severe according to the girl's feelings towards the young man. according to another version, the girl goes off to the jungle with several men, and the scene has been described as being like a figure in the cotillion, as they come up to be switched with the brand. widow remarriage is permitted among all the divisions of the porojas, and a younger brother usually marries his elder brother's widow. the jhodia, pengu, and kondhi divisions worship bhumi devata (the earth goddess), who is also known as jakar devata, once in three years. each village offers a cow, goat, pig, and pigeon to her as a sacrifice. she is represented by a stone under a tree outside the village. a casteman acts as pujari (priest), and all the villagers, including the janni and mudili, are present at the festival, which winds up with a feast and drink. the bondas worship takurani in the months of chaitra and magho, and the festival includes the sacrifice of animals. "their religious ceremonies," mr. may writes, "consist in offerings to some nameless deity, or to the memory of deceased relations. at each of the principal villages, the bhondas congregate once a year in some spot conveniently situated for their orgies, when a chicken, a few eggs, and a pig or goat are offered, after which they retire to their houses, and next day assemble again, when the salop juice is freely imbibed till the intoxicating effects have thoroughly roused their pugnacity. the process of cudgelling one another with the branches of the salop now begins, and they apply them indiscriminately without the smallest regard for each other's feelings. this, with the attendant drums and shrieks, would give one the impression of a host of maniacs suddenly set at liberty. this amusement is continued till bruises, contusions, and bleeding heads and backs have reduced them to a comparatively sober state, and, i imagine, old scores are paid off, when they return to their several houses." the dead are, as a rule, burnt. by some of the jhodia porojas, the ashes are subsequently buried in a pit a few feet deep, near the burning-ground, and the grave is marked by a heap of stones. a pole is set up in this heap, and water poured on it for twelve days. on the fourth day, cooked rice and fish are set on the way leading to the spot where the corpse was burned. the celebrants of the death rite then take mango bark, paint it with cow-dung, and sprinkle themselves with it. the ceremony concludes with a bath, feast, and drink. among the bonda porojas, some of the jewelry of the deceased person is burnt with the corpse, and the remainder given to the daughter or daughter-in-law. they observe pollution for three days, during which they do not enter their fields. on the fourth day, they anoint themselves with castor-oil and turmeric, and bathe. mr. g. f. paddison informs me that he once gave medicine to the porojas during an epidemic of cholera in a village. they all took it eagerly, but, as he was going away, asked whether it would not be quicker cure to put the witch in the next village, who had brought on the cholera, into jail. a bonda poroja dance is said to be very humourous. the young men tie a string of bells round their legs, and do the active part of the dance. the women stand in a cluster, with faces to the middle, clap their hands, and scream at intervals, while the men hop and stamp, and whirl round them on their own axes. the following account of a dance by the jhodia poroja girls of the koraput and nandapuram country is given by mr. w. francis. [111] "picturesque in the extreme," he writes, "is a dancing party of these cheery maidens, dressed all exactly alike in clean white cloths with cerise borders or checks, reaching barely half way to the knee; great rings on their fingers; brass bells on their toes; their substantial but shapely arms and legs tattooed from wrist to shoulder, and from ankle to knee; their left forearms hidden under a score of heavy brass bangles; and their feet loaded with chased brass anklets weighing perhaps a dozen pounds. the orchestra, which consists solely of drums of assorted shapes and sizes, dashes into an overture, and the girls quickly group themselves into a couple of corps de ballet, each under the leadership of a première danseuse, who marks the time with a long baton of peacock's feathers. suddenly, the drums drop to a muffled beat, and each group strings out into a long line, headed by the leader with the feathers, each maiden passing her right hand behind the next girl's back, and grasping the left elbow of the next but one. thus linked, and in time with the drums (which now break into allegro crescendo), the long chain of girls--dancing in perfect step, following the leader with her swaying baton, marking the time by clinking their anklets (right, left, right, clink; left, clink; right, left, right, clink; and so da capo), chanting the while (quite tunefully) in unison a refrain in a minor key ending on a sustained falling note--weave themselves into sinuous lines, curves, spirals, figures-of-eight, and back into lines again; wind in and out like some brightly-coloured snake; never halting for a moment, now backwards, now forwards, first slowly and decorously, then, as the drums quicken, faster and faster, with more and more abandon, and longer and longer steps, until suddenly some one gets out of step, and the chain snaps amid peals of breathless laughter." for the following supplementary note on the bonda porojas, i am indebted to mr. c. a. henderson. these people live in the western portion of malkanagiri taluk, along the edge of the hills, probably penetrating some distance into them. the elder men are not in any way distinguishable from their neighbours. young unmarried men, however, tie a strip of palmyra leaf round their heads in the same way as the women of their own tribe, or of the gadabas. the women are very distinctly dressed. they all shave their heads once a month or so, and fasten a little fillet, made of beads or plaited grass, round them. the neck and chest are covered with a mass of ornaments, by which the breasts are almost concealed. these consist, for the most part, of bead necklaces, but they have also one or more very heavy brass necklaces of various designs, some being merely collections of rings on a connecting circlet, some massive hinged devices tied together at the end with string. they wear also small ear-studs of lead. apart from these ornaments, they are naked to the waist. round the loins, a small thick cloth is worn. this is woven from the fibre of the ringa (oriya sitkodai gotsho). this cloth measures about two feet by eight inches, and is of thick texture like gunny, and variously coloured. owing to its exiguity, its wearers are compelled, for decency's sake, to sit on their heels with their knees together, instead of squatting in the ordinary native posture. this little cloth is supported round the waist by a thread, or light chain of tin and beads, but not totally confined thereby. the upper edge of the cloth behind is free from the chain, and bulges out, exposing the upper portion of the buttocks, the thread or chain lying in the small of the back. it is noted by mr. sandell that "the cloth at present used is of comparatively recent introduction, and seems to be a slight infringement of the tabu. the original cloth and supporting string were undoubtedly made of jungle fibre, and the modern colouring is brought about with cotton thread. similarly, the bonda poroja necklaces of cheap beads, blue and white, must be modern, and most obviously so the fragments of tin that they work into their chains. the women are said to wear cloths in their houses, but to leave them off when they go outside. it seems that the tabu is directed against appearing in public fully clothed, and not against wearing decent sized cloths, as such. the party i saw were mostly unmarried girls, but one of them had been married for a year. when not posing for the camera, or dancing, she tied a small piece of cloth round her neck, so as to hang over the shoulders. this, as far as i could make out, was not because she was married, but simply because she was more shy than the rest. "two houses are kept in the village, for the unmarried girls and young men respectively. apparently marriages are matters of inclination, the parents having no say in the matter. the young couple having contracted friendship (by word of mouth, and not by deed, as it was explained to me), inform their parents of it. the young man goes to make his demand of the girl's parents, apparently without at the time making any presents to them, contrary to the custom of the kondhs and others. then there seem to be a series of promises on the part of the parents to give the girl. but the witnesses were rather confused on the point. i gather that the sort of final betrothal takes place in dyali (the month after dusserah), and the marriage in magha. at the time of marriage, the girl's parents are presented with a pair of bulls, a cloth, and a pot of landa (sago-palm toddy). but no return is made for them. the father gives the girl some ornaments. the married woman, whom i saw, had been given a bracelet by her husband, but it was not a conspicuously valuable one, and in no way indicative of her status." in connection with marriage, mr. sandell adds that "a youth of one village does not marry a maiden of the same village, as they are regarded as brother and sister. the marriage pit is still in use, and may last all through the cold weather. a number of small villages will club together, and have one big pit." in the case observed by mr. sandell, three of the local maidens were shut up in the pit at night, and five stranger youths admitted. the pit may be twelve feet across, and is covered with tatties (mats) and earth, a trap-door being left. "after childbirth, the mother is unclean for some days. the time is, i gather, reckoned by the dropping of the navel-string, and is given as eight to sixteen days. during that period, the woman is not allowed to cook, or even touch her meals. "these people say that they have no puja (worship). but at the time of sowing seed, they sacrifice one egg (for the whole village) to matera hundi, the goddess of harvest, who is represented by a branch of the kusi or jamo (guava) tree planted in the village. the people have no pujaris, and, in this case, the priest was a mattia by caste. he plants the branch, and performs the sacrifice. at the time of nua khau (new eating; first fruits) a sacrifice of an animal of some kind is also made to matera hundi. her aid is, they say, sought against the perils of the jungle, but primarily she is wanted to give them a good crop. the bonda porojas are quite ready to tell the old story of sita (whom they call maha lakshmi), and her curse upon their women, whereby they shave their heads, and may not wear cloths. it is stated by mr. may that a government agent once insisted on a young woman being properly clothed, and she survived the change only three days. i understand that this case has been somewhat misrepresented. the cloth is believed not to have been forced upon the girl, but offered to, and greatly appreciated by her. her death shortly afterwards was apparently not the result of violation of the tabu, but accidental, and due, it is believed, to small-pox. the people whom i saw had not heard of this episode, but said that a woman who wore a cloth out of doors would fall sick, not die. but the possibility of any woman of theirs wearing a cloth obviously seemed to them very remote. the bonda porojas have a sort of belief in ghosts--not altogether devils apparently, but the spirits of the departed (sayire). these may appear in dreams, influence life and health, and vaguely exercise a helpful influence over the crops. i did not find out if they were propitiated in any way. "a dead body is washed, tied to a tatty (mat) hurdle, taken outside the village, and burnt. after eight days (said to be four in the case of rich men), the corpse-bearers, and the family, sit down to a funeral feast, at which drinking is not allowed. a pig, fowl, or goat, according to the circumstances of the family, forms the meal. this is done in some way for the sake of the departed, but how is not quite clear. "the bonda porojas live by cultivation, keep cattle, pigs, etc., and eat beef, and even the domestic pig. they pride themselves, as against their hindu neighbours, in that their women eat with the men, and not of their leavings, and do not leave their village. the women, however, go to shandies (markets)." pothoria.--pothoria or pothriya, meaning stone, is the name of a small class of oriya stone-cutters in ganjam, who are addicted to snaring antelopes by means of tame bucks, which they keep for the purpose of decoying the wild ones. they employ brahmans as purohits. marriage is infant, and remarriage of widows is permitted. the females wear glass bangles. pothu.--pothu or pothula, meaning male, occurs as an exogamous sept of devanga, medara, and padma sale; and pothula, in the sense of a male buffalo, as a sept of madiga. potia.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as oriya mat-makers. they are said to be immigrants from potia in orissa, who call themselves doluvas. the doluvas, however, do not recognise them, and neither eat nor intermarry with them. potta (abdomen).--an exogamous sept of boya. potti (tamil, worshipful).--stated, in the travancore census report, 1901, to be the name applied to all kerala brahmans, who do not come under the specific designation of nambutiris. pouzu (quail).--an exogamous sept of devanga. powaku (tobacco).--an exogamous sept of mala. poyilethannaya (one who removes the evil eye).--an exogamous sept of bant. pradhano (chief).--a title of aruva, benaiyto, odia, kalingi, kevuto, and samantiya. pranopakari (one who helps souls).--a name for barbers in travancore. in the early settlement records, pranu occurs as a corruption thereof. prathamasakha.--it is recorded, [112] in connection with the village of koiltirumalam or tiru-ambamahalam, that "a new temple has been recently built, and richly endowed by nattukottai chettis. there is, however, an old story connected with the place, which is enacted at the largely attended festival here, and in many popular dramas. this relates that the god of the tiruvalur temple was entreated by a pujari (priest) of this place to be present in the village at a sacrifice in his (the god's) honour. the deity consented at length, but gave warning that he would come in a very unwelcome shape. he appeared as a paraiyan with beef on his back and followed by the four vedas in the form of dogs, and took his part in the sacrifice thus accoutred and attended. all the brahmans who were present ran away, and the god was so incensed that he condemned them to be paraiyans for one hour in the day, from noon till 1 p.m. ever afterwards. there is a class of brahmans called midday brahmans, who are found in several districts, and a colony of whom reside at sedanipuram, five miles west of nannilam. it is believed throughout the tanjore district that the midday paraiyans are the descendants of the brahmans thus cursed by the god. they are supposed to expiate their defilement by staying outside their houses for an hour and a half every day at midday, and to bathe afterwards; and, if they do this, they are much respected. few of them, however, observe this rule, and orthodox persons will not eat with them, because of this omission to remove the defilement. they call themselves the prathamasakha." prithvi (earth).--an exogamous sept of devanga. puchcha.--puccha or puchcha kaya (fruit of citrullus colocynthis) is the name of a gotra or sept of boyas, komatis, and viramushtis, who are a class of mendicants attached to the komatis. the same name, or picchi kaya, denoting the water-melon citrullus vulgaris, occurs as a sept or house-name of panta reddis and seniyans (devangas), the members of which may not eat the fruit. the name desimarada has been recently substituted by the seniyans for picchi kaya. pudamuri (pudaya, a woman's cloth; muri, cuttings).--defined by mr. wigram as a so-called 'marriage' ceremony performed among the nayars in north malabar. (see nayar.) pudu nattan (new country).--a sub-division of idaiyan. pu islam.--see putiya islam. pujari.--pujari is an occupational title, meaning priest, or performer of puja (worship). it is described by mr. h. a. stuart [113] as "a name applied to a class of priests, who mostly preside in the temples of the female deities--the grama devatas or ur ammas--and not in those of vishnu or siva. they do not wear the sacred thread, except on solemn occasions." pujari has been recorded as a title of billavas as they officiate as priests at bhutasthanas (devil shrines), and of halepaiks, and pujali as a title of some irulas. some families of kusavans (potters), who manufacture clay idols, are also known as pujari. puja occurs as a sub-division of the gollas. some criminal koravas travel in the guise of pujaris, and style themselves korava pujaris. pula.--a sub-division of cheruman. pula (flowers).--an exogamous sept of boya, padma sale and yerukala. pulan.--barbers of tamil origin, who have settled in travancore. pulavar.--a title of occhan and panisavan. pulayan.--see cheruman and thanda pulayan. puli (tiger).--recorded as an exogamous sept or gotra of balija, golla, kamma, and medara. the equivalent puliattanaya occurs as an exogamous sept of bant. puliakodan.--a class of carpenters in malabar, whose traditional occupation is to construct oil mills. puliasari.--a division of malabar kammalans, the members of which do mason's work (puli, earth). paravas who are engaged in a similar calling are, in like manner, called puli kollan. pulikkal.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. puliyan.--a sub-division of nayar. puliyattu.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as synonymous with pulikkappanikkan, a sub-division of nayar. pullakura (pot-herbs).--an exogamous sept of idiga. pulluvan.--the pulluvans of malabar are astrologers, medicine-men, priests and singers in snake groves. the name is fancifully derived from pullu, a hawk, because the pulluvan is clever in curing the disorders which pregnant women and babies suffer from through the evil influence of these birds. the pulluvans are sometimes called vaidyans (physicians). as regards the origin of the caste, the following tradition is narrated. [114] agni, the fire god, had made several desperate but vain efforts to destroy the great primeval forest of gandava. the eight serpents which had their home in the forest were the chosen friends of indra, who sent down a deluge, and destroyed, every time, the fire which agni kindled in order to burn down the forest. eventually agni resorted to a stratagem, and, appearing before arjunan in the guise of a brahman, contrived to exact a promise to do him any favour he might desire. agni then sought the help of arjunan in destroying the forest, and the latter created a wonderful bow and arrows, which cut off every drop of rain sent by indra for the preservation of the forest. the birds, beasts, and other creatures which lived therein, fled in terror, but most of them were overtaken by the flames, and were burnt to cinders. several of the serpents also were overtaken and destroyed, but one of them was rescued by the maid-servant of a brahman, who secured the sacred reptile in a pot, which she deposited in a jasmine bower. when the brahman came to hear of this, he had the serpent removed, and turned the maid-servant adrift, expelling at the same time a man-servant, so that the woman might not be alone and friendless. the two exiles prospered under the protection of the serpent, which the woman had rescued from the flames, and became the founders of the pulluvans. according to another story, when the great gandava forest was in conflagration, the snakes therein were destroyed in the flames. a large five-hooded snake, scorched and burnt by the fire, flew away in agony, and alighted at kuttanad, which is said to have been on the site of the modern town of alleppey. two women were at the time on their way to draw water from a well. the snake asked them to pour seven potfuls of water over him, to alleviate his pain, and to turn the pot sideways, so that he could get into it. his request was complied with, and, having entered the pot, he would not leave it. he then desired one of the women to take him home, and place him in a room on the west side of the house. this she refused to do for fear of the snake, and she was advised to cover the mouth of the pot with a cloth. the room, in which the snake was placed, was ordered to be closed for a week. the woman's husband, who did not know what had occurred, tried to open the door, and only succeeded by exerting all his strength. on entering the room, to his surprise he found an ant-hill, and disturbed it. thereon the snake issued forth from it, and bit him. as the result of the bite, the man died, and his widow was left without means of support. the snake consoled her, and devised a plan, by which she could maintain herself. she was to go from house to house, and cry out "give me alms, and be saved from snake poisoning." the inmates would give, and the snakes, which were troubling their houses, would cease from annoying them. for this reason, a pulluvan and his wife, when they go with their pulluva kudam (pot-drum) to a house, are asked to sing, and given money. the pulluvar females, mr. t. k. gopal panikkar writes, [115] "take a pretty large pitcher, and close its opening by means of a small circular piece of thin leather, which is fastened on to the vessel by means of strings strongly tied round its neck. another string is adjusted to the leather cover, which, when played on by means of the fingers, produces a hoarse note, which is said to please the gods' ears, pacify their anger, and lull them to sleep." in the malabar gazetteer, this instrument is thus described. "it consists of an earthenware chatty with its bottom removed, and entirely covered, except the mouth, with leather. the portion of the leather which is stretched over the bottom of the vessel thus forms a sort of drum, to the centre of which a string is attached. the other end of the string is fixed in the cleft of a stick. the performer sits cross-legged, holding the chatty mouth downwards with his right hand, on his right knee. the stick is held firmly under the right foot, resting on the left leg. the performer strums on the string, which is thus stretched tight, with a rude plectrum of horn, or other substance. the vibrations communicated by the string to the tympanum produce a curious sonorous note, the pitch of which can be varied by increasing or relaxing the tension of the string." this musical instrument is carried from house to house in the daytime by these pulluvar females; and, placing the vessel in a particular position on the ground, and sitting in a particular fashion in relation to the vessel, they play on the string, which then produces a very pleasant musical note. then they sing ballads to the accompaniment of these notes. after continuing this for some time, they stop, and, getting their customary dues from the family, go their own way. it is believed that the music, and the ballads, are peculiarly pleasing to the serpent gods, who bless those for whose sakes the music has been rendered." the pulluvans also play on a lute with snakes painted on the reptile skin, which is used in lieu of parchment. the skin, in a specimen at the madras museum, is apparently that of the big lizard varanus bengalensis. the lute is played with a bow, to which a metal bell is attached. the dwelling-houses of the pulluvans are like those of the izhuvans or cherumas. they are generally mud huts, with thatched roof, and a verandah in front. when a girl attains maturity, she is placed apart in a room. on the seventh day, she is anointed by seven young women, who give an offering to the demons, if she is possessed by any. this consists of the bark of a plantain tree made into the form of a triangle, on which small bits of tender cocoanuts and little torches are fixed. this is waved round the girl's head, and floated away on water. as regards marriage, the pulluvans observe both tali-kettu and sambandham. in the vicinity of palghat, members of the caste in the same village intermarry, and have a prejudice against contracting alliances outside it. thus, the pulluvans of palghat do not intermarry with those of mundur and kanghat, which are four and ten miles distant. it is said that, in former days, intercourse between brother and sister was permitted. but, when questioned on this point, the pulluvans absolutely deny it. it is, however, possible that something of the kind was once the case, for, when a man belonging to another caste is suspected of incest, it is said that he is like the pulluvans. should the parents of a married woman have no objection to her being divorced, they give her husband a piece of cloth called murikotukkuka. this signifies that the cloth which he gave is returned, and divorce is effected. the pulluvans follow the makkathayam law of inheritance (from father to son). but they seldom have any property to leave, except their hut and a few earthen pots. they have their caste assemblies (parichas), which adjudicate on adultery, theft, and other offences. they believe firmly in magic and sorcery, and every kind of sickness is attributed to the influence of some demon. abortion, death of a new-born baby, prolonged labour, or the death of the woman, fever, want of milk in the breasts, and other misfortunes, are attributed to malignant influences. when pregnant women, or even children, walk out alone at midday, they are possessed by them, and may fall in convulsions. any slight dereliction, or indifference with regard to the offering of sacrifices, is attended by domestic calamities, and sacrifices of goats and fowls are requisite. more sacrifices are promised, if the demons will help them in the achievement of an object, or in the destruction of an enemy. in some cases the village astrologer is consulted, and he, by means of his calculations, divines the cause of an illness, and suggests that a particular disease or calamity is due to the provocation of the family or other god, to whom sacrifices or offerings have not been made. under these circumstances, a velichapad, or oracle, is consulted. after bathing, and dressing himself in a new mundu (cloth), he enters on the scene with a sword in his hand, and his legs girt with small bells. standing in front of the deity in pious meditation, he advances with slow steps and rolling eyes, and makes a few frantic cuts on his forehead. he is already in convulsive shivers, and works himself up to a state of frenzied possession, and utters certain disconnected sentences, which are believed to be the utterances of the gods. believing them to be the means of cure or relief from calamity, those affected reverentially bow before the velichapad, and obey his commands. sometimes they resort to a curious method of calculating beforehand the result of a project, in which they are engaged, by placing before the god two bouquets of flowers, one red, the other white, of which a child picks out one with its eyes closed. selection of the white bouquet predicts auspicious results, of the red the reverse. a man, who wishes to bring a demon under his control, must bathe in the early morning for forty-one days, and cook his own meals. he should have no association with his wife, and be free from all pollution. every night, after 10 o'clock, he should bathe in a tank (pond) or river, and stand naked up to the loins in the water, while praying to the god, whom he wishes to propitiate, in the words "i offer thee my prayers, so that thou mayst bless me with what i want." these, with his thoughts concentrated on the deity, he should utter 101, 1,001, and 100,001 times during the period. should he do this, in spite of all obstacles and intimidation by the demons, the god will grant his desires. it is said to be best for a man to be trained and guided by a guru (preceptor), as, if proper precautions are not adopted, the result of his labours will be that he goes mad. a pulluvan and his wife preside at the ceremony called pamban tullal to propitiate the snake gods of the nagattan kavus, or serpent shrines. for this, a pandal (booth) is erected by driving four posts into the ground, and putting over them a silk or cotton canopy. a hideous figure of a huge snake is made on the floor with powders of five colours. five colours are essential, as they are visible on the necks of snakes. rice is scattered over the floor. worship is performed to ganesa, and cocoanuts and rice are offered. incense is burnt, and a lamp placed on a plate. the members of the family go round the booth, and the woman, from whom the devil has to be cast out, bathes, and takes her seat on the western side, holding a bunch of palm flowers. the pulluvan and his wife begin the music, vocal and instrumental, the woman keeping time with the pot-drum by striking on a metal vessel. as they sing songs in honour of the snake deity, the young female members of the family, who have been purified by a bath, and are seated, begin to quiver, sway their heads to and fro in time with the music, and the tresses of their hair are let loose. in their state of excitement, they beat upon the floor, and rub out the figure of the snake with palm flowers. this done, they proceed to the snake-grove, and prostrate themselves before the stone images of snakes, and recover consciousness. they take milk, water from a tender cocoanut, and plantains. the pulluvan stops singing, and the ceremony is over. "sometimes," mr. gopal panikkar writes, "the gods appear in the bodies of all these females, and sometimes only in those of a select few, or none at all. the refusal of the gods to enter into such persons is symbolical of some want of cleanliness in them: which contingency is looked upon as a source of anxiety to the individual. it may also suggest the displeasure of these gods towards the family, in respect of which the ceremony is performed. in either case, such refusal on the part of the gods is an index of their ill-will or dissatisfaction. in cases where the gods refuse to appear in any one of those seated for the purpose, the ceremony is prolonged until the gods are so properly propitiated as to constrain them to manifest themselves. then, after the lapse of the number of days fixed for the ceremony, and, after the will of the serpent gods is duly expressed, the ceremonies close." sometimes, it is said, it may be considered necessary to rub away the figure as many as 101 times, in which case the ceremony is prolonged over several weeks. each time that the snake design is destroyed, one or two men, with torches in their hands, perform a dance, keeping step to the pulluvan's music. the family may eventually erect a small platform or shrine in a corner of their grounds, and worship at it annually. the snake deity will not, it is believed, manifest himself if any of the persons, or articles required for the ceremony, are impure, e.g., if the pot-drum has been polluted by the touch of a menstruating female. the pulluvan, from whom a drum was purchased for the madras museum, was very reluctant to part with it, lest it should be touched by an impure woman. the pulluvans worship the gods of the brahmanical temples, from a distance, and believe in spirits of all sorts and conditions. they worship velayuthan, ayyappa, rahu, muni, chathan, mukkan, karinkutti, parakutti, and others. muni is a well-disposed deity, to whom, once a year, rice, plantains, and cocoanuts are offered. to mukkan, karinkutti, and others, sheep and fowls are offered. a floral device (padmam) is drawn on the floor with nine divisions in rice-flour, on each of which a piece of tender cocoanut leaf, and a lighted wick dipped in cocoanut oil, are placed. parched rice, boiled beans, jaggery (crude sugar), cakes, plantains, and toddy are offered, and camphor and incense burnt. if a sheep has to be sacrificed, boiled rice is offered, and water sprinkled over the head of the sheep before it is killed. if it shakes itself, so that it frees itself from the water, it is considered as a favourable omen. on every new-moon day, offerings of mutton, fowls, rice-balls, toddy, and other things, served up on a plantain leaf, are made to the souls of the departed. the celebrants, who have bathed and cooked their own food on the previous day, prostrate themselves, and say "ye dead ancestors, we offer what we can afford. may you take the gifts, and be pleased to protect us." the pulluvans bury their dead. the place of burial is near a river, or in a secluded spot near the dwelling of the deceased. the corpse is covered with a cloth, and a cocoanut placed with it. offerings of rice-balls are made by the son daily for fifteen days, when pollution ceases, and a feast is held. at the present day, some pulluvans work at various forms of labour, such as sowing, ploughing, reaping, fencing, and cutting timber, for which they are paid in money or kind. they are, in fact, day-labourers, living in huts built on the waste land of some landlord, for which they pay a nominal ground-rent. they will take food prepared by brahmans, nayars, kammalans, and izhuvas, but not that prepared by a mannan or kaniyan. carpenters and izhuvas bathe when a pulluvan has touched them. but the pulluvans are polluted by cherumas, pulayas, paraiyans, ulladans, and others. the women wear the kacha, like izhuva women, folded twice, and worn round the loins, and are seldom seen with an upper body-cloth. [116] puluvan.--the puluvans have been described [117] as "a small tribe of cultivators found in the district of coimbatore. puluvans are the learned men among the coimbatore vellalas, and are supposed to be the depositaries of the poet kamban's works. one authority from coimbatore writes that the traditional occupation of this caste is military service, and derives the word from bhu, earth, and valavan, a ruler; while another thinks that the correct word is puruvan, aborigines. their girls are married usually after they attain maturity. in the disposal of the dead, both cremation and burial are in vogue, the tendency being towards the former. they are flesh-eaters. their customs generally resemble those of the konga vellalas." the puluvans call themselves puluva vellalas. punamalli.--the name of a division of vellalas derived from poonamallee, an old military station near madras. puni.--a sub-division of golla. punjala (cock, or male).--an exogamous sept of devanga. puppalli.--see unni. puragiri kshatriya.--a name assumed by some perikes. puramalai, puramalainadu or piramalainadu.--a territorial sub-division of kallan. puranadi.--barbers and priests of the velans of travancore, who are also called velakkuruppu. purattu charna.--a sub-division of nayar. purusha.--see jogi purusha. pusa (beads).--a sub-division of balija. a sub-division of the yerukalas is known as pusalavadu, or sellers of glass beads. pusali.--a title of occhans, or pujaris (priests) at temples of grama devatas (village deities). pusapati.--the family name of the maharajahs of vizianagram. from the kshatriyas in rajputana people of four gotrams are said to have come to the northern circars several centuries ago, having the pusapati family at their head. [118] the name of the present maharaja is mirza rajah sri pusapati viziarama gajapati raj manya sultan bahadur garu. pushpakan.--a class of ambalavasis in malabar and travancore. "as their name (pushpam, a flower) implies, they are employed in bringing flowers and garlands to the temples." [119] see unni. puthukka nattar (people of the new country).--a sub-division of idaiyan. putiya islam.--pu islam or putiya islam is the name returned mostly by mukkuvans, in reference to their new conversion to the muhammadan faith. putta (ant-hill).--an exogamous sept of kamma, kuruba, mala, medara, and padma sale. 'white-ant' (termites) hills are frequently worshipped as being the abode of snakes. puttiya.--a sub-division of rona. puttur.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. puzhi tacchan (sand carpenter).--the name of a small section of malabar kammalans. r racha (= raja).--racha or rachu, signifying regal, occurs as the title of various telugu classes, for example, balija, golla, kapu, konda dora, koya, majjulu, and velama. some perikes, who claim to be kshatriyas, call themselves racha perikes. racha is further given as an abbreviated form of mutracha. rachevar.--it is noted, in the mysore census report, 1901, that "there are three broad distinctions founded on the traditional occupation, but there are two main exclusive divisions of telugu and kannada rachevars. one set, called ranagare, are military, and most of them are found employed in his highness the maharaja's rachevar and bale forces. the second, consisting of the chitragaras or bannagaras, make good paintings, decorations, and lacquered ware and toys. the last consists of the sarige, or gold lace makers. these people claim to be kshatriyas--a pretension not generally acquiesced in by the other castes. they trace their origin to a passage in brahmanda purana, wherein it is said that, for an injury done to a brahman, they were condemned to follow mechanical occupations." in connection with recent dasara festivities at mysore, i read that there were wrestling matches, acrobatic feats, dumb-bell and figure exercises by rachevars. in the tanjore manual it is noted that the rachevars are "descendants of immigrants from the telugu country, who apparently followed the nayak viceroys of the vijayanagar empire in the sixteenth century. they are more or less jealous of the purity of their caste. their language is telugu. they wear the sacred thread." in the city of madras, and in other places in tamil country, the rachevars are called razus or mucchis, who must not be confused with the mucchis of mysore and the ceded districts, who are shoe-makers, and speak marathi. in the telugu country, there are two distinct sections of rachevars, viz., saivite and vaishnavite. the saivite rachevars in the kistna district style themselves arya kshatriyalu, but they are commonly called nakash-vandlu, which is a hindustani synonym of chitrakara or jinigiri-vandlu. the vaishnavites are known as jinigiri-vandlu, and are said not to intermarry with the saivites. rafizi.--a term, meaning a forsaker, used by sunni muhammadans for any sect of shiahs. the name appears, in the madras census report, 1901, as rabjee. ragala (ragi: eleusine coracana).--an exogamous sept of chembadi, korava and madiga. the equivalent ragithannaya occurs as an exogamous sept of bant. ragi grain constitutes the staple diet of the poorer classes, who cannot afford rice, and of prisoners in jails, for whom it is ground into flour, and boiled into a pudding about the consistency of blanc-mange. the name is derived from raga, red, in reference to the red colour of the grain. raghindala (pipal: ficus religiosa).--a gotra of gollas, the members of which are not allowed to use the leaves of this tree as food-plates. rajakan.--a sanskrit equivalent of vannan (washerman). rajamahendram.--the name, in reference to the town of rajahmundry in the godavari district, of a sub-division of balija. rajamakan.--a tamil synonym for the telugu razu. rajavasal.--the name, denoting those who are servants of rajas, of a sub-division of agamudaiyans, which has been transformed into rajavamsu, meaning those of kingly parentage. the equivalent rajavamsam is recorded, in the census report, 1901, as being returned by some maravans in madura and kurumbans in trichinopoly. rajakulam, rajabasha, or rajaboga occurs as a sub-division of agamudaiyan. rajpinde.--see arasu. rajpuri.--the rajpuris, or rajapuris, are a konkani-speaking caste of traders and cultivators in south canara. concerning them, mr. h. a. stuart writes as follows. [120] "the rajapuris, also called balolikars, were originally traders, and perhaps have some claim to be considered vaisyas. in social status they admit themselves to be inferior only to brahmans. they wear the sacred thread, profess the saiva faith, and employ karadi brahmans as priests in all their ceremonies. their girls should be married before the age of puberty, and marriage of widows is not permitted. the marriage ceremony chiefly consists in the hands of the bride and bridegroom being united together, and held by the bride's father while her mother pours water over them. the water should first fall on the bride's hands, and then flow on to those of the bridegroom. this takes place at the bride's house. a curious feature in the ceremony is that for four days either the bride or bridegroom should occupy the marriage bed; it must never be allowed to become vacant. [this ceremony is called pajamadmai, or mat marriage.] on the fourth day, the couple go to the bridegroom's house, where a similar 'sitting' on the marriage bed takes place. they are mostly vegetarians, rice being their chief food, but some use fish, and rear fowls and goats for sale as food. many are now cultivators." it may be noted that, among the shivalli brahmans, the mat is taken to a tank in procession. the bride and bridegroom make a pretence of catching fish, and, with linked hands, touch their foreheads. in the madras census report, 1891, rajapuri konkanasta is given as a synonym of the rajapuris, who are said to be one of the sixty-six classes of konkanasta people, who inhabited the sixty-six villages of the konkan. in the census report, 1901, kudaldeshkara and kudlukara are returned as sub-divisions of rajapuri. the kudlukaras are konkani-speaking confectioners, who follow the brahmanical customs. rajput.--the rajputs (sanskrit, raja-putra, son of a king) have been defined [121] as "the warrior and land-owning race of northern india, who are also known as thakur, lord, or chhatri, the modern representative of the ancient kshatriya." at the madras census, 1891 and 1901, the number of individuals, who returned themselves as rajputs, was 13,754 and 15,273. "it needs," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [122] "but a cursory examination of the sub-divisions returned under the head rajput to show that many of these individuals have no claim whatever to the title of rajput. the number of pure rajputs in this presidency must be very small indeed, and i only mention the caste in order to explain that the number of persons returning it is far in excess of the actual number of rajputs." mr. stuart writes further [123] concerning the rajputs of the north arcot district that "there are but few of this caste in the district, and they chiefly reside in vellore; a few families are also found in chittoor and tirupati. they assert that they are true kshatriyas who came from rajputana with the muhammadan armies, and they, more than any other claimants to a kshatriya descent, have maintained their fondness for military service. almost all are sepoys or military pensioners. their names always end with singh, and in many of their customs they resemble the muhammadans, speaking hindustani, and invariably keeping their wives gosha. they are often erroneously spoken of by the people as bondilis, a term which is applicable only to the vaisya and sudra immigrants from northern india; but doubtless many of these lower classes have taken the title singh, and called themselves rajputs. members of the caste are, therefore, very suspicious of strangers professing to be rajputs. their cooking apartment, called chowka, is kept most religiously private, and a line is drawn round it, beyond which none but members of the family itself may pass. at marriages and feasts, for the same reason, cooked food is never offered to the guests, but raw grain is distributed, which each cooks in a separate and private place." it is noted, [124] in connection with the battle of padmanabham in the vizagapatam district, in 1794, that "no correct list of the wounded was ever procured, but no less than three hundred and nine were killed. of these two hundred and eight were rajputs, and the bodies of forty rajputs, of the first rank in the country, formed a rampart round the corpse of viziarama razu. padmanabham will long be remembered as the flodden of the rajputs of vizianagram." rakshasa (a mythological giant).--an exogamous sept of toreya. ralla (precious stones).--a sub-division of balijas who cut, polish, and trade in precious stones. a further sub-division into mutiala (pearl) and kempulu (rubies) is said to exist. ramadosa (cucumis melo: sweet melon).--a sept of viramushti. rama kshatri.--a synonym of servegara. ramanuja.--satanis style themselves people of the ramanuja matham (religious sect) in reference to ramanuja, the tamil brahman, who founded the form of vaishnavism which prevails in southern india. ranaratod.--an exogamous sept of the kuruvikkarans, who call themselves ratodi. ranaviran.--a name, meaning a brave warrior, returned by some chakkiliyans. randam parisha (second party).--a section of elayad. rangari.--the rangaris are summed up, in the madras census report, 1891, as being "a caste of dyers and tailors found in almost all the telugu districts. they are of maratha origin, and still speak that language. they worship the goddess ambabhavani. the dead are either burned or buried. their title is rao." in an account of the rangaris of the north arcot district, mr. h. a. stuart writes that "rangari is a caste of dyers, chiefly found in walajapet. they claim to be kshatriyas, who accompanied rama in his conquest of ceylon, from which fact one of their names, langari (lanka, the island, i.e., ceylon), is said to be derived. rama, for some reason or other, became incensed against, and persecuted them. most were destroyed, but a respectable kshatriya lady saved her two sons by taking off their sacred threads and causing one to pretend that he was a tailor sewing, and the other that he was a dyer, colouring his thread with the red betel nut and leaf, which she hurriedly supplied out of her mouth. the boys became the progenitors of the caste, the members of which now wear the thread. the descendants of the one brother are tailors, and of the other, the most numerous, dyers. their chief feasts are the dassara and kaman, the former celebrated in honour of the goddess tuljabhavani and the latter of manmada, the indian cupid, fabled to have been destroyed by the flame of siva's third eye. during the kaman feast, fires of combustible materials are lighted, round which the votaries gather, and, beating their mouths, exclaim 'laba, laba', lamenting the death of cupid. in this feast rajputs, mahrattas, bondilis, and guzeratis also join. the rangaris speak marathi, which they write in the northern character, and name poona and sholapur as the places in which they originally resided. in appearance they do not at all resemble the other claimants to kshatriya descent, the razus and rajputs, for they are poorly developed and by no means handsome. widow remarriage is permitted where children have not been born, but remarried widows are prohibited from taking part in religious processions, which seems a sign that the concession has been reluctantly permitted. in most of their customs they differ but little from the razus, eating meat and drinking spirits, but not keeping their women gosha." all the rangaris examined by me at adoni in the bellary district were tailors. like other maratha classes they had a high cephalic index (av. 79; max. 92), and it was noticeable that the breadth of the head exceeded 15 cm. in nine out of thirty individuals. in the madras census report, 1901, bahusagara, malla or mulla, and namdev are given as synonyms, and chimpiga (tailor) and unupulavadu (dyer) as sub-castes of rangari. raniyava.--the raniyavas are canarese-speaking holeyas, who are found near kap, karkal, mudibidri, and mulki in south canara. they consider themselves to be superior to the tulu-speaking holeyas, such as the mari and mundala holeyas. the raniyavas regard virabadra swami as their tribal deity, and also worship mari, to whom they sacrifice a buffalo periodically. the bhuta (devil), which is most commonly worshipped, is varthe. they profess to be saivites, because they are the disciples of the lingayat priest at gurupur. marriage is, as a rule, infant, though the marriage of adult girls is not prohibited. the marriage rites are celebrated beneath a pandal (booth) supported by twelve pillars. as among the tulu castes, the chief item in the marriage ceremony is the pouring of water over the united hands of the bridal couple, who are not, like the canarese holeyas in mysore, separated by a screen. women who are found guilty of adultery, or of illicit intercourse before marriage, are not allowed to wear bangles, nose-screw, or black bead necklaces, and are treated like widows. men who have been proved guilty of seduction are not allowed to take part in the caste council meetings. on the occasion of the first menstrual period, a girl is under pollution for twelve days. eleven girls pour water over her head daily. on the thirteenth day, the castemen are fed, and, if the girl is married, consummation takes place. married men and women are cremated, and unmarried persons buried. on the day of death, toddy must be given to those who assemble. cooked meat and food are offered to the deceased on the third, seventh, and thirteenth days, and, on the seventh day, toddy must be freely given. rao.--the title of desastha brahmans, and various maratha classes, jains, and servegaras. some perikes, who claim kshatriya origin, have also assumed rao (=raya, king) instead of the more humble anna or ayya as a title. rarakkar.--the rarakkars or vicharakkars are exorcisers for the kuravans of travancore. rati (stone).--a sub-division of odde. ratna (precious stones).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. the equivalent ratnala is a synonym of ralla balijas, who deal in precious stones. rattu.--a sub-division of kaikolan. ravari.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a trading section of the nayars. the word is said to be a corruption of vyapari, meaning trader. the equivalent raveri occurs as a class inhabiting the laccadive islands. ravi chettu (pipal tree: ficus religiosa).--an exogamous sept of kalingi. the pipal or aswatha tree may be seen, in many south indian villages, with a raised platform round it, before which hindus remove their shoes, and bow down. on the platform, village council meetings are often held. it is believed that male offspring will be given to childless couples, if they celebrate a marriage of the pipal with the nim tree (melia azadirachta). ravulo.--it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, that "there are three castes of temple servants among the oriyas, the ravulos, the malis and the munis. the ravulos blow conches (shells of turbinella rapa) in the saivite temples and at brahmans' weddings, sell flowers, and regard themselves as superior to the other two. the malis do service in saivite or vaishnavite temples and sell flowers, but the munis are employed only in the temples of the village goddesses. among the ravulos, infant marriage is compulsory, but widow marriage is allowed, and also divorce in certain cases. a curious account is given of the punishment sometimes inflicted by the caste panchayat (council) on a man who ill-treats and deserts his wife. he is made to sit under one of the bamboo coops with which fish are caught, and his wife sits on the top of it. five pots of water are then poured over the pair of them in imitation of the caste custom of pouring five pots of water over a dead body before it is taken to the burning-ground, the ceremony taking place in the part of the house where a corpse would be washed. the wife then throws away a ladle, and breaks a cooking-pot just as she would have done had her husband really been dead, and further breaks her bangles and tears off her necklace, just as would have been done if she was really a widow. having thus signified that her husband is dead to her, she goes straight off to her parents' house, and is free to marry again. some ravulos wear the sacred thread. they employ brahmans as priests for religious and ceremonial purposes. they eat fish and meat, though not beef or fowls, but do not drink alcohol. nowadays many of them are earth-workers, cart-drivers, bricklayers, carpenters and day labourers." it is further noted, in the census report, that mali is "an oriya caste of vegetable growers and sellers, and cultivators. also a caste belonging to bengal and orissa, the people of which are garland makers and temple servants. the statistics confuse the two." in an account of the ravulos, as given to me, ravulos, munis, and malis are not three castes, but one caste. the munis are said to worship, among others, munis or rishis, sakti, siva, and ganesa. a muni, named sarala doss, was the author of the most popular oriya version of the mahabharata, and he is known as sudra muni, the sudra saint. ravulo occurs further as a title of kurumos who officiate as priests in siva temples in ganjam, and muni as a title of the sipiti temple servants. ravutan.--ravutan, or rowthan, is a title used by labbai, marakkayar, and jonagan muhammadans. the equivalent ravut or raut has been recorded as a sub-caste of balija, and a title of kannadiyan. raya rauturu.--the name of certain chunam [lime] burners in mysore. rayan.--a title assumed by some pallis or vanniyans, who wear the sacred thread, and claim to be kshatriyas. rayi (stone).--an exogamous sept of mala. razu.--the razus, or rajus, are stated, in the madras census report, 1901, to be "perhaps descendants of the military section of the kapu, kamma, and velama castes. at their weddings they worship a sword, which is a ceremony which usually denotes a soldier caste. they say they are kshatriyas, and at marriages use a string made of cotton and wool, the combination peculiar to kshatriyas, to tie the wrist of the happy couple. but they eat fowls, which a strict kshatriya would not do, and their claims are not universally admitted by other hindus. they have three endogamous sub-divisions, viz., murikinati, nandimandalam, and suryavamsam, of which the first two are territorial." according to another version, the sub-divisions are surya (sun), chandra (moon), and nandimandalam. in a note on the razus of the godavari district, the rev. j. cain sub-divides them into suryavamsapu, chandravamsapu, veliveyabadina, or descendants of excommunicated suryavamsapu and razulu. it may be noted that some konda doras call themselves raja (= razu) kapus or reddis, and suryavamsam (of the solar race). "in the godavari delta," mr. cain writes, "there are several families called basava razulu, in consequence, it is said, of their ancestors having accidentally killed a basava or sacred bull. as a penalty for this crime, before a marriage takes place in these families, they are bound to select a young bull and young cow, and cause these two to be duly married first, and then they are at liberty to proceed with their own ceremony." of the razus, mr. h. a. stuart writes [125] that "this is a telugu caste, though represented by small bodies in some of the tamil districts. they are most numerous in cuddapah and north arcot, to which districts they came with the vijayanagar armies. it is evident that razu has been returned by a number of individuals who, in reality, belong to other castes, but claim to be kshatriyas. the true razus also make this claim, but it is, of course, baseless, unless kshatriya is taken to mean the military class without any reference to aryan origin. in religion they are mostly vaishnavites, and their priests are brahmans. they wear the sacred thread, and in most respects copy the marriage and other customs of the brahmans." the razus, mr. stuart writes further, [126] are "the most numerous class of those who claim to be kshatriyas in north arcot. they are found almost entirely in the karvetnagar estate, the zemindar being the head of the caste. as a class they are the handsomest and best developed men in the country, and differ so much in feature and build from other hindus that they may usually be distinguished at a glance. they seem to have entirely abandoned the military inclinations of their ancestors, never enlist in the native army, and almost wholly occupy themselves in agriculture. their vernacular is telugu, since they are immigrants from the northern circars, from whence most of them followed the ancestors of the karvetnagar zamindar within the last two centuries. in religion they are mostly vaishnavites, though a few follow siva, and the worship of village deities forms a part of the belief of all. their peculiar goddess is called nimishamba who would seem to represent parvati. she is so called because in an instant (nimisham) she once appeared at the prayer of certain rishis, and destroyed some rakshasas or giants who were persecuting them. claiming to be kshatriyas, the razus of course assume the sacred thread, and are very proud and particular in their conduct, though flesh-eating is allowed. in all the more well-to-do families the females are kept in strict seclusion." in the vizagapatam district razus are recognised as belonging to two classes, called konda (hill) and bhu (plains) razu. the former are further divided into the following sections, to which various zamindars belong:--konda, kodu, gaita, muka, yenati. the konda razus are believed to be hill chiefs, who have, in comparatively recent times, adopted the title of razu. for the following note on the razus of the godavari district, i am indebted to mr. f. r. hemingway. "they say they are kshatriyas, wear the sacred thread, have brahmanical gotras, decline to eat with other non-brahmans, and are divided into the three classes, surya (sun), chandra (moon), and machi (fish). of these, the first claim to be descended from the kings of oudh, and to be of the same lineage as rama; the second, from the kings of hastinapura, of the same line as the pandavas; and the third, from hanuman (the monkey god) and a mermaid. their women observe a very strict rule of gosha, and this is said to be carried so far that a man may not see his younger brother's wife, even if she is living in the same house, without violating the gosha rule. the betrothal ceremony is called nirnaya bhojanam, or meal of settlement. written contracts of marriage (subha reka) are exchanged. the wedding is performed at the bride's house. at the pradanam ceremony, no bonthu (turmeric thread) is tied round the bride's neck. the bridegroom has to wear a sword throughout the marriage ceremonies, and he is paraded round the village with it before they begin. the gosha rule prevents his womenfolk from attending the marriage, and the bride has to wear a veil. the ceremonies, unlike those of other castes, are attended with burnt offerings of rice, etc. among other castes, the turmeric-dyed thread (kankanam), which is tied round the wrists of the contracting couple, is of cotton; among the razus it is of wool and cotton. the razus are chiefly employed in cultivation. some of them are said to attain no small proficiency in telugu and sanskrit scholarship. zamindars of this caste regard kali as their patron deity. the razus of amalapuram specially adore lakshmi. some peculiarities in their personal appearance may be noted. their turbans are made to bunch out at the left side above the ear, and one end hangs down behind. they do not shave any part of their heads, and allow long locks to hang down in front of the ears." a colony of razus is settled at, and around rajapalaiyam in the tinnevelly district. they are said to have migrated thither four or five centuries ago with a younger brother of the king of vizianagram, who belonged to the pusapati exogamous sept. to members of this and the gottimukkula sept special respect is paid on ceremonial occasions. the descendants of the original emigrants are said to have served under southern chieftains, especially tirumala naick. concerning the origin of the village rajapalaiyam the following legend is narrated. one chinna raju, a lineal descendant of the kings of vizianagram, settled there with others of his caste, and went out hunting with a pack of hounds. when they reached the neighbouring hill sanjiviparvatham, they felt thirsty, but could find no water. they accordingly prayed to krishna, who at once created a spring on the top of the hill. after quenching their thirst thereat, they proceeded westward to the valley, and the god informed them that there was water there, with which they might again quench their thirst, and that their dogs would there be attacked by hares. at this spot, which they were to consider sacred ground, they were to settle down. the present tank to the westward of rajapalaiyam, and the chavadi (caste meeting-place) belonging to the pusapatis are said to indicate the spot where they originally settled. the rajapalaiyam razus have four gotras, named after rishis, i.e., dhananjaya, kasyapa, kaundinya and vasishta, which are each sub-divided into a number of exogamous septs, named after villages, etc. they are all vadagalai or tengalai vaishnavites, but also worship ayanar, and send kavadi (portable canopy) to palni in performance of vows. their family priests are brahmans. the betrothal ceremony of the razus of rajapalaiyam is generally carried out at the house of the girl. on a raised platform within a pandal (booth), seven plates filled with plantain fruits, betel, turmeric, cocoanuts, and flowers are placed. a plate containing twenty-five rupees, and a ravike (female cloth), is carried by a brahman woman, and set in front of the girl. all the articles are then placed in her lap, and the ceremony is consequently called odi or madi ninchadam (lap-filling). the girl's hair is decked with flowers, and she is smeared with sandal and turmeric. a certain quantity of paddy (unhusked rice) and beans of phaseolus mungo are given to the brahman woman, a portion of which is set apart as sacred, some of the paddy being added to that which is stored in the granary. the remainder of the paddy is husked in a corner of the pandal, and the beans are ground in a mill. on the marriage morning, the bride's party, accompanied by musicians, carry to the house of the bridegroom a number of baskets containing cocoanuts, plantains, betel, and a turban. the bridegroom goes with a purohit (priest), and men and women of his caste, to a well, close to which are placed some milk and the nose-screw of a woman closely related to him. all the women sprinkle some of the milk over his head, and some of them draw water from the well. the bridegroom bathes, and dresses up. just before their departure from the well, rice which has been dipped therein is distributed among the women. at the bridegroom's house the milk-post, usually made from a branch of the vekkali (anogeissus latifolia) tree, is tied to a pillar supporting the roof of the marriage dais. to the top of the milk-post a cross-bar is fixed, to one arm of which a cloth bundle containing a cocoanut, betel and turmeric, is tied. the post is surmounted by leafy mango twigs. just before the milk-post is set up, cocoanuts are offered to it, and a pearl and piece of coral are placed in a hole scooped out at its lower end. the bundle becomes the perquisite of the carpenter who has made the post. only brahmans, razus and the barber musicians are allowed to sit on the dais. after the distribution of betel, the bridegroom and his party proceed to the house of the bride, where, in like manner, the milk-post is set up. they then return to his house, and the bridegroom has his face and head shaved, and nails pared by a barber, who receives as his fee two annas and the clothes which the bridegroom is wearing. after a bath, the bridegroom is conducted to the chavadi, where a gaudy turban is put on his head, and he is decorated with jewels and garlands. in the course of the morning, the purohit, holding the right little finger of the bridegroom, conducts him to the dais, close to which rice, rice stained yellow, rice husk, jaggery (crude sugar), wheat bran, and cotton seed are placed. the brahmanical rites of punyahavaachanam (purification), jatakarma (birth ceremony), namakaranam (name ceremony), chaulam (tonsure), and upanayanam (thread ceremony) are performed. but, instead of vedic chants, the purohit recites slokas specially prepared for non-brahman castes. at the conclusion of these rites, the bridegroom goes into the house, and eats a small portion of sweet cakes and other articles, of which the remainder is finished off by boys and girls. this ceremony is called pubanthi. the kasiyatra (mock flight to benares) or snathakavritham is then performed. towards evening the bridegroom, seated in a palanquin, goes to the bride's house, taking with him a tray containing an expensive woman's cloth, the tali tied to gold thread, and a pair of gold bracelets. when they reach the house, the women who have accompanied the bridegroom throw paddy over those who have collected at the entrance thereto, by whom the compliment is returned. the bridegroom takes his seat on the dais, and the bride is conducted thither by her brothers. a wide-meshed green curtain is thrown over her shoulders, and her hands are pressed over her eyes, and held there by one of her brothers, so that she cannot see. generally two brothers sit by her side, and, when one is tired, the other relieves him. the purohit invests the bridegroom with a second thread as a sign of marriage. damp rice is scattered from a basket all round the contracting couple, and the tali, after it has been blessed by brahmans, is tied round the neck of the bride by the bridegroom and her brothers. at the moment when the tali is tied, the bride's hands are removed from her face, and she is permitted to see her husband. the pair then go round the dais, and the bride places her right foot thrice on a grindstone. their little fingers are linked, and their cloths tied together. thus united, they are conducted to a room, in which fifty pots, painted white and with various designs on them, are arranged in rows. in front of them, two pots, filled with water, are placed, and, in front of the two pots, seven lamps. round the necks of these pots, bits of turmeric are tied. they are called avareti kundalu or avireni kundalu, and are made to represent minor deities. the pots are worshipped by the bridal couple, and betel is distributed among the brahmans and razus, of whom members of the pusapati and gottimukkala septs take precedence over the others. on the following day, the purohit teaches the sandyavandhanam (morning and evening ablutions), which is, however, quite different from the brahmanical rite. on the morning of the third or nagavali day, a quantity of castor-oil seed is sent by the bride's people to the bridegroom's house, and returned. the bride and bridegroom go, in a closed and open palanquin, respectively, to the house of the former. they take their seats on the dais, and the bride is once more blindfolded. in front of them, five pots filled with water are arranged in the form of a quincunx. lighted lamps are placed by the side of each of the corner pots. on the lids of the pots five cocoanuts, plantains, pieces of turmeric, and betel are arranged, and yellow thread is wound seven times round the corner pots. the pots are then worshipped, and the bridegroom places on the neck of the bride a black bead necklace, which is tied by the brahman woman. in front of the bridegroom some salt, and in front of the bride some paddy is heaped up. an altercation arises between the bridegroom and the brother of the bride as to the relative values of the two heaps, and it is finally decided that they are of equal value. the bridal pair then enter the room, in which the avireni pots are kept, and throw their rings into one of the pots which is full of water. the bridegroom has to pick out therefrom, at three dips, his own ring, and his brother-in-law that of the bride. the purohit sprinkles water over the heads of the pair, and their wrist-threads (kankanam) are removed. they then sit in a swing on the pandal for a short time, and the ceremonies conclude with the customary waving of coloured water (arati) and distribution of betel. during the marriage ceremony, razu women are not allowed to sit in the pandal. the wives of the more well-to-do members of the community remain gosha within their houses, and, strictly speaking, a woman should not see her husband during the daytime. many of the women, however, go freely about the town during the day, and go to the wells to fetch water for domestic purposes. the razus of rajapalaiyam have razu as the agnomen, and, like other telugu classes, take the gotra for the first name, e.g., yaraguntala mudduswami razu, gottimukkala krishna razu. the women adhere with tenacity to the old forms of telugu jewelry. the razus, in some villages, seem to object to the construction of a pial in front of their houses. the pial, or raised platform, is the lounging place by day, where visitors are received. the razus, as has been already stated, claim to be kshatriyas, so other castes should not sit in their presence. if pials were constructed, such people might sit thereon, and so commit a breach of etiquette. in the madras census report, 1901, rajamakan is given as a tamil synonym for razu, and razu is returned as a title of the bagata fishermen of vizagapatam. razu is, further, a general name of the bhatrazus. reddi.--see kapu. reddi bhumi (reddi earth).--a sub-division of mala, mangala, and tsakala. rela (fig. ficus, sp.).--a gotra of medara. relli.--see haddi. rendeddu.--a sub-division of ganigas or gandlas, who use two bullocks for their oil-pressing mill. rokkam (ready money).--an exogamous sept of komati. rolan.--rolan, or roli cheruman, is a sub-division of cheruman. rona.--the ronas are a class of oriya-speaking hill cultivators, who are said [127] to "hold a position superior in the social scale to the parjas (porojas), from whom, by compulsion and cajolery, they have gotten unto themselves estates. they are not of very long standing (in jeypore). every parja village head is still able to point out the fields that have been taken from him to form the rona hamlet; and, if he is in antagonism with a neighbouring parja village on the subject of boundaries, he will include the fields occupied by the rona as belonging de jure to his demesne." in the madras census report, 1891, it is noted that "the ronas are supposed to be the descendants of ranjit, the great warrior of orissa. in social status they are said to be a little inferior to the so-called kshatriyas. some of them serve as armed retainers and soldiers of the native chiefs, and some are engaged in trade and cultivation." for the following note i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the word rona means battle. according to a tradition current among the ronas, their ancestors, who were seven brothers, came many generations ago to nundapur, the former capital of the rajas of jeypore, and made their first settlement in borra. the caste is divided into four endogamous divisions, viz.:-(1) rona paiko. (2) odiya paiko, said to rank a little higher than the preceding. (3) kottiya paiko, the descendants of rona paikos and women of hill tribes. (4) pattiya paik, the descendants of kottiya paikos and women of hill tribes. as examples of septs among the ronas, the following may be cited:--kora (sun), bhag (tiger), nag (cobra), khinbudi (bear), and matsya (fish). when a girl reaches puberty, she is placed apart in a portion of the house where she cannot be seen by males, even of the household, and sits in a space enclosed by seven arrows connected together by a thread. on the seventh day she bathes, and is presented with a new cloth. it is customary for a man to marry his paternal uncle's daughter. at the time of marriage, the bridegroom's party repair to the house of the bride with a sheep, goat, rice, and a female cloth with a rupee placed on it, and four quarter-anna bits inserted within its fold. the cloth and money are taken by the bride's mother, and the animals and rice are used for a feast. on the following day, the bride goes to the house of the bridegroom, in front of which a pandal (booth), made out of nine poles of the neredu tree (eugenia jambolana) has been set up. at the auspicious hour, which has been fixed by the desari who officiates, in the absence of a brahman, at the marriage rites, the bride and bridegroom take their seats in the pandal with a curtain between them. the desari joins their hands together, and ties to the ends of their cloths a new cloth to which a quarter-anna piece is attached, betel leaves and nuts, and seven grains of rice. the curtain is then removed, and the pair enter the house. the knotted new cloth is removed, and kept in the house during the next two days, being untied and re-tied every morning. on the third day, the couple again come within the pandal, and the new cloth is again tied to them. they are bathed together in turmeric water, and the cloth is then untied for the last time. the rice is examined to see if it is in a good state of preservation, and its condition is regarded as an omen for good or evil. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and a younger brother usually marries the widow of his elder brother. there is for all the ronas a headman of their caste, called bhatho nayako, at nundapur, who decides offences, such as eating in the house of a man of inferior caste, and performs the ceremonial cleansing of a man who has been beaten with a shoe. divorce and civil suits are settled by a caste council. the ronas worship the deity takurani. they wear the sacred thread, and are said to have bought the right to do so from a former raja of jeypore. they also wear a necklace of tulsi (ocimum sanctum) beads. the necklace is first tied on by oriya brahmans from orissa, or vaishnava brahmans from srikurmam in ganjam, who pay periodic visits to the community, and receive presents of money and food. rona paikos will eat at the hands of brahmans only, whereas puttiya paikos will eat in the houses of koronos, malis, kummaras, and gaudos. all eat animal food, beef and pork excepted. some ronas are still the armed retainers of the jeypore rajas, and their forefathers were versed in the use of the matchlock. some ronas at the present day use bows and arrows. the caste title is nayako. ronguni.--the rongunis are oriya dyers and weavers. the caste name is derived from rangu, dye. a noticeable fact is that they do not eat flesh of any kind, but are vegetarians, pure and simple. they have various titles, e.g., behara, daso, prushti, and sahu, of which some practically constitute exogamous septs. rottala (bread).--an exogamous sept of boya. rowthan.--see ravutan. rudra.--one of the various names of siva. a sub-division of palli. rudrakshala (the drupe of elæocarpus ganitrus).--an exogamous sept of karna sales. the drupes are polished, and worn as a rosary or necklet by saivite brahmans, pandarams, nattukottai chettis, and others. they are supposed to be the tears of ecstasy which siva (rudra) once shed, and are consequently sacred to him. they have a number of lobes (or faces), varying from one to six, divided externally by deep furrows. those with five lobes are the most common, but those with one (eka mukha) or six (shan mukha) are very rare, and have been known to be sold for a thousand rupees. one form of the drupe is called gauri shanka, and is worn in a golden receptacle by dikshitar brahmans at chidambaram, and by some pandarams who are managers of matams (religious institutions). the plate represents a telugu saivite vaidiki brahman clad in a coat of rudraksha beads, wearing a head-dress of the same, and holding in his hand wooden castanets, which are played as an accompaniment to his songs. until he became too old to bear the weight, he wore also a loin-cloth made of these beads. runzu.--runzu, runza, or runja is the name of a class of telugu mendicants, who beat a drum called runjalu, and beg only from kamsalas (q.v.). s sachchari.--a synonym of relli. another form of the word chachchadi. sadaru.--a sub-division of lingayats, found mainly in the bellary and anantapur districts, where they are largely engaged in cultivation. some bedars or boyas, who live amidst these lingayats, call themselves sadaru. it is noted in the mysore census reports that the sadas are "cultivators and traders in grain. a section of these sadas has embraced lingayatism, while the others are still within the pale of hinduism." saddikudu (cold rice or food).--an exogamous sept of golla. sadhana surulu.--sadhanasura is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a synonym of samayamuvadu. in a note on this class of itinerant mendicants, mr. c. hayavadana rao states that, unlike the samayamuvaru, they are attached only to the padma sale section of the sale caste. "they say," he writes, "that their name is an abbreviated form of renuka sakthini sadhinchinavaru, i.e., those who conquered renuka sakthi. according to tradition, renuka was the mother of parasurama, one of the avatars of vishnu, and is identified with the goddess yellamma, whom the padma sales revere. the sadhana surulu are her votaries. ages ago, it is said, they prayed to her on behalf of the padma sales, and made her grant boons to them. since that time they have been treated with marked respect by the padma sales, who pay them annually four annas, and see to their marriages." sadhu (meek or quiet).--a sub-division or exogamous sept of ganiga and padma sale. the equivalent sadhumatam has been recorded, at times of census, by janappans. the name sadhu is applied to ascetics or bairagis. sagarakula.--a synonym of the upparas, who claim descent from a king sagara chakravarthi of the mahabharata. sahavasi.--the sahavasis are described, in the mysore census report, 1891, as "immigrants like the chitpavanas. sahavasi means co-tenant or associate, and the name is said to have been earned by the community in the following manner. in remote times a certain brahman came upon hidden treasure, but, to his amazement, the contents appeared in his eye to be all live scorpions. out of curiosity, he hung one of them outside his house. a little while after, a woman of inferior caste, who was passing by the house, noticed it to be gold, and, upon her questioning him about it, the brahman espoused her, and by her means was able to enjoy the treasure. he gave a feast in honour of his acquisition of wealth. he was subsequently outcasted for his mésalliance with the low caste female, while those that ate with him were put under a ban, and thus acquired the nickname." sahu.--a title of bolasis, godiyas, and other oriya castes. saindla (belonging to the death-house).--a sub-division of mala. sajjana (good men).--a synonym of lingayat ganigas. sajje (millet: setaria italica).--an exogamous sept of devanga. sakala.--see tsakala. sakkereya.--some upparas style themselves mel (western) sakkereya-varu. their explanation is that they used to work in salt, which is more essential than sugar, and that mel sakkare means superior sugar. sakuna pakshi.--for the following note on the sakuna pakshi (prophetic bird) mendicant caste of vizagapatam, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the name of the caste is due to the fact that the members of the caste wear on their heads a plume composed of the feathers of a bird called palagumma, which is probably coracias indica, the indian roller, or "blue jay" of europeans. this is one of the birds called sakuna pakshi, because they are supposed to possess the power of foretelling events, and on their movements many omens depend. concerning the roller, jerdon writes [128] that "it is sacred to siva, who assumed its form, and, at the feast of the dasserah at nagpore, one or more used to be liberated by the rajah, amidst the firing of cannon and musketry, at a grand parade attended by all the officers of the station. buchanan hamilton also states that, before the durga puja, the hindus of calcutta purchase one of these birds, and, at the time when they throw the image of durga into the river, set it at liberty. it is considered propitious to see it on this day, and those who cannot afford to buy one discharge their matchlocks to put it on the wing." according to their own account, the sakuna pakshis are telagas who emigrated to vizagapatam from peddapuram in the godavari district. a member of the caste, before proceeding on a begging expedition, rises early, and has a cold meal. he then puts the tengalai vaishnava namam mark on his forehead, slings on his left shoulder a deer-skin pouch for the reception of the rice and other grain which will be given him as alms, and takes up his little drum (gilaka or damaraka) made of frog's skin. it is essential for a successful day's begging that he should first visit a mala house or two, after which he begs from other castes, going from house to house. the members combine with begging the professions of devil-dancer, sorcerer, and quack doctor. their remedy for scorpion sting is well-known. it is the root of a plant called thella visari (scorpion antidote), which the sakuna pakshis carry about with them on their rounds. the root should be collected on a new-moon day which falls on a sunday. on that day, the sakuna pakshi bathes, cuts off his loin-string, and goes stark naked to a selected spot, where he gathers the roots. if a supply thereof is required, and the necessary combination of moon and day is not forthcoming, the roots should be collected on a sunday or wednesday. salangukaran.--in the madras census report, 1901, salangaikaran is returned as a synonym of karaiyan or sembadavan fishermen. the word salangu or slangu is used for pearl fisheries, and salangukaran is, i imagine, a name applied to pearl divers. salapu.--the salapus are a small caste of telugu weavers in vizagapatam, for the following note on whom i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the name salapu seems to be a corruption of saluppan, a caste which formerly engaged in the manufacture of gunny-bags and coarse cloths. the salapus at the present day make such cloths, commonly called gamanchalu. like some other weaving castes, they claim descent from markandeya rishi, who was remarkable for his austerities and great age, and is also known as dirghayus. the salapus will not eat, or intermarry with sales. the caste is governed by a headman called senapati. he decides disputes, and, on occasions of marriage, receives the first share of betel and sandal, and is the first to touch the sathamanam (marriage badge) when it is passed round to be blessed by those assembled. he is, at marriages, further presented with a rupee. at caste feasts, it is his privilege to partake of food first. like other telugu castes, the salapus have intiperulu, or exogamous septs. girls are generally married before puberty. the custom of menarikam, by which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is in force. the turmeric ceremony takes place some months before marriage. some male and female relations of the future bridegroom repair to the house of the girl, taking with them a few rupees as the bride-price (voli). the girl bathes, and daubs herself with turmeric paste. a solid silver bangle is then put on her right wrist. the remarriage of widows and divorce are permitted. the salapus are divided into lingavantas and vaishnavas, who intermarry. the former bury their dead in a sitting posture, and the latter practice cremation. jangams officiate for the lingavantas, and satanis for vaishnavas. both sections observe the chinna (little) and pedda rozu (big day) death ceremonies. the caste title is generally ayya. salapu.--a form of sarapu, an occupational term for those who deal in coins, jewelry, coral, etc. sale.--the sales are the great weaver class among the telugus, for the following note on whom i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the name is derived from sanskrit, salika, a weaver. the sales call themselves senapati (commander-in-chief), and this is further the title of the caste headman. they are divided into two main endogamous sections, padma or lotus, and pattu or silk. between them there are three well-marked points of difference, viz., (1) the pattu sales wear the sacred thread, whereas the padma sales do not; (2) the pattu sales do not take food or water at the hands of any except brahmans, whereas the padma sales will eat in kapu, golla, telaga, gavara, etc., houses; (3) the pattu sales weave superfine cloths, and, in some places, work in silk, whereas padma sales weave only coarse cloths. each section is divided into a number of exogamous septs or intiperulu. both speak telugu, and are divided into vaishnavites and saivites. these religious distinctions are no bar to intermarriage and interdining. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district (1907), that "on the plains, cotton cloths are woven in hundreds of villages by sales, padma sales, pattu sales, devangas, and salapus. the ryots often spin their own cotton into thread, and then hand it over to the weavers to be made into cloths, but large quantities of machine-made yarn are used. in the south, the chief weaving centres are nakkapalli and payakaraopeta in sarvasiddhi taluk, the pattu sales in the latter of which turn out fabrics of fine thread, enriched with much gold and silver 'lace,' which are in great demand in the godavari and ganjam districts. at razam, coloured cloths for women are the chief product, and in the country round this place the white garments so universal everywhere give place to coloured dress. the cloths are sold locally, and also sent in large quantities to berhampur, cuttack, and even calcutta. most of the weaving is in the hands of devangas, but the dyeing of the thread is done with imported aniline and alizarine colours by the balijas of sigadam in chipurupalle taluk and balijapeta in bobbili. in siripuram and ponduru, the pattu sales make delicate fabrics from especially fine thread, called pattu sale nulu, or silk-weaver's thread, which the women of their caste spin for them, and which is as fine as imported 1508. these are much valued by well-to-do natives for their softness and durability. the weaving industry is on the decline throughout the district, except perhaps in razam, and the weaver castes are taking to other means of livelihood. round chipurupalle, for example, the pattu sales have become experts in tobacco-curing, and have made such profits that they are able to monopolise much of the trade and money-lending of the locality." concerning the origin of the sale caste, it is stated, in the andhrapada parijatamu, that it is the result of an union between a kamsala man and a potter woman. according to a current legend, the celestials (devatas), being desirous of securing clothing for themselves and their dependents, asked markandeya rishi to supply them with it. he went to vishnu, and prayed to him. the god directed him to make a sacrificial offering to indra, the celestial king. markandeya accordingly performed a great sacrifice, and from the fire issued bhavana rishi, with a ball of thread in his hands, which he had manufactured, under vishnu's direction, from the fibre of the lotus which sprang from the god's navel. with this ball of thread he proceeded to make cloths for the celestials. he subsequently married bhadravathi, the daughter of surya (the sun), who bore him a hundred and one sons, of whom a hundred became the ancestors of the padma sales, while the remaining man was the ancestor of the pattu sales. the caste worships bhavana rishi. at the close of the year, the caste occupation is stopped before the sankramanam for ten days. before they start work again, the pattu sales meet at an appointed spot, where they burn camphor, and wave it before a ball of thread, which represents bhavana rishi. a more elaborate rite is performed by the padma sales. they set apart a special day for the worship of the deified ancestor, and hold a caste feast. a special booth is erected, in which a ball of thread is placed. a caste-man acts as pujari (priest), and fruits, flowers, camphor, etc., are offered to the thread. the telugu padma sales, and marathi-speaking sukun and suka sales, are, as will be seen from the following table, short of stature, with high cephalic index:- stature. cm. cephalic index. padma sale 159.9 78.7 suka sale 161.1 81.8 sukun sale 160.3 82.2 the padma and karna sales are dealt with in special articles. writing in the eighteenth century, sonnerat remarks that the weaver fixes his loom under a tree before his house in the morning, and at night takes it home. and this observation holds good at the present day. weaving operations, as they may be seen going on at weaving centres in many parts of southern india, are thus described by mr. h. a. stuart. [129] "the process of weaving is very simple. the thread is first turned off upon a hand-spindle, and then the warp is formed. bamboo sticks, 120 in number, are fixed upright in the ground, generally in the shade of a tope or grove, at a distance of a cubit from one another, and ten women or children, carrying ratnams (spindles) in their hands, walk up and down this line, one behind the other, intertwining the thread between the bamboos, until 1,920 threads of various colours, according to the pattern desired, are thus arranged. for this work each gets half an anna--a small remuneration for walking four miles. to form a warp sufficient for eight women's cloths, forty miles have thus to be traversed. in weaving silk cloths or the finer fabrics, the length of the warp is less than sixty yards. as soon as the threads have been arranged, the bamboos are plucked up, and rolled together with the threads upon them. trestles are then set out in the tope, and upon them the warp with the bamboos is stretched horizontally, and sized by means of large long brushes with ragi starch, and carried along by two men. this having dried, the whole is rolled up, and placed in the loom in the weaver's house. the weaving room is a long, narrow, dark chamber, lighted by one small window close to where the workman sits. the loom is constructed on the simplest principles, and can be taken to pieces in a few minutes, forming a light load for a man. the alternate threads of the warp are raised and depressed, to receive the woof in the following manner. two pairs of bamboos are joined together by thin twine loops, and, being suspended from the roof, are also joined to two pedals near the floor. through the joining loops of one pair of bamboos run half the threads, and through those of the other run the other half. thus, by depressing one pedal with the foot and raising the other, one set of threads is depressed, and the other raised so as to admit of the woof thread being shot across. this thread is forced home by a light beam suspended from the roof, and then, the position of the pedals being reversed, the woof thread is shot back again between the reversed threads of the warp. in this way about three yards can be woven in a day." further mr. j. d. rees writes as follows. [130] "as you enter a weaver's grove, it appears at first sight as if those occupied in this industry were engaged in a pretty game. rows of women walk up and down the shady aisles, each holding aloft in the left hand a spindle, and in the right a bamboo wand, through a hook at the end of which the thread is passed. alongside are split bamboos reaching as high as their hips, and, as they pass, they unwind the thread from the spindle by means of the wand, and pass it over each alternate upright. the threads, thus separated, are subsequently lifted with their bamboo uprights from the ground, and, while extended from tree to tree in a horizontal position, are washed with rice-water, and carefully brushed. the threads are now ready to be made into cloth, and the actual weaving is carried on by means of primitive hand looms inside the houses." weavers, like many other classes in southern india, are eminently conservative. even so trifling an innovation as the introduction of a new arrangement for maintaining tension in the warp during the process of weaving gave rise a short time ago to a temporary strike among the hand-loom weavers at the madras school of arts. for the following note on the weaving industry, i am indebted to mr. a. chatterton. "the hand-weavers may be divided into two great classes--(1) plain weavers, who weave cloths or fabrics with a single shuttle, which carries the weft from selvage to selvage; (2) bordered cloth weavers, who weave cloths in which the threads of the weft of the portion of the fabric forming the borders are distinct from the threads of the weft of the main body of the cloth. to manufacture these cloths, three shuttles are employed, and as yet no successful attempt has been made to imitate them on the power loom. the bordered cloth weavers do not suffer from the direct competition of machine-made piece-goods, and the depression in their branch of the industry is due to changes in the tastes of the people. [131] in the manufacture of a cloth from the raw material there are three distinct processes: spinning, warping, and weaving. modern machinery has absolutely and completely ousted hand-spinning; the primitive native methods of warping have been to a large extent replaced by improved hand-machines, and power looms have displaced hand looms to some extent; but there is still an enormous hand-loom industry, some branches of which are in by no means an unsatisfactory condition. in our efforts to place the hand-weaving industry on a better footing, we are endeavouring to improve the primitive methods of indigenous weavers both in regard to warping and weaving. in respect to weaving we have met with considerable success, as we have demonstrated that the output of the fly-shuttle loom is fully double that of the native hand loom, and it is in consequence slowly making its way in the weaving centres of southern india. in respect to warping, no definite solution has yet been effected, and we are still experimenting. the problem is complicated by the fact that the output of a warping mill must necessarily be sufficient to keep at least a hundred hand looms at work, and at the present time the hand-weaving industry is not organised on any basis, which gives promise of development into co-operative working on so large a scale as would give employment to this number of looms. in madura, coimbatore, madras and salem, attempts are being made to establish organised hand-loom weaving factories, and these represent the direction in which future development must take place. at present all these factories are running with fly-shuttle looms, and various modifications of the old types of hand-warping machinery. the only experiments in warping and sizing are now being conducted, at government expense, in the government weaving factory at salem, and in a small factory established privately at tondiarpet (madras). a warping machinery, suited to indian requirements, has been specially designed for us in england, and there is no doubt but that it will provide a solution to the warping question, but whether it will be satisfactory or not depends upon the efficiency of hank sizing. the superiority of native cloths is commonly attributed to the fact that they are made in hand looms, but in reality it is largely due to the methods of sizing employed by native weavers, and it is still doubtful whether we can attain the same results by any process which involves the production of continuous warps of indefinite length. the ordinary native warp is short, and it is stretched out to its full length in the street, and the size carefully and thoroughly brushed into it. the warps which our machines will produce may be thousands of yards in length, and, if they are successful, will almost entirely do away with the enormous waste of time involved in putting new warps into a loom at frequent intervals. that they will be successful in a sense there is no reasonable doubt, but whether the goods produced in our hand-weaving factories will be what are now known as hand-woven goods, or whether they will partake more of the nature of the power-loom productions, remains to be seen. with the cheap labour available in southern india, there is probably a future for hand-weaving factories, but it will depend almost entirely upon the successful training of the weavers, and experience shows that they are not easily amenable to discipline, and have very rigid objections to anything approaching a factory system." in a speech delivered at salem in 1906, sir arthur lawley, governor of madras, spoke as follows. "i know something of the prosperity of the weaving industry in days gone by, and i regret exceedingly to learn that it is not in so flourishing a condition as at one time it well claimed to be. now, we have all of us heard a good deal of swadeshi, and the government is being constantly urged, from time to time, to do something to foster the industries of this country. we made a beginning here by setting up a weaving institute. we believed that by doing so we should put within the knowledge of the weavers of this district methods whereby their output of cloth would be greater, while the cost was reduced, and that thus their material prosperity would be considerably advanced. now it is somewhat of a surprise, and considerable disappointment to me to learn that this effort which we have made is regarded with suspicion, if not with hostility. i am afraid our motives have been misunderstood, because i need hardly assure you that the idea that the government should enter into competition with any of the industries of the country never suggested itself to us. we desired simply and solely to infuse some fresh spirit into an industry which was languishing." in a note on the weaving industry, mr. e. b. havell writes thus. [132] "the principle of the danish co-operative system as applied to dairy-farming is the combination of a number of small proprietors for sending their products to a central factory, in which each of them has a share proportionate to the quantity of his contributions. in the management of the factory, each member has an absolutely equal voice, irrespective of his holdings. adapting such a system to the indian weaving industry, each weaving community would have a central establishment under its own control, which would arrange the purchase of material at wholesale rates, prepare warps for the weavers' looms, and organise the sale of the finished products. the actual weaving would be carried on as at present in the weavers' houses by the master weavers and their apprentices. if a system of this kind would retain the economic advantages of the factory system, and eliminate its many evils, it is obvious that a factory, owned and controlled by the weavers themselves, and worked only for their advantage, is a very different thing to a factory controlled by capitalists only for the purpose of exploiting the labour of their employees." as bearing on the general condition of the weaving community, the following extract from the report of the famine in the madras presidency, 1896-97, may be quoted. "among the people who felt the distress at the beginning were the weavers. it is a well-known fact that the people of the weaver castes, as well as mussalman weavers, are generally improvident, and consequently poor. in favourable times, the weavers generally earn fair wages. they, however, spend all they earn without caring to lay by anything, so that very few of their caste are in well-to-do circumstances. the same is the case with the mussalman weavers. all these weavers are entirely in the hands of the sowcars (money-lenders), who make advances to them, and get cloths in return. the cloths thus obtained by the sowcars are exported to other parts of the country. it may be taken as a general fact that most of the professional weavers are indebted to the sowcars, and are bound to weave for them. so long as the seasons are favourable, and sowcars get indents for cloths from their customers, they continue their advances to their dependent weavers. but when, owing to any cause, the demand decreases, the sowcars curtail their advances proportionately, and the weavers are at once put to difficulty. according to the fineness and kind of fabrics turned out by the weavers, they may be divided into fine cloth weavers and silk weavers, and weavers of coarse cloths. it is the coarse cloth weavers that would be affected with the first appearance of distress. the consumers of their manufactures are the poorer classes, and, with the appearance of scarcity and high prices, the demand for the coarser kinds of cloths would cease. such was actually the case at the beginning of the recent distress. the weavers are, as a class, not accustomed to hard manual labour, nor are they able to work exposed to heat and sun. if such people are put on earth-work, they would certainly fail to turn out the prescribed task, and consequently earn insufficient wages. they would thus be, as it were, punished for no fault of theirs. this state of things would last at least for some time, until the weavers got accustomed to earth-work. again, these people have, by constant work at their own craft, attained to a certain degree of skill and delicacy, and, if compelled to do earth-work during the temporary unfavourable season, they would certainly lose, to some extent, their skill and delicacy of hand, and would become unfit, in that degree, for their accustomed work when favourable season returns. they would thus be put to inconvenience doubly. during the first part of the distress, their skill of hand, and delicacy of constitution would stand in their way, and, after the return of good season, the loss of manual skill and delicacy would place them at a disadvantage. it can be easily seen that giving relief to the weavers in their own calling is the most economical form of relief. in this form of special relief, government advances materials to the weavers to be woven into different kinds of cloths. government has no doubt to incur a large initial expenditure in the shape of value of materials, and wages for weavers for making these materials into cloths. but all the materials are returned woven into cloths, so that, at the close of the operations, government has a stock of cloths, which can be disposed of without difficulty on the return of favourable times, and the cost incurred recovered. in this way, government not only administers relief to a pretty large section of its poor subjects, but keeps up, with little or no cost to itself, the industrial skill of this section of the people." of proverbs relating to the weaver, one runs to the effect that, "if you want to narrow the breadth of a river, you should plant reeds on its margin; and, if you desire to destroy the sanitation of a village, you should bring weavers to it, and settle them there." when the dyes have to be fixed, and the dyed twist has to be washed, the weavers generally resort to running water, and pollute it. the several processes of twisting and untwisting threads, preparing skeins, etc., make combined labour a necessity in the weaving industry; and, wherever one finds a weaver settlement, he must find there a large number of these people, as is explained by the proverb that "the chetti (merchant) lost by partnership, while the weaver came to grief by isolation." when plying shuttles in the weaving process, the weavers always use their feet in shifting the warp, by treading on a press. thus, if a weaver unfortunately happens to have a sore on his foot, it means loss to him; or, as the proverb says, "if a dog gets a sore on its head, it never recovers from it; and even so a weaver who gets a sore on his foot." [133] salige (wire).--a gotra of kurni. saliyan.--the saliyan weavers of kornad and ayyampet, in the tanjore district, are a tamil-speaking class, who must not be confused with the telugu sales. they afford an interesting example of how a limited number of families, following the same occupation, can crystallise into a separate caste. they claim to have a puranam relating to their origin, which is said to be found in the sthalapuranam of the nalladai temple. they believe that they are the descendants of one saliya maha rishi, a low-caste man, who did service for one visakar, who was doing penance near nalladai. through the grace of the rishi visakar, saliya became a rishi, and married two wives. the saliyans are said to be descended from the offspring of the first wife, and the mottai saliyans from the offspring of the second. the saliyans have taken to wearing the sacred thread, engage brahman purohits, and are guided by brahman priests. they are said to have had their own caste priests until a brahman from sendangudi, near mayavaram, accepted the office of priest. it is reported that, in former days, the saliyans were not allowed to sell their goods except in a fixed spot called mamaraththumedu, where they set out their cloths on bamboos. high-caste people never touched the cloths, except with a stick. at the present day the saliyans occupy a good position in the social scale, and employ brahman cooks, though no other castes will eat in their houses. a curious feature in connection with the saliyans is that, contrary to the usual rule among tamil castes, they have exogamous septs or vidu (house), of which the following are examples:- mandhi, black monkey. kottangkachchi, cocoanut shell. thuniyan, cloth. kachchandhi, gunny-bag. vellai parangi, white vegetable marrow. ettadiyan, eight feet. thadiyan, stout. kazhudhai, donkey. thavalai, frog. sappaikalan, crooked-legged. malaiyan, hill. kaththan, an attendant on aiyanar. ozhakkan, a measure. thondhi, belly. munginazhi, bamboo measure. odakkazhinjan, one who defæcated when running. kamban, the tamil poet. ottuvidu, tiled house. kalli, euphorbia tirucalli. sirandhan, a noble person. thambiran, master or lord. kollai, backyard. madividu, storeyed house. murugan, name of a person. the saliyans have further acquired gotras named after rishis, and, when questioned as to their gotra, refer to the brahman purohits. the saliyan weavers of silk kornad women's cloths, who have settled at mayavaram in the tanjore district, neither intermarry nor interdine with the saliyans of the tinnevelly district, though they belong to the same linguistic division. the tinnevelly saliyans closely follow the kaikolans in their various ceremonials, and in their social organisation, and interdine with them. saliya women wear three armlets on the upper arm, whereas kaikola women only wear a single armlet. the saliyans may not marry a second wife during the lifetime of the first wife, even if she does not bear children. they may, however, adopt children. some of the tinnevelly saliyans have taken to trade and agriculture, while others weave coarse cotton cloths, and dye cotton yarn. in the census report, 1901, ataviyar is recorded as "a synonym for, or rather title of the tinnevelly sales." further, pattariyar is described as a tamil corruption of pattu saliyan, returned by some of the tinnevelly sales. the adaviyar or pattalia settis are tamilians, probably an offshoot of the kaikolans, and have no connection with the telugu pattu sales, who, like the padma sales, retain their mother-tongue wherever they settle. it is recorded [134] in connection with the saliyar of the chingleput district, many of whom are kaikolans, that "a story is current of their persecution by one salva naik (said to have been a brahman). the result of this was that large bodies of them were forced to flee from conjeeveram to madura, tanjore, and tinnevelly, where their representatives are still to be found." the adaviyars follow the tamil puranic type of marriage ceremonies, and have a sirutali (small tali) as a marriage badge. the caste deity is mukthakshiamman. the dead are always cremated. saluppan.--the tamil equivalent of the telugu janappan, which is derived from janapa, the sunn hemp (crotolaria juncea). samagara.--the samagaras have been described [135] as "the principal class of leather-workers in the south canara district. they are divided into two endogamous groups, the canarese samagaras and the arya samagaras. the latter speak marathi. though the samagaras are in the general estimation as low a caste as the holeyas, and do not materially differ from them in their religious and other ceremonies and customs, they are, as a rule, of much fairer complexion, and the women are often very handsome. the tanning industry is chiefly carried on by the samagaras, and their modus operandi is as follows. the hides are soaked for a period of one month in large earthen vats containing water, to which chunam is added at the rate of two seers per hide. after the expiry of the above period, they are soaked in fresh water for three days, in view to the chunam being removed. they are then put into an earthen vessel filled with water and the leaves of phyllanthus emblica, in which they remain for twelve days. after this, they are removed and squeezed, and replaced in the same vessel, where they are allowed to remain for about a month, after which period they are again removed, washed and squeezed. they are then sewn up and stuffed with the bark of cashew, daddala, and nerale trees, and hung up for a day. after this, the stitching is removed, and the hides are washed and exposed to the sun to dry for a day, when they become fit for making sandals. some of the hides rot in this process to such an extent as to become utterly unfit for use." the badge of the are samagara at conjeeveram is said [136] to be the insignia of the mochis (or mucchis), a boy's kite. samantan.--"this," the census superintendent, 1891, writes, "may be called the caste of malayalam rajahs and chieftains, but it is hardly a separate caste at all, at any rate at present, for those nayars and others who have at any time been petty chieftains in the country, call themselves samantas. the primary meaning of the word samanta is given by dr. gundert [137] as the chief of a district." the number of people who returned themselves as samantas (including a few samantan brahmans) at the census, 1881, was 1,611, and in 1901 they increased to 4,351. in a suit brought against the collector of malabar (mr. logan) some years ago by one nilambur thachara kovil mana vikrama, alias elaya tirumalpad, the plaintiff entered an objection to his being said by the collector to be of "a caste (nayar), who are permitted to eat fish and flesh, except of course beef." he stated in court that he was "a samantan by caste, and a samantan is neither a brahman, nor a kshatriya, nor a vaisya, nor a sudra." samantan, according to him, is a corruption of samantran, which, he stated, meant one who performs ceremonies without mantrams. he said that his caste observes all the ceremonies that brahmans do, but without mantrams. and he gave the following as the main points in which his caste differs from that of the nayars. brahmans can take their food in the houses of members of his caste, while they cannot do so in those of nayars. at the performance of sradhs in his caste, brahmans are fed, while this is not done in the case of nayars. brahmans can prepare water for the purpose of purification in his house, but not in that of a nayar. if a nayar touches a samantan, he has to bathe in the same way as a brahman would have to do. for the performance of marriages and other ceremonies in his caste, malabar brahmans are absolutely necessary. at marriages the tali is tied by kshatriyas. a samantan has fourteen days' pollution, while a nayar has fifteen. he can only eat what a brahman can eat. he added that he was of the same caste as the zamorin of calicut. a number of witnesses, including the author of the keralavakhsha kramam, were examined in support of his assertions. it was noted by the district judge that no documentary evidence was produced, or reference to public records or works of authority made in support of the theory as to the existence of a caste of samantas who are not nayars, and are classed under kshatriyas, and above the vaisyas. the following account is given by the author of the keralavakhsha kramam of the origin of the samantas. some kshatriyas who, being afraid of parasu rama, were wandering in foreign parts, and not observing caste rules, came to malabar, visited cheraman perumal, and asked for his protection. on this cheraman perumal, with the sanction of the brahmans, and in pursuance of the rules laid down by the maharajas who had preceded him, classed these people as members of the samantra caste. "that this book," the judge observed, "can be looked on as being in any way an authority on difficult and obscure historical questions, or that the story can be classed as more than a myth, there are no grounds for supposing." no linguistic work of recognised authority was produced in support of the derivation of the word samantan from samantran, meaning without mantrams. one exhibit in the case above referred to was an extract from the report of a commission appointed to inspect the state and condition of the province of malabar. it is dated 11th october, 1793, and in it allusion is made to the 'tichera tiroopaar' who is described as a chief nayar of nilambur in the southern division of the country. evidence was given to show that tichera tiroopaar is the nilambur tirumulpad. and, in a letter from the supervisor of malabar, dated 15th november, 1793, allusion is made to tichera tiroopaar as a nayar. two extracts from buchanan's well-known work on mysore, canara and malabar, were also filed as exhibits. in one buchanan relates what was told him by the brahmans of the history of 'malayala'. among other things, he mentions that cheraman perumal, having come to the resolution of retiring to mecca, went to calicut. "he was there met by a nayar who was a gallant chief, but who, having been absent at the division, had obtained no share of his master's dominions. cheraman perumal thereupon gave him his sword, and desired him to keep all that he could conquer. from this person's sisters are descended the tamuri rajahs or zamorins." in the second extract, buchanan sums up the result of enquiries that he had made concerning the zamorin and his family. he states that the head of the family is the tamuri rajah, called by europeans the zamorin, and adds: "the tamuri pretends to be of a higher rank than the brahmans, and to be inferior only to the invisible gods, a pretension that was acknowledged by his subjects, but which is held as absurd and abominable by the brahmans, by whom he is only treated as a sudra." an important witness said that he knew the plaintiff, and that he was a sudra. he stated that he had lived for two years in the zamorin's kovilagom, and knew the customs of his family. according to him there was no difference between his own caste customs and those of the zamorin. he said that samantan means a petty chieftain, and drew attention to the 'sukra niti,' edited by dr. oppert, where a samantan is said to be "he who gets annually a revenue of from one to three lakhs karshom from his subjects without oppressing them." there are, according to him, some nayars who call themselves samantas, and he added that when, in 1887, the collector of malabar called for lists of all stanom-holders [138] in the district, he examined these lists, and found that some of the nayar chiefs called themselves samantan. "a consideration of all the evidence," the judge writes, "appears to me to prove conclusively that the plaintiff is a nayar by caste.... what appears to me, from a consideration of the evidence, to be the safe inference to draw is that the members of the plaintiff's family, and also the descendants of certain other of the old nayar chieftains, have for some time called themselves, and been called by others, samantas, but that there is no distinctive caste of that name, and that the plaintiff is, as the defendant has described him, a nayar by caste." [139] the samantans are summed up as follows in the gazetteer of malabar. "samantan is the generic name of the group of castes forming the aristocracy of malabar, and it includes the following divisions:--nambiyar, unnitiri, adiyodi, all belonging to north malabar; and nedungadi, vallodi, eradi, and tirumulpad, all belonging to south malabar. there are also nayars with the title of nambiyar and adiyodi. nedungadi, vallodi and eradi, are territorial names applied to the samantans indigenous to ernad, walavanad, and nedunganad respectively; or perhaps it may be more correct to say that the tracts in question take their names from the ruling classes, who formerly bore sway there. eradi is the caste to which belongs the zamorin raja of calicut. it is also the name of a section of kiriyattil nayars. the raja of walavanad is a vallodi. tirumulpad is the title of a class of samantans, to which belong a number of petty chieftains, such as the karnamulpad of manjeri and the tirumulpad of nilambur. the ladies of this class are called kolpads or koilammahs. many nambiyars in north malabar claim to belong to the samantan caste, but there is at least reason to suppose that they are properly nayars, and that the claim to the higher rank is of recent date. that such recruitment is going on is indicated by the difference between the number of persons returned as samantans in the censuses of 1901 and 1891 (4,351 and 1,225 respectively), which is far above the normal percentage of increase of population. kshatriyas wear the punul (thread); samantans as a rule do not. most kshatriyas eat with brahmans, and have a pollution period of eleven nights, indicating that their position in the caste hierarchy lies between the brahmans with ten days and the ambalavasis proper with twelve. samantans as a rule observe fifteen days' pollution, and may not eat with brahmans. both follow marumakkatayam (inheritance in the female line), and their women as a rule have sambandham (alliance) only with brahmans or kshatriyas. those who belong to the old royal families are styled raja or tamburan (lord), their ladies tamburattis, and their houses kovilagams or palaces. some samantans have the caste titles of kartavu and kaimal. but it does not appear that there are really any material differences between the various classes of samantans, other than purely social differences due to their relative wealth and influence." "tradition," writes the travancore census superintendent (1901), "traces the samantas to the prudent kshatriyas, who cast off the holy thread, to escape detection and slaughter by parasu rama. they are believed to have then fled to uninhabited forests till they forgot the sandhyavandana prayers, and became in certain respects no better than sudras. thus they came, it is said, to be called amantrakas, samantrakas, samantas, or having no mantra at all. referring to this, mr. stuart says [140] 'neither philology, nor anything else, supports this fable.' from the word samantra, samanta can, no doubt, be conveniently derived, but, if they could not repeat mantras, they should have been called amantras and not samantras. in the kerala mahatmya we read that the perumals appointed samantas to rule over portions of their kingdom. taking the sanskrit word samanta, we may understand it to mean a petty chief or ruler. it is supposed that the perumals who came to malabar contracted matrimonial alliances with high class nayar women, and that the issue of such unions were given chiefships over various extents of territories. changes in their manners and customs were, it is said, made subsequently, by way of approximation to the kshatriyas proper. though the sacred thread, and the gayatri hymn were never taken up, less vital changes, as, for instance, that of the wearing of the ornaments of the kshatriya women, or of consorting only with nambutiri husbands, were adopted. those who lived in ernat formed themselves by connections and alliances into one large caste, and called themselves eratis. those who lived in valluvanat became vallotis. the unification could not assume a more cosmopolitan character as the several families rose to importance at different times, and, in all probability, from different sections of the nayars." in the travancore census report (1901) the chief divisions of the samantas are said to be atiyoti, unyatiri, pantala, erati, valloti, and netungati. "the unyatiris," the travancore census superintendent writes further, "look upon themselves as a higher class than the rest of the samantas, as they have an aryapattar to tie the tali of their girls, the other five castes employing only kshatriyas (tirumulpats) for that duty. the word atiyoti has sometimes been derived from atiyan, a slave or vassal, the tradition being that the kattanat raja, having once been ousted from his kingdom by the zamorin of calicut, sought the assistance of the raja of chirakkal. the latter is believed to have made the kattanat raja his vassal as a condition for his territory being restored. the unnittiris are not found in travancore, their place being taken by the unyatiris, who do not differ from them materially in any of their manners and customs. the word unnittiri means the venerable boy, and is merely a title of dignity. the word pantala comes from bhandarattil, meaning 'in or belonging to the royal treasury'. they appear to have been once the ruling chiefs of small territories. their women are known as kovilammamar, i.e., the ladies of palaces or ranis. the erati, the valloti, and netungati are british malabar castes, and receive their names from the localities, to which they may have been indigenous--ernat, valluvanat, and netunganat. the zamorin of calicut is an erati by caste. [in 1792, the joint commissioners wrote that 'the cartinaad and samoory (the principal families in point of extent of dominion) are of the samanth or euree (cowherd) caste.'] [141] some of these eratis, such as the raja of nilambur, are called tirumulpats. the only peculiarity with these tirumulpats is that they may tie the tali of their women, and need not call other tirumulpats for the purpose, as the rest of the samantas have to do. a title that several samantas often take is kartavu (agent or doer), their females being called koilpats, meaning literally those who live in palaces. the samantas of manchery and amarampalam in malabar are also called tirumulpats. the samantas of chuntampattai and cherupulasseri are called kartavus. both kartas and tirumulpats are called by the sudra castes tampuran or prince. the caste government of the samantas rests with the namputiri vaidikas, and their priesthood is undertaken by the namputiris. they follow the marumakkathayam law of inheritance (through the female line), and observe both the forms of marriage in vogue in the country, namely, tali-kettu and sambandham. women wear the three special ornaments of the kshatriyas, viz., the mittil or cherutali, entram, and kuzhal. the chief of these is the mittil, which is used as the wedding ornament. it has the appearance of rama's parasu or battle-axe. the houses of those samantas, who are or were till recently rulers of territories, are known as kottarams or palaces, while those of the commonalty are merely called mathams, a name given to the houses of brahmans not indigenous to malabar. the occupations, which the samantas pursue, are chiefly personal attendance on the male and female members of royal families. others are landlords, and a few have taken to the learned professions." in the cochin census report, 1901, it is stated that "samantas and ambalavasis do not interdine. at public feasts they sit together for meals. brahmans, kshatriyas, nampidis, and most of the ambalavasi castes, do not take water from them. birth and death pollution last for eleven days." in the madras civil list of titles and title-holders, the zamorin of calicut, and the valiya rajas of chirakkal, kadattanad, palghat, and waluvanad, are returned as samantas. samanthi (chrysanthemum indicum).--an exogamous sept of kuruba and togata. the flowers of the chrysanthemum are largely used for garlands, etc., in temple worship. samantiya.--the samantiyas are an oriya caste of agricultural labourers and firewood sellers. it has been suggested that the caste name is derived from samantiba, which denotes sauntering to pick up scattered things. the samantiyas are one of the castes, whose touch is supposed to convey pollution, and they consequently live apart in separate quarters. all the samantiyas are said to belong to the nagasa (cobra) gotra. the headman is called behara, and he is assisted by an official called poricha. there is also a caste servant entitled dogara. the caste title is podhano, which is also frequently given out as being the name of the caste. samantiya women will not eat food prepared by brahmans or members of other castes, and they apparently object to cooking in open places when travelling, and leave this work for the men to perform. an oriya brahman purohit officiates at the marriage ceremonies, which, with slight variations, conform to the standard oriya type. the marriage pandal (booth) is generally covered with cocoanut leaves and leafy twigs of eugenia jambolana and zizyphus jujuba. four lights, and a vessel of water, are kept on the dais throughout the marriage ceremonies. the knot, with which the cloths of the bride and bridegroom are tied together, is untied on the evening of the bibha (wedding) day, instead of on the seventh day as among many other castes. samanto.--a title of jatapus, and other oriya castes. samaya.--in his 'inscriptions at sravana belgola' in mysore, mr. lewis rice refers to the samaya as "dasaris or vaishnava religious mendicants, invested with authority as censors of morals. no religious ceremony or marriage could be undertaken without gaining their consent by the payment of fees, etc. under the former rajas the office was farmed out in all the large towns, and credited in the public accounts as samayachara. an important part of the profits arose either from the sale of women accused of incontinency, or from fines imposed on them for the same reason. the unfortunate women were popularly known as sarkar (government) wives." "the rules of the system," wilks writes, [142] "varied according to the caste of the accused. among brahmans and komatis, females were not sold, but expelled from their caste, and branded on the arm as prostitutes. they then paid to the ijardar (or contractor) an annual sum as long as they lived, and, when they died, all their property became his. females of other hindu castes were sold without any compunction by the ijardar, unless some relative stepped forward to satisfy his demand. these sales were not, as might be supposed, conducted by stealth, nor confined to places remote from general observation; for, in the large town of bangalore, under the very eyes of the european inhabitants, a large building was appropriated to the accommodation of these unfortunate women, and, so late as 1833, a distinct proclamation of the commissioners was necessary to enforce the abolition of this detestable traffic." samayamuvaru.--an itinerant class of mendicants attached to the sale caste. from a note by mr. c. hayavadana rao, i gather that they say that the name is an abbreviation of ranasamayamuvaru, or men of the day of battle. according to a legend, when bhavana rishi, the patron saint of the caste, was challenged to battle by kalavasina, a rakshasa, these people were created, and, with their assistance, the rakshasa was conquered. in recognition of their services, bhavana rishi made the sales maintain them. they wander from place to place in single families, and, when they reach a halting-place, dress up, and visit the house of the pedda senapati (headman), who feeds them for the day, and gives a chit (note) showing the amount paid by him. at their visits to sale houses, bhavana rishi is praised. they marry in the presence of, and with the aid of the sales. samban.--samban, meaning samba or siva, has been recorded as a sub-division of idaiyan and paraiyan. at times of census, sambuni kapu has been returned as the caste name by some palle fishermen in nellore. sambandham.--sambandham, meaning literally connexion, is "the term used by the nayars [and other castes] of south malabar to denote that a man and woman are united by a quasi-matrimonial bond." [143] in act iv of 1896, madras, sambandham is defined as "an alliance between a man and a woman, by reason of which they, in accordance with the custom of the community, to which they belong, or either of them belongs, cohabit or intend to cohabit as husband and wife." same (millet: panicum miliare).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. sami puli (holy tiger).--an exogamous sept of kallan. sammathi makkal (hammer-men).--an exogamous section of kallan. sammeraya.--a name for telugu beggars employed as servants and messengers by the heads of lingayat mutts (religious institutions). it is derived from samme, denoting confederacy or league, and denotes those who are bound to the rules laid down by lingayats. samolo.--a title of doluva. sampige.--sampige and sampangi (champac: michelia champaca) have been recorded as an exogamous sept of kurni and odde. champac flowers are used in the manufacture of temple garlands. samudra.--samudra, samudram, or samudrala, meaning the ocean, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of telugu brahmans, koravas, kurubas, balijas, and malas. the equivalent tamudri occurs as the title of the zamorin, who is the sea-king or ruler of calicut. sani.--the sanivallu, who are a telugu dancing-girl caste, are described, in the vizagapatam manual, as women who have not entered into matrimony, gain money by prostitution, and acting as dancers at feasts. sani is also a title of the oriya doluvas in ganjam, who are said to be descended from puri rajas by their concubines. the streets occupied by sanis are, in ganjam, known as sani vidhi. i have heard of missionaries, who, in consequence of this name, insist on their wives being addressed as ammagaru instead of by the customary name dorasani. in a note on the sanis of the godavari district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes as follows. "in this district, dancing-girls and prostitutes are made up of six perfectly distinct castes, which are in danger of being confused. these are the sanis proper, bogams, dommara sanis, turaka sanis, mangala bogams, and madiga bogams. of these, the bogams claim to be superior, and will not dance in the presence of, or after a performance by any of the others. the sanis do not admit this claim, but they do not mind dancing after the bogams, or in their presence. all the other classes are admittedly inferior to the sanis and the bogams. the sanis would scorn to eat with any of the other dancing castes. the sani women are not exclusively devoted to their traditional profession. some of them marry male members of the caste, and live respectably with them. the men do not, as among the dancing castes of the south, assist in the dancing, or by playing the accompaniments or forming a chorus, but are cultivators and petty traders. like the dancing-girls of the south, the sanis keep up their numbers by the adoption of girls of other castes. they do service in the temples, but they are not required to be formally dedicated or married to the god, as in the tamil country. those of them who are to become prostitutes are usually married to a sword on attaining puberty." sani, meaning apparently cow-dung, occurs as a sub-division of the tamil agamudaiyans. sanjogi.--the sanjogis are an oriya class of religious mendicants, who wear the sacred thread, and act as priests for panos and other lowly people. the name indicates connection, and that they are the connecting link between ordinary people and those who have given up earthly pleasures (sanyasis). the sanjogis follow the ordinary as well as the ascetic life. mr. g. ramamurti pantulu informs me that they are believed to be the offspring of ascetics who have violated their vow of celibacy, and women with whom they have lived. they make and sell bead rosaries of the sacred tulsi or basil (ocimum sanctum) which are worn by various oriya castes. some are cultivators, while others are beggars. a sanjogi beggar goes about with a bell on the thigh, and a coloured pot on the left shoulder. a few are employed at oriya maths (religious institutions), where it is their duty to invite bairagis and ascetics to a dinner party, and afterwards to remove the leaf platters, and eat the food which is left. sankati (ragi or millet pudding).--an exogamous sept of boya. ragi is the staple dietary of many of the lower classes, who cannot afford rice. sanku.--sanku, the conch or chank (turbinella rapa) has been recorded as a sub-division of dasaris, koppala velamas, and paraiyans who act as conch-blowers at funerals, and as an exogamous sept of kuruba. sankukatti, or those who tie the chank, occurs as a sub-division of idaiyan. the chank shell, which is regularly collected by divers off tuticorin in the tinnevelly district, is highly prized by hindus, and used for offering libations, and as a musical instrument at temple services, marriages, and other ceremonials. vaishnavites and madhvas are branded with the emblems of the chank and chakram. the rare right-handed chank shell is specially valued, and purchased for large sums. a legend, recorded by baldæus, runs to the effect that "garroude (garuda) flew in all haste to brahma, and brought to kistna the chianko or kinkhorn twisted to the right". such a shell appears on the coat-of-arms of the raja of cochin and on the coins of travancore. sanno (little).--a sub-division of bottada, omanaito, pentiya, and sondi. sanror.--a synonym of shanans, who claim that shanan is derived from sanror, meaning the learned or noble. santarasi.--an exogamous sept of dandasi. the members thereof may not use mats made of the sedge of this name. santha (a fair).--an exogamous sept of devanga and odde. santo.--a sub-division of oriya brahmans and bhayipuos. sanyasi.--"a sanyasi is literally a man who has forsaken all, and who has renounced the world and leads a life of celibacy, devoting himself to religious meditation and abstraction, and to the study of holy books. he is considered to have attained a state of exalted piety that places him above most of the restrictions of caste and ceremony. his is the fourth asrama or final stage of life recommended for the three higher orders. ["having performed religious acts in a forest during the third portion of his life, let him become a sanyasi, for the fourth portion of it, abandoning all sensual affection." [144]] the number of brahman sanyasis is very small; they are chiefly the gurus or high priests of the different sects. these are, as a rule, men of learning, and heads of monasteries, where they have a number of disciples under instruction and training for religious discussion. they are supported entirely by endowments and the contributions of their disciples. they undertake periodical tours for the purpose of receiving the offerings of their followers. since the sanyasi is considered to be above all sin, and to have acquired sufficient merit for salvation, no sradha is performed by the children born to him before he became an anchorite. [the skull of a sanyasi is broken after death, as a guarantee of his passage to eternal bliss. cf. gosayi.] the corpse of a sanyasi is buried, and never burnt, or thrown into the river. "the majority of the sanyasis found, and generally known as such, are a class of sudra devotees, who live by begging, and pretend to powers of divination. they wear garments coloured with red ochre, and allow the hair to grow unshorn. they often have settled abodes, but itinerate. many are married, and their descendants keep up the sect, and follow the same calling." [145] sapiri.--a synonym of relli. sappaliga.--it is noted, in the madras census report, 1901, that "in some taluks of south canara they are said to be identical with, or a sub-caste of ganiga." the ganigas are a canarese caste, of which the traditional occupation is oil-pressing. in the manual of the south canara district, it is recorded that "sappaligs appear to be identical with the devadigas (temple musicians) in north canara, though they are regarded as distinct castes in south canara. the sappaligs are, as the name sappal (noise) implies, a class of musicians in temples, but a number of them are cultivators." sappaliga is an occupational term. the musicians among the tulu moger fishing caste are called sappaligas, in the same way that those mogers who are engaged as oil-pressers are called ganigas, both being occupational names. sara (thread).--a gotra of kurni. saragu (dried or withered leaves).--a sub-division of valaiyan. sarangulu.--recorded, in the nellore district, as being sailors. the name is doubtless equivalent to serang, which has been defined [146] as meaning "a native boatswain, or chief of a lascar crew; the skipper of a small native vessel." sarattu (sacred thread).--a sub-division of kanakkan, members of which wear the sacred thread. sarayi (alcoholic liquor).--a sub-division of balija. sarige (lace).--the name of a class of gold-lace makers in mysore, and of an exogamous sept of kuruba. sastri.--in the madras census report, 1901, sastri (one learned in the shastras) is described as "unrecognizable. the word is used as a title by smarta brahmans in the madras presidency, but the persons returning it came from bombay, and were not brahmans." sastri is recorded in my notes as a title of devangas. satani.--the satanis are described in the madras census report, 1891, as "a class of temple servants very much like the malis of bengal. the word satani is a corrupt form of sattadavan, which, literally means one who does not wear (the sacred thread and tuft of hair). for temple services ramanuja classed vaishnavites into sattinavan and sattadavan. the former are invariably brahmans, and the latter sudras. hence satani is the professional name given to a group of the vaishnava creed. it is sometimes stated that the satanis of the madras presidency are the disciples of the famous bengali reformer chaitanya (15th century), from whom, they say, the term satani took its origin. but, so far as i can ascertain, this supposition rests on no better foundation than the similarity in sound of the two names, and it seems to me more than doubtful. there is no evidence of chaitanya having ever preached in the dravidian country, and the tenets of the satanis of this presidency differ widely from those of the followers of chaitanya. the former worship only krishna, while the latter venerate vishnu in the form of narayana also. the satanis, too, have as much reverence for ramanuja as the followers of chaitanya have towards their guru, who is said to be an incarnation of krishna. with regard to their religion, it will suffice to say that they are tengalai vaishnavites. they shave their heads completely, and tie their lower cloth like a brahman bachelor. in their ceremonies they more or less follow the brahmans, but the sacred thread is not worn by them. though the consumption of alcoholic liquor and animal food is strictly prohibited, they practice both to a considerable extent on all festive occasions, and at sradhs. drinking and other excesses are common. some satanis bury the dead, and others burn them. the principal occupations of satanis are making garlands, carrying the torches during the god's procession, and sweeping the temple floor. they also make umbrellas, flower baskets and boxes of palmyra leaves, and prepare the sacred balls of white clay (for making the vaishnavite sectarian mark), and saffron powder. their usual agnomen is aiya." in the madras census report, 1901, the satanis are summed up as being "a telugu caste of temple servants supposed to have come into existence in the time of the great vaishnavite reformer sri ramanujacharya (a.d. 1100). the principal endogamous sub-divisions of this caste are (1) ekakshari, (2) chaturakshari, (3) ashtakshari, and (4) kulasekhara. the ekaksharis (eka, one, and akshara, syllable) hope to get salvation by reciting the one mystic syllable om; the chaturaksharis believe in the religious efficacy of the four syllables ra-ma-nu-ja; the ashtaksharis hold that the recitation of the eight syllables om-na-mo-na-ra-ya-na-ya (om! salutation to narayana) will ensure them eternal bliss; and the kulasekharas, who wear the sacred thread, claim to be the descendants of the vaishnava saint kulasekhara alvar, formerly a king of the kerala country. the first two sections make umbrellas, flower garlands, etc., and are also priests to balijas and other sudra castes of the vaishnava sects, while the members of the other two have taken to temple service. in their social and religious customs, all the sub-divisions closely imitate the tengalai vaishnava brahmans. the marriage of girls after puberty, and the remarriage of widows, are strictly prohibited. most of them employ brahman purohits, but latterly they have taken to getting priests from their own caste. they attach no importance to the sanskrit vedas, or to the ritual sanctioned therein, but revere the sacred hymns of the twelve vaishnava saints or alvars, called nalayira prabandham (book of the four thousand songs), which is in tamil. from this their purohits recite verses during marriages and other ceremonies." at the census, 1901, ramanuja was returned as a sub-caste of satani. in the manual of the north arcot district, mr. h. a. stuart describes the satanis as "a mixed religious sect, recruited from time to time from other castes, excepting paraiyans, leather-workers, and muhammadans. all the satanis are vaishnavites, but principally revere bashyakar (another name for ramanuja), whom they assert to have been an incarnation of vishnu. the satanis are almost entirely confined to the large towns. their legitimate occupations are performing menial services in vishnu temples, begging, tending flower gardens, selling flower garlands, making fans, grinding sandalwood into powder, and selling perfumes. they are the priests of some sudra castes, and in this character correspond to the saivite pandarams." in the census report, 1871, the satanis are described as being "frequently religious mendicants, priests of inferior temples, minstrels, sellers of flowers used as offerings, etc., and have probably recruited their numbers by the admission into their ranks of individuals who have been excommunicated from higher castes. as a matter of fact, many prostitutes join this sect, which has a recognised position among the hindus. this can easily be done by the payment of certain fees, and by eating in company with their co-religionists. and they thus secure for themselves decent burial with the ceremonial observances necessary to ensure rest to the soul." in the mysore census report, 1891, it is noted that satanis are also styled khadri vaishnavas, sattadaval, chatali, kulasekhara, and sameraya. these names, however, seem to have pricked their amour propre in the late census, and they took considerable pains not only to cast them off, but also to enrol themselves as prapanna vaishnavas, nambi, venkatapura vaishnavas, etc. the idea of being tabulated as sudras was so hateful to them that, in a few places, the enumerators, who had so noted down their caste according to precedent, were prosecuted by them for defamation. the cases were of course thrown out. further, the mysore census superintendent, 1901, writes that "the sub-divisions of the satanis are khadri vaishnavas, natacharamurti, prathama vaishnava, sameraya or samogi, sankara, suri, sattadhava, telugu satani, and venkatapurada. some are employed in agriculture, but as a rule they are engaged in the service of vishnu temples, and are flower-gatherers, torch-bearers, and strolling minstrels." the satanis are also called dasa nambis. they are flesh-eaters, but some have now become pure vegetarians. there are, for example, at srivilliputtur in the tinnevelly district, a large number who have abandoned a meat dietary. they are connected with the temple of andal, and supply flowers and tulsi (ocimum sanctum) leaves for worship, carry torches before the goddess during processions, and watch the gate of the temple during the night. the small income which they derive from the temple is supplemented by the manufacture and sale of palmyra leaf baskets, and umbrellas made from pandanus leaves. as a class, the satanis are given to liquor, and all important ceremonial occasions are made the excuse for copious potations. this weakness is so well known that, in the north of the presidency, the term ramanuja matham is used to denote the consumption of meat and drink at death or sradh ceremonies, just as saivam signifies vegetarianism. the satani mendicant can be recognised by the peculiar flat gourd-shaped brass pot and palm leaf fan which he carries. the satanis claim to have sprung from the sweat of virat purusha (lord of the universe). the following legend is told, as accounting for the removal of the kudumi (tuft of hair on the head), and wearing the cloth without a fold behind. in the time of ramanuja, the satanis enjoyed certain privileges in the temples, but, not satisfied with these, they claimed to take rank next to brahmans. this privilege was accorded, and, when flowers and other things used in the worship of the god were to be distributed, they were handed over to the satanis. they, however, were unable to decide who should be deputed to represent the community, each person decrying the others as being of low caste. ramanuja accordingly directed that they should shave their heads, and wear their loin-cloths with a fold in front only. in addition to other occupations already noted, satanis sell turmeric, coloured powders, and sacred balls of white clay used by vaishnavites. some act as priests to balijas and komatis, at whose death ceremonies the presence of a satani is essential. immediately after death, the satani is summoned, and he puts sect marks on the corpse. at the grave, cooked food is offered, and eaten by the satani and members of the family of the deceased. on the last day of the death ceremonies (karmandiram), the satani comes to the house of the dead person late in the evening, bringing with him certain idols, which are worshipped with offerings of cooked rice, flesh, and liquor in jars. the food is distributed among those present, and the liquor is doled out from a spoon called parikam, or a broom dipped in the liquor, which is drunk as it drips therefrom. satani women dress just like vaishnava brahman women, from whom it is difficult to distinguish them. in former days, the satanis used to observe a festival called ravikala (bodice) utchavam, which now goes by the name of gandapodi (sandal powder) utchavam. the festival, as originally carried out, was a very obscene rite. after the worship of the god by throwing sandal powder, etc., the satanis returned home, and indulged in copious libations of liquor. the women threw their bodices into vessel, and they were picked out at random by the men. the woman whose bodice was thus secured became the partner of the man for the day. for the following note on satanis in the vizagapatam district, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. satani is said to be the shortened form of saththadavan, the uncovered man. they are prohibited from covering three different parts of their bodies, viz., the head with the usual tuft of hair, the body with the sacred thread, and the waist with the customary strip of cloth. all devout satanis shave their heads completely. [there is a proverb "tie a knot on the satani's tuft of hair, and on the ascetic's holy thread." the satanis shave the whole head, and the sanyasis have no sacred thread.] [147] the caste is divided into exogamous septs, or intiperulu. the custom of menarikam, according to which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is observed. the remarriage of widows and divorce are not allowed. attempts have been made by some members of the caste, in other parts of the madras presidency, to connect themselves with chaitanya. but, so far as the vizagapatam district is concerned, this is repudiated. they are ramanuja vaishnavas of the tenkalai persuasion. their gurus are known as paravasthuvaru--a corruption of paravasu deva, whose figure is on the vimana of the srirangam temple, and who must be visited before entering the principal sanctuary. they live at gumsur in ganjam, and have sadacharulu, or ever-devout followers, who act as their agents in vizagapatam. they brand the shoulders of satanis with the vaishnavite emblems, the sankha and chakra, and initiate them into the mysteries of the vaishnava religion by whispering into their ears the word ramanuja. the satani learns by heart various songs in eulogy of srirangam and its deity, by means of which he earns his living. he rises in the early morning, and, after a bath, adorns his forehead and body with the vaishnavite namam, ties round his clean-shaved head a string of tulsi (ocimum sanctum) beads known as thirupavithram, puts a tulsi garland round his neck, and takes a fan called gajakarnam, or elephant's ear, in his right hand. in his left hand he carries a copper gourd-shaped vessel. he is generally accompanied by another satani similarly got up. when begging, they sing the songs referred to above, and collect the rice which is given to them in their vessels. at the end of their round they return home, and their wives clean the rice, bow down before it, and cook it. no portion of the rice obtained by begging should be sold for money. the satanis play an important part in the social life of the vaishnavites of the district, and are the gurus of some of the cultivating and other classes. they preside at the final death ceremonies of the non-brahman vaishnavite castes. they burn their dead, and perform the chinna (little) and pedda rozu (big day) death ceremonies. sathu.--a synonym, meaning a company of merchants or travellers, of perike and janappan. saurashtra.--a synonym of the patnulkarans, derived from the saurashtra country, whence they came southward. they also style themselves saurashtra brahmans. savalaikkaran.--a tamil name for fishermen, who fish in the sea. savalai or saval thadi is the flattened paddle used for rowing boats. the savalaikkarans are more akin to the pallis or vanniyans than to the sembadavans. though a large number are agriculturists, some play on the nagasaram (reed instrument). in the tinnevelly district, where melakkarans are scarce, the temple musicians are either savalaikkarans or panisavans. the agricultural savalaikkarans use the title padayachi, and the musicians the title annavi. their marriages last three days, and the milk-post is made of teak-wood. widow remarriage is prohibited. the dead are always buried. socially they are on a par with the maravans, with whom they interdine. savali.--a synonym of budubudike. savantiya.--a synonym of samantiya. savara.--the savaras, sawaras, or saoras, are an important hill-tribe in ganjam and vizagapatam.the name is derived by general cunningham from the scythian sagar, an axe, in reference to the axe which they carry in their hands. in sanskrit, sabara or savara means a mountaineer, barbarian, or savage. the tribe has been identified by various authorities with the suari of pliny and sabarai of ptolemy. "towards the ganges," the latter writes, "are the sabarai, in whose country the diamond is found in great abundance." this diamond-producing country is located by cunningham near sambalpur in the central provinces. in one of his grants, nandivarma pallavamalla, a pallava king, claims to have released the hostile king of the sabaras, udayana by name, and captured his mirror-banner made of peacock's feathers. the rev. t. foulkes [148] identifies the sabaras of this copper-plate grant with the savaras of the eastern ghats. but dr. e. hultzsch, who has re-edited the grant, [149] is of opinion that these sabaras cannot be identified with the savaras. the aitareya brahmana of the rig-veda makes the savaras the descendants of the sons of visvamitra, who were cursed to become impure by their father for an act of disobedience, while the ramayana describes them as having emanated from the body of vasishta's cow to fight against the sage visvamitra. the language of the savaras is included by mr. g. a. grierson [150] in the munda family. it has, he writes, "been largely influenced by telugu, and is no longer an unmixed form of speech. it is most closely related to kharia and juang, but in some characteristics differs from them, and agrees with the various dialects of the language which has in this (linguistic) survey been described under the denomination of kherwari." the savaras are described by mr. f. fawcett [151] as being much more industrious than the khonds. "many a time," he writes, "have i tried to find a place for an extra paddy (rice) field might be made, but never with success. it is not too much to say that paddy is grown on every available foot of arable ground, all the hill streams being utilized for this purpose. from almost the very tops of the hills, in fact from wherever the springs are, there are paddy fields; at the top of every small area a few square yards, the front perpendicular revetment [of large masses of stones] sometimes as large in area as the area of the field; and larger and larger, down the hillside, taking every advantage of every available foot of ground there are fields below fields to the bottoms of the valleys. the saoras show remarkable engineering skill in constructing their paddy fields, and i wish i could do it justice. they seem to construct them in the most impossible places, and certainly at the expense of great labour. yet, with all their superior activity and industry, the saoras are decidedly physically inferior to the khonds. it seems hard the saoras should not be allowed to reap the benefit of their industry, but must give half of it to the parasitic bissoyis and their retainers. the greater part of the saoras' hills have been denuded of forest owing to the persistent hacking down of trees for the purpose of growing dry crops, so much so that, in places, the hills look almost bare in the dry weather. nearly all the jungle (mostly sal, shorea robusta) is cut down every few years. when the saoras want to work a piece of new ground, where the jungle has been allowed to grow for a few years, the trees are cut down, and, when dry, burned, and the ground is grubbed up by the women with a kind of hoe. the hoe is used on the steep hill sides, where the ground is very stony and rocky, and the stumps of the felled trees are numerous, and the plough cannot be used. in the paddy fields, or on any flat ground, they use ploughs of lighter and simpler make than those used in the plains. they use cattle for ploughing." it is noted by mr. g. v. ramamurti pantulu, in an article on the savaras, that "in some cases the bissoyi, who was originally a feudatory chief under the authority of the zemindar, and in other cases the zemindar claims a fixed rent in kind or cash, or both. subject to the rents payable to the bissoyis, the savaras under them are said to exercise their right to sell or mortgage their lands. below the ghats, in the plains, the savara has lost his right, and the mustajars or the renters to whom the savara villages are farmed out take half of whatever crops are raised by the savaras." mr. ramamurti states further that a new-comer should obtain the permission of the gomongo (headman) and the boya before he can reclaim any jungle land, and that, at the time of sale or mortgage, the village elders should be present, and partake of the flesh of the pig sacrificed on the occasion. in some places, the savaras are said to be entirely in the power of paidi settlers from the plains, who seize their entire produce on the plea of debts contracted at a usurious rate of interests. in recent years, some savaras emigrated to assam to work in the tea-gardens. but emigration has now stopped by edict. the sub-divisions among the savaras, which, so far as i can gather, are recognised, are as follows:-a.--hill savaras. (1) savara, jati savara (savaras par excellence), or maliah savara. they regard themselves as superior to the other divisions. they will eat the flesh of the buffalo, but not of the cow. (2) arsi, arisi, or lombo lanjiya. arsi means monkey, and lombo lanjiya, indicating long-tailed, is the name by which members of this section are called, in reference to the long piece of cloth, which the males allow to hang down. the occupation is said to be weaving the coarse cloths worn by members of the tribe, as well as agriculture. (3) luara or muli. workers in iron, who make arrow heads, and other articles. (4) kindal. basket-makers, who manufacture rough baskets for holding grain. (5) jadu. said to be a name among the savaras for the hill country beyond kollakota and puttasingi. (6) kumbi. potters who make earthen pots. "these pots," mr. fawcett writes, "are made in a few villages in the saora hills. earthen vessels are used for cooking, or for hanging up in houses as fetishes of ancestral spirits or certain deities." b.--savaras of the low country. (7) kapu (denoting cultivator), or pallapu. (8) suddho (good). it has been noted that the pure savara tribes have restricted themselves to the tracts of hill and jungle-covered valleys. but, as the plains are approached, traces of amalgamation become apparent, resulting in a hybrid race, whose appearance and manners differ but little from those of the ordinary denizens of the low country. the kapu savaras are said to retain many of the savara customs, whereas the suddho savaras have adopted the language and customs of the oriya castes. the kapu section is sometimes called kudunga or baseng, and the latter name is said by mr. ramamurti to be derived from the savara word basi, salt. it is, he states, applied to the plains below the ghats, as, in the fairs held there, salt is purchased by the savaras of the hills, and the name is used to designate the savaras living there. a class name kampu is referred to by mr. ramamurti, who says that the name "implies that the savaras of this class have adopted the customs of the hindu kampus (oriya for kapu). kudumba is another name by which they are known, but it is reported that there is a sub-division of them called by this name." he further refers to bobbili and bhima as the names of distinct sub-divisions. bobbili is a town in the vizagapatam district, and bhima was the second of the five pandava brothers. in an account of the maliya savarulu, published in the 'catalogue raisonné of oriental manuscripts,' [152] it is recorded that "they build houses over mountain torrents, previously throwing trees across the chasms; and these houses are in the midst of forests of fifty or more miles in extent. the reason of choosing such situations is stated to be in order that they may more readily escape by passing underneath their houses, and through the defile, in the event of any disagreement and hostile attack in reference to other rulers or neighbours. they cultivate independently, and pay tax or tribute to no one. if the zemindar of the neighbourhood troubles them for tribute, they go in a body to his house by night, set it on fire, plunder, and kill; and then retreat, with their entire households, into the wilds and fastnesses. they do in like manner with any of the zemindar's subordinates, if troublesome to them. if they are courted, and a compact is made with them, they will then abstain from any wrong or disturbance. if the zemindar, unable to bear with them, raise troops and proceed to destroy their houses, they escape underneath by a private way, as above mentioned. the invaders usually burn the houses, and retire. if the zemindar forego his demands, and make an agreement with them, they rebuild their houses in the same situations, and then render assistance to him." the modern savara settlement is described by mr. fawcett as having two rows of huts parallel and facing each other. "huts," he writes, "are generally built of upright pieces of wood stuck in the ground, 6 or 8 inches apart, and the intervals filled in with stones and mud laid alternately, and the whole plastered over with red mud. huts are invariably built a few feet above the level of the ground, often, when the ground is very uneven, 5 feet above the ground in front. roofs are always thatched with grass. there is usually but one door, near one end wall; no windows or ventilators, every chink being filled up. in front of the doorway there is room for six or eight people to stand, and there is a loft, made by cross-beams, about 5 feet from the floor, on which grain is stored in baskets, and under which the inmates crawl to do their cooking. bits of sun-dried buffalo meat and bones, not smelling over-sweet, are suspended from the rafters, or here and there stuck in between the rafters and the thatch; knives, a tangi (battle-axe), a sword, and bows and arrows may also be seen stuck in somewhere under the thatch. agricultural implements may be seen, too, small ones stuck under the roof or on the loft, and larger ones against the wall. as in ireland, the pig is of sufficient importance to have a room in the house. there is generally merely a low wall between the pig's room and the rest of the house, and a separate door, so that it may go in and out without going through that part of the house occupied by the family. rude drawings are very common in saora houses. they are invariably, if not always, in some way that i could never clearly apprehend, connected with one of the fetishes in the house." "when," mr. ramamurti writes, "a tiger enters a cottage and carries away an inmate, the villages are deserted, and sacrifices are offered to some spirits by all the inhabitants. the prevalence of small-pox in a village requires its abandonment. a succession of calamities leads to the same result. if a savara has a number of wives, each of them sometimes requires a separate house, and the house sites are frequently shifted according to the caprice of the women. the death or disease of cattle is occasionally followed by the desertion of the house." when selecting a site for a new dwelling hut, the maliah savaras place on the proposed site as many grains of rice in pairs as there are married members in the family, and cover them over with a cocoanut shell. they are examined on the following day, and, if they are all there, the site is considered auspicious. among the kapu savaras, the grains of rice are folded up in leaflets of the bael tree (ægle marmelos), and placed in split bamboo. it is recorded by mr. fawcett, in connection with the use of the duodecimal system by the savaras that, "on asking a gomango how he reckoned when selling produce to the panos, he began to count on his fingers. in order to count 20, he began on the left foot (he was squatting), and counted 5; then with the left hand 5 more; then with the two first fingers of the right hand he made 2 more, i.e., 12 altogether; then with the thumb of the right hand and the other two fingers of the same, and the toes of the right foot he made 8 more. and so it was always. they have names for numerals up to 12 only, and to count 20 always count first twelve and then eight in the manner described, except that they may begin on either hand or foot. to count 50 or 60, they count by twenties, and put down a stone or some mark for each twenty. there is a saora story accounting for their numerals being limited to 12. one day, long ago, some saoras were measuring grain in a field, and, when they had measured 12 measures of some kind, a tiger pounced in on them and devoured them. so, ever after, they dare not have a numeral above 12, for fear of a tiger repeating the performance." the savaras are described by mr. fawcett as "below the middle height; face rather flat; lips thick; nose broad and flat; cheek bones high; eyes slightly oblique. they are as fair as the uriyas, and fairer than the telugus of the plains. not only is the saora shorter and fairer than other hill people, but his face is distinctly mongolian, the obliquity of the eyes being sometimes very marked, and the inner corners of the eyes are generally very oblique. [the mongolian type is clearly brought out in the illustration.] the saora's endurance in going up and down hill, whether carrying heavy loads or not, is wonderful. four saoras have been known to carry a 10-stone man in a chair straight up a 3,800 feet hill without relief, and without rest. usually, the saora's dress (his full dress) consists of a large bunch of feathers (generally white) stuck in his hair on the crown of his head, a coloured cloth round his head as a turban, and worn much on the back of the head, and folded tightly, so as to be a good protection to the head. when feathers are not worn, the hair is tied on the top of the head, or a little at the side of it. a piece of flat brass is another head ornament. it is stuck in the hair, which is tied in a knot at the crown of the head, at an angle of about 40° from the perpendicular, and its waving up and down motion as a man walks has a curious effect. another head ornament is a piece of wood, about 8 or 9 inches in length and 3/4 inch in diameter, with a flat button about 2 inches in diameter on the top, all covered with hair or coloured thread, and worn in the same position as the flat piece of brass. a peacock's feather, or one or two of the tail feathers of the jungle cock, may be often seen stuck in the knot of hair on the top of the head. a cheroot or two, perhaps half smoked, may often be seen sticking in the hair of a man or woman, to be used again when wanted. they also smoke pipes, and the old women seem particularly fond of them. round the saora's neck are brass and bead necklaces. a man will wear as many as thirty necklaces at a time, or rather necklaces of various lengths passed as many as thirty times round his neck. round the saora's waist, and under his fork, is tied a cloth with coloured ends hanging in front and behind. when a cloth on the body is worn, it is usually worn crossed in front. the women wear necklaces like the men. their hair is tied at the back of the head, and is sometimes confined with a fillet. they wear only one cloth, tied round the waist. during feasts, or when dancing, they generally wear a cloth over the shoulders. every male wears a small ring, generally of silver, in the right nostril, and every female wears a similar ring in each nostril, and in the septum. as i have been told, these rings are put in the nose on the eighth or tenth day after birth. bangles are often worn by men and women. anklets, too, are sometimes worn by the women. brass necklets and many other ornaments are made in saora hills by the gangsis, a low tribe of workers in brass. the saora's weapons are the bow, sometimes ornamented with peacock's feathers, sword, dagger, and tangi. the bow used by the saoras is much smaller than the bow used by any of the other hill people. it is generally about 3 1/2 feet long, and the arrows from 18 to 21 inches. the bow is always made of bamboo, and so is the string. the arrows are reeds tipped with iron, and leathered on two sides only. a blunt-headed arrow is used for shooting birds. every saora can use the bow from boyhood, and can shoot straight up to 25 or 30 yards." as regards the marriage customs of the savaras, mr. fawcett writes that "a saora may marry a woman of his own or of any other village. a man may have as many as three wives, or, if he is a man of importance, such as gomango of a large village, he may have four. not that there is any law in the matter, but it is considered that three, or at most four, are as many as a man can manage. for his first marriage, a man chooses a young woman he fancies; his other wives are perhaps her sisters, or other women who have come to him. a woman may leave her husband whenever she pleases. her husband cannot prevent her. when a woman leaves her husband to join herself to another, the other pays the husband she has left a buffalo and a pig. formerly, it is said, if he did not pay up, the man she left would kill the man to whom she went. now arbitration comes into play. i believe a man usually takes a second wife after his first has had a child; if he did so before, the first wife would say he was impotent. as the getting of the first wife is more troublesome and expensive than getting the others, she is treated the best. in some places, all a man's wives are said to live together peaceably. it is not the custom in the kolakotta villages. knowing the wives would fight if together, domestic felicity is maintained by keeping up different establishments. a man's wives will visit one another in the daytime, but one wife will never spend the night in the house of another. an exception to this is that the first wife may invite one of the other wives to sleep in her house with the husband. as each wife has her separate house, so has she her separate piece of ground on the hill-side to cultivate. the wives will not co-operate in working each other's cultivation, but they will work together, with the husband, in the paddy fields. each wife keeps the produce of the ground she cultivates in her own house. produce of the paddy fields is divided into equal shares among the wives. if a wife will not work properly, or if she gives away anything belonging to her husband, she may be divorced. any man may marry a divorced woman, but she must pay to her former husband a buffalo and a pig. if a man catches his wife in adultery (he must see her in the act), he thinks he has a right to kill her, and her lover too. but this is now generally (but not always) settled by arbitration, and the lover pays up. a wife caught in adultery will never be retained as a wife. as any man may have as many as three wives, illicit attachments are common. during large feasts, when the saoras give themselves up to sensuality, there is no doubt a great deal of promiscuous intercourse. a widow is considered bound to marry her husband's brother, or his brother's sons if he has no younger brothers. a number of saoras once came to me to settle a dispute. they were in their full dress, with feathers and weapons. the dispute was this. a young woman's husband was dead, and his younger brother was almost of an age to take her to wife. she had fixed her affections on a man of another village, and made up her mind to have him and no one else. her village people wanted compensation in the shape of a buffalo, and also wanted her ornaments. the men of the other village said no, they could not give a buffalo. well, they should give a pig at least--no, they had no pig. then they must give some equivalent. they would give one rupee. that was not enough--at least three rupees. they were trying to carry the young woman off by force to make her marry her brother-in-law, but were induced to accept the rupee, and have the matter settled by their respective bissoyis. the young woman was most obstinate, and insisted on having her own choice, and keeping her ornaments. her village people had no objection to her choice, provided the usual compensation was paid. "in one far out-of-the-way village the marriage ceremony consists in this. the bride's father is plied with liquor two or three times; a feast is made in the bridegroom's house, to which the bride comes with her father; and after the feast she remains in the man's house as his wife. they know nothing of capture. in the kolakotta valley, below this village, a different custom prevails. the following is an account of a saora marriage as given by the gomango of one of the kolakotta villages, and it may be taken as representative of the purest saora marriage ceremony. 'i wished to marry a certain girl, and, with my brother and his son, went to her house. i carried a pot of liquor, and arrow, and one brass bangle for the girl's mother. arrived at the house, i put the liquor and the arrow on the floor. i and the two with me drank the liquor--no one else had any. the father of the girl said 'why have you brought the liquor?' i said 'because i want your daughter.' he said 'bring a big pot of liquor, and we will talk about it.' i took the arrow i brought with me, and stuck it in the thatch of the roof just above the wall, took up the empty pot, and went home with those who came with me. four days afterwards, with the same two and three others of my village, i went to the girl's father's house with a big pot of liquor. about fifteen or twenty people of the village were present. the father said he would not give the girl, and, saying so, he smashed the pot of liquor, and, with those of his village, beat us so that we ran back to our village. i was glad of the beating, as i know by it i was pretty sure of success. about ten days afterwards, ten or twenty of my village people went with me again, carrying five pots of liquor, which we put in the girl's father's house. i carried an arrow, which i stuck in the thatch beside the first one. the father and the girl's nearest male relative each took one of the arrows i had put in the thatch, and, holding them in their left hands, drank some of the liquor. i now felt sure of success. i then put two more arrows in the father's left hand, holding them in his hand with both of my hands over his, and asked him to drink. two fresh arrows were likewise placed in the left hands of all the girl's male relatives, while i asked them to drink. to each female relative of the girl i gave a brass bangle, which i put on their right wrists while i asked them to drink. the five pots of liquor were drunk by the girl's male and female relations, and the villagers. when the liquor was all drunk, the girl's father said 'come again in a month, and bring more liquor.' in a month i went again, with all the people of my village, men, women and children, dancing as we went (to music of course), taking with us thirty pots of liquor, and a little rice and a cloth for the girl's mother; also some hill dholl (pulse), which we put in the father's house. the liquor was set down in the middle of the village, and the villagers, and those who came with me, drank the liquor and danced. the girl did not join in this; she was in the house. when the liquor was finished, my village people went home, but i remained in the father's house. for three days i stayed, and helped him to work in his fields. i did not sleep with the girl; the father and i slept in one part of the house, and the girl and her mother in another. at the end of the three days i went home. about ten days afterwards, i, with about ten men of my village, went to watch for the girl going to the stream for water. when we saw her, we caught her, and ran away with her. she cried out and the people of her village came after us, and fought with us. we got her off to my village, and she remained with me as my wife. after she became my wife, her mother gave her a cloth and a bangle." the same individual said that, if a man wants a girl, and cannot afford to give the liquor, etc., to her people, he takes her off by force. if she likes him, she remains, but, if not, she runs home. he will carry her off three times, but not oftener; and, if after the third time she again runs away, he leaves her. the saoras themselves say that formerly every one took his wife by force. in a case which occurred a few years ago, a bridegroom did not comply with the usual custom of giving a feast to the bride's people, and the bride's mother objected to the marriage on that account. the bridegroom's party, however, managed to carry off the bride. her mother raised an alarm, whereon a number of people ran up, and tried to stop the bridegroom's party. they were outnumbered, and one was knocked down, and died from rupture of the spleen. a further account of the saora marriage customs is given by mr. ramamurti pantulu, who writes as follows. "when the parents of a young man consider it time to seek a bride for him, they make enquiries and even consult their relatives and friends as to a suitable girl for him. the girl's parents are informally apprised of their selection. on a certain day, the male relatives of the youth go to the girl's house to make a proposal of marriage. her parents, having received previous notice of the visit, have the door of the house open or closed, according as they approve or disapprove of the match. on arrival at the house, the visitors knock at the door, and, if it is open, enter without further ceremony. sometimes the door is broken open. if the girl's parents object to the match, they remain silent, and will not touch the liquor brought by the visitors, and they go away. should, however, they regard it with favour, they charge the visitors with intruding, shower abuse on them, and beat them, it may be, so severely that wounds are inflicted, and blood is shed. this ill-treatment is borne cheerfully, and without resistance, as it is a sign that the girl's hand will be bestowed on the young man. the liquor is then placed on the floor, and, after more abuse, all present partake thereof. if the girl's parents refuse to give her in marriage after the performance of this ceremony, they have to pay a penalty to the parents of the disappointed suitor. two or three days later, the young man's relatives go a second time to the girl's house, taking with them three pots of liquor, and a bundle composed of as many arrows as there are male members in the girl's family. the liquor is drunk, and the arrows are presented, one to each male. after an interval of some days, a third visit is paid, and three pots of liquor smeared with turmeric paste, and a quantity of turmeric, are taken to the house. the liquor is drunk, and the turmeric paste is smeared over the back and haunches of the girl's relatives. some time afterwards, the marriage ceremony takes place. the bridegroom's party proceed to the house of the bride, dancing and singing to the accompaniment of all the musical instruments except the drum, which is only played at funerals. with them they take twenty big pots of liquor, a pair of brass bangles and a cloth for the bride's mother, and head cloths for the father, brothers, and other male relatives. when everything is ready, the priest is called in. one of the twenty pots is decorated, and an arrow is fixed in the ground at its side. the priest then repeats prayers to the invisible spirits and ancestors, and pours some of the liquor into leaf-cups prepared in the names of the ancestors [jojonji and yoyonji, male and female], and the chiefs of the village. this liquor is considered very sacred, and is sprinkled from a leaf over the shoulders and feet of the elders present. the father of the bride, addressing the priest, says 'boya, i have drunk the liquor brought by the bridegroom's father, and thereby have accepted his proposal for a marriage between his son and my daughter. i do not know whether the girl will afterwards agree to go to her husband, or not. therefore it is well that you should ask her openly to speak out her mind.' the priest accordingly asks the girl if she has any objection, and she replies 'my father and mother, and all my relatives have drunk the bridegroom's liquor. i am a savara, and he is a savara. why then should i not marry him?' then all the people assembled proclaim that the pair are husband and wife. this done, the big pot of liquor, which has been set apart from the rest, is taken into the bride's house. this pot, with another pot of liquor purchased at the expense of the bride's father, is given to the bridegroom's party when it retires. every house-holder receives the bridegroom and his party at his house, and offers them liquor, rice, and flesh, which they cannot refuse to partake of without giving offence." "whoever," mr. ramamurti continues, "marries a widow, whether it is her husband's younger brother or some one of her own choice, must perform a religious ceremony, during which a pig is sacrificed. the flesh, with some liquor, is offered to the ghost of the widow's deceased husband, and prayers are addressed by the boyas to propitiate the ghost, so that it may not torment the woman and her second husband. 'oh! man,' says the priest, addressing the deceased by name, 'here is an animal sacrificed to you, and with this all connection between this woman and you ceases. she has taken with her no property belonging to you or your children. so do not torment her within the house or outside the house, in the jungle or on the hill, when she is asleep or when she wakes. do not send sickness on her children. her second husband has done no harm to you. she chose him for her husband, and he consented. oh! man, be appeased; oh! unseen ones; oh! ancestors, be you witnesses.' the animal sacrificed on this occasion is called long danda (inside fine), or fine paid to the spirit of a dead person inside the earth. the animal offered up, when a man marries a divorced woman, is called bayar danda (outside fine), or fine paid as compensation to a man living outside the earth. the moment that a divorcée marries another man, her former husband pounces upon him, shoots his buffalo or pig dead with an arrow, and takes it to his village, where its flesh is served up at a feast. the boya invokes the unseen spirits, that they may not be angry with the man who has married the woman, as he has paid the penalty prescribed by the elders according to the immemorial custom of the savaras. from a still further account of the ceremonial observances in connection with marriage, with variations, i gather that the liquor is the fermented juice of the salop or sago palm (caryota urens), and is called ara-sal. on arrival at the girl's house, on the first occasion, the young man's party sit at the door thereof, and, making three cups from the leaves kiredol (uncaria gambier) or jak (artocarpus integrifolia), pour the liquor into them, and lay them on the ground. as the liquor is being poured into the cups, certain names, which seem to be those of the ancestors, are called out. the liquor is then drunk, and an arrow (am) is stuck in the roof, and a brass bangle (khadu) left, before the visitors take their departure. if the match is unacceptable to the girl's family, the arrow and bangle are returned. the second visit is called pank-sal, or sang-sang-dal-sol, because the liquor pots are smeared with turmeric paste. sometimes it is called nyanga-dal-sol, because the future bridegroom carries a small pot of liquor on a stick borne on the shoulder; or pojang, because the arrow, which has been stuck in the roof, is set up in the ground close to one of the pots of liquor. in some places, several visits take place subsequent to the first visit, at one of which, called rodai-sal, a quarrel arises. it is noted by mr. ramamurti pantulu that, among the savaras who have settled in the low country, some differences have arisen in the marriage rites "owing to the introduction of hindu custom, i.e., those obtaining among the sudra castes. some of the savaras who are more hinduised than others consult their medicine men as to what day would be most auspicious for a marriage, erect pandals (booths), dispense with the use of liquor, substituting for it thick jaggery (crude sugar) water, and hold a festival for two or three days. but even the most hinduised savara has not yet fallen directly into the hands of the brahman priest." at the marriage ceremony of some kapu savaras, the bride and bridegroom sit side by side at the auspicious moment, and partake of boiled rice (korra) from green leaf-cups, the pair exchanging cups. before the bridegroom and his party proceed to their village with the bride, they present the males and females of her village with a rupee, which is called janjul naglipu, or money paid for taking away the girl. in another form of kapu savara marriage, the would-be bridegroom and his party proceed, on an auspicious day, to the house of the selected girl, and offer betel and tobacco, the acceptance of which is a sign that the match is agreeable to her parents. on a subsequent day, a small sum of money is paid as the bride-price. on the wedding day the bride is conducted to the home of the bridegroom, where the contracting couple are lifted up by two people, who dance about with them. if the bride attempts to enter the house, she is caught hold of, and made to pay a small sum of money before she is permitted to do so. inside the house, the officiating desari ties the ends of the cloths of the bride and bridegroom together, after the ancestors and invisible spirits have been worshipped. of the marriage customs of the kapu savaras, the following account is given in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. "the kapu savaras are taking to menarikam (marriage with the maternal uncle's daughter), although the hill custom requires a man to marry outside his village. their wedding ceremonies bear a distant resemblance to those among the hill savaras. among the kapu savaras, the preliminary arrow and liquor are similarly presented, but the bridegroom goes at length on an auspicious day with a large party to the bride's house, and the marriage is marked by his eating out of the same platter with her, and by much drinking, feasting, and dancing." children are named after the day of the week on which they were born, and nicknames are frequently substituted for the birth name. mr. fawcett records, for example, that a man was called gylo because, when a child, he was fond of breaking nuts called gylo, and smearing himself with their black juice. another was called dallo because, in his youthful days, he was fond of playing about with a basket (dalli) on his head. concerning the death rites, mr. fawcett writes as follows. "as soon as a man, woman, or child dies in a house, a gun, loaded with powder only, is fired off at the door, or, if plenty of powder is available, several shots are fired, to frighten away the kulba (spirit). the gun used is the ordinary telugu or uriya matchlock. water is poured over the body while in the house. it is then carried away to the family burning-ground, which is situated from 30 to 80 yards from the cluster of houses occupied by the family, and there it is burned. [it is stated by mr. s. p. rice [153] that "the dead man's hands and feet are tied together, and a bamboo is passed through them. two men then carry the corpse, slung in this fashion, to the burning-ground. when it is reached, two posts are stuck up, and the bamboo, with the corpse tied to it, is placed crosswise on the posts. then below the corpse a fire is lighted. the savara man is always burnt in the portion of the ground--one cannot call it a field--which he last cultivated."] the only wood used for the pyre is that of the mango, and of pongamia glabra. fresh, green branches are cut and used. no dry wood is used, except a few twigs to light the fire. were any one to ask those carrying a body to the burning-ground the name of the deceased or anything about him, they would be very angry. guns are fired while the body is being carried. everything a man has, his bows and arrows, his tangi, his dagger, his necklaces, his reaping-hook for cutting paddy, his axe, some paddy and rice, etc., are burnt with his body. i have been told in kolakotta that all a man's money too is burned, but it is doubtful if it really ever is--a little may be. a kolakotta gomango told me "if we do not burn these things with the body, the kulba will come and ask us for them, and trouble us." the body is burned the day a man dies. the next day, the people of the family go to the burning-place with water, which they pour over the embers. the fragments of the bones are then picked out, and buried about two feet in the ground, and covered over with a miniature hut, or merely with some thatching grass kept on the place by a few logs of wood, or in the floor of a small hut (thatched roof without walls) kept specially for the kulba at the burning-place. an empty egg-shell (domestic hen's) is broken under foot, and buried with the bones. it is not uncommon to send pieces of bone, after burning, to relations at a distance, to allow them also to perform the funeral rites. the first sacrificial feast, called the limma, is usually made about three or four days after the body has been burnt. in some places, it is said to be made after a longer interval. for the limma a fowl is killed at the burning-place, some rice or other grain is cooked, and, with the fowl, eaten by the people of the family, with the usual consumption of liquor. of course, the kudang (who is the medium of communication between the spirits of the dead and the living) is on the spot, and communicates with the kulba. if the deceased left debts, he, through the kudang, tells how they should be settled. perhaps the kulba asks for tobacco and liquor, and these are given to the kudang, who keeps the tobacco, and drinks the liquor. after the limma, a miniature hut is built for the kulba over the spot where the bones are buried. but this is not done in places like kolakotta, where there is a special hut set apart for the kulba. in some parts of the saora country, a few logs with grass on the top of them, logs again on the top to keep the grass in its place, are laid over the buried fragments of bones, it is said to be for keeping rain off, or dogs from disturbing the bones. in the evening previous to the limma, bitter food--the fruits or leaves of the margosa tree (melia azadirachta)--are eaten. they do not like this bitter food, and partake of it at no other time. [the same custom, called pithapona, or bitter food, obtains among the oriya inhabitants of the plains.] after the limma, the kulba returns to the house of the deceased, but it is not supposed to remain there always. the second feast to the dead, also sacrificial, is called the guar. for this, a buffalo, a large quantity of grain, and all the necessary elements and accompaniments of a feast are required. it is a much larger affair than the limma, and all the relations, and perhaps the villagers, join in. the evening before the guar, there is a small feast in the house for the purpose of calling together all the previously deceased members of the family, to be ready for the guar on the following day. the great feature of the guar is the erection of a stone in memory of the deceased. from 50 to 100 yards (sometimes a little more) from the houses occupied by a family may be seen clusters of stones standing upright in the ground, nearly always under a tree. every one of the stones has been put up at one of these guar feasts. there is a great deal of drinking and dancing. the men, armed with all their weapons, with their feathers in their hair, and adorned with coloured cloths, accompanied by the women, all dancing as they go, leave the house for the place where the stones are. music always accompanies the dancing. at kolakotta there is another thatched hut for the kulba at the stones. the stone is put up in the deceased's name at about 11 a.m., and at about 2 p.m. a buffalo is killed close to it. the head is cut off with an axe, and blood is put on the stone. the stones one sees are generally from 1 1/2 to 4 feet high. there is no connection between the size of the stone and the importance of the deceased person. as much of the buffalo meat as is required for the feast is cooked, and eaten at the spot where the stones are. the uneaten remains are taken away by the relatives. in the evening the people return to the village, dancing as they go. the kolakotta people told me they put up the stones under trees, so that they can have all their feasting in the shade. relations exchange compliments by presenting one another with a buffalo for the guar feast, and receive one in return on a future occasion. the guar is supposed to give the kulba considerable satisfaction, and it does not injure people as it did before. but, as the guar does not quite satisfy the kulba, there is the great biennial feast to the dead. every second year (i am still speaking of kolakotta) is performed the karja or biennial feast to the dead, in february or march, after the crops are cut. all the kolakotta saoras join in this feast, and keep up drinking and dancing for twelve days. during these days, the kudangs eat only after sunset. guns are continually fired off, and the people give themselves up to sensuality. on the last day, there is a great slaughter of buffaloes. in front of every house in which there has been a death in the previous two years, at least one buffalo, and sometimes two or three, are killed. last year (1886) there were said to be at least a thousand buffaloes killed in kolakotta on the occasion of the karja. the buffaloes are killed in the afternoon. some grain is cooked in the houses, and, with some liquor, is given to the kudangs, who go through a performance of offering the food to the kulbas, and a man's or a woman's cloth, according as the deceased is a male or female, is at this time given to the kudang for the kulba of each deceased person, and of course the kudang keeps the offerings. the kudang then tells the kulba to begone, and trouble the inmates no more. the house people, too, sometimes say to the kulba 'we have now done quite enough for you: we have given you buffaloes, liquor, food, and cloths; now you must go'. at about 8 p.m., the house is set fire to, and burnt. every house, in which there has been a death within the last two years, is on this occasion burnt. after this, the kulba gives no more trouble, and does not come to reside in the new hut that is built on the site of the burnt one. it never hurts grown people, but may cause some infantile diseases, and is easily driven away by a small sacrifice. in other parts of the saora country, the funeral rites and ceremonies are somewhat different to what they are in kolakotta. the burning of bodies, and burning of the fragments of the bones, is the same everywhere in the saora country. in one village the saoras said the bones were buried until another person died, when the first man's bones were dug up and thrown away, and the last person's bones put in their place. perhaps they did not correctly convey what they meant. i once saw a gaily ornamented hut, evidently quite new, near a burning-place. rude figures of birds and red rags were tied to five bamboos, which were sticking up in the air about 8 feet above the hut, one at each corner, and one in the centre, and the bamboos were split, and notched for ornament. the hut was about 4 1/2 feet square, on a platform three feet high. there were no walls, but only four pillars, one at each corner, and inside a loft just as in a saora's hut. a very communicative saora said he built the hut for his brother after he had performed the limma, and had buried the bones in the raised platform in the centre of the hut. he readily went inside, and showed what he kept there for the use of his dead brother's kulba. on the loft were baskets of grain, a bottle of oil for his body, a brush to sweep the hut; in fact everything the kulba wanted. generally, where it is the custom to have a hut for the kulba, such hut is furnished with food, tobacco, and liquor. the kulba is still a saora, though a spiritual one. in a village two miles from that in which i saw the gaily ornamented hut, no hut of any kind is built for the kulba; the bones are merely covered with grass. weapons, ornaments, etc., are rarely burned with a body outside the kolakotta villages. in some places, perhaps one weapon, or a few ornaments will be burned with it. in some places the limma and guar feasts are combined, and in other places (and this is most common) the guar and karja are combined, but there is no burning of houses. in some places this is performed if crops are good. one often sees, placed against the upright stones to the dead, pieces of ploughs for male kulbas, and baskets for sifting grain for female kulbas. i once came across some hundreds of saoras performing the guar karja. dancing, with music, fantastically dressed, and brandishing their weapons, they returned from putting up the stones to the village, and proceeded to hack to pieces with their axes the buffaloes that had been slaughtered--a disgusting sight. after dark, many of the feasters passed my camp on their way home, some carrying legs and other large pieces of the sacrificed buffaloes, others trying to dance in a drunken way, swinging their weapons. during my last visit to kolakotta, i witnessed a kind of combination of the limma and guar (an uncommon arrangement there) made owing to peculiar circumstances. a deceased saora left no family, and his relatives thought it advisable to get through his limma and guar without delay, so as to run no risk of the non-performance of these feasts. he had been dead about a month. the limma was performed one day, the feast calling together the deceased ancestors the same evening; and the guar on the following day. part of the limma was performed in a house. three men, and a female kudang sat in a row; in front of them there was an inverted pot on the ground, and around it were small leaf cups containing portions of food. all chanted together, keeping excellent time. some food in a little leaf cup was held near the earthen pot, and now and then, as they sang, passed round it. some liquor was poured on the food in the leaf cup, and put on one side for the kulba. the men drank liquor from the leaf cups which had been passed round the earthen pot. after some silence there was a long chant, to call together all spirits of ancestors who had died violent deaths, and request them to receive the spirit of the deceased among them; and portions of food and liquor were put aside for them. then came another long chant, calling on the kulbas of all ancestors to come, and receive the deceased and not to be angry with him." it is stated [154] that, in the east of gunupur, the savaras commit much cattle theft, partly, it is said, because custom enjoins big periodical sacrifices of cattle to their deceased ancestors. in connection with the guar festival, mr. ramamurti pantulu writes that well-to-do individuals offer each one or two animals, while, among the poorer members of the community, four or five subscribe small sums for the purchase of a buffalo, and a goat. "there are," he continues, "special portions of the sacrificed animals, which should, according to custom, be presented to those that carried the dead bodies to the grave, as well as to the boya and gomong. if a man is hanged, a string is suspended in the house on the occasion of the guar, so that the spirit may descend along it. if a man dies of wounds caused by a knife or iron weapon, a piece of iron or an arrow is thrust into a rice-pot to represent the deceased." i gather further that, when a savara dies after a protracted illness, a pot is suspended by a string from the roof of the house. on the ground is placed a pot, supported on three stones. the pots are smeared with turmeric paste, and contain a brass box, chillies, rice, onions, and salt. they are regarded as very sacred, and it is believed that the ancestors sometimes visit them. concerning the religion of the savaras, mr. fawcett notes that their name for deity is sonnum or sunnam, and describes the following:-(1) jalia. in some places thought to be male, and in others female. the most widely known, very malevolent, always going about from one saora village to another causing illness or death; in some places said to eat people. almost every illness that ends in death in three or four days is attributed to jalia's malevolence. when mangoes ripen, and before they are eaten cooked (though they may be eaten raw), a sacrifice of goats, with the usual drinking and dancing, is made to this deity. in some villages, in the present year (1887), there were built for the first time, temples--square thatched places without walls--in the villages. the reason given for building in the villages was that jalia had come into them. usually erections are outside villages, and sacrifice is made there, in order that jalia may be there appeased, and go away. but sometimes he will come to a village, and, if he does, it is advisable to make him comfortable. one of these newly built temples was about four feet square, thatched on the top, with no walls, just like the hut for departed spirits. a saora went inside, and showed us the articles kept for jalia's use and amusement. there were two new cloths in a bamboo box, two brushes of feathers to be held in the hand when dancing, oil for the body, a small looking-glass, a bell, and a lamp. on the posts were some red spots. goats are killed close by the temple, and the blood is poured on the floor of the platform thereof. there are a few villages, in or near which there are no jalia erections, the people saying that jalia does not trouble them, or that they do not know him. in one village where there was none, the saoras said there had been one, but they got tired of jalia, and made a large sacrifice with numerous goats and fowls, burnt his temple, and drove him out. jalia is fond of tobacco. near one village is an upright stone in front of a little jalia temple, by a path-side, for passers-by to leave the ends of their cheroots on for jalia. (2) kitung. in some parts there is a story that this deity produced all the saoras in orissa, and brought them with all the animals of the jungles to the saora country. in some places, a stone outside the village represents this deity, and on it sacrifices are made on certain occasions to appease this deity. the stone is not worshipped. there are also groves sacred to this deity. the uriyas in the saora hills also have certain sacred groves, in which the axe is never used. (3) rathu. gives pains in the neck. (4) dharma boja, lankan (above), ayungang (the sun). the first name is, i think, of uriya origin, and the last the real saora name. there is an idea in the kolakotta country that it causes all births. this deity is not altogether beneficent, and causes sickness, and may be driven away by sacrifices. in some villages, this deity is almost the only one known. a saora once told me, on my pointing to venus and asking what it was, that the stars are the children of the sun and moon, and one day the sun said he would eat them all up. woman-like, the moon protested against the destruction of her progeny, but was obliged to give in. she, however, managed to hide venus while the others were being devoured. venus was the only planet he knew. in some parts, the sun is not a deity. (5) kanni. very malevolent. lives in big trees, so they are never cut in groves which this deity is supposed to haunt. i frequently saw a saora youth of about 20, who was supposed to be possessed by this deity. he was an idiot, who had fits. numerous buffaloes had been sacrificed to kanni, to induce that deity to leave the youth, but to no purpose. "there are many hill deities known in certain localities--derema, supposed to be on the deodangar hill, the highest in the neighbourhood, khistu, kinchinyung, ilda, lobo, kondho, balu, baradong, etc. these deities of the hills are little removed from the spirits of the deceased saoras. [mr. ramamurti pantulu refers to two hills, one at gayaba called jum-tang baru, or eat cow hill, and the other about eight miles from parlakimedi, called media baru. at the former, a cow or bull is sacrificed, because a kuttung once ate the flesh of a cow there; at the latter the spirits require only milk and liquor. this is peculiar, as the savaras generally hold milk in abhorrence.]" "there is invariably one fetish, and generally there are several fetishes in every saora house. in some villages, where the sun is the chief deity (and causes most mischief), there are fetishes of the sun god; in another village, fetishes of jalia, kitung, etc. i once saw six jalia fetishes, and three other fetishes in one house. there are also, especially about kolakotta, kulba fetishes in houses. the fetish is generally an empty earthen pot, about nine inches in diameter, slung from the roof. the kudang slings it up. on certain occasions, offerings are made to the deity or kulba represented by the fetish on the floor underneath it. rude pictures, too, are sometimes fetishes. the fetish to the sun is generally ornamented with a rude pattern daubed in white on the outside. in the village of bori in the vizagapatam agency, offerings are made to the sun fetish when a member of the household gets pains in the legs or arms, and the fetish is said on such occasion to descend of itself to the floor. sacrifices are sometimes made inside houses, under the fetishes, sometimes at the door, and blood put on the ground underneath the fetish." it is noted by mr. ramamurti pantulu that "the kittungs are ten in number, and are said to be all brothers. their names are bhima, rama, jodepulu, peda, rung-rung, tumanna, garsada, jaganta, mutta, and tete. on some occasions, ten figures of men, representing the kittungs, are drawn on the walls of a house. figures of horses and elephants, the sun, moon and stars, are also drawn below them. the boya is also represented. when a woman is childless, or when her children die frequently, she takes a vow that the kittungpurpur ceremony shall be celebrated, if a child is born to her, and grows in a healthy state. if this comes to pass, a young pig is purchased, and marked for sacrifice. it is fattened, and allowed to grow till the child reaches the age of twelve, when the ceremony is performed. the madras museum possesses a series of wooden votive offerings which were found stacked in a structure, which has been described to me as resembling a pigeon-cot. the offerings consisted of a lizard (varanus), paroquet, monkey, peacock, human figures, dagger, gun, sword, pick-axe, and musical horn. the savaras would not sell them to the district officer, but parted with them on the understanding that they would be worshipped by the government. i gather that, at the sale or transfer of land, the spirits are invoked by the boya, and, after the distribution of liquor, the seller or mortgager holds a pipal (ficus religiosa) leaf with a lighted wick in it in his hand, while the purchaser or mortgagee holds another leaf without a wick. the latter covers the palm of the former with his leaf, and the terms of the transaction are then announced. concerning the performance of sacrifices, mr. fawcett writes that "the saoras say they never practiced human sacrifice. most saora sacrifices, which are also feasts, are made to appease deities or kulbas that have done mischief. i will first notice the few which do not come in this category. (a) the feast to jalia when mangoes ripen, already mentioned, is one. in a village where the sun, and not jalia, is the chief deity, this feast is made to the sun. jalia does not trouble the village, as the kudung meets him outside it now and then, and sends him away by means of a sacrifice. [sacrifices and offerings of pigs or fowls, rice, and liquor, are also made at the mahua, hill grain, and red gram festivals.] (b) a small sacrifice, or an offering of food, is made in some places before a child is born. about kolakotta, when a child is born, a fowl or a pound or so of rice, and a quart of liquor provided by the people of the house, will be taken by the kudang to the jungle, and the fowl sacrificed to kanni. blood, liquor, and rice are left in leaf cups for kanni, and the rest is eaten. in every paddy field in kolakotta, when the paddy is sprouting, a sacrifice is made to sattira for good crops. a stick of the tree called in uriya kendhu, about five or six feet long, is stuck in the ground. the upper end is sharpened to a point, on which is impaled a live young pig or a live fowl, and over it an inverted earthen pot daubed over with white rings. if this sacrifice is not made, good crops cannot be expected. [it may be noted that the impaling of live pigs is practiced in the telugu country.] [155] when crops ripen, and before the grain is eaten, sacrifice is made to lobo (the earth). lobo sonnum is the earth deity. if they eat the grain without performing this sacrifice, it will disagree with them, and will not germinate properly when sown again. if crops are good, a goat is killed, if not good, a pig or a fowl. a kolakotta saora told me of another sacrifice, which is partly of a propitiatory nature. if a tiger or panther kills a person, the kudang is called, and he, on the following sunday, goes through a performance, to prevent a similar fate overtaking others. two pigs are killed outside the village, and every man, woman, and child is made to walk over the ground whereon the pig's blood is spilled, and the kudang gives to each individual some kind of tiger medicine as a charm. the kudang communicates with the kulba of the deceased, and learns the whole story of how he met his death. in another part of the saora country, the above sacrifice is unknown; and, when a person is killed by a tiger or panther, a buffalo is sacrificed to the kulba of the deceased three months afterwards. the feast is begun before dark, and the buffalo is killed the next morning. no medicine is used. of sacrifices after injury is felt, and in order to get rid of it, that for rain may be noticed first. the gomango, another important man in the village, and the kudang officiate. a pig and a goat are killed outside the village to kitung. the blood must flow on the stone. then liquor and grain are set forth, and a feast is made. about kolakotta the belief in the active malevolence of kulbas is more noticeable than in other parts, where deities cause nearly all mischief. sickness and death are caused by deities or kulbas, and it is the kudang who ascertains which particular spirit is in possession of, or has hold of any sick person, and informs him what is to be done in order to drive it away. he divines in this way usually. he places a small earthen saucer, with a little oil and lighted wick in it, in the patient's hand. with his left hand he holds the patient's wrist, and with his right drops from a leaf cup grains of rice on to the flame. as each grain drops, he calls out the name of different deities, and kulbas, and, whichever spirit is being named as a grain catches fire, is that causing the sickness. the kudang is at once in communication with the deity or kulba, who informs him what must be done for him, what sacrifice made before he will go away. there is, in some parts of the saora country, another method by which a kudang divines the cause of sickness. he holds the patient's hand for a quarter of an hour or so, and goes off in a trance, in which the deity or kulba causing the sickness communicates with the kudang, and says what must be done to appease him. the kudang is generally, if not always, fasting when engaged in divination. if a deity or kulba refuses to go away from a sick person, another more powerful deity or kulba can be induced to turn him out. a long account of a big sacrifice is given by mr. fawcett, of which the following is a summary. the kudang was a lean individual of about 40 or 45, with a grizzled beard a couple of inches in length. he had a large bunch of feathers in his hair, and the ordinary saora waist-cloth with a tail before and behind. there were tom-toms with the party. a buffalo was tied up in front of the house, and was to be sacrificed to a deity who had seized on a young boy, and was giving him fever. the boy's mother came out with some grain, and other necessaries for a feed, in a basket on her head. all started, the father of the boy carrying him, a man dragging the buffalo along, and the kudang driving it from behind. as they started, the kudang shouted out some gibberish, apparently addressed to the deity, to whom the sacrifice was to be made. the party halted in the shade of some big trees. they said that the sacrifice was to the road god, who would go away by the path after the sacrifice. having arrived at the place, the woman set down her basket, the men laid down their axes and the tom-toms, and a fire was lighted. the buffalo was tied up 20 yards off on the path, and began to graze. after a quarter of an hour, the father took the boy in his lap as he sat on the path, and the kudang's assistant sat on his left with a tom-tom before him. the kudang stood before the father on the path, holding a small new earthen pot in his hand. the assistant beat the tom-tom at the rate of 150 beats to the minute. the kudang held the earthen pot to his mouth, and, looking up to the sun (it was 9 a.m.), shouted some gibberish into it, and then danced round and round without leaving his place, throwing up the pot an inch or so, and catching it with both hands, in perfect time with the tom-tom, while he chanted gibberish for a quarter of an hour. occasionally, he held the pot up to the sun, as if saluting it, shouted into it, and passed it round the father's head and then round the boy's head, every motion in time with the tom-tom. the chant over, he put down the pot, and took up a toy-like bow and arrow. the bow was about two feet long, through which was fixed an arrow with a large head, so that it could be pulled only to a certain extent. the arrow was fastened to the string, so that it could not be detached from the bow. he then stuck a small wax ball on to the point of the arrow head, and, dancing as before, went on with his chant accompanied by the tom-tom. looking up at the sun, he took aim with the bow, and fired the wax ball at it. he then fired balls of wax, and afterwards other small balls, which the uriyas present said were medicine of some kind, at the boy's head, stomach, and legs. as each ball struck him, he cried. the kudang, still chanting, then went to the buffalo, and fired a wax ball at its head. he came back to where the father was sitting, and, putting down the bow, took up two thin pieces of wood a foot long, an inch wide, and blackened at the ends. the chant ceased for a few moments while he was changing the bow for the pieces of wood, but, when he had them in his hands, he went on again with it, dancing round as before, and striking the two pieces of wood together in time. this lasted about five minutes, and, in the middle of the dance, he put an umbrella-like shade on his head. the dance over, he went to the buffalo, and stroked it all over with the two pieces of wood, first on the head, then on the body and rump, and the chant ceased. he then sat in front of the boy, put a handful of common herbs into the earthen pot, and poured some water into it. chanting, he bathed the boy's head with the herbs and water, the father's head, the boy's head again, and then the buffalo's head, smearing them with the herbs. he blew into one ear of the boy, and then into the other. the chant ceased, and he sat on the path. the boy's father got up, and, carrying the boy, seated him on the ground. then, with an axe, which was touched by the sick boy, he went up to the buffalo, and with a blow almost buried the head of the axe in the buffalo's neck. he screwed the axe about until he disengaged it, and dealt a second and a third blow in the same place, and the buffalo fell on its side. when it fell, the boy's father walked away. as the first blow was given, the kudang started up very excited as if suddenly much overcome, holding his arms slightly raised before him, and staggered about. his assistant rushed at him, and held him round the body, while he struggled violently as if striving to get to the bleeding buffalo. he continued struggling while the boy's father made his three blows on the buffalo's neck. the father brought him some of the blood in a leaf cup, which he greedily drank, and was at once quiet. some water was then given him, and he seemed to be all right. after a minute or so, he sat on the path with the tom-tom before him, and, beating it, chanted as before. the boy's father returned to the buffalo, and, with a few more whacks at it, stopped its struggles. some two or three men joined him, and, with their axes and swords, soon had the buffalo in pieces. all present, except the kudang, had a good feed, during which the tom-tom ceased. after the feed, kudang went at it again, and kept it up at intervals for a couple of hours. he once went for 25 minutes at 156 beats to the minute without ceasing. a variant of the ceremonial here described has been given to me by mr. g. f. paddison from the gunapur hills. a buffalo is tied up to the door of the house, where the sick person resides. herbs and rice in small platters, and a little brass vessel containing toddy, balls of rice, flowers, and medicine, are brought with a bow and arrow. the arrow is thicker at the basal end than towards the tip. the narrow part goes, when shot, through a hole in the bow, too small to allow of passage of the rest of the arrow. the beju (wise woman) pours toddy over the herbs and rice, and daubs the sick person over the forehead, breasts, stomach, and back. she croons out a long incantation to the goddess, stopping at intervals to call out "daru," to attract her attention. she then takes the bow and arrow, and shoots into the air. she then stands behind the kneeling patient, and shoots balls of medicine stuck on the tip of the arrow at her. the construction of the arrow is such that the balls are dislodged from the tip of the arrow. the patient is thus shot at all over the body, which is bruised by the impact of the balls. afterwards the beju shoots one or two balls at the buffalo, which is taken to a path forming the village boundary, and killed with a tangi (axe). the patient is then daubed with blood of the buffalo, rice and toddy. a feast concludes the ceremonial. the following account of a sacrifice to rathu, who had given fever to the sister of the celebrant kudang, is given by mr. fawcett. "the kudang was squatting, facing west, his fingers in his ears, and chanting gibberish with continued side-shaking of his head. about two feet in front of him was an apparatus made of split bamboo. a young pig had been killed over it, so that the blood was received in a little leaf cup, and sprinkled over the bamboo work. the kudang never ceased his chant for an hour and a half. while he was chanting, some eight saoras were cooking the pig with some grain, and having a good feed. between the bamboo structure and the kudang were three little leaf cups, containing portions of the food for rathu. a share of the food was kept for the kudang, who when he had finished his chant, got up and ate it. another performance, for which some dried meat of a buffalo that had been sacrificed a month previously was used, i saw on the same day. three men, a boy, and a baby, were sitting in the jungle. the men were preparing food, and said that they were about to do some reverence to the sun, who had caused fever to some one. portions of the food were to be set out in leaf cups for the sun deity." it is recorded by mr. ramamurti pantulu that, when children are seriously ill and become emaciated, offerings are made to monkeys and blood-suckers (lizards), not in the belief that illness is caused by them, but because the sick child, in its emaciated state, resembles an attenuated figure of these animals. accordingly, a blood-sucker is captured, small toy arrows are tied round its body, and a piece of cloth is tied on its head. some drops of liquor are then poured into its mouth, and it is set at liberty. in negotiating with a monkey, some rice and other articles of food are placed in small baskets, called tanurjal, which are suspended from branches of trees in the jungle. the savaras frequently attend the markets or fairs held in the plains at the foot of the ghats to purchase salt and other luxuries. if a savara is taken ill at the market or on his return thence, he attributes the illness to a spirit of the market called biradi sonum. the bulls, which carry the goods of the hindu merchants to the market, are supposed to convey this spirit. in propitiating it, the savara makes an image of a bull in straw, and, taking it out of his village, leaves it on the foot-path after a pig has been sacrificed to it. "each group of savaras," mr. ramamurti writes, "is under the government of two chiefs, one of whom is the gomong (or great man) and the other, his colleague in council, is the boya, who not only discharges, in conjunction with the gomong, the duties of magistrate, but also holds the office of high priest. the offices of these two functionaries are hereditary, and the rule of primogeniture regulates succession, subject to the principle that incapable individuals should be excluded. the presence of these two officers is absolutely necessary on occasions of marriages and funerals, as well as at harvest festivals. sales and mortgages of land and liquor-yielding trees, partition and other dispositions of property, and divorces are effected in the council of village elders, presided over by the gomong and boya, by means of long and tedious proceedings involving various religious ceremonies. all cases of a civil and criminal nature are heard and disposed of by them. fines are imposed as a punishment for all sorts of offences. these invariably consist of liquor and cattle, the quantity of liquor and the number of animals varying according to the nature of the offence. the murder of a woman is considered more heinous than the murder of a man, as woman, being capable of multiplying the race, is the more useful. a thief, while in the act of stealing, may be shot dead. it is always the man, and not the woman, that is punished for adultery. oaths are administered, and ordeals prescribed. until forty or fifty years ago, it is said that the savara magistrate had jurisdiction in murder cases. he was the highest tribunal in the village, the only arbitrator in all transactions among the villagers. and, if any differences arose between his men and the inhabitants of a neighbouring village, for settling which it was necessary that a battle should be fought, the gomong became the commander, and, leading his men, contested the cause with all his might. these officers, though discharging such onerous and responsible duties, are regarded as in no special degree superior to others in social position. they enjoy no special privileges, and receive no fees from the suitors who come up to their court. except on occasions of public festivals, over which they preside, they are content to hold equal rank with the other elders of the village. each cultivates his field, and builds his house. his wife brings home fuel and water, and cooks for his family; his son watches his cattle and crops. the english officials and the bissoyis have, however, accorded to these savara officers some distinction. when the governor's agent, during his annual tour, invites the savara elders to bheti (visit), they make presents of a fowl, sheep, eggs, or a basket of rice, and receive cloths, necklaces, etc. the bissoyis exempt them from personal service, which is demanded from all others." at the sankaranthi festival, the savaras bring loads of firewood, yams (dioscorea tubers), pumpkins, etc., as presents for the bissoyi, and receive presents from him in return. besides cultivating, the savaras collect bauhinia leaves, and sell them to traders for making leaf platters. the leaves of the jel-adda tree (bauhinia purpurea) are believed to be particularly appreciated by the savara spirits, and offerings made to them should be placed in cups made thereof. the savaras also collect various articles of minor forest produce, honey and wax. they know how to distil liquor from the flowers of the mahua (bassia latifolia). the process of distillation has been thus described. [156] "the flowers are soaked in water for three or four days, and are then boiled with water in an earthenware chatty. over the top of this is placed another chatty, mouth downwards, the join between the two being made air-tight by being tied round with a bit of cloth, and luted with clay. from a hole made in the upper chatty, a hollow bamboo leads to a third pot, specially made for the purpose, which is globular, and has no opening except that into which the bamboo pipe leads. this last is kept cool by pouring water constantly over it, and the distillate is forced into it through the bamboo, and there condenses." in a report on his tour through the savara country in 1863, the agent to the governor of madras reported as follows. "at gunapur i heard great complaints of the thievish habits of the soura tribes on the hills dividing gunapur from pedda kimedy. they are not dacoits, but very expert burglers, if the term can be applied to digging a hole in the night through a mud wall. if discovered and hard pressed, they do not hesitate to discharge their arrows, which they do with unerring aim, and always with fatal result. three or four murders have been perpetrated by these people in this way since the country has been under our management. i arranged with the superintendent of police to station a party of the armed reserve in the ghaut leading to soura country. one or two cases of seizure and conviction will suffice to put a check to the crime." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, that "in 1864 trouble occurred with the savaras. one of their headmen having been improperly arrested by the police of pottasingi, they effected a rescue, killed the inspector and four constables, and burnt down the station-house. the raja of jeypore was requested to use his influence to procure the arrest of the offenders, and eventually twenty-four were captured, of whom nine were transported for life, and five were sentenced to death, and hanged at jalteru, at the foot of the ghat to pottasingi. government presented the raja with a rifle and other gifts in acknowledgment of his assistance. the country did not immediately calm down, however, and, in 1865, a body of police, who were sent to establish a post in the hills, were attacked, and forced to beat a retreat down the ghat. a large force was then assembled, and, after a brief but harassing campaign, the post was firmly occupied in january, 1866. three of the ringleaders of this rising were transported for life. the hill savaras remained timid and suspicious for some years afterwards, and, as late as 1874, the reports mention it as a notable fact that they were beginning to frequent markets on the plains, and that the low-country people no longer feared to trust themselves above the ghats." in 1905, government approved the following proposals for the improvement of education among the savaras and other hill tribes in the ganjam and vizagapatam agencies, so far as government schools are concerned:-(1) that instruction to the hill tribes should be given orally through the medium of their own mother tongue, and that, when a savara knows both uriya and telugu, it would be advantageous to educate him in uriya; (2) that evening classes be opened whenever possible, the buildings in which they are held being also used for night schools for adults who should receive oral instruction, and that magic-lantern exhibitions might be arranged for occasionally, to make the classes attractive; (3) that concessions, if any, in the matter of grants admissible to savaras, khonds, etc., under the grant-in-aid code, be extended to the pupils of the above communities that attend schools in the plains; (4) that an itinerating agency, who could go round and look after the work of the agency schools, be established and that, in the selection of hill school establishments, preference be given to men educated in the hill schools; (5) that some suitable form of manual occupation be introduced, wherever possible, into the day's work, and the schools be supplied with the requisite tools, and that increased grants be given for anything original. savara.--a name, denoting hill-men, adopted by male kudiyas. savu (death).--a sub-division of mala. sayakkaran.--an occupational term, meaning a dyer, returned, at times of census, by tamil dyers. sayumpadai tangi.--the name, meaning supporter of the vanquished army, of a section of kallans. sedan.--a synonym of devanga. at times of census, seda dasi has been returned by devanga dancing-girls in the madura district. the following legend of savadamma, the goddess of the weaver caste in coimbatore, is narrated by bishop whitehead. [157] "once upon a time, when there was fierce conflict between the men and the rakshasas, the men, who were getting defeated, applied for help to the god siva, who sent his wife parvati as an avatar or incarnation into the world to help them. the avatar enabled them to defeat the rakshasas, and, as the weaver caste were in the forefront of the battle, she became the goddess of the weavers, and was known in consequence as savadamman, a corruption of sedar amman, sedan being a title of the weavers. it is said that her original home was in the north of india, near the himalayas." segidi.--the segidis are a telugu caste of toddy sellers and distillers of arrack, who are found mainly in ganjam and vizagapatam. for the purposes of the madras abkari act, toddy means fermented or unfermented juice drawn from a cocoanut, palmyra, date, or any other kind of palm-tree. it is laid down, in the madras excise manual, that "unfermented toddy is not subject to any taxation, but it must be drawn in pots freshly coated internally with lime. lime is prescribed as the substance with which the interior of pots or other receptacles in which sweet toddy is drawn should be coated, as it checks the fermentation of the toddy coming in contact with it; but this effect cannot be secured unless the internal lime coating of the toddy pot or vessel is thorough, and is renewed every time that the pot is emptied of its contents." it is noted by bishop caldwell [158] that "it is the unfermented juice of the palmyra (and other palms) which is used as food. when allowed to ferment, which it will do before midday, if left to itself, it is changed into a sweet intoxicating drink called kal or toddy." pietro della valle records [159] that he stayed on board till nightfall, "entertaining with conversation and drinking tari, a liquor which is drawn from the cocoanut trees, of a whitish colour, a little turbid, and of a somewhat rough taste, though with a blending in sweetness, and not unpalatable, something like one of our vini piccanti. it will also intoxicate, like wine, if drunk over freely." writing in 1673, fryer [160] describes the natives as "singing and roaring all night long; being drunk with toddy, the wine of the cocoe." arrack is a spirituous liquor distilled from the fermented sap of various palms. in some parts of the madras presidency, arrack vendors consider it unlucky to set their measures upside down. some time ago, the excise commissioner informs me, the excise department had some aluminium measures made for measuring arrack in liquor shops. it was found that the arrack corroded the aluminium, and the measures soon leaked. the shopkeepers were told to turn their measures upside down, in order that they might drain. this they refused to do, as it would bring bad luck to their shop. new measures with round bottoms were evolved, which would not stand up. but the shopkeepers began to use rings of india-rubber from soda-water bottles, to make them stand. an endeavour has since been made to induce them to keep their measures inverted by hanging them on pegs, so that they will drain without being turned upside down. the case illustrates well how important a knowledge of the superstitions of the people is in the administration of their affairs. the segidis do not draw the liquor from the palm-tree themselves, but purchase it from the toddy-drawing castes, the yatas and gamallas. they have a caste headman, called kulampedda, who settles disputes with the assistance of a council. like other telugu castes, they have intiperulu or house names, which are strictly exogamous. girls are married either before or after puberty. the custom of menarikam is practiced, in accordance with which a man marries his maternal aunt's daughter. a brahman officiates at marriages, except the remarriage of widows. when a widow is remarried, the caste-men assemble, and the kulampedda ties the sathamanam (marriage badge) on the bride's neck. the dead are usually cremated, and the washerman of the village assists the chief mourner in igniting the pyre. a satani conducts the funeral ceremonies. the segidis worship various village deities, and perantalammas, or women who killed themselves during their husbands' lives or on their death. the more well-to-do members of the caste take the title anna. sekkan (oil-man).--a synonym of vaniyan. sembadavan.--the sembadavans are the fishermen of the tamil country, who carry on their calling in freshwater tanks (ponds), lakes and rivers, and never in the sea. some of them are ferrymen, and the name has been derived from sem (good), padavan (boatmen). a legend runs to the effect that the goddess ankalamman, whom they worship with offerings of sheep, pigs, fowls, rice, etc., was a sembadava girl, of whom siva became enamoured, and sembadavan is accordingly derived from sambu (siva) or a corruption of sivan padavan (siva's boatmen). some members of the caste in the telugu country returned themselves, at the census, 1901, as sambuni reddi or kapu. according to another legend, the name is derived from sembu padavor or copper boatmen. parvatha raja, disguised as a boatman, when sailing in a copper boat, threw out his net to catch fish. four vedas were transformed into nets, with which to catch the rakshasas, who assumed the form of fishes. within the nets a rishi was also caught, and, getting angry, asked the boatman concerning his pedigree. on learning it, he cursed him, and ordained that his descendants should earn their living by fishing. hence the sembadavans call themselves parvatha rajavamsam. yet another legend states that the founder of the caste, while worshipping god, was tried thus. god caused a large fish to appear in the water near the spot at which he was worshipping. forgetting all about his prayers, he stopped to catch the fish, and was cursed with the occupation of catching fish for ever. according to yet another account of the origin of the sembadavans, siva was much pleased with their ancestors' devotion to him when they lived upon the sea-shore by catching a few fish with difficulty, and in recognition of their piety furnished them with a net, and directed various other castes to become fish-eaters, so that the sembadavar might live comfortably. of the sembadavans of the north arcot district, mr. h. a. stuart writes [161] that they "act as boatmen and fishers. they have little opportunity of exercising the former profession, but during heavy freshes in big rivers they ferry people from bank to bank in round leather-covered basket coracles, which they push along, swimming or wading by the side, or assist the timid to ford by holding their hands. at such times they make considerable hauls. during the rest of the year they subsist by fishing in the tanks." "the sembadavans of the south arcot district," mr. francis writes, [162] "are fresh-water fishermen and boatmen. both their occupations being of a restricted character, they have now in some cases taken to agriculture, weaving, and the hawking of salted sea-fish, but almost all of them are poor. they make their own nets, and, when they have to walk any distance for any purpose, they often spin the thread as they go along. their domestic priests are panchangi brahmans, and these tie the tali at weddings, and perform the purificatory ceremonies on the sixteenth day after deaths." the sembadavans consider themselves to be superior to pattanavans, who are sea-fishermen. they usually take the title nattan, kavandan, maniyakkaran, paguththar, or pillai. some have assumed the title guha vellala, to connect themselves with guha, who rowed the boat of rama to ceylon. at the census, 1901, savalakkaran (q.v.) was returned as a sub-caste. savalalai or saval thadi is the flattened paddle for rowing boats. a large number call themselves pujari, (priest), and wear the lingam enclosed in a silver casket or pink cloth, and the sacred thread. it is the pujari who officiates at the temple services to village deities. at malayanur, in the south arcot district, all the sembadavans call themselves pujari, and seem to belong to a single sept called mukkali (three-legged). most of the sembadavans call themselves saivites, but a few, e.g., at kuppam in north arcot, and other places, say that they are vaishnavites, and belong to vishnu gotram. even among those who claimed to be vaishnavites, a few were seen with a sandal paste (saivite) mark on the forehead. their explanation was that they were returning from the fields, where they had eaten their food. this they must not do without wearing a religious emblem, and they had not with them the mirror, red powder, water, etc., necessary for making the vaishnavite namam mark. they asserted that they never take a girl in marriage from saivite families without burning her tongue with a piece of gold, and purifying her by punyavachanam. the sembadavans at chidambaram are all saivites, and point out with pride their connection with the temple. it appears that, on a particular day, they are deputed to carry the idol in procession through the streets, and their services are paid for with a modest fee and a ball of cooked rice for each person. some respect is shown to them by the temple authorities, as the goddess, when being carried in procession, is detained for some time in their quarters, and they make presents of female cloths to the idol. the sembadavans have exogamous septs, named after various heroes, etc. the office of nattan or nattamaikkaran (headman) is confined to a particular sept, and is hereditary. in some places he is assisted by officers called sangathikkar or sangathipillai, through whom, at a council, the headman should be addressed. at their council meetings, representatives of the seven nadus (villages), into which the sembadavans of various localities are divided, are present. at malayanur these nadus are replaced by seven exogamous septs, viz., devar, seppiliyan, ethinayakan, sangili, mayakundali, pattam, and panikkan. if a man under trial pleads not guilty to the charge brought against him, he has to bear the expenses of the members of council. sometimes, as a punishment, a man is made to carry a basket of rubbish, with tamarind twigs as the emblem of flogging, and a knife to denote cutting of the tongue. women are said to be punished by having to carry a basket of rubbish and a broom round the village. sembadavans who are ferrymen by profession do special worship to ganga, the goddess of water, to whom pongal (rice) and goats are offered. it is believed that their immunity from death by drowning, caused by the upsetting of their leather coracles, is due to the protection of the goddess. the ceremonial when a girl reaches puberty corresponds to that of various other tamil castes. meat is forbidden, but eggs are allowed to be eaten. to ward off devils twigs of vitex negundo, margosa (melia azadirachta), and eugenia jambolana are stuck in the roof. sometimes a piece of iron is given to the girl to keep. during the marriage ceremonies, a branch of erythrina indica is cut, and tied, with sprays of the pipal (ficus religiosa) and a piece of a green bamboo culm, to one of the twelve posts, which support the marriage pandal (booth). a number of sumangalis (married women) bring sand, and spread it on the floor near the marriage dais, with pots, two of which are filled with water, over it. the bride and bridegroom go through a ceremony called sige kazhippu, with the object of warding off the evil eye, which consists in pouring a few drops of milk on their foreheads from a fig or betel leaf. to their foreheads are tied small gold or silver plates, called pattam, of which the most conspicuous are those tied by the maternal uncles. the plate for the bridegroom is v-shaped like a namam, and that for the bride like a pipal leaf. the bride and bridegroom go through a mock ceremony representative of domestic life, and pot-searching. seven rings are dropped into a pot. if the girl picks up three of these, her first-born will be a girl. if the bridegroom picks up five, it will be a boy. married women go in procession to an ant-hill, and bring to the marriage booth a basket-load of the earth, which they heap up round the posts. offerings of balls of rice, cooked vegetables, etc., are then made. after the wrist-threads (kankanam) have been removed, the bride and bridegroom go to a tank, and go through a mock ploughing ceremony. in some places, the purohits give the bridegroom a sacred thread, which is finally thrown into a tank or well. by some sembadavans a ceremony, called muthugunir kuththal (pouring water on the back) is performed in the seventh month of pregnancy. the woman stands on the marriage dais, and red-coloured water, and lights are waved. bending down, she places her hands on two big pots, and milk is poured over her back from a betel leaf by all her relations. the vaishnava sembadavans burn, and the saivites bury their dead in a sitting posture. fire is carried to the burial-ground by the barber. in cases of burial the face is covered over by a cloth, in which a slit is made, so that the top of the head and a portion of the forehead are exposed. a figure representing ganesa is made on the head with ashes. all present throw sacred ashes, and a pie (copper coin) into the grave, which is then filled in. while this is being done, a bamboo stick is placed upright on the head of the corpse. on the surface of the filled-in grave an oblong space is cleared, with the bamboo in the centre. the bamboo is then removed, and water poured through the hole left by it, and a lingam made, and placed over the opening. at malayanur a ceremony called mayana or smasana kollai (looting the burning-ground) is performed. the village of malayanur is famous for its ankalamman temple, and, during the festival which takes place immediately after the sivaratri, some thousands of people congregate at the temple, which is near the burning-ground. in front of the stone idol is a large ant-hill, on which two copper idols are placed, and a brass vessel, called korakkudai, is placed at the base of the hill, to receive the various votive offerings. early in the day, the pujari (a sembadavan) goes to a tank, and brings a decorated pot, called pungkaragam, to the temple. offerings are made to a new pot, and, after a sheep has been sacrificed, the pot is filled with water, and carried on the head of the pujari, who shows signs of possession by the deity, through the streets of the village to the temple, dancing wildly, and never touching the pot with his hands. it is believed that the pot remains on the head, without falling, through the influence of the goddess. when the temple is reached, another pujari takes up a framework, to which are tied a head made of rice flour, with three faces coloured white, black and red, representing the head of brahma which was cut off by siva, and a pot with three faces on it. the eyes of the flour figure are represented by hen's eggs. the pot is placed beneath the head. carrying the framework, and accompanied by music, the pujari goes in procession to the burning-ground, and, after offerings of a sheep, arrack, betel and fruits have been made to the head of brahma, it is thrown away. close to the spot where corpses are burnt, the pujaris place on the ground five conical heaps (representing ganesa), made of the ashes of a corpse. to these are offered the various articles brought by those who have made vows, which include cooked pulses, bangles, betel, parts of the human body modelled in rice flour, etc. the offerings are piled up in a heap, which is said to reach ten or twelve feet in height. soon afterwards, the people assembled fall on the heap, and carry off whatever they can secure. hundreds of persons are said to become possessed, eat the ashes of the corpses, and bite any human bones, which they may come across. the ashes and earth are much prized, as they are supposed to drive away evil spirits, and secure offspring to barren women. some persons make a vow that they will disguise themselves as siva, for which purpose they smear their faces with ashes, put on a cap decorated with feathers of the crow, egret, and peacock, and carry in one hand a brass vessel called brahma kapalam. round their waist they tie a number of strings, to which are attached rags and feathers. instead of the cap, paraiyans and valluvans wear a crown. the brass vessel, cap, and strings are said to be kept by the pujari, and hired out for a rupee or two per head. the festival is said to be based on the following legend. siva and brahma had the same number of faces. during the swayamvaram, parvati, the wife of siva, found it difficult to recognise her husband, so siva cut off brahma's head. the head stuck on to siva's hand, and he could not get rid of it. to get rid of the skull, and throw off the crime of murder, siva wandered far and wide, and came to the burning-ground at malayanur, where various bhuthas (devils) were busy eating the remains of corpses. parvati also arrived there, and failed to recognise siva. thereon the skull laughed, and fell to the ground. the bhuthas were so delighted that they put various kinds of herbs into a big vessel, and made of them a sweet liquor, by drinking which siva was absolved from his crime. for this reason arrack is offered to him at the festival. a very similar rite is carried out at walajapet. a huge figure, representing the goddess, is made at the burning-ground out of the ashes of burnt bodies mixed with water, the eyes being made of hen's eggs painted black in the centre to represent the pupils. it is covered over with a yellow cloth, and a sweet-smelling powder (kadampam) is sprinkled over it. the following articles, which are required by a married woman, are placed on it:--a comb, pot containing colour-powder, glass bangles, rolls of palm leaf for dilating the ear-lobes, and a string of black beads. devotees present as offerings limes, plantains, arrack, toddy, sugar-cane, and various kinds of cooked grains, and other eatables. the goddess is taken in procession from her shrine to the burning-ground, and placed in front of the figure. the pujari (fisherman), who wears a special dress for the occasion, walks in front of the idol, carrying in one hand a brass cup representing the skull which siva carried in his hand, and in the other a piece of human skull bone, which he bites and chews as the procession moves onward. when the burning-ground is reached, he performs puja by breaking a cocoanut, and going round the figure with lighted camphor in his hand. goats and fowls are sacrificed. a woman, possessed by a devil, seats herself at the feet of the figure, and becomes wild and agitated. the puja completed, the assembled multitude fall on the figure, and carry off whatever they can grab of the articles placed on it, which are believed to possess healing and other virtues. they also smear their bodies with the ashes. the pujari, and some of the devotees, then become possessed, and run about the burning-ground, seizing and gnawing partly burnt bones. tradition runs to the effect that, in olden times, they used to eat the dead bodies, if they came across any. and the people are so afraid of their doing this that, if a death should occur, the corpse is not taken to the burning-ground till the festival is over. "in some cases," herbert spencer writes, [163] "parts of the dead are swallowed by the living, who seek thus to inspire themselves with the good qualities of the dead; and we saw that the dead are supposed to be honoured by this act." sembunadu.--the name, meaning the pandya country, of a sub-division of maravan. semmadi.--a telugu form of sembadavan. semman.--the semmans are described, in the madras census report, 1891, as "an insignificant caste of tamil leather-workers, found only in the districts of madura and tinnevelly (and in the pudukottai state). though they have returned tailor and lime-burner as their occupations, the original occupation was undoubtedly leather-work. in the tamil dictionaries semman is explained as a leather-worker, and a few of them, living in out-of-the way villages, have returned shoe-making as their occupation. the semmans are, in fact, a sub-division of the paraiyans, and they must have been the original leather-workers of the tamil tribes. the immigrant chakkiliyans have, however, now taken their place." the semmans are described, in the madura manual, as burning and selling lime for building purposes. in the census report, 1901, the caste is said to have "two hypergamous sub-divisions, tondaman and tolmestri, and men of the former take wives from the latter, but men of the latter may not marry girls of the former." girls are married after puberty, and divorce and remarriage are freely allowed. as the caste is a polluting one, the members thereof are not allowed to use village wells, or enter caste hindu temples. the caste title is mestri. sem puli (red tiger).--a section of kallan. senaikkudaiyan.--the senaikkudaiyans are betel vine (piper betel) cultivators and betel leaf sellers, who are found in large numbers in the tinnevelly district, and to a smaller extent in other parts of the tamil country. the original name of the caste is said to have been elai (leaf) vaniyan, for which the more high-sounding senaikkudaiyan (owner of an army) or senaittalavan (chief of an army) has been substituted. they also called themselves kodikkal pillaimar, or pillaimars who cultivate betel gardens, and have adopted the title pillai. the titles muppan and chetti are also borne by members of the caste. it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, that "the priests of the senaikkudaiyans are vellalas, and occasionally brahmans. they do not wear the sacred thread. they burn their dead, and perform annual sraddhas (memorial services). in 1891, following the tanjore manual, they were wrongly classed with vaniyans or oil-mongers, but they are superior to these in social position, and are even said to rank above nattukottai chettis. yet it is stated that, in tanjore, paraiyans will not enter the senaikkudaiyans' houses to carry away dead cattle, and ordinary barbers will not serve them, and food prepared by them will not be accepted even by barbers or washermen. somewhat similar anomalies occur in the case of the kammalas, and the explanation may be that these two castes belonged to the old left-hand faction, while the pariyans, and the barbers and washermen belonged to the right-hand. paraiyans similarly will not eat in the houses of beri chettis, who were of the left-hand faction." senapati.--a title, denoting commander-in-chief, said to be sold to khoduras, and also occurring as a title of other oriya castes, e.g., kurumo and ronguni. among the rongunis, the title is practically an exogamous sept. senapati is further a name for sales (telugu weavers), the headman among whom is called pedda (big) senapati. the headman of the salapu weavers, who do not intermarry with the sales, is also styled senapati. it is also a title of the raja of sandur. sendalai (red-headed man).--returned as a sub-division of konga vellalas at times of census. sengundam (red dagger).--a synonym, connected with a caste legend, of kaikolan. seniga (bengal gram: cicer arietinum).--an exogamous sept of medara and pedakanti kapu. seniyan.--the name seniyan is generally used to denote the karna sale weavers, but at conjeeveram it is applied to canarese devangas. elsewhere canarese devangas belong to the left-hand section, but at conjeeveram they are classed with the right-hand section. like other devangas, the conjeeveram seniyans have exogamous house-names and gotras, which are interesting inasmuch as new names have been, in recent times, substituted for the original ones, e.g., chandrasekhara rishi, nilakanta rishi, markandeya rishi. the devangas claim markandeya as their ancestor. the old house-name picchi kaya (water-melon: citrullus vulgaris) has been changed to desimarada, and eating the melon is tabu. a list of the house-names and gotras is kept by the headman for reference. the conjeeveram seniyans are lingayats, but are not so strict as the canarese lingayats. jangams are respected, but rank after their own stone lingams. in the observance of death rites, a staunch lingayat should not bathe, and must partake of the food offered to the corpse. these customs are not observed by the seniyans. until quite recently, a man might tie a tali (marriage badge) secretly on a girl's neck, with the consent of the headman and his relatives, and the girl could then be given in marriage to no other man. this custom is said to have been very common, especially in the case of a man's maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter. at conjeeveram it was extended to girls not so related, and a caste council was held, at which an agreement was drawn up that the secret tali-tying was forbidden, and, if performed, was not to be regarded as binding. the priest of the conjeeveram seniyans is a vellala pandaram, who is the head of the tirugnana sambanda murti mutt (religious institution) at conjeeveram. servai.--servai, meaning service, has been recorded as the title of agamudaiyans and valaiyans. servaikaran or servaigaran (captain or commander) is the title of agamudaiyan, ambalakaran, kallan, maravan, and parivaram. it further occurs as the name for a headman among the vallambans, and it has been adopted as a false caste name by some criminal koravas in the south. servegara.--the servegaras are a caste found in south canara, and to a small extent in bellary. "they are said to be a branch of the konkan marathis of goa, from whence they were invited by the lingayat kings of nagara to serve as soldiers and to defend their forts (kote), whence the alternative name of koteyava (or kotegara). another name for them is ramakshatri. the mother-tongue of the servegaras of south canara is canarese, while their brethren in the north speak konkani. they have now taken to cultivation, but some are employed in the revenue and police departments as peons (orderlies) and constables, and a few are shopkeepers. the name servegara is derived from the canarese serve, an army. in religion they are hindus, and, like most west coast castes, are equally partial to the worship of siva and vishnu. they wear the sacred thread. karadi brahmans are their priests, and they owe allegiance to the head of the sringeri mutt. their girls are married before puberty, and the remarriage of widows is neither allowed nor practiced. divorce is permitted only on the ground of the unchastity of the wife. the body of a child under three years is buried, and that of any person exceeding that age is cremated. they eat flesh, but do not drink. their titles are nayak, aiya, rao, and sheregar." [164] in the census report, 1901, bomman valekara is returned as a synonym, and vilayakara as a sub-caste of servegara. setti.--see chetti. settukkaran.--a castle title, meaning economical people, sometimes used by devangas instead of setti or chetti. sevagha vritti.--a sub-division of kaikolan. sevala (service).--an exogamous sept of golla. shanan.--the great toddy-drawing caste of the tamil country, which, a few years ago, came into special prominence owing to the tinnevelly riots in 1899. "these were," the inspector-general of police writes, [165] "due to the pretensions of the shanans to a much higher position in the religio-social scale than the other castes are willing to allow. among other things, they claimed admission to hindu temples, and the manager of the visvanatheswara temple at sivakasi decided to close it. this partial victory of the shanans was keenly resented by their opponents, of whom the most active were the maravans. organised attacks were made on a number of the shanan villages; the inhabitants were assailed; houses were burnt; and property was looted. the most serious occurrence was the attack on sivakasi by a body of over five thousand maravans. twenty-three murders, 102 dacoities, and many cases of arson were registered in connection with the riots in sivakasi, chinniapuram, and other places. of 1,958 persons arrested, 552 were convicted, 7 being sentenced to death. one of the ring-leaders hurried by train to distant madras, and made a clever attempt to prove an alibi by signing his name in the museum visitor's book. during the disturbance some of the shanans are said to have gone into the muhammadan fold. the men shaved their heads, and grew beards; and the women had to make sundry changes in their dress. and, in the case of boys, the operation of circumcision was performed." the immediate bone of contention at the time of the tinnevelly riots was, the census superintendent, 1901, writes, "the claim of the shanans to enter the hindu temples, in spite of the rules in the agama shastras that toddy-drawers are not to be allowed into them; but the pretensions of the community date back from 1858, when a riot occurred in travancore, because female christian converts belonging to it gave up the caste practice of going about without an upper cloth." on this point mr. g. t. mackenzie informs us [166] that "in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the female converts to christianity in the extreme south ventured, contrary to the old rules for the lower castes, to clothe themselves above the waist. this innovation was made the occasion for threats, violence, and series of disturbances. similar disturbances arose from the same cause nearly thirty years later, and, in 1859, sir charles trevelyan, governor of madras, interfered, and granted permission to the women of the lower castes to wear a cloth over the breasts and shoulders. the following proclamation was issued by the maharaja of travancore:--we hereby proclaim that there is no objection to shanan women either putting on a jacket like the christian shanan women, or to shanan women of all creeds dressing in coarse cloth, and tying themselves round with it as the mukkavattigal (fisherwomen) do, or to their covering their bosoms in any manner whatever, but not like women of high castes." "shortly after 1858, pamphlets began to be written and published by people of the caste, setting out their claims to be kshatriyas. in 1874 they endeavoured to establish a right to enter the great minakshi temple at madura, but failed, and they have since claimed to be allowed to wear the sacred thread, and to have palanquins at their weddings. they say they are descended from the chera, chola and pandya kings; they have styled themselves kshatriyas in legal papers; labelled their schools kshatriya academy; got brahmans of the less particular kind to do purohit's work for them; had poems composed on their kingly origin; gone through a sort of incomplete parody of the ceremony of investiture with the sacred thread; talked much but ignorantly of their gotras; and induced needy persons to sign documents agreeing to carry them in palanquins on festive occasions." [during my stay at nazareth in tinnevelly, for the purpose of taking measurements of the shanans, i received a visit from some elders of the community from kuttam, who arrived in palanquins, and bearing weapons of old device.] their boldest stroke was to aver that the coins commonly known as shanans' cash were struck by sovereign ancestors of the caste. the author of a pamphlet entitled 'bishop caldwell and the tinnevelly shanars' states that he had met with men of all castes who say that they have seen the true shanar coin with their own eyes, and that a eurasian gentleman from bangalore testified to his having seen a true shanar coin at bangalore forty years ago. the coin referred to is the gold venetian sequin, which is still found in considerable numbers in the south, and bears the names of the doges (paul rainer, aloy mocen, ludov manin, etc.) and a cross, which the natives mistake for a toddy palm. "if," mr. fawcett writes, [167] "one asks the ordinary malayali (native of malabar) what persons are represented on the sequin, one gets for answer that they are rama and sita: between them a cocoanut tree. every malayali knows what an amâda is; it is a real or imitation venetian sequin. i have never heard any explanation of the word amâda in malabar. the following comes from tinnevelly. amâda was the consort of bhagavati, and he suddenly appeared one day before a shanar, and demanded food. the shanar said he was a poor man with nothing to offer but toddy, which he gave in a palmyra leaf. amâda drank the toddy, and performing a mantram (consecrated formula) over the leaf, it turned into gold coins, which bore on one side the pictures of amâda, the shanar, and the tree, and these he gave to the shanar as a reward for his willingness to assist him." in a petition to myself from certain shanans of nazareth, signed by a very large number of the community, and bearing the title "short account of the cantras or tamil xatras, the original but down-trodden royal race of southern india," they write as follows. "we humbly beg to say that we are the descendants of the pandya or dravida xatra race, who, shortly after the universal deluge of noah, first disafforested and colonized this land of south india under the guidance of agastya muni. the whole world was destroyed by flood about b.c. 3100 (dr. hale's calculation), when noah, otherwise called vaivasvata-manu or satyavrata, was saved with his family of seven persons in an ark or covered ship, which rested upon the highest mountain of the aryavarta country. hence the whole earth was rapidly replenished by his descendants. one of his grandsons (nine great prajapatis) was atri, whose son candra was the ancestor of the noblest class of the xatras ranked above the brahmans, and the first illustrious monarch of the post-diluvian world." "apparently," the census superintendent continues, "judging from the shanan's own published statements of their case, they rest their claims chiefly upon etymological derivations of their caste name shanan, and of nadan and gramani, their two usual titles. caste titles and names are, however, of recent origin, and little can be inferred from them, whatever their meaning may be shown to be. brahmans, for example, appear to have borne the titles of pillai and mudali, which are now only used by sudras, and the nayak kings, on the other hand, called themselves aiyar, which is now exclusively the title of saivite brahmans. to this day the cultivating vellalas, the weaving kaikolars, and the semi-civilised hill tribe of the jatapus use equally the title of mudali, and the balijas and telagas call themselves rao, which is properly the title of mahratta brahmans. regarding the derivation of the words shanan, nadan and gramani, much ingenuity has been exercised. shanan is not found in the earlier tamil literature at all. in the inscriptions of rajaraja chola (a. d. 984-1013) toddy-drawers are referred to as iluvans. according to pingalandai, a dictionary of the 10th or 11th century, the names of the toddy-drawer castes are palaiyar, tuvasar, and paduvar. to these the chudamani nikandu, a tamil dictionary of the 16th century, adds saundigar. apparently, therefore, the sanskrit word saundigar must have been introduced (probably by the brahmans) between the 11th and 16th centuries, and is a sanskrit rendering of the word iluvan. from saundigar to shanan is not a long step in the corruption of words. the shanans say that shanan is derived from the tamil word sanrar or sanror, which means the learned or the noble. but it does not appear that the shanans were ever called sanrar or sanror in any of the tamil works. the two words nadan and gramani mean the same thing, namely, ruler of a country or of a village, the former being a tamil, and the latter a sanskrit word. nadan, on the other hand, means a man who lives in the country, as opposed to uran, the man who resides in a village. the title of the caste is nadan, and it seems most probable that it refers to the fact that the iluvan ancestors of the caste lived outside the villages. (south indian inscriptions, vol. ii, part 1.) but, even if nadan and gramani both mean rulers, it does not give those who bear these titles any claim to be kshatriyas. if it did, all the descendants of the many south indian poligars, or petty chiefs, would be kshatriyas." the census superintendent, 1891, states that the "shanans are in social position usually placed only a little above the pallas and the paraiyans, and are considered to be one of the polluting castes, but of late many of them have put forward a claim to be considered kshatriyas, and at least 24,000 of them appear as kshatriyas in the caste tables. this is, of course, absurd, as there is no such thing as a dravidian kshatriya. but it is by no means certain that the shanans were not at one time a warlike tribe, for we find traces of a military occupation among several toddy-drawing castes of the south, such as the billavas (bowmen), halepaik (old foot soldiers), kumarapaik (junior foot). even the kadamba kings of mysore are said to have been toddy-drawers. 'the kadamba tree appears to be one of the palms, from which toddy is extracted. toddy-drawing is the special occupation of the several primitive tribes spread over the south-west of india, and bearing different names in various parts. they were employed by former rulers as foot-soldiers and bodyguards, being noted for their fidelity. [168]' the word shanan is ordinarily derived from tamil saru, meaning toddy; but a learned missionary derives it from san (a span) and nar (fibre or string), that is the noose, one span in length, used by the shanans in climbing palm-trees." the latter derivation is also given by vellalas. it is worthy of note that the tiyans, or malabar toddy-drawers, address one another, and are addressed by the lower classes as shener, which is probably another form of shanar. [169] the whole story of the claims and pretensions of the shanans is set out at length in the judgment in the kamudi temple case (1898) which was heard on appeal before the high court of madras. and i may appropriately quote from the judgment. "there is no sort of proof, nothing, we may say, that even suggests a probability that the shanars are descendants from the kshatriya or warrior castes of hindus, or from the pandiya, chola or chera race of kings. nor is there any distinction to be drawn between the nadars and the shanars. shanar is the general name of the caste, just as vellala and maravar designate castes. 'nadar' is a mere title, more or less honorific, assumed by certain members or families of the caste, just as brahmins are called aiyars, aiyangars, and raos. all 'nadars' are shanars by caste, unless indeed they have abandoned caste, as many of them have by becoming christians. the shanars have, as a class, from time immemorial, been devoted to the cultivation of the palmyra palm, and to the collection of the juice, and manufacture of liquor from it. there are no grounds whatever for regarding them as of aryan origin. their worship was a form of demonology, and their position in general social estimation appears to have been just above that of pallas, pariahs, and chucklies (chakkiliyans), who are on all hands regarded as unclean, and prohibited from the use of the hindu temples, and below that of vellalas, maravans, and other classes admittedly free to worship in the hindu temples. in process of time, many of the shanars took to cultivating, trade, and money-lending, and to-day there is a numerous and prosperous body of shanars, who have no immediate concern with the immemorial calling of their caste. in many villages they own much of the land, and monopolise the bulk of the trade and wealth. with the increase of wealth they have, not unnaturally, sought for social recognition, and to be treated on a footing of equality in religious matters. the conclusion of the sub-judge is that, according to the agama shastras which are received as authoritative by worshippers of siva in the madura district, entry into a temple, where the ritual prescribed by these shastras is observed, is prohibited to all those whose profession is the manufacture of intoxicating liquor, and the climbing of palmyra and cocoanut trees. no argument was addressed to us to show that this finding is incorrect, and we see no reason to think that it is so.... no doubt many of the shanars have abandoned their hereditary occupation, and have won for themselves by education, industry and frugality, respectable positions as traders and merchants, and even as vakils (law pleaders) and clerks; and it is natural to feel sympathy for their efforts to obtain social recognition, and to rise to what is regarded as a higher form of religious worship; but such sympathy will not be increased by unreasonable and unfounded pretensions, and, in the effort to rise, the shanars must not invade the established rights of other castes. they have temples of their own, and are numerous enough, and strong enough in wealth and education, to rise along their own lines, and without appropriating the institutions or infringing the rights of others, and in so doing they will have the sympathy of all right-minded men, and, if necessary, the protection of the courts." in a note on the shanans, the rev. j. sharrock writes [170] that they "have risen enormously in the social scale by their eagerness for education, by their large adoption of the freedom of christianity, and by their thrifty habits. many of them have forced themselves ahead of the maravars by sheer force of character. they have still to learn that the progress of a nation, or a caste, does not depend upon the interpretation of words, or the assumption of a title, but on the character of the individuals that compose it. evolutions are hindered rather than advanced by such unwise pretensions resulting in violence; but evolutions resulting from intellectual and social development are quite irresistible, if any caste will continue to advance by its own efforts in the path of freedom and progress." writing in 1875, bishop caldwell remarks [171] that "the great majority of the shanars who remain heathen wear their hair long; and, if they are not allowed to enter the temples, the restriction to which they are subject is not owing to their long hair, but to their caste, for those few members of the caste, continuing heathens, who have adopted the kudumi--generally the wealthiest of the caste--are as much precluded from entering the temples as those who retain their long hairs. a large majority of the christian shanars have adopted the kudumi together with christianity." by regulation xi, 1816, it was enacted that heads of villages have, in cases of a trivial nature, such as abusive language and inconsiderable assaults or affrays, power to confine the offending members in the village choultry (lock-up) for a time not exceeding twelve hours; or, if the offending parties are of the lower castes of the people, on whom it may not be improper to inflict so degrading a punishment, to order them to be put in the stocks for a time not exceeding six hours. in a case which came before the high court it was ruled that by "lower castes" were probably intended those castes which, prior to the introduction of british rule, were regarded as servile. in a case which came up on appeal before the high court in 1903, it was ruled that the shanars belong to the lower classes, who may be punished by confinement in the stocks. with the physique of the shanans, whom i examined at nazareth and sawyerpuram in tinnevelly, and their skill in physical exercises i was very much impressed. the programme of sports, which were organised in my honour, included the following events:- fencing and figure exercises with long sticks of iron-wood (mesua ferrea). figure exercises with sticks bearing flaming rags at each end. various acrobatic tricks. feats with heavy weights, rice-pounders, and pounding stones. long jump. breaking cocoanuts with the thrust of a knife or the closed fist. crunching whiskey-bottle glass with the teeth. running up, and butting against the chest, back, and shoulders. swallowing a long silver chain. cutting a cucumber balanced on a man's neck in two with a sword. falconry. one of the good qualities of sir thomas munro, formerly governor of madras, was that, like rama and rob roy, his arms reached to his knees, or, in other words, he possessed the kingly quality of an ajanubahu, which is the heritage of kings, or those who have blue blood in them. this particular anatomical character i have met with myself only once, in a shanan, whose height was 173 cm. and span of the arms 194 cm. (+ 21 cm.). rob roy, it will be remembered, could, without stooping, tie his garters, which were placed two inches below the knee. for a detailed account of demonolatry among the shanans, i would refer the reader to the rev. r. (afterwards bishop) caldwell's now scarce 'tinnevelly shanans' (1849), written when he was a young and impulsive missionary, and the publication of which i believe that the learned and kind-hearted divine lived to regret. those shanans who are engaged in the palmyra (borassus flabellifer) forests in extracting the juice of the palm-tree climb with marvellous activity and dexterity. there is a proverb that, if you desire to climb trees, you must be born a shanan. a palmyra climber will, it has been calculated, go up from forty to fifty trees, each forty to fifty feet high, three times a day. the story is told by bishop caldwell of a man who was sitting upon a leaf-stalk at the top of a palmyra palm in a high wind, when the stalk gave way, and he came down to the ground safely and quietly, sitting on the leaf, which served the purpose of a natural parachute. woodpeckers are called shanara kurivi by birdcatchers, because they climb trees like shanars. "the hindus," the rev. (afterwards canon) a. margöschis writes, [172] "observe a special day at the commencement of the palmyra season, when the jaggery season begins. bishop caldwell adopted the custom, and a solemn service in church was held, when one set of all the implements used in the occupation of palmyra-climbing was brought to the church, and presented at the altar. only the day was changed from that observed by the hindus. the perils of the palmyra-climber are great, and there are many fatal accidents by falling from trees forty to sixty feet high, so that a religious service of the kind was particularly acceptable, and peculiarly appropriate to our people." the conversion of a hindu into a christian ceremonial rite, in connection with the dedication of ex votos, is not devoid of interest. in a note [173] on the pariah caste in travancore, the rev. s. mateer narrates a legend that the shanans are descended from adi, the daughter of a pariah woman at karuvur, who taught them to climb the palm tree, and prepared a medicine which would protect them from falling from the high trees. the squirrels also ate some of it, and enjoy a similar immunity. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that shanan toddy-drawers "employ pallans, paraiyans, and other low castes to help them transport the liquor, but musalmans and brahmans have, in several cases, sufficiently set aside the scruples enjoined by their respective faiths against dealings in potent liquor to own retail shops, and (in the case of some musalmans at least) to serve their customers with their own hands." in a recent note, [174] it has been stated that "l.m.s. shanar christians have, in many cases, given up tapping the palmyra palm for jaggery and toddy as a profession beneath them; and their example is spreading, so that a real economic impasse is manifesting itself. the writer knows of one village at least, which had to send across the border (of travancore) into tinnevelly to procure professional tree-tappers. consequent on this want of professional men, the palm trees are being cut down, and this, if done to any large extent, will impoverish the country." in the palmyra forests of attitondu, in tinnevelly, i came across a troop of stalwart shanan men and boys, marching out towards sunset, to guard the ripening cholum crop through the night, each with a trained dog, with leash made of fibre passed through a ring on the neck-collar. the leash would be slipped directly the dog scented a wild pig, or other nocturnal marauder. several of the dogs bore the marks of encounters with pigs. one of the party carried a musical instrument made of a 'bison' horn picked up in the neighbouring jungle. the shanans have a great objection to being called either shanan or marameri (tree-climber), and much prefer nadan. by the shanans of tinnevelly, whom i visited, the following five sub-divisions were returned:-1. karukku-pattayar (those of the sharp sword), which is considered to be superior to the rest. in the census report, 1891, the division karukku-mattai (petiole of the palmyra leaf with serrated edges) was returned. some shanans are said to have assumed the name of karukku-mattai vellalas. 2. kalla. said to be the original servants of the karukku-pattayar, doing menial work in their houses, and serving as palanquin-bearers. 3. nattati. settled at the village of nattati near sawyerpuram. 4. kodikkal. derived from kodi, a flag. standard-bearers of the fighting men. according to another version, the word means a betel garden, in reference to those who were betel cultivators. 5. mel-natar (mel, west). those who live in the western part of tinnevelly and in travancore. at the census, 1891, konga (territorial) and madurai were returned as sub-divisions. the latter apparently receives its name, not from the town of madura, but from a word meaning sweet juice. at the census, 1901, tollakkadan (man with a big hole in his ears) was taken as being a sub-caste of shanan, as the people who returned it, and sell husked rice in madras, used the title nadan. madura and tinnevelly are eminently the homes of dilated ear-lobes. some tamil traders in these two districts, who returned themselves as pandyan, were classified as shanans, as nadan was entered as their title. in coimbatore, some shanans, engaged as shop-keepers, have been known to adopt the name of chetti. in coimbatore, too, the title muppan occurs. this title, meaning headman or elder, is also used by the ambalakaran, valayan, sudarman, senaikkudaiyan, and other castes. in the tanjore manual, the shanans are divided into tennam, panam, and ichcham, according as they tap the cocoanut, palmyra, or wild date (phoenix sylvestris). the name enadi for shanans is derived from enadi nayanar, a saivite saint. but it also means a barber. the community has, among its members, land-owners, and graduates in theology, law, medicine, and the arts. nine-tenths of the native clergy in tinnevelly are said to be converted shanans, and tinnevelly claims native missionaries working in madagascar, natal, mauritius, and the straits. the occupations of those whom i saw at nazareth were merchant, cultivator, teacher, village munsif, organist, cart-driver, and cooly. the shanans have established a school, called kshatriya vidyasala, at virudupati in tinnevelly. this is a free school, for attendance at which no fee is levied on the pupils, for the benefit of the shanan community, but boys of other castes are freely admitted to it. it is maintained by shanans from their mahimai fund, and the teachers are brahmans, shanans, etc. the word mahimai means greatness, glory, or respectability. shanbog.--the magane shanbog takes the place, in south canara, of the village karnam or accountant. there are also temple shanbogs, who are employed at the more important temples. when social disputes come up for decision at caste council meetings, the shanbog appointed by the caste records the evidence, and the moktessor or mukhtesar (chief man) of the caste decides upon the facts. in some places in south canara shanbog is used as a synonym for sarasvat brahman. in mysore, the shanbog is said [175] to be "the village accountant, with hardly an exception of the brahman caste. the office is hereditary. in some places they hold land free of rent, and in others on light assessment. in some few places a fixed money allowance is given. in all instances there are certain fixed fees payable to them in money or kind by the ryots." it is noted by mr. w. robinson, in a report on the laccadive islands (1869), that "the monegar has the assistance of one of the islanders as a karany, to take down depositions, and to read them, for the character used is the arabic. in addition to these duties, the karany has those of the shanbogue. he keeps the accounts of the trees, and the coir (cocoanut fibre) in the islands, and makes out and delivers the accounts of coir brought to the coast." shikari.--shikari, meaning a sportsman or hunter, occurs as a synonym of irula, and a sub-division of korava. the name shikari is also applied to a native who "accompanies european sportsmen as a guide and aid, and to the european sportsman himself." [176] sholaga.--in his account of the sholagas or solagas, early in the last century, buchanan [177] writes that they "speak a bad or old dialect of the karnata language, have scarcely any clothing, and sleep round a fire, lying on a few plantain leaves, and covering themselves with others. they live chiefly on the summits of mountains, where the tigers do not frequent, but where their naked bodies are exposed to a disagreeable cold. their huts are most wretched, and consist of bamboos with both ends stuck into the ground, so as to form an arch, which is covered with plantain leaves." the up-to-date sholaga, who inhabits the jungles of coimbatore between dimbhum and kollegal near the mysore frontier, is clad in a cotton loin-cloth, supplemented by a coat of english pattern with regimental buttons, and smears himself freely on special occasions, such as a visit to the government anthropologist, with sacred ashes in mimicry of the lingayats. i gather from a correspondent that the following tradition concerning their origin is current. in days of yore there lived two brothers in the geddesala hills, by name karayan and billaya or madheswara. the uralis and sholagas are descended from karayan, and the sivacharis (lingayats) from madheswara. the two brothers fell into the hands of a terrible rakshasha (demon), by name savanan, who made karayan a shepherd, but imprisoned madheswara for not paying him sufficient respect, and extracted all kinds of menial work from him. last of all he ordered him to make a pair of shoes, whereupon madheswara asked for his liberty for a few days, to enable him to have the shoes well made. his request being granted, madheswara betook himself to the god krishnamurti, and asked him for his help in his troubles. the god was only too happy to assist, and suggested that the shoes should be made of wax. helped by krishnamurti, madheswara made a very beautiful-looking pair of shoes. krishnamurti then ordered him to pile up and light a huge bonfire on a bare rocky hill east of geddesala, so as to make it nearly red-hot. the ashes were then cleared away, so as to leave no trace of their plot. madheswara then took the shoes, and presented them to savanan, who was much pleased with them, and willingly acceded to madheswara's request that he would put them on, and walk along the rock. but, as soon as he stepped upon it, the shoes melted, and savanan fell heavily on the rock, clutching hold of madheswara as he fell, and trying to strangle him. krishnamurti had assembled all the gods to witness the carrying out of the plot, and, telling each of them to pile a stone on savanan's head, himself rescued madheswara from his clutches, and all jumped upon the rakshasha till no trace of him was left. while this was going on, karayan was tending savanan's herds in the forest, and, when he came to hear about it, was angry with his brother for not consulting him before destroying savanan. flying from karayan, who was armed with a knife, madheswara implored krishnamurti's help, by which he was able to leap from kotriboli to the hill called urugamalai, a distance of some ten miles. the force of the leap caused the hill to bend--hence its name meaning the bending hill. finding that the hill was bending, and being still hotly pursued by his brother, knife in hand, madheswara again appealed to krishnamurti, and was enabled to make another leap of about five miles to a hill called eggaraimalai, which immediately began to subside. hence its name, meaning the subsiding hill. thence he fled to munikanal, and concealed himself under a rock, closely followed by karayan, who slashed the rock with his knife, and left marks which are visible to this day. from munikanal he fled to the hill now known as madheswaranamalai, and hid in a rat hole. karayan, not being able to unearth him, sent for a lot of shepherds, and made them pen their sheep and cattle over the hole. the effluvium became too strong for the fugitive, so he surrendered himself to his brother, who pardoned him on the understanding that, on deification, karayan should have prior claim to all votive offerings. to this madheswara agreed, and to this day sivacharis, when doing puja, first make their offerings to karayan and afterwards to madheswara. in connection with this legend, any one proceeding to the top of kotriboli hill at the present day is expected to place a stone upon the rock, with the result that there are many piles of stones there. even europeans are asked to do this. the sholagas are said to call themselves men of five kulams, or exogamous septs, among which are chalikiri, teneru, belleri, surya (the sun), and aleru. by members of the twelve kulam class, everything is done by twelves. for example, on the twelfth day after a birth, twelve elders are invited to the house to bless the child. at a marriage, twelve of the bridegroom's relations go and fetch the bride, and the wedding pandal (booth) has twelve posts. the parents of the bridegroom pay twelve rupees to the bride's father, and a tali (marriage badge) worth twelve annas is tied round the bride's neck. in case of death, the body is borne on a stretcher made of twelve bamboos, and mourning lasts for twelve days. tribal disputes, e.g., quarrelling and adultery, are decided by the yejamana, assisted by a pattagara and a few leading men of the community. under the orders of the two former is the chalavathi or village servant. the yejamana, pattagara, and chalavathi must belong respectively to the chalikiri, teneri, and surya septs. when a girl reaches puberty, she occupies a separate hut for five days, and then returns home after a bath. the maternal uncle should present her with a new cloth, betel leaves and areca nuts, and plantain fruits. in the formal marriage ceremony, the tali is tied by the bridegroom inside a booth; the maternal uncle, if he can afford it, presents a new cloth to the bride, and a feast is held. sometimes even this simple rite is dispensed with, and the couple, without any formality, live together as man and wife, on the understanding that, at some time, a feast must be given to a few of the community. i am told that the sholagas of the burghur hills have a very extraordinary way of treating expectant mothers. a few days before the event is expected to take place, the husband takes his wife right away into the jungle, and leaves her there alone with three days' supply of food. there she has to stay, and do the best she can for herself. if she does not come back at the end of the three days, the husband goes out and takes her more food. but she may not return to her village till the baby is born. when one of these unfortunate creatures comes back safely, there is a great celebration in her honour, with beating of tom-tom, etc. the dead are buried with the body lying on its left side, and the head to the south. on their return home from a funeral, those who have been present thereat salute a lighted lamp. on the spot where the dead person breathed his last, a little ragi (eleusine coracana) paste and water are placed, and here, on the fourth day, a goat is sacrificed, and offered up to the soul of the departed. after this the son proceeds to the burial ground, carrying a stone, and followed by men selected from each of the exogamous septs. arrived near the grave, they sit down, while the son places the stone on the ground, and they then lift it in succession. the last man to do so is said to fall into a trance. on his recovery, leaves (plantain, teak, etc.) corresponding in number to the exogamous septs, are arranged round the stone, and, on each leaf, different kinds of food are placed. the men partake of the food, each from the leaf allotted to his sept. the meal concluded, the son holds the stone in his hands, while his companions pour ragi and water over it, and then carries it away to the gopamane (burial-ground) of his sept, and sets it up there. on the occasion of a death in a mala vellala village, the sholagas come in crowds, with clarionets and drums, and bells on their legs, and dance in front of the house. and the corpse is borne, in musical procession, to the burning-ground. the staple food of the sholagas is ragi paste and yams (dioscorea), which, like the uralis, they supplement by sundry jungle animals and birds. paroquets they will not eat, as they regard them as their children. their main occupation is to collect minor forest produce, myrabolams, vembadam bark (ventilago madraspatana), avaram bark (cassia auriculata), deers' horns, tamarinds, gum, honey, soap-nuts, sheekoy (acacia concinna),etc. the forests have been divided into blocks, and a certain place within each block has been selected for the forest depôt. to this place the collecting agents, mostly sholagas and uralis, bring the produce, and there it is sorted and paid for by special supervisors appointed for the work. in the coimbatore district the sholagas are said to collect honey from rocky crevices. the combs are much larger than those found on trees, and are supposed to contain twice as much wax in proportion to the honey. on the nilgiri hills honey-combs are collected by jen kurumbas and sholagas. the supply of honey varies according to the nature of the season, and is especially plentiful and of good quality when strobilanthes wightianus, s. kunthiana, and other species are in flower. it has been said that even wild beasts will scent a sholaga, and flee before the aroma. the sholagas, who were examined by dr. rivers and myself, came to the conclusion that the object of our enquiry was to settle them in a certain place near london, and that the wools of different colours (used for testing colour vision) given to them for selection, were for tying them captive with. others said that they could not understand why the different organs of their bodies were measured; perhaps to reduce or increase the size of their body to suit the different works, which they were expected to do near london. it has been pointed out to me, as an interesting fact, that a similarity of idea concerning the modification of different organs to suit men for the doing of special work has been arrived at by the jungle folk, and by mr. wells in his book, 'the first men in the moon,' where the lunar inhabitants are described as carrying on the practice. of the experiences of a sholaga when out with a european on a shooting expedition, the following account has recently been given. [178] "my husband was after a bear, and tracked bruin to his cave. he had torches made, and these he ordered to be thrust into the cave in the hope of smoking the bear out, but, as nothing happened, he went into the cave, accompanied by a sholigar carrying a torch. as soon as they got used to the light, they saw a small aperture leading into an inner cave, and the sholigar was told to put the torch in there. hardly was this done, when out rushed a large bear, knocking over the sholigar, and extinguishing the torch. my husband could not get his gun up in time to fire, as the bear rushed through the cave into the jungle. just as the sholigar was picking himself up, out rushed another bear. this time my husband was ready, and fired. to the sholigar's horror, bruin sank down wounded at the entrance to the outer cave, thus blocking the exit, and keeping both tracker and my husband prisoners. the sholigar began whimpering, saying he was the father of a large family, and did not wish to leave the children fatherless. soon the bear, though very badly wounded, managed to get to its feet, and crawl away into the jungle, so liberating the prisoners." concerning the sholagas of the mysore province, [179] i gather that they "inhabit the depths of the forests clothing the foot and slopes of the biligirirangam hills. they cultivate with the hoe small patches of jungle clearings. their chief god is biligiri rangasvami, but they also worship karaiyya, their tribal tutelary deity. their principal food is the ragi, which they grow, supplemented by wild forest produce. they are partial to the flesh of deer, antelope, pigs, sheep and goats. a few of them have, in recent years, come to own lands. like the jenu kurumbas, they are perfect trackers of wild animals. three kinds of marriage prevail among them. the first is affected by the more well-to-do, who perform the ceremony with much éclat under a shed with twelve pillars (bamboo posts), accompanied by music and festivities, which continue for three days. the second is more common, and seems to be a modified form of concubinage. the poorer members resort to the third kind, which consists in the couple eloping to a distant jungle, and returning home only after the bride has become a mother. they speak a patois, allied to old canarese or hale kannada." [180] shola naiker.--a synonym of jen kurumbas in the wynad. sibbi dhompti (brass vessel offering).--a subdivision of madigas, who, at marriages, offer food to the god in brass vessels. siddaru.--a synonym of jogi mendicants. sika (kudumi or hair-knot).--an exogamous sept of devanga. sikili (broom).--an exogamous sept of madiga. sikligar.--in the madras census report, 1901, eleven individuals are returned as belonging to an upper india caste of knife-grinders (sikligar). in the madura manual, sikilkarars are described as knife-grinders, who wander about in quest of work from village to village. sila (stone).--an exogamous sept of omanaito. silam (good conduct).--an exogamous sept of mala. silavant.--in the madras census report, 1901, silavant is recorded as meaning the virtuous, and as being a sub-sect of lingayats. in the mysore census report, silavanta is given as a name for lingayat nayindas. for the following note on the silavantalu or silevantalu of vizagapatam, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. they are a sect of lingayats, who, though they do not admit it, appear to be an offshoot of pattu sales, who became converts to the lingayat religion. they are engaged in the manufacture of fine cloths for males and females. the religious observances which secured them their name, meaning those who practice or possess particular religious customs, have been thus described. in the seventh month of pregnancy, at the time of quickening, a small stone linga is enclosed in black lac, wrapped in a piece of silk cloth, and tied to the thread of the linga which is on the woman's neck. the child is thus invested with the linga while still in utero. when it is about a year old, and weaned, the linga is taken off the mother's neck, and replaced by a silver locket. the linga is tied on the neck of the child. at the beginning of the twelfth year in the case of boys, and just before the marriage of girls, this linga is taken off, and a fresh one suspended round the neck by a guru. the silavantalu are divided into exogamous septs, or intiperulu. the custom of menarikam, whereby a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is the rule. but, if the maternal uncle has no daughter, he must find a suitable bride for his nephew. girls are married before puberty, and a jangam, known as mahesvara, officiates at weddings. the dead are buried in a sitting posture, facing north. the linga is suspended round the neck of the corpse, and buried with it. six small copper plates are made, each containing a syllable of the invocation om na ma si va ya. two of these are placed on the thighs of the corpse, one on the head, one on the navel, and two on the shoulders, and stuck on with guggilam paste. the corpse is then tied up in a sack. the relatives offer flowers to it, and burn camphor before it. the grave is dug several feet deep, and a cavity or cell is made on the southern side of it, and lined with bamboo matting. the corpse is placed within the cell, and salt thrown into the grave before it is filled in. a jangam officiates at the funeral. monthly and annual death ceremonies are performed. a samathi or monument is erected over the grave. such a monument may be either in the form of a square mound (brindavan) with niches for lights and a hole in the top, in which a tulsi (ocimum sanctum) is planted, or in the form of a small chamber. relations go occasionally to the grave, whereon they deposit flowers, and place lights in the niches or chamber. the silavantalu are strict vegetarians and total abstainers. their titles are ayya and lingam. silpa (artisan).--a sub-division of the kammalans, panchalas or kamsalas, whose hereditary occupation is that of stone-masons. in the silpa sastra, the measurements necessary in sculpture, the duties of a silpi, etc., are laid down. i am informed that the carver of a stone idol has to select a male or female stone, according as the idol is to be a god or goddess, and that the sex of a stone can be determined by its ring when struck. sindhu.--the sindhuvallu (drummers) are madigas, who go about acting scenes from the ramayana or mahabharatha, and the story of ankamma. sindhu also occurs as a gotra of kurni. the beating of the drum called sindhu is, i gather, sometimes a nuisance, for a missionary writes to the paper enquiring whether there is any order of government against it, as the practice "causes much crime, and creates extra work for police and magistrates. village officials believe they have no authority to suppress it, but there are some who assert that it is nominally forbidden." singamu-varu.--singam is described, in the madras census report, 1901, as a class of beggars, who beg only from sales. they are, however, described by mr. c. hayavadana rao as a class of itinerant mendicants attached to the devangas. "the name," he writes, "is a variant of simhamu-varu, or lion-men, i.e., as valourous as a lion. they are paid a small sum annually by each devanga village for various services which they render, such as carrying fire before a devanga corpse to the burial-ground, acting as caste messengers, and cleaning the weaving instruments." sinnata (gold).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. siolo.--a small class of oriya toddy-drawers, whose touch conveys pollution. the sondis, who are an oriya caste of toddy-sellers, purchase their liquor from the siolos. sipiti.--the sipitis are described, in the madras census report, 1901, as "oriya temple priests and drummers; a sub-caste of ravulo." in an account of them as given to me, they are stated to be smartas, and temple priests of village deities, who wear the sacred thread, but do not employ brahmans as purohits, and are regarded as somewhat lower in the social scale than the ravulos. some of their females are said to have been unrecognised prostitutes, but the custom is dying out. the caste title is muni. (see ravulo.) sir.--a sub-division of kanakkan. sirpadam.--a sub-division of kaikolan. sirukudi.--a nadu or territorial division of kallan. siru tali.--the name, indicating those who wear a small tali (marriage badge), of a sub-division of kaikolan and maravan. sitikan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as an occupational sub-division of maran. sitra.--see pano. siva brahmana.--recorded as a synonym of stanika. sivachara.--it is noted, in the mysore census report, 1901, that the lingayats call themselves "vira saivas, sivabhaktas, or sivachars. the virasaiva religion consists of numerous castes. it is a religion consisting of representatives from almost every caste in hindu society. people of all castes, from the highest to the lowest, have embraced the religion. there are sivachar brahmins, sivachar kshatriyas, sivachar vaisyas, sivachar carpenters, sivachar weavers, sivachar goldsmiths, sivachar potters, sivachar washermen, and sivachar barbers, and other low castes who have all followed the popular religion in large numbers." sivadvija.--the name, denoting saivite brahman, by which mussads like to be called. also recorded as a synonym of stanika. sivaratri.--an exogamous sept of odde, named after the annual mahasivaratri festival in honour of siva. holy ashes, sacred to siva, prepared by smartas on this day, are considered to be very pure. sivarchaka.--the word means those who do puja (worship) to siva. priests at the temple of village deities are ordinarily known as pujari, pusali, occhan, etc., but nowadays prefer the title of umarchaka or sivarchaka. the name sivala occurs in the madras census report, 1901. siviyar.--siviyar means literally a palanquin-bearer, and is an occupational name applied to those employed in that capacity. for this reason a sub-division of the idaiyans is called siviyar. the siviyars of coimbatore say that they have no connection with either idaiyans or toreyas, but are besthas who emigrated from mysore during the troublous times of the muhammadan usurpation. the name siviyar is stated to have been given to them by the tamils, as they were palanquin-bearers to officers on circuit and others in the pre-railway days. they claim origin, on the authority of a book called parvatharaja charithum, from parvatharaja. their main occupations at the present day are tank and river fishing, but some are petty traders, physicians, peons, etc. their language is canarese, and their title naickan. they have eighteen marriage divisions or gotras, named after persons from whom the various gotras are said to have been descended. on occasions of marriage, when betel leaf is distributed, it must be given to members of the different gotras in their order of precedence. in cases of adultery, the guilty parties are tied to a post, and beaten with tamarind switches. when a grown-up but unmarried person dies, the corpse is made to go through a mock marriage with a human figure cut out of a palm leaf. sodabisiya.--a sub-division of domb. soi.--a title of doluva. it is a form of sui or swayi. solaga.--see sholaga. soliyan.--soliyan or soliya is a territorial name, meaning an inhabitant of the chola country, recorded as a sub-division of karnam, idaiyan, pallan, and vellala. the equivalent solangal occurs as an exogamous sept of vallamban, and soliya illam (malayalam, house) as an exogamous sept of panikkans in the tamil country. some pallis style themselves solakanar (descendants of chola kings), or solakula kshatriya. (see sozhia.) somakshatri.--a name sometimes adopted by canarese ganigas in south canara. somara.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small class of potters in the vizagapatam hills. somari (idler).--a division of yanadis, who do scavenging work, and eat the refuse food thrown away by people from the leaf plate after a meal. soma varada (sunday).--the name of kurubas who worship their god on sundays. sonagan.--see jonagan. sonar.--the sonars or sonagaras of south canara are described by mr. h. a. stuart [181] as a goldsmith caste, who "speak konkani, which is a dialect of marathi, and are believed to have come from goa. the community at each station has one or two mukhtesars or headmen, who enquire into, and settle the caste affairs. serious offences are reported to the swamy of sode, who has authority to excommunicate, or to inflict heavy fines. they wear the sacred thread. marriages within the same gotra are strictly prohibited. most of them are vaishnavites, but a few follow siva. the dead are burned, and the ashes are thrown into a river. they eat fish, but not flesh. their title is setti." they consider it derogatory to work in metals other than gold and silver. in the madras census report, 1901, the sunnari (or sonnari) are described as oriya goldsmiths (see risley, tribes and castes of bengal, sonar). these goldsmiths, in the oriya portion of the madras presidency, are, i am informed, kamsalas from the telugu country. unlike the oriyas, and like other telugu classes, they invariably have a house-name, and their mother tongue is telugu. they are saivites, bury their dead, claim to be descendants of viswakarma, and call themselves viswa brahmans. they do not eat meals prepared by brahmans, or drink water at the hands of brahmans. in former times, goldsmiths held the post of nottakaran (tester) or village shroff (money-changer). his function was to test the rupees tendered when the land revenue was being gathered in, and see that they were not counterfeit. there is a proverb, uncomplimentary to the goldsmiths, to the effect that a goldsmith cannot make an ornament even for his wife, without first secreting some of the gold or silver given him for working upon. it has been noted [182] that "in madras, an exceedingly poor country, there is one male goldsmith to every 408 of the total population; in england, a very rich country, there is only one goldsmith to every 1,200 inhabitants. in europe, jewellery is primarily for ornament, and is a luxury. in india it is primarily an investment, its ornamental purpose being an incident." the south indian goldsmith at work has been well described as follows. [183] "a hollow, scooped out in the middle of the mud floor (of a room or verandah), does duty for the fireplace, while, close by, there is raised a miniature embankment, semi-circular in shape, with a hole in the middle of the base for the insertion of the bellows. crucibles of clay or cow-dung, baked hard in the sun, tongs and hammers, potsherds of charcoal, dirty tins of water, and little packets of sal-ammoniac, resin, or other similar substances, all lie scattered about the floor in picturesque confusion. sitting, or rather crouching on their haunches, are a couple of the panchala workmen. one of them is blowing a pan of charcoal into flame through an iron tube some eighteen inches long by one in diameter, and stirring up the loose charcoal. another is hammering at a piece of silver wire on a little anvil before him. with his miserable tools the hindu goldsmith turns out work that well might, and often deservedly does, rank with the greatest triumphs of the jeweller's art." sondi.--the sondis or sundis are summed up in the madras census report, 1901, as "oriya toddy-selling caste. they do not draw toddy themselves, but buy it from siolos, and sell it. they also distill arrack." the word arrack or arak, it may be noted en passant, means properly "perspiration, and then, first the exudation of sap drawn from the date-palm; secondly, any strong drink, distilled spirit, etc." [184] a corruption of the word is rack, which occurs, e.g., in rack punch. according to a sanskrit work, entitled parasarapaddati, soundikas (toddy-drawers and distillers of arrack) are the offspring of a kaivarata male and a gaudike female. both these castes are pratiloma (mixed) castes. in the matsya purana, the soundikas are said to have been born to siva of seven apsara women on the bank of the river son. manu refers to the soundikas, and says that a snataka [185] may not accept food from trainers of hunting dogs, soundikas, a washerman, a dyer, pitiless man, and a man in whose house lives a paramour of his wife. in a note on the allied sunris or sundis of bengal, mr. risley writes [186] that "according to hindu ideas, distillers and sellers of strong drink rank among the most degraded castes, and a curious story in the vaivarta purana keeps alive the memory of their degradation. it is said that when sani, the hindu saturn, failed to adapt an elephant's head to the mutilated trunk of ganesa, who had been accidentally beheaded by siva, viswakarma, the celestial artificer, was sent for, and by careful dissection and manipulation he fitted the incongruous parts together, and made a man called kedara sena from the slices cut off in fashioning his work. this kedara sena was ordered to fetch a drink of water for bhagavati, weary and athirst. finding on the river's bank a shell full of water, he presented it to her, without noticing that a few grains of rice left in it by a parrot had fermented and formed an intoxicating liquid. bhagavati, as soon as she had drunk, became aware of the fact, and in her anger condemned the offender to the vile and servile occupation of making spirituous liquor for mankind. another story traces their origin to a certain bhaskar or bhaskar muni, who was created by krishna's brother, balaram, to minister to his desire for strong drink. a different version of the same legend gives them for ancestor niranjan, a boy found by bhaskar floating down a river in a pot full of country liquor, and brought up by him as a distiller." for the following note on the sondis of vizagapatam, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. according to a current tradition, there was, in days of old, a brahman, who was celebrated for his magical powers. the king, his patron, asked him if he could make the water in a tank (pond) burn, and he replied in the affirmative. he was, however, in reality disconsolate, because he did not know how to do it. by chance he met a distiller, who asked him why he looked so troubled, and, on learning his difficulty, promised to help him on condition that he gave him his daughter in marriage. to this the brahman consented. the distiller gave him a quantity of liquor to pour into the tank, and told him to set it alight in the presence of the king. the brahman kept his word, and the sondis are the descendants of the offspring of his daughter and the distiller. the caste is divided into several endogamous divisions, viz., bodo odiya, madhya kula, and sanno kula. the last is said to be made up of illegitimate descendants of the two first divisions. the sondis distil liquor from the ippa (bassia) flower, rice, and jaggery (crude sugar). there is a tradition that brahma created the world, and pinched up from a point between his eyebrows a little mud, from which he made a figure, and endowed it with life. thus suka muni was created, and authorised to distil spirit from the ippa flowers, which had hitherto been eaten by birds. when a girl reaches puberty, she is set apart in a room within a square enclosure made with four arrows connected together by a thread. turmeric and oil are rubbed over her daily, and, on the seventh day, she visits the local shrine. girls are married before puberty. some days before a wedding, a sal (shorea robusta) or neredu (eugenia jambolana) post is set up in front of the bridegroom's house, and a pandal (booth) erected round it. on the appointed day, a caste feast is held, and a procession of males proceeds to the bride's house, carrying with them finger rings, silver and glass bangles, and fifty rupees as the jholla tonka (bride price). on the following day, the bride goes to the house of the bridegroom. on the marriage day, the contracting couple go seven times round the central post of the pandal, and their hands are joined by the presiding oriya brahman. they then sit down, and the sacred fire is raised. the females belonging to the bridegroom's party sprinkle them with turmeric and rice. on the following day, a bhondari (barber) cleans the pandal, and draws patterns in it with rice flour. a mat is spread, and the couple play with cowry shells. these are five in number, and the bridegroom holds them tightly in his right hand, while the bride tries to wrest them from him. if she succeeds in so doing, her brothers beat the bridegroom, and make fun of him; if she fails, the bridegroom's sisters beat and make fun of her. the bride then takes hold of the cowries, and the same performance is gone through. a basket of rice is brought, and some of it poured into a vessel. the bridegroom holds a portion of it in his hand, and the bride asks him to put it back. this, after a little coaxing, he consents to do. these ceremonies are repeated during the next five days. on the seventh day, small quantities of food are placed on twelve leaves, and twelve brahmans, who receive a present of money, sit down, and partake thereof. the marriage of widows is permitted, and a younger brother may marry the widow of an elder brother. the dead are burned, and death pollution lasts for ten days. daily, during this period, cooked food is strewed on the way leading to the burning-ground. on the eleventh day, those under pollution bathe, and the sacred fire (homam) is raised by a brahman. as at a wedding, twelve brahmans receive food and money. towards midnight, a new pot is brought, and holes are bored in it. a lighted lamp and food are placed in it, and it is taken towards the burning-ground and set down on the ground. the dead man's name is then called out three times. he is informed that food is ready, and asked to come. men, but not women, eat animal food. the women will not partake of the remnants of their husbands' meal on days on which they eat meat, because, according to the legend, their female ancestor was a brahman woman. among the sondis of ganjam, if a girl does not secure a husband before she reaches maturity, she goes through a form of marriage with an old man of the caste, or with her elder sister's husband, and may not marry until the man with whom she has performed this ceremony dies. on the wedding day, the bridegroom is shaved, and his old waist-thread is replaced by a new one. the ceremonies commence with the worship of ganesa, and agree in the main with those of many other oriya castes. the remarriage of widows is permitted. if a widow was the wife of the first-born or eldest son in a family, she may not, after his death, marry one of his younger brothers. she may, however, do so if she was married in the first instance to a second son. it is noted by mr. c. f. maccartie, in the madras census report, 1881, that "a good deal of land has been sold by khond proprietors to other castes. it was in this way that much territory was found some years ago to be passing into the hands of the sundis or professional liquor distillers. as soon as these facts were brought to the notice of government, no time was lost in the adoption of repressive measures, which have been completely successful, as the recent census shows a great reduction in the numbers of these sundis, who, now that their unscrupulous trade is abolished, have emigrated largely to boad and other tracts. this is the only case to my knowledge in which a special trade has decayed, and with the best results, as, had it not been so, there is no doubt that the khond population would very soon have degenerated into pure adscripti glebæ, and the sundis become the landlords." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, that "besides ippa (liquor distilled from the blossom of bassia latifolia), the hill people brew beer from rice, samai (the millet panicum miliare), and ragi (eleusine coracana). they mash the grain in the ordinary manner, add some more water to it, mix a small quantity of ferment with it, leave it to ferment three or four days, and then strain off the grain. the beer so obtained is often highly intoxicating, and different kinds of it go by different names, such as londa, pandiyam, and maddikallu. the ferment which is used is called the saraiya-mandu (spirit drug) or sondi-mandu (sondi's drug), and can be bought in the weekly market. there are numerous recipes for making it, but the ingredients are always jungle roots and barks. [187] it is sold made up into small balls with rice. the actual shop-keepers and still-owners in the hills, especially in the parvatipur and palkonda agencies, are usually immigrants of the sondi caste, a wily class who know exactly how to take advantage of the sin which doth so easily beset the hill man, and to wheedle from him, in exchange for the strong drink which he cannot do without, his ready money, his little possessions, his crops, and finally his land itself. "the sondis are gradually getting much of the best land into their hands, and many of the guileless hill ryots into their power. mr. taylor stated in 1892 that 'the rate of interest on loans extorted by these sondis is 100 per cent. and, if this is not cleared off in the first year, compound interest at 100 per cent. is charged on the balance. the result is that, in many instances, the cultivators are unable to pay in cash or kind, and become the gotis or serfs of the sowcars, for whom they have to work in return for mere batta (subsistence allowance), whilst the latter take care to manipulate their accounts in such a manner that the debt is never paid off. a remarkable instance of this tyranny was brought to my notice a few days since. a ryot some fifty years ago borrowed rs. 20; he paid back rs. 50 at intervals, and worked for the whole of his life, and died in harness. for the same debt the sowcar (money-lender) claimed the services of his son, and he too died in bondage, leaving two small sons aged 13 and 9, whose services were also claimed for an alleged arrear of rs. 30 on a debt of rs. 20 borrowed 50 years back, for which rs. 50 in cash had been repaid in addition to the perpetual labour of a man for a similar period.' this custom of goti is firmly established, and, in a recent case, an elder brother claimed to be able to pledge for his own debts the services of his younger brother, and even those of the latter's wife. debts due by persons of respectability are often collected by the sondis by an exasperating method, which has led to at least one case of homicide. they send ghasis, who are one of the lowest of all castes, and contact with whom is utter defilement entailing severe caste penalties, to haunt the house of the debtor who will not pay, insult and annoy him and his family, and threaten to drag him forcibly before the sondi." a friend was, on one occasion, out after big game in the jeypore hills, and shot a tiger. he asked his shikari (tracker) what reward he should give him for putting him on to the beast. the shikari replied that he would be quite satisfied with twenty-five rupees, as he wanted to get his younger brother out of pledge. asked what he meant, he replied that, two years previously, he had purchased as his wife a woman who belonged to a caste higher than his own for a hundred rupees. he obtained the money by pledging his younger brother to a sowcar, and had paid it all back except twenty-five rupees. meanwhile his brother was the bondsman of the sowcar, and cultivating his land in return for simple food. it is further recorded, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, that dombu (or domb) dacoits "force their way into the house of some wealthy person (for choice the local sondi liquor-seller and sowcar--usually the only man worth looting in an agency village, and a shark who gets little pity from his neighbours when forced to disgorge), tie up the men, rape the women, and go off with everything of value." the titles of the ganjam sondis are behara, chowdri, podhano, and sahu. in the vizagapatam agency tracts, their title is said to be bissoyi. sonkari.--the sonkaris are a small class of oriya lac bangle (sonka) makers in ganjam and vizagapatam, who should not be confused with the telugu sunkaris. the men are engaged in agriculture, and the women manufacture the bangles, chains, chamaras (fly-flappers), kolatam sticks (for stick play), and fans ornamented with devices in paddy (unhusked rice) grains, which are mainly sold to europeans as curios. sonkari girls are married before puberty. a man should marry his paternal aunt's daughter, but at the present day this custom is frequently disregarded. brahmans officiate at their marriages. the dead are cremated. the caste title is patro. sonkuva.--a sub-division of mali. sonti (dried ginger).--an exogamous sept of asili. soppu (leaf).--the name for koragas, who wear leafy garments. sozhia.--a territorial name of sub-divisions of various tamil classes who are settled in what was formerly the chola country, e.g., brahman, chetti, kaikolan, kammalan, pallan, and vellala. srishti karnam.--a sub-division of karnam. the name is variously spelt, e.g., sristi, sishta, sishti. the name sishti karanamalu is said to have been assumed by oddilu, who have raised themselves in life. [188] stala (a place).--lingayats sometimes use the word staladavaru, or natives of a place, to distinguish them from recent settlers. stanika.--the stanikas are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as being "canarese temple servants. they claim to be brahmans, though other brahmans do not admit the claim; and, as the total of the caste has declined from 4,650 in 1891 to 1,469, they have apparently returned themselves as brahmans in considerable numbers." the stanikas are, in the south canara manual, said to be "the descendants of brahmins by brahmin widows and outcast brahmin women, corresponding with manu's golaka. they however now claim to be siva brahmins, forcibly dispossessed of authority by the madhvas, and state that the name stanika is not that of a separate caste, but indicates their profession as managers of temples, with the title of deva stanika. this claim is not generally conceded, and as a matter of fact the duties in which stanikas are employed are clearly those of temple servants, namely, collecting flowers, sweeping the interiors of temples, looking after the lamps, cleaning the temple vessels, ringing bells, and the like. many of them, however, are landowners and farmers. they are generally sivites, and wear the sacred thread. their special deities are venkatramana and ganapati. dravida brahmins officiate as their priests, but of late some educated men of the caste have assumed the priestly office. the caste has two sub-divisions, viz., subramania and kumbla. girls must be married in infancy, i.e., before they attain puberty. widow remarriage is neither permitted nor practiced. their other customs are almost the same as those of the kota brahmans. they neither eat flesh nor drink liquor." it is stated in the manual that the stanikas are called shanbogs and mukhtesars. but i am informed that at an inquest or a search the moktessors or mukhtesars (chief men) of a village are assembled, and sign the inquest report or search list. the moktessors of any caste can be summoned together. some of the moktessors of a temple may be stanikas. in the case of social disputes decided at caste meetings, the shanbog (writer or accountant) appointed by the caste would record the evidence, and the moktessor would decide upon the facts. of the two sections subramanya and kumbla, the former claim superiority, and there is no intermarriage between them. the members of the subramanya section state that they belong to rig saka (rig veda) and have gotras, such as viswamitra, angirasa, and baradwaja, and twelve exogamous septs. of these septs, the following are examples:- arli (ficus religiosa). konde, tassel or hair-knot. aththi (ficus glomerata). adhikari. bandi, cart. pandita. kethaki (pandanus fascicularis). heggade. the famous temple of subramanya is said to have been in charge of the subramanya stanikas, till it was wrested from them by the shivalli brahmans. in former times, the privilege of sticking a golden ladle into a heap of food piled up in the temple, on the shasti day or sixth day after the new moon in december, is said to have belonged to the stanikas. they also brought earth from an ant-hill on the previous day. food from the heap and earth are received as sacred articles by devotees who visit the sacred shrine. a large number of stanikas are still attached to temples, where they perform the duties of cleaning the vessels, washing rice, placing cooked food on the bali pitam (altar stone), etc. the food placed on the stone is eaten by stanikas, but not by brahmans. in the mysore province, a brahman woman who partakes of this food loses her caste, and becomes a prostitute. at times of census, sivadvija and siva brahman have been given as synonyms of stanika. sthavara.--recorded, at times of census, as a sub-division of jangam. the lingam, which lingayats carry on some part of the body, is called the jangama lingam or moveable lingam, to distinguish it from the sthavara or fixed lingam of temples. subuddhi.--a title, meaning one having good sense, among several oriya castes. sudarman.--see udaiyan. suddho.--two distinct castes go by this name, viz., the savaras who have settled in the plains, and a small class of agriculturists and paiks (servants) in the low country of ganjam. the suddhos who live in the hills eat fowls and drink liquor, which those in the plains abstain from. the caste name suddho means pure, and is said to have its origin in the fact that suddho paiks used to tie the turbans of the kings of gumsur. like other oriya castes, the suddhos have podhano, bissoyi, behara, etc., as titles. the caste has apparently come into existence in recent times. sudra.--the fourth of the traditional castes of manu. the sudra nayars supply the female servants in the houses of nambutiris. sudra kavutiyan.--a name adopted by barbers who shave nayars, to distinguish them from other barbers. sudugadusiddha.--the name is derived from sudugadu, a burning-ground. in the mysore census report, 1901, they are described as being "mendicants like the jogis, like whom they itinerate. they were once lords of burning-grounds, to whom the kulavadi (see holeya), who takes the cloth of the deceased and a fee for every dead body burned, paid something as acknowledging their overlordship." these people are described by mr. j. s. f. mackenzie, [189] under the name sudgudu siddha, or lords of the burning-ground, as agents who originally belonged to the gangadikara vakkaliga caste, and have become a separate caste, called after their head sudgudu siddharu. they intermarry among themselves, and the office of agent is hereditary. they have particular tracts of country assigned to them, when on tour collecting burial fees. they can be recognised by the wooden bell in addition to the usual metal one, which they always carry about. without this no one would acknowledge the agent's right to collect the fees. sugali.--sugali and sukali are synonyms of lambadi. sugamanchi balija.--a name said to mean the best of balijas, and used as a synonym for gazula balija. sukka (star).--an exogamous sept of yerukala. the equivalent sukra occurs as a gotra of oriya kalinjis. sule.--a canarese name for professional prostitutes. temple dancing-girls object to the name, as being low. they call themselves vesyas or besyas, naiksani, or naikini (naik females). sullokondia.--the highest sub-division of the gaudos, from whose hands oriya brahmans will accept water. sunar.--see sonar. sundarattan.--a sub-division of nattukottai chetti. sundi.--see sondi. sunkari.--the sunkari or sunkara-vandlu are cultivators, fishermen, and raftsmen in the godavari district. according to the rev. j. cain [190] they come from some part of the central provinces, and are not regarded as outcasts, as stated in the central provinces gazetteer. sunna akki (thin rice).--a family name or bedagu of donga dasari. sunnambukkaran (lime man).--an occupational name for paravas, paraiyans, and other classes, who are employed as lime (chunam) burners. sunnapu, meaning shell or quick-lime, occurs as an exogamous sept of balija. sunnata.--a sub-division of kurumbas, who are said to make only white blankets. surakkudi.--a section or kovil (temple) of nattukottai chetti. surti.--the name for domestic servants of europeans in bombay, who come from surat. surya (the sun).--recorded as a sept of domb, kuruba, and pentiya, and a sub-division of ambalakkaran. the equivalent suryavamsam (people of the solar race) occurs as a sub-division of razu, and as a synonym of the konda doras or konda kapus, some of whom style themselves raja (= razu) kapus or reddis. sutakulam.--a name by which the besthas call themselves. they claim descent from the rishi suta mahamuni. it has been suggested [191] as probable that the besthas gained the name from their superiority in the culinary art, suta meaning cook. sutarlu.--recorded by the rev. j. cain [192] as bricklayers and masons in the godavari district. suthala (needle).--an exogamous sept of kamma. svarupam.--svarupam has been defined [193] as "a dynasty, usually confined to the four principal dynasties, termed the kola, nayaririppu, perimbadappu, and trippa svarupam, represented by the kolatiri or chirakal rajah, the zamorin, and the cochin and travancore rajahs." svarupakkar or svarupathil, meaning servants of svarupams or kingly houses, is an occupational sub-division of nayar. swayi.--a title of alia, aruva, kalinji, and other oriya classes. swetambara (clad in white).--one of the two main divisions of the jains. syrian christian.--the following note, containing a summary of the history of a community in connection with which the literature is considerable, is mainly abstracted from the cochin census report, 1901, with additions. the syrian christians have "sometimes been called the christians of the serra (a portuguese word, meaning mountains). this arose from the fact of their living at the foot of the ghauts." [194] the glory of the introduction of the teachings of christ to india is, by time-honoured tradition, ascribed to the apostle saint thomas. according to this tradition so dearly cherished by the christians of this coast, about 52 a.d. the apostle landed at malankara, or, more correctly, at maliankara near cranganur (kodungallur), the mouziris of the greeks, or muyirikode of the jewish copper plates. mouziris was a port near the mouth of a branch of the alwaye river, much frequented in their early voyages by the phoenician and european traders for the pepper and spices of this coast, and for the purpose of taking in fresh water and provisions. the story goes that saint thomas founded seven churches in different stations in cochin and travancore, and converted, among others, many brahmans, notably the cally, calliankara, sankarapuri, and pakalomattam nambudri families, the members of the last claiming the rare distinction of having been ordained as priests by the apostle himself. he then extended his labours to the coromandel coast, where, after making many converts, he is said to have been pierced with a lance by some brahmans, and to have been buried in the church of st. thomé, in mylapore, a suburb of the town of madras. writing concerning the prevalence of elephantiasis in malabar, captain hamilton records [195] that "the old romish legendaries impute the cause of those great swell'd legs to a curse saint thomas laid upon his murderers and their posterity, and that was the odious mark they should be distinguished by." "pretty early tradition associates thomas with parthia, [196] philip with phrygia, andrew with syria, and bartholomew with india, but later traditions make the apostles divide the various countries between them by lot." [197] even if the former supposition be accepted, there is nothing very improbable in saint thomas having extended his work from parthia to india. others argue that, even if there be any truth in the tradition of the arrival of saint thomas in india, this comprised the countries in the north-west of india, or at most the india of alexander the great, and not the southern portion of the peninsula, where the seeds of christianity are said to have been first sown, because the voyage to this part of india, then hardly known, was fraught with the greatest difficulties and dangers, not to speak of its tediousness. it may, however, be observed that the close proximity of alexandria to palestine, and its importance at the time as the emporium of the trade between the east and west, afforded sufficient facilities for a passage to india. if the roman line of traffic viâ alexandria and the red sea was long and tedious, the route viâ the persian gulf was comparatively easy. when we come to the second century, we read of demetrius of alexandria receiving a message from some natives of india, earnestly begging for a teacher to instruct them in the doctrines of christianity. hearing this, pantænus, principal of the christian college of alexandria, an athenian stoic, an eminent preacher and "a very great gnosticus, who had penetrated most profoundly into the spirit of scripture," sailed from berenice for malabar between 180 and 190 a.d. he found his arrival "anticipated by some who were acquainted with the gospel of mathew, to whom bartholomew, one of the apostles, had preached, and had left them the same gospel in hebrew, which also was preserved until this time. returning to alexandria, he presided over the college of catechumens." early in the third century, st. hippolytus, bishop of portus, also assigns the conversion of india to the apostle bartholomew. to thomas he ascribes persia and the countries of central asia, although he mentions calamina, "a city of india," as the place where thomas suffered death. the rev. j. hough [198] observes that "it is indeed highly problematical that saint bartholomew was ever in india." it may be remarked that there are no local traditions associating the event with his name, and, if saint bartholomew laboured at all on this coast, there is no reason why the earliest converts of malabar should have preferred the name of thomas to that of bartholomew. though mr. hough and sir w. w. hunter, [199] among others, discredit the mission of st. thomas in the first century, they both accept the story of the mission of pantænus. mr. hough says that "it is probable that these indians (who appealed to demetrius) were converts or children of former converts to christianity." if, in the second century, there could be children of former converts in india, it is not clear why the introduction of christianity to india in the first century, and that by st. thomas, should be so seriously questioned and set aside as being a myth, especially in view of the weight of the subjoined testimony, associating the work with the name of the apostle. in the asiatic journal (vol. vi), mr. whish refutes the assertions made by mr. wrede in the asiatic researches (vol. vii) that the christians of malabar settled in that country "during the violent persecution of the sect of nestorius under theodosius ii, or some time after," and says, with reference to the date of the jewish colonies in india, that the christians of the country were settled long anterior to the period mentioned by mr. wrede. referring to the acts and journeyings of the apostles, dorotheus, bishop of tyre (254-313 a.d.), says "the apostle thomas, after having preached the gospel to the parthians, medes, persians, germanians, bactrians, and magi, suffered martyrdom at calamina, a town of india." it is said that, at the council of nice held in 325 a.d., india was represented by johannes, bishop of india maxima and persia. st. gregory of nazianzen (370-392 a.d.), in answering the reproach of his being a stranger, asks "were not the apostles strangers? granting that judæa was the country of peter, what had paul in common with the gentiles, luke with achaia, andrew with epirus, john with ephesus, thomas with india, mark with italy"? st. jerome (390 a.d.) testifies to the general belief in the mission of st. thomas to india. he too mentions calamina as the town where the apostle met with his death. baronius thinks that, when theodoret, the church historian (430-458 a.d.), speaks of the apostles, he evidently associates the work in india with the name of st. thomas. st. gregory of torus relates that "in that place in india, where the body of thomas lay before it was transferred to edessa, there is a monastery and temple of great size." florentius asserts that "nothing with more certainty i find in the works of the holy fathers than that st. thomas preached the gospel in india." rufinus, who stayed twenty-five years in syria, says that the remains of st. thomas were brought from india to edessa. two arabian travellers of the ninth century, referred to by renaudot, assert that st. thomas died at mailapur. coming to modern times, we have several authorities, who testify to the apostolic origin of the indian church, regarded as apocryphal by mr. milne rae, sir w. w. hunter, and others. the historian of the 'indian empire,' while rejecting some of the strongest arguments advanced by mr. milne rae, accepts his conclusions in regard to the apostolic origin. the romanist portuguese in their enthusiasm coloured the legends to such an extent as to make them appear incredible, and the protestant writers of modern times, while distrusting the portuguese version, are not agreed as to the rare personage that introduced christianity to india. mr. wrede asserts that the christians of malabar settled in that country during the violent persecution of the sect of nestorius under theodosius ii, or some time after. dr. burnell traces the origin to the manichæan thomas, who flourished towards the end of the third century. mr. milne rae brings the occurrence of the event down to the sixth century of the christian era. sir william hunter, without associating the foundation of the malabar church with the name of any particular person, states the event to have taken place some time in the second century, long before the advent of thomas the manichæan, but considers that the name st. thomas christians was adopted by the christians in the eighth century. he observes that "the early legend of the manichæan thomas in the third century and the later labours of the armenian thomas, the rebuilder of the malabar church in the eighth century, endeared that name to the christians of southern india." [it has recently been stated, with reference to the tradition that it was st. thomas the apostle who first evangelised southern india, that, "though this tradition is no more capable of disproof than of proof, those authorities seem to be on safer ground, who are content to hold that christianity was first imported into india by nestorian or chaldæan missionaries from persia and mesopotamia, whose apostolic zeal between the sixth and twelfth centuries ranged all over asia, even into tibet and tartary. the seat of the nestorian patriarchate of babylon was at bagdad, and, as it claimed to be par excellence the church of st. thomas, this might well account for the fact that the proselytes it won over in india were in the habit of calling themselves christians of st. thomas. it is, to say the least, a remarkable coincidence that one of the three ancient stone crosses preserved in india bears an inscription and devices, which are stated to resemble those on the cross discovered near singanfu in china, recording the appearance of nestorian missionaries in shenshi in the early part of the seventh century."] as already said, there are those who attribute the introduction of the gospel to a certain thomas, a disciple of manes, who is supposed to have come to india in 277 a.d., finding in this an explanation of the origin of the manigramakars (inhabitants of the village of manes) of kayenkulam near quilon. coming to the middle of the fourth century, we read of a thomas cana, an aramæan or syrian merchant, or a divine, as some would have it, who, having in his travels seen the neglected conditions of the flock of christ on the malabar coast, returned to his native land, sought the assistance of the catholics of bagdad, came back with a train of clergymen and a pretty large number of syrians, and worked vigorously to better their spiritual condition. he is said to have married two indian ladies, the disputes of succession between whose children appear, according to some writers, to have given rise to the two names of northerners (vadakkumbagar) and southerners (thekkumbagar)--a distinction which is still jealously kept up. the authorities are, however, divided as to the date of his arrival, for, while some assign 345 a.d., others give 745 a.d. it is just possible that this legend but records the advent of two waves of colonists from syria at different times, and their settlement in different stations; and thomas cana was perhaps the leader of the first migration. the syrian tradition explains the origin of the names in a different way, for, according to it, the foreigners or colonists from syria lived in the southern street of cranganur or kodungallur, and the native converts in the northern street. after their dispersion from cranganur, the southerners kept up their pride and prestige by refusing to intermarry, while the name of northerners came to be applied to all native christians other than the southerners. at their wedding feasts, the southerners sing songs commemorating their colonization at kodungallur, their dispersion from there, and settlement in different places. they still retain some foreign tribe names, to which the original colony is said to have belonged. a few of these names are baji, kojah, kujalik, and majamuth. their leader thomas cana is said to have visited the last of the perumals and to have obtained several privileges for the benefit of the christians. he is supposed to have built a church at mahadevarpattanam, or more correctly mahodayapuram, near kodungallur in the cochin state, the capital of the perumals or viceroys of kerala, and, in their documents, the syrian christians now and again designate themselves as being inhabitants of mahadevarpattanam. in the syrian seminary at kottayam are preserved two copper-plate charters, one granted by vira raghava chakravarthi,and the other by sthanu ravi gupta, supposed to be dated 774 a.d. and 824 a.d. specialists, who have attempted to fix approximately the dates of the grants, however, differ, as will be seen from a discussion of the subject by mr. v. venkayya in the epigraphia indica. [200] concerning the plate of vira raghava, mr. venkayya there writes as follows. "the subjoined inscription is engraved on both sides of a single copper-plate, which is in the possession of the syrian christians at kottayam. the plate has no seal, but, instead, a conch is engraved about the middle of the left margin of the second side. this inscription has been previously translated by dr. gundert. [201] mr. kookel keloo nair has also attempted a version of the grant. [202] in the translation i have mainly followed dr. gundert." translation. hari! prosperity! adoration to the great ganapati! on the day of (the nakshatra) rohini, a saturday after the expiration of the twenty-first (day) of the solar month mina (of the year during which) jupiter (was) in makara, while the glorious vira-raghava-chakravartin,--(of the race) that has been wielding the sceptre for several hundred thousands of years in regular succession from the glorious king of kings, the glorious vira-kerala-chakravartin--was ruling prosperously:-while (we were) pleased to reside in the great palace, we conferred the title of manigramam on iravikorttan, alias seramanloka-pperun-jetti of magodaiyarpattinam. we (also) gave (him the right of) festive clothing, house pillars, the income that accrues, the export trade (?), monopoly of trade, (the right of) proclamation, forerunners, the five musical instruments, a conch, a lamp in day-time, a cloth spread (in front to walk on), a palanquin, the royal parasol, the telugu (?) drum, a gateway with an ornamental arch, and monopoly of trade in the four quarters. we (also) gave the oilmongers and the five (classes of) artisans as (his) slaves. we (also) gave, with a libation of water--having (caused it to be) written on a copper-plate--to iravikorttan, who is the lord of the city, the brokerage on (articles) that may be measured with the para, weighed by the balance or measured with the tape, that may be counted or weighed, and on all other (articles) that are intermediate--including salt, sugar, musk (and) lamp oil--and also the customs levied on these (articles) between the river mouth of kodungallur and the gate (gopura)--chiefly between the four temples (tali) and the village adjacent to (each) temple. we gave (this) as property to sêramân-lôka-pperun-jetti, alias iravikorttan, and to his children's children in due succession. (the witnesses) who know this (are):--we gave (it) with the knowledge of the villagers of panniyûr and the villagers of sôgiram. we gave (it) with the knowledge (of the authorities) of vênâdu and odunâdu. we gave (it) with the knowledge (of the authorities) of eranâdu and valluvanâdu. we gave (it) for the time that the moon and the sun shall exist. the hand-writing of sêramân-lôka-pperun-dattan nambi sadeyan, who wrote (this) copper-plate with the knowledge of these (witnesses). mr. venkayya adds that "it was supposed by dr. burnell [203] that the plate of vîra-râghava created the principality of manigramam, and the cochin plates that of anjuvannam. [204] the cochin plates did not create anjuvannam, but conferred the honours and privileges connected therewith to a jew named rabbân. similarly, the rights and honours associated with the other corporation, manigrâmam, were bestowed at a later period on ravikkorran. it is just possible that ravikkorran was a christian by religion. but his name and title give no clue in this direction, and there is nothing christian in the document, except its possession by the present owners. on this name, dr. gundert first said [205] 'iravi corttan must be a nasrani name, though none of the syrian priests whom i saw could explain it, or had ever heard of it.' subsequently he added: 'i had indeed been startled by the iravi corttan, which does not look at all like the appellation of a syrian christian; still i thought myself justified in calling manigrâmam a christian principality--whatever their christianity may have consisted in--on the ground that, from menezes' time, these grants had been regarded as given to the syrian colonists.' mr. kookel keloo nair considered iravikkorran a mere title, in which no shadow of a syrian name is to be traced." nestorius, a native of germanicia, was educated at antioch, where, as presbyter, he became celebrated, while yet very young, for his asceticism, orthodoxy, and eloquence. on the death of sisinnius, patriarch of constantinople, this distinguished preacher of antioch was appointed to the vacant see by the emperor theodosius ii, and was consecrated as patriarch in 428 a.d. the doctrine of a god-man respecting christ, and the mode of union of the human and the divine nature in him left undefined by the early teachers, who contented themselves with speaking of him and regarding him as "born and unborn, god in flesh, life in death, born of mary, and born of god," had, long before the time of nestorius, begun to tax the genius of churchmen, and the controversies in respect of this double nature of christ had led to the growth and spread of important heretical doctrines. two of the great heresies of the church before that of nestorius are associated with the names of arius and apollinaris. arius "admitted both the divine and the human nature of christ, but, by making him subordinate to god, denied his divinity in the highest sense." apollinaris, undermining the doctrine of the example and atonement of christ, argued that "in jesus the logos supplied the place of the reasonable soul." as early as 325 a.d. the first oecumenical council of nice had defined against the arians, and decreed that "the son was not only of like essence, but of the same essence with the father, and the human nature, maimed and misinterpreted by the apollinarians, had been restored to the person of christ at the council of constantinople in 381." nestorius, finding the arians and apollinarians, condemned strongly though they were, still strong in numbers and influence at constantinople, expressed in his first sermon as patriarch his determination to put down these and other heretical sects, and exhorted the emperor to help him in this difficult task. but, while vigorously engaged in the effectual extinction of all heresies, he incurred the displeasure of the orthodox party by boldly declaring, though in the most sincerely orthodox form, against the use of the term theotokos, that is, mother of god, which, as applied to the virgin mary, had then grown into popular favour, especially amongst the clergy at constantinople and rome. while he himself revered the blessed virgin as the mother of christ, he declaimed against the use of the expression mother of god in respect of her, as being alike "unknown to the apostles, and unauthorised by the church," besides its being inherently absurd to suppose that the godhead can be born or suffer. moreover, in his endeavour to avoid the extreme positions taken up by arians and apollinarians, he denied, while speaking of the two natures in christ, that there was any communication of attributes. but he was understood on this point to have maintained a mechanical rather than a supernatural union of the two natures, and also to have rent christ asunder, and divided him into two persons. explaining his position, nestorius said "i distinguish the natures, but i unite my adoration." but this explanation did not satisfy the orthodox, who understood him to have "preached a christ less than divine." the clergy and laity of constantinople, amongst whom nestorius had thus grown unpopular, and was talked of as a heretic, appealed to cyril, bishop of the rival see of alexandria, to interfere on their behalf. cyril, supported by the authority of the pope, arrived on the scene, and, at the council of ephesus, hastily and informally called up, condemned nestorius as a heretic, and excommunicated him. after nestorianism had been rooted out of the roman empire in the time of justinian, it flourished "in the east," especially in persia and the countries adjoining it, where the churches, since their foundation, had been following the syrian ritual, discipline, and doctrine, and where a strong party, among them the patriarch of seleucia or babylon, and his suffragan the metropolitan of persia, with their large following, revered nestorius as a martyr, and faithfully and formally accepted his teachings at the synod of seleucia in 448 a.d. his doctrines seem to have spread as far east as china, so that, in 551, nestorian monks who had long resided in that country are said to have brought the eggs of the silkworm to constantinople. cosmos, surnamed indicopleustes, the indian traveller, who, in 522 a.d., visited male, "the country where the pepper grows," has referred to the existence of a fully organised church in malabar, with the bishops consecrated in persia. his reference, while it traces the origin of the indian church to the earlier centuries, also testifies to the fact that, at the time of his visit, the church was nestorian in its creed "from the circumstance of its dependence upon the primate of persia, who then unquestionably held the nestorian doctrines." the next heresy was that of eutyches, a zealous adherent of cyril in opposition to nestorius at the council of ephesus in 431 a.d. but eutyches, in opposing the doctrine of nestorius, went beyond cyril and others, and affirmed that, after the union of the two natures, the human and the divine, christ had only one nature the divine, his humanity being absorbed in his divinity. after several years of controversy, the question was finally decided at the council of chalcedon in 451, when it was declared, in opposition to the doctrine of eutyches, that the two natures were united in christ, but "without any alteration, absorption, or confusion"; or, in other words, in the person of christ there were two natures, the human and the divine, each perfect in itself, but there was only one person. eutyches was excommunicated, and died in exile. those who would not subscribe to the doctrines declared at chalcedon were condemned as heretics; they then seceded, and afterwards gathered themselves around different centres, which were syria, mesopotamia, asia minor, cyprus and palestine, armenia, egypt, and abyssinia. the armenians embraced the eutychian theory of divinity being the sole nature in christ, the humanity being absorbed, while the egyptians and abyssinians held in the monophysite doctrine of the divinity and humanity being one compound nature in christ. the west syrians, or natives of syria proper, to whom the syrians of this coast trace their origin, adopted, after having renounced the doctrines of nestorius, the eutychian tenet. through the influence of severus, patriarch of antioch, they gradually became monophysites. the monophysite sect was for a time suppressed by the emperors, but in the sixth century there took place the great jacobite revival of the monophysite doctrine under james bardæus, better known as jacobus zanzalus, who united the various divisions, into which the monophysites had separated themselves, into one church, which at the present day exists under the name of the jacobite church. the head of the jacobite church claims the rank and prerogative of the patriarch of antioch--a title claimed by no less than three church dignitaries. leaving it to subtle theologians to settle the disputes, we may briefly define the position of the jacobites in malabar in respect of the above controversies. while they accept the qualifying epithets pronounced by the decree passed at the council of chalcedon in regard to the union of the two natures in christ, they object to the use of the word two in referring to the same. so far they are practically at one with the armenians, for they also condemn the eutychian doctrine; and a jacobite candidate for holy orders in the syrian church has, among other things, to take an oath denouncing eutyches and his teachers. we have digressed a little in order to show briefly the position of the malabar church in its relation to eastern patriarchs in the early, mediæval, and modern times. to resume the thread of our story, from about the middle of the fourth century until the arrival of the portuguese, the christians of malabar in their spiritual distress generally applied for bishops indiscriminately to one of the eastern patriarchs, who were either nestorian or jacobite; for, as observed by sir w. w. hunter, "for nearly a thousand years from the 5th to the 15th century, the jacobite sect dwelt in the middle of the nestorians in the central asia," so that, in response to the requests from malabar, both nestorian and jacobite bishops appear to have visited malabar occasionally, and the natives seem to have indiscriminately followed the teachings of both. we may here observe that the simple folk of malabar, imbued but with the primitive form of christianity, were neither conversant with nor ever troubled themselves about the subtle disputations and doctrinal differences that divided their co-religionists in europe and asia minor, and were, therefore, not in a position to distinguish between nestorian or any other form of christianity. persia also having subsequently neglected the outlying indian church, the christians of malabar seem to have sent their applications to the patriarch of babylon, but, as both prelates then followed the nestorian creed, there was little or no change in the rituals and dogmas of the church. dr. day [206] refers to the arrival of a jacobite bishop in india in 696 a.d. about the year 823 a.d., two nestorian bishops, mar sapor and mar aprot, appear to have arrived in malabar under the command of the nestorian patriarch of babylon. they are said to have interviewed the native rulers, travelled through the country, built churches, and looked after the religious affairs of the syrians. we know but little of the history of the malabar church for nearly six centuries prior to the arrival of the portuguese in india. we have, however, the story of the pilgrimage of the bishop of sherborne to the shrine of st. thomas in india about 883 a.d., in the reign of alfred the great; and the reference made to the prevalence of nestorianism among the st. thomas' christians of malabar by marco polo, the venetian traveller. the christian community seem to have been in the zenith of their glory and prosperity between the 9th and 14th centuries, as, according to their tradition, they were then permitted to have a king of their own, with villiarvattam near udayamperur (diamper) as his capital. according to another version, the king of villiarvattam was a convert to christianity. the dynasty seems to have become extinct about the 14th century, and it is said that, on the arrival of the portuguese, the crown and sceptre of the last christian king were presented to vasco da gama in 1502. we have already referred to the high position occupied by the christians under the early kings, as is seen from the rare privileges granted to them, most probably in return for military services rendered by them. the king seems to have enjoyed, among other things, the right of punishing offences committed by the christian community, who practically followed his lead. a more reasonable view of the story of a christian king appears to be that a christian chief of udayamperur enjoyed a sort of socio-territorial jurisdiction over his followers, which, in later times, seems to have been so magnified as to invest him with territorial sovereignty. we see, in the copper-plate charters of the jews, that their chief was also invested with some such powers. mention is made of two latin missions in the 14th century, with quilon as head-quarters, but their labours were ineffectual, and their triumphs but short-lived. towards the end of the 15th, and throughout the whole of the 16th century, the nestorian patriarch of mesopotamia seems to have exercised some authority over the malabar christians, as is borne out by the occasional references to the arrival of nestorian bishops to preside over the churches. until the arrival of the portuguese, the malabar church was following unmolested, in its ritual, practice and communion, a creed of the syro-chaldæan church of the east. when they set out on their voyages, conquest and conversion were no less dear to the heart of portuguese than enterprise and commerce. though, in the first moments, the syrians, in their neglected spiritual condition, were gratified at the advent of their co-religionists, the romanist portuguese, and the portuguese in their turn expected the most beneficial results from an alliance with their christian brethren on this coast, "the conformity of the syrians to the faith and practice of the 5th century soon disappointed the prejudices of the papist apologists. it was the first care of the portuguese to intercept all correspondence with the eastern patriarchs, and several of their bishops expired in the prisons of their holy office." the franciscan and dominican friars, and the jesuit fathers, worked vigorously to win the malabar christians over to the roman communion. towards the beginning of the last quarter of the 16th century, the jesuits built a church at vaippacotta near cranganur, and founded a college for the education of christian youths. in 1584, a seminary was established for the purpose of instructing the syrians in theology, and teaching them the latin, portuguese and syriac languages. the dignitaries who presided over the churches, however, refused to ordain the students trained in the seminary. this, and other causes of quarrel between the jesuits and the native clergy, culminated in an open rupture, which was proclaimed by archdeacon george in a synod at angamali. when alexes de menezes, archbishop of goa, heard of this, he himself undertook a visitation of the syrian churches. the bold and energetic menezes carried all before him. nor is his success to be wondered at. he was invested with the spiritual authority of the pope, and armed with the terrors of the inquisition. he was encouraged in his efforts by the portuguese king, whose governors on this coast ably backed him up. though the ruling chiefs at first discountenanced the exercise of coercive measures over their subjects, they were soon won over by the stratagems of the subtle archbishop. thus supported, he commenced his visitation of the churches, and reduced them in a.d. 1599 by the decrees of the synod of diamper (udayamperur), a village about ten miles to the south-east of the town of cochin. the decrees passed by the synod were reluctantly subscribed to by archdeacon george and a large number of kathanars, as the native priests are called; and this practically converted the malabar church into a branch of the roman church. literature sustained a very great loss at the hands of menezes, "for this blind and enthusiastic inquisitor destroyed, like a second omar, all the books written in the syrian or chaldæan language, which could be collected, not only at the synod of diamper, but especially during his subsequent circuit; for, as soon as he had entered into a syrian church, he ordered all their books and records to be laid before him, which, a few indifferent ones excepted, he committed to the flames, so that at present neither books nor manuscripts are any more to be found amongst the st. thomé christians." [207] immediately after the synod of diamper, a jesuit father, franciscus roz, a spaniard by birth, was appointed bishop of angamali by pope clement viii. the title was soon after changed to that of archbishop of cranganur. by this time, the rule of the jesuits had become so intolerable to the syrians that they resolved to have a bishop from the east, and applied to babylon, antioch, alexandria, and other ecclesiastical head-quarters for a bishop, as if the ecclesiastical heads who presided over these places professed the same creed. the request of the malabar christians for a bishop was readily responded to from antioch, and ahattala, otherwise known as mar ignatius, was forthwith sent. authorities, however, differ on this point, for, according to some, this ahattala was a nestorian, or a protégé of the patriarch of the copts. whatever ahattala's religious creed might have been, the syrians appear to have believed that he was sent by the jacobite patriarch of antioch. the portuguese, however, intercepted him, and took him prisoner. the story goes that he was drowned in the cochin harbour, or condemned to the flames of the inquisition at goa in 1653. this cruel deed so infuriated the syrians that thousands of them met in solemn conclave at the coonen cross at mattancheri in cochin, and, with one voice, renounced their allegiance to the church of rome. this incident marks an important epoch in the history of the malabar church, for, with the defection at the coonen cross, the malabar christians split themselves up into two distinct parties, the romo-syrians who adhered to the church of rome, and the jacobite syrians, who, severing their connection with it, placed themselves under the spiritual supremacy of the patriarch of antioch. the following passage explains the exact position of the two parties that came into existence then, as also the origin of the names since applied to them. "the pazheia kuttukar, or old church, owed its foundation to archbishop menezes and the synod of diamper in 1599, and its reconciliation, after revolt, to the carmelite bishop, joseph of st. mary, in 1656. it retains in its services the syrian language, and in part the syrian ritual. but it acknowledges the supremacy of the pope and his vicars apostolic. its members are now known as catholics of the syrian rite, to distinguish them from the converts made direct from heathenism to the latin church by the roman missionaries. the other section of the syrian christians of malabar is called the puttan kuttukar, or new church. it adheres to the jacobite tenets introduced by its first jacobite bishop, mar gregory, in 1665." [208] we have at this time, and ever after, to deal with a third party, that came into existence after the advent of the portuguese. these are the catholics of the latin rite, and consist almost exclusively of the large number of converts gained by the portuguese from amongst the different castes of the hindus. to avoid confusion, we shall follow the fortunes of each sect separately. when the portuguese first came to india, the indian trade was chiefly in the hands of the moors, who had no particular liking for the hindus or christians, and the arrival of the portuguese was therefore welcome alike to the hindus and christians, who eagerly sought their assistance. the portuguese likewise accepted their offers of friendship very gladly, as an alliance, especially with the former, gave them splendid opportunities for advancing their religious mission, while, from a friendly intercourse with the latter, they expected not only to further their religious interests, but also their commercial prosperity. in the work of conversion they were successful, more especially among the lower orders, the illuvans, mukkuvans, pulayans, etc. the labours of miguel vaz, afterwards vicar-general of goa, and of father vincent, in this direction were continued with admirable success by st. francis xavier. we have seen how the strict and rigid discipline of the jesuit archbishops, their pride and exclusiveness, and the capture and murder of ahattala brought about the outburst at the coonen cross. seeing that the jesuits had failed, pope alexander vii had recourse to the carmelite fathers, who were specially instructed to do their best to remove the schism, and to bring about a reconciliation; but, because the portuguese claimed absolute possession of the indian missions, and as the pope had despatched the carmelite fathers without the approval of the king of portugal, the first batch of these missionaries could not reach the destined field of their labours. another body of carmelites, who had taken a different route, however, succeeded in reaching malabar in 1656, and they met archdeacon thomas who had succeeded archdeacon george. while expressing their willingness to submit to rome, the syrians declined to place themselves under archbishop garcia, s.j., who had succeeded archbishop roz, s.j. the syrians insisted on their being given a non-jesuit bishop, and, in 1659, father joseph was appointed vicar apostolic of the "sierra of malabar" without the knowledge of the king of portugal. he came out to india in 1661, and worked vigorously for two years in reconciling the syrian christians to the church of rome. but he was not allowed to continue his work unmolested, because, when the dutch, who were competing with the portuguese for supremacy in the eastern seas, took the port of cochin in 1663, bishop joseph was ordered to leave the coast forthwith. when he left cochin, he consecrated chandy parambil, otherwise known as alexander de campo. by their learning, and their skill in adapting themselves to circumstances, the carmelite fathers had continued to secure the good-will of the dutch, and, returning to cochin, assisted alexander de campo in his work. father mathew, one of their number, was allowed to build a church at chatiath near ernakulam. another church was built at varapuzha (verapoly) on land given rent-free by the raja of cochin. since this time, varapuzha, now in travancore, has continued to be the residence of a vicar apostolic. the history of a quarter of a century subsequent to this is uneventful, except for the little quarrels between the carmelite fathers and the native clergy. in 1700, however, the archbishop of goa declined to consecrate a carmelite father nominated by the pope to the vicariate apostolic. but father anjelus, the vicar apostolic elect, got himself consecrated by one mar simon, who was supposed to be in communion with rome. the dutch government having declined admission to archbishop ribeiro, s.j., the nominee of the portuguese king to their dominions, anjelus was invested with jurisdiction over cochin and cranganur. thereupon, the jesuit fathers sought shelter in travancore, and in the territories of the zamorin. with the capture of cranganur by the dutch, which struck the death-blow to portuguese supremacy in the east, the last vestige of the church, seminary and college founded by the jesuits disappeared. as the dutch hated the jesuits as bigoted papists and uncompromising schismatics, several of the jesuit fathers, who were appointed archbishops of cranganur, never set foot within their diocese, and such of them as accepted the responsibility confined themselves to the territories of the raja of travancore. it was only after the establishment of british supremacy that the jesuit fathers were able to re-enter the scene of their early labours. an almost unbroken line of carmelite fathers appointed by the pope filled the vicariate till 1875, though the archbishop of goa and the bishop of cochin now and then declined to consecrate the nominee, and thus made feeble attempts on behalf of their faithful king to recover their lost position. salvador, s.j., archbishop of cranganur, died in 1777. five years after this, the king of portugal appointed joseph cariatil and thomas paramakal, two native christians, who had been educated at the propaganda college at rome, as archbishop and vicar-general, respectively, of the diocese of cranganur. the native clergy at the time were mostly ignorant, and the discipline amongst them was rather lax. the propaganda attempted reforms in this direction, which led to a rupture between the latin and the native clergy. the carmelite fathers, like the jesuits, had grown overbearing and haughty, and an attempt at innovation made by the pope through them became altogether distasteful to the natives. serious charges against the carmelites were, therefore, formally laid before the pope and the raja of travancore by the syrians. they also insisted that thomas should be consecrated bishop. at this time, the dutch were all-powerful at the courts of native rulers, and, though the carmelite missionaries who had ingratiated themselves into the good graces of the dutch tried their best to thwart the syrians in their endeavours, thomas was permitted to be consecrated bishop, and the syrians were allowed the enjoyment of certain rare privileges. it is remarkable that, at this time and even in much earlier times, the disputes between the foreign and the native clergy, or between the various factions following the lead of the native clergy, were often decided by the hindu kings, and the christians accepted and abided by the decisions of their temporal heads. in 1838, pope gregory xvi issued a bull abolishing the sees of cranganur and cochin, and transferring the jurisdiction to the vicar apostolic of varapuzha. but the king of portugal questioned the right of the pope, and this led to serious disputes. the abolition of the smaller seminaries by archbishop bernardin of varapuzha, and his refusal to ordain candidates for holy orders trained in these seminaries by the malpans or teacher-priests, caused much discontent among the syrian christians, and, in 1856, a large section of the syrians applied to the catholic chaldæan patriarch of babylon for a chaldæan bishop. this was readily responded to by the patriarch, who, though under the pope, thought that he had a prescriptive right to supremacy over the malabar christians. bishop roccos was sent out to malabar in 1861, and though, owing to the charm of novelty, a large section of the christians at once joined him, a strong minority questioned his authority, and referred the matter to the pope. bishop roccos was recalled, and the patriarch was warned by the pope against further interference. subsequently, the patriarch, again acting on the notion that he had independent jurisdiction over the chaldæan syrian church of malabar, sent out bishop mellus to cochin. the arrival of this bishop in 1874 created a distinct split among the christians of trichur, one faction acknowledging the supremacy of the pope, and the other following the lead of bishop mellus. this open rupture had involved the two factions in a costly litigation. the adherents of bishop mellus contend that their church, ever since its foundation in 1810 or 1812, has followed the practice, ritual, and communion of the chaldæan church of babylon, without having ever been in communion with rome. the matter is sub judice. they are now known by the name of chaldæan syrians. the pope, in the meanwhile, excommunicated bishop mellus, but he continued to exercise spiritual authority over his adherents independently of rome. in 1887 the patriarch having made peace with the pope, bishop mellus left india, and submitted to rome in 1889. on the departure of bishop mellus, the chaldæan syrians chose anthony kathanar, otherwise known as mar abdeso, as their archbishop. he is said to have been a rome syrian priest under the archbishop of varapuzha. it is also said that he visited syria and palestine, and received ordination from the anti-roman patriarch of babylon. before his death in 1900, he ordained mar augustine, who, under the title of chorepiscopus, had assisted him in the government of the chaldæan church, and he now presides over the chaldæan syrian churches in the state. in 1868, bishop marcellinus was appointed coadjutor to the vicar apostolic of varapuzha, and entrusted with the spiritual concerns of the romo-syrians. on his death in 1892, the romo-syrians were placed under the care of two european vicars apostolic. we have seen how the jesuits had made themselves odious to the native christians, and how reluctantly the latter had submitted to their rigid discipline. we have seen, too, how the carmelites who replaced them, in spite of their worldly wisdom and conciliatory policy, had their own occasional quarrels and disputes with the native clergy and their congregations. from the time of the revolt at the coonen cross, and ever afterwards, the christians had longed for bishops of their own nationality, and made repeated requests for the same. for some reason or other, compliance with these requisitions was deferred for years. experience showed that the direct rule of foreign bishops had failed to secure the unanimous sympathy and hearty co-operation of the people. the pope was, however, convinced of the spiritual adherence of the native clergy and congregation to rome. in these circumstances, it was thought advisable to give the native clergy a fair trial in the matter of local supremacy. bishops medlycott and lavigne, s.j., who were the vicars apostolic of trichur and kottayam, were therefore withdrawn, and, in 1896, three native syrian priests, father john menacheri, father aloysius pareparambil, and father mathew mackil, were consecrated by the papal delegate as the vicars apostolic of trichur, ernakulam, and chenganacheri. the monopoly of the indian missions claimed by the portuguese, and the frequent disputes which disturbed the peace of the malabar church, were ended in 1886 by the concordat entered into between pope leo xiii and the king of portugal. the archbishop of goa was by this recognised as the patriarch of the east indies with the bishop of cochin as a suffragan, whose diocese in the cochin state is confined to the seaboard taluk of cochin. the rest of the latin catholics of this state, except a small section in the chittur taluk under the bishop of coimbatore, are under the archbishop of varapuzha. since the revolt of the syrians at the coonen cross in 1653, the jacobite syrians have been governed by native bishops consecrated by bishops sent by the patriarch of antioch, or at least always received and recognised as such. in exigent circumstances, the native bishops themselves, before their death, consecrated their successors by the imposition of hands. immediately after the defection, they chose archdeacon thomas as their spiritual leader. he was thus the first metran or native bishop, having been formally ordained after twelve years of independent rule by mar gregory from antioch, with whose name the revival of jacobitism in malabar is associated. the metran assumed the title of mar thomas i. he belonged to the family that traced its descent from the pakalomattom family, held in high respect and great veneration as one of the brahman families, the members of which are supposed to have been converted and ordained as priests by the apostle himself. members of the same family continued to hold the metranship till about the year 1815, when the family is supposed to have become extinct. this hereditary succession is supposed by some to be a relic of the nestorian practice. it may, however, be explained in another way. the earliest converts were high-caste hindus, amongst whom an anandravan (brother or nephew) succeeded to the family estates and titles in pursuance of the joint family system as current in malabar. the succession of a brother or a nephew might, therefore, be quite as much a relic of the hindu custom. the metrans possessed properties. they were, therefore, interested in securing the succession of their anandravans, so that their properties might not pass to a different family. mar thomas i was succeeded by his brother mar thomas ii, on whose death his nephew became metran under the title of mar thomas iii. he held office only for ten days. mar thomas iv, who succeeded him, presided over the church till 1728. thomas iii and iv are said to have been consecrated by bishop john, a scholar of great repute, who, with one bishop basil, came from antioch in 1685. during the régime of mar thomas iv, and of his nephew thomas v, mar gabriel, a nestorian bishop, appeared on the scene in 1708. he seems to have been a man without any definite creed, as he proclaimed himself a nestorian, a jacobite, or a romanist, according as one or the other best suited his interests. he had his own friends and admirers among the syrians, with whose support he ruled over a few churches in the north till 1731. the consecration of mar thomas v by mar thomas iv was felt to be invalid, and, to remedy the defect, the assistance of the dutch was sought; but, being disappointed, the christians had recourse to a jewish merchant named ezekiel, who undertook to convey their message to the patriarch of antioch. he brought from bassorah one mar ivanius, who was a man of fiery temper. he interfered with the images in the churches. this led to quarrels with the metran, and he had forthwith to quit the state. through the dutch authorities at cochin, a fresh requisition was sent to the patriarch of antioch, who sent out three bishops named basil, john, and gregory. their arrival caused fresh troubles, owing to the difficulty of paying the large sum claimed by them as passage money. in 1761, mar thomas v, supposed to have died in 1765, consecrated his nephew mar thomas vi. about this time, gregory consecrated one kurilos, the leader of a faction that resisted the rule of thomas vi. the disputes and quarrels which followed were ended with the flight of kurilos, who founded the see of anjoor in the north of cochin and became the first bishop of tholiyur. through the kind intercession of the maharaja of travancore, thomas vi underwent formal consecration at the hands of the bishops from antioch, and took the title of dionysius i, known also as dionysius the great. in 1775, the great carmelite father paoli visited mar dionysius, and tried to persuade him to submit to rome. it is said that he agreed to the proposal, on condition of his being recognised as metropolitan of all the syrians in malabar, but nothing came of it. a few years after this, the struggle for supremacy between the dutch and the english had ended in the triumph of the latter, who evinced a good deal of interest in the syrian christians, and, in 1805, the madras government deputed dr. kerr to study the history of the malabar church. in 1809, dr. buchanan visited mar dionysius, and broached the question of a union of the syrian church with the church of england. the proposal, however, did not find favour with the metropolitan, or his congregation. mar dionysius died in 1808. before his death, he had consecrated thomas kathanar as thomas viii. he died in 1816. his successor, thomas ix, was weak and old, and he was displaced by ittoop ramban, known as pulikot dionysius or dionysius ii. he enjoyed the confidence and good-will of colonel munro, the british resident, through whose good offices a seminary had been built at kottayam in 1813 for the education of syrian youths. he died in 1818. philixenos, who had succeeded kurilos as bishop of tholiyur, now consecrated punnathara dionysius, or dionysius iii. we have now to refer to an important incident in the history of the jacobite syrians. through the influence of the british resident, and in the hope of effecting the union proposed by dr. buchanan, the church mission society commenced their labours in 1816. the english missionaries began their work under favourable circumstances, and the most cordial relations existed between the syrians and the missionaries for some years, so much so that the latter frequently visited the syrian churches, and even preached sermons. on the death of dionysius iii in 1825, or as some say 1827, cheppat dionysius consecrated by mar philixenos again, succeeded as metropolitan under the title of dionysius iv. during his régime, there grew up among the syrians a party, who suspected that the missionaries were using their influence with the metropolitan, and secretly endeavouring to bring the syrians under the protestant church. the conservative party of syrians stoutly opposed the movement. they petitioned the patriarch of antioch, who at once sent out a bishop named athanasius. on arrival in 1825, a large number of syrians flocked to him. he even went to the length of threatening mar dionysius with excommunication. but the protestant missionaries and the british resident came to the rescue of the metropolitan, and exercised their influence with the ruler of travancore, who forthwith deported athanasius. the deportation of athanasius strengthened the position of the missionaries. the british resident, and through his influence the native ruler, often rendered them the most unqualified support. the missionaries who superintended the education of the syrian students in the seminary, having begun to teach them doctrines contrary to those of the jacobite church, the cordiality and friendship that had existed between the missionaries and the metropolitan gradually gave place to distrust and suspicion. the party that clung to the time-honoured traditions and practices of their church soon fanned the flame of discord, and snapped asunder the ties of friendship that had bound the metropolitan to the missionaries. bishop wilson of calcutta proceeded to travancore to see if a reconciliation could be effected. but his attempts in this direction proved fruitless, because the syrians could not accept his proposal to adopt important changes affecting their spiritual and temporal concerns, such as doing away with prayers for the dead, the revision of their liturgy, the management of church funds, etc., and the syrians finally parted company with the missionaries in 1838. soon after this, disputes arose in regard to the funds and endowments of the seminary, but they were soon settled by arbitration in 1840, and the properties were divided between the metropolitan and the missionaries. the missionaries had friends among the jacobites, some of whom became members of the church of england. the syrians were rather distressed, because they thought that the consecration of their metropolitan by mar philixenos was insufficient. they therefore memorialised the patriarch of antioch. there grew up also a party hostile to the metropolitan, and they sent to antioch a syrian christian named mathew. his arrival at antioch was most opportune. the patriarch was looking out for a proper man. mathew was therefore welcomed, and treated very kindly. he was consecrated as metropolitan by the patriarch himself in 1842, and sent out with the necessary credentials. he arrived in 1843 as metropolitan of malankara under the title of mathew anastatius, and advanced his claims to the headship of the church, but mar dionysius resisted him, and sent an appeal to the patriarch of antioch, in which he denounced mathew as one who had enlisted his sympathies with the protestant missionaries. upon this, the patriarch sent out one cyril with power to expel mathew, and, with the connivance of mar dionysius, cyril cut the gordian knot by appointing himself as metropolitan of malabar. disputes arising, a committee was appointed to examine the claims of athanasius and cyril. the credentials of cyril were proved to be forged, whereupon athanasius was duly installed in his office in 1862, and cyril fled the country. cyril having failed, the patriarch sent another bishop named stephanos, who contributed his mite towards widening the breach, and, on the british resident having ordered the bishop to quit the country, an appeal was preferred to the court of directors, who insisted on a policy of non-interference. this bestirred mar cyril, who reappeared on the scene, and fanned the flame of discord. being ordered to leave mar athanasius unmolested, he and his friends sent one joseph to antioch, who returned with fresh credentials in 1866, assumed the title of dionysius v, claimed the office of metropolitan, and applied to the travancore government for assistance. adopting a policy of non-interference, the darbar referred him to the law courts, in case he could not come to terms with mar athanasius. the patriarch of antioch himself visited cochin and travancore in 1874, and presided over a synod which met at mulanthurutha in the cochin state. resolutions affirming the supremacy of antioch, recognising mar dionysius as the accredited metropolitan of malabar, and condemning mathew athanasius as a schismatic, were passed by the members of the assembly, and the patriarch returned to mardin in 1876. this, however, did not mend matters, and the two parties launched themselves into a protracted law suit in 1879, which ended in favour of mar dionysius in 1889. mar athanasius, who had taken up an independent position, died in 1875, and his cousin, whom he had consecrated, succeeded as metropolitan under the title of mar thomas anastatius. he died in 1893, and titus mar thoma, consecrated likewise by his predecessor, presides over the reformed party of jacobite syrians, who prefer to be called st. thomas' syrians. we have thus traced the history of the jacobite syrians from 1653, and shown how they separated themselves into two parties, now represented by the jacobite syrians under mar dionysius, owing allegiance to the patriarch of antioch, and the reformed syrians or st. thomas' syrians owning titus mar thoma as their supreme spiritual head. thus, while the jacobite syrians have accepted and acknowledged the ecclesiastical supremacy of the patriarch of antioch, the st. thomas' syrians, maintaining that the jacobite creed was introduced into malabar only in the seventeenth century after a section of the church had shaken off the roman supremacy, uphold the ecclesiastical autonomy of the church, whereby the supreme control of the spiritual and temporal affairs of the church is declared to be in the hands of the metropolitan of malabar. the st. thomas' syrians hold that the consecration of a bishop by, or with the sanction of the patriarch of babylon, alexandria or antioch, gives no more validity or sanctity to that office than consecration by the metropolitan of malabar, the supreme head of the church in malabar, inasmuch as this church is as ancient and apostolic as any other, being founded by the apostle st. thomas; while the jacobites hold that the consecration of a bishop is not valid, unless it be done with the sanction of their patriarch. the st. thomas' syrians have, however, no objection to receiving consecration from the head of any other episcopal apostolic church, but they consider that such consecrations do not in any way subject their church to the supremacy of that prelate or church. both the latins and the romo-syrians use the liturgy of the church of rome, the former using the latin, and the latter the syriac language. it is believed by some that the christians of st. thomas formerly used the liturgy of st. adæus, east syrian, edessa, but that it was almost completely assimilated to the roman liturgy by portuguese jesuits at the synod of diamper in 1599. the chaldæan syrians also use the roman liturgy, with the following points of difference in practice, communicated to me by their present ecclesiastical head:--(1) they perform marriage ceremonies on sundays, instead of week days as the romo-syrians do. (2) while reading the gospel, their priests turn to the congregation, whereas the romo-syrian priests turn to the altar. (3) their priests bless the congregation in the middle of the mass, a practice not in vogue among the romo-syrians. (4) they use two kinds of consecrated oil in baptism, which does away with the necessity of confirmation. the romo-syrians, on the other hand, use only one kind of oil, and hence they have to be subsequently confirmed by one of their bishops. the liturgy used by the jacobite syrians and the st. thomas' syrians is the same, viz., that of st. james. the st. thomas' syrians have, however, made some changes by deleting certain passages from it. [a recent writer observes that "a service which i attended at the quaint old syrian church at kottayam, which glories in the possession of one of the three ancient stone crosses in india, closely resembled, as far as my memory serves me, one which i attended many years ago at antioch, except that the non-sacramental portions of the mass were read in malayalam instead of in arabic, the sacramental words alone being in both cases spoken in the ancient syriac tongue.] in regard to doctrine and practice, the following points may be noted:--(1) while the jacobite syrians look upon the holy bible as the main authority in matters of doctrine, practice, and ritual, they do not allow the bible to be interpreted except with the help of the traditions of the church, the writings of the early fathers, and the decrees of the holy synods of the undivided christian period; but the st. thomas' syrians believe that the holy bible is unique and supreme in such matters. (2) while the jacobites have faith in the efficacy and necessity of prayers, charities, etc., for the benefit of departed souls, of the invocation of the virgin mary and the saints in divine worship, of pilgrimages, and of confessing sins to, and obtaining absolution from priests, the st. thomas' syrians regard these and similar practices as unscriptural, tending not to the edification of believers, but to the drawing away of the minds of believers from the vital and real spiritual truths of the christian revelation. (3) while the jacobites administer the lord's supper to the laity and the non-celebrating clergy in the form of consecrated bread dipped in consecrated wine, and regard it a sin to administer the elements separately after having united them in token of christ's resurrection, the st. thomas' syrians admit the laity to both the elements after the act of uniting them. (4) while the jacobite syrians allow marriage ceremonies on sundays, on the plea that, being of the nature of a sacrament, they ought to be celebrated on sundays, and that christ himself had taken part in a marriage festival on the sabbath day, the st. thomas' syrians prohibit such celebrations on sundays as unscriptural, the sabbath being set apart for rest and religious exercises. (5) while the jacobites believe that the mass is as much a memorial of christ's oblation on the cross as it is an unbloody sacrifice offered for the remission of the sins of the living and of the faithful dead, the st. thomas' syrians observe it as a commemoration of christ's sacrifice on the cross. (6) the jacobites venerate the cross and the relics of saints, while the st. thomas' syrians regard the practice as idolatry. (7) the jacobites perform mass for the dead, while the st. thomas' syrians regard it as unscriptural. (8) with the jacobites, remarriage, marriage of widows, and marriage after admission to full priesthood, reduce a priest to the status of a layman, and one united in any such marriage is not permitted to perform priestly functions, whereas priests of the st. thomas' syrian party are allowed to contract such marriages without forfeiture of their priestly rights. (9) the jacobite syrians believe in the efficacy of infant baptism, and acknowledge baptismal regeneration, while the st. thomas' syrians, who also baptise infants, deny the doctrine of regeneration in baptism, and regard the ceremony as a mere external sign of admission to church communion. (10) the jacobites observe special fasts, and abstain from certain articles of food during such fasts, while the st. thomas' syrians regard the practice as superstitious. the jacobite syrian priests are not paid any fixed salary, but are supported by voluntary contributions in the shape of fees for baptism, marriages, funerals, etc. the romo-syrian and latin priests are paid fixed salaries, besides the above perquisites. the syrian priests are called kathanars, while the latin priests go by the name of padres. for the jacobite syrians, the morone or holy oil required for baptism, consecration of churches, ordination of priests, etc., has to be obtained from antioch. the churches under rome get it from rome. unlike the catholic clergy, the jacobite clergy, except their metropolitan and the rambans, are allowed to marry. the generality of syrians of the present day trace their descent from the higher orders of the hindu society, and the observance by many of them of certain customs prevalent more or less among high-caste hindus bears out this fact. it is no doubt very curious that, in spite of their having been christians for centuries together, they still retain the traditions of their hindu forefathers. it may sound very strange, but it is none the less true, that caste prejudices which influence their hindu brethren in all social and domestic relations obtain to some extent among some sections of the syrian christians, but, with the spread of a better knowledge of the teachings of christ, the progress of english education, and contact with european christians, caste observances are gradually dying out. the following relics of old customs may, however, be noted:-(1) some christians make offerings to hindu temples with as much reverence as they do in their own churches. some non-brahman hindus likewise make offerings to christian churches. (2) some sections of syrians have faith in horoscopes, and get them cast for new-born babies, just as hindus do. (3) on the wedding day, the bridegroom ties round the neck of the bride a tali (small ornament made of gold). this custom is prevalent among all classes of native christians. on the death of their husbands, some even remove the tali to indicate widowhood, as is the custom among the brahmans. (4) when a person dies, his or her children, if any, and near relatives, observe pula (death pollution) for a period ranging from ten to fifteen days. the observance imposes abstinence from animal food. the pula ends with a religious ceremony in the church, with feasting friends and relatives in the house, and feeding the poor, according to one's means. sradha, or anniversary ceremony for the soul of the dead, is performed with services in the church and feasts in the house. (5) in rural parts especially, the onam festival of the malayali hindus is celebrated with great éclat, with feasting, making presents of cloths to children and relatives, out-door and in-door games, etc. (6) vishu, or new-year's day, is likewise a gala day, when presents of small coins are made to children, relatives, and the poor. (7) the ceremony of first feeding a child with rice (annaprasanam or chorunu of the hindus) is celebrated generally in the sixth month after birth. parents often make vows to have the ceremony done in a particular church, as hindu parents take their children to particular temples in fulfilment of special vows. (8) the syrians do not admit within their premises low-castes, e.g., pulayans, paraiyans, etc., even after the conversion of the latter to christianity. they enforce even distance pollution, though not quite to the same extent as malayali hindus do. iluvans are allowed admission to their houses, but are not allowed to cook their meals. in some parts, they are not even allowed to enter the houses of syrians. there are no intermarriages between syrians of the various denominations and latin catholics. under very exceptional circumstances, a romo-syrian contracts a marriage with one of latin rite, and vice versâ, but this entails many difficulties and disabilities on the issues. among the latins themselves, there are, again, no intermarriages between the communities of the seven hundred, the five hundred, and the three hundred. the difference of cult and creed has led to the prohibition of marriages between the romo-syrians and jacobite syrians. the jacobite syrians properly so called, st. thomas' syrians, and the syro-protestants do, however, intermarry. the southerners and northerners do not intermarry; any conjugal ties effected between them subject the former to some kind of social excommunication. this exclusiveness, as we have already said, is claimed on the score of their descent from the early colonists from syria. the syrians in general, and the jacobite syrians in particular, are greater stricklers to customs than other classes of native christians. we have already referred to the privileges granted to the syrians by the hindu kings in early times. they not only occupied a very high position in the social scale, but also enjoyed at different times the rare distinction of forming a section of the body-guard of the king and the militia of the country. education has of late made great progress among them. the public service has now been thrown open to them, so that those who have had the benefit of higher education now hold some of the important posts in the state. in enterprises of all kinds, they are considerably ahead of their hindu and musalman brethren, so that we see them take very kindly to commerce, manufacture, agriculture, etc.; in fact, in every walk of life, they are making their mark by their industry and enterprise. [209] the following additional information is contained in the gazetteer of malabar. "the men are to be distinguished by the small cross worn round the neck, and the women by their tali, which has 21 beads on it, set in the form of a cross. their churches are ugly rectangular buildings with flat or arched wooden roofs and whitewashed facades. they have no spire, but the chancel, which is at the east end, is usually somewhat higher than the nave. between the chancel and the body of the church is a curtain, which is drawn while the priest consecrates the elements at the mass. right and left of the chancel are two rooms, the vestry and the sacristy. at the west end is a gallery, in which the unmarried priests sometimes live. most churches contain three altars, one in the chancel, and the other two at its western ends on each side. there are no images in jacobite or reformed churches, but there are sometimes pictures. crucifixes are placed on the altars, and in other parts of the churches. the clergy and men of influence are buried in the nave just outside the chancel. the syrian bishops are called metrans. they are celibates, and live on the contributions of their churches. they wear purple robes and black silk cowls figured with golden crosses, a big gold cross round the neck, and a ring on the fourth finger of the right hand. bishops are nominated by their predecessors from the body of rambans, who are men selected by priests and elders in advance to fill the episcopate. metrans are buried in their robes in a sitting posture. their priests are called cattanars. they should strictly pass through the seven offices of ostiary, reader, exorcist, acolyte, sub-deacon and deacon before becoming priests; but the first three offices practically no longer exist. the priestly office is often hereditary, descending by the marumakkattayam system (inheritance in the female line). jacobite and st. thomas' syrian priests are paid by contributions from their parishioners, fees at weddings, and the like. their ordinary dress consists of white trousers, and a kind of long white shirt with short sleeves and a flap hanging down behind, supposed to be in the form of a cross. over this the jacobites now wear a black coat. priests are allowed to marry, except in the romo-syrian community; but, among the jacobites, a priest may not marry after he has once been ordained, nor may he re-marry or marry a widow. malpans, or teachers, are the heads of the religious colleges, where priests are trained. jacobites also now shave clean, while other syrian priests wear the tonsure. every church has not more than four kaikkars or churchwardens, who are elected from the body of parishioners. they are the trustees of the church property, and, with the priest, constitute a disciplinary body, which exercises considerable powers in religious and social matters over the members of the congregation. the romo-syrians follow the doctrines and ritual of the roman catholics, but they use a syriac version [210] of the latin liturgy. jacobites and st. thomas' christians use the syriac liturgy of st. james. few even of the priests understand syriac, and, in the reformed syrian churches, a malayalam translation of the syriac liturgy has now been generally adopted. the jacobites say masses for the dead, but do not believe in purgatory; they invoke the virgin mary, venerate the cross and relics of saints; they recognise only three sacraments, baptism, marriage (which they always celebrate on sundays) and the mass; they prescribe auricular confession before mass, and at the mass administer the bread dipped in the wine; they recite the eastern form of the nicene creed, and discourage laymen from studying the bible. the reformed syrians differ from them in most of these points. the jacobites observe the ordinary festivals of the church; the day of the patron saint of each church is celebrated with special pomp, and on the offerings made on that day the priests largely depend for their income. they keep lent, which they call the fifty days' fast, strictly from the sunday before ash wednesday, abjuring all meat, fish, ghee, and toddy; and on maundy thursday they eat a special kind of unsweetened cake marked with a cross, in the centre of which the karnavan of the family should drive a nail, and drink a kanji of rice and cocoanut-milk (the meal is said to symbolize the passover and the last supper, and the nail is supposed to be driven into the eye of judas iscariot). "amongst the syrian christians, as amongst the mappillas, there are many survivals of hindu customs and superstitions, and caste prejudices have by no means disappeared amongst the various sections of the community. southerners and northerners will not intermarry, and families who trace their descent from brahmans and nayars will, in many cases, not admit lower classes to their houses, much less allow them to cook for them or touch them. most of the syrians observe the onam and vishnu festivals; the astrologer is frequently consulted to cast horoscopes and tell omens; while it is a common custom for persons suffering from diseases to seek a cure by buying silver or tin images of the diseased limb, which their priest has blessed. similar survivals are to be noticed in their social ceremonies. a pulikudi ceremony, similar to that of the hindus, was commonly performed till recently, though it has now fallen into disuse. immediately on the birth of a child, three drops of honey in which gold has been rubbed are poured into its mouth by its father, and the mother is considered to be under pollution till the tenth day. baptism takes place on the fourteenth day amongst the southern jacobites, and amongst other divisions on the fifty-sixth day. a rice-giving ceremony similar to the hindu chorunnu is still sometimes performed in the fifth or sixth month, when the child is presented by the mother with a gold cross, if a boy, or a small gold coin or taluvam if a girl, to be worn round the neck. "among the jacobites early marriage was the rule until comparatively recently, boys being married at ten or twelve years of age, and girls at six or seven. now the more usual age for marriage is sixteen in the case of boys, and twelve in the case of girls. weddings take place on sundays, and, amongst the northerners, may be celebrated in either the bride's or the bridegroom's parish church. on the two sundays before the wedding, the banns have to be called in the two churches, and the marriage agreements concluded in the presence of the parish priests (ottu kalyanam). the dowry, which is an essential feature of syrian weddings, is usually paid on the sunday before the wedding. it should consist of an odd number of rupees, and should be tied up in a cloth. on the thursday before the wedding day, the house is decorated with rice flour, and on the saturday the marriage pandal (booth), is built. the first ceremonial takes place on saturday night when bride and bridegroom both bathe, and the latter is shaved. next morning both bride and bridegroom attend the ordinary mass, the bridegroom being careful to enter the church before the bride. now-a-days both are often dressed more or less in european fashion, and it is essential that the bride should wear as many jewels as she has got, or can borrow for the occasion. before leaving his house, the bridegroom is blessed by his guru to whom he gives a present (dakshina) of clothes and money. he is accompanied by a bestman, usually his sister's husband, who brings the tali. after mass, a tithe (pathuvaram) of the bride's dowry is paid to the church as the marriage fee, a further fee to the priest (kaikasturi), and a fee called kaimuttupanam for the bishop. the marriage service is then read, and, at its conclusion, the bridegroom ties the tali round the bride's neck with threads taken from her veil, making a special kind of knot, while the priest holds the tali in front. the priest and the bridegroom then put a veil (mantravadi) over the bride's head. the tali should not be removed so long as the girl is married, and should be buried with her. the veil should also be kept for her funeral. the bridal party returns home in state, special umbrellas being held over the bride and bridegroom. at the gate they are met by the bride's sister carrying a lighted lamp, and she washes the bridegroom's feet. the married couple then go to the pandal, where they are ceremonially fed with sweets and plantains by the priest and by representatives of their two families, to the accompaniment of the women's kurava (cry), and in the presence of the guests, who are seated in order of precedence, the chief persons having seats of honour covered with black rugs and white cloths (vellayum karimbadavum), traditionally a regal honour. the bride and bridegroom are then led into the house by the bestman and bride's uncle, the bride being careful to enter it right foot first; and the guests are feasted in order of rank. it is a peculiar custom of the syrian christians at these feasts to double up the ends of the plantain leaves which serve them as plates, and is supposed to be symbolical of the royal privilege of eating off a double plate. until the following wednesday, the bestman sleeps with the bridegroom in the bridal chamber, the bride occupying another room. on wednesday evening comes the ceremony called nalam kuli, or fourth day bath. the bridegroom and the bestman, who are in the bridal chamber, lock the door; the bride's mother knocks and begs the bridegroom to come out, which he at last does after she has sung a song (vathilturapattu) celebrating the attractions and virtues of the bride. the bridegroom and bride then bathe, dress in new clothes, and go to the pandal, where they perform paradakshinams round a lighted lamp, and the bridegroom gives cloths to the bride's uncle, mother, and grand-parents. the married couple are then escorted to the bridal chamber, which has in the interval been cleaned and prepared for them. the next morning they have to go to the bridegroom's or bride's house as the case may be, and there eat together and go through a ceremonial similar to that which they performed on the wedding day in the other house. this concludes the marriage ceremonies, but on sunday the bridegroom and bride should attend mass together in the bride's parish church if they were married in the bridegroom's, and vice versâ. amongst the southern jacobites, the ceremonies are very similar, but the dowry is not paid till the marriage day, or till the girl's first confinement. half the pathuvaram is paid to the priest instead of a kaikasturi, and the bridegroom puts a ring on the bride's finger during the marriage service. after the church service, the couple go to the bridegroom's house, where they are fed ceremonially by the bride's mother, and the subsequent feast is at the expense of the bride's people. on monday morning, the bridegroom is ceremonially fed by the bride's mother in the bridal chamber (manavalan choru), and in the evening there is a ceremony called manavalan tazhukkal, in which the bride and bridegroom are embraced in turn by their respective parents and relations, after which there is a feast with singing of hymns. before the couple leave for the bride's house on thursday, there is a big feast, called kudivirunnu, given by the bridegroom to the bride's people, followed by a ceremony called vilakku toduga, in which men and women sing hymns and dance round a lighted lamp, which they touch at intervals. amongst the romo-syrians and the reformed sect, the marriage ceremonies have less trace of hindu ritual; they do not celebrate weddings on sundays, and have no nalam kuli ceremony, but a tali is usually tied in addition to the giving of a ring. "at funerals (except amongst the reformed sect) it is usual for each of the dead man's connections to bring a cloth to serve as a shroud. before the body is lowered into the grave, holy oil is poured into the eyes, nostrils and ears. the mourners are under pollution, and fast till the day of the second funeral or pula kuli (purification), and till then masses should be said daily for the dead. the pula kuli is celebrated usually on the 11th day, but may be deferred till the 15th, 17th or 21st, or sometimes to the 41st. the mourners are incensed, while hymns are sung and prayers offered. each then gives a contribution of money to the priest, and receives in return a pinch of cummin. a feast is then given to the neighbours and the poor. on the 40th day there is another feast, at which meat is eaten by the mourners for the first time. a requiem mass should be said each month on the day of death for twelve months, and on the first anniversary the mourning concludes with a feast." to the foregoing account of the syrian christians, a few stray notes may be added. it is recorded by sir m. e. grant duff, formerly governor of madras, [211] that "the interesting body known as the syrian christians or christians of st. thomas is divided into several groups much opposed to each other. in an excellent address presented to me they said that this was the occasion which, for the first time after ages of separation, witnessed the spectacle of all the different sects of their community, following divergent articles of faith, sinking for once their religious differences to do honour to their friend." some years ago, the wife of a district judge of calicut asked the pupils of a school how long they had been christians. "we were," came the crushing reply, "christians when you english were worshipping druids, and stained with woad." more recently, the master at a college in madras called on all native christians in his class to stand up. noticing that one boy remained seated, he called on him for an explanation, when the youth explained that he was a syrian christian, and not a native christian. it is noted by the rev. w. j. richards that "at the very time that our king john was pulling out jews' teeth to make them surrender their treasures, hindu princes were protecting jewish and christian subjects, whose ancestors had been honoured by royal grants for hundreds of years." the southerners say that they can be distinguished from the northerners by the red tinge of their hair. a man with reddish moustache, and a dark-skinned baby with brilliant red hair, whose father had red whiskers, were produced before me in support of the claim. as examples of old and new testament names occurring, in a changed form, among syrian christians, the following may be cited:- abraham, abragam. joshua, koshi. peter, puthros, ittiyerah, itte. paul, powlos. john, yohan, sonanan, chona. titus, tetos. matthew, mathai, mathen. philip, philippos, papi, eippe, eapen. thomas, thoma, thommi, thommen. joseph, ouseph. jacob, yacob, chako alexander, chandi. samuel, chamuel. mary, maria, mariam. sarah, sara. susannah, sosa. rebecca, rabka, raca. elizabeth, elspeth, elia, elacha. rachael, rachi, raghael, chacha. syrian christians take the name of their father, their own name, and that of their residence. whence arise such names as edazayhikkal mathoo philippos, kunnampuram thommen chandi, and chandakadayil joseph chommi. i have seen some syrian christian men tattooed with a cross on the upper arm, and a cross and their initials on the forearm. in conclusion, i may, for the sake of comparison, place on record the averages of the more important physical measurements of northerner and southerner syrian christians and nayars. 30 syrian 40 nayars. christians. northerner. southerner. stature 165.3 164.8 165.2 cephalic length 18.7 18.9 18.7 cephalic breadth 14.3 14.1 13.9 cephalic index 76.3 74.8 74.4 nasal height 4.9 4.9 4.9 nasal breadth 3.5 3.5 3.5 nasal index 72.3 71.6 71.1 it may be noted that, in his 'letters from malabar,' canter visscher, in the middle of the eighteenth century, writes that the st. thomas' christians "keep very strict genealogical records, and they will neither marry nor in any way intermingle with the new low-caste christians, being themselves mostly castade naiross, that is, nobility of the nayar caste, in token of which they generally carry a sword in the hand, as a mark of dignity." it is stated by e. petersen and f. v. luschan [212] that "probably a single people originally occupied the greater part of asia minor. they are still represented as a compact group by the armenians. the type resembles the dissentis type of his and rütimeyer; the head extremely short and high, stature moderate, skin dark, eyes dark, and hair dark and smooth. it extends through the s. half of asia minor, n.e. to the caucasus, and e. to the upper euphrates. the tachtadschy people, a hill people living without serious mixture with other peoples, give measurements closely like the armenians." [the cephalic index of armenians is given by e. chantre [213] as 85-86.] in the following table, the averages of some of the more important measurements of the syrian christians and tachtadschy people are recorded:- stature, cephalic cephalic cephalic, cm. length, cm. breadth, index. cm. syrian 165.3 18.7 14.3 76.3 christians, northerner syrian 164.8 18.9 14.1 74.8 christians, southerner tachtadschy 168. 17.9 15.3 85.7 notes [1] manual of the north arcot district. [2] pulikesin ii, the chalukyan king of badami. [3] manual of the madura district. [4] south indian inscriptions, iii, 31, page 82. [5] in the oriental manuscripts library, madras. [6] j. burgess. archæological survey. tamil and sanskrit inscriptions, no. 11, p. 150. [7] ibid. no. 12, p. 152. [8] history of the military transactions of the british nation in indostan, 1861. [9] geographical, statistical, and historical description of hindostan and the adjacent countries, 1820. [10] ceylon, 1860. [11] south indian inscriptions, 1, 86-7, 105, 136, and iii, i, 121, 123. [12] madras census report, 1891. [13] madras census report, 1901. [14] vannikula vilakkam. [15] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [16] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [17] vannikula vilakkam. [18] gazetteer of the tanjore district. [19] manual of the salem district. [20] journey through mysore, canara, and malabar. [21] manual of the north arcot district. [22] gazetteer of the tanjore district. [23] gazetteer of the tanjore district. [24] manual of the north arcot district. [25] madras mail, 1906. [26] malabar and its folk, 1900. [27] manual of malabar. [28] madras mus. bull., iii, 3, 1901. [29] monograph, eth. survey of cochin. [30] a. chatterton. monograph on tanning and working in leather, 1904. [31] journey through mysore, etc., 1807. [32] how we teach the paraiya, 3rd ed., madras, 1906. [33] manual of the north arcot district. [34] works, 1, 225, foot-note. [35] history of mysore. [36] op. cit. [37] madras census report, 1891. [38] madras journ. lit. and science, xi, 1840. [39] native life in travancore. [40] yule and burnell. hobson-jobson. [41] madras census report, 1901. [42] madras census report, 1901. [43] manual of the north arcot district; madras census report, 1891. [44] report on the methods of capture and supply of fish in the rivers of the nilgiri district, 1907. [45] gazetteer of the malabar district. [46] gazetteer of malabar. [47] madras census report, 1881. [48] madras mus. bull., v, 2, 1906. [49] madras census report, 1891. [50] madras census report, 1901. [51] voyage to the east indies, 1774 and 1781. [52] loc. cit. [53] ind. ant., iii, 1874. [54] the name black town was changed to georgetown to commemorate the visit of h.r.h. the prince of wales to madras in 1906. [55] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [56] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [57] ind. ant. ii, 1873. [58] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [59] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [60] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [61] manual of the north arcot district. [62] a. p. smith. malabar quart. review, 1904. [63] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [64] classified collection of tamil proverbs, 1897. [65] manual of the north arcot district. [66] op. cit. [67] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [68] madras census report, 1871. [69] monograph eth. survey. cochin. [70] malabar and its folk, 1900. [71] journ. roy. as. soc., xvi. [72] c.m. record, 1850. [73] origin and history of the paravas. simon casie chitty. journ. roy. as. soc., iv, 1837. [74] occasional essays on native south indian life, 1901. [75] a description of ye east india coasts of malabar and coromandel, 1703. [76] history of tinnevelly. [77] report on the indian pearl fisheries in the gulf of manaar, 1905. [78] shell of the gastropod mollusc, turbinella rapa. [79] "this," mr. hornell writes, "is most improbable. they are more probably the descendants of naga fishermen settled in the district prior to the immigration of tamil invaders." [80] the zamorin of calicut. [81] madras mail, 1907. [82] risley. tribes and castes of bengal. [83] gazetteer of the malabar district. [84] manual of the north arcot district. [85] madras mail, 1907. [86] by the saurashtra literary societies of madura and madras, 1891. [87] gazetteer of the madura district. [88] a reddish geological formation, found all over southern india. [89] manual of the south canara district. [90] letters from madras. by a lady, 1843. [91] my indian journal, 1864. [92] our viceregal life in india, 1889. [93] roe and fryer. travels in india in the seventeenth century. [94] see civil suit no. 102 of 1880. [95] manual of the south canara district. [96] madras census report, 1901. [97] manuals of nellore and kurnool. [98] manual of malabar. [99] malabar quarterly review. v, 4, 1907. [100] yule and burnell. hobson-jobson. [101] this note is from an account by mr. n. subramani aiyar. [102] gazetteer of the malabar district. [103] malabar law and custom. [104] ibid. [105] hobson-jobson. [106] manual of the south canara district. [107] madras census report, 1891. [108] linguistic survey of india, iv, 1906. [109] ind. ant., ii, 1873. [110] loc. cit. [111] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [112] gazetteer of the tanjore district. [113] manual of the north arcot district. [114] men and women of india, february 1906. [115] malabar and its folk, 1900. [116] this account is mainly based on a note by mr. l. k. anantha krishna aiyar. [117] madras census report, 1891. [118] manual of the vizagapatam district. [119] manual of malabar. [120] manual of the south canara district. [121] w. crooke. tribes and castes of the north-western provinces and oudh. [122] madras census report, 1891. [123] manual of the north arcot district. [124] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [125] madras census report, 1891. [126] manual of the north arcot district. [127] madras census report, 1871. [128] birds of india. [129] manual of the north arcot district. [130] twelfth tour of lord connemara, 1890. [131] see thurston. monograph on the cotton industry of the madras presidency, 1897. [132] east and west, vi, 70, 1907. [133] madras mail, 1904. [134] manual of the chingleput district. [135] manual of the south canara district. [136] ind. ant., iv, 1875. [137] malayalam and english dictionary. [138] sthanam = a station, rank or dignity. moore: malabar law and custom. [139] original suit no. 31, 1887, court of calicut. appeal no. 202, 1888, high court of madras. [140] madras census report, 1891. [141] see malabar quart. review, ii, 4, 1903. [142] historical sketches of the south of india: mysore. [143] moore: malabar law and custom, 1905. [144] manu. [145] mysore census report, 1891, 1901. [146] yule and burnell. hobson-jobson. [147] rev. h. jensen. classified collection of tamil proverbs, 1897. [148] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [149] south indian inscriptions, ii, part iii, 1895. [150] linguistic survey of india, iv, 1906. [151] journ. anthrop. soc., bombay, 1, 1901. [152] the rev. w. taylor, vol. iii, 1862. [153] occasional essays on native south indian life, 1901. [154] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [155] see bishop whitehead. madras museum bull., vol. 3, 136, 1907. [156] gazetteer of vizagapatam district. [157] madras museum bulletin, v, 3, 1907. [158] lectures on tinnevelly missions, 1857. [159] viaggi, 1614-26. [160] a new account of east india and persia, 1698. [161] manual of the north arcot district. [162] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [163] principles of sociology. [164] manual of the south canara district. [165] administration report, 1899. [166] christianity in travancore, 1901. [167] madras museum bull., iii, 3, 1901. [168] rice. mysore inscriptions, p. 33. [169] madras census report, 1901. [170] madras mail, 1901. [171] ind. ant., iv, 1875. [172] christianity and caste, 1893. [173] journ. roy. as. soc., xvi. [174] madras mail, 1907. [175] l. rice, mysore and coorg gazetteer. [176] yule and burnell. hobson-jobson. [177] journey through mysore, canara, and malabar, 1807. [178] madras mail, 1907. [179] mysore census report, 1891. [180] mysore census report, 1891. [181] manual of the south canara district. [182] madras census report, 1881. [183] a native. pen-and-ink sketches of native life in southern india, 1880. [184] yule and burnell. hobson-jobson. [185] a snataka is a brahman, who has just finished his student's career. [186] tribes and castes of bengal. [187] a very complicated recipe is given in the manual of the vizagapatam district, 1869, p. 264. [188] rev. j. cain, ind. ant., viii, 1879. [189] ind. ant. ii, 1873. [190] ind. ant. viii, 1879. [191] manual of the north arcot district. [192] ind. ant. viii, 1879. [193] wigram, malabar law and customs. [194] rev. w. j. richards. the indian christians of saint thomas. [195] a new account of the east indies, 1744. [196] vide g. milne rae. the syrian church in india, 1892. [197] encyclopædia britannica, 9th ed. [198] see hough, the history of christianity in india from the commencement of the christian era. [199] indian empire, 3rd edition. [200] iv. 290-97, 1896-7. [201] madras journ. lit. and science, xiii, part, 118. dr. gundert's translation is reprinted in mr. logan's malabar, vol. ii, appendix xii. [202] madras journ. lit. and science, xxi, 35-38. [203] ind. ant., iii, 1874. [204] see article on the jews of cochin. [205] loc. cit. [206] land of the perumauls: cochin past and present, 1863. [207] f. wrede. asiatic researches, vii, 181. account of the st. thomé christians. [208] hunter. indian empire. [209] in the preparation of the above sketch, the following authorities, among others, were consulted: sir w. w. hunter, indian empire and history of british india; j. hough, history of christianity in india; t. whitehouse, lingerings of light in a dark land; g. t. mackenzie, christianity in travancore; f. day, land of the perumauls; t. logan, manual of malabar; christian college magazine, madras, vol. vi; and judgments of the civil courts of travancore and cochin. to the bibliography relating to the syrian christians may also be added l. m. agur, church history of travancore, the rev. g. milne rae, the syrian church in india, and the rev. w. j. richards, the indian christians of st. thomas. the malabar quarterly review, vi, 1 and 2, 1907, may also be consulted. [210] the syriac is not a modern syriac dialect, but is very like the ancient aramaic. [211] notes from a diary, 1881-86. [212] recherches anthropologiques dans le caucase, iv, 1887. [213] reisen in lykien, melyas, und kibyratis, ii, 1889. gutenberg. castes and tribes of southern india by edgar thurston, c.i.e., superintendent, madras government museum; correspondant étranger, société d'anthropologie de paris; socio corrispondante, societa, romana di anthropologia. assisted by k. rangachari, m.a., of the madras government museum. volume i--a and b government press, madras 1909. preface. in 1894, equipped with a set of anthropometric instruments obtained on loan from the asiatic society of bengal, i commenced an investigation of the tribes of the nilgiri hills, the todas, kotas, and badagas, bringing down on myself the unofficial criticism that "anthropological research at high altitudes is eminently indicated when the thermometer registers 100° in madras." from this modest beginning have resulted:--(1) investigation of various classes which inhabit the city of madras; (2) periodical tours to various parts of the madras presidency, with a view to the study of the more important tribes and classes; (3) the publication of bulletins, wherein the results of my work are embodied; (4) the establishment of an anthropological laboratory; (5) a collection of photographs of native types; (6) a series of lantern slides for lecture purposes; (7) a collection of phonograph records of tribal songs and music. the scheme for a systematic and detailed ethnographic survey of the whole of india received the formal sanction of the government of india in 1901. a superintendent of ethnography was appointed for each presidency or province, to carry out the work of the survey in addition to his other duties. the other duty, in my particular case--the direction of a large local museum--happily made an excellent blend with the survey operations, as the work of collection for the ethnological section went on simultaneously with that of investigation. the survey was financed for a period of five (afterwards extended to eight) years, and an annual allotment of rs. 5,000 provided for each presidency and province. this included rs. 2,000 for approved notes on monographs, and replies to the stereotyped series of questions. the replies to these questions were not, i am bound to admit, always entirely satisfactory, as they broke down both in accuracy and detail. i may, as an illustration, cite the following description of making fire by friction. "they know how to make fire, i.e., by friction of wood as well as stone, etc. they take a triangular cut of stone, and one flat oblong size flat. they hit one another with the maintenance of cocoanut fibre or copper, then fire sets immediately, and also by rubbing the two barks frequently with each other they make fire." i gladly place on record my hearty appreciation of the services rendered by mr. k. rangachari in the preparation of the present volumes. during my temporary absence in europe, he was placed in charge of the survey, and he has been throughout invaluable in obtaining information concerning manners and customs, as interpreter and photographer, and in taking phonograph records. for information relating to the tribes and castes of cochin and travancore, i gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to messrs. l. k. anantha krishna aiyer and n. subramani aiyer, the superintendents of ethnography for their respective states. the notes relating to the cochin state have been independently published at the ernakulam press, cochin. in the scheme for the ethnographic survey, it was laid down that the superintendents should supplement the information obtained from representative men and by their own enquiries by "researches into the considerable mass of information which lies buried in official reports, in the journals of learned societies, and in various books." of this injunction full advantage has been taken, as will be evident from the abundant crop of references in foot-notes. it is impossible to express my thanks individually to the very large number of correspondents, european and indian, who have generously assisted me in my work. i may, however, refer to the immense aid which i have received from the district manuals edited by mr. (now sir) h. a. stuart, i.c.s., and the district gazetteers, which have been quite recently issued under the editorship of mr. w. francis, i.c.s., mr. f. r. hemingway, i.c.s., and mr. f. b. evans, i.c.s. my thanks are further due to mr. c. hayavadana rao, to whom i am indebted for much information acquired when he was engaged in the preparation of the district gazetteers, and for revising the proof sheets. for some of the photographs of badagas, kurumbas, and todas, i am indebted to mr. a. t. w. penn of ootacamund. i may add that the anthropometric data are all the result of measurements taken by myself, in order to eliminate the varying error resulting from the employment of a plurality of observers. e. t. introduction. the vast tract of country, over which my investigations in connection with the ethnographic survey of south india have extended, is commonly known as the madras presidency, and officially as the presidency of fort st. george and its dependencies. included therein were the small feudatory states of pudukottai, banganapalle, and sandur, and the larger native states of travancore and cochin. the area of the british territory and feudatory states, as returned at the census, 1901, was 143,221 square miles, and the population 38,623,066. the area and population of the native states of travancore and cochin, as recorded at the same census, were as follows:- area. population. sq. miles. travancore 7,091 2,952,157 cochin 1,361 512,025 briefly, the task which was set me in 1901 was to record the 'manners and customs' and physical characters of more than 300 castes and tribes, representing more than 40,000,000 individuals, and spread over an area exceeding 150,000 square miles. the native state of mysore, which is surrounded by the madras presidency on all sides, except on part of the west, where the bombay presidency forms the boundary, was excluded from my beat ethnographically, but included for the purpose of anthropometry. as, however, nearly all the castes and tribes which inhabit the mysore state are common to it and the madras presidency, i have given here and there some information relating thereto. it was clearly impossible for myself and my assistant, in our travels, to do more than carry out personal investigations over a small portion of the vast area indicated above, which provides ample scope for research by many trained explorers. and i would that more men, like my friends dr. rivers and mr. lapicque, who have recently studied man in southern india from an anthropological and physiological point of view, would come out on a visit, and study some of the more important castes and tribes in detail. i can promise them every facility for carrying out their work under the most favourable conditions for research, if not of climate. and we can provide them with anything from 112° in the shade to the sweet half english air of the nilgiri and other hill-ranges. routine work at head-quarters unhappily keeps me a close prisoner in the office chair for nine months in the year. but i have endeavoured to snatch three months on circuit in camp, during which the dual functions of the survey--the collection of ethnographic and anthropometric data--were carried out in the peaceful isolation of the jungle, in villages, and in mofussil (up-country) towns. these wandering expeditions have afforded ample evidence that delay in carrying through the scheme for the survey would have been fatal. for, as in the pacific and other regions, so in india, civilisation is bringing about a radical change in indigenous manners and customs, and mode of life. it has, in this connection, been well said that "there will be plenty of money and people available for anthropological research, when there are no more aborigines. and it behoves our museums to waste no time in completing their anthropological collections." tribes which, only a few years ago, were living in a wild state, clad in a cool and simple garb of forest leaves, buried away in the depths of the jungle, and living, like pigs and bears, on roots, honey, and other forest produce, have now come under the domesticating, and sometimes detrimental influence of contact with europeans, with a resulting modification of their conditions of life, morality, and even language. the paniyans of the wynaad, and the irulas of the nilgiris, now work regularly for wages on planters' estates, and i have seen a toda boy studying for the third standard instead of tending the buffaloes of his mand. a toda lassie curling her ringlets with the assistance of a cheap german looking-glass; a toda man smeared with hindu sect marks, and praying for male offspring at a hindu shrine; the abandonment of leafy garments in favour of imported cotton piece-goods; the employment of kerosine tins in lieu of thatch; the decline of the national turban in favour of the less becoming pork-pie cap or knitted nightcap of gaudy hue; the abandonment of indigenous vegetable dyes in favour of tinned anilin and alizarin dyes; the replacement of the indigenous peasant jewellery by imported beads and imitation jewellery made in europe--these are a few examples of change resulting from western and other influences. the practice of human sacrifice, or meriah rite, has been abolished within the memory of men still living, and replaced by the equally efficacious slaughter of a buffalo or sheep. and i have notes on a substituted ceremony, in which a sacrificial sheep is shaved so as to produce a crude representation of a human being, a hindu sect mark painted on its forehead, a turban stuck on its head, and a cloth around its body. the picturesque, but barbaric ceremony of hook-swinging is now regarded with disfavour by government, and, some time ago, i witnessed a tame substitute for the original ceremony, in which, instead of a human being with strong iron hooks driven through the small of his back, a little wooden figure, dressed up in turban and body cloth, and carrying a shield and sabre, was hoisted on high and swung round. in carrying out the anthropometric portion of the survey, it was unfortunately impossible to disguise the fact that i am a government official, and very considerable difficulties were encountered owing to the wickedness of the people, and their timidity and fear of increased taxation, plague inoculation, and transportation. the paniyan women of the wynaad believed that i was going to have the finest specimens among them stuffed for the madras museum. an irula man, on the nilgiri hills, who was wanted by the police for some mild crime of ancient date, came to be measured, but absolutely refused to submit to the operation on the plea that the height-measuring standard was the gallows. the similarity of the word boyan to boer was once fatal to my work. for, at the time of my visit to the oddes, who have boyan as their title, the south african war was just over, and they were afraid that i was going to get them transported, to replace the boers who had been exterminated. being afraid, too, of my evil eye, they refused to fire a new kiln of bricks for the club chambers at coimbatore until i had taken my departure. during a long tour through the mysore province, the natives mistook me for a recruiting sergeant bent on seizing them for employment in south africa, and fled before my approach from town to town. the little spot, which i am in the habit of making with aspinall's white paint to indicate the position of the fronto-nasal suture and bi-orbital breadth, was supposed to possess vesicant properties, and to blister into a number on the forehead, which would serve as a means of future identification for the purpose of kidnapping. the record of head, chest, and foot measurements, was viewed with marked suspicion, on the ground that i was an army tailor, measuring for sepoy's clothing. the untimely death of a native outside a town, at which i was halting, was attributed to my evil eye. villages were denuded of all save senile men, women, and infants. the vendors of food-stuffs in one bazar, finding business slack owing to the flight of their customers, raised their prices, and a missionary complained that the price of butter had gone up. my arrival at one important town was coincident with a great annual temple festival, whereat there were not sufficient coolies left to drag the temple car in procession. so i had perforce to move on, and leave the brahman heads unmeasured. the head official of another town, when he came to take leave of me, apologised for the scrubby appearance of his chin, as the local barber had fled. one man, who had volunteered to be tested with lovibond's tintometer, was suddenly seized with fear in the midst of the experiment, and, throwing his body-cloth at my feet, ran for all he was worth, and disappeared. an elderly municipal servant wept bitterly when undergoing the process of measurement, and a woman bade farewell to her husband, as she thought for ever, as he entered the threshold of my impromptu laboratory. the goniometer for estimating the facial angle is specially hated, as it goes into the mouth of castes both high and low, and has to be taken to a tank (pond) after each application. the members of a certain caste insisted on being measured before 4 p.m., so that they might have time to remove, by ceremonial ablution, the pollution from my touch before sunset. such are a few of the unhappy results, which attend the progress of a government anthropologist. i may, when in camp, so far as measuring operations are concerned, draw a perfect and absolute blank for several days in succession, or a gang of fifty or even more representatives of different castes may turn up at the same time, all in a hurry to depart as soon as they have been sufficiently amused by the phonograph, american series of pseudoptics (illusions), and hand dynamometer, which always accompany me on my travels as an attractive bait. when this occurs, it is manifestly impossible to record all the major, or any of the minor measurements, which are prescribed in 'anthropological notes and queries,' and elsewhere. and i have to rest unwillingly content with a bare record of those measurements, which experience has taught me are the most important from a comparative point of view within my area, viz., stature, height and breadth of nose, and length and breadth of head, from which the nasal and cephalic indices can be calculated. i refer to the practical difficulties, in explanation of a record which is admittedly meagre, but wholly unavoidable, in spite of the possession of a good deal of patience and a liberal supply of cheroots, and current coins, which are often regarded with suspicion as sealing a contract, like the king's shilling. i have even known a man get rid of the coin presented to him, by offering it, with flowers and a cocoanut, to the village goddess at her shrine, and present her with another coin as a peace-offering, to get rid of the pollution created by my money. the manifold views, which have been brought forward as to the origin and place in nature of the indigenous population of southern india, are scattered so widely in books, manuals, and reports, that it will be convenient if i bring together the evidence derived from sundry sources. the original name for the dravidian family, it may be noted, was tamulic, but the term dravidian was substituted by bishop caldwell, in order that the designation tamil might be reserved for the language of that name. dravida is the adjectival form of dravida, the sanskrit name for the people occupying the south of the indian peninsula (the deccan of some european writers). [1] according to haeckel, [2] three of the twelve species of man--the dravidas (deccans; sinhalese), nubians, and mediterranese (caucasians, basque, semites, indo-germanic tribes)--"agree in several characteristics, which seem to establish a close relationship between them, and to distinguish them from the remaining species. the chief of these characteristics is the strong development of the beard which, in all other species, is either entirely wanting, or but very scanty. the hair of their heads is in most cases more or less curly. other characteristics also seem to favour our classing them in one main group of curly-haired men (euplocomi); at present the primæval species, homo dravida, is only represented by the deccan tribes in the southern part of hindustan, and by the neighbouring inhabitants of the mountains on the north-east of ceylon. but, in earlier times, this race seems to have occupied the whole of hindustan, and to have spread even further. it shows, on the one hand, traits of relationship to the australians and malays; on the other to the mongols and mediterranese. their skin is either of a light or dark brown colour; in some tribes, of a yellowish brown. the hair of their heads is, as in mediterranese, more or less curled; never quite smooth, like that of the euthycomi, nor actually woolly, like that of the ulotrichi. the strong development of the beard is also like that of the mediterranese. their forehead is generally high, their nose prominent and narrow, their lips slightly protruding. their language is now very much mixed with indo-germanic elements, but seems to have been originally derived from a very primæval language." in the chapter devoted to 'migration and distribution of organisms,' haeckel, in referring to the continual changing of the distribution of land and water on the surface of the earth, says: "the indian ocean formed a continent, which extended from the sunda islands along the southern coast of asia to the east coast of africa. this large continent of former times sclater has called lemuria, from the monkey-like animals which inhabited it, and it is at the same time of great importance from being the probable cradle of the human race. the important proof which wallace has furnished by the help of chronological facts, that the present malayan archipelago consists in reality of two completely different divisions, is particularly interesting. the western division, the indo-malayan archipelago, comprising the large islands of borneo, java, and sumatra, was formerly connected by malacca with the asiatic continent, and probably also with the lemurian continent, and probably also with the lemurian continent just mentioned. the eastern division, on the other hand, the austro-malayan archipelago, comprising celebes, the moluccas, new guinea, solomon's islands, etc., was formerly directly connected with australia." an important ethnographic fact, and one which is significant, is that the description of tree-climbing by the dyaks of borneo, as given by wallace, [3] might have been written on the anaimalai hills of southern india, and would apply equally well in every detail to the kadirs who inhabit those hills. [4] an interesting custom, which prevails among the kadirs and mala vedans of travancore, and among them alone, so far as i know, in the indian peninsula, is that of chipping all or some of the incisor teeth into the form of a sharp pointed, but not serrated, cone. the operation is said to be performed, among the kadirs, with a chisel or bill-hook and file, on boys at the age of eighteen, and girls at the age of ten or thereabouts. it is noted by skeat and blagden [5] that the jakuns of the malay peninsula are accustomed to file their teeth to a point. mr. crawford tells us further that, in the malay archipelago, the practice of filing and blackening the teeth is a necessary prelude to marriage, the common way of expressing the fact that a girl has arrived at puberty being that she had her teeth filed. in an article [6] entitled "die zauberbilderschriften der negrito in malaka," dr. k. t. preuss describes in detail the designs on the bamboo combs, etc., of the negritos of malacca, and compares them with the strikingly similar designs on the bamboo combs worn by the kadirs of southern india. he works out in detail the theory that the design is not, as i called it [7] an ornamental geometric pattern, but consists of a series of hieroglyphics. it is noted by skeat and blagden [8] that "the semang women wore in their hair a remarkable kind of comb, which appears to be worn entirely as a charm against diseases. these combs were almost invariably made of bamboo, and were decorated with an infinity of designs, no two of which ever entirely agreed. it was said that each disease had its appropriate pattern. similar combs are worn by the pangan, the semang and sakai of perak, and most of the mixed (semang-sakai) tribes." i am informed by mr. vincent that, as far as he knows, the kadir combs are not looked on as charms, and the markings thereon have no mystic significance. a kadir man should always make a comb, and present it to his wife just before marriage or at the conclusion of the marriage ceremony, and the young men vie with each other as to who can make the nicest comb. sometimes they represent strange articles on the combs. mr. vincent has, for example, seen a comb with a very good imitation of the face of a clock scratched on it. in discussing the racial affinities of the sakais, skeat and blagden write [8] that "an alternative theory comes to us on the high authority of virchow, who puts it forward, however, in a somewhat tentative manner. it consists in regarding the sakai as an outlying branch of a racial group formed by the vedda (of ceylon), tamil, kurumba, and australian races.... of these the height is variable, but, in all four of the races compared, it is certainly greater than that of the negrito races. the skin colour, again, it is true, varies to a remarkable degree, but the general hair character appears to be uniformly long, black and wavy, and the skull-index, on the other hand, appears to indicate consistently a dolichocephalic or long-shaped head." speaking of the sakais, the same authorities state that "in evidence of their striking resemblance to the veddas, it is perhaps worth remarking that one of the brothers sarasin who had lived among the veddas and knew them very well, when shown a photograph of a typical sakai, at first supposed it to be a photograph of a vedda." for myself, when i first saw the photographs of sakais published by skeat and blagden, it was difficult to realise that i was not looking at pictures of kadirs, paniyans, kurumbas, or other jungle folk of southern india. it may be noted en passant, that emigration takes place at the present day from the southern parts of the madras presidency to the straits settlements. the following statement shows the number of passengers that proceeded thither during 1906:- madras- total. south arcot porto novo 2,555 cuddalore 583 pondicherry 55 tanjore negapatam 238 and nagore 45,453 karikal 3,422 "the name kling (or keling) is applied, in the malay countries, to the people of continental india who trade thither, or are settled in those regions, and to the descendants of settlers. the malay use of the word is, as a rule, restricted to tamils. the name is a form of kalinga, a very ancient name for the region known as the northern circars, i.e., the telugu coast of the bay of bengal." [9] it is recorded by dr. n. anandale that the phrase orang kling islam (i.e., a muhammadan from the madras coast) occurs in patani malay. he further informs us [10] that among the labbai muhammadans of the madura coast, there are "certain men who make a livelihood by shooting pigeons with blow-guns. according to my labbai informants, the 'guns' are purchased by them in singapore from bugis traders. there is still a considerable trade, although diminished, between kilakarai and the ports of burma and the straits settlements. it is carried on entirely by muhammadans in native sailing vessels, and a large proportion of the musalmans of kilakarai have visited penang and singapore. it is not difficult to find among them men who can speak straits malay. the local name for the blow-gun is senguttan, and is derived in popular etymology from the tamil sen (above) and kutu (to stab). i have little doubt that it is really a corruption of the malay name of the weapon sumpitan." on the evidence of the very close affinities between the plants and animals in africa and india at a very remote period, mr. r. d. oldham concludes that there was once a continuous stretch of dry land connecting south africa and india. "in some deposits," he writes, [11] "found resting upon the karoo beds on the coast of natal, 22 out of 35 species of mollusca and echinodermata collected and specifically identified, are identical with forms found in the cretaceous beds of southern india, the majority being trichinopoly species. from the cretaceous rocks of madagascar, six species of cretaceous fossils were examined by mr. r. b. newton in 1899, of which three are also found in the ariyalur group (southern india). the south african beds are clearly coast or shallow water deposits, like those of india. the great similarity of forms certainly suggests continuity of coast line between the two regions, and thus supports the view that the land connection between south africa and india, already shown to have existed in both the lower and upper gondwána periods, was continued into cretaceous times." by huxley [12] the races of mankind are divided into two primary divisions, the ulotrichi with crisp or woolly hair (negros; negritos), and the leiotrichi with smooth hair; and the dravidians are included in the australoid group of the leiotrichi "with dark skin, hair and eyes, wavy black hair, and eminently long, prognathous skulls, with well-developed brow ridges, who are found in australia and in the deccan." there is, in the collection of the royal college of surgeons' museum, an exceedingly interesting "hindu" skull from southern india, conspicuously dolichocephalic, and with highly developed superciliary ridges. some of the recorded measurements of this skull are as follows:- length 19.6 cm. breadth 13.2 cm. cephalic index 67.3 nasal height 4.8 cm. nasal breadth 2.5 cm. nasal index 52.1 cm. another "hindu" skull, in the collection of the madras museum, with similar marked development of the superciliary ridges, has the following measurements:- length 18.4 cm. breadth 13.8 cm. cephalic index 75 nasal height 4.9 cm. nasal breadth 2.1 cm. nasal index 42.8 i am unable to subscribe to the prognathism of the dravidian tribes of southern india, or of the jungle people, though aberrant examples thereof are contained in the collection of skulls at the madras museum, e.g., the skull of a tamil man (caste unknown) who died a few years ago in madras (pl. i-a). the average facial angle of various castes and tribes which i have examined ranged between 67° and 70°, and the inhabitants of southern india may be classified as orthognathous. some of the large earthenware urns excavated by mr. a. rea, of the archæological department, at the "prehistoric" burial site at aditanallur in the tinnevelly district, [13] contained human bones, and skulls in a more or less perfect condition. two of these skulls, preserved at the madras museum, are conspicuously prognathous (pl. i-b). concerning this burial site m. l. lapieque writes as follows. [14] "j'ai rapporté un specimen des urnes funéraires, avec une collection assez complète du mobilier funéraire. j'ai rapporté aussi un crâne en assez bon état, et parfaitement déterminable. il est hyperdolichocéphale, et s'accorde avec la série que le service d'archéologie de madras a déja réunie. je pense que la race d'adichanallour appartient aux proto-dravidiens." the measurements of six of the most perfect skulls from aditanallur in the madras museum collection give the following results:- cephalic cephalic cephalic length, breadth, index. cm. cm. 18.8 12.4 66. 19.1 12.7 66.5 18.3 12.4 67.8 18. 12.2 67.8 18. 12.8 77.1 16.8 13.1 78. the following extracts from my notes show that the hyperdolichocephalic type survives in the dolichocephalic inhabitants of the tamil country at the present day:- class number cephalic index below 70. examined. palli 40 64.4; 66.9; 67; 68.2; 68.9; 69.6. paraiyan 40 64.8; 69.2; 69.3; 69.5. vellala 40 67.9; 69.6. by flower and lydekker, [15] a white division of man, called the caucasian or eurafrican, is made to include huxley's xanthochroi (blonde type) and melanochroi (black hair and eyes, and skin of almost all shades from white to black). the melanochroi are said to "comprise the greater majority of the inhabitants of southern europe, north africa, and south-west asia, and consist mainly of the aryan, semitic, and hamitic families. the dravidians of india, the veddahs of ceylon, and probably the ainus of japan, and the maoutze of china, also belong to this race, which may have contributed something to the mixed character of some tribes of indo-china and the polynesian islands, and have given at least the characters of the hair to the otherwise negroid inhabitants of australia. in southern india they are largely mixed with a negrito element, and, in africa, where their habitat becomes coterminous with that of the negroes, numerous cross-races have sprung up between them all along the frontier line." in describing the "hindu type," topinard [16] divides the population of the indian peninsula into three strata, viz., the black, mongolian, and the aryan. "the remnants of the first," he says, "are at the present time shut up in the mountains of central india under the name of bhils, mahairs, ghonds, and khonds; and in the south under that of yenadis, kurumbas, etc. its primitive characters, apart from its black colour and low stature, are difficult to discover, but it is to be noticed that travellers do not speak of woolly hair in india. [17] the second has spread over the plateaux of central india by two lines of way, one to the north-east, the other to the north-west. the remnants of the first invasion are seen in the dravidian or tamil tribes, and those of the second in the jhats. the third more recent, and more important as to quality than as to number, was the aryan." in speaking further of the australian type, characterised by a combination of smooth hair with negroid features, topinard states that "it is clear that the australians might very well be the result of the cross between one race with smooth hair from some other place, and a really negro and autochthonous race. the opinions held by huxley are in harmony with this hypothesis. he says the australians are identical with the ancient inhabitants of the deccan. the features of the present blacks in india, and the characters which the dravidian and australian languages have in common, tend to assimilate them. the existence of the boomerang in the two countries, and some remnants of caste in australia, help to support the opinion." of the so-called boomerangs of southern india, the madras museum possesses three (two ivory, one wooden) from the tanjore armoury (pl. ii). concerning them, the dewan of pudukkottai writes to me as follows. "the valari or valai tadi (bent stick) is a short weapon, generally made of some hard-grained wood. it is also sometimes made of iron. it is crescent-shaped, one end being heavier than the other, and the outer end is sharpened. men trained in the use of the weapon hold it by the lighter end, whirl it a few times over their shoulders to give it impetus, and then hurl it with great force against the object aimed at. it is said that there were experts in the art of throwing the valari, who could at one stroke despatch small game, and even man. no such experts are now forthcoming in the pudukkottai state, though the instrument is reported to be occasionally used in hunting hares, jungle fowl, etc. its days, however, must be counted as past. tradition states that the instrument played a considerable part in the poligar wars of the last century. but it now reposes peacefully in the households of the descendants of the rude kallan and maravan warriors, preserved as a sacred relic of a chivalric past, along with other old family weapons in their puja (worship) room, brought out and scraped and cleaned on occasions like the ayudha puja day (when worship is paid to weapons and implements of industry), and restored to its place of rest immediately afterwards." at a kallan marriage, the bride and bridegroom go to the house of the latter, where boomerangs are exchanged, and a feast is held. this custom appears to be fast becoming a tradition. but there is a common saying still current "send the valai tadi, and bring the bride." [18] it is pointed out by topinard, [19] as a somewhat important piece of evidence, that, in the west, about madagascar and the point of aden in africa, there are black tribes with smooth hair, or, at all events, large numbers of individuals who have it, mingled particularly among the somalis and the gallas, in the region where m. broca has an idea that some dark, and not negro, race, now extinct, once existed. at the meeting of the british association, 1898, mr. w. crooke gave expression to the view that the dravidians represent an emigration from the african continent, and discounted the theory that the aryans drove the aboriginal inhabitants into the jungles with the suggestion that the aryan invasion was more social than racial, viz., that what india borrowed from the aryans was manners and customs. according to this view, it must have been reforming aborigines who gained the ascendancy in india, rather than new-comers; and those of the aborigines who clung to their old ways got left behind in the struggle for existence. in an article devoted to the australians, professor r. semon writes as follows. "we must, without hesitation, presume that the ancestors of the australians stood, at the time of their immigration to the continent, on a lower rung of culture than their living representatives of to-day. whence, and in what manner, the immigration took place, it is difficult to determine. in the neighbouring quarter of the globe there lives no race, which is closely related to the australians. their nearest neighbours, the papuans of new guinea, the malays of the sunda islands, and the macris of new zealand, stand in no close relationship to them. on the other hand, we find further away, among the dravidian aborigines of india, types which remind us forcibly of the australians in their anthropological characters. in drawing attention to the resemblance of the hill-tribes of the deccan to the australians, huxley says: 'an ordinary cooly, such as one can see among the sailors of any newly-arrived east india vessel, would, if stripped, pass very well for an australian, although the skull and lower jaw are generally less coarse.' huxley here goes a little too far in his accentuation of the similarity of type. we are, however, undoubtedly confronted with a number of characters--skull formation, features, wavy curled hair--in common between the australians and dravidians, which gain in importance from the fact that, by the researches of norris, bleek, and caldwell, a number of points of resemblance between the australian and dravidian languages have been discovered, and this despite the fact that the homes of the two races are so far apart, and that a number of races are wedged in between them, whose languages have no relationship whatever to either the dravidian or australian. there is much that speaks in favour of the view that the australians and dravidians sprang from a common main branch of the human race. according to the laborious researches of paul and fritz sarasin, the veddas of ceylon, whom one might call pre-dravidians, would represent an off-shoot from this main stem. when they branched off, they stood on a very low rung of development, and seem to have made hardly any progress worth mentioning." in dealing with the australian problem, mr. a. h. keane [20] refers to the time when australia formed almost continuous land with the african continent, and to its accessibility on the north and north-west to primitive migration both from india and papuasia. "that such migrations," he writes, "took place, scarcely admits of a doubt, and the rev. john mathew [21] concludes that the continent was first occupied by a homogeneous branch of the papuan race either from new guinea or malaysia, and that these first arrivals, to be regarded as true aborigines, passed into tasmania, which at that time probably formed continuous land with australia. thus the now extinct tasmanians would represent the primitive type, which, in australia, became modified, but not effaced, by crossing with later immigrants, chiefly from india. these are identified, as they have been by other ethnologists, with the dravidians, and the writer remarks that 'although the australians are still in a state of savagery, and the dravidians of india have been for many ages a people civilized in a great measure, and possessed of literature, the two peoples are affiliated by deeply-marked characteristics in their social system as shown by the boomerang, which, unless locally evolved, must have been introduced from india.' but the variations in the physical characters of the natives appear to be too great to be accounted for by a single graft; hence malays also are introduced from the eastern archipelago, which would explain both the straight hair in many districts, and a number of pure malay words in several of the native languages." dealing later with the ethnical relations of the dravidas, mr. keane says that "although they preceded the aryan-speaking hindus, they are not the true aborigines of the deccan, for they were themselves preceded by dark peoples, probably of aberrant negrite type." in the 'manual of administration of the madras presidency,' dr. c. macleane writes as follows. "the history proper of the south of india may be held to begin with the hindu dynasties formed by a more or less intimate admixture of the aryan and dravidian systems of government. but, prior to that, three stages of historical knowledge are recognisable; first, as to such aboriginal period as there may have been prior to the dravidian; secondly, as to the period when the aryans had begun to impose their religion and customs upon the dravidians, but the time indicated by the early dynasties had not yet been reached. geology and natural history alike make it certain that, at a time within the bounds of human knowledge, southern india did not form part of asia. a large southern continent, of which this country once formed part, has ever been assumed as necessary to account for the different circumstances. the sanscrit pooranic writers, the ceylon boodhists, and the local traditions of the west coast, all indicate a great disturbance of the point of the peninsula and ceylon within recent times. [22] investigations in relation to race show it to be by no means impossible that southern india was once the passage-ground, by which the ancient progenitors of northern and mediterranean races proceeded to the parts of the globe which they now inhabit. in this part of the world, as in others, antiquarian remains show the existence of peoples who used successively implements of unwrought stone, of wrought stone, and of metal fashioned in the most primitive manner. [23] these tribes have also left cairns and stone circles indicating burial places. it has been usual to set these down as earlier than dravidian. but the hill coorumbar of the palmanair plateau, who are only a detached portion of the oldest known tamulian population, erect dolmens to this day. the sepulchral urns of tinnevelly may be earlier than dravidian, or they may be dravidian.... the evidence of the grammatical structure of language is to be relied on as a clearly distinctive mark of a population, but, from this point of view, it appears that there are more signs of the great lapse of time than of previous populations. the grammar of the south of india is exclusively dravidian, and bears no trace of ever having been anything else. the hill, forest, and pariah tribes use the dravidian forms of grammar and inflection.... the dravidians, a very primeval race, take a by no means low place in the conjectural history of humanity. they have affinities with the australian aborigines, which would probably connect their earliest origin with that people." adopting a novel classification, dr. macleane, in assuming that there are no living representatives in southern india of any race of a wholly pre-dravidian character, sub-divides the dravidians into pre-tamulian and tamulian, to designate two branches of the same family, one older or less civilised than the other. the importance, which has been attached by many authorities to the theory of the connection between the dravidians and australians, is made very clear from the passages in their writings, which i have quoted. before leaving this subject, i may appropriately cite as an important witness sir william turner, who has studied the dravidians and australians from the standpoint of craniology. [24] "many ethnologists of great eminence," he writes, "have regarded the aborigines of australia as closely associated with the dravidians of india. some also consider the dravidians to be a branch of the great caucasian stock, and affiliated therefore to europeans. if these two hypotheses are to be regarded as sound, a relationship between the aboriginal australians and the european would be established through the dravidian people of india. the affinities between the dravidians and australians have been based upon the employment of certain words by both people, apparently derived from common roots; by the use of the boomerang, similar to the well-known australian weapon, by some dravidian tribes; by the indian peninsula having possibly had in a previous geologic epoch a land connection with the austro-malayan archipelago, and by certain correspondences in the physical type of the two people. both dravidians and australians have dark skins approximating to black; dark eyes; black hair, either straight, wavy or curly, but not woolly or frizzly; thick lips; low nose with wide nostrils; usually short stature, though the australians are somewhat taller than the dravidians. when the skulls are compared with each other, whilst they correspond in some particulars, they differ in others. in both races, the general form and proportions are dolichocephalic, but in the australians the crania are absolutely longer than in the dravidians, owing in part to the prominence of the glabella. the australian skull is heavier, and the outer table is coarser and rougher than in the dravidian; the forehead also is much more receding; the sagittal region is frequently ridged, and the slope outwards to the parietal eminence is steeper. the australians in the norma facialis have the glabella and supra-orbital ridges much more projecting; the nasion more depressed; the jaws heavier; the upper jaw usually prognathous, sometimes remarkably so." of twelve dravidian skulls measured by sir william turner, in seven the jaw was orthognathous, in four, in the lower term of the mesognathous series; one specimen only was prognathic. the customary type of jaw, therefore, was orthognathic. [25] the conclusion at which sir william turner arrives is that "by a careful comparison of australian and dravidian crania, there ought not to be much difficulty in distinguishing one from the other. the comparative study of the characters of the two series of crania has not led me to the conclusion that they can be adduced in support of the theory of the unity of the two people." the dravidians of southern india are divided by sir herbert risley [26] into two main groups, the scytho-dravidian and the dravidian, which he sums up as follows:-"the scytho-dravidian type of western india, comprising the maratha braahmans, the kunbis and the coorgs; probably formed by a mixture of scythian and dravidian elements, the former predominating in the higher groups, the latter in the lower. the head is broad; complexion fair; hair on face rather scanty; stature medium; nose moderately fine, and not conspicuously long. "the dravidian type extending from ceylon to the valley of the ganges, and pervading the whole of madras, hyderabad, the central provinces, most of central india, and chutia nagpur. its most characteristic representatives are the paniyans of the south indian hills and the santals of chutia nagpur. probably the original type of the population of india, now modified to a varying extent by the admixture of aryan, scythian, and mongoloid elements. in typical specimens, the stature is short or below mean; the complexion very dark, approaching black; hair plentiful with an occasional tendency to curl; eyes dark; head long; nose very broad, sometimes depressed at the root, but not so as to make the face appear flat." it is, it will be noted, observed by risley that the head of the scytho-dravidian is broad, and that of the dravidian long. writing some years ago concerning the dravidian head with reference to a statement in taylor's "origin of the aryans," [27] that "the todas are fully dolichocephalic, differing in this respect from the dravidians, who are brachycephalic," i published [28] certain statistics based on the measurements of a number of subjects in the southern districts of the madras presidency. these figures showed that "the average cephalic index of 639 members of 19 different castes and tribes was 74.1; and that, in only 19 out of the 639 individuals, did the index exceed 80. so far then from the dravidian being separated from the todas by reason of their higher cephalic index, this index is, in the todas, actually higher than in some of the dravidian peoples." accustomed as i was, in my wanderings among the tamil and malayalam folk, to deal with heads in which the dolichocephalic or sub-dolichocephalic type preponderates, i was amazed to find, in the course of an expedition in the bellary district (in the canarese area), that the question of the type of the dravidian head was not nearly so simple and straightforward as i had imagined. my records of head measurements now include a very large series taken in the plains in the tulu, canarese, telugu, malayalam, and tamil areas, and the measurements of a few maratha (non-dravidian) classes settled in the canarese country. in the following tabular statement, i have brought together, for the purpose of comparison, the records of the head-measurements of representative classes in each of these areas:-======================================================================== | |number | cephalic index |number | |of |=========================|of times class | language |subjects|average|maximum,|minimum,|index | |examined| | cm. | cm. |was 80 | | | | | |or above ==============+=============+========+=======+========+========+======== sukun sale | marathi | 30 | 82.2 | 90.0 | 73.9 | 21 suka sale | do. | 30 | 81.8 | 88.2 | 76.1 | 22 vakkaliga | canarese | 50 | 81.7 | 93.8 | 72.5 | 27 billava | tulu | 50 | 80.1 | 91.5 | 71.0 | 27 rangari | marathi | 30 | 79.8 | 92.2 | 70.7 | 14 agasa | canarese | 40 | 78.5 | 85.7 | 73.2 | 13 bant | tulu | 40 | 78.0 | 91.2 | 70.8 | 12 kapu | telugu | 49 | 78.0 | 87.6 | 71.6 | 16 tota balija | do. | 39 | 78.0 | 86.0 | 73.3 | 10 boya | do. | 50 | 77.9 | 89.2 | 70.5 | 14 dasa banajiga | canarese | 40 | 77.8 | 86.2 | 72.0 | 11 ganiga | do. | 50 | 77.6 | 85.9 | 70.5 | 11 golla | telugu | 60 | 77.5 | 89.3 | 70.1 | 9 kuruba | canarese | 50 | 77.3 | 83.9 | 69.6 | 10 bestha | telugu | 60 | 77.1 | 85.1 | 70.5 | 9 pallan | tamil | 50 | 75.9 | 87.0 | 70.1 | 6 mukkuvan | malayalam | 40 | 75.1 | 83.5 | 68.6 | 2 nayar | do. | 40 | 74.4 | 81.9 | 70.0 | 1 vellala | tamil | 40 | 74.1 | 81.1 | 67.9 | 2 agamudaiyan | do. | 40 | 74.0 | 80.9 | 66.7 | 1 paraiyan | do. | 40 | 73.6 | 78.3 | 64.8 | palli | do. | 40 | 73.0 | 80.0 | 64.4 | 1 tiyan | malayalam | 40 | 73.0 | 78.9 | 68.6 | ======================================================================== the difference in the character of the cranium is further brought out by the following tables, in which the details of the cephalic indices of typical classes in the five linguistic areas under consideration are recorded:-(a) tulu. billava. 71 ** 72 ** 73 * 74 75 76 *** 77 ***** 78 ****** 79 ** 80 ** average. 81 *** 82 ***** 83 ******** 84 **** 85 **** 86 * 87 88 89 90 * 91 * (b) canarese. vakkaliga. 73 * 74 75 ** 76 ***** 77 ** 78 ***** 79 ******* 80 ** 81 *** 82 *** average. 83 *** 84 ** 85 *** 86 *** 87 ** 88 ** 89 * 90 91 * 92 * 93 * 94 * (c) telugu. kapu. 72 * 73 ******* 74 ** 75 ** 76 ******* 77 ****** 78 * average. 79 **** 80 **** 81 ******* 82 ** 83 *** 84 * 85 * 86 87 88 * (d) vellala. tamil. 68 * 69 70 * 71 *** 72 ********** 73 ******* 74 ** average. 75 ****** 76 *** 77 **** 78 79 80 ** 81 * (e) malayalam. nayar. 70 ** 71 ***** 72 ***** 73 ****** 74 * average. 75 ****** 76 **** 77 **** 78 *** 79 ** 80 81 82 * these tables not only bring out the difference in the cephalic index of the classes selected as representative of the different areas, but further show that there is a greater constancy in the tamil and malayalam classes than in the tulus, canarese and telugus. the number of individuals clustering round the average is conspicuously greater in the two former than in the three latter. i am not prepared to hazard any new theory to account for the marked difference in the type of cranium in the various areas under consideration, and must content myself with the observation that, whatever may have been the influence which has brought about the existing sub-brachycephalic or mesaticephalic type in the northern areas, this influence has not extended southward into the tamil and malayalam countries, where dravidian man remains dolichoor sub-dolichocephalic. as an excellent example of constancy of type in the cephalic index, i may cite, en passant, the following results of measurement of the todas, who inhabit the plateau of the nilgiri hills:-69 ** 70 ******* 71 *********** 72 ******* 73 ************** average. 74 ********************* 75 ********* 76 ****** 77 * 78 * 79 * 80 81 * i pass on to the consideration of the type of cranium among various brahman classes. in the following tables, the results of measurement of representatives of tulu, canarese, marathi, tamil and malayalam brahmans are recorded:-============================================================================= | |number | cephalic index |number | |of |==========================|of times class | language |subjects| | | |index | |examined|average.|maximum.|minimum.|was 80 | | | | | |or above ===============+================+========+========+========+========+======== shivalli | tulu | 30 | 80.4 | 96.4 | 69.4 | 17 mandya | canarese | 50 | 80.2 | 88.2 | 69.8 | 31 karnataka | do. | 60 | 78.4 | 89.5 | 69.8 | 19 smarta | | | | | | (desastha) | marathi [29] | 43 | 76.9 | 87.1 | 71 | 9 tamil | | | | | | (madras city)| tamil | 40 | 76.5 | 84 | 69 | 3 nambutiri | malayalam [30] | | 76.3 | | | pattar | tamil [31] | 25 | 74.5 | 81.4 | 69.1 | 2 ============================================================================= (a) tulu. shivalli. 69 * 70 71 72 * 73 * 74 75 76 **** 77 78 *** 79 *** 80 ** average. 81 *** 82 **** 83 ** 84 ** 85 86 * 87 88 * 89 * 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 * (b) canarese. karnataka smarta. 70 * 71 ** 72 ** 73 ** 74 ****** 75 *** 76 **** 77 ***** 78 ********** average. 79 ** 80 ***** 81 **** 82 **** 83 ** 84 ** 85 * 86 * 87 * 88 ** 89 * (c) tamil. madras city. 69 * 70 ** 71 * 72 * 73 ** 74 *** 75 **** 76 **** average. 77 ****** 78 ***** 79 ***** 80 ** 81 82 ** 83 * 84 * (d) tamil. pattar. 69 ** 70 * 71 *** 72 ** 73 *** 74 average. 75 **** 76 ***** 77 78 * 79 ** 80 * 81 * taking the evidence of the figures, they demonstrate that, like the other classes which have been analysed, the brahmans have a higher cephalic index, with a wider range, in the northern than in the southern area. there is a tradition that the shivalli brahmans of the tulu country came from ahikshetra. as only males migrated from their home, they were compelled to take women from non-brahman castes as wives. the ranks are said to have been swelled by conversions from these castes during the time of sri madhvacharya. the shivalli brahmans are said to be referred to by the bants as mathumaglu or mathmalu (bride) in allusion to the fact of their wives being taken from the bant caste. besides the shivallis, there are other tulu brahmans, who are said to be recent converts. the matti brahmans were formerly considered low by the shivallis, and were not allowed to sit in the same line with the shivallis at meal time. they were only permitted to sit in a cross line, separated from the shivallis, though in the same room. this was because the matti brahmans were supposed to be mogers (fishing caste) raised to brahmanism by one vathiraja swami, a sanyasi. having become brahmans, they could not carry on their hereditary occupation, and, to enable them to earn a livelihood, the sanyasi gave them some brinjal (solanum melongena) seeds, and advised them to cultivate the plant. from this fact, the variety of brinjal, which is cultivated at matti, is called vathiraja gulla. at the present day, the matti brahmans are on a par with the shivalli brahmans, and have become disciples of the sodhe mutt (religious institution) at udipi. in some of the popular accounts of brahmans, which have been reduced to writing, it is stated that, during the time of mayura varma of the kadamba dynasty, [32] some andhra brahmans were brought into south canara. as a sufficient number of brahmans were not available for the purpose of yagams (sacrifices), these andhra brahmans selected a number of families from the non-brahman caste, made them brahmans, and chose exogamous sept names for them. of these names, manoli (cephalandra indica), perala (psidium guyava), kudire (horse), and ane (elephant) are examples. a character, with which i am very familiar, when measuring the heads of all sorts and conditions of natives of southern india, is the absence of convexity of the segment formed by the posterior portion of the united parietal bones. the result of this absence of convexity is that the back of the head, instead of forming a curve gradually increasing from the top of the head towards the occipital region, as in the european skull figured in plate iiia, forms a flattened area of considerable length almost at right angles to the base of the skull as in the "hindu" skull represented in plate iiib. this character is shown in a marked degree in plate iv, which represents a prosperous linga banajiga in the canarese country. in discussing racial admixture, quatrefages writes as follows. [33] "parfois on trouve encore quelques tribus qui ont conservé plus on moins intacts tous les caractères de leur race. les coorumbas du malwar [malabar] et du coorg paraissent former un noyau plus considérable encore, et avoir conservé dans les jungles de wynaad une indépendence à peu près complète, et tous leurs caractères ethnologiques." the purity of blood and ethnological characters of various jungle tribes are unhappily becoming lost as the result of contact metamorphosis from the opening up of the jungles for planter's estates, and contact with more civilised tribes and races, both brown and white. in illustration, i may cite the kanikars of travancore, who till recently were in the habit of sending all their women into the seclusion of the jungle on the arrival of a stranger near their settlements. this is now seldom done, and some kanikars have in modern times settled in the vicinity of towns, and become domesticated. the primitive short, dark-skinned and platyrhine type, though surviving, has become changed, and many leptorhine or mesorhine individuals above middle height are to be met with. the following are the results of measurements of kanikars in the jungle, and at a village some miles from trivandrum, the capital of travancore:- =========================================================== | stature cm. | nasal index. ==============+=======================+==================== | av. | max. | min. | av. | max. | min. jungle | 155.2 | 170.3 | 150.2 | 84.6 | 105 | 72.3 domesticated | 158.7 | 170.4 | 148 | 81.2 | 90.5 | 70.8 =========================================================== some jungle chenchus, who inhabit the nallamalai hills in the kurnool district, still exhibit the primitive short stature and high nasal index, which are characteristic of the unadulterated jungle tribes. but there is a very conspicuous want of uniformity in their physical characters, and many individuals are to be met with, above middle height, or tall, with long narrow noses. a case is recorded, in which a brick-maker married a chenchu girl. and i was told of a boya man who had married into the tribe, and was living in a gudem (chenchu settlement). ========================================================= | stature cm. | nasal index. ==============+=====================+==================== | av. | max.| min. | av. | max. |min. | 162.5 | 175 | 149.6 | 81.9 | 95.7 | 68.1 ========================================================= by the dolichocephalic type of cranium which has persisted, and which the chenchus possess in common with various other jungle tribes, they are still, as shown by the following table, at once differentiated from the mesaticephalic dwellers in the plains near the foot of the nallamalais:- ================================================ | | number of | cephalic| times the | index. | index was | | 80 or over. ========================+=========+============= 40 chenchus | 74.3 | 1 60 gollas | 77.5 | 9 50 boyas | 77.9 | 14 39 tota balijas | 78.0 | 10 49 kapus | 78.8 | 16 19 upparas | 78.8 | 4 16 mangalas | 78.8 | 7 17 verukalas | 78.6 | 6 12 medaras | 80.7 | 8 ================================================ in a note on the jungle tribes, m. louis lapicque, [34] who carried out anthropometric observations in southern india a few years ago, writes as follows. "dans les montagnes des nilghirris et d'anémalé, situées au coeur de la contrée dravidienne, on a signalé depuis longtemps des petits sauvages crépus, qu'on a même pensé pouvoir, sur des documents insuffisants, identifier avec les negritos. en réalité, it n'existe pas dans ces montagnes, ni probablement nulle part dans l'inde, un témoin de la race primitive comparable, comme pureté, aux andamanais ni même aux autres negritos. ce que l'on trouve là, c'est simplement, mais c'est fort précieux, une population métisse qui continue au delà du paria la série générale de l'inde. au bord de la forêt vierge ou dans les collines partiellement défrichées, il y a des castes demi-parias, demi-sauvages. la hiérachie sociale les classe au-dessous du paria: on peut même trouver des groupes ou le facies nègre, nettement dessiné, est tout à fait prédominant. ehbien, dans ces groupes, les chevelures sont en général frisées, et on en observe quelques-unes qu'on peut même appeler crépues. on a donc le moyen de prolonger par l'imagination la série des castes indiennes jusq'au type primitif qui était (nous n'avons plus qu'un pas à faire pour le reconstruire), un nègre.... nous sommes arrives à reconstituer les traits nègres d'un type disparu en prolongeant une série graduée de métis. par la même méthode nous pouvons déterminer théoriquement la forme du crâne de ce type. avec une assez grande certitude, je crois pouvoir affirmer, après de nombreuses mesures systématiques, que le nègre primitif de l'inde était sousdolichocéphale avec un indice voisin de 75 ou 76. sa taille, plus difficile à préciser, car les conditions de vie modifient ce caractère, devait être petite, plus haute pourtant que celle des andamanais. quant au nom qu'il convient de lui attribuer, la discussion des faits sociaux et linguistiques sur lesquels est fondée la notion de dravidien permet d'établir que ce nègre était antérieur aux dravidiens; il faut done l'appeller prédravidien, ou, si nous voulons lui donner un nom qui ne soit pas relatif à une autre population, on peut l'appeler nègre paria." in support of m. lapicque's statement that the primitive inhabitant was dolichocephalic or sub-dolichocephalic, i may produce the evidence of the cephalic indices of the various jungle tribes which i have examined in the tamil, malayalam, and telugu countries:- =================================================== | cephalic index. |==========+==========+========== | average. | maximum. | minimum. ==================+==========+==========+========== kadir | 72.9 | 80.0 | 69.1 irula, chingleput | 73.1 | 78.6 | 68.4 kanikar | 73.4 | 78.9 | 69.1 mala vedan | 73.4 | 80.9 | 68.8 panaiyan | 74.0 | 81.1 | 69.4 chenchu | 74.3 | 80.5 | 64.3 sholaga | 74.9 | 79.3 | 67.8 paliyan | 75.7 | 79.1 | 72.9 irula, nilgiris | 75.8 | 80.9 | 70.8 kurumba | 76.5 | 83.3 | 71.8 =================================================== it is worthy of note that haeckel defines the nose of the dravidian as a prominent and narrow organ. for risley has laid down [35] that, in the dravidian type, the nose is thick and broad, and the formula expressing the proportionate dimension (nasal index) is higher than in any known race, except the negro; and that the typical dravidian, as represented by the male paharia, has a nose as broad in proportion to its length as the negro, while this feature in the aryan group can fairly bear comparison with the noses of sixty-eight parisians, measured by topinard, which gave an average of 69.4. in this connection, i may record the statistics relating to the nasal indices of various south indian jungle tribes:- ==================================================== | nasal index. |================================ | average. | maximum. | minimum. ===================+==========+==========+========== paniyan | 95.1 | 108.6 | 72.9 kadir | 89.8 | 115.4 | 72.9 kurumba | 86.1 | 111.1 | 70.8 sholaga | 85.1 | 107.7 | 72.8 mala vedan | 84.9 | 102.6 | 71.1 irula, nilgiris | 84.9 | 100. | 72.3 kanikar | 84.6 | 105. | 72.3 chenchu | 81.9 | 95.7 | 68.1 ==================================================== in the following table, i have brought together, for the purpose of comparison, the average stature and nasal index of various dravidian classes inhabiting the plains of the telugu, tamil, canarese, and malayalam countries, and jungle tribes:- ====================================================== | | nasal | |linguistic area.| index.| stature. ===================+================+=======+========= paniyan | jungle tribe | 95.1 | 157.4 kadir | do. | 89.8 | 157.7 kurumba | do. | 86.1 | 157.9 sholaga | do. | 85.1 | 159.3 irula, nilgiris | do. | 84.9 | 159.8 mala vedan | do. | 84.9 | 154.2 kanikar | do. | 84.6 | 155.2 chenchu | do. | 81.9 | 162.5 pallan | tamil | 81.5 | 164.3 mukkuvan | malayalam | 81. | 163.1 paraiyan | tamil | 80. | 163.1 palli | do. | 77.9 | 162.5 ganiga | canarese | 76.1 | 165.8 bestha | telugu | 75.9 | 165.7 tiyan | malayalam | 75. | 163.7 kuruba | canarese | 74.9 | 162.7 boya | telugu | 74.4 | 163.9 tota balija | do. | 74.4 | 163.9 agasa | canarese | 74.3 | 162.4 agamudaiyan | tamil | 74.2 | 165.8 golla | telugu | 74.1 | 163.8 vellala | tamil | 73.1 | 162.4 vakkaliga | canarese | 73. | 167.2 dasa banajiga | do. | 72.8 | 165.3 kapu | telugu | 72.8 | 164.5 nayar | malayalam | 71.1 | 165.2 ====================================================== this table demonstrates very clearly an unbroken series ranging from the jungle men, short of stature and platyrhine, to the leptorhine nayars and other classes. in plate v are figured a series of triangles representing (natural size) the maxima, minima, and average nasal indices of brahmans of madras city (belonging to the poorer classes), tamil paraiyans, and paniyans. there is obviously far less connection between the brahman minimum and the paraiyan maximum than between the brahman and paraiyan maxima and the paniyan average; and the frequent occurrence of high nasal indices, resulting from short, broad noses, in many classes has to be accounted for. sir alfred lyall somewhere refers to the gradual brahmanising of the aboriginal non-arayan, or casteless tribes. "they pass," he writes, "into brahmanists by a natural upward transition, which leads them to adopt the religion of the castes immediately above them in the social scale of the composite population, among which they settle down; and we may reasonably guess that this process has been working for centuries." in the madras census report, 1891, mr. h. a. stuart states that "it has often been asserted, and is now the general belief, that the brahmans of the south are not pure aryans, but are a mixed aryan and dravidian race. in the earliest times, the caste division was much less rigid than now, and a person of another caste could become a brahman by attaining the brahmanical standard of knowledge, and assuming brahmanical functions; and, when we see the nambudiri brahmans, even at the present day, contracting alliances, informal though they be, with the women of the country, it is not difficult to believe that, on their first arrival, such unions were even more common, and that the children born of them would be recognised as brahmans, though perhaps regarded as an inferior class. however, those brahmans, in whose veins mixed blood is supposed to run, are even to this day regarded as lower in the social scale, and are not allowed to mix freely with the pure brahman community." popular traditions allude to wholesale conversions of non-brahmans into brahmans. according to such traditions, rajas used to feed very large numbers of brahmans (a lakh of brahmans) in expiation of some sin, or to gain religious merit. to make up this large number, non-brahmans are said to have been made brahmans at the bidding of the rajas. here and there are found a few sections of brahmans, whom the more orthodox brahmans do not recognise as such, though the ordinary members of the community regard them as an inferior class of brahmans. as an instance may be cited the marakas of the mysore province. though it is difficult to disprove the claim put forward by these people, some demur to their being regarded as brahmans. between a brahman of high culture, with fair complexion, and long, narrow nose on the one hand, and a less highly civilised brahman with dark skin and short broad nose on the other, there is a vast difference, which can only be reasonably explained on the assumption of racial admixture; and it is no insult to the higher members of the brahman community to trace, in their more lowly brethren, the result of crossing with a dark-skinned, and broad-nosed race of short stature. whether the jungle tribe are, as i believe, the microscopic remnant of a pre-dravidian people, or, as some hold, of dravidians driven by a conquering race to the seclusion of the jungles, it is to the lasting influence of some such broad-nosed ancestor that the high nasal index of many of the inhabitants of southern india must, it seems to me, be attributed. viewed in the light of this remark, the connection between the following mixed collection of individuals, all of very dark colour, short of stature, and with nasal index exceeding 90, calls for no explanation:- ======================================================== | stature. | nasal | nasal | nasal | |height. |breadth.| index. ==================+==========+========+========+======== | cm. | cm. | cm. | vakkaliga | 156 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 90.7 moger | 160 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 90.7 saiyad muhammadan | 160 | 4.4 | 4 | 90.9 kammalan | 154.4 | 4.4 | 4 | 90.9 chakkiliyan | 156.8 | 4.4 | 4 | 90.9 vellala | 154.8 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 91.6 malaiyali | 158.8 | 4 | 3.7 | 92.5 konga vellala | 157 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 92.7 pattar brahman | 157.6 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 92.9 odde | 159.6 | 4.3 | 4 | 93 smarta brahman | 159 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 95.1 palli | 157.8 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 95.1 pallan | 155.8 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 100 bestha | 156.8 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 100 mukkuvan | 150.8 | 4 | 4 | 100 agasa | 156.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 100 tamil paraiyan | 160 | 4 | 4.2 | 105 ======================================================== i pass on to a brief consideration of the languages of southern india. according to mr. g. a. grierson [36] "the dravidian family comprises all the principal languages of southern india. the name dravidian is a conventional one. it is derived from the sanskrit dravida, a word which is again probably derived from an older dramila, damila, and is identical with the name of tamil. the name dravidian is, accordingly, identical with tamulian, which name has formerly been used by european writers as a common designation of the languages in question. the word dravida forms part of the denomination andhra-dravida-bhasha, the language of the andhras (i.e., telugu), and dravidas (i.e., tamilians), which kumarila bhatta (probably 7th century a.d.) employed to denote the dravidian family. in india dravida has been used in more than one sense. thus the so-called five dravidas are telugu, kanarese, marathi, gujarati, and tamil. in europe, on the other hand, dravidian has long been the common denomination of the whole family of languages to which bishop caldwell applied it in his comparative grammar, and there is no reason for abandoning the name which the founder of dravidian philology applied to this group of speeches." the five principal languages are tamil, telugu, malayalam, canarese, and oriya. of these, oriya belongs to the eastern group of the indo-aryan family, and is spoken in ganjam, and a portion of the vizagapatam district. the population speaking each of these languages, as recorded at the census, 1901, was as follows:- tamil 15,543,383 telugu 14,315,304 malayalam 2,854,145 oriya 1,809,336 canarese 1,530,688 in the preparation of the following brief summary of the other vernacular languages and dialects, i have indented mainly on the linguistic survey of india, and the madras census report, 1901. savara.--the language of the savaras of ganjam and vizagapatam. one of the munda languages. concerning the munda, linguistic family, mr. grierson writes as follows. "the denomination munda (adopted by max müller) was not long allowed to stand unchallenged. sir george campbell in 1866 proposed to call the family kolarian. he was of opinion that kol had an older form kolar, which he thought to be identical with kanarese kallar, thieves. there is absolutely no foundation for this supposition. moreover, the name kolarian is objectionable, as seeming to suggest a connexion with aryan which does not exist. the principal home of the munda languages at the present day is the chota nagpur plateau. the munda race is much more widely spread than the munda languages. it has already been remarked that it is identical with the dravidian race, which forms the bulk of the population of southern india." gadaba.--spoken by the gadabas of vizagapatam and ganjam. one of the munda languages. kond, kandhi, or kui.--the language of the kondhs of ganjam and vizagapatam. gondi.--the language of the gonds, a tribe which belongs to the central provinces, but has overflowed into ganjam and vizagapatam. gattu.--a dialect of gondi, spoken by some of the gonds in vizagapatam. koya or koi.--a dialect of gondi, spoken by the koyis in the vizagapatam and godavari districts. poroja, parja, or parji.--a dialect of gondi. tulu.--the language largely spoken in south canara (the ancient tuluva). it is described by bishop caldwell as one of the most highly developed languages of the dravidian family. koraga.--spoken by the koragas of south canara. it is thought by mr. h. a. stuart [37] to be a dialect of tulu. bellera.--spoken by the belleras of south canara, and regarded as a dialect of canarese or tulu. toda.--the language of the todas of the nilgiri hills, concerning which dr. w. h. r. rivers writes as follows. [38] "bernhard schmid, [39] who wrote in 1837, appears to have known more of the true toda language than any one who has written since, and he ascribes two-thirds of the toda vocabulary to tamil, and was unable to trace the remaining third to any other language. caldwell [40] believed the language of the todas to be most closely allied to tamil. according to pope, [41] the language was originally old canarese with the addition of a few tamil forms, but he has included in his vocabulary words which have probably been borrowed from the badagas." kota.--a mixture of canarese and tamil spoken by the kotas of the nilgiri hills. badaga.--the language of the badagas of the nilgiri hills. said to be an ancient form of canarese. irula.--spoken by the irulas of the nilgiris, and said to be a dialect of tamil. according to mr. stuart, kasuba or kasuva is another dialect of tamil spoken by the sub-division of the irulas which bears the same name. kurumba.--spoken by the kurumbas of the nilgiri hills, malabar, and mysore, and regarded as a dialect of canarese. konkani.--a dialect of marathi, spoken almost entirely in the south canara district by sarasvat and konkani brahmans and roman catholic christians. marathi.--in the tanjore district, the descendants of the former maratha rajas of tanjore speak this language. it is also spoken in the bellary district, which was formerly under maratha dominion, by various maratha castes, and in the feudatory state of sandur. patnuli or khatri.--a dialect of gujarati, spoken by the patnulkarans who have settled for the most part in the town of madura. they are immigrants from saurashtra in gujarat, who are said to have come south at the invitation of the nayak kings of madura. lambadi.--the language of the nomad lambadis, brinjaris, or sugalis. it is described by mr. w. francis [42] as a patois "usually based on one of the local vernaculars, and embroidered and diversified with thieves' slang and expressions borrowed from the various localities in which the tribe has sojourned. cust thought that lambadi was semi-dravidian, but the point is not clear, and it has been classed as indo-aryan." korava or yerukala.--a dialect of tamil spoken by the nomad caste bearing these names. like the lambadis, they have a thieves' slang. vadari.--recorded as a vulgar telugu dialect spoken by a wandering tribe of quarrymen in the bombay presidency, the berars, and elsewhere. they are doubtless oddes or wudder navvies, who have migrated from their home in the telugu country. table a. ========================================================================== | | | length cm. | breadth cm. | index. |index |no.| caste or |==============+==============+==============|80 and | | tribe. | av.|max.|min.| av.|max.|min.| av.|max.|min.|over. ====+===+=============+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+====== | 40|badaga, | | | | | | | | | | | | nilgiris |18.9|20.2|18. |13.6|14.5|12.8|71.7|77.5|66.1| 0 m. | 18|kanikar |18.8|19.5|18.2|13.6|14.2|13. |72.5|76.1|68.1| 0 m. | 40|mappilla, | | | | | | | | | | | | muhammadan |18.9|20. |18. |13.7|14.6|13. |72.8|78.5|68. | 0 j. | 23|kadir |18.4|19.4|17.2|13.4|13.8|12.5|72.9|80. |69. | 1 m. | 40|tiyan |18.9|20.3|17.8|13.7|14.9|12.6|73. |80.3|68.5| 1 tam.|40 |palli |18.6|19.6|17.4|13.6|14.6|12.1|73. |80. |64.4| 1 tam.|40 |irula |18.5|19.6|17. |13.5|14.4|12.8|73.1|78.6|68.4| 0 |82 |toda, | | | | | | | | | | | | nilgiris |19.4|20.4|18.2|14.2|15.2|13.3|73.3|81.3|68.7| 1 j. |20 |kaanikar |18.5|19.4|17.8|13.6|14.2|13. |73.4|78.9|69.1| 0 tam.|29 |ambattan |18.6|19.2|18. |13.7|14.6|12.5|73.4|76.9|67.2| 0 j. |25 |mala vedan |18.5|19.6|17.4|13.6|14.6|13. |73.4|80.9|68.8| 1 tam.|40 |paraiyan |18.6|19.7|17. |13.7|14.5|13. |73.6|78.3|64.8| 0 m. |25 |cheruman |18.3|19.3|17.1|13.5|14.2|12.3|73.9|80.1|67.7| 1 m. |25 |paniyan |18.4|19.3|17.5|13.6|14.9|13. |74. |81.1|69.4| 1 tam.|40 |agamudaiyan |18.8|20. |17.8|13.9|14.6|12.8|74. |80.9|66.7| 1 |25 |kota, | | | | | | | | | | | | nilgiris |19.2|20.2|18.3|14.2|15.1|13.4|74.1|79.1|69.9| 0 tam.|40 |vellala |18.6|19.6|17.7|13.8|14.6|13.1|74.1|81.1|67.9| 2 tam.|20 |smarta | | | | | | | | | | | | brahman |18. |19.2|17.8|14. |14.8|13. |74.2|80.4|67.8| 1 tam.|50 |malaiyali |18.3|19.3|17. |13.6|14.4|12.8|74.3|82.8|61. | 2 j. |40 |chenchu |18.2|19.6|17.2|13.5|14.4|12.4|74.3|80.5|64.3| 1 m. |40 |nayar |18.7|19.8|17.4|13.9|15. |13.2|74.4|81.9|70.4| 1 tam.|25 |pattar | | | | | | | | | | | | brahman |18.8|20.3|17.2|14. |15.1|13.1|74.5|81.4|69.1| 2 tam.|23 |malasar |18.2|19.2|17.3|13.5|14.4|12.4|74.5|80. |70. | 1 j. |57 |urali |18.2|19.3|17.2|13.5|14.4|12.8|74.6|81.9|69.8| 1 tam.|50 |chakkiliyan |18.6|19.8|17.6|13.9|15.2|13. |74.9|80.9|70.4| 1 j. |20 |sholaga |18.2|19.4|17.2|13.6|14.6|12.2|74.9|79.3|67.8| 0 tel.|30 |madiga, | | | | | | | | | | | | adoni |18.6|20.2|17. |13.9|14.6|13. |75. |82.2|71.3| 2 tam.|40 |kammalan |18.4|19.7|17.3|13.7|14.7|13.1|75. |81.5|68.4| 5 m. |40 |mukkuvan |19. |20.4|17.6|14.2|15.2|13.4|75.1|83.5|68.6| 2 tam.|40 |sheik | | | | | | | | | | | | muhammadan |18.3|20. |16.7|13.8|14.5|12.8|75.6|81.6|71.5| 2 c. |50 |dayare | | | | | | | | | | | | muhammadan |18.5|19.7|17. |14. |15. |13. |75.6|83.3|68.5| 8 tam.|40 |saiyad | | | | | | | | | | | | muhammadan |18.5|19.6|17.2|14. |15. |13.1|75.6|84.9|68.2| 2 j. |26 |paliyan |17.8|18.6|17.1|13.5|14. |13. |75.7|79.1|72.8| 0 j. |25 |irula |18. |19.1|17. |13.7|14.3|13.1|75.8|80.9|70.8| 1 tam.|50 |pallan |18.3|19.6|17.2|13.9|14.9|12.6|75.9|87. |70.1| 6 tam.|42 |idaiyan |18.3|19. |16.8|14. |14.6|13.2|76. |81.9|71.3| 5 tam.|40 |pathan | | | | | | | | | | | | muhammadan |18.5|19.6|17.2|14.2|15.2|13.3|76.2|83.1|71.1| 2 m. |24 |pulayan |18.3|19.3|17. |13.9|15. |13. |76.3|83. |72.3| 5 j. |22 |kurumba |17.9|18.7|16.9|13.7|14.5|13. |76.4|83.3|71.8| 2 tel.|40 |madiga, | | | | | | | | | | | | hospet |18.3|20. |17.2|14. |15.4|13. |76.5|83.3|68. | 8 c. |50 |sedan |18.4|19.4|17. |14.1|14.8|13.2|76.6|82.6|72.6| 7 c. |40 |toreya |18.3|19.2|17.2|14.1|15.2|13. |76.6|86.4|70.2| 5 mar.|24 |desastha | | | | | | | | | | | | brahman |18.7|20.2|18. |14.4|15.2|13.2|77. |83.4|71. | 4 tel.|30 |mala |18.4|19.8|16.8|14.2|14.8|13.4|77.1|85.9|70.3| 6 tel.|60 |bestha |18.4|19.4|16.6|14.2|15.6|13.2|77.1|85.1|70.5| 11 c. |50 |kuruba, | | | | | | | | | | | | mysore |18.1|19.4|17.2|14. |15. |12.8|77.3|83.9|70.3| 9 tel.|40 |odde |18.2|20.4|17.2|14.1|15.2|13.4|77.3|83.1|70.1| 10 tel.|60 |golla |18.2|19.6|16.4|14.1|15.1|13.2|77.5|89.3|70.1| 12 c. |40 |dasa | | | | | | | | | | | | banajiga |18.6|19.8|17.3|14.4|15.6|13.4|77.8|85.5|72. | 11 tel.|25 |komati, | | | | | | | | | | | | adoni |18.2|19.4|17. |14.3|15.2|13.3|77.9|88.2|72.2| 8 c. |40 |okkiliyan, | | | | | | | | | | | | coimbatore |18.2|19.4|17. |14.2|15.2|13.2|77.9|88.2|71.7| 9 c. |50 |boya |18. |19.2|16.8|14. |15.2|13. |77.9|89.2|70.5| 14 tu. |40 |bant |18.5|20. |17. |14.4|16.6|13.1|78. |91.2|70.8| 12 tel.|49 |kapu |18.2|19.8|16.8|14.2|15.6|13.2|78. |87.6|71.6| 16 tel.|39 |tota | | | | | | | | | | tel.|39 | balija |18.1|19. |17. |14.1|15. |13. |78. |86. |73.3| 10 c. |60 |madhva | | | | | | | | | | | | brahman |18.4|19.8|16.6|14.3|15.2|13.2|78. |88.5|68. | 18 c. |40 |bedar, | | | | | | | | | | | | hospet |18.4|20. |16.8|14.3|15.2|13.2|78.1|85.3|70.8| 13 tel.|38 |uppara |18. |19. |16.2|14. |15.2|13.2|78.1|87.8|71.7| 9 c. |25 |linga | | | | | | | | | | | | banajiga, | | | | | | | | | | | | sandur |18.2|19.4|16.6|14.2|15. |13.4|78.3|87.9|73.7| 7 c. |60 |karnataka | | | | | | | | | | | | smarta | | | | | | | | | | | | brahman |18.5|20.7|17. |14.4|15.8|13.4|78.4|89.5|69.8| 19 tel.|30 |padma | | | | | | | | | | | | sale |17.8|19.|16.5|14.1|15.1|13.2|78.7 |86.2|72.8| 10 c. |50 |kuruba, | | | | | | | | | | | | hospet |18.1|19.6|17. |14.2|15.4|13.4|78.9|88.4|72.9| 19 tel.|50 |telugu | | | | | | | | | | | | banajiga |18.4|19.2|16.6|14.5|15.4|13.2|79. |89.5|71.9| 18 c. |50 |panchala |18.3|19.4|17.2|14.4|15.6|13. |79. |89.5|71.3| 23 c. |50 |holeya |17.9|19.6|16.6|14.1|15.2|13.2|79.1|87.4|70. | 20 c. |25 |bedar, | | | | | | | | | | | | adoni |18.1|19.2|17. |14.4|15. |13.6|79.4|85.9|74.1| 12 mar.|30 |rangari |18.1|19.8|16.8|14.5|15.4|13.8|79.8|92.2|70.7| 14 tel.|25 |togata |17.7|19. |16.2|14.2|14.8|13.6|80. |88.1|73.7| 13 tu. |50 |billava |18.2|20.6|16.4|14.6|15.6|13.2|80.1|91.5|71. | 28 c. |30 |linga | | | | | | | | | | | | banajiga, | | | | | | | | | | | | adoni |18.1|19.4|16.7|14.4|15.2|13.6|80.1|87.4|74.1| 14 c. |50 |hebbar | | | | | | | | | | | | brahman |18.4|19.6|17.2|14.7|16.4|13.4|80.1|92.1|72.8| 21 c. |50 |mandya | | | | | | | | | | | | brahman |18.5|20.2|16.6|14.8|15.8|13.4|80.2|88.2|69.8| 31 tu. |30 |shivalli | | | | | | | | | | | | brahman |18.5|19.6|16.8|14.9|16.2|13.6|80.4|96.4|72.3| 17 c. |20 |ganiga |18. |19.1|16.6|14.4|15.2|14. |80.5|86.7|74.5| 11 c. |20 |devanga |18. |19.6|17. |14.5|15.5|13.6|80.8|87.1|74.7| 10 tel.|25 |komati |17.6|18.8|16.4|14.3|14.8|13.4|81. |87.1|74.5| 16 c. |50 |vakkaliga, | | | | | | | | | | | | mysore |17.7|19.5|15.8|14.5|15.7|13.2|81.7|93.8|72.5| 27 mar.|30 |suka | | | | | | | | | | | | sale |17.7|18.8|16.6|14.5|15. |13.4|81.8|88.2|76.1| 22 mar.|30 |sukun | | | | | | | | | | | | sale |17.6|19. |16. |14.4|15.4|13.6|82.2|90. |73.9| 21 ========================================================================== table b. ====+===+============================+=================+================= | | | stature cm. | nasal index. == |no.| caste or tribe. +=====+=====+=====+=====+=====+===== | | | av. | max.|min. | av. | max.|min. ====+===+============================+=====+=====+=====+=====+=====+===== m. |40 |nayar |165.2|179. |152.2| 71.1| 78.7|54.4 c. |50 |hebbar brahman |163.2|174.4|150.8| 71.2| 87.2|55.4 c. |60 |karnataka smarta brahman |164.2|176. |150.6| 71.5| 91.5|61.1 c. |50 |dayare muhammadan |166.4|181.8|150. | 71.5| 82.6|59.3 mar.|60 |madhva brahman |163.3|176.2|151.8| 72. | 93.2|58.8 tu. |40 |bant |165.7|179.2|155.8| 72.2| 86.1|61.6 tam.|40 |sheik muhammadan |164.6|174.8|153.8| 72.4| 87. |60. tam.|29 |ambattan |165.7|173.2|153.2| 72.4| 84.3|57.9 tu. |50 |billava |163.2|175.8|149.4| 72.6| 92.8|60. c. |50 |sedan |163.3|177.2|153.2| 72.7| 92.9|59.3 c. |40 |dasa banajiga |165.3|177.8|152. | 72.8| 82.6|59.3 tel.|49 |kapu |164.5|177.6|152.6| 72.8| 90.5|62.7 c. |50 |mandya brahman |165.7|177.8|150.6| 73. | 97.8|58.4 c. |50 |vakkaliga, mysore |167.2|181. |155.2| 73. | 85. |62.3 tam.|40 |vellala |162.4|172.8|153.2| 73.1| 91.5|60.8 tel.|30 |padma sale |159.9|171.4|153.8| 73.2| 83.7|61.5 c. |40 |okkiliyan |166. |179.6|154.6| 73.5| 90.7|63.5 c. |50 |kuruba, mysore |163.6|174.2|152. | 73.5| 88.4|64. mar.|30 |rangari |161.3|168.4|154.4| 73.6| 84.1|63.5 tam.|42 |idaiyan |164.3|178. |154.6| 73.6| 91. |62.7 tel.|25 |k mati, sandur |162.5|169.2|153.4| 74.1| 88.9|62.5 c. |30 |linga banajiga |163.4|171.2|154. | 74.1| 85.7|60.4 tel.|60 |golla |163.8|173.8|151. | 74.1| 83. |61.5 m. |40 |tiyan |164.2|171.6|155.2| 74.2| 85.7|61.5 tam.|40 |agamudaiyan |165.8|175.6|153.6| 74.2| 88.9|73.8 tel.|39 |tota balija |163.9|176.8|149.6| 74.4| 83. |65.4 c. |25 |linga banajiga, sandur |165.6|173. |157.8| 74.6| 86.4|61.5 mar.|30 |sukun sale |160.3|167.6|152.5| 74.8| 84.4|61.5 mar.|30 |suka sale |161.1|170. |147.8| 74.8| 86.1|62.3 c. |50 |panchala |162.3|177.2|151.6| 74.8| 88.9|62. c. |50 |kuruba, hospet |162.7|175.4|162.2| 74.9| 92.2|75.8 .. |82 |toda, nilgiris |169.8|186.8|157.6| 74.9| 89.1|61.2 c. |50 |boya |160.8|171.6|151.9| 75. | 86. |66. tel.|50 |telugu banajiga |164.6|176.2|151.6| 75. | 97.7|66. m. |40 |mappilla, muhammadan |164.8|174.4|145. | 75.1| 88.1|64. c. |50 |holeya |162.8|175.2|151.5| 75.1| 88.9|64.6 ... |40 |badaga, nilgiris |164.1|180.2|154. | 75.6| 88.4|62.7 mar.|24 |desastha brahman |163.4|175. |151.4| 75.8| 87.2|66.7 tel.|60 |bestha |165.7|181. |155. | 75.9| 100.|63.3 c. |30 |toreya |164.2|180.6|156.4| 76.1| 87.2|62.7 tel.|30 |mala |163.9|175. |153.8| 76.2| 93.2|67.3 tam.|40 |pathan muhammadan |164.4|177.6|155.6| 76.2| 83.1|71.1 tam.|25 |pattar brahman |164.3|175. |153.4| 76.5| 95.3|64.7 ...|25 |kota, nilgiris |162.9|174.2|155. | 77.2| 92.9|64. tam.|40 |palli |162.5|171.6|149.8| 77.3| 90.5|68.3 tam.|40 |kammalan |159.7|171.8|146.4| 77.3| 90.9|63.3 tel.|40 |odde |164.4|172.4|155. | 77.3| 93. |65.4 c. |40 |bedar, hospet |165.4|176.6|156. | 77.5| 93. |78.1 tel.|40 |madiga, hospet |162.9|173.4|152.2| 77.5|90.1 |66.7 tel.|30 |togata |160.5|168.9|151.4| 77.5|93.9 |68.8 tam.|50 |malaiyali |163.9|173.2|153.2| 77.8|100. |63.8 tel.|25 |komati, adoni |161. |168.3|153.2| 77.8|100. |65.3 tam.|40 |palli |162.5|169.4|151. | 77.9|95.1 |60.8 m. |25 |cheruman |157.5|166.4|145.8| 78.1|88.9 |69.6 tam.|50 |chakkiliyan |162.2|174.5|150.3| 78.9|97.6 |64. m. |24 |pulayan |153. |162.6|143.4| 79.3|92.7 |68. c. |25 |bedar, adoni |165.4|176.2|156.6| 79.4|91. |65.2 tam.|40 |paraiyan |162.1|171.4|149.4| 80. |91.8 |66. j. |57 |urali |159.5|171.6|147.8| 80.1|97.7 |66.7 tam.|40 |irula |159.9|166.8|150.2| 80.4|90.5 |79. tel.|30 |madiga, adoni |163.1|173.2|154.2| 80.8|102.6|69.4 m. |40 |mukkuvan |163.1|177.8|150.8| 81. |104.8|62.5 m. |18 |kanikar |158.7|170.4|148. | 81.2|90.5 |70.8 tam.|50 |pallan |164.3|177.6|151.5| 81.5|100. |68.8 j. |40 |chenchu |162.5|175. |148. | 81.9|95.7 |68.1 j. |26 |pulayan |150.5|158.4|143.1| 82.9|100.2|70.8 j. |20 |kanikar |155.2|170.3|150.2| 84.6|105. |72.3 j. |25 |mala vedan |154.2|163.8|140.8| 84.9|102.6|71.1 j. |25 |irula |159.8|168. |152. | 84.9|100. |72.3 j. |20 |sholaga |159.3|170.4|151.2| 85.1|107.7|72.8 j. |22 |kurumba |158. |167. |149.6| 86.1|111.1|70.8 j. |23 |malasar |161.2|170.5|152.8| 87.2|102.4|75.4 j. |23 |kadir |157.7|169.4|148.6| 89.8|115.4|72.9 j. |25 |paniyan |157.4|171.6|152. | 95.1|108.6|72.9 ============================================================================ castes and tribes of southern india. abhisheka.--abhisheka pandarams are those who are made to pass through some ceremonies in connection with saiva agama. acchu tali.--a sub-division of vaniyan. the name refers to the peculiar tali (marriage badge) worn by married women. acchuvaru.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as "oriya-speaking carriers of grain, etc., on pack bullocks. treated as a sub-division of gaudo." the acchuvarus are not oriya people, but are attached to the devanga weavers, and receive their name from the fact that they do acchupani, i.e., thread the long comb-like structures of the hand-loom. they correspond to the jatipillais of the kaikolan weavers, who do acchuvelai. acchu vellala.--a name assumed by some pattanavans. achan.--achan, meaning father or lord, was returned, at the cochin census, 1901, as a title of nayars. according to mr. wigram [43] it is used as a title of the following:-1. males in the royal family of palghat. 2. the minister of the calicut raja, known as mangat achan. 3. the minister of the cochin raja, known as paliyat achan. 4. the minister of the second raja of calicut, known as chenli achan. acharapakam chetti.--one of the sub-divisions of the chettis, generally grouped among the beri chettis (q.v.). achari.--see asari. adapadava (man of the wallet).--a name, referring to the dressing-bag which barbers carry, applied to lingayat barbers in south canara. adapapa.--returned in the madras census report, 1901, as a sub-caste of balija. the name is applied to female attendants on the ladies of the families of zamindars, who, as they are not allowed to marry, lead a life of prostitution. their sons call themselves balijas (see khasa). adavi (forest or jungle).--the name of a sub-division of yanadis, and also of a section of gollas in mysore. [44] adaviyar.--adaviyar or ataviyar is the name of a class of tamil-speaking weavers found in the tanjore and tinnevelly districts. addaku (bauhinia racemosa).--a sept of jatapu. the leaves of this tree are largely used as food platters, in madras, and generally on the east coast. addapu singa.--mendicants who beg only from mangalas in the telugu country. adhigari.--defined by mr. wigram [45] as the head of the amsam or parish in malabar, corresponding to the manigar (village munsiff) in east coast districts and patel in south canara. the title adhigari (one in power) is assumed by some agamudaiyans, and adhikari occurs as an exogamous sept of the badagas, and the title of village headman among some oriya castes. in south canara, it is a sept of stanika. adi (primitive or original).--the name of a division of linga balijas, and of velamas who have abandoned the practice of keeping their females gosha (in seclusion). it is also applied by the chenchus to the original members of their tribe, from whom the man-lion narasimha obtained his bride chenchita. adichchan.--a sub-division of nayar. adikal (slaves or servants).--included among the ambalavasis. it is recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, that "tradition states that sankaracharya, to test the fidelity of certain brahmins to the established ordinances of caste, went to a liquor-shop, and drank some stimulants. not recognising that the obligations, from which adepts like sankara were free, were none the less binding on the proletariat, the brahmins that accompanied the sage made this an excuse for their drinking too. sankara is said to have then entered a foundry, and swallowed a cup of molten metal, and handed another to the brahmins, who had apparently made up their minds to do all that may be done by the acharya. but they begged to differ, apologised to him as atiyals or humble servants, and accepted social degradation in expiation of their sinful presumption. they are now the priests in temples dedicated to bhadrakali, and other goddesses who receive offerings of liquor. they practise sorcery, and aid in the exorcising of spirits. they have the upanayana-samskara, and wear the sacred thread. the simantam ceremony is not performed. they are to repeat the gayatri (hymn) ten times, and observe eleven days' death pollution. their own caste-men act as priests. the atiyammamar wear the same jewellery as the nambutiri women, but they do not screen themselves by a cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella when they go out in public, nor are they accompanied by a nayar maid." adimittam.--an occupational sub-division of marans, who clean the court-yards of temples in travancore. adisaivar.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a sub-caste of vellala. they are singers of devara hymns in saiva temples." the name indicates those who have been saivites from the beginning, as opposed to recent saivites. adisaivas are saivites, who have survived the absorbing influence of the lingayat sect. saivites who profess the lingayat doctrines are known as virasaivas. some pandarams, who belong to the sozhia sub-division of the vellalas, regularly recite tamil verses from thevaram and tiruvachagam in saivite temples. this being their profession, they are also called oduvar (readers or reciters). aditya varada.--kurubas, who worship their god on sunday. adiyan.--adiyan (adi, foot) has been defined [46] as meaning literally "a slave, but usually applied to the vassals of tamburans and other powerful patrons. each adiyan had to acknowledge his vassalage by paying annually a nuzur (gift of money) to his patron, and was supposed also to be ready to render service whenever needed. this yearly nuzur, which did not generally exceed one or two fanams, was called adima-panam" (slave money), adima meaning feudal dependency on a patron. adiyodi.--adiyodi or atiyoti, meaning slave or vassal, has been returned at times of census as a sub-division of samantan. it is, mr. h. a. stuart writes, [47] "the caste of the kadattanad rajah in north malabar. the tradition is that, when he was driven out of his territories in and around calicut by the zamorin, he took shelter under the rajah of chirakkal, who gave him the kadattanad country to hold as his vassal. some atiyotis advance no pretension to be above nayars in rank." adutton (a bystander).--a synonym for kavutiyan, a caste of malayalam barbers. in like manner, the name ambattan for tamil barbers is said to be derived from the sanskrit amba (near), s'tha (to stand), indicating that they stand near to shave their clients or treat their patients. agamudaiyan.--the agamudaiyans, mr. w. francis writes, [48] are "a cultivating caste found in all the tamil districts. in chingleput, north arcot, salem, coimbatore and trichinopoly, they are much less numerous than they were thirty years ago. the reason probably is that they have risen in the social scale, and have returned themselves as vellalas. within the same period, their strength has nearly doubled in tanjore, perhaps owing to the assumption of the name by other castes like the maravans and kallans. in their manners and customs they closely follow the vellalas. many of these in the madura district are the domestic servants of the marava zamindars." the agamudaiyans who have settled in the north arcot district are described [49] by mr. h. a. stuart as "a class of cultivators differing widely from the agamudaiyans of the madura district. the former are closely allied to the vellalas, while the latter are usually regarded as a more civilised section of the southern maravans. it may be possible that the agamudaiyans of north arcot are the descendants of the first immigrants from the madura district, who, after long settlement in the north, severed all connexions with their southern brethren." in some districts, agamudaiyan occurs as a synonym of vellalas, pallis and melakkarans, who consider that agamudaiyan is a better caste name than their own. the agamudaiyans proper are found in the tanjore, madura, and tinnevelly districts. it is noted in the tanjore manual that ahamudaiyar (the equivalent of agamudaiyan) is "derived from the root aham, which, in tamil, has many significations. in one of these, it means a house, in another earth, and hence it has two meanings, householder and landholder; the suffix udeiyar indicating ownership. the word is also used in another form, ahambadiyan, derived from another meaning of the same root, i.e., inside. and, in this derivation, it signifies a particular caste, whose office it was to attend to the business in the interior of the king's palace, or in the pagoda." "the name," mr. j. h. nelson writes, [50] "is said by the rev. g. u. pope, in his edition of the abbé dubois' work, [51] to be derived from aham, a temple, and padi, a step, and to have been given to them in consequence of their serving about the steps of temples. but, independently of the fact that madura pagodas are not approached by flights of steps, this seems to be a very far-fetched and improbable derivation of the word. i am inclined to doubt whether it be not merely a vulgar corruption of the well-known word ahamudeiyan, possessor of a house, the title which tamil brahmans often use in speaking of a man to his wife, in order to avoid the unpolite term husband. or, perhaps, the name comes from aham in the sense of earth, and pati, master or possessor." concerning the connection which exists between the maravans, kallans, and agamudaiyans (see kallan), the following is one version of a legend, which is narrated. the father of ahalya decided to give her in marriage to one who remained submerged under water for a thousand years. indra only managed to remain thus for five hundred years, but gautama succeeded in remaining for the whole of the stipulated period, and became the husband of ahalya. indra determined to have intercourse with her, and, assuming the guise of a cock, went at midnight to the abode of gautama, and crowed. gautama, thinking that daybreak was arriving, got up, and went to a river to bathe. while he was away, indra assumed his form, and accomplished his desire. ahalya is said to have recognised the deception after two children, who became the ancestors of the maravans and kallans, were born to her. a third child was born later on, from whom the agamudaiyans are descended. according to another version of the legend, the first-born child is said to have faced gautama without fear, and agamudaiyan is accordingly derived from aham or agam, pride, and udaiyan, possessor. there is a tamil proverb to the effect that a kallan may come to be a maravan. by respectability he may develope into an agamudaiyan, and, by slow degrees, become a vellala, from which he may rise to be a mudaliar. of the three castes, kallan, maravan and agamudaiyan, the last are said to have "alone been greatly influenced by contact with brahmanism. they engage brahman priests, and perform their birth, marriage, and death ceremonies like the vellalas." [52] i am told that the more prosperous agamudaiyans in the south imitate the vellalas in their ceremonial observances, and the poorer classes the maravans. agamudaiyan has been returned, at times of census, as a sub-division of maravan and kallan. in some places, the agamudaiyans style themselves sons of sembunattu maravans. at ramnad, in the madura district, they carry the fire-pot to the burning ground at the funeral of a maravan, and also bring the water for washing the corpse. in the tanjore district the agamudaiyans are called terkittiyar, or southerners, a name which is also applied to kallans, maravans, and valaiyans. the ordinary title of the agamudaiyans is servaikkaran, but many of them call themselves, like the vellalas, pillai. other titles, returned at times of census, are adhigari and mudaliar. at the census, 1891, the following were returned as the more important sub-divisions of the agamudaiyans:--aivali nattan, kottaipattu, malainadu, nattumangalam, rajaboja, rajakulam, rajavasal, kallan, maravan, tuluvan (cf. tuluva vellala) and servaikkaran. the name rajavasal denotes those who are servants of rajas, and has been transformed into rajavamsa, meaning those of kingly parentage. kottaipattu means those of the fort, and the agamudaiyans believe that the so-called kottai vellalas of the tinnevelly district are really kottaipattu agamudaiyans. one sub-division of the agamudaiyans is called sani (cow-dung). unlike the maravans and kallans, the agamudaiyans have no exogamous septs, or kilais. it is recorded, in the mackenzie manuscripts, that "among the maravas, the kings or the rulers of districts, or principal men, are accustomed to perform the ceremony of tying on the tali, or in performing the marriage at once in full, with reference to females of the agambadiyar tribe. the female children of such marriages can intermarry with the maravas, but not among the agambadiyar tribe. on the other hand, the male offspring of such marriages is considered to be of the mother's tribe, and can intermarry with the agambadiyas, but not in the tribe of the maravas." i am told that, under ordinary circumstances, the offspring of a marriage between a maravan and agamudaiyan becomes an agamudaiyan, but that, if the husband is a man of position, the male issues are regarded as maravans. adult marriage appears to be the rule among the agamudaiyans, but sometimes, as among the maravans, kallans and other castes, young boys are, in the southern districts, sometimes married to grown-up girls. the marriage ceremonial, as carried out among the poorer agamudaiyans, is very simple. the sister of the bridegroom proceeds to the home of the bride on an auspicious day, followed by a few females carrying a woman's cloth, a few jewels, flowers, etc. the bride is seated close to a wall, facing east. she is dressed up in the cloth which has been brought, and seated on a plank. betel leaves, areca nuts, and flowers are presented to her by the bridegroom's sister, and she puts them in her lap. a turmeric-dyed string or garland is then placed round the bride's neck by the bridegroom's sister, while the conch shell (musical instrument), is blown. on the same day the bride is conducted to the home of the bridegroom, and a feast is held. the more prosperous agamudaiyans celebrate their marriages according to the puranic type, which is the form in vogue amongst most of the tamil castes, with variations. the astrologer is consulted in order to ascertain whether the pair agree in some at least of the points enumerated below. for this purpose, the day of birth, zodiacal signs, planets and asterisms under which the pair were born, are taken into consideration:-1. varam (day of birth).--days are calculated, commencing with the first day after the new moon. counting from the day on which the girl was born, if the young man's birthday happens to be the fourth, seventh, thirteenth, sixteenth, or seventeenth, it is considered good. 2. ganam (class or tribe).--there are three ganams, called manusha, deva, and rakshasa. of the twenty-seven asterisms, aswini, bharani, etc., some are manusha, some deva, and some rakshasa ganam. ashtham and swathi are considered to be of deva ganam, so individuals born under these asterisms are regarded as belonging to deva ganam. those born under the asterisms bharani, rogini, puram, puradam, uththaradam, etc., belong to the manusha ganam. under rakshasa ganam are included krithika, ayilyam, makam, visakam, and other asterisms. the bridal pair should belong to the same ganam, as far as possible. manusha and deva is a tolerable combination, whereas rakshasa and deva, or rakshasa and manusha, are bad combinations. 3. sthridirgam (woman's longevity).--the young man's birthday should be beyond the thirteenth day, counting from the birthday of the girl. 4. yoni (female generative organs).--the asterisms are supposed to belong to several animals. an individual belongs to the animal to which the asterism under which he was born belongs. for example, a man is a horse if his asterism is aswini, a cow if his asterism is uththirattadhi, and so on. the animals of husband and wife must be on friendly terms, and not enemies. the elephant and man, horse and cow, dog and monkey, cat and mouse, are enemies. the animals of man and wife should not both be males. nor should the man be a female, or the wife a male animal. 5. rasi (zodiacal sign).--beginning from the girl's zodiacal sign, the young man's should be beyond the sixth. 6. rasyathipathi (planet in the zodiacal sign).--the ruling planets of the zodiacal signs of the pair should not be enemies. 7. vasyam.--the zodiacal signs of the pair should be compatible, e.g., midunam and kanni, singam and makaram, dhanus and minam, thulam and makaram, etc. 8. rajju (string).--the twenty-seven asterisms are arranged at various points on four parallel lines drawn across three triangles. these lines are called the leg, thigh, abdomen, and neck rajjus. the vertices of the triangles are the head rajjus. the asterisms of the pair should not be on the same rajju, and it is considered to be specially bad if they are both on the neck. 9. vriksham (tree).--the asterisms belong to a number of trees, e.g.:- aswini, strychnos nux-vomica. bharani, phyllanthus emblica. krithikai, ficus glomerata. puram, butea frondosa. hastham, sesbania grandiflora. thiruvonam, calotropis gigantea. uththirattadhi, melia azadirachta. some of the trees are classed as milky, and others as dry. the young man's tree should be dry, and that of the girl milky, or both milky. 10. pakshi (birds).--certain asterisms also belong to birds, and the birds of the pair should be on friendly terms, e.g., peacock and fowl. 11. jadi (caste).--the zodiacal signs are grouped into castes as follows:- brahman, karkatakam, minam, and dhanus. kshatriya, mesham, vrischikam. vaisya, kumbam, thulam. sudra, rishabam, makaram. lower castes, midhunam, singam, and kanni. the young man should be of a higher caste, according to the zodiacal signs, than the girl. after ascertaining the agreement of the pair, some close relations of the young man proceed to some distance northward, and wait for omens. if the omens are auspicious, they are satisfied. some, instead of so going, go to a temple, and seek the omens either by placing flowers on the idol, and watching the direction in which they fall, or by picking up a flower from a large number strewn in front of the idol. if the flower picked up, and the one thought of, are of the same colour, it is regarded as a good omen. the betrothal ceremony is an important event. as soon as the people have assembled, the bridegroom's party place in their midst the pariyam cloth and jewels. some responsible person inspects them, and, on his pronouncing that they are correct, permission is given to draw up the lagna patrika (letter of invitation, containing the date of marriage, etc.). vigneswara (the elephant god ganesa) is then worshipped, with the lagna patrika in front of him. this is followed by the announcement of the forthcoming marriage by the purohit (priest), and the settlement of the amount of the pariyam (bride's money). for the marriage celebration, a pandal (booth) is erected, and a dais, constructed of clay and laterite earth, is set up inside it. from the day on which the pandal is erected until the wedding day, the contracting couple have to go through the nalagu ceremony separately or together. this consists in having their bodies smeared with turmeric paste (phaseolus mungo paste), and gingelly (sesamum) oil. on the wedding day, the bridegroom, after a clean shave, proceeds to the house of the bride. the finger and toe-nails of the bride are cut. the pair offer pongal (boiled rice) to the family deity and their ancestors. a square space is cleared in the centre of the dais for the sacred fire (homam). a many-branched lamp, representing the thousand-eyed indra, is placed to the east of the square. the purohit, who is regarded as equivalent to yama (the god of death), and a pot with a lamp on it representing agni devata, occupy the south-east corner. women representing niruti (a devata) are posted in the south-west corner. the direction of varuna (the god of water) being west, the bridegroom occupies this position. the best man, who represents vayu (the god of wind) is placed in the north-west corner. as the position of kubera (the god of wealth) is the north, a person, with a bag full of money, is seated on that side. a grinding-stone and roller, representing siva and sakthi, are placed in the north-east corner, and, at their side, pans containing nine kinds of seedlings, are set. seven pots are arranged in a row between the grinding-stone and the branched lamp. some married women bring water from seven streams or seven different places, and pour it into a pot in front of the lamp. the milk-post (pal kambam) is set up between the lamp and the row of pots. this post is usually made of twigs of ficus religiosa, ficus bengalensis, and erythrina indica, tied together and representing brahma, vishnu, and siva. sometimes, however, twigs of odina wodier, and green bamboo sticks, are substituted. at the close of the marriage ceremonies, the erythrina or odina twig is planted, and it is regarded as a good sign if it takes root and grows. the sacred fire is kindled, and the bridegroom goes through the upanayana (thread investiture) and other ceremonies. he then goes away from the house in procession (paradesa pravesam), and is met by the bride's father, who brings him back to the pandal. the bride's father and mother then wash his feet, and rings are put on his toes (kalkattu, or tying the leg). the purohit gives the bridegroom a thread (kankanam), and, after washing the feet of the bride's father and mother, ties it on his wrist. a thread is also tied on the left wrist of the bride. the pair being seated in front of the sacred fire, a ceremony called nandisradham (memorial service to ancestors) is performed, and new clothes are given to the pair. the next item is the tying of the tali (marriage badge). the tali is usually tied on a turmeric-dyed thread, placed on a cocoanut, and taken round to be blessed by all present. then the purohit gives the tali to the bridegroom, and he ties it on the bride's neck amidst silence, except for the music played by the barber or melakkaran musicians. while the tali is being tied, the bridegroom's sister stands behind the bride, holding a lamp in her hand. the bridegroom ties one knot, and his sister ties two knots. after the tali-tying, small plates of gold or silver, called pattam, are tied on the foreheads of the pair, and presents of money and cloths are made to them by their relations and friends. they then go seven times round the pandal, and, at the end of the seventh round, they stand close to the grinding-stone, on which the bridegroom places the bride's left foot. they take their seats on the dais, and the bridegroom, taking some parched rice (pori) from the bride's brother, puts it in the sacred fire. garlands of flowers are given to the bride and bridegroom, who put them on, and exchange them three or five times. they then roll flowers made into a ball. this is followed by the waving of arathi (coloured water), and circumambulation of the pandal by the pair, along with the ashtamangalam or eight auspicious things, viz., the bridesmaid, best man, lamp, vessel filled with water, mirror, ankusam (elephant goad), white chamara (yak's tail fly-flapper), flag and drum. generally the pair go three times round the pandal, and, during the first turn, a cocoanut is broken near the grinding-stone, and the bride is told that it is siva, and the roller sakthi, the two combined being emblematical of ardanarisvara, a bisexual representation of siva and parvathi. during the second round, the story of arundati is repeated to the bride. arundati was the wife of the rishi vasishta, and is looked up to as a model of conjugal fidelity. the morning star is supposed to be arundati, and the purohit generally points it out to the bridal pair at the close of the ceremonial, which terminates with three homams. the wedding may be concluded in a single day, or last for two or three days. the dead are either buried or cremated. the corpse is carried to the burning or burial-ground on a bier or palanquin. as the agamudaiyans are saivites, pandarams assist at the funeral ceremonies. on the second or third day after death, the son and others go to the spot where the corpse was buried or burnt, and offer food, etc., to the deceased. a pot of water is left at the spot. those who are particular about performing the death ceremonies on an elaborate scale offer cooked food to the soul of dead person until the fifteenth day, and carry out the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) on the sixteenth day. presents are then given to brahmans, and, after the death pollution has been removed by sprinkling with holy water (punyaham), a feast is given to the relatives. the agamudaiyans worship various minor deities, such as aiyanar, pidari, and karupannaswami. agaru.--agaru, or avaru, is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small caste of telugu cultivators in vizagapatam and ganjam, who are also sellers of vegetables and betel leaves. agaru is said to mean betel in their language, which they call bhasha, and contains a good deal of oriya. an extensive colony of agarus is settled at nellimerla near vizianagram. both males and females engage in the cultivation of the betel vine, and different kinds of greens, which find a ready sale in the vizianagram market. marriage is usually after puberty, and an oriya brahman officiates. the dead are burnt. agarwal.--a few members of this upper india trading caste, who deal in grain and jewellery, and are also bankers and usurers, have been returned at times of census. agasa.--in the south canara district, there are three distinct classes of washermen, viz., (1) konkani christians; (2) canarese-speaking washermen, who seem to be allied to the agasas of mysore; (3) tulu-speaking washermen. the tulu-speaking agasas follow the aliya santana law of inheritance (in the female line). madivala (madi, a clean cloth) is a synonym for agasa. the word agasa is derived from agasi, a turban. the agasas of mysore have been described as follows. [53] "the agasa is a member of the village hierarchy, his office being hereditary, and his remuneration being grain fees from the ryots. besides washing, he occasionally ekes out his substance by carrying on his donkeys grain from place to place. he is also employed in bearing the torch in marriage and other public ceremonies. the principal object of worship is the pot of boiling water (ubbe), in which dirty clothes are steeped. animals are sacrificed to the god with the view of preventing the clothes being burnt in the ubbe pot. under the name of bhuma deva, there are temples dedicated to this god in some large towns, the service being conducted by pujaris (priests) of the agasa caste. the agasas are vishnuvaits, and pray to vishnu, pattalamma, and the saktis. their gurus (religious preceptors) are satanis. a unique custom is attached to the washerman's office. when a girl-wife attains puberty, it is the duty and privilege of the washerman to carry the news, accompanied by certain presents, to her husband's parents, for which the messenger is duly rewarded." the tulu madivalas of the south canara district, like other tulu castes, have exogamous septs or balis. they will wash clothes for all castes above the billavas. they also supply cloths for decorating the marriage booth and funeral cars, and carry torches. they worship bhuthas (devils), of whom the principal one seems to be jumadi. at the time of kolas (bhutha festivals), the madivalas have the right to cut off the heads of the fowls or goats, which are sacrificed. the animals are held by pombadas or paravas, and the madivala decapitates them. on the seventh day after the birth of a child, the washerwoman ties a thread round its waist. for purificatory ceremonies, the madivali should give washed clothes to those under pollution. in their ceremonial observances, the madivalas closely follow the bants. in some places, they have a headman called, as among the bants, gurikara or guttinaya. at marriages, the pouring of the dhare water over the united hands of the bride and bridegroom is the duty of the father or maternal uncle of the bride, not of the headman. some maratha washermen call themselves dandu (army) agasa. the insigne of the washermen at conjeeveram is a pot, such as that in which clothes are boiled. agastya (the name of a sage).--an exogamous sept of kondaiyamkottai maravans. agni (fire).--an exogamous sept of the kurubas and gollas, and sub-division of the pallis or vanniyans. the equivalent aggi occurs as an exogamous sept of boya. the pallis claim to be agnikula kshatriyas, i.e., to belong to the fire race of kshatriyas. agraharekala.--a sub-division of bhatrazu, meaning those who belong to the agraharam, or brahman quarter of a village. ahir.--a few members of this upper india caste of cowherds have been returned at times of census. ahmedi.--returned, at times of census, as a general name for muhammadans. aivattukuladavaru (people of fifty families).--a synonym for bakuda. aiya.--aiya or ayya, meaning father, is the title of many classes, which include dasari, devanga, golla, idiga, jangam, konda dora, komati, koppala velama, linga balija, mangala, muka dora, paidi, satani, servegara, and tambala. it is further a title of the patnulkarans, who claim to be brahmans, and a sub-division of the tamil pallans. aiyar occurs very widely as a title among tamil brahmans, and is replaced in the telugu and canarese countries by bhatlu, pantulu, and sastrulu. it is noted by the rev. a. margöschis that "the honorific title aiyar was formerly used exclusively by brahmans, but has now come to be used by every native clergyman. the name which precedes the title will enable us to discover whether the man is christian or hindu. thus yesudian aiyar means the aiyar who is the servant of jesus." the rev. g. u. pope, the well-known tamil scholar, was known as pope aiyar. aiyanar.--a sub-division of kallan, named after aiyanar, the only male deity among the grama devata or village deities. aiyarakulu.--in the madras census report, 1901, aiyarakam is summed up as being a caste of telugu cultivators, who, in their social and religious observances, closely follow the kapus and balijas, may intermarry with telagas, and will accept drinking water from the hands of gollas. according to mr. c. hayavadana rao, to whom i am indebted for the following note, the aiyarakulu are a section of kapus, who rose in the social scale by royal favour. the name is derived from aiya and rikam, denoting the act of being an aiya or distinguished person. the aiyarakulu state that their forefathers were soldiers in the vizianagram army, and rendered great services to the rajas. they have a story to the effect that, on one occasion, they proceeded on an expedition against a golconda force, and gave so much trouble to the muhammadan commander thereof that, after putting them to the sword, he proceeded to their own country, to destroy their homes. on hearing of this, the women, dressing themselves in male attire, advanced with bayonets and battle-axes against the muhammadans, and drove them off in great disorder. the raja, in return for their gallant conduct, adorned their legs with silver bangles, such as the women still wear at the present day. the aiyarakulu are divided into gotras, such as naga (cobra), tabelu (tortoise), etc., which are strictly totemistic, and are further divided into exogamous septs or intiperulu. the custom of menarikam, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is in force. girls are married before puberty, and a brahman officiates at the wedding rites, during which the bride and bridegroom wear silver sacred threads, which are subsequently converted into rings. some aiyarakulu call themselves razus, and wear the sacred thread, but interdine and intermarry with other members of the community. the remarriage of widows, and divorce are forbidden. the principal occupation of the aiyarakulus is cultivating, but, in some parts, many of them are cart-drivers plying between the plains of vizagapatam and the agency tracts. the usual title of members of the caste is patrudu. akasam (sky).--an exogamous sept of devanga. akattu charna.--a sub-division of nayar. akattulavar.--a name, indicating those inside (in seclusion or gosha), by which nambutiri and elayad and other females are called. akshantala (rice grain).--a gotra of odde. akshathayya is the name of a gotra of gollas, who avoid rice coloured with turmeric and other materials. akula (betel leaf: piper betle).--an exogamous sept of kamma and bonthuk savara, and a sub-division of kapu. the presentation of betel leaves and areca nuts, called pan-supari, as a complimentary offering is a wide-spread indian custom. ala.--a sub-division of golla. alagi (pot).--an exogamous sept of vakkaliga. alavan.--the alavans are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as "workers in salt-pans, who are found only in madura and tinnevelly. their titles are pannaiyan and muppan. they are not allowed to enter hindu temples." in the travancore census report, 1901, it is recorded that "the alavans or uppalavans (salt alavans) are so called because they work in alams or salt-pans. three or four centuries ago, seven families of them are said to have been brought over from the pandyan territory to travancore, to work in the salt-pans. it is said that there are at tamarakkulam, puttalam, and other places in south travancore, inscriptions recording their immigration, but these have not been deciphered. they speak tamil. they are flesh-eaters. drinking is rare among them. burial was the rule in ancient days, but now the dead are sometimes burned. tattooing is a general custom. the tutelary deities are sasta and bhadrakali. as a class the alavans are very industrious. there are no better salt labourers in all southern india." albino.--the picture drawn by the abbé dubois [54] of albino natives is not a pleasant one. "this extreme fairness," he says, "is unnatural, and makes them very repulsive to look at. in fact, these unfortunate beings are objects of horror to every one, and even their parents desert them. they are looked upon as lepers. they are called kakrelaks as a term of reproach. kakrelaks are horrible insects, disgustingly dirty, which give forth a loathsome odour, and shun the day and its light. the question has been raised as to whether these degenerate individuals can produce children like themselves, and afflicted with nyctalopia. such a child has never come under my observation; but i once baptised the child of a female kakrelak, who owed its birth to a rash european soldier. these unfortunate wretches are denied decent burial after death, and are cast into ditches." this reference to albinos by the observant abbé may be amplified by the notes taken on several albino natives in madras and mysore, which show, inter alia, that the lot of the present day albino is not an unhappy one. chinna abboye, æt. 35. shepherd caste. rope (insigne of office) round waist for driving cattle, and tying the legs of cows when milking them. yellowish-white hair where long, as in the kudumi. bristles on top of shaved head pure white. greenish-brown iris. father dark; mother, like himself, has white hair and pink skin. one brother an albino, married. one child of the usual native type. cannot see well in glare of sunlight, but sees better towards sunset. screws his eyelids into transverse slits. mother kind to him. vembu achari, æt. 20. artist. kudumi (top-knot) yellowish-white. white eyebrows and moustache. bright pink lips, and pink complexion. iris light blue with pink radiating striæ and pink peripheral zone. sees best in the evening when the sun is low on the horizon. screws up his eyelids to act as a diaphragm. mother, father, brothers and sisters, all of the ordinary native type. no relations albino, as far as he knows. engaged to be married. people like himself are called chevapu (red-coloured), or, in derision, vellakaran (european or white man). children sometimes make game of him, but people generally are kind to him. moonoosawmy, æt. 45. belongs to the weaver class, and is a well-to-do man. albino. had an albino sister, and a brother of the ordinary type. is the father of ten children, of whom five are albinos. they are on terms of equality with the other members of their community, and one daughter is likely to be married to the son of a prosperous man. ----, æt. 22. fisherman caste. albino. his maternal uncle had an albino daughter. has four brothers, of whom two are albinos. cannot stand the glare of the sun, and is consequently unable to do outdoor work. moves freely among the members of his community, and could easily secure a wife, if he was in a position to support one. ----, æt. 36. rajput. hardware merchant. his father, of ordinary native type, had twelve children, five of whom were albino, by an albino wife, whose brother was also albino. married to a woman of native type, and had one non-albino child. his sister, of ordinary native type, has two albino children. iris light blue. hair yellowish. complexion pink. keeps left eye closed, and looks through a slit between eyelids of right eye. people call him in canarese kempuava (red man). they are kind to him. alia.--the alias are an oriya cultivating caste, found mainly in the gumsur taluk of ganjam. in the madras census report, 1891, it is suggested that the name is derived from the sanskrit holo, meaning a plough. the further suggestions have been made that it is derived from alo, meaning crop, or from ali, a killa or taluk of orissa, whence the aliyas have migrated. in social position the alias rank below the bhondaris and odiyas, who will not accept water touched by them. various titles occur within the caste, e.g., biswalo, bonjo, bariko, jenna, kampo, kondwalo, lenka, mahanti, molla nahako, patro, podhano, podiyali, ravuto, siyo, and swayi. like other oriya castes, the alias have gotras, and the marriage rules based on titles and gotras are peculiar. a podhano man may, for example, marry a podhano girl, if their gotras are different. further, two people, whose gotras are the same, may marry if they have a different title. thus, a man, whose gotra is goru and title podhano, may marry a girl of a family of which the gotra is goru, but title other than podhano. infant marriage is the rule, and, if a girl does not secure a husband before she reaches maturity, she goes through a mock marriage ceremony, in which the bridegroom is represented by a brass vessel or an arrow. like many other oriya castes, the aliyas follow the chaitanya form of vaishnavism, and also worship various takuranis (village deities). alige (drum).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. aliya santanam.--inheritance in the female line. the equivalent, in the canara country, of the malayali marumakkathayam. allam (ginger).--an exogamous sept of mala. allikulam (lily clan).--returned, at times of census, as a sub-division of anappan. alvar.--an exogamous sept of toreya. alvar is a synonym of garuda, the winged vehicle of vishnu. alvar dasari occurs as a sub-division of valluvans, which claims descent from tiruppan alvar, one of the vaishnava saints. amaravatiyavaru.--a name, denoting people of amaravati on the kistna river, recorded [55] as a sub-division of desabhaga madigas. amaravati also occurs as a sub-division, or nadu, of vallamban. ambalakkaran.--in the madras census report, 1891, mr. h. a. stuart writes that "ambalakkaran (ambalam, an open place [56]) is the usual designation of a head of a village in the maravan and kallan districts, and it is, or was the common agnomen of kallans. i am not able to state what is the precise connection between the ambalakkaran and kallan castes, but, from some accounts which i have obtained, the ambalakkarans seem to be very closely connected, if not identical with muttiriyans (telugu mutracha), who have been classed as village watchmen; and this is borne out by the sub-divisions returned, for, though no less than 109,263 individuals have given ambalakkaran as the sub-division also, yet, of the sub-divisions returned, muttiriyan and mutracha are the strongest. marriage is usually deferred until after puberty, and widow re-marriage is permitted, but there does not seem to be the same freedom of divorce at will as is found among kallans, maravans, etc. the dead are either burnt or buried. the consumption of flesh and liquor is allowed. their usual agnomen is said to be servaikkaran, but the titles muttiriyan, ambalakkaran, malavarayan, mutarasan, and vannian are also used. the usual agnomen of muttiriyans, on the other hand, is said to be nayakkan (naik)." in the madras census report, 1901, the ambalakkarans are summed up as follows. "a tamil caste of cultivators and village watchmen. till recently the term ambalakkaran was considered to be a title of the kallans, but further enquiries have shown that it is the name of a distinct caste, found chiefly in the trichinopoly district. the ambalakkarans and muttiriyans of a village in musiri taluk wrote a joint petition, protesting against their being classified as kallans, but nevertheless it is said that the kallans of madura will not eat in ambalakkaran's houses. there is some connection between ambalakkarans, muttiriyans, mutrachas, uralis, vedans, valaiyans, and vettuvans. it seems likely that all of them are descended from one common parent stock. ambalakkarans claim to be descended from kannappa nayanar, one of the sixty-three saivite saints, who was a vedan or hunter by caste. in tanjore the valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin, and in that district ambalakkaran and muttiriyan seem to be synonymous with valaiyan. [some valaiyans have ambalakkaran as a title.] moreover, the statistics of the distribution of the valaiyans show that they are numerous in the districts where ambalakkarans are few, and vice versâ, which looks as though certain sections of them had taken to calling themselves ambalakkarans. the upper section of the ambalakkarans style themselves pillai, which is a title properly belonging to vellalas, but the others are usually called muppan in tanjore, and ambalakkaran, muttiriyan, and servaigaran in trichinopoly. the headman of the caste panchayat (council) is called the kariyakkaran, and his office is hereditary in particular families. each headman has a peon called the kudi-pillai, whose duty it is to summon the panchayat when necessary, and to carry messages. for this he gets an annual fee of four annas from each family of the caste in his village. the caste has certain endogamous sections. four of them are said to be muttiriyan or mutracha, kavalgar, vanniyan, and valaiyan. a member of any one of these is usually prohibited by the panchayats from marrying outside it on pain of excommunication. their customs are a mixture of those peculiar to the higher castes and those followed by the lower ones. some of them employ brahmans as purohits (priests), and wear the sacred thread at funerals and sraddhas (memorial services for the dead). yet they eat mutton, pork, and fowls, drink alcohol, and allow the marriage of widows and divorced women." muttiriyan and kavalgar both mean watchman. vanniyan is certainly a separate caste, some members of which take ambalakkaran as a title. the ambalakkarans are apparently valaiyans, who have separated themselves from the main stock on account of their prosperity. for the following note, i am indebted to mr. f. r. hemingway. the ambalakkarans or muttiriyans are more numerous in the trichinopoly district and pudukkottai than in any other part of the presidency. though they have been treated as separate castes, they appear to be one and the same in this district, generally calling themselves muttiriyan in the trichinopoly taluk, and ambalakkaran elsewhere, and having no objection to either name. they admit they are called valaiyans, but repudiate any connection with the caste of that name, and explain the appellation by a story that, when siva's ring was swallowed by a fish in the ganges, one of their ancestors invented the first net (valai) made in the world. as relics of their former greatness they point to the thousand-pillared mantapam at srirangam, which is called muttarasan koradu, and a big matam at palni, both of which, they say, were built by their kings. to the latter every household of the caste subscribes four annas annually. they say that they were born of the sweat (muttu, a pearl or bead of perspiration) of parama-siva. the caste is divided into a number of nadus, the names and number of which are variously given. some of these are ettarai, koppu, adavattur, tirampalaiyam, vimanayakkanpalaiyam in the trichinopoly taluk, and amur, savindippatti, and karungali in musiri taluk. widow remarriage is allowed in some of these nadus, and not in others. they use the titles muttiriyan, ambalakkaran, servaikaran, and kavalkaran. they admit their social inferiority to the vellalans, kallans, nattamans, and reddis, from all of whom they will accept meals, but consider themselves superior to pallis, uralis, uppiliyans, and valaiyans. their usual occupation is cultivation, but they have also taken to petty trade, and some earn a living as masons and kavalgars (watchmen). they wear the sacred thread during their marriages and funerals. they have panchayats for each village and for the nadu, and have also a number of the patnattu chettis, who are recognized as elders of the caste, and sit with the head of the nadu to decide cases of adultery, etc. ambalavasi.--this is summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a generic name applied to all classes of temple servants in malabar. there are many sub-divisions of the caste, such as poduval, chakkiyar, nambiyassan, pidaran, pisharodi, variyan, nambi, teyyambadi, etc., which are assigned different services in the hindu temples, such as the preparation of garlands, the sweeping of the floor, the fetching of fire-wood, the carrying of the idols in procession, singing, dancing, and so on. like most of the temple servant classes, they are inferior to the lower brahmans, such as the mussads, and food will not be taken from the hands of most of them even by nayars." in the travancore census report, 1901, it is noted that "the term ambalavasi (one who lives in a temple) is a group-name, and is applied to castes, whose occupation is temple service. the keralamahatmya speaks of them as kshetravasinah, which means those who live in temples. they are also known as antaralas, from their occupying an intermediate position between the brahmans and the brahmanical kshatriyas of malabar on the one hand, and the sudras on the other. while according to one view they are fallen brahmans, others, such as the writer of the keralolpatti, would put them down as an advance from the sudras. the castes recognised as included in the generic name of ambalavasi are:- nambiyassan. nambiyar. pushpakan. pisharati. puppalli. variyar. chakkiyar. nattupattan. brahmani or daivampati. tiyattunni. adikal. kurukkal. nambidi. poduval. pilappalli. "all these castes are not connected with pagodas, nor do the muttatus, who are mainly engaged in temple service, come under this group, strictly speaking. the rationale of their occupation seems to be that, in accepting duty in temples and consecrating their lives to the service of god, they hope to be absolved from the sins inherited from their fathers. in the case of ascent from lower castes, the object presumably is the acquisition of additional religious merit.... the delinquent brahman cannot be retained in the brahmanic function without lowering the standard of his caste. he had, therefore, to be allotted other functions. temple service of various kinds, such as garland-making for the pushpakan, variyar and others, and popular recitation of god's works for the chakkiyar, were found to hold an intermediate place between the internal functions of the brahmans and the external functions of the other castes, in the same sense in which the temples themselves are the exoteric counterparts of an esoteric faith, and represent a position between the inner and the outer economy of nature. hence arose probably an intermediate status with intermediate functions for the antaralas, the intermediates of hindu society. the kshatriyas, having commensal privileges with the brahmans, come next to them in the order of social precedence. in the matter of pollution periods, which seem to be in inverse ratio to the position of the caste, the brahmans observe 10 days, the kshatriyas 11 days, and the sudras of malabar (nayars) 16 days. the ambalavasis generally observe pollution for 12 days. in some cases, however, it is as short as 10, and in others as long as 13 and even 14, but never 16 days." it is further recorded, in the cochin census report, 1901, that "ambalavasis (literally temple residents) are persons who have the privilege of doing service in temples. most of the castes have grown out of sexual relations between members of the higher and lower classes, and are therefore anulomajas and pratilomajas. [57] they may be broadly divided into two classes, (1) those that wear the sacred thread, and (2) those that do not wear the same. adikal, chakkiyar, nambiyar or pushpakan, and tiyyattu nambiyar belong to the threaded class, while chakkiyar, nambiyar, pisharoti, variyar, puthuval, and marar are non-threaded. though all ambalavasis have to do service in temples, they have many of them sufficiently distinct functions to perform. they are all governed by the marumakkathayam law of inheritance (through the female line); some castes among them, however, follow the makkathayam system (from father to son). a nambiyar, pisharoti, or variyar marries under special circumstances a woman of his own caste, and brings home his wife into the family, and their issue thus become members of the father's family, with the right of inheriting the family property, and form themselves into a fresh marumakkathayam stock. in the matter of tali-kettu (tali-tying) marriage, and marriage by union in sambandham (alliance), they follow customs similar to those of nayars. so far as the employment of brahman as priests, and the period of birth and death pollution are concerned, there are slight differences. the threaded classes have gayatri (hymn). the purificatory ceremony after birth or death pollution is performed by nambudris, but at all funeral ceremonies, such as pinda, sradha, etc., their own caste men officiate as priests. the nambudris can take meals cooked by a brahman in the house of any of the ambalavasis except marars. in fact, if the nambudris have the right of purification, they do not then impose any restrictions in regard to this. all ambalavasis are strict vegetarians at public feasts. the ambalavasis sit together at short distances from one another, and take their meals. their females unite themselves in sambandham with their own caste males, or with brahmans or kshatriyas. brahmans, kshatriyas, or nambidis cannot take water from them. though a great majority of the ambalavasis still follow their traditional occupations, many of them have entered the public service, and taken to more lucrative pursuits." the more important sections of the ambalavasis are dealt with in special articles. ambattan.--for the following note i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the ambattans are the tamil barbers, or barber-surgeons. the word is usually derived from the sanskrit amba (near) and s'tha (to stand), i.e., he who stands near to shave his clients, or treat his patients. in like manner, the kavutiyan caste of malayalam barbers is called adutton, signifying bystander. the ambattan corresponds to the mangala of the telugu country, the vilakkatalavan of malabar, the kshauraka of the canarese brahmans, and the hajam of muhammadans. not improbably the name refers to the original occupation of medicine-man, to which were added later the professions of village barber and musician. this view seems to receive some support from the current tradition that the ambattans are the descendants of the offspring of a vaisya woman by a brahman, to whom the medical profession was allotted as a means of livelihood. in this connection, it may be noted that the ambattan women are the recognised midwives of the hindu community in the tamil country. it is impossible to say how far the above tradition is based on the verse of manu, the ancient law-giver, who says that "from a brahmana with the daughter of a vaisya is born a son called an ambashtha." in a succeeding verse, he states that as children of a brahmana by a woman of one of the three lower castes, the ambashthas are one of the six base-born castes or apasada. he says further that brahmans may eat of a barber's food--a permission which, it is hardly necessary to say, they do not avail themselves of. a single exception is, however, noteworthy. at the temple of jugganath, within the temple precincts, neither the barber, nor the food which he prepares, and is partaken of by the higher classes, including brahmans, conveys pollution. the pujari, or officiating priest, at this famous temple is a barber, and brahmans, except those of the extreme orthodox section, partake of his preparations of rice, after they have been offered to the presiding deity. this is, apparently, the only case in which the rule laid down by manu is followed in practice. it is not known how far the text of manu is answerable for the popular sanskrit saying, which calls the barber a "good sudra." there is an opinion entertained in certain quarters that originally the barber's touch did not pollute, but that his shaving did. it is an interesting fact that, though the ambattans are one of manu's base-born castes, whose touch causes pollution which requires the pouring of water over the head to remove it, they are one of the most brahmanised of the lower castes. nothing, perhaps, shows this so well as their marriage ceremonies, throughout which a brahman officiates. on the first two days, homam or sacred fire, fed with ghi (clarified butter) is kindled. on the third day, the tali (marriage badge) is placed in a circular silver or brass thattu (dish), and touched with the forefinger of the right hand first by the presiding brahman, followed by other brahmans, men of superior castes, and the caste-men headed by the perithanakkaran or head-man. it is then, amid weird music, tied to the bride's neck before the sacred fire. during this ceremony no widows may be present. the relations of the bride and bridegroom scatter rice on the floor in front of the bridal pair, after the brahman priest and head-man. this rice, which is called sesham (remainder), is strictly the perquisite of the local washerman. but it is generally purchased by the headman of the family, in which the marriage is taking place, and handed over, not to the washerman, but to the perithanakkaran. the brahman receives as his fee money and a pair of silk-bordered cloths; and, till the latter are given to him, he usually refuses to pronounce the necessary mantras (prayers). he also receives the first pan-supari (betel leaves and areca nuts), plantains, and cocoanuts. each day he has to get rid of the pollution caused by entering a barber's house by bathing. during the fourth and fifth days, homam is burnt, and shadangu, or merry-making between the bride and bridegroom before the assembled spectators, takes place, during which the bride sings songs, in which she has been coached from infancy. on the fifth day the removal of the kankanam, or threads which have been tied round the wrists of the bride and bridegroom, is performed, after the priest's account has been settled. among the konga vellalas of the salem district, it is the ambattan who officiates at the marriage rites, and ties the tali, after formally proclaiming to those present that he is about to do so. brahmans are invited to the wedding, and are treated with due respect, and presented with money, rice, and betel. it would appear that, in this case, the brahman has been ousted, in recent times, from his priestly functions by the ambattan. the barber, when he ties the tali, mutters something about brahman and vedas in a respectful manner. the story goes that, during the days of the chera, chola, and pandya kings, a brahman and an ambattan were both invited to a marriage feast. but the brahman, on his arrival, died, and the folk, believing his death to be an evil omen, ruled that, as the brahman was missing, they would have an ambattan; and it has ever since been the custom for the ambattan to officiate at weddings. a girl, when she reaches puberty, has to observe pollution for eleven days, during which she bathes daily, and is presented with a new cloth, and adorned by a girl who is said to have "touched" her. this girl has to bathe before she can take her meals, or touch others. every morning, a dose of pure gingelly (sesamum indicum) oil, mixed with white of egg, is administered. the dietary must be strictly vegetarian. on the twelfth day, the girl who has been through the ceremonial has a final bath, and enters the house after it has been purified (punyavachanam). the rule, once a widow always a widow, is as true of ambattans as of high-class brahmans. and, if asked whether the remarriage of widows is permitted, they promptly reply that they are not washermen. the dead are cremated, with the exception of young children, who are buried. the death ceremonies are conducted by a brahman priest, who is remunerated for his services with money and a cloth. gifts of money and cloths are also made to other brahmans, when the days of pollution are over. annual memorial ceremonies (sradh) are performed, as by brahmans. it is a privilege (they consider it as such) of the ambattans to cremate the bodies of village paupers other than brahmans. and, on ordinary occasions of death, they lead the son or person who is entitled to light the funeral pyre, with a brass pot in their hands, round the corpse, and indicate with a burning cinder the place to which the light must be applied. as a community the ambattans are divided into saivites and vaishnavites. members of the latter section, who have been branded by their brahman guru with the chank and chakram, abstain from animal food, and intoxicating drinks. intermarriage between the two sections is allowed, and commonly practised. they belong to the right-hand faction, and will not eat with komatis, who belong to the left. they have, however, no objection to shaving komatis. the ambattans of the chingleput district are divided into four sections, each of which is controlled by a perithanakkaran. one of these resides in madras, and the other three live respectively at poonamallee, chingleput, and karunguzhi in the madurantakam taluk of the chingleput district. ambattans are now-a-days found over the whole tamil area of the madras presidency. originally, free movement into the various parts of the presidency was far from easy, and every ambattan, wherever he might migrate to, retained his subjection to the chief or headman of his native village. thus, perhaps, what was at first a tribal division gradually developed into a territorial one. each perithanakkaran has under him six hundred, or even a thousand kudithalakkarans, or heads of families. his office being hereditary, he is, if only a minor, treated with respect and dignity. all the preliminaries of marriage are arranged by him. on important occasions, such as settling disputes, he is assisted by a panchayat, or council of elders. in this way are settled quarrels, questions arising out of adultery, or non-payment of fines, which it is his duty to collect. he is further responsible for the marriage rice-money, which is added to a communal tax of 2 1/2 annas per family, which is imposed annually for charitable purposes. the charities take the form of the maintenance of chattrams, or places where pilgrims are fed free of charge at holy places. two such institutions are maintained in the chingleput district, the centre of the ambattan community, one at tirupporur, the other at tirukalikundram. at these places brahmans are given free meals, and to other caste hindus sadabath, or things necessary for meals, are presented. sometimes the money is spent in building adjuncts to holy shrines. at srirangam, for example, the ambattans, in days gone by, built a fine stone mantapam for the local temple. if the perithanakkaran cannot satisfactorily dispose of a case with the assistance of the usual panchayat (council), it is referred to the higher authority of the kavarai or desai setti, or even to british courts as a last resource. the barber has been summed up by a district official [58] as "one of the most useful of the village servants. he leads an industrious life, his services being in demand on all occasions of marriages, feasts, and funerals. he often combines in himself the three useful vocations of hair-dresser, surgeon, and musician. in the early hours of the morning, he may be seen going his rounds to his employers' houses in his capacity of shaver and hair-cutter. later on, he will be leading the village band of musicians before a wedding procession, or playing at a temple ceremony. yet again he may be observed paying his professional visits as vythian or physician, with his knapsack of surgical instruments and cutaneous drugs tucked under his arm. by long practice the barber becomes a fairly skilful operator with the knife, which he uses in a rough and ready manner. he lances ulcers and carbuncles, and even essays his hand in affections of the eye, often with the most disastrous results. it is the barber who takes away cricks and sprains, procures leeches for those wishing to be bled, and otherwise relieves the physical ills of his patients. the barber woman, on the other hand, is the accoucheuse and midwife of the village matrons. it may be said without exaggeration that many of the uterine ailments which furnish patients to the maternity wards of the various hospitals in this country are attributable to the rude treatment of the village midwife." the ambattan will cut the nails, and shave not only the head and face, but other parts of the body, whereas the telugu barber will shave only down to the waist. the depilatory operations on women are performed by female hair-dressers. barbers' sons are taught to shave by taking the bottom of an old well-burnt clay cooking-pot, and, with a blunt knife, scraping off the collected carbon. they then commence to operate on pubescent youths. the barber who shaves europeans must not be a caste barber, but is either a muhammadan or a non-caste man. quite recently, a youthful ambattan had to undergo ceremonial purification for having unconsciously shaved a paraiyan. paraiyans, malas, and other classes of the lower orders, have their own barbers and washermen. razors are, however, sometime lent to them by the ambattans for a small consideration, and cleansed in water when they are returned. parasitic skin diseases are said to originate from the application of a razor, which has been used on a number of miscellaneous individuals. and well-to-do hindus now keep their own razor, which the barber uses when he comes to shave them. in the southern districts, it is not usual for the ambattans to go to the houses of their customers, but they have sheds at the backs of their own houses, where they attend to them from daybreak till about mid-day. occasionally, when sent for, they will wait on brahmans and high-class non-brahmans at their houses. numbers of them, besides, wait for customers near the riverside. like the english hair-cutter, the ambattan is a chatter-box, retails the petty gossip of the station, and is always posted in the latest local news and scandal. the barbers attached to british regiments are migratory, and, it is said, have friends and connections in all military cantonments, with whom they exchange news, and hold social intercourse. the ambattan fills the rôle of negotiator and go-between in the arrangement of marriages, feasts, and funeral. he is, moreover, the village physician and surgeon, and, in the days when blood-letting was still in vogue, the operation of phlebotomy was part of his business. in modern times, his nose has, like that of the village potter, been put out of joint by civil hospitals and dispensaries. his medicines consist of pills made from indigenous drugs, the nature of which he does not reveal. his surgical instrument is the razor which he uses for shaving, and he does not resort to it until local applications, e.g., in a case of carbuncle, have failed. in return for his multifarious services to the villagers, the ambattan was given a free grant of land, for which he has even now to pay only a nominal tax. but, in the days when there was no survey or settlement, if the barber neglected his duties, he was threatened with confiscation of his lands. at the present day, however, he can sell, mortgage, or make a gift thereof. as the ambattans became divided up into a number of families, their duties in the village were parcelled out among them, so that each barber family became attached to certain families of other castes, and was entitled to certain rights from them. among other claims, each barber family became entitled to three or four marakkals of paddy (unhusked rice), which is the perquisite of the married members thereof. it may be noted that, in village communities, lands were granted not only to the barber, but also to village officials such as the blacksmith, carpenter, washerman, astrologer, priest, dancing-girl, etc. in his capacity of barber, the ambattan is called nasivan (unholy man), or, according to the census reports, nasuvan (sprung from the nose), or navidan. he is also known as panditan or pariyari (doctor), and kudimaghan (son of the ryot). the last of these names is applied to him especially on occasions of marriage, when to call him nasivan would be inauspicious. the recognised insigne of his calling is the small looking-glass, which he carries with him, together with the razor, and sometimes tweezers and ear-pick. he must salute his superiors by prostrating himself on his stomach, folding his arms, and standing at a respectful distance. he may not attend at brahman houses on new or full-moon days, tuesday, saturday, and special days such as ekadasi and dwadasi. the most proper days are sunday and monday. the quality of the shave varies with the skill of the individual, and there is a tamil proverb "go to an old barber and a new washerman." stories are extant of barbers shaving kings while they were asleep without waking them, and it is said that the last raja of tanjore used to be thus entertained with exhibitions of their skill. the old legend of the barber who, in return for shaving a raja without awakening him, requested that he might be made a brahman, and how the court jester tennali raman got the raja to cancel his agreement, has recently been re-told in rhyme. [59] it is there described how the barber lathered the head "with water alone, for soap he had none." the modern barber, however, uses soap, either a cheap quality purchased in the bazar, or a more expensive brand supplied by his client. by a curious corruption, hamilton's bridge, which connects the triplicane and mylapore divisions of the city of madras, has become converted into ambattan, or barber's bridge. and the barber, as he shaves you, will tell how, in days before the bridge was built, the channel became unfordable during a north-east monsoon flood. a barber, who lived on the triplicane side, had to shave an engineer, whose house was on the mylapore side. with difficulty he swam across, and shaved the sahib while he was asleep without waking him, and, in return, asked that, in the public interests, a bridge should be built over the channel. ambattans of travancore.--for the following note i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyer. the barbers of travancore are called by various designations, those in central and south travancore preferring to be known by the name of kshaurakan or kshaurakkaran, a corruption of the sanskrit kshuraka, while ambattan seems to find general favour in the south. a curious name given to the caste throughout travancore is pranopakari, or one who helps the souls, indicating their priestly functions in the ceremonials of various castes. a contraction of this name found in the early settlement records is pranu. the members of those families from which kings and noblemen have at any time selected their barbers are called vilakkittalavan, or more properly vilakkuttalayan, meaning literally those who shave heads. in north travancore many families are in possession of royal edicts conferring upon them the title of panikkar, and along with it the headmanship of the barber families of the village in which they reside. others have the title of vaidyan or doctor, from the secondary occupation of the caste. endless endogamous septs occur among the barbers, and, at trivandrum, there are said to be four varieties called chala vazhi, pandi vazhi, attungal vazhi, and peruntanni vazhi. but it is possible to divide all the kshaurakans of travancore into three classes, viz., malayalam-speaking ambattans, who follow the makkathayam law of inheritance; (2) malayalam-speaking ambattans who follow the marumakkathayam law of inheritance; (3) tamil-speaking barbers, who have in many localities adopted malayalam as their mother-tongue, and indicate their recent conversion in this direction by preserving unchanged the dress and ornaments of their womenkind. in pattanapuram, for example, there is a class of malayalam-speaking barbers known as pulans who immigrated into that taluk from the tamil country about two hundred years ago, and reveal their kinship with the tamil-speaking barbers in various ways. in kottayam and some other north travancore taluks, a large number of barbers may be described as recent converts of this character. in theory at least, the makkathayam and marumakkathayam ambattans may be said to form two distinct endogamous groups, of which the former regard themselves as far superior to the latter in social position. sometimes the makkathayam ambattans give their girls in marriage to the marumakkathayam ambattans, though the converse can never hold good. but, in these cases, the girl is not permitted to re-enter the paternal home, and associate with the people therein. a local tradition describes the travancore kshaurakans as pursuing their present occupation owing to the curse of surabhi, the divine calf. whatever their origin, they have faithfully followed their traditional occupation, and, in addition, many study medicine in their youth, and attend to the ailments of the villagers, while the women act as midwives. when a high-caste hindu dies, the duty of supplying the fuel for the funeral pyre, and watching the burning ground, devolves on the barber. in their dress and ornaments the travancore barbers closely resemble the nayars, but some wear round gold beads and a conch-shaped marriage jewel round the neck, to distinguish their women from those of the nayars. this, however, does not hold good in south travancore, where the women have entirely adopted the nayar type of jewelry. tattooing prevails to a greater extent among the barbers than among other classes, but has begun to lose its popularity. the barbers not only worship the ordinary hindu deities, but also adore such divinities as murti, maden, and yakshi. the corpses of those who die as the result of accident or contagious disease, are buried, not burnt. a sorcerer is called on to raise the dead from the grave, and, at his instance, a kuryala or small thatched shed is erected, to provide a sanctum for the resurrected spirit. every year, in the month of makaram (january-february), the day on which the utradam star falls is taken as the occasion for making offerings to these spirits. in every village certain families had bestowed on them by the chieftains of kerala the right of deciding all questions affecting the caste. all social offences are tried by them, and the decision takes the form of an order to celebrate iananguttu or feast of the equals, at which the first article served on the leaf placed before the assembled guests is not food, but a sum of money. the tali-kettu and sambandham ceremonies are celebrated, the former before, and the latter after the girl has reached puberty. the preliminary rites of betrothal and kapu-kettu (tying the string round the wrist) over, the bridegroom enters the marriage hall in procession. there are no vedic rites; nor is there any definite priest for the marriage ceremony. the conch-shell is blown at odd intervals, this being considered indispensable. the festivities last for four days. a niece and nephew are regarded as the most legitimate spouses of a son and daughter respectively. after the cremation or burial of a corpse, a rope is held by two of the relations between the dead person's remains and the karta (chief mourner), and cut in two, as if to indicate that all connection between the karta and the deceased has ceased. this is called bandham aruppu, or severing of connection. pollution lasts for sixteen days among all sections of the barbers, except the tamils, who regain their purity after a death in the family on the eleventh day. ambiga.--a synonym of kabbera. ambojala (lotus: nelumbium).--a house-name of korava. amma (mother).--a sub-division of pallan and paraiyan. it is also the title of the various goddesses, or mothers, such as ellamma, mariamma, etc., which are worshipped as grama devatas (village deities) at the temples known as amman-koil. ammukkuvan.--a sub-division of katalarayan. [60] (see valan.) anapa (dolichos lablab).--a gotra of komati. anasa (ferrule).--a gotra of kurni. anchu (edge or border).--a gotra of kurni. andara (pandal or booth).--a sept of kuruba. ande.--ande (a pot) as a division of the kurubas refers to the small bamboo or wooden vessel used when milking goats. it further denotes a division of the koragas, who used to wear a pot suspended from their necks, into which they were compelled to spit, so as not to defile the highway. anderaut.--recorded, in the census report, 1901, as a sub-division of kurumba. probably a form of ande kuruba. raut is frequently a title of headmen among lingayats. andi.--in a note on andis in the madras census report, 1901, mr. w. francis writes that "for a brahman or an ascetic, mendicancy was always considered an honourable profession, to which no sort of shame attached. manu says 'a brahman should constantly shun worldly honour, as he would shun poison, and rather constantly seek disrespect as he would seek nectar'; and every brahman youth was required to spend part of his life as a beggar. the jains and buddhists held the same views. the hindu chattrams [61] and uttupuras, the jain pallis, and the buddhist viharas owe their origin to this attitude, they being originally intended for the support of the mendicant members of these religions. but persons of other than the priestly and religious classes were expected to work for their living, and were not entitled to relief in these institutions. begging among such people--unless, as in the case of the pandarams and andis, a religious flavour attaches to it--is still considered disreputable. the percentage of beggars in the tamil districts to the total population is .97, or more than twice what it is in the telugu country, while in malabar it is as low as .09. the telugus are certainly not richer as a class than the tamils, and the explanation of these differences is perhaps to be found in the fact that the south is more religiously inclined than the north, and has more temples and their connected charities (religion and charity go hand in hand in india), and so offers more temptation to follow begging as a profession. andis are tamil beggars. they are really inferior to pandarams, but the two terms are in practice often indiscriminately applied to the same class of people. pandarams are usually vellalas by caste, but andis are recruited from all classes of sudras, and they consequently have various sub-divisions, which are named after the caste to which the members of each originally belonged, such as the jangam andis, meaning beggars of the jangam caste, and the jogi andis, that is, andis of the jogi caste. they also have occupational and other divisions, such as the kovil andis, meaning those who do service in temples, and the mudavandis or the lame beggars. andi is in fact almost a generic term. all andis are not beggars however; some are bricklayers, others are cultivators, and others are occupied in the temples. they employed brahman priests at their ceremonies, but all of them eat meat and drink alcohol. widows and divorcées may marry again. among the tinnevelly andis, the sister of the bridegroom ties the tali (marriage badge) round the bride's neck, which is not usual." in the madras census report, 1891, the andis are summed up as "beggars who profess the saiva faith. they may be found in all the tamil districts, begging from door to door, beating a small gong with a stick. the andis differ from most other castes, in that a person of any caste may join their community. some of them officiate as priests in village temples, especially when large sacrifices of goats, buffaloes, and pigs are made. they usually bury the dead. they have returned 105 sub-divisions, of which the most important are the following:--jangam, komanandi, lingadari, mudavandi, and uppandi. komanam is the small loin cloth, and a komanandi goes naked, except for this slight concession to decency. mudam means lame, and the mudavandis (q.v.) are allowed to claim any deformed child belonging to the konga vellala caste. the etymology of uppandi is difficult, but it is improbable that it has any connection with uppu, salt. in the tanjore manual, it is noted that "in its ordinary acceptation the word andi means houseless beggars, and is applied to those who profess the saiva faith. they go out every morning, begging for alms of uncooked rice, singing ballads or hymns. they play on a small gong called semakkalam with a stick, and often carry a conch shell, which they blow. they are given to drinking." it is recorded [62] that "south indian beggars are divided into two classes, panjathandi and paramparaiandi. the former are famine-made beggars, and the latter are beggars from generation to generation. the former, a common saying goes, would rob from the person of a child at a convenient opportunity, while the latter would jump into a well, and pick up a child which had fallen into it by an accident, and make it over to its parents." andi (a god) occurs as an exogamous section of sirukudi kallans. andinia.--recorded by mr. f. fawcett as an inferior sub-division of dombs, who eat frogs. anduran.--a sub-division of nayar potters, who manufacture earthenware articles for use in temples. the name is derived from andur, a place which was once a fief under the zamorin of calicut. ane (elephant).--an exogamous sept of holeya, kappiliyan, kuruba, kadu kurumba, moger, and gangadikara vakkaliga. yenigala or yenuga (elephant) is further an exogamous sept of kapus, who will not touch ivory. anai-kombu (elephant tusk) occurs as a sub-division of idaiyan. angarakudu (the planet mars).--a synonym of mangala. anja.--in the madras census report, 1891, ajna is returned as a sub-division of pallan. this, however, seems to be a mistake for anja (father), by which name these pallans address their fathers. anju nal (five days).--recorded in the salem manual, as a name given to pallis who perform the death ceremony on the fifth day after death. anjuttan (men of the five hundred).--recorded at times of census, as a sub-division of panan, and a synonym of velan. in the gazetteer of malabar, it appears as a sub-division of mannans, who are closely akin to the velans. the equivalent anjuttilkar occurs as a synonym for tenkanchi vellalas in travancore. anna (brother).--the title of numerous classes, e.g., dasari, gavara, golla, konda dora, koppala velama, mangala, mila, paidi, and segidi. annam (cooked rice).--an exogamous sept of gamalla and togata. annavi.--a title of savalakkarans, who play on the nagasaram (reed instrument) in temples. antalavar.--recorded in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. antarala.--a synonym of ambalavasi, denoting those who occupy an intermediate position between brahmans and sudras. antarjanam (inside person).--a term applied to nambutiri brahman females, who live in seclusion. [63] anuloma.--one of the two classes of sudras, viz., anuloma and veloma. the term anuloma is applied to those born of a higher-caste male and a lower-caste female, e.g., barbers are said to be the offspring of a brahman and a vaisya woman. anumala (seeds of dolichos lablab).--an exogamous sept of devanga. the equivalent anumolla occurs as an exogamous sept of kamma. anuppan.--the anuppans are described, in the madras census report, 1891, as "a small caste of canarese farmers, found chiefly in the districts of madura, tinnevelly, and coimbatore. their original home appears to have been mysore or south canara, probably the former. their language is a corrupt form of canarese. the most important sub-division is allikulam (lily clan). some of them are saivites, and others vaishnavites. brahmans are employed as priests by the vaishnavites, but not by the saivites. remarriage of widows is practised, but a woman divorced for adultery cannot remarry during the life-time of her husband." in the gazetteer of the madura district, it is stated that "the anuppans are commonest in the kambam valley. they have a tradition regarding their migration thither, which closely resembles that current among the kappiliyans and tottiyans (q.v.). local tradition at kambam says that the anuppans were in great strength here in olden days, and that quarrels arose, in the course of which the chief of the kappiliyans, ramachcha kavandan, was killed. with his dying breath he cursed the anuppans, and thenceforth they never prospered, and now not one of them is left in the town. their title is kavandan. they are divided into six territorial groups called medus, which are named after three villages in this district, and three in tinnevelly. over each of these is a headman called the periyadanakkaran, and the three former are also subject to a guru who lives at sirupalai near madura. these three are divided again into eighteen kilais or branches, each of which intermarries only with certain of the others. caste panchayats (councils) are held on a blanket, on which (compare the tottiyan custom) is placed a pot of water containing margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, to symbolise the sacred nature of the meeting. women who go astray with men of other castes are expelled, and various ceremonies, including (it is said) the burying alive of a goat, are enacted to show that they are dead to the community. the right of a man to his paternal aunt's daughter is as vigorously maintained as among the kappiliyans and tottiyans, and leads to the same curious state of affairs (i.e., a woman, whose husband is too young to fulfil the duties of his position, is allowed to consort with his near relations, and the children so begotten are treated as his). no tali (marriage badge) is tied at weddings, and the binding part of the ceremonies is the linking, on seven separate occasions, of the little fingers of the couple. like the kappiliyans, the anuppans have many caste and family deities, a number of whom are women who committed sati." (see kappiliyan). apoto.--apoto, or oppoto, is a sub-division of gaudos, the occupation of which is palanquin-bearing. appa (father).--a title of members of various telugu and canarese castes, e.g., idiga, kannadiyan, linga balija, and tambala. arab.--a muhammadan territorial name, returned at times of census. in the mysore census report, 1901, the arabs are described as itinerant tradesmen, whose chief business is horse-dealing, though some deal in cloths. aradhya.--for the following note i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the aradhyas are a sect of brahmans found mainly in the four northern districts of the madras presidency, and to a smaller extent in the cuddapah and kurnool districts. a few are also found in the mysore state. they differ in almost every important respect from other brahmans. basava, the founder of the lingayat religion, was born in a family of brahmans, who, with others round about them, were apparently the first converts to his religion. according to mr. c. p. brown, [64] they were "in all probability his personal friends; he persuaded them to lay aside their name, and call themselves aradhya or reverend.' they revere the four aradhyas, visionary personages of the lingayat creed, of whom very little is known. at all social and religious functions, birth, marriage, initiation and funerals, four vases of water are solemnly placed in their name, and then invoked to preside over them. their names are revanaradhya, marularadhya, ekoramaradhya, and panditaradhya. in four ages, it is said, these four successively appeared as precursors of the divine basava, and were, like basava, brahmans. a purana, known as the panditaradhya charitra, is named after the last of these. versions thereof are found both in canarese and telugu. a sanskrit poem, called siddhanta sikhamani, represents revanaradhya as a human manifestation of one of the ministers of siva. as might be expected, the members of this sect are staunch saivites. they wear both the brahminical sacred thread, and the linga suspended from another thread. they revere in particular ganapathi. the lingam which they wear they usually call the prana lingam, or life lingam. the moment a child, male or female, is born, it is invested with the lingam; otherwise it is not considered to have pranam or life. the popular belief is that, if by some accident the lingam is lost, a man must either fast until he recovers it, or not survive so dire a calamity. this is a fixed dogma with them. a man who loses his prana linga stands up to his neck in water, and repeats mantrams (sacred formulæ) for days together; and, on the last day, the lost lingam comes back to him miraculously, if he has been really orthodox in his life. if he does not succeed in recovering it, he must starve and die. the theory is that the lingam is the life of the man who wears it, and, when it is lost beyond recovery, he loses his own life. incredible stories of miraculous recoveries of the lingam are told. in one case, it is said to have returned to its owner, making a loud noise in water; and in another it was found in a box under lock and key. in this connection, the following story is narrated by colonel wilks. [65] "poornia, the present minister of mysore, relates an incident of a lingayat friend of his, who had unhappily lost his portable god, and came to take a last farewell. the indians, like more enlightened nations, readily laugh at the absurdities of every sect but their own, and poornia gave him better counsel. it is a part of the ceremonial preceding the sacrifice of the individual that the principal persons of the sect should assemble on the bank of some holy stream, and, placing in a basket the lingam images of the whole assembly, purify them in the sacred waters. the destined victim in conformity to the advice of his friend, suddenly seized the basket, and overturned its contents into the rapid caveri. now, my friends, said he, we are on equal terms; let us prepare to die together. the discussion terminated according to expectation. the whole party took an oath of inviolable secrecy, and each privately provided himself with a new image of the lingam." aradhyas, as has been indicated, differ from other brahmans in general in some of their customs. before they partake of food, they make an offering of it to the lingam which they are wearing. as they cannot eat without making this offering, they have the entire meal served up at the commencement thereof. they offer the whole to the lingam, and then begin to eat. they do not accept offerings distributed in temples as other brahmans do, because they have already been offered to the god, and cannot therefore be offered again to the lingam. unlike other lingayats, aradhyas believe in the vedas, to which they give allegorical interpretations. they are fond of reading sanskrit, and a few have been well-known telugu poets. thus, palapuri somanatha, who lived in the fourteenth century a.d., composed the basava purana and the panditaradhya charitra, and the brothers piduparthi somanatha and the basavakavi, who lived in the sixteenth century, composed other religious works. aradhyas marry among themselves, and occasionally take girls in marriage from certain of the niyogi sub-divisions of the northern circars. this would seem to show that they were themselves niyogis, prior to their conversion. they do not intermarry with aruvelu niyogis. unlike other brahmans, they bury their dead in a sitting posture. they observe death pollution for ten days, and perform the ekodishta and other brahminical ceremonies for their progenitors. they perform annually, not the brahminical sradha, but the aradhana. in the latter, there is no apasavyam (wearing the sacred thread from right to left), and no use of gingelly seeds and dharba grass. nor is there homam (raising the sacrificial fire), parvanam (offering of rice-balls), or oblation of water. widows do not have their heads shaved. the title of the aradhyas is always aradhya. arakala.--a small class of cultivators, recorded mainly from the kurnool district. the name is possibly derived from araka, meaning a plough with bullocks, or from arakadu, a cultivator. arampukatti.--the name, denoting those who tie flower-buds or prepare garlands, of a sub-division of vellalas. aranadan, see ernadan. arane (lizard).--an exogamous sub-sept of kappiliyan. arashina (turmeric).--a gotra or exogamous sept of agasa, kurni, kuruba, and odde. the equivalent pasupula occurs as an exogamous sept of devanga. in southern india, turmeric (curcuma) is commonly called saffron (crocus). turmeric enters largely into hindu ceremonial. for example, the practice of smearing the face with it is very widespread among females, and, thinking that it will give their husbands increase of years, women freely bathe themselves with turmeric water. the use of water, in which turmeric has been infused, and by which they give the whole body a bright yellow colour, is prescribed to wives as a mark of the conjugal state, and forbidden to widows. [66] to ward off the evil eye, a vessel containing turmeric water and other things is waved in front of the bridal couple at weddings. or they are bathed in turmeric water, which they pour over each other. the tali or bottu (gold marriage badge) is attached to a cotton thread dyed with turmeric, and, among some castes, the tying together of the hands of the bride and bridegroom with such a thread is the binding portion of the ceremony. arasu or rajpinde.--"this caste," mr. lewis rice writes (1877):-[67] "are relatives of or connected with the rajahs of mysore. during the life-time of the late maharaja, they were divided into two factions in consequence of the refusal of thirteen families headed by the dalavayi (the chief of the female branch) to pay respect to an illegitimate son of his highness. the other eighteen families consented to the rajah's wishes, and treat the illegitimate branch, called komarapatta, as equals. the two divisions intermarry and eat together, and the family quarrel, though serious at the time, is not likely to be permanent. they are employed chiefly under government and in agriculture, most of the former being engaged in the palace at mysore. rajpindes are both vishnavites and sivites, and their priests are both brahmans and lingayat waders." in the madras census report, 1891, arasu (= raja or king) is given as a sub-division of the tamil pallis and paraiyans. urs appears as a contracted form of arasu in the names of the mysore royal family, e.g., kantaraj urs. arathi.--the name, indicating a wave offering to avert the evil eye, of an exogamous sept of kuruba. arati (plantain tree).--an exogamous sept of chenchu. arava.--arava, signifying tamil, has been recorded as a sub-division of some telugu classes, e.g., golla and velama. the name, however, refers to tamil idaiyans and vellalas, who have settled in the telugu country, and are known respectively as arava golla and arava velama. in some places in the telugu country, tamil paraiyans, employed as servants under europeans, horse-keepers, etc., are known as arava malalu (malas). the irulas of the north arcot district are, in like manner, sometimes called arava yanadis. arava also occurs as a division of tigalas, said to be a section of the tamil pallis, who have settled in mysore. an ingenious suggestion has been made that arava is derived from ara, half, vayi, mouthed, in reference to the defective tamil alphabet, or to the termination of the words being mostly in consonants. aravan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. arayan.--see valan. archaka.--archaka, or umai archaka, is a title of occhans, who are priests at temples of grama devatas (village deities). are.--a synonym for marathi. the name occurs as a sub-division of kunchigar and kudubi. in south canara arya kshatri occurs as the equivalent of are, and, in the telugu country, are kapu refers to marathi cultivators. arya kuttadi is a tamil synonym of marathi dommaras. concerning the ares, mr. h. g. stuart writes as follows. [68] "of the total number of 6,809 ares, 4,373 are found in south canara, bellary and anantapur, and these are true ares. of the rest i am not able to speak with certainty, as the term arya, which is a synonym of are, is also used as an equivalent of marathi, and sometimes in a still wider sense. the true ares are husbandmen of maratha origin. they wear the sacred thread, have brahmans as their priests, and give allegiance to the head of the sringeri mutt. marriage of girls takes place either before or after puberty, and the remarriage of widows is not allowed. a husband may divorce his wife for adultery, but a wife cannot divorce her husband. when the guilt of a woman is proved, and the sanction of the guru obtained, the husband performs the act of divorce by cutting a pumpkin in two at a place where three ways meet. the use of animal food is allowed, but intoxicating liquors are forbidden." the ares of south canara, mr. stuart writes further, [69] "usually speak marathi or konkani, but in the kasaragod taluk, and possibly in other parts too, they speak canarese. their exogamous septs are called manathanas. they use the dhare form of marriage (see bant), but the pot contains a mixture of water, milk, ghee (clarified butter), honey and curds instead of the usual plain water." the marathi-speaking areyavaru or aryavaru of the south canara district follow the makkala santana law of inheritance (from father to son). for ceremonial purposes, they engage shivalli brahmans. an interesting feature of the marriage rites is that the bridegroom makes a pretence of going to a battle-field to fight, presumably to show that he is of kshatriya descent. the ceremony is called dandal jatai. the bridegroom ties a bead on the neck of the bride if of the powar sept, and a disc if of the edar sept. the areyavaru eat fowls and fish. the former are killed after certain mantrams (prayers) have been uttered, and, if a priest is available, it is his duty to despatch the bird. the caste deity is ammanoru (durga), in the worship of whom the areyavaru, like other maratha castes, employ gondala mendicants. are (bauhinia racemosa).--a gotra of kurni. ari.--the aris or dutans are described, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a "small but interesting community confined to a village in the tovala taluk. by traditional occupation they are the ambalavasis of the saivaite temple of darsanamkoppa. they are strict vegetarians, wear the brahminical thread, perform all the brahminical ceremonies under the guidance of brahman priests, and claim a position equal to that of the aryappattars. but they are not allowed to dine with the brahmans, or to enter the mandapa in front of the garbhagriha, the inner sanctuary of a hindu shrine. their dress and ornaments are like those of the tamil brahmans, and their language is tamil. their period of pollution, however, is as long as fifteen days." ari (ebony).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. arigala.--arigala, denoting a dish carried in procession, occurs as an exogamous sept of mutracha. arigala and arika, both meaning the millet paspalum scrobiculatum, are septs of jatapu and panta reddi. the latter may not use the grain as food. arikuravan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. arisi.--a sub-division of savara. ariyar.--ariyar or ariyanattu chetti is given as a caste title by pattanavans. ariyur.--ariyur or ariviyur is the name of a sub-division of nattukottai chettis. arli (ficus religiosa).--an exogamous sept of stanika. arudra (lady-bird).--an exogamous sept of kalingi. arupathukatchi (sixty house section).--a sub-division of valluvan. arupattanalu taleikattu (sixty-four, who covered their heads).--a sub-division of chetti. aruththukattatha.--the name, meaning those who do not tie the tali a second time, of a section of paraiyans who do not allow the remarriage of widows. aruva.--the aruvas are an interesting caste of cultivators along the sea-coast in the berhampur taluk of ganjam. they say that they are descended from the offspring of alliances between patanis (muhammadans) and oriya women. like other oriya castes, they have a number of titles, e.g., nayako, patro, podhano, ponda, mondolo, and mollana, some of which seem to be exogamous, and there are also numerous exogamous septs or bamsams. the headman is styled nayako, and he is assisted by a bhollobhaya. both these offices are hereditary. the aruvas say that they belong to two vedas, viz., the males to atharva veda, and the females to yajur veda. muhammadans are believed by them to be atharvavedis. a member of the caste, called mollana, officiates on ceremonial occasions. a pure oriya casteman will not allow his son to marry his sister's daughter, but this is permitted in most places by the aruvas. the marriage ceremonial, except in a few points of detail, conforms to the general oriya type. on the day before the wedding, a milk-post of bamboo is erected, and in front of it a new cloth, and various articles for worship are placed. when the fingers of the contracting couple are linked together, and at other stages of the marriage rites, the mollana recites certain formulæ, in which the words bismillahi and allah occur. the dead are always buried. in former days, stone slabs, with arabic or hindustani legends in oriya characters inscribed on them, used to be set up over the grave. for these, two sticks are now substituted. the corpse of a dead person is sewn up in a kind of sack. as it is being lowered into the grave, the mollana recites formulæ, and those present throw earth over it before the grave is filled in. they then take their departure, and the mollana, standing on one leg, recites further formulæ. on the following day, bitter food, consisting of rice and margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, is prepared, and given to the agnates. on the third day after death, the burial-ground is visited, and, after water has been poured over the grave, a cloth is spread thereon. on this relations of the deceased throw earth and food. a purificatory ceremony, in which ghi (clarified butter) is touched, is performed on the fifteenth day. on the fortieth day, the mollana officiates at a ceremony in which food is offered to the dead person. the aruvas do not take part in any muhammadan ceremonial, and do not worship in mosques. most of them are paramarthos, and all worship various hindu deities and takuranis (village gods). at their houses, the god is represented by a mass of mud of conical shape, with an areca nut on the top of it. in recent times, a number of aruva families, owing to a dispute with the mollana, do not employ him for their ceremonials, in which they follow the standard oriya type. they neither interdine nor intermarry with other sections of the community, and have become an independent section thereof. arya.--arya or ariya (noble) occurs as a class of pattar brahmans, a division of samagaras, and an exogamous sept of kurubas. some pattanavans call themselves ariya nattu chetti (chettis of the country of chiefs), ariyar, or ayyayirath thalaivar (the five thousand chiefs). asadi.--the asadis of the bellary district are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a sub-caste of mala or holeya, which, in bellary, are almost interchangeable terms. they are prostitutes and dancers." among the madigas, men called asadi, who have undergone an initiation ceremony, go about, in company with the matangis (dedicated prostitutes), playing on an instrument called the chaudike, and singing the praises and reciting the story of ellamma. (see madiga.) asan (teacher).--the title of variyans, who have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen's families. also a title of pisharati and kanisan. asari.--in most parts of the madras presidency, mr. h. a. sturat writes, "asari (or achari) is synonymous with kammalan, and may denote any of the five artizan castes, but in malabar it is practically confined to the carpenter caste. the asari of malabar is the brahman of the kammala castes. the kammala castes generally pollute nayars by approaching within twelve feet, and brahmans by coming within thirty-six feet; but an asari with his measuring rod in his hand has the privilege of approaching very near, and even entering the houses of higher castes without polluting them. this exception may have arisen out of necessity." at the census, 1901, some sayakkarans (tamil dyers) returned asari as a title. in a government office, a short time ago, the head clerk, a brahman named rangachari, altered the spelling of the name of a kammalan from velayudachari to velayudasari in the office books, on the ground that the former looked brahmanical. ashtakshari (eight syllables).--a sub-division of satanis, who believe in the efficacy of the eight syllables om-na-mo-na-ra-ya-na-ya in ensuring eternal bliss. the name ashtabhukkulu, or those who eat the eight greedily, also occurs as a sub-division of the same people. ashtalohi.--the name, meaning workers in eight metals, of a small class of oriya artizans. according to one version the eight metals are gold, silver, bell-metal, copper, lead, tin, iron, and brass; according to another, gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, load-stone, iron, and steel. ashtikurissi.--ashtikurissi (ashti, a bone) or attikurissi is an occupational sub-division of nayars and marans, who officiate at the funerals of nambutiri brahmans and nayars, and help in collecting the remains of the bones after cremation. asili.--the name for telugu toddy-drawers in the cuddapah district. (see idiga.) asupani.--an occupational name for marans who play on the temple musical instruments asu and pani. asvo (horse).--an exogamous sept of ghasi. atagara or hatagara.--a sub-division of devanga. aththi (ficus glomerata).--an exogamous sept of stanika. atikunnan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. atreya.--a brahmanical gotra of bhatrazus. atreyas are descendants of atri, a rishi who is regarded by some as one of the ten prajapatis of manu. atta (mother).--a sub-division of pallan. attangarai (river-bank).--a sub-division of konga vellala. attikankana (cotton marriage thread).--a sub-division of kurubas, who tie a cotton thread round the wrist at weddings. atumpatram.--a name, meaning an object which dances, for deva-dasis in travancore. aunvallur (possessors of cattle).--a fanciful name for idaiyans. avaru.--a synonym of agaru. aviri (indigofera tinctoria).--an exogamous sept of padma sales, who use indigo in the manufacture of coloured cloth fabrics. avisa (sesbania grandiflora).--a gotra of medara. avu (snake).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. avula (cow).--an exogamous sept of balija, boya, golla, kapu, korava, mutracha, and yerukala. ayar (cow-herd).--a synonym or sub-division of idaiyan and kolayan. ayodhya (oudh).--a sub-division of kapus, who say that they originally lived in oudh. azhati.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a synonym of pisharati. badaga.--as the todas are the pastoral, and the kotas the artisan tribe of the nilgiris, so the agricultural element on these hills is represented by the badagas (or, as they are sometimes called, burghers). their number was returned, at the census, 1901, as 34,178 against 1,267 kotas, and 807 todas. though the primary occupation of the badagas is agriculture, there are among their community schoolmasters, clerks, public works contractors, bricklayers, painters, carpenters, sawyers, tailors, gardeners, forest guards, barbers, washermen, and scavengers. many work on tea and coffee estates, and gangs of badagas can always be seen breaking stones on, and repairing the hill roads. others are, at the present day, earning good wages in the cordite factory near wellington. some of the more prosperous possess tea and coffee estates of their own. the rising generation are, to some extent, learning tamil and english, in addition to their own language, which is said to resemble old canarese. and i have heard a youthful badaga, tending a flock of sheep, address an errant member thereof in very fluent billingsgate. there were, in 1904-1905, thirty-nine badaga schools, which were attended by 1,222 pupils. in 1907, one badaga had passed the matriculation of the madras university, and was a clerk in the sub-judge's court at ootacamund. a newspaper discussion was carried on a few years ago as to the condition of the badagas, and whether they are a down-trodden tribe, bankrupt and impoverished to such a degree that it is only a short time before something must be done to ameliorate their condition, and save them from extermination by inducing them to emigrate to the wynad and vizagapatam. a few have, in recent years, migrated to the anaimalai hills, to work on the planters' estates, which have been opened up there. one writer stated that "the tiled houses, costing from rs. 250 to rs. 500, certainly point to their prosperity. they may frequently borrow from the labbai to enable them to build, but, as i do not know of a single case in which the labbai has ever seized the house and sold it, i believe this debt is soon discharged. the walled-in, terraced fields immediately around their villages, on which they grow their barley and other grains requiring rich cultivation, are well worked, and regularly manured. the coats, good thick blankets, and gold ear-rings, which most badagas now possess, can only, i think, point to their prosperity, while their constant feasts, and disinclination to work on sundays, show that the loss of a few days' pay does not affect them. on the other hand, a former native official on the nilgiris writes to me that "though the average badaga is thrifty and hard-working, there is a tendency for him to be lazy when he is sure of his meal. when a person is sick in another village, his relatives make it an excuse to go and see him, and they have to be fed. when the first crop is raised, the idler pretends that 'worms' have crept into the crop, and the gods have to be propitiated, and there is a feast. marriage or death, of course, draws a crowd to be fed or feasted. all this means extra expenditure, and a considerable drain on the slender income of the family. the rowthan (muhammadan merchant) from the tamil country is near at hand to lend money, as he has carried his bazar to the very heart of the badaga villages. first it is a bag of ragi (food grain), a piece of cloth to throw on the coffin, or a few rupees worth of rice and curry-stuff doled out by the all-accommodating rowthan at a price out of all proportion to the market rate, and at a rate ranging from six pies to two annas for the rupee. the ever impecunious badaga has no means of extricating himself, with a slender income, which leaves no margin for redeeming debts. the bond is renewed every quarter or half year, and the debt grows by leaps and bounds, and consumes all his earthly goods, including lands. the advent of lawyers on the hills has made the badagas a most litigious people, and they resort to the courts, which means expenditure of money, and neglect of agriculture." in the funeral song of the badagas, which has been translated by mr. gover, [70] one of the crimes enumerated, for which atonement must be made, is that of preferring a complaint to the sirkar (government), and one of their numerous proverbs embodies the same idea. "if you prefer a complaint to a magistrate, it is as if you had put poison into your adversary's food." but mr. grigg writes, [71] "either the terrors of the sirkar are not what they were, or this precept is much disregarded, for the court-house at ootacamund is constantly thronged with badagas, and they are now very much given to litigation." i gather from the notes, which bishop whitehead has kindly placed at my disposal, that "when the badagas wish to take a very solemn oath, they go to the temple of mariamma at sigur, and, after bathing in the stream and putting on only one cloth, offer fruits, cocoanuts, etc., and kill a sheep or fowl. they put the head of the animal on the step of the shrine, and make a line on the ground just in front of it. the person who is taking the oath then walks from seven feet off in seven steps, putting one foot immediately in front of the other, up to the line, crosses it, goes inside the shrine, and puts out a lamp that is burning in front of the image. if the oath is true, the man will walk without any difficulty straight to the shrine. but, if the oath is not true, his eyes will be blinded, and he will not be able to walk straight to the shrine, or see the lamp. it is a common saying among badagas, when a man tells lies, 'will you go to sigur, and take an oath?' oaths are taken in much the same way at the temple of mariamma at ootacamund. when a hindu gives evidence in the court at ootacamund, he is often asked by the judge whether he will take an oath at the mariamma temple. if he agrees, he is sent off to the temple with a court official. the party for whom he gives evidence supplies a goat or sheep, which is killed at the temple, the head and carcase being placed in front of the image. the witness steps over the carcase, and this forms the oath. if the evidence is false, it is believed that some evil will happen to him." the name badaga or vadugan means northerner, and the badagas are believed to be descended from canarese colonists from the mysore country, who migrated to the nilgiris three centuries ago owing to famine, political turmoil, or local oppression in their own country. it is worthy of notice, in this connection, that the head of the badagas, like that of the todas and kotas, is dolichocephalic, and not of the mesaticephalic or sub-brachycephalic type, which prevails throughout mysore, as in other canarese areas. average. cephalic cephalic cephalic length. breadth. index. cm. cm. badaga 18.9 13.6 71.7 toda 19.4 14.2 73.3 kota 19.2 14.2 74.1 of the mysorean heads, the following are a few typical examples:- average. cephalic cephalic cephalic length. breadth. index. cm. cm. ganiga 18.5 14.3 77.6 bedar 18.3 14.3 77.7 holeya 17.9 14.1 79.1 mandya brahman 18.5 14.8 80.2 vakkaliga 17.7 14.5 81.7 concerning the origin of the badagas, the following legend is current. seven brothers and their sisters were living on the talamalai hills. a muhammadan ruler attempted to ravish the girl, whom the brother saved from him by flight. they settled down near the present village of bethalhada. after a short stay there, the brothers separated, and settled in different parts of the nilgiris, which they peopled. concerning the second brother, hethappa, who had two daughters, the story goes that, during his absence on one occasion, two todas forced their way into his house, ravished his wife, and possessed themselves of his worldly effects. hearing of what had occurred, hethappa sought the assistance of two balayaru in revenging himself on the todas. they readily consented to help him, in return for a promise that they should marry his daughters. the todas were killed, and the present inhabitants of the village hulikallu are supposed to be the descendants of the balayaru and badaga girls. the seven brothers are now worshipped under the name hethappa or hetha. in connection with the migration of the badagas to the nilgiris, the following note is given in the gazetteer of the nilgiris. "when this flitting took place there is little to show. it must have occurred after the foundation of the lingayat creed in the latter half of the twelfth century, as many of the badagas are lingayats by faith, and sometime before the end of the sixteenth century, since in 1602 the catholic priests from the west coast found them settled on the south of the plateau, and observing much the same relations with the todas as subsist to this day. the present state of our knowledge does not enable us to fix more nearly the date of the migration. that the language of the badagas, which is a form of canarese, should by now have so widely altered from its original as to be classed as a separate dialect argues that the movement took place nearer the twelfth than the sixteenth century. on the other hand, the fact (pointed out by dr. rivers [72]) that the badagas are not mentioned in a single one of the todas' legends about their gods, whereas the kotas, kurumbas, and irulas, each play a part in one or more of these stories, raises the inference that the relations between the badagas and the todas are recent as compared with those between the other tribes. a critical study of the badaga dialect might perhaps serve to fix within closer limits the date of the migration. as now spoken, this tongue contains letters (two forms of r for instance) and numerous words, which are otherwise met with only in ancient books, and which strike most strangely upon the ear of the present generation of canarese. the date when some of these letters and words became obsolete might possibly be traced, and thus aid in fixing the period when the badagas left the low country. it is known that the two forms of r, for example, had dropped out of use prior to the time of the grammarian kesiraja, who lived in the thirteenth century, and that the word betta (a hill), which the badagas use in place of the modern bettu, is found in the thirteenth century work sabdamanidarpana." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the nilgiris, that "nellialam, about eight miles north-west of devala as the crow flies, is the residence of the nellialam arasu (urs), who has been recognised as the janmi (landlord) of a considerable area in the munanad amsam, but is in reality a canarese-speaking lingayat of canarese extraction, who follows the ordinary hindu law of inheritance, and is not a native of the wynad or of malabar. family tradition, though now somewhat misty, says that in the beginning two brothers named sadasiva raja urs and bhujanga raja urs moved (at some date and for some reason not stated) from ummattur (in the present chamarajnagar taluk of mysore), and settled at malaikota, the old fort near kalhatti. their family deities were bhujangesvara and ummattur urakatti, which are still worshipped as such. they brought with them a following of bedars and badagas, and thereafter always encouraged the immigration to the hills of more canarese people. the village of bannimara, a mile west of kalhatti, is still peopled by bedars who are said to be descendants of people of that caste who came with the two brothers; and to this day, when the badagas of the plateau have disputes of difficulty, they are said to go down to nellialam with presents (kanikai) in their hands, and ask the arasu to settle their differences, while, at the time of their periodical ceremonies (manavalai) to the memory of their ancestors, they send a deputation to nellialam to invite representatives of the arasu to be present." close to the village of bethalhada is a row of cromlechs carved with figures of the sun and moon, human beings, animals, etc., and enclosed within a stone kraal, which the badagas claim to be the work of their ancestors, to whom periodical offerings are made. at the time of my visit, there were within one of the cromlechs a conch shell, lingam, bell, and flowers. a number of these sculptured cromlechs at sholur, melur, and other spots on the nilgiris, are described and figured by breeks, [73] who records that the cromlech at jakata kambe is interesting as being the place of the yearly sacrifice performed by the badagas of the jakaneri grama (village) by their kani kurumba. and he adds that the badagas would seem to have usually selected the neighbourhood of these cromlechs for their temples, as for example, at melur, kakusi, h'laiuru, tudur, and jakatada. it is recorded [74], in connection with the legends of the badagas, that "in the heart of the banagudi shola, not far from the dodduru group of cromlechs, is an odd little shrine to karairaya, consisting of a ruined stone hut surrounded by a low wall, within which are a tiny cromlech, some sacred water-worn stones, and sundry little pottery images representing a tiger, a mounted man, and some dogs. these keep in memory, it is said, a badaga who was slain in combat with a tiger; and annually a festival is held, at which new images are placed there, and vows are paid. a kurumba makes fire by friction and burns incense, throws sanctified water over the numerous goats brought to be sacrificed, to see if they will shiver in the manner always held necessary in sacrificial victims, and then slays, one after the other, those which have shown themselves duly qualified. hulikal drug, usually known as the drug, is a precipitous bluff at the very end of the range which borders on the south the great ravine which runs up to coonoor. it is named from the neighbouring village of hulikal, or tiger's stone, and the story goes that this latter is so called because in it a badaga killed a notorious man-eater which had long been the terror of the country side. the spot where the beast was buried is shown near the pillaiyar temple to the south of hulikal village, and is marked by three stones. burton says there used formerly to be a stone image of the slain tiger thereabouts. some two miles south-east of konakarai in a place known as kottai-hada, or the fort flat, lie the remains of the old fort udaiya raya kota. badaga tradition gives a fairly detailed account of udaiya raya. it says he was a chief who collected the taxes for the ummattur rajas, and that he had also a fort at kullanthorai, near sirumugai, the remains of which are still to be seen. he married a woman of netlingi hamlet of nedugula, named muddu gavari, but she died by the wrath of the gods because she persuaded him to celebrate the annual fire-walking festival in front of the fort, instead of at the customary spot by the mahalingasvami temple about half a mile off. anaikatti is a hamlet situated in the jungle of the moyar valley. the stream which flows past it tumbles over a pretty fall on the slopes of birmukku (bimaka) hill. the badagas call the spot kuduraihallo, or the ravine of the horse, and say the name was given it because a badaga, covered with shame at finding that his wife gave him first sort rice but his brother who lived with them only second sort, committed suicide by jumping his horse down the fall." according to mr. grigg, the badagas recognise eighteen different "castes or sects." these are, however, simplified by mr. s. m. natesa sastri [75] into six, "five high castes and one low caste." they are- 1. udaya. | 2. haruva. | 3. adhikari. | high caste. 4. kanaka. | 5. badaga. | 6. toreya low caste. "udayas are lingayats in religion, and carry the sivalinga--the siva image--tied round their necks. they claim to be superior to all the other badagas, and are regarded as such. they are priests to all the badagas of the lingayat class, and are strict vegetarians. they do not intermarry with any of the other high caste badaga sects. udaya was, and is the title assumed by the maisur rajas, and those badagas, by being thus designated as a caste, claim superior blood in their veins." the lingayat badagas are commonly called lingakutti. "next in rank come the haruvas. from their name being so closely connected with the aryas--the respectable--and from their habit of wearing the brahmanical thread, we are warranted in believing that they must originally have been the poor brahman priests of the badagas that migrated to this country (the nilgiris), though they have now got themselves closely mingled with the badagas. these haruvas are also strict vegetarians, and act as priests." it has been suggested that the haruvas (jumper) derive their name from the fire-walking ceremony, which they perform periodically. a further, and more probable suggestion has been made to me that haruva comes from a canarese word meaning to beg or pray; hence one who begs or prays, and so a brahman. the canarese basava purana frequently uses the word in sense. "the adhikaris are to a certain extent vegetarians. the other two high castes, and of course the low caste toreyas also, have no objection of any kind to eating flesh. it is also said that the vegetarian adhikari, if he marries into a flesh-eating caste of the badagas, betakes himself to this latter very readily." the kanakas are stated by mr. grigg to be the accountants, who were probably introduced when the hills were under the sway of the tamil chiefs. this would, however, seem to be very improbable. "the toreyas are regarded as sons and servants to the five high caste badaga sects--to the haruvas especially. they are the lowest in the scale, and they are prohibited from intermarrying with the other or high caste badagas, as long as they are sons to them." the toreya does the menial duties for the tribe. he is the village servant, carries the corpses to the burning-ground, conveys the news of a death from village to village, is the first to get shaved when a death occurs, and is sent along with a woman when she is going to visit her mother or mother-in-law at a distance from her own home. "the udayas, adhikaris and kanakas are lingayats in religion, and the other three, the haruvas, badagas, and toreyas are saivites." of the six divisions referred to, the udayas and toreyas are endogamous, but intermarriage is permissible between the other four. at the census, 1891, a large number of badagas returned as their sub-division vakkaliga, which means cultivator, and is the name of the great cultivating caste of mysore. seven miles west of coonoor is a village named athikarihatti, or village of the athikari or adhikari section of the badagas. "the story goes that these people, under a leader named karibetta raya, came from sarigur in mysore territory, and settled first at nelliturai (a short distance south-west of mettupalaiyam) and afterwards at tudur (on the plateau west of kulakambi) and tadasimarahatti (to the north-west of melur), and that it was they who erected the sculptured cromlechs of tudur and melur. tudur and tadasimarahatti are now both deserted; but in the former a cattle kraal, an old shrine, and a pit for fire-walking may still be seen, and in the latter another kraal, and one of the raised stone platforms called mandaikallu by the badagas. tradition says that the badagas left these places and founded athikarihatti and its hamlets instead, because the kurumbas round about continually troubled them with their magic arts, and indeed killed by sorcery several of their most prominent citizens." [76] like other canarese people, the badagas have exogamous septs or kulas, of which mari, madhave (marriage), kasturi (musk), and belli (silver) are examples. a very large number of families belong to the mari and madhave septs, which were time after time given as the sept name in reply to my enquiries. it may be noted that belli occurs as an exogamous sept of the canarese classes vakkaliga, toreya, and kuruba, and kasturi is recorded in my notes as a sept of the vakkaligas and telugu kammas. the badagas dwell in extensive villages, generally situated on the summit of a low hillock, composed of rows of comfortable thatched or tiled houses, and surrounded by the fields, which yield the crops. the houses are not separate tenements, but a line of dwellings under one continuous roof, and divided by party walls. sometimes there are two or three, or more lines, forming streets. each house is partitioned off into an outer (edumane) and inner apartment (ozhaga or ogamane). if the family has cows or buffaloes yielding milk, a portion of the latter is converted into a milk-house (hagottu), in which the milk is stored, and which no woman may enter. even males who are under pollution, from having touched or passed near a kota or paraiyan, or other cause, may not enter it until they have had a ceremonial bath. to some houses a loft, made of bamboo posts, is added, to serve as a store-house. in every badaga village there is a raised platform composed of a single boulder or several stones with an erect stone slab set up thereon, called suththu kallu. there is, further, a platform, made of bricks and mud, called mandhe kallu, whereon the badagas, when not working, sit at ease. in their folk-tales men seated thereon are made to give information concerning the approach of strangers to the village. strangers, who are not badagas, are called holeya. the rev. g. richter gives [77] badaga holeya as a division of the lowly holeyas, who came to coorg from the mysore country. in front of the houses, the operations of drying and threshing grain are carried out. the cattle are kept in stone kraals, or covered sheds close to the habitations, and the litter is kept till it is knee or waist deep, and then carried away as manure for the badaga's land, or planters' estates. "nobody," it has been said, [78] "can beat the badaga at making mother earth produce to her utmost capacity, unless it be a chinese gardener. to-day we see a portion of the hill side covered with rocks and boulders. the badagas become possessed of this scene of chaos, and turn out into the place in hundreds, reducing it, in a few weeks, to neat order. the unwieldy boulders, having been rolled aside, serve their purpose by being turned into a wall to keep out cattle, etc. the soil is pounded and worried until it becomes amenable to reason, and next we see a green crop running in waves over the surface. the badagas are the most progressive of all the hill tribes, and always willing to test any new method of cultivation, or new crops brought to their notice by the nilgiri horticultural society." writing in 1832, harkness states [79] that "on leaving his house in the morning the burgher pays his adoration to the god of day, proceeds to the tu-el or yard, in which the cattle have been confined, and, again addressing the sun as the emblem of siva, asks his blessing, and liberates the herd. he allows the cattle to stray about in the neighbourhood of the village, on a piece of ground which is always kept for this purpose, and, having performed his morning ablutions, commences the milking. this is also preceded by further salutations and praises to the sun. on entering the house in the evening, the burgher addresses the lamp, now the only light, or visible emblem of the deity. 'thou, creator of this and of all worlds, the greatest of the great, who art with us, as well in the mountain as in the wilderness, who keepeth the wreaths that adorn the head from fading, who guardeth the foot from the thorn, god, among a hundred, may we be prosperous.'" the badaga understands the rotation of crops well. on his land he cultivates bearded wheat (beer ganji), barley, onions, garlic, potatoes, kire (amarantus), samai (panicum miliare), tenai (setaria italica), etc. "among the badagas," mr. natesa sastri writes, "the position of the women is somewhat different from what it is among most peoples. every badaga has a few acres to cultivate, but he does not mainly occupy himself with them, for his wife does all the out-door farm work, while he is engaged otherwise in earning something in hard cash. to a badaga, therefore, his wife is his capital. her labour in the field is considered to be worth one rupee per day, while an average male badaga earns merely three annas. a badaga woman, who has not her own acres to cultivate, finds work on some other lands. she thus works hard for her husband and family, and is quite content with the coarsest food--the korali (setaria italica) flour--leaving the better food to the male members of the family. this fact, and the hard work the badaga women have to perform, may perhaps account to some extent for the slight build of the badagas as a race. the male badaga, too, works in the field, or at his own craft if he is not a cultivator, but his love for ready cash is always so great that, even if he had a harvest to gather the next morning, he would run away as a cooly for two annas wages." further, mr. grigg states that "as the men constantly leave their villages to work on coffee plantations, much of the labour in their own fields, as well as ordinary household work, is performed by the women. they are so industrious, and their services of such value to their husbands, that a badaga sometimes pays 150 or 200 rupees as dowry for his wife." in the off season for cultivation, i am informed, the badaga woman collects faggots for home consumption, and stores them near her house, and the women prepare the fields for cultivation by weeding, breaking the earth, and collecting manure. in his report on the revenue settlement of the nilgiris (1885), mr. (now sir) r. s. benson notes that "concurrently with the so-called abolition of the bhurty (or shifting) system of cultivation, mr. grant abolished the peculiar system in vogue up to that time in kundahnad, which had been transferred from malabar to the nilgiris in 1860. this system was known as erkadu kothukadu. under it, a tax of re. 1 to re. 1-8-0 was levied for the right to use a plough or er, and a tax of from 4 to 8 annas was levied for the right to use a hoe or kothu. the so-called patta issued to the ryot under this system was really no more than a license to use one or more hoes, as the case might be. it merely specified the amount payable for each instrument, but in no cases was the extent or position of the lands to be cultivated specified. the ryot used his implements whenever and wherever he pleased. no restrictions, even on the felling of forests, were imposed, so that the hill-sides and valleys were cleared at will. the system was abolished in 1862. but, during the settlement, i found this erkadu kothukadu system still in force in the flourishing badaga village of kinnakorai, with some fifty houses." in connection with the local self-government of the badagas, mr. a. rajah bahadur mudaliar writes to me as follows. "in former days, the monegar was a great personage, as he formed the unit of the administration. the appointment was more or less hereditary, and it generally fell to the lot of the richest and most well-to-do. all disputes within his jurisdiction were placed before him, and his decision was accepted as final. in simple matters, such as partition of property, disputes between husband and wife, etc., the monegars themselves disposed of them. but, when questions of a complicated nature presented themselves, they took as their colleagues other people of the villages, and the disputes were settled by the collective wisdom of the village elders. they assembled at a place set apart for the purpose beneath a nim (melia azadirachta) or pipal tree (ficus religiosa) on a raised platform (ratchai), generally situated at the entrance to the village. the monegar was ex-officio president of such councils. he and the committee had power to fine the parties, to excommunicate them, and to readmit them to the caste. parents resorted to the monegar for counsel in the disposal of their daughters in marriage, and in finding brides for their sons. if any one had the audacity to run counter to the wishes of the monegar in matters matrimonial, he had the power to throw obstacles in the way of such marriages taking place. the monegar, in virtue of his position, wielded much power, and ruled the village as he pleased." in the old days, it is said, when he visited any village within his jurisdiction, the monegar had the privilege of having the best women or maids of the place to share his cot according to his choice. in former times, the monegar used to wear a silver ring as the badge of office, and some badagas still have in their possession such rings, which are preserved as heirlooms, and worshipped during festivals. the term monegar is, at the present day, used for the village revenue official and munsiff. i gather that each exogamous sept has its headman, called gouda, who is assisted by a parpattikaran, and decides tribal matters, such as disputes, divorce, etc. fines, when inflicted, go towards feasting the tribe, and doing puja (worship) to the gods. in the case of a dispute between two parties, one challenges the other to take an oath in a temple before the village council. a declaration on oath settles the matter at issue, and the parties agree to abide by it. it is the duty of the parpattikaran to make arrangements for such events as the heththeswami, devve and bairaganni festivals, and the buffalo sacrificing festival at konakkore. the parpattikaran takes part in the purification of excommunicated members of the tribe, when they are received back into it, for example, on release from prison. the tongue of the delinquent is burnt with a hot sandal stick, and a new waist thread put on. he is taken to the temple, where he stands amidst the assembled badagas, who touch his head with a cane. he then prostrates himself at the feet of the parpattikaran, who smears his forehead with sacred ashes. it is, further, the duty of the parpattikaran to be present on the occasion of the kannikattu (pregnancy) ceremony. a quarter of a century ago, a badaga could be at once picked out from the other tribes of the nilgiris by his wearing a turban. but, in the present advanced age, not only does the toda sometimes appear in the national head-dress, but even irulas and kurumbas, who only a short time ago were buried in the jungles, living like pigs and bears on roots, honey and other forest produce, turn up on sundays in the kotagiri bazar, clad in turban and coat of english cut. and, as the less civilised tribes don the turban, so the college student abandons this picturesque form of head-gear in favour of the less becoming and less washable porkpie cap, while the badaga men and youths glory in a knitted night-cap of flaring red or orange hue. the body of the badaga man is covered by a long body-cloth, sometimes with red and blue stripes, wrapped "so loosely that, as a man works in the fields, he is obliged to stop between every few strokes of his hoe, to gather up his cloth, and throw one end over his shoulder." male adornment is limited to gold ear-rings of a special pattern made by kotas or goldsmiths, a silver waist-thread, silver bangle on the wrist, and silver, copper, or brass rings. the women wear a white body-cloth, a white under-cloth tied round the chest, tightly wrapped square across the breasts, and reaching to the knees, and a white cloth worn like a cap on the head. as types of female jewelry and tattooing, the following examples may be cited:-1. tattooed on forehead with dashes, circles and crescent; spot on chin; double row of dots on each upper arm over deltoid; and devices and double row of dots on right forearm. gold ornament in left nostril. necklets of glass beads and silver links with four-anna piece pendent. silver armlet above right elbow. four copper armlets above left elbow. four silver and seven composition bangles on left forearm. two silver rings on right ring-finger; two steel rings on left ring-finger. 2. tattooed on forehead; quadruple row of dots over right deltoid; star on right forearm. 3. tattooed like the preceding on forehead and upper arm. spot on chin; elaborate device on right forearm; rayed star or sun on back of hand. 4. tattooed like the preceding on forehead and arm. triple row of dots on back and front of left wrist, and double row of dots, with circle surrounded by dots, across chest. toreya women are only allowed to wear bangles on the wrist. the tattoo marks on the foreheads of udayar women consist of a crescent and dot, and they have a straight line tattooed at the outer corners of the eyes. women of the other sub-divisions have on the forehead two circles with two vertical dashes between them, and a horizontal or crescentic dash below. the circles are made by pricking in the pigment over an impression made with a finger ring, or over a black mark made by means of such a ring. the operation is performed either by a badaga or korava woman. the former uses as needles the spines of carissa spinarum, and a mixture of finely powdered charcoal or lamp-black mixed with rice gruel. the marks on the forehead are made when a girl is about eight or nine years old, and do not, as stated by mr. natesa sastri, proclaim to the whole badaga world that a girl is of marriageable age. in colour the badagas are lighter than the other hill tribes, and the comparative pallor of the skin is specially noticeable in the females, whom, with very few exceptions, i was only able to study by surreptitious examination, when we met on the roads. in physique, the typical badaga man is below middle height, smooth-skinned, of slender build, with narrow chest and shoulders. badaga men have cicatrices on the shoulder and forearm as the result of branding with a fire-stick when they are lads, with the object, it is said, of giving strength, and preventing pain when milking or churning. in like manner, the todas have raised cicatrices (keloids) on the shoulder produced by branding with a fire-stick. they believe that the branding enables them to milk the buffaloes with perfect ease. the badagas have a very extensive repertoire of hora hesaru, or nicknames, of which the following are examples:- one who eats in bed during the night. snorer. stupid. bald head. brown-eyed. thin and bony. big head. bandy-legged. one who returned alive from the burning ground. ripe fruit. big-thighed. blind. lame. big calves. piles. liar. cat-eyed. fond of pot-herbs. rheumatic. bad-tempered. left-handed. buffalo grazer. saliva dribbling. honey-eater. black. spleen. teeth. potato-eater. glutton. belly. itch legged. one who was slow in learning to walk. tall. thief-eyed. pustule-bodied. scarred. hairy. weak, like partially baked pots. strong, like portland cement. among the badagas, konga is used as a term of abuse. those who made mistakes in matching holmgren's wools, with which i tested them, were, always called konga by the onlookers. when two badagas meet each other, the elder touches the head of the younger with his right hand. this form of salutation is known as giving the head. a person of the badaga section gives the head, as it is called, to an udaiyar, in token of the superiority of the latter. when people belong to the same sept, they say "ba, anna, appa, thamma, amma, akka" (come, father, brother, mother, sister, etc.). but, if they are of different septs, they will say "ba, mama, mami, bava" (come, uncle, aunt, brother-in-law, etc.). "whenever," dr. rivers writes, [80] "a toda meets a badaga monegar (headman), or an old badaga with whom he is acquainted, a salutation passes between the two. the toda stands before the badaga, inclines his head slightly, and says 'madtin pudia.' (madtin, you have come). the badaga replies 'buthuk! buthuk!' (blessing, blessing), and rests his hand on the top of the toda's head. this greeting only takes place between todas and the more important of the badaga community. it would seem that every badaga headman may be greeted in this way, but a toda will only greet other badaga elders, if he is already acquainted with them. the salutation is made to members of all the various castes of the badagas, except the toreyas. it has been held to imply that the todas regard the badagas as their superiors, but it is doubtful how far this is the case. the todas themselves say they follow the custom because the badagas help to support them. it seems to be a mark of respect paid by the todas to the elders of a tribe with which they have very close relations, and it is perhaps significant that no similar sign of respect is shown to toda elders by the badagas." every badaga family has its muttu kota, from whom it gets the agricultural implements, pots, hoes, etc. in return, the kotas receive an annual present of food-grains, mustard and potatoes. for a kota funeral, the badagas have to give five rupees or a quantity of rice, and a buffalo. the pots obtained from the kotas are not used immediately, but kept for three days in the jungle, or in a bush in some open spot. they are then taken to the outer apartment of the house, and kept there for three days, when they are smeared with the bark of meliosma pungens (the tud tree of the todas) and culms of andropogon schoenanthus (bzambe hullu). thus purified, the pots are used for boiling water in for three days, and may then be used for any purpose. the badagas are said to give a present of grain annually to the todas. every toda mand (or mad) seems to have its own group of badaga families, who pay them this gudu, as it is called. "there are," dr. rivers writes, "several regulations concerning the food of the palol (dairy man of a toda sacred dairy). any grain he eats must be that provided by the badagas. at the present time more rice is eaten than was formerly the case. this is not grown by the badagas, but nevertheless the rice for the palol must be obtained through them. the palol wears garments of a dark grey material made in the coimbatore district. they are brought to the palol by the badaga called tikelfmav. the earthenware vessels of the inner room (of the ti dairy) are not obtained from the kotas, like the ordinary vessels, but are made by hindus, and are procured through the badagas." the badagas live in dread of the kurumbas, and the kurumba constantly comes under reference in their folk-stories. the kurumba is the necromancer of the hills, and believed to be possessed of the power of outraging women, removing their livers, and so causing their death, while the wound heals by magic, so that no trace of the operation is left. he is supposed, too, to have the power of opening the bolts of doors by magic and effecting an entrance into a house at night for some nefarious purpose. the toda or badaga requires the services of the kurumba, when he fancies that any member of his family is possessed of the devil, or when he wants to remove the evil eye, to which he imagines that his children have been subjected. the kurumba does his best to remove the malady by repeating various mantrams (magical formulæ). if he fails, and if any suspicion is aroused in the mind of the toda or badaga that he is allowing the devil to play his pranks instead of loosing his hold on the supposed victim, woe betide him. the wrath of the entire village, or even the whole tribe, is raised against the unhappy kurumba. his hut is surrounded at night, and the entire household massacred in cold blood, and their huts set on fire. this is very cleverly carried out, and the isolated position of the kurumba settlements allows of very little clue for identification. in 1835 no less than fifty-eight kurumbas were thus murdered, and a smaller number in 1875 and 1882. in 1891 the live inmates of a single hut were murdered, and their hut burnt to ashes, because, it was said, one of them who had been treating a sick badaga child failed to cure it. the crime was traced to some kotas in conjunction with badagas, but the district judge disbelieved the evidence, and all who were charged were acquitted. every badaga family pays an annual tax of four annas to the kurumbas, and, if a kurumba comes to a badaga hatti (village), a subscription is raised as an inducement to him to take his departure. the kurumba receives a fee for every badaga funeral, and for the pregnancy ceremony (kannikattu). it is noted by dr. rivers that "the toda sorcerers are not only feared by their fellow todas, but also by the badagas, and it is probably largely owing to fear of toda sorcery that the badagas continue to pay their tribute of grain. the badagas may also consult the toda diviners, and it is probable that the belief of the badagas in the magical powers of the todas is turned to good account by the latter. in some cases, todas, have been killed by badagas owing to this belief." among the todas, the duties of milking the buffaloes and dairy-work are entrusted to special individuals, whereas any badaga male may, after initiation, milk the cows and buffaloes, provided that he is free from pollution. every badaga boy, when he is about seven or nine years old, is made to milk a cow on an auspicious day, or on new year's day. the ceremony is thus described by mr. natesa sastri. "early in the morning of the day appointed for this ceremony, the boy is bathed, and appears in his holiday dress. a she-buffalo, with her calf, stands before his house, waiting to be milked. the parents, or other elder relations of the boy, and those who have been invited to be present on the occasion, or whose duty it is to be present, then conduct the boy to the spot. the father, or some one of the agnatic kindred, gives into the hands of the boy a bamboo vessel called hone, which is already very nearly full of fresh-drawn milk. the boy receives the vessel with both his hands, and is conducted to the buffalo. the elder relations show him the process, and the boy, sitting down, milks a small quantity into the hone. this is his first initiation into the duty of milking, and it is that he may not commit mistakes on the very first day of his milking that the hone is previously filled almost to the brim. the boy takes the vessel filled with milk into his house, and pours some of the sacred fluid into all his household eating vessels--a sign that from that day he has taken up on himself the responsibility of supplying the family with milk. he also throws some milk in the faces of his parents and relatives. they receive it very kindly, and bless him, and request him to continue thus to milk the buffaloes, and bring plenty and prosperity to the house. after this, the boy enters the milk-house (hagottu), and places milk in his hone there. from this moment, and all through his life, he may enter into that room, and this is therefore considered a very important ceremony." a cow or buffalo, which has calved for the first time, has to be treated in a special manner. for three or five days it is not milked. a boy is then selected to milk it. he must not sleep on a mat, or wear a turban, and, instead of tying his cloth round his waist, must wear it loosely over his body. meat is forbidden, and he must avoid, and not speak to polluting classes, such as irulas and kotas, and menstruating women. on the day appointed for milking the animal, the boy bathes, and proceeds to milk it into a new hone purified by smearing a paste of meliosma (tud) leaves and bark over it, and heating it over a fire. the milk is taken to a stream, where three cups are made of argyreia (minige) leaves, into which a small quantity of the milk is placed. the cups are then put in the water. the remainder of the milk in the hone is also poured into the stream. in some places, especially where a madeswara temple is close at hand, the milk is taken to the temple, and given to the pujari. with a portion of the milk some plantain fruits are made into a pulp, and given to an udaya, who throws them into a stream. the boy is treated with some respect by his family during the period when he milks the animal, and is given food first. this he must eat off a plate made of argvreia, or plantain leaves. besides the hagottu within the house, the badagas have, at certain places, separate dairy-houses near a temple dedicated to heththeswami, of which the one at bairaganni (or berganni) appears to be the most important. the dairy pujari is here, like the toda palol, a celibate. in 1905, he was a young lad, whom my brahman assistant set forth to photograph. he was, however, met at a distance from the village by a headman, who assured him that he could not take the photograph without the sanction of fifteen villages. the pujari is not allowed to wander freely about the village, or talk to grown-up women. he cooks his own food within the temple grounds, and wears his cloth thrown loosely over his body. once a year, on the occasion of a festival, he is presented with new cloths and turban, which alone he may wear. he must be a strict vegetarian. a desire to marry and abandon the priesthood is believed to be conveyed in dreams, or through one inspired. before leaving the temple service, he must train his successor in the duties, and retires with the gains acquired by the sale of the products of the herd and temple offerings. the village of bairaganni is regarded as sacred, and possesses no holagudi (menstrual hut). bishop whitehead adds that "buffaloes are given as offerings to the temple at bairaganni, and become the property of the pujari, who milks them, and uses the milk for his food. all the villagers give him rice every day. he may only eat once a day, at about 3 p.m. he cooks the meal himself, and empties the rice from the cooking-pot by turning it over once. if the rice does not come out the first time, he cannot take it at all. when he wants to get married, another boy is appointed in his place. the buffaloes are handed over to his successor." the following legend in connection with bairaganni is also recorded by bishop whitehead. "there is a village in the mekanad division of the nilgiris called nundala. a man had a daughter. he wanted to marry her to a man in the paranganad division about a hundred years ago. she did not wish to marry him. the father insisted, but she refused again and again. at last she wished to die, and came near a tank, on the bank of which was a tree. she sat under the tree and washed, and then threw herself into the tank. one of the men of bairaganni in the paranganad division saw the woman in a dream. she told him that she was not a human being but a goddess, an incarnation of parvati. the people of nundala built a strong bund (embankment) round the tank, and allow no woman to go on it. only the pujari, and badagas who have prepared themselves by fasting and ablution, are allowed to go on the bund to offer puja, which is done by breaking cocoanuts, and offering rice, flowers, and fruits. the woman told the man in his dream to build a temple at bairaganni, which is now the chief temple of heththeswami." concerning the initiation of a lingayat badaga into his religion, which takes place at about his thirteenth birthday, mr. natesa sastri writes as follows. "the priest conducts this ceremony, and the elder relations of the family have only to arrange for the performance of it. the priests belong to the udaya sect. they live in their own villages, and are specially sent for, and come to the boy's village for the occasion. the ceremony is generally done to several boys of about the same age on the same day. on the day appointed, all the people in the badaga village, where this ceremony is to take place, observe a strict fast. the cows and buffaloes are all milked very early in the morning, and not a drop of the milk thus collected is given out, or taken by even the tenderest children of the village, who may require it very badly. the udaya priest arrives near the village between 10 a.m. and noon on the day appointed. he never goes into the village, but stops near some rivulet adjacent to it. the relations of the boy approach him with a new basket, containing five measures of uncooked rice, pulse, ghi, etc., and a quarter of a rupee--one fanam, as it is generally designated. the priest sits near the water-course, and lights a fire on the bank. perfumes are thrown profusely into it, and this is almost the only ceremony before the fire. the boys, whose turn it is to receive the linga that day, are all directed to bathe in the river. a plantain leaf, cut into one foot square, is placed in front of the fire towards the east of it. the lingas, kept in readiness by the parents of the boys, are now received by the priest, and placed on the leaves. the boys are asked to wash them--each one the linga meant for his wearing--in water and milk. then comes the time for the expenditure of all the collected milk of the morning. profusely the white fluid is poured, till the whole rivulet is nothing but a stream of milk. after the lingas are thus washed, the boys give them to the priest, who places them in his left palm, and, covering them with his right, utters, with all the solemnity due to the occasion, the following incantation, while the boys and the whole village assembled there listen to it with the most profound respect and veneration 'oh! siva, hara, basava, the lord of all the six thousand and three thousand names and glories, the lord of one lakh and ninety-six thousand ganas (body-guards of siva), the donor of water, the daily-to-be worshipped, the husband of parvati. oh! lord, o! siva linga, thy feet alone are our resort. oh! siva, siva, siva, siva.' while pronouncing this prayer, the priest now and then removes his right palm, and pours water and milk round the sacred fire, and over the lingas resting in his left palm. he then places each of the lingas in a cloth of one cubit square, rolls it up, and requests the boys to hold out their right palms. the young badaga receives it, repeats the prayer given about five times, and, during each repetition, the palm holding the linga tied up in the cloth is carried nearer and nearer to his neck. when that is reached (on the fifth utterance of the incantation), the priest ties the ends of the rolled up cloth containing the siva emblem loosely round the boy's neck, while the latter is all the while kneeling down, holding with both his hands the feet of the priest. after the linga has been tied, the priest blesses him thus: 'may one become one thousand to you. may you ever preserve in you the siva linga. if you do so, you will have plenty of milk and food, and you will prosper for one thousand years in name and fame, kine and coin.' if more than one have to receive the linga on the same day, each of them has to undergo this ceremony. after the ceremony is over, the priest returns to his village with the rice, etc., and fees. every house, in which a boy has received the linga, has to give a grand feast on that day. even the poorest badaga must feed at least five other badagas." the foregoing account of the investiture with the lingam apparently applies to the mekanad udayas. the following note is based on information supplied by the udayas of paranginad. the ceremony of investiture is performed either on new year's day or sivarathri by an udaya priest in the house of a respected member of the community (doddamane), which is vacated for the occasion. the houses of the boys and girls who are to receive lingams are cleaned, and festoons of tud and mango leaves, lime fruits, and flowers of leucas aspera (thumbe) are tied across the doorways, and in front of the house where the ceremony is to be performed. until the conclusion thereof, all the people of the village fast. the candidates, with their parents, and the officiating priest repair to the doddamane. the lingams are handed over to the priest, who, taking them up one by one, does puja to them, and gives them to the children. they in turn do puja, and the lingams, wrapped in pink silk or cotton cloths, are tied round their necks. the puja consists of washing the lingams in cow's urine and milk, smearing them with sandal and turmeric paste, throwing flowers on them, and waving incense and burning camphor before them. after the investiture, the novices are taught a prayer, which is not a stereotyped formula, but varies with the priest and village. like other lingayats, the udayas respect the jangam, but do not employ the jangama thirtham (water used for washing the jangam's feet) for bathing their lingams. in udaya villages there is no special menstrual hut (holagudi). milk is not regarded by them as a sacred product, so there is no hagottu in their houses. nor do they observe the manavalai festival in honour of ancestors. other ceremonies are celebrated by them, as by other badagas, but they do not employ the services of a kurumba. important agricultural ceremonies are performed by the badagas at the time of sowing and harvest. the seed-sowing ceremony takes place in march, and, in some places, e.g., the mekanad and paranginad, a kurumba plays an important part in it. on an auspicious day--a tuesday before the crescent moon--a pujari of the devve temple sets out several hours before dawn with five or seven kinds of grain in a basket and sickle, accompanied by a kurumba, and leading a pair of bullocks with a plough. on reaching the field selected, the pujari pours the grain into the cloth of the kurumba, and, yoking the animals to the plough, makes three furrows in the soil. the kurumba, stopping the bullocks, kneels on the ground between the furrows facing east. removing his turban, he places it on the ground, and, closing his ears with his palms, bawls out "dho, dho," thrice. he then rises, and scatters the grain thrice on the soil. the pujari and kurumba then return to the village, and the former deposits what remains of the grain in the store-room (attu). a new pot, full of water, is placed in the milk-house, and the pujari dips his right hand therein, saying "nerathubitta" (it is full). this ceremony is an important one for the badagas, as, until it has been performed, sowing may not commence. it is a day of feasting, and, in addition to rice, dolichos lablab is cooked. the other agricultural ceremony is called devve habba or tenai (setaria italica), and is usually celebrated in june or july, always on a monday. it is apparently performed in honour of the two gods mahalingaswami and hiriya udaya, to whom a group of villages will have temples dedicated. for example, the badagas in the neighbourhood of kotagiri have their hiriya udaya temple at tandanad, and mahalingaswami temple at kannermukku. this devve festival, which should on no account be pronounced duvve, which means burning-ground, is celebrated at one place, whither the badagas from other villages proceed, to take part in it. about midday, some badagas and the temple pujari go from the temple of hiriya udaya to that of mahalingaswami. the procession is usually headed by a kurumba, who scatters fragments of tud bark and wood as he goes on his way. the pujari takes with him the materials necessary for doing puja, and, after worshipping mahalingaswami, the party return to the hiriya udaya temple, where milk and cooked rice are offered to the various gods within the temple precincts. on the following day, all assemble at the temple, and a kurumba brings a few sheaves of setaria italica, and ties them to a stone set up at the main entrance. after this, puja is done, and the people offer cocoanuts to the god. later on, all the women of the madhave sept, who have given birth to a first-born child, come, dressed up in holiday attire, with their babies, to the temple. on this day they wear a special nose ornament, called elemukkuththi, which is only worn on one other occasion, at the funeral of a husband. the women do puja to hiriya udaya, and the pujari gives them a small quantity of rice on minige (argyreia) leaves. after eating this, they leave the temple in a line, and wash their hands with water given to them by the pujari. this ceremonial, performed by women of the madhave sept, is called mandedhanda. as soon as the devve festival is concluded, the reaping of the crop commences, and a measure or two of grain from the crop gathered on the first day, called nisal, is set apart for the mahalingaswami temple. the most important gods of the badagas are heththeswami, mahalingaswami, hiriya udaya, madeswara, mankali, jadeswami, and nilgiri rangaswami. and at the present day, some badagas proceed to the plains, to worship at the saivite temple at karamadai in coimbatore, or at nanjangod in mysore. the festival in honour of heththeswami is celebrated in the month of january at baireganni. it is sometimes called ermathohabba, as, with it, ploughing operations cease. it always commences on a monday, and usually lasts eight days. a sedan or devanga weaver comes with his portable hand-loom, and sufficient thread for weaving a dhubati (coarse cloth) and turban. at baireganni there is a special house, in which these articles are woven. but, at other places where the festival is observed, the badagas go to the weaver's village to fetch the required cloths. early on the second morning of the festival, some of the more respected badagas and the weaver proceed to the weaving house after bathing. the weaver sets up his loom, and worships it by offering incense, and other things. the badagas give him a new cloth, and a small sum of money, and ask him to weave a dhubati and two kachches (narrow strips of cloth). daily, throughout the festival, the badagas collect near the temple, and indulge in music and songs. until the last day, they are not permitted to set eyes on the god heththeswami. on the morning of the last day, the pujari, accompanied by all the badagas, takes the newly woven cloths to a stream, in which they are washed. when they are dry, all proceed to the temple, where the idol is dressed up in them, and all, on this occasion only, are allowed to look at it. devotees pay a small offering of money, which is placed on a tray near the idol. the crowd begins to disperse in the afternoon, and, on their way back to their villages, the wants of the travellers are attended to by people posted at intervals with coffee, fruit, and other articles of food. if the badagas have to go to a weaver's village for the cloths, the weaver is, when the order is given for them, presented with four annas, after he has bathed. when handing the money to him, the badagas bawl out "this is the fee for making the cloths to be worn by heththe iramasthi and parasakti parvati." on the last day of the festival, the cloths are washed, and one of them is made to represent an idol, which is decorated with waist and neck ornaments, and an umbrella. all prostrate themselves before it, and make offerings of money. fruits and other things are then offered to heththeswami and some recite the following prayer. "may all good acts be remembered, and all bad ones be forgotten. though there may be a thousand and one sins, may i reach the feet of god." the following further information in connection with the baireganni festival is given by bishop whitehead. "the people from other villages offer money, rice, fruits, umbrellas of gold or silver for the goddess, cloths, and buffaloes. the buffaloes are never killed, but remain as the property of the temple. the pujari calls the representatives of one village, and tells them what hetheswami says to him, e.g., 'this year you will have good [or bad] crops; cholera or small-pox, good [or bad] rain, etc.' as the people present their offerings, they prostrate themselves, kneeling down and touching the ground with their foreheads, and the pujari gives them some flowers, which they wear in their hair. the people and the pujari play on the kombu [horn], and ring bells while the offerings are being made. after the offerings have finished, all the men dance, in two companies, in front of the temple, one shouting 'how-ko, how-ko,' and the other 'is-holi.' the dance was taught them by the todas, and the words are toda." in connection with the jadeswami festival the ceremony of walking through fire [burning embers] is carried out at melur, tangalu, mainele, jakkanare, tenad, and nidugala. at melur and tangalu, the temples belong to the haruvas, who carry out all the details of ceremony. the temple at tenad is owned by the udayas, by whom the ceremonial is performed. in other places, the celebrants are badagas. the festival is observed, on an elaborate scale, at nidugala during the month of january. all those who are going to walk over the burning embers fast for eight days, and go through the rite on the ninth day. for its performance, monday is considered an auspicious day. the omens are taken by boiling two pots of milk side by side on two hearths. if the milk overflows uniformly on all sides, the crops will be abundant for all the villages. but, if it flows over on one side only, there will be plentiful crops for villages on that side only. the space over which the embers are spread is said to be about five yards long, and three yards broad. but, in some places, e.g., jakkanare and melur, it is circular as at the muhammadan fire-walking ceremony. for making the embers, the wood of eugenia jambolana and phyllanthus emblica are used. for boiling the milk, and setting fire to the wood, a light obtained by friction must be used. the process is known as niligolu, or upright stick. the vertical stick is made of a twig of rhodomyrtus tomentosus, which is rotated in a socket in a long thick piece of a bough of debregeasia velutina, in which a row of sockets has been made. the rotation is produced by a cord passed several times round the vertical stick, of which each end is pulled alternately. the horizontal block is pressed firmly on the ground by the toes of a man, who presses a half cocoanut shell down on the top of the vertical stick, so as to force it down into the socket. a badaga, who failed in an attempt to demonstrate the making of fire by this method, gave as an excuse that he was under worldly pollution, from which he would be free at the time of the fire-walking ceremony. though the badagas make fire by friction, reference is made in their folk legends, not to this mode of obtaining fire, but to chakkamukki (flint and steel), which is repeatedly referred to in connection with cremation. after the milk boiling ceremonial, the pujari, tying bells on his legs, approaches the fire pit, carrying milk freshly drawn from a cow, which has calved for the first time, and flowers of rhododendron arboreum, leucas aspera, or jasmine. after doing puja, he throws the flowers on the embers, and they should remain unscorched for a few seconds. he then pours some of the milk over the embers, and no hissing sound should be produced. the omens being propitious, he walks over the glowing embers, followed by an udaya, and the crowd of celebrants, who, before going through the ordeal, count the hairs on their feet. if any are singed, it is a sign of approaching ill fortune, or even death. in an account of the fire-walking ceremony, in 1902, it is noted that "the badagas strongly repudiate the insinuation of preparing their feet to face the fire ordeal. it is done to propitiate jeddayswami, to whom vows are invoked, in token of which they grow one twist or plait of hair, which is treasured for years, and finally cut off as an offering to jeddayswami. numbers of chettis were catering to the crowd, offering their wares, bangles, gay-coloured handkerchiefs, as well as edibles. the kotas supplied the music, and an ancient patriarch worked himself up to a high pitch of inspiration, and predicted all sorts of good things for the badagas with regard to the ensuing season and crops." the following legend, relating to the fire-walking ceremony, is recorded by bishop whitehead. "when they first began to perform the ceremony fifty or sixty years ago, they were afraid to walk over the fire. then the stone image of mahalinga swami turned into a snake, and made a hole through the temple wall. it came out, and crawled over the fire, and then went back to the temple. then their fear vanished, and they walked over the embers. the hole is still to be seen in the temple." of the fire-walking ceremony at melur, the following account is given in the gazetteer of the nilgiris. "it takes place on the monday after the march new moon, just before the cultivation season begins, and is attended by badagas from all over merkunad. the inhabitants of certain villages (six in number), who are supposed to be the descendants of an early badaga named guruvajja, have first, however, to signify through their gottukars, or headmen, that the festival may take place; and the gottukars choose three, five, or seven men to walk through the fire. on the day appointed, the fire is lit by certain badaga priests and a kurumba. the men chosen by the gottukars then bathe, adorn themselves with sandal, do obeisance to the udayas of udayarhatti near keti, who are specially invited and feasted; pour into the adjacent stream milk from cows which have calved for the first time during the year; and, in the afternoon, throw more milk and some flowers from the mahalingasvami temple into the fire pit, and then walk across it. earth is next thrown on the embers, and they walk across twice more. a general feast closes the ceremony, and next day the first ploughings are done, the kurumba sowing the first seeds, and the priests the next lot. finally, a net is brought. the priest of the temple, standing over it, puts up prayers for a favourable agricultural season; two fowls are thrown into it, and a pretence is made of spearing them; and then it is taken and put across some game path, and some wild animal (a sambhar deer if possible) is driven into it, slain, and divided among the villagers. this same custom of annually killing a sambhar is also observed at other villages on the plateau, and in 1883 and 1894 special orders were passed to permit of its being done during the close season. latterly, disputes about precedence in the matter of walking through the fire at melur have been carried as far as the civil courts, and the two factions celebrate the festival separately in alternate years. a fire-walking ceremony also takes place annually at the jadayasvami temple in jakkaneri under the auspices of a sivachari badaga. it seems to have originally had some connection with agricultural prospects, as a young bull is made to go partly across the fire-pit before the other devotees, and the owners of young cows which have had their first calves during the year take precedence of others in the ceremony, and bring offerings of milk, which are sprinkled over the burning embers." at the sakalathi festival, in the month of october, badagas, towards evening, throw on the roofs of their houses flowers of plectranthus wightii, crotalaria obtecta, lobelia nicotianoefolia, achyranthes aspera, and leucas aspera. on the following day, they clean their houses, and have a feast. in the afternoon, numbers of them may be seen in the streets drawing in front of their houses pictures in wood-ashes of buffaloes, bulls, cows, ploughs, stars, sun and moon, snakes, lizards, etc. they then go into their houses, and wash their hands. taking up in his clean hands a big cake, on which are placed a little rice and butter, the badaga puts on it three wicks steeped in castor oil, and lights them. the cake is then waved round the heads of all the children of the house taken to a field, and thrown therein with the words "sakalathi has come." the cake-thrower returns home, and prostrates himself before a lamp placed in the inner room, and repeats a long formula, composed of the various synonyms of siva. in the month of november, a festival called dodda habba (big feast) is celebrated. in the afternoon, rice is cooked in whey within the hagottu, and eaten on minige leaves. throughout the day the villagers play at various ball games. a festival, which is purely local, is celebrated near konakore in honour of mahangkali. a buffalo is led to the side of a precipice, killed by a kurumba with a spear, and thrown over the edge thereof. there is a legend that, in olden days, a pujari used to put a stick in the crevice of a rock, and, on removing it, get the value of a buffalo in fanams (gold coins). but, on one occasion, he put the stick in a second time, in the hopes of gaining more money. no money, however, was forthcoming and, as a punishment for his greed, he died on the spot. all badaga villages, except those of the udayas, have a hut, called holagudi, for the exclusive use of women during their monthly periods. a few months before a girl is expected to reach puberty, she is sent to the holagudi, on a friday, four or five days before the new moon day. this is done lest, in the ordinary course of events, the first menstruation should commence on an inauspicious day. the girl remains in the holagudi one night, and returns home on the following day clad in new cloths, leaving the old ones in the hut. when she arrives at her house, she salutes all the people who are there, and receives their blessing. on sunday she goes to the houses of her relations, where she is given kadalai (cicer arietinum) and other food. she may not enter the inner apartment of her house until she has seen the crescent moon. badaga women observe five days menstrual pollution. if a woman discovers her condition before washing her face in the early morning, that day is included in the pollution period. otherwise, the period must be prolonged over six days. on the third day she bathes in cold water, using the bark of pouzolzia (thorekolu), and on the fourth day is allowed a change of clothing after a bath. on this day she leaves the hut, and passes a portion of the night in the verandah of her house. after cooking and eating her evening meal, she bathes, and enters the outer room. early on the following morning, the spot which she has occupied is cleaned, and she bathes in a stream. returning home, she eats her food in the outer room, where she remains till next morning. even children may not be touched by a menstruating woman. if, by chance, this happens, the child must be washed to remove the pollution, before it can be handled by others. this restriction is apparently not observed by any other tribe or caste. writing concerning marriage among the badagas, harkness states [81] that "it is said to be common for one who is in want of labourers to promise his daughter in marriage to the son or other relative of a neighbour not in circumstances so flourishing as himself. and, these engagements being entered into, the intended bridegroom serves the father of his betrothed as one of his own family till the girl comes of age, when the marriage is consummated, and he becomes a partner in the general property of the family of his father-in-law." a man may marry a girl belonging to the same village as himself, if he and she are not members of the same exogamous sept. in most cases, however, all the inhabitants of a village are of the same sept, and a man has to take as his wife a girl from a village other than his own. among all sections of the badagas, adult marriage is the general rule, though infant marriage is also practised. marriage is preceded by a simple form of courtship, but the consent of the parents to the union is necessary. a girl does not suffer in reputation if she is rejected by a number of suitors, before she finally settles down. except among the udayas, the marriage ceremony is of a very simple nature. a day or two before that fixed for taking the girl to the house of her husband-elect, the latter proceeds to her village, accompanied by his brothers, who, as a token of respect, touch the feet of all the badagas who are assembled. the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, accompanied by the kota band. arrived there, she stands at the entrance, and her mother-in-law or sister-in-law brings water in a vessel, and pours it into her hands thrice. each time she lets the water fall over her feet. the mother-in-law then ties round her neck a string of beads (male mani), and leads her to the outer room (edumane), where cooked samai (panicum miliare) and milk is given to her. this she pretends to eat, and the bridegroom's sister gives her water to wash her hands with. the bride and two married women or virgins (preferably the bridegroom's sisters) go to a stream in procession, accompanied by the kota musicians, and bring therefrom water for cooking purposes in decorated new pots. the bride then salutes all her new relations, and they in turn give her their blessing. the ceremonial concludes with a feast, at the conclusion of which, in some cases, the bride and bridegroom sit on the raised verandah (pial), and receive presents. "though," a correspondent writes, "the badaga is simple, and his wants are few, he cannot resist the temptation of wine and women. the badaga woman can change husbands as often as she pleases by a simple system of divorce, and can also carry on with impunity intimacy within the pale of her own community. it is not uncommon to find badaga women changing husbands, so long as youth and vigour tempt them to do so, and confining themselves eventually to the last individual, after age and infirmity have made their mark, and render such frolics inexpedient." a former magistrate of the nilgiris informs me that he tried more than one case, in which a married man filed a complaint against another man for kidnapping or enticing away his wife for immoral purposes. the father of the woman was always charged as an abetter, and pleaded that, as no pariyam (bride price) had been paid by the husband, though he and the woman lived together as man and wife, no criminal offence could be proved against either the father or the abductor. polygamy is permitted, and the plurality of wives is a gain to the husband, as each wife becomes a bread-winner, and supports her children, and the man makes each wife superintend one department of the day's work. remarriage of widows is very common, and a widow may marry the brother of her deceased husband. it is said to be etiquette among the badagas that, when a woman's husband is away, she should be accessible to her brothers-in-law. instances occur, in which the husband is much younger than his wife, who, until he has reached maturity, cohabits with her paternal aunt's son, or some one whom she may have a fancy for. the marriage ceremony of the udayas is carried out on an elaborate scale, and is based on the type of ceremonial which is carried out by some castes in the plains. before dawn on the marriage day, the brothers and cousins of the bridegroom go, accompanied by some udayas and the kota band, to the forest, whence they bring two sticks of mimusops hexandra, to do duty as the milk-posts. the early hour is selected, to avoid the chance of coming across inauspicious objects. the sticks should be cut off the tree at a single stroke of the bill-hook, and they may not be laid flat on the ground, but placed on a blanket spread thereon. the udayas, who joined in the procession, collect twelve posts of mimusops as supports for the marriage booth (pandal). in front of the house, which is to be the scene of the wedding, two pits are dug, into which cow-dung water is poured. the pujari does puja to the milk-posts by offering sugar-cane, jaggery (crude sugar), etc., and ties two threads thereto. the posts are then placed in the pits by five people--the parents of the bridal couple and the priest. the booth, and dais or enclosure, are then erected close to the milk-posts. on the second day, the bridegroom's party, attended by kota musicians, dressed up in dancing costume, go to the house of the bride, where a feast is held. the bride then salutes a lamp, and prostrates herself at the feet of her parents, who bless her, saying "may your body and hands soon be filled (i.e., may you have a child), and may your life be prosperous." the bride is taken in procession to the house of the bridegroom, accompanied by some udayas, and a toreya carrying a bag of rice. at the entrance to the house she is blindfolded, and her mother-in-law pours water over her feet, and waves coloured water (arathi) in front of her. she then enters the house, right foot foremost, and sits on a mat. three married women, nearly related to the bridegroom, proceed, with the kota musicians, to a stream, carrying three pots decorated with leaves of leucas aspera. the priest does puja, and the pots are filled with water, and brought back in procession to the marriage dais. the water is poured into three vessels placed thereon three times by each of the three women. within the marriage enclosure, two raised platforms are set up by a toreya. the bridegroom, after going round the enclosure three times with his brothers and sisters, enters it, and bathes with the water contained in the vessels. he then dresses himself in new clothes, and is carried to the outer room by his maternal uncle. the bride is then treated in like manner, but is taken to the inner room. at a fixed auspicious hour, the bridal couple repair to the enclosure, where the bridegroom stands on a mat. a screen is held up by four or five men between him and the bride, who stands facing him, while the priest ties the ends of their clothes together. they then link their little fingers together, the screen is removed, and they seat themselves on the mat. the bridegroom's sister brings a tray with a mass of rice scooped out into a cavity to hold ghi for feeding a lighted wick (annadha arathi) on it, and, placing it before the bridal pair, sits down. the tali, consisting of a golden disc, is worshipped by the priest, and given to the bridegroom, who ties it on to the bride's neck. in some places it is tied by four or five elders, belonging to different villages, who are not widowers. the contracting couple then put on wreaths called sammandha malai, or wreaths establishing relationship, and the wrist threads are tied on. the bride's sister brings some rice and milk in a cup, into which the linked fingers of the bride and bridegroom are thrust. taking up some of the rice, they put it into each other's mouths three times. after they have washed their hands, the maternal uncle or priest asks them if they have seen aranjoti (the pole-star), and they reply in the affirmative. on the third day, presents are given to the newly-married couple, and the wrist threads are removed. going to a stream, they perform a mimic ceremony of sowing, and scatter cotton and rice seed in two small pans made by a toreya with cow-dung. widow remarriage is permitted among the udayas, and a widow may marry a cousin, but not her dead husband's brother. at the marriage ceremony, a priest makes a mark with sacred ashes on the foreheads of the contracting couple, and announces the fact of their union. it is noted by dr. rivers that "breeks has stated that the toda custom is that the house shall pass to the youngest son. it seems quite clear that this is wrong, and that this custom is absolutely unknown among the todas. it is, however, a badaga custom, and among them i was told that it is due to the fact that, as the sons of a family grow up and marry, they leave the house of the parents and build houses elsewhere. it is the duty of the youngest son to dwell with his parents, and support them as long as they live, and, when they die, he continues to live in the paternal home, of which he becomes the owner." a ceremony is performed in the seventh month of a woman's first pregnancy, which is important, inasmuch as it seals the marriage contract, and, after its performance, divorce can only be obtained through the decree of the panchayat (tribal council). moreover, if it has not been performed, a man cannot claim the paternity of the child. the ceremony is called kanni kattodu or kanni hakodu (thread tying or throwing). the husband and wife are seated in the midst of those who have assembled for the occasion, and the former asks his father-in-law whether he may throw the thread round his wife's neck, and, having received permission, proceeds to do so. if he gets the thread, which must have no knots in it, entangled in the woman's bunch of hair (kondai), which is made large for the occasion by the addition of false hair, he is fined three rupees. on the day of the ceremony, the man and his wife are supposed to be under pollution, and sit in the verandah to receive presents. the mats used by them for sleeping on are cleaned on the following morning, and they get rid of the pollution by bathing. a first confinement must not take place within the house, and the verandah is converted into a lying-in chamber, from which the woman is, after delivery, removed to the outer apartment, where she remains till she is free from pollution by catching sight of the crescent moon. if a woman has been delivered at her father's house, she returns to the home of her husband within a month of the birth of the child on an auspicious day. on arrival there, the infant is placed near the feet of an old man standing by a lamp within the milk-house. placing his right hand over the head of the infant, the old man blesses it, and a feast is held, before the commencement of which two cups, one containing milk, and the other cooked rice, are produced. all the relations take up a little of the milk and rice, and touch the tongue of the baby with them. a child receives its name on the seventh, ninth, or eleventh day. a sumptuous meal is given to the community, and the grandfather (paternal, if possible) milks a cow, and pours the milk into a brass cup placed in the milk-house. with it a little cooked samai grain is mixed. the babe is washed with water brought from a stream; marked on the forehead with sacred ashes; a turmeric-dyed thread is tied round its waist; a silver or iron bangle placed on its wrists; and a silver bead tied by a thread round its neck. thus decorated, the infant is taken up by the oldest man of the village who is not a widower, who gives it a name, which has already been chosen. the elder, and the child's parents and grandparents then place a little milk in its mouth. children, both male and female, go through a shaving ceremony, usually when they are seven months old. the infant is seated in the lap of a badaga, and, after water has been applied to its head by a badaga or a barber, the maternal uncle removes some of the hair with a razor, and then hands it over to another badaga or a barber to complete the operation. of the death rites as carried out by the badaga sub-division, the following note was recorded during a visit to kotagiri. when death is drawing near, a gold coin, called viraraya hana or fanam, dipped in butter or ghi, is given to the dying man to swallow. if he is too far gone to be capable of swallowing, the coin is, according to mr. natesa sastri, tied round the arm. but our informants told us that this is not done at the present day. "if," mr. gover writes, [82] "the tiny coin slips down, well. he will need both gold and ghi, the one to sustain his strength in the dark journey to the river of death, the other to fee the guardian of the fairy-like bridge that spans the dreaded tide. if sense remains to the wretched man, he knows that now his death is nigh. despair and the gold make recovery impossible, and there are none who have swallowed the birianhana, and yet have lived. if insensibility or deathly weakness make it impossible for the coin to pass the thorax, it is carefully bound in cloth, and tied to the right arm, so that there may be nought to hinder the passage of a worthy soul into the regions of the blessed." the giving of the coin to the dying man is apparently an important item, and, in the badaga folk-tales, a man on the point of death is made to ask for a viraraya fanam. when life is extinct, the corpse is kept within the house until the erection of the funeral car (gudikattu) is completed. though gover states that the burning must not be delayed more than twenty-four hours, at the present day the badagas postpone the funeral till all the near relations have assembled, even if this necessitates the keeping of the corpse for two or three days. cremation may take place on any day, except tuesday. news of a death is conveyed to distant hamlets (hattis) by a toreya, who is paid a rupee for his services. on approaching a hamlet, he removes his turban, to signify the nature of his errand, and, standing on the side of a hill, yells out "dho! dho! who is in the hamlet?" having imparted his news, he proceeds on his journey to the next hamlet. on the morning of the day fixed for the funeral, the corpse is taken on a charpoy or native cot to an open space, and a buffalo led thrice round it. the right hand of the corpse is then lifted up, and passed over the horns of the buffalo. a little milk is drawn, and poured into the mouth of the corpse. prior to this ceremony, two or three buffaloes may be let loose, and one of them captured, after the manner of the todas, brought near the corpse, and conducted round the cot. the funeral car is built up in five to eleven tiers, decorated with cloths and streamers, and one tier must be covered with black chintz. at the funeral of a young man, the rev. a. c. clayton noticed that the car was surmounted by a flag, and hung about with bread, oranges, plantains, and the bag containing the books which the youth had used in the basel mission school. [83] by the poorer members of the community the car is replaced by a cot covered with cloth, and surmounted by five umbrellas. immediately after the buffalo ceremony, the corpse is carried to the car, and placed in the lowest storey thereof, washed, and dressed in coat and turban. a new dhupati (coarse cloth) is wrapped round it. two silver coins (japanese yens or rupees) are stuck on the forehead. beneath the cot are placed a crowbar, and baskets containing cakes, parched paddy, tobacco, chick pea (cicer arietinum), jaggery and samai flour. a number of women, relations and friends of the dead man, then make a rush to the cot, and, sitting on it round the corpse, keep on waiting, while a woman near its head rings a bell. when one batch is tired, it is replaced by another. badaga men then pour in in large numbers, and salute the corpse by touching the head, toreyas and female relations touching the feet. of those who salute, a few place inside the dhupati a piece of white cloth with red and yellow stripes, which has been specially prepared for the purpose. all then proceed to dance round the car to the music of the kota band, near male relations removing their turban or woollen night cap, as a mark of respect, during the first three revolutions. most of the male dancers are dressed up in gaudy petticoats and smart turbans. "no woman," mr. natesa sastri writes, "mingles in the funeral dance if the dead person is a man, but, if the deceased is a woman, one old woman, the nearest relative of the dead, takes part in it." but, at the funerals of two men which we witnessed, a few women danced together with the men. usually the tribesmen continue to arrive until 2 or 3 p.m. relations collect outside the village, and advance in a body towards the car, some, especially the sons-in-law of the dead man, riding on ponies, some of them carrying samai grain. as they approach the car, they shout "ja! hoch; ja! hoch." the muttu kotas bring a double iron sickle with imitation buffalo horns on the tip, which is placed, with a hatchet, buguri (flute), and walking stick, on the car or on the ground beside it. when all are assembled, the cot is carried to an open space between the house and the burning-ground, followed by the car and a party of women carrying the baskets containing grain, etc. the car is then stripped of its trappings, and hacked to pieces. the widow is brought close to the cot, and removes her nose ornament (elemukkuthi), and other jewels. at both the funerals which we witnessed, the widow had a narrow strip of coloured chintz over her shoulders. standing near the corpse, she removed a bit of wire from her ear-rings, a lock of hair, and a palm leaf roll from the lobe of the ear, and tied them up in the cloth of her dead husband. after her, the sisters of the dead man cut off a lock of hair, and, in like manner, tied it in the cloth. women attached to a man by illegitimate ties sometimes also cut off a lock of hair, and, tying it to a twig of dodonæa viscosa, place it inside the cloth. very impressive is the recitation, or after-death confession of a dead man's sins by an elder of the tribe standing at the head of the corpse, and rapidly chanting the following lines, or a variation thereof, while he waves his right hand during each line towards the feet. the reproduction of the recitation in my phonograph never failed to impress the daily audience of badagas, kotas and todas. this is the death of andi. in his memory the calf of the cow belle has been set free. from this world to the other. he goes in a car. everything the man did in this world. all the sins committed by his ancestors. all the sins committed by his forefathers. all the sins committed by his parents. all the sins committed by himself. the estranging of brothers. shifting the boundary line. encroaching on a neighbour's land by removing the hedge. driving away brothers and sisters. cutting the kalli tree stealthily. cutting the mulli tree outside his boundary. dragging the thorny branches of the kotte tree. sweeping with a broom. splitting green branches. telling lies. uprooting seedlings. plucking growing plants, and throwing them in the sun. giving young birds to cats. troubling the poor and cripples. throwing refuse water in front of the sun. going to sleep after seeing an eclipse of the moon. looking enviously at a buffalo yielding an abundance of milk. being jealous of the good crops of others. removing boundary stones. using a calf set free at the funeral. polluting water with dirt. urinating on burning embers. ingratitude to the priest. carrying tales to the higher authorities. poisoning food. not feeding a hungry person. not giving fire to one half frozen. killing snakes and cows. killing lizards and blood-suckers. showing a wrong path. getting on the cot, and allowing his father-in-law to sleep on the ground. sitting on a raised verandah, and driving thence his mother-in-law. going against natural instincts. troubling daughters-in-law. breaking open lakes. breaking open reservoirs of water. being envious of the prosperity of other villages. getting angry with people. misleading travellers in the forest. though there be three hundred such sins, let them all go with the calf set free to-day. may the sins be completely removed! may the sins be forgiven! may the door of heaven be open! may the door of hell be closed! may the hand of charity be extended! may the wicked hand be shrivelled! may the door open suddenly! may beauty or splendour prevail everywhere! may the hot pillar be cooled! may the thread bridge [84] become light! may the pit of perdition be closed! may he reach the golden pillar! holding the feet of the six thousand athis, holding the feet of the twelve thousand pathis, holding the feet of brahma, holding the feet of the calf set free to-day, may he reach the abode of siva! so mote it be. the recitation is repeated thrice, and a few badagas repeat the last words of each line after the elder. it was noticed by the rev. a. c. clayton that, during the recitation, the people surrounded the bier on three sides, leaving a lane open to the west. the sins of the dead man were transferred to another as sin-bearer, and finally passed away down the lane. as the ceremony witnessed by us differs materially from the account thereof given by gover nearly forty years ago, i may quote his description. "by a conventional mode of expression, the sum total of sins a man may do is said to be thirteen hundred. admitting that the deceased has committed them all, the performer cries aloud 'stay not their flight to god's pure feet.' as he closes, the whole assembly chants aloud 'stay not their flight.' again the performer enters into details, and cries 'he killed the crawling snake. it is a sin.' in a moment the last word is caught up, and all the people cry 'it is a sin.' as they shout, the performer lays his hand upon the calf. the sin is transferred to the calf. thus the whole catalogue is gone through in this impressive way. but this is not enough. as the last shout 'let all be well' dies away, the performer gives place to another, and again confession is made, and all the people shout 'it is a sin.' a third time it is done. then, still in solemn silence, the calf is let loose. like the jewish scapegoat, it may never be used for secular work." dr. rivers writes that "the badagas let loose a calf at a funeral, to bear the sins of the deceased. it is possible that the calf in the toda ceremony may have the same significance. if so, the practice has not improbably been borrowed, and the fact that the bell which is hung on the neck of the calf is kept by kotas or badagas suggests that the whole incident may have been borrowed by the todas from one or other of these races." at the funerals, of which we were spectators, no calf was brought near the corpse, and the celebrants of the rites were satisfied with the mere mention by name of a calf, which is male or female according to the sex of the deceased. at the funeral witnessed by the rev. a. c. clayton, a cow-buffalo was led three times round the bier, and a little of its milk, drawn at the time, put into the mouth of the corpse. then a buffalo calf was led thrice round the bier, and the dead man's hand laid on its head. by this act, the calf was supposed to receive all the sins of the deceased. it was then driven away to a great distance, that it might contaminate no one, and it was said that it would never be sold, but looked on as a dedicated sacred animal. if a dead man leaves a widow in a state of pregnancy, who has not performed the kanni kattodu or marriage thread ceremony, this must be gone through before the corpse is taken to the pyre, in order to render the child legitimate. the pregnant woman is, at the time of the funeral, brought close to the cot, and a near relation of the deceased, taking up a cotton thread, twisted in the form of a necklace without any knots, throws it round her neck. sometimes the hand of the corpse is lifted up with the thread, and made to place it round the neck. at the funeral of the young man, mr. clayton saw this ceremony performed on his pregnant wife. after a turmeric-dyed cord had been taken from the hands of the corpse and tied round her neck, she was again brought to the side of the bier, and her ear-rings, nose ornaments, and other articles of jewellery, were removed in token that she had become a widow. soon after the recitation of sins, all the agnates go to the house of the dead man, at the entrance to which a gunny-bag is spread, whereon a small quantity of paddy is poured, and a few culms of cynodon dactylon and a little cow-dung are placed on it. the eldest of the agnates, sickle in hand, takes some of the paddy, and moves on, raising both hands to his forehead. the other agnates then do the same, and proceed in indian file, males in front and females in the rear, to the corpse. round it they walk, men from left to right, and women in the reverse direction, and at the end of each circuit put some of the paddy on its face. the cot is then carried to the burning-ground, a woman heading the procession, and shaking the end of her cloth all the way. the corpse is laid on the pyre with its feet to the south, and the pyre lighted by the eldest son standing at the head. the sticks of which the car was constructed are added to the fuel, of which the pyre is built up. in some places the son, when lighting the pyre, repeats the words "being begotten by my father and mother, i, in the presence of all and the deva, set fire at the head after the manner of my ancestors and forefathers." the rev. a. c. clayton records that, before the procession started for the burning-ground, some female relatives of the dead man tied locks of their hair round the toes of the corpse, and others went three times round the bier. on the day following the funeral, the bereaved family distribute rice to all the badagas of the hamlet, and all the near relations of the deceased go to the burning-ground, taking with them two new pots. the fire is extinguished, and the fragments of the bones are collected. a tray is made of the fronds of the bracken fern (pteris aquilina) covered with a cloth, on which the bones are placed together with culms of cynodon grass and ghi. the badagas of the hamlet who are younger than the deceased salute the bones by touching them, and a few men, including the chief mourner, hold the tray, and convey it to the bone pit, which every hamlet possesses. into it the bones are thrown, while an elder repeats the words "become united with the line of your relations, with your class, and with the big people," or "may the young and old who have died, may all those who have died from time immemorial up to the present time, mingle in one." when the pit has been closed up, all return to the spot where the body was burnt, and, clearing a space, make a puddle, round which they stand, and throw into it a handful of korali (setaria italica), uttering the words "may deaths cease; may evils cease; may good prevail in the village; in virtue of the good deeds of the ancestors and forefathers, may this one mingle with them." this ceremony concluded, they repair to a stream, where a member of the bereaved family shaves a toreya partially or completely. some take a razor, and, after removing a patch of hair, pass the toreya on to a barber. all the agnates are then shaved by a badaga or a barber. the chief mourner then prostrates himself on the ground, and is blessed by all. he and the toreya proceed to the house of the deceased. taking a three-pronged twig of rhodomyrtus tomentosus, and placing a minige (argyreia) leaf on the prongs, he thrusts it into a rubbish heap near the house. he then places a small quantity of samai grain, called street food, on the leaf, and, after sprinkling it thrice with water, goes away. it was noted by harkness that, at the burning-ground, the son or representative of the deceased dropped a little grain into the mouth of the corpse, carrying in his left hand a small bar of iron, which is supposed to have a repulsive power over the spirits that hover about the dead. the final death ceremonies, or korambu, are celebrated on a sunday. towards evening the house of the deceased is cleansed with cow-dung, and badaga men assemble therein, sending away all women. the chief mourner, accompanied by two badagas carrying new pots, proceeds to a stream, where the pots are cleaned with cow-dung, and rubbed over with culms of andropogon schoenanthus. they are then filled with water, carried to the house, and deposited in the milk-room. at the entrance to the inner apartment, five agnates stand, holding a circular bamboo tray (kerachi) made of plaited bamboo, on which the chief mourner pours a small quantity of paddy, and spreads it with a sickle. the widow and other female relations come near, and cry. a few sickles or knives (preferably those which were used at the funeral) are placed on the tray, which is saluted by all the badagas present. the paddy is husked in a mortar, and the rice cooked with dolichos lablab, cicer arietinum, and other pulses, without the addition of salt. early on the following morning, the eldest son, taking a small quantity of the rice to the roof of the house, places seven balls made therefrom on plantain or minige leaves, and recites the names of the male and female ancestors and forefathers, his mother, father, and brothers. the remainder of the rice is eaten by relations. in some places, the whole of the rice is divided into seven balls, and taken outside the house. water is sprinkled over the roof, and a portion of the rice thrown thereon. standing up before the assembled badagas, an elder says "to-day we have acted up to the observances of our ancestors and forefathers. new ones should not be considered as old, or old as new. there is not a man carrying a head (wise man), or a woman carrying breasts (wise woman). may he become united with the men of his clan and caste." the funeral rites of the udayas differ in some important details from those of the badaga sub-division. the buffalo catching, and leading the animal round the corpse, are omitted. but a steer and heifer are selected, and branded on the thigh, by means of a hot iron, with the lingam and other emblems. bedecked with cloths and jewels, they are led to the side of the corpse, and made to stand on a blanket spread on the ground. they are treated as if they were lingams, and puja is done to them by offering cocoanuts and betel leaves, and throwing flowers over them. round their necks kankanams (marriage threads) are tied. they are made to turn so as to face away from the corpse, and their tails are placed in the hands thereof. an elder then proceeds with the recitation of the dead person's sins. the udayas bury their dead in a sitting posture in a cell dug out of the side of the grave, and, like the irulas, prefer to use a grave in which a previous burial has taken place. at the four corners of the grave they place in the ground a plant of leucas aspera, and pass a cotton thread laterally and diagonally across the grave, leaving out the side opposite the cell. two men descend into the grave, and deposit the corpse in its resting place with two lighted lamps. in 1905, an elaborate badaga memorial ceremony for ancestors called manavalai, which takes place at long intervals, was celebrated on the nilgiris. i gather from the notes of a native official that an enormous car, called elu kudi teru (seven-storeyed car) was built of wood and bamboo, and decorated with silk and woollen fabrics, flags, and umbrellas. inside the ground floor were a cot with a mattress and pillow, and the stem of a plantain tree. the souls of the ancestors are supposed to be reclining on the cot, resting their heads on the pillow, and chewing the plantain, while the umbrellas protect them from the sun and rain. the ear ornaments of all those who have died since the previous ceremony should be placed on the cot. "a badaga fell and hurt himself during the erection of the car. whereupon, another badaga became possessed, and announced that the god was angry because a kurumba had something to do with the building of the structure. a council meeting was held, and the kurumba fined twenty-five rupees, which were credited to the god. sixty-nine petty bazars and three beer taverns had been opened for the convenience of all classes of people that had assembled. one very old badaga woman said that she was twelve years old when the first european was carried in a chair by the todas, and brought up the ghat to the nilgiris from coimbatore. on wednesday at 10 a.m. people from the adjoining villages were announced, and the kota band, with the village people, went forward, greeted them, and brought them to the car. as each man approached it, he removed his turban, stooped over the pillow and laid his head on it, and then went to join the ring for the dance. the dancers wore skirts made of white long-cloth, white and cream silks and satins with border of red and blue trimming, frock dresses, and dressing-gowns, while the coats, blouses, and jackets were of the most gaudy colours of silk, velvet, velveteen, tweed, and home-spun. as each group of people arrived, they went first to the temple door, saluted the god, and went to the basement of the car to venerate the deceased, and then proceeded to dance for an hour, received their supplies of rice, etc., and cleared off. thursday and friday were the grandest days. nearly three thousand females, and six thousand males, assembled on thursday. to crown all the confusion, there appeared nearly a thousand badagas armed with new mamotis (spades). they came on dancing for some distance, rushed into the crowd, and danced round the car. these badagas belonged to a gang of public works, local fund, and municipal maistries. on the last day a sheep was slaughtered in honour of the deity. the musicians throughout the festivities were kotas and kurumbas. the dancing of the men of three score showed that they danced to music, and the stepping was admirable, while the dancing of young men did not show that they had any idea of dancing, or either taste or knowledge of music. they were merely skipping and jumping. this shows that the old art of the badaga dance is fast decaying." the cot is eventually burnt at the burning-ground, as if it contained a corpse. a kind of edible truffle (mylitta lapidescens) is known as little man's bread on the nilgiris. the badaga legendary name for it is pandva-unna-buthi, or dwarf bundle of food, [85] i.e., food of the dwarfs, who are supposed once to have inhabited the nilgiris and built the pandu kulis or kistvaens. the story goes that lord elphinstone, a former governor of madras, was anxious to build a residence at kaiti. but the badagas, who had on the desired site a sacred tree, would not part with the land. the governor's steward succeeded in making the badaga headman drunk, and secured, for a rental of thirty-five rupees annually, the site, whereon a villa was built, which now belongs to the basel mission. [86] in a recent work, [87] mr. a. h. keane, in a note on the "dravidian aborigines," writes as follows. "all stand on the very lowest rung of the social ladder, being rude hillmen without any culture strictly so called, and often betraying marked negroid characters, as if they were originally negroes or negritos, later assimilated in some respects to their dravidian conquerors. as they never had a collective racial name, they should now be called, not dravidians or proto-dravidians, but rather pre-dravidians, as more collectively indicating their true ethnical relations. such are the kotas, irulas, badagas, and kurumbas." it may be pointed out that the badagas and kotas of the nilgiri plateau are not "wild tribes," have no trace of negroid characters, and no affinities with the kurumbas and irulas of the nilgiri slopes. the figures in the following table speak for themselves:- =========+=======================+====================== | stature. | nasal index. +=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+====== | a | b | c | d | e | f =========+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+====== badaga | 164.1 | 180.2 | 159.9 | 75.6 | 88.4 | 62.7 kota | 162.9 | 174.2 | 155. | 77.2 | 92.9 | 64. irula | 159.8 | 168. | 152. | 84.9 | 100. | 72.3 kurumba | 157.5 | 163.6 | 149.6 | 88.8 | 111. | 79.1 =========+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+====== column headers: a = average cm. b = maximum cm. c = minimum cm. d = average. e = maximum. f = minimum. badagi.--the carpenter sub-division of panchalas. badhoyi.--the badhoyis are oriya carpenters and blacksmiths, of whom the former are known as badhoyi, and the latter as komaro. these are not separate castes, and the two sections both interdine and intermarry. the name badhoyi is said to be derived from the sanskrit vardhaki, which, in oriya, becomes bardhaki, and indicates one who changes the form, i.e., of timber. korti, derived from korto, a saw, occurs as the name of a section of the caste, the members of which are wood-sawyers. socially, the badhoyis occupy the same position as doluvas, kalinjis, and various other agricultural classes, and they do not, like the tamil kammalans, claim to be viswakarma brahmans, descended from viswakarma, the architect of the gods. the hereditary headman is called maharana, and, in some places, there seem to be three grades of maharana, viz., maharana, dondopato maharana, and swangso maharana. these headmen are assisted by a bhollobhaya or dolobehara, and there is a further official called agopothiria, whose duty it is to eat with an individual who is re-admitted into the caste after a council meeting. this duty is sometimes performed by the maharana. ordinary meetings of council are convened by the maharana and bhollobhaya. but, if a case of a serious nature is to be tried, a special council meeting, called kulo panchayat, is held in a grove or open space outside the village. all the maharanas and other officers, and representatives of five castes (panchapatako) equal or superior to the badhoyis in the social scale, attend such a council. the complainant goes to the swangso maharana, and, giving him fifty areca nuts, asks him to convene the council meeting. punishment inflicted by the caste council usually assumes the form of a fine, the amount of which depends on the worldly prosperity of the delinquent, who, if very indigent, may be let off with a reprimand and warning. sometimes offences are condoned by feeding brahmans or the badhoyi community. small sums, collected as fines, are appropriated by the headman, and large sums are set apart towards a fund for meeting the marriage expenses of the poorer members of the caste, and the expenditure in connection with kulo panchayats. concerning the marriage ceremonies, mr. d. mahanty writes as follows. "at a marriage among the badhoyis, and various other castes in ganjam, two pith crowns are placed on the head of the bridegroom. on his way to the bride's house, he is met by her purohit (priest) and relations, and her barber washes his feet, and presents him with a new yellow cloth, flowers, and kusa grass (also called dharbha grass). when he arrives at the house, amid the recitations of stanzas by the priest, the blowing of conch shells and other music, the women of the bride's party make a noise called hulu-huli, and shower kusa grass over him. at the marriage booth, the bridegroom sits upon a raised 'altar,' and the bride, who arrives accompanied by his maternal uncle, pours salt, yellow-coloured rice, and parched paddy (rice) over the head of the bridegroom, by whose side she seats herself. one of the pith crowns is removed from the bridegroom's forehead, and placed on that of the bride. various brahmanical rites are then performed, and the bride's father places her hand in that of the bridegroom. a bundle of straw is now placed on the altar, on which the contracting parties sit, the bridegroom facing east, and the bride west. the purohit rubs a little jaggery over the bridegroom's right palm, joins it to the palm of the bride, and ties their two hands together with a rope made of kusa grass (hasthagonti). a yellow cloth is tied to the cloths which the bridal pair are wearing, and stretched over their shoulders (gontiyala). the hands are then untied by a married woman. sradha is performed for the propitiation of ancestors, and the purohit, repeating some mantrams (prayers), blesses the pair by throwing yellow rice over them. on the sixth day of the ceremony, the bridegroom runs away from the house of his father-in-law, as if he was displeased, and goes to the house of a relation in the same or an adjacent village. his brother-in-law, or other male relation of the bride, goes in search of him, and, when he has found him, rubs some jaggery over his face, and brings him back." as an example of the stanzas recited by the purohit, the following may be cited:- i have presented with my mind and word, and also with kusa grass and water. the witnesses of this are fire, brahmans, women, relations, and all the devatas. forgive this presentable faithful maid. i am performing the marriage according to the vedic rites. women are full of all kinds of faults. forgive these faults. brahma is the god of this maid. by the grace of the god vasudeva, i give to thee the bridegroom. the badhoyis are paramarthos, and follow the chaitanya form of vaishnavism. they further worship various village deities. the dead are cremated. the corpse of a dead person is washed, not at the house, but at the burning-ground. the most common caste title is maharana. but, in some zemindaris, such titles as bindhani rathno, and bindhani bushano, have been conferred by the zemindars on carpenters for the excellence of their work. the carpenters and blacksmiths hold inams or rent-free lands both under zemindars and under government. in return, they are expected to construct a car for the annual festival of the village deity, at which, in most places, the car is burnt at the conclusion of the festival. they have further to make agricultural implements for the villagers, and, when officials arrive on circuit, to supply tent-pegs, etc. bagata.--the bagatas, bhaktas, or baktas are a class of telugu fresh-water fishermen, who are said to be very expert at catching fish with a long spear. it is noted, in the madras census report, 1901, that "on the dasara day they worship the fishing baskets, and also (for some obscure reason) a kind of trident." the trident is probably the fishing spear. some of the bagatas are hill cultivators in the agency tracts of vizagapatam. they account for their name by the tradition that they served with great devotion (bhakti) the former rulers of golgonda and madugula, who made grants of land to them in mokhasa tenure. some of them are heads of hill villages. the head of a single village is called a padal, and it may be noted that padala occurs as an exogamous sept of the kapus, of which caste it has been suggested that the bagatas are an offshoot. the overlord of a number of padals styles himself nayak or raju, and a mokhasadar has the title of dora. it is recorded, in the census report, 1871, that "in the low country the bhaktas consider themselves to take the rank of soldiery, and rather disdain the occupation of ryots (cultivators). here, however (in hill madugulu in the vizagapatam district), necessity has divested them of such prejudices, and they are compelled to delve for their daily bread. they generally, nevertheless, manage to get the kapus to work for them, for they make poor farmers, and are unskilled in husbandry." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, that "matsya gundam (fish pool) is a curious pool on the macheru (fish river) near the village of matam, close under the great yendrika hill, 5,188 feet above the sea. a barrier of rocks runs right across the river there, and the stream plunges into a great hole and vanishes beneath this, reappearing again about a hundred yards lower down. just where it emerges from under the barrier, it forms a pool, which is crowded with mahseer of all sizes. these are wonderfully tame, the bigger ones feeding fearlessly from one's hand, and even allowing their backs to be stroked. they are protected by the madgole zamindars--who on several grounds venerate all fish--and by superstitious fears. once, goes the story, a brinjari caught one and turned it into curry, whereon the king of the fish solemnly cursed him, and he and all his pack-bullocks were turned into rocks, which may be seen there till this day. at sivaratri, a festival occurs at the little thatched shrine near by, the priest at which is a bagata, and part of the ritual consists in feeding the sacred fish. "in 1901, certain envious bagatas looted one of the villages of the konda malas or hill paraiyans, a pushing set of traders, who are rapidly acquiring wealth and exalted notions, on the ground that they were becoming unduly arrogant. the immediate cause of the trouble was the fact that at a cockfight the malas' birds had defeated the bagatas'." in a note on the bagatas, mr. c. hayavadana rao writes that the caste is divided into exogamous septs or intiperulu, some of which occur also among the kapus, telagas, and vantaris. girls are married either before or after puberty, and the custom, called menarikam, which renders it a man's duty to marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is the general rule. an oriya or telugu brahman officiates at marriages, and the bride is presented with jewelry as a substitute for the bride-price (voli) in money. it is noted, in the census report, 1901, that, at a wedding, the bridegroom is struck by his brother-in-law, who is then presented with a pair of new cloths. the bagatas are both vaishnavites and saivites, and the former get themselves branded on the arm by a vaishnava guru, who lives in the godavari district. the vaishnavites burn their dead, and the saivites bury them in the customary sitting attitude. satanis officiate for the former, and jangams for the latter. both sections perform the chinna and pedda rozu (big and little day) death ceremonies. the hill bagatas observe the itiga ponduga festival, which is celebrated by the hill classes in vizagapatam. bahusagara (many seas).--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a synonym of rangari. the rangaris are tailors and dyers, and the signification of the name is not clear. baidya.--see vaidyan. bainedu.--the bainedu, or bainedi, as they are called in the census report, 1901, are the musicians and barbers of the malas and madigas. at the peddadinamu death ceremony of the gamallas, a mala bainedu takes part in the recitation of the story of ankamma, and in making the designs (muggu) on the ground. bairagi.--the bairagis are a class of religious mendicants, who roam about all over india, and are for the most part recruited from north indian castes. they are followers of ramanand, who founded the order at the end of the fourteenth, or beginning of the fifteenth century. according to common tradition, the schism of ramanand originated in resentment of an affront offered him by his fellow disciples, and sanctioned by his teacher. it is said that he had spent some time in travelling through various parts of india, after which he returned to the math, or residence of his superior. his brethren objected to him that in the course of his peregrinations it was impossible he could have observed that privacy in his meals, which is a vital observance of the ramanuja sect; and, as raghavanand admitted the validity of the objection, ramanand was condemned to feed in a place apart from the rest of the disciples. he was highly incensed at the order, and retired from the society altogether, establishing a schism of his own. [88] the name bairagi is derived from the sanskrit vairagya (vi + rag), denoting without desire or passion, and indicates an ascetic, who has subdued his passions, and liberated himself from worldly desires. the bairagis are sometimes called bavaji or sadhu. the bairagis are vaishnavites, and bear the tengalai vaishnava mark (namam), made with sandal-paste or gopi, on the forehead. bairagis with a vadagalai mark are very rare. the bairagis wear necklaces of tulsi (ocimum sanctum) beads or lotus (nelumbium speciosum) seeds. every bairagi cooks his food within a space cleansed with cow-dung water by himself or his disciple, and will not leave the space until he has finished his meal. the bairagis are not particular about screening the space from the public gaze. they partake of one meal daily, in the afternoon, and are abstainers from flesh dietary. they live mainly on alms obtained in the bazars, or in choultries (rest-houses for travellers). they generally carry with them one or two brass vessels for cooking purposes, a salagrama stone and a conch-shell for worship, and a chillum (pipe) for smoking ganja (indian hemp) or opium. they are, as a rule, naked except for a small piece of cloth tied round the waist and passed between the thighs. some wear more elaborate body-clothing, and a turban. they generally allow the beard to grow, and the hair of the head is long and matted, with sometimes a long tail of yak or human hair tied in a knot on the top of the head. those who go about nearly naked smear ashes all over their bodies. when engaged in begging, some go through the streets, uttering aloud the name of some god. others go from house to house, or remain at a particular spot, where people are expected to give them alms. some bairagis are celibates, and others married. they are supposed to be celibates, but, as dr. t. n. bhattacharjee observes, [89] the "monks of this order have generally a large number of nuns attached to their convents, with whom they openly live as man and wife." the bairagis are very particular about the worship of the salagrama stone, and will not partake of food without worshipping it. when so doing, they cover their head with a piece of cloth (ram nam ka safa), on which the name rama is printed in devanagiri characters. their face and shoulders are stamped, by means of brass stamps, with the word rama in similar characters. for the purpose of meditation, the bairagi squats on the ground, sometimes with a deer or tiger skin beneath him, and rests his hands on the cross-piece of his yoga-dandam, or bent stick. a pair of tongs is stuck in the ground on his right side, and sometimes fire is kept near it. it is noted by mr. j. c. oman [90] that "a most elaborate ritual has been laid down for the guidance of bairagis in the daily routine of the indispensable business and duties of life, prescribing in minute detail how, for example, the ascetic should wash, bathe, sit down, perform pranayam (stoppage or regulation of respiration), purify his body, purge his mind, meditate on vishnu, repeat the gayatri (hymn) as composed for the special use of members of the sect, worship rama, sita, lakshman, bharata, and satringah, together with rama's bows and arrows, and, lastly, the monkey god hanuman." the bairagis have a guru or priest, whom they call mahant. some visit the celebrated temple near tirupati and pay their respects to the mahant thereof. baisya.--a sub-division of koronos of ganjam. baita kammara.--the name, meaning outside blacksmiths, applied to kamsala blacksmiths, who occupy a lowly position, and work in the open air or outside a village. [91] bajantri.--a synonym of mangala, indicating their occupation as professional musicians. bakta.--see bagata. bakuda.--a sub-division of holeya. balanollu.--balanollu and badranollu are names of gotras of ganigas, the members of which may not cut erythroxylon monogynum. balasantosha.--the balasantosha or balasanta vandlu (those who please children) are described in the kurnool manual as "ballad reciters, whose chief stories are the bobbili katha, or the story of the siege of the fort of bobbili in vizagapatam by bussy; the kurnool nabob's katha or the story of the resumption of kurnool by the english; and the tale of the quarrels between ganga and parvati, the two wives of siva." balegara (bangle man).--an occupational sub-division of banajiga. balija.--the balijas are described by mr. francis [92] as being "the chief telugu trading caste, scattered throughout all parts of the presidency. it is said to have two main sub-divisions, desa (or kota, a fort) and peta (street). the first of these includes those, whose ancestors are supposed to have been the balija (nayak) kings of madura, tanjore and vijayanagar, or provincial governors in those kingdoms; and to the second belong those, like the gazulu (bangle sellers) and perike (salt-sellers), who live by trade. in the tamil districts balijas are known as vadugans (telugu people) and kavarais. the descendants of the nayak or balija kings of madura and tanjore claim to be kshatriyas and of the kasyapa (a rishi) gotra, while the vijayanagar rais say they are lineal descendants of the sage bharadwaja. others trace their ancestry to the kauravas of the mahabharata. this kshatriya descent is, however, not admitted by other castes, who say that balijas are an offshoot of the kammas or kapus, or that they are a mixed community recruited from these and other telugu castes. the members of the caste none of them now wear the sacred thread, or follow the vedic ritual. the name kartakkal (governors) was returned by those who claim to be descendants of the nayak kings of madura and tanjore." in a letter submitted, from coimbatore, to mr. francis in connection with the census, 1901, it was stated that "the balija people are kshatriyas of the lunar race, as can be proved by a reference to the bahgavatham, vishnupuranam, and brahmmandapuranam, etc.... in this connection, it will be interesting to note that one sevappa naidu married murthiammal, sister-in-law to achuta deva rayulu of narapathi samasthanam of vijayanagar, and as a marriage portion or dowry received the territory of tanjore, over which he ruled as king for a long period. it was at this time that the celebrated tirumalay naidu of madura took as wife one of the daughters of sevappa naidu's family. tirumalay's grandson, one chockalinga naidu, married mangammal, daughter of vijiaragavulu naidu, a grandson of the said tanjore sevappa naidu. it will thus be seen that the naidu rulers of tanjore, trichinopoly, and madura, were all relations of narapathi samasthanam of vijianagar. that these narapathies of vijianagaram were kshatriyas of the lunar race can be clearly seen by a reference to manucharithra, parijathapaharanam, prouda prabanda kavi charitra, etc., and that they were direct descendants of the great andra kings can be proved with equal satisfaction by referring to colonel mackenzie's mss., in the introduction of a. d. campbell's telugu grammar, and james prinsep's useful tables of andra kings will show that the andras were immediate descendants of the well-known yayathi raja of the lunar race." "the balijas," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [93] "are the trading caste of the telugu country, but they are now found in every part of the presidency. concerning the origin of this caste several traditions exist, but the most probable is that which represents them as a recent offshoot of the kapu or reddi caste. the caste is rather a mixed one, for they will admit, without much scruple, persons who have been expelled from their proper caste, or who are the result of irregular unions. the bulk of the balijas are now engaged in cultivation, and this accounts for so many having returned kapu as their main caste, for kapu is also a common telugu word used for a ryot (farmer). it is not improbable that there was once a closer connection than now between the kapus and the balijas, and the claim of the balijas to belong to the kapu caste may have a foundation in fact. in their customs there is very little difference between the kapus and balijas. their girls are married both before and after puberty. the re-marriage of widows is forbidden. they eat flesh, and alcohol is said to be freely indulged in [there is a proverb 'if a man be born a balija, he must crack the arrack bottle']. like the bogams and sanis, the balija females usually wear a petticoat instead of the long robe of ordinary hindus. the general name of the caste is naidu." "the balija naidu," it has been said, [94] "is to be met with in almost every walk of life--railway station-masters, head coolies, bakers, butlers, municipal inspectors, tappal (post) runners, hawkers, and hotel-keepers. the title chetti is by some used in preference to naidu." it is noted in the bellary manual that the balijas "have by common consent obtained a high place in the social system of south india. some are land-owners, residing on and working their own property with the help of members of inferior castes; but the majority live by trade." at tirupati, a number of balija families are engaged in the red sanders wood (pterocarpus santalinus), carving industry. figures of swamis (deities), mythological figures, elephants, and miniature temple cars with flying cherubs and winged horses, are most abundantly carved: but domestic utensils in the shape of chembus, kinnis, cups, plates, etc., are turned on the lathe. large vessels are sometimes made of the wood of vepi or achamaram (hardwickia binata), which resembles red sanders wood, but is more liable to crack. the carved figures are sold to pilgrims and others who visit tirupati, and are also taken to conjeeveram, madura, and other places, at times when important temple festivals are celebrated. vessels made of red sanders wood carry no pollution, and can be used by women during the menstrual period, and taken back to the house without any purification ceremony. for the same reason, sanyasis (ascetics) use such vessels for doing puja. the name balija is said to be derived from the sanskrit bali (a sacrifice) and ja (born), signifying that the balijas owe their origin to the performance of a yagam. the legend is current that on one occasion siva wanted his consort parvati to appear before him in all her glory. but, when she stood before him, fully decorated, he laughed, and said that she was not as charming as she might be. on this, she prayed that siva would help her to become so. from his braid of hair siva created a being who descended on the earth, bearing a number of bangles and turmeric paste, with which parvati adorned herself. siva, being greatly pleased with her appearance, told her to look at herself in a looking-glass. the being, who brought the bangles, is believed to have been the ancestor of the gazula balijas. according to another version of the legend, parvati was not satisfied with her appearance when she saw herself in the looking-glass, and asked her father to tell her how she was to make herself more attractive. he accordingly prayed to brahma, who ordered him to perform a severe penance (thapas). from the sacrificial fire, kindled in connection therewith, arose a being leading a donkey laden with heaps of bangles, turmeric, palm leaf rolls for the ears, black beads, sandal powder, a comb, perfumes, etc. from this maha purusha who thus sprang from a sacrifice (bali), the balijas derived their origin and name. to him, in token of respect, were given flags, torches, and certain musical instruments. the desayis, or leaders of the right-hand faction, are said to be balijas by caste. in former days they had very great influences, and all castes belonging to the right-hand faction would obey the desayi chetti. even at the present day, the oddes and others refer their disputes to the desayi, and not to their own caste headman. in former times there were three principal desayis, who had their head-quarters at conjeeveram, cuddalore, and walajapet. the head desayi possesses a biruthu (insigne of office) in the form of a large brass ladle with a bell attached to it. on the occasion of balija marriages and funerals, this is sent through the chalavathi (a pariah), who is the servant of the desayi, and has the right of allu eduththal (taking a handful) when he goes to the bazaar, where he receives meat from the butcher, vegetables, etc., as his perquisite. the desayi's ladle is kept in the custody of the chalavathi (see desayi). the balijas, mr. stuart writes, [95] "employ brahmans and satanis as their priests. the chief object of their worship is gauri, their caste deity. it is said that the malas are the hereditary custodians of the idol of gauri and her jewels, which the balijas get from them whenever they want to worship her. the following story is told to account for this. the kapus and balijas, molested by the muhammadan invaders on the north of the northern pennar, migrated to the south when the pennar was in full flood. being unable to cross the river, they invoked their deity to make a passage for them, for which it demanded the sacrifice of a first-born child. while they stood at a loss what to do, the malas who followed them boldly offered one of their children to the goddess. immediately the river divided before them, and the kapus and the balijas crossed it, and were saved from the tyranny of the muhammadans. ever since that time, the malas have been respected by the kapus and balijas, and the latter even deposited the images of gauri, the bull and ganesa, which they worshipped, in the house of a mala. i am credibly informed that the practice of leaving these images in the custody of malas is even now observed in some parts of the cuddapah district and elsewhere." of the numerous sub-divisions of the balijas, the following may be noticed:- gazula, glass bangles. valaiyal or vala (bangle) chetti is the tamil equivalent. by some the sight of a gazula balija with his pile of bangles on his back is considered a good omen. in recent years, a scare has arisen in connection with an insect, which is said to take up its abode in imported german glass bangles, which compete with the indigenous industry of the gazulas. the insect is believed to lie low in the bangle till it is purchased, when it comes out and nips the wearer, after warning her to get her affairs in order before succumbing. a specimen of a broken bangle, from which the insect is stated to have burst forth and stung a girl in the wrist, was sent to me. but the insect was not forthcoming. gandavallu, or gundapodi vandlu. go about the villages, hawking turmeric, kunkumam (colour powder), kamela (mallotus philippinensis) dye powder, beads, combs, cosmetics and other articles. supposed to have been originally komatis. kavarai, tamil synonym for balija. linga. panchama. telugu or telaga. a synonym for balija in the northern circars. rajamahendram or musu kamma. the former denotes the town of rajahmundry, and the latter a special ear-ornament worn by women. tota, garden. ralla, precious stones. pagadala, coral. pusa, beads. racha, royal. vyasa. a sage (rishi) or hunter, whom the hunting classes claim as their ancestor. other sub-divisions, classified as balijas at the census, 1901, were:- jakkulas, among whom it was, at tenali in the kistna district, formerly customary for each family to give up one girl for prostitution. under the influence of social reform, a written agreement was a few years ago entered into to give up the practice. adapapa. female attendants on the ladies of the families of zamindars, who, as they are not allowed to marry, lead a life of prostitution. their sons call themselves balijas. in some places, e.g., the kistna and godavari districts, this class is known as khasa or khasavandlu. santa kavarai. returned as balijas in the chingleput district. ravut. returned in the salem district. said to have been formerly soldiers under the poligars. like other telugu castes, the balijas have exogamous septs (intiperu) and gotras. of the former, the following are examples:- tupakala, musket. samudram, ocean. pappu, split pulse. gantla, bell. puli, tiger. balli, lizard. avula, cow. gandham, sandal paste or powder. jilakara, cummin seeds. miriyala, pepper. mutyala, pearls. narikella, cocoanut. nemili, peacock. pagadala, coral. pattindla, silk house. ratnala, precious stones. ungarala, rings. yenumala, buffalo. there is a saying that a balija who has no gotra must take the name of the pasuleti, or pasupuleti gotra. in like manner, a brahman orphan, whose gotra cannot be traced, is made to adopt the vathsa gotra. among the musu kammas, the consent of both the maternal uncle and elder sister's husband must be obtained before a girl is given in marriage. at the betrothal ceremony, the future bridegroom's relations proceed to the house of the girl, carrying the following articles on an odd number of trays beneath a cloth canopy (ulladam): mustard, fenugreek (trigonella foenumgræcum), cummin seeds, curds, jaggery, dhal (cajanus indicus), balls of condiments, tamarinds, pepper, twenty-one cakes, eleven cocoanuts, salt, plantains, flowers, a new cloth, black beads, a palm-leaf roll for the ear lobe, turmeric, a comb, and kunkumam (colour powder). a few rupees, called kongu mudi, to be given to the future mother-in-law, are also placed on the tray. the contracting parties exchange betel and a cocoanut, of which the latter is taken away by a member of the bridegroom's party, tied up in his body-cloth. the girl is seated on a plank, goes through the ceremony (nalagu) of being anointed with oil and paste, and is presented with a new cloth. wearing this, she sits on the plank, and betel, flowers, jewels, etc., are placed in her lap. a near female relation then ties a string of black beads round her neck. among the musu kammas, the milk-post, consisting of a green bamboo, with sometimes a branch of odina wodier, must be set up two days before the commencement of the marriage ceremonies. it is worshipped, and to it are tied an iron ring, and a string of cotton and wool twisted together (kankanam). a small framework, called dhornam, made of two sticks, across which cotton threads or pieces of cloth are stretched, is brought by a washerwoman, and given to the maternal uncle of the bridegroom, who ties it to the marriage booth. the marriage pots are brought from a potter's house beneath a cloth canopy (ulladam), and given to married couples, closely related to the bridegroom, who fetch water, and place the pots on the dais. some married women pour rice on a clean white cloth spread on the floor, and rub off the bran with their hands, while they sing songs. the cloth to be worn by the bridegroom is dipped in turmeric water by these women and dried. the balijas are very particular about the worship of their female ancestors (perantalu) and no auspicious ceremony can be commenced until perantalu puja has been performed. among the musu kammas, five women, who are closely related to the bridal couple, take only one meal a day, and try to keep free from pollution of all sorts. they go through the nalagu ceremony, and are presented with new cloths. among other sections, the wall is simply painted with turmeric dots to represent the ancestors. the ancestor worship concluded, the finger and toe-nails of the bridegroom are cut, and a musu kamma bridegroom is conducted to a temple of vigneswara (ganesa), if there is one near at hand. by other sections it is considered sufficient, if vigneswara worship is performed at the marriage booth. the musu kamma bridegroom is dressed up at the temple, and a bashingam (chaplet) tied on his forehead. an old-fashioned turban (paghai) is placed on his head, and a dagger (jimthadu) stuck into his waist-cloth. it is said that, in olden times, the balijas used to worship the dagger, and sacrifice sheep or goats at marriages. the bridegroom is next brought to the house where the wedding is being celebrated, and his brother-in-law washes his feet, and, after throwing flowers and rice over them, puts toe-rings and shoes thereon. the brahman purohit lights the sacred fire (homam), and pours ghi (clarified butter) therein, while he utters some verses, vedic or other. he then ties the kankanam (thread) on the bridegroom's wrist. the parents of the bride next proceed with the dharadhattam (gift of the girl) by pouring water and grains of rice into the hands of the bridegroom. vigneswara is then worshipped, and the bottu (marriage badge) is blessed by those assembled, and handed to the bridegroom. he, placing his right foot on that of the bride, who is separated from him by a screen, ties it round her neck. the couple then exchange seats, and rice is thrown in front of them. they next go thrice round the dais and milk-post, and, at the end of the first and second rounds, the foot of the bride is placed on a grinding stone. after the third round they gaze at the pole-star (arundati). into one of the marriage pots are put a pap-bowl, ring, and bracelet, which are picked out by the couple. if the pap-bowl is first got hold of by the bridegroom, the first-born child will be a boy; if the ring, it will be a girl. this rite concluded, the bridegroom makes a mark on the bride's forehead with collyrium. on the second day, the bridegroom makes a pretence of being angry, and stays in a garden or house near that in which the marriage ceremonies are conducted. the bride, and some of her relations, go to him in procession, and, treating him with great respect, bring him back. the sacred fire is lighted, and the bride enters the room in which the marriage pots (araveni) are kept. the bridegroom is stopped at the entrance thereto by a number of married women, and has to call his wife by her name, and pay a small sum of money for the arathi (coloured water), which is waved by the women, to ward off the evil eye. in some places, the sister of the bridegroom extracts a promise that his coral (daughter) shall be given in marriage to her pearl (son). he is then permitted to enter the room. on the third day, after homam has been performed by the brahman priest, the newly married couple go through a burlesque imitation of domestic life, after they have worshipped the posts of the booth, and perform a mimic ploughing ceremony, the bridegroom stirring up some earth in a basket with a stick or miniature plough. this, in some places, his sister tries to prevent him from doing by covering the basket with a cloth, and he has to say "i will give my coral to your pearl." his brother-in-law tries to squeeze his fingers between a pair of sticks called kitti, which was, in former times, a very popular form of torture as a means of extracting confession. the bride gives her husband some conji (rice-gruel) to refresh him after his pretended labour. at a marriage among the perikes (q.v.), a gunny-bag is said to be worshipped before the bottu is tied. a quantity of rice is measured on the first day of the ceremonies and tied up in a cloth. on the third day, the cloth is opened, and it is considered an auspicious sign if the quantity of rice exceeds that which was originally put into it. among the rajamahendram balijas, just before the nalagu ceremony, the knees, shoulders, and cheeks of the bride and bridegroom are touched with a pestle, while the names of their septs are called out. on the third day, the same process is repeated, but in the reverse order. a gazula balija bride must, when the bottu is tied, be dressed in a white cloth with red stripes, called sanna pappuli. with other sections, a white cloth dyed with turmeric is de rigeur. balija, it may be noted, is, in the north arcot manual, returned as a division of dasaris and idigas. the better classes of medaras (cane-splitters and mat-makers) are also taking to calling themselves balijas, and assume the title chetti. oddes and upparas sometimes style themselves odde balija and uppara balija. they belong to the right-hand section, which is headed by the desayi, who is a balija, and so describe themselves as belonging to the setti or chetti samayam (section). some members of the mila and vada fishing castes have adopted oda or vada (boat) balija as their caste name. ballala.--ballala, or bellala, was returned, at the census, 1901, as the caste name of a number of individuals, indicating their claim to descent from the hoysal ballal kings of mysore. ballal is a title assumed by bant families of position. there is a proverb that, when a bant becomes powerful, he becomes a ballal. [96] ballem (spear).--an exogamous sept of mala. balli (lizard).--an exogamous sept of balija. balolika.--a synonym of rajapuri. balu (bear).--a sept of domb. bana (big pot).--an exogamous sept of togatas, and a name for telugu washermen, who are sometimes called bana tsakala. bana is the telugu name for the pot which they use for boiling the clothes in. banajiga (vanik, tradesman).--canarese traders, many of whom are lingayats. see linga balija. banda.--banda, as applied to the mondi mendicant class, seems to be used in the sense of an obstinate fellow. some, however, maintain that it refers to a beggar who carries about a stone, and threatens to beat his brains out, if alms are not forthcoming. banda, meaning a rock, also occurs as an exogamous sept of odde. bandari.--bandari, denoting apparently the shrub dodondæa viscosa, is an exogamous sept of odde. it further occurs, in the sense of a temple treasurer, as an exogamous sept of devangas and padma sales, for whom the bandari acts as caste messenger. it is also the name of the assistant to the headman, or pattakar, of the okkiliyans, a title of konkani brahmans, and a synonym of kelasis. bandekara.--a synonym for konkani vanis (traders), who are said, in the madras census report, 1901, to ape the brahmanical customs, and call themselves by the curious hybrid name of vasiya (or vaisya) brahman. bandi (cart).--an exogamous sept of kapu, kavarai, korava, kumbara, kurni, kuruba, mala, odde, stanika, and yanadi. it further occurs as a name for koravas, who drag the temple car at times of religious festival. vandikkaran (cartmen) is an occupational name for nayars, who work as cartmen for carrying fuel. bangaru mukkara (gold nose ornament).--a sub-division of kamma. baniya.--the baniyas or bunyas are immigrant traders and money-lenders (sowcars) from northern india, who have settled down in the southern bazars, where they carry on a lucrative business, and wax sleek and wealthy. bania also occurs as a synonym for the south indian trading caste, the komatis. it may be noted, as a little matter of history, that, in 1677, the court of directors, in a letter to fort st. george, offered "twenty pounds reward to any of our servants or soldiers as shall be able to speak, write, and translate the banian language, and to learn their arithmetic." [97] banjari.--a synonym of lambadi. banka (gum).--an exogamous sept of motati kapu. bannagara (a painter).--a synonym of chitrakara. bannan.--a synonym of vannan or mannan, recorded at times of census. in like manner bannata occurs as a canarese form of the malayalam veluttedan or vannattan. banni or vanni (prosopis spicigera).--an exogamous sept of kuruba and kurni. the tree is worshipped because on it "the five pandava princes hung up their arms when they entered virat nagra in disguise. on the tree the arms turned to snakes, and remained untouched till the owners returned." (lisboa.) bant.--for the following account of the bants i am mainly indebted to mr. h. a. stuart's description of them in the manual of south canara. the name bant, pronounced bunt, means in tulu a powerful man or soldier, and indicates that the bants were originally a military class corresponding to the nayars of malabar. the term nadava instead of bant in the northern portions of south canara points, among other indications, to a territorial organisation by nads similar to that described by mr. logan as prevailing in malabar. "the nayars," he writes, "were, until the british occupied the country, the militia of the district. originally they seem to have been organised into 'six hundreds,' and each six hundred seems to have had assigned to it the protection of all the people in a nad or country. the nad was in turn split up into taras, a dravidian word signifying originally a foundation, the foundation of a house, hence applied collectively to a street, as in tamil teru, in telugu teruvu, and in canarese and tulu teravu. the tara was the nayar territorial unit for civil purposes." it has been stated that "the malabar nair chieftain of old had his nad or barony, and his own military class; and the relics of this powerful feudal system still survive in the names of some of the taluks (divisions) of modern malabar, and in the official designations of certain nair families, whose men still come out with quaint-looking swords and shields to guard the person of the zamorin on the occasion of the rice-throwing ceremony, which formally constitutes him the ruler of the land. correspondingly, the bants of the northern parts of canara still answer to the territorial name of nad bants, or warriors of the nad or territory. it is necessary to explain that, in both ancient keralam and tulu, the functions of the great military and dominant classes were so distributed that only certain classes were bound to render military service to the ruling prince. the rest were lairds or squires, or gentleman farmers, or the labourers and artisans of their particular community, though all of them cultivated a love of manly sports." [98] few traces of any such organisation as has been indicated now prevail, great changes having been made when the vijayanagar government introduced, more than five hundred years ago, a system of administration under which the local jain chiefs, though owing allegiance to an overlord, became more independent in their relations with the people of the country. under the bednur kings, and still more under the mysore rule, the power of the chiefs was also swept away, but the old organisation was not reverted to. the bants are now the chief land-owning and cultivating class in south canara, and are, with the exception of the billavas or toddy-drawers, the most numerous caste in the district. "at the present day, the bants of canara are largely the independent and influential landed gentry, some would say, perhaps, the substantial yeomanry. they still retain their manly independence of character, their strong and well developed physique, and they still carry their heads with the same haughty toss as their forefathers did in the stirring fighting days when, as an old proverb had it, 'the slain rested in the yard of the slayer,' and when every warrior constantly carried his sword and shield. both men and women of the bant community are among the comeliest of asiatic races, the men having high foreheads and well-turned aquiline noses." in a note on the agricultural economy of south canara, rao sahib t. raghaviah writes [99] that "the ryot (cultivator) of south canara loves to make his land look attractive, and every field is lined with the lovely areca, and the stately palm. the slopes adjoining the rich fields are studded with plantations of jack, mango, cashew, plantain and other fruit and shade trees, and the ryot would not even omit to daub his trees with the alternate white and red bands, with which the east coast women love to adorn a marriage house or temple wall. these, with the regularly laid out and carefully embanked water-courses and streams, lend an air of enchantment to the whole scene. the ignorance prevailing among the women of the richer section of the landed classes (on the east coast) is so great that it is not uncommon to ridicule a woman by saying that what she knows about paddy (rice) is that it grows on a tree. but, in a district like south canara, the woman that does not know agriculture is the exception. i have often come across respectable women of the landed classes like the bants, shivallis, and nairs, managing large landed estates as efficiently as men. the south canara woman is born on the land, and lives on it. she knows when to sow, and when to reap; how much seed to sow, and how much labour to employ to plough, to weed, or to reap. she knows how to prepare her seed, and to cure her tobacco, to garner her grain, and to preserve her cucumbers through the coming monsoon. she knows further how to feed her cow, and to milk it, to treat it when sick, and to graze it when hale. she also knows how to make her manure, and how to use it without wasting a bit of it. she knows how to collect green leaves for her manure, and to help the fuel reserve on the hill slope above her house grow by a system of lopping the branches and leaving the standards. she knows also how to collect her areca nuts, and to prepare them for the market, and to collect her cocoanuts, and haggle for a high price for them with her customers. there is, in fact, not a single thing about agriculture which the south canara man knows, and which the south canara woman does not know. it is a common sight, as one passes through a paddy flat or along the adjoining slope, to see housewives bringing out handfuls of ashes collected in the oven over night, and depositing them at the root of the nearest fruit tree on their land." most of the bants are hindus by religion, and rank as sudras, but about ten thousand of them are jains. probably they originally assumed jainism as a fashionable addition to the ancestral demon worship, to which they all still adhere, whether they profess to be vaishnavites, saivites, or jains. it is probable that, during the political supremacy of the jains, a much larger proportion of the bants professed adherence to that religion than now-a-days. there are four principal sub-divisions of the caste, viz., masadika, who are the ordinary bants of tuluva; nadava or nad, who speak canarese, and are found in the northern part of south canara; the parivara, who do not follow the aliya santana system of inheritance; and the jains. members of these sub-divisions may not intermarry, but instances have occurred of marriage between members of the masadika and nad sub-divisions. nothing very definite is known of the origin of the bants, but tuluva seems, in the early centuries of the christian era, to have had kings who apparently were sometimes independent and sometimes feudatories of overlords, such as the pallavas, the early kadambas, the early chalukyans, the later kadambas, the western chalukyans, the kalachurians, and the hoysal ballals. this indicates a constant state of fighting, which would account for an important class of the population being known as bantaru or warriors; and, as a matter of course, they succeeded in becoming the owners of all the land which did not fall to the share of the priestly class, the brahmans. ancient inscriptions speak of kings of tuluva, and the bairasu wodears of karakal, whose inscriptions have been found at kalasa as early as the twelfth century, may have exercised power throughout tuluva or the greater part of it. but, when the vijayanagar dynasty became the overlords of canara in 1336, there were then existing a number of minor chiefs who had probably been in power long before, and the numerous titles still remaining among the bants and jains, and the local dignities known as pattam and gadi, point to the existence from very early times of a number of more or less powerful local chieftains. the system peculiar to the west coast under which all property vests in females, and is managed by the seniors of the family, was also favourable to the continuance of large landed properties, and it is probable that it is only within comparatively recent times that sub-division of landed property became anything like as common as it is now. all the bants, except the parivara and a few jains follow this aliya santana system of inheritance, [100] a survival of a time when the military followers of conquering invaders or local chiefs married women of the local land-owning classes, and the most important male members of the family were usually absent in camp or at court, while the women remained at the family house on the estate, and managed the farms. the titles and the pattams or dignities have always been held by the male members, but, as they also go with the landed property, they necessarily devolve on the sister's son of a deceased holder, whence has arisen the name aliya santana, which means sister's son lineage. a story is embodied in local traditions, attributing the origin of the system to the fiat of a king named bhutal pandya, until whose time makkala santana, or inheritance from father to son, generally obtained. "it is said that the maternal uncle of this prince, called deva pandya, wanted to launch his newly constructed ships with valuable cargo in them, when kundodara, king of demons demanded a human sacrifice. deva pandya asked his wife's permission to offer one of his sons, but she refused, while his sister satyavati offered her son jaya pandya for the purpose. kundodara, discovering in the child signs of future greatness, waived the sacrifice, and permitted the ships to sail. he then took the child, restored to him his father's kingdom of jayantika, and gave him the name of bhutal pandya. subsequently, when some of the ships brought immense wealth, the demon again appeared, and demanded of deva pandya another human sacrifice. on the latter again consulting his wife, she refused to comply with the request, and publicly renounced her title and that of her children to the valuable property brought in the ships. kundodara then demanded the deva pandya to disinherit his sons of the wealth which had been brought in the ships, as also of the kingdom, and to bestow all on his sister's son, jaya or bhutal pandya. this was accordingly done. and, as this prince inherited his kingdom from his maternal uncle and not from his father, he ruled that his own example should be followed by his subjects, and it was thus that the aliya santana law was established about a.d. 77." [101] it is noted by mr. l. moore [102] that various judicial decisions relating to the aliya santana system are based to a great extent on a book termed aliya santanada kattu kattale, which was alleged to be the work of bhutala pandiya, who, according to dr. whitley stokes, the learned scholar who edited the first volume of the madras high court reports, lived about a.d. 78, but which is in reality a very recent forgery compiled about 1840. as to this, dr. a. c. burnell observes as follows in a note in his law of partition and succession. "one patent imposture yet accepted by the courts as evidence is the aliya santanada kattu kattale, a falsified account of the customs of south canara. silly as many indian books are, a more childish or foolish tract it would be impossible to discover; it is about as much worthy of notice in a law court as 'jack the giant killer.' that it is a recent forgery is certain.... the origin of the book in its present state is well-known; it is satisfactorily traced to two notorious forgers and scoundrels about thirty years ago, and all copies have been made from the one they produced. i have enquired in vain for an old manuscript, and am informed, on the best authority, that not one exists. a number of recent manuscripts are to be found, but they all differ essentially one from another. a more clumsy imposture it would be hard to find, but it has proved a mischievous one in south canara, and threatens to render a large amount of property quite valueless. the forgers knew the people they had to deal with, the bants, and, by inserting a course that families which did not follow the aliya santana shall become extinct, have effectually prevented an application for legislative interference, though the poor superstitious folk would willingly (it is said) have the custom abolished." [103] as a custom similar to aliya santana prevails in malabar, it no doubt originated before tuluva and kerala were separated. the small body of parivara bants, and the few jain bants that do not follow the aliya santana system, are probably the descendants of a few families who allowed their religious conversion to hinduism or jainism to have more effect on their social relations than was commonly the case. now that the ideas regarding marriage among the bants are in practice assimilated to a great extent to those of most other people, the national rule of inheritance is a cause of much heart-burning and quarrelling, fathers always endeavouring to benefit their own offspring at the cost of the estate. a change would be gladly welcomed by many, but vested interests in property constitute an almost insuperable obstacle. the bants do not usually object to the use of animal food, except, of course, the flesh of the cow, and they do not as a rule wear the sacred thread. but there are some families of position called ballals, amongst whom heads of families abstain from animal food, and wear the sacred thread. these neither eat nor intermarry with the ordinary bants. the origin of the ballals is explained by a proverb, which says that when a bant becomes powerful, he becomes a ballal. those who have the dignity called pattam, and the heads of certain families, known as shettivalas or heggades, also wear the sacred thread, and are usually managers or mukhtesars of the temples and bhutasthans or demon shrines within the area over which, in former days, they are said to have exercised a more extended jurisdiction, dealing not only with caste disputes, but settling numerous civil and criminal matters. the jain bants are strict vegetarians, and they abstain from the use of alcoholic liquors, the consumption of which is permitted among other bants, though the practice is not common. the jain bants avoid taking food after sunset. the more well-to-do bants usually occupy substantial houses on their estates, in many of which there is much fine wood-work, and, in some cases, the pillars of the porches and verandahs, and the doorways are artistically and elaborately carved. these houses have been described as being well built, thatched with palm, and generally prettily situated with beautiful scenic prospects stretching away on all sides. the bants have not as a rule largely availed themselves of european education, and consequently there are but few of them in the government service, but among these few some have attained to high office, and been much respected. as is often the case among high spirited people of primitive modes of thought, party and faction feeling run high, and jealousy and disputes about landed property often lead to hasty acts of violence. now-a-days, however, the last class of disputes more frequently lead to protracted litigation in the courts. the bants are fond of out-door sports, football and buffalo-racing being amongst their favourite amusements. but the most popular of all is cock-fighting. every bant, who is not a jain, takes an interest in this sport, and large assemblages of cocks are found at every fair and festival throughout south canara. "the outsider," it has been said, [104] "cannot fail to be struck with the tremendous excitement that attends a village fair in south canara. large numbers of cocks are displayed for sale, and groups of excited people may be seen huddled together, bending down with intense eagerness to watch every detail in the progress of a combat between two celebrated village game-cocks." cock fights on an elaborate scale take place on the day after the dipavali, sankaranthi or vinayakachathurthi, and gokalashtami festivals, outside the village boundary. at hiriadaka, in october, 1907, more than a hundred birds were tethered by the leg to the scrub jungle composed of the evergreen shrub ixora coccinea, or carried in the arms of their owners or youngsters. only males, from the town and surrounding villages, were witnesses of the spectacle. the tethered birds, if within range of each other, excited by the constant crowing and turmoil, indulged in an impromptu fight. grains of rice and water were poured into the mouths and over the heads of the birds before the fight, and after each round. the birds were armed with cunningly devised steel spurs, constituting a battery of variously curved and sinuous weapons. it is believed that the bhuta (demon) is appeased, if the blood from the wounds drops on the ground. the men, whose duty it is to separate the birds at the end of a round, sometimes receive nasty wounds from the spurs. the tail feathers of a wounded bird are lifted up, and a palm leaf fan or towel is waved to and fro over the cloacal orifice to revive it. the owner of a victorious bird becomes the possessor of the vanquished bird, dead or alive. at an exhibition of the products of south canara, during a recent visit of the governor of madras to mangalore, a collection of spurs was exhibited in the class "household implements." for the following note on buffalo races, i am indebted to mr. h. o. d. harding. "this is a sport that has grown up among a race of cultivators of wet land. it is, i believe, peculiar to south canara, where all the cultivation worth mentioning is wet. the bants and jains, and other landowners of position, own and run buffaloes, and the billava, or toddy drawer, has also entered the racing world. every rich bant keeps his kambla field consecrated to buffalo-racing, and his pair of racing buffaloes, costing from rs. 150 to rs. 500, are splendid animals; and, except for an occasional plough-drawing at the beginning of the cultivation season, are used for no purpose all the year, except racing. the racing is for no prize or stakes, and there is no betting, starter, judge, or winning post. each pair of buffaloes runs the course alone, and is judged by the assembled crowd for pace and style, and, most important of all, the height and breadth of the splash which they make. most people know the common levelling plank used by the ryots (cultivators) all over india to level the wet field after ploughing. it is a plank some 4 or 5 feet long by 1 or 1 1/2 feet broad, and on it the driver stands to give it weight, and the buffaloes pull it over the mud of a flooded rice-field. this is the prototype of the buffalo-racing car, and any day during the cultivating season in the tulu country one may see two boys racing for the love of the sport, as they drive their levelling boards. from this the racing car has been specialised, and, if a work of art for its own purpose, is not a car on which any one could or would wish to travel far. the leveller of utility is cut down to a plank about 1 1/2 by 1 foot, sometimes handsomely carved, on which is fixed a gaily decorated wooden stool about 6 inches high and 10 inches across each way, hollowed out on the top, and just big enough to afford good standing for one foot. in the plank, on each side, are holes to let the mud and water through. the plank is fixed to a pole, which is tied to the buffalo's yoke. the buffaloes are decorated with coloured jhuls and marvellous head-pieces of brass and silver (sometimes bearing the emblems of the sun and moon), and ropes which make a sort of bridle. the driver, stripping himself to the necessary minimum of garments, mounts, while some of his friends cling, like ants struggling round a dead beetle, to the buffaloes. when he is fairly up, they let go, and the animals start. the course is a wet rice-field, about 150 yards long, full of mud and water. all round are hundreds, or perhaps thousands of people, including pariahs who dance in groups in the mud, play stick-game, and beat drums. in front of the galloping buffaloes the water is clear and still, throwing a powerful reflection of them as they gallop down the course, raising a perfect tornado of mud and water. the driver stands with one foot on the stool, and one on the pole of the car. he holds a whip aloft in one hand, and one of the buffaloes' tails in the other. he drives without reins, with nothing but a waggling tail to hold on to and steer by. opening his mouth wide, he shouts for all he is worth, while, to all appearances, a deluge of mud and water goes down his throat. so he comes down the course, the plank on which he stands throwing up a sort of prince of wales' feathers of mud and water round him. the stance on the plank is no easy matter, and not a few men come to grief, but it is soft falling in the slush. marks are given for pace, style, sticking to the plank, and throwing up the biggest and widest splash. sometimes a kind of gallows, perhaps twenty feet high, is erected on the course, and there is a round of applause if the splash reaches up to or above it. sometimes the buffaloes bolt, scatter the crowd, and get away into the young rice. at the end of the course, the driver jumps off with a parting smack at his buffaloes, which run up the slope of the field, and stop of themselves in what may be called the paddock. at a big meeting perhaps a hundred pairs, brought from all over the tulu country, will compete, and the big men always send their buffaloes to the races headed by the local band. the roads are alive with horns and tom-toms for several days. the proceedings commence with a procession, which is not infrequently headed by a couple of painted dolls in an attitude suggestive of that reproductiveness, which the races really give thanks for. they are a sort of harvest festival, before the second or sugge crop is sown, and are usually held in october and november. devils must be propitiated, and the meeting opens with a devil dance. a painted, grass-crowned devil dancer, riding a hobby-horse, proceeds with music round the kambla field. then comes the buffalo procession, and the races commence. at a big meeting near mangalore, the two leading devil dancers were dressed up in masks, and coat and trousers of blue mission cloth, and one had the genitalia represented by a long piece of blue cloth tipped with red, and enormous testes. buffaloes, young and old, trained and untrained, compete, some without the plank attached to them, and others with planks but without drivers. accidents sometimes happen, owing to the animals breaking away among the crowd. on one occasion, a man who was in front of a pair of buffaloes which were just about to start failed to jump clear of them. catching hold of the yoke, he hung on to it by his hands, and was carried right down the course, and was landed safely at the other end. if he had dropped, he would have fallen among four pairs of hoofs, not to mention the planks, and would probably have been brained. it is often a case of owners up, and the sons and nephews of big bants, worth perhaps rs. 10,000 a year, drive the teams." to the above account, i may add a few notes made at a buffalo race-meeting near udipi, at which i was present. each group of buffaloes, as they went up the track to the starting-point, was preceded by the koraga band playing on drum, fife and cymbals, holeyas armed with staves and dancing, and a man holding a flag (nishani). sometimes, in addition to the flag, there is a pakke or spear on the end of a bamboo covered with strips of cloth, or a makara torana, i.e., festooned cloths between two bamboos. the two last are permitted only if the buffaloes belong to a bant or brahman, not if they are the property of a billava. at the end of the races, the ballala chief, in whose field they had taken place, retired in procession, headed by a man carrying his banner, which, during the races, had been floating on the top of a long bamboo pole at the far end of the track. he was followed by the koraga band, and the holeyas attached to him, armed with clubs, and dancing a step dance amid discordant noises. two nalkes (devil-dancers), dressed up in their professional garb, and a torch-bearer also joined in the procession, in the rear of which came the ballala beneath a decorated umbrella. in every village there are rakshasas (demons), called kambla-asura, who preside over the fields. the races are held to propitiate them, and, if they are omitted, it is believed that there will be a failure of the crop. according to some, kambla-asura is the brother of maheshasura, the buffalo-headed giant, from whom mysore receives its name. the koragas sit up through the night before the kambla day, performing a ceremony called panikkuluni, or sitting under the dew. they sing songs to the accompaniment of the band, about their devil nicha, and offer toddy and a rice-pudding boiled in a large earthen pot, which is broken so that the pudding remains as a solid mass. this pudding is called kandel adde, or pot pudding. on the morning of the races, the holeyas scatter manure over the field, and plough it. on the following day, the seedlings are planted, without, as in ordinary cases, any ploughing. to propitiate various devils, the days following the races are devoted to cock-fighting. the kamblas, in different places, have various names derived from the village deity, the chief village devil, or the village itself, e.g., janardhana devara, daivala, or udiyavar. the young men, who have the management of the buffaloes, are called bannangayi gurikara (half-ripe cocoanut masters) as they have the right of taking tender cocoanuts, as well as beaten rice to give them physical strength, without the special permission of their landlord. at the village of vandar, the races take place in a dry field, which has been ploughed, and beaten to break up the clods of earth. for this reason they are called podi (powder) kambla. a pair of buffaloes, belonging to the field in which the races take place, should enter the field first, and a breach of this observance leads to discussion and quarrels. on one occasion, a dispute arose between two bants in connection with the question of precedence. one of them brought his own pair of buffaloes, and the other a borrowed pair. if the latter had brought his own animals, he would have had precedence over the former. but, as his animals were borrowed, precedence was given to the man who brought his own buffaloes. this led to a dispute, and the races were not commenced until the delicate point at issue was decided. in some places, a long pole, called pukare, decorated with flags, flowers, and festoons of leaves, is set up in the kambla field, sometimes on a platform. billavas are in charge of this pole, which is worshipped, throughout the races, and others may not touch it. fines inflicted by the bant caste council are, i am informed, spent in the celebration of a temple festival. in former days, those found guilty by the council were beaten with tamarind switches, made to stand exposed to the sun, or big red ants were thrown over their bodies. sometimes, to establish the innocence of an accused person, he had to take a piece of red-hot iron (axe, etc.) in his hand, and give it to his accuser. at a puberty ceremony among some bants the girl sits in the courtyard of her house on five unhusked cocoanuts covered with the bamboo cylinder which is used for storing paddy. women place four pots filled with water, and containing betel leaves and nuts, round the girl, and empty the contents over her head. she is then secluded in an outhouse. the women are entertained with a feast, which must include fowl and fish curry. the cocoanuts are given to a washerwoman. on the fourth day, the girl is bathed, and received back at the house. beaten rice, and rice flour mixed with jaggery (crude sugar) are served out to those assembled. the girl is kept gosha (secluded) for a time, and fed up with generous diet. under the aliya santana system of inheritance, the high court has ruled that there is no marriage within the meaning of the penal code. but, though divorce and remarriage are permitted to women, there are formal rules and ceremonies observed in connection with them, and amongst the well-to-do classes divorce is not looked upon as respectable, and is not frequent. the fictitious marriage prevailing amongst the nayars is unknown among the bants, and a wife also usually leaves the family house, and resides at her husband's, unless she occupies so senior a position in her own family as to make it desirable that she should live on the family estate. the bants are divided into a number of balis (exogamous septs), which are traced in the female line, i.e., a boy belongs to his mother's, not to his father's bali. children belonging to the same bali cannot marry, and the prohibition extends to certain allied (koodu) balis. moreover, a man cannot marry his father's brother's daughter, though she belongs to a different bali. in a memorandum by mr. m. mundappa bangera, [105] it is stated that "bali in aliya santana families corresponds to gotra of the brahmins governed by hindu law, but differs in that it is derived from the mother's side, whereas gotra is always derived from the father's side. a marriage between a boy and girl belonging to the same bali is considered incestuous, as falling within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity. it is not at all difficult to find out the bali to which a man or woman belongs, as one can scarcely be found who does not know one's own bali by rote. and the heads of caste, who preside at every wedding party, and who are also consulted by the elders of the boy or girl before an alliance is formed, are such experts in these matters that they decide at once without reference to any books or rules whether intermarriages between persons brought before them can be lawfully performed or not." as examples of balis among the bants, the following may be cited:- bellathannaya, jaggery. bhuthiannaya, ashes. chaliannaya, weaver. edinnaya, hornet's nest. karkadabennai, scorpion. kayerthannaya (strychnos nux-vomica). kochattabannayya, or kajjarannayya, jack tree (artocarpus integrifolia). koriannaya, fowl. pathanchithannaya, green peas. perugadannaya, bandicoot rat. poyilethannaya, one who removes the evil eye. puliattannaya, tiger. ragithannaya, ragi (eleusine coracana). infant marriage is not prohibited, but is not common, and both men and girls are usually married after they have reached maturity. there are two forms of marriage, one called kai dhare for marriages between virgins and bachelors, the other called budu dhare for the marriage of widows. after a match has been arranged, the formal betrothal, called ponnapathera or nischaya tambula, takes place. the bridegroom's relatives and friends proceed in a body on the appointed day to the bride's house, and are there entertained at a grand dinner, to which the bride's relatives and friends are also bidden. subsequently the karnavans (heads) of the two families formally engage to perform the marriage, and plates of betel leaves and areca nuts are exchanged, and the betel and nuts partaken of by the two parties. the actual marriage ceremony is performed at the house of the bride or bridegroom, as may be most convenient. the proceedings commence with the bridegroom seating himself in the marriage pandal, a booth or canopy specially erected for the occasion. he is there shaved by the village barber, and then retires and bathes. this done, both he and the bride are conducted to the pandal by their relations, or sometimes by the village headman. they walk thrice round the seat, and then sit down side by side. the essential and binding part of the ceremony, called dhare, then takes place. the right hand of the bride being placed over the right hand of the bridegroom, a silver vessel (dhare gindi) filled with water, with a cocoanut over the mouth and the flower of the areca palm on the cocoanut, is placed on the joined hands. the parents, the managers of the two families, and the village headmen all touch the vessel, which, with the hands of the bridal pair, is moved up and down three times. in certain families the water is poured from the vessel into the united hands of the couple, and this betokens the gift of the bride. this form of gift by pouring water was formerly common, and was not confined to the gift of a bride. it still survives in the marriage ceremonies of various castes, and the name of the bant ceremony shows that it must once have been universal among them. the bride and bridegroom then receive the congratulations of the guests, who express a hope that the happy couple may become the parents of twelve sons and twelve daughters. an empty plate, and another containing rice, are next placed before the pair, and their friends sprinkle them with rice from the one, and place a small gift, generally four annas, in the other. the bridegroom then makes a gift to the bride. this is called sirdachi, and varies in amount according to the position of the parties. this must be returned to the husband, if his wife leaves him, or if she is divorced for misconduct. the bride is then taken back in procession to her home. a few days later she is again taken to the bridegroom's house, and must serve her husband with food. he makes another money present to her, and after that the marriage is consummated. according to another account of the marriage ceremony among some bants, the barber shaves the bridegroom's face, using cow's milk instead of water, and touches the bride's forehead with razor. the bride and bridegroom bathe, and dress up in new clothes. a plank covered with a newly-washed cloth supplied by a washerman, a tray containing raw rice, a lighted lamp, betel leaves and areca nuts, etc., are placed in the pandal. a girl carries a tray on which are placed a lighted lamp, a measure full of raw rice, and betel. she is followed by the bridegroom conducted by her brother, and the bride, led by the bridegroom's sister. they enter the pandal and, after going round the articles contained therein five times, sit down on the plank. an elderly woman, belonging to the family of the caste headman, brings a tray containing rice, and places it in front of the couple, over whom she sprinkles a little of the rice. the assembled men and women then place presents of money on the tray, and sprinkle rice over the couple. the right hand of the bride is held by the headman, and her uncle, and laid in that of the bridegroom. a cocoanut is placed over the mouth of a vessel, which is decorated with mango leaves and flowers of the areca palm. the headman and male relations of the bride place this vessel thrice in the hands of the bridal couple. the vessel is subsequently emptied at the foot of a cocoanut tree. the foregoing account shows that the bant marriage is a good deal more than concubinage. it is indeed as formal a marriage as is to be found among any people in the world, and the freedom of divorce which is allowed cannot deprive it of its essential character. widows are married with much less formality. the ceremony consists simply of joining the hands of the couple, but, strange to say, a screen is placed between them. all widows are allowed to marry again, but it is, as a rule, only the young women who actually do so. if a widow becomes pregnant, she must marry or suffer loss of caste. the bants all burn their dead, except in the case of children under seven, and those who have died of leprosy or of epidemic disease such as cholera or small-pox. the funeral pile must consist at least partly of mango wood. on the ninth, eleventh or thirteenth day, people are fed in large numbers, but the jains now substitute for this a distribution of cocoanuts on the third, fifth, seventh, or ninth day. once a year--generally in october--a ceremony called agelu is performed for the propitiation of ancestors. from a detailed account of the bant death ceremonies, i gather that the news of a death is conveyed to the caste people by a holeya. a carpenter, accompanied by musicians, proceeds to cut down a mango tree for the funeral pyre. the body is bathed, and laid out on a plank. clad in new clothes, it is conveyed with music to the burning-ground. a barber carries thither a pot containing fire. the corpse is set down near the pyre and divested of the new clothes, which are distributed between a barber, washerman, carpenter, a billava and holeya. the pyre is kindled by a billava, and the mat on which the corpse has been lying is thrown thereon by a son or nephew of the deceased. on the third day the relations go to the burning-ground, and a barber and washerman sprinkle water over the ashes. some days later, the caste people are invited to attend, and a barber, washerman, and carpenter build up on the spot where the corpse was burnt a lofty structure, made of bamboo and areca palm, in an odd number of tiers, and supported on an odd number of posts. it is decorated with cloths, fruits, tender cocoanuts, sugarcane, flowers, mango leaves, areca palm flowers, etc., and a fence is set up round it. the sons and other relations of the deceased carry to the burning-ground three balls of cooked rice (pinda) dyed with turmeric and tied up in a cloth, some raw rice dyed with turmeric, pieces of green plantain fruit, and pumpkin and a cocoanut. they go thrice round the structure, carrying the various articles in trays on their heads, and deposit them therein. the relations then throw a little of the coloured rice into the structure, and one of the caste men sprinkles water contained in a mango leaf over their hands. after bathing, they return home. the clothes, jewels, etc., of the deceased are laid on a cloth spread inside the house. a piece of turmeric is suspended from the ceiling by a string, and a tray containing water coloured yellow placed beneath it. round this the females seat themselves. a cocoanut is broken, and a barber sprinkles the water thereof contained in a mango leaf over those assembled. on the following day, various kinds of food are prepared, and placed on leaves, with a piece of new cloth, within a room of the house. the cloth remains there for a year, when it is renewed. the renewal continues until another death occurs in the family. in the following table, the cephalic index of the bants is compared with that of the billavas and shivalli brahmans:- =========================================== - | average. | maximum. | minimum. ===========+==========+==========+========= brahman | 80.4 | 96.4 | 72 billava | 80.1 | 91.5 | 71 bant | 78 | 91.2 | 70.8 ===========+==========+==========+========= the headman among the bants is generally called guttinayya, meaning person of the guttu or site. every village, or group of villages, possesses a guttu, and the bant who occupies, or holds in possession the house or site set apart as the guttu is the guttinayya. when this passes to another by sale or inheritance, the office of headman passes with it. it is said that, in some instances, the headmanship has in this way passed to classes other than bants, e.g., brahmans and jains. in some villages, the headman is, as among some other castes, called gurikara, whose appointment is hereditary. a few supplementary notes may be added on the parivara, nad, and masadika bants. the parivaras are confined to the southern taluks of the south canara district. they may interdine, but may not intermarry with the other section. the rule of inheritance is makkalakattu (in the male line). brahman priests are engaged for the various ceremonials, so the parivaras are more brahmanised than the nad or masadika bants. the parivaras may resort to the wells used by brahmans, and they consequently claim superiority over the other sections. among the nad bants, no marriage badge is tied on the neck of the bride. at a parivara marriage, after the dhare ceremony, the bridegroom ties a gold bead, called dhare mani, on the neck of the bride. the remarriage of widows is not in vogue. in connection with the death ceremonies, a car is not, as among the nad and masadika sections, set up over the mound (dhupe). on the eleventh day, the spreading of a cloth on the mound for offerings of food must be done by nekkaras, who wash clothes for billavas. the nad or nadava and masadika bants follow the aliya santana law of succession, and intermarriage is permitted between the two sections. the names of the balis, which have already been given, are common among the masadikas, and do not apply to the nads, among whom different sept names occur, e.g., honne, shetti, koudichi, etc. elaborate death ceremonies are only performed if the deceased was old, or a respected member of the community. the corpse is generally cremated in one of the rice-fields belonging to the family. after the funeral, the male members of the family return home, and place a vessel containing water and light in a room. one or two women must remain in this room, and the light must be kept burning until the bojja, or final death ceremonies, are over. the water in the vessel must be renewed twice daily. at the final ceremonies, a feast is given to the castemen, and in some places, the headman insists on the people of the house of mourning giving him a jewel as a pledge that the bojja will be performed on the ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth day. the headman visits the house on the previous day, and, after examination of the provisions, helps in cutting up vegetables, etc. on the bojja day, copper and silver coins, and small pieces of gold, are buried or sown in the field in which the ceremony is performed. this is called hanabiththodu. the lofty structure, called gurigi or upparige, is set up over the dhupe or ashes heaped up into a mound, or in the field in which the body was cremated, only in the event of the deceased being a person of importance. in some places, two kinds of structure are used, one called gurigi, composed of several tiers, for males, and the other called delagudu, consisting of a single tier, for females. devil-dancers are engaged, and the commonest kola performed by them is the eru kola, or man and hobby-horse. in the room containing the vessel of water, four sticks are planted in the ground, and tied together. over the sticks a cloth is placed, and the vessel of water placed beneath it. a bit of string is tied to the ceiling, and a piece of turmeric or a gold ring is attached to the end of it, and suspended so as to touch the water in the vessel. this is called nir neralu (shadow in water), and seems to be a custom among various tulu castes. after the bojja ceremony, all those who are under death pollution stand in two rows. a madavali (washerman) touches them with a cloth, and a kelasi (barber) sprinkles water over them. in this manner, they are freed from pollution. the most common title among the bants is chetti or setti, but many others occur, e.g., heggade, nayaka, bangera, rai, ballalaru, etc. barang jhodia.--a sub-division of poroja. bardeshkar (people of twelve countries).--some families among konkani brahmans go by this name. bariki.--bariki is the name for village watchmen in southern ganjam, whose duty it further is to guide the traveller on the march from place to place. in the bellary manual, barika is given as the name for canarese kabberas, who are village servants, who keep the village chavadi (caste meeting-house) clean, look after the wants of officials halting in the village, and perform various other duties. in the census report, 1901, the barikas are said to be usually boyas. the barika of mysore is defined by mr. l. rice as [106] "a menial among the village servants; a deputy talari, who is employed to watch the crops from the growing crop to the granary." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the bellary district, that "in the middle of the threshold of nearly all the gateways of the ruined fortifications round the bellary villages will be noticed a roughly cylindrical or conical stone, something like a lingam. this is the boddu-rayi, literally the navel stone, and so the middle stone. it was planted there when the fort was built, and is affectionately regarded as being the boundary of the village site. once a year, in may, just before the sowing season begins, a ceremony takes place in connection with it. reverence is first made to the bullocks of the village, and in the evening they are driven through the gateway past the boddu-rayi with tom-toms, flutes, and all kinds of music. the barike next does puja (worship) to the stone, and then a string of mango leaves is tied across the gateway above it. the villagers now form sides, one party trying to drive the bullocks through the gate, and the other trying to keep them out. the greatest uproar and confusion naturally follow, and, in the midst of the turmoil, some bullock or other eventually breaks through the guardians of the gate, and gains the village. if that first bullock is a red one, the red grains on the red soils will flourish in the coming season. if he is white, white crops like cotton and white cholam will prosper. if he is red-and-white, both kinds will do well. when the rains fail, and, in any case, on the first full moon in september, rude human figures drawn on the ground with powdered charcoal may be seen at cross-roads and along big thoroughfares. they represent jokumara the rain-god, and are made by the barikes--a class of village servants, who are usually of the gaurimakkalu sub-division of the kabberas. the villagers give the artists some small remuneration, and believe that luck comes to those who pass over the figures." barike.--a title of gaudos and other oriya castes. barrellu (buffaloes).--an exogamous sept of kapu. basala.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as telugu beggars and soothsayers in vizagapatam. the word is apparently a corruption of basa-valu, a sage. the basa-valu pretend to be messengers of indra, the chief of the devatas, and prognosticate coming events. basari (fig tree).--a gotra of kurni. basava golla.--a name for certain koyis of the godavari district, whose grandfathers had a quarrel with some of their neighbours, and separated from them. the name basava is said to be derived from bhasha, a language, as these koyis speak a different language from the true gollas. [107] in like manner, basa kondhs are those who speak their proper language, in contradistinction to those who speak oriya, or oriya mixed with kui. basavi.--see deva-dasi. basiya korono.--a sub-division of korono. basruvogaru (basru, belly).--an exogamous sept of gauda. baththala (rice).--an exogamous sept of kamma. batlu (cup).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. bauri.--there are found in the madras presidency nomad gangs of bauris or bawariyas, who are described [108] as "one of the worst criminal tribes of india. the sphere of their operations extends throughout the length and breadth of the country. they not only commit robberies, burglaries and thefts, but also practice the art of manufacturing and passing counterfeit coin. they keep with them a small quantity of wheat and sandal seeds in a small tin or brass case, which they call devakadana or god's grain, and a tuft of peacock's feathers, all in a bundle. they are very superstitious, and do not embark on any enterprise without first ascertaining by omens whether it will be attended with success or not. this they do by taking at random a small quantity of grains out of their devakadana and counting the number of grains, the omen being considered good or bad according as the number of seeds is odd or even. for a detailed record of the history of this criminal class, and the methods employed in the performance of criminal acts, i would refer the reader to the accounts given by mr. paupa rao [109] and mr. w. crooke. [110] bavaji.--the bavajis are bairagi or gosayi beggars, who travel about the country. they are known by various names, e.g., bairagi, sadu, etc. bavuri.--the bavuris, or bauris, are a low class of oriya basket-makers, living in ganjam, and are more familiarly known as khodalo. they are a polluting class, living in separate quarters, and occupy a position lower than the samantiyas, but higher than the kondras, dandasis, and haddis. they claim that palanquin (dhooly or duli) bearing is their traditional occupation, and consequently call themselves boyi. "according to one story," risley writes, [111] "they were degraded for attempting to steal food from the banquet of the gods; another professes to trace them back to a mythical ancestor named bahak rishi (the bearer of burdens), and tells how, while returning from a marriage procession, they sold the palanquin they had been hired to carry, got drunk on the proceeds, and assaulted their guru (religious preceptor), who cursed them for the sacrilege, and condemned them to rank thenceforward among the lowest castes of the community." the bavuris are apparently divided into two endogamous sections, viz., dulia and khandi. the former regard themselves as superior to the latter, and prefer to be called khodalo. some of these have given up eating beef, call themselves dasa khodalos, and claim descent from one balliga doss, a famous bavuri devotee, who is said to have worked wonders, analogous to those of nandan of the paraiyan community. to this section the caste priests belong. at russelkonda, a woman, when asked if she was a bavuri, replied that the caste is so called by others, but that its real name is khodalo. others, in reply to a question whether they belonged to the khandi section, became angry, and said that the khandis are inferior, because they eat frogs. the bavuris gave the name of two gotras, saptha bhavunia and naga, which are said to be exogamous. the former offer food to the gods on seven leaves of the white gourd melon, benincasa cerifera (kokkara), and the latter on jak (artocarpus integrifolia: panasa) leaves. all over the oriya country there is a general belief that house-names or bamsams are foreign to the oriya castes, and only possessed by the telugus. but some genuine oriya castes, e.g., haddis, dandasis and bhondaris, have exogamous bamsams. for every group of villages (muttah), the bavuris apparently have a headman called behara, who is assisted by naikos or dolo beharas, or, in some places, dondias or porichas, who hold sway over a smaller number of villages. each village has its own headman, called bhollobhaya (good brother), to whose notice all irregularities are brought. these are either settled by himself, or referred to the behara and naiko. in some villages, in addition to the bhollobhaya, there is a caste servant called dangua or dogara. for serious offences, a council-meeting is convened by the behara, and attended by the bhollobhayas, naikos, and a few leading members of the community. the meeting is held in an open plain outside the village. once in two or three years, a council-meeting, called mondolo, is held, at which various matters are discussed, and decided. the expenses of meetings are defrayed by the inhabitants of the villages in which they take place. among the most important matters to be decided by tribunals are adultery, eating with lower castes, the re-admission of convicts into the caste, etc. punishment takes the form of a fine, and trial by ordeal is apparently not resorted to. a man, who is convicted of committing adultery, or eating with a member of a lower caste, is received back into the caste on payment of the fine. a woman, who has been proved guilty of such offences, is not so taken back. it is said that, when a member of a higher caste commits adultery with a bavuri woman, he is sometimes received into the bavuri caste. the behara receives a small fee annually from each village or family, and also a small present of money for each marriage. girls are married either before or after puberty. a man may marry his maternal uncle's, but not his paternal aunt's daughter. at an adult marriage, the festivities last for four days, whereas, at an infant marriage, they are extended over seven days. when a young man's parents have selected a girl for him, they consult a brahman, and, if he decides that the marriage will be auspicious, they proceed to the girl's home, and ask that a day be fixed for the betrothal. on the appointed day the amount of money, which is to be paid by the bridegroom-elect for jewels, etc., is fixed. one or two new cloths must be given to the girl's grandmother, and the man's party must announce the number of feasts they intend to give to the castemen. if the family is poor, the feasts are mentioned, but do not actually take place. the marriage ceremony is always celebrated at night. on the evening of the day prior thereto, the bride and bridegroom's people proceed to the temple of the village goddess (takurani), and, on their way home, go to seven houses of members of their own or some higher caste, and ask them to give them water, which is poured into a small vessel. this vessel is taken home, and hung over the bedi (marriage dais). the water is used by the bride and bridegroom on the following morning for bathing. on the marriage day, the bridegroom proceeds to the bride's village, and is met on the way by her party, and escorted by his brother-in-law to the dais. the bhollobhaya enquires whether the bride's party have received everything as arranged, and, when he has been assured on this point, the bride is brought to the dais by her maternal uncle. she carries with her in her hands a little salt and rice; and, after throwing these over the bridegroom, she sits by his side. the grandfathers of the contracting couple, or a priest called dhiyani, officiate. their palms are placed together, and the hands united by a string dyed with turmeric. the union of the hands is called hasthagonti, and is the binding portion of the ceremony. turmeric water is poured over the hands seven times from a chank or sankha shell. seven married women then throw over the heads of the couple a mixture of zizyphus jujuba (borkolipathro) leaves, rice smeared with turmeric, and cynodon dactylon (dhuba) culms. this rite is called bhondaivaro, and is performed at all auspicious ceremonies. the fingers of the bride and bridegroom are then linked together, and they are led by the wife of the bride's brother seven times round the bedi. the priest then proclaims that the soot can soon be wiped off the cooking-pot, but the connection brought about by the marriage is enduring, and relationship is secured for seven generations. the pair are taken indoors, and fed. the remaining days of the marriage ceremonies are given up to feasting. the remarriage of widows is permitted. a widow is expected to marry the younger brother of her deceased husband, or, with his permission, may marry whom she likes. when a girl attains maturity, she is seated on a new mat, and zizyphus jujuba leaves are thrown over her. this ceremony is sometimes repeated daily for six days, during which sweets, etc., are given to the girl, and women who bring presents are fed. on the seventh day, the girl is taken to a tank (pond), and bathed. the dead are either buried or burnt. the corpse is, at the funeral, borne in the hands, or on a bier, by four men. soon after the village boundary has been crossed, the widow of the deceased throws rice over the eyes of the corpse, and also a little fire, after taking it three times round. she usually carries with her a pot and ladle, which she throws away. if an elderly woman dies, these rites are performed by her daughter-in-law. at the burial-ground, the corpse is taken seven times round the grave, and, as it is lowered into it, those present say "oh! trees, oh! sky, oh! earth, we are laying him in. it is not our fault." when the grave has been filled in, the figures of a man and woman are drawn on it, and all throw earth over it, saying "you were living with us; now you have left us. do not trouble the people." on their return home, the mourners sprinkle cowdung water about the house and over their feet, and toddy is partaken of. on the following day, all the old pots are thrown away, and the agnates eat rice cooked with margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves. food is offered to the dead person, either at the burial-ground or in the backyard of the house. on the tenth day, the dhiyani, as the priest is called, is sent for, and arrives with his drum (dhiyani). a small hut is erected on a tank bund (embankment), and food cooked seven times, and offered seven times on seven fragments of pots. a new cloth is spread, and on it food, fruits, a chank shell, etc., are placed, and offered to the deceased. the various articles are put into a new pot, and the son, going into the water up to his neck, throws the pot into the air, and breaks it. the celebrants of the rite then return to the house, and stand in a row in front thereof. they are there purified by means of milk smeared over their hands by the dhiyani. on the twelfth day, food is offered on twelve leaves. the bavuris do not worship jagannathaswami, or other of the higher deities, but reverence their ancestors and the village goddesses or takuranis. like other oriya classes, the bavuris name their children on the twenty-first day. opprobrious names are common among them, e.g., ogadu (dirty fellow), kangali (wretched fellow), haddia (haddi, or sweeper caste). bedar or boya.--"throughout the hills," buchanan writes, [112] "northward from capaladurga, are many cultivated spots, in which, during tippoo's government, were settled many baydaru or hunters, who received twelve pagodas (£4 5s.) a year, and served as irregular troops whenever required. being accustomed to pursue tigers and deer in the woods, they were excellent marksmen with their match-locks, and indefatigable in following their prey; which, in the time of war, was the life and property of every helpless creature that came in their way. during the wars of hyder and his son, these men were chief instruments in the terrible depredations committed in the lower carnatic. they were also frequently employed with success against the poligars (feudal chiefs), whose followers were of a similar description." in the gazetteer of the anantapur district it is noted that "the boyas are the old fighting caste of this part of the country, whose exploits are so often recounted in the history books. the poligars' forces, and haidar ali's famous troops were largely recruited from these people, and they still retain a keen interest in sport and manly exercises." in his notes on the boyas, which mr. n. e. q. mainwaring has kindly placed at my disposal, he writes as follows. "although, until quite recently, many a boya served in the ranks of our native army, being entered in the records thereof either under his caste title of naidu, or under the heading of gentu, [113] which was largely used in old day military records, yet this congenial method of earning a livelihood has now been swept away by a government order, which directs that in future no telegas shall be enlisted into the indian army. that the boyas were much prized as fighting men in the stirring times of the eighteenth century is spoken to in the contemporaneous history of colonel wilks. [114] he speaks of the brave armies of the poligars of chitteldroog, who belonged to the beder or boya race in the year 1755. earlier, in 1750, hyder ali, who was then only a naik in the service of the mysore raja, used with great effect his select corps of beder peons at the battle of ginjee. five years after this battle, when hyder was rising to great eminence, he augmented his beder peons, and used them as scouts for the purpose of ascertaining the whereabouts of his enemies, and for poisoning with the juice of the milk-hedge (euphorbia tirucalli) all wells in use by them, or in their line of march. the historian characterises them as being 'brave and faithful thieves.' in 1751, the most select army of morari row of gooty consisted chiefly of beder peons, and the accounts of their deeds in the field, as well as their defence of gooty fort, which only fell after the meanness of device had been resorted to, prove their bravery in times gone by beyond doubt. there are still a number of old weapons to be found amongst the boyas, consisting of swords, daggers, spears, and matchlocks. none appear to be purely boya weapons, but they seem to have assumed the weapons of either muhammadans or hindus, according to which race held sway at the time. in some districts, there are still boya poligars, but, as a rule, they are poor, and unable to maintain any position. generally, the boyas live at peace with their neighbours, occasionally only committing a grave dacoity (robbery). [115] "in the kurnool district, they have a bad name, and many are on the police records as habitual thieves and housebreakers. they seldom stoop to lesser offences. some are carpenters, others blacksmiths who manufacture all sorts of agricultural implements. some, again, are engaged as watchmen, and others make excellent snares for fish out of bamboo. but the majority of them are agriculturists, and most of them work on their own putta lands. they are now a hard-working, industrious people, who have become thrifty by dint of their industry, and whose former predatory habits are being forgotten. each village, or group of villages, submits to the authority of a headman, who is generally termed the naidu, less commonly dora as chieftain. in some parts of kurnool, the headmen are called simhasana boyas. the headman presides at all functions, and settles, with the assistance of the elders, any disputes that may arise in the community regarding division of property, adultery, and other matters. the headman has the power to inflict fines, the amount of which is regulated by the status and wealth of the defaulter. but it is always arranged that the penalty shall be sufficient to cover the expense of feeding the panchayatdars (members of council), and leave a little over to be divided between the injured party and the headman. in this way, the headman gets paid for his services, and practically fixes his own remuneration." it is stated in the manual of the bellary district that "of the various hindu castes in bellary, the boyas (called in canarese bedars, byedas, or byadas) are far the strongest numerically. many of the poligars whom sir thomas munro found in virtual possession of the country when it was added to the company belonged to this caste, and their irregular levies, and also a large proportion of haidar's formidable force, were of the same breed. harpanahalli was the seat of one of the most powerful poligars in the district in the eighteenth century. the founder of the family was a boya taliari, who, on the subversion of the vijayanagar dynasty, seized on two small districts near harpanahalli. the boyas are perhaps the only people in the district who still retain any aptitude for manly sports. they are now for the most part cultivators and herdsmen or are engaged under government as constables, peons, village watchmen (taliaris), and so forth. their community provides an instructive example of the growth of caste sub-divisions. both the telugu-speaking boyas and the canarese-speaking bedars are split into the two main divisions of uru or village men, and myasa or grass-land men, and each of these divisions is again sub-divided into a number of exogamous bedagas. four of the best known of these sub-divisions are yemmalavaru or buffalo-men; mandalavaru or men of the herd; pulavaru or flower-men, and minalavaru or fish-men. they are in no way totemistic. curiously enough, each bedagu has its own particular god, to which its members pay special reverence. but these bedagas bear the same names among both the boyas and the bedars, and also among both the uru and myasa divisions of both boyas and bedars. it thus seems clear that, at some distant period, all the boyas and all the bedars must have belonged to one homogeneous caste. at present, though uru boyas will marry with uru bedars and myasa boyas with myasa bedars, there is no intermarriage between urus and myasas, whether they be boyas or bedars. even if urus and myasas dine together, they sit in different rows, each division by themselves. again, the urus (whether boyas or bedars) will eat chicken and drink alcohol, but the myasas will not touch a fowl or any form of strong drink, and are so strict in this last matter that they will not even sit on mats made of the leaf of the date-palm, the tree which in bellary provides all the toddy. the urus, moreover, celebrate their marriages with the ordinary ceremonial of the halu-kamba or milk-post, and the surge, or bathing of the happy pair; the bride sits on a flour-grinding stone, and the bridegroom stands on a basket full of cholam (millet), and they call in brahmans to officiate. but the myasas have a simpler ritual, which omits most of these points, and dispenses with the brahman. other differences are that the uru women wear ravikkais or tight-fitting bodices, while the myasas tuck them under their waist-string. both divisions eat beef, and both have a hereditary headman called the ejaman, and hereditary dasaris who act as their priests." in the madras census report, 1901, it is stated that the two main divisions of boyas are called also pedda (big) and chinna (small) respectively, and, according to another account, the caste has four endogamous sections, pedda, chinna, sadaru, and myasa. sadaru is the name of a sub-division of lingayats, found mainly in the bellary and anantapur districts, where they are largely engaged in cultivation. some bedars who live amidst those lingayats call themselves sadaru. according to the manual of the north arcot district, the boyas are a "telugu hunting caste, chiefly found above the ghats. many of the poligars of that part of the country used to belong to the caste, and proved themselves so lawless that they were dispossessed. now they are usually cultivators. they have several divisions, the chief of which are the mulki boyas and the pala boyas, who cannot intermarry." according to the mysore census reports, 1891 and 1901, "the bedas have two distinct divisions, the kannada and telugu, and own some twenty sub-divisions, of which the following are the chief:--halu, machi or myasa, nayaka, pallegar, barika, kannaiyyanajati, and kirataka. the machi or myasa bedas comprise a distinct sub-division, also called the chunchus. they live mostly in hills, and outside inhabited places in temporary huts. portions of their community had, it is alleged, been coerced into living in villages, with whose descendants the others have kept up social intercourse. they do not, however, eat fowl or pork, but partake of beef; and the myasa bedas are the only hindu class among whom the rite of circumcision is performed, [116] on boys of ten or twelve years of age. these customs, so characteristic of the mussalmans, seem to have been imbibed when the members of this sub-caste were included in the hordes of haidar ali. simultaneously with the circumcision, other rites, such as the panchagavyam, the burning of the tongue with a nim (melia azadirachta) stick, etc. (customs pre-eminently brahmanical), are likewise practised prior to the youth being received into communion. among their other peculiar customs, the exclusion from their ordinary dwellings of women in child-bed and in periodical sickness, may be noted. the myasa bedas are said to scrupulously avoid liquor of every kind, and eat the flesh of only two kinds of birds, viz., gauja (grey partridge), and lavga (rock-bush quail)." of circumcision among the myasa bedars it is noted, in the gazetteer of the bellary district, that they practise this rite round about rayadrug and gudekota. "these myasas seem quite proud of the custom, and scout with scorn the idea of marrying into any family in which it is not the rule. the rite is performed when a boy is seven or eight. a very small piece of the skin is cut off by a man of the caste, and the boy is then kept for eleven days in a separate hut, and touched by no one. his food is given him on a piece of stone. on the twelfth day he is bathed, given a new cloth, and brought back to the house, and his old cloth, and the stone on which his food was served, are thrown away. his relations in a body then take him to a tangedu (cassia auriculata) bush, to which are offered cocoanuts, flowers, and so forth, and which is worshipped by them and him. girls on first attaining puberty are similarly kept for eleven days in a separate hut, and afterwards made to do worship to a tangedu bush. this tree also receives reverence at funerals." the titles of the boyas are said to be naidu or nayudu, naik, dora, dorabidda (children of chieftains), and valmiki. they claim direct lineal descent from valmiki, the author of the ramayana. at times of census in mysore, some bedars have set themselves up as valmiki brahmans. the origin of the myasa bedas is accounted for in the following story. a certain bedar woman had two sons, of whom the elder, after taking his food, went to work in the fields. the younger son, coming home, asked his mother to give him food, and she gave him only cholam (millet) and vegetables. while he was partaking thereof, he recognised the smell of meat, and was angry because his mother had given him none, and beat her to death. he then searched the house, and, on opening a pot from which the smell of meat emanated, found that it only contained the rotting fibre-yielding bark of some plant. then, cursing his luck, he fled to the forest, where he remained, and became the forefather of the myasa bedars. for the following note on the legendary origin of the bedars, i am indebted to mr. mainwaring. "many stories are told of how they came into existence, each story bringing out the name which the particular group may be known by. some call themselves nishadulu, and claim to be the legitimate descendants of nishadu. when the great venudu, who was directly descended from brahma, ruled over the universe, he was unable to procure a son and heir to the throne. when he died, his death was regarded as an irreparable misfortune. in grief and doubt as to what was to be done, his body was preserved. the seven ruling planets, then sat in solemn conclave, and consulted together as to what they should do. finally they agreed to create a being from the right thigh of the deceased venudu, and they accordingly fashioned and gave life to nishudu. but their work was not successful, for nishudu turned out to be not only deformed in body, but repulsively ugly. it was accordingly agreed, at another meeting of the planets, that he was not a fit person to be placed on the throne. so they set to work again, and created a being from the right shoulder of venudu. their second effort was crowned with success. they called their second creation chakravati, and, as he gave general satisfaction, he was placed on the throne. this supersession naturally caused nishudu, the first born, to be discontented, and he sought a lonely place. there he communed with the gods, begging of them the reason why they had created him, if he was not to rule. the gods explained to him that he could not now be put on the throne, since chakravati had already been installed, but that he should be a ruler over the forests. in this capacity, nishudu begot the koravas, chenchus, yanadis, and boyas. the boyas were his legitimate children, while the others were all illegitimate. according to the legend narrated in the valmiki ramayana, when king vishwamitra quarrelled with the rishi vashista, the cow kamadenu belonging to the latter, grew angry, and shook herself. from her body an army, which included nishadulu, turka (muhammadans), and yevannudu (yerukalas) at once appeared. "a myth related by the boyas in explanation of their name valmikudu runs as follows. in former days, a brahman, who lived as a highwayman, murdering and robbing all the travellers he came across, kept a boya female, and begot children by her. one day, when he went out to carry on his usual avocation, he met the seven rishis, who were the incarnations of the seven planets. he ordered them to deliver their property, or risk their lives. the rishis consented to give him all their property, which was little enough, but warned him that one day he would be called to account for his sinful deeds. the brahman, however, haughtily replied that he had a large family to maintain, and, as they lived on his plunder, they would have to share the punishment that was inflicted upon himself. the rishis doubted this, and advised him to go and find out from his family if they were willing to suffer an equal punishment with him for his sins. the brahman went to his house, and confessed his misdeeds to his wife, explaining that it was through them that he had been able to keep the family in luxury. he then told her of his meeting with the rishis, and asked her if she would share his responsibility. his wife and children emphatically refused to be in any way responsible for his sins, which they declared were entirely his business. being at his wit's end, he returned to the rishis, told them how unfortunate he was in his family affairs, and begged advice of them as to what he should do to be absolved from his sins. they told him that he should call upon the god rama for forgiveness. but, owing to his bad bringing up and his misspent youth, he was unable to utter the god's name. so the rishis taught him to say it backwards by syllables, thus:--ma ra, ma ra, ma ra, which, by rapid repetition a number of times, gradually grew into rama. when he was able to call on his god without difficulty, the brahman sat at the scene of his graver sins, and did penance. white-ants came out of the ground, and gradually enveloped him in a heap. after he had been thus buried alive, he became himself a rishi, and was known as valmiki rishi, valmiki meaning an ant-hill. as he had left children by the boya woman who lived with him during his prodigal days, the boyas claim to be descended from these children and call themselves valmikudu." the bedars, whom i examined at hospet in the bellary district, used to go out on hunting expeditions, equipped with guns, deer or hog spears, nets like lawn-tennis nets used in drives for young deer or hares. several men had cicatrices, as the result of encounters with wild boars during hunting expeditions, or when working in the sugar plantations. it is noted in the bellary gazetteer that "the only caste which goes in for manly sports seems to be the boyas, or bedars, as they are called in canarese. they organise drives for pig, hunt bears in some parts in a fearless manner, and are regular attendants at the village gymnasium (garidi mane), a building without any ventilation often constructed partly underground, in which the ideal exercise consists in using dumbbells and clubs until a profuse perspiration follows. they get up wrestling matches, tie a band of straw round one leg, and challenge all and sundry to remove it, or back themselves to perform feats of strength, such as running up the steep joladarasi hill near hospet with a bag of grain on their back." at hospet wrestling matches are held at a quiet spot outside the town, to witness which a crowd of many hundreds collect. the wrestlers, who performed before me, had the hair shaved clean behind so that the adversary could not seize them by the back hair, and the moustache was trimmed short for the same reason. two young wrestlers, whose measurements i place on record, were splendid specimens of youthful muscularity. cm. cm. height 163.2 163 shoulders 41.8 42.8 chest 84 82 upper arm, flexed 28 29 thigh 47 51 in the gazetteer of anantapur it is stated that the telugu new year's day is the great occasion for driving pig, and the boyas are the chief organisers of the beats. all except children, the aged and infirm, join in them, and, since to have good sport is held to be the best of auguries for the coming year, the excitement aroused is almost ludicrous in its intensity. it runs so high that the parties from rival villages have been known to use their weapons upon one another, instead of upon the beasts of the chase. in an article entitled "boyas and bears" [117] a european sportsman gives the following graphic description of a bear hunt. "we used to sleep out on the top of one of the hills on a moonlight night. on the top of every hill round, a boya was watching for the bears to come home at dawn, and frantic signals showed when one had been spotted. we hurried off to the place, to try and cut the bear off from his residence among the boulders, but the country was terribly rough, and the hills were covered with a peculiarly persistent wait-a-bit-thorn. this, however, did not baulk the boyas. telling me to wait outside the jumble of rocks, each man took off his turban, wound it round his left forearm, to act as a shield against attacks from the bear, lit a rude torch, grasped his long iron-headed spear, and coolly walked into the inky blackness of the enemy's stronghold, to turn him out for me to shoot at. i used to feel ashamed of the minor part assigned to me in the entertainment, and asked to be allowed to go inside with them. but this suggestion was always respectfully, but very firmly put aside. one could not see to shoot in such darkness, they explained, and, if one fired, smoke hung so long in the still air of the caves that the bear obtained an unpleasant advantage, and, finally, bullets fired at close quarters into naked rock were apt to splash or re-bound in an uncanny manner. so i had to wait outside until the bear appeared with a crowd of cheering and yelling boyas after him." of a certain cunning bear the same writer records that, unable to shake the boyas off, "he had at last taken refuge at the bottom of a sort of dark pit, 'four men deep' as the boyas put it, under a ledge of rock, where neither spears nor torches could reach him. not to be beaten, three of the boyas at length clambered down after him, and unable otherwise to get him to budge from under the mass of rock beneath which he had squeezed himself, fired a cheap little nickel-plated revolver one of them had brought twice into his face. the bear then concluded that his refuge was after all an unhealthy spot, rushed out, knocking one of the three men against the rocks as he did so, with a force which badly barked one shoulder, clambered out of the pit, and was thereafter kept straight by the boyas until he got to the entrance of his residence, where i was waiting for him." mr. mainwaring writes that "the boyas are adepts at shikar (hunting). they use a bullock to stalk antelope, which they shoot with matchlocks. some keep a tame buck, which they let loose in the vicinity of a herd of antelope, having previously fastened a net over his horns. as soon as the tame animal approaches the herd, the leading buck will come forward to investigate the intruder. the tame buck does not run away, as he probably would if he had been brought up from infancy to respect the authority of the buck of the herd. a fight naturally ensues, and the exchange of a few butts finds them fastened together by the net. it is then only necessary for the shikaris to rush up, and finish the strife with a knife." among other occupations, the boyas and bedars collect honey-combs, which, in some places, have to be gathered from crevices in overhanging rocks, which have to be skilfully manipulated from above or below. the bedar men, whom i saw during the rainy season, wore a black woollen kambli (blanket) as a body-cloth, and it was also held over the head as a protection against the driving showers of the south-west monsoon. the same cloth further does duty as a basket for bringing back to the town heavy loads of grass. some of the men wore a garment with the waist high up in the chest, something like an english rustic's smock frock. those who worked in the fields carried steel tweezers on a string round the loins, with which to remove babul (acacia arabica) thorns, twigs of which tree are used as a protective hedge for fields under cultivation. as examples of charms worn by men the following may be cited:- string tied round right upper arm with metal talisman box attached to it, to drive away devils. string round ankle for the same purpose. quarter-anna rolled up in cotton cloth, and worn on upper arm in performance of a vow. a man, who had dislocated his shoulder when a lad, had been tattooed with a figure of hanuman (the monkey god) over the deltoid muscle to remove the pain. necklet of coral and ivory beads worn as a vow to the goddess huligamma, whose shrine is in hyderabad. necklets of ivory beads and a gold disc with the vishnupad (feet of vishnu) engraved on it. purchased from a religious mendicant to bring good luck. myasa bedar women are said [118] to be debarred from wearing toe-rings. both uru and myasa women are tattooed on the face, and on the upper extremities with elaborate designs of cars, scorpions, centipedes, sita's jade (plaited hair), hanuman, parrots, etc. men are branded by the priest of a hanuman shrine on the shoulders with the emblem of the chank shell (turbinella rapa) and chakram (wheel of the law) in the belief that it enables them to go to swarga (heaven). when a myasa man is branded, he has to purchase a cylindrical basket called gopala made by a special medara woman, a bamboo stick, fan, and winnow. female bedars who are branded become basavis (dedicated prostitutes), and are dedicated to a male deity, and called gandu basavioru (male basavis). they are thus dedicated when there happens to be no male child in a family; or, if a girl falls ill, a vow is made to the effect that, if she recovers, she shall become a basavi. if a son is born to such a woman, he is affiliated with her father's family. some bedar women, whose house deities are goddesses instead of gods, are not branded, but a string with white bone beads strung on it, and a gold disc with two feet (vishnupad) impressed on it, is tied round their neck by a kuruba woman called pattantha ellamma (priestess to uligamma). bedar girls, whose house deities are females, when they are dedicated as basavis, have in like manner a necklace, but with black beads, tied round the neck, and are called hennu basavis (female basavis). for the ceremony of dedication to a female deity, the presence of the madiga goddess matangi is necessary. the madigas bring a bent iron rod with a cup at one end, and twigs of vitex negundo to represent the goddess, to whom goats are sacrificed. the iron rod is set up in front of the doorway, a wick and oil are placed in the cup, and the impromptu lamp is lighted. various cooked articles of food are offered, and partaken of by the assembled bedars. bedar women sometimes live in concubinage with muhammadans. and some bedars, at the time of the mohurram festival, wear a thread across the chest like muhammadans, and may not enter their houses till they have washed themselves. according to the mysore census report, 1901, the chief deity of the bedars is "tirupati venkataramanaswami worshipped locally under the name of tirumaladevaru, but offerings and sacrifices are also made to mariamma. their guru is known as tirumalatatacharya, who is also a head of the srivaishnava brahmans. the uru boyas employ brahmans and jangams as priests." in addition to the deities mentioned, the bedars worship a variety of minor gods, such as kanimiraya, kanakarayan, uligamma, palaya, poleramma, and others, to whom offerings of fruits and vegetables, and sacrifices of sheep and goats are made. the dewan of sandur informs me that, in recent times, some myasa bedars have changed their faith, and are now saivas, showing special reverence to mahadeva. they were apparently converted by jangams, but not to the fullest extent. the guru is the head of the ujjani lingayat matt (religious institution) in the kudligi taluk of bellary. they do not wear the lingam. in the madras census report, 1901, the patron deity of the boyas is said to be kanya devudu. concerning the religion of the boyas, mr. mainwaring writes as follows. "they worship both siva and vishnu, and also different gods in different localities. in the north arcot district, they worship tirupatiswami. in kurnool, it is kanya devudu. in cuddapah and anantapur, it is chendrugadu, and many, in anantapur, worship akkamma, who is believed to be the spirit of the seven virgins. at uravakonda, in the anantapur district, on the summit of an enormous rock, is a temple dedicated to akkamma, in which the seven virgins are represented by seven small golden pots or vessels. cocoanuts, rice, and dal (cajanus indicus) form the offerings of the boyas. the women, on the occasion of the nagalasauthi or snake festival, worship the nagala swami by fasting, and pouring milk into the holes of 'white-ant' hills. by this, a double object is fulfilled. the 'ant' heap is a favourite dwelling of the naga or cobra, and it was the burial-place of valmiki, so homage is paid to the two at the same time. once a year, a festival is celebrated in honour of the deceased ancestors. this generally takes place about the end of november. the boyas make no use of brahmans for religious purposes. they are only consulted as regards the auspicious hour at which to tie the tali at a wedding. though the boya finds little use for the brahman, there are times when the latter needs the services of the boya. the boya cannot be dispensed with, if a brahman wishes to perform vontigadu, a ceremony by which he hopes to induce favourable auspices under which to celebrate a marriage. the story has it that vontigadu was a destitute boya, who died from starvation. it is possible that brahmans and sudras hope in some way to ameliorate the sufferings of the race to which vontigadu belonged, by feeding sumptuously his modern representative on the occasion of performing the vontigadu ceremony. on the morning of the day on which the ceremony, for which favourable auspices are required, is performed, a boya is invited to the house. he is given a present of gingelly (sesamum) oil, wherewith to anoint himself. this done, he returns, carrying in his hand a dagger, on the point of which a lime has been stuck. he is directed to the cowshed, and there given a good meal. after finishing the meal, he steals from the shed, and dashes out of the house, uttering a piercing yell, and waving his dagger. he on no account looks behind him. the inmates of the house follow for some distance, throwing water wherever he has trodden. by this means, all possible evil omens for the coming ceremony are done away with." i gather [119] that some boyas in the bellary district "enjoy inam (rent free) lands for propitiating the village goddesses by a certain rite called bhuta bali. this takes place on the last day of the feast of the village goddess, and is intended to secure the prosperity of the village. the boya priest gets himself shaved at about midnight, sacrifices a sheep or a buffalo, mixes its blood with rice, and distributes the rice thus prepared in small balls throughout the limits of the village. when he starts out on this business, the whole village bolts its doors, as it is not considered auspicious to see him then. he returns early in the morning to the temple of the goddess from which he started, bathes, and receives new cloths from the villagers." at hospet the bedars have two buildings called chavadis, built by subscription among members of their community, which they use as a meeting place, and whereat caste councils are held. at sandur the uru bedars submit their disputes to their guru, a srivaishnava brahman, for settlement. if a case ends in a verdict of guilty against an accused person, he is fined, and purified by the guru with thirtham (holy water). in the absence of the guru, a caste headman, called kattaintivadu, sends a dasari, who may or may not be a bedar, who holds office under the guru, to invite the castemen and the samaya, who represents the guru in his absence, to attend a caste meeting. the samayas are the pujaris at hanuman and other shrines, and perform the branding ceremony, called chakrankitam. the myasa bedars have no guru, but, instead of him, pujaris belonging to their own caste, who are in charge of the affairs of certain groups of families. their caste messenger is called dalavai. the following are examples of exogamous septs among the boyas, recorded by mr. mainwaring:- mukkara, nose or ear ornament. majjiga, butter-milk. kukkala, dog. pula, flowers. pandhi, pig. chilakala, paroquet. hastham, hand. yelkameti, good rat. misala, whiskers. nemili, peacock. pegula, intestines. mijam, seed. uttareni, achyranthes aspera. puchakayala, citrullus colocynthis. gandhapodi, sandal powder. pasula, cattle. chinthakayala, tamarindus indica. avula, cow. udumala, lizard (varanus). pulagam, cooked rice and dhal. boggula, charcoal. midathala, locust. potta, abdomen. utla, swing for holding pots. rottala, bread. chimpiri, rags. panchalingala, five lingams. gudisa, hut. tota, garden. lanka, island. bilpathri, ægle marmelos. kodi-kandla, fowl's eyes. gadidhe-kandla, donkey's eyes. joti, light. namala, the vaishnavite namam. nagellu, plough. ulligadda, onions. jinkala, gazelle. dandu, army. kattelu, sticks or faggots. mekala, goat. nakka, jackal. chevvula, ear. kotala, fort. chapa, mat. guntala, pond. thappata, drum. bellapu, jaggery. chimala, ants. genneru, nerium odorum. pichiga, sparrows. uluvala, dolichos biflorus. geddam, beard. eddula, bulls. cheruku, sugar-cane. pasupu, turmeric. aggi, fire. mirapakaya, capsicum frutescens. janjapu, sacred thread. sankati, ragi or millet pudding. jerripothu, centipede. guvvala, pigeon. many of these septs are common to the boyas and other classes, as shown by the following list:- avula, cow--korava. boggula, charcoal--devanga. cheruku, sugar-cane--jogi, odde. chevvula, ear--golla. chilakala, paroquet--kapu, yanadi. chimala, ants--tsakala. chinthakayala, tamarind fruit--devanga. dandu, army--kapu. eddula, bulls--kapu. gandhapodi, sandal powder--a sub-division of balija. geddam, beard--padma sale. gudisa, hut--kapu. guvvala, pigeon--mutracha. jinkala, gazelle--padma sale. kukkala, dog--orugunta kapu. lanka, island--kamma. mekala, goat--chenchu, golla, kamma, kapu, togata, yanadi. midathala, locust--madiga. nakkala, jackal--dudala, golla, mutracha. nemili, peacock--balija. pichiga, sparrow--devanga. pandhi, pig--asili, gamalla. pasula, cattle--madiga, mala. puchakaya, colocynth--komati, viramushti. pula, flowers--padma sale, yerukala. tota, garden--chenchu, mila, mutracha, bonthuk savara. udumala, lizard--kapu, tottiyan, yanadi. ulligadda, onions--korava. uluvala, horse-gram--jogi. utla, swing for holding pots--padma sale. at hospet, the preliminaries of a marriage among the myasa bedars are arranged by the parents of the parties concerned and the chief men of the keri (street). on the wedding day, the bride and bridegroom sit on a raised platform, and five married men place rice stained with turmeric on the feet, knees, shoulders, and head of the bridegroom. this is done three times, and five married women then perform a similar ceremony on the bride. the bridegroom takes up the tali, and, with the sanction of the assembled bedars, ties it on the bride's neck. in some places it is handed to a brahman priest, who ties it instead of the bridegroom. the unanimous consent of those present is necessary before the tali-tying is proceeded with. the marriage ceremony among the uru bedars is generally performed at the bride's house, whither the bridegroom and his party proceed on the eve of the wedding. a feast, called thuppathuta or ghi (clarified butter) feast, is held, towards which the bridegroom's parents contribute rice, cocoanuts, betel leaves and nuts, and make a present of five bodices (ravike). at the conclusion of the feast, all assemble beneath the marriage pandal (booth), and betel is distributed in a recognised order of precedence, commencing with the guru and the god. on the following morning four big pots, smeared with turmeric and chunam (lime) are placed in four corners, so as to have a square space (irani square) between them. nine turns of cotton thread are wound round the pots. within the square the bridegroom and two young girls seat themselves. rice is thrown over them, and they are anointed. they and the bride are then washed by five women called bhumathoru. the bridegroom and one of the girls are carried in procession to the temple, followed by the five women, one of whom carries a brass vessel with five betel leaves and a ball of sacred ashes (vibuthi) over its mouth, and another a woman's cloth on a metal dish, while the remaining three women and the bridegroom's parents throw rice. cocoanuts and betel are offered to hanuman, and lines are drawn on the face of the bridegroom with the sacred ashes. the party then return to the house. the lower half of a grinding mill is placed beneath the pandal, and a brahman priest invites the contracting couple to stand thereon. he then takes the tali, and ties it on the bride's neck, after it has been touched by the bridegroom. towards evening the newly married couple sit inside the house, and close to them is placed a big brass vessel containing a mixture of cooked rice, jaggery (crude sugar) and curds, which is brought by the women already referred to. they give a small quantity thereof to the couple, and go away. five bedar men come near the vessel after removing their head-dress, surround the vessel, and place their left hands thereon. with their right hands they shovel the food into their mouths, and bolt it with all possible despatch. this ceremony is called bhuma idothu, or special eating, and is in some places performed by both men and women. all those present watch them eating, and, if any one chokes while devouring the food, or falls ill within a few months, it is believed to indicate that the bride has been guilty of irregular behaviour. on the following day the contracting couple go through the streets, accompanied by bedars, the brass vessel and female cloth, and red powder is scattered broadcast. on the morning of the third and two following days, the newly married couple sit on a pestle, and are anointed after rice has been showered over them. the bride's father presents his son-in-law with a turban, a silver ring, and a cloth. it is said that a man may marry two sisters, provided that he marries the elder before the younger. the following variant of the marriage ceremonies among the boyas is given by mr. mainwaring. "when a boya has a son who should be settled in life, he nominally goes in search of a bride for him, though it has probably been known for a long time who the boy is to marry. however, the formality is gone through. the father of the boy, on arrival at the home of the future bride, explains to her father the object of his visit. they discuss each other's families, and, if satisfied that a union would be beneficial to both families, the father of the girl asks his visitor to call again, on a day that is agreed to, with some of the village elders. on the appointed day, the father of the lad collects the elders of his village, and proceeds with them to the house of the bride-elect. he carries with him four moottus (sixteen seers) of rice, one seer of dhal (cajanus indicus), two seers of ghi (clarified butter), some betel leaves and areca nuts, a seer of fried gram, two lumps of jaggery (molasses), five garlic bulbs, five dried dates, five pieces of turmeric, and a female jacket. in the evening, the elders of both sides discuss the marriage, and, when it is agreed to, the purchase money has to be at once paid. the cost of a bride is always 101 madas, or rs. 202. towards this sum, sixteen rupees are counted out, and the total is arrived at by counting areca nuts. the remaining nuts, and articles which were brought by the party of the bridegroom, are then placed on a brass tray, and presented to the bride-elect, who is requested to take three handfuls of nuts and the same quantity of betel leaves. on some occasions, the betel leaves are omitted. betel is then distributed to the assembled persons. the provisions which were brought are next handed over to the parents of the girl, in addition to two rupees. these are to enable her father to provide himself with a sheet, as well as to give a feast to all those who are present at the betrothal. this is done on the following morning, when both parties breakfast together, and separate. the wedding is usually fixed for a day a fortnight or a month after the betrothal ceremony. the ceremony differs but slightly from that performed by various other castes. a purohit is consulted as to the auspicious hour at which the tali or bottu should be tied. this having been settled, the bridegroom goes, on the day fixed, to the bride's village, or sometimes the bride goes to the village of the bridegroom. supposing the bridegroom to be the visitor, the bride's party carries in procession the provisions which are to form the meal for the bridegroom's party, and this will be served on the first night. as the auspicious hour approaches, the bride's party leave her in the house, and go and fetch the bridegroom, who is brought in procession to the house of the bride. on arrival, he is made to stand under the pandal which has been erected. a curtain is tied therein from north to south. the bridegroom then stands on the east of the curtain, and faces west. the bride is brought from the house, and placed on the west of the curtain, facing her future husband. the bridegroom then takes up the bottu, which is generally a black thread with a small gold bead upon it. he shows it to the assembled people, and asks permission to fasten it on the bride's neck. the permission is accorded with acclamations. he then fastens the bottu on the bride's neck, and she, in return, ties a thread from a black cumbly (blanket), on which a piece of turmeric has been threaded, round the right wrist of the bridegroom. after this, the bridegroom takes some seed, and places it in the bride's hand. he then puts some pepper-corns with the seed, and forms his hands into a cup over those of the bride. her father then pours milk into his hand, and the bridegroom, holding it, swears to be faithful to his wife until death. after he has taken the oath, he allows the milk to trickle through into the hands of the bride. she receives it, and lets it drop into a vessel placed on the ground between them. this is done three times, and the oath is repeated with each performance. then the bride goes through the same ceremony, swearing on each occasion to be true to her husband until death. this done, both wipe their hands on some rice, which is placed close at hand on brass trays. in each of these trays there must be five seers of rice, five pieces of turmeric, five bulbs of garlic, a lump of jaggery, five areca nuts, and five dried dates. when their hands are dry, the bridegroom takes as much of the rice as he can in his hands, and pours it over the bride's head. he does this three times, before submitting to a similar operation at the hands of the bride. then each takes a tray, and upsets the contents over the other. at this stage, the curtain is removed, and, the pair standing side by side, their cloths are knotted together. the knot is called the knot of brahma, and signifies that it is brahma who has tied them together. they now walk out of the pandal, and make obeisance to the sun by bowing, and placing their hands together before their breasts in the reverential position of prayer. returning to the pandal, they go to one corner of it, where five new and gaudily painted earthenware pots filled with water have been previously arranged. into one of these pots, one of the females present drops a gold nose ornament, or a man drops a ring. the bride and bridegroom put their right hands into the pot, and search for the article. whichever first finds it takes it out, and, showing it, declares that he or she has found it. this farce is repeated three times, and the couple then take their seats on a cumbly in the centre of the pandal, and await the preparation of the great feast which closes the ceremony. for this, two sheep are killed, and the friends and relations who have attended are given as much curry and rice as they can eat. next morning, the couple go to the bridegroom's village, or, if the wedding took place at his village, to that of the bride, and stay there three days before returning to the marriage pandal. near the five water-pots already mentioned, some white-ant earth has been spread at the time of the wedding, and on this some paddy (unhusked rice) and dhal seeds have been scattered on the evening of the day on which the wedding commenced. by the time the couple return, these seeds have sprouted. a procession is formed, and the seedlings, being gathered up by the newly married couple, are carried to the village well, into which they are thrown. this ends the marriage ceremony. at their weddings, the boyas indulge in much music. their dresses are gaudy, and suitable to the occasion. the bridegroom, if he belongs to either of the superior gotras, carries a dagger or sword placed in his cummerbund (loin-band). a song which is frequently sung at weddings is known as the song of the seven virgins. the presence of a basavi at a wedding is looked on as a good omen for the bride, since a basavi can never become a widow." in some places, a branch of ficus religiosa or ficus bengalensis is planted in front of the house as the marriage milk-post. if it withers, it is thrown away, but, if it takes root, it is reared. by some bedars a vessel is filled with milk, and into it a headman throws the nose ornament of a married woman, which is searched for by the bride and bridegroom three times. the milk is then poured into a pit, which is closed up. in the north arcot manual it is stated that the boya bride, "besides having a golden tali tied to her neck, has an iron ring fastened to her wrist with black string, and the bridegroom has the same. widows may not remarry or wear black bangles, but they wear silver ones." "divorce," mr. mainwaring writes, "is permitted. grounds for divorce would be adultery and ill-treatment. the case would be decided by a panchayat (council). a divorced woman is treated as a widow. the remarriage of widows is not permitted, but there is nothing to prevent a widow keeping house for a man, and begetting children by him. the couple would announce their intention of living together by giving a feast to the caste. if this formality was omitted, they would be regarded as outcastes till it was complied with. the offspring of such unions are considered illegitimate, and they are not taken or given in marriage to legitimate children. here we come to further social distinctions. owing to promiscuous unions, the following classes spring into existence:-1. swajathee pure boyas, the offspring of parents who sumpradayam. have been properly married in the proper divisions and sub-divisions. 2. koodakonna the offspring of a boya female, who is sumpradayam. separated or divorced from her husband who is still alive, and who cohabits with another boya. 3. vithunthu the offspring of a boya widow by a boya. sumpradayam. 4. arsumpradayam. the offspring of a boya man or woman, resulting from cohabitation with a member of some other caste. the swajathee sumpradayam should only marry among themselves. koodakonna sumpradayam and vithunthu sumpradayam may marry among themselves, or with each other. both being considered illegitimate, they cannot marry swajathee sumpradayam, and would not marry arsumpradayam, as these are not true boyas, and are nominally outcastes, who must marry among themselves." on the occasion of a death among the uru bedars of hospet, the corpse is carried on a bier by uru bedars to the burial-ground, with a new cloth thrown over, and flowers strewn thereon. the sons of the deceased each place a quarter-anna in the mouth of the corpse, and pour water near the grave. after it has been laid therein, all the agnates throw earth into it, and it is filled in and covered over with a mound, on to the head end of which five quarter-anna pieces are thrown. the eldest son, or a near relation, takes up a pot filled with water, and stands at the head of the grave, facing west. a hole is made in the pot, and, after going thrice round the grave, he throws away the pot behind him, and goes home without looking back. this ceremony is called thelagolu, and, if a person dies without any heir, the individual who performs it succeeds to such property as there may be. on the third day the mound is smoothed down, and three stones are placed over the head, abdomen, and legs of the corpse, and whitewashed. a woman brings some luxuries in the way of food, which are mixed up in a winnowing tray divided into three portions, and placed in the front of the stones for crows to partake of. kites and other animals are driven away, if they attempt to steal the food. on the ninth day, the divasa (the day) ceremony is performed. at the spot where the deceased died is placed a decorated brass vessel representing the soul of the departed, with five betel leaves and a ball of sacred ashes over its mouth. close to it a lamp is placed, and a sheep is killed. two or three days afterwards, rice and vegetables are cooked. those who have been branded carry their gods, represented by the cylindrical bamboo basket and stick already referred to, to a stream, wash them therein, and do worship. on their return home, the food is offered to their gods, and served first to the dasari, and then to the others, who must not eat till they have received permission from the dasari. when a myasa bedar, who has been branded, dies his basket and stick are thrown into the grave with the corpse. in the mysore census report, 1891, the mysore bedars are said to cremate the dead, and on the following day to scatter the ashes on five tangedu (cassia auriculata) trees. it is noted by buchanan [120] that the spirits of baydaru men who die without having married become virika (heroes), and to their memory have small temples and images erected, where offerings of cloth, rice, and the like, are made to their names. if this be neglected, they appear in dreams, and threaten those who are forgetful of their duty. these temples consist of a heap or cairn of stones, in which the roof of a small cavity is supported by two or three flags; and the image is a rude shapeless stone, which is occasionally oiled, as in this country all other images are." bedar.--see vedan. begara.--begara or byagara is said to be a synonym applied by canarese lingayats to holeyas. behara.--recorded, at times of census, as a title of various oriya castes, e.g., alia, aruva, dhobi, gaudo, jaggali, kevuto, kurumo, ronguni, and sondi. in some cases, e.g., among the rongunis, the title is practically an exogamous sept. the headman of many oriya castes is called behara. bejjo.--a sub-division of bhondari, and title of kevuto. belata (feronia elephantum: wood-apple).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. bellapu (jaggery: palm-sugar).--an exogamous sept of boya. bellara.--"the bellaras, or belleras," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [121] "are a somewhat higher caste of basket and mat-makers than the parava umbrella-makers and devil-dancers. they speak a dialect of canarese (see south canara manual, vol. ii). they follow the aliya santana law (inheritance in the female line), but divorce is not so easy as amongst most adherents of that rule of inheritance, and divorced women, it is said, may not marry again. widows, however, may remarry. the dead are either burned or buried, and a feast called yede besala is given annually in the name of deceased ancestors. the use of alcohol and flesh, except beef, is permitted. they make both grass and bamboo mats." bellathannaya (jaggery: crude sugar).--an exogamous sept of bant. belle (white).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. the equivalent bile occurs as a gotra of kurni. belli.--belli or velli, meaning silver, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of badaga, korava, kuruba, madiga, okkiliyan, toreya, and vakkaliga. the belli toreyas may not wear silver toe-rings. vellikkai, or silver-handed, has been returned as a sub-division of the konga vellalas. belu (feronia elephantum).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. benayito.--a sub-division of odiya. bende (hibiscus esculentus).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. the mucilaginous fruit (bendekai or bandicoy) of this plant is a favourite vegetable of both natives and europeans. the nick-name bendekai is sometimes given, in reference to the sticky nature of the fruit, to those who try to smooth matters over between contending parties. bengri (frog).--a sept of domb. benia.--a small caste of oriya cultivators and palanquin-bearers in ganjam. it is on record [122] that in ganjam honey and wax are collected by the konds and benias, who are expert climbers of precipitous rocks and lofty trees. the name is said to be derived from bena, grass, as the occupation of the caste was formerly to remove grass, and clear land for cultivation. benise (flint stone).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. benne (butter).--a gotra of kurni. bepari.--bepari is, in the madras census report, described as "a caste allied to the lambadis. its members worship a female deity called banjara, speak the bepari or lambadi language, and claim to be kshatriyas." bhonjo, the title of the rajah of gumsur, was returned as a sub-caste. the rev. g. gloyer [123] correctly makes the name boipari synonymous with brinjari, and his illustration of a boipari family represents typical lambadis or brinjaris. bepari and boipari are forms of vyapari or vepari, meaning a trader. the beparis are traders and carriers between the hills and plains in the vizagapatam agency tracts. mr. c. hayavadana rao informs me that "they regard themselves as immune from the attacks of tigers, if they take certain precautions. most of them have to pass through places infested with these beasts, and their favourite method of keeping them off is as follows. as soon as they encamp at a place, they level a square bit of ground, and light fires in the middle of it, round which they pass the night. it is their firm belief that the tiger will not enter the square, from fear lest it should become blind, and eventually be shot. i was once travelling towards malkangiri from jeypore, when i fell in with a party of these people encamped in the manner described. at that time, several villages about malkangiri were being ravaged by a notorious man-eater (tiger)." beralakoduva (finger-giving).--a section of the vakkaligas, among whom the custom of sacrificing some of the fingers used to prevail. (see morasu.) beri chetti.--the beri chettis, or principal merchants, like other chettis and komatis, claim to be vaisyas, "but they will not admit that the komatis are on a par with them, and declare that they alone represent the true vaisya stock." [124] with regard to their origin, the kanyakapurana states that a certain king wanted to marry a beautiful maiden of the komati caste. when the komatis declined to agree to the match, the king began to persecute them, and those komatis who left the country out of fear were called beri or bediri (fear) chettis. the story is, in fact, similar to that told by the nattukottai chettis, and the legend, no doubt, refers to persecution of some king, whose extortion went beyond the limits of custom. another derivation of the word beri is from perumai, greatness or splendour. the name beri, as applied to a sub-division of the komatis, is said to be a corruption of bedari, and to denote those who fled through fear, and did not enter the fire-pits with the caste goddess kanyakamma. the legend of the beri chettis, as given by mr. h. a. stuart, [124] states that "kaveripuram near kumbakonam was formerly the town in which the caste principally resided. the king of the country attempted to obtain a beri chetti maiden in marriage, but was refused, and he therefore persecuted them, and drove them out of his dominions, forbidding interchange of meals between them and any other caste whatever--a prohibition which is still in force." the beri chettis have a number of endogamous divisions, named after geographical areas, towns, etc., such as tirutaniyar, acharapakaththar, telungu, pakkam, musalpakam. among these there is an order of social precedence, some of the divisions interdining, others not. the beri chettis are, like the kammalans (artisan class), a leading caste of the left-hand section, and the following story is narrated. while the beris were living at kaveripuram in a thousand houses, each house bearing a distinct gotra (house name,) a king, who took wives from among all castes, wanted the beris to give him one of their maidens. though unwilling, they promised to do so, but made up their minds to get over the difficulty by a ruse. on the day fixed for the marriage, all the beri families left the place, after a male black dog had been tied to the milk-post of the marriage pandal (booth). when he learnt what had occurred, the king was very angry, and forbade all castes to take water from the beris. and this led to their joining the left-hand section. the beri chettis resort to the panchayat system of administration of affairs affecting the caste, and the headman, called peridanakkaran, is assisted by a barber of the left-hand section. they are in favour of infant marriages, though adult marriage is not prohibited. they are not allowed to tie plantain trees to the posts of the wedding pandal, with the trees touching the ground. if this is done, the paraiyans, who belong to the right-hand section, cut them down. this custom is still observed in some out-of-the way villages. upanayanam, or investiture with the sacred thread, is either performed long before marriage, or by some along with the marriage rite. a man or boy, after investiture, always wears the thread. most of the beri chettis are meat-eaters, but some profess to be vegetarians. it is said that there is much dispute between the beri chettis and the komatis regarding their relative positions, and each caste delights to tell stories to the detriment of the other. in general estimation, however, the beris are deemed a little inferior to the komatis." [125] the claim of the beri chettis to be vaisyas is based on the following legend, as given by mr. stuart. [126] "in the time of the cholas, they erected a water-pandal, and komatis claimed the right to use it, which was at once denied. the king attempted to solve the question by reference to inscriptions in the kamakshiamma temple at conjeeveram, but without success. he then proposed that the rivals should submit to the ordeal of carrying water in an unbaked pot. this was agreed to, and the beri chettis were alone successful. the penalty for failure was a fine of rs. 12,000, which the komatis could not pay, and they were therefore obliged to enslave themselves to a beri chetti woman, who paid the fine. their descendants are still marked men, who depend upon beri chettis for their subsistence. the great body of the komatis in the country were not parties to the agreement, and they do not now admit that their inferiority has ever been proved." according to another version of the legend, during the reign of the cholas, a water-pandal was erected by the beris, and the komatis claimed the right to use it. this was refused on the ground that they were not vaisyas. the question at issue was referred to the king, who promised to enquire into it, but did not do so. a viramushti (caste beggar of the beri chettis and komatis) killed the king's horse and elephant. when questioned as to his reason for so doing, he explained that it was to call the king's attention to the dispute, and restored the animals to life. the king then referred both parties to conjeeveram, where a sasanam (copper-plate grant) was believed to exist. to procure this document, the decapitation of twelve human beings was necessary, and the viramushti sacrificed his twelve children. according to the document, the beris were vaisyas, and the komatis were ordered to be beheaded. but some beris interceded on their behalf, and they were pardoned on condition that they would pay a sum of money. to secure the necessary money, they became slaves to a rich beri woman. ever since this incident, the komatis have been the children of the beris, and their descendants are called pillaipuntha komati, or komati who became a son. for the services which he rendered, the viramushti is said to have been presented with a sasanam, and he is treated as a son by the caste men, among whom he has some influence. for example, the beri chettis may not plant in their back-yards moringa pterygosperma, dolichos lablab, or a red variety of amarantus. if the viramushti found the first of these planted, he would destroy it, and demand a fine of three fanams. for dolichos the fine is six fanams, and for amarantus one fanam. the rearing of pigs, goats, and fowls by the beri chettis is forbidden under penalty of a fine. if a beri chetti woman carries a water-pot on her head, the viramushti will throw it down, and demand a fine of twelve fanams. the women are not allowed to carry on sales at a public fair, under penalty of excommunication. the beri chettis and komatis should not do business together. the kammalans and chettis are regarded as friends, and there is a tamil proverb "settiyum kammalanum onnu," i.e., the chetti and kammalan are one. in this connection the following legend is quoted. "in the town of kanda, anciently the camalas (artificers of five sorts) lived closely united together, and were employed by all ranks of men, as there were no artificers besides them. they feared and respected no king, which offended certain kings, who combined against them, taking with them all kinds of arms. but, as the fort (kanda kottai, or magnetic fort), in which the camalar lived, was entirely constructed of loadstone, this attracted, and drew the weapons away from the hands of the assailants. the kings then promised a great reward to any one who should burn down the fort. no one dared to do this. at length the courtesans of a temple engaged to effect it, and took the pledge of betel and areca, engaging thereby to do so. the kings, greatly rejoicing, built a fort opposite, filled with such kind of courtesans, who, by their singing, attracted the people from the fort, and led to intercourse. one of these at length succeeded in extracting from a young man the secret, that, if the fort was surrounded with varacu straw, set on fire, it might be destroyed. the king accordingly had this done, and, in the burning down of the fort, many of the camalar lost their lives. some took to ships belonging to them, and escaped by sea. in consequence, there were no artificers in that country. those taken in the act of endeavouring to escape were beheaded. one woman of the tribe, being pregnant, took refuge in the house of a chetti, and escaped, passing for his daughter. from a want of artificers, who made implements for weavers, husbandmen, and the like, manufactures and agriculture ceased, and great discontent arose in the country. the king, being of clever wit, resorted to a device to discover if any of the tribe remained, to remedy the evil complained of. this was to send a piece of coral, having a fine tortuous aperture running through it, and a piece of thread, to all parts of the country, with promise of great reward to any one who should succeed in passing the thread through the coral. none could accomplish it. at length the child that had been born in the chetty's house undertook to do it; and, to effect it, he placed the coral over the mouth of an ant-hole, and having steeped the thread in sugar, placed it at some little distance. the ants took the thread, and drew it through the coral. the king, seeing the difficulty overcome, gave great presents, and sent much work to be done, which that child, under the council and guidance of its mother, performed. the king sent for the chetty, and demanded an account of this young man, which the chetty detailed. the king had him plentifully supplied with the means especially of making ploughshares, and, having married him to the daughter of a chetty, gave him grants of land for his maintenance. he had five sons, who followed the five different branches of work of the camalar tribe. the king gave them the title of panchalar. down to the present day there is an intimate relation between these five branches, and they intermarry with each other; while, as descendants of the chetty tribe, they wear the punul, or caste-thread of that tribe." [127] the acharapakam chettis are known as malighe chettis, and are connected with the chettis of this legend. even now, in the city of madras, when the beri chettis assemble for the transaction of caste business, the notice summoning the meeting excludes the malighe chettis, who cannot, like other beri chettis, vote at elections, meetings, etc., of the kandasami temple. some beri chettis, mr. stuart writes, "worship siva, and some vishnu, and a few are lingayats, who do not marry into families with a different worship. they bury, while the others burn their dead. all the divisions wear the sacred thread, and do not tolerate widow remarriage. unlike komatis, their daughters are sometimes married after puberty." berike.--the children of a boya widow by a man of her own caste, with whom she lives, are said [128] to drift into a distinct section called berike. bestha.--the besthas are summed up, in the madras census report, 1891, as "a telugu caste, the hereditary occupation of which is hunting and fishing, but they have largely taken to agriculture, and the professions of bearers and cooks." in the census report, 1901, it is stated that "the fisherman caste in the deccan districts are called besthas and kabberas, while those in some parts of the coimbatore and salem districts style themselves toreyar, siviyar, and parivarattar. these three last speak canarese like the kabberas, and seem to be the same as besthas or kabberas. kabbera and toreya have, however, been treated as distinct castes. there are two endogamous sub-divisions in the bestha caste, namely the telaga and the parigirti. some say that the kabbili or kabberavandlu are a third. the parigirti section trace their descent from sutudu, the famous expounder of the mahabharata. besthas employ brahmans and satanis (or jangams, if saivites) for their domestic ceremonies, and imitate the brahman customs, prohibiting widow remarriage, and worshipping siva and vishnu as well as the village deities. the maddi sub-caste is said to be called so, because they dye cotton with the bark of the maddi tree (morinda citrifolia)." it is suggested, in the gazetteer of the bellary district, that the besthas are really a sub-division of the gangimakkalu kabberas, who were originally palanquin-bearers, but, now that these vehicles have gone out of fashion, are employed in divers other ways. it may be noted that the siviyars of coimbatore say that they are besthas who emigrated from mysore in the troublous times of the muhammadan usurpation. the name siviyar, they say, was given to them by the tamils, as, being strong and poor, they were palanquin-bearers to officers on circuit and others in the pre-railway days. their main occupations at the present day are tank and river fishing. in the manual of the north arcot district, it is noted that many besthas "trade, and are in a flourishing condition, being most numerous above the ghats. the name bestha appears to have no meaning, but they call themselves sutakulam, and say they are descendants of the rishi suta mahamuni. the term suta also applies to the offspring of a kshatriya by a brahman, but it seems more probable that the besthas gained the name from their superiority in the culinary art, suta also meaning cook. they are divided into telugu besthas and parigirti besthas, the difference between them being chiefly one of religious observance, the former being in the habit of getting themselves branded on the shoulders with the vaishnavite emblems--chank and chakram--and the latter never undergoing this ceremony. it is a rule with them to employ dasaris as the messengers of a death, and tsakalas, as those of a birth, or of the fact that a girl has reached womanhood. their chief object of worship is hanuman, the monkey god, a picture or figure of whom they always have in their houses for domestic worship." in connection with the names parigirti or pakirithi which have been recorded as divisions of the besthas, it may be observed that, in some parts of the telugu country, the term pakirithi is used as a substitute for vaishnava. this word has become converted into parigirti or parikithi, denoting that the besthas are vaishnavites, as opposed to saivites. some besthas, when questioned as to the origin of their caste, said that they had no purandam to help them. the word used by them is a corruption of puranam. the besthas are summed up, in the mysore census report, 1901, as "fishermen, boatmen, and palanquin-bearers, who are known by different names according to the localities they live in. in the eastern districts they are called bestha, in the southern toraya, ambiga and parivara (boatmen), while in the western parts their names are kabyara and gangemakkalu. the telugu-speaking population call themselves boyis. their chief occupations are fishing, palanquin-bearing, and lime-burning. some of them are employed by government as peons (orderlies), etc., while a large number are engaged in agricultural pursuits. the boyis obey a headman called the pedda (big) boyi. the toraya does not intermarry either with the kabyara or the boyi, whom he resembles in every way. the kabyara or karnatic besthas proper never carry the palanquin, but live by either farming or lime-burning. they have a headman known as the yajaman." i have often seen besthas in mysore fishing on tanks from rafts, with floats made of cane or cork-wood supporting their fish-baskets. the besthas use small cast-nets, and it is thought by them that the employment of drag-nets worked by several men would bring bad luck to them. when a new net is used for the first time, the first fish which is caught is cut, and the net smeared with its blood. one of the meshes of the net is burnt, after incense has been thrown into the fire. if a snake becomes entangled in a net when it is first used, it is rejected, and burnt or otherwise disposed of. the tribal deity of the telugu besthas is kamamma, and, when this goddess is worshipped, mala pambalas are engaged to recite the legendary story relating to her. they never offer the flesh of animals or liquor to the goddess. like other telugu castes, the besthas have intiperulu or exogamous septs and gotras. in connection with some of the latter, certain prohibitions are observed. for example, the jasmine plant (malle) may not be touched by members of the malle gotra, and the ippa tree (bassia latifolia) may not be touched or used by members of the ippala gotra. writing at the beginning of the last century, buchanan [129] informs us that "everywhere in karnata the palanquin-bearers are of telinga descent. in the language of karnata they are called teliga besthas, but in their own dialect they are called bai. their proper occupations, beside that of carrying the palanquin, are fishing, and distillation of rum. wealthy men among them become farmers, but none of the caste hire themselves out as farm servants. their hereditary chiefs are called pedde bui, which, among the europeans of madras, is bestowed on the headman of every gentleman's set." in a note on the bestha boyis, or fishermen bearers of masulipatam in the days of the east india company, mr. h. g. prendergast writes [130] that they were "found to be peculiarly trustworthy servants. when their english masters went on promotion to madras, they were accompanied by their trusty boyis, and, from that day to this, bestha boyis have been employed as attendants in public and mercantile offices in madras, and have continued to maintain their good reputation." of the use of the word boy (a corruption of boyi) for palanquin-bearer, numerous examples are quoted by yule and burnell. [131] thus carraccioli, in his life of lord clive, records that, in 1785, the boys with colonel lawrence's palankeen, having struggled a little out of the time of march, were picked up by the marattas. writing in 1563, barras states [132] that "there are men who carry the umbrella so dexterously to ward off the sun that, although their master trots on his horse, the sun does not touch any part of his body and such men are called boi." the insigne of the besthas, as recorded at conjeeveram, is a net. [133] besya (a prostitute).--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a sub-caste of oriya gunis. it is a form of the word vesya. betta (hill).--a sub-division of kurumba. bevina.--bevina or beva (nim or margosa: melia azadirachta) has been recorded as an exogamous sept of kuruba, and a sub-division of kadu kurumba. the nim tree is held sacred by hindus, and takes an important part in many of the ceremonials connected with the small-pox goddess and other village deities. bhag (tiger).--a sept of numerous classes in vizagapatam, e.g., bhumia, bottada, domb, gadaba, mattiya, omanaito, pentiya, and rona. the equivalent bhago occurs among some classes in ganjam. bhagavatulu.--recorded as play-actors in the telugu country. their name is derived from the fact that they perform stories and episodes from the bhagavatam, one of the puranas. bhakta.--see bagata. bhandari.--see kelasi. bhande.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a class of potters in the ganjam maliahs, a sub-division of kumbharo. the name is derived from the sanskrit bhanda, a pot." bharadwaja.--a brahmanical gotra of bhatrazus. bharadwaja was a rishi, the son of brihaspati, and preceptor of the pandavas. bhatia.--nearly four hundred members of this caste were returned at the madras census, 1901. it is recorded in the bombay gazetteer, that "the bhatias claim to be bhati rajputs of the yadav stock. as a class they are keen, vigorous, enterprising, thrifty, subtle and unscrupulous. some of the richest men in bombay started life without a penny. a large number of bhatias are merchant traders and brokers, and within the last fifty years they have become a very wealthy and important class." like the nattukottai chettis of southern india, the bhatias undertake sea voyages to distant countries, and they are to be found eastward as far as china. bhatta.--a sub-division of gaudo. bhatkali.--a class of muhammadans on the west coast, who are said to have originally settled at bhatkal in north canara. bhatrazu.--the bhats, bhatrazus, or bhatrajus are described, in the mysore census reports, 1891 and 1901, as musicians and ballad-reciters, who "speak telugu, and are supposed to have come from the northern circars. they were originally attached to the courts of the hindu princes as bards or professional troubadours, reciting ballads in poetry in glorification of the wondrous deeds of local princes and heroes. hyder ali, although not a hindu, delighted to be constantly preceded by them, and they are still an appendage to the state of hindu and mussalman chiefs. they have a wonderful faculty in speaking improvisatore, on any subject proposed to them, a declamation in measures, which may be considered as a sort of medium between blank verse and modulated verse. but their profession is that of chanting the exploits of former days in front of the troops while marshalling them for battle, and inciting them to emulate the glory of their ancestors. now many of them are mendicants." in the madras census report, 1871, the bhat rajahs are said to "wear the pavitra or sacred thread. they are the bards and minstrels, who sing the praises of the kshatriya race, or indeed of great men in general, and especially of those who liberally reward the singers. they are a wandering class, gaining a living by attaching themselves to the establishments of great men, or in chanting the folklore of the people. they are mostly vishnu worshippers, and in only one district is it reported that they worship village deities." in the madras census report, 1891, the bhatrazus are summed up as being "a class of professional bards, spread all over the telugu districts. they are the representatives of the bhat caste of other parts of india. they are called razus, because they are supposed to be the offspring of a kshatriya female by a vaisya male. they are well versed in folklore, and in the family histories and legends of the ancient rajahs. under the old hindu rajahs the bhatrazus were employed as bards, eulogists, and reciters of family genealogy and tradition. most of them are now cultivators, and only a few are ballad-reciters. they will eat with the kapus and velamas. their ceremonies of birth, death and marriage are more or less the same as those of the kapus. razu is the general name of the caste." the bhatrazus, mr. w. francis writes, [134] "are also called bhats or magadas. they have two endogamous sub-divisions, called vandi, raja or telaganya, and magada, kani or agraharekala. [some bhatrazus maintain that vandi and magada were individuals who officiated as heralds at the marriage of siva.] each of these is again split up into several exogamous septs or gotras, among which are atreya, bharadwaja, gautama, kasyapa and kaundinya. all of these are brahmanical gotras, which goes to confirm the story in manu that the caste is the offspring of a vaisya father and a kshatriya mother. bhatrazus nevertheless do not all wear the sacred thread now-a-days, or recite the gayatri. [135] they employ brahman priests for their marriages, but jangams and satanis for funerals, and in all these ceremonies they follow the lower or puranic instead of the higher vedic ritual. widow marriage is strictly forbidden, but yet they eat fish, mutton and pork, though not beef. these contradictions are, however, common among oriya castes, and the tradition is that the bhatrazus were a northern caste which was first invited south by king pratapa rudra of the kshatriya dynasty of warangal (1295-1323 a.d.). after the downfall of that kingdom they seem to have become court bards and panegyrists under the reddi and velama feudal chiefs, who had by that time carved out for themselves small independent principalities in the telugu country. as a class they were fairly educated in the telugu literature, and even produced poets such as ramaraja bhushana, the author of the well-known vasu-charitram. their usual title is bhat, sometimes with the affix razu or murti." of the bhatrazus in the north arcot district, mr. h. a. stuart states [136] that "they now live by cultivation, and by singing the fabulous traditions current regarding the different sudra castes at their marriages and other ceremonies, having probably invented most of them. they profess to be kshatriyas. but it is known that several are musalmans or members of other castes, who, possessing an aptitude for extempore versification, were taken by rajahs to sing their praises, and so called themselves bhatturazus. they resemble the razus in their customs, but are said to bury their dead." in the gazetteer of anantapur, the bhatrazus are described as touring round the villages, making extempore verses in praise of the principal householders, and being rewarded by gifts of old clothes, grain, and money. it is stated in the kurnool manual that "the high-caste people (kammas) are bound to pay the batrajulu certain fees on marriage occasions. some of the batrajas have shotriems and inams." shotriem is land given as a gift for proficiency in the vedas or learning, and inam is land given free of rent. in connection with the special attachment of the bhatrazus to the velama, kamma, and kapu castes, the following story is narrated. once upon a time there was a man named pillala marri bethala reddi, who had three sons, of whom two took to cultivation. the third son adopted a military life, and had seventy-four sons, all of whom became commanders. on one occasion, during the reign of pratapa rudra, when they were staying at the fort of warangal, they quarrelled among themselves, and became very rebellious. on learning this, the king summoned them to his court. he issued orders that a sword should be tied across the gate. the commanders were reluctant to go under a sword, as it would be a sign of humiliation. some of them ran against the sword, and killed themselves. a bhatrazu, who witnessed this, promised to help the remaining commanders to gain entrance without passing under the sword. he went to the king, and said that a brahman wished to pay him a visit. an order was accordingly issued that the sword should be removed. the services of the bhatrazu greatly pleased the commanders, and they came to regard the bhatrazus as their dependants, and treated them with consideration. even at the present day, at a marriage among the kapus, kammas, and velamas, a bhatrazu is engaged. his duties are to assist the bridegroom in his wedding toilette, to paint sectarian marks on his forehead, and to remain as his personal attendant throughout the marriage ceremonies. he further sings stanzas from the ramayana or mahabharata, and songs in praise of brahmans and the caste to which the bridal couple belong. the following was sung at a kapu wedding. "anna vema reddi piled up money like a mountain, and, with his brother pinna brahma reddi, constructed agraharams. gone buddha reddi spent large sums of money for the reading of the ramayana, and heard it with much interest. panta malla reddi caused several tanks to be dug. you, their descendants, are all prosperous, and very charitable." in the houses of kammas, the following is recited. "of the seventy-seven sons, bobbali narasanna was a very brave man, and was told to go in search of the kamma (an ornament) without using abusive language. those who ran away are velamas, and those who secured it kammas." in their ceremonial observances, the bhatrazus closely follow the standard telugu type. at marriages, the bridal couple sit on the dais on a plank of juvvi (ficus tsiela) wood. they have the telugu janappans as their disciples, and are the only non-brahman caste, except jangams and pandarams, which performs the duties of guru or religious instructor. the badge of the bhatrazus at conjeeveram is a silver stick. [137] in the madras census report, 1901, bhato, kani razu, kannaji bhat and padiga raju appear as synonyms, and annaji bhat as a sub-caste of bhatrazus. the following account of a criminal class, calling themselves batturajas or battu turakas, was published in the police weekly circular, madras, in 1881. [138] "they are known to the cuddapah and north arcot police as criminals, and a note is made whenever an adult leaves his village; but, as they commit their depredations far from home, and convert their spoil into hard cash before they return, it is difficult to get evidence against them. ten or twelve of these leave home at once; they usually work in parties of three or four, and they are frequently absent for months together. they have methods of communicating intelligence to their associates when separated from them, but the only one of these methods that is known is by means of their leaf plates, which they sew in a peculiar manner, and leave after use in certain places previously agreed upon. these leaf plates can be recognised by experts, but all that these experts can learn from them is that battu turakas have been in the neighbourhood recently. on their return to their village, an account of their proceedings is rendered, and their spoil is divided equally among the whole community, a double share being, however, given to the actual thief or thieves. they usually disguise themselves as brahmans, and, in the search of some of their houses lately, silk cloths worn only by brahmans were found together with other articles necessary for the purpose (rudraksha necklaces, salagrama stones, etc.). they are also instructed in sanskrit, and in all the outward requisites of brahmanism. a telugu brahman would soon find out that they are not brahmans, and it is on this account that they confine their depredations to the tamil country, where allowance is made for them as rude uncivilized telugus. they frequent choultries (travellers' resting-places), where their very respectable appearance disarms suspicion, and watch for opportunities of committing thefts, substituting their own bags or bundles (filled with rubbish) for those they carry off." to this account mr. m. paupa rao naidu adds [139] that "it is during festivals and feasts that they very often commit thefts of the jewels and cloths of persons bathing in the tanks. they are thus known as kolamchuthi papar, meaning that they are brahmins that live by stealing around the tanks. before the introduction of railways, their depredations were mostly confined to the choultries and tanks." concerning the bhattu turakas of the north arcot district, mr. h. a. stuart writes [140] that "a few of this very intelligent and educated criminal class are found in the north-west of the chendragiri taluk, and in the north of punganur. they are really muhammadans, but never worship according to the rules of that religion, and know little about its tenets. they have no employment save cheating, and in this they are incomparably clever. they speak several languages with perfect fluency, have often studied sanskrit, and are able to personate any caste. having marked down a well-to-do householder, they take an opportunity of entering his service, and succeed at last in gaining his confidence. they then abuse it by absconding with what they can lay hands upon. they often take to false coining and forgery, pretend to know medicine, to have the power of making gold or precious stones, or of turning currency notes into others of higher value." bhayipuo.--bhayipuo is returned, in the census report, 1901, as an oriya caste, the members of which claim to be kshatriyas. the word means brother's son, in which sense it is applied to the issue of the brothers of rajahs by concubines. the illegitimate children of rajahs are also classed as bhayipuo. bhima.--a section of savaras, named after bhima, one of the pandava brothers. bholia (wild dog).--an exogamous sept of kondra. bhondari.--the bhondaris are the barbers of the oriya country, living in ganjam. "the name bhondari," mr. s. p. rice writes, [141] is "derived from bhondaram, treasure. the zamindars delivered over the guarding of the treasure to the professional barbers, who became a more important person in this capacity than in his original office of shaver in ordinary to his highness." the bhondaris occupy a higher position than the tamil and telugu barbers. though various oriya castes bathe after being shaved, the touch of a bhondari at other times is not regarded as polluting. all over the ganjam district, the bhondaris are employed as domestic servants, and some are engaged as coolies, cart-drivers, etc. others officiate as pujaris (priests) at takurani (village deity) temples, grind sandalwood, or make flower garlands. on the occasion of ceremonial processions, the washing of the feet of the guests, carrying articles required for worship, and the jewels and cloths to be worn by the bridal couple on the wedding day, are performed by the bhondari. i am informed that a woman of this caste is employed by karnams on the occasion of marriage and other ceremonials, at which her services are indispensable. it is said that in some places, where the bhondaris do not shave castes lower than the gudiyas, oriya brahmans allow them to remove the leaf plates off which they have taken their food, though this should not be done by a non-brahman. there are apparently three endogamous sub-divisions, named godomalia, odisi, and bejjo. the word godomalia means a group of forts, and it is said to be the duty of members of this section to serve rajahs who live in forts. the godomalias are most numerous in ganjam, where they claim to be superior to the odisi and bejjo sections. among exogamous septs, mohiro (peacock), dhippo (light), oppomarango (achyranthes aspera), and nagasira (cobra) may be noted. members of the oppomarango sept do not touch, or use the root of the plant as a tooth brush. lights may not be blown out with the breath, or otherwise extinguished by members of the dhippo sept; and they do not light their lamps unless they are madi, i.e., wearing silk cloths, or cloths washed and dried after bathing. nagasira is a sept common to many oriya castes, and is said to owe its origin to the influence of oriya brahmans. the hereditary headman of the caste is called behara, and he is assisted by a bhollobaya. most of the bhondaris follow the form of vaishnavism inculcated by chaithyana, and known as paramartho matham. they wear as a necklace a string of tulsi (ocimum sanctum) beads, without which they will not worship or take their food. many hindu deities, especially jagannatha, and various local takuranis are also worshipped by them. a man should not marry his maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter. infant marriage is the rule, and, if a girl has not secured a husband before she attains maturity, she has to go through a mock marriage ceremony called dharma bibha. she is taken to a streblus asper (sahada or shadi) tree, and married to it. she may not, during the rest of her life, touch the streblus tree, or use its twigs as a tooth brush. sometimes she goes through the ceremony of marriage with some elderly man, preferably her grandfather, or, failing him, her elder sister's husband as bridegroom. a divorce agreement (tsado patro) is drawn up, and the pseudo-marriage thereby dissolved. sometimes the bridegroom is represented by a bow and arrow, and the ceremony is called khando bibha. the real marriage ceremonies last over seven days. on the day before the bibha (wedding), a number of earthen pots are placed on a spot which has been cleaned for their reception, and some married women throw zizyphus jujuba leaves and rice, apparently as an evil-eye removing and purificatory ceremony. while doing so, they cry "ulu, ulu" in a manner which recalls to mind the kulavi idal of the maravans and kallans. a ceremony, called sokko bhondo, or wheel worship, is performed to a potter's wheel. the bridegroom, who has to fast until the night, is shaved, after which he stands on a grindstone and bathes. while he is so doing, some women bring a grinding-mill stone, and grind to powder vigna catiang, cajanus indicus and cicer arietinum seeds, crying "ulu, ulu," as they do so. the bridegroom then dresses himself, and sits on the marriage dais, while a number of married women crowd round him, each of whom touches an areca nut placed on his head seven times with a grinding stone. they also perform the ceremony called bhondaivaro, which consists in throwing zizyphus jujuba leaves, and rice dyed with turmeric, over the bridegroom, again calling out "ulu, ulu." towards evening, the bridegroom's party proceed in procession to a temple, taking with them the various articles required on the morrow, such as the sacred thread, jewels, cloths, and mokkuto (forehead ornament). after worshipping the god, they return home, and on the way thither collect water in a vessel from seven houses, to be used by the bridegroom when he bathes next day. a ceremonial very similar to that performed by the bridegroom on the eve of the wedding is also performed by the bride and her party. on the wedding day, the bridegroom, after worshipping vigneswara (ganesa) at the marriage dais with the assistance of a brahman purohit, proceeds, dressed up in his marriage finery, mokkuto, sacred thread and wrist thread, to a temple in a palanquin, and worships there. later on, he goes to the bride's house in a palanquin. just as he is about to start, his brother's wife catches hold of the palanquin, and will not let him go till she has received a present of a new cloth. he is met en route by the bride's father, and his feet are washed by her brother. his future father-in-law, after waving seven balls of coloured rice before him, escorts him to his house. at the entrance thereto, a number of women, including the bride's mother, await his arrival, and, on his approach, throw zizyphus jujuba leaves, and cry "ulu, ulu." his future mother-in-law, taking him by the hand, leads him into the house. as soon as he has reached the marriage dais, the bride is conducted thither by her maternal uncle, and throws some salt over a screen on to the bridegroom. later on, she takes her seat by his side, and the brahman purohit, after doing homam (making sacred fire), ties the hands of the contracting couple together with dharbha grass. this is called hastagonthi, and is the binding portion of the marriage ceremony. the bride and bridegroom then exchange ten areca nuts and ten myrabolams (terminalia fruits). two new cloths are thrown over them, and the ends thereof are tied together in a knot containing twenty-one cowry (cypræa arabica) shells, a coin, and a few zizyphus leaves. this ceremonial is called gontiyalo. the bride's brother strikes the bridegroom with his fist, and receives a present of a cloth. at this stage, the couple receive presents from relations and friends. they then play seven times with cowry shells, and the ceremonial closes with the throwing of zizyphus leaves, and the eating by the bride and bridegroom of rice mixed with jaggery (crude sugar) and curds. on the two following days, they sit on the dais, play with cowries, and have leaves and rice thrown over them. they wear the cloths given to them on the wedding day, and may not bathe in a tank (pond) or river. on the fourth day (chauti), the bride is received into the gotra of the bridegroom. in token thereof, she cooks some food given to her by the bridegroom, and the pair make a show of partaking thereof. towards the evening the bride is conducted by her maternal uncle to near the dais, and she stands on a grinding stone. seven turns of thread dyed with turmeric are wound round the posts of the dais. leading his wife thither, the bridegroom cuts the thread, and the couple stand on the dais, while four persons support a cloth canopy over their heads, and rice is scattered over them. on the fifth day, the newly-married couple and their relations indulge in throwing turmeric water over each other. early on the morning of the sixth day, the bridegroom breaks a pot placed on the dais, and goes away in feigned anger to the house of a relation. towards evening, he is brought back by his brother-in-law, and plays at cowries with the bride. the bhondaivaro ceremony is once more repeated. on the seventh day, the sacred thread, wrist-threads and mokkuto are removed. widows and divorcées are permitted to remarry. as among various other castes, a widow should marry her deceased husband's younger brother. the dead are cremated. when a person is on the point of death, a little jagannatha prasadam, i.e., rice from the temple at puri, is placed in his mouth. members of many oriya castes keep by them partially cooked rice, called nirmalyam, brought from this temple, and a little of this is eaten by the orthodox before meals and after bathing. the corpse is washed, anointed, and wrapped in a new cloth. after it has been secured on the bier, a new red cloth is thrown over it. at the head, a sheaf of straw, from the roof of the house, if it is thatched, is placed. the funeral pyre is generally prepared by an oriya washerman. at the burning-ground, the corpse is placed close to the pyre, and the son puts into the mouth some parched rice, and throws rice over the eyes. then, lighting the straw, he waves it thrice round the corpse, and throws it on the face. the corpse is then carried thrice round the pyre, and laid thereon. in the course of cremation, each mourner throws a log on the pyre. the son goes home, wet and dripping, after bathing. on the following day, the fire is extinguished, and two fragments of bone are placed in a small pot, and carefully preserved. the ashes are heaped up, and an image is drawn on the ground with a stick, to which food is offered. a meal, called pithapona (bitter food), consisting of rice and margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, is partaken of by agnates only. on the tenth day, the relatives and intimate friends of the deceased are shaved, the son last of all. the son and the agnates go to a tank bund (pond embankment), and cook food in a new pot within a shed which has been specially constructed for the occasion. the pot is then broken into ten fragments, on which food is placed, and offered to the dead person. the son takes the fragments, one by one, to the tank, bathing each time. the pot containing the two pieces of bone is generally buried beneath a pipal (ficus religiosa) tree growing near a tank. on the tenth day, after the offering of food, the son proceeds to this spot, and, after pouring water ten times over the ground beneath which the pot is buried, takes the pot home, and buries it near the house. as he approaches his home, he goes ahead of those who accompany him, and, carrying a vessel filled with water, pours some of this three times on the ground, waving his hand in a circular manner. he then makes three marks with a piece of iron on the ground. a piece of hollow bamboo open at both ends, or other grain measure, is given to him, with which he measures rice or other grain seven times. he then throws the measure behind him between his legs, and, entering the house, puts a sect mark on his forehead with the aid of a broken looking-glass, which must be thrown away. ghi (clarified butter) and meat may not be eaten by those under death pollution till the eleventh day, when a feast is held. if an important elder of the community dies, a ceremony called jola-jola handi (pot drilled with holes) is performed on the night of the tenth day. fine sand is spread over the floor of a room having two doors, and the surface is smoothed with a tray or plank. on the sand a lighted lamp is placed, with an areca nut by its side. the lamp is covered with an earthen cooking-pot. two men carry on their shoulders a pot riddled with holes, suspended from a pole made of diospyros embryopteris wood, from inside the room into the street, as soon as the lamp is covered by the cooking-pot. both doors of the room are then closed, and not opened till the return of the men. the pot which they carry is believed to increase in weight as they bear it to a tank, into which it is thrown. on their return to the house, they tap three times at the door, which then opens. all present then crowd into the room, and examine the sand for the marks of the foot-prints of a bull, cat or man, the trail of a centipede, cart-track, ladder, etc., which are believed to be left by the dead person when he goes to the other world. opprobrious names are very common among the bhondaris, especially if a child is born after a succession of deaths among the offspring of a family. very common among such names are those of low castes, e.g., haddi, bavuria, dandasi, etc. bhonjo.--the title of the raja of gumsur in ganjam. bhumanchi (good earth).--a sub-division of kapu. bhu (earth) razu.--a name for razus who live in the plains, in contradistinction to the konda razus who live in the hills. bhu vaisya (earth vaisya).--a name returned by some nattukottai chettis and vellalas. bhumi dhompthi.--the name, meaning earth marriage offering, of a sub-division of madigas, at whose marriages the offering of food is placed on the ground. bhumi razulu (kings of the earth).--a name assumed by some koyis. bhumia.--the bhumias are an oriya caste of hill cultivators, found in the jeypore zamindari. according to a tradition, they were the first to cultivate the land on the hills. in the central provinces they are said to be known as baigas, concerning whom captain ward writes [142] that "the decision of the baiga in a boundary dispute is almost always accepted as final, and, from this right as children of the soil and arbiters of the land belonging to each village, they are said to have derived their title of bhumia, the sanskrit bhumi meaning the earth." for the following note i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the bhumias have septs, e.g., bhag (tiger) and naga (cobra). a man can claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. the marriage ceremonial is much the same as among the bottadas. the jholla tonk (presents) consist of liquor, rice, a sheep or fowl, and cloths for the parents of the bride. a pandal (booth), made of poles of the sorghi tree, is erected in front of the bridegroom's house, and a desari officiates. the remarriage of widows is permitted and a younger brother usually marries his elder brother's widow. if a man divorces his wife, it is customary for him to give her a rupee and a new cloth in compensation. the dead are burned, and pollution lasts for nine days. on the tenth day a ceremonial bath is taken, and a feast, with copious supplies of liquor, is held. in parts of the central provinces the dead are buried, and two or three flat stones are set up over the grave. [143] bhuri.--a sub-division of gond. bijam (seed).--an exogamous sept of boya. bilpathri (bael: ægle marmelos).--an exogamous sept of boya. bindhani (workman).--a title of oriya badhoyis, and sometimes used as the name of the caste. bingi.--the bingivandlu are described, in the kurnool manual, as a class of mendicants, who play dramas. some of them have shrotiyam villages, as lingineni doddi in pattikonda. "shrotiyam" has been defined [144] as "lands, or a village, held at a favourable rate, properly an assignment of land or revenue to a brahman learned in the vedas, but latterly applied generally to similar assignments to native servants of the government, civil or military, and both hindus and muhammadans, as a reward for past services." bhutiannaya (ashes).--an exogamous sept of bant. bidaru (wanderers).--a sub-division of odde. bilimagga.--the bilimagga weavers of south canara, who speak a very corrupt form of tamil, must not be confused with the bilimaggas of mysore, whose mother-tongue is canarese. in some places the bilimaggas of south canara call themselves padma sales, but they have no connection with the padma sale caste. there is a tradition that they emigrated from pandiya maduradesa in the tamil country. the caste name bilimagga (white loom) is derived from the fact that they weave only white cloths. in some places, for the same reason, devangas call themselves bilimaggas, but the devangas also make coloured cloths. white cloths are required for certain gods and bhuthas (devils) on occasions of festivals, and these are usually obtained from bilimaggas. the bilimaggas follow the makkala santana law of inheritance (from father to son). they are said to have seven gotras, and those of the mangalore, kundapur, and udipi taluks, are stated to belong respectively to the 800, 700, and 500 nagaras. the caste deities are virabhadra, brahmalinga, and ammanoru. for the whole community, there is a chief headman called paththukku solra settigar, or the setti who advises the ten, and for every village there is an ordinary headman styled gurikara. the chief headman is usually the manager of some temple of the caste, and the gurikara has to collect the dues from the members of the community. every married couple has to pay an annual tax of twelve annas, and every unmarried male over twelve years of age of six annas towards the temple fund. marriage of girls before puberty is the rule, and any girl who attains maturity without being married runs the risk of losing her caste. the remarriage of widows is permitted. the betrothal ceremony is important as being binding as a contract. it consists in the father of the girl giving betel leaves and areca nuts in a tray to the father of her future husband, before a number of people. if the contract is dissolved before the marriage is celebrated, betel and nuts must be presented to the father of the girl, in the presence of an assembly, as a sign that the engagement is broken off. on the day previous to the marriage ceremonial, the fathers of the contracting couple exchange betel leaves and areca nuts three times. on the following morning, they proceed to the house of the bridegroom, the bride's father carrying a brass vessel containing water. from this vessel, water is poured into smaller vessels by an odd number of women (five or more). these women are usually selected by the wife of the headman. the pouring of the water must be carried out according to a recognised code of precedence, which varies with the locality. at udipi, for example, the order is mangalore, barkur, udipi. the women all pour water over the head of the bridegroom. the rite is called mariyathe niru (water for respect). the bridegroom is then decorated, and a bashingam (chaplet) is placed on his forehead. he sits in front of a brass vessel, called ganapathi (the elephant god), which is placed on a small quantity of rice spread on the floor, and worships it. he is then conducted to the marriage pandal (booth) by his sister's husband, followed by his sister carrying the brass vessel and a gindi (vessel with a spout), to which the bride's bashingam and the tali (marriage badge) are tied. a red cloth, intended for the bride, must also be carried by her. within the pandal, the bridegroom stands in front of a cot. the bride's party, and the men in attendance on the bridegroom, stand opposite each other with the bridegroom between them, and throw rice over each other. all are then seated, except the bridegroom, his sister, and the bride's brother. the bridegroom's father waves incense in front of the cot and brass vessel, and hands over the gindi, and other articles, to the bridegroom's sister, to be taken to the bride. lights and arathi water are waved before the bridegroom, and, while the bride's father holds his hands, her brother washes his feet. he then goes seven times round the cot, after he has worshipped it, and broken cocoanuts, varying in number according to the nagara to which he belongs--seven if he is a member of the seven hundred nagara, and so on. he next takes his seat on the cot, and is joined by the bride, who has had the bashingam put on her forehead, and the tali tied on her neck, by the bridegroom's sister. those assembled then call the maternal uncles of the bridal couple, and they approach the cot. the bridegroom's uncle gives the red cloth already referred to to the uncle of the bride. the bride retires within the house, followed by her maternal uncle, and sits cross-legged, holding her big toes with her hands. her uncle throws the red cloth over her head, and she covers her face with it. this is called devagiri udugare. the uncle then carries her to the pandal, and she sits on the left of the bridegroom. the gurikara asks the maternal uncle of the bridegroom to hand over the bride's money, amounting to twelve rupees or more. he then requests permission of the three nagara people, seven gotra people, and the relatives of the bride and bridegroom to proceed with the dhare ceremony. this being accorded, the maternal uncles unite the hands of the pair, and, after the cloth has been removed from the bride's face, the dhare water is poured over their hands, first by the bride's father, and then by the gurikara, who, while doing so, declares the union of the couple according to the observances of the three nagaras. those assembled throw rice on, and give presents to the bride and bridegroom. the presents are called moi, and the act of giving them moi baikradhu (tamil). some women wave arathi, and the pair go inside the house, and sit on a mat. some milk is given to the bridegroom by the bride's sister, and, after sipping a little of it, he gives it to the bride. they then return to the pandal, and sit on the cot. rice is thrown over their heads, and arathi waved in front of them. the bridegroom drops a ring into a tray, and turmeric-water is poured over it. the couple search for the ring. the wedding ceremonies are brought to a close by bathing in turmeric-water (vokli bath), after which the couple sit on the cot, and those assembled permit the handing over of the bride to the bridegroom's family (pennu oppuchchu kodukradhu). any number of marriages, except three or seven, may be carried on simultaneously beneath a single pandal. if there are more than a single bridal couple, the bashingam is worn only by the pair who are the elder, or held in most respect. sometimes, one couple is allowed to wear the bashingam, and another to have the dhare water first poured over them. the dead are cremated. the corpse is carried to the burning-ground on a bier, with a tender plantain leaf placed beneath it. fire is carried not by the son, but by some other near relative. the ashes are collected on the third day, and a mound (dhupe) is made therewith. daily until the final death ceremony, a tender cocoanut, and water in a vessel, are placed near it. in the final death ceremony (bojja), the bilimaggas closely follow the bants, except as regards the funeral car. to get rid of death pollution, a tulu madivali (washerman caste) gives cloths to, and sprinkles water over those under pollution. the caste title is setti or chetti. billai-kavu (cat-eaters).--said to be mala paidis, who eat cats. billava.--the billavas are the tulu-speaking toddy-drawers of the south canara district. it is noted, in the manual, that they are "the numerically largest caste in the district, and form close upon one-fifth of the total population. the derivation of the word billava, as commonly accepted in the district, is that it is a contraction of billinavaru, bowmen, and that the name was given as the men of that caste were formerly largely employed as bowmen by the ancient native rulers of the district. there is, however, no evidence whatever, direct or indirect, to show that the men of the toddy-drawing caste were in fact so employed. it is well known that, both before and after the christian era, there were invasions and occupations of the northern part of ceylon by the races then inhabiting southern india, and malabar tradition tells that some of these dravidians migrated from iram or ceylon northwards to travancore and other parts of the west coast of india, bringing with them the cocoanut or southern tree (tenginamara), and being known as tivars (islanders) or iravars, which names have since been altered to tiyars and ilavars. this derivation would also explain the name divaru or halepaik divaru borne by the same class of people in the northern part of the district, and in north canara. in manjarabad above the ghauts, which, with tuluva, was in olden days under the rule of the humcha family, known later as the bairasu wodears of karakal, they are called devaru makkalu, literally god's children, but more likely a corruption of tivaru makkalu, children of the islanders. in support of this tradition, mr. logan has pointed out [145] that, in the list of exports from malabar given in the periplus, in the first century a.d., no mention is made of the cocoanut. it was, however, mentioned by cosmos indico pleustes (522 to 547 a.d.), and from the syrian christians' copper-plate grants, early in the ninth century, it appears that the tiyans were at that time an organised guild of professional planters. although the cocoanut tree may have been introduced by descendants of immigrants from ceylon moving up the coast, the practice of planting and drawing toddy was no doubt taken up by the ordinary tulu cultivators, and, whatever the origin of the name billava may be, they are an essentially tulu class of people, following the prevailing rule that property vests in females, and devolves in the female line." it is worthy of note that the billavas differ from the tiyans in one very important physical character--the cranial type. for, as shown by the following table, whereas the tiyans are dolichocephalic the billavas are, like other tulu classes, sub-brachycephalic:- =============================================================== | cephalic index. |================================================= | average. | maximum. | minimum. | number of times | | | | exceeding 80. =============+==========+==========+==========+================ 40 tiyans | 73 | 78.7 | 68.5 | 1 50 billavas | 80 | 91.5 | 71 | 28 =============+==========+==========+==========+================ some billavas about udipi call themselves either billavaru or halepaikaru. but the halepaiks proper are toddy-drawers, who are found in the kundapur taluk, and speak kanarese. there are said to be certain differences between the two classes in the method of carrying out the process of drawing toddy. for example, the halepaiks generally grasp the knife with the fingers directed upwards and the thumb to the right, while the billavas hold the knife with the fingers directed downwards and the thumb to the left. a billava at udipi had a broad iron knife with a round hole at the base, by which it was attached to an iron hook fixed on to a rope worn round the loins. for crushing the flower-buds within the spathe of the palm, billavas generally use a stone, and the halepaiks a bone. there is a belief that, if the spathe is beaten with the bone of a buffalo which has been killed by a tiger, the yield of toddy will, if the bone has not touched the ground, be greater than if an ordinary bone is used. the billavas generally carry a long gourd, and the halepaiks a pot, for collecting the toddy in. baidya and pujari occur as caste names of the billavas, and also as a suffix to the name, e.g., saiyina baidya, bomma pujari. baidya is said to be a form of vaidya, meaning a physician. some billavas officiate as priests (pujaris) at bhutasthanas (devil shrines) and garidis. many of these pujaris are credited with the power of invoking the aid of bhutas, and curing disease. the following legend is narrated, to account for the use of the name baidya. a poor woman once lived at ullal with two sons. a sanyasi (religious ascetic), pitying their condition, took the sons as his sishyas, with a view to training them as magicians and doctors. after some time, the sanyasi went away from ullal for a short time, leaving the lads there with instructions that they should not be married until his return. in spite of his instructions, however, they married, and, on his return, he was very angry, and went away again, followed by his two disciples. on his journey, the sanyasi crossed the ferry near ullal on foot. this the disciples attempted to do, and were on the point of drowning when the sanyasi threw three handfuls of books on medicine and magic. taking these, the two disciples returned, and became learned in medicine and magic. they are supposed to be the ancestors of the billavas. the billavas, like the bants, have a number of exogamous septs (balis) running in the female line. there is a popular belief that these are sub-divisions of the twenty balis which ought to exist according to the aliya santana system (inheritance in the female line). the caste has a headman called gurikara, whose office is hereditary, and passes to the aliya (sister's son). affairs which affect the community as a whole are discussed at a meeting held at the bhutasthana or garidi. at the betrothal ceremony, the bride-price (sirdachi), varying from ten to twenty rupees, is fixed. a few days before the wedding, the maternal uncle of the bride, or the gurikara, ties a jewel on her neck, and a pandal (booth) is erected, and decorated by the caste barber (parel maddiyali) with cloths of different colours. if the bridegroom is an adult, the bride has to undergo a purificatory ceremony a day or two before the marriage (dhare) day. a few women, usually near relations of the girl, go to a tank (pond) or well near a bhutasthana or garidi, and bring water thence in earthenware pots. the water is poured over the head of the girl, and she bathes. on the wedding day, the bride and bridegroom are seated on two planks placed on the dais. the barber arranges the various articles, such as lights, rice, flowers, betel leaves and areca nuts, and a vessel filled with water, which are required for the ceremonial. he joins the hands of the contracting couple, and their parents, or the headman, place the nose-screw of the bridesmaid on their hands, and pour the dhare water over them. this is the binding part of the ceremony, which is called kai (hand) dhare. widow remarriage is called bidu dhare, and the pouring of water is omitted. the bride and bridegroom stand facing each other, and a cloth is stretched between them. the headman unites their hands beneath the screen. if a man has intercourse with a woman, and she becomes pregnant, he has to marry her according to the bidu dhare rite. before the marriage ceremony is performed, he has to grasp a plantain tree with his right hand, and the tree is then cut down. at the first menstrual period, a girl is under pollution for ten or twelve days. on the first day, she is seated within a square (muggu), and five or seven cocoanuts are tied together so as to form a seat. a new earthenware pot is placed at each corner of the square. four girls from the gurikara's house sit at the corners close to the pots. betel leaves, areca nuts, and turmeric paste are distributed among the assembled females, and the girls pour water from the pots over the head of the girl. again, on the eleventh or the thirteenth day, the girl sits within the square, and water is poured over her as before. she then bathes. the dead are usually cremated, though, in some cases, burial is resorted to. the corpse is washed and laid on a plantain leaf, and a new cloth is thrown over it. some paddy (unhusked rice) is heaped up near the head and feet, and cocoanut cups containing lighted wicks are placed thereon. all the relations and friends assembled at the house dip leafy twigs of the tulsi (ocimum sanctum) in water, and allow it to drop into the mouth of the corpse. the body is carried on a plank to the burning-ground. the collection of wood for the pyre, or the digging of the grave, is the duty of holeyas. the wood of strychnos nux-vomica should never be used for the pyre. this is lighted by placing fire at the two ends thereof. when the flames meet in the middle, the plantain leaf, paddy, etc., which have been brought from the house, are thrown into them. on the fifth day, the ashes are collected, and buried on the spot. if the body has been buried, a straw figure is made, and burnt over the grave, and the ashes are buried there. a small conical mound, called dhupe, is made there, and a tulsi plant stuck in it. by the side of the plant a tender cocoanut with its eyes opened, tobacco leaf, betel leaves and areca nuts are placed. on the thirteenth day, the final death ceremonies, or bojja, are performed. on the evening of the previous day, four poles, for the construction of the upparige or gudikattu (car), are planted round the dhupe. at the house, on or near the spot where the deceased breathed his last, a small bamboo car, in three tiers, is constructed, and decorated with coloured cloths. this car is called nirneralu. a lamp is suspended from the car, and a cot placed on the ground beneath it, and the jewels and clothes of the dead person are laid thereon. on the following morning, the upparige is constructed, with the assistance of the caste barber. a small vessel, filled with water, is placed within the nirneralu. the sons-in-law of the deceased receive a present of new cloths, and, after bathing, they approach the nirneralu. the chief mourner takes the vessel from within it, and pours the water at the foot of a cocoanut tree. the chief gurikara pours some water into the empty vessel, and the chief mourner places it within the nirneralu. then seven women measure out some rice three times, and pour the rice into a tray held by three women. the rice is taken to a well, and washed, and then brought back to the car. jaggery (crude sugar) and cocoanut scrapings are mixed with the rice, which is placed in a cup by seven women. the cup is deposited within the car on the cot. the wife or husband of the deceased throws a small quantity of rice into the cup. she turns the cup, and a ladle placed by its side, upside down, and covers them with a plantain leaf. the various articles are collected, and tied up in a bundle, which is placed in a palanquin, and carried in procession, by two men to the upparige, which has been constructed over the dhupe. nalkes and paravas (devil-dancers), dressed up as bhutas, may follow the procession. those present go thrice round the upparige, and the chief mourner unties the bundle, and place its contents on the car. the near relations put rice, and sometimes vegetables, pumpkins, and plantains, on the plantain leaf. all present then leave the spot, and the barber removes the cloths from the car, and pulls it down. sometimes, if the dead person has been an important member of the community, a small car is constructed, and taken in procession round the upparige. on the fourteenth day, food is offered to crows, and the death ceremonies are at an end. if a death occurs on an inauspicious day, a ceremony called kale deppuni (driving away the ghost) is performed. ashes are spread on the floor of the house, and the door is closed. after some time, or on the following day, the roof of the house is sprinkled with turmeric water, and beaten with twigs of zizyphus oenoplia. the door is then opened, and the ashes are examined, to see if the marks of the cloven feet of the ghost are left thereon. if the marks are clear, it is a sign that the ghost has departed; otherwise a magician is called in to drive it out. a correspondent naively remarks that, when he has examined the marks, they were those of the family cat. in some cases, girls who have died unmarried are supposed to haunt the house, and bring trouble thereto, and they must be propitiated by marriage. the girl's relations go in search of a dead boy, and take from the house where he is a quarter of an anna, which is tied up between two spoons. the spoons are tied to the roof of the girl's house. this represents the betrothal ceremony. a day is fixed for the marriage, and, on the appointed day, two figures, representing the bride and bridegroom, are drawn on the floor, with the hands lying one on the other. a quarter-anna, black beads, bangles, and a nose-screw, are placed on the hands, and water is poured on them. this is symbolical of the dhare ceremony, and completes the marriage. the pujaris of all the bhuthasthanas and garidis are billavas. the bhutha temples called garidis belong to the billavas, and the bhuthas are the baiderukulu (koti and chennayya), brimmeru (or brahmeru) gunda, okka ballala, kujumba ganja, and devanajiri. the baiderkulu are believed to be fellow castemen of the billavas, and koti and chennayya to be descended from an excommunicated brahman girl and a billava. the legend of koti and chennayya is recorded at length by mr. a. c. burnell in the indian antiquary. [146] the bhuthas are represented by idols. brimmeru is the most important, and the others are subordinate to him. he is represented by a plate of silver or other metal, bearing the figure of a human being, which is kept within a car-like stone structure within the shrine. on its left are two human figures made of clay or stone, which represent the baiderukulu. on the right are a man on horseback, and another figure, representing okka ballala and kujumba ganja. other idols are also set up at the garidi, but outside the main room. they seem to vary in different localities, and represent bhuthas such as jumadi, pancha jumadi, hosabhutha, kallurti, etc. brimmeru has been transformed, by brahman ingenuity, into brahma, and all the bhuthas are converted into gonas, or attendants on siva. in the pardhanas (devil songs) brimmeru is represented as the principal bhutha, and the other bhuthas are supposed to visit his sthana. a bhuthasthana never contains idols, but cots are usually found therein. a sthana may be dedicated to a single bhutha, or to several bhuthas, and the number may be ascertained by counting the number of cots, of which each is set apart for a single bhutha. if the sthana is dedicated to more than one bhutha, the bhuthas are generally kodamanithaya, kukkinathaya, and daiva. all the arrangements for the periodical kola, or festival of the bhuthasthana, are made by the pujari. during the festival, he frequently becomes possessed. only such billavas as are liable to be possessed are recognised as pujaris. as a sign of their office, they wear a gold bangle on the right wrist. further details in connection with bhutha worship will be found in the articles on bants, nalkes, and paravas. bilva (jackal).--an exogamous sept of kondra. bindhollu (brass water-pot).--an exogamous sept of jogi. binu (roll of woollen thread).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. bissoyi.--the parlakimedi maliahs are, i am informed, divided up into muttahs, and each muttah contains many villages, all ruled over by a bissoyi, a sort of feudal chief, who is responsible for keeping them in order. concerning the bissoyis, mr. s. p. rice writes [147] that in the maliahs "are a number of forts, in which the bissoyis, or hill chieftains, reside. each of them holds a small court of his own; each has his armed retainers, and his executive staff. they were set to rule over the hill tracts, to curb the lawlessness of the aboriginal tribes of the mountains, the khonds and the savaras. they were, in fact, lords of the marches, and were in a measure independent, but they appear to have been under the suzerainty of the raja of kimedi, and they were also generally responsible to government. such men were valuable friends and dangerous enemies. their influence among their own men was complete; their knowledge of their own country was perfect. it was they, and they only, who could thread their way through the tangled and well-nigh impenetrable jungle by foot-paths known only to themselves. hence, when they became enemies, they could entrench themselves in positions which were almost impenetrable. now a road leads to every fort; the jungles have disappeared; the bissoyis still have armed retainers, and still keep a measure of respect; but their sting is gone, and the officer of government goes round every year on the peaceful, if prosaic occupation of examining schools and inspecting vaccination." the story of the parlakimedi rebellion, "a forgotten rebellion" as he calls it, in the last century, and the share which the bissoyis took in it, is graphically told by mr. rice. at times of census, bissoyi has been returned as a title of doluva, kalingi, kurumo, and sondi. biswalo.--a title of various oriya castes. bochchu (hairs).--an exogamous sept of odde. boda.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small cultivating class in ganjam. boda is the name of a sub-division of the gadabas, who use the fibre of boda luvada (ficus glomerata) in the manufacture of their female garments. boda dasari (bald-headed mendicant).--an exogamous sept of jogi. boddu (navel).--an exogamous sept, or sub-division of idigas and asilis. it is recorded in the gazetteer of the bellary district, that "in the middle of the threshold of nearly all the gateways of the ruined fortifications round the bellary villages will be noticed a roughly cylindrical or conical stone, something like a lingam. this is the boddu-rayi, literally the navel stone, and so the middle stone. once a year, in may, just before the sowing season begins, a ceremony takes place in connection with it." (see bariki.) bodo (big).--a sub-division of bottada, mali, omanaito, pentia, and other castes. bodo nayak is a title among the gadabas, and bodo odiya occurs as a sub-division of sondi. bogam.--see deva-dasi and sani. bogara.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as "canarese brass and copper-smiths: a sub-division of panchala." from a note on the jains of the bellary district [148] i gather that "there is a class of people called bogaras in the harpanahalli taluk, and in the town of harpanahalli itself, side by side with the jains. they are a thriving class, and trade in brass and copper wares. the bogaras practice the jaina religion, have the same gotras, freely worship in jain temples, and are accepted into jaina society. evidently they are a sub-division of the jains, though now excluded from inter-marriage." it is said that "arrangements are now being made (through the jaina bhattacharya at kolhapur) to enable bogaras to intermarry with the jains." bogarlu.--occurs as the name of a class of agricultural labourers in the vizagapatam agency, who are probably workers in metal who have taken to agriculture. boggula (charcoal).--an exogamous sept of boya and devanga. bohora.--the bohoras or boras are "musalman converts from the bombay side. they are traders. in madras they have their own high priest and their own mosque (in georgetown). it is said that, when one of them dies, the high priest writes a note to the archangels michael, israel and gabriel, asking them to take care of him in paradise, and that the note is placed in the coffin." [149] they consider themselves as a superior class, and, if a member of another section enters their mosque, they clean the spot occupied by him during his prayers. they take part in certain hindu festivals, e.g., dipavali, or feast of lights, at which crackers are let off. boidyo.--recorded under the name boyidyo, in the madras census report, 1901, as "literally a physician: a sub-caste of pandito." there is said to be no difference between panditos and boidyos. in ganjam they are known by the former, elsewhere by the latter name. boipari.--a synonym of lambadi. (see bepari.) boishnobo.--the boishnobos have been defined as a class of oriya religious mendicants and priests to sudras. the name means worshippers of bishnu or vishnu. most of them are followers of chaitanya, the great bengali reformer. boksha.--boksha or boksham (treasury) is the name of a sub-division of gollas, indicating their employment as treasury servants in guarding and carrying treasure. in some places, those who are employed in packing and lifting bags of money in district treasuries are still called gollas, though they may belong to some other caste. in the census report, 1901, bokkisha vadugar (treasury northerner) was returned as a tamil synonym for golla. bolasi.--the bolasis are a caste of oriya cultivators, who are largely found in the gumsur taluk of ganjam. many of them serve as paiks or peons. the original name of the caste is said to have been thadia, which has been changed in favour of bolasi (bayalisi, forty-two) in reference to the caste being one of the recognized forty-two oriya sudra castes. it is also suggested that the name is derived from bola (anklets), as the women wear heavy brass anklets. their ceremonial rites connected with marriage, death, etc., are similar to those of the doluvas, gaudos, badhoyis, and other castes. marriage is infant, and, if a girl does not secure a husband before she reaches maturity, she goes through a form of marriage with an arrow or a grinding stone. the bolasis are vaishnavites, and observe the paramartho or chaitanya form thereof. the caste titles are podhano, nayako, daso, mahanti, patro, sahu, jenna, and konhoro. gudiyas who are engaged in agriculture are sometimes known as bolasi gudiyas. bolodia.--the name of a section of tellis, who use pack-bullocks (bolodo, an ox) for carrying grain about the country. some gaudos, at times of census, have also returned bolodia as their sub-division. bombadai (a fish).--a gotra of medara. the equivalent bomidi occurs as an exogamous sept of mala. members of the vamma gotra of the janappans abstain from eating this fish, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in a marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water collected in the pot. bomma (a doll).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. the equivalent bommala occurs as an exogamous sept of mala. the bommalatavallu are said [150] to exhibit shows in the vizagapatam district. bommali.--a sub-division of the koronos of ganjam. bonda.--a sub-division of poroja. bondia.--a small class, inhabiting ganjam. the name is said to be derived from bondono, meaning praise, as the bondias are those who praise and flatter rajas. bondili.--in the madras census report, 1891, the bondilis are "said to derive their name from bundelkund. they claim to be rajputs, but appear to have degenerated. the sivaites of this sect are said to bury their dead, while the vishnavaites burn. in the kadri taluk of cuddapah all are said to bury. the custom in this respect appears to differ in different localities. besides siva and vishnu worship, three of the eight authorities who give particulars of this section agree that they worship village deities as well. all state that remarriage of widows is not permitted. they are generally cultivators, peons, or the body-guards of zemindars." the bondilis of the north arcot district are described by mr. h. a. stuart [151] as being "foreigners from bundelkund, from which fact their name originates, and of various vaisya and sudra castes; the former having the termination lala to their names, and the latter that of ram. many of the sudra bondilis, however, improperly take the title singh, and say they are kshatriyas, that is, rajputs. the vaisya bondilis are few in number, and only found in vellore, chittoor and arni, where they are usually money-lenders. the sudras are mostly sepoys, constables, or revenue peons. some say that they are not even sudras, but the descendants of rajputs by women of the country, and probably many of them are such. all are very particular with respect to eating with an other professed bondili, and refuse to do so unless they are quite certain that he is of their class. in their marriage customs they resemble the rajputs." i am informed that one section of the bondilis is named toli, in reference to their being workers in leather. there is, at venkatagiri, a street called toli mitta, or toli quarters, and, in former days, the inhabitants thereof were not allowed to enter the temples. in the census report, 1901, guvalo, or traders from sambalpur, is returned as a sub-caste of bondili. boniya.--the oriya name for baniya (trader). boniya korono appears [152] as the name for traders and shopkeepers in ganjam. bonka.--recorded, in the vizagapatam manual, as cultivators in the jeypore hills, and, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small oriya caste of hill cultivators, which has three sub-divisions, bonka, pata bonka, and goru bonka. bonthuk.--the bonthuks or bonthuk savaras are scattered about the kistna and guntur districts, and lead a nomad life, carrying their small dwelling-huts with them as they shift from place to place. they are called bonthuk savaras to distinguish them from the pothra (stone) savaras, who dwell further north. by telugu people they are called chenchu or bontha chenchu, though they have no connection with the chenchus who inhabit the hills in kurnool, and other parts of the telugu country. the bonthuks, however, like the chenchus, claim ahobila narasimha as their tribal deity. the bonthuks speak the oriya language, and they have a mongoloid type of features, such as are possessed by the savaras of ganjam and vizagapatam. their house-names, or intiperalu, however are telugu. these constitute exogamous septs, and seem to be as follows:--pasupuretti, simhadri (the god at simhachalam near vizagapatam), koneti, dasapatri, gedala (buffaloes), kudumala (cakes), akula (leaves), sunkara, and tota (garden). at marriages, individuals of the pasupuretti sept officiate as priests, and members of the koneti sept as drummers and musicians. men belonging to the gedalu sept are considered as equivalent to shepherds. the bonthuks have a very interesting way of naming their children. if a child is born when an official or person of some distinction happens to be near their encampment, it is named after him. thus such names as collector, tahsildar, kolnol (colonel), governor, innes, superintendent, and acharlu (after one sukracharlu) are met with. sometimes children are named after a town or village, either because they were born there, or in the performance of a vow to some place of pilgrimage. in this way, such names as hyderabad, channapatam (madras), bandar (masulipatam), nellore, and tirupati arise. a boy was named tuyya (parrot), because a parrot was brought into the settlement at the time of his birth. another child was called beni because, at its birth, a bamboo flute (beni) was played. every settlement is said to have a headman, called bichadi, who, in consultation with several elders of the tribe, settles disputes and various affairs affecting the community. if an individual has been fined, and does not accept the punishment, he may appeal to another bichadi, who may enhance the fine. sometimes those who do not agree to abide by the decision of the bichadi have to undergo a trial by ordeal, by taking out an areca nut from a pot of boiling cowdung water. the dimensions of the pot, in height and breadth, should not exceed the span of the hand, and the height of the cowdung water in the pot should be that of the middle finger from the base to the tip. if, in removing the nut from the pot, the hand is injured, the guilt of the individual is proved. before the trial by ordeal, a sum of ten rupees is deposited by both complainant and accused with the bichadi, and the person under trial may not live in his dwelling-hut. he lives in a grove or in the forest, watched by two members of the pasupuretti sept. the bonthuks are engaged in collecting bamboos, and selling them after straightening them by heating them in the fire. before the bamboos are placed in carts, for conveyance to the settlement, a goat and fowls are sacrificed to satyamma, dodlamma, muthyalamma, and pothuraju, who are represented by stones. girls are married before puberty, and, if a girl happens to be mated only after she has reached maturity, there is no marriage ceremonial. the marriage rites last over five days, on the first of which a brass vessel, with a thread tied round its neck, and containing turmeric water and the oyila tokka or tonko (bride's money), is carried in procession to the bride's hut on the head of a married girl belonging to a sept other than those of the contracting couple. she has on her head a hood decorated with little bells, and the vessel is supported on a cloth pad. when the hut is reached, the bride's money is handed over to the bichadi, and the turmeric water is poured on the ground. the bride's money is divided between her parents and maternal uncle, the bichadi, and the caste men. a pig is purchased, and carried by two men on a pole to the scene of the marriage. the caste people, and the married girl carrying a brass vessel, go round the animal, to the accompaniment of music. the girl, as she goes round, pours water from the vessel on the ground. a thread is tied round the neck of the pig, which is taken to the bridegroom's hut, and cut up into two portions, for the parties of the bridegroom and bride, of which the former is cooked and eaten on the same day. at the homes of the bride and bridegroom, a pandal (booth) and dais are erected. the materials for the former are brought by seven women, and for the latter by nine men. the pandal is usually decorated with mango and eugenia arnoltiana leaves. after supper, some relations of the contracting couple go to an open space, where the bichadi, who has by him two pots and two bashingams (chaplets) of arka (calotropis gigantea) flowers, is seated with a few men. the fathers of the bride and bridegroom ask the bichadi to give them the bashingams, and this he does after receiving an assurance that the wedding will not be attended by quarrelling. the bride and bridegroom take their seats on the dais at the home of the latter, and the officiating priest ties the bashingams on their foreheads. nine men and seven women stand near the dais, and a thread is passed round them seven times. this thread is cut up by the priest, and used for the kankanams (wrist threads) of the bride and bridegroom. these are removed, at the close of the marriage festivities, on the fifth day. when a girl attains maturity, she is under pollution for nine days, at the conclusion of which the bichadi receives a small present of money from her parents. her husband, and his agnates (people of his sept) also have to observe pollution, and, on the ninth day, the cooking pots which they have used are thrown away, and they proceed to the bichadi, to whom they make a present of money, as they have probably broken the tribal rule that smoking is forbidden when under pollution. on the ninth day, the girl and her husband throw water over each other, and the marriage is consummated. the dead are usually buried, lying on the left side. on the second day, food is offered to crows and brahmani kites. on the eleventh day, a mat is spread on the floor of the hut, and covered with a clean sheet, on which balls of food are placed. the dead person is invoked by name, as the various people deposit the food offering. the food is finally put into a winnowing basket, and taken to the bank of a tank (pond). a small hut is made there, and the food is placed therein on two leaves, one of which represents the yama dutas (servants of the god of death), the other the deceased. boori (cake).--an exogamous sept of mala. bosantiya.--the bosantiyas are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as "oriya cultivators found in the northern taluks of ganjam. they are said by some to have been originally dyers." i am informed that the caste name has reference to the fact that the occupation thereof was the collection of the fruits of mallotus philippinensis, and trade in the dye (bosonto gundi) obtained therefrom. the dye, commonly known as kamela, or kamala, is the powdery substance obtained as a glandular pubescence from the exterior of the fruits. the following note on the dye was published in the indian forester, 1892. "among the many rich natural products of ganjam, probably the most esteemed in commerce is the red kamela dye, the valuable product of the mallotus philippinensis. this tree, with its lovely scarlet berries and vivid emerald green foliage, is a marked feature of forest scenery in ganjam. the berries are coated with a beautiful red powder, which constitutes the dye. this powder is collected by being brushed off into baskets made for the purpose, but the method of collection is reckless and wasteful in the extreme, the trees being often felled in order to reach the berries more easily. the industry is a monopoly of the hill khonds, who, however, turn it to little advantage. they are ignorant of the great commercial value of the dye, and part with the powder to the low-country dealers settled among them for a few measures of rice or a yard or two of cloth. the industry is capable of great development, and a large fortune awaits the firm or individual with sufficient enterprise to enter into rivalry with the low-country native dealers settled among the khonds, who at present enjoy a monopoly of the trade. it is notorious that these men are accumulating vast profits in respect of this dye. the tree is cultivated largely by the khonds in their forest villages." the bosantiyas seem to have no sub-divisions, but exogamous gotras, e.g., nagasira (cobra) and kochimo (tortoise) exist among them. socially they are on a par with the bhondaris, and above pachchilia gaudos and samantiyas. they have a headman called bissoyi, who is assisted by a bhollobaya, and they have further a caste messenger called jati naiko. the caste titles are bissoyi and nahako. most of the bosantiyas are saivites, but a few follow the paramartho form of vaishnavism. they also worship various takuranis (village deities), such as kotaru and chondi. in the vizagapatam manual (1869), bosuntea is described as a caste of paiks or fighting men in the vizagapatam district (jeypore). bottada.--the bottadas are, mr. h. a. stuart writes, [153] "a class of uriya cultivators and labourers, speaking muria or lucia, otherwise known as basturia, a dialect of uriya. mr. taylor says the caste is the same as muria, which is shown separately in the tables, and in mr. h. g. turner's notes in the census report of 1871. but, whether identical or distinct, it seems clear that both are sub-divisions of the great gond tribe." for the following note, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. there is a current tradition that the caste originally dwelt at barthagada, and emigrated to vizagapatam long ago. it is vaguely mentioned that barthagada was situated towards and beyond bastar, near which place there are still to be found people of this caste, with whom those living in the vizagapatam agency intermarry. the caste is divided into three endogamous divisions, viz.:- (1) bodo, or genuine bottadas; (2) madhya, descendants of bottada men and non-bottada women; (3) sanno, descendants of madhya men and non-madhya women. the bodos will not interdine with the other two sections, but males of these will eat with bodos. the following notes refer to the bodo section, in which various exogamous septs, or bamsa, exist, of which the following are examples:- kochchimo, tortoise. kukkuro, dog. bhag, tiger. makado, monkey. goyi, lizard (varanus). cheli, goat. nag, cobra. girls are married either before or after puberty. a man can claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. when a marriage is under contemplation, the prospective bridegroom's parents take maddho (liquor) and chada (beaten rice) to the girl's house, where they are accepted or refused, according as her parents agree to, or disapprove of the match. after a stated period, further presents of liquor, rice, black gram, dhal, salt, chillies, and jaggery (crude sugar) are brought, and betel leaves and areca nuts given in exchange. two days later the girl's parents pay a return visit to those of the young man. after another interval, the marriage takes place. nine days before its celebration, paddy (unhusked rice) and rs. 2 are taken to the bride's house as jholla tonka, and a feast is held. at the bridegroom's house, a pandal, made of nine sorghi or sal (shorca robusta) posts, is erected, with a pot of turmeric water tied to the central post. the bride is conducted thither. at the marriage rites the desari officiates. the ends of the cloths of the contracting couple are tied together, and their little fingers are linked together, while they go, with pieces of turmeric and rice in their hands, seven times round the pandal. the sacred fire, or homam, is raised, and into it seven or nine different kinds of wood, ghi (clarified butter), milk, rice and jaggery are thrown. turmeric-rice dots are put on the foreheads of the bride and bridegroom by the desari, parents, and relations. they are anointed with castor-oil, and bathed with the water contained in the pot tied to the post. new cloths are presented to them, and a caste feast is held. widow remarriage is permitted, and a younger brother often marries the widow of his elder brother. if, however, she marries any one else, her new husband has to pay rand tonka, consisting of liquor, a sheep or goat, and rice, as a fine to the caste, or he may compound for payment of five rupees. divorce is permitted, and, if a man divorces his wife, he usually gives her some paddy, a new cloth, and a rupee. if the woman divorces herself from her husband, and contracts an alliance with another man, the latter has to pay a fine of twenty rupees to the first husband, a portion of which is spent on a feast, at which the two husbands and the woman are present. the dead are burned, and death pollution is observed for ten days, during which no agricultural work is done, and no food is cooked in the bamsa of the deceased, which is fed by some related bamsa. on the day following cremation, a new pot with water, and some sand are carried to the spot where the corpse was burnt. a bed of sand is made, in which a banyan (ficus bengalensis) or pipal (ficus religiosa) is planted. a hole is made in the pot, and the plant watered. on the tenth day, on which a bath is taken, some fried rice and a new pot are carried to the burning-ground, and left there. the bottadas have the reputation of being the best cultivators in the jeypore agency, and they take a high position in social rank. many of them wear the sacred thread, at the time of marriage and subsequently, and it is said that the right to wear it was acquired by purchase from former rajas of jeypore. bottu kattoru (those who tie the bottu).--a sub-division of kappiliyans, who are canarese cultivators settled in the tamil district of madura. the bottu (marriage badge) is the equivalent of the tamil tali. bovi.--the name of the palanquin-bearing section of the mogers of south canara. some besthas from mysore, who have settled in this district, are also called bovi, which is a form of boyi (bearer). boya (see bedar).--boya has also been recorded [154] as a sub-division of mala, a name for ekari. boyan.--a title of odde. boyi (see bestha).--it is also the title of one of the chief men among the savaras. brahman.--the brahmans of southern india are divided into a number of sections, differing in language, manners and customs. as regards their origin, the current belief is that they sprang from the mouth of brahma. in support thereof, the following verse from the purusha suktha (hymn of the primæval male) of the rig veda is quoted:--from the face of prajapathi (viratpurusha) came the brahmans; from the arms arose the kshatriyas; from the thighs sprang the vaisyas; and from the feet the sudras. mention of the fourfold division of the hindu castes is also made in other vedas, and in ithihasas and puranas. the brahmans fall into three groups, following the three vedas or sakas, rig, yajus, and samam. this threefold division is, however, recognised only for ceremonial purposes. for marriage and social purposes, the divisions based on language and locality are practically more operative. in the matter of the more important religious rites, the brahmans of southern india, as elsewhere, closely follow their own vedas. every brahman belongs to one or other of the numerous gotras mentioned in pravara and gotra kandams. all the religious rites are performed according to the grihya sutras (ritual books) pertaining to their saka or veda. of these, there are eight kinds now in vogue, viz.:- 1. asvalayana sutra of the rig veda. 2. apasthamba | 3. bharadwaja | 4. bhodayana | sutras of the black yajus. 5. sathyashada | 6. vaikkanasa | 7. kathyayana sutra of the white yajus. 8. drahyayana sutra of sama veda. all brahmans claim descent from one or more of the following seven rishis:--atri, bhrigu, kutsa, vashista, gautama, kasyapa, angiras. according to some, the rishis are agasthya, angiras, atri, bhrigu, kasyapa, vashista, and gautama. under these rishis are included eighteen ganams, and under each ganam there are a number of gotras, amounting in all to about 230. every brahman is expected to salute his superiors by repeating the abhivadhanam (salutation) which contains his lineage. as an example, the following may be given:--"i, krishna by name, of srivathsa gotra, with the pravara (lineage) of the five rishis, bhargava, chyavana, apnuvana, aruva, and jamadagni, following the apasthamba sutra of the yajus saka, am now saluting you." daily, at the close of the sandhya prayers, this abhivadhanam formula should be repeated by every brahman. taking the brahmans as a whole, it is customary to group them in two main divisions, the pancha dravidas and pancha gaudas. the pancha dravidas are pure vegetarians, whereas the pancha gaudas need not abstain from meat and fish, though some, who live amidst the pancha dravidas, do so. other differences will be noted in connection with oriya brahmans, who belong to the pancha gauda section. in south india, all brahmans, except those who speak the oriya and konkani languages, are pancha dravidas, who are divided into five sections, viz.:- 1. tamil, or dravida proper. 2. telugu or andhra. 3. canarese, or carnataka. 4. marathi or desastha. 5. guzarati. the tulu-speaking shivalli brahmans are included among the carnatakas; the pattar and nambutiri brahmans (see nambutiri) among the dravidas proper. from a religious point of view, the brahmans are either saivites or vaishnavites. the saivites are either saivites proper, or smarthas. the smarthas believe that the soul of man is only a portion of the infinite spirit (atman), and that it is capable of becoming absorbed into the atman. they recognise the trimurtis, brahma, vishnu, and siva as separate gods, but only as equal manifestations of the supreme spirit, and that, in the end, these are to be absorbed into the infinite spirit, and so disappear. saivas, on the other hand, do not recognise the trimurtis, and believe only in one god, siva, who is self-existent, and not liable to lose his personality. of vaishnavites there are three kinds, viz., those who are the followers of chaitanya, ramanuja, and madhvacharya. like the smarthas, the vaishnavites recognise brahma, vishnu, and siva, but vishnu is supposed to be the chief god, to whom the others are subordinate. "vaishnavas," monier williams writes, [155] "are believers in the one personal god vishnu, not only as the preserver, but as above every other god, including siva. it should be noted, too, that both saivites and vaishnavas agree in attributing an essential form of qualities to the supreme being. their one god, in fact, exists in an eternal body, which is antecedent to his earthly incarnations, and survives all such incarnations." he adds that "it cannot be doubted that one great conservative element of hinduism is the many sidedness of vaishnavism. for vaishnavism is, like buddhism, the most tolerant of systems. it is always ready to accommodate itself to other creeds, and delights in appropriating to itself the religious idea of all the nations of the world. it admits of every form of internal development. it has no organised hierarchy under one supreme head, but it may have any number of separate associations under separate leaders, who are ever banding themselves together for the extension of spiritual supremacy over ever increasing masses of population." the oriya brahmans, who follow the creed of chaitanya, are called paramarthos, and are confined to the ganjam district. there is no objection to intermarriage between smartha and paramartho oriya brahmans. sri vaishnavas (who put on the namam as a sectarian mark) and madhvas are exclusive as regards intermarriage, but the madhvas have no objection to taking meals with, and at the houses of smarthas, whereas sri vaishnavas object to doing so. according to the sutras, a brahman has to go through the following samskaras (rites):- 1. garbhadana. 6. annaprasanam 2. pumsavanam. 7. chaulam. 3. simantam. 8. upanayanam 4. jatakarmam. 9. vivaham. 5. namakaranam. these rites are supposed to purify the body and spirit from the taint transmitted through the womb of the mother, but all of them are not at the present day performed at the proper time, and in regular order. the garbhadhana, or impregnation ceremony, should, according to the grihya sutras, be performed on the fourth day of the marriage ceremonies. but, as the bride is a young girl, it is omitted, or vedic texts are repeated. the garbhadhana ceremony is performed, after the girl has attained puberty. at the time of consummation or ritu santhi, the following verse is repeated:--"let all pervading vishnu prepare her womb; let the creator shape its forms; let prajapathi be the impregnator; let the creator give the embryo." pumsavanam and simantam are two ceremonies, which are performed together during the seventh or ninth month of the first pregnancy, though, according to the grihya sutras, the former should be performed in the third month. at the pumsavanam, or male producing ceremony, the pregnant woman fasts, and her husband squeezes into her right nostril a little juice from the fruit and twig of the alam tree (ficus bengalensis), saying "thou art a male child." the twig selected should be one pointing, east or north; with two fruits looking like testicles. the twig is placed on a grinding-stone, and a girl, who has not attained puberty, is asked to pound it. the pulp is wrapped in a new silk cloth, and squeezed to express the juice. on the conclusion of the pumsavanam, the simantam, or parting the pregnant woman's hair, is gone through. after oblations in the sacred fire (homam), the woman's husband takes a porcupine quill, to which three blades of dharbha grass, and a twig with fruits of the aththi tree (ficus glomerata) are attached, and passes it over the woman's head from before backwards, parting the hair. the jatakarmam, namakaranam, annaprasanam, and chaulam rites are ordinarily celebrated, one after the other, on the upanayanam day. jatakarmam consists in smearing some ghi (clarified butter) and honey on the tongue of the baby, and repeating the following verses from the rig veda:--"oh! long lived one, mayst thou live a hundred years in this world, protected by the gods. become firm as a rock, firm as an axe, pure as gold. thou art the veda called a son; live thou a hundred years. may indra bestow on thee his best treasures. may savitri, may sarasvati, may the asvins grant thee wisdom." at the namakaranam, or naming ceremony, the parents of the child pronounce its name close to its ear, and repeat the vedic prayer to indra and agni "may indra give you lustre, and indra semen, wisdom, and children." the annaprasanam, or food-giving ceremony, should be performed during the sixth month after birth. a little solid food is put into the child's mouth, and the following vedic verses are repeated:--"agni who lives on plants, soma who lives on soma juice, brahmans who live on the vedas, and devatas who live on amartam (ambrosia), may they bless you. as the earth gives food to plants and water, so i give you this food. may these waters and plants give you prosperity and health." at the chaulam, or tonsure ceremony, the child is seated in his mother's lap. the father, taking a few blades of dharbha grass in his hand, sprinkles water over the child's head. seven times he inserts blades of dharbha in the hair of the head (three blades each time), saying "oh! divine grass, protect him." he then cuts off the tips of the blades, and throws them away. the father is expected, according to the grihya sutras, to shave or cut the child's hair. at the present day, however, the barber is called in, and shaves the head, leaving one lock or more according to local custom. the upanayana, or leading a boy to his guru or spiritual teacher, is essentially a ceremony of initiation. from an orthodox point of view, this ceremony should be performed before the age of eight years, but in practice it is deferred even up to the age of seventeen. it usually commences with the arrangement of seed-pans containing nine kinds of grain, and tying a thread or pratisaram on the boy's wrist. after this, the abyudayam, or invocation of ancestors, is gone through. the boy sits in front of the sacred fire, and his father, or some other person, sits by his side, to help him in the ceremonial and act the part of guru. he places over the boy's head blades of dharbha grass so that the tips are towards the east, south, west, and north. the tips are cut off, and the following vedic verses are repeated:--"please permit me to shave the head of this boy with the knife used by the sun for shaving soma. he is to be shaved, because it will bring him long life and old age. may the boy become great, and not die a premature death. may he outshine all in glory." the boy is then shaved by a barber, and more vedic verses are repeated, which run as follows:--"you are shaving with a sharp razor, so that this shaving may enable him to live long. brihaspathi, surya, and agni shaved the hair of the head of varuna, and placed the hairs in the middle regions of the sky, earth, and in swarga. i shall place the hairs removed by me at the foot of the audambara tree (ficus glomerata), or in the clumps of dharbha grass." the boy then bathes, and comes near the sacred fire. after ghi has been poured thereon, a bundle of palasa (butea frondosa) sticks is given to him, and he puts it on the fire after repeating certain vedic riks. a grinding-stone is placed on one side of the fire, and the boy treads on it, while the following verse is repeated:--"tread on this stone, and may you be as firm as it is. may you subdue thy enemies." a new cloth is given to him, which he puts on. the following verses are then repeated:--"oh! cloth, revathi and others have spun, woven, spread out, and put skirts on both sides of you. may these goddesses clothe the boy with long life. blessed with life, put on this cloth. dress the boy with this cloth. by wearing it, let him attain a hundred years of age. may his life be extended. such a garment as this was given to soma by brihaspathi to wear. mayst thou reach old age. put on this cloth. be a protector to all people. may you live a hundred years with full vigour. may you have plenty of wealth." after the boy has put on the cloth, the following is repeated:--"you have put on this cloth for the sake of blessing. you have become the protector of your friends. live a hundred years. a noble man, blessed with life, mayst thou obtain wealth." a girdle (minji) spun from grass is wound thrice round the boy's body, and tied with a knot opposite the navel, or to the left of it. the following verses are repeated:--"this blessed girdle, the friend of the gods, has come to us to remove our sins, to purify and protect us, bring strength to us by the power of exhalation and inhalation. protect, oh! girdle, our wealth and meditation. destroy our enemies, and guard us on all the four sides." a small piece of deer-skin is next tied on to the sacred thread, which has been put on the boy soon after the shaving rite. the following verses are repeated:--"oh! skin which is full of lustre because mitra sees you, full of glory and one that is not fit for wicked people, i am now putting you on. may aditi tuck up thy garment. thou mayst read vedas, and grow wise. thou mayst not forget what you have read. mayst thou become holy and glorious." the boy seats himself next to the guru, and close to the sacred fire, and repeats the following:--"i have come near the spiritual teacher, my acharya. may the teacher and myself become prosperous. may i also complete my vedic studies properly, and let me be blessed with a married life after the study." the guru sprinkles water over the boy three times, and, taking hold of his hand, says:--"agni, soman, savitha, sarasvati, pusha, aryaman, amsuhu, bagadevata, and mitra have seized thy hand. they have taken you over to them, and you have become friends." then he hands over the boy to the gods by repeating:--"we give you to agni, soman, savitha, sarasvati, mrityu, yaman, gadhan, andhakan, abhaya, oshadhi, prithvi, and vaisvanara. with the permission of surya, i am allowing you to approach me. oh! boy, may you have children full of lustre, and capable of becoming heroes." the boy then repeats the following:--"i am come to be a student. you that have obtained permission from the surya, please take me." the teacher asks, "who are you? what is your name?" the boy gives out his name, and the teacher enquires of him what kind of brahmachari he is. the boy replies that he is a brahmachari for atman, and repeats the following:--"oh! sun, the lord of all ways, through your grace i am about to begin my studies, which will do good to me." the teacher and the boy take their seats on dharbha grass, and say:--"oh! dharbha, a giver of royal power, a teacher's seat, may i not withdraw from thee." the boy then pours some ghi on to the sacred fire. a cloth is thrown over both the teacher and the boy, and the latter asks the former to recite the savitri. the following gayatri is repeated into his ear:--"let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine vivifier. may he illumine our understandings." the boy touches his own upper lip with his right hand, and says:--"oh! prana, i have become illumined, having heard the savitri. protect and guard this wealth that has entered me, the gayatri or savitri." he then takes the palasa staff, and the teacher says:--"up with life. oh! sun, this is thy son. i give him in charge to thee." the boy then worships the sun thus:--"that bright eye created by the gods, which rises in the east, may we see it a hundred autumns; may we live a hundred autumns; may we rejoice a hundred autumns; may we live a hundred autumns; may we rejoice a hundred autumns; may we be glad a hundred autumns; may we prosper a hundred autumns; may we speak a hundred autumns; may we live undecaying a hundred autumns; and may we long see the sun." the ceremonial is brought to a close on the first day by the boy begging rice from his mother and other female relations. a basket, filled with rice, is placed in a pandal (booth), and the boy stands near it, repeating "please give me alms." each woman pours some rice into a tray which he carries, and presents him with some money and betel leaves. the rice is placed in the basket. on the second and third days, the boy puts palasa sticks into the sacred fire, and pours ghi thereon. on the fourth day, the new cloth is given to the teacher. the wearing of the sacred thread is a sign that the boy has gone through the upanayanam ceremony. it is noted [156] by the rev. a. margöschis that "the son of brahman parents is not reckoned to be a brahman (i.e., he may not take part in religious ceremonies) until he has gone through the ceremony of assuming the sacred thread; and i have heard brahman boys wearing the thread taunting a boy of brahman birth, and calling him a sudra, because he had not yet assumed the holy thread." the thread is composed of three threads of cotton secured together in one spot by a sacred knot of peculiar construction, called brahma grandhi. the knot in the sacred thread worn by vaishnava brahmans is called vishnu grandhi, and that in the thread of smarthas rudra grandhi. in the preparation of the thread, cotton sold in the bazaar may not be used; the bolls ought to be secured direct from the plant. here and there brahmans may be seen in villages, removing the cotton from the bolls, and preparing it into pads for spinning into thread. those who teach students the vedas may be seen spinning the thread from these pads. the spinning rod is a thin piece of bamboo stick weighted with a lead or soapstone disc about half an inch in diameter. the thin thread is kept in stock, and twisted into the sacred thread whenever it is required. three or more people usually take part in the twisting process, during which they chant vedic verses. in the srutis and sutras, it is enjoined that the yagnopavita (sacred thread) is to be put on only on occasions of sacrifice. it ought really to be a vestment, and is a symbolical representation thereof. ordinarily the thread is worn over the left shoulder in the position called upavitham. in ceremonies connected with the dead, however, it is worn over the right shoulder in the position called prachinavithi. at the time of worshipping rishis and ganas, the thread should be over both shoulders and round the neck in the position called nivithi. the grass girdle and deer-skin worn by a youth at the upanayanam ceremony are removed on the fifth day, or, among the orthodox, kept on until the first upakarmam day. they, and the palasa stick, should be retained by the brahmachari till the close of his studentship. nambutiri brahman lads of eight or nine years old, who have gone through the upanayanam ceremony, always carry with them the palasa stick, and wear the grass girdle, and, in addition to the sacred thread, a thin strip of deer-skin in length equal to the thread. round the waist he wears a narrow strip of cloth (kaupinam) passed between the legs. he may cover his breast and abdomen with a cloth thrown over his body. he is thus clad until his marriage, or at least until he has concluded the study of the vedas. the marriage rites in vogue at the present day resemble those of vedic times in all essential particulars. all sections of brahmans closely follow the grihya sutras relating to their sakha. the marriage ceremonies commence with the nischyathartham or betrothal ceremony. the bridegroom being seated on a plank amidst a number of brahmans, vedic verses are repeated, and, after the bestowal of blessings, the bride's father proclaims that he intends giving his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom, and that he may come for the purpose after the completion of the vratam ceremony. for this ceremony, the bridegroom, after being shaved, dresses up. meanwhile, the brahmans who have been invited assemble. the bridegroom sits on the marriage dais, and, after repeating certain vedic verses, says:--"with the permission of all assembled, let me begin the vratams prajapathyam, soumyam, agneyam, and vaiswadevam, and let me also close them." all the vratams should be performed long before the marriage. in practice, however, this is not done, so the bridegroom performs an expiatory ceremony, to make up for the omission. this consists in offering oblations of ghi, and giving presents of money to a few brahmans. the bridegroom is helped throughout the vratam ceremonies by a spiritual teacher or guru, who is usually his father or a near relation. the guru sprinkles water over the bridegroom's body, and tells him to go on with kandarishi tharpanam (offerings of water, gingelly, and rice, as an oblation to rishis). a small copper or silver vessel is placed on a leaf to the north-east of the sacred fire, and is made to represent varuna. a new cloth is placed round the vessel. the various vratams mentioned are gone through rapidly, and consist of offerings of ghi through fire to the various devatas and pitris. the nandhi sradh, or memorial service to ancestors, is then performed. the bridegroom next dresses up as a married man, and proceeds on a mock pilgrimage to a distant place. this is called paradesa pravesam (going to a foreign place), or kasiyatra (pilgrimage to benares). it is a remnant of the snathakarma rite, whereat a brahmachari, or student, leaves his spiritual teacher's house at the close of his studies, performs a ceremony of ablution, and becomes an initiated householder or snathaka. the bridegroom carries with him an umbrella, a fan, and a bundle containing some rice, cocoanut, and areca-nut. he usually goes eastward. his future father-in-law meets him, and brings him to the house at which the marriage is to be celebrated. as soon as he has arrived there, the bride is brought, dressed up and decorated in finery. the bridal pair are taken up on the shoulders of their maternal uncles, who dance about for a short time. whenever they meet, the bride and bridegroom exchange garlands (malaimaththal). the couple then sit on a swing within the pandal (booth), and songs are sung. a few married women go round them three times, carrying water, a light, fruits, and betel, in a tray. the pair are conducted into the house, and are seated on the marriage dais. the marriage, or vivaham, is then commenced. a purohit (priest) repeats certain vedic texts as a blessing, and says:--"bless this couple of ... gotras, the son and daughter of ..., grandchildren of ..., now about to be married." at this stage, the gotras of the contracting couple must be pronounced distinctly, so as to ensure that they are not among the prohibited degrees. the bridal couple must belong to different gotras. the bridegroom next says that he is about to commence the worship of visvaksena if he is a vaishnavite, or ganapathi if he is a saivite, for the successful termination of the marriage ceremonies. the ankurarpana (seed-pan) ceremony is then proceeded with. five earthenware pans are procured, and, after being purified by the sprinkling of punyaham water over them, are arranged in the form of a square. four of the pans are placed at the four cardinal points, east, west, north, and south, and the remaining pot is set down in the centre of the square. the pan to the east represents indra, the one to the west varuna, the one to the south yama, and the one to the north soman. while water is being sprinkled over the pans, the following synonyms for each of these gods are repeated:- indra--sathakruthu, vajranam, sachipathi. yama--vaivaswata, pithrupathi, dharmaraja. varuna--prachethas, apampathi, swarupinam. soman--indum, nisakaram, oshadisam. nine kinds of grains soaked in water are placed in the seed-pans. these grains are dolichos lablab (two varieties), phaseolus mungo (two varieties), oryza sativa, cicer arietinum, cajanus indicus, eleusine coracana, and vigna catiang. the tying of the wrist-thread (pratisaram) is next proceeded with. two cotton threads are laid on a vessel representing varuna. after the recitation of vedic verses, the bridegroom takes one of the threads, and, dipping it in turmeric paste, holds it with his left thumb, smears some of the paste on it with his right thumb and forefinger, and ties it on the left wrist of the bride. the purohit ties the other thread on the right wrist of the bridegroom, who, facing the assembly, says "i am going to take the bride." he then recites the following vedic verse:--"go to my future father-in-law with due precautions, and mingle with the members of his family. this marriage is sure to be pleasing to indra, because he gets oblations of food, etc., after the marriage. may your path be smooth and free from thorns. may surya and bhaga promote our dhampathyam (companionship)." the purohit again proclaims the marriage, and the gotras and names of three generations are repeated. those assembled then bless the couple. the bride's father says that he is prepared to give his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom, who states that he accepts her. the father of the bride washes the feet of the bridegroom placed on a tray with milk and water. the bridegroom then washes the feet of the bride's father. the bride sits in her father's lap, and her mother stands at her side. the father, repeating the names of the bridegroom's ancestors for three generations, says that he is giving his daughter to him. he places the hand of the bride on that of the bridegroom, and both he and the bride's mother pour water over the united hands of the contracting couple. the following sloka is repeated:--"i am giving you a virgin decorated with jewels, to enable me to obtain religious merit." the bridegroom takes the bride by the hand, and both take their seats in front of the sacred fire. this part of the ceremonial is called dhare (pouring of water). much importance is attached to it by tulu brahmans. among non-brahman castes in south canara, it forms the binding portion of the marriage ceremony. after the pouring of ghi as an oblation, the bridegroom throws down a few twigs of dharbha grass, and repeats the formula:--"oh! dharbha, thou art capable of giving royal powers, and the teacher's seat. may i not be separated from thee." then the bride's father, giving a vessel of water, says "here is arghya water." the bridegroom receives it with the formula:--"may this water destroy my enemies. may brilliancy, energy, strength, life, renown, glory, splendour, and power dwell in me." once again the bride's father washes the feet of the bridegroom, who salutes his father-in-law, saying "oh! water, unite me with fame, splendour, and milk. make me beloved by all creatures, the lord of cattle. may fame, heroism, and energy dwell in me." the bride's father pours some water from a vessel over the hand of the bridegroom, who says "to the ocean i send you, the imperishable waters; go back to your source. may i not suffer loss in my offspring. may my sap not be shed." a mixture of honey, plantain fruit, and ghi, is given to the bridegroom by the bride's father with the words "ayam madhuparko" (honey mixture). receiving it, the bridegroom mutters the following:--"what is the honeyed, highest form of honey which consists in the enjoyment of food; by that honeyed highest form of honey, may i become highest, honeyed, an enjoyer of food." he partakes three times of the mixture, and says:--"i eat thee for the sake of brilliancy, luck, glory, power, and the enjoyment of food." then the bride's father gives a cocoanut to the bridegroom, saying "gauhu" (cow). the bridegroom receives it with the words "oh! cow, destroy my sin, and that of my father-in-law." according to the grihya sutras, a cow should be presented to the bridegroom, to be cooked or preserved. next a plantain fruit is given to the bridegroom, who, after eating a small portion of it, hands it to the bride. the bride sits on a heap or bundle of paddy (unhusked rice), and the bridegroom says "oh! varuna, bless her with wealth. may there be no ill-feeling between herself, her brothers and sisters. oh! brihaspathi, bless her that she may not lose her husband. oh! indra, bless her to be fertile. oh! savitha, bless her that she may be happy in all respects. oh! girl, be gentle-eyed and friendly to me. let your look be of such a nature as not to kill your husband. be kind to me, and to my brothers. [157] may you shine with lustre, and be of good repute. live long, and bear living children." the pair are then seated, and the bridegroom, taking a blade of dharbha grass, passes it between the eyebrows of the bride, and throws it behind her, saying "with this dharbha grass i remove the evil influence of any bad mark thou mayst possess, which is likely to cause widowhood." [certain marks or curls (suli) forebode prosperity, and others misery to a family into which a girl enters by marriage. and, when a wealthy hindu meditates purchasing a horse, he looks to the presence or absence of certain marks on particular parts of the body, and thereby forms a judgment of the temper and qualities of the animal.] the bridegroom then repeats the following:--"now they ought to rejoice, and not cry. they have arranged our union to bring happiness to both of us. in view of the happiness we are to enjoy hereafter, they should be glad. this is a fitting occasion for rejoicing." four brahmans next bring water, and the bridegroom receives it, saying:--"may the evil qualities of this water disappear; may it increase. let the brahmans bring water for the bath, and may it bring long life and children to her." a bundle of paddy, or a basket filled therewith, is brought to the pandal. the bride sits on the paddy, and a ring of dharbha grass is placed on her head. the bridegroom repeats the formula "blessed by the surya, sit round the sacred fire, and look at the dharbha ring, my mother-in-law and brother-in-law." a yoke is then brought, one end of which is placed on the head of the bride above the ring, and the following formula is repeated:--"oh! indra, cleanse and purify this girl, just as you did in the case of abhala, by pouring water through three holes before marrying her." abhala was an ugly woman, who wished to marry indra. to attain this end, she did penance for a long time, and, meeting indra, requested him to fulfil her desire. indra made her his wife, after transforming her into a beautiful woman by sprinkling water over her through the holes in the wheels of the car which was his vehicle. into the hole of the yoke a gold coin, or the tali (marriage badge), is dropped, with the words "may this gold prove a blessing to you. may the yoke, the hole of the yoke, bring happiness to you. may we be blessed to unite your body with mine." then the bridegroom, sprinkling water over the yoke and coin, says:--"may you become purified by the sun through this purificatory water. may this water, which is the cause of thunder and lightning, bring happiness to you. oh! girl, may this water give you health and long life. a new and costly silk cloth (kurai), purchased by the bridegroom, is given to the bride, and the bridegroom says:--"oh! indra, listen to my prayers; accept them, and fulfil my desires." the bride puts on the cloth, with the assistance of the bridegroom's sister, and sits on her father's lap. the bridegroom, taking up the tali, ties it by the string on the bride's neck, saying:--"oh! girl, i am tying the tali to secure religious merit." this is not a vedic verse, and this part of the ceremony is not included in the grihya sutras. all the brahmans assembled bless the couple by throwing rice over their heads. a dharbha waist-cord is passed round the waist of the bride, and the following is repeated:--"this girl is gazing at agni, wishing for health, wealth, strength and children. i am binding her for her good." the bridegroom then holds the hand of the bride, and both go to the sacred fire, where the former says:--"let surya lead to agni, and may you obtain permission from the aswins to do so. go with me to my house. be my wife, and the mistress of my house. instruct and help me in the performance of sacrifices." after offerings of ghi in the sacred fire, the bridegroom says:--"soma was your husband; gandharva knew thee next; agni was your third husband. i, son of man, am your fourth husband. soma gave you to gandharva, and gandharva gave you to agni, who gave to me with progeny and wealth." the bridegroom takes hold of the bride's right wrist, and, pressing on the fingers, passes his hand over the united fingers three times. this is called panigrahanam. to the nambutiri brahman this is a very important item, being the binding part of the marriage ceremonial. some years ago, at a village near chalakkudi in the cochin state, a nambutiri refused to accept a girl as his bride, because the purohit inadvertently grasped her fingers, to show how it ought to be done at the time of the marriage ceremony. the purohit had to marry the girl himself. the next item in the ceremonial is sapthapathi, or the taking of the seven steps. this is considered as the most binding portion thereof. the bridegroom lifts the left foot of the bride seven times, repeating the following:--"one step for sap, may vishnu go after thee. two steps for juice, may vishnu go after thee. three steps for vows, may vishnu go after thee. four steps for comfort, may vishnu go after thee. five steps for cattle, may vishnu go after thee. six steps for the prospering of wealth, may vishnu go after thee. seven steps for the seven-fold hotriship, [158] may vishnu go after thee. with seven steps we have become companions. may i attain to friendship with thee. may i not be separated from thy friendship. mayst thou not be separated from my friendship. let us be united; let us always take counsel together with good hearts and mutual love. may we grow in strength and prosperity together. now we are one in minds, deeds, and desires. thou art rik, i am samam; i am the sky, thou art the earth; i am the semen, thou art the bearer; i am the mind, thou art the tongue. follow me faithfully, that we may have wealth and children together. come thou of sweet speech." the bridegroom then does homam, repeating the following:--"we are offering oblations to soma, gandharva, and agni. this girl has just passed her virginity. make her leave her father's house. bless her to remain fixed in her husband's house. may she have a good son by your blessing. cause her to beget ten children, and i shall be the eleventh child. oh! agni, bless her with children, and make them long-lived. oh! varuna, i pray to you for the same thing. may this woman be freed from the sorrow arising out of sterility, and be blessed by garhapathyagni. may she have a number of children in her, and become the mother of many living children. oh! girl, may your house never know lamentations during nights caused by deaths. may you live long and happy with your husband and children. may the sky protect thy back; may vayu strengthen your thighs; and the aswins your breast. may savitri look after thy suckling sons. until the garment is put on, may brihaspathi guard them, and the viswedevas afterwards. oh! varuna, make me strong and healthy. do not steal away years from our ages. all those who offer oblations pray for the same. oh! you all-pervading agni, pacify varuna; you who blaze forth into flames to receive oblations, be friendly towards us. be near us, and protect us. receive, and be satisfied with our oblations. make us prosperous. we are always thinking of you. take our oblations to the several devatas, and give us medicine." the bride next treads on a stone, and the bridegroom says:--"oh! girl, tread on this stone. be firm like it. destroy those who seek to do thee harm. overcome thy enemies." some fried paddy is put in the sacred fire, and the bridegroom repeats the following:--"oh! agni, i am offering the fried grains, so that this girl may be blessed with long life. oh! agni, give me my wife with children, just as in olden days you were given suryayi with wealth. oh! agni, bless my wife with lustre and longevity. also bless her husband with long life, that she may live happily. oh! agni, help us to overcome our enemies." again the bride treads on the stone, and the bridegroom says:--"oh! girl, tread on this stone, and be firm like it. destroy those who seek to do thee harm. overcome thy enemies." this is followed by the offering of fried grain with the following formula:--"the virgins prayed to surya and agni to secure husbands, and they were at once granted their boons. such an agni is now being propitiated by offerings of fried paddy. let him make the bride leave her father's house." for the third time, the bride treads on the stone, and fried paddy is offered with the formula:--"oh! agni, thou art the giver of life, and receiver of oblations. oblations of ghi are now offered to you. bless the pair to be of one mind." the dharbha girdle is removed from the bride's waist, with the verse: "i am loosening you from the bondage of varuna. i am now removing the thread with which surya bound you." those assembled then disperse. towards evening, brahmans again assemble, and the bride and bridegroom sit before the sacred fire, while the former repeat several vedic riks. they are supposed to start for their home, driving in a carriage, and the verses repeated have reference to the chariot, horses, boats, etc. after ghi has been poured into the fire, a child, who should be a male who has not lost brothers or sisters, is seated in the lap of the bride, and the bridegroom says:--"may cows, horses, men, and wealth, increase in this house. let this child occupy your lap, just as the soma creeper which gives strength to the devatas occupies the regions of the stars." giving some plantain fruit to the child, the bridegroom says:--"oh! fruits, ye bear seeds. may my wife bear seeds likewise by your blessing." then the pair are shown druva and arundathi (the pole star and ursa major), which are worshipped with the words:--"the seven rishis who have led to firmness, she, arundathi, who stands first among the six krithikas (pleiads), may she the eighth one, who leads the conjunction of the (moon with the) six krithikas, the first (among conjunctions) shine upon us. firm dwelling, firm origin; the firm one art thou, standing on the side of firmness. thou art the pillar of the stars. thus protect me against my adversaries." they then proceed to perform the sthalipaka ceremony, in which the bride should cook some rice, which the bridegroom offers as an oblation in the sacred fire. in practice, however, a little food is brought, and placed in the fire without being cooked. the purohit decorates a ficus stick with dharbha grass, and gives it to the bridegroom. it is placed in the roof, or somewhere within the house, near the seed-pans. [according to the grihya sutras, the couple ought to occupy the same mat, with the stick between them. this is not in vogue amongst several sections of brahmans. the mysore carnatakas, mandya aiyangars, and shivallis, observe a kindred ceremony. amongst the mandyas, for example, on the fourth night of the marriage rites, the bridal couple occupy the same mat for a short time, and a stick is placed between them. the pajamadme, or mat marriage, amongst the shivalli brahmans, evidently refers to this custom.] on the second and third days of the marriage ceremonies, homams are performed in the morning and evening, and the nalagu ceremony is performed. in this, the couple are seated on two planks covered with mats and cloth, amidst a large number of women assembled within the pandal. in front of them, betel leaves, areca nuts, fruits, flowers, and turmeric paste are placed in a tray. the women sing songs which they have learnt from childhood, and the bride also sings the praises of the bridegroom. taking a little of the turmeric paste rendered red by the addition of chunam (lime), she makes marks by drawing lines over the feet (nalangu idal). the ceremony closes with the waving of arathi (water coloured red with turmeric and chunam), and the distribution of pan-supari (betel leaves and areca nuts). the waving is done by two women, who sing appropriate songs. on the fourth day, brahmans assemble, and the pair are seated in their midst. after the recitation of vedic verses, the contracting couple are blessed. a small quantity of turmeric paste, reddened by the addition of chunam, is mixed with ghi, and smeared over the shoulders of the pair, and a mark is made on their foreheads. this is called pachchai kalyanam, and is peculiar to tamil brahmans, both smarthas and vaishnavas. amongst tamil brahmans, prominence is given to the maternal uncles on the fourth day. the bride and bridegroom are carried astride on the shoulders of their uncles, who dance to the strains of a band. when they meet, the couple exchange garlands (malaimaththal). towards evening, a procession is got up at the expense of the maternal uncle of the bride, and is hence called amman kolam. the bride is dressed up as a boy, and another girl is dressed up to represent the bride. they are taken in procession through the streets, and, on their return, the pseudo-bridegroom is made to speak to the real bridegroom in somewhat insolent tones, and some mock play is indulged in. the real bridegroom is addressed as if he was the syce (groom) or gumastha (clerk) of the pseudo-bridegroom, and is sometimes treated as a thief, and judgment passed on him by the latter. among sri vaishnavas, after the pachchai smearing ceremony, the bridal couple roll a cocoanut to and fro across the dais, and the assembled brahmans chant stanzas in tamil composed by a vaishnava lady named andal, an avatar of lakshmi, who dedicated herself to vishnu. in these stanzas, she narrates to her attendants the dream, in which she went through the marriage ceremony after her dedication to the god. pan-supari, of which a little, together with some money, is set apart for andal, is then distributed to all present. a large crowd generally assembles, as it is believed that the chanting of andal's srisukthi (praise of lakshmi) brings a general blessing. the family priest calls out the names and gotras of those who have become related to the bride and bridegroom through their marriage. as each person's name is called out, he or she is supposed to make a present of cloths, money, etc., to the bridegroom or bride. [the telugu and carnataka brahmans, instead of the pachchai kalyanam, perform a ceremony called nagavali on the fourth or fifth day. thirty-two lights and two vessels, representing siva and parvathi, are arranged in the form of a square. unbleached thread, soaked in turmeric paste, is passed round the square, and tied to the pandal. the bridal couple sit in front of the square, and, after doing puja (worship), cut the thread, and take their seats within the square. the bridegroom ties a tali of black glass beads on the bride's neck, in the presence of 33 crores (330 millions) of gods, represented by a number of small pots arranged round the square. close to the pots are the figures of two elephants, designed in rice grains and salt respectively. after going round the pots, the couple separate, and the bridegroom stands by the salt elephant, and the bride by the other. they then talk about the money value of the two animals, and an altercation takes place, during which they again go round the pots, and stand, the bridegroom near the rice elephant, and the bride near the salt one. the bargaining as to the price of the animals is renewed, and the couple go round the pots once more. this ceremony is followed by a burlesque of domestic life. the bride is presented with two wooden dolls from tirupati, and told to make a cradle out of the bridegroom's turmeric-coloured cloth, which he wore on the tali-tying day. the couple converse on domestic matters, and the bridegroom asks the bride to attend to her household affairs, so that he may go to his duties. she pleads her inability to do so because of the children, and asks him to take charge of them. she then shows the babies (dolls) to all present, and a good deal of fun is made out of the incident. the bride, with her mother standing by her side near two empty chairs, is then introduced to her new relations by marriage, who sit in pairs on the chairs, and make presents of pan-supari and turmeric.] on the fifth day of the marriage ceremonies, before dawn, the bridal couple are seated on the dais, and the gandharva stick is removed, with the words:--"oh! visvawasu gandharva, i pray to you to make this girl my wife. unite her with me. leave her, and seek another." the bridegroom then performs homams. a coin is placed on the bride's head, and a little ghi put thereon. gazing at the bridegroom, she says:--"with a loving heart i regard thee who knowest my heart. thou art radiant with tapas (penance). fill me with a child, and this house of ours with wealth. thou art desirous of a son. thus shalt thou reproduce thyself." looking at the bride, the bridegroom then says:--"i see thee radiant and eager to be filled with child by me. thou art in thy youth now. enjoy me, therefore, while i am over you, and so reproduce thyself, being desirous of a son." touching the bride's breasts with his ring-finger, and then touching his heart, he repeats the following:--"may the viswe gods unite our hearts; may the water unite our hearts; may vayu and brahma unite our hearts; and may sarasvati teach us both conversation appropriate to this occasion of our intercourse." more vedic riks are then recited, as follows:--"thou prajapathi, enter my body that i may have vigour during this act; so thou thvastri, who fashionest forms with vishnu and other gods; so thou indra, who grantest boons with thy friends the viswedevas, by thy blessing may we have many sons. may vishnu make thy womb ready; may thvashtri frame the shape (of the child); may prajapathi pour forth (the sperm); may dhatri give thee conception. give conception, sinivali; give conception, sarasvati. may the two asvins, wreathed with lotus, give conception to thee. the embryo which the two asvins produce with their golden kindling sticks, that embryo we call into thy womb, that thou mayst give birth to it after ten months. as the earth is pregnant with agni, as the heaven is pregnant with indra, as vayu dwells in the womb of the regions (of the earth), thus i place an embryo in thy womb. open thy womb; take in the sperm. may a male child, an embryo, be begotten in the womb. the mother bears him ten months, may he be born, the most valiant of his kin. may a male embryo enter the womb, as an arrow the quiver; may a man be born here, thy son, after ten months. i do with thee (the work) that is sacred to prajapathi; may an embryo enter the womb. may a child be born without deficiency, with all its limbs, not blind, not lame, not sucked out by pisachas" (devils). the marriage is brought to a close, after this recitation, with the presentation of fruits, etc., to all the brahmans assembled, and to all relations, children included. the bridegroom chews betel for the first time on this day. the wrist-threads are removed, and the seed-pans containing the seedlings, which have been worshipped daily, are taken in procession to a tank (pond), into which the seedlings are thrown. it will be noticed that prayers for male issue are of frequent occurrence during the marriage ceremonial. in sanskrit works, putra (son) is defined as one who delivers a parent from a hell called put. it is generally believed that the welfare of a parent's soul depends on the performance of sradh (memorial services) by his son. it was laid down by manu that a man is perfect, when he consists of three--himself, his wife, and his son. in the rig veda it is stated that "when a father sees the face of a living son, he pays a debt in him, and gains immortality. the pleasure which a father has in his son exceeds all other enjoyments. his wife is a friend, his daughter an object of companion, his son shines as his light in the highest world." the following story of a certain pious man of ascetical temperament, who determined to shirk the religious duty of taking a wife, is narrated by monier williams:--"quietly skipping over the second prescribed period of life, during which he ought to have been a householder (grihastha), he entered at once upon the third period--that is to say, he became an ascetic, abjured all female society, and retired to the woods. wandering about one day, absorbed in meditation, he was startled by an extraordinary spectacle. he saw before him a deep and apparently bottomless pit. around its edge some unhappy men were hanging suspended by ropes of grass, at which here and there a rat was nibbling. on asking their history, he discovered to his horror that they were his own ancestors compelled to hang in this unpleasant manner, and doomed eventually to fall into the abyss, unless he went back into the world, did his duty like a man, married a suitable wife, and had a son, who would be able to release them from their critical predicament." this legend is recorded in detail in the mahabharata. a curious mock marriage ceremony is celebrated amongst brahmans when an individual marries a third wife. it is believed that a third marriage is very inauspicious, and that the bride will become a widow. to prevent this mishap, the man is made to marry the arka plant (calotropis gigantea), and the real marriage thus becomes the fourth. if this ceremony is carried on in orthodox fashion, it is generally celebrated on some sunday or monday, when the constellation astham is visible. the bridegroom and a brahman priest, accompanied by a third brahman, repair to a spot where the arka plant (a very common weed) is growing. the plant is decorated with a cloth and a piece of string, and symbolised into the sun. the bridegroom then invokes it thus:--"oh! master of three loks, oh! the seven-horsed, oh! ravi, avert the evils of the third marriage." next the plant is addressed with the words:--"you are the oldest of the plants of this world. brahma created you to save such of us as have to marry a third time, so please become my wife." the brahman who accompanies the bridegroom becomes his father-in-law for the moment, and says to him:--"i give you in marriage aditya's great grand-daughter, savi's grand-daughter, and my daughter arkakanya." all the ceremonies, such as making homam, tali-tying, etc., are performed as at a regular marriage, and, after the recitation of a few sentences from the vedas, the plant is cut down. "the plant," mr. a. srinivasan writes, [159] "is named arka after the sun. when the car of the sun turns towards the north, every hindu applies the leaves of this plant to his head before he bathes, in honour of the event. the plant is, besides, believed to be a willing scapegoat to others' ills. oil and ghi applied to the head of the victim of persistent illness has only to be transferred to this plant, when it withers and saves the man, even as baber is said to have saved his son. the poet kalidasa describes sweet sakuntala, born of a shaggy dweller of the forest, as a garland of jasmine thrown on an arka plant. 'may the arka grow luxuriant in your house' is the commonest form of curse. 'be thou belaboured with arka leaves' is familiar in the mouths of reprimanding mothers. adulterers were, half a century ago, seated on an ass, face to the tail, and marched through the village. the public disgrace was enhanced by placing a garland of the despised arka leaves on their head. [uppiliyan women convicted of immorality are said to be garlanded with arka flowers, and made to carry a basket of mud round the village.] a telugu proverb asks 'does the bee ever seek the arka flower?' the reasons for the ill-repute that this plant suffers from are not at all clear. the fact that it has a partiality for wastes has evidently brought on its devoted head the dismal associations of desolation, but there would seem to be more deep-seated hatred to the plant than has been explained." a tamil proverb has it that he who crushes the bud of the arka earns merit. some telugu and canarese brahmans, who follow the yajur veda or rig veda, consider the arka plant as sacred, and use the leaves thereof during the nandhi (ancestor invoking) ceremony, which is performed as one of the marriage rites. two or three arka leaves, with betel leaves and areca nuts, are tied to the cloth, which is attached to a stick as representing the ancestors (pithrus). with some the arka leaves are replaced by leaves of pongamia glabra. on rathasapthami day (the seventh day after the new moon in the month avani), an orthodox hindu should bathe his head and shoulders with arka leaves in propitiation of surya (the sun). brahmans who follow the sama veda, during the annual upakarmam ceremony, make use of arka leaves and flowers in worshipping the rishis and pithrus. on the upakarmam day, the sama vedis invoke their sixty-two rishis and the last three ancestors, who are represented by sixty-five clay balls placed on arka leaves. to them are offered arka flowers, fruits of karai-chedi (canthium parviflorum), and naval (eugenia jambolana). in addition to this worship, they perform the rishi and pithru tharpanam by offering water, gingelly (sesamum indicum) seeds, and rice. the celebrant, prior to dipping his hand into the water, places in his hands two arka leaves, gingelly, and rice. the juice of the arka plant is a favourite agent in the hands of suicides. among the tangalan paraiyans, if a young man dies before he is married, a ceremony called kannikazhithal (removing bachelorhood) is performed. before the corpse is laid on the bier, a garland of arka flowers is placed round its neck, and balls of mud from a gutter are laid on the head, knees, and other parts of the body. in some places a variant of the ceremony consists in the erection of a mimic marriage booth, which is covered with leaves of the arka plant, flowers of which are also placed round the neck as a garland. at a form of marriage called rambha or kathali (plantain) marriage, the arka plant is replaced by a plantain tree (musa). it is performed by those who happen to be eldest brothers, and who are incapable of getting married, so as to give a chance to younger brothers, who are not allowed to marry unless the elder brother or brothers are already married. at the present day, many hindus disregard certain ceremonies, in the celebration of which their forefathers were most scrupulous. even the daily ceremonial ablutions, which are all important to a brahman from a shastraic point of view, are now neglected by a large majority, and the prayers (mantrams), which should be chanted during their performance, are forgotten. but no brahman, orthodox or unorthodox, dares to abandon the death ceremonial, and annual sradh (memorial rites). a brahman beggar, when soliciting alms, invariably pleads that he has to perform his father or mother's sradh, or upanayanam (thread ceremony) of his children, and he rarely goes away empty-handed. "the constant periodical performance," monier williams writes, [160] "of commemorative obsequies is regarded in the light of a positive and peremptory obligation. it is the simple discharge of a solemn debt to one's forefathers, a debt consisting not only in reverential homage, but in the performance of acts necessary to their support, happiness, and progress onwards in the spiritual world. a man's deceased relatives, for at least three generations, are among his cherished divinities, and must be honoured by daily offerings and adoration, or a nemesis of some kind is certain to overtake his living family. the object of a hindu funeral is nothing less than the investiture of the departed spirit with an intermediate gross body--a peculiar frame interposed, as it were parenthetically, between the terrestrial gross body, which has just been destroyed by fire, and the new terrestrial body, which it is compelled to ultimately assume. the creation of such an intervenient frame, composed of gross elements, though less gross than those of earth, becomes necessary, because the individualised spirit of man, after the cremation of the terrestrial body, has nothing left to withhold it from re-absorption into the universal soul, except its incombustible subtle body, which, as composed of the subtle elements, is not only proof against the fire of the funeral pile, but is incapable of any sensations in the temporary heaven, or temporary hell, through one or other of which every separate human spirit is forced to pass before returning to earth, and becoming re-invested with a terrestrial gross body." when a brahman is on the point of death, he is removed from his bed, and laid on the floor. if there is any fear of the day being a danishtapanchami (inauspicious), the dying man is taken out of the house, and placed in the court-yard or pial (raised verandah). some prayers are uttered, and a cow is presented (godhanam). these are intended to render the passage of life through the various parts of the body as easy as possible. the spirit is supposed to escape through one of the nine orifices of the body, according to the character of the individual concerned. that of a good man leaves the body through the brahmarandhra (top of the skull), and that of a bad man through the anus. immediately after death, the body is washed, religious marks are made on the forehead, and parched paddy and betel are scattered over and around it by the son. as a brahman is supposed always to have his fire with him, the sacred fire is lighted. at this stage, certain purificatory ceremonies are performed, if death has taken place on a day or hour of evil omen, or at midnight. next, a little cooked rice is cooked in a new earthen pot, and a new cloth is thrown over the corpse, which is roused by the recitation of mantrams. four bearers, to each of whom dharbha grass is given in token of his office, are selected to carry the corpse to the burning-ground. the eldest son, who is the funeral celebrant, and his brothers are shaved. on ordinary occasions, brothers should not be shaved on the same day, as this would be inauspicious. they are only shaved on the same day on the occasion of the death of their father or mother. the widow of the deceased, and female relations, go three times round the corpse, before it is placed on the bier. very often, at this stage, all the women present set up a loud lamentation, and repeat the death songs. [161] if the dead person was a respected elder, special professional women, trained as mourners, are engaged. i am informed that, in the coimbatore district, and amongst the sathyamangalam brahacharanams, there are certain widows who are professional mourners. as soon as they hear of the death of an elder, they repair to the house, and worry the bereaved family into engaging them for a small fee. the space, which intervenes between the dead man's house and the burning-ground, is divided into four parts. when the end of the first of these is reached, the corpse is placed on the ground, and the sons and nephews go round it, repeating mantrams. they untie their kudumis (hair knot), leaving part thereof loose, tie up the rest into a small bunch, and keep on slapping their thighs. [when children at play have their kudumi partially tied, and slap their thighs, they are invariably scolded, owing to the association with funerals.] a little cooked rice is offered to the path as a pathi bali (wayside offering), to propitiate evil spirits, or bhuthas. the same ceremonial should, strictly speaking, be performed at two other spots, but now-a-days it is the custom to place the corpse on the ground near the funeral pyre, moving its position three times, while the circumambulation and pathi bali are gone through only once. as soon as the corpse has reached the spot where the pyre is, the celebrant of the rites sprinkles water thereon, and throws a quarter of an anna on it as the equivalent of purchase of the ground for cremation. the sacred fire is lighted, and the right palm of the corpse is touched with a gold coin. the nine orifices of the body are then smeared with ghi, and rice is thrown over the corpse, and placed in its mouth. the son takes a burning brand from the sacred fire, lights the pyre, and looks at the sun. he then carries a pot filled with water, having a hole at the bottom through which the water trickles out, on his shoulders three times round the corpse, and, at the end of the third round, throws it down. then he, and all the relations of the deceased, squat on the ground, facing east, take up some dharbha grass, and, cutting it into small fragments with their nails, scatter them in the air, while repeating some vedic verses, which are chanted very loudly and slowly, especially at the funeral of a respected elder. the celebrant then pours a little water on a stone, and sprinkles himself with it. this is also done by the other relations, and they pass beneath a bundle of dharbha grass and twigs of ficus glomerata held by the purohit (officiating priest), and gaze for a moment at the sun. once more they sprinkle themselves with water, and proceed to a tank, where they bathe. when they return home, two rites, called nagna (naked) sradh, and pashana sthapanam (stone-fixing), are celebrated. the disembodied spirit is supposed to be naked after the body has been cremated. to clothe it, offerings of water, with balls of cooked rice, are made, and a cloth, lamp, and money are given to a brahman. then two stones are set up, one in the house and the other on the bank of a tank, to represent the spirit of the deceased. for ten days, libations of water mixed with gingelly seeds, called tilothakam, and a ball of cooked rice, must be offered to the stones. the ball of rice is left for crows to eat. the number of libations must be seventy-five, commencing with three on the first day, and increasing the number daily by one. in addition, three further libations are made daily by dipping a piece of cloth from the winding-sheet, and rinsing it over the stone (vasothakam). on the day after cremation, the relations assemble at the burning-ground, and the son, after extinguishing the burning embers, removes the fragments of bones from the ashes. the ceremony is called sanchyanam (gathering). cooked food is offered. the bones are thrown into some sacred river, or buried in the ground. on the tenth day after death, a large quantity of cooked rice (prabhuthabali) is offered to the spirit of the dead person, which is believed to grow very hungry on that day. the food is heaped up on plantain leaves, and all the near relations go round them, crying and beating their breasts. it is mostly females who perform this rite, males standing aloof. the food is taken to a tank, and the widow, decorated and dressed up, is conducted thither. the food is thrown into the water, and, if the widow is an elderly orthodox woman, her tali is removed. on the same day, her head is clean shaved. a widow is not allowed to adorn herself with jewels and finery except on this day, when all her close relations come and see her. if this is not done, pregnant women may not see her for a year. all the agnates should be present on the tenth day, and perform tharpana (oblations of water). until this day they are under pollution, and, after prabhuthabali, they bathe, and homam is performed. some ashes from the sacred fire are mixed with ghi, and a mark is made on the foreheads of those who are under pollution, to remove it. during the period of pollution, a sri vaishnava will have only a white mark without the red streak on his forehead; a madhva will not have the black dot; and smarthas avoid having marks altogether. the tenth day ceremony is called dasaham. on the eleventh day, a ceremony called ekodishtam (eleventh day ceremony) is performed. a brahman is seated to represent the pretha or dead person, and fed after going through sradh rites. as a rule, the man is a close relation of the deceased. but, amongst certain classes of brahmans, an outsider is engaged, and well remunerated. on the twelfth day, the sapindikaranam (sapinda, kinsman) ceremony, which is just like the ordinary sradh, is performed. at the close thereof, six balls of cooked rice are offered to three ancestors, male and female (three balls for males, and three for females). these balls are arranged in two rows, with a space between them. an elongated mass of food is placed between the rows, and divided with blades of dharbha grass into three portions, which are arranged close to the balls of rice. this is regarded as uniting the dead man with the pitris (ancestors). a cow is usually presented just before the union takes place, and the gift is believed to render the crossing of the river vaitarani (river of death) easy for the departed soul. the sapindikaranam is a very important ceremony. when there is a dispute concerning division of property on the death of an individual, the ceremony is not performed until the parties come to an agreement. for instance, if a married man dies without issue, and his widow's brothers-in-law cannot come to terms as regards the partition of the property, the widow may refuse to allow the performance of the ceremony. the sapindikaranam should, according to the shastras, be performed a year after death, i.e., on the completion of all the masikas (monthly sradhs). but, at the present day, a ceremony called shodasam (the sixteen) is performed just before the sapindikaranam on the twelfth day. in the course of the year, twelve monthly and four quarterly sradhs should be performed. the shodasam ceremony, which is carried out in lieu thereof, consists in giving presents of money and vessels to sixteen brahmans. on the twelfth day, a feast is held, and domestic worship is carried out on a large scale. at the close thereof, a sloka called charma sloka, in praise of the deceased, is composed and repeated by some one versed in sanskrit. every month, for a year after a death in a family, sradh should, as indicated, be performed. this corresponds in detail with the annual sradh, which is regularly performed, unless a visit is paid to gaya, which renders further performance of the rite not obligatory. for the performance of this ceremony by the nearest agnate of the deceased (eldest son or other), three brahmans should be called in, to represent respectively vishnu, the devatas, and the ancestors. sometimes two brahmans are made to suffice, and vishnu is represented by a salagrama stone. in extreme cases, only one brahman assists at the ceremony, the two others being represented by dharbha grass. the sacred fire is lighted, and ghi, a small quantity of raw and cooked rice, and vegetables are offered up in the fire. the brahmans then wash their feet, and are fed. before they enter the space set apart for the meal, water, gingelly, and rice are sprinkled about it, to keep off evil spirits. as soon as the meal is finished, a ball of rice, called vayasa pindam (crow's food), is offered to the pithru devatas (ancestors of three generations), and thrown to the crows. if they do not eat the rice, the omens are considered to be unfavourable. the brahmans receive betel and money in payment for their services. on one occasion my assistant was in camp at kodaikanal on the palni hills, the higher altitudes of which are uninhabited by crows, and he had perforce to march down to the plains, in order to perform the annual ceremony for his deceased father. the recurring annual sradh (pratyabdhika) need not of necessity be performed. it is, however, regarded as an important ceremony, and, should an individual neglect it, he would run the risk of being excommunicated. the rites connected with the dead are based on the garuda purana, according to which the libations of the ten days are said to help the growth of the body of the soul. in this connection, monier williams writes as follows:-[162]"on the first day, the ball (pinda) of rice offered by the eldest son or other near relative nourishes the spirit of the deceased in such a way as to furnish it with a head; on the second day, the offered pinda gives a neck and shoulders; on the third day a heart; on the fourth a back; on the fifth a navel; on the sixth a groin and the parts usually concealed; on the seventh thighs; on the eighth and ninth knees and feet. on the tenth day, the intermediate body is sufficiently formed to produce the sensation of hunger and thirst. other pindas are therefore put before it, and, on the eleventh and twelfth days, the embodied spirit feeds voraciously on the offerings thus supplied, and so gains strength for its journey to its future abode. then, on the thirteenth day after death, it is conducted either to heaven or hell. if to the latter, it has need of the most nourishing food, to enable it to bear up against the terrible ordeal which awaits it." to the hindu mind, yama (the god of death) is a hideous god, whose servants are represented as being capable of tormenting the soul of the dead. "no sooner," writes monier williams, "has death occurred, and cremation of the terrestrial body taken place, than yama's two messengers (yama dutan), who are waiting near at hand, make themselves visible to the released spirit, which retains its subtle body composed of the subtle elements, and is said to be of the size of a thumb (angustha-matra). their aspect is terrific, for they have glaring eyes, hair standing erect, gnashing teeth, crow-black skin, and claw-like nails, and they hold in their hands the awful rod and noose of yama. then, as if their appearance in this form were not sufficiently alarming, they proceed to terrify their victim by terrible visions of the torments (yatana) in store for him. they then convey the bound spirit along the road to yama's abode. being led before yama's judgment seat, it is confronted with his registrar or recorder named chitra gupta. this officer stands by yama's side, with an open book before him. it is his business to note down all the good and evil deeds of every human being born into the world, with the resulting merit (punya) and demerit (papa), and to produce a debtor and creditor account properly made up and balanced on the day when that being is brought before yama. according to the balance on the side of merit or demerit is judgment pronounced. the road by which yama's two officers force a wicked man to descend to the regions of torment is described in the first two chapters of the garuda purana. the length of the way is said to be 86,000 leagues (yojanas). the condemned soul, invested with its sensitive body, and made to travel at the rate of 200 leagues a day, finds no shady trees, no resting place, no food, no water. at one time it is scorched by a burning heat equal to that of twelve meridian suns, at another it is pierced by icy cold winds; now its tender frame is rent by thorns; now it is attacked by lions, tigers, savage dogs, venomous serpents, and scorpions. in one place it has to traverse a dense forest, whose leaves are swords; in another it falls into deep pits; in another it is precipitated from precipices; in another it has to walk on the edge of razors; in another on iron spikes. here it stumbles about helplessly in profound darkness; there it struggles through loathsome mud swarming with leeches; here it toils through burning sand; there its progress is arrested by heaps of red-hot charcoal and stifling smoke. compelled to pass through every obstacle, however formidable, it next encounters a succession of terrific showers, not of rain, but of live coals, stones, blood, boiling water and filth. then it has to descend into appalling fissures, or ascend to sickening heights, or lose itself in vast caves, or wade through lakes seething with foetid ordures. then midway it has to pass the awful river vaitarani, one hundred leagues in breadth, of unfathomable depth; flowing with irresistible impetuosity; filled with blood, matter, hair, and bones; infested with huge sharks, crocodiles, and sea monsters; darkened by clouds of hideous vultures and obscene birds of prey. thousands of condemned spirits stand trembling on the banks, horrified by the prospect before them. consumed by a raging thirst, they drink the blood which flows at their feet; then, tumbling headlong into the torrent, they are overwhelmed by the rushing waves. finally, they are hurried down to the lowest depths of hell, and yet not destroyed. pursued by yama's officers, they are dragged away, and made to undergo inconceivable tortures, the detail of which is given with the utmost minuteness in the succeeding chapters of the garuda purana." the ahannikams, or daily observances, of a religious brahman are very many. nowadays, brahmans who lead a purely religious life are comparatively few, and are mostly found in villages. the daily observances of such are the bath, the performance of the sandhya service, brahma yagna, deva puja or devatarchana, tarpana (oblations of water), vaisvadeva ceremony, and the reading of puranas or ithihasas. every orthodox brahman is expected to rise at the time called brahma muhurtam in the hour and a half before sunrise. he should then clean his teeth, using as a brush mango leaf, or twigs of acacia arabica or nim (melia azadirachta). he next bathes in a river or tank (pond), standing knee-deep in the water, and repeating the following:--"i am about to perform the morning ablution in this sacred stream (ganges, sarasvati, yamuna, godavari, etc.), in the presence of the gods and brahmans, with a view to the removal of guilt resulting from act, speech, and thought, from what has been touched and untouched, known and unknown, eaten and not eaten, drunk and not drunk." after the bath, he wipes his body with a damp cloth, and puts on his cotton madi cloth, which has been washed and dried. the cloth, washed, wrung, and hung up to dry, should not be touched by anybody. if this should happen prior to the bath, the cloth is polluted, and ceases to be madi. a silk cloth, which cannot be polluted, is substituted for it. the madi or silk cloth should be worn until the close of the morning ceremonies and meal. the man next puts the marks which are characteristic of his sect on the forehead and body, and performs the sandhya service. this is very important, and is binding on all brahmans after the upanayanam ceremony, though a large number are not particular in observing it. according to the shastras, the sandhya should be done in the morning and evening; but in practice there is an additional service at midday. sandhyavandhanam means the thanksgiving to god when day and night meet in the morning and evening. the rite commences with the sipping of water (achamanam) from the hollow of the right palm. this is done three times, while the words achyuthayanamaha, anantayanamaha, and govindayana are repeated. immediately after sipping, twelve parts of the body are touched with the fingers of the right hand in the following order:- the two cheeks with the thumb, repeating the names kesava and narayana; the two eyes with the ring-finger, repeating madhava and govinda; the two sides of the nose with the forefinger, repeating vishnu and madhusudhana; the two ears with the little finger, repeating trivkrama and vamana; the shoulders with the middle finger, repeating sridhara and rishikesa; the navel and head with all the fingers, repeating padmanabha and damodar. this achamana is the usual preliminary to all brahman religious rites. the water sipped is believed to cleanse the internal parts of the body, as bathing cleanses the external parts. after achamana comes pranayama, or holding in of vital breath, which consists in repeating the gayatri (hymn) and holding the breath by three distinct operations, viz:-puraka, or pressing the right nostril with the fingers, and drawing in the breath through the left nostril, and vice versâ. kumbhaka, or pressing both nostrils with finger and thumb or with all the fingers, and holding the breath as long as possible. rechaka, or pressing the right nostril with the thumb, and expelling the breath through the left nostril, and vice versâ. the suppression of the breath is said to be a preliminary yoga practice, enabling a person to fix his mind on the supreme being who is meditated on. the celebrant next repeats the sankalpa (determination), with the hands brought together, the right palm over the left, and placed on the right thigh. every kind of ceremony commences with the sankalpa, which, for the sandhya service, is as follows:--"i am worshipping for the removal of all my sins that have adhered to me, and for the purpose of acquiring the favour of narayana or the supreme being." the performer of the rite then sprinkles himself with water, repeating:--"oh! ye waters, the sources of all comforts, grant us food, so that our senses may grow strong and give us joy. make us the recipients of your essence, which is the most blissful, just as affectionate mothers (feed their children with milk from their breasts). may we obtain enough of that essence of yours, the existence of which within you makes you feel glad. oh! waters, grant us offspring." he then takes up the water in his palm, and drinks it, repeating the following:--"may the sun and anger, may the lords of anger, preserve me from my sins of pride and passion. whate'er the nightly sins of thought, word, deed, wrought by my mind, my speech, my hands, my feet; wrought through my appetite and sensual organs; may the departing night remove them all. in thy immortal light, oh! radiant sun, i offer up myself and this my guilt." at the evening service, the same is repeated, with the word agni instead of surya (sun). at the midday service the following is recited:--"may the waters purify the earth by pouring down rain. may the earth thus purified make us pure. may the waters purify my spiritual preceptor, and may the veda (as taught by the purified preceptor) purify me. whatever leavings of another's food, and whatever impure things i may have eaten, whatever i may have received as gift from the unworthy, may the waters destroy all that sin and purify me. for this purpose, i pour this sanctified water as a libation down my mouth." once more the celebrant sprinkles himself with water, and says:--"i sing the praise of the god dadikravan, who is victorious, all-pervading, and who moves with great speed. may he make our mouths (and the senses) fragrant, and may he prolong our lives. oh! ye waters, the sources of all comforts, grant us food," etc. the ceremonies performed so far are intended for both external and internal purification. by their means, the individual is supposed to have made himself worthy to salute the lord who resides in the orb of the rising luminary, and render him homage in true brahman style by what is called arghya. this is an offering of water to any respected guest. repeating the gayatri, the worshipper throws water in the air from the palms of the hands joined together with the sacred thread round the thumbs. the gayatri is the hymn par excellence, and is said to contain the sum and substance of all vedic teaching. after these items, the worshipper sits down, and does japam (recitation of prayers in an undertone). the gayatri, as repeated, consists of the gayatri proper vyahritis, and gayatri siromantra. it runs as follows:- om, bhuh; om, bhuvah; om, suvah; om, mahaha; om, janaha; om, thapaha; om, sathyam. om, thatsaviturvarenyam; bhargodevasya dhimahi dhiyo-yonah prachodayat; om, jyotiraso amrutam brahma, bhur, bhuvasvarum. the vyahritis are generally taken to refer to the seven worlds, and the prefixing of the pranava (om) means that all these worlds have sprung from the supreme being. the pranava given above means "all the seven worlds are (the visible manifestations of) om, the all-pervading brahman. we think of the adorable light of the lord, who shines in our hearts, and guides us. may he guide our intellects aright. water, light, all things that have savour (such as trees, herbs, and plants), the nectar of the gods, the three worlds, in fact everything that is brahman, the universal soul." the mystic syllable om is the most sacred of all hindu utterances. concerning it, monier williams writes that it is "made up of the three letters a, u, m, and symbolical of the threefold manifestation of the one supreme being in the gods brahma, vishnu, and siva, and is constantly repeated during the sandhya service. this prayer is, as we have seen, the most sacred of all vedic utterances, and, like the lord's prayer among christians, or like the fatihah or opening chapter of the kuran among muhammadans, must always, among hindus, take precedence of all other forms of supplication." the celebrant next proceeds to invoke the gayatri devata thus:--"may the goddess gayatri devata, who grants all our desires, come to us to make known to us the eternal lord, who is revealed to us only through the scriptures. may the gayatri, the mother of all the vedas, reveal to us the eternal truth. oh! gayatri, thou art the source of all spiritual strength. thou art the power that drivest away the evil inclinations which are mine enemies. thou, by conducing to a sound mind, conducest to a sound body. thou art the light of the gods, that dispellest my intellectual darkness, and illuminest my heart with divine wisdom. thou art all. in the whole universe there is naught but thee that is. thou art the eternal truth that destroys all sins. thou art the pranava that reveals to me the unknown. come to my succour, oh! thou gayatri, and make me wise." this invocation is followed by the repetition of the gayatri 108 or only 28 times. the celebrant then says:--"the goddess gayatri resides on a lofty peak on the summit of mount meru (whose base is deeply fixed) in the earth. oh! thou goddess, take leave from the brahmans (who have worshipped thee, and been blessed with thy grace), and go back to thy abode as comfortably as possible." the sandhya service is closed with the following prayer to the rising sun:--"we sing the adorable glory of the sun god, who sustains all men (by causing rain); which glory is eternal, and most worthy of being adored with wonder. the sun, well knowing the inclinations of men, directs them to their several pursuits. the sun upholds both heaven and earth; the sun observes all creatures (and their actions) without ever winking. to this eternal being we offer the oblation mixed with ghi. oh! sun, may that man who through such sacrifice offers oblations to thee become endowed with wealth and plenty. he who is under thy protection is not cut off by untimely death; he is not vanquished by anybody, and sin has no hold on this man either from near or from afar." in the evening, the following prayer to varuna is substituted:--"hear, oh! varuna, this prayer of mine. be gracious unto me this day. longing for thy protection, i cry to thee. adoring thee with prayer, i beg long life of thee. the sacrificer does the same with the oblations he offers thee. therefore, oh! varuna, without indifference in this matter, take my prayer into your kind consideration, and do not cut off our life. oh! lord varuna, whatever law of thine we, as men, violate day after day, forgive us these trespasses. oh! lord varuna, whatever offence we, as men, have committed against divine beings, whatever work of thine we have neglected through ignorance, do not destroy us, oh! lord, for such sin. whatever sin is attributed to us by our enemies, as by gamblers at dice, whatever sins we may have really committed, and what we may have done without knowing, do thou scatter and destroy all these sins. then, oh! lord, we shall become beloved of thee." the sandhya prayer closes with the abhivadhana or salutation, which has been given in the account of marriage. after the sandhya service in the morning, the brahma yagna, or worship of the supreme being as represented in the sacred books is gone through. the first hymn of the rig veda is recited in detail, and then follow the first words of the yajur veda, sama veda, atharvana veda, the nirukta, etc. the next item is the tarpana ceremony, or offering of water to the devatas, rishis, and pitris. the sacred thread is placed over the left shoulder and under the right arm (upavita), and water is taken in the right hand, and poured as an offering to the devatas. then, with the sacred thread round the neck like a necklace (niviti), the worshipper pours water for the rishis. lastly, the sacred thread is placed over the right shoulder (prachina vithi) and water is poured for the pitris (ancestors). the various ceremonies described so far should be performed by all the male members of a family, whereas the daily devatarchana or devata puja is generally done by any one member of a family. the gods worshipped by pious brahmans are siva and vishnu, and their consorts parvati and lakshmi. homage is paid thereto through images, salagrama stones, or stone lingams. in the house of a brahman, a corner or special room is set apart for the worship of the god. some families keep their gods in a small almirah (chest). smarthas use in their domestic worship five stones, viz.:- 1. salagrama, representing vishnu. 2. bana linga, a white stone representing the essence of siva. 3. a red stone (jasper), representing ganesha. 4. a bit of metallic ore, representing parvathi, or a lingam representing siva and parvathi. 5. a piece of pebble or crystal, to represent the sun. smarthas commence their worship by invoking the aid of vigneswara (ganesha). then, placing a vessel (kalasa) filled with water, they utter the following prayer. "in the mouth of the water-vessel abideth vishnu, in its lower part is brahma, while the whole company of the mothers (matris) are congregated in its middle part. oh! ganges, yamuna, godavari, sarasvati, narmada, sindhu, and kaveri, be present in this water." the conch or chank shell (turbinella rapa) is then worshipped as follows:--"oh! conch shell, thou wast produced in the sea, and art held by vishnu in his hand. thou art worshipped by all the gods. receive my homage." the bell is then worshipped with the prayer:--"oh! bell, make a sound for the approach of the gods, and for the departure of the demons. homage to the goddess ghanta (bell). i offer perfumes, grains of rice, and flowers, in token of rendering all due homage to the bell." the worshipper claps his hands, and rings the bell. all the tulsi (sacred basil, ocimum sanctum) leaves, flowers, sandal paste, etc., used for worship on the previous day, are removed. "the tulsi is the most sacred plant in the hindu religion; it is consequently found in or near almost every hindu house throughout india. hindu poets say that it protects from misfortune, and sanctifies and guides to heaven all who cultivate it. the brahmins hold it sacred to the gods krishna and vishnu. the story goes that this plant is the transformed nymph tulasi, beloved of krishna, and for this reason near every hindu house it is cultivated in pots, or in brick or earthen pillars with hollows at the top (brindavanam or brinda forest), in which earth is deposited. it is daily watered, and worshipped by all the members of the family. under favourable circumstances, it grows to a considerable size, and furnishes a woody stem large enough to make beads for the rosaries used by hindus, on which they count the number of recitations of their deity's name." [163] writing in the seventeenth century, vincenzo maria [164] observes that "almost all the hindus ... adore a plant like our basilico gentile, but of a more pungent odour.... every one before his house has a little altar, girt with a wall half an ell high, in the middle of which they erect certain pedestals like little towers, and in these the shrub is grown. they recite their prayers daily before it, with repeated prostrations, sprinklings of water, etc. there are also many of these maintained at the bathing-places, and in the courts of the pagodas." the legend, accounting for the sanctity of the tulsi, is told in the padma purana. [165] from the union of the lightning that flashed from the third eye of siva with the ocean, a boy was born, whom brahmadev caught up, and to whom he gave the name of jalandhar. and to him brahmadev gave the boon that by no hand but siva's could he perish. jalandhar grew up strong and tall, and conquered the kings of the earth, and, in due time, married vrinda (or brinda), the daughter of the demon kalnemi. naradmuni, the son of brahmadev, stirred up hatred against siva in jalandhar, and they fought each other on the slopes of kailas. but even siva could not prevail against jalandhar, so long as his wife vrinda remained chaste. so vishnu, who had lived with her and jalandhar, and had learnt their secret, plotted her downfall. one day, when she, sad at jalandhar's absence, had left her garden to walk in the waste beyond, two demons met her and pursued her. she ran, with the demons following, until she saw a rishi, at whose feet she fell, and asked for shelter. the rishi, with his magic, burnt up the demons into thin ash. vrinda then asked for news of her husband. at once, two apes laid before her jalandhar's head, feet, and hands. vrinda, thinking that he was dead, begged the rishi to restore him to her. the rishi said that he would try, and in a moment he and the corpse had disappeared, and jalandhar stood by her. she threw herself into his arms, and they embraced each other. but, some days later, she learnt that he with whom she was living was not her husband, but vishnu, who had taken his shape. she cursed vishnu, and foretold that, in a later avatar, the two demons who had frightened her would rob him of his wife; and that, to recover her, he would have to ask the aid of the apes who had brought jalandhar's head, feet, and hands. vrinda then threw herself into a burning pit, and jalandhar, once vrinda's chastity had gone, fell a prey to siva's thunderbolts. then the gods came forth from their hiding place, and garlanded siva. the demons were driven back to hell, and men once more passed under the tyranny of the gods. but vishnu came not back from vrinda's palace, and those who sought him found him mad from grief, rolling in her ashes. then parvati, to break the charm of vrinda's beauty, planted in her ashes three seeds. and they grew into three plants, the tulsi, the avali, and the malti. by the growth of these seeds, vishnu was released from vrinda's charm. therefore he loved them all, but chiefly the tulsi plant, which, as he said, was vrinda's very self. in the seventh incarnation, the two demons, who had frightened vrinda, became ravan and his brother kumbhakarna, and they bore away sita to lanka. to recover her, ramchandra had to implore the help of the two apes who had brought her jalandhar's head and hands, and in this incarnation they became hanuman and his warriors. but, in the eighth incarnation, which was that of krishna, the tulsi plant took the form of a woman radha, and wedded the gay and warlike lord of dwarka. the shodasopachara, or sixteen acts of homage, are next performed in due order, viz.- 1. avahana, or invocation of the gods. 2. asanam, or seat. 3. padhya, or water for washing the feet. 4. arghya, or oblation of rice or water. 5. achamanam, or water for sipping. 6. snanam, or the bath. 7. vastra, or clothing of tulsi leaves. 8. upavastra, or upper clothing of tulsi leaves. 9. gandha, or sandal paste. 10. pushpa, or flowers. 11. 12. dhupa and dhipa, or incense and light. 13. naivedya, or offering of food. 14. pradakshina, or circumambulation. 15. mantrapushpa, or throwing flowers. 16. namaskara, or salutation by prostration. while the five stones already referred to are bathed by pouring water from a conch shell, the purusha suktha, or hymn of the rig veda, is repeated. this runs as follows:--"purusha has thousands of heads, thousands of arms, thousands of eyes, and thousands of feet. on every side enveloping the earth, he transcended this mere space of ten fingers. purusha himself is this whole (universe); whatever has been, and whatever shall be. he is also the lord of immortality, since through food he expands. such is his greatness, and purusha is superior to this. all existing things are a quarter of him, and that which is immortal in the sky is three quarters of him. with three quarters purusha mounted upwards. a quarter of him was again produced below. he then became diffused everywhere among things, animate and inanimate. from him viraj was born, and from viraj purusha. as soon as born, he extended beyond the earth, both behind and before. when the gods offered up purusha as a sacrifice, the spring was its clarified butter (ghi), summer its fuel, and the autumn the oblation. this victim, purusha born in the beginning, they consecrated on the sacrificial grass. with him as their offering, the gods, sadhyas, and rishis sacrificed. from that universal oblations were produced curds and clarified butter. he, purusha, formed the animals which are subject to the power of the air (vayavya), both wild and tame. from that universal sacrifice sprang the hymns called rik and saman, the metres, and the yajus. from it were produced horses, and all animals with two rows of teeth, cows, goats, and sheep. when they divided purusha, into how many parts did they distribute him? what was his mouth? what were his arms? what were called his thighs and feet? the brahman was his mouth; the rajanya became his arms; the vaisya was his thighs; the sudra sprang from his feet. the moon was produced from his soul; the sun from his eye; indra and agni from his mouth; vayu from his breath. from his navel came the atmosphere; from his head arose the sky; from his feet came the earth; from his ears the four quarters; so they formed the worlds. when the gods, in performing their sacrifice, bound purusha as a victim, there were seven pieces of wood laid for him round the fire, and thrice seven pieces of fuel employed. with sacrifice the gods worshipped the sacrifice. these were the primæval rites. these great beings attained to the heaven, where the gods, the ancient sadhyas, reside." some smarthas, e.g., the brahacharnams, are more saivite than other sections of tamil-speaking brahmans. during worship, they wear round the neck rudraksha (elæocarpus ganitrus) beads, and place on their head a lingam made thereof. in connection with the rudraksha, the legend runs that siva or kalagni rudra, while engaged in tripura samhara, opened his third eye, which led to the destruction of the three cities, of which rakshasas or asuras had taken the form. from this eye liquid is said to have trickled on the ground, and from this arose the rudraksha tree. the mere mention of the word rudraksha is believed to secure religious merit, which may be said to be equivalent to the merit obtained by the gift of ten cows to brahmans. rudraksha beads are valued according to the number of lobes (or faces, as they are called), which are ordinarily five in number. a bead with six lobes is said to be very good, and one with two lobes, called gauri sankara rudraksha, is specially valued. dikshitar brahmans, and pandaram priests of the higher order, wear a two-lobed bead mounted in gold. in a manuscript entitled rudrakshopanishad, it is stated that a good rudraksha bead, when rubbed with water, should colour the water yellow. the madhvas worship in the same way as smarthas, but the objects of worship are the salagrama stone, and images of hanuman and adi sesha. food offered to adi sesha, lakshmi, and hanuman, is not eaten, but thrown away. the madhvas attach great importance to their spiritual guru, who is first worshipped by a worshipper. some keep a brindavanam, representing the grave of their guru, along with a salagrama stone, which is worshipped at the close of the devata puja. sri vaishnavas keep for domestic worship only salagrama stones. like the madhvas, they are scrupulous as to the worship of their gurus (acharyas), without whose intervention they believe that they cannot obtain beatitude. hence sri vaishnavites insist upon the samasrayanam ceremony. after the sandhya service and brahma yagna, the guru is worshipped. all orthodox vaishnavas keep with them a silk cloth bearing the impressions of the feet of their acharya, an abhayastha or impression of the hand of vishnu in sandal paste, a few necklaces of silk thread (pavitram), and a bit of the bark of the tamarind tree growing at the temple at alvartirunagiri in the tinnevelly district. the worshipper puts on his head the silk cloth, and round his neck the silk necklaces, and, if available, a necklace of nelumbium (sacred lotus) seeds. after saluting the abhayastha by pressing it to his eyes, he repeats the prayer of his acharya, and proceeds to the devatarchana, which consists in the performance of the sixteen upacharas already described. the salagrama stone is bathed, and the purusha suktha repeated. the daily observances are brought to a close by the performance of the vaisvadeva ceremony, or offering to vaisvadevas (all the gods). this consists in offering cooked rice, etc., to all the gods. some regard this as a sort of expiatory ceremony, to wipe out the sin which may have accidentally been committed by killing small animals in the process of cooking food. the male members of a family take their meals apart from the females. the food is served on platters made of the leaves of the banyan (ficus bengalensis), butea frondosa, bauhinia, or plantain. amongst smarthas and madhvas, various vegetable preparations are served first, and rice last, whereas, amongst the sri vaishnavas, especially vadagalais, rice is served first. before commencing to eat, a little water (tirtham), in which a salagrama stone has been bathed, is poured into the palms of those who are about to partake of the meal. they drink the water simultaneously, saying "amartopastaranamasi." they then put a few handfuls of rice into their mouths, repeating some mantras--"pranayasvaha, udanayasvaha, somanayasvaha," etc. at the end of the meal, all are served with a little water, which they sip, saying "amartapithanamasi." they then rise together. in connection with the salagrama stone, which has been referred to several times, the following interesting account thereof [166] may be quoted:--"salagrams are fossil cephalopods (ammonites), and are found chiefly in the bed of the gandak river, a mountain torrent which, rising in the lofty mountains of nepal, flows into the ganges at salagrami, a village from which they take their name, and which is not far from the sacred city of benares. in appearance they are small black shiny pebbles of various shapes, usually round or oval, with a peculiar natural hole in them. they have certain marks to be described later, and are often flecked and inlaid with gold [or pyrites]. the name salagram is of sanskrit derivation, from sara chakra, the weapon of vishnu, and grava, a stone; the chakra or chakram being represented on the stone by queer spiral lines, popularly believed to be engraved thereon at the request of vishnu by the creator brahma, who, in the form of a worm, bores the holes known as vadanas, and traces the spiral coil that gives the stone its name. there is a curious legend connected with their origin. in ancient times there lived a certain dancing-girl, the most beautiful that had ever been created, so beautiful indeed that it was impossible to find a suitable consort for her. the girl, in despair at her loveliness, hid herself in the mountains, in the far away himalayas, and there spent several years in prayer, till at last vishnu appeared before her, and asked what she wanted. she begged him to tell her how it was that the great creator brahma, who had made her so beautiful, had not created a male consort for her of similar perfect form. then she looked on vishnu, and asked the god to kiss her. vishnu could not comply with her request as she was a dancing-girl, and of low caste, but promised by his virtue that she should be reincarnated in the himalayas in the form of a river, which should bear the name gandaki, and that he would be in the river as her eternal consort in the shape of a salagram. thereupon the river gandaki rose from the himalayas, and salagrams were found in it. how the true virtue of the salagram was discovered is another strange little fable. a poor boy of the kshatriya or warrior class once found one when playing by the river side. he soon discovered that when he had it in his hand, or secreted in his mouth, or about his person, his luck was so extraordinary at marbles or whatever game he played, that he always won. at last he so excelled in all he undertook that he rose to be a great king. finally vishnu himself came to fetch him, and bore him away in a cloud. the mystic river gandaki is within the jurisdiction of the maharaja of nepal, and is zealously guarded on both banks, while the four special places where the sacred stones are mostly picked up are leased out under certain conditions, the most important being that all true salagrams found are to be submitted to the maharaja. these are then tested, the selected ones retained, and the others returned to the lessee. the first test of the salagrams to prove if they are genuine is very simple, but later they are put through other ordeals to try their supernatural powers. each stone, as it is discovered, is struck on all sides with a small hammer, or, in some cases, is merely knocked with the finger. this causes the soft powdery part, produced by the boring of the worm, to fall in and disclose the vadana or hole, which may, in the more valuable salagrams, contain gold or a precious gem. in addition to the real stone with chakram and vadana formed by natural causes, there are found in many mountain streams round black pebbles resembling the true salagram in colour, shape, and size, but lacking the chakram and vadana. these are collected by bairagis, or holy mendicants, who bore imitation vadanas in them, and, tracing false chakrams in balapa or slate stone, paste them on the pebbles. so skilfully is this fraud perpetrated that it is only after years of use and perpetual washing at the daily puja that in time the tracery wears away, and detection becomes possible. there are over eighteen known and different kinds of true salagrams, the initial value of which varies according to the shape and markings of the stone. the price of any one salagram may be so enhanced after the further tests have been applied, that even a lakh of rupees (rs. 1,00,000) will fail to purchase it; and, should experience prove the stone a lucky one, nothing will, as a rule, induce the fortunate owner to part with it. the three shapes of salagrams most highly prized are known as the vishnu salagram, the lakshmi narasimha salagram, and the mutchya murti salagram. the first has a chakram on it the shape of a garland, and bears marks known as the shenka (conch) gada padma, or the weapons of vishnu, and is peculiar to that god. the second has two chakrams on the left of the vadana, and has dots or specks all over it. this stone, if properly worshipped, is believed to ensure to its owner prosperity and eternal life. the third, the mutchya murti, is a long-shaped flat stone with a vadana that gives it a resemblance to the face of a fish. it bears two chakrams, one inside and one outside the vadana, and also has specks and dots on it in the shape of a shoe. there are four or five varieties of this species, and it also, if duly worshipped, will infallibly enrich its possessor. one salagram there is which has no vadana, and is known as the ugra chakra salagram. it is quite round with two chakrams, but it is not a particularly safe one to possess, and is described as a 'furious salagrama,' for, if not worshipped with sufficient ardour, it will resent the neglect, and ruin the owner. the first thing to do on obtaining a salagram is to find out whether or not it is a lucky stone, for a stone that will bring luck to one owner may mean ruin for another. the tests are various; a favourite one is to place the salagram with its exact weight of rice together in one place for the night. if the rice has increased in the morning (and, in some cases, my informant assures me, it will be found to have doubled in quantity), then the stone is one to be regarded by its lucky holder as priceless, and on no account to be parted with. if, on the other hand, the rice measures the same, or--dreadful omen--has even become less, then let the house be rid of it as early as possible. if no purchaser can be found, make a virtue of necessity, and send it as a present to the nearest temple or mutt (religious institution), where the gurus know how to appease the wrath of the deity with daily offerings of fruits and flowers. a salagram will never bring any luck if its possession is acquired by fraud or force. the story runs that once a brahman, finding one with a mahomedan butcher, obtained it by theft. the luckless man speedily rued the day of his time, for, from that time onwards, nothing prospered, and he ended his days a destitute pauper. again, possession of them without worship is believed by all hindus to be most unlucky, and, as none but brahmans can perform the worship, none but brahmans will retain the stones in their keeping. for an orthodox brahman household, the ownership of three or more stones is an absolute necessity. these must be duly worshipped and washed with water, and the water drunk as tirtha, and sacrifice of boiled rice and other food must be daily performed. when this is done, speedy success in all the business of life will fall to the lot of the inmates of the house, but otherwise ruin and disgrace await them." in some temples, the mula vigraha, or idol fixed in the inner sanctuary, is decorated with a necklace of salagrama stones. for example, at tirupati the god is thus decorated. the following incident in connection with a salagrama stone is narrated by yule and burnell [167]:--"in may, 1883, a salagrama was the ostensible cause of great popular excitement among the hindus of calcutta. during the proceedings in a family suit before the high court, a question arose regarding the identity of a salagrama, regarded as a household god. counsel on both sides suggested that the thing should be brought into court. mr. justice morris hesitated to give this order till he had taken advice. the attorneys on both sides, hindus, said there could be no objection; the court interpreter, a high-caste brahman, said it could not be brought into court because of the coir matting, but it might with perfect propriety be brought into the corridor for inspection; which was done. this took place during the excitement about the 'ilbert bill,' giving natives magisterial authority in the provinces over europeans; and there followed most violent and offensive articles in several native newspapers reviling mr. justice morris, who was believed to be hostile to the bill. the editor of the bengallee newspaper, an educated man, and formerly a member of the covenanted civil service, the author of one of the most unscrupulous and violent articles, was summoned for contempt of court. he made an apology and complete retraction, but was sentenced to two months' imprisonment." the sacred chank, conch, or sankhu, which has been referred to in connection with ceremonial observance, is the shell of the gastropod mollusc turbinella rapa. this is secured, in southern india, by divers from tuticorin in the vicinity of the pearl banks. the chank shell, which one sees suspended on the forehead and round the neck of bullocks, is not only used by hindus for offering libations, and as a musical instrument in temples, but is also cut into armlets, bracelets, and other ornaments. writing in the sixteenth century, garcia says:--"this chanco is a ware for the bengal trade, and formerly produced more profit than now ... and there was formerly a custom in bengal that no virgin in honour and esteem could be corrupted unless it were by placing bracelets of chanco on her arms; but, since the patans came in, this usage has more or less ceased." "the conch shell," captain c. r. day writes, [168] "is not in secular use as a musical instrument, but is found in every temple, and is sounded during religious ceremonials, in processions, and before the shrines of hindu deities. in southern india, the sankhu is employed in the ministration of a class of temple servers called dasari. no tune, so to speak, can of course be played upon it, but still the tone is capable of much modulation by the lips, and its clear mellow notes are not without a certain charm. a rather striking effect is produced when it is used in the temple ritual as a sort of rhythmical accompaniment, when it plays the part of kannagolu or talavinyasa." in a petition from two natives of the city of madras in 1734, in connection with the expenses for erecting a town called chintadrepettah, the following occurs [169]:--"expended towards digging a foundation, where chanks was buried with accustomary ceremonies." a right-handed chank (i.e., one which has its spiral opening to the right), which was found off the coast of ceylon at jaffna in 1887, was sold for rs. 700. such a chank is said to have been sometimes priced at a lakh of rupees; and, writing in 1813, milburn says [169] that a chank opening to the right hand is greatly valued, and always sells for its weight in gold. further, baldæus narrates the legend that garroude flew in all haste to brahma, and brought to kistna the chianko or kinkhorn twisted to the right. the chank appears as a symbol on coins of the chalukyan and pandyan dynasties of southern india, and on the modern coins of the maharajas of travancore. temple worship is entirely based on agamas. as brahmans take part only in the worship of siva and vishnu, temples dedicated to these gods are largely frequented by them. the duties connected with the actual worship of the idol are carried out by gurukkals in siva temples, and by pancharatra or vaikhanasa archakas in vishnu temples. the cooking of the food for the daily offering is done by brahmans called parcharakas. at the time of worship, some brahmans, called adhyapakas, recite the vedas. some stanzas from thiruvaimozhi or thevaram are also repeated, the former by brahmans at vishnu temples, and the latter by pandarams (oduvar) at siva temples. in a typical temple there are usually two idols, one of stone (mula vigraha) and the other of metal (utsava vigraha). the mula vigraha is permanently fixed within the inner shrine or garbagraha, and the utsava vigraha is intended to be carried in procession. the mula vigrahas of vishnu temples are generally in human form, either in a standing posture, or, as in the case of ranganatha, padmanabha, and govindarajaswami, in a reclining posture, on adisesha. ordinarily, three idols constitute the mula vigraha. these are vishnu, sridevi (lakshmi), and bhudevi (earth goddess). in temples dedicated to sri rama, lakshmana is found instead of bhudevi. sridevi and bhudevi are also associated with vishnu in the utsava vigraha. in all the larger temples, there is a separate building in the temple precincts dedicated to lakshmi, and within the garbagraha thereof, called thayar or nachiyar sannadhi, is a mula vigraha of lakshmi. there may also be one or more shrines dedicated to the alvars (vaishnava saints) and the acharyas--desikar and manavala mahamunigal. the sect mark is put on the faces of the mula and utsava vigrahas. the mula vigraha in siva temples is a lingam (phallic emblem). in siva temples, there is within the garbagraha only one lamp burning, which emits a very feeble light. hence arise the common sayings "as dim as the light burning in siva's temple," or "like the lamp in siva's temple." the utsava vigraha is in the human forms of siva and parvathi. in all important saivite temples, parvathi is housed in a separate building, as lakshmi is in vishnu temples. vigneswara, subramanya, and the important nayanmars also have separate shrines in the temple precincts. so far as ordinary daily worship is concerned, there is not much difference in the mode of worship between temple and domestic worship. every item is done on a large scale, and certain special agamic or tantric rites are added to the sixteen upacharas already mentioned. at the present time, there are, especially in the case of vishnu temples, two forms of temple worship, called pancharatra and vaikhanasa. in the former, which is like domestic worship in all essential points, any brahman may officiate as temple priest. in the latter, only vaikhanasa archakas may officiate. all big temples are generally well endowed, and some temples receive from government annual grants of money, called tasdik. the management of the temple affairs rests with the dharmakarthas (trustees), who practically have absolute control over the temple funds. all the temple servants, such as archakas, parcharakas, and adhyapakas, and the non-brahman servants (sweepers, flower-gatherers, musicians and dancing-girls) are subject to the authority of the dharmakartha. for their services in the temple, these people are paid partly in money, and partly in kind. the cooked food, which is offered daily to the god, is distributed among the temple servants. on ordinary days, the offerings of cooked food made by the archakas, and the fruits brought by those who come to worship, are offered only to the mula vigraha, whereas, on festival days, they are offered to the utsava vigrahas. for worship in vishnu temples, flowers and tulsi (ocimum sanctum) are used. in siva temples, bilva (bael: ægle marmelos) leaves are substituted for tulsi. at the close of the worship, the archaka gives to those present thirtham (holy water), tulsi or bilva leaves, and vibhuthi (sacred ashes) according to the nature of the temple. at vishnu temples, immediately after the giving of thirtham, an inverted bowl, bearing on it the feet of vishnu (satari or sadagopam), is placed by the archaka first on the head, and then on the right shoulder, and again on the head, in the case of grown up and married males, and only on the head in the case of females and young people. the bowl is always kept near the mula vigraha, and, on festival days, when the god is taken in procession through the streets, it is carried along with the utsava vigraha. on festival days, such as dhipavali, vaikunta ekadasi, dwadasi, etc., the god of the temple is taken in procession through the main streets of the town or village. the idol, thus borne in procession, is not the stone figure, but the portable one made of metal (utsava vigraha), which is usually kept in the temple in front of the mula idol. at almost every important temple, an annual festival called brahmotsavam, which usually lasts ten days, is celebrated. every night during this festival, the god is seated on the clay, wooden or metal figure of some animal as a vehicle, e.g., garuda, horse, elephant, bull, hanuman, peacock, yali, etc., and taken in procession, accompanied by a crowd of brahmans chanting the vedas and tamil nalayara prapandhams, if the temple is an important one. of the vehicles or vahanams, hanuman and garuda are special to vishnu, and the bull (nandi) and tiger to siva. the others are common to both deities. during the month of may, the festival of the god varadaraja takes place annually. on one of the ten days of this festival, the idol, which has gone through a regular marriage ceremony, is placed on an elaborately decorated car (ratha), and dragged through the main streets. the car frequently bears a number of carved images of a very obscene nature, the object of which, it is said, is to avert the evil eye. various castes, besides brahmans, take part in temple worship, at which the saints of both siva and vishnu--nayanmar and alvars--are worshipped. the brahmans do not entirely ignore the worship of the lower deities, such as mariamma, muneswara, kodamanitaya, etc. at udipi in south canara, the centre of the madhva cult, where madhva preached his dvaitic philosophy, and where there are several mutts presided over by celibate priests, the brahmans often make a vow to the bhuthas (devils) of the paravas and nalkes. quite recently, we saw an orthodox shivalli brahman, employed under the priest of one of the udipi mutts, celebrating the nema (festival) of a bhutha named panjurli, in fulfilment of a vow made when his son was ill. the nalke devil-dancers were sent for, and the dance took place in the courtyard of the brahman's house. during the leaf festival at periyapalayam near madras, brahman males and females may be seen wearing leafy twigs of margosa (melia azadirachta), and going round the mariamma shrine. i pass on to a detailed consideration of the various classes of brahmans met with in southern india. of these, the tamil brahmans, or dravidas proper, are most numerous in the southern districts. they are divided into the following sections:-i. smartha. (a) vadama. (b) kesigal. (c) brahacharnam. (d) vathima or madhema. (e) ashtasahasram. (f) dikshitar. (g) sholiar. (h) mukkani. (i) kaniyalar. (j) sankethi. (k) prathamasaki. (l) gurukkal. ii. vaishnava. a. vadagalai (northerners). (a) sri vaishnava. (b) vaikhanasa. (c) pancharatra. (d) hebbar. b. thengalai (southerners). (a) sri vaishnava. (b) vaikhanasa. (c) pancharatra. (d) hebbar. (e) mandya. i. smartha--(a) vadama.--the vadamas claim to be superior to the other classes, but will dine with all the sections, except gurukkals and prathamasakis, and, in some places, will even eat with prathamasakis. the sub-divisions among the vadamas are:- 1. choladesa (chola country). 2. vadadesa (north country). 3. savayar or sabhayar. 4. inji. 5. thummagunta dravida. all these are smarthas, who use as their sect mark either the urdhvapundram (straight mark made with sandal paste) or the circular mark, and rarely the cross lines. they worship both siva and vishnu, and generally read puranas about vishnu. some vadamas use the vaishnava namam as their sect mark, and are called kiththunamakkarar. they follow the smartha customs in every way. there is a common saying "vadamam muththi vaishnavam," i.e., a vadama ripens into a vaishnava. this is literally true. some vadama families, who put on the urdhvapundram mark, and follow the smartha customs, observe pollution whenever a death occurs in certain sri vaishnava families. this is because the sri vaishnavas are vadamas recently converted into vaishnava families. (b) kesigal.--the kesigals, or hiranyakesikal (men of the silvery hair), as they are sometimes called, closely resemble the vadamas, but are an exclusive endogamous unit, and highly conservative and orthodox. they are called hiranyakesikal or hiranyakesis because they follow the grihya sutras of hiranyakesi. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the tanjore district, that they "are peculiar in all having one common sutram called the sathyashada after a common ancestor." (c) brahacharnam (the great sect).--the brahacharnams are more saivite, and more orthodox than the vadamas. they put on vibhuti (sacred ashes) and sandal paste horizontal lines as their sect mark. the sub division sathyamangalam brahacharnam seems, however, to be an exception, as some members thereof put on the vaishnavite sect mark at all times, or at least during the month of purattasi, which is considered sacred to the god venkataramana of tirupati. the more orthodox brahacharnams wear a single rudraksha bead, or a necklace of beads, and some make lingams out of these beads, which they put on the head during worship. they generally worship five gods, viz., siva in the form of a lingam, spatika (crystal) lingam, vishnu, ganesa, and iswara. it is said that brahacharnam women can be distinguished by the mode of tying the cloth, which is not worn so as to reach to the feet, but reaches only to just below the knees. the brahacharnams are sub-divided into the following sections:- 1. kandramanicka. 2. milaganur. 3. mangudi. 4. palavaneri or pazhamaneri. 5. musanadu. 6. kolaththur. 7. maruthancheri. 8. sathyamangalam. 9. puthur dravida. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the tanjore district, that "one ceremony peculiar to the milaganur brahacharnams is that, before the principal marriage ceremonies of the first day, a feast is given to four married women, a widow, and a bachelor. this is called the adrisya pendugal (invisible women) ceremony. it is intended to propitiate four wives belonging to this sub-division, who are said to have been cruelly treated by their mother-in-law, and cursed the class. they are represented to have feasted a widow, and to have then disappeared." (d) vathima.--the vathimas, or madhimas, are most numerous in the tanjore district, and are thus described in the gazetteer:--"the vattimas are grouped into three smaller sub-sections, of which one is called 'the eighteen village vattimas,' from the fact that they profess (apparently with truth) to have lived till recently in only eighteen villages, all of them in this district. they have a marked character of their own, which may be briefly described. they are generally money-lenders, and consequently are unpopular with their neighbours, who are often blind to their virtues and unkind to their failings. [there is a proverb that the vadamas are always economical, and the vathimas always unite together.] it is a common reproach against them that they are severe to those who are in their debt, and parsimonious in their household expenditure. to this latter characteristic is attributed their general abstinence from dholl (the usual accompaniment of a brahman meal), and their preference for a cold supper instead of a hot meal. the women work as hard as the men, making mats, selling buttermilk, and lending money on their own account, and are declared to be as keen in money-making and usury as their brothers. they, however, possess many amiable traits. they are well known for a generous hospitality on all great occasions, and no poor guest or brahman mendicant has ever had reason to complain in their houses that he is being served worse than his richer or more influential fellows. indeed, if anything, he fares the better for his poverty. again, they are unusually lavish in their entertainments at marriages; but their marriage feasts have the peculiarity that, whatever the total amount expended, a fixed proportion is always paid for the various items--so much per cent. for the pandal, so much per cent. for food, and so on. indeed it is asserted that a beggar who sees the size of the marriage pandal will be able to guess to a nicety the size of the present he will get. nor, again, at their marriages, do they haggle about the marriage settlement, since they have a scale, more or less fixed and generally recognised, which determines these matters. there is less keen competition for husbands among them, since their young men marry at an earlier age more invariably than among the other sub-divisions. the vattimas are clannish. if a man fails to pay his dues to one of them, the word is passed round, and no other man of the sub-division will ever lend his money. they sometimes unite to light their villages by private subscription, and to see to its sanitation, and, in a number of ways, they exhibit a corporate unity. till quite recently they were little touched by english education; but a notable exception to this general statement existed in the late sir a. seshayya sastri, who was of vattima extraction." the sub-divisions of the vattimas are:- 1. pathinettu gramaththu (eighteen villages). 2. udayalur. 3. nannilam. 4. rathamangalam. according to some, this is not a separate section, but comes under the eighteen village section. (e) ashtasahasram (eight thousand).--this class is considered to be inferior to the brahacharnams and vadamas. the members thereof are, like the brahacharnams, more saivite than the vadamas. the females are said to wear their cloth very elegantly, and with the lower border reaching so low as to cover the ankles. the sub-divisions of the ashtasahasrams are:- 1. aththiyur. 2. arivarpade. 3. nandivadi. 4. shatkulam (six families). as their numbers are few, though the sub-divisions are endogamous, intermarriage is not entirely prohibited. (f) dikshitar.--another name for this section is thillai muvayiravar, i.e., the three thousand of thillai (now chidambaram). there is a tradition that three thousand people started from benares, and, when they reached chidambaram, they were one short. this confused them, but they were pacified when siva explained that he was the missing individual. the dikshitars form a limited community of only several hundred families. the men, like nayars and nambutiri brahmans of the west coast, wear the hair tuft on the front of the head. they do not give their girls in marriage to other sections of brahmans, and they do not allow their women to leave chidambaram. hence arises the proverb "a thillai girl never crosses the boundary line." the dikshitars are priests of the temple of nataraja at chidambaram, whereat they serve by turns. males marry very early in life, and it is very difficult to secure a girl for marriage above the age of five. the tendency to marry when very young is due to the fact that only married persons have a voice in the management of the affairs of the temple, and an individual must be married before he can get a share of the temple income. the chief sources of income are the pavadam and kattalai (heaps of cooked rice piled up or spread on a board), which are offered to the god. every dikshitar will do his best to secure clients, of whom the best are nattukottai chettis. the clients are housed and looked after by the dikshitars. concerning the dikshitars, mr. w. francis writes as follows [170]:--"an interesting feature about the chidambaram temple is its system of management. it has no landed or other endowments, nor any tasdik allowance, and is the property of a class of brahmans peculiar to the town, who are held in far more respect than the generality of the temple-priest brahmans, are called dikshitars (those who make oblations), marry only among themselves, and in appearance somewhat resemble the nayars or tiyans of malabar, bringing their topknot round to the front of their foreheads. their ritual in the temple more resembles that of a domestic worship than the forms commonly followed in other large shrines. theoretically, all the married males of the dikshitars have a voice in the management of the temple, and a share in its perquisites; and at present there are some 250 of such shares. they go round the southern districts soliciting alms and offerings for themselves. each one has his own particular clientèle, and, in return for the alms received, he makes, on his return, offerings at the shrine in the name of his benefactors, and sends them now and again some holy ashes, or an invitation to a festival. twenty of the dikshitars are always on duty in the temple, all the males of the community (except boys and widowers) doing the work by turns lasting twenty days each, until each one has been the round of all the different shrines. the twenty divide themselves into five parties of four each, each of which is on duty for four days at one of the five shrines at which daily puja is made, sleeps there at night, and becomes the owner of the routine offerings of food made at it. large presents of food made to the temple as a whole are divided among all the dikshitars. the right to the other oblations is sold by auction every twenty days to one of the dikshitars at a meeting of the community. these periodical meetings take place in the deva sabha. a lamp from nataraja's shrine is brought, and placed there by a pandaram, and (to avoid even the appearance of any deviation from the principle of the absolute equality of all dikshitars in the management of the temple) this man acts as president of the meeting, and proposals are made impersonally through him." as a class the dikshitars are haughty, and refuse to acknowledge any of the sankarachariars as their priests, because they are almost equal to the god siva, who is one of them. if a sankarachariar comes to the temple, he is not allowed to take sacred ashes direct from the cup, as is done at other temples to show respect to the sanyasi. the dikshitars are mostly yejur vedis, though a few are followers of the rig veda. when a girl attains puberty, she goes in procession, after the purificatory bath, to every dikshitar's house, and receives presents. (g) sholiar.--the sholiars are divided into the following sections:- (1) thirukattiur. (2) madalur. (3) visalur. (4) puthalur. (5) senganur. (6) avadayar kovil. concerning the sholiars, mr. c. ramachendrier writes as follows [171]:--"the sholiars of thiruvanakaval (in the tanjore district) belong to the first sub-division, and they form a separate community, devoting their time to service in the temple. those who make puja to the idol are pradhamasakis, and are called archakas. those who serve as cooks, and attend to other inferior services, are called arya nambi, and those who decorate the idols taken in procession on festive occasions are termed therunabuttan. archakas alone are entitled to decorate stone images in the chief shrines of the temple, and they are also called pandits. according to custom, sholia brahmans should wear front locks, but some of them have adopted the custom of other brahmans, while the orthodox section of the community, and the archakas of thiruvanakaval, speak a very low tamil with a peculiar intonation, and they do not send their children to english schools. young boys are trained by their parents in the temple service, which entitles them, even when young, to some emoluments. there are amongst them none who have received either sanskrit or tamil education. the archakas perform pujas by turn, and, as the archakaship is to be conferred at a certain age by anointment by a guru, infant marriage does not obtain among them to such an extent as among the dikshitars of chidambaram. they eat with the other smartha brahmans, but do not intermarry. they count about 300 in number, including women and children. there is no intermarriage between them and the other sholia brahmans. those of avadayarcovil are also engaged in the service of the temple of that name. sholiars of other classes are to be found in vasishtakudy in the taluk of vriddachallam, vemmaniathur in the taluk of villupuram, and visalur in the taluk of kumbaconam." in an article on the sholiars, [172] it is recorded that "they are a very intelligent people, and at the same time very vindictive if disturbed. chanakya, the indian machiavelli and the minister of chandragupta, is supposed to have belonged to this caste. his hatred of the nanda family, and the way in which he uprooted each and every member of that race, has been depicted in the famous sanskrit drama mudrarakshasa, which belongs to the 7th century a.d. whether on account of his character, and under the belief that he originated from this caste, or for some reason which is unaccountable, the soliyas of modern days are held as very vindictive people, as the following proverb will show:--'we do not want to meet with a soliya even in a picture.'" another proverb is to the effect that "the kudumi (hair tuft) on the head of a sholiar does not shake without sufficient reason," i.e., it is a sign that he is bent upon doing some mischief. (h) mukkani.--the mukkanis are smarthas confined to the cochin and travancore states. (i) kaniyalar.--concerning the kaniyalars, mr. ramachendrier writes as follows:--"kanialars form a separate class of smartha brahmins, and they live in the district of tinnevelly and some parts of trichinopoly. they do not intermarry with any other class of smartha brahmins, but eat with them. a large number of them, though smarthas by birth, wear a mark on their forehead like vyshnava brahmins, and serve as cooks and menial servants in the big temple at srirangam. their women adopt the vyshnava women's style of wearing cloths, and to all appearance they would pass for vyshnava women. the vyshnava brahmins would not allow them to mess in their houses, though they treat rice and cakes prepared by them in temples and offered to god as pure and holy, and partake of them." (j) sankethi.--the sankethis are confined to the mysore province. they speak a very corrupt form of tamil, mixed with canarese. the following account of them is given in the mysore census report, 1891. "they are found chiefly in the mysore and hassan districts. their colonies are also found in kadur and shimoga. their number seems to have been somewhat understated; many of them have probably returned themselves as dravidas. so far as language is an indication of race, the sanketis are tamilians, although their dialect is more diluted with kanarese than that of any other kannada ridden tamil body. theirs seems to have been among the earliest immigrations into mysore from the neighbouring tamil country. it is said that some 700 years ago, about 1,000 families of smartha brahmans emigrated from the vicinity of kanchi (conjeeveram), induced doubtless by contemporary politics. they set out in two batches towards mysore. they were attacked by robbers on the road, but the larger party of about 700 families persevered in the march notwithstanding, and settled near the village of kausika near hassan, whence they are distinguished as kausika sanketis. some twelve years afterwards, the other party of 300 families found a resting place at bettadapura in the hunsur taluk. this branch has been called bettadapura sanketi. their religious and social customs are the same. the kausika sanketis occasionally take wives from the bettadapura section, but, when the married girl joins her husband, her connection with her parents and relatives ceases altogether even in regard to meals. during the coorg disturbances about the end of the last (eighteenth) century, many young women of the sanketis were captured by the kodagas (coorgs), and some of the captives were subsequently recovered. their descendants are to this day known as sanketis of the west, or hiriangalas. but they, and another sub-class called patnagere sanketis, do not in all exceed twenty families. the sanketis are proverbially a hardy, intensely conservative and industrious brahman community. they are referred to as models for simultaneously securing the twofold object of preserving the study of the vedas, while securing a worldly competence by cultivating their gardens; and, short of actually ploughing the land, they are pre-eminently the only fraction of the brahman brotherhood who turn their hands to the best advantage." (k) prathamasaki.--these follow the white yajur veda, and are hence called sukla yejur vedis. the white yajus forms the first fifteen sakas of the yejur veda, and this is in consequence sometimes called prathamasaka. the prathamasakis are sometimes called katyayana (followers of katyayana sutram), vajusaneya, and madyandanas. the two last names occur among their pravara and gotra rishis. the prathamasakis are found among all the linguistic sections. among smarthas, andhras, and vaishnavas, they are regarded as inferior. carnataka prathamasakis are, on the other hand, not considered inferior by the other sections of carnatakas. in the tanjore district, the prathamasakis are said to be known as madyana paraiyans. the following quaint legend is recorded in the gazetteer of that district:--"the god of the tiruvalur temple was entreated by a pujari of this place (koiltirumulam) to be present in the village at a sacrifice in his (the god's) honour. the deity consented at length, but gave warning that he would come in a very unwelcome shape. he appeared as a paraiyan (pariah) with beef on his back, and followed by the four vedas in the form of dogs, and took his part in the sacrifice thus accoutred and attended. all the brahmans who were present ran away, and the god was so incensed that he condemned them to be paraiyans for one hour in the day, from noon till 1 p.m., ever afterwards. there is a class of brahmans called mid-day paraiyans, who are found in several districts, and a colony of whom reside at sedanipuram five miles from nannilam. it is believed throughout the tanjore district that the mid-day paraiyans are the descendants of the brahmans thus cursed by the god. they are supposed to expiate their defilement by staying outside their houses for an hour and a half every day at mid-day, and to bathe afterwards; and, if they do this, they are much respected. few of them, however, observe this rule, and orthodox persons will not eat with them, because of their omission to remove the defilement. they call themselves the prathamasaka." several versions of stories accounting for their pollution are extant, and the following is a version given by mr. ramachendrier. "yagnavalkiar, who was the chief disciple of vysampayanar, having returned with his students from pilgrimage, represented to his priest that yajur veda was unrivalled, and that he and his students alone were qualified for its propagation. vysampayanar, feeling provoked by this assertion, which, he remarked, implied insult to brahmans, proposed certain penance for the offence. yagnavalkiar replied that he and his students had done many good deeds and performed many religious rites, and that they were still to do such, and that the insult imputed to them was worthy of little notice. vysampayanar required yagnavalkiar to give back the vedas which he had taught him, which he threw out at once. the matter thrown out having been like cinders, vysampayanar's disciples then present, assuming the shape of thithiri birds (fire-eating birds), swallowed them, and hence the veda is called thithiriya saka and ktishna yajus. soon after, yagnavalkiar, without his priest's knowledge, went to the sun, and, offering prayers, entreated him to teach him vedas. the sun, thereupon taking the shape of a horse, taught him the yajur veda, which now forms the first fifteen sakas, and he in turn taught it to his disciples kanvar, madhyandanar, katyayanar, and vajasaneyar. it is to be gathered from varaha puranam that vysampayanar pronounced a curse that the rig veda taught by the sun should be considered degraded, and that the brahmans reading it should become chandalas (outcastes)." another version of the legend runs as follows. vaisampayanar used to visit the king almost every day, and bless him by giving akshatha or sacred rice. one day, as vaisampayanar could not go, he gave the rice grains to his disciple yagnavalkiar, and told him to take them to the king. accordingly, yagnavalkiar went to the king's palace, and found the throne empty. being impatient by nature, he left the rice grains on the throne, and returned to his priest. the king, when he returned home, found his throne changed into gold, and certain plants were growing round his seat. on enquiry, he discovered that this marvellous effect was due to the sacred akshatha. he sent word to vaisampayanar to send the rice grains by his disciple who had brought them. yagnavalkiar refused, and was told to vomit the vedas. readily he vomited, and, going to the sun, learnt the veda from him. as the sun is always in motion sitting in his car, the vedas could not be learnt without mistakes and peculiar sounds. when he came to his guru vaisampayanar, yagnavalkiar was cursed to become a chandala. the curse was subsequently modified, as the sun interceded on behalf of yagnavalkiar. (l) gurukkal.--the gurukkals are all followers of the bodhayana sutras. they are temple priests, and other brahmans regard them as inferior, and will not eat with them. even in temples, the gurukkals sprinkle water over the food when it is offered to the god, but do not touch the food. they may not live in the same quarters with other brahmans. no agraharam (brahman quarter) will ever contain a gurukkal's house. there should, strictly speaking, be at least a lane separating the houses of the gurukkals from those of other brahmans. this is, however, not rigidly observed at the present day. for example, at shiyali, gurukkals and other brahmans live in the same street. there are among the gurukkals the following sub-divisions:- 1. tiruvalangad. 2. conjeeveram. 3. tirukkazhukunram. the tiruvalangad gurukkals mark their bodies with vibhuti (sacred ashes) in sixteen places, viz., head, face, neck, chest, navel, knees, two sides of the abdomen, back and hands (three places on each hand). the other two sub-divisions mark themselves in eight places, viz., head, face, neck, chest, knees and hands. gurukkals who wish to become priests have to go through several stages of initiation called dikshai (see pandaram). gurukkals are saivites to a greater extent than the smarthas, and do not regard themselves as disciples of sankaracharya. those who are orthodox, and are temple priests, should not see the corpses of pandarams and other non-brahman castes. the sight of such a corpse is supposed to heap sin on them, and pollute them, so that they are unfit for temple worship. ii. vaishnava.--the vaishnavas, or sri vaishnavas, as they are sometimes called to distinguish them from the madhvas, who are also called vaishnavas, are all converts from smarthas, though they profess to constitute a distinct section. some are converts from telugu smarthas, and are called andhra vaishnavas. these do not mix with other tamil-speaking vaishnavas, and retain some of the telugu customs. there are two distinct groups of sri vaishnavas--the vadagalais (northerners) and thengalais (southerners), who are easily distinguished by the marks on their foreheads. the vadagalais put on a u-shaped mark, and the thengalais a y-shaped mark. the white mark is made with a kind of kaolin called tiruman, and turmeric rendered red by means of alkali is used for the central streak. the turmeric, as applied by the more orthodox, is of a yellow instead of red colour. orthodox sri vaishnavas are very exclusive, and hold that they co-existed as a separate caste of brahmans with the smarthas. but it was only after ramanuja's teaching that the vaishnavas seceded from the smarthas, and the ranks were swollen by frequent additions from amongst the vadamas. there are some families of vaishnavas which observe pollution when there is a death in certain smartha families, which belong to the same gotra. vaishnavas of some places, e.g., valavanur, savalai, and perangiyur, in the south arcot district, are considered low by the orthodox sections of vaishnavas, because they are recent converts to vaishnavism. a good example of smarthas becoming vaishnavas is afforded by the thummagunta dravidas, some of whom have become vaishnavas, but still take girls in marriage from smartha families, but do not give their daughters in marriage to smarthas. all vaishnavas are expected to undergo a ceremony of initiation into vaishnavism after the upanayanam ceremony. at the time of initiation, they are branded with the marks of the chakram and sankha (chank) on the right and left shoulders respectively. the vaikhanasas and pancharatras regard the branding as unnecessary. the ceremony of initiation (samasrayanam) is usually performed by the head of a mutt. sometimes, however, it is carried out by an elderly member of the family of the candidate. such families go by the name of swayam acharya purushas (those who have their own men as acharyas). for vadagalais there are two mutts. of these, the ahobila mutt was formerly at tiruvallur, but its head-quarters has been transferred to narasimhapuram near kumbakonam. the parakalaswami mutt is in the mysore province. for thengalais there are three mutts, at vanamamalai and sriperumbudur in chingleput, and tirukoilur in south arcot. these are called respectively the tothadri, ethirajajhir, and emberumanar mutts. there are various points of difference between vadagalais and thengalais, which sometimes lead to bitter quarrels in connection with temple worship. during the procession of the god at temple festivals, both vadagalais and thengalais go before and after the god, repeating sanskrit vedas and tamil prapandhams respectively. before commencing these, certain slokas are recited, in one of which the vadagalais use the expression ramanuja daya patram, and the thengalais the expression srisailesa daya patram, and a quarrel ensues in consequence. the main differences between the two sections are summarised as follows in the mysore census report, 1891:--"the tenets which form the bone of contention between the tengales and vadagales are stated to number 18, and seem to cluster round a few cardinal items of controversy:-1. whether lakshmi, the consort of vishnu, is (vibhu) co-omnipresent and co-illimitable with vishnu; 2. whether lakshmi is only the mediatrix for, or the co-bestower of moksham or final beatitude; 3. whether there is any graduated moksham attainable by the good and blessed, according to their multifarious merits; 4. whether prapatti, or unconditional surrender of the soul to god, should be performed once for all, or after every act of spiritual rebellion; 5. whether it (prapatti) is open to all, or is prescribed only for those specially prepared and apprenticed; 6. whether the indivisibly atomic human soul is entered into, and permeated or not by the omnipresent creator; 7. whether god's mercy is exerted with or without cause; 8. whether the same (the divine mercy) means the overlooking (dhosha darsanam) or enjoyment (dhosha bogyatvam) of the soul's delinquencies; 9. whether works (karma) and knowledge (jnana) are in themselves salvation giving, or only lead to faith (bhakthi) by which final emancipation is attained; 10. whether the good of other (unregenerate) castes should be tolerated according to their graduated social statuses, or should be venerated without reference to caste inequalities; 11. whether karma (works, rituals, etc.) should or not be bodily and wholly abandoned by those who have adopted prapatti." the points of difference between vadagalais and thengalais are thus described by mr. v. n. narasimmiyengar [173]:--"the tengale schismatists deny to lakshmi, the consort of vishnu, any participation in creation, and reduce her to the position of a creature; omit to ring the bell when worshipping their idols; salute each other and their gods only once; make use of highly abstruse tamil verses in room of sanskrit mantras and prayers; modify the sraddha ceremony materially, and do not shave their widows. the principal texts cited by the tengale sri vaishnavas in support of the immunity of their widows from the rite of tonsure are the following:-widows should avoid, even when in affliction and danger, shaving, eating of sweets, betel nut, flowers, sexual intercourse, conversation with men, and jewels (sandilyah). a woman, whether unmarried or widowed, who shaves her hair, will go to the hell called rauravam. when the husband dies, the widow should perform his due obsequies without shaving. she should never shave on any occasion, or for any purpose whatever (sambhuh). if any woman, whether unmarried or widowed, shave (her head), she will dwell in the hell called rauravam for one thousand karors of kalpas. if a widow shave (her head) by ignorance, she will cause hair to grow in the mouths of her ancestors' ghosts on both sides. if she perform any ceremonies inculcated by the srutis and smritis with her head shaved, she will be born a chandali (manuh). there is no sin in a devout widow, whose object is eternal salvation, wearing her hair. if she should shave, she will assuredly go to hell. a vaishnava widow should never shave her head. if she do so through ignorance, her face should not be looked at (vridd'ha manuh in khagesvara samhita). if any one observe a brahmachari beggar with his kachche (cloth passed between the legs, and tucked in behind), a householder without it, and a widow without hair on her head, he should at once plunge into water with his clothes (ananta samhita). it is considered highly meritorious for vaishnava widows to wear their hair, as long as they remain in this world (hayagriva samhita)." in a note on the two sects of the vaishnavas in the madras presidency, the rev. c. e. kennet writes as follows [174]:--"while both the sects acknowledge the sanskrit books to be authoritative, the vadagalai uses them to a greater extent than the thengalai. the former also recognises and acknowledges the female energy as well as the male, though not in the gross and sensual form in which it is worshipped among the saivas, but as being the feminine aspect of deity, and representing the grace and merciful care of providence; while the tenkalai excludes its agency in general, and, inconsistently enough, allows it co-operation in the final salvation of a human soul. but the most curious difference between the two schools is that relating to human salvation itself, and is a reproduction in indian minds of the european controversy between calvinists and arminians. for the adherents of the vadakalais strongly insist on the concomitancy of the human will for securing salvation, whereas those of the tenkalai maintain the irresistability of divine grace in human salvation. the arguments from analogy used by the two parties respectively are, however, peculiarly indian in character. the former adopt what is called the monkey argument, the markata nyaya, for the young monkey holds on to or grasps its mother to be conveyed to safety, and represents the hold of the soul on god. the latter use the cat argument, the marjala nyaya, which is expressive of the hold of god on the soul; for the kitten is helpless until the mother-cat seizes it nolens volens, and secures it from danger. the late major m. w. carr inserts in his large collection of telugu and sanskrit proverbs the following:-"the monkey and its cub. as the cub clings to its mother, so man seeks divine aid, and clings to his god. the doctrine of the vadakalais. "like the cat and her kitten. the stronger carrying and protecting the weaker; used to illustrate the free grace of god. the doctrine of the tenkalais. "leaving the speculative differences between these two sects, i have now to mention the practical one which divides them, and which has been, and continues to be, the principal cause of the fierce contentions and long-drawn law suits between them. and this relates to the exact mode of making the sectarian mark on the forehead. while both sects wear a representation of vishnu's trident, composed of red or yellow for the middle line or prong of the trident, and of white earth for those on each side, the followers of the vadakalai draw the middle line only down to the bridge of the nose, but those of the tenkalai draw it over the bridge a little way down the nose itself. each party maintain that their mode of making the mark is the right one, and the only means of effecting a settlement of the dispute is to ascertain how the idol itself is marked, whether as favouring the vadakalai or tenkalai. but this has been found hitherto impossible, i am told, for instance at conjeveram itself, the head-quarters of these disputes, owing to the unreliable and contradictory character of the evidence produced in the courts." the hebbar and mandya sections belong to the mysore province, in which the former are very numerous. the latter are few in number, and confined to mandya and melkote. some families have settled in the city of madras, where they are employed as merchants, bank clerks, attorneys, etc. the mandyas say that they migrated to mysore from some place near tirupati. though both the hebbar and mandya brahmans speak tamil, some details peculiar to carnatakas are included in the marriage ceremonial. the vaishnava sholiars are considered somewhat low in the social scale. intermarriage takes place between smartha and vaishnavite sholiars. the vaikhanasas and pancharatras are temple priests (archakas). both use as their title dikshitar. sometimes they are called nambi, but this term is more used to denote satani temple servants. reference may here be made to the pattar brahmans, who are tamil brahmans, who have settled in malabar. the name is said to be derived from the sanskrit bhatta. it is noted, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "the pattars present no peculiarities distinguishing them from the ordinary east coast brahmans. like the latter, they engage in trade and business, and form a large proportion of the official, legal, and scholastic classes. with the exception of one class known as chozhiya or arya pattars, they wear their kudumi (top-knot) on the back of the head in the east coast fashion, and not on the top and hanging over the forehead, as is done by the genuine malayali castes. they also live as a general rule in regular streets or gramams on the east coast plan. few pattars, except in the palghat taluk, are large land-owners. as a class, they have embraced modern educational facilities eagerly, so far as they subserve their material prospects. both pattars and embrandiris, but especially the latter, have adopted the custom of contracting sambandham (alliance) with nayar women, but sambandham with the foreign brahmans is not considered to be so respectable as with nambudiris, and, except in the palghat taluk (where the nambudiri is rare), they are not allowed to consort with the women of aristocratic families." in connection with the arya pattars, it is recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, that "the term aryapattar means superior brahmins. but the actual position in society is not quite that. at ramesvaram, which may be considered the seat of aryapattars, their present status seems to be actually inferior, due probably, it is believed, to their unhesitating acceptance of gifts from sudras, and to their open assumption of their priestly charge. though at present a small body in malabar, they seem to have once flourished in considerable numbers. in the case of large exogamous but high-caste communities like the kshatriyas of malabar, brahmin husbands were naturally in great requisition, and when, owing to their high spiritual ideals, the brahmins of malabar were either grihasthas or snatakas (bachelor sanyasins dedicating their life to study, and to the performance of orthodox rites), the supply was probably unequal to the demand. the scarcity was presumably added to when the differences between the kolattunat royal family and the brahmins of the perinchellur gramam became so pronounced as to necessitate the importing of canarese and tulu brahmins for priestly services at their homes and temples. the first immigration of brahmins from the east coast, called aryapattars, into malabar appears to have been under the circumstances above detailed, and at the instance of the rajas of cranganore. with the gradual lowering of the brahminical ideal throughout the indian peninsula, and with the increasing struggle for physical existence, the nambutiris entered or re-entered the field, and ousted the aryapattars first from consortship, and latterly even from the ceremony of tali-tying in families that could pay a nambutiri. the aryapattar has, in his turn, trespassed into the ranks of the nayars, and has begun to undertake the religious rite of marriage, i.e., tali-tying, in aristocratic families among them. there are only two families now in all travancore, and they live in the karunagapalli taluk. malayalam is their household tongue; in dress and personal habits, they are indistinguishable from malayala brahmins. the males marry into as high a class of brahmins as they could get in malabar, which is not generally higher than that of the potti. the potti woman thus married gets rather low in rank on account of this alliance. the daughter of an aryapattar cannot be disposed of to a brahminical caste in malabar. she is taken to the tinnevelly or madura district, and married into the regular aryapattar family according to the rites of the latter. the girl's dress is changed into the tamil form on the eve of her marriage." iii. andhra.--the telugu-speaking brahmans are all andhras, who differ from tamil brahmans in some of their marriage and death ceremonies, female attire, and sectarian marks. telugu brahman women wear their cloth without passing it between the legs, and the free end of the skirt is brought over the left shoulder. the sect mark consists of three horizontal streaks of sacred ashes on the forehead, or a single streak of sandal paste (gandham). in the middle of the streak is a circular black spot (akshintalu or akshintalu bottu). the marriage badge is a circular plate of gold, called bottu, attached to a thread, on which black glass beads are frequently strung. a second bottu, called nagavali bottu, is tied on the bride's neck on the nagavali day. during the time when the bridegroom is performing the vrata ceremony, the bride is engaged in the worship of gauri. she sits in a new basket filled with paddy (unhusked rice) or cholam (andropogon sorghum). on the return from the mock pilgrimage (kasiyatra), the bride and bridegroom sit facing each other on the dais, with a screen interposed between them. just before the bottu is tied on the bride's neck by the bridegroom, the screen is lowered. during the marriage ceremony, both the bride and bridegroom wear clothes dyed with turmeric, until the nagavali day. among tamil brahmans, the bridegroom wears a turmeric-dyed cloth, and the bride may wear a silk cloth. immediately after the tying of the bottu, the contracting couple throw rice over each other, and those assembled pour rice over their heads. this is called talambralu. taken as a class, the telugu brahmans are very superstitious, and the females perform a very large number of vratams. of the vratams performed by telugu and canarese females, both brahman and non-brahman, the following account is given in the manual of the nellore district. a very favourite deity is gauri, in honour of whom many of the rites hereafter noticed are performed. these ceremonies give a vivid idea of the hopes and fears, the aspirations, and the forebodings of hindu womanhood. the following ceremonies are practised by girls after betrothal, and before union with their husbands:-atlataddi.--on the third day after the full moon, an early meal before sunrise, the worship of gauri in the afternoon, and the presentation of ten cakes to ten matrons upon the dismissal of the deity invoked. the object is to secure a young agreeable husband. uppu (salt).--this consists in making a present to any matron of a pot of salt, full to the brim, at the end of the year, with the view to secure a long enjoyment of the married state. akshayabandar.--this consists in making a present of a pot full of turmeric to any matron at the end of the year, with a view to avert the calamity of widowhood. udayakunkuma.--putting the red kunkuma mark on the foreheads of five matrons before sunrise, with the object of being always able to wear the same mark on her own forehead, i.e., never to become a widow. padiharukudumulu.--the presentation of sixteen cakes once a year for sixteen years to a matron. this is for the attaining of wealth. kartika gauri devi.--exhibiting to a matron the antimony box, with a preparation of which the eyes are trimmed to give the brilliancy, and wearing on the head turmeric rice (akshatalu). the object of this is said to be to give sight to blind relatives. kandanomi.--abstaining for a year from the use of arum (amorphophallus campanulatus), of which the corms are an article of food), and presenting a matron with a silver and gold representation of a kanda to be worn on the neck. the object to be attained is that she who performs the rite may never have to shed tears. gummadi gauri devi.--the presentation at the end of the year to a matron of a pumpkin in the morning, and another in the afternoon, with a silver one at food time, and a gold one to be worn round the neck. this is for the prolongation of married life. gandala gauri devi.--the distribution of twenty-five different sorts of things, twenty-five to be distributed to matrons at the rate of five of each sort to each. the object of this is to avert evil accidents of all kinds, which may threaten the husband. chittibottu.--making the kunkuma marks on the foreheads of five matrons in the morning, for the attainment of wealth. isalla chukka.--rubbing butter-milk, turmeric, kunkuma, and sandalwood paste on the threshold of the door. the object is the same as in the last. tavita navomi.--to avoid touching bran for any purpose, for the prolongation of married life. nitya srungaram.--offering betel nut, and putting the kunkuma mark on the face of a matron, for the purpose of securing perpetual beauty. nallapusala gauri devi.--the presentation to a matron of a hundred black beads with one gold one, the object being again to avert widowhood. mocheti padmam.--the worship of some deity, and the making of the forehead mark (bottlu) for four matrons in the first year, eight in the second, and so on, increasing the number by four each year for twenty-seven years, being the number of certain stars. this presentation has to be made in silence. the object is the attainment of enduring wealth. mogamudo sellu.--the performer washes her face thirteen times daily in a brass vessel, and offers to some matron some rice, a pearl, and a coral. undrallatadde.--on the thirteenth day after the full moon, taking food before sunrise, the girl worships the goddess gauri in the afternoon, and, at the time of dismissing the deity invoked (udyapana), she presents five round cakes to as many matrons. the object of this is to secure her future husband's affections. vara lakshmi.--the worship of the goddess lakshmi for the attainment of wealth and salvation, or to make the best of both worlds. vavila gauri devi.--in order to avert the risk of all accidents for her future lord, the devotee, on each of the four tuesdays of the month sravana, worships the goddess gauri devi, and distributes bengal gram to married women. savitri gauri devi.--the offering of nine different articles on nine different days after the sun has entered the solstice, the sign of capricorn. this is also practised to secure a husband's affection. tsaddikutimangalavaram.--this is a piece of self-mortification, and consists in eating on every tuesday for one year nothing but cold rice boiled the previous day, and feeding a matron with the same. the following are some of the ceremonies practised by young women after attaining a marriageable age:-prabatcha adivaram.--offering worship to a married couple, and limiting the taking of food to a single meal on sunday. this is done with the object of having children. apadaleni adivaram.--taking but one meal every sunday, and making a presentation to five matrons of five cakes with a flat basket of rice, body jackets, and other things. this is for the procuring of wealth. adivaram (sunday).--total abstinence from some one article of food for one year, another article the next year, and so on for five years; also limitation to a single meal every sunday, and the presentation of cloths to brahmans upon the dismissal of the deity invoked for worship. the object of this seems to be to secure re-union with the husband after death. chappitti adivaram.--abstinence from salt on every sunday for a year, with a view to secure the longevity of children. udayapadmam.--to take for one year a daily bath, and to draw the representation of a lotus with rice-flour every morning near the sacred tulasi plant (ocimum sanctum), which is kept in many hindu households, growing on an altar of masonry. the object of this is to restore a dead husband to life again, i.e., to secure re-union in another life. krishna tulasi.--to avert widowhood, those who perform this rite present thirteen pairs of cakes in a gold cup to a brahman. kartika chalimidi.--the distribution of chalimidi, which is flour mixed with sugar water, for three years; in the first year one and a half seer of rice, in the second year two and a half seers, and in the third year twenty-six seers, the object sought being to restore life to children that may die, i.e., restoration in another world. kailasa gauri devi.--to grind one and a half viss (a measure) of turmeric without assistance in perfect silence, and then distribute it among 101 matrons, the object being to avert widowhood. dhairya lakshmi.--as a charm against tears, matrons light a magic light, which must have a cotton wick of the weight of one pagoda (a gold coin), and, instead of a quarter of a viss of ghee, clarified butter. dhanapalalu.--giving four different sorts of grain for five years to a brahman, to atone for the sin of the catamenial discharge. nadikesudu.--the distribution of five seers each of nine different sorts of grain, which must be dressed and eaten in the house. this is done for the procuring of wealth. nityadhanyamu.--daily giving a handful of grain to any brahmin with the object of averting widowhood. phalala gauri devi.--this is performed by the presentation of sixteen fruits of sixteen different species to any married woman, with the view of securing healthy offspring. pamidipuvulu.--with the view to avert widowhood and secure influence with their husbands, young wives practise the daily worship of thirteen flowers for a time, and afterwards present to a brahmin the representations of thirteen flowers in gold, together with a lingam and panavattam (the seat of the lingam). muppadimudupurnamulu.--to avert widowhood, cakes are offered on the occasion of thirty-three full-moons; on the first one cake is eaten, on the second two, and so on up to thirty-three. mudukartelu.--for the attainment of wealth, women light seven hundred cotton wicks steeped in oil at the three festivals of full moon, sankuratri (the time when the sun enters the zodiacal sign of capricorn), and sivaratri. magha gauri devi.--the worship of the goddess gauri in the month of magham, with a view to avert widowhood. vishnukanta.--for the same purpose, thirteen pairs of cakes are offered in a new pot to some married woman. vishnuvidia.--to atone for the sin of the catamenial discharge, food is eaten without salt on the second day after every new moon. sokamuleni somavaram.--the taking of food without salt every monday, for the restoration of children removed by death. chitraguptulu.--burning twelve wicks daily in oil, for the attainment of happiness in a future state. sukravaram.--for the acquisition of wealth, women sometimes limit themselves to one meal on fridays, and feed five married women on each occasion of dismissing the deity invoked for worship. saubhagyatadde.--to avert widowhood, another practice is on the third day after every new moon to distribute, unassisted and in silence, one and a quarter viss of turmeric among thirteen matrons. kshirabdhi dvadasi.--keeping a fast day specially devoted to the worship of vishnu, with a view to secure happiness in a future state. chinuku.--a woman takes a stalk of indian corn fresh pulled up, and with it pounds rice-flour mixed with milk in a mortar. this is to avert widowhood in this world, and to secure happiness in the next. women who have lost children frequently perform the following two ceremonies for restoration to life or restoration in a future state:-kundella amavasya (hare's new moon).--to give thirteen different things to some married woman every new moon for thirteen months. kadupukadalani gauri devi.--the presentation of thirteen pairs of cakes to thirteen matrons. the following ceremonies are often performed after the cessation of the catamenial discharge, to atone for the sin contracted by their occurrence:-annamumuttani adivaram.--the eating of yams and other roots every sunday for three years, or, under certain conditions, a longer period. rushipanchami.--on the fifth day of bhadrapada month to eat five balusu (canthium parviflorum) leaves, and to drink a handful of ghee. gomayani.--to eat three balls of cow-dung every morning for a year. lakshvattulu.--to burn one lac (100,000) of wick lights. lakshmivarapu ekadasi.--from the time when the eleventh day after new moon falls on a thursday, to observe a fast, and to worship the tulasi plant for eleven days. margasira lakshmivaram.--the mistress of a family will often devote herself to the worship of lakshmi on every thursday of the month of margasira, in order to propitiate the goddess of wealth. somisomavaram.--a special worship performed on every new moon that falls on monday, with the giving away of 360 articles, two or three on each occasion. this is performed with the view of attaining atonement for sins, and happiness in a future state. there are many ceremonies performed by women to whom nature has denied the much-coveted joys of maternity. among these may be noted:-asvadhapradakshinam.--in villages is often to be seen a margosa (melia azadirachta)tree, round which a pipul tree (ficus religiosa) has twined itself. the ceremony consists in a woman walking round and round this tree several times daily for a long period. the sub-divisions of the telugu brahmans are as follows:-a.--vaidiki. 1. murikinadu. 2. telaganyam. 3. velnadu. 4. kasalnadu. 5. karnakammalu. 6. veginadu. 7. konesime. 8. arama dravida. 9. aradhya. 10. prathamasaki. b.--niyogi. 1. aruvela. 2. nandavarikulu. 3. kammalu. 4. pesalavayalu. 5. pranganadu. c.--tambala. d.--immigrants. 1. pudur dravida. 2. thummagunta dravida. all these sections are endogamous, and will eat together, except the tambalas, who correspond to the gurukkals among the tamil brahmans. vaidikis are supposed to be superior to niyogis. the former do not generally grow moustaches, while the latter do. for sradh ceremonies, niyogis do not generally sit as brahmans representing the ancestors, vaidikis being engaged for this purpose. in some places, e.g., the nandigama taluk of the kistna district, the niyogis are not referred to by the name brahman, vaidikis being so called. even niyogis themselves point to vaidikis when asked about brahmans. velnadu, murikinadu, and veginadu seem to be territorial names, and they occur also among some of the non-brahman castes. the aradhyas are dealt with in a special article (see aradhya). among the karnakammas are certain sub-sections, such as ogoti and koljedu. they all belong to rig saka. of the telaganyams, some follow the rig veda, and others the yejur veda (both black and white yajus). the nandavarikulu are all rig vedis, and regard chaudeswari, the goddess of the devangas, as their tutelary deity. when a nandavariki brahman goes to a devanga temple, he is treated with much respect, and the devanga priest gives up his place to the nandavariki for the time being. the nandavariki brahmans are, in fact, gurus or priests to the devengas. a special feature of the telugu brahmans is that, like the telugu non-brahman classes, they have house names or intiperulu, of which the following are examples:--kota (fort), lanka (island), puchcha (citrullus colocynthis), chintha (tamarind), kaki (crow). niyogi house-names sometimes terminate with the word razu. iv. carnataka.--the sub-divisions of the carnatakas or canarese-speaking brahmans are as follows:-a.--smartha. 1. aruvaththuvokkalu. 2. badaganadu. 3. hosalnadu. 4. hoisanige or vaishanige. 5. kamme (bobburu, karna, and ulcha). 6. sirnadu. 7. maraka. b.--madhva. 1. aruvela. 2. aruvaththuvokkalu. 3. badaganadu. 4. pennaththurar. 5. prathamasaki. 6. hyderabadi. the carnatakas very closely resemble the andhras in their ceremonial observances, and, like them, attach much importance to vratams. the madhva carnatakas are recent converts from carnataka or andhra smarthas. the pennaththurars are supposed to be tamil brahmans converted into madhvas. they retain some of the customs peculiar to the tamil brahmans. the marriage badge, for example, is the tamil tali and not the bottu. intermarriages between smarthas and madhvas of the same section are common. madhvas, excepting the very orthodox, will take food with both carnataka and andhra smarthas. the marakas are thus described by mr. lewis rice. [175] "a caste claiming to be brahmans, but not recognised as such. they worship the hindu triad, but are chiefly vishnuvites, and wear the trident mark on their foreheads. they call themselves hale kannadiga or hale karnataka, the name marka [176] being considered as one of reproach, on which account also many have doubtless returned themselves as brahmans of one or other sect. they are said to be descendants of some disciples of sankaracharya, the original guru of sringeri, and the following legend is related of the cause of their expulsion from the brahman caste to which their ancestors belonged. one day sankaracharya, wishing to test his disciples, drank some toddy in their presence, and the latter, thinking it could be no sin to follow their master's example, indulged freely in the same beverage. soon after, when passing a butcher's shop, sankaracharya asked for alms; the butcher had nothing but meat to give, which the guru and his disciples ate. according to the hindu shastras, red-hot iron alone can purify a person who has eaten flesh and drunk toddy. sankaracharya went to a blacksmith's furnace, and begged from him some red-hot iron, which he swallowed and was purified. the disciples were unable to imitate their master in the matter of the red-hot iron, and besought him to forgive their presumption in having dared to imitate him in partaking of forbidden food. sankaracharya refused to give absolution, and cursed them as unfit to associate with the six sects of brahmans. the caste is making a strong effort to be readmitted among brahmans, and some have recently become disciples of parakalaswami. their chief occupations are agriculture, and government service as shanbogs or village accountants." it is recorded, in the mysore census report, 1891, that "some of the more intelligent and leading men in the clan give another explanation (of the legend). it is said that either in dewan purnaiya's time, or some time before, a member of this micro-caste rose to power, and persecuted the people so mercilessly that, with characteristic inaptitude, they gave him the nickname maraka or the slaughterer or destroyer, likening him to the planet mars, which, in certain constellations, is astrologically dreaded as wielding a fatal influence on the fortunes of mortals. there is, however, no doubt that, in their habits, customs, religion and ceremonials, these people are wholly brahmanical, but still they remain entirely detached from the main body of the brahmans. since the census of 1871, the hale kannadigas have been strenuously struggling to get themselves classified among the brahmans. about 25 years ago, the sringeri math issued on behalf of the smarta portion of the people a srimukh (papal bull) acknowledging them to be brahmans. a similar pronouncement was also obtained from the parakal math at mysore about three years later on behalf of the srivaishnavas among them. and the local government directed, a little after the census of 1881, that they should be entered as brahmans in the government accounts." the madhva brahmans commence the marriage ceremony by asking the ancestors of the bridal couple to bless them, and be present throughout the performance of the rites. to represent the ancestors, a ravike (bodice) and dhotra (man's cloth) are tied to a stick, which is placed near the box containing the salagrama stone and household gods. in consequence of these ancestors being represented, orthodox vaidiki brahmans refuse to take food in the marriage house. when the bridegroom is conducted to the marriage booth by his future father-in-law, all those who have taken part in the kasiyatra ceremony, throw rice over him. a quaint ceremony, called rangavriksha (drawing), is performed on the morning of the second day. after the usual playing with balls of flowers (nalagu or nalangu), the bridegroom takes hold of the right hand of the bride, and, after dipping her right forefinger in turmeric and chunam (lime) paste, traces on a white wall the outline of a plantain tree, of which a sketch has previously been made by a married woman. the tracing goes on for three days. first the base of the plant is drawn, and, on the evening of the third day, it is completed by putting in the flower spikes. on the third night the bridegroom is served with sweets and other refreshments by his mother-in-law, from whose hands he snatches the vessels containing them. he picks out what he likes best, and scatters the remainder about the room. the pollution caused thereby is removed by sprinkling water and cow-dung, which is done by the cook engaged for the marriage by the bridegroom's family. after washing his hands, the bridegroom goes home, taking with him a silver vessel, which he surreptitiously removes from near the gods. along with this vessel he is supposed to steal a rope for drawing water, and a rice-pounding stone. but in practice he only steals the vessel, and the other articles are claimed by his people on their return home. branding for religious purposes is confined to sri vaishnavas and madhvas. sri vaishnava brahmans are expected to undergo this ordeal at least once during their life-time, whereas madhva brahmans have to submit to it as often as they visit their guru (head of a mutt). of men of other castes, those who become followers of a vaishnava or madhva acharya (guru) or mutt, are expected to present themselves before the guru for the purpose of being branded. but the ceremony is optional, and not compulsory as in the case of the brahmans. among sri vaishnavites, the privilege of branding is confined to the elder members of a family, sanyasis (ascetics), and the heads of the various mutts. all individuals, male and female, must be branded, after the upanayanam ceremony in the case of males, and after marriage in the case of females. the disciples, after a purificatory bath and worship of their gods, proceed to the residence of the acharya or to the mutt, where they are initiated into their religion, and branded with the chakra on the right shoulder and chank on the left. the initiation consists in imparting to the disciple, in a very low tone, the mula mantram, the word namonarayanaya, the sacred syllable om, and a few mantrams from the brahma rahasyam (secrets about god). a person who has not been initiated thus is regarded as unfit to take part in the ceremonies which have to be performed by brahmans. even close relations, if orthodox, will refuse to take food prepared or touched by the uninitiated. concerning madhvas, monier williams writes as follows [177]: "they firmly believe that it is a duty of vaishnavas to carry throughout life a memorial of their god on their persons, and that such a lasting outward and visible sign of his presence helps them to obtain salvation through him. 'on his right armlet the brahman wears the discus, on his left the conch shell.' when i was at tanjore, i found that one of the successors of madhva had recently arrived on his branding visitation. he was engaged throughout the entire day in stamping his disciples, and receiving fees from all according to their means." madhvas have four mutts to which they repair for the branding ceremony, viz., vayasaraya, sumathendra and mulabagal in mysore, and uttaraja in south canara. the followers of the uttaraja mutt are branded in five places in the case of adult males, and boys after the thread investiture. the situations and emblems selected are the chakra on the right upper arm, right side of the chest, and above the navel; the chank on the left shoulder and left side of the chest. women, and girls after marriage, are branded with the chakra on the right forearm, and the chank on the left. in the case of widows, the marks are impressed on the shoulders as in the case of males. the disciples of the three other mutts are generally branded with the chakra on the right upper arm, and chank on the left. as the branding is supposed to remove sins committed during the interval, they get it done every time they see their guru. there is with madhvas no restriction as to the age at which the ceremony should be performed. even a new-born babe, after the pollution period of ten days, must receive the mark of the chakra, if the guru should turn up. boys before the upanayanam, and girls before marriage, are branded with the chakra on the abdomen just above the navel. the copper or brass branding instruments (mudras) are not heated to a very high temperature, but sufficient to singe the skin, and leave a deep black mark in the case of adults, and a light mark in that of young people and babies. in some cases, disciples, who are afraid of being hurt, bribe the person who heats the instruments; but, as a rule, the guru regulates the temperature so as to suit the individual. if, for example, the disciple is a strong, well-built man, the instruments are well heated, and, if he is a weakling, they are allowed to cool somewhat before their application. if the operator has to deal with babies, he presses the instrument against a wet rag before applying it to the infant's skin. some matathipathis (head priests of the mutt) are, it is said, inclined to be vindictive, and to make a very hot application of the instruments, if the disciple has not paid the fee (gurukanika) to his satisfaction. the fee is not fixed in the case of sri vaishnavas, whereas madhvas are expected to pay from one to three months' income for being branded. failure to pay is punished with excommunication on some pretext or other. the area of skin branded generally peels off within a week, leaving a pale mark of the mudra, which either disappears in a few months, or persists throughout life. madhvas should stamp mudras with gopi paste (white kaolin) daily on various parts of the body. the names of these mudras are chakra, chank or sankha, gatha (the weapon of war used by bhima, one of the pandavas), padma (lotus), and narayana. the chakra is stamped thrice on the abdomen above the navel, twice on the right flank, twice on the right side of the chest above the nipple, twice on the right arm, once on the right temple, once on the left side of the chest, and once on the left arm. the chank is stamped twice on the right side of the chest, in two places on the left arm, and once on the left temple. the gatha is stamped in two places on the right arm, twice on the chest, and in one spot on the forehead. the padma is stamped twice on the left arm, and twice on the left side of the chest. narayana is stamped on all places where other mudra marks have been made. sometimes it is difficult to put on all the marks after the daily morning bath. in such cases, a single mudra mark, containing all the five mudras, is made to suffice. some regard the chakra mudra as sufficient on occasions of emergency. the god hanuman (the monkey god) is specially reverenced by madhvas, who call him mukyapranadevaru (the chief god). v. tulu.--the tulu-speaking brahmans are, in their manners and customs, closely allied to the carnatakas. their sub-divisions are- 1. shivalli. 2. kota. 3. kandavara. 4. havik or haiga. 5. panchagrami. 6. koteswar. the following interesting account of the tulu brahmans is given by mr. h. a. stuart [178]:-"all tulu brahmin chronicles agree in ascribing the creation of malabar and canara, or kerala, tuluva, and haiga, to parasu rama, who reclaimed from the sea as much land as he could cover by hurling his battle-axe from the top of the western ghauts. according to tulu traditions, after a quarrel with brahmins who used to come to him periodically from ahi-kshetra, parasu rama procured new brahmins for the reclaimed tract by taking the nets of some fishermen, and making a number of brahminical threads, with which he invested the fishermen, and thus turned them into brahmins, and retired to the mountains to meditate, after informing them that, if they were in distress and called on him, he would come to their aid. after the lapse of some time, during which they suffered no distress, they were curious to know if parasu rama would remember them, and called upon him in order to find out. he promptly appeared, but punished their thus mocking him by cursing them, and causing them to revert to their old status of sudras. after this, there were no brahmins in the land till tulu brahmins were brought from ahi-kshetra by mayur varma of the kadamba dynasty. a modified form of the tradition states that parasu rama gave the newly reclaimed land to naga and machi brahmins, who were not true brahmins, and were turned out or destroyed by fishermen and holeyas (pariahs), who held the country till the tulu brahmins were introduced by mayur varma. all traditions unite in attributing the introduction of the tulu brahmins of the present day to mayur varma, but they vary in details connected with the manner in which they obtained a firm footing in the land. one account says that habashika, chief of the koragas (pariahs), drove out mayur varma, but was in turn expelled by mayur varma's son, or son-in-law, lokaditya of gokarnam, who brought brahmins from ahi-kshetra and settled them in thirty-two villages. another makes mayur varma himself the invader of the country, which till then had remained in the possession of the holeyas (pariahs) and fishermen who had turned out parasu rama's brahmins. mayur varma and the brahmins whom he had brought from ahi-kshetra were again driven out by nanda, a holeya chief, whose son chandra sayana had, however, learned respect for brahmins from his mother, who had been a dancing-girl in a temple. his admiration for them became so great that he not only brought back the brahmins, but actually made over all his authority to them, and reduced his people to the position of slaves. a third account makes chandra sayana, not a son of a holeya king, but a descendant of mayur varma and a conqueror of the holeya king. nothing is known from other sources of lokaditya, habashika, or chandra sayana, but inscriptions speak to mayur varma being the founder of the dynasty of the kadambas of banavasi in north canara. his date is usually put down at about 750 a.d. the correctness of the traditions, which prevail in malabar as well as in canara, assigning the introduction of brahmins to the west coast to mayur varma who was in power about 750 a.d., is to some extent corroborated by the fact that brahmins attested the malabar perumal's grant to the christians in 774 a.d., but not that to the jews about 700 a.d. the brahmins are said to have been brought from ahi-kshetra, on the banks of the godavari, but it is not clear what connection a kadamba of banavasi could have with the banks of the godavari, and there may be something in the suggestion made in the north kanara gazetteer that ahi-kshetra is merely a sanskritised form of haiga or the land of snakes. the tradition speaks of the brahmins having been brought by lokaditya from gokarnam, which is in the extreme north of haiga, and in the local history of the honalli matha in sunda in north canara, gokarnam is spoken of as being ahi-kshetra. gokarnam is believed to have been a brahmin settlement in very early times, and there was probably a further influx of brahmins there as muhammadan conquest advanced in the north. "the class usually styled tulu brahmins at the present day are the shivalli brahmins, whose head-quarters are at udipi, and who are most numerous in the southern part of the district, but the kota, koteshwar, and haiga or havika brahmins are all branches of the same, the differences between them having arisen since their settlement in canara; and, though they now talk canarese in common with the people of other parts to the north of the sitanadi river, their religious works are still written in the old tulu-malayalam character. tulu brahmins, who have settled in malabar in comparatively late years, are known as embrantris, and treated as closely allied to the nambutiris, whose traditions go back to mayur varma. some families of shivalli and havika brahmins in the southern or malayalam portion of the district talk malayalam, and follow many of the customs of the malabar or nambutiri brahmins. many of the thirty-two villages in which the brahmins are said to have been settled by mayur varma are still the most important centres of brahminism. notably may be mentioned shivalli or udipi, kota and koteshwar, which have given names to the divisions of tulu brahmins of which these villages are respectively the head-quarters. when the brahmins were introduced by mayur varma they are said to have been followers of bhattacharya, but they soon adopted the tenets of the great malayalam vedantic teacher sankaracharya, who is ordinarily believed to have been born at cranganore in malabar in the last quarter of the eighth century, that is, soon after the arrival of the brahmins on the west coast. sankaracharya is known as the preacher of the advaita (non-dual) philosophy, which, stated briefly, is that all living beings are one with the supreme spirit, and absorption may finally be obtained by the constant renunciation of material in favour of spiritual pleasure. this philosophy, however, was not sufficient for the common multitude, and his system included, for weaker minds, the contemplation of the first cause through a multitude of inferior deities, and, as various manifestations of siva and his consort parvati, he found a place for all the most important of the demons worshipped by the early dravidians whom the brahmins found on the west coast, thus facilitating the spread of hinduism throughout all classes. that the conversion of the bants and billavas, and other classes, took place at a very early date may be inferred from the fact that, though the great bulk of the tulu brahmins of south canara adopted the teaching of the vaishnavite reformer madhavacharya, who lived in the thirteenth century, most of the non-brahmin hindus in the district class themselves as shaivites to this day. sankaracharya founded the sringeri matha in mysore near the borders of the udipi taluk, the guru of which is the spiritual head of such of the tulu brahmins of south canara as have remained smarthas or adherents of the teaching of sankaracharya. madhavacharya is believed to have been born about 1199 a.d. at kalianpur, a few miles from udipi. he propounded the dvaita or dual philosophy, repudiating the doctrine of oneness and final absorption held by ordinary vaishnavites as well as by the followers of sankaracharya. the attainment of a place in the highest heaven is to be secured, according to madhavacharya's teaching, not only by the renunciation of material pleasure, but by the practice of virtue in thought, word and deed. the moral code of madhavacharya is a high one, and his teaching is held by some--not ordinary hindus of course--to have been affected by the existence of the community of christians at kalianpur mentioned by cosmos indico pleustes in the seventh century. madhavacharya placed the worship of vishnu above that of siva, but there is little bitterness between vaishnavites and shaivites in south canara, and there are temples in which both are worshipped under the name of shankara narayana. he denied that the spirits worshipped by the early dravidians were manifestations of siva's consort, but he accorded sanction to their worship as supernatural beings of a lower order. "shivalli brahmins. the tulu-speaking brahmins of the present day are almost all followers of madhavacharya, though a few remain smarthas, and a certain number follow what is known as the bhagavat sampradayam, and hold that equal honour is due to both vishnu and siva. they are now generally called shivalli brahmins, their head-quarters being at udipi or shivalli, a few miles from madhavacharya's birth-place. here madhavacharya is said to have resided for some time, and composed thirty-seven controversial works, after which he set out on a tour. the temple of krishna at udipi is said to have been founded by madhavacharya himself, who set up in it the image of krishna originally made by arjuna, and miraculously obtained by him from a vessel wrecked on the coast of tuluva. in it he also placed one of the three salagrams presented to him by the sage veda vyasa. besides the temple at udipi, he established eight mathas or sacred houses, each presided over by a sanyasi or swami. [their names are sodhe, krishnapur, sirur, kanur, pejavar, adamar, palamar, and puththige.] these exist to this day, and each swami in turn presides over the temple of krishna for a period of two years, and spends the intervening fourteen years touring through canara and the adjacent parts of mysore, levying contributions from the faithful for his next two years of office, which are very heavy, as he has to defray not only the expenses of public worship and of the temple and matha establishments, but must also feed every brahmin who comes to the place. the following description of a matha visited by mr. walhouse [179] gives a very good idea of what one of these buildings is like: 'the building was two-storeyed, enclosing a spacious quadrangle round which ran a covered verandah or cloister; the wide porched entrance opened into a fine hall supported by massive pillars with expanding capitals handsomely carved; the ceiling was also wooden, panelled and ornamented with rosettes and pendants as in baronial halls, and so were the solid doors. within these was an infinity of rooms, long corridors lined with windowless cells, apartments for meditation and study, store-rooms overflowing with all manner of necessaries, granaries, upper rooms with wide projecting windows latticed instead of glass with pierced wood-work in countless tasteful patterns, and in the quadrangle there was a draw-well and small temple, while a large yard behind contained cattle of all kinds from a goat to an elephant. all things needful were here gathered together. outside sat pilgrims, poor devotees, and beggars waiting for the daily dole, and villagers were continually arriving with grain, vegetables, etc.' the periodical change of the swami presiding over the temple of krishna is the occasion of a great festival known as the pariyaya, when udipi is filled to overflowing by a large concourse of madhvas, not only from the district but from more distant parts, especially from the mysore territory. [a very imposing object in the temple grounds, at the time of my visit in 1907, was an enormous stack of fire-wood for temple purposes.] the following is a description [180] of a festival at the udipi krishna temple witnessed by mr. walhouse: 'near midnight, when the moon rode high in a cloudless heaven, his (krishna's) image--not the very sacred one, which may not be handled, but a smaller duplicate--was brought forth by four brahmins and placed under a splendid canopy on a platform laid across two large canoes. the whole square of the tank (pond) was lit up by a triple line of lights. small oil cressets at close intervals, rockets and fireworks ascended incessantly, and the barge, also brilliantly lit up, and carrying a band of discordant music, and brahmins fanning the image with silver fans, was punted round and round the tank amid loud acclamations. after this, the image was placed in a gorgeous silver-plated beaked palanquin, and borne solemnly outside the temple to the great idol car that stood dressed up and adorned with an infinity of tinsel, flags, streamers and flower wreaths. on this it was lifted, and placed in a jewel shrine amidst a storm of applause and clapping of hands--these seem the only occasions when hindus do clap hands--and then, with all the company of brahmins headed by the swamis marching in front, followed by flambeaus and wild music, the car was slowly hauled by thousands of votaries round the square which was illuminated by three lines of lights, ascending at intervals into pyramids. a pause was made half-way, when there was a grand display of rockets, fire fountains and wheels, and two lines of camphor and oiled cotton laid along the middle of the road were kindled and flamed up brilliantly. then the car moved on to the entrance of the temple, and the god's outing was accomplished.' another famous temple of the shivallis is subramanya at the foot of the ghauts on the coorg border, and here also madhavacharya deposited one of veda vyasa's salagrams. it existed before his time, however, and, as the name indicates, it is dedicated to the worship of siva. in addition to this, it is the principal centre of serpent worship in the district. "many of the shivalli brahmins are fair complexioned with well-cut intelligent features. a number of them own land which they cultivate by tenants or by hired labourers, and there are several wealthy families with large landed properties, but the great bulk of them are either astronomers, astrologers, tantris, purohitas, worshippers in temples, or professional beggars. they have been backward in availing themselves of english education, and consequently not many of them are to be found holding important posts under government or in the professions, but a few have come to the front in late years. a good many of them are village accountants and teachers in village schools. the women, as is usually the case among all classes, are fairer than the men. their education is even more limited, but they are said to be well trained for the discharge of household and religious duties. they wear the cloth falling as low as the feet in front, but not usually so low behind, especially on festive occasions, the end being passed between the legs and tucked into the fold of the cloth round the waist. like all brahmin women in canara, they are fond of wearing sweet-scented flowers in their hair. the language of the shivalli brahmins is tulu, except to the north of the sitanadi river, where close intercourse with the ruling canarese classes above the ghauts for several centuries has led to the adoption of that language by all classes. their religious books are in sanskrit, and, even north of the sitanadi river, they are written in the old tulu-malayalam character. their houses are all neat, clean, and provided with verandahs, and a yard in front, in which stands, in a raised pot, a plant of the tulasi or sacred basil. some of the houses of the old families are really large and substantial buildings, with an open courtyard in the centre. men and widows bathe the whole body every day before breakfast, but married women bathe only up to the neck, it being considered inauspicious for them to bathe the head also. in temples and religious houses, males bathe in the evening also. an oil bath is taken once a week. they are, of course, abstainers from animal food and spirituous liquors, and a prohibition extends to some other articles, such as onions, garlic, mushrooms, etc. at times of marriages, deaths or initiations, it is usual to give feasts, which may be attended by all dravida brahmins. the shivallis have 252 gotras, and the names of the following seem to be of totemistic origin:- kudrettaya, from kudre, a horse, taya, belonging to. talitaya, palmyra palm. manolitaya, name of a vegetable. shunnataya, chunam, lime. kalambitaya, a kind of box. nellitaya, the indian gooseberry. goli, banyan tree. ane, elephant. "these names were obtained from one of the eight swamis or gurus of the udipi math, and according to him they have no totemistic force at the present day. girls must be married before maturity, and the ordinary age now-a-days is between five and eleven. the age of the bridegroom is usually between fifteen and five and twenty. a maternal uncle's daughter can be married without consulting any horoscope, and during the marriage ceremonies it is customary for a bridegroom's sister to obtain from him a formal promise that, if he has a daughter, he will give her in marriage to her son. widows take off all their ornaments, and wear a red or white cloth. they ought not to attend any auspicious ceremonies or festivals, but of late years there has been a tendency to relax the severity of the restrictions on a widow's freedom, and a young widow is allowed to keep her head unshaven, and to wear a few ornaments. a few shivallis in the malayalam-speaking portion of the kasaragod taluk follow the customs and manners of the malayalam brahmins, and amongst these a girl does not lose caste by remaining unmarried until she comes of age. "koteshwar brahmins are a small body, who take their name from koteshwar in the coondapoor taluk. they are practically the same as the shivalli brahmins, except that, like all classes in that taluk, they talk canarese. "havika, haviga, or haiga brahmins are the descendants of the section of the brahmins brought in by mayur varma, who settled within the tract known as haiga, which comprised the southern part of north canara and the extreme northern part of south canara. they did not, like the shivallis, adopt the teaching of madhavacharya, but remained followers of sankaracharya, and they now speak canarese, though their religious and family records are written in old tulu-malayalam character. though originally of the same stock, a distinction has arisen between them and the shivalli brahmins, and they do not intermarry, though they may eat together. a number of havika brahmins are to be found scattered throughout south canara, engaged for the most part in the cultivation of areca palm gardens, in which they are very expert. a very well-to-do colony of them is to be found in the neighbourhood of vittal in the kasaragod taluk, where they grow areca nuts which are valued only second to those grown in the magane of the coondapoor taluk above the ghauts. the havika brahmins, perhaps owing to their residing for many generations in the comparatively cool shade of the areca nut gardens, are specially fair even for west coast brahmins. this fairness of complexion is particularly noticeable in the women, who do not differ much in their manners and customs from the shivalli brahmin women, except that they take a prominent part in the work of the gardens, and never on any occasion wear the end of their cloth passed through the legs and tucked up behind. the havik widows are allowed more freedom than in most other classes. some havik brahmins in the malayalam portion of the kasaragod taluk have, like the shivallis in the same locality, adopted the language and customs of the malayali brahmins. "kota brahmins, so called from a village in the northern part of the udipi taluk, are, like the haviks, smarthas or followers of sankaracharya, and now speak canarese, but the breach between them and the shivallis is not so wide, as intermarriages occasionally take place. in the coondapoor taluk and the northern part of the udipi taluk, the kotas occupy a place in the community corresponding to that taken by the shivallis throughout the rest of the district. "saklapuris, of whom there are a few in the district, are what may be called a dissenting sect of havikas who, a few years ago, renounced their allegiance to the ramchandrapura matha in favour of one at saklapuri near the boundary between north and south canara. like the havikas, they speak canarese. "kandavaras obtain their name from the village of kandavar in the coondapoor taluk. they are commonly known as udapas, and they all belong to one gotram, that of visvamitra. they are, therefore, precluded from marrying within the caste, and take their wives and husbands from the ranks of the shivalli brahmins. they are, indeed, said to be the descendants of a shivalli brahmin who settled in kandavar about seven or eight centuries ago. the head of the annu udapa family, which is called after this ancestor, is the hereditary head of the caste, and presides over all panchayats or caste councils. they speak canarese. their title is udapa or udpa." in a note on the brahmans of south canara, mr. t. raghaviah writes as follows [181]:--"the sentimental objection to manual labour, which is so predominant in the east coast brahmin, and the odium attached to it in this country, which has crystallised into the religious belief that, if a brahmin cultivates with his own hand, the fire of his hand would burn down all that he touches, have entirely disappeared in south canara. in the rural parts of the district, and especially at the foot of the western ghauts, it is an exceedingly common sight to see brahmins engaging themselves in digging, ploughing or levelling their lands, trimming their water-courses or ledges, raising anicuts across streams, and doing a hundred other items of manual work connected with agriculture. brahmin women busy themselves with cutting green leaves for manure, making and storing manure and carrying it to their lands or trees, and brahmin boys are employed in tending and grazing their own cattle. this is so much the case with a class of brahmins called haviks that there is a proverb that none but a havik can raise an areca garden. you find, as a matter of fact, that nearly all the extensive areca plantations in the district are in the hands of either the havik brahmins or the chitpavans allied much to the mahratta brahmins of bombay. these plantations are managed by these brahmins, and new ones are raised with the aid of a handful of holeyas, or often without even such aid." vi. oriya.--the oriya brahmans of the ganjam district belong to the utkala section of the pancha gaudas. between them and the pancha dravidas there is very considerable difference. none of the sections of the pancha dravidas adopt the gosha system as regards their females, whereas oriya brahman women are kept gosha (in seclusion). occasionally they go out to bring water, and, if on their way they come across any males, they go to the side of the road, and turn their backs to the passers-by. it is noted, in the manual of the vizagapatam district, that oriya brahmans "eat many kinds of meat, as pea fowl, sambur (deer), barking deer, pigeons, wild pig, and fish." fish must be one of the dishes prepared on festive occasions. as a rule, oriya brahmans will accept water from a gaudo (especially a sullokondia gaudo), and sometimes from gudiyas and odiyas. water touched by dravida brahmans is considered by them to be polluted. they call the dravidas komma (a corruption of karma) brahmans. the oriya brahmans are more particular than the dravidas as regards the madi cloth, which has already been referred to. a cloth intended for use as a madi cloth is never given to a washerman to be washed, and it is not worn by the oriya brahmans when they answer the calls of nature, but removed, and replaced after bathing. marriage with a maternal uncle's daughter, which is common among the dravida brahmans, would be considered an act of sacrilege by oriyas. when an oriya brahman is charged with being a meat eater, he retorts that it is not nearly so bad as marrying a mathulakanya (maternal uncle's daughter). the marriage tali or bottu is dispensed with by oriya brahmans, who, at marriages, attach great importance to the panigrahanam (grasping the bride's hand) and saptapadi (seven steps). the oriya brahmans are both smarthas and vaishnavas who are generally paramarthos or followers of chaitanya. the god jagannatha of puri is reverenced by them, and they usually carry about with them some of the prasadham (food offered to the god) from puri. they are divided into the following twelve sections:- (1) santo (samanta, a chief). (2) danua (gift-taking). (3) padhiya (one who learns the vedas). (4) sarua (saru, tubers of the arum colocasia antiqitorum). (5) holua (holo, yoke of a plough). (6) bhodri (bhadriya, an agraharam on the ganges). (7) barua (a small sea-port town). (8) deuliya (one who serves in temples). (9) kotokiya (kotaka, palace. those who live in palaces as servants to zamindars). (10) sahu (creditor). (11) jhadua (jungle). (12) sodeibalya (those who follow an ungodly life). it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, that "the santos regard themselves as superior to the others, and will not do purohit's work for them, though they will for zamindars. they are also very scrupulous about the behaviour of their womenkind. the danuas live much by begging, especially at the funerals of wealthy persons, but both they and the padhiyas know the vedas, and are priests to the zamindars and the higher classes of sudras. the saruas cultivate the 'yam' (colocasia), and the holuas go a step further, and engage in ordinary cultivation--actual participation in which is forbidden to brahmans by manu, as it involves taking the lives of worms and insects. a few of the saruas are qualified to act as purohits, but the holuas hardly ever are, and they were shown in the 1891 census to be the most illiterate of all the brahmans of the presidency. few of them even perform the sandhya and tarpana, which every brahman should scrupulously observe. yet they are regarded as ceremonially pure, and are often cooks to the zamindars. regarding the sixth class, the bhodris, a curious legend is related. bhodri means a barber, and the ancestor of the sub-division is said to have been the son of a barber who was brought up at puri with some santo boys, and so learned much of the vedas and shastras. he left puri and went into jeypore, wearing the thread and passing himself off as a brahman, and eventually married a brahman girl, by whom he got children who also married brahmans. at last, however, he was found out, and taken back to puri, where he committed suicide. the brahmans said they would treat his children as brahmans if a plant of the sacred tulsi grew on his grave, but, instead of tulsi, a plant of tobacco appeared there, and so his descendants are bhodris or barber brahmans, and even karnams, gaudos, and mahantis decline to accept water at their hands. they cultivate tobacco and 'yams,' but nevertheless officiate in temples, and are purohits to the lower non-polluting castes. of the remaining six divisions, the baruas are the only ones who do purohit's work for other castes, and they only officiate for the lower classes of sudras. except the sodeibalyas, the others all perform the sandhya and tarpana. their occupations, however, differ considerably. the baruas are pujaris in the temples, and physicians. the deuliyas are pujaris and menials in zamindars' houses, growers of 'yams,' and even day labourers. the kotokiyas are household servants to zamindars. the sahus trade in silk cloths, grain, etc., and are money-lenders. the jhaduas are hill cultivators, and traders with pack-bullocks. the last of the divisions, the sodeibalyas, are menial servants to the zamindars, and work for daily hire." vii. sarasvat and konkani.--both these classes belong to the gauda branch, and speak the konkani language. the original habitation of the konkanis is said to have been the bank of the sarasvati, a river well known in early sanskrit works, but said to have subsequently lost itself in the sands of the desert, north of rajputana. as they do not abstain from fish, the other brahmans among whom they have settled regard them as low. the full name as given by the konkanis is gauda sarasvata konkanastha. all the konkani brahmans found in south canara are rig vedis. like the shivalli brahmans, they have numerous exogamous septs, which are used as titles after their names. for example, prabhu is a sept, and krishna prabhu the name of an individual. a large majority of the konkani brahmans are madhvas, and their god is venkataramana of tirupati, to whom their temples in south canara are dedicated. other brahmans do not go to the konkani temples, though non-brahmans do so. a very striking feature of the konkani temples is that the god venkataramana is not represented by an idol, but by a silver plate with the image of the god embossed on it. there are three important temples, at manjeshwar, mulki, and karkal. to these are attached konkani brahmans called darsanas, or men who get inspired. the darsana attached to the mulki temple comes there daily about 11 a.m. after worship, he is given thirtham (holy water), which he drinks. taking in his hands the prasadam (offering made to the god), he comes out, and commences to shiver all over his body for about ten minutes. the shivering then abates, and a cane and long strip of deer skin are placed in his hands, with which he lashes himself on the back, sides, and head. holy water is given to him, and the shivering ceases. those who have come to the temple put questions to the darsana, which are answered in konkani, and translated. he understands his business thoroughly, and usually recommends the people to make presents of money or jewels to venkataramana, according to their means. in 1907, a rich guzerati merchant, who was doing business at mangalore, visited the temple, and consulted the darsana concerning the condition of his wife, who was pregnant. the darsana assured him that she would be safely delivered of a male child, and made him promise to present to the temple silver equal in weight to that of his wife, should the prophecy be realised. the prediction proving true, the merchant gave silver, sugar-candy, and date fruits, to the required weight at a cost, it is said, of five thousand rupees. at the manjeshwar temple, the darsana is called the dumb darsana, as he gives signs instead of speaking. at a marriage among the konkanis, for the nagavali ceremony eight snakes are made out of rice or wheat flour by women and the bridal couple. by the side of the pot representing siva and parvati, a mirror is placed. close to the nagavali square, it is customary to draw on the ground the figures of eight elephants and eight bairavas in flour. the following account of the konkanis is given in the cochin census report, 1901:--"the konkanis are a branch of the sarasvat sub-division of the pancha gaudas. judged from their well-built physique, handsome features and fair complexion, they appear to belong ethnically to the aryan stock. the community take their name from their guru sarasvata. trihotrapura, the modern tirhut in behar, is claimed as the original home of the community. according to their tradition, parasu rama brought ten families, and settled them in villages in and around gomantaka, the modern goa, panchrakosi, and kusasthali. when goa was conquered by vijayanagar, they placed themselves under the protection of the kings of that country. for nearly a quarter of a century after the conquest of goa by the portuguese, they continued unmolested under the portuguese governors. during this period, they took to a lucrative trade in european goods. with the establishment of the inquisition at goa, and the religious persecution set on foot by the portuguese, the community left goa in voluntary exile. while some submitted to conversion, others fled to the north and south. those that fled to the south settled themselves in canara and at calicut. receiving a cold reception at the hands of the zamorin, they proceeded further south, and placed themselves under the protection of the rulers of cochin and travancore, where they flourish at the present day. the christian converts, who followed in the wake of the first batch of exiles, have now settled themselves at the important centres of trade in the state as copper-smiths, and they are driving a very profitable trade in copper-wares. the brahman emigrants are called konkanis from the fact of their having emigrated from konkan. in the earliest times, they are supposed to have been saivites, but at present they are staunch vaishnavites, being followers of madhavacharya. they are never regarded as on a par with the other brahmans of southern india. there is no intermarriage or interdining between them and other brahmans. in cochin they are mostly traders. their occupation seems to have been at the bottom of their being regarded as degraded. they have their own temples, called tirumala devaswams. they are not allowed access to the inner structure surrounding the chief shrine of the malayali hindu temples; nor do they in turn allow the hindus of this coast to enter corresponding portions of their religious edifices. the nambudris are, however, allowed access even to the interior of the sacred shrine. all caste disputes are referred to their high priest, the swamiyar of kasi mutt, who resides at mancheswaram or basroor. he is held in great veneration by the community, and his decisions in matters religious and social are final. some of their temples possess extensive landed estates. their temple at cochin is one of the richest in the whole state. the affairs of the temple are managed by konkani yogakkars, or an elected committee. nayars and castes above them do not touch them. though their women use coloured cloths for their dress like the women of the east coast, their mode of dress and ornaments at once distinguish them from other brahman women. amongst them there are rich merchants and landholders. prabhu, pai, shenai, kini, mallan, and vadhyar, are some of the more common titles borne by them." in conclusion, brief mention may be made of several other immigrant classes. of these, the desasthas are marathi-speaking brahmans, who have adopted some of the customs of the smartha and madhva carnatakas, with whom intermarriage is permitted. a special feature of the marriage ceremonies of the desasthas is the worship of ambabhavani or tuljabhavani, with the assistance of gondala musicians, who sing songs in praise of the deity. the chitpavan brahmans speak marathi and konkani. in south canara they are, like the haviks, owners of areca palm plantations. karadi brahmans, who are also found in south canara, are said to have come southward from karhad in the bombay presidency. there is a tradition that parasu rama created them from camel bones. brahmani.--a class of ambalavasis. (see unni.) brihaspati varada.--the name, indicating those who worship their god on thursday, of a sub-division of kurubas. brinjari.--a synonym of lambadi. budubudike.--the budubudike or budubudukala are described in the mysore census report as being "gipsy beggars and fortune-tellers from the marata country, who pretend to consult birds and reptiles to predict future events. they are found in every district of mysore, but only in small numbers. they use a small kind of double-headed drum, which is sounded by means of the knotted ends of strings attached to each side of it. the operator turns it deftly and quickly from side to side, when a sharp and weird sound is emitted, having a rude resemblance to the warbling of birds. this is done in the mornings, when the charlatan soothsayer pretends to have divined the future fate of the householder by means of the chirping of birds, etc., in the early dawn. they are generally worshippers of hanumantha." the name budubudike is derived from the hour-glass shaped drum, or budbudki. for the following account of the budubudukalas, i am indebted to a recent article [182]:--"a huge parti-coloured turban, surmounted by a bunch of feathers, a pair of ragged trousers, a loose long coat, which is very often out at elbows, and a capacious wallet underneath his arm, ordinarily constitute the budubudukala's dress. occasionally, if he can afford it, he indulges in the luxury of wearing a tiger or cheetah (leopard) skin, which hangs down his back, and contributes to the dignity of his calling. add to this an odd assortment of clothes suspended on his left forearm, and the picture is as grotesque as it can be. he is regarded as able to predict the future of human beings by the flight and notes of birds. his predictions are couched in the chant which he recites. the burden of the chant is invariably stereotyped, and purports to have been gleaned from the warble of the feathered songsters of the forest. it prognosticates peace, plenty and prosperity to the house, the birth of a son to the fair, lotus-eyed house-wife, and worldly advancement to the master, whose virtues are as countless as the stars, and have the power to annihilate his enemies. it also holds out a tempting prospect of coming joy in an unknown shape from an unknown quarter, and concludes with an appeal for a cloth. if the appeal is successful, well and good. if not, the budubudukala has the patience and perseverance to repeat his visit the next day, the day after that, and so on until, in sheer disgust, the householder parts with a cloth. the drum, which has been referred to above as having given the budubudukala his name, is not devoid of interest. in appearance it is an instrument of diminutive size, and is shaped like an hour-glass, to the middle of which is attached a string with a knot at the end, which serves as the percutient. its origin is enveloped in a myth of which the budubudukala is naturally very proud, for it tells him of his divine descent, and invests his vocation with the halo of sanctity. according to the legend, the primitive budubudukala who first adorned the face of the earth was a belated product of the world's creation. when he was born or rather evolved, the rest of humankind was already in the field, struggling for existence. practically the whole scheme was complete, and, in the economy of the universe, the budubudukala found himself one too many. in this quandary, he appealed to his goddess mother amba bhavani, who took pity upon him, and presented him with her husband the god parameswara's drum with the blessing 'my son, there is nothing else for you but this. take it and beg, and you will prosper.' among beggars, the budubudukala has constituted himself a superior beggar, to whom the handful of rice usually doled out is not acceptable. his demand, in which more often than not he succeeds, is for clothes of any description, good, bad or indifferent, new or old, torn or hole. for, in the plenitude of his wisdom, he has realised that a cloth is a marketable commodity, which, when exchanged for money, fetches more than the handful of rice. the budubudukala is continually on the tramp, and regulates his movements according to the seasons of the year. as a rule, he pays his visit to the rural parts after the harvest is gathered, for it is then that the villagers are at their best, and in a position to handsomely remunerate him for his pains. but, in whatever corner of the province he may be, as the dusserah approaches, he turns his face towards vellore in the north arcot district, where the annual festival in honour of the tribal deity amba bhavani is celebrated." the insigne of the budubudike, as recorded at conjeeveram, is said [183] to be a pearl-oyster. the oriya equivalent of budubudike is stated [184] to be dubaduba. bujjinigiyoru (jewel-box).--a sub-division of gangadikara vakkaliga. bukka.--described, in the madras census report, 1901, as a "sub-caste of balija. they are sellers of saffron (turmeric), red powder, combs, etc., and are supposed to have been originally komatis." they are described by the rev. j. cain as travelling about selling turmeric, opium, and other goods. according to the legend, when kanyakamma threw herself into the fire-pit (see komati), they, instead of following her example, presented to her bukka powder, turmeric, and kunkuma. she directed that they should live apart from the faithful komatis, and live by the sale of the articles which they offered to her. buragam.--a sub-division of kalingi. burgher.--a name commonly applied to the badagas of the nilgiri hills. in ceylon, burgher is used in the same sense as eurasian in india. burmese.--a few burmese are trained as medical students at madras for subsequent employment in the burmese medical service. at the mysore census, 1901, a single burman was recorded as being engaged at the kolar gold fields. since burma became part of the british dominions in 1886, there has been emigration to that developing country from the madras presidency on a large scale. the following figures show the numbers of passengers conveyed thence to burma during the five years, 1901-05:- 1901 84,329 1902 80,916 1903 100,645 1904 127,622 1905 124,365 busam (grain).--an exogamous sept of devanga. busi (dirt).--an exogamous sept of mutracha. byagara.--byagara and begara are synonyms of holeya. notes [1] "deccan, hind, dakhin, dakhan; dakkina, the prakr. form of sskt. dakshina, 'the south.' the southern part of india, the peninsula, and especially the table-land between the eastern and western ghauts." yule and burnell, hobson-jobson. [2] history of creation. [3] malay archipelago, 1890. [4] see article kadir. [5] pagan races of the malay peninsula, 1906. [6] globus, 1899. [7] madras museum bull., ii, 3, 1899. [8] op. cit. [9] yule and burnell, hobson-jobson. [10] mem. asiat. soc., bengal, miscellanea ethnographica, 1, 1906. [11] manual of the geology of india, 2nd edition, 1893. [12] anatomy of vertebrated animals, 1871. [13] see annual report, archæological survey of india, 1902-03. [14] bull, museum d'histoire naturelle, 1905. [15] introduction to the study of mammals, living and extinct, 1891. [16] anthropology. translation, 1894. [17] i have only seen one individual with woolly hair in southern india, and he was of mixed tamil and african parentage. [18] see article maravan. [19] op. cit. [20] ethnology, 1896. [21] proc. r. soc. n. s. wales, xxiii, part iii. [22] "it is evident that, during much of the tertiary period, ceylon and south india were bounded on the north by a considerable extent of sea, and probably formed part of an extensive southern continent or great island. the very numerous and remarkable cases of affinity with malaya require, however, some closer approximation to these islands, which probably occurred at a later period." wallace. geographical distribution of animals, 1876. [23] see breeks, primitive tribes and monuments of the nilgiris; phillips, tumuli of the salem district; rea, prehistoric burial places in southern india; r. bruce foote, catalogues of the prehistoric antiquities in the madras museum, etc. [24] contributions to the craniology of the people of the empire of india, part ii. the aborigines of chuta nagpur, and of the central provinces, the people of orissa, veddahs and negritos, 1900. [25] other cranial characters are compared by sir william turner, for which i would refer the reader to the original article. [26] the people of india, 1908. [27] contemporary science series. [28] madras museum bull., ii, 3, 1899. [29] the cephalic indices of various brahman classes in the bombay presidency, supplied by sir h. risley, are as follows:--desastha, 76.9; kokanasth, 77.3; sheni or saraswat, 79; nagar, 79.7. [30] measured by mr. f. fawcett. [31] the pattar brahmans are tamil brahmans, settled in malabar. [32] according to the brahman chronology, mayura varma reigned from 455 to 445 b.c., but his probable date was about 750 a.d. see fleet, dynasties of the kanarese districts of the bombay presidency, 1882-86. [33] histoire générale des races humaines, 1889. [34] les nègres d'asie, et la race nègre en général. revue scientifique, vi july, 1906. [35] tribes and castes of bengal, 1891. [36] linguistic survey of india, iv, 1906. [37] manual of the south canara district. [38] the todas, 1906. [39] madras journ., lit. and sci., v., 1837. [40] comparative grammar of the dravidian languages. 2nd ed., 1875. [41] outlines of the toda grammar appended to marshall's phrenologist among the todas. [42] madras census report, 1901. [43] malabar law and custom. [44] f. fawcett. journ. anth. soc., bombay, 1, 1888. [45] malabar law and custom. [46] wigram, malabar law and custom. [47] madras census report, 1891. [48] madras census report, 1901. [49] manual of the north arcot district. [50] manual of the madura district. [51] description of the character, manners and customs of the people of india. [52] madras census report, 1891. [53] mysore census report, 1891, 1901; rice, mysore and coorg gazetteer. [54] hindu manners and customs. ed. 1897. [55] mysore census report, 1901. [56] ambalam is an open space or building, where affairs connected with justice are transacted. ambalakkaran denotes the president of an assembly, or one who proclaims the decision of those assembled in an ambalam. [57] anuloma, the product of the connection of a man with a woman of a lower caste; pratiloma, of the connection of a man with a woman of a higher caste. [58] madras mail, 1906. [59] a. p. smith, madras review, 1902. [60] cochin census report, 1901. [61] houses where pilgrims and travellers are entertained, and fed gratuitously. [62] c. hayavadana rao. tales of komati wit and wisdom, 1907. [63] wigram, malabar law and custom. [64] madras journ. lit. and science, xi, 176, 1840. [65] historical sketches of the south of india. [66] ellis. kural. [67] mysore and coorg gazetteer, 1876-78. [68] madras census report, 1891. [69] manual of the south canara district. [70] folk-songs of southern india. [71] manual of the nilagiri district. [72] the todas, 1906. [73] account of the primitive tribes and monuments of the nilagiris, 1873. [74] gazetteer of the nilgiris. [75] madras christian college magazine, 1892. [76] gazetteer of the nilgiris. [77] manual of coorg. [78] pioneer, 4th october 1907. [79] description of a singular aboriginal race inhabiting the summit of the neilgherry hills. [80] the todas, 1906. [81] op. cit. [82] op. cit. [83] madras mail, 1907. [84] the bridge spanning the river of death, which the blessed cross in safety. [85] report, government botanic gardens, nilgiris, 1903. [86] e. schmidt. reise nach sudindien, 1894. [87] the world's peoples, 1908. [88] h. h. wilson, essays and lectures, chiefly on the religion of the hindus, 1862. [89] hindu castes and sects. [90] the mystics, ascetics, and saints of india, 1903. [91] madras census report, 1901. [92] madras census report, 1901. [93] madras census report, 1891. [94] a native: pen and ink sketches of south india. [95] madras census report, 1891. [96] manual of the s. canara district. [97] yule and burnell. hobson-jobson. [98] calcutta review. [99] indian review, vii, 1906. [100] see g. krishna rao. treatise on aliya santana law and usage, mangalore, 1898. [101] calcutta review. [102] malabar law and custom, 3rd ed., 1905. [103] the law of partition and succession, from the text of varadaraja's vyavaharaniranya by a. c. burnell (1872). [104] calcutta review. [105] report of the malabar marriage commission, 1891. [106] mysore and coorg gazetteer. [107] rev. j. cain, ind. ant., v, 1876. [108] m. paupa rao naidu. the criminal tribes of india. no. iii, madras, 1907. [109] op. cit. [110] tribes and castes of the north-western provinces and oudh, bawariya, 1906. [111] tribes and castes of bengal, 1891. [112] journey through mysore, canara and malabar, 1807. [113] gentu or gentoo is "a corruption of the portuguese gentio, gentile or heathen, which they applied to the hindus in contradistinction to the moros or moors, i.e., mahommedans. it is applied to the telugu-speaking hindus specially, and to their language." yule and burnell, hobson-jobson. [114] historical sketches of the south of india: mysore, 1810-17. [115] by law, to constitute dacoity, there must be five or more in the gang committing the crime. yule and burnell, op. cit. [116] circumcision is practised by some kallans of the tamil country. [117] madras mail, 1902. [118] mysore census report, 1901. [119] madras mail, 1905. [120] op. cit. [121] manual of the south canara district. [122] agricultural ledger series, calcutta, no. 7, 1904. [123] jeypore. breklum, 1901. [124] manual of the north arcot district. [125] madras census report, 1891. [126] op. cit. [127] taylor. catalogue raisonné of oriental manuscripts. [128] madras census report, 1901. [129] journey from madras through mysore, canara and malabar. [130] ind. ant. xviii, 1889. [131] hobson-jobson. [132] decadas de asia. [133] j. s. f. mackenzie, ind. ant. iv, 1875. [134] madras census report, 1901. [135] sanskrit hymn repeated a number of times during daily ablutions. [136] manual of the north arcot district. [137] j. s. f. mackenzie, ind. ant. iv, 1875. [138] see f. s. mullaly. notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency. [139] history of railway thieves, madras, 1904. [140] manual of the north arcot district. [141] occasional essays on native south indian life. [142] gazetteer of the central provinces, 1870. [143] report of the ethnological committee of the central provinces. [144] wilson. glossary of judicial and revenue terms. [145] manual of malabar. [146] devil worship of the tuluvas, ind. ant. xxiii, xxiv, and xxv, 1894-96. [147] occasional essays on native south indian life. [148] madras mail, 1905. [149] madras census report, 1901. [150] manual of the vizagapatam district. [151] manual of the north arcot district. [152] manual of the ganjam district. [153] madras census report, 1891. [154] manual of the north arcot district. [155] religious thought and life in india. [156] christianity and caste, 1893. [157] in the vedic verse the word used for my brothers literally means your husbands. [158] a hotri is one who presides at the time of sacrifices. [159] madras christian college magazine, march, 1903. [160] religious thought and life in india. [161] see thurston, ethnographic notes in southern india, 1906, pp. 229-37. [162] op. cit. [163] watt, dict. economic products of india. [164] viaggio all' indie orientali, 1672. [165] see note on the tulsi plant. journ. anthrop. soc., bombay, viii, i, 1907. [166] madras mail, 1906. [167] hobson-jobson. [168] music and musical instruments of southern india and the deccan, 1891. [169] oriental commerce. [170] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [171] collection of the decisions of high courts and the privy council on the hindu law of marriage and the effect of apostacy after marriage. madras, 1891. [172] madras mail, 1904. [173] ind. ant. iii, 1874. [174] ind. ant. iii, 1874. [175] mysore and coorg gazetteer, 1877. [176] said to be derived from ma, a negation, and arka, sun, in allusion to their not performing the adoration of that luminary which is customary among brahmans. [177] brahmanism and hinduism. [178] manual of the south canara district. [179] fraser's magazine, may 1875. [180] loc. cit. [181] indian review, vii, 1906. [182] madras mail, 1907. [183] j. s. f. mackenzie, ind. ant., iv, 1875. [184] madras census report, 1901. gutenberg. castes and tribes of southern india by edgar thurston, c.i.e., superintendent, madras government museum; correspondant étranger, société d'anthropologie de paris; socio corrispondante, societa, romana di anthropologia. assisted by k. rangachari, m.a., of the madras government museum. volume v--m to p government press, madras 1909. castes and tribes of southern india. volume v. marakkayar.--the marakkayars are described, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a tamil-speaking musalman tribe of mixed hindu and musalman origin, the people of which are usually traders. they seem to be distinct from the labbais (q.v.) in several respects, but the statistics of the two have apparently been confused, as the numbers of the marakkayars are smaller than they should be." concerning the marakkayars of the south arcot district, mr. francis writes as follows. [1] "the marakkayars are largely big traders with other countries such as ceylon and the straits settlements, and own most of the native coasting craft. they are particularly numerous in porto novo. the word marakkayar is usually derived from the arabic markab, a boat. the story goes that, when the first immigrants of this class (who, like the labbais, were driven from their own country by persecutions) landed on the indian shore, they were naturally asked who they were, and whence they came. in answer they pointed to their boats, and pronounced the word markab, and they became in consequence known to the hindus as marakkayars, or the people of markab. the musalmans of pure descent hold themselves to be socially superior to the marakkaayars, and the marakkayars consider themselves better than the labbais. there is, of course, no religious bar to intermarriages between these different sub-divisions, but such unions are rare, and are usually only brought about by the offer of strong financial inducements to the socially superior party. generally speaking, the pure-bred musalmans differ from those of mixed descent by dressing themselves and their women in the strict musalman fashion, and by speaking hindustani at home among themselves. some of the marakkayars are now following their example in both these matters, but most of them affect the high hat of plaited coloured grass and the tartan (kambayam) waist-cloth. the labbais also very generally wear these, and so are not always readily distinguishable from the marakkayars, but some of them use the hindu turban and waist-cloth, and let their womankind dress almost exactly like hindu women. in the same way, some labbais insist on the use of hindustani in their houses, while others speak tamil. there seems to be a growing dislike to the introduction of hindu rites into domestic ceremonies, and the processions and music, which were once common at marriages, are slowly giving place to a simpler ritual more in resemblance with the nikka ceremony of the musalman faith." of 13,712 inhabitants of porto novo returned at the census, 1901, as many as 3,805 were muhammadans. "the ordinary vernacular name of the town is farangipettai or european town, but the musalmans call it muhammad bandar (port). the interest of the majority of the inhabitants centres in matters connected with the sea. a large proportion of them earn their living either as owners of, or sailors in, the boats which ply between the place and ceylon and other parts, and it is significant that the most popular of the unusually large number of musalman saints who are buried in the town is one malumiyar, who was apparently in his lifetime a notable sea-captain. his fame as a sailor has been magnified into the miraculous, and it is declared that he owned ten or a dozen ships, and used to appear in command of all of them simultaneously. he has now the reputation of being able to deliver from danger those who go down to the sea in ships, and sailors setting out on a voyage or returning from one in safety usually put an offering in the little box kept at his darga, and these sums are expended in keeping that building lighted and whitewashed. another curious darga in the town is that of araikasu nachiyar, or the one pie lady. offerings to her must on no account be worth more than one pie (1/192 of a rupee); tributes in excess of that value are of no effect. if sugar for so small an amount cannot be procured, the devotee spends the money on chunam (lime) for her tomb, and this is consequently covered with a superabundance of whitewash. stories are told of the way in which the valuable offerings of rich men have altogether failed to obtain her favour, and have had to be replaced by others of the regulation diminutive dimensions. the chief mosque is well kept. behind it are two tombs, which stand at an odd angle with one another, instead of being parallel as usual. the legend goes that once upon a time there was a great saint called hafiz mir sahib, who had an even more devout disciple called saiyad shah. the latter died and was duly buried, and not long after the saint died also. the disciple had always asked to be buried at the feet of his master, and so the grave of this latter was so placed that his feet were opposite the head of his late pupil. but his spirit recognised that the pupil was really greater than the master, and when men came later to see the two graves they found that the saint had turned his tomb round so that his feet no longer pointed with such lack of respect towards the head of his disciple." [2] in the madras census report, 1901, the jonagans are separated from the marakkayars, and are described as musalman traders of partly hindu parentage. and, in the gazetteer of south arcot, mr. francis says that "the term jonagan or sonagan, meaning a native of sonagan or arabia, is applied by hindus to both labbais and marakkayars, but it is usually held to have a contemptuous flavour about it." there is some little confusion concerning the exact application of the name jonagan, but i gather that it is applied to sea-fishermen and boatmen, while the more prosperous traders are called marakkayars. a point, in which the labbais are said to differ from the marakkayars, is that the former are hanafis, and the latter shafis. the marakkayars are said to admit converts from various hindu classes, who are called pulukkais, and may not intermarry with the marakkayars for several generations, or until they have become prosperous. in one form of the marriage rites, the ceremonial extends over four days. the most important items on the first day are fixing the mehr (bride-price) in the presence of the vakils (representatives), and the performance of the nikka rite by the kazi. the nikka kudbha is read, and the hands of the contracting couple are united by male elders, the bride standing within a screen. during the reading of the kudbha, a sister of the bridegroom ties a string of black beads round the bride's neck. all the women present set up a roar, called kulavi-idal. on the following day, the couple sit among women, and the bridegroom ties a golden tali on the bride's neck. on the third or fourth day a ceremony called paparakkolam, or brahman disguise, is performed. the bride is dressed like a brahman woman, and holds a brass vessel in one hand, and a stick in the other. approaching the bridegroom, she strikes him gently, and says "did not i give you buttermilk and curds? pay me for them." the bridegroom then places a few tamarind seeds in the brass vessel, but the bride objects to this, and demands money, accompanying the demand with strokes of the stick. the man then places copper, silver, and gold coins in the vessel, and the bride retires in triumph to her chamber. like the labbais, the marakkayars write tamil in arabic characters, and speak a language called arab-tamil, in which the kuran and other books have been published. (see labbai.) maralu (sand).--a gotra of kurni. maran or marayan.--the marayans are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as being "temple servants and drummers in malabar. like many of the malabar castes, they must have come from the east coast, as their name frequently occurs in the tanjore inscriptions of 1013 a.d. they followed then the same occupation as that by which they live to-day, and appear to have held a tolerably high social position. in parts of north malabar they are called oc'chan." "the development of this caste," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [3] "is interesting. in chirakkal, the northernmost taluk of the malabar district, and in the adjoining kasargod taluk of south canara, marayans are barbers, serving nayars and higher castes; in the kottayam and kurumbranad taluks they are barbers and drummers, and also officiate as purohits (priests) at the funeral ceremonies of nayars. in the latter capacity they are known in those parts also as attikurissi marayan. going still further south, we find the nayar purohit called simply attikurissi, omitting the marayan, and he considers it beneath his dignity to shave. nevertheless, he betrays his kinship with the marayan of the north by the privilege which he claims of cutting the first hair when a nayar is shaved after funeral obsequies. on the other hand, the drummer, who is called marayan, or honorifically marar, poses as a temple servant, and would be insulted if it were said that he was akin to the shaving marayan of the north. he is considered next in rank only to brahmans, and would be polluted by the touch of nayars. he loses caste by eating the food of nayars, but the nayars also lose caste by eating his food. a proverb says that a marayan has four privileges:- 1. pani, or drum, beaten with the hand. 2. koni, or bier, i.e., the making of the bier. 3. natumittam, or shaving. 4. tirumittam, or sweeping the temple courts. "in north malabar a marayan performs all the above duties even now. in the south there appears to have been a division of labour, and there a marayan is in these days only a drummer and temple servant. funeral rites are conducted by an attikurissi marayan, otherwise known as simply attikurissi, and shaving is the duty of the velakattalavan. this appears to have been the case for many generations, but i have not attempted to distinguish between the two sections, and have classed all as barbers. moreover, it is only in parts of south malabar that the caste has entirely given up the profession of barber; and, curiously enough, these are the localities where nambudiri influence is supreme. the marayans there appear to have confined themselves to officiating as drummers in temples, and to have obtained the title of ambalavasi; and, in course of time, they were even honoured with sambandham of nambudiris. in some places an attempt is made to draw a distinction between marayan and marayar, the former denoting the barber, and the latter, which is merely the honorific plural, the temple servant. there can, however, be little doubt that this is merely an ex post facto argument in support of the alleged superiority of those marayans who have abandoned the barber's brush. it may be here noted that it is common to find barbers acting as musicians throughout the madras presidency, and that there are several other castes in malabar, such as the tiyyans, mukkuvans, etc., who employ barbers as purohits at their funeral ceremonies." in the cochin census report, 1901, mr. m. sankara menon writes that the marars are "sudras, and, properly speaking, they ought to be classed along with nayars. owing, however, to their close connection with services in temples, and the absence of free interdining or intermarriage with nayars, they are classed along with ambalavasis. they are drummers, musicians, and storekeepers in temples. like tiyattu nambiyars, some sections among them also draw figures of the goddess in bhagavati temples, and chant songs. in some places they are also known as kuruppus. some sub-castes among them do not dine, or intermarry. as they have generally to serve in temples, they bathe if they touch nayars. in the matter of marriage (tali-kettu and sambandham), inheritance, period of pollution, etc., they follow customs exactly like those of nayars. in the southern taluks elayads officiate as purohits, but, in the northern taluks, their own castemen take the part of the elayads in their sradha ceremonies. the tali-kettu is likewise performed by tirumalpads in the southern taluks, but by their own castemen, called enangan, in the northern taluks. their castemen or brahmans unite themselves with their women in sambandham. as among nayars, purificatory ceremonies after funerals, etc., are performed by cheethiyans or nayar priests." for the following detailed note on the marans of travancore i am indebted to mr. n. subramani iyer, the name maran has nothing to do with maranam or death, as has been supposed, but is derived from the tamil root mar, to beat. in the tanjore inscriptions of the eleventh century, the caste on the coromandel coast appears to have been known by this name. the marans correspond to the occhans of the tamil country, and a class of marans in north malabar are sometimes called by this designation. in the old revenue records of the travancore state, mangalyam appears to be the term made use of. the two well-known titles of the caste are kuruppu and panikkar, both conveying the idea of a person who has some allotted work to perform. in modern days, english-educated men appear to have given these up for pillai, the titular affix added to the name of the sudra population generally. marans may be divided into two main divisions, viz., marans who called themselves marars in north travancore, and who now hesitate to assist other castes in the performance of their funeral rites; and marans who do not convert their caste designation into an honorific plural, and act as priests for other castes. this distinction is most clearly marked in north travancore, while to the south of alleppey the boundary line may be said to remain only dim. in this part of the country, therefore, a fourfold division of the caste is the one best known to the people, namely orunul, irunul, cheppat, and kulanji. the orunuls look upon themselves as higher than the irunuls, basing their superiority on the custom obtaining among them of marrying only once in their lifetime, and contracting no second alliance after the first husband's death. living, however, with a brahman, or one of a distinctly higher caste, is tolerated among them in the event of that calamity. the word orunul means one string, and signifies the absence of widow marriage, among the irunuls (two strings) the tali-tier is not necessarily the husband, nor is a second husband forbidden after the death of the first. cheppat and kulanji were once mere local varieties, but have now become separate sub-divisions. the males of the four sections, but not the females, interdine. with what rapidity castes sub-divide and ramify in travancore may be seen from the fact of the existence of a local variety of marans called muttal, meaning substitute or emergency employée, in the kalkulam taluk, who are believed to represent an elevation from a lower to a higher class of marans, rendered necessary by a temple exigency. the marans are also known as asupanis, as they alone are entitled to sound the two characteristic musical instruments, of malabar temples, called asu and pani. in the south they are called chitikans, a corruption of the sanskrit chaitika, meaning one whose occupation relates to the funeral pile, and in the north asthikkurichis (asthi, a bone), as they help the relations of the dead in the collection of the bones after cremation. the marans are, further, in some places known as potuvans, as their services are engaged at the funerals of many castes. before the days of sankaracharya, the sole occupation of the marans is said to have been beating the drum in brahmanical temples. when sankaracharya was refused assistance in the cremation of his dead mother by the nambutiri brahmans, he is believed to have sought in despair the help of one of these temple servants, with whose aid the corpse was divided into eight parts, and deposited in the pit. for undertaking this duty, which the nambutiris repudiated from a sense of offended religious feeling, the particular maran was thrown out of his caste by the general community, and a compromise had to be effected by the sage with the rest of the caste, who returned in a body on the day of purification along with the excommunicated man, and helped sankaracharya to bring to a close his mother's death ceremonies. in recognition of this timely help, sankara is believed to have declared the maran to be an indispensable functionary at the death ceremonies of nambutiris and ambalavasis. it has even been suggested that the original form of maran was muran, derived from mur (to chop off), in reference to the manner in which the remains of sankara's mother were disposed of. the traditional occupation of the marans is sounding or playing on the panchavadya or five musical instruments used in temples. these are the sankh or conch-shell, timila, chendu, kaimani, and maddalam. the conch, which is necessary in every hindu temple, is loudly sounded in the early morning, primarily to wake the deity, and secondarily to rouse the villagers. again, when the temple service commences, and when the nivedya or offering is carried, the music of the conch is heard from the northern side of the temple. on this account, many marans call themselves vadakkupurattu, or belonging to the northern side. the asu and pani are sounded by the highest dignitaries among them. the beating of the pani is the accompaniment of expiatory offerings to the saptamata, or seven mothers of hindu religious writings, viz., brahmi, mahesvari, kaumari, vaishnavi, varahi, indrani, and chamunda. offerings are made to these divine mothers during the daily sribali procession, and in important temples also during the sribhutabali hours, and on the occasion of the utsavabali at the annual utsava of the temple. there are certain well-established rules prescribing the hymns to be recited, and the music to be played. so religiously have these rules to be observed during the utsavabali, that the priest who makes the offering, the variyar who carries the light before him and the marans who perform the music all have to fast, and to dress themselves in orthodox brahmanical fashion, with the uttariya or upper garment worn in the manner of the sacred thread. it is sincerely believed that the smallest violation of the rules would be visited with dire consequences to the delinquents before the next utsava ceremony. in connection with the musical instrument called the timila, the following legend is current. there was a timila in the sri padmanabha temple made of kuruntotti, and there was a maran attached to the temple, who was such an expert musician that the priest was unable to adjust his hymn recitation to the music of the maran's drum, and was in consequence the recipient of the divine wrath. it was contrived to get a brahman youth to officiate as priest, and, as he could not recite the hymns in consonance with the sounds produced by the drum, a hungry spirit lifted him up from the ground to a height of ten feet. the father of the youth, hearing what had occurred, hastened to the temple, and cut one of his fingers, the blood of which he offered to the spirit. the boy was then set free, and the old man, who was more than a match for the maran, began to recite the hymns. the spirits, raising the maran on high, sucked away his blood, and vanished. the particular timila has since this event never been used by any maran. the higher classes of marans claim six privileges, called pano, koni, tirumuttam, natumuttam, velichchor, and puchchor. koni means literally a ladder, and refers to the stretcher, made of bamboo and kusa grass or straw, on which the corpses of high caste hindus are laid. tirumuttam is sweeping the temple courtyard, and natumuttam the erection of a small pandal (booth) in the courtyard of a nambutiri's house, where oblations are offered to the departed spirit on the tenth day after death. velichchor, or sacrificial rice, is the right to retain the remains of the food offered to the manes, and puchchor the offering made to the deity, on whom the priest throws a few flowers as part of the consecration ceremony. a large portion of the time of a maran is spent within the temple, and all through the night some watch over it. many functions are attended to by them in the houses of nambutiris. not only at the tonsure ceremony, and samavartana or closing of the brahmacharya stage, but also on the occasion of sacrificial rites, the maran acts as the barber. at the funeral ceremony, the preparation of the last bed, and handing the til (sesamum) seeds, have to be done by him. the chitikkans perform only the functions of shaving and attendance at funerals, and, though they may beat drums in temples, they are not privileged to touch the asu and pani. at vechur there is a class of potters called kusa maran, who should be distinguished from the marans proper, with whom they have absolutely nothing in common. many families of the higher division of the marans regard themselves as ambalavasis, though of the lowest type, and abstain from flesh and liquor. some marans are engaged in the practice of sorcery, while others are agriculturists. drinking is a common vice, sanctioned by popular opinion owing to the notion that it is good for persons with overworked lungs. in their ceremonies the marans resemble the nayars, as they do also in their caste government and religious worship. the annaprasana, or first food-giving ceremony, is the only important one before marriage, and the child is taken to the temple, where it partakes of the consecrated food. the nayars, on the contrary, generally perform the ceremony at home. purification by a brahman is necessary to release the maran from death pollution, which is not the case with the nayars. in travancore, at any rate, the nayars are considered to be higher in the social scale than the marans. in connection with asu and pani, which have been referred to in this note, i gather that, in malabar, the instruments called maram (wood), timila, shanku, chengulam, and chenda, if played together, constitute pani kottugu, or playing pani. asu and maram are the names of an instrument, which is included in pani kottugu. among the occasions when this is indispensable, are the dedication of the idol at a newly built temple, the udsavam puram and sriveli festivals, and the carrying of the tadambu, or shield-like structure, on which a miniature idol (vigraham) is borne outside the temple, marasari.--marasari or marapanikkan, meaning carpenter or worker in wood, is an occupational sub-division of malayalam kammalas. maratha.--marathas are found in every district of the madras presidency, but are, according to the latest census returns, most numerous in the following districts:- south canara 31,351 salem 7,314 tanjore 7,156 bellary 6,311 it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1891, that "the term marathi denotes the various marathi non-brahman castes, who came to the south either as soldiers or camp followers in the armies of the marathi invaders; but in south canara, in which district the caste is most numerous, it appears to be the same as are, a class of marathi cultivators. of the total number of 65,961, as many as 40,871 have returned marathi as both caste and sub-division. the number of sub-divisions returned by the rest is no less than 305, of which the majority are the names of other castes. some of these castes are purely dravidian, and the names have evidently been used in their occupational sense. for example, we have bogam, gandla, mangala, etc." mr. h. a, stuart writes further, in the south canara manual, that "marathi, as a caste name, is somewhat open to confusion, and it is probable that many people of various castes, who speak marathi, are shown as being of that caste. the true marathi caste is said to have come from goa, and that place is the head-quarters. the caste is divided into twelve wargs or balis, which are exogamous sub-divisions. caste disputes are settled by headmen called hontagaru, and allegiance is paid to the head of the sringeri math. the favourite deity is the goddess mahadevi. brahmans, usually karadis, officiate at their ceremonies. marriage is both infant and adult. the dhare form of marriage is used (see bant). widows may remarry, but they cannot marry again into the family of the deceased husband--a rule which is just the reverse of the levirate. in some parts, however, the remarriage of widows is prohibited. a husband or a wife can divorce each other at will, and both parties may marry again. marathis are either farmers, labourers, or hunters. they eat fish and flesh (except that of cattle and animals generally regarded as unclean) and they use alcoholic liquors. they speak either the ordinary marathi or the konkami dialect of it." the marathis of south canara call themselves are and are kshatri. in the north arcot manual, mr, stuart records that the term marathi is "usually applied to the various maratha sudra castes, which have come south. their caste affix is always rao. it is impossible to discover to what particular sudra division each belongs, for they do not seem to know, and take advantage of being away from their own country to assert that they are kshatriyas--a claim which is ridiculed by other castes. in marriage they are particular to take a bride only from within the circle of their own family, so that an admixture of the original castes is thus avoided. their language is marathi, but they speak telugu or tamil as well, and engage in many professions. many are tailors. [4] others enlist in the army, in the police, or as peons (orderlies or messengers), and some take to agriculture or trading." of the history of marathas in those districts in which they are most prevalent, an account will be found in the manuals and gazetteers. the last maratha king of tanjore, maharaja sivaji, died in 1855. it is noted by mr. m. j. walhouse [5] that "an eye-witness has recorded the stately and solemn spectacle of his funeral, when, magnificently arranged, and loaded with the costliest jewels, his body, placed in an ivory palanquin, was borne by night through the torchlit streets of his royal city amid the wail of vast multitudes lamenting the last of their ruling race. the nearest descendant, a boy of twelve, was carried thrice round the pile, and at the last circuit a pot of water was dashed to pieces on the ground. the boy then lit the pile, and loud long-sustained lament of a nation filled the air as the flames rose." upon the death of sivaji, the raj became, under the decision of the court of directors, extinct. his private estate was placed under the charge of the collector of the district. in addition to three wives whom he had already married, sivaji, three years before his death, married in a body seventeen girls. in 1907, three of the ranis were still living in the palace at tanjore. it is recorded [6] by the marchioness of dufferin that, when the viceroy visited the tanjore palace in 1886 to speak with the ranis, he was admitted behind the purdah, "the ladies had not expected him, and were not dressed out in their best, and no one could speak any intelligible language, however, a sort of chattering went on, and they made signs towards a chair, which, being covered with crimson cloth, dufferin thought he was to sit down on. he turned and was just about to do so, when he thought he saw a slight movement, and he fancied there might be a little dog there, when two women pulled the cloth open, and there was the principal rani--a little old woman who reached half way up the back of the chair, and whom the viceroy had been within an act of squashing. he said it gave him such a turn!" a classified index to the sanskrit manuscripts in the tanjore palace was published by mr. a. c. burnell in 1880. in the introduction thereto, he states that "the library was first brought to the notice of european scholars by h.s.h. count noer, prince frederic of schleswig-holstein, who brought an account of it to the late professor goldstücker. but its full importance was not known till i was deputed, in 1871, to examine it by the then governor of madras, lord napier and ettrick. the manuscripts are the result of perhaps 300 years' collections; firstly, by the nayaks of tanjore; secondly, after about 1675, by the mahratha princes. some of the palm-leaf manuscripts belong to the earlier period, but the greater part were collected in the last and present centuries. all the nagari manuscripts belong to the mahratha times, and a large number of these were collected at benares by the raja serfojee (carabhoji) about fifty years ago." in the maratha darbar hall of the tanjore palace are large pictures, of little artistic merit, of all the maratha kings, and the palace also contains a fine statue of sarabhoji by chantrey. the small but splendid series of maratha arms from this palace constitutes one of the most valuable assets of the madras museum. "the armoury," mr. walhouse writes, [7] "consisted of great heaps of old weapons of all conceivable descriptions, lying piled upon the floor of the sangita mahal (music-hall), which had long been occupied by many tons of rusty arms and weapons, in confused heaps, coated and caked together with thick rust. hundreds of swords, straight, curved and ripple-edged, many beautifully damascened and inlaid with hunting or battle scenes in gold; many broad blades with long inscriptions in marathi or kanarese characters, and some so finely tempered as to bend and quiver like whalebone. there were long gauntlet-hilts, brass or steel, in endless devices, hilts inlaid with gold, and hilts and guards of the most tasteful and elaborate steel-work. there were long-bladed swords and executioners' swords, two-handed, thick-backed, and immensely heavy. daggers, knives, and poniards by scores, of all imaginable and almost unimaginable shapes, double and triple-bladed; some with pistols or spring-blades concealed in their handles, and the hilts of many of the kuttars of the most beautiful and elaborate pierced steel-work, in endless devices, rivalling the best medieval european metal-work, there was a profusion of long narrow thin-bladed knives, mostly with bone or ivory handles very prettily carved, ending in parrot-heads and the like, or the whole handle forming a bird or monster, with legs and wings pressed close to the body, all exquisitely carved. the use of these seemed problematical; some said they were used to cut fruit, others that they had been poisoned and struck about the roofs and walls of the women's quarters, to serve the purpose of spikes or broken glass! a curious point was the extraordinary number of old european blades, often graven with letters and symbols of christian meaning, attached to hilts and handles most distinctly hindu, adorned with figures of gods and idolatrous emblems. there was an extraordinary number of long straight cut-and-thrust blades termed phirangis, which mr. sinclair, in his interesting list of dakhani weapons, [8] says means the portuguese, or else made in imitation of such imported swords. a kuttar, with a handsome steel hilt, disclosed the well-known name andrea ferara (sic.). sir walter elliot has informed me that, when a notorious freebooter was captured in the southern marâthâ country many years ago, his sword was found to be an 'andrea ferrara.' mr. sinclair adds that both grant duff and meadows taylor have mentioned that râja sivâji's favourite sword bhavânî was a genoa blade [9].... eventually the whole array (of arms) was removed to trichinapalli and deposited in the arsenal there, and, after a committee of officers had sat upon the multifarious collection, and solemnly reported the ancient arms unfit for use in modern warfare, the government, after selecting the best for the museum, ordered the residue to be broken up and sold as old iron. this was in 1863." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the bellary district, that "in 1790 lord cornwallis, then governor-general of india, entered into an alliance with the marathas and the nizam to reduce tipu to order, and it was agreed that whatever territories should be acquired by them from tipu should be equally divided between them. certain specified poligars, among whom were the chiefs of bellary, rayadrug and harpanahalli, were, however, to be left in possession of their districts. tipu was reduced to submission in 1792, and by the treaty of that year he ceded half his territories to the allies. [10] sandur was allotted to the marathas, and a part of the bellary district to the nizam." the present maratha chief of the little hill-locked sandur state is a minor, whose name and titles are raja venkata rao rao sahib hindu rao ghorpade senapati mamalikat madar. of the eleven thousand inhabitants of the state, the various castes of marathas number over a thousand. "three families of them are brahmans, who came to sandur as officials with siddoji rao when he took the state from the jaramali poligar. except for two short intervals, siddoji's descendants have held the state ever since. the others are grouped into three local divisions, namely, khasgi, kumbi, and lekavali. the first of these consists of only some eight families, and constitutes the aristocracy of the state. some of them came to sandur from the maratha country with siva rao and other rulers of the state, and they take the chief seats at darbars and on other public occasions, and are permitted to dine and intermarry with the raja's family. they wear the sacred thread of the kshatriyas, belong to the orthodox brahmanical gotras, have brahmans as their purohits, observe many of the brahmanical ceremonies, burn their dead, forbid widow re-marriage, and keep their womankind gosha. on the other hand, they do not object to drinking alcohol or to smoking, and they eat meat, though not beef. their family god is the same as that of the raja's family, namely, martanda manimallari, and they worship him in the temple in his honour which is in the raja's palace, and make pilgrimages to his shrine at jejuri near poona. [it is noted by monier-williams [11] that 'a deification, khando-ba (also called khande-rao), was a personage who lived in the neighbourhood of the hill jejuri, thirty miles from poona. he is probably a deification of some powerful raja or aboriginal chieftain, who made himself useful to the brahmans. he is now regarded as an incarnation of siva in his form mallari. the legend is that the god siva descended in this form to destroy a powerful demon named mallasura, who lived on the hill, and was a terror to the neighbourhood. parvati descended at the same time to become khando-ba's wife. his worship is very popular among the people of low caste in the maratha country. sheep are sacrificed at the principal temple on the jejuri hill, and a bad custom prevails of dedicating young girls to the god's service. khando-ba is sometimes represented with his wife on horseback, attended by a dog. a sect existed in sankara's time, who worshipped mallari as lord of dogs.'] at the marriages of the khasgis, an unusual custom, called vira puja, or the worship of warriors, is observed. before the ceremony, the men form themselves into two parties, each under a leader, and march to the banks of the narihalla river, engaging in mock combat as they go. at the river an offering is made to siva in his form as the warrior martanda, and his blessing is invoked. the goddess ganga is also worshipped, and then both parties march back, indulging on the way in more pretended fighting. the second division of the marathas, the kunbis, are generally agriculturists, though some are servants to the first division. they cannot intermarry with the khasgis, or dine with them except in separate rows, and their womanfolk are not gosha; but they have brahmanical gotras and brahman purohits. some of them use the raja's name of ghorpade, but this is only because they are servants in his household. the third division, the lekavalis, are said to be the offspring of irregular unions among other marathas, and are many of them servants in the raja's palace. whence they are also called manimakkalu. they all call themselves ghorpades, and members of the raja's (the kansika) gotra. they thus cannot intermarry among themselves, but occasionally their girls are married to kunbis. their women are in no way gosha." [12] the cranial type of the marathas is, as shown by the following table, like that of the canarese, mesaticephalic or sub-brachycephalic:- cephalic index av. max. canarese 50 holeyas 79.1 87.4 marathi 30 rangaris 79.8 92.2 canarese 50 vakkaligas 81.7 93.8 marathi 30 suka sales 81.8 88.2 marathi 30 sukun sales 82.2 84.4 maravan.--"the maravans," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [13] "are found chiefly in madura and tinnevelly, where they occupy the tracts bordering on the coast from cape comorin to the northern limits of the ramnad zemindari. the proprietors of that estate, and of the great sivaganga zemindari, are both of this caste. the maravars must have been one of the first of the dravidian tribes that penetrated to the south of the peninsula, and, like the kallans, they have been but little affected by brahmanical influence. there exists among them a picturesque tradition to the effect that, in consequence of their assisting rama in his war against the demon ravana, that deity gratefully exclaimed in good tamil maraven, or i will never forget, and that they have ever since been called maravans. but, with more probability, the name may be connected with the word maram, which means killing, ferocity, bravery and the like, as pointing clearly to their unpleasant profession, that of robbing and slaying their neighbours. in former days they were a fierce and turbulent race, famous for their military prowess. at one time they temporarily held possession of the pandya kingdom, and, at a later date, their armies gave valuable assistance to tirumala nayakkan. they gave the british much trouble at the end of last (eighteenth) century and the beginning of this (nineteenth) century, but they are now much the same as other ryots (cultivators), though perhaps somewhat more bold and lawless. agamudaiyan and kallan are returned as sub-divisions by a comparatively large number of persons. maravan is also found among the sub-divisions of kallan, and there can be little doubt that there is a very close connection between kallans, maravans, and agamudaiyans." this connection is dealt with in the article on the kallans. but i may here quote the following legend relating thereto. "once upon a time, rishi gautama left his house to go abroad on business. devendra, taking advantage of his absence, debauched his wife, and three children were the result. when the rishi returned, one of the three hid himself behind a door, and, as he thus acted like a thief, he was henceforward called kallan. another got up a tree, and was therefore called maravan from maram, a tree, whilst the third brazened it out, and stood his ground, thus earning for himself the name of ahamudeiyan, or the possessor of pride. this name was corrupted into ahambadiyan." [14] "some say the word maravan is derived from marani, sin; a maravan being one who commits sin by killing living creatures without feeling pity, and without fear of god." [15] the maravans claim descent from guha or kuha, rama's boatman, who rowed him across to ceylon. according to the legend, rama promised guha that he would come back at a fixed time. when he failed to return, guha made a fire, whereon to burn himself to death. hanuman, however, prevented him from committing suicide, and assured him that rama would shortly return. this came to pass, and rama, on learning what guha had done, called him maravan, a brave or reckless fellow. according to another legend, the god indra, having become enamoured of ahalya, set out one night to visit her in the form of a crow, and, seating himself outside the dwelling of the rishi her husband, cawed loudly. the rishi believing that it was dawn, went off to bathe, while indra, assuming the form of her husband, went in to the woman, and satisfied his desire. when her husband reached the river, there were no signs of dawn, and he was much perturbed, but not for long, as his supernatural knowledge revealed to him how he had been beguiled, and he proceeded to curse indra and his innocent wife. indra was condemned to have a thousand female organs of generation all over his body, and the woman was turned into a stone. indra repented, and the rishi modified his disfigurement by arranging that, to the onlooker, he would seem to be clothed or covered with eyes, and the woman was allowed to resume her feminine form when rama, in the course of his wanderings, should tread on her. the result of indra's escapade was a son, who was stowed away in a secret place (maravuidam). hence his descendants are known as maravan. [16] the head of the maravans is the setupati (lord of the bridge), or raja of ramnad. "the sethupati line, or marava dynasty of ramnad," the rev. j. e. tracy writes, [17] "claims great antiquity. according to popular legendary accounts, it had its rise in the time of the great rama himself, who is said to have appointed, on his victorious return from lanka (ceylon), seven guardians of the passage or bridge connecting ceylon with the mainland.... another supposition places the rise of the family in the second or third century b.c. it rests its case principally upon a statement in the mahawanso, according to which the last of the three tamil invasions of ceylon, which took place in the second or third century b.c., was under the leadership of seven chieftains, who are supposed, owing to the silence of the pandyan records on the subject of south indian dealings with ceylon, to have been neither cheras, cholas, or pandyans, but mere local adventurers, whose territorial proximity and marauding ambition had tempted them to the undertaking.... another supposition places the rise of the family in the eleventh or twelfth century a.d. there are two statements of this case, differing according to the source from which they come. according to the one, which has its source in south india, the rise of the family took place in or about 1059 a.d., when raja raja, the chola king, upon his invasion of ceylon, appointed princes whom he knew to be loyal to himself, and who, according to some, had aided him in his conquest of all pandya, to act as guardians of the passage by which his armies must cross to and fro, and supplies be received from the mainland. according to the other statement, which has its source in sinhalese records, the family took its rise from the appointment of parakrama bahu's general lankapura, who, according to a very trustworthy sinhalese epitome of the mahawanso, after conquering pandya, remained some time at ramespuram, building a temple there, and, while on the island, struck kahapanas (coins similar to those of the sinhalese series). whichever of those statements we may accept, the facts seem to point to the rise of the family in the eleventh or twelfth century a.d., and inscriptions quoted from dr. burgess by mr. robert sewell [18] show that grants were made by sethupati princes in 1414, again in 1489, still again in 1500, and finally as late as 1540. these bring the line down to within two generations of the time when muttu krishnappa nayakka is said, in 1604, to have found affairs sadly disordered in the marava country, and to have re-established the old family in the person of sadaiyaka tevar udaiyar sethupati. the coins of the sethupatis divide themselves into an earlier and later series. the earlier series present specimens which are usually larger and better executed, and correspond in weight and appearance very nearly to the well-known coins of the sinhalese series, together with which they are often found, 'these coins' rhys davids writes, [19] 'are probably, the very ones referred to as having been struck by parakrama's general lankapura.' the coins of the later series are very rude in device and execution. the one face shows only the tamil legend of the word sethupati, while the other side is taken up with various devices." a poet, in days of old, refers to "the wrathful and furious maravar, whose curled beards resemble the twisted horns of the stag, the loud twang of whose powerful bowstrings, and the stirring sound of whose double-headed drums, compel even kings at the head of large armies to turn their back and fly." [20] the maravans are further described as follows. "of strong limbs and hardy frames, and fierce looking as tigers, wearing long and curled locks of hair, the blood-thirsty maravans, armed with the bow bound with leather, ever ready to injure others, shoot their arrows at poor and defenceless travellers, from whom they can steal nothing, only to feast their eyes on the quivering limbs of their victims." [21] in a note on the maravans of the tinnevelly district, it is recorded [22] that "to this class belonged most of the poligars, or feudal chieftains, who disputed with the english the possession of tinnevelly during the last, and first years of the present (nineteenth) century. as feudal chiefs and heads of a numerous class of the population, and one whose characteristics were eminently adapted for the roll of followers of a turbulent chieftain, bold, active, enterprising, cunning and capricious, this class constituted themselves, or were constituted by the peaceful cultivators, their protectors in time of bloodshed and rapine, when no central authority, capable of keeping the peace, existed. hence arose the systems of desha and stalum kaval, or the guard of a tract of country comprising a number of villages against open marauders in armed bands, and the guard of separate villages, their houses and crops, against secret theft. the feudal chief received a contribution from the area around his fort in consideration of protection afforded against armed invasion. the maravars are chiefly the agricultural servants or sub-tenants of the wealthier ryots, under whom they cultivate, receiving a share of the crop. an increasing proportion of this caste are becoming the ryotwari owners of land by purchase from the original holders." though the maravans, mr, francis writes, [23] "are usually cultivators, they are some of them the most expert cattle-lifters in the presidency. in madura, they have a particularly ingenious method of removing cattle. the actual thief steals the bullocks at night, and drives them at a gallop for half a dozen miles, hands them over to a confederate, and then returns and establishes an alibi. the confederate takes them on another stage, and does the same. a third and a fourth man keep them moving all that night. the next day they are hidden and rested, and thereafter they are driven by easier stages to the hills north of madura, where their horns are cut and their brands altered, to prevent them from being recognised. they are then often sold at the great chittrai cattle fair in madura town. in some papers read in g.o., no. 535, judicial, dated 29th march 1899, it was shown that, though, according to the 1891 census, the maravans formed only 10 per cent. of the population of the district of tinnevelly, yet they had committed 70 per cent. of the dacoities which have occurred in that district in the previous five years. they have recently (1899) figured prominently in the anti-shanar riots in the same district." (see shanan.) "the maravans", mr. f. s. mullaly writes, [24] "furnish nearly the whole of the village police (kavilgars, watchmen), robbers and thieves of the tinnevelly district. very often the thief and the watchman are one and the same individual. the maravans of the present time, of course, retain only a shadow of the power which their ancestors wielded under the poligars, who commenced the kavil system. still the marava of to-day, as a member of a caste which is numerous and influential, as a man of superior physique and bold independent spirit, thief and robber, village policeman and detective combined--is an immense power in the land." it is noted, in the madras police report, 1903, that "a large section of the population in tinnevelly--the maravans--are criminal by predilection and training. mr. longden's efforts have been directed to the suppression of a bad old custom, by which the police were in the habit of engaging the help of the maravans themselves in the detection of crime. the natural result was a mass of false evidence and false charges, and, worst of all, a police indebted to the maravan, who was certain to have his quid pro quo. this method being discountenanced, and the station-house officer being deprived of the aid of his tuppans (men who provide a clue), the former has found himself very much at sea, and, until sounder methods can be inculcated, will fail to show successful results. still, even a failure to detect is better than a police in the hands of the maravans." further information concerning tuppukuli, or clue hire, will be found in the note on kallans. from a very interesting note on the maravans of the tinnevelly district, the following extract is taken. [25] "on the principle of setting a thief, to catch a thief, maravars are paid blackmail to keep their hands from picking and stealing, and to make restitution for any thefts that may possibly take place, notwithstanding the vigilance of the watchmen. (a suit has been known to be instituted, in a munsiff's court, for failure to make restitution for theft after receipt of the kudikaval money.) as a matter of fact, no robberies on a large scale can possibly take place without the knowledge, connivance, or actual co-operation of the kavalgars. people living in country places, remote from towns, are entirely at the mercy of the maravars, and every householder or occupier of a mud hut, which is dignified by being called a house, must pay the maravars half a fanam, which is equal to one anna eight pies, yearly. those who own cattle, and there are few who do not, must pay one fanam a year. at the time of the harvest, it is the custom in southern india for an enemy to go and reap his antagonist's crops as they are growing in the fields. he does this to bring matters to a climax, and to get the right side of his enemy, so that he may be forced to come to terms, reasonable or otherwise. possession is nine points of the law. on occasions such as these, which are frequent, the advantage of the employment of kavalgars can readily be understood. the maravars are often true to their salt, though sometimes their services can be obtained by the highest bidder. the plan of keeping kaval, or going the rounds like a policeman on duty, is, for a village of, say, a hundred maravars, to divide into ten sections. each section takes a particular duty, and they are paid by the people living within their range. if a robbery takes place, and the value of the property does not exceed ten rupees, then this section of ten men will each subscribe one rupee, and pay up ten rupees. if, however, the property lost exceeds the sum of ten rupees, then all the ten sections of maravars, the hundred men, will join together, and make restitution for the robbery. how they are able to do this, and to recoup themselves, can be imagined. various attempts for many years have been made to put a stop to this system of kudi-kaval. at one time the village (nunguneri) of the chief maravar was burnt down, and for many years the police have been on their track, and numerous convictions are constantly taking place. out of 150,000 maravars in the whole district, 10,000 are professional thieves, and of these 4,000 have been convicted, and are living at the present time. the question arises whether some plan could not be devised to make honest men of these rogues. it has been suggested that their occupation as watchmen should be recognised by government, and that they should be enlisted as subordinate officials, just as some of them are now employed as talayaris and vettiyans.... the villages of the maravars exist side by side with the other castes, and, as boys and girls, all the different classes grow up together, so that there is a bond of sympathy and regard between them all. the maravans, therefore, are not regarded as marauding thieves by the other classes. their position in the community as kavalgars is recognised, and no one actually fears them. from time immemorial it has been the mamool (custom) to pay them certain dues, and, although illegal, who in india is prepared to act contrary to custom? the small sum paid annually by the villagers is insignificant, and no one considers it a hardship to pay it, when he knows that his goods are in safety; and, if the maravars did not steal, there are plenty of other roving castes (e.g., the kuluvars, kuravars, and kambalatars) who would, so that, on the whole, ordinary unsophisticated natives, who dwell in the country side, rather like the maravar than otherwise. when, however, these watchmen undertake torchlight dacoities, and attack travellers on the high-road, then they are no better than the professional thieves of other countries, and they deserve as little consideration. it must be borne in mind that, while robbery is the hereditary occupation of the maravars, there are thousands of them who lead strictly honest, upright lives as husbandmen, and who receive no benefit whatever from the kudi-kaval system. some of the most noted and earnest native christians have been, and still are, men and women of this caste, and the reason seems to be that they never do things by halves. if they are murderers and robbers, nothing daunts them, and, on the other hand, if they are honest men, they are the salt of the earth." i am informed that, when a maravan takes food in the house of a stranger, he will sometimes take a pinch of earth, and put it on the food before he commences his meal. this act frees him from the obligation not to injure the family which has entertained him. in a note entitled marava jati vernanam, [26] from the mackenzie manuscripts, it is recorded that "there are seven sub-divisions in the tribe of the maravas, respectively denominated sembunattu, agattha, oru-nattu, upukatti, and kurichikattu. among these sub-divisions, that of the sembunattu maravas is the principal one." in the madras census report, 1891, the following are returned as the most important sub-divisions:--agamudaiyan, kallan, karana, kondaikatti, kottani, sembanattu, and vannikutti, among the sembanattus (or sembanadus), the following septs or khilais have been recorded:- marikka. piccha. tondaman. sitrama. thanicha. karuputhra. katra. "the kondayamkottai maravars," mr. f. fawcett writes, [27] "are divided into six sub-tribes, or, as they call them, trees. each tree, or kothu, is divided into three khilais or branches. these i call septs. those of the khilais belonging to the same tree or kothu are never allowed to intermarry. a man or woman must marry with one of a khilai belonging to another tree than his own, his or her own being that of his or her mother, and not of the father. but marriage is not permissible between those of any two trees or kothus: there are some restrictions. for instance, a branch of betel vine or leaves may marry with a branch of cocoanut, but not with areca nuts or dates. i am not positive what all the restrictions are, but restrictions of some kind, by which marriage between persons of all trees may not be made indiscriminately, certainly exist. the names of the trees or kothus and of the khilais or branches, as given to me from the maraver padel, a book considered to be authoritative, are these- ======================================================= tree. | kothu. | khilai. ===============+====================+================== | { |viramudithanginan. milaku | pepper vine { |sedhar. | { |semanda. | { |agastyar. vettile | betel vine { |maruvidu. | { |alakhiya pandiyan. | { |vaniyan. thennang | cocoanut { |vettuvan. | { |nataivendar. | { |kelnambhi. komukham | areca nut { |anbutran. | { |gautaman. | { |sadachi. ichang | dates { |sangaran. | { |pichipillai. | { |akhili. panang | palmyra { |lokhamurti | { |jambhuvar. ======================================================= "unfortunately i am unable to trace out the meanings of all these khilais. agastya and gautamar are, of course, sages of old. viramudithanginan seems to mean a king's crown-bearer. alakhiya pandiyan seems to be one of the old pandiyan kings of madura (alakhiya means beautiful). akhili is perhaps intended to mean the wife of gautama, lokamurti, the one being of the world, and jambhuvar, a monkey king with a bear's face, who lived long, long ago. the common rule regulating marriages among brahmans, and indeed people of almost every caste in southern india, is that the proper husband for the girl is her mother's brother or his son. but this is not so among the kondayamkottai maravars. a girl can never marry her mother's brother, because they are of the same khilai. on the other hand, the children of a brother and sister may marry, and should do so, if this can be arranged, as, though the brother and sister are of the same khilai, their children are not, because the children of the brother belong perforce to that of their mother, who is of a different khilai. it very often happens that a man marries into his father's khilai; indeed there seems to be some idea that he should do so if possible. the children of brothers may not marry with each other, although they are of different khilais, for two brothers may not marry into the same khilai. one of the first things to be done in connection with a marriage is that the female relations of the bridegroom must go and examine the intended bride, to test her physical suitability. she should not, as it was explained to me, have a flat foot; the calf of her leg should be slender, not so thick as the thigh; the skin on the throat should not form more than two wrinkles; the hair over the temple should grow crossways. the last is very important." a curl on the forehead resembling the head of a snake is of evil omen. in one form of the marriage rites as carried out by the maravans, the bridegroom's party proceed, on an auspicious day which has been fixed beforehand, to the home of the bride, taking with them five cocoanuts, five bunches of plantains, five pieces of turmeric, betel, and flowers, and the tali strung on a thread dyed with turmeric. at the auspicious hour, the bride is seated within the house on a plank, facing east. the bridegroom's sister removes the string of black beads from her neck, and ties the tali thereon. while this is being done, the conch-shell is blown, and women indulge in what mr. fawcett describes as a shrill kind of keening (kulavi idal). the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, where they sit side by side on a plank, and the ceremony of warding off the evil eye is performed. further, milk is poured by people with crossed hands over the heads of the couple. a feast is held, in which meat takes a prominent part. a maravan, who was asked to describe the marriage ceremony, replied that it consists in killing a sheep or fowl, and the bringing of the bride by the bridegroom's sister to her brother's house after the tali has been tied. the kondaikatti maravans, in some places, substitute for the usual golden tali a token representing "the head of indra fastened to a bunch of human hair, or silken strings representing his hair." [28] in another form of the marriage ceremony, the father of the bridegroom goes to the bride's house, accompanied by his relations, with the following articles in a box made of plaited palmyra leaves:- 5 bundles of betel. 21 measures of rice. 7 cocoanuts. 70 plantains. 7 lumps of jaggery (crude sugar). 21 pieces of turmeric. flowers, sandal paste, etc. at the bride's house, these presents are touched by those assembled there, and the box is handed over to the bride's father. on the wedding day (which is four days afterwards), pongal (cooked rice) is offered to the house god early in the morning. later in the day, the bridegroom is taken in a palanquin to the house of the bride. betel is presented to him by her father or brother. the bride generally remains within the house till the time for tying the tali has arrived. the maternal uncle then blindfolds her with his hand, lifts her up, and carries her to the bridegroom, four women stand round the contracting couple, and pass round a dish containing a broken cocoanut and a cake three times. the bride and bridegroom then spit into the dish, and the females set up their shrill keening. the maternal uncles join their hands together, and, on receiving the assent of those present, the bridegroom's sister ties the tali on the bride's neck. the tali consists of a ring attached to a black silk thread. after marriage, the "silk tali" is, for every day purposes, replaced by golden beads strung on a string, and the tali used at the wedding is often borrowed for the occasion. the tali having been tied, the pair are blessed, and, in some places, their knees, shoulders, heads, and backs are touched with a betel leaf dipped in milk, and blessed with the words "may the pair be prosperous, giving rise to leaves like a banyan tree, roots like the thurvi (cynodon dactylon) grass, and like the bamboo." of the thurvi grass it is said in the atharwana veda "may this grass, which rose from the water of life, which has a hundred roots and a hundred stems, efface a hundred of my sins, and prolong my existence on earth for a hundred years." still further variants of the marriage ceremonial are described by mr. fawcett, in one of which "the brahman priest (purohit) hands the tali to the bridegroom's sister, who in turn hands it to the bridegroom, who ties a knot in it. the sister then ties two more knots in it, and puts it round the bride's neck. after this has been done, and while the pair are still seated, the brahman ties together the little fingers of the right hands of the pair, which are interlocked, with a silken thread. the pair then rise, walk thrice round the marriage seat (manavanai), and enter the house, where they sit, and the bridegroom receives present from the bride's father. the fingers are then untied. while undergoing the ceremony, the bridegroom wears a thread smeared with turmeric tied round the right wrist. it is called kappu." in the manuscript already quoted, [29] it is noted that "should it so happen, either in the case of wealthy rulers of districts or of poorer common people, that any impediment arises to prevent the complete celebration of the marriage with all attendant ceremonies according to the sacred books and customs of the tribe, then the tali only is sent, and the female is brought to the house of her husband. at a subsequent period, even after two or three children have been born, the husband sends the usual summons to a marriage of areca nut and betel leaf; and, when the relatives are assembled, the bride and bridegroom are publicly seated in state under the marriage pandal; the want of completeness in the former contract is made up; and, all needful ceremonies being gone through, they perform the public procession through the streets of the town, when they break the cocoanut in the presence of vignesvara (ganesa), and, according to the means possessed by the parties, the celebration of the marriage is concluded in one day, or prolonged to two, three or four days. the tali, being tied on, has the name of katu tali, and the name of the last ceremony is called the removal of the former deficiency. if it so happen that, after the first ceremony, the second be not performed, then the children of such an alliance are lightly regarded among the maravas. should the husband die during the continuance of the first relation, and before the second ceremony be performed, then the body of the man, and also the woman are placed upon the same seat, and the ceremonies of the second marriage, according to the customs of the tribe, being gone through, the tali is taken off; the woman is considered to be a widow, and can marry with some other man." it is further recorded [30] of the orunattu maravans that "the elder or younger sister of the bridegroom goes to the house of the bride, and, to the sound of the conch-shell, ties on the tali; and, early on the following morning, brings her to the house of the bridegroom. after some time, occasionally three or four years, when there are indications of offspring, in the fourth or fifth month, the relatives of the pair assemble, and perform the ceremony of removing the deficiency; placing the man and his wife on a seat in public, and having the sacrifice by fire and other matters conducted by the prohitan (or brahman); after which the relatives sprinkle seshai rice (or rice beaten out without any application of water) over the heads of the pair. the relatives are feasted and otherwise hospitably entertained; and these in return bestow donations on the pair, from one fanam to one pagoda. the marriage is then finished. sometimes, when money for expenses is wanting, this wedding ceremony is postponed till after the birth of two or three children. if the first husband dies, another marriage is customary. should it so happen that the husband, after the tying on of the tali in the first instance, dislikes the object of his former choice, then the people of their tribe are assembled; she is conducted back to her mother's house; sheep, oxen, eating-plate, with brass cup, jewels, ornaments, and whatever else she may have brought with her from her mother's house, are returned; and the tali, which was put on, is broken off and taken away. if the wife dislikes the husband, then the money he paid, the expenses which he incurred in the wedding, the tali which he caused to be bound on her, are restored to him, and the woman, taking whatsoever she brought with her, returns to her mother's house, and marries again at her pleasure." it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1891, that "a special custom obtaining among the marava zemindars of tinnevelly is mentioned by the registrar of that district. it is the celebration of marriage by means of a proxy for the bridegroom in the shape of a stick, which is sent by the bridegroom, and is set up in the marriage booth in his place. the tali is tied by some one representative of the bridegroom, and the marriage ceremony then becomes complete.... widow re-marriage is freely allowed and practiced, except in the sembunattu sub-division." "a widow," mr. fawcett writes, "may marry her deceased husband's elder brother, but not a younger brother. if she does not like him, she may marry some one else." when a girl reaches puberty, news of the event is conveyed by a washerman. on the sixteenth day she comes out of seclusion, bathes, and returns home. at the threshold, her future husband's sister is standing, and averts the evil eye by waving betel leaves, plantains, cocoanuts, cooked flour paste (puttu), a vessel filled with water, and an iron measure containing rice with a style (ambu) stuck in it. the style is removed by the girl's prospective sister-in-law, who beats her with it as she enters the house. a feast is held at the expense of the girl's maternal uncle, who brings a goat, and ties it to a pole at her house. both burial and cremation are practiced by the maravans. the sembunattu maravans of ramnad regard the agamudaiyans as their servants, and the water, with which the corpse is washed, is brought by them. further, it is an agamudaiyan, and not the son of the deceased, who carries the fire-pot to the burial-ground. the corpse is carried thither on a bier or palanquin. the grave is dug by an andi, never by a pallan or paraiyan. salt, powdered brick, and sacred ashes are placed on the floor thereof and the corpse is placed in it in a sitting posture. the kondaiyamkottai maravans of ramnad, who are stone and brick masons, burn their dead, and, on their way to the burning-ground, the bearers of the corpse walk over cloths spread on the ground. on the second or third day, lingams are made out of the ashes, or of mud from the grave if the corpse has been buried. to these, as well as to the soul of the deceased, and to the crows, offerings are made. on the sixteenth day, nine kinds of seed-grain are placed over the grave, or the spot where the corpse was burnt. a pandaram sets up five kalasams (brass vessels), and does puja (worship). the son of the deceased, who officiated as chief mourner, goes to a pillayar (ganesa) shrine, carrying on his head a pot containing a lighted lamp made of flour. as he draws near the god, a screen is stretched in front thereof. he then takes a few steps backwards, the screen is removed, and he worships the god. he then retires, walking backwards. the flour is distributed among those present. presents of new cloths are made to the sons and daughters of the deceased. in his account of the kondaiyamkottai maravans, mr. fawcett gives the following account of the funeral rites. "sandals having been fastened on the feet, the corpse is carried in a recumbent position, legs first, to the place of cremation. a little rice is placed in the mouth, and the relatives put a little money into a small vessel which is kept beside the chest. the karma karta (chief mourner) walks thrice round the corpse, carrying an earthen vessel filled with water, in which two or three holes are pierced. he allows some water to fall on the corpse, and breaks the pot near the head, which lies to the south. no brahman attends this part of the ceremony. when he has broken the pot, the karma karta must not see the corpse again; he goes away at once, and is completely shaved. the barber takes the cash which has been collected, and lights the pyre. when he returns to the house, the karma karta prostrates himself before a lighted lamp; he partakes of no food, except a little grain and boiled pulse and water, boiled with coarse palm sugar and ginger. next day he goes to the place of cremation, picks up such calcined bones as he finds, and places them in a basket, so that he may some day throw them in water which is considered to be sacred. on the eleventh or twelfth day, some grain is sown in two new earthen vessels which have been broken, and there is continued weeping around these. on the sixteenth day, the young plants, which have sprouted, are removed, and put into water, weeping going on all the while; and, after this has been done, the relatives bathe and enjoy a festive meal, after which the karma karta is seated on a white cloth, and is presented with a new cloth and some money by his father-in-law and other relatives who are present. on the seventeenth day takes place the punyagavachanam or purification, at which the brahman priest presides, and the karma karta takes an oil bath. the wood of the pipal tree (ficus religiosa) is never used for purposes of cremation." concerning the death ceremonies in the trichinopoly district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes as follows. "before the corpse is removed, the chief mourner and his wife take two balls of cow-dung, in which the barber has mixed various kinds of grain, and stick them on to the wall of the house. these are thrown into water on the eighth day. the ceremonial is called pattam kattugiradu, or investing with the title, and indicates the succession to the dead man's estate. a rocket is fired when the corpse is taken out of the house. on the sixth day, a pandal (booth) of naval (eugenia, jambolana) leaves is prepared, and offerings are made in it to the manes of the ancestors of the family. it is removed on the eighth day, and the chief mourner puts a turban on, and merry-making and dances are indulged in. there are ordinarily no karumantaram ceremonies, but they are sometimes performed on the sixteenth day, a brahman being called in. on the return home from these ceremonies, each member of the party has to dip his toe into a mortar full of cow-dung water, and the last man has to knock it down." among some kondaiyamkottai maravans, a ceremony called palaya karmandhiram, or old death ceremony, is performed. some months after the death of one who has died an unnatural death, the skull is exhumed, and placed beneath a pandal (booth) in an open space near the village. libations of toddy are indulged in, and the villagers dance wildly round the head. the ceremony lasts over three days, and the final death ceremonies are then performed. for the following account of the jellikattu or bull-baiting, which is practiced by the maravans, i am indebted to a note by mr. j. h. nelson. [31] "this," he writes, "is a game worthy of a bold and free people, and it is to be regretted that certain collectors (district magistrates) should have discouraged it under the idea that it was somewhat dangerous. the jellikattu is conducted in the following manner. on a certain day in the year, large crowds of people, chiefly males, assemble together in the morning in some extensive open space, the dry bed of a river perhaps, or of a tank (pond), and many of them may be seen leading ploughing bullocks, of which the sleek bodies and rather wicked eyes afford clear evidence of the extra diet they have received for some days in anticipation of the great event. the owners of these animals soon begin to brag of their strength and speed, and to challenge all and any to catch and hold them; and in a short time one of the best beasts is selected to open the day's proceedings. a new cloth is made fast round his horns, to be the prize of his captor, and he is then led out into the midst of the arena by his owner, and there left to himself surrounded by a throng of shouting and excited strangers. unaccustomed to this sort of treatment, and excited by the gestures of those who have undertaken to catch him, the bullock usually lowers his head at once, and charges wildly into the midst of the crowd, who nimbly run off on either side to make way for him. his speed being much greater than that of the men, he soon overtakes one of his enemies and makes at him to toss him savagely. upon this the man drops on the sand like a stone, and the bullock, instead of goring him, leaps over his body, and rushes after another. the second man drops in his turn, and is passed like the first; and, after repeating this operation several times, the beast either succeeds in breaking the ring, and galloping off to his village, charging every person he meets on the way, or is at last caught and held by the most vigorous of his pursuers. strange as it may seem, the bullocks never by any chance toss or gore any one who throws himself down on their approach; and the only danger arises from their accidentally reaching unseen and unheard some one who remains standing. after the first two or three animals have been let loose one after the other, two or three, or even half a dozen are let loose at a time, and the scene quickly becomes most exciting. the crowd sways violently to and fro in various directions in frantic efforts to escape being knocked over; the air is filled with shouts, screams, and laughter; and the bullocks thunder over the plain as fiercely as if blood and slaughter were their sole occupation. in this way perhaps two or three hundred animals are run in the course of a day, and, when all go home towards evening, a few cuts and bruises, borne with the utmost cheerfulness, are the only results of an amusement which requires great courage and agility on the part of the competitors for the prizes--that is for the cloths and other things tied to the bullocks' horns--and not a little on the part of the mere bystanders. the only time i saw this sport (from a place of safety) i was highly delighted with the entertainment, and no accident occurred to mar my pleasure. one man indeed was slightly wounded in the buttock, but he was quite able to walk, and seemed to be as happy as his friends." a further account of the jallikat or jellicut is given in the gazetteer of the madura district. "the word jallikattu literally means tying of ornaments. on a day fixed and advertised by beat of drums at the adjacent weekly markets, a number of cattle, to the horns of which cloths and handkerchiefs have been tied, are loosed one after the other, in quick succession, from a large pen or other enclosure, amid a furious tom-tomming and loud shouts from the crowd of assembled spectators. the animals have first to run the gauntlet down a long lane formed of country carts, and then gallop off wildly in every direction. the game consists in endeavouring to capture the cloths tied to their horns. to do this requires fleetness of foot and considerable pluck, and those who are successful are the heroes of the hour. cuts and bruises are the reward of those who are less skilful, and now and again some of the excited cattle charge into the on-lookers, and send a few of them flying. the sport has been prohibited on more than one occasion. but, seeing that no one need run any risks unless he chooses, existing official opinion inclines to the view that it is a pity to discourage a manly amusement which is not really more dangerous than football, steeple-chasing, or fox-hunting. the keenness of the more virile sections of the community, especially the kallans (q.v.), in this game is extraordinary, and, in many villages, cattle are bred and reared specially for it. the best jallikats are to be seen in the kallan country in tirumangalam, and next come those in melur and madura taluks." "boomerangs," dr. g. oppert writes, [32] "are used by the maravans and kallans when hunting deer. the madras museum collection contains three (two ivory, one wooden) from the tanjore armoury. in the arsenal of the pudukottai raja a stock of wooden boomerangs is always kept. their name in tamil is valai tade (bent stick)." to mr. r. bruce foote, i am indebted for the following note on the use of the boomerang in the madura district. "a very favourite weapon of the madura country is a kind of curved throwing-stick, having a general likeness to the boomerang of the australian aborigines. i have in my collection two of these maravar weapons obtained from near sivaganga. the larger measures 24 1/8'' along the outer curve, and the chord of the arc 17 5/8''. at the handle end is a rather ovate knob 2 1/4'' long and 1 1/4'' in its maximum thickness. the thinnest and smallest part of the weapon is just beyond the knob, and measures 11/16'' in diameter by 1 1/8'' in width. from that point onwards its width increases very gradually to the distal end, where it measures 2 3/8'' across and is squarely truncated. the lateral diameter is greatest three or four inches before the truncated end, where it measures 1''. my second specimen is a little smaller than the above, and is also rather less curved. both are made of hard heavy wood, dark reddish brown in colour as seen through the varnish covering the surface. the wood is said to be tamarind root. the workmanship is rather rude. i had an opportunity of seeing these boomerangs in use near sivaganga in march, 1883. in the morning i came across many parties, small and large, of men and big boys who were out hare-hunting with a few dogs. the parties straggled over the ground, which was sparsely covered with low scrub jungle. and, whenever an unlucky hare started out near to the hunters, it was greeted with a volley of the boomerangs, so strongly and dexterously thrown that poor puss had little chance of escape. i saw several knocked out of time. on making enquiries as to these hunting parties, i was told that they were in observance of a semi-religious duty, in which every maravar male, not unfitted by age or ill-health, is bound to participate on a particular day in the year. whether a dexterous maravar thrower could make his weapon return to him i could not find out. certainly in none of the throws observed by me was any tendency to a return perceptible. but for simple straight shots these boomerangs answer admirably." the maravans bear saivite sectarian marks, but also worship various minor deities, among whom are included kali, karuppan, muthu karuppan, periya karuppan, mathurai viran, aiyanar, and munuswami. the lobes of the ears of marava females are very elongated as the result of boring and gradual dilatation during childhood. mr. (now sir) f. a. nicholson, who was some years ago stationed at ramnad, tells me that the young maravan princesses used to come and play in his garden, and, as they ran races, hung on to their ears, lest the heavy ornaments should rend asunder the filamentous ear lobes. it was recorded, in 1902, that a young maravan, who was a member of the family of the zemindar of chokampatti, was the first non-christian maravan to pass the b.a. degree examination at the madras university. the general title of the maravans is tevan (god), but some style themselves talaivan (chief), servaikkaran (captain), karaiyalan (ruler of the coast), or rayarvamsam (raja's clan). marayan.--a synonym of maran. mari.--mari or marimanisaru is a sub-division of holeya. mariyan.--said to be a sub-division of kolayan. markandeya.--a gotra of padma sale and seniyan (devanga), named after the rishi or sage markandeya, who was remarkable for his austerities and great age, and is also known as dirghayus (the long-lived). some devangas and the salapus claim him as their ancestor. marri. (ficus bengalensis).--an exogamous sept of mala and mutracha. marri-gunta (pond near a fig tree) occurs as an exogamous sept of yanadi. marumakkathayam.--the malayalam name for the law of inheritance through the female line. marvari.--a territorial name, meaning a native of marwar. at times of census, marvari has been returned as a caste of jains, i.e., marvaris, who are jains by religion. the marvaris are enterprising traders, who have settled in various parts of southern india, and are, in the city of madras, money-lenders. masadika.--a synonym for nadava bant. masila (masi, dirt).--an exogamous sept of devanga. masthan.--a muhammadan title, meaning a saint, returned at times of census. mastiga.--the mastigas are described by the rev. j. cain [33] as mendicants and bards, who beg from gollas, malas, and madigas. i am informed that they are also known as mala mastigas, as they are supposed to be illegitimate descendants of the malas, and usually beg from them. when engaged in begging, they perform various contortionist and acrobatic feats. matam (monastery, or religious institution).--an exogamous sept of devanga. matanga.--matanga or matangi is a synonym of madiga. the madigas sometimes call themselves matangi makkalu, or children of matangi, who is their favourite goddess. matangi is further the name of certain dedicated prostitutes, who are respected by the madiga community. matavan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a name for the pulikkapanikkan sub-division of nayar. matsya (fish).--a sept of domb. mattiya.--the mattiyas are summed up as follows in the madras census report, 1901. "in vizagapatam these are hill cultivators from the central provinces, who are stated in one account to be a sub-division of the gonds. some of them wear the sacred thread, because the privilege was conferred upon their families by former rajas of malkanagiri, where they reside. they are said to eat with ronas, drink with porojas, but smoke only with their own people. the name is said to denote workers in mud (matti), and in ganjam they are apparently earth-workers and labourers. in the census report, 1871, it is noted that the matiyas are 'altogether superior to the kois and to the parjas (porojas). they say they sprang from the soil, and go so far as to point out a hole, out of which their ancestor came. they talk uriya, and farm their lands well'" for the following note, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the caste is divided into at least four septs, named bhag (tiger), nag (cobra), cheli (goat), and kochchimo (tortoise). a man may claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. girls are, as a rule, married after puberty. when a match is contemplated, the would-be husband presents a pot of liquor to the girl's parents. if this is accepted, a further present of liquor, rice, and a pair of cloths, is made later on. the liquor is distributed among the villagers, who, by accepting it, indicate their consent to the transfer of the girl to the man. a procession, with dombs acting as musicians, is formed, and the girl is taken to the bridegroom's village. a pandal (booth) has been erected in front of the bridegroom's house, which the contracting couple enter on the following morning. their hands are joined together by the presiding desari, they bathe in turmeric water, and new cloths are given to them. wearing these, they enter the house, the bridegroom leading the bride. their relations then exhort them to be constant to each other, and behave well towards them. a feast follows, and the night is spent in dancing and drinking. next day, the bride's parents are sent away with a present of a pair of cows or bulls as jholla tonka. the remarriage of widows is allowed, and a younger brother usually marries the widow of his elder brother. divorce is permitted, and, when a husband separates from his wife, he gives her a new cloth and a bullock as compensation. a divorced woman may remarry. by the mattiyas, and other oriya castes, the ghorojavai (house son-in-law) custom is practiced. according to this custom, the poorer folk, in search of a wife, work, according to a contract, for their future father-in-law for a specified time, at the expiration of which they set up a separate establishment with his daughter. to begin married life with, presents are made to the couple by the father-in-law. the dead are burnt, and the spot where cremation takes place is marked by setting up in the ground a bamboo pole, to which one of the dead man's rags is attached. the domestic pots, which were used during his last illness, are broken there. death pollution is observed for eight days. on the ninth day, the ashes, mixed with water, are cleared up, and milk is poured over the spot. the ashes are sometimes buried in a square hole, which is dug to a depth of about three feet, and filled in. over it a small hut-like structure is raised. a few of these sepulchral monuments may be seen on the south side of the pangam stream on the jeypore-malkangiri road. the personal names of the mattiyas are often taken from the day of the week on which they are born. mavilan.--described, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small tribe of shikaris (hunters) and herbalists, who follow makkathayam (inheritance from father to son), and speak corrupt tulu. tulumar (native of the tulu country), and chingattan (lion-hearted people) were returned as sub-divisions. "the name," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [34] "is said to be derived from mavilavu, a medicinal herb. i think, however, the real derivation must be sought in tulu or canarese, as it seems to be a canarese caste. these people are found only in the chirakkal taluk of malabar. their present occupation is basket-making. succession is from father to son, but among some it is also said to be in the female line." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that the mavilons are "divided into tulu mavilons and eda mavilons, and sub-divided into thirty illams. they are employed as mahouts (drivers of elephants), and collect honey and other forest produce. their headmen are called chingam (simham, lion), and their huts mapura." mayalotilu (rascal).--mayalotilu or manjulotilu is said by the rev. j. cain to be a name given by the hill koyis to the koyis who live near the godavari river. mayan.--recorded, in the madras census report, as a synonym of kammalan. the kamsali goldsmiths claim descent from maya. meda, medara, medarlu, or medarakaran.--the medaras are workers in bamboo in the telugu, canarese, oriya and tamil countries, making sieves, baskets, cradles, mats, fans, boxes, umbrellas, and tatties (screens). occasionally they receive orders for waste-paper baskets, coffins for native christian children, or cages for pigeons and parrots. in former days they made basket-caps for sepoys. they are said to cut the bamboos in the forest on dark nights, in the belief that they would be damaged if cut at any other time. they do not, like the korachas, make articles from the leaf of the date-palm (phoenix). they believe that they came from mahendrachala mountain, the mountain of indra, and the following legend is current among them. dakshudu, the father-in-law of siva, went to invite his son-in-law to a devotional sacrifice, which he was about to perform. siva was in a state of meditation, and did not visibly return the obeisance which dakshudu made by raising his hands to his forehead. dakshudu became angry, and told his people not to receive siva or his wife, or show them any mark of respect. parvati, siva's wife, went with her son ganapati, against her husband's order, to the sacrifice, and received no sign of recognition. thereat she shed tears, and the earth opened, and she disappeared. she was again born of himavant (himalayas), and siva, telling her who she was, remarried her. siva, in reply to her enquiries, told her that she could avoid a further separation from him if she performed a religious vow, and gave cakes to brahmans in a chata, or winnowing basket. she accordingly made a basket of gold, which was not efficacious, because, as siva explained to her, it was not plaited, as bamboo baskets are. taking his serpent, siva turned it into a bamboo. he ordered ganapati, and others, to become men, and gave them his trisula and ghada to work with on bamboo, from which they plaited a basket for the completion of parvati's vow. ganapati and the ganas remained on the mahendrachala mountain, and married gandarva women, who bore children to them. eventually they were ordered by siva to return, and, as they could not take their wives and families with them, they told them to earn their livelihood by plaiting bamboo articles. hence they were called mahendrulu or medarlu. according to another legend, [35] parvati once wanted to perform the ceremony called gaurinomu, and, wanting a winnow, was at a loss to know how to secure one. she asked siva to produce a man who could make one, and he ordered his riding-ox vrishaban to produce such a person by chewing. vrishaban complied, and the ancestor of the medaras, being informed of the wish of the goddess, took the snake which formed siva's necklace, and, going to a hill, planted its head in the ground. a bamboo at once sprang up on the spot, which, after returning the snake to its owner, the man used for making a winnow. the snake-like root of the bamboo is regarded as a proof of the truth of the story. as among many other castes, opprobrious names are given to children. for example, a boy, whose elder brother has died, may be called pentayya (dung-heap). as a symbol of his being a dung-heap child, the infant, as soon as it is born, is placed on a leaf-platter. other names are thavvayya, or boy bought for bran, and pakiru, mendicant. in a case where a male child had been ill for some months, a woman, under the influence of the deity, announced that he was possessed by the goddess ankamma. the boy accordingly had the name of the goddess conferred on him. the following are some of the gotras and exogamous septs of the medaras:-(a) gotras. hanumanta (monkey-god). bombadai (a fish). puli (tiger). vinayaka (ganesa). thagenilu (drinking water). kasi (benares). avisa (sesbania grandiflora). moduga (butea frondosa). rela (ficus). kovila (koel or cuckoo). seshai (snake?). (b) exogamous septs. pilli (cat). nuvvulu (gingelly). parvatham (mountain). senagapapu (bengal gram). putta (ant-hill). tsanda (subscription). konda (mountain). nila (blue). javadi (civet-cat). sirigiri (a hill). nandikattu (bull's mouth). kanigiri (a hill). kandikattu (dhal soup). pothu (male). kottakunda (new pot). naginidu (snake). pooreti (a bird). kola (ear of corn). kalluri (stone village). a man most frequently marries his maternal uncle's daughter, less frequently the daughter of his paternal aunt. marriage with a deceased wife's sister is regarded with special favour. marriage with two living sisters, if one of them is suffering from disease, is common. in a note on the medaras of the vizagapatam district, mr. c. hayavadana rao writes that girls are married before or after puberty. a brahman officiates at the marriage ceremonies. widows are allowed to remarry once, and the sathamanam (marriage badge) is tied by the new husband on the neck of the bride, who has, as in the gudala caste, to sit near a mortar. formerly all the medaras were saivites, but many are at the present day vaishnavites, and even the vaishnavites worship siva. every family has some special person or persons whom they worship, for example, virullu, or boys who have died unmarried. a silver image is made, and kept in a basket. it is taken out on festive occasions, as before a marriage in a family, and offerings of milk and rice gruel are made to it. bala perantalu, or girls who have died before marriage, and perantalu, or women who have died before their husbands, are worshipped with fruits, turmeric, rice, cocoanuts, etc. some of the saivites bury their dead in a sitting posture, while others resort to cremation. all the vaishnavites burn the dead, and, like the saivites, throw the ashes into a river. the place of burning or burial is not as a rule marked by any stone or mound. but, if the family can afford it, a tulsi fort is built, and the tulsi (ocimum sanctum) planted therein. in the vizagapatam district, death pollution is said to last for three days, during which the caste occupation is not carried out. on the third day, a fowl is killed, and food cooked. it is taken to the spot where the corpse was burnt, on which a portion is thrown, and the remainder eaten. the potency of charms in warding off evil spirits is believed in. for example, a figure of hanuman the monkey-god, on a thin plate of gold, with cabalistic letters inscribed on it, is worn on the neck. and, on eclipse days, the root of the madar or arka plant (calotropis gigantea), enclosed in a gold casket, is worn on the neck of females, and on the waist or arms of males. some members of this, as of other castes, may be seen with cicatrices on the forehead, chest, back, or neck. these are the scars resulting from branding during infancy with lighted turmeric or cheroot, to cure infantile convulsions, resulting, it is believed, from inhaling tobacco smoke in small, ill-ventilated rooms. various legends are current in connection with tribal heroes. one medara chennayya is said to have fed some thousands of people with a potful of rice. his grandson, medara thodayya, used to do basket-making, and bathed three times daily. a brahman, afflicted with leprosy, lost a calf. in searching for it, he fell into a ditch filled with water, in which the medara had bathed, and was cured. one medara kethayya and his wife were very poor, but charitable. in order to test him, the god iswara made grains of gold appear in large quantities in the hollow of a bamboo, which he cut. he avoided the bamboos as being full of vermin, and useless. at some distance, he found an ant-hill with a bamboo growing in it, and, knowing that bamboos growing on such a hill will not be attacked by vermin, cut it. in so doing, he cut off the head of a rishi, who was doing penance. detecting the crime of which he had been guilty, he cried "siva, siva." his wife, who was miles away, heard him, and, knowing that he must be in some trouble, went to the spot. he asked her how he was to expiate his sin, and she replied. "you have taken a life, and must give one in return." he thereon prepared to commit suicide, but his wife, taking the knife from him, was about to sacrifice herself when iswara appeared, restored the rishi to life, and took medara kethayya and his wife to heaven. as among many other castes, the sthambamuhurtham (putting up the post) ceremony is performed when the building of a new house is commenced, and the deeparathana (lamp-worship) before it is occupied. in every settlement there is a kulapedda, or hereditary caste headman, who has, among other things, the power of inflicting fines, sentencing to excommunication, and inflicting punishments for adultery, eating with members of lower castes, etc. excommunication is a real punishment, as the culprit is not allowed to take bamboo, or mess with his former castemen. in the kistna and godavari districts, serious disputes, which the local panchayat (council) cannot decide, are referred to the headman at masulipatam, who at present is a native doctor. there are no trials by ordeal. the usual form of oath is "where ten are, there god is. in his presence i say." when a girl reaches puberty, she has to sit in a room on five fresh palmyra palm leaves, bathes in turmeric water, and may not eat salt. if there is "leg's presentation" at childbirth, the infant's maternal uncle should not hear the infant cry until the shanti ceremony has been performed. a brahman recites some mantrams, and the reflection of the infant's face is first seen by the uncle from the surface of oil in a plate. widow remarriage is permitted. a widow can be recognised by her not wearing the tali, gazulu (glass bangles), and mettu (silver ring on the second toe). the lowest castes with which the medaras will eat are, they say, komatis and velamas. some say that they will eat with satanis, in the coorg country, the medaras are said to subsist by umbrella-making. they are the drummers at coorg festivals, and it is their privilege to receive annually at harvest-time from each coorg house of their district as much reaped paddy as they can bind up with a rope twelve cubits in length. they dress like the coorgs, but in poorer style. [36] it is recorded by bishop whitehead [37] that, "in mercara taluk, in ippanivolavade, and in kadikeri in halerinad, the villagers sacrifice a kona or male buffalo. tied to a tree in a gloomy grove near the temple, the beast is killed by a meda, who cuts off its head with a large knife, but no coorgs are present at the time. the blood is spilled on a stone under a tree, and the flesh eaten by medas." at the census, 1901, gauriga was returned as a sub-caste by some medaras, the better classes are taking to call themselves balijas, and affix the title chetti to their names. the godagula workers in split bamboo sometimes call themselves odde (oriya) medara. [38] meda (raised mound).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. medam (fight).--an exogamous sept of devanga. mehtar.--a few mehtars are returned, in the madras census report, 1901, as a central provinces caste of scavengers. "this name," yule and burnell write, [39] "is usual in bengal, especially for the domestic servant of this class. the word is pers., comp. mihtar (lat. major), a great personage, a prince, and has been applied to the class in question in irony, or rather in consolation. but the name has so completely adhered in this application, that all sense of either irony or consolation has perished. mehtar is a sweeper, and nought else. his wife is the matranee. it is not unusual to hear two mehtars hailing each other as maharaj!" meikaval (body-guard of the god).--a name for pandarams. mekala (goats).--recorded as an exogamous sept of boya, chenchu, golla, kamma, kapu, togata, and yanadi. nerigi mekala (a kind of goat) is a further sept of yanadi. mekhri.--a sub-division of navayat muhammadans. melachcheri.--a class of muhammadans in the laccadive islands (see mappilla). meladava.--dancing-girls in south canara. melakkaran.--concerning the melakkarans, mr. f. r. hemingway writes as follows. [40] "the name means musicians, and, as far as tanjore is concerned, is applied to two absolutely distinct castes, the tamil and telugu melakkarans (of whom the latter are barber musicians). these two will not eat in each other's houses, and their views about dining with other castes are similar. they say they would mess (in a separate room) in a vellalan's house, and would dine with a kallan, but it is doubtful whether any but the lower non-brahman communities would eat with them. in other respects the two castes are quite different. the former speak tamil, and, in most of their customs, resemble generally the vellalans and other higher tamil castes, while the latter speak telugu, and follow domestic practices similar to those of the telugu brahmans. both are musicians. the telugus practice only the musician's art or periyamelam (band composed of clarionet or nagasaram, pipe, drum, and cymbals), having nothing to do with dancing or dancing-girls, to whom the chinnamelam or nautch music is appropriate. the tamil caste provides, or has adopted all the dancing-girls in the district. the daughters of these women are generally brought up to their mother's profession, but the daughters of the men of the community rarely nowadays become dancing-girls, but are ordinarily married to members of the caste. the tamil melakkarans perform both the periyamelam and the nautch music. the latter consists of vocal music performed by a chorus of both sexes to the accompaniment of the pipe and cymbals. the class who perform it are called nattuvans, and they are the instructors of the dancing-women. the periyamelam always finds a place at weddings, but the nautch is a luxury. nowadays the better musicians hold themselves aloof from the dancing-women. both castes have a high opinion of their own social standing. indeed the tamil section say they are really kallans, vellalans, agamudaiyans, and so on, and that their profession is merely an accident." the vairavi, or temple servant of nattukottai chettis, must be a melakkaran. mellikallu.--under the name mellikallu or mallekalu, seventy-six individuals are returned, in the madras census report, 1901, as "hill cultivators in pedakota village of viravalli taluk of the vizagapatam agency, who are reported to constitute a caste by themselves. they pollute by touch, have their own priests, and eat pork but not beef." melnadu.--melnadu, or melnatar, meaning western country, is the name of a territorial sub-division of kallan and shanan. melu sakkare.--a name, meaning western sakkare, by which upparas in mysore style themselves. they claim descent from a mythical individual, named sagara, who dug the bay of bengal. some upparas explain that they work in salt, which is more essential than sugar, and that mel sakkara means superior sugar. meman.--more than three hundred members of this muhammadan class of bombay traders were returned at the madras census, 1901. it is recorded, in the bombay gazetteer, that many cutch, memans are prospering as traders in kurrachee, bombay, the malabar coast, hyderabad, madras, calcutta, and zanzibar. menasu (pepper or chillies).--an exogamous sept of kuruba, and gotra of kurni. menokki (overseer).--menokki and menoki have been returned, in the travancore and cochin census reports, as a sub-division of nayars, who are employed as accountants in temples. the name is derived from mel, above, nokki, from nokkunnu to look after. menon.--by wigram, [41] menon is defined as "a title originally conferred by the zamorin on his agents and writers. it is now used by all classes of nayars. in malabar, the village karnam (accountant) is called menon." in the travancore census report, 1901, menon is said to be "a contraction of menavan (a superior person). the title was conferred upon several families by the raja of cochin, and corresponds to pillai down south. as soon as a person was made a menon, he was presented with an ola (palmyra leaf for writing on) and an iron style, as symbolical of the office he was expected to fill, i.e., of an accountant. even now, in british malabar, each amsham or revenue village has a writer or accountant, who is called menon." mr. f. fawcett writes [42] that "to those of the sub-clan attached to the zamorin who were sufficiently capable to earn it, he gave the titular honour menon, to be used as an affix to the name. the title menon is in general hereditary, but, be it remarked, many who now use it are not entitled to do so. properly speaking, only those whose investiture by the zamorin or some other recognized chief is undisputed, and their descendants (in the female line) may use it. a man known to me was invested with the title menon in 1895 by the karimpuzha chief, who, in the presence of a large assembly, said thrice 'from this day forward i confer on krishnan nayar the title of krishna menon.' nowadays be it said, the title menon is used by nayars of clans other than the akattu charna." indian undergraduates at the english universities, with names such as krishna menon, raman menon, ramunni menon, are known as mr. menon. in the same way, maratha students are called by their titular name mr. rao. mera.--a sub-division of holeya. meria.--at the madras census, 1901, twenty-five individuals returned themselves as meria or merakaya. they were descendants of persons who were reserved for human (meriah) sacrifice, but rescued by government officials in the middle of the last century. mesta.--a name taken by some chaptegaras (carpenters) in south canara. mestri.--a title of semmans and other tamil classes. the panan tailors are said to be also called mestris. concerning the word mestri, or maistry, yule and burnell write as follows. [43] "this word, a corruption of the portuguese mestre, has spread into the vernaculars all over india, and is in constant anglo-indian use. properly a foreman, a master-worker. in w. and s. india maistry, as used in the household, generally means the cook or the tailor." mettu kamsali.--a synonym of ojali blacksmith, mettu means shoes or sandals. mhallo.--a name for konkani barbers. midathala (locust).--an exogamous sept of boya and madiga. middala or meddala (storeyed house).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. midichi (locust).--a gotra of kurni. mila.--the milas are a fishing caste in ganjam and vizagapatam, for the following note on whom i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the name milavandlu, by which they are commonly known, means fishermen. they also call themselves odavandlu, because they go out to sea, fishing from boats (oda). when they become wealthy, they style themselves oda balijas. the caste is divided into numerous exogamous septs, among which are dhoni (boat), and tota (garden). the custom of menarikam, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is in force, and a man may also marry his sister's daughter. girls are generally married after puberty. gold jewellery is presented in lieu of money as the bride-price (voli). on the occasion of a marriage, half a dozen males and females go to the house of the bride, where they are entertained at a feast. she is conducted to the home of the bridegroom. a plank is placed at the entrance to the house, on which the bride and bridegroom take their seats. after they have bathed, new cloths are presented to them, and the old ones given to the barber. they then sit once more on the plank, and the caste headman, called the ejaman, takes up the sathamanam (marriage badge), which is passed round among those assembled. it is finally tied by the bridegroom on the bride's neck. the remarriage of widows is recognised. each village has an ejaman, who, in addition to officiating at weddings, presides over council meetings, collects fines, etc. the caste goddess is polamma, to whom animal sacrifices are offered, and in whose honour an annual festival is held. the expenses thereof are met by public subscription and private donations. the dead are burnt, and a satani officiates at funerals. death pollution is not observed. on the twelfth day after death, the pedda rozu (big day) ceremony is performed. the caste titles are anna and ayya. milaku (pepper: piper nigrum).--a tree or kothu of kondaiyamkotti maravans. milikhan.--a class of muhammadan pilots and sailors in the laccadive islands (see mappilla). minalavaru (fish people).--an exogamous sept of bedar or boya. min (fish) palli occurs as a name for pallis who have settled in the telugu country, and adopted fishing as their profession. minchu (metal toe-ring).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. mini (leather rope).--a gotra of kurni. minpidi (fish-catching).--a sub-division of panan. mirapakaya (capsicum frutescens).--an exogamous sept of boya. mirigani.--a sub-division of domb. miriyala (pepper).--an exogamous sept of balija. mir shikari.--a synonym of kurivikkaran. misala (whiskers).--an exogamous sept of boya. mise (moustache).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. mochi.--see mucchi. modikaran.--the name sometimes applied to nokkan mendicants, who dabble in jugglery. modi is a trial of magical powers between two persons, in which the hiding of money is the essential thing. moduga (butea frondosa).--a gotra of medara. moger.--the mogers are the tulu-speaking fishermen of the south canara district, who, for the most part, follow the aliya santana law of inheritance (in the female line), though some who are settled in the northern part of the district speak canarese, and follow the makkala santana law (inheritance from father to son). the mogers are largely engaged in sea-fishing, and are also employed in the government fish-curing yards. on the occasion of an inspection of one of these yards at mangalore, my eye caught sight of the saw of a sawfish (pristis) hanging on the wall of the office. enquiry elicited that it was used as a "threatening instrument" in the yard. the ticket-holders were mappillas and mogers. i was informed that some of the mogers used the hated thattu vala or achi vala (tapping net), in using which the sides of the boats are beaten with sticks, to drive the fish into the net. those who object to this method of fishing maintain that the noise made with the sticks frightens away the shoals of mackerel and sardines. a few years ago, the nets were cut to pieces, and thrown into the sea, as a protest against their employment. a free fight ensued, with the result that nineteen individuals were sentenced to a fine of fifty rupees, and three months' imprisonment. in connection with my inspections of fisheries, the following quaint official report was submitted. "the mogers about the town of udipi are bound to supply the revenue and magisterial establishment of the town early in the morning every day a number of fishes strung to a piece of rope. the custom was originated by a tahsildar (native revenue officer) about twenty years ago, when the tahsildar wielded the powers of the magistrate and the revenue officer, and was more than a tyrant, if he so liked--when rich and poor would tremble at the name of an unscrupulous tahsildar. the tahsildar is divested of his magisterial powers, and to the law-abiding and punctual is not more harmful than the dormouse. but the custom continues, and the official, who, of all men, can afford to pay for what he eats, enjoys the privileges akin to those of the time of louis xiv's court, and the poor fisherman has to toil by night to supply the rich official's table with a delicious dish about gratis." a curious custom at cannanore in malabar may be incidentally referred to. writing in 1873, dr. francis day states [44] that "at cannanore, the rajah's cat appears to be exercising a deleterious influence on one branch at least of the fishing, viz., that for sharks. it appears that, in olden times, one fish daily was taken from each boat as a perquisite for the rajah's cat, or the poocha meen (cat fish) collection. the cats apparently have not augmented so much as the fishing boats, so this has been commuted into a money payment of two pies a day on each successful boat. in addition to this, the rajah annually levies a tax of rs. 2-4-0 on every boat. half of the sharks' fins are also claimed by the rajah's poocha meen contractor." writing concerning the mogers, buchanan [45] states that "these fishermen are called mogayer, and are a caste of tulava origin. they resemble the mucuas (mukkuvans) of malayala, but the one caste will have no communion with the other. the mogayer are boatmen, fishermen, porters, and palanquin-bearers, they pretend to be sudras of a pure descent, and assume a superiority over the halepecas (halepaiks), one of the most common castes of cultivators in tulava; but they acknowledge themselves greatly inferior to the bunts." some mogers have abandoned their hereditary profession of fishing, and taken to agriculture, oil-pressing, and playing on musical instruments. some are still employed as palanquin-bearers. the oil-pressers call themselves ganigas, the musicians sappaligas, and the palanquin-bearers bovis. these are all occupational names. some bestha immigrants from mysore have settled in the pattur taluk, and are also known as bovis, the word bovi is a form of the telugu boyi (bearer). the mogers manufacture the caps made from the spathe of the areca palm, which are worn by koragas and holeyas. the settlements of the moger fishing community are called pattana, e.g., odorottu pattana, manampade pattana. for this reason, pattanadava is sometimes given as a synonym for the caste name. the tamil fishermen of the city of madras are, in like manner, called pattanavan, because they live in pattanams or maritime villages. like other tulu castes, the mogers worship bhuthas (devils). the principal bhutha of the fishing community is bobbariya, in whose honour the kola festival is held periodically. every settlement, or group of settlements, has a bobbariya bhuthasthana (devil shrine). the matti brahmans, who, according to local tradition, are mogers raised to the rank of brahmans by one vathiraja swami, a sanyasi, also have a bobbariya bhuthasthana in the village of matti. the mogers who have ceased to be fishermen, and dwell in land, worship the bhuthas panjurli and baikadthi. there is a caste priest, called mangala pujari, whose head-quarters are at bannekuduru near barkur. every family has to pay eight annas annually to the priest, to enable him to maintain the temple dedicated to ammanoru or mastiamma at bannekuduru. according to some, mastiamma is mari, the goddess of small-pox, while others say that she is the same as mohini, a female devil, who possesses men, and kills them. for every settlement, there must be at least two gurikaras (headmen), and, in some settlements, there are as many as four. all the gurikaras wear, as an emblem of their office, a gold bracelet on the left wrist. some wear, in addition, a bracelet presented by the members of the caste for some signal service. the office of headman is hereditary, and follows the aliya santana law of succession (in the female line). the ordinary tulu barber (kelasi) does not shave the mogers, who have their own caste barber, called melantavam, who is entitled to receive a definite share of a catch of fish. the konkani barbers (mholla) do not object to shave mogers, and, in some places where mhollas are not available, the billava barber is called in. like other tulu castes, the mogers have exogamous septs, or balis, of which the following are examples:- ane, elephant. bali, a fish. deva, god. dyava, tortoise. honne, pterocarpus marsupium. shetti, a fish. tolana, wolf. the marriage ceremonial of the mogers conforms to the customary tulu type. a betrothal ceremony is gone through, and the sirdochi, or bride-price, varying from six to eight rupees, paid. the marriage rites last over two days. on the first day, the bride is seated on a plank or cot, and five women throw rice over her head, and retire. the bridegroom and his party come to the home of the bride, and are accommodated at her house, or elsewhere. on the following day, the contracting couple are seated together, and the bride's father, or the gurikara, pours the dhare water over their united hands. it is customary to place a cocoanut on a heap of rice, with some betel leaves and areca nuts at the side thereof. the dhare water (milk and water) is poured thrice over the cocoanut. then all those assembled throw rice over the heads of the bride and bridegroom, and make presents of money. divorce can be easily effected, after information of the intention has been given to the gurikara. in the udipi taluk, a man who wishes to divorce his wife goes to a certain tree with two or three men, and makes three cuts in the trunk with a bill-hook. this is called barahakodu, and is apparently observed by other castes. the mogers largely adopt girls in preference to boys, and they need not be of the same sept as the adopter. on the seventh day after the birth of a child a madivali (washerwoman) ties a waist-thread on it, and gives it a name. this name is usually dropped after a time, and another name substituted for it. the dead are either buried or cremated. if the corpse is burnt, the ashes are thrown into a tank (pond) or river on the third or fifth day. the final death ceremonies (bojja or savu) are performed on the seventh, ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth day, with details similar to those of the billavas. like other tulu castes, some mogers perform a propitiatory ceremony on the fortieth day. the ordinary caste title of the mogers is marakaleru, and gurikara that of members of the families to which the headmen belong. in the kundapur taluk, the title naicker is preferred to marakaleru. the cephalic index of the mogers is, as shown by the following table, slightly less than that of the tulu bants and billavas:- av. max. min. no. of times index 80 or over. 50 billavas 80.1 91.5 71. 28 40 bants 78. 91.2 70.8 13 40 mogers 77.1 84.9 71.8 9 mogili (pandanus fascicularis).--an exogamous sept of kapu and yerukala. mogotho.--a sub-division of gaudo, the members of which are considered inferior because they eat fowls. mohiro (peacock).--an exogamous sept or gotra of bhondari and gaudo, moksham (heaven).--an exogamous sept of devanga. moktessor or mukhtesar.--see stanika. mola (hare).--an exogamous sept of gangadikara holeya and gangadikara vakkaliga. molaya devan.--a title of kallan and nokkan. moliko.--a title of doluva and kondra. monathinni.--the name, meaning those who eat the vermin of the earth, of a sub-division of valaiyan. mondi.--for the following note i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. mondi, landa, kalladi-siddhan (q.v.), and kalladi-mangam, are different names for one and the same class of mendicants. the first two names denote a troublesome fellow, and the last two one who beats himself with a stone. the mondis speak tamil, and correspond to the bandas of the telugu country, banda meaning an obstinate person or tricksy knave. [the name banda is sometimes explained as meaning stone, in reference to these mendicants carrying about a stone, and threatening to beat out their brains, if alms are not forthcoming.] they are as a rule tall, robust individuals, who go about all but naked, with a jingling chain tied to the right wrist, their hair long and matted, a knife in the hand, and a big stone on the left shoulder. when engaged in begging, they cut the skin of the thighs with the knife, lie down and beat their chests with the stone, vomit, roll in the dust or mud, and throw dirt at those who will not contribute alms. in a note on the mondis or bandas, [46] mr. h. a. stuart writes that these beggars "lay no claim to a religious character. though regarded as sudras, it is difficult to think them such, as they are black and filthy in their appearance, and disgusting in their habits. happily their numbers are few. they wander about singing, or rather warbling, for they utter no articulate words, and, if money or grain be not given to them, they have recourse to compulsion. the implements of their trade are knives and ordure. with the former they cut themselves until they draw blood, and the latter they throw into the house or shop of the person who proves uncharitable. they appear to possess the power of vomiting at pleasure, and use it to disgust people into a compliance with their demands. sometimes they lie in the street, covering the entire face with dust, keeping, it is said, their eyes open the while, and breathing through the dust. eventually they always succeed by some of these means in extorting what they consider their dues." boys are regularly trained to vomit at will. they are made to drink as much hot water or conji (gruel) as they can, and taught how to bring it up. at first, they are made to put several fingers in the mouth, and tickle the base of the tongue, so as to give rise to vomiting. by constant practice, they learn how to vomit at any time. just before they start on a begging round, they drink some fluid, which is brought up while they are engaged in their professional calling. there are several proverbs relating to this class of mendicants, one of which is to the effect that the rough and rugged ground traversed by the kalladi-siddhan is powdered to dust. another gives the advice that, whichever way the kalladi-mangam goes, you should dole out a measure of grain for him. otherwise he will defile the road owing to his disgusting habits. a song, which the mondi may often be heard warbling, runs as follows:- mother, mother, oh! grandmother, grandmother, who gave birth. dole out my measure. their original ancestor is said to have been a shepherd, who had both his legs cut off by robbers in a jungle. the king of the country in compassion directed that every one should pay him and his descendants, called mondi or lame, a small amount of money or grain. the caste is divided into a series of bands, each of which has the right to collect alms within a particular area. the merchants and ryots are expected to pay them once a year, the former in money, and the latter in grain at harvest time. each band recognises a headman, who, with the aid of the caste elders, settles marital and other disputes. marriage is usually celebrated after puberty. in the north arcot district, it is customary for a man to marry his maternal uncle's daughter, and in the madura district a man can claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. the caste is considered so low in the social scale that brahmans will not officiate at marriages. divorce is easy, and adultery with a man of higher caste is condoned more readily than a similar offence within the caste. mondolo.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as an oriya title given by zamindars to the headmen of villages. it is also a title of various oriya castes. mora buvva.--a sub-division of madigas, who offer food (buvva) to the god in a winnowing basket (mora) at marriage. morasu.--the following legendary account of the origin of the "morsu vellallu" is given in the baramahal records. [47] "in the kingdom of conjiveram, there was a village named paluru, the residence of a chieftain, who ruled over a small district inhabited by the morsu vellallu. it so happened that one of them had a handsome daughter with whom the chieftain fell in love, and demanded her in marriage of her parents. but they would not comply with his demand, urging as an excuse the difference of caste, on which the inflamed lover determined on using force to obtain the object of his desires. this resolution coming to the knowledge of the parents of the girl, they held a consultation with the rest of the sect, and it was determined that for the present they should feign a compliance with his order, until they could meet with a favourable opportunity of quitting the country. they accordingly signified their consent to the matter, and fixed upon the nuptial day, and erected a pandal or temporary building in front of their house for the performance of the wedding ceremonies. at the proper time, the enamoured and enraptured chief sent in great state to the bride's house the wedding ornaments and clothes of considerable value, with grain and every other delicacy for the entertainment of the guests, the parents, having in concert with the other people of the sect prepared everything for flight, they put the ornaments and clothes on the body of a dog, which they tied to the centre pillar of the pandal, threw all the delicacies on the ground before him, and, taking their daughter, fled. their flight soon came to the ears of the chief, who, being vexed and mortified at the trick they had played him, set out with his attendants like a raging lion in quest of his prey. the fugitives at length came to the banks of the tungabhadra river, which they found full and impassable, and their cruel pursuer nigh at hand. in the dreadful dilemma, they addressed to the god vishnu the following prayer. 'o! venkatrama (a title of vishnu), if thou wilt graciously deign to enable us to ford this river, and wilt condescend to assist us in crossing the water, as thou didst hanumant in passing over the vast ocean, we from henceforth will adopt thee and thy ally hanumant our tutelary deities.' vishnu was pleased to grant their prayer, and by his command the water in an instant divided, and left a dry space, over which they passed. the moment they reached the opposite bank, the waters closed and prevented their adversary from pursuing them, who returned to his own country. the sect settled in the provinces near the tungabhadra river, and in course of time spread over the districts which now form the eastern part of the kingdom of mysore then called morsu, and from thence arose their surname." as in africa, and among the american indians, australians, and polynesians, so in southern india artificial deformity of the hand is produced by chopping off some of the fingers. writing in 1815, buchanan (hamilton) [48] says that "near deonella or deonhully, a town in mysore, is a sect or sub-division of the murressoo wocal caste, every woman of which, previous to piercing the ears of her eldest daughter, preparatory to her being betrothed in marriage, must undergo the amputation of the first joints of third and fourth fingers of her right hand. the amputation is performed by the blacksmith of the village, who, having placed the finger in a block, performs the operation with a chisel. if the girl to be betrothed is motherless, and the mother of the boy has not before been subjected to the amputation, it is incumbent on her to suffer the operation." of the same ceremony among the "morsa-okkala-makkalu" of mysore the abbé dubois [49] says that, if the bride's mother be dead, the bridegroom's mother, or in default of her the mother of the nearest relative, must submit to the cruel ordeal. in an editorial foot-note it is stated that this custom is no longer observed. instead of the two fingers being amputated, they are now merely bound together, and thus rendered unfit for use. in the census report, 1891, it is recorded that this type of deformity is found among the morasus, chiefly in cuddapah, north arcot, and salem. "there is a sub-section of them called veralu icche kapulu, or kapulu who give the fingers, from a curious custom which requires that, when a grandchild is born in a family, the wife of the eldest son of the grandfather must have the last two joints of the third and fourth fingers of her right hand amputated at a temple of bhairava." further, it is stated in the manual of the salem district (1883) that "the practice now observed in this district is that, when a grandchild is born in a family, the eldest son of the grandfather, with his wife, appears at the temple for the ceremony of boring the child's ear, and there the woman has the last two joints of the third and fourth fingers chopped off. it does not signify whether the father of the first grandchild born be the eldest son or not, as in any case it is the wife of the eldest son who has to undergo the mutilation. after this, when children are born to other sons, their wives in succession undergo the operation. when a child is adopted, the same course is pursued." the origin of the custom is narrated by wilks, [50] and is briefly this. mahadeo or siva, who was in great peril, after hiding successively in a castor-oil and jawari plantation, concealed himself in a linga-tonde shrub from a rakshasa who was pursuing him, to whom a marasa vakkaliga cultivator indicated, with the little finger of his right hand, the hiding-place of siva, the god was only rescued from his peril by the interposition of vishnu in the form of a lovely maiden meretriciously dressed, whom the lusty rakshasa, forgetting all about siva, attempted to ravish, and was consumed to ashes. on emerging from his hiding-place, siva decreed that the cultivator should forfeit the offending finger. the culprit's wife, who had just arrived at the field with food for her husband, hearing this dreadful sentence, threw herself at siva's feet, and represented the certain ruin of her family if her husband should be disabled for some months from performing the labours of the farm, and besought the deity to accept two of her fingers instead of one from her husband. siva, pleased with so sincere a proof of conjugal affection, accepted the exchange, and ordered that her family posterity in all future generations should sacrifice two fingers at his temple as a memorial of the transaction, and of their exclusive devotion to the god of the lingam. for the following account of the performance of the rite, as carried out by the morasa vakkaligaru of mysore, i am indebted to an article by mr. v. n. narasimmiyengar. [51] "these people are roughly classed under three heads, viz.: (1) those whose women offer the sacrifice; (2) those who substitute for the fingers a piece of gold wire, twisted round fingers in the shape of rings. instead of cutting the fingers off, the carpenter removes and appropriates the rings; (3) those who do not perform the rite. the modus operandi is as nearly as possible the following. about the time of the new moon in chaitra, a propitious day is fixed by the village astrologer, and the woman who is to offer the sacrifice performs certain ceremonies or puje in honour of siva, taking food only once a day. for three days before the operation, she has to support herself with milk, sugar, fruits, etc., all substantial food being eschewed. on the day appointed, a common cart is brought out, painted in alternate strips with white and red ochre, and adorned with gay flags, flowers, etc., in imitation of a car. sheep or pigs are slaughtered before it, their number being generally governed by the number of children borne by the sacrificing woman. the cart is then dragged by bullocks, preceded by music, the woman and her husband following, with new pots filled with water and small pieces of silver money, borne on their heads, and accompanied by a retinue of friends and relatives. the village washerman has to spread clean cloths along the path of the procession, which stops near the boundary of the village, where a leafy bower is prepared, with three pieces of stone installed in it, symbolising the god siva. flowers, fruits, cocoanuts, incense, etc., are then offered, varied occasionally by an additional sheep or pig. a wooden seat is placed before the image, and the sacrificing woman places upon it her right hand with the fingers spread out. a man holds her hand firmly, and the village carpenter, placing his chisel on the first joints of her ring and little fingers, chops them off with a single stroke. the pieces lopped off are thrown into an ant-hill, and the tips of the mutilated fingers, round which rags are bound, are dipped into a vessel containing boiling gingily (sesamum indicum) oil. a good skin eventually forms over the stump, which looks like a congenital malformation. the fee of the carpenter is one kanthiraya fanam (four annas eight pies) for each maimed finger, besides presents in kind. the woman undergoes the barbarous and painful ceremony without a murmur, and it is an article of the popular belief that, were it neglected, or if nails grow on the stump, dire ruin and misfortune will overtake the recusant family. staid matrons, who have had their fingers maimed for life in the above manner, exhibit their stumps with a pride worthy of a better cause. at the termination of the sacrifice, the woman is presented with cloths, flowers, etc., by her friends and relations, to whom a feast is given, her children are placed on an adorned seat, and, after receiving presents of flowers, fruits, etc., their ears are pierced in the usual way. it is said that to do so before would be sacrilege." in a very full account of deformation of the hand by the berulu kodo sub-sect of the vakaliga or ryat caste in mysore, mr. f. fawcett says that it was regularly practiced until the commissioner of mysore put a stop to it about twenty years ago. "at present some take gold or silver pieces, stick them on to the finger's ends with flour paste, and either cut or pull them off. others simply substitute an offering of small pieces of gold or silver for the amputation. others, again, tie flowers round the fingers that used to be cut, and go through a pantomime of cutting by putting the chisel on the joint and taking it away again. all the rest of the ceremony is just as it used to be." the introduction of the decorated cart, which has been referred to, is connected by mr. fawcett with a legend concerning a zemindar, who sought the daughters of seven brothers in marriage with three youths of his family. as carts were used in the flight from the zemindar, the ceremony is, to commemorate the event, called bandi devuru, or god of cars. as by throwing ear-rings into a river the fugitives passed through it, while the zemindar was drowned, the caste people insist on their women's ears being bored for ear-rings. and, in honour of the girls who cared more for the honour of their caste than for the distinction of marriage into a great family, the amputation of part of two fingers of women of the caste was instituted. "since the prohibition of cutting off the fingers," mr. l. rice writes, [52] "the women content themselves with putting on a gold or silver finger-stall or thimble, which is pulled off instead of the finger itself." morasa kapulu women never touch the new grain of the year without worshipping the sun (surya), and may not eat food prepared from this grain before this act of worship has been performed. they wrap themselves in a kambli (blanket) after a purificatory bath, prostrate themselves on the ground, raise their hands to the forehead in salutation, and make the usual offering of cocoanuts, etc. they are said, in times gone by, to have been lax in their morals and to have prayed to the sun to forgive them. morasu has further been returned as a sub-division of holeya, mala and odde. the name morasu paraiyan probably indicates holeyas who have migrated from the canarese to the tamil country, and whose women, like the kallans, wear a horse-shoe thread round the neck. motati.--a sub-division of kapu. moyili.--the moyilis or moilis of south canara are said [53] by mr. h. a. stuart to be "admittedly the descendants of the children of women attached to the temples, and their ranks are even now swelled in this manner. their duties are similar to those of the stanikas" (q.v.). in the madras census report, 1901, golaka (a bastard) is clubbed with moili. in the mysore census report, this term is said to be applied to children of brahmans by malerus (temple servants in mysore). the following account of the origin of the moylars was given by buchanan at the beginning of the nineteenth century. [54] "in the temples of tuluva there prevails a very singular custom, which has given origin to a caste named moylar. any woman of the four pure castes--brahman, kshatriya, vaisya or sudra--who is tired of her husband, or who (being a widow, and consequently incapable of marriage) is tired of a life of celibacy, goes to a temple, and eats some of the rice that is offered to the idol. she is then taken before the officers of government, who assemble some people of her caste to inquire into the cause of her resolution; and, if she be of the brahman caste, to give her an option of living in the temple or out of its precincts. if she chooses the former, she gets a daily allowance of rice, and annually a piece of cloth. she must sweep the temple, fan the idol with a tibet cow's tail and confine her amours to the brahmans. in fact she generally becomes a concubine to some officer of revenue who gives her a trifle in addition to her public allowance, and who will flog her severely if she grants favours to any other person. the male children of these women are called moylar, but are fond of assuming the title of stanika, and wear the brahmanical thread. as many of them as can procure employment live about the temples, sweep the areas, sprinkle them with an infusion of cow-dung, carry flambeaus before the gods, and perform other similar low offices." the moyilis are also called devadigas, and should not be mixed with the malerus (or maleyavaru). both do temple service, but the maleru females are mostly prostitutes, whereas moyili women are not. malerus are dancing-girls attached to the temples in south canara, and their ranks are swelled by konkani, shivalli, and other brahman women of bad character. the moyilis have adopted the manners and customs of the bants, and have the same balis (septs) as the bants and billavas. mucchi.--the mucchis or mochis are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as being a marathi caste of painters and leather-workers. in the mysore census report it is noted that "to the leather-working caste may be added a small body of mochis, shoemakers and saddlers. they are immigrant mahratas, who, it is said, came into mysore with khasim khan, the general of aurangzib. they claim to be kshatriyas and rajputs--pretensions which are not generally admitted. they are shoemakers and saddlers by trade, and are all saivas by faith." "the mucchi," mr. a. chatterton writes [55] "is not a tanner, and as a leather-worker only engages in the higher branches of the trade. some of them make shoes, but draw the line at sandals. a considerable number are engaged as menial servants in government offices. throughout the country, nearly every office has its own mucchi, whose principal duty is to keep in order the supplies of stationery, and from raw materials manufacture ink, envelopes and covers, and generally make himself useful. a good many of the so-called mucchis, however, do not belong to the caste, as very few have wandered south of madras, and they are mostly to be found in ganjam and the ceded districts." the duties of the office mucchi have further been summed up as "to mend pencils, prepare ink from powders, clean ink-bottles, stitch note-books, paste covers, rule forms, and affix stamps to covers and aid the despatch of tappals" (postal correspondence). in the moochee's hand-book [56] by the head mucchi in the office of the inspector-general of ordnance, and contractor for black ink powder, it is stated that "the rev. j. p. rottler, in his tamil and english dictionary, defines the word mucchi as signifying trunk-maker, stationer, painter. mucchi's work comprises the following duties:-to make black, red, and blue writing ink, also ink of other colours as may seem requisite. to mend quills, rule lines, make envelopes, mount or paste maps or plans on cloth with ribbon edges, pack parcels in wax-cloth, waterproof or common paper, seal letters and open boxes or trunk parcels. to take charge of boxes, issue stationery for current use, and supply petty articles. to file printed forms, etc., and bind books." in the fort st. george gazette, 1906, applications were invited from persons who have passed the matriculation examination of the madras university for the post of mucchi on rs. 8 per mensem in the office of a deputy superintendent of police. in the district manuals, the various occupations of the mucchis are summed up as book-binding, working in leather, making saddles and trunks, painting, making toys, and pen-making. at the present day, mucchis (designers) are employed by piece-goods merchants in madras in devising and painting new patterns for despatch to europe, where they are engraved on copper cylinders. when, as at the present day, the bazars of southern india are flooded with imported piece-goods of british manufacture, it is curious to look back and reflect that the term piece-goods was originally applied in trade to the indian cotton fabrics exported to england. the term mucchi is applied to two entirely different sets of people. in mysore and parts of the ceded districts, it refers to marathi-speaking workers in leather. but it is further applied to telugu-speaking people, called raju, jinigara, or chitrakara, who are mainly engaged in painting, making toys, etc., and not in leather-work. (see rachevar.) mucherikala.--recorded by mr. f. s. mullaly [57] as a synonym of a thief class in the telugu country. mudali.--the title mudali is used chiefly by the offspring of deva-dasis (dancing-girls), kaikolans, and vellalas. the vellalas generally take the title mudali in the northern, and pillai in the southern districts. by some vellalas, mudali is considered discourteous, as it is also the title of weavers. [58] mudali further occurs as a title of some jains, gadabas, occhans, pallis or vanniyans, and panisavans. some pattanavans style themselves varunakula mudali. mudavandi.--the mudavandis are said [59] to be "a special begging class, descended from vellala goundans, since they had the immemorial privilege of taking possession, as of right, of any vellala child that was infirm or maimed. the modivandi made his claim by spitting into the child's face, and the parents were then obliged, even against their will, to give it up. thenceforward it was a modivandi, and married among them. the custom has fallen into desuetude for the last forty or fifty years, as a complaint of abduction would entail serious consequences. their special village is modivandi satyamangalam near erode. the chief modivandi, in 1887, applied for sanction to employ peons (orderlies) with belts and badges upon their begging tours, probably because contributions are less willingly made nowadays to idle men. they claim to be entitled to sheep and grain from the ryats." in a note on the mudavandis, mr. f. r. hemingway writes that it is stated to be the custom that children born blind or lame in the konga vellala caste are handed over by their parents to become mudavandis. if the parents hesitate to comply with the custom, the mudavandis tie a red cloth round the head of the child, and the parents can then no longer withhold their consent. they have to give the boy a bullock to ride on if he is lame, or a stick if he is blind. a revenue officer writes (1902) that, at the village of andipalayam in the salem district, there is a class of people called modavandi, whose profession is the adoption of the infirm members of the konga vellalas. andis are professional beggars. they go about among the konga vellalas, and all the blind and maimed children are pounced upon by them, and carried to their village. while parting with their children, the parents, always at the request of the children, give a few, sometimes rising to a hundred, rupees. the infirm never loses his status. he becomes the adopted child of the andi, and inherits half of his property invariably. they are married among the andis, and are well looked after. in return for their services, the andis receive four annas a head from the konga vellala community annually, and the income from this source alone amounts to rs. 6,400. a forty-first part share is given to the temple of arthanariswara at trichengodu. none of the vellalas can refuse the annual subscription, on pain of being placed under the ban of social excommunication, and the andi will not leave the vellala's house until the infirm child is handed over to him. one tahsildar (revenue officer) asked himself why the andi's income should not be liable to income-tax, and the andis were collectively assessed. of course, it was cancelled on appeal. mudi (knot).--an exogamous sept of mala. mudiya.--the name, derived from mudi, a preparation of fried rice, of a sub-division of chuditiya. muduvar.--the muduvars or mudugars are a tribe of hill cultivators in coimbatore, madura, malabar, and travancore. for the following note on those who inhabit the cardamom hills, i am indebted to mr. aylmer ff. martin. the name of the tribe is usually spelt muduvar in english, and in tamil pronounced muthuvar, or muthuvanal. outsiders sometimes call the tribe thagappanmargal (a title sometimes used by low-caste people in addressing their masters). the muduvars have a dialect of their own, closely allied to tamil, with a few malayalam words. their names for males are mostly those of hindu gods and heroes, but kanjan (dry or stingy), karupu kunji (black chick), kunjita (chicken) and kar megam (black cloud) are distinctive and common. for females, the names of goddesses and heroines, karapayi (black), koopi (sweepings), and paychi (she-devil) are common. boy twins are invariably lutchuman and raman, girl twins lutchmi and ramayi. boy and girl twins are named lutchman and ramayi, or lutchmi and raman. the muduvars do not believe themselves to be indigenous to the hills; the legend, handed down from father to son, is that they originally lived in madura. owing to troubles, or a war in which the pandyan raja of the times was engaged, they fled to the hills. when at bodinayakanur, the pregnant women (or, as some say, a pregnant woman) were left behind, and eventually went with the offspring to the nilgiris, while the bulk of the tribe came to the high range of north travancore. there is supposed to be enmity between these rather vague nilgiri people and the muduvars. the nilgiri people are said occasionally to visit bodinayakanur, but, if by chance they are met by muduvars, there is no speech between them, though each is supposed instinctively or intuitively to recognise the presence of the other. those that came to the high range carried their children up the ghats on their backs, and it was thereupon decided to name the tribe muduvar, or back people. according to another tradition, when they left madura, they carried with them on their back the image of the goddess minakshi, and brought it to neriyamangalam. it is stated by mr. p. e. conner [60] that the muduvars "rank high in point of precedency among the hill tribes. they were originally vellalas, tradition representing them as having accompanied some of the madura princes to the travancore hills." the approximate time of the exodus from madura cannot even be guessed by any of the tribe, but it was possibly at the time when the pandyan rajas entered the south, or more probably when the telugu naickers took possession of bodinayakanur in the fourteenth century. it has also been suggested that the muduvars were driven to the hills by the muhammadan invaders in the latter part of the eighteenth century. judging from the two distinct types of countenance, their language, and their curious mixture of customs, i hazard the conjecture that, when they arrived on the hills, they found a small tribe in possession, with whom they subsequently intermarried, this tribe having affinities with the west coast, while the new arrivals were connected with the east. the tribe is settled on the northern and western portion of the cardamom hills, and the high range of travancore, known as the kanan devan hills, and there is, i believe, one village on the anaimalai hills. they wander to some extent, less so now than formerly, owing to the establishment of the planting community in their midst. the head-quarters at present may be said to be on the western slopes of the high range. the present mel vaken or headman lives in a village on the western slope of the high range at about 2,000 feet elevation, but villages occur up to 6,000 feet above sea level, the majority of villages being about 4,000 feet above the sea. the wandering takes place between the reaping of the final crop on one piece of land, and the sowing of the next. about november sees the breaking up of the old village, and february the establishment of the new. on the plateau of the high range their dwellings are small rectangular, rather flat-roofed huts, made of jungle sticks or grass (both walls and root), and are very neat in appearance. on the western slopes, although the materials lend themselves to even neater building, their houses are usually of a rougher type. the materials used are the stems and leaves of the large-leaved ita (bamboo: ochlandra travancorica) owing to the absence of grass-land country. the back of the house has no wall, the roof sloping on to the hillside behind, and the other walls are generally made of a rough sort of matting made by plaiting split ita stems. outsiders are theoretically not received into the caste, but a weaver caste boy and girl who were starving (in the famine of 1877, as far as i can make out), and deserted on the hills, were adopted, and, when they grew up, were allowed the full privileges of the caste. since then, a 'thotiya naicker' child was similarly adopted, and is now a full-blown muduvar with a muduvar wife. on similar occasions, adoptions from similar or higher castes might take place, but the adoption of pariahs or low-caste people would be quite impossible. in a lecture delivered some years ago by mr. o. h. bensley, it was stated that the muduvars permit the entry of members of the vellala caste into their community, but insist upon a considerable period of probation before finally admitting the would-be muduvar into their ranks. if any dispute arises in the community, it is referred to the men of the village, who form an informal panchayat (council), with the eldest or most influential man at its head. references are sometimes, but only seldom, made to the muppen, a sort of sub-headman of the tribe, except, perhaps, in the particular village in which he resides. the office of both muppen and mel vaken is hereditary, and follows the marumakkatayam custom, i.e., descent to the eldest son of the eldest sister. the orders of the panchayat, or of the headman, are not enforceable by any specified means. a sort of sending a delinquent to coventry exists, but falls through when the matter has blown over. adjudications only occur at the request of the parties concerned, or in the case of cohabitation between the prohibited degrees of consanguinity, when, on it becoming known, the guilty pair are banished to the jungle, but seem nevertheless to be able to visit the village at will. when disputes between parties are settled against any one, he may be fined, generally in kind--a calf, a cow, a bull, or grain. there is no trial by ordeal. oaths by the accuser, the accused, and partisans of both, are freely taken. the form of oath is to call upon god that the person swearing, or his child, may die within so many days if the oath is untrue, at the same time stepping over the rama kodu, which consists of lines drawn on the ground, one line for each day. it may consist of any number of lines, but three, five, or seven are usual. increasing the number of lines indefinitely would be considered to be trifling with the subject. there do not seem to be any good omens, but evil omens are numerous. the barking of 'jungle sheep' (barking deer) or sambar, the hill robin crossing the path when shifting the village, are examples. oracles, magic, sorcery, witchcraft, and especially the evil eye, are believed in very firmly, but are not practiced by muduvars. i was myself supposed to have exercised the evil eye at one time. it once became my duty to apportion to muduvars land for their next year's cultivation, and i went round with some of them for this purpose, visiting the jungle they wished to clear. a particular friend of mine, called kanjan, asked for a bit of secondary growth very close to a cinchona estate; it was, in fact, situated between lower nettigudy and upper nettigudy, and the main road passed quite close. i told him that there was no objection, except that it was most unusual, and that probably the estate coolies would rob the place; and i warned him very distinctly that, if evil came of his choice, he was not to put the blame on me. shortly afterwards i left india, and was absent about three months, and, when i returned, i found that small-pox had practically wiped out that village, thirty-seven out of forty inhabitants having died, including kanjan. i was, of course, very sorry; but, as i found a small bit of the land in question had been felled, and there being no claimants, i planted it up with cinchona. as the smallpox had visited all the muduvar villages, and had spread great havoc among them, i was not surprised at their being scarce, but i noticed, on the few occasions when i did see them, that they were always running away. when i got the opportunity, i cornered a man by practically riding him down, and asked for an explanation. he then told me that, of course, the tribe had been sorely troubled, because i told kanjan in so many words that evil would come. i had then disappeared (to work my magic, no doubt), and returned just in time to take that very bit of land for myself. that was nearly five years ago, and confidence in me is only now being gradually restored. the muduvans have lucky days for starting on a journey- monday, start before sunrise. tuesday, start in the forenoon. wednesday start before 7 a.m. thursday, start after eating the morning meal. friday, never make a start; it is a bad day. saturday and sunday, start as soon as the sun has risen. when boys reach puberty, the parents give a feast to the village. in the case of a girl, a feast is likewise given, and she occupies, for the duration of the menstrual period, a hut set apart for all the women in the village to occupy during their uncleanness. when it is over, she washes her clothes, and takes a bath, washing her head. this is just what every woman of the village always does. there is no mutilation, and the girl just changes her child's dress for that of a woman. the married women of the village assist at confinements. twins bring good luck. monsters are said to be sometimes born, bearing the form of little tigers, cows, monkeys, etc. on these occasions, the mother is said generally to die, but, when she does not die, she is said to eat the monster. monstrosities must anyway be killed. childless couples are dieted to make them fruitful, the principal diet for a man being plenty of black monkey, and for a woman a compound of various herbs and spices. a man may not marry the daughter of his brother or sister; he ought to marry his uncle's daughter, and he may have two or three wives, who may or may not be sisters. among the plateau muduvars, both polygamy and polyandry are permitted, the former being common, and the latter occasional. in the case of the latter, brothers are prohibited from having a common wife, as also are cousins on the father's side. in the case of polygamy, the first married is the head wife, and the others take orders from her, but she has no other privileges. if the wives are amicably disposed, they live together, but, when inclined to disagree, they are given separate houses for the sake of peace and harmony. with quarrelsome women, one wife may be in one village, and the others in another. a man may be polygamous in one village, and be one of a polyandrous lot of men a few miles off. on the cardamom hills, and on the western slopes, where the majority of the tribe live, they are monogamous, and express abhorrence of both the polygamous and polyandrous condition, though they admit, with an affectation of amused disgust, that both are practiced by their brethren on the high lands. marriages are arranged by the friends, and more often by the cousins on the mother's side of the bridegroom, who request the hand of a girl or woman from her parents. if they agree, the consent of the most remote relatives has also to be obtained, and, if everyone is amicable, a day is fixed, and the happy couple leave the village to live a few days in a cave by themselves. on their return, they announce whether they would like to go on with it, or not. in the former case, the man publicly gives ear-rings, a metal (generally brass) bangle, a cloth, and a comb to the woman, and takes her to his hut. the comb is a poor affair made of split ita or perhaps of bamboo, but it is the essential part of the ceremony. if the probationary period in the cave has not proved quite satisfactory to both parties, the marriage is put off, and the man and the woman are both at liberty to try again with some one else. betrothal does not exist as a ceremony, though families often agree together to marry their children together, but this is not binding in any way. the tying of the tali (marriage badge) is said to have been tried in former days as part of the marriage ceremony, but, as the bride always died, the practice was discontinued. remarriage of widows is permitted, and the widow by right belongs to, or should be taken over by her deceased husband's maternal aunt's son, and not, under any circumstances, by any of his brothers. in practice she marries almost any one but one of the brothers. no man should visit the house of his younger brother's wife, or even look at that lady. this prohibition does not extend to the wives of his elder brothers, but sexual intercourse even here would be incest. the same ceremonies are gone through at the remarriage of a widow as in an ordinary marriage, the ear-rings and bangles, which she discarded on the death of the previous husband, being replaced. widows do not wear a special dress, but are known by the absence of jewelry. elopements occur. when a man and woman do not obtain the consent of the proper parties, they run away into the jungle or a cave, visiting the village frequently, and getting grain, etc., from sympathisers. the anger aroused by their disgraceful conduct having subsided, they quietly return to the village, and live as man and wife. [it is noted, in the travancore census report, 1901, that, after a marriage is settled, the bridegroom forcibly takes away the maiden from her mother's house when she goes out for water or firewood, and lives with her separately for a few days or weeks in some secluded part of the forest. they then return, unless in the meantime they are searched for, and brought back by their relations.] in theory, a man may divorce his wife at will, but it is scarcely etiquette to do so, except for infidelity, or in the case of incompatibility of temper. if he wants to get rid of her for less horrible crimes, he can palm her off on a friend. a woman cannot divorce her husband at all in theory, but she can make his life so unbearable that he gladly allows her to palm herself off on somebody else. wives who have been divorced marry again freely. the tribe follow the west coast or marumakkatayam law of inheritance with a slight difference, the property descending to an elder or younger sister's son. property, which seldom consists of more than a bill-hook, a blanket, and a few cattle, always goes to a nephew, and is not divided in any way. the tribe professes to be hindu, and the chief gods are panaliandavar (a corruption of palaniandi) and kadavallu, who are supposed to live in the madura temple with minakshiammal and her husband sokuru. they are also said to worship chantiattu bhagavati and neriyamangalam sasta. suryan (the sun) is a beneficent deity. the deities which are considered maleficent are numerous, and all require propitiation. this is not very taxing, as a respectful attitude when passing their reputed haunts seems to suffice. they are alluded to as karapu (black ones). one in particular is nyamaru, who lives on nyamamallai, the jungles round which were said to be badly haunted. at present they are flourishing tea estates, so nyamaru has retired to the scrub at the top of the mountain. certain caves are regarded as shrines, where spear-heads, a trident or two, and copper coins are placed, partly to mark them as holy places, and partly as offerings to bring good luck, good health, or good fortune. they occur in the most remote spots. the only important festival is thai pongal, when all who visit the village, be they who they may, must be fed. it occurs about the middle of january, and is a time of feasting and rejoicing. the tribe does not employ priests of other castes to perform religious ceremonies. muduvars who are half-witted, or it may be eccentric, are recognised as swamyars or priests. if one desires to get rid of a headache or illness, the swamyar is told that he will get four annas or so if the complaint is soon removed, but he is not expected to perform miracles, or to make any active demonstration over the matter. swamyars who spend their time in talking to the sun and moon as their brethren, and in supplications to mysterious and unknown beings, are the usual sort, and, if they live a celibate life, they are greatly esteemed. for those who live principally on milk, in addition to practicing the other virtue, the greatest reverence is felt. such an one occurs only once or twice in a century. the dead are buried lying down, face upwards, and placed north and south. the grave has a little thatched roof, about six feet by two, put over it. a stone, weighing twenty or thirty pounds, is put at the head, and a similar stone at the feet. these serve to mark the spot when the roof perishes, or is burnt during the next grass fire. the depth of the grave is, for a man, judged sufficient if the gravedigger, standing on the bottom, finds the level of the ground up to his waist, but, for a woman, it must be up to his armpits. the reason is that the surviving women do not like to think that they will be very near the surface, but the men are brave, and know that, if they lie north and south, nothing can harm them, and no evil approach. the ghosts of those killed by accident or dying a violent death, haunt the spot till the memory of the occurrence fades from the minds of the survivors and of succeeding generations. these ghosts are not propitiated, but the haunted spots are avoided as much as possible. the muduvars share with many other jungle-folk the idea that, if any animal killed by a tiger or leopard falls so as to lie north and south, it will not be eaten by the beast of prey. nor will it be re-visited, so that sitting over a "kill" which has fallen north and south, in the hopes of getting a shot at the returning tiger or leopard, is a useless proceeding. totemism does not exist, but, in common with other jungle tribes, the tiger is often alluded to as jackal. fire is still often made by means of the flint and steel, though match-boxes are common enough. some dry cotton (generally in a dirty condition) is placed along the flint, the edge of which is struck with the steel. the spark generated ignites the cotton, and is carefully nursed into flame in dead and dry grass. the muduvars also know how to make fire by friction, but nowadays this is very seldom resorted to. a rotten log of a particular kind of tree has first to be found, the inside of which is in an extremely dry and powdery condition, while the outside is still fairly hard. some of the top of the topmost side of the recumbent log having been cut away at a suitable place, and most of the inside removed, a very hard and pointed bit of wood is rapidly rotated against the inner shell of the log where the powdery stuff is likely to ignite, and this soon begins to smoke, the fire being then nursed much in the same way as with the fire generated by the flint and steel. by the men, the languti and leg cloth of the tamils are worn. a turban is also worn, and a cumbly or blanket is invariably carried, and put on when it rains. [it is noted, in the travancore census report, 1901, that males dress themselves like the maravans of the low country. a huge turban is almost an invariable portion of the toilette. the chief of the mudavars is known as vakka, without whose consent the head-dress is not to be worn.] i have seen a muduvar with an umbrella. nowadays, the discarded coats of planters, and even trousers and tattered riding-breeches are common, and a muduvar has been seen wearing a blazer. the men wear ear-rings, supposed to be, and sometimes in reality, of gold, with bits of glass of different colours in them, and also silver or brass finger and toe rings, and sometimes a bangle on each arm or on one leg. the women go in very largely for beads, strings of them adorning their necks, white and blue being favourite colours. rings for the ears, fingers and toes, and sometimes many glass bangles on the arms, and an anklet on each leg, are the usual things, the pattern of the metal jewelry being often the same as seen on the women of the plains. the cloth, after being brought round the waist, and tucked in there, is carried over the body, and two corners are knotted on the right shoulder. unmarried girls wear less jewelry than the married women, and widows wear no jewelry till they are remarried, when they can in no way be distinguished from their sisters. tattooing is not practiced. sometimes a stout thread is worn on the arm, with a metal cylinder containing some charm against illness or the evil eye, but only the wise men or elders of the caste lay much store on, or have knowledge of these things. the muduvars believe that they were originally cultivators of the soil, and their surroundings and tastes have made them become hunters and trappers, since coming to the hills. at the present day, they cut down a bit of secondary jungle or cheppukad, and, after burning it off, sow ragi (millet), or, where the rainfall is sufficient, hill-rice, which is weeded and tended by the women, the men contenting themselves by trying to keep out the enemies to their crops. after harvest there is not much to be done, except building a new village perhaps, making traps, and shooting. all they catch is game to them, though we should describe some of the animals as vermin. they catch rats, squirrels, quail, jungle fowl, porcupines, mouse-deer, and fish. they kill, with a blowpipe and dart, many small birds. the traps in use are varied, but there are three principal ones, one of which looks like a big bow. it is fixed upright in the ground as a spring to close with a snap a small upright triangle of sharp-edged bamboo, to which it is connected, and into which any luckless small game may have intruded its head, induced to do so by finding all other roads closed with a cunningly made fence. another is a bent sapling, from which a loop of twine or fibre hangs on what appears to be the ground, but is really a little platform on which the jungle fowl treads, and immediately finds itself caught by both legs, and hanging in mid-air. the third is very much the same, but of stouter build. the loop is upright, and set in a hedge constructed for the purpose of keeping the fretful porcupine in the path, passing along which the beast unconsciously releases a pin, back flies the sapling, and the porcupine is hung. if fouled in any way, he generally uses his teeth to advantage, and escapes. the muduvars are also adepts at catching 'ibex' (wild goat), which are driven towards a fence with nooses set in it at proper points, which cause the beasts to break their necks. fish are caught in very beautifully constructed cruives, and also on the hook, while, on the larger rivers below the plateau, the use of the night-line is understood. with the gun, sambar, 'ibex,' barking deer, mungooses, monkeys, squirrels, and martens are killed. besides being a good shot, the muduvar, when using his own powder, takes no risks. the stalk is continued until game is approached, sometimes to within a few yards, when a charge of slugs from the antiquated match-lock has the same effect as the most up-to-date bullet from the most modern weapon. mr. bensley records how, on one occasion, two english planters went out with two muduvars after 'bison.' one of the muduvars, carrying a rifle, tripped, and the weapon exploded, killing one of the planters on the spot. the two muduvars immediately took to their heels. the other planter covered them with his rifle, and threatened to shoot them if they did not return, which they at last did. mr. bensley held the magisterial enquiry, and the muduvars were amazed at escaping capital punishment. in their agricultural operations, the muduvars are very happy-go-lucky. they have no scare-crows to avert injury to crops or frighten away demons, but they employ many devices for keeping off pigs, sambar, and barking deer from their crops, none of which appear to be efficacious for long. the implement par excellence of the muduvar is the bill-hook, from which he never parts company, and with which he can do almost anything, from building a house to skinning a rat, or from hammering sheet-lead into bullets to planting maize. the bulk of the tribe live on ragi or hill-rice, and whatever vegetables they can grow, and whatever meat they trap or shoot. they esteem the flesh of the black monkey (semnopithecus johni) above everything, and lust after it. i have seen a muduvar much pulled down by illness seize an expiring monkey, and suck the blood from its jugular vein. muduvars will not eat beef, dog, jackals, or snakes, but will eat several sorts of lizards, and rats, 'ibex,' and all the deer tribe, fish, fowl, and other birds, except kites and vultures, are put into the pot. the plateau muduvars, and those on the eastern slopes, will not eat pig in any shape or form. those on the western slopes are very keen on wild pig, and this fact causes them to be somewhat looked down upon by the others. i think this pork-eating habit is due to the absence of sambar or other deer in the heart of the forests. muduvars are fond of alcohol in any shape or form. they take a liquor from a wild palm which grows on the western slopes, and, after allowing it to become fermented, drink it freely. some members of the tribe, living in the vicinity of these palms, are more or less in a state of intoxication during the whole time it is in season. their name for the drink is tippily-kal, and the palm resembles the kittul (caryota urens). the western slope muduvars are acquainted with opium from the west coast, and some of them are slaves to the habit. the muduvars do not admit that any other caste is good enough to eat, drink, or smoke with them. they say that, once upon a time, they permitted these privileges to vellalans, but this fact induced so many visitors to arrive that they really could not afford it any more, so they eat, drink, and smoke with no one now, but will give uncooked food to passing strangers. i have never heard any proverb, song, or folk-tale of the muduvars, and believe the story of their arrival on the hills to be their stock tale. they have a story, which is more a statement of belief than anything else, that, when a certain bamboo below pallivasal flowers, a son of the maharaja of travancore turns into a tiger or puli-manisan, and devours people. men often turn into puli-manisan owing chiefly to witchcraft on the part of others, and stories of such happenings are often told. the nearest approach to a proverb i have heard is tingakilamei nalla tingalam, which sounds rather tame and meaningless in english, "on monday you can eat well"--the play on the words being quite lost. the muduvars make a miniature tom-tom by stretching monkey skin over a firm frame of split bamboo or ita, on which the maker thereof will strum by the hour much to his own enjoyment. in former days, the whole tribe were very shy of strangers, and it is only within the last thirty years that they have become used to having dealings with outsiders. old men still tell of the days when robbers from the coimbatore side used to come up, burn the muduvar villages, and carry off what cattle or fowls they could find. even now, there are some of the men in whom this fear of strangers seems to be innate, and who have never spoken to europeans. in the women this feeling is accentuated, for, when suddenly met with, they make themselves scarce in the most surprising way, and find cover as instinctively as a quail chick. there are now and again men in the tribe who aspire to read, but i do not know how far any of them succeed. the muduvars are becoming accustomed to quite wonderful things--the harnessing of water which generates electricity to work machinery, the mono-rail tram which now runs through their country, and, most wonderful of all, the telephone. an old man described how he would raise envy and wonder in the hearts of his tribe by relating his experience. "i am the first of my caste to speak and hear over five miles," said he, with evident delight. i have alluded to the two different types of countenance; perhaps there is a third resulting from a mixture of the other two. the first is distinctly aquiline-nosed and thin-lipped, and to this type the men generally belong. the second is flat-nosed, wide-nostrilled, and thick-lipped, and this fairly represents the women, who compare most unfavourably with the men in face. i have never seen men of the second type, but of an intermediate type they are not uncommon. on the cardamom hills there may still exist a tribe of dwarfs, of which very little is known. the late mr. j. d. munro had collected a little information about them. mr. a. w. turner had the luck to come across one, who was caught eating part of a barking deer raw. mr. turner managed to do a little conversation with the man by signs, and afterwards he related the incident to srirangam, a good old muduvar shikari (sportsman), who listened thoughtfully, and then asked "did you not shoot him?" the question put a new complexion on to the character of the usually peaceful and timid muduvar. i know the muduvars to be capable of real affection. kanjan was very proud of his little son, and used to make plans for wounding an ibex, so that his boy might finish it off, and thus become accustomed to shooting. in south coimbatore, "honey-combs are collected by irulas, muduvars, and kadirs. the collection is a dangerous occupation. a hill-man, with a torch in his hand and a number of bamboo tubes suspended from his shoulders, descends by means of ropes or creepers to the vicinity of the comb. the sight of the torch drives away the bees, and he proceeds to fill the bamboos with the comb, and then ascends to the top of the rock." [61] mugi (dumb).--an exogamous sept of golla. muka.--a sub-division of konda razu. muka dora.--muka is recorded, in the madras census reports, 1891 and 1901, as a sub-division and synonym of konda dora, and i am informed that the muka doras, in vizagapatam, hold a high position, and most of the chiefs among the konda doras are muka doras. mr. c. hayavadana rao, to whom i am indebted to the following note, inclines to the opinion that the muka doras form a caste distinct from the konda doras. they are traditionally regarded as one of the primitive hill tribes, but their customs at the present day exhibit a great deal of low-country influence. they speak telugu, their personal names are pure telugu, and their titles are anna and ayya as well as dora. they recognize one vantari dora of padmapuram as their head. the muka doras are agriculturists and pushing petty traders. they may be seen travelling about the country with pack bullocks at the rice harvest season. they irrigate their lands with liquid manure in a manner similar to the kunnuvans of the palni hills in the madura country. they are divided into two sections, viz., kora-vamsam, which reveres the sun, and naga-vamsam, which reveres the cobra, and have further various exogamous septs or intiperulu, such as vemu or nim tree (melia azadirachta), chikkudi (dolickos lablab), velanga (feronia elephantum), kakara (momordica charantia). girls are married either before or after puberty. the menarikam system is in force, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter. on an auspicious day, some of the elders of the future bridegroom's family take a cock or goat, a new cloth for the girl's mother, rice and liquor to the girl's house. the presents are usually accepted, and the pasupu (turmeric) ceremony, practiced by many telugu castes, is performed. on an appointed day, the bridegroom's party repair to the house of the bride, and bring her in procession to the house of the bridegroom. early next morning, the contracting couple enter a pandal (booth), the two central pillars of which are made of the neredi (eugenia jambolana) and relli (cassia fistula) trees. the maternal uncle, who officiates, links their little fingers together. their bodies are anointed with castor-oil mixed with turmeric powder, and they bathe. new cloths are then given to them by their fathers-in-law. some rice is poured over the floor of the house, and the bride and bridegroom measure this three times. the ends of their cloths are tied together, and a procession is formed, which proceeds to the bank of a stream, where the bride fetches tooth-cleaning sticks three times, and gives them to the bridegroom, who repeats the process. they then sit down together, and clean their teeth. after a bath in the stream, the ends of their clothes are once more tied together, and the procession returns to the bridegroom's house. the bride cooks some of the rice which has already been measured with water brought from the stream, and the pair partake thereof. a caste feast, with much drinking, is held on this and the two following days. the newly-married couple then proceed, in the company of an old man, to the bride's house, and remain there from three to five days. if the girl is adult, she then goes to the home of her husband. when a girl reaches puberty, she is placed apart in a room, and sits within a triangular enclosure made by means of three arrows stuck in the ground, and connected together by three rounds of thread. from the roof a cradle, containing a stone, is placed. on the last day, a twig of the neredi tree is plucked, planted on the way to the village stream, and watered. as she passes the spot, the girl pulls it out of the ground, and takes it to the stream, into which she throws it. she then bathes therein. the dead are, as a rule, burnt, and death pollution is observed for three days, during which the caste occupation is not carried out. on the fourth day, a ceremony, called pasupu muttukovadam, or touching turmeric, is performed. the relations of the deceased repair to the spot where the corpse was burnt, collect the ashes, and sprinkle cow-dung, neredi and tamarind water over the spot. some food is cooked, and three handfuls are thrown to the crows. they then perform a ceremonial ablution. the ceremony corresponds to the chinnarozu, or little day ceremony, of the low-country castes. the more well-to-do muka doras perform the peddarozu, or big day ceremony, on the twelfth day, or later on. the relations of the deceased then plant a plantain on the spot where he was burnt, and throw turmeric, castor-oil, and money according to their means. the coins are collected, and used for the purchase of materials for a feast. mukkara (nose or ear ornament).--an exogamous sept of boya. mukkuvan.--the mukkuvans are the sea fishermen of the malabar coast, who are described as follows by buchanan. [62] "the mucua, or in the plural mucuar, are a tribe who live near the sea-coast of malayala, to the inland parts of which they seldom go, and beyond its limits any way they rarely venture. their proper business is that of fishermen, as palanquin-bearers for persons of low birth, or of no caste; but they serve also as boatmen. the utmost distance to which they will venture on a voyage is to mangalore. in some places they cultivate the cocoanut. in the southern parts of the province most of them have become mussulmans, but continue to follow their usual occupations. these are held in the utmost contempt by those of the north, who have given up all communication with the apostates. those here do not pretend to be sudras, and readily acknowledge the superior dignity of the tiars. they have hereditary chiefs called arayan, who settle disputes, and, with the assistance of a council, punish by fine or excommunication those who transgress the rules of the caste. the deity of the caste is the goddess bhadra-kali, who is represented by a log of wood, which is placed in a hut that is called a temple. four times a year the mucuas assemble, sacrifice a cock, and make offerings of fruit to the log of wood. one of the caste acts as priest (pujari). they are not admitted to enter within the precincts of any of the temples of the great gods who are worshipped by the brahmans; but they sometimes stand at a distance, and send their offerings by more pure hands." it is recorded by captain hamilton [63] that he saw "at many muchwa houses, a square stake of wood, with a few notches cut about it, and that stake drove into the ground, about two foot of it being left above, and that is covered with cadjans or cocoanut tree leaves, and is a temple and a god to that family." in the gazetteer of malabar (1908), the following account of the mukkuvans is given. "a caste, which according to a probably erroneous tradition came originally from ceylon, is that of the mukkuvans, a caste of fishermen following marumakkatayam (inheritance through the female line) in the north, and makkattayam (inheritance from father to son) in the south. their traditional occupations also include chunam (lime) making, and manchal-bearing (a manchal is a kind of hammock slung on a pole, and carried by four men, two at each end). in the extreme south of the district they are called arayans, [64] a term elsewhere used as a title of their headmen. north of cannanore there are some fishermen, known as mugavars or mugayans, who are presumably the same as the mugayars of south canara. another account is that the mugayans are properly river-fishers, and the mukkuvans sea-fishers; but the distinction does not seem to hold good in fact. the mukkuvans rank below the tiyans and the artisan classes; and it is creditable to the community that some of its members have recently risen to occupy such offices as that of sub-magistrate and sub-registrar. the caste has supplied many converts to the ranks of muhammadanism. in north malabar the mukkuvans are divided into four exogamous illams, called ponillam (pon, gold), chembillam (chembu, copper), karillam, and kachillam, and are hence called nalillakkar, or people of the four illams; while the south malabar mukkuvans and arayans have only the three latter illams, and are therefore called munillakkar, or people of the three illams. there is also a section of the caste called kavuthiyans, who act as barbers to the others, and are sometimes called panimagans (work-children). the nalillakkar are regarded as superior to the munillakkar and the kavuthiyans, and exact various signs of respect from them. the kavuthiyans, like other barber castes, have special functions to perform in connection with the removal of ceremonial pollution; and it is interesting to note that sea-water is used in the ritual sprinklings for this purpose. the old caste organisation seems to have persisted to the present day among the mukkuvans to an extent which can be paralleled amongst few other castes. they have assemblies (rajiams) of elders called kadavans, or kadakkodis, presided over by presidents called arayans or karnavans, who settle questions of caste etiquette, and also constitute a divorce court. the position of the arayans, like that of the kadavans, is hereditary. it is said to have been conferred by the different rajas in their respective territories, with certain insignia, a painted cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella, a stick, and a red silk sash. the arayans are also entitled to the heads of porpoises captured in their jurisdictions, and to presents of tobacco and pan supari when a girl attains puberty or is married. their consent is necessary to all regular marriages. the mukkuvans have their oracles or seers called ayittans or attans; and, when an arayan dies, these select his successor from his anandravans, while under the influence of the divine afflatus, and also choose from among the younger members of the kadavan families priests called manakkans or banakkans, to perform puja in their temples. "fishing is the hereditary occupation of the mukkuvans. their boats, made of aini (artocarpus hirsuta) or mango wood, and fitted with a mat sail, cost from rs. 200 to rs. 500, and carry a crew of 5 or 8 men according to size. their nets are of all shapes and sizes, ranging from a fine net with a 3/8'' mesh for sardines and such small fry to a stout valiya sravuvala or shark net with a 6 1/2'' or 7'' mesh; and for a big badagara boat a complete equipment is said to cost rs. 1,000. the nets are generally made of fibre, cotton thread being used only for nets with the finest mesh. salt is not usually carried in the boats, and the fish decompose so rapidly in the tropical sun that the usual fishing grounds are comparatively close to the shore; but boats sometimes venture out ten, fifteen, or even twenty miles. shoals of the migratory sardine, which are pursued by predaceous sharks, kora, and cat-fish, yield the richest harvest of fishes great and small to the mukkuvan. huge quantities of mackerel or aila are also caught, and seir, white and black pomfret, prawns, whiting, and soles are common. the arrival of the boats is the great event of the day in a fishing village. willing hands help to drag them up the beach, and an eager crowd gathers round each boat, discussing the catch and haggling over the price. the pile of fish soon melts away, and a string of coolies, each with a basket of fish on his head, starts off at a sling trot into the interior, and soon distributes the catch over a large area. relays of runners convey fresh fish from badagara and tellicherry even as far as the wynaad. all that is left unsold is taken from the boats to the yards to be cured under the supervision of the salt department with tuticorin salt supplied at the rate of 10 annas per maund. the fisherman is sometimes also the curer, but usually the two are distinct, and the former disposes of the fish to the latter 'on fixed terms to a fixed customer,' and 'looks to him for support during the slack season, the rainy and stormy south-west monsoon.' the salt fish is conveyed by coasting steamers to ceylon, and by the madras railway to coimbatore, salem, and other places. sardines are the most popular fish, and are known as kudumbam pulartti, or the family blessing. in a good year, 200 sardines can be had for a single pie. sun-dried, they form valuable manure for the coffee planter and the cocoanut grower, and are exported to ceylon, the straits settlements, and occasionally to china and japan; and, boiled with a little water, they yield quantities of fish oil for export to europe and indian ports. salted shark is esteemed a delicacy, particularly for a nursing woman. sharks' fins find a ready sale, and are exported to china by way of bombay. the maws or sounds of kora and cat-fishes are dried, and shipped to china and europe for the preparation of isinglass." [65] it will be interesting to watch the effect of the recently instituted fishery bureau in developing the fishing industry and system of fish-curing in southern india. mukkuvans work side by side with mappillas both at the fishing grounds and in the curing yards, and the two classes will eat together. it is said that, in former times, mappillas were allowed to contract alliances with mukkuva women, and that male children born as a result thereof on friday were handed over to the mappilla community. it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1891, that "conversion to islam is common among this caste. the converts are called puislam or putiya islam [66] (new islam). all puislams follow the occupation of fishing. in the northernmost taluks there is a rule that mukkuva females during their periods cannot remain in the house, but must occupy the house of a mappilla, which shows that the two castes live on very close terms." the fishermen at tanur are for the most part puislamites, and will not go out fishing on fridays. from a recent note (1908), i gather that the mukkuvas and puislams of tanur have been prospering of late years and would appear to be going in for a display of their prosperity by moving about arrayed in showy shirts, watch-chains, shoes of the kind known as arabi cherippu, etc. this sort of ostentation has evidently not been appreciated by the moplahs, who, it is said sent round the mukkuva village, known as mukkadi some cherumas, numbering over sixty, to notify by beat of kerosene tins that any mukkuva or puislam who went into the moplah bazaar wearing a shirt or coat or shoes would go in peril of his life. some days after this alleged notification, two mukkuvas and a mukkuva woman complained to the tirur sub-magistrate that they had been waylaid by several moplahs on the public road in the tanur bazaar, and had been severely beaten, the accused also robbing the woman of some gold ornaments which were on her person. i am informed that tanur is the only place where this feeling exists. puislams and mappillas settle down together peacefully enough elsewhere. there are two titles in vogue among the mukkuvans, viz., arayan and marakkan. of these, the former is the title of the headmen and members of their families, and the latter a title of ordinary members of the community. the caste deity is said to be bhadrakali, and the mukkuvans have temples of their own, whereat worship is performed by yogi gurukkals, or, it is said, by the karanavans of certain families who have been initiated by a yogi gurukkal. at tellicherry there are two headmen, called arayanmar belonging to the kachillam and ponillam sections. in addition to the headmen, there are caste servants called manakkan. it is stated, in the manual of the south canara district, that "there is an hereditary headman of the caste called the ayathen, who settles disputes. for trifling faults the ordinary punishment is to direct the culprit to supply so much oil for lights to be burnt before the caste demon." the velichapads, or oracles who become possessed by the spirit of the deity among the mukkuvans, are called ayathen, which is probably an abbreviation of ayuthathan, meaning a sword or weapon-bearer, as the oracle, when under the influence of the deity, carries a sword or knife. as among other malayalam castes, mukkuva girls must go through a ceremony before they attain puberty. this is called pandal kizhikkal, and corresponds to the tali-kettu kalyanam of the other castes. the consent of the arayan is necessary for the performance of this ceremony. on the night previous thereto, the girl is smeared with turmeric paste and oil. early on the following morning, she is brought to the pandal (booth), which is erected in front of the house, and supported by four bamboo posts. she is bathed by having water poured over her by girls of septs other than her own. after the bath, she stands at the entrance to the house, and a kavuthiyachi (barber woman) sprinkles sea-water over her with a tuft of grass (cynodon dactylon). a cloth is thrown over her, and she is led into the house. the barber woman receives as her fee a cocoanut, some rice, and condiments. a tali (marriage badge) is tied on the girl's neck by her prospective husband's sister if a husband has been selected for her, or by a woman of a sept other than her own. the girl must fast until the conclusion of the ceremony, and should remain indoors for seven days afterwards. at the time of ceremony, she receives presents of money at the rate of two vellis per family. the arayan receives two vellis, a bundle of betel leaves, areca nuts, and tobacco. girls are married after puberty according to one of two forms of rite, called kodi-udukkal (tying the cloth) and vittil-kudal. the former is resorted to by the more prosperous members of the community, and lasts over two days. on the first day, the bridegroom goes to the home of the bride, accompanied by his relations and friends, and sweets, betel leaves and areca nuts, etc., are given to them. they then take their departure, and return later in the day, accompanied by musicians, in procession. at the entrance to the bride's house they stand while someone calls out the names of the eleven arayans of the caste, who, if they are present, come forward without a body-cloth or coat. betel leaves and areca nuts are presented to the arayans or their representatives, and afterwards to the rajyakkar, or chief men of the village. the bridegroom then goes inside, conducted by two men belonging to the septs of the contracting parties, to the bride's room. the bridegroom sits down to a meal with nine or eleven young men in a line, or in the same room. on the second day, the bride is brought to the pandal. two persons are selected as representatives of the bridegroom and bride, and the representative of the former gives thirty-nine vellis to the representative of the latter. some sweetened water is given to the bridegroom's relations. a woman who has been married according to the kodi-udukkal rite ties a new cloth round the waist of the bride, after asking her if she is willing to marry the bridegroom, and obtaining the consent of those assembled. sometimes a necklace, composed of twenty-one gold coins, is also tied on the bride's neck. at night, the bridal couple take their departure for the home of the bridegroom. in south canara, the ceremonial is spread over three days, and varies from the above in some points of detail. the bridegroom goes in procession to the bride's house, accompanied by a sangayi or munan (best or third man) belonging to a sept other than that of the bridal couple. the bride is seated in a room, with a lamp and a tray containing betel leaves, areca nuts, and flowers. the sangayi takes a female cloth in which some money is tied, and throws it on a rope within the room. on the third day, the bride puts on this cloth, and, seated within the pandal, receives presents. the vittil-kudal marriage rite is completed in a single day. the bridegroom comes to the home of the bride, and goes into her room, conducted thither by two men belonging to the septs of the contracting couple. the newly-married couple may not leave the bride's house until the seventh day after the marriage ceremony, and the wife is not obliged to live at her husband's house. there is yet another form of alliance called vechchirukkal, which is an informal union with the consent of the parents and the arayans. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "amongst mukkuvas the vidaram marriage obtains, but for this no ceremony is performed. the vidaram wife is not taken to her husbands house, and her family pay no stridhanam. a vidaram marriage can at any time be completed, as it were, by the performance of the kalyanam ceremonies. even if this be not done, however, a child by a vidaram wife has a claim to inherit to his father in south malabar, if the latter recognises him by paying to the mother directly after her delivery a fee of three fanams called mukkapanam. a curious custom is that which prescribes that, if a girl be married after attaining puberty, she must remain for a period in the status of a vidaram wife, which may subsequently be raised by the performance of the regular kalyanam." divorce is easily effected by payment of a fine, the money being divided between the husband or wife as the case may be, the temple, the arayans, and charity. a pregnant woman has to go through a ceremony called puli or ney-kudi in the fifth or seventh month. a ripe cocoanut, which has lost its water, is selected, and heated over a fire. oil is then expressed from it, and five or seven women smear the tongue and abdomen of the pregnant woman with it. a barber woman is present throughout the ceremony. the husband lets his hair grow until his wife has been delivered, and is shaved on the third day after the birth of the child. at the place where he sits for the operation, a cocoanut, betel leaves and areca nuts are placed. the cocoanut is broken in pieces by some one belonging to the same sept as the father of the child. pollution is got rid of on this day by a barber woman sprinkling water at the houses of the mukkuvans. a barber should also sprinkle water at the temple on the same day. the dead are, as a rule, buried. soon after death has taken place, the widow of the deceased purchases twenty-eight cubits of white cloth. a gold ring is put into the hand of the corpse, and given to the widow or her relations, to be returned to the relations of the dead man. the corpse is bathed in fresh water, decorated, and placed on a bier. the widow then approaches, and, with a cloth over her head, cuts her tali off, and places it by the side of the corpse. sometimes the tali is cut off by a barber woman, if the widow has been married according to the kodi-udukkal rite. in some places, the bier is kept in the custody of the barber, who brings it whenever it is required. in this case, the articles requisite for decorating the corpse, e.g., sandal paste and flowers, are brought by the barber, and given to the son of the deceased. some four or five women belonging to the kadavar families are engaged for mourning. the corpse is carried to the burial-ground, where a barber tears a piece of cloth from the winding-sheet, and gives it to the son. the bearers anoint themselves, bathe in the sea, and, with wet cloths, go three times round the corpse, and put a bit of gold, flowers, and rice, in its nose. the relations then pour water over the corpse, which is lowered into the grave. once more the bearers, and the son, bathe in the sea, and go three times round the grave. the son carries a pot of water, and, at the end of the third round, throws it down, so that it is broken. on their return home, the son and bearers are met by a barber woman, who sprinkles them with rice and water. death pollution is observed for seven days, during which the son abstains from salt and tamarind. a barber woman sprinkles water over those under pollution. on the eighth, or sometimes the fourteenth day, the final death ceremony is performed. nine or eleven boys bathe in the sea, and offer food near it. they then come to the house of the deceased, and, with lamps on their heads, go round seven or nine small heaps of raw rice or paddy (unhusked rice), and place the lamps on the heaps. the eldest son is expected to abstain from shaving his head for six months or a year. at the end of this time, he is shaved on an auspicious day. the hair, plantains, and rice, are placed in a small new pot, which is thrown into the sea. after a bath, rice is spread on the floor of the house so as to resemble the figure of a man, over which a green cloth is thrown. at one end of the figure, a light in a measure is placed. seven or nine heaps of rice or paddy are made, on which lights are put, and the son goes three times round, throwing rice at the north, south, east, and west corners. this brings the ceremonial to a close. mulaka (solanum xanthocarpum).--a sept of balija. the fruit of this plant is tied to the big toe of brahman corpses. muli.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a class of blacksmiths in ganjam, and stone-cutters in vizagapatam. it is said to be a sub-division of lohara. muli also occurs as an occupational sub-division of savara. muli kurava.--a name for kuravas in travancore. mullangi(radish).--an exogamous sept of komati. mullu (thorn).--a gotra of kurni. mullu also occurs as a sub-division of kurumba. multani.--a territorial name, meaning a native of multan in the punjab. they are described, in the mysore census report, 1901, as immigrant traders, found in the large towns, whose business consists chiefly of banking and money-lending. mundala,--a sub-division of holeya. mundapotho.--mundapotho (mundo, head; potho, bury) is the name of a class of mendicants who wander about ganjam, and frequent the streets of jagannath (puri). they try to arouse the sympathy of pilgrims by burying their head in the sand or dust, and exposing the rest of the body. they generally speak telugu. mungaru (woman's skirt).--an exogamous sept of kapu. muni.--see ravulo. munillakkar (people of the three illams).--a section of mukkuvans, which is divided into three illams. munnuti gumpu.--recorded, in the kurnool manual, as "a mixed caste, comprising the illegitimate descendants of balijas, and the male children of dancing-girls." it is not a caste name, but an insulting name for those of mixed origin. munnuttan (men of the three hundred).--recorded, at times of census, as a synonym of velan, and sub-caste of panan, among the latter of whom anjuttan (men of five hundred) also occurs. in the gazetteer of malabar, munnuttan appears as a class of mannans, who are closely akin to the velans. in travancore, munnutilkar is a name for kumbakonam vellalas, who have settled there. muppan.--muppan has been defined as "an elder, the headman of a class or business, one who presides over ploughmen and shepherds, etc. the word literally means an elder: mukkiradu, to grow old, and muppu, seniority." at recent times of census, muppan has been returned as a title by many classes, which include alavan, ambalakaran, kudumi, pallan, paraiyan and tandan in travancore, senaikkudaiyan, saliyan, shanan, sudarman and valaiyan. it has further been returned as a division of konkana sudras in travancore. during my wanderings in the malabar wynad, i came across a gang of coolies, working on a planter's estate, who called themselves muppans. they were interesting owing to the frequent occurrence among them of a very simple type of finger-print impression (arches). muppil (chief).--a sub-division of nayar. murikinadu.--murikinadu or murikinati is a territorial name, which occurs as a division of telugu brahmans, and of various telugu classes, e.g., kamsala, mala, mangala, razu, and tsakala. muriya.--a small class in ganjam, who are engaged in making a preparation of fried rice (muri) and in cultivation. muru balayanoru (three-bangle people).--a sub-division of kappiliyan. musaliar.--an occupational term, denoting a muhammadan priest, returned at times of census in the tamil country. musari.--a division of malayalam kammalans, whose occupation is that of brass and copper smiths. the equivalent musarlu occurs among the telugu kamsalas. mushika (rat).--a gotra of nagaralu. the rat is the vehicle of the elephant god, vignesvara or ganesa. mushtiga.--an exogamous sept of the gollas, who may not use the mushtiga tree (strychnos nux-vomica). it also occurs as a synonym of jetti. mushti golla.--a class of mendicants, usually of mixed extraction. mushti means alms. mussad.--for the following note on the mussads or muttatus of travancore, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. they are known as muttatus or mussatus in travancore and cochin, and potuvals (or poduvals) or akapotuvals in north malabar. the word muttatu means elder, and is generally taken to indicate a community, which is higher than the ambalavasi castes, as ilayatu (or elayad), or younger, denotes a sub-caste slightly lower than the brahmans. in early records, the word mupputayor, which has an identical meaning, is met with. potuval means a common person, i.e., the representative of a committee, and a muttatu's right to this name is from the fact that, in the absence of the nambutiri managers of a temple, he becomes their agent, and is invested with authority to exercise all their functions. the work of an akapotuval always lies within the inner wall of the shrine, while that of the purapotuval or potuval proper lies outside. the castemen themselves prefer the name sivadvija or saivite brahman. a few families possess special titles, such as nambi and nambiyar. their women are generally known as manayammamar, mana meaning the house of a brahman. there are no divisions or septs among the muttatus. the origin of the muttatus, and their place in malabar society, are questions on which a good deal of discussion has been of late expended. in the jatinirnaya, an old sanskrit work on the castes of kerala attributed to sankaracharya, it is said that the four kinds of ambalavasis, tantri, bharatabhattaraka, agrima, and slaghyavakku, are brahmans degraded in the krita, treta, dvapara, and kali ages, respectively, and that those who were so degraded in the dvapara yuga--the agrimas or muttatus--and whose occupation is to cleanse the stone steps of shrines--are found in large numbers in kerala. according to kerala mahatmya, another sanskrit work on malabar history and customs, these muttatus are also known as sivadvijas, or brahmans dedicated to the worship of siva, occupying a lower position in malabar society than that of the brahmans. one of them, disguised as a nambutiri, married a nambutiri's daughter, but his real status became known before the marriage was consummated, and the pair were degraded, and allotted a separate place in society. this tradition is not necessary to account for the present position of the muttatus in kerala, as, all over india, worship of fixed images was viewed with disfavour even in the days of manu. worship in saivite temples was not sought by brahmans, and was even considered as despiritualising on account of the divine displeasure which may be expected as the result of misfeasance. it was for a similar reason that the nambiyans of even vaishnavite temples on the east coast became degraded in society. the illayatus and muttatus have been long known in malabar as nyunas or castes slightly lower than the brahmans, and avantaras or castes intermediate between brahmans and ambalavasis. as, in subsequent days, the brahmans themselves undertook with impunity the priestly profession in hindu temples, saivite as well as vaishnavite, the muttatus had to be content with a more lowly occupation, viz., that of guarding the temples and images. according to suchindra mahatmyam, eleven brahmans were ordered by parasu rama to partake of the remnants of the food offered to siva, and to bear the saivite image in procession round the shrine on occasions of festivals; and, according to the vaikam sthalapuranam, three families of sivadvijas were brought over by the same sage from eastern districts for service at that temple. whatever may be said in regard to the antiquity or authenticity of many of these sthalapuranams, corroborative evidence of the brahmanical origin of the muttatus may be amply found in their manners and customs. a fresh colony of sivadvijas is believed to have been invited to settle at tiruvanchikkulam in cranganore from chidambaram by one of the perumals of kerala, in connection with the establishment of saivite temples there. they have preserved their original occupation faithfully enough down to the present day. the houses of muttatus are known as illams and mattams, the former being the name of all nambutiri houses. they are generally built beside some well-known shrine, with which the inmates are professionally connected. the dress of both men and women resembles that of the nambutiri brahmans, the injunction to cover the whole of the body when they go out of doors being applicable also to the manayammamar. girls before marriage wear a ring and kuzal on the neck, and, on festive occasions, a palakka ring. the chuttu in the ears, and pozhutu tali on the neck are worn only after marriage, the latter being the symbol which distinguishes married women from widows and maidens. widows are prohibited from wearing any ornament except the chuttu. in food and drink the muttatus are quite like the nambutiris. the muttatus are the custodians of the images, which they take in procession, and wash the stone steps leading to the inner sanctuary. they live by the naivedya or cooked food offering which they receive from the temple, and various other emoluments. it may be noted that one of the causes of their degradation was the partaking of this food, which brahmans took care not to do. the muttatus are generally well-read in sanskrit, and study astrology, medicine, and sorcery. the social government of the muttatus rests wholly with the nambutiris, who enforce the smartavicharam or enquiry into a suspected case of adultery, as in the case of a nambutiri woman. when nambutiri priests are not available, muttatus, if learned in the vedas, may be employed, but punyaham, or purification after pollution, can only be done by a nambutiri. like the nambutiris, the muttatus strictly observe the rule that only the eldest male member in a family can marry. the rest form casual connections with women of most of the ambalavasi classes. they are, like the brahmans, divided into exogamous septs or gotras. a girl is married before or after puberty. polygamy is not uncommon, though the number of wives is never more than four. widows do not remarry. in their marriage ceremonies, the muttatus resemble the nambutiris, with some minor points of difference. they follow two sutras, those of asvalayana and baudhayana, the former being members of the rig veda and the latter of the yajur veda. the former omit a number of details, such as the panchamehani and dasamehani, which are observed by the latter. according to a territorial distinction, mussad girls of north malabar cannot become the daughters-in-law of south malabar families, but girls of south malabar can become the daughters-in-law of north malabar families. the muttatus observe all the religious rites of the nambutiris. the rule is that the eldest son should be named after the paternal grandfather, the second after the maternal grandfather, and the third after that of the father. the upanayana ceremony is celebrated between the ages of seven and eleven, and the gayatri hymn may only be repeated ten times thrice daily. in the funeral rites, the help of the maran called chitikan (a corruption of chaitika, meaning one who is connected with the funeral pyre) is sought. pollution lasts only ten days. the muttatus stand above all sections of the ambalavasi group, and below every recognised section of the brahman and kshatriya communities, with whom they do not hold commensal relations in any part of kerala. they are thus on a par with the illayatus, but the latter have their own hierarchy, and lead a social life almost independent of the brahmans. the muttatus seek their help and advice in all important matters. the muttatus are, however, privileged to take their food within the nalampalam (temple courts), and the leaf-plates are afterwards removed by temple servants. the ambalavasis do not possess a right of this kind. at suchindram, the nambutiri by whom the chief image is served is not privileged to give prasada (remains of offerings) to any worshipper, this privilege being confined to the muttatus engaged to serve the minor deities of the shrine. the washing of the stone steps leading to the inner sanctuary, the mandapa, kitchen, feeding rooms, and bali stones, both inside and outside the shrine, are done by muttatus at temples with which they are connected. all ambalavasis freely receive food from muttatus. it is further noted, in the cochin census report, 1901, that "there is a pithy saying in malayalam, according to which the muthads are to be regarded as the highest of ambalavasis, and the elayads as the lowest of brahmans. considerable difference of opinion exists as to the exact social status of muthads. for, while some hold that they are to be regarded as degraded brahmans, others maintain that they are only the highest class of ambalavasis. in the opinion, however, of the most learned vydikan who was consulted on the subject, the muthads are to be classed as degraded brahmans. they are supposed to have suffered social degradation by their having tattooed their bodies with figures representing the weapons of the god siva, and partaking of the offerings made to that god." a correspondent, who has made enquiry into caste questions in malabar, writes to me as follows. there are several ways of spelling the name, e.g., mussu, mussad, and muttatu. some people tried to discriminate between these, but i could not work out any distinctions. in practice, i think, all the classes noted below are called by either name indifferently, and most commonly mussad. there are several classes, viz.:-(1) brahman or quasi-brahman. (a) ashtavaidyanmar, or eight physicians, are eight families of hereditary physicians. they are called jatimatrakaras (barely caste people), and it is supposed that they are nambudiris slightly degraded by the necessity they may, as surgeons, be under of shedding blood. most of them are called mussad, but one at least is called nambi. (b) urili parisha mussad, or assembly in the village mussad, who are said to be degraded because they accepted gifts of land from parasu rama, and agreed to take on themselves the sin he had contracted by slaying the kshetriyas. this class, as a whole, is called sapta or saptagrastan. (2) ambalavasi. (c) mussad or muttatu.--they appear to be identical with the agapothuvals, or inside pothuvals, as distinguished from the pura, or outside pothuvals, in north malabar. they are said to be the descendants of a sivadvija man and pure brahman girl. according to another account, they lost caste because they ate rice offered to siva, which is prohibited by one of the anacharams, or rules of conduct peculiar to kerala. they perform various duties in temples, and escort the idol when it is carried in procession on an arrangement called tadambu, which is like an inverted shield with a shelf across it, on which the idol is placed. they wear the punul, or sacred thread. (d) karuga mussad.--so called from the karuga grass (cynodon dactylon), which is used in ceremonies. their exact position is disputed. they wear the sacred thread (cf. karuga nambudiris in north malabar), who cook rice for the sradh (memorial ceremony) of sudras, (e) tiruvalayanath or kovil (temple) mussad.--they also wear the sacred thread, but perform puja in bhadrakali temples, incidents of which are the shedding of blood and use of liquor. they seem to be almost identical with the caste called elsewhere adigal or pidaran, but, i think, adigals are a little higher, and do not touch liquor, while pidarans are divided into two classes, the lower of which does not wear the thread or perform the actual puja, but only attends to various matters subsidiary thereto. in an account of the annual ceremony at the pishari temple near quilandy in malabar in honour of bhagavati, mr. f. fawcett informs [67] that the mussad priests repeat mantrams (prayers) over the goats for an hour as a preliminary to the sacrifice. then the chief priest, with a chopper-like sword, decapitates the goats, and sacrifices several cocks. the mussads cook some of the flesh of the goats, and one or two of the cocks with rice. this rice, when cooked, is taken to the kavu (grove) to the north of the temple, and there the mussads again ply their mantrams. musu kamma.--the name of a special ear ornament worn by the musu kamma sub-division of balijas. in the salem district manual, musuku is recorded as a sub-division of this caste. mutalpattukar.--a synonym of tandan in travancore, indicating those who received an allowance for the assistance they were called on to render to carpenters. mutracha.--mutracha appears, in published records, in a variety of forms, such as muttaracha, muttirajulu, muttarasan, and mutratcha. the caste is known by one of these names in the telugu country, and in the tamil country as muttiriyan or palaiyakkaran. concerning the mutrachas, mr. h. a. stuart writes as follows. [68] "this is a telugu caste most numerous in the kistna, nellore, cuddapah, and north arcot districts. the mutrachas were employed by the vijayanagar kings to defend the frontiers of their dominions, and were honoured with the title of paligars (cf. palaiyakkaran). the word mutracha is derived from the dravidian roots mudi, old, and racha, a king; but another derivation is from mutu raja, a sovereign of some part of the telugu country. they eat flesh, and drink liquor. their titles are dora and naidu." mr. stuart writes further [69] that in the north arcot district they are "most numerous in the chendragiri taluk, but found all over the district in the person of the village taliari or watchman, for which reason it is often called the taliari caste. they proudly call themselves paligars, and in chendragiri doralu or lords, because several of the chittoor palaiyams (villages governed by paligars) were in possession of members of their caste. they seem to have entered the country in the time of the vijayanagar kings, and to have been appointed as its kavilgars (watchmen). the caste is usually esteemed by others as a low one. most of its members are poor, even when they have left the profession of taliari, and taken to agriculture. they eat in the houses of most other castes, and are not trammelled by many restrictions. in chendragiri they rarely marry, but form connections with women of their caste, which are often permanent, though not sanctioned by the marriage ceremony, and the offspring of such associations are regarded as legitimate." in the nellore manual, the mutrachas are summed up as being hunters, fishermen, bearers, palanquin-bearers, and hereditary watchmen in the villages. at times of census, mutracha or mutarasan has been recorded as a sub-division of urali, and a title of ambalakkaran. muttiriyan, which is simply a tamil form of mutracha, appears as a title and sub-division of ambalakkaran (q.v.). further, tolagari is recorded as a sub-division of mutracha. the tolagaris are stated [70] to be a small cultivating caste, who were formerly hunters, like the palayakkarans. most of the mutrachas are engaged in agriculture. at paniyam, in the kurnool district, i found some employed in collecting winged white-ants (termites), which they sun-dry, and store in large pots as an article of food. they are said to make use of some special powder as a means of attracting the insects, in catching which they are very expert. in some places, the relations between the mutrachas and gollas, both of which castes belong to the left-hand section, are strained. on occasions of marriage among the madigas, some pan-supari (betel leaves and areca nuts), is set apart for the mutrachas, as a mark of respect. in consequence of the fact that some mutrachas have been petty chieftains, they claim to be kshatriyas, and to be descended from yayathi of the mahabaratha. according to the legend, devayana, the daughter of sukracharya, the priest of the daityas (demons and giants), went to a well with charmanishta, the daughter of the daitya king. a quarrel arose between them, and charmanishta pushed devayana into a dry well, from which she was rescued by king yayathi. sukracharya complained to the daitya king, who made his daughter become a servant to yayathi's wife, devayana. by her marriage devayana bore two sons. subsequently, yayathi became enamoured of charmanishta, by whom he had an illegitimate son. hearing of this, sukracharya cursed yayathi that he should be subject to old age and infirmity. this curse he asked his children to take on themselves, but all refused except his illegitimate child puru. he accordingly cursed his legitimate sons, that they should only rule over barren land overrun by kiratas. one of them, durvasa by name, had seven children, who were specially favoured by the goddess ankamma. after a time, however, they were persuaded to worship maheswara or virabhadra instead of ankamma. this made the goddess angry, and she caused all flower gardens to disappear, except her own. flowers being necessary for the purpose of worship, the perverts stole them from ankamma's garden, and were caught in the act by the goddess. as a punishment for their sin, they had to lose their lives by killing themselves on a stake. one of the seven sons had a child named ravideviraju, which was thrown into a well as soon as it was born. the naga kannikas of the nether regions rescued the infant, and tended it with care. one day, while ankamma was traversing the naga lokam (country), she heard a child crying, and sent her vehicle, a jackal (nakka), to bring the child, which, however, would not allow the animal to take it the goddess accordingly herself carried it off. the child grew up under her care, and eventually had three sons, named karnam raju, gangi raju, and bhupathi raju, from whom the mutrachas are descended. in return for the goddess protecting and bringing up the child, she is regarded as the special tutelary deity of the caste. there is a saying current among the mutrachas that the mutracha caste is as good as a pearl, but became degraded as its members began to catch fish. according to a legend, the mutrachas, being kshatriyas, wore the sacred thread. some of them, on their way home after a hunting expedition, halted by a pond, and were tempted by the enormous number of fish therein to fish for them, using their sacred threads as lines. they were seen by some brahmans while thus engaged, and their degradation followed. in the telugu country, two divisions, called paligiri and oruganti, are recognised by the mutrachas, who further have exogamous septs or intiperulu, of which the following are examples:- avula, cow. arigala, a dish carried in processions. busi, dirt. ella, boundary. guvvala, doves. indla, house. iga, fly. koppula, hair-knot. katari, dagger. marri, ficus bengalensis. nakka, jackal. puli, tiger. talari, watchman. tota, garden. uyyala, a swing. thumu, iron measure for measuring grain. during the first menstrual seclusion of a girl, she may not have her meals served on a metal plate, but uses an earthen cup, which is eventually thrown away. when she reaches puberty, a girl does up her hair in a knot called koppu. in the case of confinement, pollution ends on the tenth day. but, if a woman loses her infant, especially a first-born, the pollution period is shortened, and, at every subsequent time of delivery, the woman bathes on the seventh or ninth day. every woman who visits her on the bathing day brings a pot of warm water, and pours it over her head. muttal (substitute).--a sub-division of maran. muttan.--in the madras census report, 1901, the muttans are summed up as "a trading caste in malabar. the better educated members of it have begun to claim a higher social status than that usually accorded them. formerly they claimed to be nayars, but recently they have gone further, and, in the census schedules, some of them returned themselves as vaisyas, and added the vaisya title gupta to their names. they do not, however, wear the sacred thread, or perform any vedic rites, and nayars consider themselves polluted by their touch." it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1891, under the conjoint heading muttan and tarakan, that "these two are allied castes, but the latter would consider it a disgrace to acknowledge any affinity with the former. tarakan literally means a broker. dr. gundert says that these were originally warehouse-keepers at palghat. muttan is probably from muttavan, an elder, tarakans have returned muttan as a sub-division, and vice versâ, and both appear as sub-divisions of nayar. we have in our schedules instances of persons who have returned their caste as tarakan, but with their names krishna muttan (male) and lakshmi chettichiar (female). a muttan may, in course of time, become a tarakan, and then a nayar. both these castes follow closely the customs and manners of nayars, but there are some differences. i have not, however, been able to get at the real state of affairs, as the members of the caste are very reticent on the subject, and simply assert that they are in all respects the same as nayars. one difference is that a brahmani does not sing at their tali-kettu marriages. again, instead of having a marayan, attikurissi, or elayad as their priest, they employ a man of their own caste, called choratton. this man assists at their funeral ceremonies, and purifies them at the end of pollution, just as the attikurissi does for nayars. kali temples seem to be specially affected by this caste, and these chorattons are also priests in these temples. the muttan and tarakan castes are practically confined to palghat and walluvanad taluks." in a note on some castes in malabar which are most likely of foreign origin, it is stated, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "this is certainly true of the muttans, who are found only in the palghat taluk and in the parts of walavanad bordering on it, a part of the country where there is a large admixture of tamils in the population. they are now advancing a claim to be vaisyas, and some of them have adopted the title gupta which is proper to that caste, while a few have the title ezhutacchan. some muttans in palghat are called mannadiars, a title also apparently borne by some taragans. the muttans follow makkattayam (inheritance from father to son), and do not enter into the loose connections known as sambandhams; their women are called chettichiars, clearly indicating their eastern origin; and their period of pollution is ten days, according to which test they would rank as a high caste. on the other hand, they may eat meat and drink liquor. their purificatory ceremonies are performed by a class known as chorttavans (literally, sprinklers), who are said to be identical with kulangara nayars, and not by attikurrissi nayars as in the case with nambudris, ambalavasis, and nayars. there is considerable antagonism between the palghat and walavanad sections of the caste. another caste of traders, which has now been practically incorporated in the nayar body, is the class known as taragans (literally, brokers) found in palghat and walavanad, some of whom have considerable wealth and high social position. the taragans of angadippuram and the surrounding neighbourhood claim to be immigrants from travancore, and to be descendants of ettuvittil pillamar of quilon, who are high caste nayars. they can marry kiriyattil women, and their women occasionally have sambandham with samantan rajas. the palghat taragans on the other hand can marry only in their caste." muttasari.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a name by which kammalans are addressed. muttiriyan.--see mutracha. mutyala (pearl).--an exogamous sept, and name of a sub-division of balijas who deal in pearls. the ambalakarans say that they were born of the sweat (muttu, a pearl or bead of perspiration) of paramasiva. muvvari.--recorded [71] as "a north malabar caste of domestic servants under the embrantiri brahmans. their customs resemble those of the nayars, but the elayads and the marayans will not serve them." myasa.--myasa, meaning grass-land or forest, is one of the two main divisions, uru (village) and myasa, of the bedars and boyas. among the myasa bedars, the rite of circumcision is practiced, and is said to be the survival of a custom which originated when they were included in the army of haidar ali n nadan.--nadan, meaning ruler of a country or village, or one who lives in the country, is a title of the shanans, who, further, call themselves nadans in preference to shanans. nadava.--" this, "mr. h. a. stuart writes, [72] "is a caste of canarese farmers found only in south canara. the nadavas have returned four sub-divisions, one of which is bant, and two of the other three are sub-divisions of bants, the most important being masadi. in the case of 33,212 individuals, nadava has been returned as sub-division also. i have no information regarding the caste, but they seem to be closely allied to the bant caste, of which nadava is one of the sub-divisions." the name nadava or nadavaru means people of the nadu or country. it is one of the sub-divisions of the bants. naga (cobra: naia tripudians).--nag, naga, nagasa, or nageswara, occurs in the name of a sept or gotra of various classes in ganjam and vizagapatam, e.g., aiyarakulu, bhondari, bhumia, bottada, domb, gadaba, konda dora, medara, muka dora, nagaralu, omanaito, poroja, rona, and samantiya. members of the nagabonso sept of odiya claim to be descendants of nagamuni, the serpent rishi. naga is further a gotra or sept of kurnis and toreyas, of whom the latter, at their weddings, worship at 'ant' (termites) hills, which are often the home of cobras. it is also a sub-division of gazula kapus and koppala velamas. nagavadam (cobra's hood) is the name of a sub-division of the pallis, who wear an ornament, called nagavadam, shaped like a cobra's head, in the dilated lobes of the ears. among the viramushtis there is a sept named naga mallika (rhinacanthus communis), the roots of which shrub are believed to be an antidote to the bite of poisonous snakes. the flowers of couroupita guianensis, which has been introduced as a garden tree in southern india, are known as naga linga pu, from the staminal portion of the flower which curves over the ovary being likened to a cobra's hood, and the ovary to a lingam. nagali (plough).--an exogamous sept of kapu. nagalika (of the plough).--a name for lingayats engaged in cultivation. nagaralu.--the nagaralu are a cultivating caste in vizagapatam, concerning whom it is recorded [73] that "nagaralu means the dwellers in a nagaram or city, and apparently this caste was originally a section of the kapus, which took to town life, and separated itself off from the parent stock. they say their original occupation was medicine, and a number of them are still physicians and druggists, though the greater part are agriculturists." for the following note, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. viziaram raz, the friend of bussy, conferred mokhasas (grants of land) on some of the most important members of the caste, whose descendants are to be found in various places. the caste is divided into three sections or gotras, viz., nagesvara (cobra) kurmesa (tortoise), and vignesvara or mushika (rat). the rat is the vehicle of the elephant god ganesa or vignesvara. it is further divided into exogamous septs or intiperulu, such as sampathi (riches), chakravarthi (king or ruler), majji, etc. the menarikam system, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is in force. girls are usually married before puberty, and a brahman officiates at marriages. the marriage of widows and divorce are not permitted. the dead are burnt, and the chinna (little) and pedda rozu (big day) death ceremonies, whereat a brahman officiates, are celebrated. some members of the caste have acquired a great reputation as medicine-men and druggists. the usual caste title is pathrulu, indicating those who are fit to receive a gift nagartha.--nagarata, nagarattar, or nagarakulam is returned, in the madras census report, 1901, as a sub-caste of chetti. in the census report, 1891, it is recorded that the nagarattu "hail from kanchipuram (conjeeveram), where, it is said, a thousand families of this caste formerly lived. their name (nagaram, a city) refers to their original home. they wear the sacred thread, and worship both vishnu and siva. they take neither flesh nor alcohol. as they maintain that they are true vaisyas, they closely imitate the brahmanical ceremonies of marriage and death. this sub-division has a dancing-girl and a servant attached to it, whose duties are to dance, and to do miscellaneous work during marriages. the caste servant is called jatipillai (child of the caste). concerning the nagarthas, who are settled in the mysore province, i gather [74] that "the account locally obtained connects them with the ganigas, and the two castes are said to have been co-emigrants to bangalore where one mallaraje ars made headmen of the principal members of the two castes, and exempted them from the house-tax. certain gotras are said to be common to both castes, but they never eat together or intermarry. both call themselves dharmasivachar vaisyas, and the feuds between them are said to have often culminated in much unpleasantness. the nagarthas are principally found in towns and large trade centres. some are worshippers of vishnu, and others of siva. of the latter, some wear the linga. they are dealers in bullion, cloth, cotton, drugs and grain. a curious mode of carrying the dead among the namadari or vaishnavite nagarthas is that the dead body is rolled up in a blanket, instead of a bier or vimana as among others. these cremate their dead, whereas the others bury them. marriage must be performed before a girl reaches puberty, and widows are not allowed to remarry. polygamy is allowed, and divorce can be for adultery alone. it is recorded by mr. l. rice [75] that "cases sometimes occur of a sivachar marrying a namadari woman, and, when this happens, her tongue is burned with the linga, after which she forsakes her parents' house and religion. it is stated that the sivachar nagarthas never give their daughters in marriage to the namadari sect." among the gotras returned by the nagarthas are kasyapa, chandramauleswara, and cholendra. naga-sreni.--a fanciful name, meaning those who live in the naga street, used as a caste name by the patramela dancing-girl caste. nagavasulu.--the nagavasulu are described, in the vizagapatam manual, as "cultivators in the vizagapatam district. women who have not entered into matrimony earn money by prostitution, and acting as dancers at feasts. some of the caste lead a bad life, and are excluded from the body of the caste." in the madras census report, 1891, it is stated that "nagavasamu means a company of dancing-girls, and the sons of women of this profession frequently call themselves nagavasulu. the bulk of the caste in vizagapatam, however, are said to be respectable farmers." it is noted, in the census report, 1901, that "most of the nagavasulu are cultivators, but some of the women, are prostitutes by profession, and outsiders are consequently admitted to the caste. their title is naidu." nagellu (plough).--an exogamous sept of boya. nagna (naked).--a name for sanyasis, who go about naked. naidu.--naidu or nayudu is a title, returned at times of census by many telugu classes, e.g., balija, bestha, boya, ekari, gavara, golla, kalingi, kapu, mutracha, and velama. a tamilian, when speaking of a telugu person bearing this title, would call him naicker or naickan instead of naidu. naik.--the word naik (nayaka, a leader or chief) is used, by the older writers on southern india, in several senses, of which the following examples, given by yule and burnell, [76] may be cited:-(a) native captain or headman. "il s'appelle naique, qui signifie capitaine." barretto, rel du prov de malabar. (b) a title of honour among hindus in the deccan. "the kings of deccan also have a custome when they will honour a man or recompence their service done, and rayse him to dignitie and honour. they give him the title of naygue".--linschoten. (c) the general name of the kings of vijayanagara, and of the lords of madura and other places. "il y a plusieurs naiques au sud de saint thomé, qui sont souverains: le naigue de madure on est un".--thevenot. naik, naickan, naicker, nayak or nayakkan has been returned, at recent times of census, by the tamil pallis, irulas, and vedans, and also by various telugu and canarese classes, e.g.:-telugu--balija, boya, ekari, golla, kavarai, muttiriyan, odde, tottiyan, and uppiliyan. canarese--bedar, cheptegara, charodi, kannadiyan, servegara, siviyar, and toreya. some jen kurumbas (a jungle folk) in the wynad are also locally known as naikers. tulu--the mogers, in some parts of south canara, prefer the title naiker to the ordinary caste title marakaleru, and some bants have the same title. the headman among the lambadis or brinjaris is called naik. naicker further occurs as a hereditary title in some brahman families. i have, for example, heard of a desastha brahman bearing the name nyna naicker. naik, naiko, or nayako appears as the title of various oriya classes, e.g., alia, aruva, bagata, gaudo, jatapu, odia, pentiya, rona, and teli. it is noted by mr. s. p. rice that "the uriya korono, or head of the village, appropriates to himself as his caste distinction the title potonaiko signifying the naik or head of the town." the name nayar or nair is, it may be noted, akin to naik and naidu, and signifies a leader or soldier. [77] in this connection, mr. lewis moore writes [78] that "almost every page of mr. sewell's interesting book on vijayanagar [79] bears testimony to the close connection between vijayanagar and the west coast. it is remarkable that colonel (afterwards sir thomas) munro, in the memorandum written by him in 1802 on the poligars (feudal chiefs) of the ceded districts, when dealing with the cases of a number of poligars who were direct descendants of men who had been chiefs under the kings of vijayanagar, calls them throughout his report naigue or nair, using the two names as if they were identical." [80] it is noted by mr. talboys wheeler [81] that, in the city of madras in former days, "police duties were entrusted to a hindu official, known as the pedda naik or 'elder chief,' who kept a staff of peons, and was bound to make good all stolen articles that were not recovered." in the south canara district, the name naikini (naik females) is taken by temple dancing-girls. nainar.--see nayinar. nakash.--a name, denoting exquisite workmanship, by which rachevars or chitrakaras are known in some places. nakkala.--nakkala or nakka, meaning jackal, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of boya, gudala, golla, and mutracha. the jackal is the vehicle of the goddess ankamma, who is the tutelary deity of the mutrachas. the name occurs further as a name for the kuruvikkarans, who manufacture spurious jackal horns as charms. nali (bamboo tube).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. nalillakkar (people of the four illams).--a section of mukkuvans, which is divided into four illams. nalke.--the nalkes or nalakeyavas are described by mr. h. a. stuart [82] as "a caste of mat, basket, and umbrella makers, who furnish the devil-dancers, who play such an important part in the worship of the tulu people. they have the usual tulu exogamous sub-divisions or balis. they are generally held to be holeyas or pariahs. in canarese they are called panaras," "every village in canara," mr. stuart writes further, [83] "has its bhutasthanam or demon temple, in which the officiating priest or pujari is usually a man of the billava caste, and shrines innumerable are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the land for the propitiation of the malevolent spirits of deceased celebrities, who, in their lifetime, had acquired a more than usual local reputation whether for good or evil, or had met with a sudden or violent death. in addition to these there are demons of the jungle and demons of the waste, demons who guard the village boundaries, and demons whose only apparent vocation is that of playing tricks, such as throwing stones on houses, and causing mischief generally. the demons who guard the village boundaries seem to be the only ones who are credited with even indirectly exercising a useful function. the others merely inspire terror by causing sickness and misfortune, and have to be propitiated by offerings, which often involve the shedding of blood, that of a fowl being most common. there are also family bhutas, and in every non-brahman house a room, or sometimes only a corner, is set apart for the bhuta, and called the bhutakotya. the bhutasthanam is generally a small, plain structure, 4 or 5 yards deep by 2 or 3 yards wide, with a door at one end covered by a portico supported on two pillars. the roof is of thatch, and the building is without windows. in front of it there are usually three or four t-shaped pillars. flowers are placed, and cocoanuts broken on them at ceremonies. the temples of the more popular bhutas are often substantial buildings of considerable size. inside the bhutasthanam there are usually a number of images, roughly made in brass, in human shape, or resembling animals, such as pigs, tigers, fowls, etc. these are brought out and worshipped as symbols of the bhutas on various ceremonial occasions. [84] a peculiar small goglet or vase, made of bell-metal, into which from time to time water is poured, is kept before the bhutas, and, on special occasions, kepula (ixora coccinea) flowers, and lights are placed before them. in the larger sthanas a sword is always kept near the bhuta, to be held by the officiating priest when he stands possessed and trembling with excitement before the people assembled for worship. [85] a bell or gong is also found in all bhutasthanams. in the case of bhutas connected with temples, there is a place set apart for them, called a gudi. the bhutasthanam of the baiderlu is called a garudi. "the names of the bhutas are legion. one of the most dreaded is named kalkuti. two others commonly worshipped by the bants and the billavas are koti baidya and chennaya baidya, who always have billava pujaris. these two bhutas are the departed spirits of two billava heroes. the spirit of kujumba kanje, a bant of renown, belongs to this class of bhutas. amongst the most well known of the others, may be mentioned kodamanitaya and mundaltaya, and the jungle demons hakkerlu and brahmerlu. the holeyas worship a bhuta of their own, who is not recognised by any other class of the people. he goes by the name of kumberlu, and the place where he is said to reside is called kumberlu-kotya. very often a stone of any shape, or a small plank is placed on the ground, or fixed in a wall, and the name of a bhuta given to it. other representations of bhutas are in the shape of an ox (mahisandaya), a horse (jarandaya), a pig (panjurli), or a giant (baiderlu). "the bhuta worship of south canara is of four kinds, viz., kola, bandi, nema, and agelu-tambila. kola, or devil dancing, is offered to the bhutas in the sthana of the village in which they are supposed to reside. the sudras of the village, and of those adjacent to it, assemble near the sthana, and witness the kola ceremony in public, sharing the cost of it by subscriptions raised among all the sudra families in the village in which the ceremony is held. bandi is the same as kola, with the addition of dragging about a clumsy kind of car, on which the pompada priest representing the bhuta is seated. nema is a private ceremony in honour of the bhutas, held in the house of anyone who is so inclined. it is performed once in ten, fifteen, or twenty years by well-to-do billavas or bants. the expenses of the nema amount to about rs. 600 or rs. 700, and are borne by the master of the house in which the nema takes place. during the nema, the bhutas, i.e., the things representing them, are brought from the sthana to the house of the man giving the feast, and remain there till it is over. agelu-tambila is a kind of worship offered only to the baiderlu, and that annually by the billavas only. it will be seen that kola, bandi, and nema are applicable to all the bhutas, including the baiderlu, but that the agelu-tambila is applicable only to the baiderlu." the following account of canara devil-dancers and exorcists is given in mr. lavie's manuscript history of canara. "it is their duty to carry a beautiful sword with a handsomely curved handle, and polished blade of the finest steel. these they shake and flourish about in all directions, jumping, dancing, and trembling in a most frightful manner. their hair is loose and flowing, and, by their inflamed eyes and general appearance, i should suppose that they are prepared for the occasion by intoxicating liquids or drugs.... their power as exorcists is exercised on any person supposed to be possessed with the devil. i have passed by a house in which an exorcist has been exercising his powers. he began with groans, sighs, and mutterings, and broke forth into low mournings. afterwards he raised his voice, and uttered with rapidity and in a peculiar tone of voice certain mantrams or charms, all the while trembling violently, and moving his body backwards and forwards." the performance (of devil dances) always takes place at night, commencing about nine o'clock. at first the pujari, with the bhuta sword and bell in his hands, whirls round and round, imitating the supposed mien and gestures of the demon. but he does not aspire to full possession; that is reserved for a pombada or a nalke, a man of the lowest class, who comes forward when the billava pujari has exhibited himself for about half an hour. he is naked save for a waist-band, his face is painted with ochre, and he wears a sort of arch made of cocoanut leaves, and a metal mask. after pacing up and down slowly for some time, he gradually works himself up to a pitch of hysterical frenzy, while the tom-toms are beaten furiously, and the spectators join in raising a long, monotonous howling cry, with a peculiar vibration. at length he stops, and every one is addressed according to his rank; if the pombada offends a rich bant by omitting any of his numerous titles, he is made to suffer for it. matters regarding which there is any dispute are then submitted for the decision of the bhuta, and his award is generally accepted. either at this stage or earlier, the demon is fed, rice and food being offered to the pombada, while, if the bhuta is of low degree, flesh and arrack (liquor) are also presented. these festivals last for several nights, and dr. burnell states that the devil-dancer receives a fee of eight rupees for his frantic labours." of the three devil-dancing castes found in south canara (nalke, parava, and pompada), the nalkes are apparently the lowest. even a koraga considers a nalke or a parava inferior to him. it is said that, when a parava meets a koraga, he is expected to raise his hand to his forehead. this practice does not, however, seem to be observed at the present day. the nalkes, though living amidst castes which follow the aliyasantana law of inheritance (in the female line), follow the makkalakattu law of inheritance from father to son. the caste has numerous balis (septs), which are evidently borrowed from the bants and billavas. as examples of these, salannaya, bangerannaya, kundarannaya, and uppenannayya may be cited. the nalkes have a headman called gurikara, who settles disputes and other matters affecting the community, and acts as the priest at marriages, death ceremonies, and other ceremonials. girls are married after puberty, and a woman may marry any number of times. the marriage ceremony is concluded in a single day. the contracting couple are seated on planks, and the gurikara throws coloured rice over their heads, and ties a turmeric-dyed string with beads strung on it round their necks. those assembled then throw rice over them, their hands are joined by the gurikara or their fathers, and the dhare water is poured thereon. the dead are either buried or cremated. after burial or cremation, a mound (dhupe) is, as among other castes in canara, made over the spot. round it, four posts are stuck in the ground, and decorated so as to resemble a small car (cf. billava). the final death ceremonies (uttarakriya) are generally performed on the fifth or seventh day. on this day, cooked food is offered to the deceased by placing it near the dhupe, or on the spot where he breathed his last. this is followed by a feast. if the ceremony is not performed on one of the recognised days, the permission of some bants or billavas must be obtained before it can be carried out. all castes in south canara have great faith in bhutas, and, when any calamity or misfortune overtakes a family, the bhutas must be propitiated. the worship of bhutas is a mixture of ancestor and devil propitiation. in the bhuta cult, the most important personage is brahmeru, to whom the other bhutas are subordinate. owing to the influence of brahman tantris, brahmeru is regarded as another name for brahma, and the various bhutas are regarded as ganas or attendants on siva. brahmanical influence is clearly to be traced in the various bhuta songs, and all bhutas are in some manner connected with siva and parvati. whenever people want to propitiate the bhutas, a nalke or parava is engaged. in some places, the nalke disguises himself as any bhuta, but, where paravas are also to be found, the nalke may not dress up as the baiderkulu, kodamanitaya, or rakteswari. the propitiation of the bhuta takes the form of a ceremony called kola, nema, or agelu tambila. of these, kola is a periodical ceremony, in which various castes take part, and is always performed near a bhutasthana. nema is usually undertaken by a single family, and is performed at the house. agelu tambila is celebrated by billavas at their homes. the kola ceremony is usually performed for the propitiation of bhutas other than the baiderkulu. the muktesar or chief man, with the assistance of a brahman, fixes an auspicious day for its celebration. the jewels, and votive offerings made to the bhutas, are kept in the custody of the muktesar. on the kola day, the people go in procession from the sthana to the muktesar's house, and return to the sthana with the jewels and other articles. these are arranged on cots, and a billava pujari places seven plantain leaves in a row on a cot, and heaps rice thereon. on each heap, a cocoanut is placed for the propitiation of the most important bhuta. to the minor bhutas, these things are offered on three or five leaves placed on cots, or on the floor of the sthana, according to the importance of the bhuta. a seven-branched torch must be kept burning near the cot of the principal bhuta. the pujari goes to the courtyard of the sthana, and piles up a conical mass of cooked rice on a stool. over this pieces of plantain fruits are scattered. round the mass several sheaths of plantain leaves are arranged, and on them tender cocoanut leaves, cut in various ways, are stuck. the pujari, who wears a metal belt and other jewelry, does puja to the bhutas, and retires. the nalkes or paravas then advance dressed up as bhutas, and request permission to put on their canopy (ani) and brass anklet (guggire). they then dance, and sing songs connected with the bhutas which are being propitiated. when they are exhausted and retire, the pujari steps forwards, and addresses the assembly in the following terms:-"oh! great men who are assembled, with your permission i salute you all. oh! brahmans who are assembled, i salute you. oh! priest, i salute you." in this manner, he is expected to run through the names of all important personages who are present. when he has finished, the devil-dancers do the same, and the ceremony is at an end. of the bhutas, the best known are brahmeru, kodamanitaya, kukkintaya, jumadi, sarlu jumadi, pancha jumadi, rakteswari, panjurli, kuppe panjurli, rakta panjurli, urundarayya, hosadevata (or hosa bhuta), devanajiri, kalkutta, ukkatiri, gulige, bobbariya, nicha, duggalaya, mahisandaya, varte, chamundi, baiderukulu, okkuballala, and oditaya. according to some, jumadi is the small-pox goddess mari. there are only two female bhutas--ukkatiri and kallurti. the bhutas are supposed to belong to different castes. for example, okkuballala and devanajiri are jains, kodamanitaya and kukkinataya are bants, kalkutta is a smith, bobbariya is a mappilla, and nicha a koraga. in some temples dedicated to siva, the tantris offer food, etc., to the various bhutas on special occasions, such as dipavali and sankaranthi. at udipi, the sanyasis of the various mutts (religious institutions) seem to believe in some of the bhutas, as they give money for the performance of kola to panjurli, sarla jumadi, and chamundi. at hiriadkap in south canara, where the nalkes performed before me, the dancers wore spathes of the areca palm, forming spats to prevent the skin from being injured by the metal bells round their ankles as they danced. the songs sung by the devil dancers are very numerous, and vary in different localities. of the stories relating to bhutas, a very full account has been given by mr. a. c. burnell. [86] a collection of stories (padanollu) belonging to the demon-worshippers of the tulu country, and recited at their annual festivals, was published at the mangalore basel mission press in 1886. nalla (black).--an exogamous sept of koppala velama. nallur.--nallur and naluvitan are recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as sub-divisions of nayar. namadari.--a name, indicating one who wears the vaishnava sectarian mark (namam). the equivalent namala occurs as an exogamous sept of boya. nambidi.--a class, included among the ambalavasis. it is recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, that "nampitis are of two classes, the thread-wearing and the threadless. the former have their own priests, while the ilayatus perform the required sacerdotal functions for the latter. their ceremonies are very much like those of the kshatriyas. tradition connects them with royalty acquired under rather unenviable circumstances. they are, therefore, called tampurans (lords) by the sudras, and also muppinnu (elder) or karanavappat (uncle) head of a matriarchal family. they observe twelve days' pollution, and inherit in the female line. their women are called mantalu. the chief man among the nampitis is the karanavappat of kakkat in british malabar." in the cochin census report, 1901, it is noted that of the nampidis "the aiynikoor nampidis, or the five families of nampidis, are historically and socially the most important; the eldest male member possesses the honorific title of karanavarpad, enjoying special privileges at the hands of the rulers of cochin, as the members of the family once held responsible posts in the militia of the state. according to tradition, they were nambudris. one of the perumals or viceroys of kerala having proved troublesome, the brahmans resolved upon his removal. in the struggle that followed, the perumal was killed by the brahmans. when those who had slain him returned to the place where the brahmans had met in solemn conclave, they were gladly welcomed, and asked to sit in their midst; but, feeling that they had committed a heinous crime and thus disqualified themselves from sitting along with the brahmans, they volunteered to sit apart on the threshold of the council room by saying nam padimel (we on the threshold), which fact is supposed to account for the origin of their name nampadi. they and their companions have since been regarded as having almost lost their social status as brahmans, and they are now classed along with the intermediate castes, having but a few privileges other than those enjoyed by the group. they wear the sacred thread, and have gayatri. nambudri brahmans officiate as priests at marriage ceremonies, sradhas, and purification at the end of birth or death pollution, which lasts only for ten days. they follow the marumakkatayam law of inheritance (in the female line). the tali (marriage badge) is tied by their own caste men. nambudris, or their own caste men, unite themselves in sambandham with nampidi females. nampidis are allowed to consort with nayar women. at public feasts they are not privileged to sit and eat with nambudris. their women are called manolpads." nambiyassan.--a division of the ambalavasis. it is noted, in the travancore census report, 1901, that "the nampiassans, otherwise called nampiyars or nampis, have at present no temple service of any kind. they keep gymnasia or schools of training suited to the indian system of warfare. they were the gurus (preceptors) of the fighting nayars. they seem, however, at one time to have followed the profession of garland-making in temples. it is still the occupation of many nampiassans in cochin and british malabar." in the cochin census report, 1901, it is stated that nambiyar is rather a misleading title, as it is applied to more than one class of people. some nayars are known by that title. in some places, muthads and elayads are also called nambiyars. chakkiyar nambiyars beat a drum of a peculiar shape at intervals during the discourses or acting of the chakkiyars, while their females, called nangiyars, keep time. the nangiyars also assume the figure of mythical characters, and perform a sort of pantomime on the chakkiyar's stage. (see unni.) nambiyatiri (a person worthy of worship).--a synonym of elayad. nambutiri brahman. [87]--the name nambutiri has been variously derived. the least objectionable origin seems to be nambu (sacred or trustworthy) and tiri (a light). the latter occurs as an honorific suffix among malabar brahmans, and other castes above the nayars. the nambutiris form the socio-spiritual aristocracy of malabar, and, as the traditional landlords of parasu rama's land, they are everywhere held in great reverence. a nambutiri, when questioned about the past, refers to the keralolpatti. the nambutiris and their organization according to gramams owe their origin in legend, so far as malabar is concerned, to parasu rama. parasu rama (rama of the axe), an incarnation of vishnu, had, according to the puranic story, slain his mother in a fit of wrath, and was advised by the sages to expiate his sin by extirpating the kshatriyas twenty-one times. he did so, and handed over the land to the sages. but this annoyed the brahmans exceedingly, for they got no share in the arrangement; so they banished parasu rama from the land. by the performance of austerities he gained from the gods the boon to reclaim some land from varuna, the sea god. malabar was then non-existent. he was allowed to throw his axe from cape comorin, and possess all the land within the distance of his throw. so he threw his axe as far as gokarnam in the south canara district, and immediately there was land between these two places, within the direct line and the western ghats, now consisting of travancore and cochin, malabar, and part of south canara. to this land he gave the name karma bhumi, or the country in which salvation or the reverse depends altogether on man's individual actions, and blessed it that there be plenty of rain and no famine in it. but he was alone. to relieve his loneliness, he brought some brahmans from the banks of the krishna river, but they did not remain long, for they were frightened by the snakes. then he brought some brahmans from the north, and, lest they too should flee, gave them peculiar customs, and located them in sixty-four gramams. he told them also to follow the marumakkattayam law of succession (in the female line), but only a few, the nambutiris of payyanur, obeyed him. the brahmans ruled the land with severity, so that the people (who had somehow come into existence) resolved to have a king under whom they could live in peace. and, as it was impossible to choose one among themselves, they chose keya perumal, who was the first king of malabar, and malabar was called keralam after him. the truths underlying this legend are that the littoral strip between the western ghats and the sea is certainly of recent formation geologically. it is not very long, geologically, since it was under the sea, and it is certain that the nambutiris came from the north. the capital of the chera kingdom was very probably on the west coast not far from cranganore in the travancore state, the site of it being now called tiruvanjikkulam. there is still a siva temple there, and about a quarter of a mile to the south-west of it are the foundations of the old palace. the rainfall of malabar is very high, ranging from 300 inches in the hills to about 120 inches on the coast. "it is said that parasu rama ruled that all nambudri women should carry with them an umbrella whenever they go out, to prevent their being seen by those of the male sex, that a nayar woman called a vrishali should invariably precede them, that they should be covered with a cloth from neck to foot, and that they should not wear jewels. these women are therefore always attended by a nayar woman in their outdoor movements, and they go sheltering their faces from public gaze with a cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella." [88] the keralolpatti relates the story of the exclusion of the panniyur brahmans from the vedas. there were in the beginning two religious factions among the nambutiris, the vaishnavas or worshippers of vishnu in his incarnation as a boar, and the saivas; the former residing in panniyur (boar village), and the latter in chovur (siva's village). the saivas gained the upper hand, and, completely dominating the others, excluded them altogether from the vedas. so now the nambutiris of panniyur are said to be prohibited from studying the vedas. it is said, however, that this prohibition is not observed, and that, as a matter of fact, the panniyur nambutiris perform all the vedic ceremonies. "tradition," mr. n. subramani aiyar writes, "as recorded in the keralamahatmiya, traces the nambutiris to ahikshetra, whence parasu rama invited brahmans to settle in his newly reclaimed territory. in view to preventing the invited settlers from relinquishing it, he is said to have introduced, on the advice of the sage narada, certain deep and distinctive changes in their personal, domestic, and communal institutions. the banks of the nerbudda, the krishna, and the kaveri are believed to have given brahmans to malabar. i have come across nambutiris who have referred to traditions in their families regarding villages on the east coast whence their ancestors originally came, and the sub-divisions of the smarta caste, vadama, brihatcharanam, ashtasahasram, sanketi, etc., to which they belonged. even to this day, an east coast brahman of the vadadesattu vadama caste has to pour water into the hands of a nambutiri sanyasi as part of the latter's breakfast ritual. broach in kathiwar, one of the greatest emporiums of trade in the middle ages, is also mentioned as one of the ancient recruiting districts of the nambutiri brahmans. broach was the ancient bhrigucachchha, where parasu rama made his avabhritasnana (final bathing) after his great triumph over the kshatriyas, and where to this day a set of people called bhargava brahmans live. their comparatively low social status is ascribed to the original sin of their brahman progenitor or founder having taken to the profession of arms. the date of the first settlement of the nambutiris is not known. orthodox tradition would place it in the tretayuga, or the second great hindu cycle. the reference to the gramams of chovvur and panniyur contained in the manigramam syrian christian grant of the eighth century, and its absence in the jewish, have suggested to antiquarians some time between the seventh and eighth centuries as the probable period. the writings of ptolemy and the periplus furnish evidence of brahman settlements on the malabar coast as early as the first century, and it is probable that immigrant brahman families began to pour in with the ascendancy of the western chalukya kings in the fourth and fifth centuries, and became gradually welded with the pre-existing nambutiris. all these nambutiris were grouped under two great sections:--(a) the vaishnavites or panniyur gramakkar, who came with the patronage of the vaishnavites of the chalukya dynasty with the boar as their royal emblem; (b) the saivites or chovvur gramakkar, who readily accepted the saivite teachings from the chera, chola, and pandya kings who followed the chalukyans. they included in all sixty-four gramams, which, in many cases, were only families. of these, not more than ten belong to modern travancore. these gramams constituted a regular autocracy, with four talis or administrative bodies having their head-quarters at cranganore. it appears that a raja or perumal, as he was called, from the adjoining chera kingdom, including the present districts of salem and coimbatore, was, as an improved arrangement, invited to rule for a duodecennial period, and was afterwards confirmed, whether by the lapse of time or by a formal act of the brahman owners it is not known. the chera viceroys, by virtue of their isolation from their own fatherland, had then to arrange for marital alliances being made, as best they could, with the highest indigenous caste, the nambutiris, the males consorting with sudra women. the matriarchal form of inheritance was thus a necessary consequence. certain tracts of kerala, however, continued under direct brahman sovereignty, of which the ettappalli chief is almost the only surviving representative." writing in the eighteenth century, hamilton observes [89] that "the nambouries are the first in both capacities of church and state, and some of them are popes, being sovereign princes in both." unlike the brahmans of the remainder of the madras presidency, who so largely absorb all appointments worth having under government, who engage in trade, in, one may say, every profitable profession and business, the nambutiris hold almost entirely aloof from what the poet gray calls "the busy world's ignoble strife," and, more than any class of brahmans, retain their sacerdotal position, which is of course the highest. they are for the most part landholders. a very large portion of malabar is owned by nambutiris, especially in walluvanad, most of which taluk is the property of nambutiris. they are the aristocracy of the land, marked most impressively by two characteristics, exclusiveness and simplicity. now and then a nambutiri journeys to benares, but, as a rule, he stays at home. their simplicity is really proverbial, [90] and they have not been influenced by contact with the english. this contact, which has influenced every other caste or race, has left the nambutiri just where he was before the english knew india. he is perhaps, as his measurements seem to prove, the truest aryan in southern india, and not only physically, but in his customs, habits, and ceremonies, which are so welded into him that forsake them he cannot if he would. it is noted, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "as a class, the nambudiris may be described as less affected than any other caste, except the very lowest, by western influences of whatever nature. one nambudiri is known to have accepted a clerical post in government service; a good many are adhigaris (village headmen), and one member of the caste possesses a tile-works and is partner in a cotton-mill. the bicycle now claims several votaries among the caste, and photography at least one other. but these are exceptions, and exceptions which, unimportant as they may seem to any one unacquainted with the remarkable conservatism of the caste, would certainly have caused considerable surprise to the author of the first malabar manual." concerning the occupations of the nambutiris, mr. subramani aiyar writes that "service in temples, unless very remunerative, does not attract them. teaching as a means of living is rank heterodoxy. and, if anywhere manu's dictum to the brahman 'never serve' is strictly observed, it is in malabar. judging from the records left by travellers, the nambutiris used to be selected by kings as messengers during times of war. writing concerning them, barbosa states that "these are the messengers who go on the road from one kingdom to another with letters and money and merchandise, because they pass in safety without any one molesting them, even though the king may be at war. these brahmans are well read ... and possess many books, and are learned and masters of many arts; and so the kings honour them as such." as the pre-historic heirs to the entire land of kerala, the nambutiris live on agriculture. but inefficiency in adaptation to changing environments operates as a severe handicap in the race for progressive affluence, for which the initial equipment was exceptionally favourable. the difficulties incidental to an effete landlordism have contributed to making the nambutiris a litigious population, and the ruinous scale of expenditure necessary for the disposal of a girl, be it of the most plebeian kind, has brought their general prosperity to a very low level. the feeling of responsible co-operation on the part of the unmarried males of a nambutiri household in the interests of the family is fast decreasing; old maids are increasing; and the lot of the average nambutiri man, and more especially woman, is very hard indeed. as matters now stand, the traditional hospitality of the hindu kings of malabar, which, fortunately for them, has not yet relaxed, is the only sustenance and support of the ordinary nambutiri. the characteristic features of the nambutiri are his faith in god and resignation to his will, hospitality to strangers, scrupulous veracity, punctiliousness as regards the ordinances prescribed, and extreme gentility in manners. the sustaining power of his belief in divine providence is so great, that calamities of whatsoever kind do not exasperate him unduly. the story is told with great admiration of a nambutiri who, with his large ancestral house on fire, his only son just tumbled into a deep disused well, while his wife was expiring undelivered, quietly called out to his servant for his betel-box. evening baths, and daily prayers at sunrise, noon and sunset, are strictly observed. a tradition, illustrative of the miracles which spiritual power can work, is often told of the islet in the vempanat lake known as patiramanal (midnight sand) having been conjured into existence by the tarananallur nambutiripad, when, during a journey to trivandrum, it was past evening, and the prayers to sandhya had to be made after the usual ablutions. to the lower animals, the attitude of the nambutiri is one of child-like innocence. in his relation to man, his guilelessness is a remarkable feature. harshness of language is unknown to the nambutiris, and it is commonly said that the severest expression of his resentment at an insult offered is generally that he (the nambutiri) expects the adversary to take back the insult a hundred times over. of course, the modern nambutiri is not the unadulterated specimen of goodness, purity, and piety that he once was. but, on the whole, the nambutiris form an interesting community, whose existence is indeed a treasure untold to all lovers of antiquity. their present economic condition is, however, far from re-assuring. they are no doubt the traditional owners of kerala, and hold in their hands the janmom or proprietary interest in a large portion of malabar. but their woeful want of accommodativeness to the altered conditions of present day life threatens to be their ruin. their simplicity and absence of business-like habits have made them a prey to intrigue, fraudulence, and grievous neglect, and an unencumbered and well ordered estate is a rarity among malabar brahmans, at least in travancore." the orthodox view of the nambutiri is thus stated in an official document of travancore. "his person is holy; his directions are commands; his movements are a procession; his meal is nectar; he is the holiest of human beings; he is the representative of god on earth." it may be noted that the priest at the temple of badrinath in gurhwal, which is said to have been established by sankaracharya, and at the temple at tiruvettiyur, eight miles north of madras, must be a nambutiri. the birth-place of sankara has been located in a small village named kaladi in travancore. it is stated by mr. subramani aiyar that "at some part of his eventful life, sankara is believed to have returned to his native village, to do the last offices to his mother. every assistance was withdrawn, and he became so helpless that he had to throw aside the orthodox ceremonials of cremation, which he could not get his relations to help him in, made a sacrificial pit in his garden, and there consigned his mother's mortal remains. the compound (garden) can still be seen on the banks of the periyar river on the travancore side, with a masonry wall enclosing the crematorium, and embowered by a thick grove of trees." every nambutiri is, theoretically, a life-long student of the vedas. some admit that religious study or exercise occupies a bare half hour in the day; others devote to these a couple of hours or more. it is certain that every nambutiri is under close study between the ages of seven and fifteen, or for about eight years of his life, and nothing whatsoever is allowed to interfere with this. should circumstances compel interruption of vedic study, the whole course is, i believe, re-commenced and gone through da capo. a few years ago, a nambutiri boy was wanted, to be informally examined in the matter of a dacoity in his father's illam; but he had to be left alone, as, among other unpleasant consequences of being treated as a witness, he would have had to begin again his whole course of vedic study. the nambutiris are probably more familiar with sanskrit than any other brahmans, even though their scholarship may not be of a high order, and certainly none other is to the same extent governed by the letter of the law handed down in sanskrit. as already said, the nambutiris are for the most part landholders, or of that class. they are also temple priests. the rich have their own temples, on which they spend much money. all over malabar there are to be seen pattar brahmans, wandering here and there, fed free at the illams of rich nambutiris, or at the various kovilakams and temples. and they are always to be found at important ceremonial functions, marriage or the like, which they attend uninvited, and receive a small money present (dakshina). but the nambutiri never goes anywhere, unless invited. from what i have seen, the presents to brahmans on these occasions are usually given on the following scale:--eight annas to each nambutiri, six annas to each embrantiri, four annas to each pattar brahman. the nambutiri is sometimes a money-lender. of the two divisions, nambutiri and nambutiripad, the latter are supposed to be stricter, and to rank higher than the former. pad, meaning power or authority, is often used to all nambutiris when addressing them. thus, some who are called nambutiripads may really be nambutiris. it may not be strictly correct to divide the nambutiris thus, for neither so-called division is separated from the other by interdiction of marriage. the class distinctions are more properly denoted the adhyan and asyan, of which the former is the higher. an adhyan is never a priest; he is a being above even such functions as are sacerdotal in the temple. but there are also divisions according to the number of yagams or sacrifices performed by individuals, thus:--somatiri or somayaji, akkitiri or agnihotri, and adittiri. a man may reach the first stage of these three, and become an addittiripad by going through a certain ceremony. at this, three nambutiri vaidikars, or men well versed in the vedas, must officiate. a square pit is made. fire raised by friction between two pieces of pipal (ficus religiosa) wood with a little cotton is placed in it. this fire is called aupasana. the ceremony cannot be performed until after marriage. it is only those belonging to certain gotras who may perform yagams, and, by so doing, acquire the three personal distinctions already named. again, there are other divisions according to professions. thus it is noted, in the cochin census report, 1901, that "the adhyans are to study the vedas and sastras; they are prohibited from taking parannam (literally meals belonging to another), from taking part in the funeral ceremonies of others, and from receiving presents. those who perform the sacrifice of adhana are known as aditiris, those who perform some yaga are called somayagis or chomatiris, while those who perform agni are called agnihotris or akkitiris. only married men are qualified to perform the sacrifices. the nayar is an indispensable factor in the performance of these sacrifices. the bhattatiris are to study and teach the sastras; the orthikans are to teach the vedas, and to officiate as family priests. the vadhyans are to teach the vedas, and to supervise the moral conduct of their pupils. the vydikans are the highest authority to decide what does or does not constitute violation of caste rules, and to prescribe expiatory ceremonies. the smarthas are to study the smritis and other sastras relating to customs, with the special object of qualifying themselves to preside over caste panchayats, or courts, and to investigate, under the orders of the sovereign, cases of conjugal infidelity arising among the nambutiris. the rulers of cochin and travancore issue the writs convening the committee in the case of offences committed within their territory. the zamorin of calicut, and other chiefs or rajas, also continue to exercise the privilege of issuing such orders in regard to cases occurring in malabar. the tantris officiate as high priests in temples. they also practice exorcism. there are adhyans among this class also. having received weapons from parasu rama and practiced the art of war, the sastrangakars are treated as somewhat degraded brahmans. they are prohibited from studying the vedas, but are entitled to muthalmura, that is, reading the vedas, or hearing them recited once. having had to devote their time and energy to the practice of the art of war, they could not possibly spend their time in the study of the vedas. the vaidyans or physicians, known as mussads, are to study the medical science, and to practice the same. as the profession of a doctor necessitates the performance of surgical operations entailing the shedding of blood, the mussads are also considered as slightly degraded. they too are entitled only to muthalmura. of these, there are eight families, known as ashta vaidyans. the gramanis are alleged to have suffered degradation by reason of their having, at the command of parasu rama, undertaken the onerous duties of protecting the brahman villages, and having had, as rakshapurushas or protectors, to discharge the functions assigned to kshatriyas. ooril parisha mussads are supposed to have undergone degradation on account of their having accepted from parasu rama the accumulated sin of having killed the warrior kshatriyas thrice seven times, along with immense gifts in the shape of landed estates. they are not allowed to read the vedas even once." "there are," mr. subramani aiyar writes, "five sub-divisions among the nambutiris, which may be referred to:-(1) tampurakkal.--this is a corruption of the sanskrit name samrat, and has probable reference to temporal as much as to secular sovereignty. of the two tampurakkal families in south malabar, kalpancheri and azhvancheri, the latter alone now remains. as spiritual samrats (sovereigns) they are entitled to (1) bhadrasanam, or the highest position in an assembly, (2) brahmavarchasa, or authority in vedic lore, and consequent sanctity, (3) brahmasamragyam, or lordship over brahmans, (4) sarvamanyam, or universal acknowledgment of reverence. once in six years, the azhvancheri tampurakkal is invited by the maharaja of travancore, who accords him the highest honours, and pays him the homage of a sashtanganamaskaram, or prostration obeisance. even now, the samrats form a saintly class in all malabar. though considered higher than all other sub-divisions of nambutiris, they form, with the adhyas, an endogamous community. (2) adhyas.--they form eight families, called ashtadhyas, and are said by tradition to be descended from the eight sons of a great brahman sage, who lived on the banks of the river krishna. the fund of accumulated spirituality inherited from remote ancestors is considered to be so large that sacrifices (yagas), as well as vanaprastha and sanyasa (the two last stages of the brahman's life), are reckoned as being supererogatory for even the last in descent. they are, however, very strict in the observance of religious ordinances, and constantly engage themselves in the reverent study of hindu scriptures. the tantris are adhyas with temple administration as their specialised function. they are the constituted gurus of the temple priests, and are the final authorities in all matters of temple ritual. (3) visishta.--these are of two classes, agnihotris and bhattatiris. the former are the ritualists, and are of three kinds:--(1) akkittiris, who have performed the agnichayanayaga, (2) adittiris, who have done the ceremony of agniadhana, (3) chomatiris, who have performed the soma sacrifice. the bhattatiris are the philosophers, and are, in a spirit of judicious economy, which is the characteristic feature of all early caste proscriptions, actually prohibited from trenching on the province of the agnihotris. they study tarkka (logic), vedanta (religious philosophy or theology), vyakarana (grammar), mimamsa (ritualism), bhatta, from which they receive their name, and prabhakara, which are the six sciences of the early nambutiris. they were the great religious teachers of malabar, and always had a large number of disciples about them. under this head come the vadyars or heads of vedic schools, of which there are two, one at trichur in cochin, and the other at tirunavai in british malabar; the six vaidikas or expounders of the caste canons, and the smartas, who preside at the smartavicharams or socio-moral tribunals of brahmanical malabar. (4) samanyas.--they form the nambutiri proletariat, from whom the study of the vedas is all that is expected. they take up the study of mantravada (mystic enchantment), puja (temple ritual), and reciting the sacred accounts of the avatara and astrology. (5) jatimatras.--the eight leading physician families of malabar, or ashta vaidyas, are, by an inexcusable misuse of language, called gatimatras or nominal nambutiris. the class of nambutiris called yatrakalikkar (a corruption of sastrakalikkar) also comes under this head. they are believed to be the brahmans, who accepted the profession of arms from their great founder. those that actually received the territory from the hands of parasu rama, called gramani nambutiris or gramani adhyas, are also gatimatras. they were the virtual sovereigns of their respective lands. the physicians, the soldiers, and the landed kings, having other duties to perform, were not able to devote all their time to vedic recitations. the mutalmura or first study was, of course, gone through. in course of time, this fact was unfortunately taken by the religious conscience of the people to lower the brahmans who were deputed under the scheme of parasu rama for special functions in the service of the nation in the scale of nambutiri society, and to mean a formal prohibition as of men unworthy to be engaged in vedic study. papagrastas are nambutiris, who are supposed to have questioned the divine nature of parasu rama, the urilparisha mussus, who too are brahmans who received gifts of land from parasu rama, the nambitis, the panniyur gramakkar, and the payyanur gramakkar or the ammuvans (uncles), so called from their matriarchal system of inheritance, form other sections of nambutiris." it is recorded, in the cochin census report, 1901, that "certain special privileges in regard to the performance of religious rites and other matters of a purely social nature serve as the best basis for a sub-division of the nambutiris in the order of social precedence as recognised amongst themselves. for this purpose, the privileges may be grouped under two main classes, as given in the following mnemonic formula:-a 1. edu (the leaf of a cadjan grandha or book): the right of studying and teaching the vedas and sastras. 2. piccha (mendicancy symbolic of family priests): the right of officiating as family priests. 3. othu (vedas): the right of studying the vedas. 4. adukala (kitchen): the right of cooking for all classes of brahmans. 5. katavu (bathing place or ghat): the right of bathing in the same bathing place with other brahmans, or the right of touching after bathing, without thereby disqualifying the person touched for performing religious services. b 1. adu (sheep): the right of performing holy sacrifices. 2. bhiksha (receiving alms): the right of becoming a sanyasi. 3. santhi (officiating as temple priests): the right of performing priestly functions in temples. 4. arangu (stage): the right of taking part in the performance of sastrangam nambudris. 5. panthi (row of eaters): the right of messing in the same row with other brahmans. those who enjoy the privilege of no. 1 in a are entitled to all the privileges in a and b; those enjoying no. 2 in a have all the privileges from no. 2 downwards in a and b; those having no. 3 in a have similarly all the privileges from no. 3 downwards in a and b, and so on. those entitled to no.1 in b have all the privileges except no. 1 in a; similarly those entitled to no. 2 in b have all the privileges from no. 2 downwards in b, but only from no. 3 downwards in a, and so on." among the people of good caste in malabar, to speak of one as a hairy man is to speak of him reproachfully. yet, putting aside muhammadans, the highest of all, the nambutiris are certainly the most hairy. in the young nambutiri, the hair on the head is plentiful, glossy, and wavy. the hair is allowed to grow over an oval patch from the vertex or a little behind it to a little back from the forehead. this is the regular malabar fashion. the hair thus grown is done into a knot hanging over the forehead or at one side according to fancy, never hanging behind. the rest of the head, and also the face is shaved. the whole body, excepting this knot and the back, is shaved periodically. karkkadakam, kanni, kumbham and dhanu are months in which shaving should be avoided as far as possible. an auspicious day is always selected by the nambutiri for being shaved. gingelly oil (enna) is commonly used for the hair. when a nambutiri's wife is pregnant, he refrains from the barber, letting his hair grow as it will. and, as he may have as many as four wives, and he does not shave when any of them is in an interesting condition, he sometimes has a long beard. a marked difference observed between the nambutiri and those allied to him, and the lower races, is this. the former have whiskers in the shape of a full growth of hair on the cheeks, while in the latter this is scanty or entirely absent. also, while the nambutiris have very commonly a hairy chest, the others have little or no hair on the chest. so, too, in the case of hair on the arms and legs. one nambutiri examined had hair all over the body, except over the ribs. in connection with a hypothesis that the todas of the nilgiris are an offshoot of one of the races now existing in malabar, dr. w. h. r. rivers writes as follows. [91] "of all the castes or tribes of malabar, the nambutiris perhaps show the greatest number of resemblances to the customs of the todas, and it is therefore interesting to note that mr. fawcett describes these people as the hairiest of all the races of malabar, and especially notes that one individual he examined was like a toda." it is noted by mr. subramani aiyar that "the nambutiris are passionate growers of finger-nails, which are sometimes more than a foot long, and serve several useful purposes. as in everything else, the nambutiri is orthodox even in the matter of dress. locally-manufactured cloths are alone purchased, and indian publicists who deplore the crushing of indigenous industries by the importation of foreign goods may congratulate the kerala brahmans on their protectionist habits. silk and coloured cloths are not worn by either sex. the style of dress is peculiar. that of the males is known as tattutukkuka. unlike the nayar dress, which the nambutiris wear during other than religious hours, the cloth worn has a portion passing between the thighs and tucked in at the front and behind, with the front portion arranged in a number of characteristic reduplications. the nambutiri wears wooden shoes, but never shoes made of leather. nambutiri women have two styles of dress, viz., okkum koluttum vachchutukkuka for the adhyans, and ngoringutukkuka for ordinary nambutiris. undyed cloths constitute the daily wearing apparel of nambutiri women. it is interesting to notice that all brahman women, during a yagnam (sacrifice), when, as at other ceremonials, all recent introductions are given up in favour of the old, wear undyed cloths. beyond plain finger-rings and a golden amulet (elassu) attached to the waist-string, the nambutiri wears no ornaments. his ears are bored, but no ear-rings are worn unless he is an agnihotri, when ear-pendants of an elongated pattern (kundalam) are used. the ornaments of the nambutiri women have several peculiarities. gold bracelets are, as it were, proscribed even for the most wealthy. hollow bangles of brass or bell-metal for ordinary nambutiris, and of solid silver for the adhyas, are the ones in use. the chuttu is their ear ornament. a peculiar necklace called cheru-tali is also worn, and beneath this adhya women wear three garlands of manis or gold pieces, along with other jewels called kasumala, puttali, and kazhuttila. the nambutiris do not bore their noses or wear nose-rings, and, in this respect, present a striking contrast to the nayar women. no restriction, except the removal of the tali, is placed on the use of ornaments by nambutiri women. tattooing is taboo to nambutiri women. they put on three horizontal lines of sandal paste after bathing. these marks have, in the case of adhya women, a crescentic shape (ampilikkuri). kunkuma, or red powder, is never applied by nambutiri women to the forehead. turmeric powder as a cosmetic wash for the face is also not in vogue. mr. fawcett states that, on festive occasions, turmeric is used by the brahmans of malabar. but this is not borne out by the usage in travancore. eye-salves are applied, and may be seen extending as dark lines up to the ears on either side." the ornaments and marks worn by individual nambutiri males are thus recorded by mr. fawcett:-(1) left hand: gold ring with large green stone on first finger; four plain gold rings on third finger; a ring, in which an anavarahan coin is set, on little finger. this is a very lucky ring. spurious imitations are often set in rings, but it is the genuine coin which brings good luck. right hand: two plain gold rings, and a pavitram on the third finger. the pavitram is of about the thickness of an ordinary english wedding ring, shaped like a figure of eight, with a dotted pattern at each side, and the rest plain. it is made of gold, but, as every nambutiri must wear a pavitram while performing or undergoing certain ceremonies, those who do not possess one of gold wear one made of darbha grass. they do not say so, but i think the ring of darbha grass is orthodox. (2) golden amulet-case fastened to a string round the waist, and containing a figure (yantram) written or marked on a silver plate. he had worn it three years, having put it on because he used to feel hot during the cool season, and attributed the circumstance to the influence of an evil spirit. (3) youth, aged 12. wears a yak skin sash, an inch wide, over the left shoulder, fastened at the ends by a thong of the same skin. he put it on when he was seven, and will wear it till he is fifteen, when he will have completed his course of vedic study. a ring, hanging to a string in front of his throat, called modiram, was put on in the sixth month when he was named, and will be worn until he is fifteen. the ears are pierced. he wears two amulets at the back, one of gold, the other of silver. in each are some chakrams (travancore silver coins), and a gold leaf, on which a charm is inscribed. one of the charms was prepared by a mappilla, the other by a nambutiri. (4) black spot edged with yellow in the centre of the forehead. three horizontal white stripes on the forehead. a dab on each arm, and a stripe across the chest. (5) black spot near glabella, and two yellow horizontal stripes near it. the same on the chest, with the spot between the lines. (6) red spot and white stripe on the forehead. a red dab over the sternum, and on each arm in front of the deltoid. (7) an oval, cream-coloured spot with red centre, an inch in greatest length, over the glabella. the stripes on the forehead and chest are generally made with sandal paste. rudraksha (nuts of eloeocarpus ganitrus) necklaces, mounted in gold, are sometimes worn. the thread worn by men over the left shoulder is made of a triple string of country-grown cotton, and, unlike other brahmans of southern india, no change is made after marriage. it may be changed on any auspicious day. brahmans of southern india outside malabar change their thread once a year. concerning the habitations of the nambutiris, mr. subramani aiyar writes as follows. "a nambutiri's house stands within a compound (grounds) of its own. each house has its own name, by which the members are known, and is called by the generic title of illam, the term used by brahmans, or mana, which is the reverential expression of sudras and others. sometimes the two words are found combined, e.g., itamana illam. in the compound surrounding the house, trees such as the tamarind, mango, and jak, grow in shady luxuriance. the area of the compound is very extensive; in fact, no house in malabar is surrounded by a more picturesque or more spacious garden than that of the nambutiri. plantains of all varieties are cultivated, and yams of various kinds and peas in their respective seasons. a tank (pond) is an inseparable accompaniment, and, in most nambutiri houses, there are three or four of them, the largest being used for bathing, and the others for general and kitchen purposes. whenever there is a temple of any importance near at hand, the nambutiri may prefer to bathe in the tank attached to it, but his favourite ghat is always the tank near his home, and owned by him. wells are never used for bathing, and a hot-water bath is avoided as far as possible, as plunging in a natural reservoir would alone confer the requisite ablutional purity. towards the north-west corner of the house is located the sarpakkavu or snake abode, one of the indispensables of a malabar house. the kavu is either an artificial jungle grown on purpose in the compound, or a relic of the unreclaimed primeval jungle, which every part of malabar once was. right in the centre of the kavu is the carved granite image of the cobra, and several flesh-and-blood representatives of the figure haunt the house, as if in recognition of the memorial raised. in the centre of the compound is situated the illam or mana, which is in most cases a costly habitat. all the houses used until recently to be thatched as a protection against the scorching heat of the tropical sun, which a tiled house would only aggravate. in form the house is essentially a square building, consisting of several courtyards in the centre, with rooms on all sides. on the east or west of the courtyard, a room having the space of two ordinary rooms serves as a drawing room and the dormitory of the unmarried members of the house. the rest of the house is zenana to the stranger. right on the opposite side of the visitor's room, beyond the central courtyard, is the arappura, of massive wood-work, where the valuables are preserved. on either side of this are two rooms, one of which serves as a storehouse, and the other as a bed-room. the kitchen adjoins the visitor's room, and is tolerably spacious. in the front, which is generally the east of the house, is a spacious yard, square and flat, and leading to it is a flight of steps, generally made of granite. these steps lead to a gate-house, where the servants of the house keep watch at night. the whole house is built of wood, and substantially constructed. though the houses look antiquated, they have a classical appearance all their own. to the north-east is the gosala, where large numbers of oxen and cows are housed. the furniture of a nambutiri is extremely scanty. there are several cots, some made of coir (cocoanut fibre), and others of wooden planks. the kurmasana is the nambutiri's devotional seat, and consists of a jak (artocarpus integrifolia) plank carved in the form of a tortoise. other seats, of a round or oblong shape, are also used, and no brahman addresses himself to his meal without being seated on one of them. every brahman visitor is offered one, and is even pressed to sit on it. when the writer went to a brahman house at kalati, the native village of sankaracharya, and wished the hosts not to trouble themselves about a seat for him, he was told that the contact of a brahman's nates with the floor was harmful to the house. hanging cots, attached to the ceiling by chains of iron, are common things in a nambutiri's house, especially in the bed-rooms. skins of spotted deer, used to sit on during prayers, also form part of the nambutiri's furniture." the nambutiris follow the makkatayam law of inheritance from father to son; not, however, precisely as do the other people who do so. nor is their system of inheritance the same as that of brahmans to the eastward (i.e., of southern india generally), with whom the family property may be divided up amongst the male members at the instance of any one of them. the nambutiri household is described by mr. subramani aiyar as representing a condition intermediate between the impartible matriarchal form of the nayars and the divided patriarchal form of the other coast. among the nambutiris, the eldest male member of the family is the karanavan or manager of it, and has complete control over all the property. the younger members of the family are entitled to nothing but maintenance. the head of the family may be a female, provided there is none of the other sex. the eldest son alone marries. the accepted practice, as well as the recognised principle among the nambutiris, seems to be in consonance with the directions expounded by manu, viz.-immediately on the birth of his first-born, a man is the father of a son, and is free from the debt to the manes. that son is, therefore, worthy to receive the whole estate. that son alone, on whom he throws his debt, is begotten for (the fulfilment of) the law. all the rest they consider the offspring of desire. as a father supports his sons, so let the eldest support his younger brothers, and so let them, in accordance with the law, behave towards their eldest brother as sons behave towards their father. should a nambutiri eldest son die, the next marries, and so on. women join the family of their husband, and to this too her children belong. self-acquired property, that is property acquired by any junior member of the family through his own efforts outside the taravad, [92] lapses to the taravad at his death, unless he has disposed of it in his lifetime. this is the custom, which our law has not yet infringed. the taravad is the unit, and, as the senior male succeeds to the management, it may happen that a man's sons do not succeed directly as his heirs. the arrangement is an excellent one for the material prosperity of the family, for there is no dispersion. every circumstance tends towards aggrandizement, and the family is restricted to no more than a requisite number by one member only marrying, and producing children. impartibility is the fundamental principle. it is seldom that a nambutiri family comes to an end; and such a thing as a nambutiri's estate escheating to government has been said on eminent authority never to have been known. it happens sometimes that there is no male member to produce progeny, and in such a case the sarvasvadanam marriage is performed, by which a man of another family is brought into the family and married to a daughter of it, who, after the manner of the "appointed daughter" of old hindu law, hands on the property through her children. the man so brought in is henceforth a member of the family which he has joined, and as such he performs the sraddha or ceremonies to the dead. an exception to the general rule of inheritance is that seventeen families of payannur in north malabar follow the marumakkattayam system of inheritance, through the female line. the other nambutiris look askance at these, and neither marry nor dine with them. it is supposed that they are not pure bred, having kshatriya blood in their veins. adoption among the nambutiris is stated by mr. subramani aiyar to be of three kinds, called pattu kaiyyal dattu, chanchamata dattu, and kutivazhichcha dattu. "the first is the orthodox form. pattukai means ten hands, and indicates that five persons take part in the ceremony, the two natural parents, the two adopted parents, and the son to be adopted. the gotra and sutra of the natural family have to be the same as those of the adoptive family. the son adopted may have had his upanayanam already performed by his natural parents. an adoption of this kind cannot be made without the permission of all the male members of the family, of the sapindas or samanodakas who are distinct blood relations, though some degrees removed. in the second form, the adoption relieves the adopted son of all ceremonial duties towards the natural parents. involving, as it does, a position contrary to the established ordinances of sankaracharya, this kind of adoption is not in favour. the third form is still less orthodox. the adoption is made by a surviving widow, and mainly serves to keep up the lineage." liquor and flesh are strictly forbidden to the nambutiris. their staple food is rice and curry. upperi is a curry of chopped vegetables fried in ghi (clarified butter), cocoanut or gingelly oil, seasoned with gingelly (sesamum indicum), salt, and jaggery (crude sugar). aviyal is another, composed of jak fruit mixed with some vegetables. sweets are sometimes eaten. candied cakes of wheat or rice, and rice boiled in milk with sugar and spices, are delicacies. papadams (wafer-like cakes) are eaten at almost every meal. the nambutiri must bathe, and pray to the deity before partaking of any meal. an offering of rice is then made to the household fire, some rice is thrown to the crows, and he sits down to eat. the food is served on a plantain leaf or a bell-metal plate. it should be served by the wife; but, if a man has other nambutiris dining with him, it is served by men or children. the sexes feed separately. before a man rises from his meal, his wife must touch the leaf or plate on which the food has been served. the reason may lie in this. the remains of the food are called echchil, and cannot be eaten by any one. just before finishing his meal and rising, the nambutiri touches the plate or leaf with his left hand, and at the same time his wife touches it with her right hand. the food is then no longer echchil, and she may eat it. the nambutiri householder is said to be allowed by the sastras, which rule his life in every detail, to eat but one meal of rice a day--at midday. he should not, strictly speaking, eat rice in the evening, but he may do so without sinning heinously, and usually does. fruit only should be eaten in the evening. women and children eat two or three times in a day. a widow, however, is supposed to lead the life of a sanyasi, and eats only once a day. a nambutiri may eat food prepared by an east country brahman (pattar), or by an embrantiri. in fact, in the large illams, where many people are fed every day, the cooks are generally pattars in south malabar. the nambutiri woman is more scrupulous, and will not touch food prepared by any one of a caste inferior to her own, as the pattar is considered to be. tea and coffee are objected to. the sastras do not permit their use. at the same time, they do not prohibit them, and some nambutiris drink both, but not openly. persons observing vows are not allowed an oil bath, to eat off bell-metal plates, or to eat certain articles of food. the gourd called churakhai, palmyra fruit, and palmyra jaggery are taboo to the nambutiri at all times. water-melons are eaten regularly during the month karkkataka, to promote health and prolong life. in connection with the nambutiri's dietary, mr. subramani aiyar states that "their food is extremely simple. as camöens writes: [93] to crown their meal no meanest life expires. pulse, fruit, and herb alone their food requires. "ghi is not in a great requisition. gingelly oil never enters the kitchen. milk is not taken except as porridge, which goes by the name of prathaman (first). a bolus-like preparation of boiled rice-flour with cocoanut scrapings, called kozhakkatta, is in great favour, and is known as parasu rama's palaharam, or the light refreshment originally prescribed by parasu rama. conji, or rice gruel, served up with the usual accessories, is the nambutiri's favourite luncheon. cold drinks are rarely taken. the drinking water is boiled, and flavoured with coriander, cummin seeds, etc., to form a pleasant beverage." the horse is a sacred animal, and cannot be kept. the cow, buffalo, dog, and cat are the animals ordinarily kept in domestication; and it is said that a parrot is sometimes taught to repeat sanskrit slokas. there are families, in which the business of the magician and sorcerer is hereditary, chiefly in south malabar and among the chela [94] nambutiris, as those are termed who, in the turbulent period of tippu's invasion, were made muhammadans by force. true, these returned almost at once to their own religion, but a stigma attaches to them, and they are not looked on as true nambutiris. it is extremely difficult to obtain reliable information regarding magic or anything allied to it among any people, and most difficult of all among the nambutiris. they possess magic books, but they will neither produce nor expound them. hara mekhala is the name of one of these, which is most used. it is said that the sorcerer aims at the following:- (1) destruction (marana). (2) subjection of the will of another (vasikarana). (3) exorcism (uchchatana). (4) stupefaction (stambhana). (5) separation of friends (vidveshana). (6) enticement as for love (mohana). of these, the first may be carried out in the following manner. a figure representing the enemy to be destroyed is drawn on a small sheet of metal (gold by preference), and to it some mystic diagrams are added. it is then addressed with a statement that bodily injury or the death of the person shall take place at a certain time. this little sheet is wrapped up in another metal sheet or leaf (of gold if possible), and buried in some place which the person to be injured or destroyed is in the habit of passing. should he pass over the place, it is supposed that the charm will take effect at the time named. instead of the sheet of metal, a live frog or lizard is sometimes buried within a cocoanut shell, after nails have been stuck into its eyes and stomach. the deaths of the animal and the person are supposed to take place simultaneously. for carrying out vasikarana, vidveshana, and mohana, betel leaves, such as are ordinarily used for chewing, or vegetables are somehow or other given to the victim, who unknowingly takes them into his mouth. exorcism may be treated as follows. if a young woman is suffering from hysteria, and is supposed to be possessed by an evil spirit, or by the discontented spirit of some deceased ancestor, nervousness is excited by beating drums, blowing conch-shells, and otherwise making a horrible noise close to her. when the supreme moment is believed to have arrived, water is sprinkled over the wretched woman, who is required to throw rice repeatedly on certain diagrams on the ground, woven into which is a representation of the goddess durga, the ruler of evil spirits. an effigy of the evil spirit is then buried in a copper vessel. by means of certain mantrams, hanuman or kali is propitiated, and, with their aid, in some occult manner, the position of buried treasure may be found. it is said that the bones of a woman who has died immediately after childbirth, and the fur of a black cat, are useful to the magician. there are said to be two nambutiris of good family, well known in south malabar, who are expert mantravadis or dealers in magic, and who have complete control over kuttichchattan, an evil mischievous spirit, whose name is a household word in malabar. he it is who sets fire to houses, damages cattle, and teases interminably. concerning kuttichchattan, mr. subramani aiyar writes as follows. "the most mischievous imp of malabar demonology is an annoying, quip-loving little spirit, as black as night, and about the size and nature of a well-nourished twelve-year old boy. some people say that they have seen him, vis-à-vis, having a forelock. the nature and extent of its capacity for evil almost beggar description. there are nambutiris, to whom these are so many missiles, which they throw at anybody they choose. they are, like ariel, little active things, and most willing slaves of the master under whom they happen to be placed. their victim suffers from unbearable agony. his clothes take fire, his food turns into ordure, his beverages become urine, stones fall in showers on all sides of him, but curiously not on him, and his bed becomes a literal bed of thorns. he feels like a lost man. in this way, with grim delight, the spirit continues to torment his victim by day as well as by night. but, with all this annoying mischief, kuttichchattan, or boy satan, does no serious harm. he oppresses and harasses, but never injures. a celebrated brahman of changanacheri is said to own more than a hundred of these chattans. household articles and jewelry of value can be left on the premises of the homes guarded by chattan, and no thief dares to lay his hands on them. the invisible sentry keeps diligent watch over his master's property, and has unchecked powers of movement in any medium. as remuneration for all these services, the chattan demands nothing but food, but that on a large scale. if starved, the chattans would not hesitate to remind the master of their power; but, if ordinarily cared for, they would be his most willing drudges. by nature chattan is more than a malevolent spirit. as a safeguard against the infinite power secured for the master by the kuttichchattan, it is laid down that malign acts committed through his instrumentality recoil on the prompter, who either dies childless, or after frightful physical and mental agony. another method of oppressing humanity, believed to be in the power of sorcerers, is to make men and women possessed by spirits; women being more subject to their evil influence than men. delayed puberty, sterility, and still-births are not uncommon ills of a woman possessed by a devil. sometimes the spirits sought to be exorcised refuse to leave the body of the victim, unless the sorcerer promises them a habitation in the compound of his own house, and arranges for daily offerings being given. this is agreed to as a matter of unavoidable necessity, and money and lands are conferred upon the nambutiri mantravadi, to enable him to fulfil his promise." a nambutiri is not permitted to swear, or take oath in any way. he may, however, declare so and so, holding the while his sacred thread between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, by way of invoking the gayatri in token of his sincerity. and he may call on the earth mother to bear witness to his words, for she may, should he speak falsely, relieve herself of him. the name of the supreme being is not used in oath. nambutiris have been known to take oath before a shrine, in order to settle a point in a civil court, but it is not orthodox to do so. something has been said already concerning vows. those who desire offspring perform the vow called payasahavanam. sacrifice is made through fire (homam) to the supreme being. homam is also vowed to be done on a child's birthday, to ensure its longevity. here we may observe a contrast between the nambutiri and a man of one of the inferior castes. for, while the vow of the nambutiri has assumed to some extent the nature of propitiatory prayer, of which those low down really know nothing, the other gives nothing until he has had the full satisfaction of his vow. mrityunjayam, or that which conquers death, is another kind of homam in performance of a vow. a further one is concerned with cleansing from any specific sin. liberal presents are made to brahmans, when the vow is completed. in the vow called rudrabhisheka the god siva is bathed in consecrated water. it is performed by way of averting misfortune. monday is the day for it, as it is supposed that on that day siva amuses himself with parvati by dancing on kailasa. the custom observed by nambutiris of letting the hair grow on the head, face, and body, untouched by the razor, when a wife is enceinte has been noticed already. a nambutiri who has no male issue also lets his hair grow in the same way for a year after the death of his wife. should there, however, be male issue, on the eldest son devolves the duty of performing the ceremonies connected with the funeral of his mother (or father), and it is he who remains unshaven for a year. in such a case, the husband of a woman remains unshaven for twelve days (and this seems to be usual), or until after the ceremony on the forty-first day after death. the period during which the hair is allowed to grow, whether for a death, a pregnant wife, or by reason of a vow, is called diksha. during diksha, as well as during the brahmachari period, certain articles of food, such as the drumstick vegetable, milk, chillies, gram, dhal, papadams, etc., are prohibited. "bathing," mr.subramani aiyar writes, "is one of the most important religious duties of all hindus, and of brahmans in particular. a nambutiri only wants an excuse for bathing. every nambutiri bathes twice a day at least, and sometimes oftener. it is prohibited to do so before sunrise, after which a bath ceases to be a religious rite on the other coast. the use of a waist-cloth, the languti excepted, during a bath in private or in public, is also prohibited. this injunction runs counter to that of the sutrakaras, who say 'na vivasanah snayat,' i.e., bathe not without clothing. the fastidious sense of bath purity occasionally takes the form of a regular mania, and receives the not inapt description of galappisachu or possession by a water-devil. never, except under extreme physical incapacity, does a nambutiri fail to bathe at least once a day." before concluding the bath, the cloth worn when it was begun, and for which another has been substituted, is wrung out in the water. from this practice, a patch of indurated skin between the thumb and first finger of the right hand, where the cloth is held while wringing it, is commonly to be seen. almost every nambutiri examined in north malabar was marked in this way. the nambutiris observe sixty-four anacharams, or irregular customs, which are said to have been promulgated by the great reformer sankaracharya. these are as follows:- (1) you must not clean your teeth with sticks. (2) you must not bathe with cloths worn on your person. (3) you must not rub your body with the cloths worn on your person. (4) you must not bathe before sunrise. (5) you must not cook your food before you bathe. (6) avoid the water kept aside during the night. (7) you must not have one particular object in view while you bathe. (8) the remainder of the water taken for one purpose must not be used for another ceremony. (9) you must bathe if you touch another, i.e., a sudra. (10) you must bathe if you happen to be near another, i.e., a chandala. (11) you must bathe if you touch polluted wells or tanks. (12) you must not tread over a place that has been cleaned with a broom, unless it is sprinkled with water. (13) a particular mode of marking the forehead with ashes (otherwise described as putting three horizontal lines on the forehead with pure burnt cow-dung). (14) you must repeat charms yourself. (you must not allow someone else to do it.) (15) you must avoid cold rice, etc. (food cooked on the previous day). (16) you must avoid leavings of meals by children. (17) you must not eat anything that has been offered to siva. (18) you must not serve out food with your hands. (19) you must not use the ghi of buffalo cows for burnt offerings. (20) you must not use buffalo milk or ghi for funeral offerings. (21) a particular mode of taking food (not to put too much in the mouth, because none must be taken back). (22) you must not chew betel while you are polluted. (23) you must observe the conclusion of the brahmachari period (the samavarttanam ceremony). this should be done before consorting with nayar women. (24) you must give presents to your guru or preceptor. (the brahmachari must do so.) (25) you must not read the vedas on the road. (26) you must not sell women (receive money for girls given in marriage). (27) you must not fast in order to obtain fulfilment of your desires. (28) bathing is all that a woman should observe if she touches another in her menses. (a woman touching another who is in this state should, it is said, purify herself by bathing. a man should change his thread, and undergo sacred ablution. women, during their periods, are not required to keep aloof, as is the custom among non-malabar brahmans.) (29) brahmans should not spin cotton. (30) brahmans should not wash cloths for themselves. (31) kshatriyas should avoid worshipping the lingam. (32) brahmans should not accept funeral gifts from sudras. (33) perform the anniversary ceremony of your father (father's father, mother's father and both grandmothers). (34) anniversary ceremonies should be performed on the day of the new moon (for the gratification of the spirits of the deceased). (35) the death ceremony should be performed at the end of the year, counting from the day of death. (36) the ceremony to be performed till the end of the year after death (diksha is apparently referred to). (37) sraddhas should be performed with regard to the stars (according to the astronomical, not the lunar year). (38) the death ceremony should not be performed until after the pollution caused by childbirth has been removed. (39) a particular mode of performing sraddha by an adopted son (who should do the ceremony for his adopted parents as well as for his natural parents. among non-malabar brahmans, an adopted son has nothing to do with the ceremonies for his natural father, from whose family he has become entirely disconnected). (40) the corpse of a man should be burnt in his own compound. (41) sanyasis should not look at (see) women. (42) sanyasis should renounce all worldly pleasures. (43) sraddha should not be performed for deceased sanyasis. (44) brahman women must not look at any other persons besides their own husbands. (45) brahman women must not go out, unless accompanied by women servants. (46) they should wear only white clothing. (47) noses should not be pierced. (48) brahmans should be put out of their caste if they drink any liquor. (49) brahmans should forfeit their caste, if they have intercourse with other brahman women besides their wives. (50) the consecration of evil spirits should be avoided. (otherwise said to be that worship of ancestors should not be done in temples.) (51) sudras and others are not to touch an idol. (52) anything offered to one god should not be offered to another. (53) marriage etc., should not be done without a burnt offering (homam). (54) brahmans should not give blessings to each other. (55) they should not bow down to one another. (among non-malabar brahmans, juniors receive benediction from seniors. the nambutiris do not allow this.) (56) cows should not be killed in sacrifice. (57) do not cause distraction, some by observing the religious rites of siva, and others those of vishnu. (58) brahmans should wear only one sacred thread. (59) the eldest son only is entitled to marriage. (60) the ceremony in honour of a deceased ancestor should be performed with boiled rice. (61) kshatriyas, and those of other castes, should perform funeral ceremonies to their uncles. (62) the right of inheritance among kshatriyas, etc., goes towards nephews. (63) sati should be avoided. (this also includes directions to widows not to shave the head, as is the custom among non-malabar brahmans.) in connection with the foregoing, mr. subramani aiyar writes that the manners and customs of the nambutiris differ from those of the other communities in several marked particulars. they go by the specific name of keralacharas, which, to the casual observer, are so many anacharas or mal-observances, but to the sympathetic student are not more perhaps than unique acharas. a verse runs to the effect that they are anacharas, because they are not acharas (observances) elsewhere. (anyatracharanabhavat anacharaitismritah.) of these sixty-four acharas, about sixty will be found to be peculiar to malabar. these may be grouped into the following six main classes:- (1) personal hygiene.--bathing. (2) eating.--the rules about food, either regarding the cooking or eating of it are very religiously observed. absolute fasting is unknown in malabar. (3) worship of the gods and manes.--the anniversary of a person's death is regulated not by the age of the moon at the time, but by the star, unlike on the other coast. again, a birth pollution has priority over other observances, even death ceremonies. a son who has to perform the funeral ceremonies of his father is rendered unfit for that solemn function by an intervening birth pollution. an adopted son is not, as in other parts of india, relieved of the sraddha obligations to his natural parents. sectarian controversies in regard to siva and vishnu are strictly tabooed. the establishment of hinduism on a non-sectarian basis was the sacred mission of sankaracharya's life. a single triple string (sacred thread) is worn irrespective of civil condition. this is contrary to the usage of the other coast, where married brahmans wear two or three triplets. sprinkling water is an essential purificatory act after the use of the broom. an isolated rule requires dead bodies to be burnt in private compounds, and not in consecrated communal sites, as among the east coast people. (4) conduct in society.--chastity is jealously guarded by the imposition of severe ostracism on adulterers. formal salutation, and even namaskaras and anugrahas, or prostration before and blessing by seniors, are prescribed. this is a striking point of difference between malabar and the rest of india, and is probably based on the esoteric teaching of universal oneness. (5) asramas or stages of life.--it is distinctly prescribed that a brahman should formally conclude the brahmachari asrama, and that presents or dakshina to the gurus should be the crowning act. the asura or bride-sale form of marriage is prohibited--a prohibition which, in the case of the nambutiris, is absolutely unnecessary as matters now stand. an injunction in the reverse direction against the ruinous tyranny of a bride-penalty would be an anxiously sought relief to the strugglings of many an indigent bride's father. the special law of malabar, under which the eldest son is alone entitled to be married, has already been referred to. the anchorite stage comes in for regulation by the manu of kerala. the eyes of a sanyasin should never rest on a woman even for a second. this rule, which, if it errs at all, only does so on the side of safety, is not observed elsewhere, as the stage of a sanyasin is expected to be entered only after the complete subjugation of the passions. no aradhana (worship) sraddhas are performed for them, as is done in other parts. the soul of the sanyasin is freed from the bondage of karma and the chance of recurring birth, and has only to be remembered and worshipped, unlike the ordinary jivan or still enslaved soul, whose salvation interests have to be furthered by propitiatory karmas on the part of its earthly beneficiaries. (6) regulation of women's conduct.--women are not to gaze on any face but that of their wedded lord, and never go out unattended. they are to wear only white clothes, and are never to pierce their noses for the wearing of jewelry. death on the husband's funeral pyre is not to be the sacred duty of the nambutiri widow, who is advised to seek in the life of a self-sacrificing sanyasi a sure means of salvation. in affairs of the world, time is reckoned by the ordinary malabar kollam or solar year, the era beginning from the date of the departure of the last perumal, a sovereign of the western coast, to arabia in 825. the months of the kollam year are mesha (metam), vrishabha (itavam), mithuna, karkkataka, sihma (chingga), kanya (kanni), tula, vrischika, dhanu, makara, kumbha, mina. in affairs of religion, time is reckoned by the salivahana saka, or lunar year, the months of which are chaitra, vaisakha, jeshta, ashadha, sravana, bhadrapata, asvavuja, margasirsha, paushya, magha, phalguna. every three years or thereabouts, there is added another month, called adhika. some of the festivals kept by the nambutiris are as follows: - (1) sivaratri.--worship of siva on the last day of magha. fast and vigil at night, and puja. (2) upakarma.--the regular day for putting on a new sacred thread, after having cleansed away the sins of the year through the prayaschittam, in which ceremony the five sacred products of the cow (milk, curds, ghi, urine, and dung) are partaken of. it is done on the 15th of sravana. (3) nagara panchimi.--the serpent god is worshipped, and bathed in milk. on the 5th of sravana. this festival is common in southern india. (4) gokulashtami.--fast and vigil at night, to celebrate the birth of krishna. puja at night, on the eighth day of the latter half of sravana. (5) navaratri.--the first nine days of asvayuja are devoted to this festival in honour of durga. (6) dipavali.--observed more particularly in north malabar on the anniversary of the day on which krishna slew the rakshasa naraka. everyone takes an oil bath. on the last day of asvayuja. (7) ashtkalam.--the pitris (ancestors) of the family are propitiated by offerings of pinda (balls of rice) and tarpana (libations of water). on the new moon day of dhanu. (8) vinayaka chaturthi.--the elephant-headed god of learning is worshipped. at the end of the ceremony, the idol is dropped into a well. on the 4th of bhadrapada. (9) puram.--the god of love, represented by a clay image, is propitiated by unmarried girls with offerings of flowers seven days successively. the image is finally given, together with some money, to a brahman, who drops it into a well. the flowers which have been used to decorate the image are placed by the girls at the foot of a jak tree. contrary to the custom of other brahmans, nambutiri girls are under no disgrace, should they attain puberty while unmarried. in the month of mina. (10) onam.--the great festival of malabar, kept by everyone, high and low, with rejoicing. it is the time of general good-will, of games peculiar to the festival, and of distribution of new yellow cloths to relations and dependants. it is supposed to commemorate the descent of maha bali, or mabali, to see his people happy. (11) tiruvadira.--fast and vigil in honour of siva, observed by women only. in the month of dhanu. (12) vishu.--the solar new year's day. a very important festival in malabar. it is the occasion for gifts, chiefly to superiors. the first thing seen by a nambutiri on this day should be something auspicious. his fate during the year depends on whether the first object seen is auspicious, or the reverse. the following festivals are referred to by mr. subramani aiyar:- (1) trikkatta or jyeshta star.--in the month of chingam. food is cooked, and eaten before sunrise by all the married male members, as well as by every female member of a family. though not of the previous day, the food goes by the name of trikkatta pazhayatu, or the old food of the trikkatta day. the import of this festival, when the specific ordinance of sankara against food cooked before sunrise is contravened, is not known. (2) makam or magha star.--in the month of kanni. on this day, the cows of the house are decorated with sandal paste and flowers, and given various kinds of sweetmeats. the ladies of the house take ten or twelve grains of paddy (rice), anoint them with oil, and, after bathing in turmeric-water, consecrate the grains by the recitation of certain hymns, and deposit them in the ara or safe room of the house. if there are in the house any female members born under the makam star, the duty of performing the ceremony devolves on them in particular. this is really a harvest festival, and has the securing of food-grains in abundance (dhanyasamriddhi) for its temporal object. (3) all the days in the month of thulam.--in this month, young unmarried girls bathe every day before 4 a.m., and worship ganapathi (vignesvara), the elephant god. (4) gauri puja.--in the month of vrischigam. this is done on any selected monday in the month. the ceremony is known as ammiyum vilakkaum toduka, or touching the grinding-stone and lamp. the married women of the house clean the grinder and the grinding-stone, and place a bronze mirror by its side. they then proceed to worship gauri, whose relation to siva represents to the hindu the ideal sweetness of wedded life. (5) tiruvatira or ardra star.--in the month of dhanu. this is a day of universal festivity and rejoicing. for seven days previous to it, all the members of the house bathe in the early morning, and worship siva. this bathing is generally called tutichchukuli or shivering bath, as the mornings are usually cold and intensely dewy. on the day previous to tiruvatira, ettangnati, or eight articles of food purchased in the bazar, are partaken of. such a repast is never indulged in on any other day. the tiruvatira day is spent in the adoration of siva, and the votaries take only a single meal (orikkal). night vigils are kept both by the wife and husband seated before a lighted fire, which represents the sakshi (witness) of karmas and contracts. (hence the common term agnisakshi.) they then chew a bundle of betel leaves, not less than a hundred in number. this is called kettuvettila tinnuka. as the chewing of betel is taboo except in the married state, this function is believed to attest and seal their irrefragable mutual fidelity. (6) the new moon day in the month of karkatakam.--on the evening of this day, various kinds of sweetmeats are cooked, and, before the family partakes of them, a portion of each is placed in the upper storey as an offering to rats, by which their divine master, ganapathi, is believed to be propitiated. the nambutiri's business, which he has in hand, will be concluded to his satisfaction, should he on starting hear or see vocal or instrumental music, a harlot, a dancing-girl, a virgin, a litter, an elephant, a horse, a bull or cow tethered, curds, raw rice of a reddish colour, sugar-cane, a water-pot, flowers, fruits, honey, or two brahmans. bad omens, which, if seen by a householder the first thing in the morning, mean trouble of some kind for the rest of the day, are a crow seen on the left hand, a kite on the right, a snake, a cat, a jackal, a hare, an empty vessel, a smoky fire, a bundle of sticks, a widow, a man with one eye, or a man with a big nose. a nambutiri, seeing any of these things, when setting out on a journey, will turn back. should he, however, at once see a lizard on the eastern wall of a house, he may proceed. to sneeze once is a good omen for the day; to sneeze twice is a bad one. an evil spirit may enter the mouth while one is yawning, so, to avert such a catastrophe, the fingers are snapped, and kept snapping until the yawn is over, or the hand is held in front of the mouth. but this idea, and the custom of snapping the fingers, are by no means peculiar to the nambutiris. the nambutiris look on a voyage across the sea with horror, and no nambutiri has ever yet visited england. a nayar should not come nearer than six paces to a nambutiri, a man of the barber caste nearer than twelve paces, a tiyan than thirty-six, a malayan than sixty-four, and a pulaiyan than ninety-six. malabar is, indeed, the most conservative part of southern india. the man of high caste shouts occasionally as he goes along, so that the low caste man may go off the road, and allow him to pass unpolluted. and those of the lowest castes shout as they go, to give notice of their pollution-bearing presence, and, learning the command of the man of high caste, move away from the road. it is common to see people of the inferior castes travelling parallel to the road, but not daring to go along it. they do not want to. it is not because they are forced off the road. custom clings to them as to the nayar or to the nambutiri. but even this is undergoing modification. in connection with marriage, three chief rules are observed. the contracting parties must not be of the same gotra; they must not be related to each other through father or mother; and the bridegroom must be the eldest son of the family. it is said that there are seven original gotras, called after the sages kamsha, kasyapa, bharadvaja, vatsya, kaundinya, atri, and tatri; and that other gotras have grown out of these. relationship is said by some to cease after the fourth generation, but this is disputed. the bride's dowry is always heavy. the wife joins her husband's gotra, forsaking her own altogether. women may remain unmarried without prejudice. needless to say, this has the reverse of favour with brahmans outside malabar. but the nambutiri girl or woman, who has not been married, is not allowed to disappear altogether from the world without at least the semblance of marriage, for, at her death, some part of the marriage ceremony is performed on her person. the tali is tied. in like manner, a dead toda girl is not allowed to go to her last rest unmarried. infant marriage, which is the rule with other brahmans, is said to be unknown among the nambutiris. mr. justice k. narayana marar, however, writes [95] that he is "not prepared to assert that infant marriage is unknown among nambudris, and that marriages are always celebrated before puberty. there are instances, though rare, of infant marriages among them." when a girl is ten years old, or a little more, her father thinks of finding a husband for her. property alone is the real thing to be considered. every detail bearing on advantage to the family through the alliance is carefully thought out. among the malayalis generally, the young man with university degrees has command of the marriage market, but to the nambutiri these are of no account. when the girl's father has fixed on a likely young man, he gets his horoscope, and confers with a vadhyar concerning the suitability or agreement of the young man's horoscope with that of his daughter. should the decision of the vadhyar be favourable, the young man's father is invited to the house on an auspicious day, and the two fathers, together with some friends, talk the matter over. in the presence of all, the vadhyar announces the agreement of the horoscopes of the pair whose marriage is in prospect. the dowry of the bride is then fixed. probably many days have been occupied already, before the fathers can agree as to the settlement of the dowry. when this has been done, the vadhyar consults the heavenly bodies, and appoints the day on which the marriage ceremonies should be begun. there is then a feast for all present. a nambutiri would be in very bad circumstances if he did not give at least a thousand rupees with his daughter. he should give much more, and does, if he possibly can. the ceremonies connected with marriage are supposed to occupy a year, but they are practically completed within ten days. they open with a party leaving the bride's illam, to invite the bridegroom and his party to the wedding. at the house of the bridegroom, the vadhyar is given about eight fanams [96] (money) by both parties. the return to the bride's illam is a sort of noisy procession composed of the bridegroom with his friends, nayar women under big cadjan (palm leaf) umbrellas, a number of nayars, some of whom indulge in sword play with swords and shields, and nambutiris versed in the sastras. the bridegroom, who is the chief figure in the crowd, has a string (the usual kankanam) tied round his right wrist to protect him from evil spirits, and carries a bamboo with sixteen joints symbolic of the married state, a mirror for good luck, an arrow to guard the bride against evil spirits, four cloths, and a tali. at the gate of the bride's illam, the procession is met by some nayar women dressed as nambutiri women, who, being unable to come out and welcome the bridegroom, do so by proxy. these women wave a light in front of his face, and offer ashtamangalyam--a plate on which are plantain, betel leaves, a cocoanut, and other articles. on this day, the aupasana agni, or sacred fire, is prepared in the courtyard of the bride's illam. a square pit is made, and fire is made with a piece of wood of the jak tree and of the pipal. this fire is rendered sacred by some mystic rites. it is kept burning throughout the marriage, and is preserved until the death of the future husband and wife in one of two ways:- (1) keeping a lamp lighted at the fire burning perpetually; (2) heating in the fire a piece of wood (plasa or palasa) or dharba grass. the wood or grass is put away, and, when the aupasana agni is to be revived, is lighted in a fire of jak and pipal wood, while certain mantrams (consecrated formulæ) are repeated. the body of the bridegroom (and, i think, of the bride should she die first) should be burnt in the aupasana agni prepared on the first day of the wedding. the aupasana agni is, as it were, a witness to the marriage. in the courtyard, the nandimukham ceremony is performed for propitiation of the minor deities and the pitris (spirits of deceased ancestors). a pot containing sacred or consecrated water, a piece of sandalwood, a piece of gold, flowers, raw rice, and some fruits are the apparent object of adoration. it is called kalas--the kalasam of the tamil and telugu countries--and is a common symbol of the deity. according to monier williams, [97] it should be worshipped thus. "in the mouth of the water-vessel abideth vishnu, in its neck is rudra, in its lower part is brahma, while the whole company of the mothers are congregated in its middle part. o! ganges, yamuna, godavari, saraswati, narmada, sindhu and kaveri, be present in this water." a part of the aforesaid ceremony (nandimukham) is called the punyahavachana, for which the bridegroom repeats certain hymns after the vadhyar, and is sprinkled with water from the kalas. while all this is being done in the courtyard, the very same ceremony is performed within the house in the presence of the bride, whose father does inside the house what the bridegroom is doing outside. at the conclusion of the ceremony, the tali is tied on the bride's neck. then two of the cloths brought by the bridegroom are sent inside, and are touched by the bride. after she has touched them, they are again brought out, and the bridegroom puts them on. he touches the other two cloths, which are taken inside, and worn by the bride. a feast (ayanium) is the next item. the bride and bridegroom eat their share of it in separate rooms. then comes the marriage proper. the bride's father washes the bridegroom's feet, while a nayar woman waves a light (ayiram tiri or thousand lights) before his face, and conducts him to the hall prepared for the wedding. in this is a mantapam, or sort of raised seat, having four pillars and a covering roof. the pillars of the mantapam, and the ceiling of the hall, are covered with red cloth (red being an auspicious colour), and there are festoons of mango leaves. to one side of the mantapam is a screen, behind which stand the nambutiri women of the household, looking at the scene in the hall through holes. the bride and bridegroom are led to the mantapam, the former following the latter screened from the general gaze by a big cadjan umbrella. she hands him a garland, and, in doing so, she should not touch his hand. he puts on the garland. vedic hymns are chanted, and the pair are brought face to face for the first time. this is called mukhadarsanam, or seeing the face. the bridegroom leads the bride three times round the fire and water jar, moving round to the right, repeating a mantram, which is rendered as follows by monier williams. [98] "i am male, thou art female. come, let us marry, let us possess offspring. united in affection, illustrious, well disposed towards each other, let us live for a hundred years." each time the bridegroom leads the bride round, he causes her to mount a mill-stone, saying "ascend thou this stone, and be thou firm as this rock. [99]" then, at a moment supposed to be auspicious, water is poured on the hands of the bridegroom, signifying that the girl and her dowry have been handed over to him. the nambutiri women behind the screen, and the nayar women in the hall, utter a shrill cry "like that of the vaikura." the fire here mentioned is probably taken from the original aupasana agni. holding the bride by the hand, the bridegroom leads her seven steps--one for force, two for strength, three for wealth, four for well-being, five for offspring, six for the seasons, and seven as a friend. he tells her to be devoted to him, and to bear him many sons, who may live to a good old age. this ceremony is called the saptapadi (seven steps). a homam is then performed. it is said that the fire used on this occasion must be preserved until the death of the bridegroom, and used at the cremation of his body. a feast is the next thing. when it is over, the bride's father takes her on his lap, asks his son-in-law to treat her well, and formally hands her over to him. the bridegroom promises to do so, and takes his wife by the hand. then there is a procession to the bridegroom's illam, the bride being carried in a litter, and the bridegroom walking and carrying the sacrificial fire. so ends the first day. it seems that the newly-married couple live apart for the next three days, during which the bride is initiated into household duties. the only daily ceremony is the homam, which is done by the pair after bathing, and before taking food. on the fourth day there is a ceremony, in which the bride plants a jasmine cutting, by way of symbolising help to her husband in the performance of his religious duties. at night the couple are conducted to the bridal chamber by the vadhyar. the bed is merely a grass mat, or a common country blanket, covered with a white sheet, and having a little ridge of rice and paddy, signifying plenty, round the edge. the vadhyar withdraws, and the bridegroom shuts the door. [100] the vadhyar outside cites appropriate passages from the sacred writings, which are repeated by the bridegroom. on the fifth day, the bride and bridegroom anoint each other with oil, and the latter combs the hair of the former. then, before bathing, they catch some little fish called manatt kani (eyes looking up) which are found in pools, with a cloth used as a net. while this is being done, a brahmachari asks the bridegroom "did you see a cow and a son?" pointing to the fishes caught in the cloth, the bridegroom replies "yes, they are here." this is said to be suggestive of progeny, fishes being emblematic of fertility. homam is then done. at night, the bridegroom adorns the bride with flowers, and makes her look into a mirror, while he recites mantrams suitable to the occasion. from the sixth to the ninth day there is practically nothing in the way of ceremonial. and, as that proper to the tenth day is invariably done on the sixth day, the ceremony may be said to conclude on the night of the sixth day. a few brahmans are fed to please the pitris, and the couple go to a jak tree, under which some rice, curds, and ghi are placed on kusa grass, and an offering is made of flowers and sandalwood or powder. the kankanam, bamboo staff, arrow, and mirror are given to the vadhyar, and the wedding is over. sir w. w. hunter [101] speaks of the nambutiris as "a despised class," they having had fishermen ancestors. the little ceremony of catching fish, which is a very important item in the marriage rites, may look like preservation in meaningless ceremonial of something real in the past, but it only shows that, in an endeavour to interpret ceremonial, we must be far from hasty. among the shivalli brahmans of south canara, the marriage mat is taken to a tank in procession. the bride and bridegroom make a pretence of catching fish, and, with linked fingers, touch their foreheads. it is recorded, in the manual of south canara, that "all tulu chronicles agree in ascribing the creation of malabar and canara, or kerala, tuluva, and haiga, to parasu rama, who reclaimed from the sea as much land as he could cover by hurling his battle-axe from the top of the western ghauts. according to tulu traditions, after a quarrel with brahmans who used to come to him periodically from ahi-kshetra, parasu rama procured new brahmans for the reclaimed tract by taking the nets of some fishermen, and making a number of brahmanical threads with which he invested the fishermen, and thus turned them into brahmans, and retired to the mountains to meditate, after informing them that, if they were in distress, and called on him, he would come to their aid. after the lapse of some time, during which they suffered no distress, they were curious to know if parasu rama would remember them, and called upon him in order to find out. he promptly appeared, but punished their thus mocking him by cursing them, and causing them to revert to their old status of sudras." a more detailed account of the marriage ceremonial is given in the gazetteer of malabar, which may well be quoted. "the first preliminaries in arranging a nambudiri marriage are the inevitable comparison of horoscopes, and the settlement of the dowry. when these have been satisfactorily concluded, an auspicious day for the wedding is selected in consultation with the astrologer. on that day, the bridegroom, before he starts from his illam, partakes with his relatives and friends of a sumptuous repast called the ayani un. a similar feast is held simultaneously at the bride's house. on leaving the illam, as he crosses the threshold, and indeed on all occasions of importance, the bridegroom must be careful to put his right foot first. he also mutters mantrams of an auspicious nature, called mangala sutrangal. as he passes out of the gate, he is met by a bevy of nayar ladies, carrying the eight lucky articles (ashtamangalyam). these are a grandha, a washed cloth, a cheppu or rouge-box, some rice, a val kannadi or metal hand-mirror, some kunkumam (crimson powder), chanthu (ointment of sandal, camphor, musk and saffron), and mashi (bdellium or any eye salve). on his journey to the bride's illam, he is preceded by a noisy procession of nayars, armed with swords and lacquered shields, who constitute his agambadi or body-guard, and by nambudri friends and relatives, one of whom carries a lighted lamp. at the gate of the bride's illam he is met by a band of nayar women, dressed like antarjanams, and carrying the ashtamangalyam and lighted lamps. the bridegroom enters the inner court-yard (nadumittam), and takes his seat in the usual eastward position. the bride's father comes and sits opposite him, and, clasping his right hand, formally invites him to bathe and wed his daughter, an invitation which he formally accepts. after his bath, he returns clad in fresh clothes, and wearing a ring of dharba or kusa grass (cynodon dactylon), and takes his seat in the room adjoining the porch (pumukham), called purattalam. he then makes an offering of a few fanams (money) to his family deities, performs ganapathi puja (worship of the elephant god), and presents four or five nambudris with a few fanams each, and with betel leaf and areca nut. this is called asramapischetha prayaschittam, and is in expiation of any sins into which he may have been betrayed during his bachelor days. similar gifts are also made first to two nambudris of any gotra considered as representing the deities called visvadvas, and then to two others of different gotras representing the deceased ancestors or pitris. the last gift is called nandimukham. meanwhile, within the house the bride is conducted to the vadakkini room, veiled in an old cloth, and carrying a piece of bell-metal shaped like a hand-mirror (val kannadi). her father, after washing his feet and putting on a darbha ring, comes and performs ganapathi puja, and repeats more or less the same ritual that has been performed without. the bride is then sprinkled with holy water by her father and four other nambudiris. the tali or marriage symbol is brought in a brass vessel containing holy water, and laid near the idol to which the daily domestic worship is paid; and, after further offerings to ganapathi, the bridegroom is summoned to enter the illam. before doing so he purifies himself, taking off the darbha ring, making the 'caste marks' with holy ashes (bhasmam), washing his feet, replacing the ring, and being sprinkled with holy water by four nambudiris--a form of ritual which recurs constantly in all ceremonies. he enters the nadumittam, preceded by a nambudiri carrying a lighted lamp, and takes his seat on a wooden stool (pidam) in the middle of the court where the bride's father makes obeisance to him, and is given four double lengths of cloth (kaccha), which the bridegroom has brought with him. they are taken to the bride, who puts on two of them, and returns two for the bridegroom to wear. the bridegroom then goes to the kizhakkini, where he prepares what may be called the "altar." he smears part of the floor in front of him with cow-dung and then, with a piece of jack-wood (artocarpus integrifolia), called sakalam, draws a line at the western side of the place so prepared, and at right angles to this line five more, one at each end, but not actually touching it, and three between these. he then places the pieces of jack-wood on the altar, and ignites it with fire brought from the hearth of the bride's illam. he feeds the flame with chips of plasu or chamatha (butea frondosa). this fire is the aupasana agni, regarded as the witness to the marriage rite. it must be kept alight--not actually, but by a pious fiction [102]--till the parties to the marriage die, and their funeral pyre must be kindled from it. three pieces of plasu called paridhi, and eighteen pieces called udhmam, tied together by a string of darbha, are placed on the northern side of the altar on two pieces of jack-wood; and there are also brought and placed round the altar four blades of darbha grass, a small bell-metal vessel, an earthenware pot full of water, a pair of grind-stones (ammi and ammikuzha), a small winnowing fan containing parched paddy (malar), and a copper vessel of ghee (clarified butter) with a sacrificial ladle made of plasu. meanwhile, the bride's father ties the tali round her neck in the vadakkini, and her mother gives her a garland of tulasi (ocimum sanctum). she is conducted to the kizhakkini, preceded by a nambutiri carrying a lamp called ayyira tiri (thousand wicks), and is made to stand facing the bridegroom on the north or north-east of the altar. this is called mukha-dharsanam (face-beholding). she gives the garland to the bridegroom. now comes the central rite of this elaborate ceremonial, the udaga-purva-kannyaka-dhanam, or gift of a maiden with water. the bride and her father stand facing west, and the bridegroom facing them. all three stretch out their right hands, so that the bride's hand is between those of her father and the bridegroom, which are above and below hers respectively. a nambutiri othikan or ritual expert pours water thrice into the father's hand. the latter each time pours it into his daughter's hand, and then, grasping her hand, pours it into the bridegroom's hand. the dowry is then given to the bride, who hands it over to the bridegroom. she then passes between him and the fire, and sits on an amana palaga [103] on the east of the altar, while the bridegroom sits on another palaga on her left, and burns the udhmams (except one piece of plasu and the darbha string used to tie the bundle), and makes an oblation of ghee called agharam. the next rite is called panigrahanam. the bridegroom rises from his seat, turns to the right, and stands facing the bride, who remains seated, holding the mirror in her left hand. she stretches out her right hand palm upwards, with the fingers closed and bent upwards. he grasps it, and sits down again. a brother of the bride now comes and takes the mirror from the bride, puts it on a palaga, and professes to show her her own reflection in its surface. then the bridegroom pours a little ghee into her joined hands, to which the bride's brother adds two handfuls of paddy from the winnowing basket, and the bridegroom then brushes the paddy from her hands into the fire. this is called the lajahomam. at its conclusion, bride and bridegroom perform a pradakshinam round the fire, passing outside the water-pot but not the grindstone and fan. next comes the important piece of ceremonial called asmarohanam, symbolising immutability. the bride and bridegroom stand west of the grindstones, and the bridegroom, taking her feet one by one, places them on the stones, and then grasps feet and stones with both hands. lajahomam, pradakshinam, and asmarohanam are each repeated thrice. then comes the rite called saptapadi or seven paces. the bridegroom leads his bride seven steps towards the north-east, touching her right foot with his right hand as he does so. they then pass between the grindstones and the fire, and seat themselves on the west of the earthen pot facing east, the bride behind the bridegroom; and the latter performs a somewhat acrobatic feat which it must be difficult to invest with any dignity. he bends backwards, supporting himself by placing the palms of his hands on the ground behind him, until he can touch with the top of his head that of the bride, who bends forward to facilitate the process. after this, the bridegroom sprinkles himself and the bride with water from the earthen pot. they then return to their seats west of the altar, and face north, ostensibly looking at the pole star (druvan), the star arundati, and the seven rishis (ursa major), which the bridegroom is supposed to point out to the bride, while he teaches her a short mantram invoking the blessing of long life on her husband. the bridegroom then makes two oblations, pouring ghee on the sacred fire, the first called sishtakralhomam and the second darmmihomam. he then places on the fire the paridhis, the remaining udhmams and dharba grass, and the rest of the ghee. a start is then made for the bridegroom's illam, the bridegroom carrying the chamatha branch used in making the aupasana agni in the bride's house. on arrival, an altar is prepared in much the same manner as before, the chamatha branch is ignited, and darbha and ghee are offered. the bride and bridegroom next spend a few moments closeted in the same room, she lying on a skin spread over a new cloth on the floor, and he sitting on an amana palaga. in the evening, aupasana homam, or offerings of chamatha in the sacred fire, and vaisyadeva homam, or offerings of boiled rice, are made. these, which are known as a second homam, may be postponed till next afternoon, if there is no time for them on the actual wedding day. they have to be performed daily for ten months. the first three days on which these homams are performed (viz., the wedding day and the two following it, or the three days after the wedding as the case may be) are regarded as days of mourning (diksha), and clothes are not changed. on the fourth day, the newly married couple have an oil-bath, and the diksha is considered to be at an end. after the usual homams and worship of ganapathi, the bride is led to the bridal chamber at an auspicious moment. her husband joins her, carrying two garlands of jasmine, one of which he puts on the lamp placed in the south-east corner of the room, and one round his wife's neck. he then smears the upper part of her body with the ointment known as chanthu, and she herself smears the lower part. tum vir penem suum fæminæ ad partes pudendas admovit, vestibus scilicet haud remotis. they then bathe and change their clothes, and sit near each other, the wife screened behind an umbrella. her husband gives her water, and after some further rites they eat from the same plantain leaf. actual cohabitation commences from that night. the pair are conducted to the bridal chamber by the vadhiyar. the nuptial couch is but a grass mat or a common country blanket covered with a white sheet, with a little ridge of rice and paddy signifying plenty around the edges. the final ceremony is the homam called stalipagam. it is performed on the day after the first full moon day after the second homam. if the moon is at the full 3/4 nazhiga before sunset or earlier, the ceremony may be performed on the full moon day itself." it will have been seen already that the nambutiris are not strict monogamists. some stated that a man may have four wives, and that the same ceremony as that described must be performed for wedding all four wives. moreover, there is no restriction to the number of nayar women, with whom a man may be associated. hamilton, writing concerning malabar at the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth century, says that "when the zamorin marries, he must not cohabit with his bride till the nambutiri or chief priest has enjoyed her, and, if he pleases, may have three nights of her company, because the first fruit of her nuptials must be an holy oblation to the god he worships: and some of the nobles are so complaisant as to allow the clergy the same tribute; but the common people cannot have that compliment paid to them, but are forced to supply the priest's place themselves." of ceremonies after marriage, and those performed during pregnancy and subsequent to the birth of a child, the following may be noted:- (1) garbhadhanam, performed soon after marriage. there is a homam, and the husband puts the juice of some panic grass into his wife's nostrils. (2) garbharakshana secures the unborn child from dangers. it is not considered important, and is not always done. (3) pumsavana, performed in the third month of pregnancy for the purpose of securing male offspring. the desire of the hindu for male rather than female children need not be dilated on. putra (a son) is the one who saves from hell (put). it is by every religious text made clear that it is the duty of every man to produce a son. the nambutiri may have practically any number of wives in succession, until he begets a son by one of them, and he may adopt a son through the sarvasvadanam form of marriage. on the day devoted to the pumsavana ceremony, the wife fasts until she is fed by her husband with one grain of corn, symbolising the generative organs of the male. (4) simantonnayana is the next ceremony performed for the benefit of the unborn child. it is done between the sixth and eighth months of pregnancy, and consists in a burnt sacrifice to the deity, and the husband parting the hair of his wife's head with a porcupine quill, or with three blades of the sacred kusa grass, repeating the while vedic verses. (5) jatakarma is the name of the birth ceremony, and is performed by the father of the child. honey and ghi are introduced into the mouth of the infant with a golden spoon or rod, to symbolise good fortune. then the ears and shoulders are touched with the spoon or rod, while vedic texts are recited. (6) medhajananam, rarely done, is for inducing intelligence. (7) ayusha, for prolonging life, is the next in order. the father gives the child a secret name, having an even number of syllables for a male and an uneven number for a female, which is never revealed to any one except the mother. (8) namakarana is the ceremony, at which the child is named, and is said to be done on the tenth day after birth. the naming of a child is an important religious act, which is supposed to carry consequences throughout life. the parents, assisted by a vadhyan, make a burnt sacrifice to the deity. (9) annaprasana is the ceremony at which food other than that from nature's fount is first given. it is done in the sixth month after birth. the father carries the child to a group of friends and relations. the vadhyan or purohit is present and repeats vedic texts, while the father places a little rice and butter in the child's mouth. (10) chaula is the ceremony when the hair is cut for the first time in the nambutiri fashion. (11) karna vedha is the occasion on which the ears are bored. on the vidyadasami day, the tenth of asvayuja, when a male child is five years old, the father goes through the form of initiating him into the mysteries of the alphabet. the following details of some of the above ceremonies are given in the gazetteer of malabar. "the chief ceremonies connected with pregnancy are pumsavanam or rite to secure male offspring, at which the husband puts a grain of barley and two beans, to represent the male organ, into his wife's hand, and pours some curds over them, which the wife then swallows, and also pours some juice of karuga grass into her right nostril; and simantham, a ceremony usually performed in the fourth month of pregnancy, at which the husband parts the wife's hair four times from back to front with a sprig of atti (ficus glomerata), a porcupine quill which must have three white marks on it, and three blades of darba grass, all tied together, after which mantrams are sung to the accompaniment of vinas. the first ceremony to be performed on the birth of a child is jathakarmam. a little gold dust is mingled with ghee and honey, and the father takes up some of the mixture with a piece of gold, and smears the child's lips with it, once with a mantram and once in silence. he next washes the gold, and touches the child's ears, shoulders and head with it, and finally makes a gift of the bit of gold and performs nandimukham. the ceremony of naming the child, or namakarmam, takes place on the twelfth day. the father ties a string round the child's waist, and marks its body with the sacred ash (bhasmam). then, after the usual 'gifts' he pronounces thrice in the child's right ear the words 'devadatta sarmmasi,' or if the child be a girl, 'nili dasi.' he then calls out the name thrice. then, taking the child from its mother, he again calls out the name thrice, and finally gives the child back to its mother, who in turn calls out the name thrice. gifts and nandimukham complete the ceremony. in the fourth month, the child is ceremonially taken out of doors (nishkramana or vittil purapattu) by the father, who carries it to a cocoanut, round which he makes three pradakshinams." the death ceremonies of the nambutiris are commenced shortly before death actually takes place. when death is believed to be unmistakably near, some verses from the taittirya upanishad are spoken in the dying man's ears. these are called karna mantras, or ear hymns. a bed of kusa grass, called darbhasana, is prepared in the verandah or some convenient place outside the foundations of the house, and the dying man is placed on it. when life is extinct, the body is washed, dressed in a new white cloth, and placed on a bier made of bamboos covered with a new white cloth. the bier is then carried on the shoulders of four of the nearest relatives to the place of cremation within the compound of the illam, and laid on a pile of firewood, which must include some sandalwood. this should be done by brothers or sons if there are such; if not, by more distant relatives or friends. the pyre need not of necessity be prepared by nambutiris. properly speaking, according to the sacred texts, which govern almost every act of the nambutiri's life, relatives and friends, male and female, should accompany the bier to the place of cremation, but, as a rule, women do not join the little procession. the bier is laid on the pyre, and the corpse is uncovered. rice is scattered over the face by the blood-relations present, and small pieces of gold are thrust into the nine openings of the body, while mantras are recited by the vadhyayar or priest. the gold is said to be used on this occasion as part of the offering in the yagam--the last sacrifice, as the burning of the body is called--and not in any way to assist the deceased in his journey to "the undiscovered country." soon after the bier is laid on the funeral pyre, a homam is made. fire taken from it is placed on the chest of the deceased, and then the pyre is lighted in three places. the performer of the crematory rites carries an earthen pot round the pyre. the officiating priest punctures the pot with a knife, and receives the water in another pot. he throws this water on the pyre, and the pot is then smashed and flung away. this part of the ceremony is said to symbolise that the deceased has had his ablution in the water of the ganges, and the fire god, agni, represented by the homam, was witness to the same. the fire god is supposed to witness every ceremony enjoined by the vedas. after the body is burnt, those who attended go away and bathe. the disembodied soul is supposed to enter a body called sukshma sarira, and eventually goes to heaven or hell as it deserves. but, before it can reach its destination, certain ceremonies must be performed. these consist chiefly of oblations on each of the ten days following death, for the purpose of causing the preta (spirit) to grow out of the dhananjaya vayu, which causes deformities and changes in the deceased after death. each day's ceremony completes a limb or part of the preta, and the body is complete in ten days. on the third day after death, the ashes of the deceased are collected in an urn, and buried at the place of cremation or close to it. this is called ekoddishta. on the eleventh day, all the members of the family go through a purificatory ceremony, which consists in swallowing the panchagavya, and changing the sacred thread. they then perform a sraddha, offering balls of rice, etc., to the deceased and three of his ancestors, and give a dinner and presents of money and cloths to brahmans. twelve sraddhas must be performed, one in each month following, when water and balls of rice (pindas) are offered to the spirit. the twelfth sraddha is the sapindi karana, which elevates the spirit of the deceased to the rank of an ancestor. following this, there is only the annual sraddha, or anniversary of death, calculated according to the lunar or astronomical year, when not less than three brahmans are fed, and receive presents of money and cloths. concerning the death ceremonies, mr. subramani aiyar writes as follows. "after death, the blood relations of the deceased bathe, and, with wet clothes on, place two pieces of the stem of the plantain tree, one at the head and the other at the feet of the corpse. the hair of the head and face is shaved a little, and the body is bathed with water in which turmeric and mailanchi, a red vegetable substance, are dissolved. the vaishnavite gopi mark is drawn vertically, as also are sandal paste marks on various parts of the body, and flowers and garlands are thrown over it. the corpse is then covered with an unbleached cloth, which is kept in position by a rope of kusa grass. it is carried to the pyre by nambutiris who are not within the pollution circle of the deceased, the eldest son supporting the head and the younger ones the legs. a cremation pit is dug in the south-east portion of the compound, and a mango tree, which has been felled, is used as fuel. in all these ceremonies, the eldest son is the karta or chief mourner and responsible ritualist, with whom the younger ones have to keep up physical contact while the several rites are being gone through. when the body is almost reduced to ashes, the principal performer of the ceremonies and his brothers bathe, and, taking some earth from the adjoining stream or tank, make with it a representation of the deceased. throughout the funeral ceremonies, the maran is an indispensable factor. the handing of the kusa grass and gingelly (sesamum) seeds for the oblation must be done by a member of that caste. sanchayanam, or the collection and disposal of the burnt bones of the deceased, takes place on the fourth day. on the eleventh day the pollution ceases, and the daily sraddha begins. a term of diksha or special observance is kept up for three fortnights, but generally for a whole year. on the twelfth day is the sapinda karana sraddha, or ceremony of what may be called joining the fathers, after which the dead person passes from the stage of preta to join the manes or spirits. there are then the monthly ceremonies (masikas) and ashta sraddhas (eight sraddhas). the abdika or first anniversary, known in malabar by the name of masam, is a very important ceremony, and one on which unstinted expenditure is the rule." a further account of the death ceremonies is given in the gazetteer of malabar. "when death is believed to be near, the dying man is taken to the west of the hearth of the sacred fire (aupasana agni), and laid with his head to the south on a bed of sand and darbha grass, while the ottu mantram is whispered in his ear. when life is extinct, the body is washed and covered with a plantain leaf. the mourners dress themselves in tattu fashion, and tear up a new cloth breadthwise into pieces called sesham, which they each wear round their waist. the body is then dressed in an undercloth; the forehead is smeared with the pounded root of the creeper mettoni, and tulasi flowers are put on the head; the kudumi (hair knot) is untied, and the punul (sacred thread) arranged to hang round the neck in front. the body is tied on to a bamboo ladder and covered with a new cloth, and then carried by four of the nearest relatives to the place of cremation within the compound of the illam. a trench is dug on the north-east of the pyre, and some water put into it, which is sprinkled on the pyre with twigs of chamatha and darbha. the body is then laid on the pyre with the head to the south, and the fire is kindled. the ladder is thrown away, and a homam performed of ghee and darbha grass made to represent the deceased, while mantrams are recited. then comes the ceremony called kumbhapradakshinam. the mourners go round the pyre three times, the eldest son leading the way, carrying an earthen pot of water on his left shoulder. the water should run through the bottom of the pot, one hole being made for the first round, two for the second, and three for the third, and other mourners should sprinkle it on the pyre. at the end of the third round the pot is thrown on to the pyre, and all the mourners come away, the eldest son leaving last, and being careful not to look back. after bathing and shaving, the sons and other persons entitled to celebrate the obsequies, each perform an oblation of water (udagakriya) to a piece of karuga grass stuck up to represent the spirit of the dead, concluding the ceremony by touching iron, granite, a firebrand, cow-dung, paddy and gold three times, throwing away the sesham, and receiving a clean cloth (mattu). they then return to the nadumittam, when they make offerings (bali or veli) of rice balls (pindams) to a piece of karuga grass. both these ceremonies have to be repeated twice daily for ten days. on the fourth day after death, provided it is not a tuesday or friday, the ceremony of collecting the bones (sanchyanam) is performed. the eldest son goes to the pyre with a pala (pot made of the spathe of an areca palm) of milk, which he sprinkles on the pyre with a brush of chamatha tied with karuga grass. three palas are placed on the west of the pyre parallel to the places where the feet, waist and head of the corpse rested, and bones are removed from the feet, waist and head with tongs of chamatha, and placed in the respective palas. the bones are then washed in milk, and all put into an earthen pot (kudam) with some karuga grass on the top. the pot is covered with a cloth, taken to a cocoanut tree and buried in a pit, the cloth being removed and the top filled with mud. a plantain is planted in the trench that was dug near the pyre. on the eleventh day, all the members of the family purify themselves, and perform oblations of water and balls of rice. this constitutes the first sraddha, which must be repeated on each anniversary of the eleventh day." "the funeral rites of women are similar; but, if the woman is pregnant at the time of death, the body has first to be purified seven times with pounded kusa grass, cow-dung, cow's urine, ashes and gold, and to receive mattu. the belly is cut open four inches below the navel, and, if the child is found alive, it is taken out and brought up; if dead, it is put back in the womb with a piece of gold and some ghee. children not more than ten days old are buried with little ceremony, but all others are burnt." [104] when a nambutiri is believed to have been guilty of an offence against the caste, or when there is a caste dispute in any gramam, the proper course is to represent the matter to the king (in malabar the zamorin), who refers it to the smarta having jurisdiction over that particular gramam, ordering him to try the offender after holding a proper enquiry. minor offences are punishable by infliction of penance, fasting, or doing special puja to the gods. graver offences are dealt with by excommunication from the caste. against the decision of the smarta there is no appeal. adultery between a nambutiri woman and a man of inferior caste is perhaps the most serious of all caste offences. the enquiry into cases of adultery is described as follows by mr. subramani aiyar. "it is conducted by the smarta, and hence arises the name (smartavicharam) by which it is known. whenever a nambutiri woman's chastity is suspected, she is at once handed over to society for enquiry, no considerations of personal affection or public policy intervening. the mother or brother may be the first and only spectator of a shady act, but feels no less bound to invite, and generally pay very heavily for a public enquiry by society according to its recognised rules. the suspect is at once transferred to an isolation shed in the same compound, variously called by the name of anchampura or fifth room (outside the nalukettu or quadrangle), or the pachcholappura, a new shed with green thatch roofing put up for the occasion. she may be seen here by her husband, his father and uncles, her father, father's father, father's maternal grandfather, and their sons, but by none else. once a prohibited member sees her, the brand of infamy indubitably settles on her, and the smartavicharam is considered foreclosed. for beginning a smartavicharam, the sanction of the ruling raja has to be obtained. the matter is carried to his ears, after a preliminary enquiry, called dasivicharam, has been gone through. for this, the woman's male relations, in conjunction with the brahmans of the neighbourhood, interrogate the dasi or nayar maid-servant attached to the suspected woman. along with the application for royal sanction in travancore, a fee of sixty-four fanams or nine rupees has to be sent in, and is credited to the treasury of sri padmanabha swami, as whose deputy the maharaja is supposed to rule the country. the maharaja then appoints a smarta (judge), two mimamsakas, an akakkoyimma, and a purakkoyimma. the office of smarta is hereditary. if a family becomes extinct, the yoga or village union nominates another in its place. the mimamsakas are nambutiris learned in the law, and their office is seldom hereditary. they are appointed to help the smarta in his enquiries. the akakkoyimma, or person whose business is to preserve order, holds his appointment by heredity. the purakkoyimma is the proxy of the sovereign himself. in ancient days, and even so late as the time of the great martanda varma, the ruling sovereign himself was present during the trial, and preserved order. now a deputy is sent by the maharaja. he is generally the magistrate of the taluk, who, if he finds it inconvenient to attend the meeting, delegates the function to the chief village officer. the smarta, when he receives the royal commission (neet) for holding the enquiry, receives from the woman's relations a small tribute of money (dakshina). the mimamsakas, it may be observed, are selected by the smarta. in travancore alone is the smarta's authority supreme, for no vaidika lives in this territory, and none are generally invited. in other parts of malabar, where vaidikas live permanently, one of the six recognised vaidikas has to accompany the smarta to the place of the vicharana (enquiry), and the smarta merely conducts the enquiry as the proxy of, and authorised and guided by the vaidikas. generally the council assembles at some neighbouring village temple. the suspected woman is placed within the anchampura, and her maid-servant stands at the door. all questions are addressed to her, as the gosha of the suspect has to be honoured in its entirety until the pronouncement of the final verdict. the procedure begins, not by the framing and reading out of a charge-sheet, but by arranging for the suspicion being brought to notice by the accused person herself. for this purpose, the smarta makes a feint of entering the isolation shed, as if in ignorance of everything that has transpired. the maid-servant stops him, and informs him that her mistress is within. the smarta, on hearing this, affects astonishment, and asks her the reason why her mistress should not be in the main building (antahpuram). with this question, the enquiry may be said to have actually begun. the next morning by eleven o'clock, the smarta and his co-adjutors again go and stand beside the isolation hut, and, calling for the maid-servant, commence the regular enquiry. after about five o'clock in the afternoon, the smarta, in the presence of the akakkoyimma, relates the whole day's proceedings to the mimamsakas, and takes their opinion as to the questions for the next day. the enquiry often lasts for months, and sometimes even for years. it is the most expensive undertaking possible, as the whole judicatory staff has to be maintained by the family, unless the sadhanam or subject gives a circumstantial confession of her guilt. it is not enough to plead guilty; she must point out all the persons who have been partakers in her guilt. thus every day the smarta asks "are there any more?" after the completion of the enquiry, the council re-assembles at the village temple. the guardian of the suspect presents himself before the assembled brahmans, and makes the customary obeisance. the smarta then recounts the details of the enquiry, and ultimately pronounces his verdict. if the woman is declared innocent, she is re-accepted amidst universal rejoicings, and the head of the family feels amply repaid for the expenditure he has incurred in the reputation for chastity secured for a member of his family under such a severe ordeal. if things do not end so well, all the brahmans come out of the temple and re-assemble, when a brahman, who is usually not a nambutiri, as the nambutiris do not desire to condemn one of their own caste, stands up, and in a stentorian voice repeats the substance of the charge, and the judgment as given by the smarta. the guardian of the woman then goes away, after she has been handed over by the smarta to the custody of the purakkoyimma. the guardian bathes, and performs all the funeral ceremonies for his ward, who from this moment is considered dead for all social and family purposes. the persons meanwhile, whose names have been given out by the woman as having been implicated in the offence, have to vindicate their character on pain of excommunication. in connection with a case of adultery, which was tried recently in malabar, it is noted that the purakkoyimma kept order in the court with sword in hand. iswara puja (worship of iswara) was performed in the local temple on all the days of the trial, and the suspected woman was given panchagavya (five products of the cow) so that she might tell the truth. i am informed that, in the course of an enquiry into a charge of adultery, "it sometimes happens that the woman names innocent men as her seducers. two courses are then open to them, in order that they may exculpate themselves, viz., ordeal by boiling oil, and ordeal by weighing. the former of these ordeals is undergone, under the sanction of the raja, by the accused person dipping his bare hand in ghi, which has been boiling from sunrise to midday, and taking out of it a bell-metal image. the hand is immediately bandaged, and if, on examination of it on the third day, it be found unharmed, the man is declared innocent. in the other ordeal, the man is made to sit for a certain time in one of a pair of scales, and is declared innocent or guilty, according as the scale ascends or descends. but these practices do not now prevail." in former days, the ordeal of boiling ghi was undergone at the temple of suchindram in travancore. this temple derives its name from indra, who, according to the legend, had illicit intercourse with ahalya, the wife of gautama rishi, and had to undergo a similar ordeal at this place. in connection with a case which came before the high court of madras, it is recorded [105] that "an enquiry was held into the conduct of a woman suspected. she confessed that the plaintiff had had illicit intercourse with her, and thereupon they were both declared out-casts, the plaintiff not having been charged, nor having had an opportunity to cross-examine the woman, or enter on his defence, and otherwise to vindicate his character. held by the high court that the declaration that the plaintiff was an outcast was illegal, and, it having been found that the defendants had not acted bonâ fide in making that declaration, the plaintiff was entitled to recover damages." in order to mitigate to some extent the suffering caused by turning adrift a woman proved guilty of adultery, who has hitherto lived in seclusion, provision has been made by the raja of cherakkal. a tiyan named talliparamba possesses a large extent of land granted by a former raja of cherakkal, on condition of his taking under his protection all excommunicated females, if they choose to go with him. he has special rank and privileges, and has the title of mannanar. whenever an inquiry takes place, mannanar receives information of it, and his messengers are ready to take the woman away. it was the custom in former days for mannanar's agents to lead the woman to near his house, and leave her at a certain place from which two roads lead to the house--one to the eastern gate, and the other to the northern. if the woman happened to enter the house by the eastern gate, she became mannanar's wife, and, if she went in by the northern gate, she was considered to be his sister by adoption. this rule, however, is not strictly adhered to at the present day. the nambutiris are stated by mr. subramani aiyar to "belong to different sutras, gotras, or septs, and follow different vedas. the most important of the sutras are asvalayana, baudhayana, apastamba, and kaushitaka. the best-known gotras are kasyapa, bhargava, bharadvaga, vasishta, and kausika. there are a few samavedins belonging to the kitangnur and panchal gramams, but most of them are rigvedic, and some belong to the yajurveda. the rigvedic brahmans belong to two separate yogas or unions, namely, trichur yoga and tirunavai yoga. it appears that three of the most renowned of the disciples of sankaracharya were nambutiri brahmans, who received their initiation into the sanyasasrama at the great sage's hands. they established three maths or monasteries, known as the tekkematham (southern), natuvile matham (middle), and vatakke matham (northern). succession having fallen in default in regard to the last, the property that stood in its name lapsed to the raja of cochin. out of the funds of this matham, a vedic pathasala (boarding school) was established at trichur. a certain number of villagers became in time recognised as being entitled to instruction at this institution, and formed a yoga. trichur then became the centre of brahmanical learning. later on, when the relations of the zamorin of calicut with the raja of cochin became strained, he organised another yoga at tirunavai for the nambutiris who lived within his territory. here there are two yogas for rigvedic brahmans. in these schools, religious instruction has been imparted with sustained attention for several centuries. the heads of these schools are recruited from the houses of changngavot and erkara, respectively. to these two yogas two vadhyars and six vaidikas are attached. there are also six smartas or judges attached to these bodies. the vadhyars are purely religious instructors, and have no judicial duties in respect of society. the vaidikas and smartas are very learned in the smritis, and it is with them that the whole caste government of the nambutiris absolutely rests." the names of the nambutiris measured by mr. fawcett were as follows:- nilakantan. bhavasarman. paramesvaran. nandi. raman. kuberan. harijayandan. madhavan. chandrasekharan. anantan. vasudevan. nambiatan. greni. shannan. damodaran. krishnan. sivadasan. sankaran. mahesvaran. in connection with the names of nambutiris, mr. subramani aiyar writes as follows. "a list of names not current or unusual now among other brahman communities in southern india may be interesting. these are- vishnu. kadamban. gayantan. chitran. devadattan. gadavedan. kiratan. bhavadasan. prabhakaran. srikumaran. dattareyan "the conspicuous absence of the names of the third son of siva (sasta), such as hariharaputra and budhanatha, may be noted. nor are the names of ganapathi much in favour with them. sridevi and savitri are the two most common names, by which nambutiri females are known. there are also certain other names of a prakrita or non-classic character, used to denote males and females, which sometimes border on the humorous. among these are- males. females. nampiyattan. nangngaya. ittiyattan. nangngeli. uzhutran. pappi. tuppan. ittichchiri. nampotta. unnima. chiruta. "some names in this list are identifiable with the names of divinities and puranic personages. for example, uzhutran is a corruption of rudran. in the same manner, tuppan is the prakrit for subramanya, and chiruta for sita. unnima is another name for uma or parvati. nambutiris grudge to grant the title of nambutiri to each other. for instance, the tamarasseri nambutiri calls the mullappalli nambutiri merely mullapalli (house name). but, if the person addressed is an adhya of one of the eight houses, or at least a tantri adhya, the title nambutiri is added to his name. again, if there are in a house two nambutiris, one of them being the father and the other the son, the father whenever he writes, subscribes himself as the achchan nambutiri or father nambutiri, while the son subscribes himself as the makan or son nambutiri. in malabar there were two poets called venmani achchan nambutiri and venmani makan nambutiri, venmani signifying the name of the illam. it is only in documents and other serious papers that the proper name or sarman of the nambutiri would be found mentioned." when addressing each other, nambutiris use the names of their respective illams or manas. when a nambutiri is talking with a nayar, or indeed with one of any other caste, the manner in which the conversation must be carried on, strictly according to custom, is such that the nambutiri's superiority is apparent at every turn. thus, a nayar, addressing a nambutiri, must speak of himself as foot-servant. if he mentions his rice, he must not call it rice, but his gritty rice. rupees must be called his copper coins, not his rupees. he must call his house his dung-pit. he must speak of the nambutiri's rice as his raw rice, his coppers as rupees, and his house as his illam or mana. the nayar must not call his cloth a cloth, but an old cloth or a spider's web. but the nambutiri's cloth is to be called his daily white cloth, or his superior cloth. the nayar, speaking of his bathing, says that he drenches himself with water, whereas the nambutiri sports in the water when he bathes. should he speak of eating or drinking, the nayar must say of himself that he takes food, or treats himself to the water in which rice has been washed. but, should he speak of the nambutiri eating, he must say that he tastes ambrosia. the nayar calls his sleeping lying flat, and the nambutiri's closing his eyes, or resting like a raja. the nayar must speak of his own death as the falling of a forest, but of the nambutiri's as entering fire. the nambutiri is not shaved by the barber; his hairs are cut. he is not angry, but merely dissatisfied. he does not clean his teeth as the nayar; he cleans his superior pearls. nor does he laugh; he displays his superior pearls. concerning the recreations and pastimes of the nambutiris, mr. subramani aiyar writes as follows. "during the intervals of vedic or puranic recitations, the nambutiri engages himself in chaturangam or chess. when the players are equally matched, a game may last five, six, or even seven days. another amusement, which the nambutiris take a great interest in, is the yatrakali, which is said to be a corruption of sastrakali, a performance relating to weapons. this is a unique institution, kept up by a section of the nambutiris, who are believed to represent the brahmanical army of parasu rama. when, at a ceremony in the travancore royal household, a yatrakali is performed, the parties have to be received at the entrance of the maharaja's palace in state, sword in hand. the dress and songs are peculiar. in its import, the performance seems to combine the propitiation of siva and parvati in the manner indicated in a tradition at trikkariyur with exorcism and skill in swordsmanship. it is generally believed that, in ancient days, the brahmans themselves ruled kerala. when they found it necessary to have a separate king, one attakat nambutiri was deputed, with a few other brahmans, to go and obtain a ruler from the adjoining chera territory. the only pass in those days, connecting malabar and coimbatore, was that which is now known as nerumangalam. when the nambutiris were returning through this pass with the ruler whom they had secured from the chera king, a strange light was observed on the adjacent hills. two young brahmans of chengngamanat village, on proceeding towards the hill to investigate the source thereof, found to their amazement that it was none other than sri bhagavati, the consort of siva, who enjoined them to go, viâ trikkariyur, to kodungngnallur, the capital of the perumals. seeing that the sight of bhagavati foretold prosperity, the king called the range of hills nerumangalam or true bliss, and made an endowment of all the surrounding land to the brahman village of chengngamanat, the members of which had the good fortune to see the goddess face to face. when they entered the temple of trikkariyur, a voice was heard to exclaim "chera perumal," which meant that into that town, where parasu rama was believed to be dwelling, no perumal (king) should ever enter--a traditional injunction still respected by the malabar kshatriyas. at this place, the sixth perumal who, according to a tradition, had a pronounced predilection for the bouddha religion (islamism or buddhism, we cannot say), called a meeting of the brahmans, and told them that a religious discussion should be held between them and the bouddhas, in view to deciding their relative superiority. the presiding deity of the local saiva shrine was then propitiated by the brahmans, to enable them to come out victorious from the trial. a gangama saint appeared before them, and taught them a hymn called nalupadam (four feet or parts of a sloka) which the nambutiris say is extracted from the samaveda. the saint further advised them to take out a lamp from within the temple, which according to tradition had existed from the time of sri rama, to a room built on the western ghat of the temple tank, and pray to siva in terms of the hymn. while this was continued for forty-one days, six brahmans, with mayura bhatta at their head, arrived from the east coast to the succour of the nambutiris. with the help of these brahmans, the nambutiris kept up a protracted discussion with the bouddhas. wishing to bring it to a close, the perumal thought of applying a practical test. he enclosed a snake within a pot, and asked the disputants to declare its contents. the bouddhas came out first with the correct answer, while the brahmans followed by saying that it was a lotus flower. the perumal was, of course, pleased with the bouddhas; but, when the pot was opened, it was found to contain a lotus flower instead of a snake. the bouddhas felt themselves defeated, and ever afterwards the nalupadam hymn has been sung by the nambutiris with a view to securing a variety of objects, every one of which they expect to obtain by this means. it is also said that, when the brahmans were propitiating siva at trikkariyur, diverse spirits and angels were found amusing parvati with their quips and cranks. a voice from heaven was then heard to say that such frolics should thereafter form part of the worship of siva. "engaged in these socio-religious performances are eighteen sanghas or associations. the chief office-bearers are the vakyavritti who is the chief person, and must be an ottu nambutiri or a nambutiri with full vedic knowledge; the parishakkaran who holds charge of the yatrakali paraphernalia; and the guru or instructor. the chief household divinities of these soldier nambutiris are bhadrakali, sasta, and subrahmanya. on the evening of the yatrakali day, these brahmans assemble round the lamp, and recite the nalupadam and a few hymns in praise of their household divinities, and especially of siva, the saviour who manifested himself at trikkariyur. on the night of the performance they are entertained at supper, when they sing certain songs called karisloka. they then move in slow procession to the kalam or hall, singing specially songs in the vallappattu metre, with the sacred thread hanging vertically round the neck (apiviti), and not diagonally as is the orthodox fashion. in the hall have been placed a burning lamp in the centre, a para (malabar measure) filled with paddy, a number of bunches of cocoanuts, plantain fruits, and various kinds of flowers. the brahmans sit in a circle round the lamp, and, after preliminary invocations to ganapathi, sing songs in praise of siva. after this various kinds of dumb-show are performed, and this is the time for exhibiting skill in swordsmanship. the exorcising, by the waving of a lighted torch before the face of the host, of any evil spirits that may have attached themselves is then gone through. the performance ends with a prayer to bhagavati, that she will shower every prosperity. following close upon this, a variety entertainment is sometimes given by the yatrakali nambutiris. this old institution is still in great favour in british malabar, and, as it has a religious aspect intertwined with it, it is not likely to be swept away by the unsparing broom of the so-called parishkarakalam or reforming age of modern india. "the kathakali, or national drama of malabar, is held in great esteem and favour by the nambutiris. most of them are conversant with the songs and shows relating to it, and severely criticise the slightest fault or failure. the kathakali is more than three centuries old in malabar, and is said to have been first brought into existence by a member of the ancient ruling house of kottarakkara. as the earliest theme represented was the ramayana, the kathakali is also known as ramanattam. a single play lasts for eight and even ten hours in the night. kshatriyas, asuras, rakshasas, kiratas (hunting tribes), monkeys, birds, etc., each has an appropriate make-up. the play is in dumb-show, and no character is permitted to speak on the stage. the songs are sung by the bhagavatar or songster, and the actors literally act, and do nothing more. the nambutiris love this antiquated form of theatrical performance, and patronise it to a remarkable extent. "there are a number of other recreations of an entirely non-religious character. the chief of these are called respectively seven dogs and the leopard, fifteen dogs and the leopard, and twenty-eight dogs and the leopard. success in these games consists in so arranging the dogs as to form a thick phalanx, two abreast, round the leopard. stones of two sizes are employed to represent the dogs and leopards, and the field is drawn on the ground. "the ezahmattukali, or seventh amusement, is said to have been so called from the fact of its being introduced by the seventh nambutiri gramam of kerala. it is a miniature form of yatrakali, but without its quasi-religious character, and is intended to serve merely as a social pastime. the players need not all be brahmans; nor is fasting or any religious discipline part of the preliminary programme. sitting round the lamp as at the yatrakali, and reciting songs in praise of siva, the players proceed to the characteristic portion of the recreation, which is a kind of competition in quick-wittedness and memory held between two yogas or parties. one among them calls himself the kallur nayar and is the presiding judge. there is interrogation and answering by two persons, and a third proclaims the mistakes in the answers. there are two others, who serve as bailiffs to execute the judge's orders. humorous scenes are then introduced, such as ittikkantappan nayar, prakkal, mutti or old woman, pattar or paradesa brahman, and other characters, who appear on the stage and amuse the assembly." the nambutiris are vedic brahmans: their scriptures are the vedas. it is safe to say that the nambutiris are shaivas, but not to the exclusion of vishnu. the ordinary south indian vaishnava brahman has nothing to do with the shaiva temple over the way, and takes no part or interest in the shaiva festivals. siva is to the nambutiri the supreme deity, but he has temples also to vishnu, krishna, narasimha, sri raghava, ganapathi, subrahmanya, bhagavati, etc. there are said to be temples to sastavu and sankarnarayanan--amalgamated forms of siva and vishnu. the lingam is the ordinary object of worship. like all brahmans, the nambutiris believe that the eight directions or points of the compass, north, north-east, east, south-east, south, south-west, west, north-west, are presided over by eight deities, or ashtadikpalakas, riding on various animals. indra reigns in heaven and yama in hell, and surya is the sun god. all these and their wives are worshipped. parvati shares adoration with siva, lakshmi with vishnu, and so on. the nambutiris believe in the existence of evil spirits which influence man, but they do not worship them. it is said that the nambutiri has of late been influenced by vedantism, that wonderful religious idea of the existence of one spirit or atman, the only reality, outside which the world and all besides is mere illusion, and whose doctrine is wrapped up in the three words "ekam eva advitiyam". (there is but one being without a second). the nambutiris call themselves arya brahmanar. their legendary transmigration to malabar from northern india is doubtless true. theirs is by far the purest form of the vedic brahmanism to be met with in southern india. a complete account of the religion of the nambutiris cannot be given in these pages. the nambutiri's life is a round of sacrifices, the last of which is the burning of his body on the funeral pyre. when the nambutiri has no male issue, he performs the putra kameshti or karmavipakaprayaschittam yagams or sacrifices to obtain it. should he be unwell, he performs the mrittyunjaya santi yagam, so that he may be restored to good health. he performs the aja yagam, or goat sacrifice, in order to obtain salvation. though animal food is strictly forbidden, and the rule is strictly followed, the flesh of the goat, which remains after the offering has been made in this sacrifice, is eaten by the nambutiris present as part of the solemn ceremonial. this is the only occasion on which animal food is eaten. namaskaram, or prostration, is much done during prayers. by some it is done some hundreds of times daily, by others not so often. it amounts to physical exercise, and is calculated to strengthen the arms and the back. reference has already been made to certain ceremonies connected with pregnancy, and the early life of a child. there are three further important ceremonies, called upanayana, samavartana and upakarma, concerning which mr. subramani aiyar writes as follows. "upanayana may be called the brahmanising ceremony. an oft-repeated sanskrit verse runs to the effect that a brahman is a brahman by virtue of his karmas or actions in this life, or the lives preceding it. the meaning of the term upanayana is a ceremony which leads one to god, i.e., to a realisation of the eternal self through the aid of a guru (preceptor). this ceremony takes place in the seventh, eighth, or ninth year of a boy's life. as ordinarily understood, it is a ceremony for males only, as they alone have to observe the four asramas. but, in ancient days, it seems to have been performed also by females. marriage was not compulsory, and a girl might take to asceticism at once. sita is said to have worn a yagnopavitam (sacred thread). a brahman is not born, but made by the karmas. in other words, a brahman boy is, at the time of his birth, only a sudra, and it is by the performance of the necessary karmas--not merely the ceremonial rites, but the disciplinary and preparatory process in view to spiritual development--that he becomes a dviga or twice-born. the word upanayana is composed of upa, meaning near, and nayana, leading. what the youth is led to is, according to some, brahmaggnana or the realisation of the eternal and universal self, and according to others only the teacher or guru. a nambutiri upanayana begins with the presentation of a dakshina (consolidated fee) to the ezhuttachchan, or the nayar or ambalavasi teacher, who has been instructing the youth in the vernacular. the boy stands on the western side of the sacrificial fire, facing the east, and the father stands beside him, facing the same way. the second cloth (uttariya) is thrown over the boy's head, and his right hand being held up, the sacred thread, to which a strap made from the skin of a krishnamriga (antelope) is attached, is thrown over his shoulders and under his right arm, while he stands reverently with closed eyes. the thread and skin are wrapped up in the cloth, and are not to be seen by the boy. he is then taken to an open place, where the priest introduces the new brahmachari to the sun, and invokes him to cover his pupil with his rays. the boy next goes to the sacrificial altar, and himself offers certain sacrifices to the fire. saluting his preceptor and obtaining his blessing, he requests that he may be initiated into the savitrimantram. after a few preliminary ceremonies, the guru utters in the right ear of his disciple the sacred syllable om, and repeats the gayatri mantram nine times. he then instructs him in certain maxims of conduct, which he is to cherish and revere throughout the brahmacharya stage. addressing the boy, the guru says, 'you have become entitled to the study of the vedas; perform all the duties which pertain to the asrama you are about to enter. never sleep during the day. study the vedas by resigning yourself to the care of your spiritual instructor.' these exhortations, though made in sanskrit, are explained in malayalam, in order that the boy may understand them--a feature unknown to brahmans on the other coast. with his words of advice, the preceptor gives the youth a danda or stick made of pipal (ficus religiosa) wood, as if to keep him in perpetual memory of what would follow if any of the directions be disregarded. the boy then makes his obeisance to his parents and all his relations, and is given a brass vessel called bhikshapatra (alms pot), in which he collects, by house-to-house visits, food for his daily sustenance during the brahmacharya stage. he proceeds to the kitchen of his own house with the vessel in one hand and the stick in the other. making his obeisance in due form to his mother, who stands facing the east, he says 'bhiksham bhavati dadatu' (may you be pleased to give me alms). the mother places five or seven handfuls of rice in the vessel. after receiving similar contributions from the assembled elders, the boy takes the vessel to his father, who is the first guru, saying 'bhaikshmamidam' (this is my alms collection). the father blesses it, and says 'may it be good.' after the gayatrijapa, the ceremony of samidadhana is performed. this is the brahmachari's daily worship of the sacred fire, corresponding to the aupasana of the grihastha, and has to be performed twice daily. after another homam at night, the cloth covering the sacred thread and skin is removed, and the consecration of the food is done for the first time. in addition to the skin strap, the brahmachari wears a mekhala or twisted string of kusa grass. it is doubtless of the youthful nambutiri that barbosa wrote as follows at the beginning of the sixteenth century. 'and when these are seven years old, they put round their necks a strap two fingers in width of an animal which they call cresnamergan, and they command him not to eat betel for seven years, and all this time he wears that strap round the neck, passing under the arm; and, when he reaches fourteen years of age, they make him a brahman, removing from him the leather strap round his neck, and putting on another three-thread, which he wears all his life as a mark of being a brahman. the rules which were observed with such strictness centuries ago are still observed, and every nambutiri boy goes through his period of brahmacharya, which lasts at least for full five years. during the whole of this period, no sandal paste, no scents, and no flowers are to be used by him. he is not to take his meals at other houses on festive occasions. he must not sleep during the day. nor may he wear a loin-cloth in the ordinary fashion. shoes and umbrella are also prohibited. the completion of the brahmachari asrama, or stage of pupilage, is called samavartana. after a few religious ceremonies in the morning, the brahmachari shaves for the first time since the upanayana ceremonies, casts off the skin strap and mekhala, and bathes. he puts on sandal paste marks, bedecks himself with jasmine flowers, and puts on shoes. he then holds an umbrella, and wears a pearl necklace. after this, he puts on a head-dress, and a few other ceremonials conclude the samavartana. for three days subsequent to this, the budding grihastha is considered ceremonially impure, and the pollution is perhaps based on the death of the old asrama, and birth of the new. in the upakarma ceremony, hymns are sung by the preceptor, and the pupil has merely to listen to them." in conclusion, something may be said concerning the general beliefs of the nambutiris. all objects, animate or inanimate, organic or inorganic, are believed to be permeated by the divine spirit. animals, trees, plants, and flowers are animate, and therefore venerated. the sun, moon, and stars are revered on account of some inherent quality in each, such as utility or strength, or owing to their connection with some deity. a god can assume any form at any time, such as that of a man, bird, beast, or tree. the various forms in which a god has appeared are ever sacred. some animals have been used as vehicles by the gods, and are therefore revered. cows, horses, and snakes are worshipped. the cow is the most sacred of all animals. the puranas tell of kamadhenu, the cow of plenty, one of the fourteen useful things which turned up out of the ocean of milk when it was churned, and which is supposed to have yielded the gods all they desired. so kamadhenu is one who gives anything which is desired. every hair of the cow is sacred, its urine is the most holy water, and its dung the most purificatory substance. the horse is the favourite animal of kubera, the treasure-god. the uchchaisravas the high-eared prototype of all horses, also came out of the churned ocean. horse sacrifice, or asvamedha, is the greatest of all sacrifices. performance of a hundred of them would give the sacrificer power to displace indra, in order to make room for him. snakes are the fruitful progeny of the sage kasyapa and kadru. the maha sesha, their prince, is the couch and canopy of vishnu, and supports the world on his thousand heads. but attention to snakes is probably more in the light of the harm which they may do, and propitiatory in character. among plants, the tulasi or sacred basil (ocimum sanctum) is the most sacred of all. it is supposed to be pervaded by the essence of both vishnu and lakshmi: according to some legends, it is a metamorphosis of sita and rukmini. the daily prayer offered to the tulasi is thus rendered by monier williams. "i adore that tulasi in whose roots are all the sacred places of pilgrimage, in whose centre are all the deities, and in whose upper branches are all the vedas." the udumbara (ficus glomerata) is also sacred. under this tree dattatreya, the incarnation of the trinity, performed his ascetic austerities. the nambutiri says that, according to the sastras, there must be one of these trees in his compound, and, if it is not there, he imagines it is. the bilva (ægle marmelos) is specially sacred to siva all over southern india. to the nambutiri it is very sacred. its leaves are supposed to represent the three attributes of siva--satva, raja, and tama--and also his three eyes and his trisulam (trident). they are used by the nambutiri in propitiatory ceremonies to that god. an offering of a single leaf of this tree is believed to annihilate the sins done three births or existence. kusa grass (eragrostis cynosuroides) is very sacred, and used in many ceremonies. at the churning of the ocean, the snakes are said to have been greedy enough to lick the nectar off the kusa grass, and got their tongues split in consequence. the asvaththa (ficus religiosa) is also very sacred to the nambutiris. it is supposed to be pervaded by the spirit of brahma the creator. from the sun (surya, the sun-god) emanate light and heat, and to its powers all vegetation is due, so the nambutiri worships it daily. he also offers puja to the sun and moon as belonging to the nine navagrahas (planets). the planets are the sun, moon, mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, saturn, rahu and ketu. they influence the destinies of men, and therefore come in for some worship. the three last are sinister in their effects, and must be propitiated. namdev.--a synonym of rangari. nanchi kuruva.--a name for kuruvas, who inhabit nanchinad in travancore. nanchinad vellala.--the nanchinad vellalas, to the number of 18,000, are found scattered all over travancore, though their chief centre is nanchinad, composed of the taluks of tovala and agastisvaram. their manners and customs at the present day are so different to those of the tamil vellalas that they may be regarded as a separate caste indigenous to travancore and cochin. like other sudras of travancore, they add the title pillai to their name, which is often preceded by the title kannaku. from a copper-plate grant in the possession of the syrian christians, dated a.d. 824, we learn that one family of carpenters, and four families of vellalas, were entrusted with the growing of plants on the sea-coast, the latter being the karalars or trustees. from this it appears that the vellalas must have settled on the west coast in the ninth century at the latest. the nanchinad vellalas were not originally different from their pandyan analogues, but settled in the taluks above mentioned, over which the pandyans held sway during several periods in mediæval times. on one occasion, when there was a dispute about the territorial jurisdiction of nanchinad between the maharaja of travancore and the pandyan ruler, the leading vellalas of these taluks went over in a body to the travancore camp, and swore allegiance to the travancore throne. they gradually renounced even the law of inheritance, which their brethren of the tamil country followed, and adopted many novel customs, which they found prevalent in kerala. from nanchinad the caste spread in all directions, and, as most of them were respectable men with good education and mathematical training, their services were utilised for account-keeping in the civil and military departments of the state. they must, of course, be clearly distinguished from the tamil makkathayam vellalas of kuttamperur in tiruvella, who have also become naturalised in travancore, for the following note, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. like the tamil vellalas, the nanchinad vellalas are divided into two classes, saiva and asaiva, of which the former abstain from flesh and fish, while the latter have no such scruple. asaivas will take food in the houses of saivas, but the saivas cook their own food when they go to an asaiva house. again, though the saivas marry girls from asaiva families, they are taught the saiva hymn by the gurukal immediately afterwards, and prohibited from dining with their former relatives. this custom is, however, only known to prevail in the south. while the vellalas in the south reside in streets, their brethren in the north live, like nayars, in isolated houses. in their dress and ornaments, too, the nanchinad vellalas living in north travancore differ from those of the south, inasmuch as they adopt the practice of the nayars, while the latter are conservative, and true to their old traditions. the nanchinad vellalas are well known, throughout travancore, for their thrift, industry, and mathematical acumen. several families have dropped the designation of vellala, and adopted nanchinad nayar as their caste-name. their language is largely mixed up with malayalam words and phrases. madan isakki (yakshi) and inan are their recognised tutelary deities, and were till recently worshipped in every household. villati-chanpattu is a common propitiatory song, sung by members of the goldsmith and oilmonger castes, in connection with the ceremonies of the nanchinad vellalas. it deals with the origin of these minor deities, and relates the circumstances in which their images were set up in various shrines. amman-kodai, or offering to the mother, is the most important religious festival. they also observe the tye-pongal, depavali, trikkartikai, onam and vishu festivals. the anniversary of ancestors is celebrated, and the pattukkai ceremony of the tamil vellalas, in propitiation of deceased female ancestors, is performed every year. stories of chitragupta, the accountant-general of yama, the indian pluto, are recited on the new-moon day in the month, of chittiray (april-may) with great devotion. the nanchinad vellalas are chiefly an agricultural class, having their own village organisation, with office-bearers such as kariyasthan or secretary, mutalpiti or treasurer, and the pilla or accountant. contributions towards village funds are made on certain ceremonial occasions. their high priest belongs to the umayorubhagam mutt of kumbakonam, and the north travancore vellalas recognise the panantitta gurukal as their spiritual adviser. east coast brahmans often officiate as their priests, and perform the sacrificial and other rites at weddings. the usual rule is for girls to marry after puberty, but early marriage is not rare. the maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter is regarded as the legitimate bride. the presents to the bridegroom include a mundu and neriyatu, the ordinary malabar dress, and very often an iron writing-style and knife. this is said to be symbolical of the fact that the vellalas formed the accountant caste of travancore, and that several families of them were invited from madura and tinnevelly to settle down in nanchinad for this purpose. a procession of the bridal couple in a palanquin through the streets is a necessary item of the marriage festivities. the nanchinad vellalas contract temporary alliances with nayar women from the padamangalam section downwards. divorce is permitted, provided a formal release-deed, or vidu-muri, is executed by the husband. after this, the woman may enter into sambandham (connection) with a nanchinad or pandi vellala. the laws of inheritance are a curious blend of the makkathayam and marumakkathayam systems. sons are entitled to a portion of the property, not exceeding a fourth, of the self-acquired property of the father, and also a fourth of what would have descended to him in a makkathayam family. this is called ukantutama, because it is property given out of love as opposed to right. it is a further rule that, in case of divorce, the wife and children should be given this ukantutama, lest they should be left in utter destitution, only a tenth part of the ancestral property being allotted for this purpose, if her husband leaves no separate estate. if more than a fourth of the estate is to be given in this manner, the permission of the heirs in the female line has generally to be obtained. if a man dies without issue, and leaves his wife too old or unwilling to enter into a fresh matrimonial alliance, she is entitled to maintenance out of his estate. a divorced woman, if without issue, is similarly entitled to maintenance during the life of her former husband. the property to which she may thus lay claim is known as nankutama, meaning the property of the nanka or woman. the nankutama cannot be claimed by the widow, if, at the time of her husband's death, she does not live with, and make herself useful to him. when a widow enters into a sambandham alliance, the second husband has to execute a deed called etuppu, agreeing to pay her, either at the time of his death or divorce, a specified sum of money. the ukantutama from the family of her first husband does not go to the issue of a woman who is in possession of an etuppu deed. the namakarana, or name-giving ceremony, is performed in early life. many of the names are unknown among nayars, e.g., siva, vishnu, kuttalalingam, subramanya, ponnampalam among males, and sivakami, kantimati among females. the tonsure is performed before a boy is three years old. the right of performing the funeral ceremonies is vested in the son, or, failing one, the nephew. pollution lasts for sixteen days. the karta (chief mourner) has to get himself completely shaved, and wears the sacred thread throughout the period of pollution, or at least on the sixteenth day. on that day oblations of cooked food, water and gingelly (sesamum) seeds are offered to the departed. if a daughter's son dies, her mother, and not the father, observes pollution. nanchinad vellala has been assumed by males of the deva-dasi caste in travancore. nandikattu (bull's mouth).--an exogamous sept of medara. nandimandalam.--a sub-division of razu. nanga (naked).--a sub-division of poroja. nangudi vellala.--the so-called nangudi vellalas, or savalai pillais, are found inhabiting several villages in the tinnevelly district, and differ from other vellalas in several important points. they say that they are kottai (fort) vellalas, who have given up the custom of living within a fort. nangudi women are not allowed to enter the fort at srivaiguntam, wherein the kottai vellalas live. within the last few years, marriages are said to have taken place between members of the two communities. the nangudis have exogamous septs or kilais, named for the most part after persons or deities, which, like the septs of the maravans, run in the female line. the hereditary caste headman is called pattaththu pillai. in olden times, members who disobeyed him were made to run through the streets with a rotten tender cocoanut tied to the kudumi (hair knot), while a man ran behind, applying a tamarind switch to the back. the consent of a girl's maternal uncle and his wife is necessary, before she can marry. the aunt's consent is signified by touching the tali (marriage badge) on the wedding day. the uncle keeps a light, called ayira panthi, burning until the time for tying the tali, a quarter measure of rice is tied up in a cloth, and the knot converted into a wick, which is fed with ghi (clarified butter). the news of a death in the community is conveyed by the barber. before the removal of the corpse, all close relations, and at least one pair of nangudis from every village, must come to the house. absence on this occasion is considered as a very grave insult. on the second day after death, an amarantus, called arakkirai, must be cooked. a special feature in connection with inheritance is that a man should give his daughters some property, and every daughter must be given a house. the husbands have to live in their wives' houses. the property which a woman receives from her father becomes eventually the property of her daughters, and her sons have no claim to it. sons inherit the property of the father in the usual manner. like the kondaikatti vellalas, the nangudis claim that they had the right of placing the crown on the head of the pandyan kings. in the village of korkai, there is a tank (pond) called kannimar jonai, because celestial maidens used to bathe there. when one agni maha rishi was doing penance, three of the celestial maidens are said to have come to bathe. the rishi fell in love with them, and eventually three sons were born. these children were brought up by the vellalas of korkai at the request of the rishi, who represented that they were likely to become kings. according to the legend, they became chera, chola, and pandya kings. nannuru (four hundred).--an exogamous sept of madiga. nantunikkuruppu.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a synonym of vatti, a sub-division of nayar. nanukonda.--a sub-division of lingayat kapus, named after the village of nanukonda in the kurnool district. naravidyavaru.--these are vipravinodis, who are jangams by caste. they style themselves naravidyavaru when they perform acrobatic and other feats before ordinary people, and vipravinodi when they perform before brahmans. the name naravidyavaru is said to be a contraction of narulu-mechche-vidya-cheyu-varu, i.e., those who receive the approbation of men. one of their most favourite feats is throwing three or four wooden or stone balls up into the air, and rolling them quickly in succession over various parts of the body--arms, chest, etc. nariangal (nari, jackal).--an exogamous sept of vallamban. narikela (cocoanut).--an exogamous sept of balija. narollu (fibre).--an exogamous sept of pedakanti kapu. narpathu katchi (forty-house section).--a sub-division of valluvan. nasrani mappilla.--a name, in malabar, applied to christians. nasuvan.--nasivan or nasuvan, said to mean unholy, one who should not be touched, or one sprung from the nose, is the name for ambattans (tamil barbers). the equivalents nasiyan and navidan occur as a name for telugu barbers, and malayali barbers who shave nayars and higher castes. navidan is further recorded as the occupational name of a sub-division of tamil paraiyans, and vettuvans. natamukki.-recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. naththalu (snails).--an exogamous sept of mala. natramiludaiyan.--a name, meaning the repository of chaste tamil, returned by some nattamans at times of census. nattan.--at the census, 1901, nearly 12,000 individuals returned themselves as nattan, which is stated by the census superintendent to be "a vague term meaning people of the country, reported by some to be a main caste, and by others to be a sub-caste of vellala. nearly all of those who returned the name came from salem and were cultivators, but some of them entered themselves as possessing the title of servai, which usually denotes an agamudaiyan" (see servai, servaikaran). nattan also occurs as a title of the tamil sembadavan and pattanavan fishing castes, and of the vallambans. portions of the tamil country are divided into areas known as nadus, in each of which certain castes, known as nattan or nattar, are the predominant element. for example, the vallambans and kallans are called the nattars of the palaya nadu in the sivaganga zamindari of the madura district. in dealing with the tribal affairs of the various castes inhabiting a particular nadu, the lead is taken by the nattars. nattati (the name of a village).--a sub-division of shanan. nattu (sons of the soil).--recorded as a sub-division of kallan, and of the malayans of cochin. nattukattada nayanmar.--a class of mendicants attached to the kaikolans (q.v.). nattukottai chetti.--"of all the chettis," mr. francis writes, [106] "perhaps the most distinctive and interesting are the nattukottai chettis, who are wealthy money-lenders with head-quarters in the tiruppattur and devakottai divisions of the sivaganga and ramnad zamindaris in the madura district. they are the most go-a-head of all the trading castes in the south, travelling freely to burma, the straits settlements and ceylon (also saigon, mauritius, and south africa), and having in some cases correspondents in london and on the continent. as long as their father is alive, the members of a nattukottai chetti family usually all live together. the caste is noted in the madura district for the huge houses, to which this custom has given rise. married sons have a certain number of rooms set aside for them, and are granted a carefully calculated yearly budget allotment of rice and other necessaries. on the father's death, contrary to all ordinary hindu usage, the eldest son retains the house, and the youngest his mother's jewels and bed, while the rest of the property is equally divided among all the sons. when a male child is born, a certain sum is usually set aside, and in due time the accumulated interest upon it is spent on the boy's education. as soon as he has picked up business ways sufficiently, he begins life as the agent of some other members of the caste, being perhaps entrusted with a lakh of rupees, often on no better security than an unstamped acknowledgment scratched on a palmyra leaf, and sent off to burma or singapore to trade with it, and invest it. a percentage on the profits of this undertaking, and savings from his own salary, form a nucleus which he in turn invests on his own account. his wife will often help pay the house-keeping bills by making baskets and spinning thread, for the women are as thrifty as the men. as a caste they are open-handed and devout. in many houses, one pie in every rupee of profit is regularly set aside for charitable and religious expenditure, and a whip round for a caste-fellow in difficulties is readily responded to. by religion they are fervent saivites, and many of the men proclaim the fact by wearing a rudraksham (eleocarpus ganitrus) fruit, usually set in gold, round their necks. of late years they have spent very large sums upon several of the famous saivite shrines in the madras presidency, notably those at chidambaram, [107] madura, and tiruvannamalai. unfortunately, however, much of the work has been executed in the most lamentable modern taste, and it is saddening to contrast the pitiful outcome of their heavy outlay with the results which might have been attained under judicious guidance. the decoration in the new kaliyana mahal in the madura temple is mainly inferior varnished wood-carving, looking-glasses, and coloured glass balls. the same style has been followed at tiruvannamalai, although lying scattered about in the outer courts of the temple are enough of the old pierced granite pillars to make perhaps the finest mantapam in south india. owing to their wealth and their money-lending, the nattukottai chettis have been called the jews of south india, but their kindliness and charity deserve more recognition than this description accords." i am informed that the property of a woman (jewels, vessels, investments, etc.), on her decease, goes to her daughters. as among other hindu castes, the eldest son may retain the personal effects of his father, and, with the consent of his brothers, may retain his house. but the value thereof is deducted from his share in the property. it is stated in the madura manual that the "nattukottai settis in particular are notorious for their greed, and most amusing stories are told about them. however wealthy they may be, they usually live in the most penurious manner, and they will never by any chance show mercy to a debtor, so long as he shall have a penny left, or the chance of earning one. however, to make amends for their rapacity, they are in the habit of spending large sums now and then in works of charity. and, whatever faults there may be, they are most excellent men of business. indeed, until quite lately, the good faith and honesty of a nattukottai setti were proverbial, and are even now conspicuous. the nattukottai settis claim to be a good caste, and asserted that they emigrated to this district thousands of years ago from a town called kaveripattanam, in consequence of an intolerable persecution. but the other settis will not admit the truth of their story, and affect to despise them greatly, alleging even that they are the bastard descendants of a muhammadan man and a kalla woman. the word nattukottai is said to be a corruption of nattarasangkottai, the name of a small village near sivaganga. but this derivation appears to be doubtful." the name is usually said to be derived from nattukottai, or country fort. it has been said that "the nattukottai chettis, in organisation, co-operation, and business methods, are as remarkable as the european merchants. very few of them have yet received any english education. they regard education as at present given in public schools as worse than useless for professional men, as it makes men theoretical, and scarcely helps in practice. the simple but strict training which they give their boys, the long and tedious apprenticeship which even the sons of the richest among them have to undergo, make them very efficient in their profession, and methodical in whatever they undertake to do." concerning the nattukottai chettis, mr. p. r. sundara aiyar writes as follows. [108] "the first and chiefest aim of a nattukottai chetti is to make as much money as possible. he does not regard usury as a sin. as a little boy of ten or twelve, he begins to apply himself to business, learns accounts, and attends the shop of his father. as soon as he marries, his father gives him a separate home, or rather compels him to live separately, though often in the same house as his parents. this makes him self-reliant, and produces in him a desire to save as much money as possible. he is given a certain allowance out of the paternal estate, but, if he spends more, he is debited with the excess amount. every one consequently tries to increase his stock of individual savings. even the women earn money in a variety of ways. every rupee saved is laid out at as high a rate of interest as possible. it is commonly stated that a rupee, laid out at the birth of a child at compound interest at 12 per cent., will amount to a lakh of rupees by the time he attains the age of a hundred. the habits of a nattukottai chetti are very simple, and his living is very cheap, even when he is rich. so strict are the chettis in pecuniary matters that, if a relation visits them, he gets only his first meal free, and if he stays longer, is quietly debited with the cost of his stay." the nattukottai chettis [109] are said to employ kammalans, valaiyans, kallans, and vallambans as their cooks. they are permitted to enter the interior of hindu temples, and approach near to the innermost doorway of the central shrine. this privilege is doubtless accorded to them owing to the large sums of money which they spend on temples, and in endowing charitable institutions. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "of the profits of their commercial transactions, a fixed percentage (called magamai) is usually set aside for charity. some of the money so collected is spent on keeping up sanskrit schools, but most of it has been laid out in the repair and restoration of the temples of the south, especial attention being paid to those shrines (padal petta sthalangal, as they are called), which were hymned by the four great poet-saints, manikya vachakar, appar, tirugnana sambandhar, and sundaramurti." "the chettis," mr. sundara aiyar writes, "are believed to be the most charitable class in southern india, and undoubtedly they spend the largest amount of money on charity. they set apart a fraction of their profits for charity. they levy rates among themselves for local charities, wherever they go. the income obtained from the rates is generally spent on temples. in new places like ceylon, burma, and singapore, they build new temples, generally dedicated to subramanya swami. in india itself, they establish festivals in existing temples, and undertake the repair of temples. immense sums have been spent by them recently in the renovation and restoration of ancient temples. we should not be surprised to be told that the amount spent within the last thirty years alone amounts to a crore of rupees. being saivites, they do not generally care for vaishnava temples. and, even among saiva temples, only such as have special sanctity, and have been sung about by the saiva nainars or bhaktas, are patronised by them. they have devoted large sums to the establishment of comfortable choultries (rest-houses), feeding houses, vedic and recently also sastraic pathasalas (schools). they have established schools for the education of the kurukal or the priestly class. and, in fact, every charity of the orthodox hindu type finds generous support among them." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that the gopurams of the madura temple "have been repaired of late years at great cost by the nattukottai chettis. the northern tower used to consist only of the brick and stone-work storeys, and was known in consequence as the mottai (literally bald) gopuram. recently, however, a courageous chetti, who cared nothing for the superstition that it is most unlucky to complete a building left unfinished, placed the usual plaster top upon it." in recent years, the temple at chidambaram has been renovated by the nattukottai chettis, who "have formed for this and similar restorations a fund which is made up of a fee of four annas per cent. levied from their clients on all sums borrowed by the latter. the capital of this is invested, and the interest thereon devoted exclusively to such undertakings." [110] in 1906, the purificatory ceremony, or kumbabishekam, of the sri pasupathiswara swami temple at karur was performed with great pomp. the old temple had been thoroughly overhauled and repaired by the nattukottai chettis. the ceremony cost about fifty thousand rupees. many thousands were fed, and presents of money made to a large number of vaidiki brahmans. in the same year, at a public meeting held in madras to concert measures for establishing a pinjrapole (hospital for animals), one of the resolutions was that early steps should be taken to collect public subscriptions from the hindu community generally, and in particular from the nattukottai chettis, gujaratis, and other mercantile classes. still more recently, the kumbabishekam festival was celebrated at tiruvanaikkaval, the seat of a celebrated temple near trichinopoly, which was repaired by the nattukottai chettis at a cost of many lakhs of rupees. by a traditional custom, the nattukottai chettis live largely by money-lending. they never serve under any one outside their own community. they either trade on their own account, or are employed as agents or assistants. the pay of an assistant is always calculated for a period of three years, and a portion thereof is paid in advance after a month's service. this the assistant invests to the best advantage. at the end of a year, a portion of the balance of the pay is handed over to him, leaving a small sum to be paid at the end of the contract period. his expenses for board and lodging are met by his employer, and he may receive a small share of the profits of the business. a man, on receiving an agency, starts on an auspicious day, and proceeds to a temple of ganesa, and to a matam (religious institution) containing figures of ganesa and natesa. after prostrating himself before the gods, he proceeds on his way. if he encounters an object of evil omen, he will not continue, and, if he has to journey to a distant spot, he will throw up his appointment. the accounts of the nattukottai chettis are audited triennially, an annual audit being inconvenient, as their business is carried on at various remote spots. the foreign business is said [111] to "be transacted by agents belonging to the caste, who receive a salary proportioned to the distance of the place, and also, usually, a percentage on the profits. they generally serve for three years, and then return, and give an account of their stewardship." the commencement of a fresh period of three years is made on an auspicious day called puthukanakkunal (fresh account day), which is observed as a holiday. no business is transacted, and customers are invited, and receive presents of fruits, sweets, etc. in connection with nattukottai agencies, mr. hayavadana rao writes as follows. [112] "people of moderate means usually elect to go to distant places as agents of the different firms that have their head offices either at madura or in the zamindaris of ramnad and sivaganga. the pay of a local agent varies directly with the distance of the place to which he is posted. if he is kept at madura, he gets rs. 100 per mensem; if sent to burma, he gets three times as much; and, if to natal, about twice the latter sum. if an agent proves himself to be an industrious and energetic man, he is usually given a percentage on the profits. the tenure of office is for three years, six months before the expiry of which the next agent is sent over to work conjointly with the existing one, and study the local conditions. on relief, the agent returns directly to his head office, and delivers over his papers, and then goes to his own village. with this, his connection with his firm practically ceases. he enjoys his well-earned rest of three years, at the end of which he seeks re-employment either under his old firm, or under any other. the former he is bound to, if he has taken a percentage on the profits during his previous tenure of office. if the old firm rejects him when he so offers himself, then he is at liberty to enter service under others." it is said to be very rare for nattukottai women to accompany their husbands to distant places. "in fact, the husbands have to visit their native places at long intervals, and make a felicitous sojourn in the company of their wives." the houses of the nattukottai chettis are spacious and substantial buildings all based on the same general plan. the front entrance opens into an oblong courtyard with a verandah all round, and rows of rooms at the two sides. at the farther end of the courtyard is an entrance leading into a backyard or set of apartments. modern houses have imposing exteriors, and an upper storey. married sons live in separate quarters, and every couple receive from their fathers a fixed yearly allowance, which may amount to twenty rupees and fifteen kalams of paddy. the sons may, if they choose, spend more, but the excess is debited to their account, and, at the time of partition of the estate, deducted, with interest, from their share. it is noted by mr. hayavadana rao that "the remarkable custom prevails amongst them that obliges all married members to cook separately and eat their meals, though they live in the same house. even the widowed mother is no exception to this rule. unmarried members live with their parents until they are married. allotments of rice and other necessaries are annually made to the several semi-independent members of the household. this custom has given rise to the commodious houses in which members of this caste usually reside." as concerning the origin of the nattukottai chettis, the following story is told. in ancient days, the vaisyas of the lunar race were living in the town of santhyapuri in the naganadu of the jambudvipa(india). they paid daily visits to the shrine of vinayaka god made of emerald, and were traders in precious stones. they were much respected, and led the life of orthodox saivites, wore rudraksha beads, and smeared themselves with sacred ashes. they were, however, much oppressed by a certain ruler, and emigrated in a body to conjeeveram in the tondamandalam country in the year 204 of the kaliyuga. the king of conjeeveram gave them permission to settle in his territory, and made grants to them of land, temples and matams. they stayed there for a very long time, but, being troubled by heavy taxes and fines, left this part of the country about 2312 kaliyuga, and settled in the chola country. the chola king, being much impressed with them, bestowed on them the privilege of placing the crown on the head of a new ruler at his coronation. at this time, the town of kaveripumpattanam is said to have been in a very flourishing state, and the north street was occupied by vaisyas from other countries. being unwilling to disturb them, the king made the new settlers occupy the east, west, and south streets. as a mark of respect, they were allowed to use flags with the figure of a lion on them, and use golden vessels (kalasam) in their houses. they all, at the instigation of the king, became disciples of one isanya sivachariar of patanjalikshetra (chidambaram). about 3775 kaliyuga, puvandi chola raja imprisoned several of the vaisya women, whereon all the eight thousand vaisya families destroyed themselves, leaving their male children to be taken care of by a religious teacher named atmanadhachariar. in all 1,502 children were thus brought up, viz., 600 of six ways from the west street, 502 of seven ways from the east street, and 400 of four ways from the south street. later on, puvandi chola fell ill, and, knowing his recovery to be impossible, sent for the vaisya boys, and asked them to look after the coronation of his son rajabhushana chola. but they said that, as they were bachelors, they could not comply with his request. the king accordingly made them marry vellala girls. those of the west street took as wives girls of the karkaththar section, those of the east street girls of the sozhia section, and those of the south street girls of the kaniyala section. the three groups became disciples of three different matams, viz., tiruvarur, kumbakonam, and vanchium. in the year 3790, a dispute arose in connection with the right of priority in receiving sacred ashes between the vaisya and true vellala women, and the former were made to become the disciples of a new guru (religious preceptor). about 3808, a pandya king, named sundara pandya, is said to have asked the chola king to induce some of the vaisyas to settle down in the pandya territory. they accordingly once more emigrated in a body, and reached the village of onkarakudi on a friday (the constellation astham being in the ascendant on that day). they were allowed to settle in the tract of country north of the river vaigai, east of the piranmalai, and south of vellar. those from the east street settled at ilayaththukudi, those from the west street at ariyur, and those from the south street at sundarapattanam. thus the chettis became divided into three endogamous sections, of which the ilayaththukudi and sundarapattanam are found at the present day in the madura district. the members of the ariyur section migrated to the west coast on the destruction of their village. the members of the ilayaththukudi section became the nattukottais. they, not being satisfied with only one place of worship, requested the king to give them more temples. accordingly, temples were provided for different groups at maththur, vairavanpatti, iraniyur, pillayarpatti, nemam, iluppaikudi, suraikudi, and velangkudi. at the present day, the nattukottai chettis are divided into the following divisions (kovils or temples) and exogamous sub-divisions:- 1. ilayaththukudi kovil- okkurudaiyar. pattanasamiar. perumaruthurudaiyar. kazhanivasakkudaiyar. kinkinikkudaiyar. perasendurudaiyar. siruseththurudaiyar. 2. maththur kovil- uraiyur. arumbakur. manalur. mannur. kannur. karuppur. kulaththur. 3. vairavan kovil- sirukulaththur. kazhanivasal. marudendrapuram. 4. iraniyur kovil. 5. pillayarpatti kovil. 6. nemam kovil. 7. iluppaikudi kovil. 8. suraikudi kovil. 9. velangkudi kovil. when nattukottai chettis adopt children, they must belong to the same temple division. an adopted son is called manjanir puthiran, or turmeric-water son, because, at the ceremony of adoption, the lad has to drink turmeric-water. [113] in villages where their main temples are situated, the temple manager is obliged to give food to stranger chettis, and charge for it if they belong to another temple division. according to a variant of the story relating to the origin of the nattukottai chettis, "they were formerly merchants at the court of the chola kings who ruled at kaveripattanam, at one time a flourishing sea-port at the mouth of the cauveri, from which they emigrated in a body on being persecuted by one of them, and first settled at nattarasankottai, about three miles north-east of sivaganga." by other castes, the nattukottai chettis are said to be the descendants of the offspring of unions between a shanan and a muhammadan and uppu korava women. some of the peculiarities of the caste are pointed out in support of the story. thus, nattukottai men shave their heads like muhammadans, and both men and women have the lobes of their ears dilated like the older shanans. their girls wear necklaces of shell beads like korava women, and the women delight in making baskets for recreation, as the korava women do for sale. the caste is sometimes spoken of as uppu (salt) maruhira chetti. the arguments and illustrations are naturally much resented by the nattukottai chettis, who explain the obnoxious name by the story that they were formerly very poor, and made a living by selling salt. the nattukottai chettis have recourse to panchayats (councils) in matters affecting the community. they have, mr. sundara aiyar writes, "been at any rate till recently remarkable for settling their differences out of court. the influence of the elders in preventing litigation is very strong. they conciliate the disputants as far as possible and, after reducing the difference between them to a minimum, they often get their signatures to an award, in which a blank is left to decide the still existing point of difference, the disputants agreeing, after putting in their signatures, to the mediators' filling in the blank, and deciding the dispute as they choose. we are afraid that this spirit of give-and-take is now unfortunately diminishing, and the arbitrament of the courts is more often resorted to than before." there are, among the nattukottai chettis, two forms of panchayat, called madaththuvasal mariyal (matam panchayat) and kovilvasal mariyal (temple panchayat), of which, at the present day, only the latter is in vogue. for every temple there is a manager, an assistant, and a servant called vairavi, who must be a melakkaran. the aggrieved party lodges his complaint with the manager, who sends word to the leading men of the temple division concerned. the complainant and defendant are summoned to attend a council meeting, and the evidence is recorded by the temple manager. if the accused falls to put in an appearance, the vairavi is sent to his house, to take therefrom adavu (security) in the shape of some article belonging to him. in a recent case, a wealthy nattukottai chetti promised his brother's widow that she should be allowed to adopt a boy. but, as the promise was not fulfilled, she complained to the temple; and, as her brother-in-law did not attend the council meeting, the vairavi went to his house, and, in his absence, abstracted the adavu. this was regarded as a great insult, and there was some talk of the case going into court. matters such as the arrangement of marriage contracts, monetary disputes, family discussions, and the like, are referred to the temple council for settlement. final decisions are never recorded in writing, but delivered by word of mouth. those who fail to abide by the decision of the council do not receive a garland from the temple for their marriage, and without this garland a marriage cannot take place. it is noted by mr. hayavadana rao that each of the kovils or temples "is managed by karyakarans, who are nominated to the place by the local elders. these karyakarans act as panchayatdars, and decide all civil cases referred to them. if a case is first referred to them, it may, if necessary, be carried over again to the established courts of the country. but, if once a case is first taken to the courts, they would not entertain it before themselves. they enforce their decrees (1) by refusing to give the garland of flowers at the marriage time, (2) by exercising the power of excommunication." every nattukottai chetti youth has to perform a ceremony called suppidi before marriage. on the karthika day, when the constellation krithikai is in the ascendant, he is taken on horseback to a pillayar (ganesa) temple, where he worships, and whirls a bag of burning charcoal tied to a long string round his head. in front of the temple he burns a booth (chokkapane), which has been set up, and with the ashes his forehead is marked. on his return home, and at the entrance of nattukottai houses which he passes, rice lamps are waved before him (alathi). in like manner, every girl has to go through a ceremony, called thiruvadhirai, before marriage. on the day of the arudradarsanam festival, she is bathed and decorated. a necklace of gold beads is placed on her neck instead of the necklace of glass beads (pasimani), which she has hitherto worn. she proceeds, with a silver cup, to the houses where other girls are performing the ceremony, and bawls out:-i have come dancing; give me avarakkai (dolichos lablab beans). i have come singing; give me padavarangkai (cyamopsis beans). i have come speaking; give me sorakkai (lagenaria fruit). various kinds of vegetables are placed on the silver vessel, cooked, and distributed. cakes, called dosai, are made in the house, and, during their preparation, holes are made in them by married women with an iron style. these cakes are also distributed, and it is taken as an insult if any individual does not receive one. every nattukottai chetti is said to have the inviolable right to claim the hand of his paternal aunt's daughter. this being so, ill-assorted marriages are quite common, the putative father being often but a child. [114] the marriage ceremonies commence with the giving of gold for the bride's neck. on an auspicious day, the bridegroom's party give a gold coin to a goldsmith, who beats it into a thin sheet, and goes home after receiving betel, etc. on the first day of the marriage rites, a feast is given to the bridegroom's family, and female ancestors are worshipped. on the following day, the presentation of the dowry (sireduththal) takes place. the presents, which are often of considerable value, are laid out for inspection, and an inventory of them is made. perishable articles, such as rice, ghi (clarified butter), dhal (cajanus indicus), and fruits are sold. the bride's presents are taken to the house of the bridegroom, those who carry them being rewarded with betel, a silk fan, scent bottle, silk handkerchief, bottle of chocolate, a tin of biscuits, and a brass vessel. on the third day, garlands are received from the temples to which the bride and bridegroom belong. the bride's party go to the house of the bridegroom, taking on a tray a silk handkerchief and cloth, and in a silver vessel fifty rupees, betel, etc. these are presented to the bridegroom. this ceremony is called mappillai ariyappothal, or going to examine the son-in-law. the next item on the programme is nalkuriththal, or fixing the day. the bridegroom's party proceed to the house of the bride, taking with them two cocoanuts wrapped up in a blanket, betel, turmeric, etc., as a present. the bride is bathed and decorated, and purangkaliththal is proceeded with. she stands by the side of her grandmother, and a brahman purohit, taking up a few leafy margosa (melia azadirachta) twigs, touches the girl's shoulders, head, and knees with them, and throws them away. her glass bead necklace is then removed. at the uppu-eduththal (salt carrying) ceremony, the bridegroom's party carry a basket containing salt, a bundle containing nine kinds of grains, and a palmyra scroll for writing the marriage contract on, to the bride's house. the sacred fire is lighted, and homam performed by the brahman purohit. an old man, who has had a number of children, and belongs to a temple other than that of a bride, and the bridegroom's sister, then tie the tali string round her neck. this string bears a large tali, about seven inches long and four inches broad, and seventeen to twenty-three gold ornaments, often of considerable value. some of them have very sharp points, so that accidents sometimes arise from the points sticking in the eyes of babies carried by women. for every day wear, the massive ornaments are replaced by a smaller set. immediately after the tali has been tied, the marriage contract (isagudi manam) is written. two copies are made, for the bride and bridegroom respectively. as an example of a marriage contract, the following may be cited: "this is written for the marriage celebrated on ... between subramanyan, the son of okkurudaiyan arunachelam chetti ramanadhan chetti and valliammai, the daughter of arumbakurudaiyan k. narayana chetti, both formerly of ilayaththukudi, at the village of.... the value of jewels given to the girl is ... of gold; his dowry amounts to ...; money for female servant ...; sirattuchukram money ...; free gift of jewels.... this esaikudimanam was written by me at.... signed ramanadhan chetti." the bridegroom goes on horseback to a pillayar temple where he worships, and then proceeds in procession through various streets to the bride's house, accompanied by his sister carrying milk in a vessel, and a cooly bearing a bundle of seed rice. at every chetti house the procession halts, and coloured rice lights are waved before the bridegroom. at the entrance to the bride's house, he is met by the bride, whose sister-in-law pushes the couple against each other. hence the ceremony is called mappillaikuidiththukattal, or showing the bride to the bridegroom by pushing her. the couple are then conducted to a dais within the house, and wristlets made of cotton cloth are tied on by the purohit. they exchange cocoanuts and garlands, and, amid the blowing of the conch shell (musical instrument) by women, the bride's mother touches the couple with turmeric, ashes, sandal, etc. on the fourth day, money called veththilai surul rupai (betel-roll money) is given to the newly-married couple by chettis and the maternal uncles. a silver vessel, containing betel and two rupees, is given to the bridegroom by his father-in-law. the bridegroom usually carries on his shoulders a long purse of silk or red cloth, called valluvaippai, into which he puts the betel and other things which are given to him. on the last day of the marriage ceremonies, toe-rings and wristlets are removed, and the bridal pair eat together. in connection with pregnancy, two ceremonies are performed, called respectively marunthidal (medicine giving) and thirthamkudiththal (drinking holy water). the former is celebrated at about the fifth month. on an auspicious day, the sister-in-law of the pregnant woman, amid the blowing of the conch-shell by females, extracts the juice from the leaves of five plants, and gives to the woman to drink. during the seventh month the woman is given consecrated water (thirtham) from the temple. all first-born children, both male and female, have to go through a ceremony called pudhumai (newness). when they are two years old, on an auspicious day, fixed by a brahman purohit, the maternal uncle of the child ties on its neck strings of coral and glass beads, to which ornaments of pearls and precious stones are added in the case of the wealthy. the child is further decorated with other ornaments, and placed in an oval wooden tray, which is held by the mother and her sister-in-law. they go round three times with the tray, and the child's aunt, taking it up, carries it round to be blessed by those who have assembled. presents of money are given to the child by relations and friends, and the maternal uncles have to give a larger sum than the others. on the second or third day the coral and bead ornaments are removed, and, on the fourth day, the child, if a male, is shaved, and must thenceforth have the head clean shaved throughout life. "the story goes that, when the chola king of kaveripattanam persecuted them, the members of this caste resolved not to shave their heads until they quitted his territories. when they reached their new settlement they shaved their heads completely as a memorial of their stern resolution." [115] when a death occurs among the nattukottai chettis, news thereof is conveyed by the thandakaran, or caste messenger. those who come to condole with the bereaved family are received with outstretched hands (kainittikolludhal). the head of the corpse is shaved, and it is washed and decorated. in front of the house a pandal (booth), supported by four thespesia populnea posts, and roofed with twigs of eugenia jambolana, is erected. beneath this the corpse is laid, and all present go round it thrice. while the corpse is being got ready for conveyance to the burning ground, the daughters and sisters of the deceased husk paddy (unhusked rice). on the way to the burning ground, the son carries the fire. if the deceased is a young boy or girl, the pandal is removed after the funeral; otherwise it is removed, on a tuesday, thursday, or sunday, within four days. the nattukottais restrict the name pandal to the funeral booth, the marriage booth being called kavanam or kottagai. even an ordinary shed set up in front of a house is not called a pandal, as the name is associated with funerals. on the day following the funeral, the bigger fragments of bones are collected by a barber, and given to the son, who places them in an earthen pot. a pandaram offers fruit, food, etc., to the deceased. eight days afterwards, a feast, at which meat is partaken of for the first time since the death, is given to the relations of the dead person, and their pollution is at an end. they may not, however, enter a temple for thirty days. on the sixteenth day after death, the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are performed, and liberal presents of money, religious books, such as the ramayana, mahabharata, and periya puranam, wooden spoons for domestic use, etc., are given to brahmans. there are three matams, whereat the nattukottai chettis are initiated into their religion, at patharakkudi (or padanakkudi) and kila for males, and tulavur for females. they are saivites, but also, more especially the women, worship such minor deities as aiyanar, muneswara, and karuppan. they are also said to worship two village goddesses, called sellattamman and kannudayamman, at nattarasankottai. nattukottai men have the lobes of the ears artificially dilated, but seldom wear ornaments therein. they frequently have a gold chain round the loins, and wear finger rings set with diamonds. the wives even of wealthy men wear a cheap body cloth, and do menial house work, such as cleaning the kitchen utensils. they plait baskets, and, in some houses, wheels for spinning cotton may be seen. like other trading classes in southern india, the nattukottai chettis have a trade language of their own, which varies according to locality. in the city of madras they have three tables, for annas, rupees, and tens of rupees respectively. each of these is formed out of the syllables of certain words. thus, the anna table is composed of the syllables of tiripurasundari, the goddess at madura, which is a great centre for nattukottai chettis. the syllables (in the inverse order), and their money equivalent are as follows:- ri 1/2 anna. da 3/4 anna. un 1 anna. su 2 annas. ra 3 annas. pu 4 annas. ri 8 annas. ti 12 annas. the rupee table is composed of the word vedagirisvararthunai, meaning with the help of vedagirisvarar, the god at tirukalikundram near madras:- ve 1 rupee. da 2 rupees. gi 3 rupees. ri 4 rupees. i 5 rupees. is 6 rupees. va 7 rupees. ra 8 rupees. a 9 rupees. thu 10 rupees. nai 11 rupees. the tens-of-rupees table is made up from the word tirukalikundram:- ti 10 rupees. ru 20 rupees. ik 30 rupees. ka 40 rupees. li 50 rupees. ik 60 rupees. ku 70 rupees. in 80 rupees. ra 90 rupees. im 100 rupees. an anna is sometimes called vanakkam; a rupee is known as velle (white). nattupattan.--a section of ambalavasis. (see unni.) nattusamban.--samban (a name of siva) is a title of some tamil paraiyans. nattusamban denotes a village paraiyan. nattuvan.--defined in the madras census report, 1901, as "an occupational term, meaning a dancing-master, which is applied to males of the dancing-girl castes, who teach dancing." at nautch parties, when the deva-dasis dance, the nattuvans play the accompaniment on the drum, bag-pipe, flute, clarionet, cymbals, etc. at the initiation of a kaikolan girl as a deva-dasi, her dancing-master seats himself behind her, and, grasping her legs, moves them up and down in time with the music. some occhans in the tamily country, who teach dancing to deva-dasis, are also called nattuvan. natuvili (middle).--a sub-division of paraiyans in travancore. navakoti (nine crores).--an exogamous sept of desur reddi. a crore is one hundred lakhs, i.e., 10,000,000. navalipitta (peacock).--a sept of jatapu. navayat.--the navayats or navayets are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a musalman tribe, which appears to have originally settled at bhatkal in north canara, and is known on the west coast as bhatkali. the derivation of the name is much disputed. there are five sub-divisions of the tribe, namely, kureshi, mehkeri, chida, gheas, and mohagir. it takes a high place among musalmans, and does not intermarry with other tribes." of the nevayets, the following account, based on the saadut nama, and conversations with members of the community, is given by colonel wilks. [116] "nevayet is generally supposed to be a corruption of the hindustanee and mahratta terms for new-comer. about the end of the first century of the hejira, or the early part of the eighth century of the christian era, hejaj bin yusuf, governor of irak, on the part of the khalif abd-al-melik-bin-merwan, a monster abhorred for his cruelties even among musalmans, drove some respectable and opulent persons of the house of hâshem to the desperate resolution of abandoning for ever their native country. aided by the good offices of the inhabitants of kufa, a town of celebrity in those days, situated near to the tomb of ali, west of the euphrates, they departed with their families, dependents, and effects, and embarked on ships prepared for their reception in the persian gulf. some of these landed on that part of the western coast of india called the concan; the others to the eastward of cape comorin; the descendants of the former are the nevayets; of the latter the lubbe. the lubbe pretend to one common origin with the nevayets, and attribute their black complexion to intermarriage with the natives; but the nevayets affirm that the lubbe are the descendants of their domestic slaves; and there is certainly, in the physiognomy of this very numerous class, and in their stature and form, a strong resemblance to the natives of abyssinia. the nevayets of the western coast preserved the purity of their original blood by systematically avoiding intermarriage with the indians, and even with the highest muhammadan families, for many centuries after the establishment of the musalman dynasties of the deckan. even at this time there are some nevayets whose complexions approach the european freshness. their adherence to each other as members of the same family preserved their respectability; and they were famed at the muhammadan courts of the deckan for uniting the rare qualities of the soldier, the scholar, and the gentleman." navutiyan.--a synonym of velakkattalavan. nayadi.--in the malabar manual, the nayadis are briefly summed up as follows. "of the nayadis, or lowest caste among the hindus--the dog-eaters--nothing definite is known. they are most persistent in their clamour for charity, and will follow at a respectful distance, for miles together, any person walking, driving, or boating. if anything is given to them, it must be laid down, and, after the person offering it has proceeded a sufficient distance, the recipient comes timidly forward, and removes it." the subjects, whom i examined and measured at shoranur, though living only about three miles off, had, by reason of the pollution which they traditionally carry with them, to avoid walking over the long bridge which spans the river, and follow a circuitous route of many miles. eventually they had to climb, or be ignominiously hoisted over the wall of the bungalow. ignorant of the orthodox manner of using a chair, the first victim of the craniometer, who had to sit while his head was under examination, assumed the undignified position with which eton boys who have been swished are familiar. measurements concluded, men, women, and children sat down on the grass to an ample feast. and, before they departed homeward, copious blessings were invoked on me, to a chorus composed of the repetition of a single shrill note, not unlike that of the first note of a jackal cry. to quote the newspaper account of my doings, which refers to the 'monograms' issued by me on matters ethnological: "in the evening the kind gentleman gave them a sumptuous treat of canji and curry, and gave them also copper coins, toddy, and arrack. the poor people left the place immensely pleased, and were safely escorted to the british side of the river from the cochin territory." when travelling on the public roads in malabar or cochin, one may observe a few ragged and dirty cloths spread near the road, with one or two copper coins on them; and, at the same time, hear a chorus of monotonous stentorian voices at a distance of a hundred yards or more, emanating from a few miserable specimens of humanity, standing ghost-like with dishevelled hair, and a long strip of leaves tied round the waist, or clad in a dirty loin-cloth. the coins represent the alms given by the charitably disposed traveller, and the persons are nayadis. i am told that, near kollatur, there is a stone called the nayadi parai, which is believed to be a man who was turned into stone for not giving alms to a nayadi. the name nayadi is equivalent to nayattukar, i.e., hunter. the nayadis are, in fact, professional hunters, and are excellent shots. the nayars and other higher classes, used formerly to take them with them on hunting and shooting expeditions. but, since the arms act came into force, the nayadis find this occupation gone. they are also good archers, and used to kill deer, pigs, hares, etc., and eat them. these animals are now difficult to get, as the forests are reserved by government, and private forests are denuded of their trees for use as fuel, and for house-building by a growing population, and for consumption on the railway. the suggestion has been made that the name nayadi is derived from the fact of their eating otters, which live in hill streams, and are called nir-nai (water-dog). the approach of a nayadi within a distance of three hundred feet is said to contaminate a brahman, who has to bathe and put on a new sacred thread, to cleanse himself of the pollution. the nayadis, in fact, hold the lowest position in the social scale, and consequently labour under the greatest disadvantage. the nayadis live mostly in isolated huts on the tops of hills, and generally select a shola, or glade, where there is a pond or stream. some families live on the land of their landlords, whose crops they watch by night, to guard them against the attacks of wild beasts. sometimes they are engaged in ploughing, sowing, weeding, transplanting, and reaping, the rice crop, or in plantain (banana) gardens. i take exception to the comparison by a recent author of the british empire to the banana (musa) throwing out aërial roots. the banyan (ficus bengalensis) must have been meant. the male members of the community are called nayadis, and the females nayadichis. the boys are called molayans, and the young girls manichis. succession is in the male line (makkathayam). a thatched shed with palm-leaf walls, a few earthen pots, and a chopper, constitute the nayadi's property. he occasionally collects honey and bees-wax, and also the gum (matti pasai) from the mattipal tree (ailanthus malabarica), which, when burnt, is used as temple incense and for fumigating the bed-chamber. he receives toddy in exchange for the honey and wax, and copper coins for the gum, with which he purchases luxuries in the shape of salt, chillies, dried fish, tobacco, and liquor. he makes rough ropes from the malanar plant, and the bark of the kayyul tree (bauhinia). the bark is soaked in water, sun-dried, and the fibre manufactured into rope. he also makes slings of fibre, wherewith he knocks over birds, and mats from a species of cyperus. according to custom, the nayadi has to offer four ropes, each eight yards long, to every nambutiri illam, and two ropes to every nayar house near his settlement, on the occasion of the vishu and onam festivals. in return he receives a fixed measure of paddy (rice). the ropes are used for tethering cattle, and for drawing water from the well. by a wise dispensation of the ancient local chieftains, to each nayadi is assigned a desom (portion of a parish), within which he enjoys certain privileges. and no nayadi has any business to poach on his preserves. the privileges are these. on birthdays, anniversaries, and festive occasions, the nayadi receives his share of curry and rice, tied up in an old cloth. when a person is sick, a black country-made kambli (blanket), with gingelly (sesamum), mustard, turmeric, and cocoanut tied up in the four corners, is passed three times over the patient and presented to a nayadi, together with a palm umbrella, a stick, and a cucumber. this is called kala-dhanam, or offering to yama, the god of death, whose attack has to be warded off by propitiatory offerings. the nayadi accepts the gifts, and prays for the long life and prosperity of the giver. placing them before his own family god, he prays that the life of the sick person may be spared, and that the disease may not be transferred to him. like the cherumans, the nayadis drink, but they cannot afford to buy as much toddy as the former, for the cheruman works regularly for a daily wage. monkeys, which are very troublesome in gardens, are shot down by the higher classes, and given to the nayadis to eat. their dietary includes rats, mungooses, pigs, deer, paraquets, the koel (cuckoo), doves, quails, fowls, paddy-birds, hares, tortoises, varanus (lizard), crocodiles, and fish. they abstain from eating the flesh of dogs, cats, snakes, land-crabs, shell-fish, and beef. among vegetables, the tubers of yams (dioscorea) and colocasia are included. they produce fire by friction with two sticks of litsoea sebifera, in the shorter of which a cavity is scooped out. they do not, like the todas, put powdered charcoal in the cavity, but ignite the cloth rag by means of the red-hot wood dust produced by the friction. when a woman is pregnant, she craves for the flesh of a monkey or jungle squirrel during the sixth month. during the seventh month, a ceremony is performed, to relieve her of the influence of devils, who may be troubling her. it is called ozhinnukalayuka. abortion is attributed to the malign influence of evil spirits. to ward off this, they tie round the neck a magic thread, and invoke the aid of their hill gods and the spirits of their ancestors. they erect a special hut for delivery, to which the woman retires. when she is in labour, her husband shampooes his own abdomen, while praying to the gods for her safe delivery--a custom which seems to suggest the couvade. as soon as his wife is delivered, he offers thanks to the gods "for having got the baby out." the woman observes pollution for ten days, during which her husband avoids seeing her. any deformity in the child is attributed to the evil influence of the gods. on the twenty-eighth day after birth, the ceremony of naming the child takes place. the name given to the first-born son is that of the paternal grandfather, and to the first-born daughter that of the maternal grandmother. in the fifth year, the ear-boring ceremony takes place, and the operation is performed by the child's uncle. a piece of brass wire takes the place of ear-rings. girls wear a plug of wood in the lobes. the nayadichis do not, like the cheruman women, wear bracelets, but have many rows of beads round their necks, and hanging over their bosoms. when a girl reaches puberty, a nayadichi leads her to a tank (pond), in which she bathes, after a pandi, composed of several pieces of plantain leaf tied together, has been carried three or four times round her. she must not touch any utensils, and must abstain from touching her head with the hand, and, if the skin itches, the body must be scratched with a small stick. concerning a very interesting form of marriage, mr. t. k. gopal panikkar writes as follows. [117] "a large hut is constructed of 'holly' and other leaves, inside which the girl is ensconced. then all the young men and women of the village gather round the hut, and form a ring about it. the girl's father, or the nearest male relative, sits a short distance from the crowd, with a tom-tom in his hands. then commences the music, and a chant is sung by the father, which has been freely translated as follows:- take the stick, my sweetest daughter, now seize the stick, my dearest love, should you not capture the husband you wish for, remember, 'tis fate decides whom you shall have. "all the young men, who are eligible for marriage, arm themselves with a stick each, and begin to dance round the hut, inside which the bride is seated. this goes on for close on an hour, when each of them thrusts his stick inside the hut through the leafy covering. the girl has then to take hold of one of these sticks from the inside, and the owner of the stick which she seizes becomes the husband of the concealed bride. this ceremony is followed up by feasting, after which the marriage is consummated." a photograph by mr. f. fawcett shows a young man with a ring hanging round his neck, as a sign that he was still unattached. but he was soon about to part with it, for a present of a rupee enabled him to find a girl, and fix up a marriage, within two days. adultery is regarded with abhorrence, and there is a belief that those who are guilty of it are liable to be attacked by wild beasts or demons. on the occasion of the marriage of a divorced woman's son or daughter, the mother attends the festivities, if she receives a cordial invitation from her children. but she does not look her former husband straight in the face, and returns to her home the same evening. when a man lies at the point of death, it is usual to distribute rice kanji to the people, who, after taking their fill, become possessed with the power of predicting the fate in store for the sick man. according as the taste of the kanji turns to that of a corpse, or remains unaltered, the death or recovery of the patient is foretold in their deep and loud voices. [118] the nayadis either burn or bury their dead. several layers of stones are placed within the grave, and its site is marked by three big stones, one in the middle, and one at each end. the burnt ashes of the bones are collected, and preserved in a pot, which is kept close to the hut of the deceased. pollution is observed for ten days, during which the enangan (relations by marriage) cook for the mourners. on the tenth day, the sons of the deceased go, together with their relations, to the nearest stream, and bury the bones on the bank. the sons bathe, and perform beli, so that the soul of the departed may enter heaven, and ghosts may not trouble them. after the bath, a sand-heap, representing the deceased, is constructed, and on it are placed a piece of plantain leaf, some unboiled rice, and karuka grass (cynodon dactylon). over these water is poured twelve times, and the sons reverently prostrate themselves before the heap. they then return home, and cow-dung, mixed with water, is sprinkled over them by their relations, and poured over the floor of the hut. in this manner they are purified. some time during the seventh month after death, according to another account, the grave, in which the corpse has been buried, is dug up, and the bones are carefully collected, and spread out on a layer of sticks arranged on four stones placed at the corners of a pit. the bones are then covered with more sticks, and the pile is lighted. the partially burnt bones are subsequently collected by the eldest son of the deceased, and carried to the hut in a new pot, which is tied to a branch of a neighbouring tree. this rite concluded, he bathes, and, on his return, the adiyanthiram (death ceremony) day is fixed. on this day, the eldest son removes the pot, and buries it by the side of a stream, near which a heap of sand is piled up. on this all the agnates pour water three times, prostrate themselves before it, and disperse. the ceremony is brought to a close with a square meal. some time ago an old nayadi, who had the reputation of being a good shot, died. his son obtained a handful of gunpowder from a gun-license holder, and set fire to it near the grave, with a view to satisfying the soul of the deceased. the chief gods of the nayadis are mallan, malavazhi, and parakutti, to whom offerings of toddy, rice, and the flesh of monkeys are made. parakutti it is who aids them in their hunting expeditions, bringing the game to them, and protecting them from wild beasts. if they do not succeed in bagging the expected game, they abuse him. the nayadis are also ancestor worshippers, and keep representations of the departed, to which offerings of rice and toddy are made during the onam, vishu, and other festivals. beneath a mango tree in a paramba (garden) were forty-four stones set up in a circle round the tree. one of the stones was a beli-kal (beli stone), such as is placed round the inner shrines of temples. the remainder resembled survey stones, but were smaller in size. the stones represented forty-four nayadis, who had left the world. on the ceremonial occasions referred to above, a sheep or fowl is killed, and the blood allowed to fall on them, puja (worship) is performed, and solemn prayers are offered that the souls of the departed may protect them against wild beasts and snakes. a nayadi asserted that, if he came across a tiger, he would invoke the aid of his ancestors, and the animal would be rendered harmless. whenever the nayadis labour under any calamity or disease, they consult the parayan astrologer. and, when a woman is possessed by devils, the parayan is summoned. he is furnished with a thread and some toddy. muttering certain prayers to parakutti and other deities, he ties the thread round the woman's neck, drinks the toddy, and the devil leaves her. when a person is believed to be under the influence of a devil or the evil eye, salt, chillies, tamarind, oil, mustard, cocoanut, and a few pice (copper coins) in a vessel are waved thrice round the head of the affected individual, and given to a nayadi, whose curse is asked for. there is this peculiarity about a nayadi's curse, that it always has the opposite effect. so, when he is asked to curse one who has given him alms, he does so by invoking misery and evil upon him. by the nayadi money is called chembu kasu (copper coin), food elamattam (exchange of leaves), and having no food nakkan illa (nothing to lick on). as a protection against snake-bite, the nayadis wear a brass toe-ring. and, when engaged in catching rats in their holes, they wear round the wrist a snake-shaped metal ring, to render them safe against snakes which may be concealed in the hole. the nayadis who live within the jurisdiction of the kavalapara nayar near shoranur wear the kudumi (front lock of hair), as there are no mappillas (muhammadans) to molest them. the kavalapara nayar was at one time an important chief, and directed all nambutiri jenmis (landlords) who held land within his jurisdiction to bind themselves not to let the land to mappillas. nayadis of other parts are not allowed by the mappillas to wear the kudumi, and, if they do so, they are taken for parayans and professional sorcerers, and beaten. some nayadis have become converts to christianity, others to muhammadanism, and maintain themselves by begging for alms from muhammadans. they are called thoppyitta (cap-wearing) nayadis. the priest of the nayadis is called muppan. his appointment is hereditary, and he enquires into all matters affecting the community, and can excommunicate a guilty person. [119] average height, 155 cm.; nasal index, 86. nayar.--"the nayars," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [120] "are a dravidian caste, or rather a community, for we find several distinct elements with totally different occupations among the people who call themselves by this title. the original nayars were undoubtedly a military body, holding lands and serving as a militia, but the present nayar caste includes persons who, by hereditary occupation, are traders, artisans, oilmongers, palanquin-bearers, and even barbers and washermen. the fact seems to be that successive waves of immigration brought from the canarese and tamil countries different castes and different tribes; and these, settling down in the country, adopted the customs and manners, and assumed the caste names of the more respectable of the community that surrounded them. this process of assimilation is going on even yet. chettis of coimbatore, for example, who settled in palghat and valluvanad within living memory, have developed by this time into nayars. in the census schedules we find instances in which the males of a house affix the term nayar to their names, while the names of the females end in chettichi. gollas entering the country from the north have similarly, in course of time, assumed nayar customs and manners, and are now styled nayars. again the rajahs and chieftains of the country sometimes raised individuals or classes who had rendered them meritorious service to the rank of nayars. these men were thereafter styled nayars, but formed a separate sub-division with little or no communion with the rest of the nayar class, until at least, after the lapse of generations, when their origin was forgotten. nayar may thus at present be considered to be a term almost as wide and general as sudra." according to the brahman tradition, the nayar caste is the result of union between the nambudris with deva, gandharva and rakshasa women introduced by parasurama; and this tradition embodies the undoubted fact that the caste by its practice of hypergamy has had a very large infusion of aryan blood. in origin the nayars were probably a race of dravidian immigrants, who were amongst the first invaders of malabar, and as conquerors assumed the position of the governing and land-owning class. the large admixture of aryan blood combined with the physical peculiarities of the country would go far to explain the very marked difference between the nayar of the present day and what may be considered the corresponding dravidian races in the rest of the presidency. [121] in connection with the former position of the nayars as protectors of the state, it is noted by mr. logan [122] that "in johnston's 'relations of the most famous kingdom in the world' (1611), there occurs the following quaintly written account of this protector guild. 'it is strange to see how ready the souldiour of this country is at his weapons: they are all gentile men, and tearmed naires. at seven years of age they are put to school to learn the use of their weapons, where, to make them nimble and active, their sinnewes and joints are stretched by skilful fellows, and annointed with the oyle sesamus [gingelly: sesamum indicum]: by this annointing they become so light and nimble that they will winde and turn their bodies as if they had no bones, casting them forward, backward, high and low, even to the astonishment of the beholders. their continual delight is in their weapon, perswading themselves that no nation goeth beyond them in skill and dexterity.' and jonathan duncan, who visited malabar more than once as one of the commissioners from bengal in 1792-93, and afterwards as governor of bombay, after quoting the following lines from mickle's camoens, book vii- 'poliar the labouring lower clans are named: by the proud nayrs the noble rank is claimed; the toils of culture and of art they scorn: the shining faulchion brandish'd in the right- their left arm wields the target in the fight'-went on to observe: 'these lines, and especially the two last, contain a good description of a nayr, who walks along, holding up his naked sword with the same kind of unconcern as travellers in other countries carry in their hands a cane or walking staff. i have observed others of them have it fastened to their back, the hilt being stuck in their waist band, and the blade rising up and glittering between their shoulders' (asiatic researches, v. 10, 18). m. mahé de la bourdonnais, who had some experience of their fighting qualities in the field, thus described them: 'les nairs sont de grands hommes basanés, légers, et vigoureux: ils n'ont pas d'autre profession que celle des armes, et seraient de fort bons soldats, s'ils étiaent disciplinés: mais ils combattent sans ordre, ils prennent la fuite dès qu'on les serre de près avec quelque supèrioritê; pourtant, s'ils se voient pressés avec vigueur et qu'ils se croient en danger, ils reviennent à la charge, et ne se rendent jamais' (m. esquer, essai sur les castes dans l'inde, page 181). finally, the only british general of any note--sir hector munro--who had ever to face the nayars in the field, thus wrote of their modes of fighting:-'one may as well look for a needle in a bottle of hay as any of them in the daytime, they being lurking behind sand banks and bushes, except when we are marching towards the fort, and then they appear like bees out in the month of june.' 'besides which,' he continued, 'they point their guns well, and fire them well also.' (tellicherry factory diary, march, 1761). they were, in short, brave light troops, excellent in skirmishing, but their organization into small bodies with discordant interests unfitted them to repel any serious invasion by an enemy even moderately well organised. among other strange malayali customs, sheikh zin-ud-din [123] noticed the fact that, if a chieftain was slain, his followers attacked and obstinately persevered in ravaging the slayer's country, and killing his people till their vengeance was satisfied. this custom is doubtless that which was described so long ago as in the ninth century a.d. by two muhammadans, whose work was translated by renaudot (lond., 1733). 'there are kings who, upon their accession, observe the following ceremony. a quantity of cooked rice was spread before the king, and some three or four hundred persons came of their own accord, and received each a small quantity of rice from the king's own hands after he himself had eaten some. by eating of this rice they all engage themselves to burn themselves on the day the king dies or is slain, and they punctually fulfil their promise.' men, who devoted themselves to certain death on great occasions, were termed amoucos by the portuguese; and barbosa, one of the portuguese writers, alluded to the practice as prevalent among the nayars. purchas has also the following:--'the king of cochin hath a great number of gentlemen, which he calleth amocchi, and some are called nairi: these two sorts of men esteem not their lives anything, so that it may be for the honour of the king.' the proper malayalam term for such men was chaver, literally those who took up, or devoted themselves to death. it was a custom of the nayars, which was readily adopted by the mappillas, who also at times--as at the great mahamakkam, twelfth year feast, at tirunavayi [124]--devoted themselves to death in the company of nayars for the honour of the valluvanad raja. and probably the frantic fanatical rush of the mappillas on british bayonets, which is not even yet a thing of the past, is the latest development of this ancient custom of the nayars. the martial spirit of the nayars in these piping times of peace has quite died out for want of exercise. the nayar is more and more becoming a family man. comparatively few of them now-a-days even engage in hunting." according to an inscription of the king kulottunga i (a.d. 1083-84), he conquered kudamalai-nadu, i.e., the western hill country (malabar), whose warriors, the ancestors of the nayars of the present day, perished to the last man in defending their independence. [125] the following description of the nayars at the beginning of the sixteenth century is given by duarte barbosa. [126] "the nairs are the gentry, and have no other duty than to carry on war, and they continually carry their arms with them, which are swords, bows, arrows, bucklers, and lances. they all live with the kings, and some of them with other lords, relations of the kings, and lords of the country, and with the salaried governors, and with one another. they are very smart men, and much taken up with their nobility.... these nairs, besides being all of noble descent, have to be armed as knights by the hand of a king or lord with whom they live, and until they have been so equipped they cannot bear arms nor call themselves nairs.... in general, when they are seven years of age, they are immediately sent to school to learn all manner of feats of agility and gymnastics for the use of their weapons. first they learn to dance and then to tumble, and for that purpose they render supple all their limbs from their childhood, so that they can bend them in any direction.... these nairs live outside the towns separate from other people on their estates which are fenced in. when they go anywhere, they shout to the peasants, that they may get out of the way where they have to pass; and the peasants do so, and, if they did not do it, the nairs might kill them without penalty. and, if a peasant were by misfortune to touch a nair lady, her relations would immediately kill her, and likewise the man that touched her and all his relations. this, they say, is done to avoid all opportunity of mixing the blood with that of the peasants.... these are very clean and well-dressed women, and they hold it in great honour to know how to please men. they have a belief amongst them that the woman who dies a virgin does not go to paradise." writing in the eighteenth century, hamilton states [127] that "it was an ancient custom for the samorin (zamorin) to reign but twelve years, and no longer. if he died before his term was expired, it saved him a troublesome ceremony of cutting his own throat on a public scaffold erected for that purpose. he first made a feast for all his nobility and gentry, who were very numerous. after the feast he saluted his guests, went on the scaffold, and very neatly cut his own throat in the view of the assembly. his body was, a little while after, burned with great pomp and ceremony, and the grandees elected a new samorin. whether that custom was a religious or a civil ceremony i know not, but it is now laid aside, and a new custom is followed by the modern samorin, that a jubilee is proclaimed throughout his dominion at the end of twelve years, and a tent is pitched for him in a spacious plain, and a great feast is celebrated for ten or twelve days with mirth and jollity, guns firing night and day, so at the end of the feast any four of the guests that have a mind to gain a crown by a desperate action in fighting their way through thirty or forty thousand of his guards, and kill the samorin in his tent, he that kills him succeeds him in his empire. in anno 1695 one of these jubilees happened, and the tent pitched near ponnany, a sea-port of his about fifteen leagues to the southward of calicut. there were but three men that would venture on that desperate action, who fell on, with sword and target, among the guards, and, after they had killed and wounded many, were themselves killed. one of the desperadoes had a nephew of fifteen or sixteen years of age that kept close by his uncle in the attack on the guards, and, when he saw him fall, the youth got through the guards into the tent, and made a stroke at his majesty's head, and had certainly dispatched him if a large brass lamp which was burning over his head had not marred the blow, but, before he could make another, he was killed by the guards, and i believe the same samorin reigns yet." it is noted by sonnerat [128] that the nayars "are the warriors; they have also the privilege of enjoying all the women of their caste. their arms, which they constantly carry, distinguish them from the other tribes. they are besides known by their insolent haughtiness. when they perceive pariahs, they call out to them, even at a great distance, to get out of their way, and, if any one of these unfortunate people approaches too near a nair, and through inadvertence touches him, the nair has a right to murder him, which is looked upon as a very innocent action, and for which no complaint is ever made. it is true that the pariahs have one day in the year when all the nairs they can touch become their slaves, but the nairs take such precautions to keep out of the way at the time, that an accident of that kind seldom happens." it is further recorded by buchanan [129] that "the whole of these nairs formed the militia of malayala, directed by the namburis and governed by the rajahs. their chief delight is in arms, but they are more inclined to use them for assassination or surprise, than in the open field. their submission to their superiors was great, but they exacted deference from those under them with a cruelty and arrogance, rarely practised but among hindus in their state of independence. a nair was expected to instantly cut down a tiar or mucuai, who presumed to defile him by touching his person; and a similar fate awaited a slave, who did not turn out of the road as a nair passed." nayar is commonly said to be derived from the sanskrit nayaka, a leader, and to be cognate with naik, and nayudu or naidu. in this connection, mr. l. moore writes [130] that "if a reference is made to the anglo-indian glossary (hobson-jobson) by yule and burnell, it will be found that the term naik or nayakan, and the word nayar are derived from the same sanskrit original, and there is a considerable amount of evidence to show that the nayars of malabar are closely connected by origin with the nayakans of vijayanagar. [131] xavier, writing in 1542 to 1544, makes frequent references to men whom he calls badages, who are said to have been collectors of royal taxes, and to have grievously oppressed xavier's converts among the fishermen of travancore. [132] dr. caldwell, alluding to xavier's letters, says [133] that these badages were no doubt vadages or men from the north, and is of opinion that a jesuit writer of the time who called them nayars was mistaken, and that they were really nayakans from madura. i believe, however, that the jesuit rightly called them nayars, for i find that father organtino, writing in 1568, speaks of these badages as people from narasinga (a kingdom north of madura, lying close to bishnaghur). [134] bishnaghur is, of course, vijayanagar, and the kingdom of narasinga was the name frequently given by the portuguese to vijayanagar. almost every page of mr. sewell's interesting book on vijayanagar bears testimony to the close connection between vijayanagar and the west coast. dr. a. c. burnell tells us that the kings who ruled vijayanagar during the latter half of the fourteenth century belonged to a low non-aryan caste, namely, that of canarese cow-herds. [135] they were therefore closely akin to the nayars, one of the leading rajas among whom at the present time, although officially described as a samanta, is in reality of the eradi, i.e., cow-herd caste. [136] it is remarkable that colonel (afterwards sir thomas) munro, in the memorandum written by him in 1802 [137] on the poligars of the ceded districts, when dealing with the cases of a number of poligars who were direct descendants of men who had been chiefs under the kings of vijayanagar, calls them throughout his report naique or nair, using the two names as if they were identical. further investigation as to the connection of the nayars of malabar with the kingdom of vijayanagar would, i believe, lead to interesting results." in the journal of the hon. john lindsay (1783) it is recorded [138] that "we received information that our arms were still successful on the malabar coast, and that our army was now advancing into the inland country; whilst the nayars and polygars that occupy the jungles and mountains near seringapatam, thinking this a favourable opportunity to regain their former independence, destroyed the open country, and committed as many acts of barbarity as hyder's army had done in the carnatic." "some," mr. n. subramani aiyar writes in a note on the nayars of travancore, "believe that nayar is derived from naga (serpents), as the aryans so termed the earlier settlers of malabar on account of the special adoration which they paid to snakes. the travancore nayars are popularly known as malayala sudras--a term which contrasts them sharply with the pandi or foreign sudras, of whom a large number immigrated into travancore in later times. another name by which nayars are sometimes known is malayali, but other castes, which have long inhabited the malayalam country, can lay claim to this designation with equal propriety. the most general title of the nayars is pillai (child), which was once added to the names of the brahman dwellers in the south. it must, in all probability, have been after the brahmans changed their title to aiyar (father), by which name the non-brahman people invariably referred to them, that sudras began to be termed pillai. we find that the vellalas of the tamil country and the nayars of travancore called themselves pillai from very early times. the formal ceremony of paying down a sum of money, and obtaining a distinction direct from the sovereign was known as tirumukham pitikkuka, or catching the face of the king, and enabled the recipients to add, besides the honorary suffix pillai, the distinctive prefix kanakku, or accountant, to their name. so important were the privileges conferred by it that even sanku annavi, a brahman dalava, obtained it at the hand of the reigning maharaja, and his posterity at vempannur have enjoyed the distinction until the present day. the titles pillai and kanakku are never used together. the name of an individual would be, for example, either krishna pillai or kanakku raman krishnan, raman being the name of the karanavan or the maternal uncle. a higher title, chempakaraman, corresponds to the knighthood of mediæval times, and was first instituted by maharaja marthanda varma in memory, it is said, of his great prime minister rama aiyyan dalawa. the individual, whom it was the king's pleasure to honour, was taken in procession on the back of an elephant through the four main streets of the fort, and received by the prime minister, seated by his side, and presented with pansupari (betel). rare as this investiture is in modern times, there are many ancient houses, to which this title of distinction is attached in perpetuity. the title kanakku is often enjoyed with it, the maternal uncle's name being dropped, e.g., kanakku chempakaraman krishnan. tambi (younger brother) is another title prevalent in travancore. it is a distinctive suffix to the names of nayar sons of travancore sovereigns. but, in ancient times, this title was conferred on others also, in recognition of merit. tambis alone proceed in palanquins, and appear before the maharaja without a head-dress. the consorts of maharajas are selected from these families. if a lady from outside is to be accepted as consort, she is generally adopted into one of these families. the title karta, or doer, appears also to have been used as a titular name by some of the rulers of madura. [at the madras census, 1901, kartakkal was returned by balijas claiming to be descendants of the nayak kings of madura and tanjore.] the tekkumkur and vadakkumkur rajas in malabar are said to have first conferred the title karta on certain influential nayar families. in social matters the authority of the karta was supreme, and it was only on important points that higher authorities were called on to intercede. all the kartas belong to the illam sub-division of the nayar caste. the title kuruppu, though assumed by other castes than nayars, really denotes an ancient section of the nayars, charged with various functions. some were, for instance, instructors in the use of arms, while others were superintendents of maid-servants in the royal household. writing concerning the zamorin of calicut about 1500 a.d., barbosa states that "the king has a thousand waiting women, to whom he gives regular pay, and they are always at the court to sweep the palaces and houses of the king, and he does this for the state, because fifty would be enough to sweep." when a maharaja of travancore enters into a matrimonial alliance, it is a kuruppu who has to call out the full title of the royal consort, panappillai amma, after the presentation of silk and cloth has been performed. the title panikkar is derived from pani, work. it was the panikkars who kept kalaris, or gymnastic and military schools, but in modern times many panikkars have taken to the teaching of letters. some are entirely devoted to temple service, and are consequently regarded as belonging to a division of marans, rather than of nayars. the title kaimal is derived from kai, hand, signifying power. in former times, some kaimals were recognised chieftains, e.g., the kaimal of vaikkattillam in north travancore. others were in charge of the royal treasury, which, according to custom, could not be seen even by the kings except in their presence. "neither could they," barbosa writes, "take anything out of the treasury without a great necessity, and by the counsel of this person and certain others." the titles unnithan and valiyathan were owned by certain families in central travancore, which were wealthy and powerful. they were to some extent self-constituted justices of the peace, and settled all ordinary disputes arising in the kara where they dwelt. the title menavan, or menon, means a superior person, and is derived from mel, above, and avan he. the recipient of the title held it for his lifetime, or it was bestowed in perpetuity on his family, according to the amount of money paid down as atiyara. as soon as an individual was made a menon, he was presented with an ola (palmyra leaf for writing on) and an iron style as symbols of the office of accountant, which he was expected to fill. in british malabar even now every amsam or revenue village has an accountant or writer called menon. the title menokki, meaning one who looks over or superintends, is found only in british malabar, as it was exclusively a creation of the zamorin. [they are, i gather, accountants in temples.] "there are numerous sub-divisions comprised under the general head nayar, of which the most important, mentioned in vernacular books, are kiriyam, illam, svarupam, itacheri or idacheri, pallichan, ashtikkurichchi, vattakatan, otatu, pulikkal, vyapari, vilakkitalavan, and veluthetan. of these ashtikkurichchi and pulikkal are divisions of maran, vyapari is a division of chettis, and vilakkitalavan and veluthetan are barbers and washermen respectively. "the chief divisions of nayars, as now recognised, are as follows:-1. kiriyam, a name said to be a corruption of the sanskrit griha, meaning house. this represents the highest class, the members of which were, in former times, not obliged to serve brahmans and kshatriyas. 2. illakkar.--the word illam indicates a nambutiri brahman's house, and tradition has it that every illam family once served an illam. but, in mediæval times, any nayar could get himself recognised as belonging to the illam division, provided that a certain sum of money, called adiyara, was paid to the government. the illakkar are prohibited from the use of fish, flesh, and liquor, but the prohibition is not at the present day universally respected. in some parts of malabar, they have moulded many of their habits in the truly brahmanical style. 3. svarupakkar.--adherents of the kshatriya families of travancore. the members of the highest group, parur svarupam, have their purificatory rites performed by marans. it is stated that they were once the illakkar servants of one karuttetathu nambutiri, who was the feudal lord of parur, and afterwards became attached to the royal household which succeeded to that estate, thus becoming parur svarupakkar. 4. padamangalam and tamil padam were not originally nayars, but immigrants from the tamil country. they are confined to a few localities in travancore, and until recently there was a distinctive difference in regard to dress and ornaments between the tamil padam and the ordinary nayars. the occupation of the padamangalakkar is temple service, such as sweeping, carrying lamps during processions, etc. the tamil padakkar are believed to have taken to various kinds of occupation, and, for this reason, to have become merged with other sections. 5. vathi or vatti.--this name is not found in the jatinirnaya, probably because it had not been differentiated from maran. the word is a corruption of vazhti, meaning praying for happiness, and refers to their traditional occupation. they use a peculiar drum, called nantuni. some call themselves daivampatis, or wards of god, and follow the makkathayam system of inheritance (in the male line). 6. itacheri or idacheri, also called pantaris in south travancore. they are herdsmen, and vendors of milk, butter and curds. the name suggests a relation of some kind to the idaiyan caste of the tamil country. 7. karuvelam, known also by other names, such as kappiyara and tiruvattar. their occupation is service in the palace of the maharaja, and they are the custodians of his treasury and valuables. fifty-two families are believed to have been originally brought from kolathanad, when a member thereof was adopted into the travancore royal family. 8. arikuravan.--a name, meaning those who reduced the quantity of rice out of the paddy given to them to husk at the temple of kazhayakkuttam near trivandrum, by which they were accosted by the local chieftain. 9. pallichchan.--bearers of palanquins for brahmans and malabar chieftains. they are also employed as their attendants, to carry their sword and shield before them. 10. vandikkaran.--a name, meaning cartmen, for those who supply fuel to temples, and cleanse the vessels belonging thereto. 11. kuttina.--the only heiress of a svarupam tarwad is said to have been a maid-servant in the vadakketam brahman's house, and her daughter's tali-kettu ceremony to have been celebrated in her master's newly-built cowshed. the bride was called kuttilachchi, or bride in a cowshed, and her descendants were named kuttina nayars. they intermarry among themselves, and, having no priests of their own, obtain purified water from brahmans to remove the effects of pollution. 12. matavar.--also known as puliyattu, veliyattu, and kallur nayars. they are believed to have been good archers in former times. 13. otatu, also called kusa. their occupation is to tile or thatch temples and brahman houses. 14. mantalayi.--a tract of land in the kalkulam taluk, called mantalachchi konam, was granted to them by the state. they are paid mourners, and attend at the trivandrum palace when a death occurs in the royal family. 15. manigramam.--believed to represent hindu recoveries from early conversion to christianity. manigramam was a portion of cranganore, where early christian immigrants settled. 16. vattaykkatan, better known in travancore as chakala nayars, form in many respects the lowest sub-division. they are obliged to stand outside the sacrificial stones (balikallu) of a sanctuary, and are not allowed to take the title pillai. pulva is a title of distinction among them. one section of them is engaged in the hereditary occupation of oil-pressing, and occupies a lower position in the social scale than the other." the following list of "clans" among the nayars of malabar whom he examined anthropometrically is given by mr. f. fawcett [139]:- kiriyattil. vangiloth. sudra. kitavu. kurup. pallichan. nambiyar. muppathinayiran. urali. viyapari or ravari. nallioden. attikurissi. viyyur. manavalan. akattu charna. adungadi. purattu charna. adiodi. vattakkad. amayengolam. "the kurup, nambiyar viyyur, manavalan, vengolan, nellioden, adungadi, kitavu, adiodi, amayengolam, all superior clans, belong, properly speaking, to north malabar. the kiriyattil, or kiriyam, is the highest of all the clans in south malabar, and is supposed to comprise, or correspond with the group of clans first named from north malabar. the akattu charna clan is divided into two sub-clans, one of which looks to the zamorin as their lord, and the other owns lordship to minor lordlings, as the tirumulpad of nilambur. the former are superior, and a woman of the latter may mate with a man of the former, but not vice versâ. in the old days, every nayar chief had his charnavar, or adherents. the purattu charna are the outside adherents, or fighters and so on, and the akattu charna are the inside adherents--clerks and domestics. the clan from which the former were drawn is superior to the latter. the uralis are said to have been masons; the pallichans manchil bearers. [140] the sudra clan supplies female servants in the houses of nambudiris. the vattakkad (or chakkingal: chakku, oil press) clan, whose proper métier is producing gingelly or cocoanut oil with the oil-mill, is the lowest of all, excepting, i think, the pallichan. indeed, in north malabar, i have frequently been told by nayars of the superior clans that they do not admit the vattakkad to be nayars, and say that they have adopted the honorary affix nayars to their names quite recently. there is some obscurity as regards the sub-divisions of the vattakkad clan. to the north of calicut, in kurumbranad, they are divided into the undiatuna, or those who pull (to work the oil-machine by hand), and the murivechchu-atune, or those who tie or fasten bullocks, to work the oil-machine. yet further north, at tellicherry and thereabouts, there are no known sub-divisions, while in ernad, to the eastward, the clan is divided into the veluttatu (white) and karuttatu (black). the white have nothing to do with the expression and preparation of oil, which is the hereditary occupation of the black. the white may eat with nayars of any clan; the black can eat with no others outside their own clan. the black sub-clan is strictly endogamous; the other, the superior sub-clan, is not. their women may marry men of any other clan, the pallichchan excepted. union by marriage, or whatever the function may be named, is permissible between most of the other clans, the rule by which a woman may never unite herself with her inferior being always observed. she may unite herself with a man of her own clan, or with a man of any superior clan, or with a nambutiri, an embrantiri, or any other brahman, or with one of the small sects coming between the brahmans and the nayars. but she cannot under any circumstances unite herself with a man of a clan, which is inferior to hers. nor can she eat with those of a clan inferior to her; a man may, and does without restriction. her children by an equal in race and not only in mere social standing, but never those by one who is racially inferior, belong to her taravad. [141] the children of the inferior mothers are never brought into the taravad of the superior fathers, i.e., they are never brought into it to belong to it, but they may live there. and, where they do so, they cannot enter the taravad kitchen, or touch the women while they are eating. nor are they allowed to touch their father's corpse. they may live in the taravad under these and other disabilities, but are never of it. the custom, which permits a man to cohabit with a woman lower in the social scale than himself, and prohibits a woman from exercising the same liberty, is called the rule of anulomam and pratilomam. dr. gundert derives anulomam from anu, with lomam (romam), hair, or going with the hair or grain. so pratilomam means going against the hair or grain. according to this usage, a nayar woman, consorting with a man of a higher caste, follows the hair, purifies the blood, and raises the progeny in social estimation. by cohabitation with a man of a lower division (clan) or caste, she is guilty of pratilomam, and, if the difference of caste were admittedly great, she would be turned out of her family, to prevent the whole family being boycotted. a corollary of this custom is that a nambutiri brahman father cannot touch his own children by his nayar consort without bathing afterwards to remove pollution. the children in the marumakkatayam family belong, of course, to their mother's family, clan, and caste. they are nayars, not nambutiris. the nayars of north malabar are held to be superior all along the line, clan for clan, to those of south malabar, which is divided from the north by the river korapuzha, seven miles north of calicut, so that a woman of north malabar would not unite herself to a man of her own clan name of south malabar. a nayar woman of north malabar cannot pass northward beyond the frontier; she cannot pass the hills to the eastward; and she cannot cross the korapuzha to the south. it is tabu. the women of south malabar are similarly confined by custom, breach of which involves forfeiture of caste. to this rule there is an exception, and of late years the world has come in touch with the malayali, who nowadays goes to the university, studies medicine and law in the presidency town (madras), or even in far off england. women of the relatively inferior akattu charna clan are not under quite the same restrictions as regards residence as are those of most of the other clans; so, in these days of free communications, when malayalis travel, and frequently reside far from their own country, they often prefer to select wives from this akattu charna clan. but the old order changeth everywhere, and nowadays malayalis who are in the government service, and obliged to reside far away from malabar, and a few who have taken up their abode in the presidency town, have wrenched themselves free of the bonds of custom, and taken with them their wives who are of clans other than the akattu charna. the interdiction to travel, and the possible exception to it in the case of akattu charna women, has been explained to me in this way. the nayar woman observes pollution for three days during menstruation. while in her period, she may not eat or drink with any other member of the taravad, and on the fourth day she must be purified. purification is known as mattu (change), and it is effected by the washerwoman, who, in some parts of south malabar, is of the mannan or vannan caste, whose métier is to wash for the nayars and nambutiris, but who is, as a rule, the washerwoman of the tiyan caste, giving her, after her bath, one of her own cloths to wear (mattu, change of raiment) instead of the soiled cloth, which she takes away to wash. pollution, which may come through a death in the family, through child-birth, or menstruation, must be removed by mattu. until it is done, the woman is out of caste. it must be done in the right way at the right moment, under pain of the most unpleasant social consequences. how that the influential rural local magnate wreaks vengeance on a taravad by preventing the right person giving mattu to the women is well known in malabar. he could not, with all the sections of the penal code at his disposal, inflict greater injury. now the nayar woman is said to feel compelled to remain in malabar, or within her own part of it, in order to be within reach of mattu. my informant tells me that, the vannan caste being peculiar to malabar, the nayar women cannot go where these are not to be found, and that mattu must be done by one of that caste. but i know, from my own observation in the most truly conservative localities, in kurumbranad for example, where the nayar has a relative superiority, that the washerman is as a rule a tiyan; and i cannot but think that the interdiction has other roots than those involved in mattu. it does not account for the superstition against crossing water, which has its counterparts elsewhere in the world. the origin of the interdiction to cross the river southwards has been explained to me as emanating from a command of the kolatirri rajah in days gone by, when, the arabs having come to the country about calicut, there was a chance of the women being seized and taken as wives. the explanation is somewhat fanciful. the prohibition to cross the river to the northwards is supposed to have originated in much the same way. as bearing on this point, i may mention that the nayar women living to the east of calicut cannot cross the river backwater, and come into the town." it may be noted in this connection that the paikara river on the nilgiri hills is sacred to the todas, and, for fear of mishap from arousing the wrath of the river-god, a pregnant toda woman will not venture to cross it. no toda will use the river water for any purpose, and they do not touch it, unless they have to ford it. they then walk through it, and, on reaching the opposite bank, bow their heads. even when they walk over the paikara bridge, they take their hands out of the putkuli (body-cloth) as a mark of respect. the complexity of the sub-divisions among the nayars in north malabar is made manifest by the following account thereof in the gazetteer of malabar. "there are exogamous sub-divisions (perhaps corresponding to original tarwads) called kulams, and these are grouped to form the sub-castes which are usually endogamous. it is quite impossible to attempt a complete account of the scheme, but to give some idea of its nature one example may be taken, and dealt with in some detail; and for this purpose the portion of kurumbranad known as payyanad will serve. this is the country between the kottapuzha and porapuzha rivers, and is said to have been given by a raja of kurumbranad to a certain ambadi kovilagam tamburatti (the stanam or title of the senior lady of the zamorin raja's family). in this tract or nad there were originally six stanis or chieftains, who ruled, under the raja, with the assistance, or subject to the constitutional control, of four assemblies of nayars called kuttams. each kuttam had its hereditary president. in this tract there are seven groups of kulams. the highest includes twelve kulams, vengalat, pattillat, viyyur, nelliot, atunkudi, amayangalat, nelloli, nilancheri, rendillat, pulliyani, orakatteri, and venmeri. of these, the pattillat and rendillat (members of the ten and members of the two illams or houses) affix the title adiyodi to their names, the last three affix the title nambiyar, and the rest affix nayar. of the six stanis already mentioned, three, with the title of adiyodi, belong to the vengalat kulam, while two of the presidents of kuttams belonged to the pattillat kulam. the younger members of the stani houses are called kidavu. it is the duty of women of viyyur and nelliot kulams to join in the bridal procession of members of the vengalat kulam, the former carrying lamps, and the latter salvers containing flowers, while the rendillat adiyodis furnish cooks to the same class. pattillat adiyodis and orakatteri nambiyars observe twelve days' pollution, while all the other kulams observe fifteen. the second group consists of six kulams, eravattur, ara-eravattur (or half eravattur), and attikodan nayars, tonderi kidavus, punnan nambiyars, and menokkis. all these observe fifteen days' pollution. the third group consists of three kulams, taccholi to which the remaining three stanis belong, kotholi, and kuruvattancheri. all affix nayar to their names, and observe fifteen days' pollution. the fourth group consists of three kulams, peruvanian nambiyars, chelladan nayars, and vennapalan nayars. all three observe fifteen days' pollution. the name peruvanian means great or principal oil-man; and it is the duty of this caste to present the kurumbranad raja with oil on the occasion of his formal installation. the fifth group consists of the three kulams, mannangazhi, paramchela, and pallikara nayars, all observing fifteen days' pollution. a member of the first-named class has to place an amanapalaga (the traditional seat of nambudiris and other high castes) for the kurumbranad raja to sit on at the time of his installation, while a member of the second has to present him with a cloth on the same occasion. the sixth group consists of four kiriyams named patam, tulu, manan, and ottu respectively, and has the collective name of ravari. the seventh group consists of six kulams, kandon, kannankodan, kotta, karumba, kundakollavan, and panakadan nayars. all observe fifteen days' pollution, and the women of these six kulams have certain duties to perform in connection with the purification of women of the vengalat, pattillat, and orakatteri kulams. besides these seven groups, there are a few other classes without internal sub-divisions. one such class is known as pappini nayar. a woman of this class takes the part of the brahmini woman (nambissan) at the tali-kettu kalyanam of girls belonging to the kulams included in the third group. another class called palattavan takes the place of the attikurissi nayar at the funeral ceremonies of the same three kulams." in illustration of the custom of polyandry among the nayars of malabar in by-gone days, the following extracts may be quoted. "on the continent of india," it is recorded in ellis' edition of the kural, "polyandry is still said to be practiced in orissa, and among particular tribes in other parts. in malayalam, as is well known, the vision of plato in his ideal republic is more completely realised, the women among the nayars not being restricted to family or number, but, after she has been consecrated by the usual rites before the nuptial fire, in which ceremony any indifferent person may officiate as the representative of her husband, being in her intercourse with the other sex only restrained by her inclinations; provided that the male with whom she associates be of an equal or superior tribe. but it must be stated, for the glory of the female character, that, notwithstanding the latitude thus given to the nayattis, and that they are thus left to the guidance of their own free will and the play of their own fancy (which in other countries has not always been found the most efficient check on the conduct of either sex), it rarely happens that they cohabit with more than one person at the same time. whenever the existing connexion is broken, whether from incompatibility of temper, disgust, caprice, or any of the thousand vexations by which from the frailty of nature domestic happiness is liable to be disturbed, the woman seeks another lover, the man another mistress. but it mostly happens that the bond of paternity is here, as elsewhere, too strong to be shaken off, and that the uninfluenced and uninterested union of love, when formed in youth, continues even in the decline of age." in a note on the nayars in the sixteenth century, cæsar fredericke writes as follows. [142] "these nairi having their wives common amongst themselves, and when any of them goe into the house of any of these women, he leaveth his sworde and target at the door, and the time that he is there, there dare not be any so hardie as to come into that house. the king's children shall not inherite the kingdom after their father, because they hold this opinion, that perchance they were not begotten of the king their father, but of some other man, therefore they accept for their king one of the sonnes of the king's sisters, or of some other woman of the blood roiall, for that they be sure that they are of the blood roiall." in his "new account of the east indies, (1727)" hamilton wrote: "the husbands," of whom, he said, there might be twelve, but no more at one time, "agree very well, for they cohabit with her in their turns, according to their priority of marriage, ten days more or less according as they can fix a term among themselves, and he that cohabits with her maintains her in all things necessary for his time, so that she is plentifully provided for by a constant circulation. when the man that cohabits with her goes into her house he leaves his arms at the door, and none dare remove them or enter the house on pain of death. when she proves with child, she nominates its father, who takes care of his education after she has suckled it, and brought it to walk or speak, but the children are never heirs to their father's estate, but the father's sister's children are." writing in the latter half of the eighteenth century, grose says [143] that "it is among the nairs that principally prevails the strange custom of one wife being common to a number; in which point the great power of custom is seen from its rarely or never producing any jealousies or quarrels among the co-tenants of the same woman. their number is not so much limited by any specific law as by a kind of tacit convention, it scarcely ever happening that it exceeds six or seven. the woman, however, is under no obligation to admit above a single attachment, though not less respected for using her privilege to its utmost extent. if one of the husbands happens to come to the house when she is employed with another, he knows that circumstance by certain signals left at the door that his turn is not come, and departs very resignedly." writing about the same time, sonnerat [144] says that "these brahmans do not marry, but have the privilege of enjoying all the nairesses. this privilege the portuguese who were esteemed as a great caste, obtained and preserved, till their drunkenness and debauchery betrayed them into a commerce with all sorts of women. the following right is established by the customs of the country. a woman without shame may abandon herself to all men who are not of an inferior caste to her own, because the children (notwithstanding what mr. de voltaire says) do not belong to the father, but to the mother's brother; they become his legitimate heirs at their birth, even of the crown if he is king." in his 'voyages and travels', kerr writes as follows. [145] "by the laws of their country these nayres cannot marry, so that no one has any certain or acknowledged son or father; all their children being born of mistresses, with each of whom three or four nayres cohabit by agreement among themselves. each one of this cofraternity dwells a day in his turn with the joint mistress, counting from noon of one day to the same time of the next, after which he departs, and another comes for the like time. thus they spend their time without the care or trouble of wives and children, yet maintain their mistresses well according to their rank. any one may forsake his mistress at his pleasure; and, in like manner, the mistress may refuse admittance to any one of her lovers when she pleases. these mistresses are all gentlewomen of the nayre caste, and the nayres, besides being prohibited from marrying, must not attach themselves to any woman of a different rank. considering that there are always several men attached to one woman, the nayres never look upon any of the children born of their mistresses as belonging to them, however strong a resemblance may subsist, and all inheritances among the nayres go to their brothers, or the sons of their sisters, born of the same mothers, all relationship being counted only by female consanguinity and descent. this strange law prohibiting marriage was established that they might have neither wives nor children on whom to fix their love and attachment; and that, being free from all family cares, they might more willingly devote themselves entirely to warlike service." the term son of ten fathers is used as a term of abuse among nayars to this day. [146] tipu sultan is said to have issued the following proclamation to the nayars, on the occasion of his visit to calicut in 1788. "and, since it is a practice with you for one woman to associate with ten men, and you leave your mothers and sisters unconstrained in their obscene practices, and are thence all born in adultery, and are more shameless in your connections than the beasts of the field; i hereby require you to forsake these sinful practices, and live like the rest of mankind." [147] as to the present existence or non-existence of polyandry i must call recent writers into the witness-box. the rev. s. mateer, mr. fawcett writes, [148] "informed me ten years ago--he was speaking of polyandry among the nayars of travancore--that he had 'known an instance of six brothers keeping two women, four husbands to one, and two to the other. in a case where two brothers cohabited with one woman, and one was converted to christianity, the other brother was indignant at the christian's refusal to live any longer in this condition.' i have not known an admitted instance of polyandry amongst the nayars of malabar at the present day, but there is no doubt that, if it does not exist now (and i think it does here and there), it certainly did not long ago." mr. gopal panikkar says [149] that "to enforce this social edict upon the nairs, the brahmans made use of the powerful weapon of their aristocratic ascendancy in the country, and the nairs readily submitted to the brahman supremacy. thus it came about that the custom of concubinage, so freely indulged in by the brahmans with nair women, obtained such firm hold upon the country that it has only been strengthened by the lapse of time. at the present day there are families, especially in the interior of the district, who look upon it as an honour to be thus united with brahmans. but a reaction has begun to take place against this feeling, and brahman alliances are invariably looked down upon in respectable nair tarwads. this reactionary feeling took shape in the malabar marriage act." mr. justice k. narayana marar says: "there is nothing strange or to be ashamed of in the fact that the nayars were originally of a stock that practiced polyandry, nor if the practice continued till recently. hamilton and buchanan say that, among the nayars of malabar, a woman has several husbands, but these are not brothers. these travellers came to malabar in the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. there is no reason whatever to suppose that they were not just recording what they saw. for i am not quite sure whether, even now, the practice is not lurking in some remote nooks and corners of the country." lastly, mr. wigram writes as follows. [150] "polyandry may now be said to be dead, and, although the issue of a nayar marriage are still children of their mother rather than of their father, marriage may be defined as a contract based on mutual consent, and dissoluble at will. it has been well said (by mr. logan) that nowhere is the marriage tie, albeit informal, more rigidly observed or respected than it is in malabar: nowhere is it more jealously guarded, or its neglect more savagely avenged." in connection with the tali-kattu kalyanam, or tali-tying marriage, mr. fawcett writes that "the details of this ceremony vary in different parts of malabar, but the ceremony in some form is essential, and must be performed for every nayar girl before she attains puberty." for an account of this ceremony, i must resort to the evidence of mr. k. r. krishna menon before the malabar marriage commission. [151] "the tali-kattu kalyanam is somewhat analogous to what a deva-dasi (dancing-girl) of other countries (districts) undergoes before she begins her profession. among royal families, and those of certain edaprabhus, a kshatriya, and among the charna sect a nedungadi is invited to the girl's house at an auspicious hour appointed for the purpose, and, in the presence of friends and castemen, ties a tali (marriage badge) round her neck, and goes away after receiving a certain fee for his trouble. among the other sects, the horoscope of the girl is examined along with those of her enangan (a recognised member of one's own class) families, and the boy whose horoscope is found to agree with hers is marked out as a fit person to tie the tali, and a day is fixed for the tali-tying ceremony by the astrologer, and information given to the karanavan [152] (senior male in a tarwad) of the boy's family. the feast is called ayaniunu, and the boy is thenceforth called manavalan or pillai (bridegroom). from the house in which the manavalan is entertained a procession is formed, preceded by men with swords, and shields shouting a kind of war-cry. in the meantime a procession starts from the girl's house, with similar men and cries, and headed by a member of her tarwad, to meet the other procession, and, after meeting the manavalan, he escorts him to the girl's house. after entering the booth erected for the purpose, he is conducted to a seat of honour, and his feet are washed by the brother of the girl, who receives a pair of cloths. the manavalan is then taken to the centre of the booth, where bamboo mats, carpets and white cloths are spread, and seated there. the brother of the girl then carries her from inside the house, and, after going round the booth three times, places her at the left side of the manavalan. the father of the girl then presents new cloths tied in a kambli (blanket) to the pair, and with this new cloth (called manthravadi) they change their dress. the wife of the karanavan of the girl's tarwad, if she be of the same caste, then decorates the girl by putting on anklets, etc. the purohit (officiating priest) called elayath (a low class of brahmans) then gives the tali to the manavalan, and the family astrologer shouts muhurtham (auspicious hour), and the manavalan, putting his sword on the lap, ties the tali round the neck of the girl, who is then required to hold an arrow and a looking-glass in her hand. in rich families a brahmani sings certain songs intended to bless the couple. in ordinary families who cannot procure her presence, a nayar, versed in songs, performs the office. the boy and girl are then carried by enangans to a decorated apartment in the inner part of the house, where they are required to remain under a sort of pollution for three days. on the fourth day they bathe in some neighbouring tank (pond) or river, holding each other's hands. after changing their clothes they come home, preceded by a procession. tom-toms (native drums) and elephants usually form part of the procession, and turmeric water is sprinkled. when they come home, all doors of the house are shut, and the manavalan is required to force them open. he then enters the house, and takes his seat in the northern wing thereof. the aunt and female friends of the girl then approach, and give sweetmeats to the couple. the girl then serves food to the boy, and, after taking their meal together from the same leaf, they proceed to the booth, where a cloth is severed into two parts, and each part given to the manavalan and girl separately in the presence of enangans and friends. the severing of the cloth is supposed to constitute a divorce." "the tearing of the cloth," mr. fawcett writes, "is confined to south malabar. these are the essentials of the ceremony, an adjunct to which is that, in spite of the divorce, the girl observes death pollution when her manavalan dies. the same manavalan may tie the tali on any number of girls, during the same ceremony or at any other time, and he may be old or young. he is often an elderly holy brahman, who receives a small present for his services. the girl may remove the tali, if she likes, after the fourth day. in some parts of malabar there is no doubt that the man who performs the rôle of manavalan is considered to have some right to the girl, but in such case it has been already considered that he is a proper man to enter into sambandham with her." of the tali-kattu kalyanam in malabar, the following detailed account, mainly furnished by an urali nayar of calicut, is given in the gazetteer of malabar. "an auspicious time has to be selected for the purpose, and the preliminary consultation of the astrologer is in itself the occasion of a family gathering. the manavalan or quasi-bridegroom is chosen at the same time. for the actual kalyanam, two pandals (booths), a small one inside a large one, are erected in front of the padinhatta macchu or central room of the western wing. they are decorated with cloth, garlands, lamps and palm leaves, and the pillars should be of areca palm cut by an asari on sunday, monday, or wednesday. the first day's ceremonies open with a morning visit to the temple, where the officiating brahman pours water sanctified by mantrams (religious formulæ), and the addition of leaves of mango, peepul and darbha, over the girl's head. this rite is called kalasam maduga. the girl then goes home, and is taken to the macchu, where a hanging lamp with five wicks is lighted. this should be kept alight during all the days of the kalyanam. the girl sits on a piece of pala (alstonia scholaris) wood, which is called a mana. she is elaborately adorned, and some castes consider a coral necklace an essential. in her right hand she holds a vaalkannadi (brass hand mirror), and in her left a charakkal (a highly ornate arrow). in front of the girl are placed, in addition to the five-wicked lamp and nirachaveppu, a metal dish or talam of parched rice, and the eight lucky things known as ashtamangalyam. a woman, termed brahmini or pushpini, usually of the nambissan caste, sits facing her on a three-legged stool (pidam), and renders appropriate and lengthy songs, at the close of which she scatters rice over her. about midday there is a feast, and in the evening songs in the macchu are repeated. next morning, the ceremonial in the macchu is repeated for the third time, after which the paraphernalia are removed to the nearest tank or to the east of the household well, where the pushpini sings once more, goes through the form of making the girl's toilet, and ties a cocoanut frond round each of her wrists (kappola). the girl has then to rise and jump over a kindi (vessel) of water with an unhusked cocoanut placed on the top, overturning it the third time. the party then proceed to the pandal, two men holding a scarlet cloth over the girl as a canopy, and a chaliyan (weaver) brings two cloths (kodi vastiram), which the girl puts on. in the evening, the previous day's ceremonial is repeated in the macchu. the third day is the most important, and it is then that the central act of the ceremony is performed. for this the girl sits in the inner pandal richly adorned. in some cases she is carried from the house to the pandal by her karnavan or brother, who makes a number of pradakshinams round the pandal (usually 3 or 7) before he places her in her seat. before the girl are the various objects already specified, and the hymeneal ditties of the pushpini open the proceedings. at the auspicious moment the manavalan arrives in rich attire. he is often preceded by a sort of body guard with sword and shield who utter a curious kind of cry, and is met at the gate of the girl's house by a bevy of matrons with lamps and salvers decorated with flowers and lights, called talams. a man of the girl's family washes his feet, and he takes his seat in the pandal on the girl's right. sometimes the girl's father at this stage presents new cloths (mantravadi or mantrokodi) to the pair, who at once don them. the girl's father takes the tali, a small round plate of gold about the size of a two-anna bit, with a hole at the top, from the goldsmith who is in waiting, pays him for it,' and gives it to the manavalan. the karnavan or father of the girl asks the astrologer thrice if the moment has arrived, and, as he signifies his assent the third time, the manavalan ties the tali round the girl's neck amidst the shouts of those present. the manavalan carries the girl indoors to the macchu, and feasting brings the day to a close. tom-toming and other music are of course incessant accompaniments throughout as on other festal occasions, and the women in attendance keep up a curious kind of whistling, called kurava, beating their lips with their fingers. on the fourth day, girl and manavalan go in procession to the temple richly dressed. the boy, carrying some sort of sword and shield, heads the party. if the family be one of position, he and the girl must be mounted on an elephant. offerings are made, to the deity, and presents to the brahmans. they return home, and, as they enter the house, the manavalan who brings up the rear is pelted by the boys of the party with plantains, which he wards off with his shield. in other cases, he is expected to make a pretence of forcing the door open. these two usages are no doubt to be classed with those marriage ceremonies which take the form of a contest between the bridegroom and the bride's relatives, and which are symbolic survivals of marriage by capture. the manavalan and the girl next partake of food together in the inner pandal--a proceeding which obviously corresponds to the ceremonious first meal of a newly-married couple. the assembled guests are lavishly entertained. the chief kovilagans and big nayar houses will feed 1,000 brahmans as well as their own relations, and spend anything up to ten or fifteen thousand rupees on the ceremony." concerning the tali-kettu ceremony in travancore mr. n. subramani aiyar writes as follows. "after the age of eleven, a nayar girl becomes too old for this ceremony, though, in some rare instances, it is celebrated after a girl attains her age. as among other castes, ages represented by an odd number, e.g., seven, nine, and eleven, have a peculiar auspiciousness attached to them. any number of girls, even up to a dozen, may go through the ceremony at one time, and they may include infants under one year--an arrangement prompted by considerations of economy, and rendered possible by the fact that no civil or religious right or liability is contracted as between the parties. the duty of getting the girls of the tarwad 'married' devolves on the karanavan, or in his default on the eldest brother, the father's obligation being discharged by informing him that the time for the ceremony has arrived. the masters of the ceremonies at a nayar tali-kettu in travancore are called machchampikkar, i.e., men in the village, whose social status is equal to that of the tarwad in which the ceremony is to be celebrated. at a preliminary meeting of the machchampikkar, the number of girls for whom the ceremony is to be performed, the bridegrooms, and other details are settled. the horoscopes are examined by the village astrologer, and those youths in the tarwads who have passed the age of eighteen, and whose horoscopes agree with those of the girls, are declared to be eligible. the ola (palm-leaf) on which the kaniyan (astrologer) writes his decision is called the muhurta charutu, and the individual who receives it from him is obliged to see that the ceremony is performed on an auspicious day in the near future. the next important item is the fixing of a wooden post in the south-west corner or kannimula of the courtyard. at the construction of the pandal (booth) the pidakakkar or villagers render substantial aid. the mandapa is decorated with ears of corn, and hence called katirmandapa. it is also called mullapandal. on the night of the previous day the kalati or brahman's song is sung. a sumptuous banquet, called ayaniunnu, is given at the girl's house to the party of the young man. the ceremony commences with the bridegroom washing his feet, and taking his seat within the pandal. the girl meanwhile bathes, worships the household deity, and is dressed in new cloths and adorned with costly ornaments. a brahman woman ties a thread round the girl's left wrist, and sings a song called subhadraveli, which deals with the marriage by capture of subhadra by arjuna. then, on the invitation of the girl's mother, who throws a garland round his neck, the bridegroom goes in procession, riding on an elephant, or on foot. the girl's brother is waiting to receive him at the pandal. a leading villager is presented with some money, as if to recompense him for the permission granted by him to commence the ceremony. the girl sits within the mandapa, facing the east, with her eyes closed. the bridegroom, on his arrival, sits on her right. he then receives the minnu (ornament) from the ilayatu priest, and ties it round the girl's neck. a song is sung called ammachampattu, or the song of the maternal uncle. if there are several brides, they sit in a row, each holding in her hand an arrow and a looking-glass, and the ornaments are tied on their necks in the order of their ages. unless enangans are employed, there is usually only one tali-tier, whatever may be the number of girls. in cases where, owing to poverty, the expenses of the ceremony cannot be borne, it is simply performed in front of a brahman temple, or in the pandaramatam, or house of the village chieftain. in many north travancore taluks the girl removes her tali as soon as she hears of the tali-tier's death." it is noted by the rev. s. mateer [153] that "a nair girl of travancore must get married with the tali before the age of eleven to avoid reproach from friends and neighbours. in case of need a sword may even be made to represent a bridegroom." sometimes, when a family is poor, the girl's mother makes an idol of clay, adorns it with flowers, and invests her daughter with the tali in the presence of the idol. in an account of the tali-kettu ceremony, in the cochin census report, 1901, it is stated that "the celebration of the ceremony is costly, and advantage is therefore taken of a single occasion in the course of ten or twelve years, at which all girls in a family, irrespective of their ages, and, when parties agree, all girls belonging to families that observe death pollution between one another go through the ceremony. the ceremony opens with the fixing of a post for the construction of a pandal or shed, which is beautifully decorated with cloth, pictures and festoons. the male members of the village are invited, and treated to a feast followed by the distribution of pan-supari. every time that a marriage ceremony is celebrated, a member of the family visits his highness the raja with presents, and solicits his permission for the celebration. such presents are often made to the nambudri jenmis (landlords), by their tenants, and by castes attached to illams. it may be noted that certain privileges, such as sitting on a grass mat, having an elephant procession, drumming, firing of pop-guns, etc., have often to be obtained from the ruler of the state. the marriage itself begins with the procession to the marriage pandal with the eight auspicious things (ashtamangalyam) and pattiniruththal (seating for song), at the latter of which a brahmini or pushpini sings certain songs based upon suitable puranic texts. the girls and other female members of the family, dressed in gay attire and decked with costly ornaments, come out in procession to the pandal, where the pushpini sings, with tom-toms and the firing of pop-guns at intervals. after three, five, or seven rounds of this, a cutting of the jasmine placed in a brass pot is carried on an elephant by the elayad or family priest to the nearest bhagavati temple, where it is planted on the night previous to the ceremonial day with tom-toms, fireworks, and joyous shouts of men and women. a few hours before the auspicious moment for the ceremony, this cutting is brought back. before the tali is tied, the girls are brought out of the room, and, either from the ground itself or from a raised platform, beautifully decorated with festoons, etc., are made to worship the sun. the bridegroom, a tirumulpad or an enangan, is then brought into the house with sword in hand, with tom-toms, firing of pop-guns, and shouts of joy. at the gate he is received by a few female members with ashtamangalyam in their hands, and seated on a bench or stool in the pandal. a male member of the family, generally a brother or maternal uncle of the girl, washes the feet of the bridegroom. the girls are covered with new cloths of cotton or silk, and brought into the pandal, and seated screened off from one another. after the distribution of money presents to the brahmans and the elayad, the latter hands over the tali, or thin plate of gold shaped like the leaf of aswatha (ficus religiosa), and tacked on to a string, to the tirumulpad, who ties it round the neck of the girl. a single tirumulpad often ties the tali round the neck of two, three, or four girls. he is given one to eight rupees per girl for so doing. sometimes the tali is tied by the mother of the girl. the retention of the tali is not at all obligatory, nay it is seldom worn or taken care of after the ceremony. these circumstances clearly show the purely ceremonial character of this form of marriage. the karamel asan, or headman of the village, is an important factor on this occasion. in a conspicuous part of the marriage pandal, he is provided with a seat on a cot, on which a grass mat, a black blanket, and white cloth are spread one over the other. before the tali is tied, his permission is solicited for the performance of the ceremony. he is paid 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 puthans (a puthan = 10 pies) per girl, according to the means of the family. he is also given rice, curry stuff, and pan-supari. rose-water is sprinkled at intervals on the males and females assembled on the occasion. with the distribution of pan-supari, scented sandal paste and jasmine flowers to the females of the village and wives of relatives and friends, who are invited for the occasion, these guests return to their homes. the male members, one or two from each family in the village, are then treated to a sumptuous feast. in some places, where the enangu system prevails, all members of such families, both male and female, are also provided with meals. on the third day, the villagers are again entertained to a luncheon of rice and milk pudding, and on the fourth day the girls are taken out in procession for worship at the nearest temple amidst tom-toms and shouting. after this a feast is held, at which friends, relatives, and villagers are given a rich meal. with the usual distribution of pan-supari, sandal and flowers, the invited guests depart. presents, chiefly in money, are made to the eldest male member of the family by friends and relatives and villagers, and with this the ceremony closes. from the time of fixing the first pole for the pandal to the tying of the tali, the village astrologer is in attendance on all ceremonial occasions, as he has to pronounce the auspicious moment for the performance of each item. during the four days of the marriage, entertainments, such as kathakali drama or ottan tullal, are very common. when a family can ill-afford to celebrate the ceremony on any grand scale, the girls are taken to the nearest temple, or to the illam of a nambudri, if they happen to belong to sub-divisions attached to illams, and the tali is tied with little or no feasting and merriment. in the northern taluks, the very poor people sometimes tie the tali before the trikkakkarappan on the tiruvonam day." an interesting account of the tali-kettu ceremony is given by duarte barbosa, who writes as follows. [154] "after they are ten or twelve years old or more, their mothers perform a marriage ceremony for them in this manner. they advise the relations and friends that they may come to do honour to their daughters, and they beg some of their relations and friends to marry these daughters, and they do so. it must be said that they have some gold jewel made, which will contain half a ducat of gold, a little shorter than the tag of lace, with a hole in the middle passing through it, and they string it on a thread of white silk; and the mother of the girl stands with her daughter very much dressed out, and entertaining her with music and singing, and a number of people. and this relation or friend of hers comes with much earnestness, and there performs the ceremony of marriage, as though he married her, and they throw a gold chain round the necks of both of them together, and he puts the above mentioned jewel round her neck, which she always has to wear as a sign that she may now do what she pleases. and the bridegroom leaves her and goes away without touching her nor more to say to her on account of being her relation; and, if he is not so, he may remain with her if he wish it, but he is not bound to do so if he do not desire it. and from that time forward the mother goes begging some young men to deflower the girl, for among themselves they hold it an unclean thing and almost a disgrace to deflower women." the tali-kettu ceremony is referred to by kerr, who, in his translation of castaneda, states that "these sisters of the zamorin, and other kings of malabar, have handsome allowances to live upon; and, when any of them reaches the age of ten, their kindred send for a young man of the nayar caste out of the kingdom, and give him presents to induce him to initiate the young virgin; after which he hangs a jewel round her neck, which she wears all the rest of her life, as a token that she is now at liberty to dispose of herself to anyone she pleases as long as she lives." the opinion was expressed by mr. (now sir henry) winterbotham, one of the malabar marriage commissioners, that the brahman tali-tier was a relic of the time when the nambutiris were entitled to the first fruits, and it was considered the high privilege of every nayar maid to be introduced by them to womanhood. in this connection, reference may be made to hamilton's 'new account of the east indies', where it is stated that "when the zamorin marries, he must not cohabit with his bride till the nambudri, or chief priest, has enjoyed her, and he, if he pleases, may have three nights of her company, because the first fruits of her nuptials must be an holy oblation to the god she worships. and some of the nobles are so complaisant as to allow the clergy the same tribute, but the common people cannot have that compliment paid to them, but are forced to supply the priests' places themselves." of those who gave evidence before the malabar commission, some thought the tali-kettu was a marriage, some not. others called it a mock marriage, a formal marriage, a sham marriage, a fictitious marriage, a marriage sacrament, the preliminary part of marriage, a meaningless ceremony, an empty form, a ridiculous farce, an incongruous custom, a waste of money, and a device for becoming involved in debt. "while," the report states, "a small minority of strict conservatives still maintain that the tali-kettu is a real marriage intended to confer on the bridegroom a right to cohabit with the bride, an immense majority describe it as a fictitious marriage, the origin of which they are at a loss to explain. and another large section tender the explanation accepted by our president (sir t. muttusami aiyar) that, in some way or other, it is an essential caste observance preliminary to the forming of sexual relations." in a recent note, mr. k. kannan nayar writes [155]: "almost every nayar officer in government employ, when applying for leave on account of the kettukallianam of his daughter or niece, states in his application that he has to attend to the 'marriage' of the girl. the ceremony is generally mentioned as marriage even in the letters of invitation sent by nayar gentlemen in these days.... this ceremony is not intended even for the betrothal of the girl to a particular man, but is one instituted under brahman influence as an important kriya (sacrament) antecedent to marriage, and intended, as the popular saying indicates, for dubbing the girl with the status of amma, a woman fit to be married. the saying is tali-kettiu amma ayi, which means a woman has become an amma when her tali-tying ceremony is over." in summing up the evidence collected by him, mr. l. moore states [156] that it seems to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that "from the sixteenth century at all events, and up to the early portion of the nineteenth century, the relations between the sexes in families governed by marumakkattayam were of as loose a description as it is possible to imagine. the tali-kettu kalyanam, introduced by the brahmans, brought about no improvement, and indeed in all probability made matters much worse by giving a quasi-religious sanction to a fictitious marriage, which bears an unpleasant resemblance to the sham marriage ceremonies performed among certain inferior castes elsewhere as a cloak for prostitution. as years passed, some time about the opening of the nineteenth century, the kerala mahatmyam and keralolpathi were concocted, probably by nambudris, and false and pernicious doctrines as to the obligations laid on the nayars by divine law to administer to the lust of nambudris were disseminated abroad. the better classes among the nayars revolted against the degrading custom thus established, and a custom sprang up especially in north malabar, of making sambandham a more or less formal contract, approved and sanctioned by the karnavan (senior male) of the tarwad to which the lady belonged, and celebrated with elaborate ceremony under the pudamuri form. that there was nothing analogous to the pudamuri prevalent in malabar from a.d. 1550 to 1800 may, i think, be fairly presumed from the absence of all allusion to it in the works of the various european writers." according to act iv, madras, 1896, sambandham means an alliance between a man and a woman, by reason of which they in accordance with the custom of the community to which they belong, or either of them belongs, cohabit or intend to cohabit as husband and wife. of sambandham the following account was given by mr. chandu menon to the malabar marriage commission. "the variations of the sambandham are the pudamuri, vastradanam, uzhamporukkuka, vitaram kayaruka, etc., which are local expressions hardly understood beyond the localities in which they are used, but there would be hardly a malaiyali who would not readily understand what is meant by sambandham tudanguga (to begin sambandham). the meaning of this phrase, which means to 'marry,' is understood throughout keralam in the same way, and there can be no ambiguity or mistake about it. it is thus found that sambandham is the principal word denoting marriage among marumakkatayam nayars. [sambandhakaran is now the common term for husband.] it will also be found, on a close and careful examination of facts, that the principal features of this sambandham ceremony all over keralam are in the main the same. as there are different local names denoting marriage, so there may be found local variations in the performance of the ceremony. but the general features are more or less the same. for instance, the examination, prior to the betrothal, of the horoscopes of the bride and bridegroom to ascertain whether their stars agree astrologically; the appointment of an auspicious day for the celebration of the ceremony; the usual hour at which the ceremony takes place; the presentation of danam (gifts) to brahmans; sumptuous banquet; the meeting of the bride and bridegroom, are features which are invariably found in all well-conducted sambandhams in all parts of keralam alike. but here i would state that i should not be understood as saying that each and every one of the formalities above referred to are gone through at all sambandhams among respectable nayars; and i would further state that they ought to be gone through at every sambandham, if the parties wish to marry according to the custom of the country. i would now briefly refer to the local variations to be found in the ceremony of the sambandham, and also the particular incidents attached to certain forms of sambandham in south malabar. i shall describe the pudamuri or vastradanam as celebrated in north malabar, and then show how the other forms of sambandham differ from it. of all the forms of sambandham, i consider the pudamuri the most solemn and the most fashionable in north malabar. the preliminary ceremony in every pudamuri is the examination of the horoscopes of the bride and bridegroom by an astrologer. this takes place in the house of the bride, in the presence of the relations of the bride and bridegroom. the astrologer, after examination, writes down the results of his calculations on a piece of palmyra leaf, with his opinion as to the fitness or otherwise of the match, and hands it over to the bridegroom's relations. if the horoscopes agree, a day is then and there fixed for the celebration of the marriage. this date is also written down on two pieces of cadjan (palm leaf), one of which is handed over to the bride's karanavan, and the other to the bridegroom's relations. the astrologer and the bridegroom's party are then feasted in the bride's house, and the former also receives presents in the shape of money or cloth. this preliminary ceremony, which is invariably performed at all pudamuris in north malabar, is called pudamuri kurikkal, but is unknown in south malabar. some three or four days prior to the date fixed for the celebration of the pudamuri, the bridegroom visits his karanavans and elders in caste, to obtain formal leave to marry. the bridegroom on such occasion presents his elders with betel and nuts, and obtains their formal sanction to the wedding. on the day appointed, the bridegroom proceeds after sunset to the house of the bride, accompanied by a number of his friends. he goes in procession, and is received at the gate of the house by the bride's party, and conducted with his friends to seats provided in the tekkini or southern hall of the house. there the bridegroom distributes presents (danam) or money gifts to the brahmans assembled. after this, the whole party is treated to a sumptuous banquet. it is now time for the astrologer to appear, and announce the auspicious hour fixed. he does it accordingly, and receives his dues. the bridegroom is then taken by one of his friends to the padinhatta or principal room of the house. the bridegroom's party has, of course, brought with them a quantity of new cloths, and betel leaves and nuts. the cloths are placed in the western room of the house (padinhatta), in which all religious and other important household ceremonies are usually performed. this room will be decorated, and turned into a bed-room for the occasion. there will be placed in the room a number of lighted lamps, and ashtamangalyam, which consists of eight articles symbolical of mangalyam or marriage. these are rice, paddy (unhusked rice), the tender leaves of cocoanut trees, an arrow, a looking-glass, a well-washed cloth, burning fire, and a small round box called cheppu. these will be found placed on the floor of the room as the bridegroom enters it. the bridegroom with his groomsman enters the room through the eastern door. the bride, dressed in rich cloths and bedecked with jewels, enters the room through the western door, accompanied by her aunt or some other elderly lady of her family. the bride stands facing east, with the ashtamangalyam and lit-up lamps in front of her. the groomsman then hands over to the bridegroom a few pieces of new cloth, and the bridegroom puts them into the hands of the bride. this being done, the elderly lady who accompanied the bride sprinkles rice over the lamps and the head and shoulders of the bride and bridegroom, who immediately leaves the room, as he has to perform another duty. at the tekkini or southern hall, he now presents his elders and friends with cakes, and betel leaf and nuts. betel and nuts are also given to all the persons assembled at the place. after the departure of the guests, the bridegroom retires to the bed-room with the bride. next morning, the vettilakettu or salkaram ceremony follows, and the bridegroom's female relations take the bride to the husband's house, where there is feasting in honour of the occasion. uzhamporukkuka or vidaram kayaral is a peculiar form of marriage in north malabar. it will be seen from description given above that the pudamuri is necessarily a costly ceremony, and many people resort to the less costly ceremony of uzhamporukkuka or vidaram kayaral. the features of this ceremony are to a certain extent the same as pudamuri, but it is celebrated on a smaller scale. there is no cloth-giving ceremony. the feasting is confined to the relations of the couple. the particular incident of this form of marriage is that the husband should visit the wife in her house, and is not permitted to take her to his house, unless and until he celebrates the regular pudamuri ceremony. this rule is strictly adhered to in north malabar, and instances in which the husband and wife joined by the uzhamporukkuka ceremony, and with grown-up children as the issue of such marriage, undergo the pudamuri ceremony some fifteen or twenty years after uzhamporukkuka, in order to enable the husband to take the wife to his house, are known to me personally. the sambandham of south malabar, and the kidakkora kalyanam of palghat have all or most of the incidents of pudamuri, except the presenting of cloths. here money is substituted for cloths, and the other ceremonies are more or less the same. there is also salkaram ceremony wanting in south malabar, as the wives are not at once taken to the husband's house after marriage." in connection with the following note by mr. c. p. raman menon on sambandham among the akattu charna or akathithaparisha (inside clan), mr. fawcett states that "my informant says in the first place that the man should not enter into sambandham with a woman until he is thirty. now-a-days, when change is running wild, the man is often much less. in north malabar, which is much more conservative than the south, it was, however, my experience that sambandham was rare on the side of the man before twenty-seven." "the karanavan," mr. raman menon writes, "and the women of his household choose the bride, and communicate their choice to the intending bridegroom through a third party; they may not, dare not speak personally to him in the matter. he approves. the bride's people are informally consulted, and, if they agree, the astrologer is sent for, and examines the horoscopes of both parties to the intended union. as a matter of course these are found to agree, and the astrologer fixes a day for the sambandham ceremony. a few days before this takes place, two or three women of the bridegroom's house visit the bride, intimating beforehand that they are coming. there they are well treated with food and sweetmeats, and, when on the point of leaving, they inform the senior female that the bridegroom (naming him) wishes to have sambandham with ... (naming her), and such and such a day is auspicious for the ceremony. the proposal is accepted with pleasure, and the party from the bridegroom's house returns home. preparations for feasting are made in the house of the bride, as well as in that of the bridegroom on the appointed day. to the former all relations are invited for the evening, and to the latter a few friends who are much of the same age as the bridegroom are invited to partake of food at 7 or 8 p.m., and accompany him to the bride's house. after eating they escort him, servants carrying betel leaves (one or two hundred according to the means of the taravad), areca nuts and tobacco, to be given to the bride's household, and which are distributed to the guests. when the bride's house is far away, the bridegroom makes his procession thither from a neighbouring house. arrived at the bride's house, they sit awhile, and are again served with food, after which they are conducted to a room, where betel and other chewing stuff is placed on brass or silver plates called thalam. the chewing over, sweetmeats are served, and then all go to the bridal chamber, where the women of the house and others are assembled with the bride, who, overcome with shyness, hides herself behind the others. here again the bridegroom and his party go through more chewing, while they chat with the women. after a while the men withdraw, wishing the couple all happiness, and then the women, departing one by one, leave the couple alone, one of them shutting the door from the outside. the pattar brahmans always collect on these occasions, and receive small presents (dakshina) of two to four annas each, with betel leaves and areca nuts from the bridegroom, and sometimes from the bride. a few who are invited receive their dakshina in the bridal chamber, the others outside. those of the bridegroom's party who live far away are given sleeping accommodation at the bride's house [in a nayar house the sleeping rooms of the men and women are at different ends of the house]. about daybreak next morning the bridegroom leaves the house with his party, leaving under his pillow 8, 16, 32, or 64 rupees, according to his means, which are intended to cover the expenses of the wife's household in connection with the ceremony. the sambandham is now complete. the girl remains in her own taravad house, and her husband visits her there, coming in the evening and leaving next morning. a few days after the completion of the ceremony, the senior woman of the bridegroom's house sends some cloths, including pavu mundu (superior cloths) and thorthu mundu (towels) and some oil to the bride for her use for six months. every six months she does the same, and, at the onam, vishu, and thiruvathira festivals, she sends besides a little money, areca nuts, betel and tobacco. the money sent should be 4, 8, 16, 32, or 64 rupees. higher sums are very rarely sent. before long, the women of the husband's house express a longing for the girl-wife to be brought to their house, for they have not seen her yet. again the astrologer is requisitioned, and, on the day he fixes, two or three of the women go to the house of the girl, or, as they call her, ammayi (uncle's wife). they are well treated, and presently bring away the girl with them. as she is about to enter the gate-house of her husband's taravad, the stile of which she crosses right leg first, two or three of the women meet her, bearing a burning lamp and a brass plate (thalam), and precede her to the nalukattu of the house. there she is seated on a mat, and a burning lamp, a nazhi (measure) of rice, and some plantains are placed before her. one of the younger women takes up a plantain, and puts a piece of it in the ammayi's mouth; a little ceremony called madhuram tital, or giving the sweets for eating. she lives in her husband's house for a few days, and is then sent back to her own with presents, bracelets, rings or cloths, which are gifts of the senior woman of the house. after this she is at liberty to visit her husband's house on any day, auspicious or inauspicious. in a big taravad, where there are many women, the ammayi does not, as a rule, get much sympathy and good-will in the household, and, if she happens to live temporarily in her husband's house, as is sometimes, though very rarely the case in south malabar, and to be the wife of the karanavan, it is observed that she gets more than her share of whatever good things may be going. hence the proverb, 'place ammayi amma on a stone, and grind her with another stone.' a sambandham ceremony at calicut is recorded by mr. fawcett, at which there were cake and wine for the guests, and a ring for the bride. in connection with sambandham, mr. n. subramani aiyar writes from travancore that "it is known in different localities as gunadosham (union through good or evil), vastradanam or putavakota (giving of cloth), and uzhamporukkal (waiting one's turn). it may be performed without any formal ceremony whatever, and is actually a private transaction confidentially gone through in some families. the bridegroom and his friends assemble at the house of the bride on the appointed night, and, before the assembled guests, the bridegroom presents the bride with a few unbleached cloths. custom enjoins that four pieces of cloth should be presented, and the occasion is availed of to present cloths to the relatives and servants of the bride also. the girl asks permission of her mother and maternal uncle, before she receives the cloths. after supper, and the distribution of pan-supari, the party disperses. another day is fixed for the consummation ceremony. on that day the bridegroom, accompanied by a few friends, goes to the bride's house with betel leaves and nuts. after a feast, the friends retire." it is noted in the cochin census report, 1901, that one name for the sambandham rite is kitakkora, meaning bed-chamber ceremony. in the same report, the following account of a puberty ceremony is given. "the tirandukuli ceremony is practically a public declaration that a girl has reached the age of maturity. when a girl attains puberty, she is seated in a separate room, where a lamp is lit, and a brass pot with a bunch of cocoanut flowers is kept. she has to keep with her a circular plate of brass called valkannadi, literally a looking-glass with a handle. the event is proclaimed by korava (shouts of joy by females). the females of the neighbouring houses, and of the families of friends and relatives, visit her. new cloths are presented to the girl by her near relatives. on the third day the villagers, friends and relatives are treated to a luncheon of rice and milk pudding. early in the morning on the fourth day, the mannans or velans appear. the girl is anointed with oil, and tender leaves of the cocoanut palm are tied round the head and waist. in the company of maidens she is brought out of the room, and the velans sing certain songs. thence the party move on to the tank, where the girl wears a cloth washed by a velan, and takes a bath. after the bath the velans again sing songs. in the afternoon, the girl is taken out by the females invited for the occasion to an ornamental pandal, and the velans, standing at a distance, once more sing. with the usual distribution of pan-supari, sandal and jasmine flowers, the ceremony closes. in the midst of the song, the female guests of the village, the wives of friends and relatives, and most of the members of the family itself, present each a small cloth to the velans. they are also given a small amount of money, rice, betel leaf, etc. the guests are then entertained at a feast. in some places, the girl is taken to a separate house for the bath on the fourth day, whence she returns to her house in procession, accompanied by tom-toms and shouting. in the northern taluks, the velan's song is in the night, and the performance of the ceremony on the fourth day is compulsory. in the southern taluks, it is often put off to some convenient day. before the completion of this song ceremony, the girl is prohibited from going out of the house or entering temples." it is provided, by the malabar marriage act, 1896, that, "when a sambandham has been registered in the manner therein laid down, it shall have the incidence of a legal marriage; that is to say, the wife and children shall be entitled to maintenance by the husband or father, respectively, and to succeed to half his self-acquired property, if he dies intestate; while the parties to such a sambandham cannot register a second sambandham during its continuance, that is, until it is terminated by death or by a formal application for divorce in the civil courts. the total number of sambandhams registered under the act has, however, been infinitesimal, and the reason for this is, admittedly, the reluctance of the men to fetter their liberty to terminate sambandham at will by such restrictions as the necessity for formal divorce, or to undertake the burdensome responsibility of a legal obligation to maintain their wife and offspring. if, as the evidence recorded by the malabar marriage commission tended to show, 'a marriage law in north malabar, and throughout the greater part of south malabar, would merely legalise what is the prevailing custom,' it is hard to see why there has been such a disinclination to lend to that custom the dignity of legal sanction." [157] the following applications to register sambandhams under the act were received from 1897 to 1904:- nayars. tiyans. others. total. 1897 28 6 2 36 1898 8 2 4 14 1899 8 2 4 14 1900 8 ... 9 17 1901 3 ... 1 4 1902 ... ... ... ... 1903 2 ... ... 2 -- -- - - total 57 10 20 87 in a recent account of a nayar wedding in high life in travancore, the host is said to have distributed flowers, attar, etc., to all his hindu guests, while the european, eurasian, and other christian guests, partook of cake and wine, and other refreshments, in a separate tent. the chief secretary to government proposed the toast of the bride and bridegroom. the following note on nayar pregnancy ceremonies was supplied to mr. fawcett by mr. u. balakrishnan nayar. "a woman has to observe certain ceremonies during pregnancy. first, during and after the seventh month, she (at least among the well-to-do classes) bathes, and worships in the temple every morning, and eats before her morning meal a small quantity of butter, over which mantrams (consecrated formulæ) have been said by the temple priest, or by nambutiris. this is generally done till delivery. another, and even more important ceremony, is the puli-kuti (drinking tamarind juice). this is an indispensable ceremony, performed by rich and poor alike, on a particular day in the ninth month. the day and hour are fixed by the local astrologer. the ceremony begins with the planting of a twig of the ampasham tree on the morning of the day of the ceremony in the principal courtyard (natu-muttam) of the taravad. at the appointed hour or muhurtam, the pregnant woman, after having bathed, and properly attired, is conducted to a particular portion of the house (vatakini or northern wing), where she is seated, facing eastward. the ammayi, or uncle's wife, whose presence on the occasion is necessary, goes to the courtyard, and, plucking a few leaves of the planted twig, squeezes a few drops of its juice into a cup. this she hands over to the brother, if any, of the pregnant woman. it is necessary that the brother should wear a gold ring on his right ring finger. holding a country knife (pissan kathi) in his left hand, which he directs towards the mouth, he pours the tamarind juice over the knife with his right hand three times, and it dribbles down the knife into the woman's mouth, and she drinks it. in the absence of a brother, some other near relation officiates. after she has swallowed the tamarind juice, the woman is asked to pick out one of several packets of different grains placed before her. the grain in the packet she happens to select is supposed to declare the sex of the child in her womb. the ceremony winds up with a sumptuous feast to all the relatives and friends of the family." in connection with pregnancy ceremonies, mr. n. subramani aiyar writes that "the puli-kuti ceremony is performed at the seventh, or sometimes the ninth month. the husband has to contribute the rice, cocoanut, and plantains, and present seven vessels containing sweetmeats. in the absence of a brother, a maran pours the juice into the mouth of the woman." it is noted in the cochin census report, 1901, that "the puli-kudi ceremony consists in administering to the woman with child a few pills of tamarind and other acid substances. the pills are placed at the end of a knife-blade, and pushed into the mouth of the woman by means of a gold ring. the ceremony, which in a way corresponds to the pumsavana of the brahmans, is performed either by a brother or uncle of the woman, and, in the absence of both, by the husband himself. unlike brahmans, the ceremony is performed only at the time of the first pregnancy." in the eighth month, a ceremony, called garbha veli uzhiyal, is performed by the kaniyan (astrologer) to remove the effects of the evil eye. the ceremonies observed in connection with pregnancy are described as follows in the gazetteer of malabar. "the first regular ceremony performed during pregnancy is known as pulikudi or drinking tamarind, which corresponds to the pumsavanam of the brahmans. but there are other observances of less importance, which commonly, if not invariably, precede this, and may be considered as corresponding to the garbharakshana (embryo or womb protection) ceremony sometimes performed by brahmans, though not one of the obligatory sacraments. sometimes the pregnant woman is made to consume daily a little ghee (clarified butter), which has been consecrated by a nambudiri with appropriate mantrams. sometimes exorcists of the lower castes, such as panans, are called in, and perform a ceremony called balikkala, in which they draw magic patterns on the ground, into which the girl throws lighted wicks, and sing rude songs to avert from the unborn babe the unwelcome attentions of evil spirits, accompanying them on a small drum called tudi, or with bell-metal cymbals. the ceremony concludes with the sacrifice of a cock, if the woman is badly affected by the singing. the pulikudi is variously performed in the fifth, seventh, or ninth month. an auspicious hour has to be selected by the village astrologer for this as for most ceremonies. a branch of a tamarind tree should be plucked by the pregnant woman's brother, who should go to the tree with a kindi (bell-metal vessel) of water, followed by an enangatti [158] carrying a hanging lamp with five wicks (tukkuvilakku), and, before plucking it, perform three pradakshinams round it. in the room in which the ceremony is to be performed, usually the vadakkini, there is arranged a mat, the usual lamp (nilavilakku) with five wicks, and a para measure of rice (niracchaveppu), also the materials necessary for the performance of ganapathi puja (worship of the god ganesa), consisting of plantains, brown sugar, leaves of the sacred basil or tulasi (ocimum sanctum), sandal paste, and the eight spices called ashtagantham. the woman's brother performs ganapathi puja, and then gives some of the tamarind leaves to the enangatti, who expresses their juice, and mixes it with that of four other plants. [159] the mixture is boiled with a little rice, and the brother takes a little of it in a jack (artocarpus integrifolia) leaf folded like a spoon, and lets it run down the blade of a knife into his sister's mouth. he does this three times. then the mixture is administered in the same manner by some woman of the husband's family, and then by an ammayi (wife of one of the members of the girl's tarwad). the branch is then planted in the nadumittam, and feasting brings the ceremony to a close. the above description was obtained from an urali nayar of calicut taluk. in other localities and castes, the details vary considerably. sometimes the mixture is simply poured into the woman's mouth, instead of being dripped off a knife. some castes use a small spoon of gold or silver instead of the jack leaves. in south malabar there is not as a rule any procession to the tamarind tree. among agathu charna nayars of south malabar, the ceremony takes place in the nadumittam, whither the tamarind branch is brought by a tiyan. the girl carries a valkannadi or bell-metal mirror, a charakkol or arrow, and a pisankatti (knife). an enangatti pours some oil on her head, and lets it trickle down two or three hairs to her navel where it is caught in a plate. then the girl and her brother, holding hands, dig a hole with the charakkol and pisankatti, and plant the tamarind branch in the nadumittam, and water it. then the juice is administered. until she is confined, the girl waters the tamarind branch, and offers rice, flowers, and lighted wicks to it three times a day. when labour begins, she uproots the branch." "at delivery," mr. balakrishnan nayar writes, "women of the barber caste officiate as midwives. in some localities, this is performed by velan caste women. pollution is observed for fifteen days, and every day the mother wears cloths washed and presented by a woman of the vannan [or tiyan] caste. on the fifteenth day is the purificatory ceremony. as in the case of death pollution, a man of the attikurissi clan sprinkles on the woman a liquid mixture of oil and the five products of the cow (panchagavya), with gingelly (sesamum) seeds. then the woman takes a plunge-bath, and sits on the ground near the tank or river. some woman of the family, with a copper vessel in her hands, takes water from the tank or river, and pours it on the mother's head as many as twenty-one times. this done, she again plunges in the water, from which she emerges thoroughly purified. it may be noted that, before the mother proceeds to purify herself, the new-born babe has also to undergo a rite of purification. it is placed on the bare floor, and its father or uncle sprinkles a few drops of cold water on it, and takes it in his hands. the superstitious believe that the temperament of the child is determined by that of the person who thus sprinkles the water. all the members of the taravad observe pollution for fifteen days following the delivery, during which they are prohibited from entering temples and holy places." it is noted by mr. n. subramani aiyar that the first act done, when a male child is born, is to beat the earth with a cocoanut leaf, and, if the issue is a female, to grind some turmeric in a mortar, with the object, it is said, of removing the child's fear. in connection with post-natal ceremonies, mr. balakrishnan nayar writes further that "the twenty-seventh day after the child's birth, or the first recurring day of the star under which it was born, marks the next important event. on this day, the karanavan of the family gives to the child a spoonful or two of milk mixed with sugar and slices of plantain. then he names the child, and calls it in the ear by the name three times. this is followed by a feast to all friends and relatives, the expenses of which are met by the father of the child. with the nayar, every event is introduced by a ceremonial. the first meal of rice (chorun) partaken of by the child forms no exception to the rule. it must be remembered that the child is not fed on rice for some time after birth, the practice being to give it flour of dried plantain boiled with jaggery (crude sugar). there is a particular variety of plantain, called kunnan, used for this purpose. rice is given to the child for the first time generally during the sixth month. the astrologer fixes the day, and, at the auspicious hour, the child, bathed and adorned with ornaments (which it is the duty of the father to provide) is brought, and laid on a plank. a plantain leaf is spread in front of it, and a lighted brass lamp placed near. on the leaf are served a small quantity of cooked rice--generally a portion of the rice offered to some temple divinity--some tamarind, salt, chillies, and sugar. [in some places all the curries, etc., prepared for the attendant feast, are also served.] then the karanavan, or the father, ceremoniously approaches, and sits down facing the child. first he puts in the mouth of the child a mixture of the tamarind, chillies and salt, then some rice, and lastly a little sugar. thenceforward the ordinary food of the child is rice. it is usual on this occasion for relatives (and especially the bandhus, such as the ammayi, or 'uncle's wife') to adorn the child with gold bangles, rings and other ornaments. the rice-giving ceremony is, in some cases, preferably performed at some famous temple, that at guruvayur being a favourite one for this purpose." it is noted by mr. n. subramani aiyar that the rice-giving ceremony is usually performed by taking the child to a neighbouring temple, and feeding it with the meal offered to the deity as nivadiyam. in some places, the child is named on the chorun day. of ceremonies which take place in infancy and childhood, the following account is given in the gazetteer of malabar. "on the fifth day after birth, a woman of the attikurissi or marayan caste among nayars, or of the barber caste in the lower classes, is called in, and purifies the mother, the other women of the household, and the room in which the child was born, by lustration with milk and gingelly oil, using karuga (cynodon dactylon) as a sprinkler. her perquisites are the usual niracchaveppu (1 edangazhi of paddy and 1 nazhi of uncooked rice) placed together with a lamp of five wicks in the room to be cleansed, and a small sum in cash. a similar purification ceremony on the 15th day concludes the pollution period. in some cases, milk and cow's urine are sprinkled over the woman, and, after she has bathed, the marayan, or attikurissi waves over her and the child two vessels, one containing water, stained red with turmeric and lime, and one water blackened with powdered charcoal. during this and other periods, a characteristic service called mattu (change) has to be rendered by people of the mannan caste to nayars, and to other castes by their proper washermen, who may or may not be mannans. on the day of birth, the mannatti brings a clean tuni (cloth) of her own, and a mundu (cloth), which she places in the yard, in which she finds the accustomed perquisites of grain set out, and a lamp. an attikurissi nayar woman takes the clean clothes, and the mannatti removes those previously worn by the mother. every subsequent day during the pollution period, the mannatti brings a change of raiment, but it is only on the 7th and 15th days that any ceremonial is observed, and that the attikurissi woman is required. on those days, a mannan man attends with the mannatti, he makes three pradakshinams round the clean clothes, the lamp, and the niracchaveppu, and scatters a little of the grain forming the latter on the ground near it, with an obeisance, before the attikurissi woman takes the clothes indoors. this rite of mattu has far reaching importance. it affords a weapon, by means of which the local tyrant can readily coerce his neighbours, whom he can subject to the disabilities of excommunication by forbidding the washerman to render them this service; while it contributes in no small degree to the reluctance of malayali women to leave kerala, since it is essential that the mattu should be furnished by the appropriate caste and no other. "on the twenty-eighth day (including the day of birth) comes the palu-kudi (milk-drinking) ceremony, at which some women of the father's family must attend. amongst castes in which the wife lives with the husband, the ceremony takes place in the husband's house, to which the wife and child return for the first time on this day. the usual lamp, niracchaveppu and kindi of water, are set forth with a plate, if possible of silver, containing milk, honey, and bits of a sort of plantain called kunnan, together with three jack leaves folded to serve as spoons. the mother brings the child newly bathed, and places it in his karnavan's lap. the goldsmith is in attendance with a string of five beads (mani or kuzhal) made of the panchaloham or five metals, gold, silver, iron, copper and lead, which the father ties round the baby's waist. the karnavan, or the mother, then administers a spoonful of the contents of the plate to the child with each of the jack leaves in turn. the father's sister, or other female relative, also administers some, and the karnavan then whispers the child's name thrice in its right ear. "the name is not publicly announced till the chorunnu or annaprasanam (rice giving), which takes place generally in the sixth month, and must be performed at an auspicious moment prescribed by an astrologer. the paraphernalia required are, besides the five-wicked lamp, some plantain leaves on which are served rice and four kinds of curry called kalan, olan, avil, and ericchakari, some pappadams (wafers of flour and other ingredients), plantains and sweetmeats called upperi (plantains fried in cocoanut oil). the mother brings the child newly bathed, and wearing a cloth for the first time, and places it in the karnavan's lap. the father then ties round the child's neck a gold ring, known as muhurta mothiram (auspicious moment ring), and the relatives present give the child other ornaments of gold or silver according to their means, usually a nul or neck-thread adorned with one or more pendants, an arannal or girdle, a pair of bangles, and a pair of anklets. the karnavan then, after an oblation to ganapathi, gives the child some of the curry, and whispers its name in its right ear three times. he then carries the child to a cocoanut tree near the house, round which he makes three pradakshinams, pouring water from a kindi round the foot of the tree as he does so. the procession then returns to the house, and on the way an old woman of the family proclaims the baby's name aloud for the first time in the form of a question, asking it 'krishnan' (for instance), 'dost thou see the sky?' in some cases, the father simply calls out the name twice. "the vidyarambham ceremony to celebrate the beginning of the child's education takes place in the fifth or seventh year. in some places, the child is first taken to the temple, where some water sanctified by mantrams is poured over his head by the shantikaran (officiating priest). the ceremony at the house is opened by ganapathi puja performed by an ezhuttacchan, or by a nambudri, or another nayar. the ezhuttacchan writes on the child's tongue with a gold fanam (coin) the invocation to ganapathi (hari sri ganapathayi nama), or sometimes the fifty-one letters of the malayalam alphabet, and then grasps the middle finger of the child's right hand, and with it traces the same letters in parched rice. he also gives the child an ola (strip of palm leaf) inscribed with them, and receives in return a small fee in cash. next the child thrice touches first the ezhuttacchan's feet, and then his own forehead with his right hand, in token of that reverent submission to the teacher, which seems to have been the key-note of the old hindu system of education. "the kathukuttu or ear-boring is performed either at the same time as the pala-kudi or the choulam, or at any time in the fifth or seventh year. the operator, who may be any one possessing the necessary skill, pierces first the right and then the left ear with two gold or silver wires brought by the goldsmith, or with karamullu thorns. the wires or thorns are left in the ears. in the case of girls, the hole is subsequently gradually distended by the insertion of nine different kinds of thorns or plugs in succession, the last of which is a bamboo plug, till it is large enough to admit the characteristic malayali ear ornament, the boss-shaped toda." of the death ceremonies among the nayars of malabar, the following detailed account is given by mr. fawcett. "when the dying person is about to embark for that bourne from which no traveller returns, and the breath is about to leave his body, the members of the household, and all friends who may be present, one by one, pour a little water, a few drops from a tiny cup made of a leaf or two of the tulsi (ocimum sanctum), into his mouth, holding in the hand a piece of gold or a gold ring, the idea being that the person should touch gold ere it enters the mouth of the person who is dying. if the taravad is rich enough to afford it, a small gold coin (a rasi fanam, if one can be procured) is placed in the mouth, and the lips are closed. as soon as death has taken place, the corpse is removed from the cot or bed and carried to the vatakkini (a room in the northern end of the house), where it is placed on long plantain leaves spread out on the floor; while it is in the room, whether by day or night, a lamp is kept burning, and one member of the taravad holds the head in his lap, and another the feet in the same way; and here the neighbours come to take a farewell look at the dead. as the malayalis believe that disposal of a corpse by cremation or burial as soon as possible after death is conducive to the happiness of the spirit of the departed, no time is lost in setting about the funeral. the bodies of senior members of the taravad, male or female, are burned, those of children under two are buried; so too are the bodies of all persons who have died of cholera or small-pox. when preparations for the funeral have been made, the corpse is removed to the natumuttam or central yard of house, if there is one (there always is in the larger houses); and, if there is not, is taken to the front yard, where it is again laid on plantain leaves. it is washed and anointed, the usual marks are made with sandal paste and ashes as in life, and it is neatly clothed. there is then done what is called the potavekkuka ceremony, or placing new cotton cloths (koti mundu) over the corpse by the senior member of the deceased's taravad followed by all the other members, and also the sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and all relatives. these cloths are used for tying up the corpse, when being taken to the place of burial or cremation. in some parts of malabar, the corpse is carried on a bier made of fresh bamboos, tied up in these cloths, while in others it is carried, well covered in the cloths, by hand. in either case it is carried by the relatives. before the corpse is removed, there is done another ceremony called paravirakkuka, or filling up paras. (a para is a measure nearly as big as a gallon.) all adult male members of the taravad take part in it under the direction of a man of the attikkurissi clan who occupies the position of director of the ceremonies during the next fifteen days, receiving as his perquisites all the rice and other offerings made to the deceased's spirit. it consists in filling up three para measures with paddy (unhusked rice), and one edangali (1/10 of a para) with raw rice. these offerings of paddy and rice are placed very near the corpse, together with a burning lamp of the kind commonly used in malabar, called nela vilaku. if the taravad is rich enough to afford one, a silk cloth is placed over the corpse before its removal for cremation. as much fuel as is necessary having been got ready at the place of cremation, a small pit about the size of the corpse is dug, and across this are placed three long stumps of plantain tree, one at each end, and one in the middle, on which as a foundation the pyre is laid. the whole, or at least a part of the wood used, should be that of the mango tree. as the corpse is being removed to the pyre, the senior anandravan [160] who is next in age (junior) to the deceased tears from one of the new cloths laid on the corpse a piece sufficient to go round his waist, ties it round his waist and holds in his hand, or tucks into his cloth at the waist, a piece of iron, generally a long key. this individual is throughout chief among the offerers of pindam (balls of rice) to the deceased. the corpse is laid on the bier with the head to the south, with the fuel laid over it, and a little camphor, sandalwood and ghi (clarified butter), if these things are within the means of the taravad. here must be stated the invariable rule that no member of the taravad, male or female, who is older than the deceased, shall take any part whatever in the ceremony, or in any subsequent ceremony following on the cremation or burial. all adult males junior to the deceased should be present when the pyre is lighted. the deceased's younger brother, or, if there is none surviving, his nephew (his sister's eldest son) sets fire to the pyre at the head of the corpse. if the deceased left a son, this son sets fire at the same time to the pyre at the feet of the corpse. in the case of the deceased being a woman, her son sets fire to the pyre; failing a son, the next junior in age to her has the right to do it. it is a matter of greatest importance that the whole pyre burns at once. the greatest care is taken that it burns as a whole, consuming every part of the corpse. while the corpse is being consumed, all the members of the deceased's taravad who carried it to the pyre go and bathe in a tank (there is always one in the compound or grounds round every nayar's house). the eldest, he who bears the piece of torn cloth and iron (the key), carries an earthen pot of water, and all return together to the place of cremation. it should be said that, on the news of a death, the neighbours assemble, assisting in digging the grave, preparing the pyre, and so on, and, while the members of the taravad go and bathe, they remain near the corpse. by the time the relatives return it is almost consumed by the fire, and the senior anandravan carries the pot of water thrice round the pyre, letting the water leak out by making holes in the pot as he walks round. on completing the third round, he dashes the pot on the ground close by where the head of the dead body has been placed. a small image representing the deceased is then made out of raw rice, and to this image a few grains of rice and gingelly seeds are offered. when this has been done, the relatives go home and the neighbours depart, bathing before entering their houses. when the cremation has been done by night, the duty of seshakriya (making offerings to the deceased's spirit) must be begun the next day between 10 and 11 a.m., and is done on seven consecutive days. in any case the time for this ceremony is after 10 and before 11, and it continues for seven days. it is performed as follows. all male members of the taravad younger than the deceased go together to a tank and bathe, i.e., they souse themselves in the water, and return to the house. the eldest of them, the man who tore off the strip of cloth from the corpse, has with him the same strip of cloth and the piece of iron, and all assemble in the central courtyard of the house, where there have been placed ready by an enangan some rice which has been half boiled, a few grains of gingelly, a few leaves of the cherula (ærua lanata), some curds, a smaller measure of paddy, and a smaller measure of raw rice. these are placed in the north-east corner with a lamp of the ordinary malabar pattern. a piece of palmyra leaf, about a foot or so in length and the width of a finger, is taken, and one end of it is knotted. the knotted end is placed in the ground, and the long end is left sticking up. this represents the deceased. the rice and other things are offered to it. the belief concerning this piece of palmyra leaf is explained thus. there are in the human body ten humours:--vayus, pranan, apanan, samanan, udanan, vyanan, nagan, kurman, krikalan, devadattan, dhananjayan. these are called dasavayu, i.e., ten airs. when cremation was done for the first time, all these, excepting the last, were destroyed by the fire. the last one flew up, and settled on a palmyra leaf. its existence was discovered by some brahman sages, who, by means of mantrams, forced it down to a piece of palmyra leaf on the earth. so it is thought that, by making offerings to this dhananjayan leaf for seven days, the spirit of the deceased will be mollified, should he have any anger to vent on the living members of the taravad. the place where the piece of leaf is to be fixed has been carefully cleaned, and the leaf is fixed in the centre of the prepared surface. the offerings made to it go direct to the spirit of the deceased, and the peace of the taravad is assured. the men who have bathed and returned have brought with them some grass (karuka pulla), plucked on their way back to the house. they kneel in front of the piece of palmyra, with the right knee on the ground. some of the grass is spread on the ground near the piece of leaf, and rings made with it are placed on the ring finger of the right hand by each one present. the first offerings consist of water, sandal paste, and leaves of the cherula, the eldest of the anandravans leading the way. boys need not go through the actual performance of offerings; it suffices for them to touch the eldest as he is making the offerings. the half boiled rice is made into balls (pindam), and each one present takes one of these in his right hand, and places it on the grass near the piece of palmyra leaf. some gingelly seeds are put into the curd, which is poured so as to make three rings round the pindams. it is poured out of a small cup made with the leaf on which the half-boiled rice had been placed. it should not be poured from any other kind of vessel. the whole is then covered with this same plantain leaf, a lighted wick is waved, and some milk is put under the leaf. it is undisturbed for some moments, and leaf is gently tapped with the back of the fingers of the right hand. the leaf is then removed, and torn in two at its midrib, one piece being placed on either side of the pindams. the ceremony is then over for the day. the performers rise, and remove the wet clothing they have been wearing. the eldest of the anandravans should, it was omitted to mention, be kept somewhat separated from the other anandravans while in the courtyard, and before the corpse is removed for cremation; a son-in-law or daughter-in-law, or some such kind of relation remaining, as it were, between him and them. he has had the piece of cloth torn from the covering of the corpse tied round his waist, and the piece of iron in the folds of his cloth, or stuck in his waist during the ceremony which has just been described. now, when it has been completed, he ties the piece of cloth to the pillar of the house nearest to the piece of palmyra leaf which has been stuck in the ground, and puts the piece of iron in a safe place. the piece of palmyra leaf is covered with a basket. it is uncovered every day for seven days at the same hour, while the same ceremony is repeated. the balls of rice are removed by women and girls of the taravad who are junior to the deceased. they place them in the bell-metal vessel in which the rice was boiled. the senior places the vessel on her head, and leads the way to a tank, on the bank of which the rice is thrown. it is hoped that crows will come and eat it; for, if they do, the impression is received that the deceased's spirit is pleased with the offering. but, if somehow it is thought that the crows will not come and eat it, the rice is thrown into the tank. dogs are not to be allowed to eat it. the women bathe after the rice has been thrown away. when the ceremony which has been described has been performed for the seventh time, i.e., on the seventh day after death, the piece of palmyra leaf is removed from the ground, and thrown on the ashes of the deceased at the place of cremation. during these seven days, no member of the taravad goes to any other house. the house of the dead, and all its inmates are under pollution. no outsider enters it but under ban of pollution, which is, however, removable by bathing. a visitor entering the house of the dead during these seven days must bathe before he can enter his own house. during these seven days, the karanavan of the family receives visits of condolence from relatives and friends to whom he is "at home" on monday, wednesday or saturday. they sit and chat, chew betel, and go home, bathing ere they enter their houses. it is said that, in some parts of malabar, the visitors bring with them small presents in money or kind to help the karanavan through the expenditure to which the funeral rites necessarily put him. to hark back a little, it must not be omitted that, on the third day after the death, all those who are related by marriage to the taravad of the deceased combine, and give a good feast to the inmates of the house and to the neighbours who are invited, one man or woman from each house. the person so invited is expected to come. this feast is called patni karigi. on the seventh day, a return feast will be given by the taravad of the deceased to all relatives and neighbours. between the seventh and fourteenth day after death no ceremony is observed, but the members of the taravad remain under death pollution. on the fourteenth day comes the sanchayanam. it is the disposal of the calcined remains; the ashes of the deceased. the male members of the taravad go to the place of cremation, and, picking up the pieces of unburnt bones which they find there, place these in an earthen pot which has been sun-dried (not burnt by fire in the usual way), cover up the mouth of this pot with a piece of new cloth, and, all following the eldest who carries it, proceed to the nearest river (it must be running water), which receives the remains of the dead. the men then bathe, and return home. in some parts of malabar the bones are collected on the seventh day, but it is not orthodox to do so. better by far than taking the remains to the nearest river is it to take them to some specially sacred place, benares, gaya, rameswaram, or even to some place of sanctity much nearer home, as to tirunelli in wynaad, and there dispose of them in the same manner. the bones or ashes of any one having been taken to gaya and there deposited in the river, the survivors of the taravad have no need to continue the annual ceremony for that person. this is called ashtagaya sradh. it puts an end to the need for all earthly ceremonial. it is believed that the collection and careful disposal of the ashes of the dead gives peace to his spirit, and, what is more important, the pacified spirit will not thereafter injure the living members of the taravad, cause miscarriage to the women, possess the men (as with an evil spirit), and so on. on the fifteenth day after death is the purificatory ceremony. until this has been done, any one touched by any member of the taravad should bathe before he enters his house, or partakes of any food. a man of the athikurisi clan officiates. he sprinkles milk oil, in which some gingelly seeds have been put, over the persons of those under pollution. this sprinkling, and the bath which follows it, remove the death pollution. the purifier receives a fixed remuneration for his offices on this occasion, as well as when there is a birth in the taravad. in the case of death of a senior member of a taravad, well-to-do and recognised as of some importance, there is the feast called pinda atiyantaram on the sixteenth day after death, given to the neighbours and friends. with the observance of this feast of pindams there is involved the diksha, or leaving the entire body unshaved for forty-one days, or for a year. there is no variable limit between forty-one days or a year. the forty-one-day period is the rule in north malabar. i have seen many who were under the diksha for a year. he who lets his hair grow may be a son or nephew of the deceased. one member only of the taravad bears the mark of mourning by his growth of hair. he who is under the diksha offers half-boiled rice and gingelly seeds to the spirits of the deceased every morning after his bath, and he is under restriction from women, from alcoholic drinks, and from chewing betel, also from tobacco. when the diksha is observed, the ashes of the dead are not deposited as described already (in the sun-dried vessel) until its last day--the forty-first or a year after death. when it is carried on for a year, there is observed every month a ceremony called bali. it is noteworthy that, in this monthly ceremony and for the conclusion of the diksha, it is not the thirtieth or three hundred and sixty-fifth day which marks the date for the ceremonies, but it is the day (of the month) of the star which was presiding when the deceased met his death: the returning day on which the star presides. [161] for the bali, a man of the elayatu caste officiates. the elayatus are priests for the nayars. they wear the brahmin's thread, but they are not brahmins. they are not permitted to study the vedas, but to the nayars they stand in the place of the ordinary purohit. the officiating elayatu prepares the rice for the bali, when to the deceased, represented by karuka grass, are offered boiled rice, curds, gingelly seeds, and some other things. the elayatu should be paid a rupee for his services, which are considered necessary even when the man under diksha is himself familiar with the required ceremonial. the last day of the diksha is one of festivity. after the bali, the man under diksha is shaved. all this over, the only thing to be done for the deceased is the annual sradh or yearly funeral commemorative rite. rice-balls are made, and given to crows. clapping of hands announces to these birds that the rice is being thrown for them, and, should they not come at once and eat, it is evident that the spirit is displeased, and the taravad had better look out. the spirits of those who have committed suicide, or met death by any violent means, are always particularly vicious and troublesome to the taravad, their spirits possessing and rendering miserable some unfortunate member of it. unless they are pacified, they will ruin the taravad, so brahman priests are called in, and appease them by means of tilahomam, a rite in which sacrificial fire is raised, and ghi, gingelly, and other things are offered through it." "there are," mr. fawcett writes, "many interesting features in the death ceremonies as performed by the kiriattil class. those who carry the corpse to the pyre are dressed as women, their cloths being wet, and each carries a knife on his person. two junior male members of the taravad thrust pieces of mango wood into the southern end of the burning pyre, and, when they are lighted, throw them over their shoulders to the southwards without looking round. close to the northern end of the pyre, two small sticks are fixed in the ground, and tied together with a cloth, over which water is poured thrice. all members of the taravad prostrate to the ground before the pyre. they follow the enangu carrying the pot of water round the pyre, and go home without looking round. they pass to the northern side of the house under an arch made by two men standing east and west, holding at arms length, and touching at the points, the spade that was used to dig the pit under the pyre, and the axe with which the wood for the pyre was cut or felled. after this is done the kodali ceremony, using the spade, axe, and big knife. these are placed on the leaves where the corpse had lain. then follows circumambulation and prostration by all, and the leaves are committed to the burning pyre." in connection with the death ceremonies, it is noted in the cochin census report, 1901, that "the last moments of a dying person are really very trying. all members (male and female), junior to the dying person, pour into his or her mouth drops of ganges or other holy water or conjee (rice) water in token of their last tribute of regard. before the person breathes his last, he or she is removed to the bare floor, as it is considered sacrilegious to allow the last breath to escape while lying on the bed, and in a room with a ceiling, which last is supposed to obstruct the free passage of the breath. the names of gods, or sacred texts are loudly dinned into his or her ears, so that the person may quit this world with the recollections of god serving as a passport to heaven. the forehead, breast, and the joints especially are besmeared with holy ashes, so as to prevent the messengers of death from tightly tying those parts when they carry away the person. soon after the last breath, the dead body is removed to some open place in the house, covered from top to toe with a washed cloth, and deposited on the bare floor with the head towards the south, the region of the god of death. a lighted lamp is placed near the head, and other lights are placed all round the corpse. a mango tree is cut, or other firewood is collected, and a funeral pyre is constructed in the south-eastern corner of a compound or garden known as the corner of agni, which is always reserved as a cemetery for the burning or burial of the dead. all male members, generally junior, bathe, and, without wiping their head or body, they remove the corpse to the yard in front of the house, and place it on a plantain leaf. it is nominally anointed with oil, and bathed in water. ashes and sandal are again smeared on the forehead and joints. the old cloth is removed, and the body is covered with a new unwashed cloth or a piece of silk. a little gold or silver, or small coins are put into the mouth. with the breaking of a cocoanut, and the offering of some powdered rice, betel leaf, areca nut, etc., the body is taken to the pyre. the members junior to the deceased go round the pyre three, five, or seven times, throw paddy and rice over the dead body, put scantlings of sandal wood, prostrate at the feet of the corpse, and then set fire to the pyre. when the body is almost wholly consumed, one of the male members carries a pot of water, and, after making three rounds, the pot is broken and thrown into the pyre. the death of an elderly male member of a family is marked by udakakriya and sanchayanam, and the daily bali performed at the bali kutti (altar) planted in front of the house, or in the courtyard in the centre of the house, where there is one. the ashtikurissi nayar officiates as priest at all such obsequies. on the morning of the fifteenth day, the members of the family wear cloths washed by a velan, and assemble together for purification by the nayar priest, both before and after bathing, who throws on them paddy and rice, and sprinkles the holy mixture. the elayad or family purohit then performs another punnayaham or purification, and on the sixteenth day he takes the place of the priest. on the evening of the fifteenth day, and the morning of the sixteenth day, the purohits and villagers are sumptuously feasted, and presents of cloths and money are made to the elayads. in the chittur taluk, the tamil brahman sometimes performs priestly functions in place of the elayad. diksha is performed for forty-one days, or for a whole year, for the benefit of the departed soul. this last ceremony is invariably performed on the death of the mother, maternal uncle, and elder brother." in connection with the habitations of the nayars, mr. fawcett writes as follows. "a house may face east or west, never north or south; as a rule, it faces the east. every garden is enclosed by a bank, a hedge, or a fencing of some kind, and entrance is to be made at one point only, the east, where there is a gate-house, or, in the case of the poorest houses, a small portico or open doorway roofed over. one never walks straight through this; there is always a kind of stile to surmount. it is the same everywhere in malabar, and not only amongst the nayars. the following is a plan of a nalapura or four-sided house, which may be taken as representative of the houses of the rich:-numbers 6 and 7 are rooms, which are generally used for storing grain. at a is a staircase leading to the room of the upper storey occupied by the female members of the family. at b is another staircase leading to the rooms of the upper storey occupied by the male members. there is no connection between the portions allotted to the men and women. no. 8 is for the family gods. the karanavans and old women of the family are perpetuated in images of gold or silver, or, more commonly, brass. poor people, who cannot afford to have these images made, substitute a stone. offerings are made to these images, or to the stones at every full moon. the throat of a fowl will be cut outside, and the bird is then taken inside and offered. the entrance is at c. there are windows at * * *. e are rooms occupied by women and children. it may be noticed that the apartment where the men sleep has no windows on the side of the house which is occupied by women. the latter are relatively free from control by the men as to who may visit them. we saw, when speaking of funeral ceremonies, that a house is supposed to have a courtyard, and, of course, it has this only when there are four sides to the house. the nalapura is the proper form of house, for in this alone can all ceremonial be observed in orthodox fashion. but it is not the ordinary nayar's house that one sees all over malabar. the ordinary house is roughly of the shape here indicated. invariably there is an upper storey. there are no doors, and only a few tiny windows opening to the west. men sleep at one end, women at the other, each having their own staircase. around the house there is always shade from the many trees and palms. every house is in its own seclusion." concerning nayar dwellings, mr. n. subramani aiyar writes that "the houses of the nayar, standing in a separate compound, have been by many writers supposed to have been designed with special reference to the requirements of offence and defence, and major welsh states that the saying that every man's house is his castle is well verified here. the higher ambition of the nayar is, as has frequently been said, to possess a garden, wherein he can grow, without trouble or expense, the few necessaries of his existence. the garden surrounding the house is surrounded by a hedge or strong fence. at the entrance is an out-house, or patipura, which must have served as a kind of guardroom in mediæval times. in poorer houses its place is taken by a roofed door, generally provided with a stile to keep out cattle. the courtyard is washed with cow-dung, and diverse figures are drawn with white chalk on the fence. usually there are three out-houses, a vadakkettu on the north side serving as a kitchen, a cattle-shed, and a tekketu on the southern side, where some family spirit is located. these are generally those of maruta, i.e., some member of the family who has died of small-pox. a sword or other weapon, and a seat or other emblem is located within this out-house, which is also known by the names of gurusala (the house of a saint), kalari (military training-ground), and daivappura (house of a deity). the tekketu is lighted up every evening, and periodical offerings are made to propitiate the deities enshrined within. in the south-west corner is the serpent kavu (grove), and by its side a tank for bathing purposes. various useful trees are grown in the garden, such as the jack, areca palm, cocoanut, plantain, tamarind, and mango. the whole house is known as vitu. the houses are built on various models, such as pattayappura, nalukettu, ettukettu, and kuttikettu." concerning the dress of the nayars, mr. n. subramani aiyar writes that "the males dress themselves in a mundu (cloth), a loose lower garment, and a towel. a neriyatu, or light cloth of fine texture with coloured border, is sometimes worn round the mundu on festive occasions. coats and caps are recent introductions, but are eschewed by the orthodox as unnational. it is noted by mr. logan that 'the women clothe themselves in a single white cloth of fine texture, reaching from the waist to the knees, and occasionally, when abroad, they throw over the shoulder and bosom another similar cloth. but by custom the nayar women go uncovered from the waist. upper garments indicate lower caste, or sometimes, by a strange reversal of western notions, immodesty.' edward ives, who came to anjengo about 1740, observes that 'the groves on each bank of the river are chiefly planted with cocoanut trees, and have been inhabited by men and women in almost a pure state of nature, for they go with their breasts and bellies entirely naked. this custom prevails universally throughout every caste from the poorest planter of rice to the daughter or consort of the king upon the throne.'" (according to ancient custom, nayar women in travancore used to remove their body-cloth in the presence of the royal family. but, since 1856, this custom has been abolished, by a proclamation during the reign of h. h. vanchi bala rama varma kulasakhara perumal bhagiodya rama varma. in a critique on the indian census report, 1901. mr. j. d. rees observes [162] that "if the census commissioner had enjoyed the privilege of living among the nayars, he would not have accused them of an 'excess of females.' the most beautiful women in india, if numerous, could never be excessive." concerning nayar females, pierre loti writes [163] that "les femmes ont presque toutes les traits d'une finesse particulière. elles se font des bandeaux a la vierge, et, avec le reste de leurs cheveux, très noirs et très lisses, composent une espèce de galette ronde qui se porte au sommet de la tête, en avant et de côté, retombant un peu vers le front comme une petite toque cavalièrement posée, en contraste sur l'ensemble de leur personne qui demeure toujours grave et hiératique."] the nayars are particularly cleanly. buchanan writes that "the higher ranks of the people of malayala use very little clothing, but are remarkably clean in their persons. cutaneous disorders are never observed except among slaves and the lowest orders, and the nayar women are remarkably careful, repeatedly washing with various saponaceous plants to keep their hair and skins from every impurity." the washerman is constantly in requisition. no dirty cloths are ever worn. when going for temple worship, the nayar women dress themselves in the tattu form by drawing the right corner of the hind fold of the cloth between the thighs, and fastening it at the back. the cloth is about ten cubits long and three broad, and worn in two folds. the oldest ornament of the nayar women is the necklace called nagapatam, the pendants of which resemble a cobra's hood. the nayar women wear no ornament on the head, but decorate the hair with flowers. the nagapatam, and several other forms of neck ornament, such as kazhultila, nalupanti, puttali, chelakkamotiram, amatali, arumpumani, and kumilatali are fast vanishing. the kuttu-minnu is worn on the neck for the first time by a girl when her tali-kettu is celebrated. this ornament is also called gnali. prior to the tali-kettu ceremony, the girls wear a kasu or sovereign. the inseparable neck ornament of a nayar woman in modern days is the addiyal, to which a patakkam is attached. the only ornament for the ears is the takka or toda. after the lobes have been dilated at the karnavedha ceremony, and dilated, a big leaden ring is inserted in them. the nose ornament of women is called mukkuthi, from which is suspended a gold wire called gnattu. no ornament is worn in the right nostril. the wearing of gold bangles on the wrists has been long the fashion among south indian hindu females of almost all high castes. round the waist nayar women wear chains of gold and silver, and, by the wealthy, gold belts called kachchapuram are worn. anklets were not worn in former times, but at the present day the kolusu and padasaram of the tamilians have been adopted. so, too, the time-honoured toda is sometimes set aside in favour of the tamil kammal, an ornament of much smaller size. canter visscher (who was chaplain at cochin in the eighteenth century) must have been much struck by the expenditure of the nayar women on their dress, for he wrote [164] 'there is not one of any fortune who does not own as many as twenty or thirty chests full of robes made of silver and other valuable materials, for it would be a disgrace in their case to wear the same dress two or three days in succession'." it is noted by mr. fawcett that "the venetian sequin, which probably first found its way to malabar in the days of vasco da gama and albuquerque, is one of those coins which, having found favour with a people, is used persistently in ornamentation long after it has passed out of currency. so fond are the malayalis of the sequin that to this day there is quite a large trade in imitations of the coin for purposes of ornament. such is the persistence of its use that the trade extends to brass and even copper imitation of the sequins. the former are often seen to bear the legend 'made in austria.' the nayars wear none but the gold sequins. the brass imitations are worn by the women of the inferior races. if one asks the ordinary malayali, say a nayar, what persons are represented on the sequin, one gets for answer that they are rama and sita; between them a cocoanut tree." in connection with the wearing of charms by nayars mr. fawcett writes as follows. "one individual (a kiriattil nayar) wore two rings made of an amalgamation of gold and copper, called tambak, on the ring finger of the right hand for good luck. tambak rings are lucky rings. it is a good thing to wash the face with the hand, on which is a tambak ring. another wore two rings of the pattern called triloham (lit. metals) on the ring finger of each hand. each of these was made during an eclipse. yet another wore a silver ring as a vow, which was to be given up at the next festival at kottiur, a famous festival in north malabar. the right nostril of a sudra nayar was slit vertically as if for the insertion of a jewel. his mother miscarried in her first pregnancy, so, according to custom, he, the child of her second pregnancy, had his nose slit. another wore a silver bangle. he had a wound in his arm which was long in healing, so he made a vow to the god at tirupati (in the north arcot district), that, if his arm was healed, he would give up the bangle at the tirupati temple. he intended to send the bangle there by a messenger. an akattu charna nayar wore an amulet to keep off the spirit of a brahman who died by drowning. another had a silver ring, on which a piece of a bristle from an elephant's tail was arranged." tattooing is said by mr. subramani aiyar not to be favoured by north travancore nayars, and to be only practiced by nayar women living to the south of quilon. certain accounts trace it to the invasion of travancore by a moghul sirdar in 1680 a.d. in modern times it has become rare. the operation is performed by women of the odda or kurava caste before a girl reaches the twelfth year. concerning the religious worship of the nayars, mr. subramani aiyar writes that "buchanan notes that the proper deity of the nayars is vishnu, though they wear the mark of siva on their foreheads. by this is merely meant that they pay equal reverence to both siva and vishnu, being smartas converted to the tenets of sankaracharya. besides worshipping the higher hindu deities, the nayars also manifest their adoration for several minor ones, such as matan, utayam, yakshi, chattan, chantakarnan, murti, maruta, and arukula. most of these have granite representations, or at least such emblems as a sword or a cane, and are provided with a local habitation. besides these, persons who have met with accidental death, and girls who have died before their tali-tying ceremony, are specially worshipped under the designations of kazhichchavu and kannichchavu. magicians are held in some fear, and talismanic amulets are attached to the waist by members of both sexes. kuttichattan, the mischievous imp of malabar, is supposed to cause much misery. various spirits are worshipped on the tiruvonam day in the month of avani (august-september), on the uchcharam or 28th day of makarom (january-february), and on some tuesdays and fridays. kolam-tullal, velan-pravarti, ayiramaniyam-tullel, chavuttu, tila-homam, and a host of other ceremonies are performed with a view to propitiate spirits, and the assistance of the kaniyans and velans is largely sought. serpents, too, whose images are located on the north-western side of most gardens in central and north travancore, receive a large share of adoration. the sun is an object of universal worship. though the gayatri cannot be studied, or the sandhyavandanam of the brahmans performed, an offering of water to the sun after a bath, to the accompaniment of some hymn, is made by almost every pious nayar. the panchakshara is learnt from an ilayatu, and repeated daily. a large portion of the time of an old nayar is spent in reading the ramayana, bhagavata and mahabharata, rendered into malayalam by tunchattu ezhuttachhan, the greatest poet of the malabar coast. many places in travancore are pointed out as the scene of memorable incidents in the ramayana and mahabharata. there are many temples, tanks, and mountains connected with rama's march to the capital of ravana. equally important are the singular feats said to have been performed by the five pandavas during the time of their wanderings in the jungles before the battle of kurukshetra. bhima especially has built temples, raised up huge mountains, and performed many other gigantic tasks in the country. there are some village temples owned exclusively by the nayars, where all the karakkars (villagers) assemble on special occasions. a very peculiar socio-religious ceremony performed here is the kuttam. this is a village council, held at the beginning of every month for the administration of the communal affairs of the caste, though, at the present day, a sumptuous feast at the cost of each villager in rotation, and partaken of by all assembled, and a small offering to the temple, are all that remains to commemorate it. astrology is believed in, and some of its votaries are spoken of as trikalagnas, or those who know the past, present, and future. it is due to a curse of siva on the science of his son, who made bold by its means to predict even the future of his father, that occasional mistakes are said to occur in astrological calculations. sorcery and witchcraft are believed to be potent powers for evil. to make a person imbecile, to paralyse his limbs, to cause him to lavish all his wealth upon another, to make him deaf and dumb, and, if need be, even to make an end of him, are not supposed to be beyond the powers of the ordinary wizard. next to wizardry and astrology, palmistry, omens, and the lizard science are generally believed in. in the category of good omens are placed the elephant, a pot full of water, sweetmeats, fruit, fish and flesh, images of gods, kings, a cow with its calf, married women, tied bullocks, gold lamps, ghee, milk, and so on. under the head of bad omens come the donkey, a broom, buffalo, untied bullock, barber, widow, patient, cat, washerman, etc. the worst of all omens is beyond question to allow a cat to cross one's path. an odd number of nayars, and an even number of brahmans, are good omens, the reverse being particularly bad. on the vinayaka-chaturthi day in the month of avani, no man is permitted to look at the rising moon under penalty of incurring unmerited obloquy. "the chief religious festival of the nayars is onam, which takes place in the last week of august, or first week of september. it is a time of rejoicing and merriment. father paulinus, writing in the latter half of the eighteenth century, observes that about the tenth september the rain ceases in malabar. all nature seems then as if renovated; the flowers again shoot up, and the trees bloom. in a word, this season is the same as that which europeans call spring. the onam festival is said, therefore, to have been instituted for the purpose of soliciting from the gods a happy and fruitful year. it continues for eight days, and during that time the indians are accustomed to adorn their houses with flowers, and to daub them over with cow-dung, because the cow is a sacred animal, dedicated to the goddess lakshmi, the ceres of india. on this occasion they also put on new clothes, throw away all their old earthenware and replace it by new. onam is, according to some, the annual celebration of the malabar new year, which first began with cheraman perumal's departure for mecca. but, with the majority of orthodox hindus, it is the day of the annual visit of mahabali to his country, which he used to govern so wisely and well before his overthrow. there is also a belief that it is maha-vishnu who, on onam day, pays a visit to this mundane universe, for the just and proper maintenance of which he is specially responsible. in some north malabar title-deeds and horoscopes, mr. logan says, the year is taken as ending with the day previous to onam. this fact, he notes, is quite reconcilable with the other explanation, which alleges that the commencement of the era coincides with perumal's departure for arabia, if it is assumed, as is not improbable, that the day on which he sailed was thiruvonam day, on which acknowledgment of fealty should have been made. onam, it may be observed, is a contraction of thiruvonam which is the asterism of the second day of the festival. throughout the festival, boys from five to fifteen years of age go out early in the morning to gather flowers, of which the kadali is the most important. on their return, they sit in front of the tulasi (sacred basil) mandapam, make a carpet-like bed of the blossoms which they have collected, and place a clay image of ganapati in the centre. a writer in the calcutta review [165] describes how having set out at dawn to gather blossoms, the children return with their beautiful spoils by 9 or 10 a.m., and then the daily decoration begins. the chief decoration consists of a carpet made out of the gathered blossoms, the smaller ones being used in their entirety, while the large flowers, and one or two varieties of foliage of different tints, are pinched up into little pieces to serve the decorator's purpose. this flower carpet is invariably in the centre of the clean strip of yard in front of the neat house. often it is a beautiful work of art, accomplished with a delicate touch and a highly artistic sense of tone and blending. the carpet completed, a miniature pandal (booth), hung with little festoons, is erected over it, and at all hours of the day neighbours look in, to admire and criticise the beautiful handiwork." "various field sports, of which foot-ball is the chief, are indulged in during the onam festival. to quote paulinus once more, the men, particularly those who are young, form themselves into parties, and shoot at each other with arrows. these arrows are blunted, but exceedingly strong, and are discharged with such force that a considerable number are generally wounded on both sides. these games have a great likeness to the ceralia and juvenalia of the ancient greeks and romans." in connection with bows and arrows, mr. fawcett writes that "i once witnessed a very interesting game called eitu (eiththu), played by the nayars in the southern portion of kurumbranad during the ten days preceding onam. there is a semi-circular stop-butt, about two feet in the highest part, the centre, and sloping to the ground at each side. the players stand 25 to 30 yards before the concave side of it, one side of the players to the right, the other to the left. there is no restriction of numbers as to sides. each player is armed with a little bow made of bamboo, about 18 inches in length, and arrows, or what answer for arrows, these being no more than pieces of the midrib of the cocoanut palm leaf, roughly broken off, leaving a little bit of the end to take the place of the feather. in the centre of the stop-butt, on the ground, is placed the target, a piece of the heart of the plantain tree, about 3 inches in diameter, pointed at the top, in which is stuck a small stick convenient for lifting the cheppu, as the mark which is the immediate objective of the players is called. they shoot indiscriminately at the mark, and he who hits it (the little arrows shoot straight, and stick in readily) carries off all the arrows lying on the ground. each side strives to secure all the arrows, and to deprive the other side of theirs--a sort of 'beggar my neighbour.' he who hits the mark last takes all the arrows; that is, he who hits it, and runs and touches the mark before any one else hits it. as i stood watching, it happened several times that as many as four arrows hit the mark, while the youth who had hit first was running the 25 yards to touch the cheppu. before he could touch it, as many as four other arrows had struck it, and, of course, he who hit it last and touched the mark secured all the arrows for his side. the game is accompanied by much shouting, gesticulation and laughter. those returning, after securing a large number of arrows, turned somersaults, and expressed their joy in saltatory motions." in a note on this game with bows and arrows in kurumbranad, mr. e. f. thomas writes that "the players themselves into two sides, which shoot alternately at the mark. beside the mark stand representatives of the two sides. when the mark is hit by a member of either side, on his representative shouting 'run, man,' he runs up the lists. his object is to seize the mark before it is hit by any one belonging to the other side. if he can do this, his side takes all the arrows which have been shot, and are sticking in the stop-butt. if, on the other hand, the mark is hit by the other side before he reaches it, he may not seize the mark. a member of the other side runs up in his turn to seize the mark if possible before it is hit again by the first side. if he can do this, he takes out, not all the arrows, but only the two which are sticking in the mark. if, while number two is running, the mark is hit a third time, a member of the first side runs up, to seize the mark if possible. the rule is that one or three hits take all the arrows in the stop-butt, two or four only the arrows sticking in the mark. great excitement is shown by all who take part in the game, which attracts a number of spectators. the game is played every fortnight by nayars, tiyans, mappillas, and others. i am told that it is a very old one, and is dying out. i saw it at naduvanur." the onam games in the south-east of malabar, in the neighbourhood of palghat, are said by mr. fawcett to be of a rough character, "the tenants of certain jenmis (landlords) turning out each under their own leader, and engaging in sham fights, in which there is much rough play. here, too, is to be seen a kind of boxing, which would seem to be a relic of the days of the roman pugiles using the cestus in combat. the position taken up by the combatants is much the same as that of the pugiles. the romans were familiar with malabar from about 30 b.c. to the decline of their power. [166] we may safely assume that the 3,000 lbs. of pepper, which alaric demanded as part of the ransom of rome when he besieged the city in the fifth century, came from malabar." swinging on the uzhinjal, and dancing to the accompaniment of merry songs, are said to be characteristic amusements of the womankind during onam festival, and, on the patinaram makam, or sixteenth day after thiruvonam. this amusement is indulged in by both sexes. it is noted by mr. fawcett that "the cloths given as onam presents are yellow, or some part of them, is yellow. there must be at least a yellow stripe or a small patch of yellow in a corner, which suggests a relic of sun-worship in a form more pronounced than that which obtains at present. it is a harvest festival, about the time when the first crop of paddy (rice) is harvested." concerning another important festival in malabar, the thiruvathira, mr. t. k. gopal panikkar writes as follows. [167] "thiruvathira is one of the three great national occasions of malabar. it generally comes off in the malayalam month of dhanu (december or january) on the day called the thiruvathira day. it is essentially a festival in which females are almost exclusively concerned, and lasts for but a single day. the popular conception of it is that it is in commemoration of the death of kamadevan, the cupid of our national mythology. as recorded in the old puranas, kamadevan was destroyed in the burning fire of the third eye of siva, one of the chief members of our divine trinity. hence he is now supposed to have only an ideal or rather spiritual existence, and thus he exerts a powerful influence upon the lower passions of human nature. the memory of this unhappy tragedy is still kept alive among us, particularly the female section, by means of the annual celebration of this important festival. about a week before the day, the festival practically opens. at about four in the morning, every young female of nair families with pretensions to decency gets out of bed, and takes her bath in a tank. usually a fairly large number of these young ladies collect at the tank for the purpose. then all, or almost all of them, plunge in the water, and begin to take part in the singing that is presently to follow. one of them then leads off by means of a peculiar rhythmic song, chiefly pertaining to cupid. this singing is simultaneously accompanied by a curious sound produced with her hand on the water. the palm of the left hand is closed, and kept immediately underneath the surface of the water. then the palm of the other is forcibly brought down in a slanting direction, and struck against its surface, so that the water is completely ruffled, and is splashed in all directions, producing a loud deep noise. this process is continuously prolonged, together with the singing. one stanza is now over along with the sound, and then the leader stops awhile for the others to follow in her wake. this being likewise over, she caps her first stanza with another, at the same time beating on the water, and so on until the conclusion of the song. all of them make a long pause, and then begin another. the process goes on until the peep of dawn, when they rub themselves dry, and come home to dress themselves in the neatest and grandest possible attire. they also darken the fringes of their eyelids with a sticky preparation of soot mixed up with a little oil or ghee, and sometimes with a superficial coating of antimony powder. they also wear white, black, or red marks down the middle of their foreheads. they also chew betel, and thus redden their mouths and lips. they then proceed to the enjoyment of another prominent item of pleasure, viz., swinging to and fro on what is usually known as an uzhinjal, or swing made of bamboo. on the festival day, after the morning bath is over, they take a light meal, and in the noon the family dinner is voraciously attacked, the essential and almost universal ingredients being ordinary ripe plantain fruits, and a delicious preparation of arrowroot powder purified and mixed with jaggery (crude sugar) or sugar, and also cocoanut. then, till evening, dancing and merry-making are ceaselessly indulged in. the husband population are inexcusably required to be present in the wives' houses before evening, as they are bound to do on the onam and vishu occasions. failure to do this is looked upon as a step, or rather the first step, on the part of the defaulting husband towards a final separation or divorce from the wife. despite the rigour of the bleak december season during which the festival commonly falls, heightened inevitably by the constant blowing of the cold east wind upon their moistened frames, these lusty maidens derive considerable pleasure from their early baths, and their frolics in the water. the biting cold of the season, which makes their persons shiver and quiver, becomes to them in the midst of all their ecstatic frolics an additional source of pleasure. the two items described above, viz., the swinging and beating of the water, have each their own distinctive significance. the former typifies the attempt which these maidens make in order to hang themselves on these instruments, and destroy their lives in consequence of the lamented demise of their sexual deity kamadevan. the beating on the water symbolises their beating their chests in expression of their deep-felt sorrow caused by their cupid's death." yet another important festival, vishu, is thus described by mr. gopal panikkar. "vishu, like the onam and thiruvathira festivals, is a remarkable event among us. its duration is limited to one day. the 1st of metam (some day in april) is the unchangeable day, on which it falls. it is practically the astronomical new year's day. this was one of the periods when, in olden days, the subjects of ruling princes or authorities in malabar, under whom their lots were cast, were expected to bring their new year's offerings to such princes. failure to comply with the customary and time-consecrated demands was visited with royal displeasure, resulting in manifold varieties of oppression. the british government, finding this was a great burden, pressing rather heavily upon the people, obtained as far back as 1790 a binding promise from those native princes that such exactions of presents from the people should be discontinued thereafter. consequently the festival is now shorn of much of its ancient sanctity and splendour. but suggestive survivals of the same are still to be found in the presents, which tenants and dependents bring to leading families on the day previous to the vishu. being the commencement of a new year, native superstition surrounds it with a peculiar solemn importance. it is believed that a man's whole prosperity in life, depends upon the nature, auspicious or otherwise, of the first things that he happens to fix his eyes upon on this particular morning. according to nair, and even general hindu mythology, there are certain objects which possess an inherent inauspicious character. for instance, ashes, firewood, oil, and a lot of similar objects are inauspicious ones, which will render him who chances to notice them first fare badly in life for the whole year, and their obnoxious effects will be removed only on his seeing holy things, such as reigning princes, oxen, cows, gold, and such like, on the morning of the next new year. the effects of the sight of these various materials are said to apply even to the attainment of objects by a man starting on a special errand, who happens for the first time to look at them after starting. however, with this view, almost every family religiously takes care to prepare the most sightworthy objects on the new year morning. therefore, on the previous night they prepare what is known as a kani. a small circular bell-metal vessel is taken, and some holy objects are systematically arranged inside it. a grandha or old book made of palmyra leaves, a gold ornament, a new-washed cloth, some 'unprofitably gay' flowers of the konna tree (cassia fistula), a measure of rice, a so-called looking-glass made of bell-metal, and a few other things, are all tastefully arranged in the vessel, and placed in a prominent room inside the house. on either side of this vessel two brass or bell-metal lamps, filled with cocoanut oil clear as diamond sparks, are kept burning, and a small plank of wood, or some other seat, is placed in front of it. at about 5 o'clock in the morning of the day, some one who has got up first wakes up the inmates, both male and female, of the house, and takes them blindfolded, so that they may not gaze at anything else, to the seat near the kani. the members are seated, one after another, in the seat, and are then, and not till then, asked to open their eyes, and carefully look at the kani. then each is made to look at some venerable member of the house, or sometimes a stranger even. this over, the little playful urchins of the house begin to fire small crackers, which they have bought and stored for the occasion. the kani is then taken round the place from house to house for the benefit of the poor families, which cannot afford to prepare such a costly adornment. with the close of the noise of the crackers, the morning breaks, and preparations are begun for the morning meal. this meal is in some parts confined to rice kanji (gruel) with a grand appendage of other eatable substances, and in others to ordinary rice and its accompaniments, but in either case on a grand scale. immediately the day dawns, the heads of the families give to almost all the junior members and servants of the household, and to wives and children, money presents to serve as their pocket-money. in the more numerically large families, similar presents are also made by the heads of particular branches of the same family to their juniors, children, wives and servants. one other item connected with the festival deserves mention. on the evening of the previous day, about four or five o'clock, most well-to-do families distribute paddy or rice, as the case may be, in varying quantities, and some other accessories to the family workmen, whether they live on the family estates or not. in return for this, these labourers bring with them for presentation the fruits of their own labours, such as vegetables of divers sorts, cocoanut oil, jaggery, plantains, pumpkins, cucumbers, brinjals (fruit of solanum melongena), etc., according as their respective circumstances permit. with the close of the midday meal the festival practically concludes. in some families, after the meal is over, dancing and games of various kinds are carried on, which contribute to the enhancement of the pleasantries incidental to the festival. as on other prominent occasions, card-playing and other games are also resorted to." on the subject of religion, mr. fawcett writes as follows. "no nayar, unless one utterly degraded by the exigencies of a government office, would eat his food without having bathed and changed his cloth. it is a rule seldom broken that every nayar goes to the temple to pray at least once a day after having bathed: generally twice a day. the mere approach anywhere near his vicinity of a cheruman, a pulayan, or any inferior being, even a tiyan, as he walks to his house from the temple, cleansed in body and mind, his marks newly set on his forehead with sandal-wood paste, is pollution, and he must turn and bathe again ere he can enter his house and eat. buchanan tells us that in his time, about a century ago, the man of inferior caste thus approaching a nayar would be cut down instantly with a sword; there would be no words. now that the people of india are inconvenienced with an arms act which inhibits sword play of this kind, and with a law system under which high and low are rated alike, the nayar has to content himself with an imperious grunt-like shout for the way to be cleared for him as he stalks on imperturbed. his arrogance is not diminished, but he cannot now show it in quite the same way. "i will attempt a description of the ceremonial observed at the pishari kavu--the pishari temple near quilandy on the coast 15 miles north of calicut, where bhagavati is supposed in vague legend to have slain an asura or gigantic ogre, in commemoration of which event the festival is held yearly to bhagavati and her followers. the festival lasts for seven days. when i visited it in 1895, the last day was on the 31st of march. before daybreak of the first day, the ordinary temple priest, a mussad, will leave the temple after having swept it and made it clean; and (also before daybreak) five nambutiris will enter it, bearing with them sudhi kalasam. the kalasam is on this occasion made of the five products of the cow (panchagavyam), together with some water, a few leaves of the banyan tree, and darbha grass, all in one vessel. before being brought to the temple, mantrams or magic verses will have been said over it. the contents of the vessel are sprinkled all about the temple, and a little is put in the well, thus purifying the temple and the well. the nambutiris will then perform the usual morning worship, and, either immediately after it or very soon afterwards, they leave the temple, and the mussad returns and resumes his office. the temple belongs to four taravads, and no sooner has it been purified than the karanavans of these four taravads, virtually the joint-owners of the temple (known as uralas) present to the temple servant (pisharodi) the silver flag of the temple, which has been in the custody of one of them since the last festival. the pisharodi receives it, and hoists it in front of the temple (to the east), thus signifying that the festival has begun. while this is being done, emphasis and grandeur is given to the occasion by the firing off of miniature mortars such as are common at all south indian festivals. after the flag is hoisted, there are hoisted all round the temple small flags of coloured cloth. for the next few days there is nothing particular to be done beyond the procession morning, noon, and night; the image of bhagavati being carried on an elephant to an orchestra of drums, and cannonade of the little mortars. all those who are present are supposed to be fed from the temple. there is a large crowd. on the morning of the fifth day, a man of the washerman (vannan) caste will announce to the neighbours by beat of tom-tom that there will be a procession of bhagavati issuing from the gates of the temple, and passing round about. like all those who are in any way connected with the temple, this man's office is hereditary, and he lives to a small extent on the bounty of the temple, i.e., he holds a little land on nominal terms from the temple property, in consideration for which he must fulfil certain requirements for the temple, as on occasions of festivals. his office also invests him with certain rights in the community. in the afternoon of the fifth day, the vannan and a manutan, the one following the other, bring two umbrellas to the temple; the former bringing one of cloth, and the latter one of cadjan (palm leaves). i am not sure whether the cloth umbrella has been in the possession of the vannan, but think it has. at all events, when he brings it to the temple, it is in thorough repair--a condition for which he is responsible. the cadjan umbrella is a new one. following these two as they walk solemnly, each with his umbrella, is a large crowd. there are processions of bhagavati on the elephant encircling the temple thrice in the morning, at noon, and at night. early on the sixth day, the headman of the mukkuvans (fishermen), who by virtue of his headship is called the arayan, together with the blacksmith and the goldsmith, comes to the temple followed by a crowd, but accompanied by no orchestra of drums. to the arayan is given half a sack of rice for himself and his followers. a silver umbrella belonging to the temple is handed over to him, to be used when he comes to the temple again in the evening. to the blacksmith is given the temple sword. the goldsmith receives the silver umbrella from the arayan, and executes any repairs that may be needful, and, in like manner, the blacksmith looks to the sword. in the afternoon, the headman of the tiyans, called the tandan, comes to the temple followed by two of his castemen carrying slung on a pole over their shoulders three bunches of young cocoanuts--an appropriate offering, the tiyans being those whose ordinary profession is climbing the cocoanut palm, drawing the toddy, securing the cocoanuts, etc. this time there will be loud drumming, and a large crowd with the tandan, and in front of him are men dancing, imitating sword play with sticks and shields, clanging the shields, pulling at bows as if firing off imaginary arrows, the while shouting and yelling madly. then come the blacksmith and the goldsmith with the sword. following comes the arayan with the silver umbrella to the accompaniment of very noisy drumming, in great state under a canopy of red cloth held lengthways by two men, one before, the other behind. the procession of bhagavati continues throughout the night, and ceases at daybreak. these six days of the festival are called vilakku. a word about the drumming. the number of instrumentalists increases as the festival goes on, and on the last day i counted fifty, all nayars. the instruments were the ordinary tom-tom, a skin stretched tight over one side of a circular wooden band, about 1 1/2 feet in diameter and 2 or 3 inches in width, and the common long drum much narrower at the ends than in the middle; and there were (i think) a few of those narrow in the middle, something like an hour-glass cut short at both ends. they are beaten with carved drum-sticks, thicker at the end held in the hand. the accuracy with which they were played on, never a wrong note although the rhythm was changed perpetually, was truly amazing. and the crescendo and diminuendo, from a perfect fury of wildness to the gentlest pianissimo, was equally astonishing, especially when we consider the fact that there was no visible leader of this strange orchestra. early on the seventh and last day, when the morning procession is over, there comes to the temple a man of the panan caste (umbrella-makers and devil-dancers). he carries a small cadjan umbrella which he has made himself, adorned all round the edges with a fringe of the young leaves of the cocoanut palm. his approach is heralded and noised just as in the case of the others on the previous day. the umbrella should have a long handle, and, with it in his hand, he performs a dance before the temple. the temple is situated within a hollow square enclosure, which none in caste below the nayar is permitted to enter. to the north, south, east, and west, there is a level entrance into the hollow square, and beyond this entrance no man of inferior caste may go. the panan receives about 10 lbs. of raw rice for his performance. in the afternoon, a small crowd of vettuvars come to the temple, carrying with them swords, and about ten small baskets made of cocoanut palm leaves, containing salt. these baskets are carried slung on a pole. the use of salt here is obscure. [168] i remember a case of a nayar's house having been plundered, the idol knocked down, and salt put in the place where it should have stood. the act was looked on as most insulting. the vettuvans dance and shout in much excitement, cutting their heads with their own swords in their frenzy. some of them represent devils or some kind of inferior evil spirits, and dance madly under the influence of the spirits which they represent. then comes the arayan as on the previous day with his little procession, and lastly comes the blacksmith with the sword. the procession in the evening is a great affair. eight elephants, which kept line beautifully, took part in it when i witnessed it. one of them, very handsomely caparisoned, had on its back a priest (mussad) carrying a sword smothered in garlands of red flowers representing the goddess. the elephant bearing the priest is bedizened on the forehead with two golden discs, one on each side of the forehead, and over the centre of the forehead hangs a long golden ornament. these discs on the elephant's forehead are common in malabar in affairs of ceremony. the mappilla poets are very fond of comparing a beautiful girl's breasts to these cup-like discs. the elephant bears other jewels, and over his back is a large canopy-like red cloth richly wrought. before the elephant walked a nayar carrying in his right hand in front of him a sword of the kind called nandakam smeared with white (probably sandal) paste. to its edge, at intervals of a few inches, are fastened tiny bells, so that, when it is shaken, there is a general jingle. just before the procession begins, there is something for the tiyans to do. four men of this caste having with them pukalasams (flower kalasams), and five having jannakalasams, run along the west, north, and east sides of the temple outside the enclosure, shouting and making a noise more like the barking of dogs than anything else. the kalasams contain arrack (liquor), which is given to the temple to be used in the ceremonies. members of certain families only are allowed to perform in this business, and for what they do each man receives five edangalis of rice from the temple, and a small piece of the flesh of the goat which is sacrificed later. these nine men eat only once a day during the festival; they do no work, remaining quietly at home unless when at the temple; they cannot approach any one of caste lower than their own; they cannot cohabit with women; and they cannot see a woman in menstruation during these days. a crowd of tiyans join more or less in this, rushing about and barking like dogs, making a hideous noise. they too have kalasams, and, when they are tired of rushing and barking, they drink the arrack in them. these men are always under a vow. in doing what they do, they fulfil their vow for the benefit they have already received from the goddess--cure from sickness as a rule. to the west of the temple is a circular pit--it was called the fire-pit, but there was no fire in it--and this pit all the tiyan women of the neighbourhood circumambulate, passing from west round by north, three times, holding on the head a pewter plate, on which are a little rice, bits of plantain leaves and cocoanut, and a burning wick. as each woman completes her third round, she stands for a moment at the western side, facing east, and throws the contents of the plate into the pit. she then goes to the western gate of the enclosure, and puts down her plate for an instant while she makes profound salaam to the goddess ere going away. now the procession starts out from the temple, issuing from the northern gate, and for a moment confronts a being so strange that he demands description. of the many familiar demons of the malayalis, the two most intimate are kuttichchattan and gulikan, who are supposed to have assisted kali (who is scarcely the kali of brahmanism) in overcoming the asura, and on the occasion of this festival these demons dance before her. gulikan is represented by the vannan and kuttichchattan by the manutan who have been already mentioned, and who are under like restrictions with the nine tiyans. i saw poor gulikan being made up, the operation occupying five or six hours or more before his appearance. i asked who he was, and was told he was a devil. he looked mild enough, but then his make-up had just begun. he was lying flat on the ground close by the north-east entrance of the enclosure, where presently he was to dance, a man painting his face to make it hideous and frightful. this done, the hair was dressed; large bangles were put on his arms, covering them almost completely from the shoulder to the wrist; and his head and neck were swathed and decorated. a wooden platform arrangement, from which hung a red ornamented skirt, was fastened to his hips. there was fastened to his back an elongated prince of wales' feathers arrangement, the top of which reached five feet above his head, and he was made to look like nothing human. kuttichchattan was treated in much the same manner. as the procession issues from the northern gate of the temple, where it is joined by the elephants, gulikan stands in the northern entrance of the enclosure (which he cannot enter), facing it, and a halt is made for three minutes, while gulikan dances. the poor old man who represented this fearful being, grotesquely terrible in his wonderful metamorphosis, must have been extremely glad when his dance was concluded, for the mere weight and uncomfortable arrangement of his paraphernalia must have been extremely exhausting. it was with difficulty that he could move at all, let alone dance. the. procession passes round by east, where, at the entrance of the enclosure, kuttichchattan gives his dance, round by south to the westward, and, leaving the enclosure, proceeds to a certain banyan tree, under which is a high raised platform built up with earth and stones. preceding the procession at a distance of fifty yards are the nine men of the tiyan caste mentioned already, carrying kalasams on their heads, and a crowd of women of the same caste, each one carrying a pewter plate, larger than the plates used when encircling the fire pit, on which are rice, etc., and the burning wick as before. the plate and its contents are on this occasion, as well as before, called talapoli. i could not make out that anything in particular is done at the banyan tree, and the procession soon returns to the temple, the nine men and the tiyan women following, carrying their kalasams and talapoli. on the way, a number of cocks are given in sacrifice by people under a vow. in the procession are a number of devil-dancers, garlanded with white flowers of the pagoda tree mixed with red, jumping, gesticulating, and shouting, in an avenue of the crowd in front of the elephant bearing the sword. the person under a vow holds the cock towards one of these devil-dancers, who, never ceasing his gyrations and contortions, presently seizes its head, wrings it off, and flings it high in the air. the vows which are fulfilled by this rude decapitation of cocks have been made in order to bring about cure for some ailment. the procession passes through the temple yard from west to east, and proceeds half a mile to a banyan tree, under which, like the other, there is a high raised platform. when passing by the temple, the tiyan women empty the contents of their plates in the fire pit as before, and the nine men hand over the arrack in their kalasams to the temple servants. let me note here the curious distribution of the rice which is heaped in the fire pit. two-thirds of it go to the four tiyans who carried the pukalasams, and one-third to the five who carried the jannakalasams. returning to the procession, we find it at the raised platform to the east of the temple. on this platform have been placed already an ordinary bamboo quart-like measure of paddy (unhusked rice), and one of rice, each covered with a plantain leaf. the principal devil-dancer takes a handful of rice and paddy, and flings it all around. the procession then visits in turn the gates of the gardens of the four owners of the temple. at each is a measure of rice and a measure of paddy covered with plantain leaves, with a small lamp or burning wick beside them, and the devil-dancer throws a handful towards the house. the procession then finds its way to a tree to the west, under which, on the platform, is now a measure of paddy and a lamp. some brahmans repeat mantrams, and the elephant, the priest on his back and the sword in his hand, all three are supposed to tremble violently. up to this time the procession has moved leisurely at a very slow march. now, starting suddenly, it proceeds at a run to the temple, where the priest descends quickly from the elephant, and is taken inside the temple by the mussad priests. he, who has been carrying the sword all this time, places it on the sill of the door of the room in which it is kept for worship, and prostrates before it. the sword then shakes itself for fifteen minutes, until the chief priest stays its agitation by sprinkling on it some tirtam fluid made sacred by having been used for anointing the image of the goddess. this done, the chief amongst the devil-dancers will, with much internal tumult as well as outward convolutions, say in the way of oracle whether the devi has been pleased with the festival in her honour, or not. as he pronounces this oracular utterance, he falls in a sort of swoon, and everyone, excepting only the priests and temple servants, leaves the place as quickly as possible. the sheds which have been erected for temporary habitation around the temple will be quickly demolished, and search will be made round about to make sure that no one remains near while the mystic rite of sacrifice is about to be done. when the whole place has been cleared, the four owners of the temple, who have stayed, hand over each a goat with a rope tied round its neck to the chief priest, and, as soon as they have done so, they depart. there will remain now in the temple three mussads, one drummer (marayar), and two temple servants. the reason for all this secrecy seems to lie in objection to let it be known generally that any sacrifice is done. i was told again and again that there was no such thing. it is a mystic secret. the mussad priests repeat mantrams over the goats for an hour as a preliminary to the sacrifice. then the chief priest dons a red silk cloth, and takes in his hand a chopper-like sword in shape something like a small bill-hook, while the goats are taken to a certain room within the temple. this room is rather a passage than a room, as there are to it but two walls running north and south. the goats are made to stand in turn in the middle of this room, facing to the south. the chief priest stands to the east of the goat, facing west, as he cuts off its head with the chopper. he never ceases his mantrams, and the goats never flinch--the effect of the mantrams. several cocks are then sacrificed in the same place, and over the carcasses of goats and cocks there is sprinkled charcoal powder mixed in water (karutta gurusi) and saffron (turmeric) powder and lime-water (chukanna gurusi), the flow of mantrams never ceasing the while. the mussads only see the sacrifice--a part of the rite which is supremely secret. equally so is that which follows. the carcass of one goat will be taken out of the temple by the northern door to the north side of the temple, and from this place one of the temple servants, who is blindfolded, drags it three times round the temple, the mussads following closely, repeating their mantrams, the drummer in front beating his drum softly with his fingers. the drummer dare not look behind him, and does not know what is being done. after the third round, the drummer and the temple servant go away, and the three mussads cook some of the flesh of the goats and one or two of the cocks (or a part of one) with rice. this rice, when cooked, is taken to the kavu (grove) to the north of the temple, and there the mussads again ply their mantrams. as each mantram is ended, a handful of saffron (turmeric) powder is flung on the rice, and all the time the drummer, who by this time has returned, keeps up an obligato pianissimo with his drum, using his fingers. he faces the north, and the priests face the south. presently the priests run (not walk) once round the temple, carrying the cooked rice, and scattering it wide as they go, repeating mantrams. they enter the temple, and remain within until daybreak. no one can leave the temple until morning comes. before daybreak, the temple is thoroughly swept and cleaned, and then the mussads go out, and the five nambutiris again enter before sunrise, and perform the ordinary worship thrice in the day, for this day only. the next morning, the mussad priests return and resume their duties. beyond noting that the weirdness of the human tumult, busy in its religious effusion, is on the last night enhanced by fireworks, mere description of the scene of the festival will not be attempted, and such charming adjuncts of it as the gallery of pretty nayar women looking on from the garden fence at the seething procession in the lane below must be left to the imagination. it will have been noticed that the nambutiris hold aloof from the festival; they purify the temple before and after, but no more. the importance attached to the various offices of those who are attached to the temple by however slender a thread, was illustrated by a rather amusing squabble between two of the mukkuvans, an uncle and nephew, as to which of them should receive the silver umbrella from the temple, and bear it to the house of the goldsmith to be repaired. during the festival, one of them made a rapid journey to the zamorin (about fifty miles distant), paid some fees, and established himself as the senior who had the right to carry the umbrella. "an important local festival is that held near palghat, in november, in the little suburb kalpati inhabited entirely by pattar brahmans from the east. but it is not a true malayali festival, and it suffices to mention its existence, for it in no way represents the religion of the nayar. the dragging of cars, on which are placed the images of deities, common everywhere from the temple of jagganath at puri in orissa to cape comorin, is quite unknown in malabar, excepting only at kalpati, which is close to the eastern frontier of malabar. "near chowghat (chavagat), about 30 miles to the southward of calicut, on the backwater, at a place called guruvayur, is a very important temple, the property of the zamorin, yielding a very handsome revenue. i visited the festival on one occasion, and purchase was made of a few offerings such as are made to the temple in satisfaction of vows--a very rude representation of an infant in silver, a hand, a leg, an ulcer, a pair of eyes, and, most curious of all, a silver string which represents a man, the giver. symbolization of the offering of self is made by a silver string as long as the giver is tall. goldsmiths working in silver and gold are to be seen just outside the gate of the temple, ready to provide at a moment's notice the object any person intends to offer, in case he is not already in possession of his votive offering. the subject of vows can be touched on but incidentally here. a vow is made by one desiring offspring, to have his hand or leg cured, to have an ulcer cured, to fulfil any desire whatsoever, and he decides in solemn affirmation to himself to give a silver image of a child, a silver leg, and so on, in the event of his having fulfilment of his desire. "a true malayali festival is that held at kottiyur in north malabar, in the forest at the foot of the wynad hills rising 3,000 to 5,000 feet from the sides of the little glade where it is situated. it is held in july during the height of the monsoon rain. though it is a festival for high and low, these do not mix at kottiyur. the nayars go first, and after a few days, the nayars having done, the tiyans, and so on. a curious feature of it is that the people going to attend it are distinctly rowdy, feeling that they have a right to abuse in the vilest and filthiest terms everyone they see on the way--perhaps a few days' march. and not only do they abuse to their hearts' content in their exuberant excitement, but they use personal violence to person and property all along the road. they return like lambs. at kottiyur one sees a temple of isvara, there called perumal (or perumal isvara) by the people, a low thatched building forming a hollow square, in the centre of which is the shrine, which i was not permitted to see. there were some nambutiri priests, who came out, and entered into conversation. the festival is not held at the temple, but in the forest about a quarter of a mile distant. this spot is deemed extremely sacred and dreadful. there was, however, no objection to myself and my companions visiting it; we were simply begged not to go. there were with us a nayar and a kurichchan, and the faces of these men, when we proceeded to wade through the little river, knee-deep and about thirty yards wide, in order to reach the sacred spot, expressed anxious wonder. they dared not accompany us across. no one (excepting, of course, a muhammadan) would go near the place, unless during the few days of the festival, when it was safe; at all other times any man going to the place is destroyed instantly. nothing on earth would have persuaded the nayar or the kurichchiyan to cross that river. orpheus proceeding to find his eurydice, danté about to enter the inferno, had not embarked on so fearful a journey. about a hundred yards beyond the stream, we came upon the sacred spot, a little glade in the forest. in the centre of the glade is a circle of piled up stones, 12 feet in diameter. in the middle of the pile of stones is a rude lingam. running east from the circle of the lingam is a long shed, in the middle of which is a long raised platform of brick, used apparently as a place for cooking. around the lingam there were also thatched sheds, in which the people had lodged during the festival. pilgrims going to this festival carry with them offerings of some kind. tiyans take young cocoanuts. every one who returns brings with him a swish made of split young leaves of the cocoanut palm." of the kottiyur festival, the following account is given in the gazetteer of malabar. "the nambudiri priests live in a little wayside temple at kottiyur, but the true shrine is a quarter of a mile away in the forest across one of the feeder streams of the valarpattanam river. for eleven months in the year, the scene is inconceivably desolate and dreary; but during the month edavam (may-june) upwards of 50,000 nayars and tiyans from all parts of malabar throng the shrine for the twenty-eight days of the annual festival. during the rest of the year, the temple is given up to the revels of siva and parvati, and the impious hindu who dares to intrude is consumed instantly to ashes. the two great ceremonies are the neyyattam and the elanirattam, the pouring of ghee (clarified butter) and the pouring of the milk of the green cocoanut. the former is performed by the nayars, who attend the festival first, and the latter by tiyans. in may, all roads lead to kottiyur, and towards the middle of the month the ghee pourers, as the nayar pilgrims are called, who have spent the previous four weeks in fasting and purificatory rites, assemble in small shrines subordinate to the kottiyur temple. thence, clad in white, and bearing each upon his head a pot of ghee, they set forth in large bodies headed by a leader. at manattana the pilgrims from all parts of malabar meet, and thence to kottiyur the procession is unbroken. however long their journey, the pilgrims must eat only once, and the more filthy their language, the more orthodox is their conduct. as many as five thousand pots of ghee are poured over the lingam every year. after the neyyattam ceremony, the nayars depart, and it is the turn of the tiyans. their preparations are similar to those of the nayars, and their language en route is even more startling. eruvatti near kadirur is the place where most of them assemble for their pilgrimage, and their green cocoanuts are presented gratis by the country people as an offering to the temple. the elanirattam ceremony begins at midnight, and the pilgrims heap up their cocoanuts in front of the shrine continuously till the evening of the same day. each tiyan then marches thrice round the heap, and falls prostrate before the lingam; and a certain nayar sub-caste removes the husks preparatory to the spilling of the milk. the festival finally closes with a mysterious ceremony, in which ghee and mantrams play a great part, performed for two days consecutively by the presiding nambudiri, and kottiyur is then deserted for another year." "a shrine," mr. fawcett continues, "to which the malayalis, nayars included, resort is that of subramania at palni in the north-west corner of the madura district about a week's march from the confines of malabar near palghat. not only are vows paid to this shrine, but men, letting their hair grow for a year after their father's death, proceed to have it cut there. the plate shows an ordinary palni pilgrim. the arrangement which he is carrying is called a kavadi. there are two kinds of kavadi, a milk kavadi containing milk, and a fish kavadi containing fish, in a pot. the vow may be made in respect of either, each being appropriate to certain circumstances. when the time comes near for the pilgrim to start for palni, he dresses in reddish orange cloths, shoulders his kavadi, and starts out. together with a man ringing a bell, and perhaps one with a tom-tom, with ashes on his face, he assumes the rôle of a beggar. the well-to-do are inclined to reduce the beggar period to the minimum; but a beggar every votary must be, and as a beggar he goes to palni in all humbleness and humiliation, and there he fulfils his vow, leaves his kavadi and his hair, and a small sum of money. though the individuals about to be noticed were not nayars, their cases illustrate very well the religious idea of the nayar as expressed under certain circumstances, for between the nayars and these there is in this respect little if any difference. it was at guruvayur in november, 1895. on a high raised platform under a peepul tree were a number of people under vows, bound for palni. a boy of 14 had suffered as a child from epilepsy, and seven years ago his father vowed on his behalf that, if he were cured, he would make the pilgrimage to palni. he wore a string of beads round his neck, and a like string on his right arm. these were in some way connected with the vow. his head was bent, and he sat motionless under his kavadi, leaning on the bar, which, when he carried it, rested on his shoulder. he could not go to palni until it was revealed to him in a dream when he was to start. he had waited for this dream seven years, subsisting on roots (yams, etc.), and milk--no rice. now he had had the long-looked-for dream, and was about to start. another pilgrim was a man wearing an oval band of silver over the lower portion of the forehead, almost covering his eyes; his tongue protruding beyond the teeth, and kept in position by a silver skewer through it. the skewer was put in the day before, and was to be left in for forty days. he had been fasting for two years. he was much under the influence of his god, and whacking incessantly at a drum in delirious excitement. several of the pilgrims had a handkerchief tied over the mouth, they being under a vow of silence. one poor man wore the regular instrument of silence, the mouth-lock--a wide silver band over the mouth, and a skewer piercing both cheeks. he sat patiently in a nice tent-like affair, about three feet high. people fed him with milk, etc., and he made no effort to procure food, relying merely on what was given him. the use of the mouth-lock is common with the nayars when they assume the pilgrim's robes and set out for palni; and i have often seen many of them garbed and mouth-locked, going off on a pilgrimage to that place. pilgrims generally go in crowds under charge of a priestly guide, one who, having made a certain number of journeys to the shrine, wears a peculiar sash and other gear. they call themselves pujaris, and are quite au fait with all the ceremonial prior to the journey, as well as with the exigencies of the road. as i stood there, one of these pujaris stood up amidst the recumbent crowd. he raised his hands towards the temple a little to the west, and then spread out his hands as if invoking a blessing on the people around him. full of religious fervour, he was (apparently at any rate) unconscious of all but the spiritual need of his flock. "brief mention must be made of the festival held at kodungallur near cranganore in the northernmost corner of the cochin state, as it possesses some strange features peculiar to malabar, and is much frequented by the nayars. i have been disappointed in obtaining particulars of the festival, so make the following excerpt from logan's manual of malabar. 'it takes the people in great crowds from their homes. the whole country near the lines of march rings with the shouts "nada-a nada-a" of the pilgrims to the favourite shrine. of what takes place when the pilgrims reach this spot perhaps the less said the better. in their passage up to the shrine, the cry of "nada-a nada-a" (march, march away) is varied by terms of unmeasured abuse levelled at the goddess (a bhagavati) of the shrine. this abusive language is supposed to be acceptable to her. on arrival at the shrine, they desecrate it in every conceivable way, believing that this too is acceptable; they throw stones and filth, howling volleys of opprobrium at her house. the chief of the fisherman caste, styled kuli muttatta arayan, has the privilege of being the first to begin the work of polluting the bhoot or shrine. into other particulars it is unnecessary to enter. cocks are slaughtered and sacrificed. the worshipper gets flowers only, and no holy water after paying his vows. instead of water, he proceeds outside and drinks arrack or toddy, which an attendant nayar serves out. all castes are free to go, including tiyars and low caste people. the temple was originally only a bhoot or holy tree with a platform. the image in the temple is said to have been introduced only of recent years.' it is a pity mr. logan is so reticent. my information is that the headman of the mukkuvans opens the festival by solemnly making a fæcal deposit on the image. here again there is the same strange union of everything that is filthy, abusive, foul and irreverent, with every mode of expressing the deepest religious feeling." of the cock festival at cranganore, the following, account is given by mr. t. k. gopal panikkar [169] in his interesting little book on malabar and its folk. "in the midst of its native charms is situated a temple dedicated to kali, the goddess who presides over the infectious diseases, cholera and small-pox. she is a virgin goddess, whom no quantity of blood will satisfy. the temple is an old-fashioned one, presenting no striking architectural peculiarities. the priestly classes attached to it are not, as usual, brahmins, but a peculiar sect called adigals, of whom there are but three families in the whole of malabar. the brahmins are purposely excluded from participation in the poojah ceremonies, lest their extreme sanctity might increase the powers of the goddess to a dangerous extent. poojahs are daily offered to her. an annual festival known as bharani, connected with this goddess, plays a most important part in the religious history of malabar. it comes off in the malayalam month of meenam (about march or april). pilgrimages undertaken to the temple on this occasion are potent enough to safeguard the pilgrims, and their friends and relations, from the perilous attacks of cholera and small-pox. hence people resort thither annually by thousands from almost all parts of malabar; and, the more north you go, the stronger will you find the hold which the goddess has upon the popular imagination. the chief propitiatory offering on the occasion is the sacrifice of cocks. in fact, every family makes a point of undertaking this sacred mission. people arrange to start on it at an auspicious moment, on a fixed day in small isolated bodies. preparations are made for the journey. rice, salt, chillies, curry-stuffs, betel leaves and nuts, a little turmeric powder and pepper, and, above all, a number of cocks form an almost complete paraphernalia of the pilgrimage. these are all gathered and preserved in separate bundles inside a large bag. when the appointed hour comes, they throw this bag on their shoulders, conceal their money in their girdles, and, with a native-fashioned umbrella in the one hand and a walking-stick in the other, they start, each from his own house, to meet the brother pilgrims at the rendezvous. here a foreman is selected practically by common consent. then commences the vociferous recitation of that series of obscene songs and ballads, which characterises the pilgrimage all along. the foreman it is that opens the ball. he is caught up by others in equally loud and profuse strains. this is continued right up till the beginning of their homeward journey. nobody whom they come across on the way can successfully escape the coarse billingsgate of these religious zealots. even women are not spared. perhaps it is in their case that the pilgrims wax all the more eloquently vulgar. a number of cock's feathers are stuck or tied upon the tip of a stick, and with this as a wand they begin to dance and pipe in a set style, which is extremely revolting to every sense of decency. some of the pilgrims walk all the distance to the temple, while others go by boat or other conveyance; but in neither case do they spare any passer-by. hundreds of gallons of arrack and toddy are consumed during the festival. the pilgrims reach the temple in their dirty attire. the temple premises are crowded to overflowing. the worship of the goddess is then commenced. the offerings consist of the sacrifice of cocks at the temple altar, turmeric powder, but principally of pepper, as also some other objects of lesser importance. a particular spot inside the temple is set apart for the distribution of what is called manjal prasadam (turmeric powder on which divine blessings have been invoked). the work of doling it out is done by young maidens, who are during the process subjected to ceaseless volleys of vile and vulgar abuse. now, leaving out of account the minor ceremonies, we come to the principal one, viz., the sacrifice of cocks. the popular idea is that the greater the number of cocks sacrificed, the greater is the efficacy of the pilgrimage. hence men vie with one another in the number of cocks that they carry on the journey. the sacrifice is begun, and then there takes place a regular scramble for the sanctified spot reserved for this butchering ceremony. one man holds a cock by the trunk, and another pulls out its neck by the head, and, in the twinkling of an eye, by the intervention of a sharpened knife, the head is severed from the trunk. the blood then gushes forth in forceful and continuous jets, and is poured on a piece of granite specially reserved. then another is similarly slaughtered, and then as many as each of the pilgrims can bring. in no length of time, the whole of the temple yard is converted into one horrible expanse of blood, rendering it too slippery to be safely walked over. the piteous cries and death throes of the poor devoted creatures greatly intensify the horror of the scene. the stench emanating from the blood mixing with the nauseating smell of arrack renders the occasion all the more revolting. one other higher and more acceptable kind of offering requires more than a passing mention. when a man is taken ill of any infectious disease, his relations generally pray to this goddess for his recovery, solemnly covenanting to perform what goes by the name of a thulabharum ceremony. this consists in placing the patient in one of the scale-pans of a huge balance, and weighing him against gold, or more generally pepper (and sometimes other substances as well), deposited in the other scale-pan. then this weight of the substance is offered to the goddess. this is to be performed right in front of the goddess in the temple yard. the usual offerings being over, the homeward journey of the pilgrims is begun. though the festival is called bharani, yet all the pilgrims must vacate the temple on the day previous to the bharani day. for, from that day onwards, the temple doors are all shut up, and, for the next seven days, the whole place is given over to the worst depredations of the countless demons over whom this blood-thirsty goddess holds sway. no human beings can safely remain there, lest they might become prey to these ravenous demons. in short, the bharani day inaugurates a reign of terror in the locality, lasting for these seven days. afterwards, all the dirt is removed. the temple is cleansed and sanctified, and again left open to public worship. the pilgrims return, but not in the same manner in which they repaired thither. during the backward journey, no obscene songs or expressions are indulged in. they are to come back quietly and calmly, without any kind of demonstrations. they get back to their respective homes, and distribute the sandals and other pujah substances to their relations and friends who have elected to remain at home; and the year's pilgrimage is brought to a close." "the month karkkatakam," mr. fawcett writes, "when the malayalis say the body is cool, is the time when, according to custom, the nayar youths practice physical exercises. at payoli in north malabar, when i was there in 1895, the local instructor of athletics was a paravan, a mason by caste. as he had the adjunct kurup to his name, it took some time to discover the fact. teachers of his ilk are invariably of the paravan caste, and, when they are believed to be properly accomplished, they are given the honorific kurup. so carefully are things regulated that no other person was permitted to teach athletics within the amsham (a local area, a small county), and his womenfolk had privileges, they only being the midwives who could attend on the nayar women of the amsham. his fee for a course of exercises for the month was ten rupees. he, and some of his pupils, gave an exhibition of their quality. besides bodily contortions and somersaults, practiced in a long low-roofed shed having a sandy floor, there is play with the following instruments:--watta; cheruvadi, a short stick; and a stick like a quarter-staff called a sariravadi, or stick the length of one's body. the watta is held in the right hand as a dagger; it is used to stab or strike and, in some ingenious way, turn over an opponent. the total length of the watta is two feet, and of the cheruvadi about three feet. the latter is squared at the ends, and is but a short staff. it is held in the right hand a few inches from the end, and is used for striking and guarding only. the sariravadi is held at or near one end by one or by both hands. the distance between the hands is altered constantly, and so is the end of the stick, which is grasped now by one, now by another end by either hand, as occasion may require; sometimes it is grasped in the middle. the performance with these simple things was astonishing. i should say the watta and the cheruvadi represented swords, or rather that they were used for initiation or practice in swordsmanship, when the nayars were the military element in malabar. the opponents, who faced each other with the sariravadi or quarter-staff, stood thirty feet apart, and, as if under the same stimulus, each kicked one leg high in the air, gave several lively bounds in the air, held their staff horizontally in front with out-stretched arms, came down slowly on the haunches, placed the staff on the ground, bent over, and touched it with the forehead. with a sudden bound they were again on their feet, and, after some preliminary pirouetting, went for each other tooth and nail. the sword play, which one sees during festive ceremonies, such as a marriage or the like, is done by the hereditary retainers, who fight imaginary foes, and destroy and vanquish opponents with much contortion of body, and always indulge in much of this preliminary overture to their performance. there is always, by way of preliminary, a high kick in the air, followed by squatting on the haunches, bounding high, turning, twisting, pirouetting, and all the time swinging the sword unceasingly above, below, behind the back, under the arm or legs, in ever so many impossible ways. nayar shields are made of wood, covered with leather, usually coloured bright red. within the boss are some hard seeds, or metal balls loose in a small space, so that there is a jingling sound like that of the small bells on the ankles of the dancer, when the shield is oscillated or shaken in the hand. the swords are those which were used ordinarily for fighting. there are also swords of many patterns for processional and other purposes, more or less ornamented about the handle, and half way up the blade." "the nayars," mr. n. subramani aiyar writes, "have a distinct feudal organisation, and the division of their territories had an unmistakeable reference to it. the territorial unit was the desam, presided over by a dasavazhi. a number of desams adjoining one another constituted a nadu, which was under the jurisdiction of a chieftain called the naduvazhi. above the naduvazhis was the rajah, the highest suzerain in the country. in course of time, each nadu split itself up into a certain number of taras, over the affairs of which a karanavan, or elder, presided. an assembly of these karanavans constituted the six hundred--an old socio-military organisation of the nayars in mediæval times. these six hundred are referred to in two places in the second syrian christian document, which bears the date 925 a.d. in a south travancore inscription, dated 371 m.e., the same organisation is referred to as venattarunuru, or the six hundred of venad, and one of their duties evidently related to the supervision of the working of temples and charitable institutions connected therewith. as venad was divided into eighteen districts in ancient days, there might have been altogether eighteen six hundred in the country. the naduvazhis possessed considerable authority in all social matters and possessed enough lands to be cultivated by their kudiyans. a feudal basis was laid for the whole organisation. large numbers served as soldiers in times of war, and cultivated their lands when the country was quiet. in modern times, none of them take to military service in travancore, except those employed as sepoys in the nayar brigade." concerning the organisation of the nayars, mr. logan writes that they were, "until the british occupied the country, the militia of the district (malabar). this name implies that they were the 'leaders' of the people. originally they seem to have been organised into six hundreds, and each six hundred seems to have had assigned to it the protection of all the people in a nad or country. the nad was in turn split up into taras, a dravidian word signifying originally a foundation, the foundation of a house, hence applied collectively to a street, as in tamil teru, in telugu teruvu, and in canarese and tulu teravu. the tara was the nayar territorial unit of organisation for civil purposes, and was governed by representatives of the caste, who were styled karanavar or elders. the six hundred was probably composed exclusively of those karanavar or elders, who were in some parts called mukhyastans (chief men), or madhyastans (mediators), or pramanis (chief men), and there seem to have been four families of them to each tara, so that the nad must have originally consisted of one hundred and fifty taras. this tara organisation of the protector caste played a most important part in the political history of the country, for it was the great bulwark against the tyranny and oppression of the rajas. the evidence of the honourable east india company's linguist (interpreter, agent) at calicut, which appears in the diary of the tellicherry factory under date 28th may, 1746, deserves to be here reproduced. he wrote as follows: 'these nayars, being heads of the calicut people, resemble the parliament, and do not obey the king's dictates in all things, but chastise his ministers when they do unwarrantable acts.' the parliament referred to must have been the kuttam (assembly) of the nad. the kuttam answered many purposes when combined action on the part of the community was necessary. the nayars assembled in their kuttams whenever hunting, or war, or arbitration, or what not was in hand, and this organisation does not seem to have been confined to malabar, for the koot organisation of the people of south canara gave the british officers much trouble in 1832-33. in so far as malabar was concerned, the system seems to have remained in an efficient state down to the time of the british occupation, and the power of the rajas was strictly limited. mr. murdoch brown, of anjarakandi, who knew the country well, thus wrote to mr. francis buchanan in the earliest years of the present (nineteenth) century regarding the despotic action of the rajas when constituted, after the mysorean conquest the revenue agents of the government of haidar ali. 'by this new order of things, these latter (the rajas) were vested with despotic authority over the other inhabitants, instead of the very limited prerogatives that they had enjoyed by the feudal system, under which they could neither exact revenue from the lands of their vassals, nor exercise any, direct authority in their districts.' and again, 'the raja was no longer what he had been, the head of a feudal aristocracy with limited authority, but the all-powerful deputy of a despotic prince, whose military force was always at his command to curb or chastise any of the chieftains who were inclined to dispute or disobey his mandates.' [170] from the earliest times, therefore, down to the end of the eighteenth century, the nayar tara and nad organization kept the country from oppression and tyranny on the part of the rulers, and to this fact more than to any other is due the comparative prosperity, which the malayali country so long enjoyed, and which made calicut at one time the great emporium of trade between the east and the west. but, besides protection, the nayars had originally another most important function in the body politic. besides being protectors, they were also supervisors or overseers, a duty which, as a very ancient deed testifies, was styled kanam--a dravidian word derived from the verb kanuka (to see, etc). parasu raman (so the tradition preserved in the keralolpatti runs) separated the nayars into taras, and ordered that to them belonged the duty of supervision (lit. kan = the eye), the executive power (lit. kei = the hand, as the emblem of power), and the giving of orders (lit. kalpana, order, command), so as to prevent the rights from being curtailed, or suffered to fall into disuse. the nayars were originally the overseers or supervisors of the nad, and they seem to have been employed in this capacity as the collectors of the share of produce of the land originally reserved for government purposes. as remuneration for this service, and for their other function as protectors, another share of the produce of the soil seems to have been reserved specially for them. it be well worth the study of persons acquainted with other districts of the presidency to ascertain whether somewhat similar functions to these (protection, and supervision) did not originally appertain to the kavalgars of tamil districts and the kapus in the telugu country, for both of these words seem to have come from the same root as the malayalam kanam. and it is significant that the tamil word now used for proprietorship in the soil is kani-yatchi, to which word the late mr. f. w. ellis in his paper on mirasi rights assigned a similar derivation." the occupation of the nayars is described by mr. n. subramani aiyar as "comprising all kinds of worldly pursuits. so late as the end of the eighteenth century, there were with the then maharaja of travancore a hundred thousand soldiers, consisting of nayars and chovas, armed with arrows, spears, swords and battle-axes. the chief occupation of the nayars is agriculture. cultivation of a slipshod, time-honoured type is the forte of the nayar, for which he has always found time from times of old, though engaged in other occupations as well. in the velakali, a kind of mock fight, which is one of the items of the utasom programme in every important temple in malabar, the dress worn by the nayars is supposed to be their ancient military costume. even now, among the nayars who form the maharaja's own brigade, agriculture, to which they are enabled to attend during all their off-duty days, goes largely to supplement their monthly pay. various other occupations, all equally necessary for society, have been, according to the keralavakasakrama, assigned to the nayars, and would seem to have determined their original sub-divisions. they are domestic servants in brahman and kshatriya houses and temples, and deal in dairy produce, as well as being engaged in copper-sheet roofing, tile-making, pottery, palanquin-bearing, and so on. but these traditional occupations are fast ceasing under the ferment of a new civilisation. in the matter of education, the nayars occupy a prominent position. almost every nayar girl is sent to the village school to learn the three r's, quite as much as a matter of course as the schooling of boys. this constitutes a feature of malabar life that makes it the most literate country in all india, especially in respect of the female sex. after ramanujam ezhuttachchan developed and enriched the malayalam language, numerous asans or village teachers came into existence in different parts of malabar. after a preliminary study of malayalam, such as desired higher, i.e., sanskrit education, got discipled to an ambalavasi or a sastri. even to-day the estimable desire to study sanskrit is seen in some nayar youths, who have readily availed themselves of the benefit of the local sanskrit college. in respect of english education, the nayars occupy a prominent position. the facility afforded by the government of travancore for the study of english is being largely availed of by nayars, and it is a matter deserving to be prominently recorded that, in recent years, several nayar girls have passed the matriculation examination of the university of madras." it is noted, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "the nayars as a class are the best educated and the most advanced of the communities in malabar (excepting perhaps the pattar brahmans, who are not strictly a malayalam class), and are intellectually the equals of the brahmans of the east coast. many of them have risen to the highest posts in government, and the caste has supplied many of the leading members of the learned professions." nayi (dog).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. nayinar.--nayinar, nayanar, or nainar, has been recorded as a section of vellalas, who are thought to be descended from jains who were converted to hinduism, and as a title of jains, kaikolans, pallis, and udaiyans. nayanikulam occurs as a synonym of boya. the word nayinar is the same as nayaka, meaning lord or master, and the saivite saints, being religious teachers, are so called, e.g., sundara murti nayanar. nayinda.--recorded, in the mysore census report, 1901, as the name of a caste, which follows the hereditary occupation of barber, and also of agriculture. "they are," it is there said, "members of the village hierarchy. they are paid, like the agasa (washerman), in kind for their services. they are also fiddlers, and have the exclusive right of wind instruments. they are known as kelasiga or hajam. they are both saivites and vaishnavites. a section of them wear the lingam, and follow lingayetism. they are known as silavanta. these people are largely in requisition at feasts, marriages, etc., when they form the music band." kelasi is the name of a canarese barber caste, and hajam is a hindustani word for barber. nedungadi.--this name, denoting a settlement in nedunganad in the walluvanad taluk of malabar, has been returned as a sub-caste of nayars and samantas. nekkara.--a small class of washermen in south canara. the women only are said to do the washing, while the men are employed as devil-dancers. nellika (phyllanthus emblica).--an illam of tiyan. nellu (paddy, unhusked rice).--a gotra of kurni. nemilli (peacock).--an exogamous sept of boya and balija. nerali (eugenia jambolana).--an exogamous sept of gangadikara holeya. nerati.--nerati or neravati is a sub-division of kapu. nese.--an occupational term, meaning weaver applied to several of the weaving castes, but more especially to the kurnis. it is noted, in the madras census report, 1901, that "in the inscriptions of raja raja the chola king, about the beginning of the eleventh century, the paraiyan caste is called by its present name. it had then two sub-divisions, nesavu (the weavers) and ulavu (the ploughman)." netpanivandlu (neyyuta, to weave).--recorded by the rev. j. cain [171] as a name for mala weavers. nettikotala.--in a note on the nettikotalas or neththikotalasi, mr. c. hayavadana rao writes that they correspond to the kalladi siddhans of the tamil country. the name means those who cut their foreheads. they are mendicants who beg from gavara komatis, whom they are said to have assisted in days of old by delaying the progress of raja vishnu vardhana. (see komati.) when their dues are not promptly paid, they make cuts in their foreheads and other parts of the body, and make blood flow. neyige.--the silk and cotton hand-loom weavers of the mysore province are, in the census report, 1891, dealt with collectively under the occupational name neyige (weaving), which includes bilimagga, devanga, khatri, patvegar, sale, saurashtra (patnulkaran), seniga and togata. neytikkar.--weavers of coir (cocoanut fibre) mats in malabar. neyyala.--the neyyala are a telugu fishing caste found chiefly in vizagapatam and ganjam, for the following note on whom i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the name is derived from the telugu neyyalu, meaning fried rice or cholam (sorghum vulgare), which is made by female members of the caste, especially during the harvest season, into balls with jaggery (crude sugar). these are carried about the country by the men for sale to those engaged in reaping the crop and others. as payment, they receive from, the reapers a portion of the grain which they are cutting. a further occupation of the caste is fishing with konti vala, or koyyala vala i.e., nets supported on a row of bamboo sticks, which are placed in shallow water, and dragged by two men. the naga (cobra) is reverenced by the caste. a brahman officiates at marriages, during which the sacred thread is worn. the remarriage of widows is permitted, provided that the woman has no children by her first husband. divorce is not allowed. the dead are burnt, and the chinna (little) and pedda rozu (big day) death ceremonies are observed. as a caste, the neyyalas do not drink intoxicating liquor, and eat only in brahman houses. their usual title is ayya. neyye (clarified butter).--an occupational sub-division of komati. nila (blue).--an exogamous sept of medara. nilagara (indigo people).--the name of a class of dyers, who are, in the mysore census report, 1901, included in the kumbara or potter caste. nili (indigo).--an exogamous sept of padma sale and togata. nirganti.--recorded, in the mysore and coorg gazetteer, as a regulator and distributor of water to irrigated lands. he is usually a holeya by caste. nirpusi (wearers of sacred ashes).--recorded, at times of census, as a sub-division of pandya vellalas. nirpusi vellala is described, in the gazetteer of the south arcot district, as a name current in the south arcot district meaning vellalas who put on holy ash, in reference to certain jains, who formerly became saivites taking off their sacred threads, and putting holy ashes on their foreheads. nityadasu.--nityadasu, or nityulu, meaning immortal slaves, is a name by which some mala dasaris style themselves. nodha.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a very small caste of hill cultivators and earth-workers in the oriya country. nokkan.--the nokkans, who often go by the name of jadipillais (children of the caste), are a class of mendicants, who beg from members of the palli caste. the word nokkan is said to mean 'he who looks'. the nokkans make periodical visits to villages where pallis live, and receive from them a small fee in money. they attend at palli marriages, and, during processions, carry flags (palempores) bearing devices of hanuman, tigers, agni, etc., which are made at kalahasti. the nokkans claim fees from the pallis, because one of their ancestors helped them. the legend runs as follows. during the reign of a palli king at conjeeveram, a car, bearing the idol of the god, stood still, and could not be moved. a human sacrifice was considered necessary, but no one would offer himself as a victim. a nokkan came forward, and allowed his only daughter, who was pregnant, to be sacrificed. pleased at his behaviour, the king ordered that the pallis should in future treat the nokkans as their jadipillais. some nokkans say that they were presented with copper-grants, one of which is reputed to be in the possession of one nokka ramaswami of mulavayal village in the ponneri taluk of the chingleput district. in the course of their rounds, the nokkans repeat the story of the origin of the pallis, one version of which runs as follows. two asuras, vathapi and enadhapi, who were ruling at ratnagiripatnam, obtained at the hands of siva, by means of severe tapas (penance), the following boon. no child should die within their dominions, and the asuras should be invincible, and not meet their death at the hands of uterine-born beings. the devatas and others, unable to bear the tyranny of the asuras, prayed to brahma for rescue. he directed them to the rishi jambuvamuni, who was doing penance on the banks of the river jumna. this rishi is said to have married a woman named asendi, who was born from the cheeks of parvati. hearing the request of the devatas, the rishi lighted the sacred fire, and therefrom arose a being called rudra vanniyan, and forty other warriors, including nilakanta, gangabala, and vajrabahu. the pallis are descended from these fire-born heroes. (see palli) nokkans wear the sacred thread, and carry with them a big drum and a gourd pipe like that used by snake-charmers. noliya.--a synonym used by oriya castes for the telugu jalaris. nonaba.--a territorial sub-division of vakkaliga. the name is derived from nonambavadi, one of the former great divisions of the tanjore country. nottakaran.--the office of village nottakaran, or tester, has been abolished in modern times. it was generally held by a goldsmith, whose duty was to test the rupees when the land revenue was being gathered in, and see that they were not counterfeit. nuchchu (broken rice).--a gotra of kurni. nukala (coarse grain powder).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. nulayan.--in the madras census report, 1901, ninety-six individuals are recorded as belonging to a small caste of malayalam fishermen and boatmen. the nulayans are found in travancore, and were returned in the census of malabar, as the two small british settlements of anjengo and tangacheri in travancore are under the jurisdiction of the collector of malabar. nune (oil).--an occupational sub-division of komati. nunia (nuno, salt).--a sub-division of odiya. nurankurup.--an occupational name for paravans settled in malabar, whose employment is that of lime-burners (nuru, lime). nurbash.--recorded, at the census, 1901, as a synonym of dudekula. a corruption of nurbaf (weaving). nuvvala (gingelly: sesamum indicum).--an exogamous sept of kamma and medara. gingelly seeds, from which an oil is extracted, "form an essential article of certain religious ceremonies of the hindus, and have therefore received the names of homa-dhanya or the sacrificial grain, and pitri-tarpana or the grain that is offered as an oblation to deceased ancestors." (u. c. dutt.) during the death ceremonies of some brahmans, libations of water mixed with gingelly seeds, called tilothakam, and a ball of rice, are offered daily to two stones representing the spirit of the deceased. nyayam (justice).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. o occhan.--the occhans are a class of temple priests, usually officiate as pujaris at pidari and other amman (grama devata) temples. they are for the most part saivites, but some belong to the vadagalai or tengalai vaishnava sects. some of the pujaris wear the sacred thread when within the temple. their insignia are the udukkai, or hour-glass shaped drum, and the silambu, or hollow brass ring filled with bits of brass, which rattle when it is shaken. in the chingleput district, some occhans act as dancing-masters to devadasis, and are sometimes called nattuvan. the name occhan is derived from the tamil ochai, meaning sound, in reference to the usual mode of invoking the grama devatas (village deities) by beating on a drum and singing their praises. it has been suggested that occhan is a contracted form of uvacchan, which occurs in certain old inscriptions. [172] of these, the oldest is dated sakha 1180 (a.d. 1258), and refers to the tax on uvacchas. another inscription, in which the same tax is referred to, is dated sakha 1328 (a.d. 1406). in both these inscriptions, uvacchan has been interpreted as referring to jonakas, who are a class of muhammadans. this is one of the meanings given by winslow, [173] who also gives "a caste of drummers at temples, occhan." in the northern districts, the occhans are divided into five sections, called marayan, pandi, kandappan, periya or pallavarayan, and pulavan. marayan is also the name of temple priests in travancore, on whom the title occhan is bestowed as a mark of royal favour by the travancore sovereigns. [174] the occhans have many titles, e.g., archaka or umai archaka, devar, parasaivan, mudaliar, vallabarayan, pusali, pulavar, and kamban. of these, the last two are said to be derived from the tamil epic poet kamban, who is traditionally believed to have belonged to the occhan caste. there is a legend that kamban was on his way to the residence of a king, when he heard an oil-monger, who was driving his bulls, remonstrate with them, saying "should you kick against each other because the poet kamban, like the occhan he is, hums his verse?" on hearing this, kamban approached the oil-monger, and went with him to the king, to whom he reported that he had been insulted. by order of the king, the oil-monger burst forth into verse, and explained how his bulls had taken fright on hearing kamban's impromptu singing. kamban was greatly pleased with the poet oil-monger, and begged the king to let him go with honours heaped on him. in the southern districts, more especially in madura and tinnevelly, it is usual for an occhan to claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. in the northern districts, a man may also marry his maternal uncle's or sister's daughter. brahman gurukkals officiate at marriages. in their puberty, marriage, and death ceremonies, the occhans closely follow the pallis or vanniyans. the dead are burnt, and brahmans officiate at the funeral ceremonies. the caste is an organised one, and there is usually a headman, called periyathanakaran, at places where occhans occur. oda vandlu (boatmen).--a synonym of mila, a fishing caste in ganjam and vizagapatam. some prosperous milas have adopted oda balija as their caste name. (see vada.) odan.--an occupational name of a class of nayars, who are tile-makers. odari.--the odaris or vodaris are tulu-speaking potters in the south canara district. those who have abandoned the profession of potter call themselves mulia, as also do some potters, and those who are employed as pujaris (priests) at bhuthasthanas (devil shrines). in many cases, the headman combines the duties of that office with those of pujari, and is called mulia. otherwise his title is gurikara. the canarese potters in south canara, in making pots, use the ordinary wheel, which is rotated by means of a long stick. the wheel of the odaris is more primitive, consisting of a small disc, concave above, made of unburnt clay, fitting by means of a pebble pivot into a pebble socket, which is rotated by hand. like other tulu castes, the odaris worship bhuthas, but also reverence venkataramana. in their marriage ceremonial, the odaris follow the bant type. at the betrothal, the headmen or fathers of the contracting couple exchange betel, and the party of the future bridegroom give a ring to the people of the bride-elect. the marriage rites are completed in a single day. a bench is placed within the marriage pandal (booth), and covered with clothes brought by the madivali (washerman caste). the bridegroom is conducted thither by the bride's brother, and, after going round three times, takes his seat. he is generally preceded by women carrying lights, rice and fruits before him. the lamp is hung up, and the other articles are deposited on the ground. one by one, the women throw a grain of rice, first over the lamp, and then a few grains over the head of the bridegroom. then the barber comes, and, after throwing rice, shaves the face of the bridegroom, using milk instead of water. the bride is also shaved by a barber woman. the pair are decorated, and brought to the pandal, where those assembled throw rice over their heads, and make presents of money. their hands are then united by the headman, and the dhare water poured over them by the maternal uncle of the bride. an interesting rite in connection with pregnancy is the presentation of a fowl or two to the pregnant woman by her maternal uncle. the fowls are tended with great care, and, if they lay eggs abundantly, it is a sign that the pregnant woman will be prolific. the dead are either buried or cremated. if cremation is resorted to, the final death ceremonies (bojja) must be celebrated on the eleventh or thirteenth day. if the corpse has been buried, these ceremonies must not take place before the lapse of at least a month. odde.--the oddes or voddas, who are commonly called wudders, are summed up by mr. h. a. stuart [175] as being "the navvies of the country, quarrying stone, sinking wells, constructing tank bunds, and executing other kinds of earthwork more rapidly than any other class, so that they have got almost a monopoly of the trade. they are telugu people, who came originally from orissa, whence their name. were they more temperate, they might be in very good circumstances, but, as soon as they have earned a small sum, they strike work and have a merry-making, in which all get much intoxicated, and the carouse continues as long as funds last. they are very ignorant, not being able even to calculate how much work they have done, and trusting altogether to their employer's honesty. they are an open-hearted, good-natured lot, with loose morals, and no restrictions regarding food, but they are proud, and will only eat in the houses of the higher castes, though most sudras look down upon them. polygamy and divorce are freely allowed to men, and women are only restricted from changing partners after having had eighteen. even this limit is not set to the men." women who have had seven husbands are said to be much respected, and their blessing on a bridal pair is greatly praised. there is a common saying that a widow may mount the marriage dais seven times. in the census report, 1871, the oddes are described as being "the tank-diggers, well-sinkers, and road-makers of the country who live in detached settlements, building their huts in conical or bee-hive form, with only a low door of entrance. they work in gangs on contract, and every one, except very old and very young, takes a share in the work. the women carry the earth in baskets, while the men use the pick and spade. the babies are usually tied up in cloths, which are suspended, hammock fashion, from the boughs of trees. they are employed largely in the public works department, and in the construction and maintenance of railways. they are rather a fine-looking race, and all that i have come across are vaishnavites in theory, wearing the trident prominently on their foreheads, arms, and breasts. the women are tall and straight. they eat every description of animal food, and especially pork and field-rats, and all drink spirituous liquors." of the oddes, the following brief accounts are given in the nellore, coimbatore, and madura manuals:-nellore.--"these people are the tank-diggers. they sometimes engage in the carrying trade, but beyond this, they only move about from place to place as they have work. the word vodde or odde is said to be a corruption of the sanskrit odhra, the name for the country now called orissa, and the people are ordinarily supposed to have emigrated from the uriya country. besides telugu, they are said to speak a peculiar dialect among themselves; and, if this should turn out to be uriya, the question might be regarded as settled. the laborious occupation of the men tends to develop their muscles. i have seen some very fine men among the tribe." coimbatore.--"numerous, owing to the hard nature of the subsoil and the immense and increasing number of irrigation wells, which demand the labour of strong men accustomed to the use of the crowbar, pick-axe, and powder. they are black, strong, and of good physique, highly paid, and live on strong meat and drink." madura.--"an itinerant caste of tank-diggers and earth-workers. they are telugus, and are supposed to have come southward in the time of the nayyakkans. possibly tirumala sent for them to dig out his great teppakulam, and assist in raising gopuras. they are a strong, hard-working class, but also drunken, gluttonous, and vicious. and but little faith can be placed in their most solemn promises. they will take advances from half a dozen employers within a week, and work for none of them, if they can possibly help it." in mysore numbers of oddes are now permanently settled in the outskirts of large towns, where both sexes find employment as sweepers, etc., in connection with sanitation and conservancy. some oddes are, at the present time (1908), employed at the mysore manganese mines. the tribe is often found concerting with the korachas, koramas, and other predatory classes in committing dacoities and robberies, and it has passed into a proverb that they would rather bear any amount of bodily torture than confess or disclose the truth regarding the crimes attributed to them. some oddes have settled down as agriculturists and contractors, and some are very prosperous. for example, there are a few oddes near kuppam in the north arcot district, whose credit is so good that any rich merchant would advance them large sums of money. a wealthy odde, worth nearly a lakh of rupees, worried my assistant for half an anna, wherewith to purchase some betel leaf. it is recorded by bishop whitehead, [176] in the diary of a tour in the nizam's dominions, that, at khammamett, "the waddas who have become christians have for some time past possessed land and cattle of their own, and are well-to-do people. one of the headmen, who was presented to me after service, said that he had 80 acres of land of his own." some of the timber work in the nallamalai hills, in the kurnool district, is done by oddes, who fell trees, and keep bulls for dragging the timber out of the forests. under the heading "uppara and vadde vandlu," the rev. j. cain gives [177] the following account of the distribution of wages. "the tank-diggers had been paid for their work, and, in apportioning the share of each labourer, a bitter dispute arose because one of the women had not received what she deemed her fair amount. on enquiry it turned out that she was in an interesting condition, and therefore could claim not only her own, but also a share for the expected child." a legend is current to the effect that, long ago, the oddes were ordered to dig a tank, to enable the devatas and men to obtain water. this was done, and they demanded payment, which was made in the form of a pinch of the sacred ashes of siva to each workman, in lieu of money. when they reached home, the ashes turned into money, but they were not satisfied with the amount, and clamoured for more. the god, growing angry, cursed them thus: "what you obtain in the forests by digging shall be lost as soon as you reach high ground." parvati, taking pity on them, asked siva to give them large sums of money. whereon siva, hollowing out a measuring-rod, filled it with varahans (gold coins), and gave it to the maistry. he also filled a large pumpkin with money, and buried it in a field, where the oddes were working. the measuring-rod was pawned by the maistry for toddy. the oddes, noticing the raised mound caused by the burying of the pumpkin, left it untouched to show the depth that they had dug. a buffalo, which was grazing in a field close by, exposed the pumpkin, which the oddes, not suspecting its contents, sold to a komati. according to another legend, the oddes were employed by god, who had assumed a human form, and was living amongst them. on one occasion, god had to perform a certain ceremony, so he gave the oddes an advance of three days' pay, and ordered them not to worry him. this they failed to do, and were accordingly laid under a curse to remain poor for ever. a further legend is current among the oddes to the effect that, when siva and parvati were walking one sultry day upon the earth, they got very hot and thirsty. the drops of perspiration which fell from siva were changed by him into a man with a pick and crowbar, while those falling from parvati turned into a woman carrying a basket. the man and woman quickly sunk a well, with the cooling waters of which the god and goddess refreshed themselves, and in gratitude promised the labourers certain gifts, the nature of which is not now known, but neither was satisfied, and both grumbled, which so incensed siva that he cursed them, and vowed that they and their descendants should live by the sweat of their brows. among the oddes, the following sayings are current:-the oddes live with their huts on their heads (i.e., low huts), with light made from gathered sticks, on thin conji (gruel), blessing those who give, and cursing those who do not. cobras have poison in their fangs, and oddes in their tongues. though wealth accumulates like a mountain, it soon disappears like mist. at recent times of census, the following occupational sub-divisions were returned:--kallu or rati (stone-workers) and mannu (earth-workers), manti or bailu (open space), between which there is said to be no intermarriage. the endogamous sub-divisions natapuram and uru (village men), bidaru (wanderers), and konga (territorial) were also returned. beri was given as a sub-caste, and odderazu as a synonym for the caste name. in ganjam, bolasi is said to be a sub-division of the oddes. the caste titles are nayakan and boyan. the similarity of the latter word to boer was fatal, for, at the time of my visit to the oddes, the south african war was just over, and they were afraid that i was going to get them transported, to replace the boers who had been exterminated. being afraid, too, of my evil eye, they refused to fire a new kiln of bricks for the new club chambers at coimbatore until i had taken my departure. it is noted, in the mysore census report, 1891, that "the caste divides itself into two main branches, the kallu and mannu vaddas, between whom there is no social intercourse of any kind, or intermarriage. the former are stone-workers and builders, and more robust than the latter, and are very dexterous in moving large masses of stone by rude and elementary mechanical appliances. they are hardy, and capable of great exertion and endurance. the kallu vaddas consider themselves superior to the mannu vaddas (earth diggers). unlike the kallu vaddas, the mannu vaddas or bailu vaddas are a nomadic tribe, squatting wherever they can find any large earthwork, such as deepening and repairing tanks, throwing up embankments, and the like. they are expert navvies, turning out within a given time more hard work than any other labouring class." the mannu oddes eat rats, porcupines, and scaly ant-eaters or pangolins (manis pentadactyla). of exogamous septs, the following may be cited:- bandollu, rock. bochchollu, hairs. cheruku, sugarcane. enumala, buffalo. goddali, axe. gampa, basket. idakottu, break-down. jambu (eugenia jambolana). komali, buffoon. santha, a fair. sivaratri, a festival. manchala, cot. sampangi (michelia champaca). thatichettu, palmyra palm. bandari (dodonoea viscosa). devala, belonging to god. donga, thief. malle, jasmine. panthipattu, pig-catcher. panthikottu, pig-killer. upputholuvaru, salt-carrier. pitakala, dais on which a priest sits. thappata, drum. at the mysore census, 1901, a few returned gotras, such as arashina (turmeric), huvvina (flowers), honna (gold), and akshantala (rice grain). "the women of the vaddevandlu section of the tank-digger caste," the rev. j. cain writes, [178] "only wear the glass bracelets on the left arm, as, in years gone by (according to their own account), a seller of these bracelets was one day persuading them to buy, and, leaving the bracelets on their left arms, went away, promising to return with a fresh supply for their right arms. as yet he has not re-appeared." but an old woman explained that they have to use their right arm when at work, and if they wore bangles on it, they would frequently get broken. in some places, tattooing on the forehead with a central vertical line, dots, etc., is universally practiced, because, according to the odde, they should bear tattoo marks as a proof of their life on earth (bhulokam) when they die. oddes, calling themselves pachcha botlu, are itinerant tattooers in the ganjam, vizagapatam and godavari districts. while engaged in performing the operation, they sing telugu songs, to divert the attention of those who are being operated on. the office of headman, who is known as yejamanadu, samayagadu, or pedda (big) boyadu, is hereditary, and disputes, which cannot be settled at a council meeting, are referred to a balija desai chetti, whose decision is final. in some cases, the headman is assisted by officers called chinna (little) boyadu, sankuthi, and banthari. an odde, coming to a place where people are assembled with shoes on, is fined, and described as gurram ekki vachchinavu (having come on a horse). the oddes are very particular about touching leather, and beating with shoes brings pollution. both the beater and the person beaten have to undergo a purificatory ceremony, and pay a fine. when in camp at dimbhum, in the coimbatore district, i caught hold of a ladle, to show my friend dr. rivers what were the fragrant contents of a pot, in which an odde woman was cooking the evening meal. on returning from a walk, we heard a great noise proceeding from the odde men who had meanwhile returned from work, and found the woman seated apart on a rock and sobbing. she had been excommunicated, not because i touched the ladle, but because she had afterwards touched the pot. after much arbitration, i paid up the necessary fine, and she was received back into her caste. when a girl reaches puberty, she is confined in a special hut, in which a piece of iron, margosa leaves (melia azadirachta), sticks of strychnos nux-vomica, and the arka plant (calotropis gigantea) are placed, to ward off evil spirits. for fear of these spirits she is not allowed to eat meat, though eggs are permitted. on the seventh day, a fowl is killed, waved in front of the girl, and thrown away. at the end of the period of pollution, the hut is burnt down. sometimes, when the girl bathes on the first day, a sieve is held over her head, and water poured through it. in some places, on the eleventh day, chicken broth, mixed with arrack (liquor), is administered, in order to make the girl's back and waist strong. the hen, from which the broth is made, must be a black one, and she must have laid eggs for the first time. the flesh is placed in a mortar, pounded to a pulp, and boiled, with the addition of condiments, and finally the arrack. both infant and adult marriages are practiced. the marriage ceremony, in its simplest form, is, according to mr. f. s. mullaly, [179] not a tedious one, the bride and bridegroom walking three times round a stake placed in the ground. in the more elaborate ritual, on the betrothal day, the bride-price, etc., are fixed, and an adjournment is made to the toddy shop. the marriage rites are, as a rule, very simple, but, in some places, the oddes have begun to imitate the marriage ceremonies of the balijas. on the third day, the contracting couple go in procession to a tank, where the bridegroom digs up some mud, and the bride carries three basketfuls thereof to a distance. the following story is narrated in connection with their marriage ceremonies. a certain king wanted an odde to dig a tank, which was subsequently called nidimamidi koththacheruvu, and promised to pay him in varahalu (gold coins). when the work was completed, the odde went to the king for his money, but the king had no measure for measuring out the coins. a person was sent to fetch one, and on his way met a shepherd, who had on his shoulders a small bamboo stick, which could easily be converted into a measure. taking this stick, he returned to the king, who measured out the coins, which fell short of the amount expected by the oddes, who could not pay the debts, which they had contracted. so they threw the money into the tank, saying "let the tank leak, and the land lie fallow for ever." all were crying on account of their misery and indebtedness. a balija, coming across them, took pity on them, and gave them half the amount required to discharge their debts. after a time they wanted to marry, and men were sent to bring the bottu (marriage badge), milk-post, musicians, etc. but they did not return, and the balija suggested the employment of a pestle for the milk-post, a string of black beads for the bottu, and betel leaves and areca nuts instead gold coins for the oli (bride-price). the oddes are in some places vaishnavites, in others saivites, but they also worship minor deities, such as ellamma, ankamma, etc., to whom goats and sheep are sacrificed, not with a sword or knife, but by piercing them with a spear or crowbar. writing at the commencement of the nineteenth century, buchanan states [180] that "although the woddaru pray to vishnu, and offer sacrifices to marima, gungama, durgama, putalima, and mutialima, yet the proper object of worship belonging to the caste is a goddess called yellama, one of the destroying spirits. the image is carried constantly with their baggage; and in her honour there is an annual feast, which lasts three days. on this occasion they build a shed, under which they place the image, and one of the tribe officiates as priest or pujari. for these three days offerings of brandy, palm wine, rice, and flowers are made to the idol, and bloody sacrifices are performed before the shed. the woddas abstain from eating the bodies of the animals sacrificed to their own deity, but eat those which they sacrifice to the other saktis." the dead are generally buried. by some oddes the corpse is carried to the burial-ground wrapped up in a new cloth, and carried in a dhubati (thick coarse cloth) by four men. on the way to the grave, the corpse is laid on the ground, and rice thrown over its eyes. it is then washed, and the namam (vaishnavite sect mark) painted, or vibuthi (sacred ashes) smeared on the forehead of a man, and kunkumam (coloured powder) on that of a female. earth is thrown by those assembled into the grave before it is filled in. on the karmandhiram day, or last day of the death ceremonies, the relations repair to a tank or well outside the village. an effigy is made with mud, to which cooked rice, etc., is offered. some rice is cooked, and placed on an arka (calotropis) leaf as an offering to the crows. if a married woman has died, the widower cuts through his waist thread, whereas a widow is taken to the water's edge, and sits on a winnow. her bangles are broken, and the bottu is snapped by her brother. water is then poured over her head three times through the winnow. after bathing, she goes home, and sits in a room with a lamp, and may see no one till the following morning. she is then taken to one or more temples, and made to pull the tail of a cow three times. the oddes of coimbatore, in the tamil country, have elaborated both the marriage and funeral ceremonies, and copy those of the balijas and vellalas. but they do not call in the assistance of a brahman purohit. a woman, found guilty of immorality, is said to have to carry a basketful of earth from house to house, before she is re-admitted to the caste. the following note on a reputed cure for snake poisoning used by oddes was communicated to me by mr. gustav haller. "a young boy, who belonged to a gang of oddes, was catching rats, and put his hand into a bamboo bush, when a cobra bit him, and clung to his finger when he was drawing his hand out of the bush. i saw the dead snake, which was undoubtedly a cobra. i was told that the boy was in a dying condition, when a man of the same gang said that he would cure him. he applied a brown pill to the wound, to which it stuck without being tied. the man dipped a root into water, and rubbed it on the lad's arm from the shoulder downwards. the arm, which was benumbed, gradually became sensitive, and at last the fingers could move, and the pill dropped off. the moist root was rubbed on to the boy's tongue and into the corner of the eye before commencing operations. the man said that a used pill is quite efficacious, but should be well washed to get rid of the poison. in the manufacture of the pill, five leaves of a creeper are dried, and ground to powder. the pill must be inserted for nine days between the bark and cambium of a margosa tree (melia azadirachta) during the new moon, when the sap ascends." the creeper is tinospora cordifolia (gul bel) and the roots are apparently those of the same climbing shrub. there is a widespread belief that gul bel growing on a margosa tree is more efficacious as a medicine than that which is found on other kinds of trees. the insigne of the caste at conjeeveram is a spade. [181] "in the ceded districts," mr. f. s. mullaly writes, [182] "some of the wudders are known as donga wuddiwars, or thieving wudders, from the fact of their having taken to crime as a profession. those of the tribe who have adopted criminal habits are skilful burglars and inveterate robbers. they are chiefly to be found among the stone wudder class, who, besides their occupation of building walls, are also skilful stone-cutters. by going about under the pretence of mending grindstones, they obtain much useful information as to the houses to be looted, or parties of travellers to be attacked. in committing a highway robbery or dacoity, they are always armed with stout sticks. burglary by wudders may usually be traced to them, if careful observations are made of the breach in the wall. the implement is ordinarily the crowbar used by them in their profession as stone-workers, and the blunt marks of the crowbar are, as a rule, noticeable. they will never confess, or implicate another of their fraternity, and, should one of them be accused of a crime, the women are most clamorous, and inflict personal injuries on themselves and their children, to deter the police from doing their duty, and then accuse them of torture. women and children belonging to criminal gangs are experts in committing grain thefts from kalams or threshing-floors, where they are engaged in harvest time, and also in purloining their neighbours' poultry. stolen property is seldom found with wudders. their receivers are legion, but they especially favour liquor shopkeepers in the vicinity of their encampment. instances have been known of valuable jewellery being exchanged for a few drams of arrack. in each wudder community, there is a headman called the ganga raja, and, in the case of criminal gangs of these people, he receives two shares of spoil. identifiable property is altered at once, many of the wudders being themselves able to melt gold and silver jewellery, which they dispose of for about one-tenth of the value." it has been said of the navvies in england that "many persons are quite unaware that the migratory tribe of navvies numbers about 100,000, and moves about from point to point, wherever construction works are going forward, such as railways, harbour, canals, reservoirs and drainage works. generally the existence of these works is unknown to the public until their completion. they then come into use, but the men who risked their lives to make them are gone nobody knows where. they are public servants, upon whose labours the facilities of modern civilised life largely depend, and surely, therefore, their claim on our sympathies is universal." and these remarks apply with equal force to the oddes, who numbered 498,388 in the madras presidency at the census, 1901. in the census report, 1901, odderazulu is given as a synonym of odde. one of the sections of the yerukalas is also called odde. vadde (odde) cakali (tsakala) is recorded, in the vizagapatam manual, as the name for those who wash clothes, and carry torches and palanquins. oddilu.--the oddilu are described [183] by the rev. j. cain as principally raftsmen on the godavari river, who have raised themselves in life, and call themselves sishti karanamalu. he states further that they are kois (or koyis) who are regarded as more honourable than any of the others, and have charge of the principal velpu (tribal gods). odhuvar (reader or reciter).--a name for pandarams, who recite hymns in temples. odisi.--a sub-division of bhondari. odiya.--it is noted, in the madras census report, 1891, that "this is the principal uriya caste of farmers in ganjam. odia and uriya are different forms of one and the same word, and this caste name simply means a native of the odia or uriya country, as telaga means a man of the telugu country. in both cases, therefore, we find a number of persons included, who are in reality members of some other caste. the total number of sub-divisions of odia, according to the census schedules, is 146, but a number of these are names of various uriya castes, and not true sub-divisions. the largest sub-division is benaito, which is returned by 62,391 persons. the nunia sub-division, the next largest, was returned by 9,356 individuals." it is further recorded, in the census report, 1901, that odiya, oriya, or uriya "is one of the vaguest terms in the whole of table xiii (caste and tribe). the odiyas are a race by themselves, split up into many castes. 'odiya' also often means merely a man who speaks oriya. the term is, however, so constantly returned by itself without qualification, that odiya has perforce figured in the tables of all the censuses as a caste. the odiyas of the hills differ, however, from the odiyas of the plains, the odiyas of ganjam from those of vizagapatam, and the customs of one muttah (settlement) from those of the next." mr. narasing doss writes to me that "odiya literally means an inhabitant of odissa or orissa. there is a separate caste called odiya, with several sub-divisions. they are cultivators by profession. marriage is infant or adult. they employ brahmans at ceremonials. widows and divorcees are remarried. they eat fish and meat, but not fowls or beef, and do not drink liquor. they burn the dead. members of the nagabonso sept claim to be descendants of nagamuni, the serpent rishi." i gather that there are three main sections among the odiyas, viz., benaito, nuniya, and baraghoria, of which the first-named rank above the others in the social scale. from them oriya brahmans and koronos will accept water. the benaitos and nuniyas are found all over ganjam, whereas the baraghorias are apparently confined to villages round about aska and purushothapur. there are numerous exogamous gotras within the caste, among which are nagasira (cobra), gonda (rhinoceros), kochipo (tortoise), and baraha (boar). the gods of the gotra should be worshipped at the commencement of any auspicious ceremony. the odiyas also worship jagannatha, and takuranis (village deities). a number of titles occur in the caste, e.g., bissoyi, podhano, jenna, bariko, sahu, swayi, gaudo, pulleyi, chando, dolei, and torei. when an unmarried girl is ill, a vow is taken that, if she recovers, she shall be married to the dharma devata (sun), which is represented by a brass vessel. people of mixed origin sometimes call themselves odiyas, and pass as members of this caste. some bhayipuos, for example, who correspond to the telugu adapapas, call themselves odiyas or beniya odiyas. odiya toti.--a tamil synonym for oriya haddis employed as scavengers in municipalities in the tamil country. ojali.--the ojali, vojali, or ozolu are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as being "telugu blacksmiths in the vizagapatam agency. they eat beef, but are somewhat superior to the paidis and malas in social position. they are also called mettu kamsali." it is stated in the vizagapatam manual that, during the reign of chola chakravati, the kamsalas (artisans) claimed to be equal to brahmans. this offended the sovereign, and he ordered their destruction. some only escaped death by taking shelter with people of the 'ozu' caste. as an acknowledgment of their gratitude many of the kamsalas have ozu affixed to their house-name, e.g., kattozu, lakkozu. okkiliyan.--okkiliyan is the tamil synonym for vakkaliga, the large caste of canarese cultivators, and the name is derived from okkalu, meaning cultivation or agriculture. in the madras census report, 1901, the vakkaligas or okkiliyans are described as "canarese cultivators, who originally belonged to mysore, and are found mainly in madura and coimbatore. the caste is split up into several sub-divisions, the names of two of which, nonaba and gangadikara, are derived from former divisions of the mysore country. each of these is again split up into totemistic exogamous sections or kulas, some of which are chinnada (gold), belli (silver), khajjaya (cake), yemme (buffalo), alagi (pot), jola (cholum: a millet)." the vakkaligas say they are descendants of the ballal rajah of anegundi, and that they left their homes in pursuit of more suitable occupation, and settled themselves in konganad (coimbatore). the okkiliyans, whom i have investigated, were settled in the tamil country in the coimbatore district, where they were engaged as cultivators, bakers, milk-vendors, bricklayers, merchants, cart-drivers, tailors, cigar manufacturers, and coolies. they returned the following eight endogamous sub-divisions:- (1) gangadikara, or those who lived on the banks of the ganges. (2) gudi, temple. (3) kire (amarantus), which is largely cultivated by them. (4) kunchu, a tassel or bunch. (5) kamati, foolish. said to have abandoned their original occupation of cultivating the land, and adopted the profession of bricklayer. (6) gauri, siva's consort. (7) bai. (8) sanu. like other canarese castes, the okkiliyans have exogamous septs (kuttam or kutta), such as belli (silver), kasturi (musk), pattegara (headman), aruva, hattianna, etc. by religion they are both saivites and vaishnavites. those of the aruva sept are all saivites, and the hatti sept are vaishnavites. intermarriage between saivites and vaishnavites is permitted, even though the former be lingayats. the okkiliyans also worship village deities, and sacrifice goats and fowls to magaliamma and koniamma. the kiraikkarans of coimbatore, whose main occupation is cultivating kirai (amarantus) and other vegetables, are said to be kempati okkiliyans, i.e. okkiliyans who emigrated from kempampatti in mysore. the hereditary headman of the caste, at coimbatore, is called pattakaran, who has under him a chinna (little) pattakaran. the headman presides over the caste council meetings, settles disputes, and inflicts fines and other forms of punishment. if a person is accused of using coarse language, he is slapped on the cheek by the chinna pattakaran. if, during a quarrel, one person beats the other with shoes, he has to purify himself and his house, and feed some of his fellow castemen. the man who has been slippered also has to undergo purificatory ceremony, but has not to stand a feast. in cases of adultery, the guilty persons have to carry a basket of sand on the head round the quarters of the community, accompanied by the chinna pattakaran, who beats them with a tamarind switch. in some places, i am informed, there is a headman for the village, called uru goundan, who is subject to the authority of the nattu goundan. several nadus, each composed of a number of villages, are subject to a pattakar, who is assisted by a bandari. all these offices are hereditary. when a gangadikara girl reaches puberty, her maternal uncle, or his son, constructs a hut of stems of cocoanut leaves, reeds and branches of pongamia glabra. every day her relations bring her a cloth, fruits, and flowers. on alternate days she is bathed, and dressed in a cloth supplied by the washerwoman. the hut is broken up, and a new one constructed on the third, fifth, and seventh days. during the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom carries a dagger (katar) with a lime stuck on its tip, and partly covered with a cloth, when he proceeds to the bride's house with a bamboo, new clothes, the tali (marriage badge), jewels, wrist-thread (kankanam), fruits, cocoanuts, rice, and a new mat, camphor, etc. he must have the dagger with him till the wrist-threads are untied. the barber cuts the nails of the bridegroom. the pattakaran, or a brahman priest, takes round the tali to be blessed by those assembled, and gives it to the bridegroom, who ties it on the bride's neck. the ends of the cloths of the contracting couple, with betel leaves and areca nuts in them, are tied together, and they link together the little finger of their right hands. they then look at the sky, to see the pole-star, arundati, who was the wife of the ascetic vasishta, and the emblem of chastity. the marriage booth has four posts, and the milk-post is made of the milk hedge (euphorbia tirucalli), to which are tied mango leaves and a wrist-thread. at some okkiliyan marriages, the caste priest, called kanigara (soothsayer), officiates at the tali-tying ceremony. very great importance is attached to the linking of the fingers of the bridal couple by the kanigara or maternal uncle. the dowry is not given at the time of marriage, but only after the birth of a child. for her first confinement, the woman is taken to her parents' home, and, after delivery, is sent back to her husband with the dowry. this is not given before the birth of a child, as, in the event of failure of issue or death of his wife, the husband might claim the property, which might pass to a new family. among some okkiliyans the custom is maintained by which the father of a young boy married to a grown-up girl cohabits with his daughter-in-law until her husband has reached maturity. a dead person, i was informed at coimbatore, is buried in a sitting posture, or, if young and unmarried, in a recumbent position. as the funeral procession proceeds on its way to the burial-ground, the relations and friends throw coins, fruits, cakes, cooked rice, etc., on the road, to be picked up by poor people. if the funeral is in high life, they may even throw flowers made of gold or silver, but not images, as some of the higher classes do. at the south end of the grave, a hollow is scooped out for the head and back to rest in. a small quantity of salt is placed on the abdomen, and the grave is filled in. leaves of the arka plant (calotropis gigantea), or tangedu (cassia auriculata), are placed in three corners, and a stone is set up over the head. the son, having gone round the grave with a pot of water and a fire-brand, breaks the pot on the stone before he retires. the widow of the deceased breaks her bangles, and throws them on the grave. the son and other mourners bathe, and return home, where they worship a lighted lamp. on the third day, dried twigs of several species of ficus and jak tree (artocarpus integrifolia), milk, a new cloth, plantains, tender cocoanuts, cheroots, raw rice, betel, etc., required for worship, are taken to the grave. the twigs are burnt, and reduced to ashes, with which, mixed with water, the figure of a human being is made. it is covered with a new cloth, and flowers are thrown on it. puja is done to plantains, cocoanut, etc., placed on a plantain leaf, and milk is poured over the figure by relations and friends. the widow breaks her tali string, and throws it on the figure. the son, and the four bearers who carried the corpse to the grave, are shaved. each of the bearers is made to stand up, holding a pestle. the barber touches their shoulders with holy grass dipped in gingelly (sesamum) oil. raw rice, and other eatables, are sent to the houses of the bearers by the son of the deceased. at night the cloths, turban, and other personal effects of the dead man are worshipped. pollution is removed on the eleventh day by a brahman sprinkling holy water, and the caste people are fed. they perform sradh. by some okkiliyans, the corpse is, like that of a lingayat badaga, etc., carried to the burial-ground in a structure called teru kattu, made of a bamboo framework surmounted by a canopy, whereon are placed five brass vessels (kalasam). the structure is decorated with cloths, flags, and plantain trees. the morasu vakkaligas, who sacrifice their fingers, are dealt with separately (see morasu). olai.--a sub-division of palli, the members of which wear an ear ornament called olai. olaro.--a sub-division of gadaba. olekara.--see vilyakara. olikala (pyre and ashes).--an exogamous sept of devanga. omanaito.--the omanaitos or omaitos are an oriya cultivating caste, for the following account of which i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. according to a tradition, the ancestor of the caste was one amatya, a minister of sri rama at ayodhya. after rama had gone to heaven, there was no one to take care of them, and they took to agriculture. the caste is divided into two endogamous sections, called bodo (big) and sanno (little). the latter are regarded as illegitimate children of the former by a bottada, gaudo, or other woman. the bodo section is divided into septs, called sva (parrot), bhag (tiger), kochchimo (tortoise), naga (cobra), sila (stone), dhudho (milk), kumda (cucurbita maxima), and kukru (dog). the caste headman is called bhatha nayak, whose office is hereditary. he arranges council meetings for settling social questions, and takes a leading part in excommunicating members of the caste. like the gonds, the omanaitos cannot tolerate a man suffering from sores, and he is formally excommunicated. to be received back into the caste, he has to give a caste feast, of which the bhatha nayak is the first to partake. girls are married before or after puberty. a man claims his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. as soon as a young man's parents think it is time that he should get married, they set out, with some sweets and jaggery (crude sugar), for the house of the paternal aunt, where the hand of her daughter is asked for. a second visit of a similar nature is made later on, when the marriage is decided on. an auspicious day is fixed by the desari. a messenger is sent to the house of the bride-elect with some rice, three rupees, a sheep, and a new cloth, which are presented to her parents, who invite the bridegroom and his party to come on the appointed day. on that day, the bridegroom is conducted in procession, sometimes on horseback, to the bride's village. there, in front of her hut, a pandal (booth) has been constructed of eight posts of the sal tree (shorea robusta), and a central post of the ippa (bassia) tree, to which seven pieces of turmeric and seven mango leaves are tied. at the auspicious moment, the bridegroom is conducted in procession to the booth, and the messenger says aloud to the paternal aunt "the bridegroom has come. bring the bride quickly." she stands by the side of the bridegroom, and the desari links together their little fingers, while the women throw rice coloured with turmeric over them. water, which has been brought from the village stream at early morn, and coloured with turmeric, is poured over the couple from five pots. they then dress themselves in new cloths presented by their fathers-in-law. a feast is given by the bride's party. on the following day, the bride is conducted to the home of the bridegroom, at the entrance to which they are met by the bridegroom's mother, who sprinkles rice coloured with turmeric over them, and washes their feet with turmeric-water. liquor is then distributed, and a meal partaken of. the desari takes seven grains of rice and seven areca nuts and ties them up in the ends of the cloths of the contracting couple. on the following day, a feast is held, and, next day, the parties of the bride and bridegroom throw turmeric-water over each other. all then repair to the stream, and bathe. a feast follows, for which a sheep is killed. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, that in the course of an omanaito wedding there is a free fight, with mud for missiles. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and a younger brother may marry the widow of his elder brother. divorce is allowed, and divorcées may marry again. the omanaitos worship takurani and chamariya devata, as priest of whom a member of the caste officiates. an annual festival is held in the month of chaitro. the dead are burnt. pollution on account of a death in a family lasts for ten days, during which the caste occupation is not carried out, and the mourners are fed by people of another sept. on the eleventh day a feast is held, at which liquor is forbidden. the caste title, is usually nayako, but the more prosperous take the title patro. ondipuli.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as telugu-speaking cultivators and cattle-breeders in the salem district. the name is sometimes applied to the beggars attached to the palli caste. onnam parisha (first party).--a section of elayad. onne (pterocarpus marsupium).--an exogamous sept of toreyas, who are not allowed to mark their foreheads with the juice which exudes from the trunk of this tree. onteddu.--onteddu or onti-eddu is the name of a sub-division of ganigas or gandlas, who only use one bullock for their oil-mills. opoto.--opoto or apoto is the name of the palanquin-bearing section of gaudos. oppamtara.--a title conferred by the raja of cochin on some nayars. oppanakkaran (trader).--telugu traders and agriculturists. recorded as a sub-division of balija. oppomarango (achyranthes aspera).--an exogamous sept of bhondari, the members of which may not use the root as a tooth-brush. ore.--an honorific title of nayars. origabhakthudu (saluting devotee).--a class of mendicants, who are said to beg only from perikes. oriya.--oriya, or uriya, is a general term for those who speak the oriya language. at times of census, it has been recorded as a sub-division of various castes, e.g., sondi and dhobi. oruganti.--a sub-division of kapu and mutracha. orunul (one string).--a sub-division of marans, whose widows do not remarry. oshtama.--a corrupt form of the word vaishnava, applied to satanis, who are called by illiterate folk oishnamaru or oshtamaru. osta.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as the name of a caste of barbers for muhammadans. otattu (tile-makers).--an occupational name for nayars, who tile or thatch temples and brahman houses. ottaisekkan.--the name, indicating those who work their oil-mill with a single bullock, of a sub-division of vaniyan. ottikunda (empty pot).--an exogamous sept of kamma. p paccha (green).--an exogamous sept of kamma. the equivalent pacchai is a sub-division of tamil paraiyans, and of malaiyalis who have settled on the pacchaimalais (green hills). pacchi powaku (green tobacco) occurs as an exogamous sept of devanga. pacchai kutti is the name given to koravas who travel about the country as professional tattooers, the operation of tattooing being known as pricking with green. in like manner, pacchai botlu is the name for oddes, who are itinerant tattooers in the ganjam, vizagapatam, and godavari districts. pachilia.--a sub-division of oriya gaudos. pada (fighting).--a sub-division of nayar. padaharu madala (sixteen madalas).--the name, indicating the amount of the bride-price, of a section of upparas. a madala is equal to two rupees. some say that the name has reference to the modas, or heaps of earth, in which salt was formerly made. padaiyachi.--a synonym or title of palli or vanniyan, and savalakkaran. padal.--a title of headmen of the bagatas. padam.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. padamangalum or padamangalakkar is also recorded as a sub-division of nayars, who escort processions in temples. mr. n. subramani aiyar writes that "padamangalam and the tamil padam are recorded as a division of nayars, but they are said to be immigrants to travancore from the tamil country." padam also occurs as an exogamous sept of moosu kamma. padarti.--a title of pujaris (priests) in south canara, and a name by which stanikas are called. padavala (boat).--an exogamous sept of devanga. padiga raju.--recorded, in the madras census report, as the same as bhatrazu. the padiga rajulu are, however, beggars attached to the padma sales, and apparently distinct from bhatrazus. the name is probably derived from padiga, a kind of vessel, and may bear reference to the vessel which they carry with them on their begging expeditions. padma (lotus).--a sub-division of velama. padma sale.--the padma (lotus) sales are a telugu-speaking caste of weavers, who are scattered all over the madras presidency. the majority are engaged in their hereditary occupation, but only the minority possess looms of their own, and they work, for the most part, for the more prosperous owners of hand-looms. as a class they are poor, being addicted to strong drinks, and in the hands of the money-lenders, who take care that their customers always remain in debt to them. like the kaikolans, the padma sales weave the coarser kinds of cotton cloths, and cannot compete with the patnulkarans and khatres in the manufacture of the finer kinds. the padma sales have only one gotra, markandeya. but, like other telugu castes, they have a number of exogamous septs or intiperus, of which the following are examples:-bandari, treasurer. bomma, an idol. canji, gruel. chinthaginjala, tamarind seeds. gorantla, lawsonia alba. jinka, gazelle. kalava, ditch. kasulu, copper coins. kongara, crane. kadavala, pots. manchi, good. nili, indigo. nukalu, flour of grain or pulse. nyayam, justice. utla, rope for hanging pots. pothu, male. paththi, cotton. putta, ant-hill. thelu, scorpion. tangedla, cassia auriculata. tumma, acacia arabica. avari, indigo plant. chinnam, gold? gurram, horse. geddam, beard. kota, fort. meda, raised mound middala, storeyed house. mamidla, mango. narala, nerves. pula, flowers. sadhu, quiet or meek. the padma sales profess to be vaishnavites, but some are saivites. all the families of the exogamous sept sadhu are said to be lingam-wearing saivites. in addition to their house-god venkateswara, they worship pulikondla rangaswami, maremma, durgamma, narasappa, sunkalamma, urukundhi viranna, gangamma, kinkiniamma, mutyalamma, kalelamma, ankamma, and padvetiamma. their caste deity is bhavana rishi, to whom, in some places, a special temple is dedicated. a festival in honour of this deity is celebrated annually, during which the god and goddess are represented by two decorated pots placed on a model of a tiger (vyagra vahanam), to which, on the last day of the ceremonial, large quantities of rice and vegetables are offered, which are distributed among the loom-owners, pujari, headman, fasting celebrants, etc. the padma sales belong to the right-hand, and the devangas to the left-hand faction, and the latter aver that the padma sales took away the body of the goddess chaudeswari, leaving them the head. three kinds of beggars are attached to the padma sales, viz., sadhana surulu, padiga rajulu or koonapilli vandlu, and inaka-mukku bhatrazus. concerning the sadhana surulu, buchanan writes as follows. [184] "the vaishnavite section of the samay sale is called padma sale. the whole shalay formerly wore the linga, but, a house having been possessed by a devil, and this sect having been called on to cast him out, all their prayers were of no avail. at length ten persons, having thrown aside their linga, and offered up their supplications to vishnu, they succeeded in expelling the enemy, and ever afterwards they followed the worship of this god, in which they have been initiated by their brethren. the descendants of these men, who are called sadana asholu (sadana surulu), or the celebrated heroes, never work, and, having dedicated themselves to god, live upon the charity of the industrious part of the caste, with whom they disdain to marry." the padiga rajulu are supposed to be the descendants of three persons, adigadu, padigadu and baludu, who sprang from the sweat of bhavana rishi, and the following legend is current concerning the origin of the padma sales and padiga rajulu. at the creation of the world, men were naked, and one markandeya, who was sixteen years old, was asked to weave cloths. to enable him to do so, he did thapas (penance), and from the sacred fire arose bhavana rishi, bearing a bundle of thread obtained from the lotus which sprang from vishnu's navel. bhavana rishi made cloths, and presented them to the devatas, and offered a cloth to bhairava also. this he refused to accept, as it was the last, and not the first, which is usually rolled up, and kept on the loom. finding it unsuitable for wearing, bhairava uttered a curse that the cloths made should wear out in six months. accordingly, siva asked bhavana to procure him a tiger's skin for wearing. narada came to the assistance of bhavana, and told him to go to udayagiri, where bhadravati, the daughter of surya, was doing penance to secure bhavana as her husband. she promised to secure a skin, if he would marry her. to this he consented, and, in due course, received the tiger's skin. making the tiger his vahanam (vehicle), he proceeded to the abode of siva (kailasam), and on his way thither met a rakshasa, whom he killed in a fight, in the course of which he sweated profusely. from the sweat proceeded adigadu, padigadu, and baludu. when he eventually reached siva, the tiger, on the sacred ashes being thrown over it, cast its skin, which siva appropriated. in consequence of this legend, tigers are held in reverence by the padma sales, who believe that they will not molest them. the legendary origin of the padma sales is given as follows in the baramahal records. [185] "in former days, the other sects of weavers used annually to present a piece of cloth to a rishi or saint, named markandeyulu. one year they omitted to make their offering at the customary period, which neglect enraged the rishi, who performed a yaga or sacrifice of fire, and, by the power of mantras or prayers, he caused a man to spring up out of the fire of the sacrifice, and called him padma saliwarlu, and directed him to weave a piece of cloth for his use. this he did, and presented it to the rishi, saying 'oh! swami, who is thy servant to worship, and how is he to obtain moksham or admittance to the presence of the supreme?' the rishi answered 'pay adoration to me, and thou wilt obtain moksham.'" the office of headman (setti or gaudu) is hereditary. the headman has under him an assistant, called ummidi setti or ganumukhi, who is the caste messenger, and is exempt from the various subscriptions for temple festivals, etc. when a girl reaches puberty, she is forbidden to eat meat or amarantus during the period of ceremonial pollution. in settling the preliminaries of a marriage, a brahman purohit takes part. with some padma sales it is etiquette not to give direct answers when a marriage is being fixed up. for example, those who have come to seek the hand of a girl say "we have come for a sumptuous meal," to which the girl's parents, if consenting to the match, will reply "we are ready to feed you. you are our near relations." the marriage rites are a blend of the canarese and telugu types. in the ceded districts, the bride is conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, seated on a bull, after worship has been done to hanuman. as she enters the house, a cocoanut is waved, and thrown on the ground. she then bathes in an enclosure with four posts, round which cotton thread has been wound nine times. wrist-threads of cotton and wool are tied on the bride and bridegroom. the bottu (marriage badge) is tied round the bride's neck, and she stands on a pile of cholum (sorghum vulgare: millet) on the floor or in a basket. the bridegroom stands on a mill-stone. while the bottu is being tied, a screen is interposed between the contracting couple. the bride's nose-screw ornament is dropped into a plate of milk, from which she has to pick it out five times. towards evening, the bridal couple go in procession through the streets, and to the temple, if there is one. on their return to the house, the bridegroom picks up the bride, and dances for a short time before entering. this ceremony is called dega-ata, and is performed by several telugu castes. some padma sales bury their dead in the usual manner, others, like the lingayats, in a sitting posture. it is customary, in some places, to offer up a fowl to the corpse before it is removed from the house, and, if a death occurs on a saturday or sunday, a fowl is tied to the bier, and burnt with the corpse. this is done in the belief that otherwise another death would very soon take place. the tamilians, in like manner, have a proverb "a saturday corpse will not go alone." on the way to the burial-ground, the corpse is laid down, and water poured into the mouth. the son takes a pot of water round the grave, and holes are made in it by the ummidi setti, through which the water trickles out. on the fifth day, a sheep is killed, and eaten. during the evening the satani comes, and, after doing puja (worship), gives the relatives of the deceased sacred arrack (liquor) in lieu of holy water (thirtham) and meat, for which he receives payment. on the last day of the death ceremonies (karmandiram), the satani again comes with arrack, and, according to a note before me, all get drunk. (see sale.) pagadala (trader in coral).--a sub-division or exogamous sept of balija and kavarai. the pagadala balijas of the vizagapatam district are described as dealing in coral and pearls. pagada mukara (coral nose-ring) has been returned as a sub-division of kamma. pagati vesham.--a class of telugu beggars, who put on disguises (vesham) while begging. [186] at the annual festival at tirupati in honour of the goddess gangamma, custom requires the people to appear in a different disguise every morning and evening. these disguises include those of a bairagi, serpent, etc. [187] paguththan.--a title of sembadavan. paida (gold or money).--an exogamous sept of mala. the equivalent paidam occurs as an exogamous sept of devanga. paidi--the paidis are summed up, in the madras census report, 1891, as "a class of agricultural labourers and weavers, found in the vizagapatam district. some of them are employed as servants and village watchmen. they are closely akin to the panos and dombos of the hills, and malas of the plains. they speak a corrupt dialect of uriya." in the census report, 1901, kangara (servant) is recorded as a synonym for paidi. for the following note on the paidis of the vizagapatam district, i am mainly indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. there is a great deal of confusion concerning this caste, and the general impression seems to be that it is the same as domb and pano. i am informed that the same man would be called paidi by telugus, domb by the savaras, and pano by the konds. in the interior of the jeypore agency tracts the dombs and paidis both repudiate the suggestion that they are connected with each other. the paidis, in some places, claim to belong to the valmiki kulam, and to be descended from valmiki, the author of the ramayana. a similar descent, it may be noted, is claimed by the boyas. in the vizagapatam manual, the paidimalalu or paidi malas (hill malas) are described as cultivating land, serving as servants and village watchmen, and spinning cotton. it is said that they will not eat food, which has been seen by komatis. the paidis stoutly deny their connection with the malas. when a paidi girl reaches puberty, she is kept under pollution for a varying number of days, and, on the last day, a madiga is summoned, who cuts her finger and toe nails, after which she bathes. girls are married either before or after puberty. the menarikam custom is in force, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter. if he does so, the bride-price (voli) is fixed at five rupees; otherwise it is ten rupees. the marriage ceremonies last over four days, and are of the low-country telugu type. the remarriage of widows and divorce are permitted. the paidis are vaishnavites, and sing songs in praise of rama during the month karthika (november-december). each family feeds a few of the castemen at least once during that month. they also observe the sankramanam festival, at which they usually wear new clothes. the dead are either burnt or buried, and the chinna (small) and pedda rozu (big day) death ceremonies are observed. some paidis are cultivators, but a large number are prosperous traders, buying up the hill produce, and bringing it to the low-country, where it is sold at markets. their children study english in the hill schools. the caste titles are anna and ayya. some time ago some prisoners, who called themselves billaikavu (cat-eaters), were confined in the vizagapatam jail. i am informed that these people are mala paidis, who eat cat flesh. the following note refers to the paidis who live in the southern part of ganjam. some have settled as watchmen, or in other capacities, among the savaras, whose language they speak in addition to their own. in their marriage ceremonies, they conform to the telugu type, with certain variations adopted from the oriya ceremonial. on the first day, a pandal (booth) is set up, and supported on twelve posts. a feast is given to males during the day, and to females at night. like the oriya dandasis, they bring water from seven houses of members of castes superior to their own. the auspicious time for tying the pushte (gold marriage badge) on the following day is fixed so as to fall during the night. at the appointed time, the bridegroom rushes into the house of the bride, and the contracting couple throw rice over each other. taking the bride by the hand, the bridegroom conducts her to the pandal, wherein they take their seats on the dais. the bride should be seated before the bridegroom, and there is a mock struggle to prevent this, and to secure first place for the bridegroom. he then ties a mokkuto (chaplet) on the bride's forehead, a thread on her wrist, and the pushte on her neck. after this has been done, the couple bathe with the water already referred to, and once more come to the dais, where a small quantity of rice, sufficient to fill a measure called adda, is placed before them. some amusement is derived from the bride abstracting a portion of the rice, so that, when the bridegroom measures it, there is less than there should be. the marriage ceremonies conclude on the third day with offerings to ancestors, and distribution of presents to the newly married couple. the death ceremonies are based on the oriya type. on the day after death, the funeral pyre is extinguished, and the ashes are thrown on to a tree or an ant-hill. as they are being borne thither, the priest asks the man who carries them what has become of the dead person, and he is expected to reply that he has gone to kasi (benares) or jagannatham. a cloth is spread on the spot where the corpse was burnt, and offerings of food are placed on it. on the fourth day, a pig is killed and cooked. before being cooked, one of the legs is hung up near the spot where the deceased breathed his last. death pollution is got rid of by touching oil and turmeric, and the ceremonies conclude with a feast. an annual offering of food is made, in the month of november, to ancestors, unless a death takes place in the family during this month. the ganjam paidis worship the takuranis (village deities), and sacrifice goats and sheep at local temples. as they are a polluting caste, they stand at a distance opposite the entrance to the temple, and, before they retire, take a pinch or two of earth. this, on their return home, they place on a cloth spread on a spot which has been cleansed, and set before it the various articles which have been prepared as offerings to the takurani. when a paidi is seriously ill, a male or female sorcerer (bejjo or bejjano) is consulted. a square, divided into sixteen compartments, is drawn on the floor with rice-flour. in each compartment are placed a leaf, cup of butea frondosa, a quarter-anna piece, and some food. seven small bows and arrows are set up in front thereof in two lines. on one side of the square a big cup, filled with food, is placed. a fowl is sacrificed, and its blood poured thrice round this cup. then, placing water in a vessel near the cup, the sorcerer or sorceress throws into it a grain of rice, giving out at the same time the name of some god or goddess. if the rice sinks, it is believed that the illness is caused by the anger of the deity, whose name has been mentioned. if the rice floats, the names of various deities are called out, until a grain sinks. it is recorded [188] that, in the parvatipur country of the vizagapatam district, "the paidis (paidi malas) do most of the crime, and often commit dacoities on the roads. like the konda doras, they have induced some of the people to employ watchmen of their caste as the price of immunity from theft. they are connected with the dombus of the rayagada and gunupur taluks, who are even worse." paik.--it is noted by yule and burnell, [189] under the heading pyke or paik, that "wilson gives only one original of the term so expressed in anglo-indian speech. he writes 'paik or payik, corruptly pyke, hind., etc. (from s. padatika), paik or payak, mar., a footman, an armed attendant, an inferior police and revenue officer, a messenger, a courier, a village watchman. in cuttack the paiks formerly constituted a local militia, holding land of the zamindars or rajas by the tenure of military service.' but it seems clear to us that there are here two terms rolled together: (a) pers. paik, a foot-runner or courier; (b) hind. paik and payik (also mahr.) from skt. padatika, and padika, a foot-soldier." in the madras census report, 1891, paiko is defined as "rather an occupational than a caste name. it means a foot-soldier, and is used to denote the retainers of the uriya chiefs of ganjam and vizagapatam. these men were granted lands on feudal tenure, and belonged to various castes. they are now ordinary agriculturists. some are employed in the police, and as peons in the various public departments." in the records relating to human sacrifice and infanticide, 1854, the paiks are referred to as matchlock men, by whom the konds and gonds are kept in abject servitude. in the vizagapatam manual, 1869, various castes are referred to as being "all paiks or fighting men. formerly they were a very numerous body, but their numbers are much diminished now, that is as fighting men, for the old army used to be paid, some in money, and some in grants of land. now there are very few paiks kept up as fighting men; those discharged from service have taken to trading with the coast, and to cultivating their pieces of land. the fort at kotapad on the bustar frontier always had a standing garrison of several hundred paiks. they are gradually being disbanded since we have put police there. the men are a fine race, brave, and capital shots with the matchlock." paiko has been recorded, at times of census, as a synonym or sub-division of rona. and paikarayi occurs as a title of badhoyis. paiki.--a division of toda. pailman.--pailman or pailwan has been described [190] as "an occupational term meaning a wrestler, used by all classes following the occupation, whether they are hindus or musalmans. the hindus among them are usually gollas or jettis." in the telugu country, the pailmans wrestle, and perform various mountebank, conjuring, and juggling feats. a wandering troupe of maratha pailwans performed before me various stick-exercises, acrobatic and contortionist feats, and balancing feats on a bamboo pole supported in the kamerband (belly-band) of a veteran member of the troupe. the performance wound up with gymnastics on a lofty pole kept erect by means of ropes tied to casual trees and tent-pegs, and surmounted by a pliant bamboo, on which the performer swung and balanced himself while playing a drum, or supporting a pile of earthen pots surmounted by a brass vessel on his head. the entertainment took place amid the music of drum and clarionet, and the patter of one of the troupe, the performers playing the drum in the waits between their turns. painda.--a synonym of paidi. pakanati (eastern territory).--a sub-division of various telugu classes, e.g., balija, golla, kamsala, kapu, mala, and tsakala. paki.--recorded by the rev. j. cain [191] as a sweeper caste in the godavari district, members of which have come from the neighbourhood of vizagapatam, and are great sticklers for their caste rules. pakinadu.--a territorial sub-division of kamsalas and other telugu castes, corresponding to pakanati. pakirithi.--pakirithi or parigiri, meaning vaishnavite, is a sub-division of besthas, who, on ceremonial occasions, wear the vaishnava sect mark. pal (milk).--pal or pala has been recorded as a sub-division of idaiyan and kurumba, and an exogamous sept of mala. (see halu.) palakala (planks).--an exogamous sept of kamma. palamala.--palama is recorded as a sub-division of the kanikars of travancore and palamalathillom, said to denote the mountain with trees with milky juice, as an exogamous sept of the same tribe. palavili.--a gotra of gollas, who are not allowed to erect palavili, or small booths inside the house for the purpose of worship. palayakkaran.--see mutracha. paligiri.--a sub-division of mutracha. palissa (shield) kollan.--a class of kollans in malabar, who make leather shields. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that, at the tali-kettu ceremony, "the girl and manavalan (bridegroom) go to the tank on the last day of the ceremony. the girl, standing in the tank, ducks her whole body under water thrice. as she does so for the third time, a pandibali or triangular platter made of cocoanut fronds and pieces of plantain stem and leaf plaited together and adorned with five lighted wicks, is thrown over her into the water, and cut in half as it floats by an enangan, who sings a song called kalikkakam. lastly, the girl chops in two a cocoanut placed on the bank. she aims two blows at it, and failure to sever it with a third is considered inauspicious. among palissa kollans and some other castes, the lucky dip ceremony is performed on the last day (called nalam kalyanam or fourth marriage). an enangan, drawing out the packets at random, distributes them to the manavalan, the girl, and himself in turn. it is lucky for the manavalan to get the gold, and the girl the silver. a significant finish to the ceremony in the form of a symbolical divorce is not infrequent in south malabar at all events. thus, among the palissa kollans the manavalan takes a piece of thread from his mundu (cloth), and gives it, saying 'here is your sister's accharam' to the girl's brother, who breaks it in two and puffs it towards him. in other cases, the manavalan gives the girl a cloth on the first day, and cuts it in two, giving her one half on the last; or the manavalan and an enangan of the girl hold opposite ends of a cloth, which the manavalan cuts and tears in two, and then gives both pieces to the girl." paliyans of madura and tinnevelly. in a note on the malai (hill) paliyans of the madura district, the rev. j. e. tracy writes as follows. "i went to their village at the foot of the periyar hills, and can testify to their being the most abject, hopeless, and unpromising specimens of humanity that i have ever seen. there were about forty of them in the little settlement, which was situated in a lovely spot. a stream of pure water was flowing within a few feet of their huts, and yet they were as foul and filthy in their personal appearance as if they were mere animals, and very unclean ones. rich land that produced a luxuriant crop of rank reeds was all around them, and, with a little exertion on their part, might have been abundantly irrigated, and produced continuous crops of grain. yet they lived entirely on nuts and roots, and various kinds of gum that they gathered in the forest on the slopes of the hills above their settlement. only two of the community had ever been more than seven miles away from their village into the open country below them. their huts were built entirely of grass, and consisted of only one room each, and that open at the ends. the chief man of the community was an old man with white hair. his distinctive privilege was that he was allowed to sleep between two fires at night, while no one else was allowed to have but one--a distinction that they were very complaisant about, perhaps because with the distinction was the accompanying obligation to see that the community's fire never went out. as he was also the only man in the community who was allowed to have two wives, i inferred that he delegated to them the privilege of looking after the fires, while he did the sleeping, whereas, in other families, the man and wife had to take turn and turn about to see that the fire had not to be re-lighted in the morning. they were as ignorant as they were filthy. they had no place of worship, but seemed to agree that the demons of the forest around them were the only beings that they had to fear besides the forest department. they were barely clothed, their rags being held about them, in one or two cases, with girdles of twisted grass. they had much the same appearance that many a famine subject presented in the famine of 1877, but they seemed to have had no better times to look back upon, and hence took their condition as a matter of course. the forest had been their home from time immemorial. yet the forest seemed to have taught them nothing more than it might have been supposed to have taught the prowling jackal or the laughing hyæna. there were no domesticated animals about their place: strange to say, not even a pariah dog. they appeared to have no idea of hunting, any more than they had of agriculture. and, as for any ideas of the beauty or solemnity of the place that they had selected as their village site, they were as innocent of such things as they were of the beauties of robert browning's verse." in a note written in 1817, mr. t. turnbull states that the madura pulliers "are never seen unless when they come down to travellers to crave a piece of tobacco or a rag of cloth, for which they have a great predilection. the women are said to lay their infants on warm ashes after delivery, as a substitute for warm clothing and beds." the palayans, or pulleer, are described by general burton [192] as "good trackers, and many of them carried bows and arrows, and a few even possessed matchlocks. i met one of these villagers going out on a sporting excursion. he had on his head a great chatty (earthen pot) full of water, and an old brass-bound matchlock. it was the height of the dry season. he was taking water to a hollow in a rock, which he kept carefully replenished, and then ensconced himself in a clump of bushes hard by, and waited all day, if necessary, with true native patience, for hog, deer, or pea-fowl to approach his ambush." in the madura manual, it is noted that "the poleiyans have always been the prædial slaves of the kunuvans. according to the survey account, they are the aborigines of the palni hills. the marriage ceremony consists merely of a declaration of consent made by both parties at a feast, to which all their relatives are invited. as soon as a case of small-pox occurs in one of their villages, a cordon is drawn round it, and access to other villages is denied to all the inhabitants of the infected locality, who at once desert their homes, and camp out for a sufficiently long period. the individual attacked is left to his fate, and no medicine is exhibited to him, as it is supposed that the malady is brought on solely by the just displeasure of the gods. they bury their dead." the paliyans are described, in the gazetteer of the madura district, as a "very backward caste, who reside in small scattered parties amid the jungles of the upper palnis and the varushanad valley. they speak tamil with a peculiar intonation, which renders it scarcely intelligible. they are much less civilised than the pulaiyans, but do not eat beef, and consequently carry no pollution. they sometimes build themselves grass huts, but often they live on platforms up trees, in caves, or under rocks. their clothes are of the scantiest and dirtiest, and are sometimes eked out with grass or leaves. they live upon roots (yams), leaves, and honey. they cook the roots by putting them into a pit in the ground, heaping wood upon them, and lighting it. the fire is usually kept burning all night as a protection against wild beasts, and it is often the only sign of the presence of the paliyans in a jungle, for they are shy folk, who avoid other people. they make fire with quartz and steel, using the floss of the silk-cotton tree as tinder. weddings are conducted without ceremonies, the understanding being that the man shall collect food and the woman cook it. when one of them dies, the rest leave the body as it is, and avoid the spot for some months. a detailed account of the paliyans of the palni hills by the rev. f. dahmen has recently been published, [193] to which i am indebted for the following information. "the paliyans are a nomadic tribe, who for the most part rove in small parties through the jungle-clad gorges that fringe the upper palnis plateau. there they maintain themselves mostly on the products of the chase and on roots (yams, etc.), leaves and wild fruits (e.g., of the wild date tree), at times also by hiring their labour to the kunnuvan or mannadi villagers. the find of a bee-hive in the hollow of some tree is a veritable feast for them. no sooner have they smoked the bees out than they greedily snatch at the combs, and ravenously devour them on the spot, with wax, grubs, and all. against ailments the paliyans have their own remedies: in fact, some paliyans have made a name for themselves by their knowledge of the medicinal properties of herbs and roots. thus, for instance, they make from certain roots (periya uri katti ver) a white powder known as a very effective purgative. against snake-bite they always carry with them certain leaves (naru valli ver), which they hold to be a very efficient antidote. as soon as one of them is bitten, he chews these, and also applies them to the wound. patience and cunning above all are required in their hunting-methods. one of their devices, used for big game, e.g., against the sambar (deer), or against the boar, consists in digging pitfalls, carefully covered up with twigs and leaves. on the animal being entrapped, it is dispatched with clubs or the aruval (sickle). another means consists in arranging a heap of big stones on a kind of platform, one end of which is made to rest on higher ground, the other skilfully equipoised by a stick resting on a fork, where it remains fixed by means of strong twine so disposed that the least movement makes the lever-like stick on the fork fly off, while the platform and the stones come rapidly down with a crash. the string which secures the lever is so arranged as to unloose itself at the least touch, and the intended victim can hardly taste the food that serves for bait without bringing the platform with all its weight down upon itself. similar traps, but on a smaller scale, are used to catch smaller animals: hares, wild fowl, etc. flying squirrels are smoked out of the hollows of trees, and porcupines out of their burrows, and then captured or clubbed to death on their coming out. the first drops of blood of any animal the paliyans kill are offered to their god. a good catch is a great boon for the famished paliyan. the meat obtained therefrom must be divided between all the families of the settlement. the skins, if valuable, are preserved to barter for the little commodities they may stand in need of, or to give as a tribute to their chief. one of their methods for procuring fish consists in throwing the leaves of a creeper called in tamil karungakodi, after rubbing them, into the water. soon the fish is seen floating on the surface. rough fashioned hooks are also used. when not engaged on some expedition, or not working for hire, the paliyans at times occupy themselves in the fabrication of small bird-cages, or in weaving a rough kind of mat, or in basket-making. the small nicknacks they turn out are made according to rather ingenious patterns, and partly coloured with red and green vegetable dyes. these, with the skins of animals, and the odoriferous resin collected from the dammer tree, are about the only articles which they barter or sell to the inhabitants of the plains, or to the mannadis." concerning the religion and superstitions of the paliyans, the rev. f. dahmen writes as follows. "the principal religious ceremony takes place about the beginning of march. mayandi (the god) is usually represented by a stone, preferably one to which nature has given some curious shape, the serpent form being especially valued. i said 'represented,' for, according to our paliyans, the stone itself is not the god, who is supposed to live somewhere, they do not exactly know where. the stone that represents him has its shrine at the foot of a tree, or is simply sheltered by a small thatched covering. there, on the appointed day, the paliyans gather before sunrise. fire is made in a hole in front of the sacred stone, a fine cock brought in, decapitated amidst the music of horn and drum and the blood made to drip on the fire. the head of the fowl ought to be severed at one blow, as this is a sign of the satisfaction of the god for the past, and of further protection for the future. should the head still hang, this would be held a bad omen, foreboding calamities for the year ensuing. the instrument used in this sacred operation is the aruval, but the sacrificial aruval cannot be used but for this holy purpose. powers of witchcraft and magic are attributed to the paliyans by other castes, and probably believed in by themselves. the following device adopted by them to protect themselves from the attacks of wild animals, the panther in particular, may be given as an illustration. four jackals' tails are planted in four different spots, chosen so as to include the area within which they wish to be safe from the claws of the brute. this is deemed protection enough: though panthers should enter the magic square, they could do the paliyans no harm; their mouths are locked." it is noted by the rev. f. dahmen that paliyans sometimes go on a pilgrimage to the hindu shrine of subrahmaniyam at palni. writing concerning the paliyans who live on the travancore frontier near shenkotta, mr. g. f. d'penha states [194] that they account for their origin by saying that, at some very remote period, an eluvan took refuge during a famine in the hills, and there took to wife a palliyar woman, and that the palliyars are descended from these two. "the palliyar," he continues, "is just a shade lower than the eluvan. he is permitted to enter the houses of eluvans, elavanians (betel-growers), and even of maravars, and in the hills, where the rigour of the social code is relaxed to suit circumstances, the higher castes mentioned will even drink water given by palliyars, and eat roots cooked by them. the palliyars regard sylvan deities with great veneration. kurupuswami is the tribe's tutelary god, and, when a great haul of wild honey is made, offerings are given at some shrine. they pretend to be followers of siva, and always attend the adi amavasai ceremonies at courtallum. the palliyar cultivates nothing, not even a sweet potato. he keeps no animal, except a stray dog or two. an axe, a knife, and a pot are all the impedimenta he carries. an expert honey-hunter, he will risk his neck climbing lofty precipices or precipitous cliffs. a species of sago-palm furnishes him with a glairy glutinous fluid on which he thrives, and such small animals as the iguana (varanus), the tortoise, and the larvae of hives are never-failing luxuries." the paliyans, whom i investigated in north tinnevelly, were living in the jungles near the base of the mountains, in small isolated communities separated from each other by a distance of several miles. they speak tamil with a peculiar intonation, which recalls to mind the irulas. they are wholly illiterate, and only a few can count up to ten. a woman has been known to forget her own name. at a marriage, the father, taking the hand of the bride, and putting it into that of the bridegroom, says "i give this girl to you. give her roots and leaves, and protect her." the value of a bride or bridegroom depends very much on the quantity of roots, etc., which he or she can collect. when a widow does not remarry, the males of the community supply her with roots and other products of the jungle. marriages are, as a rule, contracted within the settlement, and complications occasionally occur owing to the absence of a girl of suitable age for a young man. indeed, in one settlement i came across two brothers, who had for this reason resorted to the adelphous form of polyandry. it would be interesting to note hereafter if this custom, thus casually introduced, becomes established in the tribe. as an exception to the rule of marriage within the settlement, it was noted that a party of paliyans had wandered from the gandamanaikanur forests to the jungle of ayanarkoil, and there intermarried with the members of the local tribe, with which they became incorporated. the paliyans admit members of other castes into their ranks. a case was narrated to me, in which a maravan cohabited for some time with a paliya woman, who bore children by him. in this way is the purity of type among the jungle tribes lost as the result of civilisation, and their nasal index reduced from platyrhine to mesorhine dimensions. the tinnevelly paliyans say that valli, the wife of the god subramaniya, was a paliyan woman. as they carry no pollution, they are sometimes employed, in return for food, as night watchmen at the vaishnavite temple known as azhagar koil at the base of the hills. they collect for the forest department minor produce in the form of root-bark of ventilago madraspatana and anisochilus carnosus, the fruit of terminalia chebula (myrabolams), honey, bees-wax, etc., which are handed over to a contractor in exchange for rice, tobacco, betel leaves and nuts, chillies, tamarinds and salt. the food thus earned as wages is supplemented by yams (tubers of dioscorea) and roots, which are dug up with a digging-stick, and forest fruits. they implicitly obey the contractor, and it was mainly through his influence that i was enabled to interview them, and measure their bodies, in return for a banquet, whereof they partook seated on the grass in two semicircles, the men in front and women in the rear, and eating off teak leaf plates piled high with rice and vegetables. though the prodigious mass of food provided was greedily devoured till considerable abdominal distension was visible, dissatisfaction was expressed because it included no meat (mutton), and i had not brought new loin-cloths for them. they laughed, however, when i expressed a hope that they would abandon their dirty cloths, turkey-red turbans and european bead necklaces, and revert to the primitive leafy garment of their forbears. a struggle ensued for the limited supply of sandal paste, with which a group of men smeared their bodies, in imitation of the higher classes, before they were photographed. a feast given to the paliyans by some missionaries was marred at the outset by the unfortunate circumstance that betel and tobacco were placed by the side of the food, these articles being of evil omen as they are placed in the grave with the dead. a question whether they eat beef produced marked displeasure, and even roused an apathetic old woman to grunt "your other questions are fair. you have no right to ask that." if a paliyan happens to come across the carcase of a cow or buffalo near a stream, it is abandoned, and not approached for a long time. leather they absolutely refuse to touch, and one of them declined to carry my camera box, because he detected that it had a leather strap. they make fire with a quartz strike-a-light and steel and the floss of the silk-cotton tree (bombax malabaricum). they have no means of catching or killing animals, birds, or fish with nets, traps, or weapons, but, if they come across the carcase of a goat or deer in the forest, they will roast and eat it. they catch "vermin" (presumably field rats) by smoking them out of their holes, or digging them out with their digging-sticks. crabs are caught for eating by children, by letting a string with a piece of cloth tied to the end down the hole, and lifting it out thereof when the crab seizes hold of the cloth with its claws. of wild beasts they are not afraid, and scare them away by screaming, clapping the hands, and rolling down stones into the valleys. i saw one man, who had been badly mauled by a tiger on the buttock and thigh when he was asleep with his wife and child in a cave. during the dry season they live in natural caves and crevices in rocks, but, if these leak during the rains, they erect a rough shed with the floor raised on poles off the ground, and sloping grass roof, beneath which a fire is kept burning at night, not only for warmth, but also to keep off wild beasts. they are expert at making rapidly improvised shelters at the base of hollow trees by cutting away the wood on one side with a bill-hook. thus protected, they were quite snug and happy during a heavy shower, while we were miserable amid the drippings from an umbrella and a mango tree. savari is a common name among the tinnevelly paliyans as among other tamils. it is said to be a corruption of xavier, but savari or sabari are recognised names of siva and parvati. there is a temple called savarimalayan on the travancore boundary, whereat the festival takes place at the same time as the festival in honour of st. xavier among roman catholics. the women are very timid in the presence of europeans, and suffer further from hippophobia; the sight of a horse, which they say is as tall as a mountain, like an elephant, producing a regular stampede into the depths of the jungle. they carry their babies slung in a cloth on the back, and not astride the hips according to the common practice of the plains. the position, in confinement, is to sit on a rock with legs dependent. many of these paliyans suffer from jungle fever, as a protection against which they wear a piece of turmeric tied round the neck. the dead are buried, and a stone is placed on the grave, which is never re-visited. like other primitive tribes, the paliyans are short of stature and dolichocephalic, and the archaic type of nose persists in some individuals. average height 150.9 cm. nasal index 83 (max. 100). pallan.--the pallans are "a class of agricultural labourers found chiefly in tanjore, trichinopoly, madura and tinnevelly. they are also fairly numerous in parts of salem and coimbatore, but in the remaining tamil districts they are found only in very small numbers." [195] the name is said to be derived from pallam, a pit, as they were standing on low ground when the castes were originally formed. it is further suggested that the name may be connected with the wet cultivation, at which they are experts, and which is always carried out on low ground. in the manual of the madura district (1868), the pallans are described as "a very numerous, but a most abject and despised race, little, if indeed at all, superior to the paraiyas. their principal occupation is ploughing the lands of more fortunate tamils, and, though nominally free, they are usually slaves in almost every sense of the word, earning by the ceaseless sweat of their brow a bare handful of grain to stay the pangs of hunger, and a rag with which to partly cover their nakedness. they are to be found in almost every village, toiling and moiling for the benefit of vellalans and others, and with the paraiyas doing patiently nearly all the hard and dirty work that has to be done. personal contact with them is avoided by all respectable men, and they are never permitted to dwell within the limits of a village nattam. their huts form a small detached hamlet, the pallacheri, removed from a considerable distance from the houses of the respectable inhabitants, and barely separated from that of the paraiyas, the parei-cheri. the pallans are said by some to have sprung from the intercourse of a sudra and a brahman woman. others say devendra created them for the purpose of labouring in behalf of vellalans. whatever may have been their origin, it seems to be tolerably certain that in ancient times they were the slaves of the vellalans, and regarded by them merely as chattels, and that they were brought by the vellalans into the pandya-mandala." some pallans say that they are, like the kallans, of the lineage of indra, and that their brides wear a wreath of flowers in token thereof. they consider themselves superior to paraiyans and chakkiliyans, as they do not eat beef. it is stated in the manual of tanjore (1883) that the "pallan and paraiya are rival castes, each claiming superiority over the other; and a deadly and never-ending conflict in the matter of caste privileges exists between them. they are prædial labourers, and are employed exclusively in the cultivation of paddy (rice) lands. their women are considered to be particularly skilled in planting and weeding, and, in most parts of the delta, they alone are employed in those operations. the palla women expose their body above the waist--a distinctive mark of their primitive condition of slavery, of which, however, no trace now exists." it is noted by mr. g. t. mackenzie [196] that "in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the female converts to christianity in the extreme south ventured, contrary to the old rules for the lower castes, to clothe themselves above the waist. this innovation was made the occasion for threats, violence, and a series of disturbances. similar disturbances arose from the same cause nearly thirty years later, and, in 1859, sir charles trevelyan, governor of madras, interfered, and granted permission to the women of lower caste to wear a cloth over the breasts and shoulders." in connection with disputes between the right-hand and left-hand factions, it is stated [197] that "whatever the origin of the factions, feeling still runs very high, especially between the pallans and the paraiyans. the violent scenes which occurred in days gone by [198] no longer occur, but quarrels occur when questions of precedence arise (as when holy food is distributed at festivals to the village goddesses), or if a man of one faction takes a procession down a street inhabited chiefly by members of the other. in former times, members of the opposite faction would not live in the same street, and traces of this feeling are still observable. formerly also the members of one faction would not salute those of the other, however much their superiors in station; and the menials employed at funerals (paraiyans, etc.) would not salute the funeral party if it belonged to the rival faction." in the coimbatore manual it is noted that "the pallan has in all times been a serf, labouring in the low wet lands (pallam) for his masters, the brahmans and goundans. the pallan is a stout, shortish black man, sturdy, a meat-eater, and not over clean in person or habit; very industrious in his favourite wet lands. he is no longer a serf." the occupations of the pallans, whom i examined at coimbatore, were cultivator, gardener, cooly, blacksmith, railway porter, tandal (tax-collector, etc.), and masalchi (office peon, who looks after lamps, ink-bottles, etc.). some pallans are maniyagarans (village munsifs or magistrates). in some places a pallan family is attached to a land-holder, for whom they work, and, under ordinary conditions, they do not change masters. the attachment of the pallan to a particular individual is maintained by the master paying a sum of money as an advance, which the pallan is unable to repay. the pallans are the jati pillais of the pandya kammalans, or kammalans of the madura country. the story goes that a long while ago the headman of the pallans came begging to the kollan section of the pandya kammalans, which was employed in the manufacture of ploughs and other agricultural implements, and said "worshipful sirs, we are destitute to the last degree. if you would but take pity on us, we would become your slaves. give us ploughs and other implements, and we shall ever afterwards obey you." the kollans, taking pity on them, gave them the implements and they commenced an agricultural life. when the harvest was over, they brought the best portion of the crop, and gave it to the kollans. from that time, the pallans became the "sons" of the pandya kammalans, to whom even now they make offerings in gratitude for a bumper crop. at times of census the pallans return a number of sub-divisions, and there is a proverb that one can count the number of varieties of rice, but it is impossible to count the divisions of the pallans. as examples of the sub-divisions, the following may be quoted:- aiya, father. amma, mother. anja, father. atta, mother. devendra.--the sweat of devendra, the king of gods, is said to have fallen on a plant growing in water from which arose a child, who is said to have been the original ancestor of the pallans. kadaiyan, lowest or last. konga.--the kongas of coimbatore wear a big marriage tali, said to be the emblem of sakti, while the other sections wear a small tali. manganadu, territorial. sozhia, territorial. tondaman, territorial. these sub-divisions are endogamous, and aiya and amma pallans of the sivaganga zemindari and adjacent parts of the madura district possess exogamous septs or kilais, which, like those of the maravans, kallans, and some other castes, run in the female line. children belong to the same kilai as that of their mother and maternal uncle, and not of their father. the headman of the pallans is, in the madura country, called kudumban, and he is assisted by a kaladi, and, in large settlements, by a caste messenger entitled variyan, who summons people to attend council-meetings, festivals, marriages and funerals. the offices of kudumban and kaladi are hereditary. when a family is under a ban of excommunication, pending enquiry, the caste people refuse to give them fire, and otherwise help them, and even the barber and washerman are not permitted to work for them. as a sign of excommunication, a bunch of leafy twigs of margosa (melia azadirachta) is stuck in the roof over the entrance to the house. restoration to caste necessitates a purificatory ceremony, in which cow's urine is sprinkled by the variyan. when a woman is charged with adultery, the offending man is brought into the midst of the assembly, and tied to a harrow or hoeing plank. the woman has to carry a basket of earth or rubbish, with her cloth tied so as to reach above her knees. she is sometimes, in addition, beaten on the back with tamarind switches. if she confesses her guilt, and promises not to misconduct herself again, the variyan cuts the waist-thread of her paramour, who ties it round her neck as if it was a tali (marriage badge). on the following day, the man and woman are taken early in the morning to a tank (pond) or well, near which seven small pits are made, and filled with water. the variyan sprinkles some of the water over their heads, and has subsequently to be fed at their expense. if the pair are in prosperous circumstances, a general feast is insisted on. at coimbatore, the headman is called pattakaran, and he is assisted by various subordinate officers and a caste messenger called odumpillai. in cases of theft, the guilty person has to carry a man on his back round the assembly, while two persons hang on to his back-hair. he is beaten on the cheeks, and the odumpillai may be ordered to spit in his face. a somewhat similar form of punishment is inflicted on a man proved guilty of having intercourse with a married woman. in connection with the caste organisation of the pallans in the trichinopoly district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes as follows. "they generally have three or more headmen for each village, over whom is the nattu muppan. each village also has a peon called odumpillai (the runner). the main body of the caste, when attending council-meetings, is called ilam katchi (the inexperienced). the village councils are attended by the muppans and the nattu muppan. between the nattu muppan and the ordinary muppans, there is, in the karur taluk, a pulli muppan. all these offices are hereditary. in this taluk a rather different organisation is in force, to regulate the supply of labour to the landholders. each of the village muppans has a number of karais or sections of the wet-land of the village under him, and he is bound to supply labourers for all the land in his karai, and is remunerated by the landowner with 1 1/4 marakkals of grain for every 20 kalams harvested. the muppans do not work themselves, but maintain discipline among their men by flogging or expulsion from the caste. in the karur taluk, the ordinary pallans are called manvettaikarans (mamoty or digging-tool men)." the pallans have their own washermen and barbers, who are said to be mainly recruited from the sozhia section, which, in consequence, holds an inferior position; and a pallan belonging to another section would feel insulted if he was called a sozhian. when a pallan girl, at coimbatore, attains puberty, she is bathed, dressed in a cloth brought by a washerwoman, and presented with flowers and fruits by her relations. she occupies a hut constructed of cocoanut leaves, branches of pongamia glabra, and wild sugarcane (saccharum arundinaceum). her dietary includes jaggery (crude sugar) and milk and plantains. on the seventh day she is again bathed, and presented with another cloth. the hut is burnt down, and for three days she occupies a corner of the pial of her home. on the eleventh day she is once more bathed, presented with new cloths by her relations, and permitted to enter the house. it is stated by dr. g. oppert [199] that "at a pallan wedding, before the wedding is actually performed, the bridegroom suddenly leaves his house and starts for some distant place, as if he had suddenly abandoned his intention of marrying, in spite of the preparations that had been made for the wedding. his intended father-in-law intercepts the young man on his way, and persuades him to return, promising to give his daughter as a wife. to this the bridegroom consents." i have not met with this custom in the localities in which the pallans have been examined. in one form of marriage among the pallans of the madura district, the bridegroom's sister goes to the house of the bride on an auspicious day, taking with her the tali string, a new cloth, betel, fruits and flowers. she ties the tali round the neck of the bride, who, if a milk-post has been set up, goes round it. the bride is then conducted to the house of the bridegroom, where the couple sit together on the marriage dais, and coloured water, or coloured rice balls with lighted wicks, are waved round them. they then go, with linked fingers, thrice round the dais. in a more complicated form of marriage ceremonial, the parents and maternal uncle of the bridegroom, proceed, on the occasion of the betrothal, to the bride's house with rice, fruit, plantains, a cocoanut, sandal paste, and turmeric. these articles are handed over, with the bride's money, to the kudumban or kaladi of her village. early in the morning of the wedding day, a pandal (booth) is erected, and the milk-post, made of thespesia populnea or mimusops hexandra, is set up by the maternal uncles of the contracting couple. the bride and bridegroom bring some earth,with which the marriage dais is made. these preliminaries concluded, they are anointed by their maternal uncles, and, after bathing, the wrist-threads (kankanam) are tied to the bridegroom's wrist by his brother-in-law, and to that of the bride by her sister-in-law. four betel leaves and areca nuts are placed at each corner of the dais, and the pair go round it three times, saluting the betel as they pass. they then take their place on the dais, and two men stretch a cloth over their heads. they hold out their hands, into the palms of which the kudumban or kaladi pours a little water from a vessel, some of which is sprinkled over their heads. the vessel is then waved before them, and they are garlanded by the maternal uncles, headmen, and others. the bride is taken into the house, and her maternal uncle sits at the entrance, and measures a new cloth, which he gives to her. she clads herself in it, and her uncle, lifting her in his arms, carries her to the dais, where she is placed by the side of the bridegroom. the fingers of the contracting couple are linked together beneath a cloth held by the maternal uncles. the tali is taken up by the bridegroom, and placed by him round the bride's neck, to be tightly tied thereon by his sister. just before the tali is tied, the headman bawls out "may i look into the bride's money and presents"? and, on receiving permission to do so, says thrice "seven bags of nuts, seven bags of rice, etc., have been brought." at a marriage among the konga pallans of coimbatore, the bridegroom's wrist-thread is tied on at his home, after a lamp has been worshipped. he and his party proceed to the house of the bride, taking with them a new cloth, a garland of flowers, and the tali. the milk-post of the pandal is made of milk-hedge (euphorbia tirucalli). the bride and bridegroom sit side by side and close together on planks within the pandal. the bridegroom ties the wrist-thread on the bride's wrist, and the caste barber receives betel from their mouths in a metal vessel. in front of them are placed a pillayar (figure of ganesa) made of cow-dung, two plantains, seven cocoanuts, a measure of paddy, a stalk of andropogen sorghum, with a betel leaf stuck on it, and seven sets of betel leaves and areca nuts. camphor is burnt, and two cocoanuts are broken, and placed before the pillayar. the tali is taken round to be blessed in a piece of one of the cocoanuts. the mannadi (assistant headman) hands over the tali to the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. another cocoanut is then broken. three vessels containing, respectively, raw rice, turmeric water and milk, each with pieces of betel leaf, are brought. the hands of the contracting couple are then linked together beneath a cloth, and the fourth cocoanut is broken. the mannadi, taking up a little of the rice, turmeric water, milk, and betel leaves, waves them before the bride and bridegroom, and throws them over their heads. this is likewise done by five other individuals, and the fifth cocoanut is broken. the bride and bridegroom go round the plank, and again seat themselves. their hands are unlinked, the wrist-threads are untied, and thrown into a vessel of milk. the sixth cocoanut is then broken. cooked rice with plantains and ghi (clarified butter) is offered to alli arasani, the wife of arjuna, who was famed for her virtue. the rice is offered three times to the contracting couple, who do not eat it. the caste barber brings water, with which they cleanse their mouths. they exchange garlands, and the seventh cocoanut is broken. they are then taken within the house, and sit on a new mat. the bridegroom is again conducted to the pandal, where cooked rice and other articles are served to him on a tripod stool. they are handed over to the odumpillai as a perquisite, and all the guests are fed. in the evening a single cloth is tied to the newly married couple, who bathe, and pour water over each other's heads. the pillayar, lamp, paddy, andropogon stalk, and two trays with betel, are placed before the guests. the mannadi receives four annas from the bridegroom's father, and, after mentioning the names of the bridegroom, his father and grandfather, places it in one of the trays, which belongs to the bride's party. he then receives four annas from the bride's father, and mentions the names of the bride, her father and grandfather, before placing the money in the tray which belongs to the bridegroom's party. the relations then make presents of money to the bride and bridegroom. when a widow remarries, her new husband gives her a white cloth, and ties a yellow string round her neck in the presence of some of the castemen. at a marriage among the kadaiya pallans of coimbatore, the wrist-thread of the bride is tied on by the mannadi. she goes to a pillayar shrine, and brings back three trays full of sand from the courtyard thereof, which is heaped up in the marriage pandal. three painted earthen pots, and seven small earthen trays, are brought in procession from the mannadi's house by the bridegroom, and placed in the pandal. to each of the two larger pots a piece of turmeric and betel leaf are tied, and nine kinds of grain are placed in them. the bridegroom has brought with him the tali tied to a cocoanut, seven rolls of betel, seven plantains, seven pieces of turmeric, a garland, a new cloth for the bride, etc. the linked fingers of the contracting couple are placed on a tray containing salt and a ring. they go thrice round a lamp and the plank within the pandal, and retire within the house where the bridegroom is served with food on a leaf. what remains after he has partaken thereof is given to the bride on the same leaf. the wrist-threads are untied on the third day, and a pillayar made of cow-dung is carried to a river, whence the bride brings back a pot of water. in some places, the bridegroom is required to steal something from the bride's house when they return home after the marriage, and the other party has to repay the compliment on some future occasion. when a death occurs among the konga pallans of coimbatore, the big toes and thumbs of the corpse are tied together. a lighted lamp, a metal vessel with raw rice, jaggery, and a broken cocoanut are placed near its head. three pieces of firewood, arranged in the form of a triangle, are lighted, and a small pot is placed on them, wherein some rice is cooked in turmeric water. the corpse is bathed, and placed in a pandal made of four plantain trees, and four green leafy branches. the nearest relations place a new cloth over it. if the deceased has left a widow, she is presented with a new cloth by her brother. the corpse is laid on a bier, the widow washes its feet, and drinks some of the water. she then throws her tali-string on the corpse. her face is covered with a cloth, and she is taken into the house. the corpse is then removed to the burial-ground, where the son is shaved, and the relations place rice and water in the mouth of the corpse. it is then laid in the grave, which is filled in, and a stone and some thorny twigs are placed over it. an earthen pot full of water is placed on the right shoulder of the son, who carries it three times round the grave. each time that he reaches the head end thereof, a hole is made in the pot with a knife by one of the elders. the pot is then thrown down, and broken near the spot beneath which the head lies. near this spot the son places a lighted firebrand, and goes away without looking back. he bathes and returns to the house, where he touches a little cow-dung placed at the entrance with his right foot, and worships a lamp. on the third day, three handfuls of rice, a brinjal (solanum melongena) fruit cut into three pieces, and leaves of sesbania grandiflora are cooked in a pot, and carried to the grave together with a tender cocoanut, cigar, betel, and other things. the son places three leaves on the grave, and spreads the various articles thereon. crows are attracted by clapping the hands, and it is considered a good omen if they come and eat. on the fourth day the son bathes, and sits on a mat. he then bites, and spits out some roasted salt fish three times into a pot of water. this is supposed to show that mourning has been cast away, or at the end. he is then presented with new cloths by his uncle and other relations. on the ninth or eleventh day, cooked rice, betel, etc., are placed near a babul (acacia arabica) or other thorny tree, which is made to represent the deceased. seven small stones, representing the seven hindu sages, are set up. a cocoanut is broken, and puja performed. the rice is served on a leaf, and eaten by the son and other near relations. the pallans are nominally saivites, but in reality devil worshippers, and do puja to the grama devata (village deities), especially those whose worship requires the consumption of flesh and liquor. it is recorded, [200] in connection with a biennial festival in honour of the local goddess at attur in the madura district, that "some time before the feast begins, the pallans of the place go round to the adjoining villages, and collect the many buffaloes, which have been dedicated to the goddess during the last two years, and have been allowed to graze unmolested, and where they willed, in the fields. these are brought in to attur, and one of them is selected, garlanded, and placed in the temple. on the day of the festival, this animal is brought out, led round the village in state, and then, in front of the temple, is given three cuts with a knife by a chakkiliyan, who has fasted that day, to purify himself for the rite. the privilege of actually killing the animal belongs by immemorial usage to the head of the family of the former poligar of nilakkottai, but he deputes certain pallans to take his place, and they fall upon the animal and slay it." it is noted by mr. hemingway [201] that the valaiyans and the class of pallans known as kaladis who live in the south-western portion of the pudukkottai state are professional cattle-lifters. they occasionally take to burglary for a change. the common titles of the pallans are said [202] to be "muppan and kudumban, and some style themselves mannadi. kudumban is probably a form of kurumban, and mannadi is a corruption of manradi, a title borne by the pallava (kurumban) people. it thus seems not improbable that the pallas are representatives of the old pallavas or kurumbas." pallavarayan.--the title, meaning chief of the pallavas, of the leader of the krishnavakakkar in travancore. also a sub-division of occhans. palle.--in the telugu country, there are two classes of palles, which are employed respectively in sea-fishing and agriculture. the former, who are the min (fish) palles of previous writers, are also known as palle kariyalu, and do not mingle or intermarry with the latter. they claim for themselves a higher position than that which is accorded to them by other castes, and call themselves agnikula kshatriyas. their title is, in some places, reddi. all belong to one gotra called ravikula. the caste headman is entitled pedda kapu,' and he is assisted by an oomadi. in puberty, marriage, and death ceremonies, the palles follow the telugu form of ceremonial. there is, however, one rite in the marriage ceremonies, which is said to be peculiar to the fishing section. on the fifth day after marriage, a golla perantalu (married woman) is brought to the house in procession, walking on cloths spread on the ground (nadapavada). she anoints the bridal couple with ghi (clarified butter), and after receiving a cloth as a present, goes away. the fishing class worship the akka devatalu (sister gods) periodically by floating on the surface of the water a flat framework made of sticks tied together, on which the various articles used in the worship are placed. notes [1] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [2] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [3] madras census report, 1891. [4] the rangaris are maratha dyers and tailors. [5] ind. ant., vii, 1878. [6] our viceregal life in india, 1884-88. [7] loc. cit. [8] ind. ant., ii, 1874. [9] the word genoa occurs on several blades in the madras museum collection. [10] the bas-relief of the statue of lord cornwallis in the connemara public library, madras, represents him receiving tipu's two youthful sons as hostages. [11] brahmanism and hinduism. [12] gazetteer of the bellary district. [13] madras census report, 1891. [14] madras review, 1899. [15] f. fawcett. journ. anthrop. inst., xxxiii, 1903. [16] f. fawcett, loc. cit. [17] madras journ. lit. science, 1890. [18] sketch of the dynasties of south india. [19] numismata orient. ancient coins and measures of ceylon. [20] kalith-thokai. [21] kanakasabhai pillai. the tamils eighteen hundred years ago. 1904. [22] manual of the tinnevelly district, 1879. [23] madras census report, 1901. [24] notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency. [25] tinnevelly, being an account of the district, the people, and the missions. mission field, 1897. [26] madras journ. lit. science, iv, 1836. [27] journ. anthrop. inst., xxxiii, 1903. [28] f. fawcett, loc. cit. [29] madras journ. lit. science, iv, 1836. [30] madras journ. lit. science, iv, 1836. [31] manual of the madura district. [32] madras journ. lit, science, xxv. [33] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [34] madras census report, 1891. [35] manual of the north arcot district. [36] g. richter. manual of coorg. [37] madras museum bull., v, 3, 1907. [38] for portions of this article i am indebted to a note by mr. j. d. samuel. [39] hobson-jobson. [40] gazetteer of the tanjore district. [41] malabar law and custom. [42] madras museum bull. iii, 3, 1901. [43] hobson-jobson. [44] sea fisheries of india. [45] journey from madras through mysore, canara, and malabar, 1807. [46] manual of the north arcot district. [47] section iii, inhabitants, government press, madras, 1907. [48] east india gazette. [49] hindu manners, customs, and ceremonies ed., 1897. [50] history of mysore. [51] ind. antiquary, ii, 1873. [52] mysore. [53] manual of the south canara district. [54] journey through mysore, etc. [55] monograph of tanning and working in leather, madras, 1904. [56] g. d. iyah pillay, madras, 1878. [57] notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency. [58] manual of the north arcot district. [59] manual of the coimbatore district. [60] madras journ. lit. science, i, 1833. [61] agricult: ledger series, calcutta, no. 7, 1904. [62] journey through mysore, canara, and malabar, 1807. [63] a new account of the east indies, 1744. [64] i am informed that the mukkuvans claim to be a caste distinct from the arayans. [65] for further details concerning the fisheries and fish-curing operations of the west coast, see thurston, madras museum bull. iii, 2, 1900. [66] spelt pusler in a recent educational report. [67] madras museum bull., iii, 3, 1901. [68] madras census report, 1891. [69] manual of the north arcot district. [70] manual of the north arcot district. [71] madras census report, 1901. [72] madras census report, 1891. [73] madras census report, 1901. [74] mysore census reports, 1891, 1901. [75] mysore and coorg gazetteer. [76] hobson-jobson. [77] wigram : malabar law and customs. [78] ibid., 3rd ed., 1905. [79] a forgotten empire, vijayanagar. [80] fifth report of the committee on the affairs of the east india company. reprint, higginbotham, madras. [81] college history of india, 1888. [82] manual of the south canara district. [83] ibid. [84] m.j. walhouse. journ. anthrop. inst., v, 1876. [85] devil worship of the tuluvas, ind. ant., xxiii, 1894. [86] devil worship of the tuluvas. ind. ant., xxiii, xxiv, xxv, xxvi, 1894-7. [87] with the exception of the notes by mr. subramani aiyar, this article is a reproduction, with very slight changes, of an account of the nambutiris by mr. f. fawcett, which has already been published in the madras bulletin series (iii, i, 1900). [88] n. subramani aiyar, malabar quart. review, vii, i, 1908. [89] a new account of the east indies, 1744. [90] the nambutiris everywhere believe that europeans have tails. [91] the todas, 1906. [92] taravad or tarwad: a marumakkatayam family, consisting of all the descendants in the female line of one common female ancestor. [93] the lusiad. [94] chela, the cloth worn by muppillas (muhammadans in malabar). there are also chela nayars. the word is said to mean the rite of circumcision. [95] malabar quart. review, i, 1, 1902. [96] in all ceremonies, and indeed in all arrangements connected with labour in rural malabar, it is the rule to reckon in the old, and not in the existing, currency. [97] brahmanism and hinduism. [98] op. cit. [99] ibid. [100] the nambutiris take objection to a statement of mr. logan, in the manual of malabar, that the vadhyar shuts the door, and locks it. [101] orissa. annals of rural bengal. [102] by keeping a lamp lighted at the fire perpetually alight, or by heating a piece of plasu or darbha grass in the fire, and putting it away carefully. [103] an amana palaga or ama palaga, literally tortoise plank, is a low wooden seat of chamatha wood, supposed to be shaped like a tortoise in outline. [104] the accounts of marriage and death ceremonies in the gazetteer of malabar are from a grandhavari. [105] ind. law reports, madras series, xii, 1889. [106] madras census report, 1901. [107] the proverb chetti chidambaram is well known. [108] malabar quart: review, 1905. [109] c. hayavadana rao, indian review, viii, 8, 1907. [110] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [111] gazetteer of the madura district. [112] indian review, viii, 8, 1907. [113] indian law reports, madras series, xxix, 1906. [114] c. hayavadana rao, loc. cit. [115] c. hayavadana rao. loc. cit. [116] historical sketches of the south of india, 1810. [117] malabar and its folk. [118] malabar and its folk. [119] this note is based mainly on articles by mr. s. appadorai aiyar and mr. l. k. anantha krishna aiyar. [120] madras census report, 1891. [121] gazetteer of the malabar district. [122] manual of the malabar district. [123] the author of tahafat-ul-mujahidin or hints for persons seeking the way to god, as it is frequently translated, or more literally an offering to warriors who shall fight in defence of religion against infidels. translated by rowlandson. london, 1833. [124] see manual of the malabar district, 164, sq., and fawcett, madras museum bull., iii, 3, 1901. [125] e. hultzsch, south-indian inscriptions, iii, 2, 1203. [126] description of the coasts of east africa and malabar. translation. hakluyt society, 1866. [127] new account of the east indies, 1744. [128] voyage to the east indies, 1774 and 1781. [129] journey through mysore, canara, and malabar, 1807. [130] malabar law and custom, 3rd ed., 1905. [131] vide r. sewell. a forgotten empire (vijayanagar), 1900. [132] father coleridge's life and letters of st. francis xavier. [133] history of tinnevelly. [134] coleridge's xavier. [135] burnell. translation of the daya vibhaga, introduction. vide also elements of south indian palæography (2nd ed., p. 109), where dr. burnell says that it is certain that the vijayanagar kings were men of low caste. [136] vide glossary, report of the malabar marriage commission, p. 2, and day's land of the permauls, p. 44. [137] fifth report of the committee on the affairs of the east india company, ii, 499, 530. reprint by higginbotham, madras. [138] lives of the lindsays. by lord lindsay, 1849. [139] madras museum bull., iii, 3, 1901. [140] a manchil is a conveyance carried on men's shoulders, and more like a hammock slung on a pole, with a flat covering over it, than a palanquin. [141] tarwad or taravad, a marumakkathayam family, consisting of all the descendants in the female line of one common female ancestor. [142] the voyage and travell of m. cæsar fredericke, merchant of venice, into the east indies and beyond the indies (1563). translation. hakluyt voyages, v, 394. [143] travels to the east indies. [144] voyage to the east indies, 1774 and 1781. [145] r. kerr. general history and collection of voyages and travels, 1811, history of the discovery and conquest of india by the portuguese between the years 1497 and 1525, from the original portuguese of herman lopes de castaneda. [146] wigram, malabar law and custom, ed. 1900. [147] t. a. kalyanakrishna aiyar, malabar quart. review, ii, 1903. [148] op cit. [149] malabar and its folk, 1900. [150] malabar law and custom, 1882. [151] report of the malabar marriage commission, 1894. [152] the rights and obligations of karanavans are fully dealt with by moore, malabar law and custom, 3rd edition, 1905. [153] journ. anthrop. inst., xii, 1883. [154] op. cit. [155] malabar quart. review, vii, 3, 1908. [156] op. cit. [157] gazetteer of malabar. [158] an enangan or inangan is a man of the same caste and sub-division or marriage group. it is usually translated "kinsman," but is at once wider and narrower in its connotation. my enangans are all who can marry the same people that i can. an enangatti is a female member of an enangan's family. [159] the aimpuli or "five tamarinds" are tamarindus indica, garcinia cambogia, spondias mangifera, bauhinia racemosa, and hibiscus hirtus. [160] the eldest male member of the taravad is called the karanavan. all male members, brothers, nephews, and so on, who are junior to him, are called anandravans of the taravad. [161] all caste hindus who perform the sradh ceremonies calculate the day of death, not by the day of the month, but by the thithis (day after full or new moon). [162] nineteenth century, 1904. [163] l'inde (sans les anglais). [164] letters from malabar. [165] january, 1899. [166] see thurston. catalogue of roman, etc., coins, madras government museum, 2nd ed., 1894. [167] malabar and its folk, 1900. [168] the vettuvans were once salt-makers. [169] malabar and its folk, madras, 1900. [170] buchanan, mysore, canara and malabar. [171] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [172] e. hultzsch. south indian inscriptions, i. 82, 108, 1890. [173] comprehensive tamil and english dictionary. [174] travancore census report, 1901. [175] manual of the north arcot district. [176] madras dioc. magazine, april, 1908. [177] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [178] ind. ant., v, 1876. [179] notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency. [180] journey through mysore, canara, and malabar. [181] j. s. f. mackenzie. ind. ant., iv, 1875. [182] op. cit. [183] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [184] journey through mysore, canara and malabar, 1807. [185] section iii. inhabitants. madras government press, 1907. [186] madras census report, 1901. [187] see manual of the north arcot district, 1, 187. [188] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [189] hobson-jobson. [190] madras census report, 1901. [191] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [192] an indian olio. [193] anthropos, iii, 1908. [194] ind. ant., xxx, 1902. [195] madras census report, 1891. [196] christianity in travancore, 1901. [197] gazetteer of the trichinopoly district. [198] see nelson, the madura country, ii, 4--7, and coimbatore district manual, 477. [199] original inhabitants of bharatavarsa or india. [200] gazetteer of the madura district. [201] op cit. [202] madras census report, 1891. gutenberg. castes and tribes of southern india by edgar thurston, c.i.e., superintendent, madras government museum; correspondant étranger, société d'anthropologie de paris; socio corrispondante, societa, romana di anthropologia. assisted by k. rangachari, m.a., of the madras government museum. volume iii--k government press, madras 1909. castes and tribes of southern india. volume iii. k kabbera.--the kabberas are a caste of canarese fishermen and cultivators. "they are," mr. w. francis writes, [1] "grouped into two divisions, the gaurimakkalu or sons of gauri (parvati) and the gangimakkalu or sons of ganga, the goddess of water, and they do not intermarry, but will dine together. each has its bedagus (exogamous septs), and these seem to be different in the two sub-divisions. the gaurimakkalu are scarce in bellary, and belong chiefly to mysore. they seem to be higher in the social scale (as such things are measured among hindus) than the gangimakkalu, as they employ brahmans as priests instead of men of their own caste, burn their dead instead of burying them, hold annual ceremonies in memory of them, and prohibit the remarriage of widows. the gangimakkalu were apparently engaged originally in all the pursuits connected with water, such as propelling boats, catching fish, and so forth, and they are especially numerous in villages along the banks of the tungabhadra." coracles are still used on various south indian rivers, e.g., the cauvery, bhavani, and tungabhadra. tavernier, on his way to golgonda, wrote that "the boats employed in crossing the river are like large baskets, covered outside with ox-hides, at the bottom of which some faggots are placed, upon which carpets are spread to put the baggage and goods upon, for fear they should get wet." bishop whitehead has recently [2] placed on record his experiences of coracles as a means of conveyance. "we embarked," he writes, "in a boat (at hampi on the tungabhadra) which exactly corresponds to my idea of the coracle of the ancient britons. it consists of a very large, round wicker basket, about eight or nine feet in diameter, covered over with leather, and propelled by paddles. as a rule, it spins round and round, but the boatmen can keep it fairly straight, when exhorted to do so, as they were on this occasion. some straw had been placed in the bottom of the coracle, and we were also allowed the luxury of chairs to sit upon, but it is safer to sit on the straw, as a chair in a coracle is generally in a state of unstable equilibrium. i remember once crossing a river in the trichinopoly district in a coracle, to take a confirmation at a village on the other side. it was thought more suitable to the dignity of the occasion that i should sit upon a chair in the middle of the coracle, and i weakly consented to do so. all the villagers were assembled to meet us on the opposite bank; four policemen were drawn up as a guard of honour, and a brass band, brought from tanjore, stood ready in the background. as we came to the shore, the villagers salaamed, the guard of honour saluted, the band struck up a tune faintly resembling 'see the conquering hero comes,' the coracle bumped heavily against the shelving bank, my chair tipped up, and i was deposited, heels up, on my back in the straw!... we were rowed for about two miles down the stream. the current was very swift, and there were rapids at frequent intervals. darkness overtook us, and it was not altogether a pleasant sensation being whirled swiftly over the rapids in our frail-looking boat, with ugly rocks jutting out of the stream on either side. but the boatmen seemed to know the river perfectly, and were extraordinarily expert in steering the coracle with their paddles." the arrival in 1847 of the american missionary, john eddy chandler at madura, when the vaigai river was in flood, has been described as follows. [3] "coolies swimming the river brought bread and notes from the brethren and sisters in the city. at last, after three days of waiting, the new missionaries safely reached the mission premises in madura. messrs. rendall and cherry managed to cross to them, and they all recrossed into the city by a large basket boat, eight or ten feet in diameter, with a bamboo pole tied across the top for them to hold on to. the outside was covered with leather. ropes attached to all sides were held by a dozen coolies as they dragged it across, walking and swimming." in recent years, a coracle has been kept at the traveller's bungalow at paikara on the nilgiris for the use of anglers in the paikara river. "the kabberas," mr. francis continues, "are at present engaged in a number of callings, and, perhaps in consequence, several occupational sub-divisions have arisen, the members of which are more often known by their occupational title than as either gangimakkalu or kabberas. the barikes, for example, are a class of village servants who keep the village chavadi (caste meeting house) clean, look after the wants of officials halting in the village, and do other similar duties. the jalakaras are washers of gold-dust; the madderu are dyers, who use the root of the maddi (morinda citrifolia) tree; and apparently (the point is one which i have not had time to clear up) the besthas, who have often been treated as a separate caste, are really a sub-division of the gangimakkalu, who were originally palanquin-bearers, but, now that these vehicles have gone out of fashion, are employed in divers other ways. the betrothal is formally evidenced by the partaking of betel-leaf in the girl's house, in the manner followed by the kurubas. as among the madigas, the marriage is not consummated for three months after its celebration. the caste follow the kuruba ceremony of calling back the dead." consummation is, as among the kurubas and madigas, postponed for three months, as it is considered unlucky to have three heads of a family in a household during the first year of marriage. by the delay, the birth of a child should take place only in the second year, so that, during the first year, there will be only two heads, husband and wife. in the ceremony of calling back the dead, referred to by mr. francis, a pot of water is worshipped in the house on the eleventh day after a funeral, and taken next morning to some lonely place, where it is emptied. for the following note on the kabberas of the bellary district, i am indebted to mr. kothandram naidu. the caste is sometimes called ambiga. breaches of caste rules and customs are enquired into by a panchayat presided over by a headman called kattemaniavaru. if the fine inflicted on the offender is a heavy one, half goes to the headman, and half to the caste people, who spend it in drink. in serious cases, the offender has to be purified by shaving and drinking holy water (thirtam) given to him by the headman. both infant and adult marriage are practiced. sexual license previous to marriage is tolerated, but, before that takes place, the contracting couple have to pay a fine to the headman. at the marriage ceremony, the tali is tied on the bride's neck by a brahman. married women carry painted new pots with lights, bathe the bride and bridegroom, etc. widows are remarried with a ceremonial called udiki, which is performed at night in a temple by widows, one of whom ties the tali. no married men or women may be present, and music is not allowed. divorce is said to be not permitted. in religion the kabberas are vaishnavites, and worship various village deities. the dead are buried. cloths and food are offered to ancestors during the dasara festival, excepting those who have died a violent death. some unmarried girls are dedicated to the goddess hulugamma as basavis (dedicated prostitutes). concerning an agricultural ceremony in the bellary district, in which the kabberas take part, i gather that "on the first full-moon day in the month of bhadrapada (september), the agricultural population celebrate a feast called jokumara, to appease the rain-god. the barikas (women), who are a sub-division of the kabbera caste belonging to the gaurimakkalu section, go round the town or village in which they live, with a basket on their heads containing margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, flowers of various kinds, and holy ashes. they beg alms, especially of the cultivating classes (kapus), and, in return for the alms bestowed (usually grain and food), they give some of the margosa leaves, flowers, and ashes. the kapus, or cultivators, take the margosa leaves, flowers, and ashes to their fields, prepare cholum (andropogon sorghum) kanji, mix these with it, and sprinkle this kanji, or gruel, all round their fields. after this, the kapu proceeds to the potter's kiln in the village or town, fetches ashes from it, and makes a figure of a human being. this figure is placed prominently in some convenient spot in the field, and is called jokumara, or rain-god. it is supposed to have the power of bringing down the rain in proper time. the figure is sometimes small, and sometimes big." [4] kabbili.--kabbili or kabliga, recorded as a sub-division of bestha, is probably a variant of kabbera. kadacchil (knife-grinder or cutler).--a sub-division of kollan. kadaiyan.--the name, kadaiyan, meaning last or lowest, occurs as a sub-division of the pallans. the kadaiyans are described [5] as being lime (shell) gatherers and burners of ramesvaram and the neighbourhood, from whose ranks the pearl-divers are in part recruited at the present day. on the coasts of madura and tinnevelly they are mainly christians, and are said, like the paravas, to have been converted through the work of st. francis xavier. [6] kadaperi.--a sub-division of kannadiyan. kadavala (pots).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. kadi (blade of grass).--a gotra of kurni. kadir.--the kadirs or kadans inhabit the anaimalai or elephant hills, and the great mountain range which extends thence southward into travancore. a night journey by rail to coimbatore, and forty miles by road at the mercy of a typically obstinate jutka pony, which landed me in a dense patch of prickly-pear (opuntia dillenii), brought me to the foot of the hills at sethumadai, where i came under the kindly hospitality of mr. h. a. gass, conservator of forests, to whom i am indebted for much information on forest and tribal matters gathered during our camp life at mount stuart, situated 2,350 feet above sea-level, in the midst of a dense bamboo jungle, and playfully named after sir mountstuart grant duff, who visited the spot during his quinquennium as governor of madras. at sethumadai i made the acquaintance of my first kadir, not dressed, as i hoped, in a primitive garb of leaves, but wearing a coloured turban and the cast-off red coat of a british soldier, who had come down the hill to carry up my camp bath, which acted as an excellent umbrella, to protect him from the driving monsoon showers. very glad was i of his services in helping to convey my clothed, and consequently helpless self, across the mountain torrents, swollen by a recent burst of monsoon rain. the kadir forest guards, of whom there are several in government service, looked, except for their noses, very unjungle-like by contrast with their fellow-tribesmen, being smartly dressed in regulation norfolk jacket, knickerbockers, pattis (leggings), buttons, and accoutrements. on arrival at the forest depôt, with its comfortable bungalows and kadir settlement, i was told by a native servant that his master was away, as an "elephant done tumble in a fit." my memory went back to the occasion many years ago, when, as a medical student, i took part in the autopsy of an elephant, which died in convulsions at the london zoological gardens. it transpired later in the day that a young and grown-up cow elephant had tumbled, not in a fit, but into a pit made with hands for the express purpose of catching elephants. the story has a philological significance, and illustrates the difficulty which the tamulian experiences in dealing with the letter f. an incident is still cherished at mount stuart in connection with a sporting globe-trotter, who was accredited to the conservator of forests for the purpose of putting him on to "bison" (the gaur, bos gaurus), and other big game. on arrival at the depôt, he was informed that his host had gone to see the "ellipence." incapable of translating the pigeon-english of the native butler, and, concluding that a financial reckoning was being suggested, he ordered the servant to pay the baggage coolies their elli-pence, and send them away. to a crusted anglo-indian it is clear that ellipence could only mean elephants. sir m. e. grant duff tells [7] the following story of a man, who was shooting on the anaimalais. in his camp was an elephant, who, in the middle of the night, began to eat the thatch of the hut, in which he was sleeping. his servant in alarm rushed in and awoke him, saying "elephant, sahib, must, must (mad)." the sleeper, half-waking and rolling over, replied "oh, bother the elephant. tell him he mustn't." the salient characteristics of the kadirs may be briefly summed up as follows: short stature, dark skin, platyrhine. men and women have the teeth chipped. women wear a bamboo comb in the back-hair. those whom i met spoke a tamil patois, running up the scale in talking, and finishing, like a suffolker, on a higher note than they commenced on. but i am told that some of them speak a mixture of debased tamil and malayalam. i am informed by mr. vincent that the kadirs have a peculiar word ali, denoting apparently a fellow or thing, which they apply as a suffix to names, e.g., karaman ali, black fellow; mudi ali, hairy fellow; kutti ali, man with a knife; puv ali, man with a flower. among nicknames, the following occur: white mother, white flower, beauty, tiger, milk, virgin, love, breasts. the kadirs are excellent mimics, and give a clever imitation of the mode of speech of the muduvans, malasars, and other hill tribes. the kadirs afford a typical example of happiness without culture. unspoiled by education, the advancing wave of which has not yet engulfed them, they still retain many of their simple "manners and customs." quite refreshing was it to hear the hearty shrieks of laughter of the nude curly-haired children, wholly illiterate, and happy in their ignorance, as they played at funerals, or indulged in the amusement of making mud pies, and scampered off to their huts on my appearance. the uncultured kadir, living a hardy out-door life, and capable of appreciating to the full the enjoyment of an "apathetic rest" as perfect bliss, has, i am convinced, in many ways, the advantage over the poor under-fed student with a small-paid appointment under government as the narrow goal to which the laborious passing of examination tests leads. living an isolated existence, confined within the thinly-populated jungle, where nature furnishes the means of obtaining all the necessaries of life, the kadir possesses little, if any, knowledge of cultivation, and objects to doing work with a mamuti, the instrument which serves the gardener in the triple capacity of spade, rake, and hoe. but armed with a keen-edged bill-hook he is immense. as mr. o. h. bensley says: [8] "the axiom that the less civilised men are, the more they are able to do every thing for themselves, is well illustrated by the hill-man, who is full of resource. give him a simple bill-hook, and what wonders he will perform. he will build houses out of etâh, so neat and comfortable as to be positively luxurious. he will bridge a stream with canes and branches. he will make a raft out of bamboo, a carving knife out of etâh, a comb out of bamboo, a fishing-line out of fibre, and fire from dry wood. he will find food for you where you think you must starve, and show you the branch which, if cut, will give you drink. he will set traps for beasts and birds, which are more effective than some of the most elaborate products of machinery." a european, overtaken by night in the jungle, unable to light fire by friction or to climb trees to gather fruits, ignorant of the edible roots and berries, and afraid of wild beasts, would, in the absence of comforts, be quite as unhappy and ill-at-ease as a kadir surrounded by plenty at an official dinner party. at the forest depôt the kadir settlement consists of neatly constructed huts, made of bamboo deftly split with a bill-hook in their long axis, thatched with leaves of the teak tree (tectona grandis) and bamboo (ochlandra travancorica), and divided off into verandah and compartments by means of bamboo partitions. but the kadirs are essentially nomad in habit, living in small communities, and shifting from place to place in the jungle, whence they suddenly re-appear as casually as if they had only returned from a morning stroll instead of a long camping expedition. when wandering in the jungle, the kadirs make a rough lean-to shed covered over with leaves, and keep a small fire burning through the night, to keep off bears, elephants, tigers, and leopards. they are, i am told, fond of dogs, which they keep chiefly as a protection against wild beasts at night. the camp fire is lighted by means of a flint and the floss of the silk-cotton tree (bombax malabaricum), over which powdered charcoal has been rubbed. like the kurumbas, the kadirs are not, in a general way, afraid of elephants, but are careful to get out of the way of a cow with young, or a solitary rover, which may mean mischief. on the day following my descent from mount stuart, an odde cooly woman was killed on the ghat road by a solitary tusker. familiarity with wild beasts, and comparative immunity from accident, have bred contempt for them, and the kadirs will go where the european, fresh to elephant land, fears to tread, or conjures every creak of a bamboo into the approach of a charging tusker. as an example of pluck worthy of a place in kipling's 'jungle-book,' i may cite the case of a hill-man and his wife, who, overtaken by night in the jungle, decided to pass it on a rock. as they slept, a tiger carried off the woman. hearing her shrieks, the sleeping man awoke, and followed in pursuit in the vain hope of saving his wife. coming on the beast in possession of the mangled corpse, he killed it at close quarters with a spear. yet he was wholly unconscious that he had performed an act of heroism worthy of the bronze cross 'for valour.' the kadirs carry loads strapped on the back over the shoulders by means of fibre, instead of on the head in the manner customary among coolies in the plains; and women on the march may be seen carrying the cooking utensils on their backs, and often have a child strapped on the top of their household goods. the dorsal position of the babies, huddled up in a dirty cloth, with the ends slung over the shoulders and held in the hands over the chest, at once caught my eye, as it is contrary to the usual native habit of straddling the infants across the loins as a saddle. mr. vincent informs me that "when the planters first came to the hills, the kadirs were found practically without clothes of any description, with very few ornaments, and looking very lean and emaciated. all this, however, changed with the advent of the european, as the kadirs then got advances in hard cash, clothes, and grain, to induce them to work. for a few years they tried to work hard, but were failures, and now i do not suppose that a dozen men are employed on the estates on the hills. they would not touch manure owing to caste scruples; they could not learn to prune; and with a mamoti (spade) they always promptly proceeded to chop their feet about in their efforts to dig pits." the kadirs have never claimed, like the todas, and do not possess any land on the hills. but the government has declared the absolute right of the hill tribes to collect all the minor forest produce, and to sell it to the government through the medium of a contractor, whose tender has been previously accepted. the contractor pays for the produce in coin at a fair market rate, and the kadirs barter the money so obtained for articles of food with contractors appointed by government to supply them with their requirements at a fixed rate, which will leave a fair, but not exorbitant margin of profit to the vendor. the principal articles of minor forest produce of the anaimalai hills are wax, honey, cardamoms, myrabolams, ginger, dammer, turmeric, deer horns, elephant tusks, and rattans. and of these, cardamoms, wax, honey, and rattans are the most important. honey and wax are collected at all seasons, and cardamoms from september to november. the total value of the minor produce collected, in 1897-98, in the south coimbatore division (which includes the anaimalais) was rs. 7,886. this sum was exceptionally high owing to a good cardamom crop. an average year would yield a revenue of rs. 4,000-5,000, of which the kadirs receive approximately 50 per cent. they work for the forest department on a system of short advances for a daily wage of 4 annas. and, at the present day, the interests of the forest department and planters, who have acquired land on the anaimalais, both anxious to secure hill men for labour, have come into mild collision. some kadirs are good trackers, and a few are good shikaris. a zoological friend, who had nicknamed his small child his "little shikari" (=little sportsman) was quite upset because i, hailing from india, did not recognise the word with his misplaced accent. one kadir, named viapoori muppan, is still held in the memory of europeans, who made a good living, in days gone by, by shooting tuskers, and had one arm blown off by the bursting of a gun. he is reputed to have been a much married man, greatly addicted to strong drinks, and to have flourished on the proceeds of his tusks. at the present day, if a kadir finds tusks, he must declare the find as treasure-trove, and hand it over to government, who rewards him at the rate of rs. 15 to rs. 25 per maund of 25 lb. according to the quality. government makes a good profit on the transaction, as exceptionally good tusks have been known to sell for rs. 5 per lb. if the find is not declared, and discovered, the possessor thereof is punished for theft according to the act. by an elastic use of the word cattle, it is, for the purposes of the madras forest act, made to include such a heterogeneous zoological collection of animals as elephants, sheep, pigs, goats, camels, buffaloes, horses--and asses. this classification recalls to mind the occasion on which the flying-fox or fox-bat was included in an official list of the insectivorous birds of the presidency; and, further, a report on the wild animals of a certain district, which was triumphantly headed with the "wild tattu," the long-suffering, but pig-headed country pony. i gather, from an account of the process by one who had considerable knowledge of the kadirs, that "they will only remove the hives of bees during dark nights, and never in the daytime or on moonlight nights. in removing them from cliffs, they use a chain made of bamboo or rattan, fixed to a stake or a tree on the top. the man, going down this fragile ladder, will only do so while his wife, or son watches above to prevent any foul play. they have a superstition that they should always return by the way they go down, and decline to get to the bottom of the cliff, although the distance may be less, and the work of re-climbing avoided. for hives on trees, they tie one or more long bamboos to reach up to the branch required, and then climb up. they then crawl along the branch until the hive is reached. they devour the bee-bread and the bee-maggots or larvæ, swallowing the wax as well." in a note on a shooting expedition in travancore, [9] mr. j. d. rees, describing the collection of honey by the kadirs of the southern hills, says that they "descend giddy precipices at night, torch in hand, to smoke out the bees, and take away their honey. a stout creeper is suspended over the abyss, and it is established law of the jungle that no brother shall assist in holding it. but it is more interesting to see them run a ladder a hundred feet up the perpendicular stem of a tree, than to watch them disappearing over a precipice. axe in hand, the honey-picker makes a hole in the bark for a little peg, standing on which he inserts a second peg higher up, ties a long cane from one to the other, and by night--for the darkness gives confidence--he will ascend the tallest trees, and bring down honey without any accident." i have been told, with how much of truth i know not, that, when a kadir goes down the face of a rock or precipice in search of honey, he sometimes takes with him, as a precautionary measure, and guarantee of his safety, the wife of the man who is holding the ladder above. often, when out on the tramp with the late government botanist, mr. m. a. lawson, i have heard him lament that it is impossible to train arboreal monkeys to collect specimens of the fruit and flowers of lofty forest trees, which are inaccessible to the ordinary man. far superior to any trained simian is the kadir, who, by means of pegs or notches, climbs even the tallest masts of trees with an agility which recalls to memory the celebrated picture in "punch," representing darwin's 'habit of climbing plants.' for the ascent of comparatively low trees, notches are made with a bill-hook, alternately right and left, at intervals of about thirty inches. to this method the kadir will not have recourse in wet weather, as the notches are damp and slippery, and there is the danger of an insecure foot-hold. an important ethnographic fact, and one which is significant, is that the detailed description of tree-climbing by the dyaks of borneo, as given by wallace, [10] might have been written on the anaimalai hills, and would apply equally well in every detail to the kadir. "they drove in," wallace writes, "a peg very firmly at about three feet from the ground, and, bringing one of the long bamboos, stood it upright close to the tree, and bound it firmly to the two first pegs by means of a bark cord and small notches near the head of each peg. one of the dyaks now stood on the first peg and drove in a third about level with his face, to which he tied the bamboo in the same way, and then mounted another step, standing on one foot, and holding by the bamboo at the peg immediately above him, while he drove in the next one. in this manner he ascended about twenty feet, when the upright bamboo became thin; another was handed up by his companion, and this was joined on by tying both bamboos to three or four of the pegs. when this was also nearly ended, a third was added, and shortly after the lowest branch of the tree was reached, along which the young dyak scrambled. the ladder was perfectly safe, since, if any one peg were loose or faulty, the strain would be thrown on several others above and below it. i now understood the use of the line of bamboo pegs sticking in trees, which i had often seen." in their search for produce in the evergreen forests of the higher ranges, with their heavy rainfall, the kadirs became unpleasantly familiar with leeches and blue bottle flies, which flourish in the moist climate. and it is recorded that a kadir, who had been gored and wounded by a bull 'bison,' was placed in a position of safety while a friend ran to the village to summon help. he was not away for more than an hour, but, in that short time, flies had deposited thousands of maggots in the wounds, and, when the man was brought into camp, they had already begun burrowing into the flesh, and were with difficulty extracted. on another occasion, the eye-witness of the previous unappetising incident was out alone in the forest, and shot a tiger two miles or so from his camp. thither he went to collect coolies to carry in the carcase, and was away for about two hours, during which the flies had, like the child in the story, 'not been idle,' the skin being a mass of maggots and totally ruined. i have it on authority that, like the kotas of the nilgiris, the kadirs will eat the putrid and fly-blown flesh of carcases of wild beasts, which they come across in their wanderings. to a dietary which includes succulent roots, which they upturn with a digging stick, bamboo seed, sheep, fowls, rock-snakes (python), deer, porcupines, rats (field, not house), wild pigs, monkeys, etc., they do credit by displaying a hard, well-nourished body. the mealy portion of the seeds of the cycas tree, which flourishes on the lower slopes of the anaimalais, forms a considerable addition to the ménu. in its raw state the fruit is said to be poisonous, but it is evidently wholesome when cut into slices, thoroughly soaked in running water, dried, and ground into flour for making cakes, or baked in hot ashes. mr. vincent writes that, "during march, april, and may, the kadirs have a glorious time. they usually manage to find some wild sago palms, called by them koondtha panai, of the proper age, which they cut down close to the ground. they are then cut into lengths of about 1 1/2 feet, and split lengthways. the sections are then beaten very hard and for a long time with mallets, and become separated into fibre and powder. the powder is thoroughly wetted, tied in cloths and well beaten with sticks. every now and then, between the beatings, the bag of powder is dipped in water, and well strained. it is then all put into water, when the powder sinks, and the water is poured off. the residue is well boiled, with constant stirring, and, when it is of the consistency of rubber, and of a reddish brown colour, it is allowed to cool, and then cut in pieces to be distributed. this food stuff is palatable enough, but very tough." the kadir is said to prefer roasting and eating the flesh of animals with the skin on. for catching rats, jungle-fowl, etc., he resorts to cunningly devised snares and traps made of bamboo and fibre, as a substitute for a gun. porcupines are caught by setting fire to the scrub jungle round them as they lie asleep, and thus smoking and burning them to death. when a kadir youth's thoughts turn towards matrimony, he is said to go to the village of his bride-elect, and give her a dowry by working there for a year. on the wedding day a feast of rice, sheep, fowls, and other luxuries is given by the parents of the bridegroom, to which the kadir community is invited. the bride and bridegroom stand beneath a pandal (arch) decorated with flowers, which is erected outside the home of the bridegroom, while men and women dance separately to the music of drum and fife. the bridegroom's mother or sister ties the tali (marriage badge) of gold or silver round the bride's neck, and her father puts a turban on the head of the bridegroom. the contracting parties link together the little fingers of their right hands as a token of their union, and walk in procession round the pandal. then, sitting on a reed mat of kadir manufacture, they exchange betel. the marriage tie can be dissolved for incompatibility of temper, disobedience on the part of the wife, adultery, etc., without appeal to any higher authority than a council of elders, who pronounce judgment on the evidence. as an illustration of the manner in which such a council of hill-men disposes of cases, mr. bensley cites the case of a man who was made to carry forty basket loads of sand to the house of the person against whom he had offended. he points out how absolute is the control exercised by the council. disobedience would be followed by excommunication, and this would mean being turned out into the jungle, to obtain a living in the best way one could. by one kadir informant i was assured, as he squatted on the floor of my bungalow at "question time," that it is essential that a wife should be a good cook, in accordance with a maxim that the way to the heart is through the mouth. how many men in civilised western society, who suffer from marrying a wife wholly incompetent, like the first mrs. david copperfield, to conduct the housekeeping, might well be envious of the system of marriage as a civil contract to be sealed or unloosed according to the cookery results! polygyny is indulged in by the kadirs, who agree with benedick that "the world must be peopled," and hold more especially that the numerical strength of their own tribe must be maintained. the plurality of wives seems to be mainly with the desire for offspring, and the father-in-law of one of the forest-guards informed me that he had four wives living. the first two wives producing no offspring, he married a third, who bore him a solitary male child. considering the result to be an insufficient contribution to the tribe, he married a fourth, who, more prolific than her colleagues, gave birth to three girls and a boy, with which he remained content. in the code of polygynous etiquette, the first wife takes precedence over the others, and each wife has her own cooking utensils. special huts are maintained for women during menstruation and parturition. mr. vincent informs me that, when a girl reaches puberty, the friends of the family gather together, and a great feast is prepared. all her friends and relations give her a small present of money, according to their means. the girl is decorated with the family jewelry, and made to look as smart as possible. for the first menstrual period, a special hut, called mutthu salai or ripe house, is constructed for the girl to live in during the period of pollution; but at subsequent periods, the ordinary menstruation hut, or unclean house, is used. all girls are said to change their names when they reach puberty. for three months after the birth of a child, the woman is considered unclean. when the infant is a month old, it is named without any elaborate ceremonial, though the female friends of the family collect together. sexual intercourse ceases on the establishment of pregnancy, and the husband indulges in promiscuity. widows are not allowed to re-marry, but may live in a state of concubinage. women are said to suckle their children till they are two or three years old, and a mother has been seen putting a lighted cigarette to the lips of a year old baby immediately after suckling it. if this is done with the intention of administering a sedative, it is less baneful than the pellet of opium administered by ayahs (nurses) to anglo-indian babies rendered fractious by troubles climatic, dental, and other. the kadir men are said to consume large quantities of opium, which is sold to them illicitly. they will not allow the women or children to eat it, and have a belief that the consumption thereof by women renders them barren. the women chew tobacco. the men smoke the coarse tobacco as sold in the bazars, and showed a marked appreciation of spencer's torpedo cheroots, which i distributed among them for the purposes of bribery and conciliation. the religion of the kadirs is a crude polytheism, and vague worship of stone images or invisible gods. it is, as mr. bensley expresses it, an ejaculatory religion, finding vent in uttering the names of the gods and demons. the gods, as enumerated and described to me, were as follows:-(1) paikutlatha, a projecting rock overhanging a slab of rock, on which are two stones set up on end. two miles east of mount stuart. (2) athuvisariamma, a stone enclosure, ten to fifteen feet square, almost level with the ground. it is believed that the walls were originally ten feet high, and that the mountain has grown up round it. within the enclosure there is a representation of the god. eight miles north of mount stuart. (3) vanathavathi. has no shrine, but is worshipped anywhere as an invisible god. (4) iyappaswami, a stone set up beneath a teak tree, and worshipped as a protector against various forms of sickness and disease. in the act of worshipping, a mark is made on the stone with ashes. two miles and a half from mount stuart, on the ghat road to sethumadai. (5) masanyatha, a female recumbent figure in stone on a masonry wall in an open plain near the village of anaimalai, before which trial by ordeal is carried out. the goddess has a high repute for her power of detecting thieves or rogues. chillies are thrown into a fire in her name, and the guilty person suffers from vomiting and diarrhoea. according to mr. l. k. anantha krishna iyer, [11] the kadirs are "worshippers of kali. on the occasion of the offering to kali, a number of virgins are asked to bathe as a preliminary to the preparation of the offering, which consists of rice and some vegetables cooked in honey, and made into a sweet pudding. the rice for this preparation is unhusked by these girls. the offering is considered to be sacred, and is partaken of by all men, women, and children assembled." when kadirs fall sick, they worship the gods by saluting them with their hands to the face, burning camphor, and offering up fruits, cocoanuts, and betel. mr. vincent tells me that they have a horror of cattle, and will not touch the ordure, or other products of the cow. yet they believe that their gods occasionally reside in the body of a "bison," and have been known to do puja (worship) when a bull has been shot by a sportsman. it is noted by mr. anantha krishna iyer that wild elephants are held in veneration by them, but tame ones are believed to have lost the divine element. the kadirs are said, during the hindu vishu festival, to visit the plains, and, on their way, pray to any image which they chance to come across. they are believers in witchcraft, and attribute all diseases to the miraculous workings thereof. they are good exorcists, and trade in mantravadam or magic. mr. logan mentions [12] that "the family of famous trackers, whose services in the jungles were retained for h.r.h. the prince of wales' (now king edward) projected sporting tour in the anamalai mountains, dropped off most mysteriously, one by one, shortly afterwards, stricken down by an unseen hand, and all of them expressing beforehand their conviction that they were under a certain individual's spell, and were doomed to certain death at an early date. they were probably poisoned, but how it was managed remains a mystery, although the family was under the protection of a european gentleman, who would at once have brought to light any ostensible foul play." the kadir dead are buried in a grave, or, if death occurs in the depths of the jungles, with a paucity of hands available for digging, the corpse is placed in a crevice between the rocks, and covered over with stones. the grave is dug from four to five feet deep. there is no special burial-ground, but some spot in the jungle, not far from the scene of death, is selected. a band of music, consisting of drum and fife, plays weird dirges outside the hut of the deceased, and whistles are blown when it is carried away therefrom. the old clothes of the deceased are spread under the corpse, and a new cloth is put on it. it is tied up in a mat, which completely covers it, and carried to the burial-ground on a bamboo stretcher. as it leaves the hut, rice is thrown over it. the funeral ceremony is simple in the extreme. the corpse is laid in the grave on a mat in the recumbent posture, with the head towards the east, and with split bamboo and leaves placed all round it, so that not a particle of earth can touch it. no stone, or sepulchral monument of any kind, is set up to mark the spot. the kadir believes that the dead go to heaven, which is in the sky, but has no views as to what sort of place it is. the story that the kadirs eat their dead originated with europeans, the origin of it being that no one had ever seen a dead kadir, a grave, or sign of a burial-place. the kadirs themselves are reticent as to their method of disposing of the dead, and the story, which was started as a joke, became more or less believed. mr. vincent tells me that a well-to-do kadir family will perform the final death ceremonies eight days after death, but poorer folk have to wait a year or more, till they have collected sufficient money for the expenses thereof. at cock-crow on the morning of the ceremonies, rice, called polli chor, is cooked, and piled up on leaves in the centre of the hut of the deceased. cooked rice, called tullagu chor, is then placed in each of the four corners of the hut, to propitiate the gods, and to serve as food for them and the spirit of the dead person. at a short distance from the hut, rice, called kanal chor, is cooked for all kadirs who have died, and been buried. the relations and friends of the deceased commence to cry, and make lamentations, and proclaim his good qualities, most of which are fictitious. after an hour or so, they adjourn to the hut of the deceased, where the oldest man present invokes the gods, and prays to them and to the heaped up food. a pinch from each of the heaps is thrown into the air as a gift of food to the gods, and those present fall to, and eat heartily, being careful to partake of each of the food-stuffs, consisting of rice, meat, and vegetables, which have been prepared. on a certain monday in the months of adi and avani, the kadirs observe a festival called nombu, during which a feast is held, after they have bathed and anointed themselves with oil. it was, they say, observed by their ancestors, but they have no definite tradition as to its origin or significance. it is noted by mr. anantha krishna iyer that, at the onam festival, presents in the shape of rice, cloths, coats, turbans, caps, ear-rings, tobacco, opium, salt, oil and cocoanuts are distributed among the kadirs by the forest department. according to mr. bensley, "the kadir has an air of calm dignity, which leads one to suppose that he had some reason for having a more exalted opinion of himself than that entertained for him by the outside world. a forest officer of a philanthropic turn had a very high opinion of the sturdy independence and blunt honesty of the kadir, but he once came unexpectedly round a corner, to find two of them exploring the contents of his port-manteau, from which they had abstracted a pair of scissors, a comb, and a looking glass." "the kadirs," mr. (now sir f. a.) nicholson writes, [13] "are, as a rule, rather short in stature, and deep-chested, like most mountaineers; and, like many true mountaineers, they rarely walk with a straight leg. hence their thigh muscles are often abnormally developed at the expense of those of the calf. hence, too, in part, their dislike to walking long distances on level ground, though their objection, mentioned by colonel douglas hamilton, to carrying loads on the plains, is deeper-rooted than that arising from mere physical disability. this objection is mainly because they are rather a timid race, and never feel safe out of the forests. they have also affirmed that the low-country air is very trying to them." as a matter of fact, they very rarely go down to the plains, even as far as the village of anaimalai, only fifteen miles distant from mount stuart. one woman, whom i saw, had been as far as palghat by railway from coimbatore, and had returned very much up-to-date in the matter of jewelry and the latest barbarity in imported piece-good body-cloth. with the chest-girth of the kadirs, as well as their general muscular development, i was very much impressed. their hardiness, mr. conner writes, [14] has given rise to the observation among their neighbours that the kadir and kad anai (wild elephant) are much the same sort of animal. perhaps the most interesting custom of the kadirs is that of chipping all or some of the incisor teeth, both upper and lower, into the form of a sharp-pointed, but not serrated cone. the operation, which is performed with a chisel or bill-hook and file by members of the tribe skilled therein, on boys and girls, has been thus described. the girl to be operated on lies down, and places her head against a female friend, who holds her head firmly. a woman takes a sharpened bill-hook, and chips away the teeth till they are shaded to a point, the girl operated on writhing and groaning with the pain. after the operation she appears dazed, and in a very few hours the face begins to swell. swelling and pain last for a day or two, accompanied by severe headache. the kadirs say that chipped teeth make an ugly man or woman handsome, and that a person, whose teeth have not been thus operated on, has teeth and eats like a cow. whether this practice is one which the kadir, and mala vedar of travancore, have hit on spontaneously in comparatively recent times, or whether it is a relic of a custom resorted to by their ancestors of long ago, which remains as a stray survival of a custom once more widely practiced by the remote inhabitants of southern india, cannot be definitely asserted, but i incline to the latter view. a friendly old woman, with huge discs in the widely dilated lobes of the ears, and a bamboo five-pronged comb in her back-hair, who acted as spokesman on the occasion of a visit to a charmingly situated settlement in a jungle of magnificent bamboos by the side of a mountain stream, pointed out to me, with conscious pride, that the huts were largely constructed by the females, while the men worked for the sircar (government). the females also carry water from the streams, collect firewood, dig up edible roots, and carry out the sundry household duties of a housewife. both men and women are clever at plaiting bamboo baskets, necklets, etc. i was told one morning by a kadir man, whom i met on the road, as an important item of news, that the women in his settlement were very busy dressing to come and see me--an event as important to them as the dressing of a débutante for presentation at the court of st. james'. they eventually turned up without their husbands, and evidently regarded my methods as a huge joke organised for the amusement of themselves and their children. the hair was neatly parted, anointed with a liberal application of cocoanut oil, and decked with wild flowers. beauty spots and lines had been painted with coal-tar dyes on the forehead, and turmeric powder freely sprinkled over the top of the heads of the married women. some had even discarded the ragged and dirty cotton cloth of every-day life in favour of a colour-printed imported sari. one bright, good-looking young woman, who had already been through the measuring ordeal, acted as an efficient lady-help in coaching the novices in the assumption of the correct positions. she very readily grasped the situation, and was manifestly proud of her temporary elevation to the rank of standard-bearer to government. dr. k. t. preuss has drawn my attention to an article in globus, 1899, entitled 'die zauberbilder schriften der negrito in malaka,' wherein he describes in detail the designs on the bamboo combs worn by the negritos of malacca, and compares them with the strikingly similar design on the combs worn by the kadir women. dr. preuss works out in detail the theory that the design is not, as i have elsewhere called it, a geometrical pattern, but consists of a series of hieroglyphics. the collection of kadir combs in the madras museum shows very clearly that the patterns thereon are conventional designs. the bamboo combs worn by the semang women are stated [15] to serve as talismans, to protect them against diseases which are prevalent, or most dreaded by them. mr. vincent informs me that, so far as he knows, the kadir combs are not looked on as charms, and the markings thereon have no mystic significance. a kadir man should always make a comb, and present it to his intended wife just before marriage, or at the conclusion of the marriage ceremony, and the young men vie with each other as to who can make the nicest comb. sometimes they represent strange articles on the combs. mr. vincent has, for example, seen a comb with a very good imitation of the face of a clock scratched on it. it is sometimes difficult to distinguish adolescent kadir youths with curly fringe, chests covered by a cotton cloth, and wearing necklets made of plaited grass or glass and brass beads, from girls. and i was myself several times caught in an erroneous diagnosis of sex. many of the infants have a charm tied round the neck, which takes the form of a dried tortoise foot; the tooth of a crocodile mimicking a phallus, and supposed to ward off attacks from a mythical water elephant which lives in the mountain streams; or wooden imitations of tiger's claws. one baby wore a necklet made of the seeds of coix lachryma-jobi (job's tears). males have the lobes of the ears adorned with brass ornaments, and the nostril pierced, and plugged with wood. the ear-lobes of the females are widely dilated with palm-leaf rolls or huge wooden discs, and they wear ear-rings, brass or steel bangles and finger-rings, and bead necklets. it is recorded by mr. anantha krishna iyer that the kadirs are attached to the raja of cochin "by the strongest ties of personal affection and regard. whenever his highness tours in the forests, they follow him, carry him from place to place in manjals or palanquins, carry saman (luggage), and in fact do everything for him. his highness in return is much attached to them, feeds them, gives them cloths, ornaments, combs, and looking-glasses." the kadirs will not eat with malasars, who are beef-eaters, and will not carry boots made of cow-hide, except under protest. average stature 157.7 cm.; cephalic index 72.9; nasal index 89. kadle.--kadle, kalle, and kadale meaning bengal gram (cicer arietinum) have been recorded as exogamous septs or gotras of kurubas and kurnis. kadu.--kadu or kattu, meaning wild or jungle, has been recorded as a division of golla, irula, korava, kurumba, and tottiyan. kadu also occurs as an exogamous sept or gotra of the kurnis. kadu konkani is stated, in the madras census report, 1901, to mean the bastard konkanis, as opposed to the god or pure konkanis. kattu marathi is a synonym for the bird-catching kuruvikarans. in the malabar wynaad, the jungle kurumbas are known as kattu nayakan. kadukuttukiravar.--a synonym, meaning one who bores a hole in the ear, for koravas who perform the operation of piercing the lobes of the ears for various castes. kaduppattan.--the kadupattans are said, [16] according to the traditional account of their origin, to have been pattar brahmans of kadu gramam, who became degraded owing to their supporting the introduction of buddhism. "the members of this caste are," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [17] "at present mostly palanquin-bearers, and carriers of salt, oil, etc. the educated among them follow the profession of teaching, and are called ezhuttacchan, i.e., master of learning. both titles are used in the same family. in the native state of cochin, the kaduppattan is a salt-worker. in british malabar he is not known to have followed that profession for some generations past, but it may be that, salt manufacture having long ago been stopped in south malabar, he has taken to other professions, one of which is the carriage of salt. in manners and customs kaduppattans resemble nayars, but their inheritance follows the male line." the kaduppattans are described [18] by mr. logan as "a caste hardly to be distinguished from the nayars. they follow a modified makkatayam system of inheritance, in which the property descends from father to son, but not from father to daughter. the girls are married before attaining puberty, and the bridegroom, who is to be the girl's real husband in after life, arranges the dowry and other matters by means of mediators (enangan). the tali is tied round the girl's neck by the bridegroom's sister or a female relative. at the funeral ceremonies of this class, the barber caste perform priestly functions, giving directions and preparing oblation rice. a widow without male issue is removed on the twelfth day after her husband's death from his house to that of her own parents. and this is done even if she has female issue. but, on the contrary, if she has borne sons to the deceased, she is not only entitled to remain at her husband's house, but she continues to have, in virtue of her sons, a joint right over his property." kahar.--in the madras census report, 1901, the kahars are returned as a bengal caste of boatmen and fishermen. in the mysore census report, it is noted that kahar means in hindustani a blacksmith, and that those censused were immigrants from the bombay presidency. kaikatti (one who shows the hand).--a division of the kanakkans (accountants). the name has its origin in a custom, according to which a married woman is never allowed to communicate with her mother-in-law except by signs. [19] kaikolan.--the kaikolans are a large caste of tamil weavers found in all the southern districts, who also are found in considerable numbers in the telugu country, where they have adopted the telugu language. a legend is current that the nayakkan kings of madura were not satisfied with the workmanship of the kaikolans, and sent for foreign weavers from the north (patnulkarans), whose descendants now far out-number the tamil weavers. the word kaikolan is the tamil equivalent of the sanskrit virabahu, a mythological hero, from whom both the kaikolans and a section of the paraiyans claim descent. the kaikolans are also called sengundar (red dagger) in connection with the following legend. "the people of the earth, being harassed by certain demons, applied to siva for help. siva was enraged against the giants, and sent forth six sparks of fire from his eyes. his wife, parvati, was frightened, and retired to her chamber, and, in so doing, dropped nine beads from her anklets. siva converted the beads into as many females, to each of whom was born a hero with full-grown moustaches and a dagger. these nine heroes, with subramanya at their head, marched in command of a large force, and destroyed the demons. the kaikolans or sengundar are said to be the descendants of virabahu, one of these heroes. after killing the demon, the warriors were told by siva that they should become musicians, and adopt a profession, which would not involve the destruction or injury of any living creature, and, weaving being such a profession, they were trained in it." [20] according to another version, siva told parvati that the world would be enveloped in darkness if he should close his eyes. impelled by curiosity, parvati closed her husband's eyes with her hands. being terrified by the darkness, parvati ran to her chamber, and, on the way thither, nine precious stones fell from her anklets, and turned into nine fair maidens, with whom siva became enamoured and embraced them. seeing later on that they were pregnant, parvati uttered a curse that they should not bring forth children formed in their wombs. one padmasura was troubling the people in this world, and, on their praying to siva to help them, he told subramanya to kill the asura. parvati requested siva not to send subramanya by himself, and he suggested the withdrawal of her curse. accordingly, the damsels gave birth to nine heroes, who, carrying red daggers, and headed by subramanya, went in search of the asura, and killed him. the word kaikol is said to refer to the ratnavel or precious dagger carried by subramanya. the kaikolans, on the sura samharam day during the festival of subramanya, dress themselves up to represent the nine warriors, and join in the procession. the name kaikolan is further derived from kai (hand), and kol (shuttle). the kaikolans consider the different parts of the loom to represent various devatas and rishis. the thread is said to have been originally obtained from the lotus stalk rising from vishnu's navel. several devas formed the threads, which make the warp; narada became the woof; and vedamuni the treadle. brahma transformed himself into the plank (padamaram), and adisesha into the main rope. in some places, the following sub-divisions of the caste are recognised:--sozhia; rattu; siru-tali (small marriage badge); peru-tali (big marriage badge); sirpadam, and sevaghavritti. the women of the siru and peru-tali divisions wear a small and large tali respectively. in religion, most of the kaikolans are saivites, and some have taken to wearing the lingam, but a few are vaishnavites. the hereditary headman of the caste is called peridanakaran or pattakaran, and is, as a rule, assisted by two subordinates entitled sengili or gramani, and ural. but, if the settlement is a large one, the headman may have as many as nine assistants. according to mr. h. a. stuart, [21] "the kaikolans acknowledge the authority of a headman, or mahanattan, who resides at conjeeveram, but itinerates among their villages, receiving presents, and settling caste disputes. where his decision is not accepted without demur, he imposes upon the refractory weavers the expense of a curious ceremony, in which the planting of a bamboo post takes part. from the top of this pole the mahanattan pronounces his decision, which must be acquiesced in on pain of excommunication." from information gathered at conjeeveram, i learn that there is attached to the kaikolans a class of mendicants called nattukattada nayanmar. the name means the nayanmar who do not plant, in reference to the fact that, when performing, they fix their bamboo pole to the gopuram of a temple, instead of planting it in the ground. they are expected to travel about the country, and, if a caste dispute requires settlement, a council meeting is convened, at which they must be present as the representatives of the mahanadu, a chief kaikolan head-quarters at conjeeveram. if the dispute is a complicated one, the nattukattada nayanmar goes to all the kaikolan houses, and makes a red mark with laterite [22] on the cloth in the loom, saying "andvaranai," as signifying that it is done by order of the headman. the kaikolans may, after this, not go on with their work until the dispute is settled, for the trial of which a day is fixed. the nattukattada nayanmars set up on a gopuram their pole, which should have seventy-two internodes, and measure at least as many feet. the number of internodes corresponds to that of the nadus into which the kaikolan community is divided. kamatchiamma is worshipped, and the nattukattada nayanmars climb up the pole, and perform various feats. finally, the principal actor balances a young child in a tray on a bamboo, and, letting go of the bamboo, catches the falling child. the origin of the performance is said to have been as follows. the demon suran was troubling the devas and men, and was advised by karthikeya (subramanya) and virabahu to desist from so doing. he paid no heed, and a fight ensued. the demon sent his son vajrabahu to meet the enemy, and he was slain by virabahu, who displayed the different parts of his body in the following manner. the vertebral column was made to represent a pole, round which the other bones were placed, and the guts tightly wound round them. the connective tissues were used as ropes to support the pole. the skull was used as a jaya-mani (conquest bell), and the skin hoisted as a flag. the trident of virabahu was fixed to the top of the pole, and, standing over it, he announced his victory over the world. the nattukattada nayanmars claim to be the descendants of virabahu. their head-quarters are at conjeeveram. they are regarded as slightly inferior to the kaikolans, with whom ordinarily they do not intermarry. the kaikolans have to pay them as alms a minimum fee of four annas per loom annually. another class of mendicant, called ponnambalaththar, which is said to have sprung up recently, poses as true caste beggars attached to the kaikolans, from whom, as they travel about the country, they solicit alms. some kaikolans gave ontipuli as the name of their caste beggars. the ontipulis, however, are nokkans attached to the pallis. the kaikolan community is, as already indicated, divided into seventy-two nadus or desams, viz., forty-four mel (western) and twenty-eight kil (eastern) nadus. intermarriages take place between members of seventy-one of these nadus. the great tamil poet ottaikuththar is said to have belonged to the kaikolan caste and to have sung the praises of all castes except his own. being angry on this account, the kaikolans urged him to sing in praise of them. this he consented to do, provided that he received 1,008 human heads. seventy-one nadus sent the first-born sons for the sacrifice, but one nadu (tirumarudhal) refused to send any. this refusal led to their isolation from the rest of the community. all the nadus are subject to the authority of four thisai nadus, and these in turn are controlled by the mahanadu at conjeeveram, which is the residence of the patron deity kamatchiamman. the thisai nadus are (1) sivapuram (walajabad), east of conjeeveram, where kamatchiamman is said to have placed nandi as a guard; (2) thondipuram, where thondi vinayakar was stationed; (3) virinjipuram to the west, guarded by subramanya; (4) sholingipuram to the south, watched over by bairava. each of the seventy-one nadus is sub-divided into kilai gramams (branch villages), perur (big) and sithur (little) gramams. in tamil works relating to the sengundar caste, conjeeveram is said to be the mahanadu, and those belonging thereto are spoken of as the nineteen hundred, who are entitled to respect from other kaikolans. another name for kaikolans of the mahanadu seems to be andavar; but in practice this name is confined to the headman of the mahanadu, and members of his family. they have the privilege of sitting at council meetings with their backs supported by pillows, and consequently bear the title thindusarndan (resting on pillows). at present there are two sections of kaikolans at conjeeveram, one living at ayyampettai, and the other at pillaipalayam. the former claim ayyampettai as the mahanadu, and refuse to recognise pillaipalayam, which is in the heart of conjeeveram, as the mahanadu. disputes arose, and recourse was had to the vellore court in 1904, where it was decided that ayyampettai possesses no claim to be called the mahanadu. many kaikolan families have now abandoned their hereditary employment as weavers in favour of agriculture and trade, and some of the poorer members of the caste work as cart-drivers and coolies. at coimbatore some hereditary weavers have become cart-drivers, and some cart-drivers have become weavers de necessité in the local jail. in every kaikolan family, at least one girl should be set apart for, and dedicated to temple service. and the rule seems to be that, so long as this girl or her descendants, born to her or adopted, continue to live, another girl is not dedicated. but, when the line becomes extinct, another girl must be dedicated. all the kaikolans deny their connection with the deva-dasi (dancing-girl) caste. but kaikolans freely take meals in dasi houses on ceremonial occasions, and it would not be difficult to cite cases of genuine dasis who have relationship with rich kaikolans. kaikolan girls are made dasis either by regular dedication to a temple, or by the headman tying the tali (nattu pottu). the latter method is at the present day adopted because it is considered a sin to dedicate a girl to the god after she has reached puberty, and because the securing of the requisite official certificate for a girl to become a dasi involves considerable trouble. "it is said," mr. stuart writes, [23] "that, where the head of a house dies, leaving only female issue, one of the girls is made a dasi in order to allow of her working like a man at the loom, for no woman not dedicated in this manner may do so." of the orthodox form of ceremonial in connection with a girl's initiation as a dasi, the following account was given by the kaikolans of coimbatore. the girl is taught music and dancing. the dancing master or nattuvan, belongs to the kaikolan caste, but she may be instructed in music by brahman bhagavathans. at the tali-tying ceremony, which should take place after the girl has reached puberty, she is decorated with jewels, and made to stand on a heap of paddy (unhusked rice). a folded cloth is held before her by two dasis, who also stand on heaps of paddy. the girl catches hold of the cloth, and her dancing master, who is seated behind her, grasping her legs, moves them up and down in time with the music, which is played. in the course of the day, relations and friends are entertained, and, in the evening, the girl, seated astride a pony, is taken to the temple, where a new cloth for the idol, the tali, and various articles required for doing puja, have been got ready. the girl is seated facing the idol, and the officiating brahman gives sandal and flowers to her, and ties the tali, which has been lying at the feet of the idol, round her neck. the tali consists of a golden disc and black beads. betel and flowers are then distributed among those present, and the girl is taken home through the principal streets. she continues to learn music and dancing, and eventually goes through a form of nuptial ceremony. the relations are invited for an auspicious day, and the maternal uncle, or his representative, ties a gold band on the girl's forehead, and, carrying her, places her on a plank before the assembled guests. a brahman priest recites the mantrams, and prepares the sacred fire (homam). the uncle is presented with new cloths by the girl's mother. for the actual nuptials a rich brahman, if possible, and, if not, a brahman of more lowly status is invited. a brahman is called in, as he is next in importance to, and the representative of the idol. it is said that, when the man who is to receive her first favours, joins the girl, a sword must be placed, at least for a few minutes, by her side. when a dasi dies, her body is covered with a new cloth removed from the idol, and flowers are supplied from the temple, to which she belonged. no puja is performed in the temple till the body is disposed of, as the idol, being her husband, has to observe pollution. writing a century ago (1807) concerning the kaikolan dasis, buchanan says [24] that "these dancing women, and their musicians, now form a separate kind of caste; and a certain number of them are attached to every temple of any consequence. the allowances which the musicians receive for their public duty is very small, yet, morning and evening, they are bound to attend at the temple to perform before the image. they must also receive every person travelling on account of the government, meet him at some distance from the town, and conduct him to his quarters with music and dancing. all the handsome girls are instructed to dance and sing, and are all prostitutes, at least to the brahmans. in ordinary sets they are quite common; but, under the company's government, those attached to temples of extraordinary sanctity are reserved entirely for the use of the native officers, who are all brahmans, and who would turn out from the set any girl that profaned herself by communication with persons of low caste, or of no caste at all, such as christians or mussulmans. indeed, almost every one of these girls that is tolerably sightly is taken by some officer of revenue for his own special use, and is seldom permitted to go to the temple, except in his presence. most of these officers have more than one wife, and the women of the brahmans are very beautiful; but the insipidity of their conduct, from a total want of education or accomplishment, makes the dancing women to be sought after by all natives with great avidity. the mussulman officers in particular were exceedingly attached to this kind of company, and lavished away on these women a great part of their incomes. the women very much regret their loss, as the mussulmans paid liberally, and the brahmans durst not presume to hinder any girl who chose, from amusing an asoph, or any of his friends. the brahmans are not near so lavish of their money, especially where it is secured by the company's government, but trust to their authority for obtaining the favour of the dancers. to my taste, nothing can be more silly and unanimated than the dancing of the women, nor more harsh and barbarous than their music. some europeans, however, from long habit, i suppose, have taken a liking to it, and have even been captivated by the women. most of them i have had an opportunity of seeing have been very ordinary in their looks, very inelegant in their dress, and very dirty in their persons; a large proportion of them have the itch, and a still larger proportion are most severely diseased." though the kaikolans are considered to belong to the left-hand faction, dasis, except those who are specially engaged by the beri chettis and kammalans, are placed in the right-hand faction. kaikolan dasis, when passing through a kammalan street, stop dancing, and they will not salute kammalans or beri chettis. a peculiar method of selecting a bride, called siru tali kattu (tying the small tali), is said to be in vogue among some kaikolans. a man, who wishes to marry his maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter, has to tie a tali, or simply a bit of cloth torn from her clothing, round her neck, and report the fact to his parents and the headman. if the girl eludes him, he cannot claim her, but, should he succeed, she belongs to him. in some places, the consent of the maternal uncle to a marriage is signified by his carrying the bride in his arms to the marriage pandal (booth). the milk-post is made of erythrina indica. after the tali has been tied, the bridegroom lifts the bride's left leg, and places it on a grinding-stone. widows are stated by mr. stuart to be "allowed to remarry if they have no issue, but not otherwise; and, if the prevalent idea that a kaikola woman is never barren be true, this must seldom take place." on the final day of the death ceremonies, a small hut is erected, and inside it stones, brought by the barber, are set up, and offerings made to them. the following proverbs are current about or among the kaikolans:- narrate stories in villages where there are no kaikolans. why should a weaver have a monkey? this, it has been suggested, [25] implies that a monkey would only damage the work. on examining the various occupations, weaving will be found to be the best. a peep outside will cut out eight threads. the person who was too lazy to weave went to the stars. the chetti (money-lender) decreases the money, and the weaver the thread. the titles of the kaikolans are mudali and nayanar. among the kaikolan musicians, i have seen every gradation of colour and type, from leptorhine men with fair skin and chiselled features, to men very dark and platyrhine, with nasal index exceeding 90. the kaikolans take part in the annual festival at tirupati in honour of the goddess gangamma. "it is," mr. stuart writes, [26] "distinguished from the majority of similar festivals by a custom, which requires the people to appear in a different disguise (vesham) every morning and evening. the matangi vesham of sunday morning deserves special mention. the devotee who consents to undergo this ceremony dances in front of an image or representation of the goddess, and, when he is worked up to the proper pitch of frenzy, a metal wire is passed through the middle of his tongue. it is believed that this operation causes no pain, or even bleeding, and the only remedy adopted is the chewing of a few margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, and some kunkumam (red powder) of the goddess. this vesham is undertaken only by a kaikolan (weaver), and is performed only in two places--the house of a certain brahman and the mahant's math. the concluding disguise is that known as the perantalu vesham. perantalu signifies the deceased married women of a family who have died before their husbands, or, more particularly, the most distinguished of such women. this vesham is accordingly represented by a kaikolan disguised as a female, who rides round the town on a horse, and distributes to the respectable inhabitants of the place the kunkumam, saffron paste, and flowers of the goddess." for the following account of a ceremony, which took place at conjeeveram in august, 1908, i am indebted to the rev. j. h. maclean. "on a small and very lightly built car, about eight feet high, and running on four little wheels, an image of kali was placed. it was then dragged by about thirty men, attached to it by cords passed through the flesh of their backs. i saw one of the young men two days later. two cords had been drawn through his flesh, about twelve inches apart. the wounds were covered over with white stuff, said to be vibuthi (sacred ashes). the festival was organised by a class of weavers calling themselves sankunram (sengundar) mudaliars, the inhabitants of seven streets in the part of conjeeveram known as pillaipalyam. the total amount spent is said to have been rs. 500. the people were far from clear in their account of the meaning of the ceremony. one said it was a preventive of small-pox, but this view did not receive general support. most said it was simply an old custom: what good it did they could not say. thirty years had elapsed since the last festival. one man said that kali had given no commands on the subject, and that it was simply a device to make money circulate. the festival is called punter (flower car)." in september, 1908, an official notification was issued in the fort st. george gazette to the following effect. "whereas it appears that hook-swinging, dragging of cars by men harnessed to them by hooks which pierce their sides, and similar acts are performed during the mariyamman festival at samayapuram and other places in the trichinopoly division, trichinopoly district, and whereas such acts are dangerous to human life, the governor in council is pleased, under section 144, sub-section (5), of the code of criminal procedure, 1898, to direct that the order of the sub-divisional magistrate, dated the 7th august, 1908, prohibiting such acts, shall remain in force until further orders." it is noted by mr. f. r. hemingway [27] that, at ratnagiri, in the trichinopoly district, the kaikolans, in performance of a vow, thrust a spear through the muscles of the abdomen in honour of their god sahanayanar. kaila (measuring grain in the threshing-floor).--an exogamous sept of mala. kaimal.--a title of nayars, derived from kai, hand, signifying power. kaipuda.--a sub-division of holeya. kaivarta.--a sub-division of kevuto. kaka (crow).--the legend relating to the kaka people is narrated in the article on koyis. the equivalent kaki occurs as a sept of malas, and kako as a sept of kondras. kakara or kakarla (momordica charantia).--an exogamous sept of kamma and muka dora. kakirekka-vandlu (crows' feather people).--mendicants who beg from mutrachas, and derive their name from the fact that, when begging, they tie round their waists strings on which crows', paddy birds' (heron) feathers, etc., are tied. kakka kuravan.--a division of kuravas of travancore. kakkalan.--the kakkalans or kakkans are a vagrant tribe met with in north and central travancore, who are identical with the kakka kuravans of south travancore. there are among them four endogamous divisions called kavitiyan, manipparayan, meluttan, and chattaparayan, of which the two first are the most important. the kavitiyans are further sub-divided into kollak kavitiyan residing in central travancore, malayalam kavitiyan, and pandi kavitiyan or immigrants from the pandyan country. the kakkalans have a legend concerning their origin to the effect that siva was once going about begging as a kapaladharin, and arrived at a brahman street, from which the inhabitants drove him away. the offended god immediately reduced the village to ashes, and the guilty villagers begged his pardon, but were reduced to the position of the kakkalans, and made to earn their livelihood by begging. the women wear iron and silver bangles, and a palunka mala or necklace of variously coloured beads. they are tattooed, and tattooing members of other castes is one of their occupations, which include the following:-katukuttu, or boring the lobes of the ears. katuvaippu, or plastic operations on the ear, which nayar women and others who wear heavy pendant ear ornaments often require. kainokku or palmistry, in which the women are more proficient than the men. kompuvaippu, or placing the twig of a plant on any swelling of the body, and dissipating it by blowing on it. taiyyal, or tailoring. pampatam or snake dance, in which the kakkalans are unrivalled. fortune telling. the chief object of worship by the kakkalans is the rising sun, to which boiled rice is offered on sunday. they have no temples of their own, but stand at some distance from hindu temples, and worship the gods thereof. though leading a wandering life, they try to be at home for the malabar new year, on which occasion they wear new clothes, and hold a feast. they do not observe the national onam and vishu festivals. the kakkalans are conspicuously polygamous, and some have as many as twelve wives, who are easily supported, as they earn money by their professional engagements. a first marriage must be celebrated on sunday, and the festivities last from saturday to monday. subsequent marriages may also be celebrated on thursday. on the night of the day before the wedding, a brother, or other near relation of the bridegroom, places the sambandham (alliance) by bringing a fanam (coin), material for chewing, and cooked rice to the marriage pandal (booth). fruit and other things are flung at him by the bride's people. on the following day the bridegroom arrives at the pandal, and, after raising the tali (marriage badge) three times towards heaven, and, invoking a blessing from on high, ties it round the bride's neck. when a girl reaches puberty, a merry celebration is kept up for a week. the dead are buried. inheritance is from father to son. a childless widow is a coparcener with the brothers of the deceased, and forfeits this right if she remarries. though in the presence of other castes the kakkalans speak malayalam, they have a peculiar language which is used among themselves, and is not understood by others. [28] kakke (indian laburnum: cassia fistula).--a gotra of kurni. kala.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. kalaikuttadi (pole-dancer).--a tamil synonym of dommara. kalal.--a hindustani synonym of gamalla. kalamkotti (potter).--an occupational title of nayar. kalasi.--a name given to vada fishermen by oriya people. kalava (channel or ditch).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. kalavant.--the kalavants are dancers and singers, who, like other dancing-girls, are courtesans. the name occurs not only in south canara, but also in the telugu country. kalinga.--a sub-division of komatis, who "were formerly the inhabitants of the ancient kalinga country. they are considered inferior to the other sub-divisions, on account of their eating flesh. their titles are subaddhi, patro, and chaudari." [29] in the ganjam manual, they are described as "traders and shopkeepers, principally prevalent in the chicacole division. the name kling or kaling is applied, in the malay countries, including the straits settlements, to the people of peninsular india, who trade thither, or are settled in those regions." it is recorded by dr. n. annandale that the phrase orang kling islam (i.e., a muhammadan from the madras coast) occurs in patani malay. kalingi and kalinji.--there has been some confusion, in recorded accounts, between these two classes. in the ganjam manual, the kalinjis are described as agriculturists in that district, and, in the vizagapatam manual, the kalingas or kalingulu are stated to be cultivators in the vizagapatam district, and a caste of paiks or fighting men in jeypore. in the census report, 1891, the kalingis are said to be "most numerous in ganjam, but there is a considerable number of them in vizagapatam also. the word means a native of kalinga, the name of the sea-board of the telugu country; the word telugu itself is supposed by dr. caldwell to be a corruption of tri-kalinga. the three large sub-divisions of the caste are buragam, kintala, and odiya. in the kintala sub-division, a widow may remarry if she has no male issue, but the remarriage of widows is not allowed in other sub-divisions. the use of flesh and alcoholic liquor is permitted. naidu and chaudari are their titles." further, in the census report, 1901, the kalingis are described as follows: "a caste of temple priests and cultivators, found mainly in ganjam and vizagapatam, whither they are supposed to have been brought by the kalinga kings to do service in the hindu temples, before the advent of the brahmans. they speak either oriya or telugu. they have two sub-divisions, the kintali kalingas, who live south of the langulya river, and the buragam kalingis, who reside to the north of it, and the customs of the two differ a great deal. there is also a third section, called pandiri or bevarani, which is composed of outcastes from the other two. except the kalingis of mokhalingam in vizagapatam, [30] they have headmen called nayakabalis or santos. they also have priests called kularazus, each of whom sees to the spiritual needs of a definite group of villages. they are divided into several exogamous gotras, each comprising a number of families or vamsas, some of which, such as arudra, a lady-bird, and revi-chettu, the ficus religiosa tree, are of totemistic origin. each section is said to worship its totem. marriage before puberty is the rule, and the caste is remarkable for the proportion of its girls under twelve years of age who are married or widowed. widow marriage is not recognised by the buragam kalingis, but the kintalis freely allow it. as usual, the ceremonies at the wedding of a widow differ from those at the marriage of a maid. some turmeric paste is placed on a new cloth, which is then put over a pot of water, and the ceremony takes place near this. the binding portion of it is the tying of a saffron-coloured string to the woman's wrist. the kalingis pay special reverence to sri radha krishna and chaitanya. some of the caste officiate in temples, wear the sacred thread, and call themselves brahmans, but they are not received on terms of equality by other brahmans. all kalingis bury their dead, but sraddhas (memorial services) are performed only by the kintali sub-division. the buragam kalingis do not shave their heads in front. kalingi women wear heavy bangles of brass, silver bell-metal and glass, extending from the wrist to the elbow. the titles of the castes are naidu, nayarlu, chowdari, bissoyi, podhano, jenna, swayi, and naiko." in the foregoing account, the oriya-speaking kalinjis, and telugu-speaking kalingis, are both referred to. the confusion seems to have arisen from the fact that the kalinjis are sometimes called kalingis by other castes. the kalingis are essentially telugus, and are found mainly on the borderland between the districts of ganjam and vizagapatam. the kalinjis are, on the other hand, oriyas, and seem to be closely allied to the agricultural castes, doluva, alia, bosantiya, etc., like which they are mainly agriculturists. the kalinjis can be easily distinguished from the kalingis, as the latter wear the sacred thread. the following story is told in connection with the origin of the kalinji caste. a band of robbers was once upon a time staying in a fort near bhattu kunnarade, and molesting the people, who invited the king of puri to come and drive the robbers away. among the warriors who were recruited for this purpose, was a member of the khondaito caste, who, with the permission of the king, succeeded in expelling the robbers. he was named by the people bodo-kalinja, or one having a stout heart. he and his followers remained in the ganjam country, and the kalinjis are their descendants. the caste is widespread in the northern part thereof. there do not seem to be any sub-divisions among the kalinjis, but there is a small endogamous group, called mohiri kalinji. mohiri is a well-known division in ganjam, and kalinjis who dwell therein intermarry with others, and do not form a separate community. it has been suggested that the mohiri kalinjis are telugu kalingis, who have settled in the oriya country. like other oriya castes, the kalinjis have gotras, e.g., bano (sun), sukro (star), sanko (conch-shell), bhago (tiger) and nago (cobra). there is a good deal of confusion regarding the gotras in their connection with marriage. the same gotra, e.g., sukro, is exogamous in some places, and not so in others. many titles occur among the kalinjis, e.g., borado, bissoyi, bariko, behara, dolei, gaudo, jenna, moliko, naiko, patro, podhano, pulleyi, ravuto, santo, savu, swayi, guru. in some places, the titles are taken as representing bamsams (or vamsams), and, as such, are exogamous. families as a rule refrain from marrying into families bearing the same title. for example, a dolei man will not marry a dolei girl, especially if their gotras are the same. but a dolei may marry a pullei, even if they have the same gotra. the headman of the kalinjis is styled santo, and he is assisted by a patro. there is also a caste messenger, called bhollobhaya. for the whole community there are said to be four santos and four patros, residing at attagada, chinna kimedi, pedda kimedi, and mohiri. a man who is suffering from a wound or sore infested by maggots is said to be excommunicated, and, when he has recovered, to submit himself before the caste-council before he is received back into the community. girls are generally married before puberty, and, if a real husband is not forthcoming, a maid goes through a mock marriage ceremony with her elder sister's husband, or some elder of the community. a bachelor must be married to the sado (streblus asper) tree before he can marry a widow. the remarriage of widows (thuvathuvvi) is freely allowed. a widow, who has a brother-in-law, may not marry anyone else, until she has obtained a deed of separation (tsado patro) from him. the marriage ceremonies conform to the standard oriya type. in some places, the little fingers of the contracting couple are linked, instead of their hands being tied together with thread. on the fourth day, a bhondari (barber) places on the marriage dais some beaten rice and sugar-candy, which the bride and bridegroom sell to relations for money and grain. the proceeds of the sale are the perquisite of the bhondari. on the seventh day, the bridegroom breaks a pot on the dais, and, as he and the bride go away, the brother of the latter throws brinjal (solanum melongena) fruits at him. the dead are as a rule cremated. on the day after death, food, made bitter by the addition of margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, is offered. a piece of bone is carried away from the burning-ground, and buried under a pipal (ficus religiosa) tree. daily, until the tenth day, water is poured seven times over the spot where the bone is buried. on the tenth day, if the deceased was an elder of the community, the jola-jola handi ceremony is performed with a pot riddled with holes. (see bhondari.) kalkatta.--an occupation name for stone-masons in south canara. kalkatti.--kalkatti, denoting, it has been suggested, those who wear glass beads, is a sub-division of idaiyan. the lingayats among badagas of the nilgiri hills are called kalkatti, because they hang a stone (the lingam) from their necks in a casket. some irulas of the same hills are also said to go by the name kalkatti. kalla.--recorded as a sub-division of shanan, and of idaiyans in localities where kallans are most numerous. kalladi.--the title of a cheruman who performs important duties, and becomes possessed by the spirit of the deceased, at a cheruman funeral. kalladi mangan.--a synonym of mondi. kalladi siddhan.--the name, meaning a beggar who beats himself with a stone, of a class of telugu mendicants, who are very clamorous and persistent in their demands for alms. the name is applied as a term of contempt for any obstinate and troublesome individual. these beggars carry with them a gourd, have tortoise and cowry shells tied on their elbows, and carry an iron rod, with which they beat an iron ring worn on the hand. they present a very revolting spectacle, as they smear their bodies with rice done up so as to resemble vomit, and with the juice of the prickly-pear (opuntia dillenii), to make people believe that it is blood oozing from cuts made with a knife. they are said to be very fond of eating crows, which they catch with nets. (see mondi.) kallamu (threshing-floor).--an exogamous sept of panta reddi. kallan.--of the kallans of the madura district in the early part of the last century, an excellent account was written by mr. t. turnbull (1817), from which the following extract has been taken. "the cullaries are said to be in general a brave people, expert in the use of the lance and in throwing the curved stick called vullaree taddee. this weapon is invariably in use among the generality of this tribe; it is about 30 inches in curvature. the word cullar is used to express a thief of any caste, sect or country, but it will be necessary to trace their progress to that characteristic distinction by which this race is designated both a thief, and an inhabitant of a certain naud, which was not altogether exempted from paying tribute to the sovereign of madura. this race appears to have become hereditary occupiers, and appropriated to themselves various nauds in different parts of the southern countries; in each of these territories they have a chief among them, whose orders and directions they all must obey. they still possess one common character, and in general are such thieves that the name is very justly applied to them, for they seldom allow any merchandize to pass through their hands without extorting something from the owners, if they do not rob them altogether, and in fact travellers, pilgrims, and brahmans are attacked and stript of everything they possess, and they even make no scruple to kill any caste of people, save only the latter. in case a brahman happens to be killed in their attempt to plunder, when the fact is made known to the chief, severe corporal punishment is inflicted on the criminals and fines levied, besides exclusion from society for a period of six months. the maloor vellaloor and serrugoody nauds are denominated the keelnaud, whose inhabitants of the cullar race are designated by the appellation of amblacaurs. "the women are inflexibly vindictive and furious on the least injury, even on suspicion, which prompts them to the most violent revenge without any regard to consequences. a horrible custom exists among the females of the colleries when a quarrel or dissension arises between them. the insulted woman brings her child to the house of the aggressor, and kills it at her door to avenge herself. although her vengeance is attended with the most cruel barbarity, she immediately thereafter proceeds to a neighbouring village with all her goods, etc. in this attempt she is opposed by her neighbours, which gives rise to clamour and outrage. the complaint is then carried to the head amblacaur, who lays it before the elders of the village, and solicits their interference to terminate the quarrel. in the course of this investigation, if the husband finds that sufficient evidence has been brought against his wife, that she had given cause for provocation and aggression, then he proceeds unobserved by the assembly to his house, and brings one of his children, and, in the presence of witness, kills his child at the door of the woman who had first killed her child at his. by this mode of proceeding he considers that he has saved himself much trouble and expense, which would otherwise have devolved on him. this circumstance is soon brought to the notice of the tribunal, who proclaim that the offence committed is sufficiently avenged. but, should this voluntary retribution of revenge not be executed by the convicted person, the tribunal is prorogued to a limited time, fifteen days generally. before the expiration of that period, one of the children of that convicted person must be killed. at the same time he is to bear all expenses for providing food, etc., for the assembly during those days. "a remarkable custom prevails both among the males and females in these nauds to have their ears bored and stretched by hanging heavy rings made of lead so as to expand their ear-laps (lobes) down to their shoulders. besides this singular idea of beauty attached by them to pendant ears, a circumstance still more remarkable is that, when merchants or travellers pass through these nauds, they generally take the precaution to insure a safe transit through these territories by counting the friendship of some individual of the naud by payment of a certain fee, for which he deputes a young girl to conduct the travellers safe through the limits. this sacred guide conducts them along with her finger to her ear. on observing this sign, no cullary will dare to plunder the persons so conducted. it sometimes happens, in spite of this precaution, that attempts are made to attack the traveller. the girl in such cases immediately tears one of her ear-laps, and returns to spread the report, upon which the complaint is carried before the chief and elders of the naud, who forthwith convene a meeting in consequence at the mundoopoolee. [31] if the violators are convicted, vindictive retaliation ensues. the assembly condemns the offenders to have both their ear-laps torn in expiation of their crime, and, if otherwise capable, they are punished by fines or absolved by money. by this means travellers generally obtain a safe passage through these territories. [even at the present day, in quarrels between women of the lower castes, long ears form a favourite object of attack, and lobe-tearing cases figure frequently in police records. [32]] "the maloor naud was originally inhabited and cultivated by vellaulers. at a certain period some cullaries belonging to vella naud in the conjeeveram district proceeded thence on a hunting excursion with weapons consisting of short hand pikes, cudgels, bludgeons, and curved sticks for throwing, and dogs. while engaged in their sport, they observed a peacock resist and attack one of their hounds. the sportsmen, not a little astonished at the sight, declared that this appeared to be a fortunate country, and its native inhabitants and every living creature naturally possessed courage and bravery. preferring such a country to their naud in conjeeveram, they were desirous of establishing themselves here as cultivators. to effect this, they insinuated themselves into the favour of the vellaulers, and, engaging as their servants, were permitted to remain in these parts, whither they in course of time invited their relations and friends, and to appearance conducted themselves faithfully and obediently to the entire satisfaction of the vellaulers, and were rewarded for their labour. some time afterwards, the vellaulers, exercising an arbitrary sway over the cullaries, began to inflict condign punishment for offences and misdemeanours committed in their service. this stirred up the wrath of the cullaries, who gradually acquired the superiority over their masters, and by coercive measures impelled them to a strict observance of the following rules:-1st.--that, if a culler was struck by his master in such a manner as to deprive him of a tooth, he was to pay a fine of ten cully chuckrums (money) for the offence. 2nd.--that, if a culler happened to have one of his ear-laps torn, the vellauler was to pay a fine of six chuckrums. 3rd.--that if a culler had his skull fractured, the vellauler was to pay thirty chuckrums, unless he preferred to have his skull fractured in return. 4th.--that, if a culler had his arm or leg broke, he was then to be considered but half a man. in such case the offender was required to grant the culler one cullum of nunjah seed land (wet cultivation), and two koorkums of punjah (dry cultivation), to be held and enjoyed in perpetuity, exclusive of which the vellauler was required to give the culler a doopettah (cloth) and a cloth for his wife, twenty cullums of paddy or any other grain, and twenty chuckrums in money for expenses. 5th.--that, if a culler was killed, the offender was required to pay either a fine of a hundred chuckrums, or be subject to the vengeance of the injured party. until either of these alternatives was agreed to, and satisfaction afforded, the party injured was at liberty to plunder the offender's property, never to be restored. "by this hostile mode of conduct imposed on their masters, together with their extravagant demands, the vellaulers were reduced to that dread of the cullers as to court their favour, and became submissive to their will and pleasure, so that in process of time the cullers not only reduced them to poverty, but also induced them to abandon their villages and hereditary possessions, and to emigrate to foreign countries. many were even murdered in total disregard of their former solemn promises of fidelity and attachment. having thus implacably got rid of their original masters and expelled them from their naud, they became the rulers of it, and denominated it by the singular appellation of tun arrasa naud, signifying a forest only known to its possessors [or tanarasu-nad, i.e., the country governed by themselves]. [33] in short, these colleries became so formidable at length as to evince a considerable ambition, and to set the then government at defiance. allagar swamy they regarded as the god of their immediate devotion, and, whenever their enterprizes were attended with success, they never failed to be liberal in the performance of certain religious ceremonies to allagar. to this day they invoke the name of allagar in all what they do, and they make no objection in contributing whatever they can when the stalaters come to their villages to collect money or grain for the support of the temple, or any extraordinary ceremonies of the god. the cullers of this naud, in the line of the kurtaukles, once robbed and drove away a large herd of cows belonging to the prince, who, on being informed of the robbery, and that the calves were highly distressed for want of nourishment, ordered them to be drove out of and left with the cows, wherever they were found. the cullers were so exceedingly pleased with this instance of the kurtaukle's goodness and greatness of mind that they immediately collected a thousand cows (at one cow from every house) in the naud as a retribution, and drove them along with the plundered cattle to madura. whenever a quarrel or dispute happens among them, the parties arrest each other in the name of the respective amblacaurs, whom they regard as most sacred, and they will only pay their homage to those persons convened as arbitrators or punjayems to settle their disputes. "during the feudal system that prevailed among these colleries for a long time, they would on no consideration permit the then government to have any control or authority over them. when tribute was demanded, the cullers would answer with contempt: 'the heavens supply the earth with rain, our cattle plough, and we labour to improve and cultivate the land. while such is the case, we alone ought to enjoy the fruits thereof. what reason is there that we should be obedient, and pay tribute to our equal?' "during the reign of vizia ragoonada saitooputty [34] a party of colleries, having proceeded on a plundering excursion into the ramnad district, carried off two thousand of the raja's own bullocks. the raja was so exasperated that he caused forts to be erected at five different places in the shevagunga and ramnad districts, and, on pretext of establishing a good understanding with these nauttams, he artfully invited the principal men among them, and, having encouraged them by repeatedly conferring marks of his favour, caused a great number to be slain, and a number of their women to be transported to ramiserum, where they were branded with the marks of the pagoda, and made deva dassies or dancing girls and slaves of the temple. the present dancing girls in that celebrated island are said to be the descendants of these women of the culler tribe." in the eighteenth century a certain captain rumley was sent with troops to check the turbulent colleries. "he became the terror of the collerie naud, and was highly respected and revered by the designation of rumley swamy, under which appellation the colleries afterwards distinguished him." it is on record that, during the trichinopoly war, the horses of clive and stringer lawrence were stolen by two kallan brothers. tradition says that one of the rooms in tirumala nayakkan's palace at madura "was tirumala's sleeping apartment, and that his cot hung by long chains from hooks in the roof. one night, says a favourite story, a kallan made a hole in the roof, swarmed down the chains, and stole the royal jewels. the king promised a jaghir (grant of land) to anyone who would bring him the thief, and the kallan then gave himself up and claimed the reward. the king gave him the jaghir, and then promptly had him beheaded." [35] by mr. h. a. stuart [36] the kallans are said to be "a middle-sized dark-skinned tribe found chiefly in the districts of tanjore, trichinopoly and madura, and in the pudukota territory. the name kallan is commonly derived from tamil kallam, which means theft. mr. nelson [37] expresses some doubts as to the correctness of this derivation, but dr. oppert accepts it, and no other has been suggested. the original home of the kallans appears to have been tondamandalam or the pallava country, and the head of the class, the raja of pudukota, is to this day called the tondaman. there are good grounds for believing that the kallans are a branch of the kurumbas, who, when they found their regular occupation as soldiers gone, 'took to maraudering, and made themselves so obnoxious by their thefts and robberies, that the term kallan, thief, was applied, and stuck to them as a tribal appellation.' [38] the rev. w. taylor, the compiler of the catalogue raisonné of oriental manuscripts, also identifies the kallans with the kurumbas, and mr. nelson accepts this conclusion. in the census returns, kurumban is returned as one of the sub-divisions of the kallan caste.' "the chola country, or tanjore," mr. w. francis writes, [39] "seems to have been the original abode of the kallans before their migration to the pandya kingdom after its conquest by the cholas about the eleventh century a.d. but in tanjore they have been greatly influenced by the numerous brahmans there, and have taken to shaving their heads and employing brahmans as priests. at their weddings also the bridegroom ties the tali himself, while elsewhere his sister does it. their brethren across the border in madura continue to merely tie their hair in a knot, and employ their own folk to officiate as their priests. this advance of one section will doubtless in time enhance the social estimation of the caste as a whole." it is further noted, in the gazetteer of the tanjore district, that the ambitions of the kallans have been assisted "by their own readiness, especially in the more advanced portions of the district, to imitate the practices of brahmans and vellalans. great variations thus occur in their customs in different localities, and a wide gap exists between the kallans of this district as a whole and those of madura." in the manual of the tanjore district, it is stated that "profitable agriculture, coupled with security of property in land, has converted the great bulk of the kallar and padeiyachi classes into a contented and industrious population. they are now too fully occupied with agriculture, and the incidental litigation, to think of their old lawless pursuits, even if they had an inclination to follow them. the bulk of the ryotwari proprietors in that richly cultivated part of the cauvery delta which constituted the greater part of the old taluk of tiruvadi are kallars, and, as a rule, they are a wealthy and well-to-do class. the kallar ryots, who inhabit the villages along the banks of the cauvery, in their dress and appearance generally look quite like vellalas. some of the less romantic and inoffensive characteristics of the kallars in madura and tinnevelly are found among the recent immigrants from the south, who are distinguished from the older kallar colonies by the general term terkattiyar, literally southerns, which includes emigrants of other castes from the south. the terkattiyars are found chiefly in the parts of the district which border on pudukota. kallars of this group grow their hair long all over the head exactly like women, and both men and women enlarge the holes in the lobes of their ears to an extraordinary size by inserting rolls of palm-leaf into them." the term terkattiyar is applied to kallan, maravan, agamudaiyan, and other immigrants into the tanjore district. at mayaveram, for example, it is applied to kalians, agamudaiyans, and valaiyans. it is noted, in the census report, 1891, that agamudaiyan and kallan were returned as sub-divisions of maravans by a comparatively large number of persons. "maravan is also found among the sub-divisions of kallan, and there can be little doubt that there is a very close connection between kallans, maravans, and agamudaiyans." "the origin of the kallar caste," mr. f. s. mullaly writes, [40] "as also that of the maravars and ahambadayars, is mythologically traced to indra and aghalia, the wife of rishi gautama. the legend is that indra and rishi gautama were, among others, rival suitors for the hand of aghalia. rishi gautama was the successful one. this so incensed indra that he determined to win aghalia at all hazards, and, by means of a cleverly devised ruse, succeeded, and aghalia bore him three sons, who respectively took the names kalla, marava, and ahambadya. the three castes have the agnomen theva or god, and claim to be descendants of thevan (indra)." according to another version of the legend "once upon a time rishi gautama left his house to go abroad on business. devendra, taking advantage of his absence, debauched his wife, and three children were the result. when the rishi returned, one of the three hid himself behind a door, and, as he thus acted like a thief, he was henceforward called kallan. another got up a tree, and was therefore called maravan from maram, a tree, whilst the third brazened it out and stood his ground, thus earning for himself the name of ahamudeiyan, or the possessor of pride. this name was corrupted into ahambadiyan." [41] there is a tamil proverb that a kallan may come to be a maravan. by respectability he may develop into an agamudaiyan, and, by slow and small degrees, become a vellala, from which he may rise to be a mudaliar. "the kallans," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [42] "will eat flesh, excepting beef, and have no scruples regarding the use of intoxicating liquor. they are usually farmers or field-labourers, but many of them are employed as village or other watchmen, and not a few depend for their subsistence upon the proceeds of thefts and robberies. in trichinopoly town, householders are obliged to keep a member of the kallan caste in their service as a protection against the depredations of these thieves, and any refusal to give in to this custom invariably results in loss of property. on the other hand, if a theft should, by any chance, be committed in a house where a kallan is employed, the articles stolen will be recovered, and returned to the owner. in madura town, i am informed, a tax of four annas per annum is levied on houses in certain streets by the head of the kallan caste in return for protection against theft." in the census report, 1901, mr. francis records that "the kallans, maravans, and agamudaiyans are responsible for a share of the crime of the southern districts, which is out of all proportion to their strength in them. in 1897, the inspector-general of prisons reported that nearly 42 per cent. of the convicts in the madura jail, and 30 per cent, of those in the palamcottah jail in tinnevelly, belonged to one or other of these three castes. in tinnevelly, in 1894, 131 cattle thefts were committed by men of these three castes against 47 by members of others, which is one theft to 1,497 of the population of the three bodies against one to 37,830 of the other castes. the statistics of their criminality in trichinopoly and madura were also bad. the kallans had until recently a regular system of blackmail, called kudikaval, under which each village paid certain fees to be exempt from theft. the consequences of being in arrears with their payments quickly followed in the shape of cattle thefts and 'accidental' fires in houses. in madura the villagers recently struck against this extortion. the agitation was started by a man of the idaiyan or shepherd caste, which naturally suffered greatly by the system, and continued from 1893 to 1896." the origin of the agitation is said [43] to have been the anger of certain of the idaiyans with a kallan lothario, who enticed away a woman of their caste, and afterwards her daughter, and kept both women simultaneously under his protection. the story of this anti-kallan agitation is told as follows in the police administration report, 1896. "many of the kallans are the kavalgars of the villages under the kaval system. under that system the kavalgars receive fees, and in some cases rent-free land for undertaking to protect the property of the villagers against theft, or to restore an equivalent in value for anything lost. the people who suffer most at the hands of the kallars are the shepherds (konans or idaiyans). their sheep and goats form a convenient subject for the kallar's raids. they are taken for kaval fees alleged to be overdue, and also stolen, again to be restored on the payment of blackmail. the anti-kallar movement was started by a man of the shepherd caste, and rapidly spread. meetings of villagers were held, at which thousands attended. they took oath on their ploughs to dispense with the services of the kallars; they formed funds to compensate such of them as lost their cattle, or whose houses were burnt; they arranged for watchmen among themselves to patrol the villages at night; they provided horns to be sounded to carry the alarm in cases of theft from village to village, and prescribed a regular scale of fines to be paid by those villagers who failed to turn out on the sound of the alarm. the kallans in the north in many cases sold their lands, and left their villages, but in some places they showed fight. for six months crime is said to have ceased absolutely, and, as one deponent put it, people even left their buckets at the wells. in one or two places the kallans gathered in large bodies in view to overawe the villagers, and riots followed. in one village there were three murders, and the kallar quarter was destroyed by fire, but whether the fire was the work of konans or kallars has never been discovered. in august, large numbers of villagers attacked the kallars in two villages in the dindigul division, and burnt the kallar quarters." "the crimes," mr. f. s. mullaly writes, [44] "that kallars are addicted to are dacoity in houses or on highways, robbery, house-breaking and cattle-stealing. they are usually armed with vellari thadis or clubs (the so-called boomerangs) and occasionally with knives similar to those worn by the inhabitants of the western coast. their method of house-breaking is to make the breach in the wall under the door. a lad of diminutive size then creeps in, and opens the door for the elders. jewels worn by sleepers are seldom touched. the stolen property is hidden in convenient places, in drains, wells, or straw stacks, and is sometimes returned to the owner on receipt of blackmail from him called tuppu-kuli or clue hire. the women seldom join in crimes, but assist the men in their dealings (for disposal of the stolen property) with the chettis." it is noted by the abbé dubois that the kallars "regard a robber's occupation as discreditable neither to themselves, nor to their fellow castemen, for the simple reason that they consider robbery a duty, and a right sanctioned by descent. if one were to ask of a kallar to what people he belonged, he would coolly answer, i am a robber." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "dacoity of travellers at night used to be the favourite pastime of the kallans, and their favourite haunts the various roads leading out of madura, and that from ammayanayakkanur to periyakulam. the method adopted consisted in threatening the driver of the cart, and then turning the vehicle into the ditch so that it upset. the unfortunate travellers were then forced by some of the gang to sit at the side of the road, with their backs to the cart and their faces to the ground, while their baggage was searched for valuables by the remainder. the gangs which frequented these roads have now broken up, and the caste has practically quitted road dacoity for the simpler, more paying, and less risky business of stealing officials' office-boxes and ryots' cattle. cattle-theft is now the most popular calling among them. they are clever at handling animals, and probably the popularity of the jallikats (see maravan) has its origin in the demands of a life, which always included much cattle-lifting. the stolen animals are driven great distances (as much as 20 or 30 miles) on the night of the theft, and are then hidden for the day either in a friend's house, or among hills and jungles. the next night they are taken still further, and again hidden. pursuit is by this time hopeless, as the owner has no idea even in which direction to search. he, therefore, proceeds to the nearest go-between (these individuals are well-known to every one), and offers him a reward if he will bring back the cattle. this reward is called tuppu-kuli, or payment for clues, and is very usually as much as half the value of the animals stolen. the kallan undertakes to search for the lost bullocks, returns soon, and states that he has found them, receives his tuppu-kuli, and then tells the owner of the property that, if he will go to a spot named, which is usually in some lonely neighbourhood, he will find his cattle tied up there. this information is always correct. if, on the other hand, the owner reports the theft to the police, no kallan will help him to recover his animals, and these are eventually sold in other districts or travancore, or even sent across from tuticorin to ceylon. consequently, hardly any cattle-thefts are ever reported to the police. where the kallans are most numerous, the fear of incendiarism induces people to try to afford a tiled or terraced roof, instead of being content with thatch. the cattle are always tied up in the houses at night. fear of the kallans prevents them from being left in the fields, and they may be seen coming into the villages every evening in scores, choking every one with the dust they kick up, and polluting the village site (instead of manuring the land) for twelve hours out of every twenty-four. buffaloes are tied up outside the houses. kallans do not care to steal them, as they are of little value, are very troublesome when a stranger tries to handle them, and cannot travel fast or far enough to be out of reach of detection by daybreak. the kallans' inveterate addiction to dacoity and theft render the caste to this day a thorn in the flesh of the authorities. a very large proportion of the thefts committed in the district are attributable to them. nor are they ashamed of the fact. one of them defended his class by urging that every other class stole, the official by taking bribes, the vakil (law pleader) by fostering animosities, and so pocketing fees, the merchant by watering the arrack (spirit) and sanding the sugar, and so on, and that the kallans differed from these only in the directness of their methods. round about melur, the people of the caste are taking energetically to wet cultivation, to the exclusion of cattle-lifting, with the periyar water, which has lately been brought there. in some of the villages to the south of that town, they have drawn up a formal agreement (which has been solemnly registered, and is most rigorously enforced by the headmen), forbidding theft, recalling all the women who have emigrated to ceylon and elsewhere, and, with an enlightenment which puts other communities to shame, prohibiting several other unwise practices which are only too common, such as the removal from the fields of cow-dung for fuel, and the pollution of drinking-water tanks (ponds) by stepping into them. hard things have been said about the kallans, but points to their credit are the chastity of their women, the cleanliness they observe in and around their villages, and their marked sobriety. a toddy-shop in a kallan village is seldom a financial success." from a recent note, [45] i gather the following additional information concerning tuppu-kuli. "the kallans are largely guilty of cattle-thefts. in many cases, they return the cattle on receiving tuppu-kuli. the official returns do not show many of these cases. no cattle-owner thinks of reporting the loss of any of his cattle. naturally his first instinct is that it might have strayed away, being live property. the tuppu-kuli system generally helps the owner to recover his lost cattle. he has only to pay half of its real value, and, when he recovers his animal, he goes home with the belief that he has really made a profitable bargain. there is no matter for complaint, but, on the other hand, he is glad that he got back his animal for use, often at the most opportune time. cattle are indispensable to the agriculturist at all times of the year. perhaps, sometimes, when the rains fail, he may not use them. but if, after a long drought, there is a shower, immediately every agriculturist runs to his field with his plough and cattle, and tills it. if, at such a time, his cattle be stolen, he considers as though he were beaten on his belly, and his means of livelihood gone. no cattle will be available then for hire. there is nothing that he will not part with, to get back his cattle. there is then the nefarious system of tuppu-kuli offering itself, and he freely resorts to it, and succeeds in getting back his lost cattle sooner or later. on the other hand, if a complaint is made to the village magistrate or police, recovery by this channel is impossible. the tuppu-kuli agents have their spies or informants everywhere, dogging the footsteps of the owner of the stolen cattle, and of those who are likely to help him in recovering it. as soon as they know the case is recorded in the police station, they determine not to let the animal go back to its owner at any risk, unless some mutual friend intervenes, and works mightily for the recovery, in which case the restoration is generally through the pound. such a restoration is, primâ facie, cattle-straying, for only stray cattle are taken to the pound. this, too, is done after a good deal of hard swearing on both sides not to hand over the offender to the authorities." in connection with the 'vellari thadi' referred to above, dr. oppert writes [46] that "boomerangs are used by the tamil maravans and kallans when hunting deer. the madras museum collection contains three (two ivory, one wooden) from the tanjore armoury. in the arsenal of the pudukkottai raja a stock of wooden boomerangs is always kept. their name in tamil is valai tadi (bent stick)." concerning these boomerangs, the dewan of pudukkottai writes to me as follows. "the valari or valai tadi is a short weapon, generally made of some hard-grained wood. it is also sometimes made of iron. it is crescent-shaped, one end being heavier than the other, and the outer edge is sharpened. men trained in the use of the weapon hold it by the lighter end, whirl it a few times over their shoulders to give it impetus, and then hurl it with great force against the object aimed at. it is said that there were experts in the art of throwing the valari, who could at one stroke despatch small game, and even man. no such experts are now forthcoming in the state, though the instrument is reported to be occasionally used in hunting hares, jungle fowl, etc. its days, however, must be counted as past. tradition states that the instrument played a considerable part in the poligar wars of the last century. but it now reposes peacefully in the households of the descendants of the rude kallan and maravan warriors, who plied it with such deadly effect in the last century, preserved as a sacred relic of a chivalric past along with other old family weapons in their puja room, brought out and scraped and cleaned on occasions like the ayudha puja day (when worship is paid to weapons and implements of industry), and restored to its place of rest immediately afterwards." the sub-divisions of the kallans, which were returned in greatest numbers at the census, 1891, were isanganadu (or visangu-nadu), kungiliyan, menadu, nattu, piramalainadu, and sirukudi. in the census report, 1901, it is recorded that "in madura the kallans are divided into ten main endogamous divisions [47] which are territorial in origin. these are (1) mel-nadu, (2) sirukudi-nadu, (3) vellur-nadu, (4) malla-kottai nadu, (5) pakaneri, (6) kandramanikkam or kunnan-kottai nadu, (7) kandadevi, (8) puramalai-nadu, (9) tennilai-nadu, and (10) palaya-nadu. the headman of the puramalai-nadu section is said to be installed by idaiyans (herdsmen), but what the connection between the two castes may be is not clear. the termination nadu means a country. these sections are further divided into exogamous sections called vaguppus. the mel-nadu kallans have three sections called terus or streets, namely, vadakku-teru (north street), kilakku-teru (east street), and terku-teru (south street). the sirukudi kallans have vaguppus named after the gods specially worshipped by each, such as andi, mandai, aiyanar, and viramangali. among the vellur-nadu kallans the names of these sections seem merely fanciful. some of them are vengai puli (cruel-handed tiger), vekkali puli (cruel-legged tiger), sami puli (holy tiger), sem puli (red tiger), sammatti makkal (hammer men), tiruman (holy deer), and sayumpadai tangi (supporter of the vanquished army). a section of the tanjore kallans names its sections from sundry high-sounding titles meaning king of the pallavas, king of tanjore, conqueror of the south, mighty ruler, and so on." portions of the madura and tanjore districts are divided into areas known as nadus, a name which, as observed by mr. nelson, is specially applicable to kallan tracts. in each nadu a certain caste, called the nattan, is the predominant factor in the settlement of social questions which arise among the various castes living within the nadu. round about devakotta in the sivaganga zamindari there are fourteen nadus, representatives of which meet once a year at kandadevi, to arrange for the annual festival at the temple dedicated to swarnamurthi swami. the four nadus unjanai, sembonmari, iravaseri, and tennilai in the same zamindari constitute a group, of which the last is considered the chief nadu, whereat caste questions must come up for settlement. for marriage purposes these four nadus constitute an endogamous section, which is sub-divided into septs or karais. among the vallambans these karais are exogamous, and run in the male line. but, among the kallans, the karai is recognised only in connection with property. a certain tract of land is the property of a particular karai, and the legal owners thereof are members of the same karai. when the land has to be disposed of, this can only be effected with the consent of representatives of the karai. the nattar kallans of sivaganga have exogamous septs called kilai or branches, which, as among the maravans, run in the female line, i.e., a child belongs to the mother's, not the father's, sept. in some castes, and even among brahmans, though contrary to strict rule, it is permissible for a man to marry his sister's daughter. this is not possible among the kallans who have kilais such as those referred to, because the maternal uncle of a girl, the girl, and her mother all belong to the same sept. but the children of a brother and sister may marry, because they belong to different kilais, i.e., those of their respective mothers. subban = pachchai (kurivili kilai). | (arasiya kilai). +====================|======================+ | | karuppan, son ellamma, daughter (arasiya kilai) (arasiya kilai) | | | | raman minachi (pesadan kilai) (arasiya kilai) example of allowable cousin-marriages. in the above example, the girl minachi may not marry karuppan, as both are members of the same kilai. but she ought, though he be a mere boy, to marry raman, who belongs to a different sept. it is noted [48] that, among the sivaganga kallans, "when a member of a certain kilai dies, a piece of new cloth should be given to the other male member of the same kilai by the heir of the deceased. the cloth thus obtained should be given to the sister of the person obtaining it. if her brother fails to do so, her husband will consider himself degraded, and consequently will divorce her." round about pudukkottai and tanjore, the visangu-nadu kallans have exogamous septs called pattaperu, and they adopt the sept name as a title, e.g., muthu udaiyan, karuppa tondaman, etc. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the tanjore district, that the sub-divisions of the kallans are split into groups, e.g., onaiyan (wolfish), singattan (lion-like), etc. it is a curious fact that the puramalai-nadu kallans practice the rite of circumcision. the origin of this custom is uncertain, but it has been suggested [49] that it is a survival of a forcible conversion to muhammadanism of a section of the kurumbas who fled northwards on the downfall of their kingdom. at the time appointed for the initiatory ceremony, the kallan youth is carried on the shoulders of his maternal uncle to a grove or plain outside the village, where betel is distributed among those who have assembled, and the operation is performed by a barber-surgeon. en route to the selected site, and throughout the ceremony, the conch shell (musical instrument) is blown. the youth is presented with new cloths. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "every kallan boy has a right to claim the hand of his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. this aunt bears the expenses connected with his circumcision. similarly, the maternal uncle pays the costs of the rites which are observed when a girl attains maturity, for he has a claim on the girl as a bride for his son. the two ceremonies are performed at one time for large batches of boys and girls. on an auspicious day, the young people are all feasted, and dressed in their best, and repair to a river or tank (pond). the mothers of the girls make lamps of plantain leaves, and float them on the water, and the boys are operated on by the local barber." it is stated, in the census report, 1901, that the sirukudi kallans use a tali, on which the muhammadan badge of a crescent and star is engraved. in connection with marriage among the kallans, it is noted by mr. s. m. natesa sastri [50] that "at the mattupongal feast, towards evening, festoons of aloe fibre and cloths containing coins are tied to the horns of bullocks and cows, and the animals are driven through the streets with tom-tom and music. in the villages, especially those inhabited by the kallans in madura and tinnevelly, the maiden chooses as her husband him who has safely untied and brought to her the cloth tied to the horn of the fiercest bull. the animals are let loose with their horns containing valuables, amidst the din of tom-tom and harsh music, which terrifies and bewilders them. they run madly about, and are purposely excited by the crowd. a young kalla will declare that he will run after such and such a bull--and this is sometimes a risky pursuit--and recover the valuables tied to its horn. the kallan considers it a great disgrace to be injured while chasing the bull." a poet of the early years of the present era, quoted by mr. kanakasabhai pillai, [51] describes this custom as practiced by the shepherd castes in those days. "a large area of ground is enclosed with palisades and strong fences. into the enclosure are brought ferocious bulls with sharpened horns. on a spacious loft, overlooking the enclosure, stand the shepherd girls, whom they intend to give away in marriage. the shepherd youths, prepared for the fight, first pray to their gods, whose images are placed under old banian or peepul trees, or at watering places. they then deck themselves with garlands made of the bright red flowers of the kanthal, and the purple flowers of the kaya. at a signal given by the beating of drums, the youths leap into the enclosure, and try to seize the bulls, which, frightened by the noise of the drums, are now ready to charge anyone who approaches them. each youth approaches a bull, which he chooses to capture. but the bulls rush furiously, with tails raised, heads bent down, and horns levelled at their assailants. some of the youths face the bulls boldly, and seize their horns. some jump aside, and take hold of their tails. the more wary young men cling to the animals till they force them to fall on the ground. many a luckless youth is now thrown down. some escape without a scratch, while others are trampled upon or gored by the bulls. some, though wounded and bleeding, again spring on the bulls. a few, who succeed in capturing the animals, are declared the victors of that day's fight. the elders then announce that the bull-fight is over. the wounded are carried out of the enclosure, and attended to immediately, while the victors and the brides-elect repair to an adjoining grove, and there, forming into groups, dance joyously before preparing for their marriage." in an account of marriage among the kallans, mr. nelson writes that "the most proper alliance in the opinion of a kallan is one between a man and the daughter of his father's sister, and, if an individual have such a cousin, he must marry her, whatever disparity there may be between their respective ages. a boy of fifteen must marry such a cousin, even if she be thirty or forty years old, if her father insists upon his so doing. failing a cousin of this sort, he must marry his aunt or his niece, or any near relative. if his father's brother has a daughter, and insists upon him marrying her he cannot refuse; and this whatever may be the woman's age. one of the customs of the western kallans is specially curious. it constantly happens that a woman is the wife of ten, eight, six, or two husbands, who are held to be the fathers jointly and severally of any children that may be born of her body, and, still more curiously, when the children grow up they, for some unknown reason, invariably style themselves the children not of ten, eight or six fathers as the case may be, but of eight and two, six and two, or four and two fathers. when a wedding takes place, the sister of the bridegroom goes to the house of the parents of the bride, and presents them with twenty-one kali fanams (coins) and a cloth, and, at the same time, ties some horse-hair round the bride's neck. she then brings her and her relatives to the house of the bridegroom, where a feast is prepared. sheep are killed, and stores of liquor kept ready, and all partake of the good cheer provided. after this the bride and bridegroom are conducted to the house of the latter, and the ceremony of an exchange between them of vallari thadis or boomerangs is solemnly performed. another feast is then given in the bride's house, and the bride is presented by her parents with one markal of rice and a hen. she then goes with her husband to his house. during the first twelve months after marriage, it is customary for the wife's parents to invite the pair to stay with them a day or two on the occasion of any feast, and to present them on their departure with a markal of rice and a cock. at the time of the first pongal feast after the marriage, the presents customarily given to the son-in-law are five markals of rice, five loads of pots and pans, five bunches of plantains, five cocoanuts, and five lumps of jaggery (crude sugar). a divorce is easily obtained on either side. a husband dissatisfied with his wife can send her away if he be willing at the same time to give her half of his property, and a wife can leave her husband at will upon forfeiture of forty-two kali fanams. a widow may marry any man she fancies, if she can induce him to make her a present of ten fanams." in connection with the foregoing account, i am informed that, among the nattar kallans, the brother of a married woman must give her annually at pongal a present of rice, a goat, and a cloth until her death. the custom of exchanging boomerangs appears to be fast becoming a tradition. but, there is a common saying still current "send the valari tadi, and bring the bride." as regards the horse-hair, which is mentioned as being tied round the bride's neck, i gather that, as a rule, the tali is suspended from a cotton thread, and the horse-hair necklet may be worn by girls prior to puberty and marriage, and by widows. this form of necklet is also worn by females of other castes, such as maravans, valaiyans, and morasa paraiyans. puramalai kallan women can be distinguished by the triangular ornament, which is attached to the tali string. it is stated, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "when a girl has attained maturity, she puts away the necklace of coloured beads she wore as a child, and dons the horse-hair necklet, which is characteristic of the kallan woman. this she retains till death, even if she becomes a widow. the richer kallans substitute for the horse-hair a necklace of many strands of fine silver wire. in tirumangalam, the women often hang round their necks a most curious brass and silver pendant, six or eight inches long, and elaborately worked." it is noted in the census report, 1891, that as a token of divorce "a kallan gives his wife a piece of straw in the presence of his caste people. in tamil the expression 'to give a straw' means to divorce, and 'to take a straw' means to accept divorce." in their marriage customs, some kallans have adopted the puranic form of rite owing to the influence of brahman purohits, and, though adult marriage is the rule, some brahmanised kallans have introduced infant marriage. to this the puramalai section has a strong objection, as, from the time of marriage, they have to give annually till the birth of the first child a present of fowls, rice, a goat, jaggery, plantains, betel, turmeric, and condiments. by adult marriage the time during which this present has to be made is shortened, and less expenditure thereon is incurred. in connection with the marriage ceremonies as carried out by some kallans, i gather that the consent of the maternal uncle of a girl to her marriage is essential. for the betrothal ceremony, the father and maternal uncle of the future bridegroom proceed to the girl's house, where a feast is held, and the date fixed for the wedding written on two rolls of palm leaf dyed with turmeric or red paper, which are exchanged between the maternal uncles. on the wedding day, the sister of the bridegroom goes to the house of the bride, accompanied by women, some of whom carry flowers, cocoanuts, betel leaves, turmeric, leafy twigs of sesbania grandiflora, paddy (unhusked rice), milk, and ghi (clarified butter). a basket containing a female cloth, and the tali string wrapped up in a red cloth borrowed from a washerman, is given to a sister of the bridegroom or to a woman belonging to his sept. on the way to the bride's house, two of the women blow chank shells (musical instrument). the bride's people question the bridegroom's party as to his sept, and they ought to say that he belongs to indra kulam, thalavala nadu, and ahalya gotra. the bridegroom's sister, taking up the tali, passes it round to be touched by all present, and ties the string, which is decorated with flowers, tightly round the bride's neck amid the blowing of the conch shell. the bride is then conducted to the home of the bridegroom, whence they return to her house on the following day. the newly married couple sit on a plank, and coloured rice-balls or coloured water are waved, while women yell out "killa, illa, illa; killa, illa, illa." this ceremony is called kulavi idal, and is sometimes performed by kallan women during the tali-tying. the following details relating to the marriage ceremonies are recorded in the gazetteer of the tanjore district. "the arrival of the bridegroom has been described as being sometimes especially ceremonious. mounted on a horse, and attended by his maternal uncle, he is met by a youth from the bride's house, also mounted, who conducts the visitors to the marriage booth. here he is given betel leaves, areca nuts, and a rupee by the bride's father, and his feet are washed in milk and water, and adorned with toe-rings by the bride's mother. the tali is suspended from a necklet of gold or silver instead of cotton thread, but this is afterwards changed to cotton for fear of offending the god karuppan. a lamp is often held by the bridegroom's sister, or some married woman, while the tali is being tied. this is left unlighted by the kallans for fear it should go out, and thus cause an evil omen. the marriage tie is in some localities very loose. even a woman who has borne her husband many children may leave him if she likes, to seek a second husband, on condition that she pays him her marriage expenses. in this case (as also when widows are remarried), the children are left in the late husband's house. the freedom of the kallan women in these matters is noticed in the proverb that, "though there may be no thread in the spinning-rod, there will always be a (tali) thread on the neck of a kallan woman," or that "though other threads fail, the thread of a kallan woman will never do so." by some kallans pollution is, on the occasion of the first menstrual period, observed for seven or nine days. on the sixteenth day, the maternal uncle of the girl brings a sheep or goat, and rice. she is bathed and decorated, and sits on a plank while a vessel of water, coloured rice, and a measure filled with paddy with a style bearing a betel leaf struck on it, are waved before her. her head, knees, and shoulders are touched with cakes, which are then thrown away. a woman, conducting the girl round the plank, pours water from a vessel on to a betel leaf held in her hand, so that it falls on the ground at the four cardinal points of the compass, which the girl salutes. a ceremony is generally celebrated in the seventh month of pregnancy, for which the husband's sister prepares pongal (cooked rice). the pregnant woman sits on a plank, and the rice is waved before her. she then stands up, and bends down while her sister-in-law pours milk from a betel or pipal (ficus religiosa) leaf on her back. a feast brings the ceremony to a close. among the vellur-nadu kallans patterns are said [52] to be drawn on the back of the pregnant woman with rice-flour, and milk is poured over them. the husband's sister decorates a grindstone in the same way, invokes a blessing on the woman, and expresses a hope that she may have a male child as strong as a stone. when a child is born in a family, the entire family observes pollution for thirty days, during which entrance into a temple is forbidden. among the nattar kallans, children are said to be named at any time after they are a month old. but, among the puramalai kallans, a first-born female child is named on the seventh day, after the ear-boring ceremony has been performed. "all kallans," mr. francis writes, [52] "put on sacred ashes, the usual mark of a saivite, on festive occasions, but they are nevertheless generally vaishnavites. the dead are usually buried, and it is said that, at funerals, cheroots are handed round, which those present smoke while the ceremony proceeds." some kallans are said, [53] when a death occurs in a family, to put a pot filled with dung or water, a broomstick, and a fire-brand at some place where three roads meet, or in front of the house, in order to prevent the ghost from returning. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "the kilnad kallans usually bury their dead. lamps are periodically lighted on the tomb, and it is whitewashed annually. the piramalainad division usually burn the dead. if a woman dies when with child, the baby is taken out, and placed alongside her on the pyre. this, it may be noted, is the rule with most castes in this district, and, in some communities, the relations afterwards put up a stone burden-rest by the side of a road, the idea being that the woman died with her burden, and so her spirit rejoices to see others lightened of theirs. tradition says that the caste came originally from the north. the dead are buried with their faces laid in that direction; and, when puja is done to karuppanaswami, the caste god, the worshippers turn to the north." according to mr. h. a. stuart [54] "the kallans are nominally saivites, but in reality the essence of their religious belief is devil-worship. their chief deity is alagarswami, the god of the great alagar kovil twelve miles to the north of the town of madura. to this temple they make large offerings, and the swami, called kalla alagar, has always been regarded as their own peculiar deity." the kallans are said by mr. mullaly to observe omens, and consult their household gods before starting on depredations. "two flowers, the one red and the other white, are placed before the idol, a symbol of their god kalla alagar. the white flower is the emblem of success. a child of tender years is told to pluck a petal of one of the two flowers, and the undertaking rests upon the choice made by the child." in like manner, when a marriage is contemplated among the idaiyans, the parents of the prospective bride and bridegroom go to the temple, and throw before the idol a red and white flower, each wrapped in a betel leaf. a small child is then told to pick up one of the leaves. if the one selected contains the white flower, it is considered auspicious, and the marriage will take place. in connection with the alagar kovil, i gather [55] that, when oaths are to be taken, the person who is to swear is asked to worship kallar alagar, and, with a parivattam (cloth worn as a mark of respect in the presence of the god) on his head, and a garland round his neck, should stand on the eighteenth step of the eighteen steps of karuppanaswami, and say: "i swear before kallar alagar and karuppannaswami that i have acted rightly, and so on. if the person swears falsely, he dies on the third day; if truly the other person meets with the same fate." it was noted by mr. m. j. walhouse, [56] that "at the bull games (jellikattu) at dindigul, the kallans can alone officiate as priests, and consult the presiding deity. on this occasion they hold quite a saturnalia of lordship and arrogance over the brahmans." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "the keenness of the more virile sections of the community (especially the kallans), in this game, is extraordinary, and, in many villages, cattle are bred and reared specially for it. the best jallikats are to be seen in the kallan country in tirumangalam, and next come those in melur and madura taluks." (see also maravan.) it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that karuppan is "essentially the god of the kallans, especially of the kallans of the melur side. in those parts, his shrine is usually the kallans' chavadi (assembly place). his priests are usually kallans or kusavans. alagarswami (the beautiful god) is held in special veneration by the kallans, and is often popularly called the kallar alagar. the men of this caste have the right to drag his car at the car festival, and, when he goes (from alagar kovil) on his visit to madura, he is dressed as a kallan, exhibits the long ears characteristic of that caste, and carries the boomerang and club, which were of their old favourite weapons. it is whispered that kallan dacoits invoke his aid when they are setting out on marauding expeditions, and, if they are successful therein, put part of their ill-gotten gains into the offertory (undial) box, which is kept at his shrine." for the following note i am indebted to the rev. j. sharrock. "the chief temple of the kallans is about ten miles west of madura, and is dedicated to alagarswami, said to be an incarnation of vishnu, but also said to be the brother of minatchi (the fish-eyed or beautiful daughter of the pandya king of madura). now minatchi has been married by the brahmans to siva, and so we see hinduism wedded to dravidianism, and the spirit of compromise, the chief method of conversion adopted by the brahmans, carried to its utmost limit. at the great annual festival, the idol of alagarswami is carried, in the month of chittra (april-may), to the temple of minatchi, and the banks of the river vaiga swarm with two to three lakhs [57] of worshippers, a large proportion of whom are kallans. at this festival, the kallans have the right of dragging with a rope the car of alagarswami, though other people may join in later on. as alagarswami is a vegetarian, no blood sacrifice is offered to him. this is probably due to the influence of brahmanism, for, in their ordinary ceremonies, the kallans invariably slaughter sheep as sacrifices to propitiate their deities. true to their bold and thievish instincts, the kallans do not hesitate to steal a god, if they think he will be of use to them in their predatory excursions, [58] and are not afraid to dig up the coins or jewels that are generally buried under an idol. though they entertain little dread of their own village gods, they are often afraid of others that they meet far from home, or in the jungles when they are engaged in one of their stealing expeditions. as regards their own village gods, there is a sort of understanding that, if they help them in their thefts, they are to have a fair share of the spoil, and, on the principle of honesty among thieves, the bargain is always kept. at the annual festival for the village deities, each family sacrifices a sheep, and the head of the victim is given to the pujari (priest), while the body is taken home by the donor, and partaken of as a communion feast. two at least of the elements of totem worship appear here: there is the shedding of the sacrificial blood of an innocent victim to appease the wrath of the totem god, and the common feasting together which follows it. the brahmans sometimes join in these sacrifices, but of course take no part of the victim, the whole being the perquisite of the pujari, and there is no common participation in the meal. when strange deities are met with by the kallans on their thieving expeditions, it is usual to make a vow that, if the adventure turns out well, part of the spoil shall next day be left at the shrine of the god, or be handed over to the pujari of that particular deity. they are afraid that, if this precaution be not taken, the god may make them blind, or cause them to be discovered, or may go so far as to knock them down, and leave them to bleed to death. if they have seen the deity, or been particularly frightened or otherwise specially affected by these unknown gods, instead of leaving a part of the body, they adopt a more thorough method of satisfying the same. after a few days they return at midnight to make a special sacrifice, which of course is conducted by the particular pujari, whose god is to be appeased. they bring a sheep with rice, curry-stuffs and liquors, and, after the sacrifice, give a considerable share of these dainties, together with the animal's head, to the pujari, as well as a sum of money for making the puja (worship) for them. some of the ceremonies are worth recording. first the idol is washed in water, and a sandal spot is put on the forehead in the case of male deities, and a kunkuma spot in the case of females. garlands are placed round the neck, and the bell is rung, while lamps are lighted all about. then the deity's name is repeatedly invoked, accompanied by beating on the udukku. this is a small drum which tapers to a narrow waist in the middle, and is held in the left hand of the pujari with one end close to his left ear, while he taps on it with the fingers of his right hand. not only is this primitive music pleasing to the ears of his barbarous audience, but, what is more important, it conveys the oracular communications of the god himself. by means of the end of the drum placed close to his ear, the pujari is enabled to hear what the god has to say of the predatory excursion which has taken place, and the pujari (who, like a clever gypsy, has taken care previously to get as much information of what has happened as possible) retails all that has occurred during the exploit to his wondering devotees. in case his information is incomplete, he is easily able to find out, by a few leading questions and a little cross-examination of these ignorant people, all that he needs to impress them with the idea that the god knows all about their transactions, having been present at their plundering bout. at all such sacrifices, it is a common custom to pour a little water over the sheep, to see if it will shake itself, this being invariably a sign of the deity's acceptance of the animal offered. in some sacrifices, if the sheep does not shake itself, it is rejected, and another substituted for it; and, in some cases (be it whispered, when the pujari thinks the sheep too thin and scraggy), he pours over it only a little water, and so demands another animal. if, however, the pujari, as the god's representative, is satisfied, he goes on pouring more and more water till the half-drenched animal has to shake itself, and so signs its own death-warrant. all who have ventured forth in the night to take part in the sacrifice then join together in the communal meal. an illustration of the value of sacrifices may here be quoted, to show how little value may be attached to an oath made in the presence of a god. some pannaikarans (servants) of a kallan land-owner one day stole a sheep, for which they were brought up before the village munsif. when they denied the theft, the munsif took them to their village god, karuppan (the black brother), and made them swear in its presence. they perjured themselves again, and were let off. their master quietly questioned them afterwards, asking them how they dared swear so falsely before their own god, and to this they replied 'while we were swearing, we were mentally offering a sacrifice to him of a sheep' (which they subsequently carried out), to pacify him for the double crime of stealing and perjury." as a typical example of devil worship, the practice of the valaiyans and kallans of orattanadu in the tanjore district is described by mr. f. r. hemingway. [59] "valaiyan houses have generally an odiyan (odina wodier) tree in the backyard, wherein the devils are believed to live, and among kallans every street has a tree for their accommodation. they are propitiated at least once a year, the more virulent under the tree itself, and the rest in the house, generally on a friday or monday. kallans attach importance to friday in adi (july and august), the cattle pongal day in tai (january and february), and kartigai day in the month kartigai (november and december). a man, with his mouth covered with a cloth to indicate silence and purity, cooks rice in the backyard, and pours it out in front of the tree, mixed with milk and jaggery (crude sugar). cocoanuts and toddy are also placed there. these are offered to the devils, represented in the form of bricks or mud images placed at the foot of the tree, and camphor is set alight. a sheep is then brought and slaughtered, and the devils are supposed to spring one after another from the tree into one of the bystanders. this man then becomes filled with the divine afflatus, works himself up into a kind of frenzy, becomes the mouthpiece of the spirits, pronounces their satisfaction or the reverse at the offerings, and gives utterance to cryptic phrases, which are held to foretell good or evil fortune to those in answer to whom they are made. when all the devils in turn have spoken and vanished, the man recovers his senses. the devils are worshipped in the same way in the houses, except that no blood is shed. all alike are propitiated by animal sacrifices." the kallans are stated by mr. hemingway to be very fond of bull-baiting. this is of two kinds. the first resembles the game played by other castes, except that the kallans train their animals for the sport, and have regular meetings, at which all the villagers congregate. these begin at pongal, and go on till the end of may. the sport is called tolu madu (byre bull). the best animals for it are the pulikkolam bulls from the madura district. the other game is called pachal madu (leaping bull). in this, the animals are tethered to a long rope, and the object of the competition is to throw the animal, and keep it down. a bull which is good at the game, and difficult to throw, fetches a very high price. it is noted in the gazetteer of the tanjore district, that "the kallans have village caste panchayats (councils) of the usual kind, but in some places they are discontinuing these in imitation of the vellalans. according to the account given at orattanadu, the members of ambalakaran families sit by hereditary right as karyastans or advisers to the headman in each village. one of these households is considered superior to the others, and one of its members is the headman (ambalakaran) proper. the headmen of the panchayats of villages which adjoin meet to form a further panchayat to decide on matters common to them generally. in kallan villages, the kallan headman often decides disputes between members of other lower castes, and inflicts fines on the party at fault." in the gazetteer, of the madura district, it is recorded that "the organization of the kilnad kallans differs from that of their brethren beyond the hills. among the former, an hereditary headman, called the ambalakaran, rules in almost every village. he receives small fees at domestic ceremonies, is entitled to the first betel and nut, and settles caste disputes. fines inflicted are credited to the caste fund. the western kallans are under a more monarchial rule, an hereditary headman called tirumala pinnai tevan deciding most caste matters. he is said to get this hereditary name from the fact that his ancestor was appointed (with three co-adjutors) by king tirumala nayakkan, and given many insignia of office including a state palanquin. if any one declines to abide by his decision, excommunication is pronounced by the ceremony of 'placing the thorn,' which consists in laying a thorny branch across the threshold of the recalcitrant party's house, to signify that, for his contumacy, his property will go to ruin and be overrun with jungle. the removal of the thorn, and the restitution of the sinner to kallan society can only be procured by abject apologies to pinnai tevan." the usual title of the kallans is ambalakaran (president of an assembly), but some, like the maravans and agamudaiyans, style themselves tevan (god) or servaikkaran (commander). [60] kallankanadoru (stone).--a sub-division of komati, said to be descended from those who sat on the stone (kallu) mantapa outside the penukonda kanyakamma temple, when the question whether to enter the fire-pits or not was being discussed by the caste elders. kallan muppan.--in the madras census report, 1901, kallan muppan is returned as "a sub-caste of the malabar kammalans, the members of which are stone-workers." a correspondent writes to me that, "while the kammalans are a polluting and polyandrous class, the kallan muppans are allowed to enter the outside enclosure of temples. they do not remarry their widows, and are strictly monogamous. their purohits are tamil barbers, who officiate at their marriages. the barber shaves the bridegroom before the wedding ceremony. the purohit has also to blow the conch-shell all the way from the bridegroom's house to that of the bride." the names kallan and kalkotti are also those by which the malabar stone-masons are known. kallangi.--kallangi and kallaveli (kallan's fence) are fanciful names, returned by pallis at times of census. kallasari (stone-workers).--the occupational name of a sub-division of malayalam kammalans. kallatakurup.--a sub-division of ambalavasis, who sing in bhagavati temples. they play on a stringed instrument, called nandurini, with two strings and a number of wooden stops glued on to the long handle, and a wooden plectrum. kallu (stone).--a sub-division of ganiga and odde. kallukoti (stone-mason) is a sub-division of malabar kammalans, who work in stone. kallukatti.--it is noted, in the gazetteer of the south canara district, that "a grinding stone made of granite is an article peculiar to south canara. it is a semicircular, oval-shaped block with a flat bottom, and a round hole in the middle of the surface. it has another oval-shaped block, thin and long, with one end so shaped as to fit into the hole in the larger block. these two together make what is known as the grinding-stone of the district, which is used for grinding curry-stuff, rice, wheat, etc. mill-stones for pounding grain are also made of granite. formerly, a class of people called kallukattis used to make such articles, but the industry is now taken up by other castes as well. mile-stones, slabs for temple door-frames, idols and other figures for temple purposes are also made of granite." kallur.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a name for the pulikkappanikkan sub-division of nayar. kalluri (stone village).--an exogamous sept of medara. kal tacchan (stone-mason).--a sub-division of kammalan. kalti (expunged).--a degraded paraiyan is known as a kalti. amongst the paraiyans of madras, chingleput and north arcot, the rule is that a man who does not abide by the customs of the caste is formally excommunicated by a caste council. he then joins "those at vinnamangalam" near vellore, i.e., those who have, like himself, been driven out of the caste. kalugunadu (eagle's country).--an exogamous sept of tamil goldsmiths in the madura district. kaluthai (possessors of donkeys).--a sub-division of odde. kalyanakulam (marriage people).--a fanciful name returned by some mangalas at times of census, as they officiate as musicians at marriages. kamadi (tortoise).--a gotra of kurni. kamakshiamma.--recorded, in the north arcot manual, as a sub-division of vaniyan. kamakshiamma is the chief goddess worshipped at conjeeveram. she and minakshi amma of madura are two well-known goddesses worshipped by saivites. both names are synonyms of parvati, the wife of siva. kamati (foolish).--a name sometimes applied to carpenters, and also of a sub-division of okkiliyans, who are said to have abandoned their original occupation of cultivating land, and become bricklayers. kambalam.--the name kambalam is applied to a group of nine castes (tottiyan, annappan, kappiliyan, chakkiliyan, etc.), because at their council meetings a blanket (kambli) is spread, on which is placed a brass vessel (kalasam) filled with water, and decorated with flowers. (see tottiyan.) kambalattan.--a synonym of tottiyan. kamban.--a title of the occhans, to which caste the great tamil epic poet kamban is reputed to have belonged. kambha.--kambha or kambhapu, meaning a pillar or post, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of madiga and komati. kamma.--writing collectively concerning the kammas, kapus or reddis, velamas, and telagas, mr. w. francis states [61] that "all four of these large castes closely resemble one another in appearance and customs, and seem to have branched off from one and the same dravidian stock. originally soldiers by profession, they are now mainly agriculturists and traders, and some of them in the north are zamindars (land-owners). the razus, who now claim to be kshatriyas, were probably descended from kapus, kammas, and velamas. the kammas and kapus of the madura and tinnevelly districts seem to have followed the vijayanagar army south, and settled in these districts when the nayak governors were established there. their women are less strict in their deportment than those of the same castes further north, the latter of whom are very careful of their reputations, and, in the case of one section of the kammas, are actually gosha (kept in seclusion) like musalmanis." various stories are current, which point to the common ancestry of the kammas, kapus, and velamas. the word kamma in telugu means the ear-ornament, such as is worn by women. according to one legend "the rishis, being troubled by rakshasas, applied to vishnu for protection, and he referred them to lakshmi. the goddess gave them a casket containing one of her ear ornaments (kamma), and enjoined them to worship it for a hundred years. at the expiry of that period, a band of five hundred armed warriors sprang up from the casket, who, at the request of the rishis, attacked and destroyed the giants. after this they were directed to engage in agriculture, being promised extensive estates, and the consideration paid to kshatriyas. they accordingly became possessed of large territories, such as amravati and others in the kistna, nellore and other districts, and have always been most successful agriculturists." [62] some kammas, when questioned by mr. f. r. hemingway in the godavari district, stated that they were originally kshatriyas, but were long ago persecuted by a king of the family of parikshat, because one of them called him a bastard. they sought refuge with the kapus, who took them in, and they adopted the customs of their protectors. according to another legend, a valuable ear ornament, belonging to raja pratapa rudra, fell into the hands of an enemy, whom a section of the kapus boldly attacked, and recovered the jewel. this feat earned for them and their descendants the title kamma. some of the kapus ran away, and they are reputed to be the ancestors of the velamas (veli, away). at the time when the kammas and velamas formed a single caste, they observed the muhammadan gosha system, whereby the women are kept in seclusion. this was, however, found to be very inconvenient for their agricultural pursuits. they accordingly determined to abandon it, and an agreement was drawn up on a palm-leaf scroll. those who signed it are said to have become kammas, and those who declined to do so velamas, or outsiders. one meaning of the word kamma is the palm-leaf roll, such as is used to produce dilatation of the lobes of the ears. according to another story, there once lived a king, belthi reddi by name, who had a large number of wives, the favourite among whom he appointed rani. the other wives, being jealous, induced their sons to steal all the jewels of the rani, but they were caught in the act by the king, who on the following day asked his wife for her jewels, which she could not produce. some of the sons ran away, and gave origin to the velamas; others restored the kamma, and became kammas. yet one more story. pratapa rudra's wife lost her ear ornament, and four of the king's captains were sent in search of it. of these, one restored the jewel, and his descendants became kammas; the second attacked the thieves, and gave origin to the velamas; the third ran away, and so his children became the ancestors of the pakanatis; and the fourth disappeared. according to the census report, 1891, the main sub-divisions of the kammas are gampa, illuvellani, godajati, kavali, vaduga, pedda, and bangaru. it would seem that there are two main endogamous sections, gampa (basket) chatu, and goda (wall) chatu. chatu is said to mean a screen or hiding place. concerning the origin of these sections, the following story is told. two sisters were bathing in a tank (pond), when a king happened to pass by. to hide themselves, one of the girls hid behind a basket, and the other behind a wall. the descendants of the two sisters became the gampa and goda chatu kammas, who may not intermarry by reason of their original close relationship. according to another legend, after a desperate battle, some members of the caste escaped by hiding behind baskets, others behind a wall. the terms illuvellani and pedda seem to be synonymous with godachatu. the women of this section were gosha, and not allowed to appear in public, and even at the present day they do not go out and work freely in the fields. the name illuvellani indicates those who do not go (vellani) out of the house (illu). the name pedda (great) refers to the superiority of the section. vaduga simply means telugu, and is probably a name given by tamilians to the kammas who live amongst them. the name bangaru is said to refer to the custom of the women of this sub-division wearing only gold nose ornaments (bangaramu). the godajati sub-division is said to be most numerously represented in north arcot and chingleput, the illuvellani in kistna, nellore and anantapur. the kavali sub-division is practically confined to the godavari, and the pedda to the kistna district. the vaduga kammas are found chiefly in coimbatore. in his note on the kammas of the godavari district, mr. hemingway writes that "in this district they are divided into kavitis, eredis, gampas or gudas, uggams, and rachas. these names are, according to local accounts, derived from curious household customs, generally from traditional methods of carrying water. thus, the kavitis will not ordinarily carry water except in pots on a kavidi, the eredis except on a pack-bullock, the uggams except in pots held in the hand, and not on the hip or head, the rachas except in a pot carried by two persons. the gampa women, when they first go to their husbands' houses, take the customary presents in a basket. it is said that these practices are generally observed at the present day." writing concerning the iluvedalani (illuvellani) kammas, the editor of the kurnool manual (1886) states that "a few families only exist in the district. the women are kept in strict gosha. they consider it beneath them to spin thread, or to do other work. a sub-division of this caste lives in pullalcheruvu, whose families, also gosha, work at the spindles, like other women of the country. another class of indoor kammas resides about owk. they are apparently descendants of the kammas, who followed the naiks from guntur to gandikota in the sixteenth century. they are now reduced, and the females work, like kapus, in the field. the gampas are distinguished from the indoor kammas by their women wearing the cloth over the right, instead of the left shoulder." as with other telugu castes, there are, among the kammas, a number of exogamous septs or intiperu, of which the following are examples:- anumollu, dolichos lablab. tsanda, tax or subscription. jasthi, too much. mallela, jasmine. lanka, island. thota kura, amarantus gangetícus. komma, horn, or branch of a tree. cheni, dry field. palakala, planks. kasturi, musk. baththala, rice. karnam, accountant. irpina, combs. gali, wind. dhaniala, coriander. the kammas also have gotras such as chittipoola, kurunollu, kulakala, uppala, cheruku (sugar-cane), vallotla, and yenamalla. when matters affecting the community have to be decided, a council of the leading members thereof assembles. but, in some places, there is a permanent headman, called mannemantri or chaudri. the kammas will work as coolies in the fields, but will, on no account, engage themselves as domestic servants. "they are," the rev. j. cain writes, [63] "as a rule a fine well-built class of cultivators, very proud and exclusive, and have a great aversion to town life. many of them never allow their wives to leave their compounds, and it is said that many never do field work on sundays, but confine themselves on that day to their house-work." "if," a correspondent writes from the kistna district, "you ask in a village whether so-and-so is a brahman, and they say 'no. he is an asami (ordinary man),' he will be a kamma or kapu. if you ask how many pay income-tax in a village, they may tell you two baniyas (merchants), and two samsari-vallu, i.e., two prosperous kamma ryots." the kammas are stated by mr. h. a. stuart [64] to be "most industrious and intelligent cultivators, who, now that gosha has been generally abandoned, beat all rivals out of the field--a fact which is recognised by several proverbs, such as kamma vani chetulu kattina nilavadu (though you tie a kamma's hands, he will not be quiet); kamma vandlu cherite kadama jatula vellunu (if kammas come in, other castes go out); kamma variki bhumi bhayapadu tunnadi (the earth fears the kammas), and many others to the same effect. in addition to being industrious and well-to-do they are very proud, an instance of which occurred in the kistna district, when the revenue settlement officer offered them pattas, in which they were simply called naidu without the honorific ending garu. they refused on this account to accept them, and finally the desired alteration was made, as they proved that all of their caste were considered entitled to the distinction. in north arcot, however, they are not so particular, though some refuse to have their head shaved, because they scruple to bow down before a barber. besides vishnu the kammas worship ganga, because they say that long ago they fled from northern india, to avoid the anger of a certain raja, who had been refused a bride from among them. they were pursued, but their women, on reaching the mahanadi, prayed for a passage to ganga, who opened a dry path for them through the river. crossing, they all hid themselves in a dholl (cajanus indicus) field, and thus escaped from their pursuers. for this reason, at their marriages, they tie a bunch of dholl leaves to the north-eastern post of the wedding booth, and worship ganga before tying the tali." among the kammas of the tamil country, the bridegroom is said to be sometimes much younger than the bride, and a case is on record of a wife of twenty-two years of age, who used to carry her boy-husband on her hip, as a mother carries her child. [65] a parallel is to be found in russia, where not very long ago grown-up women were to be seen carrying about boys of six, to whom they were betrothed. [66] widow remarriage is not permitted. widows of the goda chatu section wear white, and those of the gampa chatu section coloured cloths. prior to the betrothal ceremony, female ancestors, vigneswara, and the grama devata (village deities) are worshipped. a near relation of the future bridegroom proceeds, with a party, to the home of the future bride. on their way thither, they look for omens, such as the crossing of birds in an auspicious direction. immediately on the occurrence of a favourable omen, they burn camphor, and break a cocoanut, which must split in two with clean edges. one half is sent to the would-be bridegroom, and the other taken to the bride's house. if the first cocoanut does not split properly, others are broken till the wished-for result is obtained. when the girl's house is reached, she demands the sagunam (omen) cocoanut. her lap is filled with flowers, cocoanuts, turmeric, plantains, betel leaves and areca nuts, combs, sandal paste, and coloured powder (kunkumam). the wedding day is then fixed. marriage is generally celebrated at the house of the bridegroom, but, if it is a case of kannikadhanam (presenting the girl without claiming the bride's price), at the house of the bride. the bride-price is highest in the gampa section. on the first day of the marriage rites, the petta mugada sangyam, or box-lid ceremony is performed. the new cloths for the bridal couple, five plantains, nuts, and pieces of turmeric, one or two combs, four rupees, and the bride-price in money or jewels, are placed in a box, which is placed near the parents of the contracting couple. the contents of the box are then laid out on the lid, and examined by the sammandhis (new relations by marriage). the bride's father gives betel leaves and areca nuts to the father of the bridegroom, saying "the girl is yours, and the money mine." the bridegroom's father hands them back, saying "the girl is mine, and the money yours." this is repeated three times. the officiating purohit (priest) then announces that the man's daughter is to be given in marriage to so-and-so, and the promise is made before the assembled deva brahmanas, and in the presence of light, agni, and the devatas. this ceremony is binding, and, should the bridegroom perchance die before the bottu (marriage badge) is tied, she becomes, and remains a widow. the milk-post is next set up, the marriage pots are arranged, and the nalagu ceremony is performed. this consists of the anointing of the bridal couple with oil, and smearing the shoulders with turmeric flour, or acacia concinna paste. a barber pares the nails of the bridegroom, and simply touches those of the bride with a mango leaf dipped in milk. in some places this rite is omitted by the gampa section. a small wooden framework, called dhornam, with cotton threads wound round it, is generally tied to the marriage pandal (booth) by a tsakali (washerman) not only at a marriage among the kammas, but also among the balijas, kapus, and velamas. after the return of the bridal couple from bathing, the bridegroom is decorated, and taken to a specially prepared place within or outside the house, to perform vira-gudimokkadam, or worship of heroes in their temple. at the spot selected a pandal has been erected, and beneath it three or five bricks, representing the heroes (viralu), are set up. the bricks are smeared with turmeric paste, and painted with red dots. in front of the bricks an equal number of pots are placed, and they are worshipped by breaking a cocoanut, and burning camphor and incense. the bridegroom then prostrates himself before the bricks, and, taking up a sword, cuts some lime fruits, and touches the pots three times. in former days, a goat or sheep was sacrificed. the hero worship, as performed by the goda section, differs from the above rite as practiced by the gampa section. instead of erecting a pandal, the godas go to a pipal (ficus religiosa) tree, near which one or more daggers are placed. a yellow cotton thread is wound three or five times round the tree, which is worshipped. as a substitute for animal sacrifice, lime fruits are cut. the hero worship concluded, the wrist-threads of cotton and wool (kankanam) are tied on the bride and bridegroom, who is taken to the temple after he has bathed and dressed himself in new clothes. on his return to the booth, the purohit lights the sacred fire, and the contracting couple sit side by side on a plank. they then stand, with a screen spread between them, and the bridegroom, with his right big toe on that of the bride, ties the bottu round her neck. they then go three times round the dais, with the ends of their cloths knotted together. the bottu of the gampas is a concave disc of gold, that of the godas a larger flat disc. on the following day, the usual nagavali, or sacrifice to the devas is offered, and a nagavali bottu (small gold disc) tied. all the relations make presents to the bridal pair, who indulge in a mock representation of domestic life. on the third day, pongal (rice) is offered to the pots, and the wrist-threads are removed. like the palli bridegroom, the kamma bridegroom performs a mimic ploughing ceremony, but at the house instead of at a tank (pond). he goes to a basket filled with earth, carrying the iron bar of a ploughshare, an ox-goad, and rope, accompanied by the bride carrying in her lap seeds or seedlings. while he pretends to be ploughing, his sister stops him, and will not let him continue till he has promised to give his first-born daughter to her son in marriage. the marriage pots are presented to the sisters of the bridegroom. during the marriage celebration, meat must not be cooked. among the kammas, consummation does not take place till three months after the marriage ceremony, as it is considered unlucky to have three heads of a family in a household during the first year of marriage. by the delay, the birth of a child should take place only in the second year, so that, during the first year, there will be only two heads, husband and wife. in like manner, it is noted by mr. francis [67] that, among the gangimakkalu and madigas, the marriage is not consummated till three months after its celebration. when a pregnant woman is delivered, twigs of balanites roxburghii are placed round the house. the dead are usually cremated. as the moment of death approaches, a cocoanut is broken, and camphor burnt. the thumbs and great toes of the corpse are tied together. a woman, who is left a widow, exchanges betel with her dead husband, and the women put rice into his mouth. the corpse is carried to the burning-ground on a bier, with the head towards the house. when it approaches a spot called arichandra's temple, the bier is placed on the ground, and food is placed at the four corners. then a paraiyan or mala repeats the formula "i am the first born (i.e., the representative of the oldest caste). i wore the sacred thread at the outset. i am sangu paraiyan (or reddi mala). i was the patron of arichandra. lift the corpse, and turn it round with its head towards the smasanam (burning-ground), and feet towards the house." when the corpse has been laid on the pyre, the relations throw rice over it, and the chief mourner goes three times round the pyre, carrying on his shoulder a pot of water, in which a barber makes holes. during the third turn he lights the pyre, and throwing down the pot, goes off to bathe. on the following day, a stone is placed on the spot where the deceased breathed his last, and his clothes are put close to it. the women pour milk over the stone, and offer milk, cocoanuts, cooked rice, betel, etc., to it. these are taken by the males to the burning-ground. when arichandra's temple is reached, they place there a small quantity of food on a leaf. at the burning-ground, the fire is extinguished, and the charred bones are collected, and placed on a plantain leaf. out of the ashes they make an effigy on the ground, to which food is offered on four leaves, one of which is placed on the abdomen of the figure, and the other three are set by the side of it. the first of these is taken by the paraiyan, and the others are given to a barber, washerman, and panisavan (a mendicant caste). the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are performed on the sixteenth day. they commence with the punyaham, or purificatory ceremony, and the giving of presents to brahmans. inside the house, the dead person's clothes are worshipped by the women. the widow is taken to a tank or well, where her nagavali bottu is removed. this usually wears out in a very short time, so a new one is worn for the purpose of the death ceremony. the males proceed to a tank, and make an effigy on the ground, near which three small stones are set up. on these libations of water are poured, and cooked rice, vegetables, etc., are offered. the chief mourner then goes into the water, carrying the effigy, which is thrown in, and dives as many times as there have been days between the funeral and the karmandhiram. the ceremony closes with the making of presents to the brahmans and agnates. towards evening, the widow sits on a small quantity of rice on the ground, and her marriage bottu is removed. the kammas perform a first annual ceremony, but not a regular sradh afterwards. [68] as regards their religion, some kammas are saivites, others vaishnavites. most of the saivites are disciples of aradhya brahmans, and the vaishnavites of vaishnava brahmans or satanis. the gampas reverence draupadi, mannarsami, gangamma, ankamma, and padavetiamma; the godas poleramma, veikandla thalli (the thousand-eyed goddess) and padavetiamma. kamma (ear ornament).--an exogamous sept of motati kapu. kammalan (tamil).--the original form of the name kammalan appears to have been kannalan or kannalar, both of which occur in tamil poems, e.g., thondamandala satakam and er ezhuvathu, attributed to the celebrated poet kamban. kannalan denotes one who rules the eye, or one who gives the eye. when an image is made, its consecration takes place at the temple. towards the close of the ceremonial, the kammalan who made it comes forward, and carves out the eyes of the image. the name is said also to refer to those who make articles, and open the eyes of the people, i.e., who make articles pleasing to the eyes. a very interesting account of the netra mangalya, or ceremony of painting the eyes of images, as performed by craftsmen in ceylon, has been published by mr. a. k. coomaraswamy. [69] therein he writes that "by far the most important ceremony connected with the building and decoration of a vihara (temple), or with its renovation, was the actual netra mangalya or eye ceremonial. the ceremony had to be performed in the case of any image, whether set up in a vihara or not. even in the case of flat paintings it was necessary. d. s. muhandiram, when making for me a book of drawings of gods according to the rupavaliya, left the eyes to be subsequently inserted on a suitable auspicious occasion, with some simpler form of the ceremony described. "knox has a reference to the subject as follows. 'some, being devoutly disposed, will make the image of this god (buddha) at their own charge. for the making whereof they must bountifully reward the founder. before the eyes are made, it is not accounted a god, but a lump of ordinary metal, and thrown about the shop with no more regard than anything else. but, when the eyes are to be made, the artificer is to have a good gratification, besides the first agreed upon reward. the eyes being formed, it is thenceforward a god. and then, being brought with honour from the workman's shop, it is dedicated by solemnities and sacrifices, and carried with great state into its shrine or little house, which is before built and prepared for it.'" the pupils of the eyes of a series of clay votive offerings, which were specially made for me, were not painted at the potter's house, but in the verandah of the traveller's bungalow where i was staying. the tamil kammalans are divided into three endogamous territorial groups, pandya, sozia (or chola), and kongan. the pandyas live principally in the madura and tinnevelly districts, and the sozias in the trichinopoly, tanjore, chingleput, north and south arcot districts, and madras. the kongas are found chiefly in the salem and coimbatore districts. in some places, there are still further sub-divisions of territorial origin. thus, the pandya tattans are divided into karakattar, vambanattar, pennaikku-akkarayar (those on the other side of the pennaiyar river), munnuru-vittukarar (those of the three hundred families), and so forth. they are further divided into exogamous septs, the names of which are derived from places, e.g., perugumani, musiri, oryanadu, thiruchendurai, and kalagunadu. the kammalans are made up of five occupational sections, viz., tattan (goldsmith), kannan (brass-smith), tac'chan (carpenter), kal-tac'chan (stone-mason), and kollan or karuman (blacksmith). the name panchala, which is sometimes used by the tamil as well as the canarese artisan classes, has reference to the fivefold occupations. the various sections intermarry, but the goldsmiths have, especially in towns, ceased to intermarry with the blacksmiths. the kammalans, claiming, as will be seen later on, to be brahmans, have adopted brahmanical gotras, and the five sections have five gotras called visvagu, janagha, ahima, janardana, and ubhendra, after certain rishis (sages). each of these gotras, it is said, has twenty-five subordinate gotras attached to it. the names of these, however, are not forthcoming, and indeed, except some individuals who act as priests for the kammalans, few seem to have any knowledge of them. in their marriages the kammalans closely imitate the brahmanical ceremonial, and the ceremonies last for three or five days according to the means of the parties. the parisam, or bride's money, is paid, as among other non-brahmanical castes. widows are allowed the use of ordinary jewelry and betel, which is not the case among brahmans, and they are not compelled to make the usual fasts, or observe the feasts commonly observed by brahmans. the kammalan caste is highly organised, and its organisation is one of its most interesting features. each of the five divisions has at its head a nattamaikkaran or headman, and a karyasthan, or chief executive officer, under him, who are elected by members of the particular division. over them is the anjivittu nattamaikkaran (also known as ainduvittu periyathanakkaran or anjijati nattamaikkaran), who is elected by lot by representatives chosen from among the five sub-divisions. each of these chooses ten persons to represent it at the election. these ten again select one of their number, who is the local nattamaikkaran, or one who is likely to become so. the five men thus selected meet on an appointed day, with the castemen, at the temple of the caste goddess kamakshi amman. the names of the five men are written on five slips of paper, which, together with some blank slips, are thrown before the shrine of the goddess. a child, taken at random from the assembled crowd, is made to pick up the slips, and he whose name first turns up is proclaimed as anjivittu nattamaikkaran, and a big turban is tied on his head by the caste priest. this is called uruma kattaradu, and is symbolic of his having been appointed the general head of the caste. lots are then drawn, to decide which of the remaining four shall be the anjivittu karyasthan of the newly-elected chief. at the conclusion of the ceremony, betel leaf and areca nut are given first to the new officers, then to the local officers, and finally to the assembled spectators. with this, the installation ceremony, which is called pattam-kattaradu, comes to an end. the money for the expenses thereof is, if necessary, taken from the funds of the temple, but a special collection is generally made for the occasion, and is, it is said, responded to with alacrity. the anjivittu nattamaikkaran is theoretically invested with full powers over the caste, and all members thereof are expected to obey his orders. he is the final adjudicator of civil and matrimonial causes. the divisional heads have power to decide such causes, and they report their decisions to the anjivittu nattamaikkaran, who generally confirms them. if, for any reason, the parties concerned do not agree to abide by the decision, they are advised to take their cause to one of the established courts. the anjivittu nattamaikkaran has at times to nominate, and always the right to confirm or not, the selection of the divisional heads. in conjunction with the karyasthan and the local heads, he may appoint nattamaikkarans and karyasthans to particular places, and delegate his powers to them. this is done in places where the caste is represented in considerable numbers, as at sholavandan and vattalagundu in the madura district. in this connection, a quaint custom may be noted. the pallans, who are known as "the sons of the caste" in villages of the madura and tinnevelly districts, are called together, and informed that a particular village is about to be converted into a local anjivittu nattanmai, and that they must possess a nattamaikkaran and karyasthan for themselves. these are nominated in practice by the pallans, and the nomination is confirmed by the anjivittu nattamaikkaran. from that day, they have a right to get new ploughs from the kallans free of charge, and give them in return a portion of the produce of the land. the local nattamaikkarans are practically under the control of the karyasthan of the anjivittu nattamaikkaran, and, as the phrase goes, they are "bound down to" the words of this official, who possesses great power and influence with the community. the local officials may be removed from office by the anjivittu nattamaikkaran or his karyasthan, but this is rarely done, and only when, for any valid reason, the sub-divisions insist on it. the mode of resigning office is for the nattamaikkaran or karyasthan to bring betel leaf and areca nut, lay them before the anjivittu nattamaikkaran, or his karyasthan, and prostrate himself in front of him. there is a tendency for the various offices to become hereditary, provided those succeeding to them are rich and respected by the community. the anjivittu nattamaikkaran is entitled to the first betel at caste weddings, even outside his own jurisdiction. his powers are in striking contrast with those of the caste guru, who resides in tinnevelly, and occasionally travels northwards. he purifies, it is said, those who are charged with drinking intoxicating liquor, eating flesh, or crossing the sea, if such persons subject themselves to his jurisdiction. if they do not, he does not even exercise the power of excommunication, which he nominally possesses. he is not a sanyasi, but a grihastha or householder. he marries his daughters to castemen, though he refrains from eating in their houses. the dead are, as a rule, buried in a sitting posture, but, at the present day, cremation is sometimes resorted to. death pollution, as among some other non-brahmanical castes, lasts for sixteen days. it is usual for a pandaram to officiate at the death ceremonies. on the first day, the corpse is anointed with oil, and given a soap-nut bath. on the third day, five lingams are made with mud, of which four are placed in the four corners at the spot where the corpse was buried, and the fifth is placed in the centre. food is distributed on the fifth day to pandarams and the castemen. sradh (annual death ceremony) is not as a rule performed, except in some of the larger towns. the kammalans profess the saiva form of the brahman religion, and reverence greatly pillaiyar, the favourite son of siva. a few have come under the lingayat influence. the caste, however, has its own special goddess kamakshi amma, who is commonly spoken of as vriththi daivam. she is worshipped by all the sub-divisions, and female children are frequently named after her. she is represented by the firepot and bellows-fire at which the castemen work, and presides over them. on all auspicious occasions, the first betel and dakshina (present of money) are set apart in her name, and sent to the pujari (priest) of the local temple dedicated to her. oaths are taken in her name, and disputes affecting the caste are settled before her temple. there also elections to caste offices are held. the exact connection of the goddess kamakshi with the caste is not known. there is, however, a vague tradition that she was one of the virgins who committed suicide by throwing herself into a fire, and was in consequence deified. various village goddesses (grama devata) are also worshipped, and, though the kammalans profess to be vegetarians, animal sacrifices are offered to them. among these deities are the saptha kannimar or seven virgins, kochade periyandavan, and periya nayanar. those who worship the saptha kannimar are known by the name of madavaguppu, or the division that worships the mothers. those who revere the other two deities mentioned are called nadika vamsathal, or those descended from men who, through the seven virgins, attained eternal bliss. kochade periyandavan is said to be a corruption of or jate periya pandyan, meaning the great pandya with the single lock. he is regarded as vishnu, and periya nayanar is held to be a manifestation of siva. the former is said to have been the person who invited the tattans (who called themselves pandya tattans) to settle in his kingdom. it is traditionally stated that they emigrated from the north, and settled in the madura and tinnevelly districts. an annual festival in honour of kochade periyandavan is held in these districts, for the expenses in connection with which a subscription is raised among the five sub-divisions. the festival lasts over three days. on the first day, the image of the deified king is anointed with water, and a mixture of the juices of the mango, jak (artocarpus integrifolia), and plantain, called muppala pujai. on the second day, rice is boiled, and offered to the god, and, on the last day, a healthy ram is sacrificed to him. this festival is said to be held, in order to secure the caste as a whole against evils that might overtake it. tac'chans (carpenters) usually kill, or cut the ear of a ram or sheep, whenever they commence the woodwork of a new house, and smear the blood of the animal on a pillar or wall of the house. the kammalans claim to be descended from visvakarma, the architect of the gods, and, in some places, claim to be superior to brahmans, calling the latter go-brahmans, and themselves visva brahmans. visvakarma is said to have had five sons, named manu, maya, silpa, tvashtra, and daivagna. these five sons were the originators of the five crafts, which their descendants severally follow. accordingly, some engage in smithy work, and are called manus; others, in their turn, devote their attention to carpentry. these are named mayas. others again, who work at stone-carving, are known as silpis. those who do metal work are tvashtras, and those who are engaged in making jewelry are known as visvagnas or daivagnas. according to one story of the origin of the kammalans, they are the descendants of the issue of a brahman and a beri chetti woman. hence the proverb that the kammalans and the beri chettis are one. another story, recorded in the mackenzie manuscripts, which is current all over the tamil country, is briefly as follows. in the town of mandapuri, the kammalans of the five divisions formerly lived closely united together. they were employed by all sorts of people, as there were no other artificers in the country, and charged very high rates for their wares. they feared and respected no king. this offended the kings of the country, who combined against them. as the fort in which the kammalans concealed themselves, called kantakkottai, was entirely constructed of loadstone, all the weapons were drawn away by it. the king then promised a big reward to anyone who would burn down the fort, and at length the deva-dasis (courtesans) of a temple undertook to do this, and took betel and nut in signification of their promise. the king built a fort for them opposite kantakkottai, and they attracted the kammalans by their singing, and had children by them. one of the deva-dasis at length succeeded in extracting from a young kammalan the secret that, if the fort was surrounded with varaghu straw and set on fire, it would be destroyed. the king ordered that this should be done, and, in attempting to escape from the sudden conflagration, some of the kammalans lost their lives. others reached the ships, and escaped by sea, or were captured and put to death. in consequence of this, artificers ceased to exist in the country. one pregnant kammalan woman, however, took refuge in the house of a beri chetti, and escaped decapitation by being passed off as his daughter. the country was sorely troubled owing to the want of artificers, and agriculture, manufactures, and weaving suffered a great deal. one of the kings wanted to know if any kammalan escaped the general destruction, and sent round his kingdom a piece of coral possessing a tortuous aperture running through it, and a piece of thread. a big reward was promised to anyone who should succeed in passing the thread through the coral. at last, the boy born of the kammalan woman in the chetti's house undertook to do it. he placed the coral over the mouth of an ant-hole, and, having steeped the thread in sugar, laid it down at some distance from the hole. the ants took the thread, and drew it through the coral. the king, being pleased with the boy, sent him presents, and gave him more work to do. this he performed with the assistance of his mother, and satisfied the king. the king, however, grew suspicious, and, having sent for the chetti, enquired concerning the boy's parentage. the chetti thereon detailed the story of his birth. the king provided him with the means for making ploughshares on a large scale, and got him married to the daughter of a chetti, and made gifts of land for the maintenance of the couple. the chetti woman bore him five sons, who followed the five branches of work now carried out by the kammalan caste. the king gave them the title of panchayudhattar, or those of the five kinds of weapons. they now intermarry with each other, and, as children of the chetti caste, wear the sacred thread. the members of the caste who fled by sea are said to have gone to china, or, according to another version, to chingaladvipam, or ceylon, where kammalans are found at the present day. in connection with the above story, it may be noted that, though ordinarily two different castes do not live in the same house, yet beri chettis and kammalans so live together. there is a close connection between the kammalans and acharapakam chettis, who are a section of the beri chetti caste. kammalans and acharapakam chettis interdine; both bury their dead in a sitting posture; and the tali (marriage badge) used by both is alike in size and make, and unlike that used by the generality of the beri chetti caste. the acharapakam chettis are known as malighe chettis, and are considered to be the descendants of those beri chettis who brought up the kammalan children, and intermarried with them. even now, in the city of madras, when the beri chettis assemble for the transaction of caste business, the notice summoning the meeting excludes the malighe chettis, who can neither vote nor receive votes at elections, meetings, etc., of the kandasami temple, which every other beri chetti has a right to. it may be noted that the deva-dasis, whose treachery is said to have led to the destruction of the kammalan caste, were kaikolans by caste, and that their illegitimate children, like their progenitors, became weavers. the weavers of south india, according to old tamil poems, were formerly included in the kammiyan or kammalan caste. [70] several inscriptions show that, as late as 1013 a.d., the kammalans were treated as an inferior caste, and, in consequence, were confined to particular parts of villages. [71] a later inscription gives an order of one of the chola kings that they should be permitted to blow conches, and beat drums at their weddings and funerals, wear sandals, and plaster their houses. [72] "it is not difficult," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [73] "to account for the low position held by the kammalans, for it must be remembered that, in those early times, the military castes in india, as elsewhere, looked down upon all engaged in labour, whether skilled or otherwise. with the decline of the military power, however, it was natural that a useful caste like the kammalans should generally improve its position, and the reaction from their long oppression has led them to make the exaggerated claims described above, which are ridiculed by every other caste, high or low." the claims here referred to are that they are descended from visvakarma, the architect of the gods, and are brahmans. from a note by mr. f. r. hemingway, i gather that the friendship between the muhammadans and kammalans, who call each other mani (paternal uncle) "originated in the fact that a holy muhammadan, named ibrahim nabi, was brought up in the house of a kammalan, because his father was afraid that he would be killed by a hindu king named namaduta, who had been advised by his soothsayers that he would thus avoid a disaster, which was about to befall his kingdom. the kammalan gave his daughter to the father of ibrahim in exchange. another story (only told by kammalans) is to the effect that the kammalans were once living in a magnetic castle, called kanda kottai, which could only be destroyed by burning it with varagu straw; and that the musalmans captured it by sending musalman prostitutes into the town, to wheedle the secret out of the kammalans. the friendship, according to the story, sprang up because the kammalans consorted with the musalman women." the kammalans belong to the left hand, as opposed to the right hand faction. the origin of this distinction of castes is lost in obscurity, but, according to one version, it arose out of a dispute between the kammalans and vellalas. the latter claimed the former as their jatipillaigal or caste dependents, while the former claimed the latter as their own dependents. the fight grew so fierce that the chola king of conjeeveram ranged these two castes and their followers on opposite sides, and enquired into their claims. the kammalans, and those who sided with them, stood on the left of the king, and the vellalas and their allies on the right. the king is said to have decided the case against the kammalans, who then dispersed in different directions. according to another legend, a kammalan who had two sons, one by a balija woman, and the other by his kammalan wife, was unjustly slain by a king of conjeeveram, and was avenged by his two sons, who killed the king and divided his body. the kammalan son took his head and used it as a weighing pan, while the balija son made a pedler's carpet out of the skin, and threads out of the sinews for stringing bangles. a quarrel arose, because each thought the other had got the best of the division, and all the other castes joined in, and took the side of either the kammalan or the balija. right and left hand dancing-girls, temples, and mandapams, are still in existence at conjeeveram, and elsewhere in the tamil country. thus, at tanjore, there are the kammala tevadiyals, or dancing-girls. as the kammalans belong to the left-hand section, dancing-girls of the right-hand section will not perform before them, or at their houses. similarly, musicians of the right-hand section will not play in kammalan houses. in olden days, kammalans were not allowed to ride in palanquins through the streets of the right hands. if they did, a riot was the result. such riots were common during the eighteenth century. thus, fryer refers to one of these which occurred at masulipatam, when the contumacy of the kamsalas (telugu artisans) led to their being put down by the other castes with the aid of the moors. the kammalans call themselves achari and paththar, which are equivalent to the brahman titles acharya and bhatta, and claim a knowledge of the vedas. their own priests officiate at marriages, funerals, and on other ceremonial occasions. they wear the sacred thread, which they usually don on the upakarmam day, though some observe the regular thread investiture ceremony. most of them claim to be vegetarians. non-brahmans do not treat them as brahmans, and do not salute them with the namaskaram (obeisance). their women, unlike those of other castes, throw the end of their body-cloth over the right shoulder, and are conspicuous by the nose ornament known as the nattu. in connection with the professional calling of the kammalans, surgeon-major w. r. cornish writes as follows. [74] "the artisans, who are smiths or carpenters, usually bring up their children to the same pursuits. it might have been supposed that the hereditary influence in the course of generations would have tended to excellence in the several pursuits, but it has not been so. ordinary native work in metal, stone, and wood, is coarse and rough, and the designs are of the stereotyped form. the improvement in handicraft work of late years has been entirely due to european influence. the constructors of railways have been great educators of artisans. the quality of stone-masonry, brick-work, carpentry, and smith-work has vastly improved within the last twenty years, and especially in districts where railway works have been in progress. the gold and silver smiths of southern india are a numerous body. their chief employment consists in setting and making native jewellery. some of their designs are ingenious, but here again the ordinary work for native customers is often noticeable for a want of finish, and, with the exception of a few articles made for the european markets, there is no evidence of progressive improvement in design or execution. that the native artists are capable of improvement as a class is evident from their skill and ingenuity in copying designs set before them, and from the excellent finish of their work under european supervision; but there must be a demand for highly finished work before the goldsmiths will have generally improved. the wearers of jewellery in india look more to the intrinsic value of an article, than to the excellence of the design or workmanship. so that there is very little encouragement for artistic display." the collection of silver jewelry at the madras museum, which was made in connection with the colonial and indian exhibition, london, 1886, bears testimony to the artistic skill of the silversmiths. recently, colonel townshend, superintendent of the madras gun carriage factory, has expressed his opinion [75] that "good as the bombay smiths are, the blacksmiths of southern india are the best in hindustan, and the pick of them run english smiths very close, not only in skill, but in speed of outturn." anyone who has seen the celebrated temples of southern india, for example, the madura and tanjore temples, and the carving on temple cars, can form some idea of the skill of south indian stone-masons and carpenters. the following note on idols and idol-makers is taken from a recent article. [76] "the idol-maker's craft, like most of the other callings in this country, is a hereditary one, and a workman who has earned some reputation for himself, or has had an ancestor of renown, is a made man. the sthapathi, as he is called in sanskrit, claims high social rank among the representatives of the artisan castes. of course he wears a heavy sacred thread, and affects brahman ways of living. he does not touch flesh, and liquor rarely passes down his throat, as he recognises that a clear eye and steady hand are the first essentials of success in his calling. there are two sorts of idols in every temple, mulavigrahas or stone idols which are fixed to the ground, and utsavavigrahas or metal idols used in processions. in the worst equipped pagoda there are at least a dozen idols of every variety. they do duty for generations, for, though they become black and begrimed with oil and ashes, they are rarely replaced, as age and dirt but add to their sanctity. but now and then they get desecrated for some reason, and fresh ones have to be installed in their stead; or it may be that extensions are made in the temple, and godlings in the hindu pantheon, not accommodated within its precincts till then, have to be carved and consecrated. it is on such occasions that the hands of the local sthapathi are full of work, and his workshop is as busy as a bee-hive. in the larger temples, such as the one at madura, the idols in which are to be counted by the score, there are sthapathis on the establishment receiving fixed emoluments. despite the smallness of the annual salary, the office of temple sthapathi is an eagerly coveted one, for, among other privileges, the fortunate individual enjoys that of having his workshop located in the temple premises, and thereby secures an advertisement that is not to be despised. besides, he is not debarred from adding to his pecuniary resources by doing outside work when his hands are idle. among stone images, the largest demand is for representations of ganapati or vignesvara (the elephant god), whose popularity extends throughout india. every hamlet has at least one little temple devoted to his exclusive worship, and his shrines are found in the most unlikely places. travellers who have had occasion to pass along the sandy roads of the tanjore district must be familiar with the idols of the god of the protuberant paunch, which they pass every half mile or so, reposing under the shade of avenue trees with an air of self-satisfaction suffusing their elephantine features. among other idols called into being for the purpose of wayside installation in southern india, may be mentioned those of viran, the madura godling, who requires offerings of liquor, mariamma, the small-pox goddess, and the evil spirit sangili karappan. representations are also carved of nagas or serpents, and installed by the dozen round the village asvatha tree (ficus religiosa). almost every week, the mail steamer to rangoon takes a heavy consignment of stone and metal idols commissioned by the south indian settlers in burma for purposes of domestic and public worship. the usual posture of mulavigrahas is a standing one, the figure of vishnu in the srirangam temple, which represents the deity as lying down at full length, being an exception to this rule. the normal height is less than four feet, some idols, however, being of gigantic proportions. considering the very crude material on which he works, and the primitive methods of stone-carving which he continues to favour, the expert craftsman achieves quite a surprising degree of smoothness and polish. it takes him several weeks of unremitting toil to produce a vigraha that absolutely satisfies his critical eye. i have seen him engaged for hours at a stretch on the trunk of vignesvara or the matted tuft of a rishi. the casting of utsavavigrahas involves a greater variety of process than the carving of stone figures. the substance usually employed is a compound of brass, copper and lead, small quantities of silver and gold being added, means permitting. the required figure is first moulded in some plastic substance, such as wax or tallow, and coated with a thin layer of soft wet clay, in which one or two openings are left. when the clay is dry, the figure is placed in a kiln, and the red-hot liquid metal is poured into the hollow created by the running out of the melted wax. the furnace is then extinguished, the metal left to cool and solidify, and the clay coating removed. a crude approximation to the image required is thus obtained, which is improved upon with file and chisel, till the finished product is a far more artistic article than the figure that was enclosed within the clay. it is thus seen that every idol is made in one piece, but spare hands and feet are supplied, if desired. whenever necessary, the archaka (temple priest) conceals the limbs with cloth and flowers, and, inserting at the proper places little pieces of wood which are held in position by numerous bits of string, screws on the spare parts, so as to fit in with the posture that the idol is to assume during any particular procession." an association, called the visvakarma kulabhimana sabha, was established in the city of madras by the kammalans in 1903. the objects thereof were the advancement of the community as a whole on intellectual and industrial lines, the provision of practical measures in guarding the interests, welfare and prospects of the community, and the improvement of the arts and sciences peculiar to them by opening industrial schools and workshops, etc. of proverbs relating to the artisan classes, the following may be noted:- the goldsmith who has a thousand persons to answer. this in reference to the delay in finishing a job, owing to his taking more orders than he can accomplish in a given time. the goldsmith knows what ornaments are of fine gold, i.e., knows who are the rich men of a place. it must either be with the goldsmith, or in the pot in which he melts gold, i.e., it will be found somewhere in the house. said to one who is in search of something that cannot be found. goldsmiths put inferior gold into the refining-pot. if, successful, pour it into a mould; if not, pour it into the melting pot. the rev. h. jensen explains [77] that the goldsmith examines the gold after melting it. if it is free from dross, he pours it into the mould; if it is still impure, it goes back into the pot. the goldsmith will steal a quarter of the gold of even his own mother. stolen gold may be either with the goldsmith, or in his fire-pot. if the ear of the cow of a kammalan is cut and examined, some wax will be found in it. it is said that the kammalan is in the habit of substituting sealing-wax for gold, and thus cheating people. the proverb warns them not to accept even a cow from a kammalan. or, according to another explanation, a kammalan made a figure of a cow, which was so lifelike that a brahman purchased it as a live animal with his hard-earned money, and, discovering his mistake, went mad. since that time, people were warned to examine an animal offered for sale by kammalans by cutting off its ears. a variant of the proverb is that, though you buy a kammalan's cow only after cutting its ears, he will have put red wax in its ears (so that, if they are cut into, they will look like red flesh). what has a dog to do in a blacksmith's shop? said of a man who attempts to do work he is not fitted for. when the blacksmith sees that the iron is soft, he will raise himself to the stroke. will the blacksmith be alarmed at the sound of a hammer? when a child is born in a blacksmith's family, sugar must be dealt out in the street of the dancing-girls. this has reference to the legendary relation of the kammalans and kaikolans. a blacksmith's shop, and the place in which donkeys roll themselves, are alike. the carpenters and blacksmiths are to be relegated, i.e., to the part of the village called the kammalacheri. what if the carpenter's wife has become a widow? this would seem to refer to the former practice of widow remarriage. the carpenter wants (his wood) too long, and the blacksmith wants (his iron) too short, i.e., a carpenter can easily shorten a piece of wood, and a blacksmith can easily hammer out a piece of iron. when a kammalan buys cloth, the stuff he buys is so thin that it does not hide the hair on his legs. kammalan (malayalam).--"the kammalans of malabar," mr. francis writes, [78] "are artisans, like those referred to immediately above, but they take a lower position than the kammalans and kamsalas of the other coast, or the panchalas of the canarese country. they do not claim to be brahmans or wear the sacred thread, and they accept the position of a polluting caste, not being allowed into the temples or into brahman houses. the highest sub-division is asari, the men of which are carpenters, and wear the thread at certain ceremonies connected with house-building." according to mr. f. fawcett "the orthodox number of classes of kammalans is five. but the artisans do not admit that the workers in leather belong to the guild, and say that there are only four classes. according to them, the fifth class was composed of coppersmiths, who, after the exodus, remained in izhuva land, and did not return thence with them to malabar. [79] nevertheless, they always speak of themselves as the ayen kudi or five-house kammalans. the carpenters say that eighteen families of their community remained behind in izhuva land. some of these returned long afterwards, but they were not allowed to rejoin the caste. they are known as puzhi tachan or sand carpenters, and pathinettanmar or the eighteen people. there are four families of this class now living at or near parpan gadi. they are carpenters, but the asaris treat them as outcastes." for the following note on malabar kammalans i am indebted to mr. s. appadorai iyer. the five artisan classes, or ayinkudi kammalans, are made up of the following:- asari, carpenters. musari, braziers. tattan, goldsmiths. karuman, blacksmiths. chembotti or chempotti, coppersmiths. the name chembotti is derived from chembu, copper, and kotti, he who beats. they are, according to mr. francis, "coppersmiths in malabar, who are distinct from the malabar kammalans. they are supposed to be descendants of men who made copper idols for temples, and so rank above the kammalans in social position, and about equally with the lower sections of the nayars." the kammalans will not condescend to eat food at the hands of kurups, tolkollans, pulluvans, mannans, or tandans. but a tandan thinks it equally beneath his dignity to accept food from a kammalan. the kammalans believe themselves to be indigenous in malabar, and boast that their system of polyandry is the result of the sojourn of the exiled pandavas, with their common wife panchali, and their mother kunthi, in the forest of the walluvanad division. they say that the destruction of the pandavas was attempted in the arakkuparamba amsam of this division, and that the tac'chans (artisans) were given as a reward by the kurus the enjoyment of tacchanattukara amsam. they state further that the pandus lived for some time at the village of bhimanad, and went to the attapadi valley, where they deposited their cooking utensils at the spot where the water falls from a height of several hundred feet. this portion of the river is called kuntipuzha, and the noise of the water, said to be falling on the upset utensils, is heard at a great distance. the kammalans, male and female, dress like nayars, and their ornaments are almost similar to those of the nayars, with this difference, that the female tattan wears a single chittu or ring in the right ear only. in the building of a house, the services of the asari are required throughout. he it is who draws the plan of the building. and, when a door is fixed or beam raised, he receives his perquisite. the completion of a house is signified as a rule by a kutti-poosa. for this ceremony, the owner of the house has to supply the workmen with at least four goats to be sacrificed at the four corners thereof, a number of fowls to be killed so that the blood may be smeared on the walls and ceiling, and an ample meal with liquor. the feast concluded, the workmen receive presents of rings, gold ear-rings, silk and other cloths, of which the moothasari or chief carpenter receives the lion's share. "the village carpenter," mr. gopal panikkar writes, [80] "has to do everything connected with our architecture, such as fixing poles or wickets at the exact spot where buildings are to be erected, and clearing newly erected buildings of all devils and demons that may be haunting them. this he does by means of pujas (worship) performed after the completion of the building. but people have begun to break through the village traditions, and to entrust architectural work to competent hands, when the village carpenter is found incompetent for the same." it is noted by canter visscher [81] that "in commencing the building of a house, the first prop must be put up on the east side. the carpenters open three or four cocoanuts, spilling the juice as little as possible, and put some tips of betel leaves into them; and, from the way these float in the liquid, they foretell whether the house will be lucky or unlucky, whether it will stand for a long or short period, and whether another will ever be erected on its site. i have been told that the heathens say that the destruction of fort paponetti by our arms was foretold by the builders from these auguries." the blacksmith is employed in the manufacture of locks and keys, and ornamental iron and brasswork for the houses of the rich. the smithy is near the dwelling hut, and the wife blows the bellows. the smith makes tyres for wheels, spades, choppers, knives, sickles, iron spoons, ploughshares, shoes for cattle and horses, etc. these he takes to the nearest market, and sells there. in some places there are clever smiths, who make excellent chellams (betel boxes) of brass, and there is one man at walluvanad who even makes stylographic pens. the musari works in bell-metal, and makes all kinds of household utensils, and large vessels for cooking purposes. he is an adept at making such articles with the proper proportions of copper, lead and brass. in some of the houses of the wealthier classes there are cooking utensils, which cost nearly a thousand rupees. excellent bell-metal articles are made at cherpalcheri, and kunhimangalam in north malabar is celebrated for its bell-metal lamps. the importation of enamelled and aluminium vessels, and lamps made in europe, has made such inroads into the metal industry of the district that the brazier and blacksmith find their occupation declining. the goldsmith makes all kinds of gold ornaments worn by malaialis. his lot is better than that of the other artisan classes. it is noted in the malabar marriage commission's report that "among carpenters and blacksmiths in the calicut, walluvanad and ponnani taluks, several brothers have one wife between them, although the son succeeds the father amongst them." polyandry of the fraternal type is said to be most prevalent among the blacksmiths, who lead the most precarious existence, and have to observe the strictest economy. as with the nayars, the tali-kettu kalyanam has to be celebrated. for this the parents of the child have to find a suitable manavalan or bridegroom by the consultation of horoscopes. an auspicious day is fixed, and new cloths are presented to the manavalan. the girl bathes, and puts on new clothes. she and the manavalan are conducted to a pandal (booth), where the tali-tying ceremony takes place. this concluded, the manavalan takes a thread from the new cloth, and breaks it in two, saying that his union with the girl has ceased. he then walks away without looking back. when a kammalan contemplates matrimony, his parents look out for a suitable bride. they are received by the girl's parents, and enquiries are made concerning her. the visit is twice repeated, and, when an arrangement has been arrived at, the village astrologer is summoned, and the horoscopes of the contracting parties are consulted. it is sufficient if the horoscope of one of the sons agrees with that of the girl. the parents of the sons deposit as earnest money, or achcharapanam, four, eight, twelve, or twenty-one fanams according to their means, in the presence of the artisans of the village; and a new cloth (kacha) is presented to the bride, who thus becomes the wife of all the sons. there are instances in which the girl, after the achcharam marriage, is immediately taken to the husband's house. all the brother-husbands, dressed in new clothes and decorated with ornaments, with a new palmyra leaf umbrella in the hand, come in procession to the bride's house, where they are received by her parents and friends, and escorted to the marriage pandal. the bride and bridegrooms sit in a row, and the girl's parents give them fruits and sugar. this ceremony is called mathuram kotukkal. the party then adjourns to the house of the bridegrooms where a feast is held, in the course of which a ceremony called pal kotukkal is performed. the priest of the kammalans takes some milk in a vessel, and pours it into the mouths of the bride and bridegrooms, who are seated, the eldest on the right, the others in order of seniority, and lastly the bride. during the nuptials the parents of the bride have to present a water-vessel, lamp, eating dish, cooking vessel, spittoon, and a vessel for drawing water from the well. the eldest brother cohabits with the bride on the wedding day, and special days are set apart for each brother. there seems to be a belief among the kammalan women that, the more husbands they have, the greater will be their happiness. if one of the brothers, on the ground of incompatibility of temper, brings a new wife, she is privileged to cohabit with the other brothers. in some cases, a girl will have brothers ranging in age from twenty-five to five, whom she has to regard as her husband, so that by the time the youngest reaches puberty she may be well over thirty, and a young man has to perform the duties of a husband with a woman who is twice his age. if a woman becomes pregnant before the achchara kalyanam has been performed, her parents are obliged to satisfy the community that her condition was caused by a man of their own caste, and he has to marry the girl. if the paternity cannot be traced, a council is held, and the woman is turned out of the caste. in the sixth or eighth month of pregnancy, the woman is taken to her mother's house, where the first confinement takes place. during her stay there the pulikudi ceremony is performed. the husbands come, and present their wife with a new cloth. a branch of a tamarind tree is planted in the yard of the house, and, in the presence of the relations, the brother of the pregnant woman gives her conji (rice gruel) mixed with the juices of the tamarind, spondias mangifera and hibiscus, to drink. the customary feast then takes place. a barber woman (mannathi) acts as midwife. on the fourteenth day after childbirth, the thali-kurup sprinkles water over the woman, and the mannathi gives her a newly-washed cloth to wear. purification concludes with a bath on the fifteenth day. on the twenty-eighth day the child-naming ceremony takes place. the infant is placed in its father's lap, and in front of it are set a measure of rice and paddy (unhusked rice) on a plantain leaf. a brass lamp is raised, and a cocoanut broken. the worship of ganesa takes place, and the child is named after its grandfather or grandmother. in the sixth month the choronu or rice-giving ceremony takes place. in the first year of the life of a boy the ears are pierced, and gold ear-rings inserted. in the case of a girl, the ear-boring ceremony takes place in the sixth or seventh year. the right nostril of girls is also bored, and mukkuthi worn therein. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that, "amongst kammalans, the betrothal ceremony is similar to that of the tiyans. if more than one brother is to be married, to the same girl, her mother asks how many bridegrooms there are, and replies that there are mats and planks for so many. cohabitation sometimes begins from the night of the betrothal, the eldest brother having the priority, and the rest in order of seniority on introduction by the bride's brother. if the girl becomes pregnant, the formal marriage must be celebrated before the pregnancy has advanced six months. at the formal marriage, the bridegrooms are received by the bride's mother and brothers; two planks are placed before a lighted lamp, before which the bridegrooms and the bride's brothers prostrate themselves. the bride is dressed in a new cloth, and brought down by the bridegroom's sister and fed with sweetmeats. "next day all the bridegroom's party visit the tandan of the bride's desam (village), who has to give them arrack (liquor) and meat, receiving in his turn a present of two fanams (money). the next day the bride is again feasted in her house by the bridegrooms, and is given her dowry consisting of four metal plates, one spittoon, one kindi (metal vessel), and a bell-metal lamp. the whole party then goes to the bridegroom's house, where the tandan proclaims the titles of the parties and their desam. all the brothers who are to share in the marriage sit in a row on a mat with the bride on the extreme left, and all drink cocoanut milk. the presence of all the bridegrooms is essential at this final ceremony, though for the preceding formalities it is sufficient if the eldest is present." the kammalans burn the corpses of adults, and bury the young. fifteen days' pollution is observed, and at the expiration thereof the thali-kurup pours water, and purification takes place. on the third day the bones of the cremated corpse are collected, and placed in a new earthen pot, which is buried in the grounds of the house of the deceased. one of the sons performs beli (makes offerings), and observes diksha (hair-growing) for a year. the bones are then carried to tirunavaya in ponnani, tiruvilamala in cochin territory, perur in coimbatore, or tirunelli in the wynad, and thrown into the river. a final beli is performed, and the sradh memorial ceremony is celebrated. if the deceased was skilled in sorcery, or his death was due thereto, his ghost is believed to haunt the house, and trouble the inmates. to appease it, the village washerman (mannan) is brought with his drums, and, by means of his songs, forces the devil into one of the members of the household, who is made to say what murthi or evil spirit possesses him, and how it should be satisfied. it is then appeased with the sacrifice of a fowl, and drinking the juice of tender cocoanuts. a further demand is that it must have a place consigned to it in the house or grounds, and be worshipped once a year. accordingly, seven days later, a small stool representing the deceased is placed in a corner of one of the rooms, and there worshipped annually with offerings of cocoanuts, toddy, arrack, and fowls. in the grounds of some houses small shrines, erected to the memory of the dead, may be seen. these are opened once a year, and offerings made to them. the kammalans worship various minor deities, such as thikutti, parakutti, kala bairavan, and others. some only worship stone images erected under trees annually. they have barbers of their own, of whom the mannan shaves the men, and the mannathi the women. these individuals are not admitted into the mannan caste, which follows the more honourable profession of washing clothes. in the madras census report, 1901, the following sub-castes of malabar kammalans are recorded:--kallan muppan and kallukkotti (stone-workers), kotton (brass-smith), pon chetti (gold merchant), and puliasari (masons). in the cochin census report, 1901, it is stated that "the kammalans are divided into six sub-castes, viz., marasari (carpenter), kallasari (mason), musari (brazier), kollan (blacksmith), tattan (goldsmith), and tolkollan (leather-worker). of these six, the first five interdine, and intermarry. the tolkollan is considered a degraded caste, probably on account of his working in leather, which in its earlier stages is an unholy substance. the other sub-castes do not allow the tolkollans even to touch them. among the marasaris are included the marasaris proper and tacchans. the tacchans are looked upon by other castes in the group as a separate caste, and are not allowed to touch them. all the sub-castes generally follow the makkathayam law of inheritance, but there are some vestiges of marumakkathayam also among them. there is a sub-caste called kuruppu, who are their barbers and priests. they officiate as priest at marriage and funeral ceremonies. when they enter the interior shrine of temples for work in connection with the image of a god, or with the temple flagstaff, the asari and musari temporarily wear a sacred thread, which is a rare privilege. their approach within a radius of twenty-four feet pollutes brahmans. on the completion of a building, the marasari, kallasari and kollan perform certain pujas, and sacrifice a fowl or sheep to drive out the demons and devils which are supposed to have haunted the house till then." for the following note on the kammalans of travancore, i am indebted to mr. n. subramania aiyar. "the titles of the malayalam kammalans are panikkan and kanakkan. the word panikkan means a worker, and kanakkan is the title given to a few old and respectable kammalas in every village, who superintend the work of others, and receive the highest remuneration. it is their business to sketch the plan of a building, and preside at the vastubali rite. many tamil kammalans have naturalised themselves on the west coast, and speak malayalam. between them and the malayalam kammalans neither intermarriage nor interdining obtains. the latter are divided into five classes, viz., asari or marapanikkan (workers in wood), kallan or kallasari (workers in stone), musari (braziers and coppersmiths), tattan (goldsmiths), and kollan (workers in iron). to these the jatinirnaya and keralaviseshamahatmya add a sixth class, the tacchan or irchchakollan, whose occupation is to fell trees and saw timber. the tacchans are also known as villasans (bowmen), as they were formerly required to supply bows and arrows for the travancore army. epigraphic records point to the existence of the five classes of kammalans in malabar at least as early as the beginning of the ninth century a.d., as a syrian christian grant refers to them as aimvazhi kammalas. there is a tradition that they were brought to kerala by parasu rama, but left in a body for ceylon on being pressed by one of the early perumal satraps of cranganur to marry into the washerman caste, after they had by a special arrangement of the marriage shed trapped to death a large number of that obnoxious community. the king of ceylon was requested, as an act of international courtesy, to send back some of the kammalans. as, however, they were loth to return to their former persecutor, they were sent in charge of some izhavas, who formed the military caste of the island. the legend is given in detail by canter visscher, who writes as follows. "in the time of cheramperoumal, a woman belonging to the caste of the washermen, whose house adjoined that of an ajari (the carpenter caste), being occupied as usual in washing a cloth in water mixed with ashes (which is here used for soap), and having no one at hand to hold the other end of it, called to a young daughter of the ajari, who was alone in the house, to assist her. the child, not knowing that this was an infringement of the laws of her caste, did as she was requested, and then went home. the washerwoman was emboldened by this affair to enter the ajari's house a few days afterwards; and, upon the latter demanding angrily how she dared to cross his threshold, the woman answered scornfully that he belonged now to the same caste as she did, since his daughter had helped to hold her cloth. the ajari, learning the disgrace that had befallen him, killed the washerwoman. upon this, her friends complained to cheramperoumal, who espoused their cause, and threatened the carpenters; whereupon the latter combined together to take refuge in ceylon, where they were favourably received by the king of candy, for whom the malabars have great veneration. cheramperoumal was placed in great embarrassment by their departure, having no one in his dominions who could build a house or make a spoon, and begged the king of candy to send them back, promising to do them no injury. the ajaris would not place entire confidence in these promises, but asked the king to send them with two chegos (chogans) and their wives, to witness cheramperoumal's conduct towards them, and to protect them. the king granted their request, with the stipulation that on all high occasions, such as weddings and deaths and other ceremonies, the ajaris should bestow three measures of rice on each of these chegos and their descendants as a tribute for their protection; a custom which still exists. if the ajari is too poor to afford the outlay, he is still obliged to present the requisite quantity of rice, which is then given back to him again; the privilege of the chegos being thus maintained. "the kammalans are to some extent educated, and a few of them have a certain knowledge of sanskrit, in which language several works on architecture are to be found. their houses, generally known as kottil, are only low thatched sheds. they eat fish and flesh, and drink intoxicating liquors. their jewelry is like that of the nayars, from whom, however, they are distinguished by not wearing the nose ornaments mukkutti and gnattu. some in central travancore wear silver mukkuttis. tattooing, once very common, is going out of fashion. "in timber work the asaris excel, but the tamil kammalans have outstripped the tattans in gold and silver work. the house-building of the asari has a quasi-religious aspect. when a temple is built, there is a preliminary rite known as anujgna, when the temple priest transfers spiritual force from the image, after which a cow and calf are taken thrice round the temple, and the kanakkan is invited to enter within for the purposes of work. the cow and calf are let loose in front of the carpenter, who advances, and commences the work. on the completion of a building, an offering known as vastubali is made. vastu is believed to represent the deity who presides over the house, and the spirits inhabiting the trees which were felled for the purpose of building it. to appease these supernatural powers, the figure of a demon is drawn with powders, and the kanakkan, after worshipping his tutelary deity bhadrakali, offers animal sacrifices to him in non-brahmanical houses, and vegetable sacrifices in brahman shrines and homes. an old and decrepit carpenter enters within the new building, and all the doors thereof are closed. the kanakkan from without asks whether he has inspected everything, and is prepared to hold himself responsible for any architectural or structural shortcomings, and he replies in the affirmative. a jubilant cry is then raised by all the assembled asaris. few carpenters are willing to undertake this dangerous errand, as it is supposed that the dissatisfied demons are sure to make short work of the man who accepts the responsibility. the figure is next effaced, and no one enters the house until the auspicious hour of milk-boiling. "vilkuruppu or vilkollakkuruppu, who used formerly to supply bows and arrows for the malabar army, are the recognised priests and barbers of the kammalans. they still make and present bows and arrows at the onam festival. in some places the kammalans have trained members of their own caste to perform the priestly offices. the malayala kammalans, unlike the tamils, are not a thread-wearing class, but sometimes put on a thread when they work in temples or at images. they worship kali, matan, and other divinities. unlike the tamil kammalans, they are a polluting class, but, when they have their working tools with them, they are less objectionable. in some places, as in south travancore, they are generally regarded as higher in rank than the izhavas, though this is not universal. "the tali-kettu ceremony is cancelled by a ceremony called vazhippu, by which all connection between the tali-tier and the girl is extinguished. the wedding ornament is exactly the same as that of the izhavas, and is known as the minnu (that which shines). the system of inheritance is makkathayam. it is naturally curious that, among a makkathayam community, paternal polyandry should have been the rule till lately. 'the custom,' says mateer, 'of one woman having several husbands is sometimes practiced by carpenters, stone-masons, and individuals of other castes. several brothers living together are unable to support a single wife for each, and take one, who resides with them all. the children are reckoned to belong to each brother in succession in the order of seniority.' but this, after all, admits of explanation. if only the marumakkathayam system of inheritance is taken, as it should be, as a necessary institution in a society living in troublous times, and among a community whose male members had duties and risks which would not ordinarily permit of the family being perpetuated solely through the male line, and not indicating any paternal uncertainty as some theorists would have it; and if polyandry, which is much more recent than the marumakkathayam system of inheritance, is recognised to be the deplorable result of indigence, individual and national, and not of sexual bestiality, there is no difficulty in understanding how a makkathayam community can be polyandrous. further, the manners of the kammalars lend a negative support to the origin just indicated by the marumakkathayam system of inheritance even among the nayars. the work of the kammalars was within doors and at home, not even in a large factory where power-appliances may lend an element of risk, for which reason they found it quite possible to keep up lineage in the paternal line, which the fighting nayars could not possibly do. and the fact that the marumakkathayam system was ordained only for the kshatriyas, and for the fighting races, and not for the religious and industrial classes, deserves to be specially noted in this connection." kammara.--the kammaras are the blacksmith section of the telugu kamsalas, whose services are in great demand by the cultivator, whose agricultural implements have to be made, and constantly repaired. it is noted, in the bellary gazetteer, that "until recently the manufacture of the huge shallow iron pans, in which the sugar-cane is boiled, was a considerable industry at kamalapuram. the iron was brought by pack bullocks from jambunath konda, the dome-shaped hill at the hospet end of the sandur range, and was smelted and worked by men of the kammara caste. of late years, the cheaper english iron has completely ousted the country product, the smelting industry is dead, and the kammaras confine themselves to making and mending the boilers with english material. they have a temple of their own, dedicated to kali, in the village, where the worship is conducted by one of themselves." the name baita kammara, meaning outside blacksmiths, is applied to kamsala blacksmiths, who occupy a lowly position, and work in the open air or outside a village. [82] kammiyan.--a tamil name for blacksmiths. kampa (bush of thorns).--an exogamous sept of yerukala. kampo.--in the manual of the ganjam district, the kampos are described as oriya agriculturists. in the madras census report, 1901, the name is taken as an oriya form of kapu. kampu is the name for savaras, who have adopted the customs of the hindu kampos. kamsala.--the kamsalas, or, as they are sometimes called, kamsaras, are the telugu equivalent of the tamil kammalans. they are found northward as far as berhampore in ganjam. according to tradition, as narrated in the note on kammalans, they emigrated to the districts in which they now live on the disruption of their caste by a certain king. the kamsalas of vizagapatam, where they are numerically strong, say that, during the reign of a chola king, their ancestors claimed equality with brahmans. this offended the king, and he ordered their destruction. the kamsalas fled northward, and some escaped death by taking shelter with people of the ozu caste. as an acknowledgment of their gratitude to their protectors, some of them have ozu added to their house-names, e.g., lakkozu, kattozu, patozu, etc. the kamsalas have territorial sub-divisions, such as murikinadu, pakinadu, dravida, etc. like the kammalans, they have five occupational sections, called kamsali (goldsmiths), kanchari or musari (brass-smiths), vadrangi (carpenters), and kasi or silpi (stone-masons). in a note on the kamsalas of the godavari district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes that "they recognise two main divisions, called desayi (indigenous) and turpusakas (easterns) or immigrants from vizagapatam. they sometimes speak of their occupational sub-divisions as gotras. thus, sanathana is the iron, sanaga, the wooden, abhonasa, the brass, prathanasa, the stone, and suparnasa, the gold gotra." intermarriage takes place between members of the different sections, but the goldsmiths affect a higher social status than the blacksmiths, and do not care to interdine or intermarry with them. they have taken to calling themselves brahmans, have adopted brahmanical gotras, and the brahmanical form of marriage rites. they quote a number of well-known verses of the telugu poet vemana, who satirised the brahmans for their shortcomings, and refer to the sanskrit mulastambam and silpasastram, which are treatises on architecture. they trace their descent from visvakarma, the architect of the gods. visvakarma is said to have had five sons, of whom the first was kammaracharya. his wife was surelavathi, the daughter of vasishta. the second was vadlacharyudu. the third was rudra or kamcharacharya of the abhavansa gotra, whose wife was jalavathi, the daughter of paulasthya brahma. the fourth was kasacharyudu of the prasnasa gotra. his wife was gunavati, the daughter of visvavasa. the fifth was agasalacharya or chandra of the suvarnasa gotra, whose wife was saunati, the daughter of bhrigumahamuni. visvakarma had also five daughters, of whom sarasvathi was married to brahma, sachi devi to indra, mando dari to ravana, and ahalya to gautama. since they were married to the devatas, their descendants acquired the title of acharya. the use of the umbrella, sacred thread, golden staff, the insignia of garuda, and the playing of the bheri were also allowed to them. it is recorded by the rev. j. cain [83] that "the so-called right-hand castes object most strongly to the kamsalilu being carried in a palki (palanquin), and three years ago some of them threatened to get up a little riot on the occasion of a marriage in the kamsali caste. they were deprived of this opportunity, for the palki was a borrowed one, and its owner, more anxious for the safety of his property than the dignity of the kamsali caste, recalled the loan on the third day. a ringleader of the discontented was a madras pariah. the kamsalilu were formerly forbidden to whitewash the outside of their houses, but municipal law has proved stronger in this respect than brahmanical prejudice." the kamsalas of ganjam and vizagapatam do not make such a vigorous claim to be brahmans, as do those further south. they rear poultry, partake of animal food, do not prohibit the use of alcoholic liquor, and have no gotras. they also have sub-divisions among them, which do not wear the sacred thread, and work outside the village limits. thus, the karamalas are a section of blacksmiths, who do not wear the sacred thread. similarly, the baita kammaras are another section of blacksmiths, who do not wear the thread, and, as their name implies, work outside the village. in vizagapatam, almost the only castes which will consent to receive food at the hands of kamsalas are the humble malas and rellis. even the tsakalas and yatas will not do so. there is a popular saying that the kamsalas are of all castes seven visses (viss, a measure of weight) less. in 1885, a criminal revision case came before the high court of madras, in which a goldsmith performed abishekam by pouring cocoanut-water over a lingam. in his judgment, one of the judges recorded that "the facts found are that 1st accused, a goldsmith by caste, on the night of the last mahasivaratri, entered a siva temple at vizagapatam, and performed abishekam, i.e., poured cocoanut-water over the lingam, the 2nd and 3rd accused (brahmans) reciting mantrams (sacred formulæ) while he did so. another brahman who was there expostulated with 1st accused, telling him that he, a goldsmith, had no right to perform abishekam himself, upon which 1st accused said that it was he who made the idol, and he was fit to perform abishekam. an outcry being raised, some other brahmans came up, and objected to 1st accused performing abishekam, and he was turned out, and some ten rupees spent in ceremonies for the purification of the idol. the 2nd-class magistrate convicted the 1st accused under sections 295 and 296, indian penal code, and the 2nd and 3rd accused of abetment. all these convictions were reversed on appeal by the district magistrate. there was certainly no evidence that any of the accused voluntarily caused disturbance to an assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies, and therefore a conviction under section 296 could not be supported. in order to support a conviction under section 295, it would be necessary for the prosecution to prove (1) that the accused 'defiled' the lingam, and (2) that he did so, knowing that a class of persons, viz., the brahmans, would consider such defilement as an insult to their religion. it may be noted that the 1st accused is a person of the same religion as the brahmans, and, therefore, if the act be an insult at all, it was an insult to his own religion. the act of defilement alleged was the performance of abishekam, or the pouring of cocoanut-water over the lingam. in itself, the act is regarded as an act of worship and meritorious, and i understand that the defilement is alleged to consist in the fact that the 1st accused was not a proper person--not being a brahman--to perform such a ceremony, but that he ought to have got some brahman to perform it for him." the other judge (sir t. muttusami aiyar) recorded that "in many temples in this presidency, it is not usual for worshippers generally to touch the idol or pour cocoanut-water upon it, except through persons who are specially appointed to do so, and enjoined to observe special rules of cleanliness. if the accused knew that the temple, in the case before us, is one of those temples, and if he did the act imputed to him to ridicule openly the established rule in regard to the purity of the lingam as an object of worship, it might then be reasonably inferred that he did the act wantonly, and with the intention of insulting the religious notions of the general body of worshippers. the sub-magistrate refers to no specific evidence in regard to the accused's knowledge of the usage. i may also observe that, in certain temples attended by the lower classes, the slaughtering of sheep is an act of worship. but, if the same act is done in other temples to which other classes resort as places of public worship, it is generally regarded as a gross outrage or defilement." the high court upheld the decision of the district magistrate. each occupational sub-division of the kamsalas has a headman styled kulampedda, and occasionally the five headmen assemble for the settlement of some important question of general interest to the community. a kamsala may, according to the custom called menarikam, claim his maternal uncle's daughter in marriage. the following account of the wedding rites is given in the nellore manual. "the relations of the bridegroom first go to the bride's parents or guardians, and ask their consent to the proposed union. if consent is given, a day is fixed, on which relations of the bridegroom go to the bride's house, where all her relations are present with cocoanuts, a cloth for the bride, betel, turmeric, etc. on the same occasion, the amount of the dower is settled. the bride bathes, and is adorned with flowers, turmeric, etc., and puts on the new cloth brought for her, and she receives the articles which the bridegroom's party have brought. on the auspicious day appointed for the marriage, the relations of the bride go to the bridegroom's house, and fetch him in a palanquin. a brahman is sent for, who performs the ceremonies near the dais on which the bride and bridegroom are seated. after the recital of the mantras (hymns) before the young couple, he sends for their uncles, and blesses them. the bridegroom then ties a pilgrim's cloth upon him, places a brass water-pot on his head, holds a torn umbrella in his hands, and starts out from the pandal (booth), and says he is going on a pilgrimage to benares, when the bride's brother runs after him, and promises that he will give his sister in marriage, swearing thrice to this effect. the bridegroom, satisfied with this promise, abandons his pretended journey, takes off his pilgrim cloths, and gives them, with the umbrella, to the brahman. the couple seat themselves on the dais, and the brahman, having repeated some mantras, gives a sacred thread to the bridegroom to place over his shoulders. he then blesses the mangalasutram (marriage badge corresponding to the tamil tali), and hands it to the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck, his sister or other elderly matron seeing that it is properly tied. the bride's father comes forward, and, placing his daughter's right hand in the bridegroom's right, pours water on them. the other ceremonies are exactly similar to those practiced by the brahmans." girls are invariably married before puberty. widows are not allowed to remarry, and divorce is not recognised. the kamsalas are either madhvas, saivites, or lingayats. all revere the caste goddess kamakshi amma, who is represented by each sub-division in a special manner. thus the kanchara represents her by the stone on which he beats his metal work, the goldsmith by one of his implements, and the blacksmith by his bellows. on the eighteenth day of the dasara festival, an annual festival is celebrated in honour of the goddess. the dead are buried in a seated posture, but, in recent years, some kamsalas have taken to cremation. the death rites closely follow the brahmanical form. death pollution is observed for twelve days. in the vizagapatam district, some artisans are engaged in the ivory-carving industry. they "manufacture for european clients fancy articles, such as chess-boards, photograph frames, card-cases, trinket boxes, and so on, from tortoise-shell, horn, porcupine quills, and ivory. the industry is in a flourishing state, and has won many medals at exhibitions. it is stated to have been introduced by mr. fane, who was collector of the district from 1859 to 1862, and to have then been developed by the kamsalis, and men of other castes who eventually took it up. the foundation of the fancy articles is usually sandal-wood, which is imported from bombay. over this are laid porcupine quills split in half and placed side by side, or thin slices of 'bison,' buffalo, or stag horn, tortoise-shell, or ivory. the ivory is sometimes laid over the horn or shell, and is always either cut into geometrical patterns with a small key-hole saw, or etched with designs representing gods and flowers. the etching is done with a small v tool, and then black wax is melted into the design with a tool like a soldering iron, any excess being scraped off with a chisel, and the result is polished with a leaf of ficus asperrima (the leaves of which are very rough, and used as a substitute for sand-paper). this gives a black design (sgraffito) on a white ground. the horn and porcupine quills are obtained from the agency, and the tortoise-shell and ivory mainly from bombay through the local marvaris. the designs employed both in the etching and fret-work are stiff, and suited rather to work in metal than in ivory; and the chief merit of this vizagapatam work perhaps lies in its careful finish--a rare quality in indian objects of art. the ivory is rarely carved now, but, in the calcutta museum and elsewhere, may be seen samples of the older vizagapatam work, which often contained ivory panels covered with scenes from holy writ, executed in considerable relief." [84] the caste title of the kamsalas is usually ayya, but, in recent times, a good many have taken the title achari. the two begging castes panasa and runja are stated by mr. hemingway to be exclusively devoted to the kamsalas. "the former," he writes, "are said to be out-castes from the komati sub-division of that name. formerly in the service of the nizam, it is said they were disgraced by him, and driven to accept food of a degrading nature from a kamsala. the kamsalas accordingly took them under their protection. the runjas are said to have been specially created by siva. siva had killed a giant named ravundasura, and the giant's dying request was that his limbs might be turned into musical instruments, and a special caste created to play them at the celebration of siva's marriage. the runjas were the caste created. the god ordered viswakarma, the ancestor of the kamsalas, to support them, and the kamsalas say that they have inherited the obligation." it is recorded, in the kurnool manual, that "the story goes that in golkonda a tribe of komatis named bacheluvaru were imprisoned for non-payment of arrears of revenue. finding certain men of the artificer caste, who passed by in the street, spit chewed betel-nut, they got it into their mouths, and begged the artificers to get them released. the artificers pitied them, paid the arrears, and procured their release. it was then that the kamsalis fixed a vartana or annual house fee for the maintenance of the panasa class, on condition that they should not beg alms from the other castes." kamukham (areca-nut: areca catechu).--a tree or kothu of kondaiyamkottai maravan. kamunchia.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a very small class of oriya cultivators. kanagu (pongamia glabra).--an exogamous sept of koravas and thumati gollas. the latter may not use the oil obtained from the seeds of this tree. the equivalent kanagala occurs as an exogamous sept of kapu. kanaka.--an exogamous sept of badagas of the nilgiris. kanakkan.--kanakkan is a tamil accountant caste, corresponding to the oriya korono. in an account thereof, in the north arcot manual, mr. h. a. stuart writes that they are "found chiefly in the districts of north arcot, south arcot, and chingleput. the name is derived from the tamil word kanakku, which means an account. they were employed as village accountants by the ancient kings. in the inscriptions the word karanam or kanakkan occurs very often, and their title is invariably given as velan, which is possibly a contracted form of vellalan. these accountants of the tamil districts seem to be quite distinct from those of ganjam and other telugu provinces (see korono), some of whom claim to be kshatriyas, or even brahmans. it is true that the karnams themselves claim to be the sons of brahma, but others maintain that they are the offspring of a sudra woman by a vaisya. the caste is said to have four divisions, sir (sri), sarattu, kaikatti, and solia. the sir karnams are considered of highest rank, and are generally the most intelligent accountants, though they are sadly deficient when compared with the brahmans who perform the duty of keeping the village accounts above the ghats. the kai-katti karnams (or karnams who show the hand) derive their name from a peculiar custom existing among them, by which a daughter-in-law is never allowed to speak to her mother-in-law except by signs. the reason may perhaps be surmised. the members of the four divisions cannot intermarry. in their customs the caste is somewhat peculiar. they wear the thread, disallow liquor-drinking, flesh-eating, and widow remarriage. most of them worship siva, but there are some who are vaishnavites, and a very few are lingayats." their title is pillai. in the records relating to the tamil country, conicopoly, conicoply, canacappel, and other variants appear as a corrupt form of kanakka pillai. for example, in the records of fort st. george, 1680, it is noted that "the governour, accompanyed with the councell and several persons of the factory, attended by six files of soldyers, the company's peons, 300 of the washers, the pedda naigue, the cancoply of the towne and of the grounds, went the circuit of madras ground, which was described by the cancoply of the grounds." it is recorded by baldæus (1672) that xaverius set everywhere teachers called canacappels. [85] the title conicopillay is still applied to the examiner of accounts by the corporation of madras. it is laid down in the village officers' manual that "the karnam, who is entrusted with the keeping of village accounts, is subordinate to the head of the village. he should help and advise the head of the village in every way. he is the clerk of the head of the village in his capacity of village munsif and magistrate. he has to prepare reports, accounts, statements, etc., which it is necessary to put in writing." when sudden or unnatural death takes place within the limits of a village, the karnam takes down in writing the evidence of persons who are examined, and frames a report of the whole proceedings. he keeps the register of those who are confined, or placed in the stocks by the head of the village for offences of a trivial nature, such as using abusive language, or petty assaults or affrays. it is the karnam who keeps the revenue accounts, and registers of the price of all kinds of grain, strangers passing or re-passing through the village, births and deaths, and cattle mortality when cattle disease, e.g., anthrax or rinderpest, exists. further, it is the duty of the karnam to take proper care of government survey instruments, and, when revenue survey is being carried out, to satisfy himself that the village and field boundary marks are properly erected. in their marriage and death ceremonies, the kanakkans closely follow the tamil puranic type as observed by vellalas. the kaikatti section, however, has one peculiar custom. after the marriage ceremony, the girl is kept inside the house, and not allowed to move about freely, for at least two or three days. she is considered to be under some kind of pollution. it is said that, in former times, she was confined in the house for forty days, and, as occupation, had to separate dhal (peas) and rice, which had been mixed together. the following proverbs are not complimentary to the kanakkan, who, as an influential village official, is not always a popular individual:-though babies are sold for a pie each, we do not want a kanakka baby. wherever you meet with a kanakka child or with a crow's young one, put out its eyes. in travancore, kanakkan is a name by which kammalans are addressed, and a prefix to the name of todupuzha vellalas. it further occurs, on the west coast, as a sub-division of cheruman or pulayan. for the following note on the kanakkans of the cochin state, i am indebted to mr. l. k. anantha krishna aiyar. [86] the kanakkans belong to the slave castes, and are even now attached to some landlords. in the taluks of trichur, mukandapuram, and cranganur, where i obtained all my information about them, i learnt that they are the atiyars (slaves) of chittur manakkal nambudiripad at perumanom near trichur, and they owe him a kind of allegiance. the nambudiri landlord told me that the members of the caste, not only from almost all parts of the state, but also from the british taluks of ponnani, chowghat, and even from calicut, come to him with a thirumulkazhcha, i.e., a few annas in token of their allegiance. this fact was also confirmed by a kanakkanar (headman) at cranganur, who told me that he and his castemen were the slaves of the same landlord, though, in disputes connected with the caste, they abide by the decision of the local raja. in the event of illness or calamity in the family of a kanakkan, an astrologer (kaniyan), who is consulted as to the cause and remedy, sometimes reminds the members thereof of the negligence in their allegiance to the landlord, and suggests the advisability of paying respects to him (nambikuru) with a few annas. on the puyam day in makaram (january-february), these people from various parts of the state present themselves in a body with a few annas each, to own their allegiance to him. the following story is mentioned by him. one of his ancestors chanced to pay his respects to one of the rulers of the state, when the residence of the royal family was in cochin. on arriving near the town, the boat capsised in a storm, but was luckily saved by the bravery of a few rowers of this caste. the raja, who witnessed the incident from a window of his palace, admired their valour, and desired to enlist some kanakkans into his service. there are four endogamous sub-divisions among the kanakkans, viz., patunna, the members of which formerly worked in salt-pans, vettuva, chavala, and parattu. each of these is further sub-divided into clans (kiriyam), which are exogamous. a young man may marry the daughter of his maternal uncle, but this is not permissible in some places. marriage is both infant and adult, and may be celebrated by patunna kanakkans at any time between the tenth and thirteenth years of a girl, while the vettuva kanakkans may celebrate it only after girls attain puberty. they often choose the bridegroom beforehand, with the intention of performing the ceremony after puberty. when a girl attains maturity, she is kept apart in a part of the house on the score of pollution, which lasts for seven days. she bathes on the fourth day. on the morning of the seventh day seven girls are invited, and they accompany the girl to a tank (pond) or a river. they all have an oil bath, after which they return home. the girl, dressed and adorned in her best, is seated on a plank in a conspicuous part of the hut, or in a pandal (booth) put up for the time in front of it. a small vessel full of paddy [87] (nerapara), a cocoanut, and a lighted lamp, are placed in front of her. her enangan begins his musical tunes, and continues for an hour or two, after which he takes for himself the above things, while his wife, who has purified the girl by sprinkling cow-dung water, gets a few annas for her service. it is now, at the lucky moment, that the girl's mother ties the tali round her neck. the seven girls are fed, and given an anna each. the relations, and other castemen who are invited, are treated to a sumptuous dinner. the guests as they depart give a few annas each to the chief host, to meet the expenses of the ceremony and the feast. this old custom of mutual help prevails largely among the pulayas also. the girl is now privileged to enter the kitchen, and discharge her domestic duties. the parents of the bridegroom contribute to the ceremony a small packet of jaggery (crude sugar), a muri (piece of cloth), some oil and incha (acacia intsia), the soft fibre of which is used as soap. this contribution is called bhendu nyayam. if the girl is married before puberty, and she attains her maturity during her stay with her husband, the ceremony is performed in his hut, and the expenses are met by the parents of the bridegroom, while those of the bride contribute a share. when a vettuva kanakka girl comes of age, the headman (vatikaran) of the caste is informed. he comes, along with his wife, to help the girl's parents in the performance of the ceremony. seven girls are invited. each of them breaks a cocoanut, and pours the water on the girl's head. water is also poured over her. as soon as she is thus bathed, she is allowed to remain in a room, or in a part of the hut. near her are placed a mirror made of metal, a vessel of paddy, a pot full of water, and a lighted lamp. the young man who has been chosen as her husband is invited. he has to climb a cocoanut tree to pluck a tender cocoanut for the girl, and a cluster of flowers. he then takes a meal in the girl's hut, and departs. the same proceedings are repeated on the fourth day, and, on the seventh day, he takes the cluster of flowers, and throws it on water. as soon as a young man is sufficiently old, his parents look out for a girl as his wife. when she is chosen, the negotiations leading to marriage are opened by the father of the bridegroom, who, along with his brother-in-law and enangan (relations by marriage), goes to the house of the bride-elect, where, in the midst of relations and friends previously assembled, the formal arrangements are made, and a portion of the bride's money is also paid. the auspicious day for the wedding is settled, and the number of guests to be invited is fixed. there is also an entertainment for those that are assembled. a similar one is also held at the hut of the bridegroom-elect. these people are too poor to consult the local kaniyan (astrologer); but, if it is known that the couple were born on the day of the same constellation, the match is at once rejected. on the day chosen for the celebration of the marriage, the bridegroom, neatly dressed, and with a knife and stylus, sets out from his hut, accompanied by his parents, uncles, other relatives, and men of his village, to the hut of the bride, where they are welcomed, and seated on mats in a pandal (booth) put up for the occasion. the bride, somewhat veiled, is taken to the pandal and seated along with the bridegroom, and to both of them a sweet preparation of milk, sugar and plantain fruits is given, to establish the fact that they have become husband and wife. there is no tali-tying then. the guests are treated to a sumptuous dinner. as they take leave of the chief host, each of them pays a few annas to meet the expenses of the ceremony. the bridegroom, with the bride and those who have accompanied him, returns to his hut, where some ceremonies are gone through, and the guests are well fed. the bridegroom and bride are seated together, and a sweet preparation is given, after which the parents and the maternal uncle of the former, touching the heads of both, says "my son, my daughter, my nephew, my niece," meaning that the bride has become a member of their family. they throw rice on their heads as a token of their blessings on them. after this, the couple live together as man and wife. in some places, marriage is performed by proxy. a young vettuva kanakkan cannot marry by proxy. neither can the tali-tying ceremony be dispensed with. if a woman has abandoned herself to a member of a lower caste, she is put out of caste, and becomes a christian or muhammadan. adultery is regarded with abhorrence. all minor offences are dealt with by the headman, whose privileges are embodied in a thituram (royal order), according to which he may preside at marriage, funeral, and other ceremonies, and obtain a small fee as remuneration for his services. he may use a stick, a stylus, and a knife lined with gold. he may wear a white coat, turban and ear-rings, and use an umbrella. he may also construct a shed with six posts for marriage ceremonies. he has to pay a tax of ten annas to the sirkar (government). chittur manakkal nambudiripad in the taluk of talapilly, the cranganur raja in the taluk of cranganur, and his highness the maharaja exercise absolute powers in the settlement of disputes connected with this and other castes. the kanakkans believe in magic, sorcery, and witchcraft. persons who practice the art are very rare among them. they go to a panan, velan, or parayan, whenever they require his services. they profess hinduism, and worship siva, vishnu, ganapathi, and subramania, mukkan, chathan, kandakaranan, and the spirits of their ancestors are also adored. vettuva kanakkans do homage to kappiri and virabhadran also. chathan cannot be worshipped at cranganur, as he is opposed to the local deity. wooden or brass images of their ancestors are kept in their huts, to whom regular sacrifices are offered on karkadagom, thulam, and makaram sankranthis. in their compounds is often seen a raised platform beneath a tree, on which are placed a few stones representing the images of the demons whom they much fear and respect. sacrifices are offered to them on leaves. patunna kanakkans invariably bury their dead. the funeral rites are similar to those observed by other low castes. death pollution lasts for fifteen days. on the sixteenth morning, the hut and compound are swept and cow-dunged. the relatives and castemen are invited, and bring some rice and curry stuffs for a feast. along with the chief mourner (the son of the deceased) and his brothers, they go to the nearest tank or river to bathe. the enangan of the family purifies them by the sprinkling of cow-dung water. they return home, and those assembled are treated to a grand dinner. the son observes the diksha (mourning) either for forty-one days, or for a whole year, after which a grand feast called masam is celebrated. the kanakkans are employed in fishing in the backwaters, cutting timber and floating it on bamboo rafts down rivers flooded during the monsoon, boating, pumping out water from rice fields by means of water-wheels, and all kinds of agricultural labour. they were at one time solely engaged in the manufacture of salt from the backwaters. women are engaged in making coir (cocoanut fibre) and in agricultural labour. vettuva kanakkans are engaged in cocoanut cultivating, and making lime out of shells. they are very skilful in climbing cocoanut trees for plucking cocoanuts. the kanakkans take food prepared by members of the higher castes, and by kammalans, izhuvas, and mappillas. they have a strong objection to eating at the hands of veluthedans (washermen), velakkathalavans (barbers), panans, velans, and kaniyans. pulayas, ulladans, and nayadis have to stand far away from them. they themselves have to keep at a distance of 48 feet from high caste hindus. they pollute izhuvas by touch, and kammalans and valans at a short distance. they cannot approach the temples of the higher castes, but take part in the festivals of temples in rural parts. at cranganur, they can come as far as the kozhikallu, which is a stone outside the temple at a short distance from it, on which fowls are offered by low caste people. kanakku.--a prefix to the name of nayars, e.g., kanakku raman krishnan, and also adopted as a prefix by the todupuzha vellalas of travancore. kancharan.--a malabar caste, the occupation of which is the manufacture of brass vessels. kanchera.--kanchera and kanchari are names of the telugu section of metal-workers. kanchimandalam vellala. --a name assumed by malaiyalis of the salem hills, who claim to be vellalas who emigrated from conjeeveram (kanchipuram). kanchu (bell-metal).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. kansukejje (bronze bell) occurs as a sub-division of toreya. kanchugara.--in the madras and mysore census reports, kanchugara is recorded as a sub-division of panchala, the members of which are workers in brass, copper, and bell-metal. the kanchugaras of south canara are described by mr. h. a. stuart [88] as "a canarese caste of brass-workers. they are hindus of the vaishnava sect, and pay special reverence to venkatramana of tirupati. their spiritual guru is the head of the ramachandrapuram math. a man cannot marry within his own gotra or family. they have the ordinary system of inheritance through males. girls must be married before puberty, and the dhare form of marriage (see bant) is used. the marriage of widows is not permitted, and divorce is allowed only in the case of women who have proved unchaste. the dead are either cremated, or buried in a recumbent posture. brahmans officiate as their priests. the use of spirituous liquors, and flesh and fish is permitted. bell-metal is largely used for making household utensils, such as lamps, goglets, basins, jugs, etc. the process of manufacturing these articles is as follows. the moulds are made of clay, dried and coated with wax to the thickness of the articles required, and left to dry again, a hole being made in them so as to allow the wax to flow out when heated. after this has been done, the molten metal is poured in. the moulds are then broken, and the articles taken out and polished." kandappan.--a sub-division of occhan. kandulu (dal: cajanus indicus).--an exogamous sept of yerukala. kandikattu (dal soup) occurs as an exogamous sept of medara. kangara.--the word kangara means servant, and the kangaras (or khongars) were originally village watchmen in the vizagapatam agency tracts, corresponding to the kavalgars of the tamil country. they are described as follows by lieutenant j. macdonald smith, who was assistant agent to the governor in jeypore in the sixties of the last century. "a khongar, it seems, is nothing but a kavilgar or village watchman. that these people, in many parts of india, are little better than a community of thieves, is pretty well known, and what was the true nature of the system in jeypore was very clearly brought to light in a case which was committed to my court. it was simply this. before we entered the country, the entire police and magisterial authority of a taluk was lodged in the revenue ameen or renter. whenever a theft occurred, and the property was of sufficient importance to warrant the trouble and expense, the traveller or householder, as the case might be, resorted at once to the ameen, who (if sufficiently fed by the complainant) forthwith sent for the head khongar of the quarter, and desired him to recover the goods, whatever they might be. the khongar generally knows very well where to lay his hand on the property, and would come back with such portion of it as the urgency of the ameen's order seemed to require, while the zeal of that functionary of course varied in each case, according to the extent of the gratification the complainant seemed disposed to give. this is the khongar system of jeypore in its length and breadth, as proved at the trial referred to. wherever a taluk is taken up by the police, the system of course falls down of itself. as for the khongars, they willingly enlist in our village constabulary, and are proving themselves both intelligent and fearless." the meriah officers (1845-61) remarked that the former rajas of jeypore, and their subordinate chiefs, retained in their service great numbers of professional robbers, called khongars, whom they employed within the jeypore country, and in the plains, on expeditions of rapine and bloodshed. the khongars were generally paidis by caste, and their descendants are even now the most notorious among the dacoits of the vizagapatam district. their methods are thus described in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district (1907). "like the konda doras, they have induced some of the people to employ watchmen of their caste as the price of immunity from theft. they are connected with the dombus of the rayagada and gunupur taluks, who are even worse. these people dacoit houses at night in armed gangs of fifty or more, with their faces blackened to prevent recognition. terrifying the villagers into staying quiet in their huts, they force their way into the house of some wealthy person (for choice the local sondi, liquor-seller and sowcar [89]--usually the only man worth looting in an agency village, and a shark who gets little pity from his neighbours when forced to disgorge), tie up the men, rape the women, and go off with everything of value. their favourite method of extracting information regarding concealed property is to sprinkle the house-owner with boiling oil." kangayan.--a division of idaiyans settled in travancore. kaniala (land-owners).--a sub-division of vellala. kanigiri (a hill in the nellore district).--an exogamous sept of medara. kanikar.--the kanikars, who are commonly known as kanis, are a jungle tribe inhabiting the mountains of south travancore. till recently they were in the habit of sending all their women into the seclusion of the dense jungle on the arrival of a stranger near their settlements. but this is now seldom done, and some kanikars have in modern times settled in the vicinity of towns, and become domesticated. the primitive short, dark-skinned and platyrhine type, though surviving, has become changed as the result of contact metamorphosis, and many leptorhine or mesorhine individuals above middle height are to be met with. ==============+=======================+====================== | stature. | nasal index. ==============+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+====== | av. | max. | min. | av. | max. | min. | | | | | | jungle | 155.2 | 170.3 | 150.2 | 84.6 | 105 | 72.3 domesticated | 158.7 | 170.4 | 148 | 81.2 | 90.5 | 70.8 ==============+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+====== the kanikars are said to be characterised by a high standard of honour, and to be straightforward, honest and truthful. they are good trackers and fond of sport, and in clearing forest paths they have hardly any equals. their help and guidance are sought by, and willingly given to any person who may have to travel through the forests. the jungle kanikars have no permanent abode, but shift about from one part of the forest to another. their settlements, composed of lowly huts built of bamboo and reeds, are abandoned when they suffer from fever, or are harassed by wild beasts, or when the soil ceases to be productive. the settlements are generally situated, away from the tracks of elephants, on steep hill slopes, which are terraced and planted with useful trees. in their system of cultivation the kanikars first clear a patch of forest, and then set fire to it. the ground is sown with hardly any previous tillage. when, after two or three years, the land diminishes in productiveness, they move onto another part of the forest, and follow the same rough and ready method of cultivation. thus one patch of ground after another is used for agricultural purposes, until a whole tract of forest is cleared. but the kanikars have now to a large extent abandoned this kind of migratory cultivation, because, according to the forest rules, forests may not be set fire to or trees felled at the unrestricted pleasure of individuals. they cultivate various kinds of cereals and pulses, as well as tapioca (manihot utilissima), sweet potatoes (ipomoea batatas), ganja (indian hemp), and tobacco. each settlement now has a forest block assigned to it for cultivation, with which other tribes are not allowed to interfere, and wherein the kanikars are allowed to fell, clear, and grow their crops. they do not pay anything in the way of tax to the government. once a year they go in a group to visit the maharaja at trivandrum, and he "always receives them most kindly, accepting the nuzzur they offer in the shape of the bamboo plantain with large though few fruits, a parcel of muttucheri hill rice, bamboo joints containing different varieties of honey, and virukachattam or a parcel of civet. the customary modes of court address, and the prescribed court etiquette are alike unknown to them, and the maharaja, pleased with their simplicity and unaffected homage, rewards them with presents of cloth, money, salt, and tobacco, with which they return satisfied to their jungle home." the rev. s. mateer notes that he had difficulty in persuading the kanikars to part with a sucker of the bamboo plantain, as they fancied it must be reserved for the use of the maharaja alone. some kanikars are engaged as coolies on planters' estates, or in felling timber and cutting bamboos for contractors, others in the manufacture of bows and arrows with blunt or barbed iron heads. heated arrows are used by them, for hitting elephants which invade their sugar-cane or other crop, from the safe protection of a hut built on a platform of sticks in tall trees of branches or bamboo covered with leaves of ochlandra travancorica or other large leaves. in connection with these huts, which are called anamadam (elephant huts), it has been said that "the hills abound with game. 'bison' (bos gaurus), bears, and sambar (cervus unicolor) are frequently met with, while elephants and tigers are so numerous that the kanikars are in some parts compelled to build their houses high up in trees. these primitive houses are quickly and easily constructed. the walls are made of bamboo, and the roof is thatched with jungle leaves. they are generally built about fifty feet above the ground, and are securely fastened to the branches of a substantial tree, and a crude ladder of bamboo connects them with the ground. when all the inmates are safely housed for the night, the ladder is removed aloft out of the reach of elephants, who, mischievously inclined, might remove the obstruction, and leave the kanikars to regain terra firma the best way they could." sometimes a single bamboo, with the shoots on the sides cut short, does duty for a ladder. it has been said that, when the crops are ripening, the kanikar watchmen are always at home in their arboreal houses, with their bows and arrows, and chanting their wild songs. sometimes the blunt end of an arrow is used as a twirling stick in making fire by friction, for which purpose sticks made of grewia tilioefolia, etc., are also used. in making fire, the kanikars "procure two pieces of wood, one of which is soft, and contains a small hole or hollow about half an inch deep to receive the end of the other, which is a hard round stick about eighteen inches long, and as thick as an ordinary ruler. the kanikar takes this stick between the palms of his hands, keeping it in a vertical position, with the end of it in the hollow referred to, and produces a quick rotary and reverse motion, and with slight pressure causes the friction necessary to produce a quantity of fluff, which soon ignites." the kanikars are employed by the government to collect honey, wax, ginger, cardamoms, dammar, and elephant tusks, in return for a small remuneration known as kutivaram. other occupations are trapping, capturing or killing elephants, tigers, and wild pigs, and making wicker-work articles of bamboo or rattan. the rev. s. mateer mentions having seen a wicker bridge, perhaps a hundred feet long, over which a pony could pass. a tiger trap is said to be a huge affair made of strong wooden bars, with a partition at one end for a live goat as bait. the timbers thereof are supported by a spring, which, on a wild beast entering, lets fall a crushing weight on it. the kanikars wander all over the hills in search of honey, and a resident in travancore writes that "i have seen a high rugged rock, only accessible on one side, the other side being a sheer precipice of several hundred feet, and in its deep crevices scores of bees' nests. some of them have been there for generations, and the kanikars perform periodically most daring feats in endeavouring to secure at least a portion of the honey. on this precipice i have seen overhanging and fluttering in the breeze a rattan rope, made in rings and strongly linked together, the whole forming a rope ladder several hundred feet long, and securely fastened to a tree at the top of the precipice. only a short time ago these people made one of their usual raids on the 'honey rock.' one of the tribe descended the rope ladder for a considerable distance, with a basket fastened to his back to receive the honey, and carrying with him torch-wood with which to smoke the bees out of the nests. having arrived at his goal two hundred feet from the top, and over three hundred feet from the ground below, he ignited the torch, and, after the usual smoking process, which took some little time to perform, the bees made a hurried exit from the nests, and the kanikar began the work of destruction, and with every movement the man and the ladder swayed to and fro, as if the whole thing would collapse at any moment. however, all was safe, and, after securing as much honey as he could conveniently carry, he began the return journey. hand and foot he went up ring after ring until he reached the top in safety, performing the ascent with an air of nonchalant ease, which would have done credit to any steeple jack." the honey is brought for sale in hollow bamboo joints. sometimes kanikars come into trivandrum, bringing with them live animals for the zoological gardens. the word kanikaran means a hereditary proprietor of land. there is a tradition that there were once two hill kings, sri rangan and virappan, whose descendants emigrated from the pandyan territories beyond agastyakutam under pressure from a superior force, and never returned to the low country. the following legend is current among the kanikars. "the sea originally covered everything, but god caused the water to roll back, and leave bare all the hills. then parameswara and parvati made a man and woman, whose descendants were divided into fifty-six races, and multiplied exceedingly, so that a sore famine invaded the land. in those days men were hunters, and lived by snaring animals and plucking wild fruits off the trees. there was no corn, for men did not know how to sow rice, and cultivate it. the cry of the famine-stricken reached parameswara and parvati, and they visited the earth in the form of a pair of hamsam (the bird which carries brahma), and alighted on a kanjiram tree. while seated there, the god and goddess noticed a pair of dragon-flies, which paired together, and they too, their hearts swelling with love, embraced each other, and, taking pity on mankind, willed that a field of rice should sprout on the low-lying land near the sea-shore. the paraiyans and pulayans, who witnessed the rice growing, were the first to taste of the crop, and became prosperous. this was in malabar, or the far north of travancore. the maharaja, hearing of the new grain, sent seven green parrots to go on a journey of discovery, and they returned with seven ears of rice. these the maharaja placed in a granary, and gave some to the paraiyans to sow, and the grain miraculously increased. but the maharaja wanted to know how it was to be cooked. the parrots were accordingly once more brought into requisition, and they flew away, and brought back eighteen varieties of cooked rice which a paraiyan's wife had prepared. then the maharaja, having got some rice prepared by his cooks, fell to and eat heartily. after eating, he went into the yard to wash his hands, and, before drying them on a cloth, wrung his right hand to get the last drops of water off. a valuable gold ring with three stones fell therefrom, and, burying itself in the dust, was never recovered. the maharaja was sore distressed by his loss, but, parameswara, as some recompense, caused to grow from the ground where the ring fell three trees which are very valuable in travancore, and which, by the sale of their produce, would make the maharaja wealthy and prosperous. the trees were the dammar tree, the resinous gum of which is useful in religious ceremonies, the sandal-wood tree so widely used for its perfume, and lastly the bamboo, which is so useful and necessary to the well-being of the kanikars." the sub-divisions among the kanikars are known as illams or families, of which five are said to be endogamous, and five exogamous. the former are called machchampi or brother-in-law illams, and the latter annantampi or brother illams. they are named after mountains (e.g., palamala, talamala), places (e.g., vellanat), etc. the kanikars who live south of the kodayar river cannot marry those living north of it, the river forming a marital boundary. among the names of kanikars are parapan (broad-faced), chanthiran (moon), marthandan (sun), muntan (dwarf), kaliyan (little kali), madan (a deity), nili (blue) and karumpi (black). the first name is sometimes that of the settlement in which they live. for example, the various mullans are known as kuzhumbi mullan, anaimalai mullan, chembilakayam mullan, etc. the kanikars live together in small communities under a muttakani or headman, who wields considerable influence over them, and enjoys various perquisites. he presides over tribal council meetings, at which all social questions are discussed and settled, and fixes the time for clearing the jungle, sowing the seed, gathering the harvest, worshipping the gods, etc. fines which are inflicted are spent in propitiating the gods. the language of the kanikars is a dialect of malayalam, with a large admixture of tamil, which they call malampashai or language of the hills. the system of inheritance among those who live in the hills is makkathayam (from father to son). but a moiety of the personal property goes to the nephews. with those who live in the plains, an equal distribution of their self-acquired property is made between the sons and nephews. if there are no sons, the nephews inherit the property, the widow being entitled to maintenance. the chief object of worship is said to be sasthan, a forest god. but the kanikars also make offerings to a variety of deities, including amman, poothathan, vetikad pootham, vadamala poothathan, and amcala. they have, it has been said, "certain spots, trees or rocks, where their relations or friends have met with some unusual good luck or calamity, where they generally offer their prayers. here they periodically assemble, and pray that the catastrophe that had befallen a comrade may not fall on them, or that the blessings which another had received may be showered on them." generally in february a festival called kodai is held, whereat the kanikars assemble. goats and fowls are sacrificed, and the pujari (priest) offers boiled rice and meat to the sylvan deities in a consecrated place. the festival, to which many come from the low country, winds up with drinking and dancing. the kanikar musical instruments include a reed flute or clarionet, and men dance to the music, while the women clap their hands in time with it. the kanikars worship their gods twice a year, in the months of minam and kanni. on the morning of the celebration, every family takes rice and plantains to the dwelling of the headman. with the exception of a small quantity which is set aside, the rice is husked and ground to flour by boys or men, after bathing and washing their hands and feet. the rice is taken to a clearing in the fields, whither a kanikar who knows how to invoke the deity comes after bathing. he lays out a row of plantain leaves, and spreads on each leaf a little rice, on which plantains are laid. these are covered over with a plantain leaf, on which rice is sprinkled. the officiating kanikar then burns incense, carries it round the trophy, and places it in front thereof. all do obeisance by raising their hands to their foreheads, and pray for a fruitful harvest. sometimes the officiating kanikar becomes inspired like a velichapad, and gives expression to oracular utterances. at the close of the ceremony, a distribution of the rice and plantains takes place. when the land is to be cleared for cultivation, the headman is invited to attend, and some rice and cocoanuts are presented to him, which he offers up, and clears a small portion with his own hand. on the first appearance of the ears of grain, the kanikars spend two nights in drumming, singing, and repeating mantrams at the field, and put up a tattu or platform on four sticks as a shrine for the spirits, to whom they offer raw rice, tender cocoanuts, flowers, etc. at harvest time rice, plantains, sweetmeats, and flowers are offered to the various hill demons, purcha mallan pey, the cat giant, athirakodi pey, the boundary flag demon, and others. for the following note on a kanikar harvest festival i am indebted to an article by mr. a. p. smith. [90] it was performed in propitiation of the baradevata, or household gods of a house in the neighbourhood, the presiding deity being madan. the ceremony is commonly called the feeding ceremony, and should be carried out just before the harvesting of the grain commences. "the officiating kani is generally an elderly and influential man, who professes inspiration and knowledge obtained when asleep. the articles necessary to perform the ceremony are called paduka or sacrifice, and ashtamangalyam. paduka is for the adult gods or manes, male or female, called chava, and ashtamangalyam is for the virgins who have died, called kanyakas. a temporary pavilion or pandal had been erected in front of the house, and from the canopy long streamers of tender cocoanut leaves, bunches of plantains, and tender cocoanuts, with their husk on, were hung. branches of areca nuts and flowers adorned the posts and pillars. small heaps, consisting of boiled rice, paddy, a tender cocoanut, a sprig of areca flowers, and betel were placed on plantain leaves in seven definite spots. the officiating kanikar, after formally getting the permission of the assembled spectators, and especially of one who subsequently appeared on the scene as the chief dancer, began a monotonous chant in what appeared to be a mixed language. it was understood to be a history of the beginning of earthly kings, a record of the life and doings of departed souls, whose protection was prayed for, and a prayer for the souls of those persons for whose benefit the ceremony of propitiation was in progress. now and again the feelings of the narrator or singer would overcome him, and he would indulge in a shout or in emphatic gesticulations. this went on for about three or four hours, punctuated at intervals by the firing of petards or old smooth-bore guns, and the shrill cries of the women. before the chanting terminated, a large heap of the red flowers of ixora coccinea (thetti pu), about a yard square at the base, had been raised in the centre of the pandal, and it was prettily picked out with areca flowers in artistic designs. the horrible sound of a human voice roaring like a wild beast aroused every one to a sense of activity. from behind the hut came the man already mentioned, very primitively clothed, his hair hanging loose, his eyes staring, and what appeared like foam at his mouth. he would stand, run short distances, leap, sit, agitate his body, and dance, keeping step to the rhythmic and muffled beating of the drum. this he did for ten minutes or so. suddenly, with a shout, he dived into the hut specially set apart as the feeding place of the god madan, and presently appeared with two long sticks adorned at their ends with bells, which emitted a jingling sound. the frenzy of motion, ecstatic, unregulated and ungovernable, was apparently infectious, for a young man, hitherto a silent spectator of the scene, gave a shout, and began to dance wildly, throwing up his arms, and stepping out quite actively. this encouragement stimulated the original performer, and he caught a man standing near by the neck, thrust the stick with the bells into his hand, and he thereupon started dancing as well. in about ten minutes there were some half a dozen wild dancing dervishes, shouting, gesticulating, revolving, and most certainly in an abnormal state of excitement. a dying but still glowing heap of fire and ashes became the centre of attraction, for the chief dancer danced over the fire, and sent the sparks flying, and scattered the wood, and evoked the admiration and eulogies of the crowd. streaming with perspiration, spotted with ashes, wild, dishevelled and exhausted, the chief dancing demoniac stepped under the pandal, and finally sat himself before the heap of red flowers, and tossed the blossoms over his head in a kind of shower bath. he was assisted in this by the old kanikar and other bystanders. a little boy was brought before him, and he called the lad by a name. this was his christening ceremony, for the lad assumed the name from that time. the chief dancer then stood up, and appeared to be still in a possessed state. a fine old rooster was brought, and its throat cut. it was then handed to the dancer, who applied his lips to the gaping wound, and drained the blood, swallowing the fluid audibly. before relinquishing his hold of the bird, he swayed and fell on the ground in what seemed to be a swoon. this indicated that the sacrifice had been acceptable, that the propitiation was perfected, and that all the wishes of the persons interested in them would be granted. the crowd then set to eating and drinking the sacrificial elements, and dispersed." both adult and infant marriage are practiced. those who had married 'infants,' on being questioned, stated that this is the safest course, as grown-up brides sometimes run away to their parents' house, whereas younger girls get accustomed to their husbands' home. on a fixed day, within a month of the marriage ceremony, four kanikars, accompanied by a boy carrying betel leaves and areca nuts, go to the home of the future bride, and present them to the families of the settlement. on the wedding morning, all assemble at a pandal (booth), and the bridegroom distributes pan-supari (betel leaf and areca nuts). his sister then brings forward the bride, and the bridegroom presents her with a cloth, which she puts on. bride, bridegroom, and a young boy, then stand on a mat beneath the pandal, and the bridegroom ties the minnu (marriage badge) round the neck of the bride if she is an infant. if she is an adult, he places the minnu in front of her neck, on which it is tied by his sister. a plantain leaf is then placed in front of the bridal couple, and curry and rice served thereon by their mothers. the two women then take hold of the bride's head, and press it seven times towards her husband's shoulders. this ceremony concluded, the young boy takes a small quantity of the curry and rice, and puts it in the mouth of the bridegroom seven times. the bridegroom's younger brother then gives a morsel to the bride. the ceremonial terminates with a feast. the dowry includes billhooks, brass vessels, choppers, grain, and pulses. the headman, according to mateer, offers some advice to the husband concerning the management of his wife. the heads of his discourse are arranged under the following heads:--teaching by words, pinching, and blows, and casting the woman away at last, if she is not obedient. in the remarriage of widows, the bridegroom simply gives the woman a pair of cloths, and, with the consent of the male members of her family, takes her to his home. during the seventh month of pregnancy, a woman has to perform a ceremony called vaguthu pongal. seven pots are placed on seven hearths, and, when the rice placed therein has boiled, the woman salutes it, and all present partake thereof. according to mateer "the ceremony practised on the occasion of pregnancy is called vayaru pongal, when boiled rice is offered to the sun. first they mould an image of ganesha, and, setting it in a suitable place, boil the rice. to this they add for an offering aval or flattened rice, parched rice, cakes, plantain fruits, young cocoanuts, and tender leaves of the same palm, with the flowers of the areca palm. the headman then commences dancing, and repeating mantrams. he waves the offerings to the sun. on first giving rice to a child, a feast is held, and an offering presented to the jungle demons." concerning the death ceremonies, mateer writes that "when any one is taken ill, the headman is at once consulted. he visits the sick person, and orders two drumming and singing ceremonies to be performed. a whole night is spent in dancing, singing, drumming, and prayers for the recovery of the patient. the offerings consist of tapioca, flour and cocoanuts, and other articles. after some time the headman, with manifestations of demoniac possession, reveals whether the sufferer will die or not. if the former, he repeats a mantram (kudumi vettu mantram, or formula on cutting off the top-knot), and cuts off the sick man's kudumi. this being a sign of approaching death, the relatives and others pay their last visits to the sick. after death, a mixture of ganja (indian hemp), raw rice, and cocoanut, is put into the mouth of the corpse by the son and nephews, and it is buried at some distance from their abode, mantrams being repeated over it. occasionally the corpse is cremated. the relatives bathe before returning home, and cannot take any of the produce of their lands till the death pollution is removed, fearing that wild beasts will attack them or destroy their crops. to this end a small shed is built outside their clearing on the third day. three measures of rice are boiled, and placed in a cup or on a plantain leaf inside the shed. then all bathe, and return home. on the seventh day all this is repeated, the old shed being pulled down, and a new one put up. on returning to their dwelling, they sprinkle cow-dung on their houses and in the yard, which finally removes the defilement. people in better circumstances make a feast of curry and rice for all present." the cow-dung is sprinkled with leafy twigs of the mango or jak tree, or flower stalks of the areca palm. the ashes, after cremation, are said to be collected in a pot or leaf, and thrown into the nearest stream or river. an annual ceremony, in commemoration of ancestors, is held, at which rice is boiled and offered up. the kanikars, like the irulas and yanadis of the tamil and telugu countries, do not belong to the polluting classes. pulayans, kuruvans, and vedans are not allowed to approach them. the dietary of the jungle kanikars includes wild pigs, deer, porcupines, hares, monkeys, fowls, sheep and goats, parakeets, doves, tortoises, fish, crabs, peacocks, tigers (said to taste like black monkey), owls, squirrels and field rats, in addition to many vegetable products of the forest. they will not eat beef or the flesh of 'bison.' some kanikars are tattooed on the forehead with a crescent and dot, or a vertical stripe. the kanikars say that their ancestors wore a garment made of jungle fibre, which has been replaced by a cotton loin-cloth. "both men and women," mr. m. ratnaswami aiyar writes, "wear on the neck numerous strings of red beads and rings made of shells, which hang down to the abdomen in the case of the women. the men wear ear-rings of brass or silver. the women wear bangles of brass and iron, and a number of brass rings on the fingers. the men bear suspended from one of their shoulders a cloth bag containing two or more partitions, in which they keep their vilangupetti or box containing betel, tobacco, and chunam. they carry, too, suspended from the shoulder, a cane basket wherein they place their day's crop of grain or roots, or any other food obtained by them. they attach to their waist-string or cloth a billhook and knife, and carry their bows and arrows slung on their shoulders. whenever the kanikars from the different kanis or settlements have to be gathered together for a common meeting, or for going together elsewhere on a common purpose, a messenger amongst them carries from one kani to another the message with a knot of fibres of creepers, which serves as a symbol of call. the knotted fibre is passed on from one kani to another till the required assembly is secured. it is thus that i secured my kanikars to present them to their excellencies lord and lady curzon." for most of the information contained in this article i am indebted to mateer's 'native life in travancore,' an article by mr. ratnaswami aiyar, [91] and notes by mr. n. subrahmani aiyar. kani kuruppu.--barbers of the kaniyans. kani razu.--a name, denoting fortune-telling razus, sometimes used as a synonym by bhatrazus, in whose songs it occurs. the name kani-vandlu, or fortune-tellers, occurs as a synonym of yerukala. kaniyan.--kaniyan, spelt and pronounced kanisan in malabar, is a malayalam corruption of the sanskrit ganika, meaning an astrologer. the word was originally kani, in which form it invariably appears in malayalam works and tamil documents. the honorific suffix 'an' has been added subsequently. the two titles, generally applied to kaniyans, are panikkar and asan. the former is said to be a common title in malabar, but in travancore it seems to be restricted to the north. the word panikkar comes from pani, or work, viz., that of military training. the fact that most of the families, who own this title at present, were once teachers of bodily exercises, is evident not only from the name kalari, literally a military school, by which their houses are usually known, but also from the keralolpatti, which assigns military training as a duty of the caste. asan, a corruption of the sanskrit acharya, is a common title among kaniyans in south travancore. special titles, such as anantapadmanabham, sivasankaran, and sankili, are said to be possessed by certain families in the south, having been conferred on them by kings in olden times. some kaniyans in the north enjoy the surname of nampikuruppu. kaniyans are divided into two endogamous sections, viz., kaniyar and tinta (or polluting). the occupations of the latter are umbrella-making and spirit-exorcising, while the others remain astrologers, pure and simple. a few families, living at alengad, are called vattakan kaniyans, and are believed to have come there on the eve of tipu sultan's invasion. the women of the kaniyans proper do not eat with them. according to tradition, eight sub-septs are said to have existed among the kaniyans, four of which were known as kiriyams, and four as illams. the names of the former are annavikkannam, karivattam, kutappilla, and nanna; of the latter pampara, tachchazham, netumkanam, and ayyarkala. these divisions were once endogamous, but this distinction has now disappeared. in a note on the kaniyans of the cochin state, [92] mr. l. k. anantha krishna iyer writes that "there is some difference in the social status between the kaniyans of the southern, and the kalari panikkans of the northern parts of the state. the latter profess a kind of superiority in status, on the ground that the former have no kalaris. it is also said by the latter that the occupation of the former was once that of umbrella-making, and that astrology as a profession has been recently adopted by them. there is at present neither intermarriage, nor interdining between them. the kaniyans pollute the kalari panikkans by touch." in connection with the old village organisation in malabar, cochin, and travancore, mr. anantha krishna iyer writes further that "every tara or kara (village) consisted of all castemen below brahmans, especially the nayars of all classes, more or less living in a community, the kammalans, izhuvans, panans, mannans, and other castemen living further apart. for every such village in the northern part of the state, there was also a kalari panikkan, with a kalari (gymnastic or military school), where the young men of the village, chiefly the nayars, were trained in all kinds of athletic feats, and in arms. the institution of the kalaris has now disappeared, though the building remains in some places, and the panikkans are now mainly astrologers and village schoolmasters. according to their own statement, parasurama, the great coloniser of kerala, established kalaris throughout the kingdom, and appointed them as the masters to train sudra young men in all kinds of feats (one thousand and eight in number), for the protection of the country against foreign invaders. the nayars, who then formed the fighting race, were mostly trained by the panikkans. in memory of this, the kalari panikkans of the northern portions of the state, and of south malabar, profess even now a preceptorship to the nayars, and the nayars show them some respect, being present at their marriages and other ceremonies. the pannikkans say that the nayars obtained their kalaris from them. there are still a few among the panikkans, here and there, fit to teach young men various feats. the following are the names of some of them:-(1) pitichu kali. two persons play on their drums (chenda), while a third person, well dressed in a kacha, and with a turban on his head, and provided with a sword and shield, performs various feats in harmony with the drum beating. it is a kind of sword-dance. (2) parishathalam kali. a large pandal (booth) is erected in front of the house where the performance is to take place, and the boys below sixteen, who have been previously trained for it, are brought there. the performance takes place at night. the chenda, maddhalam, chengala, and elathalam (circular bell-metal plates slightly concave in the middle) are the instruments used in the performance. after the performance, the boys, whom the asan has trained, present themselves before him, and remunerate him with whatever they can afford. parties are organised to give this performance on all auspicious occasions in rural districts. (3) kolati. around a lighted lamp, a number of persons stand in a circle, each with a stick a foot in length, and as thick as a thumb, in each hand. they begin to sing, first in slow time, and gradually in rapid measure. the time is marked by each one hitting his neighbours' sticks with his own on both sides. much dexterity and precision are required, as also experience in combined action and movements, lest the amateur should be hit by his neighbours as the measure is accelerated. the songs are invariably in praise of god or man. the kaniyans, according to one tradition, are brahman astrologers, who gradually lost their position, as their predictions became less and less accurate. concerning their legendary history, mr. anantha krishna iyer writes as follows. "once, says one of these legends, when the god subrahmanya, son of siva, and his friend were learning astrology, they knew that the sound of a lizard close by foreboded some evil to the mother of the former. the friend practiced some magical rite, which averted the evil. his mother, who had been in a state of unconsciousness, suddenly woke up as if from slumber, and asked the son 'kany-ar,' i.e., who it was that she looked at. to which the son replied that she was looking at a kaniyan (astrologer). the kaniyans still believe that the umbrella, the stick, the holy ashes, and the purse of cowries, which form the paraphernalia of a kaniyan nowadays, were given by subramanya. the following is another tradition regarding the origin of the caste. in ancient times, it is said, panans, velans, and kaniyans were practicing magic, but astrology as a profession was practiced exclusively by the brahmans. there lived a famous astrologer, thalakkaleth bhattathiripad, who was the most renowned of the astrologers of the time. he had a son whose horoscope he cast, and from it he concluded that his son would live long. unfortunately he proved to be mistaken, for his son died. unable to find out the error in his calculation and prediction, he took the horoscope to an equally famous astrologer of the chola kingdom, who, aware of the cause of his advent, directed him to adore some deity that might aid him in the working out of his predictions. accordingly he came to the trichur temple, where, as directed, he spent some days in devotion to the deity. thereafter he worked wonders in astrology, and became so well known in malabar, cochin, and travancore, that he commanded the respect and admiration of the rulers, who invited him to cast horoscopes, and make predictions. for so doing he was liberally rewarded. one day a brahman, hearing that his guru at benares was seriously ill, consulted the bhattathiripad whether and how he would be able to see him before his death. the brahman astrologer directed him to go to the southern side of the trichur temple, where he would see two persons coming towards him, who might gratify his desire to see his preceptor. these persons were really the servants of yama (the god of death). they asked him to touch them, and he at once found himself at the side of his teacher. the brahman was asked who had directed him to them, and, when he told them that it was the renowned brahman astrologer, they cursed him, saying that he would become an outcaste. this fate came as no surprise to the astrologer, for he had already perceived from an evil conjunction of the planets that disgrace and danger were impending. to try to avoid the sad fate which he foresaw, he left his home and friends, and set out on a boating excursion in a river close by pazhur. the night was dark, and it was midnight when he reached the middle of the stream. a severe storm, accompanied by rain, had come on, and the river was in flood. he was swept away to an unknown region, and scrambled ashore in torrents of rain and in darkness, when he saw a light in a house near where he landed, and he made for it in an exhausted condition. on reaching it, he lay down in the verandah at the gate of the house, musing on the untoward events of the night, and on his affectionate family whom he had left. the hut belonged to the family of a kaniyan, [93] who, as it happened, had had a quarrel with his wife that day, and had left his hut. anxiously expecting her husband's return, the wife opened the door about midnight, and, seeing a man lying in the verandah, mistook him for her husband. the man was so wrapt in his thoughts of his home that he in turn mistook her for his wife. when the brahman woke up from his slumber, he found her to be a kaniya woman. on looking at the star in the heavens to calculate the precise time, he saw that the prediction that he would become an outcaste had been fulfilled. he accepted the degradation, and lived the rest of his days with the kaniya woman. she bore him several sons, whom in due course he educated in the lore of his profession, and for whom, by his influence, he obtained an important place in the hindu social system as astrologers (ganikans). it is said that, according to his instruction, his body, after his death, was placed in a coffin, and buried in the courtyard of the house. the spot is still shown, and an elevated platform is constructed, with a thatched roof over it. a lighted lamp is placed at all times on the platform, and in front of it astrological calculations and predictions are made, for it is believed that those who made such calculations there will have the aid of the spirit of their dead brahman ancestor, who was so learned in the science that he could tell of events long past, and predict even future birth. as an instance of the last, the following incident may be given. once the great brahman ascetic vilwamangalath swamiyar was suffering severely from pains in the stomach, when he prayed to the divine krishna for relief. finding no remedy, he turned to a brahman friend, a yogi, who gave him some holy ashes, which he took, and which relieved him of the pains. he mentioned the fact to his beloved god krishna, who, by the pious adoration of the ascetic, appeared before him, when he said that he would have three births in the world instead of one which was destined for him. with an eager desire to know what they would be, he consulted the bhattathiripad, who said that he would be born first as a rat-snake (zamenis mucosus), then as an ox, and thirdly as a tulsi plant (ocimum sanctum), and that he would be along with him in these births. with great pleasure he returned home. it is also said that the astrologer himself was born as an ox, and was in this form afterwards supported by the members of his family. the incident is said to have taken place at pazhur, eighteen miles east of ernakulam. the members of the family are called pazhur kaniyans, and are well known throughout malabar, cochin and travancore, for their predictions in astrology, and all classes of people even now resort to them for aid in predictions. the kalari panikkans in the northern parts of the cochin state have a different account of the origin of the caste. once, they say, a sage and astrologer, named a ganikan, was making prediction to a sudra regarding his future destiny. as this was done by him when in an uncleanly state, he was cursed by the saptharishis (seven sages). the panikkans who are reputed to be his descendants are ordained to be teachers and astrologers of all castes below brahmans." according to another legendary account, there were kaniyans before the time of bhattatiri, but their astrological attainments are connected with him. talakulattu bhattatiri was one of the earliest astrologers of renown, being the author of muhurtapadavi, and lived in the fourth century a.d. there is a tradition, believed by the kaniyans south of neyyattenkara, that their ancestor was descended from the union of a gandharva woman with kani, a brahman saint, who lived in the western ghats. their grandson propitiated the god subrahmanya presiding over astronomy, and acquired the surname nalika from his never-ceasing truthfulness. some of the southern kaniyans even at the present day call themselves nali. according to another legend, parameswara and his wife parvati were living happily together, when agni fell desperately in love with the latter. eventually, parameswara caught them together, and, to save agni, parvati suggested that he should hide himself inside her body. on agni doing this, parvati became very indisposed, and parameswara, distressed at seeing his wife rolling in agony, shed tears, one of which fell on the ground, and became turned into a man, who, being divinely born, detected the cause of parvati's indisposition, and, asking for some incense, sprinkled it over a blazing torch. agni, seeing his opportunity, escaped in the smoke, and parvati had instant relief. for this service, parameswara blessed the man, and appointed him and his descendants to cure diseases, exorcise demons, and foretell events. the kaniyans of malabar have been connected by tradition with the valluvans of the tamil country, who are the priests, doctors, and astrologers of the pallans and paraiyans. according to this tradition, the modern kaniyans are traced to the valluvans brought from the east by a perumal who ruled over kerala in 350 m.e. the latter are believed to have become kaniyans proper, while the old kaniyans of the west coast descended to the rank of tinta kaniyans. the chief of the valluvans so brought was a yogi or ascetic, who, being asked by a nambutiri concerning a missing article at pazhur, replied correctly that the lost ring had been placed in a hole in the bank of the nambutiri's tank (pond), and was consequently invited to settle there permanently. the kaniyans are easily recognised by their punctilious cleanness of person and clothing, the iron style and knife tucked into the waist, the palm umbrella with its ribs holding numbers of horoscopes, their low artistic bow, and their deliberate answers to questions put to them. most of them are intelligent, and well versed in malayalam and sanskrit. they are, however, not a flourishing community, being averse to manual labour, and depending for their living on their hereditary profession. there are no more conservative people in travancore, and none of them have taken kindly to western education. in their clothing they follow the orthodox malabar fashion. the dress of the males seldom hangs loose, being tucked in in token of humility. the kaniyan, when wanted in his professional capacity, presents himself with triple ash marks of siva on his chest, arms, and forehead. the woman's ornaments resemble those of the izhuvans. fish and flesh are not forbidden as food, but there are many families, as those of pazhur and onakkuru, which strictly abstain from meat. marriage between families which eat and abstain from flesh is not absolutely forbidden. but a wife must give up eating flesh immediately on entering the house of her vegetarian husband. the profession of the kaniyans is astrology. marco polo, writing as early as the thirteenth century about travancore, says that it was even then pre-eminently the land of astrologers. barbosa, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, has a detailed reference to the kaniyans, of whom he writes that "they learn letters and astronomy, and some of them are great astrologers, and foretell many future things, and form judgments upon the births of men. kings and great persons send to call them, and come out of their palaces to gardens and pleasure-grounds to see them, and ask them what they desire to know; and these people form judgment upon these things in a few days, and return to those that asked of them, but they may not enter the palaces; nor may they approach the king's person on account of being low people. and the king is then alone with him. they are great diviners, and pay great attention to times and places of good and bad luck, which they cause to be observed by those kings and great men, and by the merchants also; and they take care to do their business at the time which these astrologers advise them, and they do the same in their voyages and marriages. and by these means these men gain a great deal." buchanan, three centuries later, alludes in the same glowing terms to the prosperity of the kaniyans. he notes that they are of very low caste, a nambutiri coming within twenty-four feet of one being obliged to purify himself by prayer and ablution. "the kaniyans," he writes, "possess almanacks, by which they inform people as to the proper time for performing ceremonies or sowing their seeds, and the hours which are fortunate or unfortunate for any undertaking. when persons are sick or in trouble, the cunishun, by performing certain ceremonies in a magical square of 12 places, discovers what spirit is the cause of the evil, and also how it may be appeased. some cunishuns possess mantrams, with which they pretend to cast out devils." captain conner notes twenty years later that "kanneans derive the appellation from the science of divination, which some of their sect profess. the kannean fixes the propitious moment for every undertaking, all hysterical affections being supposed to be the visitation of some troublesome spirit. his incantations are believed alone able to subdue it." the kaniyans are practically the guiding spirits in all the social and domestic concerns of travancoreans, and even muhammadans and christians do not fail to profit by their wisdom. from the moment of the birth of an infant, which is noted by the kaniyan for the purpose of casting its horoscope, to the moment of death, the services of the village astrologer are constantly in requisition. he is invariably consulted as to the cause of all calamities, and the cautious answers that he gives satisfy the people. "putro na putri," which may either mean no son but a daughter, or no daughter but a son, is jocosely referred to as the type of a kaniyan's answer, when questioned about the sex of a child in utero. "it would be difficult," mr. logan writes, [94] "to describe a single important occasion in everyday life when the kanisan is not at hand as a guiding spirit, foretelling lucky days and hours, casting horoscopes, explaining the cause of calamities, prescribing remedies for untoward events, and physicians (not physic) for sick persons. seed cannot be sown, or trees planted, unless the kanisan has been consulted beforehand. he is even asked to consult his shastras to find lucky days and moments for setting out on a journey, commencing an enterprise, giving a loan, executing a deed, or shaving the head. for such important occasions as births, marriages, tonsure, investiture with the sacred thread, and beginning the a, b, c, the kanisan is of course indispensable. his work in short mixes him up with the gravest as well as the most trivial of the domestic events of the people, and his influence and position are correspondingly great. the astrologer's finding, as one will solemnly assert with all due reverence, is the oracle of god himself, with the justice of which everyone ought to be satisfied, and the poorer classes follow his dictates unhesitatingly. there is no prescribed scale of fees for his services, and in this respect he is like the native physician and teacher. those who consult him, however, rarely come empty-handed, and the gift is proportioned to the means of the party, and the time spent in serving him. if no fee is given, the kanisan does not exact it, as it is one of his professional characteristics, and a matter of personal etiquette, that the astrologer should be unselfish, and not greedy of gain. on public occasions, however, and on important domestic events, a fixed scale of fees is usually adhered to. the astrologer's most busy time is from january to july, the period of harvest and of marriages, but in the other six months of the year his is far from being an idle life. his most lucrative business lies in casting horoscopes, recording the events of a man's life from birth to death, pointing out dangerous periods of life, and prescribing rules and ceremonies to be observed by individuals for the purpose of propitiating the gods and planets, and so averting the calamities of dangerous times. he also shows favourable junctures for the commencement of undertakings, and the grantham or book, written on palmyra leaf, sets forth in considerable detail the person's disposition and mental qualities, as affected by the position of the planets in the zodiac at the moment of birth. all this is a work of labour, and of time. there are few members of respectable families who are not thus provided, and nobody grudges the five to twenty-five rupees usually paid for a horoscope according to the position and reputation of the astrologer. two things are essential to the astrologer, namely, a bag of cowry shells (cypræa moneta), and an almanac. when any one comes to consult him, he quietly sits down, facing the sun, on a plank seat or mat, murmuring some mantrams or sacred verses, opens his bag of cowries, and pours them on the floor. with his right hand he moves them slowly round and round, solemnly reciting meanwhile a stanza or two in praise of his guru or teacher, and of his deity, invoking their help. he then stops, and explains what he has been doing, at the same time taking a handful of cowries from the heap, and placing them on one side. in front is a diagram drawn with chalk on the floor, and consisting of twelve compartments (rasis) one for each month in the year. before commencing operations with the diagram, he selects three or five of the cowries highest up in the heap, and places them in a line on the right-hand side. [in an account before me, three cowries and two glass bottle-stoppers are mentioned as being placed on this side.] these represent ganapati (the belly god, the remover of difficulties), the sun, the planet jupiter, sarasvati (the goddess of speech), and his own guru or preceptor. to all of these the astrologer gives due obeisance, touching his ears and the ground three times with both hands. the cowries are next arranged in the compartments of the diagram, and are moved about from compartment to compartment by the astrologer, who quotes meanwhile the authority on which he makes the moves. finally he explains the result, and ends with again worshipping the deified cowries, who were witnessing the operation as spectators." according to another account, [95] the astrologer "pours his cowries on the ground, and, after rolling them in the palm of his right hand, while repeating mantrams (consecrated formulæ), he selects the largest, and places them in a row outside the diagram at its right hand top corner. they represent the first seven planets, and he does obeisance to them, touching his forehead and the ground three times with both hands. the relative position of the nine planets is then worked out, and illustrated with cowries in the diagram." at the chal (furrow) ceremony in malabar, on the eve of the new agricultural year, "every hindu house in the district is visited by the kanisans of the respective desams, who, for a modest present of rice, vegetables and oils, makes a forecast of the season's prospects, which is engrossed on a cadjan (palm leaf). this is called the vishu phalam, which is obtained by comparing the nativity with the equinox. special mention is made therein as to the probable rainfall from the position of the planets--highly prized information in a district where there are no irrigation works or large reservoirs for water." [96] the science of astrology is studied and practiced by other castes, but the kani house of pazhur is the most celebrated. numerous stories are related of the astrological skill of the pazhur kaniyans, of which one relates to the planets mercury and venus, who, arriving at the house of one of the kaniyans, were asked by him to wait at the gate. he then jumped into a neighbouring well, to conduct some prayers with a view to keeping them there permanently. in this task he succeeded, and even today a prophecy made at that out-house is believed to be certain of turning out true. in addition to astrology, the kaniyans practice sorcery and exorcism, which are strictly the occupation of the tinta kaniyans. the process by which devils are driven out is known as kolamtullal (a peculiar dance). a troupe of kaniyans, on being invited to a house where a person is suspected of being possessed by a devil, go there wearing masques representing gandharva, yakshi, bhairava, raktesvari, and other demons, and dressed up in tender cocoanut leaves. accompanied by music and songs, they rush towards the affected person, who is seated in the midst of the assembly, and frighten away the evil spirit. for the cure of disease, which is considered as incurable by ordinary methods of treatment, a form of exorcism called kalapasamtikkuka, or the removal of the rope or evil influence, is resorted to. in this, two kaniyans take the stage, and play the parts of siva and yama, while a third recites in song the story of the immortal markandeya. "the pannikar's astrology," mr. f. fawcett writes, [97] "he will tell you, is divided into three parts:-(1) ganita, which treats of the constellations. (2) sankita, which explains the origin of the constellations, comets, falling stars, and earthquakes. (3) hora, by which the fate of man is explained. "the panikkar, who follows in the footsteps of his forefathers, should have a thorough knowledge of astrology and mathematics, and be learned in the vedas. he should be sound in mind and body, truthful, and patient. he should look well after his family, and should worship regularly the nine planets:--suryan, the sun; chandran, moon; chovva, mars; budhan, mercury; vyazham, guru, or brihaspati, jupiter; sukran, venus; sani, saturn; rahu; and ketu. the two last, though not visible, are, oddly enough, classed as planets by the panikkar. they are said to be two parts of an asura who was cut in two by vishnu. the panikkars also dabble in magic, and i have in my possession a number of yantrams presented to me by a panikkar. they should be written on a thin gold, silver, or copper plate, and worn on the person. a yantram written on gold is the most effective. as a rule, the yantram is placed in a little cylinder-case made of silver, fastened to a string tied round the waist. many of these are often worn by the same person. the yantram is sometimes written on cadjan (palm leaf), or paper. i have one of this kind in my collection, taken from the neck of a goat. it is common to see them worn on the arm, around the neck." the following examples of yantrams are given by mr. fawcett:-aksharamala.--fifty-one letters. used in connection with every other yantram. each letter has its own meaning, and does not represent any word. in itself this yantram is powerless, but it gives life to all others. it must be written on the same plate as the other yantram. sulini.--for protection against sorcery or devils, and to secure the aid of the goddess. maha sulini.--to prevent all kinds of harm through the devils, chief of whom is pulatini, he who eats infants. women wear it to avert miscarriage. ganapati.--to increase knowledge, and put away fear and shyness. sarasvati.--to enable its possessor to please his listeners, and increase his knowledge. santana gopalam.--as a whole it represents sri krishna. used by barren women, so that they may bear children. it may be traced on a metal plate and worn in the usual way, or on a slab of butter, which is eaten. when the latter method is adopted, it is repeated on forty-one consecutive days, during which the woman, as well as the panikkar, may not have sexual connection. navva.--drawn in ashes of cow-dung on a new cloth, and tied round the waist. it relieves a woman in labour. asvarudha (to climb a horse).--a person wearing it is able to cover long distances easily on horseback, and he can make the most refractory horse amenable by tying it round its neck. it will also help to cure cattle. "the charms," mr. fawcett explains, "are entirely inoperative, unless accompanied in the first place with the mystic rite, which is the secret of the panikkar." many kaniyans used formerly to be village schoolmasters, but, with the abolition of the old methods of teaching, their number is steadily decreasing. some of them are clever physicians. those who have no pretension to learning live by making palm-leaf umbrellas, which gives occupation to the women. but the industry is fast declining before the competition of umbrellas imported from foreign countries. the kaniyans worship the sun, the planets, the moon, ganesa and subramanya, vishnu, siva, and baghavati. on each day of the week, the planet, which is believed to preside over it, is specially worshipped by an elaborate process, which is compulsorily gone through for at least three weeks after a kaniyan has become proficient in astrology, and able to make calculations for himself. it is generally believed that the supreme authority in all social matters affecting the kaniyan rests in british malabar with the yogi already referred to, in cochin and north travancore with the head of the pazhur house, and in south travancore with the eldest member of a house at manakkad in trivandrum, known by the name of sankili. practically, however, the spiritual headmen, called kannalmas, are independent. these kannalmas are much respected, and well paid on festive occasions by every kaniyan house. they and other elders sit in judgment on persons guilty of adultery, commensality with lower castes, and other offences, and inflict punishments. the kaniyans observe both the tali-kettu ceremony before puberty, and sambandham after that event. inheritance is through the father, and the eldest male of a family has the management of the ancestral estate. fraternal polyandry is said to have been common in olden times, and mr. logan observes that, "like the pandava brothers, as they proudly point out, the kanisans used formerly to have one wife in common among several brothers, and this custom is still observed by some of them." there is no restriction to the marriage of widows. concerning polyandry, mr. anantha krishna iyer states that "among the kaniyans, as well as among panikkans, polyandry largely prevails. if the young woman is intended to be the wife of several brothers, the eldest brother goes to the bride's house, and gives her the cloth, and takes her home the next day along with her parents and relations, who are all well entertained. the young woman and the brothers are seated together, and a sweet preparation is given to them, which signifies that she has become the common wife of all. the kalari muppan (nayar headman of the village) also declares her to be such. the guests depart, and the bridegroom (the eldest brother) and the bride are invited to what they call virunnu-oon (sumptuous meal) in the house of the latter, where they stay for a few days. the bridegroom then returns home with the wife. the other brothers, one after another, are similarly entertained along with the bride at her house. the brothers cannot afford to live together for a long time, and they go from place to place, earning their livelihood by astrology. each brother is at home only for a few days in each month; hence practically the woman has only one husband at a time. if several of them happen to be at home together for a few weeks, each in turn associates with the woman, in accordance with the directions given by their mother." the kaniyans follow high-caste hindus as regards many of their ceremonies. they have their name-bestowing, food-giving and tuft-making ceremonies, and also a superstitious rite called ittaluzhiyuka, or exorcism in child-birth on the seventh or ninth day after the birth of a child. a kaniyan's education begins in his seventh year. in the sixteenth year a ceremony, corresponding to the upanayana of the higher castes, is performed. for forty-one days after, the kannalma initiates the young kaniyan into the mysteries of astrology and witchcraft. he is obliged to worship subramanya, the tutelary god of the caste, and abstains from meat and liquor. this may be taken as the close of his brahmacharya stage or samavartana, as marriage cannot take place before the observance of this ceremony. on the subject of religion, mr. anantha krishna iyer writes that "the kalari panikkans and the kaniyans are generally saivite worshippers, but are not disinclined to the worship of vishnu also. it is said that their kalaris are forty-two feet long, and contain the images of forty-two deities. the following are the most important of them:--subrahmanya, sastha, ganapati, virabhadran, narasimha, ashtabairavas, hanuman, and bhadrakali. some of their kalaris, which were seen by me, contained stone and metal images of these gods. every night a lamp is lighted in front of them for their worship. during the mandalam (forty days) from the first of vrischikam to the tenth of dhanu (14th november to 25th december), the senior member of the panikkan's family bathes early in the morning, and performs his pujas to all the gods, making offerings of boiled rice, plantains and cocoanuts. on the fortieth day, i.e., the last day of the mandalam, a grand puja is performed individually to every one of the deities in the kalari, and this lasts for twenty-four hours, from sunrise to sunrise, when offerings of boiled rice, parched rice, sheep and fowls are also given. this is the grand puja performed once in the course of the year. besides this, some of their deities command their special reverence. for instance, subrahmanya is adored for the sake of astrology, sastha for wealth and offspring. they are also worshippers of sakti in any of her following manifestations, namely, bala, thripura, mathangi, ambika, durga, bhadrakali, the object of which is to secure accuracy in their astrological predictions. further, every member of the caste proficient in astrology daily offers, after an early bath, his prayers to the seven planets. among the minor deities whom they worship, are also mallan, mundian, muni and ayutha vadukan, the first three of which they worship for the prosperity of their cattle, and the last four for their success in the training of young men in athletic feats. these deities are represented by stones placed at the root of some shady tree in their compounds. they also worship the spirits of their ancestors, on the new-moon nights in karkadakam (july-august), thulam (october-november), and makaram (december-january). the kalari panikkans celebrate a kind of feast to the spirits of their female ancestors. this is generally done a few days before the celebration of a wedding in their houses, and is probably intended to obtain their blessings for the happy married life of the bride. this corresponds to the performance of sumangalia prarthana (feast for the spirits of departed virgins and married women) performed by brahmans in their families. at times when small-pox, cholera, and other pestilential diseases prevail in a village, special pujas are offered to mariamma (the small-pox demon) and bhadrakali, who should be propitiated. on these occasions, their priest turns velichapad (oracle), and speaks to the village men as if by inspiration, telling them when and how the maladies will subside." kaniyans were formerly buried, but are now, excepting young children, cremated in a portion of the grounds of the habitation, or in a spot adjacent thereto. the ashes are collected on the fourth day, and deposited under water. in memory of the deceased, an annual offering of food is made, and an oblation of water offered on every new moon. the potuvans or kani kuruppus are the barbers of the kaniyans, and have the privilege of being in attendance during marriages and funerals. it is only after they have sprinkled water in the houses of polluted kaniyans that they again become pure. in fact, the potuvans stand in the same relation to the kaniyans as the marans to the nayars. the potuvans are not expected to shave the tinta kaniyans. the kaniyans are said to keep at a distance of twenty-four feet from a brahman or kshatriya, and half that distance from a sudra. the corresponding distances for a tinta kaniyan are thirty-six and eighteen feet. this restriction is not fully observed in trivandrum, and south of it. it is noted by mr. anantha krishna iyer that, on marriage occasions, a nayar gives a gift of a few annas and betel leaves to the astrologer, standing close beside him, and yet there is no pollution. the malayalam proverb "on marriage occasions the nayars give dakshina (gift), almost touching the hand," refers to this fact. the kaniyans cannot enter brahmanical temples. they will not receive food from izhavans, except in a few villages in central travancore, but this is a regular practice with the tinta kaniyans. it is believed that the kaniyans proper have no objection to receiving sweetmeats from kammalans. the kaniyans have been summed up as a law-abiding people, who not infrequently add agriculture to their avocations of village doctor, prophet, or demon-driver, and are popular with christians and muhammadans as well as with hindus. [98] the late mr. pogson, when government astronomer, used to say that his principal native assistant was an astronomer from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and an astrologer from 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. kannada.--kannada (kanarese) has, at recent times of census, been returned as a linguistic or territorial division of various classes, e.g., agasa, bedar, devanga, holeya, koracha, kumbara, samagara, rachewar, and uppiliyan. kanna pulayan.--described by the rev. w. j. richards [99] as pulayans of travancore, who wear rather better and more artistically made aprons than the thanda pulayan women. kannaku.--a prefix to the name of nanchinat vellalas in travancore. kannan.--a sub-division of kammalans, the members of which do braziers' work. kannadiyan.--the kannadiyans have been summed up [100] as "immigrants from the province of mysore. their traditional occupation is said to have been military service, although they follow, at the present day, different pursuits in different districts. they are usually cattle-breeders and cultivators in north and south arcot and chingleput, and traders in the southern districts. most of them are lingayats, but a few are vaishnavites." "they are," it is stated, [101] "in the mysore state known as gaulis. at their weddings, five married women are selected, who are required to bathe as each of the most important of the marriage ceremonies is performed, and are alone allowed to cook for, or to touch the happy couple. weddings last eight days, during which time the bride and bridegroom must not sit on anything but woollen blankets." some kannadiyans in the tanjore district are said to be weavers. for the following account of the kannadiyans of the chingleput district i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. about twenty miles from the city of madras is a big tank (lake) named after the village of chembrambakam, which is close by. the fertile land surrounding this tank is occupied, among others, by a colony of lingayats, of whom each household, as a rule, owns several acres of land. with the cultivation thereof, they have the further occupation of cattle grazing. they utilize the products of the cow in various ways, and it supplies them with milk, butter and curds, in the last two of which they carry on a lucrative trade in the city of madras. the curds sold by them are very highly appreciated by madras brahmans, as they have a sour taste caused by keeping them till fermentation has set in. so great is the demand for their curds that advances of money are made to them, and regular delivery is thus secured. their price is higher than that of the local madras curds, and if a lingayat buys the latter and sells them at the higher rate, he is decisively stigmatised as being a "local." they will not even touch sheep and goats, and believe that even the smell of these animals will make cows and buffaloes barren. though the chief settlement of the lingayats is at chembrambakam, they are also to be found in the adjacent villages and in the conjeeveram taluk, and, in all, they number, in the chingleput district, about four thousand. the lingayats have no idea how their forefathers came to the chingleput district. questioned whether they have any relatives in mysore, many answered in the affirmative, and one even pointed to one in a high official position as a close relation. another said that the gurukkal or jangam (priest) is one and the same man for the mysore lingayats and themselves. a third told me of his grandfather's wanderings in mysore, bellary, and other places of importance to the lingayats. i have also heard the story that, on the chembrambakam lingayats being divided into two factions through disputes among the local caste-men, a lingayat priest came from mysore, and brought about their union. these few facts suffice to show that the lingayats are emigrants from mysore, and not converts from the indigenous populations of the district. but what as to the date of their immigration? the earliest date which can, with any show of reason, be ascribed thereto seems to be towards the end of the seventeenth century, when chikka deva raja ruled over mysore. he adopted violent repressive measures against the lingayats for quelling a widespread insurrection, which they had fomented against him throughout the state. his measures of financial reform deprived the lingayat priesthood of its local leadership and much of its pecuniary profit. what followed may best be stated in the words of colonel wilks, [102] the mysore historian. "everywhere the inverted plough, suspended from the tree at the gate of the village, whose shade forms a place of assembly for its inhabitants, announced a state of insurrection. having determined not to till the land, the husbandmen deserted their villages, and assembled in some places like fugitives seeking a distant settlement; in others as rebels breathing revenge. chikka deva raja, however, was too prompt in his measures to admit of any very formidable combination. before proceeding to measures of open violence, he adopted a plan of perfidy and horror, yielding to nothing which we find recorded in the annals of the most sanguinary people. an invitation was sent to all the jangam priests to meet the raja at the great temple of nunjengod, ostensibly to converse with him on the subject of the refractory conduct of their followers. treachery was apprehended, and the number which assembled was estimated at about four hundred only. a large pit had been previously prepared in a walled enclosure, connected by a series of squares composed of tent walls with the canopy of audience, at which they were received one at a time, and, after making their obeisance, were desired to retire to a place where, according to custom, they expected to find refreshments prepared at the expense of the raja. expert executioners were in waiting in the square, and every individual in succession was so skilfully beheaded and tumbled into the pit as to give no alarm to those who followed, and the business of the public audience went on without interruption or suspicion. circular orders had been sent for the destruction on the same day of all the jangam mutts (places of residence and worship) in his dominions, and the number reported to have been destroyed was upwards of seven hundred.... this notable achievement was followed by the operations of the troops, chiefly cavalry. the orders were distinct and simple--to charge without parley into the midst of the mob; to cut down every man wearing an orange-coloured robe (the peculiar garb of the jangam priests)." how far the husbandmen carried out their threat of seeking a distant settlement it is impossible, at this distance of time, to determine. if the theory of religious persecution as the cause of their emigration has not an air of certainty about it, it is at least plausible. if the beginning of the eighteenth century is the earliest, the end of that century is the latest date that can be set down for the lingayat emigration. that century was perhaps the most troublous one in the modern history of india. armies were passing and repassing the ghats, and i have heard from some old gentlemen that the chingleput lingayats, who are mostly shepherds, accompanied the troops in the humble capacity of purveyors of milk and butter. whatever the causes of their emigration, we find them in the chingleput district ordinarily reckoning the mysore, salem and bellary lingayats as of their own stock. they freely mix with each other, and i hear contract marital alliances with one another. they speak the kannada (kanarese) language--the language of mysore and bellary. they call themselves by the name of kannadiyans or kannadiyars, after the language they speak, and the part of the village they inhabit--kannadipauliem, or village of the kannadiyars. in parts of madras they are known as kavadi and kavadiga (=bearers of head-loads). both men and women are possessed of great stamina. almost every other day they walk to and fro, in all seasons, more than twenty miles by road to sell their butter and curds in madras. while so journeying, they carry on their heads a curd pot in a rattan basket containing three or four madras measures of curds, besides another pot containing a measure or so of butter. some of the men are good acrobats and gymnasts, and i have seen a very old man successively break in two four cocoanuts, each placed on three or four crystals of common salt, leaving the crystals almost intact. and i have heard that there are men who can so break fifty cocoanuts--perhaps an exaggeration for a considerable number. in general the women may be termed beautiful, and, in mysore, the lingayat women are, by common consent, regarded as models of feminine beauty. these lingayats are divided into two classes, viz., gauliyars of damara village, and kadaperi or kannadiyars proper, of chembrambakam and other places. the gauliyars carry their curd pots in rattan baskets; the kannadiyars in bamboo baskets. each class has its own beat in the city of madras, and, while the majority of the rattan basket men traffic mainly in triplicane, the bamboo basket men carry on their business in georgetown and other localities. the two classes worship the same gods, feed together, but do not intermarry. the rattan is considered superior to the bamboo section. both sections are sub-divided into a large number of exogamous septs or bedagagulu, of which the meaning, with a few exceptions, e.g., split cane, bear, and fruit of eugenia jambolana, is not clear. monogamy appears to be the general rule among them, but polygamy to the extent of having two wives, the second to counteract the sterility of the first, is not rare. marriage before puberty is the rule, which must not be transgressed. and it is a common thing to see small boys grazing the cattle, who are married to babies hardly more than a year old. marriages are arranged by the parents, or through intermediaries, with the tacit approval of the community as a whole. the marriage ceremony generally lasts about nine or ten days, and, to lessen the expenses for the individual, several families club together and celebrate their marriages simultaneously. all the preliminaries such as inviting the wedding guests, etc., are attended to by the agent of the community, who is called chaudri. the appointment of agent is hereditary. the first day of the marriage ceremony is employed in the erection of the booth or pandal. on the following day, the bodice-wearing ceremony is performed. the bride and bridegroom are presented with new clothes, which they put on amid general merriment. in connection with this ceremony, the following mysore story may not be out of place. when tipu sultan once saw a lingayat woman selling curds in the street without a body cloth, he ordered the cutting off of her breasts. since then the wearing of long garments has come into use among the whole female population of mysore. the third day is the most important, as it is on that day that the muhurtham, or tali-tying ceremony, takes place, and an incident of quite an exceptional character comes off amid general laughter. a brahman (generally a saivite) is formally invited to attend, and pretends that he is unable to do so. but he is, with mock gravity, pressed hard to do so, and, after repeated guarantees of good faith, he finally consents with great reluctance and misgivings. on his arrival at the marriage booth, the headman of the family in which the marriage is taking place seizes him roughly by the head, and ties as tightly as possible five cocoanuts to the kudumi, or lock of hair at the back of the head, amidst the loud, though not real, protestations of the victim. all those present, with all seriousness, pacify him, and he is cheered by the sight of five rupees, which are presented to him. this gift he readily accepts, together with a pair of new cloths and pan-supari (betel leaves and areca nuts). meanwhile the young folk have been making sport of him by throwing at his new and old clothes big empty brinjal fruits (solanum melongena) filled with turmeric powder and chunam (lime). he goes for the boys, who dodge him, and at last the elders beat off the youngsters with the remark that "after all he is a brahman, and ought not to be trifled with in this way." the brahman then takes leave, and is heard of no more in connection with the wedding rites. the whole ceremony has a decided ring of mockery about it, and leads one to the conclusion that it is celebrated more in derision than in honour of the brahmans. it is a notorious fact that the lingayats will not even accept water from a brahman's hands, and do not, like many other castes, require his services in connection with marriage or funeral ceremonies. the practice of tying cocoanuts to the hair of the brahman seems to be confined to the bamboo section. but an equally curious custom is observed by the rattan section. the village barber is invited to the wedding, and the infant bride and bridegroom are seated naked before him. he is provided with some ghi(clarified butter) in a cocoanut shell, and has to sprinkle some of it on the head of the couple with a grass or reed. he is, however, prevented from doing so by a somewhat cruel contrivance. a big stone (representing the linga) is suspended from his neck by a rope, and he is kept nodding to and fro by another rope which is pulled by young lads behind him. eventually they leave off, and he sprinkles the ghi, and is dismissed with a few annas, pan-supari, and the remains of the ghi. by means of the stone the barber is for the moment turned into a lingayat. the officiating priest at the marriage ceremony is a man of their own sect, and is known as the gurukkal. they address him as ayyanavaru, a title generally reserved for brahmans in kannada-speaking districts. the main items of expenditure at a wedding are the musician, presents of clothes, and pan-supari, especially the areca nuts. one man, who was not rich, told me that it cost him, for a marriage, three maunds of nuts, and that guests come more for them than for the meals, which he characterised as not fit for dogs. widow remarriage is permitted. but it is essential that the contracting parties should be widower and widow. for such a marriage no pandal is erected, but all the elders countenance it by their presence. such a marriage is known as naduvittu tali, because the tali is tied in the mid-house. it is usually a simple affair, and finished in a short time after sunset instead of in the day time. the offspring of such marriages are considered as legitimate, and can inherit. but remarried couples are disqualified from performing certain acts, e.g., the distribution of pan-supari at weddings, partaking in the harathi ceremony, etc. the disqualifications attaching to remarried people are, by a curious analogy, extended to deformed persons, who are, in some cases, considered to be widowers and widows. among the ordinary names of males are basappa, linganna, devanna, ellappa, naganna; and of females ellamma, lingi and nagamma. it is said that all are entitled to the honorific saudri; but the title is specially reserved for the agent of their sect. among common nicknames are chikka and dodda thamma (younger and elder brother), andi (beggar), karapi (black woman), guni (hunch back). in the mysore province the most becoming method of addressing a lingayat is to call him sivane. their usual titles are ravut, appa, anna, and saudri. the child-naming ceremony is a very important one. five swords with limes fixed to their edges are set in a line with equi-distant spaces between them. by each sword are placed two plantain fruits, a cocoanut, four dried dates, two cocoanut cups, pan-supari, and karamani (vigna catiang) cakes. in front of the swords are also placed rice-balls mixed with turmeric powder, various kinds of vegetables and fruits, curds and milk. opposite each sword five leaves are spread out, and in front of each leaf a near relation of the family sits. the chief woman of the house then brings five pots full of water, and gives to each man a potful for the worship of the jangama linga which he wears. she also brings consecrated cow-dung ashes. the men pour the water over the linga, holding it in the left hand, and smear both the linga and their faces with the ashes. the woman then retires, and the guests partake of a hearty meal, at the conclusion of which the woman reappears with five vessels full of water, with which they wash their hands. the vessels are then broken, and thrown on a dung-heap. after partaking of pan-supari and chunam (lime), each of the men ties up some of the food in a towel, takes one of the swords in his hand, and leaves the house without turning back. the headman of the family then removes the limes from the swords, and puts them back in their scabbards. the same evening the child is named. sometimes this ceremony, which is costly, is held even after the child is a year old. when a death takes place, information is sent round to the relations and castemen by two boys carrying little sticks in their hands. under the instructions of a priest, the inmates of the house begin to make arrangements for the funeral. the corpse is washed, and the priest's feet are also washed, and the refuse-water on the ground is poured over the corpse or into its mouth. among certain sections of lingayats it is customary, contrary to the usual hindu practice, to invite the friends and relations, who have come for the funeral, to a banquet, at which the priest is a guest. it is said that the priest, after partaking of food, vomits a portion of it, which is shared by the members of the family. these practices do not seem to be followed by the chingleput lingayats. a second bath is given to the corpse, and then the nine orifices of the body are closed with cotton or cloth. the corpse is then dressed as in life, and, if it be that of a priest, is robed in the characteristic orange tawny dress. before clothing it, the consecrated cow-dung ashes are smeared over the forehead, arms, chest, and abdomen. the bier is made like a car, such as is seen in temple processions on the occasion of car festivals. to each of its four bamboo posts are attached a plantain tree and a cocoanut, and it is decorated with bright flowers. in the middle of the bier is a wooden plank, on which the corpse is set in a sitting position. the priest touches the dead body three or four times with his right leg, and the funeral cortège, accompanied by weird village music, proceeds to the burial-ground. the corpse, after removal from the bier, is placed in the grave in a sitting posture, facing south, with the linga, which the man had worn during life, in the mouth. salt, according to the means of the family, is thrown into the grave by friends and relations, and it is considered that a man's life would be wasted if he did not do this small service for a dead fellow-casteman. they quote the proverb "did he go unserviceable even for a handful of mud?" the grave is filled in, and four lights are placed at the corners. the priest, standing over the head of the corpse, faces the lamps, with branches of leucas aspera and vitex negundo at his feet. a cocoanut is broken and camphor burnt, and the priest says "lingannah (or whatever the name of the dead man may be), leaving nara loka, you have gone to bhu loka," which is a little incongruous, for nara loka and bhu loka are identical. perhaps the latter is a mistake for swarga loka, the abode of bliss of brahmanical theology. possibly, swarga loka is not mentioned, because it signifies the abode of vishnu. then the priest calls out oogay! oogay! and the funeral ceremony is at an end. on their return home the corpse-bearers, priest, and sons of the deceased, take buttermilk, and apply it with the right hand to the left side of the back. a nandi (the sacred bull) is made of mud, or bricks and mortar, and set up over the grave. unmarried girls and boys are buried in a lying position. from enquiries made among the lingayats of chembarambakam, it appears that, when a death has occurred, pollution is observed by the near relatives; and, even if they are living at such distant places as bellary or bangalore, pollution must be observed, and dissolved by a bath. basava attached no importance to pilgrimages. the chingleput lingayats, however, perform what they call jatray (i.e., pilgrimage), of which the principal celebration takes place in chittra-vyasi (april-may), and is called virabhadra jatray. the bamboo lingayats of chembarambakam send word, with some raw rice, to the rattan lingayats of kadaperi to come to the festival on a fixed day with the image of their god virabhadra. the gauliyars of kadaperi and other villages accordingly proceed to a tank on the confines of the village of chembrambakam, and send word that they have responded to the call of their brethren. the chief men of the village, accompanied by a crowd, and the village musicians, start for the tank, and bring in the kadaperi guests. after a feast all retire for the night, and get up at 3 a.m. for the celebration of the festival. swords are unsheathed from their scabbards, and there is a deafening noise from trumpets and pipes. the images of virabhadra are taken in procession to a tank, and, on the way thither, the idol bearers and others pretend that they are inspired, and bawl out the various names of the god. sometimes they become so frenzied that the people break cocoanuts on their foreheads, or pierce their neck and wrists with a big needle, such as is used in stitching gunny bags. under this treatment the inspired ones calm down. all along the route cocoanuts are broken, and may amount to as many as four hundred, which become the perquisite of the village washerman. when the tank is reached, pan-supari and kadalai (cicer arietinum) are distributed among the crowd. on the return journey, the village washerman has to spread dupatis (cloths) for the procession to walk over. at about noon a hearty meal is partaken of, and the ceremony is at an end. after a few days, a return celebration takes place at kadaperi. the virabhadra images of the two sections, it may be noted, are regarded as brothers. other ceremonial pilgrimages are also made to tirutani, tiruvallur and mylapore, and they go to tiruvallur on new moon days, bathe in the tank, and make offerings to vira raghava, a vaishnava deity. they do not observe the feast of pongal, which is so widely celebrated throughout southern india. it is said that the celebration thereof was stopped, because, on one occasion, the cattle bolted, and the men who went in pursuit of them never returned. the ugadi, or new year feast, is observed by them as a day of general mourning. they also observe the kama festival with great éclat, and one of their national songs relates to the burning of kama. when singing it during their journeys with the curd-pots, they are said to lose themselves, and arrive at their destination without knowing the distance that they have marched. in addition to the grand virabhadra festival, which is celebrated annually, the ariservai festival is also observed as a great occasion. this is no doubt a tamil rendering of the sanskrit hariservai, which means the service of hari or worship of vishnu. it is strange that lingayats should have this formal worship of vishnu, and it must be a result of their environment, as they are surrounded on all sides by vaishnavite temples. more than six months before the festival a meeting of elders is convened, and it is decided that an assessment of three pies per basket shall be levied, and the saudri is made honorary treasurer of the fund. if a house has two or more baskets, i.e., persons using baskets in their trade, it must contribute a corresponding number of three pies. in other words, the basket, and not the family, is the unit in their communal finance. an invitation, accompanied by pan-supari, is sent to the thadans (vaishnavite dramatists) near conjeeveram, asking them to attend the festival on the last saturday of paratasi, the four saturdays of which month are consecrated to vishnu. the thadans arrive in due course at chembrambakam, the centre of the bamboo section of the lingayats, and make arrangements for the festival. invitations are sent to five persons of the lingayat community, who fast from morning till evening. about 8 or 9 p.m., these five guests, who perhaps represent priests for the occasion, arrive at the pandal (booth), and leaves are spread out before them, and a meal of rice, dhal (cajanus indicus) water, cakes, broken cocoanuts, etc., is served to them. but, instead of partaking thereof, they sit looking towards a lighted lamp, and close their eyes in meditation. they then quietly retire to their homes, where they take the evening meal. after a torchlight procession with torches fed with ghi (clarified butter) the village washermen come to the pandal, and collect together the leaves and food, which have been left there. about 11 p.m. the villagers repair to the spot where a dramatic performance of hiranya kasyapa natakam, or the prahallada charitram, is held during five alternate nights. the latter play is based on a favourite story in the bhagavatha, and it is strange that it should be got up and witnessed by a community of saivites, some of whom (vira saivas) are such extremists that they would not tolerate the sight of a vaishnavite at a distance. the chembrambakam lingayats appear to join the other villagers in the performance of the annual puja (worship) to the village deity, namamdamma, who is worshipped in order to ward off cholera and cattle disease. one mode of propitiating her is by sacrificing a goat, collecting its entrails and placing them in a pot, with its mouth covered with goat skin, which is taken round the village, and buried in a corner. the pot is called bali setti, and he who comes in front of it while it is being carried through the streets, is supposed to be sure to suffer from serious illness, or even die. the sacrifice, filling of the pot, and its carriage through the streets, are all performed by low class occhans and vettiyans. the chembrambakam lingayats assert that the cholera goddess has given a promise that she will not attack any of their community, and keeps it faithfully, and none of them die even during the worst cholera epidemics. kanni (rope).--a gotra of kurni. kapata.--a name for rag-wearing koragas. kappala (frog).--an exogamous sept of madiga, and sub-division of yanadis, who are said to be frog-eaters. it is also a gotra of janappans, who have a legend that, when some of their family were fishing, they caught a haul of big frogs instead of fish. consequently, members of this gotra will not injure frogs. i have seen frogs hanging up for sale in the cochin bazar. kappiliyan.--the kappiliyans, or karumpuraththals, as they are sometimes called, are canarese-speaking farmers, who are found chiefly in madura and tinnevelly. it is noted, in the manual of the madura district, that "a few of the original poligars were canarese; and it is to be presumed that the kappiliyans immigrated under their auspices. they are a decent and respectable class of farmers. their most common agnomen is koundan (or kavandan)." some kappiliyans say that they came south six or seven generations ago, along with the urumikkarans, from the banks of the tungabhadra river, because the tottiyans tried to ravish their women. according to another tradition, similar to that current among the tottiyans, "the caste was oppressed by the musalmans of the north, fled across the tungabhadra, and was saved by two pongu (pongamia glabra) trees bridging an unfordable stream, which blocked their escape. they travelled, says the legend, through mysore to conjeeveram, thence to coimbatore, and thence to the madura district. the stay at conjeeveram is always emphasised, and is supported by the fact that the caste has shrines dedicated to kanchi varadaraja perumal." [103] the kappiliyans are one of the nine kambalam castes, who are so called because, at their caste council meetings, a kambli (blanket) is spread, on which is placed a kalasam (brass vessel) filled with water, and decorated with flowers. its mouth is closed by mango leaves and a cocoanut. according to the gazetteer of the madura district, they are "split into two endogamous sub-divisions, namely the dharmakattu, so called because, out of charity, they allow widows to marry one more husband, and the munukattu, who permit a woman to have three husbands in succession." they are also said to recognise, among themselves, four sub-divisions, vokkiliyan (cultivator), muru balayanoru (three bangle people), bottu kattoru (bottu tying people), vokkulothoru, to the last of which the following notes mainly refer. they have a large number of exogamous septs, which are further divided into exogamous sub-septs, of which the following are examples:- sept. sub-sept. basiriyoru { hennu (female) basiri. { gandu (male) basiri. { loddu. { palingi loddu. { kolingi loddu. lodduvoru { uddudhoru (phaseolus mungo, var. { radiatus). { huniseyoru (tamarind people). { mottuguni. { manaloru, sand people. one exogamous sept is called ane (elephant), and as names of sub-septs, named after animate or inanimate objects, i may mention hatti (hamlet), arane (lizard) and puli (tiger). the affairs of the caste are regulated by a headman called gauda, assisted by the saundari. in some places, the assistance of a pallan or maravan called jadipillai, is sought. marriage is, as a rule, adult, and the common emblem of married life--the tali or bottu--is dispensed with. on the first day of the marriage ceremonies, the bride and bridegroom are conducted, towards evening, to the houses of their maternal uncles. there the nalagu ceremony, or smearing the body with phaseolus mungo, sandal and turmeric paste, is performed, and the uncles place toe-rings on the feet of the contracting couple. on the following day, the bride's price is paid, and betel is distributed, in the presence of a kummara, urumikkaran, and washerman, to the villagers in a special order of precedence. on the third day, the bridegroom goes in procession to the house of the bride, and their fingers are linked together by the maternal uncle or uncles. for this reason, the day is called kai kudukahodina, or hand-locking day. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "the binding portions of the marriage ceremony are the donning by the bride of a turmeric-coloured cloth sent her by bridegroom, and of black glass bangles (unmarried girls may only wear bangles made of lac), and the linking of the couple's little fingers. a man's right to marry his paternal aunt's daughter is so rigorously insisted upon that, as among the tottiyans, ill-assorted matches are common. a woman, whose husband is too young to fulfil the duties of his position, is allowed to consort with his near relations, and the children so begotten are treated as his. [it is said that a woman does not suffer in reputation, if she cohabits with her brothers-in-law.] adultery outside the caste is punished by expulsion, and, to show that the woman is thenceforward as good as dead, funeral ceremonies are solemnly performed to some trinket of hers, and this is afterwards burnt." at the first menstrual period, a girl remains under pollution for thirteen days, in a corner of the house or outside it in the village common land (mandai). if she remains within, her maternal uncle makes a screen, and, if outside, a temporary hut, and, in return for his services, receives a hearty meal. on the thirteenth day the girl bathes in a tank (pond), and, as she enters the house, has to pass over a pestle and a cake. near the entrance, some food is placed, which a dog is allowed to eat. while so doing, it receives a severe beating. the more noise it makes, the better is the omen for a large family of children. if the poor brute does not howl, it is supposed that the girl will bear no children. a cotton thread, dyed with turmeric, is tied round her neck by a married woman, and, if she herself is married, she puts on glass bangles. the hut is burnt down and the pots she used are broken to atoms. the caste deities are said to be lakkamma and vira lakkamma, but they also worship other deities, such as chenraya, thimmappa, and siranga perumal. certain septs seem to have particular deities, whom they worship. thus thimmaraya is reverenced by the dasiriyoru, and malamma by the hattiyoru. the dead are as a rule cremated, but children, those who have died of cholera, and pregnant women, are buried. in the case of the last, the child is, before burial, removed from the mother's body. the funeral ceremonies are carried out very much on the lines of those of the tottiyans. fire is carried to the burning ground by a chakkiliyan. on the last day of the death ceremonies (karmandiram) cooked food, fruits of solanum xanthocarpum, and leaves of leucas aspera are placed on a tray, by the side of which a bit of a culm of saccharum arundinaceum, with leaves of cynodon dactylon twined round it, is deposited. the tray is taken to a stream, on the bank of which an effigy is made, to which the various articles are offered. a small quantity thereof is placed on arka (calotropis gigantea) leaves, to be eaten by crows. on the return journey to the house, three men, the brother-in-law or father-in-law of the deceased, and two sapindas (agnates) stand in a row at a certain spot. a cloth is stretched before them as a screen, over which they place their right hands. these a washerman touches thrice with cynodon leaves dipped in milk, cow's urine, and turmeric water. the washerman then washes the hands with water. all the agnates place new turbans on their heads, and go back in procession to the village, accompanied by a urimikkaran and washerman, who must be present throughout the ceremony. for the following note on the kappiliyans of the kambam valley, in the madura district, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. according to a tradition which is current among them, they migrated from their original home in search of new grazing ground for their cattle. the herd, which they brought with them, still lives in its descendants in the valley, which are small, active animals, well known for their trotting powers. it is about a hundred and fifty strong, and is called devaru avu in canarese, and thambiran madu in tamil, both meaning the sacred herd. the cows are never milked, and their calves, when they grow up, are not used for any purpose, except breeding. when the cattle die, they are buried deep in the ground, and not handed over to chakkiliyans (leather-workers). one of the bulls goes by the name of pattada avu, or the king bull. it is selected from the herd by a quaint ceremonial. on an auspicious day, the castemen assemble, and offer incense, camphor, cocoanuts, plantains, and betel to the herd. meanwhile, a bundle of sugar-cane is placed in front thereof, and the spectators eagerly watch to see which of the bulls will reach it first. the animal which does so is caught hold of, daubed with turmeric, and decorated with flowers, and installed as the king bull. it is styled nanda gopala, or venugopalaswami, after krishna, the divine cattle-grazer, and is an object of adoration by the caste. to meet the expenses of the ceremony, which amount to about two hundred rupees, a subscription is raised among them. the king bull has a special attendant, or driver, whose duties are to graze and worship it. he belongs to the maragala section of the endar sub-division of the caste. when he dies, a successor is appointed in the following manner. before the assembled castemen, puja (worship) is offered to the sacred herd, and a young boy, "upon whom the god comes," points out a man from among the maragalas, who becomes the next driver. he enjoys the inams, and is the custodian of the jewels presented to the king bull in former days, and of the copper plates, whereon grants made in its name are engraved. as many as nine of these copper grants were entrusted to the keeping of a youthful driver, about sixteen years old, in 1905. most of them record grants from unknown kings. one ponnum pandyan, a king of gudalur, is recorded as having made grants of land, and other presents to the bull. others record gifts of land from ballala raya and rama rayar. only the names of the years are recorded. none of the plates contain the saka dates. before the annual migration of the herd to the hills during the summer, a ceremony is carried out, to determine whether the king bull is in favour of its going. two plates, one containing milk, and the other sugar, are placed before the herd. unless, or until the bull has come up to them, and gone back, the migration does not take place. the driver, or some one deputed to represent him, goes with the herd, which is accompanied by most of the cattle of the neighbouring villages. the driver is said to carry a pot of fresh-drawn milk within a kavadi (shrine). on the day on which the return journey to the valley is commenced, the pot is opened, and the milk is said to be found in a hardened state. a slice thereof is cut off, and given to each person who accompanied the herd to the hills. it is believed that the milk would not remain in good condition, if the sacred herd had been in any way injuriously affected during its sojourn there. the sacred herd is recruited by certain calves dedicated as members thereof by people of other castes in the neighbourhood of the valley. these calves, born on the 1st of the month thai (january-february), are dedicated to the god nandagopala, and are known as sanni pasuvu. they are branded on the legs or buttocks, and their ears are slightly torn. they are not used for ploughing or milking, and cannot be sold. they are added to the sacred herd, but the male calves are kept distinct from the male calves thereof. many miracles are attributed to the successive king bulls. during the fight between the tottiyans and kappiliyans at dindigul, a king bull left on the rock the permanent imprint of its hoof, which is still believed to be visible. at a subsequent quarrel between the same castes, at dombacheri, a king bull made the sun turn back in its course, and the shadow is still pointed under a tamarind tree beneath which arbitration took place. for the assistance rendered by the bull on this occasion, the maragalas will not use the wood of the tamarind tree, or of the vela tree, to which the bull was tied, either for fuel or for house-building. the kappiliyans have recently (1906) raised rs. 11,000 by taxing all members of the caste in the periyakulam taluk for three years, and have spent this sum in building roomy masonry quarters at kambam for the sacred herd. their chief grievance at present is that the same grazing fees are levied on their animals as on mere ordinary cattle, which, they urge, is equivalent to treating gods as equals of men. in the settlement of caste affairs, oaths are taken within the enclosure for the sacred herd. "local tradition at kambam (where a large proportion of the people are kappiliyans) says that the anuppans, another canarese caste, were in great strength here in olden days, and that quarrels arose between the two bodies, in the course of which the chief of the kappiliyans, ramachcha kavundan, was killed. with his dying breath he cursed the anuppans, and thenceforth they never prospered, and now not one of them is left in the town. a fig tree to the east of the village is shown as marking the place where ramachcha's body was burned; near it is the tank, the ramachchankulam; and under the bank of this is his math, where his ashes were deposited." [104] kapu.--the kapus or reddis are the largest caste in the madras presidency, numbering more than two millions, and are the great caste of cultivators, farmers, and squireens in the telugu country. in the gazetteer of anantapur they are described as being the great land-holding body in the telugu districts, who are held in much respect as substantial, steady-going yeomen, and next to the brahmans are the leaders of hindu society. in the salem manual it is stated that "the reddis are provident. they spend their money on the land, but are not parsimonious. they are always well dressed, if they can afford it. the gold ornaments worn by the women or the men are of the finest kind of gold. their houses are always neat and well built, and the reddis give the idea of good substantial ryots. they live chiefly on ragi (grain: eleusine coracana), and are a fine, powerful race." of proverbs relating to the hereditary occupation of the reddis, the following may be quoted. "only a reddi can cultivate the land, even though he has to drink for every clod turned over." "those are reddis who get their living by cultivating the earth." "the reddi who grows arika (paspalum strobiculatum) can have but one cloth for man and wife." "the term kapu," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [105] "means a watchman, and reddi means a king. the kapus or reddis (ratti) appear to have been a powerful dravidian tribe in the early centuries of the christian era, for they have left traces of their presence at various places in almost every part of india. though their power has been put down from time to time by the chalukyas, the pallavas, and the bellalas, several families of zamindars came into existence after the captivity of pratapa rudra of warrangal in a.d. 1323 by the muhammadan emperor ghiyas-ud-din toghluk." writing in the manual of the salem district concerning the kongu kingdom, the rev. t. foulkes states that "the kongu kingdom claims to have existed from about the commencement of the christian era, and to have continued under its own independent kings down to nearly the end of the ninth century a.d., when it was conquered by the chola kings of tanjore, and annexed to their dominions. the earliest portion of the kongu chronicle (one of the manuscripts of the mackenzie collection) gives a series of short notices of the reigns of twenty-eight kings who ruled the country previous to its conquest by the cholas. these kings belonged to two distinct dynasties: the earlier line was of the solar race, and the later line of the ganga race. the earlier dynasty had a succession of seven kings of the ratti tribe, a tribe very extensively distributed, which has at various periods left its mark throughout almost every part of india. this is probably the earliest reference to them as a ruling power, and it is the most southern situation in which they ever held dominion. they disappear in these parts about the end of the second century a.d.; and, in the next historical references to them, we find them high up in the northern dakkan, amongst the kingdoms conquered by the chalukyas about the fourth century a.d. soon after they first crossed the nerbudda. in the kongu chronicle they are stated to be of the solar race: and the genealogies of this tribe accordingly trace them up to kusha, the second son of rama, the hero of the great solar epic of the hindus; but their claim to this descent is not undisputed. they are, however, sometimes said to be of the lunar race, and of the yadava tribe, though this latter statement is sometimes confined to the later rathors." according to the rev. t. foulkes, the name ratti is found under various forms, e.g., irattu, iretti, radda, rahtor, rathaur, rashtra-kuta, ratta, reddi, etc. in a note on the rashtrakutas, mr. j. f. fleet writes [106] that "we find that, from the first appearance of the chalukyas in this part of the country, in the fifth century a.d., the kanarese districts of the bombay presidency were held by them, with short periods of interruption of their power caused by the invasions of the pallavas and other kings, down to about the early part or the middle of the eighth century a.d. their sway over this part of the country then ceased entirely for a time. this was due to an invasion by the rashtrakuta kings, who, like their predecessors, came from the north.... it is difficult to say when there was first a rashtrakuta kingdom. the earliest notices that we have of the family are contained in the western chalukya inscriptions. thus, the miraj plates tell us that jayasimha i, restored the fortunes of the chalukya dynasty by defeating, among others, one indra of the rashtrakuta family, who was the son of krishna, and who possessed an army of eight hundred elephants; and there is little doubt that appayika-govinda, who, as we are told in the aihole meguti inscription, came from the north and invaded the chalukya kingdom with his troops of elephants, and was repulsed by pulikesi ii, also belonged to this same dynasty. it is plain, therefore, that in the fifth and sixth centuries a.d. the rashtrakuta dynasty was one of considerable importance in central or in northern india. the later inscriptions state that the rashtrakutas were of the somavamsa or lunar race, and were descendants of yadu. dr. burnell seems inclined to look upon the family as of dravidian origin, as he gives 'rashtra' as an instance of the sanskritising of dravidian names, and considers it to be a mythological perversion for 'ratta,' which is the same as the kanarese and telugu 'reddi.' dr. bühler is unable to record any opinion as to 'whether the rashtrakutas were an aryan kshatriya, i.e., rajput race, which immigrated into the dekkan from the north like the chalukyas, or a dravidian family which was received into the aryan community after the conquest of the dekkan.' the earliest inscriptions, at any rate, show them as coming from the north, and, whatever may be their origin, as the word rashtrakuta is used in many inscriptions of other dynasties as the equivalent of rashtrapati, i.e., as an official word meaning 'the headman or governor of a country or district,' it appears to me that the selection of it as a dynastic name implies that, prior to attaining independent sovereignty, the rashtrakutas were feudal chiefs under some previous dynasty, of which they have not preserved any record." it is a common saying among the kapus that they can easily enumerate all the varieties of rice, but it is impossible to give the names of all the sections into which the caste is split up. some say that there are only fourteen of these, and use the phrase panta padnalagu kulalu, or panta and fourteen sections. the following sub-divisions are recorded by mr. stuart [107] as being the most important:-ayodhya, or oudh, where rama is reputed to have lived. the sub-division is found in madura and tinnevelly. they are very proud of their supposed connection with oudh. at the commencement of the marriage ceremony, the bride's party asks the bridegroom's who they are, and the answer is that they are ayodhya reddis. a similar question is then asked by the bridegroom's party, and the bride's friends reply that they are mithila reddis. balija. the chief telugu trading caste. many of the balijas are now engaged in cultivation, and this accounts for so many having returned kapu as their main caste, for kapu is a common telugu word for a ryot or cultivator. it is not improbable that there was once a closer connection than now between the kapus and balijas. bhumanchi (good earth). desur. possibly residents originally of a place called desur, though some derive the word from deha, body, and sura, valour, saying that they were renowned for their courage. gandi kottai. found in madura and tinnevelly. named after gandi kota in the ceded districts, whence they are said to have emigrated southward. gazula (glass bangle makers). a sub-division of the balijas. they are said to have two sections, called naga (cobra) and tabelu (tortoise), and, in some places, to keep their women gosha. kammapuri. these seem to be kammas, who, in some places, pass as kapus. some kammas, for example, who have settled in the city of madras, call themselves kapu or reddi. morasa. a sub-division of the vakkaligas. the verala icche kapulu, or kapus who give the fingers, have a custom which requires that, when a grandchild is born in a family, the wife of the eldest son of the grandfather must have the last two joints of the third and fourth fingers of her right hand amputated at a temple of bhairava. nerati, nervati, or neradu. most numerous in kurnool, and the ceded districts. oraganti. said to have formerly worked in the salt-pans. the name is possibly a corruption of warangal, capital of the pratapa rudra. pakanati. those who come from the eastern country (prak nadu). palle. in some places, the pallis who have settled in the telugu country call themselves palle kapulu, and give as their gotra jambumaha rishi, which is the gotra of the pallis. though they do not intermarry with the kapus, the palle kapulu may interdine with them. panta (panta, a crop). the largest sub-division of all. pedaganti or pedakanti. by some said to be named after a place called pedagallu. by others the word is said to be derived from peda, turned aside, and kamma eye, indicating one who turns his eyes away from the person who speaks to him. another suggestion is that it means stiff-necked. the pedakantis are said to be known by their arrogance. the following legend is narrated in the baramahal records. [108] "on a time, the guru or patriarch came near a village, and put up in a neighbouring grove until he sent in a dasari to apprize his sectaries of his approach. the dasari called at the house of one of them, and announced the arrival of the guru, but the master of the house took no notice of him, and, to avoid the guru, he ran away through the back door of the house, which is called peradu, and by chance came to the grove, and was obliged to pay his respects to the guru, who asked if he had seen his dasari, and he answered that he had been all day from home. on which, the guru sent for the dasari, and demanded the reason of his staying away so long, when he saw the master of the house was not in it. the dasari replied that the person was at home when he went there, but that, on seeing him, he fled through the back door, which the guru finding true, he surnamed him the peratiguntavaru or the runaway through the back door, now corruptly called perdagantuwaru, and said that he would never honour him with another visit, and that he and his descendants should henceforth have no guru or patriarch." pokanadu (poka, areca palm: areca catechu). velanati. kapus from a foreign (veli) country. yerlam. "the last division," mr. stuart writes, "are the most peculiar of all, and are partly of brahmanical descent. the story goes that a brahman girl named yerlamma, not having been married by her parents in childhood, as she should have been, was for that reason turned out of her caste. a kapu, or some say a besta man, took compassion on her, and to him she bore many children, the ancestors of the yerlam kapu caste. in consequence of the harsh treatment of yerlamma by her parents and caste people, all her descendants hate brahmans with a deadly hatred, and look down upon them, affecting also to be superior to every other caste. they are most exclusive, refusing to eat with any caste whatever, or even to take chunam (lime for chewing with betel) from any but their own people, whereas brahmans will take lime from a sudra, provided a little curd be mixed with it. the yerlam kapus do not employ priests of the brahman or other religious classes even for their marriages. at these no homam (sacred fire) ceremony is performed, and no worship offered to vigneswara, but they simply ascertain a fortunate day and hour, and get an old matron (sumangali) to tie the tali to the bride's neck, after which there is feasting and merry-making." the panta kapus are said to be divided into two tegas or endogamous divisions, viz., perama reddi or muduru kapu (ripe or old kapu); and katama reddi or letha kapu (young or unripe kapus). a sub-division called konda (hill) kapus is mentioned by the rev. j. cain [109] as being engaged in cultivation and the timber trade in the eastern ghats near the godavari river (see konda dora). akula (betel-leaf seller) was returned at the census, 1901, as a sub-caste of kapus. in the census report, 1891, kapu (indicating cultivator), is given as a sub-division of chakkiliyans, dommaras, gadabas, savaras and telis. it further occurs as a sub-division of mangala. some maratha cultivators in the telugu country are known as are kapu. the konda doras are also called konda kapus. in the census report, 1901, pandu is returned as a tamil synonym, and kampo as an oriya form of kapu. reddi is the usual title of the kapus, and is the title by which the village munsiff is called in the telugu country, regardless of the caste to which he may belong. reddi also occurs as a sub-division of cultivating linga balijas, telugu vadukans or vadugans in the tamil country, velamas, and yanadis. it is further given as a name for kavarais engaged in agriculture, and as a title of the kallangi sub-division of pallis, and sadars. the name sambuni reddi is adopted by some palles engaged as fishermen. as examples of exogamous septs among the kapus, the following may be cited:- avula, cow. alla, grain. bandi, cart. barrelu, buffaloes. dandu, army. gorre, sheep. gudise, hut. guntaka, harrow. kodla, fowl. mekala, goats. kanugala, pongamia glabra. mungaru, woman's skirt. nagali, plough. tangedu, cassia auriculata. udumala, varanus bengalensis. varige, setaria italica. yeddulu, bulls. yenuga, elephant. at conjeeveram, some panta reddis have true totemistic septs, of which the following are examples:- magili (pandanus fascicularis). women do not, like women of other castes, use the flower-bracts for the purpose of adorning themselves. a man has been known to refuse to purchase some bamboo mats, because they were tied with the fibre of this tree. ippi (bassia longifolia). the tree, and its products, must not be touched. mancham (cot). they avoid sleeping on cots. arigala (paspalum scrobiculatum). the grain is not used as food. chintaginjalu (tamarind seeds). the seeds may not be touched, or used. puccha (citrullus vulgaris; water melon). the fruit may not be eaten. the pichigunta vandlu, a class of mendicants who beg chiefly from kapus and gollas, manufacture pedigrees and gotras for these castes and the kammas. concerning the origin of the kapus, the following legend is current. during the reign of pratapa rudra, the wife of one belthi reddi secured by severe penance a brilliant ear ornament (kamma) from the sun. this was stolen by the king's minister, as the king was very anxious to secure it for his wife. belthi reddi's wife told her sons to recover it, but her eldest son refused to have anything to do with the matter, as the king was involved in it. the second son likewise refused, and used foul language. the third son promised to secure it, and, hearing this, one of his brothers ran away. finally the ornament was recovered by the youngest son. the panta kapus are said to be descended from the eldest son, the pakanatis from the second, the velamas from the son who ran away, and the kammas from the son who secured the jewel. the kapus are said to have originally dwelt in ayodhya. during the reign of bharata, one pillala mari belthi reddi and his sons deceived the king by appropriating all the grain to themselves, and giving him the straw. the fraud was detected by rama when he assumed charge of the kingdom, and, as a punishment, he ordered the kapus to bring cucurbita (pumpkin) fruits for the sradh (death ceremony) of dasaratha. they accordingly cultivated the plant, but, before the ceremony took place, all the plants were uprooted by hanuman, and no fruits were forthcoming. in lieu thereof, they promised to offer gold equal in weight to that of the pumpkin, and brought all of which they were possessed. this they placed in the scales, but it was not sufficient to counterbalance a pumpkin against which it was weighed. to make up the deficiency in weight, the kapu women removed their bottus (marriage badges), and placed them in the scales. since that time women of the motati and pedakanti sections have substituted a cotton string dyed with turmeric for the bottu. it is worthy of notice that a similar legend is current among the vakkaligas (cultivators) of mysore, who, instead of giving up the bottu, seem to have abandoned the cultivation of the cucurbita plant. the exposure of the fraud led belthi reddi to leave ayodhya with one of his wives and seventy-seven children, leaving behind thirteen wives. in the course of their journey, they had to cross the silanadi (petrifying river), and, if they passed through the water, they would have become petrified. so they went to a place called dhonakonda, and, after worshipping ganga, the head of the idol was cut off, and brought to the river bank. the waters, like those of the red sea in the time of pharaoh, were divided, and the kapus crossed on dry ground. in commemoration of this event, the kapus still worship ganga during their marriage ceremonies. after crossing the river, the travellers came to the temple of mallikarjuna, and helped the jangams in the duties of looking after it. some time afterwards the jangams left the place for a time, and placed the temple in charge of the kapus. on their return, the kapus refused to hand over charge to them, and it was decided that whoever should go to nagalokam (the abode of snakes), and bring back naga malligai (jasmine from snake-land), should be considered the rightful owner of the temple. the jangams, who were skilled in the art of transformation, leaving their mortal frames, went in search of the flower in the guise of spirits. taking advantage of this, the kapus burnt the bodies of the jangams, and, when the spirits returned, there were no bodies for them to enter. thereon the god of the temple became angry, and transformed the jangams into crows, which attacked the kapus, who fled to the country of oraganti pratapa rudra. as this king was a sakti worshipper, the crows ceased to harass the kapus, who settled down as cultivators. of the produce of the land, nine-tenths were to be given to the king, and the kapus were to keep a tithe. at this time the wife of belthi reddi was pregnant, and she asked her sons what they would give to the son who was about to be born. they all promised to give him half their earnings. the child grew into a learned man and poet, and one day carried water to the field where his brothers were at work. the vessel containing the water was only a small one, and there was not enough water for all. but he prayed to sarasvati, with whose aid the vessel was always filled up. towards evening, the grain collected during the day was heaped together, with a view to setting apart the share for the king. but a dispute arose among the brothers, and it was decided that only a tithe should be given to him. the king, being annoyed with the kapus for not giving him his proper share, waited for an opportunity to bring disgrace on belthi reddi, and sought the assistance of a jangam, who managed to become the servant of belthi reddi's wife. after some time, he picked up her kamma when it fell off while she was asleep, and handed it over to pratapa rudra, who caused it to be proclaimed that he had secured the ornament as a preliminary to securing the person of its owner. the eldest son of belthi reddi, however, recovered the kamma in a fight with the king, during which he carried his youngest brother on his back. from him the kammas are descended. the velamas are descended from the sons who ran away, and the kapus from those who would neither fight nor run away. pollution at the first menstrual ceremony lasts, i am informed, for sixteen days. every day, both morning and evening, a dose of gingelly (sesamum) oil is administered to the girl, and, if it produces much purging, she is treated with buffalo ghi (clarified butter). on alternate days water is poured over her head, and from the neck downwards. the cloth which she wears, whether new or old, becomes the property of the washerwoman. on the first day the meals consist of milk and dhal (cajanus indicus), but on subsequent days cakes, etc., are allowed. in their marriage ceremonial, the panta reddis of the south arcot and salem districts appear to follow the brahmanical form. in the telugu country, however, it is as follows. on the pradhanam or betrothal day, the party of the bridegroom-elect go in procession under a canopy (ulladam), attended by musicians, and matrons carrying betel, cocoanuts, date and plantain fruits, and turmeric on plates. as soon as they have arrived at the courtyard of the future bride's house, she seats herself on a plank. a brahman purohit moulds a little turmeric paste into a conical mass representing vigneswara (the elephant god), and it is worshipped by the girl, in front of whom the trays brought by the women are placed. she is presented with a new cloth, which she puts on, and a near female relation gives her three handfuls of areca nuts, a few betel leaves, and the bride-price and jewels tied up in a turmeric-dyed cloth. all these things the girl deposits in her lap. the fathers of the contracting couple then exchange betel, with the customary formula. "the girl is yours, and the money mine" and "the money is yours, and the girl mine." early on the wedding morning the bridegroom's party, accompanied by a purohit and washerman (tsakala), go to fetch the bride from her house. the milk-post is set up, and is usually made of a branch of mimusops hexandra or, in the tamil country, odina wodier. on the conclusion of the marriage rites, the odina post is planted in the backyard, and, if it takes root and flourishes, it is regarded as a happy omen for the newly married couple. a small party of kapus, taking with them some food and gingelly (sesamum) oil, proceed in procession beneath a canopy to the house of a washerman (tsakala), in order to obtain from him a framework made of bamboo or sticks over which cotton threads are wound (dhornam), and the ganga idol, which is kept in his custody. the food is presented to him, and some rice poured into his cloth. receiving these things, he says that he cannot find the dhornam and idol without a torch-light, and demands gingelly oil. this is given to him, and the kapus return with the washerman carrying the dhornam and idol to the marriage house. when they arrive at the entrance thereto, red coloured food, coloured water (arathi) and incense are waved before the idol, which is taken into a room, and placed on a settle of rice. the washerman is then asked to tie the dhornam to the pandal (marriage booth) or roof of the house, and he demands some paddy, which is heaped up on the ground. standing thereon, he ties the dhornam. the people next proceed to the houses of the goldsmith and potter, and bring back the bottu (marriage badge) and thirteen marriage pots, on which threads (kankanam) are tied before they are removed. a brahman purohit ties the thread round one pot, and the kapus round the rest. the pots are placed in the room along with the ganga idol. the bottu is tied round the neck of a married woman who is closely related to the bridegroom. the contracting couple are seated with the ends of their clothes tied together. a barber comes with a cup of water, and a tray containing rice dyed with turmeric is placed on the floor. a number of men and women then scatter rice over the heads of the bride and bridegroom, and, after, waving a silver or copper coin in front of them, throw it into the barber's cup. the barber then pares the finger and toe nails of the bridegroom, and touches the toe nails of the bride with his razor. they then go through the nalagu ceremony, being smeared with oil and phaseolus mungo paste, and bathe. after the bath the bridegroom, dressed in his wedding finery, proceeds to the temple. as he leaves the house, a madiga hands him a pair of shoes, which he puts on. the madiga is given food placed in a basket on eleven leaves. at the temple worship is performed, and a bhatrazu (bard and panegyrist), who has accompanied the bridegroom, ties a bashingham (chaplet) on his forehead. from this moment the bhatrazu must remain with the bridegroom, as his personal attendant, painting the sectarian marks on his forehead, and carrying out other functions. in like manner, a bhogam woman (dedicated prostitute) waits on the bride. "the tradition," mr. stuart writes, "is that the bhatrazus were a northern caste, which was first invited south by king pratapa rudra of the kshatriya dynasty of warrangal (1295-1323 a.d.). after the downfall of that kingdom they seem to have become court bards and panegyrists under the reddi and velama feudal chiefs." from the temple the bridegroom and his party come to the marriage pandal, and, after food and other things have been waved to avert the evil eye, he enters the house. on the threshold his brother-in-law washes his feet, and sits thereon till he has extracted some money or a cow as a present. the bridegroom then goes to the marriage dais, whither the bride is conducted, and stands facing him, with a screen interposed between them. vigneswara is worshipped, and the wrist threads (kankanam) are tied on, the bridegroom placing his right foot on the left foot of the bride. the bottu is removed from the neck of the married woman, passed round to be blessed, and tied by the bridegroom on the bride's neck. the bride is lifted up by her maternal uncle, and the couple sprinkle each other with rice. the screen is removed, and they sit side by side with the ends of their cloths tied together. rice is thrown over them by those assembled, and they are made to gaze at the pole star (arundati). the proceedings terminate by the pair searching for a finger-ring and pap-bowl in one of the pots filled with water. on the second day there is feasting, and the nalagu ceremony is again performed. on the following day, the bridegroom and his party pretend to take offence at some thing which is done by the bride's people, who follow them with presents, and a reconciliation is speedily effected. towards evening, a ceremony called nagavali, or sacrifice to the devatas, is performed. the bridal pair, with the bhatrazu and bhogam woman, occupy the dais. the brahman purohit places on a tray a conical mass of turmeric representing vigneswara, to whom puja (worship) is done. he then places a brass vessel (kalasam) filled with water, and with its mouth closed by a cocoanut, on a settle of rice spread on a tray. the kalasam is worshipped as representing the devatas. the brahman invokes the blessing of all the gods and devatas, saying "let siva bless the pair," "let indra bless the pair," etc. a near relative of the bridegroom sits by the side of the purohit with plenty of betel leaves and areca nuts. after each god or devata has been mentioned, he throws some of the nuts and leaves into a tray, and, as these are the perquisites of the purohit, he may repeat the same name three or four times. the kapu then makes playful remarks about the greed of the purohit, and, amid much laughter, refuses to put any more leaves or nuts in the tray. this ceremonial concluded, the near relations of the bridegroom stand in front of him, and, with hands crossed, hold over his head two brass plates, into which a small quantity of milk is poured. fruit, betel leaves and areca nuts (pan-supari) are next distributed in a recognised order of precedence. the first presentation is made to the house god, the second to the family priest, and the third to the brahman purohit. if a pakanati kapu is present, he must receive his share immediately after the brahman, and before other kapus, kammas, and others. before it is presented to each person, the leaves and nuts are touched by the bridegroom, and the hand of the bride is placed on them by the bhogam woman. at a panta kapu wedding, the ganga idol, together with a goat and a kavadi (bamboo pole with baskets of rice, cakes, betel leaves and areca nuts), is carried in procession to a pond or temple. the washerman, dressed up as a woman, heads the procession, and keeps on dancing and singing till the destination is reached. the idol is placed inside a rude triangular hut made of three sheaves of straw, and the articles brought in the baskets are spread before it. on the heap of rice small lumps of flour paste are placed, and these are made into lights by scooping out cavities, and feeding the wicks with ghi (clarified butter). one of the ears of the goat is then cut, and it is brought near the food. this done, the lights are extinguished, and the assembly returns home without the least noise. the washerman takes charge of the idol, and goes his way. if the wedding is spread over five days, the ganga idol is removed on the fourth day, and the customary mock-ploughing ceremony performed on the fifth. the marriage ceremonies close with the removal of the threads from the wrists of the newly married couple. among the panta reddis of the tamil country, the ganga idol is taken in procession by the washerman two or three days before the marriage, and he goes to every reddi house, and receives a present of money. the idol is then set up in the verandah, and worshipped daily till the conclusion of the marriage ceremonies. "among the reddis of tinnevelly," dr. j. shortt writes, "a young woman of sixteen or twenty years of age is frequently married to a boy of five or six years, or even of a more tender age. after marriage she, the wife, lives with some other man, a near relative on the maternal side, frequently an uncle, and sometimes with the boy-husband's own father. the progeny so begotten are affiliated on the boy-husband. when he comes of age, he finds his wife an old woman, and perhaps past child-bearing. so he, in his turn, contracts a liaison with some other boy's wife, and procreates children." the custom has doubtless been adopted in imitation of the maravans, kallans, agamudaiyans, and other castes, among whom the reddis have settled. in an account of the ayodhya reddis of tinnevelly, mr. stuart writes that it is stated that "the tali is peculiar, consisting of a number of cotton threads besmeared with turmeric, without any gold ornament. they have a proverb that he who went forth to procure a tali and a cloth never returned." this proverb is based on the following legend. in days of yore a reddi chief was about to be married, and he accordingly sent for a goldsmith, and, desiring him to make a splendid tali, gave him the price of it in advance. the smith was a drunkard, and neglected his work. the day for the celebration of the marriage arrived, but there was no tali. whereupon the old chief, plucking a few threads from his garment, twisted them into a cord, and tied it round the neck of the bride, and this became a custom. [110] in the census report, 1891, mr. stuart states that he was informed that polyandry of the fraternal type exists among the panta kapus, but the statement requires verification. i am unable to discover any trace of this custom, and it appears that reddi yanadis are employed by panta reddis as domestic servants. if a reddi yanadi's husband dies, abandons, or divorces his wife, she may marry his brother. and, in the case of separation or divorce, the two brothers will live on friendly terms with each other. in the indian law reports [111] it is noted that the custom of illatom, [112] or affiliation of a son-in-law, obtains among the motati kapus in bellary and kurnool, and the pedda kapus in nellore. he who has at the time no son, although he may have more than one daughter, and whether or not he is hopeless of having male issue, may exercise the right of taking an illatom son-in-law. for the purposes of succession this son-in-law stands in the place of a son, and, in competition with natural-born sons, takes an equal share. [113] according to the kurnool manual (1886), "the pakanadus of pattikonda and ramallakota taluks allow a widow to take a second husband from among the caste-men. she can wear no signs of marriage, such as the tali, glass bangles, and the like, but she as well as her husband is allowed to associate with the other caste-men on equal terms. their progeny inherit their father's property equally with children born in regular wedlock, but they generally intermarry with persons similarly circumstanced. their marriage with the issue of a regularly married couple is, however, not prohibited. it is matter for regret that this privilege of remarrying is much abused, as among the linga balijas. not unfrequently it extends to pregnant widows also, and so widows live in adultery with a caste-man without fear of excommunication, encouraged by the hope of getting herself united to him or some other caste-man in the event of pregnancy. in many cases, caste-men are hired for the purpose of going through the forms of marriage simply to relieve such widows from the penalty of excommunication from caste. the man so hired plays the part of husband for a few days, and then goes away in accordance with his secret contract." the abuse of widow marriage here referred to is said to be uncommon, though it is sometimes practiced among kapus and other castes in out-of-the-way villages. it is further noted in the kurnool manual that pedakanti kapu women do not wear the tali, or a bodice (ravika) to cover their breasts. and the tight-fitting bodice is said [114] to be "far less universal in anantapur than bellary, and, among some castes (e.g., certain sub-divisions of the kapus and idigas), it is not worn after the first confinement." in the disposal of their dead, the rites among the kapus of the telugu country are very similar to those of the kammas and balijas. the panta reddis of the tamil country, however, follow the ceremonial in vogue among various tamil castes. the news of a death in the community is conveyed by a paraiyan toti (sweeper). the dead man's son receives a measure containing a light from a barber, and goes three times round the corpse. at the burning-ground the barber, instead of the son, goes thrice round the corpse, carrying a pot containing water, and followed by the son, who makes holes therein. the stream of water which trickles out is sprinkled over the corpse. the barber then breaks the pot into very small fragments. if the fragments were large, water might collect in them, and be drunk by birds, which would bring sickness (pakshidhosham) on children, over whose heads they might pass. on the day after the funeral, a panisavan or barber extinguishes the fire, and collects the ashes together. a washerman brings a basket containing various articles required for worship, and, after puja has been performed, a plant of leucas aspera is placed on the ashes. the bones are collected in a new pot, and thrown into a river, or consigned by parcel-post to an agent at benares, and thrown into the ganges. by religion the kapus are both vaishnavites and saivites, and they worship a variety of deities, such as thallamma, nagarapamma, putlamma, ankamma, muneswara, poleramma, desamma. to muneswara and desamma pongal (cooked rice) is offered, and buffaloes are sacrificed to poleramma. even matangi, the goddess of the madigas, is worshipped by some kapus. at purificatory ceremonies a madiga basavi woman, called matangi, is sent for, and cleanses the house or its inmates from pollution by sprinkling and spitting out toddy. from an interesting note [115] on agricultural ceremonies in the bellary district, the following extract is taken. "on the first full-moon day in the month of bhadrapada (september), the agricultural population celebrate a feast called the jokumara feast, to appease the rain-god. the barikas (women), who are a sub-division of the kabbera caste belonging to the gaurimakkalu section, go round the town or village in which they live, with a basket on their heads containing margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, flowers of various kinds, and holy ashes. they beg alms, especially of the cultivating classes (kapus), and, in return for the alms bestowed (usually grain and food), they give some of the margosa leaves, flowers, and ashes. the kapus take these to their fields, prepare cholam (millet: sorghum) gruel, mix them with it, and sprinkle the kanji or gruel all round their fields. after this, the kapu proceeds to the potter's kiln, fetches ashes from it, and makes a figure of a human being. this figure is placed prominently in some convenient spot in the field, and is called jokumara or rain-god. it is supposed to have the power of bringing down the rain in proper time. the figure is sometimes small, and sometimes big. a second kind of jokumara worship is called muddam, or outlining of rude representations of human figures with powdered charcoal. these representations are made in the early morning, before the bustle of the day commences, on the ground at crossroads and along thoroughfares. the barikas who draw these figures are paid a small remuneration in money or in kind. the figure represents jokumara, who will bring down rain when insulted by people treading on him. another kind of jokumara worship also prevails in this district. when rain fails, the kapu females model a figure of a naked human being of small size. they place this figure in an open mock palanquin, and go from door to door singing indecent songs, and collecting alms. they continue this procession for three or four days, and then abandon the figure in a field adjacent to the village. the malas then take possession of this abandoned jokumara, and in their turn go about singing indecent songs and collecting alms for three or four days, and then throw it away in some jungle. this form of jokumara worship is also believed to bring down plenty of rain. there is another simple superstition among these kapu females. when rain fails, the kapu females catch hold of a frog, and tie it alive to a new winnowing fan made of bamboo. on this fan, leaving the frog visible, they spread a few margosa leaves, and go singing from door to door 'lady frog must have her bath. oh! rain-god, give a little water for her at least.' this means that the drought has reached such a stage that there is not even a drop of water for the frogs. when the kapu woman sings this song, the woman of the house brings a little water in a vessel, pours it over the frog which is left on the fan outside the door, and gives some alms. the woman of the house is satisfied that such an action will soon bring down rain in torrents." in the kapu community, women play an important part, except in matters connected with agriculture. this is accounted for by a story to the effect that, when they came from ayodhya, the kapus brought no women with them, and sought the assistance of the gods in providing them with wives. they were told to marry women who were the illegitimate issue of pandavas, and the women consented on the understanding that they were to be given the upper hand, and that menial service, such as husking paddy (rice), cleaning vessels, and carrying water, should be done for them. they accordingly employ gollas and gamallas, and, in the tamil country, pallis as domestic servants. malas and madigas freely enter kapu houses for the purpose of husking paddy, but are not allowed into the kitchen, or room in which the household gods are worshipped. in some kapu houses, bundles of ears of paddy may be seen hung up as food for sparrows, which are held in esteem. the hopping of sparrows is said to resemble the gait of a person confined in fetters, and there is a legend that the kapus were once in chains, and the sparrows set them at liberty, and took the bondage on themselves. it has been noted [116] by mr. c. k. subbha rao, of the agricultural department, that the reddis and others, who migrated southward from the telugu country, "occupy the major portion of the black cotton soil of the tamil country. there is a strange affinity between the telugu cultivators and black cotton soil; so much so that, if a census was taken of the owners of such soil in the tamil districts of coimbatore, trichinopoly, madura, and tinnevelly, ninety per cent, would no doubt prove to be vadugars (northerners), or the descendants of telugu immigrants. so great is the attachment of the vadugan to the black cotton soil that the tamilians mock him by saying that, when god offered paradise to the vadugan, the latter hesitated, and enquired whether there was black cotton soil there." in a note on the pongala or pokanati and panta reddis of the trichinopoly district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes as follows. "both speak telugu, but they differ from each other in their customs, live in separate parts of the country, and will neither intermarry nor interdine. the reddis will not eat on equal terms with any other sudra caste, and will accept separate meals only from the vegetarian section of the vellalas. they are generally cultivators, but they had formerly rather a bad reputation for crime, and it is said that some of them are receivers of stolen property. like various other castes, they have beggars, called bavani nayakkans, attached to them, who beg from no other caste, and whose presence is necessary when they worship their caste goddess. the chakkiliyans are also attached to them, and play a prominent part in the marriages of the panta sub-division. formerly, a chakkiliyan was deputed to ascertain the status of the other party before the match was arranged, and his dreams were considered as omens of its desirability. he was also honoured at the marriage by being given the first betel and nuts. nowadays he precedes the bridegroom's party with a basket of fruit, to announce its coming. a chakkiliyan is also often deputed to accompany a woman on a journey. the caste goddess of the reddis is yellamma, whose temple is at esanai in perambalur, and she is reverenced by both pantas and pongalas. the latter observe rather gruesome rites, including the drinking of a kid's blood. the pantas also worship rengayiamman and polayamman with peculiar ceremonies. the women are the principal worshippers, and, on one of the nights after pongal, they unite to do reverence to these goddesses, a part of the ritual consisting in exposing their persons. with this may be compared the sevvaipillayar rite celebrated in honour of ganesa by vellala woman (see vellala). both divisions of reddis wear the sacred thread at funerals. neither of them allow divorcées or widows to marry again. the women of the two divisions can be easily distinguished by their appearance. the panta reddis wear a characteristic gold ear-ornament called kammal, a flat nose-ring studded with inferior rubies, and a golden wire round the neck, on which both the tali and the pottu are tied. they are of fairer complexion than the pongala women. the panta women are allowed a great deal of freedom, which is usually ascribed to their dancing-girl origin, and are said to rule their husbands in a manner rare in other castes. they are often called devadiya (dancing-girl) reddis, and it is said that, though the men of the caste receive hospitality from the reddis of the north country, their women are not invited. their chastity is said to be frail, and their lapses easily condoned by their husbands. the pongalas are equally lax about their wives, but are said to rigorously expel girls or widows who misconduct themselves, and their seducers as well. however, the panta men and women treat each other with a courtesy that is probably to be found in no other caste, rising and saluting each other, whatever their respective ages, whenever they meet. the purification ceremony for a house defiled by the unchastity of a maid or widow is rather an elaborate affair. formerly a kolakkaran (huntsman), a tottiyan, a priest of the village goddess, a chakkiliyan, and a bavani nayakkan had to be present. the tottiyan is now sometimes dispensed with. the kolakkaran and the bavani nayakkan burn some kamacchi grass (andropogon schoenanthus), and put the ashes in three pots of water. the tottiyan then worships pillayar (ganesa) in the form of some turmeric, and pours the turmeric into the water. the members of the polluted household then sit in a circle, while the chakkiliyan carries a black kid round the circle. he is pursued by the bavani nayakkan, and both together cut off the animal's head, and bury it. the guilty parties have then to tread on the place where the head is buried, and the turmeric and ash water is poured over them. this ceremony rather resembles the one performed by the uralis. the pantas are said to have no caste panchayats (council), whereas the pongalas recognise the authority of officers called kambalakkarans and kottukkarans who uphold the discipline." the following are some of the proverbs relating to the kapus:- the kapu protects all. the kapu's difficulties are known only to god. the kapu dies from even the want of food. the kapu knows not the distinction between daughter and daughter-in-law (i.e., both must work for him). the karnam (village accountant) is the cause of the kapu's death. the kapu goes not to the fort (i.e., into the presence of the raja). a modern variant is that the kapu goes not to the court (of law). while the kapu was sluggishly ploughing, thieves stole the rope collars. the year the kapu came in, the famine came too. the reddis are those who will break open the soil to fill their bellies. when the unpracticed reddi got into a palanquin, it swung from side to side. the reddi who had never mounted a horse sat with his face to the tail. the reddi fed his dog like a horse, and barked himself. karadhi.--a name sometimes given to mari holeyas. karadi (bear).--an exogamous sept of tottiyan. karaikkat.--karaikkat, karaikkatar, or karkatta, meaning those who waited for rain, or, according to another version, those who saved or protected the clouds, is an endogamous division of vellala. some tamil malayalis, who claim to be vellalas who emigrated to the hills from conjeeveram, have, at times of census, returned themselves as karaikkaat vellalas. karaiturai (sea-coast) vellala.--a name assumed by some pattanavans. karaiyalan (ruler of the coast).--a title of maravans, also taken by some idaiyans. karaiyan.--a name for tamil sea-fishermen, who live on the coast (karai). the fishing section of the palles is known as palle kariyalu. see pattanavan. karalan.--in the census report, 1891, the karalans (rulers of clouds) are returned as a tribe of hunters and cultivators found in the hills of salem and south arcot. in the report, 1901, karalan is given as a synonym for vellala in malabar, and also as a name for malayalis. at the census, 1901, many of the malayalis of the shevaroy hills in the salem district returned themselves as vellalas and karalans. and the divisions returned by the karalans, e.g., kolli, pacchai, periya, and perianan, connect them with these malayalis (q.v.). karepaku.--karepaku or karuvepilai is a name for koravas, who hawk for sale leaves of the curry-leaf plant (murraya koenigii). karichcha.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. karimbarabannaya (sugar-cane sept).--an exogamous sept of kelasi. karimpalan.--the karimpalans are a small hunting and cultivating forest tribe in malabar. they are "punam (shifting) cultivators, hewers of wood, and collectors of wild pepper, and are found in all the foot hills north of the camel's hump. they wear the kudumi (hair knot), and are said to follow the marumakkatayam system of inheritance in the female line, but they do not perform the tali kettu ceremony. they are supposed to have the power of exorcising the demon karuvilli, possession by whom takes the form of fever." [117] kariya.--a sub-division of kudubi. karkadabannaya (scorpion sept).--an exogamous sept of bant. karkatta.--a synonym of karaikattu vellala. karna.--a sub-division of golla, and an exogamous sept of mala. karnabattu.--the karnabattus, or karnabhatus, are a telugu weaving caste, found chiefly in the godavari district. the story goes that there once lived a king, who ruled over a portion of the country now included in this district, and was worried by a couple of demons, who carried off some of his subjects for their daily food. the king prayed siva for deliverance from them, and the god, being gratified at his devotion to him, produced nine persons from his ears, and ordered them to slay the demons. this they did, and their descendants are the karnabhatus, or ear soldiers. by religion, the karnabattus are either ordinary saivites or lingayats. when a girl reaches maturity, she remains under a pollution for sixteen days. early marriage is the rule, and a brahman officiates at weddings. the dead, as among other lingayats, are buried in a sitting posture. the caste is organised in the same manner as the sales, and, at each place, there is a headman called kulampedda or jatipedda, corresponding to the senapatbi of the sales. they weave coarse cloths, which are inferior in texture to those manufactured by patta sales and silevantas. in a note on the karnabattus, mr. f. r. hemingway writes that "though a low caste, they forbid the remarriage of widows. but the remark in the census report (1901) that they abstain from meat is not true of the karnabattus questioned, who admitted that they would eat even pork. their special deity is somesvara, whom they unite to worship on the new-moon day of pushyam (january-february). the god is represented by a mud idol made for the occasion. the pujari (priest) throws flowers over it in token of adoration, and sits before it with his hands outstretched and his mouth closed until one of the flowers falls into his hands." the karnabattus have no regular caste titles, but sometimes the elders add ayya or anna as a suffix to their name. karna sale.--the karna sales are a caste of telugu weavers, who are called seniyans in the tamil country, e.g., at madura and tanjore. they seem to have no tradition as to their origin, but the name karna would seem to have its origin in the legend relating to the karnabattus. these are, in the community, both saivites and vaishnavites, and all members of the illabaththini sept are vaishnavites. they are said to have only one gotra, kasi (benares), and numerous exogamous septs, of which the following are examples:- vasthrala, cloth. rudrakshala, seeds of elæocarpus ganitrus. mandha, village common or herd. kodavili, sickle. thadla, rope. thatichettu, palmyra palm. dhoddi, court-yard. thippa, rubbish-heap. in some places, the office of headman, who is called setti, is hereditary. he is assisted by a pedda kapu, and nela setti, of whom the latter is selected monthly, and derives his name from the telugu nela (month). in their marriage ceremonial, the karna sales closely follow the padma sales, but they have no upanayanam (sacred thread rite), or kasiyathre (mock pilgrimage to benares), have twelve pots brought for worship, and no pot-searching. as among other telugu castes, when a girl reaches puberty, twigs of strychnos nux-vomica are placed in the special hut erected for the occasion. on the third or fifth day, the girl's relations come to her house under a cloth canopy (ulladam), carrying rice soaked in jaggery (crude sugar) water. this rice is called dhadibiyam (wet rice), and is placed in a heap, and, after the waving of coloured water, distributed, with pan-supari (betel leaves and areca nuts), among those present. the dead are carried to the burial-ground in a car, and buried, after the manner of lingayats, in a sitting posture. jangams officiate at funerals. the caste deity is somesvara. some karna sales wear the lingam, but are not particular about keeping it on their person, leaving it in the house, and wearing it when at meals, and on important occasions. concerning the lingayat section of the community, mr. h. a. stuart writes, as follows. [118] "the lingayats resemble the linga balijas in all their customs, in all respects, except that they recognise sutakam, or pollution, and bathe to remove it. they freely eat in the houses of all linga balijas, but the latter will not eat with them. they entirely disregard the spiritual authority of the brahmans, recognising priests among the linga balijas, jangams, or pandarams. in the exercise of their trade, they are distinguished from the kaikolans in that they sometimes weave in silk, which the kaikolans never do." like the padma sales, the karna sales usually only weave coarse cotton cloths. karnam.--see korono. karnam (accountant).--an exogamous sept of kamma. karnataka.--the territorial name of a sub-division of handichikka and uppara. it is also the name of a sub-division of madhva and smarta brahmans who speak the kanarese language, as opposed to the desastha brahmans, who are immigrants into southern india from the maratha country. karo panikkar.--a class of temple servants in malabar. "the karo panikkar is said to be descended from the union of vettakorumagan (the god of hunting) and a kiriyattil nayar woman. his occupation is to act as vellichapad or oracle in temples dedicated to his divine ancestor." [119] karpura chetti.--a synonym of uppiliyans, who used to manufacture camphor (karpura). karta.--karta and kartavu, meaning agent or doer, is an honorific title of nayars and samantas. it is also the name for the chief mourner at funerals of nayars and other castes on the west coast. kartakkal, denoting, it is said, governors, has been returned, at times of census by balijas claiming to be descendants of the nayak kings of madura and tanjore. karukku-pattayar (those of the sharp sword).--a sub-division of shanan. in the census report, 1891, the division karukku-mattai (petiole of the palmyra leaf with serrated edges) was returned. some shanans are said to have assumed the name of karukku-mattai vellalas. karumala (black mountain).--an exogamous sept of kanikar. karuman.--a sub-division of kammalans, who do blacksmith's work. karumpuraththal.--a synonym for the caste name adopted by some kappiliyans. karumpurattan.--it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, that "the term karumpurattan is said to be a corruption of karu-aruttar, which means the annihilators, and to have been given to the caste because they are the descendants of a garrison of chola vellalas, who treacherously allowed an enemy to enter the tanjore fort, and annihilate the raja and his family. winslow, however, says [120] that karumpuram is a palmyra tree. [121] and karumpurattan may thus mean a palmyra man, that is, a toddy-drawer. in the enumeration schedules, the name was often written karumpuran. if this etymology is correct, this caste must originally have been shanans or iluvans. it is said to have come from the village of tiruvadamarudur in tanjore, and settled in the north-eastern part of madura. the caste has seven sub-castes, called after seven nadus or villages in madura, in which it originally settled. in its ceremonies, etc., it closely follows the ilamagams. its title is pillai." karutta (dark-coloured).--recorded, at the madras census, 1891, as a sub-division of idaiyans, who have also returned karuttakkadu, meaning black cotton soil or regur. karuva haddi.--a name for the scavenging section of haddis. karuvan.--a corrupt form of karuman. karuvelam.--recorded in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. kasayi (butcher).--a muhammadan occupational name. kasi (benares).--a gotra of medara and karna sale. kasi.--a name for the stone-mason section of kamsalas. kasturi (musk).--an exogamous sept of badaga, kamma, okkiliyan, and vakkaliga. indian musk is obtained from the musk glands of the himalayan musk-deer, moschus moschiferus. kasuba (workmen).--a section of irulas of the nilgiris, who have abandoned jungle life in favour of working on planters' estates or elsewhere. kasukkar.--the name, derived from kas, cash, of a sub-division of chetti. kasula (copper coins).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. kasyapa.--a brahmanical gotra adopted by bhatrazus, khatris, and tontis. kasyapa was one of the seven important rishis, and the priest of parasu rama. katakam (crab).--an exogamous sept of komati. katal arayan.--see valan. katari (dagger: katar).--an exogamous sept of golla, mutracha, and yerukala. the dagger or poignard, called katar, has "a solid blade of diamond section, the handle of which consists of two parallel bars with a cross-piece joining them. the hand grips the crosspiece, and the bars pass along each side of the wrist." [122] katasan.--recorded [123] as "a small caste of basket-makers and lime-burners in the tinnevelly district. it has at least two endogamous sub-divisions, namely, pattankatti and nittarasan. widows are allowed to remarry. the dead are buried. the social position of the caste is above that of the vettuvans, and they consider themselves polluted if they eat food prepared by a shanan. but they are not allowed to enter hindu temples, they worship devils, and they have separate washermen and barbers of their own, all of which are signs of inferiority. their title is pattamkatti, and kottan is also used." kaththavaraya.--a synonym for vannan, derived from kaththavaraya, the deified son of kali, from whom the vannans trace their descent. kaththe (donkey).--an exogamous sept of madiga. kaththi (knife).--an exogamous sept of devanga and madiga. kaththiri (scissors).--an exogamous sept of devanga, and sub-division of gadaba. kaththiravandlu (scissors people).--concerning this section of the criminal classes, mr. f. s. mullaly writes to me as follows. "this is purely a nellore name for this class of professional pick-pockets. the appellation seems to have been given to them from the fact that they frequent fairs and festivals, and busy railway platforms, offering knives and scissors for sale. and, when an opportunity presents itself, they are used for cutting strings of beads, ripping open bags, etc. several of these light-fingered gentry have been found with small scissors in their mouths. most of them wear shoes of a peculiar shape, and these form a convenient receptacle for the scissors. bits of broken glass (to act as knives) are frequently found in their mouths. in different districts they are known by different appellations, such as donga dasaris in north arcot and parts of cuddapah; golla woddars, donga woddars, and muheri kalas in cuddapah, bellary, and kurnool; pachupus in kistna and godavari; alagiris, ena or thogamalai koravas in the southern districts. individuals belonging to this class of thieves have been traced, since the opening of the east coast railway, as far as midnapore. an important way of identifying them is the fact that everyone of them, male and female, is branded at the corners of the eyebrows and between the eyes in childhood, as a safeguard against convulsions." for the following additional information i am indebted to an official of the police department. "i am not aware of these people using any particular shoes. they use sandals such as are generally worn by ryots and the lower classes. these they get by stealing. they pick them up from houses during the daytime, when they go from house to house on the pretence of begging, or they steal them at nights along with other property. these sandals are made in different fashions in different districts, and so those possessed by kathiras are generally of different kinds, being stolen from various parts of the country. they have no shoes of any peculiar make, nor do they get any made at all. kathiras do not generally wear any shoes. they walk and run faster with bare feet. they wear shoes when walking through the jungle, and entrust them to one of their comrades when walking through the open country. they sometimes throw them off when closely pursued, and run away. in 1899, when we arrested one on the highroad, he had with him five or six pairs of shoes of different kinds and sizes, and he did not account satisfactorily for being in possession of so many. i subsequently learnt that some supernumeraries were hiding in the jungle close to the place where he was arrested. "about marks of branding on the face, it is not only kathiras, but almost all nomadic tribes who have these marks. as the gangs move on exposed to changes of weather, the children sometimes get a disease called sandukatlu or palakurkura. they generally get this disease from the latter part of the first year up to the fifth year. the symptoms are similar to those which children sometimes have at the time of teething. it is when children get this disease that they are branded on the face between the eyebrows, on the outer corners of the eyes, and sometimes on the belly. the brand-marks on the face and corners of the eyes are circular, and those on the belly generally horizontal. the circular brand-marks are made with a long piece of turmeric, one end of which is burnt for the purpose, or with an indigo-coloured cloth rolled like a pencil and burnt at one end. the horizontal marks are made with a hot needle. similar brand-marks are made by some caste hindus on their children." to mr. p. b. thomas i am indebted for specimens of the chaplet, made of strips of rolled pith, worn by kaththira women when begging, and of the cotton bags, full of false pockets, regularly carried by both men and women, in which they secrete the little sharp knife and other articles constituting their usual equipment. in his "history of railway thieves," mr. m. paupa rao naidu, writing about the pick-pockets or thetakars, says that "most of them wear shoes called chadavs, and, if the articles stolen are very small, they put them at once into their shoes, which form very convenient receptacles from their peculiar shape; and, therefore, when a pick-pocket with such a shoe on is suspected of having stolen a jewel, the shoes must be searched first, then the mouth and the other parts of the body." kaththula (sword).--an exogamous sept of yanadi. katige (collyrium).--a gotra of kurni. katikala (collyrium).--an exogamous sept of devanga. katike.--the katike or katikilu are butchers in the telugu country, concerning whom it is noted, in the kurnool manual, that "some are called sultani butchers, or hindus forcibly circumcised by the late nabob of kurnool. they observe both mussalman and hindu customs." a correspondent in the kurnool district informs me that the butchers of kurnool belong to three classes, one selling beef, and the others mutton. of these, the first are muhammadans, and are called gayi khasayi, as they deal in beef. the other two are called respectively sultanis and surasus, i.e., the circumcised and uncircumcised. both claim to be the descendants of two brothers, and have the following tradition concerning their origin. tipu sultan is said not to have relished the idea of taking mutton at the hands of hindus, as they would not perform bismallah at the time of slaughtering the sheep. he accordingly ordered both the brothers to appear before him. being the manager of the family, the elder went, and was forcibly circumcised. on hearing the news, the younger brother absconded. the descendants of the former are muhammadans, and of the latter hindus. as he was made a muhammadan by force, the elder brother and his descendants did not adopt all the muhammadan manners and customs. till recently they did not even allow their beards to grow. at the present day, they go to mosques, dress like muhammadans, shave their heads, and grow beards, but do not intermarry with the true muhammadans. the descendants of the younger brother still call themselves ari-katikelu, or maratha butchers, profess the hindu religion, and follow hindu manners and customs. though they do not eat with muhammadans or sultanis, their hindu brethren shun them because of their profession, and their intimacy with sultanis. i am informed that, at nandyal in the kurnool district, some maratha butchers, who observe purely hindu customs, are called by muhammadan names. the tahsildar of the sirvel taluk in the same district states that, prior to the reign of the father of ghulam rasul khan, the dethroned nawab of kurnool, the butcher's profession was solely in the hands of the marathas, some of whom were, as stated in the manual, forcibly circumcised, and became a separate butcher caste, called sultani. there are two sections among these sultani butchers, viz., bakra (mutton) and gai kasai (beef butcher). similar stories of forcible conversion to the muhammadan religion are prevalent in the bellary district, where the kasayis are mostly converted hindus, who dress in the hindu style, but possess muhammadan names with hindu terminations, e.g., hussainappa. in connection with butchers, i may quote the following extract from a petition to the governor of madras on the subject of a strike among the madras butchers in 1907. "we, the residents of madras, beg respectfully to bring to your excellency's notice the inconvenience and hardship we are suffering owing to the strike of the butchers in the city. the total failure of the supply of mutton, which is an important item in the diet of non-brahmin hindus, muhammadans, indian christians, parsis, eurasians and europeans, causes a deprivation not merely of something to which people have become accustomed, but of an article of food by which the health of many is sustained, and the want of which is calculated to impair their health, and expose them to diseases, against which they have hitherto successfully contended." katorauto.--a name for the offspring of maid servants in the harems of oriya zamindars, who are said to claim to be kshatriyas. katta.--katta or katte, meaning a bund, dam, or embankment, has been recorded as an exogamous sept or gotra of devanga and kurni. kattelu (sticks or faggots).--an exogamous sept of boya. kattira.--a sub-division of gadaba. kattu.--see kadu. kattukudugirajati.--the name, meaning the caste which allows living together after marriage of an informal kind, recorded [124] as the caste name of turuvalars (vedars) of salem, derived from a custom among them, which authorises temporary matrimonial arrangements. kattu kapari (dweller in the forest).--said to be a name for irulas or villiyans. the equivalent kattu kapu is, in like manner, said to be a name for jogis. kattu marathi.--a synonym of kuruvikaran. kaudikiaru.--kaudikiaru or gaudikiaru is a title of kurubas. kavadi.--in the madras census report, 1901, kabadi is returned as the name of a class of telugu wood-cutters. kavadi is the name of a division of koravas, who carry offerings to perumalswami at tirupati on a pole (kavadi). kavadi or kavadiga is further the name given to kannadiyan curd-sellers in madras, who carry the curds in pots as head-loads. kavalgar (watchman).--recorded, at times of census, as a sub-division of ambalakaran, and title of nattaman, malaiman, and sudarman. the equivalent kavali is recorded as a sub-division of the kammas. the kavalis, or watchers, in the telugu country, are said to be generally lingayat boyas. [125] the telugu mutrachas are also called kavalgar. the village kaval system in the southern districts is discussed in the note on maravans. kavandan.--at the census, 1901, more than nine thousand people returned themselves as kavandan or kaundan, which is a title of konga vellalas, and many other castes, such as anappan, kappiliyan, palli, sembadavan, urali, and vettuvan. the name corresponds to the canarese gauda or gaunda. kaundinya (a sage).--a brahmanical gotra adopted by razus and bhatrazus. kavane (sling).--an exogamous sept of gangadikara holeyas. kavarai.--kavarai is the name for balijas (telugu trading caste), who have settled in the tamil country. the name is said to be a corrupt form of kauravar or gauravar, descendants of kuroo of the mahabaratha, or to be the equivalent of gauravalu, sons of gauri, the wife of siva. other suggested derivatives are: (a) a corrupt form of the sanskrit kvaryku, badness or reproach, and arya, i.e., deteriorated aryans; (b) sanskrit kavara, mixed, or kavaraha, a braid of hair, i.e., a mixed class, as many of the telugu professional prostitutes belong to this caste; (c) kavarai or gavaras, buyers or dealers in cattle. the kavarais call themselves balijas, and derive the name from bali, fire, jaha sprung, i.e., men sprung from fire. like other telugu castes, they have exogamous septs, e.g., tupaki (gun), jetti (wrestler), pagadala (coral), bandi (cart), simaneli, etc. the kavarais of srivilliputtur, in the tinnevelly district, are believed to be the descendants of a few families, which emigrated thither from manjakuppam (cuddalore) along with one dora krishnamma nayudu. about the time of tirumal nayak, one ramaswami raju, who had five sons, of whom the youngest was dora krishnamma, was reigning near manjakuppam. dora krishnamma, who was of wandering habits, having received some money from his mother, went to trichinopoly, and, when he was seated in the main bazar, an elephant rushed into the street. the beast was stopped in its career, and tamed by dora krishnamma, to escort whom to his palace vijayaranga chokkappa sent his retinue and ministers. while they were engaged in conversation, news arrived that some chiefs in the tinnevelly district refused to pay their taxes, and dora krishnamma volunteered to go and subdue them. near srivilliputtur he passed a ruined temple dedicated to krishna, which he thought of rebuilding if he should succeed in subduing the chiefs. when he reached tinnevelly, they, without raising any objection, paid their dues, and dora krishnamma returned to srivilliputtur, and settled there. their marriage ceremonies are based on the type common to many telugu castes, but those who belong to the simaneli sept, and believe themselves to be direct descendants of krishnamma, have two special forms of ceremonial, viz., krishnamma perantalu, and the carrying of pots (gurigelu) on the heads of the bride and bridegroom when they go to the temple before the kasiyatra ceremony. the krishnamma perantalu is performed on the day prior to the muhurtam (tali-tying), and consists in the worship of the soul of krishnamma, a married woman. a new cloth is purchased and presented to a married woman, together with money, betel, etc., and she is fed before the rest. it is practically a form of sradh ceremony, and all the formalities of the sradh, except the homam (sacred fire) and repeating of mantras from the vedas, are gone through. this is very commonly observed by brahmans, and a few castes which engage a brahman priest for their ceremonies. the main idea is the propitiation of the soul of the dead married woman. if such a woman dies in a family, every ceremony of an auspicious nature must be preceded by sumangaliprarthana, or worship of this married woman (sumangali). orthodox females think that, if the ceremony is not performed, she will do them some harm. another custom, now dying out, is the tying of a dagger to the waist of the bridegroom. in the madura district, the kavarais are described [126] as being "most commonly manufacturers and sellers of bangles made of a particular kind of earth, found only in one or two parts of the district. those engaged in this traffic usually call themselves chettis or merchants. when otherwise employed as spinners, dyers, painters, and the like, they take the title of nayakkan. it is customary with these, as with other nayakkans, to wear the sacred thread: but the descendants of the nayakkan kings, who are now living at vellei-kuricchi, do not conform to this usage, on the ground that they are at present in a state of impurity and degradation, and consequently ought not to wear the sacred emblem." the bulk of the kavarais in tanjore are said [127] "to bear the title nayak. some that are engaged in trade, more especially those who sell glass bangles, are called settis, and those who originally settled in agriculture are called reddis. the title of nayak, like pillai, mudali, and setti, is generally sought after. as a rule, men of the palli or cooly class, when they enter the government service, and shepherds, when they grow rich in trade or otherwise, assume this title, wear the namam (the trident mark on the forehead emblematic of the vaishnava persuasion), and call themselves kavarais or vadugars, though they cannot speak telugu, much less point to any part of the telugu country as the seat of their forefathers." one of the largest sub-divisions of the kavarais is valaiyal, the tamil equivalent of gazula, both words meaning a glass or lac bangle. [128] kavuthiyan.--the kavuthiyans are described as follows in the gazetteer of malabar. "they are barbers who serve the tiyans and lower castes; they are also sometimes given the title kurup. their females act as midwives. there seem to be several sections, distinguished by the affix of the name of the castes which they serve, as for instance tacchakavuthiyan or tacchakurup, and kanisakavuthiyan, appropriated to the service of the asaris and kanisans respectively; while the barbers who serve the izhuvans are known both as aduttons, vattis, or izhuva kavuthiyans. but whether all these should be regarded as offshoots of one main barber caste, or as degraded sections of the castes which they serve, the kavuthiyans proper being only barbers to the tiyans, it is difficult to determine. the fact that the naviyan or kavuthiyan section of the veluttedans, as well as the kavuthiyan section of the mukkuvans, are admittedly but degraded sections of these castes, makes the second the more probable view. it is also to be noticed that the kavuthiyans, in the north at least, follow marumakkattayam (inheritance in the female line), while the taccha and kanisa kavuthiyans follow the other principle of descent." kayalan.--the kayalans are tamil-speaking muhammadans, closely allied to the marakkayars and living at kayalpatnam in tinnevelly. many of them have settled as merchants in madras, and sell glass beads, cowry shells, dolls from tirupati, toys, etc. some are money-lenders to the lower classes, and others travel about from village to village selling, for cash or credit rates, cloths, brass vessels, and other articles. they are sometimes called arumasaththukadankarar, or six months' debt people, as this is the time usually allowed for payment. at kayalpatnam, a kayalan husband is expected to live in his father-in-law's house, and, in connection with this custom, the following legend is narrated. the chiefman of the town gave his daughter in marriage to a man living in an adjacent village. one evening, she went to fetch water from a tank, and, on her way back, trod on a cobra. she could not move her foot, lest she should be bitten, so she stood where she was, with her water-pot on her head, till she was discovered by her father on the following morning. he killed the snake with the kitti (tweezers) and knife which he had with him, and told the girl to go with him to his house. she, however, refused to do so, and went to her husband's house, from which she was subsequently taken to that of her father. the kitti is an instrument of torture, consisting of two sticks tied together at one end, between which the fingers were placed as in a lemon squeezer. with this instrument, the fingers were gradually bent backwards towards the back of the hand, until the sufferer, no longer able to endure the excruciating pain, yielded to the demands made on him to make confession of guilt. kayasth.--kayasth or kayastha is the writer-caste of bengal. see risley, tribes and castes of bengal. kayerthannaya (strychnos nux-vomica sept).--an exogamous sept of the bants and shivalli brahmans in south canara. kayila (unripe fruit).--an exogamous sept of orugunta kapu. keimal (kei, hand, as an emblem of power).--a sub-division of nayar. kela.--a small class of oriya jugglers and mountebanks, whose women, like the dommara females, are often prostitutes. the name is derived from keli, dancing, or khel to play. kelasi.--for the following account of the kelasi or barber caste of south canara, i am indebted to a note on the barbers of tuluva by mr. m. bapu rao. [129] the caste name is derived from kelasa, work. in like manner, the canarese barbers of bellary and dharwar call themselves kashta madovaru, or those who perform the difficult task. the barbers of south canara are of different castes or sub-castes according to the language they speak, or the people for whom they operate. thus there are (1) the tulu kelsi (kutchidaye, man of the hair) or bhandari; (2) the konkani kelsi or mhallo, who must have migrated from the north; (3) the hindustani kelsi or hajams; (4) the lingayat kelsi or hadapavada (man of the wallet); (5) the mappilla (moplah) barber vasa; (6) the malayali barber kavudiyan; and even telugu and tamil barbers imported by the sepoy regiments until recently stationed at mangalore. naturally the tulus form the bulk of the class in tuluva. there is among them a section known as maddele, employed by palm-tappers, and hence considered socially inferior to the bhandari, who is employed by the higher classes. [the billava barbers are called parel madiali or parel madivala.] if a high caste barber operates for a man of lower caste, he loses his caste thereby, and has to pay a fine, or in some other way expiate his offence before he gains re-admission into his community. pariahs in these parts have no separate caste of barbers, but anyone among themselves may try his skill on any head. mappilla barbers are employed only by the muhammadans. even in their own community, however, they do not live in commensality with other mappillas though gradations of caste are not recognised by their religion. the barber is not ambitious enough to claim equality of rank with the bant, the potter, the piper, the weaver, or the oilmonger; but he shows a decided disposition to regard himself as above the level of the fisherman or the palanquin-bearer. the latter often disclaim any such inferiority, and refer to the circumstance that they discharge the functions of carrying the huge umbrella in marriage processions, and shouldering the gods in religious processions. they argue that their rivals perform an operation, the defilement of which can only be wiped off by bathing the head with a solution of sacred earth taken from besides the roots of the tulsi plant (ocimum sanctum). in justice to the barber, however, it must be mentioned that he has to perform certain priestly duties for most sudras. his presence is essential at two of the ceremonies observed by castes professing to be superior to his. at the name-giving ceremony a tulu barber has to tie a thread round the waist of the child, and name it, among sudras of a higher caste than himself. [at the present day, the bhandari is said to receive his fee for tying the thread, though he does not actually perform the act.] again, on the death of a high caste sudra, the barber has to carry the fire to the cremation ground, though the funeral pyre is lighted by the relations of the deceased. he also has to assist at certain other rites connected with funeral obsequies, such as purifying the house. [the collection of fragments of bones from the ashes, heaping up the ashes, and cleaning the spot where the corpse was burnt, are the business of the kelasi. these duties he performs for morlis, bants, gattis, and vodaris. the bhandari or kelasi is an object of intense hatred to konkani women, who call them by abusive names, such as fellow with a burnt face, miserable wretch, widow-maker, etc.] the barber in south canara has invented several stories concerning the origin of his first progenitor. at a time when the barber had not yet been created, siva was a bachelor, spending his time in austere devotions, and allowing his hair to grow into long matted locks. a time came when he became bent on matrimony, and he thought that the hirsute condition of his face would not be appreciated by his bride, the young daughter of the king of the mountains. it was at this juncture that the barber was created to make siva a good-looking bridegroom, and the brahman to officiate at the marriage ceremony. according to another legend, a gandharva-born woman was on one occasion cast into the sea by irate brahma, and doomed to be turned into a rock. moved by her piteous entreaties, however, brahma relented, and ordained that she should be restored to human form when parasurama should happen to set his foot upon the rock. this came to pass when parasurama thrust back the waters of the western sea in order to create the western coast. the re-humanised woman thereupon offered her thanksgivings in such winning words that the great brahman hero asked her to beg any boon she wished. she begged a son, who should in some way remind generations to come of the great brahman who had reclaimed her from her inanimate state. the boon was thereupon granted that she should give birth to sons, who would not indeed be brahmans, but who would perform functions analogous to those performed by brahmans. the barber thus discharges certain priestly duties for sudras, and cleanses the body even as the brahman cleanses the soul; and the defilement caused by the razor can be removed only by the smearing of mud and water, because the barber's female progenitor was a rock recovered out of water. the primary occupation of the barber does not always bring in a sufficient income, while it leaves him a large amount of leisure. this he spends, if possible, in agricultural labour, in which he is materially assisted by his female relations. barbers residing in towns hold no land to fall back upon, but their average monthly earnings range from five to seven rupees. their brethren in the villages are not so busy plying the razor, so they cultivate land as tenants. one of the blessings conferred by parasurama is that the barber shall never starve. when a child is born, a male member of the family has to tie a thread round its waist, and give it a name. the choice of a name often depends upon the day of the week on which the child was born. if it is born on a sunday it is called, if a boy, aitha (auditya, sun), or, if a girl, aithe; if on a monday, some or somu; if on a tuesday, angara or angare; if on a wednesday, budara or budare, changed among pariahs into mudara or mudaru; if on a thursday, guruva or guruvu; if on a friday, tukra (shukra) or tukru; if on a saturday, taniya (saniya) or taniyaru. other names which are common are lakkana (lakshmana), krishna, subba, and korapulu (koraga woman). those who can afford to do so often employ a brahman priest to ascertain whether the child is born lucky or unlucky; and, in the latter case, the barber is advised to offer something to the tutelary deity or the nine planets, or to propitiate the village deity, if it is found that the child is born under its evil eye. no lullaby should be sung while the child is being rocked for the first time in a cradle, perhaps because, if the very first rocking is done with a show of rejoicing, some evil spirit may be envious of the human joy, and mar the happiness. the initiation of a boy into the mysteries of his hereditary profession takes place between the tenth and the fourteenth year. in very rare cases, nowadays, a boy is sent to school between the sixth and eighth year. these occasions are marked by offerings of cocoanuts and plantains to the village deity. with boys marriage takes place between the sixteenth and twenty-fifth year, with girls before or after puberty. matches are made by selection on the part of the parents. lads are sometimes allowed to choose their own brides, but their choice is subject to the approval of the parents, as it must necessarily be in a joint family. bridegrooms have to pay for their brides a dowry varying from twenty to fifty rupees, and sometimes as much as a hundred rupees. deformed girls, however, fetch no price; on the other hand, they have to pay some pecuniary inducement to the bridegroom. widows are allowed, and, when young, encouraged to remarry. the most essential condition of a valid marriage is that the contracting parties should belong to different baris or balis (exogamous septs). as examples of the names of these balis, the following may be cited: bangaru (gold), salia (weaver), uppa (salt), kombara (cap made of areca palm leaf), karimbara (sugar-cane). horoscopes are not consulted for the suitability or future prosperity of a match, but the day and hour, or lagnam of a marriage are always fixed by a brahman priest with reference to the conjunction of stars. the marriage lasts for three days, and takes place in the house of the bridegroom. this is in accordance with the primitive conception of marriage as a bringing away by force or procuring a bride from her parents, rather than with the current brahman idea that the bridegroom should be invited, and the girl given away as a present, and committed to his custody and protection. the marriage ceremony takes place in a pandal (booth) on a raised or conspicuous place adorned with various figures or mandala. the pair are made to sit on a bench, and rice is sprinkled on their heads. a barber then shaves the chin and forehead of the bridegroom, the hair border being in the form of a broken pointed arch converging upwards. he also touches the bride's cheeks with the razor, with the object of removing what is called monetha kale, the stain on the face. the full import of this ceremony is not clear, but the barbers look upon the act as purificatory. if a girl has not come of age at the time of marriage, it is done on the occasion of the nuptials. if she has, the barber, in addition to touching the cheeks with the razor, goes to her house, sprinkles some water over her with a betel leaf, and makes her touch the pot in which rice is to be cooked in her husband's house. at the bridegroom's house, before the assembled guests, elders, and headman of the caste, the man and the girl are linked together in the marriage bond by having water (dhare) poured on their joined hands. next, the right hands of the pair being joined (kaipattavane), the bridegroom leads the bride to her future home. soon after a death occurs, a barber is summoned, who sprinkles water on the corpse, and touches it with a razor if it be of a male. in every ceremony performed by him, the barber must have recourse to his razor, even as the brahman priest cannot do without his kusa grass. the rich burn their dead, and the poor bury them. persons dying of infectious diseases are always buried. prior to the removal of the corpse to the cremation or burial ground, all the clothes on and about it, with the exception of one cloth to cover it from head to foot, are removed and distributed to pariahs, who have prepared the pyre or dug the grave. before the mourners return from the cemetery, they light four lamps in halves of cocoanuts, and leave them burning on the spot. coming home, the chief mourner places in the hands of the gurukara or headman of the caste a jewel or other valuable article as a security that he will duly perform all the funeral rites. this is termed savuotti dipuna. the gurukara, in the presence of the relations and friends assembled, returns the same, enjoining its recipient to be prepared to perform the requisite rites, even with the proceeds of the sale of the pledged article if necessary. the eleventh day is the savu or principal mourning day, on which the headman and elders of the caste, as well as the friends and relations of the deceased ought to be present. on the spot where the deceased expired, or as near thereto as possible, an ornamental square scaffolding is erected, and covered with cloth coloured with turmeric. the ground below the scaffolding is covered with various figures, and flowers and green leaves are strewn on it. each mourner throws on this spot handfuls of cooked rice, coloured yellow and red, and cries out "oh! uncle, i cry murrio," or "oh! father, i cry murrio," and so on, according to the relationship in which the deceased stood to the mourner. this ceremony is called murrio korpuna, or crying alas. in well-to-do families it is usual to accompany this with devil-dancing. on the twelfth day, rice is offered to crows, the original belief apparently being that the spirits of the deceased enter into birds or beasts, so that food given to these may happen to reach and propitiate them. on the night of the thirteenth day, the relations of the deceased set apart a plantain leaf for the spirit of the departed, serve cooked rice on it, and, joining their hands, pray that the soul may be gathered unto its ancestors, and rest in peace. the anniversary of the death, called agel, is celebrated by placing cooked rice on two plantain leaves placed over sacrificial twigs, and burning incense and waving lamps before it. this is called soma dipuna. the family god of the barber is krishna of udipi, and the high-priest to whom he pays homage is the saniyasi (religious ascetic), who for the time being worships that god. the same high-priest is also the final court of appeal from the decisions of the village council of the barbers in matters relating to caste and religion. the powers which are ever present to the barber's mind, and which he always dreads and tries to propitiate, are the village demons, and the departed spirits of members of his own family. if a child falls ill, he hastens to the brahman seer, to learn who is offended, and how the spirit should be appeased. if his cow does not eat hay, he anxiously enquires to which demon he should carry a cock. if the rain fails or the crops are poor, he hies to the nearest deity with cocoanuts, plantains, and the tender spikes of areca. in case of serious illness, he undertakes a vow to beg from door to door on certain days, and convey the money thus accumulated to tirupati. in his house, he keeps a small closed box with a slit in the lid, through which he drops a coin at every pinch of misfortune, and the contents are eventually sent to that holy place. the affairs of the community are regulated by a council of elders. in every village, or for every group of houses, there is an hereditary gurukara or headman of the barbers, who is assisted by four moktesars. if any of these five authorities receives a complaint, he gives notice to the others, and a meeting is arranged to take place in some house. when there is a difference of opinion, the opinion of the majority decides the issue. when a decision cannot be arrived at, the question is referred to the council of another village. if this does not settle the point at issue, the final appeal lies to the swami of the the udipi temple. the council inquires into alleged offences against caste, and punishes them. it declares what marriages are valid, and what not. it not only preserves discipline within the community itself, but takes notice of external affairs affecting the well-being of the community. thus, if the pipers refuse to make music at their marriage processions, the council resolves that no barber shall shave a piper. disputes concerning civil rights were once submitted to these councils, but, as their decisions are not now binding, aggrieved parties seek justice from courts of law. punishments consist of compensation for minor offences affecting individuals, and of fine or excommunication if the offence affects the whole community. if the accused does not attend the trial, he may be excommunicated for contempt of authority. if the person seeks re-admission into the caste, he has to pay a fine, which goes to the treasury of the temple at udipi. the presiding swami at the shrine accepts the fine, and issues a writ authorising the re-admission of the penitent offender. the headman collects the fine to be forwarded to the swami, and, if he is guilty of any mal-practice, the whole community, generally called the ten, may take cognisance of the offence. offences against marriage relations, shaving low caste people, and such like, are all visited with fine, which is remitted to the swami, from whom purification is obtained. the power of the village councils, however, has greatly declined in recent years, as the class of cases in which their decision can be enforced is practically very small. the tulu barbers, like many other castes on the western coast, follow the aliya santana system of inheritance (in the female line). the tradition in south canara is that this, and a number of other customs, were imposed upon certain castes by bhutala pandya. the story relates that deva pandya, a merchant of the pandya kingdom, once had some new ships built, but before they put to sea, the demon kundodara demanded a human sacrifice. the merchant asked his wife to spare one of her seven sons for the purpose, but she refused to be a party to the sacrifice, and went away with her sons to her father's house. the merchant's sister thereupon offered her son. kundodara, however, was so very pleased with the appearance of this son that he spared his life, and made him a king, whose sway extended over tuluva. this king was called bhutala pandya, and he, being directed by kundodara, imposed upon the people the system of nephew inheritance. the barber is changing with the times. he now seldom uses the old unfoldable wooden-handled razor forged by the village blacksmith, but has gone in for what he calls raja sri (royal fortune; corruption of rodgers) razors. he believes that he is polluted by the operation which it is his lot to perform, and, on his return home from his morning round, he must bathe and put on washed clothes. ken.--ken (red) and kenja (red ant) have both been recorded as gotras of kurni. kenna.--a division of toda. kepumari.--it is noted, in the gazetteer of south arcot, that "the kepumaris are one of the several foreign communities from other districts, who help to swell the total of the criminal classes in south arcot. their head-quarters is at tiruvallur in the chingleput district, but there is a settlement of them at mariyankuppam (not far from porto novo), and another large detachment at kunisampet in french territory. they commit much the same class of crime as the donga dasaris, frequenting railway trains and crowded gatherings, and they avert suspicion by their respectable appearance and pleasant manners. their house-language is telugu. they call themselves alagiri kepumaris. the etymology of the second of these two words is not free from doubt, but the first of them is said to be derived from alagar, the god of the kallans, whose temple at the foot of the hills about twelve miles north of madura town is a well-known place of pilgrimage, and to whom these people, and other criminal fraternities annually offer a share of their ill-gotten gains." information concerning the criminal methods of these people, under the name capemari, will be found in mr. f. s. mullaly's 'notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency.' kerala.--defined by mr. wigram [130] as "the western coast from gokarnam to cape comorin, comprising travancore, cochin, malabar, and part of south canara." kere (tank).--a gotra of kurni. kesari (lion).--a gotra of kurni. kethaki (pandanus fascicularis).--an exogamous sept of stanika. kethri.--see khatri. kevuto.--it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1891, that "the kevutas are the fisherman caste of ganjam, and they are said to be the descendants of the kaibartas, a fishing caste of bengal. besides fishing in rivers, canals and lakes, they ply boats and catamarans, and some are also traders. uriya brahmans and bairagis are their priests. from the fifth day after child-birth till the twenty-first, the uriya brahmans read the bhagavata purana in the house, and on the last day they give a name to the child. the married girls and widows put a veil over their faces whenever they go out of doors." the kevutos are low in the social scale, but not a polluting caste. they apparently recognise the following endogamous sub-divisions:--bhettiya, bilva, jonka, khottia, koibarto or dasa, liyari, chuditiya, and thossa. of these the thossas are cultivators, the liyaris make a preparation of fried rice (liya), and the chudityas are engaged in parching grain (chuda, parched rice). by reason of their change of occupation, the liyaris and chudityas have practically become distinct castes, and some deny that there is any connection between them and the kevutos. telugu people sometimes call the chuditiyas neyyalu, and i am told that there is a street in parlakimedi almost wholly inhabited by kevutos, who say that they are of the neyyalu caste. of gotras which occur among the kevutos, nago (cobra), bhago (tiger), and kochipo (tortoise) are the most common. they also have exogamous septs or bamsams, among which are gogudiya (bells) and nolini (bamboo carrier). the titles which occur in the caste are behara, sitto, torei, jalli, bejjo, and paiko. the marriage rite is performed at night, and the bride's father ties a gold bead (konti) on the neck of the bridegroom. the kevutos worship especially dasaraj and gangadevi. the latter is worshipped at the dasara festival, and, in some places, fowls and goats are sacrificed in her honour. in the neighbourhood of the chilka lake, the goats are not sacrificed, but set at liberty, and allowed to graze on the kalikadevi hill. there is a belief that animals thus devoted to gangadevi do not putrify when they die, but dry up. in the vizagapatam agency tracts, the kevutos are said to be notorious for their proficiency in magic and necromancy. khadi.--a sub-division of telli. khadiya.--a name, said to be derived from ghatiyal, meaning a person possessed, and used as a term of reproach for kudumis of travancore. khajjaya (cake).--an exogamous sept of vakkaliga. kharvi.--the kharvis are described, in the south canara manual, as "marathi fishermen, who migrated to this district from the bombay presidency. the name kharvi is said to be a corrupt form of the sanskrit kshar, salt. they are hardworking but thriftless, and much given to drink, chiefly toddy. they are sea-fishermen and good sailors, and also work as domestic servants and labourers. they employ havik brahmans to perform their marriage and other ceremonies. the head of the sringeri math is their spiritual teacher." the kharvis are konkani-speaking fishermen and cultivators, found in the kundapur taluk of south canara. those who are not engaged in fishing always wear the sacred thread, whereas the fishermen wear it for seven days from the sravana hunnami, or full-moon day of the month sravana (august-september), and then remove it. all are saivites, and disciples of the sringeri mutt. ajai masti and nagu masti are the deities specially worshipped by them. they follow the makkala santana law of inheritance (from father to son). their headmen are called saranga or patel, and these names are used as titles by members of the families of the headmen. the assistant to the headman is styled naik or naicker. for the performance of the marriage ceremonial, shivalli or kota brahmans are engaged. the dhare form of marriage (see bant) is observed, but there are a few points of detail, which may be noted. five women decorate the bride inside her house just before she comes to the marriage pandal (booth), and tie on her neck a gold bead (dhare mani) and black beads. at the pandal she stands in front of the bridegroom, separated from him by a screen, which is stretched between them. garlands of tulsi (ocimum sanctum) are exchanged, and the screen is removed. bashingams (chaplets) are tied on the foreheads of the bridal pair at the outset of the ceremonial, and are worn for five days. the dead are cremated, and, in most cases, the ashes are thrown into a river. but, among the orthodox, they are taken to gokarna, and thrown into the river at that place. on the eleventh day, presents are made to brahmans after purification. on the following day, food is offered on two leaves to the soul of the deceased. one of the leaves is thrown into water, and the other given to a cow or bull. khasa.--it is noted by the rev. j. cain [131] that "members of this caste are found chiefly in attendance on zamindars and other rich people, and report says that they are not unfrequently their illegitimate children." khasa is synonymous with adapapa (q.v.). khasgi.--marathas, of whom a few families constitute the aristocracy in the sandur state. khatri.--the khatris are described by mr. lewis rice [132] as "silk weavers, who in manners, customs, and language are akin to patvegars, but they do not intermarry with them, although the two castes eat together. the katris claim to be kshatriyas, and quote renuka purana as their authority. the legend is that, during the general massacre of the kshatriyas by parasu rama, five women, each of whom was big with child, escaped, and took refuge in a temple dedicated to kali. when the children came of age, their marriages were celebrated, and their mothers prayed to kali to point out some means of livelihood. in answer to their supplications, the goddess gave them looms, and taught them weaving and dyeing. the katris claim descent from these refugees, and follow the same trades." the following note relates to the khatris of conjeeveram, where most of them trade in silk thread, silk sashes, and dye-stuffs. some deal in human hair, which is used by native females as a chignon. by reason of their connection with the silk industry, the khatris are called patnulkaran by other castes. the true patnulkarans are called koshta by the khatris. the khatris give bhuja raja kshatriya as their caste name, and some say that they are the descendants of one karta virya arjuna of the human race. their tribal deity is renukamba, the mother of parasu rama, to whom pongal (boiled rice) is offered, and a goat sacrificed in the month of thai (january-february). they have exogamous septs, such as sulegar, powar, mudugal, sonappa, bojagiri, etc., and have adopted the same brahmanical gotras as the bhats or bhatrazus, e.g., gautama, kasyapa, vasishta, and bharadwaja. attached to them is a caste beggar, called bhat, who comes round at long intervals. he is said to keep the genealogies of the khatri families. he ties a flag to a post of the house at which he intends to claim a meal, and, after partaking thereof, he receives information concerning the births and marriages, which have taken place in the family since his last visit. girls are married both before and after puberty, and infant marriage is fashionable at the present day. the remarriage of widows is permitted, but a divorced woman may not marry again so long as her husband is alive. a man may not marry the widow of his brother, or of an agnate. the custom of menarikam, by which a man may marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is prohibited. families belonging to one sept may give their daughters in marriage to men of another sept, from which, however, they are not allowed to receive girls as wives for their sons. for example, a man of a sulegar sept may give his daughters in marriage to men of the powar sept, but may not take powar girls as wives for his sons. but a certain elasticity in the rule is allowed, and the prohibition ceases after a certain number of generations by arrangement with the bhat. the marriage ceremonies last over seven days. on the first day, the deity bharkodev, who is represented by seven quartz pebbles placed in a row on plantain leaves, is worshipped with offerings of fruit, etc., and a goat is sacrificed. the blood which flows from its cut neck is poured into a vessel containing cooked rice, of which seven balls are made, and offered to the pebbles. towards evening some of the rice is thrown to the four cardinal points of the compass, in order to conciliate evil spirits. on the second day, the house is thoroughly cleansed with cow-dung water, and the walls are whitewashed. the eating of meat is forbidden until the marriage ceremonies are concluded. the third day is devoted to the erection of the marriage pandal (booth) and milk-post, and the worship of female ancestors (savasne). seven married women are selected, and presented with white ravikes (bodices) dyed with turmeric. after bathing, they are sumptuously fed. before the feast, the bridegroom's and sometimes the bride's mother, goes to a well, tank (pond) or river, carrying on a tray a new woman's cloth, on which a silver plate with a female figure embossed on it is placed. another silver plate of the same kind, newly made, is brought by a goldsmith, and the two are worshipped, and then taken to the house, where they are kept in a box. the bridegroom and his party go in procession through the streets in which their fellow castemen live. when they reach the house of the bride, her mother comes out and waves coloured water to avert the evil eye, washes the bridegroom's eyes with water, and presents him with betel and a vessel filled with milk. the bride is then conducted to the bridegroom's house, where she takes her seat on a decorated plank, and a gold or silver ornament called sari or kanti is placed on her neck. she is further presented with a new cloth. a brahman purohit then writes the names of the contracting parties, and the date of their marriage, on two pieces of palm leaf or paper, which he hands over to their fathers. the day closes with the performance of gondala puja, for which a device (muggu) is made on the ground with yellow, red, and white powders. a brass vessel is set in the centre thereof, and four earthen pots are placed at the corners. puja (worship) is done, and certain stanzas are recited amid the beating of a pair of large cymbals. on the fourth day, the bridal couple bathe, and the bridegroom is invested with the sacred thread. they then go to the place where the metal plates representing the ancestors are kept, with a cloth thrown over the head like a hood, and some milk and cooked rice are placed near the plates. on their way back they, in order to avert the evil eye, place their right feet on a pair of small earthen plates tied together, and placed near the threshold. the bride's mother gives the bridegroom some cakes and milk, after partaking of which he goes in procession through the streets, and a further ceremony for averting the evil eye is performed in front of the bride's house. this over, he goes to the pandal, where his feet are washed by his father-in-law, who places in his hands a piece of plantain fruit, over which his mother-in-law pours some milk. the bride and bridegroom then go into the house, where the latter ties the tali on the neck of the former. during the tying ceremony, the couple are separated by a cloth screen, of which the lower end is lifted up. the screen is removed, and they sit facing each other with their bashingams (forehead chaplets) in contact, and rice is thrown over their heads by their relations. the brahman hands the contracting couple the wrist-threads (kankanams), which they tie on. these threads are, among most castes, tied at an earlier stage in the marriage ceremonies. on the fifth day, seven betel nuts are placed in a row on a plank within the pandal, round which the bride and bridegroom go seven times. at the end of each round, the latter lifts the right foot of the former, and sweeps off one of the nuts. for every marriage, a fee of rs. 12-5-0 must be paid to the headman of the caste, and the money thus accumulated is spent on matters such as the celebration of festivals, which affect the entire community. if the fee is not paid, the bride and bridegroom are not permitted to go round the plank the seventh time. on the sixth day, the bride receives presents from her family, and there is a procession at night. on the last day of the ceremonies, the bride is handed over to her mother-in-law by her mother, who says "i am giving you a melon and a knife. deal with them as you please." the bride is taken inside the house by the mother-in-law and shown some pots containing rice into which she dips her right hand, saying that they are full. the mother-in-law then presents her with a gold finger-ring, and the two eat together as a sign of their new relationship. the dead are cremated, and, when a married man dies, his corpse is carried on a palanquin to the burning-ground, followed by the widow. near the pyre it is laid on the ground, and the widow places her jewelry and glass bangles on the chest. the corpse should be carried by the sons-in-law if possible, and the nomination of the bearers is indicated by the eldest son of the deceased person making a mark on their shoulders with ashes. on the third day after death, the milk ceremony takes place. three balls of wheat-flour, mixed with honey and milk, are prepared, and placed respectively on the spot where the deceased breathed his last, where the bier was laid on the ground, and at the place where the corpse was burnt, over which milk is poured. the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are observed on the seventh or tenth day, till which time the eating of flesh is forbidden. the headman of the khatris, who is called gramani, is elected once a month, and he has an assistant called vanja, who is appointed annually. the khatris are saivites, and wear the sacred thread, but also worship various grama devatas (village deities). they speak a dialect of marathi. the caste title is sa, e.g., dharma sa. kethree is described, in the vizagapatam manual, as "the caste of the zamindar's family in jeypore. it is divided into sixteen classes. they wear the paieta (sacred thread), and the zamindar used formerly to sell the privilege of wearing it to any one who could afford to pay him twelve rupees. pariahs were excluded from purchasing the privilege." the khatri agriculturists of the jeypore agency tracts in vizagapatam are, mr. c. hayavadana rao informs me, entirely distinct from the weaving khatris of the south. they are divided into four septs, viz., surya (sun), bhag (tiger), kochchimo (tortoise), and nag (cobra). girls are married before puberty, and an oriya brahman officiates at their marriages, instead of the customary desari. they do not, like other castes in the agency tracts, give fermented liquor (madho) as part of the jholla tonka or bride-price, which consists of rice, a goat, cloths, etc. the marriage ceremonies are performed at the bride's house. these khatris put on the sacred thread for the first time when they are married, and renew it from time to time throughout life. they are fair skinned, and speak the oriya language. their usual title is patro. khinbudi (bear).--a sept of rona. khodalo.--see bavuri. khodikaro.--a name for panditos, derived from the stone (khodi), with which they write figures on the floor, when making astrological calculations. khodura.--the name is derived from khodu, bangle. the khoduras, mr. francis writes, [133] are "manufacturers of the brass and bell-metal bangles and rings ordinarily worn by the lower class odiyas. their headman is called nahako sahu, and under him there are deputies called dhoyi nahako and behara. there is a fourth functionary styled aghopotina, whose peculiar duty is said to be to join in the first meal taken by those who have been excommunicated, and subsequently readmitted into the caste by the caste panchayat (council). a quaint custom exists, by which honorific titles like senapati, mahapatro, subuddhi, etc., are sold by the panchayat to any man of the caste who covets them, and the proceeds sent to puri and pratabpur for the benefit of the temples there. it is said that the original home of the caste was orissa, and that it came to ganjam with purushottam deva, the maharaja of puri. in its general customs it resembles the badhoyis." i am informed that the name of the fourth functionary should be aghopotiria, or first leaf man, i.e., the man who is served first at a public dinner. khoira.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a low caste of oriya cultivators. khoja.--in the madras census report, 1901, eleven khojas are recorded as belonging to a mussalman tribe of traders from bombay. for the following note on the khojas of southern india, i am indebted to an article by dr. j. shortt. [134] "the true kojahs, or eunuchs, are not numerous in southern india. they are chiefly to be seen in the houses of wealthy mussalman nobles, by whom they are placed at the head of their zenanas or harems. the kojahs are properly divided into two classes: (1) kojahs; (2) hijras. sometimes hindus, sudras, and brahmans subject themselves to the operation (of castration), of their own accord from a religious impression. others, finding themselves naturally impotent, consider it necessary to undergo the operation, to avoid being born again at a future birth in the same helpless state. the operation of castration is generally performed by a class of barbers, sometimes by some of the more intelligent of the eunuchs themselves, in the following manner. the patient is made to sit on an upturned new earthen pot, being previously well drugged with opium or bhang. the entire genitals being seized by the left hand, an assistant, who has a bamboo lath slit in the centre, runs it down quite close to the pubis, the slit firmly embracing the whole of the genitals at the root, when the operator, with a sharp razor, runs it down along the face of the lath, and removes penis, testicles and scrotum in one swoop, leaving a large clean open wound behind, in which boiling gingelly (sesamum indicum) oil is poured to staunch the bleeding, and the wound covered over with a soft rag steeped in warm oil. this is the only dressing applied to the wound, which is renewed daily, while the patient is confined in a supine position to his bed, and lightly fed with conjee (rice gruel), milk, etc. during the operation, the patient is urged to cry out 'din' (the faith in mahomet) three times. "of the two classes, the kojahs are the artificially created eunuchs, in contradistinction to the hijras (impotents) or natural eunuchs. some years ago there were three kojahs at the head of the state prison or royal mahal at vellore, in charge of some of the wives, descendants, and other female connections of tippoo sultan. these men were highly respected, held charges of considerable trust, and were muhammadans by birth. tales were often repeated that the zenana women (slaves and adopted girls) were in the habit of stripping them naked, and poking fun at their helplessness. there were two kojahs in the employ of the late nabob of the carnatic. they were both africans. on the death of the nabob, the government allowed one of them a pension of fifteen rupees a month. "the second class, hijras or natural eunuchs as they are termed, are not so, strictly speaking, but are said to be impotent. while some are naturally so from birth, others are impressed with a belief in childhood, and are dressed up in women's clothes, taught to ape their speech and manners, whilst a few adopt it as a profession in after-life. they are chiefly mussalmans. the hair of the head is put up as in women, well oiled, combed, and thrown back, tied into a knot, and shelved to the left side, sometimes plaited, ornamented, and allowed to hang down the back. they wear the cholee or short jacket, the saree or petticoat, and put on abundance of nose, ear, finger, and toe rings. they cultivate singing, play the dhol (a drum), and attitudinise. they go about the bazaars in groups of half a dozen or more, singing songs with the hope of receiving a trifle. [such a group i saw at sandur, who, on hearing that i wished to photograph them, made tracks for another place.--e.t.] they are not only persistent, but impudent beggars, singing filthy, obscene, and abusive songs, to compel the bazaarmen to give them something. should they not succeed, they would create a fire and throw in a lot of chillies, the suffocating and irritative smoke producing violent coughing, etc., so that the bazaarmen are compelled to yield to their importunity, and give them a trifle to get rid of their annoyance. while such were the pursuits in the day, at nightfall they resorted to debauchery and low practices by hiring themselves out to a dissipated set of moslems, who are in the habit of resorting to these people for the purpose, whilst they intoxicate themselves with a preparation termed majoon, being a confection of opium, and a drink termed boja, a species of country beer manufactured from ragi (eleusine coracana), which also contains bhang (indian hemp). in addition to this, they smoke bhang. the hijras are met with in most of the towns of southern india, more especially where a large proportion of mussalmans is found." in hyderabad, castration used to be performed at about the age of sixteen. a pit, 3 1/2 feet deep, was dug in the ground, and filled with ashes. after the operation, the patient had to sit on the ashes, with crossed legs, for three days. the operation was performed, under the influence of narcotics, by a pir--the head of the khoja community. i am informed by mr. g. t. paddison that, at the annual festival of the gadabas of vizagapatam, thorns are set on a swing outside the shrine of the goddess. on these the priest or priestess sits without harm. if the priest is masculine, he has been made neuter. but, if the village is not fortunate enough to possess a eunuch, a woman performs the ceremony. the following notes were recorded by me on the occasion of an interview with some eunuchs living in the city of madras:-hindu, aged about 30. generative organs feebly developed. is a natural eunuch. speaks and behaves like a female. keeps a stall, at which he sells cakes. goes out singing and dancing with four other eunuchs, and earns from ten annas to a rupee in a night. there are, in madras, about thirty eunuchs, who go about dancing. others keep shops, or are employed as domestic servants. one well acquainted with the hindu eunuchs of madras stated that, when a boy is born with ill-developed genitalia, his unnatural condition is a source of anxiety to his parents. as he grows up he feels shy, and is made fun of by his companions. such boys run away from home, and join the eunuchs. they are taught to sing and dance, and carry on abominable practices. they are employed by dancing-girls, to decoy paramours to them. for this purpose, they dress up as dancing-girls, and go about the streets. at times of census, they return themselves as males engaged in singing and dancing. khond.--see kondh. khongar.--see kangara. kichagara.--a small class of canarese basket-makers and beggars. the name is said to be derived from kichaku, meaning an imitative sound, in reference to the incessant noise which the kichagaras make when begging. kidaran (copper boiler).--a synonym for malayalam artisans. kilakku teru (east street).--a section of kallan. killavar.--a sub-division of tottiyan. killekyata.--the killekyatas are a marathi-speaking people, who amuse villagers with their marionette shows in the telugu and canarese countries. "they travel round the villages, and give a performance wherever they can secure sufficient patronage. contributions take the form of money, or oil for the foot-lights." [135] "their profession," mr. s. m. natesa sastri writes, [136] "is enacting religious dramas before the village public (whence their name, meaning buffoon). the black kambli (blanket) is their screen, and any mandapa or village chavadi, or open house is their stage. night is the time for giving the performance. they carry with them pictures painted in colours on deer skins, which are well tanned, and made fine like parchment. the several parts of the picture representing the human or animal body are attached to each other by thin iron wires, and the parts are made to move by the assistance of thin bamboo splits, and thus the several actions and emotions are represented to the public, to the accompaniment of songs. their pictures are in most cases very fairly painted, with variety and choice of colours. the stories chosen for representation are generally from the ramayana and the mahabharata, which they however call ravanyakatha and pandavakatha--the stories of ravana and the pandavas." the dead are buried in a seated posture. some of the women are engaged as professional tattooers. kimedi.--a local name for koronos who live at parlakimedi. kindal (basket-maker).--a sub-division of savara. kinkila (the koel or cuckoo).--a gotra of kurni. the cuckoo, named eudynamis honorata, is the bird, whose crescendo cry, ku-il, ku-il, is trying to the nerves during the hot season. kinthali.--a sub-division of the telugu kalingis. kira (parrot).--a sept of gadaba. kira also occurs as a sub-division of sondi. kiraikkaran.--kiraikkaran is an occupational name, denoting those who cultivate kirai (amarantus). the kiraikkarans are stated, in the census report, 1901, to be usually agamudaiyans in coimbatore. i gathered, however, that the name is given by tamil-speaking people to the kempati okkiliyans of coimbatore, a canarese people who migrated thither from kempati in mysore. the majority of them cultivate kirai and other edible vegetables, but some are petty traders or fishermen. some of their marriage divisions are named after deities, e.g., masani and viramashti, and one division is called jogi. kirata (hunter).--a name assumed by bedars, ekaris, and other classes. kirganiga.--kirganiga or kiruganiga is the name of a sub-division of ganigas, who express oils in wooden mills. kiriyam.--a sub-division of nayar. also the malayalam word for house name or sept. kiriyattil.--a sub-division of nayar. kizhakathi.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1891, as a sub-division of paraiyan. the word means easterner, and a paraiyan of north or south arcot would call a paraiyan of madras by this name. koalaka (arrow).--an exogamous sept of jatapu. kobbiriya.--a sub-division of domb. kochattabannaya.--kochattabannaya or kojjarannaya (jak tree, artocarpus integrifolia, sept) is an exogamous sept of bant. kochimo (tortoise).--a sept of oriya gaudo, bosantiya, bottada, konda dora, mattiya, and omanaito. kochuvalan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a name for ulladans. kodaketti (umbrella tying).--a sub-division of panan. kodavili (sickle).--an exogamous sept of karna sale. kodekal hata-kararu (cloth-weavers).--a sub-division of devanga. kodi (cock).--an exogamous sept of kapu. thorika occurs as a sept of jatapus, who are said to revere a species of fowl called thorika kodi, and kodi kandla (fowl's eyes) as a sept of boya. kodikkal.--kodikkal, kodikkar, or kodikkalkaran, meaning betel vine man, is the occupational name of a sub-division of vellalas, and of labbai muhammadans who cultivate the betel vine. in the census report, 1901, it is noted that those who gave this as the name of their caste returned their parent tongue as tamil, and their title as nayakkan, and were therefore clubbed with pallis. kodikkal is further a sub-division of the shanans, who derive the name from kodi, a flag, and give flag-bearer as its significance. other castes, however, make it to mean a betel garden, in reference to shanans who were betel vine growers. kodikkal pillaimar is a synonym of the senaikkudaiyans, indicating pillaimars who cultivate the betel vine. kodiyal.--a sub-division of kudubi. kodla.--kodla (fowl) has been recorded as an exogamous sept of tsakala, and kodla bochchu (fowl's feathers) as an exogamous sept of kapu. kodu.--a form of kondh. also a sub-division of konda razu. kohoro.--a form of kahar. koi.--see koya. koibarto.--a sub-division of kevuto. koil pandala (keeper of the royal treasury).--one of the divisions of kshatriyas in travancore. koil tampuran.--the following note is extracted from the travancore census report, 1901. the koil tampurans form a small community, made up of the descendants of the immigrant kshatriya families from certain parts of malabar lying to the north of travancore and cochin. they are also known as koil pantalas. in early records, the term koviladhikarikal appears to have been used. immemorial tradition connects the koil tampurans with cheraman perumal, and goes to say that their original settlement was beypore. about 300 m.e. a few male members were invited to settle in travancore, and form marital alliances with the ladies of the travancore royal house, known then as the venat svarupam. houses were built for them at kilimanur, six miles from attingal, where all the female members of the royal family resided. in m.e. 963, eight persons--three males and five females--from the family of aliakkotu, oppressed by the invasion of tipu sultan, sought shelter in travancore. maharaja rama varma received them kindly, and gave them the palace of the tekkumkur raja, who had been subjugated by rama iyen dalawah. this site in changanachery is still recognised as nirazhikkottaram. in 975 m.e. one of the five ladies removed to kirtipuram near kantiyur (mavelikara taluk), and thence to a village called gramam in the same taluk. another shifted to pallam in the kottayam taluk, a third to paliyakkara in tiruvalla, and a fourth, having no issue, continued to live at changanachery with the fifth lady who was the youngest in the family. raja raaja varma koil tampuran, who married rani lakshmi bai, sovereign of travancore from 985 to 990 m.e. was the eldest son of the lady that stayed at changanachery. their present house at that place, known as lakshmipuram kottaram, was named after the koil tampuran's royal consort. raja raja varma's sister gave birth to three daughters and two sons. the eldest daughter and sons removed to kartikapalli in 1040, and thence, in 1046, to anantapuram in haripad. in 1041, the second daughter and issue removed to chemprol in tiruvalla, while the third continued to live at changanachery. thus there came into existence seven families of koil tampurans, namely those of kilimanur, changanachery, anantapuram, pallam, chemprol, gramam, and paliyakkare. some time after 1040 m.e. (a.d. 1856), three more families, viz., those of cherukol, karamma, and vatakkematham, immigrated from north malabar. the koil tampurans are all regarded as blood relations, and observe birth and death pollutions like dayadis among brahmans. they follow the matriarchal system of inheritance. nambutiri brahmans marry their ladies. their religious ceremonies are the same as those of nambutiris, whom they resemble in the matter of food and drink. their caste government is in the hands of the nambutiri vaidikans. their ceremonies are the usual brahmanical samskaras--gatakarma, namakarana, annaprasana, etc. regarding the namakarana, or naming, the only noteworthy fact is that the first-born male always goes by the name of raja raja varma. the upanayana, or investiture with the sacred thread, takes place in the sixteenth year of age. on the morning of the upanayana, chaula or the tonsure ceremony is performed. it is formally done by the nambutiri priest in the capacity of guru, just as the father does to his son among brahmans, and afterwards left to be completed by the maran. the priest invests the boy with the thread, and, with the sacrificial fire as lord and witness, initiates him in the gayatri prayer. the koil tampurans are to repeat this prayer morning, noon and evening, like the brahmans, but are to do so only ten times on each occasion. on the fourth day, the boy listens to a few vedic hymns recited by the priest. there is not the prolonged course of severe discipline of the brahmanical brahmachari, which the nambutiris so religiously observe. the samavartana, or pupilage stage, is performed on the fifteenth day. the ceremony of proceeding to benares is then gone through. just as in the case of the brahmans, a would-be father-in-law intercedes, and requests the snataka (past brahmachari) to bless his daughter, and settle in life as a grihastha. the nambutiri priest then steps in to remind the boy of his dharma (duty) as a kshatriya, and gives him a sword symbolic of his pre-ordained function in society. the marriage of a koil tampuran does not present many peculiar features. one item in the programme, called dikshavirippu, may be referred to. during all the four days of the marriage, the bride is confined to a special room, where a white cloth with a carpet over it is spread on the floor, and a lamp burns day and night. the ceremonial bridegroom is either an aryappattar or a nambutiri, now generally a nambutiri. of course, the marriage is a mere ceremonial, and the bridegroom at the ceremony is not necessarily the spouse of actual life. his death deprives her of the right to wear the tali, and makes her an amangali (an inauspicious person) for all socio-religious purposes. at sraddhas (memorial service for the dead), the tampuratti with her married husband alive faces the east, and one that has lost him has to look in the direction of yamaloka (south). mr. ravi varma, the celebrated artist, who died recently, was a koil tampuran of kilimanur, an extensive village assigned to his ancestors rent-free for the military services they had rendered to the state in times of trouble. [137] kokala (woman's cloth).--an exogamous sept of golla. kokkara.--recorded, in the travancore census report, as a sub-division of nayar. kokkundia.--see kukkundi. kola (ear of corn).--an exogamous sept of medara. kolari.--see kolayan. kolalo (arrack-seller).--a name of sondis. kolata gudiya.--a name for gudiyas engaged in agriculture. kolayan.--it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, that "the caste is found chiefly in the kasaragod taluk of south canara, and in the northern part of malabar. in south malabar, it is called urali. its traditional occupation is herding cows, and it claims the privilege of supplying milk and ghee to certain hindu temples, but at present most of its members are masons. it has two endogamous sections, ayan or kol-ayan, and mariyan or eruman" (eruma, a cow-buffalo). it is further noted, in the same report under the heading eruman, that "the people of the caste were originally buffalo drivers and keepers, and still follow their traditional occupation in the kasaragod taluk of south canara. in north malabar, they are masons and bricklayers." the masonry work of temples is done by kolayans. the name kolayan has been said to be derived from golla and ayan, meaning cowherd. golla is, however, a telugu word not used in the malayalam country. members of the two sections, kolayan and eruman (or eruvan), are said not to intermarry. women of both sections may affect sambandham (alliance) with nayars. children born of such unions are regarded as somewhat inferior to those born of kolayan parents, and are not allowed to worship at the temples. the priests of the kolayans are called muthavan or poduvan, and are usually elected by rajas. kolayan girls go through the mangalam or tali-kettu ceremony before they reach puberty. on an auspicious day fixed by the kanisan (astrologer), the girl sits on a plank in the middle room of the house, and four lamps are placed near her. her father throws rice and flowers over her head, and ties the tali (marriage emblem) on her neck. the girl, four women, and four girls, are fed in the middle room. on the following day, a priest (vathiyan) places rice, paddy (unhusked rice), tender cocoanut, betel leaves and areca nuts, before the girl. men and women of the priest's family wave rice, cocoanuts, etc., in front of her both in the morning and afternoon. finally, towards evening, a vathiyan woman waves the rice and other articles thrice, calling out "kolachi, kolachi, kolachi." the girl may then leave the middle room. at the first menstrual period, a girl is under pollution for three days. on the first day, a cloth (mattu) is given to her by a washerwoman, and on the fourth day she receives one from a malayan woman. the dead are usually cremated. daily, until the twelfth day of the death ceremonies, food is offered to the spirit of the deceased, on a dais set up outside the house, by the relatives. on the fifth day, all the agnates are purified by the vathiyan sprinkling water over them. on the twelfth day, the vathiyan draws the image of a man with vibuthi (sacred ashes) on the spot where the deceased breathed his last. near the figure, cooked rice, vegetables, etc., are placed. the chief mourner offers these to the dead person, and makes a bundle of them in his cloth. going outside the house, he kicks the dais already referred to with his foot, while the vathiyan holds one hand, and his relations the other hand or arm. he then bathes in a tank (pond) or river, while his hands are held in like manner. koli.--in the madras census report, 1901, the kolis are described as being "a bombay caste of fishermen and boatmen in south canara; also a low class of bengal weavers found in ganjam." the kolis who were investigated in ganjam are an oriya-speaking class, who are apparently telugu people who have settled in the oriya country as weavers of coarse cloths, traders, and agriculturists. they have oriya titles such as behara. they worship village deities (takuranis), are saivites, and none of them have been converted to the paramartho form of vishnavism. the caste council, puberty and death ceremonies, are based on the common oriya type, but the marriage rites are an interesting blend of the oriya and telugu types of ceremonial. thus the usual telugu marriage post, but made of streblus asper wood, is set up, and nine kinds of grain are placed near it. a bottu (marriage badge) is tied on the neck of the bride by the bridegroom, and the hands of the contracting couple are united (hasthagonthi) as among the oriyas. koliyan.--the koliyans are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a weaver caste, the members of which were originally paraiyans, but now do not eat or intermarry with that caste." they are largely found in the tanjore and madura districts, and are divided into various nadus (territories) and kuppams (settlements). those at pattukottai, for example, belong to ambu nadu, and are sub-divided into five kuppams. many of the koliyans are engaged in weaving coarse white cloths, while some work as field labourers. as some paraiyans have samban (siva) as their title, so the title of the koliyans is isan (god). at times of marriage, the names of persons must not be mentioned without this title, e.g., one who is, in everyday life, called ponnan is addressed as isa ponnan. an interesting point in connection with the first puberty ceremonial of a girl is that, on the sixteenth day, when she bathes, a withe of a creeper (dalbergia, sp.) made into a loop, is passed round her body by a barber from head to foot thrice, without touching her. if this is not done, it is believed that the girl is not free from pollution. there are two forms of marriage ceremony, called chinna (little) and periya (big) kalyanam. the former is resorted to by those who cannot afford the more elaborate ceremonial. the sister of the bridegroom is sent to the house of the bride on an auspicious day. she there ties the tali (marriage badge) on the bride's neck, and conducts her to the house of the bridegroom. women who are thus married may not take part in the marriage of their children. more especially, they may not decorate them with garlands and flowers, unless they have themselves performed the sadangu rite. in this, which is usually carried out a day or two before the child's marriage, the husband and wife sit on planks, and, after being decorated, and the performance of wave offerings (arathi), the former ties the tali on his wife's neck. in the periya kalyanam, the bridegroom goes on a horse to the bride's house, where he is met by her brother, who is also on horseback. they exchange garlands, and proceed to the marriage pandal (booth). the bridegroom receives from the bride's father a cocoanut, and the bride seats herself on a bench. the bridegroom gives her the cocoanut, and ties the tali on her neck. they then exchange garlands, and their fingers are linked together. all these items must be performed as quickly as possible, in accordance with a saying that the tali should be tied without dismounting from the horse, which one is riding. before the tali is tied, the contracting couple go through the sadangu ceremony, in which a loop of cotton thread is passed over them from head to foot, without touching them. then the kankanams, or wrist threads, are tied on their wrists. the milk-post and marriage pots are set up within the pandal, and the bride and bridegroom prostrate themselves before them, and salute their maternal uncles, parents and relations, and lastly the musicians. the day's proceedings terminate with a feast, at the conclusion of which hands are washed within the house. for six days the bride and bridegroom pay visits to each other alternately, and, on the seventh day, the wrist-threads, marriage pots, and milk-post are removed. during marriage and other auspicious ceremonies, coloured water, into which leaves of bauhinia variegata are thrown, are waved (arathi). on ceremonial occasions, and at times of worship, the koliyans put on saivite sect marks. among other deities, they worship aiyanar, pattavanswami, and pothiamman. the dead are burnt, and the body is placed in a seated posture with fingers and toes tied together. on the way to the burning-ground, a widow goes round the corpse, and breaks a pot containing water. on the day after the funeral, the calcined bones are collected, and arranged so as to represent a human figure, to which food is offered. the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are performed on the sixteenth day. a mass of cooked rice, vegetables, and meat, is placed within an enclosure, round which the relations go in tears. kollakar.--there are about seven hundred members of this community at cochin, to which place the kollakars, or people of kollam, are said to have come from quilon (kollam) in travancore one or two centuries ago. the majority of the men work as coolies on board steamers, and a few as fishermen. the women of the poorer classes twist rope and sell fish, while the others make lace. a few hold appointments under the government, and, in 1907, two had passed the matriculation examination of the madras university. they are roman catholics, and are said to have been converted to christianity by the portuguese. they marry among themselves. the kollakars are also found at calicut, cannanore, mahe, and tellicherry, and are mainly occupied in fishing, rope-making, and making fishing-nets. a few at tellicherry are employed as carpenters, tailors, and petty shopkeepers. kolla kurup.--the kolla kurups of malabar are described, in the gazetteer of malabar, as a sub-caste of, or a caste allied to, the kammalans. "they combine two professions, which at first sight seem strangely incongruous, shampooing or massage, and the construction of the characteristic leather shields of malabar. but the two arts are intimately connected with the system of combined physical training, as we should now call it, and exercise in arms, which formed the curriculum of the kalari (gymnasium), and the title kurup is proper to castes connected with that institution." among kolla kurups, the following symbolical ceremony is necessary to constitute a valid divorce. "the husband and the wife's brother stand east and west respectively of a lighted lamp placed in the yard of the woman's original home. the husband pulls a thread from his cloth, and approaches the lamp, and breaks the thread saying 'here is your sister's accharam.'" kollan.--the blacksmiths are iron-workers among the malayalam kammalans. "these malabar kollans," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [138] "are said to practice fraternal polyandry to a greater extent even than the rest of the malabar artizan castes. kollans are divided into (1) ti (fire) kollan, (2) perum (big) kollan, (3) tiperum kollan, (4) irumbu (iron) kollan. there are also kadacchil kollan (knife-grinders) and tol kollan (leather-workers). these are of inferior status, on account of the nature of their professions." kollar.--a section of tottiyan, the full name of which is yerrakollavaru or yerrakolla tottiyar. kollar is a corrupt tamil form of golla, to which caste the tottiyans trace their descent. kolli (fire-brand).--a sub-division of kadu kurumba. kolli (a hill-range, the kollimalais).--a sub-division of malayalis. komali (buffoon).--an exogamous sept of odde. komanandi.--a sub-division of andis, who go about naked, except for a small loin cloth (komanam). komaro.--oriya blacksmiths. see badhoyi. komati.--the komatis form the great trading caste of the madras presidency, and are found in almost all the districts thereof. they are further found in the mysore state, bombay presidency, berar, central provinces, and as far north-west as baroda. their wide distribution accounts for the great variety which prevails in the minor details of the religious and social ceremonials. the name komati has been derived in many different ways. by some it is said to be from ko-mati, meaning fox-minded. this has reference to the cunning of the komatis in business, and is undoubtedly the outcome of their unpopularity with their customers. the phrase komatiguttu (the secrecy of a komati) is said to be a common one. others say that it is from go-mati, meaning the possessor of cows, one of the ordained duties of vaisyas being the protecting of cows. others, again, say that it is from go-mati, meaning cow-minded. a modern redaction of the kanyaka purana, the sacred book of the komatis, gives this derivation. according to this work, the komatis did severe penance, and were consequently invited to live in heaven. their continued absence from this world gave rise to serious trouble, and vishnu accordingly asked them to return thither for the good of mankind. they, however, refused to do so. vishnu then called for siva, and asked him to induce them to return. siva brought a cow, and directed all the komatis to get into its right ear. from there they saw gloriously decorated towns, with magnificent temples, pleasure gardens, etc., and begged permission to live in them. siva assented, and they speedily began to march off to their new abodes. but, almost immediately, a huge conflagration came in view, and began to overwhelm them. terror-stricken, they cried out to siva to help them in their trouble. he consented on condition that they would return to the mortal world. this they accordingly did. siva gave them the name of gomati, because they exhibited as much fear at the conflagration as a cow would when anything untoward happened. yet another derivation of komati is go-mati, meaning sprung from the cow in accordance with the above legend, or cow-gored in reference to the story that the ancestors of the komatis commingled in a cow-shed, where a pregnant woman was gored by a cow. the derivation ku-mati, meaning evil-minded, is grammatically impossible. the komatis are said to have originally lived, and still live in large numbers on the banks of the godavari river. one of the local names thereof is gomati or gomti, and the sanskrit gomati would, in telugu, become corrupted into komati. the komatis everywhere speak telugu, and are devoted to their mother-tongue. there is a common proverb among them, "telugu theta, aravam adhvanam," meaning that telugu is easy (has an easy flow), and tamil is wretched. "of all dravidian languages," mr. henry morris writes, "telugu is the sweetest and most musical. it is exceedingly mellifluous, and sounds harmonious even in the mouth of the most vulgar and illiterate. it has justly been called the italian of the east." komatis are clever at learning languages other than their own. in the tamil and canarese districts, they are conversant with the languages thereof, and in bombay they speak marathi. in the ganjam and vizagapatam agencies, they speak the kondh and savara languages very fluently. as a commercial caste, the komatis have a secret trade language of their own, which is substantially the same all over the country. it will be seen from the tables given how complete their numerical tables are, ranging, as they do, from one pie to a thousand rupees. it will be observed that the rupee is represented by the word thelupu, which means white. some tamil trading castes in like manner call the rupee velle (white):-1. pie table. pies. nakili batu 1 ke batu 2 kevu nakili batu 3 rayam batu 4 rayam nakili batu 5 2. anna table. annas. thapi kamanalu 1/4 nakili ana 1/2 kev ana 1 kevan nakili ana 1 1/2 rayam analu 2 uddulam analu 3 uddulam nakili analu 3 1/2 kungidu analu 4 sulalu analu 12 the word sulalu is connected with trisulam, the trident emblem of siva, and sometimes used to denote three annas. 3. rupee table. rs. thapi thelupu 1/4 nakili thelupu 1/2 ke thelupu 1 rayam thelupu 2 uddulam thelupu 3 uddulam nakili thelupu 3 1/2 panam thelupu 4 mulam thelupu 5 thipam thelupu 6 maram thelupu 7 thamam thelupu 8 navaram thelupu 9 galam thelupu 10 rayam galalu 20 uddulam galalu 30 panam galalu 40 mulam galalu 50 thipanam galalu 60 maram galalu 70 thamam galalu 80 navaram galalu 90 ke savalu 100 rayam savalu 200 uddulam savalu 300 panam savalu 400 mulam savalu 500 thipanam savalu 600 maram savalu 700 thamam savalu 800 navaram savalu 900 galam savalu 1,000 4. varaham (pagoda) table. ke makaram 1 rayam makaram 2 uddulam makaram 3 panam makaram 4 mulam makaram 5 thipanam makaram 6 maram makaram 7 thamam makaram 8 navaram makaram 9 galam makaram 10 a common saying is that, if you commence at galam, it will be settled at mulam, or, in plain language, begin at ten varahams, and the bargain will be closed at five. when one man says to another "dotu" or "dotra," it means strike the bargain. if a komati is the purchaser, and another says to him "dot ko," it means take it. the komatis are a highly organised caste. in each place where they are settled there is a pedda setti, who, among the kalinga komatis, is known as puri setti or senapathi. among the latter, there is also a headman for several villages, who is styled kularaju or vaisyaraju. each pedda setti is assisted by a mummadi setti, who assembles the castemen for the settlement of important questions, by fines, excommunication, etc. there is further a caste guru bhaskaracharya, whose duties are more religious than social. komatis have recourse to the established courts of justice only as a last resort. they are consulted by other castes in the settlement of their disputes, and it must be said to their credit that their decisions are usually sound, and bear ample testimony to the confidence which is placed in them. the komatis are, broadly speaking, divided into two great sections, called gavara and kalinga. the former live as far north of vizianagram, and are then replaced by the latter. the gavaras or gauras are said to be so called because, by following the caste goddess kanyakamma into the fire-pits, they maintained the gauravam or social status of the caste. according to another version, they are so called because they revere gauri (parvati), the consort of siva, whose incarnation was the goddess kanyakamma. the kalinga komatis are those who live in the old kalinga or kling country, which extended roughly from vizagapatam to orissa. they are forbidden to settle beyond ramatirtham, a place of pilgrimage close to vizianagram. the story goes that their ancestors lived at padmanabham, the hill close to bimlipatam, well known from the battle which took place close to it in 1794, and there sustained great losses. hence the place was deserted, and has ever since been regarded as inauspicious. the komatis have since that time not resided at any place from which the hill can be seen. in fact, they make their first appearance at chipurupalli, and increase in numbers as we go north-eastward. the kalinga komatis believe themselves to be gavara komatis, who became separated from the main stock owing to their emigration from their original home. their meat-eating habit has, they say, widened the breach which separates the two divisions. while the kalinga komatis form a fairly compact division by themselves, the gavaras have become more and more sub-divided. their sub-divisions are either territorial, occupational, or religious in character. thus there are penukonda and veginadu komatis, of whom the former belong to the town of penukonda in the godavari district, and the latter to the vegi or vengi country, the former name of part of the modern kistna district. again, there are trinikas or traivarnikas (third caste people), who are invariably vaishnavas, and to which section a good many of the komatis in the city of madras belong. lingadhari komatis are found mostly in the vizagapatam, godavari, guntur and kistna districts. they wear the lingam in a gold or silver casket. besides these, there are the siva, vaishnava, and madhva komatis, of which the last are mostly found in the bellary district. of occupational sub-divisions, the following may be noted:-nune (oil); nethi (ghi, clarified butter); dudi (cotton); uppu (salt); gone (gunny-bag); gantha (torn cloth). lastly, there are other divisions, of which the origin dates back to the time of kanyakamma, the caste goddess. thus, there are those who entered the fire-pits with kanyakamma, and those who did not. the former are known as vegina, and the latter as beri, which is said to be a corruption of bedari, meaning those who fled through fear. all gavara komatis are said to be descended from those who entered the fire-pits. the majority of the komatis of the sandur state, in the bellary district, belong to the kallankanadavaru section, which is said to be descended from those who sat on the stone (kallu) mantapa outside the penukonda kanyakamma temple, when the question whether to enter the fire-pits or not was being discussed by the caste elders. the mutual relations between the various sub-divisions vary much. broadly speaking, gavaras and kalingas do not intermarry, and the objection to intermarriage is due to several causes. the former, according to the caste purana, gave their lives to their goddess, while the latter did not. moreover, the former do not partake of animal food and spirituous drinks, whereas the latter do. lingadharis and ordinary saivites intermarry, as also do saivites and madhvas. gavaras and traivarnikas occasionally intermarry, but such marriages are looked down upon. the traivarnikas, like the kalingas, eat animal food. the occupational sub-divisions neither intermarry nor interdine. socially, the gavaras are held in the highest esteem, while the beris are regarded as the lowest in the social scale. the sub-divisions are split up into septs, which are of a strictly exogamous character. that these originated in totemistic belief seems to be supported by what remains of these beliefs at the present day. all the sub-divisions contain such septs, which are very numerous, the names of as many as a hundred and twenty having been collected. the tendency for a long time past has been to reduce the number to a hundred and two, to represent the number of families which followed kanyakamma to the fire-pits. it would be tedious to enumerate the names of all these septs, from which the following, with the corresponding totems, are selected:- munikula agasi (sesbania grandiflora). amalaka or usiri amalaka or usiri (phyllanthus emblica). anupa or anupala anupala (dolichos lablab). tulasi or tulashishta. tulasi (ocimum sanctum). chinta, chintya, or varachinta. chinta (tamarindus indica). vakkala vakkalu (areca catechu). puchcha puchcha (citrullus colocynthis). padma-sista padma (red lotus). kamala kamalam (white lotus). aranta arati (musa sapientum: plantain). thotakula thotakura (amarantus, sp.). uthakula uththareni (achyranthes aspera). mandu mamadikaya (mangifera indica). dikshama drakshapandu (grapes). venkola vankaya (solanum melongena: brinjal). sauna samanthi (chrysanthemum indicum). gosila, sathya gosila, and uthama gosila. cow. asthi elephant. enupa buffalo. ghonta horse. ananta cobra. bhramada or bhramara bee. arka or surya sun. chandra, chandra sishta, suchandra, or vannavamsam. moon. it may be observed that the totems are variously termed gotram, vamsam, and kulam. the first of these is in imitation of the brahman gotras. vamsam is the bams of the agency tracts of ganjam, vizagapatam, and the godavari districts. the name means bamboo, and denotes a family, whose branches are as countless as those of a bamboo. kulam is used as the equivalent of group or family. the totem objects are revered in the usual way, and no secret is made of the reverence shown to them. in regard to plant totems, it is stated that, if the totem objects are not strictly treated as tabu, delinquents will be born as insects for seven generations. but an exception is allowed. a person who wishes to eat the forbidden plant may do so by annually performing the funeral ceremonies of the totem ancestor at gaya, the great hindu place of pilgrimage where obsequial ceremonies to ancestors are performed. in recent times, the komatis have claimed to be the vaisyas mentioned in the vedic purusha-sukta. accordingly, the totems have been arranged under the different brahmanical gotras, whose pravaras have been appropriated. thus, munikula and four others are grouped under madgalya rishi gotra, whose pravara is given for all the five. similarly, vakkala kula and another kula come under vayavya rishi; ghonta kula under goupaka rishi; arati, arisishta and a few others under atri rishi; anupa kula under agasthya rishi, and so on. it is said that the totem names are secret names (sanketa namamulu) given by kanyakamma, in order that the bearers thereof may be distinguished from those who did not take up her cause. all sub-divisions of the caste, however, have these septs in common. in the northern parts of the madras presidency, the sept is further sub-divided into sections called intiperulu (house names). these are either named after some distinguished ancestor, or the place where the family once lived before emigrating to their present abode. these intiperulu are purely exogamous. a komati can claim his maternal uncle's daughter in marriage, in accordance with the custom of menarikam. the rigidity with which this right is exercised is testified by the sacred book of the caste--the kanyaka purana. on their descent from heaven, it is said, the komatis settled in eighteen towns (ashta dasapuramulu), which had been built by visvakarma under the orders of siva. these towns are said to be situated in a tract of country sixty-four yojanas in extent, and bounded on the east by the gautami (godavari), on the south by the sea, on the west by the gostani, and on the north by the ganges. of these, penukonda, in the modern godavari district, was the capital. in it are the temples of nagariswaraswami (dedicated to siva), and janardhanaswami (dedicated to vishnu). its pedda setti was kusama sreshti, and his wife was kusamamba. he performed putra kameshti sacrifice, and was blessed with a son and daughter. the former was named virupaksha, and the latter vasavambika (vasavakanya, kanyakamma, or kanyaka parameswari). the girl was possessed of indescribable beauty. vishnu vardhana, the son of vijayarka of the lineage of the moon, who had his capital at rajamundry, while on a pleasure tour round his dominions, halted at penugonda, on learning that it was ruled by setti rajas, who paid no tribute to him. being informed of his arrival by their boys, the caste elders, headed by kusuma setti, welcomed him, and took him in procession through the town. then the women of the place waved arathi before him. among them was the beautiful vasavambika, with whom the king instantly fell in love. he proposed to her father that he should give her in marriage to himself, and in return obtain the gift of half of his kingdom. kusuma sreshti protested, and said that the sastras were against such a union. the king, through his minister, threatened that he would plunder his town, take him prisoner, and, with the riches of the place, carry off his daughter, and marry her. the setti chief and his compatriots prayed for time to think over the matter, and retired. the chief then called a meeting of the castemen, at which it was decided that they should make a false promise to the king that they would give the girl in marriage to him, and send him off with a dinner, to return to penugonda for the marriage after the lapse of a couple of months. meanwhile, the boys of the town assembled, and resolved that the dinner ought not to be given. they informed their elders of this resolution, and were commissioned to induce the king to leave the town without it. this they did, with the ambiguous promise that, if they did not give the girl in marriage to him, they would kill themselves. on this, the king went off towards his capital, and kusuma setti called a caste meeting of the eighteen towns, at which various proposals were made. one proposed that the girl should not be given in marriage, and that, if the king came to claim her hand, he should be driven off. another proposed that they should give the girl to the king, and save themselves from ruin. others suggested that it would be best to marry the king to a substituted girl, to secrete the coveted girl, or to bribe the ministers to induce the king to abandon his intention of marrying her. the last of these proposals was adopted, and a few elders were sent to rajamundry, to negotiate the affair. they first argued that, though they promised to give the girl in marriage, the promise was made through fear of the king's anger, and they could not give the girl in contravention of the rule of menarikam. the king, in his fury, ordered that the troops should immediately besiege the eighteen towns, imprison the inhabitants in dark dungeons, and carry off the girl in a palanquin. on this, the envoys heavily bribed the ministers, and begged them not to march the army on their towns. but the king would not yield, and sent his troops on penugonda. the envoys returned home, and narrated their sad tale. a further meeting of the castemen was called at the instance of bhaskaracharya, the caste guru, and it was resolved that all who wished to maintain the caste rule of menarikam should prepare to kill themselves in burning fire-pits. the majority fled rather than comply with the resolution. those, however, who determined to sacrifice themselves in the fire-pits were 102 gotras in number, and they assembled in council, and asked kusuma sreshti to induce his daughter (who was only seven years old) to die with them. to this she consented, and showed herself in her true form of paramesvari, the wife of siva. on this, the setti chief returned to his castemen, who asked him to get 103 fire-pits ready in the western portion of the town before the arrival of the king. these were accordingly dug, and decorated with festoons and plantain trunks at the four corners. then the heads of the 102 gotras assembled, with their wives, in the courtyard of the temple of nagaresvaraswami, where vasavambika was symbolically married to the god. the headmen then tied on vira kankanams (heroes' wrist-threads), and marched in a body, with vasavambika, to the fire-pits. there they gave counsel to their children that they should not ask voli (bride-price) for the marriage of their daughters, or communicate their secrets to females, or allow karnams (village accountants), rulers, unbelievers, or those universally abused into their homes. they further counselled them to give their daughters in marriage to the sons of their paternal aunts, even though they should be black-skinned, plain, blind of one eye, senseless, or of vicious habits, and though their horoscopes did not agree, and the omens were inauspicious. they were warned that, if they failed in so doing, they would lose their riches, and misfortune would fall on their families. moreover, full power was given to the castemen to excommunicate the delinquents, and put them outside the town limits. if the transgressors subsequently repented, they were, after the lapse of six months, to be sent to kasi (benares), bathe in the ganges, and return to their home. there they were to openly express their regret for their past conduct, fast the whole day, feed brahmans, and present them with three hundred cows, and hear the mahabharatha during the night. on the following day, they were again to fast, present two hundred cows to brahmans and feast them, and hear the ramayana during the night. on the third day, they were once more to fast, present a hundred cows, and hear the bhagavatam during the night. on the fourth day, they were again to feast brahmans, and worship nagaresvaraswami of penugonda, and thus purge themselves from the sin of contravening the rule of menarikam. but they were not bound to follow the rule, if the paternal aunt's son was totally blind, deaf, insane, stricken with disease, a eunuch, thief, idiot, leper, dwarf, or immoral, or if an old man or younger than the girl. the children were further advised to respect, at the time of their marriage, the families whose heads went as envoys to the king at rajamundry, and the boys who made false promises to the king, and induced him to withdraw to his capital. the heads of the families then made various gifts to brahmans, and asked vasavambika to enter the pit. in her true form of paramesvari, she blessed those gotras which had resolved to follow her, and announced that those who had fled would be nameless and without caste. she then declared that, immediately vishnu vardhana entered penugonda, his head would fall severed from his neck. finally, she invoked brahma not to create thenceforth beautiful girls in the caste in which she was born, and prayed that in future they should be short of stature, with gaping mouth, disproportionate legs, broad ears, crooked hands, red hair, sunken eyes, dilated eye-balls, insane looks, broad noses and wide nostrils, hairy body, black skin, and protruding teeth. she then jumped into her pit, and immediately afterwards the heads of the 102 gotras, with their wives, fell into their respective pits, and were reduced to ashes. on the morrow, vishnu vardhana started on his journey from rajamundry to penugonda. brahmans portended evil, and a voice from heaven said that he would lose his life. an evil spirit obstructed him, and it rained blood. lightning struck men, and numerous other signs of impending evil occurred. arrived at penugonda, vishnu vardhana was informed that the castemen and vasavambika had been burnt in the fire-pits. stunned by the news, he fell from his elephant, and his head was severed from his body, and broke into a thousand pieces. his broken head and body were carried by his followers to rajamundry, and cremated by his son raja raja narendra. then the latter pacified the citizens of penugonda, and appointed virupaksha, the son of kusuma sreshti, pedda setti of the towns. the 102 families performed funeral rites for their dead parents, visited kasi and ramesvaram, and built a temple in honour of vasavambika at penugonda, in which they placed an image in her name, and worshipped it ever afterwards. popular versions of the story here related from the purana are told all over southern india, where komatis live. one of the most singular of these is narrated by bishop whitehead. [139] "the story," he writes, "goes that, in ancient days, there was a bitter hatred between the komatis, who claim to belong to the vaisya caste, and the mlechas or barbarians. when the komatis were getting worsted in the struggle for supremacy, they requested parvati, the wife of siva, to come and deliver them. it so happened that about that time parvati was incarnate as a girl of the komati caste, who was exceedingly beautiful. the mlechas demanded that she should be given in marriage to one of their own people, and the refusal of the komatis led to severe fighting, in which the komatis, owing to the presence of the avatar of siva among them, were completely victorious, and almost exterminated their enemies. after their victory, the komatis entertained doubts as to the chastity of the girl, and compelled her to purify herself by passing through fire. this she did, and disappeared in the fire, resuming her real shape as parvati, and taking her place beside siva in heaven. her last words were a command to the komatis to worship her, if they wished their caste to prosper." it is impossible to identify with certainty the vishnu vardhana of the purana. there are as many as eleven individuals of that name known in eastern chalukyan history. the purana refers to vishnu vardhana, the son of vijayarka, who had his capital at rajamundry. his son, according to the same authority, was raja raja narendra. according to the mackenzie manuscripts, the town of rajamundry was founded by a king named vijayaditya mahendra, who has not been identified. dr. fleet is of opinion that vishnu vardhana vi, who ruled between 918 and 925 a.d., was the first to occupy, and re-name it. he, therefore, called himself rajamahendra. amma ii, who ruled between 945 and 970 a.d., bore the same title. his brother and successor was danarnaya (970--73 a.d.). passing over the hiatus of thirty years, when the country was in the hands of the cholas, we come to the reign of saktivarman, the eldest son of danarnaya. if we are to believe the kanyaka purana, then we must identify this saktivarman with its vijayarka. saktivarman's successor, according to inscriptions, was vimaladitya, who must be identified with the vishnu vardhana of the purana. vimaladitya's son, according to inscriptions, was raja raja i, surnamed vishnu vardhana viii. he has been identified with the raja raja narendra of current tradition in the telugu country, to whom nannayya bhatta dedicated his translation of the mahabharatha. he must also be the raja raja narendra of the purana. if that is so, we must set down the cardinal incidents mentioned in it to the first quarter of the 11th century a.d. the actual spots where the principal events of the tragedy were enacted are still pointed out at penugonda. thus, the garden in which king vishnu vardhana halted is said to be the site on which the hamlet of vanampalli (meaning village of gardens) stands at present. the spot where the huge fire-pit for kanyakamma was dug is pointed out as having been in field nos. 63/3 and 63/4 to the north of the now non-existent nagarasamudram tank. the 102 other pits were, it is said, in the fields round the bund (embankment) of this tank. the tank is now under cultivation, but faint traces of the bund are said to be still visible. it is about two furlongs to the north-west of the temple of nagaresvaraswami. it is locally believed that kanyakamma's fire-pit was, on the morning following her tragic end, found to contain, among the ashes, a golden likeness of herself, which was placed by the side of the image of nagareswara, to whom she had been married. long afterwards, the golden image was removed, and one in stone substituted for it, in accordance, it is said, with the direction of kanyakamma, who appeared to one of the townsmen in a dream. the temple of nagaresvaraswami has several inscriptions on slabs, built into its prakara, and elsewhere. one of these is on the gateway inside the prakara walls. it opens with a glowing description of the powers of nagaresvaraswami in giving blessings and gifts, and refers to penugonda as one of the eighteen towns built by visvakarma, and presented by siva to the komatis as a place of residence. the object of the inscription appears to be to record the restoration by one kothalinga, a komati whose genealogy is given, of the great town (penugonda), which had been burnt to ashes by a gajapathi king. he is also stated to have made grants of tanks, wells, and pleasure gardens, for the benefit of nagaresvaraswami, for whose daily offerings and the celebration of festivals he provided by the grants of the villages of mummadi, ninagepudi, varanasi, kalkaveru, and mathampudi, all included in the town of penugonda. various inscriptions show that, from so early a time as 1488 a.d., if not from still earlier times, the temple had become popular with the komatis, and got intertwined with the statements now found in the purana. rai bahadur v. venkayya, government epigraphist, writes to say that the teki plates found in the ramachandrapuram taluk of the godavari district, and published by dr. e. hultzsch, [140] may refer to some komatis. the edict contained in it was, according to dr. hultzsch, probably issued about 1086 a.d., and records the grant of certain honorary privileges on the descendants of a family of merchants belonging to the teliki family. that about the end of the 14th century a.d., the story of kanyakamma was popular is obvious from the telugu version of the markandeya purana, which was composed by the poet marana, the disciple of tikkana, the part author of the telugu bharata. in this purana, the following episode, which bears a close resemblance to the story narrated in the kanyaka purana, is introduced. a king, named vrushadha, while on a hunting expedition, killed a cow, mistaking it for a "bison." he was cursed by bhabhravya, the son of a rishi, who was in charge of it, and in consequence became a sudra, by name anaghakara. he had seven sons, a descendant of one of whom was nabhaga, who fell in love with a komati girl, and asked her parents to give her in marriage to him. the komatis replied much in the same manner as kusuma sreshti and his friends did to the ministers of vishnu vardhana in the kanyaka purana. their answer will be found in canto vii, 223, of the markandeya purana, which contains the earliest authentic literary reference to the name komati. in effect they said "thou art the ruler of the whole of this universe, oh! king; we are but poor komatis living by service. say, then, how can we contract such a marriage?" the king was further dissuaded by his father and the brahmans. but all to no purpose. he carried off the girl, and married her in the rakshasa form (by forcible abduction), and, in consequence, in accordance with the law of manu, became a komati. he then performed penance, and again became a kshatriya. it would seem that this episode, which is not found in the sanskrit markandeya purana, is undoubtedly based on the incident recorded in the kanyaka purana. there remain only three arguments to adduce in support of the suggestion that the chief event narrated in the kanyaka purana is worthy of credence. in the marriage ceremonies as performed by the komatis, some prominence is given to certain of the incidents alleged to have taken place in setting at naught the demands of king vishnu vardhana. such, for instance, is the respect shown to the bala nagaram boys, which is referred to later on. secondly, there are certain castes which beg only from komatis, in return for services rendered during this critical period of their history. these are the mailaris and viramushtis. the former still carry round the villages an image of kanyakamma, sing her story, and beg alms of devotees. the viramushtis are wrestlers, who, by acrobatic performances, delayed, by previous arrangement, the second advance of vishnu vardhana, before the komatis committed themselves to the flames. allied to these castes are the bukka komatis. originally, it is explained, the bukkas belonged to the komati caste. when kanyakamma threw herself into the fire-pit, they, instead of following her example, presented bukka powder, saffron, and kunkumum prepared by them to her. she directed that they should live apart from the faithful komatis, and live by selling the articles which they offered to her. the kalinga komatis also have a beggar caste attached to them, called jakkali-vandlu, who have nothing to do with the gavara komati beggar castes. thirdly, if we may place any faith in the stories told by other castes, e.g., the jains of south arcot, the tottiyans, kappiliyans, and beri chettis, the persecution of their subjects by their kings, in the manner indicated in the kanyaka purana, seems to have been widely practiced all over the country. and the method adopted by the komatis to evade the king, and maintain the menarikam rule, has its counterpart in the popular ballad known as lakshmammapata, still sung all over the northern circars, which gives a graphic description of the murder of his wife by a husband, who would not agree to giving their daughter away from his own sister's son. even now, the sentiment on this subject is so strong that a man who goes against the rule of menarikam, not only among the komatis, but among all castes observing it, is looked down on. it is usually described as bending the twig from its natural course, and, as the twig would waste away and die in consequence, so would parties to such marriages not prosper. in 1839, according to the asiatic journal, a case was taken before the supreme court of madras, in which the plaintiff brought an action against his uncle for giving his daughter away in marriage, without making him an offer of her hand. the judges were anxious that the matter should be settled out of court, but the parties disagreed so entirely that nothing less than a public trial would satisfy them. it has not been possible to trace the decision of the court. the komatis have for a long time been alleged to be connected with the madigas in a variety of ways. "the komatis," mr. f. r. hemingway writes, "do not as a rule deny the fact of this connection. the madigas are, indeed, apparently under the protection of the komatis, apply to them for help when in trouble, and obtain loans and other assistance. some komatis explain the connection with the madigas by a story that either vishnu vardhana, or his successor rajaraja narendra persecuted the komatis, and that they had to fly for refuge to the madigas. the madigas took them in, and hid them, and they say that the present favour shown to that caste is only in gratitude for the kindness shown to themselves in the past. the komatis themselves do not admit the title mid-day madigas (applied to them by other castes), but explain it by a story that long ago a komati killed and ate a cow-buffalo, which was really no cow-buffalo, but the wife of a great sage who had transformed her into that shape in order that she might be safe when he was in contemplation. the saint accordingly cursed the caste, and said that they should be mid-day madigas for ever more." it is possible that the connection between the komatis and madigas was originally such as that of the kammalans, ambattans, and other castes, with paraiyans, vettiyans, and other depressed classes, and that, in later times, weird stories were invented by fertile brains to explain them away. one of these undoubtedly is that which makes the komatis the descendants of the issue of a plain brahman and a handsome madiga woman. it is said that their children managed a sweetmeat bazar, which the brahman kept in a much frequented forest, and, in his absence, pointed with a stick (kol) to the plates, and thereby told their prices, without polluting the articles with the touch. hence arose the name kolmutti (those who pointed with the stick), which became softened down to komutti. another story runs to the effect that the madiga woman, when she was pregnant with her first child, was gored by a cow, and gave birth to it in the cow-shed. hence arises the name go-mutti, or cow-gored. in days gone by, it was incumbent on the komatis to bear the marriage expenses of the madiga families attached to their village, much in the same way that the chakkiliyan is treated in the madura district by the tottiyan caste in return for the services he renders when a tottiyan girl is under pollution on reaching maturity. in later times, this custom dwindled in some places [141] to the payment of the expenses of the marriage of two madigas, and even this was abandoned in favour of inviting the madigas to their weddings. in the city of madras, it would appear to have been customary, in the eighteenth century, for the komatis to get the mangalyam or sathamanam (marriage badge) blessed by an aged madiga before it was tied on the bride's neck. further, it would appear to have then been customary to give the sacred fire, used at marriages for the performance of homam, to a madiga, and receive it back from him. these, and similar customs, traces of which still exist in some places (e.g., north arcot), show that the madiga has some claim on the komatis. what that claim is is not clear. however, it is reported that, if the madiga is not satisfied, he can effectually put a stop to a marriage by coming to the house at which it is to be celebrated, chopping away the plantain trunks which decorate the marriage booth, and carrying them off. similarly, kammalans invite vettiyans (or paraiyans) to their marriage, and, if this is not done, there is the same right to cut down the plantain trunks. it would seem that the right thus exercised has reference to the right to the soil on which the booth stands. the cutting away of the plantain shows that their right to stand there is not recognised. the invitation to the madiga or vettiyan would thus refer to the recognition by the komatis and kammalans to the lordship of the soil held in bygone days by these now depressed castes. writing in 1869 and 1879, respectively, sir walter elliot and major j. s. f. mackenzie of the mysore commission refer [142] to the presentation of betel and nuts by the komatis to the madigas, thereby inviting them to be present at their marriages. dr. g. oppert also refers to the same custom. [143] having risen in the social scale, the komatis would naturally wish to give this invitation covertly. major mackenzie says that the komatis in mysore, in order to covertly invite the madigas to the wedding, went to the back of their houses at a time when they were not likely to be seen, and whispered into an iron vessel, such as is commonly used for measuring grain, an invitation in the following words:--"in the house of the small ones (i.e., komatis) a marriage is going to take place. the members of the big house (i.e., madigas) are to come." the madigas look on such a secret invitation as an insult, and would, if they saw the inviters, handle them roughly. it is noted, in the madras census report, 1901, that "now-a-days the presentation (of betel leaf and nuts) is sometimes veiled by the komati concerned sending his shoes to be mended by the madiga a few days before the wedding, deferring payment till the wedding day, and then handing the madiga the leaf and nut with the amount of his bill." according to another account, the komati of set purpose unbinds the toe-ring of his native shoes (cherupu), and summons the madiga, whose function it is to make and repair these articles of attire. the madiga quietly accepts the job, and is paid more amply than is perhaps necessary in the shape of pan-supari, flowers, and money. on the acceptance by the madiga of the betel and nuts, the komati asks "cherinda, cherinda"? i.e., has it reached you, and the madiga replies "cherindi, cherindi", i.e., it has reached. until he replies thus, the mangalyam cannot, it is said, be tied on the bride's neck. in the bellary district, betel leaf and nuts are usually left at night behind the madiga's house, in token of the invitation to the wedding. in the godavari district, according to mr. hemingway, the komati gives an order for a madiga for palmyra leaf baskets before the marriage, and presents him with betel and nut when he brings the baskets. still another account says that some of the komatis, just before a marriage, leave in the backyard of madiga houses a few pice and betel close to the cattle-pen, and that it is whispered that some komatis use chuckler's (leather-worker's) tools, made in silver, for worship. it is also reported that chuckler's work is pretended to be gone through by some komatis, after the completion of the marriage ceremonies, in the backyard of the house at dead of night, in the presence of caste-people only, and by preference under a danimma chettu (punica granatum: pomegranate). this is known as kulacharam, kuladharmam, or gotra puja (custom of the caste, or worship of the gotras). the figure of a cow is made of flour, and into its stomach they put a mixture of turmeric, lime, and water, called wokali. this, it has been suggested, is meant to represent blood. after the cow has been worshipped in due form, it is cut up with instruments made of flour, and intended to represent those used by cobblers. to each family is secretly sent that portion of the cow, which, according to custom, they are entitled to receive. thus, the kommala-varu receive the horns, the gontula the neck, the karakapala the hands and temples, the thonti the hump, the danta the teeth, the veligollu the white nails, and so on. major mackenzie testified to the performance of this ceremony by the caste in mysore in 1879, and it is recorded from different parts of the madras presidency. the flour, which is thus distributed, is known as nepasani mudda or nepasani unta. the ceremony is still performed in the city of madras, on the night of the fifth day if the marriage lasts over seven days, or on the night of the third day if it lasts over five days. if the wedding ceremonies are completed in one day, the ceremony is performed even during the day time. the following details are performed. a brass vessel (kalasam) and a cocoanut are set up in the house, and the bride and bridegroom's parties arrange themselves on each side of it. the vessel is decorated, and the cocoanut is made to represent the face of a woman, with eyes, nose, mouth, etc., and adorned with jewelry, flowers, anilin and turmeric powder marks. a young man of the bridegroom's party worships the feet of all present. the flour cow is then made, cut up, and distributed. cocoanuts are broken, and camphor is set on fire, and waved before the vessel. mr. muhammad ibrahim states that families are known by the names of the various organs of the cow in the godavari district. there is, he says, a story to the effect that some komatis killed a cow-buffalo, which went about as such by day, but became transformed into a beautiful woman under the miraculous influence of a pious brahman. as a redemption for their sin, these komatis were ordered by the brahman to take their names after the various parts of the animal, and as, by killing the animal, they proved worse than madigas, they were ordered to show respect to these people. in the kumbum taluk of the kurnool district, a flour buffalo is substituted for the cow. in the markapur taluk of the same district, two elephants are made of mud, and the bride and bridegroom sit beside them. presentations of cloths and jewels are then made to them. the officiating purohit (priest) worships the elephants, and the bride and bridegroom go round them. two further points of connection between the komatis and madigas are referred to by major mackenzie. "i find," he writes, "that it is the custom to obtain the fire for burning kama, the indian cupid, at the end of the holi feast from a madiga's house. the madigas do not object to giving the fire, in fact they are paid for it." this appears to be a purely local custom, and no trace of its existence has been found in various parts of the madras presidency. the other point refers to the identification of the goddess matangi of the madigas with the komati goddess kanyaka amma. "i cannot," major mackenzie writes, "discover the connection between two such different castes as the komatis and madigas, who belong to different divisions. the komatis belong to the 10 pana division, while the madigas are members of the 9 pana. [144] one reason has been suggested. the caste goddess of the komatis is the virgin kannika amma, who destroyed herself rather than marry a prince, because he was of another caste. she is usually represented by a vessel full of water, and, before the marriage ceremonies are commenced, she is brought in state from the temple, and placed in the seat of honour in the house. the madigas claim kannika as their goddess, worship her under the name of matangi and object to the komatis taking their goddess." the komatis stoutly deny that there is any connection between matangi and kanyaka amma, and it would seem that they are independent goddesses. marriage is always infant. a brahman purohit officiates. each purohit has a number of houses attached to his circle, and his sons usually divide the circle among themselves on partition, like any other property. polygamy is permitted, but only if the first wife produces no offspring. the taking of a second wife is assented to by the first wife, who, in some cases, believes that, as the result of the second marriage, she herself will beget children. two forms of marriage ceremonial are recognised, one called puranoktha, according to long established custom, and the other called vedoktha, which follows the vedic ritual of brahmans. in madras, on the first day of a marriage, the contracting couple have an oil bath, and the bridegroom goes through the upanayana (sacred thread investiture) ceremony. he then pretends to go off to kasi (benares), and is met by the bride's party, who take him to the bride's house, where the mangalyam is tied by the bridegroom before the homam (sacrificial fire). on the second day, homam is continued, and a caste dinner is given. on the third day, the gotra puja is performed. on the fourth day, homam is repeated, and, on the following day, the pair are seated on a swing, and rocked to and fro. presents, called katnam, are made to the bridegroom, but no voli (bride-price) is paid. in the mofussil, [145] where the puranoktha form of ceremonial is more common, ancestors are invoked on the first day. on the second day, the ashtavarga is observed, and the bride and bridegroom worship eight of the principal gods of the hindu pantheon. on this day, the pandal (marriage booth) is erected. on the third day, the mangalyam is tied, sometimes by the officiating brahman purohit, and sometimes by the bridegroom. on the fourth day, the brahmans of the place are honoured, and, on the following day, in most places, a festival is held in honour of the goddess kanyaka parameswari. the bride and bridegroom's mothers go to a tank (pond) or river with copper vessels, and bring back water at the head of a procession. the vessels are placed in a special pandal, and worshipped with flowers, anilin and turmeric powders. finally, cocoanuts are broken before them. on the next day, or on the same day if the marriage ceremonies conclude thereon, the festival in honour of the balanagaram boys, or those who helped the komatis of penugonda in their trouble with vishnu vardhana, is held. five boys and girls are bathed, decked with jewelry, and taken in procession to the local temple, whence they are conducted to the bride's house, where they are fed. on the following day, the ceremony called thotlu puja is performed. a doll is placed in a cradle connected with two poles, and rocked to and fro. the bridegroom gives the doll into the hands of the bride, saying that he has to go on a commercial trip. the bride hands it back to him, with the remark that she has to attend to her kitchen work. on the following day, the bridal couple are taken in procession, and, in the bellary district, a further day is devoted to the surgi ceremony. the bride and bridegroom bathe together, go to the local temple, and return. then five girls bathe, the five posts of the marriage pandal are worshipped, and the kankanams (wrist-threads) are removed from the wrists of the newly-married couple. kalinga komatis, who live in the northern part of ganjam, and have forgotten their mother-tongue, have practically adopted the oriya customs, as they have to depend mainly on oriya brahmans. at their marriages, however, they use the telugu bottu or sathamanam. widow remarriage is not permitted among any sections of the caste, which is very strict in the observance of this rule. except among the saivites, a widow is not compelled to have her head shaved, or give up wearing jewelry, or the use of betel. in the south of the madras presidency, if a little girl becomes a widow, her mangalyam is not removed, and her head is not shaved till she reaches maturity. vaishnava widows always retain their hair. concerning a form of marriage between the living and the dead, performed by members of this caste if a man and woman have been living together, and the man dies, mr. hutchinson writes as follows. [146] "the sad intelligence of her man's death is communicated to her neighbours, a guru or priest is summoned, and the ceremony takes place. according to a writer who once witnessed such a proceeding, the dead body of the man was placed against the outer wall of the verandah of the house in a sitting posture, attired like a bridegroom, and the face and hands besmeared with turmeric. the woman was clothed like a bride, and adorned with the usual tinsel ornament over the face, which, as well as the arms, was daubed over with yellow. she sat opposite the dead body, and spoke to it in light unmeaning words, and then chewed bits of dry cocoanuts, and squirted them on the face of the dead man. this continued for hours, and not till near sunset was the ceremony brought to a close. then the head of the corpse was bathed, and covered with a cloth of silk, the face rubbed over with some red powder, and betel leaves placed in the mouth. now she might consider herself married, and the funeral procession started." this refers to the vira saiva or lingayat komatis of the northern circars. in the northern circars, and part of the ceded districts, the vedoktha form of marriage now prevails, and its usage is spreading into the southern districts of mysore. further, the komatis perform most of their ceremonies in the same form. this, it is contended, is a latter day development by some of the more conservative members of the caste, but it is stated by those who follow it that it is allowed to them by the hindu sastras (law books), as they are vaisyas. during recent years, the latter view has obtained a great impetus through the writings and influence of several of the more prominent members of the caste, between whom and their opponents a war of pamphlets has taken place. it is not possible here to go into details of the dispute, but the main point seems to be as follows. on the one hand, it is denied that there are any true vaisyas in the kaliyuga (iron age). and so, though the komatis are accorded the status of vaisyas in recognition of their being traders, yet they cannot follow the vedic form of ceremonial, which is the exclusive right of brahmans; and, even if they ever followed it, they forfeited it after the break-up of the caste on the death of kanyakamma. on the other hand, it is stated that the komatis are dwijas (twice born), and that they are consequently entitled to follow the vedic ritual, and that those who forfeited the vedic rights are those who did not follow kanyakamma to the fire-pits, and do not therefore belong to the 102 gotras. the dispute is an old standing one, and nearly a century ago was taken for adjudication as far as the judicial committee of the privy council. the question whether the komatis are entitled to perform their subah and asubah (auspicious, like marriage, and inauspicious, like death) ceremonies according to the vedic form, was raised by the brahmans of masulipatam in 1817, and adjudicated upon. [147] disputes had occurred between the brahmans and komatis for a long time, and disturbances constantly took place. the magistrate of masulipatam prohibited the komatis from performing one of the ceremonies, until they had established their right to do so in a civil court. the appellants thereon sued the defendants in damages for impediments made against their attending to the rites prescribed by the vedas, and prayed for permission to perform them in conformity with the vedas. the defendants denied the right of the komatis to perform, and the fact of their ever having performed the ceremonies appointed by the vedas. they admitted the intervention of the magistrate, and stated that "upwards of two thousand years ago, the komatis adopted the customs of the soodra caste, and some of them became byri komatis, and bookha caste people, etc. the rest of them, amounting to a hundred and two gotras, fabricated false gotrams for themselves, and called themselves nagaram komatis. they fabricated a book called canniaca puranam, named the bashcara puntulu varu their priest, conformed to that book, performed the sign of the upanayana ceremony in a loose manner, and in the language of the puranas; at the time of marriage, made marriage ceremony in seven days contrary to the custom of all castes whatever, erected prolu posts, made lumps of dough with flour, and got the same divided among them according to their spurious gotrams, at midnight fetched the pot of water called arivany, and observed the ceremonies for ten days on the occurrence of a birth, and fifteen days on the occurrence of a death. in this manner, the forefathers of the plaintiffs, the other merchants, and the plaintiffs themselves, had got all ceremonies conducted for upwards of two thousand years past." they cited instances, in which the plaintiffs, or some of them, had failed in previous attempts to sustain the right now claimed, and objected to the form of the plaint as not sufficiently setting forth the particulars and nature of the obstruction for which the plaintiffs claimed compensation. the plaintiffs, in their reply, did not negative or rebut the specific statements of the defendants, but insisted generally on their right to the performance of the ceremonies in question. the point at issue being not clear from the pleadings, the parties were questioned in open court as to the precise object of the action, and the ground on which it was maintained. the plaintiffs stated that their object was the establishment of their right to have the whole of the subha and asubha ceremonies performed in their houses by brahmans in the language of the vedas, and that they claimed this right on the ground of the sastras. on this, the zilla judge framed a hypothetical statement of facts and law based on the defendant's answer for the opinion of the pandit of the court, and, upon his opinion, declared the plaintiffs entitled to have the ceremonies performed for them by brahmans. upon appeal, the provincial court for the northern division remitted the suit to the zilla court to take evidence, and, upon such opinions of the pandits which the provincial court took upon the same statement as the zilla, they affirmed the decree, but without costs. the pandits consulted by them were those of the provincial courts of the northern, centre, southern and western divisions. they all agreed that "the brahmans ought not to perform the ceremonies in the language of the vadas for the vaisyas." three of them further added that, in their opinion, the judges ought to pass a decision, awarding that the komatis are to continue to perform religious rites according to the rules laid down in the book called puranam (i.e., in the puranoktha form), as are at present observed by the corrupt or degenerate vaisyas or komatis and others. on appeal, the sudder dewani adawlut reversed the decisions of the lower courts, "having maturely weighed the evidence produced, and considered the unbiassed and concurring opinions of the four law officers of the provincial courts." on further appeal to the privy council, lord brougham, in delivering judgment, observed that "the plaintiffs, not having, in their opinion, alleged any case of injury done to them by the defendants upon which they were entitled to go into evidence, and not having therefore established any case for damages in their suit against the defendants, no question remained but of a mere declaration of a right to perform certain religious ceremonies; that, if the courts had jurisdiction to proceed to the determination of that question in this suit (upon which their lordships guard themselves in their judgment), the plaintiffs have not produced sufficient evidence to establish such a right; that, under these circumstances, all the decrees therefore ought to be reversed, and the plaint dismissed (the reversal of the sudder court amounts in fact to a dismissal of the plaint); but it is not, as it ought to be, a dismissal without costs; and that this decision should be without prejudice to the existence or non-existence of the right claimed by the appellants, in any other suit, in which such a question may be properly raised." the komatis wear the sacred thread, and utter the gayatri and other sacred mantras. a number of them, at adoni in the bellary district, refused to be measured by me in the afternoon, as they would not have time to bathe, and remove the pollution by evening. in telugu dictionaries, the komatis are given the alternative names of mudava kolamuvaru (those of the third caste), vaisyalu, and nallanayya todabiddalu (those who were begotten from the thighs of vishnu). as already stated, there are among the komatis ordinary saivites, who daub themselves with ashes; lingayats or vira saivas, who wear the linga in a silver casket; ramanuja vaishnavites; chaitanya vaishnavas, who are confined to the kalinga section; and madhvas, who put on the sect marks of madhva brahmans. the traivarnikas are a special class among the vaishnavas. they imitate the vaishnava brahmans more closely than the rest. they, and their females, tie their cloths like brahmans, and the men shave moustaches. unlike the saivites and lingayats, they eat flesh and fish, and drink spirituous liquors. they will eat in the houses of satanis, whereas other komatis do not eat in any but brahman houses. but it may be observed that velamas, balijas, kammalans, ambattans, vannans, and many other castes, will take neither water nor food from komatis. this, however, does not prevent them from purchasing the cakes prepared in ghi or oil, which the komatis sell in petty shops. writing early in the nineteenth century, buchanan refers [148] to a dispute at gubbi in the mysore state between the komatis and banajigas, which arose from the former building a temple to their goddess kanyakamma. purnia, the prime-minister, divided the town by a wall, thus separating the two parties. the komatis claimed that it had been the custom for all parties to live together, and that it would be an infringement of the rules of caste for them to be forced into a separate quarter. the chief of the komatis entered the town in procession, on horseback with an umbrella held over his head. this assumption of rank was regarded by the banajigas with the utmost indignation. to such a pitch did the quarrel reach that, at the time of buchanan's visit, there was a rumour current as to the necessity of killing a jack-ass in the street, which would cause the immediate desolation of the place. "there is," he writes, "not a hindu in karnata, that would remain another night in it, unless by compulsion. even the adversaries of the party would think themselves bound in honour to fly. this singular custom seems to be one of the resources upon which the natives have fallen to resist arbitrary oppression, and may be had recourse to whenever the government infringes, or is considered to have infringed upon the custom of any caste. it is of no avail against any other kind of oppression." a brief reference may be made to the part which the komatis took, in bygone days, in the faction fights known as right and left-hand caste disputes. some of the south indian castes, including the komatis, belong to the former, and others to the latter. those belonging to the left-hand would not let those belonging to the right-hand pass through their streets with their marriage and other processions. the right-hand section was equally jealous of the left. the komatis, who were among the early settlers in the town of madras in the seventeenth century, were involved in faction disputes on two recorded occasions, once, in 1652 a.d., during the governorship of aaron baker, and later on during that of william pitt, [149] in 1707. when a wedding procession of members of one section passed through the streets of the other section, pitt summoned twelve of the heads of each section, and locked them up in a room together, until the dispute should be adjusted. an agreement was speedily arrived at, according to which the right-hand settled on the west side of the town, now known as pedda naikan pettah, and the left-hand on the east side, in what is at present called mutialu pettah. the komatis accordingly are now mainly found in the western part of the city of madras. all over the country, the komatis venerate the deified virgin kannika parameswari, to whom, in most places, they have erected temples. one of these, at tadpatri in the anantapur district, which was in course of construction in 1904, is of more than ordinary interest. it was being built at the expense of the local komatis, who had raised a subscription among themselves for the purpose. the design was original, and even arches entered into its construction. the sculpture, with which it is decorated, is quite excellent in design and finish. much of it is copied from the two beautiful temples, which have existed at the place since the days of the vijianagar dynasty. other notable temples are those at penukonda, vizianagram in vizagapatam, and berhampur in ganjam. fines collected from erring castemen in the godavari, guntur and kistna districts, are still sent to the temple at penukonda. the komatis worship various goddesses, in addition to kanyaka parameswari. those who live in vizagapatam "relax their faith in favour of the celebrated muhammadan saint, who lies buried by the durga on the top of the hill which overlooks the harbour. every vessel, passing the harbour inwards and outwards, salutes him by hoisting and lowering its flag three times. he is considered all potent over the elements in the bay of bengal, and many a silver dhoney (boat) is presented at his shrine by hindu ship-owners after a successful voyage. we remember a suit between a komati, the owner of a dhoney, and his muhammadan captain, who was also the super-cargo, for settlement of accounts. in a storm off the coast of arakan, the skipper stated that he had vowed a mudupu or purse of rupees to the durga, and had duly presented it on his return. this sum, among other sets-off, he charged to the owner of the vessel, the plaintiff, whose sole contention was that the vow had never been discharged; the propriety of conciliating the old fakir in a hurricane he submissively allowed." even now, the komatis, though no longer boat-owners, revere the saint, and make vows to him for the success of civil suits, and recovery from all sorts of maladies. the komatis employ brahmans for the performance of their ceremonial rites, and recognise a brahman as their guru. he is commonly called bhaskaracharya, after the individual of that name who lived at penukonda prior to the sixteenth century a.d., and translated the sanskrit kanyaka purana into a telugu poem. he made certain regulations for the daily conduct of the komatis, and made the 102 gotras submit to them. a copy of an inscription on a copper plate, in the possession of one kotta appaya, the archaka or priest of the nagareswaraswami temple at penukonda, is given in the mackenzie manuscripts. it records a grant (of unknown date) to bhaskaracharya, the guru of the vaisyas, by the 102 gotrams, according to which each family agreed for ever afterwards to give half a rupee for every marriage, and a quarter of a rupee for each year. such doles are common even at the present day to his successors. these, like the original bhaskaracharya, who is considered to be an incarnation of brahma, are house-holders, and not sanyasis (religious ascetics). there are several of them, in different parts of the country, one for example being at penukonda, and another near hospet, who makes periodical tours in state, with drums, silver maces, and belted peons, and is received with every mark of respect. he settles disputes, levies fines, and collects subscriptions towards the upkeep of his mutt (religious institution), which is also supported by inam (rent-free) lands. the komati dead, except children and lingayats, are cremated, lingayat komatis, like other lingayats, bury their dead in a sitting posture. the death ceremonies among the gavaras closely resemble those of brahmans. the period of death pollution is sixteen days, during which sweets are taboo. the komatis are best known as merchants, grocers, and money-lenders. in the city of madras, they are the principal vendors of all sorts of imported articles. the row of shops in the china bazar, between pachaiyappa's college and popham's broadway, is almost entirely maintained by them. many komatis are cloth merchants, and traivarnikas are almost entirely engaged in the glassware trade. in the northern circars, some earn a living as petty dealers in opium and ganja (indian hemp). in the ganjam, vizagapatam and godavari districts they are found in the hills, acting as middle-men between the hill tribes and the people of the plains. most of the komatis are literate, and this helps them in their dealings with their constituents. they are proverbially shrewd, industrious, and thrifty, and are often rich. if a komati fails in business, his compatriots will come to his rescue, and give him a fresh start. organised charity is well known among them. each temple of kanyaka parameswari is a centre for charity. in the city of madras the kanyaka parameswari charities, among other good objects, promote the development of female education. in 1905, the komatis established a southern india vysia association, with the object of encouraging "the intellectual, moral, religious, social, industrial and commercial advancement of the vysia community." among the means employed for so doing, are the helping of deserving students with scholarships for the prosecution of the study of the english and vernacular languages, and organised relief of poor and distressed members of the community by founding orphanages, and so forth. the affairs of the association are managed by an executive committee made up of prominent members of the caste, including merchants, lawyers, and contractors. many stories and proverbs have reference to the wealth, ready wit, thrift, and other qualities of the komatis. [150] of these, the following are selected from a large repertoire:-the blind komati and vishnu. a blind komati prayed to vishnu for the restoration of his eyesight, and at last the god appeared before him, and asked him what he wanted. "oh! god," he replied, "i want to see from above the seventh storey of my mansion my great-grandsons playing in the streets, and eating their cakes from golden vessels." vishnu was so astonished at the request of the blind man, which combined riches, issue, and the restoration of his eyesight in one demand, that he granted all his desires. the komati and the thief. an old komati observed a thief at dead of night lurking under a pomegranate tree, and cried out to his wife to bring him a low stool. on this he seated himself in front of the thief, and bawled out for hot water, which his wife brought him. pretending that he was suffering from severe tooth-ache, he gargled the water, and spat it out continuously at the wondering thief. this went on till daybreak, when he called out his neighbours, who captured the thief, and handed him over to the police. the komati and his cakes. a komati was on his way to the weekly market, with his plate of cakes to sell there. a couple of thieves met him when he was half way there, and, after giving him a severe thrashing, walked off with the cakes. the discomfited komati, on his way back home with the empty plate, was met by another komati going to market with his cakes. the latter asked how the demand for cakes was at the market, and the former replied "why go to the market, when half-way people come and demand your cakes?" and passed on. the unsuspecting komati went on, and, like the other, was the recipient of a sound thrashing at the hands of the thieves. the komati and the scorpion. a number of komatis went one day to a temple. one of them put one of his fingers into the navel of the image of vinayakan (the elephant god) at the gateway, when a scorpion, which was inside it, stung him. putting his finger to his nose, the komati remarked "what a fine smell! i have never experienced the like." this induced another man to put his finger in, and he too was stung, and made similar pretence. all of them were thus stung in succession, and then consoled each other. the komati and the milk tax. once upon a time, a great king levied a tax upon milk, and all his subjects were sorely tried by it. the komatis, who kept cows, found the tax specially inconvenient. they, therefore, bribed the minister, and mustered in strength before the king, to whom they spoke concerning the oppressive nature of the tax. the king asked what their profit from the milk was. "a pie for a pie" said they to a man, and the king, thinking that persons who profit only a pie ought not to be troubled, forthwith passed orders for the abolition of the tax. the komati and the pandyan king. once upon a time, a pandyan king had a silver vessel of enormous size made for the use of the palace, and superstitiously believed that its first contents should not be of an ordinary kind. so he ordered his minister to publish abroad that all his subjects were to put into the vessel a chembu-full of milk from each house. the frugal komatis, hearing of this, thought, each to himself, that, as the king had ordered such a large quantity, and others would bring milk, it would suffice if they took a chembu-full of water, as a little water poured into such a large quantity of milk would not change its colour, and it would not be known that they only contributed water. all the komatis accordingly each brought a chembu-full of water, and none of them told the others of the trick he was about to play. but it so happened that the komatis were the first to enter the palace, while they thought that the people of other castes had come and gone. the vessel was placed behind a screen, so that no one might cast the evil eye on it, and the komatis were let in one by one. this they did in all haste, and left with great joy at the success of their trick. thus there was nothing but water in the vessel. now it had been arranged that the king was to be the first person to see the contents of his new vessel, and he was thunderstruck to find that it contained only water. he ordered his minister to punish the komatis severely. but the ready-witted komatis came forward, and said "oh! gracious king, appease thy anger, and kindly listen to what we have to say. we each brought a chembu-full of water, to find out how much the precious vessel will hold. now that we have taken the measurement, we will forthwith fetch the quantity of milk required." the king was exceedingly pleased, and sent them away. a story is told to the effect that, when a komati was asked to identify a horse about which a muhammadan and hindu were quarrelling, he said that the fore-part looked like the muhammadan's, and the hind-part like the hindu's. another story is told of a komati, who when asked by a judge what he knew about a fight between two men, deposed that he saw them standing in front of each other and speaking in angry tones when a dust-storm arose. he shut his eyes, and the sound of blows reached his ears, but he could not say which of the men beat the other. of proverbs relating to the komatis, the following may be noted:- a brahman will learn if he suffers, and a komati will learn if he is ruined. if i ask whether you have salt, you say that you have dhol (a kind of pulse). like the burning of a komati's house, which would mean a heavy loss. when two komatis whisper on the other side of the lake, you will hear them on this side. this has reference to the harsh voice of the komatis. in native theatricals, the komati is a general favourite with the audience, and he is usually represented as short of stature, obese, and with a raucous voice. the komati that suits the stake. this has reference to a story in which a komati's stoutness, brought on by want of exercise and sedentary habits, is said to have shown that he was the proper person to be impaled on a stake. according to the rev. h. jensen, [151] the proverb refers to an incident that took place in 'the city of injustice.' a certain man was to be impaled for a crime, but, at the last moment he pointed out that a certain fat merchant (komati) would be better suited for the instrument of punishment, and so escaped. the proverb is now used of a person who is forced to suffer for the faults of others. the komatis are satirically named dhaniyala jati, or coriander caste, because, as the coriander seed has to be crushed before it is sown, so the komati is supposed to come to terms only by rough treatment. the komatis have the title setti or chetti, which is said to be a contracted form of sreshti, meaning a precious person. in recent times, some of them have assumed the title ayya. kombara.--the name, meaning a cap made of the spathe of the areca palm (areca catechu) of an exogamous sept of kelasi. such caps are worn by various classes in south canara, e.g., the holeyas and koragas. kombu (stick).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. komma.--komma (a musical horn) or kommula has been recorded as an exogamous sept of kamma and mala. kommula is further a professional title for horn-blowers, mainly mala, madiga, and panisavan, who perform at festivals and funerals. kommi.--a gotra of gollas, the members of which may not use kommi fuel. kompala (houses).--an exogamous sept of devanga. konan.--konan or konar is a title of idaiyans. some gollas call themselves konanulu. konangi (buffoon).--an exogamous sept of devanga. konda (mountain).--an exogamous sept of devanga and medara, and a synonym for konda dora. konda dora.--the konda doras are a caste of hill cultivators, found chiefly in vizagapatam. concerning them surgeon-major w. r. cornish writes as follows. [152] "contrasting strangely with the energetic, patriarchal, and land-reverencing parja (poroja), are the neighbouring indigenous tribes found along the slopes of the eastern ghauts. they are known as konda doras, konda kapus, and ojas. from what has been ascertained of their languages, it seems certain that, divested of the differences which have been engrafted upon them by the fact of the one being influenced by uriya and the other by telugu, they are substantially of the same origin as the parja language and the khond language. but the people themselves seem to have entirely lost all those rights to the soil, which are now characteristic of the more northern tribes. they are completely at the mercy of late immigrants, so much so that, though they call themselves konda doras, they are called by the bhaktas, their immediate superiors, konda kapus. if they are found living in a village with no telugu superior, they are known as doras. if, on the other hand, such a man is at the head of the village affairs, they are to him as adscripti glebæ, and are denominated kapus or ryots (cultivators). it is apparent that the comparatively degraded position that this particular soil-folk holds is due to the influence of the telugu colonists; and the reason why they have been subjected to a greater extent than the cognate tribes further inland is possibly that the telugu colonization is of more ancient date than the uriya colonization. it may further be surmised that, from the comparative proximity of the telugu districts, the occupation of the crests of these ghats partook rather of the character of a conquest than that of mere settlings in the land. but, however it came about, the result is most disastrous. some parts of pachipenta, hill madugulu, and kondakamberu, which have been occupied by telugu-speaking folk, are far inferior in agricultural prosperity to the inland parts, where the uriyas have assumed the lead in the direction of affairs." in the census report, 1891, mr. h. a. stuart writes that "these people all speak telugu, and the majority of them have returned that as their parent-tongue. but a large number returned their caste name in the parent-tongue column. i have since received a vocabulary, which is said to be taken from the dialect of the konda doras; and, if this is correct, then the real speech of these people is a dialect of khond." one durgi patro, the head of a mutta (division of a zemindari) informed mr. g. f. paddison that konda doras and khonds are identical. in the census report, 1901, mr. w. francis states that the konda doras "seem to be a section of the khonds, which has largely taken to speaking telugu, has adopted some of the telugu customs, and is in the transitional stage between animism and hinduism. they call themselves hindus, and worship the pandavas and a goddess called talupulamma. they drink alcohol, and eat pork, mutton, etc., and will dine with kapus." at times of census, pandavakulam (or pandava caste) has been returned as a title of the konda doras. for the following note i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. there are, among the konda doras, two well-defined divisions, called pedda (big) and chinna (little) kondalu. of these, the former have remained in their old semi-independent position, while the latter have come under telugu domination. the chinna kondalu, who have been living in contact with the bhaktha caste, have adopted the telugu system of intiperulu, as exogamous septs, whereas the pedda kondalu have retained the totem divisions, which occur among other hill castes, e.g., naga (cobra), bhag (tiger), and kochchimo (tortoise). among the chinna kondalu, the custom of menarikam, according to which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is observed, and may further marry his own sister's daughter. the chinna kondalu women wear glass bangles and beads, like women of the plains. men of the chinna kondalu section serve as bearers and government employees, whereas those of the pedda kondalu section are engaged in cultivation. the former have personal names corresponding to those of the inhabitants of the plains, e.g., linganna, gangamma, while the names of the latter are taken from the day of the week on which they were born, e.g., bhudra (wednesday), sukra (friday). among the chinna kondalu, a girl is married before or after puberty. when a marriage is decided on, the girl's parents receive a present (voli) of four rupees and a female cloth. on an auspicious day fixed by the chukkamusti (star-gazer), the bride is conducted to the home of the bridegroom. the contracting couple are bathed in turmeric-water, put on new cloths presented by their fathers-in-law, and wrist-threads are tied on their wrists. on the same day, or the following morning, at a time settled by the chukkamusti, the bridegroom, under the direction of a caste elder, ties the sathamanam (marriage badge) on the bride's neck. on the following day, the wrist-threads are removed, and the newly married couple bathe. among the pedda, as among the chinna kondalu, a girl is married before or after puberty. when a man contemplates taking a wife, his parents carry three pots of liquor to the home of the girl whose hand he seeks. the acceptance of these by her father is a sign that the match is agreeable to him, and a jholla tonka (bride-price) of five rupees is paid to him. the future bridegroom's party has to give three feasts to that of the bride-elect, for each of which a pig is killed. the girl is conducted to the house of the bridegroom, and, if she has reached puberty, remains there. otherwise she returns home, and joins her husband later on, the occasion being celebrated by a further feast of pork. both sections allow the remarriage of widows. among the pedda kondalu, a younger brother may marry the widow of his elder brother. by both sections divorce is permitted. among the chinna kondalus, a man who marries a divorcée has to pay her first husband twenty-four rupees, of which half is divided among the neighbouring caste villages in certain recognised proportions. the dead are usually burnt by both sections. the pedda kondalu kill a pig on the third day, and hold a feast, at which much liquor is disposed of. by the chinna kondalu the chinna rozu (little day) ceremony is observed, as it is by other castes dwelling in the plains. the chinna kondalu bear the titles anna or ayya when they are merely cultivators under bhaktha landlords, and dora under other circumstances. the pedda kondalu usually have no title. a riot took place, in 1900, at the village of korravanivalasa in the vizagapatam district, under the following strange circumstances. "a konda dora of this place, named korra mallayya, pretended that he was inspired, and gradually gathered round him a camp of four or five thousand people from various parts of the agency. at first his proceedings were harmless enough, but in april he gave out that he was a re-incarnation of one of the five pandava brothers; that his infant son was the god krishna; that he would drive out the english and rule the country himself; and that, to effect this, he would arm his followers with bamboos, which should be turned by magic into guns, and would change the weapons of the authorities into water. bamboos were cut, and rudely fashioned to resemble guns, and armed with these, the camp was drilled by the swami (god), as mallayya had come to be called. the assembly next sent word that they were going to loot pachipenta, and when, on the 1st may, two constables came to see how matters stood, the fanatics fell upon them, and beat them to death. the local police endeavoured to recover the bodies, but, owing to the threatening attitude of the swami's followers, had to abandon the attempt. the district magistrate then went to the place in person, collected reserve police from vizagapatam, parvatipur, and jeypore, and at dawn on the 7th may rushed the camp to arrest the swami and the other leaders of the movement. the police were resisted by the mob, and obliged to fire. eleven of the rioters were killed, others wounded or arrested, and the rest dispersed. sixty of them were tried for rioting, and three, including the swami, for murdering the constables. of the latter, the swami died in jail, and the other two were hanged. the swami's infant son, the god krishna, also died, and all trouble ended at once and completely." concerning the konda kapus or konda reddis of the godavari district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes as follows. [153] "the hill reddis, or konda reddis, are a caste of jungle men, having some characteristics in common with the koyas. they usually talk a rough telugu, clipping their words so that it is often difficult to understand them; but it is said that some of them speak koya. they are of slighter build than the koyas, and their villages are even smaller. they will not eat in the house of a koya. they call themselves by various high-sounding titles, such as pandava reddis, raja reddis, and reddis of the solar race (suryavamsa), and do not like the plain name of konda reddi. they recognize no endogamous sub-divisions, but have exogamous septs. in character they resemble the koyas, but are less simple and stupid, and in former years were much given to crime. they live by shifting cultivation. they do not touch beef, but will eat pork. they profess to be both saivites and vaishnavites, and occasionally employ brahman priests at their funerals; and yet they worship the pandavas, the spirits of the hills (or, as they call them, the sons of racha), their ancestors including women who have died before their husbands, and the deity muthyalamma and her brother poturazu, saralamma, and unamalamma. the last three are found in nearly every village. other deities are doddiganga, who is the protector of cattle, and is worshipped when the herds are driven into the forests to graze, and desaganga (or paraganga), who takes the place of the maridamma of the plains, and the muthyalamma of the koyas as goddess of cholera and small-pox. the shrine of saralamma of pedakonda, eight miles east of rekapalle, is a place of pilgrimage, and so is bison hill (papikonda), where an important reddi festival is held every seven or eight years in honour of the pandava brothers, and a huge fat pig, fattened for the occasion, is killed and eaten. the reddis, like the koyas, also observe the harvest festivals. they are very superstitious, believing firmly in sorcery, and calling in wizards in time of illness. their villages are formed into groups like those of the koyas, and the hereditary headmen over these are called by different names, such as dora, muttadar, varnapedda, and kulapatradu. headmen of villages are known as pettadars. they recognise, though they do not frequently practice, marriage by capture. if a parent wishes to show his dislike for a match, he absents himself when the suitor's party calls, and sends a bundle of cold rice after them when they have departed. children are buried. vaishnavite reddis burn their adult dead, while the saivites bury them. satanis officiate as priests to the former, and jangams to the latter. the pyre is kindled by the eldest male of the family, and a feast is held on the fifth day after the funeral. the dead are believed to be born again into their former families." kondaikatti.--the name of a sub-division of vellalas, meaning those who tie the whole mass of hair of the head (kondai) in a knot on the top of the head, as opposed to the kudumi or knot at the back of the partially shaved head. kondaita.--a sub-division of doluva. kondaiyamkottai.--a sub-division of maravan. kondalar.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a sub-caste of vellala. kondalam means women's hair or a kind of dance, and it is possible that the name was returned by people of the deva-dasi caste, who are rising in the social scale, and becoming absorbed in the vellala caste. kondali, of doubtful meaning, has been returned by cultivators and agricultural labourers in north arcot. kondh.--in the administration report of the ganjam agency, 1902-3, mr. c. b. cotterell writes that kondh is an exact transliteration from the vernacular, and he knows of no reason, either sentimental or etymological, for keeping such spelling as khond. it is noted, in the madras census report, 1891, that "the khonds inhabit the hill tracts of ganjam and parts of vizagapatam, and are found also in bengal and the central provinces. they call themselves kui, a name identical with the koi or koya of the godavari agency and the south of the jeypore zemindari. the telugu people call them kotuvandlu. the origin of the name khond is doubtful, but macpherson is, i think, right in deriving it from telugu konda, a hill. there is a tribe in vizagapatam called konda dora or konda kapu, and these people are also frequently called kotuvandlu. all these names are derivatives of the root kô or kû, a mountain. the number of sub-divisions returned is 58. the list includes many names of other castes, a fact which must be in part ascribed to the impossibility of distinguishing the true khonds from persons returned as kondavandlu, kondalu, kotuvandlu, etc., terms which mean simply highlanders, and are applicable to all the hill tribes. for example, 12,164 panos have returned their main caste as khond." in a note on the kui, kandhi, or khond language, mr. g. a. grierson writes as follows. [154] "the kandhs or khonds are a dravidian tribe in the hills of orissa and neighbouring districts. the tribe is commonly known under the name of khond. the oriyas call them kandhs, and the telugu people gonds or kods. the name which they use themselves is ku, and their language should accordingly be denominated kui. the word ku is probably related to koi, one of the names by which the gonds used to denote themselves. the koi dialect of gondi is, however, quite different from kui. the khonds live in the midst of the oriya territory. their habitat is the hills separating the districts of ganjam and vizagapatam in the madras presidency, and continuing northwards into the orissa tributary states, bod, daspalla, and nayagarh, and, crossing the mahanadi, into angul and the khondmals. the khond area further extends into the central provinces, covering the northern part kalahandi, and the south of patna. kui is surrounded on all sides by oriya. towards the south it extends towards the confines of the telugu territory. the language varies locally, all over this area. the differences are not, however, great, though a man from one part of the country often experiences difficulty in understanding the kui spoken in other parts. there are two principal dialects, one eastern, spoken in gumsur and the adjoining parts of bengal, and one western, spoken in chinna kimedi. in the north, kui has come under the influence of the neighbouring aryan forms of speech, and a specimen forwarded from the patna state was written in oriya with a slight admixture of chattisgarhi. the number of kandhs returned at the census of 1891 was 627,388. the language returns, however, give a much smaller figure. the reason is that many kandhs have abandoned their native speech." it has been noted that "the character of the khonds varies as much as their language. where there has been much contact with the plains, it is not as favourable as elsewhere. as a rule, they may be taken to be a bold, and fitfully laborious mountain peasantry of simple, but not undignified manners; upright in their conduct; sincere in their superstitions; proud of their position as landholders; and tenacious of their rights. the linepada khonds affect manners like uriyas, and, among other things, will not eat pork (the flesh of wild pigs excepted). the khond villages have quite the appearance of uriya villages, the houses are built with mud walls, a thing unknown with khonds in other parts of the maliahs; and there is also much neat garden cultivation, which is rare elsewhere, probably because the produce thereof would be appropriated by the uriyas. in 1902, the linepada muttah (settlement) presented the unusual spectacle of a khond ruler as dolabehara, as well as moliko, with the uriya paiks really at his beck and call. in some places, the most valuable portions of the land have passed into the possession of sondis and low-country sowcars (money-lenders), who have pandered to the khonds by advancing them money, the greater portion of which has been expended in drink, the repayment being exacted in land. except in the goomsur maliahs, paddy (rice) cultivation is not extensively carried on by the khonds; elsewhere it is chiefly in the hands of the uriyas. the khonds take little trouble in raising their crops. the result is that, except in the goomsur maliahs, where they grow crops to sell in the market for profit, we find a poverty-stricken race, possessing hardly any agricultural stock, and no signs of affluence. in kimedi, however, they are beginning to follow the example of goomsur, and doubtless their material prosperity would much increase if some check could be devised to save them from the uriyas and sondis, who are steadily acquiring all the wet land, and utilising the khonds merely as cultivators." it is noted by mr. f. fawcett (1902) [155] that "up to within fifteen years ago, the khônds of the ganjam hills would not engage in any ordinary labour. they would not, for example, carry even the smallest article of the district officer's luggage. elephants were accordingly provided by government for carriage of tents and all camp luggage. but there has come a change, and, within the last ten years or so, the khônds have taken to work in the ordinary way. within the last few years, for the first time, the khônds have been emigrating to assam, to work in the tea-gardens. accurate figures are not available, but the estimate of the best authority gives the number as about 3,000. this emigration is now stopped by edict. of course, they do not set out, and go of their own accord. they are taken. the strange thing is that they go willingly." it was enacted, in an order of government, in 1901, [156] that "in exercise of the power conferred by section 3 of the assam labour and emigration act, 1901, and with the previous sanction of the governor-general in council, the governor in council is pleased to prohibit absolutely all persons from recruiting, engaging, inducing, or assisting any native of india to emigrate from the tracts known as the scheduled districts in the district of ganjam to any labour district of assam." in 1908, the madras government approved of certain proposals made by the collector of ganjam for utilising the services of the kondhs in the conservancy of the forests in the pondakhol agency. the following is a summary of these proposals. [157] the chief difficulty to be contended against in pondakhol is podu cultivation. this cultivation is not only devastating the hill tops and upper slopes, which should be kept well covered to preserve water for the upper reaches of the rushikulya river, the chief source of irrigation in ganjam, but is also the origin of most of the forest fires that rage throughout pondakhol in the hot weather. the district forest officer, in discussing matters with the kondhs, was told by some of the villagers that they would forego poduing if they had cattle to plough the lands in the plains and valleys. the supply of buffaloes would form the compensation for a right relinquished. the next aim should be to give the people work in the non-cultivation season, which is from the middle of january to the middle of july. this luckily coincides with the fire season. there is an abundance of useful work that the kondhs can be engaged in, e.g., rendering the demarcation lines permanent, making fire lines, constructing roads, and building inspection sheds. the question arises as to how the khonds should be repaid for their labour. money is of little use to them in this out-of-the-way part of the country, and, if they got it, they would probably go to surada to get drunk on it. it would be better to pay them in food-grain and cloths, and for this purpose departmental shops, and a regular system of accounts, such as are in force among the chenchus in kurnool, would be necessary. in the course of a lament over the change which has come over the kondhs who live in the range of hills near berhampore, mr. s. p. rice writes as follows. [158] "here they live in seclusion and in freedom, but also in the lowest depths of squalor and poverty. once they loved gay colours. true khond dresses, both male and female, are full of stripes and patterns, in blue, yellow, and red. where has gone the love of colour? instead of the long waistcloth ending in tails of blue and red, the man binds about him a wretched rag that can hardly be called a garment. once the women took a delight in decking themselves with flowers, and a pride in the silver ornaments that jangled on their naked breasts. where are now the grasses that adorned them, and the innocence that allowed them to go clothed only to the waist? gone! withered by the blast of the breath of a 'superior civilization.' gone are the hairpins of sambur bone--an inestimable treasure in the eyes of the true hill khond. gone are the floral decorations, and the fantastic head-dresses, which are the pride of the mountain tribes. in dull, unromantic squalor our khond lives, moves, and has his being; arid, ever as he moves, is heard the clanking upon his wrists of the fetters of his debt. yet for all that he is happy." the hairpins referred to above are made from sambur (deer: cervus unicolor) bones, and stuck in the hair of male kondhs. porcupine quills are sometimes used by them as hairpins. the following brief, but interesting summary of the kondhs of ganjam is given by mr. c. f. maccartie. [159] "the staple food of the oriyas is rice, and of the khond also during the two or three months that succeed the harvest. in february, they gather the crop of hill dholl, which, eked out with dry mohwa (bassia) fruit, fresh mangoes, and mango stones ground to a sort of flour, pull them through the hot weather, with the help of various yams and edible roots that are plentiful in the jungles. when the south-west monsoon sets in, dry crops, consisting of millets, hill paddy, and indian corn, are sown, which ripen from august on, and thus afford plentiful means of subsistence. the hot weather is generally called the sukki kalo, or hungry season, as the people are rather pinched just then. turmeric is perhaps the most valuable crop which the khonds raise, as it is the most laborious, in consequence of the time it takes to mature--two full years, and the constant field-work thus entailed, first in sheltering the young plants from the sun by artificial shade, and afterwards in digging, boiling, and burnishing the root for market. tobacco is raised much as in the low country. it is generally grown in back-yards, as elsewhere, and a good deal of care is devoted to its cultivation, as the khonds are inveterate smokers. among the products of the jungles may be included myrabolams (terminalia fruits), tassar silk, cocoons, and dammar, all of which are bartered by the finders to trading panos in small quantities, generally for salt. [honey and wax are said to be collected by the kondhs and benias, who are expert climbers of precipitous rocks and lofty trees. the kondhs recognise four different kinds of bees, known by the following oriya names:--(a) bhaga mohu, a large-sized bee (apis dorsata); (b) sattapuri mohu, building its comb in seven layers (apis indica); (c) binchina mohu, with a comb like a fan; (d) nikiti mohu, a very small bee.] [160] wet paddy is, of course, grown in the valleys and low-lying bottoms, where water is available, and much ingenuity is exercised in the formation of bunds (embankments) to retain the natural supply of moisture. the khond has a dead eye for a natural level; it is surprising how speedily a seemingly impracticable tract of jungle will be converted into paddy fields by a laborious process of levelling by means of a flat board attached to a pair of buffaloes. the chief feature of the dry cultivation is the destructive practice of kumeri. a strip of forest, primeval, if possible, as being more fertile, is burnt, cultivated, and then deserted for a term of years, which may vary from three to thirty, according to the density or otherwise of the population. the kutiah khonds are the chief offenders in respect of kumeri, to which they confine themselves, as they have no ploughs or agricultural cattle. in the rare instances when they grow a little rice, the fields are prepared by manual and pedal labour, as men, women, and children, assemble in the field, and puddle the mud and water until it assumes the desired consistency for the reception of the seed. "the hair is worn long during childhood, but tied into a club when maturity is reached, and turbans are seldom worn. a narrow cloth is bound round the loins, with tartan ends which hang down in front and behind, and a coarse long-cloth is wrapped round the figure when the weather is cold. the war dress of the khonds is elaborate, and consists of a leather cuirass in front, and a flowing red cloak, which, with an arrangement of 'bison' horns and peacock's feathers, is supposed to strike awe into the beholder's mind. khond women wear a red or parti-coloured skirt reaching the knee, the neck and bosom being left bare. pano females generally wear an upper cloth. all tattoo their faces. [tattooing is said to be performed, concurrently with ear-boring, when girls are about ten years old. the tattoo marks are said to represent the implement used in tilling the soil for cultivation, moustache, beard, etc.] ornaments of beads and brass bangles are worn, but the usage of diverse muttas (settlements) varies very much. in some parts of the goomsur maliahs, the use of glass and brass beads is confined to married women, virgins being restricted to decorations composed of plaited grass. matrons wear ten or twelve ear-rings of different patterns, but, in many parts, young girls substitute pieces of broom, which are worn till the wedding day, and then discarded for brazen rings. anklets are indispensable in the dance on account of the jingling noise they make, and gold or silver noserings are very commonly worn. [the kondh of the ganjam maliahs has been described as follows. [161] "he centres his great love of decoration in his hair. this he tends, combs and oils, with infinite care, and twists into a large loose knot, which is caught with curiously shaped pins of sambur bone, gaily coloured combs and bronze hairpins with curiously ornamented designs, and it is then gracefully pinned over the left eyebrow. this knot he decorates according to his fancy with the blue feathers of the jay (indian roller, coracias indica), or the white feathers of the crane and stork, or the feathers of the more gorgeous peacock. two feathers generally wave in front, while many more float behind. this knot, in the simple economy of his life, also does duty as a pocket or pincushion, for into it he stuffs his knife, his half-smoked cigarette of home-grown tobacco rolled in a sal (shorea robusta) leaf, or even his snuff wrapped in another leaf pinned together with a thorn. round his waist he wraps a white cloth, bordered with a curious design in blue and red, of excellent home manufacture, and over his shoulder is borne his almost inseparable companion, the tanghi, of many curious shapes, consisting of an iron blade with a long wooden handle ornamented with brass wire. in certain places, he very frequently carries a bow and arrows, the former made of bent bamboo, the string of a long strip of bark, and the handle ornamented with stripes of the white quills of the peacock.] "the khonds are very keen in the pursuit of game, for which the hot weather is the appointed time, and, during this period, a sambar or 'bison' has but little chance of escape if once wounded by an arrow, as they stick to the trail like sleuth hounds, and appear insensible to distance or fatigue. the arms they carry are the bow, arrows, and tangi, a species of light battle-axe that inflicts a serious wound. the women are not addicted to drink, but the males are universally attached to liquor, especially during the hot weather, when the sago palm (solopo: caryota urens) is in full flow. they often run up sheds in the jungle, near especially good trees, and drink for days together. a great many deaths occur at this season by falls from trees when tapping the liquor. feasts and sacrifices are occasions for drinking to excess, and the latter especially are often scenes of wild intoxication, the liquor used being either mohwa, or a species of strong beer brewed from rice or koeri. khond women, when once married, appear to keep pretty straight, but there is a good deal of quiet immorality among the young men and girls, especially during the commencement of the hot weather, when parties are made up for fishing or the collection of mohwa fruit and other jungle berries. at the same time, a certain sense of shame exists, as instances are not at all uncommon of double suicide, when a pair of too ardent lovers are blown upon, and their liaison is discovered. "the generality of khond and pâno houses are constructed of broad sâl logs hewn out with the axe, and thatched with jungle grass, which is impervious to white-ants. in bamboo jungles, bamboo is substituted for sâl. the khond houses are substantially built but very low, the pitch of the roof never exceeding 8 feet, and the eaves being only about 4 feet from the ground, the object being to ensure resistance to the violent storms that prevail during the monsoons. "intermarriage between khonds, pânos, and uriyas is not recognised, but cases do occur when a pâno induces a khond woman to go off with him. she may live with him as his wife, but no ceremony takes place. if a pâno commits adultery with a khond married woman, he has to pay a paronjo, or a fine of a buffalo, to the husband who retains his wife, and in addition a goat, a pig, a basket of paddy, a rupee, and a cavady (shoulder-pole) load of pots. if the adulterer is a khond, he gets off with payment of the buffalo, which is slaughtered for the entertainment of the village. the husband retains his wife in this case, as also if he finds her pregnant when first she comes to him; this is not an uncommon incident. divorce of the wife on the husband's part is thus very rare, if it occurs at all, but cases are not unknown where the wife divorces her husband, and adopts a fresh alliance. when this takes place, her father has to return the whole of the gifts known as gontis, which the bridegroom paid for his wife when the marriage was originally arranged." in a note on the tribes of the agency tracts of the vizagapatam district, mr. w. francis writes as follows. [162] "of these, by far the most numerous are the khonds, who are about 150,000 strong. an overwhelming majority of this number, however, are not the wild barbarous khonds regarding whom there is such a considerable literature, and who are so prominent in ganjam, but a series of communities descended from them, which exhibit infinite degrees of difference from their more interesting progenitors, according to the grade of civilisation to which they have attained. the only really primitive khonds in vizagapatam are the dongria (jungle) khonds of the north of bissamkatak taluk, the desya khonds who live just south-west of them in and around the nimgiris, and the kuttiya (hill) khonds of the hills in the north-east of the gunupur taluk. the kuttiya khond men wear ample necklets of white beads and prominent brass earrings, but otherwise they dress like any other hill people. their women, however, have a distinctive garb, putting on a kind of turban on state occasions, wearing nothing above the waist except masses of white bead necklaces which almost cover their breasts, and carrying a series of heavy brass bracelets half way up their forearms. the dhangadi basa system (separate hut for unmarried girls to sleep in) prevails among them in its simplest form, and girls have opportunities for the most intimate acquaintance before they need inform their parents they wish to marry. special ceremonies are practiced to prevent the spirits of the dead (especially of those killed by tigers) from returning to molest the living. except totemistic septs, they have apparently no sub-divisions. [163] the dress of the civilised khonds of both sexes is ordinary and uninteresting. these civilised khonds worship all degrees of deities, from their own tribal jakara down to the orthodox hindu gods; follow every gradation of marriage and funeral customs from those of their primitive forefathers to those of the low-country telugu; speak dialects which range from good khond through bastard patois down to corrupt telugu; and allow their totemistic septs to be degraded down to, or divided into, the intiperulu of the plains." there is a tradition that, in olden days, four kondhs, named kasi, mendora, bolti, and bolo, with eyes the size of brass pots, teeth like axe-heads, and ears like elephant's ears, brought their ancestor mandia patro from jorasingi in boad, and gave him and his children authority all over the country now comprised in mahasingi, and in kurtilli barakhumma, bodogodo, balliguda, and pussangia, on condition of settling their disputes, and aiding them in their rights. the following legendary account of the origin of the kondhs is given by mr. a. b. jayaram moodaliar. once upon a time, the ground was all wet, and there were only two females on the earth, named karaboodi and tharthaboodi, each of whom was blessed with a single male child. the names of the children were kasarodi and singarodi. all these individuals sprang from the interior of the earth, together with two small plants called nangakoocha and badokoocha, on which they depended for subsistence. one day, when karaboodi was cutting these plants for cooking, she accidentally cut the little finger of her left hand, and the blood dropped on the ground. instantly, the wet soft earth on which it fell became dry and hard. the woman then cooked the food, and gave some of it to her son, who asked her why it tasted so much sweeter than usual. she replied that she might have a dream that night, and, if so, would let him know. next morning, the woman told him that, if he would act on her advice, he would prosper in this world, that he was not to think of her as his mother, and was to cut away the flesh of her back, dig several holes in the ground, bury the flesh, and cover the holes with stones. this her son did, and the rest of the body was cremated. the wet soil dried up and became hard, and all kinds of animals and trees came into existence. a partridge scratched the ground with its feet, and ragi (millet), maize, dhal (pea), and rice sprung forth from it. the two brothers argued that, as the sacrifice of their mother brought forth such abundance, they must sacrifice their brothers, sisters, and others, once a year in future.a god, by name boora panoo, came, with his wife and children, to tharthaboodi and the two young men, to whom boora panoo's daughters were married. they begat children, who were divided equally between boora panoo the grandfather and their fathers. tharthaboodi objected to this division on the grounds that boora panoo's son would stand in the relation of mamoo to the children of kasarodi and singarodi; that, if the child was a female, when she got married, she would have to give a rupee to her mamoo; and that, if it was a male that boora panoo's daughter brought forth, the boy when he grew up would have to give the head of any animal he shot to mamoo (boora panoo's son). then boora panoo built a house, and kasarodi and singarodi built two houses. all lived happily for two years. then karaboodi appeared in a dream, and told kasarodi and singarodi that, if they offered another human victim, their lands would be very fertile, and their cattle could flourish. in the absence of a suitable being, they sacrificed a monkey. then karaboodi appeared once more, and said that she was not pleased with the substitution of the monkey, and that a human being must be sacrificed. the two men, with their eight children, sought for a victim for twelve years. at the end of that time, they found a poor man, who had a son four years old, and found him, his wife and child good food, clothing, and shelter for a year. they then asked permission to sacrifice the son in return for their kindness, and the father gave his assent. the boy was fettered and handcuffed to prevent his running away, and taken good care of. liquor was prepared from grains, and a bamboo, with a flag hoisted on it, planted in the ground. next day, a pig was sacrificed near this post, and a feast was held. it was proclaimed that the boy would be tied to a post on the following day, and sacrificed on the third day. on the night previous to the sacrifice, the janni (priest) took a reed, and poked it into the ground in several places. when it entered to a depth of about eight inches, it was believed that the god and goddess tadapanoo and dasapanoo were there. round this spot, seven pieces of wood were arranged lengthways and crossways, and an egg was placed in the centre of the structure. the khonds arrived from the various villages, and indulged in drink. the boy was teased, and told that he had been sold to them, that his sorrow would affect his parents only, and that he was to be sacrificed for the prosperity of the people. he was conducted to the spot where the god and goddess had been found, tied with ropes, and held fast by the khonds. he was made to lie on his stomach on the wooden structure, and held there. pieces of flesh were removed from his back, arms and legs, and portions thereof buried at the khond's place of worship. portions were also set up near a well of drinking water, and placed around the villages. the remainder of the sacrificed corpse was cremated on a pyre set alight with fire produced by the friction of two pieces of wood. on the following day, a buffalo was sacrificed, and a feast partaken of. next day, the bamboo post was removed outside the village, and a fowl and eggs were offered to the deity. the following stanza is still recited by the janni at the buffalo sacrifice, which has been substituted for that of a human victim:--oh! come, male slave; come, female slave. what do you say? what do you call out for? you have been brought, ensnared by the haddi. you have been called, ensnared by the domba. what can i do, even if you are my child? you are sold for a pot of food. the ethnological section of the madras museum received a few years ago a very interesting relic in the shape of a human (meriah) sacrifice post from baligudu in ganjam. this post, which was fast being reduced to a mere shell by white-ants, is, i believe, the only one now in existence. it was brought by colonel pickance, who was assistant superintendent of police, and set up in the ground near the gate of the reserve police barracks. the veteran members of a party of kondhs, who were brought to madras for the purpose of performing before the prince and princess of wales in 1906, became wildly excited when they came across this relic of their former barbarous custom. "the best known case," mr. frazer writes, [164] "of human sacrifices systematically offered to ensure good crops is supplied by the khonds or kandhs. our knowledge of them is derived from the accounts written by british officers, who, forty or fifty years ago, were engaged in putting them down. the sacrifices were offered to the earth goddess, tari pennu or bera pennu, and were believed to ensure good crops, and immunity from all diseases and accidents. in particular, they were considered necessary in the cultivation of turmeric, the khonds arguing that the turmeric could not have a deep red colour without the shedding of blood. the victim, a meriah, was acceptable to the goddess only if he had been purchased, or had been born a victim, that is the son of a victim father, or had been devoted as a child by his father or guardian." in 1837, mr. russell, in a report on the districts entrusted to his control, wrote as follows. [165] "the ceremonies attending the barbarous rite, and still more the mode of destroying life, vary in different parts of the country. in the maliahs of goomsur, the sacrifice is offered annually to thadha pennoo (the earth) under the effigy of a bird intended to represent a peacock, with the view of propitiating the deity to grant favourable seasons and crops. the ceremony is performed at the expense of, and in rotation by, certain mootahs (settlements) composing a community, and connected together from local circumstances. besides these periodical sacrifices, others are made by single mootahs, and even by individuals, to avert any threatening calamity from sickness, murrain, or other cause. grown men are the most esteemed (as victims), because the most costly. children are purchased, and reared for years with the family of the person who ultimately devotes them to a cruel death, when circumstances are supposed to demand a sacrifice at his hands. they seem to be treated with kindness, and, if young, are kept under no constraint; but, when old enough to be sensible of the fate which awaits them, they are placed in fetters and guarded. most of those who were rescued had been sold by their parents or nearest relations, a practice which, from all we could learn, is very common. persons of riper age are kidnapped by wretches who trade in human flesh. the victim must always be purchased. criminals, or prisoners captured in war, are not considered fitting subjects. the price is paid indifferently in brass utensils, cattle or corn. the zanee (or priest), who may be of any caste, officiates at the sacrifice, but he performs the poojah (offering of flowers, incense, etc.) to the idol through the medium of the toomba, who must be a khond child under seven years of age. this child is fed and clothed at the public expense, eats with no other person, and is subjected to no act deemed impure. for a month prior to the sacrifice, there is much feasting and intoxication, and dancing round the meriah, who is adorned with garlands, etc., and, on the day before the performance of the barbarous rite, is stupefied with toddy, and made to sit, or, if necessary, is bound at the bottom of a post bearing the effigy above described. the assembled multitude then dance around to music, and addressing the earth, say: 'oh! god, we offer the sacrifice to you. give us good crops, seasons, and health.' after which they address the victim, 'we bought you with a price, and did not seize you. now we sacrifice you according to custom, and no sin rests with us.' on the following day, the victim being again intoxicated and anointed with oil, each individual present touches the anointed part, and wipes the oil on his own head. all then proceed in procession around the village and its boundaries, preceded by music, bearing the victim and a pole, to the top of which is attached a tuft of peacock's feathers. on returning to the post, which is always placed near the village deity called zakaree pennoo, and represented by three stones, near which the brass effigy in the shape of a peacock is buried, they kill a hog in sacrifice and, having allowed the blood to flow into a pit prepared for the purpose, the victim, who, if it has been found possible, has been previously made senseless from intoxication, is seized and thrown in, and his face pressed down until he is suffocated in the bloody mire amid the noise of instruments. the zanee then cuts a piece of flesh from the body, and buries it with ceremony near the effigy and village idol, as an offering to the earth. all the rest afterwards go through the same form, and carry the bloody prize to their villages, where the same rites are performed, part being interred near the village idol, and little bits on the boundaries. the head and face remain untouched, and the bones, when bare, are buried with them in the pit. after this horrid ceremony has been completed, a buffalo calf is brought in front of the post, and, his forefeet having been cut off, is left there till the following day. women, dressed in male attire and armed as men, then drink, dance and sing round the spot, the calf is killed and eaten, and the zanee is dismissed with a present of rice and a hog or calf." in the same year, mr. arbuthnot, collector of vizagapatam, reported as follows. "of the hill tribe codooloo, there are said to be two distinct classes, the cotia codooloo and jathapoo codooloo. the former class is that which is in the habit of offering human sacrifices to the god called jenkery, with a view to secure good crops. this ceremony is generally performed on the sunday preceding or following the pongal feast. the victim is seldom carried by force, but procured by purchase, and there is a fixed price for each person, which consists of forty articles such as a bullock, a male buffalo, a cow, a goat, a piece of cloth, a silk cloth, a brass pot, a large plate, a bunch of plantains, etc. the man who is destined for the sacrifice is carried before the god, and a small quantity of rice coloured with saffron (turmeric) is put upon his head. the influence of this is said to prevent his attempting to escape, even though set at liberty. it would appear, however, that, from the moment of his seizure till he is sacrificed, he is kept in a continued state of stupefaction or intoxication. he is allowed to wander about the village, to eat and drink anything he may take a fancy to, and even to have connection with any of the women whom he may meet. on the morning set apart for the sacrifice, he is carried before the idol in a state of intoxication. one of the villagers acts as priest, who cuts a small hole in the stomach of the victim, and with the blood that flows from the wound the idol is smeared. then the crowds from the neighbouring villages rush forward, and he is literally cut into pieces. each person who is so fortunate as to procure it carries away a morsel of the flesh, and presents it to the idol of his own village." concerning a method of sacrifice, which is illustrated by the post preserved in the madras museum, colonel campbell records [166] that "one of the most common ways of offering the sacrifice in chinna kimedi is to the effigy of an elephant (hatti mundo or elephant's head) rudely carved in wood, fixed on the top of a stout post, on which it is made to revolve. after the performance of the usual ceremonies, the intended victim is fastened to the proboscis of the elephant, and, amidst the shouts and yells of the excited multitude of khonds, is rapidly whirled round, when, at a given signal by the officiating zanee or priest, the crowd rush in, seize the meriah, and with their knives cut the flesh off the shrieking wretch as long as life remains. he is then cut down, the skeleton burnt, and the horrid orgies are over. in several villages i counted as many as fourteen effigies of elephants, which had been used in former sacrifices. these i caused to be overthrown by the baggage elephants attached to my camp in the presence of the assembled khonds, to show them that these venerated objects had no power against the living animal, and to remove all vestiges of their bloody superstition." in another report, colonel campbell describes how the miserable victim is dragged along the fields, surrounded by a crowd of half intoxicated khonds, who, shouting and screaming, rush upon him, and with their knives cut the flesh piecemeal from the bones, avoiding the head and bowels, till the living skeleton, dying from loss of blood, is relieved from torture, when its remains are burnt, and the ashes mixed with the new grain to preserve it from insects." yet again, he describes a sacrifice which was peculiar to the khonds of jeypore. "it is," he writes, "always succeeded by the sacrifice of three human beings, two to the sun to the east and west of the village, and one in the centre, with the usual barbarities of the meriah. a stout wooden post about six feet long is firmly fixed in the ground, at the foot of it a narrow grave is dug, and to the top of the post the victim is firmly fastened by the long hair of his head. four assistants hold his outstretched arms and legs, the body being suspended horizontally over the grave, with the face towards the earth. the officiating junna or priest, standing on the right side, repeats the following invocation, at intervals hacking with his sacrificial knife the back part of the shrieking victim's neck. 'o! mighty manicksoro, this is your festal day. to the khonds the offering is meriah, to kings junna. on account of this sacrifice, you have given to kings kingdoms, guns and swords. the sacrifice we now offer you must eat, and we pray that our battle-axes may be converted into swords, our bows and arrows into gunpowder and balls; and, if we have any quarrels with other tribes, give us the victory. preserve us from the tyranny of kings and their officers.' then, addressing the victim:--'that we may enjoy prosperity, we offer you a sacrifice to our god manicksoro, who will immediately eat you, so be not grieved at our slaying you. your parents were aware, when we purchased you from them for sixty rupees, that we did so with intent to sacrifice you. there is, therefore, no sin on our heads, but on your parents. after you are dead, we shall perform your obsequies.' the victim is then decapitated, the body thrown into the grave, and the head left suspended from the post till devoured by wild beasts. the knife remains fastened to the post till the three sacrifices have been performed, when it is removed with much ceremony. in an account by captain mac viccar of the sacrifice as carried out at eaji deso, it is stated that on the day of sacrifice the meriah is surrounded by the khonds, who beat him violently on the head with the heavy metal bangles which they purchase at the fairs, and wear on these occasions. if this inhuman smashing does not immediately destroy the victim's life, an end is put to his sufferings by strangulation, a slit bamboo being used for the purpose. strips of flesh are then cut off the back, and each recipient of the precious treasure carries his portion to the stream which waters his fields, and there suspends it on a pole. the remains of the mangled corpse are then buried, and funeral obsequies are performed seven days subsequently, and repeated one year afterwards." the kondhs of bara mootah promised to relinquish the rite on condition, inter alia, that they should be at liberty to sacrifice buffaloes, monkeys, goats, etc., to their deities with all the solemnities observed on occasions of human sacrifice; and that they should be at liberty, upon all occasions, to denounce to their gods the government, and some of its servants in particular, as the cause of their having relinquished the great rite. the last recorded meriah sacrifice in the ganjam maliahs occurred in 1852, and there are still kondhs alive, who were present at it. twenty-five descendants of persons who were reserved for sacrifice, but were rescued by government officers, returned themselves as meriah at the census, 1901. the kondhs have now substituted a buffalo for a human being. the animal is hewn to pieces while alive, and the villagers rush home to their villages, to bury the flesh in the soil, and so secure prosperous crops. the sacrifice is not unaccompanied by risk to the performers, as the buffalo, before dying, frequently kills one or more of its tormenters. this was the case near baliguda in 1899, when a buffalo killed the sacrificer. in the previous year, the desire of a village to intercept the bearer of the flesh for a neighbouring village led to a fight, in which two men were killed. it was the practice, a few years ago, at every dassara festival in jeypore, vizagapatam, to select a specially fine ram, wash it, shave its head, affix thereto red and white bottu and namam (sect marks) between the eyes and down the nose, and gird it with a new white cloth after the manner of a human being. the animal being then fastened in a sitting posture, certain puja (worship) was performed by a brahman priest, and it was decapitated. the substitution of animals for human victims is indicated by various religious legends. thus, a hind was substituted for iphigenia, and a ram for isaac. it was stated by the officers of the meriah agency that there was reason to believe that the raja of jeypore, when he was installed on his father's death in 1860-61, sacrificed a girl thirteen years of age at the shrine of the goddess durga in the town of jeypore. [167] it is noted, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district (1907), that "goats and buffaloes now-a-days take the place of human meriah victims, but the belief in the superior efficacy of the latter dies hard, and every now and again revives. when the rampa rebellion of 1879-80 spread in this district, several cases of human sacrifice occurred in the disturbed tracts. in 1880, two persons were convicted of attempting a meriah sacrifice near ambadala in bissamkatak. in 1883, a man (a beggar and a stranger) was found at daybreak murdered in one of the temples in jeypore, in circumstances which pointed to his having been slain as a meriah; and, as late as 1886, a formal enquiry showed that there were ample grounds for the suspicion that the kidnapping of victims still went on in bastar." as recently as 1902, a petition was presented to the district magistrate of ganjam, asking him to sanction the performance of a human sacrifice. the memory of the abandoned practice is kept green by one of the kondh songs, for a translation of which we are indebted to mr. j. e. friend-pereira. [168] "at the time of the great kiabon (campbell) sahib's coming, the country was in darkness; it was enveloped in mist. having sent paiks to collect the people of the land, they, having surrounded them, caught the meriah sacrificers. having caught the meriah sacrificers, they brought them, and again they went and seized the evil councillors. having seen the chains and shackles, the people were afraid; murder and bloodshed were quelled. then the land became beautiful, and a certain mokodella (macpherson) sahib came. he destroyed the lairs of the tigers and bears in the hills and rocks, and taught wisdom to the people. after the lapse of a month, he built bungalows and schools; and he advised them to learn reading and law. they learnt wisdom and reading; they acquired silver and gold. then all the people became wealthy." human sacrifice was not practiced in the kurtilli muttah of the ganjam maliahs. the reason of this is assigned to the fact that the first attempt was made with a crooked knife, and the sacrificers made such a bad business of it that they gave it up. colonel campbell gives another tradition, that, through humanity, one of the kurtilli patros (head of a group of villages) threatened to leave the muttah if the practice was carried out. of a substituted sacrifice, which was carried out in the ganjam maliahs in 1894, [169] the following graphic account has been given. "suddenly we came upon a number of khonds carrying an immensely long bamboo, about fifty feet in length, surmounted by a gorgeous sort of balloon made of red and white cloth stretched on a bamboo frame. attached to this were dried strips of pig's flesh, and the whole of the extraordinary structure was surmounted by a huge plume of peacock's feathers that waved gaily in the breeze. along with this was carried another bamboo, not so long, slung all over with iron bells. we found that the men had been worshipping, and presenting these structures to a sylvan deity close by, and were now hastening to the small khond village of dhuttiegaum, the scene of the present meriah sacrifice. half a mile brought us to this hamlet, situated amongst a dense grove of trees, in the midst of which was tied to a curiously fluted and carved wooden post the sacrificial buffalo, a placid animal, with its body glistening with the oil of many anointings. the huge bamboo pole, with its crown of red and white cloth and peacock's feathers, and incongruous shreds of dried pig's flesh, was now erected in the centre of the village. the comparative quiet in the village did not last long, for on a sudden the air was rent with a succession of shrieks. with the sound of the beating of maliah drums, and the blowing of buffalo horns, a party of khonds came madly dancing and rushing down a steep hillside from some neighbouring village. they dashed up to the buffalo, and began frantically dancing with the villagers already assembled round and round the animal. each man carried a green bough of some tree, a sharp knife, and a tanghi. they were all adorned in holiday attire, their hair combed and knotted on the forehead, and profusely decorated with waving feathers. all of them were more or less intoxicated. various other villagers now began to arrive, thick and fast, in the same manner, with wavings of green boughs, flourishing of knives, and hideous yells. each party was led by the headman or moliko of the village. the dancing now became more general, and faster and more furious, as more and more joined the human 'merry go round,' circling about the unfortunate buffalo. the women, who had followed their lords and masters at a discreet distance, stood sedately by in a group, and took no part whatever in the revels. they were for the most part fine buxom girls, well groomed and oiled, and stood demurely watching everything with their sharp black eyes. the hitherto quiet buffalo, who for nearly two days had been without food and water, now began to get excited, and, straining at its tether, plunged and butted at the dancers, catching one man neatly on the nose so that the blood flowed copiously. however, the khonds were too excited to care, and circled round and round the poor maddened brute, singing and blowing horns into its ears, beating drums, and every now and then offering it cakes brought with them from their villages, and then laying them on the top of the post as offerings. as they thus madly careered about, we had ample time to note their extraordinary costumes. one man had somehow got hold of an old blue police overcoat, which he had put on inside out, and round his waist he had gathered what seemed to be a number of striped tent carpets, forming a stiff ballet skirt or kilt. he was one of the most athletic in spinning round the buffalo, flourishing a kitchen chopper. another man's costume consisted of almost nothing at all. he had, however, profusely daubed his body with white and black spots, and on his head he had centred all his decorative genius. the head in question was swathed in yards of cloth, terminating at the back in a perfect cascade of cock's feathers. he excitedly waved over this erection an ancient and very rusty umbrella, with many ventilations, with streamers of white cloth attached to the top. others had tied on to their heads with bands of cloth the horns of buffaloes, or brass horns made in imitation of those of the spotted deer. their long, black and curly hair hung in masses from beneath this strange erection, giving them a most startling appearance. the dancing round the buffalo lasted quite two hours, as they were waiting for the arrival of the patro, before concluding the final ceremonies, and the great man was fashionably late. to incite their jaded energies to further terpsichorean efforts, from time to time the dancers drank copious draughts of a kind of beer, used specially on these occasions, and made from kukuri, a species of grain. at last, the long expected patro arrived with the usual uproar of many deafening sounds, both artificial and natural, and with the waving of green boughs. on this occasion he walked last, while the whole of his retinue preceded him dancing, headed by an ancient and withered hag, carrying on her shoulders a maliah drum of cow-hide stretched tightly over a hoop of iron, and vigorously beaten from behind her by a khond with stiff thongs of dried leather. the great man himself walked sedately, followed by his 'charger,' a broken-kneed tat (pony), extraordinarily caparisoned, and led by a youth of tender years, whose sole garment consisted of a faded red drummer's coat of antiquated cut. as soon as the patro had seated himself comfortably on a log near the dancers, a change came over the scene. the hitherto shouting and madly revolving throng stopped their gyrations round the stupefied beast, too much exhausted and frightened to offer any resistance, and, falling on its neck and body, began to smother it with caresses and endearments, and, to a low plaintive air, crooned and wailed over it, the following dirge, of which i append a rude translation. tradition says that they used to sing it, with slight variations, over their human victims before the sacrifice:- blame us not, o buffalo! thus for sacrificing thee, for our fathers have ordained this ancient mystery. we have bought thee with a price, have paid for thee all thy worth. what blame can rest upon us, who save our land from dearth? famine stares us in the face, parched are our fields, and dry, death looks in at ev'ry door, for food our young ones cry. thadi pennoo veils her face, propitiate me, she cries, give to me of flesh and blood, a willing sacrifice. that where'er its blood is shed, on land, or field, or hill, there the gen'rous grain may spring, so ye may eat your fill. then be glad, o buffalo! willing sacrifice to be, soon in thadi's meadows green, thou shalt brouse eternally. after the khonds had been chanting this sacrificial hymn for some time, the buffalo was untied from the carved post, and led, with singing, dancing and shouting, and with the noise of many musical instruments, to a sacred grove a few hundred yards off, and there tied to a stake. as soon as it had been firmly tied, the khonds threw off all their superfluous clothing to the large crowd of womankind waiting near, and stood round the animal, each man with his hand uplifted, and holding a sharp knife ready to strike at a moment's notice, as soon as the priest or janni had given the word of command. the janni, who did not differ outwardly from the others, now gave the buffalo a slight tap on the head with a small axe. an indescribable scene followed. the khonds in a body fell on the animal, and, in an amazingly short time, literally tore the living victim to shreds with their knives, leaving nothing but the head, bones, and stomach. death must, mercifully, have been almost instantaneous. every particle of flesh and skin had been stripped off during the few minutes they fought and struggled over the buffalo, eagerly grasping for every atom of flesh. as soon as a man had secured a piece of flesh, he rushed away with the gory mass, as fast as he could, to his fields, to bury it therein according to ancient custom, before the sun had set. as some of them had to do good distances to effect this, it was imperative that they should run very fast. a curious scene now took place, for which we could obtain no explanation. as the men ran, all the women flung after them clods of earth, some of them taking very good effect. the sacred grove was cleared of people, save a few that guarded the remnants left of the buffalo, which were taken, and burnt with ceremony at the foot of the stake." i pass on to the subject of infanticide among the kondhs. it is stated, in the manual of the vizagapatam district, that female infanticide used to be very common all over the jeypore country, and the rajah is said to have made money out of it in one large taluk (division). the custom was to consult the dasari (priest) when a child was born as to its fate. if it was to be killed, the parents had to pay the amin of the taluk a fee for the privilege of killing it; and the amin used to pay the rajah three hundred rupees a year for renting the privilege of giving the license and pocketing the fees. the practice of female infanticide was formerly very prevalent among the kondhs of ganjam, and, in 1841, lieutenant macpherson was deputed to carry into effect the measures which had been proposed by lord elphinstone for the suppression of the meriah sacrifices and infanticide. the custom was ascribed to various beliefs, viz., (1) that it was an injunction by god, as one woman made the whole world suffer; (2) that it conduces to male offspring; (3) that woman, being a mischief-maker, is better out of the world than in it; (4) that the difficulty, owing to poverty, in providing marriage portions was an objection to rearing females. from macpherson's well known report [170] the following extracts are taken. "the portion of the khond country, in which the practice of female infanticide is known to prevail, is roughly estimated at 2,400 square miles, its population at 60,000, and the number of infants destroyed annually at 1,200 to 1,500. the tribes (who practice infanticide) belong to the division of the khond people which does not offer human sacrifices. the usage of infanticide has existed amongst them from time immemorial. it owes its origin and its maintenance partly to religious opinions, partly to ideas from which certain very important features of khond manners arise. the khonds believe that the supreme deity, the sun god, created all things good; that the earth goddess introduced evil into the world; and that these two powers have since conflicted. the non-sacrificing tribes make the supreme deity the great object of their adoration, neglecting the earth goddess. the sacrificing tribes, on the other hand, believe the propitiation of the latter power to be the most necessary worship. now the tribes which practice female infanticide hold that the sun god, in contemplating the deplorable effects produced by the creation of feminine nature, charged men to bring up only as many females as they could restrain from producing evil to society. this is the first idea upon which the usage is founded. again, the khonds believe that souls almost invariably return to animate human forms in the families in which they have been first born and received. but the reception of the soul of an infant into a family is completed only on the performance of the ceremony of naming upon the seventh day after its birth. the death of a female infant, therefore, before that ceremonial of reception, is believed to exclude its soul from the circle of family spirits, diminishing by one the chance of future female births in the family. and, as the first aspiration of every khond is to have male children, this belief is a powerful incentive to infanticide." macpherson, during his campaign, came across many villages of about a hundred houses, in which there was not a single female child. in like manner, in 1855, captain frye found many baro bori khond villages without a single female child in them. in savage societies, it has been said, sexual unions were generally effected by the violent capture of the woman. by degrees these captures have become friendly ones, and have ended in a peaceful exogamy, retaining the ancient custom only in the ceremonial form. whereof an excellent example is afforded by the kondhs, concerning whom the author of the ganjam manual writes as follows. "the parents arrange the marriages of their children. the bride is looked upon as a commercial speculation, and is paid for in gontis. a gonti is one of anything, such as a buffalo, a pig, or a brass pot; for instance, a hundred gontis might consist of ten bullocks, ten buffaloes, ten sacks of corn, ten sets of brass, twenty sheep, ten pigs, and thirty fowls. the usual price, however, paid by the bridegroom's father for the bride, is twenty or thirty gontis. a khond finds his wife from among the women of any mutah (village) than his own. on the day fixed for the bride being taken home to her husband's house, the pieces of broom in her ears are removed, and are replaced by brass rings. the bride is covered over with a red blanket, and carried astride on her uncle's back towards the husband's village, accompanied by the young women of her own village. music is played, and in the rear are carried brass playthings, such as horses, etc., for the bridegroom, and cloths and brass pins as presents for the bridegroom from the bride's father. on the road, at the village boundary, the procession is met by the bridegroom and the young men of his village, with their heads and bodies wrapped up in blankets and cloths. each is armed with a bundle of long thin bamboo sticks. the young women of the bride's village at once attack the bridegroom's party with sticks, stones, and clods of earth, which the young men ward off with the bamboo sticks. a running fight is in this manner kept up until the village is reached, when the stone-throwing invariably ceases, and the bridegroom's uncle, snatching up the bride, carries her off to her husband's house. this fighting is by no means child's play, and the men are sometimes seriously injured. the whole party is then entertained by the bridegroom as lavishly as his means will permit. on the day after the bride's arrival, a buffalo and a pig are slaughtered and eaten, and, upon the bride's attendants returning home on the evening of the second day, a male and female buffalo, or some less valuable present, is given to them. on the third day, all the khonds of the village have a grand dance or tamasha (festivity), and on the fourth day there is another grand assembly at the house of the bridegroom. the bride and bridegroom are then made to sit down on a cot, and the bridegroom's brother, pointing upwards to the roof of the house, says: "as long as this girl stays with us, may her children be as men and tigers; but, if she goes astray, may her children be as snakes and monkeys, and die and be destroyed!" in his report upon the kondhs (1842), macpherson tells us that "they hold a feast at the bride's house. far into the night the principals in the scene are raised by an uncle of each upon his shoulders, and borne through the dance. the burdens are suddenly exchanged, and the uncle of the youth disappears with the bride. the assembly divides itself into two parties. the friends of the bride endeavour to arrest, those of the bridegroom to cover her flight, and men, women, and children mingle in mock conflict. i saw a man bearing away upon his back something enveloped in an ample covering of scarlet cloth. he was surrounded by twenty or thirty young fellows, and by them protected from the desperate attacks made upon him by a party of young women. the man was just married, and the burden was his blooming bride, whom he was conveying to his own village. her youthful friends were, according to custom, seeking to regain possession of her, and hurled stones and bamboos at the head of the devoted bridegroom, until he reached the confines of his own village. then the tables were turned, and the bride was fairly won; and off her young friends scampered, screaming and laughing, but not relaxing their speed till they reached their own village." among the kondhs of gumsur, the friends and relations of the bride and bridegroom collect at an appointed spot. the people of the female convoy call out to the others to come and take the bride, and then a mock fight with stones and thorny brambles is begun by the female convoy against the parties composing the other one. in the midst of the tumult the assaulted party takes possession of the bride, and all the furniture brought with her, and carry all off together. [171] according to another account, the bride, as soon as she enters the bridegroom's house, has two enormous bracelets, or rather handcuffs of brass, each weighing from twenty to thirty pounds, attached to each wrist. the unfortunate girl has to sit with her two wrists resting on her shoulders, so as to support these enormous weights. this is to prevent her from running away to her old home. on the third day the bangles are removed, as it is supposed that by then the girl has become reconciled to her fate. these marriage bangles are made on the hills, and are curiously carved in fluted and zigzag lines, and kept as heirlooms in the family, to be used at the next marriage in the house. according to a still more recent account of marriage among the kondhs [172] an old woman suddenly rushes forward, seizes the bride, flings her on her back, and carries her off. a man comes to the front, catches the groom, and places him astride on his shoulder. the human horses neigh and prance about like the live quadruped, and finally rush away to the outskirts of the village. this is a signal for the bride's girl friends to chase the couple, and pelt them with clods of earth, stones, mud, cowdung, and rice. when the mock assault is at an end, the older people come up, and all accompany the bridal pair to the groom's village. a correspondent informs me that he once saw a kondh bride going to her new home, riding on her uncle's shoulders, and wrapped in a red blanket. she was followed by a bevy of girls and relations, and preceded by drums and horns. he was told that the uncle had to carry her the whole way, and that, if he had to put her down, a fine of a buffalo was inflicted, the animal being killed and eaten. it is recorded that a european magistrate once mistook a kondh marriage for a riot, but, on enquiry, discovered his mistake. reference has been made above to certain brass playthings, which are carried in the bridal procession. the figures include peacocks, chamæleons, cobras, crabs, horses, deer, tigers, cocks, elephants, human beings, musicians, etc. they are cast by the cire perdue process. the core of the figure is roughly shaped in clay, according to the usual practice, but, instead of laying on the wax in an even thickness, thin wax threads are first made, and arranged over the core so as to form a network, or placed in parallel lines or diagonally, according as the form of the figure or fancy of the workman dictates. the head, arms, and feet are modelled in the ordinary way. the wax threads are made by means of a bamboo tube, into the end of which a moveable brass plate is fitted. the wax, being made sufficiently soft by heat, is pressed through the perforation at the end of the tube, and comes out in the form of long threads, which must be used by the workmen before they become hard and brittle. the chief place where these figures are made is belugunta, near russellkonda in ganjam. it is noted by mr. j. a. r. stevenson [173] that the kondhs of gumsur, to represent their deities jara pennu, the linga devata, or petri devata, keep in their houses brass figures of elephants, peacocks, dolls, fishes, etc. if affliction happens to any one belonging to the household, or if the country skin eruption breaks out on any of them, they put rice into milk, and, mixing turmeric with it, sprinkle the mixture on the figures, and, killing fowls and sheep, cause worship to be made by the jani, and, making baji, eat. at a marriage among the kondhs of baliguda, after the heads of the bride and bridegroom have been brought together, an arrow is discharged from a bow by the younger brother of the bridegroom into the grass roof of the hut. at the betrothal ceremony of some kondhs, a buffalo and pig are killed, and some of the viscera eaten. various parts are distributed according to an abiding rule, viz., the head to the bridegroom's maternal uncle, the flesh of the sides to his sisters, and of the back among other relations and friends. some kondh boys of ten or twelve years of age are said to be married to girls of fifteen or sixteen. at shubernagiri, in the ganjam maliahs, are two trysting trees, consisting of a jak (artocarpus integrifolia) and mango growing close together. the custom was for a kondh, who was unable to pay the marriage fees to the patro (headman), to meet his love here by night and plight his troth, and then for the two to retire into the jungle for three days and nights before returning to the village. afterwards, they were considered to be man and wife. it is noted by mr. friend-pereira [174] that, at the ceremonial for settling the preliminaries of a kondh marriage, a knotted string is put into the hands of the seridahpa gataru (searchers for the bride), and a similar string is kept by the girl's people. the reckoning of the date of the betrothal ceremony is kept by undoing a knot in the string every morning. some years ago, a young kondh was betrothed to the daughter of another kondh, and, after a few years, managed to pay up the necessary number of gifts. he then applied to the girl's father to name the day for the marriage. before the wedding took place, however, a pano went to the girl's father, and said that she was his daughter (she had been born before her parents were married), and that he was the man to whom the gifts should have been paid. the case was referred to a council meeting, which decided in favour of the pano. of birth ceremonies, the following account is given by mr. jayaram moodaliar. the woman is attended in her confinement by an elderly kondh midwife, who shampooes her abdomen with castor-oil. the umbilical cord is cut by the mother of the infant. for this purpose, the right thigh of the baby is flexed towards its abdomen, and a piece of cooled charcoal placed on its right knee. the cord is placed on the charcoal, and divided with the sharp edge of an arrow. the placenta is buried close to the house near a wall. after the cord has been severed, the mother daubs the region of the infant's navel with her saliva, over which she smears castor-oil. she then warms her hands at a fire, and applies them to the infant's body. [it is stated, in the ganjam manual, that the infant is held before a hot fire, and half roasted.] the warming is repeated several times daily for four or five days. when the umbilical cord has sloughed off, a spider is burnt to ashes over a fire, placed in a cocoanut shell, mixed with castor-oil, and applied by means of a fowl's feather to the navel. the infant's head is shaved, except over the anterior fontanelle, the hair from which is removed after about a month. its body is smeared all over daily with castor-oil and turmeric paste until it is a month old. the mother then goes with her baby and husband to her brother's house, where the infant is presented with a fowl, which is taken home, and eaten by her husband. the appropriation of the fowl varies according to the locality. in some places, the infant's father, and other relations, except the mother, may eat it, and, in others, both its parents, and relations living in the house, may do so. in still other places, the father, paternal grandfather and grandmother, and paternal uncle, may partake of it. the naming ceremony among the kondhs of gumsur is thus described by mr. j. a. r. stevenson. "six months after birth, on a fixed day, they make gaduthuva (the ceremony of naming the child). on that day, killing a dog, and procuring liquor, they make baji. they wash the feet of the child. the jani being come, he ties a cord from the haft to the point of a sickle, and they divine by means of it. having assembled the petrilu (literally ancestors, but here denoting household images or gods), they put rice on the sickle. as the names (of the ancestors or family?) are repeated in order, each time the rice is put on, that name is chosen on the mention of which the sickle moves, and is given to the child. they then drink liquor, and eat baji. they give rice and flesh to the jani." of death ceremonies, the following account is given in the manual of the ganjam district. "immediately after death, a cloth is wrapped round the corpse, but no cloths or valuables are removed. a portion of paddy (unhusked rice), and all the cooking utensils of the deceased are given to the village sitra. [the sitras manufacture the brass rings and bangles worn by the kondhs.] the body is then burnt. on the following day, a little rice is cooked, put on a dish, and laid on the spot where the corpse was burnt. an incantation is then pronounced, requesting the spirit of the deceased person to eat the rice and enjoy itself, and not to change itself into a devil or tiger, and come bothering the survivors in the village. three days after death, the madda ceremony is performed. an effigy of the deceased is prepared of straw, which is stuck up in front of or on the roof of the house, and the relations and friends assemble, lament, and eat at the expense of the people of the deceased's house. each person brings a present of some kind or other, and, on his departure on the next day, receives something of slightly higher value. the death of a man in a village requires a purification, which is made by the sacrifice of a buffalo on the seventh day after death. if a man is killed by a tiger, the purification is made by the sacrifice of a pig, the head of which, cut off with a tangi (axe) by a pano, is passed between the legs of the men in the village, who stand in a line astraddle. it is a bad omen for him if the head touches any man's legs. if the patro attends a funeral, he gets a fee of a goat for firing his gun, to drive away the dead man's ghost." according to mr. jayaram moodaliar, if a person is killed by a tiger, the head of the decapitated pig is placed in a stream, and, as it floats down, it has to pass between the legs of the villagers. if it touches the legs of any of them, it forebodes that he will be killed by a tiger. in a note on the death ceremonies in gumsur, mr. j. a. r. stevenson writes as follows. "on life ceasing, they tie a sheep to the foot of the corpse. they carry the clothes, brass eating-dish, brass drinking-vessel, ornaments, grain in store, and the said sheep to the burning-ground. having burned the body, and gone around about the pile, they leave all those things there, and, beating drums, return home. the garments the panos take away. they procure liquor, and drink it. they then go to their respective houses, and eat. on the next day, they kill a she-buffalo, and get together a great quantity of liquor. the whole of the tribe (near and distant relations) being assembled, they make baji, and eat. they beat drums. if the deceased were of any consequence, dancers come and dance to the sound of the drums, to whom some animal is given, which they take, and go away. subsequently, on the twelfth day, they carry a hog to the spot where the body was burned, and, after perambulating the site of the pyre, return to their home, where they kill a hog in the place set apart for their household gods, and, procuring liquor, make baji, the members of the tribe eating together. should a tiger carry off any one, they throw out of doors all the (preserved) flesh belonging to him, and all the people of the village, not excepting children, quit their homes. the jani, being come with two rods of the tummeca tree (acacia arabica), he plants these in the earth, and then, bringing one rod of the condatamara tree (smilax macrophylla), he places it transversely across the other two. the jani, performing some incantation, sprinkles water on them. beginning with the children, as these and the people pass through the passage so formed, the jani sprinkles water on them all. afterwards, the whole of them go to their houses, without looking behind them." in connection with customs observed in the event of death, mr. jayaram moodaliar writes that "if a woman's husband dies, she removes the beads from her neck, the metal finger rings, ankle and wrist ornaments, and the ornament worn in the lobe of one ear, that worn in the lobe of the other ear being retained. these are thrown on the chest of the corpse, before it is cremated. the widow does not remove the ornaments worn in the helices of the ears, and in the alæ and septum of the nose. when a khond dies, his body is cremated. the people in the house of the deceased are not allowed to cook their food on that or the next day, but are fed by their relations and friends in the village. on the day after death, rice and a fowl are cooked separately, put in big leaf cups, and placed on the spot where the corpse was burnt. the spirit of the deceased is invited to eat the meal, and asked not to do them any harm. on the third day, the relations bathe, and smear their heads with clay. an effigy of the deceased is made, and stuck up on the roof of the house. the practice of making an image of the deceased obtains among the goomsur khonds, but, in some other places, is considered inauspicious. on the seventh day, a purificatory ceremony is gone through, and a buffalo killed, with which, and the indispensable liquor, the guests are entertained. at a village two miles from baliguda, a boy, about sixteen years old, died. his gold ear-rings and silver bracelets were not removed, but burnt. his cloths were thrown on the pyre. ragi and other grains, paddy, etc., were placed near the funeral pyre, but not in the fire. the food-stuffs, and a buffalo, were divided among the haddis, who are the servants of the headman (patro) of the muttah. they also took the remains of the jewels, recovered from the ashes after cremation." it is recorded by mr. f. fawcett [175] that "once after death, a propitiatory sacrifice is made of animals of the deceased to the pidari pitta (ancestor) for the sake of the deceased's spirit, which, after this festive introduction to the shades, must take its chance. a curious ceremony, which i do not remember seeing noted anywhere, is performed the day after death. some boiled rice and a small fowl are taken to the burning place. the fowl is split down the breast, and placed on the spot; it is afterwards eaten, and the soul is invoked to enter a new-aborn child." the following note on a kondh funeral dance in the ganjam maliahs is from the pen of an eye-witness. [176] "the dead patro is, as usual, a hill uriya, of ancient lineage, no less than that of the great totem of nola bompsa or the ancestral wood-pigeon that laid its eggs in the hollow of a bamboo, from which this family sprang. various and most interesting are the totems of the maliahs. in passing, i may mention another curious totem, that of the pea-fowl, two eggs of which a man brought home to his wife, who laid them in an earthen pot, and from them sprang a man-child, the progenitor of a famous family. but to return to the patro. before sunset, mourned by his two wives, the younger and favourite one carrying a young child of light bamboo colour, he had been burnt, without much ceremony, in an open grassy spot, his ashes scattered to the four winds of heaven, and the spot marked by wooden posts driven deep into the soil. not now would be celebrated the funeral obsequies, but a month hence on the accession of his eldest son, the future patro, a fair lad of eighteen years. as the day for the obsequies drew near, an unusual bustle filled the air. potters from the low country arrived, and hundreds upon hundreds of earthen pots of all sizes and shapes were turned, and piled in great heaps near the village. huge buffaloes, unconscious of their approaching fate, lay tethered near, or wallowing in bovine luxury in a swamp hard by. messengers had been sent far and near to all the patros, molikos, and bissoyis. even the kuttiya khonds were not left out. the auspicious morning at length dawned, when a distinguished company began to arrive, each chief with his followers, and in many cases his wives and little children, all dressed in their best, and bent on enjoying everything to the utmost. i noticed fine stalwart men from udiagiri on the edge of the ghauts, together with khonds from more civilised baliguda, and khonds from cold and breezy daringabadi, cheerful in spite of the numbers of their relatives that had found a horrid tomb inside a man-eating tiger that since 1886 (together with another ally lately started) had carried off more than four hundred of their kith and kin. distinguished amongst even that wild horde for savagery were the khonds from the kuttiya country, who live on tops of hills, and whose women are seldom, if ever, seen. these are remarkable for their enormous quantities of frizzly hair tied in huge chignons over the right brow, and decorated with feathers of every hue--the jay, the parrot, the peacock and the white quills of the paddy-bird predominating. their short, sturdy limbs are hung in every direction with necklaces and curious blue beads and cut agates, said to be dug out of ancient burial places and cromlechs in central india. certain it is that almost no inducement will prevail on a khond to voluntarily part with these precious heirlooms. as each fresh detachment arrived, their first occupation was to go to a neighbouring tank (pond), and, after a wash and decoration of head and hair with either the orthodox feathers, or, prettier still, with wreaths of wild flowers, to repair to the late chief's house, and, presenting themselves at the door, condole, with much vigour of lungs, with the now less disconsolate widows on their recent loss. this ceremony over, they tendered their allegiance to the young son of the dead patro, permitted by government to take his place, and each man received from him an earthen cooking-pot, and each circle of villages a buffalo. the khond is a beef eater, but a curious custom prevails in some parts, that a married woman must abstain from the flesh of a cow. these preliminary ceremonies over, the crowd adjourned, with great noise of shouting, blowing of buffalo horns, and beating of drums, to the open grassy spot marked by posts, where the late patro had been burned, and where a recently killed buffalo, weltering in its gore, now lay. among the throng of men, women and children, most of the former more than slightly elevated by drinking copious draughts of a kind of beer made from the kuhari grain, were three khonds carrying long poles surmounted by huge bunches of peacock feathers that blazed in the sunlight like emeralds and sapphires. the funeral dance now commenced. the dance itself is simple in the extreme, for, when the right spot was reached, old men and young began gyrating round and round in a large circle, a perfect human merry-go-round. the old grey-beards, plodding slowly round the ring, and stamping on the soil with their aged feet, presented a great contrast to the younger and wilder men, who capered and pranced about, sometimes outside the circle, waving their tanghis in the air, and every now and then leaping up to the slain buffalo, and dipping their axes into its blood, and then back again, dancing more wildly than ever, round and round from west to east, till the eye ached to behold the perpetual motion of this animated wheel. in the centre revolved the three men with the huge bunches of peacock feathers afore-mentioned. when any dropped out of the circle to rest there were many eager and willing to take their places, and so, with relays of fresh dancers, this human circle revolved on for three whole days, only ceasing at nightfall, when by large fires the various tribes cooked in the earthen pots provided the buffaloes presented by the new patro. in olden days, an animal was given to each village, but on this occasion only to a circle of villages, occasioning thereby certain grumblings among the wiseacres for the good old days of the past, when not only buffaloes in plenty, but meriah human victims as well were lavishly provided and sacrificed. 'ichabod,' said they in khond, 'the glory of the maliahs hath departed.' on the afternoon of the third day, the patros, molikas, bissoyis, and others of the great men began to depart with their retainers for their distant homes in the jungles, having had a thoroughly good time. the women, who had been very shy at first, fled at my approach, now, after three days' familiarity with a white face, began to show symptoms of friendliness, so that they allowed me to go quite near to them to examine their pretty necklaces of coloured grasses, silver coins, and curious beads, and to count the numbers of small sticks (generally about twelve or fifteen) of broom that were arranged in the shape of a crescent round the outer edges of the pierced ears of each unmarried village belle, and to observe at close quarters the strange tattooed patterns in blue of zigzag and curve that to my eyes disfigured their otherwise comely faces. as to beauty of figure, i think very few can compare with a young and well-grown khond maiden, with her straight back and handsome proportions. it was, therefore, without much difficulty that i persuaded some of them to dance before me. six buxom girls stepped out, all of them the respectable daughters of well-to-do khonds, prepared to dance the famous peacock dance. round their supple but massive waists was twisted the strip of national khond cloth of blue, red and white, and for bodices what could be more becoming than their glossy brown skins of nature's millinery, gracefully wreathed with garlands of coloured grasses and strings of gay beads. the polished jet black hair, neatly tied in a knot at the back, and decorated with pretty lacquered and silver combs, or with forest flowers, added yet more to their picturesque appearance. each girl now took a long strip of white cloth, and, winding it round her waist, allowed one end to trail at the back in the fashion of a liberty sash. this was supposed to represent the tail of the peacock. three of the girls then faced the three others, and, with their left hands resting on their hips, and their elbows sticking out (to represent the wings), and the right arms extended in front with the fingers outstretched to simulate the neck and beak, began to dance to the ear-piercing shrieks of cracked trumpet, and to the deep beatings of a maliah drum marking excellent time. on and on they danced, advancing and retiring, and now and then crossing over (not unlike the first figure of the quadrille), while their tinkling feet, 'like little mice, stole in and out,' the heels alternately clashing against each other, in exact time to the music, and the lips gracefully waving from side to side as they advanced or retired. there was perfect grace of movements combined with extreme modesty, the large expressive eyes veiled by the long lashes never once being raised, and the whole demeanour utterly oblivious to the crowd of enthusiastic admirers that surrounded them on all sides. but for the wild scene around, the noise and shrieking of instruments, and the fantastic dresses of the khonds (many of whom had buffalo horns tied on to their painted faces, or had decorated their heads with immense wigs of long black hair), one might easily have supposed these shrinking damsels to have been the pick of a mission school specially selected for propriety to dance the south indian kummi before, say, an itinerant bishop of ascetic tendencies and æsthetic temperament. when their heaving, panting bodies showed that exhausted nature claimed them for her own, the man with the trumpet or the drum would rush up, and blow or beat it almost under their drooping heads, urging them with shouts and gesticulations to further energy, till at length the shades of night crept over the hills, and, with one accord, the dancing and the deafening music ceased, while the six girls stole quietly back and were soon lost in the crowd." of superstitions among the kondhs, the following are recorded by mr. jayaram moodaliar:- "when a kondh starts out on a shooting expedition, if he first meets an adult female, married or unmarried, he will return home, and ask a child to tell the females to keep out of his way. he will then make a fresh start, and, if he meets a female, will wave his hand to her as a sign that she must keep clear of him. before a party start out for shooting, they warn the females not to come in their way. the kondh believes that, if he sees a female, he will not come across animals in the jungle to shoot. if a woman is in her menses, her husband, brothers, and sons living under the same roof, will not go out shooting for the same reason. a kondh will not leave his village when a jathra (festival) is being celebrated, lest the god pennu should visit his wrath on him. they will not cut trees, which yield products suitable for human consumption, such as the mango, jak, jambul (eugenia jambolana), or iluppai (bassia) from which they distil a spirituous liquor. even though these trees prevent the growth of a crop in the fields, they will not cut them down. if an owl hoots over the roof of a house, or on a tree close thereto, it is considered unlucky, as foreboding a death in the family at an early date. if an owl hoots close to a village, but outside it, the death of one of the villagers will follow. for this reason, the bird is pelted with stones, and driven off. they will not kill a crow, as this would be a sin amounting to the killing of a friend. according to their legend, soon after the creation of the world there was a family consisting of an aged man and woman, and four children, who died one after the other in quick succession. their parents were too aged to take the necessary steps for their cremation, so they threw the bodies away on the ground, at some distance from their home. god appeared to them in their dreams one night, and promised that he would create the crow, so that it might devour the dead bodies. they do not consider it a sin to kill a brahminy kite (haliastur indus: garuda pakshi), which is held in veneration throughout southern india. a kondh will kill it for so slight an offence as carrying off his chickens. they will not cut the crops with a sickle with a serrated edge, such as is used by the oriyas, but use a straight-edged knife. the crops, after they have been cut, are removed to the village, and threshed by hand, and not with the help of cattle. while this is being done, strangers (kondh or others) may not look on the crop, or speak to them, lest their evil eye should be cast on them. if a stranger is seen approaching near the threshing-floor, the kondhs keep him off by signalling to him with their hands, without speaking. the serrated sickle is not used, because it produces a sound like that of cattle grazing, which would be unpropitious. if cattle were used in threshing the crop, it is believed that the earth god would feel insulted by the dung and urine of the animals. they believe that they can transform themselves into tigers or snakes, half the soul leaving the body and becoming changed into one of these animals, either to kill an enemy, or satisfy hunger by having a good feed on cattle in the jungle. during this period, they are believed to feel dull and listless, and disinclined for work, and, if a tiger is killed in the forest, they will die synchronously. mr. fawcett informs me that the kondhs believe that the soul wanders during sleep. on one occasion, a dispute arose owing to a man discovering that another kondh, whose spirit used to wander about in the guise of a tiger, ate up his spirit, and he became ill. when cholera breaks out in a village, all males and females smear their bodies from head to foot with pig's fat liquefied by heat, and continue to do so until a few days after the disappearance of the dread disease. during this time, they do not bathe, lest the smell of the fat should be washed away." the kondhs are said [177] to prevent the approach of the goddess of small-pox by barricading the paths with thorns and ditches, and boiling caldrons of stinking oil. the leopard is looked upon in some way as a sacred beast by the kondhs of the northern maliahs. they object to a dead leopard being carried through their villages, and oaths are taken on a leopard's skin. referring to elf stones, or stones of the dead in european countries, to which needles, buttons, milk, eggs, etc., are offered, mr. f. fawcett describes [178] a kondh ceremony, in which the ground under a tree was cleared in the form of a square, within which were circles of saffron (turmeric), charcoal, rice, and some yellow powder, as well as an egg or a small chicken. a certain kondh had fever caused by an evil spirit, and the ceremony was an invitation to it to come out, and go to another village. the following account of a cow-shed sacrifice is given by mr. fawcett. [179] "a special liquor is brewed from grain for the ceremony, on the first day of which there is a general fast, a pig is bought by general subscription, and dragged to the place where it is to be sacrificed by a rope 'through its belly.' the pig is stoned to death, but, ere it dies, each khond cuts off some of the hair and a little piece of the ear, which are treasured. the meat is divided among them, and cooked with rice. the priest goes from house to house, and performs the ceremony of the cow-shed. the ropes of the cattle (chiefly buffaloes) which are out grazing are tied to the central point in the cow-shed, and the other ends are laid on the ground across the shed. these ropes are the visible objects, to which sacrifice is made. the head of a chicken is buried near the ends tied to the post, and near it are ranged leaves, on which are placed rice, flesh of the pig, and a bit of its ear. a little in front of these is buried a rotten egg. the chicken, whose head is buried, is boiled, and eaten by children who have not yet donned a cloth. the khond puts the rice, piece of the ear, and the hair of the pig, under the roof. in the evening the cattle come home, and are tied by the ropes used in the ceremony. then the women break their fast--they must eat then. drinking and dancing occupy the two following days, during which no manure is removed from the cow-shed. on the third day, the khonds come out with a lump of it in the hand, and throw it in one place, forming a heap, on which the priest pours liquor and rice." the following example of a kondh oath is given by mr. j. a. r. stevenson. "the subject of the circumstance is first repeated by the swearing party, and a basket containing the following things is held before him:- a blood-sucker (lizard). a bit of tiger's skin. a peacock's feather. earth from a 'white-ant' hill. rice mixed with fowl's blood. a lighted lamp. he proceeds with his oath, touching each object in the basket at that part of the oath which refers to that object. 'oh! father (god), i swear, and, if i swear falsely, then, oh! father, may i become shrivelled and dry like a blood-sucker, and thus die. may i be killed by a tiger. may i crumble to dust like this white-ant's hill. may i be blown about like this feather. may i be extinguished like this lamp.' in saying the last words, he puts a few grains of rice in his mouth, and blows out the lamp, and the basket with its contents is made to touch the top of his head." in 1904, a case illustrating the prevailing belief in witchcraft occurred in the vizagapatam hill tracts. the youngest of three brothers died of fever, and, when the body was cremated, the fire failed to consume the upper portion. the brothers concluded that death must have been caused by the witchcraft of a certain kondh. they accordingly attacked him, and killed him. after death, the brothers cut the body in half, and dragged the upper half to their own village, where they attempted to nail it up on the spot where their deceased brother's body failed to burn. the accused were arrested on the spot, with the fragment of the kondh's corpse. they were sentenced to death, and the sentence was confirmed by the high court. [180] in 1906, a kondh, suspecting a pano girl of having stolen some cloths and a silver ornament from him, went to the dhengada house in sollagodo, where the girl slept with other unmarried girls, and took her to his village, where he confined her in his house. on the following day, he took her to an oriya trader, who thrashed her, in order to make her confess to the theft. subsequently, some of the villagers collected to see her undergo the ordeal of boiling water. a pot nearly full of water was boiled, some cow-dung and sacred rice added, and a rupee placed in the pot. the girl was ordered to take out the rupee. this she did three times, but, on the fourth occasion, the water scalded her hand and forearm. she was then ordered to pay as a fine her ear-ring, which was worth one rupee. this she did, as it was the custom for an unsuccessful person to hand over some property. her right hand was practically destroyed as the result of the scalding. an elderly patro (headman) deposed that the ordinary practice in trials of this sort is to place two pots of water, one boiling and the other cold. in the boiling water a rupee and some rice are placed, and the suspected person has to take out the rupee once, and should then dip his hand in the cold water. if the hand is then scalded, the person is considered guilty, and has to pay a fine to the caste. in trial by immersion in water, the disputants dive into a pool, and he who can keep under water the longest is considered to be in the right. on one occasion, some years ago, when two villages were disputing the right of possession of a certain piece of land, the magistrate resorted to a novel method to settle the dispute. he instituted a tug-of-water between an equal number of representatives of the contending parties. the side which won took possession of the disputed property, to the satisfaction of all. [181] in connection with sacred rice, which has been referred to above, reference may be made to the custom of mahaprasad songatho. "it is prevalent among the khonds and other hill tribes of ganjam and orissa, and is found among the oriyas. sangatho means union or friendship. mahaprasad songatho is friendship sworn by mahaprasad, i.e., cooked rice consecrated to god jagannath of puri. the remains of the offering are dried and preserved. all pilgrims visiting puri invariably get a quantity of this mahaprasad, and freely distribute it to those who ask for it. it is regarded as a sacred thing, endowed with supreme powers of forgiving the sins and wrongs of men by mere touch. it is not only holy itself, but also sanctifies everything done in its presence. it is believed that one dare not commit a foul deed, utter a falsehood, or even entertain an evil thought, when it is held in the hands. on account of such beliefs, witnesses in law suits (especially oriyas) are asked to swear by it when giving evidence. mahaprasad songatho is sworn friendship between two individuals of the same sex. instances are on record of friendship contracted between a wealthy and cultured townsman and a poor village rustic, or between a brahmin woman of high family and a sudra servant. songatho is solemnised with some ceremonies. on an auspicious day fixed for the purpose, the parties to the songatho, with their relatives, friends and well-wishers, go to a temple in procession to the festive music of flutes and drum. there, in that consecrated place, the would-be friends take a solemn oath, with the god before them, mahaprasad in their hands, and the assemblage to witness that they will be lifelong friends, in spite of any changes that might come over them or their families. the ceremony closing, there will be dinners, gifts and presents on both sides, and the day is all mirth and merriment. thus bound by inseparable ties of friendship, they live to the end of their lives on terms of extreme intimacy and affection. they seize every opportunity of meeting, and living in each other's company. they allow no festival to pass without an exchange of new cloths, and other valuable presents. no important ceremony is gone through in any one's house without the other being invited. throughout the year, they will send each other the various fruits and vegetables in their respective seasons. if one dies, his or her family does not consider the bond as having been snapped, but continues to look upon the other more or less in the same manner as did the deceased. the survivor, if in need of help, is sure to receive assistance and sympathy from the family of the deceased friend. this is how the institution is maintained by the less civilised oriyas of the rural parts. the romance of the songatho increases with the barbarity of the tribe. the khonds, and other hill tribes, furnish us with an example of songatho, which retains all its primitive simplicity. among them, songatho is ideal friendship, and examples of damon and pythias are not rare. a khond has been known to ruin himself for the sake of his friend. he willingly sacrifices all that he has, and even his life, to protect the interests of his friend. the friends have nothing but affection for each other." [182] it is noted, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, that "the khonds steal cattle, especially those belonging to brinjari gangs, in an open manner, for the sake of their flesh. in 1898, at veppiguda near gudari a party of them attacked four constables who were patrolling the country to check these thefts, thrashed them, and carried off all their property and uniforms. efforts to arrest these men resulted in the inhabitants of their village fleeing to the hills, and, for a time, it looked as if there was danger of others joining them, and of the khonds going out. in 1882, the khonds of kalahandi state rose against the uriyas, and murdered some hundreds of them. luckily the invitation to join them, conveyed by the circulation of the head, fingers, hair, etc., of an early victim, was not accepted by the khonds of this district." the news of the rising was conveyed to mr. h. g. prendergast, assistant superintendent of police, by a domb disguised as a fakir, who carried the report concealed in his languti (cloth). he was rewarded with a silver bangle. at a meeting held at the village of balwarpur, it was decided that the kultas should all be killed and swept out of the country. as a sign of this, the kondhs carried brooms about. at asurgarh the police found four headless corpses, and learnt from the widows all that they had to say about the atrocities. the murders had been committed in the most brutal way. all the victims were scalped while still alive, and one had an arm and a leg cut off before being scalped. as each victim died, his death was announced by three taps on a drum given slowly, followed by shouting and dancing. the unfortunate men were dragged out of their houses, and killed before their women and children. neither here nor anywhere else were the women outraged, though they were threatened with death to make them give up buried treasure. one woman was in this way made to dig up a thousand rupees. on a tamarind tree near the village of billat, affixed to it as a trophy, there was the scalped head of a kulta, hacked about in the most horrible way. [183] the fact is noted by mr. jayaram moodaliar that the kondh system of notation is duodecimal. thirteen is twelve and one, forty three twelves and four, and so forth. kondh bibliography. aborigines of the eastern ghâts. journ. asiat. soc. bengal, xxv, 39-52, 1856. caldwell, r. comparative grammar of the dravidian or south indian family of languages, 2nd edn., appendix, 516-17, 1875. campbell, g. specimens of languages of india, including those of the aboriginal tribes of bengal, the central provinces and the eastern frontier, 95-107, 1904, calcutta. campbell, major-general. personal narrative of service amongst the wild tribes of khondistan, 1864. dalton, e. t. descriptive ethnology of bengal, 285-301, 1872. duff, rev. a. the first series of government measures for the abolition of human sacrifices among the khonds. selections from the calcutta review, 194-257, 1845-6. fawcett, f. miscellaneous notes. journ., anthrop. soc., bombay, ii, 247-51. francis, w. gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, vol. i, 1907. friend-pereira, j. e. marriage customs of the khonds. journ., asiat. soc. bengal, lxxi, part iii, 18-28, 1903. friend-pereira, j. e. totemism among the khonds. journ., asiat. soc., bengal, lxxiii, part iii, 39-56, 1905. frye, captain. dialogues and sentences in the kondh language, with an english translation, 1851, cuttack. frye, captain. fables in the kondh language, with an english translation, 1851, cuttack. frye, captain. fables in the kondh language, with an oriya translation, 1851, cuttack. frye, captain. the history of joseph in the kui or kondh language, 1851, cuttack. frye, captain. primer and progressive reading lessons in the kondh language, with an oriya translation, 1851, cuttack. frye, lieut. j. p. on the uriya and kondh population of orissa. journ., roy. asiat. soc. of great britain and ireland, xvii, 1-38, 1860. grierson, g. a. linguistic survey of india, iv, 457-71, 1906. history of the rise and progress of the operations for the suppression of human sacrifice and female infanticide in the hill tracts of orissa. selections from the records of the government of india (home department) no. v, 1854, calcutta. hunter, w. w. orissa ii, 67-100, 1872. huttmann, g. h. lieut. macpherson's report upon the khonds of the districts of ganjam and cuttack. calcutta review, viii, 1-51, 1847. huttmann, g. h. captain macpherson's report upon the khonds of the districts of ganjam and cuttack. calcutta review, x, 273-341, 1848. lingum letchmajee. introduction to the grammar of the kui or kondh language, 2nd edn., 1902, calcutta. macpherson, captain s. c. an account of the religious opinions and observances of the khonds of goomsur and boad. journ., roy. asiat. soc. of great britain and ireland, vii, 172-99, 1843. macpherson, captain s. c. an account of the religion of the khonds in orissa. journ., roy. asiat. soc. of great britain and ireland, xiii, 216-74, 1852. macpherson, lieut. report upon the khonds of the districts of ganjam and cuttack, 1863, madras. maltby, t. j. ganjam district manual, 65-87, 1882. rice, s. p. occasional essays on native south indian life, 97-102, 1901. risley, h. h. the tribes and castes of bengal, i, 397-413. 1891. smith, major j. mcd. practical handbook of the khond language, 1876, cuttack. taylor, rev. w. on the language, manners, and rites of the khonds or khoi jati of the goomsur mountains from documents furnished by j. a. r. stevenson. madras journ. lit. and science, vi, 17-46, 1837. taylor, rev. w. some additional notes on the hill inhabitants of the goomsur mountains. madras journ., lit. and science, vii, 89-104, 1838. kondra.--the kondras or kondoras are a fishing caste in ganjam, who fish in ponds, lakes, rivers, and backwaters, but are never engaged in sea-fishing. it has been suggested that the name is derived from konkoda, a crab, as they catch crabs in the chilka lake, and sell them. the kondras rank very low in the social scale, and even the haddis refuse to beat drums for them, and will not accept partially boiled rice, which they have touched. in some places, the members of the caste call themselves dasa divaro, and claim descent from the boatmen who rowed the boat when king bharatha went to chithrakutam, to inform rama of the death of dasaratha. apparently the caste is divided into two endogamous sections, viz., macha kondras, who follow the traditional occupation of fishing, and dandasi khondras, who have taken to the duties of village watchmen. as examples of septs or bamsams, the following may be cited:--kako (crow), bilva (jackal), gaya (cow), kukkiriya (dogs), ghasia (grass), bholia (wild dog), sanguna (vulture). a few said that reverence is paid to the animals after which the bamsam is named before the marriage ceremonies, but this was denied by others. the headman of the caste is styled behara, and he is assisted by the dolobehara and bhollobaya. there is also a caste messenger called chattia. the behara receives a fee of a rupee on occasions of marriage, and one anna for death ceremonies. girls are married either before or after puberty. sometimes a girl is married in performance of a vow to the sahada (streblus asper) tree. the ground round the tree is cleaned, a new cloth is then tied round the trunk, and a bow and arrow are rested against it. the behara officiates as priest, and on behalf of the girl, places near the tree twelve handfuls or measures of rice and twelve of dal (peas: cajanus indicus), and twelve pieces of string on a leaf, as provisions for the bridegroom. if the girl has not reached maturity, she must remain seven days near the tree; otherwise she remains four days. on the last day, the behara, sitting close to the tree, says: "we have given you provisions for twelve years. give us a tsado-patra (deed of separation)." this is written on a palmyra leaf, and thrown down near the tree. the dead are cremated, and the corpses of both men and women are said to be placed face downwards on the pyre. among many other castes, only those of women are placed in this position. the death ceremonies are similar to those observed by many oriya castes. a bit of bone is removed from the burning-ground, and food offered to it daily until the tenth day, when all the agnates, as well as the brothers-in-law and sons-in-law of the deceased, are shaved. the sons of the sister of the dead person are also expected to be shaved if they are fatherless; but, if their father is alive, they are shaved on the following day. the kondras regard ganga-devi as their caste deity, but worship also other deities, e.g., chamunda, buddhi, and kalika. konga.--konga or kongu is a territorial term, meaning inhabitant of the kongu country. it has, at recent times of census, been returned as a division of a large number of classes, mostly tamil, which include ambattan, kaikolan, kammalan, kuravan, kusavan, malayan, odde, pallan, paraiyan, shanan, uppara, and vellala. it is used as a term of abuse among the badagas of the nilgiri hills. those, for example, who made mistakes in matching holmgren's wools, were scornfully called konga by the onlookers. similarly, in parts of the tamil country, a tall, lean and stupid individual is called a kongan. konga vellala.--for the following note on the konga vellalas of the trichinopoly district, i am indebted to mr. f. r. hemingway. they seem to have little in common with the other vellalas, except their name, and appear to hold a lower position in society, for reddis will not eat with them, and they will dine with tottiyans and others of the lower non-brahman castes. they live in compact communities, generally in hamlets. their dwellings are generally thatched huts, containing only one room. they are cultivators, but not well off. their men can generally be recognized by the number of large gold rings which they wear in the lobes of the ears, and the pendant (murugu), which hangs from the upper part of the ears. their women have a characteristic tali (marriage badge) of large size, strung on to a number of cotton threads, which are not, as among other castes, twisted together. they also seem always to wear an ornament called tayittu, rather like the common cylindrical talisman, on the left arm. the konga vellalas are split into two endogamous divisions, viz., the konga vellalas proper, and the tondan or ilakanban-kuttam (servant or inferior sub-division). the latter are admittedly the offspring of illegitimate intercourse with outsiders by girls and widows of the caste, who have been expelled in consequence of their breach of caste rules. the kongas proper have an elaborate caste organisation. their country is divided into twenty-four nadus, each comprising a certain number of villages, and possessing recognised head-quarters, which are arranged into four groups under the villages of palayakottai, kangayam, pudur and kadayur, all in the coimbatore district. each village is under a kottukkaran, each nadu under a nattu-kavundan or periyatanakkaran, and each group under a pattakkaran. the last is treated with considerable respect. he wears gold toe-rings, is not allowed to see a corpse, and is always saluted with clasped hands. he is only occasionally called in to settle caste disputes, small matters being settled by the kottukkarans, and matrimonial questions by the nattukavundan. both the kongas proper, and the tondans have a large number of exogamous septs, the names of which generally denote some article, the use of which is taboo, e.g., kadai (quail), pannai (celosia argentea, a pot-herb). the most desirable match for a boy is his maternal uncle's daughter. to such an extent is the preference for such unions carried out, that a young boy is often married to a grown-up woman, and it is admitted that, in such cases, the boy's father takes upon himself the duties of a husband until his son has reached maturity, and that the wife is allowed to consort with any one belonging to the caste whom she may fancy, provided that she continues to live in her husband's house. with widows, who are not allowed to remarry, the rules are more strict. a man convicted of undue intimacy with a widow is expelled from the caste, unless she consents to his leaving her and going back to the caste, and he provides her with adequate means to live separately. the form of consent is for the woman to say that she is only a mud vessel, and has been broken because polluted, whereas the man is of bell-metal, and cannot be utterly polluted. the erring man is readmitted to the caste by being taken to the village common, where he is beaten with an erukkan (arka: calotropis gigantea) stick, and by providing a black sheep for a feast to his relatives. at weddings and funerals, the konga vellalas employ priests of their own caste, called arumaikkarans and arumaikkaris. these must be married people, who have had children. the first stage, so far as a wife is concerned, is to become an elutingalkari (woman of seven mondays), without which she cannot wear a red mark on her forehead, or get any of her children married. this is effected, after the birth of at least one child, by observing a ceremonial at her father's house. a pandal (booth) of green leaves is erected in the house, and a fillet of pungam (pongamia glabra) and tamarind twigs is placed round her head. she is then presented with a new cloth, prepares some food and eats it, and steps over a mortar. a married couple wait until one of their children is married, and then undergo the ceremony called arumaimanam at the hands of ten arumaikkarans and some pulavans (bards among the kaikolans), who touch the pair with some green grass dipped in sandal and water, oil, etc. the man then becomes an arumaikkaran, and his wife an arumaikkari. all people of arumai rank are treated with great respect, and, when one of them dies, a drum is beaten by a man standing on another man's shoulders, who receives as a present seven measures of grain measured, and an equal quantity unmeasured. the betrothal ceremony takes place at the house of the future bride, in the presence of both the maternal uncles, and consists in tying fruit and betel leaf in the girl's cloth. on the wedding day, the bridegroom is shaved, and an arumaikkari pours water over him. if he has a sister, the ceremony of betrothing his prospective daughter to her son, is performed. he then goes on horseback, carrying some fruit and a pestle, to a stone planted for the occasion, and called the nattukal, which he worships. the stone is supposed to represent the kongu king, and the pestle the villagers, and the whole ceremony is said to be a relic of a custom of the ancient kongu people, to which the caste formerly belonged, which required them to obtain the sanction of the king for every marriage. on his return from the nattukal, balls of white and coloured rice are taken round the bridegroom, to ward off the evil eye. his mother then gives him three mouthfuls of food, and eats the remainder herself, to indicate that henceforth she will not provide him with meals. a barber then blesses him, and he repairs on horseback to the bride's house, where he is received by one of her party similarly mounted. his ear-rings are put in the bride's ears, and the pair are carried on the shoulders of their maternal uncles to the nattukal. on their return thence, they are touched by an arumaikkaran with a betel leaf dipped in oil, milk and water. the tali (marriage badge) is worshipped and blessed, and the arumaikkaran ties it on her neck. the barber then pronounces an elaborate blessing, which runs as follows: "live as long as the sun and moon may endure, or pasupatisvarar (siva) at karur. may your branches spread like the banyan tree, and your roots like grass, and may you flourish like the bamboo. may ye twain be like the flower and the thread, which together form the garland and cleave together, like water and the reed growing in it." if a pulavan is present, he adds a further blessing, and the little fingers of the contracting couple are linked together, anointed with milk, and then separated. the death ceremonies are not peculiar, except that the torch for the pyre is carried by a paraiyan, and not, as among most castes, by the chief mourner, and that no ceremonies are performed after the third day. the custom is to collect the bones on that day and throw them into water. the barber then pours a mixture of milk and ghi (clarified butter) over a green tree, crying poli, poli. the caste has its own beggars, called mudavandi (q.v.). kongara (crane).--an exogamous sept of padma sale, and kamma. konhoro.--a title of bolasi. konkani.--defined, in the madras census report, 1901, as a territorial or linguistic term, meaning a dweller in the konkan country (canara), or a person speaking the konkani dialect of marathi. kadu konkani (bastard konkani) is a name opposed to the god or pure konkanis. in south canara, "the konkani brahmans are the trading and shop-keeping class, and, in the most out-of-the-way spots, the konkani village shop is to be found." [184] the following note on konkanis is extracted from the travancore census report, 1901. "the konkanis include the brahman, kshatriya, and vaisya castes of the sarasvata section of the gauda brahmans. the brahmans of this community differ, however, from the konkanastha maharashtra brahmans belonging to the dravida group. the konkani sudras who have settled on this coast are known by a different name, kudumikkar. the konkanis' original habitation is the bank of the sarasvati, a river well known in early sanskrit works, but said to have lost itself in the sands of the deserts north of rajputana. according to the sahyadrikanda, a branch of these sarasvatas lived in tirhut in bengal, whence ten families were brought over by parasurama to gomantaka, the modern goa, panchakrosi, and kusasthali. attracted by the richness and beauty of the new country, others followed, and the whole population settled themselves in sixty villages and ninety-six hamlets in and around goa, the settlers in the former being called shashtis (sanskrit for sixty), and those in the latter being called shannavis or shenavis (sanskrit for ninety-six). the history of those sarasvatas was one of uninterrupted general and commercial prosperity until about twenty years after the advent of the portuguese. when king emanuel died and king john succeeded him, the policy of the goanese government is believed to have changed in favour of religious persecution. a large efflux to the canarese and tulu countries was the result. thence the konkanis appear to have migrated to travancore and cochin, and found a safe haven under the rule of their hindu sovereigns. in their last homes, the konkanis extended and developed their commerce, built temples, and endowed them so magnificently that the religious institutions of that community, especially at cochin and alleppey, continue to this day almost the richest in all malabar. "canter visscher writes [185] that 'the canarese who are permanently settled in malabar are the race best known to the europeans, not only because the east india company trade with them and appoint one of their members to be their merchant, giving him the attendance of two dutch soldiers: but also because from the shops of these people in town we obtain all our necessaries, except animal food. some sell rice, others fruits, others various kinds of linen, and some again are money-changers, so that there is hardly one who is not engaged in trade.' the occupation of the konkanis has been commerce ever since the advent of the portuguese in india. some of them make papatams [186] (popadams) which is a condiment of almost universal consumption in malabar. till recently, the konkanis in travancore knew nothing else than trade. but now, following the example of their kinsmen in bombay and south canara, they are gradually taking to other professions. "having settled themselves in the canarese districts, most of the konkanis came under the influence of madhavacharya, unlike the shenavis, who still continue to be smartas. the worship of venkataramana, the presiding deity of the tirupati shrine, is held in great importance. every konkani temple is called tirumala devasmam, as the divinity that resides on the sacred hill (tirumala) is represented in each." konsari.--the konsaris derive their name from konsa, a bell-metal dish. they are oriya workers in bell-metal, and manufacture dishes, cups and plates. brahmans are employed by them as purohits (priests) and gurus (preceptors). they eat fish and mutton, but not fowls or beef, and drink liquor. marriage is infant. remarriage of widows and divorcées is permitted. koonapilli vandlu.--beggars attached to padma sales. koppala.--a section of velamas, who tie the hair in a knot (koppu) on the top of the head, and an exogamous sept of mutrachas, whose females do up their hair in a knot when they reach puberty. kora (sun).--a sept of gadaba, muka dora, and rona. koracha.--see korava. koraga.--the koragas are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as being a wild tribe of basket-makers and labourers, chiefly found in mudbidri, and in puttur in the uppinangadi taluk of south canara. they are, mr. m. t. walhouse writes, [187] "a very quiet and inoffensive race; small and slight, the men seldom exceeding five feet six inches; black-skinned, like most indian aborigines, thick-lipped, noses broad and flat, and hair rough and bushy. their principal occupation is basket-making, and they must labour for their masters. they live on the outskirts of villages, and may not dwell in houses of clay or mud, but in huts of leaves, called koppus. like many of the wild tribes of india, they are distinguished by unswerving truthfulness. the word of a koragar is proverbial." the koragas rank below the holeyas. in some towns, they are employed by the sanitary department as scavengers. they remove the hide, horns, and bones of cattle and buffaloes, which die in the villages, and sell them mainly to mappilla merchants. they accept food, which is left over after feasts held by various castes. some are skilful in the manufacture of cradles, baskets, cylinders to hold paddy, winnowing and sowing baskets, scale-pans, boxes, rice-water strainers, ring-stands for supporting pots, coir (cocoanut fibre) rope, brushes for washing cattle, etc. they also manufacture various domestic utensils from soapstone, which they sell at a very cheap rate to shopkeepers in the bazar. "numerous slave-castes," mr. walhouse continues, "exist throughout india, not of course recognised by law--indeed formally emancipated by an act of government in 1843--but still, though improved in condition, virtually slaves. their origin and status are thus described. after the four principal classes, who sprang from brahma, came six anuloma castes, which arose from the intercourse of brahmans and kshatriyas with women of the classes below them respectively. the term anuloma denotes straight and regular hair, which in india characterises the aryan stock. after these came six pratiloma castes, originating in reverse order from brahman and kshatriya women by fathers of the inferior classes. the third among these was the chandala, the offspring of shudra fathers by brahman women. the chandalas, or slaves, were sub-divided into fifteen classes, none of which might intermarry, a rule still strictly observed. the two last, and lowest of the fifteen classes, are the kapata or rag-wearing, and the soppu or leaf-wearing koragas. such is the account given by brahman chroniclers; but the probability is that these lowest slave-castes are the descendants of that primitive population which the aryan invaders from the north found occupying the soil, and, after a struggle of ages, gradually dispossessed, driving some to the hills and jungles, and reducing others to the condition of slaves. all these races are regarded by their hindu masters with boundless contempt, and held unspeakably unclean. this feeling seems the result and witness of times when the despised races were powerful, and to be approached as lords by their now haughty masters, and was probably intensified by struggles and uprisings, and the memory of humiliations inflicted on the ultimately successful conquerors. evidences for this may be inferred from many curious rights and privileges, which the despised castes possess and tenaciously retain. moreover, the contempt and loathing in which they are ordinarily held are curiously tinctured with superstitious fear, for they are believed to possess secret powers of magic and witchcraft, and influence with the old malignant deities of the soil, who can direct good or evil fortune. as an instance, if a brahman mother's children die off when young, she calls a koragar woman, gives her some oil, rice, and copper money, and places the surviving child in her arms. the out-caste woman, who may not at other times be touched, gives the child suck, puts on it her iron bracelets, and, if a boy, names it koragar, if a girl, korapulu. she then returns it to the mother. this is believed to give a new lease of life. again, when a man is dangerously ill, or perhaps unfortunate, he pours oil into an earthen vessel, worships it in the same way as the family god, looks at his face reflected in the oil, and puts into it a hair from his head and a nail paring from his toe. the oil is then presented to the koragars, and the hostile gods or stars are believed to be propitiated." according to mr. ullal raghvendra rao, [188] old superstitious hindus never venture to utter the word koraga during the night. it is noted in the manual of the south canara district, that "all traditions unite in attributing the introduction of the tulu brahmins of the present day to mayur varma (of the kadamba dynasty), but they vary in details connected with the manner in which they obtained a firm footing in the land. one account says that habashika, chief of the koragas, drove out mayur varma, but was in turn expelled by mayur varma's son, or son-in-law, lokaditya of gokarnam, who brought brahmins from ahi-kshetra, and settled them in thirty-two villages." concerning the power, and eventual degradation of the koragas, the following version of the tradition is cited by mr. walhouse. "when lokadiraya, whose date is fixed by wilks about 1450 b.c., was king of bhanvarshe in north canara (a place noted by ptolemy), an invader, by name habashika, brought an army from above the ghauts, consisting of all the present chandala or slave-castes, overwhelmed that part of the country, and marched southward to mangalore, the present capital of south canara. the invading host was scourged with small-pox, and greatly annoyed by ants, so habashika moved on to manjeshwar, a place of ancient repute, twelve miles to the south, subdued the local ruler angarawarma, son of virawarma, and reigned there in conjunction with his nephew; but after twelve years both died--one legend says through enchantments devised by angarawarma; another that a neighbouring ruler treacherously proposed a marriage between his sister and habashika, and, on the bridegroom and his caste-men attending for the nuptials, a wholesale massacre of them all was effected. angarawarma, then returning, drove the invading army into the jungles, where they were reduced to such extremity that they consented to become slaves, and were apportioned amongst the brahmans and original landholders. some were, set to watch the crops and cattle, some to cultivate, others to various drudgeries, which are still allotted to the existing slave-castes, but the koragars, who had been raised by habashika to the highest posts under his government, were stripped and driven towards the sea-shore, there to be hanged, but, being ashamed of their naked condition, they gathered the leaves of the nicki bush (vitex negundo), which grows abundantly in waste places, and made small coverings for themselves in front. on this the executioners took pity on them and let them go, but condemned them to be the lowest of the low, and wear no other covering but leaves. the koragas are now the lowest of the slave divisions, and regarded with such intense loathing and hatred that up to quite recent times one section of them, called ande or pot koragars, continually wore a pot suspended from their necks, into which they were compelled to spit, being so utterly unclean as to be prohibited from even spitting on the highway; and to this day their women continue to show in their leafy aprons a memorial of the abject degradation to which their whole race was doomed." it is said that in pre-british days an ande koraga had to take out a licence to come into the towns and villages by day. at night mere approach thereto was forbidden, as his presence would cause terrible calamity. the koragas of those days could cook their food only in broken vessels. the name vastra, by which one class of koragas is called, has reference to their wearing vastra, or clothes, such as were used to shroud a dead body, and given to them in the shape of charity, the use of a new cloth being prohibited. according to another account the three divisions of the koragas are (1) kappada, those who wear clothes, (2) tippi, who wear ornaments made of the cocoanut shell, and (3) vanti, who wear a peculiar kind of large ear-ring. these three clans may eat together, but not intermarry. each clan is divided into exogamous septs called balis, and it may be noted that some of the koraga balis, such as haledennaya and kumerdennaya, are also found among the mari and mundala holeyas. on the subject of koraga dress, mr. ullal raghvendra rao informs us that "while the males gird a piece of cloth round their loins, the females cover their waist with leaves of the forest woven together. various reasons are assigned for this custom. according to a tradition, at the time when the koragars had reigned, now far distant, one of these 'blacklegged' (this is usually the expression by which they are referred to during the night) demanded a girl of high birth in marriage. being enraged at this, the upper class withheld, after the overthrow of the koragas, every kind of dress from koraga women, who, to protect themselves from disgrace, have since had recourse to the leaves of the forest, conceiving in the meantime that god had decreed this kind of covering." mr. walhouse writes [189] further that the koragas wear an "apron of twigs and leaves over the buttocks. once this was the only covering allowed them, and a mark of their deep degradation. but now, when no longer compulsory, and of no use, as it is worn over the clothes, the women still retain it, believing its disuse would be unlucky." "the koragas," mr. h. a. stuart tells us, [190] "cover the lower part of their body with a black cloth and the upper part with a white one, and their head-dress is a cap made of the areca-nut spathe, like that worn by the holeyas. their ornaments consist of brass ear-rings, an iron bracelet, and beads of bone strung on a thread and tied around their waist." the waist-belt of a koraga, whom i saw at udipi, was made of owl bones. "it may," mr. walhouse states, [191] "be noted that, according to the traditional accounts, when the invading hosts under habashika were in their turn overthrown and subjected, they accepted slavery under certain conditions that preserved to them some shadow of right. whilst it was declared that they should be for ever in a state of servitude, and be allowed a meal daily, but never the means of providing for the next day's meal. each slave was ascripted to his master under the following forms, which have come down to our days, and were observed in the purchase or transfer of slaves within living memory. the slave having washed, anointed himself with oil, and put on a new cloth, his future owner took a metal plate, filled it with water, and dropped in a gold coin, which the slave appropriated after drinking up the water. the slave then took some earth from his future master's estate, and threw it on the spot he chose for his hut, which was given over to him with all the trees thereon. when land was transferred, the slaves went with it, and might also be sold separately. occasionally they were presented to a temple for the service of the deity. this was done publicly by the master approaching the temple, putting some earth from before its entrance into the slave's mouth, and declaring that he abjured his rights, and transferred them to the deity within. rules were laid down, with the hindoo passion for regulating small matters, not only detailing what work the slaves should do, but what allowances of food they should receive, and what presents on certain festival occasions they should obtain from, or make to the master. on marriages among themselves, they prostrated themselves before the master and obtained his consent, which was accompanied with a small present of money and rice. the marriage over, they again came before the master, who gave them betel nuts, and poured some oil on the bride's head. on the master's death, his head slave immediately shaved his hair and moustache. there was also a list of offences for which masters might punish slaves, amongst which the employment of witchcraft, or sending out evil spirits against others, expressly figures; and the punishments with which each offence might be visited are specified, the worst of which are branding and flogging with switches. there was no power of life and death, and in cases of withholding the usual allowance, or of punishments severer than prescribed, slaves might complain to the authorities." on the subject of koraga slavery, mr. ullal raghvendra rao writes that "although these slaves are in a degraded condition, yet they by no means appear to be dejected or unhappy. a male slave gets three hanis of paddy (unhusked rice) or a hani and a half of rice daily, besides a small quantity of salt. the female slave gets two hanis of paddy, and, if they be man and wife, they can easily sell a portion of the rice to procure other necessaries of life. they are also allowed one cloth each every year, and, besides, when transferred from one master to another, they get a cocoanut, a jack tree (artocarpus integrifolia), and a piece of land where they can sow ten or twenty seers of rice. the greater number of slaves belong to the alia santanam castes (inheritance in the female line), and among these people a male slave is sold for three pagodas (fourteen rupees) and a female slave for five pagoda; whereas the few slaves who belong to the makkala santanam castes (inheritance in the male line) fetch five pagodas for the man slave, and three pagodas for the female. this is because the children of the latter go to the husband's master, while those of the former go to the mother's master, who has the benefit of the husband's services also. he has, however, to pay the expenses of their marriage, which amount to a pagoda and a half; and, in like manner, the master of the makkala santana slave pays two pagodas for his marriage, and gets possession of the female slave and her children. the master has the power of hiring out his slave, for whose services he receives annually about a mura of rice, or forty seers. they are also mortgaged for three or four pagodas." for the marriages of the koragas, mr. walhouse informs us that "sunday is an auspicious day, though monday is for the other slave castes. the bridegroom and bride, after bathing in cold water, sit on a mat in the former's house, with a handful of rice placed before them. an old man presides, takes a few grains of rice and sprinkles on their heads, as do the others present, first the males and then the females. the bridegroom then presents two silver coins to his wife, and must afterwards give six feasts to the community." at these feasts every koraga is said to vie with his neighbour in eating and drinking. "though amongst the other slave castes divorce is allowed by consent of the community, often simply on grounds of disagreement, and the women may marry again, with the koragars marriage is indissoluble, but a widow is entitled to re-marriage, and a man may have a second, and even third wife, all living with him." concerning the ceremonies observed on the birth of a child, mr. ullal raghvendra rao writes that "after a child is born, the mother (as among hindoos) is unholy, and cannot be touched or approached. the inmates take leave of the koppu for five nights, and depend on the hospitality of their friends, placing the mother under the sole charge of a nurse or midwife. on the sixth night the master of the koppu calls his neighbours, who can hardly refuse to oblige him with their presence. the mother and the child are then given a tepid bath, and this makes them holy. members of each house bring with them a seer of rice, half a seer of cocoanut oil, and a cocoanut. the woman with the baby is seated on a mat--her neighbour's presents before her in a flat basket. the oldest man present consults with his comrades as to what name will best suit the child. a black string is then tied round the waist of the baby. the rice, which comes in heaps from the neighbours, is used for dinner on the occasion, and the cocoanuts are split into two pieces, the lower half being given to the mother of the child, and the upper half the owner. this is the custom followed when the baby is a male one; in case of a female child, the owner receives the upper half, leaving the lower half for the mother. koragars were originally worshippers of the sun, and they are still called after the names of the days of the week--as aita (a corruption of aditya, or the sun); toma (soma, or the moon); angara (mangala); gurva (jupiter); tanya (shani, or saturn); tukra (shukra, or venus). they have no separate temples for their god, but a place beneath a kasaracana tree (strychnos nux-vomica) is consecrated for the worship of the deity which is exclusively their own, and is called kata. worship in honour of this deity is usually performed in the months of may, july, or october. two plantain leaves are placed on the spot, with a heap of boiled rice mixed with turmeric. as is usual in every ceremony observed by a koragar, the senior in age takes the lead, and prays to the deity to accept the offering and be satisfied. but now they have, by following the example of bants and sudras, exchanged their original object of worship for that of bhutas (demons)." on the subject of the religion of the koragas, mr. walhouse states that "like all the slave castes and lower races, the koragars worship mari amma, the goddess presiding over small-pox, the most dreadful form of parvati, the wife of siva. she is the most popular deity in canara, represented under the most frightful form, and worshipped with bloody rites. goats, buffaloes, pigs, fowls, etc., are slaughtered at a single blow by an asadi, one of the slave tribes from above the ghauts. although the koragars, in common with all slaves, are looked upon as excommunicated and unfit to approach any brahminical temple or deity, they have adopted the popular hindoo festivals of the gokalastami or krishna's birthday, and the chowti. in the latter, the preliminaries and prayers must be performed by a virgin." concerning these festivals, mr. ullal raghvendra rao gives the following details. "the koragars have no fixed feasts exclusively of their own, but for a long time they have been observing those of the hindus. of these two are important. one is gokula ashtami, or the birthday of krishna, and the other is the chowti or pooliyar feast. the latter is of greater importance than the former. the former is a holy day of abstinence and temperance, while the latter is associated with feasting and merry-making, and looks more like a gala-day set apart for anything but religious performance. on the ashtami some cakes of black gram are made in addition to the usual dainties. the services of bacchus are called in aid, and the master of the koppu invites his relatives and friends. a regular feasting commences, when the master takes the lead, and enjoys the company of his guests by seating himself in their midst. they are made to sit on the floor crosswise with a little space intervening between every guest, who pays strict regard to all the rules of decency and rank. to keep up the distinction of sexes, females are seated in an opposite row. the host calls upon some of his intimates or friends to serve on the occasion. the first dish is curry, the second rice; and cakes and dainties come in next. the butler koragar serves out to the company the food for the banquet, while the guests eat it heartily. if one of them lets so much as a grain of rice fall on his neighbour's plate, the whole company ceases eating. the offender is at once brought before the guests, and charged with having spoiled the dinner. he is tried there and then, and sentenced to pay a fine that will cover the expenses of another banquet. in case of resistance to the authority of the tribunal, he is excommunicated and abandoned by his wife, children and relatives. no one dare touch or speak to him. a plea of poverty of course receives a kind consideration. the offender is made to pay a small sum as a fine, which is paid for him by a well-to-do koragar. to crown the feast, a large quantity of toddy finds its way into the midst of the company. a small piece of dry areca leaf sewed together covers the head of a koragar, and forms for him his hat. this hat he uses as a cup, which contains a pretty large quantity of liquid. a sufficient quantity is poured into their cup, and if, in pouring, a drop finds its way to the ground, the butler is sure to undergo the same penalty that attaches itself to any irregularity in the dinner as described above. after the banquet, some male members of the group join in a dance to the pipe and drum, while others are stimulated by the intoxicating drink into frisking and jumping about. to turn to the other festival. the inmates of the house are required to fast the previous night--one and all of them--and on the previous day flesh or drink is not allowed. the next morning before sunrise, a virgin bathes, and smears cowdung over a part of the house. the place having been consecrated, a new basket, specially made for the occasion, is placed on that spot. it contains a handful of beaten rice, two plantains, and two pieces of sugar-cane. the basket is then said to contain the god of the day, whom the sugar-cane represents, and the spot is too holy to be approached by man or woman. a common belief which they hold, that the prayers made by a virgin are duly responded to on account of her virgin purity, does not admit of the worship being conducted by any one else. the girl adorns the basket with flowers of the forest, and prays for the choicest blessings on the inmates of the house all the year round. a koraga woman, when found guilty of adultery, is said to be treated in the following extraordinary way. if her paramour is of low caste similar to herself, he has to marry her. but, in order to purify her for the ceremony, he has to build a hut, and put the woman inside. it is then set on fire, and the woman escapes as best she can to another place where the same performance is gone through, and so on until she has been burnt out seven times. she is then considered once more an honest woman, and fit to be again married. according to mr. walhouse, "a row of seven small huts is built on a river-bank, set fire to, and the offender made to run over the burning sticks and ashes as a penance." a similar form of ordeal has been described as occurring among the bakutas of south canara by mr. stuart. "when a man is excommunicated, he must perform a ceremony called yelu halli sudodu, which means burning seven villages, in order to re-enter the caste. for this ceremony, seven small booths are built, and bundles of grass are piled against them. the excommunicated man has then to pass through these huts one after the other, and, as he does so, the headman sets fire to the grass" (cf. koyi). it is suggested by mr. r. e. enthoven that the idea seems to be "a rapid representation of seven existences, the outcast regaining his status after seven generations have passed without further transgression. the parallel suggested is the law of manu that seven generations are necessary to efface a lapse from the law of endogamous marriage." of death ceremonies mr. walhouse tells us that "on death the bodies of all the slave castes used to be burnt, except in cases of death from small-pox. this may have been to obviate the pollution of the soil by their carcases when their degradation was deepest, but now, and from long past, burial is universal. the master's permission is still asked, and, after burial, four balls of cooked rice are placed on the grave, possibly a trace of the ancient notion of supplying food to the ghost of the deceased." a handful is said [192] to be "removed from the grave on the sixteenth day after burial, and buried in a pit. a stone is erected over it, on which some rice and toddy are placed as a last offering to the departed soul which is then asked to join its ancestors." "it may," mr. walhouse writes, "be noted that the koragars alone of all the slave or other castes eat the flesh of alligators (crocodiles), and they share with one or two other divisions of the slaves a curious scruple or prejudice against carrying any four-legged animal, dead or alive. this extends to anything with four legs, such as chairs, tables, cots, etc., which they cannot be prevailed upon to lift unless one leg be removed. as they work as coolies, this sometimes produces inconvenience. a somewhat similar scruple obtains among the bygas of central india, whose women are not allowed to sit or lie on any four-legged bed or stool." like the koragas, the bakudas of south canara "will not carry a bedstead unless the legs are first taken off, and it is said that this objection rests upon a supposed resemblance between the four-legged cot and the four-legged ox." [193] of the language spoken by the koragars, mr. ullal raghvendra rao states that "it is a common belief that the koragar has a peculiar dialect generally spoken by him at his koppu. he may be induced to give an account of his feasts, his gods, his family, but a word about his dialect will frighten him out of his wits. generally polite and well-behaved, he becomes impolite and unmannerly when questioned about his dialect." "all the hindoos," mr. walhouse writes, "believe that the koragars have a language of their own, understood only by themselves, but it seems doubtful whether this is anything more than an idiom, or slang." a vocabulary of the koraga dialect is contained in the south canara manual (1895). korama.--see korava. korava.--members of this nomad tribe, which permeates the length of the indian peninsula, through countries where many languages and dialects are spoken, are likely to be known by different names in different localities, and this is the case. they are known as korava from the extreme south to the north of the north arcot district, where they are called koracha or korcha, and in the ceded districts they become yerukala or yerakala. in calcutta they have been traced practising as quack doctors, and assuming maratha names, or adding terminations to their own, which suggest that they belong to a caste in the south higher in the social scale than they really do. some koravas pass for vellalas, calling themselves agambadiar vellalas with the title pillai. others call themselves palli, kavarai, idaiyan, reddi, etc. [194] as railways spread over the country, they readily adapted themselves to travelling by them, and the opportunities afforded for going quickly far from the scene of a recently committed crime, or for stealing from sleeping passengers, were soon availed of. in 1899, the superintendent of government railways reported that "the large organization of thieves, commonly called kepmari koravas (though they never call themselves so), use the railway to travel far. some of them are now settled at cuttack, where they have set up as native doctors, whose speciality is curing piles. some are at midnapur, and are going on to calcutta, and there were some at puri some time ago. it is said that a gang of them has gone recently to tinnevelly, and taken up their abode near sermadevi, calling themselves servaikars. one morning, in tinnevelly, while the butler in a missionary's house was attending to his duties, an individual turned up with a fine fowl for sale. the butler, finding that he could purchase it for about half the real price, bought it, and showed it to his wife with no small pride in his ability in making a bargain. but he was distinctly crestfallen when his wife pointed out that it was his own bird, which had been lost on the previous night. the seller was a korava." in 1903, a gang of koravas, travelling in the guise of pujaris, was arrested at puri. the police discovered that a warrant remained unexecuted against one of them, who had been concerned in a dacoity case in north arcot many years previously. the report of the case states that "cognate with the kepmaries is a class of korava pujaris (as they call themselves in their own village), who, emanating from one small hamlet in the tanjore district, are spread more or less all over india. there are, or were until the other day, and probably are still some of them in cuttack, balasore, midnapur, ahmedabad, patna, bombay, secunderabad, and other places. one of them attained a high position in bombay. their ostensible profession is that of curing piles and fistulas, but it is noticeable that, sooner or later after their taking up their abode at any place, the kepmaries are to be found somewhere near, and the impression, which is not quite a certainty but very nearly so, is that they play the convenient rôle of receivers of property stolen by the kepmaries." kepmari is regarded as a very strong term of abuse, indicating, as it does, a rogue of the worst character. in the southern districts, the kasukkar chettis and shanans are said to be very much trusted by the koravas in the disposal of property. it is noted by mr. h. a. stuart [195] that the koravas or yerukalas are a vagrant tribe found throughout the presidency, and in many parts of india. in the telugu country they are called yerukalavandlu or korachavandlu, but they always speak of themselves as kurru, and there is not the slightest room for the doubt that has been expressed regarding the identity of the koravas and yerukalas. several derivations of yerukala have been proposed by wilson and others. it has been suggested, for example, that yeru is connected with erra, meaning red. in telugu yerukalavandlu would mean fortune-tellers, and dr. oppert suggests that this is the origin of the name yerukala. he says [196] "it is highly probable that the name and the occupation of the fortune-telling kuruvandlu or kuluvandlu induced the telugu people to call this tribe yerukulavandlu. dr. oppert further connects kurru with the root ku, a mountain; and, in a tamil work of the ninth century, [197] kurru or kura (kuramagal) is given as the name of a hill tribe." a strong argument in favour of the caste name being connected with the profession of fortune-telling is afforded by the fact that women go about the streets, calling out "yeruko, amma, yeruku," i.e., prophecies, mother, prophecies. the kuravas are, mr. francis writes, [198] "a gipsy tribe found all over the tamil country, but chiefly in kurnool, salem, coimbatore and south arcot. kuravas have usually been treated as being the same as the yerukalas. both castes are wandering gipsies, both live by basket-making and fortune-telling, both speak a corrupt tamil, and both may have sprung from one original stock. it is noteworthy in this connection that the yerukalas are said to call one another kurru or kura. but their names are not used as interchangeable in the districts where each is found, and there seem to be no real differences between the two bodies. they do not intermarry, or eat together. the kuravas are said to tie a piece of thread soaked in turmeric water round the bride's neck at weddings, while yerukalas use a necklace of black beads. the yerukalas have a tradition that those who went to fetch the tali and pipe never returned, and they consequently use black beads as a substitute for the tali, and a bell for the pipe. the kuravas worship subramanya, the son of siva, while the yerukalas worship vishnu in the form of venkateswara and his wife lakshmi. it may be noted that, in a very early sanskrit drama, the brahman thief mocks subramanya as being the patron saint of thieves. the kuravas treat the gentler sex in a very casual manner, mortgaging or selling their wives without compunction, but the yerukalas are particular about the reputation of their womankind, and consider it a serious matter if any of them return home without an escort after sunset. the statistics of this year accordingly show yerukalas separately from koravas. the reports from the various districts, however, give such discrepant accounts of both castes, that the matter is clearly in need of further enquiry." there is no district in the madras presidency or elsewhere, where both koravas and yerukalas live, unless it be the smallest possible corner of the coimbatore district bordering on the south-east of mysore, for the name korcha intervenes; and, for a wide strip of country including the north of the north arcot district and south of the cuddapah district, the korava is known as a korcha, and the census superintendent, in common with other authorities, has admitted these names to be synonymous. it is in the north of the cuddapah district that the yerukalas first appear in co-existence with the korcha. the korcha being admitted on all sides to be the same as the korava, our doubt regarding the identity of the korava with the yerukala will be disposed of if we can establish the fact that the korcha and the yerukala are the same. the rev. j. cain, writing [199] about the yerukalas of the godavari district, states that "among themselves they call each other kuluvaru, but the telugu people call them erakavaru or erakalavaru, and this name has been derived from the telugu word eruka, which means knowledge or acquaintance, as they are great fortune-tellers." according to balfour, [200] the koravas, or a certain section of them, i.e., the kunchi koravas, were known as yerkal koravar, and they called the language they spoke yerkal. the same authority, writing of the yerkalwadu, alludes to them as kurshiwanloo, and goes on to say that they style themselves yerkal, and give the same appellation to the language in which they hold communication. the word yerkal here undoubtedly stands for yerukala, and kurshi for korcha. it is evident from this, supported by authorities such as wilson, campbell, brown and shortt, that the doubt mentioned by the census superintendent in regard to the identity of the yerukala and korava had not arisen when the cyclopædia of india was published, and it is the subsequent reports of later investigators that are responsible for it. the divergencies of practices reported must be reckoned with, and accounted for. they may be due to local customs existing in widely separated areas. it is contended that the koravas and yerukalas do not intermarry or eat together. a korava, who has made a permanent home in a village in the south, if asked whether he would marry a yerukala, would most certainly answer in the negative, probably having never heard of such a person. a circular letter, submitted to a number of police inspectors in several districts, produced the same sort of discrepant information complained of by the census superintendent. but one inspector extracted from his notes the information that, in 1895, marriages took place between the southern koravas of a gang from the madura district and the yerukalas of the cuddapah district; and, further, that the son of one of a gang of yerukalas in the anantapur district married a korcha girl from a gang belonging to the mysore state. the consensus of opinion also goes to prove that they will eat together. yerukalas undoubtedly place a string of black beads as a tali round the bride's neck on marriage occasions, and the same is used by the koravas. information concerning the use of a turmeric-dyed string came from only one source, namely, hosur in the salem district, and it was necessary even here for the string to be furnished with a round bottu, which might be a bead. a plain turmeric-soaked thread appears to be more the exception than the rule. yerukalas are both vaishnavites and saivites, and a god worshipped by any one gang cannot be taken as a representative god for the whole class. yerukalas may treat their womankind better than the southern koravas, but this is only a matter of degree, as the morals of both are slack. the yerukalas, occupying, as they do, the parched centre of the peninsula, more frequently devastated by famine than the localities occupied by the koravas, may have learnt in a hard school the necessity of taking care of their wives; for, if they allowed them to pass to another man, and a drought ruined his crop and killed the cattle, he would find it hard to procure another, the probability being that the price of wives rises in a common ratio with other commodities in a time of scarcity. from the accounts given by them, it appears that the koravas claim to have originated in mythological ages. the account varies slightly according to the locality, but the general outlines agree more or less with the story related in the bhagavatham. the purohits, or priests, are the safest guides, and it was one of them who told the following story, culled, as he admitted, from the sastras and the ramayana. when the great venudu, son of agneswathu, who was directly descended from brahma, ruled over the universe, he was unable to procure a son and heir to the throne, and, when he died, his death was looked on as an irreparable misfortune. his body was preserved. the seven ruling planets sat in solemn conclave, and consulted as to what they should do. finally they agreed to create a being from the right thigh of the deceased venudu, and they accordingly fashioned and gave life to nishudu. but their work was not successful, for nishudu turned out to be not only deformed in body, but repulsively ugly in face. it was agreed at another meeting of the planets that he was not a fit person to be placed on the throne. so they set to work again, and created a being from the right shoulder of venudu, and their second effort was crowned with success. they called the second creation proothu chakravarthi, and, as he gave general satisfaction, he was placed on the throne. this supersession naturally caused the first-born nishudu to be discontented, and he sought a lonely place, in which he communed with the gods, begging of them the reason why they had created him if he was not to rule. the gods explained that he could not now be placed on the throne, as chakravarthi had already been installed, but that he should be a ruler over forests. in this capacity nishudu begat the boyas, chenchus, yanadis, and koravas. the boyas were his legitimate children, but the others were all illegitimate. it is because nishudu watched in solemn silence to know his creator that some of his offspring called themselves yerukalas (yeruka, to know). another story explains the name korava. when the princes dharmaraja and duryodana were at variance, the former, to avoid strife, went into voluntary exile. a woman who loved him set out in search of him, but, through fear of being identified, disguised herself as a fortune-teller. in this manner she found him, and their offspring became known as koravas, from kuru, fortune-telling. the appellation koracha or korcha appears to be of later date than korava, and is said to be derived from the hindustani kori (sly), korri nigga (sly look) becoming corrupted into korcha. whenever this name was applied to them, they had evidently learnt their calling thoroughly, and the whole family, in whatever direction its branches spread, established a reputation for cunning in snaring animals or birds, or purloining other peoples' goods, until to-day their names are used for the purpose of insulting abuse in the course of a quarrel. thus a belligerant might call the other a thieving yerukala, or ask, in tones other than polite, if he belongs to a gang of korchas. in the tamil country, a man is said to kura-kenju, or cringe like a korava, and another allusion to their dishonesty is kurapasangu, to cheat like a korava. the proverb "kuruvan's justice is the ruin of the family" refers to the endless nature of their quarrels, the decision of which will often occupy the headmen for weeks together. in communicating among themselves, the koravas and yerukalas speak a corrupt polyglot, in which the words derived from several languages bear little resemblance to the original. their words appear to be taken chiefly from tamil, telugu, and canarese. a short vocabulary of the yerukala language has been published by the rev. j. cain. [201] the yerukalas call this language oodra, which seems to stand for gibberish or thieves' slang, or, as they explain, something very hard to understand. oriya or oodra is the language of the districts of ganjam and orissa. the word oriya means north, and the fact that the yerukalas call their language oodra would seem to confirm their belief that they are a northern tribe. the wanderers always know more than one language colloquially, and are able to make themselves understood by the people of the country through which they may be passing. those who have settled in villages invariably speak the language of the locality. when talking among themselves, they call a brahman thanniko koravan, or the bathing korava. they consider the brahmans to be more cunning than themselves, and, as they are fond of bathing to remove pollution, they have given them this nickname. a detailed account of the korava slang and patois has been published by mr. f. fawcett, deputy inspector-general of police, [202] from whose note thereon the following examples are taken:- constable erthalakayadu. red-headed man. head constable kederarilu. the man who rides on an ass. taking bribe kalithindrathu. eating ragi food. toddy uggu perumalu white water, or good water. ollaithanni. fowls rendukal naidu. the naidu of two legs. mussalmans arthupottavungo. those who have cut (circumcised). pariah utharalu keenjalu. the man that pipes. butcher's knife elamayarathe that for striking those bottarathu. that graze leaves. rupees palakanna. milk eyes. ollakelluka. white pebbles. korava society is purely patriarchal, and, in whatever division or sept of the caste a korava may be born, he has to subordinate himself to the will of his elders or the leaders of his particular gang. the head of a gang is called the peru manusan or beriya manasan (big man). he is selected principally because of his age, intelligence, and the influence he commands amongst the members of the gang. it is a post which carries with it no remuneration whatever, but the holder presides at all consultations, and is given the position of honour at all social functions. concerning the caste government, mr. fawcett writes that "the kulam or caste assembly adjudicates claims, inflicts penalties, ejects individuals from the caste, or readmits them thereto. free drinking of toddy at the expense of one of the parties accompanies every caste assembly. it is the aggrieved party who gives notice for assembly of the kulam. the disputants join hands, thereby indicating to the kulam that their dispute should be decided by them. each pays one rupee. the kulam may decide the dispute at once, or adjourn for further consideration at any time. the next meeting is called the second joining of hands, when each pays one rupee, as before, to be spent in toddy. a man who fails to attend when the kulam has been convened loses his caste absolutely. if there is a third adjournment, that is a third joining of hands, each side pays rs. 3 1/2 for toddy, to keep the kulam in good spirits. as this is always the final adjournment, the decision is sometimes arrived at by means of an ordeal. an equal quantity of rice is placed in two pots of equal weight having a quantity of water, and there is an equal quantity of firewood. the judges satisfy themselves most carefully as to quantity, weights, and so on. the water is boiled, and the man whose rice boils first is declared to be the winner of the dispute. the loser is to recoup the winner all his expenses. it sometimes happens that both pots boil at the same time; then a coin is to be picked out of a pot containing boiling oil. there is yet another method of settling disputes about money. the amount claimed is brought by one party, and placed beside an idol. the claimant is then asked to take it, and, should nothing unpleasant happen to him or to his family afterwards, he is declared to have made out his claim. the kulam has nothing whatever to do with planning the execution of offences, but is sometimes called upon to decide about the division of plunder, as, for instance, when any member of a criminal expedition improperly secretes something for himself. but they engage vakils (pleaders) for defending members of the gang who are charged with a criminal offence, whether they have been concerned in it or not." there are a great many classes of koravas, most of them obtaining their names from the particular occupations they have followed as an ostensible means of livelihood for many generations. but, whatever they may call themselves, they all, according to mr. mainwaring, fall within three divisions, viz.:- 1. sakai, sampathi, sathupadi. 2. kavadi or gujjula. 3. devarakonda, mendrakutti, or menapadi. the members of the first two divisions are pure koravas, the legitimate descendants of koravas who have never married outside the caste, whereas the third division represents and includes the mixed marriages, and the offspring thereof. the koravas receive into their ranks members of castes other than paraiyans (including malas and madigas), yanadis, mangalas, and tsakalas. the ceremony of introduction into the korava community consists in burning the tongue with a piece of gold. the koravas have a strong objection to taking food touched by medaras, because, in their professional occupation of doing wicker-work, they use an awl which resembles the tool used by madigas in shoe-making. the koravas are said to be divided into two large families, which they call pothu and penti, meaning male and female. all the families included in the first division noted above are pothu, and those in the second penti. the families in the third division, being the product of mixed marriages, and the position of females being a lowly one, they are also considered to be penti. the pothu section is said to have arisen from men going in search of brides for themselves, and the pentis from men going in search of husbands for their daughters. when a korava, male or female, wishes to marry, a partner must be sought in a division other than their own. for example, a korava of the first division is bound to marry a female belonging to the second or third division, who, after marriage, belongs to her husband's division. this may be a little hard on the women of the first division, because they are bound to descend in the social scale. however, their daughters can rise by marrying into the first division. for the purpose of religious ceremonies, each division has fixed duties. the members of the first division have the right of decorating the god, and dressing him in his festival attire. those of the second division carry the god and the regalia in procession, and burn incense, and those of the third drag the temple car, and sing and shout during its progress. for this reason, it is said, they are sometimes called bandi (cart). "the major divisions," mr. paupa rao naidu writes, "are four in number, and according to their gradation they are sathepati, kavadi, manapati, mendragutti. they are all corrupted tamil words. "1. sathepati is a corruption of sathupadi, which means adorning a hindu deity with flowers, jewels and vestments. "2. kavadi, meaning a pole carried on the shoulders with two baskets pendant from its ends, in which are contained offerings for a deity or temple. "3. manapati is a corruption of manpadi, which means singing in praise of god, when he is worshipped in a temple. "4. mendragutti is a corruption of menrikutti, which means stitching a pair of shoes, and presenting them to the temple--a custom still prevalent at tirupati and other important shrines. "of these four divisions, the first two are, or rather were, considered superior to the other two, a kavadi man being styled pothuvadu (man), and a sathepati man penti (female)." a still further classification of divisions and sub-divisions is given by mr. f. s. mullaly. [203] i am informed by mr. c. hayavadana rao that, in the vizagapatam district, the yerukalas are divided into pattapu or odde, and thurpu (eastern). of these, the former, when they are prosperous, live in tiled houses, while the latter live in huts. pattapu women wear brass bangles on both wrists, and thurpu women brass bangles on the right wrist, and glass bangles on the left. the former throw the end of their cloth over the left shoulder, and the latter over the right. it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the trichinopoly district, that "the kuravans are divided into a number of endogamous sections, of which the ina kuravans and the kavalkaran kuravans are the most criminal, especially the latter. the latter are also called the marasa, mondu, and kadukutti kuravans. in dress and appearance the namakkal kuravans are said to be superior to those of karur, and to look like well-dressed vellalans or pallis. they are peculiar in wearing long ear-rings. they are also said to be much better thieves than the others, and to dislike having a karur kuravan when breaking into a house, for fear he might wake the household by his clumsiness." as examples of intiperu, or exogamous septs, the following, which were given by uppu yerukalas, may be cited:- dasari, vaishnavite mendicant. sukka, star. kampa, bush of thorns. avula, cows. thoka, tail. kanaga (pongamia glabra). bandi, cart. gajjala, small bell. mogili (pandanus fascicularis) uyyala, swing. ragala, ragi grain. pula, flowers. katari, dagger. ambojala, lotus. samudrala, sea. venkatagiri, a town. "a knowledge," mr. fawcett writes, "of these house or sept names may be useful in order to establish a man's identity, as a koravar, who is generally untruthful as to his own name, is seldom if ever so as regards his house or sept name, and his father's name. he considers it shameful to lie about his parentage, 'to be born to one, and yet to give out the name of another.' totemism of some kind evidently exists, but it is rather odd that it has not always any apparent connection with the sept or house name. thus, the totem of persons of the koneti sept is horse-gram (kollu in tamil), which they hold in veneration, and will not touch, eat, or use in any way. the totem of the samudrala sept is the conch shell, which likewise will not be used by those of the sept in any manner. it may be noted that persons of the rameswari sept will not eat tortoises, while those of the koneti sept are in some manner obliged to do so on certain occasions." as regards names for specific occupations among the koravas, the bidar or nomad koravas originally carried merchandise in the form of salt, tamarinds, jaggery (crude sugar or molasses), leaves of the curry leaf plant (murraya koenigii) from place to place on pack-bullocks or donkeys. the leaves were in great demand, and those who brought them round for sale were called in tamil karuvaipillai, and in telugu karepaku, after the commodity which they carried. this is a common custom in india, and when driving through the bazar, one may hear, for example, an old woman carrying a bundle of wood addressed as firewood. "kavadi" will be screamed at a man carrying a pole (kavadi) with baskets, etc., suspended from it, who got in the way of another. the section of koravas who carried salt inland from the coast became known as uppu (salt) koravas. another large class are the thubba, dhubbai, or dhabbai (split bamboo) koravas, who restrict their wanderings to the foot of hill ranges, where bamboos are obtainable. with these they make baskets for the storage of grain, for carrying manure at the bottom of carts, and various fancy articles. in the kurnool district, the yerukalas will only cut bamboos at the time of the new moon, as they are then supposed to be free from attacks by boring weevils, and they do certain puja (worship) to the goddess malalamma, who presides over the bamboos. in the nallamalai forests, the yerukalas do not split the bamboo into pieces and remove the whole, but take off only a very thin strip consisting of the outer rind. the strips are made up into long bundles, which can be removed by donkeys. there is extreme danger of fire, because the inner portions of the bamboos, left all over the forest, are most inflammable. [204] instead of splitting the bamboos in the forest, and leaving behind a lot of combustible material, the yerukalas now have to purchase whole bamboos, and take them outside the forest to split them. the members of a gang of these yerukalas, who came before me at nandyal, were each carrying a long split bamboo wand as an occupational insigne. a further important section is that of the kunchu or kunchil koravas, who gather roots in the jungle, and make them into long brushes which are used by weavers. the koravas have a monopoly in their manufacture, and take pride in making good brushes. these kunchu koravas are excellent shikaris (hunters), and snare antelope, partridges, duck, quail, and other game with great skill. for the purpose of shooting antelopes, or of getting close enough to the young ones to catch them after a short run, they use a kind of shield made of dried twigs ragged at the edges, which looks like an enormous wind-blown bundle of grass. when they come in sight of a herd of antelopes, they rest one edge of the shield on the ground, and, sitting on their heels behind it, move it slowly forward towards the herd until they get sufficiently close to dash at the young ones, or shoot the grown-up animals. the antelopes are supposed to mistake the shield for a bush, and to fail to notice its gradual approach. they capture duck and teal largely at night, and go to the rice fields below a tank (pond or lake), in which the crop is young, and the ground consequently not entirely obscured. this would be a likely feeding-ground, or traces of duck having fed there on the previous night might be noticed. they peg a creeper from one bund (mud embankment) to another, parallel to the tank bund, four inches above the water in the field. from this they suspend a number of running loops made of sinews drawn from the legs of sheep or goats or from the hind-legs of hares, the lower ends of the loops touching the mud under water. if the duck or teal come to feed, they are sure to be caught, and fall victims to the slip noose. "the kuntsu (kunchu) korachas," mr. francis tells us, [205] "catch small birds by liming twigs or an arrangement of bits of bamboo with a worm hung inside it, or by setting horse-hair nooses round the nests. quails they capture by freely snaring a piece of ground, and then putting a quail in a cage in the middle of it, to lure the birds towards the snare. they also catch them, and partridges too, by driving the bevy towards a collapsible net. to do this, they cover themselves with a dark blanket, conceal their heads in a kind of big hat made of hair, feathers and grass, and stalk the birds from a bullock trained to the work, very gradually driving them into the net. they also occasionally capture black-buck (antelope) by sending a tame buck with nooses on his horns to fight with a wild one. the latter speedily gets his horns entangled in the nooses, and is easily secured." sometimes the kunchu korava begs in villages, dragging about with him a monkey, while the females earn a livelihood by tattooing, which occupation, known as pricking with green, has gained for them the name of pacchai (green) kutti. the patterns used in tattooing by a korava woman, whom i interviewed, were drawn in a note-book, and consisted of fishes, scorpions, a fortress, five-storeyed house, conventional designs, etc. the patterns were drawn on the skin, with great dexterity and skill in freehand drawing, by means of a blunt stick dipped in a mixture of a lamp-black, lamp-oil, and turmeric contained in a half cocoanut shell. the pattern is pricked in with a bundle of four or five needles tied together. the needles and drawing-stick were kept in a hollow bamboo, and the tattooing mixture in the scooped out fruits of the bael (ægle marmelos) and palmyra palm (borassus flabellifer). for tattooing an entire upper extremity, at several sittings, the korava woman would be paid from eight to twelve annas, or receive food-grains in lieu of money. the hot weather is said to be more favourable for the operation than the cold season, as the swelling after it is less. to check this, lamp-oil, turmeric, and leaves of the avarai plant (dolichos lablab) are applied. concerning the pacchaikuttis, or, as they are also called, gadde (soothsayers), mr. paupa rao naidu writes that "the women start with a basket and a winnowing basket or tray into a village, proclaiming their ostensible profession of tattooing and soothsaying, which they do for grain or money. when unfortunate village women, who always lose children or who often fall ill, see these gadde women moving about, they call them into their houses, make them sit, and, pouring some grain into their baskets, ask them about their past misery and future lot. these women, who are sufficiently trained to speak in suitable language, are clever enough to give out some yarns in equivocal terms, so that the anxious women, who hope for better futurity, understand them in the light uppermost in their own minds. the korava women will be rewarded duly, and doubly too, for they never fail to study the nature of the house all the time, to see if it offers a fair field for booty to their men." at srungavarapukota in the vizagapatam district "the local goddess, yerakamma, is a deification of a woman who committed sati. ballads are sung about her, which say that she was the child of dasari parents, and that her birth was foretold by a yerukala woman (whence her name) who prophesied that she would have the gift of second sight. she eventually married, and one day she begged her husband not to go to his field, as she was sure he would be killed by a tiger if he did. her husband went notwithstanding, and was slain as she had foreseen. she committed sati on the spot where her shrine still stands." [206] the ur or village koravas have given up their nomad life, and settled in villages of their own, or together with other communities. many of them have attended pial schools, and can read and write to some extent. some of them are employed in the police and salt departments, as jail warders, etc. the ur korava is fast losing his individuality, and assimilating, in dress, manners and customs, the ryots among whom he dwells. in the salem district there is a village called koravur, which is inhabited entirely by koravas, who say that they were originally uppu koravas, but now cultivate their own lands, or work as agricultural labourers for the land-owners. they say further that they pay an occasional visit to madras for the purpose of replenishing their stock of coral and beads, which they sell at local shandis (markets). some koravas are said to buy gilded beads at madura, and cheat unsuspecting villagers by selling them as gold. though the ur koravas are becoming civilised, they have not yet lost their desire for other men's goods, and are reported to be the curse of the anantapur, cuddapah, and bellary districts, where they commit robbery, house-breaking, and theft, especially of sheep and cattle. a particularly bold sheep theft by them a few years ago is worthy of mention. the village of singanamalla in the anantapur district lies a few miles off the railway. it is bordered on two sides by government forest reserves, into which the villagers regularly drove their sheep and goats to graze, in charge of small boys, in the frequent absences of the forest watcher, or when the watcher was well disposed towards them. an arrangement was made between the koravas and a meat-supplier at bangalore to deliver on his behalf a large number of sheep at a wayside station near dharmavaram, to receive which trucks had to be ready, and the transaction was purely cash. one morning, when more than a hundred sheep had been driven far into the reserve by their youthful charges, who kept more or less close together for the sake of company, a number of koravas turned up, and represented themselves as forest watchers, captured the small boys, gagged them and tied them to trees, and drove off all the available sheep. the boys were not discovered till late at night, and the police did not get to work till the following morning, by which time the sheep were safely entrained for bangalore. it is noted, in the madras police report, 1905-1906, that "a large number of members of the notorious rudrapad koracha gangs have recently been released from his highness the nizam's prisons, and their return will add appreciably to the difficulties of the bellary police." a small class of koravas is named pamula (snake), as they follow the calling of snake-charmers. in the census report, 1901, pusalavadu (seller of glass beads) and utlavadu (makers of utlams) are given as sub-castes of yerukala. an utlam is a hanging receptacle for pots, etc., made of palmyra fibre. in the same report, kadukuttukiravar (those who bore a hole in the ear) and valli ammai kuttam (followers of the goddess valli ammai) are returned as synonyms of koravas. they claim that valli ammai, the wife of the god subrahmanya, was a korava woman. old tamil books refer to the koravas as fortune-tellers to kings and queens, and priests to subrahmanya. some koravas have, at times of census, returned themselves as kudaikatti (basket-making) vanniyans. balfour refers to walaja koravas, and states that they are musicians. they are probably identical with the wooyaloo koravas, [207] whose duty it is to swing incense, and sing before the god during a religious celebration. the same writer speaks of bajantri or sonai kolawaru and kolla and soli korawars, and states that they inhabit the southern maratha country. these names, like thogamallai for koravas who come from the village of that name in the trichinopoly district, are probably purely local. further, the abbé dubois states that "the third species of kuravers is generally known under the name of kalla bantru, or robbers. the last muhammadan prince who reigned over mysore is said to have employed a regular battalion of these men in time of war, not for the purpose of fighting, but to infest the enemy's camp in the night, stealing away the horses and other necessaries of the officers, and acting as spies. they were awarded in proportion to the dexterity they displayed in these achievements, and, in time of peace, they were despatched into the various states of neighbouring princes, to rob for the benefit of their masters." it is possible that the kaikadis of the central provinces are identical with koravas, who have migrated thither. a section of koravas, called koot (dancing) or kothee (monkey) kaikaries, is referred to by mr. paupa rao naidu as "obtaining their living by prostitution. they also kidnap or sell children for this purpose. some of the women of this class are thriving well in the madras presidency as experts in dancing. they are kept by rich people, and are called in the telugu country erukala bogamvaru, in tamil korava thevidia. they also train monkeys, and show them to the public." the household god of the korava, which is as a rule very rudely carved, may be a representation of either vishnu or siva. as already noted, it is stated in the census report, 1901, that the koravas worship subrahmanya, the son of siva, while the yerukalas worship vishnu in the form of venkateswara and his wife lakshmi. they worship, in addition to these, kolapuriamma, perumalaswami, and other appropriate deities, prior to proceeding on a depredatory expedition. kolapuriamma is the goddess of kolhapur, the chief town of the native state of that name in the bombay presidency, who is famous in southern india. perumalswami, or venkateswara, is the god of tirupati, the great place of pilgrimage in the north arcot district. the signs of a recent performance of worship by koravas may prove an indication to the police that they have been concerned in a dacoity, and act as a clue to detection thereof. they sacrifice sheep or goats once a year to their particular god on a sunday or tuesday, while those who worship venkateswara honour him on a saturday, and break cocoanuts as an offering. all offerings presented to the gods are divided among those present, after the ceremonies have been completed. venkateswara is said to be sometimes represented, for the purpose of worship, by a brass vessel (kalasam) decorated with flowers, and bearing on it the vaishnavite namam (sect mark). its mouth is closed by a cocoanut, beneath which mango or betel leaves are placed. on the day appointed for the religious service, everything within the hut is thrown outside, and the floor is purified with cow-dung, and devices are drawn thereon. the brass vessel is set up, and offerings of large quantities of food are made to it. some of this dedicated food (prasadam) must be given to all the inhabitants of the settlement. a lump of clay, squeezed into a conical shape, with a tuft of margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves does duty for poleramma. in front thereof, three stones are placed. poleramma may be worshipped close to, but not within, the hut. to her offerings of boiled rice (pongal) are made by fasting women. the manner in which the boiling food bubbles over from the cooking-pot is eagerly watched, and accepted as an omen for good or evil. in a note on the coorroo, balfour states [208] that "they told me that, when they pray, they construct a small pyramid of clay, which they term mariamma, and worship it. the women had small gold and silver ornaments suspended from cords round their necks, which they said had been supplied to them by a goldsmith, from whom they had ordered figures of mariamma. the form represented is that of the goddess kali. they mentioned that they had been told by their forefathers that, when a good man dies, his spirit enters the body of some of the better animals, as that of a horse or cow, and that a bad man's spirit gives life to the form of a dog or jackal, but they did not seem to believe in it. they believe firmly, however, in the existence and constant presence of a principle of evil, who, they say, frequently appears, my informant having himself often seen it in the dusk of the evening assuming various forms, at times a cat, anon a goat, and then a dog, taking these shapes that it might approach to injure him." the domestic god of the koravas, in the southern districts, is said to be sathavu, for whom a day of worship is set apart once in three or four years. the koravas assemble, and, in an open place to the west of the village, a mud platform is erected, on which small bricks are spread. in front of the platform are placed a sickle, sticks, and arrack (liquor). cocoanuts, plantain fruits, and rice are offered, and sheep sacrificed. sandal and turmeric are poured over the bricks, and camphor is burnt. the proceedings terminate with a feast. the presiding goddess of the criminal profession of the koravas is stated by mr. m. paupa rao naidu [209] to be moothevi, the goddess of sleep, whom they dread and worship more than any other god or goddess of the hindu pantheon. the object of this worship is twofold, one being to keep themselves vigilant, and the other to throw their victims off their guard. moothevi is invoked in their prayers to keep them sleepless while on their nefarious purpose bent, but withal to make their victims sufficiently sleepy over their property. this goddess is worshipped especially by females, who perform strange orgies periodically, to propitiate her. a secluded spot is preferred for performing these orgies, at which animal sacrifices are made, and there is distribution of liquor in honour of the goddess. the edayapatti gang worship in addition the deity ratnasabhapathy at ayyamala. when prosecuted for a crime, the koravan invokes his favourite deity to let him off with a whipping in the words 'if the punishment of whipping be inflicted i shall adore the goddess.' the following account of a peculiar form of human sacrifice by the koravas in former days was given to mr. c. hayavadana rao by an old inhabitant of the village of asur near walajabad in the chingleput district. a big gang settled at the meeting point of the three villages of asur, melputtur, and avalur, on an elevated spot commanding the surrounding country. they had with them their pack-bullocks, each headman of the gang owning about two hundred head. the cow-dung which accumulated daily attracted a good many of the villagers, on one of whom the headmen fixed as their intended victim. they made themselves intimate with him, plied him with drink and tobacco, and gave him the monopoly of the cow-dung. thus a week or ten days passed away, and the koravas then fixed a day for the sacrifice. they invited the victim to visit them at dusk, and witness a great festival in honour of their caste goddess. at the appointed hour, the man went to the settlement, and was induced to drink freely. meanwhile, a pit, large enough for a man to stand upright in it, had been prepared. at about midnight, the victim was seized, and forced to stand in the pit, which was filled in up to his neck. this done, the women and children of the gang made off with their belongings. as soon as the last of them had quitted the settlement, the headmen brought a large quantity of fresh cow-dung, and placed a ball of it on the head of the victim. the ball served as a support for an earthen lamp, which was lighted. the man was by this time nearly dead, and the cattle were made to pass over his head. the headmen then made off, and, by daybreak, the whole gang had disappeared. the murdered man was found by the villagers, who have, since that time, scrupulously avoided the koravas. the victim is said to have turned into a munisvara, and for a long time troubled those who happened to go near the spot at noon or midnight. the koravas are said to have performed the sacrifice so as to insure their cattle against death from disease. the ground, on which they encamped, and on which they offered the human sacrifice, is stated to have been barren prior thereto, and, as the result thereof, to have become very fertile. it is said that korava women invoke the village goddesses when they are telling fortunes. they use a winnowing fan and grains of rice in doing this, and prophesy good or evil, according to the number of grains found on the fan. [210] they carry a basket, winnow, stick, and a wicker tray in which cowry shells are imbedded in a mixture of cow-dung, and turmeric. the basket represents kolapuriamma and the cowries poleramma. when telling fortunes, the korava woman places on the basket the winnow, rice, betel leaves and areca nuts, and the wicker tray. holding her client's hand over the winnow, and moving it about, she commences to chant, and name all sorts of deities. from time to time she touches the hand of the person whose fortune is being told with the stick. the korava women are very clever in extracting information concerning the affairs of a client before they proceed to tell her fortune. brahmans fix the auspicious hour for marriage, and chettis are invited to act as priests at the purification ceremony for re-admission into caste of a man or woman who has cohabited with a paraiyan or muhammadan, or been beaten with a shoe, etc. for the purpose of re-admission, a panchayat (council) assembles, at which the headman presides. enquiries are made into the conduct of the accused, and a fine of two rupees levied. of this sum the chetti receives eight annas, with some betel and tobacco. the balance is spent in liquor for those who are assembled. after the chetti has received his fee, he smears the foreheads of the guilty person and the company with sacred ashes. the impure person goes to a stream or well, and bathes. he then again comes before the council, and is purified by the chetti again marking his forehead. the proceedings wind up with a feast. in former days, at a trial before a council, the legs of the complainant and accused were tied together. in 1907, a koracha was excommunicated for having illicit intercourse with a widow. the ceremony of excommunication usually consists of shaving the head and moustache of the guilty person, and making him ride a donkey, wearing a necklace of bones. in the case under reference, a donkey could not be procured, so a temporary shed was made of sajja (setaria italica) stalks, which were set on fire after the man had passed through it. he was to be re-admitted into the caste by standing a feast to all the members of five gangs of korachas. it is said [211] that "a curious custom of the kuravans prohibits them from committing crime on new-moon or full-moon days. once started on an expedition, they are very determined and persistent. there is a case on record where one of a band of kuravans out on an expedition was drowned in crossing the cauvery. nothing daunted by the loss or the omen, they attempted a burglary, and failed. they then tried another house, where they also failed; and it was not till they had met with these three mishaps that their determination weakened, and they went home." the koravas are extremely superstitious, and take careful notice of good or bad omens before they start on a criminal expedition. they hold a feast, at which the assistance of the goddess kolapuriamma or perumal is sought. a young goat, with coloured thread attached to its horns, and a garland of margosa leaves with a piece of turmeric round its neck, is taken to an out-of-the-way shrine. here it is placed before the deity, and cocoanuts are broken. the god is asked whether the expedition will be successful. if the body of the animal quivers, it is regarded as an answer in the affirmative; if it does not, the expedition will be abandoned. if in addition to quivering, the animal urinates, no better sign could be hoped for. the koravas make it a point of honour to pay for the goat used for this religious purpose. it was information of this ceremony having been performed which led to the detection of a torchlight dacoity in the cuddapah district in 1896. the expedition was in the first instance successful, for the koravas broke into a komati's house in the middle of a village, and carried off a quantity of jewels. the komati's arm was broken, and he and other inmates of the house were badly burnt by lighted torches thrust against their faces and bodies. among other methods of consulting the omens is to sacrifice a fowl at a shrine, and sit in front thereof listening for the direction whence the chirping of lizards issues. if the omens are auspicious, the members of the expedition start off, armed as a rule with latis (sticks) and axes. if they attack a cart, they commence by throwing stones at it, to ascertain if the occupant has fire-arms with him. houses are generally broken into by means of a hole made in the wall near the door-latch. in the ceded districts, where the houses are as a rule substantially built of rough stone, and have flat roofs of salt earth, an opening is frequently effected through the roof. the koravas are often extremely cruel in the methods which they adopt to extort information from inhabitants of houses as to where their valuables are concealed. in common with other hindus, they avoid the shadow of the thandra tree (terminalia belerica), in which the spirit of saneswaradu is believed to reside. in this connection the following legend is recited. [212] in the city of bimanapuram there ruled a king named bimaraju, who had a beautiful daughter named damayanti, with whom the gods, including nalamaharaju, fell in love. damayanti had never seen nalamaharaju, but loved him on account of the stories which reached her of the justice with which he governed his kingdom, and his chastity. to avoid being charged with partiality in disposing of his daughter's hand, bimaraju determined to invite all the gods to his house, and the one to whom damayanti should throw a garland of flowers should claim her as his wife. the day fixed on arrived, and all the gods assembled, except saneswaradu, who appears to have been unavoidably detained. the gods were seated in a circle, and a fly guided damayanti to nalamaharaju, on whose neck she threw the garland. nalamaharaju at once claimed her as his wife, and started off with her to his kingdom. on the way they met saneswaradu, who demanded an explanation of their being in each other's company. he was told, and was very angry because the matter had been settled in his absence, and swore a mighty oath that they should be separated. to this end, he caused all sorts of difficulties to come in their way. under his spell, nalamaharaju took to gambling, and lost all his property. he was separated from damayanti, and lived in poverty for years. the spell of saneswaradu could, however, only last for a certain number of years, and, when the time expired nalamaharaju set out for bimanapuram, to find damayanti who had returned to her father's house. on the way, under a thandra tree, he met saneswaradu, who confessed that he was the cause of all the troubles that had befallen him, and begged that he would look leniently on his fault. nalamaharaju would not forgive him, but, after cursing him, ordained that he should live for ever in the thandra tree, so that the area over which he could do wrong should be limited. it is for this reason that all wandering tribes avoid pitching a camp within the shadow of this tree. a tree (terminalia catappa) belonging to the same genus as the thandra is regarded as a lucky one to camp beneath, as it was under one of these trees that rama made a bower when he lived with sita and lakshmana after his banishment to the forest of dandaka. in connection with omens and superstitions, mr. fawcett writes as follows. "koravas, being highly superstitious, are constantly on the look-out for omens, especially before starting out on an excursion when the objective is dacoity or housebreaking. the household deity, represented by a brick picked up at random, is worshipped, and a sheep or fowl is sacrificed. water is first poured over the animal, and, if it shakes its body, the omen is good, while, if it stands perfectly still, there is misfortune ahead. it is unfortunate, when starting, to see widows, pots of milk, dogs urinating, a man leading a bull, or a bull bellowing. on the other hand, it is downright lucky when a bull bellows at the scene of the criminal operation. to see a man goading a bull is a good omen when starting, and a bad one at the scene. sprinkling urine over doors and walls of a house facilitates breaking into it. the failure of an expedition is generally attributed to the evil eye, or the evil tongue, whose bad effects are evinced in many ways. if the excursion has been for housebreaking, the housebreaking implement is often soldered at its sharp end with panchalokam (five metals), to counteract the effect of the evil eye. the evil tongue is a frequent cause of failure. it consists in talking evil of others, or harping on probable misfortunes. there are various ways of removing its unhappy effects. a mud figure of a man is made on the ground, and thorns are placed over the mouth. this is the man with the evil tongue. those who have suffered walk round it, crying out and beating their mouths; the greater the noise, the better the effect. cutting the neck of a fowl half through and allowing it to flutter about, or inserting a red hot splinter in its anus to madden it with pain, are considered to be effective, while, if a cock should crow after its neck has been cut, calamities are averted. the fowl is a sort of adjunct to the koravar's life. in early childhood, the first experiments in his career consist in stealing fowls; in manhood he feasts on them when he is well off, and he uses them, as we have seen, with abominable cruelty for divination or averting misfortune. the number seven is considered ominous, and an expedition never consists of seven men. the word for the number seven in telugu resembles the word for weeping, and is considered to be unlucky. a man who has returned from jail, or who has been newly married, is not as a rule taken on an expedition. in the case of the former, the rule may be set aside by bringing a lamb from a neighbouring flock. a man who forgets to bring his stick, or to equip or arm himself properly, is always left behind. as in the case of dacoities, seven is an unlucky number to start out for housebreaking, but, should it be unavoidable, a fiction is indulged in of making the housebreaking implement the eighth member of the gang. when there are dogs about a house, they are soon kept quiet with powdered gajjakai or ganja leaves mixed with cooked rice, which they eat greedily. detached parties in the jungle or elsewhere are able to unite by making sounds like the howling of jackals or hooting of owls. the direction taken on a road, or in the forest, is indicated by throwing the leaves of the tangedu (cassia auriculata) along the road. at crossroads, the road taken is indicated by the thick end of a twig of the tangedu placed under a stone. rows of stones, one piled over the other, are also used to point out the route taken when crossing hills. the women resort to divination, but not accompanied by cruelty, when their husbands are long enough absent to arouse apprehension of danger. a long piece is pulled out of a broom, and to one end of it are tied several small pieces dipped in oil. if the stick floats in water, all is well; but, should it sink, two of the women start out at once to find the men. they generally know as a matter of pre-arrangement whereabouts to find them, and proceed thither, pretending to sell karipak (curry leaves). the eighteenth day of the tamil month avani is the luckiest day of all for committing crimes. a successful criminal exploit on this day ensures good luck throughout the year. sundays, which are auspicious for weddings, are inauspicious for crimes. mondays, wednesdays and saturdays are unlucky until noon for starting out from home. so, too, is the day after new moon. fridays are unsuitable for breaking into the houses of brahmans or komatis, as they may be engaged in worshipping ankalamma, to whom the day is sacred." many koravas examined by mr. mainwaring were injured in one way or another. one man had his left nostril split, and explained that it was the result of a bite by another korava in the course of a drunken brawl at a toddy-shop. another had lost some of his teeth in a similar quarrel, and a third was minus the lobe of his right ear. a characteristic of the koravas, which is well marked, is their hairlessness. they have plenty of straight hair on the head, but their bodies are particularly smooth. even the pubic hairs are scanty, and the abdominal hairs are abundant only in a few instances. the korava is not, in appearance, the typical criminal of one's imagination, of the bill sykes type. that even the innocent looking individuals are criminal by nature, the following figures establish. in 1902, there were 739 koravas, or korchas as they are called in the anantapur district, on the police registers as members of wandering gangs or ordinary suspects. of these, no less than 215, or 29 per cent., had at least one conviction recorded against them. in the nellore district, in 1903, there were 54 adult males on the register, of whom no less than 24, or 44 per cent., had convictions against them. in the salem district, in the same year, there were 118 adult male koravas registered, against 38, or 32.2 per cent. of whom convictions stood. there are, of course, hundreds who escape active surveillance by assuming an ostensible means of livelihood, and allowances must be made for the possibility of numbers escaping conviction for offences they may have committed. the women are equally criminal with the men, but are less frequently caught. they have no hesitation in concealing small articles by passing them into the vagina. the best way of ascertaining whether this has been done is said to be to make them jump. in this way, at a certain feast, a gold jewel was recovered from a woman, and she was convicted. [213] this expedient is, however, not always effectual. a case came under notice, in 1901, at the kolar gold fields, in which a woman had a small packet of stolen gold amalgam passed to her during the search of the house by her husband, who was suspected. she begged permission to leave the house to urinate. the request was granted, and a constable who went with her on her return reported her conduct as suspicious. a female searcher was procured, and the parcel found jammed transversely in the vagina, and required manipulation to dislodge it. small jewels, which the koravas manage to steal, are at once concealed in the mouth, and even swallowed. when swallowed, the jewel is next day recovered with the help of a purgative. in this way a half sovereign was recovered a few years ago. [214] male koravas sometimes conceal stolen articles in the rectum. in the tanjore district a korava kepmari, who was suspected of having resorted to this dodge, was examined by a medical officer, and two thin gold chains, each about 14 inches long, were extracted. the females take an important part in resisting an attempt to arrest the males. i am informed that, "when a raid is made on an encampment, the males make off, while the females, stripping themselves, dance in a state of nudity, hoping thereby to attract the constables to them, while the males get clear away. should, however, these manoeuvres fail to attain their object, the females proceed to lacerate the pudenda, from which blood flows profusely. they then lie down as if dead. the unfortunate constables, though proof against amorous advances, must perforce assist them in their distress. if it comes to searching korava huts, the females take a leading part in attacking the intruders, and will not hesitate to stone them, or break chatties (earthen pots) on their heads." it is recorded, in the cuddapah manual, that "a yerukala came to a village, and, under the pretence of begging, ascertained which women wore jewels, and whether the husbands of any such were employed at night in the fields. in the night he returned, and, going to the house he had previously marked, suddenly snatched up the sleeping woman by the massive kamma (gold ear-ring) she wore, sometimes with such violence as to lift up the woman, and always in such a way as to wrench off the lobe of the ear. this trick he repeated in three different hamlets of the same village on one night, and in one house on two women. in one case, the woman had been lifted so high that, when the ear gave way, she fell to the ground, and severely injured her head." a new form of house robbery is said to have been started by the koravas in recent years. they mark down the residence of a woman, whose jewels are worth stealing, and lurk outside the house before dawn. then, when the woman comes out, as is the custom, before the men are stirring, they snatch her ear-rings and other ornaments, and are gone before an alarm can be raised. [215] another favourite method of securing jewelry is for the korava to beg for rice, from door to door, on a dark night, crying "sandi bichcham, amma, sandi bichcham" (night alms, mother, night alms). arrived at the house of his victim, he cries out, and the lady of the house brings out a handful of rice, and puts it in his pot. as she does so, he makes a grab at her tali or other neck ornament, and makes off with the spoil. "stolen property", mr. mullaly writes, [216] "is disposed of, as soon as they can get a suitable remuneration. the general bargain is re. i for a rupee's weight of gold. they do not, however, as a rule, lose much over their transactions, and invariably convert their surplus into sovereigns. in searching a koravar encampment on one occasion, the writer had the good fortune to discover a number of sovereigns which, for safe keeping, were stitched in the folds of their pack saddles. undisposed of property, which had been buried, is brought to the encampment at nightfall, and taken back and re-buried before dawn. the ground round the pegs, to which their asses are tethered, in heaps of ashes or filth, are favourite places for burying plunder." the koravas disguise themselves as kepmaris, alagiris or pujaris. the terms kepmari, alagiri, kathirivandlu, etc., are applied to certain persons who adopt particular methods in committing crime, all of which are adopted by the koravas. the tamil equivalent of kepmari is talapa mathi, or one who changes his head-dress. alagiris are thieves who worship at the temple of kalla alagar near madura, and vow that a percentage of their ill-gotten gains will be given as an offering to his temple. kathirivandlu (scissors people) are those who operate with knives or scissors, snipping off chains, cutting the strings of purses, and ripping open bags or pockets. the koravas are not nice as regards the selection of some of their food. cats, fowls, fish, pigs, the black-faced monkey known in telugu as kondamuchu, jackals, field rats, deer, antelope, goats and sheep serve as articles of dietary. there is a tamil proverb "give an elephant to a pandit, and a cat to a kuravan." they will not eat cattle or buffaloes, and will not take food in company with muhammadans, barbers, washermen, carpenters, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, paraiyans or chakkiliyans. the boyas seem to be the lowest class with whom they will eat. they drink heavily when funds are available, or at social gatherings, when free drinks are forthcoming. at council meetings liquor must be supplied by the disputants, and there is a proverb, "with dry mouths nothing can be uttered." most koravas possess knives, and a kind of billhook, called koduval, which is a sort of compromise between a sword and a sickle. the back of the blade is heavy, and renders it capable of dealing a very severe blow. with this implement animals are slaughtered, murders committed, and bamboos split. for the purpose of committing burglaries, the koravas are said by mr. mullaly to use an iron instrument pointed at either end, called gadi kolu or sillu kolu, which is offered, before a gang sets out, to perumal, whose aid in the success of the undertaking is invoked. the koravas as a class are industrious, and generally doing something. one may see the men on the march twisting threads into stout cord. others will be making fine nets for fishing, or coarse ones, in which to suspend household pots or utensils; straw pads, on which the round-bottomed chatties invariably stand; or a design with red thread and cowry shells, wherewith to decorate the head of a bull or a money-bag. it is when hawking these articles from door to door that the koravas are said to gain information as to property which may be worth stealing. the following is a free translation of a song representing koracha characteristics, in a play by mr. d. krishnamacharlu, a well-known amateur dramatist of bellary:- hurrah! our koracha caste is a very fine caste, the best of castes, hurrah! when a temple feast is proceeding, we beg, and commit thefts surprising. don't we? care we for aught? don't we slip off uncaught? (chorus.) cutting trinkets off, from the necks of babes in their mothers' arms. who could suspect us? cannot we hoodwink them all? cannot we get away? (chorus.) when those eternal watchmen catch us, after endless search take life out of us. do we blurt out? do we confess? don't we enquire what is our offence? (chorus.) in the south, the koravas are frequently employed by villagers as watchmen (kavalgars) on the principle of setting a thief to keep other thieves off. they are paid in grain. the villagers are more than half afraid of them, and, if the remuneration stipulated upon is not promptly paid to the watchmen, a house-breaking will certainly occur in the village. if a crime happens to take place in a village where a korava has been appointed watchman, he frequently manages to get back the stolen property if the theft is the work of another korava, but only on condition that the police are not called in to investigate the offence. the dwellings in which the koravas live are made with low mud walls and thatched. the wanderers erect a temporary hut called gudise, with mats or cocoanut or palmyra palm leaves, not more than 4 feet high. it is constructed of crossed bamboos tied together, and connected by another bamboo, which serves as a ridge, over which they fasten the mats. marriages are arranged by the elders. the father of a youth who is of a marriageable age calls together some of the elders of his division, and proceeds in quest of a suitable bride. if the family visited consents to the match, the headman is sent for, and a move is made to the toddy-shop. here the father of the future bridegroom fills a small earthen vessel, called in telugu muntha, and offers it to the father of the bride-elect, asking him, do you know why i give you this toddy? the recipient replies, it is because i have given you my daughter, and i drink to her health. the vessel is refilled and offered to the headman, who takes it, and enquires of the father of the girl why he is to drink. the reply is, because i have given my daughter to ----'s son; drink to her health. the questions and answers are repeated while every one present, according to rank, has a drink. those who have so drunk at this betrothal ceremony are looked upon as witnesses to the contract. after the drinking ceremony, an adjournment is made to the girl's house, where a feast is partaken of. at the conclusion thereof, the future bridegroom's people enquire if the girl has a maternal uncle, to whom the purchase money should be paid. the purchase money is 101 madas (a mada = two rupees), and is always the same for both well-to-do and poor. but, as a matter of fact, the whole of it is never paid. a few instalments are sometimes handed over, but generally the money is the cause of endless quarrels. when, however, the families, are on good terms, and the husband enjoys the hospitality of his wife's maternal uncle, or vice versâ, it is a common thing for one to say to the other after a drink, see, brother-in-law, i have paid you two madas to-day, so deduct this from the voli (purchase money). after the marriage has been arranged, and the maternal uncle has paid four annas as an earnest of the transaction, the party disperses until such time as the principals are in a position to perform the wedding. they might be infants, or the girl immature, or the intended husband be away. after the betrothal ceremony, the parents of the girl should on no account break off the match. if this were done, the party of the husband-elect would summon those who were present at the drinking ceremony to a meeting, and he who partook of the second drink (the headman) would demand from the father of the girl an explanation of the breach of contract. no explanation is likely to be satisfactory, and the father is fined three hundred varahas. [217] this sum, like the purchase money, is seldom paid, but the award of it places the party from whom it is due in a somewhat inferior position to the party to whom it is payable. they occupy thenceforth the position of creditor to debtor. on the occasion of quarrels, no delicate sense of refinement restrains the former from alluding to the debt, and the position would be retained through several generations. there is a tamil proverb that the quarrels of a korava and an idaiyan are not easily settled. if the contracting parties are ready to fulfil their engagement, the maternal uncle of the girl is paid five varahas as the first instalment of the purchase money, and a brahman purohit is asked to fix an auspicious time for the marriage ceremony. at the appointed time, the wedding party assembles at the home of the bride, and the first day is spent in eating and drinking, the bride and bridegroom being arrayed in new clothes purchased at the expense of the bride's father. on the following day, they again feast. the contracting couple are seated on a kambli (blanket), on which some grains of rice have been previously sprinkled. the guests form a circle round them, and, at the auspicious moment, the bridegroom ties a string of black beads round the bride's neck. when the string has been tied, the married women present, with hands crossed, throw rice over the heads of the pair. this rice has been previously prepared, and consists of five seers of rice with five pieces of turmeric, dried cocoanut, dried date fruit and jaggery (crude sugar), and five silver or copper coins. while the rice-throwing is proceeding, a monotonous song is crooned, of which the following is a free translation:- procure five white bulls. get five white goats. obtain a seer [218] of silver. get a seer of gold. always love your father and live happy for ever. look after your mother always, your father and mother-in-law. do not heed what folk say. look after your relations, and the god above will keep you happy. five sons and four daughters shall compose your family. a predominance of sons is always considered desirable, and, with five sons and four daughters, the mystic number nine is reached. no widows, women who have remarried, or girls dedicated as prostitutes, are allowed to join the wedding circle, as they would be of evil omen to the bride. widows and remarried women must have lost a husband, and the prostitute never knows the god to whose service she is dedicated. on the third day, the rice-throwing ceremony is repeated, but on this occasion the bride and bridegroom pour some of the rice over each other's heads before the women officiate. this ends the marriage ceremony, but, as among some other classes, consummation is prohibited for at least three months, as a very strong superstition exists that three heads should not enter a door within one year. the bride and bridegroom are the first two heads to enter the new home, and the birth of a child within the year would constitute the third. this undesirable event is rendered less likely by a postponement of consummation. after the prescribed time has lapsed, the bride, with feigned reluctance, is escorted by her female relations to her husband's hut. on the way obscene pleasantries, which evoke much merriment, are indulged in. the bride's pretended reluctance necessitates a certain amount of compulsion, and she is given an occasional shove. finally, she is thrust into the door of the hut, and the attendant women take their departure. the following details in another form of the marriage rites may be noted. the bridegroom proceeds on a saturday to the settlement of the bride, where a hut has been set up for him close to that of the bride. both the huts should face the east. on the following day, the headman, or an elder, brings a tray containing betel, flowers and kankanams (wrist-threads). he ties the threads round the wrists of the bride and bridegroom, and also round a pestle and mortar and a crowbar. a distribution of rice to all present, including infants, follows, and pork and mutton are also distributed. towards evening, married women go, with music produced by beating on a brass tray, to a well or tank, with three pots beneath a canopy (ulladam). the pots are filled with water, and placed near the marriage milk-post. the bride takes her seat on a plank, and the bridegroom is carried on the shoulders of his brother-in-law, and conducted to another plank. three married women, and some old men, then pour rice over the heads of the pair, while the following formula is repeated: "try to secure four pairs of donkeys, a few pigs and cattle; live well and amicably; feed your guests well; grow wise and live." the couple are then taken to the bride's hut, the entrance to which is guarded by several married women, who will not allow them to enter till the bridegroom has given out the name of the bride. within the hut, the pair exchange food three times, and what remains after they have eaten is finished off by some married men and women. that night the pair sleep in the bride's hut, together with the best man and bridesmaid. on the following day, a feast is held, at which every house must be represented by at least one married woman. towards evening, the bridegroom takes the bride to his hut, and, just before they start, her mother ties up some rice in her cloth. at the entrance to the hut, a basket, called kolapuriamma's basket, is placed. depositing a winnowing tray thereon, the bride pours the rice which has been given to her on it. the rice is then transferred by the bridegroom to the mortar, and he and the bride pound it with the pestle and crowbar. the tali is then tied by the bridegroom round the bride's neck. in connection with marriage, mr. fawcett writes as follows. "a girl's mother's brother's son has the right to have her to wife, and, if his right is abrogated by giving her to another, he (or his father?) receives a penalty from the man to whom she is given. the girl's maternal uncle disposes of the girl. in the coimbatore district, however, it is the father who is said to do so; indeed it is said that the father can even take a girl away from her husband, and give her to another for a higher bride-price. prior to marriage proper, there is the betrothal, accompanied by presentation of betel leaves and draughts of toddy, when the maternal uncle or father repeats a regular formula which is answered word for word by the girl's party, in which he agrees to hand over the girl for such a price, at the same time requiring that she shall receive no bodily injury or have her hair cut, and, if she is returned damaged physically, payment shall be made according to a fixed rate. it should be said that the betrothal sometimes takes place at a tavern, the favourite haunt of the koravas, where the bridegroom's party offers a pail of toddy to the father of the girl and his party. the emptying of this pail seals the marriage contract, and involves the father of the girl into payment of the bride-price as a fine, together with a fine of rs. 2 for every male child, and rs. 4 for every female child that may be born. this penalty, which is known as ranku, is not, as a rule, pressed at once, but only after some children have been born. the day of marriage, generally a sunday, is fixed by a brahman, who receives betel nuts, cocoanuts, one rupee, or even less. he selects an auspicious day and hour for the event. the hour selected is rather early in the evening, so that the marriage may be consummated the same night. a few days before the appointed day, two unmarried lads cut a branch of the naval tree (eugenia jambolana), and throw it into a tank (pond) or river, where it is left until the wedding day, when the same two lads bring it back, and plant it in the ground near the dwelling of the bride, and on either side of it is placed a pot of water (brought from the tank or river where the branch had been left to soak) carried thither by two married women under a canopy. the mouth of each pot is closed by placing on top an earthen vessel on which is a lamp. the bride and bridegroom sit on donkey saddles spread on the ground, and undergo the nalugu ceremony, in which their hands and feet are rubbed nine times with saffron (turmeric) coloured red with chunam (lime). the elders bless the couple, throwing rice over their heads with crossed hands, and all the while the women chant monotonously a song such as this:- galianame baipokame sobaname, oh, marriage giver of happiness and prosperity! the best oil of madanapalle is this nalugu; the best soap seed of silakat is for this nalugu; paint yourselves, oh sisters, with the best of colours; stain your cloth, oh brother, with the best of dyes; bring, oh brother, the greenest of snakes; adorn with it our basavayya's neck; bring, oh brother, the flowers without leaves; adorn with them the hair of the bride. then the bridegroom ties the bride's tali, a string coloured yellow with saffron (turmeric), or a string of small black beads. every married woman must wear a necklet of black beads, and glass bangles on her wrists; when she becomes a widow, she must remove them. a feature of the ceremony not to be overlooked is the wedding meal (pendlikudu). after undergoing the nalugu, the bridegroom marks with a crowbar the spot where this meal, consisting of rice, milk, green gram, and jaggery (sugar), is to be cooked in a pot called bhupalakunda. a trench is dug at the spot, and over it the cooking is done. when the food is ready, the bride and bridegroom take of it each three handfuls, and then the boys and girls snatch the pot away from them. after this, the couple proceed to the bridegroom's hut, where they find a light burning. the elders sprinkle them with water coloured yellow with saffron (turmeric) as they enter." for the following note on marriage among the yerukalas of the vizagapatam district, i am indebted to mr. hayavadana rao. a man may marry the daughter of his paternal aunt or maternal uncle. the father of the would-be husband of a girl goes with ten rupees, called sullaponnu, to her home, and pays the money to one of several elders who are brought together. towards evening, the ground in front of the girl's hut is swept, and a wooden plank and stone are set side by side. the bridegroom sits on the former, and the bride on the latter. two pots of water are placed before them, and connected together by a thread tied round their necks. the pots are lifted up, and the water is poured over them. contrary to the custom prevailing among many castes, new cloths are not given to them after this bath. resuming their seats, the couple sprinkle each other with rice. an intelligent member of the caste then personates a brahman priest, mutters sundry mantrams (prayers), and shows a string (karugu) with a piece of turmeric tied to it to those assembled. it is touched by them in token of a blessing, and tied by the bridegroom on the neck of the bride. a feast, with a liberal supply of liquor, is held, the expenses of which are met from the ten rupees already referred to. the younger brother may marry the widow of an elder brother, and vice versâ. a widow is married in front of her mother's hut. the marriage string is tied round her neck, but without the ceremonial observed at the marriage of a maid. if a husband wishes to secure a divorce, he asks his wife to break a twig in two before a caste council. if a woman wishes for a divorce, she elopes with a man, who pays a small fine, called ponnu, to the husband, and asks him to break a twig. the following story is current among the koramas, to account for the tali or bottu being replaced by a string of black beads. once upon a time, a bridegroom forgot to bring the tali, and he was told off to procure the necessary piece of gold from a goldsmith. the parties waited and waited, but the young man did not return. since then, the string of beads has been used as a marriage badge. according to another story, the tali was prepared, and kept on the bank of a river, but disappeared when it was going to be picked up. a man was sent to procure another, but did not come back. i am informed that the yerukalas of the kistna district are divided into two classes--sheep and goats practically. of these, the latter are the bastard offspring of the former. illegitimate must, in the first instance, marry illegitimate. the offspring thereof is ipso facto whitewashed, and becomes legitimate, and must marry a legitimate. a custom is stated by dr. shortt [219] to prevail among the yerukalas, by which the first two daughters of a family may be claimed by the maternal uncle as wives for his sons. "the value of a wife is fixed at twenty pagodas. the maternal uncle's right to the first two daughters is valued at eight out of twenty pagodas, and is carried out thus. if he urges his preferential claim, and marries his own sons to his nieces, he pays for each only twelve pagodas; and similarly if he, from not having sons, or any other cause, foregoes his claim, he receives eight pagodas of the twenty paid to the girl's parents by anybody else who may marry them." the price of a wife apparently differs in different localities. for example, it is noted, in the census report, 1901, that, among the kongu sub-division of the koravas, a man can marry his sister's daughter, and, when he gives his sister in marriage, he expects her to produce a bride for him. his sister's husband accordingly pays rs. 7-8-0 out of the rs. 60 of which the bride price consists, at the wedding itself, and rs. 2-8-0 more each year until the woman bears a daughter. some koravas seem to be even more previous than fathers who enter their infant sons for a popular house at a public school. for their children are said to be espoused even before they are born. two men, who wish their children to marry, say to one another: "if your wife should have a girl and mine a boy (or vice versâ), they must marry." and, to bind themselves to this, they exchange tobacco, and the potential bridegroom's father stands a drink to the future bride's relations. but if, after the children are grown up, a brahman should pronounce the omens unpropitious, the marriage does not take place, and the bride's father pays back the cost of the liquor consumed at the betrothal. if the marriage is arranged, a pot of water is placed before the couple, and a grass (cynodon dactylon) put into the water. this is equal to a binding oath between them. [220] of this grass it is said in the atharwana veda: "may this grass, which rose from the water of life, which has a hundred roots and a hundred stems, efface a hundred of my sins, and prolong my existence on earth for a hundred years." it is noted by the rev. j. cain [221] that "at the birth of a daughter, the father of an unmarried little boy often brings a rupee, and ties it in the cloth of the father of the newly born girl. when the girl is grown up, he can claim her for his son. for twenty-five rupees he can claim her much earlier." in north arcot, the koravas are said [222] to "mortgage their unmarried daughters, who become the absolute property of the mortgagee till the debt is discharged. the same practice exists in chingleput and tanjore. in madras, the koravars sell their wives outright when they want money, for a sum equal to fifty rupees. in nellore and other districts, they all purchase their wives, the price varying from thirty to seventy rupees, but money rarely passes on such occasions, the consideration being paid in asses or cattle." in a recent case in the madras high court, a korava stated that he had sold one of his wives for twenty-one rupees. [223] it is stated by dr. pope that the koravas do not "scruple to pawn their wives for debt. if the wife who is in pledge dies a natural death, the debt is discharged. if she should die from hard usage, the creditor must not only cancel the debt, but must defray the expenses of a second marriage for his debtor. if the woman lives till the debt is discharged, and if she has children by the creditor, the boys remain with him, the girls go back with her to her husband." the conditions of the country suggest a reason for the pawning of wives. a wife would be pawned in times of stress, and redeemed after seasons of plenty. the man who can afford to accept her in pledge in a time of famine would, in periods of plenty, require men for agricultural purposes. he, therefore, retains the male issue, who in time will be useful to him. some years ago, some koravas were convicted of stealing the despatch-box of the collector of a certain district from his tent. it came out, in the course of the trial, that the head of the gang had taken the money contained therein as his share, and with it acquired a wife. the collector humorously claimed that the woman, having been obtained with his money, was, according to a section of the criminal procedure code, his property. a woman who marries seven men successively one after the other, either after the death of her husbands or after divorce, is said by mr. paupa rao naidu to be considered to be a respectable lady, and is called pedda boyisani. she takes the lead in marriages and other religious ceremonies. it is noted, in the census report, 1891, that "if a man is sent to jail, his wife will form a connection with some other man of the gang, but on the release of her husband, she will return to him with any children born to her in the interval. the korava women are accustomed to honour their lords and husbands with the dignified title of cocks." on one occasion, a korava got into trouble in company with a friend, and was sentenced to three years imprisonment, while his friend got two years. the latter, at the termination of his period of enforced seclusion, proceeded to live with the wife of the former, settling down in his friend's abode. the former escaped from jail, and, turning up at his home, claimed his wife. his friend journeyed to the place where the jail was located, and reported to the authorities his ability to find the escaped convict, who was recaptured, while his friend regained possession of his wife, and pocketed twenty-five rupees for giving the information which led to his rearrest. the remarriage of widows is permitted. the man who wishes to marry a widow purchases new cloths for himself and his bride. he invites a number of friends, and, in their presence, presents his bride with the cloths. the simple ceremony is known as chirakattu-koradam, or desiring the cloth-tying ceremony. as a general rule, the korava wife is faithful to her husband, but, in the event of incompatibility, man and wife will announce their intention of separating to their gang. this is considered equivalent to a divorce, and the husband can demand back the four annas, which were paid as earnest money to his wife's maternal uncle. this is said to be done, whether the separation is due to the fault either of the husband or the wife. among other castes, the woman has to return the money only if she is divorced owing to her own fault. divorce is said to be rare, and, even after it has taken place, the divorced parties may make up their differences, and continue to keep house together. in cases of abduction, the father of the girl summons a council meeting, at which the offender is fined. a girl who has been abducted cannot be married as a spinster, even if she was recovered before sexual connection had taken place. the man who carried her off should marry her, and the ceremony of widow marriage is performed. in the event of his refusing to marry her, he is fined in the same amount as the parents of a girl who fail to keep the contract to marry her to a particular person. the fact of a man who abducts a girl having a wife already would be no bar to his marrying her, as polygamy is freely permitted. in former days, an adulterer who was unable to pay the fine imposed was tied to a tree, and shaved by a barber, who used the urine of the guilty woman in lieu of water. in connection with birth ceremonies, mr. fawcett writes as follows. "difficulty in parturition is thought to be due to an ungratified desire of the woman before she is confined. this is generally something to eat, but it is sometimes ungratified lust. in cases of the latter kind, the koravar midwife induces the woman to mention her paramour's name, and, as the name is mentioned, the midwife puts a pinch of earth into the woman's mouth with the idea of accelerating delivery. the woman is confined in an outlying hut, where she is tabu to all, with the exception of the midwife, for about ten days. as soon as the child is born, incense is burnt in front of this hut, and there is an offering of jaggery (crude sugar) to the spirits of the departed elders, who are invoked in the following words in the korava dialect:--'ye spirits of our elders! descend on us, give us help, and increase our cattle and wealth. save us from the sircar (government), and shut the mouth of the police. we shall worship you for ever and ever.' the jaggery is then distributed to all present, and the new-born infant is cleaned with cow-dung and washed. a brahman is sometimes consulted, but it is the maternal uncle upon whom the responsibility falls of naming the child. this he does on the ninth day after confinement, when the mother and child are bathed. having named the child, he ties a string of thread or cotton round its waist. this string signifies the entry of the child into the koravar community, and it, or its substitute, is worn until the termination of married life. the name given on this occasion is not usually the name by which an individual is known by his fellows, as persons are generally called after some physical trait or characteristic thus:--nallavadu, black man; pottigadu, short man; nettakaladu, long-legged man; kuntadu, lame man; boggagadu, fat man; juttuvadu, man with a large tuft of hair; gunadu, hunch-backed man; mugadu, dumb man; and so on. in a few cases, children are genuinely named after the household deities. those so named are called ramudu, lachigadu, venkatigadu, gengadu, chengadu, subbadu, ankaligadu, and so on. an old custom was to brand the children on the shoulders with a piece of red-hot iron. marks of such branding are called the cattle mark, for it seems that children should be branded on the shoulders before undertaking the 'sacred duty' of tending cattle. they explain the custom by saying that krishna, the god of the shepherds, allowed boys of his own caste, and of no other, to perform the sacred duty, after the boy dedicated thereto had undergone the branding ceremony. this ceremony is seldom observed nowadays, as it leads to identification. birth of a child on a new-moon night, when the weather is strong, is believed to augur a notorious thieving future for the infant. such children are commonly named venkatigadu after the god at tirupati. the birth of a child having the umbilical cord twisted round its neck portends the death of the father or maternal uncle. this unpleasant effect is warded off by the uncle or the father killing a fowl, and wearing its entrails round his neck, and afterwards burying them along with the umbilical cord." the practice of the couvade, or custom in accordance with which the father takes to bed, and is doctored when a baby is born, is referred to by alberuni [224] (about a.d. 1030), who says that, when a child is born, people show particular attention to the man, not to the woman. there is a tamil proverb that, if a korati is brought to bed, her husband takes the prescribed stimulant. writing about the yerukalas, [225] the rev. j. cain tells us that "directly the woman feels the birth pains, she informs her husband, who immediately takes some of her clothes, puts them on, places on his forehead the mark which the women usually place on theirs, retires into a dark room where there is only a very dim lamp, and lies down on the bed, covering himself up with a long cloth. when the child is born, it is washed, and placed on the cot beside the father. asafoetida, jaggery, and other articles are then given, not to the mother, but to the father. he is not allowed to leave his bed, but has everything needful brought to him." among the kuravars, or basket-makers of malabar, "as soon as the pains of delivery come upon a pregnant woman, she is taken to an outlying shed, and left alone to live or die as the event may turn out. no help is given her for twenty-eight days. even medicines are thrown to her from a distance; and the only assistance rendered is to place a jar of warm water close by her just before the child is born. pollution from birth is held as worse than that from death. at the end of the twenty-eight days, the hut in which she was confined is burnt down. the father, too, is polluted for fourteen days, and, at the end of that time, he is purified, not like other castes by the barber, but by holy water obtained from brahmans at temples or elsewhere." to mr. g. krishna rao, superintendent of police in the shimoga district of mysore, i am indebted for the following note on the couvade as practiced among the koramas. "mr. rice, in the mysore gazetteer, says that among the koravars it is said that, when a woman is confined, her husband takes medicine for her. at the instance of the british resident i made enquiries, and learned that the kukke (basket-making) koramas, living at gopala village near shimoga, had this custom among them. the husband learns from his wife the probable time of her confinement, and keeps at home awaiting the delivery. as soon as she is confined, he goes to bed for three days, and takes medicine consisting of chicken and mutton broth spiced with ginger, pepper, onions, garlic, etc. he drinks arrack, and eats as good food as he can afford, while his wife is given boiled rice with a very small quantity of salt, for fear that a larger quantity may induce thirst. there is generally a korama midwife to help the wife, and the husband does nothing but eat, drink, and sleep. the clothes of the husband, the wife, and the midwife are given to a washerman to be washed on the fourth day, and the persons themselves have a wash. after this purification, the family gives a dinner to the caste people. one of the men examined by me explained that the man's life was more valuable than that of the woman, and that the husband, being a more important factor in the birth than the wife, deserves to be better looked after." the following legend is current among the koramas, to explain the practice of the couvade among them. one day a donkey, belonging to a korama camp, pitched outside a village, wandered into a brahman's field, and did considerable damage to the crop. the brahman was naturally angry, and ordered his coolies to pull down the hut of the owner of the donkey. the korama, casting himself at the feet of the brahman, for want of a better excuse, said that he was not aware of what his animal was doing, as at the time he was taking medicine for his wife, and could not look after it. according to another version of the story, the brahman ordered his servants to remove the hut from his land or beat the korava, so that koravas have since that time taken to bed and shared the pollution of their wives, to escape being beaten. in connection with the couvade, mr. fawcett writes that "it has been observed in the bird-catching koravars, and the custom has been admitted by others. directly a woman is brought to bed, she is given asafoetida rolled in betel leaf. she is then given a stimulant composed of asafoetida and other drugs. the husband partakes of a portion of this before it is given to the woman. this custom is one of those which the koravar is generally at pains to conceal, denying its existence absolutely. the proverb 'when the koravar woman is confined, the koravar man takes asafoetida' is, however, well known. very soon after a woman is confined, attention is paid exclusively to her husband, who wraps himself in his wife's cloth, and lies down in his wife's place beside the new-born infant. he stays there for at least some minutes, and then makes room for his wife. the writer of this note was informed by koravars that any one who refused to go through this ceremony would undergo the severest penalties, indeed, he would be turned out of the community. nothing annoys a koravar so much as to mention the word asafoetida in his presence, for he takes it to be an insulting reference to the couvade. the worst insult to a koravar woman lies in the words 'will you give asafoetida?' which are understood by her to mean an improper overture." some koravas are said to believe that the pangs of labour are largely allayed by drinking small doses of a mixture of the dung of a male donkey and water. a few years ago, when a camp of koravas was visited in the salem district by the superintendent of police, two men of the gang, who had petitioned for the removal of the constables who were escorting the gang, dragged a woman in the throes of childbirth by the armpits from the hut. this was done to show that they could not move their camp, with a woman in such a condition. nevertheless, long before daylight on the following day, the camp had been moved, and they were found at a spot fifteen miles distant. when they were asked about the woman, a hut slightly apart from the rest was pointed out, in front of which she was suckling the newly-born infant. she had done the journey immediately after delivery partly on foot, and partly on a donkey. the korava child's technical education commences early. from infancy, the koravas teach their children to answer "i do not know" to questions put to them. they are taught the different methods of stealing, and the easiest way of getting into various kinds of houses. one must be entered through the roof, another by a hole in the wall, a third by making a hole near the bolt of the door. before letting himself down from a roof, the korava must make sure that he does not alight on brass vessels or crockery. he generally sprinkles fine sand in small quantities, so that the noise made thereby may give him an idea of the situation. the methods to be adopted during the day, when hawking wares, must be learnt. when a child is caught red-handed, he will never reveal his identity by giving the name of his parents, or of the gang to which he belongs. a girl about twelve or thirteen years old was captured a few years ago in the mysore state at the oregam weekly market, and, on being searched, was found to have a small knife in her cheek. she declared that she was an orphan with neither friends nor relations, but was identified by the police. the koravas are adepts at assuming aliases. but the system of finger-print records, which has been introduced in recent years, renders the concealment of their identity more difficult than it used to be. "both men and women," mr. paupa rao writes, "have tattoo marks on their foreheads and forearms. when they are once convicted, they enlarge or alter in some way the tattoo marks on their forearms, so that they might differ from the previous descriptive marks of identification entered by the police in their search books and other records. during festivals, they put red stuff (kunkuma) over the tattoo marks on their foreheads." their conduct is regulated by certain well-defined rules. they should not enter a house by the front door, unless this is unavoidable, and, if they must so enter it, they must not leave by the same way. if they enter by the back door, they depart by the front door, which they leave wide open. they should not commit robbery in a house, in which they have partaken of rice and curds. curds always require salt, and eating salt is equivalent to taking the oath of fealty according to their code of honour. they ease themselves in the house in which they have committed a theft, in order, it is said, to render the pursuit of them unsuccessful. in a note on the initiation of yerukala girls into the profession of fortune-telling in vizagapatam, mr. hayavadana rao writes that it is carried out on a sunday succeeding the first puberty ceremony. a caste feast, with plenty of strong drink, is held, but the girl herself fasts. the feast over, she is taken to a spot at a little distance from the settlement called yerukonda. this is said to be the name of a place on the trunk road between vizianagram and chicacole, to which girls were taken in former times to be initiated. the girl is blindfolded with a cloth. boiled rice and green gram are mixed with the blood of a black fowl, black pig, and black goat, which are killed. of this mixture she must take at least three morsels, and, if she does not vomit, it is taken as a sign that she will become a good yeruka or fortune-teller. vomiting would indicate that she would be a false prophetess. when a wandering korava dies, he is buried as quickly as possible, with head to the north, and feet to the south. if possible, a new cloth is obtained to wrap the corpse in. the grave is covered with the last hut which the deceased occupied. the koravas immediately leave a camp, in which a death has occurred. the nomad koravas are said by dr. pope to bury their dead at night, no one knows where. thence originates the common saying in regard to anything which has vanished, leaving no trace behind, that it has gone to the dancing-room of the wandering actors. another proverb runs to the effect that no one has seen a dead monkey, or the burning-ground of a korava. in vizagapatam, the yerukala dead are stated by mr. hayavadana rao to be burnt in a state of nudity. a tulsi plant (ocimum sanctum) is usually planted on the spot where the corpse was burnt. the relations cannot follow their regular occupation until a caste feast has been held, and some cooked food thrown on the spot where cremation took place. in a note on the death rites of the koravas of the southern districts, mr. f. a. hamilton writes that, when one of the community dies, the news of the death is conveyed by a paraiyan or chakkiliyan. at the burning-ground, whither the corpse is accompanied with music, it is laid on dried cow-dung, which has been spread on the ground. the son of the deceased goes thrice round the corpse, and breaks a new water-pot which he has brought with him near the head. he also hands over a piece of burning sandalwood for lighting the pyre, and goes straight home without seeing the corpse again. on the third day, the son and other relations go to the burning-ground, heap up the ashes, plant either tulsi (ocimum sanctum), perandai (vitis quadrangularis), or kathalai (agave americana), and pour milk. on the sixteenth day, or at some later time, a ceremony called karumathi is performed. the relatives assemble at the burning-ground, and a stone is set up, and washed with water, honey, milk, etc. on the following day, all the relatives take an oil-bath, and new cloths are presented to the host. sheep are killed, and a feast, with a liberal supply of liquor, is held. till this ceremony is performed, the son remains in mourning. concerning death ceremonies, mr. fawcett writes as follows. "a tamil proverb likens the death of a koravar to that of a monkey, for no one ever sees the dead body of either. just as the monkey is thought to be immortal, the other monkeys removing the carcass instantly, so the corpse of the koravar is made away with and disposed of with all possible speed. there is very little wailing, and preparations are made at once. if the deceased was married, the bier on which he is carried is practically a ladder; if unmarried, it is a single bamboo with pieces of stick placed transversely. the winding-sheet is always a piece of new cloth, in one corner of which is tied a half anna-piece (which is afterwards taken by one of the corpse-bearers). only two of these are under pollution, which lasts the whole of the day, during which they must remain in their huts. next day, after bathing, they give the crows food and milk. a line is drawn on the body from head to foot with milk, the thick end of a piece of grass being used as a brush; then they bathe. pollution of the chief mourner lasts for five days. half-yearly and annual ceremonies to the deceased are compulsory. a figure of the deceased is drawn with charcoal on a piece of new cloth spread on the floor of the hut. on either side of the figure is placed cooked rice and vegetables served on castor leaves. after some time, the food is placed on a new winnow, which is hung suspended from the roof of the hut the whole night. next morning, the relations assemble, and partake of the food." from a note on the yerukalas of the nellore district, i gather that, as a rule, the dead are buried, though respected elders of the community are cremated. married individuals are carried to the grave on a bier, those who die unmarried wrapped in a mat. on the second day, some cooked food, and a fowl, are placed near the grave, to be eaten by crows. a pot of water is carried thrice round the grave, and then thrown down. on the ninth day, food is once more offered for the crows. the final death ceremonies are generally performed after two or three months. cooked food, onions, brinjals (fruits of solanum melongena), phaseolus pulse, squash gourd (cucurbita maxima), pork, and mutton are placed on a number of castor (ricinus) leaves spread on the floor, and offered to the soul of the deceased, which is represented by a human figure drawn on a new cloth. at the conclusion of the worship, the food is placed on new winnowing trays provided for the purpose, and given to the relations, who place the winnows on the roof of the house till the following day, when the food is eaten. by some koravas, a ceremony in honour of the departed ancestors is performed at the time of the november new moon. a well-polished brass vessel, with red and white marks on it, is placed in the corner of a room, which has previously been swept, and purified with cow-dung. in front of the pot is placed a leaf plate, on which cooked rice and other edibles are set. incense is burned, and the eldest son of the house partakes of the food in the hope that he, in due course, will be honoured by his offspring. the koramas of mysore are said to experience considerable difficulty in finding men to undertake the work of carrying the corpse to the grave. should the dead korama be a man who has left a young widow, it is customary for some one to propose to marry her the same day, and, by so doing, to engage to carry out the principal part of the work connected with the burial. a shallow grave, barely two feet deep, is dug, and the corpse laid therein. when the soil has been loosely piled in, a pot of fire, carried by the chief mourner in a split bamboo, is broken, and a pot of water placed on the raised mound. should the spot be visited during the night by a pack of jackals, and the water drunk by them to slake their thirst after feasting on the dead korama, the omen is accepted as proof that the liberated spirit has fled away to the realms of the dead, and will never trouble man, woman, child, or cattle. on the sixth day, the chief mourner must kill a fowl, and mix its blood with rice. this he places, with some betel leaves and nuts, near the grave. if it is carried off by crows, everything is considered to have been settled satisfactorily. as regards the dress of the koravas, mr. mullaly writes as follows. "the women wear necklaces of shells and cowries interspersed with beads of all colours in several rows, hanging low down on the bosom; brass bangles from the wrist to the elbow; brass, lead, and silver rings, very roughly made, on all their fingers except the middle one. the cloth peculiar to koravar women is a coarse black one; but they are, as a rule, not particular as to this, and wear stolen cloths after removing the borders and all marks of identification. they also wear the chola, which is fastened across the bosom, and not, like the lambadis, at the back. the men are dirty, unkempt-looking objects, wear their hair long, and usually tied in a knot on the top of the head, and indulge in little finery. a joochi (gochi), or cloth round the loins, and a bag called vadi sanchi, made of striped cloth, complete their toilet." in 1884, mr. stevenson, who was then the district superintendent of police, north arcot, devised a scheme for the regeneration of the koravas of that district. he obtained for the tribe a tract of government land near gudiyattam, free of assessment for ten years, and also a grant of rs. 200 for sinking wells. licenses were also issued to the settlers to cut firewood at specially favourable rates. he also prevailed upon the zemindar of karvetnegar to grant twenty-five cawnies of land in tiruttani for ten years for another settlement, as well as some building materials. unfortunately the impecunious condition of the zemindar precluded the tiruttani settlement from deriving any further privileges which were necessary to keep the colony going, and its existence was, therefore, cut short. the gudiyattam colony, on the other hand, exhibited some vitality for two or three years, but, in 1887, it, too, went the way of the tiruttani colony." [226] i gather, from the police administration report, 1906, that a scheme is being worked out, the object of which is to give a well-known wandering criminal gang some cultivable land, and so enable the members of it to settle down to an honest livelihood. at the census, 1891, korava was returned as a sub-division of paraiyans, and the name is also applied to jogis employed as scavengers. [227] the following note on the koravas of the west coast is interesting as showing that malabar is one of the homes of the now popular game of diavolo, which has become epidemic in some european countries. "in malabar, there is a class of people called koravas, who have, from time immemorial, played this game almost in the same manner as its western devotees do at the present time. these people are met with mostly in the southern parts of malabar, cochin and travancore, and they speak the malayalam language with a sing-song accent, which easily distinguishes them from other people. they are of wandering habits. the men are clever acrobats and rope-dancers, but those of more settled habits are engaged in agriculture and other industries. the beautiful grass mats, known as palghat mats, are woven by these people. their women are fortune-tellers and ballad singers. their services are also in demand for boring the ears of girls. the ropedancers perform many wonderful feats while balancing themselves on the rope, among them being the playing of diabolo while walking to and fro on a tight rope. the korava acrobat spins the wooden spool on a string, attached to the ends of two bamboo sticks, and throws it up to the height of a cocoanut tree, and, when it comes down, he receives it on the string, to be again thrown up. there are experts among them who can receive the spool on the string without even looking at it. there is no noteworthy difference in the structure and shape of the spool used by the koravas, and those of europe, except that the malabar apparatus is a solid wooden thing a little larger and heavier than the western toy. it has not yet emerged from the crude stage of the village carpenter's skill, and cannot boast of rubber tyres and other embellishments which adorn the imported article; but it is heavy enough to cause a nasty injury should it hit the performer while falling. the koravas are a very primitive people, but as acrobats and ropedancers they have continued their profession for generations past, and there is no doubt that they have been expert diabolo players for many years." [228] it may be noted that lieutenant cameron, when journeying from zanzibar to benguela, was detained near lake tanganyika by a native chief. he relates as follows. "sometimes a slave of djonmah would amuse us by his dexterity. with two sticks about a foot long connected by a string of a certain length, he spun a piece of wood cut in the shape of an hour-glass, throwing it before and behind him, pitching it up into the air like a cricket-ball, and catching it again, while it continued to spin." notes [1] gazetteer of the bellary district. [2] madras diocesan magazine, june, 1906. [3] john s. chandler, a madura missionary, boston. [4] madras mail, november, 1905. [5] j. hornell. report on the indian pearl fisheries of the gulf of manaar, 1905. [6] madras diocesan mag., 1906. [7] notes from a diary, 1881-86. [8] lecture delivered at trivandrum, ms. [9] nineteenth century, 1898. [10] malay archipelago. [11] monograph. ethnog: survey of cochin, no. 9, 1906. [12] malabar manual. [13] manual of the coimbatore district. [14] madras journ. lit. science, i. 1833. [15] w. w. skeat and c. o. blagden. pagan races of the malay peninsula, 1906. [16] gazetteer of the malabar district. [17] madras census report, 1891. [18] manual of malabar. [19] manual of the north arcot district. [20] madras census report, 1891. [21] manual of the north arcot district. [22] a reddish formation found all over southern india. [23] op. cit. [24] journey through mysore, canara, and malabar. [25] rev. h. jensen. classified collection of tamil proverbs, 1897. [26] manual of the north arcot district. [27] gazetteer of the trichinopoly district. [28] for this note i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. [29] madras census report, 1891. [30] mokhalingam is in ganjam, not vizagapatam. [31] place of meeting, which is a large tamarind tree, under which councils are held. [32] gazetteer of the madura district. [33] gazetteer of the madura district. [34] setupati, or lord of the bridge. the title of the rajas of ramnad. [35] gazetteer of the madura district. [36] madras census report, 1891. [37] manual of the madura district. [38] g. oppert. madras journ. lit. science, 1888-9. [39] madras census report, 1901. [40] notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency. [41] madras review, 1899. [42] madras census report, 1891. [43] gazetteer of the madura district. [44] op. cit. [45] illustrated criminal investigation and law digest, i, 3, 1908, vellore. [46] madras journ. lit. science, xxv. [47] i am informed that only mel-nadu, sirukudi, mella-kottai, and puramalai are endogamous. [48] madras census report, 1891. [49] manual of the madura district. [50] hindu feasts, fasts, and ceremonies, 1903. [51] the tamils eighteen hundred years ago, 1904. [52] madras census report, 1901. [53] gazetteer of the tanjore district. [54] madras census report, 1891. [55] madras mail, 1908. [56] ind. ant., iii., 1874. [57] a lakh = a hundred thousand. [58] compare the theft of laban's teraphim by rachel. genesis, xxxi, 19. [59] gazetteer of the tanjore district. [60] madras census report, 1891. [61] madras census report, 1901. [62] manual of the north arcot district. [63] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [64] manual of the north arcot district. [65] madras census report, 1891. [66] hutchinson. marriage customs in many lands, 1897. [67] gazetteer of the bellary district. [68] gazetteer of the anantapur district. [69] mediæval sinhalese art. [70] maduraikanchi, line 521. [71] e. hultzsch. south indian inscriptions, ii, i, 44, 46, 1891. [72] ibid. iii, i, 47, 1899. [73] madras census report, 1891. [74] madras census report, 1871. [75] new asiatic review, jan. 1907. [76] madras mail, 1907. [77] classified collection of tamil proverbs, 1897, from which some of the proverbs quoted are taken. [78] madras census report, 1901. [79] see the legendary story narrated in the article on tiyans. [80] malabar and its folk, 1900. [81] letters from malabar. [82] madras census report, 1901. [83] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [84] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [85] yule and burnell, hobson-jobson. [86] monograph, eth. survey of cochin, no. 4, 1905. [87] unhusked rice. [88] manual of the south canara district. [89] money-lender. [90] malabar quarterly review, 1905. [91] indian review, iii, 1902. [92] monograph, ethnog. survey, cochin. [93] according to another version of the legend, it was the hut of a tiyan. [94] malabar manual. [95] gazetteer of the malabar district. [96] c. karunakara menon. madras mus. bull., v, 2, 1906. [97] madras mus. bull., ii, 3, 1901. [98] this account is mainly from an article by mr. n. subramani aiyar. [99] ind. ant., ix, 1880. [100] manual of the north arcot district. [101] madras census report, 1901. [102] historical sketches, mysore. [103] gazetteer of the madura district. [104] gazetteer of the madura district. [105] madras census report, 1891. [106] dynasties of the kanarese districts of the bombay presidency. [107] loc. cit., and manual of the north arcot district. [108] section iii, inhabitants, madras government press, 1907. [109] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [110] j. f. kearns. kalyana shatanku. [111] madras series, iv, 1882; vi, 1883. [112] illatakaru, a bride's father having no son, and adopting his son-in-law. [113] see further c. ramachendrier. collection of decisions of high courts and the privy council applicable to dancing-girls, illatom affiliation, etc., madras, 1892. [114] gazetteer of the anantapur district. [115] madras mail, nov. 1905. [116] madras mail, 1905. [117] gazetteer of the malabar district. [118] manual of the north arcot district. [119] gazetteer of the malabar district. [120] tamil and english dictionary, 1862. [121] the word, in this sense, is said to occur in a tamil work named pingala nikandu. karuku is tamil for the serrated margin of the leaf--petiole of the palmyra palm. [122] yule and burnell. hobson-jobson. [123] madras census report, 1901. [124] manual of the salem district. [125] madras census report, 1901. [126] manual of the madura district. [127] manual of the tanjore district. [128] madras census report, 1891. [129] madras christ. coll. mag., 1894. [130] malabar law and custom. [131] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [132] mysore and coorg gazetteer. [133] madras census report, 1901. [134] journ. anthrop. inst., ii, 1873. [135] gazetteer of the anantapur district. [136] indian review, vii, 1906. [137] see ravi varma, the indian artist. indian press, allahabad. [138] madras census report, 1891. [139] madras museum bull., v. 3, 1907. [140] epigraphia indica, vi, 1900-1901. [141] rev. j. cain, ind. ant., viii, 1879. [142] trans. ethnolog. soc., london, 1869; ind. ant., viii, 1879. [143] original inhabitants of bharathavarsha. [144] the panas have reference to the division of south indian castes into the rightand left-hand factions. [145] the mofussil indicates up-country stations and districts, as contra-distinguished from the "presidency" (madras city). [146] marriage customs in many lands, 1897. [147] moore. indian appeal cases, vol. iii, 359-82. [148] journey through mysore, canara and malabar. [149] see talboys wheeler, madras in the olden time, ii, 49-89. [150] see tales of komati wit and wisdom. c. hayavadana rao, madras, 1907. [151] classified collection of tamil proverbs, 1897. see also c. hayavadana rao, op. cit., and ind. ant., xx, 78, 1891. [152] madras census report, 1871. [153] gazetteer of the godavari district. [154] linguistic survey of india, iv, 1906. [155] man. march 1902. [156] g.o., no. 1020, public, 8th october 1901. [157] g.o., no. 3005, revenue, 3rd november 1908. [158] occasional essays on native south indian life, 1901. [159] madras census report, 1881. [160] agricul: ledger series, calcutta. no. 7, 1904. [161] madras mail, 1894. [162] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [163] a very interesting note on totemism among the khonds by mr. j. e. friend-pereira has been published in the journal of asiatic society of bengal, lxxiii, 1905. [164] the golden bough, 1900. [165] selections from the records, government of india, no. v, human sacrifice and infanticide, 1854. [166] personal narrative of service among the wild tribes of khondistan. [167] manual of the vizagapatam district. [168] journ. asiat. soc., bengal, 1898. [169] madras mail, 1894. [170] selections from the records of the government of india (home department), v., 1845. [171] j. a. r. stevenson. madras journ: lit. science, vi, 1837. [172] j. e. friend-pereira. journ: asiat: soc. bengal, lxxi, 1902. [173] madras journ: lit. & science, vi, 1837. [174] loc. cit. [175] journ. anthrop. soc., bombay, ii, 249. [176] madras mail, 1896. [177] macpherson. memorials of service in india. [178] journ., anth. soc., bombay, ii, 1890. [179] ibid. [180] madras police report, 1904. [181] madras mail, 1894. [182] madras mail, 1908. [183] see g.o., judicial, 14th august 1882, no. 952, khond rising. [184] manual of the south canara district. [185] letters from malabar. translation. madras, 1862. [186] fine cakes made of gram flour and a fine species of alkali, which gives them an agreeable taste, and serves the purpose of making them rise and become very crisp when fried. [187] journ. anthrop. inst., iv., 1875. [188] madras christ. coll. mag. iii, 1885-6. [189] ind. ant. x, 1881. [190] manual of the south canara district. [191] journ. anthrop. inst. iv, 1875. [192] manual of the south canara district. [193] manual of the south canara district. [194] m. paupa rao naidu. history of railway thieves. [195] madras census report, 1891. [196] madras journ. lit: and science, 1888-89. [197] tirumurukairuppadai. [198] madras census report, 1901. [199] indian antiquity, ix, 1880. [200] cyclopædia of india. [201] loc. cit. [202] note on koravas, 1908. [203] notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency. [204] forest inspection report, 1896. [205] gazetteer of the bellary district. [206] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [207] f. s. mullaly. op. cit. [208] madras journ. lit. science, xvii, 1853. [209] history of railway thieves. madras, 1904. [210] madras census report, 1901. [211] gazetteer of the trichinopoly district. [212] this story is based on well-known episode of nalacharitra in the aranya parva of the mahabharatha. [213] m. paupa rao naidu. op. cit. [214] ibid. [215] police report, 1902. [216] op. cit. [217] a varaha or pagoda was worth rs. 3-8-0. [218] a seer is an indian measure of weight, varying in different parts of the country. [219] trans. eth. sec. n.s., vii. [220] j. f. kearns, kalyana shatanku, 1868. [221] ind. ant., iii., 1874. [222] madras census report, 1871. [223] madras census report, 1901. [224] india. trübner. oriental series. [225] ind. ant., iii, 1874. [226] madras mail, 1907. [227] for this account of the koravas, i am largely indebted to a report by mr. n. e. q. mainwaring, superintendent of police. [228] madras mail, 1908. gutenberg. castes and tribes of southern india by edgar thurston, c.i.e., superintendent, madras government museum; correspondant étranger, société d'anthropologie de paris; socio corrispondante, societa, romana di anthropologia. assisted by k. rangachari, m.a., of the madras government museum. volume iv--k to m government press, madras 1909. castes and tribes of southern india. volume iv. kori (blanket).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. koriannayya (fowl sept).--an exogamous sept of bant. korono.--karnam, mr. h. a. stuart writes, [1] "includes both karnam proper, and also korono, the accountant caste of ganjam and orissa. the following remarks relate solely to the uriya koronos. the word korono is said to be derived from kirani, which means a writer or clerk. the origin of the koronos is uncertain. one writer says that they are kayasts of northern india, who are of kshatriya origin. mr. r. c. dutt says, in his history of ancient india, that, according to manu, the koronos belong to the kshatriya vratyas, who do not perform the religious rites. and, in the raghuvamsa, the poet kalidasa describes koronos as the offspring of a vaisya and a sudra woman, and he is supported by the lexicographer amara sinha. it is said that the ancestors of the koronos were brought from northern india by yayatikesari, king of orissa (447--526 a.d.), to supply the want of writers and clerks in certain parts of orissa. the koronos are worshippers of vishnu. their ceremonies are performed with the aid of brahman priests. the remarriage of widows is not permitted. they eat fish, and the flesh of goats and deer. the uriya koronos observe the gosha system, and carry it to such an extent that, after a girl attains puberty, she is not allowed to appear before her elder brother. their titles are patnaik and mahanti." the heads of the ganjam villages are, mr. s. p. rice informs us, "called korono, the doer, and karji, the manager. the korono, who is really only the accountant, but who, by reason of his higher education, is generally the ultimate authority in the village, appropriates to himself the title potonaiko, as his caste distinction. the word signifies the naik or head of the town." it has been noted that "in the telugu districts, the karnam is usually a brahman. being in some respects the most intelligent, and the most unpopular man in the village, he is both feared and hated. murders of accountants, though infrequent, are not unknown." of proverbs relating to karnams, the following may be quoted:- even if a thousand pagodas are levied from a village, not even a cash will be levied from the karnam (a pagoda is a gold, and a cash a copper coin). the karnam is the cause of the kapu's (cultivator caste) death. the hungry karnam looks into his old accounts (to worry his creditors). the co-operation of the karnam is as necessary as the axles to the wheels of a cart. one karnam to one village. a quiet karnam is as little cared for as a tame elephant. if a karnam trusts another, his end is near. if an enemy is his neighbour; if another karnam is his superior; if the kapu bears complaints against him, a karnam cannot live on. the koronos are divided into various sections, e.g., sishta or srishti, vaisya, majjula, and matihansa, some of which wear the sacred thread. the vaisyas are not allowed to marry their girls after puberty, whereas the others may marry them before or after this event. a woman of the bhondari caste is employed on the occasion of marriage and other ceremonies, to perform certain duties, for which her services are indispensable. korra (millet: setaria italica).--an exogamous sept of gudala. korti.--an occupational name, derived from korto, a saw, of woodsawyers in ganjam. kosalya.--a sub-division of mali, named after kosala, the modern oudh. koshti.--koshti or koshta is the name of a weaving and cultivating caste of chota nagpur, a few members of which have settled in the madras presidency (see risley, tribes and castes of bengal). koshta is also the name by which the khatris of conjeeveram call the patnulkaran silk weavers. kota.--according to dr. oppert [2] "it seems probable that the todas and kotas lived near each other before the settlement of the latter on the nilagiri. their dialects betray a great resemblance. according to a tradition of theirs (the kotas), they lived formerly on kollimallai, a mountain in mysore. it is wrong to connect the name of the kotas with cow-slaying, and to derive it from the sanskrit go-hatya (cow-killer). the derivation of the term kota is, as clearly indicated, from the gauda-dravidian word ko (ku) mountain, and the kotas belong to the gandian branch." there is a tradition that the kotas were formerly one with the todas, with whom they tended the herds of buffaloes in common. but, on one occasion, they were found to be eating the flesh of a buffalo which had died, and the todas drove them out as being eaters of carrion. a native report before me suggests that "it is probable that, after the migration of the kotas to the hills, anthropology was at work, and they got into them an admixture of toda blood." the kotas inhabit seven villages (kotagiri or kokal), of which six--kotagiri, kil kotagiri, todanad, sholur, kethi and kunda--are on the nilgiri plateau, and one is at gudalur at the north-west base of these hills. they form compact communities, and, at kotagiri, their village consists of detached huts, and rows of huts arranged in streets. the huts are built of mud, brick, or stone, roofed with thatch or tiles, and divided into living and sleeping apartments. the floor is raised above the ground, and there is a verandah in front with a seat on each side whereon the kota loves to "take his siesta, and smoke his cheroot in the shade," or sleep off the effects of a drinking bout. the door-posts of some of the huts are ornamented with carving executed by wood-carvers in the plains. a few of the huts, and one of the forges at kotagiri, have stone pillars sculptured with fishes, lotuses, and floral embellishments by stone-carvers from the low country. it is noted by breeks [3] that kurguli (sholur) is the oldest of the kota villages, and that the badagas believe that the kotas of this village were made by the todas. at kurguli there is a temple of the same form as the toda dairy, and this is said to be the only temple of the kind at any kota village. the kotas speak a mixture of tamil and kanarese, and speak tamil without the foreign accent which is noticeable in the case of the badagas and todas. according to orthodox kota views, a settlement should consist of three streets or keris, in one of which the terkaran or devadi, and in the other two the munthakannans or pujaris live. at kotagiri the three streets are named kilkeri, nadukeri, and melkeri, or lower, central, and upper street. people belonging to the same keri may not intermarry, as they are supposed to belong to the same family, and intermarriage would be distasteful. the following examples of marriage between members of different keris are recorded in my notes:- husband. wife. kilkeri. nadukeri. kilkeri. melkeri. nadukeri. melkeri. melkeri. nadukeri. nadukeri. first wife kilkeri, second wife melkeri. the kota settlement at sholur is divided into four keris, viz.:--amreri, kikeri, korakeri, and akkeri, or near street, lower street, other street, and that street, which resolve themselves into two exogamous groups. of these, amreri and kikeri constitute one group, and korakeri and akkeri the other. on the day following my arrival at kotagiri, a deputation of kotas waited on me, which included a very old man bearing a certificate appointing him headman of the community in recognition of his services and good character, and a confirmed drunkard with a grog-blossom nose, who attributed the inordinate size thereof to the acrid juice of a tree, which he was felling, dropping on it. the besetting vice of the kotas of kotagiri is a partiality for drink, and they congregate together towards dusk in the arrack shop and beer tavern in the bazar, whence they stagger or are helped home in a state of noisy and turbulent intoxication. it has been said [4] that the kotas "actually court venereal disease, and a young man who has not suffered from this before he is of a certain age is looked upon as a disgrace." the kotas are looked down on as being unclean feeders, and eaters of carrion; a custom which is to them no more filthy than that of eating game when it is high, or using the same tooth-brush week after week, is to a european. they have been described as a very carnivorous race, who "have a great craving for flesh, and will devour animal food of every kind without any squeamish scruples as to how the animal came by its death. the carcase of a bullock which has died of disease, or the remains of a deer half devoured by a tiger, are equally acceptable to him." an unappetising sight, which may be witnessed on roads leading to a kota village, is that of a kota carrying the flesh of a dead buffalo, often in an advanced stage of putridity, slung on a stick across his shoulders, with the entrails trailing on the ground. colonel ross king narrates [5] how he once saw a kota carrying home a dead rat, thrown out of a stable a day or two previously. when i repeated this story to my kota informant, he glared at me, and bluntly remarked in tamil "the book tells lies." despite its unpleasant nature, the carrion diet evidently agrees with the kotas, who are a sturdy set of people, flourishing, it is said, most exceedingly when the hill cattle are dying of epidemic disease, and the supply of meat is consequently abundant. the missionary metz narrates [6] that "some years ago the kotas were anxious to keep buffaloes, but the headmen of the other tribes immediately put their veto upon it, declaring that it was a great presumption on the part of such unclean creatures to wish to have anything to do with the holy occupation of milking buffaloes." the kotas are blacksmiths, goldsmiths, silversmiths, carpenters, tanners, rope-makers, potters, washermen, and cultivators. they are the musicians at toda and badaga funerals. it is noted by dr. w. h. r. rivers [7] that "in addition they provide for the first toda funeral the cloak (putkuli) in which the body is wrapped, and grain (patm or s(=a)mai) to the amount of five to ten kwa. they give one or two rupees towards the expenses, and, if they should have no grain, their contribution of money is increased. at the marvainolkedr (second funeral ceremony) their contributions are more extensive. they provide the putkuli, together with a sum of eight annas, for the decoration of the cloak by the toda women. they give two to five rupees towards the general expenses, and provide the bow and arrow, basket (tek), knife (kafkati), and the sieve called kudshmurn. the kotas receive at each funeral the bodies of the slaughtered buffaloes, and are also usually given food." though all classes look down on the kotas, all are agreed that they are excellent artisans, whose services as smiths, rope and umbrella makers, etc., are indispensable to the other hill tribes. the strong, durable ropes, made out of buffalo hide, are much sought after by badagas for fastening their cattle. the kotas at gudalur have the reputation of being excellent thatchers. the todas claim that the kotas are a class of artisans specially brought up from the plains to work for them. each toda, badaga, irula, and kurumba settlement has its muttu kotas, who work for the inhabitants thereof, and supply them with sundry articles, called muttu, in return for the carcasses of buffaloes and cattle, ney (clarified butter), grain, plantain, etc. the kotas eat the flesh of the animals which they receive, and sell the horns to labbai (muhammadan) merchants from the plains. chakkiliyans (leather-workers) from the plains collect the bones, and purchase the hides, which are roughly cured by the kotas with chunam (lime) and avaram (cassia auriculata) bark, and pegged out on the ground to dry. the kota blacksmiths make hatches, bill-hooks, knives, and other implements for the various hill tribes, especially the badagas, and also for european planters. within the memory of men still living, they used to work with iron ore brought up from the low country, but now depend on scrap iron, which they purchase locally in the bazar. the most flourishing smithy in the kotagiri village is made of bricks of local manufacture, roofed with zinc sheets, and fitted with anvil pincers, etc., of european manufacture. as agriculturists the kotas are said to be quite on a par with the badagas, and they raise on the land adjacent to their villages crops of potatoes, bearded wheat (akki or rice ganji), barley (beer ganji), kirai (amarantus), samai (panicum miliare), korali (setaria italica), mustard, onions, etc. at the revenue settlement, 1885, the kotas were treated in the same way as the badagas and other tribes of the nilgiris, except the todas, and the lands in their occupation were assigned to them at rates varying from ten to twenty annas per acre. the bhurty or shifting system of cultivation, under which the kotas held their lands, was formally, but nominally, abolished in 1862-64; but it was practically and finally done away with at the revenue settlement of the nilgiri plateau. the kota lands are now held on puttas under the ordinary ryotwari tenure. in former days, opium of good quality was cultivated by the badagas, from whom the kotas got poppy-heads, which their herbalists used for medicinal purposes. at the present time, the kotas purchase opium in the bazar, and use it as an intoxicant. the kota women have none of the fearlessness and friendliness of the todas, and, on the approach of a european to their domain, bolt out of sight, like frighted rabbits in a warren, and hide within the inmost recesses of their huts. as a rule they are clad in filthily dirty clothes, all tattered and torn, and frequently not reaching as low as the knees. in addition to domestic duties, the women have to do work in the fields, fetch water and collect firewood, with loads of which, supported on the head by a pad of bracken fern (pteris aquilina) leaves, and bill-hook slung on the shoulder, old and young women, girls and boys, may continually be seen returning to the kotagiri village. the women also make baskets, and rude earthen pots from a black clay found in swamps on a potter's wheel. this consists of a disc made of dry mud, with an iron spike, by means of which it is made to revolve in a socket in a stone fixed in the space in front of the houses, which also acts as a threshing-floor. the earthenware vessels used by the todas for cooking purposes, and those used in dairy work, except those of the inner room of the ti (sacred dairy), are said by dr. rivers to be made by the kotas. the kota priesthood is represented by two classes, munthakannan or pujari, and terkaran or devadi, of whom the former rank higher than the latter. there may be more than two terkarans in a village, but the munthakannans never exceed this number, and they should belong to different keris. these representatives of the priesthood must not be widowers, and, if they lose their wives while holding office, their appointment lapses. they may eat the flesh of buffaloes, but not drink their milk. cow's flesh, but not its milk, is tabu. the kotas may not milk cows, or, under ordinary conditions, drink the milk thereof in their own village, but are permitted to do so if it is given to them by a pujari, or in a village other than their own. the duties of the munthakannan include milking the cows of the village, service to the god, and participation in the seed-sowing and reaping ceremonial. they must use fire obtained by friction, and should keep a fire constantly burning in a broken pot. in like manner, the terkarans must not use matches, but take fire from the house of the munthakannan. the members of the priesthood are not allowed to work for others, but may do so on their own account in the fields or at the forge. they should avoid pollution, and may not attend a toda or badaga funeral, or approach the seclusion hut set apart for kota women. when a vacancy in the office of munthakannan occurs, the kotas of the village gather together, and seek the guidance of the terkaran, who becomes inspired by the deity, and announces the name of the successor. the selected individual has to be fed at the expense of the community for three months, during which time he may not speak to his wife or other woman direct, but only through the medium of a boy, who acts as his assistant. further, during this period of probation, he may not sleep on a mat or use a blanket, but must lie on the ground or on a plank, and use a dhupati (coarse cloth) as a covering. at the time of the annual temple festival, neither the munthakannans nor the terkarans may live or hold communion with their wives for fear of pollution, and they have to cook their food themselves. the seed-sowing ceremony is celebrated in the month of kumbam (february-march) on a tuesday or friday. for eight days the pujari abstains from meat and lives on vegetable dietary, and may not communicate directly with his wife, a boy acting as spokesman. on the sunday before the ceremony, a number of cows are penned in a kraal, and milked by the pujari. the milk is preserved, and, if the omens are favourable, is said not to turn sour. if it does, this is attributed to the pujari being under pollution from some cause or other. on the day of the ceremony, the pujari bathes in a stream, and proceeds, accompanied by a boy, to a field or the forest. after worshipping the gods, he makes a small seed-pan in the ground, and sows therein a small quantity of ragi (elusine coracana). meanwhile, the kotas of the village go to the temple, and clean it. thither the pujari and the boy proceed, and the deity is worshipped with offerings of cocoanuts, betel, flowers, etc. sometimes the terkaran becomes inspired, and gives expression to oracular utterances. from the temple all go to the house of the pujari, who gives them a small quantity of milk and food. three months later, on an auspicious day, the reaping of the crop is commenced with a very similar form of ceremonial. during the seed-sowing festival, mr. harkness, writing in 1832, [8] informs us, "offerings are made in the temples, and, on the day of the full moon, after the whole have partaken of a feast, the blacksmith and the gold and silversmith, constructing separately a forge and furnace within the temple, each makes something in the way of has avocation, the blacksmith a chopper or axe, the silversmith a ring or other kind of ornament." "some rude image," dr. shortt writes, [9] "of wood or stone, a rock or tree in a secluded locality, frequently forms the kota's object of worship, to which sacrificial offerings are made; but the recognised place of worship in each village consists of a large square of ground, walled round with loose stones, three feet high, and containing in its centre two [10] pent-shaped sheds of thatch, open before and behind, and on the posts (of stone) that support them some rude circles and other figures are drawn. no image of any sort is visible here." these sheds, which at kotagiri are a very short distance apart, are dedicated to siva and his consort parvati under the names of kamataraya and kalikai. though no representation thereof is exhibited in the temples at ordinary times, their spirits are believed to pervade the buildings, and at the annual ceremony they are represented by two thin plates of silver, which are attached to the upright posts of the temples. the stones surrounding the temples at kotagiri are scratched with various quaint devices, and lines for the games of kote and hulikote. the kotas go, i was told, to the temple once a month, at full moon, and worship the gods. their belief is that kamataraya created the kotas, todas, and kurumbas, but not the irulas. "tradition says of kamataraya that, perspiring profusely, he wiped from his forehead three drops of perspiration, and out of them formed the three most ancient of the hill tribes--the todas, kurumbas, and kotas. the todas were told to live principally upon milk, the kurumbas were permitted to eat the flesh of buffalo calves, and the kotas were allowed perfect liberty in the choice of food, being informed that they might eat carrion if they could get nothing better." according to another version of this legend given by dr. rivers, kamataraya "gave to each people a pot. in the toda pot was calf-flesh, and so the todas eat the flesh of calves at the erkumptthpimi ceremony; the kurumba pot contained the flesh of a male buffalo, so this is eaten by the kurumbas. the pot of the kotas contained the flesh of a cow-buffalo, which may, therefore, be eaten by this people." in addition to kamataraya and mangkali, the kotas at gudalur, which is near the malabar frontier, worship vettakaraswami, adiral and udiral, and observe the malabar onam festival. the kotas worship further magali, to whose influence outbreaks of cholera are attributed, and mariamma, who is held responsible for smallpox. when cholera breaks out among the kota community, special sacrifices are performed with a view to propitiating the wrath of the goddess. magali is represented by an upright stone in a rude temple at a little distance from kotagiri, where an annual ceremony takes place, at which some man becomes possessed, and announces to the people that magali has come. the pujari offers up plantains and cocoanuts, and sacrifices a sheep and fowls. my informant was, or pretended to be ignorant of the following legend recorded by breeks as to the origin of the worship of the smallpox goddess. "a virulent disease carried off a number of kotas of peranganoda, and the village was abandoned by the survivors. a badaga named munda jogi, who was bringing his tools to the kotagiri to be sharpened, saw near a tree something in the form of a tiger, which spoke to him, and told him to summon the run-away kotas. he obeyed, whereupon the tiger form addressed the kotas in an unknown tongue, and vanished. for some time, the purport of this communication remained a mystery. at last, however, a kota came forward to interpret, and declared that the god ordered the kotas to return to the village on pain of a recurrence of the pestilence. the command was obeyed, and a swami house (shrine) was built on the spot where the form appeared to the badaga (who doubtless felt keenly the inconvenience of having no kotas at hand to sharpen his tools)." the kotas are not allowed to approach toda or badaga temples. it was noted by lieutenant r. f. burton [11] that, in some hamlets, the kotas have set up curiously carved stones, which they consider sacred, and attribute to them the power of curing diseases, if the member affected be only rubbed against the talisman. a great annual festival is held in honour of kamataraya with the ostensible object of propitiating him with a view to his giving the kotas an abundant harvest and general prosperity. the feast commences on the first monday after the january new moon, and lasts over many days, which are observed as a general holiday. the festival is said to be a continuous scene of licentiousness and debauchery, much indecent dancing taking place between men and women. according to metz, [12] the chief men among the badagas must attend, otherwise their absence would be regarded as a breach of friendship and etiquette, and the kotas would avenge themselves by refusing to make ploughs or earthen vessels for the badagas. the programme, when the festival is carried out in full detail, is, as far as i have been able to gather, as follows:-first day. a fire is kindled by one of the priests in the temple, and carried to the nadukeri section of the village, where it is kept burning throughout the festival. around the fire men, women, adolescent boys and girls, dance to the weird music of the kota band, whose instruments consist of clarionet, drum, tambourine, brass horn and flute (buguri). [**todo: verify table] second day dance at night. third day fourth day fifth day sixth day. the villagers go to the jungle and collect bamboos and rattans, with which to re-roof the temple. dance at night. the seventh day is busily spent in re-roofing and decorating the temples, and it is said to be essential that the work should be concluded before nightfall. dance at night. eighth day. in the morning the kotas go to badaga villages, and cadge for presents of grain and ghi (clarified butter), which they subsequently cook, place in front of the temple as an offering to the god, and, after the priests have eaten, partake of, seated round the temple. ninth day. kotas, todas, badagas, kurumbas, irulas, and 'hindus' come to the kota village, where an elaborate nautch is performed, in which men are the principal actors, dressed up in gaudy attire consisting of skirt, petticoat, trousers, turban and scarves, and freely decorated with jewelry, which is either their own property, or borrowed from badagas for the occasion. women merely dressed in clean cloths also take part in a dance called kumi, which consists of a walk round to time beaten with the hands. i was present at a private performance of the male nautch, which was as dreary as such entertainments usually are, but it lacked the go which is doubtless put into it when it is performed under natural conditions away from the restraining influence of the european. the nautch is apparently repeated daily until the conclusion of the festival. eleventh and twelfth days. a burlesque representation of a toda funeral is given, at which the part of the sacrificial buffaloes is played by men with buffalo horns fixed on the head, and body covered with a black cloth. at the close of the festival, the kota priests and leading members of the community go out hunting with bows and arrows, leaving the village at 1 a.m., and returning at 3 a.m. they are said to have formerly shot 'bison' (bos gaurus) at this nocturnal expedition, but what takes place at the present day is said to be unknown to the villagers, who are forbidden to leave their houses during the absence of the hunting party. on their return to the village, a fire is lighted by friction. into the fire a piece of iron is put by one of the priests, made red hot with the assistance of the bellows, and hammered. the priests then offer up a parting prayer to the god, and the festival is at an end. the following is a translation of a description by dr. emil schmidt [13] of the dancing at the kota annual festival, at which he had the good fortune to be present as an eye-witness:-"during my stay at kotagiri the kotas were celebrating the big festival in honour of their chief god. the feast lasted over twelve days, during which homage was offered to the god every evening, and a dance performed round a fire kept burning near the temple throughout the feast. on the last evening but one, females, as well as males, took part in the dance. as darkness set in, the shrill music, which penetrated to my hotel, attracted me to the kota village. at the end of the street, which adjoins the back of the temple, a big fire was kept up by continually putting on large long bundles of brushwood. on one side of the fire, close to the flames, stood the musicians with their musical instruments, two hand-drums, a tambourine, beaten by blows on the back, a brass cymbal beaten with a stick, and two pipes resembling oboes. over and over again the same monotonous tune was repeated by the two latter in quick four-eight time to the accompaniment of the other instruments. on my arrival, about forty male kotas, young and old, were dancing round the fire, describing a semicircle, first to one side, then the other, raising the hands, bending the knees, and executing fantastic steps with the feet. the entire circle moved thus slowly forwards, one or the other from time to time giving vent to a shout that sounded like hau! and, at the conclusion of the dance, there was a general shout all round. around the circle, partly on the piles of stone near the temple, were seated a number of kotas of both sexes. a number of badagas of good position, who had been specially invited to the feast, sat round a small fire on a raised place, which abuts on the back wall of the temple. the dance over, the circle of dancers broke up. the drummers held their instruments, rendered damp and lax by the moist evening breeze, so close to the flames that i thought they would get burnt. soon the music began again to a new tune; first the oboes, and then, as soon as they had got into the proper swing, the other instruments. the melody was not the same as before, but its two movements were repeated without intercession or change. in this dance females, as well as males, took part, grouped in a semicircle, while the men completed the circle. the men danced boisterously and irregularly. moving slowly forwards with the entire circle, each dancer turned right round from right to left and from left to right, so that, after every turn, they were facing the fire. the women danced with more precision and more artistically than the men. when they set out on the dance, they first bowed themselves before the fire, and then made left and right half turns with artistic regular steps. their countenances expressed a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment. none of the dancers wore any special costume, but the women, who were nearly all old and ugly, had, for the most part, a quantity of ornaments in the ears and nose and on the neck, arms and legs. in the third dance, played once more in four-eight times, only females took part. it was the most artistic of all, and the slow movements had evidently been well rehearsed beforehand. the various figures consisted of stepping radially to and fro, turning, stepping forwards and backwards, etc., with measured seriousness and solemn dignity. it was for the women, who, at other times, get very little enjoyment, the most important and happiest day in the whole year." in connection with kota ceremonials, dr. rivers notes that "once a year there is a definite ceremony, in which the todas go to the kota village with which they are connected, taking an offering of clarified butter, and receiving in return an offering of grain from the kotas. i only obtained an account of this ceremony as performed between the people of kars and the kota village of tizgudr, and i do not know whether the details would be the same in other cases. in the kars ceremony, the todas go on the appointed day to the kota village, headed by a man carrying the clarified butter. outside the village they are met by two kota priests whom the todas call teupuli, who bring with them a dairy vessel of the kind the todas call mu, which is filled with patm grain. other kotas follow with music. all stand outside the village, and one of the kotas puts ten measures (kwa) of patm into the pocket of the cloak of the leading toda, and the teupuli give the mu filled with the same grain. the teupuli then go to their temple and return, each bringing a mu, and the clarified butter brought by the todas is divided into two equal parts, and half is poured into each mu. the leading toda then takes some of the butter, and rubs it on the heads of the two kota priests, who prostrate themselves, one at each foot of the toda, and the toda prays as follows:-may it be well; kotas two, may it be well; fields flourish may; rain may; buffalo milk may; disease go may. "the todas then give the two mu containing the clarified butter to the kota priests, and he and his companions return home. this ceremony is obviously one in which the todas are believed to promote the prosperity of the kotas, their crops, and their buffaloes. "in another ceremonial relation between todas and kotas, the kwòdrdoni ti (sacred dairy) is especially concerned. the chief annual ceremony of the kotas is held about january in honour of the kota god kambataraya. in order that this ceremony may take place, it is essential that there should be a palol (dairy man) at the kwòdrdoni ti, and at the present time it is only occupied every year shortly before and during the ceremony. the palol gives clarified butter to the kotas, which should be made from the milk of the arsaiir, the buffaloes of the ti. some kotas of kotagiri whom i interviewed claimed that these buffaloes belonged to them, and that something was done by the palol at the kwòdrdoni ti in connection with the kambataraya ceremony, but they could not, or would not, tell me what it was." in making fire by friction (nejkol), the kotas employ three forms of apparatus:--(1) a vertical stick, and horizontal stick with sockets and grooves, both made of twigs of rhodomyrtus tomentosus; (2) a small piece of the root of salix tetrasperma is spliced into a stick, which is rotated in a socket in a piece of the root of the same tree; (3) a small piece of the root of this tree, made tapering at each end with a knife or fragment of bottle glass, is firmly fixed in the wooden handle of a drill. a shallow cavity and groove are made in a block of the same wood, and a few crystalline particles from the ground are dropped into the cavity. the block is placed on several layers of cotton cloth, on which chips of wood, broken up small by crushing them in the palm of the hand, are piled up round the block in the vicinity of the grove. the handle is, by means of a half cocoanut shell, pressed firmly down, and twisted between the palms, or rotated by means of a cord. the incandescent particles, falling on to the chips, ignite them. in a report by lieutenant evans, written in 1820, it is stated that "the marriages of this caste (the kothewars) remind one of what is called bundling in wales. the bride and bridegroom being together for the night, in the morning the bride is questioned by her relatives whether she is pleased with her husband-elect. if she answers in the affirmative, it is a marriage; if not, the bridegroom is immediately discharged, and the lady does not suffer in reputation if she thus discards half a dozen suitors." the recital of this account, translated into tamil, raised a smile on the face of my kota informant, who volunteered the following information relating to the betrothal and marriage ceremonies at the present day. girls as a rule marry when they are from twelve to sixteen years old, between which years they reach the age of puberty. a wife is selected for a lad by his parents, subject to the consent of the girl's parents; or, if a lad has no near relatives, the selection is made for him by the villagers. betrothal takes place when the girl is a child (eight to ten). the boy goes, accompanied by his father and mother, to the house where the girl lives, prostrates himself at the feet of her parents, and, if he is accepted, presents his future father-in-law with a four-anna piece, which is understood to represent a larger sum, and seals the contract. according to breeks, the boy also makes a present of a birianhana of gold, and the betrothal ceremony is called balimeddeni (bali, bracelet, meddeni, i have made). both betrothal and marriage ceremonies take place on tuesday, wednesday, or friday, which are regarded as auspicious days. the ceremonial in connection with marriage is of a very simple nature. the bridegroom, accompanied by his relatives, attends a feast at the house of the bride, and the wedding day is fixed. on the appointed day the bridegroom pays a dowry, ranging from ten to fifty rupees, to the bride's father, and takes the girl to his house, where the wedding guests, who have accompanied them, are feasted. the kotas as a rule have only one wife, and polyandry is unknown among them. but polygamy is sometimes practiced. my informant, for example, had two wives, of whom the first had only presented him with a daughter, and, as he was anxious to have a son, he had taken to himself a second wife. if a woman bears no children, her husband may marry a second, or even a third wife; and, if they can get on together without fighting, all the wives may live under the same roof. divorce may, i was told, be obtained for incompatibility of temper, drunkenness, or immorality; and a man can get rid of his wife 'if she is of no use to him', i.e., if she does not feed him well, or assist him in the cultivation of his land. divorce is decided by a panchayat (council) of representative villagers, and judgment given, after the evidence has been taken, by an elder of the community. cases of theft, assault, or other mild offence, are also settled by a panchayat, and, in the event of a case arising which cannot be settled by the members of council representing a single village, delegates from all the kota villages meet together. if then a decision cannot be arrived at, recourse is had to the district court, of which the kotas steer clear if possible. at a big panchayat the headman (pittakar) of the kotas gives the decision, referring, if necessary, to some 'sensible member' of the council for a second opinion. when a married woman is known to be pregnant with her first child, her husband allows the hair on the head and face to grow long, and leaves the finger nails uncut. on the birth of the child, he is under pollution until he sees the next crescent moon, and should cook his own food and remain at home. at the time of delivery a woman is removed to a hut (a permanent structure), which is divided into two rooms called dodda (big) telullu and eda (the other) telullu, which serve as a lying-in chamber and as a retreat for women at their menstrual periods. the dodda telullu is exclusively used for confinements. menstruating women may occupy either room, if the dodda telullu is not occupied for the former purpose. they remain in seclusion for three days, and then pass another day in the raised verandah of the house, or two days if the husband is a pujari. a woman, after her first confinement, lives for three months in the dodda telullu, and, on subsequent occasions, until the appearance of the crescent moon. she is attended during her confinement and stay in the hut by an elderly kota woman. the actual confinement takes place outside the hut, and, after the child is born, the woman is bathed, and taken inside. her husband brings five leafy twigs of five different thorny plants, and places them separately in a row in front of the telullu. with each twig a stick of dodonæa viscosa, set alight with fire made by friction, must be placed. the woman, carrying the baby, has to enter the hut by walking backwards between the thorny twigs. a common name for females at kotagiri is madi, one of the synonyms of the goddess kalikai, and, at that village, the first male child is always called komuttan (kamataraya). at sholur and gudalur this name is scrupulously avoided, as the name of the god should not be taken by mortal man. as examples of nicknames, the following may be cited. small mouth. head. slit nose. burnt-legged. monkey. dung or rubbish. deaf. tobacco. hunchback. crooked-bodied. long-striding. dwarf. opium eater. irritable. bad-eyed. curly-haired. cat-eyed. left-handed. stone. stammerer. short. knee. chank-blower. chinaman. the nickname chinaman was due to the resemblance of a kota to the chinese, of whom a small colony has squatted on the slopes of the hills between naduvatam and gudalur. a few days after my arrival at kotagiri, the dismal sound of mourning, to the weird strains of the kota band, announced that death reigned in the kota village. the dead man was a venerable carpenter, of high position in the community. soon after daybreak, a detachment of villagers hastened to convey the tidings of the death to the kotas of the neighbouring villages, who arrived on the scene later in the day in indian file, men in front and women in the rear. as they drew near the place of mourning, they all, of one accord, commenced the orthodox manifestations of grief, and were met by a deputation of villagers accompanied by the band. meanwhile a red flag, tied to the top of a bamboo pole, was hoisted as a signal of death in the village, and a party had gone off to a glade, some two miles distant, to obtain wood for the construction of the funeral car (teru). the car, when completed, was an elaborate structure, about eighteen feet in height, made of wood and bamboo, in four tiers, each with a canopy of turkey red and yellow cloth, and an upper canopy of white cloth trimmed with red, surmounted by a black umbrella of european manufacture, decorated with red ribbands. the car was profusely adorned with red flags and long white streamers, and with young plantain trees at the base. tied to the car were a calabash and a bell. during the construction of the car the corpse remained within the house of the deceased man, outside which the villagers continued mourning to the dirge-like music of the band, which plays so prominent a part at the death ceremonies of both todas and kotas. on the completion of the car, late in the afternoon, it was deposited in front of the house. the corpse, dressed up in a coloured turban and gaudy coat, with a garland of flowers round the neck, and two rupees, a half-rupee, and sovereign gummed on to the forehead, was brought from within the house, lying face upwards on a cot, and placed beneath the lowest canopy of the car. near the head were placed iron implements and a bag of rice, at the feet a bag of tobacco, and beneath the cot baskets of grain, rice, cakes, etc. the corpse was covered with cloths offered to it as presents, and before it those kotas who were younger than the dead man prostrated themselves, while those who were older touched the head of the corpse and bowed to it. around the car the male members of the community executed a wild step-dance, keeping time with the music in the execution of various fantastic movements of the arms and legs. during the long hours of the night mourning was kept up to the almost incessant music of the band, and the early morn discovered many of the villagers in an advanced stage of intoxication. throughout the morning, dancing round the car was continued by men, sober and inebriated, with brief intervals of rest, and a young buffalo was slaughtered as a matter of routine form, with no special ceremonial, in a pen outside the village, by blows on the back and neck administered with the keen edge of an adze. towards midday presents of rice from the relatives of the dead man arrived on the back of a pony, which was paraded round the car. from a vessel containing rice and rice water, water was crammed into the mouths of the near relatives, some of the water poured over their heads, and the remainder offered to the corpse. at intervals a musket, charged with gunpowder, which proved later on a dangerous weapon in the hands of an intoxicated kota, was let off, and the bell on the car rung. about 2 p.m., the time announced for the funeral, the cot bearing the corpse, from the forehead of which the coins had been removed, was carried to a spot outside the village called the thavachivadam, followed by the widow and a throng of kotas of both sexes, young and old. the cot was then set down, and, seated at some distance from it, the women continued to mourn until the funeral procession was out of sight, those who could not cry spontaneously mimicking the expression of woe by contortion of the grief muscles. the most poignant sorrow was displayed by a man in a state of extreme intoxication, who sat apart by himself, howling and sobbing, and wound up by creating considerable disturbance at the burning-ground. three young bulls were brought from the village, and led round the corpse. of these, two were permitted to escape for the time being, while a vain attempt, which would have excited the derision of the expert toda buffalo-catchers, was made by three men, hanging on to the head and tail, to steer the third bull up to the head of the corpse. the animal, however, proving refractory, it was deemed discreet to put an end to its existence by a blow on the poll with the butt-end of an adze, at some distance from the corpse, which was carried up to it, and made to salute the dead beast's head with the right hand, in feeble imitation of the impressive toda ceremonial. the carcase of the bull was saluted by a few of the kota men, and subsequently carried off by pariahs. supported by females, the exhausted widow of the dead man was dragged up to the corpse, and, lying back beside it, had to submit to the ordeal of removal of all her jewellery, the heavy brass bangle being hammered off the wrist, supported on a wooden roller, by oft-repeated blows with mallet and chisel delivered by a village blacksmith assisted by a besotten individual noted as a consumer of twelve grains of opium daily. the ornaments, as removed, were collected in a basket, to be worn again by the widow after several months. this revolting ceremony concluded, and a last salutation given by the widow to her dead husband, arches of bamboo were attached to the cot, which was covered over with a coloured table-cloth hiding the corpse from sight. a procession was then formed, composed of the corpse on the cot, preceded by the car and musicians, and followed by male kotas and badagas, kota women carrying the baskets of grain, cakes, etc., a vessel containing fire, and burning camphor. quickly the procession marched to the burning-ground beyond the bazar, situated in a valley by the side of a stream running through a glade in a dense undergrowth of bracken fern and trailing passion-flower. on arrival at the selected spot, a number of agile kotas swarmed up the sides of the car, and stripped it of its adornments including the umbrella, and a free fight for the possession of the cloths and flags ensued. the denuded car was then placed over the corpse, which, deprived of all valuable ornaments and still lying on the cot, had been meanwhile placed, amid a noisy scene of brawling, on the rapidly constructed funeral pyre. around the car faggots of wood, supplied in lieu of wreaths by different families in the dead man's village as a tribute of respect, were piled up, and the pyre was lighted with torches kindled at a fire which was burning on the ground close by. as soon as the pyre was in a blaze, tobacco, cigars, cloths, and grain were distributed among those present, and the funeral party dispersed, leaving a few men behind in charge of the burning corpse, and peace reigned once more in the kota village. a few days later, the funeral of an elderly woman took place with a very similar ceremonial. but, suspended from the handle of the umbrella on the top of the car, was a rag doll, which in appearance resembled an aunt sally. i was told that, on the day following the funeral, the smouldering ashes are extinguished with water, and the ashes, collected together, and buried in a pit, the situation of which is marked by a heap of stones. a piece of the skull, wrapped in bracken fronds, is placed between two fragments of an earthen pot, and deposited in the crevice of a rock or in a chink in a stone wall. the kotas celebrate annually a second funeral ceremony in imitation of the todas. for eight days before the day appointed for its observance, a dance takes place in front of the houses of those kotas whose memorial rites are to be celebrated, and three days before they are performed invitations are issued to the different kota villages. on a sunday night, fire is lighted by friction, and the time is spent in dancing. on the following day, the relatives of the departed who have to perform the ceremony purify the open space in front of their houses with cow-dung. they bring three basketfuls of paddy (unhusked rice), which are saluted and set down on the cleansed space. the pujari and the rest of the community, in like manner, salute the paddy, which is taken inside the house. on the monday, cots corresponding in number to that of the deceased whose dry funeral is being held, are taken to the thavachivadam, and the fragments of skulls are laid thereon. buffaloes (one or more for each skull) are killed, and a cow is brought near the cots, and, after a piece of skull has been placed on its horns, sacrificed. a dance takes place around the cots, which are removed to the burning-ground, and set on fire. the kotas spend the night near the thavachivadam. on the following day a feast is held, and they return to their homes towards evening, those who have performed the ceremony breaking a small pot full of water in front of their houses. like the todas, the kotas indulge in trials of strength with heavy spherical stones, which they raise, or attempt to raise, from the ground to the shoulders, and in a game resembling tip-cat. in another game, sides are chosen, of about ten on each side. one side takes shots with a ball made of cloth at a brick propped up against a wall, near which the other side stands. each man is allowed three shots at the brick. if it is hit and falls over, one of the 'out-side' picks up the ball, and throws it at the other side, who run away, and try to avoid being hit. if the ball touches one of them, the side is put out, and the other side goes in. a game, called hulikote, which bears a resemblance to the english child's game of fox and geese, is played on a stone chiselled with lines, which forms a rude game-board. in one form of the game, two tigers and twenty-five bulls, and in another three tigers and fifteen bulls engage, and the object is for the tigers to take, or, as the kotas express it, kill all the bulls. in a further game, called kote, a labyrinthiform pattern, or maze, is chiselled on a stone, to get to the centre of which is the problem. the following notes are taken from my case-book:- man--blacksmith and carpenter. silver bangle on right wrist; two silver rings on right little finger; silver ring on each first toe. gold ear-rings. languti (cloth) tied to silver chain round loins. man--light blue eyes, inherited from his mother. his children have eyes of the same colour. lobes of ears pendulous from heavy gold ear-rings set with pearls. another man with light blue eyes was noticed by me. man--branded with cicatrix of a burn made with a burning cloth across lower end of back of forearm. this is a distinguishing mark of the kotas, and is made on boys when they are more than eight years old. woman--divorced for being a confirmed opium-eater, and living with her father. woman--dirty cotton cloth, with blue and red stripes, covering body and reaching below the knees. woman--two glass bead necklets, and bead necklet ornamented with silver rings. four brass rings, and one steel ring on left forearm. two massive brass bangles, weighing two pounds each, and separated by cloth ring, on right wrist. brass bangle with brass and steel pendants, and shell bangle on left wrist. two steel rings, and one copper ring on right ring-finger; brass rings on left first, ring, and little fingers. two brass rings on first toe of each foot. tattooed lines uniting eyebrows. tattooed on outer side of both upper arms with rings, dots, and lines; rows of dots on back of right forearm; circle on back of each wrist; rows of dots on left ankle. as with the todas, the tattooed devices are far less elaborate than those of the women in the plains. woman--glass necklet ornamented with cowry shells, and charm pendant from it, consisting of a fragment of the root of some tree rolled up in a ball of cloth. she put it on when her baby was quite young, to protect it against devils. the baby had a similar charm round its neck. in the course of his investigation of the todas, dr. rivers found that of 320 males 41 or 12.8 per cent. and of 183 females only two or 1.1 per cent. were typical examples of red-green colour-blindness. the percentage in the males is quite remarkable. the result of examination of badaga and kota males by myself with holmgren's wools was that red-green colour-blindness was found to be present in 6 out of 246 badagas, or 2·5 per cent. and there was no suspicion of such colour-blindness in 121 kotas. kota (a fort).--a sub-division of balija, and an exogamous sept of padma sale. the equivalent kotala occurs as an exogamous sept of boya. there are, in mysore, a few kotas, who are said to be immigrants from south canara, and to be confined to the kadur district. according to a current legend, they were originally of the kota community, but their ancestors committed perjury in a land-case, and were cursed to lose their rank as brahmans for seven hundred years. [14] kota is also the name of a section of brahmans. kotari.--a class of domestic servants in south canara, who claim to be an independent caste, though some regard them as a sub-caste of bant. [15] kotegara or koteyava.--see servegara. koti (monkey).--the name for koravas, who travel about the country exhibiting monkeys. kotippattan.--the kotippattans are described, in the travancore census report, 1901, as "a class of tamil brahmans, who, at a very early age in malabar history, were declared by society to have lost the original brahmanical status. the offence was, it is said, their having taken to the cultivation of the betel-vine as their chief occupation. the ordinances of caste had prescribed other duties for the brahmans, and it is not unlikely that sankaracharya, to whose curse the present position of the kotippattan is traced, disapproved of the change. in general appearance as regards thread, position of hair-tuft, and dress of men as well as women, and in ceremonials, the kotippattans cannot be easily distinguished from the brahman class. sad instances have occurred of brahman girls having been decoyed into matrimonial alliances with kotippattans. they form a small community, and the state of social isolation into which they have been thrown has greatly checked their increase, as in the case of many other malabar castes. their priests are at present tamil brahmans. they do not study the vedas, and the gayatri hymn is recited with the first syllable known as the pranavam. in the matter of funeral ceremonies, a kotippattan is treated as a person excommunicated. the cremation is a mere mechanical process, unaccompanied by any mantras (sacred formulæ) or by any rites, anantarasamskara (deferred funeral rites) being done after the lapse of ten days. they have their annual sraddhas, but no offerings of water (tarpanam) on the new-moon day. their household deity is sasta. their inheritance is from father to son. their household language is malayalam. their chief seat is vamanapuram, twenty miles from trivandrum." kotlu (cow-shed).--an exogamous sept of yanadi. kottaipaththu.--a sub-division of agamudaiyans, who believe that they are the same as the kottai (fort) vellalas of tinnevelly. kottai vellala.--"the kottai vellalas," mr. j. a. boyle writes, [16] have been "shut up within narrow walls, the others between two rivers. the result of insulation has been the same, and they have developed from small families into small, but perfectly distinct, castes. in the centre of the town of srivaiguntam, in the tinnevelly district, is a small fort, composed of a mud enclosure, containing the houses of a number of families known as kottai (fort) vellalas, who are separated from social intercourse and intermarriage with other families of the great vellala caste. the traditional origin of this settlement is dated nearly a thousand years ago, when their ancestors were driven by a political revolution from their home in the valley of the veigay (the river which flows past madura). under the pandya dynasty of madura, these vellalas were, they allege, the chamberlains or treasurers, to whom belonged the hereditary dignity of crowning the newly-succeeded kings. and this is still commemorated by an annual ceremony, performed in one of the tinnevelly temples, whither the heads of families still repair, and crown the head of the swami (god). their women never leave the precincts of the mud enclosure. after seven years of age, no girl is allowed to pass the gates, and the restriction is supported by the tradition of a disobedient little girl, who was murdered for a thoughtless breach of this law. into the fort no male stranger may enter, though there is no hindrance to women of other castes to enter. after marriage, no woman of the caste may be seen by man's eyes, except those of her husband, father, brothers, and maternal uncles. when the census was taken, they refused to say how many women there were inside the fort, and infanticide is not only possible, but most probable; for there is a suspicious absence of increase in the colony, which suggests some mode of disposing of the 'useless mouths,' unknown to health officers and policemen. until recent times, housed within the fort, were certain prædial slaves (kottar, smiths) of inferior social status, who worked for their masters, and lived in the same rigid seclusion as regards their women. they have been turned out, to live beyond the enclosure, but work for their masters." it is said that, during the days of oppression at the hands of muhammadan and poligar rulers, the kottai vellalas had to pay considerable sums of money to secure immunity from molestation. the kottai pillai, or headman of the community, is reported to possess the grants made from time to time by the rulers of the country, guaranteeing them the enjoyment of their customs and privileges. the fort, in which the kottai vellalas live, is kept in good preservation by government. there are four entrances, of which one is kept closed, because, it is said, on one occasion, a child who went out by it to witness the procession of a god was killed. brahmans who are attached to the fort, male members of various castes who work for the inmates thereof, and pallans may freely enter it. but, if any one wishes to speak to a man living in the fort, the paraiyan gatekeeper announces the presence of the visitor. females of all castes may go into the fort, and into the houses within it. on marriage and other festive occasions, it is customary for the kottai vellalas to give raw rations to those invited, instead of, as among other castes, a dinner. the kottans eat and drink at the expense of their masters, and dance. like the nangudi vellalas (savalai pillais), the kottai vellalas have kilais (septs) running in the female line, and they closely follow them in their marriage customs. it is usual for a man to marry his paternal aunt's daughter. the bridegroom goes in state, with his and the bride's relations and their respective kottans, to the bride's house. arrived at the marriage pandal (booth), they are welcomed by the bride's party. the homam (sacrificial fire) is then raised by the officiating brahman priest, who blesses the tali (marriage badge), and hands it to a kottan female, who passes it on to the elder sister of the bridegroom, or, if he has no such sister, to a female who takes her place. she takes it inside the house, and ties it on the neck of the bride, who has remained within during the ceremony. the contracting couple are then man and wife. the husband goes to live with his wife, who, after marriage, continues to live in her father's house. on the death of her father, she receives half of a brother's share of the property. if she has no brothers, she inherits the whole property. [17] kottai vellala women wear ordinary jewels up to middle life, when they replace them by a jewel called nagapadam, which is a gold plate with the representation of a five-headed cobra. this is said to be worn in memory of the occasion when a pandyan king, named thennavarayan, overlooking the claims of his legitimate son, gave the kingdom to an illegitimate son. the fort vellalas living at sezhuvaimanagaram refused to place the crown on the bastard's head. they were consequently persecuted, and had to leave the country. they decided to throw themselves into a fire-pit, and so meet their death in a body. but, just as they were about to do so, they were prevented by a huge five-headed cobra. hearing of this marvellous occurrence, the pandyan king who was ruling in tinnevelly invited them to settle at srivaiguntam. the fort vellalas claim that one of the pandyan kings gave them extensive lands on the bank of the vaigai river when they lived at sezhuvaimanagaram. they claim further that the ministers and treasurers of the pandyan kings were selected from among them. the dead are usually cremated. the corpses are borne by kottans, who carry out various details in connection with the death ceremonies. the corpses of women are placed in a bag, which is carefully sewn up. i am informed that, owing to the scarcity of females, men are at the present day obliged to recruit wives from outside. the kottaipaththu agamudaiyans believe that they are the same as the kottai vellalas. kottakunda (new pot).--an exogamous sept of medara. kottan.--an occupational name, meaning bricklayer, returned, at times of census, by some pallis in coimbatore. some pallis are also employed as bricklayers in the city of madras. kottan is also recorded as a title of katasan. kottha.--a sub-division of kurubas, the members of which tie a woollen thread round the wrist at marriages. kottiya paiko.--a sub-division of rona. kove (ant-hill).--an exogamous sept of gangadikara vakkaliga. kovila (indian cuckoo, eudynamis honorata).--a gotra of medara. kovilar (temple people).--the name adopted by a section of pallis or vanniyans, who wear the sacred thread, and have temples of their own, in which they worship. koil adiyan (temple servant) has been returned by some balijas at times of census. kovilammamar or koilpat, denoting ladies of, or those who live in palaces, is a title of some samanta ladies. kovilagam is the usual term for the house of a raja or tirumalpad, and koilpantala is recorded, from travancore, as a synonym for koil tamburan. the nattukottai chettis have exogamous septs, or koils, named after temples, e.g., mathur koil. koya.--the land and boat-owning class of muhammadans in the laccadive islands. the name is said to be a corrupt form of khoja, meaning a man of distinction. mappillas use koya as a suffix to their names, e.g., hassan koya, mahomed koya (see mappilla). koyappan.--koyappan or koyavappan are corrupt forms of kusavan (malabar potters). koyi.--the koyis, kois, or koyas, are a tribe inhabiting the hills in the north of the godavari district, and are also found in the malkangiri taluk of the jeypore zamindari. they are said to belong to the great gond family, and, when a man of another caste wishes to be abusive to a koyi, he calls him a gondia. the koyi language is said by grierson to be a dialect of gondi. writing concerning the koyis of the godavari district, the rev. j. cain states [18] that "in these parts the kois use a great many telugu words, and cannot always understand the kois who come from the plateau in bustar. a few years ago, when colonel haig travelled as far as jagdalpuram, the kois from the neighbourhood of dummagudem who accompanied him were frequently unable to carry on any conversation with many of the kois on this plateau. there are often slight differences in the phraseology of the inhabitants of two villages within a mile of each other. when two of my teachers, living not more than a mile apart, were collecting vocabularies in the villages in which they lived, they complained that their vocabularies often differed in points where they expected to find no variety whatever." a partial vocabulary of the koyi language is given by the rev. j. cain, who notes that all the words borrowed from telugu take purely koi terminations in the plural. "its connection," he writes, "with the gond language is very apparent, and also the influence of its neighbour telugu. this latter will account for many of the irregularities, which would probably disappear in the language spoken by the kois living further away from the telugu country." mr. g. f. paddison informs me that all the gonds whom he met with in the vizagapatam district were bholo loko (good caste), and would not touch pork or mutton, whereas the koyi shares with the dombs the distinction of eating anything he can get in the way of meat, from a rat to a cow. it is noted by mr. h. a. stuart [19] that "the khonds call themselves kui, a name identical with koi or koya." and, in 1853, an introduction to the grammar of the kui or kandh language was produced by lingum letchmajee. [20] it is recorded by the rev. j. cain that "until the talukas were handed over to british rule, the bhadrachallam zamindar always kept up a troop of rohillas, who received very little pay for their services, and lived chiefly by looting the country around. in attendance upon them were one hundred kois, and one hundred madigas. twenty-five koi villages form a samutu, and, in the bhadrachallam taluka, there are ten samutus. in the territory on the opposite side of the river, which also belonged to the ashwa rau family, there were ten samutus. each samutu was bound in turn to furnish for a month a hundred kois to carry burdens, fetch supplies, etc., for the above-mentioned rohillas. during the month thus employed they had to provide their own batta (subsistence money). the petty zamindars of albaka, cherla, nagar, bejji and chintalanada, likewise had their forces of nayaks and kois, and were continually robbing and plundering. all was grist which came to their mill, even the clothes of the poor koi women, who were frequently stripped, and then regarded as objects of ridicule. the kois have frequently told me that they could never lie down to rest without feeling that before morning their slumbers might be rudely disturbed, their houses burnt, and their property all carried off. as a rule, they hid their grain in caves and holes of large trees." it is recorded, in the vizagapatam manual, that, in 1857, the headman of koraturu, a village on the godavari river, was anxious to obtain a certain rich widow in marriage for his son. hearing, however, that she had become the concubine of a village munsiff or magistrate of buttayagudem, he attempted, with a large body of his koi followers, to carry her off by force. failing in the immediate object of his raid, he plundered the village, and retreated with a quantity of booty and cattle. those koyis, the rev. j. cain writes, who live in the plains "have a tradition that, about two hundred years ago, they were driven from the plateau in the bustar country by famine and disputes, and this relationship is also acknowledged by the gutta kois, i.e., the hill kois, who live in the highlands of bustar. these call the kois who live near the godavari gommu kois and mayalotilu. the word gommu is used to denote the banks and neighbourhood of the godavari. thus, for instance, all the villages on the banks of the godavari are called gommu ullu. mayalotilu means rascal. the gutta kois say the lowland kois formerly dwelt on the plateau, but on one occasion some of them started out on a journey to see a zamindar in the plains, promising to return before very long. they did not fulfil their promise, but settled in the plains, and gradually persuaded others to join them, and at times have secretly visited the plateau on marauding expeditions.... the kois regard themselves as being divided into five classes, perumboyudu, madogutta, peregatta, matamuppayo, and vidogutta." the rev. j. cain states further that "the lowland kois say that they are divided into five tribes, but they do not know the first of these. the only names they can give are paredugatta, mundegutta, peramboyina, and wikaloru, and these tribes are again sub-divided into many families. the members of the different tribes may intermarry, but not members of the same tribe." it is recorded by mr. f. r. hemingway [21] that "exogamous septs, called gattas, occur in the tribe. among them are mudo (third), nalo (fourth) or paredi, aido (fifth) or rayibanda, aro (sixth), nutomuppayo (130th), and peramboya. in some places, the members of the mudo, nalo, and aido gattas are said to be recognisable by the difference in the marks they occasionally wear on their foreheads, a spot, a horizontal, and a perpendicular line respectively being used by them. the aro gatta, however, also uses the perpendicular line." it is further noted by mr. hemingway that the racha or dora koyas consider themselves superior to all other sub-divisions, except the oddis (superior priests). it is noted by the rev. j. cain that at gangolu, a village about three miles from dummagudem, "live several families who call themselves basava gollavandlu, but on enquiry i found that they are really kois, whose grandfathers had a quarrel with some of their neighbours, and separated themselves from their old friends. some of the present members of the families are anxious to be re-admitted to the society and privileges of the neighbouring kois. the word basava is commonly said to be derived from bhasha, a language, and the gollas of that class are said to have been so called in consequence of their speaking a different language from the rest of the gollas. a small but well-known family, the matta people, are all said to have been originally erra gollas, but six generations ago they were received into the koi people. another well-known family, the kaka people, have the following tradition of their arrival in the koi districts. seven men of the are kapulu caste of hindus once set out on a journey from the neighbourhood of warangal. their way led through dense jungle, and for a very long time they could find no village, where they and their horses could obtain food and shelter. at length they espied a small hut belonging to a poor widow, and, riding up to it, they entered into conversation with her, when they learned that the whole country was being devastated by a nilghai (blue bull: boselaphus tragocamelus), which defied all attempts to capture it. in despair, the king of the country, who was a koi of the emu family, had promised his youngest daughter in marriage to any man who would rid the country of the pest. before very long, the youngest of the kapus was out wandering in the neighbouring jungle, and had an encounter with the formidable beast, which ran at him very fiercely, and attempted to knock him down. the young man raised a small brass pot, which he was carrying, and struck the animal so forcible a blow on the head that it fell dead on the spot. he then cut off its tail, nose, and one ear, and carried them away as trophies of his victory; and, having hidden his ring in the mutilated head of the animal, he buried the body in a potter's pit close to the scene of the encounter. he and his elder brothers then resumed their journey, but they had not gone far before they received news from the widow that the potter, hearing of the death of the animal, had gone to the king with the tidings, and asserted that he himself was the victor, and was therefore entitled to the promised reward. the king, however, declined to comply with his request, unless he produced satisfactory evidence of the truth of the story. the real victor, hearing all this, bent his steps to the king's court and asserted his claim, showing his trophies in proof of his statements, and requesting the king to send and dig up the carcase of the animal, and see whether the ring was there or not. the king did so, and, finding everything as the claimant had asserted, he bestowed his daughter on him, and assigned to the newly married couple suitable quarters in his own house. before very long, the next elder brother of the bridegroom came to pay him a visit, riding in a kachadala, i.e., a small cart on solid wooden wheels. he found all the city in great trouble in consequence of the ravages of a crow with an iron beak, with which it attacked young children, and pecked out their brains. the king, deeply grieved at his subjects' distress, had it proclaimed far and wide that the slayer of this crow should receive in reward the hand of his youngest remaining daughter. the young man had with him a new bamboo bow, and so he fitted an arrow to the string, and let fly at the crow. his aim was so good that the crow fell dead at once, but the force of the blow was so great that one of the wings was driven as far south as the present village of rekapalli (wing village), its back fell down on the spot now occupied by nadampalli (loin or back village), its legs at kalsaram (leg village), and its head at tirusapuram (head village), whilst the remainder fell into the cart, and was carried into the presence of the king. the king was delighted to see such clear proofs of the young man's bravery, and immediately had the marriage celebrated, and gave the new son-in-law half the town. he then made an agreement with his sons-in-law and their friends, according to which they were in future to give him as many marriageable girls as could be enclosed and tied up by seven lengths of ropes used for tying up cattle, and he was to bestow upon them as many as could be tied up by three lengths. in other words, he was to receive seventy children, and to give thirty, but this promise has never been fulfilled. the victor received the name of kaka (crow), and his descendants are called the kaka people." the koyis of the godavari district are described in the manual as being "a simple-minded people. they look poor and untidy. the jungles in which they reside are very unhealthy, and the kois seem almost to a man to suffer from chronic fever. they lead an unsophisticated, savage life, and have few ideas, and no knowledge beyond the daily events of their own little villages; but this withdrawal from civilised existence is favourable to the growth of those virtues which are peculiar to a savage life. like the khonds, they are noted for truthfulness, and are quite an example in this respect to the civilised and more cultivated inhabitants of the plains. they call themselves koitors, the latter part of which appellation has been very easily and naturally changed by the telugu people, and by the kois who come most closely into contact with them, into dorala, which means lords; and they are always honoured by this title in the godavari district. [the rev. j. cain expresses doubts as to the title dora being a corruption of tor, and points out that it is a common title in the telugu country. some koyis on the bastar plateau call themselves bhumi razulu, or kings of the earth.] the villages are small, but very picturesque. they are built in groups of five or six houses, in some places even a smaller number, and there are very rarely so many as ten or fifteen. a clearing is made in the jungle, and a few acres for cultivation are left vacant round the houses. in clearing away the wood, every tree is removed except the ippa (bassia latifolia) and tamarind trees, which are of the greatest service to the people on account of their fruit and shade. the kois do not remain long in the same place. they are a restless race. four years suffice to exhaust the soil in one locality, and they do not take the trouble to plough deeper, but migrate to another spot, where they make a fresh clearing, and erect a new village. their huts are generally covered with melons and gourds, the flowing tendrils of which give them a very graceful appearance, but the surrounding jungle makes them damp and unhealthy. when the cultivation season is over, and the time of harvest draws on, the whole of the village turns out by families, and lives on the small wooden scaffoldings erected in the fields, for the purpose of scaring away the wild animals and birds, which come to feed on the ripening grain. deer and wild pigs come by night to steal it, and herds of goats by day. tigers and cheetas (leopards) often resort to the fields of indian corn, and conceal themselves among the lofty plants. poorer kinds of grain are also grown, such as millet and maize, out of which the people make a kind of porridge, called java. they likewise grow a little cotton, from which they make some coarse cloth, and tobacco. the ippa tree is much prized. the koyis eat the flowers of this tree, which are round and fleshy. they eat them either dried in the sun, or fried with a little oil. oil both for lights and for cooking is obtained from the nut, from which also an intoxicating spirit is extracted." i gather that the koyis further use the oil for anointing the hair, whereas, in kurnool, the forest officers barter with the chenchus for the fruits, which they will part with, as they do not require them for the toilette or other purpose. the cultivation of the koyis has been described as "of the simplest, most unprofitable kind. a piece of jungle is selected, and all the trees, except the fruit-bearing ones, are cut down and burned, the ashes being used for manure. then, without removing the stumps or further clearing, the land is scratched along the top, and the seed sown. for three or four years the natural fertility of the soil yields them a crop, but then, when the undergrowth begins to appear and the soil to be impoverished, being too lazy to plough and clean it properly or to give it manure, they abandon it, and the land again becomes scrub jungle." in a note on cultivation in the agency tracts of the godavari district, f. r. hemingway writes as follows. [22] "the majority of the hill reddis and the koyas in the agency carry on shifting cultivation, called podu, by burning clearings in the forests. two methods prevail: the ordinary (or chalaka) podu, and the hill (or konda) podu. the former consists in cultivating certain recognised clearings for a year or two at a time, allowing the forest to grow again for a few years, and then again burning and cultivating them; while, under the latter, the clearing is not returned to for a much longer period, and is sometimes deserted for ever. the latter is in fashion in the more hilly and wilder parts, while the former is a step towards civilisation. in february or march, the jungle trees and bushes are cut down, and spread evenly over the portion to be cultivated; and, when the hot weather comes on, they are burnt. the ashes act as a manure, and the cultivators think that the mere heat of the burning makes the ground productive. the land is ploughed once or twice in chalaka podus before and after sowing, but not at all in konda podus. the seed is sown in june. hill cholam and samai are the commonest crops. the former is dibbled into the ground. grain is usually stored in regular granaries (kottu), or in thatched bamboo receptacles built on a raised foundation, and called gadi. these are not found in bhadrachalam or the central delta, where a high, round receptacle made of twisted straw (puri) is used. grain is also stored, as elsewhere, in pits." it is noted by mr. hemingway that the houses of the koyis "are made of bamboo, with a thatch of grass or palmyra. they are very restless, and families change frequently from one village to another. before morning, they consult the omens, to see whether the change will be auspicious or not. sometimes the hatching of a clutch of eggs provides the answer, or four grains of four kinds of seed, representing the prosperity of men, cattle, sheep, and land, are put on a heap of ashes under a man's bed. any movement among them during the night is a bad omen. the koyas proper are chiefly engaged in agriculture. their character is a curious medley. they excite admiration by their truthfulness and simplicity; contempt by their drunkenness, listlessness, and want of thrift; amusement by their stupidity and their combination of timidity and self-importance; and disgust by their uncanny superstitions and thinly veiled blood-thirstiness. their truthfulness is proverbial, though it is said to be less characteristic than of yore, and they never break their word. their drunkenness is largely due to the commonness of the ippa tree (bassia latifolia), from the flowers of which strong spirit is distilled, and is most noticeable when this is blossoming. their laziness is notorious, and their stupidity is attested by numerous stories. one, vouched for by the rev. j. cain, relates how some of them, being despatched with a basket of fruit and a note describing its contents, and being warned that the note would betray any pilfering, first buried the note so that it could not see, then abstracted some of the fruit, afterwards disinterred the note and delivered it and the basket, and were quite at a loss, when charged with the theft, to know how the note could have learnt about it. they are terribly victimised by traders and money-lenders from the low country, who take advantage of their stupidity to cheat them in every conceivable way. their timidity has on occasions driven them to seek refuge in the jungle on the appearance of a hindu in clean clothes, but, on the other hand, they insist upon, and receive a considerable measure of respect from lowlanders whom they encounter. they are perfectly aware that their title dora means lord, and they insist upon being given it. they tolerate the address 'uncle' (mama) from their neighbours of other castes, but they are greatly insulted if called koyas. when so addressed, they have sometimes replied 'whose throat have i cut?' playing on the word koya, which means to slice, or cut the throat. when driven to extremes, they are capable of much courage. blood feuds have only recently become uncommon in british territory, and in 1876 flourished greatly in the bastar state." concerning the marriage custom of the koyis the rev. j. cain writes that "the koyis generally marry when of fair age, but infant marriage is unknown. the maternal uncle of a girl has always the right to dispose of her hand, which he frequently bestows upon one of his own sons. if the would-be bridegroom is comparatively wealthy, he can easily secure a bride by a peaceable arrangement with her parents; but, if too poor to do this, he consults with his parents and friends, and, having fixed upon a suitable young girl, he sends his father and friends to take counsel with the headman of the village where his future partner resides. a judicious and liberal bestowal of a few rupees and arak (liquor) obtain the consent of the guardian of the village to the proposed marriage. this done, the party watch for a favourable opportunity to carry off the bride, which is sure to occur when she comes outside her village to fetch water or wood, or, it may be, when her parents and friends are away, and she is left alone in the house. the bridegroom generally anxiously awaits the return home of his friends with their captive, and the ceremony is proceeded with that evening, due notice having been sent to the bereaved parents. some of the koyis are polygamists, and it not unfrequently happens that a widow is chosen and carried off, it may be a day or two after the death of her husband, whilst she is still grieving on account of her loss. the bride and bridegroom are not always married in the same way. the more simple ceremony is that of causing the woman to bend her head down, and then, having made the man lean over her, the friends pour water on his head, and, when the water has run off his head to that of the woman, they are regarded as man and wife. the water is generally poured out of a bottle-gourd. (these gourds are used by the koyis as bottles, in which they carry drinking water when on a journey. very few koyis stir far from their homes without one of these filled with water.) generally, on this all-important occasion, the two are brought together, and, having promised to be faithful to each other, drink some milk. some rice is then placed before them, and, having again renewed their promises, they eat the rice. they then go outside the house, and march round a low heap of earth which has been thrown up under a small pandal (booth) erected for the occasion, singing a simple love song as they proceed. afterwards they pay their respects to the elders present, and beg for their blessing, which is generally bestowed in the form of 'may you be happy! may you not fight and quarrel!' etc. this over, all present fall to the task of devouring the quantity of provisions provided for the occasion, and, having well eaten and drunk, the ceremony is concluded. if the happy couple and their friends are comparatively wealthy, the festivities last several days. dancing and singing are kept up every evening, and, when the fun waxes fast and furious, the mother-in-law takes up her new son-in-law on her shoulders, and his mother her new daughter-in-law, and dance round as vigorously as age and strength permit. if the mothers-in-law are not able, it is the duty of the respective maternal aunts to perform this ludicrous office. when the bridegroom is a fine strapping young man, this is a duty rather than a pleasure. some do not object to run away with the wife of another man, and, in former years, a husband has been known to have been murdered for the sake of his wife. even at present, more disputes arise from bride-stealing than from any other cause, especially as up to the present time (1876) the government officials have not been able to stop this practice. in the case of a man running away with another man's wife, the samatu dora (headman), on its being reported to him, goes to the village where the culprit lives, assembles the headman, and calls the offender before him. he then fines the man twelve rupees, and orders him to give another twelve to the husband of the woman whom he has stolen, and then demands two rupees' worth of liquor, a goat, and grain for a feast. on these being brought, the night is spent in feasting and drinking, and the fault is forgiven. in cases of breach of the seventh commandment, the offender is often placed between two logs of wood, upon which as many men sit as can be accommodated, and press it down as long as they can without endangering the unfortunate man's life. in all the koi villages there is a large house, where the young unmarried men have to sleep, and another which the young unmarried girls have to occupy at night." it is noted by mr. hemingway that, "if a koya youth is refused by the maiden of his choice, he generally carries her off by force. but a boy can reserve a girl baby for himself by giving the mother a pot, and a cloth for the baby to lie upon, and then she may not be carried off. girls who consort with a man of low caste are purified by having their tongues branded with a hot golden needle, and by being made to pass through seven arches of palmyra leaves which are afterwards burnt." (cf. koraga.) according to mr. r. e. enthoven, [23] "the suggestion seems to be a rapid representation of seven existences, the outcast regaining his (or her) status after seven generations have passed without further transgression. the parallel suggested is the law of manu that seven generations are necessary to efface a lapse from the law of endogamous marriage." in a note on marriage among the koyis of vizagapatam, mr. c. hayavadana rao writes that the parents and other relations of the bridegroom go to the bride's home with a present (voli) of three or four head-loads of fermented liquor made from ragi (eleusine coracana) seeds, a pair of new cloths for the girl's father and mother, and a pig. a feast is held, and, on the following day, the bride is conducted to the home of the bridegroom. the marriage ceremony is then conducted on lines similar to those already described. in connection with birth ceremonies, the rev. j. cain writes that "the koi women are very hardy, and careless about themselves. after the birth of a child, they do not indulge in the luxury of a cot, but, according to their usual custom, continue to lie upon the ground, bathe in cold water, and eat their accustomed food. directly the child is born, it is placed upon a cot, and the mother resumes her ordinary work of fetching water, wood, leaves, etc., cooking for the family, and so on. on the seventh day the child is well washed, and all the neighbours and near relatives assemble together to name the child. having placed the child on a cot, they put a leaf of the mohwa tree (bassia) in the child's hand, and pronounce some name which they think suitable. if the child closes its hand over the leaf, it is regarded as a sign that the child acquiesces, but, if the child rejects the leaf or cries, they take it as a sign that they must choose another name, and so they throw away the leaf, and substitute another leaf and another name, until the child shows its approbation. if the name chosen is that of any person present, the owner of that name generally expresses his appreciation of the honour thus conferred by placing a small coin in the hand of the child, otherwise the father is bound to do so. this ceremony is followed by a night of dancing and singing, and the next day the father gives a feast to his neighbours and friends, or, if too poor for that, treats the male friends to liquor. most kois now name their children without all the elaborate ceremonial mentioned above." "the bodies of children," the rev. j. cain writes, "and of young men and young women are buried. if a child dies within a month of its birth, it is usually buried close to the house, so that the rain dropping from the eaves may fall upon the grave, and thereby cause the parents to be blessed with another child in due course of time. with the exception of the above mentioned, corpses are usually burnt. a cow or bullock is slain, and the tail cut off and put in the dead person's hand, after the cot on which the corpse is carried has been placed upon the funeral pile. if a pujari, or koi priest, is present, he not unfrequently claims a cloth or two belonging to the dead person. the cot is then removed, and the body burnt. mr. vanstavern reports having seen part of the liver of the slain animal placed in the mouth of the corpse. the friends of the deceased retire, and proceed to feast upon the animal slain for the occasion. three days afterwards they generally return, bringing contributions of cholam (grain), and, having slain one or more animals, have a second feast. in some parts, immediately after the corpse is consumed, the ashes are wetted, rolled into balls, and deposited in a hole about two feet deep, dug on the roadside just outside their village. over the hole is placed a slab of stone, and at the head an upright stone, and, whenever friends pass by these monuments, they endeavour to place a few leaves of tobacco on the slabs, remarking at the same time how fond the deceased were of tobacco in their lifetime. the hill kois have erected very large slabs in days gone by, and it is not uncommon to see rows of ten to fifteen outside the villages close to well-frequented roads, but at present they seldom take the trouble to put up any monuments. in the malkanagiri taluk, the kois every now and then erect these stones, and, when encamped in a village, we were struck by the height of one, from the top of which was suspended an ox tail. on enquiry we found that it was the tomb of the late headman, who had been enterprising enough to build some large bunds (embankments), and thus improve his rice fields. success attended his efforts, and five crops rewarded him. but, alas, envious persons plotted his downfall, he became ill, and called in the diviner, who soon discovered the cause of the fatal illness in the shape of balls of mud, which had been surreptitiously introduced into his stomach by some demoness at the instigation of some foes. three days after the funeral feast, a second one is frequently held, and, if means are forthcoming, another on the seventh and fifteenth days. the nights are always spent in dancing to the beating of the tom-tom or drum. all believe that these feasts are necessary for the repose of the spirits of the deceased, and that, if these are not thus duly honoured, they will wander about the jungle in the form of pisachas (devils) ready to avenge their friends' neglect of their comfort by bringing evil upon their children or cattle. if they are not satisfied as to the cause of the death of any of their friends, they continue to meet at intervals for a whole year, offer the sacrificial feasts, and inquire of the diviner whether he thinks that the spirit of the deceased has been able to associate with spirits or its predeceased friends, and, when they obtain an answer in the affirmative, then and then only do they discontinue these feasts." in connection with death ceremonies, mr. hemingway notes that "when a koya dies, a cow or bullock is slaughtered, and the tail is cut off, and put in the dead man's hand. the liver is said to be sometimes put in his mouth. his widow's tali (marriage badge) is always placed there, and, when a married woman dies, her tali is put in her mouth. the pyre of a man is lighted by his nephew, and of a woman by her son. no pollution is observed by those attending the funeral. the beef of the slain animal provides a feast, and the whole party returns home and makes merry. on the eighth day, a pot of water is placed in the dead man's house for him to drink, and is watched by his nephew. next morning another cow is slaughtered, and the tail and a ball of cooked rice are offered to the soul at the burning ground." concerning the death ceremonies in the vizagapatam district, mr. c. hayavadana rao writes that the corpses of young children are buried far away from the home of their parents. it is customary, among the more prosperous families, to put a few rupees into the mouth of a corpse before the funeral pyre is lighted. the money is made to represent the value of the animal sacrificed in the godavari district. death pollution is not observed, but on the eighth day the relations kill a fowl, and burn it at the spot where the body was cremated. the ashes of a dead person are carried to a spot set apart close to the highway. water is poured over them, and they are made into small balls. a hole, two or three feet deep, is dug, into which the balls, a few of the pots belonging to the deceased, and some money are put. they are covered over with a stone slab, at one end of which an upright slab is set up. a cow is killed, and its tail cut off, and tied to the upright slab, to appease the ghost of the dead person. the remainder of the animal is carried off, and used for a feast. ghasias are notorious for opening up these koyi sepulchres, and stealing the money buried in them. mr. h. tyler informs me that he came across the burning funeral pyre of a koyi girl, who had died of syphilis. across a neighbouring path leading to the koyi village, were a basket fish-trap containing grass, and on each side thorny twigs, which were intended to catch the malign spirit of the dead girl, and prevent it from entering the village. the twigs and trap, containing the captured spirit, were to be burnt by the koyis on the following day. it is noted by mr. hemingway that "people who are neither good enough for heaven, nor bad enough for hell, are born again in their former family. children with hare-lip, moles, etc., are often identified as re-incarnations of deceased relations. tattooing is common. it is, for various reasons, considered very important for the soul in the next world that the body should have been adequately tattooed." concerning the religion of the koyis, the rev. j. cain writes that they say "that the following gods and goddesses were appointed to be worshipped by sudras:--muttelamma, maridimahalakshmi, poturazu and korrazulu; and the following were to receive adoration from the koyis:--kommalamma, katurudu, adamarazu. the goddess mamili or pele must be propitiated early in the year, or else the crops will undoubtedly fail; and she is said to be very partial to human victims. there is strong reason to think that two men were murdered in 1876 near a village not far from dummagudem, as offerings to this devata, and there is no reason to doubt that every year strangers are quietly put out of the way in the bastar country, to ensure the favour of this blood-thirsty goddess. all the koyis seem to hold in great respect the pandava brothers, especially arjuna and bhima. the wild dogs or dhols are regarded as the dutas or messengers of these brothers, and the long black beetles which appear in large numbers at the beginning of the hot weather are called the pandava flock of goats. of course they would on no account attempt to kill a dhol, even though it should happen to attack their favourite calf, and they even regard it as imprudent to interfere with these dutas, when they wish to feast upon their cattle." the tradition among the koyis is that, when the pandava brothers were in exile, bhima, whom they call bhimador, went hunting in the jungle, and met a wild woman of the woods, whom he fell in love with and married. the fruit of this union was the koyi people. the tradition further states that this wild woman was not a human being. [24] "a koi," the rev. j. cain continues, "whom mr. alexander met in a village about two miles from dummagudem, caused him to infer that the kois think heaven to be a great fort, and in it plenty of rice to eat for those who enter it; that hell is a dismal place, where a crow, made of iron, continually gnaws off the flesh of the wicked. this must have been that particular koi's own peculiar belief, for it certainly is not that of any of the kois with whom i so frequently come in contact. the mention of the iron crow reminds me that, about two years ago, a rumour rapidly spread in some of the villages that an iron cock was abroad very early in the morning, and upon the first village in which it heard one or more cocks begin to crow it would send a grievous pestilence, and at least decimate the village. in one instance at least, this led to immediate extermination of all the unfortunate cocks in that village. last year (1878) the inhabitants of a village on the left bank of the godavari were startled by the tallaris (village peons) of the neighbouring village bringing about twenty fowls, and ordering them to be sent on the next village south of dummagudem. on being asked the reason of this order, they replied that the cholera goddess was selecting her victims in the villages further north, and that, to induce her to leave their parts, some of these villages had sent these fowls as offerings to her, but they were to be passed on as far as possible before they were slain, for then she would follow in anticipation of the feast, and so might be tempted quite out of these regions. the police, however, interfered, and they were passed back into the upper godavari district." writing further concerning the religion of the koyis, the rev. j. cain adds that "one sunday afternoon, some kois came to us from a village nine miles away, and begged for medicine for a man, whose right cheek, they said, had been torn away by a tiger, just as if it had been cut out by a knife. a few days afterwards we heard a story, which was far more credible. the people of the village were very anxious for good crops, and resolved to return to the practice of offering a stranger passing by to the goddess mamili, and so two of them were on the look-out for a victim. they soon saw one, and began to pursue him, but he, a koi, knowing the former evil repute of the village, suspected their design and fled, and at last took refuge up a manchan. they began to ascend too, when he took out of his belt a knife, and struck at his assailants, and cut away his right cheek. this caused the two assailants to retreat, and the man escaped. as human sacrifices are now illegal, a langur monkey is frequently substituted, and called for occasion ekuromma potu, i.e., a male with small breasts. this name is given in the hope of persuading the goddess that she is receiving a human sacrifice. mutyalamma is the goddess, who is supposed to preside over small-pox and cholera. when the villages have determined to appease this dread goddess, they erect a pandal (booth) outside their village under a nim (melia azadirachta) tree, search all round for the soft earth of a white-ant heap, and proceed at once to mould this earth into the form of an image of a woman, tie a cloth or two round her, hang a few peacock's feathers around her neck, and place her under the pandal on a three-legged stool, which has been made of the wood of cochlospermum gossypium (silk-cotton tree) for the occasion. they then bring forward a chicken and try to persuade it to eat some of the grains they have thrown down before the image, requesting the goddess to inform them whether she will leave their village or not. if the chicken picks up some of the grains, they regard it as a most favourable omen, but, if not, their hearts are immediately filled with dread of the continued anger of the goddess. they then bring forward two sheep or goats, and then present to them a dish of toddy, and, if the toddy is drunk by the animals, they are quite assured of the speedy departure of the plague which is devastating their village. the sheep are then tied up till the next morning. in the meantime a sorcerer is brought to the front, and they enquire of him the determination of the goddess. after this they return to the village, and they all drink well, and the night is spent in dancing, in which the women join. the next morning the pandal and its inmate are removed to a site still farther away from the village, after which the fowl is killed over the image, on which some drops of blood are allowed to fall. the sheep then have garlands hung round their necks, and their heads are adorned with turmeric, and pots of cold water are poured over them. the deity is at the same time again asked whether she intends to leave them alone, and, if she is disposed to be favourable towards them, she replies by causing the sheep to shiver. the animals are immediately killed, the left ear and left leg being cut off and placed in the mouth, and the head cut off and left as an offering before the image. the rest of the sacrifice is then carried away, to be cooked and enjoyed by all the worshippers before they reach home, as their wives are not allowed to partake of the sacrificial feast. "another goddess or demoness, of which many stand in dread, is called a pida, and her they propitiate in the month of december. all the men of the village gather together and collect from each house a handful of cholam, which they give to the wife of the pujari, directing her to make bread with it for her husband. after he has partaken of it, they bring pots of warm water and pour it over his head, and then all in the village spend some time in dancing. a chatty (pot) is brought after a time, in which are placed leaves of the diospyros embryopteris, and two young men carry it between them, suspended from a pole cut from the same tree, all around the village. the pujari, carrying a cock, accompanies them, and also the rest of the men of the village, each one carrying a staff cut from the above mentioned tree, with which he strikes the eaves of each house passed in their perambulations. when they have been all around the village, they all march off some little distance, and tie up the stick on which the pot is suspended to two neighbouring trees, and place their staves close by. the pujari sets to work to kill the cock, and they all beg the demoness, whom they suppose to have entered the pot, not to come to their village again. the pujari then cooks and eats the cock with food which has been supplied him, and the other worshippers also satisfy the cravings of hunger with food they have brought with them. on no account do they return home until after dark, lest the demoness should see the road to their village, and follow in their wake. very frequently on these occasions, votive offerings, promised long before, are sacrificed and eaten by the pujari. it is not at all uncommon for a koi to promise the pida a seven-horned male (i.e., a cock) as a bribe to be let alone, a two-horned male (i.e., a goat) being set apart by more wealthy or more fervent suppliants. "the kois acknowledge that they worship the devatalu or the dayyamulu (demons of the mountains). the korra razu is supposed to be the deity who has supreme control over tigers, and a friend of mine once saw a small temple devoted to his worship a few miles from the large village of gollapalli, bastar, but it did not seem to be held in very great respect. there is no koi temple in any village near dummagudem, and the kois are seldom, if ever, to be found near a hindu temple. some time ago there was a small mud temple to the goddesses sarlamma and kommalamma at pedda nallapalli, and the head koi of the village was the pujari, but he became a christian, and the temple fell into ruins, and soon melted away. a few families have added to their own faith the worship of siva, and many of them are proud of the appellation of linga kois." "in times of drought," mr. hemingway writes, "a festival to bhima, which lasts five days, is held. when rain appears, the koyis sacrifice a cow or pig to their patron. dancing plays an important part at all these feasts, and also at marriages. the men put on head-dresses of straw, into which buffalo horns are stuck, and accompany themselves with a kind of chant." "there is," the rev. j. cain writes, "generally one velpu for each gens, and in a certain village there is the chief velpu for the whole tribe of kois. when any of the inferior velpus are carried about, contributions in kind or cash are collected by its guardians almost exclusively from the members of the gens to which the velpu belongs. when the superior velpu is taken to any village, all the inferior velpus are brought, and, with the exception of two, are planted some little distance in front of their lord. there are two, however, which are regarded as lieutenants of the paramount power, and these are planted one on each side of their superior. as it was expressed to me, the chief velpu is like the raja of bastar, these two are like his ministers of state, and the rest are like the petty zamindars (land-owners) under him. the largest share of the offerings goes to the chief, the two supporters then claim a fair amount, and the remainder is equally divided amongst those of the third rank.... ancestral worship prevails among the kois, especially on the occasions when the velpu of the family is carried round. the velpu is a large three-cornered red cloth, with a number of figures of various ancestors roughly cut out of different coloured cloth, white, green, blue, or yellow, and stitched to the main cloth. whenever any important male member of the family dies, a new figure is added to commemorate his services. it is usually kept in the custody of the leading man of the family, and taken round by him to all members of that family once a year, when each member is bound to give an offering to the velpu. no one belonging to a different family takes any part in the ceremonies. on the occasion of its being carried round, it is fixed to a long bamboo ornamented at the top with the hair from the tail of a yak, and with loudly sounding brass bells. on arriving at a village where there are a sufficient number of kois of the particular family to make it worth while to stay, the priest in charge of the velpu and his attendant doli give due notice of their arrival, and, having planted the velpu in the ground, the night is spent by all the members of the family to which the velpu belongs in dancing and making merry to the sound of the drum, which is beaten by the doli only. the priest in charge has to fast all night, and keep himself ceremonially pure. in the morning they all proceed to the nearest stream or tank (pond), with the velpu in front carried by the priest, and there bathe, and also enjoy the fun of sprinkling each other with water to their hearts' content. this done, they come up out of the water, plant the velpu on the bank, and send for the bullock to be sacrificed. when this is brought, its legs are tied together, and it is then thrown on the ground, and the priest (or, if he is weak, a strong younger man) has to kill it at one blow. it is then cut up, and, after the attendant priest has received his share, it is divided amongst the attendant crowd, who spend the rest of the day in feasting and drinking. as a rule, no act of obeisance or worship is even paid to the velpu, unless the offering of money to the custodian be regarded as such. sometimes a woman very desirous of having a child brings a cock, throws it down before the velpu and makes obeisance to it, but this is not a very common custom. the dolivandlu or dolollu always attend the velpu, and are present at all the marriage feasts, when they recite old stories, and sing national songs. they are not kois, but really a section of the mala caste, although they will not mix with the rest of the malas of their own family, excepting when on the bastar plateau among the hill kois. the kois have very amusing stories as to how the hair from the tail of the yak is obtained. they say that the yak is a hairy animal which lives in a country far away, but that its great peculiarity is that it has only one leg, and that this leg has no joints in it. being a very swift animal, it is impossible to capture it in any ordinary way, but, as it rests at night by leaning against one particular tree, the hunters carefully mark this tree, and some time during the day cut the trunk through as far as advisable, and watch the result. when night comes on, the animal returns to its resting place, leans against the tree, which is no longer able to give support to the yak, and both fall to the ground. the hunters immediately rush in, and seize their prey. a friend has supplied me with the following reference in 'de bello gallico.' they (the hunters) either undermine all the trees in that place at the roots, or cut them so far as to leave the external appearance of a standing tree. then the elk, which has no knots or joints, comes, leans, as usual, and down comes tree, elk and all." concerning the velpus, mr. hemingway writes that "they consist of small pieces of metal, generally iron and less than a foot in length, which are kept in a hollow bamboo deposited in some wild and unfrequented spot. they are guarded with great secrecy by those in charge of them, and are only shown to the principal worshippers on the rare occasions when they are taken out to be adored. the koyas are very reticent about them. mr. cain says that there is one supreme velpu, which is recognised as the highest by the whole koya tribe, and kept hidden in the depths of bastar. there are also velpus for each gatta, and for each family. the former are considered superior to the latter, and are less frequently brought out of their retreats. one of them called lakkala (or lakka) ramu, which belongs either to the aro or peramboya gatta, is considered more potent than the others. it is ornamented with eyes of gold and silver, and is kept in a cave near sitanagaram in the bhadrachalam taluk. the others are deposited in different places in the bastar state. they all have names of their own, but are also known by the generic term adama razu. both the gatta and family velpus are worshipped only by members of the sept or family to which they appertain. they are taken round the country at intervals, to receive the reverence and gifts of their adherents. the former are brought out once in every three or four years, especially during widespread sickness, failure of crops, or cattle disease. an animal (generally a young bullock) is stabbed under the left shoulder, the blood is sprinkled over the deity, and the animal is next killed, and its liver is cut out and offered to the deity. a feast, which sometimes lasts for two days, takes place, and the velpu is then put back in its hiding-place. "at present," the rev. j. cain writes, "the kois around here (dummagudem) have very few festivals, except one at the harvest of the zonna (sorghum vulgare). formerly they had one not only for every grain crop, but one when the ippa flowers were ready to be gathered, another when the pumpkins were ripe, at the first tapping of the palm tree for toddy, etc. now, at the time the zonna crop is ripe and ready to be cut, they take a fowl into the field, kill it, and sprinkle its blood on any ordinary stone put up for the occasion, after which they are at liberty to partake of the new crop. in many villages they would refuse to eat with any koi who has neglected this ceremony, to which they give the name kottalu, which word is evidently derived from the telugu word kotta (new). rice-straw cords are hung on trees, to show that the feast has been observed." in some places, mr. hemingway tells us, the victim is a sheep, and the first fruits are offered to the local gods, and to the ancestors. another singular feast occurs soon after the cholam (zonna) crop has been harvested. early on the morning of that day, all the men of each village have to turn out into the forest to hunt, and woe betide the unlucky individual who does not bring home some game, be it only a bird or a mouse. all the women rush after him with cow-dung, mud or dirt, and pelt him out of their village, and he does not appear again in that village until the next morning. the hunter who has been most successful then parades the village with his game, and receives presents of paddy (rice) from every house. mr. vanstavern, whilst boring for coal at beddadanolu, was visited by all the koi women of the village, dressed up in their lords' clothes, and they told him that they had that morning driven their husbands to the forest, to bring home game of some kind or other. this quaint festival is said by mr. hemingway to be called bhudevi pandaga, or the festival of the earth goddess. when the samalu crop is ripe, the kois summon the pujari on a previously appointed day, and collect from every house in the village a fowl and a handful of grain. the pujari has to fast all that night, and bathe early the next morning. after bathing, he kills the fowls gathered the previous evening in the names of the favourite gods, and fastens an ear of samalu to each house, and then a feast follows. in the evening they cook some of the new grain, and kill fresh fowls, which have not to be curried but roasted, and the heart, liver, and lights of which are set apart as the especial food of their ancestral spirits, and eaten by every member of each household in their name. the bean feast is an important one, as, until it is held, no one is allowed to gather any beans. on the second day before the feast, the village pujari must eat only bread. the day before, he must fast the whole twenty-four hours, and, on the day of the feast, he must eat only rice cooked in milk, with the bird offered in sacrifice. all the men of the village accompany the pujari to a neighbouring tree, which must be a terminalia tomentosa, and set up a stone, which they thus dedicate to the goddess kodalamma. every one is bound to bring for the pujari a good hen and a seer of rice, and for himself a cock and half a seer of rice. the pujari also demands from them two annas as his sacrificing fee. each worshipper then brings his cock to the pujari, who holds it over grains of rice which have been sprinkled before the goddess, and, if the bird pecks at the rice, good luck is ensured for the coming year, whilst, if perchance the bird pecks three times, the offerer of that particular cock can scarcely contain himself for joy. if the bird declines to touch the grains, then ill-luck is sure to visit the owner's house during the ensuing year. "the kois have but little belief in death from natural causes. some demon or demoness has brought about the death by bringing fever or small-pox, or some other fell disease, and this frequently at the instigation of an enemy of the deceased. in days gone-by, the taking of the ordeal to clear oneself was the common practice, but at present it is quite the exception. but, if there are very suspicious circumstances that ill-will has brought about the death, the friends of the deceased assemble, place the corpse on a cot, and make straight for the suspected enemy. if he or she is unfortunate enough to be at home, a trial takes place. a pot is partly filled with water, on the top of which ghee (clarified butter) and milk are poured, and then it is placed on the fire. as soon as it begins to boil, stones are thrown in, and the accused is summoned to take them out. if this is done without any apparent injury to the unfortunate victim, a verdict of not guilty is returned; but, if there are signs of the hand being at all scalded or burnt, the unhappy wight has to eat a bone of the deceased, which is removed and pounded, and mixed with boiled rice and milk. in days gone-by, the sentence was death." according to mr. hemingway, when a death occurs, "an enquiry is held as to who is guilty. some male member of the family, generally the nephew of the deceased, throws coloured rice over the corpse as it lies stretched on the bed, pronouncing as he does so the names of all the known sorcerers who live in the neighbourhood. it is even now solemnly asserted that, when the name of the wizard responsible is pronounced, the bed gets up, and moves towards the house or village where he resides." "for some months," the rev. j. cain continues, "a poor old koi woman was living in our compound, because she had been driven out of village after village in bastar from the suspicion that she was the cause of the death of more than one relative, and she was afraid that she might fall a victim to their just(?) vengeance. the fear that some envious person will persuade a demon to plague them affects their whole life and conduct. over and over again we have been told by men and women, when we have remonstrated with them on account of their scanty attire 'yes, it is quite true that we have abundance of clothes at home, but, if we were always to wear them, some enemy or other would prevail on a demon to take possession of us, and kill us.' a young koi was once employed to teach a few children in his own village, but, alas, ere long he became unwell of some strange disease, which no medicine could remove. as a last resource, a diviner was called in, who made a careful diagnosis of the case, and the illness was declared to have been brought on by a demoness at the instigation of some enemy, who was envious of the money which the lad had received for teaching. i once saw one of these diviners at work, discovering the sickness which had laid prostrate a strong man. the diviner had in his hand a leaf from an old palmyra leaf book, and, as he walked round and round the patient, he pretended to be reading. then he took up a small stick, and drew a number of lines on the ground, after which he danced and sang round and round the sick man, who sat looking at him, evidently much impressed with his performance. suddenly he made a dart at the man, and, stooping down, bit him severely in two or three places in the back. then, rushing to the front, he produced a few grains which he said he had found in the man's back, and which were evidently the cause of the sickness. in the case of the young man before mentioned, the diviner produced a little silver, which he declared to be a sure sign that the sickness was connected with the silver money he was receiving for teaching. the diviners have to wear their hair long, like samson, and, if it falls off or is cut short, their power is supposed to leave them." it is noted by mr. hemingway that in some parts, when any one falls ill, the professional sorcerer is consulted, and he reads both the cause and the remedy in a leaf platter of rice, which he carries thrice round the invalid. the name chedipe (prostitute) is applied to sorceresses among various classes in the godavari district. she is believed to ride on a tiger at night over the boundaries of seven villages, and return home at early morn. when she does not like a man, she goes to him bare-bodied at dead of night, the closed doors of the house in which he is sleeping opening before her. she sucks his blood by putting his toe in her mouth. he will then be motionless and insensible like a corpse. next morning he feels intoxicated, as if he had taken ganja (cannabis sativa), and remains in that condition all day. if he does not take medicine from one skilled in treating such cases, he will die. if he is properly treated, he will be as well as ever in about ten days. if he makes no effort to get cured, the chedipe will molest him again and again, and, becoming gradually emaciated, he will die. when a chedipe enters a house, all those who are awake will become insensible, those who are seated falling down as if they had taken a soporific drug. sometimes she drags out the tongue of the intended victim, who will die at once. at other times, slight abrasions will be found on the skin of the intended victim, and, when the chedipe puts pieces of stick thereon, they burn as if burnt by fire. sometimes she will hide behind a bush, and, undressing there, fall on any passer-by in the jungle, assuming the form of a tiger with one of the four legs in human form. when thus disguised, she is called marulupuli (enchanting tiger). if the man is a brave fellow, and endeavours to kill the chedipe with any instrument he may have with him, she will run away; and, if a man belonging to her village detects her mischief, she will assume her real form, and answer meekly that she is only digging roots. the above story was obtained by a native revenue official when he visited a koyi village, where he was told that a man had been sentenced to several years' imprisonment for being one of a gang who had murdered a chedipe for being a sorceress. in the godavari district, a sorcerer known as the ejjugadu (male physician) is believed, out of spite or for payment, to kill another by invoking the gods. he goes to a green tree, and there spreads muggu or chunam (lime) powder, and places an effigy of the intended victim thereon. he also places a bow and arrow there, and recites certain spells, and calls on the gods. the victim is said to die in a couple of days. but, if he understands that the ejjugadu has thus invoked the gods, he may inform another ejjugadu, who will carry out similar operations under another tree. his bow and arrow will go to those of the first ejjugadu, and the two bows and arrows will fight as long as the spell remains. the man will then be safe. the second ejjugadu can give the name of the first, though he has never known him. "the leading man," the rev. j. cain writes, "of the koyi samatu is called the samatu dora, and he is assisted by two others, who are called pettandarulu. the duties of the samatu dora are to preside over all meetings, to settle all tribal disputes, and to inflict fines for all breaches of caste rules, of which fines he always receives a certain share. the office is not necessarily hereditary, and the appointment is generally confirmed by the landlord of the majority of the villages, be the landlord the zemindar or the government." the koyis say that their dance is copied from bhima's march after a certain enemy. the dance is described by mr. g. f. paddison as being "a very merry business. they sing for a couple of beats, and then take two steps round, and sing again. they first sang to us a song in their own lingo, and then broke into telugu 'dora babu yemi istavu'--what will the great man give us? they then burst into a delightful autolycus song, 'will you give us a cloth, a jewel for the hair?' and so on." for the following account of a dance at the bhudevi pandaga festival at ankagudem in the polavaram taluk of the godavari district, i am indebted to mr. n. e. marjoribanks. "permission having been given to dance in our presence, the whole village turned out, and came to our camp. first came about half a dozen young men, got up in their best clothes, with big metal ear-rings, basket caps adorned with buffalo horns and pendants of peacock skins (the neck feathers), and scanty torn cloths, and provided, some with barrel-shaped tom-toms, others with old rusty flintlocks, and swords. next came all the adult women, two by two, each pair clasping hands, and hanging on to the next pair by holding their waist-cloths with their free hands. the young men kept up a steady monotonous beat on their drums, and went through various pantomimes of the chase, e.g., shooting and cutting up an animal, or a fight between two bulls. the women sang a chaunt, and came along slowly, taking one step back after two steps forwards, copied by the village old men, women, and children. at the camp, the women went round in this fashion in circles, the pantomime among the men continuing, and each vying with the others in suggesting fresh incidents. the women then went through a series of figures. first the older ones stood in a circle with their arms intertwined, and the younger girls perched aloft, standing astraddle on their shoulders. like this the circle proceeded half round, and then back again till some of the smaller girls looked as if they would split in half, their discomfort causing great merriment among the others. next all stood in a circle, and jumped round, two steps one way and then back. this was varied by a backwards and forwards movement, the chaunt continuing all the time. inam (present of money) having been duly disbursed, the double chain of women went round the camp twice, and made off to the village, all standing and raising a shout twice as they turned out of the circle to go. the next day, we were told that the men of the village were all going hunting in the forest. about the middle of the day, we saw a procession approaching as on the previous day, but it consisted entirely of women, the drummers and swordsmen being women dressed up as men. the chaunt and dance were as before, except that the pantomime abounded in the most indecent gestures and attitudes, all illustrative of sexual relations. one girl slipped (or pretended to) and fell. whereupon, one of those playing a man's part fell upon her to ravish her. a rescue ensued amidst roars of merriment, and the would-be ravisher was in process of being stripped when our modesty compelled us to call an interval. in the evening the men returned unsuccessful, and, we were told (but did not see it), were pelted with dung and rubbish. the next day they went out again, and so did we. our beats yielded nothing, and we returned to find to our horror the women of the village awaiting our return. fortunately we had noticed some whistling teal on a tank, and had shot some for the pot. i verily believe this glorious bag was our salvation from dire humiliation. the same dance and antics were repeated round the bodies of the two tigers and panther that we shot during our stay. the koyis insisted on singeing the whiskers of the beasts, saying we should never get any more if this was not done. of course we reduced the ceremony to the barest form." i gather that, if the koyis shoot a sambar (deer) or 'bison,' the head is stuck up on the outskirts of the village, and there are very few villages, which have not got one or two such trophies. besides beating for game, the koyis sit up at night over salt-licks or water, and thus secure their game." it is recorded in the catalogue raisonné of oriental manuscripts [25] that "the coya people reside within their forest boundaries. if any traveller attempt to pluck fruit from any tree, his hand is fastened to the spot, so that he cannot move; but if, on seeing any one of the coya people, he calls out to that person, explaining his wishes, and gets permission, then he can take the fruit and move away, while the coya forester, on the receipt of a small roll of tobacco leaf, is abundantly gratified. besides which, the coya people eat snakes. about forty years since, a brahman saw a person cooking snakes for food, and, expressing great astonishment, was told by the forester that these were mere worms; that, if he wished to see a serpent, one should be shown him; but that, as for themselves, secured by the potent charms taught them by ambikesvarer, they feared no serpents. as the brahman desired to see this large serpent, a child was sent with a bundle of straw and a winnowing fan, who went, accompanied by the brahman, into the depths of the forest, and, putting the straw on the mouth of a hole, commenced winnowing, when smoke of continually varying colours arose, followed by bright flame, in the midst of which a monstrous serpent having seven heads was seen. the brahman was speechless with terror at the sight, and, being conducted back by the child, was dismissed with presents of fruits." the mission school at dummagudem in the godavari district, where the rev. j. cain has laboured so long and so well, was primarily intended for koyis, but i gather that it has been more successful in dealing with the malas. in 1905, the lower primary school at butchampet in the kistna district was chiefly attended by koyi children. koyippuram.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. krishnavakakkar.--the krishnavakakkars are, in travancore, practically confined to the southern taluks of eraniel and kalkulam. the caste name literally means belonging to krishna, but probably means nothing more than belonging to the pastoral class, as the titular suffixes, ayan and acchi, to the names of males and females, found in the early settlement accounts of the state, indicate. in modern times the title pillai has been adopted. by some castes, e.g., the shanars, they are called kuruppu. the tradition is that, in ancient times, a large section of them migrated from ambadi, the place of krishna's nativity and early childhood, to conjeeveram, in the vicinity of which place there is still a village called ayarpati. here they resided for some time, and then seventy-two families, seeking fresh fields and pastures new, proceeded to kerala, and presented an image of krishna, which they had brought from northern india to the reigning king maharaja udaya martanda varma. according to another account, the recipient of the image was one pallivana perumal at an earlier date. the maharaja, according to the legend, observing the interesting customs of the immigrants, and especially their devotion to krishna, called them krishnanvaka, and ordered them to serve in the temple of krishna (tiruvampadi within the pagoda of sri padmanabha at trivandrum). their leader was given the title of ananthapadmanabha kshetra pallava rayan. this migration is supposed to have occurred in the first year of the malabar era. a neet, or royal grant, engraved on a copper plate, was issued to them, by which they were entrusted with the management of the temple, and commanded to live at vanchiyur in trivandrum. in the pollution consequent on a birth or death among the seventy-two families, the image of krishna, which they had brought, was believed to share for three days as a distant relation, and, in consequence, the daily ceremonies at the temple were constantly interrupted. they were told to remove to a place separated from trivandrum by at least three rivers, and settled in the eraniel and kalkulam taluks. they were, as a tax in kind for lands given to them for cultivation, ordered to supply peas for the tiruvampati temple. during the reign of martanda varma the great, from 904 to 933 m.e., successive neets were issued, entrusting them with diverse duties at this temple. such, briefly, is the tradition as to the early history of the caste in travancore. the title pallava rayan (chief of the pallavans) seems to indicate the country, from which they originally came. they must have been originally a pastoral class, and they probably proceeded from conjeeveram, the capital of the pallavas, to travancore, where, being worshippers of vishnu, they were entrusted with the discharge of certain duties at the shrine of krishna in trivandrum. the krishnavakakkar are not strict vegetarians, as fish constitutes a favourite diet. intoxicating liquors are forbidden, and rarely drunk. in respect to clothing and ornaments, those who follow the makkathayam system of inheritance (from father to son) differ from those who follow the marumakkathayam system (through the female line), the former resembling the vellalas in these matters, and the latter the nayars. the only peculiarity about the former is the wearing of the mukkuthi (nose ornament), characteristic till recently of all nayar women in south travancore, in addition to the ordinary ornaments of chettis and other tamilians. widows, too, like the latter, are dressed in white, and the pampadam and melitu in the ears form their only ornaments. they tie up their hair, not in front like nayar women, nor at the back like tamil women, but in the middle line above the crown--the result of a blend between an indigenous and exotic custom. the hair is passed through a cadjan ring secured by a ring of beads, and wound round it. the ring is decorated with arali (nerium odorum) flowers. tattooing was very common among women in former times, but is going out of fashion. they worship both siva and vishnu, and special adoration is paid to subramaniya, for whose worship a great shrine is dedicated at kumara koil. sasta, bhutattan, and amman have small shrines, called ilankams, dedicated to them. they live in large groups, each presided over by a headman called karyastan, who is assisted by an accountant and treasurer. the offices are elective, and not hereditary. their priest is known as karnatan or asan. at present there is apparently only one family of karnatans, who live at mepra in the eraniel taluk. the female members of this priestly family are known as mangalyama, and do not intermarry or feed with the general community. the marumakkathayam krishnavakakkar speak malayalam, while the makkathayis speak a very corrupt tamil dialect intermixed with malayalam. the names of the seventy-two houses of the caste are remembered, like the gotras of the brahmans, and marriage between members of the same house are absolutely forbidden. among the marumakkathayam section, the talikettu is celebrated in childhood, and supplemented by the actual wedding after the girl reaches puberty. on the marriage day, the bridegroom goes in procession to the house of the bride, sword in hand, and martially clad, probably in imitation of krishna on his marriage expedition to the court of kundina. on the third day of the marriage ceremonies, the bride's party go to the house of the bridegroom with an air of burning indignation, and every effort is made to appease them. they finally depart without partaking of the proffered hospitality. on the seventh day, the newly-married couple return to the bride's house. the custom is said to be carried out as symbolising the act of bride-capture resorted to by their ancestor krishna in securing the alliance of rukmani. it is generally believed that fraternal polyandry once prevailed among these people, and even to-day a widow may be taken as wife by a brother of the deceased husband, even though he is younger than herself. issue, thus procreated, is the legitimate issue of the deceased, and acquires full right of inheritance to his property. if one brother survives the deceased, his widow is not required to remove her marriage ornament during life. the origin of the marumakkathayam custom is alleged to have been that the first immigrants came with a paucity of women, and had to contract alliances with the indigenous travancoreans. at the present day only about a hundred families follow the law of inheritance through the female line. their children are known by the name of the mother's illam (house). the male, but not the female members of makkathayam and marumakkathayam sections, will eat together. a daughter, in default of male issue, succeeds to the property of her father, as opposed to his widow. the krishnavakakkar believe that, in these matters, they imitate the pandavas. a peculiar feature of their land-tenure is what is known as utukuru--a system which exists to a smaller extent among the shanars of eraniel and the adjacent taluks. in the ayakkettu or old settlement register, it is not uncommon to find one garden registered in the name of several persons quite unconnected with each other by any claim of relationship. in some instances the ground is found registered in the name of one person, and the trees on it in the name of another. the dead are generally cremated, and the ashes taken to the foot of a milky tree, and finally thrown into the sea. on the sixteenth day, the asan is invited to perform the purificatory ceremony. a quantity of paddy (unhusked rice), raw rice, and cocoanuts, are placed on a plantain leaf with a cup of gingelly (sesamum) oil, which is touched by the asan, and poured into the hands of the celebrants, who, after an oil bath, are free from pollution. [26] kshatriya.--the second, or ruling and military caste of the four castes of manu. in the madras census report, 1891, it is recorded that "the term kshatriya is, of course, wholly inapplicable to the dravidian races, who might with as much, perhaps more, accuracy call themselves turks. there possibly are a few representatives of the old kshatriya castes, but the bulk of those who figure in the returns under this head are pure dravidian people. the claim to the title is not confined to the old military classes desirous of asserting their former position, for we find it put forward by such castes as vannias and shanans, the one a caste of farmers and labourers, the other toddy-drawers. it is not possible to distribute these pseudo-kshatriyas among their proper castes, as 70,394 of them have given kshatriya as the sub-division also." it is noted, in the madras census report, 1901, that "parasurama is said to have slain all the kshatriyas seven times over, but 80,000 persons have returned themselves as such in this presidency alone. strictly speaking, there are very few persons in the presidency who have any real title to the name, and it has been returned mainly by the pallis or vanniyas of vizagapatam, godavari, and chingleput, who say they are agnikula kshatriyas, by the shanans of tinnevelly, and by some mahratis in south canara. in tinnevelly, kammas and balijas have also returned the name." it is further recorded, in the mysore census report, 1901, that the castes grouped under the head kshatriya are "the arasus, rajaputs, coorgs, and sikhs. to the arasu section belongs the royal family of mysore." some rachevars style themselves arya kshatriyalu. for the following note on malayala 'kshatriyas,' i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. there is an old sanskrit verse, which describes eight classes of kshatriyas as occupying kerala from very early times, namely, bhupala or maharaja, as those of travancore and cochin, rajaka or raja, as those of mavelikkara and cranganore, kosi or koil tampuran, puravan or tampan, sri purogama or tirumulppad, bhandari or pandarattil, audvahika or tirumulppad, and cheta or samanta. the samantas cannot be looked upon as malayala kshatriyas proper. the indigenous kshatriyas of kerala are divided into four well distinguishable septs, viz., the koil pandala, the raja, the tampan; and the tirumulppad. the total number of malayala kshatriyas in travancore is 1,575, the largest number living in the taluks of tiruvella, vaikam, and mavelikara. tampans live mostly at vaikam, and tirumulppads at shertallay and tiruvella. the remaining two septs are not so much caste septs as isolated groups of families. koil pandala literally means the keeper of the royal treasury. tampan is a corruption of tampuran, the latter being a title directly applied to the rajas, while the term tirumulppad, in its literal sense, conveys the idea of those who wait before kings. women are known as tumpurattis in the first two, as tampattis in the third, and nampishthatiris in the fourth division. the pantalam rajas have the title of sriviradhara, and those of mullanikkadu of narasimha. according to immemorial tradition, koil tampurans were the nephews of the cheraman perumals or viceroys of chera, who ruled at cranganore, their earliest residence being beypore in british malabar, where three or four families of this sept lived at the beginning of the christian era. from one of these families, male members were invited about 300 m.e., for marrying the ladies of the venadswarupam, i.e., the travancore royal house. they began to live at kilimanur in the chirayinkil taluk, six miles from attingal, where the female members of the royal family permanently resided. in 963 m.e., the year in which tipu sultan invaded malabar, eight persons, five females and three males, belonging to the alyankodu kovilakam in north malabar fled, and found shelter in travancore. all their expenses were commanded to be met from the state treasury. as the five women were only cousins and not uterine sisters, one of them removed herself to the rural village kirtipuram near kandiyur in the mavelikkara taluk, and thence to gramam, a little further in the interior. another, in course of time, settled at pallam in kottayam, and a third at paliyakkara in tiruvella, while the fourth, having no issue, stayed with the youngest at the nirazhi palace of changanacheri. this last lady gave birth to five children, being three females and two males. the first of these branches removed to anantapuram in kartikapalli in 1040, and the second to chemprol in tiruvella in 1041, while the third continued to reside at changanacheri. after 1040 m.e., three more koil pandala families immigrated from british malabar, and settled at cherukol, karamma, and vatakkematham. these, however, are not so important as the previous ones. as already stated, the kilimanur koil tampurans were among these the earliest settlers in travancore, and a whole property (revenue village) was granted to them in freehold in 1728 a.d., in recognition of the sacrifice a member of the family made in saving the life of a travancore prince from the murderous attack of the ettuveetil pillamar. the first family of kolasvarupam rajas immigrated into travancore in the fifth century m.e. as the travancore royal house then stood in need of adoption, arrangements were made through a koil tampuran of the tattari kovilakam to bring two princesses for adoption from kolattunad, and the first family of rajas, known as the putupalli kovilakam, settled at kartikapalli. the family is now extinct, as the last member died in 1033 m.e. the next family that migrated was cheriyakovilakam between 920 and 930, also invited for purposes of adoption. these latter lived at aranmula. the third series of migrations were during the invasion of malabar by tipu sultan in 964 m.e., when all the rajas living at the time went over to travancore, though, after the disturbance was over, many returned home. the rajas of the kolasvarupam began to settle permanently in the country, as they could claim relationship with the reigning sovereigns, and were treated by them with brotherly affection. there were only two branches at the beginning, namely, pallikovilakam and udayamangalam. the families of mavelikara, ennaykkad and prayikkara are divisions of the chengakkovilakam house. the udayamangalam house has branched off into three divisions, mittil, whose descendants now live at mariyapalli, nedumprum, and kartikapalli. naduvilekkovilakam members live at perinjel in aranmula, and cheriyakovilakam, whose members are divided into five other families, in the same locality. no branch of the udayamangalam house resides in british malabar. some of these branches even now own large estates in that collectorate. there are two other important families of rajas in travancore, viz., those of pantalam and punjat. both of them are believed to have been related to the early pandyan kings. the reason alleged for the immigration of the pantalam rajas into travancore is the persecution of a nayak minister in mediæval times, who compelled them to change their mode of inheritance from marumakkathayam (in the female line) to makkathayam (from father to son), and then marry his daughter. they are supposed to have sojourned at sivagiri and tenkasi in the tinnevelly district on their way to travancore. ilattur in the shenkottah taluk originally belonged to them, but was afterwards taken over by travancore in default of payment of the annual subsidy. tampans are believed by tradition to have had territorial sovereignty in kerala, until they were deprived of it by the ilayetasvarupam kings. this does not appear to have any basis of truth, as the ilayetasvarupam kings lived in central travancore, while the tampans live in the north, where the former are never known to have led any invasion. in mediæval times, both tampans and tirumalppads were invariably commanders of armies. with the invasion of malabar by tipu sultan, many sought refuge in the kingdom of travancore, and continued to live here after the passing of the storm. the malayala kshatriyas are as a class learned. both men and women are, in the main, accomplished sanskrit scholars. mr. kerla varma, c.s.i., valiyakoil tampuran, a finished poet and an accomplished patron of letters, and mr. ravi varma, the talented artist, are both koil tampurans. the houses of the koil tampurans and rajas are known as kottarams or kovilakams, i.e., palaces, while those of the tampans and tirumalppads are known as kovilakams and mathams. the malayala kshatriyas resemble the brahmans in their food and drink. the males dress like the nambutiris, while the dress and ornaments of the women are like those of other classes in malabar there are, however, three special ornaments which the kshatriya ladies particularly wear, viz., cheru-tali, entram, and kuzhal. the koil pandalas and rajas are landlords of considerable wealth, and a few have entered the civil service of the state. the tampans and tirumalppads, besides being landlords and agriculturists, are personal servants of the ruling families of kerala, the latter holding this position to even a greater extent than the former. the kshatriya personal attendants of the maharajas of travancore serve them with characteristic fidelity and devotion. the malayala kshatriyas are a particularly religious community. in a place within their houses, called tevarappura or the room for religious worship, the vaishnavite salagrama and saivite linga are kept together with the images of other deities, and brahmans officiate at their worship. ganapati puja (worship), and antinamaskaram are regularly observed. as all the koil tampurans belong to one sept or gotra, that of visvamitra, and all the rajas to another, that of bhargava, neither of these divisions are permitted to marry among themselves. the tirumalppads also, with their local divisions such as ancherri, koyikkal, plamtanam, and kannezham, own visvamitra, and hence do not marry among themselves. as for the tampans, all the families belonging to that group trace their descent to a common ancestor, and belong to the same sept as the koil tampurans and tirumalppads. as a consequence, while the koil tampurattis are married to nambutiri husbands, the koil tampurans themselves take wives from the families of rajas. rajas may keep nayar or samanta ladies as mistresses, the same being the case with the tampans and tirumalppads also. the ranis of pantalam take nambutiri husbands, while tampan and tirumalppad women live with any class of brahmans. no kshatriya lady is permitted to leave her home for that of her husband, and so no grihaprevesa ceremony prevails among them. thirteen is the proper age for marrying girls, but the marriage may be postponed until the choice of a fit husband is made. in the branches of the kolattunad family, girls who attain puberty as maids are obliged to keep a vow, in honour of ganapati. the tampan and tirumalppad women, as also those of the pantalam family, have their talis (marriage badge) tied by aryappattars. remarriage of widows is permitted. polygamy is rare. divorce may take place at the will of either party, and prevails largely in practice. the rajas make a donation of rs. 50 to 70 as stridhanam, excepting those of pantalam, who only pay about rs. 35. some time before the auspicious hour for the marriage of a koil tampuratti, the brahmanipattu, or recitation of certain puranic songs by a female of the brahmani caste, begins. four lighted lamps are placed in the middle of the hall, with a fifth dedicated to ganapati in the centre. while these songs are being sung, the bride appears in the tattu dress with a brass minu and a bunch of flowers in her hand, and sits on a wooden seat kept ready for the purpose. the songs generally relate to the conception of devaki, and the birth of krishna. then a nayar of the illam sept waves a pot containing cocoanut, flowers, burning wicks, etc., before the bride, after which she rises to wash her feet. at this point the bridegroom arrives, riding on an elephant, with a sword in his hand, and the procession is conducted with much ceremony and ostentation. he then bathes, and two pieces of cloth, to be worn by him thereafter, are touched by the bride. wearing them, the bridegroom approaches the bride, and presents her with a suit of clothes known as the mantrakoti. one of the clothes is worn as a tattu, and with the other the whole body is covered. the mother of the bride gives her a brass mirror and a garland, both of which she takes in her hand to the altar where the marriage is to be performed. after the punyaha, accompanied by a few preliminary homas or sacrifices to the fire, by the nambutiri family priest, the first item in the ceremony, known as mukhadarsana or seeing each other, begins. the bride then removes the cloth covering her body. the next events are udakapurva, panigrahana, and mangalyadharana, which are respectively the presentation by the bride of water to the bridegroom, his taking her hand in token of the union, and tying the tali round the neck of the bride. the next item is the saptapadi (seven feet), and the last dikshaviruppu, peculiar to the malayalam kshatriyas. a particular room is gaily decorated, and a long piece of white cotton cloth is spread on the floor. upon this a black carpet is spread, and a lighted lamp, which should never be extinguished, placed in the vicinity. the bride has to remain in this room throughout the marriage. on the marriage night commences the aupasana, or joint sacrifice to the fire. on the fourth day are the mangalasnana or auspicious bath, and procession through the town. on that night consummation takes place. the procession of the bridegroom (mappilapurappat) to the house of the bride is a noticeable item. the brother of the bride receives him at the gate, and, after washing his feet, informs him that he may bathe and marry the girl. the uduku-purva rite is performed by the brother himself. when the bridegroom leaves the marriage hall with the bride, an armed pandala stops them, and a fixed present is given to him. every rite is performed according to the method prescribed by bodhayana among the koil tampurans and rajas, the family at pantalam alone following the directions of asvalayana. on the fourth day, the contracting couple bathe, and wear clothes previously dipped in turmeric water. at night, while the brahmani song is going on, they sit on a plank, where jasmine flowers are put on, and the goddess bhagavathi is worshipped. the bride's maternal uncle ties a sword round her loins, which is immediately untied by the bridegroom in token of the fact that he is her future supporter. panchamehani is a peculiar rite on the fifth day, when an atti (ficus, sp.) tree is decorated, and an offering of food made on the grass before it. the couple also make a pretence of catching fish. in modern times, the pantalam rajas do not patronise the songs of the brahmani, and, among them, the panchamehani is conspicuous by its absence. women are in theory the real owners of property, though in practice the eldest male has the management of the whole. there is no division of property, but, in some cases, certain estates are specially allotted for the maintenance of specific members. the authorities of the malayala kshatriyas in all matters of social dispute are the nambutiri vaidikas. when a girl reaches puberty, she is kept in a room twelve feet apart from the rest for a period of three days. on the fourth day, after a bath, she puts on a new cloth, and walks, with a brass mirror in her hand, to her house. among the kolattunad rajas there are a few additional rites, including the brahmani's song. the pumsavana and simanta are performed by the family priest. on the birth of a child, the jatakarma is performed, when women mix honey and clarified butter with gold, to be given to the child. on the twelfth day, the nambutiri priest performs the namakarna, after a purifying ceremony which terminates the birth pollution. the eldest child is generally named raja raja varma. udaya varma and martanda varma are names found among the rajas, but absent among the koil tampurans. martanda varma was once exclusively used only among the members of the travancore royal family. the full style and titles of the present maharaja of travancore are his highness the maharaja sir sri padmanabha dasa vanchi bala rama varma, kulasekhara kiritapati sultan manne maharaja raja ramaraja bahadur samsher jung, g.c.s.i., g.c.i.e. raghava varma is a name peculiar to the pantalam rajas. women are, as in the case of tirumalppads and tampans, called amba, ambika, ambalika, mangala, etc. the annaprasana and nishkramana are performed consecutively on the same day. the mother takes the child to the foot of a jak (artocarpus integrifolia) tree, and, going thrice round it, touches it with the leg of the child, and then dips a golden ring in the payasa, and applies it to the child's lips. the same act is then repeated by the maternal uncle, father, and next of kin. the yatrakali is attended with much éclat during the night. the upanayana, or investiture with the sacred thread, takes place as late as the sixteenth year. as a preliminary rite on the same day, the chaula or tonsure ceremony is performed. it is formally done by the nambutiri priest in the capacity of guru or preceptor, and left to be completed by the maran. the priest then invests the boy with the thread, and, with the sacrificial fire as lord and witness, initiates him into the gayatri prayer. all kshatriyas are obliged to repeat this prayer ten times morning and evening. on the fourth day, the youth listens to a few vaidic hymns recited by the priest. there is not the prolonged course of discipline of a brahmanical brahmachari, such as the nambutiris so religiously observe. the samavartana, or completion of the pupilage ceremony, takes place on the fourth day. the ceremony of proceeding to benares, the pre-eminent seat of learning in ancient days, which is the natural after-event of the vaidic pupilage, is then gone through, as in the case of brahmans. a would-be father-in-law intercedes, and requests the snataka to bless his daughter, and settle in life as a grihastha. the nambutiri priest then reminds the boy of his duty as a kshatriya, and gives him a sword as a symbol of his pre-ordained function in society. he then becomes a grihastha, and may chew betel leaf. the saivite panchakshara, and the vaishnavite ashtakshara are also taught, and are invariably recited after the performance of the daily duties. for girls only the chaula is performed, and that along with her marriage. on the occasion of birthdays, the family priest performs the ayushya homa, and shashtipurti, or celebration of the sixtieth birthday, is also observed as an important religious occasion. the funeral ceremonies are almost the same as those of nambutiris. when a koil tampuran dies, he is placed on the bare floor, some hymns being recited in his ears. the corpse is placed on a stretcher made of plantain stems, and the head is touched with a razor in token of shaving. it is bathed, covered with a new cloth, and decorated with flowers and sandal paste. kusa grass is received at the hands of a maran. the funeral rites are performed by the nephews. pollution is observed for eleven days and nights. a religious vow is observed for a year. the offering to the spirit of the deceased is not in the form of cooked food, but of presents to brahmans. all the malayala kshatriyas are adherents of the yajur-veda. the anniversary of maternal grandmothers, and even sisters is punctiliously observed. if a maternal aunt or grandaunt dies without children, their sraddhas must be performed as for the rest. the malayala kshatriyas hold rank next to the brahmans, and above the ilayatus. they are permitted to take their meal in the same row with the brahmans, and receive prasada from the temples directly from the priest, and standing at the right side of the inner gate. further information concerning the malayala kshatriyas is contained in an article by mr. k. rama varma raja, [27] who concludes as follows:--"the kshatriya community is an intermediate caste between the brahmin (namburi) and the sudra (nair) classes, and has affinities to both; to the former in matters of ablution, ceremonies, food and drink, and to the latter in those of real matrimonial relations and inheritance, i.e., the constitution and propagation of the family.... the intermediate caste must be the aryans more dravidianised, or the dravidians more aryanised, that is, the aryans degraded or the dravidians elevated, more probably the latter." it is recorded, [28] in a note on the ancestry of the rajas of jeypore, that "the family chronicles ascribe a very ancient origin to the line of the jeypore zamindars. beginning with kanakasena of the solar race, a general and feudatory of the king of kashmir, they trace the pedigree through thirty-two generations down to vinayaka deo, a younger son, who left kashmir rather than hold a subordinate position, went to benares, did penance to kasi visvesvarasvami there, and was told by the god in a dream to go to the kingdom of nandapuram belonging to the silavamsam line, of which he would become king. vinayaka deo, continues the legend, proceeded thither, married the king's daughter, succeeded in 1443 a.d. to the famous throne of thirty-two steps there, and founded the family of jeypore. vinayaka deo and his six successors, say the family papers, had each only one son, and the sixth of them, vira vikrama (1637-69) accordingly resolved to remove his residence elsewhere. the astrologers and wise men reported that the present jeypore was 'a place of the kshatriya class,' and it was accordingly made the capital, and named after the famous jeypore of the north." the maharaja of mysore belongs to the arasu caste of kshatriyas. kshauraka.--a sanskrit name for barber, by which barbers of various classes--mangala, ambattan, kelasi, etc.--are sometimes called. it is commonly used by canarese-speaking barbers of the madras presidency and mysore. kshetravasinah (those who live in temples).--a name for ambalavasis. kudaikatti (basket-making).--a sub-division of palli or vanniyan. at the census, 1901, some koravas also returned themselves as kudaikatti vanniyan. kudan.--for the following note on the kudans, or "kootans" of the west coast, i am indebted to mr. l. k. anantha krishna aiyar [29]:-the kootans are agricultural labourers, and take part in every kind of work connected with agriculture, such as turning the soil, ploughing, sowing, manuring, weeding, transplanting, and the like. as soon as the monsoon is over, they work in gardens, turning the soil, watering, and fencing. they form one of the divisions of the slave castes, working under some landlord or farmer for a daily wage of an edangazhy of paddy (unhusked rice) during the rainy months of june, july, and august and of two edangazhis during the other months of the year. they receive, for the onam and vishu festivals, a para of paddy, some salt, cocoanuts, oil, and chillies. on the day of the village festival, every male gets a mundu (cloth) or two, and every female a kacha (cloth) or two, in addition to toddy and arrack (spirituous liquor), and the other articles mentioned above. they dress themselves in their cloths, and are treated to a sumptuous dinner. with shouts of joy, they attend, and take part in the village festival. when they fall ill, they are properly looked after by their masters, both on account of their good feelings towards them, and also of the loss of work they may have to sustain, should they be laid up for a long time. whenever a landlord or farmer has more men than he can afford to give work and wages to, he generally lends their services to some one else on a pattom of four paras of paddy a year for a male, and three for a female. the new master gives them work and wages, and sends them back when they are no longer wanted. should a kootan run away from his master, he is brought back either by threat or mild word; but, should these fail, there is no remedy to force him back. in spite of the abolition of slavery some sixty years ago, the kootans are in a state of bondage. they live in small huts with insufficient food, plodding on from day to day with no hope of improving their condition. their huts are erected on four bamboo posts. the roofs are thatched, and the sides protected by mud walls, or covered with palm leaves. a bamboo framework, with similar leaves, serves the purpose of a door. there is a verandah in front. the kootans have a few earthen and bamboo utensils for domestic use. they take rice kanji (gruel) prepared the previous night, with salt and chillies. they have some leisure at midday, during which they go to their huts, and take kanji with a fish or two boiled in it, or sometimes with some vegetable curry. at night, boiled rice, or kanji with fish or curry made of vegetables from their kitchen garden, form their chief food. all their provisions are acquired by exchange of paddy from a petty shop-keeper in their vicinity. they eat and drink at the hands of all castes except paraiyans, pulayans, ulladans, and nayadis. in some parts of the state, they approach the houses of izhuvas, and no other castes eat with them. they have to keep at a distance of forty-eight feet from all high-caste hindus. they are polluted by pulayas, nayadis, and ulladans, who have to stand at some distance from them. they may take water from the wells of mappillas. they are their own barbers and washermen, and may approach the temple of their village goddess kali on some special days, while, at other times, they have to stand far away. when a girl attains puberty, she is lodged in a corner of the hut. the inmates thereof may neither touch nor approach her on the score of pollution. four or seven girls, who are invited, bathe the girl on the first day. the pollution lasts for seven days, and, on the morning of the seventh day, seven girls take her to a tank (pond) or river to bathe. a kai-bali is waved round her face, and, as she bathes, it is floated on the water. on their return to the hut, the girls are fed, and allowed to depart with a present of an anna each. their relatives, and others who are invited, are well entertained. a kai-bali is an offering held in the hand of a woman, and may take the form of a sacrificed fowl, plantain fruits, boiled rice, etc. girls are generally married after puberty. a kootan can enter into a sambandham (alliance) with a woman of his own caste, or with a pulaya woman. he has to bathe before he returns to his hut, if he should stay for the night with a woman of the latter caste. this proves that he belongs to a caste superior to that of the pulayas, and the union resembles that of a brahman with a sudra woman. should a woman of the kootan caste mate with a pulaya, she is at once turned out of caste. a kootan, who wishes to enter into a sambandham with a woman of his own or the pulaya caste, goes to her hut with one or two of his relations or friends, to recommend him to the parents of the woman to permit him to enter into conjugal relations with their daughter, or form kutikuduka. with their permission, they become a kind of husband and wife. in most cases, the will of the man and the woman is sufficient for the union. the woman generally stays with her parents, and very often her lover comes to her with his wages after the day's hard work, and stays with her for the night. should she wish to accompany him to his hut, she does so with her wages in the evening. they exercise sexual license even before marriage. if a woman who has no open lover becomes pregnant, her fault is condoned when she mentions her lover's name. when one dislikes the other for some reason or other, they separate, and are at liberty to form new unions. widows may remarry, and may even associate with their brothers-in-law. the kootans follow the marumakkathayam law of inheritance (in the female line). they have no property, except sometimes a sheep or a few fowls. the kootans believe in magic and sorcery. mannans and muhammadan mappillas are sometimes consulted, and these dupe them. they profess the lower forms of hinduism, and worship the local village deity (kali), and the spirits of their ancestors, whom they represent by means of stones placed on a raised floor under a tree, and to whom boiled rice, parched grain, toddy, plantain fruits, and cocoanuts are offered at the vishu and onam festivals, and on karkatakam, thulam, and makara sankranti. care is always taken to have the offerings served separately on leaves, lest the ancestors should quarrel with one another, and do them harm. should illness, such as cholera, small-pox, or fever occur in a family, some fowls and an anna or two are offered at the temple to the goddess bhagavathi, who is believed to be able to save them from the impending calamity. when a member of the caste breathes his last, the landlord gives a spade to dig the grave, an axe or knife for cutting wood to serve as fuel if the corpse is to be burned, a piece of cloth for covering the dead body, and also some paddy and millet to meet the funeral expenses. a cocoanut is broken, and placed on the neck of the corpse, which is covered with the cloth, and carried on a bier to the burial-ground, which is sprinkled over with water mixed with turmeric. when the funeral is over, the people who attended it, including the relatives and friends of the deceased, bathe, and go to the hut of the dead person, where they are served with kanji and toddy, after which they depart. the members of the family, and close relatives of the deceased, fast for the night. in the case of a man dying, his nephew is the chief mourner, while, in that of a woman, her eldest son and daughter are the chief mourners, who do not go to work for two weeks. the chief mourners bathe in the early morning, cook a small quantity of rice, and offer it to the spirit of the deceased. it is eaten up by the crows. this is continued for fourteen days, and, on the fourteenth night, all fast. on the fifteenth morning, they regard themselves as having been cleansed from the pollution. all the castemen of the kara (settlement) are invited, and bring with them rice, curry-stuffs, and toddy. their enangan cleans and sweeps the hut, while the rest go to the grave-yard, turn the earth, and make it level. they bathe, and the enangans sprinkle cow-dung water on the grave. they return home, and partake of a sumptuous meal, after which they all take leave of the chief mourner, who observes the diksha, bathes in the early morning, and offers the bali (ball of rice) before he goes to work. this he continues for a whole year, after which he gets shaved, and celebrates a feast in honour of the dead. kudianavar (cultivator).--a name commonly assumed by pallis and vellalas. kudikkar (those who belong to the house).--a name for deva-dasis (dancing-girls) in travancore, who are given a house rent-free by the sirkar (government). kudimaghan (sons of the ryot).--a name for tamil ambattans. kudire (horse).--an exogamous sept or gotra of vakkaliga and kurni. gurram, also meaning horse, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of chenchu, golla, mala, padma sale, and togata. gurram togatas will not ride on horseback. kudiya.--the kudiyas or male (hill) kudiyas are found at neriya, darmasthala, and sisila in the south canara district. those who live at the two former places are agrestic slaves of landlords who own cardamom plantations on the ghats. they live for the most part in the jungles, beneath rocks, in caves, or in low huts, and shift from one spot to another. at the season of the cardamom crop, they come down to the plains once a week with the produce. they are said to carry off cardamoms to the mysore frontier, and sell them fraudulently to contractors or merchants. they make fire traces for the forest department. except in stature, the kudiyas have not retained the characters of a primitive race, and, as the result of racial admixture, or contact metamorphosis, some individuals are to be seen with comparatively light coloured skins, and mesorhine or leptorhine noses. in the matter of personal names, septs, and ceremonial observances, they have been much influenced by other castes. they speak a corrupt form of tulu, and say that they follow the aliya santana law of inheritance (in the female line), though some, especially at sisala and on the mysore frontier, follow the law of succession from father to son (makkala santana). they are not regarded as a polluting class, and can enter all parts of their landlords' houses, except the kitchen and dining-room. they are presided over by a headman, called gurikara, who inquires into transgression of caste rules, and assists on ceremonial occasions. their chief deities are bhairava, kamandevaru, and the pancha pandavas (the five pandava brothers), but they also believe in certain bhuthas (devils), such as male kallurti and ambatadaiva. the kudiyas do not object to marriage between a widowed woman and her eldest son. among those attached to a landlord at neriya, two such cases were pointed out. in one, there was no issue, but in the other a son had been born to the mother-wife. when the arrangement of a match is in contemplation, the father of the prospective bridegroom goes, accompanied by two women, to the girl's home, and takes with him betel leaves, areca-nuts, and gingelly (sesamum) oil. if the girl's parents consent to the match, they accept the oil; otherwise they refuse it. the binding part of the marriage ceremony consists of the bridal couple standing with their hands united, and the pouring of water thereon by the bride's father. the kudiyas who have settled on the plains have adopted the ceremonial observances of the bants and other castes. the remarriage of widows is permitted. there is no elaborate marriage ceremony, but sometimes the contracting couple stand in the presence of the headman and a few others, and make a round mark with sandal paste on each other's foreheads. if a member of the tribe dies near the settlement, the body is cremated, and, if far away therefrom, buried. on the third day, a visit is paid to the place where cremation took place, and the son or some near relative of the deceased goes round the spot on which the corpse was burnt three times, and sprinkles rice thereon thrice. five leaves of the teak or plantain, or other big leaves, are spread on the ground, and fowl's flesh, cooked rice, and vegetables are placed thereon, and the ancestors are invoked in the words "oh! old souls, gather up the new soul, and support it, making it one of you." on the sixteenth day, food is again offered on leaves. in cases where burial is resorted to, an effigy of the deceased is made in straw, and burnt. on the third day, the ashes are taken to the grave, and buried. in a note on the kudiyas of the plains, it is recorded [30] that "the dead are either burned or buried, the former being the custom in the case of rich men. on the seventh day after cremation or burial, a pandal (booth) is erected over the grave or the place of cremation, and a bleached cloth is spread on it by the washerman. a wick floating in half a cocoanut shell full of oil is then lighted, and placed at each corner of the pandal. the relations of the deceased then gather round the place, and weep, and throw a handful of rice over the spot." the kudiyas are fond of toddy, and eat black monkeys, and the big red squirrel, which they catch with snares. kudiyalu (farmer).--a synonym for lambadi, apparently used by members of the tribe who have settled down to agriculture. kudlukara.--kudlukara or kudaldeshkara is a sub-division of rajapuri. kudubi.--the kudubis are found mainly in the kundapur taluk of the south canara district. among themselves, they use kaluvadi as the caste name. they say that they are divided into the following sections: are, goa, jogi, kodiyal, and kariya. of these, the are, goa, and kodiyal kudubis are confined to the kundapur taluk, and the other two sections are found in villages near mudbidri. both the are and jogi sections speak marathi, and the latter are considered inferior to the former, who will not eat in their houses. are women clad themselves in black or red garments, whereas jogi women are said to wear white cloths. the goa and kariya kudubis speak konkani, and do not mix with the ares and jogis, even for meals. they are much influenced by brahmanical priests, by whom they are guided in their ceremonial observances, and have adopted the dhare form of marriage (see bant). the goa kudubis say that they emigrated to south canara owing to the oppression from which they suffered, bringing with them the sweet potato (ipomoea batatas), cashew nut (anacardium occidentale), chrysanthemum, and indian spinach (basella alba). among the goa kudubis, an adulterer has to undergo a curious form of punishment. his head is clean-shaved, and his moustache removed. he then stands in a pit, and leaf-platters, off which food has been eaten, are thrown on his head. a money fine is imposed by the headman. if a woman does not confess her guilt, she is made to stand in the sun with an iron rod on her shoulders. the are kudubis have exogamous septs, or wargs. each warg is said to have its own god, which is kept in the house of some elderly or respected member of the sept. a corner of the house, or a special room, is set apart for the god, and a member of the family is the pujari (priest). he is expected to do puja to the god every monday. ordinarily, rice, fruits, etc., are offered to it; but, during the big festival in november-december, fowls are sacrificed. like other marathi castes, the are kudubis regard the holi festival. on the first day, they collect together, and worship the tulsi katte--a square structure on which a tulsi (ocimum sanctum) plant is growing. on the following days, they go about in detached groups, some males being dressed up as females, with drums and cymbals, and dance and sing. on the last day of the festival, rice is cooked, offered with liquor to kalabhairava, and eaten. the are kudubis sometimes worship bhuthas (devils), e.g., jettiga, and hola hayaguli. special reverence is shown to the tulsi plant, and, at almost every house, it is planted in a brindhavan or katte. to it vegetables and fruits are offered. girls are married either before or after puberty. widows are allowed to remarry, but may not marry a man of the sept to which her deceased husband belonged. marriage ceremonies last over five days, and commence with the ide karuchi, or betrothal, at the house of the bride-elect. pan-supari (betel leaves and areca-nuts) is distributed to at least one member of each warg present according to a recognised code of precedence, commencing with the hivelekar warg, which is considered superior. on the second day, a post made of the wood of the silk-cotton tree (bombax malabaricum) is set up beneath the marriage pandal (booth). the bridegroom and his party go in procession to the bride's house, where the contracting couple are decorated with jewels, and turmeric-dyed strings are tied round their necks. the bride's father ties a kankanam (thread) on his own wrist. the couple stand facing each other, with a screen stretched between them. after the exchange of garlands, their hands are joined, and the screen is removed. they then go five times round the bombax post and marriage dais, and sit down. dhare water is poured over their united hands by the bride's father. rice is then thrown over them, and presents are given. the proceedings terminate with the waving of coloured water, a light, etc. the dhare ceremony is celebrated at night. on the third day, the bridal couple go five times round the bombax post set up at the bridegroom's house, and take their seats on the dais. rice is thrown, and betel leaves and areca-nuts are distributed. on the fourth and fifth days, the same items are gone through at the bride's house. in the case of the remarriage of a widow, the bride and bridegroom take their seats, and rice is thrown over them. the dhare water is not poured over their hands. sometimes, the marriage consists merely in the holding of a feast. the dead are buried in a sitting posture, with the legs crossed tailor-wise. before the grave is filled in, a small quantity of cooked rice is put in the mouth of the corpse. on the third day, a small mound is made over the grave, and food offered to it. the final death ceremonies take place on the eleventh day, and consist in the sprinkling of holy water, and giving presents to brahmans. by the prosperous members of the community, a caste feast is given on the twelfth day. the main occupation of the kudubis is shifting (kumari) cultivation. some, however, are employed in the preparation of cutch (catechu) from the wood of acacia catechu, of which the following account is given by mr. h. a. latham [31] of the forest department. "in south canara, one of our most profitable sources of revenue is the extract obtained by boiling the wood of the catechu tree. the tree is confined to the laterite plateaux in the coondapur taluk, situated as a rule within 15 miles of the sea, and gradually dies out as we proceed southwards, until near coondapur itself the tree will hardly grow. it appears again to a small extent in the kasaragod taluk 80 miles further south, but no extraction is done there now. the extract is astringent, and, besides the other uses it is put to, it appears to be a remedy for diarrhoea, dysentery, and diabetes. it is, however, chiefly used for chewing with pan supari. locally, it is used pure in small pieces, the size of a pea, and rolled up with the other ingredients in the betel leaf to form a chew. in mysore, the catechu bought by the merchants from us is dissolved in water, and the areca-nut is, after being boiled and sliced, steeped in the solution, and then put out in the sun on mats to dry, this operation being repeated until sufficient catechu has been taken up to form a red, shining, semi-transparent film, through which the ruminated albumen of the areca-nut is just visible; the brighter the red colour so obtained, the better the quality of the nut. as we sell it, the catechu is in the shape of hard round balls covered with a whitish dust, the ashes with which the balls are covered to prevent them adhering to one another. on breaking, the interior of the balls should show a vitreous conchoidal fracture similar to quartz, and be of a warm reddish brown colour. the manufacture of catechu is carried out under departmental supervision by a contractor, who is paid on the outturn, and is bound, for the actual boiling, to employ only kudubis. so far as the department is concerned, a locality where there are plenty of catechu trees is selected, and all trees over 6 inches in diameter are allowed to be cut. the contractor has to engage the kudubis and select the site for the ovens, conveniently situated both for water and firewood, and also as close to the majority of catechu trees as he can get it. the site usually selected is a rice field, for which the contractor may have to pay a small rent. generally, however, no rent is charged, as the owner is only too glad to have the ashes, obtained in extracting, to plough into his field. on this field the encampment is made, consisting of rows of thatched huts made of grass and bamboos. the first thing to do is to erect the ovens, known as wolle. these are made by a party of men a fortnight or so before the main body come. the ordinary soil of the field is used, and the ovens are built to a height of 18 inches, and placed about 5 yards in front of the huts at irregular distances, 1 or 2 to each hut. the oven is an oblong, about 2 feet wide by 3 feet long, with two openings above about 1 foot in diameter, on which the boilers, common ovoid earthenware pots (madike) are placed. the opening for the fire is placed on the windward side, and extends to the far side of the second opening in the top of the oven, the smoke, etc., escaping through the spaces between the boilers and the oven. the earth forms the hearth. to proceed to the details of the working, the guard and the watcher go out the first thing in the morning, and mark trees for the kudubis to cut, noting the name of the man, the girth and length of the workable stem and branches. the kudubi then cuts the tree, and chips off the sapwood, a ring about 1 inch wide, with his axe, and brings it into the camp, where a forester is stationed, who measures the length and girth of the pieces, and takes the weight of wood brought in. the kudubi then takes it off to his shelter, and proceeds to chip it. in the afternoon he may have to go and get firewood, but generally he can get enough firewood in a day to serve for several days' boiling. so much for the men's work. mrs. kudubi puts the chips (chakkai) into the pot nearest the mouth of the oven, and fills it up with water, putting a large flat wooden spoon on the top, partly to keep the chips down, and, lighting her fire, allows it to boil. as soon as this occurs, the pot is tipped into a wooden trough (marige) placed alongside the oven, and the pot with the chips is refilled. this process is repeated six times. the contents of the trough are put into the second pot, which is used purely for evaporating. the contents of this pot are replenished from the trough with a cocoanut bailer (chippu) until all the extract obtained from the chips has been evaporated to a nearly solid residue. the contents are then poured into a broken half pot, and allowed to dry naturally, being stirred at intervals to enable the drying to proceed evenly. the extract (rasa) is of a yellowish brown colour when stirred, the surface being of rich red-brown. this stirring is done with a one-sided spoon (satuga). to make the balls, the woman covers her hands with a little wood ash to prevent the extract adhering to them, and takes up as much catechu as she can close her hands on, and presses it into shape. these balls are paid for at rs. 1-2-0 per 100, and are counted before the forester next morning, and delivered to the contractor. this ends the work done by the kudubis. when the balls have been counted, they are rolled by special men engaged for the purpose on a board sprinkled with a little wood ash, and this is repeated daily for three or four days to consolidate them. after this daily rolling, the balls are spread out in the receiving shed to dry, in a single layer for the first day or two, and after that they may be in two layers. after the fourth or fifth day's rolling, they are put in a pit, and covered with wood ashes on which a little water is poured, and, on being taken out the next day, are gone over, and all balls which are soft or broken are then rejected, the good ones being put on the upper storey of the stone shed to get quite hard and dry." before the commencement of operations, the kudubis select an areca catechu tree, and place a sword, an axe, and a cocoanut on the ground near it. they prostrate themselves before the tree, with hands uplifted, burn incense, and break cocoanuts. the success of the operations is believed to depend on the good will of a deity named siddedevaru. before the kudubis commence work, they pray to him, and make a vow that, if they are successful, they will offer a fowl. failure to produce good balls of catechu is attributed to the wrath of the deity. at the close of the work, if it has prospered, a kalasam (brass vessel) is set up, and fowls are killed. sometimes, goats are sacrificed, cooked food and meat are placed on leaves round the kalasam, and after worshipping, the viands are partaken of. like some other castes, the kudubis do not eat new rice until after the hosthu (new crop) festival. just before reaping, a few plants are plucked, laid in the field, and worshipped. the ears are then cut, and carried to their houses, where they are tied to pillars or to the roof. there are, among the kudubis, magicians called gardi, who are sought after during illness. to show his magical skill, a gardi should be able to cut a single grain of rice in twain with a big knife. kudugudukaran.--the kudugudukarans or kuduguduppukarans are a mendicant caste, who beat a small hour-glass-shaped drum while begging from house to house. kudumala (cake).--an exogamous sept of bonthuk savara, gamalla, and madiga. kudumba.--a sub-division of savara. kudumban.--a title sometimes used by pallans, the headman among whom goes by this name. kudumi or kudumikkar.--the kudumis are mainly found in the sea-board taluks of parur, shertally, and ambalapuzha, in travancore. the name is believed to be a corruption of the sanskrit kudumbi, meaning one connected with a family. by others it is derived from a konkani word, meaning sudra. the popular name for the caste is idiya (pounder), in reference to the occupation of pounding rice. kadiya, apparently derived from ghatiyal, or a person possessed, is a term of reproach. the title chetti is now assumed by members of the caste. but the well-known title is muppan, or elder, conferred on some respectable families by former rajas of cochin. the authority of the trippanithoray muppan is supreme in all matters relating to the government of the caste. but his authority has passed, in travancore, to the turavur muppan, who has supreme control over the twenty-two villages of kudimis. the belief that the muppans differ from the rest of the kudimis, so as to make them a distinct sept, does not appear to be based on fact. nor is it true that the muppans represent the most ancient families of konkana sudras, who emigrated to kerala independently of the konkanis. chief among them is the koratti muppan of trippanithoray, who has, among other privileges, those of the drinking vessel and lighted lamp conferred on him by the cochin rulers. every kudumi village has a local muppan. a few families enjoy the surname kammatti, which is believed to be of agricultural origin. the kudumis speak a corrupt form of the konkani dialect of marathi. they are the descendants of these konkana sudras, who emigrated from goa on account of the persecutions of the portuguese in the sixteenth century, and sought refuge along with their masters, the konkana brahmans, on the coast of travancore and cochin. most of them set out as the domestic servants of the latter, but a few were independent traders and agriculturists. two varieties of rice grain, chethivirippu and malarnellu, brought by them from the konkan, are still sown in travancore. one of the earliest occupations, in which they engaged, was the manufacture of fireworks, and, as they were bold and sturdy, they were enlisted as soldiers by the chieftains of malabar. relics of the existence of military training-grounds are still to be found in many of their houses. on a raised mud platform in the court-yard of the kudumi's house, the tulasi (ocimum sanctum) or pipal (ficus religiosa) is invariably grown. fish and flesh, except beef, are eaten, and intoxicating liquor is rather freely imbibed. the women wear coloured cloths, usually black, and widows are not obliged to be clad in white. a gold mukkutti is an indispensable nose ornament. tattooing is largely resorted to by the women. the occupation of the kudumis is service in the houses of the konkana brahmans. they also prepare beaten rice, act as boatmen, porters, and agricultural labourers, clean tanks and wells, and thatch houses. the muppans manufacture, and give displays of fireworks, which have a local reputation at the great konkani temple of turavur in the shertallay taluk. they worship at the temples of the konkana brahmans, as well as their own. but they are not pronounced vaishnavites, like the brahmans, as the teachings of madhvacharya did not reach the lower ranks of hinduism. on sunday only one meal is taken. maddu or madan is their chief minor deity, and water-sheds are erected to propitiate him. brahma is adored for nine days in the month of kumbham (february-march) from the full-moon day. the pipal tree is scrupulously worshipped, and a lighted lamp placed beside it every evening. a woman, at the menstrual period, is considered impure for four days, and she stands at a distance of seven feet, closing her mouth and nostrils with the palm of the hand, as the breath of such a woman is believed to have a contaminating effect. her shadow, too, should not fall on any one. the marriage of girls should take place before puberty. violation of this rule would be punished by the excommunication of the family. during the marriage ceremony, the tulasi plant is worshipped, and the bride and bridegroom husk a small quantity of rice. the mother of the bridegroom prepares a new oven within the house, and places a new pot beside it. the contracting couple, assisted by five women, throw five handfuls of rice into the pot, which is cooked. they then put a quantity of paddy (unhusked rice) into a mortar, and after carefully husking it, make rice flour from it. a quantity of betel and rice is then received by the bride and bridegroom from four women. the tali is tied round the bride's neck by the bridegroom, and one of his companions then takes a thread, and fastens it to their legs. on the fifth day of the marriage rites, a piece of cloth, covering the breasts, is tied round the bride's neck, and the nose is pierced for the insertion of the mukkutti. inheritance is generally from father to son (makkathayam), but, in a few families, marumakkathayam (inheritance through the female line) is observed. widow remarriage is common, and the bridegroom is generally a widower. only the oldest members of a family are cremated, the corpses of others being buried. the kudumis own a common burial-ground in all places, where they reside in large numbers. pollution lasts for sixteen days. the kudumis and the indigenous sudras of travancore do not accept food from each other. they never wear the sacred thread, and may not enter the inner courtyard of a brahmanical temple. they remove pollution by means of water sprinkled over them by a konkana brahman. their favourite amusement is the koladi, in which ten or a dozen men execute a figure dance, armed with sticks, which they strike together keeping time to the music of songs relating to krishna, and bhagavati. [32] kudumi.--concerning the kudumi medicine-men. i gather [33] that "the kudumi is a necessary adjunct to the village. his office implies a more or less intimate acquaintance with the curative herbs and roots in the forests, and their proper application to the different ailments resulting from venomous bites or stings. it is the kudumi who procures leeches for the gouty reddi or the phlegmatic moodeliar, when he finds that some blood-letting will benefit their health. he prays over sprains and cricks, and binds the affected parts with the sacred cord made of the hair taken from the patient's head. he is an expert practitioner at phlebotomy, and many old anglo-indians domiciled in the country will recall the kudumi when his services were in demand to heal some troublesome limb by the letting of blood. this individual is believed to possess a magic influence over wild animals and snakes, and often comes out in public as a dexterous snake-charmer. it is principally in the case of poisonous bites that the kudumi's skill is displayed. it is partly by the application of medicinal leaves ground into a paste, and partly by exercising his magical powers, that he is believed to cure the most dangerous bites of snakes and other venomous animals." the kudumi often belongs to the irula or jogi caste. kudumi.--the kudumi is the tuft of hair, which is left when the head of hindus is shaved. "for some time past," bishop caldwell writes, [34] "a considerable number of european missionaries in the tamil country have come to regard the wearing of the tuft as a badge of hinduism, and hence require the natives employed in their missions to cut off the kudumi as a sine quâ non of their retention of mission employment". the kudumi, as the bishop points out, would doubtless have been admired by our grandfathers, who wore a kudumi themselves, viz., the queue which followed the wig. "the vellalas of the present day," he continues, "almost invariably wear the kudumi, but they admit that their forefathers wore their hair long. some of the maravars wear the kudumi, and others do not. it makes a difference in their social position. the kudumi, which was originally a sign of aryan nationality, and then of aryan respectability, has come to be a sign of respectability in general, and hence, whilst the poorer maravars generally wear their hair long, the wealthier members of the caste generally wear the kudumi. the pallars in tinnevelly used to wear their hair long, but most of them have recently adopted the kudumi, and the wearing of the kudumi is now spreading even among the pariahs. in short, wherever higher notions of civilization, and a regard for appearances extend, the use of the kudumi seems to extend also". even a toda has been known to visit the nanjengod temple at the base of the nilgiris, to pray for offspring, and return with a shaved head. kudumo.--see kurumo. kukkundi.--kukkundi or kokkundia is the name of a small class of oriya cultivators and fishermen, who are said to be expert in spearing fish with a long spear. kukru.--kukru or kukkuro, meaning dog, occurs as the name of a sept of bottada, domb, and omanaito. the equivalent kukkala is a sept of the orugunta kapus and boyas. kulala.--some members of the potter caste style themselves kulala vamsam, as being a more dignified caste name than kusavan, and claim descent from kulalan, the son of brahma. kulanji.--a sub-division of maran. kulappan.--a synonym of kusavan. kulasekhara.--a sub-division of satanis, who claim descent from the vaishnavite saint kulasekhara alvar. kulloi.--a sub-division of gadaba. kulodondia.--a title, meaning headman of the caste, used by some tiyoros. kuluvadi.--a synonym of kudubi. kumda (red gourd: cucurbita maxima).--a sept of omanaito. kummara, kumbara, kumbaro.--"the potters of the madras presidency," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [35] "outside the tamil country and malabar, are called kummara in telugu, kumbaro in uriya, and kumbara in canarese, all these names being corrupted forms of the sanskrit word kumbhakara, pot-maker (ku, earth). in social position they are considered to be a superior class of sudras. the telugu kummaras were cooks under the ancient kings, and many of them still work in that capacity in sudra houses. the kumbaros are purely vaishnavites and employ boishnob priests, while the kummaras and kumbaras call in brahmans. widow remarriage is allowed among the uriya section alone. all of them eat flesh." concerning the potter classes, mr. stuart writes further [36] that "kummaras or kusavans (q.v.) are the potters of the country, and were probably at one time a single caste, but are now divided into telugus, northern tamilians and southern tamilians, who have similar customs, but will not intermarry or eat together. the northern and southern potters differ in that the former use a wheel of earthenware, and the latter one made of wood. the telugu potters are usually followers of vishnu and the tamilians of siva, some being also lingayats, and therefore burying their dead. all the potters claim an impure brahmanical descent, telling the following story regarding their origin. a learned brahman, after long study, discovered the day and hour in which he might beget a mighty offspring. for this auspicious time he waited long, and at its approach started for the house of his selected bride, but floods detained him, and, when he should have been with her, he was stopping in a potter's house. he was, however, resolved not to lose the opportunity, and by the daughter of his host he had a son, the celebrated salivahana. this hero in his infancy developed a genius for pottery, and used to amuse himself by making earthen figures of mounted warriors, which he stored in large numbers in a particular place. after a time vikramarka invaded southern india, and ordered the people to supply him with pots for his army. they applied to salivahana, who miraculously infused life into his clay figures, and led them to battle against the enemy, whom he defeated, and the country (mysore) fell into his hands. eventually he was left as its ruler, and became the ancestor of the early mysore rajas. such is the story current among the potters, who generally believe that they are his progeny. they all live in a state of poverty and ignorance, and are considered of a low rank among other sudras." at the village of karigeri in the north arcot district, there is carried on by some of the local potters an interesting industry in the manufacture of ornamental pottery, for which a medal was awarded at the delhi darbar exhibition. "the soft pottery," surgeon-general g. bidie writes, "receives a pretty green glaze, and is made into vases and other receptacles, some of which are imitations of delft ware and other european manufactures of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; patterns having been introduced by collectors. [37] some of the water-bottles are double, the outer shell being pierced so as to allow air to circulate around the inner." the history of this little industry is, i gather, as follows. [38] "mr. robinson, a collector in the sixties of the last century, started the manufacture of tea-pots, milk jugs, and sugar bowls with a dark green glaze, but his dream of supplying all india with chota hazri (early tea) sets was not realised. then came mr. whiteside, and the small grecian vases and the like are due to his and mrs. barlow's influence. he had accurate wooden models made by his well-known wood-carvers. he further altered the by no means pretty green glaze, and reddish browns and yellows were produced. then came mr. stuart, who pushed the sale at exhibitions and railway stations. he also gave the potters models of fancy flower-pots for in-door use. the pottery is exceedingly fragile, and unsuitable for rough usage. unglazed water and butter coolers were the earliest and best articles the potters produced." concerning the kumbaras of south canara, mr. stuart writes, [39] that they "seem to be a branch of the telugu and canarese potter castes, but many of them have tulu for their home speech, and follow the aliyasantana rule of inheritance (in the female line). some of them officiate as pujaris (priests) in the temples of the local deities or demons, and are employed to perform funeral rites. unlike the tamil potters, the kumbaras do not wear the sacred thread. infant and widow marriages are very common. on the birth of a child, the family observe pollution for fifteen days, and on the sixteenth day the village barber and dhobi (washerman) get holy water from the village temple, and purify the family by sprinkling it on their head. there are two endogamous sub-divisions, the kannada and tulu kumbara, and each of these is divided into exogamous balis. their ordinary title is handa, which is also sometimes used as the name of the caste. in uppinangadi a superior kind of pottery is made (by the kannada kumbaras). it is made of clay powdered, mixed with water, and strained. it is then poured into a pit specially prepared for the purpose, where it is allowed to remain for about a month, by which time it becomes quite dry. it is then removed, powdered, moistened, and made into balls, which are one by one placed upon a wheel and fashioned into various kinds of vessels, including vases, goglets, tea-pots, cups and saucers. the vessels are dried in the shade for about eight days, after which they are baked for two days, when they are ready for sale. they have a glazed appearance, and are sometimes beautifully ornamented." in the census report, 1901, vodari, bandi, and mulya are returned as sub-castes of the canarese potters. the kumbaras of the mysore province are, mr. t. ananda row informs us, [40] "potters and tile-makers. there are two great divisions among them mutually exclusive, the kannada and telugu, the former claiming superiority over the latter. the telugu kumbaras trace their descent to salivahana, and wear the sacred thread. they abstain from eating meat. there are both saivites and vaishnavites among kumbaras. the former acknowledge the smartha brahman's sway. polygamy is permitted, and divorce can only be for adultery. widows are not permitted to remarry. this caste also includes dyers known as nilagara (nil, indigo). it is curious that these two trades, quite distinct from one another, are followed by persons of the same family according to inclination. the kumbaras worship all the hindu deities, but pay special reverence to their kiln. they are recognised members of the village hierarchy." of the mysore kumbaras, mr. l. rice writes [41] that the "pot-makers were not stationed in every village, one or two being generally sufficient for a hobli or taraf. he furnished pots for all the ryats (agriculturists) of his taraf, and was entitled to ayam in an equal proportion as the other ayagar (hereditary village officers). for liberty of exposing his wares for sale to travellers in the markets, he paid chakra-kanke to the sirkar (government)." at channapatna, in mysore, i purchased for three annas a large collection of articles of pottery made out of black and brown clay. they are said to be made at a village near channapatna, and consist of rudely ornamented miniature lamps of various patterns, models of native kitchen-ranges, pots, tobacco-pipes, dishes, etc. at the mysore census, 1891, some potters described themselves as gundu (round) brahmans. the oriya kumbaro (kumbho, a pot) are said to practice both infant and adult marriage, and to permit the remarriage of widows. a sub-caste, named bhande, derives its name from the sanskrit bhanda, a pot. the madras museum possesses a quaint series of painted clay figures, made by a potter at venkatarayapalle in ganjam, which are set up in shrines on the seashore, and worshipped by fishermen. they include the following:-bengali babu.--wears a hat, and rides on a black horse. he blesses the fishermen, secures large hauls of fish for them, and guards them against danger when out fishing. rajamma.--a female figure, with a sword in her right hand, riding on a black elephant. she blesses barren women with children, and favours her devotees with big catches when they go out fishing. veyyi kannalu ammavaru, or the goddess of a thousand eyes, represented by a pot pierced with many holes, in which a gingelly (sesamum) oil light is burnt. she attends to the general welfare of the fishing folk. further details relating to the south indian potters will be found under the heading kusavan. kumbi (potter).--a sub-division of savara. kummidichatti.--recorded, in the north arcot manual, as a sub-division of vellalas, who carried the chatty, or pot of fire, at vellala funerals. in tamil, the name kumbidu chatti is applied to a pot, in which fire is always kept burning. such a pot is used for obtaining fire for domestic purposes, and by old people, to keep themselves warm in cold weather. kumpani.--returned by some kurubas at the census, 1901. the name refers to the east india company, which was known as kumpani jahan (or john company). kunapilli.--a synonym of padigarajulu, a class of mendicants, who beg from padma sales. kunbi.--recorded, at times of census, as a bombay cultivating caste. (see bombay gazetteer, xviii, part i, 284.) it is also a sub-division of marathis, generally agriculturists, in the sandur state. kuncheti.--a sub-division of kapu. kunchigar.--the kunchigars, kunchitigas, or kunchiliyans, are a class of cultivators in the salem district, who speak canarese, and have migrated southward to the tamil country. their tradition concerning their origin is that "a certain nawab, who lived north of the tungabadra river, sent a peon (orderly) to search for ghi (clarified butter), twelve years old. in his travels south of the river, the peon met a lovely maid drawing water, who supplied his want. struck by her beauty, he watched her bathing place, and stole one hair which fell from her head in bathing, which he took to the nawab. the latter conceived the idea of marrying the girl, and sent an embassy, which was so far successful that the girl and her family came to his residence, and erected a marriage pandal (booth). subsequently they repented, and, thinking that the marriage would be a mésalliance (the nawab was probably a muhammadan), fled in the night, leaving a dog in the pandal. in their flight they came to the tungabadra, which was in full flood, and, eager to escape, they consented to marry the maiden to a kurumban who ferried them across the river. the kunchigars are the descendants of this girl and the kurumban. when running away they, in their haste, forgot a little girl, and left her behind them. she was seized by the nawab, who thirsted for vengeance, and thrown into the air so as to fall on knives placed so as to transfix her. some miracle interposed to save her, and the are kunchigars of mysore are her descendants." [42] kunchu (a tassel or bunch).--a sub-division of okkiliyans, and of koravas who make brushes used by weavers. kuncham, meaning either a measure used in measuring grain or a tassel, occurs as an exogamous sept of madiga and mala. kundanakkaran.--an occupational tamil name for those who cut, enchase, and set precious stones. kundaton.--a name for chunam (lime) workers in malabar. kundu (nest).--a sub-division of the irulas of south arcot. kungiliyan.--a title of some kallans. kunjamma.--a name for elayad females. kunnuvan.--the kunnuvans are described, in the gazetteer of the madura district, as "the principal cultivating caste on the palni hills. they speak tamil. their own traditions say that their ancestors were vellalans from the dharapuram and kangayam country in coimbatore, who went up the palnis some four or five centuries ago because the low country was so disturbed by war (other accounts say devastated by famine), and they call themselves kunnuva vellalas, and state that the name kunnuva is derived from kunnur village in coimbatore. other traditions add that the virupakshi and ayyakudi poligars (feudal chieftains) helped them to settle on their land in the hills, which up to then had only been cultivated by indolent pulaiyans. the kunnuvans ousted these latter, and eventually turned them into predial serfs--a position from which they have hardly yet freed themselves. in every village is a headman, called the mannadi, who has the usual powers. the caste is divided into three endogamous sections, called vaguppus, namely, periya (big) kunnuvar, kunnuvar, and chinna (little) kunnuvar. they will eat together. the dress of the women is characteristic. they wear rough metal necklets, brass bangles and anklets, silver bangles on their upper arms, and rings in their noses; and they knot their upper cloths in front across the breasts, and bind them round their waists in a sort of bandage. white cloths used to be forbidden them, but are common enough nowadays. [it was noted by mr. m. j. walhouse, in 1881, [43] in connection with the kuneivar on the lower slopes of the palnis, that women were never allowed to wear white clothes. none could tell why, but it was said that, within memory, women offending against the rule had been cast from a high rock.] the claim of a man to his paternal aunt's daughter is rigidly maintained, and the evasions of the rule allowed by other castes when the ages of the parties are disproportionate are not permitted. consequently, a boy sometimes marries more than one of these cousins of his, and, until he reaches manhood, those of them who are much older than he is live with other men of the caste, the boy being the nominal father of any children which may be born. a boy of nine or ten may thus be the putative father of a child of two or three. [in this connection, mr. j. h. nelson writes [44] that madura collectors have sometimes been puzzled not a little by evidence adduced to show that a child of three or four years was the son or daughter of a child of ten or twelve.] when a man has no children except a girl, and his family is in danger of coming to an end, a curious practice, called keeping up the house, is followed. the girl cannot be claimed by her maternal uncle's son as usual, but may be married to one of the door-posts of the house. a silver bangle is put on her right wrist instead of a tali (marriage badge) round her neck; she is allowed to consort with any man of her caste; her earnings go to her parents; she becomes their heir, and, if she has a son, the boy inherits their property through her. the custom is a close parallel to the system of making girls basavis, which is so common in the western part of bellary and the neighbouring parts of dharwar and mysore. divorce is readily obtained, on the petitioner paying the amount of the bride-price, but the children all go to the father. divorcées and widows may remarry, and they do so with a frequency which has made the caste a byword among its neighbours. the kunnuvans worship the usual deities of the plains. they generally burn their dead." it is recorded, in the manual of the madura district, that the kunnuvans of the western parts of the palni hills differ in many of their customs from those of the eastern. with both divisions, incompatibility of temper is a sufficient ground for divorce, and a husband can at any time get rid of his wife by taking her to her parents together with a pair of oxen if he be an eastern kunnuvan, and a vatti or round metal dish if he be a western. on the other hand, if the wife dislikes her partner, she may leave him upon giving up her golden jewels--the silver she retains--and may, according to her pleasure, either go back to her father's house, or marry another man. in the west, however, she takes with her only such property as she may have possessed at the time of her marriage. her children must all be made over to the deserted husband; and, if she be pregnant when she goes away, and a child be born while she is living with her second husband, it must nevertheless be given up to the first, upon payment of the expense of rearing it if in the east, upon mere demand in the west. in this way a woman may legally marry any number of men in succession, though she may not have two husbands at one and the same time. she may, however, bestow favours on paramours without hindrance, provided they be of equal caste with her. on the other hand, a man may indulge in polygamy to any extent he pleases, and the wealthier kunnuvans keep several wives as servants, especially for agricultural purposes. the religion of the kunnuvans appear to be the saiva, but they worship their mountain god valapan with far more devotedness than any other. the name kunnuvan is derived by mr. nelson from kunru, a hill. kunta.--a division of kuravas of travancore, who derive their name from their first ancestor having appeared from a sacrificial altar (homakunta). kunte (pond).--a gotra of kurni. kurakula (vegetable class).--an occupational title, returned at times of census, by oriya and telugu cultivators in ganjam and vizagapatam. kurava.--for the following note on the kuravas of travancore, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. there are more than 50,000 kuravas in travancore, of whom the largest numbers live in the taluks of kunnatur, chirayinkil, and kottarakkara. they were originally divided into four branches, called kunta kuravan, pum kuravan, kakka kuravan, and pandi kuravan. almost all the kuravas of this country belong to the first of these sections. the pum kuravas are believed to have become a different caste, called velan. similarly, the kakka kuravans have crystallised into a distinct caste named kakkalan. pandi kuravas speak tamil, and are chiefly found in nanchinad, being there known as nanchi kuravas. the kunta kuravas attribute the origin of their name to the appearance of their first ancestor from a sacrificial altar (homakunta). they are known in some places, such as nedumangad, by the name of muli kuravas, probably because they emit a drawling noise when called. it has been suggested that the kuravas are one of the early tribes of southern india, and one with the kurumbas of the tamil country, and closely allied to the vedans. such of them as still preserve their old practices, and do not mingle with the low-country people, are known as malan kuravas. they form one of the sixteen hill-tribes mentioned in the keralolpatti. about three centuries ago, nanchinad in travancore was governed by a line of kurava kings, called nanchi kuravans. the kuravas are prædial slaves, who were liable in olden days to be bought and sold along with the land they occupied. they are not regarded as so faithful as the pulayas. their homes are, like those of the pulayas, low thatched sheds. they eat meat, and drink toddy and arrack. their women tie their hair in the centre of the head, and not behind like the pulayas. tattooing is very largely resorted to. though hindu deities are worshipped, the chavars, or spirits of the dead, receive the most particular attention. the days considered to be of religious importance are onam in the month of chingam, the ailiyam and makam stars in kanni, the 28th of makaram, the bharani star in kumbham and minam, and the first day of audi. the special deities of the kuravas are called katiyatikal or mountain gods, whom they worship on these days with an offering. on the 30th of each month, and on days of festivity, all the kuravas take beaten rice and toddy, and offer them with a view to propitiating their ancestors. small sheds are dedicated to chavars, where the priest, called piniyali or sorcerer, is the only important person. the kuravas have among themselves a special class of exorcisers, whom they call rarakkar (literally vicharakkar), or those who make enquiries about the occurrence of diseases. the rarakkaran first becomes possessed, and cries out the names of all the mountain deities in the vicinity, violently shaking every limb of his body as he does so. some of these deities are chavar, ayiravalli, chattan, pakavati, matan, murti, taivam, pakavan, appuppan, and maruta. he then takes a handful of paddy (unhusked rice) from a quantity placed in front of him, and, after counting, decides, upon the chance of one or two grains remaining in the end after each of them is removed, whether some one in the house is not attacked by, or liable to the attack of some evil spirit. the same process is repeated, in order to find out the proper remedy for appeasing them. the rarakkaran at the end proceeds out of the house in a northerly direction. the urali, or headman of peruvirutti mala in kunnattur, becomes possessed on the evening of the third monday of minam, and foretells coming events for such kuravas as are assembled. the headmen of the kuravas are called urali and panikkan, and they must be paid a fee of not less than ten chuckrams on all religious occasions. the priest is known as kaikkaran. the kuravas observe two forms of marriage ceremonial, viz., the tali-kettu before puberty, and sambandham. at the former, an elderly kuratti (kurava woman) ties the minnu or wedding ornament round the neck of the girl. when a kurava wishes to marry a girl, he must pay twelve fanams to her maternal uncle. widows remarry, and divorce, though void without the consent of the headmen, is easily effected. the form of inheritance is marumakkathayam (in the female line). the dead are buried, and death pollution is observed for twelve days. the kuravas are obliged to stand, according to some at forty-eight, and according to others at sixty-four paces from a high-caste hindu. they regard themselves as higher in the social scale than pulaiyas and paraiyans. kuravan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. kureshi.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a territorial name returned by muhammadans, kureshi being a village in arabia; also one of the sub-divisions of the navayat tribe. kuricchan.--the kuricchans, or kuricchiyans, are described by mr. h. a. stuart [45] as "the hunting caste of malabar. some derive the word from kurikke, to mark or assign, as they say that this caste fixed the hunting days. this must be the production of a highly imaginative person. dr. gundert thinks it is derived from, or allied to, canarese koracha (korava). i would rather say it is allied to that word, and that both are derivatives of kuru, a hill (cf. tamil kurinchi), kurunilam, etc., and malayalam kurissi, a suffix in names of hilly localities. with the exception of 2,240 persons in kottayam, and 373 in kurumbranad, both bordering on wynaad, all the kuricchans are found in wynaad. they are excellent bowmen, and played an important part in the pyche raja's rebellion at the beginning of the (nineteenth) century. the kuricchans affect a great contempt for brahmans. when a brahman has been in a kuricchan's house, the moment he leaves it, the place where he was seated is besmeared with cowdung to remove the pollution! they follow inheritance in the male line in some places, and in the female line in others. their god is called muttappan, which literally means grandfather. they now subsist mostly by punam (shifting) cultivation." in the gazetteer of malabar, the kuricchiyans (kuricchi, hill country) are described as "a jungle tribe of punam cultivators, found in the wynaad and the slopes of the ghats, north of calicut. they consider themselves polluted by the approach of other hill tribes and by the touch of tiyans and kammalans; and their women require water sanctified by a brahman to purify them. they perform the tali kettu ceremony before puberty, and say that they follow the marumakkathayam family system (of inheritance in the female line), though the wife usually goes to live with her husband in a new hut, and the husband has to pay a price for his bride. they act as oracles during the great festival at kottiyur. the performer becomes inspired after sitting for some time gazing into a vessel containing gingelly oil, and holding in his hand a curious-shaped wand of gold about a foot and a half long, and hollow." it is recorded by mr. logan, [46] in connection with a disturbance in malabar early in the last century, that "the first overt act occurred at panamaram in wynad. some five days previous to 11th october 1802, one of the proscribed rebel leaders, edachenna kungan, chanced to be present at the house of a kurchiyan, when a belted peon came up, and demanded some paddy (rice) from the kurchiyan. edachenna kungan replied by killing the peon, and the kurchiyans (a jungle tribe) in that neighbourhood, considering themselves thus compromised with the authorities, joined edachenna kungan. this band, numbering about 150, joined by edachenna kungan and his two brothers, then laid their plans for attacking the military post at panamaram, held by a detachment of 70 men of the 1st battalion of the 4th bombay infantry under captain dickenson and lieutenant maxwell. they first seized sentry's musket, and killed him with arrows. captain dickenson killed and wounded with his pistols, bayonet, and sword, 15 of the kurchiyars, 5 of whom died. the whole of the detachment was massacred." in a note on an inspection of a kuriccha settlement, mr. f. fawcett recorded that the houses were close to some rice-fields cultivated by the kuricchas. the mappillas, however, took the crop as interest on an outstanding debt. one house was noted as having walls of wattle and mud, a thatched roof, and verandah. in the eastern verandah were a bow and arrows, a fresh head of paddy (unhusked rice), some withered grain, etc., dedicated to the god muttappan. a man requested mr. fawcett not to approach a hut, in which a meal was being cooked, as he would pollute it. a child, a few months old, with a ring in each ear, and a ring of shell or bone on a string to avert the evil eye, was lying in a cradle suspended from the roof. both by mr. fawcett and others, the kuricchas are given the character of remarkably innocent, truthful, and trustworthy people. for the following note, i am indebted to mr. e. fernandez. the kuricchas usually live by cultivation, but it is considered a great stroke of good luck to obtain a post as postal runner or amsham peon. when on a hunting expedition, they are armed with bows and arrows, or occasionally with guns, and surround a hill. some of them then enter the jungle with dogs, and drive the game, which is killed by the dogs, or shot with arrows or bullets. the flesh of the spoil is divided up between the sylvan deity, the jenmi (landlord), the dogs, the man who put the first arrow or bullet into the animal, and the other kuricchas. in some places, the kuricchas use arrows for shooting fresh-water fish. the principle is described by mr. fawcett as being the same as in the greenlander's spear, and the dart used with a blow-pipe on the west coast for catching sharks. from malabar i have received two forms of blowpipe, used for killing fish, birds, and small game. in one, the tube consists of a piece of straight slender bamboo about 4' 6'' in length; the other, which is about 7' in length, is made from the stem of the areca palm. in the latter, two pieces of the stem are placed face to face, so that a complete tube is made. round the exterior, thin cloth or tree-bark, steeped in gum, is tightly wrapped, so that the two halves are kept together. sometimes the blow-pipe is decorated with painted designs. the arrow consists of a reed shaft and iron arrow-head, which, by means of a socket, fits loosely on the conical end of the shaft. a piece of string, several feet long, is tied round the arrow-head, and wound closely round the shaft. when the arrow is discharged from the tube, and enters, for example, the body of a fish, the string is uncoiled from the shaft, which floats on the surface of the water, and points out the position of the fish, which is hauled up. a paniyan, adiyan, kurumba, or pulayan, approaching within a recognised distance of a kuriccha, conveys pollution, which must be removed by a bath, holy water, and the recitation of mantrams (consecrated formulæ). the kuricchas address brahmans as tambrakal, and nayars as tamburan. they are themselves addressed by paniyans and adiyans as acchan and pappan, by jen kurumbas as muttappan, and by pulayans as perumannom. in addition to muttappan, the kuricchas worship various other deities, such as karimbil bhagavathi, malakurathi, and athirallan. no animal sacrifices are performed, but each family celebrates annually a ceremony called kollu kodukal, for which the pittan (head of the family) fixes an auspicious day. the temple is cleaned, and smeared with cow-dung, and holy water is sprinkled, to remove all pollution. those who attend at the ceremony bathe before proceeding to the temple, which is lighted with oil-lamps. cocoanuts, sugar-candy, plantains, beaten rice, a measure (edangali) full of rice, and another full of paddy, are placed before the lamps, and offered to the deity by the pittan. one of the community becomes possessed, and gives forth oracular utterances. finally he falls down, and the deity is supposed to have left him. the offerings are distributed among those who have assembled. the management of tribal affairs is vested in the pittans of the different families, and the final appellate authority is the kottayath raja, who authorises certain nayars to hear appeals on his behalf. the kuricchas celebrate the tali-kettu kalyanam. marriages are arranged by the pittans. the wedding is a very simple affair. the bridegroom brings a pair of cloths and rings made of white metal or brass as a present for the bride, and a feast is held. kurivi (sparrow).--a gotra of kurni. kurma (tortoise).--a gotra of nagaralu. the equivalent kurum is recorded as a sept of pentiya. kurmapu.--the kurmapuvallu are women, in the vizagapatam district, who have not entered into matrimony, but earn money by prostitution, and acting as dancers at feasts. they are so called from the fact that they were originally dancing-girls attached to the temple of sri kurmam, a place of pilgrimage in vizagapatam. [47] kurni.--the name kurni is, according to the census report, 1901, "a corruption of kuri (sheep) and vanni (wool), the caste having been originally weavers of wool. they now weave cotton and silk, and also cultivate. they have two main sub-divisions, hire (big) and chikka (small). the hires are all lingayats, and are said to have sixty-six totemistic septs or gotras. they employ jangams as priests, and also men of their own caste, who are called chittikaras. they will mess with the non-lingayat section, and with lingayats of other castes. they do not eat meat, or smoke or drink alcohol, but the chikkas do all three. marriage before puberty is the rule in the caste. divorces are permitted. widows may marry again, but have to spend two nights alone at two different temples. their wedding ceremonies are carried out by widows only, and the woman is not afterwards allowed to take part in religious or family observances." a synonym of both kurnis and devangas is jada or jandra, meaning great men. a further synonym of the kurnis is said to be kunigiri. the term nese, meaning weaver, is applied to several of the weaving castes, including the kurnis. the following extract is taken from an appeal for subscriptions in aid of the publication of the bhavishyottara purana by the kurnis in a village in the bellary district. "greetings from all the kuruhine setti virasaivas residing in hirihala village of bellary taluk. the wish of the writers is that all, old and young, should rejoice in the sixty-six gotras, sixty-six rudras, and sixty-six rishis. he who reads the order of these sixty-six gotras of the kuruhina settis will enter sivaloka. his twenty-one generations will attain to the position of ganas (attendants) of sivaloka. such was the order of iswara. this is the end of the chapter in the nilakantha mallikarjuna bhavishyat purana acquired by shanmukha from the iswara shruti of the haravatula." the gotras are described as being of the brahman, kshatriya, and vaisya sub-divisions of the caste, and of shanmukha's sudra caste:-gotras. anasu, ferrule. anchu, edge or border. arashina, turmeric. are, bauhinia racemosa. arya, venerable. banaju, trade or painted wooden toys. bandi, cart. banni, prosopis spicigera. basari, fig tree. benne, butter. bile, white. dharma, conduct. durga, fort. gaduge, throne. gauda, headman. gikkili, rattle. gorige, cyamopsis psoralioides. gullu, solanum ferox. gundu, cannon-ball. halige, plank. halu, milk. heggu, nape of the neck. hemme, vanity. hittu, flour. hon, gold. hullu, grass. ime, eyelid. in, sweet. inichi, squirrel. irani, earthen vessel used at marriages. jali, acacia arabica. jirige, cummin seed. jiva, life. junju, cock's comb. kadi, blade of grass. katige, collyrium. kadle (bengal gram, cicer arietinum). kadu, wild. kakke, cassia fistula. kamadi, tortoise. kanni, rope. katte, embankment. ken, red. kenja, red ant. kere, tank. kesari, lion. kinkila, indian cuckoo, eudynamis honorata. koti, dagger. kudure, horse. kunte, pond. kurivi, sparrow. mallige, jasmine. maralu, sand. menasu, pepper or chillies. midichi, locust. mini, leather rope. muchchu, broken rice. muddu, kiss or love. mullu, thorn. naga, snake. nellu, unhusked rice. parama, highest. raksha, protecting. rama, lovely. rikki, feather ? salige, wire. sampige, michelia champaca. samsara, family. sara, string. sindhu, sea or flag ? swarabha, sound. tikke, gem. uttama, best. vanki, armlet. vatte, camel. some of the above names also occur as exogamous septs, or sub-divisions of other canarese or telugu classes, e.g.- arashina, turmeric. agasa, kuruba, odde. bandi, cart. kapu, kavarai, kuruba, kuravan, mala, odde, yanadi. halu, milk. holeya, kuruba, vakkaliga. hon, gold. kuruba, odde. jirige, cummin. kuruba. kudure, horse. vakkaliga. mallige, malli, or mallela, jasmine. holeya, kamma, kuruba, kuravan, madiga, mala, odde, tsakala. menasu, pepper or chillies. kuruba. sampigi or sampangi, michelia champaca. odde. kuruba.--though plucky in hunting bears and leopards, the kurubas at hospet were exceedingly fearful of myself and my methods, and were only partially ingratiated by an offer of a money prize at one of the wrestling combats, in which they delight, and of which i had a private exhibition. the wrestlers, some of whom were splendid specimens of muscularity, had, i noticed, the moustache clipped short, and hair clean shaved at the back of the head, so that there was none for the adversary to grip. one man, at the entreaties of an angry spouse, was made to offer up the silver coin, presented by me in return for the loan of his body for measurement, as bad money at the shrine of udachallama, together with two annas of his own as a peace-offering to the goddess. the wives of two men (brothers), who came to me for measurement, were left sobbing in the village. one, at the last moment, refused to undergo the operation, on the principle that one should be taken, and the other left. a man was heard, at question time, to mutter "why, when we are hardworking and poor, do we keep our hair, while this rich and lazy sahib has gone bald?" another (i believe, the tame village lunatic) was more complimentary, and exclaimed "we natives are the betel leaf and nut. you, sir, are the chunam (lime), which makes them perfect." many of the kurubas wear charms in the form of a string of black sheep's wool, or thread tied round the arm or neck, sometimes with sacred ashes wrapped inside, as a vow to some minor deity, or a four anna piece to a superior deity. a priest wore a necklet of rudraksha (elæocarpus ganitrus) beads, and a silver box, containing the material for making the sacred marks on the forehead, pendent from a loin string. his child wore a similar necklet, a copper ornament engraved with cabalistic devices, and silver plate bearing a figure of hanuman, as all his other children had died, and a piece of pierced pottery from the burial-ground, to ward off whooping-cough, suspended round the neck. in colour-scale the kurubas vary enormously, from very dark to light brown. the possessor of the fairest skin, and the greatest development of adipose tissue, was a sub-magistrate. at hospet, many had bushy mutton-chop whiskers. their garments consisted of a tight fitting pair of short drawers, white turban, and black kambli (blanket), which does duty as overcoat, umbrella, and sack for bringing in grass from the outlying country. some of the kurubas are petty land-owners, and raise crops of cholam (andropogon sorghum), rice, hibiscus cannabinus, etc. others are owners of sheep, shepherds, weavers, cultivators, and stone-masons. the manufacture of coarse blankets for wearing apparel is, to a very large extent, carried on by the kurubas. in connection with this industry, i may quote the following extracts from my "monograph on the woollen fabric industry of the madras presidency" (1898). bellary.--in the bellary manual (1872), it is stated that "cumblies are the great article of export, and the rugs made in the kudligi taluk are in great demand, and are sent to all parts of the country. they are manufactured of various qualities, from the coarse elastic cumbly used in packing raw cotton, price about six annas, to a fine kind of blanket, price rs. 6 to 8. in former times, a much finer fabric was manufactured from the wool of the lamb when six months old, and cumblies of this kind sold for rs. 50 or rs. 60. these are no longer made." coarse blankets are at present made in 193 villages, the weavers being mostly kurubas, who obtain the wool locally, sun-dry it, and spin it into thread, which is treated with a watery paste of tamarind seeds. the weaving is carried out as in the case of an ordinary cotton cloth, the shuttle being a piece of wood hollowed out on one side. inside the ruined maratha fort at sandur dwells a colony of kurubas, whose profession is blanket-weaving. the preliminary operations are performed by the women, and the weaving is carried out by the men, who sit, each in his own pit, while they pass the shuttle through the warp with repeated applications of tamarind paste from a pot at their side. kurnool.--blankets are manufactured in 39 villages. sheep's wool is beaten and cleaned, and spun into yarn with hand spindles. in the case of the mutaka, or coarse cumblies used by the poorer classes, the thread used for the warp is well rubbed with a gruel made of tamarind seeds before being fitted up in the loom, which is generally in the open air. in the case of jadi, or cumblies of superior quality used as carpets, no gruel is used before weaving. but, when they are taken off the loom, the weavers spread them out tight on a country cot, pour boiling water over them, and rub them well with their hands, until the texture becomes thick and smooth. kistna.--both carpets and blankets are made at masulipatam, and blankets only, to a considerable extent, in the gudivada taluk. the tahsildar of nuzvid, in several villages of which taluk the blanket-weaving industry is carried on, gives me the following note. the sheep, of which it is intended to shear the wool, are first bathed before shearing. if the wool is not all of the same colour, the several colours are picked out, and piled up separately. this being done, each separate pile is beaten, not as a whole, but bit by bit, with a light stick of finger thickness. then the cleaning process is carried out, almost in the way adopted by cotton-spinners, but with a smaller bow. then the wool is spun into yarn with the help of a thin short piece of stick, near the bottom of which a small flat, circular or square weight of wood or pot-stone (steatite) is attached, so as to match the force of the whirling given to the stick on the man's thigh. after a quantity of yarn has been prepared, a paste is smeared over it, to stiffen it, so that it can be easily passed through the loom. the paste is prepared with kajagaddalu, or tamarind seeds, when the former is not available. kajagaddalu is a weed with a bulbous root, sometimes as large as a water-melon. the root is boiled in water, and the thin coating which covers it removed while it is still hot. the root is then reduced to a pulp by beating in a mortar with frequent sprinkling of water. the pulp is mixed with water, to make it sticky, and applied to the yarn. tamarind seeds are split in two, and soaked in water for several hours. the outer coating then becomes detached, and is removed. the seeds are beaten into a fine flour, and boiled until this acquires the necessary consistency. they are then made into a paste with water, and applied to the yarn. madura.--coarse blankets are manufactured to a small extent by kuruba women in twenty-two villages of the melur, dindigul, and palni taluks. in the province of mysore, parts of chitaldrug and the town of kolar are noted for the manufacture of a superior kind of blanket, of fine texture like homespun, by kurubas. the wool is spun by the women. by one section of the kurubas, called sunnata or vasa (new) only white blankets are said to be made. the personal names of kurubas are derived from their gods, basappa, lingappa, narasimha, huliga, etc., with ayya, appa, or anna as affixes. an educational officer tells me that, when conducting a primary examination, he came across a boy named mondrolappa after sir thomas munro, who still lives in the affections of the people. "it has," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [48] "been suggested that the name kuruba is a derivative of the canarese root kuru, sheep (cf. tamil kori); but it has been objected to this that the kurumbas were not originally a purely shepherd tribe, and it is contended that the particular kind of sheep called kori is so called because it is the sheep of the kurumbas. again, the ancient lexicographer of the tamil language, pingala muni, defines kurumban as kurunila mannar, or petty chieftains. but the most common derivation is from the tamil kurumbu, wickedness, so that kurumban means a wicked man. with this may be compared the derivation of kallan from kalavu, theft, and the kallans are now generally believed to have been closely connected with, if not identical with the original kurumbas. on the other hand, the true derivation may be in the other direction, as in the case of the sclavs. the language of the kurumbas is a dialect of canarese, and not of tamil, as stated by bishop caldwell. it resembles the old canarese." concerning the affinities of the kurubas, mr. stuart states that "they are the modern representatives of the ancient pallavas, who were once so powerful in southern india. in the seventh century, the power of the pallava kings seems to have been at its zenith, though very little trace of their greatness now remains; but, soon after this, the kongu, chola, and chalukya chiefs succeeded in winning several victories over them, and the final overthrow of the kurumba sovereignty was effected by the chola king adondai about the eighth century a.d., and the kurumbas were scattered far and wide. many fled to the hills, and, in the nilgiris and wynad, in coorg and mysore, representatives of this ancient race are now found as wild and uncivilised tribes." let me call anthropometric evidence, and compare the kurubas of mysore and bellary with the jungle kurumbas of the nilgiris and the allied kadirs and mala vedars, by means of the two important physical characters, stature and nasal index. stature. nasal index. average. maximum. minimum. average. maximum. minimum. cm. cm. cm. kurubas, 163.9 176.4 155 73.2 85.9 62.3 mysore kurubas, 162.7 175.4 153.4 74.9 92.2 63.3 bellary kurumbas, 157.5 163.6 149.6 88.8 111.1 79.1 nilgiris kadirs 157.7 169.4 148.6 89.8 115.4 72.9 mala 154.2 163.8 140.8 84.9 102.6 71.1 vedars in this table, the wide gap which separates the domesticated kurubas of the mysore province and the adjacent bellary district from the conspicuously platyrhine and short-statured kurumbas and other jungle tribes, stands out prominently before any one who is accustomed to deal on a large scale with bodies and noses. and i confess that i like to regard the kurumbas, mala vedars, kadirs, paniyans, and other allied tribes of short stature with broad noses as the most archaic existing inhabitants of the south of the indian peninsula, and as having dwelt in the jungles, unclothed, and living on roots, long before the seventh century. the question of the connection between kurubas and kurumbas is further discussed in the note on the latter tribe. the popular tradition as to the origin of the caste is as follows. originally the kurubas were kapus. their ancestors were masi reddi and nilamma, who lived on the eastern ghats by selling firewood, and had six sons. taking pity on their poverty, siva came begging to their house in the disguise of a jangam, and gave nilamma some sacred ashes, while promising prosperity through the birth of another son, who was called undala padmanna. the family became prosperous through agriculture. but, unlike his six brothers, undala padmanna never went out to work in the fields. they accordingly contrived to get rid of him by asking him to set fire to some brushwood concealing a white-ant hill, in the hope that the snake within it would kill him. but, instead of a snake, an innumerable host of sheep appeared. frightened at the sight of these strange black beasts, undala padmanna took to his heels. but siva appeared, and told him that they were created for his livelihood, and that he should rear them, and live by their milk. he taught him how to milk the sheep and boil the milk, and sent him to a distant town, which was occupied by rakshasas, to fetch fire. there the giants were keeping in bondage a brahman girl, who fell in love with undala padmanna. they managed to escape from the clutches of the rakshasas by arranging their beds over deep pits, which were dug for their destruction. to save her lover, the girl transformed him into a lizard. she then went with him to the place where his flock was, and undala padmanna married a girl of his own caste, and had male offspring by her as well as the brahman. at the marriage of these sons, a thread kankanam (bracelet) was tied to the wrist of the caste woman's offspring, and a woollen kankanam to that of the brahman girl's sons. the sons of the former were, therefore, called atti (cotton) kankanadavaru, and those of the latter unni (woollen) kankanadavaru. the latter are considered inferior, as they are of hybrid origin. a third sub-division is that of the ande kurubas, named after the small vessel (ande) used in milking goats. in a note on the kurubas of alur, thikka, meaning a simpleton, is given as the name of an important division. it is noted in the mysore census report, 1901, that the kurubas have not taken kindly to education, and are by nature so simple that kuruba has, in some places, become a byword for a simpleton. the kurubas are also known as halu mata, or milk caste, as they believe that they were created out of milk by revana siddeswara. in hindustani they are called dhangars, or rich people. some, in spite of their poor dress and appearance, are well-to-do. at the madras census, 1901, kavadiga, kumpani, and rayarvamsam (raja's clan) were returned by some members of the community. in mysore, the kurubas are said [49] to be divided into hande kurubas and kurubas proper, who have no intercourse with one another. the latter worship bire devaru, and are saivites. according to another account, the halu kurubas of mysore have sub-divisions according to the day of the week, on which they offer puja to their god, e.g., aditya varada (sunday), brihaspati varada (thursday), soma varada (monday). "the kurubas," mr. h. a. stuart writes, "are again sub-divided into clans or gumpus, each having a headman or guru called a gaudu, who gives his name to the clan. and the clans are again sub-divided into gotras or septs, which are mostly of totemistic origin, and retain their totemistic character to this day. the arisana gotram is particularly worthy of notice. the name means saffron (turmeric), and this was originally taboo; but, as this caused inconvenience, the korra grain has been substituted, although the old name of the sept was retained." exogamous septs. agni, fire. alige, drum. andara, booth. ane, elephant. arashina or arisana, turmeric. arathi, wave offering. ari, ebony. ariya, noble. avu, snake. bandi, cart. banni (prosopis spicigera). basale (basella rubra). batlu, cup. belata (feronia elephantum). belli, silver. belu (ægle marmelos). bende (hibiscus esculentus). benise, flint. bevu or bevina (melia azadirachta). binu, roll of woollen thread. bola, bangle. chandra, moon. chelu, scorpion. chilla (strychnos potatorum). chinna or sinnata, gold. deva, a tree. emme, buffalo. gali, devil. gauda, headman. gulimi, pick-axe. halu, milk. hatti, hut. honnungara, gold ring. ibabire, tortoise. irula, darkness. iruvu, black ant. jelakuppa, a fish. jirige, cummin. jivala, an insect. kalle, bengal gram. kanchu, bell-metal. kavada, coloured border of a cloth. kombu, stick. kori, blanket. mana, measure. malli, jasmine. menusu, pepper. minchu, metal toe-ring. mise, moustache. mugga, loom. muttu, pearl. nali, bamboo tube. nayi, dog. othu, goat. putta, ant-hill; snake hole. ratna, precious stones. samanti or savanti (chrysanthemum). same (millet: panicum miliare). samudra, ocean. sankhu, conch-shell. sarige, lace. surya, sun. thuppa, clarified butter. turaka, muhammadan. ungara, ring. uppiri, earth-salt. the titles of members of the caste are gauda or heggade, and the more prosperous go by the name of kaudikiaru, a corruption of gaudikiaru. many, at the present day, have adopted the title nayakkan. some are called gorava vandlu. according to mr. stuart, "each community of kurubas, residing in a group of villages, has a headman or gaudu. he acts the part of pujari or priest in all their ceremonies, presides over their tribal meetings, and settles disputes. he is paid four annas, or, as they call it, one ruka per house per annum. he is a strict vegetarian, and will not eat with other kurubas." the headman or guru of the caste in bellary goes by the name of revana siddeswara, and he wears the lingam, and follows the lingayat creed. sometimes he dines with his people, and, on these occasions, new cooking pots must be used. he exercises the power of inflicting fines, excommunicating those who have had illicit intercourse with boyas, muhammadans, and others, etc. the kurubas in bellary and anantapur are said to pay three pies to their guru for every blanket which they sell. the name of the tribal headman at alur is kattaiyintivadu, i.e., shed with a pial or raised verandah in front of it. among both kurubas and bedars, a special building, built by public subscription, and called the katta-illu or chavadi, is set apart for council meetings, at which tribal affairs are discussed and decided. when a girl reaches puberty, she is kept in a corner of the house for eight days. on the ninth day she bathes, and food is taken to her by an old woman of the house. kuruba women are invited to be present in the evening. the girl, covered with a blanket, is seated on a raised place. those assembled throw rice over her feet, knees, shoulders, and head, and into her lap. coloured turmeric and lime water is then waved three or five times round her, and ravikes (body-cloths) are presented to her. the following account of the marriage ceremonial was recorded in western bellary. when a marriage has been settled between the parents of the young people, visits are exchanged by the two families. on a fixed day, the contracting couple sit on a blanket at the bride's house, and five women throw rice over five parts of the body as at the menstrual ceremony. betel leaves and areca-nuts are placed before them, of which the first portion is set apart for the god birappa, the second for the gauda, another for the house god, and so on up to the tenth. a general distribution then takes place the ceremony, which is called sakshi vilya or witness betel-leaf, is brought to a conclusion by waving in front of the couple a brass vessel, over the mouth of which five betel leaves and a ball of ashes are placed. they then prostrate themselves before the guru. for the marriage ceremony, the services of the guru, a jangam, or a brahman priest, are called into requisition. early on the wedding morning, the bridal couple are anointed and washed. a space, called the irani square, is marked out by placing at the four corners a pot filled with water. round each pot a cotton thread is wound five times. similar thread is also tied to the milk-post of the marriage pandal (booth), which is made of pipal (ficus religiosa) wood. within the square a pestle, painted with red and white stripes, is placed, on which the bride and bridegroom, with two young girls, seat themselves. rice is thrown over them, and they are anointed and washed. to each a new cloth is given, in which they dress themselves, and the wrist-thread (kankanam) is tied on all four. presents are given by relations, and arathi (red water) is waved round them. the bridegroom is decorated with a bashingam (chaplet of flowers), and taken on a bull to a hanuman shrine along with his best man. cocoanuts, camphor, and betel are given to the priest as an offering to the god. according to another account, both bride and bridegroom go to the shrine, where a matron ties on their foreheads chaplets of flowers, pearls, etc. at the marriage house a dais has been erected close to the milk-post, and covered with a blanket, on which a mill-stone and basket filled with cholum (andropogon sorghum) are placed. the bridegroom, standing with a foot on the stone and the bride with a foot on the basket, the gold tali, after it has been touched by five married women, is tied round the bride's neck by the officiating priest, while those assembled throw rice over the happy pair, and bless them. according to another version, a bed-sheet is interposed as a screen, so that the bride and bridegroom cannot see each other. on the three following days, the newly-married couple sit on the blanket, and rice is thrown over them. in western bellary, the bridegroom, on the third day, carries the bride on his waist to hanuman temple, where married women throw rice over them. on the fifth morning, they are once more anointed and washed within the irani square, and, towards evening, the bride's father hands her over to her husband, saying "she was till this time a member of my sept and house. now i hand her over to your sept and house." on the night of the sixth day, a ceremony called booma idothu (food placing) is performed. a large metal vessel (gangalam) is filled with rice, ghi (clarified butter), curds, and sugar. round this some of the relations of the bride and bridegroom sit, and finish off the food. the number of those, who partake thereof must be an odd one, and they must eat the food as quickly as possible. if anything goes wrong with them, while eating or afterwards, it is regarded as an omen of impending misfortune. some even consider it as an indication of the bad character of the bride. concerning the marriage ceremony of the kurubas of north arcot, mr. stuart writes as follows. "as a preliminary to the marriage, the bridegroom's father observes certain marks or curls on the head of the proposed bride. some of these are believed to forebode prosperity, and others only misery to the family, into which the girl enters. they are, therefore, very cautious in selecting only such girls as possess curls (suli) of good fortune. this curious custom, obtaining among this primitive tribe, is observed by others only in the case of the purchase of cows, bulls, and horses. one of the good curls is the bashingam found on the forehead; and the bad ones are the peyanakallu at the back of the head, and the edirsuli near the right temple. but widowers seeking for wives are not generally particular in this respect. [as bad curls are supposed to cause the death of the man who is their possessor, she is, i am informed, married to a widower.] the marriage is celebrated in the bridegroom's house, and, if the bride belongs to a different village, she is escorted to that of the bridegroom, and is made to wait in a particular spot outside it, selected for the occasion. on the first day of the marriage, purna kumbam, a small decorated vessel containing milk or ghi, with a two-anna piece and a cocoanut placed on the betel leaf spread over the mouth of it, is taken by the bridegroom's relations to meet the bride's party. therethe distribution of pan supari takes place, and both parties return to the village. meanwhile, the marriage booth is erected, and twelve twigs of naval (eugenia jambolana) are tied to the twelve pillars, the central or milk post, under which the bridal pair sit, being smeared with turmeric, and a yellow thread being tied thereto. at an auspicious hour of the third day, the couple are made to sit in the booth, the bridegroom facing the east, and the bride facing west. on a blanket spread near the kumbam, 2 1/2 measures of rice, a tali or bottu, one cocoanut, betel leaf and camphor are placed. the gaudu places a ball of vibhuti (sacred ashes) thereon, breaks a cocoanut, and worships the kumbam, while camphor is burnt. the gaudu next takes the tali, blesses it, and gives it to the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. the gaudu then, throwing rice on the heads of the pair, recites a song, in which the names of various people are mentioned, and concluding 'oh! happy girl; oh! prosperous girl; basava has come; remove your veil.' the girl then removes her veil, and the men and women assembled throw rice on the heads of the bridal pair. the ends of their garments are then tied together, and two girls and three boys are made to eat out of the plates placed before the married couple. a feast to all their relations completes the ceremony. the gaudu receives 2 1/2 measures of rice, five handfuls of nuts and betel leaf, and twelve saffrons (pieces of turmeric) as his fee. even though the girl has attained puberty, the nuptial ceremony is not coincident with the wedding, but is celebrated a few months later." in like manner, among the kammas, gangimakkulu, and other classes, consummation does not take place until three months after the marriage ceremony, as it is considered unlucky to have three heads of a family in a household during the first year of marriage. by the delay, the birth of a child should take place only in the second year, so that, during the first year, there will be only two heads, husband and wife. at a marriage among the kurubas of the madura district, a chicken is waved in front of the contracting couple, to avert the evil eye. the maternal uncle's consent to a marriage is necessary, and, at the wedding, he leads the bride to the pandal. a kuruba may, i am informed, marry two sisters, either on the death of one of them, or if his first wife has no issue, or suffers from an incurable disease. some twenty years ago, when an unmarried kuruba girl was taken to a temple, to be initiated as a basavi (dedicated prostitute), the caste men prosecuted the father as a protest against the practice. in the north arcot district, according to mr. stuart, "the mother and child remain in a separate hut for the first ten days after delivery. on the eleventh day, all the kuruba females of the village bring each a pot of hot water, and bathe the mother and child. betel and nuts are distributed, and all the people of the village eat in the mother's house. on the next market-day, her husband, with some of his male friends, goes to a neighbouring market, and consults with a korava or yerukala what name is to be given to the child, and the name he mentions is then given to it." in a case which came before the police in the bellary district in 1907, a woman complained that her infant child had been taken away, and concealed in the house of another woman, who was pregnant. the explanation of the abduction was that there is a belief that, if a pregnant woman keeps a baby in her bed, she will have no difficulty at the time of delivery. remarriage of widows is permitted. the ceremony is performed in a temple or dark room, and the tali is tied by a widow, a woman dedicated to the deity, or a dasayya (mendicant) of their own caste. according to another account, a widow is not allowed to wear a tali, but is presented with a cloth. hence widow marriage is called sire udiki. children of widows are married into families in which no widow remarriage has taken place, and are treated like ordinary members of the community. in western bellary i gathered that the dead are buried, those who have been married with the face upwards, others with the face downwards. the grave is dug north and south, and the head is placed to the south. earth is thrown into the grave by relations before it is filled in. a mound is raised over it, and three stones are set up, over the head, navel, and feet. the eldest son of the deceased places on his left shoulder a pot filled with water, in the bottom of which three small holes are made, through which the water escapes. proceeding from the spot beneath which the head rests, he walks round the grave, and then drops the pot so that it falls on the mound, and goes home without looking back. this ceremony is a very important one with both kurubas and bedars. in the absence of a direct heir, he who carries the pot claims the property of the deceased, and is considered to be the inheritor thereof. for the propitiation of ancestors, cooked rice and sweetmeats, with a new turban and cloth or petticoat, according to the sex of the deceased, are offered up. ancestors who died childless, unless they left property, do not receive homage. it is noted, in the bellary gazetteer, that "an unusual rite is in some cases observed after deaths, a pot of water being worshipped in the house on the eleventh day after the funeral, and taken the next morning and emptied in some lonely place. the ceremony is named the calling back of the dead, but its real significance is not clear." of the death ceremonies in the north arcot district, mr. stuart writes that "the son, or, in his absence, a near relative goes round the grave three times, carrying a pot of water, in which he makes a hole at each round. on the third round he throws down the pot, and returns home straight, without turning his face towards the direction of the grave. for three days, the four carriers of the bier are not admitted into their houses, but they are fed at the cost of the deceased's heir. on the the third day, cooked rice, a fowl and water are taken to the burial-ground, and placed near the grave, to be eaten by the spirit of the dead. the son, and all his relations, return home, beating on their mouths. pollution is observed for ten days, and, on the eleventh day, sheep and fowls are killed, and a grand feast is given to the kurumbas of the village. before the feast commences, a leaf containing food is placed in a corner of the house, and worshipped. this is removed on the next morning, and placed over the roof, to be eaten by crows. if the deceased be a male, the glass bangles worn by his wife on her right arm are broken on the same day." the patron saint of the kurubas is birappa or biradevaru, and they will not ride on horses or ponies, as these are the vehicles of the god. but they worship, in addition, various minor deities, e.g., uligamma, mallappa, anthargattamma, kencharaya, and have their house gods, who are worshipped either by a house or by an entire exogamous sept. in some places, mariamma and sunkulamma are worshipped on tuesday and friday, and the sheep and other offerings are the perquisite of boyas, malas, and madigas. some families of kuruba dasaris reverence a goddess called hombalamma, who is worshipped secretly by a pujari (priest) at dead of night. everything used in connection with the rite is buried or otherwise disposed of before morning. the kurubas show reverence for the jammi tree (prosopis spicigera) and ashwatham (ficus religiosa) by not cutting them. it was noticed by mr. f. fawcett that, at the temples of the village goddesses wannathamma and durgamma in the bellary district, an old kuruba woman performs the daily worship. in the mantapam of the temple at lepakshi, in the anantapur district, "is the sculptured figure of a man leaning his chin upon his hands, which is said to represent a kuruba who once acted as mediator between the builder of the temple and his workmen in a dispute about wages. the image is still bathed in oil, and worshipped by the local kurubas, who are proud of the important part played by their caste-man." [50] in mysore, the kurubas are said to worship a box, which they believe contains the wearing apparel of krishna under the name of junjappa. one of the goddesses worshipped by the kurubas is named kelu devaru or mane hennu devaru, the pot or household deity. she is worshipped annually at the dasara festival, and, on occasions of marriage, just before the tali is tied. the pot is made by a kumbara (potter), who is well paid for his work. during its manufacture, he has to take only one meal daily, and to avoid pollution of all kinds. the clay should be kneaded with the hands, and wetted with milk, milk of tender cocoanuts, and water. when at work on it, the potter should close his mouth with a bandage, so that his breath may not defile the pot. the kurubas who are settled in the madura district reverence vira lakkamma (lakshmi) as their family deity, and an interesting feature in connection with the worship of their goddess is that cocoanuts are broken on the head of a special kuruba, who becomes possessed by the deity. the kurubas are ancestor worshippers, and many of them have in their possession golden discs called hitharadha tali, with the figures of one or more human beings stamped on them. the discs are made by akasales (goldsmiths), who stamp them from steel dies. they are either kept in the house, or worn round the neck by women. if the deceased was a celebrity in the community, a large plate is substituted for a disc. concerning the religion of the kurubas, mr. francis writes as follows. "the most striking point about the caste is its strong leaning towards the lingayat faith. almost everywhere, jangams are called in as priests, and allegiance to the lingayat maths (religious institutions) is acknowledged, and in places (kamalapuram for example), the ceremonies at weddings and funerals have been greatly modified in the direction of the lingayat pattern." [51] "in the north arcot district, the gaudu is entrusted with the custody of a golden image representing the hero of the clan, and keeps it carefully in a small box filled with turmeric powder. there are also some images set up in temples built for the purpose. once a year, several neighbouring clans assemble at one of their bigger temples, which is lighted with ghi, and, placing their images in a row, offer to them flowers, cocoanuts, milk, etc., but they do not slay any victim. on the last day of their festival, the kurumbas take a bath, worship a bull, and break cocoanuts upon the heads of pujaris who have an hereditary right to this distinction, and upon the head of the sacred bull. some kurumbas do not adopt this apparently inhuman practice. a pujari or priest, supposed to have some supernatural power, officiates, and begins by breaking a few nuts on the heads of those nearest to him, and then the rest go on, the fragments belonging by right to those whose skulls have cracked them, and who value the pieces as sacred morsels of food. for a month before this ceremony, all the people have taken no meat, and for three days the pujaris have lived on fruits and milk alone. at the feast, therefore, all indulge in rather immoderate eating, but drink no liquor, calling excitedly upon their particular god to grant them a prosperous year. the temples of this caste are usually rather extensive, but rude, low structures, resembling an enclosed mantapam supported upon rough stone pillars, with a small inner shrine, where the idols are placed during festival time. a wall of stone encloses a considerable space round the temple, and this is covered with small structures formed of four flat stones, three being the walls, and the fourth the roof. the stone facing the open side has a figure sculptured upon it, representing the deceased gaudu, or pujari, to whom it is dedicated. for each person of rank one of these monuments is constructed, and here periodically, and always during the annual feasts, puja is made not only to the spirits of the deceased chiefs, but also to those of all who have died in the clan. it seems impossible not to connect this with those strange structures called by the natives pandava's temples. they are numerous where the kurumbas are now found, and are known to have been raised over the dead. though the kurumbas bury, they do not now raise their monuments over the resting place of the corpse. nor can they build them upon anything approaching to the gigantic scale of the ancient kistvaen or dolmen." [52] it was noted by a correspondent of the indian antiquary [53] that, in the kaladgi 'district,' he "came across the tomb of a kuruba only four years old. it was a complete miniature dolmen about eighteen inches every way, composed of four stones, one at each side, one at the rear, and a cap-stone. the interior was occupied by two round stones about the size of a man's fist, painted red, the deceased resting in his mother earth below." in the open country near kadur in mysore, is a shrine of biradevaru, which consists of four stone pillars several feet in height surmounted by flat slabs as a cap-stone, within which the deity is represented by round stones, and stones with snakes carved on them are deposited. within the kuruba quarter of the town, the shrine of anthargattamma is a regular dolmen beneath a margosa (melia azadirachta) tree, in which the goddess is represented by rounded stones imbedded in a mound of earth. just outside the same town, close to a pipal tree (ficus religiosa) are two smaller dolmen-like structures containing stones representing two kuruba dasaris, one a centenarian, who are buried there. "the village of maliar, in the hadagalli taluk of the bellary district, contains a siva temple, which is famous throughout the district for an annual festival held there in the month of february. this festival has now dwindled more or less into a cattle fair. but the fame of the temple continues as regards the karanika, which is a cryptic sentence uttered by a priest, containing a prophecy of the prospect of the agricultural season of the ensuing year. the pujari of the temple is a kuruba. the feast in the temple lasts for ten days. on the last day of the feast, the god siva is represented as returning victorious from the battlefield after having slain malla with a huge bow. he is met half-way from the field of battle by the goddess. the huge wooden bow is brought, and placed on end before the god. the kuruba priest climbs up the bow as it is held up by two assistants, and then gets on the shoulders of these men. in this posture he stands rapt in silence for a few minutes, looking in several directions. he then begins to quake and quiver from head to foot. this is the sign of the spirit of the siva god possessing him--the sign of the divine afflatus upon him. a solemn silence holds the assembly, for the time of the karanika has approached. the shivering kuruba utters a cryptic sentence, such as akasakke sidlu bodiyuttu, or thunder struck the sky. this is at once copied down, and interpreted as a prophecy that there will be much rain in the year to come. thus every year, in the month of february, the karanika of mailar is uttered and copied, and kept by all in the district as a prophecy. this karanika prognostication is also pronounced now at the mallari temple in the dharwar district, at nerakini in the alur taluk, and at mailar lingappa in the harapanahalli taluk." [54] the rule of inheritance among the kurubas is said [55] to differ very little from that current among hindus, but the daughters, if the deceased has no son, share equally with the agnates. they belong to the right-hand faction, and have the privilege of passing through the main bazars in processions. some mudalis and 'naidus' are said to have no objection to eat, drink, and smoke with kurubas. gollas and some inferior flesh-eating kapus will also do so. kuruhina setti viraisaivar.--a synonym of kurni. kuruhina means literally a sign, mark, or token. kuruvina banajiga occurs as a synonym of bilimagga. kurukkal.--see gurukkal (brahman). kurukula vamsam.--the name, derived from kuru, the ancestor of the kauravas, assumed by some pattanavans. kurumba or kuruman.--as bearing on the disputed question of the connection between the kurumbas who dwell in the jungle, and the kurubas (shepherds and weavers) who live in the plains and open country, i may quote the evidence of various witnesses:-madras census report, 1891.--"the kurumbas or kurrubas are the modern representatives of the ancient kurumbas or pallavas, who were once so powerful throughout southern india, but very little trace of their greatness now remains. in the seventh century, the power of the pallava kings seems to have been at its zenith; but, shortly after this, the kongu, chola, and chalukya chiefs succeeded in winning several victories over them. the final overthrow of the kurumba sovereignty was effected by the chola king adondai about the seventh or eighth century a.d., and the kurumbas were scattered far and wide. many fled to the hills, and in the nilgiris and the wynad, in coorg and mysore, representatives of this ancient race are now found as wild and uncivilised tribes. elsewhere the kurumbas are more advanced, and are usually shepherds, and weavers of coarse woollen blankets." "kuruman.--this caste is found in the nilgiris and the wynad, with a slight sprinkling in the nilambur and attapadi hills in malabar. their principal occupations are wood-cutting, and the collection of forest produce. the name is merely another form of kurumban, but, as they differ from the ordinary kurumbas, it seemed better to show them separately. i think, however, that they were originally identical with the shepherd kurumbans, and their present separation is merely the result of their isolation in the fastnesses of the western ghats, to which their ancestors fled, or gradually retreated after the downfall of the kurumba dynasty. the name kurumbranad, a sub-division of malabar, still bears testimony to their once powerful position." madras census report, 1901--"kuruba; kurumban.--these two have always been treated as the same caste. mr. thurston (madras mus. bull. ii, i) thinks they are distinct. i have no new information, which will clearly decide the matter, but the fact seems to be that kurumban is the tamil form of the telugu or canarese kuruba, and that the two terms are applied to the same caste according to the language in which it is referred to. there was no confusion in the abstraction offices between the two names, and it will be seen that kuruba is returned where canarese and telugu are spoken, and kurumban where the vernacular is tamil. there are two sharply defined bodies of kurumbans--those who live on the nilgiri plateau, speak the kurumba dialect, and are wild junglemen; and those who live on the plains, speak canarese, and are civilised." mysore census report, 1891--kadu kuruba or kurumba.--"the tribal name of kuruba has been traced to the primeval occupation of the race, viz., the tending of sheep, perhaps when pre-historic man rose to the pastoral stage. the uru or civilised kurubas, who are genuine tillers of the soil, and who are dotted over the country in populous and thriving communities, and many of whom have, under the present 'pax britannica,' further developed into enterprising tradesmen and withal lettered government officials, are the very antipodes of the kadu or wild kurubas or kurumbas. the latter, like the iruligas and soligas, are the denizens of the backwoods of the country, and have been correctly classed under the aboriginal population. the tamilised name of kurumba is applied to certain clans dwelling on the heights of the nilgiris, who are doubtless the offshoots of the aboriginal kadu kuruba stock found in mysore." w. r. king. aboriginal tribes of the nilgiri hills--"kurumbas.--this tribe is of another race from the shepherd kurumbas. the nilgiri tribe have neither cattle nor sheep, and in language, dress, and customs, have no affinity whatever with their namesakes." g. oppert. original inhabitants of india--"kurubas or kurumbas.--however separated from each other, and scattered among the dravidian clans with whom they have dwelt, and however distant from one another they still live, there is hardly a province in the whole of bharatavarasha which cannot produce, if not some living remnants of this race, at least some remains of past times which prove their presence. indeed, the kurumbas must be regarded as very old inhabitants of this land, who can contest with their dravidian kinsmen the priority of occupation of the indian soil. the terms kuruba and kurumba are originally identical, though the one form is, in different places, employed for the other, and has thus occasionally assumed a special local meaning. mr. h. b. grigg appears to contradict himself when, while speaking of the kurumbas, he says that 'in the low country they are called kurubas or curubaru, and are divided into such families as ane or elephant, naya or dog, male or hill kurumbas.' [56] such a distinction between mountain kurumbas and plain kurumbas cannot be established. the rev. g. richter will find it difficult to prove that the kurubas of mysore are only called so as shepherds, and that no connection exists between these kurubas and the kurumbas. mr. lewis rice calls the wild tribes as well as the shepherds kurubas, but seems to overlook the fact that both terms are identical, and refer to only the ethnological distinction." the above extracts will suffice for the purpose of showing that the distinction between the jungle kurumbas and the more civilised kurubas, and their relationship towards each other, call for a 'permanent settlement.' and i may briefly place on record the results of anthropometric observations on the jungle kurumbas of the nilgiris, and the domesticated kurubas of mysore and the bellary district, whose stature and nasal index (two factors of primary importance) are compared with those of the jungle paniyans of malabar and kadirs of the anaimalai mountains- ===================+==========+===============+============= | stature. | nasal index. | nasal index. ==== | average. | average. | maximum. ===================+==========+===============+============= | cm. | | kurubas, bellary | 162.7 | 74.9 | 92 kurubas, mysore | 163.9 | 73.2 | 86 kurumbas, nilgiris | 157.5 | 88.8 | 111 paniyans | 157.4 | 95.1 | 108 kadirs | 151.7 | 89 | 115 ===================+==========+===============+============= a glance at the above table at once shows that there is a closer affinity between the three dark-skinned, short, platyrhine jungle tribes, than between the jungle kurumbas and the lighter-skinned, taller, and more leptorhine kurubas. the domesticated kurubas are dealt with separately, and, in the remarks which follow, i am dealing solely with the jungle kurumbas. the kadu, or wild kurumbas of mysore are divided into "(a) betta or hill kurumbas, with sub-divisions called ane (elephant), bevina (nim tree: melia azadirachta), and kolli (fire-brand)--a small and active race, capable of great fatigue, who are expert woodmen; (b) jenu or honey kurumbas, said to be a darker and inferior race, who employ themselves in collecting honey and bees-wax." [57] for the following note on the kadu kurumbas i am indebted to the mysore census report, 1891. "there are two clans among them, viz., bettada and jenu. the former worship the forest deities narali and mastamma; eat flesh and "drink liquor, a favourite beverage being prepared from ragi (eleusine coracana) flour. some of their habits and customs are worth mentioning, as indicating their plane of civilization. they have two forms of marriage. one is similar to the elaborate ceremony among the vakkaligas, while the other is the simple one of a formal exchange of betel leaves and areca nuts, which concludes the nuptials. the kadu kurubas can only eat meals prepared by members of the higher castes. during their periodical illnesses, the females live outside the limits of the hadi (group of rude huts) for three days. and, in cases of childbirth, none but the wet nurse or other attendant enters the room of the confined woman for ten days. in cases of sickness, no medical treatment is resorted to; on the other hand, exorcisms, charms, incantations, and animal sacrifices are more generally in vogue. the male's dress consists of either a bit of cloth to cover their nudity, or a piece of coarse cloth tied round the waist, and reaching to the knees. they wear ornaments of gold, silver, or brass. they are their own barbers, and use broken glass for razors. the females wear coarse cloth four yards long, and have their foreheads tattooed in dots of two or three horizontal lines, and wear ear-rings, glass bangles, and necklaces of black beads. strangers are not allowed to enter their hadis or hamlets with shoes or slippers on. in case of death, children are buried, whilst adults are burned. on the occurrence of any untoward event, the whole site is abandoned, and a new hadi set up in the vicinity. the kadu kurubas are very active, and capable of enduring great fatigue. it is said that they are revengeful, but, if treated kindly, they will do willing service. the jenu kurubas live in small detached huts in the interior of thick jungles, far away from inhabited places. their habits are no less wild. the male dress consists of either a woollen kambli or coarse cloth, and a skull cap. the female's sadi is white coarse cloth, their wonted ornaments being a pair of brass ear-rings, strings of black beads tied round the neck, and glass bangles on the wrist. these people do not allow to outcasts and musalmans access to their premises, or permit shoes being brought into their houses or streets. they eat flesh, and take meals from vakkaligas, lingayats, and other superior castes. they subsist on wild bamboo seed, edible roots, etc., found in the jungle, often mixed with honey. they are said not unfrequently to make a dessert out of bees in preference to milk, ghi (clarified butter), etc. they are engaged chiefly in felling timber in the forests, and other similar rude pursuits, but they never own or cultivate land for themselves, or keep live-stock of their own. they are very expert in tracking wild animals, and very skilfully elude accidental pursuits thereby. their children, more than two years old, move about freely in the jungle. they are said to be hospitable to travellers visiting their place at any unusual hour. they are saivites, and jangams are their gurus. the ceremonial pollution on account of death lasts for ten days, as with the brahmans. children are buried, while adults, male or female, are cremated. a curious trait of this primitive race is that the unmarried females of the village or hadi generally sleep in a hut or chavadi set apart for them, whilst the adult bachelors and children have a separate building, both under the eye of the head tribesman. the hut for the latter is called pundugar chavadi, meaning literally the abode of vagabonds." the jenu kurumbas are said to eat, and the betta kurumbas to abstain from eating the flesh of the 'bison' (bos gaurus). in a note on the jenu and betta kurumbas of mysore, mr. m. venkatanarnappa writes as follows. "the betta are better clothed and fed than the jen kurumbas. their occupation is kumri (burning and shifting) cultivation. their women are clever at basket-making. they can be distinguished by the method of dress which their women have adopted, and the way in which the men wear their hair. a betta woman covers her body below the shoulders by tying a long cloth round the arm-pits, leaving shoulders and arms bare, whereas a jen woman in good circumstances dresses up like the village females, and, if poor, ties a piece of cloth round her loins, and wears another to partially conceal the upper part of her body. among males, a betta kurumba leaves his hair uncut, and gathers it from fore and aft into a knot tied on the crown of the head. a jen kurumba shaves like the ryots, leaving a tuft behind, or clips or crops it, with a curly or bushy growth to protect the head from heat and cold. the betta and jen kurumbas never intermarry." the betta kurumbas are, i am told, excellent elephant mahauts (drivers), and very useful at keddah (elephant-catching) operations. of the kadu and betta kurumbas, as they were at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the following account is given by buchanan. [58] "the cad curubaru are a rude tribe, who are exceedingly poor and wretched. in the fields near the villages, they build miserable low huts, have a few rags only for clothing, and the hair of both sexes stands out matted like a mop, and swarms with vermin. some of them hire themselves out as labouring servants to the farmers, and receive monthly wages. others, in crop seasons, watch the fields at night, to keep off elephants and wild hogs. in the intervals between crops, they work as daily labourers, or go into the woods, and collect the roots of wild yams (dioscorea), part of which they eat, and part exchange with the farmers for grain. their manner of driving away the elephant is by running against him with a burning torch made of bamboos. the animal sometimes turns, waits till the curubaru comes close up; but these poor people, taught by experience, push boldly on, dash their torches against the elephant's head, who never fails to take to immediate flight. should their courage fail, and should they attempt to run away, the elephant would immediately pursue, and put them to death. the curubaru have no means of killing so large an animal, and, on meeting with one in the day-time, are as much alarmed as any other of the inhabitants. during the sultan's reign they caught a few in pitfalls. [i have heard of a clever kurumba, who caught an elephant by growing pumpkins and vegetable marrow, for which elephants have a partiality, over a pit on the outskirts of his field.--e.t.] the wild hogs are driven out of the fields by slings, but they are too fierce for the curubaru to kill. these people frequently suffer from tigers, against which their wretched huts are a poor defence; and, when this wild beast is urged by hunger, he is regardless of their burning torches. these curubaru have dogs, with which they catch deer, antelopes, and hares; and they have the art of taking in snares, peacocks, and other esculent birds. they believe that good men, after death, will become benevolent devas, and bad men destructive devas. they are of such known honesty that on all occasions they are entrusted with provisions by the farmers, who are persuaded that the curubaru would rather starve than take one grain of what was given to them in charge. the spirits of the dead are believed to appear in dreams to their old people, and to direct them to make offerings to a female deity named bettada chicama, that is, the mother of the hill. unless these offerings are made, this goddess occasions sickness. in cases of adultery, the husband flogs his wife severely, and, if he is able, beats her paramour. if he be not able, he applies to the gaudo (headman), who does it for him." the betta curubaru, buchanan continues, "live in poor huts near the villages, and the chief employment of the men is the cutting of timber, and making of baskets. with a sharp stick they also dig up spots of ground in the skirts of the forest, and sow them with ragi (eleusine coracana). the men watch at night the fields of the farmers, but they are not so dexterous at this as the cad curubaru. in this class, the cutigas are women that prefer another man to their husband, or widows, who do not wish to relinquish carnal enjoyment. their children are not considered as illegitimate." of the casual system of clearing the jungle in vogue among the kurumbas, i may quote the following description. [59] "in their search for food, this wild tribe naturally prefers a forest cleared of all undergrowth, in which to move about, and the ingenuity with which they attain this end, and outwit the vigilant forest subordinates, is worthy of a better object. i have heard of a kurumba walking miles from his hadi or hamlet, with a ball of dry smouldering elephant dung concealed in his waist-cloth. this he carried to the heart of the forest reserve, and, selecting a suitable spot, he placed the smouldering dung, with a plentiful supply of dry inflammable grass over it, in such a position as to allow the wind to play upon it, and fan it into a flame with the pleasing certainty that the smoke from the fire would not be detected by the watchers on the distant fire-lines until the forest was well alight, the flames beyond all control, and the kurumba himself safe at home in his hadi, awaiting the arrival of the forest subordinate to summon the settlement to assist in the hopeless task of extinguishing the fire." of the kurumbas who are found in the wynad, calicut, and ernad taluks of malabar, the following account is given in the gazetteer of that district. "they are sub-divided into mullu (bamboo) kurumbans, jen or ten (honey) kurumbans, also called kadu or shola nayakkans (or jenu koyyo shola nayakas, i.e., honey-cutting lords of the woods), and urali or bet kurumbans; of which the first-named class, who consider themselves superior to the others, are cultivators and hunters; the second wood-cutters and collectors of honey; and the third make baskets and implements of agriculture. the mullu and ten kurumbans have headmen with titles of muppan and mudali respectively conferred by their janmis (landlords). the kurumbans, like many of the other hill-tribes, use bows and arrows, with which they are expert. the caste deity of the ten kurumbans is called masti. it is perhaps worth remarking that the urali kurumbans of the wynaad differ from the other two classes in having no headmen, observing a shorter period of pollution after a birth than any other malabar tribe and none at all after a death, and in not worshipping any of the malabar animistic deities." the chief sub-divisions of the kurumbas on the nilgiris, and in the wynad, are said, in the madras census report, 1891, to be "mullu (thorn), betta or vetta (hill), urali (ur, a village), ten (honey), and tac'chanadan muppan (carpenter headman). of these, the first and last speak malayalam, and wear a lock in front of their head in the malabar fashion. the rest speak canarese. urali kurumbas work in metals." the villages of the kurumbas on the nilgiri hills are, mr. grigg writes, [60] called mottas. they consist generally of only four or five huts, made of mud and wattle, with thatched roofs. the front of the house is sometimes whitewashed, and ornamented with rude drawings of men and animals in red earth or charcoal. they store their grain in large oval baskets, and for bottles they use gourds. they clear a patch round about the village, and sow the ground with ragi (eleusine coracana), tenne (setaria italica), or kiri (amarantus). they dig up roots (called gasu) for food, and collect the jungle produce, honey, resin, gall-nuts, etc., which they barter with low-country traders, and they are clever in catching game in nets, and dispose of the flesh in a surprisingly short time. kurumbas occasionally take work on coffee plantations, and some earn a livelihood by officiating as priests to the badagas. they are also employed as musicians at wedding feasts and funerals of the other tribes, where they play on clarionets, drums, and tambourines, as well as the buguri. they make baskets of rattan and milk vessels out of a joint of bamboo, as well as nets of a thread called oilhatti. their women confine themselves to the limited work of their households, fetching water, cooking, etc. the following extract embraces all that can be said of the religion of the kurumbas. "some profess to worship siva, and occasionally women mark their foreheads with the siva spot. others, living near barliar, worship kuribattraya (lord of many sheep) and the wife of siva under the name of musni. they worship also a rough stone under the name of hiriadeva, setting it up either in a cave, or in a circle of stones like the so-called kurumba kovil of the badagas, which the latter would seem to have borrowed from the kurumbas. to this they make puja, and offer cooked rice at the sowing time. they also profess to sacrifice to hiriadeva a goat, which they kill at their own houses, after sprinkling water, and eat, giving a portion of flesh to the pujari (priest). others say that they have no pujari: among such a scattered tribe customs probably vary in each motta"--(breeks). it is recorded by dr. rivers, in connection with the toda legendary stories of kwoten, that "one day kwoten went with erten of keadr, who was spoken of as his servant to poni, in the direction of polkat (calicut). at poni there is a stream called palpa, the commencement of which may be seen on the kundahs. kwoten and erten went to drink water out of the stream at a place where a goddess (teu) named terkosh had been bathing.... finally, they came to terkosh, who said to kwoten, "do not come near me, i am a teu." kwoten paid no heed to this, but said "you are a beautiful woman," and went and lay with her. then terkosh went away to her hill at poni, where she is now, and to this day the kurumbas go there once a year and offer plantains to her, and light lamps in her honour." it is further recorded by dr. rivers that "two ceremonial objects are obtained by the todas from the kurumbas. one is the tall pole called tadrsi or tadri, which is used in the dance at the second funeral ceremonies, and afterwards burnt. poles of the proper length are said to grow only on the malabar side of the nilgiris, and are probably most easily obtained from the kurumbas. the other is the teiks, or funeral post at which the buffalo is killed." besides supplying the badagas with the elephant-pole required at their funerals, the kurumbas have to sow the first handful of grain for the badagas every season. the ceremony is thus described by harkness. [61] "a family of the burghers (badagas) had assembled, which was about to commence ploughing. with them were two or three kurumbas, one of whom had set up a stone in the centre of the spot on which we were standing, and, decorating it with wild flowers, prostrated himself to it, offered incense, and sacrificed a goat, which had been brought there by the burghers. he then took the guidance of the plough, and, having ploughed some ten or twelve paces, gave it over, possessed himself of the head of the sacrificed animal, and left the burghers to prosecute their labours.... the kurumba, sowing the first handful, leaves the burgher to go on with the remainder, and, reaping the first sheaf, delivers it with the sickle to him, to accomplish the remainder of the task. at harvest time, or when the whole of the grain has been gathered in, the kurumba receives his dues, or proportion of the produce." the relations of the kurumbas with the badagas at the present day, and the share which the former take in the ceremonies of the latter, are dealt with in the account of the badagas. i am informed that, among the kurumbas of the nilgiris, it is the custom for several brothers to take one wife in common (adelphogamy), and that they do not object to their women being open to others also. there is said to be no marriage rite. a man and woman will mate together, and live as husband and wife. and, if it happens that, in a family, there has been a succession of such wives for one or two generations, it becomes an event, and is celebrated as such. the pair sit together, and pour water over each other from pots. they then put on new cloths, and a feast is partaken of. among the shola nayakkars, a feature of the marriage ceremony is said to be for the bride to roll a cheroot of tobacco leaves, which both parties must smoke in turn. writing concerning the irulas and kurumbas, mr. walhouse says [62] that "after every death among them, they bring a long water-worn stone (devva kotta kallu), and put it into one of the old cromlechs sprinkled over the nilgiri plateau. some of the larger of these have been found piled up to the cap-stone with such pebbles, which must have been the work of generations. occasionally, too, the tribes mentioned make small cromlechs for burial purposes, and place the long water-worn pebbles in them. mr. breeks reports that the kurumbas in the neighbourhood of the rangasvami peak and barliar burn their dead, and place a bone and a small round stone in the savu-mane (death-house)--an old cromlech." the conjecture is hazarded by fergusson [63] that the kurumbas are the remnant of a great and widely spread race, who may have erected dolmens. as bearing on the connection between kurumbas and kurubas, it is worthy of note that the latter, in some places, erect dolmens as a resting-place for the dead. (see kuruba.) it is noted, in the gazetteer of the nilgiris, that the kurumbas "trade largely on the extraordinary dread of their supposed magical powers which possesses the todas and the badagas--the latter especially. stories are told of how they can summon wild elephants at will, and reduce rocks to powder merely by scattering mystic herbs upon them." "the kurumbas," harkness writes, "have a knowledge of herbs and medicinal roots, and the burghers (badagas) say that they limit their knowledge thereof to those which are noxious only, and believe that, with the assistance of their magic, they are able to convey them into the stomachs of those to whom they have any dislike. the violent antipathy existing between the burghers and the kurumbas, and the dread and horror which the former entertain of the preternatural powers of the latter, are, perhaps, not easily accounted for; but neither sickness, death, nor misfortune of any kind, ever visit the former, without the latter having the credit of producing it. a few years before, a burgher had been hanged by the sentence of the provincial court for the murder of a kurumba. the act of the former was not without what was considered great provocation. disease had attacked the inhabitants of the hamlet, a murrain their cattle. the former had carried off a great part of the family of the murderer, and he himself had but narrowly escaped its effects. no one in the neighbourhood doubted that the kurumba in question had, by his necromancy, caused all this misfortune, and, after several fruitless attempts, a party of them succeeded in surrounding him in open day, and effecting their purpose." in 1835 no less than forty-eight kurumbas were murdered, and a smaller number in 1875 and 1882. in 1900 a whole family of kurumbas was murdered, of which the head, who had a reputation as a medicine-man, was believed to have brought disease and death into a badaga village. the sympathies of the whole country-side were so strongly with the murderers that detection was made very difficult, and the persons charged were acquitted. [64] in this case several todas were implicated. "it is," mr. grigg writes, "a curious fact that neither kota, irula, or badaga will slay a kurumba until a toda has struck the first blow, but, as soon as his sanctity has been violated by a blow, they hasten to complete the murderous work, which the sacred hand of the toda has begun." the badaga's dread of the kurumba is said to be so great that a simple threat of vengeance has proved fatal. my toda guide--a stalwart representative of his tribe--expressed fear of walking from ootacamund to kotagiri, a distance of eighteen miles along a highroad, lest he should come to grief at the hands of kurumbas; but this was really a frivolous excuse to get out of accompanying me to a distance from his domestic hearth. in like manner, dr. rivers records that, when he went to kotagiri, a toda who was to accompany him made a stipulation that he should be provided with a companion, as the kurambas were very numerous in that part. in connection with the toda legend of ön, who created the buffaloes and the todas, dr. rivers writes that "when ön saw that his son was in amnodr (the world of the dead), he did not like to leave him there alone, and decided to go away to the same place. so he called together all the people, and the buffaloes and the trees, to come and bid him farewell. all the people came except a man of kwodrdoni named arsankutan. he and his family did not come. all the buffaloes came except the arsaiir, the buffaloes of the kwodroni ti (sacred dairy). some trees also failed to come. ön blessed all the people, buffaloes and trees present, but said that, because arsankutan had not come, he and his people should die by sorcery at the hands of the kurumbas, and that, because the arsaiir had not come, they should be killed by tigers, and that the trees which had not come should bear bitter fruit. since that time the todas have feared the kurumbas, and buffaloes have been killed by tigers." on the nilgiri hills, honey-combs are collected by jen kurumbas and sholagas. the supply of honey varies according to the nature of the season, and is said to be especially plentiful and of good quality when strobilanthes flowers. [65] the kurumbas are said to have incredibly keen eye-sight, gained from constantly watching the bee to his hive. when they find a hive not quite ready to take, they place a couple of sticks in a certain position. this sign will prevent any other kurumba from taking the honey, and no badaga or other hillman would meddle with it on any account, for fear of being killed by sorcery. fortified by a liberal allowance of alcohol and tobacco, the kurumbas, armed with bamboo torches, will follow up at night the tracks of a wounded 'bison' (bos gaurus), and bring back the head and meat to camp. a european sportsman recounts that he has often seen his kurumba shikari (tracker) stop, and, with the one word "honey," point to the top of an adjacent tree. "how do you know?" he asked, "oh! i saw a bee" was the answer given with the greatest nonchalance. on one occasion he found himself close to a swarm of bees. the kurumba, seeing him hesitate, thrust his stick clean through the swarm, and, with the bare remark "no honey," marched on. the district forest officer, when out shooting, had an easy shot at a stag, and missed it. "there," said the kurumba, pointing to a distant tree, "is your bullet." his trained sense of hearing no doubt enabled him to locate the sound of the bullet striking the tree, and his eyes, following the sound, instantly detected the slight blaze made by the bullet on the bark. the visual acuity of a number of tribes and castes inhabiting the mountains, jungles, and plains, has been determined by dr. w. h. r. rivers and myself, by means of the cohn letter e method. and, though the jungle man, who has to search for his food and mark the tracks or traces of wild beasts, undoubtedly possesses a specially trained keenness of vision for the exigencies of his primitive life, our figures show that, as regards ordinary visual acuity, he has no advantage over the more highly civilised classes. "the kurumbas of the mysore forests," mr. theobald writes, "make fire by friction. they follow the same method as the todas, as described by mr. thurston, but never use the powdered charcoal in the cavity of the horizontal piece of wood which is held down by their feet, or by a companion. the fine brown powder, formed during the rotation of the longer vertical piece, gives sufficient tinder, which soon ignites, and is then placed on a small piece of cotton rag, rolled loosely, and gently blown until it is ignited. the vertical stick is held between the palms, and has a reciprocal motion, by the palms being moved in opposite directions, at the same time using a strong downward pressure, which naturally brings the palms to the bottom, when they are at once raised to their original position, and the operation continued till the naturally formed tinder ignites." in his report on forest administration in coorg, 1902-1903, mr. c. d'a. mccarthy writes as follows concerning the kurumbas, who work for the forest department. "we experienced in connection with the kurumbas one of those apparent aberrations of sense and intellect, the occurrence of which amongst this peculiar race was foreshadowed in the last report. the chief commissioner is aware that, in the interests of the kurubas themselves, we substitute for a single cash payment distributions to the same value of food-grains, clothes and cash, in equal proportions of each. now, seventy years ago, before the annexation of coorg, the kurubas and similar castes were prædial slaves of the dominant coorgs, receiving no other remuneration for service than food and clothing. in fact, this institution, nothing less than real slavery, was not entirely broken up until the great demand for local labour created by the opening up of the country for coffee cultivation so late as 1860-1870, so that the existing generation are still cognisant of the old state of affairs. last year, during the distribution of rewards for the successful protection of the reserves that season from fire, it seems that the idea was put into the heads of these people that our system of remuneration, which includes the distribution of food and clothing, was an attempt to create again at their expense a system of, as it were, forest slavery; with the result that for a time nothing would induce many of them to accept any form of remuneration for the work already performed, much less to undertake the same duties for the approaching season. it was some time, and after no little trouble, that the wherefore of this strange conduct was discovered, and the suspicions aroused put at rest." in his report, 1904-1905, mr. mccarthy states that "the local system of fire protection, consisting of the utilisation of the kuruba jungle population for the clearing of fire lines and patrolling, and the payment of rewards according to results, may now be said to be completely established in coorg. the kurubas appear to have gained complete confidence in the working of the system, and, provided the superior officers personally see to the payment of the rewards, are evidently quite satisfied that the deductions for failures are just and fair." the kurumbas are said to have been very useful in the mining operations during the short life of the wynad gold-mines. a few years ago, i received the skulls of two kurumbas, who went after a porcupine into a deserted tunnel on the glenrock gold-mining company's land in the wynad. the roof fell in on them, and they were buried alive. in a note on the 'ethnogénie des dravidiens', [66] mr. louis lapicque writes as follows. "les populations caractéristiques du wainaad sont les panyer, les négroides les plus accusés et les plus homogenes que j'ai vus, et probablement qui existent dans toute l'inde. d'autre part, les tribus vivant de leur côté sur leurs propres cultures, fortement négroides encore, mais plus mélangées. tels sont les naiker et les kouroumbas." ===================+==========+=============+======== ==== | indice | indice | | nasal. | céphalique. | taille. ===================+==========+=============+======== 54 panyer | 84 | 74 | 154 28 kouroumbas | 81 | 75 | 157 12 naiker | 80 | 76.9 | 157 ===================+==========+=============+======== concerning nayakas or naikers and kurumbas, mr. f. w. f. fletcher writes to me as follows from nellakotta, nilgiris. "it may be that in some parts of wynaad there are people known indifferently as kurumbas and shola nayakas; but i have no hesitation in saying that the nayakas in my employ are entirely distinct from the kurumbas. the two classes do not intermarry; they do not live together; they will not eat together. even their prejudices with regard to food are different, for a kurumba will eat bison flesh, and a nayaka will not. the latter stoutly maintains that he is entirely distinct from, and far superior to, the kurumba, and would be grievously offended if he were classed as a kurumba. the religious ceremonies of the two tribes are also different. the nayakas have separate temples, and worship separate gods. the chief kurumba temple in this part of the country is close to pandalur, and here, especially at the bishu feast, the kurumbas gather in numbers. my nayakas do not recognise this temple, but have their place of worship in the heart of the jungle, where they make their puja (worship) under the direction of their own priest. the nayakas will not attend the funeral of a kurumba; nor will they invite kurumbas to the funeral of one of their own tribe. there is a marked variation in their modes of life. the kurumba of this part lives in comparatively open country, in the belt of deciduous forest lying between the ghats proper and the foot of the nilgiri plateau. here he has been brought into contact with european planters, and is, comparatively speaking, civilised. the nayaka has his habitat in the dense jungle of the ghats, and is essentially a forest nomad, living on honey, jungle fruits, and the tuberous roots of certain jungle creepers. by constant association with myself, my nayaka men have lost the fear of the white man, which they entertained when i first came into the district; but even now, if i visit the village of a colony who reside in the primæval forest, the women and children will hide themselves in the jungle at sight of me. the superstitions of the two tribes are different. some nayakas are credited with the power of changing themselves at will into a tiger, and of wreaking vengeance on their enemies in that guise. and the kurumba holds the nayaka in as much awe as other castes hold the kurumba. lower down, on the flat below the ghats i am opening a rubber estate, and here i have another nayaka colony, who differ in many respects from their congeners above, although the two colonies are within five miles as the crow flies. the low-country nayaka does his hair in a knot on one side of his head, malayalam fashion, and his speech is a patois of malayalam. the nayaka on the hills above has a mop of curly hair, and speaks a dialect of his own quite distinct from the kurumba language, though both are derived from kanarese. but that the low-country people are merely a sept of the nayaka tribe is evident from the fact that intermarriage is common amongst the two colonies, and that they meet at the same temple for their annual puja. the priest of the hill colony is the pujari for both divisions of the nayakas, and the arbiter in all their disputes." kurumo.--the kurumos are a caste of oriya agriculturists, found mainly in the russellkonda taluk of ganjam. they are called kurumo by oriyas, and kudumo by telugus. there is a tradition that their name is derived from srikurmam in the vizagapatam district, where they officiated as priests in the siva temple, and whence they were driven northward. the kurumos say that, at the present day, some members of the caste are priests at saivite temples in ganjam, bear the title ravulo, and wear the sacred thread. it is noted in the madras census report, 1901, that "some of them wear the sacred thread, and follow chaitanya, and oriya brahmans will accept drinking-water at their hands. they will eat in brahmans' houses, and will accept drinking-water from gaudos, bhondaris, and ravulos." bhondaris wash the feet of kurumos on ceremonial occasions, and, in return for their services, receive twice the number of cakes given to other guests at feasts. in addition to the kurumos proper, there is a section called kuji kurumo, which is regarded as lower in the social status. the caste titles are bissoyi, behara, dudi, majhi, nayako, podhano, ravulo, ravuto, senapati, and udhdhandra. those who bear the title dudi are priests at the temples of the village deities. the title udhdhandra was conferred by a zamindar, and is at present borne by a number of families, intermarriage among members of which is forbidden. every village has a headman entitled adhikari, who is under the control of a chief headman called behara. both these appointments are hereditary. among other deities, the kurumos worship various takuranis (village deities), such as bodo ravulo, bagha devi, kumbeswari, and sathabhavuni. in some places, there are certain marriage restrictions based on the house-gods. for example, a family whose house-god is bodo ravulo may not intermarry with another family which worships the same deity. every family of kurumos apparently keeps the house-god within the house, and it is worshipped on all important occasions. the god is usually represented by five areca nuts, which are kept in a box. these nuts must be filled with pieces of gold, silver, iron, copper, and lead, which are introduced through a hole drilled in the base of the nut, which is plugged with silver. infant marriage is the rule, and, if a girl does not secure a husband before she reaches maturity, she has to go through the mock-marriage rite, called dharma bibha, with her grandfather or other elder. on the evening of the day previous to that of the real marriage, called gondo sona, the paternal aunt of the bridegroom goes to a tank (pond), carrying thither a brass vessel. this is placed on the tank bund (embankment), and worshipped. some cowry (cypræa arabica) shells are then thrown into the tank, and the vessel is filled with water, and taken to the house. at the entrance thereto, a sullokhondia gaudo stands, holding a vessel of water, from which a little water is poured into the vessel brought from the tank. the bride's aunt then goes to three or five houses of members of her own caste, and receives water therefrom in her vessel, which is placed near the house-gods, and eventually kept on the marriage dais throughout the wedding ceremonies. over the marriage dais (bedi) at the bridegroom's house, four brass vessels, and four clay lamps fed with ghi (clarified butter), are placed at the four corners. round the four posts thereof seven turns of thread are made by a brahman purohit. the bridegroom, wearing mokkuto (forehead chaplet) and sacred thread, after going seven times round the dais, breaks the thread, and takes his seat thereon. after zizyphus jujuba leaves and rice have been thrown over him, he is taken in procession to a temple. on his return home, he is met by five or seven young girls and women at the entrance to the house, and zizyphus leaves are again thrown over him. a bhondari woman sprinkles water from mango leaves over him, and he proceeds in a palanquin to the home of the bride. at the marriage ceremony, the bride throws rice on the head of the bridegroom over a screen which is interposed between them. after their hands have been tied together, a grinding-stone and roller are placed between them, and they face each other while their fingers are linked together above the stone. on the seventh day, the newly married couple worship seven posts at the bride's house. the various articles used in connection with the marriage ceremonies, except one pot, are thrown into a tank. on his return thence, the bridegroom breaks the pot, after he has been sprinkled with the water contained in it by a bhondari. at times of marriage, and on other auspicious occasions, the kurumos, when they receive their guests, must take hold of their sticks or umbrellas, and it is regarded as an insult if this is not done. on the fifth and eighth days after the birth of a child, a new cloth is spread on the floor, on which the infant is placed, with a book (bagavatham) close to its head, and an iron rod, such as is used by oriya castes for branding the skin of the abdomen of newly-born babies, at its side. the relations and friends assemble to take part in the ceremonial, and a brahman purohit reads a puranam. betel leaves and areca nuts are then distributed. on the twenty-first day, the ceremonial is repeated, and the purohit is asked to name the child. he ascertains the constellation under which it was born, and announces that a name commencing with a certain letter should be given to it. like other oriya castes, the kurumos are particular with regard to the observation of various vratams (fasts). one, called sudasa vratam, is observed on a thursday falling on the tenth day after new moon in the month of karthika (november-december). the most elderly matron of the house does puja (worship), and a puranam is read. seven cubits of a thread dyed with turmeric are measured on the forearm of a girl seven years old, and cut off. the deity is worshipped, and seven knots are made in the piece of thread, which is tied on to the left upper arm of the matron. this vratam is generally observed by oriya castes. kurup.--in a note on the artisan classes of malabar, it is recorded [67] that "the kolla-kurups combine two professions which at first sight seem strangely incongruous, shampooing or massage, and the construction of the characteristic leather shields of malabar. but the two arts are intimately connected with the system of combined physical training, as we should now call it, and exercise in arms, which formed the curriculum of the kalari (gymnasium), and the title kurup is proper to castes connected with that institution. a similar combination is found in the vil-kurups (bow-kurups), whose traditional profession was to make bows and arrows, and train the youth to use them, and who now shampoo, make umbrellas, and provide bows and arrows for some nayar ceremonies. other classes closely connected are the kollans or kurups distinguished by the prefixes chaya (colour), palissa (shield), and tol (leather), who are at present engaged in work in lacquer, wood, and leather." kurup also occurs as a title of nayars, in reference to the profession of arms, and many of the families bearing this title are said [68] to still maintain their kalari. kuruvikkaran.--the kuruvikkarans are a class of marathi-speaking bird-catchers and beggars, who hunt jackals, make bags out of the skin, and eat the flesh thereof. by telugu people they are called nakkalavandlu (jackal people), and by tamilians kuruvikkaran (bird-catchers). they are also called jangal jati and kattu mahrati. among themselves they are known as vagiri or vagirivala. they are further known as yeddu marige vetagandlu, or hunters who hide behind a bullock. in decoying birds, they conceal themselves behind a bullock, and imitate the cries of birds in a most perfect manner. they are said to be called in hindustani paradhi and mir shikari. as regards their origin, there is a legend that there were once upon a time three brothers, one of whom ran away to the mountains, and, mixing with kanna kuruvans, became degraded. his descendants are now represented by the dommaras. the descendants of the second brother are the lambadis, and those of the third kuruvikkarans. the lowly position of these three classes is attributed to the fact that the three brothers, when wandering about, came across sita, the wife of rama, about whose personal charms they made remarks, and laughed. this made sita angry, and she uttered the following curse:--"malitho shikar, naitho bhikar," i.e., if (birds) are found, huntsmen; if not, beggars. according to a variant of the legend, [69] many years ago in rajputana there lived two brothers, the elder of whom was dull, and the younger smart. one day they happened to be driving a bullock along a path by the side of a pool of water, when they surprised sita bathing. the younger brother hid behind his bullock, but the elder was too stupid to conceal himself, and so both were observed by the goddess, who was much annoyed, and banished them to southern india. the elder she ordered to live by carrying goods about the country on pack-bullocks, and the younger to catch birds by means of two snares, which she obligingly formed from hair plucked from under her arm. consequently the vagirivalas never shave that portion of the body. the kuruvikkarans are nomadic, and keep pack-bullocks, which convey their huts and domestic utensils from place to place. some earn their living by collecting firewood, and others by acting as watchmen in fields and gardens. women and children go about the streets begging, and singing songs, which are very popular, and imitated by hindu women. they further earn a livelihood by hawking needles and glass beads, which they may be seen in the evening purchasing from kayalans (muhammadan merchants) in the madras bazar. one of the occupations of the kuruvikkarans is the manufacture and sale of spurious jackal horns, known as narikompu. to catch the jackals, they make an enclosure of a net, inside which a man seats himself, armed with a big stick. he then proceeds to execute a perfect imitation of the jackal's cry, on hearing which the jackals come running to see what is the matter, and are beaten down. a kuruvikkaran, whom the rev. e. löventhal interviewed, howled like a jackal, to show his skill as a mimic. the cry was quite perfect, and no jackal would have doubted that he belonged to their class. sometimes the entire jackal's head is sold, skin and all. the process of manufacture of the horn is as follows. after the brain has been removed, the skin is stripped off a limited area of the skull, and the bone at the place of junction of the sagittal and lambdoid sutures above the occipital foramen is filed away, so that only a point, like a bony outgrowth, is left. the skin is then brought back, and pressed over the little horn, which pierces it. the horn is also said to be made out of the molar tooth of a dog or jackal, introduced through a small hole in a piece of jackal's skin, round which a little blood or turmeric paste is smeared, to make it look more natural. in most cases only the horn, with a small piece of skull and skin, is sold. sometimes, instead of the skin from the part where the horn is made, a piece of skin is taken from the snout, where the long black hairs are. the horn then appears surrounded by long black bushy hairs. the kuruvikkarans explain that, when they see a jackal with such long hairs on the top of its head, they know that it possesses a horn. a horn-vendor, whom i interviewed, assured me that the possessor of a horn is a small jackal, which comes out of its hiding-place on full-moon nights to drink the dew. according to another version, the horn is only possessed by the leader of a pack of jackals. the sinhalese and tamils alike regard the horn "as a talisman, and believe that its fortunate possessor can command the realisation of every wish. those who have jewels to conceal rest in perfect security if, along with them, they can deposit a narricomboo." [70] the ayah (nurse) of a friend who possessed such a talisman remarked "master going into any law-court, sure to win the case." this, as has been pointed out, does not show much faith in the british administration of justice, if a so-called jackal's horn can turn the scale. two spurious horns, which i possessed, were promptly stolen from my study table, to bring luck to some tamil member of my establishment. some kuruvikkarans carry suspended from their turban or body-cloth a small whistle, with which they imitate the song of birds, and attract them. young boys often have with them a bundle of small sticks strung together, and with a horse-hair noose attached to them. the sticks are driven into the ground, and grain is strewn around to entice birds, which get caught in the noose. the women wear a petticoat and an ill-fitting bodice. among other classes "wearing the bodice like a kuruvikkaran woman" is used as a taunt. the petticoat may never be taken off till it is tattered and torn, and replaced by a new one; and, when a woman bathes, she has to do so with the garment on. anything which has come in contact with the petticoat, or rice husked with a woman's feet, is polluted, and may not be used by men. women adorn themselves with necklaces of beads and cowry shells, or sometimes, like the lambadis, wear shell bracelets. both men and women stain their teeth with a preparation of myrabolams, acacia arabica pods, and sulphates of copper and iron. females may not blacken their teeth, or wear a necklace of black beads before marriage. a young married woman, wherever she may be during the daytime, must rejoin her husband at night. if she fails to do so, she has to go through the ordeal of grasping a red-hot iron bar or sickle, and carrying it sixteen paces without dropping it. another form of ordeal is dipping the hands in a pot containing boiling cowdung water, and picking out therefrom a quarter-anna piece. if the woman is innocent, she is able to husk a small quantity of paddy (rice) by rubbing it between her hands immediately after the immersion in the liquid. if a man has to submit to trial by ordeal, seven arka (calotropis gigantea) leaves are tied to his palm, and a piece of red-hot iron placed thereon. his innocence is established if he is able to carry it while he takes seven long strides. the kuruvikkarans have exogamous septs, of which ranaratod seems to be an important one, taking a high place in the social scale. males usually add the title sing as a suffix to their names. marriage is always between adults, and the celebration, including the betrothal ceremony, extends over five days, during which meat is avoided, and the bride keeps her face concealed by throwing her cloth over it. sometimes she continues to thus veil herself for a short time after marriage. on the first day, after the exchange of betel, the father of the bride says "are you ready to receive my daughter as your daughter-in-law into your house? i am giving her to your son. take care of her. do not beat her when she is ill. if she cannot carry water, you should help her. if you beat her, or ill-treat her in any way, she will come back to us." the future father-in-law having promised that the girl will be kindly treated, the bridegroom says "i am true, and have not touched any other woman. i have not smiled at any girl whom i have seen. your daughter should not smile at any man whom she sees. if she does so, i shall drive her back to your house." in the course of the marriage ceremonies, the bride is taken to the home of her mother-in-law, to whom she makes a present of a new cloth. the nyavya (headman) hands a string of black beads to the mother-in-law, who ties it round the bride's neck, while the assembled women sing. at a marriage of the first daughter of a member of the ranaratod sept, a brahman purohit is invited to be present, and give his blessing, as it is believed that a gujarati brahman was originally employed for the marriage celebration. the principal tribal deity of the kuruvikkarans is kali or durga, and each sept possesses a small plate with a figure of the goddess engraved on it, which is usually kept in the custody of the headman. it is, however, frequently pledged, and money-lenders give considerable sums on the security of the idol, as the kuruvikkarans would on no account fail to redeem it. when the time for the annual festival of the goddess draws nigh, the headman or an elder piles up vigna catiang seeds in five small heaps. he then decides in his mind whether there is an odd or even number of seeds in the majority of heaps. if, when the seeds are counted, the result agrees with his forecast, it is taken as a sign of the approval of the goddess, and arrangements are made for the festival. otherwise it is abandoned for the year. on the day of the festival, nine goats and a buffalo are sacrificed. while some cakes are being cooked in oil, a member of the tribe prays that the goddess will descend on him, and, taking some of the cakes out of the boiling liquid, with his palm rubs the oil on his head. he is then questioned by those assembled, to whom he gives oracular replies, after sucking the blood from the cut throat of a goat. it is noted in the north arcot manual that the vagirivalas assemble two or three times in the year at varadareddipalli for worship. the objects of this are three saktis called mahan kali, chamundi, and mahammayi, represented by small silver figures, which are mortgaged to a reddi of the village, and lent by him during the few days of the festival. kusa.--a sub-division of holeyas in south canara, who also call themselves uppara. some of them say that they are the same as upparas of mysore, whose hereditary occupation was the manufacture of salt from salt-earth (ku, earth). kusa further occurs as a synonym of the otattu, or tile-making section of the nayars, and kusa maran as a class of potters in travancore. kusa is also an exogamous sept of the boyas. kusavan.--the kusavans are the tamil potters. "the name," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [71] "is said to be derived from the sanskrit word ku signifying earth, the material in which they work, and avan, a personal termination. they wear the sacred thread, and profess both saivism and vaishnavism. their ceremonials are somewhat like those of the vellalas. the eating of flesh is permitted, but not widow marriage. some have priests of their own caste, while others employ brahmans. kusavans sometimes officiate as pujaris in pidari temples. their titles are udayan and velan. their stupidity and ignorance are proverbial." at times of census, kulalan has been returned as a synonym of kusavan, and kusavan as an occupational division of paraiyans. the kusavans are divided into the territorial sections chola, chera, and pandya, and say that "these are descended from the three sons of their original ancestor kulalan, who was the son of brahma. he prayed to brahma to be allowed, like him, to create and destroy things daily; so brahma made him a potter." [72] in ancient days, the potters made the large pyriform sepulchral urns, which have, in recent times, been excavated in tinnevelly, madura, malabar, and elsewhere. dr. g. u. pope shows [73] that these urns are mentioned in connection with the burial of heroes and kings as late as the eighth century a.d., and renders one of the tamil songs bearing on the subject as follows:- "oh! potter chief ... what toil hath befallen thee! the descendant of the cora kings.... hath gained the world of gods. and so 'tis thine to shape an urn so vast that it shall cover the remains of such an one." the legend concerning the origin of the potter classes is narrated in the article on kummaras. "it is," mr. e. holder writes, [74] "supposed by themselves that they are descended from a brahmin father and sudra mother, for the sacrificial earthen vessels, which are now made by them, were, according to the vedas, intended to be made by the priests themselves. some of the potters still wear the sacred thread, like the kammalars or artisan class. they are generally illiterate, though some of their class have earned distinction as sound scholars, especially of late years. the women assist the men in their work, chiefly where delicacy of execution is needed. on the whole, the potters are a poor class compared with the kammalar class, which includes jewellers, metal-workers and wood-workers. their occupation is, on that account, somewhat despised by others." the potter's apparatus is described by monier williams [75] as "a simple circular horizontal well-balanced fly-wheel, generally two or three feet in diameter, which can be made to rotate for two or three minutes by a slight impulse. this the potter loads with clay, and then, with a few easy sweeps and turns of his hands, he moulds his material into beautiful curves and symmetrical shapes, and leaves the products of his skill to bake in the sun." by mr. holder the apparatus is described as follows. "the potter's implements are few, and his mode of working is very simple. the wheel, a clumsily constructed and defective apparatus, is composed of several thin pliable pieces of wood or bamboo, bent and tied together in the form of a wheel about 3 1/2 feet in diameter. this is covered over thickly with clay mixed with goat's hair or any fibrous substance. the four spokes and the centre on which the vessel rests are of wood. the pivot is of hard wood or steel. the support for the wheel consists of a rounded mass of clay and goat's hair, in which is imbedded a piece of hard wood or stone, with one or two slight depressions for the axle or pivot to move in. the wheel is set into motion first by the hand, and then spun rapidly by the aid of a long piece of bamboo, one end of which fits into a slight depression in the wheel. the defects in the apparatus are--firstly its size, which requires the potter to stoop over it in an uneasy attitude; secondly, the irregularity of its speed, with a tendency to come to a standstill, and to wave or wobble in its motion; and thirdly, the time and labour expended in spinning the wheel afresh every time its speed begins to slacken. notwithstanding, however, the rudeness of this machine, the potters are expert at throwing, and some of their small wares are thin and delicate. the usual manner in which most of the madras potters bake their wares is as follows. a circular space, about ten feet in diameter, is marked out on the ground in any convenient open spot. small pieces of wood and dried sticks are spread over this space to a depth of about six inches, and a layer of brattis (dried cow-dung cakes) laid over the sticks. the vessels are then carefully piled on top of this platform of fuel to a height of about five or six feet, and the whole heap is covered over with straw, and plastered over with clay, a few small openings being left here and there to allow the smoke to escape. these arrangements being completed, the fuel at the bottom is fired, and in the course of a few hours the process of baking is completed." when travelling in india, dr. jagor noticed that the potters of salem communicated to their ware a kind of polish, exactly like that seen on some of the specimens of antique pottery found in cromlechs. it was ascertained that the salem potters use a seed for producing the polish, which was determined by surgeon-general g. bidie to be the seed of gyrocarpus jacquini, which is also used for making rosaries and necklaces. another method employed for producing a polish is to rub the surface of the baked vessel with the mucilaginous juice of tuthi (abutilon indicum), and then fire the vessel again. it is stated, in the coimbatore manual, that "the potter never begins his day's work at the wheel without forming into a lingam and saluting the revolving lump of clay, which, with the wheel, bears a strong resemblance to the usual sculptured conjunction" (of lingam and yoni). an old potter woman, whom i examined on this point, explained that the lump represents ganesa. in like manner, the pan coolies at the salt factories never scrape salt from the pans without first making a pillayar (ganesa) of a small heap of salt, on the top of which the salt is sometimes piled up. painted hollow clay images are made by special families of kusavans known as pujari, who, for the privilege of making them, have to pay an annual fee to the headman, who spends it on a festival at the caste temple. when a married couple are anxious to have female offspring, they take a vow to offer figures of the seven virgins, who are represented all seated in a row. if a male or female recovers from cholera, small-pox, or other severe illness, a figure of the corresponding sex is offered. a childless woman makes a vow to offer up the figure of a baby, if she brings forth offspring. figures of animals--cattle, sheep, horses, etc.--are offered at the temple when they recover from sickness, or are recovered after they have been stolen. the pupils of the eyes of the figures are not painted in till they are taken to the temple, where offerings of fruit, rice, etc., are first made. even the pupils of a series of these images, which were specially made for me, were not painted at the potter's house, but in the verandah of the traveller's bungalow where i was staying. horses made of clay, hollow and painted red and other colours, are set up in the fields to drive away demons, or as a thank-offering for recovery from sickness or any piece of good luck. the villagers erect these horses in honour of the popular deity ayanar, the guardian deity of the fields, who is a renowned huntsman, and is believed, when, with his two wives purna and pushkala, he visits the village at night, to mount the horses, and ride down the demons. ayanar is said to be "the special deity of the caste. kusavans are generally the pujaris in his temples, and they make the earthenware (and brick and mortar) horses and images, which are placed before these buildings." [76] for the following note on a ceremony, in which the potters take part, i am indebted to an essay submitted in connection with the m.a. degree of the madras university. "brahmans of vedic times ate dogs, horses, bulls, and goats. the fondness for mutton even in a raw state finds its modern counterpart in the bloody hecatombs that disfigure some of their annual sacrifices. in these ceremonies called pasubandha, agnishtoma, vajapeya, garudachayana, etc., a goat is tied to a post, and, after the usual mantrams (prayers) and the service of frankincense, etc., is ablutioned in water mixed with turmeric and taken to the slaughter-room. and the method of slaughtering is most appalling. two men appointed for the purpose, invariably men belonging to the pot-making community, rush into the apartment. one catches hold of the fore-quarter of the animal and keeps it from struggling, while the other squeezes the scrotum with so much violence that the animal succumbs in a few minutes, after writhing in the most painful fashion. the man in charge of the fore-quarter puts a handful of salt into the animal's mouth, and holds it tight, lest the animal should bleat, and make the ceremony unsanctimonious. the carcase is now brought to the mailing shed, where, with crude knives and untrained hands, the brahmans peel off the skin most savagely. then they cut open the chest, and it is a common sight to see these brahmans, uninitiated in the art of butchery, getting their hands severely poked or lacerated by the cut sharp ends of the ribs. then portions of flesh are cut off from various portions of the carcase, such as the buccal region, the cardiac region, the scapular region, the renal, the scrotal, the gluteal and gastroenemial regions. the amount of flesh thus chopped comes to not less than three big potfuls, and they are cooked in water over the slow fire of a primitively constructed oven. no salt is put to season the meat, but the brahmans bolt it without any condiment in an awful fashion." the services of the potter are required in connection with the marriage ceremonial of many castes. at some brahman marriages, for example, the tali is tied on the bride's neck in the presence of 33 crores (330 millions) of gods, who are represented by a number of variously coloured pots, large and small. at a lingayat wedding, new pots are brought with much shouting, and deposited in the room in which the household god is kept. an enclosure is made round the bride and bridegroom with cotton thread passed round four pots placed at the four corners of the marriage pandal. among the patnulkarans, on the occasion of a wedding, a number of small pots are set up in a room, and worshipped daily throughout the marriage ceremonies. the ceremonial of breaking a pot containing water at the graveside prevails among many classes, e.g., oddes, toreyas, and paraiyans. at the time of the aruvaththimuvar festival, or festival of the sixty-three saints, at mylapore in the city of madras, crowds may be seen returning homeward after attending it, each carrying a new pot (chatty), which they purchase so as not to go home empty-handed. at the festival of tiruvottiyur, stalks of amarantus gangeticus are in like manner purchased. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the madura district, that "a kusavan can claim the hand of his paternal aunt's daughter. marriage occurs before puberty. the tali is tied by the bridegroom's sister, and the usual bride-price is paid. the ceremonies last three days. one of them consists in the bridegroom's sister sowing seeds in a pot, and, on the last day of the wedding, the seedlings which have sprouted are taken with music to a river or tank (pond), and thrown into it. when the bride attains maturity, a ceremony is conducted by the caste priest, and consummation follows on the next auspicious day." among the kusavans, divorce and remarriage are permissible on mutual agreement, on one party paying to the other the expenses of the latter's original marriage (parisam). a case came before the high court of madras, [77] in which a kusavan woman in the tinnevelly district, on the ground of ill-treatment, repaid her husband the parisam, thereby dissolving the marriage, and married another man. the potters are considered to be adepts in the treatment of cases of fracture. and it is still narrated how one of them successfully set in splints the broken arm of lord elphinstone, when governor of madras, after the english doctors had given up the job as hopeless. [78] "in our village," it is recorded, [79] "cases of dislocations of bones and fractures, whether simple, compound, comminuted or complicated, are taken in hand by the bone-setters, who are no other than our potters. the village barber and the village potter are our surgeons. while the barber treats cases of boils, wounds, and tumours, the potter confines himself to cases of fracture and dislocations of bones." the amateur treatment by the unqualified potter sometimes gives rise to what is known as potter's gangrene. for the notes of the following case i am indebted to captain f. f. elwes, i.m.s. a bricklayer, about a month and a half or two months prior to admission into hospital, fell from a height, and injured his left arm. he went to a potter, who placed the arm and forearm in a splint, the former in a line with the latter, i.e., fully extended. he kept the splint on for about a month and, when it was removed, found that he was unable to bend the arm at the elbow-joint. when he was examined at the hospital, practically no movement, either active or passive, could be obtained at the elbow-joint. the lower end of the humerus could be felt to be decidedly thickened both anteriorly and posteriorly. there had apparently been a fracture of the lower end of the humerus. röntgen ray photographs showed an immense mass of callus extending over the anterior surface of the elbow-joint from about two and a half inches above the lower end of the humerus to about an inch below the elbow-joint. there was also some callus on the posterior surface of the lower end of the humerus. concerning potter's gangrene, captain w. j. niblock, i.m.s., writes as follows. [80] "cases of gangrene, the result of treatment of fractures by the village potters, used to be frequently met with in the general hospital, madras. these were usually brought when the only possible treatment consisted in amputation well above the disease. two of these cases are indelibly impressed on my mind. both were cases of gangrene of the leg, the result of tight splinting by potters. the first patient was a boy of thirteen. whilst a student was removing the dressings on his admission, the foot came off in his hands, leaving two inches of the lower ends of the tibia and fibula exposed, and absolutely devoid of all the soft tissues, not even the periosteum being left. the second case was that of a hindu man, aged 46. he was taken to the operation theatre at once. whilst engaged in disinfecting my hands, i heard a dull thud on the floor of the operation theatre, turned round, and found that the gangrenous leg, as the result of a struggle whilst chloroform was being administered, had become separated at the knee-joint, and had fallen on floor; or, to put it tersely, the man had kicked his leg off." in connection with the tamil proverb "this is the law of my caste, and this is the law of my belly," the rev. h. jensen notes [81] that "potters are never vaishnavas; but potters at srirangam were compelled by the vaishnava brahmans to put the vaishnava mark on their foreheads; otherwise the brahmans would not buy their pots for the temple. one clever potter, having considered the difficulty, after making the saivite symbol on his forehead, put a big vaishnava mark on his stomach. when rebuked for so doing by a brahman, he replied as above." the proverb "does the dog that breaks the pots understand how difficult it is to pile them up?" is said by jensen to have reference to the pots which are piled up at the potter's house. a variant is "what is many days' work for the potter is but a few moment's work for him who breaks the pots." in the madura district, the kusavans have velan as a title. the insigne of the kusavans, recorded at conjeeveram, is a potter's wheel. [82] kutikkar.--a name for dasis in travancore. kutraki (wild goat).--an exogamous sept of jatapu. kuttadi.--described, in the census report, 1901, as an occupational name, meaning a rope-dancer, applied to dommaras, paraiyans, or koravas. arya kuttadi is a tamil synonym for maratha (are) dommaras. kuttadi also occurs as the name of a class of mendicants attached to kaikolans. kuttan.--a division of toda. kuttina.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. kuttiya.--a sub-division of kond. kuzhal.--the name of the flute used by shepherds and snake-charmers. it occurs as an exogamous sept of toreyas, the members of which must not hear the sound of this musical instrument when at meals. kuzhappara.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. kuzhiyan.--a synonym derived from kuzhi a pit, for thanda pulayans, in reference to the legend that they were found emerging in a state of nudity from a pit. l labbai.--the labbais are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as being "a musalman caste of partly tamil origin, the members of which are traders and betel vine (piper betle) growers. they seem to be distinct from the marakkayars, as they do not intermarry with them, and their tamil contains a much smaller admixture of arabic than that used by the marakkayars. in the tanjore district, the labbais are largely betel vine cultivators, and are called kodikkalkaran (betel vine people)." in the census report, 1881, the labbais are said to be "found chiefly in tanjore and madura. they are the mappilas of the coromandel coast, that is to say, converted dravidians, or hindus, with a slight admixture of arab blood. they are thrifty, industrious, and enterprising; plucky mariners, and expert traders. they emigrate to the straits settlements and burma without restriction." in the census report, 1891, they are described as "a mixed class of muhammadans, consisting partly of compulsory converts to islam made by the early muhammadan invaders and tippu sultan." as regards their origin, colonel wilks, the historian of mysore, writes as follows. [83] "about the end of the first century of the hejirah, or the early part of the eighth century a.d., hijaj ben gusaff, governor of irak, a monster abhorred for his cruelties even among musalmans, drove some persons of the house of hashem to the desperate resolution of abandoning for ever their native country. some of them landed on that part of the western coast of india called the concan, the others to the eastward of cape comorin. the descendants of the former are navaiyats, of the latter the labbai, a name probably given to them by the natives from that arabic particle (a modification of labbick) corresponding with the english 'here i am,' indicating attention on being spoken to [i.e., the response of the servant to the call of his master. a further explanation of the name is that the labbais were originally few in number, and were often oppressed by other muhammadans and hindus, to whom they cried labbek, or we are your servants]. another account says they are the descendants of the arabs, who, in the eleventh and and twelfth centuries, came to india for trade. these arabs were persecuted by the moghals, and they then returned to their country, leaving behind their children born of indian women. the word labbai seems to be of recent origin, for, in the tamil lexicons, this caste is usually known as sonagan, i.e., a native of sonagam (arabia), and this name is common at the present day. most of the labbais are traders; some are engaged in weaving corah (sedge) mats; and others in diving at the pearl and chank fisheries of the gulf of manaar. tamil is their home-speech, and they have furnished some fair tamil poets. in religion they are orthodox musalmans. their marriage ceremony, however, closely resembles that of the lower hindu castes, the only difference being that the former cite passages from the koran, and their females do not appear in public even during marriages. girls are not married before puberty. their titles are marakkayan (marakalar, boatmen), and ravuttan (a horse soldier). their first colony appears to have been kayalpatnam in the tinnevelly district." in the manual of the madura district, the labbais are described as "a fine, strong, active race, who generally contrive to keep themselves in easy circumstances. many of them live by traffic. many are smiths, and do excellent work as such. others are fishermen, boatmen, and the like. they are to be found in great numbers in the zamindaris, particularly near the sea-coast." concerning the use of a malay blow-gun (glorified pea-shooter) by the labbais of the madura district, dr. n. annandale writes as follows. [84] "while visiting the sub-division of ramnad in the coast of the madura district in 1905, i heard that there were, among the muhammadan people known locally as lubbais or labbis, certain men who made a livelihood by shooting pigeons with blow-guns. at kilakarai, a port on the gulf of manaar, i was able to obtain a specimen, as well as particulars. according to my labbi informants, the 'guns' are purchased by them in singapore from bugis traders, and brought to india. there is still a considerable trade, although diminished, between kilakarai and the ports of burma and the straits settlements. it is carried on entirely by muhammadans in native sailing vessels, and a large proportion of the musalmans of kilakarai have visited penang and singapore. it is not difficult to find among them men who can speak straits malay. the local name for the blow-gun is senguttan, and is derived in popular etymology from the tamil sen (above) and kutu (to stab). i have little doubt that it is really a corruption of the malay name of the weapon--sumpitan. the blow-gun which i obtained measures 189.6 cm. in length: its external diameter at the breech is 30mm., and at the other extremity 24 mm. the diameter of the bore, however, is practically the same throughout, viz., 12 mm. both ends are overlaid with tin, and the breech consists of a solid piece of tin turned on a lathe and pierced, the diameter of the aperture being the same as that of the bore. the solid tin measures 35 mm. in length, and is continuous with the foil which covers the base of the wooden tube. the tube itself is of very hard, heavy, dark wood, apparently that of a palm. it is smooth, polished and regular on its outer surface, and the bore is extremely true and even. at a distance of 126 mm. from the distal extremity, at the end of the foil which protects the tip of the weapon, a lump of mud is fixed on the tube as a 'sight.' the ornamentation of the weapon is characteristic, and shows that it must have been made in north borneo. it consists of rings, leaf-shaped designs with an open centre, and longitudinal bars, all inlaid with tin. the missiles used at kilakarai were not darts, but little pellets of soft clay worked with the fingers immediately before use. the use of pellets instead of darts is probably an indian makeshift. although a 'sight' is used in some bornean blow-guns, i was told, probably correctly, that the lump of mud on the kilakarai specimen had been added in india. i was told that it was the custom at kilakarai to lengthen the tin breech of the 'gun' in accordance with the capacity of the owner's lungs. he first tried the tube by blowing a pellet through it, and, if he felt he could blow through a longer tube, he added another piece of tin at the proximal end. the pellet is placed in the mouth, into which the butt of the tube is also introduced. the pellet is then worked into the tube with the tongue, and is propelled by a violent effort of the lungs. no wadding is used. aim is rendered inaccurate, in the first place by the heaviness of the tube, and secondly by the unsuitable nature of the missile." a toy blow-gun is also figured by dr. annandale, such as is used as a plaything by labbai boys, and consisting of a hollow cane with a piece of tinned iron twisted round the butt, and fastened by soldering the two ends together. i have received from the madura district a blowpipe consisting of a long black-japanned tin tube, like a billiard-cue case, with brass fittings and terminals. in connection with the dugong (halicore dugong), which is caught in the gulf of manaar, dr. annandale writes as follows. [85] "the presence of large glands in connection with the eye afforded some justification for the malay's belief that the dugong weeps when captured. they regard the tears of the ikandugong ('dugong fish') as a powerful love-charm. muhammadan fishermen on the gulf of manaar appeared to be ignorant of this usage, but told me that a 'doctor' once went out with them to collect the tears of a dugong, should they capture one. though they do not call the animal a fish, they are less particular about eating its flesh than are the patani malays and the trang samsams, who will not do so unless the 'fish's' throat has been cut in the manner orthodox for warm-blooded animals. the common tamil name for the dugong is kadalpudru ('sea-pig'); but the fishermen at kilakarai (lubbais) call it avilliah." concerning the labbais of the south arcot district, mr. w. francis writes as follows. [86] "the labbais are often growers of betel, especially round about nellikuppam, and they also conduct the skin trade of the district, are petty shop-keepers, and engage in commerce at the ports. their women are clever at weaving mats from the screw-pine (pandanus fascicularis), which grows so abundantly along the sandy shore of the bay of bengal. the labbais very generally wear a high hat of plaited coloured grass, and a tartan (kambayam) waist-cloth, and so are not always readily distinguishable in appearance from the marakkayars, but some of them use the hindu turban and waist-cloth, and let their womankind dress almost exactly like hindu women. in the same way, some labbais insist on the use of hindustani in their houses, while others speak tamil. there seems to be a growing dislike to the introduction of hindu rites into domestic ceremonies, and the processions and music, which were once common at marriages, are slowly giving place to a simpler ritual more in resemblance with the nikka ceremony of the musalman faith." in a note on the labbais of the north arcot district, [87] mr. h. a. stuart describes them as being "very particular muhammadans, and many belong to the wahabi section. adhering to the rule of the koran, most of them refuse to lend money at interest, but get over the difficulty by taking a share in the profits derived by others in their loans. they are, as a rule, well-to-do, and excellently housed. the first thing a labbai does is to build himself a commodious tiled building, and the next to provide himself with gay attire. they seem to have a prejudice against repairing houses, and prefer letting them go to ruin, and building new ones. the ordinary musalmans appear to entertain similar ideas on this point." some kodikkalkaran labbais have adopted hindu customs in their marriage ceremonies. thus a bamboo is set up as a milk-post, and a tali is tied round the neck of the bride while the nikkadiva is being read. in other respects, they practice muhammadan rites. concerning the labbais who have settled in the mysore province, i gather [88] that they are "an enterprising class of traders, settled in nearly all the large towns. they are vendors of hardware and general merchants, collectors of hides, and large traders in coffee produce, and generally take up any kind of lucrative business. it is noteworthy, as denoting the perseverance and pushing character of the race that, in the large village of gargesvari in tirumakudlu, narsipur taluk, the labbes have acquired by purchase or otherwise large extents of river-irrigated lands, and have secured to themselves the leadership among the villagers within a comparatively recent period." for the purpose of the education of labbai and marakkayar children, the koran and other books have been published in the tamil language, but with arabic characters. concerning these arab-tamil books i gather that "when a book thus written is read, it is hardly possible to say that it is tamil--it sounds like arabic, and the guttural sounds of certain words have softened down into arabic sounds. certain words, mostly of religious connection, have been introduced, and even words of familiar daily use. for instance, a labbai would not use the familiar word annai for brother, tagappan for father, or chithammai for aunt, but would call such relatives bhai, bava, and khula. since the books are written in arabic characters, they bear a religious aspect. the labbai considers it a sacred and meritorious duty to publish them, and distribute them gratis among the school-going children. a book so written or printed is called a kitab, rather than its tamil equivalent pustagam, and is considered sacred. it commands almost the same respect as the koran itself, in regard to which it has been commanded 'touch not with unclean hands.' a book of a religious nature, written or printed in tamil characters, may be left on the ground, but a kitab of even secular character will always be placed on a rihal or seat, and, when it falls to the ground, it is kissed and raised to the forehead. the origin of this literature may be traced to kayalpatnam, melapalayam, and other important labbai towns in the tinnevelly district." the following rendering of the second kalima will serve as an example of arab-tamil. ladaf.--recorded, at the census, 1901, as a synonym of dudekula. a corruption of nad-daf (a cotton-dresser). ladar.--it is noted, in the mysore census report, 1901, that "the ladars are a class of general merchants, found chiefly in the cities, where they supply all kinds of stores, glass-ware, etc." i gather [89] that the "lad or suryavaunshi vanis say that they are the children of surya, the sun. they are said to have come from benares to maisur under pressure of famine about 700 years ago. but their caste name seems to show that their former settlement was not in benares, but in south gujarat or lat desh. they are a branch of the lad community of maisur, with whom they have social intercourse. they teach their boys to read and write kanarese, and succeed as traders in grain, cloth, and groceries." lala.--the names of some bondilis, or immigrants from bandelkand, who have settled in the north arcot district and other localities, terminate with lala. lala also occurs as a synonym for kayasth, the writer caste of bengal, immigrants from northern india, who have settled in madras, where there are a number of families. "in madras," mr. s. m. natesa sastri informs us, [90] "the mahrattas and lalas--mostly non-brahman--observe the holi feast with all sorts of hideousness. the youngsters of the lala sect make, in each house or in common for a whole street, an image of holika, sing obscene songs before it, offer sweetmeats, fruits and other things in mock worship of the image, exchange horseplay compliments by syringing coloured water on each other's clothes, and spend the whole period of the feast singing, chatting, and abusing. indecent language is allowed to be indulged in during the continuance of this jolly occasion. at about 1 a.m. on the full moon day, the image of holika is burnt, and children sit round the embers, and beat their mouths, making a mock mourning sound. tender children are swung over the fire for a second by the fond mothers, and this is believed to remove all kinds of danger from the babies." laligonda.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as lingayats, consisting of canarese-speaking kapus or vakkaligas. lambadi.--the lambadis are also called lambani, brinjari or banjari, boipari, sugali or sukali. by some sugali is said to be a corruption of supari (betel nut), because they formerly traded largely therein. [91] "the banjaras," mr. g. a. grierson writes, [92] "are the well-known tribe of carriers who are found all over western and southern india. [93] one of their principal sub-castes is known under the name of labhani, and this name (or some related one) is often applied to the whole tribe. the two names appear each under many variations, such as banjari, vanjari, brinjari, labhani, labani, labana, lambadi, and lambani. the name banjara and its congeners is probably derived from the sanskrit vanijyakarakas, a merchant, through the prakrit vanijjaarao, a trader. the derivation of labhani or labani, etc., is obscure. it has been suggested that it means salt carrier from the sanskrit lavanah, salt, because the tribe carried salt, but this explanation goes against several phonetic rules, and does not account for the forms of the word like labhani or lambani. banjari falls into two main dialects--that of the panjab and gujarat, and that of elsewhere (of which we may take the labhani of berar as the standard). all these different dialects are ultimately to be referred to the language of western rajputana. the labhani of berar possesses the characteristics of an old form of speech, which has been preserved unchanged for some centuries. it may be said to be based partly on marwari and partly on northern gujarati." it is noted by mr. grierson that the banjari dialect of southern india is mixed with the surrounding dravidian languages. in the census report, 1901, tanda (the name of the lambadi settlements or camps), and vali sugriva are given as synonyms for the tribal name. vali and sugriva were two monkey chiefs mentioned in the ramayana, from whom the lambadis claim to be descended. the legend, as given by mr. f. s. mullaly, [94] is that "there were two brothers, mota and mola, descendants of sugriva. mola had no issue, so, being an adept in gymnastic feats, he went with his wife radha, and exhibited his skill at 'rathanatch' before three rajahs. they were so taken with mola's skill, and the grace and beauty of radha, and of her playing of the nagara or drum, that they asked what they could do for them. mola asked each of the rajahs for a boy, that he might adopt him as his son. this request was accorded, and mola adopted three boys. their names were chavia, lohia panchar, and ratade. these three boys, in course of time, grew up and married. from bheekya, the eldest son of ratade, started the clan known as the bhutyas, and from this clan three minor sub-divisions known as the maigavuth, kurumtoths, and kholas. the bhutyas form the principal class among the lambadis." according to another legend, [95] "one chada left five sons, mula, mota, nathad, jogda, and bhimda. chavan (chauhan), one of the three sons of mula, had six sons, each of whom originated a clan. in the remote past, a brahman from ajmir, and a marata from jotpur in the north of india, formed alliances with, and settled among these people, the marata living with rathol, a brother of chavan. the brahman married a girl of the latter's family, and his offspring added a branch to the six distinct clans of chavan. these clans still retain the names of their respective ancestors, and, by reason of cousinship, intermarriage between some of them is still prohibited. they do, however, intermarry with the brahman offshoot, which was distinguished by the name of vadtya, from chavan's family. those belonging to the vadtya clan still wear the sacred thread. the marata, who joined the rathol family, likewise founded an additional branch under the name of khamdat to the six clans of the latter, who intermarry with none but the former. it is said that from the khamdat clan are recruited most of the lambadi dacoits. the clan descended from mota, the second son of chada, is not found in the mysore country. the descendants of nathad, the third son, live by catching wild birds, and are known as mirasikat, paradi, or vagri (see kuruvikkaran). the jogdas are people of the jogi caste. those belonging to the bhimda family are the peripatetic blacksmiths, called bailu kammara. the lambani outcastes compose a sub-division called thalya, who, like the holayas, are drum-beaters, and live in detached habitations." as pointing to a distinction between sukalis and banjaris, it is noted by the rev. j. cain [96] that "the sukalilu do not travel in such large companies as the banjarilu, nor are their women dressed as gaudily as the banjari women. there is but little friendship between these two classes, and the sukali would regard it as anything but an honour to be called a banjari, and the banjari is not flattered when called a sukali." it is, however, noted, in the madras census report, 1891, that enquiries show that lambadis and sugalis are practically the same. and mr. h. a. stuart, writing concerning the inhabitants of the north arcot district, states that the names sugali, lambadi and brinjari "seem to be applied to one and the same class of people, though a distinction is made. the sugalis are those who have permanently settled in the district; the lambadis are those who commonly pass through from the coast to mysore; and the brinjaris appear to be those who come down from hyderabad or the central provinces." it is noted by mr. w. francis [97] that, in the bellary district, the lambadis do not recognise the name sugali. orme mentions the lambadis as having supplied the comte de bussy with store, cattle and grain, when besieged by the nizam's army at hyderabad. in an account of the brinjaris towards the close of the eighteenth century, moor [98] writes that they "associate chiefly together, seldom or never mixing with other tribes. they seem to have no home, nor character, but that of merchants, in which capacity they travel great distances to whatever parts are most in want of merchandise, which is the greatest part corn. in times of war they attend, and are of great assistance to armies, and, being neutral, it is a matter of indifference to them who purchase their goods. they marched and formed their own encampments apart, relying on their own courage for protection; for which purpose the men are all armed with swords or matchlocks. the women drive the cattle, and are the most robust we ever saw in india, undergoing a great deal of labour with apparent ease. their dress is peculiar, and their ornaments are so singularly chosen that we have, we are confident, seen women who (not to mention a child at their backs) have had eight or ten pounds weight in metal or ivory round their arms and legs. the favourite ornaments appear to be rings of ivory from the wrist to the shoulder, regularly increasing in size, so that the ring near the shoulder will be immoderately large, sixteen or eighteen inches, or more perhaps in circumference. these rings are sometimes dyed red. silver, lead, copper, or brass, in ponderous bars, encircle their shins, sometimes round, others in the form of festoons, and truly we have seen some so circumstanced that a criminal in irons would not have much more to incommode him than these damsels deem ornamental and agreeable trappings on a long march, for they are never dispensed with in the hottest weather. a kind of stomacher, with holes for the arms, and tied behind at the bottom, covers their breast, and has some strings of cowries, [99] depending behind, dangling at their backs. the stomacher is curiously studded with cowries, and their hair is also bedecked with them. they wear likewise ear-rings, necklaces, rings on the fingers and toes, and, we think, the nut or nose jewel. they pay little attention to cleanliness; their hair, once plaited, is not combed or opened perhaps for a month; their bodies or cloths are seldom washed; their arms are indeed so encased with ivory that it would be no easy matter to clean them. they are chaste and affable; any indecorum offered to a woman would be resented by the men, who have a high sense of honour on that head. some are men of great property; it is said that droves of loaded bullocks, to the number of fifty or sixty thousand, have at different times followed the bhow's army." the lambadis of bellary "have a tradition among them of having first come to the deccan from the north with moghul camps as commissariat carriers. captain j. briggs, in writing about them in 1813, states that, as the deccan is devoid of a single navigable river, and has no roads that admit of wheeled traffic, the whole of the extensive intercourse is carried on by laden bullocks, the property of the banjaris." [100] concerning the lambadis of the same district, mr. francis writes that "they used to live by pack-bullock trade, and they still remember the names of some of the generals who employed their forebears. when peace and the railways came and did away with these callings, they fell back for a time upon crime as a livelihood, but they have now mostly taken to agriculture and grazing." some lambadis are, at the present time (1908), working in the mysore manganese mines. writing in 1825, bishop heber noted [101] that "we passed a number of brinjarees, who were carrying salt. they all had bows, arrows, sword and shield. even the children had, many of them, bows and arrows suited to their strength, and i saw one young woman equipped in the same manner." of the lambadis in time of war, the abbé dubois inform us [102] that "they attach themselves to the army where discipline is least strict. they come swarming in from all parts, hoping, in the general disorder and confusion, to be able to thieve with impunity. they make themselves very useful by keeping the market well supplied with the provisions that they have stolen on the march. they hire themselves and their large herds of cattle to whichever contending party will pay them best, acting as carriers of the supplies and baggage of the army. they were thus employed, to the number of several thousands, by the english in their last war with the sultan of mysore. the english, however, had occasion to regret having taken these untrustworthy and ill-disciplined people into their service, when they saw them ravaging the country through which they passed, and causing more annoyance than the whole of the enemy's army." it is noted by wilks [103] that the travelling grain merchants, who furnished the english army under cornwallis with grain during the mysore war, were brinjaris, and, he adds, "they strenuously objected, first, that no capital execution should take place without the sanction of the regular judicial authority; second, that they should be punishable for murder. the executions to which they demanded assent, or the murders for which they were called to account, had their invariable origin in witchcraft, or the power of communication with evil spirits. if a child sickened, or a wife was inconstant, the sorcerer was to be discovered and punished." it is recorded by the rev. j. cain that many of the lambadis "confessed that, in former days, it was the custom among them before starting out on a journey to procure a little child, and bury it in the ground up to the shoulders, and then drive their loaded bullocks over the unfortunate victim, and, in proportion to their thoroughly trampling the child to death, so their belief in a successful journey increased. a lambadi was seen repeating a number of mantrams (magical formulæ) over his patients, and touching their heads at the same time with a book, which was a small edition of the telugu translation of st. john's gospel. neither the physician nor patient could read, and had no idea of the contents of the book." at the time when human (meriah) sacrifices prevailed in the vizagapatam agency tracts, it was the regular duty of lambadis to kidnap or purchase human beings in the plains, and sell them to the hill tribes for extravagant prices. a person, in order to be a fitting meriah, had to be purchased for a price. it is recorded [104] that not long after the accession of vinayaka deo to the throne of jeypore, in the fifteenth century, some of his subjects rose against him, but he recovered his position with the help of a leader of brinjaris. ever since then, in grateful recognition, his descendants have appended to their signatures a wavy line (called valatradu), which represents the rope with which brinjaris tether their cattle. the common occupation of the lambadis of mysore is said [105] to be "the transport, especially in the hill and forest tracts difficult of access, of grain and other produce on pack bullocks, of which they keep large herds. they live in detached clusters of rude huts, called thandas, at some distance from established villages. though some of them have taken of late to agriculture, they have as yet been only partially reclaimed from criminal habits." the thandas are said to be mostly pitched on high ground affording coigns of vantage for reconnoissance in predatory excursions. it is common for the lambadis of the vizagapatam agency, during their trade peregrinations, to clear a level piece of land, and camp for night, with fires lighted all round them. mr. c. hayavadana rao informs me that "they regard themselves as immune from the attacks of tigers, if they take certain precautions. most of them have to pass through places infested with these beasts, and their favourite method of keeping them off is as follows. as soon as they encamp at a place, they level a square bit of ground, and light fires in the middle of it, round which they pass the night. it is their firm belief that the tiger will not enter the square, from fear lest it should become blind, and eventually be shot. i was once travelling towards malkangiri from jeypore, when i fell in with a party of these people encamped in the manner described. at that time, several villages about malkangiri were being ravaged by a notorious man-eater (tiger). in the madras census reports the lambadis are described as a class of traders, herdsmen, cattle-breeders, and cattle-lifters, found largely in the deccan districts, in parts of which they have settled down as agriculturists. in the cuddapah district they are said [106] to be found in most of the jungly tracts, living chiefly by collecting firewood and jungle produce. in the vizagapatam district, mr. g. f. paddison informs me, the bullocks of the lambadis are ornamented with peacock's feathers and cowry shells, and generally a small mirror on the forehead. the bullocks of the brinjaris (boiparis) are described by the rev. g. gloyer [107] as having their horns, foreheads, and necks decorated with richly embroidered cloth, and carrying on their horns, plumes of peacock's feathers and tinkling bells. when on the march, the men always have their mouths covered, to avoid the awful dust which the hundreds of cattle kick up. their huts are very temporary structures made of wattle. the whole village is moved about a furlong or so every two or three years--as early a stage of the change from nomadic to a settled life as can be found." the lambadi tents, or pals, are said by mr. mullaly to be "made of stout coarse cloth fastened with ropes. in moving camp, these habitations are carried with their goods and chattels on pack bullocks." concerning the lambadis of the bellary district mr. s. p. rice writes to me as follows. "they are wood-cutters, carriers, and coolies, but some of them settle down and become cultivators. a lambadi hut generally consists of only one small room, with no aperture except the doorway. here are huddled together the men, women, and children, the same room doing duty as kitchen, dining and bedroom. the cattle are generally tied up outside in any available spot of the village site, so that the whole village is a sort of cattle pen interspersed with huts, in whatsoever places may have seemed convenient to the particular individual. dotted here and there are a few shrines of a modest description, where i was told that fires are lighted every night in honour of the deity. the roofs are generally sloping and made of thatch, unlike the majority of houses in the deccan, which are almost always terraced or flat roofed. i have been into one or two houses rather larger than those described, where i found a buffalo or two, after the usual canarese fashion. there is an air of encampment about the village, which suggests a gipsy life." the present day costume and personal adornments of the lambadi females have been variously described by different writers. by one, the women are said to remind one of the zingari of wallachia and the gitani of spain. "married women," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [108] "are distinguished from the unmarried in that they wear their bangles between the elbow and shoulder, while the unmarried have them between the elbow and wrist. unmarried girls may wear black bead necklets, which are taken off at marriage, at which time they first assume the ravikkai or jacket. matrons also use an earring called guriki to distinguish them from widows or unmarried girls." in the mysore census report, 1901, it is noted that "the women wear a peculiar dress, consisting of a lunga or gown of stout coarse print, a tartan petticoat, and a mantle often elaborately embroidered, which also covers the head and upper part of the body. the hair is worn in ringlets or plaits hanging down each side of the face, and decorated with shells, and terminating in tassels. the arms are profusely covered with trinkets and rings made of bones, brass and other rude materials. the men's dress consists of a white or red turband, and a pair of white breeches or knicker-bockers, reaching a little below the knee, with a string of red silk tassels hanging by the right side from the waistband." "the men," mr. f. s. mullaly writes, "are fine muscular fellows, capable of enduring long and fatiguing marches. their ordinary dress is the dhoty with short trousers, and frequently gaudy turbans and caps, in which they indulge on festive occasions. they also affect a considerable amount of jewellery. the women are, as a rule, comely, and above the average height of women of the country. their costume is the laigna (langa) or gown of karwar cloth, red or green, with a quantity of embroidery. the chola (choli) or bodice, with embroidery in the front and on the shoulders, covers the bosom, and is tied by variegated cords at the back, the ends of the cords being ornamented with cowries and beads. a covering cloth of karwar cloth, with embroidery, is fastened in at the waist, and hangs at the side with a quantity of tassels and strings of cowries. their jewels are very numerous, and include strings of beads of ten or twenty rows with a cowry as a pendant, called the cheed, threaded on horse-hair, and a silver hasali (necklace), a sign of marriage equivalent to the tali. brass or horn bracelets, ten to twelve in number, extending to the elbow on either arm, with a guzera or piece of embroidered silk, one inch wide, tied to the right wrist. anklets of ivory (or bone) or horn are only worn by married women. they are removed on the death of the husband. pachala or silk embroidery adorned with tassels and cowries is also worn as an anklet by women. their other jewels are mukaram or nose ornament, a silver kania or pendant from the upper part of the ear attached to a silver chain which hangs to the shoulder, and a profusion of silver, brass, and lead rings. their hair is, in the case of unmarried women, unadorned, brought up and tied in a knot at the top of the head. with married women it is fastened, in like manner, with a cowry or a brass button, and heavy pendants or gujuris are fastened at the temples. this latter is an essential sign of marriage, and its absence is a sign of widowhood. lambadi women, when carrying water, are fastidious in the adornment of the pad, called gala, which is placed on their heads. they cover it with cowries, and attach to it an embroidered cloth, called phulia, ornamented with tassels and cowries." i gather that lambadi women of the lavidia and kimavath septs do not wear bracelets (chudo), because the man who went to bring them for the marriage of a remote ancestor died. in describing the dress of the lambadi women, the rev. g. n. thomssen writes that "the sari is thrown over the head as a hood, with a frontlet of coins dangling over the forehead. this frontlet is removed in the case of widows. at the ends of the tufts of hair at the ears, heavy ornaments are tied or braided. married women have a gold and silver coin at the ends of these tufts, while widows remove them. but the dearest possession of the women are large broad bracelets, made, some of wood, and the large number of bone or ivory. almost the whole arm is covered with these ornaments. in case of the husband's death, the bracelets on the upper arm are removed. they are kept in place by a cotton bracelet, gorgeously made, the strings of which are ornamented with the inevitable cowries. on the wrist broad heavy brass bracelets with bells are worn, these being presents from the mother to her daughter." each thanda, mr. natesa sastri writes, has "a headman called the nayaka, whose word is law, and whose office is hereditary. each settlement has also a priest, whose office is likewise hereditary." according to mr. h. a. stuart, the thanda is named after the headman, and he adds, "the head of the gang appears to be regarded with great reverence, and credited with supernatural powers. he is believed to rule the gang most rigorously, and to have the power of life and death over its members." concerning the marriage ceremonies of the sugalis of north arcot, mr. stuart informs us that these "last for three days. on the first an intoxicating beverage compounded of bhang (cannabis indica) leaves, jaggery (crude sugar), and other things, is mixed and drunk. when all are merry, the bridegroom's parents bring rs. 35 and four bullocks to those of the bride, and, after presenting them, the bridegroom is allowed to tie a square silver bottu or tali (marriage badge) to the bride's neck, and the marriage is complete; but the next two days must be spent in drinking and feasting. at the conclusion of the third day, the bride is arrayed in gay new clothes, and goes to the bridegroom's house, driving a bullock before her. upon the birth of the first male child, a second silver bottu is tied to the mother's neck, and a third when a second son is born. when a third is added to the family, the three bottus are welded together, after which no additions are made." of the lambadi marriage ceremony in the bellary district, the following detailed account is given by mr. francis. "as acted before me by a number of both sexes of the caste, it runs as follows. the bridegroom arrives at night at the bride's house with a cloth covering his head, and an elaborately embroidered bag containing betel and nut slung from his shoulder. outside the house, at the four corners of a square, are arranged four piles of earthen pots--five pots in each. within this square two grain-pounding pestles are stuck upright in the ground. the bride is decked with the cloth peculiar to married women, and taken outside the house to meet the bridegroom. both stand within the square of pots, and round their shoulders is tied a cloth, in which the officiating brahman knots a rupee. this brahman, it may be at once noted, has little more to do with the ceremony beyond ejaculating at intervals 'shobhana! shobhana!' or 'may it prosper!' then the right hands of the couple are joined, and they walk seven times round each of the upright pestles, while the women chant the following song, one line being sung for each journey round the pestle: to yourself and myself marriage has taken place. together we will walk round the marriage pole. walk the third time; marriage has taken place. you are mine by marriage. walk the fifth time; marriage has taken place. walk the sixth time; marriage has taken place. walk the seventh time; marriage has taken place. we have walked seven times; i am yours. walk the seventh time; you are mine. "the couple then sit on a blanket on the ground near one of the pestles, and are completely covered with a cloth. the bride gives the groom seven little balls compounded of rice, ghee (clarified butter) and sugar, which he eats. he then gives her seven others, which she in turn eats. the process is repeated near the other pestle. the women keep on chanting all the while. then the pair go into the house, and the cloth into which the rupee was knotted is untied, and the ceremonies for that night are over. next day the couple are bathed separately, and feasting takes place. that evening the girl's mother or near female relations tie to the locks on each side of her temples the curious badges, called gugri, which distinguish a married from an unmarried woman, fasten a bunch of tassels to her back hair, and girdle her with a tasselled waistband, from which is suspended a little bag, into which the bridegroom puts five rupees. these last two are donned thereafter on great occasions, but are not worn every day. the next day the girl is taken home by her new husband." it is noted in the mysore census report, 1891, that "one unique custom, distinguishing the lambani marriage ceremonial, is that the officiating brahman priest is the only individual of the masculine persuasion who is permitted to be present. immediately after the betrothal, the females surround and pinch the priest on all sides, repeating all the time songs in their mixed kutni dialect. the vicarious punishment to which the solitary male brahman is thus subjected is said to be apt retribution for the cruel conduct, according to a mythological legend, of a brahman parent who heartlessly abandoned his two daughters in the jungle, as they had attained puberty before marriage. the pinching episode is notoriously a painful reality. it is said, however, that the brahman, willingly undergoes the operation in consideration of the fees paid for the rite." the treatment of the brahman as acted before me by lambadi women at nandyal, included an attempt to strip him stark naked. in the census report, it is stated that, at lambadi weddings, the women "weep and cry aloud, and the bride and bridegroom pour milk into an ant-hill, and offer the snake which lives therein cocoanuts, flowers, and so on. brahmans are sometimes engaged to celebrate weddings, and, failing a brahman, a youth of the tribe will put on the thread, and perform the ceremony." the following variant of the marriage ceremonies was acted before me at kadur in mysore. a pandal (booth) is erected, and beneath it two pestles or rice-pounders are set up. at the four corners, a row of five pots is placed, and the pots are covered with leafy twigs of calotropis procera, which are tied with calotropis fibre or cotton thread. sometimes a pestle is set up near each row of pots. the bridal couple seat themselves near the pestles, and the ends of their cloths, with a silver coin in them, are tied together. they are then smeared with turmeric, and, after a wave-offering to ward off the evil eye, they go seven times round the pestles, while the women sing:- oh! girl, walk along, walk. you boasted that you would not marry. now you are married. walk, girl, walk on. there is no good in your boasting. you have eaten the pudding. walk, girl, walk. leave off boasting. you sat on the plank with the bridegroom's thigh on yours. the bride and bridegroom take their seats on a plank, and the former throws a string round the neck of the latter, and ties seven knots in it. the bridegroom then does the same to the bride. the knots are untied. cloths are then placed over the backs of the couple, and a swastika mark ([swastika]) is drawn on them with turmeric paste. a brahman purohit is then brought to the pandal, and seats himself on a plank. a clean white cloth is placed on his head, and fastened tightly with string. into this improvised turban, leafy twigs of mango and cassia auriculata are stuck. some of the lambadi women present, while chanting a tune, throw sticks of ficus glomerata, artocarpus integrifolia, and mango in front of the brahman, pour gingelly (sesamum) oil over them, and set them on fire. the brahman is made a bridegroom, and he must give out the name of his bride. he is then slapped on the cheeks by the women, thrown down, and his clothing stripped off. the brahman ceremonial concluded, a woman puts the badges of marriage on the bride. on the following day, she is dressed up, and made to stand on a bullock, and keep on crooning a mournful song, which makes her cry eventually. as she repeats the song, she waves her arms, and folds them over her head. the words of the song, the reproduction of which in my phonograph invariably made the women weep, are somewhat as follows:- oh! father, you brought me up so carefully by spending much money. all this was to no purpose. oh! mother, the time has come when i have to leave you. is it to send me away that you nourished me? oh! how can i live away from you, my brothers and sisters? among the lambadis of mysore, widow remarriage and polygamy are said [109] to freely prevail, "and it is customary for divorced women to marry again during the lifetime of the husband under the sire udike (tying of a new cloth) form of remarriage, which also obtains among the vakkaligas and others. in such cases, the second husband, under the award of the caste arbitration, is made to pay a certain sum (tera) as amends to the first husband, accompanied by a caste dinner. the woman is then readmitted into society. but certain disabilities are attached to widow remarriage. widows remarried are forbidden entry into a regular marriage party, whilst their offspring are disabled from legal marriage for three generations, although allowed to take wives from families similarly circumstanced." according to mr. stuart, the sugalis of the north arcot district "do not allow the marriage of widows, but on payment of rs. 15 and three buffaloes to her family, who take charge of her children, a widow may be taken by any man as a concubine, and her children are considered legitimate. even during her husband's life, a woman may desert him for any one else, the latter paying the husband the cost of the original marriage ceremony. the sugalis burn the married, but bury all others, and have no ceremonies after death for the rest of the soul of the deceased." if the head of a burning corpse falls off the pyre, the lambadis pluck some grass or leaves, which they put in their mouths "like goats," and run home. a custom called valli sukkeri is recorded by the rev. g. n. thomssen, according to which "if an elder brother marries and dies without offspring, the younger brother must marry the widow, and raise up children, such children being regarded as those of the deceased elder brother. if, however, the elder brother dies leaving offspring, and the younger brother wishes to marry the widow, he must give fifteen rupees and three oxen to his brother's children. then he may marry the widow." the custom here referred to is said to be practiced because the lambadi's ancestor sugriva married his elder brother vali's widow. i am informed by mr. f. a. hamilton that, among the lambadis of kollegal in the coimbatore district, "if a widower remarries, he may go through the ordinary marriage ceremony, or the kuttuvali rite, in which all that is necessary is to declare his selection of a bride to four or five castemen, whom he feeds. a widow may remarry according to the same rite, her new husband paying the expenses of the feast. married people are burnt. unmarried, and those who have been married by the kuttuvali rite, are buried. when cremation is resorted to, the eldest son sets fire to the funeral pyre. on the third day he makes a heap of the ashes, on which he sprinkles milk. he and his relations then return home, and hold a feast. when a corpse is buried, no such ceremonies are performed. both males and females are addicted to heavy drinking. arrack is their favourite beverage, and a lambadi's boast is that he spent so much on drink on such and such an occasion. the women dance and sing songs in eulogy of their goddess. at bed-time they strip off all their clothes, and use them as a pillow." the lambadis are said to purchase children from other castes, and bring them up as their own. such children are not allowed to marry into the superior lambadi section called thanda. the adopted children are classified as koris, and a kori may only marry a lambadi after several generations. concerning the religion of the lambadis, it is noted in the mysore census report, 1891, that they are "vishnuvaits, and their principal object of worship is krishna. bana sankari, the goddess of forests, is also worshipped, and they pay homage to basava on grounds dissimilar to those professed by the lingayets. basava is revered by the lambadis because krishna had tended cattle in his incarnation. the writer interviewed the chief lambani priests domiciled in the holalkere taluk. the priests belong to the same race, but are much less disreputable than the generality of their compatriots. it is said that they periodically offer sacrificial oblations in the agni or fire, at which a mantram is repeated, which may be paraphrased thus:- i adore bharma (bramha) in the roots; vishnu who is the trunk; rudra (mahadev) pervading the branches; and the devas in every leaf. "the likening of the creator's omnipotence to a tree among a people so far impervious to the traditions of sanskrit lore may not appear very strange to those who will call to mind the scandinavian tree of igdrasil so graphically described by carlyle, and the all-pervading asvat'tha (pipal) tree of the bhagavatgita." it is added in the mysore census report, 1901, that "the lambanis own the gosayis (goswami) as their priests or gurus. these are the genealogists of the lambanis, as the helavas are of the sivachars." of the sugalis of punganur and palmaner in the north arcot district mr. stuart writes that "all worship the tirupati swami, and also two saktis called kosa sakti and mani sakti. some three hundred years ago, they say that there was a feud between the bukia and mudu sugalis, and in a combat many were killed on both sides; but the widows of only two of the men who died were willing to perform sati, in consequence of which they have been deified, and are now worshipped as saktis by all the divisions." it is said [110] that, near rolla in the anantapur district, there is a small community of priests to the lambadis who call themselves muhammadans, but cannot intermarry with others of the faith, and that in the south-west of madakasira taluk there is another sub-division, called the mondu tulukar (who are usually stone-cutters and live in hamlets by themselves), who similarly cannot marry with other musalmans. it is noted by the rev. j. cain [111] that in some places the lambadis "fasten small rags torn from some old garment to a bush in honour of kampalamma (kampa, a thicket). on the side of one of the roads from bastar are several large heaps of stones, which they have piled up in honour of the goddess guttalamma. every lambadi who passes the heaps is bound to place one stone on the heap, and to make a salaam to it." the goddess of the lambadis of kollegal is, according to mr. hamilton, satthi. a silver image of a female, seated tailor-fashion, is kept by the head of the family, and is an heirloom. at times of festival it is set up and worshipped. cooked food is placed before it, and a feast, with much arrack drinking, singing, beating of tom-tom, and dancing through the small hours of the night, is held. examples of the lambadi songs relating to incidents in the ramayana, in honour of the goddesses durga and bhavani, etc., have been published by mr. f. fawcett. [112] the brinjaris are described by the rev. g. gloyer as carrying their principal goddess "bonjairini mata," on the horns of their cattle (leitochsen). it is noted by the rev. g. n. thomssen that the lambadis "worship the supreme being in a very pathetic manner. a stake, either a carved stick, or a peg, or a knife, is planted on the ground, and men and women form a circle round this, and a wild, weird chant is sung, while all bend very low to the earth. they all keep on circling about the stake, swinging their arms in despair, clasping them in prayer, and at last raising them in the air. their whole cry is symbolic of the child crying in the night, the child crying for the light. if there are very many gathered together for worship, the men form one circle, and the women another. another peculiar custom is their sacrifice of a goat or a chicken in case of removal from one part of the jungle to another, when sickness has come. they hope to escape death by leaving one camping ground for another. half-way between the old and new grounds, a chicken or goat is buried alive, the head being allowed to be above ground. then all the cattle are driven over the buried creature, and the whole camp walk over the buried victim." in former days, the lambadis are reputed to have offered up human sacrifices. "when," the abbé dubois writes, "they wish to perform this horrible act, it is said, they secretly carry off the first person they meet. having conducted the victim to some lonely spot, they dig a hole, in which they bury him up to the neck. while he is still alive, they make a sort of lump of dough made of flour, which they place on his head. this they fill with oil, and light four wicks in it. having done this, the men and women join hands, and, forming a circle, dance round their victim, singing and making a great noise, till he expires." the interesting fact is recorded by mr. mullaly "that, before the lambadis proceed on a predatory excursion, a token, usually a leaf, is secreted in some hidden place before proceeding to invoke durga. the durgamma pujari (priest), one of their own class, who wears the sacred thread, and is invested with his sacred office by reason of his powers of divination, lights a fire, and, calling on the goddess for aid, treads the fire out, and names the token hidden by the party. his word is considered an oracle, and the pujari points out the direction the party is to take." from a further note on the religion of the lambadis, i gather that they worship the following:- (1) balaji, whose temple is at tirupati. offerings of money are made to this deity for the bestowal of children, etc. when their prayers are answered, the lambadis walk all the way to tirupati, and will not travel thither by railway. (2) hanuman, the monkey god. (3) poleramma. to ward off devils and evil spirits. (4) mallalamma. to confer freedom to their cattle from attacks of tigers and other wild beasts. (5) ankalamma. to protect them from epidemic disease. (6) peddamma. (7) maremma. the lambadis observe the holi festival, for the celebration of which money is collected in towns and villages. on the holi day, the headman and his wife fast, and worship two images of mud, representing kama (the indian cupid) and his wife rati. on the following morning, cooked food is offered to the images, which are then burnt. men and women sing and dance, in separate groups, round the burning fire. on the third day, they again sing and dance, and dress themselves in gala attire. the men snatch the food which has been prepared by the women, and run away amid protests from the women, who sometimes chastise them. it is narrated by moor [113] that "he passed a tree, on which were hanging several hundred bells. this was a superstitious sacrifice by the bandjanahs, who, passing this tree, are in the habit of hanging a bell or bells upon it, which they take from the necks of their sick cattle, expecting to leave behind them the complaint also. our servants particularly cautioned us against touching these diabolical bells; but, as a few were taken for our own cattle, several accidents that happened were imputed to the anger of the deity, to whom these offerings were made, who, they say, inflicts the same disorder on the unhappy bullock who carries a bell from this tree as he relieved the donor from." there is a legend in connection with the matsya gundam (fish pool) close under the yendrika hill in the vizagapatam district. the fish therein are very tame, and are protected by the madgole zamindars. "once, goes the story, a brinjari caught one and turned it into curry, whereon the king of the fish solemnly cursed him, and he and all his pack-bullocks were turned into rocks, which may be seen there to this day." [114] lambadi women often have elaborate tattooed patterns on the backs of the hands, and a tattooed dot on the left side of the nose may be accepted as a distinguishing character of the tribe in some parts. my assistant once pointed out that, in a group of lambadis, some of the girls did not look like members of the tribe. this roused the anger of an old woman, who said "you can see the tattoo marks on the nose, so they must be lambadis." lambadi women will not drink water from running streams or big tanks. in the mysore province, there is a class of people called thamburi, who dress like lambadis, but do not intermarry with them. they are muhammadans, and their children are circumcised. their marriages are carried out according to the muhammadan nikka rite, but they also go through the lambadi form of marriage, except that marriage pots are not placed in the pandal (wedding booth). the lambadis apparently pay some respect to them, and give them money at marriages or on other occasions. they seem to be bards and panegyrists of the lambadis, in the same way that other classes have their nokkans, viramushtis, bhatrazus, etc. it is noted by mr. stuart [115] that the lambadis have priests called bhats, to whom it is probable that the thamburis correspond in mysore. the methods of the criminal lambadis are dealt with at length by mr. mullaly. and it must suffice for the present purpose to note that they commit dacoities and have their receivers of stolen property, and that the naik or headman of the gang takes an active share in the commission of crime. lampata.--a name, signifying a gallant, returned by some sanis at times of census. landa.--a synonym of mondi. lanka (island).--an exogamous sept of boya and kamma. lattikar.--recorded, at the census, 1901, as a sub-division of vakkaliga (okkiliyan) in the salem district. latti means a reckless woman, and latvi, an unchaste woman, and the name possibly refers to vakkaligas who are not true-bred. lekavali.--a division of marathas in the sandur state. many of them are servants in the raja's palace. they are stated, in the gazetteer of the bellary district, to be the offspring of irregular unions among other marathas. lekkala (accounts).--an exogamous sept of kamma. linga balija.--the linga balijas (traders) are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as a lingayat sub-caste of balija. in a note on lingayats, mr. r. c. c. carr records that the linga banjigs or banajigas are essentially traders, though many are now cultivators, and that telugu lingayats often call themselves linga balijas. the following legendary account of the origin of the "linga bhojunnalawaru" is given in the baramahal records. [116] "para brahma or the great god brahma created the god pralayakala rudra or the terrific at the day of destruction, a character of the god siva, and he created the chatur acharyulu or four sages named panditaraju, yekcoramalu, murralaradulu, and somaluradulu, and taught them mantras or prayers, and made them his deputies. on a time, the asuras and devatas, or the giants and the gods, made war on each other, and the god pralayakala rudra produced from his nose a being whom he named muchari rudra, and he had five sons, with whom he went to the assistance of the devatas or gods, and enabled them to defeat the giants, and for his service the gods conferred upon him and his sons the following honorary distinctions:- a flag with the figure of an alligator (crocodile) portrayed on it. a flag with the figure of a fish portrayed on it. a flag with the figure of a bullock. a flag with the figure of an eagle. a flag with the figure of a bell. a bell. a modee ganta, or iron for marking cattle. the use of burning lamps and flambeaus in their public processions during the day. the use of tents. "on a time, when the god pralayakala rudra and mochari rudra and his five sons, with other celestial attendants, were assembled on the kailasa parvata or mountain of paradise, the god directed the latter to descend into the bhuloka or earthly world, and increase and multiply these species. they humbly prayed to know how they were again to reach the divine presence. he answered 'i shall manifest myself in the bhuloka under the form of the lingam or priapus; do you worship me under that form, and you will again be permitted to approach me.' they accordingly descended into the earthly regions, and from them the present castes of baljawaras deduce their origin." in a note on the linga balijas of the north arcot district, mr. h. a. stuart writes [117] that "linga balija appears rather to be the name of the followers of a religious faith than of a distinct caste, for the linga balijas state that their caste contains eleven sub-divisions, each with a separate occupation, viz., jangam (priests), reddi (cultivators), gandla (oil-mongers), and the like. almost all the linga balijas of north arcot are traders, who speak canarese and are immigrants from mysore, in which their gurus (religious preceptors) live, and whither they still refer their caste disputes. at one time they enjoyed much importance in this district, particularly in its large trading towns. headmen among them, styled chettis, were by the arcot nawabs assigned districts, in which they possessed both magisterial and civil authority, and levied taxes from other merchants for their own personal use. they carried on very extensive trade with mysore and the ceded districts, and are said to have had enormous warehouses, which they enclosed and fortified. breaches of the peace are also described as not infrequent, resulting from the interference of one linga balija chetti with matters relating to the district of another. their authority has long since disappeared, and is only a matter of tradition. every linga balija wears a siva lingam, usually encased in a silver casket (or gold casket set with precious stones), and suspended from the neck, but the very poor place theirs in a cloth, and sometimes tie it to their arm. it is a strict rule that one should be tied to a child's neck on the tenth day of its birth, otherwise it is not entitled to be classed as a linga balija. the siva lingam worn by these people differs from the buta or preta lingams used by pandarams, kaikolans, or others who profess the lingayat faith. they acknowledge two puranams, called respectively the siva and basava puranams, and differ in very many respects from other hindus. they bury and do not burn their dead, and do not recognise the five kinds of pollution resulting from a birth, death, spittle, etc., and they do not therefore bathe in order to remove such pollution. widow remarriage is allowed even where the widow has children, but these are handed over to the relatives of her first husband. to widow remarriages no women who are not widows are admitted, and, similarly, when a maiden is married, all widows are excluded. unlike most hindus, linga balijas shave off the whole of the hair of their heads, without leaving the usual lock at the back. they deny metempsychosis, and believe that after death the soul is united with the divine spirit. they are particular in some of their customs, disallowing liquor and flesh-eating, and invariably eating privately, where none can see them. they decline even to eat in the house of a brahman." a linga banajiga (canarese trader), whom i interviewed at sandur, was smeared with white marks on the forehead, upper extremities, chest, and abdomen in imitation of a hubli priest. some orthodox lingayat traders remove their lingam during the transaction of the day's work, on the ground, as given to me, that it is necessary to tell little falsehoods in the course of business. lingadari.--a general term, meaning one who wears a lingam, for lingayat. lingakatti.--a name applied to lingayat badagas of the nilgiri hills. lingam.--a title of jangams and silavants. lingayat.--for the following note i am mainly indebted to mr. r. c. c. carr, who took great interest in its preparation when he was collector of bellary. some additional information was supplied by mr. r. e. enthoven, superintendent of the ethnographic survey, bombay. the word lingayat is the anglicised form of lingavant, which is the vernacular term commonly used for any member of the community. the lingayats have been aptly described as a peaceable race of hindu puritans. their religion is a simple one. they acknowledge only one god, siva, and reject the other two persons of the hindu triad, they reverence the vedas, but disregard the later commentaries on which the brahmans rely. their faith purports to be the primitive hindu faith, cleared of all priestly mysticism. they deny the supremacy of brahmans, and pretend to be free from caste distinctions, though at the present day caste is in fact observed amongst them. they declare that there is no need for sacrifices, penances, pilgrimages or fasts. the cardinal principle of the faith is an unquestioning belief in the efficacy of the lingam, the image which has always been regarded as symbolical of the god siva. this image, which is called the jangama lingam or moveable lingam, to distinguish it from the sthavara or fixed lingam of hindu temples, is always carried on some part of the body, usually the neck or the left arm, and is placed in the left hand of the deceased when the body is committed to the grave men and women, old and young, rich and poor, all alike wear this symbol of their faith, and its loss is regarded as spiritual death, though in practice the loser can after a few ceremonies, be invested with a new one. they are strict disciplinarians in the matter of food and drink, and no true lingayat is permitted to touch meat in any form, or to partake of any kind of liquor. this puritan simplicity raises them in the social scale, and has resulted in producing a steady law-abiding race, who are conservative of the customs of their forefathers and have hitherto opposed a fairly unbroken front to the advancing tide of foreign ideas. to this tendency is due the very slow spread of modern education amongst them, while, on the other hand, their isolation from outside influence has without doubt assisted largely in preserving intact their beautiful, highly polished, and powerful language, canarese. it is matter of debate whether the lingayat religion is an innovation or a revival of the most ancient saivaite faith, but the story of the so-called founder of the sect, basava, may with some limitations be accepted as history. the events therein narrated occurred in the latter half of the twelfth century at kalyan, a city which was then the capital of the western chalukyas, and is now included in the province of bidar in the nizam's dominions. it lies about a hundred miles to the west of hyderabad. the chalukyas came originally from the north of india, but appeared to the south of the nerbudda as early as the fourth century. they separated into two branches during the seventh century, and the western line was still represented at kalyan 500 years later. the southern portion of hindustan had for centuries been split up between rival kingdoms, and had been the theatre of the long struggle between the buddhists, the jains, and the hindus. at the time of basava's appearance, a jain king, bijjala by name, was in power at kalyan. he was a representative of the kalachuryas, a race which had been conquered by the chalukyas, and occupied the position of feudatories. bijjala appears to have been the commander-in-chief of the chalukyan forces, and to have usurped the throne, ousting his royal master, taila iii. the date of the usurpation was 1156 a.d., though, according to some accounts, bijjala did not assume the full titles till some years later. he was succeeded by his sons, but the chalukyan claimant recovered his throne in 1182, only to lose it again some seven years afterwards, when the kingdom itself was divided between the neighbouring powers. the final downfall of the chalukyan deccani kingdom was probably due to the rise of the lingayat religion. the hindus ousted the jains, but the tenets inculcated by basava had caused a serious split in the ranks of the former. the house divided against itself could not stand, and the chalukyas were absorbed into the kingdoms of their younger neighbours, the hoysala ballalas from mysore in the south, and the yadavas from devagiri (now identified with daulatabad) in the north. at about this time there appears to have been a great revival of the worship of siva in the deccan and in southern india. a large number of important saivaite temples are known to have been built during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and inscriptions speak of many learned and holy men who were devoted to this worship. the movement was probably accentuated by the opposition of the jains, who seem to have been very powerful in the western deccan, and in mysore. an inscription which will be more fully noticed later on tells of the god siva specially creating a man in order to "put a stop to the hostile observances of the jains and buddhists." this was written about the year 1200 a.d., and it may be gathered that buddhism was still recognised in the deccan as a religious power. mr. rice tells us that the labours of the saivaite brahman, sankaracharya, had in the eighth century dealt a deathblow to buddhism, and raised the saiva faith to the first place. [118] its position was, however, challenged by the jains, and, even as late as the twelfth century, it was still battling with them. the vaishnavaite reformer, ramanujacharya, appeared at about this time, and, according to mr. rice, was mainly instrumental in ousting jainism; but the followers of vishnu built many of their big temples in the thirteenth century, two hundred years later than their saivaite brethren, so it may be presumed that the latter faith was in the ascendancy prior to that time. chaitanya, the vaishnavaite counterpart of basava, appeared at a much later date (1485 a.d.). it is interesting to note that the thirteenth century is regarded as the culminating period of the middle ages in italy, when religious fervour also displayed itself in the building of great cathedrals. [119] the actual date of basava's birth is uncertain, but is given by some authorities as 1106 a.d. the story of his career is told in the sacred writings of the lingayats, of which the principal books are known as the basava purana and the channabasava purana. the former was apparently finished during the fourteenth century, and the latter was not written till 1585. the accounts are, therefore, entirely traditionary, and, as might have been expected, are full of miraculous occurrences, which mar their historical value. the jain version of the story is given in the bijjalarayacharitra, and differs in many particulars. the main facts accepted by lingayat tradition are given by dr. fleet in the epigraphia indica [vol. v, p. 239] from which the following account is extracted. to a certain madiraja and his wife madalambika, pious saivas of the brahman caste, and residents of a place called bagevadi, which is usually supposed to be the sub-divisional town of that name in the bijapur district, there was born a son who, being an incarnation of siva's bull, nandi, sent to earth to revive the declining saiva rites, was named basava. this word is the canarese equivalent for a bull, an animal sacred to siva. when the usual time of investiture arrived, basava, then eight years of age, having meanwhile acquired much knowledge of the siva scriptures, refused to be invested with the sacred brahmanical thread, declaring himself a special worshipper of siva, and stating that he had come to destroy the distinctions of caste. this refusal, coupled with his singular wisdom and piety, attracted the notice of his uncle baladeva, prime minister of the kalachurya king bijjala, who had come to be present at the ceremony; and baladeva gave him his daughter, gangadevi or gangamba, in marriage. the brahmans, however, began to persecute basava on account of the novel practices propounded by him, and he consequently left his native town and went to a village named kappadi, where he spent his early years, receiving instruction from the god siva. meanwhile his uncle baladeva died, and bijjala resolved to secure the services of basava, whose ability and virtues had now become publicly known. after some demur basava accepted the post, in the hope that the influence attached to it would help him in propagating his peculiar tenets. and, accompanied by his elder sister, nagalambika, he proceeded to kalyana, where he was welcomed with deference by the king and installed as prime minister, commander-in-chief and treasurer, second in power to the king himself; and the king, in order to bind him as closely as possible to himself, gave him his younger sister nilalochana to wife. somewhere about this time, from basava's unmarried sister nagalambika there was born, by the working of the spirit of siva, a son who was an incarnation of siva's son shanmukha, the god of war. the story says that basava was worshipping in the holy mountain and was praying for some gift, when he saw an ant emerge from the ground with a small seed in its mouth. basava took this seed home, and his sister without basava's knowledge swallowed it, and became pregnant. the child was called channabasava, or the beautiful basava, and assisted his uncle in spreading the new doctrines. indeed, he is depicted as playing a more important part than even basava himself. the two puranas are occupied for the most part with doctrinal expositions, recitals of mythology, praises of previous siva saints, and accounts of miracles worked by basava. they assert, however, that uncle and nephew were very energetic promoters of the faith, and that they preached the persecution and extermination of all persons (especially the jains), whose creed differed from that of the lingayats. coupled with the lavish expenditure incurred by basava from the public coffers in support of jangams or lingayat priests, these proceedings aroused in bijjala, himself a jain, feelings of distrust, which were fanned by a rival minister, manchanna, although the latter was himself a vira saiva, and at length an event occurred which ended in the assassination of bijjala and the death of basava. at kalyana there were two specially pious lingayats, whom bijjala in mere wantonness caused to be blinded. thereupon basava left kalyana, and deputed one of his followers jagaddeva to slay the king. jagaddeva, with two others, succeeded in forcing his way into the palace, where he stabbed the king in the midst of his court. basava meanwhile reached kudali-sangameshvara, and was there absorbed into the lingam, while channabasava fled to ulvi in north canara, where he found refuge in a cave. the above story is taken mainly from the basava purana. the account given in the channabasava purana differs in various details, and declares that bijjala was assassinated under the orders of channabasava, who had succeeded his uncle in office. the jain account states that basava's influence with the king was due to basava's sister, whom bijjala took as a concubine. the death of bijjala was caused by poisoned fruit sent by basava, who, to escape the vengeance of bijjala's son, threw himself into a well and died. the version of basava's story, which is found in most books of reference, makes him appear at kalyan as a youth flying from the persecution of his father. his uncle, baladeva, sheltered him and eventually gave him his daughter; and, when baladeva died, basava succeeded to his office. this seems to have been copied from the account given by mr. c. p. brown, but later translations of the purana show that it is erroneous. when basava came to kalyan, bijjala was in power, and his arrival must therefore have been subsequent to 1156 a. d. if the date of birth be accepted as 1106, basava would have been a man of fifty years of age or more when summoned to office by bijjala. the latter resigned in favour of his son in 1167, and may have been assassinated shortly afterwards. on the other hand, baladeva could not have been bijjala's minister when he came to basava's upanayanam ceremony, for this event occurred in 1114, long before the commencement of bijjala's reign. there is no reason, however, for crediting the purana with any great historical accuracy, and, in fact, the evidence now coming to light from inscriptions, which the industry of archæologists is giving to the world, throws great doubt upon the traditional narrative. an inscription on stone tablets which have now been built into the wall of a modern temple at managoli, a village in the bijapur district of the bombay presidency about eleven miles to the north-west of bagevadi, the supposed birth place of basava, contains a record of the time of the kalachuri king, bijjala. two dates are given in the inscription, and from one of them it is calculated with certainty that bijjala's reign began in 1156 a.d. the record gives a certain date as "the sixth of the years of the glorious kalachurya bijjaladeva, an emperor by the strength of his arm, the sole hero of the three worlds." the corresponding english date is tuesday, 12th september, 1161 a.d., so that bijjala must have come into power, by the strength of his arm, in 1156. but a still more important piece of information is furnished by the mention of a certain basava or basavarasayya as the builder of the temple, in which the inscription was first placed, and of one madiraja, who held the post of mahaprabhu of the village when the grants in support of the temple were made. the record runs as follows. [120] "among the five hundred of manigavalli there sprang up a certain govardhana, the moon of the ocean that was the kasyappa gotra, an excellent member of the race of the vajins. his son was revadasa. the latter had four sons.... the youngest of these became the greatest, and, under the name of chandramas, made his reputation reach even as far as the himalaya mountains. to that lord there was born a son, basava. there were none who were like him in devotion to the feet of (the god) maheshvara (siva); and this basava attained the fame of being esteemed the sun that caused to bloom the water-lily that was the affection of the five hundred brahmans of manigavalli. this basavarasayya came to be considered the father of the world, since the whole world, putting their hands to their foreheads, saluted him with the words 'our virtuous father'; and thus he brought greatness to the famous manigavalli, manifesting the height of graciousness in saying this is the abode of the essence of the three vedas; this is the accomplishment of that which has no end and no beginning; this is the lustrous divine linga." dr. fleet suggests that we have at last met with an epigraphic mention of the lingayat founder, basava. this is eminently satisfactory, but is somewhat upsetting, for the inscription makes basava a member of the kasyapa gotra, while madiraja is placed in an entirely different family. as regards the latter, the record says; (l. 20) "in the lineage of that lord (taila ii, the leader of the chalukyas) there was a certain madhava, the prabhu of the town of manigavalli, the very vishnu of the renowned harita gotra;" and later on the same person is spoken of as the mahaprabhu madiraja. if basava and madiraja, herein mentioned, are really the heroes of the lingayats, it is clear that they were not father and son, as stated in the lingayat writings. but it must be borne in mind that this is the only inscription yet deciphered which contains any allusion whatever to basava, and the statement that "he caused to bloom the water-lily that was the affection of the five hundred brahmans of manigavalli," is directly opposed to the theory that he broke away from the brahman fold, and set up a religion, of which one of the main features is a disregard of brahman supremacy. the fact that the inscription was found so near to basava's birthplace is, however, strong evidence in favour of the presumption that it refers to the basava of lingayat tradition, and the wording itself is very suggestive of the same idea. the record gives a long pedigree to introduce the basava whom it proceeds to extol, and puts into his mouth the noteworthy utterance, which ascribes godly qualities to the "lustrous divine linga." the date of this record is contemporary with the events and persons named therein, and it must therefore be far more reliable than the traditionary stories given in the puranas, which, as already indicated, are not at all in accordance with each other. dr. fleet is of opinion that the purana versions are little better than legends. this is perhaps going too far, but there can be no doubt that later research will in this, as in the case of all traditionary history, bring to knowledge facts which will require a considerable rearrangement of the long accepted picture. another inscription, discovered at ablur in the dharwar district of the bombay presidency, is of great importance in this connection. it is dated about a.d. 1200, and mentions the western chalukya king somesvara iv, and his predecessor the kalachurya prince bijjala. it narrates the doings of a certain ekantada ramayya, so called because he was an ardent and exclusive worshipper of siva. this individual got into controversy with the jains, who were apparently very powerful at ablur, and the latter agreed to destroy their jina and to set up siva instead, if ramayya would cut off his own head before his god, and have it restored to his body after seven days without a scar. ramayya appears to have won his wager, but the jains refused to perform their part of the contract. the dispute was then referred to king bijjala, himself a jain, and ramayya was given a jayapatra, or certificate of success. this king and his chalukyan successor also presented ramayya with lands in support of certain siva temples. it is noteworthy that the story is told also in the channabasava purana, but the controversy is narrated as having occurred at kalyan, where ramayya had gone to see king bijjala. the same passage makes ramayya quote an instance of a previous saint, mahalaka, having performed the same feat at a village named jambar, which may conceivably be the ablur of the inscription. but the interest and importance of the inscription centre in the fact that it discloses the name of another devout and exclusive worshipper of siva, who, it is said, caused this man to be born into the world with the express object of "putting a stop to the hostile observances of the jains and the buddhists who had become furious" or aggressive. dr. fleet considers that, making allowance for the supernatural agency introduced into the story, the narrative is reasonable and plain, and has the ring of truth in it; and, in his opinion, it shows us the real person to whom the revival of the ancient saivaite faith was due. the exploits of ramayya are placed shortly before a.d. 1162, in which year bijjala is said to have completed his usurpation of the sovereignty by assuming the paramount titles. ramayya was thus a contemporary of basava, but the ablur inscription makes no mention of the latter. this fresh evidence does not appear to run counter to the commonly accepted story of the origin of the lingayats. it confirms the theory that the religion of siva received a great impetus at this period, but there is nothing in the inscription ascribing to ramayya the position of a reformer of saivaite doctrines. he appears as the champion of siva against the rival creeds, not as the saivaite luther who is attacking the priestly mysticism of the saivaite divines; and, as dr. fleet points out, there is nothing improbable in the mention of several persons as helping on the same movement. both ramayya and basava are, however, represented in these inscriptions as being the chief of saivaite brahmans, and there is no mention of any schism such as the protestant revolt which is associated with the name of luther. it is possible, therefore, that the establishment of the lingayat sect may have been brought about by the followers of these two great men--a fact that is hinted at in lingayat tradition by the very name of channabasava, which means basava the beautiful, because, according to the channabasava purana, he was more beautiful in many respects than basava, who is represented as receiving instruction from his superior nephew in important points connected with their faith. the two inscriptions and numerous others, which have been deciphered by the same authority, are of the greatest value from a historical point of view, and paint in bold colours the chief actors in the drama. the closing years of the western chalukyan kingdom are given to us by the hand of an actor who was on the same stage, and, if the birth of the lingayat creed is still obscured in the mist of the past, the figures of those who witnessed it stand out with surprising clearness. it has been already stated that one of the principles of the religion is a disregard of caste distinctions. the prevailing races were dravidian, and it is an accepted fact that the theory of caste as propounded by manu is altogether foreign to dravidian ideas. historians cannot tell us how long the process of grafting the caste system on to the dravidian tree lasted, but it is clear that, when basava appeared, the united growth was well established. brahmans were acknowledged as the leaders in religious matters, and, as the secular is closely interwoven with the religious in all eastern countries, the priestly class was gradually usurping to itself a position of general control. but, as was the case in europe during the sixteenth century, a movement was on foot to replace the authority of the priests by something more in accordance with the growing intelligence of the laity. and, as in europe, the reformers were found amongst the priests themselves. luther and erasmus were monks, who had been trained to support the very system of priestcraft, which they afterwards demolished. basava and ramayya, as already stated, were saivaite brahmans, from whom has sprung a race of free thinkers, who affect the disregard of caste and many of the ceremonial observances created by the brahman priesthood. the comparison may even be carried further. luther was an iconoclast, who worked upon men's passions, while erasmus was a philosopher, who addressed himself to their intellects. basava, according to the traditionary account, was the counterpart of luther. ramayya may be fairly called the indian erasmus. this freedom from the narrowing influence of caste was doubtless a great incentive to the spread of the reformed religion. the lingam was to be regarded as the universal leveller, rendering all its wearers equal in the eye of the deity. high and low were to be brought together by its influence, and all caste distinctions were to be swept away. according to basava's teaching, all men are holy in proportion as they are temples of the great spirit; by birth all are equal; men are not superior to women, and the gentle sex must be treated with all respect and delicacy; marriage in childhood is wrong, and the contracting parties are to be allowed a voice in the matter of their union; and widows are to be allowed to remarry. all the iron fetters of brahmanical tyranny are, in fact, torn asunder, and the lingayat is to be allowed that freedom of individual action, which is found amongst the more advanced christian communities. even the lowest castes are to be raised to the level of all others by the investiture of the lingam, and all lingadharis, or wearers of the divine symbol, are to eat together, to intermarry, and to live at unity. but social distinctions inevitably asserted themselves later. as the lingayats, or panchamsalis as they styled themselves, increased in importance, number and wealth, elaborate forms of worship and ceremony were introduced, rules of conduct were framed, and a religious system was devised, on which the influence of the rival brahman aristocracy can be freely traced. thus, in course of time, the panchamsalis became a closed caste, new converts were placed on a lower social footing, the priests alone continuing as a privileged class to dine freely with them. this development is alleged to have occurred about the close of the seventeenth century. among the many ceremonies introduced in the course of the changes just described, one known as the ashtavarna or eight-fold protection is of special importance. these rites consist of- 1. guru. 2. linga. 3. vibhuti. 4. rudraksha. 5. mantra. 6. jangam. 7. tirtha. 8. prasada. among the greater number of lingayats, after the birth of a child, the parents send for the guru or spiritual adviser of the family, who is the representative of one of the five acharyas from whom the father claims descent, or in his absence of his local agent. the guru binds the linga on the child, besmears it with vibhuti (ashes), places a garland of rudraksha (fruits of elæocarpus ganitrus) round its neck, and teaches it the mystic mantra of "namah shivaya." the child being incapable of acquiring the knowledge of the sacred text at this early stage of its existence, the mantra is merely recited in its ear by the guru. the child has then to be presented to the god siva in the person of a jangam, or lingayat priest, who is summoned for the purpose; on his arrival, the parents wash his feet. the water in which the feet are washed is described as the tirtha or charana tirtha of siva. this tirtha is next poured over the linga attached to the infant. the jangam is fed, and a portion of the cooked food from the dish is placed in the child's mouth. this final ceremony is known as prasada. (i am informed that it would be considered by tamil lingayats sacrilege to wash the lingam with the tirtha.) occasionally the double character of guru and jangam are combined in one person. according to some accounts, the rites described above form the basis of the present social organization of the lingayat community. they are divided into those entitled to ashtavarna, and those who are not. the first of these divisions is again sub-divided into several groups, which may for convenience be designated panchamsalis who are descendants of the original converts, and non-panchamsalis or later converts. this explanation will throw some light on the scheme of classification adopted in the bombay gazetteer (see volumes bijapur and dharwar) where the smaller groups are shown as- 1. pure lingayats. 2. affiliated lingayats. 3. half lingayats. these divisions, of which the full significance is not clearly conveyed by the titles, may perhaps be expanded with advantage by the addition to each of the alternatives already explained, viz., panchamsalis, non-panchamsalis with ashtavarna rites, and others, including the unclean castes attached to the lingayat community by reason of performing its menial services, e.g., dhors, chalvadis, etc. it is the modern practice to deny to these low castes the right to style themselves lingayats at all. it must be further explained that there are seven divisions of panchamsalis, and that these stand to each other in the relation of hypergamous groups, that is to say, members of the higher orders may wed the daughters of those beneath them, which suggests the probable former existence of free intermarriage. members of the lower orders among these panchamsalis may rise to the higher by performing certain religious ceremonies, constituting a form of initiation. in the second and third divisions, i.e., non-panchamsalis and "others," the sub-castes are functional groups and are endogamous, i.e., intermarriage is prohibited. it seems probable that the members of these divisions became converts to lingayatism some time after the initiation of the reforms, to which it gave birth, when the crusade against caste distinctions had lost much of its pristine vigour, and ceased to be a living part of the fundamental doctrine of the sect. at the present day, marriage is both infant and adult, and the parties to the contract have practically no choice. widows are indeed allowed to remarry, but such marriages are regarded with disfavour by the stricter members of the sect. a pariah or a mala cannot be invested with the lingam, and, if he pretends to be a lingayat, the jangam does not acknowledge him. the strict rules regarding meat and drink are maintained, and lingayats are still free from many of the ceremonies and religious performances required of other hindus. but the tendency of to-day is to follow the lead of the brahman; and, while no lingayat will admit the superiority of that caste, they practically acknowledge it by imitating many brahmanical practices. much of the good effected by the founder has thus been counteracted, and the lingayat is gradually becoming more and more like his orthodox hindu brother. in proof of this tendency it may be noted that, at the time of the census of 1891, there were numerous representations from lingayats claiming the right to be described as virasaiva brahmans. further, on the occasion of the census of 1901, a complete scheme was supplied to the census authorities professing to show all lingayat sub-divisions in four groups, viz., brahman, kshatriya, vaishya and sudra. it is noted, in the mysore census report, 1891, that the lingayats interviewed the maharaja, and begged that their registration as virasaiva brahmans might be directed. "the crisis was removed by his highness the maharaja's government passing orders to the effect that the lingayats should not be classed as sadras any more than any other non-brahmans, but should be separately designated by their own name, and that, while they were at liberty to call themselves virasaiva brahmans, they should specify the name of the particular and well-known sub-division to which each censused unit belonged. it is noteworthy that, as soon as the clamour of the lingayats was set at rest, some of their leaders seem to have become ashamed of their own previous vehemence, while the movement seemed to have lost the spring imparted by sincerity. their feelings were brought to the test when the question of permitting the wonted periodical procession of their religious flagstaff, the nandi-dhvaja, came on for consideration by the police department. the lingayats' application for a license was opposed by the other castes on the ground that, since they had become brahmans, and had ceased to belong to the right-hand faction, they had no right to parade the nandi-dhvaja. the lingayats then showed themselves glad to regain their status quo ante." in connection with the name virasaiva, it may be noted en passant that the first session of the shreemat veerashaiva mahasabha [121] was held at dharwar in the bombay presidency in 1904. thereat various suggestions were made concerning religious instruction, education, marriage, the settlement of disputes by arbitration, and other matters affecting the material welfare of the lingayat community as a whole. it is worthy of note that, according to some writers, basava is supposed to have come within the influence of the syrian christians. the idea was started by mr. c. p. brown, whose essay on the jangams [122] is the classic on this subject. mr. a. c. burnell quotes the remarkable fact from cosmos that, in the sixth century, there was a persian bishop at kalliana near udupi. and it is presumed by surgeon-major w. r. cornish, the writer of the madras census report, 1871, that kalliana is identical with kalyan, where basava was prime minister six centuries later. this is clearly wrong, for udupi is on the west coast 30 miles north of mangalore, whereas kalyan, the chalukyan capital, is in the heart of the deccan, 350 miles away over the western ghauts. there was another calyaun or kaliana close to udupi on the coast, as shown by some of the older maps. but it is well known that western india was at this time tenanted by large settlements of persians or manichæans, and recent discoveries tend to show that these people were christians. it seems, therefore, to be quite possible that the discussions, which preceded basava's revolt, were tinged with some christian colouring, derived from the followers of the syrian school. mr. burnell even thinks that all the modern philosophical schools of india owe much to the same source. the lingayat faith appears to have spread very rapidly after basava's death, which may be placed in the year 1168, and rice says that, according to tradition, within sixty years of the founder's death it was embraced from ulavi near goa to sholapur, and from balehalli to sivaganga. the disappearance of the chalukyan dynasty is in itself evidence of the rising power of the lingayats. but no real estimate can be made of its progress at first. more than a hundred years later, the muhammadan invaders took possession of the deccan, and other religions were driven southwards. the empire of vijayanagar, which is said to have covered the whole country from the kistna to cape comorin, rose out of the ruins of the hindu kingdoms, and as mr. sewell says, [123] the fighting kings of vijayanagar became the saviours of the south for two and a half centuries. the early members of this dynasty were saivaites in faith, but there is no record of the workings of the reformed religion, which had spread southwards before vijayanagar became a power. the followers of this religion are easily distinguished from other hindus by the fact that the lingam is worn on a conspicuous part of the body. the bulk of the cultivators enclose it in a red silk scarf tied round their necks, with a knot in front. this scarf is tied on the left arm above the elbow when the wearer is at work, and is sometimes placed round the head when bathing. some of the traders, who are the richer class, carry it in a small silver box hung round the neck with a thread called sivadhara, or in a gold box studded with precious stones. the women do not wear it outside the dress, and generally keep it on a neck-string. no one is allowed to put it down even for a moment. recently a lingayat merchant in madras removed his silver lingam casket from his neck, wrapped it up in a cloth, put it under his head, and went to sleep on a street pial (platform). while he was slumbering, the casket was stolen by a cart driver. the lingam itself, which is regarded as the home of the deity, is generally made of grey soapstone brought from parvatgiri (srisaila) in the kurnool district. it is brought by a class of people called kambi jangams, because, besides the linga stone, they bring on a kavadi or shoulder-bamboo the holy water of the patalganga, a pool on parvatgiri, whose water lingayats hold as sacred as brahmans the water of the ganges. the following description of the lingam is taken from the bombay gazetteer for bijapur. "it consists of two discs, the lower one circular about one-eighth of an inch thick, the upper slightly elongated. each disc is about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and is separated by a deep groove about an eighth of an inch broad. from the centre of the upper disc, which is slightly rounded, rises a pea-like knob about a quarter of an inch long and three-quarters of an inch round, giving the stone lingam a total height of nearly three-quarters of an inch. this knob is called the ban or arrow. the upper disc is called jalhari, that is the water carrier, because this part of a full-sized lingam is grooved to carry off the water which is poured over the central knob. it is also called pita, that is the seat, and pithak the little seat. over the lingam, to keep it from harm, is plastered a black mixture of clay, cowdung ashes, and marking-nut juice. this coating, which is called kauthi or the cover, entirely hides the shape of the enclosed lingam. it forms a smooth black slightly truncated cone, not unlike a dark betel nut, about three-quarters of an inch high, and narrowing from three-quarters of an inch at the base to half an inch across the top." the jangam cannot as a rule be distinguished from other lingayats. all male members of the community have a clean-shaved head, without the top-knot common to the brahmans. all, male as well as female, daub their foreheads with vibhuti or sacred ashes every morning. there is thus no distinctive mark for the jangam. but certain ascetics of the priestly class sometimes put on a red robe peculiar to them, and others cover themselves with vibhuti and many quaint ornaments. [a jangam whom i interviewed at a village in mysore, was named virabhadra kayaka, and was also known as kasi lingada vira. he was going about the village, shouting, dancing, and repeating the virabhadra khadga or praise of virabhadra, siva's son. on his bead he had a lingam stuck in his head-cloth, with a five-headed snake forming a canopy over it, and the sacred bull basava in front. tied to the forehead, and passing round the head, was a string holding thirty-two lingams. at the back of the head was a mane of white false hair. his face was painted bright red. round the neck he had four garlands of rudraksha beads, and suspended from the neck, and resting on the chest, was a silver casket containing a lingam. round the waist was a waist-band made of brass squares ornamented with a variety of figures, among which were the heads of daksha brahma and virabhadra. suspended from the neck was a breast-plate, with a representation of virabhadra and the figures of daksha brahma and his wife engraved in copper. from the waist a piece of tiger skin was suspended, to which were attached two heads of daksha brahma with a lion's head between. hanging lower down was a figure of basava. tied to the ankles were hollow brass cylinders with loose bits of brass inside. strings of round brass bells were tied to the knees. in his right hand he carried a long sword, and tied to the left forearm was a gauntlet-handled scimitar. to the handle were attached pieces of brass, which made a noise when the arm was shaken. finally, round the forearm were tied pieces of bear-skin.] no account of the lingayat community as it exists at the present day would be complete without some reference to the grounds on which the modern representatives of lingayatism claim for their religion an origin as ancient as that of brahministic hinduism, and a social structure similar to that which is described in the code of manu. mr. karibasava shastri, professor of sanskrit and canarese in the state college of mysore, writes that the shaiv sect of hindus has always been divided into two groups, the one comprising the wearers of the linga, and the other those who do not wear it. the former he designates virshaiv, and declares that the virshaivs consist of brahman, kshatriya, vaishya, sudra. quoting from the 17th chapter of the parameshvar agma, he declares that the virshaiv brahmans are also known as shudha virshaivs, virshaiv kings are marga virshaiv, virshaiv vaishya are mishra virshaiva, and the sudras of the community are anter virshaiv. in his opinion the duties and penances imposed on the first of these classes are- (1) the ashtavarna. (2) penances and bodily emaciation. (3) the worship of siva without sacrifice. (4) the recital of the vedas. the professor asserts that the hindu ashrams of brahmacharya, grahasta and sanyasi are binding on virshaivs, and quotes from various sanskrit works texts in support of this view. he also furnishes a mythical account of the origin of the lingayats at the time of the creation of the world. a committee of gentlemen appointed in the belgaum district to consider the question of the origin of the lingayats base their opinion on a sanskrit work, the paramarahasya, and give the following account:--"when the god shiva wished to people the earth, he created from his mouth five acharyas, namely, marula radhyacharya, ekoranadhyacharya, revanaradhyacharya, panditaradhyacharya and vishvaradhyacharya. these five acharyas propagated the lingayat portion of mankind. each of them founded a gotra, namely, bhringi, vira, vrisha, skanda and handi, and their five seats are shrishaila, kollipaki, ujjaini, kashi and balihalli." a third account prepared specially in connection with the census of 1901 begins by controverting the common opinion that basava founded the lingayat religion, that it was in origin anti-brahmanical, and that it abolished caste distinctions. the account continues as follows. "a little enquiry will clearly show that it was not basava who founded the religion, but that he only revived the previously existing and ancient religion; that it is not anti-brahmanical, but that it protests against the efficacy of animal sacrifices, and that the religion itself is founded on the authority of the vedas, treating of animal sacrifices just as the shri vaishnav and madhva religions have rejected certain portions and adopted certain others of the vedas. consequently it is incorrect to say that the virshaivs reject the authority of the vedas." the writer maintains that caste distinctions are not foreign to the nature of lingayatism, and asserts that they have always existed. according to him, the orthodox theory is that, when brahma was ordered to create the world, he requested siva to teach him how to, whereupon siva created aprakruts. brahma created the world from the five elements of nature, and produced the prakruts. the lingayats are the aprakruts, and the brahmanistic hindus prakruts. here follow many quotations from sanskrit agmas in support of the facts alleged. it is unnecessary to weary the reader with the texts and their translations. the object in referring to these latter day accounts of the origin of the lingayats is to show the modern tendency of tradition to bring lingayatism into line with brahmanistic hinduism. the works referred to by the learned authors appear to be sanskrit writings of not more than 500 years ago, and cannot be taken as proof that the lingayat religion is of greater antiquity than the 12th century, or that it has always been observant of caste distinctions. the persistence with which these points are advanced at the present day is, however, worthy of careful notice. if lingayatism was an island thrown up within the "boundless sea of hinduism," it would appear that the waters of the ocean are doing their utmost to undermine its solid foundations. the lingayats in bombay, madras and mysore number about two millions. mysore and the southern mahratta country are the principal homes of the creed, and the bellary district, which is wedged in between the above territories, must be classed with them. mr. rice tells us that it was the state religion of the wodeyars of mysore from 1399 to 1610, and of the nayaks of keladi, ikkeri or bednur from 1550 to 1763. at the present day the ruling family in mysore employ none but lingayats as cooks and watermen. the lingayats of madras numbered 138,518 at the census of 1901. these figures, however, are of doubtful accuracy, as many were entered under caste names, and the probable strength of the community must be largely in excess of the figures. they were chiefly found in the bellary district. the following are the main sub-divisions of the community in the madras presidency :- 1. jangam. the priestly class. 2. banajiga or banjig, divided into banajigas proper and jain banajigas. these are essentially traders, but many are now cultivators. the equivalent in the telugu country is linga balija. jangams occasionally take banajiga girls in marriage. the girl has to undergo certain ceremonies before her marriage, and after that she should not be treated as a daughter or sister of the family, but should be considered as a jangam's wife, and respect paid to her. jangam girls are not given to banajigas as wives. jain banajigas are considered as inferior to banajigas proper, and girls of the former are not married into families of the latter. 3. sadaru, divided into kumbala kudi sadaru and chadaru sadaru. the great majority are cultivators. 4. laligonda, divided into hera (elder) and chikka (younger) laligonda. 5. kapu, reddi, and vakkaliga, cultivators. the aradhya brahman is termed a lingayat. this caste is not included in the present note. the members of it wear the sacred thread, as well as the lingam. they are strict saivite brahmans, and have nothing to do with the lingayats proper. the three religious divisions of the community are styled:- 1. nirabara vira saiva. sanyasis or ascetics, wearing only the kaupinam or loin-cloth 2. vishesha vira saiva. the priestly class, generally called jangams. 3. samanya vira saiva. this includes all lingayats, who are not sanyasis or jangams. the whole lingayat community is dealt with by mr. c. p. brown under the name jangam, and his essay speaks of vishesha and samanya jangams. this is incorrect, for no samanya vira saiva can be a jangam, and all jangams are vishesha vira saivas. the jangams are mostly literate, and the members of the banjig or trader class are frequently literate. the other classes of men, and the women of all classes are practically illiterate. canarese is the common language of lingayats, and it is usually preserved as a house language where canarese is not the language of the locality. in bellary the teachers in several of the board schools (primary standard) are jangams. very few lingayats have as yet competed for university honours, and the number of lingayat graduates is small. the common termination for males is appa, and for females amma or akka, or avva. in the case of jangams the male termination is ayya. the names commonly in use are as follows:- basappa or basamma, after basava, the founder of the religion. chennappa or chennava, after chennabasava, nephew of basava. sugurappa or suguravva, after sugur, where there is a temple of virabhadra. revanna or revamma, after revana sideswara, the founder of the balehalli mutt. mallappa or mallava, a localised name of siva. nagappa or naganna, after a snake. bussappa or bussavva, after the hiss of a snake. basappa is the most common name of all, and it is said that in kottur, a town of 7,000 inhabitants, not far from ujjini, one half of the male lingayats are styled kottur basappa. tinduga or tindodi is a nickname given to a daughter's son born and bred up in his maternal grandfather's house. the name signifies that the boy will some day quit the house and join his father's family, tindu meaning eating, and wodi, running away. if the child happens to be a female she is called tindavva or tindodi. kuldappa, or kuldavva, is a nickname for one who fails to see a thing at once when he looks for it. kulda is a corruption of kuruda, which means a blind man. superstition has something to do with the naming of children. children whose predecessors died successively in their infancy are named as sudugappa or sudugadavva after sudugadu, burial-ground, gundappa or gundavva after gundu, a rock, tippiah or tippavva after tippa, a rubbish heap, tirakappa after tirakambonu, begging. these names signify humility, and are given in the belief that god will pity the parents and give the children a long lease of life. two names are not given to a child, but pet names are used instead. the recognised head-quarters of the lingayats in the bellary district is ujjini, a village in the south of the kudligi taluk on the borders of mysore. there are five head-quarters of the community in different parts of india. in each there is what is called a simhasanadhipati. in the first period of creation, iswara or siva is supposed to have appeared in five different forms, emanating from his five faces, and the five lingayat centres are representative of these five forms. the places are ujjini, srisaila, kollepaka, balehalli, and benares. it is said that the mutt at kollepaka no longer exists, and has been replaced by one at bukkasagar in the hospet taluk of bellary district. the shape and materials of their dwellings are not in any way different from those of other hindus. in the bellary district, houses of the better classes are built of stone; poorer persons can only afford mud houses. all adopt the flat roof peculiar to the deccan. it is recorded, in the mysore census report, 1901, that "the orthodox theory among the lingayats is that their religion was founded by a number of acharyas, the most famous of whom were renuka, daraka, gajakarna, ghantakarna and viswakarna, who are the gotrakartas of the lingayat dwijas, having received their mandate direct from siva to establish his true religion on earth, or rather to restore it to its purity. as belonging to the apprakrita srishti, the virasaivas are enjoined not to follow that portion of the vedas which treats of yagnas or animal sacrifices. their contention is that karma, or the performance of ceremonies, is of two kinds, namely, one relating to the attainment of worldly desires, and the other relating to the attainment of wisdom or gnana. the idea of salvation in brahmanical religions generally is the attainment of desires, going to swarga or heaven, where one would enjoy eternal bliss. but salvation, as understood by the virasaiva religion, is something different, and goes one step further, meaning absorption into and attainment of oneness with the deity. consequently, they are prohibited from performing all those ceremonies which relate to the attainment of swarga, but are bound to perform those which relate to gnana or wisdom, and to salvation as understood by them. the five great gotrakartas established five great religious centres in different parts of india, viz., ekorama at ketara in the himalayas, viswacharya at benares, marutacharya at ujjain, pandithacharya at srisaila in cuddapah district, and renukacharya at balehalli or balehonnur in koppa taluk (of mysore), at all of which places the mutts still exist. the heads of these mutts have geographically divided the lingayats into five great divisions, and each head exercises spiritual control within his own legitimate sphere, though all of them have a general jurisdiction over all the lingayats generally. each of these mutts, called simhasanas (thrones), has sub-mutts in important popular centres under the management of pattadaswamis. each sub-mutt has a number of branch mutts, called gurusthala mutts, under it, and these latter are established wherever a community of lingayats exists. the rights and duties of the swamis of these mutts are to preside on all ceremonial occasions, to receive their dues, to impart religious instructions, to settle religious disputes, and to exercise a general control over all matters affecting the interests of the community at large. but one particular feature of this sect is the existence of another order of priests, called viraktas, also known as nirabharis or jangamas, who hold the highest position in the ecclesiastical order, and therefore command the highest respect from laymen as well as from the above mentioned clergy. each virakta mutt is directly subject to the murgi mutt at chitaldrug, which has absolute jurisdiction over all the viraktas. most lingayat towns have a virakta mutt built outside the town, where the swami or the jangama leads a solitary, simple and spiritual life. unlike the other priests, the virakta is prohibited from presiding on ceremonial occasions, and from receiving unnecessary alms unless for the purpose of immediately distributing the same to others. he should devote his whole life partly to spiritual meditation, and partly to the spreading of spiritual knowledge among his disciples, so that he would be the fountain head, to whom all laymen and all clergy must turn for spiritual wisdom. his position, in short, should be that of a pure sanyasi of the most exalted order. but here, as in the case of most other indian ecclesiastical orders, the modern representative of the ancient prototype is far different from the ideal." sacrifices are contrary to the tenets of the faith, but the practices of other hindus are to some extent copied. when laying the foundations of a house, a cocoanut is broken, incense offered and camphor burnt. when setting up the main door frame, a ceremony called dwara pratishta is performed. on that day, or a subsequent day, an iron nail is driven into the frame, to prevent devils or evil spirits from entering the house. after the house is completed, the ceremony of graha pravesam takes place. with all lingayat ceremonies the most important feature is the worship of the jangam, and in this instance the house is sprinkled with water, in which the jangam's feet have been washed. jangam's friends and relatives are then entertained and fed in the house. theoretically, any one may become a lingayat by virtue of investiture with the lingam. but in practice very few outsiders are admitted. the priests do not proselytise. the elders of the community sometimes persuade a relative or friend to join the fold. in the bellary district, it is believed that the religion is not spreading. the contrary seems to be the case in the bombay presidency. the bijapur gazetteer states that the wearing of the lingam, and the desertion of brahmans for jangams as priests, are still spreading among the brahmanical castes of bijapur, and adds "in mr. cumine's opinion few castes have remained beyond the influence of the new sect, and between lingayatism and islam, brahmanism will in a few centuries be almost extinct." according to mr. c. p. brown, the jangams insist upon any candidate for admission undergoing a probation of ten or twelve years. the authorities at ujjini state that there is a recognised scale of probation ranging from three years for the brahman to twelve years for the sudra, but the jangams admit that no brahmans are ever converted now, and the probation period is probably not enforced. the castes from which outsiders occasionally come are the various sub-divisions of the kapu or reddi caste. it is not uncommon to find all the neredi kapus in one village wearing the lingam, while the people of the same caste in a neighbouring village are not lingayats. the pakanati kapus illustrate the same rule. lingayat and non-lingayat kapus who are relatives eat together, and in some cases intermarry. lingayatism has recently made converts from other castes. in the last century, many weavers of tuminkatti in the dharwar district of bombay were converted by a jangam from ujjini, and are now known as kurvinavaru. they have abandoned all social intercourse with the parent caste. according to basava's teaching, even the lowest castes could join the community, and obtain equality with other lingayats. the abbé dubois wrote that, "even if a pariah joins the sect, he is considered in no way inferior to a brahman. wherever the lingam is found, there they say is the throne of the deity, without distinction of class or rank. the pariah's humble hut containing the sacred emblem is far above the most magnificent palace where it is not." these were undoubtedly the views of the founder, but his orders are not followed at the present day. the authorities at ujjini deny that any mala or madiga can become a lingayat, and say that, even if he wears a lingam, it has not been given him by a jangam. there is a class of malas called chalavadis, whose duty it is to accompany lingayat processions, and ring a bell. these chalavadis wear the lingam. it is, however, the accepted rule amongst lingayats of the present day that a mala or madiga cannot wear lingam. in a note on the relations between lingayats and brahmans, [124] mr. t. v. subramanyam refers to the long-standing differences between them in the bellary district. "the quarrel," he writes, "has reference to the paraphernalia the former may carry in their religious processions, and has its origin in a legend. the story runs that vedavyasa, the author of the mahabharata and a fervent devotee of vishnu, once went to benares with the object of establishing the superiority of his favourite deity in that stronghold of saivism. within the precincts of the temple, he raised his hands aloft, proclaiming that vishnu was the supreme god, when, to the consternation of the assembled worshippers, nandi, the trusted servant and vehicle of siva, whose sculptured image is found in every temple sacred to his master, rose up in indignation, and cut off the right hand of the blasphemous sage. the principal insignia claimed to be used in lingayat processions are makaratoranam, pagaladivitti, svetachhatram, nandidhvajam, and vyasahastam. no objection is raised by the brahmans to the use of the first three of these, which are respectively a banner with the representation of a tortoise embroidered thereon, torches carried during the day, and a white umbrella. the nandidhvajam consists of a long pole, at the upper end of which floats a flag with a representation of nandi, and to which is affixed an image of basava, the founder of the sect. the vyasahastam is a similar pole, from which a wooden arm is suspended. the assertion of the prowess of nandi, and the perpetuation of the punishment alleged by the lingayats to have been inflicted on vyasa for daring to declare the supremacy of vishnu, as symbolised by these emblems, are equally offensive to all classes of brahmans, as the sage is reverenced equally by vaishnavas, madhvas, and smartas. besides these emblems, the lingayats claim that, during their processions, they are entitled to ring a bell, which is usually suspended from the flat end of a large ladle-like object. the brahmans object to this, however, as the bells are carried by low-caste persons, who ring them with their feet, to the accompaniment of chants intended to insult the brahmans and their religious creeds. they contend also that the hollow of the ladle is designed in mockery of the brahmakapala (or skull of brahma), which is very sacred in their eyes.... in the year 1811, a dispute arose regarding the display of the nandidhavajam and the vyasahastam, an enquiry into which was held by the judge of bellary, who issued a proclamation for general information throughout the district, prohibiting the procession altogether, and declaring that no person should attempt it, on pain of being put in irons, and sent to take his trial before the court of circuit.... when the sringeri swami, known as jagadguru or spiritual head of the universe, visited bellary in 1888, certain lingayats petitioned the district magistrate, praying that, if he was to be allowed to enter the town displaying his usual paraphernalia, their gurus must also be allowed a similar privilege during their processions. the petitioners were directed to meet the agent of the sringeri swami, and they agreed with him, to quote from the collector's order, in a spirit of mutual consideration that the processions of the gurus of the smarta brahmans and of the lingayats should be peaceably conducted, and that, in the latter, neither the nandidhvajam nor the vyasahastam should be used. in 1899, it was decided in a civil court that the bells used in the processions of the lingayats should be rung with the hands and not with the feet, and that the chalavadis, or bell-ringers, should not utter any cries or chants offensive to the feelings of the brahmans. in 1901, the collector negotiated a compromise between the lingayats and the brahmans of rayadrug, by which the display of all insignia, except the vyasahastam, was permitted to the former. apparently, the brahmans have not been satisfied with the terms of this compromise, as, subsequent to 1901, they have started civil litigation, in which it is contended that the use of nandidhvajam is itself objectionable. at the present moment, therefore, the brahman lingayat controversy is exactly where it was a hundred years ago." non-lingayats, wishing to join the faith, have to undergo a three days' purification ceremony. on the first day they get their face and head shaved, and take a bath in cow's urine and ordure. except these articles, they are under a prohibition to drink or eat anything else that day. on the second day they bathe themselves in dhulodaka, i.e., water with which a jangam's feet have been washed, and eat sugar and drink cow's milk. on the third or last day, they take a panchamrutham bath, i.e., they apply to the head and body a paste made of plantains, cow's milk, ghi (clarified butter), curds and honey, and wash it off with water; they drink the water (thirtham) in which a jangam's feet have been washed; the lingam is tied on by the jangam, and the convert eats with other lingayats. women also undergo this ceremony, but in their case shaving is omitted. disputes are settled by a panchayat (council) headed by one of the community called yejaman or setti, assisted by the reddi or headman called banakara. where there is no setti, the reddi takes his place. the setti is appointed by the community, after the office itself has been created by the simhasanadhipati of the mutt. the other members of the panchayat are not permanent, but are selected for the occasion. the panchayat also tries offences against caste rules, and imposes fine on the culprit. the money, when collected, is given to some mutt or temple. failure to pay is punished by excommunication. any one may be appointed setti, but the post is hereditary. it is an honorary post carrying no remuneration, and the enquiries of the panchayat entail no expense, except in the cost of supplying pansupari (betel leaves and areca nuts). the panchayat is not limited in numbers, all the leading members of the community being invited to attend. appeals from the decisions of the panchayat lie to the mutt to which the village is subordinate. in bellary appeals go to ujjini. the orders of the mutt are final. the ujjini authorities say that the only punishment that can be inflicted is to interdict the offender from all social intercourse. he is practically "put into coventry"; but is released on payment of a fine to the guru, so the punishment is in fact a fine. the appointment of a new setti is a solemn function, resembling the instalment of a church dignitary. the priests and settis of neighbouring villages assemble, and instal the new man. the following is the order of precedence amongst them:- (1) matadaya. (2) matapati. (3) ganachari. (4) sthavaria or gunari. (5) setti. (6) patna setti. (7) kori setti. (8) wali setti. a ceremony called diksha is said by some to be compulsory with jangams, male and female, in their eighth year, and the same is also said to be required for lay lingayats. the ceremony is performed in order to impart to the recipient the sacred mantram called panchakshari. this is whispered in the ear by the guru. the rite is evidently in imitation of the brahman practice of imparting the gayatri mantram at the time of the upanayanam or thread-tying ceremony. the term diksha is sometimes used to express the conversion ceremony used in the case of a new-comer. it is an essential of the faith that the sacred spell should be whispered in the ear by the guru, and this explains the three word motto or "guru, linga and jangam." but, in the case of lay lingayats and of women, it does not appear that diksha is universal, and the sacred spell is whispered in the ear when the lingam is tied. pollution periods are not observed. the indifference displayed by lingayats to the purification ceremonies prescribed by hindu custom is noticed by the abbé dubois, who quotes the hindu proverb which says "there is no river for a lingayat." a simple ceremony is performed when a girl comes to maturity. this lasts only one day. the girl takes an oil bath, and puts on clean clothes and ornaments. married women come and place in her lap two cocoanuts, two dates, five limes, five areca nuts, five betel leaves, and some rice. they sing some bright song, and then pass round her head three times the wave offering (arati) of a light. they then depart, after being presented with food and betel. this ceremony is evidently copied from other castes, and with well-to-do lingayats is sometimes prolonged for several days. holy water (thirtham) is sprinkled over the head of the girl. no ceremonies are observed at subsequent menstrual periods, as no pollution is attached to them. no special diet or customs are observed during pregnancy by husband or wife. the woman in her confinement is attended by her female relatives and the village midwife. at the birth of a child, all the female members of the family, and other women who attend the confinement, bathe and give a bath to the mother and child. on the second and third day, from five to ten women are invited. they bring boiled water and turmeric paste to apply to the body of the mother. on the third day a ceremony called viralu is performed. viralu means the worship of the afterbirth. the midwife buries it at the outer door, throws over the grave a piece of thread, dipped in turmeric water, and some rice, turmeric powder, kunkuma (red powder) and nim (melia azadirachta) leaves. she offers to it kitchade, a mess made of broken cholam (millet: sorghum) and a dish of greens, and breaks a cocoanut. the mother, who wears on the right wrist a piece of thread with a piece of sweet flag (acorus calamus) tied to it, worships the grave with joined hands. the women who have brought boiled water also wear similar threads on the right wrists, and eat the cholam and the greens. the midwife takes away the offering made to the grave, and gets also her money perquisites. the viralu ceremony is observed in the belief that the mother's breasts will thereby be fruitful of milk. the mother for the first time, on the day after the ceremony is over, suckles the child. both of them receive dhulodaka (water from a jangam's feet). the child also receives from the jangam the lingam, which is to be his personal property for life and for eternity. the name is given to a child on the sixteenth day after birth. five married women go to a well or river, where they worship gangamma, and return with a new pot filled with water. the mother receives it at the entrance, and places it on some cholam under the cradle. after this, the child is put into the cradle, and is given a name. the child's maternal uncle or aunt gives the name, and at once all the women present assault the namer with their fists. after this the jangam and guests are fed, and guggeri (fried grain) is distributed. marriage is both infant and adult. there is no difference in this respect between jangams and other lingayats. sexual license before marriage is neither recognised nor tolerated. open prostitution is not permitted. on the other hand, it is condemned as a moral sin and a social offence, and the party is punished by excommunication. there are basavis (dedicated prostitutes) amongst lingayats. polygamy is permitted. polyandry is strictly prohibited. among the lingayats, marriage between brothers' children is strictly prohibited. similarly, sisters' children cannot marry. marriage between some classes of second cousins is also prohibited, i.e., a man's children may not marry the children of his paternal uncle or of his maternal aunt. a man may marry his sister's daughter, but, in the case of children of the younger sister, such marriages are looked on with disfavour. the parties to a marriage have no freedom of choice. it is arranged for them by their parents or by the elders of their family, who come to an agreement as to the amount of teravu that should be paid to the bride's family. this marriage price usually amounts to 12 pagodas or 42 rupees, but is often more. in the case of a second marriage, the amount is double. the presents to the bridegroom generally consist of a pair of cloths, a turban, and a gold ring. these gifts are not compulsory, and their amount and value depend upon the circumstances of the bride's family. for a betrothal, the bridegroom's family come to the bride's house on an auspicious day in company with a jangam. they bring a sire (woman's cloth), a kuppasa (jacket), two cocoanuts, five pieces of turmeric, five limes, betel leaf and areca nut. they also bring flowers for the susaka (a cap of flowers made for the bride), gold and silver ornaments, and sugar and areca nut for distribution to guests. the bride puts on the new cloths with the ornaments and flowers, and sits on a folded kumbli (blanket), on which fantastic devices have been made with rice. some married women fill her lap with cocoanuts and other things brought by the bridegroom's party. music is played, and the women sing. five of them pick up the rice on the kumbli, and gently drop it on to the bride's knees, shoulders and head. they do this three times with both hands. sugar and betel are then distributed, and one of the bride's family proclaims the fact that the bride has been given to the bridegroom. one of the bridegroom's family then states that the bride is accepted. that night the bride's family feed the visitors on sweet things; dishes made of hot or pungent things are strictly prohibited. the marriage ceremony, which often takes place some years later, occupies from one to four days according to circumstances. in the case of a four-day marriage, the first day is spent in worshipping ancestors. on a second day, rice and oil are sent to the local mutt, and oil alone to the relatives. new pots are brought with much shouting, and deposited in the god's room. a pandal (booth) is erected, and the bridegroom sits under it side by side with a married female relative, and goes through a performance which is called surige. an enclosure is made round them with cotton thread passed ten times round four earthen pitchers placed at the four corners. five married women come with boiled water, and wash off the oil and turmeric, with which the bride and the bridegroom and his companion have been anointed. the matrons then clothe them with the new cloths offered to the ancestors on the first day. after some ceremonial, the thread forming the enclosure is removed, and given to a jangam. the surige being now over, the bridegroom and his relatives are taken back to the god's room. the bride and her relatives are now taken to the pandal, and another surige is gone through. when this is over, the bride is taken to her room, and is decorated with flowers. at the same time, the bridegroom is decorated in the god's room, and, mounting on a bullock, goes to the village temple, where he offers a cocoanut. a chaplet of flowers called bashingam is tied to his forehead, and he returns to the house. in the god's room a panchakalasam, consisting of five metal vases with betel and vibhuti (sacred ashes) has been arranged, one vase being placed at each corner of a square, and one on the middle. by each kalasam is a cocoanut, a date fruit, a betel leaf and areca nut, and one pice (a copper coin) tied in a handkerchief. a cotton thread is passed round the square, and round the centre kalasam another thread, one end of which is held by the family guru, and the other by the bridegroom who sits opposite to him. the guru wears a ring made of kusa grass on the big toe of his right foot. the bride sits on the left hand side of the bridegroom, and the guru ties their right and left hands respectively with kusa grass. hastapuja then follows. the joined hands of the bride and bridegroom are washed, and bilva (ægle marmelos) leaves and flowers are offered. the officiating priest then consecrates the tali and the kankanam (wrist-thread), ties the latter on the wrists of the joined hands, and gives the tali to the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck, repeating some words after the priest. the tying of the tali is the binding portion of the ceremony. before the tali is given to the bridegroom, it is passed round the assembly to be touched by all and blessed. as soon as the bridegroom ties it on the bride, all those present throw over the pair a shower of rice. the bridegroom places some cummin seed and jaggery (crude sugar) on the bride's head, and the bride does the same to the bridegroom. small quantities of these articles are tied in a corner of the cloth of each, and the cloths are then knotted together. the bride worships the bridegroom's feet, and he throws rice on her head. the newly married couple offer fruits to five jangams, and present them with five pice. the relatives worship the bride and bridegroom, wash their feet and offer presents, and the proceedings of the day terminate. on the third day, friends and relatives are fed, and on the fourth day bride and bridegroom ride in procession through the village, on the same bullock, the bride in front. on return to the house they throw scented powder (bukkittu) at each other, and the guests join in the fun. then follows the wedding breakfast, to which only the near relatives are admitted. the married couple worship jangams and the elders, and take off the kankanam or consecration thread from their wrists, and tie it at the doorway. the five matrons who have assisted are given presents and dismissed, and the marriage is now complete. in a one-day marriage, the above ceremonies are crowded into the short time allotted. the remarriage of widows was one of the points on which basava insisted, and was probably one of the biggest bones of contention with the brahmans. widow remarriage is allowed at the present day, but the authorities at ujjini see fit to disregard it. they say that amongst jangams it is prohibited, and that amongst the other classes of lingayats it is growth of custom. the practice of widow remarriage is widely followed even among jangams, but amongst the stricter classes, who are probably under the influence of their brahman friends, it is discountenanced. the parties to such a marriage are not allowed to take part in the marriage ceremonies of others. a great deal can, however, be done when money is forthcoming, and in one case a girl has recently been remarried according to the form in use for original marriages. every jangam probably has his price. a widow cannot marry her deceased husband's brother or cousin. the marriage goes by the name of udiki, and corresponds to some extent to the gandarva form of the hindus. the ceremony is a very simple one; there is no music and no guests are invited. the parties go to the temple in company with the matapati or headman, and the bangle seller. the latter puts glass bangles on the bride's wrists, and the matapati ties the tali. this last act ratifies the marriage contract, and makes it indissoluble. in some cases the ceremony takes place at night, as though the parties wished the darkness to cover them, but this practice does not seem to be universal. a widower generally takes a widow as his second bride; a bachelor will not as a rule marry a widow. in connection with a case concerning the lingayat 'goundans' of the wynad, it is noted, in the indian law reports, [125] that "there is an immemorial custom by which lingait widows are remarried. such marriage is styled, not kalianam, but odaveli or kudaveli. it is not accompanied with the same ceremonies as a kalianam marriage, but a feast is given, the bride and bridegroom sit on a mat in the presence of the guests and chew betel, their cloths are tied together, and the marriage is consummated the same night. widows married in this form are freely admitted into society. they cease to belong to the family of their first husband, and the children of the second family inherit the property of their own father." divorce is permitted on proof of misconduct. the husband can exercise his right to divorce his wife by proving before a panchayet the alleged misconduct. the wife can only claim to divorce her husband when he has been outcasted. wives who have been divorced cannot remarry. the above answers are given on the authority of the ujjini mutt. there appears to be considerable divergence of opinion in other quarters. by some it is positively asserted that divorce is not permitted under any circumstances; that the husband and wife may separate on the ground of incompatibility of temper or for misconduct; and that in these circumstances the husband is at liberty to marry again, while the wife is not. others say that divorce is permitted, and that both parties are at liberty to remarry. in connection with the lingayats of south canara, it is recorded, in the indian law reports, [126] that "second marriage of a wife forsaken by the first husband is allowed. such marriage is known as serai udiki (giving a cloth); as distinguished from lagna or dhara, the first marriage." all castes included in lingayat community follow the hindu law of inheritance, and succession is governed by the same. as a rule lingayats worship basaveswara and virabhadra, the former being the founder of their sect, and the latter a son of siva. they worship also the other sons of siva, shanmukha and vinayaka, and parvati, wife of siva. the other deities of the hindu pantheon are not reverenced. some later saints are sometimes regarded with reverence, but there does not appear to be any great uniformity in this matter, and the ujjini authorities declare that no god except siva is worshipped. this is clearly the correct view of the religion, and it is evident that the worship of minor deities was not countenanced by the founder. it is a peculiarity amongst the lingayats that they esteem the jangam or priest as superior even to the deity. they pay homage to the jangam first, and to siva afterwards. the jangam is regarded as an incarnation of the deity. they allow him to bathe his lingam in water with which his feet have been washed, and which for this reason is regarded as holy water. with the same water they bathe their own lingams, and drink the remainder. the motto of the creed quoted by mr. c. p. brown is "guru, linga, jangam." these three words express the lingayat faith, but in practice the jangam is placed first, and, as stated above, is worshipped as god upon earth. this practice of bathing the lingams in holy water is universal, and precedes each meal. the jangam blesses the food in the name of basava, and eats before the others can begin. monday in every week is the lingayat sunday, and is sacred to siva. this day is observed everywhere, and no lingayat will cultivate his field, or otherwise work his cattle on a monday. this fact was noted by the abbé dubois. the following account of the various festivals recognised by lingayats was furnished by the dewan of the sandur state, but, as he himself admits, very few people really observe the rules:-the month chaitra.--first day of the bright fortnight being ugadi or new year's day, all take an oil bath and feast, the first dish to be eaten being a porridge made of margosa (melia azadirachta) flowers, sugar candy or jaggery, dried grapes, almonds, bengal gram flour, poppy seeds, and cocoanut kernel. those who can afford it put on new clothing. the eating of margosa flowers on ugadi is not, however, peculiar to the lingayat. on the full-moon day, called davanadahunname (from davana, a scented plant), they enjoy dainty dishes in honour of hampe pompapathiswami's car festival. the month vaisakha.--on the full-moon day called hagihunname (from hage, a young plant) cultivators make nursery beds, and enjoy a good repast. the month jyesta.--the full-moon day called karuhunname (from kare, a festoon). bullocks are washed, painted, and taken out in procession, when a festoon made of leaves, etc., and tied high across the main street, is broken. on the new-moon day called mannueththina-amavasya, they make bulls with earth, worship them, and eat a good meal. the month ashadha.--on the full-moon day called kadlakadavena hunname, they make a mixture of cholam or other flour with a single grain of unbroken bengal gram inside, boil it and eat. women strike one another with these cakes, which are either round or oblong, and are tough. before being eaten, they are cut into pieces with a knife. the month sravana.--the fifth day of the bright fortnight, called nagarapanchame. the image of a serpent, made of mud taken from a snake's hole, is worshipped with offerings of milk, soaked bengal gram, rice, balls made of jaggery and fried gingelly (sesamum) called chigali, balls made of rice flour and jaggery called tanittoo, cocoanuts, plantains and flowers. on each monday of this month, all the gods are worshipped with offerings of dainty dishes, and jangams are fed. this is the most important month in the year. those who can afford it have the basava or other puranams read and explained. the month bhadrapada.--the fourth day of the bright fortnight. the image of ganesha, made of earth and painted, is worshipped with an offering consisting of 21 harnakadubu, 21 chigali, 21 tanittoo, a cocoanut, flowers and incense. it is taken out in procession on the 3rd, 5th or 9th day, and deposited in a well or stream after the necessary worship. the new-moon day called malada-amavasya (from mahalaya, a period comprising 15 days from fullto new-moon), during which offerings are made to the manes of departed ancestors. the month aswija.--the first day of the bright fortnight. male children bathe, put on holiday clothes, and go to the village school. they do so till the 10th or dasami day. with them their master makes house-to-house visits for annual presents. they sing and play with the kolatam, a pair of painted round sticks about one foot in length with a diameter of 1 1/4 inches. on the dasami day, books, accounts, scales and weights, measures and weapons are worshipped with jambi (prosopis spicigera), rich food, flowers and incense. all, including jangams, enjoy a good meal. in the evening they visit temples, and offer cocoanuts to the idols. they pay reverence to elders by giving them jambi, and falling at their feet. on the same day, girls collect earth from ant-hills, and place it in a heap in the village temple. every evening they go to the said temple with aratis (wave offerings), singing on the way, and worship the heap. they continue this till the full-moon day called seegahunname. on the following day, i.e., on the first day of the dark fortnight, they worship in the same temple an image of siva and his consort parvati seated on the sacred bull made of earth and painted. they worship with offerings of cakes and other dainties, and cocoanuts, flowers and incense, and give arati. the matapati who has installed the idol takes these offerings, and gives each girl two idols of kontamma, made out of the heaped earth previously worshipped by them. they take them home in their arati platters. within the next three days, they go from house to house playing on kolu or kolatam and singing, and receive money presents. these earnings they spend on the worship of kontamma by making sajja and gingelly cakes called konte roti, and offering them. this worship is performed on the top of the roof of a house. the girls eat up the cakes, and take kontamma in procession to a stream or well, and gently let her into the water, singing songs all the while. on the new-moon day, a religious observance called nope or nomulu in honour of gauri (another name of parvati) is kept up. the observance consists in offering to the goddess 21 karjikayi, 21 whole areca nuts, 21 betel nuts, 21 bits of turmeric, 21 chendu flowers, 21 tumbe huvvu, a silk string with 21 threads and 21 knots, a cocoanut kernel, a date fruit, kunkuma, a cocoanut, bukkittu and incense, in a winnowing fan specially made with 21 fastenings. the fan is passed round the goddess 21 times. a face worked in silver, a new earthen pitcher or a metal pot with a twig of the banian tree in it, well decorated, represents the goddess. the silk string is allowed to remain before her that night. next morning, offerings of food, etc., are made to her, and the pujari (priest) ties a silk string on the left arm if a female, or the right arm if a male. that day being the balipadyam day, men, women and children take an oil bath very early in the morning, eat something, and put on new clothing. just before daybreak, women make two sets of cow-dung panchapandavas, and keep one set on either side of the outer threshold, and, sprinkling on them milk, butter and ghi, worship them. at the usual breakfast time, all the members of the family enjoy a hearty meal with the newly married son-in-law, to whom they make presents of cloths and gold according to circumstances. all that day children let off crackers. the month kartika.--on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight, girls bring ant-hill earth, and, depositing it in a temple, follow the procedure observed from the tenth day of the bright fortnight of aswija up to the day on which the kontamma was left in a stream or well. they go through the various details in three days. the month pushya.--the sankranti (the day on which the sun's progress to the north of the equator begins) festival is observed. on the bhogi day, i.e., the day previous to sankranti, cakes made of sajja and gingelly, dishes made of pumpkin, brinjals, sweet potatoes, red radish, raw chillies and chitrana (coloured rice) are eaten. on the sankranti day, more rich food, including holigas (cakes made of jaggery, dhal and wheat), is eaten in company with jangams, who are dismissed with money presents and betel and nut. the month magha.--the full-moon day called baratahunname. this is a feasting day on which no ceremony is performed, but the people enjoy themselves by eating good things. the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight is the sivarathri day, i.e., the day sacred to siva. this should be a fasting and sleepless day, the fast being broken early next morning, but very few observe these rules strictly. the month phalguna.--the full-moon day is the day on which the holi festival takes place. it is not marked by any religious observance beyond eating good things. the same is the case with the new-moon day. brahmans are not employed as a general rule. the jangam is the priest of the lingayat, and is called in for all ceremonies. brahmans are sometimes consulted in fixing auspicious days, and in some cases are even allowed to officiate at marriages. this is the rule in sandur, and shows the tendency of modern times. the ujjini mutt is, however, still bigoted in its rejection of all brahman interference, though, with strange inconsistency, the elders of the community themselves claim to be brahmans. jangams are now studying vedic shastras, and may often be heard repeating vedic hymns. the dead are buried in a sitting posture facing towards the north, but an exception is made in the case of unmarried people, who are buried in a reclining position. before the patient dies, the ceremony called vibhutidharane or vibhuti achchodu is performed. he is given a bath, and is made to drink holy water in which the jangam's feet have been washed. he is made to give the jangam a handkerchief with vibhuti (ashes), rudraksha, dakshina (coin) and tambula (betel leaf). this is followed by a meal, of which all the jangams present, and the relatives and friends of the patient partake. it appears to be immaterial whether the patient is still alive or not. it is stated that, if the invalid survives this ceremony, he must take to the jungles and disappear, but in practice this is not observed. the death party resembles in some respects an irish 'wake,' though the latter does not commence until the deceased is well on his way to the next world. after death, the corpse is placed in a sitting posture, and the jangam, who has received the offering before death, places his left foot on the right thigh of the body. the people present worship the corpse, and the usual distribution of coins and betel to jangams follows. the body is then carried in a vimanam or bamboo chair to the burial-ground. the grave should be a cube of nine feet dimensions, with a niche on one side, in which the corpse is to sit. the lingam is untied, and placed in the left hand; bilva leaves (ægle marmelos) and vibhuti are placed at the side; the body is wrapped in an orange coloured cloth; and the grave is filled in. a jangam stands on the grave, and, after receiving the usual douceur, shouts out the name of the deceased and says that he has gone to kailasa or heaven. memorial ceremonies are contrary to lingayat tenets, but in this, as in other matters, the influence of the brahmans appears, and amongst some sections an annual ceremony is performed. the performance of sradh, or the memorial ceremonial common to other hindus, is unknown. the abbé dubois tells us that a lingayat is no sooner buried than he is forgotten. he says, "the point in the creed of the saivaites which appears to me to be most remarkable is their entire rejection of that fundamental principle of the hindu religion 'marujanma' or metempsychosis. from this it would follow that they do not believe in ghosts. but there is a generally accepted idea that evil spirits sometimes take possession of females. this may be a rude way of expressing the fact that the gentle sex is uncertain, coy and hard to please." though sradh is unknown, once in a year on the new-moon day of the month bhadrapada or in aswija, they offer clothes and food to ancestors in general, childless ancestors, and men who have died a violent death. the special object of worship is a bull, the animal sacred to siva. a bull is supposed to be used by siva for riding. it is also painted on siva's flag. tattooing is confined to females. children are tattooed in their fifth year. a round mark, the size of a pea, is pricked between the eyebrows, on the right cheek, and on the chin. other marks are made on the forehead. these marks are also made on the forearms and hands. the pigment is of a green colour, but the recipe is not known. the skin is pricked with babul (acacia arabica) thorns. females wear a sadi about 8 yards long and 1¼ yards broad. it is invariably a coloured one, with silk or cotton borders at the edges and across at both the ends. one of the cross borders is much broader than the other, and is showy. the sadi is of different patterns. it is tied below the waist with folds in front, the end with the cross border passing round the trunk from left to right, and covering the head. they wear also a kuppasa, which covers half the body from the neck, and is fastened in the front by a knot. in some families infants are branded with a hot needle on the stomach, under the idea that disease is thereby warded off. children who suffer from fits are branded with a twig of margosa or with a glass bangle. as lingayats were originally recruited from all castes, the community must have included persons of nearly every trade. at the present day the majority may be grouped under priests, traders and agriculturists. it is the idea of some lingayats that jangams are forbidden to trade, and strictly speaking this objection is valid. but it is even admitted at ujjini that there is no such objection in practice. many wealthy traders may be found amongst the above class, and in the town of kampli there is a lingayat guru who is held in great esteem, and yet is the owner of two shops, the business of which he personally conducts. it is even whispered that the head of the ujjini mutt is not averse to increasing his income by a little discreet usury. the majority of lingayats in bellary are tenant-farmers, or self-cultivating pattadars. it is said to be uncommon to find a lingayat daily labourer in the bombay presidency--they are mostly landholders and cultivators or petty traders. they are prohibited from doing such work as is required of a butcher, a toddy drawer or seller, sweeper or scavenger. anything connected with the use of leather is an object of special abhorrence to a lingayat. even the use of a leather bucket for irrigation purposes is by some of the stricter members considered degrading. it is even supposed to be wrong to touch one's shoe or sandals in the presence of others, and beating with a shoe is a special insult. this last objection is probably common to all castes. there are few artisans, but a special sub-section called the hirekurnis are weavers. oil-sellers are styled ganigas and sajjanaganigas. flower-sellers are called jiru; those engaged in making dairy produce, gaulis ; those who do tailoring, chippigas. members of the above trades under the above names are not exclusively lingayats. ploughing is never commenced in pushya, as it is considered an inauspicious month, but what was begun in the previous margasira could be continued through it. those who did not begin in margasira do so in magha, the month succeeding pushya. tuesdays and fridays are auspicious days for the commencement of this operation. they are also the appropriate days for sowing. there is no restriction as to month, that being entirely dependent on the season. before ploughing commences, the team of bullocks is worshipped. the horns of the animals are washed with water, and covered with sacred ashes. a cocoanut is broken on the yoke. before sowing, puja (worship) is offered to the drill-plough. the hollow bamboos, through which the seed drops, is daubed with chunam (lime), and the other parts with red earth. bunches of leaves of the sacred pipal, and bits of turmeric are stuck in three or four places. to the drill, a string, containing marking-nut, sweet flag, and pieces of palmyra leaf, is tied. kunkuma is applied, and to the whole apparatus food specially prepared is offered. this takes place at home. the drill-plough is then carried to the field, where, after the bullocks have been attached, a cocoanut is broken on the cross beam. reaping commences with the sprinkling of milk and ghi on the crop. at the threshing floor, a ceremony called saraga is gone through. a conical-shaped image made of cow-dung is set at the foot of the grain heap. on its top are placed the tail hair of bullocks, a single cholam ear-head, a flower of the avari (bean) creeper, and tummi flower (leucas aspera). before it are spread the mess of cholam and other food brought from home, and a cocoanut is broken. some of the mess is dissolved in buttermilk, and thrown round the threshing floor. the man who throws it lays the pot which contained it before the image, and salutes the heap with joined hands. the residue of the cholam mess and other food is eaten by a jangam, the cultivator, the guests, servants and coolies. the grain in the heap is next winnowed and made into a heap. it is measured just before sunset, neither sooner nor later, after breaking the cocoanut which was secreted in the original heap. the measurers sit with their faces towards the north. while the measurement is proceeding, no one in the threshing floor may speak; nor is any one allowed to enter it at the time. the belief is that, if either of these happens, the grain in the heap will diminish. this mysterious disappearance is called wulusu. rain in rohini karte (one of the twenty-seven asterisms in which rain falls) is good for sowing, and that in mrugasira and ardra appropriate. these three asterisms are suited for sowing cholam. showers in punarvasu, pushya, and aslesha are suitable for sowing korra, saju and savi. rain in pubba and wuttara is favourable to cotton, korra and horse gram, and that in hasta and chitta to wheat, cholam, bengal gram and kusumulu (oil-seed). flashes of lightning occurring at the exit of ardra, augur good showers. the saying is that, if it flashes in ardra, six showers will fall. in magha, weeding, either by the hand or by bullocks, should not be done. wind should not blow in wuttara. if it does, the grain in the ear-heads will be hollow. there should be no lightning flashes in swati. if there are, a pest called benkihula will appear, and grain will not be formed in each socket. rain in visakha destroys worms, and is good for pulses. rain in anuradha spoils them. a scare-crow in the shape of a human being is set up in fields where there are crops, to scare birds and animals. it is made much in the same way as elsewhere, with crossed sticks and a painted chatty (pot). the sticks are covered with rags of cotton or a kambli (blanket). a cocoanut is broken before digging for a well commences. the lingayats are strict vegetarians, and abstain from all forms of liquor. the staple foods in bellary are cholam, cumbu, ragi and korra. lingayats will not eat, drink or smoke with any one of another religion. this is the strict rule, but, as already stated, kapu lingayats will sometimes eat with a non-lingayat relative or friend. (see also jangam.) liyari.--see kevuto. lohana.--immigrant traders from the bombay presidency. "they state that they take their name from the port of loha in sindh, but burton says that they came from lohanpur near multan, and that they were driven south by the muhammadans. they reverence the daria pir, or the indus spirit." [127] lohara.--the loharas, luharas, or luharos, are an oriya caste of iron-workers, whose name is derived from loha, iron. luhara also occurs as an occupational name of a sub-division of savaras. loliya.--a synonym for jalari. lombo-lanjia (long tail).--a sub-division of savaras, which is so called because its members leave, at the buttocks, one end of the long piece of cloth, which they wear round the waist. loriya.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small class of hill cultivators in the vizagapatam district. they are said to be a sub-division of gaudo. m machi.--recorded as a synonym of myasa bedar. madaka (plough).--an exogamous sept of togata. madari (pride or arrogance).--a tamil name for chakkiliyan. maddi.--maddi or madderu, indicating those who use the root of the indian mulberry (maddi: morinda citrifolia) as a dye, has been recorded as a sub-division of besthas and kabberas. maddila (drum).--maddila or maddili has been recorded as an exogamous sept of kapu and mala. madhave (marriage).--an exogamous sept of badagas of the nilgiri hills. madhurapuria.--a name frequently given by members of the bhatta sub-division of gaudo. madhya.--madhya or madhaya is a sub-division of bottada and sondi. madiga.--the madigas are the great leather-working caste of the telugu country, and correspond to the chakkiliyans of the tamil area. they were first studied by me at hospet in the bellary district, and at once formed a strong opposition party, in the belief that i was going to select and carry off the strong men, lest they should become kings, and upset the british raj. so frightened were they, that they went in a body to live in the muhammadan quarter of the town. at the hospet weekly market i witnessed a mendicant youth lying naked in a thorny bed of babul (acacia arabica) stems. a loathsome spectacle was afforded by a shrivelled old woman with mouth distended by a mass of mud the size of a cricket-ball, both eyes bunged up with mud, and beating her bare breasts with her hands. the market was infested by religious mendicants, some from benares and ramesvaram, others from across the hyderabad frontier, who cadged persistently for tobacco leaves, an onion or brinjal (solanum melongena), a few chillies, a handful of grain, or a pinch of salt, and helped to deplete the slender stock of the market-sellers. one holy man from sholapur was profusely decorated with beads, ashes, brass snakes, and deities. holding out for four pies worth of betel leaves, while the stall-keeper only offered one pie worth, he, after making a circle in the ground with his staff round his sandals thickly studded with blunt nails, stood thereon, and abused the vendor in language which was not nice. a native magistrate thereon summoned a constable, who, hastily donning his official belt, took the holy man in custody for an offence under the act. a conspicuous feature of hospet are the block-wheel carts with wooden wheels, solid or made of several pieces, with no spokes. dragged by sturdy buffaloes, they are excellent for carrying timber or other loads on rough roads or hill-tracks, where ordinary carts cannot travel. during the breezy and showery season of the south-west monsoon, kite-flying is the joy of the hospet youths, the kites being decorated with devices of scorpions and hindu gods, among which a representation of hanuman, one of the genii loci, soared highest every evening. it is fairly easy to distinguish a madiga from a bedar, but difficult to put the distinction in words. the madigas have more prominent cheek-bones, a more vinous eye, and are more unkempt. the bedar, it is said, gets drunk on arrack (alcohol obtained by distillation), whereas the madiga contents himself with the cheaper toddy (fermented palm juice). the bedars resort freely to the madiga quarters (madiga keri), situated on the outskirts of the town, and fenced in by milk-hedge (euphorbia tirucalli) bushes. my brahman assistant, hunting in the madiga quarters for subjects for measurement, unfortunately asked some bedars if they were madigas. to which, resenting the mistake, one of them replied "we call you the madiga," and the brahman stood crushed. the hospet madigas had their hair cropped short, moustache, and trimmed beard. they wore the customary threads or charm cylinders to ward off devils, and steel tweezers for removing the thorns of the babul, which is largely used as a fence for the fields of cholam and sugar. one man had suspended round his neck, as a hereditary talisman, a big silver venkataramana bottu with the namam in the centre on an altar, and the chank and chakram stamped on it. as bearing on the social status of the malas and madigas, which is a subject of dispute between the two classes, it may be noted that all the billets in cotton factories which require any skill, such as engine-drivers, valve-men, moulders, turners, etc., are held by malas. the madigas are generally only three-anna wage men, and do such work as turning a winch, moving bales, and other trivial jobs. at a factory, whereat i stayed, at adoni, there were three wells, viz.:--for malas, for madigas, and for the rest of the workers, except brahmans. and the well-water for the malas was better than that for the madigas. a madiga chindu, or sword-dance, was prohibited in 1859 and 1874. but a petition, referring to its obscene nature, and its being the cause of frequent collision between the malas and madigas, was submitted to the collector of kurnool in 1887, by a missionary. the dance was performed at festivals, held annually or triennially, in honour of the village goddess, and during the time of threshing corn, building a new house, or the opening of a newly-dug well. the dance, accompanied by a song containing grossly indecent reflections against the malas, was also performed, under the excitement of strong drinks, in the presence of the goddess, on the occasion of marriages. one verse ran as follows: "i shall cut with my saw the malas of the four houses at nandyal, and, having caused them to be cut up, shall remove their skins, and fix them to drums." "the right hand party," it is stated, [128] "resent the use by the left of palanquins at their marriages, and so the malas are very jealous of the chucklers (madigas) carrying the bride and bridegroom through the streets, using tinkling ornaments, etc. riots sometimes occur when a strong feeling of opposition is raised, to resent what they consider innovations." " the madigas," mr. n. g. chetty writes, [129] "belong to the left-hand caste, and often quarrel with the malas (right-hand). in 1871 a madiga, having contrived to obtain a red cloth as a reward from the police superintendent, wore it on his head, and went in procession on horseback by the main bazaar street. this resulted in a disturbance, in which a european inspector was severely hurt by a mala, who had mistaken him for the superintendent. the two factions fixed, by mutual understanding, the streets by which each was to proceed, and no quarrels have since occurred." during the celebration of village festivals, an unmarried madiga woman, called for the occasion matangi (a favourite deity), abuses and spits upon the people assembled, and they do not take this as an insult, because they think that her spittle removes the pollution. the woman is, indeed, regarded as the incarnation of the goddess herself. similarly, the malas use very obscene language, when the god is taken in procession to the streets of the caste people. [130] concerning the matangi i gather [131] that she is an "unmarried woman of the madiga class, chosen after a most trying ordeal, unless she happens to be descended from a previous matangi, to represent the goddess. she must vindicate her fitness by suitable prophetic utterances, and her nomination is not confirmed till she has obtained divine approval at the temple of a certain village near kumbam in kurnool. when she has been finally confirmed in her honours, she enjoys the privilege of adorning her face with a profusion of turmeric and red powder, and of carrying margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves about her. she is unmarried, but without being bound by a vow of celibacy. her business is to preside at the purificatory ceremonies that precede all festivities. when malakshmi, or poleramma, or ankamma, or any other of the village deities is to have her festival, the nearest matangi is applied to. her necklace of cowry (cypræa moneta) shells is deposited in a well for three days, before she is allowed to put it on for the ceremony. she dons the necklace, and marches behind the master of the ceremonies, who carries a knife, wooden shoes and trident, which have been similarly placed for a time at the bottom of a well. the master of the ceremonies, his male and female relations, then stand in a line, and the matangi runs round and round them, uttering what appear to be meaningless exclamations, spitting upon all of them, and touching them with her stick. her touch and saliva are believed to purge all uncleanliness of body and soul, and are invited by men who would ordinarily scorn to approach her, and it passes one's comprehension how she should be honoured with the task of purifying the soul and body of high class reddis and purse-proud komatis. it must be said that only very few brahman families keep up this mysterious ceremony of homage to the matangi. she is allowed to come into the house, that is to pass the outer gate. there she besmears a certain spot with cowdung, and places upon it a basket. it is at once filled with cooked food. a layer of rice powder covers the surface of the food, and on it is placed a small lamp, which is lighted. she then holds out a little earthenware pot, and asks for toddy to fill it with. but the brahman says that she must be content with water. with the pot in her hand, and wild exultant songs in her mouth, recounting her humiliation of brahman and kshatriya, of saint and sovereign, she moves quickly round the assembled men and women, scattering with a free hand upon them the water from the pot. the women doff their petticoats, and make a present of them to the matangi, and the mistress of the house gives her the cloth she is wearing. the men, however, with strange inconsistency, doff their sacred threads, and replace them by new ones after a bath. the origin of the supremacy of the matangi is obscure, and shrouded in legends. according to one of them, the head of renuka, the wife of the sage bhrigu, who was beheaded by her lord's orders, fell in a madiga house, and grew into a madiga woman. according to another legend, a certain king prayed to be blessed with a daughter, and in answer the gods sent him a golden parrot, which soon after perched on an ant-hill, and disappeared into it. the disappointed father got the ant-hill excavated, and was rewarded for his pains by finding his daughter rise, a maid of divine beauty, and she came to be worshipped as the matangi. it is interesting to note that matangas were an ancient line of kings 'somewhere in the south,' and the madigas call themselves matangi makkalu or children of matangi or durga, who is their goddess." the system of making basavis (see deva-dasi), which prevails among the madigas of the ceded districts, is apparently not in vogue among those of the telugu country, where, however, there are, in some places, a class of prostitutes called matangi, matamma, or matha, who are held in much respect. in connection with the basavi system, it is recorded, in the madras law report, 1892, that "upon the whole, the evidence seems to be to establish that, among the madigas, there is a widespread custom of performing in the temple at uchangidurgam, a marriage ceremony, the result of which is that the girl is married without possibility of widowhood or divorce; that she is at liberty to have intercourse with men at pleasure; that her children are heirs to her father, and keep up his family; and that basavis' nieces, being made basavis, become their heirs. the basavis seem in some cases to become prostitutes, but the language used by the witnesses generally points only to free intercourse with men, and not necessarily to receipt of payment for use of their bodies. in fact, they acquire the right of intercourse with men, without more discredit than accrues to the men of their caste for intercourse with women who are not their wives." the ceremony of initiation into matangihood is fully described by emma rosenbusch (mrs. clough). [132] in the canarese country, e.g., at tumkur in mysore, the ceremony of initiation is performed by a vakkaliga priest. a portion of the front courtyard of the house is cleaned, and smeared with cow-dung. on the space thus prepared, a pattern (muggu) of a lotus is drawn with red, yellow, and white powders. the outline is first drawn with rice or ragi (eleusine coracana) flour deftly dropped from between the thumb and index finger. the interspaces are then filled in with turmeric and kunkuma powder. five small pots are arranged, one in the centre, and one at each corner of the pattern. by the side of the pots are placed a ball of sacred ashes, a new cloth, a piece of turmeric, camphor, and plantain fruits. plantain stems are set up at the corners of the pattern. a string is passed seven times round the four corner pots, and tied to the central pot. the woman who is about to become a matangi should live on fruits and milk for five days previous to the ceremony. she is dressed in a white sari, and seats herself on the muggu close to the central pot. a bamboo basket, containing a pot bearing the device of two foot-prints (of ellamma), an earthen or wooden receptacle, an iron lamp, and a cane, is placed on her head. the asadi sings songs about ellamma, and the vakkaliga priest throws rice over the novice's head, feet, knees, and shoulders, and ties two bottus (marriage badges), called respectively ellamma's and parasurama's bottu, on her neck. the new and old matangis bawl out ekkalde jogavva. the ceremony closes with the drinking of toddy by the matangis and asadis. the basket (adlige) containing the various articles enumerated is the badge of a matangi, who carries it with its contents, and a few leafy twigs of the margosa tree (melia azadirachta). the basket is wrapped up in a red or brown cloth, and may not be placed on the ground. at the matangi's house, it is hung up by means of a rope, or placed in a niche in the wall. it may be noted that the madigas call the intoxicant toddy palu (milk). for the following interesting note on the matangi institution, i am indebted to an article by mr. a. madhaviah. [133] "about ten miles to the south-west of cumbum, in the kurnool district, and within a mile of the village of tudimilla, there is a narrow pass between two hillocks known as surabeswara kona. besides the more common presences, we find here the following shrines:-(a) sapthamathas (seven mothers). (b) a curious temple, in which are found the idols of jamadhagni bagawan--the father of parasurama and the local rishi--his wife renuka devi, and the surabi. (c) opposite to this temple is the curious shrine, not very much bigger than a railway pointsman's box, dedicated to mathangi. in this temple are found no less than five idols arranged in the following order:--(1) a three-headed snake; (2) another three-headed snake; (3) a female body, with the palms joined reverentially in the worshipping posture in front, with the lower half of the body snaky in form, and with a canopy of snaky hoods above; (4) mathangi proper--a female figure of about 15 inches in height, made of stone--with a short skirt, below which the feet are visible, but no upper garment, and wearing a garland round the neck. the right hand holds a snake-headed stick, while the left has an adlika, a kind of sieve; (5) another similar figure, but without even the skirt. "we shall now proceed to enquire who this mathangi was, and how she came to be worshipped there. jamadhagni maharishi, known also as bagawan on account of his godly power and virtues, married renuka, the daughter of renu, and had five sons by her, the youngest of whom was the famous parasurama, an incarnation of vishnu. 'once upon a time,' says the bhagavatapurana, 'renuka having gone to the ganga, saw the king of the ghandarvas wearing garlands of lotus, to play with the apsaras. having gone to the river to fetch water, she, whose heart was somewhat attracted by chitaratha (the king of the gandharvas) who was playing, forgot the time of yajna (sacrifice). coming to feel the delay, and afraid of the curse of the muni, she returned to the hermitage, and placed the pitcher before the muni, and remained standing with folded palms. the muni (jamadhagni), coming to know of the unchasteness of his wife, got enraged, and said 'o my sons! kill this sinner.' although thus directed, they did not do so. the said (parasu) rama, who was well aware of the power of the muni in respect of meditations and asceticism, killed, being directed by his father, his mother along with his brothers. the son of satyavati (jamadhagni) was pleased, and requested rama to pray for any favour. rama desired the reanimation of those killed, and their forgetfulness of the fact of their having been killed. immediately did they get up, as though after a deep sleep. rama, who was conscious of the powers of his father in regard to asceticism, took the life of his dear ones.' "the version locally prevalent is somewhat different. jamadhagni bagawan's hermitage was near this kona, and he was worshipping the god surabeswara, and doing tapas (penance) there. one day, his wife renuka devi went, very early in the morning, to the river gundlacama to bathe, and fetch water for her husband's sacrificial rites. she was accompanied, as was her wont on such occasions, by a female slave of the chuckler (leather-worker) caste, as a sort of bodyguard and attendant. while she was bathing, the great warrior karthaviriyarjuna with a thousand arms happened to fly across the sky on some business of his own, and renuka saw his form reflected in the water, and was pleased with it in her mind. it must be mentioned that she never used to take any vessel with her to fetch water, for her chastity was such that she had power to roll water into a pot-like shape, as if it were wax, and thus bring it home. on this day, however, she failed to effect this, try what she might, and she was obliged to return home empty-handed. in the meanwhile, the sage, her husband, finding that his wife did not return as usual, learnt through his 'wisdom sight' what had happened, and ordered his son parasurama to slay his sinful mother. parasurama went towards the river accordingly, and, seeing his mother returning, aimed an arrow at her, which severed her head from her body, and also similarly severed, with its unspent force, the head of the chuckler woman who was coming immediately behind his mother. parasurama returned to his father without even noticing this accident, and when his father, pleased with his prompt obedience, offered him any boon, he prayed for the re-animation of his mother. jamadhagni then gave him some holy water out of his vessel, and told him to put together the dismembered parts, and sprinkle some water over them. parasurama went off in great delight and haste, and, as it was still dark and early in the morning, he wrongly put his mother's head on the chuckler woman's trunk, and sprinkled water on them. then, seeing another head and another body lying close by, he thought that they belonged to the female slave whom he had unwittingly killed, and he put them also together, and re-animated them. he was extremely vexed when he found out the mistakes he had committed, but, as there was no rectifying them without another double murder, he produced the two women before his father, and begged to be forgiven. the sage finally accepted the person with his late consort's head as his wife, and granted to the other woman the status of an inferior deity, in response to her prayers, and owing to her having his wife's body. this was the origin of mathangi. "there are some permanent inam (rent-free) lands belonging to this shrine, and there is always a madiga 'vestal virgin' known as mathangi, who is the high priestess, or rather the embodied representative of the brahman-chuckler goddess, and who enjoys the fruits of the inams. mathangi is prohibited from marrying, and, when a mathangi dies, her successor is chosen in the following manner. all the chuckler girls of the village, between the ages of eight and ten, who have not attained puberty, are assembled before the shrine, and the invoking hymns are chanted amid a flourish of trumpets, drums, and other accessories. the girl who becomes possessed--on whom the goddess descends--is the chosen vessel, and she is invested with the insignia of her office, a round sieve, a bunch of margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, a snake-headed bamboo stick, a piece of cotton thread rope with some cowries (cypræa moneta shells) strung on it, and a small vessel of kunkuma (coloured aniline powder). a vow of lifelong celibacy is also administered to her. curiously enough, this shrine is venerated by all castes, from the brahman downwards. we were informed that, at the time of worship, the chuckler priestess dances about in wild frenzy, and she is given toddy to drink, which she not infrequently spits on her devotees, and even brahmans regard this as auspicious, and not in the least polluting. we had the pleasure of witnessing a 'possessed dance' by the reigning mathangi, with her drummer in attendance. she is a chuckler woman, about thirty years of age, and, but for the insignia of her office, not in any way differing from the rest of her class. though unmarried she had several children, but this was apparently no disqualification. we were standing before the shrine of the seven mothers when the drummer invoked the goddess by chanting a telugu hymn, keeping time on his drum. the meaning of the hymn was to this effect, as far as we could make out:-sathya surabesa kona! gowthama's kamadhenu! the headless trunk in sathya surabesa kona! your father giri razu kamadeva jamadhagni mamuni beheaded the trunk; silently jamadhagni cut off the arms; did you, the headless trunk in kamadhenuvanam, the headless trunk of jamadhagni, your father's golden sword, did you ask to be born a virgin in the snake pit? "while chanting the above, the drummer was dancing round and round the woman, and beating wildly on his drum. the woman began to tremble all over, and soon it was visible that the goddess had descended on her. then the drummer, wilder and more frantic than ever, began to praise the goddess in these words:-are you wearing bells to your ankles, o mother? are you wearing cowries, o mother? dancing and singing, o mother! we pray to thee, o mother! possessed and falling on the ground, i implore thee, o mother! o mother, who went to delhi and oruganti with a sieve in the right-hand, with a wand in the left; with bells tinkling at her ankles, the mother went to oruganti town, the mother went away. "during this chant, the woman vies with the drummer, and dances fiercely round and round, always facing him. then comes the appeasing chant, which the drummer drawls out in a quivering and solemn tone, and without dancing about:-by the feet of the thirty-three crores, by the feet of the sixty crores, by the feet of the devas, peace ! "the woman then stands with closed eyes, panting for breath, and quite exhausted. "on ordinary days, the mathangi goes about the villages, collecting the offerings of her devotees, and, we take it, she is never in much want. there are also local mathangis in other villages, but they are all said to be subordinate to the tudimilla woman, who is the high pontiff of the institution. we were informed that there was an old palmyra-leaf manuscript in existence, describing the institution and the ceremonies (mostly tantric and phallic) in detail." among the madigas of tumkur in mysore, the matangis must apparently belong to one of two septs, belliyoru or malloru. the madiga asadis, who are males, have to go through an initiation ceremony very similar to that of the matangi. but a necklet of pebbles is substituted for the bottu, and the vakkaliga priest touches the novice's shoulders with flowers, turmeric powder, and kunkumam. the asadis are musicians who sing songs and recite stories about ellamma. they play on a musical instrument called chaudike, which is a combination of a drum and stringed instrument. the matangis and asadis, both being dedicated to ellamma, are eminently qualified to remove pollution for many castes who are ellamma vokkalu or followers of ellamma. a lotus device, or figures of pothu raja and matangi, are drawn on the ground, after it has been cleansed with cow-dung. the matangi, with her insignia, sits in the centre of the device, and the asadis, sitting close by, sing the praises of ellamma to the accompaniment of the chaudike. the matangis and asadi then drink toddy, and go about the house, wherein the former sprinkle toddy with the margosa twig. sometimes they pour some of the toddy into their mouths, and spit it out all over the house. the pot, in which the toddy is placed, is, in some places, called pallakki (palanquin). the asadis' version of the story of ellamma is as follows. she is the goddess for all, and is present in the tongues of all except dumb people, because they have to pronounce the syllable elli (where) whenever they ask a question containing the word where. she is a mysterious being, who often exhibits herself in the form of light or flames. she is the cause of universe, and the one sakthi in existence thereon. she is supposed to be the daughter of giriraja muni and javanikadevi, and the wife of jamadhagni rishi. her son is parasurama, carrying a plough. the town where she lives has three names, jambupuri, isampuri, and vijayanagara, has eighty-seven gates, and is fortified by seven walls. she is believed to have for her dress all kinds of snakes. several groves of margosa trees are said to flourish in her vicinity. she is worshipped under many names, and has become lakshmi, gauramma, and saraswati in brahman houses, or akkumari in vakkaliga houses. to the idigas she is gatabaghya lakshmi, to the kurubas ganga mari, to the oddes peddamma and chinnamma, and so on. she is said to have proceeded on a certain day to the town of oragallu, accompanied by jana matangi. on the way thither, the soles of matangi's feet blistered, and she sat down with ellamma beneath a margosa tree. after resting a short time matangi asked ellamma's permission to go to a neighbouring idiga (telugu toddy-drawer), and get some toddy to drink. ellamma objected, as the idiga gauda was a lingayat, and matangi would be compelled to wear the lingam. when matangi persisted, ellamma transformed herself into an ant-hill, and matangi, in the guise of a young woman, went to the idiga gauda with her cane (jogi kolu) and basket, and asked for toddy. the gauda became angry, and, tying her to a date-palm (phoenix sylvestris), beat her, and gave her cane and basket to his groom. matangi was further ill-treated by the gauda and his wives, but escaped, and went to the gauda's brother, who treated her kindly, and offered her toddy, of which he had sixty loads on bullocks. all this he poured into the shell of a margosa fruit which matangi held in her hand, and yet it was not filled. eventually the toddy extracted from a few palms was brought, and the shell became full. so pleased was matangi with the idiga's treatment of her, that she blessed him, and instructed him to leave three date-palms untapped as basavi trees in every grove. she then returned to ellamma, and it was resolved to afflict the gauda who had treated her badly with all kinds of diseases. still disguised as a young woman, she went to him with sweet-smelling powders, which he purchased for a large sum of money. but, when he used them, he became afflicted with manifold diseases, including small-pox, measles, cancer, asthma, gout, rheumatism, abscesses, and bed-sores. matangi then appeared before him as an old fortune-teller woman, whom the idiga consulted, and doing as he was told by her, was cured. subsequently, learning that all his misfortunes were due to his want of respect to matangi, he became one of ellamma's vokkalu. "the madigas," mr. h. a. stuart informs us, [134] "will not take food or water from pariahs, nor the latter from the former, a prejudice which is taken advantage of in the kalahasti raja's stables to prevent theft of gram by the pariah horse-keepers, the raw gram being sprinkled with water by madigas in the sight of the pariahs." there are telugu proverbs to the effect that "under the magili system of cultivation, even a madiga will grow good crops," and "not even a madiga will sow before malapunnama." writing concerning the madigas, [135] the rev. h. huizinga states that "they live in hamlets at a respectable distance from the villages of the caste people, by whom they are greatly despised. their habits are squalid in the extreme, and the odour of a madiga hamlet is revolting. they perform all the lowest kinds of service for the caste people, especially bearing burdens and working in leather. they take charge of the ox or buffalo as soon as it dies. they remove the skin and tan it, and eat the loathsome carcase, which makes them specially despised, and renders their touch polluting. some of the skins are used for covering the rude drums that are so largely used in hindu festivals, and beaten in honour of the village deities. the caste men impress the madigas into their service, not only to make the drums, but also to beat them at their feasts. it may be mentioned that nearly ten per cent. of the madigas are nominal christians, and, in some parts of the nellore district, the christians form over half of the madiga population. this changes their habits of life and also their social position. eating of carrion is now forbidden, as well as beating of drums at hindu festivals, and their refusal in this particular often leads to bitter persecution at the hands of the caste people. the main duty of the madigas is the curing and tanning of hides, and the manufacture of rude leather articles, especially sandals, trappings for bullocks, and large well-buckets used for irrigation. the process of tanning with lime and tangedu (cassia auriculata) bark is rough and simple. [tangedu is said [136] to be cut only by the madigas, as other classes think it beneath their dignity to do it.] as did their forefathers, so the madigas do to-day. the quality of the skins they turn out is fair, and the state of the development of the native leather trade compares very favourably with that of other trades such as blacksmithy and carpentry. the madiga's sandals are strong, comfortable, and sometimes highly ornamental. his manner of working, and his tools are as simple as his life. he often gets paid in kind, a little fodder for his buffalo, so many measures of some cheap grain, perhaps a few vegetables, etc. in the northern districts, the madigas are attached to one or more families of ryots, and are entitled to the dead animals of their houses. like the vettiyan in the south, the madiga is paid in kind, and he has to supply sandals for the ryots, belts for the bulls, and all the necessaries of agriculture; and for these he has to find the requisite leather himself; but for the larger articles, such as water-buckets, the master must find the leather. of late years there is a tendency observable among madigas to poach on each other's monopoly of certain houses, and among the ryots themselves to dispense with the services of family madigas, and resort to the open market for their necessaries. in such cases, the ryots demand payment from the madigas for the skins of their dead animals. the hides and skins, which remain after local demands have been satisfied, are sold to merchants from the tamil districts, and there is generally a central agent, to whom the various sub-agents send their collections, and by him they are dried and salted and sent to madras for tanning. in the kistna district, children have little leather strings hanging from the left shoulder, like the sacred cord of the brahman, from which is suspended a bag containing something put in it by a madiga, to charm away all forms of disease from the infant wearer." in some places bones are collected by the madigas for the labbais (muhammadans), by whom they are exported to bombay. the god of the temple at tirupati appears annually to four persons in different directions, east, west, north and south, and informs them that he requires a shoe from each of them. they whitewash their houses, worship the god, and spread rice-flour thickly on the floor of a room, which is locked for the night. next morning the mark of a huge foot is found on the floor, and for this a shoe has to be made to fit. when ready, it is taken in procession through the streets of the village, and conveyed to tirupati, where it is presented at the temple. though the makers of the shoes have worked in ignorance of each other's work, the shoes brought from the north and south, and those from the east and west, are believed to match, and make a pair. though the worship of these shoes is chiefly meant for the pariahs, who are prohibited from ascending the tirupati hill, as a matter of fact all, without distinction of caste, worship them. the shoes are placed in front of the image of the god near the foot of the hill, and are said to gradually wear out by the end of the year. at a pseudo-hook-swinging ceremony in the bellary district, as carried out at the present day, a bedar is suspended by a cloth passed under his arms. the madigas always swing him, and have to provide the hide ropes, which are used. [137] in an exceedingly interesting account of the festival of the village goddess uramma, at kudligi in the bellary district, mr. f. fawcett writes as follows. "the madiga basivis (dedicated prostitutes) are given alms, and join in the procession. a quantity of rice and ragi flour is poured into a basket, over which one of the village servants cuts the throat of a small black ram. the carcase is laid on the bloody flour, and the whole covered with old cloths, and placed on the head of a madiga, who stands for some time in front of the goddess. the goddess is then carried a few yards, the madiga walking in front, while a hole is dug close to her, and the basket of bloody flour and the ram's carcase are buried. after some dancing by the madiga basivis to the music of the tom-tom, the madigas bring five new pots, and worship them. a buffalo, devoted to the goddess after the last festival, is then driven or dragged through the village with shouting and tom-toming, walked round the temple, and beheaded by the madiga in front of the goddess. the head is placed in front of her with the right foreleg in the mouth, and a lamp, lighted eight days previously, is placed on top. all then start in procession round the village, a madiga, naked but for a few margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, and held by two others, leading the way. behind him are all the other madigas, carrying six hundred seers of cholum (sorghum: millet), which they scatter; and, following them, all the other villagers. it is daybreak, and the madiga who led the way, the pujari (priest), and the women who followed him, who have been fasting for more than twenty-four hours, now eat. the madiga is fed. this madiga is said to be in mortal terror while leading the procession, for the spirit or influence of the goddess comes over him. he swoons before the procession is completed. at noon the people collect again at uramma's temple, where a purchased buffalo is sacrificed. the head is placed in front of the goddess as before, and removed at once for food. then those of the lower sudra castes, and madigas who are under vows, come dressed in margosa leaves, with lamps on their heads, and sacrifice buffaloes, sheep and goats to the goddess." a further account of the festival of the village goddess udisalamma, at bandri in the bellary district, is given by mr. fawcett. "a madiga," he writes, "naked but for a few leaves round his waist, leads the procession, and, following him, are madigas with baskets. fear of the goddess comes on the madiga. he swoons, and is carried to the temple, and flung on the ground in front of the goddess. after a while he is revived, bathed, and given new clothing. this man is one of a family, in which this curious office is hereditary. he must be the son of a married woman, not of a basivi, and he must not be married. he fasts from the beginning of the festival till he has done what is required of him. a young ram--the sacrifice sheep--is taken up by one of the poturazus, as if it were a child, its hind legs at either side of his waist and its forelegs over his shoulders, and he bites its throat open and shows his bloody mouth to the people. he throws it down, and the madigas remove it." in an account of a festival, during times of epidemic, at masulipatam, bishop whitehead writes as follows. [138] "on the last day, a male buffalo, called devara potu (he who is devoted to the goddess), is brought before the image, and its head cut off by the head madiga of the town. the blood is caught in a vessel, and sprinkled over some boiled rice, and then the head, with the right foreleg in the mouth, is placed before the shrine on a flat wicker basket, with the rice and blood on another basket just below it. a lighted lamp is placed on the head, and then another madiga carries it on his own head round the village, with a new cloth dipped in the blood of the victim tied round its neck. this is regarded here and elsewhere as a very inauspicious and dangerous office, and the headman of the village has to offer considerable inducements to persuade a madiga to undertake it. ropes are tied round his body and arms, and held fast by men walking behind him, to prevent his being carried off by evil spirits, and limes are cut in half and thrown into the air, so that the demons may catch at them instead of at the man. it is believed that gigantic demons sit on the tops of tall trees ready to swoop down and carry him away, in order to get the rice and the buffalo's head. the idea of carrying the head and rice round a village, so the people said, is to draw a kind of cordon on every side of it, and prevent the entrance of the evil spirits. should any one in the town refuse to subscribe for the festival, his house is omitted from the procession, and left to the tender mercies of the devils. this procession is called bali-haranam, and in this (kistna) district inams (lands rent free) are held from government by certain families of madigas for performing it. besides the buffalo, large numbers of sheep and goats, and fowls are sacrificed, each householder giving at least one animal. the head madiga, who kills the animals, takes the carcase, and distributes the flesh among the members of his family. often cases come into the courts to decide who has the right to kill them. as the sacrifice cannot wait for the tedious processes of the law, the elders of the village settle the question at once, pending an appeal to the court. but, in the town of masulipatam, a madiga is specially licensed by the municipality for the purpose, and all disputes are avoided." in some localities, during epidemics of small-pox or cholera, the madigas celebrate a festival in honour of mariamma, for the expenses of which a general subscription is raised, to which all castes contribute. a booth is erected in a grove, or beneath a margosa or strychnos nux-vomica tree, within which a decorated pot (karagam) is placed on a platform. the pot is usually filled with water, and its mouth closed by a cocoanut. in front of the pot a screen is set up, and covered with a white cloth, on which rice, plantains, and cakes are placed, with a mass of flour, in which a cavity is scooped out to hold a lighted wick fed with ghi (clarified butter), or gingelly oil. a goat is sacrificed, and its head, with a flour-light on it, placed close to the pot. the food, which has been offered to the goddess, is distributed, on the last day of the festival, the pot is carried in procession through the village, and goats are sacrificed at the four cardinal points of the compass. the pot is deposited at a spot where three roads meet, and a goat, pumpkins, limes, flowers, etc., are offered to it. everything,except the pot, is left on the spot. the madigas sometimes call themselves jambavas, and claim to be descended from jambu or adi jambuvadu, who is perhaps the jambuvan of the ramayana. some madigas, called sindhuvallu, go about acting scenes from the mahabaratha and ramayana, or the story of ankalamma. they also assert that they fell to their present low position as the result of a curse, and tell the following story. kamadhenu, the sacred cow of the puranas, was yielding plenty of milk, which the devas alone used. vellamanu, a madiga boy, was anxious to taste the milk, but was advised by adi jambuvadu to abstain from it. he, however, secured some by stealth, and thought that the flesh would be sweeter still. learning this, kamadhenu died. the devas cut its carcase into four parts, of which they gave one to adi jambuvadu. but they wanted the cow brought back to life, and each brought his share of it for the purpose of reconstruction. but vellamanu had cut a bit of the flesh, boiled it, and breathed on it, so that, when the animal was recalled to life, its chin sank, as the flesh thereof had been defiled. this led to the sinking of the madigas in the social scale. the following variant of this legend is given in the mysore census report, 1891. "at a remote period, jambava rishi, a sage, was one day questioned by isvara (siva) why the former was habitually late at the divine court. the rishi replied that he had personally to attend to the wants of his children every day, which consequently made his attendance late: whereupon isvara, pitying the children, gave the rishi a cow (kamadhenu), which instantaneously supplied their every want. once upon a time, while jambava was absent at isvara's court, another rishi, named sankya, visited jambava's hermitage, where he was hospitably entertained by his son yugamuni. while taking his meals, the cream that had been served was so savoury that the guest tried to induce jambava's son yugamuni, to kill the cow and eat her flesh; and, in spite of the latter's refusal, sankya killed the animal, and prevailed upon the others to partake of the meat. on his return from isvara's court, jambava found the inmates of his hermitage eating the sacred cow's beef; and took both sankya and yugamuni over to isvara's court for judgment. instead of entering, the two offenders remained outside, sankya rishi standing on the right side and yugamuni on the left of the doorway. isvara seems to have cursed them to become chandalas or outcasts. hence, sankya's descendants are, from his having stood on the right side, designated right-hand caste or holayas; whilst those who sprang from yugamuni and his wife matangi are called left-hand caste or madigas." the occupation of the latter is said also to be founded on the belief that, by making shoes for people, the sin their ancestors had committed by cow-killing would be expiated. this mode of vicariously atoning for deliberate sin has passed into a facetious proverb, 'so and so has killed the cow in order to make shoes from the skin,' indicating the utter worthlessness and insufficiency of the reparation. the madigas claim to be the children of matangi. "there was," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [139] "formerly a matanga dynasty in the canarese country, and the madigas are believed by some to be descendants of people who were once a ruling race. matangi is a sanskrit name for kali, and it is possible that the madigas once played an important part in the worship of the god. the employment of chakkiliyans and madiga women in shakti worship gives some colour to this supposition." according to fleet [140] "the matangas and the katachchuris are mentioned in connection with mangalisa, who was the younger brother and successor of kirttivarma i, and whose reign commenced in saka 489 (a.d. 567-8), and terminated in saka 532 (a.d. 610-11). of the matangas nothing is known, except the mention of them. but matanga means 'a chandala, a man of the lowest caste, an outcast, a kirata mountaineer, a barbarian'; and the madigas, i.e., the mahangs of this part of the country, usually call themselves matangimakkalu, i.e., the children of matangi or durga, who is their goddess. it is probable, therefore, that the matangas of this inscription were some aboriginal family of but little power, and not of sufficient importance to have left any record of themselves." there are allusions to matangas in the ramayana, and in kadambari, a sanskrit work, the chieftain of the cabaras is styled matanga. the tutelary deity of the madigas is mathamma or matangi, who is said to be worshipped by the komatis under the name of kanyakaparameswari. the relations between the madigas and komatis are dealt with in the note on the latter caste. there is a legend to the effect that matangi was defeated by parasu rama, and concealed herself from him under the tanning-pot in a madiga's house. at the feast of pongal, the madigas worship their tanning pots, as representing the goddess, with offerings of fowls and liquor. in addition to matangi, the madigas worship kattamma, kattappa, dandumari, muneswara, and other deities. some of their children are named after these deities, while others receive muhammadan names in fulfilment of vows made to masthan and other pirs. when asked concerning their caste, the madigas always reply "memu pedda inti vallamu," i.e., we are of the big house. the following legend is current in the cuddapah district concerning a pool in the rayachoti taluk called akkadevatalakolam, or the pool of the holy sisters. "a thousand years ago, there lived near the pool a king, who ruled over all this part of the country. the king had as his commander-in-chief a madiga. this madiga made himself powerful and independent, and built himself a residence on a hill still called madiga vanidoorgam. at last he revolted, and defeated the king. on entering the king's palace, he found seven beautiful virgins, the king's daughters, to all of whom he at once made overtures of marriage. they declined the honour, and, when the madiga wished to use force, they all jumped into this pool, and delivered their lives to the universal lord." [141] the following are some of the more important endogamous sub-divisions among the madigas:- gampa dhompti, basket offering. ginna or thel dhompti, tray or cup offering. bhumi dhompti, earth offering. chatla dhompti, winnowing basket offering. sibbi dhompti, brass vessel offering. chadarapa dhompti, square space on the ground offering. these sub-divisions are based on the way in which the members thereof offer food, etc., to their gods during marriages, e.g., a gampa dhompti places it in a basket, a bhumi dhompti on the floor. each sub-division possesses many exogamous septs, of which the following are examples:- belli, silver. chinthala, tamarind. chatla, winnowing basket. darala, thread. emme, buffalo. gavala, cowry shells. golkonda, a town. jalam, slowness. kambha, post. kappala, frog. kalahasti, a town. kaththe, donkey. kaththi, knife. kudumala, cake. kuncham, tassel. midathala, locust. mallela, or malli, jasmine. nannuru, four hundred. pothula, buffalo. pasula, cow. ragi, eleusine coracana. sikili, broom. thela, scorpion. there seems to be some connection between the madigas, the mutrachas, and gollas. for, at times of marriage, the madiga sets aside one thambulam (betel leaf and areca nut) for the mutracha, and, in some places, extends the honour to the golla also. at the marriage ceremonies of the puni gollas, an elaborate and costly form of ganga worship is performed, in connection with which it is the madiga musicians, called madiga pambala vandlu, who draw the designs in colour-powders on the floor. the madigas observe the panchayat or tribal council system for the adjustment of disputes, and settlement of various questions at issue among members of the community. the headman is called pedda (big) madiga, whose office is hereditary; and he is assisted by two elected officers called dharmakartha and kulambantrothu. widow remarriage (udike) is freely permitted, and the woman and her children are received in madiga society. but care is taken that no one but the contracting parties and widows shall witness the marriage ceremony, and no one but a widower is allowed to avail himself of the form. [142] a man may get a divorce from his wife by payment to her of a few rupees. but no money is given to her, if she has been guilty of adultery. the bride's price varies in amount, being higher if she has to cross a river. the elaborate marriage ceremonial conforms to the telugu type, but some of the details may be recorded. on the muhurtham (wedding) day, a ceremony called pradhanam (chief thing) is performed. a sheep is sacrificed to the marriage (araveni) pots. the sacrificer dips his hands in the blood of the animal, and impresses the blood on his palms on the wall near the door leading to the room in which the pots are kept. the bridegroom's party bring betel nuts, limes, a golden bead, a bonthu (unbleached cotton thread), rice, and turmeric paste. the maternal uncle of the bride gives five betel leaves and areca nuts to the pedda madiga, and, putting the bonthu round the bride's neck, ties the golden bead thereon. the ceremony concludes with the distribution of pan-supari in the following order: ancestors, mutrachas, gollas, madigas, the pedda madiga, and the assembled guests. the pedda madiga has to lift, at one try, a tray containing cocoanuts and betel with his right hand. in his hand he holds a knife, of which the blade is passed over the forefinger, beneath the middle and fourth fingers, and over the little finger. this ceremony is called thonuku thambulam, or betel and nuts likely to be spilt on the floor. the bridegroom, after a bath, proceeds to the temple, where cloths, the bashingam, bottu (marriage badge), etc., are placed in front of the god, and then taken to a jammi tree (prosopis spicigera), which is worshipped. the bottu is usually a disc of gold, but, if the family is hard-up, or in cases of widow remarriage, a bit of turmeric or folded mango leaf serves as a substitute for it. on the third day, the wrist threads (kankanam) are removed, and dhomptis, or offerings of food to the gods, are made, with variations according to the dhompti to which the celebrants belong. an illustration may be taken from the gampa dhompti. the contracting parties procure a quantity of rice, jaggery (crude sugar), and ghi (clarified butter), which are cooked, and moulded into an elongated mass, and placed in a new bamboo basket (gampa). in the middle of the mass, which is determined with a string, a twig, with a wick at one end, is set up, and two similar twigs are stuck into the ends of the mass. puja (worship) is performed, and the mass is distributed among the daughters of the house and other near relations, but not among members of other dhomptis. the bride and bridegroom take a small portion from the mass, which is called dhonga muddha, or the mass that is stolen. the bottu is said [143] to be "usually tied by the madiga priest known as the thavatiga, or drummer. this office is hereditary, but each successor to it has to be regularly ordained by a kuruba guru at the local madiga shrine, the chief item in the ceremony being tying round the neck of the candidate a thread bearing a representation of the goddess, and on either side of this five white beads. henceforth the thavatiga is on no account to engage in the caste profession of leather-work, but lives on fees collected at weddings, and by begging. he goes round to the houses of the caste with a little drum slung over his shoulder, and collects contributions." the madiga marriages are said to be conducted with much brawling and noise, owing to the quantity of liquor consumed on such occasions. among the madigas, as among the kammas, gangimakkulu, and malas, marriage is said not to be consummated until three months after its celebration. this is apparently because it is considered unlucky to have three heads of a household within a year of marriage. by the delay, the birth of the child should take place only in the second year, so that, during the first year, there will be only two heads, husband and wife. at the first menstrual period a girl is under pollution for ten days, when she bathes. betel leaves and nuts, and a rupee are placed in front of the pedda madiga, who takes a portion thereof for himself, and distributes what remains among those who have assembled. sometimes, just before the return of the girl to the house, a sheep is killed in front of the door, and a mark made on her face with the blood. the madigas dispose of their dead both by burial and cremation. the body is said to be "buried naked, except for a few leaves. children are interred face downwards. pregnant women are burnt. the bier is usually made of the milk-hedge (euphorbia tirucalli) plant." [144] the grave is dug by a mala vettivadu. the chinnadhinam ceremony is performed on the third day. on the grave a mass of mud is shaped into the form of an idol, to which are offered rice, cocoanuts, and jaggery (crude sugar) placed on leaves, one of which is set apart for the crows. three stones are arranged in the form of a triangle, and on them is set a pot filled with water, which trickles out of holes made in the bottom of the pot. the peddadhinam is performed, from preference on a wednesday or sunday, towards the close of the third week after death. the son, or other celebrant of the rites, sets three stones on the grave, and offers food thereto. food is also offered to the crows by the relations of the deceased, and thrown into a river or tank (pond), if the crows do not eat it. they all go to a tank, and make on the bank thereof an effigy, if the dead person was a female. to married women, winnows and glass bangles are offered. the bangles of a widow, and waist-thread of a widower, are removed within an enclosure on the bank. at night stories of ankamma and matangi are recited by bainedus or pambalas, and if a matangi is available, homage is done to her. in some places, madigas have their own washermen and barbers. but, in the northern districts, the caste washerman does their washing, the cloths being steeped in water, and left for the washerman to take. "the madigas," mr. francis writes, [145] "may not use the wells of the better classes, though, when water is scarce, they get over this last prohibition by employing some one in the higher ranks to draw water for them from such wells, and pour it into their chatties. in other districts they have to act as their own barbers and washermen, but in anantapur this disability is somewhat relaxed, as the barbers make no objection to let them (and other low castes such as the malas) use their razors for a consideration, and the dhobis will wash their clothes, as long as they themselves first unroll them, and dip them into the water. this act is held to remove the pollution, which would otherwise attach to them." like many castes, the madigas have beggar classes attached to their community, who are called dakkali and mastiga. the dakkalis may not enter the madiga settlement. they sing songs in praise of the madigas, who willingly remunerate them, as their curses are believed to be very effective. the mastigas may enter the settlement, but not the huts. it is said to be a good omen to a lingayat, if he sees a madiga coming in front. gosangi is often used as a synonym for madiga. another synonym is puravabatta, which is said to mean people older than the world by six months. at the madras census, 1901, chakara, chundi, and pavini or vayani were returned as sub-castes, and mayikkan was taken as the malabar equivalent for madiga. concerning the madigas of mysore, mr. t. ananda row writes as follows. [146] "the madigas are by religion vaishnavites, saivites, and sakteyas, and have five different gurus belonging to mutts at kadave, kodihalli, kongarli, nelamangala, and konkallu. the tribe is sometimes called jambava or matanga. it is divided into two independent sub-divisions, the desabhaga and the others, between whom there is no intermarriage. the former, though under the above named mutts, acknowledge srivaishnava brahmins as their gurus, to whom they pay homage on all ceremonial occasions. the desabhaga division has six sub-classes, viz.: billoru (bowmen); malloru (mallu = fight?); amaravatiyavaru (after a town); munigalu (muni or rishi); yenamaloru (buffalo); morabuvvadavaru (those who place food in a winnow). the madigas are mostly field labourers, but some of them till land, either leased or their own. in urban localities, on account of the value in the rise of skins, they have attained to considerable affluence, both on account of the hides supplied by them, and their work as tanners, shoe-makers, etc. only 355 persons returned gotras, such as matangi, mareecha, and jambava-rishi." at the mysore census, 1891, some madigas actually returned themselves as matanga brahmans, producing for the occasion a certain so-called purana as their charter. madivala.--see agasa. madukkaran.--see gangeddu. madurai.--the name of a sub-division of shanan, apparently meaning sweet liquor, and not the town of madura. magadha kani.--recorded, at times of census, as a sub-division of bhatrazu. maggam.--maggam, magga, and maggada, meaning loom, have been recorded as exogamous septs of kurubas, malas, and holeyas, some of whom are weavers. maghadulu.--a sub-division of bhatrazu, named after one maghade, who is said to have been herald at the marriage of siva. magili (pandanus fascicularis).--a gotra of tsakalas and panta reddis, by whom the products of the tree may not be touched. the panta reddi women of this gotra will not, like those of other castes, use the flower-bracts for the purpose of adorning themselves. there is a belief, in southern india, that the fragrant male inflorescence harbours a tiny snake, which is more deadly than the cobra, and that incautious smelling thereof may lead to death. magura.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small caste of oriya leaf-plate makers and shikaris (huntsmen). the name is said to be derived from magora, meaning one who traces foot-paths and tracks. mahadev.--a synonym of daira muhammadan. mahankudo.--a title of gaudo and gudiya. the headman of the latter caste goes by this name. mahant.--the mahant is the secular head and trustee of the temple at tirumala (upper tirupati) in the north arcot district, and looks after the worldly affairs of the swami (god). "tirupati," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [147] "unlike most other temples, has no dancing-girls attached to it, and not to be strictly continent upon the sacred hill is a deadly sin. of late years, however, even celibate bairagis and priests take their paramours up with them, and the pilgrims follow suit. everything is held to betoken the approaching downfall of the temple's greatness. the irregular life of the mahant balaram das sixty years ago caused a great ferment, though similar conduct now would probably hardly attract notice. he was ejected from his office by the unanimous voice of his disciples, and one govardhan das, whose life was consistent with the holy office, was elected, and installed in the math (monastery) near the temple. balaram das, however, collected a body of disbanded peons from the palaiyams, and, arming them, made an attack upon the building. the walls were scaled, and the new mahant with his disciples shut themselves up in an inner apartment. in an attempt at rescue, one man was killed, and three were seriously wounded. a police force was sent to co-operate with the tirupati poligars (feudal chiefs), but could effect nothing till the insurgent peons were threatened with the loss of all their lands. this broke up the band, and balaram das' followers deserted him. when the gates were broken open, it was found that he and a few staunch followers had committed suicide. but perhaps the greatest scandal which has occurred in the history of the math was that which ended in the conviction of the present mahant's predecessor, bhagavan das. he was charged with having misappropriated a number of gold coins of considerable value, which were supposed to have been buried beneath the great flagstaff. a search warrant was granted, and it was discovered that the buried vessels only contained copper coins. the mahant was convicted of the misappropriation of the gold, and was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment, but this was reduced to one year by the high court. on being released from jail, he made an effort to oust his successor, and acquire possession of the math by force. for this he was again sent to jail, for six months, and required to furnish security to be of good behaviour." it is recorded by sir m. e. grant duff, [148] formerly governor of madras, that "while the municipal address was being read to me, a huge elephant, belonging to the zemindar of kalahastri, a great temporal chief, charged a smaller elephant belonging to the mahant or high priest of tripaty, thus disestablishing the church much more rapidly, alas! than we did in ireland." mahanti.--mahanti is, in the madras census report, 1901, defined as "a caste akin to the koronos or karnams (writers and accountants). the name is sometimes taken by persons excommunicated from other castes." the word means great, or prestige. according to a note submitted to me, the mahantis gradually became karnams, with the title of patnaik, but there is no intermarriage between them and the higher classes of karnams. the mahantis of orissa are said to still maintain their respectability, whereas in ganjam they have as a class degenerated, so much so that the term mahanti is now held up to ridicule. mahapatro.--said to be a title sold by the caste council to khoduras. also a title of badhoyis, and other oriya castes. maharana.--a title of badhoyi. maheswara (siva).--a synonym of jangams (priests of the lingayats). the jangams of the silavants, for example, are known by this name. mailari.--the mailaris are a class of beggars, who are said [149] to "call themselves a sub-division of the balijas, and beg from komatis only. their ancestors were servants of kannyakammavaru (or kannika amma, the virgin goddess of the komatis), who burnt herself to avoid falling into the hands of raja vishnu vardhana. on this account, they have the privilege of collecting certain fees from all the komatis. the fee, in the kurnool district, is eight annas per house. when he demands the fee, a mailari appears in full dress (kasi), which consists of brass human heads tied to his loins, and brass cups to his head; a looking-glass on the abdomen; a bell ringing from his girdle; a bangle on his forearm ; and wooden shoes on his feet. in this dress he walks, holding an umbrella, through the streets, and demands his fee. if the fee is not paid, he again appears, in a more frightful form called bhuthakasi. he shaves his whiskers, and, almost naked, proceeds to the burning-ground, where he makes rati, or different kinds of coloured rice, and, going to the komatis, extorts his fee." i am informed that the mailaris travel about with an image of kannyakamma, which they exhibit, while they sing in telugu the story of her life. the mailaris are stated, in the madras census report, 1901, to be also called bala jangam. mailari (washerman) is also an exogamous sept of the malas. majji.--recorded as a title of bagatas, doluvas, and kurumos, and as a sept of nagaralus. in the madras census report, 1901, it is described as a title given to the head peons of bissoyis in the maliahs. majjiga (butter-milk).--an exogamous sept of boya. majjula.--a sub-division of korono. majjulu.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as "cultivators in vizagapatam, and shikaris (hunters) and fishermen in ganjam. they have two endogamous divisions, the majjulus and the racha majjulus, the members of the latter of which wear the sacred thread, and will not eat with the former. in their customs they closely resemble the kapus, of which caste they are perhaps a sub-division. for their ceremonies they employ oriya brahmans, and telugu nambis. widow marriage is allowed. they burn their dead, and are said to perform sraddhas (memorial services). they worship all the village gods and goddesses, and eat meat. they have no titles." makado (monkey).--an exogamous sept of bottada. makkathayam.--the name, in the malayalam country, for the law of inheritance from father to son. the canarese equivalent thereof is makkalsanthanam. mala.--"the malas," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [150] "are the pariahs of the telugu country. dr. oppert derives the word from a dravidian root meaning a mountain, which is represented by the tamil malai, telugu mala, etc., so that mala is the equivalent of paraiyan, and also of mar or mhar and the mal of western and central bengal. i cannot say whether there is sufficient ground for the assumption that the vowel of a dravidian root can be lengthened in this way. i know of no other derivation of mala. [in c. p. brown's telugu dictionary it is derived from maila, dirty.] the malas are almost equally inferior in position to the madigas. they eat beef and drink heavily, and are debarred entrance to the temples and the use of the ordinary village wells, and have to serve as their own barbers and washermen. they are the musicians of the community, and many of them (for example in the villages near jammalamadugu in the cuddapah district) weave the coarse white cotton fabrics usually worn by men." the malas will not take water from the same well as the madigas, whom they despise for eating carrion, though they eat beef themselves. both malas and tamil paraiyans belong to the right-hand section. in the bellary district the malas are considered to be the servants of the banajigas (traders), for whom they do certain services, and act as caste messengers (chalavathi) on the occasion of marriages and funerals. at marriages, six malas selected from certain families, lead the procession, carrying flags, etc., and sit in the pial (verandah) of the marriage house. at funerals, a mala carries the brass ladle bearing the insignia of the right-hand section, which is the emblem of the authority of the desai or headman of the section. the malas have their own dancing girls (basavis), barbers, and musicians (bainedus), dasaris or priests, and beggars and bards called mastigas and pambalas (drum people), who earn their living by reciting stories of ankamma, etc., during the funeral ceremonies of some telugu castes, acting as musicians at marriages and festivals to the deities, begging, and telling fortunes. other beggars are called nityula (nitiyadasu, immortal). in some places, tsakalas (washerman caste) will wash for the malas, but the clothes must be steeped in water, and left till the tsakala comes for them. the malas will not eat food prepared or touched by kamsalas, medaras, madigas, beri chettis, boyas, or bhatrazus. the condition of the malas has, in recent times, been ameliorated by their reception into mission schools. in a case, which came before the high court of madras on appeal a few years ago, a mala, who was a convert to christianity, was sentenced to confinement in the stocks for using abusive language. the judge, in summing up, stated that "the test seems to be not what is the offender's creed, whether muhammadan, christian, or hindu, but what is his caste. if he belongs to one of the lower castes, a change of creed would not of itself, in my judgment, make any difference, provided he continues to belong to the caste. if he continues to accept the rules of the caste in social and moral matters, acknowledges the authority of the headmen, takes part in caste meetings and ceremonies, and, in fact, generally continues to belong to the castes, then, in my judgment, he would be within the purview of the regulation. if, on the other hand, he adopts the moral standards of christianity instead of those in his caste, if he accepts the authority of his pastors and teachers in place of that of the headman of the caste, if he no longer takes part in the distinctive meetings and ceremonies of the caste ... then he can no longer be said to belong to one of the lower castes of the people, and his punishment by confinement in the stocks is no longer legal." between the malas and madigas there is no love lost, and the latter never allow the former, on the occasion of a festival, to go in palanquins or ride on horseback. quite recently, in the nellore district, a horse was being led at the head of a madiga marriage procession, and the malas followed, to see whether the bridegroom would mount it. to the disgust of the madigas, the young man refused to get on it, from fear lest he should fall off. the malas will not touch leather shoes, and, if they are slippered with them, a fine is inflicted, and the money spent on drink. of the share which the malas take in a village festival in the cuddapah district, an excellent account is given by bishop whitehead. [151] "the village officials and leading ryots," he writes, "collect money for the festival, and buy, among other things, a barren sheep and two lambs. peddamma and chinnamma are represented by clay images of female form made for the occasion, and placed in a temporary shrine of cloth stretched over four poles. on the appointed evening, rice is brought, and poured out in front of the idol by the potter, and rice, ghi (clarified butter), and curds are poured on the top of it. the victims are then brought, and their heads cut off by a washerman. the heads are placed on the ground before the idol. the people then pour water on the heads, and say 'speak' (paluku). if the mouth opens, it is regarded as a sign that the goddess is propitious. next, a large pot of boiled cholam (millet) is brought, and poured in a heap before the image, a little further away than the rice. two buffaloes are then brought by the malas and madigas. one of the malas, called the asadi, chants the praises of the goddess during the ceremony. the animals are killed by a madiga, by cutting their throats with a knife, one being offered to peddamma, and the other to chinnamma. some of the cholam is then taken in baskets, and put under the throat of the buffaloes till it is soaked with blood, and then put aside. a madiga then cuts off the heads of the buffaloes with a sword, and places them before the idol. he also cuts off one of the forelegs of each, and puts it crosswise in the mouth. some of the cholam is then put on the two heads, and two small earthen saucers are put upon it. the abdomens are then cut open, and some of the fat taken out, melted, and put in each saucer with a lighted wick. a layer of fat is spread over the eyes and mouths of the two heads, some of the refuse of the stomach is mixed with the cholam soaked in blood, and a quantity of margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves put over the cholam. the asadi then takes some of this mixture, and sprinkles it round the shrine, saying 'ko, bali,' i.e., accept the sacrifice. then the basket is given to another mala, who asks permission from the village officials and ryots to sprinkle the cholam. he also asks that a lamb may be killed. the lamb is killed by a washerman, and the blood allowed to flow into the cholam in the basket. the bowels of the lamb are taken out, and tied round the wrist of the mala who holds the basket, and puts it round his neck. he then goes and sprinkles the cholam mixed with blood, etc., in some cases round the village, and in others before each house, shouting 'ko, bali' as he goes. the people go in procession with him, carrying swords and clubs to drive away evil spirits. during the procession, limes are cut in half, and thrown into the air to propitiate evil spirits. other lambs are killed at intervals during the course of the procession. in the afternoon, the carcases of the two buffaloes offered the night before are taken away by the malas and madigas. one is cut open, and some of the flesh cooked near the shrine. part of it, with some of the cholam offered before the images, is given to five mala children, called siddhulu, i.e., holy or sinless, who, in some cases, are covered with a cloth during the meal. the rest is eaten by malas. the remainder of the carcases is divided among the malas and madigas, who take it to their own homes for a feast. the carcases of the lambs belong to the malas and washermen. the carcase of the barren sheep is the perquisite of the village officials, though the kurnam, being a brahmin, gives his portion away." at a festival to the village goddess which is held at dowlaishweram in the godavari district once every three years, a buffalo is sacrificed. "votive offerings of pots of buttermilk are presented to the goddess, who is taken outside the village, and the pots are emptied there. the head of the buffalo and a pot of its blood are carried round the village by a mala, and a pig is sacrificed in an unusual and cruel manner. it is buried up to its neck, and cattle are driven over it until it is trampled to death. this is supposed to ensure the health of men and cattle in the ensuing year." [152] in connection with a village festival in the godavari district, bishop whitehead writes as follows. [153] "at ellore, which is a town of considerable size and importance, i was told that in the annual festival of mahalakshmi about ten thousand animals are killed in one day, rich people sending as many as twenty or thirty. the blood then flows down into the fields behind the place of sacrifice in a regular flood, and carts full of sand are brought to cover up what remains on the spot. the heads are piled up in a heap about fifteen feet high in front of the shrine, and a large earthen basin, about 1 1/2 feet in diameter, is then filled with gingelly oil and put on the top of the heap, a thick cotton wick being placed in the basin and lighted. the animals are all worshipped with the usual namaskaram (folded hands raised to the forehead) before they are killed. this slaughter of victims goes on all day, and at midnight about twenty or twenty-five buffaloes are sacrificed, their heads being cut off by a madiga pujari (priest), and, together with the carcases, thrown upon the large heaps of rice, which have been presented to the goddess, till the rice is soaked with blood. the rice is collected in about ten or fifteen large baskets, and is carried on a large cart drawn by buffaloes or bullocks, with the madiga pujari seated on it. madigas sprinkle the rice along the streets and on the walls of the houses, as the cart goes along, shouting poli, poli (food). a large body of men of different castes, pariahs and sudras, go with the procession, but only the madigas and malas (the two sections of the pariahs) shout poli, the rest following in silence. they have only two or three torches to show them the way, and no tom-toms or music. apparently the idea is that, if they make a noise or display a blaze of lights, they will attract the evil spirits, who will swoop down on them and do them some injury, though in other villages it is supposed that a great deal of noise and flourishing of sticks will keep the evil spirits at bay. before the procession starts, the heads of the buffaloes are put in front of the shrine, with the right forelegs in their mouths, and the fat from the entrails smeared about half an inch thick over the whole face, and a large earthen lamp on the top of each head. the pambalas play tom-toms, and chant a long story about gangamma till daybreak, and about 8 a.m. they put the buffalo heads into separate baskets with the lighted lamps upon them, and these are carried in procession through the town to the sound of tom-toms. all castes follow, shouting and singing. in former times, i was told, there was a good deal of fighting and disturbance during this procession, but now the police maintain order. when the procession arrives at the municipal limits, the heads are thrown over the boundary, and left there. the people then all bathe in the canal, and return home. on the last day of the festival, which, i may remark, lasts for about three months, a small cart is made of margosa wood, and a stake fixed at each of the four corners, and a pig and a fowl are tied to each stake, while a fruit, called dubakaya, is impaled on it instead of the animal. a yellow cloth, sprinkled with the blood of the buffaloes, is tied round the sides of the cart, and some margosa leaves are tied round the cloth. a pambala sits on the cart, to which are fastened two large ropes, each about 200 yards long. then men of all castes, without distinction, lay hold of the ropes, and drag the cart round the town to the sound of tom-toms and music. finally it is brought outside the municipal limits and left there, the pariahs taking away the animals and fruits." the following detailed account of the peddamma or sunkulamma jatra (festival) in the kurnool district, is given in the manual. "this is a ceremony strictly local, in which the entire community of a village takes part, and which all outsiders are excluded from participating in. it is performed whenever a series of crops successively fail or cattle die in large numbers of murrain, and is peculiarly adapted, by the horrible nature of the attendant rites and the midnight hour chosen for the exhibition of its most ghastly scenes, to impress the minds of an ignorant people with a belief in its efficacy. when the celebration of the jatra is resolved on, a dark tuesday night is selected for it, and subscriptions are collected and deposited with the reddi (headman) or some respectable man in the village. messengers are sent off to give intimation of the day fixed for the jatra to the bynenivadu, bhutabaligadu, and poturaju, three of the principal actors in the ceremony. at the same time a buffalo is purchased, and, after having its horns painted with saffron (turmeric) and adorned with margosa leaves, is taken round the village in procession with tom-toms beating, and specially devoted to the sacrifice of the goddess peddamma or sunkulamma on the morning of the tuesday on which the ceremony is to take place. the village potter and carpenter are sent for, and ordered to have ready by that evening two images of the goddess, one of clay and the other of juvi wood, and a new cloth and a quantity of rice and dholl (peas: cajanus indicus) are given to each of them. when the images are made, they are dressed with the new cloths, and the rice and dholl are cooked and offered as naivedyam to the images. in some villages only one image, of clay, is made. meanwhile the villagers are busy erecting a pandal (booth) in front of the village chavidi (caste meeting-house), underneath which a small temple is erected of cholam straw. the bynenivadu takes a handful of earth, and places it inside this little temple, and the village washerman builds a small pyal (dais) with it, and decorates it with rati (streaks of different coloured powders). new pots are distributed by the potter to the villagers, who, according to their respective capabilities, have a large or small quantity of rice cooked in them, to be offered as kumbham at the proper time. after dark, when these preparations are over, the entire village community, including the twelve classes of village servants, turn out in a body, and, preceded by the bynenivadu and asadivandlu, proceed in procession with music playing to the house of the village potter. there the image of the goddess is duly worshipped, and a quantity of raw rice is tied round it with a cloth. a ram is sacrificed on the spot, and several limes are cut and thrown away. borne on the shoulders of the potter, the image is then taken through the streets of the village, bynenivadu and asadivandlu dancing and capering all the way, and the streets being drenched with the blood of several rams sacrificed at every turning of the road, and strewed with hundreds of limes cut and thrown away. the image is then finally deposited in the temple of straw already referred to, and another sheep is sacrificed as soon as this is done. the wooden image, made by the carpenter, is also brought in with the same formalities, and placed by the side of the image of clay. a pot of toddy is similarly brought in from the house of the idigavadu (toddy-drawer), and set before the images. now the devarapotu, or buffalo specially devoted to the sacrifice of the goddess, is led in from the reddi's house in procession, together with a sheep and a large pot of cooked rice. the rice in the pot is emptied in front of the images and formed into a heap, which is called the kumbham, and to it are added the contents of many new pots, which the villagers have ready filled with cooked rice. the sheep is then sacrificed, and its blood shed on the heap. next comes the turn of the devarapotu, the blood of which also, after it has been killed, is poured over the rice heap. this is followed by the slaughter of many more buffaloes and sheep by individuals of the community, who might have taken vows to offer sacrifices to the goddess on this occasion. while the carnage is going on, a strict watch is kept on all sides, to see that no outsider enters the village, or steals away any portion of the blood of the slaughtered animals, as it is believed that all the benefit which the villagers hope to reap from the performance of the jatra will be lost to them if an outsider should succeed in taking away a little of the blood to his village. the sacrifice being over, the head and leg of one of the slaughtered buffaloes are severed from its body, and placed before the goddess with the leg inserted into the mouth of the head. over this head is placed a lighted lamp, which is fed with oil and buffalo's fat. now starts a fresh procession to go round the village streets. a portion of the kumbham or blood-stained rice heaped up before the image is gathered into two or three baskets, and carried with the procession by washermen or madigas. the bhutabaligadu now steps forward in a state of perfect nudity, with his body clean shaven from top to toe, and smeared all over with gore, and, taking up handfuls of rice (called poli) from the baskets, scatters them broadcast over the streets. as the procession passes on, bhutams or supernatural beings are supposed to become visible at short distances to the carriers of the rice baskets, who pretend to fall into trances, and, complaining of thirst, call for more blood to quench it. every time this happens, a fresh sheep is sacrificed, and sometimes limes are cut and thrown in their way. the main streets being thus sprinkled over with poli or blood-stained rice, the lanes or gulleys are attended to by the washermen of the village, who give them their share of the poli. by this time generally the day dawns, and the goddess is brought back to her straw temple, where she again receives offerings of cooked rice from all classes of people in the village, brahmins downwards. all the while, the asadivandlu keep singing and dancing before the goddess. as the day advances, a pig is half buried at the entrance of the village, and all the village cattle are driven over it. the cattle are sprinkled over with poli as they pass over the pig. the poturaju then bathes and purifies himself, and goes to the temple of lingamayya or siva with tom-toms and music, and sacrifices a sheep there. the jatra ends with another grand procession, in which the images of the goddess, borne on the heads of the village potter and carpenter, are carried to the outskirts of the village, where they are left. as the villagers return home, they pull to pieces the straw temple constructed in front of the chavidi, and each man takes home a straw, which he preserves as a sacred relic. from the day the ceremony is commenced in the village till its close, no man would go to a neighbouring village, or, if he does on pressing business, he would return to sleep in his own village. it is believed that the performance of this jatra will ensure prosperity and health to the villagers and their cattle. "the origin of this sunkulamma jatra is based on the following legend, which is sung by the byneni and asadivandlu when they dance before the images. sunkulamma was the only daughter of a learned brahmin pandit, who occasionally took pupils, and instructed them in the hindu shastras gratuitously. one day, a handsome youth of sixteen years came to the pandit, and, announcing himself as the son of a brahmin of benares come in quest of knowledge, requested that he might be enlisted as a pupil of the pandit. the pandit, not doubting the statement of the youth that he was a brahmin, took him as a pupil, and lodged him in his own house. the lad soon displayed marks of intelligence, and, by close application to his studies, made such rapid progress that he became the principal favourite of his master, who was so much pleased with him that, at the close of his studies, he married him to his daughter sunkulamma. the unknown youth stayed with his father-in-law till he became father of some children, when he requested permission to return to his native place with his wife and children, which was granted, and he accordingly started on his homeward journey. on the way he met a party of mala people, who, recognising him at once as a man of their own caste and a relation, accosted him, and began to talk to him familiarly. finding it impossible to conceal the truth from his wife any longer, the husband of sunkulamma confessed to her that he was a mala by caste, and, being moved by a strong desire to learn the hindu shastras, which he was forbidden to read, he disguised himself as a brahmin youth, and introduced himself to her father and compassed his object; and, as what had been done in respect to her could not be undone, the best thing she could do was to stay with him with her children. sunkulamma, however, was not to be so persuaded. indignant at the treachery practiced on her and her parent, she spurned both her husband and children, and returning to her village, sent for her parent, whose house she would not pollute by going in, and asked him what he would do with a pot denied by the touch of a dog. the father replied that he would commit it to the flames to purify it. taking the hint, she caused a funeral pile to be erected, and committed suicide by throwing herself into the flames. but, before doing so, she cursed the treacherous mala who bad polluted her that he might become a buffalo, and his children turn into sheep, and vowed she would revive as an evil spirit, and have him and his children sacrificed to her, and get his leg put into his mouth, and a light placed on his head fed with his own fat." the following additional information in connection with the jatra may be recorded. in some places, on a tuesday fifteen days before the festival, some malas go in procession through the main streets of the village without any noise or music. this is called mugi chatu (dumb announcement). on the following tuesday, the malas go through the streets, beating tom-toms, and proclaiming the forthcoming ceremony. this is called chatu (announcement). in some villages, metal idols are used. the image is usually in the custody of a tsakala (washerman). on the jatra day, he brings it fully decorated, and sets it up on the gangamma mitta (gangamma's dais). in some places, this is a permanent structure, and in others put up for the jatra at a fixed spot. asadis, pambalas, and bainedus, and madiga kommula vandlu (horn-blowers) dance and sing until the goddess is lifted up from the dais, when a number of burning torches are collected together, and some resinous material is thrown into the flames. at the same time, a cock is killed, and waved in front of the goddess by the tsakala. a mark is made with the blood on the forehead of the idol, which is removed to a hut constructed by malas with twigs of margosa (melia azadirachta), eugenia jambolana and vitex negundo. in some villages, when the goddess is brought in procession to the outskirts of the village, a stick is thrown down in front of her. the asadis then sing songs, firstly of a most obscene character, and afterwards in praise of the goddess. the following account of "the only mala ascetic in bharatavarsha" (india) is given by mr. m. n. vincent. [154] the ascetic was living on a hill in bezwada, at the foot of which lay the hamlets of the malas. the man, govindoo by name, "was a groom in the employ of a muhammadan inspector of police, and he was commissioned on one occasion to take a horse to a certain town. he was executing his commission, when, on the way, and not far from his destination, the animal shied and fell into the krishna river, and was swept along the current, and poor govindoo could not help it. but, knowing the choleric temper of his employer, and in order to avoid a scolding, he roamed at large, and eventually fell in with a company of sadhus, one of whose disciples he became, and practiced austerities, though not for the full term, and settled eventually on the hill where we saw him occupying the old cave dwelling of a former sadhu. it appears that there was something earthly in the man, sadhu though he was, as was evidenced from his relations with a woman votary or disciple, and it was probably because of this phase of his character that some people regarded him as a cheat and a rogue. but this unfavourable impression was soon removed, and, since the time he slept on a bed of sharp thorns, as it were in vindication of his character, faulty though it had been, he has been honoured. a good trait in the man should be mentioned, namely, that he wrote to his parents to give his wife in marriage to some one else, as he had renounced his worldly ties." at vanavolu, in the hindupur taluk of the anantapur district, there is a temple to rangaswami, at which the pujari (priest) is a mala. people of the upper castes frequent it, but do their own puja, the mala standing aside for the time. [155] it is noted, in the madras census report, 1891, that the chief object of worship by the balijas is gauri, their caste deity. "it is said that the malas are the hereditary custodians of the idol of gauri and her jewels, which the balijas get from them whenever they want to worship her. the following story is told to account for this. the kapus and the balijas, molested by the muhammadan invaders on the north of the river pennar, migrated to the south when the pennar was in full flood. being unable to cross the river, they invoked their deity to make a passage for them, for which it demanded the sacrifice of a first-born child. while they stood at a loss what to do, the malas, who followed them, boldly offered one of their children to the goddess. immediately the river divided before them, and the kapus and the balijas crossed it, and were saved from the tyranny of the muhammadans. ever since that time, the malas have been respected by the kapus and balijas, and the latter even deposited the images of gauri, the bull and ganesa, which they worshipped in the house of a mala. i am credibly informed that the practice of leaving these images in the custody of malas is even now observed in some parts of cuddapah district and elsewhere." an expert mala medicine-man has been known to prescribe for a brahman tahsildar (revenue officer), though the consultation was conducted at a most respectful distance on the part of the honoured physician. mala weavers are known as netpanivandlu (nethapani, weaving work). according to the census report, 1891, the sub-divisions of the malas, which are numerically strongest, are arava, kanta, murikinadu, pakanati, and reddi bhumi. to these may be added sarindla, savu, saindla, and daindla. concerning some of these divisions, the following legend is current. a mala married eighteen wives, one from each kulam or tribal division. the god poleramma, objecting to the sacrifice of sheep and goats, wanted him to offer up a woman and child in substitution for the animals, and the mala broke the news to his wives, one of whom eloped with a reddi, and gave origin to the reddi bhumis (bhumi, earth). another ran away, and gave rise to the pakanatis (eastern country). a third hid herself, and escaped by hiding. hence her descendants are called daindla vandlu, concerning whom there is a proverb "dagipoyina vandlu daindla vandlu" or "those who escaped by hiding are daindlas." one of the wives, who fled to the forest, found her way out by clearing the jungle, and her descendants are called sarindla (straight). the wife who consented to be sacrificed with her child was restored to life by poleramma, and gave rise to the savu (death) or saindla (belonging to a death house) section. the daindlas are said to be tamil paraiyans, who settled down in the telugu country, and adopted the manners and customs of the malas. some call themselves arava (tamil) malas. they are employed as servants in european houses, horse-keepers, etc. in connection with the origin of the malas, the rev. s. nicholson writes as follows. "originally the malas belonged to the kudi paita section of the community, i.e., their women wore the cloth over the right shoulder, but now there are both right and left paita sections, and this must be taken as the principal division. the right-hand (right paita) section is again divided into (a) reddi bhumalavaru, (b) pokunativaru. the left-hand (left paita) section are murikinativaru. the following legend professes to account for the existence of the three divisions. when virabahuvu went to the rescue of harischandra, he promised kali that, if she granted him success, he would sacrifice to her his wives, of whom he had three. accordingly, after his conquest of vishvamithrudu, he returned, and called his wives that he might take them to the temple in order to fulfil his vow. the wives got some inkling of what was in store for them, and one of them took refuge in the house of a reddi bhumala, another ran away to the eastern country (pokunati), while the third, though recently confined, and still in her dirty (muriki) cloth, determined to abide by the wish of her lord. she was, therefore, sacrificed to kali, but the goddess, seeing her devotion, restored her to life, and promised to remain for ever her helper. the reason given for the change in the method of wearing the cloth is that, after the incident described above took place, the women of the murikinati section, in order to express their disapproval of the two unfaithful wives, began to wear their cloths on the opposite, viz., the left, shoulder. in marriages, however, whatever the paita of the bride, she must wear the cloth over the right shoulder. "the reddi bhumalu and pokunativaru say that the reason they wear the cloth over the right shoulder is that they are descendants of the gods. according to a legend, the goddess parvati, whilst on a journey with her lord parameshvarudu, discarded one of her unclean (maila) cloths, from which was born a little boy. this boy was engaged as a cattle-herd in the house of parameshvarudu. parvati received strict injunctions from her lord that she should on no account allow the little mala to taste cream. one day, however, the boy discovered some cream which had been scraped from the inside of the pot sticking to a wall. he tasted it, and found it good. indeed, so good was it that he came to the conclusion that the udder from which it came must be even better still. so one day, in order to test his theory, he killed the cow. then came parameshvarudu in great anger, and asked him what he had done, and, to his credit be it said, the boy told the truth. then parameshvarudu cursed the lad and all his descendants, and said that from henceforth cattle should be the meat of the malas--the unclean." the malas have, in their various sub-divisions, many exogamous septs, of which the following are examples:-(a) reddi bhumi. avuka, marsh. bandi, cart. bommala, dolls. bejjam, holes. dakku, fear. dhidla, platform or back-door. dhoma, gnat or mosquito. gera, street. kaila, measuring grain in threshing-floor. katika, collyrium. naththalu, snails. paida, money or gold. pilli, cat. rayi, stone. samudrala, ocean. silam, good conduct. thanda, bottom of a ship. (b) pokunati. allam, ginger. dara, stream of water. gadi, cart. gone, sack. gurram, horse. maggam, loom. mailari, washerman. parvatha, mountain. pindi, flour-powder. pasala, cow. thummala, sneezing. (c) sarindla. boori, a kind of cake. ballem, spear. bomidi, a fish. challa, butter milk. chinthala, tamarind. duddu, money. gali, wind. karna, ear. kaki, crow. mudi, knot. maddili, drum. malle, jasmine. putta, ant-hill. pamula, snake. pidigi, handful. semmati, hammer. uyyala, see-saw. (d) daindla. dasari, priest. doddi, court or backyard. gonji, glycosmis pentaphylla. kommala, horn. marri, ficus bengalensis. pala, milk. powaku, tobacco. thumma, acacia arabica. concerning the home of the malas, mr. nicholson writes that "the houses (with mud or stone walls, roofed with thatch or palmyra palm leaves) are almost invariably placed quite apart from the village proper. gradually, as the caste system and fear of defilement become less, so gradually the distance of their houses from the village is becoming less. in the ceded districts, where from early times every village was surrounded by a wall and moat, the aloofness of the houses is very apparent. gradually, however, the walls are decaying, and the moats are being filled, and the physical separation of the outcaste classes is becoming less apparent." mr. nicholson writes further that "according to their own traditions, as told still by the old people and the religious mendicants, in former times the malas were a tribe of free lances, who, 'like the tiger, slept during the day, and worked at night.' they were evidently the paid mercenaries of the poligars (feudal chiefs), and carried out raids and committed robberies for the lord under whose protection they were. that this tradition has some foundation may be gathered from the fact that many of the house-names of the malas refer to weapons of war, e.g., spear, drum, etc. if reports are true, the old instinct is not quite dead, and even to-day a cattle-stealing expedition comes not amiss to some. the malas belong to the subjugated race, and have been made into the servants of the community. very probably, in former days, their services had to be rendered for nothing, but later certain inam (rent-free) lands were granted, the produce of which was counted as remuneration for service rendered. originally, these lands were held quite free of taxation, but, since the advent of the british raj, the village servants have all been paid a certain sum per month, and, whilst still allowed the enjoyment of their inam lands, they have now been assessed, and half the actual tax has to be paid to government. the services rendered by the malas are temple service, jatra or festival service, and village service. the village service consists of sweeping, scavenging, carrying burdens, and grave-digging, the last having been their perquisite for long ages. according to them, the right was granted to them by king harischandra himself. the burial-grounds are supposed to belong to the malas, and the site of a grave must be paid for, the price varying according to the position and wealth of the deceased, but i hear that, in our part of the country, the price does not often exceed two pence. though the brahmans do not bury, yet they must pay a fee of one rupee for the privilege of burning, besides the fee for carrying the body to the ghat. there is very little respect shown by the malas at the burning-ghat, and the fuel is thrown on with jokes and laughter. the malas dig graves for all castes which bury, except muhammadans, oddes, and madigas. not only on the day of burial, but afterwards on the two occasions of the ceremonies for the dead, the grave-diggers must be given food and drink. the malas are also used as death messengers to relatives by all the sudra castes. when on this work, the messenger must not on any account go to the houses of his relatives though they live in the village to which he has been sent. "the chief occupations of the malas are weaving, and working as farm labourers for sudras; a few cultivate their own land. though formerly their inam lands were extensive, they have been, in the majority of cases, mortgaged away. the malas of the western part of the telugu country are of a superior type to those of the east, and they have largely retained their lands, and, in some cases, are well-to-do cultivators. in the east, weaving is the staple industry, and it is still carried on with the most primitive instruments. in one corner of a room stands the loom, with a hole in the mud floor to receive the treadles, and a little window in the wall, level with the floor, lights the web. the loom itself is slung from the rafters, and the whole can be folded up and put away in a corner. as a rule, weaving lasts for eight months of the year, the remainder of the year being occupied in reaping and stacking crops, etc. each weaver has his own customers, and very often one family of malas will have weaved for one family of sudras for generations. before starting to weave, the weaver worships his loom, and rubs his shuttle on his nose, which is supposed to make it smooth. those who cannot weave subsist by day labour. as a rule, they stick to one master, and are engaged in cultivation all the year round. many, having borrowed money from some sudra, are bound to work for him for a mere pittance, and that in grain, not cash." in a note on a visit to jammalamadugu in the cuddapah district, bishop whitehead writes as follows. [156] "lately mr. macnair has made an effort to improve the methods of weaving, and he showed us some looms that he had set up in his compound to teach the people the use of a cheap kind of fly-shuttle to take the place of the hand-shuttle which is universally used by the people. the difficulties he has met with are characteristic of many attempts to improve on the customs and methods of india. at present the thread used for the hand-shuttle is spun by the mala women from the ordinary cotton produced in the district. the mala weavers do not provide their own cotton for the clothes they weave, but the kapus give them the cotton from their own fields, pay the women a few annas for spinning it, and then pay the men a regular wage for weaving it into cloth. but the cotton spun in the district is not strong enough for the fly-shuttle, which can only be profitably worked with mill-made thread. the result is that, if the fly-shuttle were generally adopted, it would leave no market for the native cotton, throw the women out of work, upset the whole system on which the weavers work, and, in fact, produce widespread misery and confusion!" the following detailed account of the ceremonies in connection with marriage, many of which are copied from the higher telugu castes, is given by mr. nicholson. "chinna tambulam (little betel) is the name given to the earliest arrangements for a future wedding. the parents of the boy about to be married enquire of a brahman to which quarter they should go in search of a bride. he, after receiving his pay, consults the boy's horoscope, and then tells them that in a certain quarter there is loss, in another quarter there is death, but that in another quarter there is gain or good. if in the quarter which the brahman has intimated as good there are relations, so much the better; the bride will be sought amongst them. if not, the parents of the youth, along with an elder of the caste, set out in search of a bride amongst new people. on reaching the village, they do not make their object known, but let it appear that they are on ordinary business. having discovered a house in which there is a marriageable girl, after the ordinary salutations, they, in a round-about way, make enquiries as to whether the warasa or marriage line is right or not. if it is all right, and if at that particular time the girl's people are in a prosperous condition, the object of the search is made known. if, on the other hand, the girl's people are in distress or grief, the young man's party go away without making their intention known. everything being satisfactory, betel nut and leaves are offered, and, if the girl's people are willing to contract, they accept it; if not, and they refuse, the search has to be resumed. we will take it for granted that the betel is accepted. the girl's parents then say 'if it is god's will, so let it be; return in eight or nine days, and we will give you our answer.' if, within that time, there should be death or trouble of any sort in either of the houses, all arrangements are abandoned. if, when going to pay the second visit, on the journey any of the party should drop on the way either staff or bundle of food, it is regarded as a bad omen, and further progress is stopped for that day. after reaching the house of the prospective bride on the second occasion, the party wait outside. should the parents of the girl bring out water for them to drink and to wash their faces, it is a sign that matters may be proceeded with. betel is again distributed. in the evening, the four parents and the elders talk matters over, and, if all is so far satisfactory, they promise to come to the house of the future bridegroom on a certain date. the boy's parents, after again distributing betel, this time to every house of the caste, take their departure. when the party of the bride arrive at the boy's village, they are treated to toddy and a good feed, after which they give their final promise. then, having made arrangements for the pedda tambulam (big betel), they take their departure. this ends the first part of the negotiations. chinna tambulam is not binding. the second part of the negociations, which is called pedda tambulam, takes place at the home of the future bride. before departing for the ceremony, the party of the bridegroom, which must be an odd number but not seven, and some of the elders of the village, take part in a feast. the members of the party put on their religious marks, daub their necks and faces with sandal paste and akshinthulu (coloured rice), and are sent off with the good wishes of the villagers. after the party has gone some few miles, it is customary for them to fortify themselves with toddy, and to distribute betel. the father of the groom takes with him as a present for the bride a bodice, fried dal (pea: cajanus indicus), cocoanut, rice, jaggery, turmeric, dates, ghi, etc. on arrival at the house, the party wait outside, until water is brought for their faces and feet. after the stains of travel have been washed off, the presents are given, and the whole assembly proceeds to the toddy shop. on their return, the chalavadhi (caste servant) tells them to which households betel must be presented, after which the real business commences. the party of the bridegroom, the people of the bride, the elders of the caste, and one person from each house in the caste quarter, are present. a blanket is spread on the floor, and grains of rice are arranged on it according to a certain pattern. this is the bridal throne. after bathing, the girl is arrayed in an old cloth, and seated on a weaver's beam placed upon the blanket, with her face towards the east. before seating herself, however, she must worship towards the setting sun. in her open hands betel is placed, along with the dowry (usually about sixteen rupees) brought by her future father-in-law. as the bride sits thus upon the throne, the respective parents question one another, the bride's parents as to the groom, what work he does, what jewels he will give, etc. whatever other jewels are given or not, the groom is supposed to give a necklace of silver and beads, and a gold nose jewel. as these things are being talked over, some one winds 101 strands of thread, without twisting it, into a circle about the size of a necklace, and then ties on it a peculiar knot. after smearing with turmeric, it is given into the hands of the girl's maternal uncle, who, while holding his hands full of betel, asks first the girl's parents, and then the whole community if there is any objection to the match. if all agree, he must then worship the bridal throne, and, without letting any of the betel in his hands fall, place the necklace round the bride's neck. should any of the betel fall, it is looked upon as a very bad omen, and the man is fined. after this part of the performance is over, and after teasing the bride, the uncle raises her to her feet, and, taking from her hands the dowry, etc., sends her off. after distributing betel to every one in the village, even unborn babies being counted, the ceremony ends, and, after the usual feast has been partaken of, the people all depart to their various homes. "the wedding, contrary to the previous ceremonies, takes place at the home of the bridegroom. a brahman is asked to tell a day on which the omens are favourable, for which telling he receives a small fee. a few days before the date foretold, the house is cleaned, the floor cow-dunged, and the walls are whitewashed. in order that the evil eye may be warded off, two marks are made, one on each side of the door, with oil and charcoal mixed. then the clothes of the bride and bridegroom are made ready. these, as a rule, are yellow and white, but on no account must there be any indigo in them, as that would be a sign of death. the grain and betel required for the feast, a toe-ring for the bridegroom, and a tali (marriage badge) for the bride, are then purchased. the toe-ring is worn on the second toe of the right foot, and the tali, which is usually about the size of a sixpence, is worn round the woman's neck. the goldsmith is paid for these not only in coin, but also in grain and betel, after receiving which he blesses the jewels he has made, and presents them to the people. meanwhile, messengers have been sent, with the usual presents, to the bride's people and friends, to inform them that the auspicious day has been fixed, and bidding them to the ceremony. in all probability, before the preparations mentioned above are complete, all the money the bridegroom's people have saved will be expended. but there is seldom any difficulty in obtaining a loan. it is considered an act of great merit to advance money for a wedding, and people of other and richer castes are quite ready to lend the amount required. in former days, it was customary to give these loans free of interest, but it is not so now. the next item is the preparation of the pandal or bower. this is generally erected a day or two before the actual marriage in front of the house. it consists of four posts, one at each corner, and the roof is thatched with the straw of large millet. all round are hung garlands of mango leaves, and cocoanut leaves are tied to the four posts. on the left side of the house door is planted a branch of a tree (nerium odorum), to which is attached the kankanam made in the following way. a woollen thread and a cotton thread are twisted together, and to them are tied a copper finger-ring, a piece of turmeric root, and a betel leaf. the tree mentioned is watered every day, until the whole of the marriage ceremonies are completed. as a rule, the whole of the work in connection with the erection of the pandal is carried out by the elders, who receive in payment food and toddy. at this time, also, the fire-places for the cooking of the extra amount of food are prepared. these are simply trenches dug in the mud floor of the house, usually three in number. before they are dug, a cocoanut is broken, and offered over the spot. a journey is now made to the potter's for the pots required in the cooking of the marriage feast. this in itself is quite a ceremony. a canopy is formed of an ordinary wearing cloth supported at its four corners by four men, whilst a boy with a long stick pushes it into a tent shape in the middle. beneath the canopy is one of the women of the bridegroom's family, who carries on a tray two sacred lamps, an eight-anna piece, some saffron (turmeric), akshinthulu, betel, frankincense, cocoanut, etc. on arriving at the potter's house, the required pots are placed in a row outside, and a cocoanut, which has been held in the smoke of the incense, is broken into two equal parts, the two halves being placed on the ground about a yard apart. to these all the people do puja (worship), and then take up the pots, and go home. the eight-anna piece is given to the potter, and the betel to the chalavadhi. on the way to the potter's, and on the return thence, the procession is accompanied with music, and the women sing songs. meanwhile, the groom, and those who have remained at home, have been worshipping the goddess sunkalamma. the method of making this goddess, and its worship, are as follows. rice and green gram are cooked together, and with this cooked food a cone is made minus the point. a little hollow is made on the top, and this is filled with ghi (clarified butter), onions, and dal. four wicks are put into it, so forming a lamp. a nose jewel is stuck somewhere on the outside of the lump, two garlands are placed round it, and the whole is decorated with religious marks. this goddess is always placed in the north-east corner of the house, called the god's corner, which has been previously cleaned, and an image of hanuman, or some other deity, is drawn with rice-powder on the floor. upon this drawing the image of sunkalamma is placed. before her are put several little balls of rice, with which ghi has been mixed. the worship consists in making offerings of frankincense and camphor, and a cocoanut, which is broken in half, the halves being put in front of the goddess. a ram or a he-goat is now brought, nim (melia azadirachta) leaves are tied round the horns, religious marks are made on the forehead, water is placed in its mouth, and it is then sacrificed. after the sacrifice has been made, those assembled prostrate themselves before the image for some time in silence, after which they go outside for a minute or two, and then, returning, divide the goddess, and eat it. the groom now has his head shaved, and the priest cuts his finger and toe nails, eyelashes, etc. the cuttings are placed, along with a quarter of a rupee which he has kept in his mouth during the process, in an old winnowing tray, with a little lamp made of rice, betel and grain. the priest, facing west and with the bridegroom in front of him, makes three passes with the tray from the head to the foot. this is supposed to take away the evil eye. the priest then takes the tray away, all the people getting out of the way lest the blight should come on them. he throws away what is useless, but keeps the rest, especially the quarter of a rupee. after this little ceremony, the future husband takes a bath, but still keeps on his old clothes. he is given a knife, with which to keep away devils, and is garlanded with the garlands which were round the goddess. his toe-ring is put on, and the next ceremony, the propitiation of the dead, is proceeded with. the sacrificed animal is dismembered, and the bones, flesh, and intestines are put into separate pots, and cooked. rice also is prepared, and placed in a heap, to which the usual offerings are made. then rice, and some of the flesh from each pot, is placed upon two leaf plates. these are left before the heap of rice, with two lamps burning. the people all salute the rice, and proceed to eat it. the rice on the two plates is reserved for members of the family. by this time, the bride has most likely arrived in the village, but, up to this stage, will have remained in a separate house. she does not come to the feast mentioned above, but has a portion of food sent to her by the bridegroom's people. after the feast, bride and bridegroom are each anointed in their separate houses with nalugu (uncooked rice and turmeric). when the anointing of the bride takes place, the groom sends to her a cloth, a bodice, cocoanut, pepper and garlic. the bride leaves her parents' house, dressed in old clothes. her people provide only a pair of sandals, and two small toe-rings. she also carries a fair quantity of rice in the front fold of her cloth. again a procession is formed as before for the cooking-pots, and another visit is paid to the potter's house, but, on this occasion, in place of eight annas grain is taken. the potter presents them with two wide-mouthed pots, and four small-mouthed pots, two of which are decorated in four colours. as before, these are placed in a row outside, and again the party, after worshipping them, takes them to the bridegroom's house. these pots are supposed to represent lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and, as they are being carried to the house, no pregnant woman or mother with small children should meet them, or they will have trouble. on arriving at the house, and before entering, a cock is sacrificed, and a cocoanut offered. [in some places, a goat is killed in front of the room in which the marriage pots are kept, and marks are made with the palms of the hands covered with the blood on the side-walls of the entrance.] water is sprinkled on the door step, and the pots are taken inside. during the whole of the above performance, the pots are held in the hands, and must not be put down. after entering the house, grain is spread on the floor in the north-east corner, and upon this are placed the pots, one upon the other, in two or four rows. the topmost pot is covered with a lid, and on the lid is placed a lighted lamp. from the beams exactly above the lamps are suspended, to which are fastened small bundles containing dates, cocoanut, jaggery, sugar, and saffron. round each pot is tied a kankanam (wrist-thread). these pots are worshipped every day as long as the wedding ceremonies last, which is usually three days. not only so, but the lamps are kept continually burning, and there is betel arranged in a brass pot in the form of a lotus ever before them. beneath the pandal is now arranged a throne exactly similar to the one which was used on the occasion of the pedda tambulam. until now the bride has kept to her separate house, but she now dresses in her new clothes. putting on the sandals she brought from her own home, she proceeds to the house of the bridegroom. there she waits in the pandal for her future husband, who comes out dressed in his wedding garments, wearing his sandals, and carrying a blanket, gochi, [157] shoulder-cloth, and knife. both bride and bridegroom now have fastened on to their foreheads a kind of philactery or nuptial crown called bhasingalu. they are also garlanded with flowers, in addition to which the bridegroom has tied on to his wrists the kankanam. in order that the two most intimately concerned persons may not see one another (and up to this point they have not done so), a screen is erected, the bride standing on one side, and the bridegroom on the other. as a rule, they each of them keep their heads bent during the whole of the proceedings, and look as miserable as possible. indeed, it would be a breach of etiquette for either of them to appear as though they were enjoying the ceremony. except for the screen, the two are now face to face, the groom looking towards the east, and the bride towards the west. upon the bridal throne there is now placed for the bride to stand upon a basket filled with grain, and for the groom the beam of a loom. the screen is now taken away, and the priest, a dasari, asks whether the elders, the mala people generally, and the village as a whole, are in favour of the marriage. this he asks three times. probably, in former times, it was possible to stop a marriage at this point, but now it is never done, and the marriage is practically binding after pedda tambulam has been gone through. indeed, in hard times, if the bride is of marriageable age, the couple will live together as man and wife, putting off the final ceremony until times are better. the groom now salutes the priest, the bride places her foot on the weaving beam, and the groom places his foot upon that of the woman as a token of his present and continued lordship. after this, the bride also is invested with the kankanam. after the groom has worshipped the four quarters of heaven, the priest, who holds in his hands a brass vessel of milk, hands the golden marriage token to the groom, who ties it round the bride's neck. this is the first time during the ceremony that either of them has looked on the other. before the groom ties the knot, he must ask permission from the priest and people three times. the priest now dips a twig of the jivi tree (ficus tsiela) into the milk, and hands it to the husband, who, crossing his hands over his wife's head, allows some of the drops to fall upon her. the wife then does the same to the husband. after this, the rice which the bride brought with her in her lap is used in a similar blessing. the priest, holding in his hand a gold jewel, now takes the hands of the two in his, and repeats several passages (charms). whoever wishes may now shower the pair with rice, and, after that is done, the priest publicly announces them to be man and wife. but the ceremonies are not yet ended. the newly-married pair, and all the assembled party, now proceed to the village shrine to worship the god. before doing so, the cloths of the newly-wed pair are tied together by the priest. this knot is called the brahma knot, and is a sign that god had ordained the two to be man and wife even in a previous birth. after the god has been worshipped, and an offering of betel made to the four quarters, the party return to the house accompanied by weird music and much tom-tom. the women, as a rule, sing wedding songs, and the husband and wife are shaded by a canopy. arrived at the threshold of the house, the fear of the evil eye is made the reason for another ceremony. before either crosses the threshold, passes are made from their head to their feet with black and red water. on the threshold is placed a brass bowl full of grain, upon which is a gold nose jewel. the man and woman must each touch this with the right foot, after which they may enter the house without fear. after entering the house, the evil eye is again removed, this time with a cocoanut, which is afterwards thrown away. those who have unlucky twists of hair must at this time, besides the above ceremony, sacrifice a goat. after entering the house, the whole party worship lakshmi. long ago, the tradition runs, this goddess was very gracious to the malas, and, in consequence, they were wealthy and prosperous. one day, however, lakshmi went up to one of the chief men, who at that time was very busy at work upon a web of cloth, and began to make love to him. at any other time this would have been very acceptable, but just then, being very busy, he asked the goddess to go away. she, however, took no notice, and only bothered him the more. whereupon, losing his temper, he hit her over the head with the heavy sizing brush which he was using. this hurt the feelings of lakshmi to such an extent that she left the malas, withdrew her favour, and transferred it to the komatis. since then, the malas have been poor. the husband next dips his hands into a plate of milk three times, each time placing his wet hand on the wall. after him, the bride does the same. the two then, sitting down, eat rice and milk off one plate. this is the first and only time that husband and wife eat together. the bashingams are now taken off, and the wife is relieved from the burden of rice she has thus far carried in her lap. the next ceremony is called the bhumalu, and is a feast for the husband, his wife, and blood relations only. not more than ten, and not less than six must partake, and these must all be husbands or wives, i.e., the party must consist of either three or five couples. the feast consists of the most expensive food the people can afford, and is eaten on two consecutive days. a blanket is spread on the floor, and on this raw rice is placed in a cloth, with betel leaves arranged in the form of a lotus at the four corners. here and there are placed red rice, sandal, and turmeric, and a new lamp is lit. three children are brought in, and are made to stand before the rice. the parties who are to partake now come in couples, and one of the children ties upon their wrists the kankanam, another daubs them with sandal paste, and another with red rice. the food is placed on two plates, one for the women and one for the males. all the women sit round the one, and the men round the other. whilst eating, they must not drop a single grain. should they do so, it is not only unlucky, but is also the cause of serious quarrels, and the fault is punishable with a heavy fine. after the feast is over, the heap of rice is worshipped, and the children are sent off with a little present each. the pair are again anointed with nalugu. this is done twice every day for three days, but no widow is allowed to do it. before anointing, the people about to do it must present a cocoanut and jaggery. when the cocoanut and jaggery are given, they must be in strips, and put into the bride's mouth partly projecting. the groom must take hold of the projecting part with his teeth, and eat it. the same performance is gone through with betel leaf. a doll is now made with cloths, having arms, legs, etc. the newly-married couple are made to play with it, being much teased the while by the onlookers, who sing lullabys. the two now have their hands and feet anointed with turmeric, and are bathed. this is done on three consecutive days. on the third day is the nagavalli. the bride and her husband are escorted under a canopy to some ant heap outside the village. the man digs a basketful of earth with his knife, which was given to him, and which he has never relinquished, and the wife carries it to the house. there the earth is made into four heaps, one near each post. a hollow is left at the top of each heap, which is filled with water. during the time they have been fetching the earth, the people who remained at home have been worshipping aireni pots representing lakshmi, but they now come outside to the pandal. the pair are escorted all round the village, accompanied with music. they must not walk, but must be either carried or driven. after their return to the pandal, they are seated on the nagavalli simhasanam. four small pots are placed in the form of a square, and round these is wound a fence of thread, which must not be broken in the process. on the pots are placed bread and meal. the bridal pair again put on their bridal crowns, and the man, taking his knife, digs a few furrows in the ground, which his wife fills with grain. the husband then covers up the grain with his knife, after which his wife sprinkles water over the whole, and then gives her husband some gruel. the bread and meal, which were placed on the pots, are eaten by the relatives of the husband publicly in the pandal. after this ceremony is over, the pair are again anointed, during which process there must be music and singing. the next day, the whole of the party set off for the bride's house, where the marala pendli, or second marriage, is performed. before setting out, the husband and wife bow down at the feet of the elders, and receive their blessing. the husband must provide an abundance of toddy for all. they stay in the house of the bride's people for three days, and then another feast is made. on the fourth day, all, except the relations of the bride, return to their villages, but, before their departure, the bride again pays homage to the departing elders, who bless her, and give her a small present of money. on their return, they are met outside the village, and are escorted to the husband's house with music. the married pair usually remain in the house of the bride's mother for a month, and during that time they never change their wedding garments, or take off the garlands of flowers. the parents of the bridegroom present their daughter-in-law with new clothes, but these must not have any indigo in them. if the bride is past puberty, at the end of the month the father and mother-in-law will return with the married couple to the husband's village. if the girl has not reached puberty, she will only spend a short time in her husband's house, and will afterwards be continually going backwards and forwards between the two houses. at the time of puberty, the matter is made known to all parties concerned. the chalavadhi must be the bearer of the news, and he is treated to as much food and drink as he can take, and is also given presents. when the messenger goes, he must carry with him dal, jaggery, sugar-candy, etc. the neighbours come out to see how much he has brought, and, if the amount is small, they make a fuss. during the ceremonies which ensue, the girl is made to sit down, and is blessed by the women sprinkling her with nalugu, and is also given sweetmeats to eat. the time is made merry by song and music. after bathing, the girl is made to take food out of a dish along with three married women. she is then made to touch a thorn tree three times, and also plucks the leaves. upon returning to the house, she is made to touch the cooking instruments and pots. at this time, if anyone has lent her beads or ornaments, they are taken, and, after being threaded on new strings, are returned to the lenders. if the day on which a girl reaches puberty is an unlucky day, it is considered a bad sign for the husband. on the second occasion the husband comes for his wife, and there is much rejoicing. after being detained for four or five days, they go to their permanent home, the house of the husband's father, and there is at that time much weeping. the mother tells the girl to be obedient to her husband and parents-in-law, and says that it will be better for her to throw herself into a well and die than to return home disgraced. "there are slight differences in the ceremonies described above according to the district and sect of the people. in the eastern telugu country, during the marriage ceremonies, there is a sort of bridesmaid, who accompanies the bride on the day of the wedding. in the western country, largely under the influence of the canarese, the bridesmaid is scarcely distinguishable from the real bride, but she is not, as at home, an unmarried girl, but must be a mature woman following the functions of a married life. there is another slight difference between the two sections concerning the bhumala ceremony. the vaishnavites, after the arranged people have partaken of the feast, distribute the remainder of the food; the saivites, on the other hand, if any food is left, bury it somewhere inside the house. "malas may be married many times, and indeed it is not considered respectable to remain a widower. a widower is unable to make arrangements for the marriage of others, to take part in any of the ceremonies connected therewith, except in the capacity of a spectator. it is not the correct thing for a man to have two wives at one time unless the first one is barren, or unless there is other good cause. a woman must on no account marry again. she need not, according to telugu morals, be ashamed of living, after she is widowed, with another man as his concubine, but, at the very mention of marriage, she covers her face with shame. if such people become christians, it is a most difficult thing to overcome their prejudice, and persuade them to become legally man and wife. almost the only way to do so is by refusing to marry their children. in the canarese country, there is a kind of half marriage (chira kattinchinaru, they have tied her cloth), which may be attained by widows. it is not reckoned as a proper marriage, nor is the woman considered a concubine. the ceremony for this is not performed at the great length of an ordinary marriage, but it must receive the sanction of the elders. in spite of their sanction, the man must pay a fine imposed by the caste guru. the woman is permitted to wear the tali or marriage token, but not bangles or other jewels usually worn by a married woman. the children are part inheritors, and are not entirely without rights, as the children of concubines are. a man's second wife must wear two talis--that of the first wife as well as her own." the following variants of the pedda tambulam ceremony, which is performed during the marriage rites, may be noted. as soon as all are assembled in the front yard of the bride's house, a blanket is spread on the floor, and covered with a cloth. about ten seers of cholam (millet: sorghum) are heaped up, and a brass vessel (kalasam) is placed thereon. by its side, a lamp is kept burning. a dasari, or a mala priest, stands on one side of it, and a married woman on the other. the names of the gods are mentioned, one after the other, and the woman throws two betel leaves and a nut on the kalasam for each name uttered. the bride is then brought from within the house, and the leaves and nuts are tied up in a cloth. this, with the kalasam, is put in the bride's cloth, and she is led inside. in some places, the ceremony is more elaborate. for the betrothal ceremony some leading men of the village, and the headmen of the bride and bridegroom's villages, are required to be present. the chalavati (caste servant) hands over a bag containing betel leaves, areca nuts, pieces of turmeric, and rs. 4-6, to the headman of the bride's village. all these articles are displayed on a new bamboo sieve, or on the lid of a bamboo box. the two headmen discuss the proposed match, and exchange betel and nut thrice. after this, the bride-elect (chinnapapa) is brought from the house, and seated on a plank or on a cloth roller (dhone). three handfuls of betel leaves and areca nuts are placed in her lap. her maternal uncle then puts on her neck a string of unwoven unbleached cotton thread dyed with turmeric. the bride's headman asks the assembly if he may proceed with the thonuku ceremony. with their permission, he takes from a sieve betel leaves, nuts, and a cocoanut with his right hand, using only the thumb, first, and ring fingers. while doing this, he is expected to stand on one leg, and to take up the various things, without letting even a single leaf or nut fall. in some places, the headman has the privilege of doing this seated near the sieve. in other places, he is said to hold a knife in his hand, with a blade passed below the middle finger, and over the first ring finger. in connection with birth ceremonies, mr. nicholson writes as follows. "during labour, a sickle and some nim (melia azadirachta) leaves are always kept upon the cot, to ward off evil spirits, which will not approach iron. difficulty during labour is considered to be the effect of kharma, and the method employed for easing it is simple. some mother, who has had an 'easy time,' is called in, and presents the labouring woman with betel, etc. should this not be effective, a line of persons is drawn up from the well to the house, and water is passed from hand to hand until it reaches the 'easy time' woman, who gives the water to the sufferer. this last resort is only sought in extreme cases, but, when it is appealed to, even the caste people will join in the line and help. after the placenta has come away, the child is placed on a winnowing basket, which has been previously filled with grain, and covered with a cloth. the umbilical cord is cut, and the child is washed, and branded with a hot needle in all places, over twenty in all, which are considered vital. when the umbilical cord is cut, some coin is placed over the navel for luck. this, with the grain in the basket, is the midwife's perquisite. should the child present with the cord round its neck, a cocoanut is immediately offered. if the child survives, a cock is offered to the gods on the day the mother takes her first bath. the placenta is put in a pot, in which are nim leaves, and the whole is buried in some convenient place, generally in the backyard. the reason for this is said to be that, unless the afterbirth was buried, dogs or other animals might carry it off, and ever after the child would be of a wandering disposition. the first bath of the mother takes place on the third, fifth, seventh, or ninth day after delivery. every house in the particular quarter sends a potful of hot water. all the pots are placed near the spot where the afterbirth was buried. the mother then comes from the house supported by two women, carrying in her hand the sickle and nim leaves. after worshipping the four mud gods which have been placed on the spot, she takes her seat on the cot on which she was confined, and, after having her body covered with turmeric, and her head anointed with a mixture of rice, chunam (lime) and turmeric, she is bathed by the women in attendance. after the bath, both the mother and child are garlanded with a root strung on strings, and worn round the neck and wrists. one of these is eaten every day by the mother. the mother rises and enters the house, but, before doing so, she worships the four quarters on the threshold. the women who assisted in the bathing operation go to their homes, and bathe their own children, afterwards returning to take part in a feast provided by the parents of the newly-born child. on this day also a name is given to the child. if all previous children have died, the child is rolled in leaf plates and rice, after which the nose and ears are pierced. the rice is given to the dogs, and the child is named pulligadu (used up leaf plates) or pullamma according to sex. should the parents consider that they have a sufficiently large family, they name the child salayya or salakka (enough). there are several superstitions about teething. if the teeth come quickly, people say that the afterbirth has not been buried deeply enough. should the top teeth come first, it is supposed to imply danger to the maternal uncle, who generally gives his daughter in marriage to his nephew. he is called, and brings with him a cocoanut, the inner shell of which he crushes on the child's head. this must be done without looking on the child. in order that girls may not grow hair on their faces, their lips and chins are rubbed with the afterbirth. the dried navel is highly prized as a remedy for sterility. in connection with death ceremonies, mr. nicholson writes as follows. "there is a difference in the ceremonies performed by the vishnuvite and saivite sects. the former allow their people to die in the house; the latter, fearing pollution, remove the person outside the door, as soon as it is recognised that death is at hand. the following description relates chiefly to the vishnuvites or namdaris, but, wherever possible, the difference of ceremony between the two sects is noticed. as soon as it is recognized that a person is at the point of death, the wife and children, or near relations, gather round the rough string cot, and ask what the dying person's last wishes are. however bad a life may have been led, the dying words are considered imperatively binding. if at all possible, the son or brother of the dying person will give a little food and a drink of water; and, if there is no one to perform this office--the rite which entitles the dying to heaven--great is the grief. 'may you have no one to give you water to drink' is a most bitter curse. as soon as life has departed, those who are standing by will close the eyes and mouth, and stop the nostrils and ears. the two great toes are tied together, whilst the wife and sons burn incense at the head of the corpse. a lamp is lit, and left in the house. before this, the near relations have heard that things were serious, and have come to render assistance. they now bring water for the bathing, and some go to the bazar for sweetmeats, etc., required in the subsequent ceremonies. some of the elders go to call the dasari, or priest, and, by the time he arrives, rice will have been prepared, and the blood of a fowl sprinkled over the place where the death occurred. it should be mentioned that the head of the dying is always placed to the south. yamudu, the god of death and lord of hades, is god of the south. consequently, if the dead arose, if facing south he would go to the evil place. by lying on the back with the head to the south, they rise facing north, and so escape an evil fate. when the food is prepared, the corpse is removed outside, bathed, and wrapped in a new cloth. betel nut and leaf are ground and put into the mouth, whilst the priest puts the namam (the mark of vishnu) upon both the forehead of the corpse and of the bearers. after the bathing of the corpse, and before it is wrapped in the new cloth, a small square piece is torn out of the cloth, and presented to the nambi of the temple. the corpse being prepared, the priest and the wife and relations of the deceased, along with the bearers, eat a small portion of the food which has been got ready. immediately upon rising after having eaten, the corpse is lifted, and placed upon a rough bier, wrapped in a cloth, and the party proceed to the burying ground. the priest goes first singing a funeral hymn, and at the end of each verse all the people cry govinda (one of the names of vishnu). following the priest comes the chalavadhi, carrying his belt and insignia of office. at every other step the bell is rung by coming in contact with his leg. after the chalavadhi comes the corpse carried by men who are, according to telugu relationship, brothers (actual brothers, or sons of father's brother or mother's sister). in the case of a married woman, the bearers must be either husband or brothers. following the corpse comes the wife or son, bearing water and fire. shortly before reaching the burial-ground, a halt is made. the son sprinkles a little water on the ground, and the bier is placed upon the spot with the fire at the head. the face is then uncovered, and all look upon the dead features for the last time. the reason given for the halt is that upon one occasion, according to tradition, the bearers became exhausted, and, when they rested the bier upon the ground, the corpse arose alive. in carrying a dead body, it is always carried feet first. the grave, which has been prepared beforehand, and which is usually not more than three feet deep, is reached, and the body is placed therein with the head towards the south. in the case of a male, after being placed in the grave, the waist-cord and toe-rings are removed, and left in the grave. in the case of a woman, the glass bracelets, bell-metal toe-rings, and bead necklace are left, but no jewels of value or the marriage token are left. after this is over, the body is covered with leaves of the tangedu tree (cassia auriculata). as a rule, vishnuvites, before covering the body with leaves, take off the cloth in which it is wrapped, leaving it naked. this is supposed to be emblematic of the nakedness with which we enter upon life. the corpse is buried face upwards, and it is considered a means of future happiness to the deceased if those assembled throw earth into the grave. the nearer the relationship of those doing so, the greater is the happiness conferred. hence it is always desired that a son should be present. after the grave has been filled up half way with earth, three stones are placed, one at the head, one in the middle, and one at the feet. only the vishnuvites do this. upon the middle of these stones stands the priest, while the relatives of the deceased wash his feet, and put upon them the namam or sign of vishnu. whilst standing thus, they bargain and haggle as to what fee is to be paid. after this is over, the grave is completely filled in, and great care is taken that the corpse is so covered that it may not be disturbed by jackals and other animals, at any rate before the fifth day. if it should be disturbed, heaven will not be reached. so the telugu curse 'may the jackals eat your tongue' is a curse of damnation. the saivites bury their dead in the cloth, face downwards. after the grave has been filled in, the fire carried by the son is placed at the head of the grave, and incense is burnt. then the water carried from the house is sprinkled over the grave, and the procession departs homeward. on their way, they stop at some wayside well, and wash away their defilement, afterwards sitting on the edge of the well to chew betel and eat sweetmeats. they may also pay a visit to the temple, where they again sit and gossip, but perform no worship. if the deceased be a woman leaving a husband, the talk will be about arrangements for the marriage which will shortly take place. immediately the body is taken from the house for burial, the lamp which was first lighted is extinguished, and another lighted in its place. then those who stay at home (the women do not usually attend a funeral) clean sweep the house, plastering it with cow-dung. after this, they wait outside the house for the return of the burial party. the blood relations who have attended the burial come, and, without entering the house, glance at the newly-lighted lamp, afterwards going to their own homes, where, before entering, and without touching any of the pots, they must bathe in hot water. toddy flows freely at the close of a funeral. indeed, this is one of the occasions when excess is most common. from now until the fifth day, when the divasalu ceremony takes place, fire and a lamp are lighted at the grave each evening at sunset. "the divasalu ceremony, which is observed by all castes which follow the ramanuja matham or satani cult, is generally performed at the dead of night, and with as much ceremony as possible. all the namdaris in the village are invited, each being separately called by the kondigadu, who is a kind of messenger belonging to the dasari or mala priest. in former days, many of the sudras used to attend this ceremony, but of late, either through malas more openly eating the flesh of cows, or for some other reason, they rarely attend, and, if they do so, it is with great secrecy. the nambi, however, who is a satani, should attend. indeed, it is he who is the performer of the ceremony. the flesh required for the sacrifice is found by slaughtering a sheep or a goat. before killing it, holy water is poured into its mouth, and incense is burnt before it. when the animal has been dismembered, the head, guts, and blood are cooked in one pot, the bones in another, the flesh in a third, whilst in a fourth pot bread is baked. toddy and arrack (native spirit) are also placed in readiness. after these preparations, the nambi draws upon the floor, on the spot where the death occurred, the ashtakshari (eight-cornered) mantram, repeating the while magical words. the mantram is usually drawn with treble lines, one black, one yellow, and one white. at each corner are placed a cocoanut, betel, dates, and a lump of molasses, whilst a rupee is placed in the middle at one side. the words repeated are in tamil, and, roughly translated, are as follows: 'this is the mantram of manar nambi. this is the holy water of the sacred feet of ... nambi. this is the secret of holiness of the 108 sacred places. these are the means for obtaining heaven. they are for the saving of the sinner. this drawing is the seal of the saints. countless sins have i committed; yet by thought on the saints is sin cleansed.' after the completion of the drawing, the officiating priest puts the holy mark of vishnu on the foreheads of those who bring the vessels of cooked food. then, to the east side of the drawing, he makes two little piles of millet. he then asks (in tamil) for the pot containing the head, and for the toddy. the two bearers bring the pots, keeping exactly together, and, as they reach the nambi, each must exchange places with the other. the priest then inscribes on one pot the wheel (chakra), and on the other the conch shell, these being the sacred symbols of vishnu. before doing so, he wets the leaves of the tulasi plant (ocimum sanctum) in a rice plate, and places them in a brass vessel containing holy water by his side. then, with the conch shell which he carries, he pours some of the holy water into each pot, afterwards placing the pots upon the heaps of millet. next, a leaf plate is placed in the middle of the drawing. upon it is placed some of each variety of food cooked, along with milk and ghi. over all, another plate is placed as a cover. during this time, so that no one may see the ceremony, a sheet or blanket is held up before the nambi as a screen. he then takes two little sticks with cotton-wool in a notch at the end, and puts them to steep in castor-oil. whilst they are steeping, he takes a cocoanut, and, after breaking it, pours the milk into the vessel containing holy water, and places the two pieces by the side of the heaps of grain upon which are the two pots. then, taking up the two sticks, and having made passes with them over the whole drawing, he lights them and holds them aloft above the screen, so that the people on the other side may see them. all then bow down, and worship the two lights. then the bearers of the corpse are invested with the namam, after which the whole of those assembled drink of the holy water in the brass vessel. a little holy water, betel, etc., are now put into the rice plate, which is afterwards covered with soil upon the top of the grave. the party then eat the small portion of food which may be left, and, after trimming the lamp, proceed to their homes. the nambi who officiates is supposed to be particularly holy. if he is wicked and unclean, and yet draws and sits upon the magic diagrams, he will bring loss and sorrow upon his own head. "there is no other ceremony until the night of the twelfth day. on this day, not only is the floor plastered with cow-dung, but the whole house is cleaned outside and in. all the inmates of the house bathe, shave, and put on clean clothes. then, as on the fifth day, an animal is killed, and the flesh is cooked exactly as before. in the north-east or god's corner, the panchakshari (five cornered) diagram is inscribed, and a handful of rice is put in the middle. as before, cocoanuts, etc., are placed at the five corners, and before the drawing are placed five copper images. the dasari who performs the ceremony places two leaf plates before these images, and, breaking a couple of cocoanuts, sacrifices to them. after this, the nambi, dasaris, kondigadu, corpse-bearers, and bearers of the pots, each drink two measures of toddy, and eat some of the flesh cooked in the second pot. the party, consisting entirely of males, now take as much food as will be required for the forthcoming ceremony, and proceed towards the grave, which has been previous to this plastered and decorated, and a little shrine erected at the head. on their arrival, a diagram, called panchakshari is drawn on the grave in black, yellow, and white. at the five corners are placed cocoanut, lime, etc. in the middle is placed a leaf plate with food on it, and a cocoanut is offered, the two halves being placed one on each side of the plate. a lamp is now lighted, and placed in the little shrine at the head of the grave, which the nambi worships. it may be noted that the ashtakshari diagram is the sign of vishnu or narayanamurti, and the panchakshari is the sign of siva. the reason for both being used is that vishnu is the preserver, and siva the destroyer. if siva alone is worshipped, he will only cease from destroying; if vishnu alone is worshipped, he cannot keep from destruction. hence there is a sort of compromise, so that the benefits rendered by each god may be reaped. the nambi now invests all the males present with the namam, and, if there is a widow, she is made to put on the bottu or small circular mark, the symbol most often being associated with siva. the widow is made to sit in the middle of the house, with a leaf plate set before her. there she is stripped of all the jewels she wore as a married woman. afterwards she is taken inside by some widows, and, after bathing, dons a cloth which has been brought for her by her brothers. her own cloth is left outside, and must be sent from there to the washerman. it afterwards becomes a perquisite of the dasari. if the deceased was a married woman, the widower would be deprived of his toe-ring, bathed, and clothed in a new cloth. "on the occasion of divasalu, blood relatives are all supposed to be present, and the ceremony is an expensive one, poor people often spending on this occasion alone as much as they can earn in a couple of months. the first ceremony is not so expensive, and will only cost about five rupees. all the male relatives of the dead man, or the brothers-in-law of a dead woman, must bring a little rice and some sticks of incense. if they are quite unable to attend the ceremony, they will clean their own houses, and will then perform some ceremony to the deceased. the relatives of the wife who come to the ceremony will not proceed to the house, or even to the caste quarters, but will go to the toddy shop, whence they send word of their arrival. as soon as the head of the house hears of this, he also proceeds to the toddy shop, and each one treats the other to drink. if they do not wish to drink, the one will pour a little liquor into the palm of the other. this ceremony is called chedupaputa (the taking away of bitterness), and without it they cannot visit one another's houses. these relatives must only partake of food on the night of their arrival and next day, but on no account must they linger till the light is lit on the thirteenth day. "the above ceremony is that performed by the namdaris or vishnuvites, who are not afraid of pollution, but who must do all things according to a prescribed ritual. we will now consider the ceremonies of the mondis or saivites, who think little of ceremony, but much of defilement. these take the dying person outside, and, as soon as it is realised that the end is near, all arrangements are made as to who is to cook, carry the corpse, etc. before the breath has left the body, some go to the bazaar to purchase a new cloth. the women smear themselves with turmeric as at a wedding, and put a circular red mark (bottu) on the forehead, whilst the men smear ashes on their foreheads. as soon as the food is cooked, the dead body is washed, and placed upon a bier. most of the vishnuvites do not use a bier. the corpse is carried to the grave, accompanied with fire and water as in the vishnuvite ceremony. shortly before the grave-yard is reached, a halt is made. the cloth which has been placed over the face is torn, and a cooking pot is broken, after which the body is taken to the grave, and buried without covering, lying prone on the face. after the earth has been filled in, the son of the deceased takes an earthen water-pot full of water, and bores a hole in it, so that the water may escape. he then makes three circuits of the grave, allowing the water to flow on the ground. after each circuit, he makes a fresh hole in the pot. he then goes away without looking back on the grave. when the funeral party, which consists only of men, reaches the house, they find that some of the old women have made a heap of cow-dung, at the top of which is a little hollow filled with water. those who have returned from the grave dip their great toes in this water, and then linger on the threshold to worship the lamp which is inside. after this, the lamp is taken, and thrown outside the village, and, on their return, they bathe in hot water. the saivites perform the first ceremony for the dead on the third day, and they have neither nambi nor priest, but perform the whole ceremony themselves. like the vishnuvites, they thoroughly cleanse and plaster the house. there is no animal sacrifice, but food is prepared with vegetables. a tray is plaited from the twigs of the tamarind tree (tamarindus indica), and in this is placed a leaf plate containing food, frankincense, betel, etc. this food offering is carried to the grave along with fire and water at about eight o'clock in the morning. the man who carries the food must wear only a torn cloth, and yet with this he must manage to cover his head. on reaching the grave, they worship. the tray is left at the head of the grave, and the people retire a short distance, and there wait until a crow or a kite comes, and takes food from the tray. the more quickly this occurs, the greater the merit obtained by the deceased. they never go away until either the one or the other of these birds comes. they afterwards proceed to the well, and bathe fully. on the twelfth day, another ceremony is performed. in the morning, all those taking part in the ceremony proceed to some place outside the village where they shave, and put on clean clothes which have come direct to that place from the washerman. they then go to some temple, and there obtain a little holy water, with which they afterwards sprinkle themselves, the widow, and the house of the deceased. the widow is then arrayed in all her clothes and jewels, and is taken weeping to the 'widow's harbour.' there a stone image is set up, and worshipped. then the woman's jewels are taken off, and her bracelets broken. sweet food is cooked and partaken of, all bathe, and return to their homes. after this ceremony, poor people will stay in their houses for three days, and rich people for a much longer period. for several years, on the anniversary of the death, some little ceremony is usually performed." in connection with mala dasaris, to whom reference has already been made, mr. nicholson writes as follows. "there is a considerable number of individuals who obtained their living through religious mendicancy. they are known as dasaris. there is usually a nambi or dasari for every three or four villages. some few dasaris have inam (rent-free) lands, but the majority live on the charity of the people. they do not ask alms, but sing hymns in honour of chennudu or pedda muni. they also officiate as a sort of priest, and their services are requisitioned at the time of death, marriage, hair-cutting, and the creation of basavis and dasaris. the dasari who officiates at a wedding ceremony cannot act in a case of death. there is, in the west telugu country, a class called varapu dasari, who act as pujaris for the sudras, and in all places the dasari receives certain emoluments from sudras for singing at weddings and funerals. they receive alms from all classes. occasionally disturbances take place on account of the saivites objecting to the dasaris coming into their streets, and it is at such times as these that pavadamu is said to take place. it is firmly believed that, if a dasari is offended, he will revenge himself in smaller offences by piercing his cheeks or side, for a serious offence by killing himself, generally by severing the head from the body. if one kills himself in this way, the news is said to be immediately and miraculously communicated to every dasari and nambi in the country. they all come to the place where the body lies. until their arrival, this has been kept covered with a new cloth, and water is constantly sprinkled over it, to keep the wounds from drying up. when the gurus, dasaris, and others are collected, they show their magic power by frying fish, which come to life again on being placed in water, and by cutting limes in two and making them join together, while the remainder sing hymns to chennudu, and call on the name of govinda. the gurus then dig a hole, and in it light the sacred fire of sandal-wood, which must be kindled by the friction of two pieces of wood. all assemble before this sacred fire, and join in singing or reciting the dandakamu, after which the dasaris dance a dance called the request dance. a lotus flower is simulated by arranging betel leaves in a small chembu (metal vessel), and this is placed in a plate along with the severed head. the tray is then carried three times round the corpse by the wife of the deceased if he was married; if not, by his mother; and, if he had no kin, by a basavi. the head is then taken by the guru, and fixed properly to the trunk, the junction being plentifully daubed with sacred earth (tirumani). a new cloth is then spread over the corpse, and a network of flowers over all. the dasaris again walk round the corpse, calling on tembaru manara, repeating at the same time a mantram. then kurumayya, the caste guru, strokes the corpse from head to foot three times with his staff, after which he places his foot on the head of the corpse, and calls on the body to rise. the ability of the dasaris to perform this marvel is implicitly believed in. some i have asked have seen it attempted, but on one occasion it failed because the wife was unwell (under menstrual pollution). on another occasion, the ceremony was not carried out with fitting reverence, and failed in consequence. "the chief people among the dasaris are guru, annalayya, godugulayya (umbrella men), and tuttulayya (horn-blowers). the dasaris have got certain badges of office, which are supposed to have been given by chennudu on the conquest of vijayanagar. [according to tradition, between the 8th and 11th centuries a.d. there was great rivalry between the saivite and vishnuvite sects, and it is supposed that kurumayya, fighting on the side of the vishnuvites, by the aid of the god chennudu was able to suppress and overcome the followers of siva. he thus became the guru of the malas.] the dasari's insignia consist of an iron staff, copper pot, tiger skin, antelope skin, etc. besides these, some of the chief dasaris are said to possess copper inscriptions given to them by the kings of vijayanagar, but these they refuse to allow any one to see." concerning the practice of making basavis (dedicated prostitutes), mr. nicholson writes as follows. "the origin of the basavis is said to be thus. in former times, the asadhis had the duty and privilege of dancing and singing before the god, but this office was always performed by a male. on one occasion, there was no male to take up the duties, and, as there was no prospect of further children, one of the daughters was appointed to the work, so that the livelihood would not be lost. then no one came forward to marry the girl, and she found it impossible to live a good life. the fact, however, that she was a servant of the god kept her from disgrace, and from that time it has been customary to dedicate these girls to the god's service. nowadays, the girl goes through a ceremony with a knife, which is placed in front of the god, and, as at ordinary weddings, there are all the various ceremonies performed, and feasts eaten. if at the time of the wedding, any man wishes to have a sort of proprietary right, he may obtain the same by paying a sort of dowry. the elders of the village must give their consent to the dedication, and usually signify this by eating out of the same plate as the bride. in the west telugu country, parents who have good looking daughters, no matter what their class, give them as basavis. but, in the east telugu country, only the asadhi, beineni, and pambala people do so. a basavi can never be widowed, and people say they are consecrated to the god. consequently, their life, though a life of sin, is not considered so by the gods. yet by a strange inconsistency, men consorting with basavis are immediately branded as loose men. the first few years of a basavi's life are full of profit, and it is probably for this reason that parents are willing thus to sacrifice their daughters. afterwards, when the charms of youth are passed, the basavi resorts to begging, or, with two or three more, obtains a precarious livelihood by music and dancing. their children have a share in the maternal father's property. "the above account of a basavi's dedication applies to the asadhis or singing beggars. the following is a more detailed description of the ceremony as performed by the dasaris. the girl to be dedicated is dressed in a white ravike and cloth, after which she is conducted to the priest who is to officiate. he burns the signs of a chank and chakram on the girl's shoulders, presenting to her at the same time holy water. after this, the priest receives the guruvu kanika, which consists not only of five rupees, but also five seers of rice, five cocoanuts, five garlics, and a quarter of a seer of betel nuts. the person giving the girl away now receives permission from the people and guruvu, and attaches the marriage symbol to the girl's neck. before the tali is tied, the girl is made to sit on a blanket, upon which has been drawn the 'throne,' with her hands which clasp the garuda stambha tied together with a wreath of flowers. before the hands are unbound, in place of the usual dowry of about twenty rupees, five duddu (copper coins) are given into the hand of the priest. all assembled now worship the beggar's staff, and, on proceeding to the place of lodging, food is given to the dasaris. usually the ceremonies are performed before the village shrine, but, at times of festival, they are performed before the god, in honour of whom the festival is being held. on returning to the village, the girl is obliged, for five consecutive saturdays, to go round the village accompanied by a dasari, to whose food and comfort she has to attend. this is, no doubt, a public announcement of the profession the girl has had put upon her. when puberty is arrived at, a feast is given, and thenceforward the girl is her own mistress." the malas worship a variety of deities, including gurappa, subbarayadu, gunnathadu, sunkalamma, poleramma, gangamma, and gontiyalamma. in connection with the worship of the goddess gontiyalamma, mr. f. r. hemingway writes, in a note on the malas of the godavari district, that "the special caste deity is gontiyalamma, the mother of the five pandava brethren. they say that bhima threatened to kill his mother, who took refuge under an avireni pot (painted pot used at weddings) in a mala's house. for this she was solemnly cursed by her sons, who said that she should remain a mala woman for ever. in commemoration of this story, a handful of growing paddy (rice) is pulled up every year at the dasara festival, and, eight days later, the earth adhering to its roots is mixed with turmeric and milk, made into an image of the goddess, and hidden under the avireni pot. for the next six months this image is worshipped every sunday by all the villagers in turn, and, on the sivaratri night, it is taken round the village, accompanied by all the malas bearing pots of rice and other food carried in a kavadi, and is finally thrown with much ceremony into a river or tank (pond or lake). this rite is supposed to mean that the goddess is the daughter of the caste, that she has lived with them six months, and that they are now sending her back with suitable gifts (the rice, etc.) to her husband. a common form of religious vow among malas is to promise to send a cloth and a cow with the goddess on the last day of the rite, the gifts being afterwards presented to a married daughter." it is noted by mr. hemingway that both malas and madigas hold a feast in honour of their ancestors at pongal--an uncommon rite. in the godavari district scarcity of rain is dealt with in various ways. "it is considered very efficacious if the brahmans take in procession round the village an image of varuna (the god of rain) made of mud from the tank of a river or tank. another method is to pour 1,000 pots of water over the lingam in the siva temple. malas tie a live frog to a mortar, and put on the top of the latter a mud figure representing gontiyalamma. they then take these objects in procession, singing 'mother frog, playing in water, pour rain by pots full.' the villagers of other castes then come and pour water over the malas." [158] mr. nicholson writes that, to produce rain in the telugu country, "two boys capture a frog, and put it into a basket with some nim (melia azadirachta) leaves. they tie the basket to the middle of a stick, which they support on their shoulders. in this manner they make a circuit of the village, visiting every house, singing the praises of the god of rain. the greater the noise the captive animal makes, the better the omen, and the more gain for the boys, for, at every house, they receive something in recognition of their endeavour to bring rain upon the village fields." mala arayan.--the mala arayans are described, in the travancore census report, 1901, as "a class of hill tribes, who are a little more civilized than the mannans, and have fixed abodes on the slopes of high mountain ranges. their villages are fine-looking, with trees and palms all round. they are superior in appearance to most other hill tribes, but are generally short in stature. some of the arayans are rich, and own large plots of cultivated grounds. they seldom work for hire, or carry loads. a curious custom with them is that every man in the family has his own room separate from the rest, which only he and his wife are permitted to enter. they are very good hunters and have a partiality for monkey flesh. as wizards they stand very high, and all the low-country people cherish a peculiar dread for them. makkathayam is the prevailing form of inheritance (from father to son), but among a few families marumakkathayam (inheritance through the female line) obtains as an exception. their language is a corrupt form of malayalam. their marriage ceremony is simple. the bridegroom and bride sit and eat on the same plantain leaf, after which the tali (marriage badge) is tied. the bride then seizes any ornament or cooking vessel in the house, saying that it is her father's. the bridegroom snatches it from her, and the marriage rite is concluded. birth pollution is of considerable importance. it lasts for a whole month for the father, and for seven days for the mother. the arayans bury their dead. drinking is a very common failing." it is recorded by mr. m. j. walhouse [159] that "on the higher ranges in travancore there are three of parasurama's cairns, where the mala arraiyans still keep lamps burning. they make miniature cromlechs of small slabs of stone, and place within them a long pebble to represent the deceased. dr. livingstone noticed a similar custom in africa. 'in various villages we observed miniature huts about two feet high, very neatly thatched and plastered. here we noticed them in dozens. on inquiry we were told that, when a child or relative dies, one is made, and, when any pleasant food is cooked or beer brewed, a little is placed in the tiny hut for the departed soul, which is believed to enjoy it.' so the mala arraiyans offer arak (liquor) and sweetmeats to the departed spirit believed to be hovering near the miniature cromlech." in a detailed account of the mala arayans, the rev. s. mateer writes as follows. [160] "the arayans bury their dead; consequently there are many ancient tumuli in these hills, evidently graves of chiefs, showing just the same fragments of pottery, brass figures, iron weapons, etc., as are found in other similar places. these tumuli are often surrounded with long splintered pieces of granite, from eight to twelve or fifteen feet in length, set up on end, with sacrificial altars and other remains, evidently centuries old. numerous vaults, too, called pandi kuri, are seen in all their hills. they stand north and south, the circular opening being to the south; a round stone is fitted to this aperture, with another acting as a long lever, to prevent its falling out; the sides, as also the stones of the top and bottom, are single slabs. to this day the arayans make similar little cells of pieces of stone, the whole forming a box a few inches square; and, on the death of a member of any family, the spirit is supposed to pass, as the body is being buried, into a brass or silver image, which is shut into this vault; if the parties are very poor, an oblong smooth stone suffices. a few offerings of milk, rice, toddy, and ghee (clarified butter) are made, a torch is lighted and extinguished, the figure placed inside the cell, and the covering hastily put on; then all leave. on the anniversary, similar offerings being made, the stone is lifted off, and again hastily closed. the spirit is thus supposed to be enclosed; no one ventures to touch the cell at any other time. "the objects of arayan worship are the spirits of their ancestors, or certain local demons supposed to reside in rocks or peaks, and having influence only over particular villages or families. the religious services rendered to these are intended to deprecate anger rather than to seek benefits; but in no case is lust to be gratified, or wickedness practiced, as pleasing to these deities. one of their ancestors is represented by a brass image about three inches in height, the back of the head hollow, the hands holding a club and a gun. this represents a demonized man of wicked character, who lived about a century ago. he is said to have beaten his wife to death with a club; wherefore the people joined to break his skull, and he became a malignant demon. another image carried an umbrella and staff, and had a milder countenance--this was a good demon. one such image is kept in each family, in which the spirit is supposed actually to reside. they were also put into the little square chambers described above. the rev. w. j. richards, of cottayam, has favoured me with the following history, which throws much light upon this curious superstition. 'talanani was a priest or oracle-revealer of the hunting deity, ayappan, whose chief shrine is in savarimala, a hill among the travancore ghats. the duty of talanani was to deck himself out in his sword, bangles, beads, etc., and, highly frenzied with excitement and strong drink, dance in a horrid convulsive fashion before his idols, and reveal in unearthly shrieks what the god had decreed on any particular matter. he belonged to the hill arayan village of eruma-para (the rock of the she-buffalo), some eight miles from melkavu, and was most devoted to his idolatry, and rather remarkable in his peculiar way of showing his zeal. when the pilgrims from his village used to go to savarimala--a pilgrimage which is always, for fear of the tigers and other wild beasts, performed in companies of forty or fifty--our hero would give out that he was not going, and yet, when they reached the shrine of their devotions, there before them was the sorcerer, so that he was both famous among his fellows and favoured of the gods. now, while things were in this way, talanani was killed by the neighbouring chogans during one of his drunken bouts, and the murderers, burying his body in the depths of the jungle, thought that their crime would never be found out; but the tigers--ayappan's dogs--in respect to so true a friend of their master, scratched open the grave, and removing the corpse, laid it on the ground. the wild elephants found the body, and reverently took it where friends might discover it, and, a plague of small-pox having attacked the chogans, another oracle declared it was sent by sastavu (the travancore hill boundary god, called also chattan or sattan) in anger at the crime that had been committed; and that the evil would not abate until the murderers made an image of the dead priest, and worshipped it. this they did, placing it in a grave, and in a little temple no bigger than a small dog kennel. the image itself is about four inches high, of bronze. the heir of talanani became priest and beneficiary of the new shrine, which was rich in offerings of arrack, parched rice, and meat vowed by the arayans when they sallied out on hunting expeditions. all the descendants of talanani are christians, the result of the rev. henry baker's work. the last heir who was in possession of the idol, sword, bangle, beads, and wand of the sorcerer, handed them over to the rev. w. j. richards in 1881.' "lamps to the memory of their ancestors were kept burning in little huts, and at stones used to represent the spirits of their ancestors. at one spot, where the genii were supposed to reside, there was a fragment of granite well oiled, and surrounded by a great number of extinguished torches. a most fearful demon was said to reside in a hollow tree, which had been worshipped by thousands of families. they did not know the precise hole in which the symbol was to be found; when discovered, it looked like the hilt of an old sword. one deity was said by the priest of a certain hill to have placed three curious looking rocks as resting-places for himself on his journey to the peak. cocoanuts are offered to famous demons, residing in certain hills. it has been observed that, in cases of sickness, sometimes arayans will make offerings to a hindu god, and that they attend the great feasts occasionally; but in no case do they believe that they are under any obligation to do so, their own spirits being considered fully equal to the hindu gods. each village has its priest, who, when required, calls on the 'hill' (mala), which means the demon resident there, or the pretham, ghost. if he gets the afflatus, he acts in the usual way, yelling and screaming out the answers sought. the devil-dancer wears the kudumi, and has a belt, bangles, and other implements; and invokes the demons in case of sickness. "they have some sacred groves, where they will not fire a gun, or speak above a breath; they have certain signs also to be observed when fixing on land for cultivation or the site of a house, but no other elaborate religious rites. in choosing a piece of ground for cultivation, before cutting the jungle they take five strips of bark of equal length, and knot all the ends together, holding them in the left hand by the middle. if all, when tied, form a perfect circle, the omen is lucky, and the position in which the cord falls on the ground is carefully noted by the bystanders." mala nayakkan.--a name returned by tamil malaiyalis at times of census. mala vedan.--see vedan. malai-kanda.--a sub-division of vellala. malaiman.--see udaiyan. malaiyadi (foot of the hills).--a sub-division of konga vellala. malakkar.--it is recorded, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "the malakkars, also called malamuttanmar and malapanikkar, are a comparatively superior tribe of jungle cultivators and hunters found in the calicut and ernad hills. they follow the marumakkathayam system (of inheritance in the female line), and observe pollution for twelve days. they call their huts illams, and, if they leave them to go down to the plains, must bathe before returning. they consider themselves polluted by all castes below nayars. the name muttan is properly a title, meaning elder, confirmed on their headman by their janmis (landlords). their chief god is maladevan. they are good forest watchers and elephant catchers." malara (a bundle of glass bangles, as carried about for sale).--an exogamous sept of gauda. malasar.--the malasars or malsars are found in the coimbatore district, and in the cochin state. the following account of them was given by buchanan a century ago. [161] "the forests here are divided into puddies, each of which has its boundary ascertained, and contains one or more families of a rude tribe, called malasir. both the puddy and its inhabitants are considered as the property of some landlord, who farms out the labour of these poor people, with all they collect, to some trader (chitty or manadi). having sent for some of these poor malasirs, they informed me that they live in small villages of five or six huts, situated in the skirts of the woods on the hills of daraporam, ani-malaya, and pali-ghat. they speak a mixture of the tamul and malayala languages. they are a better looking people than the slaves, but are ill-clothed, nasty, and apparently ill-fed. they collect drugs for the trader, to whom they are let, and receive from him a subsistence, when they can procure for him anything of value. he has the exclusive right of purchasing all that they have for sale, and of supplying them with salt and other necessaries. a great part of their food consists of wild yams (dioscorea), which they dig when they have nothing to give to the trader for rice. they cultivate some small spots in the woods after the cotu-cadu fashion, both on their own account and on that of the neighbouring farmers, who receive the produce, and give the malasirs hire. the articles cultivated in this manner are ragi (eleusine coracana), avaray (dolichos lablab), and tonda (ricinus communis). they are also hired to cut timber and firewood. the god of their tribe is called mallung, who is represented by a stone that is encircled by a wall, which serves for a temple. once a year, in april, a sacrifice of goats, and offerings of rice, honey, and the like, are made by the malasir to this rude idol. if this be neglected, the god sends elephants and tigers to destroy both them and their houses." the malasars are described, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a forest tribe living by hill cultivation and day labour. they are good at game-tracking, and very handy with their axes, with the help of which they will construct a bamboo house for the wandering sportsman in a few hours. they reside in hamlets known as pathis, each of which has a headman, called vendari, who exercises the usual authority, with the assistance of a panchayat (council). one of the punishments inflicted by panchayats is to make the culprit carry a heavy load of sand for some distance, and then stand with it on his head and beg for forgiveness. they worship kali and mariamman, the small-pox goddess, but their special deity is manakadatta, to whom they sacrifice fowls and sheep in the masi. a man of the tribe acts as priest on these occasions, and keeps the heads of the offerings as his perquisite. an unusual item in their wedding ceremonies is the tying of an iron ring to the bridegroom's wrist. they will eat and drink almost anything, except vermin and cobras. the kadans regard themselves as superior to the malasars." it is noted, in the manual of the coimbatore district, that "the malasars live at a much lower elevation than the kadars. they are found almost down on the plains, and along the slopes near the foot of the hills. they are somewhat sturdier in general build, but have not the characteristic features of regular hillmen. they are not to be depended on in any way, but will desert en masse on the smallest excuse. they commit dacoities whenever they see an opportunity, and, in fact, even to this day, the roads near the foot of the hills are rarely traversed by low-country natives except in small bands, from fear of the malasars. on the other hand, the malasars are useful as being excellent axemen; and as baggage coolies they can hardly be dispensed with. they carry for the most part on their heads like low-country coolies, but unlike the kadars and puliyars, who, when they can be induced to carry at all, carry loads on their backs." there may be said to be three grades of malasars, viz., the malai (hill) malasars, who live on the hills (e.g., at mount stuart on anaimalais), and the malasars who live on the slopes and the plains. it is said that kadirs and eravalars are admitted into the malasar caste. the kadirs abstain from eating the flesh of the 'bison' and cow, whereas the malasars will eat the carrion of these animals. the settlements of the malasars are called padhis or pathis, and their streets salais. these are tamil names, denoting villages and rows. the padhis are named after the owners of the land on which they are built, e.g., sircar (government) padhi, karuppa goundan padhi. on the hills, the dwelling huts are made of bamboo matting thatched with grass and teak leaves, whereas on the plains the walls are made of mud, and are roofed with grass and bamboo. like the yanadis and chenchus, the malasars seem to have an objection to well-built houses, and a malasar forester prefers his own rude hut to government quarters. some malasars work as coolies, while others are employed as agricultural labourers, or in collecting honey. a landlord keeps under him a number of malasars, to whom he gives land free of rent, on which they raise their food-crops. in return, they are expected to work in the fields, and do other services for their landlord (mannadi), who exercises absolute control over them. sometimes, if a landholder has a grievance against another, it is not difficult to induce his malasars to damage the crops of his enemy. the operations connected with the catching and taming of wild elephants are carried out by malasars. they are proverbially lazy, and will take a week's wages in advance, and spend a good portion thereof on drink on the same day. with the remainder provisions are purchased, and they may only put in three or four days' work in the week. like other hill tribes, they dig up yams when food is scarce. marriage is generally adult, though infant marriage is not prohibited. the malasars of the plains perform the marriage ceremonies at the home of the bride. monday is considered an auspicious day for their celebration. on the previous day, the contracting couple stand on a pestle, and are anointed, and bathe. two balls of cooked rice, coloured red and black, are placed in a tray, and lighted wicks are stuck into them. the flames from the two wicks should be of the same height, or the omens would be considered unfavourable. the lights are waved in front of the bride and bridegroom, to ward off the evil eye. after bathing, the couple are seated on a dais within the marriage pandal (booth), and the bridegroom ties the tali (marriage badge) on the neck of the bride, and their hands are joined by the muppan (headman). the tali consists of a brass disc, tied to a string dyed with turmeric. the couple eat from the same leaf or plate, and the ceremony is at an end. the malai malasars bring the bride to the home of the bridegroom for the marriage ceremonies. the bridegroom goes on a wednesday to the bride's house and takes her to his home on the following day. a pandal, made of sorghum and bamboo stems, is erected. towards evening, the tali is tied, and the fingers of the contracting couple are linked together (kaidharam). they eat together from the same plate. the bridegroom should feed his relations and friends at his own house, as well as at that of the bride. he generally presents his mother-in-law with a female cloth, with an eight anna bit tied in the skirt thereof. ancestor worship is important among the malayans. before commencing their ceremonies, cooked rice and the flesh of the fowl are offered to the ancestors on seven leaves. on the occasion of a marriage, a little of the food is eaten by the bridegroom on a wednesday, before he proceeds to the home of the bride. when a girl reaches maturity, she occupies a separate hut for seven days. on the seventh day, she bathes and goes to the dwelling hut. a measure and a lamp are placed before the hut, and the girl has to go over them with her right foot foremost. she then steps backwards, and again goes over them before entering the hut. the dead are usually buried, face upward. if the dead person was an elder, his personal effects, such as pillows, walking-stick, and clothes, are buried with him, or his corpse is cremated. sometimes, the dead are buried in a sitting posture, in a niche excavated on one side of the grave. in the case of the malasars of the plains, the widow chews betel leaf and areca nuts, and spits the betel over the eyes and neck of the corpse. on the third day after death, cooked rice and meat are offered to the soul of the deceased on seven arka (calotropis gigantea) leaves. the male members of the family then eat from the same leaf. the malasars who live in the plains consider the ficus glomerata tree sacred, and worship it once a year. at least one branch thereof should be used in the construction of the marriage pandal, and the menstrual hut should be made of it. the malasars of the plains also avoid the use of the pongamia glabra tree for any purpose. the hill malasars worship, among other deities, ponnalamman (mariamma), pullarappachi (ganesa), and kaliamman. to ponnalamman, pigs and buffaloes are sacrificed once a year. the deity worshipped by the malasars of the plains is mariayi (mariamma), at whose festival a stake is fixed in the ground, and eventually shaken by the malasars, and removed by paraiyans. the malasar women of the plains wear glass bangles only on the left wrist. if a woman puts such bangles on both wrists, the paraiyans are said to break them, and report the matter to the muppan, who is expected to fine the woman. as paraiyan women, like the malasars, only wear glass bangles on one wrist, they take the wearing of bangles on both wrists by malasar women, who are only their equals, as an insult. the following graphic account of a kama mystery play, in which malasars are represented, has been given by mr. s. g. roberts. [162] "the play, as the writer saw it in a little village on the banks of the amravati river, was at once a mystery or miracle play, a mime, a tragedy that strangely recalled the greek choral tragedies, and a satyric drama. these various ingredients gave it a quaint nebulous character, the play now crystallising into mere drama, and again dissolving into a religious rite. just as an understanding of the greek mythology is necessary for the full grasping of the meaning of a greek tragedy, so it is necessary to portray the legend which is the basis of this mystery, all the more as the characters are hindu gods. kama, then, is the hindu cupid, not a tiny little child like the roman god of love, but more like eros. he has beautiful attributes. his bow is of the sugar-cane; his arrows are tipped with flowers; and his bow-string is a chain of bees--a pretty touch that recalls the swallow song of the homeric bowstring. for all that, the genius of the country has modified the local idea of eros. he has long ago found his psyche: in point of fact, this hindu eros is a married man. his wife, rathi, is the other speaking character, and she certainly displays a beautiful eloquence not unfitting her position. moreover, like every married man, kama has a father-in-law, and here the tragedy begins to loom out of the playful surroundings of a god of love of whatever nation or clime. siva, the destroyer, he of the bright blue neck, the dweller, as kama tauntingly says, among graves and dead men's ashes; siva, mighty in penance, is father of rathi. in the play itself, he is not even a muta persona; he does not appear at all. what he does is only adumbrated by the action or song of the other characters. the legend strikingly illustrates the hindu view of penance. briefly stated, it is that anyone who performs any penance for a sufficiently long time acquires such a store of power and virtue, that the very gods themselves cannot stand against it. hindu mythology affords many examples of this belief. siva himself, in one of his incarnations, saved the whole indian olympus and the universe at large from a demi-god, who, by years of penance, had become charged, as it were, with power, like a religious electric 'accumulator.' the early sages and heroes of indian story had greater facilities for the acquisition of this reserve of power, in that their lives lasted for centuries or even æons. it may be imagined that three centuries of penance increased the performer's strength to a degree not expressible in modern figures! in this case, the gods had viewed with alarm a penance which siva had begun, and which threatened to make him master of all creation. in spite of a few grotesque attributes, the mythology lends to siva a character at once terrific and awe-inspiring. when his third eye was closed on one occasion, the universe was involved in darkness, and the legend under discussion presents a solemn picture of the god, sitting with his rosary in sackcloth and ashes, immersed in his unending penance. kama was deputed to break the spell. accompanied by his nymphs, he sported before the recluse, taking all shapes that could 'shake the saintship of an anchorite,' till this oriental st. anthony, but too thoroughly aroused, opened his tremendous frontal eye, and, with a flashing glance of rage, consumed the rash intruder on his solitude. such is the legend which supplies the closing scene of the life of kama, a life that is celebrated, as march begins, with several days' rejoicing in every town and village of southern india. the writer had seen the heap of bricks that support the kama pillar in a village which he visited a few months after first landing in india. as march came round, he saw them in whatever village his work brought him, and the legend was impressed on his memory by a case in court, in which the momentous word 'kamadakshinasivalingamedai' (or the high place of the emblem of siva who consumed kama) was pronounced by the various witnesses. it was not, however, till the spring of 1900 that an opportunity presented itself for witnessing the performance of the kama mystery. the time of representation was the night, the playtime for old and young in india. it has this special advantage, from a theatrical point of view, that everything in a village street takes on an adventitious beauty. the heaps of dust, the ragged huts, lose their prominence, the palm trees become beautiful, and the tower of the temple grows in majesty. everything that is ugly or incongruous seems to disappear, till the façade of a wealthy hindu's house wears the dignity of the old grecian palace proscenium. the rag torches give a soft strong light, that adds effect to the spangled and laced robes of the actors, and leaves the auditory in semi-darkness, quite in accordance with wagnerian stage tradition. kama was represented in full dress, with a towering, crocketed, gilded mitre or helmet, such as is worn by the images of south indian gods. he is not like the unadorned eros of the greeks, and he shows his indian blood by the green which paints the upper half of his face. kama had the bow of sugar-cane, and rathi, otherwise dressed like a wealthy hindu bride, also bore a smaller bow of the same. the buffoon must not be omitted. he figures in every indian play, and here, besides the distinction of a girdle of massive cow bells gracefully supporting his paunch, he showed his connection with this love drama by a small bow of sugar-cane fastened upright, by one tip, to the peak of a high dunce's cap. the play began by kama boastfully, and at great length, announcing his intention of disturbing siva's penance. rathi did her best to dissuade him, but every argument she could use only stirred up his pride, and made him more determined on the adventure. the dialogue was sometimes sustained by the characters themselves; sometimes they sang with dreadful harshness; sometimes they but swayed to and fro, as if in a roman mimus, while the best voice in the company sang their songs for them. now and then, the musicians would break into a chorus, which strikingly recalled, but for the absence of dancing, the greek tragic chorus, especially in their idea of inevitable destiny, and in their lamentations over the disastrous end of the undertaking. meanwhile, the buffoon played his part with more or less success, and backed up the astonishingly skilful and witty acting of the players, who provided the comic relief. in most tamil dramas the action of the play is now and again suspended, while one or more comedians stroll on to the stage, and amuse the audience by a vesham, i.e., an impersonation of different well-known street characters representing men (and women) not only of different castes, but of different nations. needless to say, the parts they play have little or nothing to do with the subject of the drama, but they afford great scope for delineation of character. there is not, of course, in southern india, the uniformity in dress that we notice in england of the present day. a man's trade, profession, religion, and sect are expressed by his dress and ornament--or lack of both. to mention three of the different veshangal shown on this occasion, there were a mahrattah tattooing-woman, a north country fakir, and a man and woman of the malsar caste, each of the parts being dressed to perfection, and admirably sustained. the malsars are a low caste, and employed in certain parts as bearers of announcements of death (written on palm leaves) from the family of the deceased to relatives at a distance. as they hobbled about, bending over their short crooked crutch sticks, with turbans of twisted straw and bark, and girt with scanty and dirty sackcloth kilts, they would have made a mummy laugh; and they were equally mirth-provoking when they broke into a rough song and dance peculiar to chucklers (leather-workers) when more than usually intoxicated. when kama had finally declared his unalterable determination to engage in his contest with siva--a point which was only reached after discussion almost as interminable as a dialogue of euripides--the performers, and part of the audience, moved off in a procession, which slowly perambulated the town, and halted for prayer before the village temple. the 'stage wait' was filled up by some simple playing and singing by a few local amateurs. this brought on the climax of the tragedy. the kama stake, to give it an appropriate english name, was now ready. this was a slight stake or pole, a little above a man's height, planted among a few bricks, and made inflammable by a thatching or coating of cholum straw bound round it. the top of this straw pillar was composed of a separate sheaf. when all was ready, and the chorus had sung a strain expressive of grief at kama's doom, a rocket, representing siva's fiery glance, shot along a string, and (with some external assistance) lighted the kama stake, thus closely following the procedure in an italian church festival. the player who represented kama now retired into the background, as he was supposed to be dead, and the rest, hopping and dancing, circled slowly round the fire wailing for his fate. it seemed to be a matter of special import to the audience that the stake should be completely consumed. this was an omen of prosperity in the coming year. the funeral dance round the fire continued for a long while, and, when it was but a short time to sunrise, the mummers were still beating their breasts round the smouldering ashes. it seemed that, though some of the songs were composed for the occasion, a great part of the play was traditional, and the audience knew what to expect at any given period in the performance. at one stage it was whispered that now the giant would come in, and lift up a sheep with his teeth. in a few moments he made his appearance, and proved to be a highly comic monster. his arms, legs, and body were tightly swathed in neatly twisted straw ropes, leaving only his feet and hands bare. his head was covered by a huge canvas mask, flat on front and back, so that the actor had the appearance of having introduced his head into the empty shell of some gigantic crab. on the flat front of this mask-dial was painted a terrible giant's face with portentous tusks. thus equipped, the giant skipped round the various characters, to the terror of the buffoon, brandishing a quarter-staff, and executing vigorous moulinets. an unwilling sheep was pushed into the ring, and the giant, after much struggling, tossed the animal bodily over his head with a dexterous fling that convinced most of the onlookers that he had really performed the feat with his teeth." malava.--the malavas or mala bhovis are a small cultivating caste in south canara, "the members of which were formerly hunters and fishermen. they profess vaishnavism, and employ shivalli brahmans as their priests. hanuman is their favourite deity. like the bants and other castes of tuluva, they are divided into exogamous septs called balis, and they have the dhare form of marriage. they speak canarese." [163] they are said to be really mogers, who have separated from the fishing community. the term bhovi is used to denote mogers who carry palanquins, etc. malavarayan.--a title of ambalakkaran. malayali.--the malayalis or malaialis, whom i examined in the salem district, dwell on the summits and slopes of the shevaroy hills, and earn their living by cultivating grain, and working on coffee estates. suspicious and superstitious to a degree, they openly expressed their fear that i was the dreaded settlement officer, and had come to take possession of their lands in the name of the government, and transport them to the andaman islands (the indian penal settlement). when i was engaged in the innocent occupation of photographing a village, the camera was mistaken for a surveying instrument, and a protest raised. many of them, while willing to part with their ornaments of the baser metals, were loth to sell or let me see their gold and silver jewelry, from fear lest i should use it officially as evidence of their too prosperous condition. one man told me to my face that he would rather have his throat cut than submit to my measuring operations, and fled precipitately. the women stolidly refused to entrust themselves in my hands. nor would they bring their children (unwashed specimens of brown humanity) to me, lest they should fall sick under the influence of my evil eye. in the account which follows i am largely indebted to mr. h. lefanu's admirable, and at times amusing, manual of the salem district. the word malaiali denotes inhabitant of the hills (malai = hill or mountain). the malaialis have not, however, like the todas of the nilgiris, any claim to be considered as an ancient hill tribe, but are a tamil-speaking people, who migrated from the plains to the hills in comparatively recent times. as a shrewd, but unscientific observer put it concisely to me, they are tamils of the plains with the addition of a kambli or blanket; which kambli is a luxury denied to the females, but does duty for males, young and old, in the triple capacity of great coat, waterproof, and blanket. according to tradition, the malaialis originally belonged to the vellala caste of cultivators, and emigrated from the sacred city of kanchipuram (conjeeveram) to the hills about ten generations ago, when muhammadan rule was dominant in southern india. when they left kanchi, they took with them, according to their story, three brothers, of whom the eldest came to the shevaroy hills, the second to the kollaimalais, and the youngest to the pachaimalais (green hills). the malaialis of the shevaroys are called the peria (big) malaialis, those of the kollaimalais the chinna (little) malaialis. according to another version "the malaiali deity kariraman, finding himself uncomfortable at kanchi, took up a new abode. three of his followers, named periyanan, naduvanan, and chinnanan (the eldest, the middle-man, and the youngest) started with their families to follow him from kanchi, and came to the salem district, where they took different routes, periyanan going to the shevaroys, naduvanan to the pachaimalais and anjur hills, and chinnanan to manjavadi." a further version of the legendary origin of the malaialis of the trichinopoly district is given by mr. f. r. hemingway, who writes as follows. "their traditions are embodied in a collection of songs (nattukattu). the story goes that they are descended from a priest of conjeeveram, who was the brother of the king, and, having quarrelled with the latter, left the place, and entered this country with his three sons and daughters. the country was then ruled by vedans and vellalans, who resisted the new-comers. but 'the conch-shell blew and the quoit cut,' and the invaders won the day. they then spread themselves about the hills, the eldest son (periyanan), whose name was sadaya kavundan, selecting the shevaroys in salem, the second son (naduvanan, the middle brother) the pachaimalais, and the youngest (chinnanan) the kollaimalais. they married women of the country, periyanan taking a kaikolan, naduvanan a vedan, and chinnanan a 'deva indra' pallan. they gave their sister in marriage to a tottiyan stranger, in exchange for some food supplied by him after their battle with the men of the country. some curious customs survive, which are pointed to in support of this story. thus, the women of the pachaimalai malaiyalis put aside a portion of each meal in honour of their vedan ancestors before serving their husbands, and, at their marriages, they wear a comb, which is said to have been a characteristic ornament of the vedans. bridegrooms place a sword and an arrow in the marriage booth, to typify the hunting habits of the vedans, and their own conquest of the country. the malaiyalis of the kollaimalais are addressed by pallan women as brother-in-law (macchan), though the malaiyalis do not relish this. it is also said that tottiyan men regard malaiyalis as their brothers-in-law, and always treat them kindly, and that the tottiyan women regard the malaiyalis as their brothers, but treat them very coldly, in remembrance of their having sold their sister 'for a mess of pottage.'" the account, which the malaialis of the javadi hills in north arcot give of their origin, is as follows. [164] "in s.s. 1055 (1132 a.d.) some of the vedars of kangundi asked that wives should be given them by the karaikkat vellalas of conjeeveram. they were scornfully refused, and in anger kidnapped seven young vellala maidens, whom they carried away to kangundi. to recover them, seven vellala men set out with seven dogs, leaving instructions with their wives that, if the dogs returned alone, they should consider that they had perished, and should cause the funeral ceremonies to be performed. arriving at the palar, they found the river in flood, and crossed it with difficulty ; but their dogs, after swimming half way, turned back and returned to conjeeveram. the men, however, continued their journey, and killed the vedars who had taken away their maidens, after which they went back to their homes, but found that they had been given up as lost, their wives had become widows, their funeral ceremonies performed, and they were in consequence outcastes. under these circumstances, they contracted marriages with some vedar women, and retired to the javadis, where they took to cultivation, and became the ancestors of the malaiali caste. this account has been preserved by the malaialis in a small palm-leaf book." there is, mr. francis writes, [165] a tradition in the south arcot district that "the hills were inhabited by vedans, and that the malaialis killed the men, and wedded the women; and at marriages a gun is still fired in the air to represent the death of the vedan husband." the malaialis returned themselves, at the last census, as karaikkat vellalas. the malaialis of south arcot call themselves kongu vellalas. all the branches of the community agree in saying that they are vellalans, who emigrated from kanchipuram, bringing with them their god kariraman, and, at the weddings of the kalrayans in south arcot, the presiding priest sings a kind of chant just before the tali is tied, which begins with the words kanchi, the (sacred) place, and kariraman in front. copper sasanams show that the migration occurred at least as early as the beginning of the sixteenth century. the malaialis of the shevaroys call themselves kanchimandalam. many, at the last census, returned themselves as vellala and karalan. malakkaran and mala nayakkan are also used as synonyms for malaiali. all have goundan as their second name, which is universally used in hailing them. the first name is sometimes derived from a hindu god, and my notes record mr. green, mr. black, mr. little, mr. short, mr. large, and mr. big nose. as regards the conditions under which the malaialis of the salem district hold land, i learn from the manual that, in 1866, the collector fixed an area around each village for the cultivation of the malaialis exclusively, and, in view to prevent aggression on the part of the planters, had the boundaries of these areas surveyed and demarcated. this area is known as the "village green." with this survey the old system of charging the malaialis on ploughs and hoes appears to have been discontinued, and they are now charged at one rupee per acre on the extent of their holdings. the lands within the green are given under the ordinary darakhast [166] rules to the malaialis, but outside it they are sold under the special waste land rules of 1863. in 1870 the board of revenue decided that, where the lands within the green are all occupied, and the malaialis require more land for cultivation, land outside the limits of the green may be given them under the ordinary darakhast rules. in 1871 it was discovered that the planters tried to get lands outside the green by making the malaialis first apply for it, thereby evading the waste land rules. the board then ordered that, if there was reason to suspect that a malaiali was applying for lands outside the green on account of the planters, the patta (deed of lease) might be refused. subscribing vaguely to the hindu religion, the malaialis, who believe that their progenitors wore the sacred thread, give a nominal allegiance to both siva and vishnu, as well as to a number of minor deities, and believe in the efficacy of a thread to ward off sickness and attacks by devils or evil spirits. "in the year 1852," mr. lefanu writes, "a searching enquiry into the traditions, customs, and origin of these malaialis was made. they then stated that smearing the face with ashes indicates the religion of siva, and putting namam that of vishnu, but that there is no difference between the two religions; that, though sivaratri sacred to siva, and sriramanavami and gokulashtami sacred to vishnu, appear outwardly to denote a difference, there is really none. though they observe the saturdays of the month peratasi sacred to vishnu, still worship is performed without reference to vishnu or siva. they have, indeed, certain observances, which would seem to point to a division into vaishnavas and saivas, the existence of which they deny; as for instance, some, out of respect to siva, abstain from sexual intercourse on sundays and mondays; and others, for the sake of vishnu, do the same on fridays and saturdays. so, too, offerings are made to vishnu on fridays and saturdays, and to siva on sundays and mondays; but they denied the existence of sects among them." "on the kalrayans," mr. francis writes, [167] "are very many shrines to the lesser gods. the malaialis themselves do the puja (worship). the deities include mariamma, draupadi, and many other village goddesses. in some of the temples are placed the prehistoric celts and other stone implements which are found on these hills. the people do not understand what these are, and reverence them accordingly. the practice of taking oaths before these shrines to settle disputes is common. the party makes a solemn affidavit of the truth of his case in the presence of the god, holding some burning camphor in his hand. having made his statement, he blows out the flame to signify that, if he is lying, the god is welcome to snuff him out in the same sudden manner." in april 1896, i paid a visit to the picturesquely situated village of kiliur, not far distant from the town of yercaud, on the occasion of a religious festival. the villagers were discovered, early in the morning, painting pseudo-sect-marks on their foreheads with blue and pink coal-tar dyes, with the assistance of hand looking-glasses of european manufacture purchased at the weekly market, and decorating their turbans and ears with the leafy stems of artemisia austriaca, var. orientalis, and hedge-roses. the scene of the ceremonial was in a neighbouring sacred grove of lofty forest trees, wherein were two hut temples, of which one contained images of the goddess draupadi and eight minor deities, the other images of perumal and his wife. all the gods and goddesses were represented by human figures of brass and clay. two processional cars were gaily decorated with plantain leaves and flags, some made in germany. as the villagers arrived, they prostrated themselves before the temples, and whiled away the time, till the serious business of the day began, in gossiping with their friends, and partaking of light refreshment purchased from the fruit and sweetmeat sellers, who were doing a brisk trade. at 10 a.m. the proceedings were enlivened by a band of music, which played at intervals throughout the performance, and the gods were decorated with flowers and jewelry. an hour later, puja was done to the stone image of the god vigneswara, within a small shrine built of slabs of rock. before this idol cooked rice was offered, and camphor burnt. the plantain stems, with leaves, were tied to a tree in the vicinity of the temples, and cooked rice and cocoanuts placed beneath the tree. a man holding a sword, issued forth, and, in unison with the collected assemblage, screamed out "govinda, govinda" (the name of their god). the plantain stems were next removed from the tree, carried in procession with musical honours, and placed before the threshold of one of the temples. then some men appeared on the scene to the cry of "govinda," bearing in one hand a light, and ringing a bell held in the other. holy water was sprinkled over the plantain stems, and puja done to the god perumal by offering samai (grain) and burning camphor. outside one of the temples a cloth was spread on the ground, and the images of draupadi and other deities placed therein. from the other temple perumal and his wife were brought forth in state, and placed on two cars. a yellow powder was distributed among the crowd, and smeared over the face. a cocoanut was broken, and camphor burnt before perumal. then all the gods, followed by the spectators, were carried in procession round the grove, and a man, becoming inspired and seized with a fine religious frenzy, waved a sword wildly around him, but with due respect for his own bodily safety, and pointed it in a threatening manner at the crowd. asked, as an oracle, whether the omens were propitious to the village, he gave vent to the oracular (and true) response that for three years there would be a scarcity of rain, and that there would be famine in the land, and consequent suffering. this performance concluded, a bamboo pole was erected, bearing a pulley at the top, with which cocoanuts and plantains were connected by a string. by means of this string, the fruits were alternately raised and lowered, and men, armed with sticks, tried to hit them, while turmeric water was dashed in their faces just as they were on the point of striking. the fruits, being at last successfully hit, were received as a prize by the winner. the gods were then taken back to their temple, and three men, overcome by a mock convulsive seizure, were brought to their senses by stripes on the back administered with a rope by the pujari (officiating priest). a sheep being produced, mantrams (prayers) were recited over it. the pujari, going to a pool close by, bathed, and smeared turmeric powder over his face. a pretence was made to cut the sheep's throat, and blood drawn with a knife. the pujari, after sucking the blood, returned to the pool, and indulged in a ceremonial ablution, while the unhappy sheep was escorted to the village, and eventually eaten at a banquet by the villagers and their guests. an annual festival, in honour of the god servarayan, is held at the shrine on the summit of the shevarayan hill, past which a stream flows. at this festival, in 1904, "on one side of the temple, two long rows of fruit, flower, and grain stalls were erected. supported on two posts was a merry-go-round with wooden seats instead of boats, the cost of a ride thereon being a quarter of an anna. women carried their children to a pool of water beside the temple, known as the wishing well, and, after sprinkling some of the holy fluid on themselves and their offspring, spoke their wishes aloud, fully believing that they would be granted. suddenly there was a beating of drums, and blowing of trumpets, and horns, which announced the time when the god was to be brought out, and shown to the people, who made a rush to the temple, to obtain a good view. the god was carried by two priests robed in white, with garlands of jasmine round their necks. then followed two other priests, clothed in the same manner, who bore the goddess on their shoulders. another carried the holy water and fire in silver vessels from the temple, sprinkling the former in front of the deities, and the latter they passed before them. these services being completed, each deity was placed on a wooden horse with gay trappings, and carried to the top of the hill, where they were met with shouts from the people. the deities were placed in a palanquin, and carried to the four points of the hill, and, at each point, the men put their burden down, and cocoanuts were broken in front of them, and fruit, grain, and even copper coins were scattered. those who wished to take the vow to be faithful to their god had to receive fifteen lashes on their bare backs with a stout leather thong, administered by the chief priest. when questioned about the pain, they answered, 'oh, it is nothing. it is just like being scratched by an ant.' the god and goddess were then carried back into the temple." [168] of this festival, as celebrated in may, 1908, the following account has been given. [169] "the annual malayali festival was held on the top of shevarayan. it was the occasion of the marriage anniversary of the god servarayan, after whom the shevaroy hills have been named, to a goddess, the presiding deity of the cauvery river. this hill is believed by the malayalis to be the place where their god servarayan lived, died, and was buried. on one side of the hill, the temple of the god nestles in the midst of a sacred grove of trees. some say that there is a secret tunnel leading from the shrine to another part of the hill, and a second one opening lower down into bear's cave. it was an interesting sight to watch visitors and devotees as they came from the four quarters of the shevaroys. a few hill-men danced a serpentine dance, stepping to the music supplied by village drums, and occasional shrill blasts from the horns. huge cauldrons were sending up blue wreaths of smoke into the sky, which, it was explained to us, contained food to be dispensed as charity to the poor. the temple yard was hung with flowers and leaves, with which also the rude structure known as the temple gate was decorated. on the summit of the hill, wares of all sorts and conditions were displayed to tempt purchasers. the articles for sale consisted of fruits, palm sugar, cocoanuts, monkey nuts, and other nuts, mirrors which proved very popular among the fair sex, fancy boxes, coloured powder for caste marks, cloth bags, strings of sweet-scented flowers, rattles for children, etc.... we were startled by hearing the noise of loud drums and shrill trumpets, and were told that the god was about to be brought forth. this was accompanied by shouting, clapping, and the beating of drums. the god and goddess were placed in two chariots, bedecked with flowers, jewels and tapestries, and umbrellas and fans also figured prominently. the procession passed up to the left of the temple, the deities being supported on the shoulders of sturdy malayalis. as the people met it, they threw fruit, nuts, and cocoanut water after the cars. the god was next placed by the temple pujari (priest) in the triumphal car, and was led with the goddess to that part of the hill from which the cauvery can best be seen. here the procession halted while the priest recited some incantations. then it marched down the hill, sometimes resting the god on cairns specially built for the purpose, from where a view of the outlying villages is obtained. the belief is that, as the god glances at these villages, he invokes blessings on them, and the villagers will always live in prosperity." to mr. w. mahon daly, i am indebted for the following account of a malaiali bull dance, at which he was present as an eye-witness. "it is the custom on the shevaroy hills, as well as the plains, to have a bull dance after the pongal festival, and i had the pleasure of witnessing one in a malaiali village. it was held in an open enclosure called the manthay, adjoining the village. it faces the mariamma shrine, and is the place of resort on festive occasions. the village councils, marriages, and other ceremonies are held here. on our arrival, we were courteously invited to sit under a wide spreading fig-tree. the bull dance would literally mean a bull dancing, but i give the translation of the tamil 'yerothu-attum,' the word attum meaning dance. this is a sport which is much in vogue among the malaialis, and is celebrated with much éclat immediately after pongal, this being the principal festival observed by them. no doubt they have received the custom from those in the plains. a shooting excursion follows as the next sport, and, if they be so fortunate as to hunt down a wild boar or deer, or any big game, a second bull dance is got up. we were just in time to see the tamasha (spectacle). the manthay was becoming crowded, a regular influx of spectators, mostly women arrayed in their best cloths, coming in from the neighbouring villages. these were marshalled in a circle round the manthay, all standing. i was told that they were not invited, but that it was customary for them to pour in of their own accord when any sports or ceremonial took place in a village; and the inhabitants of the particular village were prepared to expect a large company, whom they fed on such occasions. after the company had collected, drums were beaten, and the long brass bugles were blown; and, just at this juncture, we saw an elderly malaiali bring from his hut a coil of rope made of leather, and hand it over to the pujari or priest in charge of the temple. the latter placed it in front of the shrine, worshipped it thrice, some of the villagers following suit, and, after offering incense, delivered it to a few respectable village men, who in turn made it over to a lot of malaiali men, whose business it was to attach it to the bulls. this rope the oldest inhabitant of the village had the right to keep. the bulls had been previously selected, and penned alongside of the manthay, from which they were brought one by one, and tied with the rope, leaving an equal length on either side. the rope being fixed on, the bull was brought to the manthay, held on both sides by any number who were willing, or as many as the rope would permit. more than fifteen on either side held on to a bull, which was far too many, for the animal had not the slightest chance of making a dart or plunge at the man in front, who was trying to provoke it by using a long bamboo with a skin attached to the end. when the bull was timid, and avoided his persecutors, he was hissed and hooted by those behind, and, if these modes of provocation failed to rouse his anger, he was simply dragged to and fro by main force, and let loose when his strength was almost exhausted. a dozen or more bulls are taken up and down the manthay, and the tamasha is over. when the manthay happens to have a slope, the malaialis have very little control over the bull, and, in some instances, i have seen them actually dragged headlong to the ground at the expense of a few damaged heads. the spectators, and all the estate coolies who were present, were fed that night, and slept in the village. if a death occurs in the village a few days before the festival, i am told that the dance is postponed for a week. this certainly, as far as i know, is not the custom in the plains." the man of highest rank is the guru, who is invited to settle disputes in villages, to which he comes, on pony-back or on foot, with an umbrella over him, and accompanied by music. the office of guru is hereditary, and, when he dies, his son succeeds him, unless he is a minor, in which case the brother of the deceased man steps into his shoes. if, in sweeping the hut, the broom touches any one, or when a malaiali has been kicked by a european or released from prison, he must be received back into his caste. for this purpose he goes to the guru, who takes him to the temple, where a screen is put up between the guru and the applicant for restoration of caste privileges. holy water is dedicated to the swami(god), by the guru, and a portion thereof drunk by the man, who prostrates himself before the guru, and subsequently gives a feast of pork, mutton, and other delicacies. the malaialis, it may be noted, will eat sheep, pigs, fowls, various birds, and black monkeys. each village on the shevaroys has its own headman, an honorary appointment, carrying with it the privilege of an extra share of the good things, when a feast is being held. a kangani is appointed to do duty under the headman, and receives annually from every hut two ballams of grain. when disputes occur, e.g., between two brothers regarding a woman or partition of property, the headman summons a panchayat (village council), which has the power to inflict fines in money, sheep, etc., according to the gravity of the offence. for every group of ten villages there is a pattakaran (head of a division), who is expected to attend on the occasion of marriages and car festivals. a bridegroom has to give him eight days before his marriage a rupee, a packet of betel leaves, and half a measure of nuts. serving under the pattakaran is the maniakaran, whose duty it is to give notice of a marriage to the ten villages, and to summon the villagers thereto. in april 1898, on receipt of news of a wedding at a distant village, i proceeded thither through coffee estates rich with white flowers bursting into flower under the grateful influence of a thunderstorm. en route, a view was obtained of the golden horn, an overhanging rock with a drop of a thousand feet, down which the malaialis swing themselves in search for honey. on the track through the jungle a rock, known from the fancied resemblance of the holes produced by weathering to hoof-marks as the kudre panji (horse's footprints), was passed. concerning this rock, the legend runs that a horse jumped on to it at one leap from the top of the shevarayan hill, and at the next leap reached the plains at the foot of the hills. the village, which was the scene of the festivities, was, like other malaiali villages, made up of detached bee-hive huts of bamboo, thatched with palm-leaves and grass, and containing a central room surrounded by a verandah--the home of pigs, goats, and fowls. other huts, of similar bee-hive shape, but smaller, were used as storehouses for the grain collected at the harvest-season. these grain-stores have no entrance, and the thatched roof has to be removed, to take out the grain for use. tiled roofs, such as are common in the badaga villages on the nilgiris, are forbidden, as their use would be an innovation, which would excite the anger of the malaiali gods. the malaialis have religious scruples against planing or smoothing with an adze the trees which they fell. the area of lands used to be ascertained by guesswork, not measurement, and much opposition was made to an attempt to introduce chain measurements, the malaialis expressing themselves willing to pay any rent imposed, if their lands were not measured. huts built on piles contain the flocks, which, during the day, are herded in pens which are removable, and, by moving the pens, the villagers manage to get the different parts of their fields manured. round the village a low wall usually runs, and, close by, are the coffee, tobacco, and other cultivated crops. outside the village, beneath a lofty tree, was a small stone shrine, capped with a stone slab, wherein were stacked a number of neolithic celts, which the malaialis reverence as thunderbolts from heaven. i was introduced to the youthful and anxious bridegroom, clad in his wedding finery, who stripped before the assembled crowd, in order that i might record his jewelry and garments. on the first day, the bridegroom, accompanied by his relations, takes the modest dowry of grain and money (usually five rupees) to the bride's village, and arranges for the performance of the nalangu ceremony on the following day. if the bride and bridegroom belong to the same village, this ceremony is performed by the pair seated on a cot. otherwise it is performed by each separately. the elders of the village take a few drops of castor-oil, and rub it into the heads of the bride and bridegroom; afterwards washing the oil off with punac (bassia oil-cake) and alum water. one of the elders then dips betel-leaves and arugum-pillu (cynodon dactylon) in milk, and with them describes a circle round the heads of the young couple, who do obeisance by bowing their heads. the proceedings wind up with a feast of pork and other luxuries. on the following day, the ceremony of tying the tali (marriage emblem) round the bride's neck is performed. the bride, escorted by her party, comes to the bridegroom's village, and remains outside it, while the bridegroom brings a light, a new mat, and three bundles of betel leaves and half a measure of areca nuts, which are distributed among the crowd. the happy pair then enter the village, accompanied by music. beneath a pandal (booth) there is a stone representing the god, marked with the namam, and decorated with burning lamps and painted earthen pots. before this stone the bride and bridegroom seat themselves in the presence of the guru, who is seated on a raised dais. flowers are distributed among the wedding guests, and the tali, made of gold, is tied round the bride's neck. this done, the feet of both bride and bridegroom are washed with alum water, and presents of small coin received. the contracting parties then walk three times round the stone, before which they prostrate themselves, and receive the blessing of the assembled elders. the ceremony concluded, they go round the village, riding on the same pony. the proceedings again terminate with a feast. i gather that the bride lives apart from her husband for eleven or fifteen days, during which time he is permitted to visit her at meal times, with the object, as my interpreter expressed it, of "finding out if the bride loves her husband or not. if she does not love him, she is advised by the guru and headman to do so, because there are many cases in which the girls, after marriage, if they are matured, go away with other malaialis. if this matter comes to the notice of the guru, she says that she does not like to live with him. after enquiry, the husband is permitted to marry another girl." a curious custom prevailing among the malaialis, which illustrates the hindu love of offspring, is thus referred to by mr. le fanu. "the sons, when mere children, are married to mature females, and the father-in-law of the bride assumes the performance of the procreative function, thus assuming for himself and his son a descendant to take them out of put. when the putative father comes of age, and, in their turn, his wife's male offspring are married, he performs for them the same office which his father did for him. thus, not only is the religious idea involved in the words putra and kumaran carried out, but also the premature strain on the generative faculties, which this tradition entails, is avoided. the accommodation is reciprocal, and there is something on physiological grounds to recommend it." putra means literally one who saves from put, a hell into which those who have not produced a son fall. hindus believe that a son can, by the performance of certain rites, save the souls of his ancestors from this place of torture. hence the anxiety of every hindu to get married, and beget male offspring. kumaran is the second stage in the life of an individual, which is divided into infancy, childhood, manhood, and old age. writing to me recently, a native official assures me that "the custom of linking a boy in marriage to a mature female, though still existing, has, with the advance of the times, undergone a slight yet decent change. the father-in-law of the bride has relieved himself of the awkward predicament into which the custom drove him, and now leaves the performance of the procreative function to others accepted by the bride." widow remarriage among the peria malaialis is, i am informed, forbidden, though widows are permitted to contract irregular alliances. but, writing concerning the malaialis of the dharmapuri taluk of the salem district, mr. le fanu states that "it is almost imperative on a widow to marry again. even at eighty years of age, a widow is not exempted from this rule, which nothing but the most persistent obstinacy on her part can evade. it is said that, in case a widow be not remarried at once, the pattakar sends for her to his own house, to avoid which the women consent to re-enter the state of bondage." of the marriage customs of the malaialis of the javadi hills the same author writes that "these hills are inhabited by malaialis, who style themselves vellalars and pachai vellalars, the latter being distinguished by the fact that their females are not allowed to tattoo themselves, or tie their hair in the knot called 'kondai.' the two classes do not intermarry. in their marriage ceremonies they dispense with the service of a brahman. monday is the day chosen for the commencement of the ceremony, and the tali is tied on the following friday, the only essential being that the monday and friday concerned must not follow new-moon days. they are indifferent about choosing a 'lakkinam' (muhurtham or auspicious day) for the commencement of the marriage, or for tying the tali. widows are allowed to remarry. when a virgin or a widow has to be married, the selection of a husband is not left to the woman concerned, or to her parents. it is the duty of the urgoundan to inquire what marriageable women there may be in the village, and then to summon the pattan, or headman of the caste, to the spot. the latter, on his arrival, convenes a panchayat of the residents, and, with their assistance, selects a bridegroom. the parents of the happy couple then fix the wedding day, and the ceremony is performed accordingly. the marriage of a virgin is called 'kalianam' or 'marriage proper'; that of a widow being styled 'kattigiradu' or 'tying' (cf. anglice noose, nuptial knot). adultery is regarded with different degrees of disfavour according to the social position of the co-respondents. if a married woman, virgin or widow, commits adultery with a man of another caste, or if a male vellalan commits adultery with a woman of another caste, the penalty is expulsion from caste. where, however, the paramour belongs to the vellala caste, a caste panchayat is held, and the woman is fined rs. 3-8-9, and the man rs. 7. after the imposition of the fine, brahman supremacy is recognised, the guru having the privilege of administering the tirtam, or holy water, to the culprits for their purification. for the performance of this rite his fee varies from 4 annas to 12 rupees. the tirtam may either be administered by the guru in person, or may be sent by him to the nattan for the purpose. the fine imposed on the offenders is payable by their relatives, however distant; and, if there be no relatives, then the offenders are transported from their village to a distant place. where the adulteress is a married woman, she is permitted to return to her husband, taking any issue she may have had by her paramour. in special cases a widow is permitted to marry her deceased husband's brother. should a widow remarry, her issue by her former husband belong to his relatives, and are not transferable to the second husband. the same rule holds good in successive remarriages. where there may be no relatives of the deceased husband forthcoming to take charge of the children, the duty of caring for them devolves on the urgoundan, who is bound to receive and protect them. the vellalars generally bury their dead, except in cases where a woman quick with child, or a man afflicted with leprosy has died, the bodies in these cases being burnt. no ceremony is performed at child-birth; but the little stranger receives a name on the fifteenth day. when a girl attains puberty, she is relegated to a hut outside the village, where her food is brought to her, and she is forbidden to leave the hut either day or night. the same menstrual and death customs are observed by the peria malaialis, who bury their dead in the equivalent of a cemetery, and mark the site by a mound of earth and stones. at the time of the funeral, guns are discharged by a firing party, and, at the grave, handfuls of earth are, as at a christian burial service, thrown over the corpse." if a woman among the malaialis of the javadi hills commits adultery, the young men of the tribe are said to be let loose on her, to work their wicked way, after which she is put in a pit filled with cow-dung and other filth. an old man naively remarked that adultery was very rare. at a wedding among the malaialis of the south arcot district, "after the tali is tied, the happy couple crook their little fingers together, and a two-anna bit is placed between the fingers, and water is poured over their hands. the priest offers betel and nut to kari raman, and then a gun is fired into the air." [170] the father of a would-be bridegroom among the malaialis of the yelagiris, when he hears of the existence of a suitable bride, repairs to her village, with some of his relations, and seeks out the urgoundan or headman, between whom and the visitors mutual embraces are exchanged. the object of the visit is explained, and the father says that he will abide by the voice of four in the matter. if the match is fixed up, he gives a feast in honour of the event. when the visitors enter the future bride's house, the eldest daughter-in-law of the house appears on the threshold, and takes charge of the walking-stick of each person who goes in. she then, with some specially prepared sandal-paste, makes a circular mark on the foreheads of the guests, and retires. the feast then takes place, and she again appears before the party retire, and returns the walking-sticks. [171] at a marriage among the malai vellalas of the coimbatore district, the bride has to cry during the whole ceremony, which lasts three days. otherwise she is considered an "ill woman." when she can no longer produce genuine tears, she must bawl out. if she does not do this, the bridegroom will not marry her. in the north arcot district, mr. h. a. stuart writes, [172] "a malaiali bride is sometimes carried off by force, but this custom is viewed with much disfavour, and the bridegroom who resorts to it must paint his face with black and white dots, and carry an old basket filled with broken pots and other rubbish, holding a torn sieve over him as an umbrella, before the celebration of the marriage. at the wedding, the bridegroom gives the girl's father a present of money, and a pile of firewood sufficient for the two days' feast. on the first day the food consists of rice and dhal (cajanus indicus), and on the second day pork curry is consumed. at sunrise on the third day the bridegroom produces the tali. a sword is then laid on the laps of the bridal pair, and the nattan (headman), or an elderly man blesses the tali, and gives it to the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. before marriage, a man has to serve for at least a year in the house of the bride, in order to receive the consent of her parents." "the north arcot malaialis," mr. stuart writes, "occupy eighteen nadus or districts. the nattan (headman) of kanamalai nadu is called the periya (big) nadan, and is the headman of the caste. he has the power to nominate nattans for other nadus, to call caste panchayats, to preside over any such meetings, and to impose fines, and excommunicate any malaiali. he can inflict corporal punishment, such as whipping with a tamarind switch, on those persons who violate their tribal customs. this power is sometimes delegated by him to the other nattans. of the fines collected, the periya nattan takes two shares, and the rest is distributed equally among the urans (village heads). the village precincts are considered sacred, and even brahmans are desired to walk barefoot along their alleys. they are both saivites and vaishnavites, and worship kali and perumal, wearing the namam and sacred ashes alike. their worship is somewhat peculiar, and kept more or less a mystery. its chief object is kali, in whose honour they celebrate a feast once a year, lasting for fifteen days. during this time no people of the plains venture near them, believing that no intruder will ever leave the spot alive. even the malaiali women are studiously debarred from witnessing the rites, and those who take part in them are not permitted to speak to a woman, even should she be his wife. the ceremonies take place in the open air, at a particular spot on the hills, where the goddess is to be adored in the shape of a stone called vellandiswami. the nature of the rites it is difficult to learn. in the village they worship, also excluding women, small images of venkateswara of tirupati, which are carefully concealed in caskets, and not allowed to be seen by people of other castes. a few bundles of tobacco are buried with the dead. when any one falls ill, the malaialis do not administer medicine, but send for a pujari, and ask him which god or goddess the patient had offended. the assessment paid to government by them is a fixed charge for each plough or hoe possessed, without reference to the extent of land cultivated. they collect jungle produce, particularly the glandular hairs of the fruits of a certain flower (mallotus philippinensis), which is used by the rangaris for dyeing silk a rich orange, and the roots of a plant called shenalinsedi, supposed to possess wonderful medicinal virtues, curing, among other things, snake-bite." the malaialis of the javadi hills in the north arcot district also earn a living by felling bamboos and sandal trees. the malaialis snare with nets, and shoot big game--deer, tigers, leopards, bears, and pigs--with guns of european manufacture. mr. le fanu narrates that, during the pongal feast, all the malaialis of the kalrayans go hunting, or, as they term it, for parvettai. should the palaiagar fail to bring something down, usage requires that the pujari should deprive him of his kudumi or top-knot. he generally begs himself off the personal degradation, and a servant undergoes the operation in his stead. a few years ago, a party of malaialis of the shevaroys went out shooting with blunderbusses and other quaint weapons, and bagged a leopard, which they carried on a frame-work, with jaws wide open and tail erect, round yercaud, preceded by tom-toms, and with men dancing around. the malaiali men on the shevaroys wear a turban and brown kumbli (blanket), which does duty as great coat, mackintosh, and umbrella. a bag contains their supply of betel and tobacco, and they carry a bill-hook and gourd water-vessel, and a coffee walking-stick. as ornaments they wear bangles, rings on the fingers and toes, and in the nose and ears. the women are tattooed by korava women who come round on circuit, on the forehead, outside the orbits, cheeks, arms, and hands. golden ornaments adorn their ears and nose, and they also wear armlets, toe-rings, and bangles, which are sometimes supplemented by a tooth-pick and ear-scoop pendent from a string round the neck. for dress, a sari made of florid imported cotton fabric is worn. i have seen women smoking cheroots, made from tobacco locally cultivated, wrapped up in a leaf of gmelina arborea. tattooing is said to be forbidden among the malaialis of the javadi hills in north arcot. concerning the malaialis of the trichinopoly district, mr. f. r. hemingway writes as follows. "as far as this district is concerned, they are inhabitants of the pachaimalais and kollaimalais. the malaialis of the two ranges will not intermarry, but have no objection to dining together. for purposes of the caste discipline, the villages of both sub-divisions are grouped into nadus. each nadu contains some twenty or thirty villages. each village has a headman called on the pachaimalais muppan, and on the kollaimalais ur-kavundan or kutti-maniyam. again, on the pachaimalais, every five or ten villages make up a sittambalam, over which is a kavundan, and each nadu is ruled by a periya kavundan. in the kollaimalais there are no sittambalams, but the nadu there is also presided over by a periya kavundan, who is sometimes called a sadi kavundan. again, on the kollaimalais, the first four nadus are grouped into one pattam under the pattakaran of valappur, and the other three into another under the pattakaran of sakkiratti. the nadu headmen on the pachaimalais also do duty as pattakarans. all these appointments are hereditary. the permission of the pattakaran has to be obtained before a marriage can take place, but, on the kollaimalais, he deputes this power to the sadi kavundan. the pattakarans of both ranges have recognised privileges, such as the right to ride on horseback, and use umbrellas, which are denied to the common folk. "the malaiyalis recognise the sanctity of the large vishnu temple at srirangam, and of the siva temple at anaplesvaran kovil on the kollaimalais. to the festival of the latter in adi (july-august) the malaiyalis of all three divisions flock. in every village is a temple or image of perumal. kali is also commonly worshipped, but the malaiyalis do not connect her with siva. almost every village further contains temples to mariyayi, the goddess of cholera, and to the village goddess pidari. on the kollaimalais, kali is also looked upon as a village goddess, but she has no attendant karuppans, nor is she worshipped by shedding blood. pidari is often called manu pidari on the pachaimalais, and is represented by a heap of mud. at midnight, a sheep and some cooked rice are taken to this, a man cleaning the pathway to the temple by dragging a bunch of leaves. the sheep is killed, and its lungs are inflated and placed on the heap. on the kollaimalais two other goddesses, nachi and kongalayi, are commonly worshipped. at the worship of the former, perfect silence must be observed, and women are not allowed to be in the village at the time. it is supposed that, if anyone speaks during the ceremony, he will be stung by bees or other insects. the goddess has no image, but is supposed to appear from the surface of the ground, and to glitter like the comb of a cock. kongalayi has an image, and her worship is accompanied by music. all these goddesses are worshipped every year before the ground is cultivated. the malaiyalis, like the people of the plains, worship pattavans. but, on the kollaimalais, instead of thinking that these are people who have died a violent death, they say they are virtuous men and good sportsmen, who have lived to a ripe old age. the test of the apotheosis of such a one is that his castemen should have a successful day's sport on some day that they have set aside in his honour. they sometimes offer regular sacrifices to the pattavans, but more usually offer the head of any game they shoot. sometimes a man will dream of some evil spirit turning pattavan, and then he is taken to a strychnos nux-vomica tree, and his hair nailed to the trunk and cut. this is supposed to free the caste from further molestation. the same practice is observed on the pachaimalais, if the ghost appears in a dream accompanied by a panchama. on the kollaimalais, holy bulls, dedicated to the srirangam temple, are taken round with drums on their backs by men with feathers stuck in their hair, and alms are collected. when these animals die, they are buried, and an alari tree is planted over the grave. this practice is, however, confined to vaishnavites, and to a few families. saivites set free bulls called poli yerudu in honour of the anaplesvaram god. these bulls are of good class, and, like the tamatams, are honoured at their death. "the malaiyali houses are built of tattis (mats) of split bamboo, and roofed with jungle grass. the use of tiles or bricks is believed to excite the anger of the gods. the kollaimalai houses seem always to have a loft inside, approached by a ladder. the eaves project greatly, so as almost to touch the ground. in the pial (platform at the entrance) a hole is made to pen fowls in. on the tops of the houses, tufts of jungle grass and rags are placed, to keep off owls, the ill-omened kottan birds. the villages are surrounded with a fence, to keep the village pigs from destroying the crops outside. the pachaimalai women wear the kusavam fold in their cloth on the right side, but do not cover the breasts. the kollaimalai women do not wear any kusavam, but carefully cover their breasts, especially when at work outside the village site, for fear of displeasing the gods. the pachaimalai people tattoo, but this custom is anathema on the kollaimalais, where the malaiyalis will not allow a tattooed person into their houses for fear of offending their gods. "all the malaiyalis are keen sportsmen, and complain that sport is spoilt by the forest rules. the kollaimalai people have a great beat on the first of ani (june-july), and another on the day of the first sowing of the year. the date of the latter is settled by the headman of each village, and he alone is allowed to sow seeds on that day, everyone else being debarred on pain of punishment from doing any manner of work, and going out to hunt instead. on the kollaimalais, bull-baiting is practiced at the time of the mariyayi festival in masi (february-march). a number of bulls are taken in front of the goddess, one after the other, and, while some of the crowd hold the animals with ropes, a man in front, and another behind, urge it on to unavailing efforts to get free. when one bull is tired out, another is brought up to take its place. "the malaiyalis have a good many superstitions of their own, which are apparently different from those of the plains. if they want rain, they pelt each other with balls of cow-dung, an image of pillaiyar (ganesa) is buried in a manure pit, and a pig is killed with a kind of spear. when the rain comes, the pillaiyar is dug up. if a man suffers from hemicrania, he sets free a red cock in honour of the sun on a tuesday. a man who grinds his teeth in his sleep may be broken off the habit by eating some of the food offered to the village goddess, brought by stealth from her altar. people suffering from small-pox are taken down to the plains, and left in some village. cholera patients are abandoned, and left to die. lepers are driven out without the slightest mercy, to shift for themselves. "with regard to marriage, the malaiyalis of the trichinopoly district recognise the desirability of a boy's marrying his maternal aunt's daughter. this sometimes results in a young boy marrying a grown-up woman, but the malaiyalis in this district declare that the boy's father does not then take over the duties of a husband. on the kollaimalais, a wife may leave her husband for a paramour within the caste, but her husband has a right to the children of such intercourse, and they generally go to him in the end. you may ask a man, without giving offence, if he has lent his wife to anyone. both sections practice polygamy. a betrothal on the pachaimalais is effected by the boy's taking an oil bath, followed by a bath in hot water at the bride's house, and watching whether there is any ill omen during the process. on the kollaimalais, the matter is settled by a simple interview. on both hill ranges, the wedding ceremonies last only one day, and on the pachaimalais a thursday is generally selected. the marriage on the latter range consists in all the relatives present dropping castor-oil on to the heads of the pair with a wisp of grass, and then pronouncing a blessing on them. the terms of the blessing are the same as those used by the konga vellalas. the bridegroom ties the tali. on the kollaimalais, the girl is formally invited to come and be married by the other party's taking her a sheep and some rice. on the appointed day, offerings of a cock and a hen are made to the gods in the houses of both. the girl then comes to the other house, and she and the bridegroom are garlanded by the leading persons present. the bridegroom ties the tali, and the couple are then made to walk seven steps, and are blessed. the garlands are then thrown into a well, and, if they float together, it is an omen that the two will love each other. "both sections bury their dead. on the kollaimalais, a gun is fired when the corpse is taken out for burial, and tobacco, cigars, betel and nut, etc., are buried with the body. "two curious customs in connection with labour are recognised on both ranges. if a man has a press of work, he can compel the whole village to come and help him, by the simple method of inviting them all to a feast. he need not pay them for their services. a different custom is that, when there is threshing to be done, any labourer of the caste who offers himself has to be taken, whether there is work for him or not, and paid as if he had done a good day's work. this is a very hard rule in times of scarcity, and it is said that sometimes the employer will have not only to pay out the whole of the harvest, but will also have to get something extra from home to satisfy the labourers." it is noted by mr. garstin [173] that "in his time (1878) the malaialis of the south arcot district kept the accounts of their payments of revenue by tying knots in a bit of string, and that some of them once lodged a complaint against their village headman for collecting more from them than was due, basing their case on the fact that there were more knots in the current year's string than in that of the year preceding. the poligars, he adds, used to intimate the amount of revenue due by sending each of the cultivators a leaf bearing on it as many thumb-nail marks as there were rupees to be paid." malayali.--a territorial name, denoting an inhabitant of the malayalam country. it is noted, in the mysore census report, 1901, that this name came in very handy to class several of the malabar tribes, who have immigrated to the province, and whose names were unfamiliar to census officials. there is, in the city of madras, a malayali club for inhabitants of the malayalam country, who are there employed in government services, as lawyers, or in other vocations. i read that, in 1906, the malabar onam festival was celebrated at the victoria public hall under the auspices of this club, and a dramatised version of the malayalam novel indulekha was performed. malayan.--concerning the malayans, mr. a. r. loftus-tottenham writes as follows. "the malayans are a makkathayam caste, observing twelve days' pollution, found in north malabar. their name, signifying hill-men, points to their having been at one time a jungle tribe, but they have by no means the dark complexion and debased physiognomy characteristic of the classes which still occupy that position. they are divided into nine exogamous illams, five of which have the names kotukudi, velupa, cheni, palankudi, and kalliath. the men do not shave their heads, but allow the hair to grow long, and either part it in the middle, or tie it into a knot behind, like the castes of the east coast, or tie it in a knot in front in the genuine malayali fashion. the principal occupation of the caste is exorcism, which they perform by various methods. "if any one is considered to be possessed by demons, it is usual, after consulting the astrologer in order to ascertain what murti (form, i.e., demon) is causing the trouble, to call in the malayan, who performs a ceremony known as tiyattam, in which they wear masks, and, so disguised, sing, dance, tom-tom, and play on a rude and strident pipe. another ceremony, known as ucchaveli, has several forms, all of which seem to be either survivals, or at least imitations of human sacrifice. one of these consists of a mock living burial of the principal performer, who is placed in a pit, which is covered with planks, on the top of which a sacrifice is performed, with a fire kindled with jack wood (artocarpus integrifolia) and a plant called erinna. in another variety, the malayan cuts his left forearm, and smears his face with the blood thus drawn. malayans also take part with peruvannans (big barbers) in various ceremonies at badrakali and other temples, in which the performer impersonates, in suitable costume, some of the minor deities or demons, fowls are sacrificed, and a velicchapad pronounces oracular statements." as the profession of exorcists does not keep the malayans fully occupied, they go about begging during the harvest season, in various disguises, of which that of a hobby-horse is a very common one. they further add to their income by singing songs, at which they are very expert. like the nalkes and paravas of south canara, the malayans exorcise various kinds of devils, with appropriate disguises. for nenaveli (bloody sacrifice), the performer smears the upper part of his body and face with a paste made of rice-flour reddened with turmeric powder and chunam (lime) to indicate a bloody sacrifice. before the paste dries, parched paddy (unhusked rice) grains, representing small-pox pustules, are sprinkled over it. strips of young cocoanut leaves, strung together so as to form a petticoat, are tied round the waist, a ball of sacred ashes (vibhuthi) is fixed on the tip of the nose, and two strips of palmyra palm leaf are stuck in the mouth to represent fangs. if it is thought that a human sacrifice is necessary to propitiate the devil, the man representing nenaveli puts round his neck a kind of framework made of plantain leaf sheaths; and, after he has danced with it on, it is removed, and placed on the ground in front of him. a number of lighted wicks are stuck in the middle of the framework, which is sprinkled with the blood of a fowl, and then beaten and crushed. sometimes this is not regarded as sufficient, and the performer is made to lie down in a pit, which is covered over by a plank, and a fire kindled. a malayan, who acted the part of nenaveli before me at tellicherry, danced and gesticulated wildly, while a small boy, concealed behind him, sang songs in praise of the demon whom he represented, to the accompaniment of a drum. at the end of the performance, he feigned extreme exhaustion, and laid on the ground in a state of apparent collapse, while he was drenched with water brought in pots from a neighbouring well. the disguise of uchchaveli is also assumed for the propitiation of the demon, when a human sacrifice is considered necessary. the malayan who is to take the part puts on a cap made of strips of cocoanut leaf, and strips of the same leaves tied to a bent bamboo stick round his waist. his face and chest are daubed with yellow paint, and designs are drawn thereon in red or black. strings are tied tightly round the left arm near the elbow and wrist, and the swollen area is pierced with a knife. the blood spouts out, and the performer waves the arm, so that his face is covered with the blood. a fowl is waved before him, and decapitated. he puts the neck in his mouth, and sucks the blood. the disguises are generally assumed at night. the exorcism consists in drawing complicated designs of squares, circles, and triangles, on the ground with white, black, and yellow flour. while the man who has assumed the disguise dances about to the accompaniment of drums, songs are sung by malayan men and women. malayan.--a division of panikkans in the tamil country, whose exogamous septs are known by the malayalam name illam (house). maldivi.--a territorial name, meaning a native of the maldive islands, returned by twenty-two persons in tanjore at the census, 1901. male kudiya.--a synonym of kudiya, denoting those who live in the hills. maleru.--it is noted, in the mysore census report, 1901, that "in some temples of the malnad there exists a set of females, who, though not belonging to the natuva class, are yet temple servants like them, and are known by the name of maleru. any woman who eats the sacrificial rice strewn on the balipitam (sacrificial altar) at once loses caste, and becomes a public woman, or maleru." the children of malerus by brahmans are termed golakas. any maleru woman cohabiting with one of a lower caste than her own is degraded into a gaudi. in the madras census report, 1901, male or malera is returned as a sub-caste of stanika. they are said, however, not to be equal to stanikas. they are attached to temples, and their ranks are swelled by outcaste brahman and konkani women. maleyava.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small canarese-speaking caste of beggars. in the south canara manual, it is stated that they are "classed as mendicants, as there is a small body of malayalam gypsies of that name. but there may have been some confusion with malava and male kudiya." mali.--"the malis," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [174] "are now mostly cultivators, but their traditional occupation (from which the caste name is derived) is making garlands, and providing flowers for the service of hindu temples. they are especially clever in growing vegetables. their vernacular is uriya." it is noted, in the census report, 1901, that the temple servants wear the sacred thread, and employ brahmans as priests. it is further recorded, in the census report, 1871, that "the malis are, as their name denotes, gardeners. they chose for their settlements sites where they were able to turn a stream to irrigate a bit of land near their dwellings. here they raise fine crops of vegetables, which they carry to the numerous markets throughout the country. their rights to the lands acquired from the parjas (porojas) are of a substantial nature, and the only evidence to show their possessions were formerly parja bhumi (poroja lands) is perhaps a row of upright stones erected by the older race to the memory of their village chiefs." for the following note, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the malis say that their ancestors lived originally at kasi (benares), whence they emigrated to serve under the raja of jeypore. they are divided into the following sub-divisions:--bodo, pondra, kosalya, pannara, sonkuva, and dongrudiya. the name pondra is said to be derived from podoro, a dry field. i am informed that, if a pondra is so prosperous as to possess a garden which requires the employment of a picottah, he is bound to entertain as many men of his caste as choose to go to his house. a man without a picottah may refuse to receive such visits. a picottah is the old-fashioned form of a machine still used for raising water, and consists of a long lever or yard pivotted on an upright post, weighted on the short arm, and bearing a line and bucket on the long arm. among the bodo malis, a man can claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage, which takes place before the girl reaches puberty. a jholla tonka (bride-price) of forty rupees is paid, and the girl is conducted to the house of the bridegroom, in front of which a pandal (booth) has been erected, with nine pots, one above the other, placed at the four corners and in the centre. in the middle of the pandal a mattress is spread, and to the pandal a cloth, with a myrabolam (terminalia fruit), rice, and money tied up in it, is attached. the contracting couple sit together, and a sacred thread is given to the bridegroom by the officiating priest. the bride is presented with necklaces, nose-screws, and other ornaments by the bridegroom's party. they then repair to the bridegroom's house. the ceremonies are repeated during the next three days, and on the fifth day the pair are bathed with turmeric water, and repair to a stream, in which they bathe. on their return home, the bridegroom is presented with some cheap jewelry. among the pondra malis, if a girl is not provided with a husband before she reaches puberty, a mock marriage is performed. a pandal (booth) is erected in front of her house, and she enters it, carrying a fan in her right hand, and sits on a mattress. a pot, containing water and mango leaves, is set in front of her, and the females throw turmeric-rice over her. they then mix turmeric powder with castor-oil, and pour it over her from mango leaves. she next goes to the village stream, and bathes. a caste feast follows after this ceremonial has been performed. the girl is permitted to marry in the ordinary way. a bodo mali girl, who does not secure a husband before she reaches puberty, is said to be turned out of the caste. in the regular marriage ceremony among the pondra malis, the bridegroom, accompanied by his party, proceeds to the bride's village, where they stay in a house other than that of the bride. they send five rupees, a new cloth for the bride's mother, rice, and other things necessary for a meal, as jholla tonka (present) to the bride's house. pandals, made of four poles, are erected in front of the houses of the bride and bridegroom. towards evening, the bridegroom proceeds to the house of the bride, and the couple are blessed by the assembled relations within the pandal. on the following day, the bridegroom conducts the bride to her pandal. they take their seat therein, separated by a screen, with the ends of their cloths tied together. ornaments, called maguta, corresponding to the bashinga, are tied on their foreheads. at the auspicious moment fixed by the presiding desari, the bride stretches out her right hand, and the bridegroom places his thereon. on it some rice and myrabolam fruit are laid, and tied up with rolls of cotton thread by the desari. on the third day, the couple repair to a stream, and bathe. they then bury the magutas. after a feast, the bride accompanies the bridegroom to his village, but, if she has not reached puberty, returns to her parents. widow remarriage is permitted, and a younger brother usually marries the widow of his elder brother. the dead are burnt, and death pollution lasts for ten days, during which those who are polluted refrain from their usual employment. on the ninth day, a hole is dug in the house of the deceased, and a lamp placed in it. the son, or some other close relative, eats a meal by the side of the hole, and, when it is finished, places the platter and the remains of the food in the hole, and buries them with the lamp. on the tenth day, an oriya brahman purifies the house by raising the sacred fire (homam). he is, in return for his services, presented with the utensils of the deceased, half a rupee, rice, and other things. mali further occurs as the name of an exogamous sept of holeya. (see also ravulo.) maliah (hill).--a sub-division of savaras who inhabit the hill-country. malighai chetti.--a synonym of acharapakam chettis. in the city of madras, the malighai chettis cannot, like other beri chettis, vote or receive votes at elections or meetings of the kandasami temple. malik.--a sect of muhammadans, who are the followers of the imam abu 'abdi 'llah malik ibn anas, the founder of one of the four orthodox sects of sunnis, who was born at madinah, a.h. 94 (a.d. 716). malle.--malle, malli, mallela, or mallige, meaning jasmine, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of bestha, holeya, kamma, korava, kurni, kuruba, madiga, mala, odde, and tsakala. the tsakalas, i am informed, will not use jasmine flowers, or go near the plant. in like manner, besthas of the malle gotra may not touch it. malumi.--a class of muhammadan pilots and sailors in the laccadive islands. (see mappilla.) mamidla (mango).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. mana (a measure).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. manavalan (bridegroom).--a sub-division of nayar. manayammamar.--the name for mussad females. mana means a brahman's house. mancha.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a musalman tribe in the laccadive islands. manchala (cots).--an exogamous sept of odde. the equivalent mancham occurs as a sept of panta reddis, the members of which avoid sleeping on cots. manchi (good).--an exogamous sept of padma sale and yanadi. mandadan chetti.--there are at gudalur near the boundary between the nilgiri district and malabar, and in the wynad, two classes called respectively mandadan chettis and wynad chettis (q.v.). the following account of the mandadan chettis is given in the gazetteer of the nilgiris. "they speak a corrupt canarese, follow the makkatayam law of inheritance (from father to son), and seem always to have been natives of the wynaad. mandadan is supposed to be a corruption of mahavalinadu, the traditional name still applied to the country between nellakottai and tippakadu, in which these chettis principally reside. these chettis recognise as many as eight different headmen, who each have names and a definite order of precedence, the latter being accurately marked by the varying lengths of the periods of pollution observed when they die. they are supposed to be the descendants in the nearest direct line of the original ancestors of the caste, and they are shown special respect on public occasions, and settle domestic and caste disputes. marriages take place after puberty, and are arranged through go-betweens called madhyastas. when matters have been set in train, the contracting parties meet, and the boy's parents measure out a certain quantity of paddy (unhusked rice), and present it to the bride's people, while the madhyastas formally solicit the approval to the match of all the nearest relatives. the bride is bathed and dressed in a new cloth, and the couple are then seated under a pandal (booth). the priest of the nambalakod temple comes with flowers, blesses the tali, and hands it to the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. sometimes the young man is made to work for the girl as jacob did for rachael, serving her father for a period (generally of from one to four years), the length of which is settled by a panchayat (council). in such cases, the father-in-law pays the expenses of the wedding, and sets up the young couple with a house and some land. married women are not prohibited from conferring favours on their husbands' brothers, but adultery outside the caste is severely dealt with. adoption seems to be unknown. a widow may remarry. if she weds her deceased husband's brother, the only ceremony is a dinner, after which the happy pair are formally seated on the same mat; but, if she marries any one else, a pandal and tali are provided. divorce is allowed to both parties, and divorcées may remarry. in their cases, however, the wedding rites are much curtailed. the dead are usually burnt, but those who have been killed by accidents or epidemics are buried. when any one is at death's door, he or she is made to swallow a little water from a vessel in which some rice and a gold coin have been placed. the body is bathed and dressed in a new cloth, sometimes music is played and a gun fired, and in all cases the deceased's family walk three times round the pyre before it is fired by the chief mourner. when the period of pollution is over, holy water is fetched from the nambalakod temple, and sprinkled all about the house. these chettis are saivites, and worship betarayasvami of nambalakod, the airu billi of the kurumbas, and one or two other minor gods, and certain deified ancestors. these minor gods have no regular shrines, but huts provided with platforms for them to sit upon, in which lamps are lit in the evenings, are built for them in the fields and jungles. chetti women are often handsome. in the house they wear only a waist-cloth, but they put on an upper cloth when they venture abroad. they distend the lobes of their ears, and for the first few years after marriage wear in them circular gold ornaments somewhat resembling those affected by the nayar ladies. after that period they substitute a strip of rolled-up palm leaf. they have an odd custom of wearing a big chignon made up of plaits of their own hair cut off at intervals in their girlhood." mandadi.--a title of golla. mandai.--an exogamous section of kallan named after mandai karuppan, the god of the village common (mandai). mandha.--mandha or mandhala, meaning a village common, or herd of cattle collected thereon, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of bedar, karna sale, and madiga. mandi (cow).--a sept of poroja. mandiri.--a sub-division of domb. mandula.--the mandulas (medicine men) are a wandering class, the members of which go about from village to village in the telugu country, selling drugs (mandu, medicine) and medicinal powders. some of their women act as midwives. of these people an interesting account is given by bishop whitehead, [175] who writes as follows. "we found an encampment of five or six dirty-looking huts made of matting, each about five feet high, eight feet long and six feet wide, belonging to a body of mandalavaru, whose head-quarters are at masulipatam. they are medicine men by profession, and thieves and beggars by choice. the headman showed us his stock of medicines in a bag, and a quaint stock it was, consisting of a miscellaneous collection of stones and pieces of wood, and the fruits of trees. the stones are ground to powder, and mixed up as a medicine with various ingredients. he had a piece of mica, a stone containing iron, and another which contained some other metal. there was also a peculiar wood used as an antidote against snake-bite, a piece being torn off and eaten by the person bitten. one common treatment for children is to give them tiles, ground to powder, to eat. in the headman's hut was a picturesque-looking woman sitting up with an infant three days old. it had an anklet, made of its mother's hair, tied round the right ankle, to keep off the evil eye. the mother, too, had a similar anklet round her own left ankle, which she put on before her confinement. she asked for some castor-oil to smear over the child. they had a good many donkeys, pigs, and fowls with them, and made, they said, about a rupee a day by begging. some time ago, they all got drunk, and had a free fight, in which a woman got her head cut open. the police went to enquire into the matter, but the woman declared that she only fell against a bamboo by accident. the whole tribe meet once a year, at masulipatam, at the sivaratri festival, and then sacrifice pigs and goats to their various deities. the goddess is represented by a plain uncarved stone, about four-and-a-half or five feet high, daubed with turmeric and kunkuma (red powder). the animals are killed in front of the stone, and the blood is allowed to flow on the ground. they believe that the goddess drinks it. they cook rice on the spot, and present some of it to the goddess. they then have a great feast of the rest of the rice and the flesh of the victims, get very drunk with arrack, and end up with a free fight. we noted that one of the men had on an anklet of hair, like the woman's. he said he had been bitten by a snake some time ago, and had put on the anklet as a charm." the mandula is a very imposing person, as he sits in a conspicuous place, surrounded by paper packets piled up all round him. his method of advertising his medicines is to take the packets one by one, and, after opening them and folding them up, to make a fresh pile. as he does so, he may be heard repeating very rapidly, in a sing-song tone, "medicine for rheumatism," etc. mandulas are sometimes to be seen close to the moore market in the city of madras, with their heaps of packets containing powders of various colours. mangala.--"the mangalas and ambattans," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [176] "are the barber castes, and are probably of identical origin, but, like the potters, they have, by difference of locality, separated into telugus and tamilians, who do not intermarry. both are said to be the offspring of a brahman by a vaisya woman. the telugu name is referred to the word mangalam, which means happiness and also cleansing, and is applied to barbers, because they take part in marriage ceremonies, and add to the happiness on the occasion by the melodious sounds of their flutes (nagasaram), while they also contribute to the cleanliness of the people by shaving their bodies. the telugus are divided into the reddibhumi, murikinadu, and kurichinadu sub-divisions, and are mostly vaishnavites. they consider the tamilians as lower than themselves, because they consent to shave the whole body, while the telugus only shave the upper portions. besides their ordinary occupation, the members of this caste pretend to some knowledge of surgery and of the properties of herbs and drugs. their females practice midwifery in a barbarous fashion, not scrupling also to indulge largely in criminal acts connected with their profession. flesh-eating is allowed, but not widow marriage." "mangalas," mr. stuart writes further, [177] "are also called bajantri (in reference to their being musicians), kalyanakulam (marriage people), and angarakudu. the word angaramu means fire, charcoal, a live coal, and angarakudu is the planet mars. tuesday is mars day, and one name for it is angarakavaramu, but the other and more common name is mangalavaramu. now mangala is a sanskrit word, meaning happiness, and mangala, with the soft l, is the telugu for a barber. mangalavaramu and angarakavaramu being synonymous, it is natural that the barbers should have seized upon this, and given themselves importance by claiming to be the caste of the planet mars. as a matter of fact, this planet is considered to be a star of ill omen, and tuesday is regarded as an inauspicious day. barbers are also considered to be of ill omen owing to their connection with deaths, when their services are required to shave the heads of the mourners. on an auspicious occasion, a barber would never be called a mangala, but a bajantri, or musician. their titles are anna and gadu." anna means brother, and gadu is a common suffix to the names of telugus, e.g., ramigadu, subbigadu. a further title is ayya (father). for the following note on the mangalas, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the caste is divided into two endogamous divisions, telaga and kapu, the ancestors of which were half brothers, by different mothers. they will eat together, but will not intermarry, as they regard themselves as cousins. the primary occupation of the caste is shaving the heads of people belonging to the non-polluting castes, and, for a small consideration, razors are lent to madigas and malas. a mangala, in the vizagapatam district, carries no pollution with him, when he is not actually engaged in his professional duties, and may often be found as storekeeper in hindu households, and occupying the same position as the bhondari, or oriya barber, does in the oriya country. unlike the tamil ambattan, the mangala has no objection to shaving europeans. he is one of the village officials, whose duties are to render assistance to travellers, and massage their limbs, and, in many villages, he is rewarded for his services with a grant of land. he is further the village musician, and an expert at playing on the flute. boys are taught the art of shaving when they are about eight years old. an old chatty (earthen pot) is turned upside down, and smeared with damp earth. when this is dry, the lad has to scrape it off under the direction of an experienced barber. mangala pujari.--the title of the caste priest of the mogers. mangalyam.--a sub-division of marans, who, at the tali-kettu ceremony of the nayars, carry the ashtamangalyam or eight auspicious things. these are rice, paddy (unhusked rice), tender leaves of the cocoanut, a mimic arrow, a metal looking-glass, a well-washed cloth, burning fire, and a small round wooden box called cheppu. mangalyam occurs as the name for marans in old travancore records. mangalakkal.--this and manigramam are recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as sub-divisions of nayar. manikala (a measure).--an exogamous sept of yanadi. manikattal.--a synonym of deva-dasi applied to dancing-girls in the tamil country. maniyakkaran.--maniyakkaran or maniyagaran, meaning an overseer, occurs as a title or synonym of parivaram and sembadavan. as a name of a sub-division of the idaiyan shepherds, the word is said to be derived from mani, a bell, such as is tied round the necks of cattle, sheep, and goats. maniyakkaran has been corrupted into monegar, the title of the headman of a village in the tamil country. manjaputtur.--a sub-division of chettis, who are said to have emigrated to the madura district from cuddalore (manjakuppam). manla (trees).--an exogamous sept of chenchu. mannadi.--a title of kunnavans of the palni hills, often given as the caste name. also a title of pallans and muttans. mannadiyar.--a trading sub-division of nayar. mannan.--the mannans are a hill tribe of travancore, and are said to have been originally dependents of the kings of madura, whom they, like the uralis and muduvans, accompanied to neriyamangalam. "later on, they settled in a portion of the cardamom hills called makara-alum. one of the chiefs of poonyat nominated three of these mannans as his agents at three different centres in his dominions, one to live at tollairamalai with a silver sword as badge and with the title of varayilkizh mannan, a second to live at mannankantam with a bracelet and the title of gopura mannan, and a third at utumpanchola with a silver cane and the title of talamala mannan. for these headmen, the other mannans are expected to do a lot of miscellaneous services. it is only with the consent of the headmen that marriages may be contracted. persons of both sexes dress themselves like maravans. silver and brass ear-rings are worn by the men. necklets of white and red beads are worn on the neck, and brass bracelets on the wrist. mannans put up the best huts among the hill-men. menstrual and puerperal impurity is not so repelling as in the case of the uralis. about a year after a child is born, the eldest member of the family ties a necklet of beads round its neck, and gives it a name. the mannans bury their dead. the coffin is made of bamboo and reeds, and the corpse is taken to the grave with music and the beating of drums. the personal ornaments, if any, are not removed. before filling in the grave, a quantity of rice is put into the mouth of the deceased. a shed is erected over the site of burial. after a year has passed, an offering of food and drink is made to the dead. the language of the mannans is tamil. they have neither washermen nor barbers, but wash clothes and shave for one another. the mannans stand ahead of the other hill-men from their knowledge of medicine, though they resort more to chattu than to herbs. drinking is a very common vice. marumakkathayam is the prevailing form of inheritance (in the female line); but it is customary to give a portion to the sons also. marriage takes the form of tali-tying. the tali (marriage badge) is removed on the death of the husband. women generally wait for two years to marry a second husband, after the death of the first. a mannan claims the hand of his maternal uncle's daughter. the sasta of sabarimala and periyar is devoutly worshipped. the mannans are experts in collecting honey. they eat the flesh of the monkey, but not that of the crocodile, snake, buffalo or cow. they are fast decreasing in numbers, like the other denizens of the hills." [178] concerning the mannans, mr. o. h. bensley writes as follows. [179] "i enjoy many pleasant reminiscences of my intercourse with these people. their cheery and sociable disposition, and enjoyment of camp life, make it quite a pleasure to be thrown into contact with them. short, sturdy, and hairless, the mannans have all the appearances of an 'aboriginal' race. the mannan country extends southward from the limit occupied by the muduvans on the cardamom hills to a point south of the territory now submerged by the periyar works. [180] they have, moreover, to keep to the east of the periyar river. smallpox ravages their villages, and fever lives in the air they breathe. within the present generation, three of their settlements were at the point of extinction, but were recruited from other more fortunate bands. very few attain to old age, but there were until lately three old patriarchs among them, who were the headmen of three of the most important sections of the tribe. the muduvans and mannans pursue the same destructive method of cultivation, but, as the latter are much fewer in numbers, their depredations are not so serious. none of the tribes east of the periyar pay any tax to the government, but are expected, in return for their holdings, to perform certain services in the way of building huts and clearing paths, for which they receive fixed payment. they have also to collect forest produce, and for this, too, they obtain fixed rates, so that their treatment by the government is in reality of the most liberal kind. mannans do not always look at things in quite the light one would expect. for example, the heir to an english earldom, after a pleasant shooting trip in travancore, bestowed upon a mannan who had been with him a handsome knife as a memento. next day, the knife was seen in the possession of a cooly on a coffee estate, and it transpired that the mannan had sold it to him for three rupees, instead of keeping it as an heirloom. a remarkable trait in the character of the mannans is the readiness with which they fraternise with europeans. most of the other tribes approach with reluctance, which requires considerable diplomacy to overcome. not so the mannan. he willingly initiates a tyro and a stranger into the mysteries of the chase. though their language is tamil, and the only communication they hold with the low country is on the madura side, they have this custom in common with the malayalis, that the chieftainship of their villages goes to the nephew, and not to the son. one does not expect to find heroic actions among these simple people. but how else could one describe the following incident? a mannan, walking with his son, a lad about twelve years old, came suddenly upon a rogue elephant. his first act was to place his son in a position of safety by lifting him up till he could reach the branch of a tree, and only then he began to think of himself. but it was too late. the elephant charged down upon him, and in a few seconds he was a shapeless mass." mannan (washerman caste).--see vannan and velan. mannedora (lord of the hills).--a title assumed by konda doras. manne sultan is a title of the maharaja of travancore and the raja of vizianagram. the konda doras also style themselves mannelu, or those of the hills. mannepu-vandlu.--said [181] to be the name, derived from mannemu, highland, for malas in parts of the godavari district. mannu (earth).--a sub-division of oddes, who are earth-workers. manti, which has also been returned by them at times of census, has a similar significance (earthen). man udaiyan occurs as a synonym of kusavan, and manal (sand) as an exogamous sept of kappiliyan. man kavarai is recorded in the salem manual as the name of a class of salt makers from salt-earth. mantalayi.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. mappilla.--the mappillas, or moplahs, are defined in the census report, 1871, as the hybrid mahomedan race of the western coast, whose numbers are constantly being added to by conversion of the slave castes of malabar. in 1881, the census superintendent wrote that "among some of them there may be a strain of arab blood from some early generation, but the mothers throughout have been dravidian, and the class has been maintained in number by wholesale adult conversion." concerning the origin of the mappillas, mr. lewis moore states [182] that "originally the descendants of arab traders by the women of the country, they now form a powerful community. there appears to have been a large influx of arab settlers into malabar in the ninth century a.d. and the numbers have been constantly increased by proselytism. the mappillas came prominently forward at the time of the portuguese invasion at the end of the fifteenth century a.d." "the muhammadan arabs," dr. burnell writes, [183] "appear to have settled first in malabar about the beginning of the ninth century; there were heathen arabs there long before that in consequence of the immense trade conducted by the sabeans with india." "there are," mr. b. govinda nambiar writes, [184] "many accounts extant in malabar concerning the introduction of the faith of islam into this district. tradition says that, in the ninth century of the christian era, a party of moslem pilgrims, on their way to a sacred shrine in ceylon, chanced to visit the capital of the perumal or king of malabar, that they were most hospitably entertained by that prince, and that he, becoming a convert to their faith, subsequently accompanied them to arabia (where he died). it is further stated that the perumal, becoming anxious of establishing his new faith in malabar, with suitable places of worship, sent his followers with letters to all the chieftains whom he had appointed in his stead, requiring them to give land for mosques, and to endow them. the perumal's instructions were carried out, and nine mosques were founded and endowed in various parts of malabar. whatever truth there may be in these accounts, it is certain that, at a very early period, the arabs had settled for commercial purposes on the malabar coast, had contracted alliances with the women of the country, and that the mixed race thus formed had begun to be known as the mappillas. these mappillas had, in the days of the zamorin, played an important part in the political history of malabar, and had in consequence obtained many valuable privileges. when vasco da gama visited calicut during the closing years of the fifteenth century, we find their influence at court so powerful that the portuguese could not obtain a commercial footing there. the numerical strength of the mappillas was greatly increased by forcible conversions during the period when tippu sultan held sway over malabar." [at the installation of the zamorin, some mappilla families at calicut have certain privileges; and a mappilla woman, belonging to a certain family, presents the zamorin with betel nuts near the kallai bridge, on his return from a procession through the town.] according to one version of the story of the perumal, cheraman perumal dreamt that the full moon appeared at mecca on the night of the new moon, and that, when on the meridian, it split into two, one half remaining in the air, and the other half descending to the foot of a hill called abu kubais, where the two halves joined together. shortly afterwards, a party of pilgrims, on their way to the foot-print shrine at adam's peak in ceylon, landed in cheraman perumal's capital at kodungallur, and reported that by the same miracle, muhammad had converted a number of unbelievers to his religion. the cephalic index of the mappillas is lower than that of the other muhammadan classes in south india which i have examined, and this may probably be explained by their admixture with dolichocephalic dravidians. the figures are as follows:- number examined. cephalic index. mappilla 40 72.8 sheik muhammadan 40 75.6 saiyad muhammadan 40 75.6 daira muhammadan 50 75.6 pathan muhammadan 40 76.2 from the measurement of a very few mappillas, members of the hyderabad contingent, and marathas, who went to england for the coronation in 1902, mr. j. gray arrived at the conclusion that "the people on the west coast and in the centre of the deccan, namely the moplas, maharattas, and hyderabad contingent, differ considerably from the tamils of the east coast. their heads are considerably shorter. this points to admixture of the dravidians with some mongolian element. there is a tradition that the moplas are descended from arab traders, but the measurements indicate that the immigrants were turkish, or of some other mongolian element, probably from persia or baluchistan." [185] the cephalic indices, as recorded by mr. gray, were:- number examined. cephalic index. tamils 6 75.4 moplas 6 77.5 hyderabad contingent 6 75 maharattas 7 79 the number of individuals examined is, however, too small for the purpose of generalisation. in the census report, 1891, it is noted that some mappillas have returned "putiya islam," meaning new converts to islam. these are mostly converts from the mukkuvan or fisherman caste, and this process of conversion is still going on. most of the fishermen of tanur, where there is an important fish-curing yard, are mukkuvan converts. they are sleek and well-nourished, and, to judge from the swarm of children who followed me during my inspection of the yard, eminently fertile. one of them, indeed, was polygynous to the extent of seven wives, each of whom had presented him with seven sons, not to mention a large consignment of daughters. on the east coast the occurrence of twins is attributed by the fishermen to the stimulating properties of fish diet. in malabar, great virtue is attributed to the sardine or nalla mathi (good fish, clupea longiceps), as an article of dietary. "conversion to muhammadanism," mr. logan writes, [186] "has had a marked effect in freeing the slave caste in malabar from their former burthens. by conversion a cheruman obtains a distinct rise in the social scale, and, if he is in consequence bullied or beaten, the influence of the whole muhammadan community comes to his aid." the same applies to the nayadis, of whom some have escaped from their degraded position by conversion to islam. in the scale of pollution, the nayadi holds the lowest place, and consequently labours under the greatest disadvantage, which is removed with his change of religion. as regards the origin and significance of the word mappilla, according to mr. lewis moore, it means, "(1) a bridegroom or son-in-law; (2) the name given to muhammadan, christian, or jewish colonists in malabar, who have intermarried with the natives of the country. the name is now confined to muhammadans." it is noted by mr. nelson [187] that "the kallans alone of all the castes of madura call the muhammadans mappilleis, or bridegrooms." in criticising this statement, yule and burnell [188] state that "nelson interprets the word as bridegroom. it should, however, rather be son-in-law. the husband of the existing princess of tanjore is habitually styled by the natives mappillai sahib, as the son-in-law of the late raja." "some," mr. padmanabha menon writes, [189] "think that the word mappila is a contracted form of maha (great) and pilla (child), an honorary title as among nairs in travancore (pilla or pillay). mr. logan surmises that maha pilla was probably a title of honour conferred on the early muhammadans, or possibly on the still earlier christian immigrants, who are also down to the present day called mappilas. the muhammadans generally go by the name of jonaga mappilas. jonaka is believed to stand for yavanaka, i.e., greek!" [190] [in the gazetteer of the tanjore district, yavana is recorded as meaning ionia.] it is, indeed, remarkable that in the payyanorepat, perhaps the earliest malayalam poem extant, some of the sailors mentioned in it are called chonavans. (the jews are known as juda mappila.) dr. day derives the word mapilla from ma (mother) and pilla (child). [wilson gives mapilla, mother's son, as being sprung from the intercourse of foreign colonists, who were persons unknown, with malabar women.] duncan says that a qazi derived the name from ma (mother) and pilla a (puppy) as a term of reproach! maclean, in the asiatic researches, considered that the word came from maha or mohai (mocha) and pilla (child), and therefore translated it into children or natives (perhaps outcasts) of mohai or mocha. a more likely, and perhaps more correct derivation is given by mr. percy badger in a note to his edition of the varthema. "i am inclined to think," he says, "that the name is either a corruption of the arabic muflih (from the root fallah, to till the soil), meaning prosperous or victorious, in which sense it would apply to the successful establishment of those foreign mussalmans on the western coast of india; or that it is a similar corruption of maflih (the active participial form of the same verb), an agriculturist--a still more appropriate designation of moplahs, who, according to buchanan, are both traders and farmers. in the latter sense, the term, though not usually so applied among the arabs, would be identical with fella'h." by mr. c. p. brown the conviction was expressed that mappilla is a tamil mispronunciation of the arabic mu'abbar, from over the water. "the chief characteristic of the mappillas," mr. govinda nambiar writes, "as of all mussalmans, is enthusiasm for religious practices. they are either sunnis or shiahs. the sunnis are the followers of the ponnani tangal, the chief priest of the orthodox party, while the shiahs acknowledge the kondotti tangal as their religious head. there are always religious disputes between these sects, and the criminal courts are not seldom called in to settle them." in an account of the mappillas, [191] mr. p. kunjain, a mappilla government official (the first mappilla deputy collector), states that "there are a few moplahs in the ernad and waluwanad taluks who are the followers of the kondotti tangal, and are, therefore, believed to be heretics (shias). the number of these is dwindling. the reason why they are believed to be heretics, and as such outcasted, is that they are enjoined by their preceptor (the tangal) to prostrate before him. prostration (sujud), according to strict doctrines, is due to god alone." at mulliakurichi in the walluwanad taluk there are two mosques. one, the pazhaya palli, or old mosque, belongs to, or is regarded as belonging to the kondotti sect of mappillas. the other is called puthan palli, or new mosque. this mosque is asserted by the ponnani sect of mappillas to have been erected for their exclusive use. the kondotti sect, on the other hand, claim that it was erected by them, as the old mosque was not large enough for the growing congregation. they do not claim exclusive use of the new mosque, but a right to worship there, just like any other muhammadan. the ponnani sect, however, claim a right to exclude the kondotti people from the new mosque altogether. in september, 1901, there was a riot at the mosque between members of the rival sects. the mappillas have a college at ponnani, the chief seat of their religious organisation, where men are trained in religious offices. this institution, called the jammat mosque, was, it is said, founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century a.d. by an arab divine for the purpose of imparting religious instruction to youths of the muhammadan community. the head of the institution selects the ablest and most diligent from among the students, and confers on him the title of musaliar. he is then appointed to preach in mosques, and to explain the meaning of the koran and other sacred writings. there are other religious offices, as those of the kazi, katib, and mulla. the highest personages of divinity among them are known as tangals. in the middle of the last century there was a very influential tangal (mambram tangal), who was suspected of fomenting outbreaks, and who conferred his blessing on the murderous projects of his disciples. of him it is stated that he was regarded as imbued with a portion of divinity, and that the mappillas swore by his foot as their most solemn oath. earth on which he had spat or walked was treasured up, and his blessing was supremely prized. even among the higher class of mappillas, his wish was regarded as a command. mr. a. r. loftus-tottenham informs me that "it is quite common now for mappillas to invoke mambram tangal when in difficulties. i have heard a little mappilla, who was frightened at my appearance, and ran away across a field, calling out 'mambram tangal, mambram tangal.' the tangal, who had to be induced to leave malabar, went off to constantinople, and gained great influence with the sultan." in 1822 it was recorded [192] by mr. baber, in a circuit report, that the tarramal and condotty tangals "pretend to an extraordinary sanctity, and such is the character they have established, that the people believe it is in their power to carry them harmless through the most hazardous undertakings, and even to absolve them of the most atrocious crimes. to propitiate them, their votaries are lavish in their presents, and there are no description of delinquents who do not find an asylum in the mosques wherein these tangals take up their abode, whether pursued by the police, or by their own evil consciences." there is a legend current on the kavarathi island of the laccadives that a tangal of that island once cursed the crows for dropping their excrement on his person, and now there is not a crow on the island. on another occasion, hearing the cries of a woman in labour, the tangal prayed to god that the women of the island might suffer from no such pains in future. so strong is the belief in the immunity from the pangs of child-birth which was thus obtained, that the women of the neighbouring islands go over to kavarathi for delivery, in order to have an easy confinement. [193] in connection with mappilla superstition, mr. tottenham writes as follows. "a beggar died (probably of starvation) by the roadside in walluvanad taluk. when alive, no one worried about him. but, after he died, it was said that celestial voices had been heard uttering the call to prayer at the spot. the mappillas decided that he was a very holy man, whom they had not fed during his life, and who should be canonised after death. a little tomb was erected, and a light may be seen burning there at night. small banners are deposited by the faithful, who go in numbers to the place, and there is, i think, a money-box to receive their contributions." mr. tottenham writes further that "the holy place at malappuram is the tomb of the sayyids (saints or martyrs) who were killed in a battle by a local military chieftain. these sayyids are invoked. at kondotti there is a very pretentious, and rather picturesque tomb--a square building of gneiss surmounted by a cupola--to one of the tangals. near it is a small tank full of more or less tame fish. it is one of the sights of the place to see them fed. at the great festival called neercha (vow), the mappillas go in procession, headed by banners, elephants (if they possess them), and music, and carrying offerings to the head-quarters (malappuram and kondotti are the principal ones) of some tangal, where they deposit the banners, i think at the tomb of the local saint, and present the offerings to the tangal. at malappuram, an enormous crowd of ten to twenty thousand assembles, and there is a great tamasha (popular excitement). you will sometimes see a man with his hair uncut, i.e., he does not cut it till he has fulfilled the vow." there is a tradition that, some centuries ago, one sheik mahomed tangal died. one night, some mappillas dreamt that his grave, which was near the reefs, was in danger of being washed away, and that they should remove the body to a safe place. they accordingly opened the grave, and found the body quite fresh, with no sign of decomposition. the remains were piously re-interred in another place, and a mosque, known as sheikkinde palli, built. the mappillas of calicut celebrate annually, on the 15th day of rajub, the anniversary of the death of sheik mahomed tangal, the date of which was made known through inspiration by an ancestor of the mambram tangal. the ancestor also presented the mullah of the mosque with a head-dress, which is still worn by successive mullahs on the occasion of the anniversary festival. "the festival goes by the name of appani (trade in bread). a feature of the celebration is that every moplah household prepares a supply of rice cakes, which are sent to the mosque to be distributed among the thousands of beggars who gather for the occasion. a very brisk trade is also carried on in these rice cakes, which are largely bought by the charitable for distribution among the poor. on the day of the anniversary, as well as on the day following, prayers are offered up to the souls of the departed. according to a legend, the pious sheik, during his travels in foreign lands, arrived at achin disguised as a fakir. one day, some servants of the local sultan came to him, recognising in him a holy man, and begged his help in a serious difficulty. their sultan, they said, had a favourite parrot which used to be kept in a golden cage, and, the door of this cage having been inadvertently left open, the parrot had escaped. on hearing of the loss of his favourite bird, the sultan had threatened his ministers and servants with dire punishment, if they failed to recover the bird. sheik mahomed koya directed the servants to place the cage in the branches of a neighbouring tree, assuring them that the parrot would come and enter his cage. saying this, the holy man departed. the servants did as he had bidden them, and had the gratification of seeing the bird fly into the cage, and of recovering and conveying it to their master. the sultan asked the bird why it went away when it had a beautiful golden cage to live in, and a never failing supply of dainty food to subsist upon. the parrot replied that the beautiful cage and the dainty food were not to be compared with the delights of a free and unfettered life spent under the foliage of feathery bamboos, swayed by gentle breezes. the sultan then asked the bird why it had come back, and the bird made answer that, while it was disporting itself with others of its species in a clump of bamboos, a stifling heat arose, which it feared would burn its wings, but, as it noticed that on one side of the clump the atmosphere was cool, it flew to that spot to take shelter on a tree. seeing the cage amidst the branches, it entered, and was thus recaptured and brought back. the sultan afterwards discovered that it was the fakir who had thus miraculously brought about the recovery of his bird, and further that the fakir was none other than the saintly sheik mahomed koya tangal. when the news of the tangal's death was subsequently received, the sultan ordered that the anniversary of the day should be celebrated in his dominions, and the moplahs of calicut believe that the faithful in achin join with them every year in doing honour to the memory of their departed worthy." [194] it is recorded, in the annual report of the basel medical mission, calicut, 1907, that "cholera and smallpox were raging terribly in the months of august and september. it is regrettable that the people, during such epidemics, do not resort to hospital medicines, but ascribe them to the devil's scourge. especially the ignorant and superstitious moplahs believe that cholera is due to demoniac possession, and can only be cured by exorcism. an account of how this is done may be interesting. a thangal (moplah priest) is brought in procession, with much shouting and drumming, to the house to drive out the cholera devil. the thangal enters the house, where three cholera patients are lying; two of these already in a collapsed condition. the wonder-working priest refuses to do anything with these advanced cases, as they seem to be hopeless. the other patient, who is in the early stage of the disease, is addressed as follows. 'who are you?'--'i am the cholera devil'. 'where do you come from?'--'from such and such a place'. 'will you clear out at once or not?'--'no, i won't'. 'why?'--'because i want something to quench my thirst'. 'you want blood?'--'yes'. then the thangal asks his followers and relatives to give him what he asks. a young bull is brought into the room and killed on the spot, and the patient is made to drink the warm blood. then the thangal commands him to leave the place at once. the patient, weak and exhausted, gathers up all his strength, and runs out of the house, aided by a cane which is freely applied to his back. he runs as far as he can, and drops exhausted on the road. then he is carried back, and, marvellous to say, he makes a good recovery." "the most important institution," mr. a. s. vaidyanatha aiyar writes, [195] "among the mappilas of malabar is the office of the mahadun (makhdum) at ponnani, which dates its origin about four centuries ago, the present mahadun being the twenty-fifth of his line. [the line of the original makhdum ended with the eighteenth, and the present makhdum and his six immediate predecessors belong to a different line.] in the mahadun there was a sect of religious head for the mappilas from kodangalur to mangalore. his office was, and is still held in the greatest veneration. his decrees were believed to be infallible. (his decrees are accepted as final.) the zamorins recognised the mahadunship, as is seen from the presentation of the office dress at every succession. in the famous jamath mosque they (the mahaduns) have been giving instruction in koran ever since they established themselves at ponnani. students come here from different parts of the country. after a certain standard of efficiency, the degree of musaliar is conferred upon the deserving mullas (their name in their undergraduate course). this ceremony consists simply in the sanction given by the mahadun to read at the big lamp in the mosque, where he sometimes gives the instruction personally. the ceremony is known as vilakkath irikka (to sit by the lamp). when the degree of musaliar is conferred, this sacred lamp is lit, and the mahadun is present with a number of musaliars. these musaliars are distributed through the length and breadth of the land. they act as interpreters of the koran, and are often appointed in charge of the mosques. when i visited the jamath, there were about three hundred students. there is no regular staff of teachers. students are told off into sections under the management of some senior students. the students are confined to the mosque for their lodgings, while most of them enjoy free boarding from some generous mappilla or other." i am informed by mr. kunjain that "mulla ordinarily means a man who follows the profession of teaching the koran to children, reading it, and performing petty religious ceremonies for others, and lives on the scanty perquisites derived therefrom. the man in charge of a mosque, and who performs all petty offices therein, is also called a mulla. [196] this name is, however, peculiar to south malabar. at quilandi and around it the teacher of the koran is called muallimy, at badagara moiliar (musaliar), at kottayam seedi, at cannanore kalfa, and north of it mukri. the man in charge of a mosque is also called mukir in north malabar, while in south malabar mukir is applied to the man who digs graves, lights lamps, and supplies water to the mosque." the mosques of the mappillas are quite unlike those of any other muhammadans. "here," mr. fawcett writes, [197] "one sees no minarets. the temple architecture of malabar was noticed by mr. fergusson to be like that of nepal: nothing like it exists between the two places. and the mappilla mosque is much in the style of the hindu temple, even to the adoption of the turret-like edifice which, among hindus, is here peculiar to the temples of siva. the general use nowadays of german mission-made tiles is bringing about, alas! a metamorphosis in the architecture of hindu temples and mappilla mosques, the picturesqueness disappearing altogether, and in a few years it may be difficult to find one of the old style. the mosque, though it may be little better than a hovel, is always as grand as the community can make it, and once built it can never be removed, for the site is sacred ever afterwards. every mappilla would shed his blood, rather than suffer any indignity to a mosque." the mosques often consist of "several stories, having two or more roofs, one or more of the upper stories being usually built of wood, the sides sloping inwards at the bottom. the roof is pent and tiled. there is a gable end at one (the eastern) extremity, the timber on this being often elaborately carved." one section of mappillas at calicut is known as "clap the hand" (keikottakar) in contradistinction to another section, which may not clap hands (keikottattakar). on the occasion of wedding and other ceremonies, the former enjoy the privilege of clapping their hands as an accompaniment to the processional music, while the latter are not permitted to do so. [198] it is said that at one time the differences of opinion between the two sections ran so high that the question was referred for decision to the highest ecclesiastical authorities at mecca. the mappillas observe the ramazan, bakrid, and haj. "they only observe the ninth and tenth days of muharam, and keep them as a fast; they do not make taboots. [199] a common religious observance is the celebration of what is called a mavulad or maulad. a maulad is a tract or short treatise in arabic celebrating the birth, life, works and sayings of the prophet, or some saint such as shaik mohiuddin, eleventh descendant of the prophet, expounder of the koran, and worker of miracles, or the mambram tangal, father of sayid fasl. for the ceremony a mulla is called in to read the book, parts of which are in verse, and the congregation is required to make responses, and join in the singing. the ceremony, which usually takes place in the evening, concludes with, or is preceded by a feast, to which the friends and relations are invited. those who can afford it should perform a maulad in honour of shaik mohiuddin on the eleventh of every month, and one in honour of the prophet on the twelfth. a maulad should also be performed on the third day after death. it is also a common practice to celebrate a maulad before any important undertaking on which it is desired to invoke a blessing, or in fulfilment of some vows; hence the custom of maulads preceding outbreaks." [200] for a detailed account of the fanatical [201] outbreaks in the mappilla community, which have long disturbed the peace of malabar from time to time, i must refer the reader to the district manual and gazetteer. from these sources, and from the class handbook (mappillas) for the indian army, [202] the following note relating to some of the more serious of the numerous outbreaks has been compiled. [203] towards the end of the seventeenth century, the mappillas massacred the chief of anjengo, and all the english gentlemen belonging to the settlement, when on a public visit to the queen of altinga. [204] in 1841, seven or eight mappillas killed two hindus, and took post in a mosque, setting the police at defiance. they, and some of their co-religionists who had joined them, were shot down by a party of sepoys. in the same month, some two thousand mappillas set at defiance a police guard posted over the spot where the above criminals had been buried, and forcibly carried off their bodies, to inter them with honours in a mosque. an outbreak, which occurred in 1843, was celebrated in a stirring ballad. [205] a series of mappilla war-songs have been published by mr. fawcett. [206] in october, 1843, a peon (orderly) was found with his head and hand all but cut off, and the perpetrators were supposed to have been mappilla fanatics of the sect known as hal ilakkam (frenzy raising), concerning which the following account was given in an official report, 1843. "in the month of metam last year, one alathamkuliyil moidin went out into the fields before daybreak to water the crops, and there he saw a certain person, who advised him to give up all his work, and devote his time to prayer at the mosque. moidin objected to this, urging that he would have nothing to live upon. whereupon, the above-mentioned person told him that a palm tree, which grew in his (moidin's) compound, would yield sufficient toddy, which he could convert into jaggery (crude sugar), and thus maintain himself. after saying this, the person disappeared. moidin thought that the person he saw was god himself, and felt frantic (hal). he then went to taramal tangal, and performed dikkar and niskaram (cries and prayers). after two or three days, he complained to the tangal that kafirs (a term applied by muhammadans to people of other religions) were making fun of him. the tangal told him that the course adopted by him was the right one, and, saying 'let it be as i have said,' gave him a spear to be borne as an emblem, and assured him that nobody would mock him in future. subsequently several mappillas, affecting hal ilakkam, played all sorts of pranks, and wandered about with canes in their hands, without going to their homes or attending to their work. after several days, some of them, who had no means of maintaining themselves unless they attended to their work, returned to their former course of life, while others, with canes and ernad knives (war knives) in their hands, wandered about in companies of five, six, eight, or ten men, and, congregating in places not much frequented by hindus, carried on their dikkar and niskaram. the mappillas in general look upon this as a religious vow, and provide these people with food. i hear of the mappillas talking among themselves that one or two of the ancestors of taramal tangal died fighting, that, the present man being advanced in age, it is time for him to follow the same course, and that the above-mentioned men affected with hal ilakkam, when their number swells to four hundred, will engage in a fight with kafirs, and die in company with the tangal. one of these men (who are known as halar), by name avarumayan, two months ago collected a number of his countrymen, and sacrificed a bull, and, for preparing meals for these men, placed a copper vessel with water on the hearth, and said that rice would appear of itself in the vessel. he waited for some time. there was no rice to be seen. those who had assembled there ate beef alone, and dispersed. some people made fun of avarumayan for this. he felt ashamed, and went to taramal tangal, with whom he stayed two or three days. he then went to the mosque at mambram, and, on attempting to fly through the air into the mosque on the southern side of the river at tirurangadi, fell down through the opening of the door, and became lame of one leg, in which state he is reported to be still lying. while the halar of munniyur desam were performing niskaram one day at the tomb of chemban pokar muppan, a rebel, they declared that in the course of a week a mosque would spring up at night, and that there would be complete darkness for two full days. mappillas waited in anxious expectation of the phenomenon for seven or eight days and nights. there was, however, neither darkness nor mosque to be seen. again, in the month of karkigadam last, some of the influential mappillas led their ignorant hindu neighbours to believe that a ship would arrive with the necessary arms, provisions, and money for forty thousand men; and that, if that number could be secured meanwhile, they could conquer the country, and that the hindus would then totally vanish. it appears that it was about this time that some tiyyar (toddy-drawers) and others became converts. none of the predictions having been realised, mappillas, as well as others, have begun to make fun of the halar, who, having taken offence at this, are bent upon putting an end to themselves by engaging in a fight." since the outbreak near manjeri in 1849, when two companies of sepoys were routed after firing a few shots, european troops have always been engaged against the mappillas. on the occasion of that outbreak, one of the mappillas had his thigh broken in the engagement. he remained in all the agony of a wound unattended to for seven days, and was further tortured by being carried in a rough litter from the manjeri to the angadipuram temple. yet, at the time of a further fight, he was hopping to the encounter on his sound leg, and only anxious to get a fair blow at the infidels before he died. it is recorded that, on one occasion, when a detachment of sepoys was thrown into disorder by a fierce rush of death-devoted mappillas, the drummer of the company distinguished himself by bonneting an assailant with his drum, thereby putting the mappilla's head into a kind of straight jacket, and saving his own life. [207] in 1852 mr. strange was appointed special commissioner to enquire into the causes of, and suggest remedies for, the mappilla disturbances. in his report he stated, inter alia, that "a feature that has been manifestly common to the whole of these affairs is that they have been, one and all, marked by the most decided fanaticism, and this, there can be no doubt, has furnished the true incentive to them. the mappillas of the interior were always lawless, even in the time of tippu, were steeped in ignorance, and were, on these accounts, more than ordinarily susceptible to the teaching of ambitious and fanatical priests using the recognised precepts of the koran as handles for the sanction to rise and slay kafirs, who opposed the faithful, chiefly in the pursuit of agriculture. the hindus, in the parts where outbreaks have been most frequent, stand in such fear of the mappillas as mostly not to dare to press for their rights against them, and there is many a mappilla tenant who does not pay his rent, and cannot, so imminent are the risks, be evicted." mr. strange stated further that "the most perverted ideas on the doctrine of martyrdom, according to the koran, universally prevail, and are fostered among the lower classes of the mappillas. the late enquiries have shown that there is a notion prevalent among the lower orders that, according to the mussalman religion, the fact of a janmi or landlord having in due course of law ejected from his lands a mortgagee or other substantial tenant, is a sufficient pretext to murder him, become sahid (saint), and so ensure the pleasures of the muhammadan paradise. it is well known that the favourite text of the banished arab priest or tangal, in his friday orations at the mosque in tirurangadi, was 'it is no sin, but a merit, to kill a janmi who evicts.'" mr. strange proposed the organisation of a special police force exclusively composed of hindus, and that restrictions should be put on the erection of mosques. neither of these proposals was approved by government. but a policy of repression set in with the passing of acts xxii and xxiv of 1854. the former authorised the local authorities to escheat the property of those guilty of fanatical rising, to fine the locality where outrages had occurred, and to deport suspicious persons out of the country. the latter rendered illegal the possession of the mappilla war-knife. mr. conolly, the district magistrate, proceeded, in december, 1854, on a tour, to collect the war-knives through the heart of the mappilla country. in the following year, when he was sitting in his verandah, a body of fanatics, who had recently escaped from the calicut jail, rushed in, and hacked him to pieces in his wife's presence. he had quite recently received a letter from lord dalhousie, congratulating him on his appointment as a member of the governor's council at madras. his widow was granted the net proceeds of the mappilla fines, amounting to more than thirty thousand rupees. in an account of an outbreak in 1851, it is noted that one of the fanatics was a mere child. and it was noticed, in connection with a more recent outbreak, that there were "several boys who were barely fourteen years old. one was twelve; some were seventeen or eighteen. some observers have said that the reason why boys turn fanatics is because they may thus avoid the discomfort, which the ramzan entails. a dispensation from fasting is claimable when on the war-path. there are high hopes of feasts of cocoanuts and jaggery, beef and boiled rice. at the end of it all there is paradise with its black-eyed girls." [208] in 1859, act no. xx for the suppression of outrages in the district of malabar was passed. in 1884, government appointed mr. logan, the head magistrate of malabar, to enquire into the general question of the tenure of land and tenant right, and the question of sites for mosques and burial-grounds in the district. mr. logan expressed his opinion that the mappilla outrages were designed "to counteract the overwhelming influence, when backed by the british courts, of the janmis in the exercise of the novel powers of ouster, and of rent-raising conferred upon them. a janmi who, through the courts, evicted, whether fraudulently or otherwise, a substantial tenant, was deemed to have merited death, and it was considered a religious virtue, not a fault, to have killed such a man, and to have afterwards died in arms, fighting against an infidel government." mr. macgregor, formerly collector of malabar, had, some years before, expressed himself as "perfectly satisfied that the mappilla outrages are agrarian. fanaticism is merely the instrument, through which the terrorism of the landed classes is aimed at." in 1884 an outbreak occurred near malappuram, and it was decided by government to disarm the taluks of ernad, calicut, and walluvanad. notwithstanding the excited state of the mappillas at the time, the delicate operation was successfully carried out by the district officers, and 17,295 arms, including 7,503 fire-arms of various kinds, were collected. in the following year, the disarming of the ponnani taluk was accomplished. of these confiscated arms, the madras museum possesses a small collection, selected from a mass of them which were hoarded in the collector's office, and were about to be buried in the deep sea. in 1896 a serious outbreak occurred at manjeri, and two or three notoriously objectionable landlords were done away with. the fanatics then took up a position, and awaited the arrival of the british troops. they took no cover, and, when advancing to attack, were mostly shot down at a distance of 700 to 800 yards, every man wounded having his throat cut by his nearest friend. in the outbreak of 1894, a mappilla youth was wounded, but not killed. the tidings was conveyed to his mother, who merely said, with the stern majesty of the spartan matron of old, 'if i were a man, i would not come back wounded.' [209] "those who die fighting for the faith are reverenced as martyrs and saints, who can work miracles from the paradise to which they have attained. a mappilla woman was once benighted in a strange place. an infidel passed by, and, noticing her sorry plight, tried to take advantage of it to destroy her virtue. she immediately invoked the aid of one of the martyrs of malappuram. a deadly serpent rushed out of a neighbouring thicket, and flew at the villain, who had dared to sully the chastity of a chosen daughter. once, during a rising, a mappilla, who preferred to remain on the side of order and government, stood afar off, and watched with sorrow the dreadful sight of his co-religionists being cut down by the european soldiery. suddenly his emotions underwent a transformation, for there, through his blinding tears and the dust and smoke of the battle, he saw a wondrous vision. lovely houris bent tenderly over fallen martyrs, bathed their wounds, and gave them to drink delicious sherbet and milk, and, with smiles that outshone the brightness of the sun, bore away the fallen bodies of the brave men to the realms beyond. the watcher dashed through the crowd, and cast in his lot with the happy men who were fighting such a noble fight. and, after he was slain, these things were revealed to his wife in a vision, and she was proud thereat. these, and similar stories, are believed as implicitly as the koran is believed." [210] it is noted by mr. logan [211] that the custom of the nayars, in accordance with which they sacrificed their lives for the honour of the king, "was readily adopted by the mappillas, who also at times--as at the great mahamakham twelfth year feast at tirunavayi--devoted themselves to death in the company of nayars for the honour of the valluvanad raja. and probably the frantic fanatical rush of the mappillas on british bayonets is the latest development of this ancient custom of the nayars." the fanatical outbreaks of recent times have been exclusively limited to the ernad and walluvanad taluks. there are quartered at the present time at malappuram in the ernad taluk a special assistant collector, a company of british troops, and a special native police force. in 1905, government threw open 220 scholarships, on the results of the second and third standard examinations, to mappilla pupils of promise in the two taluks mentioned above, to enable them to prosecute their studies for the next higher standard in a recognised school connected with the madras educational department. twenty scholarships were further offered to mappillas in the special class attached to the government school of commerce, calicut, where instruction in commercial arithmetic, book-keeping, commercial practice, etc., is imparted in the malayalam language. in 1904, a mappilla sanskrit school was founded at puttur, some of the pupils at which belong to the families of hereditary physicians, who were formerly good sanskrit scholars. at a loyalty meeting of mappillas held at ponnani in 1908 under the auspices of the mannath-ul-islam sabha, the president spoke as follows. "when the moplahs are ranged on the side of order, the peace of the country is assured. but the moplah is viewed with suspicion by the government. he has got a bad name as a disturber of the peace. he is liable to fits, and no one knows when he may run amock. from this public platform i can assure the government as well as the public that the proper remedy has at last been applied, and the moplah fits have ceased, never to return. what the remedy was, and who discovered it, must be briefly explained. every moplah outbreak was connected with the relapse of a convert. in the heat of a family quarrel, in a moment of despair, a hindu thought to revenge himself upon his family by becoming a convert to islam. in a few days, repentance followed, and he went back to his relatives. an ignorant mullah made this a text for a sermon. a still more ignorant villager found in it an opportunity to obtain admission into the highest paradise. an outbreak results. the apostate's throat is cut. the moplah is shot. deportation and punitive police follow. the only rational way to put a final stop to this chronic malady was discovered by a hindu gentleman. the hasty conversions must be stopped. those who seek conversion must be given plenty of time to consider the irrevocable nature of the step they were going to take. the mullahs must be properly instructed. their interpretation of the koran was wrong. there is absolutely nothing in our scriptures to justify murders of this kind, or opposition to the ruling power. the ignorant people had to be taught. there was no place in paradise for murderers and cut-throats. their place was lower down. three things had to be done. conversion had to be regulated; the mullahs had to be instructed; the ignorance of the people had to be removed. ponani is the religious head-quarters of the moplahs of the west coast, including malabar, south canara, and the native states of cochin and travancore. the jarathingal thangal at ponani is the high priest of all the moplahs; the mahadoom thangal of ponani is the highest authority in all religious matters. it is he that sanctifies the musaliars. the mannath-ul-islam sabha at ponani was started under the auspices of the jarathingal thangal and the mahadoom thangal. two schools were opened for the education of new converts, one for boys and the other for girls. strict enquiries were made as to the state of mind and antecedents of all who seek conversion. they are kept under observation long enough, and are admitted only on the distinct understanding that it is a deliberate voluntary act, and they have to make up their minds to remain. some six thousand converts have passed through our schools since the sabha was started. the musaliars are never sanctified until they are thoroughly grounded in the correct principles of our religion, and an assurance is obtained from them that they will never preach rebellion. no musaliar will break a promise given to the thangal. the loyalty of the musaliars and mullahs is thus assured. where there is no musaliar to bless them, there is no moplah to die as a martyr. the mullahs are also taught to explain to all villagers that our scriptures condemn opposition to the ruling power, and that loyalty to the sovereign is a religious duty. we are also trying to spread education among the ignorant villagers. in order further to enlist the sympathies of the people, extensive charities have been organised. sixteen branches of the sabha have been opened all over south malabar and the states of travancore and cochin. a very large number of domestic quarrels--divorce cases, partition cases, etc.--have been settled by arbitration through these branch associations. it is an immense power for good." the mappillas have been summed up, as regards their occupations, as being traders on the coast, and cultivators in the interior, in both of which callings they are very successful and prosperous. "in the realm of industry," it has been said, "the moplah occupies a position, which undoubtedly does him credit. poverty is confined almost exclusively to certain wild, yet picturesque tracts in the east of malabar, where the race constitutes the preponderating element of the population, and the field and farm furnish the only means of support to the people. and it is just in those areas that one may see at their best the grit, laboriousness, and enterprise of the moplah. he reclaims dense forest patches, and turns them into cultivated plots under the most unfavourable conditions, and, in the course of a few years, by hard toil and perseverance, he transforms into profitable homesteads regions that were erstwhile virgin forest or scrubby jungle. or he lays himself out to reclaim and plant up marshy lands lying alongside rivers and lagoons, and insures them from destruction by throwing up rough but serviceable dykes and dams. in these tracts he is also sometimes a timber merchant, and gets on famously by taking out permits to fell large trees, which he rafts down the rivers to the coast. the great bulk of the moplahs in these wild regions belong purely to the labouring classes, and it is among these classes that the pinch of poverty is most keenly felt, particularly in the dull monsoon days, when all industry has to be suspended. in the towns and coast ports, the moplahs are largely represented in most branches of industry and toil. a good many of them are merchants, and get on exceedingly well, being bolder and more speculative than the hindus of the district. the bulk of petty traders and shop-keepers in malabar are also moplahs, and, in these callings, they may be found at great distances from home, in rangoon, ceylon, the straits and elsewhere, and generally prospering. almost everywhere in their own district they go near monopolising the grocery, hardware, haberdashery, and such other trades; and as petty bazar men they drive a profitable business on the good old principle of small profits and quick returns. no native hawker caters more readily to mr. thomas atkins (the british soldier) than the moplah, and, in the military stations in malabar, 'poker' (a moplah name) waxes fat and grows rich by undertaking to supply tommy with tea, coffee, lemonade, tobacco, oilman stores, and other little luxuries." "some mappillas," mr. a. chatterton writes, [212] "have taken to leather-working, and they are considered to be specialists in the making of ceruppus or leather shoes. in malabar the trade in raw hides and skins is chiefly in the hands of mappillas. weekly fairs are held at several places, and all the available hides and skins are put up for sale, and are purchased by muhammadans." some mappillas bind books, and others are good smiths. "the small skull caps, which are the universal head-gear of mappilla men and boys, are made in different parts of malabar, but the best are the work of mappilla women at cannanore. they are made of fine canvas beautifully embroidered by hand, and fetch in the market between rs. 2 and rs. 3." [213] the mappillas take an active share in the fish-curing operations along the west coast, and the mukkuvans, who are the hereditary fishermen of malabar, are inclined to be jealous of them. a veteran mukkuvan, at the time of my inspection of the badagara fish-curing yard in 1900, put the real grievance of his brethren in a nutshell. in old days, he stated, they used salt-earth for curing fishes. when the fish-curing yards were started, and government salt was issued, the mukkuvans thought that they were going to be heavily taxed. they did not understand exactly what was going to happen, and were suspicious. the result was that they would have nothing to do with the curing-yards. the use of salt-earth was stopped on the establishment of government salt, and some of the fishermen were convicted for illegal use thereof. they thought that, if they held out, they would be allowed to use salt-earth as formerly. meanwhile, the mappillas, being more wide-awake than the mukkuvans, took advantage of the opportunity (in 1884), and erected yards, whereof they are still in possession. a deputation of mukkuvans waited on me. their main grievance was that they are hereditary fishermen, and formerly the mappillas were only the purchasers of fish. a few years ago, the mappillas started as fishermen on their own account, with small boats and thattuvala (tapping nets), in using which the nets, with strips of cocoanut leaves tied on to the ropes, are spread, and the sides of the boats beaten with sticks and staves, to drive the fish into the net. the noise made extends to a great distance, and consequently the shoals go out to sea, too far for the fishermen to follow in pursuit. in a petition, which was submitted to me by the mukkuvan fish-curers at badagara, they asked to have the site of the yard changed, as they feared that their women would be 'unchastised' at the hands of the mappillas. "small isolated attempts," major holland-pryor writes, "to recruit mappillas were made by various regiments quartered in malabar some years ago, but without success. this was probably owing to the fact that the trial was made on too small a scale, and that the system of mixed companies interfered with their clannish propensities. the district officers also predicted certain failure, on the ground that mappillas would not serve away from their own country. their predictions, however, have proved to be false, and men now come forward in fair numbers for enlistment." in 1896, the experiment of recruiting mappillas for the 25th madras infantry was started, and the responsible task of working up the raw material was entrusted to colonel burton, with whose permission i took measurements of his youthful warriors. as was inevitable in a community recruited by converts from various classes, the sepoys afforded an interesting study in varied colouration, stature and nasal configuration. one very dark-skinned and platyrhine individual, indeed, had a nasal index of 92. later on, the sanction of the secretary of state was obtained for the adoption of a scheme for converting the 17th and 25th regiments of the madras infantry into mappilla corps, which were subsequently named the 77th and 78th moplah rifles. "these regiments," major holland-pryor continues, "at present draw their men principally from ernad and valuvanad. labourers from these parts are much sought after by planters and agents from the kolar gold-fields, on account of their hardiness and fine physique. some, however, prefer to enlist. the men are generally smaller than the coast mappillas, and do not show much trace of arab blood, but they are hardy and courageous, and, with their superior stamina, make excellent fighting material." in 1905 the 78th moplah rifles were transferred to dera ismail khan in the punjab, and took part in the military manoeuvres before h.r.h. the prince of wales at rawalpindi. it has been observed that "the moplahs, in dark green and scarlet, the only regiment in india which wears the tarbush, are notable examples of the policy of taming the pugnacious races by making soldiers of them, which began with the enlistment of the highlanders in the black watch, and continued to the disciplining of the kachins in burma. in the general overhauling of the indian army, the fighting value of the moplahs has come into question, and the 78th regiment is now at dera ismail khan being measured against the crack regiments of the north." in 1907, the colours of the 17th madras infantry, which was formed at fort st. george in 1777, and had had its name changed to 77th moplah rifles, were, on the regiment being mustered out, deposited in st. mark's church, bangalore. it has been said of the mappillas [214] that "their heads are true cocoanuts; their high foreheads and pointed crowns are specially noticeable for being kept shaven, and, when covered, provided with only a small gaily embroidered skull-cap." the dress of the mappillas is thus described in the gazetteer of malabar. "the ordinary dress of the men is a mundu or cloth, generally white with a purple border, but sometimes orange or green, or plain white. it is tied on the left (hindus tie it on the right), and kept in position by a nul or waist string, to which are attached one or more elassus (small cylinders) of gold, silver, or baser metal, containing texts from the koran or magic yantrams. a small knife is usually worn at the waist. persons of importance wear in addition a long flowing garment of fine cotton (a kind of burnoos), and over this again may be worn a short waistcoat like jacket, though this is uncommon in south malabar, and (in the case of tangals, etc.) a cloak of some rich coloured silk. the european shirt and short coat are also coming into fashion in the towns. a small cap of white or white and black is very commonly worn, and round this an ordinary turban, or some bright coloured scarf may be tied. mappillas shave their heads clean. beards are frequently worn, especially by old people and tangals. hajis, or men who have made their pilgrimage to mecca, and other holy men, often dye the beard red. women wear a mundu of some coloured cloth (dark blue is most usual), and a white loose bodice more or less embroidered, and a veil or scarf on the head. in the case of the wealthy, the mundu may be of silk of some light colour. women of the higher classes are kept secluded, and hide their faces when they go abroad. the lower classes are not particular in this respect. men wear no jewellery, except the elassus already mentioned, and in some cases rings on the fingers, but these should not be of pure gold. women's jewellery is of considerable variety, and is sometimes very costly. it takes the form of necklaces, ear-rings, zones, bracelets, and anklets. as among tiyans and mukkuvans, a great number of ear-rings are worn. the rim of the ear is bored into as many as ten or a dozen holes, in addition to the one in the lobe. nose-rings are not worn. "incredibly large sums of money," mr. p. kunjain writes, [215] "are spent on female ornaments. for the neck there are five or six sorts, for the waist five or six sorts, and there are besides long rows of armlets, bracelets, and bangles, and anklets and ear ornaments, all made of gold. as many as ten or fourteen holes are bored in each ear, one being in the labia (lobe) and the remainder in the ala (helix). the former is artificially widened, and a long string of ornaments of beautiful manufacture suspended to it. as strict sunnis of the shafi school, the boring of the nose is prohibited." i have in my possession five charm cylinders, which were worn round the waist by a notorious mappilla dacoit, who was shot by the police, and whom his co-religionists tried to turn into a saint. it is noted, in the gazetteer of malabar, that, though magic is condemned by the koran, the mappilla is very superstitious, and witchcraft is not by any means unknown. many tangals pretend to cure diseases by writing selections from the koran on a plate with ink or on a coating of ashes, and then giving the ink or ashes mixed with water to the patient to swallow. they also dispense scrolls for elassus, and small flags inscribed with sacred verses, which are set up to avert pestilence or misfortune. the mappilla jins and shaitans correspond to the hindu demons, and are propitiated in much the same way. one of their methods of witchcraft is to make a wooden figure to represent the enemy, drive nails into all the vital parts, and throw it into sea, after curses in due form. a belief in love philtres and talismans is very common, and precautions against the evil eye are universal. in 1903, a life-size nude female human figure, with feet everted and turned backwards, carved out of the wood of alstonia scholaris, was washed ashore at calicut. long nails had been driven in all over the head, body and limbs, and a large square hole cut out above the navel. inscriptions in arabic characters were scrawled over it. by a coincidence, the corpse of a man was washed ashore close to the figure. quite recently, another interesting example of sympathetic magic, in the shape of a wooden representation of a human being, was washed ashore at calicut. the figure is eleven inches in height. the arms are bent on the chest, and the palms of the hands are placed together as in the act of saluting. a square cavity, closed by a wooden lid, has been cut out of the middle of the abdomen, and contains apparently tobacco, ganja (indian hemp), and hair. an iron bar has been driven from the back of the head through the body, and terminates in the abdominal cavity. a sharp cutting instrument has been driven into the chest and back in twelve places. "the mappillas of north malabar," mr. lewis moore writes, [216] "follow the marumakkathayam system of inheritance, while the mappillas of south malabar, with some few exceptions, follow the ordinary muhammadan law. among those who profess to follow the marumakkathayam law, the practice frequently prevails of treating the self-acquisitions of a man as descendible to his wife and children under muhammadan law. among those who follow the ordinary muhammadan law, it is not unusual for a father and sons to have community of property, and for the property to be managed by the father, and, after his death, by the eldest son. mr. logan [217] alludes to the adoption of the marumakkathayam law of inheritance by the nambudris of payyanur in north malabar, and then writes 'and it is noteworthy that the muhammadans settled there (mappillas) have done the same thing.' mr. logan here assumes that the mappillas of north malabar were muhammadans in religion before they adopted the marumakkathayam law of inheritance. there can, however, be but little doubt that a considerable portion, at all events, of these so-called mappillas were followers of marumakkathayam rules and customs long before they embraced the faith of islam." "in the case of the mappillas," mr. vaidyanatha writes, "it is more than probable that there were more numerous conversions from marumakkathayam families in the north than in the south. the number of makkathayam adherents has always been small in the north. according to marumakkathayam, the wife is not a member of the husband's family, but usually resides in her family house. the makkathayam mappillas, curiously enough, seldom take their wives home. in some parts, such as calicut, a husband is only a visitor for the night. the mappillas, like the nayars, call themselves by the names of their houses (or parambas)." it is noted by mr. p. kunjain [218] that the present generation of moplahs following marumakkathayam is not inclined to favour the perpetuation of this flagrant transgression of the divine law, which enjoins makkathayam on true believers in unequivocal terms. with the view of defeating the operation of the law, the present generation settled their self-acquisition on their children during their lifetime. a proposal to alter the law to accord with the divine law will be hailed with supreme pleasure. this is the current of public opinion among moplahs. it is recorded in the gazetteer of malabar that "in north malabar, mappillas as a rule follow the marumakkathayam system of inheritance, though it is opposed to the precepts of the koran; but a man's self-acquisitions usually descend to his wife and family in accordance with the muhammadan law of property. the combination of the two systems of law often leads to great complications. in the south, the makkatayam system is usually followed, but it is remarkable that succession to religious stanams, such as that of the valiya tangal of ponnani, usually goes according to the marumakkathayam system. there seems to be a growing discontent with the marumakkathayam system; but, on the other hand, there is no doubt that the minute sub-division of property between a man's heirs, which the koran prescribes, tends to foster poverty, especially amongst petty cultivators, such as those of ernad and walavanad." it is unnecessary to linger over the naming, tonsure, circumcision, and ear-boring ceremonies, which the mappilla infant has to go through. but the marriage and death customs are worthy of some notice. [219] "boys are married at the age of 18 or 20 as a rule in north malabar, and girls at 14 or 15. in south malabar, early marriages are more common, boys being married between 14 and 18, and girls between 8 and 12. in exceptional cases, girls have been known to be married at the age of 2 1/2, but this only happens when the girl's father is in extremis, since an orphan must remain unmarried till puberty. the first thing is the betrothal or settlement of the dowry, which is arranged by the parents, or in north malabar by the karnavans. large dowries are expected, especially in north malabar, where, in spite of polygamy, husbands are at a premium, and a father with many daughters needs to be a rich man. the only religious ceremony necessary is the nikka, which consists in the formal conclusion of the contract before two witnesses and the kazi, who then registers it. the nikka may be performed either on the day of the nuptials or before it, sometimes months or years before. in the latter case, the fathers of the bride and bridegroom go to the bride's family mosque and repeat the necessary formula, which consists in the recital of the kalima, and a formal acceptance of the conditions of the match, thrice repeated. in the former case, the kazi, as a rule, comes to the bride's house where the ceremony is performed, or else the parties go to the kazi's house. in north malabar, the former is the rule; but in calicut the kazi will only go to the houses of four specially privileged families. after the performance of the nikka, there is a feast in the bride's house. then the bridegroom and his attendants are shown to a room specially prepared, with a curtain over the door. the bridegroom is left there alone, and the bride is introduced into the room by her mother or sister. in north malabar, she brings her dowry with her, wrapped in a cloth. she is left with the bridegroom for a few minutes, and then comes out, and the bridegroom takes his departure. in some cases, the bride and bridegroom are allowed to spend the whole night together. in some parts of south malabar, it is the bride who is first conducted to the nuptial chamber, where she is made to lie down on a sofa, and the bridegroom is then introduced, and left with her for a few minutes. in north malabar and calicut, the bride lives in her own house with her mother and sisters, unless her husband is rich enough to build her a house of her own. in south malabar, the wife is taken to the husband's house as soon as she is old enough for cohabitation, and lives there. polygamy is the rule, and it is estimated that in south malabar 80 per cent. of the husbands have two wives or more, and 20 per cent. three or four. in north malabar, it is not usual for a man to have more than two wives. the early age at which girls are married in south malabar no doubt encourages polygamy. it also encourages divorce, which in south malabar is common, while in the north it is comparatively rare, and looked upon with disfavour. all that is required is for the husband to say, in the presence of the wife's relations, or before her kazi, that he has 'untied the tie, and does not want the wife any more,' and to give back the stridhanam or dowry. divorce by the wife is rare, and can be had only for definite reasons, such as that the husband is incapable of maintaining her, or is incurably diseased or impotent. widows may remarry without limit, but the dearth of husbands makes it difficult for them to do so. "when a man dies, his body is undressed, and arranged so that the legs point to mecca. the two big toes are tied together, and the hands crossed on the chest, the right over the left; the arms are also tied with a cloth. mullas are called in to read the koran over the corpse, and this has to be continued until it is removed to the cemetery. when the relatives have arrived, the body is washed and laid on the floor on mats, over which a cloth has been spread. cotton wool is placed in the ears, and between the lips, the fingers, and the toes, and the body is shrouded in white cloths. it is then placed on a bier which is brought from the mosque, and borne thither. at the mosque the bier is placed near the western wall; the mourners arrange themselves in lines, and offer prayers (niskaram) standing. the bier is then taken to the grave, which is dug north and south; the body is lowered, the winding sheets loosened, and the body turned so as to lie on its right side facing mecca. a handful of earth is placed below the right cheek. the grave is then covered with laterite stones, over which each of the mourners throws a handful of earth, reciting the kalima and passages from the koran. laterite stones are placed at the head and foot of the grave, and some mailanji (henna: lawsonia alba) is planted at the side. a mulla then seats himself at the head of the grave, and reads certain passages of the koran, intended to instruct the dead man how to answer the questions about his faith, which it is supposed that the angels are then asking him. the funeral concludes with distribution of money and rice to the poor. for three days, a week, or forty days, according to the circumstances of the deceased, mullas should read the koran over the grave without ceasing day and night. the koran must also be read at home for at least three days. on the third day, a visit is made to the tomb, after which a maulad is performed, the mullas are paid, alms are distributed, and a feast is given to the relations, including the deceased's relations by marriage, who should come to his house that day. a similar ceremony is performed on the fortieth day, which concludes the mourning; and by the rich on anniversaries. widows should keep secluded in their own houses for three months and ten days, without seeing any of the male sex. after that period, they are at liberty to remarry." concerning the mappillas of the laccadives, mr. h. a. stuart writes as follows. [220] "the customs of the mappillas of the laccadive islands are peculiar. the people are not called mappilas, but (1) koya, (2) malumi, (3) urukkaran, (4) takru, (5) milikhan, and (6) melac'cheri. no. 1 is the land and boat owning class, and is superior to the rest. nos. 2 to 5 are pilots and sailors, and, where they are cultivators, cultivate under no. 1. no. 6 were the slaves of the first division; now they cultivate the koyas' lands, take the produce of those lands in boats to the mainland, and pay 20 per cent. of the sale-proceeds to the koya owners. the islanders generally dress like ordinary mappilas. the melac'cheris, however, may use only a coarser kind of cloth, and they are not allowed intermarriage with the other classes. if any such marriage takes place, the offender is put out of caste, but the marriage is deemed a valid one. the current tradition is that these laccadive mappilas were originally the inhabitants of malabar--nambudiris, nayars, tiyyas, etc.--who went in search of cheraman perumal when the latter left for mecca, and were wrecked on these islands. the story goes that these remained hindus for a long time, that obeidulla, the disciple of caliph abu bakr, having received instructions from the prophet in a dream to go and convert the unbelievers on these islands, left for the place and landed on ameni island, that he was ill-treated by the people, who were all brahmans, but that, having worked some miracles, he converted them. he then visited the other islands, and all the islanders embraced the moslem faith. his remains are said to be interred in the island of androth. among this section of the mappilas, succession is generally--in fact almost entirely--in the female line. girls are married when they are six or seven years old. no dowry is given. they are educated equally with the boys, and, on marriage, they are not taken away from school, but continue there until they finish the course. in the island of minicoy, the largest of the islands, the women appear in public, and take part in public affairs. the women generally are much more educated than the ordinary mappila males of the mainland. the koyas are said to be descendants of nambudiris, melach'cheris of tiyyans and mukkuvans, and the rest of nayars. whatever the present occupation of koyas on these islands, the tradition that koyas were originally brahmans also confirms the opinion that they belong to the priestly class." in a note on the laccadives and minicoy, [221] mr. c. w. e. cotton writes that "while it would appear that the maldives and minicoy were long ago peopled by the same wave of aryan immigration which overran ceylon, tradition ascribes the first settlements in the northern group to an expedition shipwrecked on one of the atolls so late as 825 a.d. this expedition is said to have set out from kodungallur (cranganore) in search of the last of the perumal viceroys of malabar, a convert either to buddhism or islam, and included some nambudris, commonly employed, as duarte barbosa tells us, on account of their persons being considered sacrosanct, as envoys and messengers in times of war, and perhaps also for dangerous embassies across the seas. some support may be found for this tradition in the perpetuation of the name illam for some of the principal houses in kalpeni, and in the existence of strongly marked caste divisions, especially remarkable among communities professing mahomedanism, corresponding to the aristocrats, the mariners, and the dependants, of which such an expeditionary force would have been composed. the tarwad islands, ameni, kalpeni, androth, and kavarathi, were probably peopled first, and their inhabitants can claim high-caste hindu ancestry. there has been no doubt everywhere considerable voluntary immigration from the coast, and some infusion of pure arab blood; but the strain of negro introduced into the maldives by zanzibar slaves is nowhere traceable in minicoy or the northern archipelago." in a further note, mr. cotton writes as follows. [222] "the inhabitants of androth, kalpeni, kavaratti and agatti, are mappillas, almost undistinguishable, except in the matter of physical development, from those on the mainland. the admixture of arab blood seems to be confined to a few of the principal families in the two 'tarwad' islands, kalpeni and androth. the islanders, though muhammadans, perpetuate the old caste distinctions which they observed before their conversion to islam. the highest caste is called koya, in its origin merely a religious title. the koyas represent the aristocracy of the original colonists, and in them vests the proprietorship of most of the cocoanut trees and the odams (ships), which constitute the chief outward and visible signs of wealth on the islands. they supply each amin with a majority of his council of hereditary elders (karanavans). the lowest and largest class is that of the melacheris (lit. high climbers), also called thandels in kavaratti, the villeins in the quasi-feudal system of the islands, who do the tree-tapping, cocoanut plucking, and menial labour. they hold trees on kudiyan service, which involves the shipping of produce on their overlord's boat or odam, the thatching of his house and boat-shed, and an obligation to sail on the odam to the mainland whenever called upon. intermediately come the malumis (pilots), also called urakars, who represent the skilled navigating class, to which many of the karnavans in kavaratti belong. intermarriage between them and the less prosperous koyis is now permitted. monogamy is almost the universal rule, but divorces can be so easily obtained that the marriage tie can scarcely be regarded as more binding than the sambandham among the hindus on the coast. the women go about freely with their heads uncovered. they continue to live after marriage in their family or tarwad houses, where they are visited by their husbands, and the system of inheritance in vogue is marumakkathayam as regards family property, and makkatayam as regards self-acquisitions. these are distinguished on the islands under the terms velliyaricha (friday) and tingalaricha (monday) property. the family house is invariably called pura in contradistinction to vidu--the wife's house. intermarriage between the inhabitants of different islands is not uncommon. the islanders are very superstitious, and believe in ghosts and hobgoblins, about the visible manifestations of which many stories are current; and there is an old mamul (established) rule on all the islands forbidding any one to go out after nightfall. phantom steamers and sailing ships are sometimes seen in the lagoons or rowed out to on the open sea; and in the prayers by the graves of his ancestors, which each sailor makes before setting out on a voyage, we find something akin to the roman worship of the manes. the moidin mosque at kalpeni, and the big west pandaram at androth are believed to be haunted. there are jarams (shrines) in cheriyam and cheriyakara, to which pilgrimages are made and where vows are taken, and it is usual to chant the fateah [223] on sighting the jamath mosque in androth, beneath the shadow of which is the tomb of mumba mulyaka, the arab apostle to the laccadives." in his inspection report of the laccadives, 1902, mr. g. h. b. jackson notes that "the caste barrier, on the island of androth, between the koya and the malumi class and the melacheris is as rigid as ever. it divides capital from labour, and has given the upper classes much of the appearance of an effete aristocracy." in a more recent inspection report (1905), mr. c. w. e. cotton writes as follows. "muhammadans, owing to their inordinate love of dress, are apt to give an exaggerated impression of wealth, but i should think that, despite the laziness of all but the melacheris, the majority of the inhabitants (of androth) are well-to-do, and, in this respect, compare very favourably with those of the other islands. the qazi and several other karnavars, who have a smattering of the koran, go to the mainland, and, in centres of superstition, earn considerable sums by their profession of extreme learning and piety. the long satin coats (a canary yellow is the fashionable tint) procured in bombay or mangalore are evidence of the financial success of their pilgrimages. it is perhaps fortunate that the koyas have discovered this additional source of income, for, though they continue to own nearly all the cargo-carrying odams (boats), their position as jenmis (landlords) has been seriously jeopardised owing to the repudiation of their obligations as kudians by many of the enterprising melacheri community. the melacheris are now alive to the fact that, as their tenure is not evidenced by documents and rests upon oral assertions, they have a very reasonable chance of freeing themselves of their overlords altogether. the mukhyastars are quite a representative lot. sheikindevittil muthu koya is a fine specimen of the sea-faring moplah, and the qazi, twenty-fourth in descent from mumby moolyaka, the arab who converted the islanders to islam, struck me as a man of very considerable attainments. in his report on the dispensary at androth (1905), mr. k. ibrahim khan, hospital assistant, states that "the quacks are said to be clever enough to treat cases both by their drugs and by their charms. they actually prevent other poor classes seeking medical and surgical treatment in the dispensary, and mislead them by their cunning words. most of the quacks come to the dispensary, and take medicines such as santonine powders, quinine pills, purgatives, etc. they make use of these for their own cases, and thus earn their livelihood. the quacks are among the koya class. the koyas are jenmis, and the malims and melacheris are their tenants. the latter, being low classes, always believe them, and depend upon their landlords, who are also their physicians, to treat them when they fall sick. the islanders, as a rule, have no faith in english medical treatment. the rich folks who can afford it go to malabar for native treatment; only the poorer classes, who have neither means to pay the quacks here nor to go to malabar, attend the dispensary with half inclination." marakallu.--marakallu or marakadu, meaning fishermen, has been recorded as a sub-division of pallis engaged as fishermen in the telugu country. the equivalent of mukku marakkaleru is a title or synonym of moger and marakkan of mukkuvan. marakkayar is a title of labbai boatmen. notes [1] madras census report, 1891. [2] original inhabitants of bharatavarsa, 1893. [3] account of the primitive tribes and monuments of the nilgiris, 1873. [4] ind. ant., ii, 1873. [5] aboriginal tribes of the nilgiri hills, 1870. [6] tribes inhabiting the neilgherry hills. by a german missionary. [7] the todas, 1906. [8] a singular aboriginal race of the nilagiris. [9] tribes of the neilgherries, 1868. [10] at kotamale there are three temples, two dedicated to kamataraya and one to kalikai. [11] goa and the blue mountains, 1851. [12] tribes inhabiting the neilgherry hills. by a german missionary. [13] reise nach süd-indien, 1894. [14] mysore census report, 1891. [15] madras census report, 1901. [16] ind. ant., iii, 1874. [17] cf. pendukkumekki and valasu sub-divisions of the idaiyan caste. [18] the present note is mainly based on the articles by the rev. j. cain in the indian antiquary v, 1876, and viii, 1879; and the madras christian college magazine, v, 1887-8, and vi, 1888-9. [19] madras census report, 1891. [20] calcutta christian observer, may and june, 1853, second edition, by the rev. j. m. descombes and j. a. grierson, calcutta, 1900. [21] gazetteer of the godavari district. [22] gazetteer of the godavari district. [23] notes for a lecture on the tribes and castes of bombay, 1907. [24] manual of the godavari district. [25] rev. w. taylor. iii. 1862. [26] this account is taken from a note by mr. n. subramani aiyar. [27] ethnog. survey of cochin. monograph no. ii, kshatriyas, 1906. [28] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [29] monograph, ethnog. survey of cochin, kootan, 1905. [30] manual of the south canara district. [31] indian forester, xxxii, 1906. [32] this account is taken from a note by mr. n. subramani aiyar. [33] madras mail, 1907. [34] ind. ant., iv, 1875. [35] madras census report, 1891. [36] manual of the north arcot district. [37] not collectors of art pottery, but collectors or district magistrates. [38] madras mail, 1903. [39] manual of the south canara district. [40] mysore census report, 1901. [41] mysore and coorg gazetteer. [42] manual of the salem district. [43] ind. ant., x, 1881. [44] manual of the madura district. [45] madras census report, 1891. [46] manual of malabar. [47] madras census report, 1901. [48] manual of the north arcot district. [49] mysore census report, 1901. [50] gazetteer of the anantapur district. [51] gazetteer of the bellary district. [52] manual of the north arcot district. [53] w.f.s. ind. ant., vi, 1877. [54] madras mail, november 1905. [55] manual of the north arcot district. [56] manual of the nilgiri district. [57] mysore census report, 1901. [58] journey through mysore, canara, and malabar, 1807. [59] asian, 1902. [60] manual of the nilgiri district. [61] aboriginal race of the neilgherry hills, 1832. [62] ind. ant., vi, 1877. [63] rude stone monuments. [64] police admn. report, 1900. [65] agricult. ledger series, no. 47, 1904. [66] comptes rendus des séances de la société de biologie, t. lviii, 1019. [67] gazetteer of the malabar district. [68] op. cit. [69] manual of the north arcot district. [70] tennent, ceylon. [71] madras census report, 1891. [72] gazetteer of the madura district. [73] journ. roy. asiat. soc., 1899, 267-8. [74] madras pottery. journ. ind. arts, vii, 1897. [75] brahmanism and hinduism. [76] gazetteer of the madura district. [77] ind. law reports, madras series, xvii, 1894. [78] a native. pen and ink sketches of native life in s. india. [79] madras mail. [80] trans. s. ind. branch, brit. med. association, xiv, 1906. [81] classified collection of tamil proverbs, 1897. [82] j. s. f. mackenzie. ind. ant., iv, 1875. [83] historical sketches of the south of india, mysore, 1810-17. [84] mem. asiat. soc., bengal, miscellanea ethnographica, i, 1906. [85] journ. and proc. asiatic society of bengal, i, no. 9, 1905. [86] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [87] manual of the north arcot district. [88] mysore census report, 1891, 1901. [89] gazetteer of the bombay presidency, xv, part i, 1883. [90] hindu feasts, fasts and ceremonies, 1903. [91] manual of the north arcot district. [92] linguistic survey of india, ix, 1907. [93] from kashmir to the madras presidency. [94] notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency. [95] mysore census report, 1891. [96] ind. ant. viii, 1879. [97] gazetteer of the bellary district. [98] narrative of the operations of little's detachment against tippoo sultan, 1794. [99] shells of cypræa moneta. [100] s. m. natesa sastri, calcutta review, 1905. [101] narrative of a journey through the upper provinces of india, 1844. [102] hindu manners, customs, and ceremonies. [103] historical sketches of the south of india: mysore. [104] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [105] report on public instruction, mysore, 1901-02; and mysore census report, 1891. [106] manual of the cuddapah district. [107] jeypur, breklum, 1901. [108] manual of the north arcot district. [109] mysore census report, 1901. [110] gazetteer of the anantapur district. [111] ind. ant., viii., 1879. [112] ind. ant., xxx., 1901. [113] narrative of little's detachment, 1784. [114] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [115] madras census report, 1891. [116] section iii, inhabitants, madras government press, 1907. [117] manual of the north arcot district. [118] manual of mysore and coorg. [119] lilly, renaissance types. [120] j. f. fleet, epigraphia indica. v, 1898-99. [121] the proceedings, partly in canarese and partly in english, were published at the star press, mysore, in 1905. [122] madras journal of literature and science, xi, 1840. [123] r. sewell. a forgotten empire, vijayanagar, 1900. [124] indian review, may, 1907. [125] madras series, vii, 1884. [126] madras series, viii, 1885. [127] bombay gazetteer. [128] manual of the nellore district. [129] manual of the kurnool district, 1886. [130] madras census report, 1891. [131] madras mail, 1902. [132] while wearing sandals, or tales of a telugu pariah tribe. [133] madras christ. coll. mag., xxiii (new series v), 1906. [134] manual of the north arcot district. [135] a. chatterton, monograph of tanning and working in leather, madras, 1904. [136] manual of the kurnool district. [137] manual of the bellary district. [138] madras museum bull. v. 3, 1907. [139] madras census report, 1891. [140] dynasties of the kanarese districts of the bombay presidency, 1882. [141] manual of the cuddapah district. [142] manual of the bellary district. [143] manual of the bellary district. [144] manual of the bellary district. [145] gazetteer of the anantapur district. [146] mysore census report, 1901. [147] manual of the north arcot district. [148] notes from a diary, 1881-1886. [149] manual of the kurnool district. [150] madras census report, 1891. [151] madras diocesan record, 1905. [152] gazetteer of the godavari district. [153] madras museum bull. v. 3, 1907. [154] east and west, 6th may 1907. [155] gazetteer of the anantapur district. [156] madras and tinnevelly dioces. mag., june, 1908. [157] gochi, a clout, a truss or flap; a waist-cloth. c. p. brown, telugu dictionary. [158] gazetteer of the godavari district. [159] ind. ant., iii, 1874; vi, 1877. [160] native life in travancore, 1883. [161] journey from madras through the countries of mysore, canara, and malabar, 1807. [162] calcutta review, 1902. [163] manual of the south canara district. [164] manual of the north arcot district. [165] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [166] darakhast: application for land for purposes of cultivation; or bid at an auction. [167] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [168] madras mail, 1904. [169] madras mail, 1908. [170] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [171] c. hayavadana rao, ms. [172] manual of the north arcot district. [173] manual of the south arcot district. [174] madras census report, 1891. [175] madras diocesan magazine, 1906. [176] manual of the north arcot district. [177] madras census report, 1891. [178] travancore census report, 1901. [179] lecture delivered at trivandrum. [180] see a. t. mackenzie. history of the periyar project. madras, 1899. [181] rev. j. cain. ind. ant., viii, 1879. [182] malabar law and custom. 3rd ed., 1905. [183] elements of south indian palæography. [184] madras review, 1896. [185] man, 1903. [186] manual of malabar. [187] manual of the madura district. [188] hobson-jobson. [189] ind. ant., xxxi, 1902. [190] cf. javan, genesis x, 2; isaiah, lxvi, 19; ezekiel, xxvii, 13, 19. [191] malabar quart. review, 1903. [192] vide correspondence on moplah outrages, 1849-53. [193] madras census report, 1891. [194] madras mail, 1908. [195] malabar quart. review, 1906. [196] when not officially attached to a mosque, the mulla is said to be called nattu (country) mulla. [197] ind. ant., xxx, 1901. [198] p. v. ramunni, loc. cit. [199] the taboot is "a kind of shrine, or model of a mahomedan mausoleum, of flimsy material, intended to represent the tomb of husain at kerbela, which is carried in procession during the mohurram." yule and burnell, hobson-jobson. [200] gazetteer of the malabar district. [201] fanatical (fanum, a temple). possessed by a deity or devil, frantic, mad, furious. murray. new english dictionary. [202] major holland-pryor, 1904. [203] see also government orders, judicial department, nos. 1267, 24th may, 1894; 2186, 8th september, 1894; 1567, 30th september, 1896; and 819, 25th may, 1898. [204] forbes' oriental memoirs. [205] manual of malabar, 1887, p. 102. [206] ind. ant., xxx, 1901. [207] general burton. an indian olio. [208] calcutta review, 1897. [209] calcutta review, 1897. [210] ibid. [211] manual of malabar. [212] monograph on tanning and working in leather, 1904. [213] gazetteer of malabar. [214] general burton. op. cit. [215] loc. cit. [216] op. cit. [217] manual of malabar. [218] loc. cit. [219] gazetteer of the malabar district. [220] madras census report, 1891. [221] malabar quarterly review, vol. 3, 1906. [222] gazetteer of the malabar district. [223] the recital of the first chapter of the koran. gutenberg. castes and tribes of southern india by edgar thurston, c.i.e., superintendent, madras government museum; correspondant étranger, société d'anthropologie de paris; socio corrispondante, societa, romana di anthropologia. assisted by k. rangachari, m.a., of the madras government museum. volume ii--c to j government press, madras 1909. castes and tribes of southern india. volume ii. c canji (gruel).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. canji is the word "in use all over india for the water, in which rice has been boiled. it also forms the usual starch of indian washermen." [1] as a sept of the sale weavers, it probably has reference to the gruel, or size, which is applied to the warp. chacchadi.--haddis who do scavenging work, with whom other haddis do not freely intermarry. chadarapu dhompti (square space marriage offering).--a sub-division of madigas, who, at marriages, offer food to the god in a square space. chakala.--see tsakala. chakkan.--recorded in the madras census report, 1901, as "a malabar caste of oil-pressers (chakku means an oil-mill). followers of this calling are known also as vattakkadans in south malabar, and as vaniyans in north malabar, but the former are the higher in social status, the nayars being polluted by the touch of the vaniyans and chakkans, but not by that of the vattakkadans. chakkans and vaniyans may not enter brahman temples. their customs and manners are similar to those of the nayars, who will not, however, marry their women." chakkingalavan appears as a synonym for chakkan. chakkiliyan.--"the chakkiliyans," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [2] "are the leather-workers of the tamil districts, corresponding to the madigas of the telugu country. the chakkiliyans appear to be immigrants from the telugu or canarese districts, for no mention is made of this caste either in the early tamil inscriptions, or in early tamil literature. moreover, a very large proportion of the chakkiliyans speak telugu and canarese. in social position the chakkiliyans occupy the lowest rank, though there is much dispute on this point between them and the paraiyans. nominally they are saivites, but in reality devil-worshippers. the avaram plant (cassia auriculata) is held in much veneration by them, [3] and the tali is tied to a branch of it as a preliminary to marriage. girls are not usually married before puberty. the bridegroom may be younger than the bride. their widows may remarry. divorce can be obtained at the pleasure of either party on payment of rs. 12-12-0 to the other in the presence of the local head of the caste. their women are considered to be very beautiful, and it is a woman of this caste who is generally selected for the coarser form of sakti worship. they indulge very freely in intoxicating liquors, and will eat any flesh, including beef, pork, etc. hence they are called, par excellence, the flesh-eaters (sanskrit shatkuli)." it was noted by sonnerat, in the eighteenth century, [4] that the chakkiliyans are in more contempt than the pariahs, because they use cow leather in making shoes. "the chucklers or cobblers," the abbé dubois writes, [5] "are considered inferiors to the pariahs all over the peninsula. they are more addicted to drunkenness and debauchery. their orgies take place principally in the evening, and their villages resound, far into the night, with the yells and quarrels which result from their intoxication. the very pariahs refuse to have anything to do with the chucklers, and do not admit them to any of their feasts." in the madura manual, 1868, the chakkiliyans are summed up as "dressers of leather, and makers of slippers, harness, and other leather articles. they are men of drunken and filthy habits, and their morals are very bad. curiously enough, their women are held to be of the padmani kind, i.e., of peculiar beauty of face and form, and are also said to be very virtuous. it is well known, however, that zamindars and other rich men are very fond of intriguing with them, particularly in the neighbourhood of paramagudi, where they live in great numbers." there is a tamil proverb that even a chakkili girl and the ears of the millet are beautiful when mature. in the tanjore district, the chakkiliyans are said [6] to be "considered to be of the very lowest status. in some parts of the district they speak telugu and wear the namam (vaishnavite sect mark) and are apparently immigrants from the telugu country." though they are tamil-speaking people, the chakkiliyans, like the telugu madigas, have exogamous septs called gotra in the north, and kilai in the south. unlike the madigas, they do not carry out the practice of making basavis (dedicated prostitutes). the correlation of the most important measurements of the madigas of the telugu country, and so-called chakkiliyans of the city of madras, is clearly brought out by the following figures:- thirty madigas. fifty chakkiliyans. cm. cm. stature 163.1 162.2 cephalic length 18.6 18.6 cephalic breadth 13.9 13.9 cephalic index 75. 75. nasal height 4.5 4.6 nasal breadth 3.7 3.6 nasal index 80.8 78.9 the chakkiliyan men in madras are tattooed not only on the forehead, but also with their name, conventional devices, dancing-girls, etc., on the chest and upper extremities. it has been noticed as a curious fact that, in the madura district, "while the men belong to the right-hand faction, the women belong to and are most energetic supporters of the left. it is even said that, during the entire period of a faction riot, the chakkili women keep aloof from their husbands and deny them their marital rights." [7] in a very interesting note on the leather industry of the madras presidency, mr. a. chatterton writes as follows. [8] "the position of the chakkiliyan in the south differs greatly from that of the madiga of the north, and many of his privileges are enjoyed by a 'sub-sect' of the pariahs called vettiyans. these people possess the right of removing dead cattle from villages, and in return have to supply leather for agricultural purposes. the majority of chakkiliyans are not tanners, but leather-workers, and, instead of getting the hides or skins direct from the vettiyan, they prefer to purchase them ready-tanned from traders, who bring them from the large tanning centres. when the chuckler starts making shoes or sandals, he purchases the leather and skin which he requires in the bazar, and, taking it home, first proceeds with a preliminary currying operation. the leather is damped and well stretched, and dyed with aniline, the usual colour being scarlet r.r. of the badische anilin soda fabrik. this is purchased in the bazar in packets, and is dissolved in water, to which a little oxalic acid has been added. the dye is applied with a piece of rag on the grain side, and allowed to dry. after drying, tamarind paste is applied to the flesh side of the skin, and the latter is then rolled between the hands, so as to produce a coarse graining on the outer side. in making the shoes, the leather is usually wetted, and moulded into shape on wooden moulds or lasts. as a rule, nothing but cotton is used for sewing, and the waxed ends of the english cobbler are entirely unknown. the largest consumption of leather in this presidency is for water-bags or kavalais, which are used for raising water from wells, and for oil and ghee (clarified butter) pots, in which the liquids are transported from one place to another. of irrigation wells there are in the presidency more than 600,000, and, though some of them are fitted with iron buckets, nearly all of them have leather bags with leather discharging trunks. the buckets hold from ten to fifty gallons of water, and are generally made from fairly well tanned cow hides, though for very large buckets buffalo hides are sometimes used. the number of oil and ghee pots in use in the country is very large. the use of leather vessels for this purpose is on the decline, as it is found much cheaper and more convenient to store oil in the ubiquitous kerosine-oil tin, and it is not improbable that eventually the industry will die out, as it has done in other countries. the range of work of the country chuckler is not very extensive. besides leather straps for wooden sandals, he makes crude harness for the ryot's cattle, including leather collars from which numerous bells are frequently suspended, leather whips for the cattle drivers, ornamental fringes for the bull's forehead, bellows for the smith, and small boxes for the barber, in which to carry his razors. in some places, leather ropes are used for various purposes, and it is customary to attach big coir (cocoanut fibre) ropes to the bodies of the larger temple cars by leather harness, when they are drawn in procession through the streets. drum-heads and tom-toms are made from raw hides by vettiyans and chucklers. the drums are often very large, and are transported upon the back of elephants, horses, bulls and camels. for them raw hides are required, but for the smaller instruments sheep-skins are sufficient. the raw hides are shaved on the flesh side, and are then dried. the hair is removed by rubbing with wood-ashes. the use of lime in unhairing is not permissible, as it materially decreases the elasticity of the parchment." the chakkiliyans beat the tom-tom for kammalans, pallis and kaikolans, and for other castes if desired to do so. the chakkiliyans do not worship matangi, who is the special deity of the madigas. their gods include madurai viran, mariamma, muneswara, draupadi and gangamma. of these, the last is the most important, and her festival is celebrated annually, if possible. to cover the expenses thereof, a few chakkiliyans dress up so as to represent men and women of the marathi bird-catching caste, and go about begging in the streets for nine days. on the tenth day the festival terminates. throughout it, gangamma, represented by three decorated pots under a small pandal (booth) set up on the bank of a river or tank beneath a margosa (melia azadirachta), or pipal (ficus religiosa) tree, is worshipped. on the last day, goats and fowls are sacrificed, and limes cut. during the first menstrual period, the chakkiliyan girl is kept under pollution in a hut made of fresh green boughs, which is erected by her husband or maternal uncle. meat, curds, and milk are forbidden. on the last day, the hut is burnt down. at marriages a chakkiliyan usually officiates as priest, or the services of a valluvan priest may be enlisted. the consent of the girl's maternal uncle to the marriage is essential. the marriage ceremony closely resembles that of the paraiyans. and, at the final death ceremonies of a chakkiliyan, as of a paraiyan, two bricks are worshipped, and thrown into a tank or stream. lean children, especially of the mala, madiga, and chakkiliyan classes, are made to wear a leather strap, specially made for them by a chakkiliyan, which is believed to help their growth. at times of census, some chakkiliyans have returned themselves as pagadaiyar, madari (conceit or arrogance), and ranaviran (brave warrior). chakkiyar.--the chakkiyars are a class of ambalavasis, of whom the following account is given in the travancore census report, 1901. the name is generally derived from slaghyavakkukar (those with eloquent words), and refers to the traditional function of the caste in malabar society. according to the jatinirnaya, the chakkiyars represent a caste growth of the kaliyuga. the offence to which the first chakkiyar owes his position in society was, it would appear, brought to light after the due performance of the upanayanasamskara. persons, in respect of whom the lapse was detected before that spiritualizing ceremony took place, became nambiyars. manu derives suta, whose functions are identical with the malabar chakkiyar, from a pratiloma union, i.e., of a brahman wife with a kshatriya husband. [9] the girls either marry into their own caste, or enter into the sambandham form of alliance with nambutiris. they are called illottammamar. their jewelry resembles that of the nambutiris. the chakkiyar may choose a wife for sambandham from among the nambiyars. they are their own priests, but the brahmans do the purification (punyaham) of house and person after birth or death pollution. the pollution itself lasts for eleven days. the number of times the gayatri (hymn) may be repeated is ten. the traditional occupation of the chakkiyans is the recitation of puranic stories. the accounts of the avataras have been considered the highest form of scripture of the non-brahmanical classes, and the early brahmans utilised the intervals of their vedic rites, i.e., the afternoons, for listening to their recitation by castes who could afford the leisure to study and narrate them. special adaptations for this purpose have been composed by writers like narayana bhattapada, generally known as the bhattatirippat, among whose works dutavakya, panchalisvayamvara, subhadrahana and kaunteyashtaka are the most popular. in addition to these, standard works like bhogachampu and mahanataka are often pressed into the chakkiyar's service. numerous upakathas or episodes are brought in by way of illustration, and the marvellous flow of words, and the telling humour of the utterances, keep the audience spell-bound. on the utsavam programme of every important temple, especially in north travancore, the chakkiyarkuttu (chakkiyar's performance) is an essential item. a special building, known as kuttampalam, is intended for this purpose. here the chakkiyar instructs and regales his hearers, antiquely dressed, and seated on a three-legged stool. he wears a peculiar turban with golden rim and silk embossments. a long piece of cloth with coloured edges, wrapped round the loins in innumerable vertical folds with an elaborateness of detail difficult to describe, is the chakkiyar's distinctive apparel. behind him stands the nambiyar, whose traditional kinship with the chakkiyar has been referred to, with a big jar-shaped metal drum in front of him called milavu, whose bass sound resembles the echo of distant thunder. the nambiyar is indispensable for the chakkiyarkuttu, and sounds his mighty instrument at the beginning, at the end, and also during the course of his recitation, when the chakkiyar arrives at the middle and end of a sanskrit verse. the nangayar, a female of the nambiyar caste, is another indispensable element, and sits in front of the chakkiyar with a cymbal in hand, which she sounds occasionally. it is interesting to note that, amidst all the boisterous merriment into which the audience may be thrown, there is one person who has to sit motionless like a statue. if the nangayar is moved to a smile, the kuttu must stop, and there are cases where, in certain temples, the kuttu has thus become a thing of the past. the chakkiyar often makes a feint of representing some of his audience as his characters for the scene under depictment. but he does it in such a genteel way that rarely is offence taken. it is an unwritten canon of chakkiyarkuttu that the performance should stop at once if any of the audience so treated should speak out in answer to the chakkiyar, who, it may be added, would stare at an admiring listener, and thrust questions on him with such directness and force as to need an extraordinary effort to resist a reply. and so realistic is his performance that a tragic instance is said to have occurred when, by a cruel irony of fate, his superb skill cost a chakkiyar his life. while he was explaining a portion of the mahabharata with inimitable theatrical effect, a desperate friend of the pandavas rose from his seat in a fit of uncontrollable passion, and actually knocked the chakkiyar dead when, in an attitude of unmistakable though assumed heartlessness, he, as personating duryodhana, inhumanely refused to allow even a pin-point of ground to his exiled cousins. this, it is believed, occurred in a private house, and thereafter kuttu was prohibited except at temples. it is noted, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "chakkiyars or slaghyar-vakukar are a caste following makkattayam (inheritance from father to son), and wear the punul (thread). they are recruited from girls born to a nambudiri woman found guilty of adultery, after the date at which such adultery is found to have commenced, and boys of similar origin, who have been already invested with the sacred thread. boys who have not been invested with the punul when their mother is declared an adulteress, join the class known as chakkiyar nambiyars, who follow marumakkattayam (inheritance in the female line), and do not wear the thread. the girls join either caste indifferently. chakkiyars may marry nangiyars, but chakkiyar nambiyars may not marry illotammamar." chaliyan.--the chaliyans are a caste of malayalam cotton weavers, concerning whom mr. francis writes as follows [10]:--"in dress and manners they resemble the artisan castes of malabar, but, like the pattar brahmans, they live in streets, which fact probably points to their being comparatively recent settlers from the east coast. they have their own barbers called potuvans, who are also their purohits. they do not wear the sacred thread, as the sale weavers of the east coast do. they practise ancestor worship, but without the assistance of brahman priests. this is the only malabar caste which has anything to do with the right and left-hand faction disputes, and both divisions are represented in it, the left hand being considered the superior. apparently, therefore, it settled in malabar some time after the beginnings of this dispute on the east coast, that is, after the eleventh century a. d. some of them follow the marumakkatayam and others the makkatayam law of inheritance, which looks as if the former were earlier settlers than the latter." the chaliyans are so called because, unlike most of the west coast classes, they live in streets, and teruvan (teru, a street) occurs as a synonym for the caste name. the right-hand section are said to worship the elephant god ganesa, and the left bhagavati. the following account of the chaliyans is given in the gazetteer of the malabar district: "chaliyans are almost certainly a class of immigrants from the east coast. they live in regular streets, a circumstance strongly supporting this view. the traditional account is to the same effect. it is said that they were originally of a high caste, and were imported by one of the zamorins, who wished to introduce the worship of ganapathi, to which they are much addicted. the latter's minister, the mangatt acchan, who was entrusted with the entertainment of the new arrivals, and was nettled by their fastidiousness and constant complaints about his catering, managed to degrade them in a body by the trick of secretly mixing fish with their food. they do not, like their counterparts on the east coast, wear the thread; but it is noticeable that their priests, who belong to their own caste, wear it over the right shoulder instead of over the left like the brahman's punul, when performing certain pujas (worship). in some parts, the place of the regular punul is taken by a red scarf or sash worn in the same manner. they are remarkable for being the only caste in malabar amongst whom any trace of the familiar east coast division into right-hand and left-hand factions is to be found. they are so divided; and those belonging to the right-hand faction deem themselves polluted by the touch of those belonging to the left-hand sect, which is numerically very weak. they are much addicted to devil-dancing, which rite is performed by certain of their numbers called komarams in honour of bhagavathi and the minor deities vettekkorumagan and gulikan (a demon). they appear to follow makkatayam (descent from father to son) in some places, and marumakkatayam (inheritance in the female line) in others. their pollution period is ten days, and their purification is performed by the talikunnavan (sprinkler), who belongs to a somewhat degraded section of the caste." the affairs of the caste are managed by headmen called uralans, and the caste barber, or pothuvan, acts as the caste messenger. council meetings are held at the village temple, and the fines inflicted on guilty persons are spent in celebrating puja (worship) thereat. when a girl reaches puberty, the elderly females of uralan families take her to a tank, and pour water over her head from small cups made of the leaves of the jak (artocarpus integrifolia) tree. she is made to sit apart on a mat in a room decorated with young cocoanut leaves. round the mat raw rice and paddy (unhusked rice) are spread, and a vessel containing cocoanut flowers and cocoanuts is placed near her. on the third evening, the washerman (peruvannan) brings some newly-washed cloths (mattu). he is presented with some rice and paddy, which he ties up in a leaf, and does puja. he then places the cloths on a plank, which he puts on his head. after repeating some songs or verses, he sets it down on the floor. some of the girl's female relations take a lighted lamp, a pot of water, a measure of rice, and go three times round the plank. on the following day, the girl is bathed, and the various articles which have been kept in her room are thrown into a river or tank. like many other malabar castes, the chaliyans perform the tali kettu ceremony. once in several years, the girls of the village who have to go through this ceremony are brought to the house of one of the uralans, where a pandal (booth) has been set up. therein a plank, made of the wood of the pala tree (alstonia scholaris), a lighted lamp, betel leaves and nuts, a measure of raw rice, etc., are placed. the girl takes her seat on the plank, holding in her right hand a mimic arrow (shanthulkol). the pothuvan, who receives a fanam (coin) and three bundles of betel leaves for his services, hands the tali to a male member of an uralan family, who ties it on the girl's neck. on the day before the wedding-day the bridegroom, accompanied by his male relations, proceeds to the house of the bride, where a feast is held. on the following day the bride is bathed, and made to stand before a lighted lamp placed on the floor. the bridegroom's father or uncle places two gold fanams (coins) in her hands, and a further feast takes place. in the seventh month of pregnancy, the ceremony called puli kudi (or drinking tamarind) is performed. the woman's brother brings a twig of a tamarind tree, and, after the leaves have been removed, plants it in the yard of the house. the juice is extracted from the leaves, and mixed with the juice of seven cocoanuts. the elderly female relations of the woman give her a little of the mixture. the ceremony is repeated during three days. birth pollution is removed by a barber woman sprinkling water on the ninth day. the dead are buried. the son carries a pot of water to the grave, round which he takes it three times. the barber makes a hole in the pot, which is then thrown down at the head of the grave. the barber also tears off a piece of the cloth, in which the corpse is wrapped. this is, on the tenth day, taken by the son and barber to the sea or a tank, and thrown into it. three stones are set up over the grave. chaliyan also occurs as an occupational title or sub-division of nayars, and chaliannaya as an exogamous sept of bant. in the madras census report, 1901, chaliyan is given as a sub-caste of vaniyan (oil-pressers). some chaliyans are, however, oilmongers by profession. challa.--challa, meaning apparently eaters of refuse, occurs as a sub-division of yanadis, and meaning buttermilk as an exogamous sept of devanga. challakuti, meaning those who eat old or cold food, is an exogamous sept of kapus. chamar.--nearly three hundred members of this bengal caste of tanners and workers in leather were returned at the census, 1901. the equivalent chamura occurs as the name of leather-workers from the central provinces. chandala.--at the census, 1901, more than a thousand individuals returned themselves as chandala, which is defined as a generic term, meaning one who pollutes, to many low castes. "it is," surgeon-major w. r. cornish writes, [11] "characteristic of the brahmanical intolerance of the compilers of the code that the origin of the lowest caste of all (the chandala) should be ascribed to the intercourse of a sudra man and a brahman woman, while the union of a brahman male with a sudra woman is said to have resulted in one of the highest of the mixed classes." by manu it was laid down that "the abode of the chandala and swapaca must be out of the town. they must not have the use of entire vessels. their sole wealth must be dogs and asses. their clothes must be the mantles of the deceased; their dishes for food broken pots; their ornaments rusty iron; continually must they roam from place to place. let no man who regards his duty, religious and civil, hold any intercourse with them, and let food be given to them in potsherds, but not by the hand of the giver." chandra (moon).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. the name chandravamsapu (moon people) is taken by some razus, who claim to be kshatriyas, and to be descended from the lunar race of kings of the mahabharata. chanipoyina (those who are dead).--an exogamous sept of orugunta kapu. chapa (mat).--an exogamous sept of boya. chappadi (insipid).--an exogamous sept of jogi. chapparam (a pandal or booth).--an exogamous sept of devanga. chapparband.--the chapparbands are manufacturers of spurious coin, who hail from the bombay presidency, and are watched for by the police. it is noted, in the police report, 1904, that good work was done in ganjam in tracing certain gangs of these coiners, and bringing them to conviction. for the following note i am indebted to a report [12] by mr. h. n. alexander of the bombay police department. the name chapparband refers to their calling, chapa meaning an impression or stamp. "among themselves they are known as bhadoos, but in hindustan, and among thugs and cheats generally, they are known as khoolsurrya, i.e., false coiners. while in their villages, they cultivate the fields, rear poultry and breed sheep, while the women make quilts, which the men sell while on their tours. but the real business of this class is to make and pass off false coin. laying aside their ordinary muhammadan dress, they assume the dress and appearance of fakirs of the muddar section, muddar being their pir, and, unaccompanied by their women, wander from village to village. marathi is their language, and, in addition, they have a peculiar slang of their own. like all people of this class, they are superstitious, and will not proceed on an expedition unless a favourable omen is obtained. the following account is given, showing how the false coin is manufactured. a mould serves only once, a new one being required for every rupee or other coin. it is made of unslaked lime and a kind of yellow earth called shedoo, finely powdered and sifted, and patiently kneaded with water to about the consistency of putty. one of the coins to be imitated is then pressed with some of the preparation, and covered over, and, being cut all round, is placed in some embers. after becoming hardened, it is carefully laid open with a knife, and, the coin being taken out, its impression remains. the upper and lower pieces are then joined together with a kind of gum, and, a small hole being made on one side, molten tin is poured in, and thus an imitation of the coin is obtained, and it only remains to rub it over with dirt to give it the appearance of old money. the tin is purchased in any bazaar, and the false money is prepared on the road as the gang travels along. chapparbands adopt several ways of getting rid of their false coin. they enter shops and make purchases, showing true rupees in the first instance, and substituting false ones at the time of payment. they change false rupees for copper money, and also in exchange for good rupees of other currencies. naturally, they look out for women and simple people, though the manner of passing off the base coin is clever, being done by sleight of hand. the false money is kept in pockets formed within the folds of their langutis (loin-cloths), and also hidden in the private parts." the following additional information concerning chapparbands is contained in the illustrated criminal investigation and law digest [13]:--"they travel generally in small gangs, and their women never follow them. they consult omens before leaving their villages. they do not leave their villages dressed as fakirs. they generally visit some place far away from their residence, and there disguise themselves as madari fakirs, adding shah to their names. they also add the title sahib, and imitate the sawals, a sing-song begging tone of their class. their leader, khagda, is implicitly obeyed. he is the treasurer of the gangs, and keeps with him the instruments used in coining, and the necessary metal pieces. but the leader rarely keeps the coins with him. the duty of passing the false coins belongs to the bhondars. a boy generally accompanies a gang. he is called handiwal. he acts as a handy chokra (youngster), and also as a watch over the camp when the false coins are being prepared. they generally camp on high ground in close vicinity to water, which serves to receive the false coins and implements, should danger be apprehended. when moving from one camp to another, the khagda and his chokra travel alone, the former generally riding a small pony. the rest of the gang keep busy passing the coins in the neighbourhood, and eventually join the pair in the place pre-arranged. if the place be found inconvenient for their purpose, another is selected by the khagda, but sufficient indication is given to the rest that the rendezvous might be found out. this is done by making a mark on the chief pathway leading to the place settled first, at a spot where another pathway leads from it in the direction he is going. the mark consists of a mud heap on the side of the road, a foot in length, six inches in breadth, and six in height, with an arrow mark pointing in the direction taken. the khagda generally makes three of these marks at intervals of a hundred yards, to avoid the chance of any being effaced. moulds are made of multani or some sticky clay. gopichandan and badap are also used. the clay, after being powdered and sifted, is mixed with a little water and oil, and well kneaded. the two halves of the mould are then roughly shaped with the hand, and a genuine coin is pressed between them, so as to obtain the obverse on one half and the reverse impression on the other. the whole is then hardened in an extempore oven, and the hole to admit the metal is bored, so as to admit of its being poured in from the edge. the halves are then separated, and the genuine rupee is tilted out; the molten alloy of tin or pewter is poured in, and allowed to cool. according to the other method, badap clay brought from their own country is considered the most suitable for the moulds, though multani clay may be used when they run out of badap. two discs are made from clay kneaded with water. these discs are then highly polished on the inner surface with the top of a jvari stalk called danthal. a rupee, slightly oiled, is then placed between the discs, which are firmly pressed over it. the whole is then thoroughly hardened in the fire. the alloy used in these moulds differs from that used in the others, and consists of an alloy of lead and copper. in both cases, the milling is done by the hand with a knife or a piece of shell. the chapperbands select their victims carefully. they seem to be fairly clever judges of persons from their physiognomy. they easily find out the duffer and the gull in both sexes, and take care to avoid persons likely to prove too sharp for them. they give preference to women over men. the commonest method is for the bhondar to show a quantity of copper collected by him in his character of beggar, and ask for silver in its place. the dupe produces a rupee, which he looks at. he then shakes his head sadly, and hands back a counterfeit coin, saying that such coins are not current in his country, and moves on to try the same trick elsewhere. their dexterity in changing the rupees is very great, the result of long practice when a handiwal." further information in connection with the chapparbands has recently been published by mr. m. paupa rao naidu, from whose account [14] the following extract is taken. "chapperbands, as their name implies, are by profession builders of roofs, or, in a more general term, builders of huts. they are sheikh muhammadans, and originally belonged to the punjab. during the moghul invasion of the carnatic, as far back as 1687-88, a large number of them followed the great moghul army as builders of huts for the men. they appear to have followed the moghul army to aurangabad, ahmednagar, and seringapatam until the year 1714, when bijapur passed into the hands of the peshwas. the chapperbands then formed part of the peshwa's army in the same capacity, and remained as such till the advent of the british in the year 1818, when it would appear a majority of them, finding their peculiar profession not much in demand, returned to the north. a part of those who remained behind passed into the nizam's territory, while a part settled down in the province of talikota. a legendary tale, narrated before the superintendent of police, raipur, in 1904, by an intelligent chapperband, shows that they learnt this art of manufacturing coins during the moghul period. he said 'in the time of the moghul empire, chapperbands settled in the bijapur district. at that time, a fakir named pir bhai pir makhan lived in the same district. one of the chapperbands went to this fakir, and asked him to intercede with god, in order that chapperbands might be directed to take up some profession or other. the fakir gave the man a rupee, and asked him to take it to his house quickly, and not to look backwards as he proceeded on his way. as the man ran home, some one called him, and he turned round to see who it was. when he reached his house, he found the rupee had turned into a false one. the man returned to the fakir, and complained that the rupee was a false one. the fakir was much enraged at the man's account of having looked back as he ran, but afterwards said that chapperbands would make a living in future by manufacturing false coins. since that time, chapperbands have become coiners of false money.' on every sunday, they collect all their false rupees, moulds, and other implements, and, placing these in front of them, they worship pir makhan, also called pir madar. they sacrifice a fowl to him, take out its eyes and tail, and fix them on three thorns of the trees babul, bir, and thalmakana; and, after the worship is over, they throw them in the direction in which they intend to start. the chapperbands conceal a large number of rupees in the rectum, long misusage often forming a cavity capable of containing ten to twenty rupees. so also cavities are formed in the mouth below the tongue." in a case recorded by mr. m. kennedy, [15] "when a chapperband was arrested on suspicion, on his person being examined by the civil surgeon, no less than seven rupees were found concealed in a cavity in his rectum. the civil surgeon was of opinion that it must have taken some considerable time to form such a cavity." a similar case came before the sessions judge in south canara a few years ago. the following case of swindling, which occurred in the tanjore district, is recorded in the police report, 1903. "a gang of muhammadans professed to be able to duplicate currency notes. the method was to place a note with some blank sheets of paper between two pieces of glass. the whole was then tied round with string and cloth, and smoked over a fire. on opening the packet, two notes were found, a second genuine one having been surreptitiously introduced. the success of the first operations with small notes soon attracted clients, some of them wealthy; and, when the bait had had time to work, and some very large notes had been submitted for operation, the swindlers declared that these large notes took longer to duplicate, and that the packet must not be opened for several days. before the time appointed for opening, they disappeared, and the notes were naturally not found in the packets. one gentleman was fleeced in this way to the value of rs. 4,600." the administration of an enema to a false coiner will sometimes bring to light hidden treasure. chaptegara.--the chaptegaras or cheptegaras are described by mr. h. a. stuart [16] as "carpenters who speak konkani, and are believed to have come from the konkan country. caste affairs are managed by a gurikar or headman, and the fines collected are paid to the sringeri math. they wear the sacred thread, and employ karadi brahmans as purohits. infant marriage is practised, and widow marriage is not permitted. the dead are burned if means allow; otherwise they are buried. they are saivites, and worship durga and ganapati. they eat flesh and drink liquor. their titles are naik, shenai, etc." it is noted, in the madras census report, 1901, that saraswat brahmans will eat with them. choutagara has been recorded as a corrupt form of chaptegara. charamurti.--a class of jangams, who go from village to village preaching. charodi.--the charodis have been described [17] as "canarese carpenters corresponding to the konkani cheptegaras (or chaptegaras), and there is very little difference in the customs and manners of the two castes, except that the former employ shivalli and konkanashta brahmans instead of karadis. their title is naika." in the madras census report, 1901, mesta is returned as a konkani-speaking sub-caste of charodi. chatla (winnow).--an exogamous sept of madiga. chatla dhompti occurs as a sub-division of madigas, who, at marriages, place the offering of food, etc. (dhompti), in a winnow. chatri.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as an equivalent of kshatriya. it occurs also as the name of an exogamous sept, meaning umbrella, of the holeyas. chaturakshari.--a sub-division of satanis, who believe in the efficacy of the four syllables ra-ma-nu-ja. chaudari.--chaudari, or chowdari, is recorded as a title of haddi, kalingi, and komati. chaya (colour) kurup.--a class of kollans in malabar, who work in lacquer. cheli (goat).--an exogamous sept of bottada and mattiya. chelu (scorpion).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. the equivalent thelu occurs among the padma sales. chembadi.--the chembadis are a telugu caste, the occupations of which are fresh-water fishing, and rowing boats or coracles. in fishing, unlike the besthas who use a cast-net, they employ a large drag-net, called baithivala, the two ends of which are fastened to poles. when a new net is made, it is folded up, and placed on the edge of a pond or tank. mud is spread over it, and on it are placed three masses of mud kneaded into a conical shape. these represent the god, and cakes, called kudumulu, are set before them. a male member of the caste, biting one of the cakes and keeping it between his teeth, goes round the net, and then drags it to the water, in which the conical masses become disintegrated. like the besthas, they smear a new net with the blood of the first fish caught in it, but they do not burn a mesh of the net. some chembadis regard gurappa gurunathadu as their caste deity, and connect him, for some unknown reason, with the jammi tree (prosopis spicigera). jammi occurs as the name of a gotra, and some children are named gurappa or gurunathadu. when such children are five, seven, or nine years old, they are taken on an auspicious day to a jammi tree and shaved, after the tree has been worshipped with offerings of cooked food, etc. at the betrothal ceremony in this caste, immediately after the girl has taken up areca nuts, placed them in her lap, and folded them in her cloth, the headman takes up the betel leaves and areca nuts (thambulam) before him with crossed hands. this ceremony corresponds to the thonuku thambulam of the lower classes, e.g., malas and mangalas. among the mangalas and tsakalas, the thambulam is said to be taken up by a balija setti. for the funeral ceremonies, the chembadis engage a dasari of their own caste. during their performances, flesh and toddy may not be offered to the deceased person. chembian.--a name assumed by some pallis or vanniyans, who claim that they belong to the chola race, on the supposition that chembinadu is a synonym for chola. chembillam (chembu, copper).--an exogamous section of mukkuvan. chembotti.--in the madras census report, 1901, it is stated that the name chembotti is derived from "chembu, copper, and kotti, he who beats." they are coppersmiths in malabar, who are distinct from the malabar kammalans. they are supposed to be descendants of men who made copper idols for temples, and so rank above the kammalans in social position, and about equally with the lower sections of the nayars. the name is also used as an occupational term by the konkan native christian coppersmiths. in the cochin and travancore census reports, chembukotti is recorded as an occupational title or sub-caste of nayars who work in copper, chiefly in temples and brahman houses. in the gazetteer of the malabar district, the chembottis are described as copper-workers, whose traditional business is the roofing of the sri-kovil, or inner shrine of the temple with that metal. they are said to have originally formed part of the kammalan community. "when the great temple at taliparamba was completed, it was purified on a scale of unprecedented grandeur, no less than a thousand brahmans being employed. what was their dismay when the ceremony was well forward, to see a chembotti coming from the sri-kovil, where he had been putting finishing touches to the roof. this appeared to involve a recommencement of the whole tedious and costly ritual, and the brahmans gave vent to their feelings of despair, when a vision from heaven reassured them, and thereafter the chembottis have been raised in the social scale, and are not regarded as a polluting caste." chembetti, or chemmatti, meaning hammer, occurs as an exogamous sept of the telugu yanadis. chempakaraman.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as an honorific title of nayars. chenchu.--the chenchus or chentsus are a telugu-speaking jungle tribe inhabiting the hills of the kurnool and nellore districts. in a letter addressed to the bengal asiatic society, [18] transmitting vocabularies of various tribes inhabiting vizagapatam, by mr. newill, it is stated that "the chenchu tribe, whose language is almost entirely corrupt hindi and urdu with a few exceptions from bengali, affords one more example to the many forthcoming of an uncultured aboriginal race having abandoned their own tongue." the compiler of the kurnool manual (1885) remarks that mr. newill's vocabulary "seems to belong to the dialect spoken by lambadis, who sometimes wander about the hills, and it is not unlikely that he was misled as to the character of the persons from whom his list was taken." as examples of the words given by mr. newill, the following may be quoted:- bone, had. one, yek. cat, billeyi. ten, das. ear, kan. far, dur. elephant, hate. drink, pi. tiger, bag. sweet, mitha. it is probable that mr. newill confused the chenchus with the bonthuk savaras (q.v.) who speak corrupt oriya, and are called chenchu vandlu, and, like the chenchus, believe that the god narasimha of ahobilam married a girl belonging to their tribe. as a further example of the confusion concerning the chenchus, i may quote the remarks of buchanan [19] about the irulas, who are a tamil-speaking jungle tribe: "in this hilly tract there is a race of men called by the other natives cad eriligaru, but who call themselves cat chensu. the language of the chensu is a dialect of the tamil, with occasionally a few karnata or telinga words intermixed, but their accent is so different from that of madras that my servants did not at first understand what they said. their original country, they say, is the animalaya forest below the ghats, which is confirmed by their dialect." in the census report, 1901, chenchu is said to be the name by which irulas of north arcot and the mysore plateau are called sometimes, and, in the census report, 1891, chenchu is given as a sub-division of the yanadis. there can be little doubt that the chenchus and yanadis are descended from the same original stock. mackenzie, in the local records collected by him, speaks of the chenchus as being called yanadi chenchus. the chenchus themselves at the present day say that they and the yanadis are one and the same, and that the tribes intermarry. in scott's 'ferishta,' the chenchus are described as they appeared before prince muhammad masúm, a son of aurangzib, who passed through the kurnool district in 1694, as "exceedingly black, with long hair, and on their heads wore caps made of the leaves of trees. each man had with him unbarbed arrows and a bow for hunting. they molest no one, and live in caverns or under the shady branches of trees. the prince presented some of them with gold and silver, but they did not seem to put any value on either, being quite unconcerned at receiving it. upon the firing of a gun, they darted up the mountains with a surprising swiftness uncommon to man. in taylor's 'catalogue raisonné of oriental manuscripts,' the chenchus are described as people who "live to the westward of ahobalam, srisailam, and other places, in the woods or wilds, and go about, constantly carrying in their hands bows and arrows. they clothe themselves with leaves, and live on the sago or rice of the bamboo. they rob travellers, killing them if they oppose. this people afflict every living creature (kill for food is supposed to be meant)." it is noted in the kurnool manual that in former times the chenchu headman used to "dispose of murder cases, the murderer, on proof of guilt, being put to death with the same weapons with which the murder was committed. [20] captain newbold, writing in 1846, says that, passing through the jungle near pacharla, he observed a skull bleached by the sun dangling from the branch of a tamarind tree, which he was informed was that of a murderer and hill-robber put to death by the headman. in the time of the nabobs, some of the chenchu murderers were caught and punished, but the practice seems to have prevailed among them more or less till the introduction of the new police in 1860, since which time all cases are said to be reported to the nearest police officer." a chenchu taliari (village watchman), who came to see me at nandyal, was wearing a badge with his name engraved on it in telugu, which had been presented to him by government in recognition of his shooting with a double-barrelled gun two donga oddes who had robbed a village. another aged taliari had a silver bangle bearing a telugu inscription, which had been given to him in acknowledgment of his capturing a murderer who was wanted by the police, and came to his hut. the casual visitor explained that he was on his way to hyderabad, but the chenchu, noticing blood on his clothes, tied him to a post, and gave information that he had secured him. the same man had also received presents for reporting cases of illicit distillation under the abkari act. in recent accounts of the chenchus of the nallamalai hills by a forest officer, it is noted that pilgrims, on their way to the srisailam temple, "are exploited at every turn, the chentzu being seen in his true colours at this period, and, being among the most active agents in the exactions, but not being by any means the only plunderer. in return for the protection, the chentzu levies a toll per head, and as much more as he can extort. we had to interfere with the perquisites of one drugged specimen of this race, who drew a knife on a peon (orderly), and had to be sent down under escort.... it is commonly supposed that the chentzus are a semi-wild, innocent, inoffensive hill tribe, living on roots, honey, wild fruits, and game. if this was so, we should have no difficulty in controlling them. they are actually a semi-wild, lazy, drinking set of brigands. they levy blackmail from every village along the foot of the hills, and, if any ryot (cultivator) refuses to pay up, his crop silently disappears on some moonless night. they levy blackmail from every pilgrim to the shrines in the hills. they levy blackmail from the graziers in the hills. they borrow money from komatis and buniahs (merchants and money-lenders), and repay it in kind--stolen timber, minor forest produce, etc. they are constantly in debt to the komatis, and are practically their slaves as regards the supply of timber and other forest produce. they think nothing of felling a tree in order to collect its fruits, and they fire miles of forest in order to be able to collect with ease certain minor produce, or to trace game. they poison the streams throughout the hills, and in short do exactly as they please throughout the length and breadth of the nallamalais." the conservator of forests expressed his belief that this picture was not overdrawn, and added that the chenchus are "a danger to the forest in many ways, and i have always thought it a pity that they were given some of the rights at settlement, which stand against their names. these rights were- (1) rights of way, and to carry torches. (2) rights to draw and drink water from, wash or bathe in all streams, springs, wells and pools. (3) rights to forest produce for home use. (4) rights to fish and shoot. (5) rights to graze a limited number of cattle, sheep and goats. (6) rights to collect for sale or barter certain minor produce. in connection with right (3), the district forest officer suggested that "the quantity to be taken annually must be limited, especially in the case of wood, bamboos, fibre, firewood and honey. the quality of the wood and of other forest produce should be defined. chenchus do not require teak or ebony beams or yegi (pterocarpus marsupium) spokes and felloes for domestic purposes; but, as the right now stands, they can fell whatever they like, and, though we may know it is for sale to merchants, the chenchus have only to say it is for domestic use, and they cannot be punished. the wood should be limited to poles and smaller pieces of third-class and unclassified trees." in 1898 the governor in council made the following rules for regulating the exercise of the rights of the chenchus living in the reserved forests on the nallamalais:-1. the carrying of torches, and the lighting of fires in fire-protected blocks during the fire season are prohibited. 2. there shall be no right to wash or bathe in such springs, wells, pools or portions of streams as are especially set apart for drinking purposes by the district forest officer. 3. no more than the quantity which the collector may consider to be actually required for domestic use shall be removed in the exercise of the right to take wood, bamboos, fibre, thatching grass, firewood, roots, fruits, honey and other forest produce. the term "other forest produce" shall be taken to mean other minor forest produce, not including tusks and horns. no wood other than poles and smaller pieces of third class and unclassified trees shall be removed. 4. no gudem (chenchu village) shall, without the special permission of the collector, be allowed to keep a larger number of guns than that for which licenses had been taken out at the time of settlement. every gun covered by a license shall be stamped with a distinctive mark or number. the use of poison and explosives in water, and the setting of cruives or fixed engines, or snares for the capture or destruction of fish, are strictly prohibited. 5. for purposes of re-generation, a portion of the area set apart for the grazing of cattle, not exceeding one-fifth, may be closed to grazing at any time, and for such length of time as the district forest officer deems fit. 6. the right of pre-emption of all minor forest produce collected by the chenchus for sale or barter shall be reserved to the forest department. the exercise of the right of collecting wood and other produce for domestic use, and of collecting minor produce for sale or barter, shall be confined to natural growth, and shall not include forest produce which is the result of special plantation or protection on the part of the forest department. in connection with a scheme for dealing with the minor forest produce in the nallamalais, the conservator of forests wrote as follows in 1905. "i believe that it is generally recognised that it is imperative to obtain the good-will of the chenchus even at a considerable loss, both from a political and from a forest point of view; the latter being that, if we do not do so, the whole of the nallamalai forests will, at a not very remote date, be utterly destroyed by fire. the chenchus, being a most abnormal type of men, must be treated in an abnormal way; and the proposals are based, therefore, on the fundamental principle of allowing the two district forest officers a very free hand in dealing with these people. what is mainly asked for is to make an experiment, of endeavouring to get the chenchus to collect minor produce for the department, the district forest officers being allowed to fix the remuneration as they like, in money or barter, as they may from time to time find on the spot to be best." in commenting on the scheme, the board of revenue stated that "action on the lines proposed is justified by the present state of the nallamalais. these valuable forests certainly stand in danger of rapid destruction by fire, and, according to the local officers, the chenchus are almost entirely responsible. the department has at present no means of bringing influence to bear on the chenchus, or securing their assistance in putting out fires. repressive measures will be worse than useless, as the chenchus will merely hide themselves, and do more damage than ever. the only way of getting into touch with them is to enforce the right of pre-emption in the matter of minor produce reserved to government at the time of forest settlement, and by dealing with them in a just and generous way to secure their confidence. if this is achieved, the department may hope to secure their co-operation and valuable assistance in preventing jungle fires. the department can certainly afford to sell at a profit, and at the same time give the chenchus better prices than the sowcars (money-lenders), who are said invariably to cheat them. the board believes that the ultimate loss from advances will not be serious, as advances will ordinarily be small in amount, except in cases where they may be required by chenchus to pay off sowcars. it will be well, therefore, if the collector and the district forest officers will ascertain as soon as possible how much the chenchus are indebted to the sowcars, as it will probably be necessary for the success of the scheme to liquidate these debts." from a note on the chenchus of the nallamalai hills, i gather that "a striking contrast is afforded between those who inhabit the belt of forest stretching from venkatapuram to bairnuti, and those who dwell in the jungle on the skirts of the great trunk road, which formed the chief means of communication between the principal towns until the southern mahratta railway diverted traffic into another channel. in the former we behold the chenchu semi-civilised and clothed. he possesses flocks and herds, smiling fields and even gardens, and evinces an aptitude for barter. the superiority of the bairnuti chenchu has been brought about by the influence, example, labours, and generosity of a single englishman, who built a substantial stone dwelling in the depths of the great bairnuti forest. there also he erected indigo vats, and planted indigo, and a grove of choice mango grafts, orange and lime trees. he bought buffaloes, and by careful selection and breeding evolved a magnificent type. these buffaloes have now become almost entirely fruit-eaters, and are engaged in seeking for and devouring the forest fruits, which--particularly the mowhra and forest fig--litter the ground in vast quantities. this habit of fruit-eating imparts to their milk a peculiarly rich nutty flavour, and the cream is of abnormally rich quality. the chenchus manufacture this into ghee (clarified butter), which they turn to profitable account. the brethren of the bairnuti chenchus dwelling in the forest of pacherla present very different conditions of life. they accentuate their nakedness by a narrow bark thread bound round the waist, into which are thrust their arrows and knife. this is their full dress. the hair, they aver, is the great and natural covering of mankind. why, therefore, violate the ordinary laws of nature by inventing supererogatory clothing? a missionary sportsman was fairly non-plussed by these arguments, particularly when his interlocutors pointed to a celebrated pass or gorge, through which the amorous kristna is averred to have pursued and captured a fascinating chenchu damsel. 'you see,' said the chenchu logician, 'the beauty of her form was so manifest in its rude simplicity that even the god could not resist it.' en passant it may be noted that, when a chenchu wishes to express superlative admiration of a belle, he compares her to a monkey. in his eyes, the supremest beauty of femininity is agility. the girl who can shin up a lofty tree, and bring him down fruit to eat is the acme of feminine perfection. 'ah, my sweet monkey girl,' said a demoralised chenchu, who was too idle to climb up a tree himself, 'she has been climbing trees all day, and throwing me fruit. there is not a man in the forest who can climb like my monkey girl.' the chenchus are wisely employed by the authorities as road-police or taliaris, to prevent highway dacoities. this is an astute piece of diplomacy. the chenchus themselves are the only dacoits thereabouts, and the salary paid them as road-police is virtually blackmail to induce them to guarantee the freedom of the forest highways. the chenchu barters the produce of the forests in which he lives, namely, honey and wax, deer horns and hides, tamarinds, wood apples (feronia elephantum), and mowhra (bassia latifolia) fruit and flowers, and realises a very considerable income from these sources. he reaps annually a rich harvest of hides and horns. the sambur (cervus unicolor) and spotted deer (cervus axis) shed their horns at certain seasons. these horns are hidden in the rank luxuriant grass. but, when the heat of the dry weather has withered it, the chenchu applies fire to it by rubbing two dried sticks together, and, walking in the wake of the flames, picks up the horns disclosed to view by the reduction of the vegetation to ashes. he supplements this method with his bow and rifle, and by the latter means alone obtains his hides. the chenchu is every bit as bad a shot as the average aboriginal. he rarely stalks, but, when he does, he makes up by his skill in woodcraft for his inexpertness with his gun. he understands the importance of not giving the deer a slant of his wind, and, if they catch a glimpse of him, he will stand motionless and black as the tree trunks around. the ambush by the salt-lick or water-hole, however, is his favourite method of sport. here, fortified with a supply of the pungent-smelling liquor which he illicitly distils from the mowhra flower he will lie night and day ruthlessly murdering sambur, spotted deer, nilgai (boselaphus tràgocamelus); four-horned antelope (tetracerus quadricornis). tigers often stalk down, and drink and roll in the pool, but the chenchu dares not draw a bead on him. perhaps the indifference of his shooting, of which he is conscious, deters him." when in danger from tigers or leopards, the chenchus climb a tree, and shout. the chenchus recognise two distinct varieties of leopards called chirra puli and chirta puli, concerning which blanford writes as follows. [21] "most of the sportsmen who have hunted in central india, and many native shikaris (sportsmen) distinguish two forms, and in parts of the country there is some appearance of two races--a larger form that inhabits the hills and forests, and a smaller form commonly occurring in patches of grass and bushes amongst cultivated fields and gardens. the larger form is said to have a shorter tail, a longer head with an occipital crest, and clearly defined spots on a paler ground-colour. the smaller form has a comparatively longer tail, a rounder head, less clearly defined spots, and rougher fur. i cannot help suspecting that the difference is very often due to age." a chenchu who was asked by me whether they kill wild beasts replied that they are wild beasts themselves. in devouring a feast of mutton provided for those who were my guests in camp, they certainly behaved as such, gnawing at the bones and tearing off the flesh. to the chenchus a feast, on however liberal a scale the food may be, is nothing without a copious supply of toddy, of which even infants receive a small share. in the absence of toddy, they sometimes manufacture illicit liquor from the flower-buds of the mahua (or mowhra) tree. the man who gained the prize (a coarse cotton cloth) in a shooting match with bow and arrow, with the head of a straw scarecrow as bull's-eye, was in an advanced stage of intoxication, and used his success as an argument in favour of drink. in a long distance shooting match, the prize was won with a carry of 144 yards, the arrow being shot high into the air. it was noted by captain newbold that the chenchus are not remarkably expert as archers, to judge from the awkwardness they exhibited in dispatching an unfortunate sheep picketed for them at forty yards, which was held out to them as the prize for the best marksman. some time ago a chenchu, who was the bully of his settlement, beat another chenchu and his wife. the injured man appealed to the district forest officer, and, explaining that he knew the law did not allow him to kill his enemy, applied for a written permit to go after him with a bow and arrow. some chenchus bear on the head a cap made of wax-cloth, deer or hare skin. by the more fashionable the tufted ear or bushy tail-end of the large indian squirrel (sciurus indicus) is attached by way of ornament to the string with which the hair of the head is tied into a bunch behind. leafy garments have been replaced by white loin-cloths, and some of the women have adopted the ravike (bodice), in imitation of the female costume in the plains. boys, girls, and women wear bracelets made of phoenix or palmyra palm leaves. by some pieces of stick strung on a thread, or seeds of givotia rottleriformis, are worn as a charm to ward off various forms of pain. some of the women are tattooed on the forehead, corners of the eyes, and arms. and i saw a few men tattooed on the shoulder as a cure for rheumatism. the huts of which a present day gudem is composed are either in the shape of bee-hives like those of the yanadis, or oblong with sloping roof, and situated in a grove near a pond or stream. the staple food of the chenchus consists of cereals, supplemented by yams (dioscorea) which are uprooted with a digging-stick tipped with iron, forest fruits, and various animals such as peacock, crow, lizard (varanus), bear, and black monkey. they are very fond of the young flowers and buds of the mahua tree, and tamarind fruits, the acidity of which is removed by mixing with them the ashes of the bark of the same tree. the forest products collected by the chenchus include myrabolams, fruits of the tamarind, semecarpus anacardiúm, sapindus trifoliatus (soap-nut), buchanania latifolia, buchanania angustifolia, and ficus glomerata; roots of aristolochia indica and hemidesmus indicus; seeds of abrus precatorius; flowers of bassia latifolia; horns, and honey. the chenchus recognise two kinds of bees, large and small, and gather honey from nests in trees or rocks. it is stated in the cuddapah manual that "the yenadis or chenchus alone are able to climb miraculously into difficult and apparently inaccessible places, and over perpendicular cliffs in some places from a hundred to two hundred feet high. this they do by means of a plaited rope made of young bamboos tied together. accidents sometimes happen by the rope giving way. it is a nervous sight to watch them climbing up and down this frail support. from below the men look like little babies hanging midway. the rope being fastened on the top of the cliff by means of a peg driven into the ground or by a tree, the man swings suspended in the air armed with a basket and a stick. the chenchu first burns some brushwood or grass under the hive, which is relinquished by most of the bees. this accomplished, he swings the rope, until it brings him close to the hive, which he pokes with his stick, at the same time holding out his basket to catch the pieces broken off from the hive. when the basket is full, he shakes the rope, and is drawn up (generally by his wife's brother). the bamboo ropes are never taken away; nor are they used a second time, a fresh one being made on each occasion, and at each place. they are to be seen hanging for years, until they decay and fall down of themselves." like other telugu classes, the chenchus have exogamous septs or intiperu, of which the following are examples:--gurram (horse), arati (plantain tree), manla (trees), tota (garden), mekala (goats), indla (houses), savaram (sovereign, gold coin), and gundam (pit). of the marriage customs the following account is given in the kurnool manual. "the chenchus do not follow a uniform custom in respect to marriage ceremonies. their marriage is performed in three ways. a man wishing to marry selects his own bride, and both retire for one night by mutual consent from the gudem. on the following morning, when they return, their parents invite their friends and relatives, and by formally investing them with new clothes, declare them duly married. to complete the ceremony, a meal is given to those assembled. the second method is as follows. a small space, circular in form, is cleaned and besmeared with cowdung. in the centre a bow and arrow tied together are fixed in the ground, and the bride and bridegroom are made to move round it, when the men assembled bless them by throwing some rice over them, and the marriage is complete. according to the third mode, a brahmin is consulted by the elders of the family. an auspicious day is fixed, and a raised pial (platform) is formed, on which the bride and bridegroom being seated, a tali (marriage badge) is tied, and rice poured over their heads. the services of the brahmin are engaged for three or four days, and are rewarded with a piece of new cloth and some money. this ceremony resembles that of the ryot (cultivating) class among the hindus. it is evidently a recent brahminical innovation. on marriage occasions generally tom-toms, if available, are beaten, and a dance takes place." in the second form of marriage, as described to me, the bride and bridegroom sit opposite each other with four arrows stuck in the ground between them. in mackenzie's record it is stated that the chenchus make the bridal pair sit with a single arrow between them, and, when there is no shadow, some elderly men and women throw rice over their heads. the importance of the arrow with the chenchus, as with the yanadis, is that the moment when it casts no shadow is the auspicious time for the completion of the marriage rite. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and the second husband is said to be in most cases a brother of the deceased one. as an example of the chenchu songs, the following marriage song, sung by two men and a woman, and recorded by my phonograph, may be cited:- the tali was of avaram [22] leaves, oh! the lord of the chenchus. the bashingham [23] was made of the leaf of a wild tree, oh! the lord of the chenchus. wild turmeric was used for the kankanam [24], oh! the lord of the chenchus. wearing a garment made of the leaves of the paru tree, oh! the lord of the chenchus. wearing a bodice made of the leaves of the pannu tree, oh! the lord of the chenchus. roaming over inaccessible hills, oh! the lord of the chenchus. wandering through dense forests, oh! the lord of the chenchus. committing acts that ought not to be done, oh! the lord of the chenchus. obalesa's marriage was celebrated, oh! the lord of the chenchus. a four-cornered dais was made, oh! the lord of the chenchus. on the dais arrows were stuck, oh! the lord of the chenchus. bamboo rice was used to throw on the heads of the pair, oh! the lord of the chenchus. cocoanut cups were stuck on the points of the arrow, oh! the lord of the chenchus. the marriage was thus celebrated. at a dance in my honour, men and women executed a series of step dances in time with a drum (thappata) resembling a big tambourine, which, at the conclusion of each dance, was passed to and fro through a blazing fire of cholum straw to bring it up to the proper pitch. an elderly hag went through a variety of gesticulations like those of a deva-dasi (dancing-girl). a man dressed up in straw and fragments of mats picked up near my camp, and another disguised as a woman, with bells round his ankles, supplied the comic business. in the kurnool manual it is stated that "as soon as a child is born, the umbilical cord is cut (with a knife or arrow), and the child is washed in cold or hot water, according as the season is hot or cold. on the third day, all the women of the tribe are invited, and served with betel nut. on the fourth day, an old woman gives a name to the child. the baby is generally laid in a cradle made of deer skins, and suspended from a bamboo by means of strings or dusara creepers." the dead are carried to the burial-place in a cloth slung on a pole. the body, after it has been laid in the grave, is covered over with leafy twigs, and the grave is filled in. the spot is marked by a mound of earth and stones piled up. on the second or third day, some cooked food is offered to the soul of the deceased person, near the grave, and, after some of it has been set apart for the crows, the remainder is buried in the mound or within the grave. the same rite is repeated after the eighth day. the chenchus are said [25], like the yanadis, to worship a god called chenchu devata, to whom offerings of honey and fruits are sometimes made. they believe, as has been mentioned already, that the god narasimha of ahobilam, whom they call obalesudu, carried off a beautiful chenchu girl, named chenchita, and married her. to prevent the occurrence of a similar fate to other females of the tribe, chenchita ordained that they should in future be born ugly, and be devoid of personal charms. the chenchus claim obalesudu as their brother-in-law, and, when they go to the temple for the annual festival, carry cloths as presents for the god and goddess. the legend of their origin is told as follows by captain newbold. "previous to the incarnation of sri krishna in the dwapara yug (the third of the great ages), the chenchwars were shepherds of the yerra golla caste. obal iswara, the swami (deity) of obalam, a celebrated hill shrine in the nalla mallas, having taken away and kept as a chenchita a maid of the yerra golla family, begat upon her children, of whom they are descendants." among other minor deities, the chenchus are said to worship ankalamma, potu razu, sunkalamma, mallamma, and guruppa. in the absence of lucifer matches, the chenchus make fire with flint and steel, and the slightly charred floss of the white cotton tree, eriodendron anfractuosum, i am informed that, like the paniyans of malabar, they also obtain fire by friction, by means of the horizontal or sawing method, with two pieces of split bamboo. some chenchus still exhibit the primitive short stature and high nasal index, which are characteristic of other jungle tribes such as the kadirs, paniyans, and kurumbas. but there is a very conspicuous want of uniformity in their physical characters, and many individuals are to be met with, above middle height or tall, with long narrow noses. a case is noted in the kurnool manual, in which a brick-maker married a chenchu girl. and i was told of a boya man who had married into the tribe, and was living in a gudem. in this way is the pure type of chenchu metamorphosed. =============================================== stature, cm. | nasal index. -----------------------+---------------------- av. | max. | min. | av. | max. | min. -------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------ 162.5 | 175 | 149.6 | 81.9 | 95.7 | 68.1 =============================================== by the dolichocephalic type of head which has persisted, and which the chenchus possess in common with various other jungle tribes, they are, as shown by the following table, at once differentiated from the mesaticephalic dwellers in the plains near the foot of the nallamalais:- ================================================ | cephalic | number of cases --- | index. | in which index | | exceeded 80. -------------------+----------+---------------- 40 chenchus | 74.3 | 1 60 gollas | 77.5 | 9 50 boyas | 77.9 | 14 39 tota balijas | 78. | 10 49 motati kapus | 78. | 16 19 upparas | 78.8 | 4 16 mangalas | 78.8 | 7 17 yerukalas | 78.6 | 6 12 medaras | 80.7 | 8 ================================================ the visual acuity of the chenchus was tested with cohn's letter e, no. 6. for clinical purposes, the visual acuity would be represented by a fraction, of which 6 is the denominator, and the number of metres at which the position of the letter was recognised by the individual tested is the numerator, e.g., v.a. = 13m/6 = 2.16. the average distances in metres, at which the letter was recognised by the various castes and tribes examined by myself and dr. w. h. r. rivers, were as follows:- 16 sholagas (rivers) 12.9 94 kotas 12.8 180 badagas 12.6 50 paraiyans 12.5 58 telugu ryats 12.4 28 chenchus 12.3 55 uralis (rivers) 12.2 30 brahmans, mysore 12.2 30 non-brahmans, mysore 12.2 in all classes, it may be noted, the average acuity was between 12 and 13 metres (13 to 14 yards), and ranged between v.a. = 2·15 and v.a. = 2·03. the maxima distances, at which the position of the letter was recognised, were:--sholaga, 18m; paraiyan, 19m; badaga and dikshitar brahman, 20m. no cases of extraordinary hyper-acuity were met with. the nine classes, or groups of classes examined, cover a wide range of degrees of civilisation from the wild jungle chenchus, sholagas, and uralis, to the cultured brahman. and, though the jungle man, who has to search for his food and mark the tracks and traces of wild beasts, undoubtedly possesses a specially trained keenness of vision for the exigencies of his primitive life, the figures show that, as regards ordinary visual acuity, he has no advantage over the more highly civilised classes. there were, in 1904-05, two board upper primary schools for the chenchus of the kurnool district, which were attended by seventy-three pupils, who were fed and clothed, and supplied with books and slates free of charge. chenu (dry field).--an exogamous sept of kamma. cheppat.--a sub-division of maran. cherukara.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. cheruku.--cheruku (sugar-cane) or cherukula has been recorded as an exogamous sept of boya, jogi and odde. cheruman.--the cherumans or cherumukkal have been defined as a malayalam caste of agricultural serfs, and as members of an inferior caste in malabar, who are, as a rule, toilers attached to the soil. in the madras census report, 1891, it is stated that "this caste is called cheruman in south malabar and pulayan in north malabar. even in south malabar where they are called cheruman, a large sub-division numbering over 30,000 is called pula cheruman. the most important of the sub-divisions returned are kanakkan, pula cheruman, eralan, kudan and rolan. kanakkan and pula cheruman are found in all the southern taluks, kudan almost wholly in walluvanad, and eralan in palghat and walluvanad." in the census report, 1901, alan (slave), and paramban are given as sub-castes of cheruman. according to one version, the name cheruma or cheramakkal signifies sons of the soil; and, according to another, cheriamakkal means little children, as parasurama directed that they should be cared for, and treated as such. the word pulayan is said to be derived from pula, meaning pollution. of the cherumans, the following account is given in the gazetteer of malabar. "they are said to be divided into 39 divisions, the more important of which are the kanakka cherumans, the pula cherumans or pulayas, the era cherumans or eralans, the roli cherumans or rolans, and the kudans. whether these sub-divisions should be treated as separate castes or not, it is hardly possible to determine; some of them at least are endogamous groups, and some are still further sub-divided. thus the pulayas of chirakkal are said to be divided into one endogamous and eleven exogamous groups, called mavadan, elamanam, tacchakudiyan, kundaton, cheruvulan, mulattan, talan, vannatam, eramalodiyan, mullaviriyan, egudan, and kundon. some at least of these group names obviously denote differences of occupation. the kundotti, or woman of the last group, acts as midwife; and in consequence the group is considered to convey pollution by touch to members of the other groups, and they will neither eat nor marry with those belonging to it. death or birth pollution is removed by a member of the mavadan class called maruttan, who sprinkles cowdung mixed with water on the feet, and milk on the head of the person to be purified. at weddings, the maruttan receives 32 fanams, the prescribed price of a bride, from the bridegroom, and gives it to the bride's people. the era cherumans and kanakkans, who are found only in the southern taluks of the district, appear to be divided into exogamous groups called kuttams, many of which seem to be named after the house-name of the masters whom they serve. the cherumans are almost solely employed as agricultural labourers and coolies; but they also make mats and baskets." it is noted [26] by mr. l. k. anantha krishna iyer that "from traditions current among the pulayas, it would appear that, once upon a time, they had dominion over several parts of the country. a person called aikkara yajaman, whose ancestors were pulaya kings, is still held in considerable respect by the pulayas of north travancore, and acknowledged as their chieftain and lord, while the aikkaranad in the kunnethnad taluk still remains to lend colour to the tale. in trivandrum, on the banks of the velli lake, is a hill called pulayanar kotta, where it is believed that a pulaya king once ruled. in other places, they are also said to have held sway. as a paraya found at melkota the image of selvapillai, as a savara was originally in possession of the sacred stone which became the idol in the temple of jaganath, so also is the worship of padmanabha at trivandrum intimately connected with a pulayan. once a pulaya woman, who was living with her husband in the ananthan kadu (jungle), suddenly heard the cry of a baby. she rushed to the spot, and saw to her surprise a child lying on the ground, protected by a snake. she took pity on it, and nursed it like her own child. the appearance of the snake intimated to her the divine origin of the infant. this proved to be true, for the child was an incarnation of vishnu. as soon as the raja of travancore heard of the wonderful event, he built a shrine on the spot where the baby had been found, and dedicated it to padmanabha. the pulayas round trivandrum assert to this day that, in former times, a pulaya king ruled, and had his castle not far from the present capital of travancore. the following story is also current among them. the pulayas got from the god siva a boon, with spade and axe, to clear forests, own lands, and cultivate them. when other people took possession of them, they were advised to work under them." according to mr. logan, [27] the cherumans are of two sections, one of which, the iraya, are of slightly higher social standing than the pulayan. "as the names denote, the former are permitted to come as far as the eaves (ira) of their employers' houses, while the latter name denotes that they convey pollution to all whom they meet or approach." the name cheruman is supposed to be derived from cheru, small, the cheruman being short of stature, or from chera, a dam or low-lying rice field. mr. logan, however, was of opinion that there is ample evidence that "the malabar coast at one time constituted the kingdom or empire of chera, and the nad or county of cheranad lying on the coast and inland south-east of calicut remains to the present day to give a local habitation to the ancient name. moreover, the name of the great emperor of malabar, who is known to every child on the coast as cheraman perumal, was undoubtedly the title and not the name of the emperor, and meant the chief (literally, big man) of the chera people." of the history of slavery in malabar an admirable account is given by mr. logan, from which the following extracts are taken. "in 1792, the year in which british rule commenced, a proclamation was issued against dealing in slaves. in 1819, the principal collector wrote a report on the condition of the cherumar, and received orders that the practice of selling slaves for arrears of revenue be immediately discontinued. in 1821, the court of directors expressed considerable dissatisfaction at the lack of precise information which had been vouchsafed to them, and said 'we are told that part of the cultivators are held as slaves: that they are attached to the soil, and marketable property.' in 1836, the government ordered the remission in the collector's accounts of rs. 927-13-0, which was the annual revenue from slaves on the government lands in malabar, and the government was at the same time 'pleased to accede to the recommendation in favour of emancipating the slaves on the government lands in malabar.' in 1841, mr. e. b. thomas, the judge at calicut, wrote in strong terms a letter to the sadr adalat, in which he pointed out that women in some taluks (divisions) fetched higher prices, in order to breed slaves; that the average cost of a young male under ten years was about rs. 3-8-0, of a female somewhat less; that an infant ten months old was sold in a court auction for rs. 1-10-6 independent of the price of its mother; and that, in a recent suit, the right to twenty-seven slaves was the 'sole matter of litigation, and was disposed of on its merits.' in a further letter, mr. thomas pointed out that the slaves had increased in numbers from 144,000 at the census, 1835, to 159,000 at the census, 1842. it was apparently these letters which decided the board of directors to send out orders to legislate. and the government of india passed act v of 1843, of which the provisions were widely published through malabar. the collector explained to the cherumar that it was in their interest, as well as their duty, to remain with their masters, if kindly treated. he proclaimed that 'the government will not order a slave who is in the employ of an individual to forsake him and go to the service of another claimant; nor will the government interfere with the slave's inclination as to where he wishes to work.' and again, 'any person claiming a slave as janmam, kanam or panayam, the right of such claim or claims will not be investigated into at any one of the public offices or courts.' in 1852, and again in 1855, the fact that traffic in slaves still continued was brought to the notice of government, but on full consideration no further measures for the emancipation of the cherumar were deemed to be necessary. the cherumar even yet have not realised what public opinion in england would probably have forced down their throats fifty years ago, and there is reason to think that they are still, even now, with their full consent bought and sold and hired out, although, of course, the transaction must be kept secret for fear of the penalties of the penal code, which came into force in 1862, and was the real final blow at slavery in india. the slaves, however, as a caste will never understand what real freedom means, until measures are adopted to give them indefeasible rights in the small orchards occupied by them as house-sites." it is noted by mr. anantha krishna iyer that "though slavery has been abolished many years ago, the name valliyal (a person receiving valli, i.e., paddy given to a slave) still survives." by the penal code it is enacted that- whoever imports, exports, removes, buys, sells, or disposes of any person as a slave, or accepts, receives, or detains against his will any person as a slave, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to a fine. whoever habitually imports, exports, removes, buys, sells, traffics or deals in slaves, shall be punished with transportation for life, or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, and shall be liable to a fine. whoever unlawfully compels any person to labour against the will of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with a fine, or with both. "very low indeed," mr. s. appadorai iyer writes, [28] "is the social position of these miserable beings. when a cherumar meets a person of superior caste; he must stand at a distance of thirty feet. if he comes within this prohibited distance, his approach is said to cause pollution, which is removed only by bathing in water. a cherumar cannot approach a brahman village or temple, or tank. if he does so, purification becomes necessary. even while using the public road, if he sees his lord and master, he has to leave the ordinary way and walk, it may be in the mud, to avoid his displeasure by accidentally polluting him. to avoid polluting the passer-by, he repeats the unpleasant sound 'o, oh, o--'. [in some places, e.g., palghat, one may often see a cheruman with a dirty piece of cloth spread on the roadside, and yelling in a shrill voice 'ambrane, ambarane, give me some pice, and throw them on the cloth.'] his position is intolerable in the native states of cochin and travancore, where brahman influence is in the ascendant; while in the palghat taluk the cherumars cannot, even to this day, enter the bazaar." a melancholy picture has been drawn of the cherumans tramping along the marshes in mud, often wet up to their waists, to avoid polluting their superiors. in 1904, a cheruman came within polluting distance of a nayar, and was struck with a stick. the cheruman went off and fetched another, whereupon the nayar ran away. he was, however, pursued by the cherumans. in defending himself with a spade, the nayar struck the foremost cheruman on the head, and killed him. [29] in another case, a cheruman, who was the servant of a mappilla, was fetching grass for his master, when he inadvertently approached some tiyans, and thereby polluted them. the indignant tiyans gave not only the cheruman, but his master also, a sound beating by way of avenging the insult offered to them. the status of the pulayas of the cochin state is thus described by mr. anantha krishna iyer. "they abstain from eating food prepared by the velakkathalavans (barbers), mannans (washermen), panans, vettuvans, parayans, nayadis, ulladans, malayans, and kadars. the pulayas in the southern parts of the state have to stand at a distance of 90 feet from brahmans and 64 feet from nayars, and this distance gradually diminishes towards the lower castes. they are polluted by pula cherumas, parayas, nayadis, and ulladans. [the pula cherumas are said to eat beef, and sell the hides of cattle.] the kanakka cherumas of the chittur taluk pollute era cherumas and konga cherumas by touch, and by approach within a distance of seven or eight feet, and are themselves polluted by pula cherumas, parayas, and vettuvans, who have to stand at the same distance. pulayas and vettuvans bathe when they approach one another, for their status is a point of dispute as to which is superior to the other. when defiled by the touch of a nayadi, a cheruman has to bathe in seven tanks, and let a few drops of blood flow from one of his fingers. a brahman who enters the compound of a pulayan has to change his holy thread, and take panchagavyam (the five products of the cow) so as to be purified from pollution. the valluva pulayan of the trichur taluk fasts for three days, if he happens to touch a cow that has been delivered of a calf. he lives on toddy and tender cocoanuts. he has also to fast three days after the delivery of his wife." in ordinary conversation in malabar, such expressions as tiya-pad or cheruma-pad (that is, the distance at which a tiyan or cheruman has to keep) are said to be commonly used. [30] by mr. t. k. gopal panikkar the cherumans are described [31] as "a very inferior race, who are regarded merely as agricultural instruments in the hands of the landlords their masters, who supply them with houses on their estates. their daily maintenance is supplied to them by their masters themselves. every morning the master's agent summons them to his house, and takes them away to work in the fields, in ploughing, drawing water from wells, and in short doing the whole of the cultivation. in the evening a certain quantity of paddy (unhusked rice) is distributed to them as wages. both theory and practice, in the great majority of cases, are that they are fed at the master's cost the whole year round, whether they work in the fields or not. but it is very seldom that they can have a holiday, regard being had to the nature of agriculture in malabar. it is the cheruma that should plough the land, sow the seed, transplant the seedlings, regulate the flow of water in the fields, uproot the weeds, and see that the crops are not destroyed by animals, or stolen. when the crops ripen, he has to keep watch at night. the sentry house consists of a small oval-shaped portable roof, constructed of palmyra and cocoanut leaves, supported by four posts, across which are tied bamboos, which form the watchman's bed. wives sometimes accompany their husbands in their watches. when the harvest season approaches, the cheruman's hands are full. he has to cut the crops, carry them to the barn (kalam), separate the corn from the stalk, and winnow it. the second crop operations immediately follow, and the cheruma has to go through all these processes again. it is in the summer season that his work is light, when he is set to prepare vegetable gardens, or some odd job is found for him by his master. the old, infirm, and the children look after their master's cattle. receiving his daily pittance of paddy, the cheruman enters his hut, and reserves a portion of it for the purchase of salt, chillies, toddy, tobacco, and dried fish. the other portion is reserved for food. the cheruman spends the greater part of his wages on toddy. it is a very common sight in malabar to see a group of cherumans, including women and children, sitting in front of a toddy shop, the cheruman transferring the unfinished portion of the toddy to his wife, and the latter to the children. a cheruman, however, rarely gets intoxicated, or commits crime. no recess is allowed to the cherumans, except on national holidays and celebrated temple festivals observed in honour of the goddess bhagavati or kali, when they are quite free to indulge in drink. on these days, their hire is given in advance. with this they get intoxicated, and go to the poora-paramba or temple premises, where the festival is celebrated, in batches of four, each one tying his hands to another's neck, and reciting every two seconds the peculiar sound: lalle lalle lalle ho. lalle lalle lalle ho. "on the european plantations in the wynad the cherumans are in great request, and many are to be seen travelling nowadays without fear in railway carriages on their way to the plantations. a few also work in the gold mines of mysore." like other servile classes, the cherumans possess special privileges on special occasions. for example, at the chal (furrow) ceremony in malabar "the master of the house, the cultivating agent, and cherumans assemble in the barn, a portion of the yard in front of the building is painted with rice-water, and a lighted bell-lamp is placed near at hand with some paddy and rice, and several cups made of the leaves of the kanniram (strychnos nux-vomica)--as many cups as there are varieties of seed in the barn. then, placing implicit faith in his gods, and deceased ancestors, the master of the house opens the barn door, followed by the cheruman with a new painted basket containing the leaf cups. the master then takes a handful of seed from a seed-basket, and fills one of the cups, and the cultivating agent, head cheruman, and others who are interested in a good harvest, fill the cups till the seeds are exhausted. the basket, with the cups, is next taken to the decorated portion of the yard. a new ploughshare is fastened to a new plough, and a pair of cattle are brought on to the scene. plough, cattle, and basket are all painted with rice-water. a procession proceeds to the fields, on reaching which the head cheruman lays down the basket, and makes a mound of earth with the spade. to this a little manure is added, and the master throws a handful of seed into it. the cattle are then yoked, and one turn is ploughed by the head cheruman. inside this at least seven furrows are made, and the plough is dropped to the right. an offering is made to ganapathi (the elephant god), and the master throws some seed into a furrow. next the head cheruman calls out 'may the gods on high and the deceased ancestors bless the seed, which has been thrown broadcast, and the cattle which are let loose; the mother and children of the house, the master, and the slaves, may they also vouchsafe to us a good crop, good sunshine, and good harvest.' a cocoanut is then cut on the ploughshare, and from the cut portions several deductions are made. if the hinder part is larger than the front one, the harvest will be moderate. if the cut passes through the eyes of the nut, or if no water is left in the cut portions, certain misfortune is foreboded. the cut fragments are then taken with a little water inside them, and a leaf of the tulsi plant (ocimum sanctum) dropped in. if the leaf turns to the right, a prosperous harvest is assured; whereas, if it turns to the left, certain calamity will follow. this ceremonial concluded, there is much shouting, and the names of all the gods may be heard called out in a confused prayer. the party then breaks up, and the unused seeds are divided among the workmen." [32] at the ceremony in malabar, when the transplantation of rice is completed, during which a goat is sacrificed to muni, the protector of cattle and field labourers, the officiating priest is generally the cultivation agent of the family, who is a nayar, or sometimes a cheruman. in connection with the harvest ceremonial in cochin, mr. anantha krishna iyer writes as follows. "there are some curious customs connected with the harvest, prevailing among the pulayas of the southern parts of the state. before reaping, the pulaya headman asks his master whether he may begin to reap. with his permission, he faces the east, and puts the sickle to the stalks. the first bundle he reserves for the gods of his master, and the second for those of his castemen. before thrashing, the same headman takes a few bundles of corn from the sheaf intended for their gods, and sprinkles toddy on them. another pulayan does the same for the various reapers, and says, as he does so 'come, thrashing corn, increase.' this is called filling the thrashing floor, and each man thrashes his own sheaves. when the thrashing is over, the headman puts his master's sheaf in the centre of the floor, and his own at a short distance outside, in order that the two sets of gods may look kindly on them. the headman is privileged to measure the corn sitting with his two assistants, saying 'come, paddy, increase,' as he counts. he also calls out 'good paddy, one', 'bad paddy, two', and so on, until he counts ten. the eleventh is the share for the reaper. he takes a handful, and places it in a basket, half of which falls to him, his assistants and the watchman, while the other half is given away in charity to the poor men that come to the thrashing place. in the northern parts of the state, before reaping, offerings of goats, fowls, and cocoanuts, are made to mallan and muni. the cheruma headman faces east, and applies his sickle to the stalks, reserving the first stalk for the deities above mentioned. the corn is thrashed and measured by one of them, and, as he does so, he says 'labham' (profit) for one, 'chetham' (loss) for two, and counts up to ten. the eleventh goes to the share of the reapers. thus they get one para for every ten paras of corn. the poor people that attend are also given a handful of the grain. after reaping, the members of the castes named in the table below receive a small portion of the corn for their services rendered to the farmers in the course of the months during which cultivation has been carried on:- ==============+====================================+=============== caste. | purpose for which paddy | remuneration. | is given. | --------------+------------------------------------+-------------- carpenters | for making and repairing | a big bundle | ploughs, etc. | of corn. blacksmiths | for making sickles, knives, | do. | and other tools. | parayan | for lifting and placing the | do. | loads of stalks on the heads | | of the cherumans, who carry | | them to the farmyard. | washerman or | for keeping off birds, insects, | do. mannan. | etc., from the fields by magic. | vilkurup | for treating cherumas during | do. | their illness, and for shampooing | | them. | kaniyan or | for giving information of the | do. astrologer. | auspicious times for ploughing, | | sowing, transplanting | | and reaping, and also of the | | time for giving rice, vegetables, | | oil, etc., to the | | cherumas during the onam | | festival. | ==============+====================================+=============== "the pulayans receive, in return for watching, a small portion of the field near the watchman's rest-hut, which is left unreaped for him. it fetches him a para of paddy. "the cherumas who are engaged in reaping get two bundles of corn each for every field. for measuring the corn from the farmyard, a cheruman gets an edangazhy of paddy, in addition to his daily wage. three paras of paddy are set apart for the local village deity. during the month of karkadakam, the masters give every cheruman a fowl, some oil, garlic, mustard, anise seeds, pepper, and turmeric. they prepare a decoction of seeds, and boil the flesh of the fowl in it, which they take for three days, during which they are allowed to take rest. three days' wages are also given in advance." in travancore, a festival named macam is held, of which the following account has been published. [33] "the macam (tenth constellation regulus, which follows thiru onam in august), is regarded by hindus as a day of great festivity. one must enjoy it even at the cost of one's children, so runs an adage. the day is considered to be so lucky that a girl born under the star regulus is verily born with a silver spoon in her mouth. it was on macam, some say, that the devas, to free themselves from the curse they were put under by a certain sage, had to churn the sea of milk to procure ambrosia. be the cause which led to the celebration what it may, the hindus of the present day have ever been enthusiastic in its observance; only some of the rude customs connected with it have died out in the course of time, or were put a stop to by government. sham fights were, and are still, in some places a feature of the day. such a sham fight used to be carried on at pallam until, about a hundred years ago, it was stopped through the intervention of colonel munro, the british resident in travancore. the place is still called patanilam (battle field), and the tank, on opposite sides of which the contending parties assembled, chorakulam (pool of blood). the steel swords and spears, of curious and various shapes, and shields large enough to cover a man, are even now preserved in the local temple. many lives were lost in these fights. it is not generally known, even to people in these parts, that a sham fight takes place on macam and the previous day every year at a place called wezhapra, between the changanacherry and ambalapuzha taluks. three banyan trees mark the place. people, especially pulayas and pariahs, to the number of many thousands, collect round the outside trees with steel swords, spears, and slings in their hands. a small bund (embankment) separates the two parties. they have to perform certain religious rites near the tree which stands in the middle, and, in doing so, make some movements with their swords and spears to the accompaniment of music. if those standing on one side of the bund cross it, a regular fight is the result. in order to avoid such things, without at the same time interfering with their liberty to worship at the spot, the government this year made all the necessary arrangements. the police were sent for the purpose. everything went off smoothly but for one untoward event. the people had been told not to come armed with steel weapons, but with wooden ones. they had to put them down, and were then allowed to go and worship." of conversion to muhammadanism at the present time, a good example is afforded by the cherumans. "this caste," the census superintendent, 1881, writes, "numbered 99,009 in malabar at the census of 1871, and, in 1881, is returned as only 64,735. there are 40,000 fewer cherumans than there would have been but for some disturbing influence, and this is very well known to be conversion to muhammadanism. the honour of islam once conferred on the cheruman, he moves at one spring several places higher than that which he originally occupied." "conversion to muhammadanism," mr. logan writes, "has had a marked effect in freeing the slave caste in malabar from their former burthens. by conversion a cheruman obtains a distinct rise in the social scale, and, if he is in consequence bullied or beaten, the influence of the whole muhammadan community comes to his aid." it has been noted [34] that cheruman converts to islam take part in the moplah (mappilla) outbreaks, which from time to time disturb the peace of malabar. the home of the cheruman is called a chala or hut, which has a thatched roof of grass and palm-leaves resembling an immense bee-hive. a big underground cell, with a ceiling of planks, forms the granary of the occupants of these huts. the chief house furniture consists of a pestle and mortar, and two or three earthenware pots. the habitations of the pulayas of cochin are thus described by mr. anantha krishna iyer. "their huts are generally called madams, which are put up on the banks of fields, in the middle of rice flats, or on trees along their borders, so as to enable them to watch the crops after the toils of the day. they are discouraged from erecting better huts, under the idea that, if settled more comfortably, they would be less inclined to move as cultivation required. the madams are very poor huts, supported on four small posts, and thatched with leaves. the sides are protected with the same kind of leaves. there is only one room, and the floor, though slightly raised, is very damp during the rainy months. these temporary buildings are removed after the harvest, and put up in places where cultivation has to be carried on. all the members of the family sleep together in the same hut. small temporary huts are sometimes erected, which are little better than inverted baskets. these are placed in the rice field while the crop is on the ground, and near the stacks while it is being thrashed. in the northern parts of the state, the pulaya huts are made of mud walls, and provided with wooden doors. the roofs are of bamboo framework thatched with palmyra palm leaves. the floor is raised, and the huts are provided with pyals (raised platforms) on three sides. they have also small compounds (grounds) around them. there is only one room inside, which is the sleeping apartment of the newly married youngsters. the others, i am told, sleep on the verandahs. the utensils consist of a few earthen pots for cooking and keeping water, and a few earthen dishes for taking food. in addition to these, i found a wooden mortar, a few pestles, two pans, two winnowing pans, a fish basket for each woman, a few cocoanut shells for keeping salt and other things, a few baskets of their own making, in one of which a few dirty cloths were placed, some mats of their own making, a bamboo vessel for measuring corn, and a vessel for containing toddy." "during the rainy season, the cherumas in the field wear a few green leaves, especially those of the plantain tree, tied round their waists, and a small cone-shaped cap, made of plantain leaf, is worn on the head. this practice, among the females, has fallen into disuse in malabar, though it is to some extent still found in the native states. the cherumi is provided with one long piece of thick cloth, which she wraps round her waist, and which does not even reach the knees. she does not cover the chest." [35] the cheruma females have been described as wearing, when at work in the open, a big oval-shaped handleless umbrella covered with palm leaves, which they place on their back, and which covers the whole of their person in the stooping attitude. the men use, during the rainy season, a short-handled palm-leaf umbrella. the women are profusely decorated with cheap jewelry of which the following are examples: 1. lobes of both ears widely dilated by rolled leaden ornaments. brass, and two glass bead necklets, string necklet with flat brass ornaments, the size of a venetian sequin, with device as in old travancore gold coins, with two brass cylinders pendent behind, and tassels of red cotton. three brass rings on right little finger; two on left ring finger, one brass and two steel bangles on left wrist. 2. several bead necklets, and a single necklet of many rows of beads. brass necklet like preceding, with steel prong and scoop, for removing wax from the ears and picking teeth, tied to one of the necklets. attached to, and pendent from one necklet, three palm leaf rolls with symbols and malayalam inscription to act as a charm in driving away devils. three ornamental brass bangles on right forearm, two on left. iron bangle on left wrist. thin brass ring in helix of each ear. seventy thin brass rings (alandoti) with heavy brass ornament (adikaya) in dilated lobe of each ear. 3. in addition to glass bead necklets, a necklet with heavy heart-shaped brass pendants. string round neck to ward off fever. 4. string necklet with five brass cylinders pendent; five brass bangles on right wrist; six brass and two iron bangles on left wrist. right hand, one copper and five brass rings on middle finger; one iron and three brass rings on little finger. left hand, one copper and five brass rings on middle finger; three brass and two copper rings on ring finger; one brass ring on little finger. 5. trouser button in helix of left ear. 6. brass bead necklet with pendent brass ornament with legend "best superior umbrella made in japan, made for fazalbhoy peeroo mahomed, bombay." a cheruman, at calicut, had his hair long and unkempt, as he played the drum at the temple. another had the hair arranged in four matted plaits, for the cure of disease in performance of a vow. a man who wore a copper cylinder on his loin string, containing a brass strip with mantrams (consecrated formulæ) engraved on it, sold it to me for a rupee with the assurance that it would protect me from devils. concerning the marriage ceremony of the cherumans in malabar, mr. appadorai iyer writes that "the bridegroom's sister is the chief performer. it is she who pays the bride's price, and carries her off. the consent of the parents is required, and is signified by an interchange of visits between the parents of the bride and bridegroom. during these visits, rice-water (conji) is sipped. before tasting the conji, they drop a fanam (local coin) into the vessel containing it, as a token of assent to the marriage. when the wedding party sets out, a large congregation of cherumans follow, and at intervals indulge in stick play, the women singing in chorus to encourage them 'let us see, let us see the stick play (vadi tallu), oh! cheruman.' the men and women mingle indiscriminately in the dance during the wedding ceremony. on the return to the bridegroom's hut, the bride is expected to weep loudly, and deplore her fate. on entering the bridegroom's hut, she must tread on a pestle placed across the threshold." during the dance, the women have been described as letting down their hair, and dancing with a tolerable amount of rhythmic precision amid vigorous drumming and singing. according to another account, the bridegroom receives from his brother-in-law a kerchief, which the giver ties round his waist, and a bangle which is placed on his arm. the bride receives a pewter vessel from her brother. next her cousin ties a kerchief round the groom's forehead, and sticks a betel leaf in it. the bride is then handed over to the bridegroom. of the puberty and marriage ceremonies of the pulayas of cochin, the following detailed account is given by mr. anantha krishna iyer. "when a pulaya girl comes of age, she is located in a separate hut. five vallons (headmen), and the castemen of the kara (settlement), are invited to take part in the performance of the ceremony. a song, called malapattu, is sung for an hour by a parayan to the accompaniment of drum and pipe. the parayan gets a para of paddy, and his assistants three annas each. as soon as this is over, seven cocoanuts are broken, and the water thereof is poured over the head of the girl, and the broken halves are distributed among the five vallons and seven girls who are also invited to be present. some more water is also poured on the girl's head at the time. she is lodged in a temporary hut for seven days, during which food is served to her at a distance. she is forbidden to go out and play with her friends. on the morning of the seventh day, the vallons of the kara and the castemen are again invited. the latter bring with them some rice, vegetables, and toddy, to defray the expenses of the feast. at dawn, the mother of the girl gives oil to the seven pulaya maidens, and to her daughter for an oil-bath. they then go to a neighbouring tank (pond) or stream to bathe, and return home. the girl is then neatly dressed, and adorned in her best. her face is painted yellow, and marked with spots of various colours. she stands before a few parayas, who play on their flute and drum, to cast out the demons, if any, from her body. the girl leaps with frantic movements, if she is possessed by them. in that case, they transfer them to a tree close by driving a nail into the trunk after due offerings. if she is not possessed, she remains unmoved, and the parayas bring the music to a close. the girl is again bathed with her companions, who are all treated to a dinner. the ceremony then comes to an end with a feast to the castemen. the ceremony described is performed by the valluva pulayas in the southern parts, near and around the suburbs of cochin, but is unknown among other sub-tribes elsewhere. the devil-driving by the parayas is not attended to. nor is a temporary hut erected for the girl to be lodged in. she is allowed to remain in a corner of the hut, but is not permitted to touch others. she is bathed on the seventh day, and the castemen, friends and relations, are invited to a feast. "marriage is prohibited among members of the same koottam (family group). in the chittur taluk, members of the same village do not intermarry, for they believe that their ancestors may have been the slaves of some local landlord, and, as such, the descendants of the same parents. a young man may marry among the relations of his father, but not among those of his mother. in the palghat taluk, the kanakka cherumas pride themselves on the fact that they avoid girls within seven degrees of relationship. the marriage customs vary according to the sub-division. in the southern parts of the state, pulaya girls are married before puberty, while in other places, among the kanakka cherumas and other sub-tribes, they are married both before and after puberty. in the former case, when a girl has not been married before puberty, she is regarded as having become polluted, and stigmatised as a woman whose age is known. her parents and uncles lose all claim upon her. they formally drive her out of the hut, and proceed to purify it by sprinkling water mixed with cow-dung both inside and outside, and also with sand. she is thus turned out of caste. she was, in former times, handed over to the vallon, who either married her to his own son, or sold her to a slave master. if a girl is too poor to be married before puberty, the castemen of the kara raise a subscription, and marry her to one of themselves. "when a young pulayan wishes to marry, he applies to his master, who is bound to defray the expenses. he gives seven fanams [36] to the bride's master, one fanam worth of cloth to the bride-elect, and about ten fanams for the marriage feast. in all, his expenses amount to ten rupees. the ceremony consists in tying a ring attached to a thread round the neck of the bride. this is provided by her parents. when he becomes tired of his wife, he may dispose of her to any other person who will pay the expenses incurred at the marriage. there are even now places where husband and wife serve different masters, but more frequently they serve the same master. the eldest male child belongs to the master of the mother. the rest of the family remain with the mother while young, but, being the property of the owner, revert to him when of an age to be useful. she also follows them, in the event of her becoming a widow. in some places, a man brings a woman to his master, and says that he wishes to keep her as his wife. she receives her allowance of rice, but may leave her husband as she likes, and is not particular in changing one spouse for another. in other places, the marriage ceremonies of the era cherumas are more formal. the bridegroom's party goes to the bride's hut, and presents rice and betel leaf to the head of the family, and asks for the bride. consent is indicated by the bride's brother placing some rice and cloth before the assembly, and throwing rice on the headman of the caste, who is present. on the appointed day, the bridegroom goes to the hut with two companions, and presents the girl with cloth and twelve fanams. from that day he is regarded as her husband, and cohabitation begins at once. but the bride cannot accompany him until the ceremony called mangalam is performed. the bridegroom's party goes in procession to the bride's hut, where a feast awaits them. the man gives sweetmeats to the girl's brother. the caste priest recites the family history of the two persons, and the names of their masters and deities. they are then seated before a lamp and a heap of rice in a pandal (booth). one of the assembly gets up, and delivers a speech on the duties of married life, touching on the evils of theft, cheating, adultery, and so forth. rice is thrown on the heads of the couple, and the man prostrates himself at the feet of the elders. next day, rice is again thrown on their heads. then the party assembled makes presents to the pair, a part of which goes to the priest, and a part to the master of the husband. divorce is very easy, but the money paid must be returned to the woman. "in the ooragam proverthy of the trichur taluk, i find that the marriage among the pulayas of that locality and the neighbouring villages is a rude form of sambandham (alliance), somewhat similar to that which prevails among the nayars, whose slaves a large majority of them are. the husband, if he may be so called, goes to the woman's hut with his wages, to stay therein with her for the night. they may serve under different masters. a somewhat similar custom prevails among the pula cherumas of the trichur taluk. the connection is called merungu kooduka, which means to tame, or to associate with. "a young man, who wishes to marry, goes to the parents of the young woman, and asks their consent to associate with their daughter. if they approve, he goes to her at night as often as he likes. the woman seldom comes to the husband's hut to stay with him, except with the permission of the thamar (landlord) on auspicious occasions. they are at liberty to separate at their will and pleasure, and the children born of the union belong to the mother's landlord. among the kanakka cherumas in the northern parts of the state, the following marital relations are in force. when a young man chooses a girl, the preliminary arrangements are made in her hut, in the presence of her parents, relations, and the castemen of the village. the auspicious day is fixed, and a sum of five fanams is paid as the bride's price. the members assembled are treated to a dinner. a similar entertainment is held at the bridegroom's hut to the bride's parents, uncles, and others who come to see the bridegroom. on the morning of the day fixed for the wedding, the bridegroom and his party go to the bride's hut, where they are welcomed, and seated on mats in a small pandal put up in front of the hut. a muri (piece of cloth), and two small mundus (cloths) are the marriage presents to the bride. a vessel full of paddy (unhusked rice), a lighted lamp, and a cocoanut are placed in a conspicuous place therein. the bride is taken to the booth, and seated by the side of the bridegroom. before she enters it, she goes seven times round it, with seven virgins before her. with prayers to their gods for blessings on the couple, the tali (marriage badge) is tied round the bride's neck. the bridegroom's sister completes the knot. by a strange custom, the bride's mother does not approach the bridegroom, lest it should cause a ceremonial pollution. the ceremony is brought to a close with a feast to those assembled. toddy is an indispensable item of the feast. during the night, they amuse themselves by dancing a kind of wild dance, in which both men and women joyfully take part. after this, the bridegroom goes along to his own hut, along with his wife and his party, where also they indulge in a feast. after a week, two persons from the bride's hut come to invite the married couple. the bride and bridegroom stay at the bride's hut for a few days, and cannot return to his hut unless an entertainment, called vathal choru, is given him. "the marriage customs of the valluva pulayas in the southern parts of the state, especially in the cochin and kanayannur taluks, are more formal. the average age of a young man for marriage is between fifteen and twenty, while that of a girl is between ten and twelve. before a young pulayan thinks of marriage, he has to contract a formal and voluntary friendship with another young pulayan of the same age and locality. if he is not sociably inclined, his father selects one for him from a pulaya of the same or higher status, but not of the same illam (family group). if the two parents agree among themselves, they meet in the hut of either of them to solemnise it. they fix a day for the ceremony, and invite their vallon and the castemen of the village. the guests are treated to a feast in the usual pulaya fashion. the chief guest and the host eat together from the same dish. after the feast, the father of the boy, who has to obtain a friend for his son, enquires of the vallon and those assembled whether he may be permitted to buy friendship by the payment of money. they give their permission, and the boy's father gives the money to the father of the selected friend. the two boys then clasp hands, and they are never to quarrel. the new friend becomes from that time a member of the boy's family. he comes in, and goes out of their hut as he likes. there is no ceremony performed at it, or anything done without consulting him. he is thus an inseparable factor in all ceremonies, especially in marriages. i suspect that the friend has some claims on a man's wife. the first observance in marriage consists in seeing the girl. the bridegroom-elect, his friend, father and maternal uncle, go to the bride's hut, to be satisfied with the girl. if the wedding is not to take place at an early date, the bridegroom's parents have to keep up the claim on the bride-elect by sending presents to her guardians. the presents, which are generally sweetmeats, are taken to her hut by the bridegroom and his friends, who are well fed by the mother of the girl, and are given a few necessaries when they take leave of her the next morning. the next observance is the marriage negociation, which consists in giving the bride's price, and choosing an auspicious day in consultation with the local astrologer (kaniyan). on the evening previous to the wedding, the friends and relations of the bridegroom are treated to a feast in his hut. next day at dawn, the bridegroom and his friend, purified by a bath, and neatly dressed in a white cloth with a handkerchief tied over it, and with a knife stuck in their girdles, go to the hut of the bride-elect accompanied by his party, and are all well received, and seated on mats spread on the floor. over a mat specially made by the bride's mother are placed three measures of rice, some particles of gold, a brass plate, and a plank with a white and red cover on it. the bridegroom, after going seven times round the pandal, stands on the plank, and the bride soon follows making three rounds, when four women hold a cloth canopy over her head, and seven virgins go in front of her. the bride then stands by the side of the bridegroom, and they face each other. her guardian puts on the wedding necklace a gold bead on a string. music is played, and prayers are offered up to the sun to bless the necklace which is tied round the neck of the girl. the bridegroom's friend, standing behind, tightens the knot already made. the religious part of the ceremony is now over, and the bridegroom and bride are taken inside the hut, and food is served to them on the same leaf. next the guests are fed, and then they begin the poli or subscription. a piece of silk, or any red cloth, is spread on the floor, or a brass plate is placed before the husband. the guests assembled put in a few annas, and take leave of the chief host as they depart. the bride is soon taken to the bridegroom's hut, and her parents visit her the next day, and get a consideration in return. on the fourth day, the bridegroom and bride bathe and worship the local deity, and, on the seventh day, they return to the bride's hut, where the tali (marriage badge) is formally removed from the neck of the girl, who is bedecked with brass beads round her neck, rings on her ears, and armlets. the next morning, the mother-in-law presents her son-in-law and his friend with a few necessaries of life, and sends them home with her daughter. "during the seventh month of pregnancy, the ceremony of puli kuti, or tamarind juice drinking, is performed as among other castes. this is also an occasion for casting out devils, if any, from the body. the pregnant woman is brought back to the hut of her own family. the devil-driver erects a tent-like structure, and covers it with plantain bark and leaves of the cocoanut palm. the flower of an areca palm is fixed at the apex. a cocoanut palm flower is cut out and covered with a piece of cloth, the cut portion being exposed. the woman is seated in front of the tent-like structure with the flower, which symbolises the yet unborn child in the womb, in her lap. the water of a tender cocoanut in spoons made of the leaf of the jack tree (artocarpus integrifolia) is poured over the cut end by the vallon, guardian, and brothers and sisters present. the devil-driver then breaks open the flower, and, by looking at the fruits, predicts the sex of the child. if there are fruits at the end nearest the stem, the child will live and, if the number of fruits is even, there will be twins. there will be deaths if any fruit is not well formed. the devil-driver repeats an incantation, whereby he invokes the aid of kali, who is believed to be present in the tent. he fans the woman with the flower, and she throws rice and a flower on it. he repeats another incantation, which is a prayer to kali to cast out the devil from her body. this magical ceremony is called garbha bali (pregnancy offering). the structure, with the offering, is taken up, and placed in a corner of the compound reserved for gods. the devotee then goes through the remaining forms of the ceremony. she pours into twenty-one leaf spoons placed in front of the tent a mixture of cow's milk, water of the tender cocoanut, flower, and turmeric powder. then she walks round the tent seven times, and sprinkles the mixture on it with a palm flower. next she throws a handful of rice and paddy, after revolving each handful round her head, and then covers the offering with a piece of cloth. she now returns, and her husband puts into her mouth seven globules of prepared tamarind. the devil-driver rubs her body with phlomis (?) petals and paddy, and thereby finds out whether she is possessed or not. if she is, the devil is driven out with the usual offerings. the devil-driver gets for his services twelve measures and a half of paddy, and two pieces of cloth. the husband should not, during this period, get shaved. "when a young woman is about to give birth to a child, she is lodged in a small hut near her dwelling, and is attended by her mother and a few elderly women of the family. after the child is born, the mother and the baby are bathed. the woman is purified by a bath on the seventh day. the woman who has acted as midwife draws seven lines on the ground at intervals of two feet from one another, and spreads over them aloe leaves torn to shreds. then, with burning sticks in the hand, the mother with the baby goes seven times over the leaves backwards and forwards, and is purified. for these seven days, the father should not eat anything made of rice. he lives on toddy, fruits, and other things. the mother remains with her baby in the hut for sixteen days, when she is purified by a bath so as to be free from pollution, after which she goes to the main hut. her enangathi (relation by marriage) sweeps the hut and compound, and sprinkles water mixed with cow-dung on her body as she returns after the bath. in some places, the bark of athi (ficus glomerata) and ithi (ficus tsiela?) is well beaten and bruised, and mixed with water. some milk is added to this mixture, which is sprinkled both inside and outside the hut. only after this do they think that the hut and compound are purified. among the cherumas of palghat, the pollution lasts for ten days. "the ear-boring ceremony is performed during the sixth or seventh year. the vallon, who is invited, bores the ears with a sharp needle. the wound is healed by applying cocoanut oil, and the hole is gradually widened by inserting cork, a wooden plug, or a roll of palm leaves. the castemen of the village are invited, and fed. the landlord gives the parents of the girl three paras of paddy, and this, together with what the guests bring, goes to defray the expenses of the ceremony. after the meal they go, with drum-beating, to the house of the landlord, and present him with a para of beaten rice, which is distributed among his servants. the ear-borer receives eight edangazhis of paddy, a cocoanut, a vessel of rice, and four annas. "a woman found to be having intercourse with a paraya is outcasted. she becomes a convert to christianity or mahomedanism. if the irregularity takes place within the caste, she is well thrashed, and prevented from resorting to the bad practice. in certain cases, when the illicit connection becomes public, the castemen meet with their vallon, and conduct a regular enquiry into the matter, and pronounce a verdict upon the evidence. if a young woman becomes pregnant before marriage, her lover, should he be a pulaya, is compelled to marry her, as otherwise she would be placed under a ban. if both are married, the lover is well thrashed, and fined. the woman is taken before a thandan (izhuva headman), who, after enquiry, gives her the water of a tender cocoanut, which she is asked to drink, when she is believed to be freed from the sin. her husband may take her back again as his wife, or she is at liberty to marry another. the thandan gets a few annas, betel leaves and areca nuts, and tobacco. both the woman's father and the lover are fined, and the fine is spent in the purchase of toddy, which is indulged in by those present at the time. in the northern parts of the state, there is a custom that a young woman before marriage mates with one or two paramours with the connivance of her parents. eventually one of them marries her, but this illicit union ceases at once on marriage." of the death ceremonies among the cherumas of south malabar, i gather that "as soon as a cheruman dies, his jenmi or landlord is apprised of the fact, and is by ancient custom expected to send a field spade, a white cloth, and some oil. the drummers of the community are summoned to beat their drums in announcement of the sad event. this drumming is known as parayadikka. the body is bathed in oil, and the near relatives cover it over with white and red cloths, and take it to the front yard. then the relatives have a bath, after which the corpse is removed to the burying ground, where a grave is dug. all those who have come to the interment touch the body, which is lowered into the grave after some of the red cloths have been removed. a mound is raised over the grave, a stone placed at the head, another at the feet, and a third in the centre. the funeral cortège, composed only of males, then returns to the house, and each member takes a purificatory bath. the red cloths are torn into narrow strips, and a strip handed over as a sacred object to a relative of the deceased. meanwhile, each relative having on arrival paid a little money to the house people, toddy is purchased, and served to the assembly. the mourners in the house have to fast on the day of the death. next morning they have a bath, paddy is pounded, and gruel prepared for the abstainers. an elder of the community, the avakasi, prepares a little basket of green palm leaves. he takes this basket, and hangs it on a tree in the southern part of the compound (grounds). the gruel is brought out, and placed on a mortar in the same part of the compound. spoons are made out of jack (artocarpus integrifolia) leaves, and the elder serves out the gruel. then the relatives, who have gathered again, make little gifts of money and rice to the house people. vegetable curry and rice are prepared, and served to the visitors. a quaint ceremony called ooroonulka is next gone through. a measure of rice and a measure of paddy in husk are mixed, and divided into two shares. four quarter-anna pieces are placed on one heap, and eight on the other. the former share is made over to the house people, and from the latter the avakasi removes four of the coins, and presents one to each of the four leading men present. these four men must belong to the four several points of the compass. the remaining copper is taken by the elder. from his share of rice and paddy he gives a little to be parched and pounded. this is given afterwards to the inmates. the visitors partake of betel and disperse, being informed that the polla or post-obituary ceremony will come off on the thirteenth day. on the forenoon of this day, the relatives again gather at the mourning place. the inmates of the house bathe, and fish and rice are brought for a meal. a little of the fish is roasted over a fire, and each one present just nibbles at it. this is done to end pollution. after this the fish may be freely eaten. half a seer or a measure of rice is boiled, reduced to a pulpy mass, and mixed with turmeric powder. parched rice and the powder that remains after the rice has been pounded, a cocoanut and tender cocoanut, some turmeric powder, plantain leaves, and the rice that was boiled and coloured with turmeric, are then taken to the burial ground by the avakasi, a singer known as a kalladi or moonpatkaren, and one or two close relatives of the departed. with the pulped rice the elder moulds the form of a human being. at the head of the grave a little mound is raised, cabalistic lines are drawn across it with turmeric, and boiled rice powder and a plantain leaf placed over the lines. the cocoanut is broken, and its kernel cut out in rings, each of which is put over the effigy, which is then placed recumbent on the plantain leaf. round the mound, strings of jungle leaves are placed. next the elder drives a pole into the spot where the chest of the dead person would be, and it is said that the pole must touch the chest. on one side of the pole the tender cocoanut is cut and placed, and on the other a shell containing some toddy. then a little copper ring is tied on to the top of the pole, oil from a shell is poured over the ring, and the water from the tender cocoanut and toddy are in turn similarly poured. after this mystic rite, the kalladi starts a mournful dirge in monotone, and the other actors in the solemn ceremony join in the chorus. the chant tells of the darkness and the nothingness that were before the creation of the world, and unfolds a fanciful tale of how the world came to be created. the chant has the weird refrain oh! ho! oh! ho. on its conclusion, the effigy is left at the head of the grave, but the kalladi takes away the pole with him. the performers bathe and return to the house of mourning, where the kalladi gets into a state of afflation. the spirit of the departed enters into him, and speaks through him, telling the mourners that he is happy, and does not want them to grieve over much for him. the kalladi then enters the house, and, putting a heap of earth in the corner of the centre room, digs the pole into it. a light is brought and placed there, as also some toddy, a tender cocoanut, and parched rice. the spirit of the deceased, speaking again through the kalladi, thanks his people for their gifts, and beseeches them to think occasionally of him, and make him periodical offerings. the assembly then indulge in a feed. rice and paddy are mixed together and divided into two portions, to one of which eight quarter-annas, and to the other twelve quarter-annas are added. the latter share falls to the avakasi, while from the former the mixture and one quarter-anna go to the kalladi, and a quarter-anna to each of the nearest relatives. the basket which had been hung up earlier in the day is taken down and thrown away, and the jenmi's spade is returned to him." [37] it is noted by mr. logan that "the cherumans, like other classes, observe death pollution. but, as they cannot at certain seasons afford to be idle for fourteen days consecutively, they resort to an artifice to obtain this end. they mix cow-dung and paddy, and make it into a ball, and place the ball in an earthen pot, the mouth of which they carefully close with clay. the pot is laid in a corner of the hut, and, as long as it remains unopened, they remain free from pollution, and can mix among their fellows. on a convenient day they open the pot, and are instantly seized with pollution, which continues for forty days. otherwise fourteen days consecutive pollution is all that is required. on the forty-first or fifteenth day, as the case may be, rice is thrown to the ancestors, and a feast follows." the following account of the death ceremonies is given by mr. anantha krishna iyer. "when a pulayan is dead, the castemen in the neighbourhood are informed. an offering is made to the kodungallur bhagavati, who is believed by the pulayas to watch over their welfare, and is regarded as their ancestral deity. dead bodies are generally buried. the relatives, one by one, bring a new piece of cloth, with rice and paddy tied at its four corners, for throwing over the corpse. the cloth is placed thereon, and they cry aloud three times, beating their breasts, after which they retire. a few parayas are invited to beat drums, and play on their musical instruments--a performance which is continued for an hour or two. after this, a few bits of plantain leaves, with rice flour and paddy, are placed near the corpse, to serve as food for the spirit of the dead. the bier is carried to the graveyard by six bearers, three on each side. the pit is dug, and the body covered with a piece of cloth. after it has been lowered into it, the pit is filled in with earth. twenty-one small bits of leaves are placed over the grave, above the spot where the mouth of the dead man is, with a double-branched twig fixed to the centre, a cocoanut is cut open, and its water is allowed to flow in the direction of the twig which represents the dead man's mouth. such of the members of the family as could not give him kanji (rice gruel) or boiled rice before death, now give it to him. the six coffin-bearers prostrate themselves before the corpse, three on each side of the grave. the priest then puts on it a ripe and tender cocoanut for the spirit of the dead man to eat and drink. then all go home, and indulge in toddy and aval (beaten rice). the priest gets twelve measures of rice, the grave-diggers twelve annas, the vallon two annas, and the coffin-bearers each an anna. the son or nephew is the chief mourner, who erects a mound of earth on the south side of the hut, and uses it as a place of worship. for seven days, both morning and evening, he prostrates himself before it, and sprinkles the water of a tender cocoanut on it. on the eighth day, his relatives, friends, the vallon, and the devil-driver assemble together. the devil-driver turns round and blows his conch, and finds out the position of the ghost, whether it has taken up its abode in the mound, or is kept under restraint by some deity. should the latter be the case, the ceremony of deliverance has to be performed, after which the spirit is set up as a household deity. the chief mourner bathes early in the morning, and offers a rice-ball (pinda bali) to the departed spirit. this he continues for fifteen days. on the morning of the sixteenth day, the members of the family bathe to free themselves from pollution, and their enangan cleans the hut and the compound by sweeping and sprinkling water mixed with cow-dung. he also sprinkles the members of the family, as they return after the bath. the chief mourner gets shaved, bathes, and returns to the hut. some boiled rice, paddy, and pieces of cocoanut, are placed on a plantain leaf, and the chief mourner, with the members of his family, calls on the spirit of the dead to take them. then they all bathe, and return home. the castemen, who have assembled there by invitation, are sumptuously fed. the chief mourner allows his hair to grow as a sign of mourning (diksha), and, after the expiry of the year, a similar feast is given to the castemen." the cherumans are said by mr. gopal panikkar to "worship certain gods, who are represented by rude stone images. what few ceremonies are in force amongst them are performed by priests selected from their own ranks, and these priests are held in great veneration by them. they kill cocks as offerings to these deities, who are propitiated by the pouring on some stones placed near them of the fresh blood that gushes from the necks of the birds." the cherumans are further said to worship particular sylvan gods, garden deities, and field goddesses. in a note on cannibalism, [38] the writer states that "some sixteen years ago a nair was murdered in malabar by some cherumans. the body was mutilated, and, on my asking the accused (who freely confessed their crime) why had this been done? they answered 'tinnal papam tirum, i.e., if one eats, the sin will cease'." it is a common belief among various castes of hindus that one may kill, provided it is done for food, and this is expressed in the proverb konnapavam thinnal thirum, or the sin of killing is wiped away by eating. the cheruman reply probably referred only to the wreaking of vengeance, and consequent satisfaction, which is often expressed by the lower classes in the words pasi thirndadu, or hunger is satisfied. concerning the religion of the pulayas, mr. anantha krishna iyer writes as follows. "the pulayas are animists, but are slowly coming on to the higher forms of worship. their gods are parakutty, karinkutty, chathan, and the spirits of their ancestors. offerings to these gods are given on karkadaka and makara sankrantis, onam, vishu, and other auspicious days, when one of the pulayas present turns velichapad (oracle), and speaks to the assembly as if by inspiration. they are also devout worshippers of kali or bhagavati, whose aid is invoked in all times of danger and illness. they take part in the village festivals celebrated in honour of her. kodungallur bhagavati is their guardian deity. the deity is represented by an image or stone on a raised piece of ground in the open air. their priest is one of their own castemen, and, at the beginning of the new year, he offers to the goddess fowls, fruits, and toddy. the pulayas also believe that spirits exercise an influence over the members of their families, and therefore regular offerings are given to them every year on sankranti days. the chief festivals in which the pulayas take part are the following:-1. pooram vela.--this, which may be described as the saturnalia of malabar, is an important festival held at the village bhagavati temple. it is a festival, in which the members of all castes below brahmans take part. it takes place either in kumbham (february-march), or meenam (march-april). the cherumas of the northern part, as well as the pulayas of the southern parts of the state, attend the festival after a sumptuous meal and toddy drinking, and join the procession. toy horses are made, and attached to long bamboo poles, which are carried to the neighbourhood of the temple. as they go, they leap and dance to the accompaniment of pipe and drum. one among them who acts as a velichapad (devil-dancer) goes in front of them, and, after a good deal of dancing and loud praying in honour of the deity, they return home. 2. vittu iduka.--this festival consists in putting seeds, or bringing paddy seeds to the temple of the village bhagavati. this also is an important festival, which is celebrated on the day of bharani, the second lunar day in kumbham. standing at a distance assigned to them by the village authorities, where they offer prayers to kali, they put the paddy grains, which they have brought, on a bamboo mat spread in front of them, after which they return home. in the chittur taluk, there is a festival called kathiru, celebrated in honour of the village goddess in the month of vrischikam (november-december), when these people start from the farms of their masters, and go in procession, accompanied with the music of pipe and drum. a special feature of the kathiru festival is the presence, at the temple of the village goddess, of a large number of dome-like structures made of bamboo and plantain stems, richly ornamented, and hung with flowers, leaves, and ears of corn. these structures are called sarakootams, and are fixed on a pair of parallel bamboo poles. these agrestic serfs bear them in grand processions, starting from their respective farms, with pipe and drum, shouting and dancing, and with fireworks. small globular packets of palmyra leaves, in which are packed handfuls of paddy rolled up in straw, are also carried by them in huge bunches, along with the sarakootams. these packets are called kathirkootoos (collection of ears of corn), and are thrown among the crowd of spectators all along the route of the procession, and also on arrival at the temple. the spectators, young and old, scramble to obtain as many of the packets as possible, and carry them home. they are then hung in front of the houses, for it is believed that their presence will help in promoting the prosperity of the family until the festival comes round again next year. the greater the number of these trophies obtained for a family by its members, the greater, it is believed, will be the prosperity of the family. the festival is one of the very few occasions on which pulayas and other agrestic serfs, who are supposed to impart, so to speak, a long distant atmospheric pollution, are freely allowed to enter villages, and worship in the village temples, which generally occupy central positions in the villages. processions carrying sarakootams and kathirkootoos start from the several farms surrounding the village early enough to reach the temple about dusk in the evening, when the scores of processions that have made their way to the temple merge into one great concourse of people. the sarakootams are arranged in beautiful rows in front of the village goddess. the cherumas dance, sing, and shout to their hearts content. bengal lights are lighted, and fireworks exhibited. kathirkootoos are thrown by dozens and scores from all sides of the temple. the crowd then disperses. all night, the pulayas and other serfs, who have accompanied the procession to the temple, are, in the majority of cases, fed by their respective masters at their houses, and then all go back to the farms. 3. mandalam vilakku.--this is a forty-one days' festival in bhagavati temples, extending from the first of vrischikam (november-december) to the tenth of dhanu (december-january), during which temples are brightly illuminated both inside and outside at night. there is much music and drum-beating at night, and offerings of cooked peas or bengal gram, and cakes, are made to the goddess, after which they are distributed among those present. the forty-first day, on which the festival terminates, is one of great celebration, when all castemen attend at the temple. the cherumas, malayars, and eravallars attend the festival in chittur. they also attend the konga pata festival there. in rural parts of the state, a kind of puppet show performance (olapava koothu) is acted by kusavans (potters) and tamil chettis, in honour of the village deity, to which they contribute their share of subscription. they also attend the cock festival of cranganore, and offer sacrifices of fowls." for the following note on the religion of the pulayas of travancore, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani iyer. "the pulayas worship the spirits of deceased ancestors, known as chavars. the matan, and the anchu tamprakkal, believed by the better informed section of the caste to be the five pandavas, are specially adored. the pulayas have no temples, but raise squares in the midst of groves, where public worship is offered. each pulaya places three leaves near each other, containing raw rice, beaten rice, and the puveri (flowers) of the areca palm. he places a flower on each of these leaves, and prays with joined hands. chavars are the spirits of infants, who are believed to haunt the earth, harassed by a number of unsatisfied cravings. this species of supernatural being is held in mingled respect and terror by pulayas, and worshipped once a year with diverse offerings. another class of deities is called tevaratumpuran, meaning gods whom high caste hindus are in the habit of worshipping at parassalay; the pulayas are given certain special concessions on festival days. similar instances may be noted at ochira, kumaranallur, and nedumangad. at the last mentioned shrine, mateer writes, [39] 'where two or three thousand people, mostly sudras and izhuvas, attend for the annual festival in march, one-third of the whole are parayas, kuravas, vedars, kanikkars, and pulayas, who come from all parts around. they bring with them wooden models of cows, neatly hung over, and covered, in imitation of shaggy hair, with ears of rice. many of these images are brought, each in a separate procession from its own place. the headmen are finely dressed with cloths stained purple at the edge. the image is borne on a bamboo frame, accompanied by a drum, and men and women in procession, the latter wearing quantities of beads, such as several strings of red, then several of white, or strings of beads, and then a row of brass ornaments like rupees, and all uttering the kurava cry. these images are carried round the temple, and all amuse themselves for the day.' by far the most curious of the religious festivals of the pulayas is what is known as the pula saturday in makaram (january-february) at sastamkotta in the kunnattur taluk. it is an old observance, and is most religiously gone through by the pulayas every year. the valluvan, or caste priest, leads the assembled group to the vicinity of the banyan tree in front of the temple, and offerings of a diverse nature, such as paddy, roots, plantain fruits, game, pulse, coins, and golden threads are most devoutly made. pulayas assemble for this ceremony from comparatively distant places. a deity, who is believed to be the most important object of worship among the pulayas, is utaya tampuran, by which name they designate the rising sun. exorcism and spirit-dancing are deeply believed in, and credited with great remedial virtues. the kokkara, or iron rattle, is an instrument that is freely used to drive out evil spirits. the valluvan who offers animal sacrifices becomes immediately afterwards possessed, and any enquiries may be put to him without it being at all difficult for him to furnish a ready answer. in north travancore, the pulayas have certain consecrated buildings of their own, such as kamancheri, omkara bhagavathi, yakshi ampalam, pey koil, and valiyapattu muttan, wherein the valluvan performs the functions of priesthood. the pulayas believe in omens. to see another pulaya, to encounter a native christian, to see an izhuva with a vessel in the hand, a cow behind, a boat containing rice or paddy sacks, etc., are regarded as good omens. on the other hand, to be crossed by a cat, to see a fight between animals, to be encountered by a person with a bundle of clothes, to meet people carrying steel instruments, etc., are looked upon as very bad omens. the lizard is not believed to be a prophet, as it is by members of the higher castes." concerning the caste government of the pulayas of travancore, mr. subramania iyer writes as follows. "the ayikkara yajamanan, or ayikkara tamara (king) is the head of the pulaya community. he lives at vayalar in the shertalley taluk in north travancore, and takes natural pride in a lace cap, said to have been presented to one of his ancestors by the great cheraman perumal. even the parayas of north travancore look upon him as their legitimate lord. under the tamara are two nominal headmen, known as tatteri achchan and mannat koil vallon. it is the ayikkara tamara who appoints the valluvans, or local priests, for every kara, for which they are obliged to remunerate him with a present of 336 chuckrams. the pulayas still keep accounts in the earliest travancorean coins (chuckrams). the valluvan always takes care to obtain a written authority from the tamara, before he begins his functions. for every marriage, a sum of 49 chuckrams and four mulikkas [40] have to be given to the tamara, and eight chuckrams and one mulikka to the valluvan. the valluvan receives the tamara's dues, and sends them to vayalar once or twice a year. beyond the power of appointing valluvans and other office-bearers, the authority of the tamara extends but little. the valluvans appointed by him prefer to call themselves head valluvans, as opposed to the dignitaries appointed in ancient times by temple authorities and other brahmans, and have a general supervising power over the pulayas of the territory that falls under their jurisdiction. every valluvan possesses five privileges, viz., (1) the long umbrella, or an umbrella with a long bamboo handle; (2) the five-coloured umbrella; (3) the bracelet of honour; (4) a long gold ear-ring; (5) a box for keeping betel leaves. they are also permitted to sit on stools, to make use of carpets, and to employ kettle-drums at marriage ceremonials. the staff of the valluvan consists of (1) the kuruppan or accountant, who assists the valluvan in the discharge of his duties; (2) the komarattan or exorciser; (3) the kaikkaran or village representative; (4) the vatikkaran, constable or sergeant. the kuruppan has diverse functions to perform, such as holding umbrellas, and cutting cocoanuts from trees, on ceremonial occasions. the vatikkaran is of special importance at the bath that succeeds a pulaya girl's first menses. adultery is looked upon as the most heinous of offences, and used to be met with condign punishment in times of old. the woman was required to thrust her hand into a vessel of boiling oil, and the man was compelled to pay a fine of 336 or 64 chuckrams, according as the woman with whom he connected himself was married or not, and was cast out of society after a most cruel rite called ariyum pirayum tittukka, the precise nature of which does not appear to be known. a married woman is tried by the valluvan and other officers, when she shows disobedience to her husband." it is noted by mr. anantha krishna iyer, that, "in the palghat taluk of south malabar, it is said that the cherumas in former times used to hold grand meetings for cases of theft, adultery, divorce, etc., at kannati kutti vattal. these assemblies consisted of the members of their caste in localities between valayar forests and karimpuzha (in valluvanad taluk), and in those between the northern and southern hills. it is also said that their deliberations used to last for several days together. in the event of anybody committing a crime, the punishment inflicted on him was a fine of a few rupees, or sometimes a sound thrashing. to prove his innocence, a man had to swear 'by kannati swarupam (assembly) i have not done it.' it was held so sacred that no cheruman who had committed a crime would swear falsely by this assembly. as time went on, they found it difficult to meet, and so left off assembling together." in connection with the amusements of the pulayas, mr. anantha krishna iyer writes that "their games appear to be connected in some way with their religious observances. their favourite dance is the kole kali, or club dance. a party of ten or twelve men, provided with sticks, each a yard in length, stand in a circle, and move round, striking at the sticks, keeping time with their feet, and singing at the same time. the circle is alternately widened and narrowed. vatta kali is another wild dance. this also requires a party of ten or twelve men, and sometimes young women join them. the party move in a circle, clapping their hands while they sing a kind of rude song. in thattinmel kali, four wooden poles are firmly stuck in the ground, two of which are connected by two horizontal pieces of wood, over which planks are arranged. a party of pulayas dance on the top of this, to the music of their pipe and drum. this is generally erected in front of the bhagavati temple, and the dancing takes place immediately after the harvest. this is intended to propitiate the goddess. women perform a circular dance on the occasions of marriage celebrations." the cherumas and pulayas are, like the koragas of south canara, short of stature, and dark-skinned. the most important measurements of the cherumans whom i investigated at calicut were as follows:- ======================================================== | stature, cm. | nasal index. |cephalic index. +--------------+---------------+-------------- | average. | average. | average. ---------+--------------+---------------+-------------- males | 157.5 | 78.1 | 73.9 females | 147.8 | 77. | 74.8 ======================================================== cheruppu-katti (shoemaker).--said to be a malayalam synonym for madiga. chetti.--it is noted in the census report, 1891, that "the name chetti is used both to denote a distinct caste, and also a title, and people bearing this title describe themselves loosely as belonging to the chetti caste, in the same way as a vellala will say that he is a mudali. this use of chetti has caused some confusion in the returns, for the sub-divisions show that many other castes have been included as well as chetti proper." again, in the census report, 1901, it is recorded that "chetti means trader, and is one of those titular or occupational terms, which are often loosely employed as caste names. the weavers, oil pressers, and others use it as a title, and many more tack it on to their names, to denote that trade is their occupation. strictly employed, it is nevertheless, the name of a true caste." the chettis are so numerous, and so widely distributed, that their many sub-divisions differ very greatly in their ways. the best known of them are the beri chettis, the nagarattu chettis, the kasukkar chettis, and the nattukottai chettis. of these, the beri and nattukottai chettis are dealt with in special articles. the following divisions of chettis, inhabiting the madura district, are recorded in my notes:- (a) men with head clean-shaved:- ilavagai or karnakudi. sundaraththan. ariyur. malampatti. palayapattu. thedakottai. periyakottai-vellan. puliyangudi. vallam or tiruvappur. kurungalur. (b) men with kudumi (hair knot):- puvaththukudi or mannagudi. kiramangalam. vallanattu. marayakkara. pandukudi or manjapaththu. of these, the puvaththukudi chettis, who receive their name from a village in the tanjore district, are mostly itinerant petty traders and money-lenders, who travel about the country. they carry on their shoulders a bag containing their personal effects, except when they are cooking and sleeping. i am informed that the puvaththukudi women engage women, presumably with a flow of appropriate language ready for the occasion, to abuse those with whom they have a quarrel. among the puvaththukudi chettis, marriages are, for reasons of economy, only celebrated at intervals of many years. concerning this custom, a member of the community writes to me as follows. "in our village, marriages are performed only once in ten or fifteen years. my own marriage was celebrated in the year nandana (1892-93). then seventy or eighty marriages took place. since that time, marriages have only taken place in the present year (1906). the god at avadaiyar kovil (temple) is our caste god. for marriages, we must receive from that temple garlands, sandal, and palanquins. we pay to the temple thirty-five rupees for every bridegroom through our nagaraththar (village headmen). the expenses incurred in connection with the employment of washermen, barbers, nagasaram (musical instrument) players, talayaris (watchmen), carpenters, potters, blacksmiths, gurukkals (priests), and garland-makers, are borne collectively and shared by the families in which marriages are to take place." another chetti writes that this system of clubbing marriages together is practised at the villages of puvaththukudi and mannagudi, and that the marriages of all girls of about seven years of age and upwards are celebrated. the marriages are performed in batches, and the marriage season lasts over several months. palayasengadam in the trichinopoly district is the head-quarters of a section of the chettis called the pannirendam (twelfth) chettis. "these are supposed to be descended from eleven youths who escaped long ago from kaveripatnam, a ruined city in tanjore. a chola king, says the legend, wanted to marry a chetti; whereupon the caste set fire to the town, and only these eleven boys escaped. they rested on the ratnagiri hill to divide their property; but however they arranged it, it always divided itself into twelve shares instead of eleven. the god of ratnagiri then appeared, and asked them to give him one share in exchange for a part of his car. they did so, and they now call themselves the twelfth chettis from the number of the shares, and at their marriages they carry the bridegroom round in a car. they are said to be common in coimbatore district." [41] at the census, 1871, some of the less fortunate traders returned themselves as "bankrupt chettis." the following castes and tribes are recorded as having assumed the title chetti, or its equivalent setti:- balija. telugu trading caste. bant. tulu cultivating caste. bilimagga, devanga, patnulkaran, saliyan, sedan, seniyan. all weaving classes. dhobi. oriya washermen. ganiga. oil pressers. gamalla. telugu toddy-drawers. gauda. canarese cultivators. gudigar. canarese wood-carvers. jain. janappan. said to have been originally a section of the balijas, and manufacturers of gunny-bags. kavarai. tamil equivalent of balija. komati. telugu traders. koracha. a nomad tribe. kudumi. a travancore caste, which does service in the houses of konkani brahmans. mandadan chetti. medara. telugu cane splitters and mat makers. nayar. occupational title of some nayars of malabar. pattanavan. tamil fishermen. pattapu. fishermen in the telugu country. senaikkudaiyan. tamil betel-vine growers and traders. shanan. the great toddy-drawing class of the tamil country. sonar. goldsmiths. toreya. canarese fishermen. uppiliyan. salt-workers. some style themselves karpura (camphor) chetti, because they used to manufacture camphor. vaniyan. tamil oil-pressers. wynaadan chetti. of proverbs relating to chettis, [42] the following may be quoted:- he who thinks before he acts is a chetti, but he who acts without thinking is a fool. when the chetti dies, his affairs will become public. she keeps house like a merchant caste woman, i.e., economically. though ruined, a chetti is a chetti, and, though torn, silk is still silk. the chetti reduced the amount of advance, and the weaver the quantity of silk in the border of the cloth. from his birth a chetti is at enmity with agriculture. in a note on secret trade languages mr. c. hayavadana rao writes as follows. [43] "the most interesting of these, perhaps, is that spoken by petty shopkeepers and cloth merchants of madras, who are mostly moodellys and chettis by caste. their business mostly consists in ready-money transactions, and so we find that they have a regular table of numerals. numbers one to ten have been given definite names, and they have been so long in use that most of them do not understand the meaning of the terms they use. thus madi (mind) stands for one, mind being always represented in the hindu shastras as a single thing. vene (act or deed) stands for two, for vene is of two kinds only, nalvene and thivene or good and bad acts. konam (quality) stands for three, since three different sorts of qualities are recognised in hindu metaphysics. these are rajasam, thamasam, and sathmikam. shuruthi stands for four, for the srutis or vedas are four in numbers. sara (arrow) stands for five, after panchasara, the five-arrowed, a well-known name of manmatha, the indian cupid. matha represents six, after the shan mathams or six systems of hindu philosophy. there stands for seven, after the seven oceans recognised by the sanskrit geographers. giri (mountain) represents eight, since it stands for ashtagiri or the eight mountains of the hindus. mani stands for nine, after navamani, the nine different sorts of precious stones recognised by the hindus. thisai represents ten, from the ten points of the compass. the common name for rupee is velle or the white thing. thangam velle stands for half a rupee, pinji velle for a quarter of a rupee, and pu velle for an eighth of a rupee. a fanam (or 1-1/4 annas) is known as shulai. the principal objects with which those who use this language have to deal with are padi or measure, velle or rupee, and madi ana, one anna, so that madi padi means one measure, madi velle one rupee, and madi ana one anna. similarly with the rest of the numerals. the merchants of trichinopoly have nearly the same table of numerals, but the names for the fractions of a rupee vary considerably. mundri ana is, with them, one anna; e ana is two annas; pu ana is four annas; pani ana is eight annas and muna ana is twelve annas. among them also velle stands for a rupee. they have besides another table of numerals in use, which is curious as being formed by certain letters of the tamil alphabet. thus pina stands for one, lana for two, laina for three, yana for four, lina for five, mana for six, vana for seven, nana for eight, thina for nine, and thuna for ten. these letters have been strung into the mnemonic phrase pillayalam vanthathu, which literally means 'the children have come'. this table is also used in connection with measures, rupees, and annas. dealers in coarse country-made cloths all over madras and the chingleput district have a table of their own. it is a very complete one from one pie to a thousand rupees. occasionally hindu merchants are found using a secret language based on hindustani. this is the case in one part of madras city. with them pav khane stands for one anna, ada khane for two annas, pavak ruppe for one rupee, and so on. brokers have terms of their own. the tamil phrase padiya par, when used by them, means ask less or say less, according as it is addressed to the purchaser or seller. similarly, mudukka par means ask a higher price. when a broker says sivan thambram, it is to be inferred that the price given out by the seller includes his own brokerage. telugu brokers have similar terms. among them, the phrase malasu vakkadu and nasi vakkadu denote respectively increase the rate, and decrease the rate stated." chevvula (ears).--an exogamous sept of boya and golla. cheyyakkaran.--a malayalam form of the canarese servegara. chikala (broom).--an exogamous sept of tottiyan. chikka (small).--a sub-division of kurni. chikkudu (dolichos lablab).--an exogamous sept of muka dora. chilakala (paroquet).--an exogamous sept of boya, kapu and yanadi. chilla (strychnos potatorum: clearing-nut tree).--an exogamous sept of kuruba, and sub-division of tottiyan. chimala (ant).--an exogamous sept of boya and tsakala. chimpiga (tailor).--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a lingayat sub-caste of rangari. in the mysore census report, 1901, darjis are classified as follows:--"(1) darji, chippiga, or namdev; (2) rangare." the first three, known by the collective name of darji, are professional tailors, while the rangares are also dyers and calico printers. chimpiri (rags).--an exogamous sept of boya. chinerigadu.--a class of mendicants connected with the padma sales. (see devanga.) chinda.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small caste of oriya cultivators in ganjam and vizagapatam. chinese-tamil cross.--halting in the course of an anthropological expedition on the western side of the nilgiri plateau, i came across a small settlement of chinese, who have squatted for some time on the slopes of the hills between naduvatam and gudalur and developed, as the result of alliances with tamil pariah women, into a colony, earning a modest livelihood by cultivating vegetables and coffee. the original chinese who arrived on the nilgiris were convicts from the straits settlement, where there was no sufficient prison accommodation, who were confined in the nilgiri jail. it is recorded [44] that, in 1868, twelve of the chinamen "broke out during a very stormy night, and parties of armed police were sent out to scour the hills for them. they were at last arrested in malabar a fortnight later. some police weapons were found in their possession, and one of the parties of police had disappeared--an ominous circumstance. search was made all over the country for the party, and at length their four bodies were found lying in the jungle at walaghat, half way down the sispara ghat path, neatly laid out in a row with their severed heads carefully placed on their shoulders." the measurements of a single family are recorded in the following table:-======================================================================== | |cephalic|cephalic|cephalic| nasal | nasal |nasal | |length. |breadth.| index. |height.|breadth.|index. ---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+------tamil |mother of | 18.1 | 13.9 | 76.8 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 78.7 paraiyan.|children. | | | | | | ---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+------chinese |father of | 18.6 | 14.6 | 78.5 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 71.7 |children. | | | | | | ---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+------chinese|girl, | 17.6 | 14.1 | 80.1 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 68.1 tamil |aged 18 | | | | | | ---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+------chinese|boy, | 18.1 | 14.3 | 79 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 71.7 tamil |aged 10 | | | | | | ---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+------chinese|boy, | 17 | 14 | 82.4 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 72.7 tamil |aged 9 | | | | | | ---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+------chinese|boy, | 17.1 | 13.7 | 80.1 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 68.3 tamil |aged 5 | | | | | | =========+==========+========+========+========+=======+========+======= the father was a typical chinaman, whose only grievance was that, in the process of conversion to christianity, he had been obliged to "cut him tail off." the mother was a typical dark-skinned tamil paraiyan. the colour of the children was more closely allied to the yellowish tint of the father than to that of the mother; and the semi-mongol parentage was betrayed in the slant eyes, flat nose and (in one case) conspicuously prominent cheek-bones. to have recorded the entire series of measurements of the children would have been useless for the purpose of comparison with those of the parents, and i selected from my repertoire the length and breadth of the head and nose, which plainly indicate the paternal influence on the external anatomy of the offspring. the figures given in the table bring out very clearly the great breadth, as compared with the length, of the heads of all the children, and the resultant high cephalic index. in other words, in one case a mesaticephalic (79), and, in the remaining three cases, a sub-brachycephalic head (80.1; 80.1; 82.4) has resulted from the union of a mesaticephalic chinaman (78.5) with a sub-dolichocephalic tamil paraiyan (76.8). how great is the breadth of the head in the children may be emphasised by noting that the average head-breadth of the adult tamil paraiyan man is only 13.7 cm., whereas that of the three boys, aged ten, nine, and five only, was 14.3, 14, and 13.7 cm. respectively. quite as strongly marked is the effect of paternal influence on the character of the nose; the nasal index, in the case of each child (68.1; 71.772; 7; 68.3), bearing a much closer relation to that of the long-nosed father (71.7) than to the typical paraiyan nasal index of the broad-nosed mother (78.7). it will be interesting to note hereafter what is the future of the younger members of this quaint little colony, and to observe the physical characters, temperament, fecundity, and other points relating to the cross breed resulting from the blend of chinese and tamil. chinna (little).--a sub-division of boya, kunnuvan, konda dora, pattanavan, and pattapu, and an exogamous sept of mala. chinna, chinnam, and chinnada, denoting gold, occur as exogamous septs of kuruba, padma sale, toreya, and vakkaliga. chintala (tamarind: tamarindus indica).--an exogamous sept of ghasi, golla, madiga, and mala. chintyakula, or tamarind sept, occurs among the komatis; chintaginjala (tamarind seeds) as an exogamous sept of padma sales, and of panta reddis, who may not touch or use the seeds; and chintakai or chintakayala (tamarind fruit) as an exogamous sept of boyas and devangas. chirla (woman's cloth).--an exogamous sept of kamma. chitikan.--a synonym of maran, indicating one whose occupation relates to the funeral pyre. a chitikan, for example, performs the funeral rites for the mussads. chiti karnam.--a name of the oriya karnam caste. a vulgar form of sresta karnam (sreshto korono). chitra ghasi.--the chitra ghasis, for the following note on whom i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao, are a class of artisans, whose name, meaning ghasis who make artistic things, bears reference to their occupation. they are employed in the manufacture of brass and bell-metal jewelry, such as is largely worn by the tribes inhabiting the jeypore agency tracts, and are generally found attached to kond and savara villages. they are a polluting class, and their dwellings are consequently situated at some distance from the huts of the villagers. their language is a corrupt form of oriya. girls are usually married after puberty. a man can claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. when such a marriage is contemplated, his parents take a little rice and a pot of liquor to the home of the paternal aunt. if they are accepted, it is taken as a sign that the match is agreed to, and the jholla tonka (bride-price) of twelve rupees is paid. after some time has elapsed, the bride is conducted to the home of her future husband, and the marriage is there celebrated. a younger brother may marry the widow of an elder brother, and, if such a woman contracts a marriage with some other man, her second husband has to give a cow to the younger brother who has been passed over. the dead are burnt, and death pollution is observed for three days, during which the caste occupation is not carried on. on the third day, the ashes are collected together, and a fowl is killed. the ashes are then buried, or thrown into running water. chitrakara or chitrakaro.--the chitrakaros of ganjam, who are a class of oriya painters (chitra, painting), are returned in the census report, 1901, as a sub-caste of muchi. in the mysore census report, 1891, the chitragaras are said to be "also called bannagara of the rachevar (or raju) caste. they are painters, decorators and gilders, and make trunks, palanquins, 'lacquer' toys and wooden images for temples, cars, etc." at channapatna in mysore, i interviewed a telugu chitrakara, who was making toys out of the white wood of wrightia tinctoria. the wood was turned on a primitive lathe, consisting of two steel spikes fixed into two logs of wood on the ground. seated on the floor in front of his lathe, the artisan chucked the wood between the spikes, and rotated it by means of a bow held in the right hand, whereof the string was passed round the wood. the chisel was held between the sole of the right foot and palm of the left hand. colours and varnish were applied to the rotating toy with sticks of paint like sealing-wax, and strips of palm leaf smeared with varnish. in addition to the turned toys, models of fruits were made from mud and sawdust, cane cradles made by medaras were painted and idols manufactured for the holi festival at bangalore, and the figure of sidi viranna for the local pseudo-hook-swinging ceremony. the chitrakaras, whom i saw at tumkur, had given up making toys, as it did not pay. they manufacture big wooden idols (grama devata), e.g., ellamma and mariamma, and vehicles for various deities in the shape of bulls, snakes, peacocks, lions, tigers, and horses. they further make painted figures of lakshmi, and heads of gauri, the wife of siva, decorated with gold-leaf jewels, which are worshipped by brahmans, vakkaligas, komatis, and others at the annual gauri puja; and mandahasa (god houses) with pillars carved with figures of narasimha and conventional designs. these mandahasas serve as a receptacle for the household gods (salagrama stone, lingam, etc.), which are worshipped daily by smarta and madhva brahmans. these chitrakaras claimed to be suryavamsam, or of the lunar race of kshatriyas, and wear the sacred thread. chitravaliar.--a synonym of alavan. chogan.--see izhava. cholapuram or sholavaram.--a sub-division of chetti. choliya pattar.--a name for pattar brahmans in malabar. chondi.--see sondi. choutagara.--a corrupt form of chaptegara. chovatton.--priests of muttans and tarakans. chuditiya.--see kevuto. chunam (lime).--a sub-division of toreyas, who are manufacturers of lime. chunam, made from calcined shells, limestone, etc., is largely used for building purposes, and the chunam plaster of madras has been long celebrated for its marble-like polish. chunam is also chewed with betel. chuvano.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small oriya cultivating caste, supposed to be of kshatriya parentage. d daindla.--the name, denoting those who hid or ran away, of a sub-division of mala. daivampati.--recorded in the travancore census report, 1901, as a caste included among ambalavasis, and a sub-division of nayar. dakkala.--dakkala or dakkali is the name of a class of mendicants who beg from madigas only. in the kurnool district they are said to have divided the district with the mushtis, and not to beg except within their own limits. the following story is told as regards the origin of the dakkalas. a smith was asked to make a bottu (marriage badge) for siva's wedding, and for this purpose required bellows, fire-pot, hammer, etc. jambuvadu called his eldest son, and prepared the various implements from sundry parts of the body, except the backbone. being highly pleased at this, the gods endowed the backbone with life, and the son went to his father jambuvadu, who failed to recognise him, and refused to admit him. he was told that he must live as a beggar attached to the madigas, and was called dakkala because he was brought to life from a vertebral column (dakka). the dakkalas wander from place to place. they may not enter madiga houses, outside which meals are given to them by males only, as females are not allowed to serve them. madiga women may not tread on the footsteps of the dakkalas. dakku (fear).--an exogamous sept of mala. dakni.--dakni or deccani is defined in the madras census report, 1901, as "a territorial name meaning a musalman of the deccan; also a name loosely applied to converts to islam." in the tanjore district, muhammadans who speak hindustani, and claim pure muhammadan descent, are spoken of as daknis or dakanis. in other tamil districts they are called patanigal, to distinguish them from labbais and marakkayars. the daknis follow the muhammadan ritual except in their marriages, which afford an example of a blend between hindu and muhammadan ceremonials. like hindus, they erect, at times of marriage, a milk-post of bamboo, to which are tied a two-anna piece, and a bit of sugar-candy done up in a turkey red cloth. the post is handed to the headman, who decorates it with a garland of flowers and a roll of betel, and places it in a hole made in the court-yard of the house, wherein milk has been sprinkled. on the following day, two big pots are placed near the milk-post, and filled with water by four married couples. around the pots, nine kinds of seed grains are sprinkled. on the third day, the bridegroom's party proceeds to the house of the bride with thirteen trays of betel, fruits, flowers, sandal paste, and a paste made of turmeric and henna (lawsonia alba) leaves. the bride is decorated, and sits on a plank. women smear the face and hands of the bridal couple with the pastes, and one of them, or the bridegroom's sister, ties a string of black beads round the bride's neck. while this is being done, no one should sneeze. wrist threads (kankanam) are tied on the wrists of the bride and bridegroom. on the fourth day, the nikka rite is celebrated, and the newly-married couple sit together while the nalagu ceremony of smearing them with sandal, and waving coloured water (arati), is performed. the two pots containing water are kept for forty days, and then examined. if the water remains sweet, and does not "teem with vermin," it is regarded as a good omen. the seed grains, too, should by this time have developed into healthy seedlings. dammula.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small class of telugu beggars, and priests in the temples of village goddesses. dandasi.--the dandasis are summed up in the ganjam manual as being village watchmen, many of whom are great thieves. "it is curious," mr. s. p. rice writes, [45] "to find that the word naiko [meaning leader or chief], which is corrupted into the telugu naidu, is the caste distinction of the lowest class, the village watcher and professional thief. this man, for all that his cognomen is so lofty, goes by the generic name of dandasi. this word means worthy of punishment, and assuredly no appellation ever fitted its owner more completely than does this. he is the village policeman and the village thief, a curious mixture of callings." according to other versions, the name is derived from danda, a stick, and asi, sword, from dandabadi, a stout bamboo stick, or from dandapasi, stick and rope, in reference to the insignia of the dandasi's office. a large number of criminals, undergoing punishment in ganjam for robbery and thieving, are dandasis. the members of the caste, like the tamil kallans, believe that thieving is their traditional occupation, and, as such, regard it as justifiable. there is a legend that they adopted this occupation as their profession because their ancestors assisted the pandavas to escape from the lac fort which was constructed by the kurus with a view to killing them, by digging a secret subterranean passage. according to another story, the dandasis are descended from the offspring of a clandestine amour of krishna with dhuuthika, radha's handmaid. the dandasis perform an interesting ceremony of initiation into the profession of thieving, when a child is born. when it is three or five days old, the headman (behara) is invited to attend. a breach is made in the wall, or beneath the door sill. through this the infant is passed by the behara three times, and received by some members of the family. each time the behara repeats the words "enter, baby enter. may you excel your father!" the dandasis, when questioned concerning this custom, denied its existence, but some admitted that it was carried out in former days. an old woman stated that her grandchild was passed through a breach beneath the door, but was not inclined to enter into details. a number of exogamous septs occur among the dandasis, of which the following may be noted. members of the santarasi sept must avoid using mats made of the sedge which goes by this name. kilalendias avoid touching the bamboo posts used by washermen to support the ropes on which cloths are hung to dry. they sacrifice a pig and seven fowls to their gods on the new-moon day, on which the head of a male child is first shaved. diyasis show special reverence for the sun, and cloths, mokkutos (forehead chaplets), garlands, and other articles to be used by the bride and bridegroom at a wedding, are placed outside the house, so that they may be exposed to it. members of the ekopothiriya sept are regarded as low in the social scale, and the following legend is narrated to account for this. a dandasi went, with his relations and friends, to the house of a dandasi of the ekopothiriya sept, to arrange a marriage. the guests were hospitably received, and the prospective bride asked her father what kind of curry was going to be served to them. he replied that barikolora (backyard momordica) [46] was to be cooked. this aroused the curiosity of some of the guests, who went to the backyard, where, instead of momordica, they saw several blood-suckers (lizards) running about. they jumped to the conclusion that these were what the host referred to as barikolora, and all the guests took their departure. ekopothiriyas will not partake of food from the same plate as their grown-up children, even if a married daughter comes on a visit to them. the dandasis worship various takuranis (village deities), e.g., sankaithuni, kulladankuni, kombesari and kalimuki. the gods are either represented temporarily by brass vessels, or permanently by three masses of clay, into each of which a small bit of gold is thrust. when bassia (mahua) buds or mangoes are first eaten in their season, a sacrifice is made, and a goat and fowl are killed before the produce of the harvest is first partaken of. the dandasis have a headman, called behara, who exercises authority over several groups of villages, and each group is under a nayako, who is assisted by a dondia. for every village there is a bholloboya, and, in some places, there is an officer, called boda mundi, appointed by the zamindar, to whom irregularities in the community have to be reported. when a woman is delivered of a still-born child, the whole family is under pollution for eleven days. the headman is then invited to attend, and presents are given to him. he sprinkles water over members of the family, and they are thereby freed from this pollution. a certain portion of the property stolen by dandasis is set apart for the headman, and, like the tamil kallans and maravans, they seem to have a blackmailing system. if a dandasi is engaged as a watchman, property is safe, or, if stolen, is recovered and restored to its owner. girls are married after puberty. a man may marry his maternal uncle's, but not his paternal aunt's daughter. the marriage ceremonies usually last three days, but are sometimes spread over seven days, in imitation of the higher castes. on the day (gondo sono) before the wedding day, seven new pots are brought from a potter's house, and placed in a room. seven women throw zizyphus jujuba leaves over them, and they are filled with water at a tank (pond). one of the pots must be carried by the sister-in-law of the bridegroom. a brass vessel is tied up, and worshipped. towards evening, a fowl is sacrificed at an 'ant' hill. the bridegroom is shaved on this day by his sister's husband. like other oriya castes, the dandasis collect water at seven houses, but only from those of members of castes higher than their own. the pot containing this water is hung up over the marriage dais (bedi). on the wedding (bibha) day, the bridegroom sits on the dais, with the bride, seated in her maternal uncle's lap or at his side, in front of him. the headman, or some respected elder of the community, places a betel nut cutter, on, or with some rice and betel nut between the united hands of the contracting couple, and ties them together with seven turns of a turmeric-dyed thread. he then announces that ... the granddaughter of ... and daughter of ... is united to ... the grandson of ... and son of ... the parents of the bride and bridegroom pour turmeric-water from a chank (turbinella rapa) shell or leaf over their united hands. the nut-cutter is removed by the bride's brother, and, after striking the bridegroom, he goes away. the couple then play with cowry (cypræ arabica) shells, and, while they are so engaged, the ends of their cloths are tied together, and the rice which is in their hands is tied in a knot. when the play is finished, this knot is untied, and the rice is measured in a small earthen pot, first on behalf of the bride, and is pronounced to be all right. it is then again measured, and said to have diminished in quantity. this gives rise to jokes at the expense of the bridegroom, who is called a thief, and other hard names. those who imitate the ceremonial of the higher castes make the bridegroom go away in feigned anger, after he has broken the pot which is hanging over the dais. he is brought back by his brother-in-law. on the occasion of the first menstrual period, a girl is under pollution for seven days. if she is engaged to be married, her future father-in-law makes her a present of jewels and money on the seventh day, and thereby confirms the marriage contract. the dead are cremated. a widow accompanies the corpse of her husband to the boundary of the village, carrying a ladle and pot, which she throws down at the boundary, and returns home. on the day after the funeral, the embers are extinguished, and an effigy of the deceased is made on the spot where he was cremated, and food offered to it. toddy is distributed among those who have assembled at the house. on the tenth day, food is offered on ten fragments of pots. on the eleventh day, if the dead man was an important personage in the community, a ceremony, corresponding to the jola jola handi of the higher castes, is performed. a cloth is spread on the ground, on the spot where the corpse was cremated, and the ground round it swept by women, whose backs are turned towards the cloth, so that they cannot see it. two men, with swords or big knives, sit by the side of the cloth and wait till an insect settles on the cloth. they then at once put the swords or knives on the cloth, and, folding it up, place it on a new winnowing-basket. it is taken home, placed on the floor, and connected by means of a long thread with the household god (mass of clay or vessel). it is then shaken near the god, so that the insect falls out. dandasi further occurs as a sub-division of the kondras, the members of which have taken to the profession of village watchmen. dandi (a staff).--a house name of korava. dandu (army).--a sub-division of idiga, and an exogamous sept of boya and kapu. it has been suggested that the name is not dandu but dande, meaning pole, in reference to the apparatus used by the idigas in climbing palm trees for the extraction of toddy. dandu agasa, indicating army washerman, occurs as a name for some maratha dhobis in mysore, whose forefathers probably accompanied armies in times of war. dara (stream of water).--an exogamous sept of mala. darabala.--taken, in the madras census report, 1901, as a sub-caste of mala. it is a common house-name among many telugu castes. darala (thread).--an exogamous sept of madiga. darzi.--darzi or darji is a muhammadan occupational term, meaning tailor. "the east," it has been said, [47] "now sews by machinery. the name of singer is known from the mediterranean to the pacific. in every bazaar in india one may see men--they are always men, not women--in turban or mussalman cap, crouching over the needle-plate, and working the pedals." the value of the imports of sewing-machines rose, in british india, from rs. 5,91,046 in 1901-02 to rs. 10,06,625 in 1904-05. das.--the title of jain immigrants from northern india, most of whom are established as merchants, and also of the mahants of the tirumala (tirupati) temple, e.g., balaram das, bhagavan das. dasari.--"dasari or tadan," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [48] "is a mendicant caste of vaishnavas, the reputed descendants of a wealthy sudra of one of the northern districts, who, being devoid of offspring, vowed that, should he be blessed with children, he would devote one to the service of his god. he subsequently had many sons, one of whom he named dasan (servant), and placed entirely at the service of the deity. dasan forfeited all claim to participate in his father's estate, and his offspring are therefore all beggars. "the caste, like that of the satanis, is reinforced by idle members of the lower sudra classes, who, being branded by the gurus of tirupati and other shrines, become dasaris thereby. they usually wander about, singing hymns to a monotonous accompaniment upon a leather instrument called tappai (tabret). some sudra castes engage them thus to chant in front of the corpse at funerals, and many, accompanying bands of pilgrims travelling to tirupati, stimulate their religious excitement by singing sacred songs. a few, called yerudandis, (q.v.), take possession of young bulls that have been devoted to a swami, and teach them to perform tricks very cleverly. the bulls appear to understand what is said to them, and go through various antics at the word of command. some dasaris exhibit what is called the panda servai performance, which consists in affecting to be possessed by the spirit of the deity, and beating themselves all over the body with a flaming torch, after covering it probably with some protecting substance. in such modes do they wander about and receive alms, each wearing as a distinction a garland of beads made of tulasi (ocimum sanctum) wood. every dasari is a tengalai. they have six sub-divisions, called balija, janappa, palli, valluva, gangeddula, and golla dasaris, which neither eat together nor intermarry. as these are the names of existing and distinct castes, it is probable that the dasaris were formerly members of those classes, who, through their vagabond tastes, have taken to a mendicant life. beyond prohibiting widow remarriage, they have no social restrictions." concerning the mendicants of anantapur, mr. w. francis writes [49] that "the beggars who are most in evidence are the dasaris. this community is recruited from several castes, such as the kapus, balijas, kurubas, boyas, and malas, and members of it who belong to the last two of these (which are low in the social scale) are not allowed to dine with the others. all dasaris are vaishnavites, and admission to the community is obtained by being branded by some vaishnavite guru. thenceforward the novice becomes a dasari, and lives by begging from door to door. the profession is almost hereditary in some families. the five insignia of a dasari are the conch shell, which he blows to announce his arrival; the gong which he strikes as he goes his rounds; the tall iron lamp (with a cocoanut to hold the oil for replenishing it) which he keeps lighted as he begs; the brass or copper vessel (sometimes with the namam painted on it) suspended from his shoulder, in which he places the alms received; and the small metal image of hanuman, which he hangs round his neck. of these, the iron lamp is at once the most conspicuous and the most indispensable. it is said to represent venkatesa, and it must be burning, as an unlighted lamp is inauspicious. dasaris also subsist by doing puja (worship) at ceremonial and festival occasions for certain of the hindu castes." in the kurnool district, when a girl is dedicated as a basavi (dedicated prostitute), she is not, as in some other parts of the country, married to an idol, but tied by means of a garland of flowers to the tall standard lamp (garudakambham) of a dasari, and released by the man who is to receive her first favours, or by her maternal uncle. the dasaris in mysore are described in the mysore census report, 1901, as "mendicants belonging to different classes of sudras. they become dasas or servants dedicated to the god at tirupati by virtue of a peculiar vow, made either by themselves or their relatives, at some moment of anxiety or danger, and live by begging in his name. dasaris are always vaishnavites, as the vows are taken only by those castes which are worshippers of that deity. dasaris are invited by sudras on ceremonial days, and feasted. properly speaking, dasari is not a caste, but simply an occupational division. among certain castes, the custom of taking a vow to become a dasari prevails. in fulfilment of that vow the person becomes a dasari, and his eldest son is bound to follow suit, the others taking to other walks of life. the following castes take the vow of becoming dasari:--telugu banajiga, holeya, tigala, and vakkaliga. the duty of a dasari requires that he should daily bathe his head, and take care that, while eating with the profane, their victuals do not get mixed with his. every saturday, after bathing and praying for some hours, he must cook his own food in a clean pot. they go about the streets singing some hari keerthanams, with a gong and conch to relieve the dull monotony of their mumblings." concerning the synonym tadan, this is stated [50] to be "a corruption of the sanskrit dasa which, with the tamil termination an, stands for dasan. the word is often used in this form, but often as dasari. the word is applied to vaishnava mendicants. they go out every morning, begging for alms of uncooked rice, and singing ballads or hymns. they play on a small drum with their fingers, and often carry a conch shell, which they blow. they are given to drinking." in the nellore manual, the dasrivandlu are summed up as being "mendicants and thieves in the telugu and canarese countries. they usually practise what is known as scissor-theft." the mendicant dasaris, who are dealt with in the present note, are stated by mr. s. m. natesa sastri [51] to be called gudi dasari, as the gudi or temple is their home and to be a set of quiet, innocent and simple people, leading a most idle and stupid life. "quite opposed," he adds, "to the gudi dasaris in every way are the donga dasaris or thieving dasaris. they are the most dreaded of the criminal classes in the bellary district. these donga dasaris are only dasaris in name." (see donga dasari.) some dasaris are servants under vaishnava brahmans, who act as gurus to various castes. it is their duty to act as messengers to the guru, and carry the news of his arrival to his disciples. at the time of worship, and when the guru approaches a village, the dasari has to blow a long brass trumpet (tarai). as the brahman may not approach or touch his paraiyan disciples, it is the dasari who gives them the holy water (thirtham). when a paraiyan is to be branded, the brahman heats the instruments bearing the devices of the chank and chakaram, and hands them to the dasari, who performs the operation of branding. for councils, settlement of marriage, and the decision of other social matters, the dasaris meet, at times of festivals, at well-known places such as tirutani, tirupati or tiruvallur. at the annual festival at the temple at karamadi in the coimbatore district, which is visited by very large numbers, belonging for the most part to the lower orders, various vows are fulfilled. these include the giving of kavalam to dasaris. kavalam consists of plantain fruits cut up into small slices, and mixed with sugar, jaggery (crude sugar), fried grain, or beaten rice. the dasaris are attached to the temple, and wear short drawers, with strings of small brass bells tied to their wrists and ankles. they appear to be possessed, and move wildly about to the beating of drums. as they go about, the devotee puts some of the kavalam into their mouths. the dasaris eat a little, and spit out the remainder into the hands of the devotees, who eat it. this is believed to cure all diseases, and to give children to those who partake of it. in addition to kavalam, some put betel leaves into the mouths of the dasaris, who, after chewing them, spit them into the mouths of the devotees. at night the dasaris carry large torches made of rags, on which the devotees pour ghi (clarified butter). some say that, many years ago, barren women used to take a vow to visit the temple at the festival time, and, after offering kavalam, have sexual intercourse with the dasaris. the temple authorities, however, profess ignorance of this practice. when proceeding on a pilgrimage to the temple of subramanya swami at palni, some devotees pierce their cheeks with a long silver skewer, which traverses the mouth cavity; pierce the tongue with a silver arrow, which is protruded vertically through the protruded organ; and place a silver shield (mouth-lock) in front of the mouth. some dasaris have permanent holes in their cheeks, into which they insert skewers when they go about the country in pursuit of their profession. for the following note on dasaris in the vizagapatam district, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the caste is an endogamous unit, the members calling themselves sankhu (or conch-blowing) dasaris, and is divided into numerous exogamous septs. the menarikam custom, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is followed. the remarriage of widows is permitted, but divorce is forbidden. the dead are cremated, and the chinna (small) and pedda rozu (big day) death ceremonies are observed. these dasaris profess the tengalai form of vaishnavism, and get themselves branded. the caste is more secular, and less religious than in the southern districts. a dasari of the north arcot or anantapur type, with conch-shell, metal gong, iron lamp, copper vessel, and metal image of hanuman on his neck, is scarcely met with. the vizagapatam dasaris are the most popular among ballad-singers, and sing songs about heroes and heroines, of which the following are the most appreciated:-1. bobbilipata, which describes the siege and conquest of bobbili by bussy in 1757. 2. ammi nayudupata, which describes the tyrannical behaviour of one ammi nayudu, a village headman in the palkonda taluk, who was eventually murdered, to the great relief of those subject to him, by one of his dependents. 3. lakshmammapata, which relates the life and death of lakshmamma, a velama woman, who went against the menarikam custom of the caste, and was put to death by her husband. 4. yerakammaperantala-pata, which recounts the story of one yerakamma, who committed sati. yerakamma is the local goddess at srungavarapukota in the vizagapatam district. the ballads sung about her say that she was the child of dasari parents, and that her birth was foretold by a yerukala woman (whence her name), who prophesied that she would have the gift of second sight. she eventually married, and one day she begged her husband not to go to his field, as she was sure he would be killed by a tiger if he did. her husband went notwithstanding, and was slain as she had foreseen. she committed sati on the spot where her shrine still stands, and at this there is a festival at sivaratri. as ballad-singers, two dasaris generally travel about together, begging from house to house, or at the weekly market, one singing, while the other plays, and joins in the chorus. the titles of these dasaris are anna and ayya. dasari has been recorded as an exogamous sept of the koravas, malas, and yerukalas. dasi (servant).--the name for a non-brahman female attendant upon a nambutiri brahman woman, which should not, as sometimes happens, be confused with deva-dasi, (q.v.), which has quite another significance. dayare (muhammadan).--the dayare, daira, or mahadev muhammadans are found in the bangalore and mysore districts of the mysore province. concerning them, we are informed in the mysore gazetteer that "they differ from the general body of muhammadans in a point of belief concerning the advent of imam mahadi. the dayares maintain that he has visited this earth and departed, while the orthodox muhammadans believe the prophet (imam) has not yet appeared, and that his coming will be a sign of the end of the world. the following account of the origin of this body of dissenters has been related. a child was born of the sayad sect of muhammadans at guzrat about four hundred years ago, who was named sayad ahmed, and afterwards became distinguished by the title of alam (superior to maulvi) in consequence of his great learning. sayad ahmed proclaimed himself the equal of mahomet, and superior to all other paigambars or messengers of god. he succeeded in obtaining some followers who believed in him, and repaired to jivanpur in the nizam's territories, where he took the name of imam mahadi. from thence he, with some disciples, proceeded to mecca, but did not visit medina. after some time he returned to hyderabad, still retaining the name of imam mahadi. such pretensions could not be tolerated by the great mass of muhammadans, and sayad ahmed, together with his disciples, being worsted in a great religious controversy, was driven out of hyderabad, and came to channapatna in the bangalore district, where they settled. the descendants of these settlers believe that sayad ahmed was the prophet imam mahadi predicted in the koran. they offer prayers in a masjid of their own, separate from other muhammadans, and do not intermarry with the rest. they are an enterprising body, and carry on a brisk trade in silk with the western coast." they are mostly domiciled at channapatna, where a considerable industry in the cocoons of the mulberry silk-moth is carried on. when an adult hindu joins the dayares as a convert, an interesting mock rite of circumcision is performed as a substitute for the real operation. a strip of betel leaf is wrapped round the penis, so that it projects beyond the glans, and is snipped instead of the prepuce. like other muhammadan classes of southern india, the dayares are as a whole dolichocephalic. but the frequent occurrence of individuals with a high cephalic index would seem to point to their recruitment from the mesaticephalic or brachycephalic canarese classes. =================+=============+============+============= | | | number of | | number | times class. | locality. | examined. | cephalic | | | index | | | exceeded 80. -----------------+-------------+------------+------------ mappilla | malabar | 40 | 0 saiyad | madras | 40 | 2 pathan | do. | 40 | 2 sheik | do. | 40 | 2 dayare | mysore | 40 | 8 =================+=============+============+============= dayyalakulam (devil's family).--recorded, at times of census, as a sub-caste of gollas, who are wrestlers and acrobats. dedingi.--recorded as a sub-division of poroja. dera.--dera, dendra, and devara occur as synonyms of devanga. desa.--a sub-division of balija. desadhipati, denoting ruler of a country, is a name assumed by some janappans, who say that they are balijas. desayi.--for the following account of the desayi institution, i am indebted to an excellent account thereof by mr. s. m. natesa sastri. [52] "the word desayi means of the country. for almost every taluk in the north arcot district there is a headman, called the desayi chetti, who may be said in a manner to correspond to a justice of the peace. the headmen belong to the kavarai or balija caste, their family name being dhanapala--a common name among the kavarais--which may be interpreted as 'the protector of wealth.' the dhanapala desayi chetti holds sway over eighteen castes, kavarai, uppara, lambadi, jogi, idiga, paraiyan, etc. all those that are called valangai, or right-hand caste, fall within his jurisdiction. he has an establishment of two peons (orderlies), who are castemen, and another menial, a sort of bugler, who blows the horn whenever the desayi chetti goes on circuit. when any deviation in the moral conduct of any man or woman occurs in a village under the desayi's jurisdiction, a report of it is at once sent to the desayi chetti, through the paraiya of the village, by the desayi's representative in that village. he has his local agent in every village within his jurisdiction. on receipt of a report, he starts on circuit to the village, with all the quaint-looking paraphernalia attached to his office. he moves about from place to place in his bullock coach, the inside of which is upholstered with a soft cushion bed, with a profusion of pillows on all sides. the paraiya horn-blower runs in front of the carriage blowing the horn (bhamka), which he carries suspended from his shoulder when it is not in use. on the desayi chetti arriving at a village, the horn is blown to announce his visit on professional matters. while he camps at a village, people from the surrounding country within his jurisdiction usually go to him with any representations they may have to make to him as the head of their caste. the desayi generally encamps in a tope (grove) adjoining the village. at the sound of the horn, the castemen on whose account the visit is made assemble at the place of encampment, with the desayi's local representative at their head. the personal comforts of the desayi are first attended to, and he is liberally supplied with articles of food by the party on whose account the visit has been undertaken. a large cup-shaped spoon is the ensign of the desayi. on the outer surface, all round its edge, are carved in relief eighteen figures, each one being typical of one of the castes of which the desayi is the social head. under each figure is inscribed in tamil the name of the caste which that figure typifies. the figures are smeared with red powder and sandal, and decorated with flowers. the menial, taking up the cup, rings the bell attached to it, to summon the parties. as soon as the sound is heard, the castemen amongst whom any offence has occurred assemble, each house in the village being represented by a member, so as to make up a panchayat (council). the desayi's emblem is then placed in front of him in the midst of the panchayat, and a regular enquiry held. supposing a person stands charged with adultery, the accused is brought before the assembly, and the charge formally investigated with the advice of the panchayat, the desayi declares the accused guilty or not guilty, as the case may be. in the event of a man being pronounced guilty, the panchayat directs him to pay the aggrieved husband all the expenses he had incurred in connection with his marriage. in addition to this, a fine ranging from ten to twenty rupees is imposed on the offender by the desayi, and is collected at once. a small fraction of this fine, never exceeding four annas, is paid to every representative who sits in the panchayat, the balance going into the desayi's pocket. if the delinquent refuses to pay the fine, a council of the same men is held, and he is excommunicated. the recalcitrant offender soon realises the horrors of excommunication, and in a short time appears before the desayi, and falls prostrate at his feet, promising to obey him. the desayi then accompanies him to the village, calls the panchayat again, and in their presence removes the interdict. on this occasion, the excommunicated person has to pay double the amount of the original fine. but disobedience is rare, as people are alive to the serious consequences of excommunication. the desayi maintains a regular record of all his enquiries and judgments, and in the days of the nawabs these decisions were, it would appear, recognised by the courts of justice. the same respect was, it is said, also shown to the desayi's decisions by the early courts of john company. [53] "every house belonging to the eighteen castes sends to the village representative of the desayi, who is called periyatanakaran, a pagoda (rs. 3-8) in cash, besides rice, dhal (cajanus indicus), and other articles of food for every marriage that takes place, in the village. the representative reserves for himself all the perishable articles, sending only the cash to the desayi. thus, for every marriage within his jurisdiction, the desayi gets one pagoda. of late, in the case of those desayis who have purchased their rights as such from the old desayis, instead of a pagoda, a fee of two annas and a half is levied on each marriage. every death which occurs in a village is equally a source of income to the desayi, who receives articles of food, and four annas or more, according to the circumstances of the parties in whose house the death has occurred. as in the case of marriage, the local representative appropriates to himself the articles of food, and transmits the money to the desayi. the local agent keeps a list of all domestic occurrences that take place in the village, and this list is most carefully scrutinised and checked by the desayi during his tours, and any amount left unpaid is then collected. whenever a marriage takes place in his own house, all the houses within his jurisdiction are bound to send him rice, dhal, and other articles, and any money they can afford to pay. sometimes rich people send large sums to the desayi, to enable him to purchase the clothes, jewels, etc., required for the marriage. when a desayi finds his work too heavy for him to attend to single-handed, he sells a portion of his jurisdiction for some hundreds or thousands of rupees, according to its extent, to some relation. a regular sale deed is executed and registered." (see also samaya.) desikar.--a sub-division and title of pandaram. desur.--the name of a sub-division of kapu, which is either territorial, or possibly derived from deha, body, and sura, valour. deva.--deva or devara, meaning god, has been recorded as a synonym of devanga and ganiga or gandla and a sept of moger, and deva telikulakali as a name for those who express and sell oils in the vizagapatam district. devara occurs further as a title of the jangams. at the madras census, 1901, devar was returned as the name of telugu merchants from pondicherry trading in glassware. devar is also the title of occhans, who are priests at temples of village deities. the title of maravans is devan or tevan. in south canara, the halepaiks (toddy-drawers) are known as devaru makkalu (god's children), which, it has been suggested, [54] is possibly a corruption of tivaru or divaru makkalu, meaning children of the islanders, in reference to their supposed descent from early immigrants from the island of ceylon. deva-dasi.--in old hindu works, seven classes of dasis are mentioned, viz., (1) datta, or one who gives herself as a gift to a temple; (2) vikrita, or one who sells herself for the same purpose; (3) bhritya, or one who offers herself as a temple servant for the prosperity of her family; (4) bhakta, or one who joins a temple out of devotion; (5) hrita, or one who is enticed away, and presented to a temple; (6) alankara, or one who, being well trained in her profession, and profusely decked, is presented to a temple by kings and noblemen; (7) rudraganika or gopika, who receive regular wages from a temple, and are employed to sing and dance. for the following general account i am indebted to the madras census report, 1901:-"dasis or deva-dasis (handmaidens of the gods) are dancing-girls attached to the tamil temples, who subsist by dancing and music, and the practice of 'the oldest profession in the world.' the dasis were probably in the beginning the result of left-handed unions between members of two different castes, but they are now partly recruited by admissions, and even purchases, from other classes. the profession is not now held in the consideration it once enjoyed. formerly they enjoyed a considerable social position. it is one of the many inconsistencies of the hindu religion that, though their profession is repeatedly and vehemently condemned by the shastras, it has always received the countenance of the church. the rise of the caste, and its euphemistic name, seem both of them to date from about the ninth and tenth centuries a.d., during which much activity prevailed in southern india in the matter of building temples, and elaborating the services held in them. the dancing-girls' duties, then as now, were to fan the idol with chamaras (tibetan ox tails), to carry the sacred light called kumbarti, and to sing and dance before the god when he was carried in procession. inscriptions [55] show that, in a.d. 1004, the great temple of the chola king rajaraja at tanjore had attached to it four hundred talic' cheri pendugal, or women of the temple, who lived in free quarters in the four streets round about it, and were allowed tax-free land out of the endowment. other temples had similar arrangements. at the beginning of the last century there were a hundred dancing-girls attached to the temple at conjeeveram, who were, buchanan tells us, [56] 'kept for the honour of the deities and the amusement of their votaries; and any familiarity between these girls and an infidel would occasion scandal.' at madura, conjeeveram, and tanjore there are still numbers of them, who receive allowances from the endowments of the big temples at these places. in former days, the profession was countenanced not only by the church, but also by the state. abdur razaak, a turkish ambassador at the court of vijayanagar in the fifteenth century, describes [57] women of this class as living in state-controlled institutions, the revenue of which went towards the upkeep of the police. "at the present day they form a regular caste, having its own laws of inheritance, its own customs and rules of etiquette, and its own panchayats (councils) to see that all these are followed, and thus hold a position, which is perhaps without a parallel in any other country. dancing-girls, dedicated to the usual profession of the caste, are formally married in a temple to a sword or a god, the tali (marriage badge) being tied round their necks by some men of their caste. it was a standing puzzle to the census enumerators whether such women should be entered as married in the column referring to civil condition. "among the dasis, sons and daughters inherit equally, contrary to ordinary hindu usage. some of the sons remain in the caste, and live by playing music for the women to dance to, and accompaniments to their songs, or by teaching singing and dancing to the younger girls, and music to the boys. these are called nattuvans. others marry some girl of the caste, who is too plain to be likely to be a success in the profession, and drift out of the community. some of these affix to their names the terms pillai and mudali, which are the usual titles of the two castes (vellala and kaikola) from which most of the dasis are recruited, and try to live down the stigma attaching to their birth. others join the melakkarans or professional musicians. cases have occurred, in which wealthy sons of dancing-women have been allowed to marry girls of respectable parentage of other castes, but they are very rare. the daughters of the caste, who are brought up to follow the caste profession, are carefully taught dancing, singing, the art of dressing well, and the ars amoris, and their success in keeping up their clientele is largely due to the contrast which they thus present to the ordinary hindu housewife, whose ideas are bounded by the day's dinner and the babies. the dancing-girl castes, and their allies the melakkarans, are now practically the sole repository of indian music, the system of which is probably one of the oldest in the world. besides them and the brahmans, few study the subject. the barbers' bands of the villages usually display more energy than science. a notable exception, however, exists in madras city, which has been known to attempt the dead march in saul at funerals in the pariah quarters. "there are two divisions among the dasis, called valangai (right-hand) and idangai (left-hand). the chief distinction between them is that the former will have nothing to do with the kammalans (artisans) or any other of the left-hand castes, or play or sing in their houses. the latter division is not so particular, and its members are consequently sometimes known as the kammala dasis. neither division, however, is allowed to have any dealings with men of the lowest castes, and violation of this rule of etiquette is tried by a panchayat of the caste, and visited with excommunication. "in the telugu districts, the dancing-girls are called bogams and sanis. they are supposed to be dedicated to the gods, just as the dasis are, but there is only one temple in the northern part of the presidency which maintains a corps of these women in the manner in vogue further south. this exception is the shrine of sri kurmam in vizagapatam, the dancing-girls attached to which are known as kurmapus. in vizagapatam most of the bogams and sanis belong to the nagavasulu and palli castes, and their male children often call themselves nagavasulus, but in nellore, kurnool and bellary they are often balijas and yerukalas. in nellore the bogams are said to decline to sing in the houses of komatis. the men of the sanis do not act as accompanists to their women at nautch parties, as bogam and dasi men do. "in the oriya country the dancing-girl caste is called guni, but there they have even less connection with the temples than the bogams and sanis, not being even dedicated to the god. "in the canarese (or western) taluks of bellary, and in the adjoining parts of dharwar and mysore, a curious custom obtains among the boyas, bedarus, and certain other castes, under which a family which has no male issue must dedicate one of its daughters as a basavi. the girl is taken to a temple, and married there to the god, a tali and toe-rings being put on her, and thenceforward she becomes a public woman, except that she does not consort with any one of lower caste than herself. she is not, however, despised on this account, and indeed at weddings she prepares the tali (perhaps because she can never be a widow). contrary to all hindu law, she shares in the family property as though she was a son, but her right to do so has not yet been confirmed by the civil courts. if she has a son, he takes her father's name, but if only a daughter, that daughter again becomes a basavi. the children of basavis marry within their own caste, without restrictions of any kind. "in malabar there is no regular community of dancing-girls; nor is there among the mussalmans of any part of the presidency." "no doubt," monier williams writes, [58] "dasis drive a profitable trade under the sanction of religion, and some courtesans have been known to amass enormous fortunes. nor do they think it inconsistent with their method of making money to spend it in works of piety. here and there indian bridges and other useful public works owe their existence to the liberality of the frail sisterhood." the large tank (lake) at channarayapatna in mysore was built by two dancing-girls. in the travancore census report, 1901, the dasis of the coromandel coast are compared, in the words of a sanskrit poet, to walking flesh-trees bearing golden fruits. the observant abbé dubois noticed that, of all the women in india, it is especially the courtesans who are the most decently clothed, as experience has taught them that for a woman to display her charms damps sensual ardour instead of exciting it, and that the imagination is more easily captivated than the eye. it was noticed by lord dufferin, on the occasion of a viceregal visit to madura, that the front part of the dress of the dancing-girls hangs in petticoats, but the back is only trousers. the rev. a. margöschis writes in connection with the practice of dilating the lobes of the ears in tinnevelly, that, as it was once the fashion and a mark of respectability to have long ears, so now the converse is true. until a few years ago, if a woman had short ears, she was asked if she was a deva-dasi, because that class kept their ears natural. now, with the change of customs all round, even dancing-girls are found with long ears. "the dancing-girls are," the rev. m. phillips writes, [59] "the most accomplished women among the hindus. they read, write, sing and play as well as dance. hence one of the great objections urged at first against the education of girls was 'we don't want our daughters to become dancing-girls'." it is on record [60] that, in 1791, the nabob of the carnatic dined with the governor of madras, and that, after dinner, they were diverted with the dancing wenches, and the nabob was presented with cordial waters, french brandy and embroidered china quilts. the story is told of a governor of madras in more recent times, who, ignorant of the inverse method of beckoning to a person to advance or retreat in the east, was scandalised when a nautch girl advanced rapidly, till he thought she was going to sit in his lap. at a nautch in the fort of the mandasa zemindar in honour of sir m. e. grant duff, [61] the dancing-girls danced to the air of malbrook se va t'en guerre. bussy taught it to the dancing-girls, and they to their neighbours. in the vizagapatam and godavari jungles, natives apostrophise tigers as bussy. whether the name is connected with bussy i know not. of deva-dasis at the court of tippoo sultan, the following account was published in 1801. [62] "comme souverain d'une partie du visapour, tippoo-saïb jouissoit de la facilité d'avoir parmi ses bayadères celles qui étoient les plus renommées par leurs talens, leurs graces, leur beauté, etc. ces bayadères sont des danseuses supérieures dans leur genre; tout danse et tout joue en même-tems chez elles; leur tête, leurs yeux, leurs bras, leurs pieds, tout leur corps, semblent ne se mouvoir que from enchanter; elles sont d'une incroyable légèreté, et ont le jarret aussi fort que souple; leur taille est des plus sveltes et des plus élégantes, et elles n'ont pas un mouvement qui ne soit une grace. la plus âgée de ces femmes n'avoit pas plus de seize à dix-sept ans. aussi tot qu'elles atteignoient cet âge, on les réformoit, et alors elles alloient courir les provinces, on s'attachoient à des pagodes, dans lesqueles elles étoient entretenues, et ou leurs charmes étoient un des meilleurs revenus des brames." general burton narrates [63] how a civilian of the old school built a house at bhavani, and established a corps de ballet, i.e., a set of nautch girls, whose accomplishments actually extended to singing god save the king, and this was kept up by their descendants, so that, when he visited the place in 1852, he was "greeted by the whole party, bedizened in all their finery, and squalling the national anthem as if they understood it, which they did not." with this may be contrasted a circular from a modern european official, which states that "during my jamabandy (land revenue settlement) tour, people have sometimes been kind enough to arrange singing or dancing parties, and, as it would have been discourteous to decline to attend what had cost money to arrange, i have accepted the compliment in the spirit in which it was offered. i should, however, be glad if you would let it be generally known that i am entirely in accord with what is known as the anti-nautch movement in regard to such performances." it was unanimously decided, in 1905, by the executive committee of the prince and princess of wales' reception fund, that there should be no performance by nautch girls at the entertainment to be given to their royal highnesses at madras. in a note on basavis, the collector of the bellary district writes that "it is usual among hindus to dedicate a bull for public use on the death of a member of their family. these are the breeding bulls of the village flock. similarly, cows are dedicated, and are called basavis. no stigma attaches to basavis or their children, and they are received on terms of equality by other members of their caste. the origin of the institution, it has been suggested, may probably be traced to the time when the boyas, and other castes which dedicate basavis, were soldiers, and the basavis acted as camp-followers and nurses of the wounded in battle. according to hindu custom, the wives of the men could not be taken from their homes, and, other women of the caste being required to attend to their comforts, the institution of basavis might have been started; or, if they existed before then as religious devotees attached to temples, they might have been pressed into their service, and the number added to as occasion required. in narayandevarkeri there are many boyas and many basavis. on the car-festival day, the boyas cannot take meals until the car is taken back to its original place after the procession. sometimes, owing to some accident, this cannot be done the same day, and the car-drawing boyas sleep near the car, and do not go to their houses. then it is their basavis who bring them food, and not their wives." at adoni i have seen a basavi, who was working at a cotton press for a daily wage of three annas, in full dress on a holiday in honour of a local deity, wearing an elaborately chased silver waist belt and abundant silver jewelry. the following are examples of petitions presented to a european magistrate and superintendent of police by girls who are about to become basavis:- petition of __________ aged about 17 or 18. i have agreed to become a basavi, and get myself stamped by my guru (priest) according to the custom of my caste. i request that my proper age, which entitles me to be stamped, may be personally ascertained, and permission granted to be stamped. the stamping refers to branding with the emblems of the chank and chakram. petition of _____ wife of _____. i have got two daughters, aged 15 and 12 respectively. as i have no male issues, i have got to necessarily celebrate the ceremony in the temple in connection with the tying of the goddess's tali to my two daughters under the orders of the guru, in accordance with the customs of my caste. i, therefore, submit this petition for fear that the authorities may raise any objection (under the age of consent act). i, therefore, request that the honourable court may be pleased to give permission to the tying of the tali to my daughters. petition of two girls, aged 17 to 19. our father and mother are dead. now we wish to be like prostitutes, as we are not willing to be married, and thus establish our house-name. our mother also was of this profession. we now request permission to be prostitutes according to our religion, after we are sent before the medical officer. the permission referred to in the above petitions bears reference to a decision of the high court that, a girl who becomes a basavi being incapable of contracting a legal marriage, her dedication when a minor is an offence under the penal code. at adoni the dead body of a new-born infant was found in a ditch, and a basavi, working with others in a cotton factory, was suspected of foul play. the station-house officer announced his intention of visiting the factory, and she who was in a state of lactation, and could produce no baby to account for her condition, would be the culprit. writing concerning the basavis of the bellary district, [64] mr. w. francis tells us that "parents without male issue often, instead of adopting a son in the usual manner, dedicate a daughter by a simple ceremony to the god of some temple, and thenceforth, by immemorial custom, she may inherit her parents' property, and perform their funeral rites as if she was a son. she does not marry, but lives in her parents' house with any man of equal or higher caste whom she may select, and her children inherit her father's name and bedagu (sept), and not those of their own father. if she has a son, he inherits her property; if she has only a daughter, that daughter again becomes a basavi. parents desiring male issue of their own, cure from sickness in themselves or their children, or relief from some calamity, will similarly dedicate their daughter. the children of a basavi are legitimate, and neither they nor their mothers are treated as being in any way inferior to their fellows. a basavi, indeed, from the fact that she can never be a widow, is a most welcome guest at weddings. basavis differ from the ordinary dancing-girls dedicated at temples in that their duties in the temples (which are confined to the shrine of their dedication) are almost nominal, and that they do not prostitute themselves promiscuously for hire. a basavi very usually lives faithfully with one man, who allows her a fixed sum weekly for her maintenance, and a fixed quantity of new raiment annually, and she works for her family as hard as any other woman. basavis are outwardly indistinguishable from other women, and are for the most part coolies. in places there is a custom by which they are considered free to change their protectors once a year at the village car-festival or some similar anniversary, and they usually seize this opportunity of putting their partner's affections to the test by suggesting that a new cloth and bodice would be a welcome present. so poor, as a rule, are the husbands that the police aver that the anniversaries are preceded by an unusual crop of petty thefts and burglaries committed by them in their efforts to provide their customary gifts." a recent report of a police inspector in the bellary district states that "crimes are committed here and there, as this is nagarapanchami time. nagarapanchami festival is to be celebrated at the next ammavasya or new-moon day. it is at that time the people keeping the prostitutes should pay their dues on that day; otherwise they will have their new engagements." in the kurnool district, the basavi system is practised by the boyas, but differs from that in vogue in bellary and mysore. the object of making a basavi, in these two localities, is to perpetuate the family when there is no male heir. if the only issue in a family is a female, the family becomes extinct if she marries, as by marriage she changes her sept. to prevent this, she is not married, but dedicated as a basavi, and continues to belong to her father's sept, to which also any male issue which is born to her belongs. in the kurnool district the motive in making basavis is different. the girl is not wedded to an idol, but, on an auspicious day, is tied by means of a garland of flowers to the garuda kambham (lamp) of a balija dasari. she is released either by the man who is to receive her first favours, or by her maternal uncle. a simple feast is held, and a string of black beads tied round the girl's neck. she becomes a prostitute, and her children do not marry into respectable boya families. "basava women," dr. e. balfour writes, [65] "are sometimes married to a dagger, sometimes to an idol. in making a female child over to the service of the temple, she is taken and dedicated for life to some idol. a khanjar, or dagger, is placed on the ground, and the girl who is to undergo the ceremony puts a garland thereon. her mother then puts rice on the girl's forehead. the officiating priest then weds the girl to the dagger, just as if he was uniting her to a boy in marriage, by reciting the marriage stanzas, a curtain being held between the girl and the dagger." in an account of the initiation ceremony of the basavis of the bellary district mr. f. fawcett writes as follows. [66] "a sword with a lime stuck on its point is placed upright beside the novice, and held in her right hand. it represents the bridegroom, who, in the corresponding ceremony of hindu marriage, sits on the bride's right. a tray, on which are a kalasyam (vessel of water) and a lamp, is then produced, and moved thrice in front of the girl. she rises, and, carrying the sword in her right hand, places it in the god's sanctuary. among the dancing-girls very similar ceremonies are performed. with them, the girl's spouse is represented by a drum instead of a sword, and she bows to it. her insignia consist of a drum and bells." in a further note on the dedication of basavis, mr. fawcett writes [67] that "a tali, on which is depicted the namam of vishnu, fastened to a necklace of black beads, is tied round her neck. she is given by way of insignia a cane as a wand carried in the right hand, and a gopalam or begging basket, which is slung on the left arm. she is then branded with the emblems of the chank and chakra. in another account [68] of the marriage ceremony among dancing-girls, it is stated that the bogams, who are without exception prostitutes, though they are not allowed to marry, go through a marriage ceremony, which is rather a costly one. sometimes a wealthy native bears the expense, makes large presents to the bride, and receives her first favours. where no such opportunity offers itself, a sword or other weapon represents the bridegroom, and an imaginary nuptial ceremony is performed. should the bogam woman have no daughter, she invariably adopts one, usually paying a price for her, the kaikola (weaver) caste being the ordinary one from which to take a child. among the kaikolan musicians of coimbatore, at least one girl in every family should be set apart for the temple service, and she is instructed in music and dancing. at the tali-tying ceremony she is decorated with jewels, and made to stand on a heap of paddy (unhusked rice). a folded cloth is held before her by two dasis, who also stand on heaps of paddy. the girl catches hold of the cloth, and her dancing master, who is seated behind her, grasping her legs, moves them up and down in time with the music which is played. in the evening she is taken, astride a pony, to the temple, where a new cloth for the idol, the tali, and other articles required for doing puja (worship) have been got ready. the girl is seated facing the idol, and the officiating brahman gives sandal and flowers to her, and ties the tali, which has been lying at the feet of the idol, round her neck. the tali consists of a golden disc and black beads. she continues to learn music and dancing, and eventually goes through the form of a nuptial ceremony, the relations are invited on an auspicious day, and the maternal uncle, or his representative, ties a golden band on the girl's forehead, and, carrying her, places her on a plank before the assembled guests. a brahman priest recites mantrams (prayers), and prepares the sacred fire (homam). for the actual nuptials a rich brahman, if possible, and, if not, a brahman of more lowly status is invited. a brahman is called in, as he is next in importance to, and the representative of, the idol. as a dasi can never become a widow, the beads in her tali are considered to bring good luck to women who wear them. and some people send the tali required for a marriage to a dasi, who prepares the string for it, and attaches to it black beads from her own tali. a dasi is also deputed to walk at the head of hindu marriage processions. married women do not like to do this, as they are not proof against evil omens, which the procession may meet. and it is believed that dasis, to whom widowhood is unknown, possess the power of warding off the effects of inauspicious omens. it may be remarked, en passant, that dasis are not at the present day so much patronised at hindu marriages as in olden times. much is due in this direction to the progress of enlightened ideas, which have of late been strongly put forward by hindu social reformers. when a kaikolan dasi dies, her body is covered with a new cloth removed from the idol, and flowers are supplied from the temple, to which she belonged. no puja is performed in the temple till the corpse is disposed of, as the idol, being her husband, has to observe pollution. "in former times, dancing-girls used to sleep three nights at the commencement of their career in the inner shrine of the koppesvara temple at palivela in the godavari district, so as to be embraced by the god. but one of them, it is said, disappeared one night, and the practice has ceased. the funeral pyre of every girl of the dancing girl (sani) caste dying in the village should be lit with fire brought from the temple. the same practice is found in the srirangam temple near trichinopoly." [69] the following account of dasis in travancore, where their total strength is only about four hundred, is taken from a note by mr. n. subramani aiyer. "while the dasis of kartikappalli, ambalapuzha, and shertallay belonged originally to the konkan coast, those of shenkottah belonged to the pandian country. but the south travancore dasis are an indigenous class. the female members of the caste are, besides being known by the ordinary name of tevadiyal and dasi, both meaning servant of god, called kudikkar, meaning those belonging to the house (i.e., given rent free by the sirkar), and pendukal, or women, the former of these designations being more popular than the latter. males are called tevadiyan, though many prefer to be known as nanchinat vellalas. males, like these vellalas, take the title of pillai. in ancient days deva-dasis, who became experts in singing and dancing, received the title of rayar (king) which appears to have been last conferred in 1847 a.d. the south travancore dasis neither interdine nor intermarry with the dancing-girls of the tamil-speaking districts. they adopt girls only from a particular division of the nayars, tamil padam, and dance only in temples. unlike their sisters outside travancore, they do not accept private engagements in houses on the occasion of marriage. the males, in a few houses, marry the tamil padam and padamangalam nayars, while some padamangalam nayars and nanchinat vellalas in their turn take their women as wives. "when a dancing-woman becomes too old or diseased, and thus unable to perform her usual temple duties, she applies to the temple authorities for permission to remove her ear-pendants (todus). the ceremony takes place at the palace of the maharaja. at the appointed spot the officers concerned assemble, and the woman, seated on a wooden plank, proceeds to unhook the pendants, and places them, with a nuzzur (gift) of twelve fanams (coins), on the plank. directly after this she turns about, and walks away without casting a second glance at the ear-ornaments which have been laid down. she becomes immediately a taikkizhavi or old mother, and is supposed to lead a life of retirement and resignation. by way of distinction, a dasi in active service is referred to as atumpatram. though the ear-ornaments are at once returned to her from the palace, the woman is never again permitted to put them on, but only to wear the pampadam, or antiquated ear-ornament of tamil sudra women. her temple wages undergo a slight reduction, consequent on her proved incapacity. "in some temples, as at keralapuram, there are two divisions of dancing-girls, one known as the murakkudi to attend to the daily routine, the other as the chirappukuti to serve on special occasions. the special duties that may be required of the south travancore dasis are:--(1) to attend the two utsavas at sri padmanabahswami's temple, and the dusserah at the capital; (2) to meet and escort members of the royal family at their respective village limits; (3) to undertake the prescribed fasts for the apamargam ceremony in connection with the annual festival of the temple. on these days strict continence is enjoined, and they are fed at the temple, and allowed only one meal a day. "the principal deities of the dancing-girls are those to whom the temples, in which they are employed, are dedicated. they observe the new and full-moon days, and the last friday of every month as important. the onam, sivaratri, tye-pongal, dipavali, and chitrapurnami are the best recognised religious festivals. minor deities, such as bhadrakali, yakshi, and ghandarva are worshipped by the figure of a trident or sword being drawn on the wall of the house, to which food and sweetmeats are offered on fridays. the priests on these occasions are occhans. there are no recognized headmen in the caste. the services of brahmans are resorted to for the purpose of purification, of nampiyans and saiva vellalas for the performance of funeral rites, and of kurukkals on occasions of marriage, and for the final ceremonies on the sixteenth day after death. "girls belonging to this caste may either be dedicated to temple service, or married to a male member of the caste. no woman can be dedicated to the temple after she has reached puberty. on the occasion of marriage, a sum of from fifty to a hundred and fifty rupees is given to the bride's house, not as a bride-price, but for defraying the marriage expenses. there is a preliminary ceremony of betrothal, and the marriage is celebrated at an auspicious hour. the kurukkal recites a few hymns, and the ceremonies, which include the tying of the tali, continue for four days. the couple commence joint life on the sixteenth day after the girl has reached puberty. it is easy enough to get a divorce, as this merely depends upon the will of one of the two parties, and the woman becomes free to receive clothes from another person in token of her having entered into a fresh matrimonial alliance. "all applications for the presentation of a girl to the temple are made to the temple authorities by the senior dancing-girl of the temple, the girl to be presented being in all cases from six to eight years of age. if she is closely related to the applicant, no enquiries regarding her status and claim need be made. in all other cases, formal investigations are instituted, and the records taken are submitted to the chief revenue officer of the division for orders. some paddy (rice) and five fanams are given to the family from the temple funds towards the expenses of the ceremony. the practice at the suchindrum temple is to convene, on an auspicious day, a yoga or meeting, composed of the valiya sri-kariyakkar, the yogattil potti, the vattappalli muttatu, and others, at which the preliminaries are arranged. the girl bathes, and goes to the temple on the morning of the selected day with two new cloths, betel leaves and nuts. the temple priest places the cloths and the tali at the feet of the image, and sets apart one for the divine use. the tali consists of a triangular bottu, bearing the image of ganesa, with a gold bead on either side. taking the remaining cloth and the tali, and sitting close to the girl, the priest, facing to the north, proceeds to officiate. the girl sits, facing the deity, in the inner sanctuary. the priest kindles the fire, and performs all the marriage ceremonies, following the custom of the tirukkalyanam festival, when siva is represented as marrying parvati. he then teaches the girl the panchakshara hymn if the temple is saivite, and ashtakshara if it is vaishnavite, presents her with the cloth, and ties the tali round her neck. the nattuvan, or dancing-master, instructs her for the first time in his art, and a quantity of raw rice is given to her by the temple authorities. the girl, thus married, is taken to her house, where the marriage festivities are celebrated for two or three days. as in brahmanical marriages, the rolling of a cocoanut to and fro is gone through, the temple priest or an elderly dasi, dressed in male attire, acting the part of the bridegroom. the girl is taken in procession through the streets. "the birth of male children is not made an occasion for rejoicing, and, as the proverb goes, the lamp on these occasions is only dimly lighted. inheritance is in the female line, and women are the absolute owners of all property earned. when a dancing-girl dies, some paddy and five fanams are given from the temple to which she was attached, to defray the funeral expenses. the temple priest gives a garland, and a quantity of ashes for decorating the corpse. after this, a nampiyan, an occhan, some vellala headmen, and a kudikkari, having no pollution, assemble at the house of the deceased. the nampiyan consecrates a pot of water with prayers, the occhan plays on his musical instrument, and the vellalas and kudikkari powder the turmeric to be smeared over the corpse. in the case of temple devotees, their dead bodies must be bathed with this substance by the priest, after which alone the funeral ceremonies may proceed. the karta (chief mourner), who is the nearest male relative, has to get his whole head shaved. when a temple priest dies, though he is a brahman, the dancing-girl, on whom he has performed the vicarious marriage rite, has to go to his death-bed, and prepare the turmeric powder to be dusted over his corpse. the anniversary of the death of the mother and maternal uncle are invariably observed. "the adoption of a dancing-girl is a lengthy ceremony. the application to the temple authorities takes the form of a request that the girl to be adopted may be made heir to both kuti and pati, that is, to the house and temple service of the person adopting. the sanction of the authorities having been obtained, all concerned meet at the house of the person who is adopting, a document is executed, and a ceremony, of the nature of the jatakarma, performed. the girl then goes through the marriage rite, and is handed over to the charge of the music teacher to be regularly trained in her profession." as bearing on the initiation, laws of inheritance, etc., of deva-dasis, the following cases, which have been argued in the madras high court, may be quoted [70]:-(a) in a charge against a dancing-girl of having purchased a young girl, aged five, with the intent that she would be used for the purpose of prostitution, or knowing it to be likely that she would be so used, evidence was given of the fact of purchase for sixty rupees, and that numerous other dancing-girls, residing in the neighbourhood, were in the habit of obtaining girls and bringing them up as dancing-girls or prostitutes, and that there were no instances of girls brought up by dancing-girls ever having been married. one witness stated that there were forty dancing-girls' houses in the town (adoni), and that their chief source of income was prostitution, and that the dancing-girls, who have no daughters of their own, get girls from others, bring them up, and eventually make them dancing-girls or prostitutes. he added that the dancing-girls get good incomes by bringing up girls in preference to boys. another witness stated that dancing-girls, when they grow old, obtain girls and bring them up to follow their profession, and that good-looking girls are generally bought. [71] (b) the evidence showed that two of the prisoners were dancing-girls of a certain temple, that one of them took the two daughters of the remaining prisoner to the pagoda, to be marked as dancing-girls, and that they were so marked, and their names entered in the accounts of the pagoda. the first prisoner (the mother of the girls) disposed of the children to the third prisoner for the consideration of a neck ornament and thirty-five rupees. the children appeared to be of the ages of seven and two years, respectively. evidence was taken, which tended to prove that dancing-girls gain their livelihood by the performance of certain offices in pagodas, by assisting in the performance of ceremonies in private houses, by dancing and singing upon the occasion of marriage, and by prostitution. [72] (c) the first prisoner presented an application for the enrolment of his daughter as a dancing-girl at one of the great pagodas. he stated her age to be thirteen. she attained puberty a month or two after her enrolment. her father was the servant of a dancing-girl, the second prisoner, who had been teaching the minor dancing for some five years. the evidence showed that the second prisoner brought the girl to the pagoda, that both first and second prisoners were present when the bottu (or tali) was tied, and other ceremonies of the dedication performed; that third prisoner, as battar of the temple, was the person who actually tied the bottu, which denotes that the dasi is wedded to the idol. there was the usual evidence that dancing-girls live by prostitution, though occasionally kept by the same man for a year or more. [73] (d) the plaintiff, a deva-dasi, complained that, when she brought offerings according to custom and placed them before the god at a certain festival, and asked the archakas (officiating priests) to present the offerings to the god, burn incense, and then distribute them, they refused to take the offerings on the ground that the deva-dasi had gone to a komati's house to dance. she claimed damages, rs. 10, for the rejected offerings, and rs. 40 for loss of honour, and a perpetual injunction to allow her to perform the mantapa hadi (sacrifice) at the chittrai vasanta festival. the priests pleaded that the dancing-girl had, for her bad conduct in having danced at a komati's house, and subsequently refused to expiate the deed by drinking panchagavyan (five products of the cow) according to the shastras, been expelled both from her caste and from the temple. [74] (e) in a certain temple two dancing-girls were dedicated by the dharmakarta to the services of the temple without the consent of the existing body of dancing-girls, and the suit was instituted against the dharmakarta and these two deva-dasis, asking that the court should ascertain and declare the rights of the deva-dasis of the pagoda in regard (1) to the dedication of deva-dasis, (2) to the dharmakarta's power to bind and suspend them; and that the court should ascertain and declare the rights of the plaintiff, the existing deva-dasis, as to the exclusion of all other deva-dasis, save those who are related to or adopted by some one of the deva-dasis for the time being, or those who, being approved by all, are elected and proposed to the dharmakarta for dedication. that the new dasis may be declared to have been improperly dedicated, and not entitled to any of the rights of deva-dasis, and restrained from attending the pagoda in that character, and from interfering with the duly dedicated deva-dasis in the exercise of their office. that first defendant be restrained from stamping and dedicating other deva-dasis but such as are duly approved. the judge dismissed the case on the ground that it would be contrary to public policy to make the declaration prayed for, as, in so doing, the court would be lending itself to bringing the parties under the criminal law. in the appeal, which was dismissed, one of the judges remarked that the plaintiffs claimed a right exclusive to themselves and a few other dancing-women, professional prostitutes, to present infant female children for dedication to the temple as dancing-girls to be stamped as such, and so accredited to become at maturity professional prostitutes, private or public. [75] (f) a deva-dasi sued to establish her right to the mirasi (fees) of dancing-girls in a certain pagoda, and to be put in possession of the said mirasi together with the honours and perquisites attached thereto, and to recover twenty-four rupees, being the value of said perquisites and honours for the year preceding. she alleged that the dharmakarta of the pagoda and his agents wrongfully dismissed her from the office because she had refused to acquiesce in the admission by the dharmakarta of new dancing-girls into the pagoda service, of which she claimed the monopoly for herself and the then existing families of dancing-girls. the district judge dismissed the suit, but the high court ordered a re-investigation as to the question of the existence of an hereditary office with endowments or emoluments attached to it. [76] (g) a girl, aged seventeen, instituted a suit against the trustees of a pagoda. it was alleged that a woman who died some years previously was one of the dancing-women attached to the pagoda, and, as such, entitled to the benefit of one of the temple endowments; that she had taken in adoption the plaintiff, who was accordingly entitled to succeed to her office and the emoluments attached to it; that the plaintiff could not enter on the office until a bottu-tali had been tied on her in the temple; and that the trustees did not permit this to be done. the prayer of the plaint was that the defendants be compelled to allow the tali to be tied in the temple in view to the girl performing the dancing service, and enjoying the honours and endowments attached thereto. the judge dismissed the suit on the ground that the claim was inadmissible, as being in effect a claim by the plaintiff to be enlisted as a public prostitute. [77] (h) on the death of a prostitute dancing-girl, her adopted niece, belonging to the same class, succeeds to her property, in whatever way it is acquired, in preference to a brother remaining in his caste. the general rule is that the legal relation between a prostitute dancing-girl and her undegraded relations remaining in caste be severed. [78] (i) a pauper sued his sister for the partition of property valued at rs. 34,662. the parties belonged to the bogam caste in the godavari district. the woman pleaded that the property had been acquired by her as a prostitute, and denied her brother's claim to it. he obtained a decree for only rs. 100, being a moiety of the property left by their mother. the high court held, on the evidence as to the local custom of the caste, that the decree was right. [79] (j) the accused, a madiga of the bellary district, dedicated his minor daughter as a basavi by a form of marriage with an idol. it appeared that a basavi is incapable of contracting a lawful marriage, and ordinarily practices promiscuous intercourse with men, and that her sons succeed to her father's property. it was held that the accused had committed an offence under the penal code, which lays down that "whoever sells, lets to hire, or otherwise disposes of any minor under the age of sixteen years, with intent that such minor shall be employed or used for the purpose of prostitution, or for any unlawful and immoral purpose, shall be punished, etc." the sessions judge referred to evidence that it was not a matter of course for basavis to prostitute themselves for money, and added: "the evidence is very clear that basavis are made in accordance with a custom of the madiga caste. it is also in evidence that one of the effects of making a girl basavi is that her male issue becomes a son of her father, and perpetuates his family, whereas, if she were married, he would perpetuate her husband's family. in this particular case, the girl was made a basavi that she might be heir to her aunt, who was a basavi, but childless. siddalingana gowd says that they and their issue inherit the parents' property. there is evidence that basavis are made on a very large scale, and that they live in their parents' houses. there is no evidence that they are regarded otherwise than as respectable members of the caste. it seems as if the basavi is the madiga and bedar equivalent of the "appointed daughter" of hindu law (mitakshara, chap. i, s. xi, 3). upon the whole, the evidence seems to establish that, among the madigas, there is a widespread custom of performing, in a temple at uchangidurgam, a marriage ceremony, the result of which is that the girl is married without possibility of widowhood or divorce; that she is at liberty to have intercourse with men at her pleasure; that her children are heirs to her father, and keep up his family; and that basavi's nieces, being made basavis, become their heirs. the basavis seem in some cases to become prostitutes, but the language used by the witnesses generally points only to free intercourse with men, and not necessarily to receipt of payment for use of their bodies. in fact, they seem to acquire the right of intercourse with men without more discredit than accrues to the men of their caste for intercourse with women who are not their wives. [80] it may be observed that deva-dasis are the only class of women, who are, under hindu law as administered in the british courts, allowed to adopt girls to themselves. amongst the other castes, a widow, for instance, cannot adopt to herself, but only to her husband, and she cannot adopt a daughter instead of a son. a recent attempt by a brahman at poona to adopt a daughter, who should take the place of a natural-born daughter, was held to be invalid by general law, and not sanctioned by local usage. [81] the same would be held in madras. "but among dancing-girls," mayne writes, [82] "it is customary in madras and western india to adopt girls to follow their adoptive mother's profession, and the girls so adopted succeed to their property. no particular ceremonies are necessary, recognition alone being sufficient. in the absence, however, of a special custom, and on the analogy of an ordinary adoption, only one girl can be adopted." in calcutta and bombay these adoptions by dancing-girls have been held invalid. [83] of proverbs relating to dancing-girls, the following may be quoted:-(1) the dancing-girl who could not dance said that the hall was not big enough. the rev. h. jensen gives [84] as an equivalent "when the devil could not swim, he laid the blame on the water." (2) if the dancing-girl be alive, and her mother dies, there will be beating of drums; but, if the dancing-girl dies, there will be no such display. this is explained by jensen as meaning that, to secure the favour of a dancing-girl, many men will attend her mother's funeral; but, if the dancing-girl herself dies, there is nothing to be gained by attending the funeral. (3) like a dancing-girl wiping a child. jensen remarks that a dancing-girl is supposed to have no children, so she does not know how to keep them clean. said of one who tries to mend a matter, but lacks experience, and makes things worse than they were before. (4) as when a boy is born in a dancing-girl's house. jensen notes that, if dancing-girls have children, they desire to have girls, that they may be brought up to their own profession. (5) the dancing-girl, who was formerly more than filled with good food in the temple, now turns a somersault to get a poor man's rice. (6) if a matron is chaste, she may live in the dancing-girl's street, the insigne of courtesans, according to the conjeeveram records, is a cupid, that of a christian, a curry-comb. [85] devadiga.--the devadigas are canarese-speaking temple servants in south canara, concerning whom mr. h. a. stuart writes as follows. [86] "this is a class of servants, chiefly musicians in hindu temples. in the reign of mayura varma, who built a number of new temples, it was found that brahmans could not perform all the services. it was, therefore, ordained by him that the puja or worship alone should be performed by the brahmans, and that the stanikas and devadigas should perform the other services in the temples. they are also called moili (or moyili), but there is a caste called kannada moili which is quite distinct, and devadigas will not eat with them. some of them cultivate lands, and some are employed as peons and constables. they returned eleven sub-divisions, but only one (tulu) is numerically important. they are vaishnavites, and tulu brahmans are their priests. as regards marriage, there is no fixed age. remarriage of widows is permitted, but it is practiced only in the case of young widows. the dead are burned. they eat flesh, and drink liquor." the devadigas or moilis speak tulu, and are mainly agriculturists. their traditional occupation, however, is said to be service in temples (slaves or servants of the deva or god). a large number of them, both male and female, are engaged as domestic servants. like the bants, they follow the aliya santana law of inheritance (in the female line), and they have the same balis (septs) as the bants and billavas. in their marriage ceremonies, they closely imitate the bants. an interesting feature in connection therewith is that, during the dhare ceremony, a screen is interposed between the bride and bridegroom at the time when the dhare water is poured. as a sign of betrothal, a ring is given to the bride-elect, and she wears it on the little finger. the caste is a mixed one, and here and there devadigas are seen to have the typical prominent cheek-bones and square face of the jains. in the census report, 1901, dakkera devali, padarti, and valagadava are returned as sub-divisions of devadiga. devala (belonging to god).--an exogamous sept of odde. the equivalent devali has been recorded as a sub-caste of devadiga, and devalyal as a division of the todas. [87] a division of the irulas of the nilgiris, settled near the village of devala, is known by that name. devanga.--the devangas are a caste of weavers, speaking telugu or canarese, who are found all over the madras presidency. those whom i studied in the bellary district connected my operations in a vague way with the pilag (plague) tax, and collection of subscriptions for the victoria memorial. they were employed in weaving women's saris in pure cotton, or with a silk border, which were sold to rich merchants in the local bazaar, some of whom belong to the devanga caste. they laughingly said that, though they are professional weavers, they find it cheapest to wear cloths of european manufacture. the devangas are also called jadaru or jada (great men), dendra, devara, dera, seniyan, and sedan. at coimbatore, in the tamil country, they are called settukkaran (economical people). the following legend is narrated concerning the origin of the caste. brahma, having created manu, told him to weave clothes for devas and men. accordingly manu continued to weave for some years, and reached heaven through his piety and virtuous life. there being no one left to weave for them, the devas and men had to wear garments of leaves. vexed at this, they prayed to brahma that he would rescue them from their plight. brahma took them to siva, who at once created a lustrous spirit, and called him devalan. struck with the brilliancy thereof, all fled in confusion, excepting parvati, who remained near siva. siva told her that devalan was created to weave clothes, to cover the limbs and bodies of devas and men, whose descendants are in consequence called devangas (deva angam, limb of god). devalan was advised to obtain thread from the lotus stalks springing from the navel of vishnu, and he secured them after a severe penance. on his way back, he met a rakshasa, vajradantan by name, who was doing penance at a hermitage, disguised as a sanyasi. deceived by his appearance, devalan paid homage to him, and determined to spend the night at the hermitage. but, towards the close of the day, the rishi and his followers threw off their disguise, and appeared in their true colours as asuras. devalan sought the assistance of vishnu, and a chakra was given to him, with which he attempted to overthrow the increasing number of asuras. he then invoked the assistance of chaudanayaki or chaudeswari, who came riding on a lion, and the asuras were killed off. the mighty asuras who met their death were vajradantan (diamond-toothed), pugainethran (smoke-eyed), pugaimugan (smoke-faced), chithrasenan (leader of armies) and jeyadrathan (owner of a victory-securing car). the blood of these five was coloured respectively yellow, red, white, green, and black. for dyeing threads of different colours, devalan dipped them in the blood. the devangas claim to be the descendants of devalan, and say that they are devanga brahmans, on the strength of the following stanza, which seems to have been composed by a devanga priest, sambalinga murti by name:- manu was born in the brahman caste. he was surely a brahman in the womb. there is no sudraism in this caste. devanga had the form of brahma. the legendary origin of the devangas is given as follows in the baramahal records. [88] "when brahma the creator created the charam and acharam, or the animate and inanimate creation, the devatas or gods, rakshasas or evil demons, and the human race, were without a covering for their bodies, which displeasing the god narada or reason, he waited upon parameshwara or the great lord at his palace on the kailasa parvata or mount of paradise, and represented the indecent state of the inhabitants of the universe, and prayed that he would be pleased to devise a covering for their nakedness. parameshwara saw the propriety of narada's request, and thought it was proper to grant it. while he was so thinking, a male sprang into existence from his body, whom he named deva angam or the body of god, in allusion to the manner of his birth. deva angam instantly asked his progenitor why he had created him. the god answered 'repair to the pala samudram or sea of milk, where you will find sri maha vishnu or the august mighty god vishnu, and he will tell thee what to do.' deva angam repaired to the presence of sri maha vishnu, and represented that parameshwara had sent him, and begged to be favoured with vishnu's commands. vishnu replied 'do you weave cloth to serve as a covering to the inhabitants of the universe.' vishnu then gave him some of the fibres of the lotus flower that grew from his navel, and taught him how to make it into cloth. deva angam wove a piece of cloth, and presented it to vishnu, who accepted it, and ordered him to depart, and to take the fibres of trees, and make raiment for the inhabitants of the vishnu loka or gods. deva angam created ten thousand weavers, who used to go to the forest and collect the fibre of trees, and make it into cloth for the devatas or gods and the human race. one day, deva angam and his tribe went to a forest in the bhuloka or earthly world, in order to collect the fibre of trees, when he was attacked by a race of rakshasas or giants, on which he waxed wroth, and, unbending his jata or long plaited hair, gave it a twist, and struck it once on the ground. in that moment, a shakti, or female goddess having eight hands, each grasping a warlike weapon, sprang from the earth, attacked the rakshasas, and defeated them. deva anga named her chudeshwari or goddess of the hair, and, as she delivered his tribe out of the hands of the rakshasas, he made her his tutelary divinity." the tribal goddess of the devangas is chaudeswari, a form of kali or durga, who is worshipped annually at a festival, in which the entire community takes part either at the temple, or at a house or grove specially prepared for the occasion. during the festival weaving operations cease; and those who take a prominent part in the rites fast, and avoid pollution. the first day is called alagu nilupadam (erecting, or fixing of the sword). the goddess is worshipped, and a sheep or goat sacrificed, unless the settlement is composed of vegetarian devangas. one man at least from each sept fasts, remains pure, and carries a sword. inside the temple, or at the spot selected, the pujari (priest) tries to balance a long sword on its point on the edge of the mouth of a pot, while the alagu men cut their chests with the swords. failure to balance the sword is believed to be due to pollution brought by somebody to get rid of which the alagu men bathe. cow's urine and turmeric water are sprinkled over those assembled, and women are kept at a distance to prevent menstrual or other form of pollution. on the next day, called jothiarambam (jothi, light or splendour) as chaudeswari is believed to have sprung from jothi, a big mass is made of rice flour, and a wick, fed with ghi (clarified butter) and lighted, is placed in a cavity scooped out therein. this flour lamp must be made by members of a pujari's family assisted sometimes by the alagu boys. in its manufacture, a quantity of rice is steeped in water, and poured on a plantain leaf. jaggery (crude sugar) is then mixed with it, and, when it is of the proper consistency, it is shaped into a cone, and placed on a silver or brass tray. on the third day, called panaka puja or mahanevedyam, jaggery water is offered, and cocoanuts, and other offerings are laid before the goddess. the rice mass is divided up, and given to the pujari, setti, alagu men and boys, and to the community, to which small portions are doled out in a particular order, which must be strictly observed. for example, at tindivanam the order is as follows:- setti (headman). dhondapu family. bapatla family. kosanam family. modanam family. fire-walking does not form part of the festival, as the goddess herself sprang from fire. in some places in the north arcot district the festival lasts over ten days, and varies in some points from the above. on the first day, the people go in procession to a jammi (prosopis spicigera) tree, and worship a decorated pot (kalasam), to which sheep and goats are sacrificed. from the second to the sixth day, the goddess and pot are worshipped daily. on the seventh day, the jammi tree is again visited, and a man carries on his back cooked rice, which may not be placed on the ground, except near the tree, or at the temple. if the rice is not set down en route thereto, it is accepted as a sign that the festival may be proceeded with. otherwise they would be afraid to light the joti on the ninth day. this is a busy day, and the ceremonies of sandhulu kattadam (binding the corners), alagu erecting, lighting the flour mass, and pot worship are performed. early in the morning, goats and sheep are killed, outside the village boundary, in the north, east, south, and west corners, and the blood is sprinkled on all sides to keep off all foreign ganams or saktis. the sword business, as already described, is gone through, and certain tests applied to see whether the joti may be lighted. a lime fruit is placed in the region of the navel of the idol, who should throw it down spontaneously. a bundle of betel leaves is cut across with a knife, and the cut ends should unite. if the omens are favourable, the joti is lighted, sheep and goats are killed, and pongal (rice) is offered to the joti. the day closes with worship of the pot. on the last day the rice mass is distributed. all devanga guests from other villages have to be received and treated with respect according to the local rules, which are in force. for this purpose, the community divide their settlements into sthalams, payakattulu, galugramatulu, petalu, and kurugramalu, which have a definite order of precedence. among the devangas the following endogamous sections occur:--(1) telugu; (2) canarese; (3) hathinentu manayavaru (eighteen house people); (4) sivachara; (5) ariya; (6) kodekal hatakararu (weavers). they are practically divided into two linguistic sections, canarese and telugu, of which the former have adopted the brahmanical ceremonials to a greater extent than the latter, who are more conservative. those who wear the sacred thread seem to preponderate over the non-thread weavers in the canarese section. to the thread is sometimes attached metal charm-cylinder to ward off evil spirits. the following are examples of exogamous septs in the telugu section:- akasam, sky. anumala, seeds of dolichos lablab. boggula, charcoal. bandla, rock or cart. chintakai, tamarind fruit. challa, buttermilk. chapparam, pandal or booth. dhoddi, cattle-pen, or courtyard. dhuggani, money. yerra, red. konda, mountain. kaththi, knife. bandari (treasurer). busam, grain. dhondapu (cephalandra indica). elugoti, assembly. gattu, bank or mound. paidam, money. gonapala, old plough. gosu, pride. jigala, pith. katta, a dam. kompala, houses. konangi, buffoon. katikala, collyrium. kaththiri, scissors. moksham, heaven. pasupala, turmeric. pidakala, dried cow-dung cakes. pothula, male. pachi powaku, green tobacco. padavala, boat. pouzala, a bird. pammi, clay lamp. thalakoka, female cloth. thutla, hole. utla, ropes for hanging pots. vasthrala, cloths. matam, monastery. madira, liquor or heap of earth. medam, fight. masila, dirt. olikala, funeral pyre and ashes. prithvi, earth. peraka, tile. punjala, cock or male. pinjala, cotton-cleaning. pichchiga, sparrow. sika (kudumi: tuft of hair). sandala, lanes. santha, a fair. sajje (setaria italica). the majority of devangas are saivites, and wear the lingam. they do not, however, wash the stone lingam with water, in which the feet of jangams have been washed. they are not particular as to always keeping the lingam on the body, and give as an explanation that, when they are at work, they have to touch all kinds of people. some said that merchants, when engaged in their business, should not wear the lingam, especially if made of spatikam (quartz), as they have to tell untruths as regards the value and quality of their goods, and ruin would follow if these were told while the lingam was on the body. in some parts of ganjam, the country folk keep a large number of brahmini bulls. when one of these animals dies, very elaborate funeral ceremonies take place, and the dead beast is carried in procession by devangas, and buried by them. as the devangas are lingayats, they have a special reverence for basavanna, the sacred bull, and the burying of the brahmini bull is regarded by them as a sacred and meritorious act. other castes do not regard it as such, though they often set free sacred cows or calves. devangas and padma sales never live in the same street, and do not draw water from the same well. this is probably due to the fact that they belong to the left and right-hand factions respectively, and no love is lost between them. like other left-hand castes, devangas have their own dancing-girls, called jathi-biddalu (children of the castes), whose male offspring do achchupani, printing-work on cloth, and occasionally go about begging from devangas. in the madras census report, 1901, it is stated that "in madura and tinnevelly, the devangas, or sedans, consider themselves a shade superior to the brahmans, and never do namaskaram (obeisance or salutation) to them, or employ them as priests. in madura and coimbatore, the sedans have their own dancing-girls, who are called devanga or seda dasis in the former, and manikkattal in the latter, and are strictly reserved for members of the caste under pain of excommunication or heavy fine." concerning the origin of the devanga beggars, called singamvadu, the following legend is current. when chaudeswari and devalan were engaged in combat with the asuras, one of the asuras hid himself behind the ear of the lion, on which the goddess was seated. when the fight was over, he came out, and asked for pardon. the goddess took pity on him, and ordered that his descendants should be called singamvallu, and asked devalan to treat them as servants, and support them. devangas give money to these beggars, who have the privilege of locking the door, and carrying away the food, when the castemen take their meals. in assemblies of devangas, the hand of the beggar serves as a spittoon. he conveys the news of death, and has as the insignia of office a horn, called thuththari or singam. the office of headman, or pattagar, is hereditary, and he is assisted by an official called sesha-raju or umidisetti who is the servant of the community, and receives a small fee annually for each loom within his beat. widow remarriage is permitted in some places, and forbidden in others. there may be intermarriage between the flesh-eating and vegetarian sections. but a girl who belongs to a flesh-eating family, and marries into a vegetarian family, must abstain from meat, and may not touch any vessel or food in her husband's family till she has reached puberty. before settling the marriage of a girl, some village goddess, or chaudeswari, is consulted, and the omens are watched. a lizard chirping on the right is a good omen, and on the left bad. sometimes, red and white flowers, wrapped up in green leaves, are thrown in front of the idol, and the omen considered good or bad according to the flower which a boy or girl picks up. at the marriage ceremony which commences with distribution of pan-supari (betel) and vigneswara worship, the bride is presented with a new cloth, and sits on a three-legged stool or cloth-roller (dhonige). the maternal uncle puts round her neck a bondhu (strings of unbleached cotton) dipped in turmeric. the ceremonies are carried out according to the puranic ritual, except by those who consider themselves to be devanga brahmans. on the first day the milk post is set up being made of odina wodier in the tamil, and mimusops hexandra in the telugu country. various rites are performed, which include tonsure, upanayanam (wearing the sacred thread), padapuja (washing the feet), kasiyatra (mock pilgrimage to benares), dharadhattam (giving away the bride), and mangalyadharanam (tying the marriage badge, or bottu). the proceedings conclude with pot searching. a pap-bowl and ring are put into a pot. if the bride picks out the bowl, her first-born will be a girl, and if the bridegroom gets hold of the ring, it will be a boy. on the fifth day, a square design is made on the floor with coloured rice grains. between the contracting couple and the square a row of lights is placed. four pots are set, one at each corner of the square, and eight pots arranged along each side thereof. on the square itself, two pots representing siva and uma, are placed, with a row of seedling pots near them. a thread is wound nine times round the pots representing the god and goddess, and tied above to the pandal. after the pots have been worshipped, the thread is cut, and worn, with the sacred thread, for three months. this ceremony is called nagavali. when a girl reaches puberty, a twig of alangium lamarckii is placed in the menstrual hut to keep off devils. the dead are generally buried in a sitting posture. before the grave is filled in, a string is tied to the kudumi (hair knot) of the corpse, and, by its means, the head is brought near the surface. over it a lingam is set up, and worshipped daily throughout the death ceremonies. the following curious custom is described by mr. c. hayavadana rao. once in twelve years, a devanga leaves his home, and joins the padma sales. he begs from them, saying that he is the son of their caste, and as such entitled to be supported by them. if alms are not forthcoming, he enters the house, and carries off whatever he may be able to pick up. sometimes, if he can get nothing else, he has been known to seize a lighted cigar in the mouth of a sale, and run off with it. the origin of this custom is not certain, but it has been suggested that the devangas and sales were originally one caste, and that the former separated from the latter when they became lingayats. a devanga only becomes a chinerigadu when he is advanced in years, and will eat the remnants of food left by padma sales on their plates. a chinerigadu is, on his death, buried by the sales. many of the devangas are short of stature, light skinned, with sharp-cut features, light-brown iris, and delicate tapering fingers. those at hospet, in the bellary district, carried thorn tweezers (for removing thorns of acacia arabica from the feet), tooth-pick and ear-scoop, suspended as a chatelaine from the loin-string. the more well-to-do had these articles made of silver, with the addition of a silver saw for paring the nails and cutting cheroots. the name pampanna, which some of them bore, is connected with the nymph pampa, who resides at hampi, and asked parameswara to become her husband. he accordingly assumed the name of pampapathi, in whose honour there is a tank at anagundi, and temple at hampi. he directed pampa to live in a pond, and pass by the name of pampasarovara. the sedans of coimbatore, at the time of my visit in october, were hard at work making clothes for the dipavali festival. it is at times of festivals and marriages, in years of prosperity among the people, that the weavers reap their richest harvest. in the madras census report, 1901, bilimagga (white loom) and atagara (weavers and exorcists) are returned as sub-castes of devanga. the usual title of the devangas is chetti. the shortness of stature of some of the weaving classes which i have examined is brought out by the following average measurements:- cm. padma sale 159.9 sukun sale 160.3 togata 160.5 suka sale 161.1 devendra.--a name assumed by some pallans, who claim to be descended from the king of the gods (devas). dhabba (split bamboo).--dhabba or dhabbai is the name of a sub-division of koravas, who split bamboos, and make various articles therefrom. dhakkado.--a small mixed class of oriya cultivators, concerning whom there is a proverb that a dhakkado does not know his father. they are described, in the census report, 1891, as "a caste of cultivators found in the jeypore agency tracts. they are said to be the offspring of a brahman and a sudra girl, and, though living on the hills, they are not an uncivilised hill tribe. some prepare and sell the sacred thread, others are confectioners. they wear the sacred thread, and do not drink water from the hands of any except brahmans. girls are married before puberty, and widow marriage is practiced. they are flesh-eaters, and their dead are usually buried." in a note on the dhakkados, mr. c. hayavadana rao writes that "the illegitimate descendant of a brahman and a hill woman of the non-polluting castes is said to be known as a dhakkado. the dhakkados assume brahmanical names, but, as regards marriages, funerals, etc., follow the customs of their mother's caste. her caste people intermarry with her children. a dhakkado usually follows the occupation of his mother's caste. thus one whose mother is a kevuto follows the calling of fishing or plying boats on rivers, one whose mother is a bhumia is an agriculturist, and so on." dhakur.--stated, in the manual of the vizagapatam district, to be illegitimate children of brahmans, who wear the paieta (sacred thread). dhanapala.--a sub-division of gollas, who guard treasure while it is in transit. dhangar.--dhangar, or donigar, is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a marathi caste of shepherds and cattle-breeders. i gather, from a note [89] on the dhangars of the kanara district in the bombay presidency, that "the word dhangar is generally derived from the sanskrit dhenu, a cow. their home speech is marathi, but they can speak kanarese. they keep a special breed of cows and buffaloes, known as dhangar mhasis and dhangar gais which are the largest cattle in kanara. many of shivaji's infantry were satara dhangars." dhaniala (coriander).--an exogamous sept of kamma. dhaniala jati, or coriander caste, is an opprobrious name applied to komatis, indicating that, in business transactions, they must be crushed as coriander fruits are crushed before the seed is sown. dhare.--an exogamous sept of kuruba. in the canara country, the essential and binding part of the marriage ceremony is called dhare (see bant). dharmaraja.--an exogamous sept of the irulas of north arcot. dharmaraja was the eldest of the five pandavas, the heroes of the mahabharatha. dhippo (light).--an exogamous sept of bhondari. the members thereof may not blow out lights, or extinguish them in any other way. they will not light lamps without being madi, i.e., wearing silk cloths, or cloths washed and dried after bathing. dhobi.--a name used for washerman by anglo-indians all over india. the word is said to be derived from dhoha, sanskrit, dhav, to wash. a whitish grey sandy efflorescence, found in many places, from which, by boiling and the addition of quicklime, an alkali of considerable strength is obtained, is called dhobi's earth. [90] "the expression dhobie itch," manson writes, [91] "although applied to any itching ringworm-like affection of any part of the skin, most commonly refers to some form of epiphytic disease of the crutch or axilla (armpit)." the disease is very generally supposed to be communicated by clothes from the wash, but manson is of opinion that the belief that it is contracted from clothes which have been contaminated by the washerman is probably not very well founded. dhobi is the name, by which the washerman caste of the oriyas is known. "they are said," mr. francis writes, [92] "to have come originally from orissa. girls are generally married before maturity, and, if this is not possible, they have to be married to a sword or a tree, before they can be wedded to a man. their ordinary marriage ceremonies are as follows. the bridal pair bathe in water brought from seven different houses. the bridegroom puts a bangle on the bride's arm (this is the binding part of the ceremony); the left and right wrists of the bride and bridegroom are tied together; betel leaf and nut are tied in a corner of the bride's cloth, and a myrabolam (terminalia fruit) in that of the bridegroom; and finally the people present in the pandal (booth) throw rice and saffron (turmeric) over them. widows and divorced women may marry again. they are vaishnavites, but some of them also worship kali or durga. they employ bairagis, and occasionally brahmans, as their priests. they burn their dead, and perform sraddha (annual memorial ceremony). their titles are chetti (or maha chetti) and behara." the custom of the bridal pair bathing in water from seven different houses obtains among many oriya castes, including brahmans. it is known by the name of pani-tula. the water is brought by married girls, who have not reached puberty, on the night preceding the wedding day, and the bride and bridegroom wash in it before dawn. this bath is called koili pani snano, or cuckoo water-bath. the koil is the indian koel or cuckoo (eudynamis honorata), whose crescendo cry ku-il, ku-il, is trying to the nerves during the hot season. the following proverbs [93] relating to washermen may be quoted:- get a new washerman, and an old barber. the washerman knows the defects of the village (i.e., he learns a good deal about the private affairs of the various families, when receiving and delivering the clothes). when a washerman gets sick, his sickness must leave him at the stone. the stone referred to is the large stone, on which the washerman cleans cloths, and the proverb denotes that, however sick a washerman may be, his work must be done. dhoddi.--dhoddi, meaning a court or back-yard, cattle-pen, or sheep-fold, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of devanga, koppala velama, kama sale, mala, and yanadi. dhoddiyan.--a name given by tamilians to jogis. dhollo.--dhollo is recorded in the madras census report, 1901, as the same as doluva. a correspondent informs me that dhollo is said to be different from doluva. dhoma (gnat or mosquito).--an exogamous sept of mala. dhondapu (cephalandra indica).--an exogamous sept of devanga. the fruit is one of the commonest of native vegetables, and cooked in curries. dhoni (boat).--an exogamous sept of mila and oruganti kapu. in a paper on the native vessels of south india by mr. edge, published in the journal of the royal asiatic society, the dhoni is described as "a vessel of ark-like form, about 70 feet long, 20 feet broad, and 11 feet deep, with a flat bottom or keel part, which at the broadest place is 7 feet. "the whole equipment of these rude vessels, as well as their construction, is the most coarse and unseaworthy that i have ever seen." the dhoni, with masts, is represented in the ancient lead and copper coinage of southern india. dhor.--in the madras census report, 1901, a few (164) individuals were returned as "dher, a low caste of marathi leather workers." they were, i gather from the bombay gazetteer, dhors or tanners who dwell in various parts of the bombay presidency, and whose home speech, names and surnames seem to show that they have come from the maratha country. dhudala (calves).--an exogamous sept of thumati golla. dhudho (milk).--a sept of omanaito. dhuggani (money).--an exogamous sept of devanga. dhuliya.--dhuliya or dulia is a small class of oriya cultivators, some of whom wear the sacred thread, and employ boishnobs as their priests. marriage before puberty is not compulsory, and widows can remarry. they eat flesh. the dead are cremated. [94] the name is said to be derived from dhuli, dust, with which those who work in the fields are covered. dhuliya also means carriers of dhulis (dhoolies), which are a form of palanquin. didavi.--a sub-division of poroja. digambara (space-clad or sky-clad, i.e., nude).--one of the two main divisions of the jains. the digambaras are said [95] to "regard absolute nudity as the indispensable sign of holiness, though the advance of civilisation has compelled them to depart from the practice of their theory." divar.--see deva. diyasi.--an exogamous sept of dandasi. the members thereof show special reverence for the sun, and cloths, mokkutos (forehead chaplets), garlands, and other articles to be used by the bride and bridegroom at a wedding are placed outside the house, so that they may be exposed to it. dolaiya.--a title of doluva and odia. dolobehara.--the name of headmen or their assistants among many oriya castes. in some cases, e.g., among the haddis, the name is used as a title by families, members of which are headmen. doluva.--the doluvas of ganjam are, according to the madras census report, 1891, "supposed to be the descendants of the old rajahs by their concubines, and were employed as soldiers and attendants. the name is said to be derived from the sanskrit dola, meaning army." the doluvas claim to be descended from the puri rajahs by their concubines, and say that some of them were employed as sirdars and paiks under these rajahs. they are said to have accompanied a certain puri rajah who came south to wage war, and to have settled in ganjam. they are at the present day mainly engaged in agriculture, though some are traders, bricklayers, cart-drivers, etc. the caste seems to be divided into five sections, named kondaiyito, lenka, rabba, pottia, and beharania, of which the first two are numerically the strongest and most widely distributed. kondaiyito is said to be derived from kondo, an arrow, and to indicate warrior. the kondaiyitos sometimes style themselves rajah doluvas, and claim superiority over the other sections. it is noted, in the madras census report, 1891, that "oriya zamindars get wives from this sub-division, but the men of it cannot marry into the zamindar's families. they wear the sacred thread, and are writers." in former days, the title writer was applied to the junior grade of civil servants of the east india company. it is now used to denote a copying clerk in an office. various titles occur among members of the caste, e.g., bissoyi, biswalo, dolei, jenna, kottiya, mahanti, majhi, nahako, porida, ravuto, samulo, and sani. the ordinary caste council system, with a hereditary headman, seems to be absent among the doluvas, and the affairs of the caste are settled by leading members thereof. the doluvas are paramarthos, following the chaitanya form of vaishnavism, and wearing a rosary of tulsi (ocimum sanctum) beads. they further worship various takuranis (village deities), among which are kalva, bagadevi, kotari, maheswari, and manickeswari. they are in some places very particular regarding the performance of sradh (memorial ceremony), which is carried out annually in the following manner. on the night before the sradh day, a room is prepared for the reception of the soul of the deceased. this room is called pitru bharano (reception of the ancestor). the floor thereof is cleansed with cow-dung water, and a lamp fed with ghi (clarified butter) is placed on it by the side of a plank. on this plank a new cloth is laid for the reception of various articles for worship, e.g., sacred grass, zizyphus jujuba leaves, flowers, etc. in front of the plank a brass vessel, containing water and a tooth brush of achyranthes aspera root, is placed. the dead person's son throws rice and zizyphus leaves into the air, and calls on the deceased to come and give a blessing on the following day. the room is then locked, and the lamp kept burning in it throughout the night. on the following day, all old pots are thrown away and, after a small space has been cleaned on the floor of the house, a pattern is drawn thereon with flour in the form of a square or oblong with twelve divisions. on each division a jak (artocarpus integrifolia) leaf is placed, and on each leaf the son puts cooked rice and vegetables. a vessel containing achyranthes root, and a plank with a new cloth on it, are set by the side of the pattern. after worship has been performed and food offered, the cloth is presented to a brahman, and the various articles used in the ceremonial are thrown into water. domb.--the name domb or dombo is said to be derived from the word dumba, meaning devil, in reference to the thieving propensities of the tribe. the dombas, mr. h. a. stuart writes, [96] "are a dravidian caste of weavers and menials, found in the hill tracts of vizagapatam. this caste appears to be an offshoot of the dom caste of bengal, behar, and the north-western provinces. like the doms, the dombas are regarded with disgust, because they eat beef, pork, horse-flesh, rats, and the flesh of animals which have died a natural death, and both are considered to be chandalas or pariahs by the bengalis and the uriyas. the dombs weave the cloths and blankets worn by the hill people, but, like the pariahs of the plains, they are also labourers, scavengers, etc. some of them are extensively engaged in trade, and they have, as a rule, more knowledge of the world than the ryots who despise them. they are great drunkards." in the census report, 1871, it was noted that "in many villages, the doms carry on the occupation of weaving, but, in and around jaipur, they are employed as horse-keepers, tom-tom beaters, scavengers, and in other menial duties. notwithstanding their abject position in the social scale, some signs of progress may be detected amongst them. they are assuming the occupation, in many instances, of petty hucksters, eking out a livelihood by taking advantage of the small difference in rates between market and market." "the dombs," mr. f. fawcett writes, [97] "are an outcast jungle people, who inhabit the forests on the high lands fifty to eighty or a hundred miles from the east coast, about vizagapatam. being outcast, they are never allowed to live within a village, but have their own little hamlet adjoining a village proper, inhabited by people of various superior castes. it is fair to say that the dombs are akin to the panos of the adjoining khond country, a pariah folk who live amongst the khonds, and used to supply the human victims for the meriah sacrifices. indeed, the khonds, who hold them in contemptuous inferiority, call them dombas as a sort of alternative title to panos. the paidis of the adjoining savara or saora country are also, doubtless, kinsmen of the dombs. [the same man is said to be called paidi by telugus, dombo by the savaras, and pano by the khonds. it is noted in the census report, 1881, that the pano quarters in khond villages are called dombo sai.] in most respects their condition is a very poor one. though they live in the best part of the presidency for game, they know absolutely nothing of hunting, and cannot even handle a bow and arrow. they have, however, one respectable quality, industry, and are the weavers, traders, and money-lenders of the hills, being very useful as middlemen between the khonds, sauras, gadabas, and other hill people on the one hand, and the traders of the plains on the other. i am informed, on good authority, that there are some dombs who rise higher than this, but cannot say whether these are, or are not crosses with superior races. most likely they are, for most of the dombs are arrant thieves. it was this propensity for thieving, in fact, which had landed some hundreds of them in the jail at vizagapatam when i visited that place, and gave me an opportunity of recording their measurements." the averages of the more important of these measurements are as follows:- cm. stature 161.9 cephalic length 18.8 cephalic breadth 14.3 cephalic index 75.6 nasal index 86.5 it is noted by the missionary gloyer [98] that the colour of the skin of the dombs varies from very dark to yellow, and their height from that of an aryan to the short stature of an aboriginal, and that there is a corresponding variation in facial type. for the following note on the dombs, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. they are the weavers, traders, musicians, beggars, and money-lenders of the hills. some own cattle, and cultivate. the hill people in the interior are entirely dependent on them for their clothing. a few domb families are generally found to each village. they act as middlemen between the hill people and the komati traders. their profits are said to be large, and their children are, in some places, found attending hill schools. as musicians, they play on the drum and pipe. they are the hereditary musicians of the maharaja of jeypore. a domb beggar, when engaged in his professional calling, goes about from door to door, playing on a little pipe. their supposed powers over devils and witches result in their being consulted when troubles appear. though the dombs are regarded as a low and polluting class, they will not eat at the hands of komatis, bhondaris, or ghasis. some dombas have become converts to christianity through missionary influence. in the madras census report, 1891, the following sections of the dombs are recorded:--onomia, odia, mandiri, mirgam, and kohara. the sub-divisions, however, seem to be as follows:--mirigani, kobbiriya, odiya, sodabisiya, mandiri, and andiniya. there are also various septs, of which the following have been recorded among the odiyas:--bhag (tiger), balu (bear), nag (cobra), hanuman (the monkey god), kochchipo (tortoise), bengri (frog), kukra (dog), surya (sun), matsya (fish), and jaikonda (lizard). it is noted by mr. fawcett that "monkeys, frogs, and cobras are taboo, and also the sunari tree (ochna squarrosa). the big lizard, cobras, frogs, and the crabs which are found in the paddy fields, and are usually eaten by jungle people, may not be eaten." when a girl reaches puberty, she remains outside the hut for five days, and then bathes at the nearest stream, and is presented with a new cloth. in honour of the event, drink is distributed among her relatives. girls are usually married after puberty. a man can claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. when a proposal of marriage is to be made, the suitor carries some pots of liquor, usually worth two rupees, to the girl's house, and deposits them in front of it. if her parents consent to the match, they take the pots inside, and drink some of the liquor. after some time has elapsed, more liquor, worth five rupees, is taken to the girl's house. a reduction in the quantity of liquor is made when a man is proposing for the hand of his paternal aunt's daughter, and, on the second occasion, the liquor will only be worth three rupees. a similar reduction is made in the jholla tonka, or bride price. on the wedding day, the bridegroom goes, accompanied by his relations, to the bride's home, where, at the auspicious moment fixed by the desari, his father presents new cloths to himself and the bride, which they put on. they stand before the hut, and on each is placed a cloth with a myrabolam (terminalia) seed, rice, and a few copper coins tied up in it. the bridegroom's right little finger is linked with the left little finger of the bride, and they enter the hut. on the following day, the newly married couple repair to the home of the bridegroom. on the third day, they are bathed in turmeric water, a pig is killed, and a feast is held. on the ninth day, the knots in the cloths, containing the myrabolams, rice, and coins, are untied, and the marriage ceremonies are at an end. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and a younger brother usually marries the widow of his elder brother. it is noted, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, that "some of the dombus of the parvatipur agency follow many of the customs of the low-country castes, including menarikam (marriage with the maternal uncle's daughter), and say they are the same as the paidis (or paidi malas) of the plains adjoining, with whom they intermarry." the corpses of the more prosperous dombs are usually cremated. the wood of the sunari tree and relli (cassia fistula) may not be used for the pyre. the son or husband of a deceased person has his head, moustache, and armpits shaved on the tenth day. domb women, and women of other tribes in the jeypore agency tracts, wear silver ear ornaments called nagul, representing a cobra just about to strike with tongue protruded. similar ornaments of gold, called naga pogulu (cobra-shaped earrings), are worn by women of some telugu castes in the plains of vizagapatam. the personal names of the dombs are, as among other oriya castes, often those of the day of the week on which the individual was born. concerning the religion of the dombs, mr. fawcett notes that "their chief god--probably an ancestral spirit--is called kaluga. there is one in each village, in the headman's house. the deity is represented by a pie piece (copper coin), placed in or over a new earthen pot smeared with rice and turmeric powder. during worship, a silk cloth, a new cloth, or a wet cloth may be worn, but one must not dress in leaves. before the mangoes are eaten, the first-fruits are offered to the moon, at the full moon of the month chitra." "when," gloyer writes, "a house has to be built, the first thing is to select a favourable spot, to which few evil spirits (dumas) resort. at this spot they put, in several places, three grains of rice arranged in such a way that the two lower grains support the upper one. to protect the grains, they pile up stones round them, and the whole is lightly covered with earth. when, after some time, they find on inspection that the upper grain has fallen off, the spot is regarded as unlucky, and must not be used. if the position of the grains remains unchanged, the omen is regarded as auspicious. they drive in the first post, which must have a certain length, say of five, seven, or nine ells, the ell being measured from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow. the post is covered on the top with rice straw, leaves, and shrubs, so that birds may not foul it, which would be regarded as an evil omen. [in madras, a story is current, with reference to the statue of sir thomas munro, that he seized upon all the rice depôts, and starved the people to death by selling rice in egg-shells at one shell for a rupee, and, to punish him, the government erected the statue in an open place, so that the birds of the air might insult him by polluting his face.] in measuring the house, odd numbers play an important part. the number four (pura, or full number), however, forms the proper measurement, whereby they measure the size of the house, according to the pleasure of the builder. but now the dissary (desari) decides whether the house shall be built on the nandi, dua, or tia system, nandi signifying one, dua two, and tia three. this number of ells must be added to the measurement of the house. supposing that the length of the house is twelve ells, then it will be necessary to add one ell according to the nandi system, so that the length amounts to thirteen ells. the number four can only be used for stables." "the dumas," gloyer continues, "are represented as souls of the deceased, which roam about without a home, so as to cause to mankind all possible harm. at the birth of a child, the duma must be invited in a friendly manner to provide the child with a soul, and protect it against evil. for this purpose, a fowl is killed on the ninth day, a bone (beinknochen) detached, and pressed in to the hand of the infant. the relations are seated in solemn silence, and utter the formula:--when grandfather, grandmother, father, or brother comes, throw away the bone, and we will truly believe it. no sooner does the sprawling and excited infant drop the bone, than the dumas are come, and boisterous glee prevails. the dumas occasionally give vent to their ghostly sounds, and cause no little consternation among the inmates of a house, who hide from fear. cunning thieves know how to rob the superstitious by employing instruments with a subdued tone (dumpftönende), or by emitting deep sounds from the chest. the yearly sacrifice to a duma consists of a black fowl and strong brandy. if a member of a family falls ill, an extraordinary sacrifice has to be offered up. the duma is not regarded only as an evil spirit, but also as a tutelary deity. he protects one against the treacherous attacks of witches. a place is prepared for him in the door-hinge, or a fishing-net, wherein he lives, is placed over the door. the witches must count all the knots of the net, before they can enter. devil worship is closely connected with that of the duma. the devil's priests, and in rare cases priestesses, effect communion between the people and the dumas by a sort of possession, which the spirit, entering into them, is said to give rise to. this condition, which is produced by intoxicating drink and the fumes of burning incense, gives rise to revolting cramp-like contortions, and muscular quiverings. in this state, they are wont to communicate what sacrifices the spirits require. on special occasions, they fall into a frenzied state, in which they cut their flesh with sharp instruments, or pass long, thin iron bars through the tongue and cheeks, during which operation no blood must flow. for this purpose, the instruments are rubbed all over with some blood-congealing material or sap. they also affect sitting on a sacred swing, armed with long iron nails. [mr. g. f. paddison informs me that he once saw a villager in the vizagapatam district, sitting outside the house, while groans proceeded from within. he explained that he was ill, and his wife was swinging on nails with their points upwards, to cure him.] the devil called jom duto, or messenger of the going, is believed to be a one-eyed, limping, black individual, whose hair is twisted into a frightfully long horn, while one foot is very long, and the other resembles the hoof of a buffalo. he makes his appearance at the death-bed, in order to drag his victim to the realm of torture." children are supposed to be born without souls, and to be afterwards chosen as an abode by the soul of an ancestor. the coming of the ancestor is signalised by the child dropping a chicken bone which has been thrust into its hand, and much rejoicing follows among the assembled relations. [99] mr. paddison tells me that some dombs are reputed to be able to pour blazing oil over their bodies, without suffering any hurt; and one man is said to have had a miraculous power of hardening his skin, so that any one could have a free shot at him, without hurting him. he further narrates that, at sujanakota in the vizagapatam district, the dombs, notwithstanding frequent warnings, put devils into two successive schoolmasters. various tattoo devices, borne by the dombs examined by mr. fawcett, are figured and described by him. "these patterns," he writes, "were said to be, one and all, purely ornamental, and not in any way connected with totems, or tribal emblems." risley, however, [100] regards "four out of the twelve designs as pretty closely related to the religion and mythology of the tribe; two are totems and two have reference to the traditional avocations. nos. 11 and 12 represent a classical scene in dom folk-lore, the story of king haris-chandra, who was so generous that he gave all he had to the poor and sold himself to a dom at benares, who employed him to watch his cremation ground at night. while he was thus engaged, his wife, who had also been sold for charitable purposes, came to burn the body of her son. she had no money to pay her fees, and haris-chandra, not knowing her in the darkness, turned her away. fortunately the sun rose; mutual recognition followed; the victims of promiscuous largesse were at once remarried, and vishnu intervened to restore the son to life. tatu no. 11 shows haris-chandra watching the burning-ground by moonlight; the wavy line is the ganges; the dots are the trees on the other side; the strokes on either side of the king are the logs of wood, which he is guarding. in no. 12 we see the sun rising, its first ray marked with a sort of fork, and the meeting of the king and queen." it is recorded, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, that "throughout the jeypore country proper, the dombus (and some ghasis) are by far the most troublesome class. their favourite crime is cattle-theft for the sake of the skins, but, in 1902, a dombu gang in naurangpur went so far as to levy blackmail over a large extent of country, and defy for some months all attempts at capture. the loss of their cattle exasperates the other hill folk to the last degree, and, in 1899, the naiks (headmen) of sixteen villages in the north of jeypore taluk headed an organized attack on the houses of the dombus, which, in the most deliberate manner, they razed to the ground in some fifteen villages. the dombus had fortunately got scent of what was coming, and made themselves scarce, and no bloodshed occurred. in the next year, some of the naiks of the ramagiri side of jeypore taluk sent round a jack branch, a well-recognised form of the fiery cross, summoning villagers other than dombus to assemble at a fixed time and place, but this was luckily intercepted by the police. the agent afterwards discussed the whole question with the chief naiks of jeypore and south naurangpur. they had no opinion of the deterrent effects of mere imprisonment on the dombus. 'you fatten them, and send them back,' they said, and suggested that a far better plan would be to cut off their right hands. [it is noted, in the vizagapatam manual, 1869, that in cases of murder, the rajah of jeypore generally had the man's hands, nose, and ears cut off, but, after all that, he seldom escaped the deceased's relatives.] they eventually proposed a plan of checking the cattle-thefts, which is now being followed in much of that country. the baranaiks, or heads of groups of villages, were each given brands with distinctive letters and numbers, and required to brand the skins of all animals which had died a natural death or been honestly killed; and the possession by dombus, skin merchants, or others, of unbranded skins is now considered a suspicious circumstance, the burden of explaining which lies upon the possessor. unless this, or some other way of checking the dombus' depredations proves successful, serious danger exists that the rest of the people will take the matter into their own hands and, as the dombus in the agency number over 50,000, this would mean real trouble." it is further recorded [101] that the paidis (paidi malas), who often commit dacoities on the roads, "are connected with the dombus of the rayagada and gunupur taluks, who are even worse. these people dacoit houses at night in armed gangs of fifty or more, with their faces blacked to prevent recognition. terrifying the villagers into staying quiet in their huts, they force their way into the house of some wealthy person (for choice the local sondi, liquor-seller and sowcar, [102] usually the only man worth looting in an agency village, and a shark who gets little pity from his neighbours when forced to disgorge), tie up the men, rape the women, and go off with everything of value. their favourite method of extracting information regarding concealed property is to sprinkle the houseowner with boiling oil." dommara.--the dommaras are a tribe of tumblers, athletes, and mountebanks, some of whom wander about the country, while others have settled down as agricultural labourers, or make combs out of the wood of elæodendron glaucum, ixora parviflora, pavetta indica, ficus bengalensis, etc., which they sell to wholesale merchants. they are, mr. h. a. stuart writes, [103] "a nomad class of acrobats, who, in many respects, recall the gipsies to mind, and raise the suggestion that their name may possibly be connected with the doms of northern india. they speak telugu, marathi, and hindustani, but not generally tamil. they are skilful jugglers, and both men and women are very clever tumblers and tight-rope dancers, exhibiting their feats as they travel about the country. some of them sell date mats and baskets, some trade in pigs, while others, settled in villages, cultivate lands. in social position they rank just above the pariahs and madigas. they profess to be vaishnavites [and saivites]. infant marriage is not practiced. widow remarriage is freely allowed, and polygamy is common. their marriage tie is very loose, and their women often practice prostitution. they are a predatory class, great drunkards, and of most dissolute habits. the dead are generally buried, and [on the day of the final death ceremonies] cooked rice is thrown out to be eaten by crows. in the matter of food, they eat all sorts of animals, including pigs, cats, and crows." when a friend was engaged in making experiments in connection with snake venom, some dommaras asked for permission to unbury the corpses of snakes and mungooses for the purpose of food. the dommaras are, in the mysore census report, 1901, summed up as being buffoons, tumblers, acrobats, and snakecharmers, who travel from place to place, and earn a precarious living by their exhibitions. in the madras census report, 1901, domban, kalaikuttadi (pole-dancer), and arya kuttadi, are given as synonyms of dommara. the kuttadi are summed up, in the tanjore manual, as vagabond dancers, actors, pantomimists, and marionette exhibitors, who hold a very low position in the social scale, and always perform in public streets and bazaars. by mr. f. s. mullaly [104] the dommaras are divided into reddi or kapu (i.e., cultivators) and aray (maratha). "the women," he writes, "are proficient in making combs of horn and wood, and implements used by weavers. these they hawk about from place to place, to supplement the profits they derive from their exhibitions of gymnastic feats. in addition to performing conjuring tricks, rope-dancing and the like, the dommaras hunt, fish, make mats, and rear donkeys and pigs. the head of the tribe is called the mutli guru. he is their high priest, and exercises supreme jurisdiction over them both in spiritual and temporal matters. his head-quarters is chitvel in the cuddapah district. the legend regarding the office of the mutli guru is as follows. at chitvel, or as it was then known mutli, there once lived a king, who called together a gathering of all the gymnasts among his subjects. several classes were represented. polerigadu, a reddi dommara, so pleased the king that he was presented with a ring, and a royal edict was passed that the wearer of the ring and his descendants should be the head of the dommara class. the ring then given is said to be the same that is now worn by the head of the tribe at chitvel, which bears an inscription in telugu declaring that the wearer is the high-priest or guru of all the dommaras. the office is hereditary. the dwellings of the dommaras are somewhat similar to those of the koravars and joghis, made of palmyra leaves plaited into mats with seven strands. these huts, or gudisays, are located on the outskirts of villages, and carried on the backs of donkeys when on the march. stolen cloths, unless of value, are not as a rule sold, but concealed in the packs of their donkeys, and after a time worn. the dommaras are addicted to dacoity, robbery, burglary, and thefts. the instrument used by them is unlike those used by other criminal classes: it is of iron, about a foot long, and with a chisel-shaped point. as cattle and sheep lifters they are expert, and they have their regular receivers at most of the cattle fairs throughout the presidency." it is noted, in the nellore manual, that the dommaras "are stated by the nellore tahsildar to possess mirasi rights in some villages; that i take to mean that there is, in some villages, a customary contribution for tumblers and mendicants, which, according to wilson, was made in mysore the pretext for a tax named dombar-lingada-vira-kaniki. this tax, under the name dombar tafrik, was levied in venkatagiri in 1801." in the madura district, dommaras are found in some villages formerly owned by zamindars, and they call themselves children of the zamindars, by whom they were probably patronised. being a criminal class, the dommaras have a thief's language of their own, of which the following are examples:- bidam vadu, dommara. poothi, policeman. marigam, pig. goparam, seven. dasa-masa, prostitute. kopparam, salt. kaljodu, goldsmith. the dommaras are said to receive into their community children of other castes, and women of doubtful morals, and to practice the custom of making basavis (dedicated prostitutes). the telugu dommaras give as their gotra salava patchi, the name of a mythological bird. at times of marriage, they substitute a turmeric-dyed string consisting of 101 threads, called bondhu, for the golden tali or bottu. the marriage ceremonies of the are dommaras are supervised by an old basavi woman, and the golden marriage badge is tied round the bride's neck by a basavi. a dommara, whom i interviewed at coimbatore, carried a cotton bag containing a miscellaneous assortment of rubbish used in his capacity as medicine man and snake-charmer, which included a collection of spurious jackal horns (nari kompu), the hairs round which were stained with turmeric. to prove the genuineness thereof, he showed me not only the horn, but also the feet with nails complete, as evidence that the horns were not made from the nails. being charged with manufacturing the horns, he swore, by placing his hand on the head of a child who accompanied him, that he was not deceiving me. the largest of the horns in his bag, he gravely informed me, was from a jackal which he dug out of its hole on the last new moon night. the possessors of such horns, he assured me, do not go out with the pack, and rarely leave their holes except to feed on dew, field rats, etc. these spurious horns are regarded as a talisman, and it is believed that he who owns one can command the realisation of every wish. (see kuruvikkaran.) an iron ring, which the dommara was wearing on his wrist, was used as a cure for hernia, being heated and applied as a branding agent over the inguinal region. lamp oil is then rubbed over the burn, and a secret medicine, mixed with fowl's egg, administered. the ring was, he said, an ancestral heir-loom, and as such highly prized. to cure rheumatism in the big joints, he resorted to an ingenious form of dry cupping. a small incision is made with a piece of broken glass over the affected part, and the skin damped with water. the distal end of a cow's horn, of which the tip has been removed, and plugged with wax, does duty for the cup. a hole is pierced through the wax with an iron needle, and, the horn being placed over the seat of disease, the air is withdrawn from it by suction with the mouth, and the hole in the wax stopped up. as the air is removed from the cavity of the horn, the skin rises up within it. to remove the horn, it is only necessary to readmit air by once more boring a hole through the wax. in a bad case, as many as three horns may be applied to the affected part. the pitt rivers museum at oxford possesses dry-cupping apparatus, made of cow horn, from mirzapur in northern india and from natal, and of antelope horn from an unrecorded locality in india. in cases of scorpion sting the dommara rubbed up patent boluses with human milk or milk of the milk-hedge plant (euphorbia tirucalli), and applied them to the part. for chest pains he prescribed red ochre, and for infantile diseases myrabolam (terminalia) fruits mixed with water. in cases of snake-bite, a black stone, said to be made of various drugs mixed together, and burnt, is placed over the seat of the bite, and will, it was stated, drop off of its own accord as soon as it has absorbed all the poison. it is then put into milk or water to extract the poison, and the fluid is thrown away as being dangerous to life if swallowed. as a remedy for the bite of a mad dog, a plant, which is kept a secret, is mixed with the milk of a white goat, pepper, garlic, and other ingredients, and administered internally. a single dose is said to effect a cure. at tarikeri in mysore, a wandering troupe of are (maratha) dommaras performed before me. the women were decorated with jewels and flowers, and carried bells on their ankles. the men had a row of bells attached all round the lower edge of their short drawers. before the performance commenced, a pillayar (ganesa) was made with cowdung, and saluted. the entertainment took place in the open air amid the beating of drums, whistling, singing, and dialogue. the jests and antics of the equivalent of the circus clown were a source of much joy to the throng of villagers who collected to witness the tamasha (spectacle). one of the principal performers, in the waits between his turns, played the drum, or took a suck at a hooka (tobacco pipe) which was passed round among the members of the troupe. the entertainment, in which both men and women took part, consisted of various acrobatic feats, turning summersaults and catherine wheels, stilt-walking, and clever feats on the tight rope. finally a man, climbing up a lofty bamboo pole, spun himself rapidly round and round on the top of it by means of a socket in an iron plate tied to his loin cloth, into which a spike in the pole fitted. dondia.--a title of gaudo. donga dasari.--dasari (servant of the god), mr. francis writes, [105] "in the strict sense of the word, is a religious mendicant of the vaishnavite sect, who has formally devoted himself to an existence as such, and been formally included in the mendicant brotherhood by being branded on the shoulders with vaishnavite symbols." far different are the donga, or thief dasaris, who receive their name from the fact that "the men and women disguise themselves as dasaris, with perpendicular vaishnava marks on their foreheads, and, carrying a lamp (garuda kambum), a gong of bell-metal, a small drum called jagata, and a tuft of peacock feathers, go begging in the villages, and are at times treated with the sumptuous meals, including cakes offered to them as the disciples of venkatesvarlu. [106]" in an interesting article on the donga dasaris, mr. s. m. natesa sastri writes as follows. [107] "quite opposed to the gudi (temple) dasaris are donga dasaris. they are the most dreaded of the criminal classes in the bellary district. in the early years of their settlement in bellary, these donga dasaris were said to have practiced kidnapping boys and girls of other castes to strengthen their number, and even now, as the practice stands, any person can become a donga dasari though very few would like to become one. but, for all that, the chief castes who furnished members to this brotherhood of robbery were the scum of the lingayats and the kabberas. of course, none of the respectable members of these castes would join them, and only those who were excommunicated found a ready home among these donga dasaris. sometimes muhammadan budmashes (bad-mash, evil means of livelihood) and the worst characters from other castes, also become donga dasaris. the way an alien is made a donga dasari is as follows. the regular donga dasaris take the party who wants to enter their brotherhood to the side of a river, make him bathe in oil, give him a new cloth, hold a council, and give a feast. they burn a twig of the sami (prosopis spicigera) or margosa (melia azadirachta) tree, and slightly burn the tongue of the party who has joined them. this is the way of purification and acceptance of every new member, who, soon after the tongue-burning ceremony, is given a seat in the general company, and made to partake of the common feast. the donga dasaris talk both telugu and kanarese. they have only two bedagas or family names, called sunna akki (thin rice) and ghantelavaru (men of the bell). as the latter is a family name of the kabberas, it is an evidence that members of the latter community have joined the donga dasaris. even now donga dasaris intermarry with kabberas, i.e., they accept any girl from a kabbera family in marriage to one of their sons, but do not give one of their daughters in marriage to a kabbera boy. hanuman is their chief god. venkatesa, an incarnation of vishnu, is also worshipped by many. but, in every one of their villages, they have a temple dedicated to their village goddess huligavva or ellamma, and it is only before these goddesses that they sacrifice sheep or fowls. vows are undertaken for these village goddesses when children fall ill. in addition to this, these donga dasaris are notorious for taking vows before starting on a thieving expedition, and the way these ceremonies are gone through is as follows. the gang, before starting on a thieving expedition, proceed to a jungle near their village in the early part of the night, worship their favourite goddesses huligavva or ellamma, and sacrifice a sheep or fowl before her. they place one of their turbans on the head of the sheep or fowl that was sacrificed, as soon as the head falls on the ground. if the turban turns to the right, it is considered a good sign, the goddess having permitted them to proceed on the expedition; if to the left, they return home that night. hanuman is also consulted in such expeditions, and the way in which it is done is as follows. they go to a hanuman temple which is near their village, and, after worshipping him, garland him with a wreath of flowers. the garland hangs on both sides of the neck. if any flowers on the right side drop down first, it is considered as a permission granted by the god to start on plundering expeditions, and, conversely, these expeditions are never undertaken if any flowers happen to drop from the left side first. the donga dasaris start on their thieving raids with their whole family, wife and children following. they are the great experts in house-breaking and theft, and children are taught thieving by their mothers when they are five or six years old. the mother takes her boy or girl to the nearest market, and shows the child some cloth or vessel, and asks it to bring it away. when it fails, it is thrashed, and, when stroke upon stroke falls upon its back, the only reply it is taught to give is that it knows nothing. this is considered to be the reply which the child, when it grows up to be a man or woman, has to give to the police authorities when it is caught in some crime and thrashed by them to confess. whenever the donga dasaris are caught by the police, they give false names and false castes. they have a cipher language among themselves. the donga dasari woman is very loose, but, if she go astray with a brahman, lingayat, kabbera, kuruba, upparava, or rajput, her tongue is burnt, and she is taken back into the community. widow remarriage freely prevails. they avoid eating beef and pork, but have no objection to other kinds of flesh." donga odde.--the name for oddes who practice thieving as a profession. dongayato.--a sub-division of gaudo. dongrudiya.--a sub-division of mali. dora.--dora, meaning lord, has been returned as the title of numerous classes, which include boya, ekari, jatapu, konda dora, mutracha, patra, telaga, velama, and yanati. the hill kois or koyis of the godavari district are known as koi dora or doralu (lords). i am told that, in some parts of the telugu country, if one hears a native referred to as dora, he will generally turn out to be a velama; and that there is the following gradation in the social scale:- velama dora = velama esquire. kamma varu = mr. kamma. kapu = plain kapu, without an honorific suffix. in southern india, dorai or durai (master) is the equivalent of the northern sahib, and dorasani (mistress) of memsahib. it is noted by sir a. j. arbuthnot [108] that "the appellation by which sir thomas munro was most commonly known in the ceded districts was that of colonel dora. and to this day it is considered a sufficient answer to enquiries regarding the reason for any revenue rule, that it was laid down by the colonel dora." dorabidda, or children of chiefs, is the name by which boyas, who claim to be descended from poligars (feudal chiefs) call themselves. dravida.--a sub-division of kamsala. south indian brahmans are called dravidas. dubaduba.--recorded, at times of census, as an oriya form of budubudukala. duddu (money).--an exogamous sept of mala. dudekula.--the dudekulas are described by mr. h. a. stuart [109] as "muhammadans who have taken to the trade of cotton-cleaning (dude, cotton; ekula, to clean). by the tamils they are called panjari or panjukotti, which have the same significance. though muhammadans, they have adopted or retained many of the customs of the hindus around them, tying a tali to the bride at marriage, being very ignorant of the muhammadan religion, and even joining in hindu worship as far as allowable. circumcision is, however, invariable, and they are much given to the worship of muhammadan saints. in dress they resemble the hindus, and often shave off the beard, but do not leave a single lock of hair upon the head, as most hindus do. over three hundred hindus have returned their caste as either dudekula or panjari, but these are probably members of other castes, who call themselves dudekula as they are engaged in cotton-cleaning." the dudekulas are described by mr. w. francis [110] as "a muhammadan caste of cotton-cleaners, and rope and tape-makers. they are either converts to islam, or the progeny of unions between musalmans and the women of the country. consequently they generally speak the dravidian languages--either canarese or telugu--but some of them speak hindustani also. their customs are a mixture of those of the musalmans and the hindus. inheritance is apparently according to muhammadan law. they pray in mosques, and circumcise their boys, and yet some of them observe the hindu festivals. they worship their tools at bakrid and not at the dasara; they raise the azan or muhammadan call to prayers at sunset, and they pray at the tombs of musalman saints." in the vizagapatam district, the dudekulas are described as beating cotton, and blowing horns. for the following note on the dudekulas of the ceded districts, i am indebted to mr. haji khaja hussain. they claim bava faqrud-din pir of penukonda in the anantapur district as their patron saint. large numbers of muhammadans, including dudekulas, collect at the annual festival (mela) at his shrine, and offer their homage in the shape of a fatiha. this, meaning opener, is the name of the first chapter of the koran, which is repeated when prayers are offered for the souls of the departed. for this ceremony a pilau, made of flesh, rice and ghi (clarified butter) is prepared, and the khazi repeats the chapter, and offers the food to the soul of the deceased saint or relation. the story of faqrud-din pir is as follows. he was born in a.h. 564 (about a.d. 1122), and was king of seistan in persia. one day, while he was administering justice, a merchant brought some horses before him for sale. his attention was diverted, and he became for a time absorbed in contemplation of the beauty of one of the horses. awakening from his reverie, he blamed himself for allowing his thoughts to wander when he was engaged in the most sacred of his duties as a king. he summoned a meeting of all the learned moulvis in his kingdom, and enquired of them what was the penalty for his conduct. they unanimously decreed that he should abdicate. accordingly he placed his brother on the throne, and, becoming a dervish, came to india, and wandered about in the jungles. eventually he arrived at trichinopoly, and there met the celebrated saint tabri-alam, whose disciple he became. after his admission into holy orders, he was told to travel about, and plant his miswak wherever he halted, and regard the place where it sprouted as his permanent residence. the miswak, or tooth-brush, is a piece of the root of the pilu tree (salvadora persica), which is used by muhammadans, and especially fakirs, for cleaning the teeth. when bava faqrud-din arrived at penukonda hill, he, as usual, planted the miswak, which sprouted. he accordingly decided to make this spot his permanent abode. but there was close by an important hindu temple, and the idea of a muhammadan settling close to it enraged the hindus, who asked him to leave. he not only refused to do so, but allowed his disciples, of whom a number had collected, to slaughter a sacred bull belonging to the temple. the hindus accordingly decided to kill faqrud-din and his disciples. the raja collected an armed force, and demanded the restoration of the bull. faqrud-din ordered one of his disciples to bring before him the skin, head, feet and tail of the animal, which had been preserved. striking the skin with his staff, he exclaimed "rise, oh! bull, at the command of god." the animal immediately rose in a complete state of restoration, and would not leave the presence of his preserver. alarmed at this miracle, the hindus brandished their swords and spears, and were about to fall on the muhammadans, when a dust-storm arose and blinded them. in their confusion, they began to slay each other, and left the spot in dismay. the raja then resolved to kill the muhammadans by poisoning them. he prepared some cakes mixed with poison, and sent them to faqrud-din for distribution among his disciples. the saint, though he knew that the cakes were poisoned, partook thereof of himself, as also did his disciples, without any evil effect. a few days afterwards, the raja was attacked with colic, and his case was given up by the court physicians as hopeless. as a last resort, he was taken before faqrud-din, who offered him one of the poisoned cakes, which cured him. falling at his feet, the raja begged for pardon, and offered the village of penukonda to faqrud-din as a jaghir (annuity). this offer was declined, and the saint asked that the temple should be converted into a mosque. the raja granted this request, and it is said that large numbers of hindus embraced the muhammadan religion, and were the ancestors of the dudekulas. the dudekulas, like the hindus, like to possess some visible symbol for worship, and they enrol great personages who have died among the number of those at whose graves they worship. so essential is this grave worship that, if a place is without one, a grave is erected in the name of some saint. such a thing has happened in recent times in banganapalle. a fakir, named alla bakhsh, died at kurnool. a dudekula of the banganapalle state visited his grave, took away a lump of earth from the ground near it, and buried it in a village ten miles from banganapalle. a shrine was erected over it in the name of the saint, and has become very famous for the miracles which are performed at it. an annual festival is held, which is attended by large numbers of muhammadans and dudekulas. some dudekulas have names which, though at first sight they seem to be hindu, are really muhammadan. for example, kambannah is a corruption of kamal sahib, and sakali, which in telugu means a washerman, seems to be an altered form of sheik ali. though dudekulas say that they are muhammadans of the sheik sect, the name sheik is only occasionally used as a prefix, e.g., sheik hussain or sheik ali. names of males are hussain sa, fakir sa, and khasim sa. sa is an abbreviated form of sahib. one old dudekula stated that the title sahib was intended for pucka (genuine) muhammadans, and that the dudekulas could not lay claim to the title in its entirety. instead of sa, bhai, meaning brother, is sometimes used as a suffix to the name, e.g., ghudu bhai. ghudu, meaning ash-heap, is an opprobrious name given to children of those whose offspring have died young, in the hope of securing long life to them. the child is taken, immediately after birth, to an ash-heap, where some of the ashes are sprinkled over it. some dudekulas adopt the hindu termination appa (father), anna (brother), or gadu, e.g., pullanna, naganna, yerkalappa, hussaingadu, hussainappa. typical names of females are roshamma, jamalamma, and madaramma. they have dropped the title bibi or bi, and adopted the hindu title amma (mother). the ceremony of naming a child is generally performed on the sixth day after its birth. the choice of a name is entrusted to an elderly female member of the family. in some cases, the name of a deceased ancestor who lived to an advanced age is taken. if a child dies prematurely, there is a superstitious prejudice against its name, which is avoided by the family. very frequently a father and son, and sometimes two or three brothers, have the same name. in such a case prefixes are added to their names as a means of distinguishing them, e.g., pedda (big), nadpi (middle), chinna (little). sometimes two names are assumed by an individual, one a hindu name for every day use, the other muhammadan for ceremonial occasions. the dudekulas depend for the performance of their ceremonies largely on the khazi, by whom even the killing of a fowl for domestic purposes has to be carried out. the dudekula, like other muhammadans, is averse to taking animal life without due religious rites, and the zabh, or killing of an animal for food, is an important matter. one who is about to do so should first make vazu (ablution), by cleaning his teeth and washing his mouth, hands, face, forearms, head and feet. he should then face the west, and an assistant holds the animal to be slaughtered upside down, and facing west. water is poured into its mouth, and the words bismilla hi alla hu akbar uttered. the operator then cuts the throat, taking care that the jugular veins are divided. in remote villages, where a khazi is not available, the dudekulas keep a sacrificial knife, which has been sanctified by the khazi repeating over it the same words from the koran as are used when an animal is slaughtered. the first words which a muhammadan child should hear are those of the azan, or call to prayer, which are uttered in its ear immediately after birth. this ceremony is observed by those dudekulas who live in towns or big villages, or can afford the services of a khazi. it is noted by mr. francis that the dudekulas raise the azan at sunset. a few, who have been through a course of religious instruction at a madrasa (school), may be able to do this. a muhammadan is supposed to raise the azan five times daily, viz., before sunrise, between noon and 3 p.m., between 4 and 6 p.m., at sunset, and between 8 p.m. and midnight. at the naming of an infant on the sixth day, the dudekulas do not, like other muhammadans, perform the aguiga ceremony, which consists of shaving the child's head, and sacrificing a he-goat. children are circumcised before the tenth year. on such occasions the muhammadans generally invite their friends, and distribute sweets and pan-supari (betel leaf and areca nuts). the dudekulas simply send for a barber, hindu or muhammadan, who performs the operation in the presence of a khazi, if one happens to be available. when a girl reaches puberty, the dudekulas invite their friends to a feast. other muhammadans, on the contrary, keep the fact a secret. at the betrothal ceremony, when sweets and pan-supari are taken by the future bridegroom and his party to the house of the girl whom he seeks in marriage, the female members of both families, and the girl herself, are present. this fact shows the absence of the muhammadan gosha system among dudekulas. a muhammadan wedding lasts over five or six days, whereas the ceremonies are, among the dudekulas, completed within twenty-four hours. on the night preceding the nikka day, a pilau is prepared, and a feast is held at the bridegroom's house. on the following morning, when it is still dark, the bridegroom, accompanied by his relations, starts on horseback in procession, with beating of drums and letting off of fireworks. the procession arrives at the bride's house before sunrise. the khazi is sent for, and the mahr is settled. this is a nominal gift settled on the wife before marriage by the bridegroom. on the death of a husband, a widow has priority of claim on his property to the promised amount of the mahr. two male witnesses are sent to the bride, to obtain her assent to the union, and to the amount of the mahr. the khazi, being an orthodox muhammadan, treats the dudekula bride as strictly gosha for the time being, and, therefore, selects two of her near relatives as witnesses. the lutcha (marriage badge), consisting of a single or double string of beads, is brought in a cup filled with sandal paste. the khazi chants the marriage service, and sends the lutcha in to the bride with his blessing. it is tied round her neck by the female relations of the bridegroom, and the marriage rites are over. the usual muhammadan form of greeting among muhammadans is the familiar "peace be with you." "and with you be peace." when a dudekula greets a muhammadan, he simply bows, and, with members of his own community, uses a telugu form of salutation, e.g., niku mokkutamu. the dudekulas, male and female, dress exactly like hindus, but, as a rule, the men do not shave their beard. disputes, and social questions affecting the community, are settled by a khazi. with the increase in cotton mills, and the decline of the indigenous hand-weaving industry, the demand for cotton-cleaning labour has diminished, and some dudekulas have, of necessity, taken to agriculture. land-owners are very scarce among them, but some are abkari (liquor) contractors, village schoolmasters, and quack doctors. in the ceded districts, the cotton-cleaning industry is solely confined to the dudekulas. the synonyms of dudekula, ladaf and nurbash, recorded at times of census, are corruptions of nad-daf (a cotton dresser) and nurbaf (weaving). dudi.--a title of kurumos, who officiate as priests at the temples of village deities. dudi (cotton) balija.--a name for traders in cotton in the telugu country, and an occupational sub-division of komati. durga (fort).--a gotra of kurni. dutan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, as a synonym of ari. dyavana (tortoise).--an exogamous sept of moger. e eddulu (bulls).--see yeddulu. ediannaya (hornet's nest).--an exogamous sept of bant. egadavan.---recorded, at times of census, as an exogamous sept of anappans, who are canarese cattle-grazers settled in the tamil country. possibly it is a corruption of heggade, a title among kurubas. ekakshara.--a sub-division of satani. the name is derived from ekakshara, meaning one syllable, i.e., the mystic syllable om. ekari.--this caste is summed up in the madras census report, 1901, under the names ekari, ekali, yakari, and yakarlu, as a sub-caste of mutracha. mr. h. a. stuart writes [111] that "ekaris or yakarlu are a class of cultivators and village watchmen, found chiefly in the northern taluks of north arcot, and in the adjoining district of cuddapah. it is very doubtful whether the ekaris and mutrachas are identical castes. the census statistics are, i think, sufficient to throw grave doubt on this view. neither name, for instance, appears as a sub-division of the other, although this would certainly be the case if they were synonymous. nor is there any similarity in the sub-divisions that are given. they are said, in the nellore manual, to be hunters and mercenaries, and in cuddapah, where they are known to some as boyas and kiratas, they are classed as a forest tribe. it is clear, however, that they enjoyed some authority, for several rose to be poligars. thus the poligars of kallur, tumba, pulicherla, bangari and gudipati are of this caste, and many of its members are village policemen. they do not wear the sacred thread, but employ brahmans as their priests. their ceremonies differ very little from those of the kapus. they are flesh-eaters, and their titles are naidu and dora. the caste possesses some interest as being that which had, in 1891, the highest proportion of widowed among females between the ages of 15 and 39. little is known of the caste history. some assert that they were formerly hindu cotton cleaners, and that their name is derived from the verb yekuta, to clean cotton. they returned 74 sub-divisions, of which the most important seem to be dodda (big) and pala." there is neither intermarriage, nor free interdining between ekaris and mutrachas. by some, kampin, and nagiripilla kayalu, and by others kammi and yerrai were given as sub-divisions. one of the recognised names of washermen in tamil is egali or ekali. elakayan.--a sub-division of nayar. it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, that "its hereditary occupation is to get plantain leaves for the use of the cherukunnu temple, where travellers are fed daily by the chirakkal raja." elayad.--for the following note on the elayads or ilayatus i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. ilayatu literally means younger, and the name is employed to denote a caste, which is supposed to be the last among the numerous sub-divisions of malabar brahmans. the caste-men make use of two titles, ilayatu and nambiyatiri, the latter of which has the same origin as nambutiri, meaning a person worthy of worship. women are generally known as ilayammas, and, in some parts of north travancore, also kunjammas. by the caste-men themselves the women are called akattulavar, or those inside, in the same way as nambutiri women. children are called kunjunnis. the ilayatus exact from the nayars the name of ilayachchan, or little father. according to the jatinirnaya, a work ascribed to parasurama, the ilayatus were once brahmans of undiminished purity, but became degraded owing to the priestly service which was performed for a nayar servant attached to one of their households. two members of the house of azhvancheri tamprakkal were brothers. the younger resolved to go to a foreign country, and could get no other nayar servant than one who was obliged to perform his mother's anniversary ceremony on the way. he promised to act as the priest on this occasion, and is even believed to have eaten the food prepared by the nayar. when the matter became known to his elder brother, he assembled all the vaidik brahmans, and the younger brother was excommunicated. this tradition, like the majority of malabar traditions, has to be accepted with reserve. the ilayatus assert that, until interdicted by rama iyen dalawa in revenge for a supposed dishonour to him, they had the privilege of commensality with nambutiri brahmans; but rama iyen's authority, large as it was, did not extend to cochin and british malabar, where too the ilayatus appear to labour under the same difficulty. those who encouraged the higher classes of nayars with ritualistic functions became onnam parisha or the first party of ilayatus, the remainder being grouped in another class known as randam or second party. the latter are lower in the social scale than the former. the two sections do not intermarry, and interdining is restricted to the male sex. the ilayatus generally have a dejected appearance, and their poverty is proverbial. most of them earn only a scanty living by their traditional occupation, and yet it is notorious that other walks of life have absolutely no attraction for them. not only is english education not welcomed, but even the study of sanskrit finds only a few steadfast votaries. the ilayatus are, however, a naturally clever, and intelligent community, and, under favourable conditions, are found to take a more prominent place in society. the house of an ilayatu is, like that of a nambutiri, called illam. it is generally large, being the gift of some pious nayar. every ilayatu house possesses a serpent grove, where periodical offerings are made. the dress and ornaments of the ilayatus are exactly like those of the nambutiris. the wedding ornament is called kettu-tali. children wear a ring tied to a thread round the neck from the moment of the first feeding ceremony. the ilayatus are strict vegetarians, and, though in some of their temples they have to make offerings of liquor to the deity, they are strictly forbidden by caste rules from partaking thereof. the chief occupation of the ilayatus is the priesthood of the nayars. the first division perform this service only for the ilakkar or highest class of nayars, while the second division do not decline to be the priests of any section of that community. in performing such services, the ilayatus recite various liturgic texts, but hardly any vedic hymns. the ilayatus have also been the recognised priests in several north travancore temples, the chief of which are the kainikkara bhagavata shrine, the payappara sasta shrine, and the parekkavu siva temple at kuttattukulam. ilayatus are the priests in most of the snake groves of malabar, that at mannarsalay commanding the greatest popularity and respect. ilayatus are, in all matters of caste such as smarta-vicharam, or enquiry into charges of adultery, etc., governed by the nambutiris, who are assisted by vaidiks belonging to the caste itself. it is the latter who are the regular priests of the ilayatus, and, though ignorant of the vedas, they seem to possess considerable knowledge of the priestly functions as carried out in malabar. nambutiris are sometimes invited to perform isvaraseva, sarpabali, and other religious rites. purification rites are performed by the caste priests only, and no nambutiri is called on to assist. brahmans do not cook food in the houses of ilayatus. the ilayatus are divided mostly into two septs or gotras, called visvamitra and bharadvaja. the marriage of girls is performed before or after puberty, between the twelfth and eighteenth years. no bride-price is paid, but a sum of not less than rs. 140 has to be paid to the bridegroom. this is owing to the fact that, in an ilayatu family, as among the nambutiris, only the eldest son can lead a married life. all male members of a family, except the eldest, take to themselves some nayar or ambalavasi woman. widows do not remove their tuft of hair on the death of their husband, but throw their marriage ornament on to the funeral pyre, probably as a symbol of the performance of sati. the ilayatus resemble the nambutiris in all questions of inheritance. the ilayatus do not omit any of the sixteen religious ceremonies of the brahmans. the rules of name given are that the eldest son should be named after the paternal grandfather, the second after the maternal grandfather, and the third after the father. a parallel rule obtains in giving names to daughters. the ilayatus belong in the main to the white and black branches of the yajurveda, and observe the sutras of bodhayana and asvalayana. they recite only twenty-four gayatri hymns, thrice a day. women are believed to be polluted for ninety days after childbirth. it is noted in the cochin census report, 1901, that the elayads are "their own priests, and for this reason, and from the fact that nayars perform sradhas (memorial service) in the houses of elayads, the nambudris do not cook or take meals in their houses, nor do they, kshatriyas or nampidis, take water from elayads. in former times, the elayads used to take their meals in nayar houses during the performance of the sradha ceremony of the nayars, as brahmans generally do on such ceremonial occasions amongst themselves, but they now decline to do it, except in a few wealthy and influential families. muthads and elayads wear the sacred thread. though in many respects the elayads are more brahmanical than the muthads, the majority of the ambalavasi castes do not take the food cooked or touched by the elayads. there are some temples, in which they officiate as chief priests. the muthad and elayad females are gosha. they both practice polygamy, and perform sarvaswadanam marriages like the nambudris." ella (boundary).--an exogamous sept of mutracha. elugoti (assembly).--an exogamous sept of devanga. elugu (bear).--an exogamous sept of yanadi. eluttacchan.--eluttacchan or ezhuttacchan, meaning teacher or master of learning, is the name for educated kadupattans of malabar employed as schoolmasters. eman.--a corruption of yajamanan, lord, recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a title of nayar. embrantiri.--embrantiri or embran is "a malayalam name for tulu brahmans settled in malabar. they speak both tulu and malayalam. some of them call themselves nambudris, but they never intermarry with that class." [112] by wigram they are defined [113] as "a class of sacrificing brahmans, chiefly tulu, who officiate at sudra ceremonies." it is a name for the tulu shivalli brahmans. emme (buffalo).--see yemme. ena korava.--see korava. enadi.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a name for shanans, derived from enadi nayanar, a saivite saint. it also means ambattan, or barber." the word denotes a chief, barber, or minister. enangan.--enangan or inangan is defined by mr. k. kannan nayar [114] as "a member of an inangu, this being a community of a number of tarwads, the members of which may interdine or intermarry, and are bound to assist one another, if required, in the performance of certain social and religious rites." it is noted, in the gazetteer of malabar, that "an enangan or inangan is a man of the same caste and sub-division or marriage groups. it is usually translated kinsman, but is at once wider and narrower in its connotation. my enangans are all who can marry the same people that i can. an enangatti is a female member of an enangan's family." eneti.--said to be mendicants, who beg from gamallas. (see yanati.) entamara.--see yanati. era.--era cheruman, or eralan, is a sub-division of cheruman. eradi.--eradi has been defined [115] as meaning "a cow-herd. a sub-division of the nayar caste, which formerly ruled in what is now the ernad taluk" of malabar. in the malabar manual, ernad is said to be derived from eradu, the bullock country. eradi denotes, according to the census report, 1891, "a settlement in ernad. the caste of samantas, to which the zamorin of calicut belongs." eravallar.--the eravallars are a small forest tribe inhabiting the coimbatore district and malabar. for the following note on the eravallars of cochin, i am indebted to mr. l. k. anantha krishna iyer. [116] eravallars are a wild tribe of inoffensive hill-men found in the forests of the cochin state, especially in the chittur taluk. they are also called villu vedans (hunters using bows). their language is tamil, though some speak malayalam. in addressing the elderly members of the caste, they use the titles muthan (elder) and pattan (grandfather). names in use for males are kannan (krishna), otukan, kothandan, kecharan, and attukaran, while females are called kanni, keyi, kaikayi, otuka, and ramayi. these hindu divine names are recent innovations after the names of members of the higher castes, with whom they frequently come in contact. the eravallars have no knowledge of the origin of their caste. they appear to be a rude and primitive people, like the other jungle tribes of the state, but are somewhat improving their status under their masters. their habits are less migratory than those of the malayars and kadars. they live in villages called pathis, situated in the forests. their huts are similar to those of the malayars and kadars. they propitiate their sylvan deities before the construction of their huts, and also before their occupation. some days are believed to be lucky, as mondays for sowing and weddings, wednesdays for building, and fridays for reaping. eravallars do not live as small independent communities, but are mostly attached to farmers, under whom they work for a daily wage of two edangazhis and a half of paddy (unhusked rice). the women also work for the same wage, but never agree to serve in a state of bondage. during the festival kathira in the village temple of their landlords, when sheaves of corn are brought, every male member gets from his landlord two veshtis (a cloth with a coloured border 3 yards in length), and every woman a potava (coloured cloth 8 yards in length). during the onam and vishu festivals, one para of paddy, two cocoanuts, a small quantity of gingelly (sesamum) and cocoanut oil are also given. the landlords partly defray their marriage and funeral expenses by a grant of a few paras of paddy, some salt and chillies. sometimes they agree to work for twenty valloms (a large corn measure) a year. to improve their condition, they borrow money from their landlords, and purchase a bullock or buffalo or two, to cultivate a plot of land, after clearing a portion of the forest belonging to their master. they raise some crops, and make some saving to pay off the debt. should they be so unfortunate as to fail in the undertaking, they willingly mortgage themselves to their master, or to some other, for the wages above mentioned, and wait for some favourable opportunity to pay off the debt. women never surrender themselves to work in a state of bondage, but are independent day-labourers. the eravallars are, as certified by their masters, always truthful, honest, faithful and god-fearing, and never, like the pulayas of the northern parts of the state, ungratefully run away from their masters. a girl, when she comes of age, is lodged in a separate hut (muttuchala) erected at a distance of a furlong from the main hut. only a few girl friends are allowed to be in company with her during the period of her seclusion, which is generally seven days, during which food is served to her at a distance, when she comes to take it. no grown-up member approaches her, for fear of pollution. she bathes on the morning of the seventh day, and is then allowed to enter the hut. the day is one of festivity to her friends and relations. if a girl is married before she attains puberty, her husband contributes something for the expenses of the ceremony. should a woman cohabit with a man before marriage and become pregnant, she used, in former times, to be put to death, but is now turned out of caste. instances of the kind are, they say, extremely rare. an eravallan who wishes to see his son married visits the parents of a girl with his brother-in-law and a few relatives, who make the proposal. if the parents agree, the wedding day is fixed, and all the preliminary arrangements are made at the hut of the bride, where the relatives assembled are treated to a dinner. the bride's price is only a rupee. the parents of the bride and bridegroom visit their respective landlords with a few packets of betel leaves, areca nuts, and tobacco, and inform them of the marriage proposal. the landlords give a few paras of paddy to defray a portion of the wedding expenses. they celebrate their weddings on mondays. on a monday previous to the wedding ceremony, the sister of the bridegroom, with a few of her relations and friends, goes to the bride's hut, and presents her parents with the bride's money, and a brass ring for the bride. on the monday chosen for the wedding, the same company, and a few more, go there, and dress the girl in the new garment brought by them. they are treated to a dinner as on the previous occasion. they then return with the bride to the hut of the bridegroom, where also the parties assembled are entertained. on the monday after this, the bridegroom and bride are taken to the bride's hut, where they stay for a week, and then return to the bridegroom's hut. marriage is now formally over. the tali (marriage badge) tying is dispensed with. this custom of marriage prevails among the izhuvas of the chittur taluk. the bridegroom gets nothing as a present during the wedding, but this is reserved for the karkadaka sankranthi, when he is invited by his father-in-law, and given two veshtis and a turban, after sumptuously feeding him. a widow can only marry a widower. it is called mundakettuka (marrying a widow). when they both have children, the widower must make a solemn promise to his castemen that he will treat and support the children by both marriages impartially. the present of a brass ring and cloth is essential. a man can divorce his wife, if he is not satisfied with her. the divorced wife can mate only with a widower. such cases, they say, are very rare among them. no ceremony is performed for a pregnant woman during the fifth or seventh month. if she dreams of dogs, cats, or wild animals coming to threaten her, it is believed that she is possessed of demons. then a devil-driver from this or some other caste is called in. he draws a hideous figure (kolam) on the floor with powdered rice, turmeric, and charcoal, and the woman is seated in front of it. he sings and beats his small drum, or mutters his mantram (consecrated formula). a lamp is lighted, and frankincense is burned. a kaibali is waved round the woman's face. she is worked up to a hysterical state, and makes frantic movements. boiled rice, flattened rice, plantains, cocoanuts, and fowl are offered to the demon. quite satisfied, the demon leaves her, or offers to leave her on certain conditions. if the woman remains silent and unmoved all the time, it is supposed that no demon resides in her body. very often a yantram (charm) is made on a piece of cadjan (palm) leaf, and rolled. it is attached to a thread, and worn round the neck. a woman in childbirth is located in a separate small hut (muttuchala) erected at a distance from the main hut. nobody attends upon her, except her mother or some old woman to nurse her. as soon as delivery takes place, the mother and child are bathed. her pollution is for seven days, during which she stays in the hut. she then bathes, and is removed to another hut close to the main hut, and is again under pollution for five months. her diet during this period is simple, and she is strictly forbidden to take meat. the only medicine administered to her during the period is a mixture of pepper, dried ginger, and palm sugar mixed with toddy. she comes back to the main hut after purifying herself by a bath at the end of the five months. the day is one of festivity. the eravallers bury their dead, and observe death pollution for five days. on the morning of the sixth day, the chief mourner, who may be the son or younger brother, gets shaved, bathes, and offers to the spirit of the departed boiled rice, parched rice, plantains, and fowl. a feast is given to the castemen once a year, when they have some savings. they think of their ancestors, who are propitiated with offerings. they are pure animists, and believe that the forests and hills are full of demons disposed to do them harm. many of them are supposed to live in trees, and to rule wild beasts. they also believe that there are certain local demons, which are supposed to reside in rocks, trees, or peaks, having influence over particular families or villages, and that services rendered to them are intended to mitigate their hunger rather than to seek benefits. their gods are kali, muni, kannimar, and karappu rayan. kali is adored to obtain her protection for themselves and their families while living in the forest. muni is worshipped for the protection of their cattle, and to secure good harvest. kannimar (the seven virgins) and karappu rayan are their family deities, who watch over their welfare. offerings of boiled rice, plantains, cocoanuts, and flattened rice are given to propitiate them. kali and muni are worshipped in the forest, and the others in their huts. the main occupation of the eravallers is ploughing dry lands for the cultivation of chama (panicum miliaceum), cholam (sorghum vulgare), dholl (cajanus indicus) and gingelly (sesamum indicum) seeds, and sowing the seeds, which begin in the middle of may, and harvesting in november. during these months, they are wholly occupied with agriculture. during the other months of the year, gardening, fencing, and thatching are their chief occupations. offerings are made to kali and muni, when they plough, sow, and reap. they are so propitiated, as they are supposed to protect their corn from destruction by wild beasts. the eravallers are skilful hunters. owing to their familiarity and acquaintance with the forests, they can point out places frequented by wild beasts, which they can recognise by smell, either to warn travellers against danger, or to guide sportsmen to the game. ten or fifteen of them form a party, and are armed with knives, bows and arrows. some of them act as beaters, and the animal is driven to a particular spot, where it is caught in a large net already spread, shot, or beaten to death. animals hunted are hares, porcupines, and wild pigs. the game is always equally divided. being good marksmen, they take skilful aim at birds, and kill them when flying. the ordinary dietary is kanji (gruel) of chama or cholam, mixed with tamarind, salt and chillies, prepared overnight, and taken in the morning. the same is prepared for the midday meal, with a vegetable curry consisting of dholl, horse gram (dolichos biflorus), and other grains grown in the garden of their masters, which they have to watch. they eat the flesh of sheep, fowls, pigs, hares, quails, and doves. they take food at the hands of brahmans, nayars, kammalars, and izhuvas. they refuse to take anything cooked by mannans, panans, parayans, and cherumans. they bathe when touched by a chakkiliyan, parayan, or cheruman. they stand a long way off from brahmans and nayars. both men and women are decently clad. males wear veshtis, one end of which hangs loose, and the other is tucked in between the legs. they have a shoulder cloth, either hanging loosely over their shoulders, or sometimes tied to the turban. they allow their hair to grow long, but do not, for want of means, anoint it with oil. they grow moustaches. they wear round the neck a necklace of small white beads to distinguish them from malayars, who are always afraid of them. some wear brass finger rings. women wear a potava (coloured cloth), half of which is worn round the loins, while the other half serves to cover the body. the hair is not smoothed with oil. it is twisted into a knot on the back. it is said that they take an oil bath once a week. their ear ornament is made of a long palmyra leaf rolled into a disc, and the ear lobes are sufficiently dilated to contain them. erkollar.--a tamil form of the telugu yerragolla, which is sub-division of tottiyan. ernadan.--in the madras census report, 1901, the aranadans are described as a hill tribe in malabar, who kill pythons, and extract an oil from them, which they sell to people on the plains as a remedy for leprosy. these are, i have no doubt, the ernadans, concerning whom mr. g. hadfield writes to me as follows. they are a small jungle tribe, found exclusively in malabar, and are considered to be the lowest of the jungle tribes by the inhabitants of malabar, who consider themselves polluted if an ernadan approaches within a hundred yards. even paniyans and pariahs give them a wide berth, and they are prohibited from coming within four hundred yards of a village. one of their customs is very singular, viz., the father of a family takes (or used to take) his eldest daughter as his second wife. the ernadans use bows and arrows, principally for shooting monkeys, to the flesh of which they are very partial. they are not particular as to what they eat, and are, in fact, on a par with jackals in this respect, devouring snakes and the putrid flesh of various animals. they are fond of collecting the fat of snakes, and selling it. muhammadans employ them in felling timber, and cultivating fields. their clothing is exceedingly scanty, and, when hard up, they use wild plantain leaves for this purpose. through mr. hadfield's influence with the tribe, mr. f. fawcett was able to examine a few members thereof, who appeared before him accompanied by their mappilla master, at a signal from whom they ran off like hares, to attend to their work in the fields. their most important measurements were as follows:- max. min. av. stature (cm.) 156.6 150.6 154.5 cephalic index 85 77 81 nasal index 108.8 71.1 88.4 the ernadans, according to these figures, are short of stature, platyrhine, with an unusually high cephalic index. erra.--see yerra. erudandi.--see gangeddu. erudukkaran.--see gangeddu. erumai (buffalo).--an exogamous sept of toreya. eruman.--a sub-division of kolayan. ettarai (eight and a half).--an exogamous sept of tamil goldsmiths. ettuvitan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. eurasian.--eurasian (eur-asian) may, after the definition in 'hobson-jobson,' [117] be summed up as a modern name for persons of mixed european and indian blood, devised as being more euphemistic than half-caste, and more precise than east-indian. when the european and anglo-indian defence association was established 17 years ago, the term anglo-indian, after much consideration, was adopted as best designating the community. according to stocqueler, [118] the name eurasian was invented by the marquis of hastings. east indian is defined by balfour [119] as "a term which has been adopted by all classes of india to distinguish the descendants of europeans and native mothers. other names, such as half-caste, chatikar, and chi-chi, are derogatory designations. chattikar is from chitta (trousers) and kar (a person who uses them). the muhammadans equally wear trousers, but concealed by their outer long gowns. the east indians are also known as farangi (frank), a person of europe. the humbler east indians, if asked their race, reply that they are wallandez or oollanday, which is a modification of hollandais, the name having been brought down through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from the dutch. east indians have, in india, all the rights and privileges of europeans. races with a mixture of european with asiatic blood possess a proud and susceptible tone of mind." for the purposes of the lawrence asylum, ootacamund, the word east indian is restricted to the children of european fathers by east indian or native mothers, or of east indian fathers and mothers, both of whom are the children of european fathers. by a ruling of the government of india a few years ago, it was decided that eurasians appointed in england to official posts in india are, if they are not statutory natives, to be treated as europeans as regards the receipt of exchange compensation allowance. some eurasians have, it may be noted, had decorations or knighthood conferred on them, and risen to the highest position in, and gained the blue ribbon of, government service. others have held, or still hold, positions of distinction in the various learned professions, legal, medical, educational, and ecclesiastical. the influence of the various european nations--portuguese, dutch, british, danish, and french--which have at different times acquired territory in peninsular india, is clearly visible in the polyglot medley of eurasian surnames, e.g., gomes, da souza, gonsalvez, rozario, cabral, da cruz, da costa, da silva, da souza, fernandez, fonseca, lazaro, henriquez, xavier, mendonza, rodriguez, saldana, almeyda, heldt, van spall, jansen, augustine, brisson, corneille, la grange, lavocat, pascal, devine, aubert, ryan, mckertish, macpherson, harris, johnson, smith, etc. little did the early adventurers, in the dawn of the seventeenth century, think that, as the result of their alliances with the native women, within three centuries banns of marriage would be declared weekly in madras churches between, for example, ben jonson and alice almeyda, emmanuel henricus and mary smith, augustus rozario and minnie fonseca, john harris and clara corneille. yet this has come to pass, and the eurasian holds a recognised place among the half-breed races of the world. the pedigree of the early eurasian community is veiled in obscurity. but the various modes of creation of a half-breed, which were adopted in those early days, when the sturdy european pioneers first came in contact with the native females, were probably as follows:-a. european man (pure) b. native woman (pure). c. male offspring of a + b (first d. native woman. cross) e. female offspring of a + b (first f. european man. cross) g. native man. h. male offspring of c + d i. cross--female offspring of a + b. j. native woman. k. female offspring of c + d l. cross--male offspring of a + b. m. european man. n. native man. the eurasian half-breed, thus established, has been perpetuated by a variety of possible combinations:- european man eurasian woman. native woman. eurasian man native woman. eurasian woman. european woman. native man eurasian woman. european woman. in the early days of the british occupation of madras, the traders and soldiers, arriving with an inadequate equipment of females, contracted alliances, regular or irregular, with the women of the country. and in these early days, when our territorial possessions were keenly contested with both european and native enemies, an attempt was made, under authority from high places, to obtain, through the medium of the british soldier, and in accordance with the creed that crossing is an essential means of improving a race, and rendering it vigorous by the infusion of fresh blood from a separate stock, a good cross, which should be available for military purposes. later on, as the number of the british settlers increased, connexions, either with the native women, or with the females of the recently established eurasian type, were kept up owing to the difficulty of communication with the mother-country, and consequent difficulty in securing english brides. of these barbaric days the detached or semi-detached bungalows in the spacious grounds of the old private houses in madras remain as a memorial. at the present day the conditions of life in india are, as the result of steamer traffic, very different, and far more wholesome. the eurasian man seeks a wife as a rule among his own community; and, in this manner, the race is mainly maintained. the number of eurasians within the limits of the madras presidency was returned, at the census, 1891, as 26,643. but on this point i must call mr. h. a. stuart, the census commissioner, into the witness box. "the number of eurasians," he writes, "is 26,643, which is 20.76 per cent. more than the number returned in 1881." the figures for the last three enumerations are given in the following statement:- year. total. males. females. 1871 26,460 13,091 13,359 1881 21,892 10,969 10,923 1891 26,643 13,141 13,502 "it will be seen that, between 1871 and 1881, there was a great decrease, and that the numbers in 1891 are slightly higher than they were twenty years ago. the figures, however, are most untrustworthy. the cause is not far to seek; many persons, who are really natives, claim to be eurasians, and some who are eurasians return themselves as europeans. it might be thought that the errors due to these circumstances would be fairly constant, but the district figures show that this cannot be the case. take malabar, for example, which has the largest number of eurasians after madras, and where the division between native christians with european names and people of real mixed race is very shadowy. in 1871 there were in this district 5,413 eurasians; in 1881 the number had apparently fallen to 1,676; while in 1891 it had again risen to 4,193, or, if we include south-east wynaad, as we should do, to 4,439. it is to be regretted that trustworthy statistics cannot be obtained, for the question whether the true eurasian community is increasing or decreasing is of considerable scientific and administrative importance. the eurasians form but a very small proportion of the community, for there is only one eurasian in every 1,337 of the population of the madras presidency, and it is more than probable that a considerable proportion of those returned as eurasians are in reality pure natives who have embraced the christian religion, taken an english or portuguese name, and adopted the european dress and mode of living. in the matter of education, or at least elementary education, they are more advanced than any other class of the community, and compare favourably with the population of any country in the world. they live for the most part in towns, nearly one-half of their number being found in the city of madras." in connection with the fact that, at times of census, native christians and pariahs, who masquerade in european clothes, return themselves as eurasians, and vice versâ, it may be accepted that some benefit must be derived by the individual in return for the masking of his or her nationality. and it has been pointed out to me that (as newspaper advertisements testify) many ladies will employ a native ayah rather than a eurasian nurse, and that some employers will take eurasian clerks into their service, but not native christians. it occasionally happens that pure-bred natives, with european name and costume, successfully pass themselves off as eurasians, and are placed on a footing of equality with eurasians in the matter of diet, being allowed the luxury of bread and butter, coffee, etc. mr. stuart had at his command no special statistics of the occupations resorted to by eurasians, but states that the majority of them are clerks, while very few obtain their livelihood by agriculture. in the course of my investigations in the city of madras, the following occupations were recorded:- accountant. attendant, lunatic asylum. baker. bandsman. bill collector. blacksmith. boarding-house keeper. boatswain. boiler smith. carpenter. chemist's assistant. clerk, government. clerk, commercial. commission agent. compositor. compounder. contractor. coppersmith. crane attendant, harbour. draftsman. electric tram driver. electric tram inspector. engine-driver, ice factory. evangelist. filer. fireman. fitter. hammerer. harness-maker. jewel-smith. joiner. labourer. livery stable-keeper. mechanic. moulder. painter. petition writer. police inspector. porter. printer. proof-reader. railway- auditor. chargeman. engine-driver. engineer. goods clerk. guard. locomotive inspector. parcels clerk. prosecuting inspector. shunter. signaller. station-master. storekeeper. ticket collector. tool-keeper. block signaller. carriage examiner. reporter. rivetter. saddler. schoolmaster. sexton. spring-smith. stereotyper. steward. telegraph clerk. watchmaker. watchman. in the census report, 1901, the following statistics of the occupation of 5,718 eurasians in madras city (4,083), malabar (1,149) and chingleput (486) are given. most of those in the last of these three reside in perambur, just outside the madras municipal limits:- number of workers. endowments, scholarships, etc. 813 pensioners 438 railway clerks, station-masters, guards, etc. 427 tailors 378 merchants' and shop-keepers' clerks 297 railway operatives 262 teachers 243 public service 212 private clerks 211 mechanics (not railway) 203 carpenters 167 telegraph department 136 medical department 136 cooks, grooms, etc. 132 printing presses: workmen and subordinates 106 independent means 75 allowances from patrons, relatives and friends 72 survey and public works department 66 coffee and tea estate clerks and coolies 60 inmates of asylums 58 railway porters, etc. 57 musicians and actors 54 harbour service 50 workmen, gun carriage factories 48 postal department 48 non-commissioned officers, army 46 mendicants 45 midwives 42 priests, ministers, etc. 41 tramway officials 35 sellers of hides and bones, shoe and boot makers, 33 tanners, etc. local and municipal service 30 shipping clerks, etc. 29 brokers and agents 28 lawyers' clerks 26 merchants and shop-keepers 24 landholders 24 watch and clock makers 23 money-lenders, etc. 22 military clerks 21 blacksmiths 18 chemists and druggists 16 prisoners 15 pleaders 12 brass and copper smiths 12 inmates of convents, etc. 11 ship's officers, etc. 10 prostitutes 10 authors, editors, etc. 10 cultivating tenants 8 club managers, etc. 8 hotel-keepers, etc. 7 minor occupations 363 as bearing on the subject of eurasian marriage, i am enabled, through the courtesy of a railway chaplain and the chaplain of one of the principal churches in the city of madras, to place on record the following statistics abstracted from the registers. it may, in explanation, be noted that m indicates the bridegroom, f the bride, and w widow or widower remarriage:-(a) railway. =======+========+========+========+========+======= m. | f. | m. | f. | m. | f. -------+--------+--------+--------+--------+------ 25 | 18 | 34 | 19 | 24 | 18 21 | 15 | 27 | 16 | 35 | 21 24 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 19 21 | 14 | 22 | 18 | 22 | 18 22 | 19 | 25 | 16 | 21 | 20 23 | 17 | 22 | 18 | 32 | 19 23 | 14 | 25 | 16 | 26 | 21 23 | 18 | 23 | 21 | 25 | 18 25 | 16 | w 42 | 18 | 33 | 19 w 45 | 19 | 37 | 28 | 20 | 15 25 | 23 | 25 | 19 | 25 | 18 24 | 17 | 24 | 17 | 24 | 20 22 | 17 | 26 | 16 | 32 | 19 w 42 | 18 | 24 | 19 | 27 | 18 40 | 16 | 23 | | | 23 | 22 | 23 | | | =======+========+========+========+========+====== (b) madras city. ========+========+========+========+========+====== m. | f. | m. | f. | m. | f. --------+--------+--------+--------+--------+----- 33 | 26 | 28 | 19 | 27 | 18 w 40 | 18 | 29 | 20 | w 39 | 19 23 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 27 | 31 23 | 23 | 26 | 21 | 23 | 14 25 | 21 | 22 | 18 | 33 | 24 29 | w 24 | 25 | 17 | 25 | 18 31 | 19 | 28 | w 35 | 25 | 18 28 | 25 | 24 | 18 | 21 | 19 26 | 17 | 26 | 19 | 24 | 20 23 | 15 | 32 | 26 | 26 | 19 23 | 18 | 26 | 18 | w 46 | w 39 23 | 19 | 27 | 18 | 23 | 25 30 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 20 w 38 | 17 | 23 | 16 | 32 | 17 21 | 17 | 27 | 19 | 21 | 16 26 | 21 | 40 | 16 | 21 | w 30 w 53 | w 43 | 28 | 15 | w 40 | 17 28 | 20 | 31 | 24 | 25 | 24 29 | 21 | 27 | 25 | 30 | 20 w 43 | w 36 | 29 | 17 | w 43 | 23 20 | 16 | 24 | w 30 | 22 | 18 22 | 18 | w 42 | w 34 | | ========+========+========+========+========+======= analysing these figures, with the omission of remarriages, we obtain the following results:-(a) railway. bridegroom. bride. average age 25-26 18-19 mean above average 28-29 19-20 mean below average 23-24 16-17 range of age 40-20 28-14 (b) madras city. bridegroom. bride. average age 26-27 19-20 mean above average 28-29 21-22 mean below average 23-24 17-18 range of age 40-20 31-14 from the analysis of a hundred male cases in madras, in which enquiries were made with reference to the married state, in individuals ranging in age from 21 to 50, with an average age of 33, i learn that 74 were married; that 141 male and 130 female children had been born to them; and that 26, whose average age was 25, were unmarried. the limits of age of the men at the time of marriage were 32 and 16; of their wives 25 and 13. the greatest number of children born to a single pair was 10. in only three cases, out of the seventy-four, was there no issue. in fifty cases, which were examined, of married men, with an average age of 34, 207 children had been born, of whom 91 had died, for the most part in early life, from 'fever' and other causes. the racial position of eurasians, and the proportion of black blood in their veins, are commonly indicated, not by the terms mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, sambo (or zambo), etc., but in fractions of a rupee. the european pure breed being represented by rs. 0-0-0, and the native pure breed by 16 annas (= 1 rupee), the resultant cross is, by reference to colour and other tests, gauged as being half an anna in the rupee (faint admixture of black blood), approaching european types; eight annas (half and half); fifteen annas (predominant admixture of black blood), approaching native types, etc. the eurasian body being enveloped in clothes, it was not till they stripped before me, for the purpose of anthropometry, that i became aware how prevalent is the practice of tattooing among the male members of the community. nearly all the hundred and thirty men (of the lower classes) whom i examined were, in fact, tattooed to a greater or less extent on the breasts, upper arms, forearms, wrists, back of the hands, or shoulders. the following varied selection of devices in blue, with occasional red, is recorded in my case-book:- anchor. ballet girl with flag, stars and stripes. bracelets round wrists. burmese lady carrying umbrella. bird. bugles. conventional artistic devices. cross and anchor. crown and flags. crossed swords and pistols. dancing-girl. dancing-girl playing with cobras. elephant. floral devices. flowers in pot. hands joined in centre of a heart. hands joined, and clasping a flower. heart. heart and cross. initials of the individual, his friends, relatives, and inamorata, sometimes within a heart or laurel wreath. lizard. mercy (word on left breast). mermaid. portraits of the man and his lady-love. queen alexandra. royal arms and banners. sailing boat. scorpion. solomon's seal. steam boat. svastika (buddhist emblem). watteau shepherdess. the most elaborate patterns were executed by burmese tattooers. the initials of the individual's christian and surnames, which preponderated over other devices, were, as a rule, in roman, but occasionally in tamil characters. in colour the eurasians afford examples of the entire colour scale, through sundry shades of brown and yellow, to pale white, and even florid or rosy. the pilous or hairy system was, in the cases recorded by me, uniformly black. the colour of the iris, like that of the skin, is liable to great variation, from lustrous black to light, with a predominance of dark tints. blue was observed only in a solitary instance. the eurasian resists exposure to the sun better than the european, and, while many wear solah topis (pith sun-hats), it is by no means uncommon to see a eurasian walking about in the middle of a hot day with his head protected only by a straw hat or cap. the average height of the eurasians examined by me in madras, according to my measurements of 130 subjects, is 166.6 cm. (5 feet 5-1/2 inches), and compares as follows with that of the english and various native classes inhabiting the city of madras:- cm. english 170.8 eurasians 166.6 muhammadans 164.5 brahmans 162.5 pallis 162.5 vellalas 162.4 paraiyans 161.9 the height, as might be expected, comes between that of the two parent stocks, european and native, and had, in the cases examined, the wide range of 30.8 cm., the difference between a maximum of 183.8 cm. (6 feet) and a minimum of 153 cm. (5 feet). the average length of the head was 18.6 cm. and the breadth 14.1 cm. and it is to be noted that, in 63 per cent. of the cases examined, the breadth exceeded 14 cm.:- length. breadth. index. cm. cm. brahmans 18.6 14.2 76.5 eurasians 18.6 14.1 76 muhammadans 18.7 13.9 76.1 vellalas 18.6 13.8 74.1 paraiyans 18.6 13.7 73.6 pallis 18.6 13.6 73 the breadth of the head is very clearly brought out by the following analysis of forty subjects belonging to each of the above six classes, which shows at a glance the preponderance of heads exceeding 14 cm. in breadth in eurasians, brahmans, and (to a less extent) in muhammadans:- 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 cm. cm. cm. cm. eurasians ... 11 27 2 brahmans 1 9 27 3 muhammadans 2 17 21 ... vellalas ... 24 16 ... paraiyans ... 27 13 ... pallis 3 30 7 ... the head of a cross-breed, it has been said, generally takes after the father, and the breadth of the eurasian head is a persisting result of european male influence. the effect of this influence is clearly demonstrated in the following cases, all the result of re-crossing between british men and eurasian women:- length. breadth. cm. cm. 19 14.5 18.4 14.2 19.2 14.2 20.2 14.6 19 14.6 19.4 14.3 --- --- average 19.2 14.4 eurasian average 18.6 14.1 the character of the nose is, as those who have studied ethnology in india will appreciate, a most important factor in the differentiation of race, tribe, and class, and in the determination of pedigree. "no one," mr. risley writes, [120] "can have glanced at the literature of the subject, and in particular, at the védic accounts of the aryan advance, without being struck by the frequent references to the noses of the people whom the aryans found in possession of the plains of india. so impressed were the aryans with the shortcomings of their enemies' noses that they often spoke of them as 'the noseless ones,' and their keen perception of the importance of this feature seems almost to anticipate the opinion of dr. collignon that the nasal index ranks higher as a distinctive character than the stature or even the cephalic index itself." in the subjoined table, based on the examination of forty members of each class, the high proportion of leptorhine eurasians, muhammadans, and vellalas, with nasal indices ranging between 60 and 70, is at once manifest, and requires no comment:- 60-70. 70-80. 80-90. 90-100. eurasians 19 17 3 1 muhammadans 17 18 4 1 vellalas 14 22 3 1 pallis 3 25 9 3 paraiyans 2 17 19 2 i pass on to the eurasians of the west coast. my visit to calicut, the capital of the malabar district, was by chance coincident with the commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of the arrival of vasco da gama at calicut after his discovery of the sea-route from europe to india. concerning the origin of the indo-portuguese half-breed, i learn [121] that, on his return from the recapture of goa, albuquerque brought with him the women he had carried away when the portuguese were driven out of the place. as soon as affairs became tolerably settled again at that port, he had them converted to christianity, and married them to portuguese men. no less than 450 of his men were thus married in goa, and others who desired to follow their example were so numerous that albuquerque had great difficulty in granting their requests. the marriage of portuguese men to native women had already been sanctioned by dom manuel, but this privilege was only to be conceded to men of proved character, and who had rendered good service. albuquerque, however, extended the permission to many far beyond what he was authorised to do, and he took care that the women so married were the daughters of the principal men of the land. this he did in the hope of inducing them to become christians. to those who were married albuquerque allotted lands, houses and cattle, so as to give them a start in life, and all the landed property which had been in possession of the moorish mosques and hindu pagodas he gave to the principal churches of the city, which he dedicated to santa catherina. the names of some members of the community at calicut recalled to mind pedro alvares cabral, who anchored before calicut in 1500, and established a factory at cochin; the first portuguese governor, dom franciso de almeida; andré furtado de mendonca, who concluded a treaty with the king of calicut; and many others, whose exploits are handed down to posterity in the indo-portuguese archives. though portuguese names persist at the present day, it does not follow of necessity that their owners have any portuguese blood in their veins, for some are merely descendants of native converts to christianity, or of household slaves of portuguese officers. "in malabar," writes the census commissioner, 1881, "there is a section of europeanized native christians--goa roman catholics--some of whom have adopted european dress and customs; and in all districts the popular interpretation of the word eurasian is very liberal. there are many pariahs and native christians, who have adopted a travesty of european clothes, and who would return themselves as eurasians, if allowed to do so." a social distinction is made at calicut between eurasians and east indians. with a view at clearing up the grounds on which this distinction is based, my interpreter was called on to submit a note on the subject, which arrived couched in language worthy of mark twain. i, therefore, reproduce it in the original indo-anglian. "eurasians are classified to those who stand second in the list of europeans and those born in any part of india, and who are the pedigree of european descendants, being born of father european and mother east indian, and notwithstanding those who can prove themselves as really good indian descendants, such as mother and father of the same sex, therefore these are called eurasians. "east indians are those offsprings of christians of the east, and they atimes gather the offsprings of eurasians to the entering their marriage to the east indian females in the east indian community, thereby they are called east indians. "native christians are those of hindu nations converted into christians by their embracing the poles of christianity. all hindus thereby converted are made christians by a second baptism are called native christians. "coaster. they are alluded to those who belong to the coast, and who come from a country that has a sea coast into that country that has not got a sea coast is therefore called a coaster. a very rude word." speaking in general terms, it may be said that eurasians are of greater stature, and possess skins of lighter hue than the east indians, who, as the result of intermarriage with native christian women, have reverted in the direction of the native type. the eurasians examined by me at calicut, nearly all of whom were roman catholics, were earning a livelihood in the following capacities:- bandsman. municipal inspector. boot-maker. musician. bugler. petition-writer. carpenter. police constable. clerk. railway guard. coffee estate writer. schoolmaster. compositor. tailor. copyist. tin-smith. mechanic. weaver. as in madras, so in malabar, tattooing is very prevalent among the male members of the community, and the devices are characterised by a predominance of religious emblems and snakes. the following patterns are recorded in my notes:- bangle on wrist. boat. bird (the holy ghost). chalice. christ crucified. conventional and geometrical designs. cross. cross and crown. cross and heart. cross and i.n.r.i. crossed swords. fish. flags. flower. flower and leaves. initials. ladder. sacred heart. snake encircling forearms. snake coiled round forearm. solomon's seal. steam boat. there are, in north malabar, many individuals, whose fathers were european. writing, in 1887, concerning the tiyan community, mr. logan states [122] that "the women are not as a rule excommunicated if they live with europeans, and the consequence is that there has been among them a large admixture of european blood, and the caste itself has been materially raised in the social scale. in appearance some of the women are almost as fair as europeans." on this point, the report of the malabar marriage commission, 1894, states that "in the early days of british rule, the tiyan women incurred no social disgrace by consorting with europeans, and, up to the last generation, if the sudra girl could boast of her brahmin lover, the tiyan girl could show more substantial benefits from her alliance with a white man of the ruling race. happily the progress of education, and the growth of a wholesome public opinion, have made shameful the position of a european's concubine; and both races have thus been saved from a mode of life equally demoralizing to each." during a visit to ootacamund on the nilgiri hills, i was enabled to examine the physique of the elder boys at the lawrence asylum, the object of which is "to provide for children of european and east indian officers and soldiers of her majesty's army (british and native), and of europeans and east indians in the medical service, military and civil, who are serving, or have served within the limits of the presidency of madras, a refuge from the debilitating effects of a tropical climate, and from the serious drawbacks to the well-being of children incidental to a barrack life; to afford for them a plain, practical, and religious education; and to train them for employment in different trades, pursuits, and industries." as the result of examination of thirty-three eurasian boys, i was able to testify to the excellence of their physical condition. [123] a good climate, with a mean annual temperature of 58°, good food, and physical training, have produced a set of boys well-nourished and muscular, with good chests, shoulders, and body weight. some final words are necessary on liability to certain diseases, as a differentiating character between eurasians and europeans. the census commissioner, 1891, states that eurasians seem to be peculiarly liable to insanity and leprosy. to these should be added elephantiasis (filarial disease), concerning which surgeon-major j. maitland writes as follows [124] "almost all the old writers on elephantiasis believed that the dark races were more susceptible to the disease than white people; but it is extremely doubtful if this is the case. it is true that, in those countries where the disease is endemic, the proportion of persons affected is much greater among the blacks than among the whites; but it has to be borne in mind that the habits of the former render them much more liable to the disease than the latter. the majority of the white people, being more civilised, are more careful regarding the purity of their drinking water than the natives, who are proverbially careless in this respect. in india, although it is comparatively rare to meet with europeans affected with the disease, yet such cases are from time to time recorded. eurasians are proportionately more liable to the disease than pure europeans, but not so much so as natives. doctors patterson and hall of bahia [125] examined the blood of 309 persons in that place, and found the following proportions affected with filaria; of whites, 1 in 26; of blacks, 1 in 10-1/4; of the mixed race, 1 in 9. doctor laville [126] states that, in the society islands, out of a total of 13 european and american residents, 11 were affected with elephantiasis. taking all these facts into consideration, together with our knowledge of the pathology of the disease, i do not think we are justified in saying that the black races are more susceptible to the disease than white people. on the other hand, owing to the nature of their habits, they are much more liable to the diseases than are the white races." during the five years 1893-97, ninety-eight eurasians suffering from filarial diseases were admitted into the general hospital, madras. to colonel w. a. lee, i.m.s., superintendent of the government leper asylum, madras, i am indebted for the following note on leprosy in its relation to the eurasian and european communities. "europeans are by no means immune to the disease, which, in the majority of instances, is contracted by them through coitus with leprous individuals. leprosy is one of the endemic diseases of tropical and sub-tropical countries, to the risk of contracting which europeans who settle on the plains of india, and their offspring from unions with the inhabitants of the land, as well as the descendants of the latter, become exposed, since, by the force of circumstances, they are thrown into intimate contact with the native population. the eurasian community furnishes a considerable number of lepers, and the disease, once introduced into a family, has a tendency to attack several of its members, and to reappear in successive generations, occasionally skipping one--a feature akin to the biological phenomenon known as atavism, but of perhaps doubtful analogy, for the possibility of a fresh infection or inoculation has always to be borne in mind. there are numerous instances of such hereditary transmission among the patients, both native and eurasian, in the leper hospital. the spread of the disease by contagion is slow, the most intimate contact even, such as that between parent and child, often failing to effect inoculation. still there is much evidence in support of its being inoculable by cohabitation, prolonged contact, wearing the same clothing, sharing the dwelling, using the same cooking and eating utensils, and even by arm-to-arm vaccination. influenced by a belief in the last mentioned cause, vaccination was formerly regarded with much suspicion and dislike by eurasians in madras. but their apprehensions on this score have abated since animal vaccine was substituted for the humanised material. it has also for long been a popular belief among the same class that the suckling of their infants by infected native wet-nurses is a common source of the disease. attempts to reproduce leprosy from supposed pure cultures of the leprosy bacillus have invariably failed, and this strengthens the belief that the disease would die out if sufferers from the tubercular or mixed forms were segregated, and intermarriage with members of known leprous families interdicted. experience shows that, where such marriages are freely entered into, a notable prevalence of the disease results, as at pondicherry for example, where the so-called creole population is said to contain a large proportion of lepers from this cause." writing concerning the prevalence of insanity in different classes, the census commissioner, 1891, states that "it appears from the statistics that insanity is far more prevalent among the eurasians than among any other class. the proportion is 1 insane person in every 410. for england and wales the proportion is 1 in every 307, and it is significant that the section of the population of madras, which shows the greatest liability to insanity, is that which has an admixture of european blood. i have no information regarding the prevalence of insanity among eurasians for any other province or state in india except mysore, and there the proportion is 1 in 306." for the following tabular statement of admissions into the government lunatic asylum, madras, i am indebted to captain c. h. leet-palk, i.m.s.:- ======+=================+=================+================ | eurasians. | natives. | europeans. - |-----------------|-----------------|--------------- | male. | female. | male. | female. | male. | female. ------+-------+---------+-------+---------+-------+------- 1893 | 6 | 7 | 110 | 55 | 15 | 4 1894 | 8 | 6 | 104 | 28 | 19 | 1 1895 | 10 | 6 | 113 | 18 | 11 | 4 1896 | 2 | 4 | 82 | 17 | 5 | ... 1897 | 3 | 3 | 84 | 18 | 14 | 1 ======+=======+=========+=======+=========+=======+======== leaving out of question the europeans, in whom, owing to the preponderance of the male sex in madras, a greater number of male than female lunatics is to be expected, and considering only eurasians and natives, the far higher proportion of female as compared with male lunatics in the eurasian than in the native community, is very conspicuous. taking, for example, the numbers remaining in the asylum in 1894. whereas the proportion of eurasian males to females was 33:31, that of natives was 30.6:6.8; and the high proportion of female eurasian inmates was visible in other years. the subject seems to be one worthy of further study by those competent to deal with it. g gabit.--a bombay fishing caste returned at the census, 1901. to malpe in the south canara district, during the fishing season, come fishermen with a flotilla of keeled and outrigged sailing boats from ratnagiri in the bombay presidency. hither also come fishermen from goa. the reasons given by the ratnagiri fishermen for coming southward are that fish are not so abundant off their own coast, competition is keener, and salt more expensive. moreover, the crystals of bombay salt are too large for successful curing, and "do not agree with the fish, of which the flesh is turned black." if, they said contemptuously, they were to sun-dry fish by the local method, their people would laugh at them for bringing back, not fish, but dried cow-dung for fuel. the ratnagiri boats go well out of sight of land to the fishing ground, where they catch seir, pomfret, cat-fish (arius), and other big fish near the surface, and sharks in deeper water. if the fishing is not good near malpe, they may go south as far as mangalore. to the ratnagiri fishermen the seir (cybium) is the most valuable and lucrative fish. under existing arrangements, by which clashing of interests is avoided, the fishery at malpe is divided into two zones, viz., the deep sea fished by the large ratnagiri boats, and the shallow littoral water by the smaller local and goa boats. gadaba.--the gadabas are a tribe of agriculturists, coolies, and hunters in the vizagapatam district. hunting is said to be gradually decreasing, as many of the forests are now preserved, and shooting without a license is forbidden. men sometimes occupy themselves in felling trees, catching birds and hares, and tracking and beating game for sportsmen. the gadabas are also employed as bearers in the hills, and carry palanquins. there is a settlement of them on the main road between sembliguda and koraput, in a village where they are said to have been settled by a former raja expressly for such service. it is said that the gadabas will not touch a horse, possibly because they are palanquin-bearers, and have the same objection to the rival animal that a cabman has for a motor-car. there is a tradition that the tribe owes its name to the fact that its ancestors emigrated from the banks of the godabari (godavari) river, and settled at nandapur, the former capital of the rajas of jeypore. the gadabas have a language of their own, of which a vocabulary is given in the vizagapatam manual. this language is included by mr. g. a. grierson [127] in the munda linguistic family. the tribe is apparently divided into five sections, called bodo (big) or gutob, parenga, olaro, kaththiri or kaththara, and kapu. of these, the last two are settled in the plains, and say that they are bodo and olaro gadabas who migrated thither from the hills. as among the gadabas, so among the savaras, there is a section which has settled on the plains, and adopted kapu as its name. in the madras census report, 1891, nearly a thousand gadabas are returned as belonging to the chenchu sub-division. chenchu is the name of a separate jungle tribe in the telugu country, and i have been unable to confirm the existence of a chenchu sub-division among the gadabas. in the madras census report, 1871, mr. h. g. turner states that "very much akin to the gadabas are a class called kerang kapus. they will not admit any connexion with them; but, as their language is almost identical, such gainsaying cannot be permitted them. they are called kerang kapu from the circumstance of their women weaving cloths, which they weave from the fibre of a jungle shrub called kerang (calotropis gigantea)." mr. h. a. stuart remarks [128] that "the kapu gadabas are possibly the kerang kapus mentioned by mr. turner as akin to the gadabas, for i find no mention of the caste under the full name of kerang kapu, nor is kerang found as a sub-division of either kapu or gadaba." writing concerning the numeral system of the kerang kapus, mr. turner observes that it runs thus: moi, umbar, jugi, o, malloi, turu, gu, tammar, santing, goa, and for eleven (1 and following numbers), they prefix the word go, e.g., gommoi, gombaro, etc. the kerang kapus can count up to nineteen, but have no conception of twenty. according to mr. w. francis, the only tribe on the hills which has this system of notation is the bonda poraja. the gadabas have very similar names for the first five numerals; but, after that, lapse into oriya, e.g., sat, at, no, das, etc. the bonda poraja numerals recorded by mr. francis are muyi, baar, gii, oo, moloi, thiri, goo, thamam, and so on up to nineteen, after which they cannot count. this system, as he points out, agrees with the one described by mr. turner as belonging to the kerang kapus. the gutob gadaba numerals recorded by mr. c. a. henderson include muititti (1 + a hand), and martitti (2 + a hand). some gadaba women wear a bustle or dress improver, called irre or kitte. this article of attire is accounted for by the following tradition. "a goddess visited a gadaba village incognito, and asked leave of one of the women to rest on a cot. she was brusquely told that the proper seat for beggars was the floor, and she consequently decreed that thenceforth all gadaba women should wear a bustle to remind them to avoid churlishness." [129] the gadaba female cloths are manufactured by themselves from cotton thread and the fibre of silloluvada or ankudi chettu (holarrhena antidysenterica) and boda luvada or bodda chettu (ficus glomerata). the fibre is carefully dried, and dyed blue or reddish-brown. the edges of the cloth are white, a blue strip comes next, while the middle portion is reddish-brown with narrow stripes of white or blue at regular intervals. the gadabas account for the dress of their women by the following legend. when rama, during his banishment, was wandering in the forests of dandaka, his wife sita accompanied him in spite of his entreaties to the contrary. it was one of the cruel terms of his stepmother kaika that rama should wear only clothing made from jungle fibre, before leaving the capital. according to the hindu religion, a virtuous wife must share both the sorrows and joys of her lord. consequently sita followed the example of rama, and wore the same kind of clothing. they then left the capital amidst the loud lamentation of the citizens. during their wanderings, they met some gadaba women, who mocked and laughed at sita. whereupon she cursed them, and condemned them to wear no other dress but the cloth made of fibre. in a note on the gadabas, [130] mr. l. lakshminarayan writes that "although mill-prepared cloths are fast replacing house-spun cloths in all communities, yet, in the case of the gadabas, there is a strong superstition which prevents the use of cloths prepared outside, particularly in regard to the cloths worn by their women. the legend (about sita) is fully believed by the gadabas, and hence their religious adherence to their particular cloth. at the time of marriage, it is absolute that the gadaba maiden should wear this fibre-made cloth, else misfortune will ruin the family. a bundle of twigs is brought, and the stems freed of leaves are bruised and twisted to loosen the bark, and are then dried for two or three days, after which the bark is ripped out and beaten down smooth with heavy sticks, to separate the bark from the fibre. the fibre is then collected, and combed down smooth, and spun into a tolerably fine twist. it is this twist that the gadaba maiden weaves in her crude loom, and prepares from it her marriage sari. according to a good custom among these people, a gadaba maiden must learn to weave her cloths before she becomes eligible for marriage. and no gadaba ever thinks of marrying a wife who cannot prepare her own cloths. men can use cotton and other cloths, whereas women cannot do so, for they are under the curse of sita. but the passion for fineries in woman is naturally so strong that the modern gadaba woman is now taking the liberty of putting cotton thread for the woof and ankudu fibre for the warp, and thus is able to turn out a more comfortable and finer cloth. but some old crones informed me that this mixed cloth is not so auspicious as that prepared wholly from the fibre." some gadaba women wear immense earrings made of long pieces of brass wire wound into a circle, which hang down from a hole in the ear, and sometimes reach to the shoulders. the wire is sold in the shandy (market) at so much a cubit. the head-dress of some of the women consists of a chaplet of oliva shells, and strings of beads of various sizes and colours, or the red and black berries of abrus precatorius, with pendants which hang over the forehead. the women also wear bead necklaces, to which a coin may sometimes be seen attached as a pendant. bracelets and rings are as a rule made of brass or copper, but sometimes silver rings are worn. toe-rings and brass or silver anklets are considered fashionable ornaments. among the olaro gadabas, the wearing of brass anklets by a woman indicates that she is married. for teaching backward children to walk, the gadabas employ a bamboo stick split so as to make a fork, the prongs of which are connected by a cross-bar. the apparatus is held by the mother, and the child, clutching the cross-bar, toddles along. among the bodo and olaro sections, the following septs occur:--kora (sun), nag (cobra), bhag (tiger), kira (parrot), and gollari (monkey). the gadabas who have settled in the plains seem to have forgotten the sept names, but will not injure or kill certain animals, e.g., the cobra. girls are as a rule married after puberty. when a young man's parents think it time for him to get married, they repair to the home of an eligible girl with rice and liquor, and say that they have come to ask a boon, but do not mention what it is. they are treated to a meal, and return home. some time afterwards, on a day fixed by the disari, three or four aged relatives of the young man go to the girl's house, and the match is fixed up. after a meal, they return to their homes. on the day appointed for the wedding ceremonies, the bridegroom's relations go to the home of the bride, taking with them a rupee towards the marriage expenses, a new cloth for the girl's mother, and half a rupee for the females of the bride's village, which is regarded as compensation for the loss of the girl. to the bride are given a glass bead necklace, and brass bangles to be worn on the right wrist. a feast follows. on the following day, the bride is conducted to the village of the bridegroom, in front of whose home a pandal (booth), made of four bamboo poles, covered with green leaves, has been erected. within the pandal, stems of the sal (shorea robusta), addagirli, and bamboo joined together, are set up as the auspicious post. beside this a grindstone is placed, on which the bride sits, with the bridegroom seated on her thighs. the females present throw turmeric powder over them, and they are bathed with turmeric-water kept ready in a new pot. they are then presented with new cloths, and their hands are joined together by the officiating disari. a feast, with much drinking, follows, and the day's proceedings conclude with a dance. on the following day, mud is heaped up near the pandal, into which the disari throws a handful of it. the remainder of the mud is carried into the pandal by the contracting couple, who pour water over it, and throw it over those who are assembled. all then proceed to a stream, and bathe. a further feast and dance follows, of which the newly married couple are spectators, without taking part in it. in a note on marriage among the parenga gadabas, mr. g. f. paddison writes that they have two forms of marriage rite, one of which (biba) is accompanied by much feasting, gifts of bullocks, toddy, rice, etc. the most interesting feature is the fight for the bride with fists. all the men on each side fight, and the bridegroom has to carry off the bride by force. then they all sit down, and feast together. in the other form (lethulia), the couple go off together to the jungle, and, when they return, pay twenty rupees, or whatever they can afford, to the girl's father as a fine. a dinner and regular marriage follow elopement and payment of the fine. the ghorojavai system, according to which a man works for a stated period for his future father-in-law, is practiced by the gadabas. but a cash payment is said to be now substituted for service. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and a younger brother may marry the widow of his elder brother. if she does not marry him, the second husband has to pay a sum of money, called in oriya the rand tonka, to him. when a man divorces his wife, her relations are summoned, and he pays her two rupees before sending her away. of this sum, one rupee is paid as buchni for suspicion regarding her chastity, and the other as chatni for driving her away. a divorced woman may remarry. in the hills, the village headman is called janni or nayako, and in the plains naidado. he is assisted by a kirasani, who is also the caste priest. concerning the religion of the gadabas, mr. h. d. taylor writes [131] that it is "simple, and consists of feasts at stated intervals. the chief festival is ittakaparva, or hunting feast, in march and april. on this occasion, the whole male population turns out to hunt, and, if they return unsuccessful, the women pelt them with cow-dung on their return to the village; if, however, successful, they have their revenge upon the women in another way. the chief deities (though spoken of generally under the term devata or mahaprabhu) are ganga devi or takurani, iswara or mouli, bhairava, and jhankara. it is iswara or mouli who is worshipped at chaitra. jhankara is the god of land, rainfall and crops, and a cow is sacrificed to him. there are not, as a rule, temples, but the puja (worship) place consists of a sacred grove surrounded with a circle of stones, which takes the name of jhankara from the god to whom puja is performed. ganga devi, iswara and mouli have temples at certain places, but as a rule there is no building, and the site of puja is marked by trees and stones. to iswara a she-buffalo is sacrificed at chaitra. to the other devatas cocks and goats are sacrificed. ganga devi or takurani is the goddess of life and health, both of men and cattle; to her pigs, goats, and pigeons are sacrificed. there are one or two curious superstitions. if a member of the caste is supposed to be possessed of a devil, he or she is abused and beaten by other members of the caste until the devil is cast out. in some parts the superstition is that a piece of wild buffalo horn buried in the ground of the village will avert or cure cattle disease." sometimes a sal or kosangi tree is planted, and surrounded by a bamboo hedge. it is worshipped with animal sacrifices at harvest time, and the kirasani acts as priest. "there is," mr. g. f. paddison writes, "rather a curious custom in connection with a village goddess. close to her shrine a swing is kept. on this swing, once a year at the great village festival, thorns are placed, and the village priest or priestess sits on them without harm. if the pujari is a male, he has been made neuter. but, if the village is not fortunate enough to possess a eunuch, a woman performs the ceremony. [at the fire-walking ceremony at nuvagode in ganjam, the priest sits on a thorny swing, and is endowed with prophetic powers.] when there is small-pox or other epidemic disease in a village, a little go-cart is built, composed of a box on legs fixed to a small board on wheels. in this box is placed a little clay image, or anything else holy, and carried away to a distant place, and left there. a white flag is hoisted, which looks like quarantine, but is really intended, i think, to draw the goddess back to her shrine. vaccination is regarded as a religious ceremony, and the gadabas, i believe, invariably present the vaccinator as the officiating priest with rice." the gadabas, like other hill tribes, name their children after the day of the week on which they are born. on the plains, however, some give their children low-country names, e.g., ramudu, lachigadu, arjanna, etc. males are, as a rule, burnt; but, if a person dies in the night or on a rainy day, the corpse is sometimes buried. women and children are usually buried, presumably because they are not thought worth the fuel necessary for cremation. only relations are permitted to touch a corpse. death pollution is observed for three days, during which the caste occupation must not be engaged in. stone slabs are erected to the memory of the dead, and sacrifices are offered to them now and again. the gadabas have a devil dance, which they are willing to perform before strangers in return for a small present. it has been thus described by captain glasfurd. [132] "at the time of the dusserah, holi, and other holidays, both men and women dance to the music of a fife and drum. sometimes they form a ring by joining hands all round, and with a long hop spring towards the centre, and then hop back to the full extent of their arms, while they at the same time keep circling round and round. at other times, the women dance singly or in pairs, their hands resting on each other's wrists. when fatigued, they cease dancing, and sing. a man steps out of the crowd, and sings a verse or two impromptu. one of the women rejoins, and they sing at each other for a short time. the point of these songs appears to consist in giving the sharpest rejoinder to each other. the woman reflects upon the man's ungainly appearance and want of skill as a cultivator or huntsman, and the man retorts by reproaching her with her ugliness and slatternly habits." in connection with dancing, mr. henderson writes that "all the gadaba dancing i have seen was the same as that of the porjas, and consisted of a sort of women's march, at times accompanied by a few men who wander round, and occasionally form a ring through which the line of women passes. sometimes the men get on each other's shoulders, and so form a sort of two-storied pyramid. the women's song is comparatively quite melodious." in recent years, some gadabas have emigrated to assam, to work in the tea-gardens. but emigration has now stopped by edict. for the information contained in this article, i am mainly indebted to notes by mr. c. a. henderson, mr. w. francis, mr. c. hayavadana rao, and the kumara raja of bobbili. gadi (cart).--an exogamous sept of mala. gadidhe kandla (donkey's eyes).--an exogamous sept of boya. gadu.--a common suffix to the name of individuals among various telugu classes, e.g., ramigadu, subbigadu. gaduge (throne).--a gotra of kurni. gaita.--a sub-division of konda razu. gajjal (a small bell).--a sub-division of toreya. gali.--gali or galollu, meaning wind, devil, or spirit, is recorded as an exogamous sept of kamma, kuruba, and mala. gamalla.--the gamallas are a class of toddy-drawers, and distillers and vendors of arrack in the telugu country and are supposed to be idigas who have bettered themselves, and separated from that caste. both gamallas and idigas worship the deity kattamayya. at the census, 1891, some returned idiga as their sub-division. in the cuddapah district some toddy-drawers style themselves asilivandlu. possibly the idiga, gamalla, and asili toddy-drawing classes only represent three endogamous sections of a single caste. in the nellore district, the toddy-drawers style themselves gamandla or gavandlavandlu, and say that they have one gotra kaumandlapu or gaumandlapu. it is probable that the name gamandla or gavandla has been coined by brahman purohits, to connect the caste with kaumandala maharishi of the puranas. the gamallas say that they were created to draw toddy by the sage kavundinya, and that they belong to the gaundla varnam (caste). i am informed that a puranam, called gamandla or gamudi puranam, has been created. in the social scale, the toddy-drawers appear to occupy a higher position in the telugu than in the tamil country, and they are sometimes said to be telagas or balijas, who have adopted toddy-drawing as a profession. the more prosperous members of the community are toddy and arrack (liquor) shop-keepers, and the poorer members extract toddy from the palm-trees. the kapus of the nellore district employ gamallas as their cooks and domestic servants, and all menial service and cooking are done by gamallas in the houses of kapus on the occasion of festivals and marriages. concerning the origin of the gamallas, the following legend is current. a rishi was doing penance by standing on his head, and, like the chamæleon, living on light and air, instead of food. according to some, the rishi was kaumandla, while others do not know his name. an idiga girl passed by the rishi, carrying a pot filled with toddy, which polluted the air, so that the rishi could not continue the penance. being struck with the girl's beauty, he followed her to her home, and pointed out to her that she was the cause of his mishap. he asked her to become his wife, but she announced that she was already married. eventually, however, they became secretly united, and, in consequence, the whole town caught fire. the girl's husband, returning home with some toddy, was amazed at the sight, and she, to protect him, hid the rishi in a vat. into this vat the husband poured the toddy, which made the rishi breathe hard, so that the toddy, for the first time on record, began to foam. noticing this, the husband found a lingam, into which the rishi had been transformed. this lingam was worshipped by the gamandlas, and they are at the present day saivites. like other telugu castes, the gamallas have exogamous septs, such as parvathala (hills), kudumalu (a cake), annam (cooked rice), and pandhi (pig). among gotras, the following may be noted:--kavundinya, karunya, vachalya, and surapandesvara (sura panda, toddy pot). marriage is, as a rule, adult, and remarriage of widows is permitted, though the tendency at the present day is to abandon the practice. at the wedding of a widow, the bottu (marriage badge) is tied round her neck at night. prior to the marriage ceremony, the worship of female ancestors must be performed. a new female cloth, betel, and flowers, are placed on a tray, and worshipped by the mothers of the contracting couple. the cloth is given as a present to a sister or other near relation of the bride or bridegroom. the dead are cremated, and the widow breaks one or two of her bangles. fire must be carried to the burning-ground by the father of the deceased, if he is alive. on the day following cremation, the hot embers are extinguished, and the ashes collected, and shaped into an effigy, near the head of which three conical masses of mud and ashes are set up. to these representatives of rudra, yama, and the spirit of the departed, cooked rice and vegetables are offered up on three leaves. one of the leaves is given to the jangam, who officiates at the rite, another to a washerman, and the third is left, so that the food on it may be eaten by crows. all, who are assembled, wait till these birds collect, and the ashes are finally poured on a tree. on the ninth, tenth, or eleventh day after death, a ceremony called the peddadinam (big day) is performed. cooked rice, curry, meat, and other things, are placed on a leaf inside the house. sitting near this leaf, the widow weeps and breaks one or two of the glass bangles, which she wears on the wrist. the food is then taken to a stream or tank (pond), where the agnates, after shaving, bathing, and purification, make an effigy of the dead person on the ground. close to this cooked rice and vegetables are placed on three leaves, and offered to the effigy. the widow's remaining bangles are broken, and she is presented with a new cloth, called munda koka (widow's cloth) as a sign of her condition. all gamallas, rich or poor, engage on this occasion the services of mala pambalas and bainedus (musicians and story-tellers) to recite the story of the goddess ankamma. the performance is called ankamma kolupu. some of the malas make on the ground a design, called muggu, while the others play on the drum, and carry out the recitation. the design must be made in five colours, green (leaves of cassia auriculata), white (rice flour), red (turmeric and lime), yellow (turmeric), and black (burnt rice-husk). it represents a male and female figure (virulu, heroes), who are supposed to be the person whose peddadinam is being celebrated, and an ancestor of the opposite sex. if the family can afford it, other designs, for example of ankamma, are also drawn. on the completion of the muggu, cocoanuts, rice, and betel are offered, and a fowl is sacrificed. like many other telugu castes, the gamallas have a class of beggars, called eneti, attached to them, for whom a subscription is raised when they turn up. the gamallas are mostly saivites, and their priests are aradhya brahmans, i.e., telugu brahmans, who have adopted some of the customs of the lingayats. they worship a variety of gods and goddesses, who include potharaju, katamayya, gangamma, mathamma, and thallamma, or thadlamma. once or twice during the year, a pot of toddy is brought from every house to the shrine of thallamma, and the liquor contained in some of the pots is poured on the floor, and the remainder given to those assembled, irrespective of caste. at the festival of dipavali, the celebrants bathe in the early morning, and go, in wet clothes, to an ant-hill, before which they prostrate themselves, and pour a little water into one of the holes. round the hill they wind five turns of cotton thread, and return home. subsequently they come once more to the ant-hill with a lamp made of flour paste. carrying the light, they go thrice or five times round the hill, and throw into a hole therein split pulse (phaseolus mungo). during the whole of this day they fast. on the following morning they again go to the hill, pour milk into it, and snap the threads wound round it. at the festival of sankaranthi, the principal member of every family observes the worship of ancestors. various articles are placed in a room on leaf plates representing the ancestors, who are worshipped by the celebrant after he has been purified by bathing. taking a little of the food from each leaf, he places it on a single leaf, which is worshipped, and placed in the court-yard, so that the crows may partake thereof. the remainder of the food is distributed among the members of the family. at the census, 1901, some gamallas returned themselves as settigadu (chetti). gampa (basket).--a sub-division of kamma and telaga, and an exogamous sept of odde. the name, among the kammas, refers to a deadly struggle at gandikota, in which some escaped by hiding in baskets. gampa dhompti is the name of a sub-division of the madigas, whose marriage offerings to the god are placed in a basket. ganayata.--recorded, at times of census, as a sub-division of lingayat jangams in the nellore, cuddapah, and kurnool districts. the sanskrit word ganam means siva's attendants. gandham (sandal paste).--an exogamous sept of balijas, one sub-division of whom is called gandhavallu or gandhapodi (sandal perfume sellers). the paste made by rubbing sandal (santalum album) wood on a stone with water is widely used in connection with hindu ceremonial observance. a brahman, for example, after worshipping, smears his body with the paste. at festivals, and other ceremonial occasions, sandal paste is distributed to guests along with betel leaves and areca nuts (pan-supari). gandhapodi also occurs as an exogamous sept of boya. gandikota.--a sub-division of kamma. gandi kottei is recorded [133] as a sub-division of kapu or reddi, "found only in madura and tinnevelly, and also known simply as kottei reddis. kottei is the tamil for a fort, the corresponding telugu word being kota. their females do not appear in public." gandla.--see ganiga. gangadikara.--gangadikara, said doubtfully to mean those who lived on the banks of the ganges, has been recorded as a sub-division of the holeyas, okkiliyans, and vakkaligas. the name probably refers to gangavadi, the country of the gangas, a royal line which ruled over the greater part of the modern mysore in former times. gangeddu.--the gangeddulu are a class of mendicants, who travel about the country exhibiting performing bulls. "the exhibition of sacred bulls, known as gangeddulu (ganga's bulls) is very common in the towns and villages of southern india. the presence of the swami (god) bull, as he is popularly called, is made known by his keeper playing on a small drum, which emits a dismal, booming sound, in the intervals of addressing his dumb companion in a piercing voice. the bull is led about from house to house, and made to go through several tricks, which he does with evident zest. the keeper in the meanwhile talks to him, and puts questions to him, to which he replies by shakes of his head. he will kneel down in an attitude of worship, with his head inclined to the ground, or he will approach you, and gently rub his nozzle against your hand. usually a diminutive cow accompanies the bull, and, like him, is grandly attired, and resounds with tinkling bells. she is introduced to the spectators as the bull's ammagaru, that is consort or spouse. then a scene between the pair is enacted, the gist of which is that the husband is displeased with the wife, and declines to hold converse with her. as a result of the difference, he resolves to go away, and stalks off in high dudgeon. the keeper attempts to make peace between them, and is rewarded by being charged by the irate husband and knocked down, though no harm is done to him as the animal's horns are padded. the keeper rises, shakes himself, and complains woefully of the treatment he has received. indeed, it is only after a great deal of coaxing and wheedling, and promises of buying him endless quantities of rice cakes and other bazaar delicacies, that the bull condescends to return, and a reconciliation is effected." for the following note, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the gangeddulu, erudandis, or perumal madukkarans, often acquire and train deformed male calves. it is a popular superstition that for a family to keep such animals in its possession is to court destruction. consequently, when one is born, information is sent to a gangeddu, who, on his arrival, is sumptuously fed. the calf is then washed, and a new cloth tied to its horns. a small present of money is made to the gangeddu, and he takes the animal away. temples sometimes dispose of their deformed calves in a similar manner. when the trained animals are exhibited in public, the deformity, which is the hall-mark of a genuine gangeddu, is shown, usually at the commencement of the performance, or at any time at the bidding of any of the spectators. it is only after the exhibition of the deformity, which is usually concealed within the trappings of the animal, that remuneration, generally in kind, or in old rags and copper coins, is doled out to them. villagers worship the bulls, when they happen to pass their houses, and, as soon as they enter a village, the females wash the feet of the animals with milk and water. they then adorn their foreheads with kunkumam (aniline powder) and turmeric paste, and burn incense and camphor before them. cocoanuts, plantains, betel leaves and areca nuts, and money are also offered in a plate, and are the perquisite of the gangeddu. the bulls are thus venerated, as they represent basavanna, the sacred bull which is the vehicle of siva. the language of the gangeddulu is telugu, but those who have migrated to the tamil country also speak the language of the south. they profess the vaishnavite religion, and are of the tengalai persuasion. they have brahman gurus (religious preceptors), who reside at srirangam, tirupati, and other places. by them the gangeddulu are branded on the shoulder with the emblems of the chank and chakram, and initiated into the mysteries of the dasari priesthood. but, though they call themselves dasaris, the gangeddulu have no marital or other connection with the dasaris. in addition to training and exhibiting the performing bulls and cultivating land, the gangeddulu officiate as dasaris in the month of peratasi (september-october). their principal insignia of office are the chank shell, which is blown to announce their arrival, and the iron lamp (called garudasthambha), which is kept burning, and is said to represent venkatesa, the presiding deity at tirupati. as dasaris, little is expected of them, except offering fruits to the god, and assisting at funerals. several proverbs, of which the following are examples, are current concerning this aspect of their life:-the mistake of a dasari is excused with an apology. the songs of a dasari are known only to the god, i.e., they are unintelligible and unreal. for the song of a dasari alms are the payment, i.e., that is all the song is worth. sing again what you have sung, oh! dasari with dirty teeth. when a beggar was asked whether he was a dasari or a jangam, he replied that it depends on the next village. this in reference to his being a time-server. a gangeddu mendicant is, like his bulls, picturesquely attired. he is very punctilious about having his sect-mark on the forehead, invariably wears a turban, and his body is clothed in a long white cloth robe. when going about with the performing bulls, the gangeddulu generally travel in pairs, one carrying a drum, and the other a bell-metal gong. one of them holds in one hand the nose-rope of the bull, and in the other the whip. the bulls are dressed up in a patch work quilt with two eye-holes in it. of names which are given to the animals, rama and lakshmana are very popular. the tameness of the bulls is referred to in the proverb "as mild as a gangeddu." the perumal madukkarans, or perumal erudukkarans, both of which names indicate those who lead bulls about, are found chiefly in the chingleput, north and south arcot districts. "every now and then," mr. s. m. natesa sastri writes, [134] "throughout madras, a man dressed up as a buffoon is to be seen leading about a bull, as fantastically got up as himself with cowries (cypræa arabica shells) and rags of many colours, from door to door. the bull is called in tamil perumal erudu, and in telugu ganga eddu, the former meaning vishnu's bull and the latter ganga's bull. the origin of the first is given in a legend, but that of the last is not clear. the conductors of these bulls are neatherds of high caste, called pu idaiyan, i.e., flower neatherds (see idaiyan), and come from villages in the north and south arcot districts. they are a simple and ignorant set, who firmly believe that their occupation arises out of a command from the great god venkatachalapati, the lord of the venkatachala near tirupaddi (tirupati) in the north arcot district. their legend is as follows. among the habitual gifts to the venkatachala temple at tirupaddi were all the freaks of nature of the neighbourhood as exhibited in cattle, such as two-tailed cows, five-legged bulls, four-horned calves, and so on. the pu idaiyans, whose original duty was to string flowers for the temple, were set to graze these abortions. now to graze cows is an honour, but to tend such creatures as these the pu idaiyans regarded as a sin. so they prayed to venkatachalapati to show them how they could purge it away. on this, the god gave them a bull called after himself the perumal bull and said: 'my sons, if you take as much care of this bull as you would of your own children, and lead it from house to house, begging its food, your sin will be washed away.' ever since then they have been purging themselves of their original sin. the process is this. the bull leader takes it from house to house, and puts it questions, and the animal shakes its head in reply. this is proof positive that it can reason. the fact is the animal is bought when young for a small sum, and brought up to its profession. long practice has made its purchasers experts in selecting the animals that will suit them. after purchase the training commences, which consists in pinching the animal's ears whenever it is given bran, and it soon learns to shake its head at the sight of bran. i need hardly say that a handful of bran is ready in its conductor's hands when the questions are put to it. it is also taught to butt at any person that speaks angrily to it. as regards the offerings made to these people, one-sixth goes to feeding the bulls, and the remaining five-sixths to the conductors. they look upon it as 'good work', but the village boys and girls think it the greatest fun in the world to watch its performances, and the advent of a vishnu's bull is hailed by the youngsters with the greatest delight." gangimakkalu.--gangimakkalu, or gangaputra, meaning children or sons of ganga, the goddess of water, is the name of a sub-division of kabbera. the allied gangavamsamu, or people of ganga, is a name for jalaris. ganiga or gandla.--the name ganiga is derived from the telugu ganuga, meaning an oil-mill. the ganigas are said [135] to be "the oil pressers of the canarese people, corresponding to the telugu gandla and the tamil vaniyan. this caste is sub-divided into three sections, none of whom eat together or intermarry. these sections are the hegganigas, who yoke two oxen to a stone oil-mill; kirganigas, who make oil in wooden mills; and ontiyeddu ganigas, who yoke only one animal to the mill. they are collectively known as jotipans or jotinagarams (people of the city of light). in addition to pressing oil, they also make palm-leaf umbrellas, cultivate land, and work as labourers. they employ brahmans to perform their ceremonies. their guru is the head of the vyasaraya mutt at anegundi. early marriage is practiced. widow remarriage is not allowed. they eat fish, mutton, and fowls, but do not drink liquor. chetti is their title." in the madras census report, 1891, it is stated that the guru of the ganigas is the head of the mutt at sringeri, and that they employ havig brahmans for their ceremonies. sringeri is the name of a smarta (saivite) mutt or religious institution at several places, such as tanjore and kumbakonam; and there is a town of this name in mysore, from which the mutt derives its name. concerning the ganigas of the mysore province, mr. v. n. narasimmiyengar writes as follows. [136] "the account locally obtained connects this caste with the nagartas, as forming the leading communities of the left-hand faction, in opposition to the lingayats and other castes composing the right-hand faction. caste supremacy is ever associated in india with preternatural mythology. if the average brahman traces his nobility literally to the face of brahma, according to the vedic purusha sukta, every other castelet claims a patent of superiority in a similar miraculous origin. the ganigas allege that they immigrated from the north at a time beyond living memory. a mysore noble, named mallaraje ars, established and first peopled the pete (market town) of bangalore, when the ganigas first came there, followed by the nagartas, who are said to have been co-emigrants with the ganigas. mallaraj made sattis and yajamans (headmen) of the principal members of the two castes, and exempted them from the house-tax. the ganigas are both vaishnavites and saivites. their guru is known as dharmasivacharsvami in the madras presidency, and certain gotras (family names) are said to be common to the ganigas and nagartas, but they never eat together or intermarry. the ganigas claim the peculiar privilege of following the vishnu image or car processions, throughout the province, with flags exhibiting the figures of hanuman and garuda, and torches. these insignia are alleged to have been aboriginally given to an ancestor, named siriyala satti, by rama, as a reward for a valuable gem presented by him. the ganigas call themselves dharmasivachar vaisyas like the nagartas, and the feud between them used often to culminate in much bitter unpleasantness. the order includes a small division of the linga-wearing oilmongers, known as sajjana (good men), whose population is a small fraction of the community. the sajjanas, however, hold no social intercourse of any kind with the other sub-divisions." the ganigas of sandur, in the little maratha state of that name, returned yenne (oil) and kallu (stone) as sub-divisions. the average cephalic index of these ganigas was very high, being 80.5 as against 77.6 for the ganigas of mysore city. "the oil-mill of the ganigas is," mr. w. francis writes, [137] "a sort of large wooden mortar, usually formed out of the heart of a tamarind tree, and firmly imbedded in the ground. a wooden cylinder, shod with iron, fits roughly into the cavity. a cross beam is lashed to this in such a way that one end is close to the ground, and to this a pair of bullocks or buffaloes are fastened. by an arrangement of pullies, the pressure of the cylinder can be increased at pleasure. as the bullocks go round the trough, the seeds are crushed by the action of the cylinder, so that the expressed oil falls to the bottom, while the residuum, as oil-cake, adheres to the side of the mortar." the following note refers to the onteddu (single bullock) ganigas, who claim superiority over those who employ two bullocks in working their oil-mills. the former belong to the right-hand, and the latter to the left-hand faction. among them are various sub-divisions, of which the deva and onteddu may intermarry, while the kasi, teli (gingelly: sesamum), and chandanapu are endogamous. like other telugu castes they have gotras, some of which are interesting, as there are certain prohibitions connected with them. for example, members of the badranollu and balanollu gotras may not cut the tree erythroxylon monogynum. in like manner, members of the viranollu and viththanollu gotras are forbidden to cut feronia elephantum, and those of the vedanollu gotra to cut nyctanthes arbor-tristis. members of certain other gotras do not cultivate turmeric, sugarcane, or the millet (panicum miliare). the onteddu ganigas are saivites, and disciples of lingayat brahmans (aradhyas). some, however, wear the sacred thread, and others bear on the forehead the red streak of the vaishnavites. in some places, their special deity is chaudeswara, who is the god of some of the weaving classes. in the kistna district they claim mallikarjunasvami as their deity. their primary occupation is oil-pressing, but some are traders in cotton, oil-seeds, etc., or cultivators. in some localities, the animal which works the oil-mill is not blindfolded, while it is in others, because, it is said, it would otherwise fall down after a few revolutions. crushing gingelly oil is, according to the shastras, a sinful act, but condoned inasmuch as devatas use this oil for lamps, and men in temples. for the removal of the oil-cake, or turning the seeds in the mill, the left hand only is used. burning the tongue with a piece of gold, as a means of purification after some offence has been committed, is a common practice. the marriage rites conform, for the most part, to the telugu type. but, while the wrist thread is being tied on, common salt is held in the hand. a dagger (baku) is then given to the bridegroom, who keeps it with him till the conclusion of the ceremonies. on the wedding day, the bridegroom wears the sacred thread. the tali is not an ordinary bottu, but a thread composed of 101 thin strings, which is removed on the last day, and replaced by a bottu. on the third day, the bride and bridegroom worship a jammi tree (prosopis spicigera), and the latter, removing his sacred thread, throws it on the tree. five young men, called bala dasulu, also worship the tree, and, if they are wearing the sacred thread, throw it thereon. the dead are as a rule buried, in a sitting posture if the deceased was an orthodox saivite. if a young man dies a bachelor, the corpse is married to an arka plant (calotropis gigantea), and decorated with a wreath made of the flowers thereof. the final death ceremonies are performed on the eleventh day. food is offered to crows and the soul of the dead person, who is represented by a wooden post dressed with his clothes. the bangles of a widow are broken near the post, which is finally thrown into a tank or stream. ganiga further occurs as an occupational name for lingayat oil-vendors, and for mogers who are employed as oil-pressers. ganta.--ganta or gantla, meaning a bell, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of kamma and balija. gantelavaru, or men of the bell, is given by mr. s. m. natesa sastri [138] as the family name of one section of the donga (thieving) dasaris, and of the kabberas, who are said to join the ranks of this criminal class. gantugazula occurs, in the mysore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of koracha. in the vizagapatam manual, the tiragati gantlavallu are described as repairing hand-mills, catching antelopes, and selling their skins. ganti (a hole pierced in the ear-lobe).--an exogamous sept of gudala. garadi.--garadi or garadiga is the name of a class of mendicants in the telugu country and mysore who are snake-charmers, practice sleight of hand, and perform various juggling and mountebank tricks. garappa (dry land).--a synonym of challa yanadi. gatti.--a small caste of cultivators, found chiefly near kumbla and someswara in the kasaragod taluk of south canara. other names for the caste are poladava and holadava, both signifying men of the field. like the bants, they follow the aliya santana law of inheritance (in the female line), have exogamous septs or balis, and, on the day of the final death ceremonies, construct car-like structures, if the deceased was an important personage in the community. the bants and gattis interdine, but do not intermarry. the headman of the gattis is called gurikara. the god of the someswara temple is regarded as the caste deity, and every family has to pay an annual fee of four annas to this temple. failure to do so would entail excommunication. gattu (bank or mound).--an exogamous sept of devanga. gaud.--a title of sadar. gauda.--the gaudas or gaudos are a large caste of canarese cultivators and cattle-breeders. "gauda and gaudo," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [139] "are really two distinct castes, the former being canarese and the latter uriya. each name is, however, spelt both ways. the two names are, i presume, etymologically the same. the ordinary derivation is from the sanskrit go, a cow, but dr. gustav oppert contends [140] that the root of gauda is a dravidian word meaning a mountain. among the canarese, and to a less extent among the uriyas also, the word is used in an honorific sense, a custom which is difficult to account for if dr. oppert's philology is correct." "gaudas," mr. stuart writes further, [141] "also called halvaklumakkalu (children of the milk class), are very numerously represented in the south canara district. they have a somewhat elaborate system of caste government. in every village there are two headmen, the grama gauda and the vattu or gattu gauda. for every group of eight or nine villages there is another head called the magane gauda, and for every nine maganes there is a yet higher authority called the kattemaneyava. the caste is divided into eighteen baris or balis, which are of the usual exogamous character. the names of some of these are as follows: bangara (gold), nandara, malara (a bundle of glass bangles, as carried about for sale), salu, hemmana (pride or conceit), kabru, goli (portulaca oleracea, a pot-herb), basruvogaru (basru, belly), balasanna, and karmannaya. marriage is usually adult, and sexual license before marriage with a member of the caste is tolerated, though nominally condemned. the dhare form of marriage (see bant) is used, but the bridal pair hold in their joined hands five betel leaves, one areca nut and four annas, and, after the water has been poured, the bridegroom ties a tali to the neck of the bride. divorce is permitted freely, and divorced wives and widows can marry again. a widow with children, however, should marry only her late husband's elder brother. if she marries any one else, the members of her former husband's family will not even drink water that has been touched by her. they burn their dead. on the third day, the ashes are made into the form of a man, which is cut in two, buried, and a mound made over it. in the house two planks are placed on the ground, and covered with a cloth. on one of these, a vessel containing milk is placed, and on the other a lamp, rice, cocoanut, pumpkin, etc., are deposited. the agnates and some boys go round the plank three times, and afterwards go to the mound, taking with them the various articles in a cloth. three plantain leaves are spread in front of the mound, and cooked food, etc., placed thereon. four posts are set up round the mound, and cloths stretched over them, and placed round the sides. on the sixteenth day, sixteen plantain leaves are placed in a row, and one leaf is laid apart. cakes, cooked fowl's flesh, toddy and arrack (liquor) are placed on the leaves in small leaf-cups. the assembled agnates then say "we have done everything as we should do, and so our ancestors who have died must take the man who is now dead to their regions. i put the leaf which is apart in the same row with the sixteen leaves." "once a year, in the month of mituna (june-july), the gaudas perform a ceremony for the propitiation of all deceased ancestors. they have a special preference for venkataramaswami, to whom they make money offerings once a year in september. they employ brahmins to give them sacred water when they are under pollution, but they do not seek their services for ordinary ceremonies. they are, for the most part, farmers, but some few are labourers. the latter receive three or four seers of paddy a day as wages. their house language is tulu in some places, and canarese in others, but all follow the ordinary system of inheritance, and not the custom of descent through females. their title is gauda." as bearing on the superstitious beliefs of the people of south canara, the following case, which was tried before the sessions judge in 1908, may be cited. a young gauda girl became pregnant by her brother-in-law. after three days' labour, the child was born. the accused, who was the mother of the girl, was the midwife. finding the delivery very difficult, she sent for a person named korapulu to come and help her. the child was, as they thought, still-born. on its head was a red protuberance like a ball; round each of its forearms were two or three red bands; the eyes and ears were fixed very high in the head; and the eyes, nose, and mouth were abnormally large. korapulu and the girl's younger sister at once carried the mother out of the out-house lest the devil child should do her harm or kill her. the accused called for a man named isuf saiba, who was standing in the yard outside. he came in, and she asked him to call some of the neighbours, to decide what to do. the child, she said, was a devil child, and must be cut and killed, lest it should devour its mother. while they were looking at the child, it began to move and roll its eyes about, and turn on the ground. it is a belief of the villagers that such a devil child, when born and brought in contact with the air, rapidly grows, and causes great trouble, usually killing the mother, and sometimes killing all the inmates of the house. the accused told isuf saiba to cover the child with a vessel, which he did. then there was a sound from inside the vessel, either of the child moving or making some sound with its mouth. the accused then put her hand under the vessel, dragged the child half way out, and then, while isuf saiba pressed the edge of the earthenware vessel on the abdomen of the child, the accused took a knife, and cut the body in half. when the body was cut in two, there was no blood, but a mossy green liquid, or a black liquid, oozed out. the accused got two areca leaves, and put one piece of the child on one, and one on the other, and told isuf saiba to get a spade, and come and bury them. so they went out into the jungle close to the house, and isuf saiba dug two holes about half a yard deep, one on one hillock, and one on another. in these two holes the two pieces of the child were separately buried. the object of this was to prevent the two pieces joining together again, in which case the united devil child would have come out of the grave, and gone to kill its mother. the birth and death of this devil child were not kept secret, but were known throughout the village. gauda or gaudu further occurs as a title of idiga, kuruba, and vakkaliga, an exogamous sept and gotra of kuruba and kurni, and a sub-division of golla. gaudi.--it is recorded, in the mysore census report, 1901, that a maleru (temple servant) woman, who cohabits with one of a lower class than her own, is degraded into a gaudi. gaudo.--the gaudos are described, in the madras census reports, 1891 and 1901, as "the great pastoral caste of the ganjam oriyas. like those of all the cowherd classes, its members say that they are descended from the yadava tribe, in which krishna was born (cf. idaiyan). the majority of the gaudos in the northern districts are now cultivators, but there is evidence that the keeping and breeding of cattle is their traditional occupation. the most important sub-division is sollokhondia; many of them are herdsmen and milk-sellers. fourteen sub-divisions have been reported. they are apoto, behara, bolodiya, dongayato, dumalo, gopopuriya, kolata, komiriya, kusilya, ladia, madhurapurya, mogotho, pattilia, and sollokhondia." in the census report, 1871, it is noted that "there are many gowdus of high social standing, who have gotten unto themselves much wealth in cattle. these men own, in many instances, large herds of buffaloes, which, being reared in the boundless pastures of the hills, are much prized by the cartmen of the low country for draught purposes." of the sub-division noted above, behara is apparently a title only. bolodiya is the name of a section of the tellis, who use pack-bullocks (bolodi, a bull) for carrying grain about the country. pattilia must be a mistake for pachilia. the sections among the gaudos which are recognised by all castes in the ganjam district are sollokhondia, bhatta, gopopuriya, madhurapuriya, mogotho, apoto, and pachilia. these, with the exception of gopopuriya and madhurapuriya, seem to be endogamous sub-divisions. the bhatta gaudos go by the name of gopopuriya in some places and madhurapuriya in others, both these names being connected with the legendary history of the origin of the caste. the apoto and bhatta gaudos are sometimes employed as palanquin-bearers. the mogotho gaudos, who live on the hills, are regarded as an inferior section, because they do not abstain from eating fowls. the sollokhondia section is regarded as superior, and consequently all oriya castes, brahman and non-brahman, will accept water at the hands of members thereof. an orthodox oriya non-brahman, and all oriya brahmans, will not receive water from telugu or tamil brahmans, whom they call komma brahmans, komma being a corrupt form of karma, i.e., brahmans who are strict in the observance of the various karmas (ceremonial rites). the sollokhondia gaudos are agriculturists, rear cattle and sheep, and sometimes earn a living by driving carts. they have gotras, among which the most common are moiro (peacock), nagasiro (cobra), and kochimo (tortoise). their caste council is presided over by a hereditary headman called mahankudo, who is assisted by a bhollobaya, desiya, and khorsodha or dhondia. the khorsodha is the caste servant, and the desiya eats with a delinquent who is received back into the fold after he has been tried by the council. the sollokhondias are for the most part paramarthos, i.e., followers of the chaitanya form of vaishnavism. they show a partiality for the worship of jagannathaswami, and various takuranis (village deities) are also reverenced. bairagis are the caste priests. the marriage prohibitions among the sollokhondias are those which hold good among many oriya castes, but marriage with the maternal uncle's daughter (menarikam) is sometimes practiced. on the evening preceding the marriage day (bibha), after a feast, the bride and bridegroom's parties go to a temple, taking with them all the articles which are to be used in connection with the marriage ceremonial. on their way back, seven married girls, carrying seven vessels, go to seven houses, and beg water, which is used by the bridal couple for their baths on the following day. either on the day before the wedding day, or on the bibha day, the bridegroom is shaved, and the bride's nails are pared. sometimes a little of the hair of her forehead is also cut off. the marriage rites do not materially differ from those of the bhondaris (q.v.). the dead, excepting young children, are burnt. the eldest son carries a pot of fire to the burning ground. on the day following cremation, the mourners revisit the spot, and, after the fire has been extinguished, make an image of a man with the ashes on the spot where the corpse was burnt. to this image food is offered. seven small flags, made of cloths dyed with turmeric, are stuck into the shoulders, abdomen, legs, and head of the image. a fragment of calcined bone is carried away, put into a lump of cow-dung, and kept near the house of the deceased, or near a tank (pond). on the ninth day after death, towards evening, a bamboo, split or spliced into four at one end, is set up in the ground outside the house beneath the projecting roof, and on it a pot filled with water is placed. on the spot where the deceased breathed his last, a lamp is kept. a hole is made in the bottom of the pot, and, after food has been offered to the dead man, the pot is thrown into a tank. on the tenth day, a ceremony is performed on a tank bund (embankment). the piece of bone, which has been preserved, is removed from its cow-dung case, and food, fruits, etc., are offered to it, and thrown into the tank. the bone is taken home, and buried near the house, food being offered to it until the twelfth day. on the eleventh day, all the agnates bathe, and are touched with ghi (clarified butter) as a sign of purification. sradh (memorial service) is performed once a year on sankaranthi (pongal) day. food, in the form of balls, is placed on leaves in the backyard, and offered to the ancestors. some food is also thrown up into the air. all sections of the gaudos have adopted infant marriage. if a girl fails to secure a husband before she attains puberty, she has to go through a form of marriage called dharma bibha, in which the bridegroom is, among the sollokhondias, represented by an old man, preferably the girl's grandfather, and among the other sections by a sahada or shadi tree (streblus asper) or an arrow (khando). like various other oriya castes, the gaudos worship the goddess lakshmi on thursdays in the month of november, which are called lakshmi varam, or lakshmi's day. the goddess is represented by a basket filled with grain, whereon some place a hair ball, which has been vomited by a cow. the ball is called gaya panghula, and is usually one or two inches in diameter. the owner of a cow which has vomited such a ball regards it as a propitious augury for the prosperity of his family. a feast is held on the day on which the ball is vomited, and, after the ball has been worshipped, it is carefully wrapped up, and kept in a box, in which it remains till it is required for further worship. some people believe that the ball continues to grow year by year, and regard this as a very good sign. bulls are said not to vomit the balls, and only very few cows do so. gauliar.--a synonym for lingayat gollas, or kannadiyans. gaundala.--a synonym of gamalla. gauri.--a division of okkiliyan, named after gauri, siva's consort. the equivalent gaura occurs among the komatis, and gauriga among the medaras. one division of the kabberas is called gaurimakkalu, or sons of gauri. gautama.--a brahmanical gotra adopted by bhatrazus, khatris, and kondaiyamkottai maravans. gautama was a sage, and the husband of ahalya, who was seduced by indra. gavala (cowry shell: cypræa arabica).--an exogamous sept of madiga. a cotton thread string, with cowries strung on it, is one of the insignia of a madiga matangi. gavalla.--a synonym for gamalla. gavara.--it is noted, in the madras census report, 1891, that "this caste is practically confined to the vizagapatam district, and they have been classed as cultivators on the strength of a statement to that effect in the district manual. gavara is, however, an important sub-division of komatis (traders), and these gavaras are probably in reality gavara komatis. these are so called after gauri, the patron deity of this caste." for the following note i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. a tradition is current that the gavaras originally lived at vengi, the ancient capital of the eastern chalukyan kings, the ruins of which are near ellore in the godavari district. the king was desirous of seeing one of their women, who was gosha (in seclusion), but to this they would not consent. under orders from the king, their houses were set on fire. some of them bolted themselves in, and perished bravely, while others locked up their women in big boxes, and escaped with them to the coast. they immediately set sail, and landed at pudimadaka in the anakapalli taluk. thence they marched as far as kondakirla, near which they founded the village of wadapalli or wodapalli, meaning the village of the people who came in boats. they then built another village called gavarla anakapalli. they received an invitation from king payaka rao, the founder of anakapalli, and, moving northwards, established themselves at what is now known as gavarapeta in the town of anakapalli. they began the foundation of the village auspiciously by consecrating and planting the sandra karra (acacia sundra), which is not affected by 'white-ants,' instead of the pala karra (mimusops hexandra), which is generally used for this purpose. consequently, anakapalli has always flourished. the gavaras speak telugu, and, like other telugu castes, have various exogamous septs or intiperulu. girls are married either before or after puberty. the custom of menarikam, by which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is in force, and it is said that he may also marry his sister's daughter. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and a woman who has had seven husbands is known as beththamma, and is much respected. some gavaras are vaishnavites, and others saivites, but difference in religion is no bar to intermarriage. both sections worship the village deities, to whom animal sacrifices are offered. the vaishnavites show special reverence to jagganathaswami of orissa, whose shrine is visited by some, while others take vows in the name of this god. on the day on which the car festival is celebrated at puri, local car festivals are held in gavara villages, and women carry out the performance of their vows. a woman, for example, who is under a vow, in order that she may be cured of illness or bear children, takes a big pot of water, and, placing it on her head, dances frantically before the god, through whose influence the water, which rises out of the pot, falls back into it, instead of being spilt. the vaishnavites are burnt, and the saivites buried in a sitting posture. the usual chinna (little) and pedda rozu (big day) death ceremonies are performed. men wear a gold bangle on the left wrist, and another on the right arm. women wear a silver bangle on the right wrist, and a bracelet of real or imitation coral, which is first worn at the time of marriage, on the left wrist. they throw the end of their body-cloth over the left shoulder. they do not, like women of other non-brahman castes in the vizagapatam district, smoke cigars. the original occupation of the caste is said to have been trading, and this may account for the number of exogamous septs which are named after settis (traders). at the present day, the gavaras are agriculturists, and they have the reputation of being very hard-working, and among the best agriculturists in the vizagapatam district. the women travel long distances in order to sell vegetables, milk, curds, and other produce. the caste titles are anna, ayya, and occasionally nayudu. gaya (cow).--an exogamous sept of kondra. gayinta.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a small caste of hill cultivators, speaking oriya and telugu. the name is said to be derived from gayinti, an iron digging implement. gayinta is reported to be the same as gaintia, a name of enetis or entamaras. gazula.--gazula or gazul (glass bangle) has been recorded as a sub-division of balija, kapu, and toreya. the gazula balijas make glass bangles. the toreyas have a tradition that they originated from the bangles of machyagandhi, the daughter of a fisherman on the jumna, who was married to king shantanu of hastinapur. gedala (buffaloes).--a sept of bonthuk savara. geddam (beard).--an exogamous sept of boya and padma sale. gejjala (bells tied to the legs while dancing).--an exogamous sept of balija and korava. gejjegara.--a sub-caste of the canarese panchalas. they are described, in the mysore census report, 1891, as makers of small round bells (gungru), which are used for decorating the head or neck of bullocks, and tied by dancing-girls round their ankles when dancing. genneru (sweet-scented oleander).--an exogamous sept of boya. gentoo.--gentoo or jentu, as returned at times of census, is stated to be a general term applied to balijas and telugu speaking sudras generally. the word is said by yule and burnell [142] to be "a corruption of the portuguese gentio, a gentile or heathen, which they applied to the hindus in contradistinction to the moros or moors, i.e., mahomedans. the reason why the term became specifically applied to the telugu people is probably because, when the portuguese arrived, the telugu monarchy of vijayanagar was dominant over a great part of the peninsula." in a letter written from prison to sir philip francis, rajah nuncomar referred to the fact that "among the english gentry, armenians, moores and gentoos, few there is who is not against me." gentoo still survives as a caste name in the madras quarterly civil list (1906). ghair-i-mahdi.--the name, meaning without mahdi, of a sect of muhammadans, who affirm that the imam mahdi has come and gone, while orthodox muhammadans hold that he is yet to come. ghasi.--see haddi. ghontoro.--a small caste of oriyas, who manufacture brass and bell-metal rings and bangles for the hill people. the name is derived from ghonto, a bell-metal plate. gidda (vulture).--a sept of poroja. gikkili (rattle).--a gotra of kurni. giri razu.--a contraction of puragiri razu or puragiri kshatriya, by which names some perikes style themselves. goa.--a sub-division of kudubis, who are said to have emigrated from goa to south canara. go brahman.--a name given to brahmans by kammalans, who style themselves visva brahmans. godagula.--the godagulas are recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as being the same as the gudalas, who are a telugu caste of basket-makers. according to mr. c. hayavadana rao, to whom i am indebted for the following note, they are a distinct caste, speaking oriya, and sometimes calling themselves odde (oriya) medara. like the medaras, they work in split bamboo, and make sundry articles which are not made by other castes who work in this medium. unlike the gudalas, they are a polluting class, and have the following legend to account for their social degradation. god told them to make winnows and other articles for divine worship. this, they did, and, after they had delivered them, they attended a marriage feast, at which they eat flesh and drank liquor. on their return, god called on them to vomit the food which they had partaken of, and they accordingly brought up the meat and drink, whereon god cursed them, saying "begone, you have eaten forbidden food." they craved for forgiveness, but were told in future to earn their living as bamboo-workers. the custom of menarikam, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is so rigidly enforced that, if the uncle refuses to give his daughter in marriage, the man has a right to carry her off, and then pay a fine, the amount of which is fixed by the caste council. a portion thereof is given to the girl's parents, and the remainder spent on a caste feast. if the maternal uncle has no daughter, a man may, according to the eduru (or reversed) menarikam custom, marry his paternal aunt's daughter. six months before the marriage ceremony takes place, the pasupu (turmeric) ceremony is performed. the bridegroom's family pay six rupees to the bride's family, to provide the girl with turmeric, wherewith she adorns herself. on the day fixed for the wedding, the parents of the bridegroom go with a few of the elders to the bride's house, and couple the request to take away the girl with payment of nine rupees and a new cloth. of the money thus given, eight rupees go to the bride's parents, and the remainder to the caste. the bride is conducted to the home of the bridegroom, who meets her at the pandal (booth) erected in front of his house. they are bathed with turmeric water, and sacred threads are put on their shoulders by the kula maistri who officiates as priest. the couple then play with seven cowry (cyproea arabica) shells, and, if the shells fall with the slit downwards, the bride is said to have won; otherwise the bridegroom is the winner. this is followed by the mudu akula homam, or sacrifice of three leaves. a new pot, containing a lighted wick, is placed before the couple. on it are thrown leaves of the rayi aku (ficus religiosa), marri aku (ficus bengalensis), and juvvi aku (ficus tsiela). the kula maistri of the bridegroom's party spreads out his right hand over the mouth of the pot. on it the bride places her hand. the bridegroom then places his hand on hers, and the kula maistri of the bride's village puts his hand on that of the bridegroom. the elders then call out in a loud voice "know, caste people of vaddadi madugula; know, caste people of kimedi; know, caste people of gunupuram and godairi; know, caste people of all the twelve countries, that this man and woman have become husband and wife, and that the elders have ratified the ceremony." the contracting couple then throw rice over each other. on the morning of the following day, the saragatha ceremony is performed. the bridegroom's party repair to the bank of the local stream, where they are met by the caste people, who are presented with betel, a cheroot, and a pot of jaggery (crude sugar) water as cool drink. the sacred threads worn by the bride and bridegroom are removed at the conclusion of the marriage ceremonies. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and a younger brother may marry the widow of an elder brother, or vice versâ. divorce is also allowed, and a divorcée may remarry. her new husband has to pay a sum of money, a portion of which goes to the first husband, while the remainder is devoted to a caste feast. the dead are burnt, and the chinna rozu (little day) death ceremony is observed. goda-jati (wall people).--a sub-division of kammas. the name has reference to a deadly struggle at gandikota, in which some escaped by hiding behind a wall. goda-poose (wall polishing).--an exogamous sept of tsakala. godari.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as telugu leather-workers in ganjam and vizagapatam. they are stated, in the vizagapatam manual, to make and sell slippers in that district. godari is, i gather, a synonym of madiga, and not a separate caste. goddali (spade or axe).--an exogamous sept of odde and panta reddi. godomalia (belonging to, or a group of forts).--a sub-division of bhondari, the members of which act as barbers to rajahs who reside in forts. golaka.--recorded in the madras census report, 1901, as a name meaning bastard, and clubbed with the moilis, or temple servants in south canara descended from dancing-girls. in the mysore census report, 1901, it is defined as a term applied to the children of brahmans by malerus, or temple servants. goli (portulaca oleracea: a pot-herb).--an exogamous sept of gauda. golkonda.--a sub-division of tsakala. golla.--"the gollas," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [143] "are the great pastoral caste of the telugu people. the traditions of the caste give a descent from the god krishna, whose sportings with the milk maids play a prominent part in hindu mythology. the hereditary occupation of the gollas is tending sheep and cattle, and selling milk, but many of them have now acquired lands and are engaged in farming, and some are in government service. they are quiet, inoffensive, and comparatively honest. in the time of the nabobs, this last characteristic secured to them the privilege of guarding and carrying treasure, and one sub-division, bokhasa gollas, owes its origin to this service. even now those who are employed in packing and lifting bags of money in the district treasuries are called gollas, though they belong to other castes. as a fact they do hold a respectable position, and, though poor, are not looked down upon, for they tend the sacred cow. sometimes they assert a claim to be regarded as representatives of the go-vaisya division. their title is mandadi, but it is not commonly used." mr. stuart writes further [144] that "the social status of the gollas is fairly high, for they are allowed to mix freely with the kapu, kamma, and balija castes, and the brahmans will take buttermilk from their hands. they employ satanis as their priests. in their ceremonies there is not much difference between them and the kapus. the name golla is generally supposed to be a shortened form of sanskrit gopala" (protector of cows). the gollas also call themselves konanulu, or konarlu, and, like the tamil idaiyans, sometimes have the title konar. other titles in common use are anna, ayya, and occasionally nayudu. in the manual of the kurnool district, it is stated that the gollas "keep sheep, and sell milk and ghi (clarified butter). they eat and mess with the balijas, and other high caste sudras; but, unlike their brethren of the south, in the matter of street processions, they are classed with goldsmiths, or the left-hand section. when any one is reduced to poverty, the others give him each a sheep, and restore his flock. they occasionally dedicate their girls to venkatesa as basavis" (prostitutes). it is noted, in the gazetteer of the vizagapatam district, that "in the country round madgole, legends are still recounted of a line of local golla chieftains, who gave their name to golgonda, and built the forts, of which traces still survive in those parts". each telugu new year's day, it is stated, gollas come across from godavari, and go round the golla villages, reciting the names of the progenitors of the fallen line, and exhibiting paintings illustrative of their overthrow. "at vajragada (diamond fort) are the ruins of a very large fortress, and local tradition gives the names of seven forts, by which it was once defended. these are said to have been constructed by the golla kings. a tale is told of their having kidnapped a daughter of the ruler of madgole, and held out here against his attacks for months, until they were betrayed by a woman of their own caste, who showed the enemy how to cut off their water-supply. they then slew their womenkind, says the story, dashed out against the besiegers, and fell to a man, fighting to the last." concerning the gollas of mysore, i gather [145] that "there are two main divisions in this caste, viz., uru (village) and kadu (forest). the two neither intermarry, nor eat together. a section of the gollas, by guarding treasure while on transit, have earned the name of dhanapala. in fact, one of the menial offices in government treasuries at the present day is that of golla. the caste worships krishna, who was born in this caste. the kadu gollas are said to have originally immigrated from northern india, and are still a nomadic tribe, living in thatched huts outside the villages. some of their social customs are akin to those of the kadu kurubas. it is said that, on the occurrence of a childbirth, the mother with the babe remains unattended in a small shed outside the village from seven to thirty days, when she is taken back to her home. in the event of her illness, none of the caste will attend on her, but a nayak (beda) woman is engaged to do so. marriages among them are likewise performed in a temporary shed erected outside the village, and the attendant festivities continue for five days, when the marriage couple are brought into the village. the golla is allowed to marry as many wives as he likes, and puberty is no bar to marriage. they eat flesh, and drink spirituous liquors. the wife cannot be divorced except for adultery. their females do not wear the bodice (ravike) usually put on by the women of the country. nor do they, in their widowhood, remove or break the glass bangles worn at the wrists, as is done in other castes. but widows are not allowed to remarry. only 98 persons have returned gotras, the chief being yadava, karadi, atreya, and amswasa. the first two are really sub-sects, while atreya is the name of a brahmin rishi." yadava, or descendant of king yadu, from whom krishna was descended, also occurs as a synonym for idaiyan, the great tamil shepherd class. concerning the adivi, or forest gollas, mr. f. fawcett writes as follows. [146] "the people of every house in the village let loose a sheep, to wander whither it will, as a sort of perpetual scapegoat. when a woman feels the first pains of labour, she is turned out of the village into a little leaf or mat hut about two hundred yards away. in this hut she must bring forth her offspring unaided, unless a midwife can be called in to be with her before the child is born. for ninety days the woman lives in the hut by herself. if any one touches her, he or she is, like the woman, outcasted, and turned out of the village for three months. the woman's husband generally makes a little hut about fifty yards from her, and watches over her; but he may not go near her on pain of being outcasted for three months. food is placed on the ground near the woman's hut, and she takes it. on the fourth day after parturition, a woman of the village goes to her, and pours water on her, but she must not come in contact with her. on the fifth day, the village people clear of stones and thorny bushes a little bit of ground about ten yards on the village side of the hut, and to this place the woman removes her hut. no one can do it for her, or help her. on the ninth, fifteenth, and thirtieth days, she removes the hut in the same way nearer to the village, and, again, once in each of the two following months. on the ninetieth day, the headman of the village calls the woman to come out of the hut. the dhobi (washerman) then washes her clothes. she puts on clean clothes, and the headman takes her to the temple of their tutelary deity junjappa, where the caste pujari breaks cocoanuts, and then accompanies her to her house, where a purificatory ceremony is performed. junjappa, it is said, takes good care of the mother and child, so that death is said to be unknown." it is stated [147] that, in the chitaldrug district of mysore, "the wife of the eldest son in every family is not permitted to clean herself with water after obeying the calls of nature. it is an article of their belief that their flocks will otherwise not prosper." writing in the early part of the last century about the gollas, buchanan informs us that "this caste has a particular duty, the transporting of money, both belonging to the public and to individuals. it is said that they may be safely intrusted with any sum; for, each man carrying a certain value, they travel in bodies numerous in proportion to the sum put under their charge; and they consider themselves bound in honour to die in defence of their trust. of course, they defend themselves vigorously, and are all armed; so that robbers never venture to attack them. they have hereditary chiefs called gotugaru, who with the usual council settle all disputes, and punish all transgressions against the rules of caste. the most flagrant is the embezzlement of money entrusted to their care. on this crime being proved against any of the caste, the gotugaru applies to amildar, or civil magistrate, and having obtained his leave, immediately causes the delinquent to be shot. smaller offences are atoned for by the guilty person giving an entertainment." the golla caste has many sub-divisions, of which the following are examples:- erra or yerra (red). said to be the descendants of a brahman by a golla woman. ala or mekala, who tend sheep and goats. puja or puni. gangeddu, who exhibit performing bulls. gauda, who, in vizagapatam, visit the western part of the district during the summer months, and settle outside the villages. they tend their herds, and sell milk and curds to the villagers. karna. pakanati. racha (royal). peddeti. mostly beggars, and considered low in the social scale, though when questioned concerning themselves they say they are yerra gollas. at the census, 1901, the following were returned as sub-castes of the gollas:-dayyalakulam (wrestlers), perike muggalu or mushti golla (beggars and exorcists), podapotula (who beg from gollas), gavadi, and vadugayan, a tamil synonym for gollas in tinnevelly. another tamil synonym for golla is bokhisha vadugar (treasury northerners). golla has been given as a sub-division of dasaris and chakkiliyans, and golla woddar (odde) as a synonym of a thief class in the telugu country. in a village near dummagudem in the godavari district, the rev. j. cain writes, [148] are "a few families of basava gollalu. i find they are really kois, whose grandfathers had a quarrel with, and separated from, their neighbours. some of the present members of the families are anxious to be re-admitted to the society and privileges of the neighbouring kois. the word basava is commonly said to be derived from bhasha, a language, and the gollas of this class are said to have been so called in consequence of their speaking a different language from the rest of the gollas." like many other telugu castes, the gollas have exogamous septs or intiperu, and gotras. as examples of the former, the following may be quoted:- agni, fire. avula, cows. chinthala, tamarind. chevvula, ears. gundala, stones. gurram, horse. gorrela, sheep. gorantla, henna (lawsonia alba). kokala, woman's cloth. katari, dagger. mugi, dumb. nakkala, jackal. saddikudu, cold rice or food. sevala, service. ullipoyala, onions. vankayala, brinjal (solanum melongena). some of these sept names occur among other classes, as follows:- avula, balijas, kapus, and yerukalas. chinthala, devangas, komatis, malas, and madigas. gorantla, padma sales. gorrela, kammas, kapus. gurram, malas, padma sales, and togatas. nakkala, kattu marathis, and yanadis. those who belong to the raghindala (ficus religiosa) gotra are not allowed to use the leaves of the sacred fig or pipal tree as plates for their food. members of the palavili gotra never construct palavili, or small booths, inside the house for the purpose of worship. those who belong to the akshathayya gotra are said to avoid rice coloured with turmeric or other powder (akshantalu). members of the kommi, jammi, and mushti gotras avoid using the kommi tree, prosopis spicigera, and strychnos nux-vomica respectively. of the various sub-divisions, the puja gollas claim superiority over the others. their origin is traced to simhadri raju, who is supposed to have been a descendant of yayathi raja of the mahabaratha. yayathi had six sons, the last of whom had a son named kariyavala, whose descendants were as follows:- penubothi (his son), | avula amurthammayya, | kalugothi ganganna, | oli raju, | simhadri raju. | +------------+-------+------+-------------+ | | | | peddi erunuka noranoka poli raju. raju. raju. raju. the gollas are believed to be descended from the four last kings. according to another legend, there were five brothers, named poli raju, erranoku raju, katama raju, peddi raju, and errayya raju, who lived at yellamanchili, which, as well as sarvasiddhi, they built. the rajas of nellore advanced against them, and killed them, with all their sheep, in battle. on this, janagamayya, the son of peddi raju, who escaped the general slaughter, made up his mind to go to kasi (benares), and offer oblations to his dead father and uncles. this he did, and the gods were so pleased with him that they transported him in the air to his native place. he was followed by three persons, viz., (1) kulagentadu, whose descendants now recite the names of the progenitors of the caste; (2) podapottu (or juggler), whose descendants carry metal bells, sing, and produce snakes by magic; (3) thevasiyadu, whose descendants paint the events which led to the destruction of the golla royalty on large cloths, and exhibit them to the gollas once a year. at the time when janagamayya was translated to heaven, they asked him how they were to earn their living, and he advised them to perform the duties indicated, and beg from the caste. even at the present day, their descendants go round the country once a year, after the telugu new year's day, and collect their dues from golla villages. by religion the gollas are both vallamulu (vaishnavites) and striramanthulu (saivites), between whom marriage is permissible. they belong to the group of castes who take part in the worship of ankamma. a special feature of their worship is that they place in a bamboo or rattan box three or four long whip-like ropes made of cotton or agave fibre, along with swords, sandals and idols. the ropes are called virathadlu, or heroes' ropes. the contents of the box are set beneath a booth made of split bamboo (palavili), and decorated with mango leaves, and flowers. there also is placed a pot containing several smaller pots, cowry shells, metal and earthenware sandals, and the image of a bull called bolli-avu (bull idol). when not required for the purpose of worship, the idols are hung up in a room, which may not be entered by any one under pollution. some karna gollas earn their living by selling poultry, or by going about the country carrying on their head a small box containing idols and virathadlu. placing this at the end of a street, they do puja (worship) before it, and walk up and down with a rope, with which they flagellate themselves. as they carry the gods (devarlu) about, these people are called devara vallu. as the gollas belong to the left-hand section, the pedda golla, or headman, has only a madiga as his assistant. at the marriages of mutrachas, madigas, and some other classes, a form of worship called virala puja is performed with the object of propitiating heroes or ancestors (viralu). a kindred ceremony, called ganga puja, is carried out by the gollas, the expenses of which amount to about a hundred rupees. this ganga worship lasts over three days, during which nine patterns, called muggu, are drawn on the floor in five colours, and represent dhamarapadmam (lotus flower), palavili (booth), sulalu (tridents), sesha panpu (serpent's play?), alugula simhasanam (throne of sakti), viradu perantalu (hero and his wife), ranivasam (rani's palace), bonala (food), and ganga. the last is a female figure, and probably represents ganga, the goddess of water, though one of the golla ancestors was named gangi raju. the patterns must be drawn by madigas or malas. three pambalas, or madigas skilled in this work, and in reciting the stories of various gods and goddesses, commence their work on the afternoon of the third day, and use white powder (rice flour), and powders coloured yellow (turmeric), red (turmeric and chunam), green (leaves of cassia auriculata), and black (charred rice husk). on an occasion when my assistant was present, the designs were drawn on the floor of the courtyard of the house, which was roofed over. during the preparation of the designs, people were excluded from the yard, as some ill-luck, especially an attack of fever, would befall more particularly boys and those of feeble mind, if they caught sight of the muggu before the drishti thiyadam, or ceremony for removing the evil eye has been performed. near the head of the figure of ganga, when completed, was placed an old bamboo box, regarded as a god, containing idols, ropes, betel, flowers, and small swords. close to the box, and on the right side of the figure, an earthen tray, containing a lighted wick fed with ghi (clarified butter) was set. on the left side were deposited a kalasam (brass vessel) representing siva, a row of chembus (vessels) called bonalu (food vessels), and a small empty box tied up in a cloth dyed with turmeric, and called brammayya. between these articles and the figure, a sword was laid. several heaps of food were piled up on the figure, and masses of rice placed near the head and feet. in addition, a conical mass of food was heaped up on the right side of the figure, and cakes were stuck into it. all round this were placed smaller conical piles of food, into which broomsticks decorated with betel leaves were thrust. masses of food, scooped out and converted into lamps, were arranged in various places, and betel leaves and nuts scattered all over the figure. towards the feet were set a chembu filled with water, a lump of food coloured red, and incense. the preparations concluded, three gollas stood near the feet of the figure, and took hold of the red food, over which water had been sprinkled, the incense and a fowl. the food and incense were then waved in front of the figure, and the fowl, after it had been smoked by the incense, and waved over the figure, had its neck wrung. this was followed by the breaking of a cocoanut, and offering fruits and other things. the three men then fell prostrate on the ground before the figure, and saluted the goddess. one of them, an old man, tied little bells round his legs, and stood mute for a time. gradually he began to perspire, and those present exclaimed that he was about to be possessed by the spirit of an ancestor. taking up a sword, he began to cut himself with it, especially in the back, and then kept striking himself with the blunt edge. the sword was wrested from him, and placed on the figure. the old man then went several times round the muggu, shaking and twisting his body into various grotesque attitudes. while this was going on, the bridegroom appeared on the scene, and seated himself near the feet of the figure. throwing off his turban and upper cloth, he fell on the floor, and proceeded to kick his legs about, and eventually, becoming calmer, commenced to cry. being asked his name, he replied that he was kariyavala raju. further questions were put to him, to which he made no response, but continued crying. incense and lights were then carried round the image, and the old man announced that the marriage would be auspicious, and blessed the bride and bridegroom and the assembled gollas. the ceremony concluded with the burning of camphor. the big mass of food was eaten by puni gollas. it is stated in the manual of the nellore district that, when a golla bridegroom sets out for the house of his mother-in-law, he is seized on the way by his companions, who will not release him until he has paid a piece of gold. the custom of illatom, or application of a son-in-law, obtains among the gollas, as among the kapus and some other telugu-classes. [149] in connection with the death ceremonies, it may be noted that the corpse, when it is being washed, is made to rest on a mortar, and two pestles are placed by its side, and a lighted lamp near the head. there is a proverb to the effect that a golla will not scruple to water the milk which he sells to his own father. another proverb refers to the corrupt manner in which he speaks his mother-tongue. the insigne of the caste at conjeeveram is a silver churning stick. [150] gollari (monkey).--an exogamous sept of gadaba. gomma.--recorded by the rev. j. cain as the name for koyis who live near the banks of the godavari river. villages on the banks thereof are called gommu ullu. gonapala (old plough).--an exogamous sept of devanga. gondaliga.--the gondaligas are described, in the mysore census report, 1901, as being mendicants "of mahratta origin like the budabudikes, and may perhaps be a sub-division of them. they are worshippers of durgi. their occupation, as the name indicates, is to perform gondala, or a kind of torch-light dance, usually performed in honour of amba bhavani, especially after marriages in desastha brahman's houses, or at other times in fulfilment of any vow." gone (a sack).--an exogamous sept of maala. the gone perikes have been summed up as being a telugu caste of gunny-bag weavers, corresponding to the janappans of the tamil country. gunny-bag is the popular and trading name for the coarse sacking and sacks made from jute fibre, which are extensively used in indian trade. [151] gone is further an occupational sub-division of komati. the gonigas of mysore are described, in the census report, 1901, as sack-weavers and makers of gunny-bags, agriculturists, and grain porters at bangalore; and it is noted that the abnormal fall of 66 per cent. in the number of the caste was due to their being confounded with ganigas. gonjakari.--a title of haddi. gonji (glycosmis penlaphylla).--an exogamous sept of mala. gopalam (alms given to beggars).--an exogamous sept of togata. gopalan (those who tend cattle).--a synonym of idaiyan. gopopuriya.--a sub-division of gaudo. gorantla (lawsonia alba: henna).--an exogamous sept of golla and padma sale. the leaves of this plant are widely used by natives as an article of toilet for staining the nails, and by muhammadans for dyeing the hair red. gorava.--a synonym of kuruba. goravaru.--a class of canarese mendicants. gore.--recorded, at times of census, as a synonym of lambadi. gora means trader or shop-keeper, and trading lambadis may have assumed the name. gorige (cyamopsis psoralioides).--an exogamous sept of devanga. gorrela (sheep).--an exogamous sept of golla, kamma, and kapu. konda gorri (hill sheep) occurs as an exogamous sept of jatapu. gosangi.--a synonym for madiga, recorded as kosangi, in the madras census report, 1901. the gosangulu are described in the vizagapatam manual (1869), as "beggars who style themselves descendants of jambavanta, the bear into which brahma transformed himself, to assist rama in destroying ravana. the gosangis are considered to be illegitimate descendants of madigas, and a curious thing about them is that their women dress up like men, and sing songs when begging. as mendicants they are attached to the madigas." gosayi or goswami.--the gosayis are immigrant religious mendicants from northern and western india. i gather from the mysore census reports that "they mostly belong to the dandi sub-division. the gosayi is no caste; commonly any devotee is called a gosayi, whether he lives a life of celibacy or not; whether he roams about the country collecting alms, or resides in a house like the rest of the people; whether he leads an idle existence, or employs himself in trade. the mark, however, that distinguishes all who bear this name is that they are devoted to a religious life. some besmear their bodies with ashes, wear their hair dishevelled and uncombed, and in some instances coiled round the head like a snake or rope. they roam about the country in every direction, visiting especially spots of reputed sanctity, and as a class are the pests of society and incorrigible rogues. some of them can read, and a few may be learned; but for the most part they are stolidly ignorant. most of them wear a yellowish cloth, by which they make themselves conspicuous. the gosayis, although by profession belonging to the religious class, apply themselves nevertheless to commerce and trade. as merchants, bankers and tradesmen, they hold a very respectable position. they never marry. one of the chief peculiarities of this caste is that brahmans, kshatriyas, vaisyas, and sudras, the two former especially, may, if they choose, become gosayis; but if they do so, and unite with the members of this fraternity in eating and drinking, holding full and free intercourse with them, they are cut off for ever from their own tribes. it is this circumstance which constitutes gosayis a distinct and legitimate caste, and not merely a religious order. at death a horrible custom is observed. a cocoanut is broken on the head of the deceased by a person specially appointed for the purpose, until it is smashed to pieces. the body is then wrapped in a reddish cloth, and thrown into the ganges. a partial explanation of this practice is furnished in southern india. the final aim of hindu religious life is nirvana or moksham in the next life, and this can only be attained by those holy men, whose life escapes, after smashing the skull, through the sushumna nadi, a nerve so called, and supposed to pervade the crown of the head. the dying or dead sanyasi is considered to have led such a holy life as to have expired in the orthodox manner, and the fiction is kept up by breaking the skull post mortem, in mimicry of the guarantee of his passage to eternal bliss. accordingly, the dead body of a brahman sanyasi in southern india undergoes the same process and is buried, but never burned or thrown into the river." a few gosayis, at the mysore census, returned gotras, of which the chief were achuta and daridra (poverty-stricken). in the madras census report, 1901, mandula (medicine man) and bavaji are returned as a sub-division and synonym of gosayi. the name guse or gusei is applied to oriya brahmans owing to their right of acting as gurus or family priests. gosu (pride).--an exogamous sept of devanga. goundan.--it is noted, in the salem manual, that "some of the agricultural classes habitually append the title goundan as a sort of caste nomenclature after their names, but the word applies, par excellence, to the head of the village, or ur goundan as he is called." as examples of castes which take goundan as their title, the pallis, okkiliyans, and vellalas may be cited. a planter, or other, when hailing a malayali of the shevaroy hills, always calls him goundan. goyi (lizard: varanus).--an exogamous sept of bottada. gramani.--the title of some shanans, and of the headman of the khatris. in malabar, the name gramam (a village) is applied to a brahmanical colony, or collection of houses, as the equivalent of the agraharam of the tamil country. [152] gudala.--the gudalas are a telugu caste of basket-makers in vizagapatam and ganjam. the name is derived from guda, a basket for baling water. for the following note i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the original occupation of the caste is said to have been the collection of medicinal herbs and roots for native doctors and sick persons, which is still carried on by some gudalas at saluru town. the principal occupations, however, are the manufacture of bamboo baskets, and fishing in fresh water. like other telugu castes, the gudalas have exogamous septs or intiperulu, e.g., korra (setaria italica), paththi (cotton), nakka (jackal) and ganti (hole pierced in the ear-lobe). the custom of menarikam, whereby a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is practiced. marriage generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty. a brahman officiates at weddings. the bride-price (voli) consists of a new cloth for the bride, and seven rupees for her parents, which are taken by the bridegroom's party to the bride's house, together with some oil and turmeric for the bridal bath, and the sathamanam (marriage badge). a feast is held, and the sathamanam is tied on the bride's neck. the newly married pair are conducted to the house of the bridegroom, where a further feast takes place, after which they return to the bride's home, where they remain for three days. widows are permitted to remarry thrice, and the voli on each successive occasion is rs. 3, rs. 2, and rs. 2-8-0. when a widow is remarried, the sathamanam is tied on her neck near a mortar. the members of the caste reverence a deity called ekkaladevata, who is said to have been left behind at their original home. the dead are cremated, and the chinna rozu (little day) death ceremony is observed. on the third day, cooked rice is thrown over the spot where the corpse was burnt. gudavandlu.--recorded, in the nellore manual, as vaishnavites, who earn their livelihood by begging. the name means basket people, and probably refers to satanis, who carry a basket (guda) when begging. gudi (temple).--a sub-division of okkiliyan, an exogamous sept of jogi, and a name for temple dasaris, to distinguish them from the donga or thieving dasaris. gudigara.--in the south canara manual, the gudigaras are summed up as follows. "they are a canarese caste of wood-carvers and painters. they are hindus of the saivite sect, and wear the sacred thread. shivalli brahmans officiate as their priests. some follow the aliya santana mode of inheritance (in the female line), others the ordinary law. they must marry within the caste, but not within the same gotra or family. infant marriage is not compulsory, and they have the dhare form of marriage. among those who follow the aliya santana law, both widows and divorced women may marry again, but this is not permitted among the other sections. the dead are either cremated or buried, the former being the preferential mode. the use of alcoholic liquor, and fish and flesh is permitted. their ordinary title is setti." "the gudigars, or sandal-wood carvers," mr. d'cruz writes, [153] "are reported to have come originally from goa, their migration to mysore and canara having been occasioned by the attempts of the early portuguese invaders to convert them to christianity. the fact that their original language is konkani corroborates their reputed konkanese origin. they say that the derivation of the word gudigara is from gudi, a temple, and that they were so called because they were, in their own country, employed as carvers and painters in the ornamentation of temples. another derivation is from the sanskrit kuttaka (a carver). they assert that their fellow castemen are still employed in turning, painting, and other decorative arts at goa. like the chitrakaras (ornamenters or decorative artists), they claim to be kshatriyas, and tradition has it that, to escape the wrath of parasu rama in the sixth incarnation of vishnu, who vowed to destroy all kshatriyas, they adopted the profession of carvers and car-builders. they are also expert ivory-carvers, and it has been suggested that they may be distantly connected with the kondikars, or ivory-carvers of bengal. the art of sandalwood carving is confined to a few families in the sorab and sagar taluks of the shimoga district, in the north-west corner of the province. there are two or three families in sagar, and about six in sorab, which contribute in all about thirty-five artisans employed in the craft. the art is also practiced by their relations, who found a domicile in hanavar, kumpta, sirsi, siddapur, biligi, and banavasi in the north canara district. but the work of the latter is said to be by no means so fine as that executed by the artisans of sorab and sagar. the artisans of north canara, however, excel in pith-work of the most exquisite beauty. they usually make basingas, i.e., special forehead ornaments, richly inlaid with pearls, and worn on the occasion of marriage. the delicate tools used by the wood-carvers are made from european umbrella spokes, ramrods, and country steel. the main stimulus, which the art receives from time to time at the present day, is from orders from the government, corporate public bodies, or maharajas, for address boxes, cabinets, and other articles specially ordered for presentations, or for the various fine-art exhibition, for which high prices are paid." in conversation with the workmen from sorab and sagar for work in the palace which is being built for h. h. the maharaja of mysore, it was elicited that there are some gudigars, who, from want of a due taste for the art, never acquire it, but are engaged in carpentry and turning. others, having acquired land, are engaged in cultivation, and fast losing all touch with the art. at udipi in south canara, some gudigars make for sale large wooden buffaloes and human figures, which are presented as votive offerings at the iswara temple at hiriadkap. they also make wooden dolls and painted clay figures. the following extracts from mr. l. rice's 'mysore gazetteer' may be appropriately quoted. "the designs with which the gudigars entirely cover the boxes, desks, and other articles made, are of an extremely involved and elaborate pattern, consisting for the most part of intricate interlacing foliage and scroll-work, completely enveloping medallions containing the representation of some hindu deity or subject of mythology, and here and there relieved by the introduction of animal forms. the details, though in themselves often highly incongruous, are grouped and blended with a skill that seems to be instinctive in the east, and form an exceedingly rich and appropriate ornamentation, decidedly oriental in style, which leaves not the smallest portion of the surface of the wood untouched. the material is hard, and the minuteness of the work demands the utmost care and patience. hence the carving of a desk or cabinet involves a labour of many months, and the artists are said to lose their eyesight at a comparatively early age. european designs they imitate to perfection." and again: "the articles of the gudigar's manufacture chiefly in demand are boxes, caskets and cabinets. these are completely covered with minute and delicate scroll-work, interspersed with figures from the hindu pantheon, the general effect of the profuse detail being extremely rich. the carving of sorab is considered superior to that of bombay or canton, and, being a very tedious process requiring great care, is expensive. the gudigars will imitate admirably any designs that may be furnished them. boards for album-covers, plates from jorrock's hunt, and cabinets surrounded with figures, have thus been produced for european gentlemen with great success." a gold medal was awarded to the gudigars at the delhi durbar exhibition, 1903, for a magnificent sandal-wood casket (now in the madras museum), ornamented with panels representing hunting scenes. when a marriage is contemplated, the parents of the couple, in the absence of horoscopes, go to a temple, and receive from the priest some flowers which have been used for worship. these are counted, and, if their number is even, the match is arranged, and an exchange of betel leaves and nuts takes place. on the wedding day, the bridegroom goes, accompanied by his party, to the house of the bride, taking with him a new cloth, a female jacket, and a string of black beads with a small gold ornament. they are met en route by the bride's party. each party has a tray containing rice, a cocoanut, and a looking-glass. the females of one party place kunkuma (red powder) on the foreheads of those of the other party, and sprinkle rice over each other. at the entrance to the marriage pandal (booth), the bride's brother pours water at the feet of the bridegroom, and her father leads him into the pandal. the new cloth, and other articles, are taken inside the house, and the mother or sister of the bridegroom, with the permission of the headman, ties the necklet of black beads on the bride's neck. her maternal uncle takes her up in his arms, and carries her to the pandal. thither the bridegroom is conducted by the bride's brother. a cloth is held as a screen between the contracting couple, who place garlands of flowers round each other's necks. the screen is then removed. a small vessel, containing milk and water, and decorated with mango leaves, is placed in front of them, and the bride's mother, taking hold of the right hand of the bride, places it in the right hand of the bridegroom. the officiating brahman places a betel leaf and cocoanut on the bride's hand, and her parents pour water from a vessel thereon. the brahman then ties the kankanams (wrist-threads) on the wrists of the contracting couple, and kindles the sacred fire (homam). the guests present them with money, and lights are waved before them by elderly females. the bridegroom, taking the bride by hand, leads her into the house, where they sit on a mat, and drink milk out of the same vessel. a bed is made ready, and they sit on it, while the bride gives betel to the bridegroom. on the second day, lights are waved, in the morning and evening, in front of them. on the third day, some red-coloured water is placed in a vessel, into which a ring, an areca nut, and rice are dropped. the couple search for the ring, and, when it has been found, the bridegroom puts it on the finger of the bride. they then bathe, and try to catch fish in a cloth. after the bath, the wrist-threads are removed. gudisa (hut).--an exogamous sept of boya and kapu. gudiya.--the gudiyas are the sweet-meat sellers of the oriya country. they rank high in the social scale, and some sections of oriya brahmans will accept drinking water at their hands. sweet-meats prepared by them are purchased for marriage feasts by all castes, including brahmans. the caste name is derived from gudo (jaggery). the caste is divided into two sections, one of which is engaged in selling sweet-meats and crude sugar, and the other in agriculture. the former are called gudiyas, and the latter kolata, holodia, or bolasi gudiyas in different localities. the headman of the caste is called sasumallo, under whom are assistant officers, called behara and bhollobaya. in their ceremonial observances on the occasion of marriage, death, etc., the gudiyas closely follow the gaudos. they profess the paramartho or chaitanya form of vaishnavism, and also worship takuranis (village deities). the gudiyas are as particular as brahmans in connection with the wearing of sect marks, and ceremonial ablution. cloths worn during the act of attending to the calls of nature are considered to be polluted, so they carry about with them a special cloth, which is donned for the moment, and then removed. like the gudiyas, oriya brahmans always carry with them a small cloth for this purpose. the titles of the gudiyas are behara, sahu, and sasumallo. in the madras census report, 1901, the caste name is given as godiya. gudugudupandi.--a tamil synonym for budubudukala. guha vellala.--the name assumed by some sembadavans with a view to connecting themselves with guha (or kuha), who rowed the boat of rama to ceylon, and, as vellalas, gaining a rise in the social scale. maravans also claim descent from guha. gujarati.--a territorial name, meaning people from gujarat, some of whom have settled in the south where they carry on business as prosperous traders. in the madras census report, 1901, gujjar is returned as a synonym. at a public meeting held in madras, in 1906, to concert measures for establishing a pinjrapole (hospital for animals) it was resolved that early steps should be taken to collect public subscriptions from the hindu community generally, and in particular from the nattukottai chettis, gujaratis, and other mercantile classes. the mover of the resolution observed that gujaratis were most anxious, on religious grounds, to save all animals from pain, and it was a religious belief with them that it was sinful to live in a town where there was no pinjrapole. a pinjrapole is properly a cage (pinjra) for the sacred bull (pola) released in the name of siva. [154] it is noted by mr. drummond [155] that every marriage and mercantile transaction among the gujaratis is taxed with a contribution ostensibly for the pinjrapole. in 1901, a proposal was set on foot to establish a gujarati library and reading-room in madras, to commemorate the silver jubilee of the administration of the gaekwar of baroda. gulimi (pickaxe).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. gullu (solanum ferox).--a gotra of kurni. gulti.--a section of boya, members of which are to be found in choolay, madras city. gummadi (cucurbita maxima).--an exogamous sept of tsakalas, who will not cultivate the plant, or eat the pumpkin thereof. guna.--guna or guni is a sub-division of velama. the name is derived from the large pot (guna), which dyers use. guna tsakala (hunchbacked washerman).--said to be a derisive name given to velamas by balijas. gundala (stones).--an exogamous sept of golla. gundam (pit).--an exogamous sept of chenchu. gundu (cannon-ball).--a gotra of kurni. guni.--guni is the name of oriya dancing-girls and prostitutes. it is derived from the sanskrit guna, meaning qualifications or skill, in reference to their possession of qualification for, and skill acquired by training when young in enchanting by music, dancing, etc. gunta (well).--a sub-division of boyas, found in the anantapur district, the members of which are employed in digging wells. guntaka (harrow).--an exogamous sept of kapu. guntala (pond).--an exogamous sept of boya. gupta.--a vaisya title assumed by some muttans (trading caste) of malabar, and tamil pallis. guri.--recorded, in the vizagapatam manual, as a caste of paiks or fighting men. gurikala (marksman) occurs, in the madras census report, 1901, as a sub-division of patra. gurram (horse).--an exogamous sept of chenchu, golla, mala, padma sale, and togata. the gurram togatas will not ride on horseback. kudire, also meaning horse, occurs as a gotra or exogamous sept of kurni and vakkaliga. gurukkal.--for the following note on the gurukkals or kurukkals of travancore, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. the kurukkals are priests of castes, whose religious rites are not presided over by ilayatus. they are probably of tamil origin. males are often called nainar and females nachchiyar, which are the usual titles of the tamil kurukkals also. in the keralolpatti the caste men are described as chilampantis, who are the adiyars or hereditary servants of padmanabhaswami in trivandrum. they seem to have been once known also as madamutalis or headmen of matts, and tevara pandarams, or pandarams who assisted the brahman priest in the performance of religious rites in the maharaja's palace. it is said that the kurukkals originally belonged to the great vaisya branch of manu's fourfold system of caste, and migrated from the pandyan country, and became the dependants of the kupakkara family of pottis in trivandrum, whose influence, both religious and secular, was of no mean order in mediæval times. these pottis gave them permission to perform all the priestly services of the ambalavasi families, who lived to the south of quilon. it would appear from the keralolpatti and other records that they had the kazhakam or sweeping and other services at the inner entrance of sri padmanabha's temple till the time of umayamma rani in the eighth century of the malabar era. as, however, during her reign, a kurukkal in league with the kupakkara potti handed over the letter of invitation, entrusted to him as messenger, for the annual utsavam to the tarnallur nambudiripad, the chief ecclesiastical functionary of the temple, much later than was required, the kurukkal was dismissed from the temple service, and ever afterwards the kurukkals had no kazhakam right there. there are some temples, where kurukkals are the recognised priests, and they are freely admitted for kazhakam service in most south travancore temples. to the north of quilon, however, the variyars and pushpakans enjoy this right in preference to others. some kurukkals kept gymnasia in former times, and trained young men in military exercises. at the present day, a few are agriculturists. the kurukkals are generally not so fair in complexion as other sections of the ambalavasis. their houses are known as bhavanams or vidus. they are strict vegetarians, and prohibited from drinking spirituous liquor. the females (kurukkattis) try to imitate nambutiri brahmans in their dress and ornaments. the arasilattali, which closely resembles the cherutali, is worn round the neck, and the chuttu in the ears. the mukkutti, but not the gnattu, is worn in the nose. the minnu or marriage ornament is worn after the tali-kettu until the death of the tali-tier. the females are tattooed on the forehead and hands, but this practice is going out of fashion. the sect marks of women are the same as those of the nambutiris. the kurukkals are smartas. the tiruvonam asterism in the month of avani (august-september) furnishes an important festive occasion. the kurukkals are under the spiritual control of certain men in their own caste called vadhyars. they are believed to have been originally appointed by the kuppakkara pottis, of whom they still take counsel. the kurukkals observe both the tali-kettu kalyanam and sambandham. the male members of the caste contract alliances either within the caste, or with marans, or the vatti class of nayars. women receive cloths either from brahmans or men of their own caste. the maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter is regarded as the most proper wife for a man. the tali-kettu ceremony is celebrated when a girl is seven, nine or eleven years old. the date for its celebration is fixed by her father and maternal uncle in consultation with the astrologer. as many youths are then selected from among the families of the inangans or relations as there are girls to be married, the choice being decided by the agreement of the horoscopes of the couple. the erection of the first pillar of the marriage pandal (booth) is, as among other hindu castes, an occasion for festivity. the ceremony generally lasts over few days, but may be curtailed. on the wedding day, the bridegroom wears a sword and palmyra leaf, and goes in procession to the house of the bride. after the tali has been tied, the couple are looked on as being impure, and the pollution is removed by bathing, and the pouring of water, consecrated by the hymns of vadhyars, over their heads. for the sambandham, which invariably takes place after a girl has reached puberty, the relations of the future husband visit her home, and, if they are satisfied as to the desirability of the match, inform her guardians of the date on which they will demand the horoscope. when it is received on the appointed day, the astrologer is consulted, and, if he is favourably inclined, a day is fixed for the sambandham ceremony. the girl is led forward by her maternal aunt, who sits among those who have assembled, and formally receives cloths. cloths are also presented to the maternal uncle. divorce is common, and effected with the consent of the vadhyar. inheritance is in the female line (marumakkathayam). it is believed that, at the time of their migration to travancore, the kurukkals wore their tuft of hair (kudumi) behind, and followed the makkathayam system of inheritance (in the male line). a change is said to have been effected in both these customs by the kupakkara potti in the years 1752 and 1777 of the malabar era. the kurukkals observe most of the religious ceremonies of the brahmans. no recitation of hymns accompanies the rites of namakarana and annaprasana. the chaula and upanayana are performed between the ninth and twelfth years of age. on the previous day, the family priest celebrates the purificatory rite, and ties a consecrated thread round the right wrist of the boy. the tonsure takes place on the second day, and on the third day the boy is invested with the sacred thread, and the gayatri hymn recited. on the fourth day, the brahmacharya rite is closed with a ceremony corresponding to the samavartana. when a girl reaches puberty, some near female relation invites the women of the village, who visit the house, bringing sweetmeats with them. the girl bathes, and reappears in public on the fifth day. only the pulikudi or drinking tamarind juice, is celebrated, as among the nayars, during the first pregnancy. the sanchayana, or collection of bones after the cremation of a corpse, is observed on the third, fifth, or seventh day after death. death pollution lasts for eleven days. tekketus are built in memory of deceased ancestors. these are small masonry structures built over graves, in which a lighted lamp is placed, and at which worship is performed on anniversary and other important occasions (see brahman.) gutob.--a sub-division of gadaba. gutta koyi.--recorded by the rev. j. cain as a name for hill koyis. guvvala (doves).--an exogamous sept of boya and mutracha. h haddi.--the haddis are a low class of oriyas, corresponding to the telugu malas and madigas, and the tamil paraiyans. it has been suggested that the name is derived from haddi, a latrine, or hada, bones, as members of the caste collect all sorts of bones, and trade in them. the haddis play on drums for all oriya castes, except khondras, tiyoros, tulabinas, and sanis. they consider the khondras as a very low class, and will not purchase boiled rice sold in the bazaar, if it has been touched by them. castes lower than the haddis are the khondras and jaggalis of whom the latter are telugu madigas, who have settled in the southern part of ganjam, and learnt the oriya language. the haddis may be divided into haddis proper, rellis, and chachadis, which are endogamous divisions. the haddis proper never do sweeping or scavenging work, which are, in some places, done by rellis. the relli scavengers are often called bhatta or karuva haddis. the haddis proper go by various names, e.g., sudha haddi, godomalia haddi, etc., in different localities. the haddis work as coolies and field labourers, and the selling of fruits, such as mango, tamarind, zizyphus jujuba, etc., is a favourite occupation. in some places, the selling of dried fish is a monopoly of the rellis. sometimes haddis, especially the karuva haddis, sell human or yak hair for the purpose of female toilette. the haddis have numerous septs or bamsams, one of which, hathi (elephant) is of special interest, because members of this sept, when they see the foot-prints of an elephant, take some dust from the spot, and make a mark on the forehead with it. they also draw the figure of an elephant, and worship it when they perform sradh (memorial service for the dead) and other ceremonies. there are, among the haddi communities, two caste officers entitled behara and nayako, and difficult questions which arise are settled at a meeting of the officers of several villages. it is said that sometimes, if a member of the caste is known to have committed an offence, the officers select some members of the caste from his village to attend the meeting, and borrow money from them. this is spent on drink, and, after the meeting, the amount is recovered from the offender. if he does not plead guilty at once, a quarrel ensues, and more money is borrowed, so as to increase the debt. in addition to the behara and nayako, there are, in some places, other officials called adhikari or chowdri, or bodoporicha and bhollobhaya. the caste title is nayako. members of higher castes are sometimes, especially if they have committed adultery with haddi women, received into the caste. girls are married after puberty. though contrary to the usual oriya custom, the practice of menarikam, or marriage with the maternal uncle's daughter, is permitted. when the marriage of a young man is contemplated, his father, accompanied by members of his caste, proceeds to the home of the intended bride. if her parents are in favour of the match, a small space is cleared in front of the house, and cow-dung water smeared over it. on this spot the young man's party deposit a pot of toddy, over which women throw zizyphus jujuba leaves and rice, crying at the same time ulu-ula. the village officials, and a few respected members of the caste, assemble in the house, and, after the engagement has been announced, indulge in a drink. on an auspicious day, the bridegroom's party go to the home of the bride, and place, on a new cloth spread on the floor, the bride-price (usually twenty rupees), and seven betel leaves, myrabolams (terminalia fruits), areca nuts, and cakes. two or three of the nuts are then removed from the cloth, cut up, and distributed among the leading men. after the wedding day has been fixed, an adjournment is made to the toddy shop. in some cases, the marriage ceremony is very simple, the bride being conducted to the home of the bridegroom, where a feast is held. in the more elaborate form of ceremonial, the contracting couple are seated on a dais, and the behara or nayako, who officiates as priest, makes fire (homam) before them, which he feeds with twigs of zizyphus jujuba and eugenia jambolana. mokuttos (forehead chaplets) and wrist-threads are tied on the couple, and their hands are connected by the priest by means of a turmeric-dyed thread, and then disconnected by an unmarried girl. the bride's brother arrives on the scene, dressed up as a woman, and strikes the bridegroom. this is called solabidha, and is practiced by many oriya castes. the ends of the cloths of the bride and bridegroom are tied together, and they are conducted inside the house, the mother-in-law throwing zizyphus leaves and rice over them. like other oriya castes, the haddis observe pollution for seven days on the occasion of the first menstrual period. on the first day, the girl is seated, and, after she has been smeared with oil and turmeric paste, seven women throw zizyphus leaves and rice over her. she is kept either in a corner of the house, or in a separate hut, and has by her a piece of iron and a grinding-stone wrapped up in a cloth. if available, twigs of strychnos nux-vomica are placed in a corner. within the room or hut, a small framework, made of broom-sticks and pieces of palmyra palm leaf, or a bow, is placed, and worshipped daily. if the girl is engaged to be married, her future father-in-law is expected to give her a new cloth on the seventh day. the haddis are worshippers of various takuranis (village deities), e.g., kalumuki, sathabavuni, and baidaro. cremation of the dead is more common than burial. food is offered to the deceased on the day after death, and also on the tenth and eleventh days. some haddis proceed, on the tenth day, to the spot where the corpse was cremated or buried, and, after making an effigy on the ground, offer food. towards night, they proceed to some distance from the house, and place food and fruits on a cloth spread on the ground. they then call the dead man by his name, and eagerly wait till some insect settles on the cloth. as soon as this happens, the cloth is folded up, carried home, and shaken over the floor close to the spot where the household gods are kept, so that the insect falls on sand spread on the floor. a light is then placed on the sanded floor, and covered with a new pot. after some time, the pot is removed, and the sand examined for any marks which may be left on it. this ceremony seems to correspond to the jola jola handi (pierced pot) ceremony of other castes (see bhondari). "the rellis," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [156] "are a caste of gardeners and labourers, found chiefly in the districts of ganjam and vizagapatam. in telugu the word relli or rellis means grass, but whether there is any connection between this and the caste name i cannot say. they generally live at the foot of the hills, and sell vegetables, mostly of hill production." for the following note on the rellis of vizagapatam, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the rellis are also known as sachchari, and they further call themselves sapiri. the caste recognises the custom of menarikam, by which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter. a girl is usually married after puberty. the bride-price is paid sometime before the day fixed for the marriage. on that day, the bride goes, with her parents, to the house of the bridegroom. the caste deities odda polamma (commonly known as sapiri daivam) and kanaka durgalamma are invoked by the elders, and a pig and sheep are sacrificed to them. a string of black beads is tied by the bridegroom round the bride's neck, and a feast is held, at which the sacrificed animals are eaten, and much liquor is imbibed. on the following morning, a new cloth, kunkumam (red powder), and a few pieces of turmeric are placed in a small basket or winnow, and carried in procession, to the accompaniment of music, through the streets by the bride, with whom is the bridegroom. the ceremony is repeated on the third day, when the marriage festivities come to an end. in a note on the rellis of ganjam, mr. s. p. rice writes [157] that "the bridegroom, with the permission of the village magistrate, marches straight into the bride's house, and ties a wedding necklace round her neck. a gift of seven and a half rupees and a pig to the castemen, and of five rupees to the bride's father, completes this very primitive ceremony." widows are allowed to remarry, but the string of beads is not tied round the neck. the caste deities are usually represented by crude wooden dolls, and an annual festival in their honour, with the sacrifice of pigs and sheep, is held in march. the dead are usually buried, and, as a rule, pollution is not observed. some rellis have, however, begun to observe the chinnarozu (little day) death ceremony, which corresponds to the chinnadinamu ceremony of the telugus. the main occupation of the caste is gardening, and selling fruits and vegetables. the famine of 1875-76 reduced a large number of rellis to the verge of starvation, and they took to scavenging as a means of earning a living. at the present day, the gardeners look down on the scavengers, but a prosperous scavenger can be admitted into their society by paying a sum of money, or giving a feast. pollution attaches only to the scavengers, and not to the gardening section. in the census report, 1901, the pakais or sweepers in the godavari district, who have, it is said, gone thither from vizagapatam, are returned as a sub-caste of relli. the usual title of the rellis is gadu. the haddis who inhabit the southern part of ganjam are known as ghasis by other castes, especially telugu people, though they call themselves haddis. the name ghasi has reference to the occupation of cutting grass, especially for horses. the occupational title of grass-cutter is said by yule and burnell [158] to be "probably a corruption representing the hindustani ghaskoda or ghaskata, the digger or cutter of grass, the title of a servant employed to collect grass for horses, one such being usually attached to each horse, besides the syce or horsekeeper (groom). in the north, the grass-cutter is a man; in the south the office is filled by the horsekeeper's wife." it is noted in 'letters from madras' [159] that "every horse has a man and a maid to himself; the maid cuts grass for him; and every dog has a boy. i inquired whether the cat had any servants, but i found he was allowed to wait upon himself." in addition to collecting and selling grass, the ghasis are employed at scavenging work. outsiders, even jaggalis (madigas), paidis, and panos, are admitted into the ghasi community. the headman of the ghasis is called bissoyi, and he is assisted by a behara and gonjari. the gonjari is the caste servant, one of whose duties is said to be the application of a tamarind switch to the back of delinquents. various exogamous septs or bamsams occur among the ghasis, of which naga (cobra), asvo (horse), chintala (tamarind), and liari (parched rice) may be noted. adult marriage is the rule. the betrothal ceremony, at which the kanyo mulo, or bride-price, is paid, is the occasion of a feast, at which pork must be served, and the bissoyi of the future bride's village ties a konti (gold or silver bead) on her neck. the marriage ceremonial corresponds in the main with that of the haddis elsewhere, but has been to some extent modified by the telugu environment. the custom, referred to by mr. s. p. rice, of suspending an earthen pot filled with water from the marriage booth is a very general one, and not peculiar to the ghasis. it is an imitation of a custom observed by the higher oriya castes. the striking of the bridegroom on the back by the bride's brother is the solabidha of other castes, and the mock anger (rusyano) in which the latter goes away corresponds to the alagi povadam of telugu castes. at the first menstrual ceremony of a ghasi girl, she sits in a space enclosed by four arrows, round which a thread is passed seven times. the name odiya toti (oriya scavenger) occurs as a tamil synonym for haddis employed as scavengers in municipalities in the tamil country. hajam.--the hindustani name for a barber, and used as a general professional title by barbers of various classes. it is noted, in the census reports, that only fifteen out of more than two thousand individuals returned as hajam were muhammadans, and that, in south canara, hajams are konkani kelasis, and of marathi descent. halaba.--see pentiya. halavakki.--a canarese synonym for budubudukala. halepaik.--the halepaiks are canarese toddy-drawers, who are found in the northern taluks of the south canara district. the name is commonly derived from hale, old, and paika, a soldier, and it is said that they were formerly employed as soldiers. there is a legend that one of their ancestors became commander of the vijayanagar army, was made ruler of a state, and given a village named halepaikas as a jaghir (hereditary assignment of land). some halepaiks say that they belong to the tengina (cocoanut palm) section, because they are engaged in tapping that palm for toddy. there is intermarriage between the canarese-speaking halepaiks and the tulu-speaking billava toddy-drawers, and, in some places, the billavas also call themselves halepaiks. the halepaiks have exogamous septs or balis, which run in the female line. as examples of these, the following may be noted:-chendi (cerbera odollum), honne (calophyllum inophyllum), tolar (wolf), devana (god) and ganga. it is recorded [160] of the halepaiks of the canara district in the bombay presidency that "each exogamous section, known as a bali (literally a creeper), is named after some animal or tree, which is held sacred by the members of the same. this animal, tree or flower, etc., seems to have been once considered the common ancestor of the members of the bali, and to the present day it is both worshipped by them, and held sacred in the sense that they will not injure it. thus the members of the nagbali, named apparently after the nagchampa flower, will not wear this flower in their hair, as this would involve injury to the plant. the kadavebali will not kill the sambhar (deer: kadave), from which they take their name." the halepaiks of south canara seem to attach no such importance to the sept names. some, however, avoid eating a fish called srinivasa, because they fancy that the streaks on the body have a resemblance to the vaishnavite sectarian mark (namam). all the halepaiks of the kundapur taluk profess to be vaishnavites, and have become the disciples of a vaishnava brahman settled in the village of sankarappakodlu near wondse in that taluk. though venkataramana is regarded as their chief deity, they worship baiderkulu, panjurli, and other bhuthas (devils). the pujaris (priests) avoid eating new grain, new areca nuts, new sugarcane, cucumbers and pumpkins, until a feast, called kaidha puja, has been held. this is usually celebrated in november-december, and consists in offering food, etc., to baiderkulu. somebody gets possessed by the bhutha, and pierces his abdomen with an arrow. in their caste organisation, marriage and death ceremonies, the halepaiks closely follow the billavas. they do not, however, construct a car for the final death ceremonies. as they are vaishnavites, after purification from death pollution by their own caste barber, a vaishnavite mendicant, called dassaya, is called in, and purifies them by sprinkling holy water and putting the namam on their foreheads. there are said to be some differences between the halepaiks and billavas in the method of carrying out the process of drawing toddy. for example, the halepaiks generally grasp the knife with the fingers directed upwards and the thumb to the right, while the billavas hold the knife with the fingers directed downwards and the thumb to the left. for crushing the flower-buds within the spathe of the palm, billavas generally use a stone, and the halepaiks a bone. there is a belief that, if the spathe is beaten with the bone of a buffalo which has been killed by a tiger, the yield of toddy will, if the bone has not touched the ground, be greater than if an ordinary bone is used. the billavas generally carry a long gourd, and the halepaiks a pot, for collecting the toddy in. halige (plank).--a gotra of kurni. hallikara (village man).--recorded, in the mysore census report, 1901, as a division of vakkaliga. halu (milk).--an exogamous sept of holeya and kurni, a sub-division of kuruba, and a name for vakkaligas who keep cattle and sell milk. halu mata (milk caste) has been given as a synonym for kuruba. in the mysore census report, 1901, halu vakkal-makkalu, or children of the milk caste, occurs as a synonym for halu vakkaliga, and, in the south canara manual, halvaklumakkalu is given as a synonym for gauda. the madigas call the intoxicant toddy halu. (see pal.) hanbali.--a sect of muhammadans, who are followers of the imam abu 'abdi 'llah ahmad ibn hanbal, the founder of the fourth orthodox sect of the sunnis, who was born at baghdad a.h. 164 (a.d. 780). "his fame began to spread just at the time when disputes ran highest concerning the nature of the qur'an, which some held to have existed from eternity, whilst others maintained it to be created. unfortunately for ibn hanbal, the khalifah-at-muttasim was of the latter opinion, to which this doctor refusing to subscribe, he was imprisoned, and severely scourged by the khalifah's order." [161] handa.--a title of canarese kumbaras. handichikka.--the handichikkas are stated [162] to be "also generally known as handi jogis. this caste is traced to the pakanati sub-section of the jogis, which name it bore some five generations back when the traditional calling was buffalo-breeding. but, as they subsequently degenerated to pig-rearing, they came to be known as handi jogi or handichikka, handi being the canarese for pig. hanifi.--a sect of muhammadans, named after abu hanifah anhufman, the great sunni imam and jurisconsult, and the founder of the hanifi sect, who was born a.h. 80 (a.d. 700). hanuman.--hanuman, or hanumanta, the monkey god, has been recorded as a sept of domb, and gotra of medara. hari shetti.--a name for konkani-speaking vanis (traders). haruvar.--a sub-division of the badagas of the nilgiri hills. hasala.--concerning the hasalas or hasulas, mr. lewis rice writes that "this tribe resembles the soliga (or sholagas). they are met with along the ghâts on the north-western frontier of mysore. they are a short, thick-set race, very dark in colour, and with curled hair. their chief employment is felling timber, but they sometimes work in areca nut gardens and gather wild cardamoms, pepper, etc. they speak a dialect of canarese." in the mysore census report, 1891, it is stated that "the hasalaru and maleru are confined to the wild regions of the western malnad. in the caste generation, they are said to rank above the halepaikas, but above the holeyas and madigas. they are a diminutive but muscular race, with curly hair and dolichocephalous head. their mother-tongue is tulu. their numbers are so insignificantly small as not to be separately defined. they are immigrants from south canara, and lead a life little elevated above that of primordial barbarism. they live in small isolated huts, which are, however, in the case of the hasalas, provided not only with the usual principal entrance, through which one has to crawl in, but also with a half-concealed hole in the rear, a kind of postern, through which the shy inmates steal out into the jungle at the merest suspicion of danger, or the approach of a stranger. they collect the wild jungle produce, such as cardamoms, etc., for their customary employers, whose agrestic slaves they have virtually become. their huts are annually or periodically shifted from place to place, usually the most inaccessible and thickest parts of the wilderness. they are said to be very partial to toddy and arrack (alcoholic liquor). it is expected that these savages smuggle across the frontier large quantities of wild pepper and cardamoms from the ghat forests of the province. their marriage customs are characterised by the utmost simplicity, and the part played therein by the astrologer is not very edifying. their religion does not seem to transcend devil worship. they bury the dead. a very curious obsequial custom prevails among the hasalas. when any one among them dies, somebody's devil is credited with the mishap, and the astrologer is consulted to ascertain its identity. the latter throws cowries (shells of cyproea moneta) for divination, and mentions some neighbour as the owner of the devil thief. thereupon, the spirit of the dead is redeemed by the heir or relative by means of a pig, fowl, or other guerdon. the spirit is then considered released, and is thence forward domiciled in a pot, which is supplied periodically with water and nourishment. this may be looked upon as the elementary germ of the posthumous care-taking, which finds articulation under the name of sradh in multifarious forms, accompanied more or less with much display in the more civilised sections of the hindu community. the hasalaru are confined to tirthahalli and mudigere." it is further recorded in the mysore census report, 1891, that "in most of the purely malnad or hilly taluks, each vargdar, or proprietor of landed estate, owns a set of servants styled huttalu or huttu-alu and mannalu or mannu-alu. the former is the hereditary servitor of the family, born in servitude, and performing agricultural work for the landholder from father to son. the mannalu is a serf attached to the soil, and changes hands with it. they are usually of the holaya class, but, in some places, the hasalar race have been entertained." (see holeya.) concerning the hasalaru, mr. h. v. nanjundayya writes to me that "their marriages take place at night, a pujari of their caste ties the tali, a golden disc, round the bride's neck. being influenced by the surrounding castes, they have taken of late to the practice of inviting the astrologer to be present. in the social scale they are a little superior to madigas and holeyas, and, like them, live outside the village, but they do not eat beef. their approach is considered to defile a brahman, and they do not enter the houses of non-brahmans such as vakkaligas and kurubas. they have their own caste barbers and washermen, and have separate wells to draw water from." hasbe.--hasbe or hasubu, meaning a double pony pack-sack, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of holeya and vakkaliga. hastham (hand).--an exogamous sept of boya. hatagar.--a sub-division of devangas, who are also called kodekal hatagaru. hathi (elephant).--a sept of the oriya haddis. when members of this sept see the foot-prints of an elephant, they take some dust from the spot, and make a mark on the forehead with it. they also draw the figure of an elephant, and worship it, when they perform sradh (memorial service for the dead) and other ceremonies. hathinentu manayavaru (eighteen house).--a sub-division of devanga. hatti (hut or hamlet).--an exogamous sept of kappilliyan and kuruba. hattikankana (cotton wrist-thread).--a sub-division of kurubas, who tie a cotton thread round the wrist at the marriage ceremony. heggade.--the heggades are summed up, in the madras census report, 1901, as being a class of canarese cultivators and cattle-breeders. concerning the heggades of south canara, mr. h. a. stuart writes [163] that they "are classified as shepherds, but the present occupation of the majority of them is cultivation. their social position is said to be somewhat inferior to that of the bants. they employ brahmins as their priests. in their ceremonies, the rich follow closely the brahminical customs. on the second day of their marriage, a pretence of stealing a jewel from the person of the bride is made. the bridegroom makes away with the jewel before dawn, and in the evening the bride's party proceeds to the house where the bridegroom is to be found. the owner of the house is told that a theft has occurred in the bride's house and is asked whether the thief has taken shelter in his house. a negative answer is given, but the bride's party conducts a regular search. in the meanwhile a boy is dressed to represent the bridegroom. the searching party mistake this boy for the bridegroom, arrest him, and produce him before the audience as the culprit. this disguised bridegroom, who is proclaimed to be the thief, throws his mask at the bride, when it is found to the amusement of all present that he is not the bridegroom. the bride's party then, confessing their inability to find the bridegroom, request the owner of the house to produce him. he is then produced, and conducted in procession to the bride's house." some bants who use the title heggade wear the sacred thread, follow the hereditary profession of temple functionaries, and are keepers of the demon shrines which are dotted all over south canara. of the heggades who have settled in the coorg country, the rev. g. richter states [164] that "they conform, in superstitions and festivals, to coorg custom, but are excluded from the community of the coorgs, in whose presence they are allowed to sit only on the floor, whilst the former occupy a chair, or, if they are seated on a mat, the heggades must not touch it." in the mysore and coorg gazetteer, heggade is defined by mr. l. rice as the headman of a village, the head of the village police, to whom, in some parts of the province, rent-free lands are assigned for his support. heggade is sometimes used as a caste name by kurubas, and occurs as an exogamous sept of stanikas. hegganiga.--a sub-division of ganigas, who use two oxen for their oil-pressing mills. helava.--helava, meaning lame person, is the name of a class of mendicants, who, in bellary, mysore, and other localities, are the custodians of village histories. they generally arrive at the villages mounted on a bullock, and with their legs concealed by woollen blankets. they go from house to house, giving the history of the different families, the names of heroes who died in war, and so forth. hijra (eunuchs).--see khoja. hire (big).--a sub-division of kurni. hittu (flour).--a gotra of kurni. holadava.--a synonym of gatti. holeya.--the bulk of the holeyas are, in the madras presidency, found in south canara, but there are a considerable number in coimbatore and on the nilgiris (working on cinchona, tea, and coffee estates). in the manual of the south canara district it is noted that "holeyas are the field labourers, and former agrestic serfs of south canara, pulayan being the malayalam and paraiyan the tamil form of the same word. the name is derived by brahmins from hole, pollution, and by others from hola, land or soil, in recognition of the fact that, as in the case of the paraiyan, there are customs remaining which seem to indicate that the holeyas were once masters of the land; but, whatever the derivation may be, it is no doubt the same as that of paraiyan and pulayan. the holeyas are divided into many sub-divisions, but the most important are mari, mera, and mundala or bakuda. the mera holeyas are the most numerous, and they follow the ordinary law of inheritance through males, as far as that can be said to be possible with a class of people who have absolutely nothing to inherit. of course, demon propitiation (bhuta worship) is practically the exclusive idea of the holeyas, and every one of the above sub-divisions has four or five demons to which fowls, beaten rice, cocoanuts and toddy, are offered monthly and annually. the holeyas have, like other classes of south canara, a number of balis (exogamous septs), and persons of the same bali cannot intermarry. though the marriage tie is as loose as is usual among the depressed and low castes of southern india, their marriage ceremony is somewhat elaborate. the bridegroom's party goes to the bride's house on a fixed day with rice, betel leaf and a few areca nuts, and waits the whole night outside the bride's hut, the bridegroom being seated on a mat specially made by the bride. on the next morning the bride is made to sit opposite the bridegroom, with a winnowing fan between them filled with betel leaf, etc. meanwhile the men and women present throw rice over the heads of the couple. the bride then accompanies the bridegroom to his hut, carrying the mat with her. on the last day the couple take the mat to a river or tank where fish may be found, dip the mat into the water, and catch some fish, which they let go after kissing them. a grand feast completes the marriage. divorce is easy, and widow marriage is freely practiced. holeyas will eat flesh including beef, and have no caste scruples regarding the consumption of spirituous liquor. both men and women wear a small cap made of the leaf of the areca palm." the holeyas who were interviewed by us all said that they do not go through the ceremony of catching fish, which is performed by shivalli brahmans and akkasales. "all tulu brahmin chronicles," mr. h. a. stuart writes [165] "agree in ascribing the creation of malabar and canara, or kerala, tuluva, and haiga to parasu rama, who reclaimed from the sea as much land as he could cover by hurling his battle-axe from the top of the western ghauts. a modified form of the tradition states that parasu rama gave the newly reclaimed land to naga and machi brahmins, who were not true brahmins, and were turned out or destroyed by fishermen and holeyas, who held the country till the tulu brahmins were introduced by mayur varma (of the kadamba dynasty). all traditions unite in attributing the introduction of the tulu brahmins of the present day to mayur varma, but they vary in details connected with the manner in which they obtained a firm footing in the land. one account says that habashika, chief of the koragas, drove out mayur varma, but was in turn expelled by mayur varma's son, or son-in-law, lokaditya of gokarnam, who brought brahmins from ahi-kshetra, and settled them in thirty-two villages. another makes mayur varma himself the invader of the country, which till then had remained in the possession of the holeyas and fishermen who had turned out parasu rama's brahmins. mayur varma and the brahmins whom he had brought from ahi-kshetra were again driven out by nanda, a holeya chief, whose son chandra sayana had, however, learned respect for brahmins from his mother, who had been a dancing-girl in a temple. his admiration for them became so great that he not only brought back the brahmins, but actually made over all his authority to them, and reduced his people to the position of slaves. a third account makes chandra sayana, not a son of a holeya king, but a descendant of mayur varma and a conqueror of the holeya king." in coorg, the rev. g. richter writes, [166] "the holeyas are found in the coorg houses all over the country, and do all the menial work for the coorgs, by whom, though theoretically freemen under the british government, they were held as gleboe adscripti in a state of abject servitude until lately, when, with the advent of european planters, the slave question was freely discussed, and the 'domestic institution' practically abolished. the holeyas dress indifferently, are of dirty habits, and eat whatever they can get, beef included. their worship is addressed to eiyappa devaru and chamundi, or kali goddess once every month; and once every year they sacrifice a hog or a fowl." of the holeyas of the mysore province, the following account is given in the mysore census reports, 1891 and 1901. "the holeyas number 502,493 persons, being 10.53 per cent. of the total population. they constitute, as their name implies, the back-bone of cultivation in the country. hola is the kanarese name for a dry-crop field, and holeya means the man of such field. the caste has numerous sub-divisions, among which are kannada, gangadikara, maggada (loom), and morasu. the holeyas are chiefly employed as labourers in connection with agriculture, and manufacture with hand-looms various kinds of coarse cloth or home-spun, which are worn extensively by the poorer classes, notwithstanding that they are being fast supplanted by foreign cheap fabrics. in some parts of the mysore district, considerable numbers of the holeyas are specially engaged in betel-vine gardening. as labourers they are employed in innumerable pursuits, in which manual labour preponderates. the aleman sub-division furnishes recruits as barr sepoys. it may not be amiss to quote here some interesting facts denoting the measure of material well-being achieved by, and the religious recognition accorded to the outcastes at certain first-class shrines in mysore. at melkote in the mysore district, the outcastes, i.e., the holeyas and madigs, are said to have been granted by the great visishtadvaita reformer, ramanujacharya, the privilege of entering the vishnu temple up to the sanctum sanctorum, along with brahmans and others, to perform worship there for three days during the annual car procession. the following anecdote, recorded by buchanan, [167] supplies the raison d'être for the concession, which is said to have also been earned by their forebears having guarded the sacred murti or idol. on ramanujacharya going to melkota to perform his devotions at that celebrated shrine, he was informed that the place had been attacked by the turk king of delhi, who had carried away the idol. the brahman immediately set out for that capital, and on arrival found that the king had made a present of the image to his daughter, for it is said to be very handsome, and she asked for it as a plaything. all day the princess played with the image, and at night the god assumed his own beautiful form, and enjoyed her bed, for krishna is addicted to such forms of adventures. ramanujacharya, by virtue of certain mantras, obtained possession of the image, and wished to carry it off. he asked the brahmans to assist him, but they refused; on which the holeyas volunteered, provided the right of entering the temple was granted to them. ramanujacharya accepted their proposal, and the holeyas, having posted themselves between delhi and melkota, the image of the god was carried down in twenty-four hours. the service also won for the outcastes the envied title of tiru-kulam or the sacred race. in 1799, however, when the dewan (prime minister) purnaiya visited the holy place, the right of the outcastes to enter the temple was stopped at the dhvaja stambham, the consecrated monolithic column, from which point alone can they now obtain a view of the god. on the day of the car procession, the tiru-kulam people, men, women and children, shave their heads and bathe with the higher castes in the kalyani or large reservoir, and carry on their head small earthen vessels filled with rice and oil, and enter the temple as far as the flagstaff referred to above, where they deliver their offerings, which are appropriated by the dasayyas, who resort simultaneously as pilgrims to the shrine. besides the privilege of entering the temple, the tiru-kula holeyas and madigs have the right to drag the car, for which service they are requited by getting from the temple two hundred seers of ragi (grain), a quantity of jaggery (crude sugar), and few bits of the dyed cloth used for decorating the pandal (shed) which is erected for the procession. at the close of the procession, the representatives of the aforesaid classes receive each a flower garland at the hands of the sthanik or chief worshipper, who manages to drop a garland synchronously into each plate held by the recipients, so as to avoid any suspicion of undue preference. in return for these privileges, the members of the tiru-kulam used to render gratuitous services such as sweeping the streets round the temple daily, and in the night patrolling the whole place with drums during the continuance of the annual procession, etc. but these services are said to have become much abridged and nearly obsolete under the recent police and municipal régime. the privilege of entering the temple during the annual car procession is enjoyed also by the outcastes in the vishnu temple at belur in the hassan district. it is, however, significant that in both the shrines, as soon as the car festival is over, i.e., on the 10th day, the concession ceases, and the temples are ceremonially purified. "in the pre-survey period, the holeya or madig kulvadi, in the maidan or eastern division, was so closely identified with the soil that his oath, accompanied by certain formalities and awe-inspiring solemnities, was considered to give the coup de grâce to long existing and vexatious boundary disputes. he had a potential voice in the internal economy of the village, and was often the fidus achates of the patel (village official). in the malnad, however, the holeya had degenerated into the agrestic slave, and till a few decades ago under the british rule, not only as regards his property, but also with regard to his body, he was not his own master. the vargdar or landholder owned him as a hereditary slave. the genius of british rule has emancipated him, and his enfranchisement has been emphasized by the allurements of the coffee industry with its free labour and higher wages. it is, however, said that the improvement so far of the status of the outcastes in the malnad has not been an unmixed good, inasmuch as it is likewise a measure of the decadence of the supari (betel) gardens. be that as it may, the holeya in the far west of the province still continues in many respects the bondsman of the local landholder of influence; and some of the social customs now prevailing among the holeyas there, as described hereunder, fully bear out this fact. "in most of the purely malnad or hilly taluks, each vargdar, or proprietor of landed estate, owns a set of servants called huttalu or huttu-alu and mannalu or mannu-alu. the former is the hereditary servitor of the family, born in servitude, and performing agricultural work for the landholder from father to son. the mannalu is a serf attached to the soil, and changes with it. these are usually of the holeya class, but in some places men of the hasalar race have been entertained. to some estates or vargs only huttu-alus are attached, while mannu-alus work on others. notwithstanding the measure of personal freedom enjoyed by all men at the present time, and the unification of the land tenures in the province under the revenue survey and settlement, the traditions of birth, immemorial custom, ignorance, and never-to-be-paid-off loads of debt, tend to preserve in greater or less integrity the conditions of semi-slavery under which these agrestic slaves live. it is locally considered the acme of unwisdom to loosen the immemorial relations between capital and labour, especially in the remote backwoods, in which free labour does not exist, and the rich supari cultivation whereof would be ruined otherwise. in order furthermore to rivet the ties which bind these hereditary labourers to the soil, it is alleged that the local capitalists have improvised a kind of gretna green marriage among them. a legal marriage of the orthodox type contains the risk of a female servant being lost to the family in case the husband happened not to be a huttalu or mannalu. so, in order to obviate the possible loss, a custom prevails according to which a female huttalu or mannalu is espoused in what is locally known as the manikattu form, which is neither more nor less than licensed concubinage. she may be given up after a time, subject to a small fine to the caste, and anybody else may then espouse her on like conditions. not only does she then remain in the family, but her children will also become the landlord's servants. these people are paid with a daily supply of paddy or cooked food, and a yearly present of clothing and blankets (kamblis). on special occasions, and at car feasts, they receive in addition small money allowances. "in rural circles, in which the holeyas and madigs are kept at arm's length by the bramanical bodies, and are not allowed to approach the sacerdotal classes beyond a fixed limit, the outcastes maintain a strict semi-religious rule, whereby no brahman can enter the holeya's quarters without necessitating a purification thereof. they believe that the direst calamities will befall them and theirs if otherwise. the ultraconservative spirit of hindu priestcraft casts into the far distance the realization of the hope that the lower castes will become socially equal even with the classes usually termed sudras. but the time is looming in the near distance, in which they will be on a level in temporal prosperity with the social organisms above them. unlike the land tenures said to prevail in chingleput or madras, the mysore system fully permits the holeyas and madigs to hold land in their own right, and as sub-tenants they are to be found almost everywhere. the highest amount of land assessment paid by a single holeya is rs. 279 in the bangalore district, and the lowest six pies in the kolar and mysore districts. the quota paid by the outcastes towards the land revenue of the country aggregates no less than three lakhs of rupees, more than two-thirds being paid by the holeyas, and the remainder by the madigs. these facts speak for themselves, and afford a reliable index to the comparative well-being of these people. instances may also be readily quoted, in which individual holeyas, etc., have risen to be money-lenders, and enjoy comparative affluence. coffee cultivation and allied industries have thrown much good fortune into their lap. here and there they have also established bhajane or prayer houses, in which theistic prayers and psalms are recited by periodical congregation. a beginning has been made towards placing the facilities of education within easy reach of these depressed classes." in connection with the holeyas of south canara, it is recorded [168] that "the ordinary agricultural labourers of this district are holeyas or pariahs of two classes, known as mulada holeyas and salada holeyas, the former being the old hereditary serfs attached to muli wargs (estates), and the latter labourers bound to their masters' service by being in debt to them. nowadays, however, there is a little difference between the two classes. neither are much given to changing masters, and, though a mulada holeya is no longer a slave, he is usually as much in debt as a salada holeya, and can only change when his new master takes the debt over. to these labourers cash payments are unknown, except occasionally in the case of salada holeyas, where there is a nominal annual payment to be set off against interest on the debt. in other cases interest is foregone, one or other of the perquisites being sometimes docked as an equivalent. the grain wage consists of rice or paddy (unhusked rice), and the local seer is, on the average, as nearly as possible one of 80 tolas. the daily rice payments to men, women, and children vary as follows:- men from 1 seer to 2 seers. women from 2/3 seer to 2 seers. children from 3/8 seer to 1 seer. "in addition to the daily wages, and the midday meal of boiled rice which is given in almost all parts, there are annual perquisites or privileges. except on the coast of the mangalore taluk and in the coondapoor taluk, every holeya is allowed rent free from 1/8 to 1/3 acre of land, and one or two cocoanut or palmyra trees, with sometimes a jack or mango tree in addition. the money-value of the produce of this little allotment is variously estimated at from 1 to 5 rupees per annum. throughout the whole district, cloths are given every year to each labourer, the money value being estimated at 1 rupee per adult, and 6 annas for a child. it is also customary to give a cumbly (blanket) in the neighbourhood of the ghauts, where the damp and cold render a warm covering necessary. on three or four important festivals, presents of rice and other eatables, oil and salt are given to each labourer, or, in some cases, to each family. the average value of these may be taken at 1 rupee per labourer, or rs. 4 per family. presents are also made on the occasion of a birth, marriage, or funeral, the value of which varies very much in individual cases. whole families of holeyas are attached to the farms, but, when their master does not require their services, he expects them to go and work elsewhere in places where such work is to be got. in the interior, outside work is not to be had at many seasons, and the master has to pay them even if there is not much for them to do, but, one way or another, he usually manages to keep them pretty well employed all the year round." in a note on the kulwadis, kulvadis or chalavadis of the hassan district in mysore, captain j. s. f. mackenzie writes [169] that "every village has its holigiri--as the quarter inhabited by the holiars is called--outside the village boundary hedge. this, i thought, was because they are considered an impure race, whose touch carries defilement with it. such is the reason generally given by the brahman, who refuses to receive anything directly from the hands of a holiar, and yet the brahmans consider great luck will wait upon them if they can manage to pass through the holigiri without being molested. to this the holiars have a strong objection, and, should a brahman attempt to enter their quarters, they turn out in a body and slipper him, in former times it is said to death. members of the other castes may come as far as the door, but they must not enter the house, for that would bring the holiar bad luck. if, by chance, a person happens to get in, the owner takes care to tear the intruder's cloth, tie up some salt in one corner of it, and turn him out. this is supposed to neutralize all the good luck which might have accrued to the trespasser, and avert any evil which might have befallen the owner of the house. all the thousand-and-one castes, whose members find a home in the village, unhesitatingly admit that the kulwadi is de jure the rightful owner of the village. he who was is still, in a limited sense, 'lord of the village manor.' if there is a dispute as to the village boundaries, the kulwadi is the only one competent to take the oath as to how the boundary ought to run. the old custom for settling such disputes was as follows. the kulwadi, carrying on his head a ball made of the village earth, in the centre of which is placed some water, passes along the boundary. if he has kept the proper line, everything goes well; but should he, by accident, even go beyond his own proper boundary, then the ball of earth, of its own accord, goes to pieces, the kulwadi dies within fifteen days, and his house becomes a ruin. such is the popular belief. again, the skins of all animals dying within the village boundaries are the property of the kulwadi, and a good income he makes from this source. to this day a village boundary dispute is often decided by this one fact. if the kulwadis agree, the other inhabitants of the villages can say no more. when--in our forefathers' days, as the natives say--a village was first established, a stone called 'karu kallu' is set up. to this stone the patel once a year makes an offering. the kulwadi, after the ceremony is over, is entitled to carry off the rice, etc., offered. in cases where there is no patel, the kulwadi goes through the yearly ceremony. but what i think proves strongly that the holia was the first to take possession of the soil is that the kulwadi receives, and is entitled to receive, from the friends of any person who dies in the village, a certain fee or as my informant forcibly put it, 'they buy from him the ground for the dead.' this fee is still called in canarese nela haga, from nela earth, and haga, a coin worth 1 anna 2 pies. in munzerabad the kulwadi does not receive this fee from those ryots who are related to the headman. here the kulwadi occupies a higher position. he has, in fact, been adopted into the patel's family, for, on a death occurring in such family, the kulwadi goes into mourning by shaving his head. he always receives from the friends the clothes the deceased wore, and a brass basin. the kulwadi, however, owns a superior in the matter of burial fees. he pays yearly a fowl, one hana (4 annas 8 pies), and a handful of rice to the agent of the sudgadu siddha, or lord of the burning ground (q.v.)." a kulwadi, whom i came across, was carrying a brass ladle bearing the figure of a couchant bull (basava) and a lingam under a many-headed cobra canopy. this ladle is carried round, and filled with rice, money, and betel, on the occasion of marriages in those castes, of which the insignia are engraved on the handle. these insignia were as follows:- weavers--shuttle and brush. bestha--fish. uppara--spade and basket for collecting salt. korama--baskets and knife for splitting canes and bamboos. idiga--knife, and apparatus for climbing palm-trees. hajam--barber's scissors, razor, and sharpening stone. ganiga--oil-press. madavali--washerman's pot, fire-place, mallet, and stone. kumbara--potter's wheel, pots, and mallet. vakkaliga--plough. chetti--scales and basket. kuruba--sheep-shears. a small whistle, called kola-singanatha, made of gold, silver, or copper, is tied round the neck of some holeyas, vakkaligas, besthas, agasas and kurubas, by means of threads of sheep's wool intertwined sixteen times. all these castes are supposed to belong to the family of the god bhaira, in whose name the whistle is tied by a bairagi at chunchingiri near nagamangala. it is usually tied in fulfilment of a vow taken by the parents, and the ceremony costs from a hundred to two hundred rupees. until the vow is fulfilled, the person concerned cannot marry. at the ceremony, the bairagi bores a hole in the right ear-lobe of the celebrant with a needle called diksha churi, and from the wound ten drops of blood fall to the ground (cf. jogi purusha). he is then bathed before the whistle is tied round his neck. as the result of wearing the whistle, the man attains to the rank of a priest in his caste, and is entitled to receive alms and meals on festive and ceremonial occasions. he blows his whistle, which emits a thin squeak, before partaking of food, or performing his daily worship. it is noted in the mysore census report, 1901, that the marriage of the holeyas is "nothing but a feast, at which the bridegroom ties the bottu (marriage badge) round the bride's neck. the wife cannot be divorced except for adultery. widows are prohibited from remarrying, but the caste winks at a widow's living with a man." in an account given to me of marriage among the gangadikara holeyas, i was told that, if a girl reaches puberty without being married, she may live with any man whom she likes within the caste. if he pays later on the bride price of twelve rupees, the marriage ceremonies take place, and the issue becomes legitimate. on the first day of these ceremonies, the bride is taken to the house of her husband-elect. the parties of the bride and bridegroom go, accompanied by music, to a river or tank, each with four new earthen pots, rice, betel, and other things. the pots, which are decorated with flowers of the areca palm, are filled with water, and set apart in the houses of the contracting couple. this ceremonial is known as bringing the god. at night the wrist-threads (kankanam), made of black and white wool, with turmeric root and iron ring tied on them, are placed round the wrists of the bride and bridegroom. on the following day, cotton thread is passed round the necks of three brass vessels, and also round the head of the bridegroom, who sits before the vessels with hands folded, and betel leaves stuck between his fingers. married women anoint him with oil and turmeric, and he is bathed. he is then made to stand beneath a tree, and a twig of the jambu (eugenia jambolana) tree is tied to the milk-post. a similar ceremony is performed by the bride. the bridegroom is conducted to the marriage booth, and he and the bride exchange garlands and put gingelly (sesamum) and jirige (cummin) on each other's heads. the bottu is passed round to be blessed, and tied by the bridegroom on the bride's neck. this is followed by the pouring of milk over the hands of the contracting couple. on the third day, the wrist-threads are removed, and the pots thrown away. the holeyas have a large number of exogamous septs, of which the following are examples:- ane, elephant. hasubu, pack-sack. male, garland. malige, jasmine. nerali, eugenia jambolana. tene, setaria italica. hutta, ant-hill. chatri, umbrella. halu, milk. mola, hare. kavane, sling. jenu, honey. it is recorded in the mysore census report, 1901, that "351 out of the entire population of 577,166 have returned gotras, the names thereof being harichandra, kali, yekke, and karadi. in thus doing, it is evident that they are learning to venerate themselves, like others in admittedly higher grades of society." some holeya families are called hale makkalu, or old children of the gangadikara vakkaligas, and have to do certain services for the latter, such as carrying the sandals of the bridegroom, acting as messenger in conveying news from place to place, carrying fire before corpses to the burning-ground, and watching over the burning body. it is said that, in the performance of these duties, the exogamous septs of the holeya and vakkaliga must coincide. in the census report, 1901, balagai, bakuda, begara or byagara, kusa (or uppara) maila, and ranivaya (belonging to a queen) are recorded as sub-sects of the holeyas. of these, balagai is a synonym, indicating that the holeyas belong to the right-hand section. the bakudas are said to resent the application of that name to them, and call themselves aipattukuladavaru, or the people of fifty families, presumably from the fact that they are divided into fifty balis or families. these balis are said to be named after deceased female ancestors. begara or byagara is a synonym, applied to the holeyas by kanarese lingayats. maila means dirt, and probably refers to the washerman section, just as mailari (washerman) occurs among the malas. the tulu-speaking holeyas must not be confounded with the canarese-speaking holeyas. in south canara, holeya is a general name applied to the polluting classes, nalkes, koragas, and the three divisions of holeyas proper, which differ widely from each other in some respects. these divisions are- (1) bakuda or mundala--a stranger, asking a woman if her husband is at home, is expected to refer to him as her bakuda, and not as her mundala. (2) mera or mugayaru, which is also called kaipuda. (3) mari or marimanisaru. of these, the first two sections abstain from beef, and consequently consider themselves superior to the mari section. the bakudas follow the aliya santana law of succession (in the female line), and, if a man leaves any property, it goes to his nephew. they will not touch dead cows or calves, or remove the placenta when a cow calves. nor will they touch leather, especially in the form of shoes. they will not carry cots on which rice sheaves are thrashed, chairs, etc., which have four legs, but, when ordered to do so, either break off one leg, or add an extra leg by tying a stick to the cot or chair. the women always wear their cloth in one piece, and are not allowed, like other holeyas, to have it made of two pieces. the bakudas will not eat food prepared or touched by bilimaggas, jadas, paravas or nalkes. the headman is called mukhari. the office is hereditary, and, in some places, is, as with the guttinaya of the bants, connected with his house-site. this being fixed, he should remain at that house, or his appointment will lapse, except with the general consent of the community to his retaining it. in some places, the mukhari has two assistants, called jammana and bondari, of whom the latter has to distribute toddy at assemblies of the caste. on all ceremonial occasions, the mukhari has to be treated with great respect, and even an individual who gets possessed by the bhutha (devil) has to touch him with his kadasale (sword). in cases of adultery, a purificatory ceremony, called gudi suddha, is performed. the erring woman's relations construct seven small huts, through which she has to pass, and they are burned down. the fact of this purificatory ceremony taking place is usually proclaimed by the bondari, and the saying is that 280 people should assemble. they sprinkle water brought from a temple or sthana (devil shrine) and cow's urine over the woman just before she passes through the huts. a small quantity of hair from her head, a few hairs from the eyelids, and nails from her fingers are thrown into the huts. in some places, the delinquent has to drink a considerable quantity of salt-water and cow-dung water. her relatives have to pay a small money fine to the village deity. the ordeal of passing through huts is also practiced by the koragas of south canara. "the suggestion," mr. r. e. enthoven writes, "seems to be a rapid representation of seven existences, the outcaste regaining his (or her) status after seven generations have passed without further transgression. the parallel suggested is the law of manu that seven generations are necessary to efface a lapse from the law of endogamous marriage." the special bhuthas of the bakudas are kodababbu and kamberlu (or kangilu), but jumadi, panjurli, and tanimaniya are also occasionally worshipped. for the propitiation of kodababbu, nalkes are engaged to put on the disguise of this bhutha, whereas bakudas themselves dress up for the propitiation of kamberlu in cocoanut leaves tied round the head and waist. thus disguised, they go about the streets periodically, collecting alms from door to door. kamberlu is supposed to cause small-pox, cholera, and other epidemic diseases. on the day fixed for the betrothal ceremony, among the bakudas, a few people assemble at the home of the bride-elect, and the mukharis of both parties exchange betel or beat the palms of their hands, and proclaim that all quarrels must cease, and the marriage is to be celebrated. toddy is distributed among those assembled. the bride's party visit the parents of the bridegroom, and receive then or subsequently a white cloth, four rupees, and three bundles of rice. on the wedding day, those who are present seat themselves in front of the house where the ceremony is to take place, and are given betel to chew. a new mat is spread, and the bride and bridegroom stand thereon. if there is a kodababbu sthana in the vicinity, the jewels belonging thereto are worn by the bridegroom, who also wears a red cap, which is usually kept in the sthana, and carries in his hand the sword (kadasale) belonging thereto. the mukhari or jammana asks if the five groups of people, from barkur, mangalore, shivalli, chithpadi, mudanidambur, and udayavara, are present. five men come forward, and announce that this is so, and say "all relationship involving prohibited degrees may snap, and cease to exist." a tray of rice and a lamp are placed before the contracting couple, and those present throw rice over their heads. all then go to the toddy shop, and have a drink. they then return to the house and partake of a meal, at which the bridegroom and his bestman (maternal uncle's son) are seated apart. cooked rice is heaped up on a leaf before the bridegroom, and five piles of fish curry are placed thereon. first the bridegroom eats a portion thereof, and the remainder is finished off by the bestman. the bridal couple then stand once more on the mat, and the mukhari joins their hands, saying "no unlawful marriage should take place. prohibited relationship must be avoided." he sprinkles water from culms of cynodon dactylon over the united hands. the body of a dead bakuda is washed with hot water, in which mango (mangifera indica) bark is steeped. the dead are buried. the day for the final death ceremonies (bojja) is usually fixed by the mukhari or jammana. on that day, cooked food is offered to the deceased, and all cry "muriyo, muriyo." the son, after being shaved, and with his face veiled by a cloth, carries cooked rice on his head to a small hut erected for the occasion. the food is set down, and all present throw some of it into the hut. the mera or mugayar holeyas, like the bakudas, abstain from eating beef, and refuse to touch leather in any form. they have no objection to carrying four-legged articles. though their mother tongue is tulu, they seem to follow the makkala santana law of inheritance (in the male line). their headman is entitled kuruneru, and he has, as the badge of office, a cane with a silver band. the office of headman passes to the son instead of to the nephew. marriage is called badathana, and the details of the ceremony are like those of the mari holeyas. the dead are buried, and the final death ceremonies (bojja or savu) are performed on the twelfth or sixteenth day. a feast is given to some members of the community, and cooked food offered to the deceased at the house and near the grave. the mari or marimanisaru holeyas are sometimes called karadhi by the bakudas. like certain malayalam castes, the holeyas have distinct names for their homes according to the section. thus, the huts of the mari holeyas are called kelu, and those of the mera holeyas patta. the headmen among the mari holeyas are called mulia, boltiyadi, and kallali. the office of headman follows in the female line of succession. in addition to various bhuthas, such as panjurli and jumadi, the mari holeyas have two special bhuthas, named kattadhe and kanadhe, whom they regard as their ancestors. at times of festivals, these ancestors are supposed to descend on earth, and make their presence known by taking possession of some member of the community. men who are liable to be so possessed are called dharipuneyi, and have the privilege of taking up the sword and bell belonging to the bhuthasthana when under possession. marriage among the mari holeyas is called porathavu. at the betrothal ceremony, the headmen of the contracting parties exchange betel leaves and areca nuts. the bride-price usually consists of two bundles of rice and a bundle of paddy (unhusked rice). on the wedding day the bridegroom and his party go to the home of the bride, taking with them a basket containing five seers of rice, two metal bangles, one or two cocoanuts, a comb, and a white woman's cloth, which are shown to the headman of the bride's party. the two headmen order betel leaf and areca nuts to be distributed among those assembled. after a meal, a mat is spread in front of the hut, and the bride and bridegroom stand thereon. the bridegroom has in his hand a sword, and the bride holds some betel leaves and areca nuts. rice is thrown over their heads, and presents of money are given to them. the two headmen lift up the hands of the contracting couple, and they are joined together. the bride is lifted up so as to be a little higher than the bridegroom, and is taken indoors. the bridegroom follows her, but is prevented from entering by his brother-in-law, to whom he gives betel leaves and areca nuts. he then makes a forcible entrance into the hut. when a mari holeya girl reaches puberty, she is expected to remain within a hut for twelve days, at the end of which time the castemen are invited to a feast. the girl is seated on a pattern drawn on the floor. at the four corners thereof, vessels filled with water are placed. the girl's mother holds over her head a plantain leaf, and four women belonging to different balis (septs) pour water thereon from the vessels. these women and the girl then sit down to a meal, and eat off the same leaf. among the mari holeyas, the dead are usually buried, and the final death ceremonies are performed on the twelfth day. a pit is dug near the grave, into which an image of the deceased, made of rice straw, is put. the image is set on fire by his son or nephew. the ashes are heaped up, and a rude hut is erected round them by fixing three sticks in the ground, and covering them with a cloth. food is offered on a leaf, and the dead person is asked to eat it. the kusa holeyas speak canarese. they object to carrying articles with four legs, unless the legs are crossed. they do not eat beef, and will not touch leather. they consider themselves to be superior to the other sections of holeyas, and use as an argument that their caste name is uppara, and not holeya. why they are called uppara is not clear, but some say that they are the same as the upparas (salt workers) of mysore, who, in south canara, have descended in the social scale. the hereditary occupation of the upparas is making salt from salt earth (ku, earth). the headman of the kusa holeyas is called buddivant. as they are disciples of a lingayat priest at the mutt at kudli in mysore, they are saivites. every family has to pay the priest a fee of eight annas on the occasion of his periodical visitations. the bhuthas specially worshipped by the kusa holeyas are masti and halemanedeyya, but venkataramana of tirupati is by some regarded as their family deity. marriage is both infant and adult, and widows are permitted to remarry, if they have no children. at tumkur, in the mysore province, i came across a settlement of people called tigala holeya, who do not intermarry with other holeyas, and have no exogamous septs or house-names. their cranial measurements approach more nearly to those of the dolichocephalic tamil paraiyans than those of the sub-brachycephalic holeyas; and it is possible that they are tamil paraiyans, who migrated, at some distant date, to mysore. ==================+============+===========+========= --- | cephalic | cephalic | cephalic | length. | breadth. | index. ------------------+------------+-----------+-------- | cm. | cm. | | | | tamil paraiyan | 18.6 | 13.7 | 73.6 tigala holeya | 18.5 | 13.9 | 75.1 holeya | 17.9 | 14.1 | 79.1 ==================+============+===========+========= holodia gudiya.--a name for the agricultural section of the oriya gudiyas. holuva (holo, plough).--a synonym of pentiya, and the name of a section of oriya brahmans, who plough the land. hon.--hon, honnu, and honne, meaning gold, have been recorded as gotras or exogamous septs of kurni, odde, and kuruba. honne (calophyllum inophyllum or pterocarpus marsupium).--an exogamous sept of halepaik and moger. the halepaiks sometimes call the sept sura honne. honnungara (gold ring).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. huli (tiger).--an exogamous sub-sept of kappiliyan. hullu (grass).--a gotra of kurni. hunise (tamarind).--an exogamous sub-sept of kappiliyan. hutta (ant-hill).--an exogamous sept of gangadikara holeya. huvvina (flowers).--an exogamous sept of odde and vakkaliga. i ichcham (date-palm: phoenix sylvestris).--ichcham or ichanjanar is recorded, in the tanjore manual, as a section of shanan. the equivalent ichang occurs as a tree or kothu of kondaiyankottai maravans. idacheri.--an occupational name for a section of nayars, who make and sell dairy produce. the word corresponds to idaiyan in the tamil country. idaiyan.--the idaiyans are the great pastoral or shepherd caste of the tamil country, but some are landowners, and a few are in government employ. those whom i examined at coimbatore were engaged as milkmen, shepherds, cultivators, gardeners, cart-drivers, shopkeepers, constables, family doctors, and mendicants. it is recorded in the tanjore manual that "the rev. mr. pope says that ideir are so-called from idei, middle, being a kind of intermediate link between the farmers and merchants." mr. nelson [170] considers this derivation to be fanciful, and thinks that "perhaps they are so called from originally inhabiting the lands which lay midway between the hills and the arable lands, the jungly plains, suited for pasturage [i.e., the middle land out of the five groups of land mentioned in tamil works, viz., kurinji, palai, mullai, marutam, neytal]. [171] the class consists of several clans, but they may be broadly divided into two sections, the one more thoroughly organised, the other retaining most of the essential characteristics of an aboriginal race. the first section follow the vaishnava sect, wear the namam, and call themselves yadavas. those belonging to the second section stick to their demon worship, and make no pretensions to a descent from the yadava race. they daub their foreheads with the sacred cow-dung ashes, and are regarded, apparently from this circumstance alone, to belong to the saiva sect." in the madras census report, 1871, it is noted that milkmen and cowherds appear to hold a social position of some importance, and even brahmans do not disdain to drink milk or curds from their hands. further, the census superintendent, 1901, writes that "the idaiyans take a higher social position than they would otherwise do, owing to the tradition that krishna was brought up by their caste, and to the fact that they are the only purveyors of milk, ghi (clarified butter), etc., and so are indispensable to the community. all brahmans, except the most orthodox, will accordingly eat butter-milk and butter brought by them. in some places they have the privilege of breaking the butter-pot on the gokulashtami, or krishna's birthday, and get a new cloth and some money for doing it. they will eat in the houses of vellalas, pallis, and nattamans." the idaiyans claim that timma raja, the prime minister of krishna deva raya of vijayanagar, who executed various works in the chingleput district, was an idaiyan by caste. the idaiyans have returned a large number of divisions, of which the following may be noted:-kalkatti and pasi. the women, contrary to the usual tamil custom, have black beads in their tali-string. the practice is apparently due to the influence of telugu brahman purohits, as various telugu castes have glass beads along with the bottu (marriage badge). in like manner, the married pandamutti palli women wear a necklace of black beads. according to a legend, pasi is a pebble found in rivers, from which beads are made. a giant came to kill krishna when he was playing with the shepherd boys on the banks of a river. he fought the giant with these pebbles, and killed him. pal, milk. corresponds to the halu (milk) division of the canarese kuruba shepherd caste. pendukkumekki, denoting those who are subservient to their women. a man, on marriage, joins his wife's family, and he succeeds to the property, not of his father, but of his father-in-law. siviyan or sivala. an occupational name, meaning palanquin-bearer. sangukatti, or those who tie the conch or chank shell (turbinella rapa). it is narrated that krishna wanted to marry rukmani, whose family insisted on marrying her to sishupalan. when the wedding was about to take place, krishna carried off rukmani, and placed a bangle made of chank shell on her wrist. samban, a name of siva. most members of this division put on the sacred ashes as a sectarian mark. it is said that the yadavas were in the habit of making offerings to devendra, but krishna wanted them to worship him. with the exception of a few yadavas and paraiyans who were also employed in grazing cattle, all the shepherds refused to do so. it is stated that "in ancient times, men of the idaiyan caste ranked only a little above paraiyans, and that the idaicheri, or idaiyan suburb, was always situated close to the paraicheri, or paraiyan's suburb, in every properly constituted village." [172] pudunattu or puthukkanattar, meaning people of the new country. the idaiyans claim that, when krishna settled in kishkindha, he peopled it with members of their caste. perun (big) tali, and siru (small) tali, indicating those whose married women wear a large or small tali. panjaram or pancharamkatti. the name is derived from the peculiar gold ornament called panjaram or pancharam shaped like a many-rayed sun, and having three dots on it, which is worn by widows. it is said that in this division "widow marriage is commonly practiced, because krishna used to place a similar ornament round the necks of the idaiyan widows of whom he became enamoured, to transform them from widows into married women, to whom pleasure was not forbidden, and that this sub-division is the result of these amours." [173] maniyakkara. derived from mani, a bell, such as is tied round the necks of cattle, sheep and goats. kalla. most numerous in the area inhabited by the kallan caste. possibly an offshoot of this caste, composed of those who have taken to the occupation of shepherds. like the kallans, this sub-division has exogamous septs or kilais, e.g., deva (god), vendhan (king). sholia. territorial name denoting inhabitants of the chola country. anaikombu, or elephant tusk, which was the weapon used by krishna and the yadavas to kill the giant sakatasura. karutthakadu, black cotton country. a sub-division found mostly in madura and tinnevelly, where there is a considerable tract of black cotton soil. the perumal madukkarans or perumal erudukkarans (see gangeddu), who travel about the country exhibiting performing bulls, are said to belong to the pu (flower) idaiyan section of the idaiyan caste. this is so named because the primary occupation thereof was, and in some places still is, making garlands for temples. in the gazetteer of the madura district, it is recorded that "podunattu (pudunattu?) idaiyans have a tradition that they originally belonged to tinnevelly, but fled to this district secretly one night in a body in the time of tirumala nayakkan, because the local chief oppressed them. tirumala welcomed them, and put them under the care of the kallan headman pinnai devan, decreeing that, to ensure that this gentleman and his successors faithfully observed the charge, they should always be appointed by an idaiyan. that condition is observed to this day. in this sub-division a man has the same right to marry his paternal aunt's daughter as is possessed by the kallans. but, if the woman's age is much greater than the boy's, she is usually married instead to his cousin, or some one else on that side of the family. a brahman officiates at weddings, and the sacred fire is used, but the bridegroom's sister ties the tali (marriage badge). divorce and the remarriage of widows are prohibited. the dead, except infants, are burnt. caste affairs are settled by a headman called the nattanmaikaran, who is assisted by an accountant and a peon. all three are elected. the headman has the management of the caste fund, which is utilised in the celebration of festivals on certain days in some of the larger temples of the district. among these podunattus, an uncommon rule of inheritance is in force. a woman who has no male issue at the time of her husband's death has to return his property to his brother, father, or maternal uncle, but is allotted maintenance, the amount of which is fixed by a caste panchayat (council). among the valasu and pendukkumekki sub-divisions, another odd form of maintenance subsists. a man's property descends to his sons-in-law, who live with him, and not to his sons. the sons merely get maintenance until they are married." in the madras census report, 1901, pondan or pogandan is recorded as a sub-caste of idaiyans, who are palanquin-bearers to the zamorin of calicut. in this connection, it is noted by mr. k. kannan nayar [174] that "among the konar (cowherds) of poondurai near erode (in the coimbatore district), who, according to tradition, originally belonged to the same tribe as the gopas living in the southern part of kerala, and now forming a section of the nayars, the former matrimonial customs were exactly the same as those of the nayars. they, too, celebrated tali-kettu kalyanam, and, like the nayars, did not make it binding on the bride and bridegroom of the ceremony to live as husband and wife. they have now, however, abandoned the custom, and have made the tying of the tali the actual marriage ceremony." the typical panchayat (village council) system exists among the idaiyans, and the only distinguishing feature is the existence of a headman, called kithari or kilari, whose business it is to look after the sheep of the village, to arrange for penning them in the fields. in some places the headman is called ambalakkaran. in bygone days, those who were convicted of adultery were tied to a post, and beaten. in some places, when a girl reaches puberty, her maternal uncle, or his sons, build a hut with green cocoanut leaves, which she occupies for sixteen days, when purificatory ceremonies are performed. the marriage ceremonies vary according to locality, and the following details of one form therefore, as carried out at coimbatore, may be cited. when a marriage between two persons is contemplated, a red and white flower, tied up in separate betel leaves, are thrown before the idol at a temple. a little child is told to pick up one of the leaves, and, if she selects the one containing the white flower, the omens are considered auspicious, and the marriage will be arranged. on the day of the betrothal, the future bridegroom's father and other relations go to the girl's house with presents of a new cloth, fruits, and ornaments. the bride price (pariyam) is paid, and betel exchanged. the bridegroom-elect goes to the girl's cousins (maternal uncle's sons), who have a right to marry her, and presents them with four annas and betel. the acceptance of these is a sign that they consent to the marriage. on the marriage day, the bridegroom plants the milk-post, after it has been blessed by a brahman purohit, and is shaved by a barber. the bride and her female relations fetch some earth, and a platform is made out of it in the marriage pandal (booth). the brahman makes fire (homam), and places a cowdung pillayar (ganesa) in the pandal. the bride then husks some rice therein. the relations of the bride and bridegroom fetch from the potter's house seven pots called adukupanai, two large pots, called arasanipanai, and seven earthen trays, and place them in front of the platform. the pots are filled with water, and a small bit of gold is placed in each. the bridegroom goes to a pillayar shrine, and, on his return, the bride's brother washes his feet, and puts rings on his second toes. the kankanams (wrist-threads) are tied on the wrists of the contracting couple, and the bridegroom takes his seat within the pandal, to which the bride is carried in the arms of one of her maternal uncles, while another carries a torch light placed on a mortar. the bride takes her seat by the side of the bridegroom, and the light is set in front of them. the tali is taken round to be blessed by those assembled, and handed to the bridegroom, who ties it on the bride's neck. the couple then put a little earth in each of the seven trays, and sow therein nine kinds of grain. two vessels, containing milk and whey, are placed before them, and the relations pour a little thereof over their heads. the right hand of the bridegroom is placed on the left hand of the bride, and their hands are tied together by one of the bride's maternal uncle's sons. the bride is then carried into the house in the arms of an elder brother of the bridegroom. at the threshold she is stopped by the maternal uncle's sons, who may beat the man who is carrying her. the bridegroom pays them each four annas, and he and the bride are allowed to enter the house. on the night of the wedding day, they are shut up in a room. during the following days the pots are worshipped. on the seventh day, the ends of the cloths of the newly married couple are tied together, and they bathe in turmeric water. the wrist-threads are removed, they rub oil over each other's heads, and bathe in a tank. the bride serves food to the bridegroom, and their relations eat off the same leaf, to indicate the union between the two families. into one of the large pots a gold and silver ring, and into the other an iron style and piece of palm leaf are dropped. the couple perform the pot-searching ceremony, and whichever gets hold of the gold ring or style is regarded as the more clever of the two. the bridegroom places his right foot, and the bride her left foot on a grindstone, and they look at the star arundathi. the stone represents ahalliya, the wife of the sage gautama, who was cursed by her husband for her misconduct with indra, and turned into a stone, whereas arundathi was the wife of vasishta and a model of chastity. the newly married couple, by placing their feet on the stone, indicate their intention of checking unchaste desires, and by looking at arundathi, of remaining faithful to each other. the bride decorates a small grindstone with a cloth and ornaments, and takes it round to all her relations who are present, and who bless her with a hope that she will have many children. in the marava country, a grown-up idaiyan girl is sometimes married to a boy of ten or twelve. among some idaiyans, it is customary for the tali to be tied by the sister of the bridegroom, and not by the bridegroom, who must not be present when it is done. it is said that, in some places, like the gollas, when an idaiyan bridegroom sets out for the house of his bride, he is seized by his companions, who will not release him till he has paid a piece of gold. in the madura manual it is noted that "at an idaiyan wedding, on the third day, when the favourite amusement of sprinkling turmeric-water over the guests is concluded, the whole party betake themselves to the village tank (pond). a friend of the bridegroom brings a hoe and a basket, and the young husband fills three baskets with earth from the bottom of the tank, while the wife takes them away, and throws the earth behind. they then say 'we have dug a ditch for charity.' this practice may probably be explained by remembering that, in arid districts, where the idaiyans often tend their cattle, the tank is of the greatest importance." it is said that the siviyan and pendukkumekki sub-divisions take low rank, as the remarriage of widows is freely permitted among them. in the ramnad territory of the madura district, the marriage of widows is attributed to compulsion by a zamindar. according to the story, the zamindar asked an idaiyan whether he would marry a widow. the reply was that widows are aruthukattadhavar, i.e., women who will not tie the tali string again, after snapping it (on the husband's decease). this was considered impertinent by the zamindar, as marriage of widows was common among the maravars. to compel the idaiyans to resort to widow marriage, he took advantage of the ambiguity of the word aruthukattadhavar, which would also mean those who do not tie up in a bundle after cutting or reaping. at the time of the harvest season, the zamindar sent his servants to the idaiyans with orders that they were not to tie up the rice plants in sheaves. this led to severe monetary loss, and the idaiyans consented reluctantly to widow remarriage. on the death of a married idaiyan, at coimbatore, the corpse is placed in a seated posture. a measure of rice, a lighted lamp, and a cocoanut are placed near it, and burning fire-wood is laid at the door of the house. when the relations and friends have arrived, the body is removed from the house, and placed in a pandal, supported behind by a mortar. the male relations put on the sacred thread, and each brings a pot of water from a tank. the widow rubs oil over the head of the corpse, and some one, placing a little oil in the hands thereof, rubs it over her head. on the way to the burning-ground, a barber carries a fire-brand and a pot, and a washerman carries the mat, cloths, and other articles used by the deceased. when the idukadu, a spot made to represent the shrine of arichandra who is in charge of the burial or burning ground, is reached, the polluted articles are thrown away, and the bier is placed on the ground. a paraiyan makes a cross-mark at the four corners of the bier, and the son, who is chief mourner, places a small coin on three of the marks, leaving out the one at the north-east corner. the paraiyan takes these coins and tears a bit of cloth from the winding-sheet, which is sent to the widow. at the burning-ground, the relations place rice, water, and small coins in the mouth of the corpse. the coins are the perquisite of the paraiyan. the son, who is clean-shaved, carries a pot of water on his shoulder thrice round the pyre, and, at each turn, the barber makes a hole in it with a chank shell, when the head is reached. finally the pot is broken near the head. the sacred threads are thrown by those who wear them on the pyre, and the son sets fire to it, and goes away without looking back. the widow meanwhile has broken her tali string, and thrown it into a vessel of milk, which is set on the spot where the deceased breathed his last. the son, on his return home after bathing, steps across a pestle placed at the threshold. arathi (wave offering) is performed, and he worships a lighted lamp within the house. on the following day, rice and sesbania grandiflora are cooked, and served to the relatives by the widow's brothers. next day, milk, ghi (clarified butter), curds, tender cocoanuts, nine kinds of grain, water, and other articles required for worship, are taken to the burning-ground. the smouldering ashes are extinguished with water, and the fragments of the bones are collected, and placed on a leaf. a miniature plough is made, and the spot on which the body was burned is ploughed, and the nine kinds of grain are sown. on his return home, a turban is placed on the head of the son who acted as chief mourner by his maternal uncles. a new cloth is folded, and on it a betel leaf is placed, which is worshipped for sixteen days. on the sixteenth day, a brahman makes a human figure with holy grass, which has to be worshipped by the chief mourner not less than twenty-five times, and he must bathe between each act of worship. the bones are then carried in a new earthen pot, and floated on a stream. at night, food is cooked, and, with a new cloth, worshipped. rice is cooked at the door. a cock is tied to a sacrificial post, called kazhukumaram, set up outside the house, to which the rice is offered. one end of a thread is tied to the post, and the other end to a new cloth, which is worshipped inside the house. the thread is watched till it shakes, and then broken. the door is closed, and the cock is stuck on the pointed tip of the post, and killed. an empty car is carried in procession through the streets, and alms are given to beggars. a widow should remain gosha (in seclusion) for twelve months after her husband's death. when a grown-up, but unmarried male or female dies, a human figure, made out of holy grass, is married to the corpse, and some of the marriage rites are performed. the idaiyans are vaishnavites, and the more civilised among them are branded like vaishnava brahmans. saturday is considered a holy day. their most important festival is krishna jayanti, or sri jayanti, in honour of krishna's birthday. they show special reverence for the vessels used in dairy operations. the proverb that the sense of an idaiyan is on the back of his neck, for it was there that he received the blows, refers to "the story of the shepherd entering the gate of his house with a crook placed horizontally on his shoulders, and finding himself unable to get in, and his being made able to do so by a couple of blows on his back, and the removal of the crook at the same time. another proverb is that there is neither an andi among idaiyans, nor a tadan among the potters. the andi is always a saivite beggar, and, the idaiyans being always vaishnavites, they can never have in their midst a beggar of the saivite sect, or vice versâ. being extremely stupid, whenever any dispute arises among them, they can never come to any definite settlement, or, as the proverb says, the disputes between idaiyans are never easily settled. keeping and rearing cattle, grazing and milking them, and living thereby, are their allotted task in life, and so they are never good agriculturists. this defect is alluded to in the proverb that the field watered by the idaiyan, or by a member of the palli caste, must ever remain a waste." [175] other proverbs, quoted by the rev. h. jensen, [176] are as follows:- the shepherd can get some fool to serve him. like a shepherd who would not give anything, but showed an ewe big with young. the shepherd destroyed half, and the fool half. in 1904, an elementary school for idaiyans, called the yadava school, was established at madura. the usual title of the idaiyans is konan or kon meaning king, but, in the census report, 1901, the titles pillai and kariyalan are also recorded. in the census report, 1891, idaiya is given as a sub-division of vakkaiga; and, in the salem manual, idaiyan appears as a synonym of shanan. for the following note on the idaiyans who have settled in travancore, i am indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. they consist of two well-defined sections, namely, the tamil-speaking idaiyans, who are but recent immigrants, and largely found in tevala, agastisvaram and shenkotta, and the malayalam-speaking branch, who are early settlers residing chiefly in kartikapalli and other taluks of central travancore. the idaiyans are not largely found in travancore, because a branch of the indigenous sudra community, the idacheri nayars, are engaged in the same occupation. they are divided into two classes, viz., kangayan (shepherds) and puvandans, who neither interdine nor intermarry. the latter appear to be divided into four classes, pasi, gopalan, nambi, and valayitayan. puvandan is another form of the word pondan, which means a palanquin-bearer. it is well known that, in the tamil country, this was one of the duties of the idaiyans, as is evident from a sub-division called sivi or siviyar (palanquin) existing among them. in the early settlement records of travancore, they are referred to as sibis. many fancy, though incorrectly, that the word means one who collects flowers. as the sibis were experts in palanquin-bearing, they must have been brought from the tamil country to serve the mediæval rajas. at the present day, besides pursuing their traditional occupation, they also engage in agriculture and trade. the position of the puvandans in society is not low. they are entitled to the services of the brahman's washerman and barber, and they may enter temples, and advance as far as the place to which nayars go, except in some parts of central travancore. they are flesh-eaters, and the drinking of intoxicating liquor is not prohibited. on ceremonial occasions, women wear the tamil idaiya dress, while at other times they adopt the attire of nayar women. their ornaments are foreign, and clearly indicate that they are a tamil caste. the marriage badge is called sankhu tali, and a small conch-shaped ornament forms its most conspicuous feature. besides the ordinary hindu deities, they worship matam, yakshi, and maruta. at weddings, the idaiyan bridegroom holds a sword in his left hand, while he takes hold of the bride by the right hand. funeral ceremonies are supervised by a barber, who officiates as priest. corpses are either burnt or buried. though they appear to observe only eleven days' death pollution, they cannot enter a temple until the expiry of sixteen days. an anniversary ceremony in memory of the deceased is performed on the new-moon day in the month of karkatakam (july-august), and, on this day, most members of the caste go to varkalai to perform the rite. many purely tamil names are still preserved in the caste, such as tambi, chami, bhagavati, and chattu. idakottu (those who break).--an exogamous sept of oddes, who, during their work as navvies, break stones. idangai (left-hand).--recorded, at times of census, as a division of deva-dasis, who do service for castes belonging to the left-hand section. idiga.--the telugu toddy-drawers, whose hereditary occupation is the extraction of the juice of the date and palmyra palms, go by different names in different localities. those, for example, who live in the salem, north arcot and chingleput districts, are called idigas or indras. in the northern circars and the nellore district, they are known as gamallas or gamandlas, and in the cuddapah district as asilis. it is recorded, in the north arcot manual, that "idiga is one of the toddy-drawing castes of the telugu country, the name being derived from telugu idchu, to draw. the idigas are supposed to be a branch of the balija tribe, separated on account of their occupation. they are chiefly vaishnavites, having satanis as their priests. they are divided into two classes, the dandu (army) [177] idigas and the balija idigas, of whom the former used originally to distil arrack, but, now that the manufacture is a monopoly, they usually sell it. the balija idigas extract toddy, the juice of the palm tree. they differ from the shanans in some of their professional customs, for, while the tamilians in climbing tie their knives behind them, the telugus tie them on the right thigh. tamilian drawers extract the juice from palmyras and cocoanuts, but rarely from the date, and the telugus from the palmyras and dates, but never from cocoanuts. the chief object of their worship is yellamma, the deity who presides over toddy and liquor. on every sunday, the pots containing liquor are decorated with flowers, saffron, etc., and offerings are made to them." in the madras census report, 1901, it is stated that "it is said that the idigas are the descendants of balijas from rajahmundry in godavari district, and that their occupation separated them into a distinct caste. they are divided into two endogamous sections called either dandu and palli, or patha (old) and kotta (new). the headman of the caste is called gaudu. they employ brahmans as purohits for their ceremonies, and these brahmans are received on terms of equality by other brahmans. they bury their dead, and observe pollution for twelve days, during which they abstain from eating flesh. the consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited, and is severely punished by the headman of the caste. they eat with all balijas, except the gazulu section. their titles are aiya, appa, and gaudu." it is noted by mr. f. fawcett that "in the northern districts, among the telugu population, the toddy-drawers use a ladder about eight or nine feet in length, which is placed against the tree, to avoid climbing a third or fourth of it. while in the act of climbing up or down, they make use of a wide band, which is passed round the body at the small of the back, and round the tree. this band is easily fastened with a toggle and eye. the back is protected by a piece of thick soft leather. it gives great assistance in climbing, which it makes easy. all over the southernmost portion of the peninsula, among the shanans and tiyans, the ladder and waist-band are unknown. they climb up and down with their hands and arms, using only a soft grummel of coir (cocoanut fibre) to keep the feet near together." the idigas claim to be descended from vyasa, the traditional compiler of the mahabharata. in a note by mr. f. r. hemingway on the idigas of the godavari district, they are said to worship a deity, to whom they annually offer fowls on new year's day, and make daily offerings of a few drops of toddy from the first pot taken from the tree. in this district they are commonly called chetti. the insigne of the idigas, as recorded at conjeeveram, is a ladder. [178] idiya (pounder).--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a division of konkani sudras. the idiyans prepare rice in a special manner. paddy is soaked in water, and roasted over a fire. while hot, it is placed in a mortar, and pounded with a pestle. this rice is called avil, which is said to be largely used as a delicacy in travancore, and to be employed in certain religious ceremonies. the idiyans are stated to have left their native land near cochin, and settled in travancore at the invitation of a former sovereign. on arrival in the land of their adoption, they were given, free of tax, cocoanut gardens and rice land. in return, they were required to supply, free of charge, the palace of the maharajah and the temple of sri padmanabhaswami at trivandrum with as much beaten rice (avil) as might be required from time to time. iga (fly).--an exogamous sept of mutracha. the equivalent igala occurs as an exogamous sept of yanadi. ilai (leaf).--ilai or ele has been recorded as a sub-division of tigalas and toreyas who cultivate the betel vine (piper betle). elai vaniyan occurs as a synonym of senaikkudaiyans, who are betel leaf sellers in tinnevelly. ilaiyattakudi.--a sub-division of nattukottai chetti. ilakutiyan.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. ilamagan.--the ilamagans are described by mr. francis [179] as "a cultivating caste found chiefly in the zamindari taluk of tiruppattur in madura. the word literally means a young man, but the young is interpreted by other castes in the sense of inferior. one says that it is made up of the sons of vallamban females and vellala males, another that it is a mixture of outcasted valaiyans, kallans and maravans, and a third that it is descended from illegitimate children of the vellalas and pallis. like the kallans and valaiyans, the members of the caste stretch the lobes of their ears, and leave their heads unshaven. the caste is divided into two or three endogamous sections of territorial origin. they do not employ brahmans as purohits; their widows may marry again; their dead are usually buried; and they will eat pork, mutton, fowls, and fish. they are thus not high in the social scale, and are, in fact, about on a par with the kallans. the headmen of the caste are called ambalam." it is suggested, in the census report, 1891, that, from the fact that ilamagan appears as a sub-division of the maravans, it may perhaps be inferred that the two castes are closely allied. ilampi.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. ilayatu.--see elayad. illa (of a house).--an exogamous sept of yanadi. illam.--defined by mr. wigram [180] as meaning the house of an ordinary nambudri brahman. it is recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. the name illam vellala has been assumed by some panikkans in the tamil country, whose exogamous septs are called illam. in travancore, ilakkar or illathu, meaning those attached to brahman houses, is said to be an occupational sub-division of nayars. ilakkar further occurs as an exogamous sept of mala arayans, known as the three thousand. illuvellani.--the name, derived from illu, house, and vellani, those who do not go out, of a sub-division of kammas, whose wives are kept gosha (in seclusion). inaka mukku bhatrazu.--beggars attached to padma sales. inangan.--see enangan. ina pulaya.--a sub-division of pulayans of travancore. indla (house).--an exogamous sept of chenchu and mutracha. indra.--see idiga. inichi (squirrel).--a gotra of kurni. inravar.--a tamil form of indra. ippi (bassia longifolia: mahua).--an exogamous sept of panta reddi. members of the ippala gotra of the besthas may not touch or use the ippa (or ippi) tree. iranderudhu (two bullocks).--a sub-division of vaniyans, who use two bullocks for their oil-mills. irani (earthen vessel used at marriages).--a gotra of kurni. irani.--a territorial name, meaning persian, of the shiah section of the moghal tribe of muhammadans. the iranis or beluchis are described by mr. paupa rao naidu [181] as a troublesome nomad tribe "committing crime all over india openly from the houses and shops of villages and towns, mostly in broad daylight, with impunity, and escaping punishment except in rare cases. their ostensible profession is merchandise, dealing in the following articles:--ponies, knives, scissors, padlocks, false stones, false pearls, trinkets of several kinds, toys, beads, quicksilver, and false coins of different kinds. their camp generally consists of a few small tents, a few ponies, pack saddles to secure their culinary utensils, their dirty clothes, the leather or gunny bags containing their articles of merchandise; a few fighting cocks, and cages of birds. they are very fond of cock fighting, even on wagers of 10 to 50 rupees on each. they train these cocks specially brought up to fight." for information concerning the criminal methods of the iranis, i would refer the reader to mr. paupa rao naidu's account thereof. iranyavarma.--the name of one of the early pallava kings, returned at times of census as a caste name by some wealthy pallis, who also gave themselves the title of solakanar, or descendants of chola kings. irattai sekkan.--a sub-division of vaniyans, who use two bullocks for their oil-mills. iraya.--a name for cherumans, in malabar, who are permitted to come as far as the eaves (ira) of their employers' houses. irchakkollan (timber sawyer).--a synonym, in travancore, of tacchan (carpenter) kammalan. irkuli.--irkuli or irangolli vellala, said to mean vellalas who killed dampness, is a name assumed by some vannans. irpina (comb).--an exogamous sept of kamma. irulas of the nilgiris. in the kotagiri bazaar, which is an excellent hunting-ground for the anthropologist, may be seen gathered together on market-day kotas, badagas, kanarese, irulas, kurumbas, and an occasional toda from the kodanad mand. a tribal photograph was taken there, with the result that a deputation subsequently waited on me with a petition to the effect that "we, the undersigned, beg to submit that your honour made photos of us, and has paid us nothing. we, therefore, beg you to do this common act of justice." the deputation was made happy with a pourboire. in my hunt after irulas, which ended in an attack of malarial fever, it was necessary to invoke the assistance and proverbial hospitality of various planters. on one occasion news reached me that a gang of irulas, collected for my benefit under a promise of substantial remuneration, had arrived at a planter's bungalow, whither i proceeded. the party included a man who had been "wanted" for some time in connection with the shooting of an elephant on forbidden ground. he, suspecting me of base designs, refused to be measured, on the plea that he was afraid the height-measuring standard was the gallows. nor would he let me take his photograph, fearing (though he had never heard of bertillonage) lest it should be used for the purpose of criminal identification. unhappily a mischievous rumour had been circulated that i had in my train a wizard kurumba, who would bewitch the irulas, in order that i might abduct them (for what purpose was not stated). as the badagas are the fairest, so the irulas are the darkest-skinned of the nilgiri tribes, on some of whom, as has been said, charcoal would leave a white mark. the name irula, in fact, means darkness or blackness (irul), whether in reference to the dark jungles in which the irulas, who have not become domesticated by working as contractors or coolies on planters' estates, dwell, or to the darkness of their skin, is doubtful. though the typical irula is dark-skinned and platyrhine, i have noted some who, as the result of contact metamorphosis, possessed skins of markedly paler hue, and leptorhine noses. the language of the irulas is a corrupt form of tamil. in their religion they are worshippers of vishnu under the name of rangasvami, to whom they do puja (worship) at their own rude shrines, or at the hindu temple at karaimadai, where brahman priests officiate. "an irula pujari," breeks writes, [182] "lives near the irula temples, and rings a bell when he performs puja to the gods. he wears the vishnu mark on his forehead. his office is hereditary, and he is remunerated by offerings of fruit and milk from irula worshippers. each irula village pays about two annas to the pujari about may or june. they say that there is a temple at kallampalla in the sattiyamangalam taluk, north of rangasvami's peak. this is a siva temple, at which sheep are sacrificed. the pujari wears the siva mark. they don't know the difference between siva and vishnu. at kallampalla temple is a thatched building, containing a stone called mariamma, the well-known goddess of small-pox, worshipped in this capacity by the irulas. a sheep is led to this temple, and those who offer the sacrifice sprinkle water over it, and cut its throat. the pujari sits by, but takes no part in the ceremony. the body is cut up, and distributed among the irulas present, including the pujari." in connection with the shrine on rangasvami peak, the following note is recorded in the gazetteer of the nilgiris. "it is the most sacred hill on all the plateau. hindu legend says that the god rangasvami used to live at karaimadai on the plains between mettupalaiyam and coimbatore, but quarrelled with his wife, and so came and lived here alone. in proof of the story, two footprints on the rock not far from arakod village below the peak are pointed out. this, however, is probably an invention designed to save the hill folk the toilsome journey to rangasvami's car festival at karaimadai, which used once to be considered incumbent upon them. in some places, the badagas and kotas have gone even further, and established rangasvami bettus of their own, handy for their own particular villages. on the real rangasvami peak are two rude walled enclosures sacred to the god ranga and his consort, and within these are votive offerings (chiefly iron lamps and the notched sticks used as weighing machines), and two stones to represent the deities. the hereditary pujari is an irula, and, on the day fixed by the badagas for the annual feast, he arrives from his hamlet near nandipuram, bathes in a pool below the summit, and marches to the top shouting 'govinda! govinda!' the cry is taken up with wild enthusiasm by all those present, and the whole crowd, which includes badagas, irulas, and kurumbas, surrounds the enclosures, while the irula priest invokes the deities by blowing his conch and beating his drum, and pours oblations over, and decorates with flowers, the two stones which represent them. that night, two stone basins on the summit are filled with ghee and lighted, and the glare is visible for miles around. the ceremonies close with prayers for good rain and fruitfulness among the flocks and herds, a wild dance by the irula, and the boiling (called pongal, the same word as pongal the tamil agricultural feast) of much rice in milk. about a mile from arakod is an overhanging rock called the kodai-kal or umbrella stone, under which is found a whitish clay. this clay is used by the irulas for making the vaishnava marks on their foreheads at this festival." the following account of an irula temple festival is given by harkness. [183] "the hair of the men, as well as of the women and children, was bound up in a fantastic manner with wreaths of plaited straw. their necks, ears, and ankles were decorated with ornaments formed of the same material, and they carried little dried gourds, in which nuts or small stones had been inserted. they rattled them as they moved, and, with the rustling of their rural ornaments, gave a sort of rhythm to their motion. the dance was performed in front of a little thatched shed, which, we learnt, was their temple. when it was concluded, they commenced a sacrifice to their deity, or rather deities, of a he-goat and three cocks. this was done by cutting the throats of the victims, and throwing them down at the feet of the idol, the whole assembly at the same time prostrating themselves. within the temple there was a winnow, or fan, which they called mahri--evidently the emblem of ceres; and at a short distance, in front of the former, and some paces in advance one of the other, were two rude stones, which they call, the one moshani, the other konadi mari, but which are subordinate to the fan occupying the interior of the temple." a village near a coffee estate, which i inspected, was, at the time of my visit, in the possession of pariah dogs and nude children, the elder children and adults being away at work. the village was protected against nocturnal feline and other feral marauders by a rude fence, and consisted of rows of single-storied huts, with verandah in front, made of split bamboo and thatched, detached huts, an abundance of fowl-houses, and cucurbitaceous plants twining up rough stages. surrounding the village were a dense grove of plantain trees, castor-oil bushes, and cattle pens. when not engaged at work on estates or in the forest, the irulas cultivate, for their own consumption, ragi (eleusine coracana), samai (panicum miliare), tenai (setaria italica), tovarai (cajanus indicus), maize, plantains, etc. they also cultivate limes, oranges, jak fruit (artocarpus integrifolia), etc. they, like the kotas, will not attend to cultivation on saturday or monday. at the season of sowing, badagas bring cocoanuts, plantains, milk and ghi (clarified butter), and give them to the irulas, who, after offering them before their deity, return them to the badagas. "the irulas," a recent writer observes, "generally possess a small plot of ground near their villages, which they assiduously cultivate with grain, although they depend more upon the wages earned by working on estates. some of them are splendid cattle-men, that is, in looking after the cattle possessed by some enterprising planter, who would add the sale of dairy produce to the nowadays pitiable profit of coffee planting. the irula women are as useful as the men in weeding, and all estate work. in fact, planters find both men and women far more industrious and reliable than the tamil coolies." "by the sale of the produce of the forests," harkness writes, "such as honey and bees wax, or the fruit of their gardens, the irulas are enabled to buy grain for their immediate sustenance, and for seed. but, as they never pay any attention to the land after it is sown, or indeed to its preparation further than by partially clearing it of the jungle, and turning it up with the hoe; or, what is more common, scratching it into furrows with a stick, and scattering the grain indiscriminately, their crops are, of course, stunted and meagre. when the corn is ripe, if at any distance from the village, the family to whom the patch or field belongs will remove to it, and, constructing temporary dwellings, remain there so long as the grain lasts. each morning they pluck as much as they think they may require for the use of that day, kindle a fire upon the nearest large stone or fragment of rock, and, when it is well heated, brush away the embers, and scatter the grain upon it, which, soon becoming parched and dry, is readily reduced to meal, which is made into cakes. the stone is now heated a second time, and the cakes are put on it to bake. or, where they have met with a stone which has a little concavity, they will, after heating it, fill the hollow with water, and, with the meal, form a sort of porridge. in this way the whole family, their friends, and neighbours, will live till the grain has been consumed. the whole period is one of merry-making. they celebrate mahri, and invite all who may be passing by to join in the festivities. these families will, in return, be invited to live on the fields of their neighbours. many of them live for the remainder of the year on a kind of yam, which grows wild, and is called erula root. to the use of this they accustom their children from infancy." some irulas now work for the forest department, which allows them to live on the borders of the forest, granting them sites free, and other concessions. among the minor forest produce, which they collect, are myrabolams, bees-wax, honey, vembadam bark (ventilago madraspatana), avaram bark (cassia auriculata), deer's horns, tamarinds, gum, soapnuts, and sheekoy (acacia concinna). the forests have been divided into blocks, and a certain place within each block has been selected for the forest depot. to this place the collecting agents--mostly sholagars and irulas--bring the produce, and then it is sorted, and paid for by special supervisors. [184] the collection of honey is a dangerous occupation. a man, with a torch in his hand, and a number of bamboo tubes suspended from his shoulders, descends by means of ropes or creepers to the vicinity of the comb. the sight of the torch drives away the bees, and he proceeds to fill the bamboos with the comb, and then ascends to the top of the rock. [185] the irulas will not (so they say) eat the flesh of buffaloes or cattle, but will eat sheep and goat, field-rats, fowls, deer, pig (which they shoot), hares (which they snare with skilfully made nets), jungle-fowl, pigeons, and quail (which they knock over with stones). they informed mr. harkness that, "they have no marriage contract, the sexes cohabiting almost indiscriminately; the option of remaining in union, or of separating, resting principally with the female. some among them, the favourites of fortune, who can afford to spend four or five rupees on festivities, will celebrate their union by giving a feast to all their friends and neighbours; and, inviting the kurumbars to attend with their pipe and tabor, spend the night in dance and merriment. this, however, is a rare occurrence." the marriage ceremony, as described to me, is a very simple affair. a feast is held, at which a sheep is killed, and the guests make a present of a few annas to the bridegroom, who ties up the money in a cloth, and, going to the bride's hut, conducts her to her future home. widows are permitted to marry again. when an irula dies, two kurumbas come to the village, and one shaves the head of the other. the shorn man is fed, and presented with a cloth, which he wraps round his head. this quaint ceremonial is supposed, in some way, to bring good luck to the departed. outside the house of the deceased, in which the corpse is kept till the time of the funeral, men and women dance to the music of the irula band. the dead are buried in a sitting posture, with the legs crossed tailorwise. each village has its own burial-ground. a circular pit is dug, from the lower end of which a chamber is excavated, in which the corpse, clad in its own clothes, jewelry, and a new cloth, is placed with a lamp and grain. the pit is then filled in, and the position of the grave marked by a stone. on the third day a sheep is said to be killed, and a feast held. the following description of an annual ceremony was given to me. a lamp and oil are purchased, and rice is cooked in the village. they are then taken to the shrine at the burial-ground, offered up on stones, on which some of the oil is poured, and puja is done. at the shrine, a pujari, with three white marks on the forehead, officiates. like the badaga devadari, the irula pujari at times becomes inspired by the god. writing concerning the kurumbas and irulas, mr. walhouse says [186] that "after every death among them, they bring a long water-worn stone (devva kotta kallu), and put it into one of the old cromlechs sprinkled over the nilgiri plateau. some of the larger of these have been found piled up to the cap-stone with such pebbles, which must have been the work of generations. occasionally, too, the tribes mentioned make small cromlechs for burial purposes, and place the long water-worn pebbles in them." the following sub-divisions of the tribe have been described to me:--poongkaru, kudagar (people of coorg), kalkatti (those who tie stone), vellaka, devala, and koppilingam. of these, the first five are considered to be in the relation of brothers, so far as marriage is concerned, and do not intermarry. members of these five classes must marry into the koppilingam sub-division. at the census, 1901, kasuva or kasuba was returned as a sub-caste. the word means workmen, in allusion to the abandonment of jungle life in favour of working on planters' estates, and elsewhere. it is recorded by harkness that "during the winter, or while they are wandering about the forests in search of food, driven by hunger, the families or parties separate from one another. on these occasions the women and young children are often left alone, and the mother, having no longer any nourishment for her infant, anticipates its final misery by burying it alive. the account here given was in every instance corroborated, and in such a manner as to leave no doubt in our minds of its correctness." the following notes are abstracted from my case-book. man, æt. 30. sometimes works on a coffee estate. at present engaged in the cultivation of grains, pumpkins, jak-fruit, and plantains. goes to the bazaar at mettupalaiyam to buy rice, salt, chillies, oil, etc. acquires agricultural implements from kotas, to whom he pays annual tribute in grains or money. wears brass earrings obtained from kotas in exchange for vegetables and fruit. wears turban and plain loin-cloth, wrapped round body and reaching below the knees. bag containing tobacco and betel slung over shoulder. skin very dark. woman, æt. 30. hair curly, tied in a bunch behind round a black cotton swab. wears a plain waist-cloth, and print body-cloth worn square across breasts and reaching below the knees. tattooed on forehead. a mass of glass bead necklaces. gold ornament in left nostril. brass ornament in lobe of each ear. eight brass bangles on right wrist; two brass and six glass bangles on left wrist. five brass rings on right first finger; four brass and one tin ring on right forefinger. woman, æt. 25. red cadjan (palm leaf) roll in dilated lobes of ears. brass and glass bead ornament in helix of right ear. brass ornament in left nostril. a number of bead necklets, one with young cowry shells pendent, another consisting of a heavy roll of black beads. the latter is very characteristic of irula female adornment. one steel bangle, eight brass bangles, and one chank-shell bangle on right wrist; three lead, six glass bangles, and one glass bead bangle on left wrist. one steel and one brass ring on left little finger. woman, æt. 35. wears loin-cloth only. breasts fully exposed. cap of badaga pattern on head. girl, æt. 8. lobe of each ear being dilated by a number of wooden sticks like matches. average stature 159.8 cm.; nasal index 85 (max. 100). irulas of chingleput, north and south arcot. the irulas, or villiyans (bowmen), who have settled in the town of chingleput, about fifty miles distant from madras, have attained to a higher degree of civilisation than the jungle irulas of the nilgiris, and are defined, in the census report, 1901, as a semi-brahmanised forest tribe, who speak a corrupt tamil. in a note on the irulas, mackenzie writes as follows. [187] "after the yuga pralayam (deluge, or change from one yuga to another) the villars or irulans, malayans, and vedans, supposed to be descendants of a rishi under the influence of a malignant curse, were living in the forests in a state of nature, though they have now taken to wearing some kind of covering--males putting on skins, and females stitched leaves. roots, wild fruits, and honey constitute their dietary, and cooked rice is always rejected, even when gratuitously offered. they have no clear ideas about god, though they offer rice (wild variety) to the goddess kanniamma. the legend runs that a rishi, mala rishi by name, seeing that these people were much bothered by wild beasts, took pity on them, and for a time lived with them. he mixed freely with their women, and as the result, several children were born, who were also molested by wild animals. to free them from these, the rishi advised them to do puja (worship) to kanniamma. several other rishis are also believed to have lived freely in their midst, and, as a result, several new castes arose, among which were the yanadis, who have come into towns, take food from other castes, eat cooked rice, and imitate the people amidst whom they happen to live." in which respects the irula is now following the example of the yanadi. many of the chingleput irulas are very dark-skinned, with narrow chests, thin bodies, and flabby muscles, reminding me, in their general aspect, of the yanadis of nellore. clothing is, in the men, reduced to a minimum--dhuti, and languti of dirty white cotton cloth, or a narrow strip of gaudy manchester piece-good. the hair is worn long and ragged, or shaved, with kudimi, in imitation of the higher classes. the moustache is slight, and the beard billy-goaty. some of the men are tattooed with a blue dot on the glabella, or vertical mid-frontal line. for ornaments they have a stick in the helix, or simple ornament in the ear-lobe. their chief source of livelihood is husking paddy (rice), but they also gather sticks for sale as firewood in return for pice, rice, and sour fermented rice gruel, which is kept by the higher classes for cattle. this gruel is also highly appreciated by the yanadis. while husking rice, they eat the bran, and, if not carefully watched, will steal as much of the rice as they can manage to secrete about themselves. as an addition to their plain dietary they catch field (jerboa) rats, which they dig out with long sticks, after they have been asphyxiated with smoke blown into their tunnels through a small hole in an earthen pot filled with dried leaves, which are set on fire. when the nest is dug out, they find material for a meat and vegetable curry in the dead rats, with the hoarded store of rice or other grain. they feast on the bodies of winged white-ants (termites), which they search with torch-lights at the time of their seasonal epidemic appearance. some years ago a theft occurred in my house at night, and it was proved by a plaster cast of a foot-print in the mud produced by a nocturnal shower that one of my gardeners, who did not live on the spot, had been on the prowl. the explanation was that he had been collecting as a food-stuff the carcases of the winged ants, which had that evening appeared in myriads. some irulas are herbalists, and are believed to have the powers of curing certain diseases, snake-poisoning, and the bites of rats and insects. occasionally the irulas collect the leaves of the banyan, butea frondosa, or lotus, for sale as food-platters, and they will eat the refuse food left on the platters by brahmans and other higher classes. they freely enter the houses of brahmans and non-brahman castes, and are not considered as carrying pollution. they have no fixed place of abode, which they often change. some live in low, palmyra-thatched huts of small dimensions; others under a tree, in an open place, in ruined buildings, or the street pials (verandah) of houses. their domestic utensils consist of a few pots, one or two winnows, scythes, a crow-bar, a piece of flint and steel for making fire, and a dirty bag for tobacco and betel. in making fire, an angular fragment of quartz is held against a small piece of pith, and dexterously struck with an iron implement so that the spark falls on the pith, which can be rapidly blown into a blaze. to keep the children warm in the so-called cold season (with a minimum of 58° to 60°), they put their babies near the fire in pits dug in the ground. for marital purposes they recognise tribal sub-divisions in a very vague way. marriage is not a very impressive ceremonial. the bridegroom has to present new cloths to the bride, and his future fatherand mother-in-law. the cloth given to the last-named is called the pal kuli (milk money) for having nursed the bride. marriage is celebrated on any day, except saturday. a very modest banquet, in proportion to their slender means, is held, and toddy provided, if the state of the finances will run to it. towards evening the bride and bridegroom stand in front of the house, and the latter ties the tali, which consists of a bead necklace with a round brass disc. in the case of a marriage which took place during my visit, the bride had been wearing her new bridal cloth for a month before the event. the irulas worship periodically kanniamma, their tribal deity, and mari, the general goddess of epidemic disease. the deity is represented by five pots arranged in the form of a square, with a single pot in the centre, filled with turmeric water. close to these a lamp is lighted, and raw rice, jaggery (crude sugar), rice flour, betel leaves and areca nuts are offered before it. mari is represented by a white rag flag dyed with turmeric, hoisted on a bamboo in an open space near their dwellings, to which fowls, sheep, and other cooked articles, are offered. the dead are buried lying flat on the face, with the head to the north, and the face turned towards the east. when the grave has been half filled in, they throw into it a prickly-pear (opuntia dillenii) shrub, and make a mound over it. around this they place a row or two of prickly-pear stems to keep off jackals. no monumental stone is placed over the grave. by means of the following table a comparison can be readily made between the stature and nasal index of the jungle sholagas and nilgiri irulas, and of the more civilised irulas of chingleput and uralis of coimbatore:-===================+==========+============+============+============ | stature, |nasal index,|nasal index,|nasal index, | average. | average. | maximum. | minimum. -------------------+----------+------------+------------+-----------sholagas | 159.3 | 85·1 | 107·7 | 72·8 irulas, nilgiris | 159·8 | 84·9 | 100 | 72·3 irulas, chingleput | 159·9 | 80·3 | 90·5 | 70 uralis | 159·5 | 80·1 | 97·7 | 65·3 ===================+==========+============+============+============ the table shows clearly that, while all the four tribes are of short and uniform stature, the nasal index, both as regards average, maximum and minimum, is higher in the sholagas and irulas of the nilgiri jungles than in the more domesticated irulas of chingleput and uralis. in brief, the two former, who have mingled less with the outside world, retain the archaic type of platyrhine nose to a greater extent than the two latter. the reduction of platyrhiny, as the result of civilisation and emergence from the jungle to the vicinity of towns, is still further brought out by the following figures relating to the two classes of irulas, and the kanikars of travancore, who still live a jungle life, and those who have removed to the outskirts of a populous town:- ===========================+=============================== | nasal index. --- |----------+----------+-------- | average. | maximum. | minimum. ---------------------------+----------+----------+-------- irulas, jungle | 84.9 | 100 | 72.3 kanikars, jungle | 84.6 | 105 | 72.3 kanikars, domesticated | 81.2 | 90.5 | 70.8 irulas, domesticated | 80.3 | 90.5 | 70 ===========================+==========+==========+========= the irulas of north arcot are closely related to those of chingleput. concerning them, mr. h. a. stuart writes as follows. [188] "many members of this forest tribe have taken to agriculture in the neighbouring villages, but the majority still keep to the hills, living upon roots and wild animals, and bartering forest produce for a few rags or a small quantity of grain. when opportunity offers, they indulge in cattle theft and robbery. they disclaim any connection with the yanadis, whom they hate. their aversion is such that they will not even allow a yanadi to see them eating. they offer worship to the sapta kannikais or seven virgins, whom they represent in the form of an earthenware oil-lamp, which they often place under the bandari (dodonoea viscosa ?), which is regarded by them as sacred. these lamps are made by ordinary village potters, who, however, are obliged to knead the clay with their hands, and not with their feet. sometimes they place these representatives of their goddess in caves, but, wherever they place them, no pariah or yanadi can be allowed to approach. the chief occasion of worship, as with the kurumbas and yanadis, is at the head-shaving ceremony of children. all children at these times, who are less than ten years old, are collected, and the maternal uncle of each cuts off one lock of hair, which is fastened to a ragi (ficus religiosa) bough. they rarely contract marriages, the voluntary association of men and women being terminable at the will of either. the more civilised, however, imitate the hindu cultivating castes by tying a gold bead, stuck on a thread, round the bride's neck, but the marriage tie thus formed is easily broken. they always bury their dead. some irulas are credited with supernatural powers, and are applied to by low sudras for advice. the ceremony is called suthi or rangam. the medium affects to be possessed by the goddess, and utters unmeaning sounds, being, they say, unconscious all the while. a few of his companions pretend to understand with difficulty the meaning of his words, and interpret them to the inquirer. the irulas never allow any sort of music during their ceremonies, nor will they wear shoes, or cover their body with more than the scantiest rag. even in the coldest and dampest weather, they prefer the warmth of a fire to that of a cumbly (blanket). they refuse even to cover an infant with a cloth, but dig a small hollow in the ground, and lay the newly-born babe in it upon a few leaves of the bandari." there are two classes of irulas in the north arcot district, of which one lives in towns and villages, and the other leads a jungle life. among the latter, as found near kuppam, there are two distinct divisions, called iswaran vagaira and dharmaraja. the former set up a stone beneath a temporary hut, and worship it by offering cooked rice and cocoanuts on unam (lettsomia elliptica) leaves. the god dharmaraja is represented by a vessel instead of a stone, and the offerings are placed in a basket. in the jungle section, a woman may marry her deceased husband's brother. the dead are buried face upwards, and three stones are set up over the grave. the irulas of south arcot, mr. francis writes, [189] "are chiefly found about the gingee hills, talk a corrupt tamil, are very dark skinned, have very curly hair, never shave their heads, and never wear turbans or sandals. they dwell in scattered huts--never more than two or three in one place--which are little, round, thatched hovels, with a low doorway through which one can just crawl, built among the fields. they subsist by watching crops, baling water from wells, and, when times are hard, by crime of a mild kind. in villupuram and tirukkoyilur taluks, and round gingee, they commit burglaries in a mild and unscientific manner if the season is bad, and they are pressed by want, but, if the ground-nut crop is a good one, they behave themselves. they are perhaps the poorest and most miserable community in the district. only one or two of them own any land, and that is only dry land. they snare hares now and again, and collect the honey of the wild bees by letting themselves down the face of cliffs at night by ladders made of twisted creepers. some of them are prostitutes, and used to display their charms in a shameless manner at the chettipalaiyam market near gingee, decked out in quantities of cheap jewellery, and with their eyelids darkened in clumsy imitation of their sisters of the same profession in other castes. there is little ceremony at a wedding. the old men of the caste fix the auspicious day, the bridegroom brings a few presents, a pandal (booth) is made, a tali is tied, and there is a feast to the relations. the rites at births and deaths are equally simple. the dead are usually buried, lying face upwards, a stone and some thorns being placed over the grave to keep off jackals. on the eleventh day after the death, the eldest son ties a cloth round his head--a thing which is otherwise never worn--and a little rice is coloured with saffron (turmeric) and then thrown into water. this is called casting away the sin, and ill-luck would befall the eldest son if the ceremony were omitted. the irulans pay homage to almost all the gramadevatas (village deities), but probably the seven kannimars are their favourite deities." as already indicated, the irulas, like the yerukalas, indulge in soothsaying. the yerukala fortune-teller goes about with her basket, cowry shells, and rod, and will carry out the work of her profession anywhere, at any time, and any number of times in a day. the irula, on the contrary, remains at his home, and will only tell fortunes close to his hut, or near the hut where his gods are kept. in case of sickness, people of all classes come to consult the irula fortune-teller, whose occupation is known as kannimar varniththal. taking up his drum, he warms it over the fire, or exposes it to the heat of the sun. when it is sufficiently dry to vibrate to his satisfaction, kannimar is worshipped by breaking a cocoanut, and burning camphor and incense. closing his eyes, the irula beats the drum, and shakes his head about, while his wife, who stands near him, sprinkles turmeric water over him. after a few minutes, bells are tied to his right wrist. in about a quarter of an hour he begins to shiver, and breaks out in a profuse perspiration. this is a sure sign that he is possessed by kanniamman. his wife unties his kudumi (tuft of hair), the shaking of the head becomes more violent, he breathes rapidly, and hisses like a snake. his wife praises kannimar. gradually the man becomes calmer, and addresses those around him as if he were the goddess, saying, "oh! children. i have come down on my car, which is decorated with mango flowers, margosa and jasmine. you need fear nothing so long as i exist, and you worship me. this country will be prosperous, and the people will continue to be happy. ere long my precious car, immersed in the tank (pond) on the hill, will be taken out, and after that the country will become more prosperous," and so on. questions are generally put to the inspired man, not directly, but through his wife. occasionally, even when no client has come to consult him, the irula will take up his drum towards dusk, and chant the praises of kannimar, sometimes for hours at a stretch, with a crowd of irulas collected round him. the name shikari (hunter) is occasionally adopted as a synonym for irula. and, in south arcot, some irulas call themselves ten (honey) vanniyans or vana (forest) pallis. irula (darkness or night).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. irumpu (iron) kollan.--a sub-division of kollan. irunul (two strings).--a division of marans in travancore, in which the remarriage of widows is permitted. iruvu (black ant).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. isan (god).--a title of koliyan. iswaran vagaira.--a division of the irulas of north arcot. the name denotes that they belong to the iswara (siva) section. ite.--the itevandlu are a class of telugu jugglers and acrobats, who "exhibit shows, such as wrestling, climbing high posts, rope-walking, etc. the women, like dommara females, act as common prostitutes." [190] itattara.--recorded, in the travancore census report, 1901, as a sub-division of nayar. izhava.--the izhavans or ilavans, and tiyans, are the malayalam toddy-drawing castes of malabar, cochin and travancore. the etymology of the name izhavan is dealt with in the article on tiyans. for the following note on the izhavas of travancore, i am, when not otherwise recorded, indebted to mr. n. subramani aiyar. these people are known as izhavas in south and parts of central travancore, and chovas in parts of central and north travancore. they constitute 17 per cent. of the total population of the state. izhava is said to mean those belonging to izham, a corruption of simhalam, one of the old names of ceylon. jaffna, in the north of that island, appears to have been specially known by the name of izham, and from this place the izhavas are believed to have originally proceeded to malabar. chova is supposed to be a corruption of sevaka, or servant. in some old boat songs current in malabar, it occurs in the less corrupt form of chevaka. according to a legend, a pandyan princess named alli married narasimha, a rajah of the carnatic. the royal couple migrated to ceylon, and there settled themselves as rulers. on the line becoming extinct, however, their relatives and adherents returned to the continent, where they were accorded only a very low position in society. it is said that they were the ancestors of the izhavas. in support of this theory, it is urged that, in south travancore, the izhavas are known by the title of mudaliyar, which is also the surname of a division of the vellalas at jaffna; that the vattis and mannans call them mudaliyars; and that the pulayas have ever been known to address them only as muttatampurans. but it may be well supposed that the title may have been conferred upon some families of the caste in consideration of meritorious services on behalf of the state. one of the chief occupations, in which the izhavas first engaged themselves, was undoubtedly the cultivation of palm trees. in the famous grant of 824 a.d., it is distinctly mentioned that they had a headman of their guild, and their duty was planting up waste lands. they had two special privileges, known as the foot-rope right and ladder right, which clearly explain the nature of their early occupation. the syrian christians appear to have a tradition that the izhavas were invited to settle on the west coast at their suggestion. the izhavas are said to have brought to kerala a variety each of the areca palm, champak, and lime tree, to whose vernacular names the word izham is even to-day invariably prefixed. in the middle ages, they were largely employed as soldiers by the rulers of malabar. titles and privileges were distributed among these soldiers. canter visscher, writing about the rajah of ambalapuzha in the middle of the eighteenth century, [191] observes that "the rajah of porkkad has not many nayars, in the place of whom he is served by chegos," and that "in times of civil war or rebellion, the chegos are bound to take up arms for their lawful sovereign." the panikkans of ambanat house in the ambalapuzha taluk were the leaders of the izhava force, and many powers and privileges were conferred upon this family by the chembakasseri (ambalapuzha) princes. even so late as the days of maharaja rama verma, who died in 973 m.e., large numbers of izhavas were employed as soldiers of the state, if we may believe the account of friar bartolomeo, [192] who is generally a very accurate writer. the south travancore izhavas used to divide themselves into two parties on the occasion of the onam festival, and fight at kaithamukku near trivandrum. any young man who did not attend this camp of exercise had a piece of wood tied as a wedding ornament round his neck, was led in procession thrice round the village, and transported to the sea-coast. the izhavas proper are divided into three sub-sections called pachchili, pandi, and malayalam. the pachchilis live in the tract of land called pachchalur in the neyyattinkara taluk between tiruvellam and kovalam. they are only a handful in number. the pandis are largely found in trivandrum and chirayinkil. most of them take the title of panikkan. the malayala izhavas are sub-divided into four exogamous groups or illams, named muttillam, madampi or pallichal, mayanatti, and chozhi. pallichal is a place in the neyyattinkara taluk, and mayannat in quilon. the members of the chozhi illam are believed to have been later settlers. there is another division of these izhavas called patikramams, based on a more or less geographical distinction. these are also four in number, and called pallikkattara, palattara, irunkulamgara, and tenganad, their social precedence being in this order. pallikkattara is in chirayinkil, palattara in quilon, irunkulamgara in trivandrum, and tenganad in neyyattinkara. the palattara section is the most orthodox, and rigorously preserves its endogamous character, though some of the titular dignitaries among the chovas of central travancore have found it possible to contract alliances with them. the divisions of the illam and patikkramam are absent among the chovas. among these, however, there is a division into sthani or melkudi, tanikudi, and kizhkudi, the first denoting the titular head, the second the ordinary class, and the third those under communal degradation. among the last are included the toddy-drawing families, vaduvans, and nadis. vaduvans are the slaves of the izhavas, and, in ancient days, could be regularly bought and sold by them. nadis live in kartikapalli and some other parts of central travancore. they are people who have been outcasted from the community for various offences by the headmen, and cannot enter the kitchen of the ordinary izhavas. they are served for ceremonial purposes not by the regular priests of the izhavas, but by a distinct outcaste sect like themselves, known as nadikuruppus. the izhavattis, who are the priests of the caste, form a distinct sect with special manners and customs. channan, a corruption of the tamil word, chanror or chiefmen, is the most important of the titles of the izhavas. this title was conferred upon distinguished members of the caste as a family honour by some of the ancient sovereigns of the country. panikkan comes next in rank, and is derived from pani, work. tantan, from danda meaning punishment or control, is a popular title in some parts. asan, from acharya, a teacher, is extremely common. the recipients of this honour were instructors in gymnastics and military exercises to nayar and izhava soldiers in bygone times, and even now ruins of old kalaris or exercise grounds attached to their houses are discernible in many places. some izhavas in south travancore appear to be honoured with the title of mudaliyar. many families were invested with similar honours by the ancient ruling houses of ambalapuzha, kayenkulam, and jayasimhanad (quilon). even now, some titles are conferred by the rajah of idappalli. the wives of these dignitaries are respectively known as channatti, panikkatti, etc. the houses of the izhavas resemble those of the nayars in form. each house is a group of buildings, the most substantial of which, known as the arappura, stands in the centre. on the left side is the vadakkettu or woman's apartment, including the kitchen. there is a court-yard in front of the arappura, and a little building called kizhakkettu enclosing it on the eastern side. houses invariably face the east. the main entrance stands a little to the south of the kizhakkettu, to the south of which again is the tozhuttu or cow-shed. these buildings, of course, are found only in rich houses, the poor satisfying themselves with an arappura, a vatakketu, and a tozhuttu. a tekketu is to be seen to the south of the arappura in some cases. this is erected mainly to perpetuate the memory of some deceased member of the family known for learning, piety, or bravery. a pitha or seat, a conch, a cane, and a small bag containing ashes, are secured within. it is kept scrupulously free from pollution, and worship is offered on fixed days to the ancestors. the tekketu is enclosed on all the three sides, except the east. this description of houses in south travancore, as far as trivandrum, applies also to buildings erected to the north as far as quilon, though tekketus are not so largely found as in the south. in some parts here, the southern room of the main buildings is consecrated to the memory of ancestors. in central travancore there are big kalaris to the south of the arappura in most of the ancient houses, and antique weapons and images of tutelary divinities are carefully preserved therein. in dress and ornament, the izhavas closely resemble the nayars. the tattu form of dress is not prevalent among izhava women. in the wearing of the cloth, the left side comes inside instead of the right in the case of south travancore izhava women, though this rule is not without its exceptions. in south travancore, the ornaments of women differ considerably from those of the north. here they wear the pampadam or tamil sudra women's ear ornament, and adorn the wrists with a pair of silver bangles. the nose ornaments mukkuthi and gnattu have only recently begun to be worn, and are not very popular in central and north travancore. this is a point in which izhavas may be said to differ from the south travancore nayar matrons. the ear ornament of elderly izhava women in north travancore is of an antique type called atukkam-samkhu-chakkravum. women in the rural parts wear a curious neck ornament called anti-minnu. of late, all ornaments of nayar women are being worn by fashionable izhava females. but izhava and nayar women can be distinguished by the tie of the hair lock, the izhava women usually bringing it to the centre of the forehead, while the nayars place it on one side, generally the left. tattooing was once prevalent in south travancore, but is gradually losing favour. it was never in vogue in north travancore. the izhavas eat both fish and flesh. rabbits, deer, pigs, sheep, porcupines, fowls, doves, guinea-fowls, peacocks, and owls are believed to make popular dishes. the sweetmeat called ariyunta, and the curry known as mutirakkary, are peculiar to the izhavas, and prepared best by them. the most important occupation of the izhavas till recently was the cultivation of palm trees, and the preparation of toddy and arrack. barbosa, writing in the sixteenth century, states that "their principal employment is to till the palm trees, and gather their fruits; and to carry everything for hire from one point to another, because they are not in the habit of transporting them with beasts of burden, as there are none; and they hew stone, and gain their livelihood by all kinds of labour. some of them bear the use of arms, and fight in the wars when it is necessary. they carry a staff in their hand of a fathom's length as a sign of their lineage." with the progress of culture and enlightenment, the occupation of extracting liquor from the cocoanut palm has ceased to be looked upon with favour, and such families as are now given to that pursuit have come to be regarded as a low division of the chovas. in some parts of travancore, the latter do not even enjoy the privilege of commensality with the other izhavas. agriculture is a prominent profession, and there are several wealthy and influential landlords in the community. there is also a fair percentage of agricultural labourers. a preliminary rite, called pozhutana sowing, is performed by farmers, who throw three handfuls of rice seed on a clay image representing ganesa, and pray that their fields may yield a good harvest. before the time of reaping, on an auspicious morning, a few sheaves are brought, and hung up in some prominent place in the house. this ceremony is known as nira, and is common to all hindu castes. at the end of it, the inmates of the house partake of puttari or new rice. there are a few other customary rites observed by agriculturists, viz.:-(1) metiyittu-varuka, or throwing the grains of the first sheaf upon another, and covering it with its straw, this being afterwards appropriated by the chief agricultural labourer present. (2) koytu-pitichcha-katta-kotukkuka, or handing over the first sheaves of grain fastened together with strychnos nux-vomica leaves to the owner of the field, who is obliged to preserve them till the next harvest season. (3) kotuti, or offering of oblations of a few grains dipped in toddy to the spirits of agricultural fields, the pulaya priest crying aloud 'poli, va, poli, va,' meaning literally may good harvest come. as manufacturers, the izhavas occupy a position in travancore. they produce several kinds of cloth, for local consumption in the main, and make mats, tiles, and ropes, with remarkable skill. they are also the chief lemon-grass oil distillers of travancore. in the professions of medicine and astrology, the izhavas have largely engaged themselves. while it must be confessed that many of them are utter strangers to culture, there are several who have received a sound education, especially in sanskrit. on the whole, the izhavas may be said to be one of the most industrious and prosperous communities on the west coast. the izhavas form a pious and orthodox hindu caste. though they cannot enter the inner court-yard of temples, they attend there in considerable numbers, and make their pious offerings. over several temples the travancore izhavas have a joint right with the nayars. in illustration, the shrines of saktikulamgara in karunagappali, and chettikulangara in mavelikara, may be mentioned. over these and other temples, the rights that have been enjoyed from time immemorial by certain izhava families are respected even at the present day. in most places, the izhavas have their own temples, with a member of their own or the izhavatti caste as priest. as no provision had been made in them for daily worship, there was no necessity in early times for the regular employment of priests. the deity usually worshipped was bhadrakali, who was believed to help them in their military undertakings. the offerings made to her involved animal sacrifices. the temples are generally low thatched buildings with a front porch, an enclosure wall, and a grove of trees. there are many instances, in which the enclosure wall is absent. the bhadrakali cult is gradually losing favour under the teaching of a vedantic scholar and religious reformer named nanan asan. in many central and south travancore shrines, images of subramania have been set up at his instance, and daily worship is offered by bachelor priests appointed by the castemen. an association for the social, material, and religious amelioration of the community, called narayana dharma paripalana yogam, has been started. its head-quarters is at aruvippuram in the nayyatinkara taluk. every morning, the sun is specially worshipped by the cultured class. in ancient times, the adoration of anchu tampurakkal or the five deities, now identified with the pandavas of the mahabharata, prevailed among these people. this worship is found among the pulayas also. at mayyanad in quilon, there is still an izhava temple dedicated to these five lords. women visit shrines on all mondays and fridays, with a view to worshipping gauri, the consort of siva. male izhavas devote the first and last days of a month, as also that on which the star of their nativity falls, to religious worship. the izhavas of central travancore pay homage to a spirit called kayalil daivam, or the deity of backwaters. when a village becomes infected with small-pox or cholera, offerings are made to the bhadrakali shrine in that locality. the most important offering goes by the name of kalam vaikkuka, or pot placing. a woman of the house of the local panikkan or chief member fasts, and, bearing a pot containing five nalis (a small measure) of paddy (unhusked rice), proceeds to all the other izhava houses in the village, accompanied by musical instruments. one woman from every house marches to the shrine with her offering of paddy and a chuckram (nearly half an anna). the priest receives the offerings, converts the paddy into rice, and, depositing a portion of it in each of the pots, hands them back to the votaries on the morning of the next day. another ceremony performed on such occasions is called desakuruti, when women fast, and, taking all the food-stuffs necessary, proceed to the temple. after the sacrifice of a goat and fowls by the priest, they make an offering of the food to the deity before dinner. tukkam, or suspension, is another propitiatory ceremony. a religious observance, known as mamachchirappu, finds favour with the izhavas of central travancore in the month of vrischikam (november-december). every izhava bathes in the evening, addresses the deities by their names for about an hour, and then makes an offering of tender cocoanuts, fruits, and fried grain. this takes place according to the convenience of each family from twelve to forty-one days. in connection with the tukkam ceremony, mr. l. k. anantha krishna aiyar writes as follows. [193] "there are two kinds of hook-swinging, namely garuda (brahmini kite) and thoni (boat) tukkam. the ceremony is performed in fulfilment of a vow, to obtain some favour of the deity kali, before whose presence it is carried out. the performer of the ceremony should bathe early in the morning, and be in a state of preparation either for a year or for forty-one days by worshipping the deity bhagavati. he must strictly abstain from meat, all kinds of intoxicating liquors, and association with women. during the morning hours, the performer dresses himself in a garment tucked into the waist-band, rubs his body with oil, and is shampooed particularly on the back, a portion of the flesh in the middle of which is stretched for the insertion of a hook. he is also taught by his instructor to perform various feats called payitta. this he continues till the festival, when he has to swing in fulfilment of the vow. in kite swinging, a kind of car, resting on two axles provided with four wheels, is employed. on it, there is a horizontal beam resting on two vertical supports. a strong rope tied to a ring attached to the beam is connected with the hook which passes through the flesh of the back. over the beam there is a kutaram (tent), which is tastefully decorated. inside it, two or three persons can swing at a time. there is a different arrangement in some places. instead of the beam and the supports, there is a small pole, on which rests a horizontal beam provided with a metallic ring at one end. the beam acts as a lever, so that one end of it can be either raised or lowered, so as to give some rest to the swinger. the rope tied to the ring is connected with the hook and the waist-band. for boat swinging, the same kind of vehicle, without wheels, is in use. for kite swinging, the performer has his face painted green. he has to put on artificial lips and wings in imitation of those of the kite, and wears long locks of hair like those of an actor in a kathakali. as he swings, the car is taken three, five, seven, nine, or eleven times round the temple. in boat swinging, the car is likewise carried round the temple, with the swinger performing his feats, as in the case of kite swinging, to the accompaniment of music. he has to put on the same kind of dress, except the lips and wings. in pillayeduthutukkam, or swinging with a child in fulfilment of a vow, the child is taken to the temple by his parents, who pay to the temple authorities thirty-four chuckrams in travancore, and sixty-four puthans [194] in cochin. the child is then handed over to the swinger, who carries the child as he swings. these performances are sometimes made at the expense of the temple, but more generally of persons who make the outlay in fulfilment of a vow. in the latter case, it costs as much as rs. 150 for the kite swinger, but only rs. 30 for the boat swinger. during the festival, they are fed in the temple, owing to their being in a state of vow. it is the nayars, kammalars, kuruppans, and izhavas, who perform the swinging in fulfilment of a vow. in the fight between the goddess kali and the demon darika, the latter was completely defeated, and the former, biting him on the back, drank his blood to gratify her feelings of animosity. hook-swinging symbolises this incident, and the bloodshed by the insertion of the hook through the flesh is intended as an offering to the goddess." of the hook-swinging ceremony as performed a few years ago at the kollangadu temple in travancore, an excellent account is given by the rev. t. knowles, [195] from which the following précis has been compiled. in front of the temple was a booth containing the image of the goddess bhadrakali, a cruel deity, who is supposed to delight in blood. at a little distance was the car. the bottom part of this was very much like a lorry used when transporting large logs of timber by means of elephants. there were four solid wheels of thick timber, with a frame work, like a railway waggon on a small scale. to this were attached two thick cable ropes. joined to the sides of the car were two upright posts, about 15 feet high, strengthened with stays and cross-pieces. on the top was a piece of thick timber with a hole in it, and the bottom rounded, which fitted into a cross-piece, and allowed the long beam on which the men were swung to move up or down. this beam was 35 or 40 feet long, and about 9 inches in diameter. it was placed through the hole in the piece of timber on the top of the upright frame, and balanced in the middle like a huge see-saw. at one end of the hole was a covered canopy, and at the other long ropes were fastened, which trailed on the ground. the whole arrangement of the car was such that, by lowering one end of the long beam to the ground, and fastening a man to it, and then pulling down the other end by the ropes, the man could be raised into the air to a height of some 40 feet or more. the whole car could then be dragged by the thick cable ropes round the temple. while the subject was being prepared for swinging, a mat was stretched above his head, partly to do him honour, partly to protect him from the sun. his head and neck were richly ornamented, and below he was bedecked with peacock's feathers, and clad in a loin-cloth, which would bear some, if not all the weight of his body. amid the firing of mortars, beating of tom-toms, the screeching of flutes, and the shouts of the crowd, the canopied end of the long beam was lowered, and the devotee, lying prone on the ground, was fastened to the beam by means of ropes passing under his arms and around his chest. to some of the ropes, hooks were fastened. the priests took hold of the fleshy part of the man's back, squeezed up the flesh, and put some four hooks at least through it. a rudely fashioned sword and shield were then given to the man, and he was swung up into the air, waving the sword and shield, and making convulsive movements. slowly the people dragged the car round the temple, a distance not quite as far as round st. paul's cathedral. some of the men were suspended while the car was dragged round three or four times. the next devotee was fastened in the same way to the beam, but, instead of a sword and shield, the priests gave him an infant in his arms, and devotee and infant were swung up in the air, and the car dragged round the temple as before. some children were brought forward, whose parents had made vows about them. the little ones were made to prostrate themselves before the image of kali. then the fleshy parts of their sides were pinched up, and some wires put through. this done, the wires were placed in the hands of the relatives, and the children were led round and round the temple, as though in leading strings. it is on record that, when the devotee has been specially zealous, the whole machine has been moved to a considerable distance while he was suspended from it, to the admiration of the gaping multitudes." in connection with the religion of the ilavars, the rev. s. mateer writes as follows. [196] "demon worship, especially that of bhadrakali, a female demon described as a mixture of mischief and cruelty, is the customary cultus of the caste, with sacrifices and offerings and devil-dancing like the shanars. shastavu and virabhadran are also venerated, and the ghosts of ancestors. groves of trees stand near the temples, and serpent images are common, these creatures being accounted favourites of kali. they carry their superstitions and fear of the demons into every department and incident of life. in some temples and ceremonies, as at paroor, sarkarei, etc., they closely associate with the sudras. the ilavar temples are generally low, thatched buildings, with front porch, a good deal of wooden railing and carving about them, an enclosure wall, and a grove or a few trees, such as ficus religiosa, plumeria, and bassia. at the ilavar temple near chakki in the outskirts of trevandrum, the goddess bhadrakali is represented as a female seated on an image, having two wings, gilt and covered with serpents. twice a year, fowls and sheep are sacrificed by an ilavan priest, and offerings of grain, fruit, and flowers are presented. the side-piercing ceremony is also performed here. a temple at mangalattukonam, about ten miles south of trevandrum, at which i witnessed the celebration of the annual festival on the day following meena bharani, in march or april, may be taken as a fair example of the whole. in connection with this temple may be seen a peculiar wooden pillar and small shrine at the top, somewhat like a pigeon-house. this is called a tani maram, and is a kind of altar, or residence, for the demon madan, resembling the temporary shrines on sticks or platforms erected by the pulayars. on it are carvings of many-headed serpents, etc., and a projecting lamp for oil. for the festival, the ground around the temple was cleared of weeds, the outhouses and sheds decorated with flowers, and on the tani maram were placed two bunches of plantains, at its foot a number of devil-dancing sticks. close by were five or six framework shrines, constructed of soft palm leaves and pith of plantain tree, and ornamented with flowers. these were supposed to be the residence of some minor powers, and in them were placed, towards night, offerings of flowers, rice, plantains, cocoanuts, and blood. the ilavars who assemble for the festival wear the marks of siva, a dot and horizontal lines on the forehead, and three horizontal lines of yellow turmeric on the chest. they begin to gather at the temple from noon, and return home at night. the festival lasts for five days. some of the neighbouring sudras and shanars also attend, and some pulayars, who pay one chuckram for two shots of firework guns in fulfilment of their vows. offerings here are generally made in return for relief from sickness or trouble of some kind. the pujari, or priest, is an ilavan, who receives donations of money, rice, etc. a kind of mild hook-swinging ceremony is practised. on the occasion referred to, four boys, about fifteen or sixteen years of age, were brought. they must partly fast for five days previously on plain rice and vegetable curry, and are induced to consent to the operation, partly by superstitious fear, and partly by bribes. on the one hand they are threatened with worse danger if they do not fulfil the vows made by their parents to the devi (deity); on the other hand, if obedient, they receive presents of fine clothes and money. dressed in handsome cloths and turbans, and adorned with gold bracelets and armlets, and garlands of flowers, the poor boys are brought to present a little of their blood to the sanguinary goddess. three times they march round the temple; then an iron is run through the muscles of each side, and small rattans inserted through the wounds. four men seize the ends of the canes, and all go round in procession, with music and singing and clapping of hands, five or seven times, according to their endurance, till quite exhausted. the pujari now dresses in a red cloth, with tinsel border, like a brahman, takes the dancing-club in hand, and dances before the demon. cocks are sacrificed, water being first poured upon the head; when the bird shakes itself, the head is cut off, and the blood poured round the temple. rice is boiled in one of the sheds in a new pot, and taken home with the fowls by the people for a feast in the house. at mayanadu, the bhagavathi of the small temple belonging to the ilavars is regarded as the sister of the one worshipped in the larger temple used by the sudras, and served by a brahman priest; and the cars of the latter are brought annually to the ilavar's temple, and around it three times before returning to their own temple. at the ilavar's temple, the same night, the women boil rice in new earthen pots, and the men offer sheep and fowls in sacrifice. in further illustration of the strange superstitious practices of this tribe, two more incidents may be mentioned. an ilavatti, whose child was unwell, went to consult an astrologer, who informed her that the disease was caused by the spirit of the child's deceased grandmother. for its removal he would perform various incantations, for which he required the following, viz.:--water from seven wells, dung from five cowsheds, a larva of the myrmeleon, a crab, a frog, a green snake, a viral fish, parched rice, ada cake, cocoanut, chilly, and green palm leaves. an ilavan, who had for some time been under christian instruction, was led away by a brother, who informed him that, if he built a small temple for the worship of nina madan, and offered sacrifices, he should find a large copper vessel full of gold coins hid underground, and under the charge of this demon. the foolish man did so, but did not find a single cash. now the lying brother avers that the demon will not be satisfied unless a human sacrifice is offered, which, of course, is impossible." the headmen of the izhava caste are the channans and panikkans, invested with these titles by the sovereigns of this state who have been already referred to. the limits of their jurisdiction were generally fixed in the charters received from them by their rulers, and even to-day their authority remains supreme in all social matters. the priests, it may be noted, are only a minor class, having no judicial functions. chief among the offences against the caste rules may be mentioned non-observance of pollution, illicit connection, non-performance of the tali-kettu before the age of puberty, non-employment of the village barber and washerman, non-celebration of ceremonies in one's own village, and so on. the headman comes to know of these through the agency of the village barber or washerman, and also a class of secondary dignitaries known as kottilpattukar or naluvitanmar. in every village, there are four families, invested with this authority in olden times by the rulers of the state on payment of fifty-nine fanams to the royal treasury. they are believed to hold a fourth of the authority that pertains to the chieftain of the village. if, on enquiry, an offence is proved, a fine is imposed on the offender, which he is obliged to pay to the local shrine. if the offence is grave, a feast has to be given by him to the villagers. in cases of failure, the services of the village priest and washerman, and also the barber, are refused, and the culprit becomes ostracised from society. the headman has to be paid a sum of ten chuckrams on all occasions of ceremonies, and the naluvitanmar four chuckrams each. there is a movement in favour of educating the priests, and delegating some of the above powers to them. three forms of inheritance may be said to prevail among the izhavas of travancore, viz.: (1) makkathayam (inheritance from father to son) in the extreme south; (2) marumakkatayam (through the female line) in all taluks to the north of quilon; (3) a mixture of the two between neyyatinkara and that taluk. according to the mixed mode, one's own children are not left absolutely destitute, but some portion of the property is given them for maintenance, in no case, however, exceeding a half. in families observing the marumakkatayam law, male and female heirs own equal rights. partition, though possible when all consent, rarely takes place in practice, the eldest male member holding in his hands the management of the whole property. in quilon and other places, the widow and her children are privileged to remain in her husband's house for full one year after his death, and enjoy all the property belonging to him. on the subject of inheritance, the rev. s. mateer writes as follows. "the nepotistic law of inheritance is, to a considerable extent, followed by this caste. those in the far south being more closely connected with the tamil people, their children inherit. amongst the ilavars in trevandrum district, a curious attempt is made to unite both systems of inheritance, half the property acquired by a man after his marriage, and during the lifetime of his wife, going to the issue of such marriage, and half to the man's nepotistic heirs. in a case decided by the sadr court, in 1872, the daughter of an ilavan claimed her share in the movable and immovable property of her deceased father, and to have a sale made by him while alive declared null and void to the extent of her share. as there was another similar heir, the court awarded the claimant a half share, and to this extent the claim was invalidated. their rules are thus stated by g. kerala varman tirumulpad:--'if one marries and gives cloth to an ilavatti (female), and has issue, of the property acquired by him and her from the time of the union, one-tenth is deducted for the husband's labour or individual profit; of the remainder, half goes to the woman and her children, and half to the husband and his heirs (anandaravans). the property which an ilavan has inherited or earned before his marriage devolves solely to his anandaravans, not to his children. if an ilavatti has continued to live with her husband, and she has no issue, or her children die before obtaining any share of the property, when the husband dies possessing property earned by both, his heirs and she must mutually agree, or the castemen decide what is fair for her support; and the husband's heir takes the remainder.'" the marriage of izhava girls consists of two distinct rites, one before they attain puberty called tali-kettu, and the other generally after that period, but in some cases before, called sambandham. it is, however, necessary that the girl must have her tali tied before some one contracts sambandham with her. the tali-tier may be, but often is not, as among the nayars, the future husband of the girl. but, even for him, the relation will not be complete without a formal cloth presentation. the legitimate union for a person is with his maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter. generally there is a separate ceremony called grihapravesam, or entrance into the house of the bridegroom after sambandham. widows may contract alliances with other persons after the death of the first husband. in all cases, the izhava husband takes his wife home, and considers it infra dig. to stay in the house of his father-in-law. the method of celebrating the tali-kettu differs in different parts of travancore. the following is the form popular in central travancore. all the elderly members of the village assemble at the house of the girl, and fix a pillar of jack (artocarpus integrifolia) wood at the south-east corner. on the kaniyan (astrologer) being three times loudly consulted as to the auspiciousness of the house he gives an affirmative reply, and the guardian of the girl, receiving a silver ring from the goldsmith, hands it over to the vatti (priest), who ties it on the wooden post. the carpenter, kaniyan, and goldsmith receive some little presents. the next item in the programme is the preparation of the rice necessary for the marriage, and a quantity of paddy (unhusked rice) is brought by the girl to the pandal ground, and formally boiled in a pot. the pandal (booth) is generally erected on the south side of the house. the chartu, or a chit from the kaniyan, certifying the auspiciousness of the match and the suitable date for its formal adoption, is taken by the guardian and four machchampis or inangans to the headman of the latter. these machchampis are izhavas of the village, equal in status to the guardian of the girl. all the preliminary arrangements are now over, and, on the day previous to the marriage, the girl bathes, and, wearing the bleached cloths supplied by the mannan (washerman), worships the local deity, and awaits the arrival of the bridegroom. in the evening, the wife of the vatti applies oil to her hair, and after a bath the rite known as kalati begins, as a preliminary to which a thread passing through a silver ring is tied round her right wrist. kalati is recitation of various songs by the women of the village before the girl. this is followed by kanjiramala, or placing the girl before a line of carved wooden images, and songs by the vatti women. on the following day, the girl is introduced, at the auspicious hour, within the katirmandapa or raised platform decorated with sheaves of corn within the pandal. the minnu or marriage ornament, prepared by the goldsmith, is handed over to the priest, along with two cloths to be worn by the bride and bridegroom. a string is made of thread taken from these cloths, and the minnu attached to it. the mother-in-law of the bridegroom now stands ready at the gate, and, on his arrival, places a garland of flowers round his neck. the new cloths are then presented by the vatti and his wife to the bridegroom and bride respectively, after some tender cocoanut leaves, emblematic of the established occupation of the caste, are thrust into the bridegroom's waist by the headman of the village. in former days, a sword took the place of these leaves. the minnu is then tied round the neck of the bride, and all parties, including the parent or guardian, give presents to the bridegroom. the day's ceremony is then over, and the bridegroom remains at the house of the bride. the string is removed from the bride's wrist by the vatti on the fourth day, and the couple bathe. more than one girl may have the tali tied at the same time, provided that there are separate bridegrooms for them. only boys from the families of machchampis can become tali-tiers. the sambandham of north and central travancore differs from that of south travancore in some material respects. in the former, on the appointed day, the bridegroom, who is a different person from the tali-tier, accompanied by his relations and friends, arrives at the bride's house, and the guardian of the former offers a sum of money to the guardian of the latter. a suit of clothes, with ten chuckrams or ten rasis (coins), is presented by the bridegroom to the bride, who stands in a room within and receives it, being afterwards dressed by his sister. the money goes by right to her mother, and is known as ammayippanam. now comes the time for the departure of the bride to her husband's house, when she receives from her guardian a nut-cracker, lime-can, a dish filled with rice, and a mat. a red cloth is thrown over her head, and a few members accompany the party for some distance. in south travancore, the bridegroom is accompanied, besides others, by a companion, who asks in the midst of the assembly whether they assent to the proposed alliance, and, on their favourable reply, hands over a sum of money as an offering to the local shrine. another sum is given for the maintenance of the bride, and, in the presence of the guardian, a suit of clothes is given to her by the bridegroom. the wife is, as elsewhere, immediately taken to the husband's house. this is called kudivaippu, and corresponds to the grahapravesam celebrated by brahmans. the following account of marriage among the izhavas of malabar is given in the gazetteer of that district. "a girl may be married before puberty, but the consummation is not supposed to be effected till after puberty, though the girl may live with her husband at once. if the marriage is performed before puberty, the ceremony is apparently combined with the tali-kettu kalyanam. the bride is fetched from the devapura or family chapel with a silk veil over her head, and holding a betel leaf in her right hand in front of her face. she stands in the pandal on a plank, on which there is some rice. on her right stand four enangans of the bridegroom, and on her left four of her own. the elder of the bridegroom's enangans hands one of the bride's enangans a bundle containing the tali, a mundu and pava (cloths), some rice, betel leaves, and a coin called meymelkanam, which should be of gold and worth at least one rupee. all these are provided by the bridegroom. he next hands the tali to the bridegroom's sister, who ties it. after this, all the enangans scatter rice and flowers over the bride. in this caste, the claim of a man to the hand of his paternal aunt's daughter is recognised in the ceremony called padikkal tada (obstruction at the gate), which consists of a formal obstruction offered by eleven neighbours to the bride's removal, when she is not so related to her husband they are bought off by a fee of two fanams, and a packet of betel leaf. the girl is then taken to the bridegroom's house. if very young, she is chaperoned by a female relative. on the fourth day there is a feast at the bridegroom's house called nalam kalyanam and this concludes the ceremonies. marriage after puberty is called pudamari. the ceremonial is the same, but there is no padikkal tada." when an izhava girl reaches puberty, the occasion is one for a four days' religious ceremonial. on the first day, the vatti priestess anoints the girl with oil, and after a bath, dresses her in the cloth supplied by the mannatti (washerwoman). she is then laid on a broad wooden plank, and is supposed not to go out until she bathes on the fourth day. all the female relations of the family present her with sweetmeats. on the seventh day, she is again taken to and from the village tank (pond) with much éclat, and, on her return, she either treads on cloths spread on the floor, or is carried by an elderly woman. after this, she husks a quantity of paddy, and cooks the rice obtained thence. if this ceremony takes place at the house of a headman, the villagers present him with a vessel full of sugared rice. a two days' ceremonial, called pulikudi in north travancore, and vayattu pongala in the south, which corresponds to the pumsavana of brahmans, is observed at the seventh month of pregnancy. on the first day, at twilight in the evening, the pregnant woman, preceded by the priestess, proceeds to the foot of a tamarind tree on the southern side of the compound. arriving there, she receives a thread seven yards in length, to which a silver ring is attached at one end, and, by means of circumambulation, entwines the tree with the thread. if the thread is by chance or inadvertence broken during this process, the popular belief is that either the mother or the child will die soon. next day, the thread is unwound from the tree, and a handful of tamarind leaves is given to the woman by her husband. on re-entering the house, tamarind juice is poured through the hands of the husband into those of the wife, who drinks it. the priestess then pours a quantity of oil on the navel of the woman from a betel leaf, and, from the manner in which it flows down, it is believed that she is able to determine the sex of the unborn child. the woman has to lean against a cutting of an ambazham (spondias mangifera) tree while she is drinking the juice, and this cutting has to be planted in some part of the compound. if it does not grow properly, the adversity of the progeny is considered to be sealed. the husband is given a ring and other presents on this occasion. women bathe on the third, fifth, and nineteenth day after delivery, and wear the mattu or changed cloth of the mannatti, in order to be freed from pollution. the name-giving ceremony of the child takes place on the twenty-eighth day. it is decorated with a pair of iron anklets, and a ribbon passed through a few pieces of iron is tied round its waist. it is then held standing on a vessel filled with rice, and, its left ear being closed, a name is muttered by its guardian into the right ear. the first feeding ceremony is observed in the sixth month, when the iron ornaments are removed, and replaced by silver and gold ones. the ear-boring ceremony takes place at an auspicious hour on some day before the child attains its seventh year. in former times, only the eldest male member of a family was cremated, but no such restriction obtains at the present day. when a member of the community dies, three handfuls of rice are placed in the mouth of the corpse by the eldest heir after a bath, followed by the sons, nephews, and grandsons of the deceased. every relative throws an unbleached cloth over the corpse, after which it is taken to the burning-ground, where the pyre is lighted by the heir with a consecrated torch handed to him by the priest. a wooden plank is furnished by the carpenter, and an impression of the foot of the deceased smeared with sandal paste is made on it. the name, and date of the death of the deceased, are inscribed thereon, and it has to be carefully preserved in the house of the heir. the record refreshes his memory on occasions of sradh (memorial service), etc. when the cremation is half completed, the contents of a tender cocoanut are placed beside the head of the corpse as an offering, and prayers are muttered. a pot full of water is then borne by the chief mourner on his shoulder thrice round the corpse. as he does so, the priest pricks the pot thrice with an iron instrument. finally, the pot is broken on the pyre, and the chief mourner returns home without turning back and looking at the corpse. on the second day, an oblation of food (pinda) is offered to the departed. the inmates of the house are fed with conji (rice gruel) on this day by the relatives. the sanchayana, or collection of bones, takes place on the fifth day. pollution lasts for fifteen days in central and north travancore, but only for ten days in the south. there are some rites, not observed necessarily by all members of the caste, on the forty-first day, and at the end of the first year. persons who have died of contagious diseases, women who die after conception or on delivery, and children under five years of age, are buried. pollution is observed only for nine days when children die; and, in the case of men who die of contagious disease, a special group of ceremonies is performed by the sorcerer. those who are under pollution, besides being forbidden to enter shrines and other sanctuaries, may not read or write, or partake of liquor, butter, milk, ghi, dhal, or jaggery. j jada.--jada or jandra, meaning great men, has been recorded as a synonym of devanga and kurni. jaggali.--the jaggalis are defined, in the manual of the ganjam district, as uriya workers in leather in ganjam. it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, that "the traditional occupation of this caste was apparently leatherworking, but now it is engaged in cultivation and miscellaneous labour. its members speak both oriya and telugu. they admit outcastes from other communities to their ranks on payment of a small fee. marriage is either infant or adult, and widows and divorcées may remarry. satanis are employed as priests. they eat beef and pork, and drink alcohol. they bury their dead. in some places they work as syces (grooms), and in others as firewood-sellers and as labourers. patro and behara are their titles." it may, i think, be accepted that the jaggalis are telugu madigas, who have settled in ganjam, and learnt the oriya language. it is suggested that the name is derived from the oriya jagiba, watching, as some are village crop-watchers. jaikonda (lizard).--a sept of domb. jain.--"few," mr. t. a. gopinatha rao writes, [197] "even among educated persons, are aware of the existence of jainas and jaina centres in southern india. the madras presidency discloses vestiges of jaina dominion almost everywhere, and on many a roadside a stone tirthankara, standing or sitting cross-legged, is a common enough sight. the present day interpretations of these images are the same all over the presidency. if the images are two, one represents a debtor and the other a creditor, both having met on the road, and waiting to get their accounts settled and cleared. if it is only one image, it represents a debtor paying penalty for not having squared up his accounts with his creditor." it is recorded, in the madras census report, 1891, that "out of a total of 25,716 jains, as many as 22,273 have returned both caste and sub-division as jain. the remainder have returned 22 sub-divisions, of which some, such as digambara and swetambara, are sectarian rather than caste divisions, but others like marvadi, osval, vellalan, etc., are distinct castes. and the returns also show that some jains have returned well-known castes as their main castes, for we have jain brahmans, kshatriyas, gaudas, vellalas, etc. the jain bants, however, have all returned jain as their main caste." at the madras census, 1901, 27,431 jains were returned. though they are found in nearly every district of the madras presidency, they occur in the largest number in the following:- south canara 9,582 north arcot 8,128 south arcot 5,896 at the mysore census, 1901, 13,578 jains were returned. it is recorded in the report that "the digambaras and swetambaras are the two main divisions of the jain faith. the root of the word digambara means space clad or sky clad, i.e., nude, while swetambara means clad in white. the swetambaras are found more in northern india, and are represented but by a small number in mysore. the digambaras are said to live absolutely separated from society, and from all worldly ties. these are generally engaged in trade, selling mostly brass and copper vessels, and are scattered all over the country, the largest number of them being found in shimoga, mysore, and hassan districts. sravana belagola, in the hassan district, is a chief seat of the jains of the province. tirthankaras are the priests of the jain religion, and are also known as pitambaras. the jain yatis or clergy here belong to the digambara sect, and cover themselves with a yellow robe, and hence the name pithambara." the dasa banajigas of mysore style themselves jaina kshatriya ramanujas. in connection with the terms digambara and swetambara, it is noted by bühler [198] that "digambara, that is those whose robe is the atmosphere, owe their name to the circumstance that they regard absolute nudity as the indispensable sign of holiness, though the advance of civilization has compelled them to depart from the practice of their theory. the swetambara, that is they who are clothed in white, do not claim this doctrine, but hold it as possible that the holy ones who clothe themselves may also attain the highest goal. they allow, however, that the founder of the jaina religion and his first disciples disdained to wear clothes." the most important jain settlement in southern india at the present day is at sravana belagola in mysore, where the jains are employed in the manufacture of metal vessels for domestic use. the town is situated at the base of two hills, on the summit of one of which, the indra betta, is the colossal statue of gomatesvara, gummatta, or gomata raya, [199] concerning which mr. l. rice writes as follows. [200] "the image is nude, and stands erect, facing the north. the figure has no support above the thighs. up to that point it is represented as surrounded by ant-hills, from which emerge serpents. a climbing plant twines itself round both legs and both arms, terminating at the upper part of the arm in a cluster of fruit or berries. the pedestal on which the feet stand is carved to represent an open lotus. the hair is in spiral ringlets, flat to the head, as usual in jain images, and the lobe of the ears lengthened down with a large rectangular hole. the extreme height of the figure may be stated at 57 feet, though higher estimates have been given--60 feet 3 inches by sir arthur wellesley (afterwards duke of wellington), and 70 feet 3 inches by buchanan." of this figure, fergusson writes [201] that nothing grander or more imposing exists anywhere out of egypt, and even there no known statue surpasses it in height, though, it must be confessed, they do excel it in the perfection of art they exhibit." other colossal statues of gummata are situated on the summit of hills outside the towns of karkal and venur or yenur in south canara. concerning the former, dr. e. hultzsch writes as follows. [202] "it is a monolith consisting of the figure itself, of a slab against which it leans, and which reaches up to the wrists, and of a round pedestal which is sunk into a thousand-petalled lotus flower. the legs and arms of the figure are entwined with vines (drâkshâ). on both sides of the feet, a number of snakes are cut out of the slab against which the image leans. two inscriptions [203] on the sides of the same slab state that this image of bahubalin or gummata jinapati was set up by a chief named vîra-pândya, the son of bhairava, in a.d. 1431-32. an inscription of the same chief is engraved on a graceful stone pillar in front of the outer gateway. this pillar bears a seated figure of brahmadêva, a chief of pattipombuchcha, the modern humcha in mysore, who, like vîra-pândya, belonged to the family of jinadatta, built the chaturmukha basti in a.d. 1586-87. as its name (chaturmukha, the four-faced) implies, this temple has four doors, each of which opens on three black stone figures of the three tirthankaras ari, malli, and munisuvrata. each of the figures has a golden aureole over the head." according to a legend recorded by mr. m. j. walhouse, [204] the karkal statue, when finished, was raised on to a train of twenty iron carts furnished with steel wheels, on each of which ten thousand propitiatory cocoanuts were broken and covered with an infinity of cotton. it was then drawn by legions of worshippers up an inclined plane to the platform on the hill-top where it now stands. the legend of kalkuda, who is said to have made the colossal statue at "belgula," is narrated at length by mr. a. c. burnell. [205] told briefly, the story is as follows. kalkuda made a gummata two cubits higher than at belur. bairanasuda, king of karkal, sent for him to work in his kingdom. he made the gummatasami. although five thousand people were collected together, they were not able to raise the statue. kalkuda put his left hand under it, and raised it, and set it upright on a base. he then said to the king "give me my pay, and the present that you have to give to me. it is twelve years since i left my house, and came here." but the king said "i will not let kalkuda, who has worked in my kingdom, work in another country," and cut off his left hand and right leg. kalkuda then went to timmanajila, king of yenur, and made a gummata two cubits higher than that at karkal. in connection with the figure at sravana belagola, fergusson suggests [206] that the hill had a mass or tor standing on its summit, which the jains fashioned into a statue. the high priest of the jain basti at karkal in 1907 gave as his name lalitha kirthi bhattaraka pattacharya variya jiyaswamigalu. his full-dress consisted of a red and gold-embroidered benares body-cloth, red and gold turban, and, as a badge of office, a brush of peacock's feathers mounted in a gold handle, carried in his hand. on ordinary occasions, he carried a similar brush mounted in a silver handle. the abhishekam ceremony is performed at karkal at intervals of many years. a scaffold is erected, and over the colossal statue are poured water, milk, flowers, cocoanuts, sugar, jaggery, sugar-candy, gold and silver flowers, fried rice, beans, gram, sandal paste, nine kinds of precious stones, etc. concerning the statue at yenur, mr. walhouse writes [207] that "it is lower than the kârkala statue (41-1/2 feet), apparently by three or four feet. it resembles its brother colossi in all essential particulars, but has the special peculiarity of the cheeks being dimpled with a deep grave smile. the salient characteristics of all these colossi are the broad square shoulders, and the thickness and remarkable length of the arms, the tips of the fingers, like rob roy's, nearly reaching the knees. [one of sir thomas munro's good qualities was that, like rama, his arms reached to his knees or, in other words, he possessed the quality of an ajanubahu, which is the heritage of kings, or those who have blue blood in them.] like the others, this statue has the lotus enwreathing the legs and arms, or, as dr. burnell suggests, it may be jungle creepers, typical of wrapt meditation. [there is a legend that bahubalin was so absorbed in meditation in a forest that climbing plants grew over him.] a triple-headed cobra rises up under each hand, and there are others lower down." "the village of mudabidure in the south canara district," dr. hultzsch writes, "is the seat of a jaina high priest, who bears the title chârukirti-panditâchârya-svâmin. he resides in a matha, which is known to contain a large library of jaina manuscripts. there are no less than sixteen jaina temples (basti) at mûdabidure. several of them are elaborate buildings with massive stone roofs, and are surrounded by laterite enclosures. a special feature of this style of architecture is a lofty monolithic column called mânastambha, which is set up in front of seven of the bastis. in two of them a flagstaff (dhvajastambha), which consists of wood covered with copper, is placed between the mânastambha and the shrine. six of them are called settarabasti, and accordingly must have been built by jaina merchants (setti). the sixteen bastis are dedicated to the following tîrthankaras:--chandranatha or chandraprabha, nêminâtha, pârsvanâtha, âdinâtha, mallinâtha, padmaprabha, anantanâtha, vardhamâna, and sântinâtha. in two of these bastis are separate shrines dedicated to all the tîrthankaras, and in another basti the shrines of two yakshis. the largest and finest is the hosabasti, i.e., the new temple, which is dedicated to chandranâtha, and was built in a.d. 1429-30. it possesses a double enclosure, a very high mânastambha, and a sculptured gateway. the uppermost storey of the temple consists of wood-work. the temple is composed of the shrine (garbagriha), and three rooms in front of it, viz., the tîrthakaramandapa, the gaddigemandapa, and the chitramandapa. in front of the last-mentioned mandapa is a separate building called bhairâdêvimandapa, which was built in a.d. 1451-52. round its base runs a band of sculptures, among which the figure of a giraffe deserves to be noted. the idol in the dark innermost shrine is said to consist of five metals (pancha-lôha), among which silver predominates. the basti next in importance is the gurugalabasti, where two ancient talipot (srîtâlam) copies of the jaina siddhânta are preserved in a box with three locks, the keys of which are in charge of three different persons. the minor bastis contain three rooms, viz., the garbhagriha, the tîrthakaramandapa, and the namaskâramandapa. one of the sights of mûdabidire is the ruined palace of the chautar, a local chief who follows the jaina creed, and is in receipt of a pension from the government. the principal objects of interest at the palace are a few nicely-carved wooden pillars. two of them bear representations of the pancha-nârîturaga, i.e., the horse composed of five women, and the nava-nârî-kunjara, i.e., the elephant composed of nine women. these are fantastic animals, which are formed by the bodies of a number of shepherdesses for the amusement of their lord krishna. the jains are divided into two classes, viz., priests (indra) and laymen (srivaka). the former consider themselves as brâhmanas by caste. all the jainas wear the sacred thread. the priests dine with the laymen, but do not intermarry with them. the former practice the makkalasantâna, i.e., the inheritance through sons, and the latter aliya-santâna, i.e., the inheritance through nephews. the jainas are careful to avoid pollution from contact with outcastes, who have to get out of their way in the road, as i noticed myself. a jaina marriage procession, which i saw passing, was accompanied by hindu dancing-girls. near the western end of the street in which most of the jainas live, a curious spectacle presents itself. from a number of high trees, thousands of flying foxes (fruit-bat, pteropus medius) are suspended. they have evidently selected the spot as a residence, because they are aware that the jainas, in pursuance of one of the chief tenets of their religion, do not harm any animals. following the same street further west, the jaina burial-ground is approached. it contains a large ruined tank with laterite steps, and a number of tombs of wealthy jain merchants. these tombs are pyramidal structures of several storeys, and are surmounted by a water-pot (kalasa) of stone. four of the tombs bear short epitaphs. the jainas cremate their dead, placing the corpse on a stone in order to avoid taking the life of any stray insect during the process." in their ceremonials, e.g., marriage rites, the jains of south canara closely follow the bants. they are worshippers of bhuthas (devils), and, in some houses, a room called padoli is set apart, in which the bhutha is kept. when they make vows, animals are not killed, but they offer metal images of fowls, goats, or pigs. of the jains of the north arcot district, mr. h. a. stuart writes [208] that "more than half of them are found in the wandiwash taluk, and the rest in arcot and polur. their existence in this neighbourhood is accounted for by the fact that a jain dynasty reigned for many years in conjeeveram. they must at one time have been very numerous, as their temples and sculptures are found in very many places, from which they themselves have now disappeared. they have most of the brahman ceremonies, and wear the sacred thread, but look down upon brahmans as degenerate followers of an originally pure faith. for this reason they object generally to accepting ghee (clarified butter) or jaggery (crude sugar), etc., from any but those of their own caste. they are defiled by entering a pariah village, and have to purify themselves by bathing and assuming a new thread. the usual caste affix is nainar, but a few, generally strangers from other districts, are called rao, chetti, das, or mudaliyar. at pillapalaiyam, a suburb of conjeeveram in the chingleput district, is a jain temple of considerable artistic beauty. it is noted by sir m. e. grant duff [209] that this is "left unfinished, as it would seem, by the original builders, and adapted later to the shivite worship. now it is abandoned by all its worshippers, but on its front stands the census number 9-a--emblematic of the new order of things." concerning the jains of the south arcot district, mr. w. francis writes [210] that "there is no doubt that in ancient days the jain faith was powerful in this district. the periya puranam says that there was once a jain monastery and college at pataliputra, the old name for the modern tirupapuliyur, and remains of jain images and sculptures are comparatively common in the district. the influence of the religion doubtless waned in consequence of the great saivite revival, which took place in the early centuries of the present era, and the periya puranam gives a story in connection therewith, which is of local interest. it says that the saivite poet-saint appar was at one time a student in the jain college at pataliputra, but was converted to saivism in consequence of the prayers of his sister, who was a devotee of the deity in the temple at tiruvadi near panruti. the local king was a jain, and was at first enraged with appar for his fervent support of his new faith. but eventually he was himself induced by appar to become a saivite, and he then turned the paliputra monastery into a temple to siva, and ordered the extirpation of all jains. later on there was a jain revival, but this in its turn was followed by another persecution of the adherents of that faith. the following story connected with this latter occurs in one of the mackenzie manuscripts, and is supported by existing tradition. in 1478 a.d., the ruler of gingee was one venkatampettai, venkatapati, [211] who belonged to the comparatively low caste of the kavarais. he asked the local brahmans to give him one of their daughters to wife. they said that, if the jains would do so, they would follow suit. venkatapati told the jains of this answer, and asked for one of their girls as a bride. they took counsel among themselves how they might avoid the disgrace of connecting themselves by marriage with a man of such a caste, and at last pretended to agree to the king's proposal, and said that the daughter of a certain prominent jain would be given him. on the day fixed for the marriage, venkatapati went in state to the girl's house for the ceremony, but found it deserted and empty, except for a bitch tied to one of the posts of the verandah. furious at the insult, he issued orders to behead all jains. some of the faith were accordingly decapitated, others fled, others again were forced to practice their rites secretly, and yet others became saivites to escape death. not long afterwards, some of the king's officers saw a jain named virasenacharya performing the rites peculiar to his faith in a well in velur near tindivanam, and hauled him before their master. the latter, however, had just had a child born to him, was in a good temper, and let the accused go free; and virasenacharya, sobered by his narrow escape from death, resolved to become an ascetic, went to sravana belgola, and there studied the holy books of the jain religion. meanwhile another jain of the gingee country, gangayya udaiyar of tayanur in the tindivanam taluk, had fled to the protection of the zamindar of udaiyarpalaiyam in trichinopoly, who befriended him and gave him some land. thus assured of protection, he went to sravana belgola, fetched back virasenacharya, and with him made a tour through the gingee country, to call upon the jains who remained there to return to their ancient faith. these people had mostly become saivites, taken off their sacred threads and put holy ashes on their foreheads, and the name nirpusi vellalas, or the vellalas who put on holy ash, is still retained. the mission was successful, and jainism revived. virasenacharya eventually died at velur, and there, it is said, is kept in a temple a metal image of parsvanatha, one of the twenty-four tirthankaras, which he brought from sravana belgola. the descendants of gangayya udaiyar still live in tayanur, and, in memory of the services of their ancestor to the jain cause, they are given the first betel and leaf on festive occasions, and have a leading voice in the election of the high-priest at sittamur in the tindivanam taluk. this high-priest, who is called mahadhipati, is elected by representatives from the chief jain villages. these are, in tindivanam taluk, sittamur itself, viranamur, vilukkam, peramandur, alagramam, and the velur and tayanur already mentioned. the high-priest has supreme authority over all jains south of madras, but not over those in mysore or south canara, with whom the south arcot community have no relations. he travels round in a palanquin with a suite of followers to the chief centres--his expenses being paid by the communities he visits--settles caste disputes, and fines, and excommunicates the erring. his control over his people is still very real, and is in strong contrast to the waning authority of many of the hindu gurus. the jain community now holds a high position in tindivanam taluk, and includes wealthy traders and some of quite the most intelligent agriculturists there. the men use the title of nayinar or udaiyar, but their relations in kumbakonam and elsewhere in that direction sometimes call themselves chetti or mudaliyar. the women are great hands at weaving mats from the leaves of the date-palm. the men, except that they wear the thread, and paint on their foreheads a sect-mark which is like the ordinary vaishnavite mark, but square instead of semi-circular at the bottom, and having a dot instead of a red streak in the middle, in general appearance resemble vellalas. they are usually clean shaved. the women dress like vellalas, and wear the same kind of tali (marriage emblem) and other jewellery. the south arcot jains all belong to the digambara sect, and the images in their temples of the twenty-four tirthankaras are accordingly without clothing. these temples, the chief of which are those at tirunirankonrai [212] and sittamur, are not markedly different in external appearance from hindu shrines, but within these are images of some of the tirthankaras, made of stone or of painted clay, instead of representations of the hindu deities. the jain rites of public worship much resemble those of the brahmans. there is the same bathing of the god with sacred oblations, sandal, and so on; the same lighting and waving of lamps, and burning of camphor; and the same breaking of cocoanuts, playing of music, and reciting of sacred verses. these ceremonies are performed by members of the archaka or priest class. the daily private worship in the houses is done by the laymen themselves before a small image of one of the tirthankaras, and daily ceremonies resembling those of the brahmans, such as the pronouncing of the sacred mantram at daybreak, and the recital of forms of prayer thrice daily, are observed. the jains believe in the doctrine of re-births, and hold that the end of all is nirvana. they keep the sivaratri and dipavali feasts, but say that they do so, not for the reasons which lead hindus to revere these dates, but because on them the first and the last of the twenty-four tirthankaras attained beatitude. similarly they observe pongal and the ayudha puja day. they adhere closely to the injunctions of their faith prohibiting the taking of life, and, to guard themselves from unwittingly infringing them, they do not eat or drink at night lest they might thereby destroy small insects which had got unseen into their food. for the same reason, they filter through a cloth all milk or water which they use, eat only curds, ghee and oil which they have made themselves with due precautions against the taking of insect life, or known to have been similarly made by other jains, and even avoid the use of shell chunam (lime). the vedakkarans (shikari or hunting caste) trade on these scruples by catching small birds, bringing them to jain houses, and demanding money to spare their lives. the jains have four sub-divisions, namely, the ordinary laymen, and three priestly classes. of the latter, the most numerous are the archakas (or vadyars). they do the worship in the temples. an ordinary layman cannot become an archaka; it is a class apart. an archaka can, however, rise to the next higher of the priestly classes, and become what is called an annam or annuvriti, a kind of monk who is allowed to marry, but has to live according to certain special rules of conduct. these annams can again rise to the highest of the three classes, and become nirvanis or munis, monks who lead a celibate life apart from the world. there is also a sisterhood of nuns, called aryanganais, who are sometimes maidens, and sometimes women who have left their husbands, but must in either case take a vow of chastity. the monks shave their heads, and dress in red; the nuns similarly shave, but wear white. both of them carry as marks of their condition a brass vessel and a bunch of peacock's feathers, with which latter they sweep clean any place on which they sit down, lest any insect should be there. to both classes the other jains make namaskaram (respectful salutation) when they meet them, and both are maintained at the cost of the rest of the community. the laymen among the jains will not intermarry, though they will dine with the archakas, and these latter consequently have the greatest trouble in procuring brides for their sons, and often pay rs. 200 or rs. 300 to secure a suitable match. otherwise there are no marriage sub-divisions among the community, all jains south of madras freely intermarrying. marriage takes place either before or after puberty. widows are not allowed to remarry, but are not required to shave their heads until they are middle-aged. the dead are burnt, and the death pollution lasts for twelve days, after which period purification is performed, and the parties must go to the temple. jains will not eat with hindus. their domestic ceremonies, such as those of birth, marriage, death and so on resemble generally those of the brahmans. a curious difference is that, though the girls never wear the thread, they are taught the thread-wearing mantram, amid all the ceremonies usual in the case of boys, when they are about eight years old." it is recorded, in the report on epigraphy, 1906-1907, that at eyil in the south arcot district the jains asked the collector for permission to use the stones of the siva temple for repairing their own. the collector called upon the hindus to put the siva temple in order within a year, on pain of its being treated as an escheat. near the town of madura is a large isolated mass of naked rock, which is known as anaimalai (elephant hill). "the madura sthala purana says it is a petrified elephant. the jains of conjeeveram, says this chronicle, tried to convert the saivite people of madura to the jain faith. finding the task difficult, they had recourse to magic. they dug a great pit ten miles long, performed a sacrifice thereon, and thus caused a huge elephant to arise from it. this beast they sent against madura. it advanced towards the town, shaking the whole earth at every step, with the jains marching close behind it. but the pandya king invoked the aid of siva, and the god arose and slew the elephant with his arrow at the spot where it now lies petrified." [213] in connection with the long barren rock near madura called nagamalai (snake hill), "local legends declare that it is the remains of a huge serpent, brought into existence by the magic arts of the jains, which was only prevented by the grace of siva from devouring the fervently saivite city it so nearly approaches." [214] two miles south of madura is a small hill of rock named pasumalai. "the name means cow hill, and the legend in the madura sthala purana says that the jains, being defeated in their attempt to destroy madura by means of the serpent which was turned into the nagamalai, resorted to more magic, and evolved a demon in the form of an enormous cow. they selected this particular shape for their demon, because they thought that no one would dare kill so sacred an animal. siva, however, directed the bull which is his vehicle to increase vastly in size, and go to meet the cow. the cow, seeing him, died of love, and was turned into this hill." on the wall of the mantapam of the golden lotus tank (pothamarai) of the minakshi temple at madura is a series of frescoes illustrating the persecution of the jains. for the following account thereof, i am indebted to mr. k. v. subramania aiyar. sri gnana sammandha swami, who was an avatar or incarnation of subramaniya, the son of siva, was the foremost of the sixty-three canonised saints of the saivaite religion, and a famous champion thereof. he was sent into the world by siva to put down the growing prevalence of the jaina heresy, and to re-establish the saivite faith in southern india. he entered on the execution of his earthly mission at the age of three, when he was suckled with the milk of spirituality by parvati, siva's consort. he manifested himself first at the holy place shiyali in the present tanjore district to a brahman devotee named sivapathabja hirthaya and his wife, who were afterwards reputed to be his parents. during the next thirteen years, he composed about sixteen thousand thevaram (psalms) in praise of the presiding deity at the various temples which he visited, and performed miracles. wherever he went, he preached the saiva philosophy, and made converts. at this time, a certain koon (hunch-back) pandyan was ruling over the madura country, where, as elsewhere, jainism had asserted its influence, and he and all his subjects had become converts to the new faith. the queen and the prime-minister, however, were secret adherents to the cult of siva, whose temple was deserted and closed. they secretly invited sri gnana sammandha to the capital, in the hope that he might help in extirpating the followers of the obnoxious jain religion. he accordingly arrived with thousands of followers, and took up his abode in a mutt or monastery on the north side of the vaigai river. when the jain priests, who were eight thousand in number, found this out, they set fire to his residence with a view to destroying him. his disciples, however, extinguished the flames. the saint, resenting the complicity of the king in the plot, willed that the fire should turn on him, and burn him in the form of a virulent fever. all the endeavours of the jain priests to cure him with medicines and incantations failed. the queen and the prime-minister impressed on the royal patient the virtues of the saiva saint, and procured his admission into the palace. when sammandha swami offered to cure the king by simply throwing sacred ashes on him, the jain priests who were present contended that they must still be given a chance. so it was mutually agreed between them that each party should undertake to cure half the body of the patient. the half allotted to sammandha was at once cured, while the fever raged with redoubled severity in the other half. the king accordingly requested sammandha to treat the rest of his body, and ordered the jaina priests to withdraw from his presence. the touch of sammandha's hand, when rubbing the sacred ashes over him, cured not only the fever, but also the hunched back. the king now looked so graceful that he was thenceforward called sundara (beautiful) pandyan. he was re-converted to saivism, the doors of the siva temple were re-opened, and the worship of siva therein was restored. the jain priests, not satisfied with their discomfiture, offered to establish the merits of their religion in other ways. they suggested that each party should throw the cadjan (palm-leaf) books containing the doctrines of their respective religions into a big fire, and that the party whose books were burnt to ashes should be considered defeated. the saint acceding to the proposal, the books were thrown into the fire, with the result that those flung by sammandha were uninjured, while no trace of the jain books remained. still not satisfied, the jains proposed that the religious books of both parties should be cast into the flooded vaigai river, and that the party whose books travelled against the current should be regarded as victorious. the jains promised sammandha that, if they failed in this trial, they would become his slaves, and serve him in any manner he pleased. but sammandha replied: "we have already got sixteen thousand disciples to serve us. you have profaned the name of the supreme siva, and committed sacrilege by your aversion to the use of his emblems, such as sacred ashes and beads. so your punishment should be commensurate with your vile deeds." confident of success, the jains offered to be impaled on stakes if they lost. the trial took place, and the books of the saivites travelled up stream. sammandha then gave the jains a chance of escape by embracing the saiva faith, to which some of them became converts. the number thereof was so great that the available supply of sacred ashes was exhausted. such of the jains as remained unconverted were impaled on stakes resembling a sula or trident. it may be noted that, in the mahabharata, rishi mandaviar is said to have been impaled on a stake on a false charge of theft. and ramanuja, the guru of the vaishnavites, is also said to have impaled heretics on stakes in the mysore province. the events recorded in the narrative of sammandha and the jains are gone through at five of the twelve annual festivals at the madura temple. on these occasions, which are known as impaling festival days, an image representing a jain impaled on a stake is carried in procession. according to a tradition the villages of mela kilavu and kil kilavu near solavandan are so named because the stakes (kilavu) planted for the destruction of the jains in the time of tirugnana extended so far from the town of madura. for details of the literature relating to the jains, i would refer the reader to a. guérinot's 'essai de bibliographie jaina,' annales du musée guimet, paris, 1906. jain vaisya.--the name assumed by a small colony of "banians," who have settled in native cochin. they are said [215] to frequent the kalli (stone) pagoda in the kannuthnad taluk of north travancore, and believe that he who proceeds thither a sufficiently large number of times obtains salvation. of recent years, a figure of brahma is said to have sprung up of itself on the top of the rock, on which the pagoda is situated. jakkula.--described [216] as an inferior class of prostitutes, mostly of the balija caste; and as wizards and a dancing and theatrical caste. at tenali, in the kistna district, it was customary for each family to give up one girl for prostitution. she was "married" to any chance comer for one night with the usual ceremonies. under the influence of social reform, the members of the caste, in 1901, entered into a written agreement to give up the practice. a family went back on this, so the head of the caste prosecuted the family and the "husband" for disposing of a minor for the purpose of prostitution. the records state that it was resolved, in 1901, that they should not keep the females as girls, but should marry them before they attain puberty. "as the deeds of the said girls not only brought discredit on all of us, but their association gives our married women also an opportunity to contract bad habits, and, as all of our castemen thought it good to give up henceforth the custom of leaving girls unmarried now in vogue, all of us convened a public meeting in the tenali village, considered carefully the pros and cons, and entered into the agreement herein mentioned. if any person among us fail to marry the girls in the families before puberty, the managing members of the families of the girls concerned should pay rs. 500 to the three persons whom we have selected as the headmen of our caste, as penalty for acting in contravention of this agreement. if any person does not pay the headmen of the caste the penalty, the headmen are authorised to recover the amount through court. we must abstain from taking meals, living, or intermarriage with such of the families as do not now join with us in this agreement, and continue to keep girls unmarried. we must not take meals or intermarry with those that are now included in this agreement, but who hereafter act in contravention of it. if any of us act in contravention of the terms of the two last paragraphs, we should pay a penalty of rs. 50 to the headmen." jalagadugu.--defined, by mr. c. p. brown, [217] as "a caste of gold-finders, who search for gold in drains, and in the sweepings of goldsmiths' shops." a modest livelihood is also obtained, in some places, by extracting gold from the bed of rivers or nullahs (water-courses). the name is derived from jala, water, gadugu, wash. the equivalent jalakara is recorded, in the bellary gazetteer, as a sub-division of kabbera. in the city of madras, gold-washers are to be found working in the foul side drains in front of jewellers' shops. the health officer to the corporation informs me that he often chases them, and breaks their pots for obstructing public drains in their hunt for pieces of gold and other metals. for the following note on the gold-washers of madras, i am indebted to dr. k. t. mathew: "this industry is carried on in the city by the oddars, and was practically monopolised by them till a few years back, when other castes, mostly of the lower orders, stepped in. the oddars now form a population of several thousands in the city, their chief occupation being conservancy cooly work. the process of gold washing is carried out by women at home, and by the aged and adults in their spare hours. the ashes, sweepings, and refuse from the goldsmiths' shops are collected on payment of a sum ranging from one rupee to ten rupees per mensem, and are brought in baskets to a convenient place alongside their huts, where they are stored for a variable time. the drain silts from streets where there are a large number of jewellers' shops are similarly collected, but, in this case, the only payment to be made is a present to the municipal peon. the materials so collected are left undisturbed for a few days or several months, and this storing away for a time is said to be necessary to facilitate the extraction of the gold, as any immediate attempt to wash the stuff results in great loss in the quantity obtained. from the heap as much as can be taken on an ordinary spade is put into a boat-shaped tub open at one end, placed close to the heap, and so arranged that the waste water from the tub flows away from the heap behind, and collects in a shallow pool in front. the water from the pool is collected in a small chatty (earthen vessel), and poured over the heap in the tub, which is continually stirred up with the other hand. all the lighter stuff in this way flows out of the tub, and all the hard stones are every now and then picked out and thrown away. this process goes on until about a couple of handfuls of dark sand, etc., are left in the tub. to this a small quantity of mercury is added, briskly rubbed for a minute or two, and the process of washing goes on, considerable care being taken to see that no particle of mercury escapes, until at last the mercury, with a great many particles of metallic dust attached, is collected in a small chatty--often a broken piece of a pot. the mercury, with the metallic particles in it, is then well washed with clean water, and put into a tiny bag formed of two layers of a piece of rag. the mass is then gently pressed until all the mercury falls into a chatty below, leaving a small flattened mass of dark substance in the bag, which is carefully collected, and kept in another dry chatty. the washing process is repeated until enough of the dark substance--about a third of a teaspoonful--is collected. this substance is then mixed with powdered common salt and brick-dust, put into a broken piece of a pot, and covered with another piece. the whole is placed in a large earthen vessel, with cow-dung cakes well packed above and below. a blazing fire is soon produced, and kept up till the mass is melted. this mass is carefully removed, and again melted with borax in a hole made in a piece of good charcoal, by blowing through a reed or hollow bamboo, until the gold separates from the mass. the fire is then suddenly quenched, and the piece of gold is separated and removed." jalari.--the jalaris are telugu fishermen, palanquin-bearers, and cultivators in ganjam and vizagapatam. the name, mr. c. hayavadana rao writes, is derived from jala, a net. some are fresh-water fishermen, while others fish with a cast-net (visuru valalu) from the sea-shore, or on the open sea. they bear the name gangavamsamu, or people of ganga, in the same way that a division of the kabbera fishing caste is called gangimakkalu. in caste organisation, ceremonial, etc., the jalaris coincide with the milas. they are called noliyas by the oriyas of ganjam. they have house-names like other telugus, and their females do not wear brass bangles, as low-caste oriya women do. the jalaris have two endogamous divisions, called panrendu kotla (twelve posts), and edu kotla (seven posts), in reference to the number of posts for the booth. the former claim superiority over the latter, on the ground that they are illegitimate jalaris, or recently admitted into the caste. like other telugu castes, the jalaris have a caste council under the control of a headman called pilla. in imitation of the oriyas, they have created an assistant headman called dolobehara, and they have the usual caste servant. in their puberty, marriage and death ceremonies, they closely follow the vadas and palles. the prohibitions regarding marriage are of the telugu form, but, like the oriya castes, the jalaris allow a widow to marry her deceased husband's younger brother. the marriage ceremonies last for three days. on the first day, the pandal (booth), with the usual milk-post, is erected. for every marriage, representatives of the four towns peddapatnam, vizagapatam, bimlipatam, and revalpatnam, should be invited, and should be the first to receive pan-supari (betel leaves and areca nuts) after the pandal has been set up. peddapatnam is the first to be called out, and the respect may be shown to any person from that town. the representatives of the other towns must belong to particular septs, as follows:- vizagapatam buguri sept. revalpatnam jonna sept. bimlipatam sundra sept. the jalaris are unable to explain the significance of this "counting towns," as they call it. possibly peddapatnam was their original home, from which particular septs emigrated to other towns. on the second day of the marriage ceremonies, the tying of the sathamanam (marriage badge) takes place. the bridegroom, after going in procession through the streets, enters the house at which the marriage is to be celebrated. at the entrance, the maternal uncle of the bride stands holding in his crossed hands two vessels, one of which contains water, and the other water with jaggery (crude sugar) dissolved in it. the bridegroom is expected to take hold of the vessel containing the sweetened water before he enters, and is fined if he fails to do so. when the bridegroom approaches the pandal, some married women hold a bamboo pole between him and the pandal, and a new earthen pot is carried thrice round the pole. while this is being done, the bride joins the bridegroom, and the couple enter the pandal beneath a cloth held up to form a canopy in front thereof. this ceremonial takes place towards evening, as the marriage badge is tied on the bride's neck during the night. an interesting feature in connection with the procession is that a pole called digametlu (shoulder-pole), with two baskets tied to the ends, is carried. in one of the baskets a number of sieves and small baskets are placed, and in the other one or more cats. this digametlu is always referred to by the vadas when they are questioned as to the difference between their marriage ceremonies and those of the jalaris. other castes laugh at this custom, and it is consequently dying out. the jalaris always marry young girls. one reason assigned for this is "the income to married young girls" at the time of the marriage ceremonies. two or more married couples are invited to remain at the house in which the marriage takes place, to help the bridal couple in their toilette, and assist at the nalagu, evil eye waving, and other rites. they are rewarded for their services with presents. another instance of infant marriage being the rule on account of pecuniary gain is found among the dikshitar brahmans of chidambaram. only married males have a voice in temple affairs, and receive a share of the temple income. consequently, boys are sometimes married when they are seven or eight years old. at every jalari marriage, meals must be given to the castemen, a rupee to the representatives of the patnams, twelve annas to the headman and his assistant, and three rupees to the malas. like other telugu castes, the jalaris have intiperus (septs), which resemble those of the vadas. among them, jonna and buguri are common. in their religious observances, the jalaris closely follow the vadas. the madras museum possesses a collection of clay and wooden figures, such as are worshipped by the fishing castes at gopalpur, and other places on the ganjam coast. concerning these, mr. j. d'a. c. reilly writes to me as follows. the specimens represent the chief gods worshipped by the fishermen. the tahsildar of berhampur got them made by the potters and carpenters, who usually make such figures for the gopalpur fishermen. i have found fishermen's shrines at several places. separate families appear to have separate shrines, some consisting of large chatties (earthen pots), occasionally ornamented, and turned upside down, with an opening on one side. others are made of bricks and chunam (lime). all that i have seen had their opening towards the sea. two classes of figures are placed in these shrines, viz., clay figures of gods, which are worshipped before fishing expeditions, and when there is danger from a particular disease which they prevent; and wooden figures of deceased relations, which are quite as imaginative as the clay figures. figures of gods and relations are placed in the same family shrine. there are hundreds of gods to choose from, and the selection appears to be a matter of family taste and tradition. the figures which i have sent were made by a potter at venkatarayapalle, and painted by a carpenter at uppulapatti, both villages near gopalpur. the tahsildar tells me that, when he was inspecting them at the gopalpur traveller's bungalow, sixty or seventy fishermen objected to their gods being taken away. he pacified them by telling them that it was because the government had heard of their devotion to their gods that they wanted to have some of them in madras. the collection of clay figures includes the following:-bengali babu.--wears a hat, and rides on a black horse. he blesses the fishermen, secures large hauls of fish for them, and guards them against danger when out fishing. samalamma.--wears a red skirt and green coat and protects the fishermen from fever. rajamma, a female figure, with a sword in her right hand, riding on a black elephant. she blesses barren women with children, and favours her devotees with big catches when they go out fishing. yerenamma, riding on a white horse, with a sword in her right hand. she protects fishermen from drowning, and from being caught by big fish. bhagirathamma, riding on an elephant, and having eight or twelve hands. she helps fishermen when fishing at night, and protects them against cholera, dysentery, and other intestinal disorders. nukalamma.--wears a red jacket and green skirt, and protects the fishing community against small-pox. orosondi ammavaru.--prevents the boats from being sunk or damaged. bhagadevi.--rides on a tiger, and protects the community from cholera. veyyi kannula ammavaru, or the goddess of a thousand eyes, represented by a pot pierced with holes, in which a gingelly (sesamum) oil light is burnt. she attends to the general welfare of the fisher folk. jali (acacia arabica).--a gotra of kurni. jalli.--jalli, meaning palm tassels put round the neck and horns of bulls, occurs as an exogamous sept of jogi. the name occurs further as a sub-division of kevuto. jambava.--a synonym of the madigas, who claim descent from the rishi audi jambavadu. jambu (eugenia jambolana).--an exogamous sept of odde. jambuvar (a monkey king with a bear's face).--an exogamous sept of kondaiyamkottai maravan. jamkhanvala (carpet-maker).--an occupational name for patnulkarans and patvegars. jammi (prosopis spicigera).--a gotra of gollas, members of which may not use the tree. it is further a gotra of chembadis. children of this caste who are named after the caste god gurappa or gurunathadu are taken, when they are five, seven, or nine years old, to a jammi tree, and shaved after it has been worshipped with offerings of cooked food, etc. the jammi or sami tree is regarded as sacred all over india. some orthodox hindus, when they pass it, go round it, and salute it, repeating a sanskrit verse to the effect that "the sami tree removes sins; it is the destroyer of enemies; it was the bearer of the bows and arrows of arjuna, and the sight of it was very welcome to rama." janappan.--the janappans, mr. w. francis writes, [218] "were originally a section of the balijas, but they have now developed into a distinct caste. they seem to have been called janappan, because they manufactured gunny-bags of hemp (janapa) fibre. in tamil they are called saluppa chettis, saluppan being the tamil form of janappan. some of them have taken to calling themselves desayis or desadhipatis (rulers of countries), and say they are balijas. they do not wear the sacred thread. the caste usually speaks telugu, but in madura there is a section, the women of which speak tamil, and also are debarred from taking part in religious ceremonies, and, therefore, apparently belonged originally to some other caste." in a note on the janappans of the north arcot district [219] mr. h. a. stuart states that janappan is "the name of a caste, which engages in trade by hawking goods about the towns and villages. originally they were merely manufacturers of gunny-bags out of hemp (janapa, crotalaria juncea), and so obtained their name. but they are now met with as dasaris or religious beggars, sweetmeat-sellers, and hawkers of english cloths and other goods. by the time they have obtained to the last honourable profession, they assume to be balijas. telugu is their vernacular, and chetti their usual caste name. according to their own tradition, they sprung from a yagam (sacrificial rite) made by brahma, and their remote ancestor thus produced was, they say, asked by the merchants of the country to invent some means for carrying about their wares. he obtained some seeds from the ashes of brahma's yagam, which he sowed, and the plant which sprang up was the country hemp, which he manufactured into a gunny-bag. the janapa chettis are enterprising men in their way, and are much employed at the fairs at gudiyattam and other places as cattle-brokers." the saluppans say that they have twenty-four gotras, which are divided into groups of sixteen and eight. marriage is forbidden between members of the same group, but permitted between members of the sixteen and eight gotras. among the names of the gotras, are the following:- vasava. madalavan. vamme. piligara. mummudi. mukkanda. pilli vankaravan. vadiya. makkiduvan. thonda. thallelan. kola. gendagiri. the janappans of the telugu country also say that they have only twenty-four gotras. some of these are totemistic in character. thus, members of the kappala (frog) gotra owe their name to a tradition that on one occasion, when some of the family were fishing, they caught a haul of big frogs instead of fish. consequently, members of this gotra do not injure frogs. members of the thonda or thonda maha rishi gotra abstain from using the fruit or leaves of the thonda plant (cephalandra indica). the fruits of this plant are among the commonest of native vegetables. in like manner, members of the mukkanda sept may not use the fruit of momordica charantia. those of the vamme gotra abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water collected in the pot. so, too, in the kola gotra, the eating of the fish called kolasi is forbidden. in their marriage customs, those who live in the telugu country follow the telugu puranic form, while those who have settled in the tamil country have adopted some of the marriage rites thereof. there are, however, some points of interest in their marriage ceremonies. on the day fixed for the betrothal, those assembled wait silently listening for the chirping of a lizard, which is an auspicious sign. it is said that the match is broken off, if the chirping is not heard. if the omen proves auspicious, a small bundle of nine to twelve kinds of pulses and grain is given by the bridegroom's father to the father of the bride. this is preserved, and examined several days after the marriage. if the grain and pulses are in good condition, it is a sign that the newly married couple will have a prosperous career. there are both saivites and vaishnavites among these people, and the former predominate in the southern districts. most of the vaishnavites are disciples of bhatrazus. the bhatrazu priest goes round periodically, collecting his fees. those among the saivites who are religiously inclined are disciples of pandarams of mutts (religious institutions). those who have settled in the salem district seem to consider damayanti and kamatchi as the caste deities. the manufacture of gunny-bags is still carried on by some members of the caste, but they are mainly engaged in trade and agriculture. in the city of madras, the sale of various kinds of fruits is largely in the hands of the janappans. sathu vandlu, meaning a company of merchants or travellers, occurs as a synonym of janappan. in the mysore census report, 1901, janappa is returned as a sub-division of the gonigas, who are sack-weavers, and makers of gunny-bags. jandayi (flag).--an exogamous sept of yanadi. janga (calf of the leg).--an exogamous sept of mala. jangal jati.--a synonym, denoting jungle folk, of the kurivikarans or kattu marathis. jangam.--it is noted, in the madras census report, 1901, that "strictly speaking, a jangam is a priest to the religious sect of lingayats, but the term is frequently loosely applied to any lingayat, which accounts for the large numbers under this head (102,121). jangams proper are said to be of two classes, pattadikaris, who have a definite head-quarters, and charamurtis, who go from village to village, preaching the principles of the lingayat sect. many jangams are priests to sudras who are not lingayats, others are merely religious beggars, and others of them go in for trade." in the census report, 1891, it is further recorded that "the full name is jangama lingayat, meaning those who always worship a moveable lingam, in contradistinction to the sthavara (immoveable) lingam of the temples. only two of the sub-divisions returned are numerically important, ganayata and sthavara. the sub-division sthavara is curious, for a sthavara jangam is a contradistinction in terms. this sub-division is found only in the two northern districts, and it is possible that the jangam caste, as there found, is different from the ordinary jangam, for, in the vizagapatam district manual, the jangams are said to be tailors." in the telugu country lingayats are called jangalu. the ganta jangams are so called, because they carry a metal bell (ganta). the jangams are thus referred to by pietro della valle. [220] "at ikkeri i saw certain indian friars, whom in their language they call giangama, and perhaps are the same with the sages seen by me elsewhere; but they have wives, and go with their faces smeared with ashes, yet not naked, but clad in certain extravagant habits, and a kind of hood or cowl upon their heads of dyed linen of that colour which is generally used amongst them, namely a reddish brick colour, with many bracelets upon their arms and legs, filled with something within that makes a jangling as they walk. i saw many persons come to kiss their feet, and, whilst such persons were kissing them, and, for more reverence, touching their feet with their foreheads, these giangamas stood firm with a seeming severity, and without taking notice of it, as if they had been abstracted from the things of the world." (see lingayat.) janjapul (sacred thread).--an exogamous sept of boya. janmi.--janmi or janmakaran means "proprietor" or "landlord"; the person in whom the janman title rests. janman denotes (1) birth, birthright, proprietorship; (2) freehold property, which it was considered disgraceful to alienate. janmabhogam is the share in the produce of the land, which is due to the janmi." [221] in 1805-1806, the collector of malabar obtained, for the purpose of carrying out a scheme of assessment approved by government, a return from all proprietors of the seed, produce, etc., of all their fields. this return is usually known as the janmi pymaish of 981 m.e. (malabar era). [222] writing to me concerning malabar at the present day, a correspondent states that "in almost every taluk we have jungle tribes, who call themselves the men of janmis. in the old days, when forests were sold, the inhabitants were actually entered in the contract as part of the effects, as, in former times, the landlord sold the adscripti or ascripti glebæ with the land. now that is not done. however, the relationship exists to the following extent, according to what a tahsildar (native magistrate) tells me. the tribesmen roam about the forests at will, and each year select a place, which has lain fallow for five years or more for all kinds of cultivation. sometimes they inform the janmis that they have done so, sometimes they do not. then, at harvest time, the janmi, or his agent, goes up and takes his share of the produce. they never try to deceive the janmi. he is asked to settle their disputes, but these are rare. they never go to law. the janmi can call on them for labour, and they give it willingly. if badly treated, as they have been at times by encroaching plainsmen, they run off to another forest, and serve another janmi. at the onam festival they come with gifts for the janmi, who stands them a feast. the relation between the jungle folk and the janmi shows the instinct in a primitive people to have a lord. there seems to be no gain in having a janmi. his protection is not needed, and he is hardly ever called in to interfere. if they refused to pay the janmi his dues, he would find it very hard to get them. still they keep him." in the middle of the last century, when planters first began to settle in the malabar wynad, they purchased the land from the janmis with the paniyans living on it, who were practically slaves of the landowners. the hereditary rights and perquisites claimed, in their villages, by the astrologer, carpenter, goldsmith, washerman, barber, etc., are called cherujanmam. janni.--the name of the caste priests of jatapus. japanese.--at the mysore census, 1901, two japanese were returned. they were managers of the silk farm instituted on japanese methods by mr. tata of bombay in the vicinity of bangalore. jat.--a few members of this north indian class of muhammadans, engaged in trade, have been returned at times of census in mysore. jatapu.--the jatapus are defined, in the madras census report, 1901, as "a civilised section of the khonds, who speak khond on the hills and telugu on the plains, and are now practically a distinct caste. they consider themselves superior to those khonds who still eat beef and snakes, and have taken to some of the ways of the castes of the plains." for the following note, i am indebted to mr. c. hayavadana rao. the name jatapu is popularly believed to be an abbreviated form of konda jatapu doralu, or lords of the khond caste. to this caste the old chiefs of the palkonda zamindari are said to have belonged. it is divided into a number of septs, such, for example, as:- thorika or thoyika, who revere the thorika kodi, a species of wild fowl. kadrika, who revere another species of fowl. mamdangi, who revere the bull or cow. addaku, who revere the addaku (bauhinia racemosa), which is used by low-country people for eating-platters. konda gorre, who revere a certain breed of sheep. navalipitta, who revere the peacock. arika, who revere the arika (paspalum scrobiculatum). other septs, recorded in the census report, 1901, are koalaka (arrow), kutraki (wild goat), and vinka (white ant, termes). marriage is celebrated either before or after a girl reaches puberty. a man may claim his paternal aunt's daughter as his wife. the marriage ceremonies closely resemble those of the low-country telugu type. the bride-price, called voli, is a new cloth for the bride's mother, rice, various kinds of grain, and liquor. the bride is conducted to the house of the bridegroom, and a feast is held. on the following morning, the kallagolla sambramam (toe-nail cutting) ceremony takes place, and, later on, at an auspicious hour, the wrist threads (kankanam) are tied on the wrists of the contracting couple, and their hands joined together. they then bathe, and another feast is held. the remarriage of widows is allowed, and a younger brother may marry the widow of his elder brother. divorce is permitted, and divorcées may remarry. the dead are usually buried, but those who die from snake-bite are said to be burnt. death pollution lasts for three days, during which the caste occupation of cultivating is not carried on. an annual ceremony is performed by each family in honour of the dead. a fowl or goat is killed, a portion of the day's food collected in a plate, and placed on the roof of the house. once in twenty years or so, all the castemen join together, and buy a pig or cow, which is sacrificed in honour of the ancestors. the caste goddess is jakara devata, who is propitiated with sacrifices of pigs, sheep, and buffaloes. when the crop is gathered in, the first fruits are offered to her, and then partaken of. the caste headman is called nayudu or samanthi, and he is assisted by the janni, or caste priest, who officiates at ceremonials, and summons council meetings. the caste titles are dora, naiko, and samanto. jatikirtulu.--recorded, in the madras census report, 1901, as a class of beggars in the cuddapah district. the name means those who praise the caste, and may have reference to the bhatrazus. jati pillai (children of the caste).--a general name for beggars, who are attached to particular castes, from the members of which they receive alms, and at whose ceremonies they take part by carrying flags in processions, etc. it is their duty to uphold the dignity of the caste by reciting the story of its origin, and singing its praises. as examples of jati pillais, the following may be cited:- mailari attached to komatis. viramushti attached to beri chettis and komatis. nokkan attached to pallis. mastiga attached to madigas. it is recorded by mr. m. paupa rao naidu [223] that some koravas, who go by the name of jatipalli koravas, "are prevalent in the southern districts of the madras presidency, moving always in gangs, and giving much trouble. their women tattoo in return for grain, money, or cloths, and help their men in getting acquainted with the nature and contents of the houses." jaura.--the jauras are a small oriya caste, closely allied to the khoduras, the members of which manufacture lac (jau) bangles and other articles. lac, it may be noted, is largely used in india for the manufacture of bangles, rings, beads, and other trinkets worn as ornaments by women of the poorer classes. dhippo (light) and mohiro (peacock) occur as common exogamous septs among the jauras, and are objects of reverence. the jauras are mainly saivites, and suramangala and bimmala are the caste deities. titles used by members of the caste are danse, sahu, dhov, and mahapatro. javvadi (civet-cat).--an exogamous sept of medara. jelakuppa (a fish).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. jen (honey).--a sub-division of kurumba. jenna.--a title of oriya castes, e.g., bolasi and kalinji. jerribotula (centipedes).--an exogamous sept of boya. jetti.--a telugu caste of professional wrestlers and gymnasts, who, in the telugu districts, shampoo and rub in ointments to cure nerve pains and other disorders. in tanjore, though living in a tamil environment, they speak telugu. they wear the sacred thread, and consider themselves to be of superior caste, never descending to any degrading work. during the days of the rajas of tanjore, they were employed in guarding the treasury and jewel rooms. but, since the death of the late raja, most of them have emigrated to mysore and other native states, a few only remaining in tanjore, and residing in the fort. the jettis, in mysore, are said [224] to have been sometimes employed as executioners, and to have despatched their victim by a twist of the neck. [225] thus, in the last war against tipu sultan, general matthews had his head wrung from his body by the "tiger fangs of the jetties, a set of slaves trained up to gratify their master with their infernal species of dexterity." [226] they are still considered skilful in setting dislocated joints. in a note regarding them in the early part of the last century, wilks writes as follows. "these persons constitute a distinct caste, trained from their infancy in daily exercises for the express purpose of exhibitions; and perhaps the whole world does not produce more perfect forms than those which are exhibited at these interesting but cruel sports. the combatants, clad in a single garment of light orange-coloured drawers extending half-way down the thigh, have their right arm furnished with a weapon, which, for want of a more appropriate term, we shall name a cæstus, although different from the roman instruments of that name. it is composed of buffalo horn, fitted to the hand, and pointed with four knobs, resembling very sharp knuckles, and corresponding to their situation, with a fifth of greater prominence at the end nearest the little finger, and at right angles with the other four. this instrument, properly placed, would enable a man of ordinary strength to cleave open the head of his adversary at a blow; but, the fingers being introduced through the weapon, it is fastened across them at an equal distance between the first and second lower joints, in a situation, it will be observed, which does not admit of attempting a severe blow, without the risk of dislocating the first joints of all the fingers. thus armed, and adorned with garlands of flowers, the successive pairs of combatants, previously matched by the masters of the feast, are led into the arena; their names and abodes are proclaimed; and, after making their prostrations, first to the raja seated on his ivory throne, and then to the lattices behind which the ladies of the court are seated, they proceed to the combat, first divesting themselves of the garlands, and strewing the flowers gracefully over the arena. the combat is a mixture of wrestling and boxing, if the latter may be so named. the head is the exclusive object permitted to be struck. before the end of the contest, both of the combatants may frequently be observed streaming with blood from the crown of the head down to the sand of the arena. when victory seems to have declared itself, or the contest is too severely maintained, the moderators in attendance on the raja make a signal for its cessation by throwing down turbans and robes, to be presented to the combatants. the victor frequently goes off the arena in four or five somersaults, to denote that he retires fresh from the contest. the jettis are divided into five classes, and the ordinary price of victory is promotion to a higher class. there are distinct rewards for the first class, and in their old age they are promoted to be masters of the feast." in an account of sports held before tipu sultan at seringapatam, james scurry, who was one of his prisoners, writes as follows. [227] "the getiees would be sent for, who always approached with their masters at their head, and, after prostration, and making their grand salams, touching the ground each time, they would be paired, one school against another. they had on their right hands the wood-guamootie (wajramushti) of four steel talons, which were fixed to each back joint of their fingers, and had a terrific appearance when their fists were closed. their heads were close shaved, their bodies oiled, and they wore only a pair of short drawers. on being matched, and the signal given from tippu, they begin the combat, always by throwing the flowers, which they wear round their necks, in each other's faces; watching an opportunity of striking with the right hand, on which they wore this mischievous weapon which never failed lacerating the flesh, and drawing blood most copiously. some pairs would close instantly, and no matter which was under, for the gripe was the whole; they were in general taught to suit their holds to their opponent's body, with every part of which, as far as concerned them, they were well acquainted. if one got a hold against which his antagonist could not guard, he would be the conqueror; they would frequently break each other's legs and arms; and, if anyway tardy, tippu had means of infusing spirit into them, for there were always two stout fellows behind each, with instruments in their hands that would soon put them to work. they were obliged to fight as long as tippu pleased, unless completely crippled, and, if they behaved well, they were generally rewarded with a turban and shawl, the quality being according to their merit." the jettis of mysore still have in their possession knuckle-dusters of the type described above, and take part annually in matches during the dasara festival. a jetti police constable, whom i saw at channapatna, had wrestled at baroda, and at the court of nepal, and narrated to me with pride how a wrestler came from madras to bangalore, and challenged any one to a match. a jetti engaged to meet him in two matches for rs. 500 each, and, after going in for a short course of training, walked round him in each encounter, and won the money easily. the mysore jettis are said to be called, in some places, mushtigas. and some are stated to use a jargon called mallabasha. [228] jetti further occurs as the name of an exogamous sept of the kavarais. jew.--it has been said by a recent writer that "there is hardly a more curious, and in some respects one might almost say a more weird sight than the jew town, which lies beyond the british settlement at cochin. crossing over the lagoon from the beautiful little island of bolghotty, where the british residency for the cochin state nestles in a bower of tropical vegetation, one lands amidst cocoanut trees, opposite to one of the old palaces of the cochin rajahs, and, passing through a native bazaar crowded with dark-skinned malayalis, one turns off abruptly into a long narrow street, where faces as white as those of any northern european race, but semitic in every feature, transport one suddenly in mind to the jewish quarter in jerusalem, or rather perhaps to some ghetto in a polish city." in the preparation of the following note, i have been much indebted to the cochin census report, 1901, and to a series of articles published by mr. elkan n. adler in the jewish chronicle. [229] the circumstances under which, and the time when the jews migrated to the malabar coast, are wrapped in obscurity. they themselves are able to give accounts of only isolated incidents, since whatever records they had were lost at the destruction by the portuguese of their original settlement at cranganur in 1565, and by the destruction at a later period of such fragments as remained in their possession in the struggle between the portuguese and the dutch, for the portuguese, suspecting that the jews had helped the dutch, plundered their synagogue in cochin. it is recorded by the dutch governor moens [230] that "when heer van goens besieged cochin, the jews were quite eager to provide the troops of the dutch company with victuals, and to afford them all the assistance they could, hoping that they would enjoy under this company the greatest possible civil and religious liberty; but, when the above-mentioned troops were compelled to leave this coast before the end of the good monsoon, without having been able to take cochin, the portuguese did not fail to make the jews feel the terrible consequences of their revenge. for, no sooner had the dutch retreated, than a detachment of soldiers was sent to the jewish quarters, which were pillaged and set fire to, whilst the inhabitants fled to the high-lands, and returned only after cochin was taken by the dutch. "the jews, who still hold that the malabar israelites were in possession of an old copy of the sepher thora, say that this copy, and all other documents, got lost on the occasion when the portuguese destroyed the jewish quarters, but this is not likely. for, whereas they had time to save their most valuable property according to their own testimony, and to take it to the mountains, they would not have failed to take along with them these documents, which were to them of inestimable value. for it is related that for a new copy of the pentateuch which at that time was in their synagogue they had so much respect, and took such great care of it, that they even secured this copy, and took it along, and (when they returned) carried it back with great rejoicing, as it was done in olden times with the ark of the covenant." writing in the eighteenth century, captain hamilton states [231] that the jews "have a synagogue at cochin, not far from the king's palace, in which are carefully kept their records, engraven on copper plates in hebrew characters; and when any of the characters decay, they are new cut, so that they can show their own history from the reign of nebuchadnezzar to this present time. myn heer van reeda, about the year 1695, had an abstract of their history translated from the hebrew into low dutch. they declare themselves to be of the tribe of manasseh, a part whereof was, by order of that haughty conqueror nebuchadnezzar, carried to the easternmost province of his large empire, which, it seems, reached as far as cape comerin, which journey 200,000 of them travelled in three years from their setting out of babylon." the elders of the white jews of cochin have in their possession a charter on two copper plates in vatteluttu character, "the original character which once prevailed over nearly all the tamil country and south-west coast, but which has long ceased to be used in the former place, and, in the latter, is now only known in a later form, used for drawing up documents by hindu rajas." [232] concerning this copper-plate charter, mr. adler writes that "the white jews say that they have always held it; the black jews contend that it was originally theirs. the title-deed is quaint in many ways. it consists of three strips of copper, one of which is blank, one etched on both sides, and the third on one side only. the characters are made legible by being rubbed with whitening. the copper plates have a round hole in the corner, through which a string was passed to tie them together under seal, but the seal is lost. they are now kept together by a thin and narrow copper band, which just fits." taking dr. gundert's [233] and mr. ellis' [234] translation of the charter as guides, mr. burnell translates it as follows:-[235] svasti sri.--the king of kings has ordered (this is) the act of grace ordered by his majesty srî pârkaran iravi vanmar [236] wielding the sceptre and reigning in a hundred thousand places, (in) the year (which is) the opposite to the second year, the thirty-sixth year, (on) the day he designed to abide in mûyirikkôdu. [237] we have given to isuppu irabbân [238] ansuvannam (as a principality), and seventy-two proprietary rights (appertaining to the dignity of a feudal lord) also tribute by reverence (?) and offerings, and the profits of ansuvannam, and day-lamps, and broad garments (as opposed to the custom of malabar), and palankins, and umbrellas, and large drums, and trumpets, and small drums and garlands, and garlands across streets, etc., and the like, and seventy-two free houses. moreover, we have granted by this document on copper that he shall not pay the taxes paid by the houses of the city into the royal treasury, and the (above-said) privileges to hold (them). to isuppu irabbân, prince of ansuvannam, and to his descendants, his sons and daughters, and to his nephews, and to (the nephews) of his daughters in natural succession, ansuvannam (is) an hereditary estate, as long as the world and moon exist. srî. the charter is witnessed by various local chiefs. a somewhat different reading is given by dr. g. oppert [239] who renders the translation as follows:-"hail and happiness! the king of kings, his holiness srî bhaskara ravi varma, who wields the sceptre in many hundred thousand places, has made this decree on the day that he was pleased to dwell in muyirikodu in the thirty-sixth year of his reign. we have granted unto joseph rabban anjavannan the [dignity of] prince, with all the seventy-two rights of ownership. he shall [enjoy] the revenues from female elephants and riding animals, and the income of anjavannan. he is entitled to be honoured by lamps by day, and to use broad-cloth and sedan chairs, and the umbrella and the drums of the north and trumpets, and little drums, and gates, and garlands over the streets, and wreaths, and so on. we have granted unto him the land tax and weight tax. moreover, we have by these copper tablets sanctioned that, when the houses of the city have to pay taxes to the palace, he need not pay, and he shall enjoy other privileges like unto these. to joseph rabban, the prince of anjavannam, and to his descendants, and to his sons and daughters, and to the nephews and sons-in-law of his daughters, in natural succession, so long as the world and moon exist, anjuvannam shall be his hereditary possession." it is suggested by dr. oppert that anjuvannam is identical with the fifth or foreign caste. dr. e. hultzsch, the latest authority on the subject of the copper plates, gives the following translation: [240] "hail! prosperity! (the following) gift (prasada) was graciously made by him who had assumed the title 'king of kings' (kogon), his majesty (tiruvadi) the king (ko), the glorious bhaskara ravivarman, in the time during which (he) was wielding the sceptre and ruling over many hundred thousands of places, in the thirty-sixth year after the second year, on the day on which (he) was pleased to stay at muyirikkodu. we have given to issuppu irappan (the village of) anjuvannam, together with the seventy-two proprietary rights (viz.), the tolls on female elephants and other riding-animals, the revenue of anjuvannam, a lamp in day-time, a cloth spread (in front to walk on), a palanquin, a parasol, a vaduga (i.e., telugu?) drum, a large trumpet, a gateway, an arch, a canopy (in the shape) of an arch, a garland, and so forth. we have remitted tolls and the tax on balances. moreover, we have granted with (these) copper-leaves that he need not pay (the dues) which the (other) inhabitants of the city pay to the royal palace (koyil), and that (he) may enjoy (the benefits) which (they) enjoy. to issuppu irappan of anjuvannam, to the male children and to the female children born of him, to his nephews, and to the sons-in-law who have married (his) daughters (we have given) anjuvannam (as) an hereditary estate for as long as the world and the moon shall exist. hail! thus do i know, govardhana-martandan of venadu. thus do i know, kodai srikanthan of venapalinadu. thus do i know, manavepala-manavyan of eralanadu. thus do i know, irayiram of valluvanadu. thus do i know, kodai ravi of nedumpuraiyurnadu. thus do i know, murkham sattan, who holds the office of sub-commander of the forces. the writing of the under-secretary van--talaiseri--gandan kunrappolan." "the date of the inscription," dr. hultzsch adds, "was the thirty-sixth year opposite to the second year. as i have shown on a previous occasion, [241] the meaning of this mysterious phrase is probably 'the thirty-sixth year (of the king's coronation, which took place) after the second year (of the king's yauvarajya).' the inscription records a grant which the king made to issuppu irappan, i.e., joseph rabban. the occurrence of this semitic name, combined with the two facts that the plates are still with the cochin jews, and that the latter possess a hebrew translation of the document, proves that the donee was a member of the ancient jewish colony on the western coast. the grant was made at muriyikkodu. the hebrew translation identifies this place with kodunnallur (cranganore), where the jewish colonists resided, until the bad treatment which they received at the hands of the portuguese induced them to settle near cochin. the object of the grant was anjuvannam. this word means 'the five castes,' and may have the designation of that quarter of cranganore, in which the five classes of artisans--ain-kammalar, as they are called in the smaller kottayam grant--resided." in a note on the kottayam plate of vira raghava, which is in the possession of the syrian christians, rai bahadur v. venkayya writes as follows. [242] "vira-raghava conferred the title of manigramam on the merchant iravikkorran. similarly anjuvannam was bestowed by the cochin plates on the jew joseph rabban. the old malayalam work payyanur pattola, which dr. gundert considered the oldest specimen of malayalam composition, refers to anjuvannam and manigramam. the context in which the two names occur in this work implies that they were trading institutions. in the kottayam plates of sthanu ravi, both anjuvannam and manigramam are frequently mentioned. both of them were appointed along with the six hundred to be 'the protectors' of the grant. they were 'to preserve the proceeds of the customs duty as they were collected day by day,' and 'to receive the landlord's portion of the rent on land. if any injustice be done to them, they may withhold the customs and the tax on balances, and remedy themselves the injury done to them. should they themselves commit a crime, they are themselves to have the investigation of it.' to anjuvannam and manigramam was granted the freehold of the lands of the town (of kollam?). from these extracts, and from the reference in the payyanur pattola, it appears that anjuvannam and manigramam were semi-independent trading corporations. the epithet setti (merchant) given to ravikkorran, the trade rights granted to him, and the sources of revenue thrown open to him as head of manigramam, confirm the view that the latter was a trading corporation. there is nothing either in the cochin grant, or in the subjoined inscription to show that anjuvannam and manigramam were, as believed by dr. gundert and others, jewish and christian principalities, respectively. it was supposed by dr. burnell that the plate of vira-raghava created the principality of manigramam, and the cochin plates that of anjuvannam, and that, consequently, the existence of these two grants is presupposed by the plates of sthanu ravi, which mention both anjuvannam and manigramam very often. the cochin plates did not create anjuvannam, but conferred the honours and privileges connected therewith to a jew named joseph rabban. similarly, the rights and honours associated with the other corporation, manigramam, was bestowed at a later period on ravikkorran. therefore, anjuvannam and manigramam must have existed as institutions even before the earliest of these three copper-plates was issued. it is just possible that ravikkorran was a christian by religion. but his name and title give no clue in this direction, and there is nothing christian in the document, except its possession by the present owners." it is recorded by mr. francis day [243] that governor moens obtained three different translations of the plates, and gave as the most correct version one, in which the following words occur:--"we, erawi, wanwara, emperor of malabar ... give this deed of rights to the good joseph rabban, that he may use the five colours, spread his religion among the five castes." mr. burnell, however, notes that dr. gundert has ascertained beyond doubt that anjuvannan (literally five colours) does not mean some privilege, but is the name of a place. concerning the copper-plates, governor moens writes thus. "the following translation is by the jewish merchant ezechiel rabby, who was an earnest explorer of anything that had any connection with his nation. after this i will give another translation, which i got from our second interpreter barend deventer, who was assisted by an old and literary inhabitant of malabar; and lastly i will add a third one, which i obtained from our first interpreter simon of tongeren, assisted by a heathen scribe of calicut, in order thus not to allow the jews to be the judges in their own affair, but rather to enable the reader to judge for himself in this doubtful matter. the first translation runs thus:- "by the help of god, who created the universe and appoints the kings, and whom i honour, i, erawi wanwara, emperor of malabar, grant in the 36th year of our happy reign at the court of moydiricotta--alias cranganore--this act of privileges to the jew josep rabaan, viz., that he may make use of the five colours, spread his religion among the five castes or dynasties, fire salutes on all solemnities, ride on elephants and horses, hold stately processions, make use of cries of honour, and in the day-time of torches, different musical instruments, besides a big drum; that he may walk on roads spread with white linen, hold tournaments with sticks, and sit under a stately curtain. these privileges we give to josep rabaan and to the 72 households, provided that the others of this nation must obey the orders of his and their descendants so long as the sun shall shine on the earth. this act is granted in the presence of the kings of trevancore, tekkenkore, baddenkenkore, calicoilan, aringut, sammoryn, palcatchery, and colastry; written by the secretary calembi kelapen in the year 3481 kalijogam. "'the second translation differs in important statements from the first, and would deserve more attention when neutral people of malabar could be found, who could testify to the credibility of the same; but, notwithstanding the trouble i have taken to find such persons, it has been hitherto in vain. the second translation runs thus:- "'in the quiet and happy time of our reign, we, erawi wanwara, imitator of (successor to ?) the sceptres, which for many hundreds of thousands of years have reigned in justice and righteousness, the glorious footsteps of whom we follow, now in the second year of our reign, being the 36th year of our residence in the town of moydiricotta, grant hereby, on the obtained good testimony of the great experience of joseph rabaan, that the said person is allowed to wear long dresses of five colours, that he may use carriages together with their appurtenances, and fans which are used by the nobility. he shall have precedence to the five castes, be allowed to burn day-lamps, to walk on spread out linen, to make use of palanquins, payeng umbrellas, large bent trumpets, drums, staff, and covered seats. we give him charge over the 72 families and their temples, which are found both here and elsewhere, and we renounce our rights on all taxes and duties on both houses. he shall everywhere be allowed to have lodgings. all these privileges and prerogatives, explained in this charter, we grant to joseph rabaan head of the five castes, and to his heirs, sons, daughters, children's children, the sons-in-law married to the daughters, together with their descendants, as long as the sun and moon shall shine; and we grant him also all power over the five castes, as long as the names of their descendants shall last. witnesses hereof are the head of the country of wenaddo named comaraten matandden; the head of the country of wenaaodea named codei cheri-canden; the head of the country of erala named mana bepalamaan; the head of the country walonaddo named trawaren chaten; the head of the country neduwalur named codei trawi; besides the first of the lesser rulers of territories of the part of cusupady pawagan, namely the heir of murkom chaten named kelokandan; written by the secretary named gunawendda wanasen nayr, kisapa kelapa; signed by the emperor. "'the third translation runs as follows:- "'in the name of the most high god, who created the whole world after his own pleasure, and maintains justice and righteousness, i, erwij barman, raise my hands, and thank his majesty for his grace and blessing bestowed on my reign in cranganore, when residing in the fortress of muricotta. i have granted for good reasons to my minister joseph raban the following privileges; that he may wear five coloured cloths, long dresses, and hang on the shoulders certain cloths; that they may cheer together, make use of drums and tambourines, burn lights during the day, spread cloths on the roads, use palanquins, umbrellas, trumpet torches, burning torches, sit under a throne (?), and act as head of all the jews numbering seventy-two houses, who will have to pay him the tolls and taxes of the country, no matter in what part of the country they are living; these privileges i give to joseph raban and his descendants, be they males or females, as long as any one of them is alive, and the sun and moon shine on the earth; for this reason i have the same engraved on a copper-plate as an everlasting remembrance. witnesses are the kings of travancore, berkenkore, sammorin, arangolla, palcatchery, collastry, and corambenaddo; written by the secretary kellapen. "'the aforesaid copper-plate is written in the old broken northern tamil language, but with different kinds of characters, viz., sanskrit and tamil, and is now read and translated by a heathen scribe named callutil atsja, who was born at calicut, and who, during the war, fled from that place, and stays at present on the hills. "'when these translations are compared with one another, it will be observed at once that, in the first, the privileges are granted to the jew joseph rabban, and to the 72 jewish families, whereas, in the second, no trace is found of the word jew; and joseph rabban is, in the third, not called a jew, but the minister of the king, although he may be taken for a jew from the context in the course of the translation, for he is there appointed as head of all the other jews to the number of 72 houses. it is equally certain that the name of rabaan is not exclusively proper to the jews only. furthermore, the first and last translations grant the above-mentioned privileges not only to joseph rabaan, but also to the 72 jewish families, whereas, according to the second translation, the same are given to joseph rabaan, his family and offspring only. the second translation, besides, does not at all mention the freedom granted, and the consent to spread the jewish religion among the five castes. thus, it is obvious that these three translations do not agree, that the first and third coincide more with each other than they do with the second; that, for that reason, the first and last translations deserve more to be believed than the second, which stands alone; but that this, for that very reason, does not prove what it, properly speaking, ought to prove, and, whereas i am not acquainted with the malabar language, i prefer to refrain from giving my opinion on the subject. for hitherto i have been unable to come across, either among the people of malabar and canara, or among the literary priests and natives, any one who was clever enough to translate these old characters for the fourth time, notwithstanding the fact that i had sent a copy of these characters to the north and south of cochin, in order to have them deciphered. "'the witnesses who were present at the granting of this charter differ also. the first and third translations, however, seem also to concur more with each other than with the second one. but the discrepancy of the second translation lies in this, that in it not the personal names of the witnesses are recorded, but only their offices or dignities, in which they officiated at that time; whereas the mistake in the first and third translations consists herein, that the witnesses are called kings, and more so of those places by which names these places were called some time after and subsequently when times had changed, and by which names they are still known. the second translation, however, calls them merely heads of the countries, in the same manner as they were known at the time of the emperor, when these heads were not as yet kings, because these heads bore the title of king and ruler only after the well-known division of the malabar empire into four chief kingdoms, and several smaller kingdoms and principalities. it must be admitted, however, that the head of the country of cochin is, in the first and third translations, not mentioned by that name, although the kingdom of cochin is in reality one of the four chief kingdoms of malabar. i add this here for elucidation, in order that one should not wonder, when reading this charter, that inferior heads of countries and districts of the malabar empire could be called kings, because the empire being at that time not as yet divided, they were not kings. it seems, therefore, to have been a free translation, of which the translators of the first and third translations have made use, and which has been pointed out in the second translation. "'the other statements of this charter, especially the authority over the five castes, must be explained according to the ancient times, customs, and habits of the people of malabar, and need not be taken into consideration here. whether this charter has in reality been granted to the jews or not, it is certain that not at any time has a jew had great authority over his co-religionists, and still less over the so-called five castes. moreover, the property of the jews has never been free from taxes, notwithstanding the fact that the kings to whom they were subject appointed as a rule as heads of the jews men of their own nationality. they were known by the name of moodiliars, who had no other authority than to dispose of small civil disputes, and to impose small fines of money. "'there is, however, a peculiarity, which deserves to be mentioned. although, in the charter, some privileges are granted, which were also given to other people, yet to no one was it ever permitted to fire three salutes at the break of day, or on the day of a marriage feast of one who entered upon the marriage state, without a previous request and special permission. this was always reserved, even to the present day, to the kings of cochin only. yet up to now it was always allowed to the jews without asking first. and it is known that the native kings do not easily allow another to share in outward ceremonies, which they reserve for themselves. if, therefore, the jews would have arrogated to themselves this privilege without high authority, the kings of cochin would put a stop to this privilege of this nation, whose residences are situated next to the cochin palace, but for this reason, i suppose, dare not do so.'" various authorities have attempted to fix approximately the date of the copper-plate charter. mr. burnell gives 700 a.d. as its probable date. the rev. g. milne rae, accepting the date as fixed by mr. burnell, argues that the jews must have received the grant a few generations after the settlement, and draws the conclusion that they might have settled in the country some time about the sixth century a.d. dr. j. wilson, in a lecture [244] on the beni-israels of bombay, adopts the sixth century of the christian era as the probable date of the arrival of the beni-israels in bombay, about which time also, he is inclined to think, the cochin jews came to india, for their first copper-plate charter seems to belong to this period. there is no tradition among the jews of cochin that they and the beni-israels emigrated to the shores of india from the same spot or at the same time, and the absence of any social intercourse between the beni-israels and the cochin jews seems to go against this theory. in one of the translations of the charter obtained by the dutch governor moens, the following words appear: "written by the secretary calembi kelapoor, in the year 3481 of the kali-yuga (i.e., 379 a.d.)." this date does not appear, however, in the translations of gundert, ellis, burnell and oppert. the charter was given in the thirty-sixth year of the reign of the donor bhaskara ravi varma. and, as all, except the last of the foreign viceroys of kerala, are said to have been elected for twelve years only, cheruman perumal, reputed to be the last of perumals, who under exceptional circumstances had his term extended, according to malabar tradition, to thirty-six years, may be identical with bhaskara ravi varma, who, mr. day says, reigned till 378 a.d. mr. c. m. whish gives a still earlier date, for he fixes 231 a.d. as the probable date of the grant. in connection with the claim to the antiquity of the settlement of the jews in malabar, it is set forth in the cochin census report that they "are supposed to have first come in contact with a dravidian people as early as the time of solomon about b.c. 1000, for 'philology proves that the precious cargoes of solomon's merchant ships came from the ancient coast of malabar.' it is possible that such visits were frequent enough in the years that followed. but the actual settlement of the jews on the malabar coast might not have taken place until long afterwards. mr. logan, in the manual of malabar, writes that 'the jews have traditions, which carry back their arrival on the coast to the time of their escape from servitude under cyrus in the sixth century b.c.,' and the same fact is referred to by sir w. hunter in his 'history of british india.' this eminent historian, in his 'indian empire' speaks of jewish settlements in malabar long before the second century a.d. a roman merchant ship, that sailed regularly from myos hormuz on the red sea to arabia, ceylon, and malabar, is reported to have found a jewish colony in malabar in the second century a.d. in regard to the settlement of the jews in malabar, mr. whish observes that 'the jews themselves say that mar thomas, the apostle, arrived in india in the year of our lord 52, and themselves, the jews, in the year 69.' in view of the commercial intercourse between the jews and the people of the malabar coast long before the christian era, it seems highly probable that christianity but followed in the wake of judaism. the above facts seem to justify the conclusion that the jews must have settled in malabar at least as early as the first century a.d." at cochin the jews enjoyed full privileges of citizenship, and were able to preserve the best part of their religious and civil liberty, and to remain here for centuries unseen, unknown, and unsearched by their persecutors. but, in the sixteenth century, they fell victims by turns to the oppression of fanatical moors and over-zealous christians. "in 1524, the mahomedans made an onslaught on the cranganur jews, slew a great number, and drove out the rest to a village to the east; but, when they attacked the christians, the nayars of the place retaliated, and in turn drove all the mahomedans out of cranganur. the portuguese enlarged and strengthened their cranganur fort, and compelled the jews finally to desert their ancient settlement of anjuvannam." thus, with the appearance of a powerful christian nation on the scene, the jews experienced the terrors of a new exile and a new dispersion, the desolation of cranganur being likened by them to the desolation of jerusalem in miniature. some of them were driven to villages adjoining their ruined principality, while others seem to have taken shelter in cochin and ernakulam. "cranganore," mr. adler writes, "was captured by the mahomedan sheikh or zamorin in 1524, and razed to the ground. the rajah daniel seems to have previously sent his brother david to europe to negociate with the pope and the portuguese for an offensive and defensive alliance against the zamorin. anyhow, a mysterious stranger, who called himself david rubbeni, appeared in rome in march, 1524, and, producing credentials from the portuguese authorities in india and egypt, was received with much honour by the pope, king john of portugal, and the emperor charles the fifth in turn. after some years he fell a victim to the inquisition, but his failure and non-return to india are more easily explained by the fact that he was too late, and that the state he represented was no longer existent, than by the cheap assumption of all our historians, including graetz, that he was an impostor with a cock-and-bull story. whether the famous diary of david rubbeni is genuine or not is less certain. but i have elsewhere sought to re-establish this long-discredited ambassador, and here limit myself to drawing attention to his name, which seems to have been david rabbani. to this day david is one of the commonest names among the cochin jews, as well as the b'nei israel, and rabbani is the name of the ruling family under the copper grant. its alteration into rubeni was due to sixteenth century interest in the lost ten tribes, and a consequent desire of identifying the royal family as sprung from reuben, the first-born of israel. reuben, too, is a favourite name among the b'nei israel. with the destruction of their capital, the jews left and migrated, though to no great distance. within 20 miles south of cranganore are four other places, all on the cochin back-water, where the black jews still have synagogues. parur, chennan mangalam, and mala have each one synagogue, ernakulam has two, and cochin three, of which one belongs to the white jews. the parur jews have also the ruins of another synagogue marked by a ner tamid, which they say existed 400 years ago, when there were eighteen bote midrash (schools) and 500 jewish houses. this tradition further confirms the importance of cranganore before 1524. with the advent of the dutch, better times ensued for the jews. the dutch were bitter foes of the portuguese and their inquisition, and friends of their enemies. naturally the jews were on the side of the dutch, and, as naturally, had to suffer for their temerity. in 1662 the dutch attacked the ranee's palace at mattancheri and besieged the adjoining town of cochin, but had to retire before portuguese reinforcements. the portuguese therefore burnt the synagogue adjoining the palace, because they suspected the jews, no doubt with justice, of having favoured the dutch. in the following year, however, 'the dutch renewed their attack on cochin, this time with complete success. the port and town fell into their hands, and with it fell the portuguese power in india. by a series of treaties, cochin and holland became close allies, and the dutch settlement became firmly established in cochin.' the dutch helped the white jews to rebuild their synagogue. the dutch clock is still the pride of cochin jewry." it is well known that the cochin jews are generally divided into two classes, the white and the black. writing in the early part of the eighteenth century, [245] baldæus states that "in and about the city of cochin, lived formerly some jews, who even now have a synagogue allow'd them without the fortifications; they are neither white nor brown, but quite black. the portuguese histories mention that at a certain time certain blasphemous papers against our saviour, with some severe reflections against the jesuit gonsalvus pereira (who afterwards suffer'd martyrdom at monopatapa) being found in a box set in the great church for the gathering of alms; and the same being supposed to be laid there by some european jews, who now and then used to resort thither privately, this gave occasion to introduce the inquisition into goa." it is noted by the rev. j. h. lord [246] that "jacob saphir, a jewish traveller, who visited his co-religionists in cochin in recent years, having described some of the jews resident there as black, hastens to tone down his words, and adds, they are not black like the raven, or as the nubians, but only as the appearance of copper. but hagim jacob ha cohen, another modern jewish traveller, chastizing the latter for calling them black at all, declares that he will write of this class everywhere as the non-white, and never anywhere (god forbid!) as the black." the black jews claim to have been the earliest settlers, while the white jews came later. but the latter assert that the former are pure natives converted to the jewish faith. these two difficult, yet important, issues of priority of settlement and purity of race have divided antiquarians and historians quite as much as they have estranged the two classes of jews themselves from one another. according to the rev. c. buchanan, [247] the white jews dwelling in jews' town in mattancheri are later settlers than the black jews. they had only the bible written on parchment, and of modern appearance, in their synagogue, but he managed to get from the black jews much older manuscripts written on parchment, goat's skin, and cotton paper. he says that "it is only necessary to look at their countenances to be satisfied that their ancestors must have arrived in india many years before the white jews. their hindu complexion, and their very imperfect resemblance to the european jews, indicate that they had been detached from the parent stocks in judea many ages before the jews in the west, and that there have been marriages with families not israelitish." the rev. j. hough observes [248] that the black jews "appear so much like the natives of india, that it is difficult at first sight to distinguish them from the hindu. by a little closer observation, however, the jewish contour of their countenances cannot be mistaken." in the lecture already referred to, dr. wilson states that "their family names, such as david castile (david the castilian) go to prove that they (the white jews) are descended of the jews of spain, probably of those driven from that country in the reign of ferdinand and isabella, and of german and egyptian jews. the real ancient jews of cochin are the black jews' descendants, we believe, of judea-arabians and indian proselytes. some rather obscure references to the jews of cochin and quilon are made by benjamin of tudela, who returned to spain from his eastern voyage in 1173. he found no white jews in india. speaking of those in the pepper country near chulam (quilon), he says that all the cities and countries inhabited by these people contain only about 100 jews (members of the synagogue), who are of black colour as well as the other inhabitants." referring to jan linschoten's 'itinerary,' published in holland in 1596, mr. adler observes that "the jews who interested our traveller were the 'rich merchants and of the king of cochin's nearest counsellers, who are most white of colour like men of europe, and have many fair women. there are many of them that came of the country palestine and jerusalem thither, and spoke over all the exchange verie perfect and good spanish.' this directly confirms the view that the white jews were new comers from foreign lands. their knowledge of spanish is now quite a thing of the past, but it proves that they were sephardim." in regard to the claim of the white jews to being the only genuine jews, it may be of interest to record the opinion of a jew, rabbi david d'beth hithel, who travelled in cochin in 1832. he says that "the white jews say of them (the black jews) that they are descendants of numerous slaves who were purchased and converted to judaism, set free and carefully instructed by a rich white jew some centuries ago. at his cost, they say, were all their old synagogues erected. the black jews believe themselves to be the descendants of the first captivity, who were brought to india, and did not return with the israelites who built the second temple. this account i am inclined to believe correct. though called black jews--they are of somewhat darker complexion than the white jews--yet they are not of the colour of the natives of the country, or of persons descended from indian slaves." this passage bears reference to a tradition current among the black jews that they are the descendants of the jews who were driven out of the land of israel thirteen years before the destruction of the first temple built by solomon. they are said to have first come to calicut, whence they emigrated to cranganur. "the white jews," mr. adler writes, "claiming that they, and they alone, are the true descendants of the aboriginal jews of cranganur, retain the copper tablets in their possession, and boast that, about the beginning of the seventeenth century, the rajah of cochin invested the head of the hallegua family with the hereditary title of mudaliar or noble [and a wand with a silver knob as a sign of his dignity], with the power of punishing certain crimes. the males of that family still bear the title, but their feudal rights have been abrogated. nowadays the number of white jews has dwindled to less than 200, so that it was easy to procure a list of all their names. from the foreign origin of their surnames (kindel, ashkenazi, mizrahi, koder, roby, sassoon), as well as for other reasons, it seems certain that the white jews are late comers, who did not settle in india till after the destruction of cranganur. they were traders, who came to cochin; they prospered under the rule of the dutch, and built their synagogue and quarter after the black jews were already established there. though, now, they hold themselves jealously aloof from the black jews, they were at first quite intimate and friendly. the indian environment has had the opposite effect to that which england has had upon our ashkenazim and our no longer exclusive sephardim. in india caste is varna, which means colour, and their difference in colour has produced caste distinctions among the indian jews. but, although the white jews are fair, some of them are certainly not quite white, nor are the black jews quite black. some of the 'black' jews are hardly distinguishable from their 'white' brethren. their customs, ritual, and religious observances are the same. their synagogues are so alike that it needs some keenness of eyesight to detect that two pictures are not of the identical building. the only great (?) difference is that the white jews have theirs tiled with rare old blue tiles, over which newspaper correspondents wax eloquent. they say the tiles are old dutch, but really they are genuine chinese [blue and white canton china], [249] whereby hangs a tale. the synagogue was built nearly 200 years ago in a corner of the rajah's palace-yard. at that time, the dutch were in possession of what is now british cochin, and they were the only people trading with china. the rajah, through his allies the dutch, had imported a large quantity of the best china tiles to pave his darbar hall, but the jews, says mr. thurston, thought they would just do for the synagogue they were building, so they told the rajah that he could not possibly use them, inasmuch as bullock's blood had been employed in their manufacture. his highness, much perturbed at the indignity to so sacred an animal, bade them take the tiles away, and never let him see them again. hence their presence in the synagogue. the other synagogue has tiles also, but they are of gleaming white." the synagogues, it may be added, are square whitewashed buildings, surmounted by a bell-tower. it is said that the kadyabagan synagogue of the black jews is admitted by the white jews to be the oldest at present existing, having been built in the 12th century. it is recorded by governor moens that "in the jewish quarters (situated) next to the palace of the king of cochin at cochin de sima there are two synagogues, viz., one for the white jews, and the other for the black jews. the latter have readers of their own tribe, who hold the services, but, when a white rabbi comes to their synagogue, the honour of conducting the service must be given to him." "the dates," the rev. j. h. lord writes, "of the synagogues of the black jews altogether antedate those of the white. thus, the date on the mural slab of the now disused and dilapidated cochin angadi synagogue is a.d. 1344 = 563 years ago. that of the kadavambagom synagogue in cochin is a.d. 1639, or = 268 years ago. that of the cochin theckumbagom synagogue is a.d. 1586, or = 321 years ago; while that of the synagogue of the white jews is a.d. 1666 or = 241 years ago. hence the institutions of the black jews are the more ancient. the tomb-stone dates of the black jews are also far more ancient than those of the white jews. the earliest date of any tomb-stone of the black jews is six hundred years old." it is further noted by the rev. j. h. lord that "the black jews are still the ones who make use of the privileges granted in the copper-plate charter. they still carry a silk umbrella, and lamps lit at day-time, when proceeding to their synagogue on the 8th day after birth of sons. they spread a cloth on the ground, and place ornaments of leaves across the road on occasions when their brides and bridegrooms go to get married, and use then cadanans (mortars which are charged with gunpowder, and fired), and trumpets. after the wedding is over, four silk sunshades, each supported on four poles, are borne, with lamps burning in front, as the bridal party goes home. the black jews say that the white jews use none of these, and never have done so. the white jews aver that they were accustomed formerly to use such privileges, but have discontinued them." there is record of disputes between the white and black jews for as early a time as that of the dutch settlement, or even earlier. jealousy and strife between the two sections on matters of intermarriage and equal privileges seem to have existed even during the time of the portuguese. canter visscher, in his 'letters from malabar,' [250] refers to these party feelings. "the blacks," he writes, "have a dark coloured rabbi, who must stand back if a white one enters, and must resign to him the honour of performing the divine service in the synagogue. on the other hand, when the black rabbis enter the synagogue of whites, they must only be hearers. there has lately been a great dispute between the two races; the black wishing to compel the white jewesses to keep their heads uncovered, like their own women, and trying to persuade the rajah to enforce such a rule. the dispute ended, however, with permission given to every one, both men and women, to wear what they chose." more than once, jewish rabbis have been appealed to on the subject of racial purity, and they have on all occasions upheld the claims of a section of the black jews to being jews, and the white jews have as often repudiated such decisions, and questioned their validity. the weight of authority, and the evidence of local facts, seem to militate against the contention of the white jews that the black jews do not belong to the israelitish community, but are the descendants of emancipated slaves and half castes. the white jews appear to have maintained the purity of their race by declining intermarriage with the black jews. it must be admitted that, in the earlier centuries, the original settlers purchased numerous slaves, who have since then followed the religion of their masters. it is recorded by stavorinus [251] that "when these jews purchase a slave, they immediately manumit him; they circumcise him and receive him as their fellow israelite, and never treat him as a slave." it is noted by canter visscher [252] that "the jews make no objection to selling their slaves who are not of their own religion to other nations, obliging them, however, when sold, to abandon the use of the jewish cap, which they had before worn on their heads. but slaves, male or female, once fully admitted into their religion by the performance of the customary rites, can never be sold to a stranger." the jews are said to have had former fugitive connections with the women of these converts, and brought into existence a mixed race of dravidians and semitics. it would be uncharitable to infer from this that all the black jews are the descendants of converted slaves or half-castes, as it would be unreasonable to suppose that all of them are the descendants of the original settlers. it is noted by mr. adler that "the rev. j. h. lord quotes an interesting pronouncement on the racial purity of the black jews of malabar made by haham bashi of jerusalem in 1892. the rabbi is said to have referred to the maharikash (r. jacob castro, of alexandria), whose responsum in 1610 confirmed the 'jichus' or the 'mejuchasim' and decided likewise. he is even said to have allowed one of his relatives to marry a brown jew! nowadays, the white jews hold aloof from the larger community, black or brown, and profess to be of another caste altogether. but one of the most intelligent of their number, who took us round the synagogues, professed to think such exclusiveness exaggerated and unfair, and admitted that their own grandfathers had lived with black jewesses in a more or less binding marital relation, and it is abundantly clear that, till recently, the black and white jews were quite friendly, and the very fact of the white jews holding the title-deeds merely proves that they were trusted by the true owners to keep them for safe custody, as they were richer and possessed safes. in an article in the 'revue des deux mondes,' [253] pierre loti, writing of the black jews, says that "le rabbin me fait d'ameres doléances sur la fierté des rivaux de la rue proche, qui ne veulent jamais consentir à contracter marriage, ni même à frayer avec ses paroissiens. et, pour comble, me dit-il, le grand rabbin de jérusalem, à qui on avait adressé une plainte collective, le priant d'intervenir, s'est contenté d'émettre, en réponse, cette généralité plutôt offensante: pour nicher ensemble, il faut être des moineaux de même plumage." in recent years, a distinction appears to have grown up among the black jews, so that they now want to be distinguished as brown jews and black jews, the former claiming to be meyookhasim or genuine jews. in this connection, mr. adler writes that "the black jews are themselves divided into two classes, the black jews proper, who are darker, and have no surnames, and the noble, who have family names and legitimate descent, and claim to be the true descendants of the cranganur or singili jews." the white jews are generally known by the name of paradesis (foreigners). this designation is found in some of the sirkar (state) accounts, and also in a few theetoorams or royal writs granted to them. it is argued that they must have been so called at first to distinguish them from the more ancient israelites. the existence for centuries of three small colonies of black jews at chennamangalam and mala in the cochin state, and parur in travancore, at a distance of five or six miles from cranganur, shows that they must have sought refuge in those places on being hard pressed by the moors and the portuguese. there are no white jews in any of these stations, nor can they point to any vested interests in the tracts about cranganur, the most ancient jewish settlement in the state. the jews wear a long tunic of rich colour, a waistcoat buttoned up to the neck, and full white trousers. they go about wearing a skull cap, and put on a turban when they go to the synagogue. the black jews dress more or less like the native mahomedans. many of them put on shirts, and have skull caps like the jonaka mappilas. they generally wear coloured cloths. the jews invariably use wooden sandals. these, and their locks brought down in front of the ears, distinguish them from other sections of the population. the jewesses always wear coloured cloths. hebrew is still the liturgical language, and is studied as a classic by a few, but the home language is malayalam. the white jews celebrate their marriages on sundays, but the black jews still retain the ancient custom of celebrating them on tuesdays after sunset. though polygamy is not prohibited, monogamy is the rule. the males generally marry at the age of 20, while the marriageable age for girls is 14 or 15. marriages are generally celebrated on a grand scale. the festivities continue for seven days in the case of the white jews, and for fifteen days among the black jews, who still make use of some of the ancient privileges granted by the charter of cheraman perumal. the jews of all sections have adopted a few hindu customs. thus, before going to the synagogue for marriage, a tali (marriage badge) is tied round the bride's neck by some near female relative of the bridegroom (generally his sister) in imitation of the hindu custom, amidst the joyful shouts (kurava) of women. divorce is not effected by a civil tribunal. marriages are dissolved by the making good the amount mentioned in the kethuba or marriage document. in regard to their funerals, the corpse is washed, but not anointed, and is deposited in the burial-ground, which is called beth haim, the house of the living. like their brethren in other parts of the world, the cochin jews observe the sabbath feasts and fasts blended intimately with their religion, and practice the rite of circumcision on the eighth day, when the child is also named. the passover is celebrated by the distribution of unleavened bread, but no kid is killed, nor is blood sprinkled upon the door-post and lintel. the other feasts are the feast of pentecost, feast of trumpets, and feast of tabernacles. the day of atonement, and the anniversary of the destruction of jerusalem, are observed as fasts. on the day of atonement, the jews pray in the synagogue from 5 a.m. till 7 p.m. the jewish fasts commence from 5 p.m. on the day previous to the fast, and end at 7 p.m. next day. their days begin and end with sunset. the feast of tabernacles is observed with more pomp and ceremony than other feasts. a pandal, or temporary shed, with a flat roof, covered over with plaited leaves of the cocoanut palm, and decorated with festoons, is put up in the court-yard of, or near every house, beneath which the inmates of the house assemble and take their meals. on the last day of the feast, a large can filled with oil is lit up in front of the synagogue. on that day, the congregation assembles in the synagogue. persons of both sexes and of all ages meet in the house of prayer, which is gorgeously decorated for the occasion. on this day, when the books are taken outside the synagogue by the male congregation, the females, who are seated in the gallery, come into the synagogue, and, when the books are taken back, they return to their gallery. the genuine jews are, as indicated, known as m'yukhasim (those of lineage or aristocracy), while converts from the low castes are called non-m'yukhasim. according to the opinion of jewish rabbis, tabila, or the holy rabbinical bath, removes the social disabilities of the latter. those who have had recourse to this bath are free to marry genuine jews, but respect for caste, or racial prejudice, has invariably stood in the way of such marriages being contracted. from a recent note (1907), i gather that "the jews, realising that higher and more advanced education is needed, have bestirred themselves, and are earnestly endeavouring to establish an institution which will bring their education up to the lower secondary standard. the proposed school will be open to both the white and black jews. in order to place the school on a good financial basis, one of the leading jews, mr. s. koder, approached the anglo-jewish association for aid, and that society has readily agreed to provide a sum of £150 a year for the upkeep of the school. generous, however, as this offer is, it is found that the amount is insufficient to cover the expenditure; so the jews are going to raise a public subscription amongst themselves, and they also intend to apply to the cochin darbar for a grant under the educational code." [254] i was present at the convocation of the madras university in 1903, when the chancellor conferred the degree of bachelor of arts on the first jew who had passed the examination. according to the cochin census, 1901, there were 180 white, and 957 black jews. jhodia.--a sub-division of poroja. jhoria.--a sub-division of gaudo. jilaga (pith).--an exogamous sept of devanga. jilakara (cumin seeds: cuminum cyminum). an exogamous sept of balija and togata. jinigar.--"there are," mr. h. a. stuart writes, [255] "a few members of this caste, chiefly in the chendragiri taluk, whose ordinary occupation it now is to paint pictures. they were, however, once, it is said, artificers, and the account given of them is as follows. they were originally razus from the northern circars, who, coming to the chendragiri raja for employment, were set to watch members of the kammala caste who served the raja, in order to prevent idleness or fraud. after some time, the kammalans finished an idol's car, and, being inflated with pride, demanded to be allowed to sit in it before the swami was himself placed there. for their arrogance they were expelled, and the razus, having by observation learnt something of their craft, discharged their duties to the community. under the nabobs they abandoned this walk of life, and took to saddlery, whence came their name from jini a saddle, and now they are merely muchis." mr. w. francis informs us [256] that "in bellary wood-carving is done by jinigaras, who have taught the art to some muhammadans, who are now often more skilful than their teachers. two of them made a teak doorway, carved in the chalukyan style, which obtained a medal at the arts exhibition at the delhi darbar, and is now in the madras museum." at nandyal in the kurnool district, i recently saw a jinigar, who makes "lacquer" (gesso) fans, trays, large circular table tops, etc., and paintings of hindu deities and mythological subjects. he made a number of panels used in the dado of lady curzon's boudoir at the circuit house, delhi. a medal was awarded to him for his gesso ware at the delhi exhibition, but it was, in colouring, inferior to that of the collection which was sent to the indo-colonial exhibition in 1886. the "lacquer" ware of kurnool has been said to be perhaps the finest indian gesso work produced anywhere. the work turned out at mandasa in ganjam is much bolder, and suitable for decoration on a large scale. a similar method of decoration was formerly largely used in saracenic architectural decoration of interiors in various countries. the patterns of the kurnool ware are floral, and in slight relief, and the colours are very bright with much gilding. at nossam, in ganjam, leather dishmats are painted with pictures of deities and floral designs. native circular playing-cards, and fans made of palmyra leaves or paper and cloth "lacquered" and painted in brilliant colours, are also made here. in the nellore district, the jiniga-vandlu make toys, pictures, and models in paper and pith. at trichinopoly, very elaborate and accurate models of the great hindu temples, artificial flowers, bullock coaches, etc., are made of the pith of sola (æschynomene aspera), which is also used in the construction of sola topis (sun-hats). the madras museum possesses a very quaint pith model of the raja of tanjore in darbar, with performing wrestlers and deva-dasis, made many years ago. jinka.--(indian gazelle, gazella bennetti).--an exogamous sept of padma sale. the equivalent jinkala is a sept of boya. jira.--in the bellary district, a lingayat who sells flowers calls himself a jira, and his caste jira kula. jirige (cumin: cuminum cyminum).--an exogamous sept of kuruba, and gotra of kurni. jivala (an insect).--an exogamous sept of kuruba. jogi.--the jogis, who are a caste of telugu mendicants, are summed up by mr. h. a. stuart [257] as being "like the dasaris, itinerant jugglers and beggars. they are divided into those who sell beads, and those who keep pigs. they are dexterous snake-charmers, and pretend to a profound knowledge of charms and medicine. they are very filthy in their habits. they have no restrictions regarding food, may eat in the house of any sudra, and allow widows to live in concubinage, only exacting a small money penalty, and prohibiting her from washing herself with turmeric-water." in addition to begging and pig-breeding, the jogis are employed in the cultivation of land, in the destruction of pariah dogs, scavenging, robbery and dacoity. some of the women, called killekyata, are professional tattooers. the jogis wander about the country, taking with them (sometimes on donkeys) the materials for their rude huts. the packs of the donkeys are, mr. f. s. mullaly informs us, [258] "used as receptacles for storing cloths obtained in predatory excursions. jogis encamp on the outskirts of villages, usually on a plain or dry bed of a tank. their huts or gudisays are made of palmyra leaves (or sedge) plaited with five strands forming an arch." the huts are completely open in front. in the tamil country, the jogis are called dhoddiyan or tottiyan (q.v.), and those who are employed as scavengers are known as koravas or oddans. the scavengers do not mix with the rest of the community. some jogis assert that they have to live by begging in consequence of a curse brought on them by parvati, concerning whose breasts one of their ancestors made some indiscreet remarks. they consider themselves superior to malas and madigas, but an oddan (navvy caste) will not eat in the house of a jogi. they are said to eat crocodiles, field rats, and cats. there is a tradition that a jogi bridegroom, before tying the bottu (marriage badge) on his bride's neck, had to tie it by means of a string dyed with turmeric round the neck of a female cat. people sometimes object to the catching of cats by jogis for food, as the detachment of a single hair from the body of a cat is considered a heinous offence. to overcome the objection, the jogi says that he wants the animal for a marriage ceremony. on one occasion, i saw a madiga carrying home a bag full of kittens, which, he said, he was going to eat. the jogi mendicants go about, clad in a dirty loin-cloth (often red in colour) and a strip of cloth over the shoulders, with cobras, pythons, or rat snakes in baskets, and carrying a bag slung over the shoulder. the contents of one of these bags, which was examined, were fruits of mimusops hexandra and flower-spikes of lippia nodiflora (used for medicine), a snake-charming reed instrument, a piece of cuttle-fish shell, porcupine quills (sold to goldsmiths for brushes), a cocoanut shell containing a powder, narrikombu (spurious jackals' horns) such as are also manufactured by kuruvikarans, and two pieces of wood supposed to be an antidote for snake-poisoning. the women go about the streets, decorated with bangles and necklaces of beads, sharks' vertebræ, and cowry shells, bawling out "subbamma, lachchamma," etc., and will not move on till alms are given to them. they carry a capacious gourd, which serves as a convenient receptacle for stolen articles. like other telugu castes, the jogis have exogamous septs or intiperu, of which the following are examples:- vagiti, court-yard. uluvala, horse-gram. jalli, tassels of palmyra leaves put round the necks of bulls. vavati (relationship). gundra, round. bindhollu, brass water-pot. cheruku, sugar-cane. chappadi, insipid. boda dasiri, bald-headed mendicant. gudi, temple. at the mysore census, 1901, killekyata, helava, jangaliga, and pakanati were returned as being jogis. a few individuals returned gotras, such as vrishabha, kaverimatha, and khedrumakula. at the madras census, siddaru, and pamula (snake) were returned as sub-castes. pamula is applied as a synonym for jogi, inasmuch as snake-charming is one of their occupations. the women of the caste are said to be depraved, and prostitution is common. as a proof of chastity, the ordeal of drinking a potful of cow-dung water or chilly-water has to be undergone. if a man, proved guilty of adultery, pleads inability to pay the fine, he has to walk a furlong with a mill-stone on his head. at the betrothal ceremony, a small sum of money and a pig are given to the bride's party. the pig is killed, and a feast held, with much consumption of liquor. some of the features of the marriage ceremony are worthy of notice. the kankanams, or threads which are tied by the maternal uncles to the wrists of the bride and bridegroom, are made of human hair, and to them are attached leaves of alangium lamarckii and strychnos nux-vomica. when the bridegroom and his party proceed to the bride's hut for the ceremony of tying the bottu (marriage badge), they are stopped by a rope or bamboo screen, which is held by the relations of the bride and others. after a short struggle, money is paid to the men who hold the rope or screen, and the ceremonial is proceeded with. the rope is called vallepu thadu or relationship rope, and is made to imply legitimate connection. the bottu, consisting of a string of black beads, is tied round the bride's neck, the bride and bridegroom sometimes sitting on a pestle and mortar. rice is thrown over them, and they are carried on the shoulders of their maternal uncles beneath the marriage pandal (booth). as with the oddes and upparavas, there is a saying that a jogi widow may mount the marriage dais (i.e., remarry) seven times. when a girl reaches puberty, she is put in a hut made by her brother or husband, which is thatched with twigs of eugenia jambolana, margosa (melia azadirachta), mango (mangifera indica), and vitex negundo. on the last day of the pollution ceremony the girl's clothes and the hut are burnt. the dead are always buried. the corpse is carried to the burial-place, wrapped up in a cloth. before it is lowered into the grave, all present throw rice over the eyes, and a man of a different sept to the deceased places four annas in the mouth. within the grave the head is turned on one side, and a cavity scooped out, in which various articles of food are placed. though the body is not burnt, fire is carried to the grave by the son. among the jalli-vallu, a chicken and small quantity of salt are placed in the armpit of the corpse. on the karmandhiram, or day of the final death ceremonies, cooked rice, vegetables, fruit, and arrack are offered to the deceased. a cloth is spread near the grave, and the son, and other agnates, place food thereon, while naming, one after the other, their deceased ancestors. the food is eaten by jogis of septs other than the jalli-vallu, who throw it into water. if septs other than the jalli were to do this, they would be fined. those assembled proceed to a tank or river, and make an effigy in mud, by the side of which an earthen lamp is placed. after the offering of cooked rice, etc., the lamp and effigy are thrown into the water. a man who is celebrating his wife's death-rites then has his waist-thread cut by another widower while bathing. the jogis worship peddavadu, malalamma, gangamma, ayyavaru, rudramma, and madura virudu. some women wear, in addition to the marriage bottu, a special bottu in honour of one of their gods. this is placed before the god and worn by the eldest female of a family, passing on at her death to the next eldest. as regards the criminal propensities of the jogis, mr. mullaly writes as follows. [259] "on an excursion being agreed upon by members of a joghi gang, others of the fraternity encamped in the vicinity are consulted. in some isolated spot a nim tree (melia azadirachta) is chosen as a meeting place. here the preliminaries are settled, and their god perumal is invoked. they set out in bands of from twelve to fifteen, armed with stout bamboo sticks. scantily clad, and with their heads muffled up, they await the arrival of the carts passing their place of hiding. in twos and threes they attack the carts, which are usually driven off the road, and not unfrequently upset, and the travellers are made to give all they possess. the property is then given to the headman of the gang for safe-keeping, and he secretes it in the vicinity of his hut, and sets about the disposal of it. their receivers are to be found among the 'respectable' oil-mongers of 11 villages in the vicinity of their encampments, while property not disposed of locally is taken to madras. readmission to caste after conviction, when imprisonment is involved, is an easy matter. a feed and drink at the expense of the 'unfortunate,' generally defrayed from the share of property which is kept by his more fortunate kinsfolk, are all that is necessary, except the ceremony common to other classes of having the tongue slightly burnt by a piece of hot gold. this is always performed by the jangam (headman) of the gang. the boys of the class are employed by their elders in stealing grain stored at kalams (threshing-floors), and, as opportunity offers, by slitting grain bags loaded in carts." jogi.--a sub-division of kudubi. jogi gurukkal.--see yogi gurukkal. jogi purusha.--the purushas or jogi purushas seem to have come into existence in recent times, and to be divided into two distinct classes, one of which has crystallised into a caste, while the other merely follows a cult practiced by several other castes. those in south canara, who speak marathi and tulu, say that they form a caste, which will not admit members of other castes into its ranks. there is a head mutt (religious institution) at kadiri, with subordinate mutts at halori and bhuvarasu, all in south canara. the jogi purushas are disciples of one or other of these mutts. their special deity is bairava, but some regard gorakshanath as their god. they are initiated into the bairava cult by their priest. they may lead either a celibate or married life. the celibates should have a hole bored in the middle of the ear, and wear therein a ring of rhinoceros horn or china-clay. those who wish to lead a married life need not have a hole in the ear, but, at the time of their initiation, a piece of clay is pressed over the spot where the hole should be. all jogi purushas who have become the disciples of a guru (spiritual instructor) of their cult ought to have a brass, copper, or silver pipe, called singanatha, tied on a thread round the neck. before taking their meals, they are expected to pray to bairava, and blow the pipe. the jogi purushas follow the makkalakattu system of inheritance (in the male line), and, for their marriage ceremonies, engage a karadi brahman. the dead are buried in a sitting posture. the bojja, or final death ceremony, is usually performed on the twelfth day, and a brahman priest officiates thereat. the ceremony consists in offering food to the crows, making presents to brahmans, and undergoing purificatory rites for the removal of death pollution. if the deceased has been initiated into the bairava cult, puja (worship) must be done at the grave every alternate day from the third day till the bojja day. some jogi purushas are professional mendicants, while others work as coolies, peons, etc. jonagan.--jonagan is given, in the madras census report, 1901, as the name applied to "musalman traders of partly hindu parentage. the word is from the tamil sonagan, which means arabia, and is not strictly the name of any musalman tribe, but is a loose term applied by the tamils to musalmans of mixed descent." in the gazetteer of south arcot, mr. francis says that "the term jonagan or sonagan, meaning a native of sonagan or arabia, is applied by hindus to both labbais and marakkayars, but it is usually held to have a contemptuous flavour." according to another version, jonagan is applied to sea-fishermen and boatmen, and the more prosperous traders are called marakkayars. in a note on the mappillas of malabar, mr. padmanabha menon writes that "the muhammadans generally go by the name of jonaga mappillas. jonaka is believed to stand for yavanaka, i.e., greek." joti (light).--an exogamous sept of boya. jotinagara.--jotinagara (people of the city of light) and jotipana are high sounding synonyms of the canarese oil-pressing ganigas, who express illuminant oils from seeds. in like manner, the tamil oil-pressing vaniyans are known as jotinagarattar and tiru-vilakku nagarattar (dwellers in the city of holy lamps). juda mappilla.--a name by which the cochin jews are known. julaha.--a few members of this muhammadan class of weavers have been returned at times of census. jungu (cock's-comb).--a gotra of kurni. notes [1] yule and burnell. hobson-jobson. [2] manual of the north arcot district. [3] the bark of the avaram plant is one of the most valuable indian tanning agents. [4] voyage to the east indies, 1774 and 1781. [5] hindu manners, customs and ceremonies. [6] manual of the tanjore district, 1883. [7] manual of the madura district. [8] monograph of tanning and working in leather, 1904. [9] pratiloma, as opposed to an anuloma union, is the marriage of a female of a higher caste with a man of a lower one. [10] madras census report, 1901. [11] madras census report, 1871. [12] madras police gazette, 1902. [13] i. no. 4. 1908, vellore. [14] criminal tribes of india, no. iii, 1907. [15] criminal classes in the bombay presidency. [16] manual of the south canara district. [17] manual of the south canara district. [18] journal asiatic society, xxv, 1857. [19] journey through mysore, canara, and malabar. [20] journal royal asiatic society, viii, 1846. [21] fauna, british india, mammalia. [22] cassia auriculata. [23] marriage chaplet worn on the forehead. [24] wrist-threads dyed with turmeric. [25] madras census report, 1891. [26] monograph, eth. survey of cochin, no. 6, 1906. [27] manual of malabar. [28] calcutta review, 1900. [29] madras police report, 1904. [30] gazetteer of the malabar district. [31] malabar and its folk, 1900. [32] karunakara menon, madras mus. bull., v. 2, 1906. [33] madras mail, 1908. [34] s. appadorai iyer. [35] calcutta review, 1900. [36] one fanam = four annas eight pies. [37] madras mail, 1895. [38] ind. ant., viii, 1879. [39] native life in travancore. [40] a mulikka is the collective name for a present of five betel leaves, one areca nut, and two tobacco leaves. [41] gazetteer of the trichinopoly district. [42] rev. h. jensen, classified collection of tamil proverbs, 1897. [43] madras mail, 1904. [44] gazetteer of the nilgiris. [45] occasional essays on native south indian life. [46] the fruits of several species of momordica are eaten by natives. [47] sidney low. a vision of india, 1906. [48] manual of the north arcot district. [49] gazetteer of the anantapur district. [50] manual of the tanjore district. [51] calcutta review, 1905. [52] madras mail, 1901. [53] john company, a corruption of company jehan, a title of the english east india company. [54] manual of the south canara district. [55] south indian inscriptions, vol. ii, part 3, p. 259. [56] journey from madras through mysore, canara and malabar, 1807. [57] elliott. history of india. [58] brahmanism and hinduism. [59] evolution of hinduism, 1903. [60] j. t. wheeler. madras in the olden time. [61] notes from a diary, 1881--86. [62] j. michaud. histoire des progrès et de la chûlte de l'empire de mysore, sons les règnes d'hyder-aly et tippoo saib. [63] an indian olio. [64] manual of the bellary district. [65] cyclopædia of india. [66] journ. anth. soc., bombay, vol. ii. [67] journ. anth. soc., bombay, 1891. [68] manual of the north arcot district. [69] gazetteer of the godavari district. [70] see also collection of decisions on the law of succession, maintenance, etc., applicable to dancing-girls and their issues. c. ramachendrier, madras, 1892. [71] indian law reports, madras series, xxiii, 1900. [72] ibid., vol. v, 1869-70. [73] ibid., vol. i, 1876-78. [74] ibid., vol. vi, 1883. [75] ibid., vol. i, 1876-78. [76] ibid., vol. i, 1876-78. [77] ibid., vol. xix, 1896. [78] ibid., vol. xiii, 1890. [79] ibid., vol. xiv, 1891. [80] ibid., vol. xv, 1892. [81] ganga bai v. anant. 13 bom., 690. [82] hindu law and usage. [83] macnaghten, digest. [84] classified collection of tamil proverbs, 1897. [85] j. s. f. mackenzie. ind. ant., iv, 1875. [86] madras census report, 1891; manual of the south canara district. [87] breeks. account of the primitive tribes and monuments of the nilgiris. [88] section iii, inhabitants. madras government press, 1907. [89] gazetteer of the bombay presidency, xv, part i, 1883. [90] yule and burnell, hobson-jobson. [91] tropical diseases. [92] madras census report, 1901. [93] rev. h. jensen. classified collection of tamil proverbs, 1897. [94] madras census report, 1891. [95] g. bühler on the indian sect of the jainas, 1903. [96] madras census report, 1891. [97] man., 1901. [98] jeypore, breklum, 1901. [99] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [100] man., 1902. [101] ibid. [102] money-lender. [103] madras census report, 1891; manual of the north arcot district. [104] notes on the criminal classes of the madras presidency. [105] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [106] m. paupa rao naidu. history of railway thieves. 3rd edition, 1904. [107] calcutta review, 1905. [108] memoir of sir thomas munro. [109] manual of the north arcot district; madras census report, 1891. [110] madras census report, 1901. [111] manual of the north arcot district; madras census report, 1891. [112] madras census report, 1901. [113] malabar law and custom. [114] malabar quarterly review, vii, 3, 1908. [115] wigram. malabar law and custom. [116] monograph. eth. survey of cochin, no. 9, 1906. [117] yule and burnell, 2nd ed., 1903. [118] handbook of british india, 1854. [119] cyclopædia of india. [120] journ. anth. inst., xx, 1891. [121] danvers. the portuguese in india, 1894. [122] manual of malabar. [123] see madras museum bulletin, ii, 2, table xxvi, 1898. [124] elephantiasis and allied disorders, madras, 1891. [125] veterinarian, june, 1879. [126] endemic skin and other diseases of india. fox and farquhar. [127] linguistic survey of india iv, 1906. [128] madras census report, 1891. [129] gazetteer of the vizagapatam district. [130] madras mail, 1907. [131] madras census report, 1891. [132] manual of the vizagapatam district. [133] madras census report, 1891. [134] ind. ant. xviii, 1889. [135] manual of the south canara district. [136] mysore census report, 1891. [137] gazetteer of the bellary district. [138] calcutta review, 1905. [139] madras census report, 1891. [140] original inhabitants of bharatavarsha. [141] manual of the south canara district. [142] hobson-jobson. [143] manual of the north arcot district. [144] madras census report, 1891. [145] mysore census report, 1901. [146] journ. anth. soc., bombay, 1, 1888. [147] mysore census report, 1891. [148] ind. ant. viii, 1879. [149] see c. ramchendrier, collection of decisions of high courts and the privy council applicable to dancing-girls, illatom, etc., madras, 1892. [150] j. s. f. mackenzie, ind. ant., iv, 1875. [151] yule and burnell, hobson-jobson. [152] wigram. malabar law and custom. [153] thurston. monograph on wood-carving in southern india. 1903. [154] yule and burnell. hobson-jobson. [155] illustrations of the guzarattee, mahratlee, and english languages, 1808. [156] madras census report, 1891. [157] occasional essays on native south indian life. [158] hobson-jobson. [159] letters from madras. by a lady. 1843. [160] monograph, eth. survey of bombay, 12, 1904. [161] t. p. hughes., dictionary of islam. [162] mysore census report, 1901. [163] manual of the south canara district. [164] manual of coorg. [165] manual of the south canara district. [166] manual of coorg. [167] journey through mysore, canara and malabar. [168] manual of the south canara district. [169] ind. ant. ii, 1873. [170] manual of the madura district. [171] madras census report, 1891. [172] manual of the madura district. [173] madras census report, 1901. [174] malabar quart. review, ii, 1903. [175] madras mail, 1904. [176] classified collection of tamil proverbs, 1897. [177] the idigas are said to have been formerly employed as soldiers under the poligars. [178] j. s. f. mackenzie, ind. ant., iv, 1875. [179] madras census report, 1901. [180] malabar law and custom. [181] criminal tribes of india, no. iii, madras, 1907. [182] primitive tribes of the nilgiris. [183] description of a singular aboriginal race inhabiting the neilgherry hills, 1832. [184] a. w. lushington, indian forester, 1902. [185] agricultural ledger series, 1904. [186] ind. vi, 1877. [187] oriental manuscripts. [188] manual of the north arcot district. [189] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [190] manual of the nellore district. [191] letters from malabar. [192] voyage to the east indies. translation, 1800. [193] monograph ethnograph: survey of cochin, no. 10, izhavas, 1905. [194] chuckrams and puthans are coins. [195] wide world magazine, september 1899. [196] native life in travancore, 1883. [197] malabar quart. review, iv, 3, 1905. see also t. c. rice. jain settlements in karnata. ibid., iii, 4, 1904. [198] on the indian sect of the jainas. translation by j. burgess, 1903. [199] the earlier tirthankaras are believed to have been of prodigious proportions, and to have lived fabulously long lives, but the later ones were of more ordinary stature and longevity. [200] inscriptions at sravana belagola. archæological survey of mysore, 1889. [201] history of indian and eastern architecture. [202] annual report on epigraphy, madras, 1900-1901. [203] the inscriptions on the three jaina colossi of southern india have been published by dr. hultzsch in epigraphia indica, vii, 1902-1903. [204] ind. ant., v, 1876. [205] ind. ant., xxv, 220, sq., 1896. [206] op. cit. [207] loc. cit. [208] manual of the north arcot district. [209] notes from a diary, 1881-86. [210] gazetteer of the south arcot district. [211] local oral tradition gives his name as dupala kistnappa nayak. [212] also known as jaina tirupati. [213] gazetteer of the madura district. [214] ibid. [215] n. sunkuni wariar. ind. ant., xxi, 1892. [216] madras census report, 1901; nellore manual. [217] telugu dictionary. [218] madras census report, 1901. [219] manual of the north arcot district. [220] travels into east india and arabia deserta, 1665. [221] wigram, malabar law and custom. [222] logan, manual of malabar, which contains full details concerning janmis. [223] history of korawars, erukalas, or kaikaries. madras, 1905. [224] rice, mysore and coorg gazetteer. [225] narrative sketches of the conquest of mysore, 1800. [226] wilks' historical sketches: mysore, 1810-17. [227] the captivity, sufferings, and escape of james scurry, 1824. [228] manual of the bellary district. [229] may 11th, june 1st and 29th, 1906. [230] for the translations from the dutch i am indebted to the kindness of the rev. p. grote. [231] a new account of the east indies, 1744. [232] a. c. burnell, ind. ant. iii, 1874. [233] madras journ. lit. science, xiii, part i. [234] ibid., part ii. [235] loc. cit. [236] bhâskara-ravi-varmâ. [237] this is explained in the hebrew version by cranganore, and muyiri is, no doubt, the original of the mouziris of ptolemy and the periplus of the red sea. it is (according to local tradition) the part where the travancore lines end, opposite to cranganore but across the back-water. [238] i.e., yusuf rabbân. [239] ueber die jüdischen colonien in indien. kohut memorial volume, semitic studies, berlin, 1897. [240] epigraphia indica, iii, 1894-95. [241] ind. ant., xx, 1891. [242] epigraphia indica, iv, 1896-97. [243] the land of the permauls, or cochin, its past and its present, 1863. [244] ind. ant., iii, 1874. [245] a description of ye east india coasts of malabar and coromandel, 1703. [246] the jews in india and the far east, 1907. [247] christian researches in india, 1840. [248] history of christianity in india, i, 470-71, 1839. [249] j. splinter stavorinus. voyages to the east indies, 1774-78. [250] edition by major heber drury, 1862. letter xviii. [251] op. cit. [252] loc. cit. [253] july, 1902. [254] madras mail, 1907. [255] manual of the north arcot district. [256] gazetteer of the bellary district. [257] manual of the north arcot district. [258] notes on criminal classes of the madras presidency. [259] op. cit. gold, sport, and coffee planting in mysore with chapters on coffee planting in coorg, the mysore representative assembly, the indian congress, caste, and the indian silver question being the 38 years' experiences of a mysore planter by robert h. elliot author of "experiences of a planter," "written on their foreheads," etc. _with a map in colours_ westminster 1898. dedication. i have much pleasure in dedicating this book to my friend sir k. sheshadri iyer, k.c.s.i., dewan of mysore, and trust that it may be useful in making more fully known the resources of the state whose affairs he has for many years so wisely and ably administered. preface. in the year 1871 i published "the experiences of a planter in the jungles of mysore," and had intended to bring out a new edition of it, but, from various causes, the project was delayed, and when i at last took the matter in hand, i found that so many things had happened since 1871 that it was necessary to write a new book. in this, hardly anything of the "experiences" has been reproduced, except a very few natural history notes and the chapter on caste, a subject to which i would particularly call the attention of those interested in indian missions. i have been much assisted by informants too numerous for mention here, and can only allude to those who have most conspicuously aided me. amongst these i am much indebted to my friend sir k. sheshadri iyer, k.c.s.i., dewan of mysore, for access given me to information in the possession of the government, and for returns specially prepared for the book. from my friends mr. graham anderson and mr. brooke mockett, two of the most able and experienced planters in mysore, i have derived much information and assistance. i am particularly obliged to my friend dr. voelcker[1] for many valuable hints, and the chapter on manures has had the advantage of being read by him. for information as regards the history of coffee in coorg i am much indebted to mr. meynell, who represents the large interests of messrs. matheson and co. in that province, and indeed, without his aid, i could not at all have done full justice to the subject. to mr. grey, manager of the nundydroog mine, i am indebted for information as regards the gold mines, and for the kind assistance he in many ways afforded me when i visited them last january. i am also obliged to colonel grant, superintendent of the mysore revenue, survey and settlement department, for information as regards game, and the proposed game act for mysore. i had intended to add a chapter on the cultivation of cardamoms and pepper, but have not done so, because, for the want of recent information from those specially engaged in these cultivations, i could not feel confident of doing full justice to the subject. i may, however, say that as regards cardamoms, i have good reason for supposing that there is not much to be added to the chapter on them which appeared in the "experiences." though i have collected many experiences, i am of course aware that many more remain to be collected, and i should feel particularly obliged if planters and those who have any experiences to give me (natural history and sporting information would be very welcome) would be kind enough to do so. these i would propose to incorporate in an improved edition, which i look forward to bringing out when a sufficient amount of additional information has been collected. if those who have any information to give, suggestions to make, or criticisms to offer, would be kind enough to communicate with me, an improved edition might be brought out which would be highly valuable to all tropical agriculturists, and all those interested in the various subjects on which i have written. my indian address is bartchinhulla, saklaspur, mysore state, and home address, clifton park, kelso, roxburghshire. robert h. elliot. footnotes: [1] dr. voelcker, consulting chemist to the royal agricultural society of england, was, by the permission of the society, employed for upwards of a year by the government in india; and his "report on the improvement of indian agriculture" is an elaborate, work, of upwards of 400 pages, and contains a large body of carefully digested information, remarks, and opinions which will be of great value to the government, and of much practical value to planters, and all tropical agriculturists. contents. chapter i.--introductory. myself and the route to mysore in 1855. the pioneer planters of southern mysore. the life of a planter by no means a dull one. effects of english capital on the progress of the people and the finances of the state. the value, in times of famine, of european settlers. a deferred native message of thanks to the english public. the causes that have led to an increase of famine and scarcities. measures to promote the digging of wells by the people. a line of railway from mysore to the western coast sanctioned. wanted, land tenures which will promote well digging and other irrigation works. the late dewan's opinions in favour of a fixed land tax. evidences of irrigation works made by occupiers being promoted by a fixed land tax. famine question of great importance to settlers in india. the number of european and native coffee plantations in mysore. probable annual value of coffee produced in mysore. manufactures in india. manufactures in mysore. endeavours by the dewan to develop the iron wealth of the province. "the mysore and coorg directory." value of the dewan's annual addresses in the representative assembly. the dewan's efforts to promote improvements of all kinds. european settlers favourably received by officials of all classes. hints as to representing any matter to a government official. native officials are polite and obliging. chapter ii.--the scenery and waterfalls of mysore. general description of the mysore country. the climate. a healthy one for europeans. the beautiful scenery of the western borderlands. the falls of gairsoppa. height of the falls; difficulty of getting at them; the lushington, lalgali, and majod falls might be visited-when on the way to gairsoppa falls. the best time for visiting the falls. description of the falls. startling sounds to be heard at the falls. to the bottom of the gorge below the falls. wonderful combinations of sights and sounds. the scene on the pool above the falls. the beautiful moonlight effects. a flying squirrel; a tiger bounding across the road. the cauvery falls and the route to them. general description of the falls. the gangana chuckee falls. the bar chuckee falls. the gairsoppa and cauvery falls contrasted. interesting bridges built by native engineers. leisure, solitude, and repose necessary to enjoy scenery. chapter iii.--mysore--its government and representative assembly. the early history of mysore. the hindoo and mahometan lines. the hindoo line restored by us in 1799. the insurrection of 1830. the maharajah deposed and the country in 1831 administered by the british. the state restored to native administration in 1881. the people at first generally disliked the change; causes of this. value of an admixture of europeans in the mysore service. the alleged breach of good faith as regards conferring appointments on natives in british territory. the constitution of mysore; terms on which it was transferred not to native rule but to native administration. mysore as practically under british rule as any part of british india. after deducting sum allotted for maharajah's personal expenditure, the remaining revenues to be spent on public purposes only. the advantages possessed by settlers in mysore. the mysore representative assembly. the notification by which the assembly was established, and the system of nominating members. contrast between it and the egyptian general assembly of the legislative council. first meeting of the assembly, oct. 7th, 1881. rules of 1890 announcing a system of electing members in future. my election in 1891 as a member of the assembly. am appointed chairman of preliminary meetings. measures agreed to at the preliminary meetings. rules to regulate discussions in preliminary meetings. organization desired to be established; funds for working the proposed organization. the lady students of the maharanee's college. the assembly formally opened; the dewan's address. gold mines, railways, roads; interference of madras government with proposed mysore irrigation works. measure to promote digging of wells. value of the assembly as a means of communicating intelligence amongst the people. forests. elephants. female education. the archæological survey. the census. the municipal elections. reform of religious and charitable institutions. an irregular meeting of members. a marriage law proposed. great excitement caused thereby. proposal adjourned. proposal to store grain against times of famine. revenue should be remitted in full when there is no crop. my speech in the assembly as chairman of preliminary meetings. members called up in order to represent grievances and wants. the marriage question again. influence of public opinion as regards age for consummation of marriages. opinion of two native gentlemen as regards my speech. an important concession gained by the representatives. the admirable working of the mysore government. general appreciation of the dewan's administration. representatives have no power and do not want any. causes of the absence of any demand for parliamentary institutions such as those in england. absence of general interest in the assembly. causes of this. great value of assembly in bringing rulers and ruled together. such assembly more necessary now than formerly. causes of this. the indian congress. causes of the creation of. started in 1885 by a small number of the educated classes. seditious pamphlets circulated by the congress. copies bought for the athenæum club. mr. dadabhai naoroji, m.p. one of the sellers of the pamphlets. proceedings of the congress legitimate till it fell under guidance of mr. hume. excuses for mr. dadabhai naoroji. the composition of the first and second congresses. the third congress. the members desire to make the laws and control the finances of india. the congress declares that as indians in rural districts are not qualified to elect members, these should be elected by an electoral college composed of the flower of the educated classes. as the desired powers are not likely to be obtained in india, the people of england must be made to believe that india is being misgoverned. the congress' schemes for bringing about a revolution in india. native volunteers to be enrolled to bring pressure to bear on the government. the repeal of the arms act demanded. the seditious pamphlets issued by the congress. the sums of money collected with the aid of the pamphlets. opinions of congress that natives are wanting in the qualities necessary for governing india. chapter iv.--natural history and sport. the advantages and pleasures of big game shooting. comparative risks from tigers, bears, and panthers. boars and other wild animals more dangerous now than formerly. advantages of this for sportsmen. the natural history of mysore. elephants. tigers much more numerous in former times in mysore. in a short time 118 caught in traps. remarkable cessation of such captures. the balance of nature destroyed. the spread of intelligence amongst wild animals. tiger passes. difference of opinion as to how tigers seize their prey. the use of the paw in killing animals and people. the carrying powers of tigers and panthers. reasons for not sitting on the ground when tiger shooting. illustration of risk of sitting on the ground. caution should be exercised when approaching a tiger supposed to be dead. another illustration of the risk of sitting on the ground. illustration of the importance of sitting motionless when obliged to sit on the ground. an exciting rush after a wounded tiger. coolness and courage exhibited by a native. estimate of danger of tiger shooting on foot. should not be pursued by those whoso lives are of cash value to their families. people killed by wounded tigers. difficulty of seeing a tiger in the jungle. distinguishing sight of natives superior to that of europeans. tigers easily recover from wounds. effects on the nerves and heart from the roar of a wounded tiger. precautions that should be exercised by sportsmen with damaged hearts. the lame tiger. met in the road at night. tying out live baits for tigers. interesting instance of tiger stalking up to a live bait. another illustration of risk of approaching a tiger apparently dead. importance of using a chain when tying out a bait. sport spoiled from a chain not being used. tigers eat tigers sometimes. illustration of this. the tiger's power of ascending trees. interesting instance of a jackal warning tigers of danger. tiger put to flight by the rearing of a horse. effect on a tiger of the human voice. tigers often undecided how to act. tigers form plans and act in concert. illustration of this. tigers of western ghaut forests, if unmolested, rarely dangerous to man. very dangerous man-eating tigers have existed in the interior of mysore. man-eaters enter villages. a tiger tearing off the thatch of a hut. great courage and determination shown by natives in connection with tigers. illustrations of this. the life of a planter saved by a dog attacking the tiger. interesting behaviour of the dog after mr. a. was wounded. treatment of wounds from tigers. a native recovers from thirteen lacerated wounds and two on the head. a mad tiger. position of body that should be adopted when waiting for a tiger. importance of this. tiger purring with evident satisfaction after having killed a man. chapter v.--bears, panthers, jungle dogs, snakes, jungle pets. bear has two cubs at a time. bears rapidly decreasing. said by natives to be killed and eaten by tigers. instances of tigers killing bears. bears dreaded by natives more than any animal in the jungle. probable cause of their often attacking people. illustration of this. attacked by an unwounded and unprovoked bear. if suddenly attacked by an animal at close quarters rush towards it. wanton attacks made by bears on people. approaching caves and getting bears out of them. great value of stink balls. how not to attempt to get a bear out of a cave. am caught by a hill fire. amusing incident at a bear's cave. a man wounded. value of having a good dog when out bear shooting. am knocked down by a bear. panthers. should be hunted with dogs. panther probably feigning death. a man killed. the wild boar the most daring animal in the jungles. illustration in point. the great power of the wild boar. my manager charged by one. boars make shelters for themselves in the rains. the flesh of the boar not a safe food. jungle dogs. said by natives to kill tigers. the use, said by the natives to be made by the dogs, of their acrid urine. a cross between the jungle and the domestic dog. curious incident connected with jungle dogs. great increase of jungle dogs. a reward should be offered for their destruction. many reported deaths from snake bites probably poisoning cases. reasons in support of this view. from 1855 to 1893 only one death from snake bite in my neighbourhood. the cobra not an aggressive snake. unless hurt or provoked will probably never bite. illustrations in support of this view. snakes keep a good look out. tigers and snakes run away. many snakes are harmless, and some useful. wild animals probably require to be taught by their parents to dread man. a tame stag. a tame flying squirrel. a tame hornbill. probable cause of pets not caring to rejoin their wild congeners. some remarks on guns. the paradox. chapter vi.--bison shooting. unless molested the bison never attacks man. an attempt to photograph a solitary bull. description of the bison. height of bull bison. account of an interesting friendship between a tame sambur deer and a bull bison. bison are often attacked by tigers. interesting instance of a tiger stalking up to a solitary bull. the tiger and bull knocked over right and left. precautions that should be taken when following up a wounded bull. a tracker killed by a bull. following a wounded bull. stalking up to a herd. the value of peppermint lozenges. how a wounded bull may be lost. the value of a dog when following up a wounded bull. wonderful bounding power of the bison. a narrow escape from a charging bull. special act required for preservation of cow bison. chapter vii.--gold. the earliest tradition as regards gold in mysore. explanation of gold being found on the ears of corn. lieutenant warren's investigations in 1800. native methods of procuring gold by washing and mining. depths to which old native pits were sunk. probable cause of the cessation of mining at considerable depths. in 1873 leave first given to a european to mine for gold. remarkable absence in mysore of old records or inscriptions relating to gold mining. mr. lavelle in 1873 applied for right to mine in kolar. of the mines subsequently started all practically closed in 1882, except the mysore mine, which began to get gold in end of 1884. had the mysore company not persevered the kolar field would probably have been closed. depths to which mines have been sunk. the champion lode. general description of the kolar field. notes by a lady resident. life on the field. gardening. visitors from england. the volunteers at the mines. sport near the field. servants and supplies. elevation and the climate. a healthy one. mining and the extraction of gold. the rates of wages. no advances given to labourers. expenditure by the companies in mysore in wages. consequential results therefrom on the prosperity of the people. measures which the state should take to encourage the opening of new mines. royalty on mines that are not paying should be reduced or abolished. act required to check gold stealing. some summary process should be adopted to check gold thefts. want of water on the field. measures proposed for conserving it. the want of tree planting. other auriferous tracts in mysore. mr. r. bruce foote's report. brief analysis of mr. bruce foote's report on the various auriferous tracts. the central group of auriferous rocks. the west-central group. the western group. expects that many other old abandoned workings will be discovered in the jungly tracts. an inexhaustible supply of beautiful porphyry near seringapatam and close to a railway. chapter viii.--caste. valuable to rural populations. my inquiry limited to its rural and practical effects on life. its moral effects as regards the connection of the sexes. its value in limiting the use of alcohol. morality in manjarabad superior to that of england. widows may contract a kind of marriage. the value of caste in socially segregating inferior from superior races. the mental value of the separation caused by caste. the separation caused by caste has not hindered advancement amongst the rural population. the coorgs an instance of this. disadvantages of caste as regards town populations. instances of the evils of caste amongst the higher classes in the towns. inquiry as to how far caste has acted beneficially in opposing the existing interpretation of christianity. worthlessness of pure dogmas when adopted by a degraded people. native christians readily revert to devil worship in cases of danger or sickness. native christians neither better nor worse than the low-classes from which they are usually drawn. experience of the abbé dubois. the upper class peasantry having to give up caste would be injured by being converted. the town population would not be injured by conversion. causes of the outcry against caste. its alleged tendencies. the way to retain the good and lessen the evil of caste. to become a christian our missionaries compel the entire abandonment of caste. their version of christianity wisely rejected. mischievous action of our missionaries as regards caste. their erroneous views a bar to the progress of christianity. bishop heber's "letter on caste." bishop wilson's fatal "circular" requiring absolute abandonment of caste by christians. secession of native christians in consequence of the "circular." erroneous views contained in the report of the madras commissioners. views of the tanjore missionaries as regards caste. mr. schwartz's opinions. the tanjore missionaries not unfavourable to the retention of caste by their converts. inquiry into the origin of caste. no connection between caste and idolatry. they may and do exist apart. caste as it exists in ceylon. the way in which caste probably did originate. the jews a strictly guarded caste. caste difficulties as regards taking the sacrament. its sanitary advantages. caste no bar to the exercise of hospitality and charity. advantages of caste in increasing hospitality and charity. caste has a levelling as well as a keeping down tendency. instances of people rising into a superior caste. rigidity of caste laws much exaggerated. they vary in different places. occasional violations of caste law condoned. remarkable instance of this. infringement of caste when out tiger shooting. instance of variation in caste law. caste apt to be made the scapegoat of every indian difficulty. mr. pope's remarks on the effects of caste. mr. raikes's remarks on the evil effects of caste. thinks that it is the cause of infanticide. instance to show that infanticide can exist amongst people free from caste. polyandrous habits not necessarily a cause of infanticide. summary of principal conclusions arrived at. curious customs of the marasa wokul tribe in mysore. the effect of caste on the transmission of acquired aptitudes. chapter ix.--coffee planting in coorg. description and the history of coorg. conquered and annexed by us in 1834. my first visit to coorg in 1857. the pioneer planters. planting without shade caused the failure of many of the plantations. after shade was introduced coffee flourished. european and native plantations. their number and the probable yield from them. expenditure per acre. the kinds of manure used. experiments by an analytical chemist. proportions of manure varied according to the condition of the coffee. the time in which manure should be applied. applications of burnt earth. widespread results arising from the expenditure on plantations in coorg. rates of wages, and system of procuring labourers. leaf disease and borer. remedies experimented on as regards leaf disease and borer. primary cause of the existence of so much borer. the terms on which government lands are sold for planting. reasons why certain of the reserved state forests should be given out for planting. cinchona and ceara rubber planting tried and abandoned. coffee seed introduced from brazil, and other countries, without any apparent advantage. liberian coffee tried experimentally. the capital spent on labour and the consequential results of this on agriculture. my visit to coorg in 1891. the route from mysore. the coffee works at hunsur. interesting adventure with a panther. to mr. rose's estate near polibetta. description of bamboo district. life in the bamboo district. the club, church, and co-operative store. visits to plantations. left for mercara. the retreat. mr. meynell's house. its kitchen arrangements, etc. mr. mann's coffee garden at mercara. the large profits from it. to the hallery estate six miles from mercara. visits to several estates. to the coovercolley estate. mr. mangles's. left coovercolley for manjarabad in mysore. general observations on coffee planting in coorg. its flourishing condition. more attention should be paid to shade. defects as regards shade. more attention to it would lessen borer. manures used on the best kept up estates. the profits that may be expected from good, well-managed estates. the great want of a game preservation act. chapter x.--coffee planting in mysore. an agreeable life for an active intelligent man who must work somewhere. qualities necessary to make a successful planter. the work not hard. the climate agreeable and healthy. the elevation of the coffee districts above sea level. the changes that may be taken in the slack season by planters. the durability of well-shaded plantations. shaded plantations a very permanent property. the profits of coffee. case of an estate bought with borrowed money. analysis of yield, expenses, and profits on a manjarabad estate. probable profits on estates in the northern part of mysore. from want of information coffee plantations in mysore not saleable at good prices. failure of coffee in ceylon. this gave coffee generally an undeservedly bad name. early notices of coffee in india. its early history in mysore. failure of the variety of coffee first introduced. the successful introduction of the coorg variety of coffee. mysore coffee fetches the highest price in the london market. original mysore coffee land tenures. the new coffee land rules introduced in 1885. in the south of mysore all coffee land probably taken up. in north, land reported to be still available. planters well satisfied with the government. advances to labourers. legislation as regards them much needed. proposed measure to meet the advances to labourers difficulty. legislation required to amend the extraditions laws. the new cattle trespass act. the want of a wild birds' protection act. the neglect of game preservation. in consequence of game destruction tigers forced to prey heavily on village cattle. great losses in consequence. cruelty of native hunters. evidences of extermination of game birds. the want of a government agricultural chemist. the discovery of a new hybrid coffee plant. enormous yield from it. chapter xi.--shade. general remarks on the importance of shade. the governing principle as regards shade for coffee. the most desirable kinds of shade trees. those of less desirable kinds. the jack. its merits and defects. the attí. good when young, less desirable when old. the noga. the objections to relying on this tree. other kinds of less desirable shade trees. _albizzia moluccana._ said to be a valuable tree for shade. methods adopted when forming a shaded plantation. great advantages of clearing without burning the forest. the order in which shade trees should be planted. the young shade trees require shade. the charcoal tree a good nurse. the management of young shade trees. the evils arising from excessive trimming of side branches of shade trees. planting under the shade of the original forest trees. the value of leaving marginal belts of forest. the danger of a running fire. the quantity of shade required for varying aspects and gradients. the great differences between northern and southern aspects as regards heat. western and eastern aspects. importance of attending to the gradients, the quality of the soil, and its exposure to drying winds. elevation and rainfall govern quantity of shade that should be kept. the thinning, and lopping lower boughs of shade trees. much knowledge and experience required in judicious thinning. more shade will be required as trees become lofty. importance of at once planting up spots where shade is deficient, in order to keep out the borer insect. planting out young shade trees. the removal of parasites from shade trees. preparation of shade tree cuttings before planting out. how to grow young charcoal-tree plants. valuable as nurses. chapter xii.--manure. how shade complicates the economical and effective manuring of coffee. bulk manures as a rule should not be applied to land directly under shade trees, but to more open spaces. less manure should be applied to coffee directly under shade trees. manure should be varied on different aspects. the quantity that should be annually supplied. bones may be seldom used if lime is regularly applied. a considerable amount of manure required even though the loss from crops is small. a test of land being sufficiently supplied with manure. the quantity of manure probably required. the quantity of manure that should be put down at a time. danger from over-manuring, especially in ease of light soils. ridges should be more heavily manured than hollows. the time of year when manures should be applied. advantages of manuring at the end of the monsoon. bearing that the time of applying manures has on leaf disease. mr. marshall ward's remarks as to this. the various methods of applying manures. in the case of steep land the manure should be buried in trenches. farmyard manure. its great value for coffee. substitutes for farmyard manure. value of forest land top soil as a manure, and as a substitute for farmyard manure. the comparative cost of farmyard manure and top soil. remarkable result from an application of pink-coloured soil. if top soil costs the same as farmyard manure the former is better. reasons for this being so. a compost of pink soil and manures may be made, which will equal good farmyard manure, and cost but little more. the manurial value of pulp, and of dry fallen leaves. manurial value of green twigs of trees, ferns and wood ashes. night soil. lime. bonedust. fish manure. oil-cakes. proportion of phosphate of lime in castor cake. nitrates of potash and soda. potash. a manure of doubtful value in the case of mysore soils. attempt to ascertain value of potash as a manure for coffee. how to grow young plants in old soils. coprolites, discovery of, in mysore. an agricultural chemist wanted for the province. a careful record should be kept of manure applied. bringing round a neglected plantation. steps that should be taken. manurial experiments. native manurial practises should be studied. application of various soils as top dressing by native cultivators. the best and most economical way of manuring coffee has yet to be discovered. manurial experiments need not be costly. chapter xiii.--nurseries, topping, handling, pruning, etc. the selection of seed. irrigated coffee near bangalore. mr. meenakshia's gardens. the selection of a site for a nursery. the best time for putting down the seed. plants should be grown in baskets. the pits for vacancy plants. topping. the best heights for. the time when trees should be topped. handling and the removal of suckers. its importance as regards rot and leaf disease. pruning. management of pruning, with reference to rot and leaf disease. the removal of moss and rubbing down the trees. the cultivation of the soil. difficulties connected with the proper cultivation of the soil. the best tools for digging. renovation pits. renovation pits valuable as water-holes. their value in connection with water conservation. chapter xiv.--the diseases of coffee. leaf disease, or attacks of _hemeleïa vastatrix_. mr. marshall ward's report on leaf disease in ceylon. leaf disease probably always existed in mysore. said to have caused much loss on some estates. losses of leaves from other causes commonly attributed to leaf disease. no reason to fear it if land is well cultivated, manured, and shaded. evidence that shade can control leaf disease. bad kinds of shade trees cannot control, but increase leaf disease. conditions under which leaf disease is liable to occur in the cases of good soil under good shade trees. the importance of manure and cultivation with reference to leaf disease. mr. graham anderson's, mr. marshall ward's and mr. brooke mockett's opinions. the coorg plant not so liable to be attacked as the chick plant. the borer insect. borer is worst under bad kinds of shade trees, but can be controlled by good caste trees. conditions favorable to attacks of the borer. reasons for thinking that the usual practice of destroying all bored trees is of little use. the borer can only be suppressed by adequate shade. rot, or _pellicularia koleroga_. aggravated by want of free circulation of air. measures for lessening rot. importance of meeting monsoon with mature leaves on the coffee trees. green-bugs. none in mysore, receipt for killing them used on nilgiri hills. chapter xv.--the selection of land for plantations, and the valuation of coffee property. much uncleared land available in northern part of mysore. the various classes of forest lands. much land unsuitable from over heavy rainfall. mr. graham anderson's return of rainfall. his interesting memorandum. elevation of plantations above sea level. with a few exceptions not much difference in value of the coffee of various estates. the especial importance of aspect in mysore. the most favourable gradients. various kinds of soil. comparative healthiness of the different coffee districts in mysore. various considerations to be taken into account when valuing land. an old established estate may not necessarily be an old plantation. the quality of the shade ought largely to affect a valuation of a property. facilities that should be considered when valuing a property. impossible to offer opinion as to value of coffee property, till facts as regard it are widely known, and the line is opened to western coast. chapter xvi.--how to make an estate pay, and the order of the work. inferior parts of estates should be thrown out of cultivation. the losses caused by giving advances. advances not so necessary as formerly, as labour rates are higher now. advances to maistries to bring labour. minor sources of loss. the order in which the various works should be performed. chapter xvii.--the management of absentee estates. "the fact is, we all require a little looking after." advisable to give manager an interest in the estate. managers for estates in mysore require to be very carefully selected. a clear understanding essential between proprietor and manager. powers of attorney should be carefully drawn up. the proprietor entirely in the power of the manager. the value of the eye of the owner. every estate should have an information book. points to be entered in the information book. hints to managers. chapter xviii.--the planter's bungalow and the amenities of an estate. the best form of bungalow. the kitchen arrangements. the aspect of the bungalow and ground around it. cash value of the amenities of an estate. the flower garden. building materials. how to keep out white ants. coolie lines. tree planting for timber and fuel. precautions for the conservation of health. hints as regards food, and the table generally. suggestions as to books and newspapers. importance of having some interesting pursuit. the minor amenities of an estate. the conditions of a planter's life now ameliorated by railways. mysore out of the reach of house of commons faddists. advantages of this. chapter xix.--the indian silver question. on june 26th, 1893, gold standard introduced and mints closed to free coinage of silver. movement originated in india by the servants of government, and from no other class whatever. some merchants afterwards joined in the agitation. gold to be received at the mints at a ratio of 1s. 4d. per rupee. sovereigns in payment of sums due to government to be received at the rate of fifteen rupees a sovereign. cash effects of the measure. for benefit of english reader figures given in pounds sterling, a rupee taken at 2s. rupee prices little changed in india, china and ceylon. difficulty of forming exact estimates as to this. if gold value of silver can be forced up from 1s. 3d. to 1s. 4d., indian government will gain about one and a half million sterling on its home remittances, and the people lose about seven millions on their exports. the indian finance minister contemplates a rise to 1s. 6d. eventually. a rise to 1s. 6d. would give the exchequer a gain on home remittances of £4,500,000 and entail on the people a loss £21,000,000, equal to a tax of 21 per cent. on the exports of india. effects of this on the producers. the producers of coffee in mysore alone would lose £56,000 a year were exchange forced up to 1s. 4d., and £156,000 a year were it raised to 1s. 6d. all producers in other parts of india of articles of export would be similarly affected. if the rupee is artificially forced up by the state, the shock to confidence will repel capital and injure credit. the first effect will show itself in a lessened demand for labour. the effects of increased employment on the finances. the bearing of the measure on famines and scarcity. it will intensify the effects of both, and make them more costly to the state. the measure has arrayed all classes against the government, except its own servants and a very few of the merchants. the effects of the measure on the tea-planters of india and ceylon. it must heavily affect both. if ceylon establishes a mint, tea-planters there will have advantages over their rivals in india. coffee planters of india and ceylon will he prejudicially affected in their competition with silver-using countries. evil effects of the measure on the trade, manufactures, and railways of india. the measure rotten from financial, political, and economical points of view. the viceroy and the supporters of the measure have admitted that it must be injurious to the producers of india. sir william hunter's admirable survey of the former and present financial condition of india. the viceroy has publicly declared that cheap silver has acted as "a stimulus" to the progress of india. the unfair action of lord herschell's committee. not a single representative of the producing classes examined. but the majority of witnesses were dead against the monetary policy of the government. the currency committee reported against the weight of the evidence. the most important points not inquired into at all by the committee. the indian government and currency committee financially panic-stricken, and in dread of effects of repeal of sherman act. the financial condition not such as to warrant panic. taxational resources not exhausted. sir william hunter's statement proves that the financial conditions were full of hope. the dread that the repeal of the sherman act might reduce rupee to 1s. examination of the subject on that supposition. by a rate of 1s. a rupee the government would lose about seven millions on its home remittances, and the people of india gain fourteen millions on their exports. mr. gladstone's government adopted home rule bill, and currency measure in one year. both forced on by tyrannical action. gladstonian action as to opium commission equally tyrannical. the monetary measure a policy of protection for the benefit of the silver-using countries that compete with india. some of the evils the measure, if successful, must cause. the indian finance minister declared that "it ought not to be attempted unless under the pressure of necessity." no necessity arisen. an independent body wanted to efficiently check the government. the duke of wellington's opinion. india and mexico compared. mr. carden's consular report. cheap silver advantageous to mexico. the losses to the government and railways which arise from gold payments are, comparatively speaking, a fixed quantity, while the gain to the people from cheap silver, produces consequential benefits far beyond reach of calculation. these remarks equally applicable to india. wanted, a government that can see this. chapter i. introductory.--progress in mysore. as i now turn my thoughts back to the year 1855, when, being then in my eighteenth year, i sailed for india to seek my fortunes in the jungles of mysore, it is difficult to believe that the journey is still the same, or that india is still the same country on the shores of which i landed so long ago. but after all, as a matter of fact, the journey is, practically speaking, not the same, and still less is india the same india which i knew in 1855. for the route across egypt, which was then partly by rail, partly by water, and partly across the desert in transits, the bumping of which i even now distinctly remember, has been exchanged for the suez canal, and the frequent steamers with their accelerated rate of speed have altered all the relations of distances, and on landing at bombay the traveller of 1855 would now find it difficult to recognize the place. for then there were the old fort walls and ditches, and narrow streets filled with a straggling throng of carts and people, while now the fort walls and ditches no longer exist, and the traveller drives into a city with public buildings, broad roads and beautiful squares and gardens, that would do credit to any capital in the world, and sees around him all the signs of advanced and advancing civilization. then as, perhaps, he views the scene from the tower of the elphinstone college, and looks down on the beautiful city, on the masts of the shipping lying in the splendid harbour, and on the moving throngs of people to whom we have given peace and order, what thoughts must fill his mind! and what thoughts further, as on turning to view the scene without the city he sees on one side of it the tall chimneys of the numerous mills which have sprung up in recent times, and which tell of the conjunction of english skill and capital with the cheap hand-labour of the east--a combination that is destined, and at no very distant period ahead, to produce remarkable effects. but i must not wander here into the consideration of matters to which i shall again have occasion to refer when i come to remark on the wonderful progress made in india in recent years owing to the introduction of english skill and capital, and shall now briefly describe my route to the western jungles of mysore. when i landed in bombay, in 1855, the journey to the native state of mysore, now so easy and simple, was one requiring much time and no small degree of trouble, for the railway lines had then advanced but little--the first twenty miles in all india having been only opened near bombay in 1853. a land journey then was not to be thought of, and as there were no coasting-steamers, i was compelled to take a passage in a patama (native sailing craft) which was proceeding down the western coast with a cargo of salt which was stowed away in the after-part of the vessel. over this was a low roofed and thatched house, the flooring of which was composed of strips of split bamboo laid upon the salt. on this i placed my mattress and bedding. my provisions for the voyage were very simple--a coop with some fowls, some tea, sugar, cooking utensils, and other small necessaries of life. a portuguese servant i had hired in bombay cooked my dinner and looked after me generally. we sailed along the sometimes bare, and occasionally palm-fringed, shores with that indifference to time and progress which is often the despair and not unfrequently the envy of europeans. the hubble-bubble passed from mouth to mouth, and the crew whiled away the evening hours with their monotonous chants. we always anchored at night; sometimes we stopped for fishing, and once ran into a small bay--one of those charming scenic gems which can only be found in the eastern seas--to land some salt and take in cocoa-nuts and other items. as for the port of mangalore, for which i was bound, it seemed to be, though only about 450 miles from bombay, an immense distance away, and practically was nearly as far as bombay is from suez. at last, after a nine days' sail, we lay to off the mouth of the harbour into which, for reasons best known to himself, the captain of the craft did not choose to enter, and i was taken ashore in a canoe to be kindly received by the judge of the collectorate of south kanara, to whom i had a letter of introduction. after spending some pleasant days at mangalore i set out for manjarabad, the talook or county which borders on the south kanara district--in what is called a manshiel--a kind of open-sided cot slung to a bamboo pole which projects far enough in front and rear to be placed with ease on the shoulders of the bearers. four of these men are brought into play at once, while four others run along to relieve their fellows at intervals. i started in the afternoon, and was carried up the banks of a broad river by the side of which hero and there the road wound pleasantly along. in the course of a few hours night fell, and then all nature seemed to come into active life with the hum of insects, the croaking of frogs, and various other indications of an abounding animal life. presently i was lulled to sleep by the monotonous chant of the bearers--sleep only partially broken when changes of the whole set of bearers had to be made--and awoke the following morning to find myself some fifty miles from the coast, and amidst the gorges of the ghauts, with vast heights towering upwards, and almost all around, while the river, which had now sunk to what in english ideas would still seem to be one of considerable size, appeared as if it had just emerged from the navel of a mountain-barrier some miles ahead. after a few miles more we passed the last hamlet of what was then called the company's country, and leaving the inhabited lands--if indeed in a european sense they may be called so--behind us, began to ascend the twenty miles of forest-clad gorges which lead up into the tableland of mysore. the ascent was necessarily slow, and it was not till late in the afternoon that i saw, some 500 feet above me, and at a total elevation of about 3,200 feet above sea-level, the white walls of the only planter's bungalow in the southern part of mysore. to this pioneer of our civilization--mr. frederick green, who had begun work in 1843--i had a letter of introduction, and was most kindly received, and put in the way of acquiring land which i started on and still hold. to the south, in the adjacent little province of coorg--now, as we shall afterwards see, an extensive coffee-field--the first european plantation had been started the year before, i.e., 1854, while to the north some fifty to seventy miles away the country was, in a european sense, occupied by only three english, or, to be exact, scotch planters. in 1856 i started active life as a planter on my own account, about twelve miles away from the estate of mr. green, while in the same year two other planters--scotchmen by the way--made their appearance. the southern part of mysore was thus occupied by four planters, and we were all about twelve miles from each other. it is difficult to conceive the state of isolation in which we lived, and as we were all europeanly speaking single handed, and could seldom leave home, we often had not for weeks together an opportunity of seeing a single white face, and so rare indeed was a visit from a neighbour that, when one was coming to see me, i used to sit on a hill watching for the first glimpse of him, like a shipwrecked mariner on a desert island watching for the glimpse of a sail on the horizon. as for the indian mutinies, which broke out the year after i had started work, they might have been going on in norway as far as we were concerned; none of us at all appreciated the importance and gravity of the events that were occurring, and one of my neighbours said that it was not worth while trying to understand the situation, and that we had better wait for the book that would be sure to come out when things had settled down. and the native population around us appeared to know as little of the mutinies as we did. they seemed to be aware that some disturbance was going on somewhere in the north, and that represented the whole extent of their knowledge of the subject. i have described our life as having been one of great isolation so far as european society was concerned, but i never felt it to be a dull one, nor did my neighbours ever complain of it, though we only took a holiday of a few weeks in the year. but we had plenty of work, and big game shooting, and the occupation was an interesting one, and as i even now return with pleasure every winter to my planter's life, this proves that my earlier days must have left behind them many pleasant associations. and the occupation and sport were really all we had to depend on. we had few books, nor any means of getting them, for i need hardly say that pioneer planters, who have to keep themselves and their coffee till the latter comes into bearing, cannot afford to buy anything that can be dispensed with. but after all this perhaps was no disadvantage, for, as a great moral philosopher has pointed out, nothing tends to weaken the resources of the mind so much as a miscellaneous course of reading unaccompanied (as it usually is, i may remark) by reflection. the management of people, the business of an estate, the exercise of the inventive powers, the cultivation of method, the sharpening of the observing and combining faculties, which are so well developed by big game shooting, yield real education, or the leading out and development of the mental resources, while books provide the individual merely with instruction which has often a tendency to cramp and even to fossilize the mind. i have said at the outset, that the journey to india is not the same as it was in 1855, and that still less is india the same india, and i may certainly say that still less is western mysore the western mysore of 1855, except that its beautiful scenery is as beautiful as ever. for our planting is not like that of ceylon, where the planter, like the locust, finds a paradise in front to leave a desert in his rear--a desert of bare lull sides from which the beautiful forest has been entirely swept away, while the most valuable constituents of the soil have been washed down to the river beds. and when standing in 1893 on a lull in my district of manjarabad, and looking around, i can see no sign of change in the landscape from the days of 1855, except that the woodland paths leading from village to village are much more distinctly marked, owing to the great increase of labourers employed in the numerous native and european plantations, which now stretch in an unbroken line along all the western border of mysore. and no sign of change is apparent, because all the coffee is planted either under the shade of the original forest trees, or under the shade of trees which have been planted to take their place. but all else is practically and largely changed by the agency of a universal progress, which has been brought about by british government and the introduction of british capital, skill, and energy. and this progress, i am glad to be able to say, has benefited all classes of the community, and the labouring classes by far the most of all, and the results as regards those are so striking, so interesting, and so much more widely diffused than could at first sight be thought possible, and are, as i shall show, of such vast importance to the finances of the state, that they are well worthy of special attention. had the government been aware of the enormous financial value to the state of the introduction of english capital, i feel sure that much greater efforts would have been made to stimulate european enterprise, and that the progress of india would have been much accelerated all along the line. when i started my plantation in 1858, the pay of a labourer was 2 rupees 4 annas (4s. 6d.) a month. it is now, throughout the numerous plantations in mysore, from six to seven rupees a month, and a labourer can live on about two rupees a month. such a statement made of any country would indicate a satisfactory degree of progress; but whereas in england it would simply mean a greater ability in the working classes to live in an improved condition, and perhaps some improvement in the condition of the shopkeepers with whom they dealt, in india it means the creation of a social and ever wide-spreading revolution. for when in india capital is introduced, and employment on a large scale is afforded to the people, the poorer of the peasant classes are at once able to free themselves from debt, and the labourers soon save enough money to enable them to start in agriculture, coffee culture, or any culture within, their reach. the result of this, in my experience, has been most remarkable. when i started in manjarabad, for instance, the planters relied solely on labour procured from the adjacent villages. but now the local labourer is almost a thing of the past, for he has taken to agriculture and coffee culture, and now only occasionally works for a short time to earn some money to pay his taxes. when this change began, the planters had of course to go further afield for labour, but merely to produce over again a similar result by enabling labourers from distant villages to do what the local labourers in the coffee districts had done, and thus for labour we have to operate on ever-widening circles, till at last i have heard it remarked that the kanarese language is often of little use, and the native overseers on my estate have complained that they now often cannot make the labourers understand them. and this of course is not surprising, as at one moment the overseer may have to deal with labourers from any one of the villages between mysore and the western sea, and at another with people from villages in the madras presidency, far away on the route to the bay of bengal. field after field, and village after village, has thus been irrigated by that capital for which india thirsts, and which, as we have seen, produces such wide-spreading social effects on the welfare of the people, and, consequently, on the resources of the state--enabling land to be more largely and fully developed, wells to be dug, gardens to be made, and the people to pay with greater ease the demands of the government. but there is yet another point of great importance to notice as regards the introduction into india of european capital, with its accompanying effects--effects which largely enhance its value--namely, those arising from setting the natives practical examples of both method, skill, and energetic action. i allude to the bearing of these forces upon famine--a subject well worthy of some passing remarks, more especially because in mysore we can furnish proofs of the value in times of famine of having europeans settled in the country. the actual money value of the infuse of english capitalists, and its bearing on the resources of the state, and in enabling the people the better to contest with famine and scarcity, is sufficiently apparent, but it was only when the terrible famine of 1876-77 (which cost mysore the loss of about a fifth of its population, an immense sum of money, and crippled its resources for years) broke out that the value of having a european agency ready at hand to grapple with famine, and honestly administer the funds available, was absolutely proved. it would be tedious to go into this subject at any length, indeed i have not space to do so, and i can only say that, as far as i could learn, the only satisfactory treatment of the great famine was that initiated and carried out by the planters, or, to be at once just and exact, i should rather say that the system adopted was initiated by one of our leading planters--mr. graham anderson--who, and entirely at his own cost, was the first to start and maintain on his estate a nursery for children. he saw that if the parents could only be relieved of their children the former could work and be able to maintain themselves, while all their efforts would be insufficient to maintain at once themselves and their children. the nursery system that was then initiated by mr. anderson, was adopted by other planters who were subsequently aided by the assistance of money from the mansion house fund, and mr. anderson was formally appointed by the government as president of the relief operations in the southern mysore coffee district, and, owing to his energy, example, and administrative still, most satisfactory results were obtained. i have before me, and written by mr. anderson, a full account of all the famine relief operations he had charge of, showing the assistance afforded by the planters in employing labour from which, owing to the weakness of the people, very little return could be got; and moreover by sheltering in their lines the wandering starvelings who were moving about the country. i can only regret that want of space prevents my going into the subject more in detail. i must, however, at least find room for his concluding remarks, in order to deliver for him a message he has long been desirous of sending to those of the english public who subscribed to the mansion house fund. "if there is one thing," writes mr. anderson, "i am certain of it is this, that although some people think that natives have no gratitude, there has never been anything concerning which the natives have been so loud in their praise as the unbounded generosity of the london public, who in time of fearful distress came forward with money to feed and clothe hundreds and thousands of starving poor. many a poor woman and man have asked me to express blessings to 'the people of my village' who rescued them in their dire distress. perhaps you can give this message, which, as an outsider, i have never had an opportunity of doing." i only wish i could add that the gratitude of the government was equal to that of the natives. yes, mr. graham anderson was an outsider, and the government (mysore was under british rule at the time) was evidently determined that he should remain so in the fullest sense of the word, for he never even received a letter of thanks for his valuable and gratuitous services, or the smallest notice of any kind. i have no hesitation in praising most highly the action of the planters, because, though one of them, i was not in india at the time, and, though my estate manager took an early and active part in relief operations, i had nothing personally to do with the famine relief work. the subject of famines is of such vast importance to the people, the government, and all who have any stake in india, that i think it well to offer here some remarks on them, and also suggest some measures for their prevention, or perhaps i should rather say for their mitigation. the causes that would lead to an increase of famines in india were fully pointed out by me in 1871 in the "experiences of a planter," in letters to the "times," and in the evidence i gave when examined by the india finance committee of the house of commons in 1872. there were two principal causes--the spread of the use of money instead of grain as a medium of exchange, and such a restricted development of communications that, while these were sufficient to drain the countries in the interior of their grain, they were not sufficiently developed to enable the grain to be brought back again in sufficient quantities when it was necessary to do so in times of famine. till, then, communications were developed to an adequate extent, it was quite clear that india would be much more exposed to risk from famines than she was in the days when grain was largely used as a medium of exchange, and when, besides, grain, from the want of communication, was largely kept in the country. the people, in short, in the olden days, and even for some time after i landed in india, hoarded grain, and in times of scarcity they encroached upon their supplies of buried grain, whereas now they hoard money, which in time of famine can go but a very short way in buying grain. the statement that an increase of famines would be sure to ensue from the causes above indicated is amply corroborated by the facts. there is no evidence to show that droughts have increased, but there can be no doubt that in comparatively recent times famines and scarcities have. and in looking over the list of famines from 1769 to 1877, i find that, comparing the first 84 years of the period in question with the years from then up to 1877, famines have more than doubled in number, and scarcities, causing great anxiety to the state, seem certainly to be increasing. that the latter are so we have strong evidence in mysore, and in looking over the annual addresses of the dewan at the meeting of the representative assembly of mysore, i am struck with the frequent allusion to scarcities and grave apprehensions of famine. in his address of 1881, only four years after the great famine of 1876-77, the dewan refers to "the period of intense anxiety through which the government and the people have passed owing to the recent failure of the rains. but," he adds, "such occasional failure of rains is almost a normal condition of the province, and the government must always remain in constant anxiety as to the fearful results which must follow from them." in his address of 1884 the dewan says that "the condition of the province is again causing grave anxiety." in the address of 1886 the dewan says "this is the first year since the rendition of the province (in 1881) in which the prospects of the season have caused no anxiety to the government." but in the address of 1891 lamentations again occur, and we find the dewan congratulating the members on the narrow escape, owing to rain having fallen just in time, they had had from famine. but our able dewan--sir k. sheshadri iyer, k.c.i.e.--has taken measures which must ultimately place the province in a safe position, or at least in as safe a position as it can be placed. he has seen, and it has been amply proved by our experience in the madras presidency during the famine of 1876-77, that the only irrigation work that can withstand a serious drought is a deep well, and he has brought out a most admirable measure for encouraging the making of them by the ryots. the principal features of this are that money, to be repaid gradually over a long series of years, is to be advanced by the state on the most easy terms, and that, in the event of a ryot taking a loan, and water not being found, or found in inadequate quantity, the government takes upon itself the entire loss. but the results from this highly liberal and valuable measure cannot be adequately arrived at for many years to come, and in the meanwhile the risks from famine go on, and as the dewan has seen that these can only be immediately grappled with by an extension of the railway system, he has always been, anxious to make a line to the western frontier of mysore, if the madras government would agree to carry it on to mangalore on the western coast. but the madras government felt itself unable to find funds to carry out the project, and hence mysore, all along its western frontier, was, from a railway point of view, completely imprisoned, and there seemed to be no prospect of anything being done to connect the province with the western seaboard for many years to come. however, a mysore planter last year sought a personal interview with viscount cross, the secretary of state for india, who has always taken a great interest in railway extensions, and the result of this was that lord cross initiated action which resulted in prompt steps being taken. early this year a preliminary survey of the route from a point on the line in the interior of mysore, _viâ_ the manjarabad ghaut, to mangalore was made, and i am in a position to state that the completion of this much and long-wanted line may be regarded as a thing of the near future. after this line has been made a line will be constructed from hassan to mysore, _viâ_ holî nursipur, and yedatora, and from mysore a line will be run, _viâ_ nunjengode[2] to erode, the junction of the madras and south indian railways. i may mention here that sir andrew clarke, in his able minute of 1879 on indian harbours, says that "mangalore undoubtedly admits of being converted into a useful harbour," though he adds that "the project may lie over until the prospects of a railway connecting it with the interior are better than at present." as the immediate prospects of a line being made are quite secure, it is of great importance to call attention to this matter now, as it is to the manifest interest of both governments that the harbour of mangalore should be improved as soon as possible. after having done so much to contend against famine-producing causes, it may seem that the dewan might rest and be thankful; but it must be considered that, though railways will undoubtedly enable the state to save life, it will have to pay a ruinously heavy charge whenever a widespread and serious drought occurs, and, sooner or later, it seems inevitable that such a drought must occur. and it is therefore perfectly evident, that without the extension of deep wells the province cannot be placed in a thoroughly sound financial position. it is, then, of obvious importance to remove at once the great obstacle that stands in the way of the rapid addition to the number of deep wells. that obstacle, and a most formidable obstacle it is, as i shall fully show, lies in the fact that the present form of land tenure in mysore (under which also about four-fifths of the land of british india are held) does not provide a sufficient security for investors in landed improvements. by the existing tenure the land is held by the occupier from the state at a rental which is fixed for thirty years, and after that it is liable to augmentation. the government, it is true, has declared that it will not tax improvements, and that, for instance, if a man digs a well no augmentation of rent will be demanded for the productive power thus added to the land, but it has reserved to itself wide powers of enhancing the rent on general grounds, such as a rise in prices, improved communication, etc., and to what amount the enhancement may go the ryot cannot tell. and hence we find that the representatives in the mysore assembly have repeatedly argued that it is owing to the uncertainty as to what the rise of rent may be at the close of each thirty years' period that improvements are not more largely made, and have therefore prayed for a permanently fixed assessment. now i am not prepared to say that, for the present at any rate, it would be wise to grant a fixed assessment on all lands, but i am quite sure that it would be wise to grant, for the irrigable area watered by a well dug at an occupier's expense, a permanent assessment at the rent now charged on the land. the government, it is true, would sacrifice the rise it might obtain on the land at the close of each lease, but, as a compensation for this--and an ample compensation i feel sure it would be--the state would save in two ways, for it would never have to grant remissions of revenue on such lands, as it now often has to do in the case of dry lands, and with every well dug the expenditure in time of famine would be diminished. such a measure, then, as i have proposed, would at once benefit the state and draw out for profitable investment much capital that is now lying idle. there is nothing new, i may add, in this proposal, for it was adopted by the old native rulers, who granted fixed tenures on favourable terms to those making irrigation works at their own expense. an english-speaking mysore landholder once said to me, "i will not dig wells on my lands under my present tenure, but give me an assessment fixed for ever, and i will dig lots of wells." the present landed policy of the indian government[3] is as shallow as it is hide-bound. it wants, like a child, to eat its cake and still remain in possession of the article. it is most anxious to see private capital invested in land, and it still wants to retain the power of every thirty years indefinitely augmenting the land revenue on general grounds. surely it must be apparent to minds of even the humblest calibre that these two things are utterly incompatible! i may mention that there is a strong party in india in favour of granting at once a permanent assessment at the existing rate of rent for all lands, and in reference to this point it may be interesting to give the following passage from a letter i once received from the late prime minister of mysore, mr. rungacharlu, the minister who started the first representative assembly that ever sat in india: "as you know," he wrote, "i hold decided views on the subject, and the withholding of the permanent assessment is a serious injury to the extensive petty landed interests in the country, and is no gain whatever to the government. nearly the whole population of the country are agriculturists, and live in one way or another upon the cultivation of the land. the effect of a permanent settlement will therefore create a greater feeling of security, and to encourage the outlay of capital and labour on land will be beneficial to the entire population. it will thus be quite a national measure reaching all, and not in the interests of a few, and is calculated to develop the capabilities of the land to the utmost. the prospect of the government ever being benefited by the reservation of an increase of assessment on the unearned increment is a mere dream. such increase is sure to be resisted or evaded, occasioning meanwhile great discontent. the government may confidently look to the development of other sources of revenue from the increased prosperity of the people." but whether the best remedy lies in granting, as i have proposed, a fixed assessment on land brought under well-irrigation at owners' expense, or in granting a permanent assessment for all lands, or, perhaps, in extending the period of lease from thirty to sixty years (and the last proposal would answer fairly well), one thing is certain, and that is, that under the thirty years' tenure system it is impossible to expect such a development of the landed resources of india as will secure the government from the vast financial losses caused by famine, or at least reduce these losses to a moderate amount. and we have ample evidence to prove that, where adequate security exists, private enterprise will be sure to step in and carry out most extensive and important irrigation works. this has been particularly shown in the proceedings of the government of the north-west provinces and oudh, where the condition of things in the permanently settled districts has been contrasted with that in the temporarily settled, or thirty year leasehold districts. i have no space to go into the details. they would only weary the general reader, and it is sufficient to say that in the permanently settled districts there has been an immense progress in irrigation carried out by private enterprise; and that, to quote from the proceedings:--"throughout the whole tract there have been occasional periods of agricultural distress, but it has always been in a mild form, and for a century famines such as have occurred in other parts of india have been unknown." in short, private enterprise, backed by a fair assessment fixed for ever, has driven famine from the tract in question, and this will occur in other parts of india if the government will only grant tenures sufficiently safe to induce the people to invest their money in wells and permanent improvements. and if further proofs are needed, we have only to turn to mr. gribble's valuable memorandum on well irrigation, which is published in the proceedings of the famine commission. in concluding my remarks on famines, i may say that the whole question regarding them is of the greatest practical importance to all employers of labour in india. our labour market in mysore was enormously injured by the great famine of 1876-77, when the loss of population amounted to about a million, and when, through the agency of railways, loss of life can be averted in the future, it will only be averted at such a cost as will cripple the resources of the state for years to come, and so lessen its powers for maintaining roads and other works in an efficient state, and developing the resources of the country. the whole of the evils arising from famine then can only be averted by a full development of well irrigation, and this and the development of the landed resources of the country in general can only be effected through the agency of improved tenures. this is a point which all individuals having a stake in india should continuously urge on the attention of the government. the reader will remember that when i started in mysore in 1856, there were only seven european planters in the province. i have lately endeavoured to ascertain the number there are at present, and the dewan, to whose kindness i have been much indebted for information when writing this book, has supplied me with a specially drawn up return, showing all the information available as regards coffee from the year 1831 up to 1890-91, and by this it seems that there were in 1890-91 662 plantations held by europeans in mysore, but there are no means of ascertaining the number of planters. i have referred the return to one of the oldest and most advanced planters, and in his reply he says, "it is impossible to say exactly how many landowners the 662 plantations represent, as several of the plantations in many cases go to make up what we call an estate, but i should not imagine that the number would be more than 300, and in that calculation i have allowed for there being partners in many of the properties." the area held by europeans was 49,862 acres, and some increase has no doubt since been made to this. the native plantations amounted to 27,180 in number in 1890-91, with an area of 96,814 acres, but many of these so-called plantations only consist of small patches of coffee. the total area of european and native holdings in 1890-91 was 146,676 acres. there are no means whatever of ascertaining from the returns at my command even approximately the amount of coffee produced. a reasonable calculation, however, based on a general knowledge of the circumstances, makes it probable that the european production of coffee may be put down at about an average of 120,000 cwts. a-year, and the native production at about 172,000 cwts., and if we put the average value of both as low as £3 a cwt. this would make the annual value of the coffee amount to £876,000. i now proceed to close this chapter with some remarks on manufactures in mysore. many years ago i heard the late mr. hugh mason (formerly president of the manchester chamber of commerce) speak at a meeting of the society of arts on the manufacturing prospects of india, and, after reviewing the general situation, he said that it is difficult to see what other advantages india could require in order to raise itself into the position of a great manufacturing country. it is true, he said, that the operative there cannot do as much as the operative hero, but, he continued, i can remember the time when the operative here could not do nearly as much as he can do now, and there is no reason to doubt but that a similar improvement would take place in the case of the indian operative. and when this improvement takes place, and india becomes more known and developed, her great manufacturing capabilities will become fully apparent. india has two very great advantages. she has an abundant, docile, and orderly population, and she obtains from the sun an ample supply of that heat which has to be paid largely for here. when, then, the indian operative attains to an advanced degree of proficiency--and to this he undoubtedly will attain--the greatest labour competition that the world has ever seen will begin--a competition between the white labourer who requires to be expensively fed, warmly clothed, and well shod, and housed, and the black or brown skinned man who can live cheaply, and work naked, and who is as physically comfortable in a mere shelter as his rival is in a well built dwelling. the indian peasant already, in the case of wheat, undersells the english farmer, and it seems merely a question of time as to when the indian operative will undersell his lancashire rival, and when perhaps calico will come to england, as it once did, from calicut. and no doubt, some such thoughts were passing through cobden's mind when he once said, "what ugly ruins our mills will make." we are, however, a considerable way from such remains as the reader will see if he consults the interesting paper on "the manufactures of india," read by sir juland danvers at a meeting of the society of arts on the 24th of april last, and by this it appears that the imports of cloths of english manufacture have increased in recent years. still india is progressing, and there are now a total of 126 cotton mills in all india. of these one is in bangalore, and was opened in 1885. the mysore government took 250 shares in it, and to enable the company to extend the buildings, subsequently lent it on easy terms two lakhs of rupees. there is also another company at work in bangalore which started as a woollen factory, but which has now set up machines for spinning cotton. the efforts made to push forward industries of all kinds in mysore are highly creditable to the administration, and i find numerous references in the annual addresses made by the dewan at the meeting of the representative assembly to the desire of the government to foster any kind of industry that is likely to afford increased employment to the people. a long reference is made in the dewan's address of 1890, to the endeavours made by the government to open up the iron wealth of the province, and it was then in correspondence with a native gentleman who had proposed to start iron works in the malvalli talook of the mysore district. the government, it appears, were prepared to grant most liberal concessions as regards the supply of fuel. but i regret that i have no information as to whether these proposed works have or have not been started. for the information of those who might be inclined to embark in this industry i may mention that a copy of the dewan's annual addresses always appears in the "mysore and coorg directory," which is a most valuable compilation on all points of importance relating to those provinces. these annual addresses are admirably drawn up and are most interesting to read. the attention shown to the many various points treated of is most remarkable. nothing seems too great and nothing too small for notice by the dewan, and it is this even attention all along the line that shows the fine administrator. as one instance to the point i may mention that when attending as a member of the representative assembly at mysore in 1891, i happened to meet the dewan and some of his officers in the veranda outside the great hall where our meetings were held, and his attention was attracted to a coffee peeler--the invention of a native who thought this a good opportunity for introducing his machines to the notice of the public, and had some cherry coffee at hand to show how they worked. the dewan at once inspected the machine, saw the coffee put through, and himself turned the handle, and was so satisfied that he ordered some of the machines to be bought and sent for exhibition to the head-quarters of the coffee growing talooks, or counties, and in his address of 1892 he reports that the machines had been found to be much in favour with the planters who had used them. the state of the box is the best evidence of the goodness of the gardener. but it is time now to draw this chapter to a close. i must, however, find room for a few remarks which will show those who might be inclined to settle in india that their interests are sure to be well attended to by the government. during my long indian experience i have had occasion to represent grievances and wants to government officers, from district officers to high indian officials, to officials at the india office, and to more than one secretary of state for india, and am therefore able to testify directly to their admirable courtesy, patience, and consideration. in the ordinary sense of the word, the planters in the various parts of india are not represented, but as a matter of fact their interests are most efficiently represented, for the officers of the government, whether civilians or soldier-civilians (and when mysore was under british rule i had practical experience of both), are distinguished by an amount of energy, industry, and ability, to which i believe it is impossible to find a parallel in the world, and combined with these qualities there is everywhere exhibited a conscientious zeal in promoting in every possible way the interests of the countries committed to their charge. and these officers know that they are at once the administrators and rulers of the land, and, as there is no representative system such as we have in england, freely admit that to them the people have a right to appeal in all matters affecting their interests. this right of personal appeal planters most freely exercise, and in this way are sure, sooner or later, and often with very little delay, to obtain the supply of wants or the redress of grievances. and here i may offer in conclusion one useful hint. the time of officials, and especially of high officials, is very valuable, and every effort should be made to avoid putting them to trouble that can be avoided. the subject to be brought forward should be carefully thought out, and put in the form of a memorandum. this in some cases it is advisable to forward by letter when asking for an interview, while in other cases i have thought it more advisable that the memorandum should be taken with one and read to the official, as this gives a good opportunity for discussing the points in regular order. in the latter case, at the close of the interview, the official will probably ask that the memorandum may be left with him for reference, but it is then better to ask to be allowed to send a well-written copy by post, as this gives an opportunity for making clearer any points that may have been discussed at the interview, and which may require further explanation. it is well always to bear in mind that all high officials, and the heads of districts, are representatives of the crown, and as such are entitled to a due amount of deference and formality when being personally addressed, or addressed by letter. these are points which are sometimes not sufficiently taken into account by inexperienced persons. i need hardly say that the remarks last made apply equally to native officials either in mysore or elsewhere. in conclusion, i may mention that i have always found the native officials to be most polite, considerate, and obliging, and such, i feel sure, is the general experience of those who have been brought in contact with them. footnotes: [2] when this line is finished the planters of mysore will have an easy and very direct route by rail to the nilgiri hills, and this will be of immense advantage to themselves, and especially to their families. [3] it has imposed this policy on mysore, and by the terms of the deed of transfer to the rajah, no alteration in the tenures can be made without the consent of the supreme government. chapter ii. the scenery and waterfalls of mysore. mysore is a tract of country in southern india approximating in area to scotland, and with a general elevation of from two to three thousand feet above the level of the sea. it is commonly spoken of as the mysore tableland, but this is rather a misleading description if we adopt the dictionary definition of the word tableland as being "a tract of country at once elevated and level," for, though there are in the interior of the province considerable stretches of rolling plains, the so-called tableland presents to the view a country intersected at intervals, more or less remote, with mountain chains, while scattered here and there in the interior of the plateau are isolated rocky hills, or rather hills of rock, termed droogs (sanscrit, durga, or difficult of access) which sometimes rise to a total height of 5,000 feet above sea level. the surface of the country, too, is often broken by groups, or clusters of rocks, either low or of moderate elevation, composed of immense boulders, the topmost ones of which are often so finely poised as to seem ready to topple over at the slightest touch. the highest point of the plateau is about 3,500 feet, and is crowned as it were by the fine bold range of the bababuden mountains, which have an average elevation of about 6,000 feet. there are three mountains in mysore which exceed this elevation, and the highest of them, mulaìnagiri, is 6,317 feet above the level of the sea. the province, which is completely surrounded by british territory, is flanked on the west and east by the ghauts, or ranges of hills up the passes through which the traveller ascends on to the tableland, and on the south it is, as it were, pointed off by the nilgiri hills. the greatest breadth of mysore from north to south is about 230 miles, and its greatest length from east to west is 290 miles. on the western side one part of the province runs to within ten miles of the sea, though the average distance from it is from thirty to fifty miles. the nearest point to the sea on the eastern side is about 120 miles, and the most southerly extremity of the tableland is 250 miles from the most southerly point of india. as regards climate, cultivation, and the general appearance of the country, mysore may be divided into two very distinctly marked tracts--the forest and woodland region which stretches from the foot of the western ghauts to distances varying from about twenty to as much as forty-five miles, and the rolling and comparatively speaking treeless plains of the central and eastern parts of the province, which are only occasionally broken by tracts which have some of the characteristics of both. in the western tract are numerous plantations of coffee and cardamoms, and the cereal cultivation consists mainly of rice fields irrigated from perennial streams; while in the central and eastern parts of the tableland, which by far exceed in area the woodland tracts of the west, the cultivation is mainly of the millets and other crops which do not depend on irrigation, though these are interspersed at intervals, more or less remote, with rice fields, the water for which is chiefly derived from tanks, or artificial reservoirs. the rainfall, temperature, and quality of the atmosphere in the western tract varies considerably from those of the open country of the interior. the rainfall of the first varies from sixty to one hundred inches, and, on the crests of the ghauts, is probably often about 200 inches,[4] while in the interior of the province the rainfall is probably about thirty inches on the average. the temperature of the western tract too is naturally much damper and cooler than that of the rest of the tableland, and at my house within six miles of the crests of the ghauts at an elevation of about 3,200 feet, the shade temperature at the hottest time of the year and of the day rarely exceeds eighty-five, and such a thing as a hot night is unknown, as the woodland tracts are within reach of the westerly sea breezes, while in the interior the climate is much hotter and drier, and the maximum day temperature of the hot weather is about ninety, and, in very hot seasons, about ninety-five. in the woodland tracts the cold weather and the monsoon months have a very pleasant temperature, and then flannel shirts and light tweeds--in short, english summer clothing--are used, and a blanket is always welcome at night. the climate of mysore is considered to be a healthy one for europeans of temperate habits, and who take reasonable care of themselves. as we are now hearing so much of cholera in europe, it may not be uninteresting to mention that, though the province was under british administration from 1831 to 1881, and there have since been a considerable number of european officials in the employ of the now native government of mysore, only one european official has died of cholera during that period, and that, though there are a considerable number of planters, only one has been reported to have died of the disease, though his, i am told, was a doubtful case. i have said that there are marked differences between the western tracts and the remainder of the province, but the most marked difference of course between the forest and woodland country of the west, and the country to the east, lies in the scenery of the two tracts, for, though in the latter case there are occasional bits of attractive landscape, and partially wooded hills, there is nothing at all to compare with the grand forest scenery of the western ghauts, or the charming park-like woodlands which stretch into the tableland at varying distances from the crests of the frontier mountains. everyone who has seen the latter has been struck by their extraordinary and diversified beauty, and last year a friend of mine, who had for a considerable time been travelling all round the world, said to me, as he rode up to my house, "after all i have seen i have seen nothing to equal this." but this, i must add, was the very best of our western ghaut park scenery which is mostly contained in the talook or county of manjarabad which stretches for about twenty-five miles along the western frontier of mysore, a tract of country so beautiful that the laconic colonel wellesley (afterwards the great duke of wellington), who rarely put a superfluous word into his dispatches, could not refrain from remarking in one of them on the beautiful appearance of the country.[5] there are two things especially remarkable about this tract. the one is that throughout the best of it there is nothing distinctively indian in the scenery. bamboos are rare, and in much of the tract entirely absent, and as the palm trees are always concealed in the woods there is nothing to connect the country with the usual feature of indian woodland scenery. another point most worthy of notice is that the scenery which appears to one seeing it for the first time to be entirely natural, is in reality very largely the creation of man. and it has been much improved by his action for, as you leave manjarabad to go northwards the jungle becomes too continuous, and it is the same if you go southwards into the adjacent district of coorg, and when you compare the last mentioned tracts with manjarabad you then begin to realize the fact that nature, if left to herself, is apt to become a trifle monotonous. but in manjarabad man has invaded nature to beautify her and bring her to perfection--cutting down and turning eventually into stretches of grass much of the original forest--leaving blocks of from 50 to 200 acres of wood on the margin of each group of houses, clearing out the jungle in the bottoms for rice cultivation and thus forming what at some seasons appear to be bright green rivers winding through the forest-clad or wooded slopes, and here and there planting on the knolls trees of various wide-spreading kinds. and yet from the absence of fences, and of cultivation on the uplands, the whole scene appears to be one of nature's creations, and all the more so because no houses nor farm-buildings are visible, as these are hidden amongst the trees on the margins of the forest lands. then this long tract of beautifully wooded and watered country is fringed on its western border by the varied mountain crests of the western ghauts, while on the east it is traversed by the hemavati river which is fed by the numerous streams, and brawling burns which descend from the frontier hills. but though manjarabad has combinations of charms unrivalled in their kind, we must not forget that an examination of of them by no means exhausts the scenery of the ghauts, for, on the north-western border of mysore are the falls of gairsoppa. often had i read descriptions of them which i once thought must have been too highly coloured, but when i visited the falls some years ago i found that the accounts i had read were not only far below the reality, but that the most important parts of the wonderful combinations of the scenes had either never been noted, or been quite inadequately recorded. i do not now profess to give anything approaching an adequate account of them. nor indeed do i think it would be possible to do so. but what follows will i think at least be of advantage in directing the attention of the traveller to the best way of observing the varied scenes, and noting the wonderful musical combinations, which are to be heard at these marvellously beautiful falls. the falls of gairsoppa are on the sarawati, or arrowborn[6] river, which, rising in the western woodland region of northern mysore, flows north-west for about sixty-two miles, and then, turning abruptly to the west, precipitates its waters over cliffs about 860 feet in height. when the river is at the full in the south-west monsoon an immense body of water rushes over the precipice, and from calculations made by some engineers, and which are recorded in the book at the travellers' bungalow, the volume and height of fall at that time, if taken together, would give a force of water about equal to that of niagara. but, however that may be, a glance at the high water marks, and a knowledge of the immense rainfall on the crests of the ghauts during the monsoon months, makes it certain that, at that time of year, the amount of water must be very large. at that season, though, the falls are almost invisible, as they are concealed by vast masses of mist and spray, and even were they visible, as the water then stretches from bank to bank, there would only be one vast monotonous fall. but after the heavy monsoon floods are over, the river above the falls-shrinks back as it were into a long deep pool which lies at a distance of several hundred yards from the brink of the precipice, and from this pool the water of the river then escapes by four distinct rapids which have cut their way to-the brink of the precipice, and fall over the cliffs in four distinct falls, each one of widely different character from the others. the falls at this season are only 834 feet high, but when the river rises to the full the fall, as i before mentioned, must be about 860 feet, or approximating in height to the loftiest story of the eiffel tower. across the rapids light bridges of bamboo are thrown, at the end of each monsoon. there are thus two ways of crossing the river--one by the pool above the falls where there is a ferry-boat which can take over horses as well as people--the other by the bridges of the rapids--and it is necessary to cross the river because the only bungalow is on the north, or bombay side of the river, and the best point for seeing the falls is on the southern side. the only way too of reaching the bottom of the falls is by the southern side. the only objection to these falls is the difficulty of getting at them, owing to their being quite out of the usual travellers' route, and that is why they have, if i may judge by the travellers' book at the bungalow,[7] been, comparatively speaking, rarely visited. then there is no railway nearer than about ninety miles, and though the falls are only thirty-five miles from the western coast, steamers do not call at the nearest port to them. nor is it at all even probable that any line will ever be brought nearer to the falls than about sixty miles. it is, too, rather discouraging to have the prospect of a ninety mile road journey to see the falls, and then return by the same route. but i would suggest that a traveller might make a very enjoyable trip by going from bombay to hoobli on the south maharatta line, and, on the way to gairsoppa visit the lushington falls which are about 400 feet in height, the lalgali fall which has a series of picturesque rapids and cascades, with a total fall of from 200 to 300 feet, and the majod falls where the bedti-gangaveli river forms a picturesque waterfall leaping in a series of cascades over cliffs varying in height from 100 to 200 feet in height, and together 800 feet high. i have not visited any of these last named falls. an account of them and other places of interest in the kanara district is given in the "bombay gazetteer" for kanara,[8] which gives a complete history of this interesting district, and is a book which the traveller should buy, as it is well worthy of a place in any library. i now proceed to give an account of my visit to the gairsoppa falls. on the 12th of january, 1886 (i should not advise the traveller to visit the falls earlier than november 1st nor later than the middle of january, as the water lessens after the latter date), i arrived at the travellers' bungalow at the falls, after having travelled there by the coast route from bombay, which i found so troublesome that i cannot recommend its adoption. the bungalow, which is about thirty-five miles from the western coast, and on ground 1,800 feet above sea level, is situated in a truly romantic spot (in fact rather too romantic if we take the possibility of an earthquake into consideration), for it is close to the edge of a gorge 900 feet deep, and in full view of the face of the precipice over which the waters of the arrowborn river precipitate themselves on their way to the western sea. to north, south, east, and west stretch hills and vales for the most part covered with the evergreen forest, and only here and there showing grassy slopes and summits. on the opposite side of the gorge as you peer down into it you can see emerging from the edge of the jungle about half way down from the top of the side of the gorge what looks like a long ladder of stone, but which really consists of the rough steps by which alone the bottom of the falls can be reached. on the following morning i proceeded to cross the river by the bridges over the rapids. the first rapid is that of the rajah fall, the water of which shoots sheer from the cliff, and, without even touching a rock, falls 830 feet into a pool 132 feet deep. after crossing the bridge you sometimes walk through, and sometimes clamber over, the vast assemblage of rocks and huge boulders which form the bed of the river, and are deeply submerged when the river is full. the sight here is extremely curious and interesting as, after leaving the bridge of the rajah rapid, there are about 1,000 feet of rock and boulders to pass through or over before you reach the next rapid, and, when half way, there would be nothing to show that you were not wandering through a mere wilderness of rocks were it not for the unceasing thunder, far below, from the bottom of the rajah fall. the next rapid to be crossed is that of the roarer, which takes, before it goes over the precipice a most singular course--first flowing into a basin at the edge of the cliff, and then leaving this in a northerly direction, after which it rushes down a steep stony trough to fall into the same deep pool which receives the water of the rajah fall. after crossing the bridge of the roarer rapid the bed of the river has again to be traversed and at a distance of about 700 feet you reach the rapid of the rocket. this is a fall of wonderful beauty, for the water projects itself sheer from the cliff to fall about 100 feet on to a vast projecting piece, or rather buttress of rock, which causes the water to shoot out into a rocket-like course from which are thrown off wonderfully beautiful jets, and arrowy shoots of water, and spray, and foam, which seem to resemble falling stars or shooting meteors. you then pass over another section of the river bed for about 500 feet till you reach the rapid, or rather stream, of the la dame blanche fall which glides gently over the precipice in a broad foaming silvery sheet. from the first rapid to the last the distance is about 733 yards. i have met with no estimate of the total width of the fall when the river is in full flood, but it can hardly be less than half a mile wide, and the depth of the water, as one can see from the high water mark, must be very great. it is interesting to note on the tops of the boulders here and there the circular stones that have, during each monsoon, been whirling round and round, each one in its own pothole. after crossing the last bridge you then walk over the rocks into the forest beyond and strike the path which leads down through the forest on the mysore side of the river, to a point called watkin's platform--an open-sided shed about 100 feet below the top of the falls, and which commands a view of the gorge below the falls, and a fair, though rather distant view of the falls. when approaching the platform i was positively startled by a vast shrieking clang which suddenly burst on the ear and seemed to fill the air. this i afterwards found had come from the semi-cavernous gorge of rock about half a mile away, into which fall the waters of the rajah and roarer rapids, and though i afterwards heard somewhat similar sounds issuing from these falls, i never heard again anything approaching to this singular and startling burst of sound. these sounds have often been remarked upon, but no one seems to have attempted to trace their cause, but they most probably arise from the escape of air which has been driven by the falling waters into some deep fissures of the rock. having thus taken a general view of the situation, i then returned to the bungalow for breakfast, and in the afternoon at about two o'clock returned to watkin's platform by the route of the ferry across the pool, and, with my companion, set out for the foot of the falls, first of all by a steep winding path, and then by a flight of very rough and uneven steps which had been formed by placing stones in places on and between the rocks. when descending, we often paused to view the constantly changing scene, for, as we got lower and lower, the rainbow hues across each fall, which were at first widely broken by the masses of cliff stretching between the falls, came closer and closer, till at last, when we reached the region where the spray of all the falls was mingled, the iris hues stretched across the gorge in an unbroken band of colour. at length, as we neared the foot of the fall, we reached a small open-sided shed, which had recently been erected on the occasion of the maharajah of mysore's visit. from this, which was probably fifty feet from the bottom of the gorge and about 100 yards from the falls, an admirable view was obtained of the entire situation, and we began to realize how impossible it is to form any adequate conception of the falls from the top, or from the higher sides of the gorge. we next descended to the bottom of the gorge, where the ground is strewn with vast boulders of rock, which had evidently fallen from the cliff as it had been eaten back by waters toiling through countless bygone ages. many of these masses of rock lie at some distance from the foot of the falls, and on the partially decayed surfaces of some of them vegetation had evidently been flourishing for an indefinite period of time. huge masses of rocks and boulders, as you look down the river, seem almost to block up its route towards the western sea, and indeed so completely seem to fill up the pass, that one seemed to be standing at the bottom of a rock-bound hollow which had been excavated by the agency of nature, after a toil through periods of time far beyond the calculations of man. as i found that the rocks at the foot of the falls were covered with a slimy mud, and as i was suffering slightly from a damaged foot, i presently returned to the shed, while my companion proceeded to explore the bed of the gorge further down the river. the floor of the shed had been strewed with straw, and i lay down at full length, partly to rest and partly to examine the situation more minutely, for the height is so great that it is impossible adequately to survey the scene in any other position. and then, when you have stillness and solitude, and when the body is in complete repose, there pour in on eye and ear floods of impressions so quickly varying that the mind feels quite unable to record them, and there is finally nothing left behind but a vague and indescribable sensation of all that is grand and beautiful and melodious in nature. for there are vast heights and gloomy depths and recesses, and varied forms of falling waters, and in the general surroundings everything to convey exalted ideas of grandeur to the mind, but grandeur accompanied by exquisite beauty, in colour, in the graceful movement of animal life, and in the varying sounds of falling waters--the charm of the iris hues which ever beautify the falling waters--beauty in the varied colours of the rocks, and in the plants and ferns growing in the fissures of the cliff--beauty in exquisite forms of motion--of water varied in countless ways as it descends from the four separate falls--beauty in the unceasing movements of countless swallows, mingled here and there with specimens of the alpine swift and the pretty blue-hued rock pigeons, which build their nests on the ledges of the cliffs, and are constantly to be seen flying across the falls. then there are the unceasing and ever varying sounds of falling waters, grand in their totality, grand and melodious in their separate cadences--the deep bass of the rajah, sometimes like cannon thundering in the distance, and sometimes like the regular tolling of some vast titanic bell; sounds of most varied and brilliant music from the rocket; the jagged note of the roarer, as its waters rush down their steep, stony trough; the eerie and mysterious sounds which, sometimes like a mingling of startling shrieks and clangs, and sometimes, to the active imagination, like the far-off lamentations of imprisoned spirits,[9] occasionally rise from the semi-cavernous chasm which has been hollowed out behind the great pool beneath the cliff; the gentle murmuring note of the white lady fall, tangled threads of sound from which fall in fitful cadences on the ear as the wind rises and falls athwart the falls; and lastly, but by no means leastly, the undulating and endless varieties of sounds which, having broken away from their original source, are ever wandering and echoing around the rock-bound gorge. beautiful indeed and altogether indescribable are the elements of melody which are created by the falling waters of the arrowborn river! and the music, too, seemed to be for ever varying, for the choral odes which were sweetly chanted to the ear were not perpetually continuous, and at times, owing to some change in the direction of the wind as it swirled around the gorge, the choral element was subordinated to the deep thunder of the rajah fall, or the vague tumult of startling discords which arose at intervals from the semi-cavernous walls of the pool into which plunge the waters of the rajah and roarer falls. and then these sounds would gradually lose their predominance, and the more uniform sounds in which all the four falls joined would once more fill the air and charm the ear. and thus the attention could never be lulled to sleep, for here monotony was not, and the mind was always kept in an attitude of expectancy for the variations in the music which were sure to come, and, so far as they reached the ear, were never the same combinations of sounds that had been heard before. all the elements of melody were here, indeed, in profuse abundance, and it seemed as if they only required to be caught by some master hand and strung into methodical musical combinations to yield to the mind and feelings those exquisite sensations which music alone can in any effective degree convey. and besides the effects we have noticed, there is the motion of colour constantly, though gradually, shifting and altering, for, as the sun declines, the rainbow hues move steadily upwards on the face of the falls, and the colours of the rocks, which are of varying shades of purple and yellow, continually alter in character with the sinking day. but the finest combined effects of beauty and grandeur are, perhaps, most fully felt when, late in the afternoon, the eye wanders delighted over the vast combination of lofty cliffs and falling waters to rest finally far above on the iris tints of the rajah and roarer falls, through the colours of which myriads of swallows incessantly wheel on lightsome wing, mingled with the quick, darting movement of the alpine swifts, and the gentle flight of the blue rock pigeons, which occasionally wing their way through the mazy throng. for there the eye is ever delighted with the charm of colour and of those endless variations of graceful movement which continuously convey pleasurable sensations to the mind. but how could eye or ear ever tire of those rare combinations of form, colour, motion and rhythmic sounds which fill the mind with an exalted sense of feeling and of pleasure, and the conscious heart with exquisite sensations far beyond the power of language to describe? presently my companion returned and aroused me from my state of dreamy pleasure, and i turned reluctantly away from the scene as the rainbow colours were, with the sinking sun, beginning to disappear from the topmost heights of the falls. delightful indeed were the brilliant and varied scenes i have been attempting to describe, and after them the remainder was by comparison tame, but still i found that, as i took a canoe the following evening and rowed up the forest-margined pool from which the rapids emerge, that the minor scenes at the falls have exquisite charms of their own. and then it was that i realized that, varying though the scale may be, there is everywhere about the falls the same beauty of detail and beauty of combined effect, and that, too, unaccompanied by a single jarring note. for nowhere can you say, as you can often say in viewing scenes elsewhere, "leave out this, or alter that, and the scene would be perfect," and in none of the scenes about the falls does anything poor, or base, or mean, or uninteresting strike the eye, and as i rowed slowly up the pool i felt that the mind was both charmed and soothed by the exquisite repose of the scene, which is only broken, if indeed it can be said to be broken, by the beautiful birds and gaily painted kingfishers which occasionally wing their way across the water, or flit along the margin of the forest-clad shore. as you look towards the west the eye wanders over the wild assemblage of water-worn rocks and boulders which intervene between the pool and the head of the falls, to rest finally on the distant hills, covered mostly to their tips with the evergreen forest, while on looking up the river you see that it is flanked by woods on either hand, and as you lose sight of the water as it bends towards the south, the eye glances upwards to hills of moderate height, wooded in the hollows, and showing on the ridges grassy vistas dotted with occasional trees. on returning, i went lower down in the pool than the point i had started at, and passed a number of rocks worn into all sorts of curious shapes, and one of these leaned, like some gigantic saurian, over the flood. as we neared the rapids, one felt that one would by no means like to run any risk of being drawn into one of them, and i was by no means anxious to go nearer to them than the boatmen, wished. one of them told me that the natives sometimes descended the cliffs between the roarer and the rocket falls in order to carry off the fledglings from the nests of the blue rock pigeons, and said that several lives had thus been lost. he said that there was no way of reaching the bottom of the cliff, and rather quaintly added, "those who came up again came up, and those who did not, died." he said that some european had once put what was evidently dynamite into the pool. a great explosion followed, which killed a large number of fish, many of which were washed over the falls. in the evening i sat for a long time in the bungalow veranda smoking my cigar, and looking dreamily out at the moonlit falls, and observing from time to time the scenic changes that were produced by the great masses of mist which drifted up the gorge below me to be dispersed as they touched the cliffs, and presenting, as they did so, most charming pictures. in the morning, too, beautiful effects were to be seen, as masses of mist arose from the chasm of the rajah to flit in fleecy fragments across the face of the falls. but the scenes about this spot are of endless variety, and i must allow myself to mention only one more, which my companion saw one morning from watkin's platform when the iris hues were on the pool below the falls, which, as the spray fell into it, seemed like a mass of golden water dotted all over, as if yellow tinted rain were falling into it. on some occasions visitors have illuminated the falls with fireworks, and by floating over the falls ignited bundles of straw soaked in paraffin, and i regret that i had not thought of following their example. next morning i set out on a drive of about 150 miles to my plantations in manjarabad. as we left the falls, we passed, and close to the river pool above them, a tree covered with fruit which was being eaten by green pigeons and other birds, and on looking up into it i was surprised, as it is an animal of nocturnal habits, to see a large and beautiful flying squirrel peering at me with a quiet but by no means apprehensive eye. i was strongly tempted to shoot it for the sake of its skin, but my companion, who had been much affected by the beauties of the falls, said that it would be a sacrilege to shoot anything so near them. so i spared his feelings and the poor squirrel, and am now very glad to think that i did so. i may here mention that the traveller, though he sets out early in the morning and late in the afternoon, very rarely sees anything in the shape of big game, even though the jungles he may be driving through may abound with it, and the sole exception i can remember, after numerous journeys through them, occurred on the occasion of my drive home from the falls, when, early one morning, a tiger bounded across the road at a distance of about 100 yards ahead. it is also worthy of remark that you very seldom see a snake, and, though i landed on the western coast at carwar and travelled by easy stages by way of the falls to my estate, i did not see a single snake during the whole course of the journey. as it is probable that this account of the gairsoppa falls may induce travellers to visit them, i think it may be useful to give an account of the cauvery falls on the southern frontier of mysore, which are well worthy of a visit, and easily accessible. the best time for visiting them is generally said to be august, or not later than the middle of september, though when i visited them on the 25th of that month last year, the river, though not in full flood, had an ample supply of water in it, and, from mr. bowring's description of his visit to them on november 21st,[10] there must still, up to that date, be a considerable flow in the river. from my own experience, i feel sure that the best time to see these falls is after the great floods have subsided, as the water then is clear, or nearly so, and the effects, as in the case of the gairsoppa falls, are far more varied and brilliant. there is one point i would here particularly impress on the traveller, and that is, that when visiting falls such as those of gairsoppa and the cauvery, which present a great variety of scenic effects, and are not merely monotonous single masses of water, he should devote at least two clear days to them, i.e., he should arrive on one day, remain two days, and leave on the fourth day. he should also select a time when there is a sufficiency of moonlight. i was particularly impressed with the first point, because i most thoroughly enjoyed my visit to gairsoppa as i had two clear days there, whereas my visit to the cauvery falls was attended with that sense of hurry which, if not destructive of all enjoyment, leaves behind on the mind a feeling that many points in the scenes must have been either missed or quite inadequately observed. the account of my visit to these falls, however, may at least be useful in showing a traveller short of time how to visit them with the least possible expenditure of it. i left bangalore, then, on the morning of thursday, september 24th, 1891, by the 8.20 a.m. train, for the mudoor railway station, on the lino to mysore city, and arrived there shortly after midday. i then had luncheon at the station, and left for the malvalli travellers' bungalow at a little before three, in a carriage i had sent on from bangalore with two pairs of horses (it is advisable to have an extra pair posted), and arrived at my destination shortly after five. to this bungalow, which is about fourteen miles from the falls, i had previously sent on with my native servants bedding and mosquito curtains, and the means necessary to prepare meals for the party. reports had reached us of creeping things being abroad in this bungalow, and my servant had been particularly enjoined to look out for, and, as far as possible, guard against them. this he had done by putting the bedsteads in the sun and doing what further he could. but notwithstanding his assurances of safety, one of the ladies of the party insisted that, from all she had heard, there must be creeping things somewhere about. the servant listened with an air of respectful attention to all she had to say, and, when she had quite done, said with quiet persistence, and much to our amusement, "what missus says is true, but there are no bugs," and i am glad to say that he was justified in making the assertion. we rose very early the following morning, started at 4.20, at 6.20 arrived at the bungalow near the falls, and, after a little delay to get a cup of tea, drove at once to the nearest fall. but i must here pause for a few moments to describe the general situation of the river, the islands formed by its splitting into two distinct branches, and the position of the fall--a total situation which is not easily comprehended without the aid of a map. the cauvery falls are on the river of that name, which rises in coorg, and, after a run of 646 miles to the south-east, falls into the bay of bengal about midway between madras and cape comorin. before reaching seringapatam (which is on an island in the river) it is joined by the hemavati which rises to the north of manjarabad and, as we have seen, skirts the eastern border of that talook, or county. as the hemavati sends down a large body of water the source of which is more distant from the sea than the spot in coorg which is called the head of the cauvery, i may remark in passing that it is singular that the latter should have been regarded as the source of this fine river, which really rises in mysore. but, rise where it may, it at last arrives at a point on the southern frontier of mysore where the bed of the cauvery splits into two channels and forms the island of hegora, which is about three miles long, and from a quarter of a mile to a mile wide, and, by a rather curious, coincidence, almost exactly the size of the island on which the fortress of seringapatam has been built. the northern branch of the river washes the mysore frontier and this, after about two miles, again divides, or rather a small branch diverges to the north and, forming a loop, cuts away from the mainland the island of ettikoor, and there falls into the northern branch of the river by various cascades, and just below the point where the falls on the main northern branch occur. this group of falls is called gangana chuckee. the southern branch of the river on the madras side flows as a single stream for about half a mile, and then splits off some of its water into various channels, but forming nothing worthy of the name of an island till it severs from the mainland the island of hegora, a strip of land about two furlongs at the widest, and less than a mile in length. to the south of this the main body of the water goes to form lower down the fine series of cascades and falls called the bar chuckee, while a comparatively small body of water goes to the left to form the pretty series of cascades and steep runnels of water which fall, though at a different point of the compass from the main falls, into the wide pool at the foot of the bar chuckee falls. after this necessary digression i now proceed to narrate what i saw and did. i drove, then, after a short delay at the bungalow, to the gangana chuckee falls, passing on the way the temple of sivasamudrum, and various buildings connected with it, and leaving the carriage, walked down towards the falls, passing on the right pir's tomb, the grave of a mahometan priest of that name, and went to a point just below it, from which a fine general view of these falls and the river can be obtained. glancing upwards, the view of the river, as the waters race down their steep stony bed towards the falls amidst numerous projecting rocks, is extremely grand and picturesque. then at a point just below the spot i was standing on, the water plunged down a nearly precipitous descent, from which it apparently (for the spray prevented one seeing exactly) fell perpendicularly into the pool below, sending up as it did so gossamer veils of spray full of fleeting, faint, and ever varying iris hues. this pool is flanked, and probably about 100 yards below the foot of the previously mentioned fall, on the northern side by a precipice about 250 feet high, down which, in four separate cascades, falls the water of the branch of the river which cuts off the small island of ettikoor. on the side of the precipice next to the great fall of the main river stands a piece of tree-clad rocky ground, apparently about 50 feet higher than the precipice, and this is flanked by a rapid at the top, passing into a cascade lower down, which then held but little water, but which in floods must add much to the beauty of the scene. after viewing the scene for sometime, i returned to the carriage, and drove across the island to visit the bar chuckee falls, and left the carriage at a point where the road begins to descend into the valley into which the southern branch of the river precipitates itself. i then advanced to a point on the right of the road from which a fine general view can be obtained, though it is rather too distant as regards the main body of the falls, and, as i reached the point in question, came suddenly into view of such a number of separate falls and cascades that a description of them is extremely difficult. for, on the opposite side of the valley, i counted no less than thirteen, which leap partly over one side of a horseshoe shaped precipice which had evidently, from the huge boulders in the channel below, been eaten back into the side of the precipice, and partly shoot out through various hidden channels which the waters have deeply cut through a huge semicircular platform of rock which overhangs the valley below. as they thus shoot out the effect is extremely striking and picturesque, and their resemblance to the spokes of light from a star no doubt caused the natives to give the very appropriate name of chuckee (pronounced chickee--kanarese for star) to these beautiful falls. this semicircular platform of rock stands on one side of the river-bed, next to this we have the horseshoe-shaped precipice i have mentioned, and next to that again, as it were by way of quietly beautiful contrast, there is a vast sheet of steeply sloping rock, which is completely covered by a thin coating of white, and everywhere foaming water. when the river is at the full this fine series of falls and cascades vanishes, and is replaced, as in the case of the falls at gairsoppa, by one great fall about half a mile wide. after looking at this beautiful scene, the eye wanders next over some jungle-clad slopes on the western side of the main falls, to dwell on a series of cascades and racing waters which descend through channels flanked on either side by scrubby plants and trees--a series which arises from a branch which diverges about a mile higher up the river, and the cascades and runnels of water of which are scattered round precipitous slopes right up to, and immediately below, the point on which i was standing. all the falls and cascades unite in a pool below of great width, from which the water escapes through a narrow gorge, to join, further down, the river branch on which are the gangana chuckee falls. the general effect here appears to be that you are looking at falls and cascades proceeding from two different rivers, the one flowing from the south and the other from the west, and the effect is the same at the first described falls. the general height of all the falls is said to be from 200 to 250 feet, and in mr. bowring's "eastern experiences" 300 feet, but i can find no account, and could hear of no particulars, as to when or how measurements were taken, as in the case of the falls at gairsoppa, which were carefully surveyed by officers of the indian navy. i was particularly struck with the absence of bird life at these falls, and only saw two small birds, and one hawk, and a small flight of what in the distance appeared to be pigeons, which alit on a rock at the foot of one of the falls. it is impossible to refrain from contrasting these falls with those at gairsoppa. the cauvery falls have indeed much beauty and grandeur in river, and varied waterfall scenery, and had i not seen the gairsoppa falls i should have thought that it would have been difficult to find anywhere in the world scenes more varied and beautiful. but the beauties of the falls of cauvery are set in comparatively speaking sterile surroundings of rock and scrubby jungle, trees and shrubs scattered over ground partly undulating, and partly over hills of moderate height and uninteresting form. then the grandeur arising from their great height, and the charms of the varied sounds of the falls of gairsoppa, and the marvellously beautiful effects of graceful bird life wheeling and darting amidst the iris hues of the falls, and the setting of the whole scene amidst the tropical wealth of the evergreen forest of the western ghauts, afford combinations which far exceed those of the cauvery falls. i have no hesitation in saying, as a traveller to the falls of gairsoppa has said before, that they alone would repay one for all the trouble of the voyage to india. but, beautiful and grand as they undoubtedly are, i cannot quite say the same of the cauvery falls, though i can with confidence say that if the traveller leaves india without seeing them he will certainly have missed one of the scenes best worth seeing in it. after spending some time at the bar chuckee falls i then drove back to the bungalow and, leaving the carriage there, walked rather more than half a mile to the bridge which connects the island with the madras side of the river, and which i closely examined, as it is a most curious and interesting specimen of the work of native engineers, and as it has withstood the floods of about seventy years, one of which passed over the roadway of the bridge to a depth of three feet, is most highly creditable to native workmanship. a similar bridge connects the island with the mysore side of the river, and both bridges were repaired at his own cost by a native in the employ of the mysore government, who in recognition of this important work, received from the british government, for himself and his heirs (who are bound to keep up the bridges) land yielding an annual revenue of £800, and of £900 from the mysore government. the bridge i now proceeded to examine. it is built entirely of stone without any mortar or cement, and is supported on two rows of single block stone pillars standing on slabs of stone placed on the river bed. those pillars are about nine feet high and eight feet apart. on the top of each pillar is first of all a thick block of stone projecting about eighteen inches from the pillar on its upper and lower sides. then on this was a rather thicker block of stone, and on the top of all cross beams of solid single stones had been laid, and from one cross beam to another were solid and closely put together slabs of stones, some of which were eighteen inches wide, and some rather wider, thus making a roadway above so narrow that two carriages cannot pass each other. in order to strengthen the pillars and keep them in position, a flat slab of stone had been laid on the bed of the river, from the base of the lower pillar to within about two feet of the upper one, and between the end of this slab and the pillar a thick, high block of stone had been wedged. in this bridge there were 109 pairs of pillars, giving a total length of about 1,000 feet. i was struck with the difference in the age of the pillars, and with the fact that, whereas some were plain, roughly hewn pillars, others, which had been dressed and chiselled into various forms, were evidently of great antiquity, and i was subsequently informed by the clerk of the proprietor of the island that the latter had been procured from ruined temples in the neighbourhood. these bridges at first sight seem to be curved in a slight loop up the stream, but a closer examination shows that they have been built in several lines, first slightly up the stream and then advancing by several straight lines to a blunt arrow-like point in the centre of the river, and this was evidently to enable the bridges the better to resist the heavy floods, one of which, as i have previously mentioned, went no less than three feet over the roadway. as you stand on the edge of the river and look along the centre of the rows of pillars the effect is very curious, as they then present the appearance of a long colonnade of pillars of various shapes, with a flat roof of solid slabs of stone overhead. after thoroughly inspecting the bridge, i lay for some time in the shade of a tree which stood on the bank of the river about fifty yards below the bridge, and awaited the arrival of the carriage, which i had sent for as the day was getting hot, and as i thus lay languidly observing the long colonnade, and the water which rapidly flowed between the pillars, and looked up the river as it stretched away to the north-west, and enjoyed the cool air which gently moved along the water, i felt a quiet sense of enjoyment which gave me a greater, and certainly a more lasting, sense of pleasure than i had experienced when visiting the beautiful falls i have just endeavoured to describe. i mention this for the moral, which is, that to enjoy scenery the body must be comfortable and in complete repose. i would also add that you must be alone, or practically alone, by being out of sight or hearing of your companions. presently i was aroused by the rumble of the carriage, and, collecting my party, returned to the bungalow for luncheon. at about half past four the carriage was brought round, and we drove to our temporary home to dinner, and on the following day reached bangalore at two o'clock, the whole trip having thus occupied about sixty hours. footnotes: [4] no less than 291.53 inches fell this year, between april and the last day of september, at a cardamom plantation on the crests of the ghauts. [5] after the fall of seringapatam some further military operations were necessary in manjarabad, and some of colonel wellesley's letters were written within a few miles of my bungalow. [6] so called from its flowing from a source which was supposed to have been formed by a stroke of rama's arrow. [7] all travellers are obliged to record their names in these books, and state the time they have stayed, and the sums they have paid for the use of the bungalow. [8] "gazetteer of the bombay presidency," vol. xv. kanara, bombay. printed at the government central press, 1883. [9] the native idea. [10] "eastern experiences," by l. bowring, c.s.i.; henry s. king and co., london, 1871. before visiting mysore the traveller should certainly buy or consult this book. chapter iii. mysore--its history, government, and representative assembly. in my last chapter i gave a description of mysore and its waterfalls. in the present chapter i purpose very briefly remarking on its history, government, and representative assembly, and shall conclude by contrasting the last with the so-called national indian congress. in his report of december, 1804, the acting resident of mysore, colonel mark wilks, observed that "the territories composing the present dominion of his highness the rajah of mysore had, from the remotest periods of tradition, been held by a number of polygars and petty rajahs, whose possessions were incessantly enlarged, diminished, or alienated, by a series of revolutions which it would perhaps be impossible to trace, and unprofitable to describe," and it is interesting to note how little, at that time, seems to have been known about the history of the kingdoms we conquered. but all doubts as to the early history of mysore have now been removed, and the reader will find in mr. rice's admirable gazetteer of mysore a minute history of the country accompanied by coloured maps which show at a glance the numerous transitions which the territories now comprised under the head of mysore have undergone in former times, but as i think that it would certainly be unprofitable to describe these transitions here i shall content myself with a bare enumeration of those leading facts which are necessary for a general comprehension of the situation. all, then, that the reader requires to know is, that a line of hindoo rajahs which once reigned over a very limited portion of mysore gradually acquired about half of it; that a descendant of their line was set aside by the mahometan usurper hyder ali (an able soldier of fortune, who had risen to the chief command of the army); that he conquered the remainder of the present territory and ruled it from 1761 to 1782; and that after his death he was succeeded by his son sultan tippoo, who on may 4th, 1799, lost his life at seringapatam, and with it all the territories acquired by his father, thereby fulfilling what hyder ali said when he observed to his son one day, "i was born to win and you were born to lose an empire." the subsequent history of the province is soon told. after the fall of seringapatam it was resolved to place a descendant of the old hindoo line on the throne, and krishna rajah wodeyar--then about five years old, became maharajah of mysore, with purnaiya (formerly prime minister of tippoo) as dewan and regent, and colonel (afterwards sir barry) close as resident, while colonel arthur wellesley (afterwards duke of wellington) commanded the division. under the new government all at first went well, and in 1804 the governor-general declared that during the past five years "the affairs of the government of mysore had been conducted with a degree of regularity, wisdom, discretion and justice unparalleled in any native state in india." but, unfortunately for himself and his subjects, the maharajah, in 1811, began to rule, and purnaiya, the able prime minister, retired, and soon afterwards died. then followed a long period of misgovernment, which culminated in the insurrection of 1830, to put down which the aid of british troops had to be called in. a formal inquiry was then made by the british government, and the result of this was that it was determined to transfer the entire administration to british officers, and put the maharajah on an allowance for his personal expenditure. at first two commissioners were appointed to administer the government, but this was found to be inconvenient, and in april, 1834, colonel (afterwards sir mark) cubbon was appointed as sole commissioner for the province. he occupied the post till february, 1861, when he retired, and when on his way home died at suez at about seventy-seven years of age, having spent the whole of the previous years of the century in india. he was succeeded by other able commissioners, and nothing of any political importance happened in the province till june, 1865, when the maharajah adopted as his heir a scion of one of the leading families of his house. it was for some time doubtful whether the government would recognize the adoption, as, after the death of the maharajah, it had been generally assumed that the province would be annexed, but in april, 1867, the home government decided that it should be recognized, and on september 23rd, 1868, six months after the death of krishna rajah, his adopted son, chama rajendra wodeyar bahadur, at that time between five and six years old, was duly installed at mysore, and it was then decided that the country should remain under british administration till the maharajah came of age. his highness attained his majority at the age of eighteen, on the 5th of march, 1881, and was formally installed on the throne on the 25th of that month, and thus the province, after having been directly administered by the british for almost exactly fifty years, was handed over, not as we shall afterwards see, to native rule, but to native administration. and here a rather interesting question naturally arises. how was such a change--one quite unique in the history of india--received by the inhabitants of the country? so far as the planters (of whom i am one of the oldest, having settled in the province in 1855) are concerned, i do not think they have been in the slightest degree affected. they were all well satisfied with the english administration, and i think they are equally well satisfied with the present native administration. in fact, there is no change perceptible, except that the criminal administration, has somewhat fallen off, and it certainly has been occasionally found that an answer from a native official sometimes resembles death--you think it is never coming and then it comes when least expected. but i must confess that, as regards answers to communications, i have heard of similar complaints made by the former mysore government against the supreme government, and of a like complaint made by the latter against the home government. but, though the change was regarded with indifference by the settlers in the province, and was indeed of obvious advantage to them, as there is no income-tax, and the finances are flourishing, it was not at all acceptable to the native population in general, and the native officials were quite aware that the new administration was not popular. i made frequent inquiries as to the cause of this, not only from natives in my own neighbourhood, but from those i met when travelling by easy stages from the gairsoppa falls in the north-western corner of the province to my estates in southern mysore, and found that the universal complaint was that there was a want of daryápti, or active inquiry into grievances, and one of my old native neighbours was loud in his praises of the palmy days of sir mark cubbon. i confess, however, that though there may have been some grounds for complaint as regards "inquiry," owing to the greater zeal and personal activity of englishmen, i do not think that there were any real grounds for dissatisfaction, and feel sure that the unpopularity of the new administration was owing partly to the fact of the country, at the time of the rendition, not being in a very prosperous condition, partly to the strong conservative instincts of the natives, and partly, perhaps, to their being under some apprehension that the abuses of the old native government might possibly be revived. but, however that may be, from inquiries made when last in india, and especially from the absence of any reference to the subject in the many conversations i had with natives of all classes, i believe that the unpopularity of the new administration, which at first undoubtedly existed, has now quite passed away. it may be as well to mention here that, though the administration is now a native one, there are still, in the mysore service, about thirty-five englishmen in the various departments of the state, and that the most friendly relations exist between them and the native officials. i feel sure, too, that the value of an admixture of englishmen in the administration is fully recognized by the native officials. as regards brain power they equal englishmen, and indeed are often superior to them, but the classes from which the native officials are mainly drawn are, as a rule, deficient in that physical vigour which is required for executive work, as one of the native officials, who himself was an exception to the rule, once told me, "and therefore," he added, "we must have an admixture of natives and europeans in the service." i must, however, observe that, though his remark is true as regards the brahminical classes from which the officials are mainly taken, i think it probable that, when education spreads, there will ultimately be found amongst the hardy peasantry of mysore a fair proportion of individuals who will have a sufficient degree of physical vigour for executive work. in confirmation of the remark i have made as to the want of executive vigour on the part of native officials, a defect which would be equally apparent in us were our energy not kept up by fresh importations from home, i may mention that, under the new regime, there has been a distinct falling off in the up-keep of roads, and in the detection of crime. in connection with this subject i may make a passing remark on a point which has not hitherto been noticed, so far as i am aware, by previous writers. it has constantly been asserted by natives that we have not kept faith with them as regards opening to them many appointments in the public service which are at present reserved for englishmen. i would call attention to the fact that one of the passages so often quoted contains really no general promise of employment. this passage--taken from a clause in the east india act, passed in parliament, 1833--merely says "that no native of the said territories, nor any natural born subject of his majesty resident therein, shall by reason _only_ of his religion, place of birth, descent, colour, or any of them, be disabled from holding any place, office, or employment under the said company." "by reason _only_." yes, but this does not bar disqualification for other reasons, as for instance the want of physical vigour to which i have alluded. then mark the careful limitation contained in the often quoted passage from the queen's proclamation of 1858, which sets forth that "it is our further will, that, _as far as may be_, our subjects, of whatever race or creed, be freely and impartially admitted to office in our service, the duties of which they may be qualified, by their education, _ability_ and integrity, duly to discharge." but natives have not, generally speaking, the ability to discharge executive duties requiring much physical vigour, and no one is more ready to admit that than the best among the natives. but besides executive efficiency there is the fact that the mere sight of the zeal, energy, and general interest in progress exhibited by the english is to the natives around them an education worth all the book instruction we have imported into india. we cannot have too much of this leavening element, and the effects of it are everywhere apparent. it is extremely striking in the coffee districts, where many native planters have been, much improved as regards go, and a desire to adopt improvements, since europeans have settled more freely amongst them. but it is time now to turn to the subject of the constitution of mysore--a subject which, i need hardly say, is of the greatest practical importance to those who hold, or may think of acquiring, property in the province. the instrument of transfer, then, as it is officially called, by which mysore was made over to native administration on the 25th of march, 1881, begins by declaring the installation of the maharajah and his power to rule under certain general conditions, which are--(1) that the maharajah and those who are to succeed him in the manner hereinafter provided, are to hold possession of and administer the province as long as they fulfil the conditions laid down in the instrument of transfer; that (2) the succession should devolve on the maharajah's lineal descendant, whether by blood or adoption, except in the case of disqualification through manifest unfitness to rule; and that (3) the maharajah and his successors shall at all times remain faithful in allegiance and subordination to the british crown, and perform all the duties which, in virtue of such allegiance and subordination, may be demanded of them. then follow clauses with reference to the subsidy to be paid to the british government for protecting and defending the province, military stipulations, foreign relations, coinage, railways and telegraphs, and extradition, and as regards the last, it is declared that plenary jurisdiction over european british subjects in mysore shall continue to be invested in the governor-general in council, and that the maharajah of mysore shall only exercise such jurisdiction in respect to european british subjects as may from time to time be delegated to him by the viceroy. then with reference to "laws and settlements," it is declared that those in existence at the time of the transfer must be maintained, and that the maharajah of mysore "shall not repeal or modify such laws, or pass any laws or rules inconsistent therewith," and that no material change in the system of administration as established previous to the date of the transfer shall be made without the consent of the viceroy. and finally, under this head, it is declared that all title-deeds granted, and all settlements of land revenues in force on march 25th, 1881 (the date of the transfer), shall be maintained, excepting so far as they may be rescinded or modified either by a competent court of law or with the consent of the governor-general in council. lastly, under the heading of "british relations," it is declared that "the maharajah of mysore shall at all times conform to such advice as the governor-general in council may offer him with a view to the management of the finances, the settlement and collection of the revenues, the imposition of taxes, the administration of justice, the extension of commerce, the encouragement of trade, agriculture, and industry, and any other objects connected with his highness's interests, the happiness of his subjects, and his relations to the british government." and, "in the event of the breach or non-observance of any of the foregoing conditions," the governor-general may resume possession of mysore and administer it as he thinks fit. such, then, is a brief summary of the constitution of mysore; and it is most necessary to dwell on it with some degree of minuteness in order to show those englishmen who are interested in mysore, or who may be desirous of settling there, that they and their possessions in that country are as practically under british rule as they would be in any part of british india. i have previously pointed out that there is no income-tax in mysore. i have also alluded to the fact that, as the finances are in a flourishing condition, and, beyond the subsidy annually levied, are free from any obligation to contribute to the general expenditure of british india, there are ample and certain means available for developing the resources of the country. and that these means shall be devoted to that end exclusively, i would call particular attention to the fact that it has been laid down by the british government that, after deducting the amount set apart annually for the personal expenses of the maharajah, the remaining revenues of the province are to be spent on public purposes only, under a regular system of an annual budget appropriation, and the proper accounting for such expenditure. so that, taking all the circumstances into consideration, it is clear that the settlers in mysore have advantages over any other settlers in india. the taxes they pay on their lands are fixed and most moderate in amount, they have every security that capital can enjoy, and they are living in a country which, after an ample expenditure on public works of all kinds, has an ample annual surplus. but, besides those circumstances, the settlers in the province, and the inhabitants as well, have another advantage which must by no means be lost sight of, for mysore has a representative assembly, which sits once a year, and which affords a ready means for publicly ventilating any grievance, or making known any want which may be felt by the community; and as there is no institution exactly like it in the world, i propose to describe the constitution of the assembly and its proceedings with some degree of minuteness. the mysore representative assembly, then, which was originated by mr. rungacharlu, the first prime minister of mysore, was inaugurated on the 25th of august, 1881, or about five months after the accession of the maharajah, by the following notification: "his highness the maharajah is desirous that the views and objects which his government has in view in the measures adopted for the administration of the province should be better known and appreciated by the people for whose benefit they are intended, and he is of opinion that a beginning towards the attainment of that object may he made by an annual meeting of the representative landholders and merchants from all parts of the province, before whom the dewan will place the results of the past year's administration, and a programme of what is intended to be carried out in the coming year. such an arrangement, by bringing the people into immediate connection with the government, would serve to remove from their minds any misapprehension as regards the views and action of the government, and would convince them that the interests of the government are identical with those of the people. "the annual meeting will be conveniently held at mysore immediately after the close of the dassara festival, which occasion will offer an additional inducement to those invited to attend the meeting. for the present the local fund boards of the several districts will be asked to select from amongst themselves and others of the district the persons who are to be deputed to represent their respective districts at the meeting. in order to represent the landed interests of all the talooks (counties), as well as the interests of trade, there should be sent one or two cultivating landholders from each talook, possessed of general influence and information amongst the people, and three or four leading merchants for the district generally. a list of them should be sent beforehand to this office, in order to arrange for their accommodation in mysore. they may be allowed a small sum from the local funds to meet the actual expenses of their travelling." the assembly thus constituted was, as will have been perceived at a glance, a purely consultative body, and had no power whatever except (and a highly important exception it is) that of publicly stating to the rulers of the country all the grievances and wants of the people. the only institution that i can hear of that at all resembles it is the egyptian general assembly of the legislative council, but that, though a consultative, and not at all a law-making body, has the power of putting a veto on any new tax proposed by the government. in constitution, too, it differs widely from the mysore assembly, as the ministers have seats in it, while in mysore no government official can be a member of the assembly. i may mention here that the egyptian assembly was initiated by lord dufferin in may, 1883, and i would refer those interested in the creation of representative institutions to his report, no. 6 (1883), and to the report on egypt, no. 3 (1892), by sir evelyn baring (now lord cromer), both being blue books presented to the houses of parliament. it is interesting to note here that whereas lord dufferin took the first step in the direction of representative institutions by uniting, in the same assembly, government officials, and members elected on the broad basis of manhood suffrage, the native statesman began by carefully excluding the officials, and allowing only the middle and upper classes to have anything to do with the assembly. the first meeting of the mysore representative assembly took place on october 7th, 1881, when 144 members attended. the dewan first of all read the annual report on the administration of the province, and after that the members were called up in succession and asked to state their grievances and wants. at the end of the session the dewan's annual statement, or report, and an account of the proceedings of the assembly, are printed in english and in kanarese. the assembly, as we have seen, consisted of members partly appointed by the local fund boards, and partly of members nominated through the agency of government officials, but at the conclusion of the dewan's address of october 28th, 1890, an important change in the constitution of the assembly was announced, and a new body of rules was issued. by these all members were in future to be elected, and the qualifications entitling a man to vote for, or be elected a member for a county (talook), were (1) the payment of land revenues, a house and shop tax to the amount specified in the schedule[11] for each county; (2) the ownership of land to the value of 500 rupees a year, accompanied with residence in the county; and (3) any resident in a county who is a graduate of any indian university is declared to be a duly qualified person. those so qualified were to meet on a certain day, of which a month's notice was to be given, and elect members from amongst themselves. 212 members from the counties were to be thus elected. the cities of bangalore and mysore return four members each, and these must either pay a house or shop tax of twenty-four rupees, or be a graduate of any indian university; the nine local fund boards return two members each; the eighty-nine municipalities one for each municipality, and associations representing approved public interests, and of not less than 100 members, and also associations of smaller numbers, but recognized by government--as for instance the planters' associations--may depute one member each, and the total of all the members is estimated at 351. by rule 6 it is declared that "as the object of the assembly is to elicit non-official public opinion, no person holding a salaried appointment under government shall vote for, or be returned as, a member of the assembly." by rule 7, each member is to prepare and forward to the deputy commissioner a memo describing seriatim the representations and suggestions he may desire to make at the meeting of the assembly; and by rule 9 the memoranda are to be forwarded, with the deputy-commissioner's remarks, to the chief secretary to government. by rule 10 all the members are to hold a formal meeting at mysore not less than three days before the meeting of the assembly, and should they decide at this preliminary meeting to bring forward at the assembly any subjects not mentioned in the memoranda previously sent in by members, a supplemental list of such subjects must be sent in to the chief secretary. when announcing the adoption of these new rules, the dewan alluded to the fact that the constitution now given did not insure a full popular representation, and stated that numerous practical difficulties stood in the way of widening the representation. finally he concluded by observing that, "it is his highness' sincere hope that the privilege he has now been pleased to grant will be exercised to the fullest extent, and in the most beneficial manner possible, and that it will be so appreciated by all as to enable his highness gradually to enlarge the circle of electors, so as to give wider effect to the principle of representation in the constitution of this assembly." to this, the first elected assembly that ever sat in india, i was returned as representative of the south mysore planters' association. on the 11th i proceeded to the city of mysore, and on the 12th of october, 1891, attended the preliminary meeting of members, which was held in the rungacharlu memorial hall--a fine building with a large hall, which has a wide daïs at one end, and a, very wide gallery running along three sides of the hall. the meeting was held at 8 a.m. in the body of the hall, where i found that a considerable body of people, who i presume were mostly representatives, were present. the hall was arranged with benches, very much as most modern churches are, and just below the daïs was a long table with chairs on one side of it. it was proposed that i, the only european present, should take the chair, and i accordingly did so, being supported on either hand by two members who had a fluent command of english, and what was of more importance to me, of kanarese, for, though i had a colloquial knowledge of that language, i had not such a command of it as was necessary for satisfactory public speaking. i accordingly read out in english (which a certain number of the audience knew) each, measure i proposed, and then informed the audience in kanarese that one of the members would explain the subject in that language, and i found that this arrangement answered all practical purposes. the following measures had been drawn up by me previously in bangalore after consultation with some leading members of the assembly, and were printed and circulated amongst the members present, and it may not be uninteresting to give some of them here. the first point taken up related to measures for the prevention of famine, and, after some discussion, four proposals were unanimously agreed to, all of them for the promotion of the digging of wells either by private enterprise or through the agency of the state. the next point related to fuel and fodder reserves, which it was agreed should be established on the lands of all villages, or near all villages, wherever land suitable for the purpose could be found. we then turned to a bill i had laid on the table with reference to advances to labourers--an important and difficult subject--when it was agreed that it should be referred to the planters' association for consideration. an amendment on the waste land rules for planting trees for timber and fuel was then considered and agreed to. after this it was resolved that a government agricultural chemist ought to be appointed, who would be competent to advise on agricultural practice, cattle disease, etc., and give lectures on such subjects. we then took up the subject of british interference with proposed irrigation works in mysore, and resolved that the mysoreans should be allowed to have the full use of the water of mysore for irrigation purposes, and be free from any interference as long as the water, or what is left of it, is returned to its original channel. the subject of extradition was next considered, when the representatives resolved that (1) complete reciprocity should be granted between british and mysore territory as regards warrants, and (2) that british jurisdiction over railways in mysore should be given up, or at least as regards all matters of theft. it was next decided that at the close of the session the representatives should continue in office till new members were elected. after this it was agreed that government agricultural banks should be introduced. then the representatives, having sat for about four hours, adjourned till the following day. on the 13th we met again accordingly at 8 a.m., and on this occasion sat in the gallery, which was quite wide enough to accommodate the members. it was proposed that i should take the chair, and i did so, and opened the proceedings by introducing rules to regulate the discussion. these were that the introducer of a proposed measure should be allowed ten, and a discusser five minutes; that no one should interrupt or rise to speak before the previous speaker had sat down, and that a discusser could only be heard once. these rules were agreed to, and i found the last two of great advantage in managing the proceedings. the first two, i was glad to find, were hardly necessary, as anything in the shape of the british, or, worse still, the irish wind-bag, did not appear to exist amongst the members. the next subject taken up was that of organization, and on the assumption that the government would grant our prayer that the present members should not be dismissed at the end of the session, but should continue to be representatives till their successors were elected, it was resolved that there should be a standing central committee of the assembly, and also district and county committees, and it was agreed that the first should consist of twenty-two members--for bangalore and mysore city six members each, one from each district, and one from each coffee planters' association. seven members to constitute a quorum. the district committees were to consist of one from each county, and two from the head-quarters of the district, five being a quorum, and the county committees of three members. we then agreed to the members who were to form the central committee and district committees, and, after that, that the maharajah should be formally thanked for his action on his part as regards the assembly, and that it should be prayed that the measures now asked for might be granted. and finally, it was arranged that the standing central committee should draw up an address to the maharajah, embodying the views and wishes of the representatives. the meeting terminated at about 11 a.m., and immediately afterwards the central committee sat upstairs in a room at an angle of the building, when i was appointed chairman. we first took up the question of funds, and i suggested that each member of the assembly should subscribe one rupee. this was agreed to, and i at once put a rupee on the table, and presently there were about fifteen added, and a list was made out of those who had paid. we then agreed that an address should be presented to the maharajah after the termination of the meetings of the assembly, and afterwards it was arranged that mr. c. rangiengar, b.a., advocate, mysore, should be secretary to the central committee, spend the funds at his discretion for printing and advertising, and render an account once a year. the next day was a _dies non_ as regards the representative assembly, but by no means so as regards the rungacharlu hall, which at eight in the morning presented a most interesting appearance, being filled with a large assemblage of native ladies who had met together to witness the giving of the prizes to the lady students of the maharanee's college. the maharajah presided on the occasion. besides prizes for educational proficiency, there were others for music and singing, and the winners of these played and sang on a platform below, on one side of the daïs. one of the musicians, a tastefully-dressed young lady of thirteen, was a granddaughter of mr. rungacharlu, the first prime minister of mysore. one of the prize-takers was a widow--plainly dressed as widows should be--and as she came forward there was a loud clapping of hands from the women spectators in the gallery. i found, on inquiry, that the reason of this demonstration was that she had lately given a lecture which had been much appreciated by the students. i have no space to give an account of the proceedings, though i hope to do so on some future occasion, and can only say that a more interesting and picturesque assemblage it would be difficult to imagine. on the day following, october 15th, the assembly was formally opened at twelve, when the dewan presided at a table on the raised platform. he was backed and flanked by the principal european and native officers of state, while on his right sat sir harry prendergast, v.c., the resident at the court of mysore. the english representatives, five in all, one of them representing the gold mining interests of the province, had seats on the platform, and so had as many representatives as there was room for. the remainder occupied the body of the hall. the dewan then opened the tenth annual meeting of the representative assembly of mysore, by reading the already printed annual administration report of the province, and it may not be uninteresting to quote the opening sentences of it: "gentlemen, "by command of his highness the maharajah, i have much pleasure in welcoming you to this assembly, which meets here to-day for the first time under the election system sanctioned last year. you come here as the duly elected representatives of the agricultural, the industrial, and the commercial interests of the state. last year, when his highness was pleased to grant the valued privilege of election, he was not without some misgivings as to how the experiment would succeed, but it is most gratifying to his highness that, though unused to the system, the electoral body has been able, in the very first year of its existence, to exercise the privilege with so much judgment and sense of responsibility as to send to this assembly men in every way qualified to speak on their behalf. that men representing the industry and the intellect of the country should have already taken so much interest in the scheme augurs well for the future of the institution. his highness asks me to take this opportunity publicly to acknowledge the expressions of warm gratitude which have reached him from all sides for the privilege of election granted last year." the dewan then proceeded to make his statement of the revenue and expenditure of 1890-91, by which it appeared that the revenue for that period--the largest ever realized by the state--was 145 lakhs of rupees, or, at par,[12] £1,450,000, and the account showed a surplus of 23 lakhs, or £230,000; but from this had to be deducted a sum for expenditure on new railways, which reduced the surplus, or rather, disposed of it to such an amount as to leave a balance of 12-1/2 lakhs, or £125,000. the budget was then taken up in detail, and the dewan showed in the most lucid manner the financial position as regards the various heads of receipts and expenditure, all of which i shall pass over except that relating to gold, which the reader will probably find interesting, for, as the kanarese proverb says, "if gold is to be seen, even a corpse will open its mouth." there was, then, an increase in state receipts from gold mining dues to the extent of 37,000 rupees in the amount of royalty, while "premia and deposits on leases" brought in 71,000 rupees. the mines in the kolar gold field during 1890 extracted 106,903 ounces of gold. three of them--the mysore, ooregum, and nundydroog--showed a considerable increase in production over the previous year. the first increased from 49,238 oz. to 58,183 oz.; the second from 16,437 oz. to 27,351 oz., and the third from 6,129 oz. to 15,637 oz. the dewan then called the attention of the assembly to the working of some of the principal departments of the state, beginning with the railways, and, after giving a very satisfactory account of the progress made, concluded this branch of his subject by observing that "as regards our main railway policy there will be no pause in the course of development, and should our financial condition continue to improve, the next decade will see the province intersected with lines which, in the decade preceding the rendition, were only thought of as remote possibilities." he next remarked on other public works, and showed that in the last ten years no less than 471 miles of entirely new roads had been opened up, while 218 miles of incomplete roads, which had been inherited at the time of the rendition, had been brought up to standard. then he turned to irrigation, and stated that the large irrigation works commenced in former years were advancing towards completion. and here the dewan alluded to a matter of the greatest importance, and to which i shall again return further on. it appears that the supreme government had actually put a stop to certain irrigation works begun by the mysore government on the ground that these would lessen the supply of water from mysore to british territory. as to this the dewan now observed on "the difference which had arisen with the madras authorities as to the rights of mysore to the full use of its drainage areas." the case had been laid before the government of india, and the dewan said that "the basis for a solution of the difficulty has been arranged with the madras government in a way that is likely to remove to a considerable extent the check that the progress of our irrigation works had received in tracts bordering upon the madras presidency." the subject of well irrigation too had not been neglected, and the dewan pointed out that its protective value in times of drought is far superior to tank irrigation, and observed that, "during the last famine the only oases in the midst of the general desolate appearance of the country were, besides the tracts watered by our river channels, those special regions favoured with well irrigation." so important was well irrigation, that the government had resolved to make advances to ryots willing to construct them, at a low rate of interest, and repayable by easy instalments in a long series of years. in the event of water not being found, or found in insufficient quantity, the government had undertaken the risk of failure, so that the farmer was placed beyond all risk of loss. and, in order to facilitate the progress of such works, a special officer had been appointed to give the advances on the spot, so as to avoid the delay caused by the usual circuitous official correspondence. i may here pause for one moment to remark on the great value of the assembly as regards any new measure like the one just alluded to, for it often happens that from the scarcity of newspapers, and the inability of the poorer ryots to purchase them, measures of great value are not taken advantage of, or only are so after a long delay. now an assembly like that of mysore provides an excellent means for distributing information on all government matters, and in one part of his address the dewan particularly requested the representatives from two important districts to explain fully to the people certain matters, the particulars of which i cannot, for want of space, give here. the dewan then went into the interesting subject of forests, and it was satisfactory to notice the progress that had been made in planting, and that sandal wood had year after year been yielding an increased revenue. the transition from forests to elephants was natural, and during the year 70 had been caught. some died after capture and others were liberated. of the 44 retained, 41, of which 14 were tuskers, were sold for 50,705 rupees. having fully discussed the elephants, the dewan turned next to education, and here he was able to record marked progress in every direction, and especially in female instruction. there were now 97 girls' schools in the province, and an important change had been made as regards their immediate supervision, which was now exercised by local committees. "the committees," said the dewan, "have been given large powers of management, and the initiative rests, in almost all cases, with them, subject to the approval of government." the object of this of course was to interest the people in the subject, and the dewan observed that "female education cannot become firmly established in the country until the people begin to look upon the education of their girls, whether children or adults, as necessary, and as obligatory as that of their boys. the government have thought that the best way of securing this result in the infancy of female education is to leave as much as possible to the intelligent and sympathetic guidance of local committees." after alluding to the results of the archæological survey, and dwelling on the fact that during the past year 1,500 inscriptions were secured, some of which were of great value and interest, the dewan then took up the subject of excise, and went into the reforms he proposed to institute as regards that department. the census of feb. 26th, 1891, was next alluded to, and by this it appeared that, including the civil and military' station of bangalore, the population returned was 4,943,079 as compared with 4,183,188 in 1881, and 5,055,412 in 1871. the increase during the last decade was thus very considerable, but mysore has still some progress to make before it can bring up its numbers to the census return of 1871, nearly a million of persons having been swept away in the disastrous famine of 1876-77. the municipal elections were next alluded to, and it was announced that the cities of bangalore and mysore were to have an extension of the electoral system. the important subject of the reform of religious and charitable institutions (there had been several representations made as regards these in previous years by members of the assembly) was next taken up, and it was announced that a specially qualified officer had been appointed to "inquire into the subject on the spot, and to carry out the needed reform in the case of each institution under the general and special orders of government, and, when once all institutions are thoroughly reformed and placed upon a sound and efficient footing, the future management of them on the lines laid down will, as heretofore, have to be carried on by the local executive authorities." after alluding to some contemplated reforms in the civil service of the province, the dewan concluded his able address by alluding to the apprehensions of famine which had been consequent on the failure of the rains, and congratulating the members on the fact that owing to good rain having fallen only a fortnight ago, the threatened danger had now passed away. after the conclusion of the dewan's address i then rose, and, as chairman of the preliminary meetings of representatives, alluded to the subject of the organization of committees which we desired to carry into effect, and urged that, as far as possible, members should avoid going into petty local grievances, and devote their attention to those large general questions which affect the whole province. after i had sat down a translation of the dewan's address was then delivered in kanarese, for the benefit of the representatives who did not understand english, and the assembly afterwards adjourned till the following morning. after the assembly had adjourned the members of the central committee met in a private room, and we agreed on the terms of the address to the maharajah. then we returned to the hall, as it had been thought advisable to take up several matters which had not been discussed at our first preliminary meeting, and it was again proposed that i should take the chair. the first proposal made was that members, instead of being annually elected to the assembly, should be elected for three years, and this was unanimously carried. a leading native member next rose and proposed that no girl under ten years of age should be given in marriage. then ensued a scene of excitement that baffles description. the representatives who, the moment before, had been quite calm and collected, and who looked so passive that it seemed that nothing could have aroused them from a condition of profound composure, became suddenly electrified. a burst of tongues arose simultaneously all over the assembly. several members got up and tried to speak at once, and one of these (i think i see him now), a tall, stout, elderly man with a voice of thunder, and his appearance much accentuated by an enormous bamboo pen which he had thrust behind his ear, entered into an altercation with the proposer of the motion. i had no president's bell, and if i had had one i am sure i might have rung it in vain, and i thought it best to sit still for a little time, and let the representatives liberate their minds. presently, and the moment i saw the first signs of an abatement of the excitement, i rose, and, with a slight signal of my hand quieted the audience, and observed that, as this was a subject as to which there was evidently much difference of opinion, and as it was very desirable that, as regards the measures proposed at our preliminary meetings,[13] there should be a complete unanimity of opinion, i begged leave to suggest to the meeting that the subject might be adjourned, and, if desired, brought up at the next day's meeting of the full assembly. this was agreed to, and a member then proposed that two seers of grain (about equal to four lbs.) should be contributed yearly by each ryot, and stored up in a public granary against times of famine. this, i confess, i thought, and still think, a sensible proposal, as, in the first burst of a famine it is very desirable, till trade operations from a distance get under weigh, that local supplies should exist, but, after some discussion, i found that the proposal met with such small approval, that i did not think of putting it to the meeting. it was next proposed, and as can easily be imagined, carried unanimously, that where, from the failure of the rains, there was absolutely no crop whatever, a remission of the assessment should be granted. finally it was agreed that, at the opening of the assembly on the following morning, i should bring up and speak on all the points that had been agreed to at the meetings over which i had presided, and the meeting broke up at three o'clock. after it was over several of the representatives expressed to me their gratitude for the interest i had shown in the affairs of mysore, and from the numerous evidences i subsequently had of the appreciation of the natives, i felt most amply repaid for the trouble i had taken. on the following morning, friday, oct. 16th, the assembly met at eight o'clock, and i was called on to proceed with my address as chairman of the preliminary meetings, and though i spoke as briefly as possible on each of the points which had been agreed to, my speech lasted for one hour and twenty minutes. after it was over the dewan asked if any member desired to speak on any of the points i had brought forward, but no one rose to do so, which was satisfactory evidence that complete unanimity had existed as regards the various points, and that i had correctly conveyed the opinions of the representatives. the dewan then called upon each representative in turn to state any grievances, or make known any wants which his constituents had desired him to represent, and a great many local wants as regards roads, hospitals, telegraphs, etc., were brought forward. the subject that excited most interest, and afforded some amusement, was that of the age at which girls should be given in marriage, which had been brought forward at the meeting of the day previous. some discussion ensued regarding it, when it appeared that the point as to which the representatives were really most concerned, was that of elderly men who had no children marrying again and again with the hope of getting them, regarding which one of the representatives said to me in conversation, "we object to old fogies marrying young girls." the point was especially urged by one member, who argued in the most serious manner that, if a man when in the prime of life had no family there was little likelihood of success when he was between sixty and seventy years of age. this remark was received with general laughter, and shortly afterwards the dewan made a judicious reply on the whole question, and said that, in his opinion, the interference of the government was inadvisable, and that the question was one that ought to be settled by the people consulting privately on the subject. then the assembly turned to other matters, and finally adjourned at midday. i may here mention that i subsequently had some conversation with natives regarding the marriage question, especially as to the age for consummation, when i found that the pressure of public opinion, and the various discussions on the subject, which had appeared in the newspapers, had already produced a considerable effect in delaying the time for married girls leaving the paternal roof to join their husbands. it may perhaps be not uninteresting to mention too that, on the afternoon of the day on which i made my speech i fell in with two native gentlemen who spoke to me about it. what i found had been particularly appreciated (and very naturally so as water is of such vital importance in india), was the firm protest i had made against the supreme government restricting the mysoreans as to the use, for irrigation, of the waters of mysore on the ground that a more extended use of them would lessen the supply to the adjacent british territory. in the course of my speech, i made a very telling point by supposing, for the sake of argument, that mysore had, as had been originally proposed, been annexed, and made an integral part of the madras presidency. in that case, i asked, would the government have limited the supply of the water to the mysore part of the presidency in order to improve the more distant irrigated tracts in other parts of british territory? i then argued that the british government would certainly not have done so, seeing that, to have so acted would have diminished the means available for contending with famine, for, as i fully urged, it is perfectly well known that the further the water travels the greater is the waste from percolation and evaporation, and the smaller the amount of land it can irrigate. if, then, the british government would not have so acted had mysore been annexed, what right, i asked, had it to interfere with mysore regarding the use of its waters, and thereby to increase the risks of famine in that country? it was no wonder, i continued, that an english officer in the mysore service had been heard to say that he supposed mysore would not be allowed to plant a tree, in case it might precipitate some moisture that might otherwise pass over into british territory. i may here mention another remark which the above mentioned native gentleman made as regards my speech. "it was not so much the speech as the sense of fairness, and frankness, and sincerity which you showed that impressed us." this remark showed, as i have often found, that the common idea of natives always having recourse to flattery is a mistaken one, and it was rather interesting to find the ideas of ancient times repeated by one who could have heard hardly anything in the way of public speaking. the reader may remember how quinctilian in effect said that there is no instrument of persuasion more powerful than an opinion of probity and honour in the person who undertakes to persuade, and how it has been pointed out that the powerful effect caused by the speaking of pericles really lay in the confidence which the people reposed in his integrity. but it is time now to turn to the proceedings of the assembly, which had been adjourned to saturday, october 17th. on that day, then, we met at 8 a.m., and it was proposed by one of the representatives that the collection of the land revenues should in future be postponed till after the harvest, as the present times of collection were inconvenient to the cultivators and often compelled them to borrow money, or mortgage their crops in order to find money to meet the government demands. the change asked for was warmly urged by the speaker, who gave very convincing reasons, which i have no space to repeat here, in favour of the proposed alteration. after this speech was over the dewan turned to the head revenue officer and consulted him, and also two english officials of great experience. i did not look at my watch, but i am sure the consultation did not last five minutes. the dewan then turned to the assembly and said, "this proposal is granted," and the decision was received with loud applause. the chief revenue and settlement officer afterwards told me that this was the most important point ever gained by the assembly. i may pause here to remark that what i saw and heard at the assembly, combined with what i previously knew of the mysore government, satisfied me that a more perfect form of government does not exist in the world. here, as we have just seen, was a most important measure gained for the country after what was really a very short consultative meeting between the ruler and the ruled. the ruler--in other words the dewan--was sitting like a judge on the bench, patiently listening to and taking notes of the various wants of the people as the representatives came forward--occasionally consulting with his officials--granting some things, absolutely refusing others, and announcing sometimes that the subject brought forward would be taken into consideration, while the representatives seemed to be perfectly satisfied that the ruler would willingly do, and was willingly doing, the best he could for the common interest. i may mention that i was particularly struck with the dignified, gentlemanly and friendly manner of the dewan when consulting his english officials, and there was evidently a mutual appreciation existing, which i had afterwards distinct knowledge of when i subsequently heard some of these officials alluding, in private conversation, to the dewan. i have a great dislike to the idea of being thought guilty of flattery, but i cannot refrain from recording the remarkable fact that (and how rarely can this be said of any public man), while i have heard much in favour of the dewan, i have never heard a single deprecatory remark made concerning his administration of the province, either by natives or europeans. mysore is indeed extremely fortunate in having such a man as mr. sheshadri iyer, since made sir k. sheshadri iyer, k.c.i.e., at the head of affairs. he has already been granted an extension of the usual period of office (five years), and it is to be hoped that the very doubtful practice of selecting a new man for this important office, even though there may be a valuable one at the helm, may be put aside for at least some years more. the assembly sat on the two following days, and was concluded by the presentation of an address to the maharajah, thanking his highness for having instituted an elected assembly, and praying that the various wants brought forward might meet with favourable consideration. in all, the assembly, inclusive of the preliminary meetings of the representatives, sat for eight days, and though there was much earnestness in discussion, and much difference of opinion, not a single case of an exhibition of ill feeling occurred, with the exception, as we have seen, of the occasion when the marriage question was brought forward, though that may be called an exhibition of warm and excited feeling rather than ill feeling. as the reader will remember, the representatives have no power whatever, except, and a very important exception it of course is, of ventilating in public, and in the presence of the dewan and the leading officers of state, whatever grievances and wants they may desire to call attention to, and the machinery for this ventilation is now so complete that the requirements even of those inhabiting the most inaccessible corners of the province can be readily made known to the government. and now this question naturally arises. when, if ever, is it probable that this assembly will demand for itself some direct power of controlling, or directing the government? as far as i could see at the time, or can see now, the assembly is never likely to ask for any power whatever, and i confess that i was much struck with the fact that, though i had many private conversations relating to the assembly, both with natives and europeans, i never expressed myself, nor did i ever hear anyone express, a desire that the assembly should have any power. but after a little reflection, the explanation of the absence of any such demand seems to be extremely obvious, for if we look into the history of all parliamentary institutions such as we have, we shall find that they have arisen primarily from misgovernment, and i say primarily because such institutions in the united states and in our colonies are merely inheritances from the forefathers of the english founders of these countries. the insuperable difficulty, then, in the way of those who desire to create parliamentary institutions in india is, that there is no misgovernment on which to start them, and that is why the indian national (so called, for there is nothing really national about it) congress have found it advisable, as a preliminary step, to try and persuade the people, with the aid of lying and seditious pamphlets, that they are misgoverned. if indeed i were the absolute monarch of mysore i could certainly, i feel sure, create parliamentary institutions, but only in one way that i can think of. i should misgovern the country and worry and oppress the people, and at the same time keep the assembly going, and after a time i should thus create a desire on the part of the representatives to have some means of keeping me in check. but at present there is no one to keep in check. the government is really too good for the creation of any desire for change. for the ruler of mysore is not only desirous of meeting the people half way, but even of anticipating their wants, and the people have a ready means of making their wants known. and, when making known these wants, their representatives are not only free from the expense and annoyances to which members of parliament are exposed, but have a most enjoyable time of it as well, for the assembly is held at the time of the great annual festival of the dassara, when there are wonderfully picturesque processions, illuminations, and displays of fireworks. in fact, were it not for these attractions, i feel sure that it would be a difficult matter to get the representatives together, because, though they are of course easily able to find many wants, there are no grievances so real as to make the people generally take much, or indeed any, interest in the proceedings of the assembly, and in this connection i may mention the following confirmatory facts. on the morning following the breaking up of the assembly i left mysore to make a tour in coorg to visit the plantations in that district, and drove first of all sixteen miles to breakfast at a travellers' bungalow on the main road. while breakfast was being prepared i went for a stroll, and fell into conversation with the first native i met, who, i found, was, with the aid of a number of labourers, working a plantation of palms and fruit-trees at a short distance from the bungalow. i expressed a wish to see the plantation, and, when on our way there, told him that i had just been attending the representative assembly at mysore. just imagine my feelings, when he told me that he had never heard of it, nor indeed when he did hear of it did he ask me a single question about it. and yet we were only sixteen miles from the capital, and on one of the main roads of the province. he was, too, a man of fair intelligence and, though we conversed in kanarese, he told me that he knew some english, which proved that he was a man of a certain degree of education. on my return to my estates i found that, though the natives had heard of the assembly (probably because the native representative lived within a few miles of my house), no one seemed to take any interest in its proceedings, and i do not remember having been asked a single question with reference to it. the explanation, of course, of this state of things is that the people are perfectly contented, and satisfied with the steady progress they see going on around them. there is therefore no demand[14] for representative institutions, or the acquisition of power by the people, for while they see abundant signs of progress, there is no oppression, and therefore there are no real grievances. but, though there is no such demand, i must caution the reader against supposing that i do not attach much importance to the assembly as a highly valuable means of bringing the people and their rulers into friendly touch with each other, and as a most useful means of inter-communication regarding every fact that it is important for the ruler and the ruled to know. such an assembly is indeed of the highest value, and i have no doubt that a similar kind of assembly would be valuable in many parts of india. and such assemblies will in the future be far more necessary and valuable than such institutions would have been in the past, because, in former times, the rulers, not being nearly so much burdened with office and desk-work as they now are, had far more leisure time to mix with the people, and hear from them the expression of their wants or grievances. i have alluded previously to the lying and seditious pamphlets which have been circulated by the so-called indian national congress (and i say so-called because, as we shall see, there is really nothing national about it), and allude to them again partly in order to point out that they are a most cheering evidence of the universal good government in india, because, had it been really ill governed, there would have been no occasion to issue the pamphlets in question. the fact is, that the agitators of the congress found it necessary to create a case as a ground-work for demanding representative institutions for india, and began by imitating the action of the irish agitators. and here, for the benefit of those who have not had time to study indian affairs, it may be as well to give a brief description of the indian congress, more especially as those who know but very little of india may confound it with the kind of assembly we have in mysore, and which i have suggested for adoption in other parts of india. when i was passing through poona in the year 1879, i was called upon by seven leading members of the native community who knew of the interest i had taken in indian affairs, and in the course of our conversation they made some remarks on the desire of the educated natives for some share of political power. i then explained to them that, as it was clear that india was entirely unfit for representative institutions, the only result would be that power would be transferred from a limited class of englishmen to a very limited class of natives, which would be of no advantage to the country whatever. my remarks were followed by a dead silence which was broken by one of them saying, in a desponding tone, "you have educated us, and you have made us discontented accordingly," thus illustrating very forcibly what i suppose solomon meant when he said, "he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." but, however that may be, the utterance of the native in question explains the origin of the indian congress which was started in 1885 by a small number of the educated classes who began to climb the political tree with considerable vigour, illustrating as they did so the native proverb which tells us that "the higher the monkey climbs the more he shows his tail." and, in fact, the members of the congress showed theirs so completely when they climbed to the top of their political tree at madras in 1887, that their proceedings would be hardly worth noticing were it not that they might be the means of prejudicing the proper claims of the natives to consultative assemblies like the one we have in mysore. with people less advanced as regards common sense than the natives of india, and also less suspicious of the educated classes, the congress wallahs, as they are sometimes called, might have done some mischief, but the only harm they have really done, and i consider it no small harm, is to lower the educated natives in general in the ideas of those who have not had an opportunity of knowing the best of them, and so appreciating their admirable abilities and calm common sense. for when the public knows, as all those who have paid any attention to the subject do know, that the members of the congress are now selling pamphlets which are intended to bring the queen's government into hatred and contempt, its opinion of the educated natives of india is not likely to be a high one. and in order to make quite sure that the congress is still selling the pamphlets in question, i suggested to the secretary of the athenæum in june, 1892, to purchase for the library of that club (and he accordingly did so), from the indian congress office in london, a copy of the congress proceedings with which the pamphlets in question are bound up. and it may not be uninteresting to note here that mr. dadabhai naoroji, m.p., as a leading member of the congress, is therefore one of the sellers of the pamphlets. it is, however, only fair to add, as an excuse for mr. dadabhai naoroji and his misguided associates, that they have, after all, only followed on the track of the irish agitators, and no doubt consider that the preaching of sedition against the government to whom they owe so much is the proper course to pursue when aiming at political power. and as an extenuation of their action it should also be considered that the members of the congress, who at first were acting in a perfectly legitimate manner, eventually fell under the guidance of a retired member of the indian civil service--a certain mr. hume--who seems to have lodged some of his own extravagant ideas in the heads of the raw and inexperienced members of the congress, and who is supposed to be the author of the seditious pamphlets. and now let me give a brief account of the congress, and its aims and views. the first congress, which met in bombay in december, 1885, consisted of seventy-eight persons, who came from twenty-five places. they were neither elected nor delegated, and how they came together does not appear in the published proceedings of the congress. the principal resolution passed on the occasion related to the reforms of the various indian councils. the second congress, which was composed of 440 persons, who were partly elected and partly delegated, and of persons who could produce no evidence of being one or the other, met in calcutta in december, 1886, and (p. 10 of report of 1887) "passed a series of resolutions of the highest importance," which is undoubtedly true, as the result of them would, if carried into effect, practically be to substitute the rule of the congress for that of the queen. this change was proposed to be effected by reconstituting the provincial, legislative, and governor-general's council, enlarging them, and giving "not less than one half" (p. 217 of report of 1887) of the seats to members elected through the agency of the congress. this proposed measure was justly considered by the delegates to be the key of the position, as we shall more fully see when we come to the consideration of the proceedings of the next congress. this, the third congress, met at madras in december, 1887, when 604 delegates (a large number of whom were lawyers and newspaper editors), who "were appointed either at open public meetings or by a political or trade association," assembled and passed no less than eleven resolutions. the second, fifth and eighth of these are worthy of notice, as also are the seditious political pamphlets previously alluded to, which, for convenient reference, are bound up with the report of the proceedings. the second resolution (p. 82 of report of 1887) reaffirms the resolutions of the two previous congresses, which demand the expansion and reforms of the various indian councils. here the first speaker (p. 83) was a mr. bannerjee, a newspaper editor, who in his introductory remarks in support of the resolution assured the delegates that "the dream of ages is about to be realized." we are not the legislators of the country, he further on remarks, "though we hope to be so some day when the councils are reconstituted," and eloquent was the language of the speaker when he subsequently dwelt on the fact that the power of making the laws would at once give them every reform they could desire. mr. bannerjee was succeeded by other native speakers, who dwelt warmly upon the advantages of representative institutions, and these were followed by mr. norton, coroner of madras, who most highly extolled the resolution. "that," he said, "is the key of all your future triumph" (p. 90), and further on in his speech he urges them to persevere up to the day "when you shall place your hand upon the purse strings of the country and the government," for, he continued, "once you control the finances, you will taste the true meaning of power and freedom." and here, after all the talk about the value of representative institutions, and just as the congress seemed to be on the verge of recommending parliamentary institutions such as we have, the members suddenly wheeled about and practically declared that india was unfit for them by deciding (p. 91) that, as the rural districts might not elect suitable members, the so-called representatives of the people were to be nominated by an electoral college, which was to be composed of members sent up from the various district and municipal boards, chambers of commerce, and universities. the power of election was thus to be conferred, to use mr. norton's words, on "a body of men who would practically represent the flower of the educated inhabitants." these views were much applauded by the delegates, who thus ratified the system of nominating the so-called representatives, and which system, i may add, is carefully laid down in clause 2 of resolution iv. of 1886 (p. 217). having thus most practically declared that india is quite unfit for representative institutions in the ordinary sense of the word, mr. norton proceeded to point out that, as the desired power for reconstituting the government is not likely to be obtained in india, they must work on the people of england, who at present believe, he says (p. 92), that the indian government is "being beneficiently carried on." "you must disturb that belief," he continued. in other words, he might have said, you must do what the parnellites did, or attempted to do, in england. and accordingly the congress wirepullers have set up an agency in london, and have posted placards purporting to be an appeal from 200 millions of india to the people of england. but after all, the desired majority in the indian councils, which the delegates rightly declared to be the key of the whole position, would be insufficiently supported without an army and an armed population at the back of it, and all in sympathy with the native soldiers in the english service. these wants, however, are carefully attended to in resolutions 5 and 8, which we will now briefly glance at. read by itself, the fifth resolution seems to be harmless, and even laudable, for it expresses a desire (p. 123) for "a system of volunteering for the indian inhabitants of the country such as may qualify them to support the government in a crisis." but the writer of the introductory article to the report (p. 48) shows the great value the force would be in bringing pressure to bear on the government, and points out that, with 250,000 native volunteers, with many times that number trained in previous years, and backed by the whole country, and with all the native troops (p. 49) more in sympathy with their fellow-countrymen than with the english, the present system of government would be impossible. and it is further pointed out in the introductory article that "this means a revolution--a noiseless bloodless revolution--but none the less a complete revolution." then the writer reckons that these volunteers "will be backed by the whole country," and this naturally leads to the consideration of the eighth resolution, for the backing would obviously be of much greater value were the whole population armed. this resolution (p. 147) demands the repeal of the arms act on account of the "hardship it causes, and the unmerited slur which it casts on the people of this country." now as any respectable person can obtain a license to carry firearms for under 4s., and as cultivators are granted licenses gratis in order that they may, free of all charge, defend themselves and their crops from wild animals, and as we know further from the great number of licenses granted that there can be no difficulty in obtaining them, it is evident that there can be no hardship in connection with this act--a conclusion which is further confirmed by the fact that, in consequence of the number of guns in the hands of natives, wild animals are becoming rarer, and, as i can personally testify, have in many cases been almost completely exterminated. and if we consider further that the necessity for taking out a license in india can inflict no greater slur than is cast on the english in england by their having to take out gun licenses, it is evident that the vehemently expressed desire for the repeal of this act is only explicable when read along with the previously quoted remarks with reference to the native volunteering and the armed population in sympathy with them at their back, and with the detonating matter which appears in those seditious pamphlets to which i shall now briefly refer. these pamphlets, or rather translations of them, are printed at the close of the report of 1887, and complete our view of the situation, which may be shortly described by saying that, while the delegates in the van deliver speeches for english consumption full of expressions of loyalty and praises of our rule, the wirepullers in the rear are distributing pamphlets amongst the people in which all expressions of loyalty are absent, while all the evils the people suffer from are attributed to our government, and the queen's english officials are held up to execration as types of everything that is at once brutal and tyrannical. the second pamphlet gives us a dialogue between a native barrister, and a farmer called rambaksh, and between them as much evil is said of us and our rule as can well be packed into so short a space. as an instance of the way in which the english officials ill-treat the natives, rambaksh declares that because on one occasion he had not furnished enough grass for the horses of the collector--mr. zabardust (literally a brutal and overbearing tyrant), he had been struck by the sahib over the face and mouth, and that by his orders he (rambaksh) had been "dragged away and flogged till he became insensible. it was months before he could walk" (p. 209 of report). then the india of the present is contrasted with what india would be if it were under the rule of the congress, and an allegorical comparison is made between the village of kambaktpur (the abode of misery) and that of shamshpur (the abode of joy). the moral is that british rule, which is typified by the former, is making the people poorer and poorer, that through it land is going out of cultivation, that oxen for the plough are becoming scarce, that the villages are going to ruin, and that nothing nourishes except the liquor shops in which the government encourages drinking, while the very irrigation works we are providing as a protection against famine are described as an evil, and a mere pretext for extorting more money from the people. the village of shamshpur (the abode of joy), on the other hand, is described in glowing colours, and we need hardly say is the home of the institutions to be introduced by the congress. the only conclusion to be drawn from all this by the masses of india is, that the sooner they rebel against the existing rule, and substitute for it the rule of the congress, the sooner will they leave the abode of misery, and enter the abode of joy, where all the delights to be provided by the congress will be theirs. the imaginary dialogue concludes (p. 214) with a demand for money to carry on the work, and the barrister suggests to the farmer various injurious means for the collection, which rambaksh promises to carry out. he then tenders payment of some fees previously owing to the barrister, who indeed receives the money, but magnanimously declares his intention of enrolling rambaksh as a member of the association, and paying in the fees as a contribution from rambaksh. "blessed are the earnings of the virtuous which go to the service of god," said the barrister, and with this pious utterance the dialogue closes. with the aid of these pamphlets in dialogue form, it appears, from the statement in the introductory article of the report, that the emissaries of this indian league have been gathering in money from the poorest classes in india, down even to coolies. no less than 5,500 rupees, it appears (p. 11), were collected from 8,000 persons, in sums varying from 1 anna to 1 rupee 8 annas, and some 8,000 rupees were contributed in sums of from 1 rupee 8 annas to 30 rupees. but it is unnecessary to pursue further the work of the congress, and it is sufficient to say that its proceedings were lately brought before the house of commons, and that the action of mr. hume, in writing and publishing a kind of proclamation of a most objectionable character in connection with the congress, was denounced in the house of commons in strong terms. it is time, however, to close these brief remarks on the indian congress. it still exists, but in a languishing form, and will probably gradually disappear. it has sought to bring the queen's government into hatred and contempt. the only effect it has had is to bring the educated classes of india into ridicule and contempt in the minds of those who are imperfectly acquainted with them, and perhaps to delay the extension of those representative assemblies which are so well suited to the requirements of the inhabitants of india, and the value of which i trust i have sufficiently shown. since this chapter was written i have met with a passage in one of the speeches of a member of the congress which is highly creditable to the candour of the congressionists, and which proves that we are quite right in keeping in our own hands all, or nearly all, important executive and governing power. the passage occurs in the fourth report of the indian national congress (p. 49), and one of the members said on this occasion: "but it is a fact, which no one present will call in question, that what preponderates in the national character is quiescence or passivity, the active virtues being thrown into the background, or remaining in a state of dormancy." and further on the speaker says, "the virtues we are sadly deficient in are courage, enterprise, the will to do and the heart to do." (cheers.) these remarks, which were received with assenting cheers, should be read in connection with those made on the queen's proclamation in the earlier pages of this chapter. i may observe finally that if the above-mentioned qualities are, as the native speaker complains, deficient, it is simply because the climate of india is not favourable to their production. as an indian gentleman once said to me in london, "here i am glad to go out for a walk. in madras i find it an exertion to walk across a room." that explains our presence in india, and the necessity for keeping all important active work in our own hands. the natives are not at all to blame for being deficient in the active virtues. we ourselves, our bull-dogs, and our vegetables would alike decline without constant renewal by fresh importations from england. footnotes: [11] the landed qualification varies from 100 rupees to 300 rupees, and the house and shop qualification from 13 rupees to 18 rupees. this arrangement has evidently been made to suit the wealth or poverty of particular parts of the country. this seems to be rather an inconvenient system, and it is difficult to see why the lower rates of qualification should not be made universal. [12] for all practical spending purposes in india the rupee may be reckoned at par. it is only when it requires to be turned into gold for the purchase of articles in england that its gold value must be taken into account. [13] the meeting now held was, i am aware, quite out of order, but as the assembly had taken a new departure some laxness was permissible at first. [14] on looking at the government report of the proceedings of the assembly for 1891 (which i may observe was not published till the year following), i find that, though 340 members were elected, only 262 attended. no less than seventy-eight members failed to put in an appearance, and the only probable explanation of this that i can give is that these members felt that they had nothing in particular to represent to the government, and therefore thought that they might much better remain at home. chapter iv. natural history and sport. after the numerous books that have been written on sport in india, a chapter on this subject might at first sight seem superfluous. so might, at first sight, another novel full of what has been written thousands of times before about love. and yet we never tire of hearing or reading of either, and naturally, for both appeal to the imagination, and carry the mind far away from business or carking cares, or, in other words, that proverbial smoky chimney with which every house is provided. and if the mere reading of love or sport makes men and women feel better because it takes them away from themselves (we should have no mirrors in our rooms), what must the reality of either be? for both dart through the system with electric and delight-yielding force, and produce effects which, to those who have not experienced them, are wellnigh incredible. and, as regards big game shooting in particular, the effects are so astonishing that one almost ceases to believe in them till another experience proves over again that sport, or even the prospect of sport, can effect miracles, or at least that it can cause an alteration in the system through the action of the mind. and, some eighteen months ago, i realized this most vividly when feeling much out of sorts, and indeed unfit for anything. for just at the time of my deepest depression, news came in that a tiger had killed two cattle in my plantation, and, what made the news much more acceptable, two trespassing cattle--animals which are the plague of a planter's life. the news acted like a charm. i at once felt slightly better, better still when i arrived at the spot and saw the traces of the cattle having been dragged along the ground, and the bodies of the slain--one more than half eaten and the other untouched--and almost well when i returned to the bungalow to make preparations for hunting up the tiger. there is no tonic half so good as news of a tiger, and i feel that even news of a bear would rival in a great many cases all that a doctor could do for me. but, though tiger shooting is a valuable and delightful sport, it is equalled if not eclipsed by stalking on the mountains amidst the beautiful and splendid scenery of the western ghauts, when you traverse the forest-margined open lands rifle in hand, feeling that everything depends upon yourself, and followed by a tried and experienced shikari on whose keen sight and coolness you can thoroughly rely. there are natives of course and natives, just as there are europeans and europeans, but there are natives who have been gifted with the greatest daring, coolness, and the promptest presence of mind, and who are capable of much personal devotion to those who know how to treat them. i was fortunate enough to have one of these in my service, and to no sporting scenes in life can i look back with greater pleasure than when i was able, with my trusted native follower, to spend delightful mornings and evenings, and at certain times whole days, in stalking bears, bison, and sambur in the western mysore mountains. danger, too, there was at times, and quite sufficient to give a pleasing amount of adventurous feeling to the sport. indeed, without this moderate degree of danger the sport would have been of quite a different kind, for is it not evident that all sport is to be divided into two widely different classes--sport in which you are liable to be attacked, and sport where the attack is all on one side? it is, in short, the danger, or the possibility of danger, which is the vital elixir of big game shooting, and which gives one, too, an opportunity of knowing oneself, and gauging one's presence of mind, or the want of it, as the case may be. but what, after all, is the amount of danger? that depends very much on the experience of the sportsman. you may make big game shooting as dangerous as you please, and by following up a wounded bear or bison in a careless manner meet with an accident, but if proper precautions are taken, the danger of following up these animals is by no means so great as is generally supposed. but, though that is so as regards bears and bisons, i must caution the reader against supposing that there is not considerable risk in following up wounded tigers on foot, and there can be no doubt that, as sir samuel baker says, following a wounded tiger into the jungle on foot is a work of extreme danger. but even this may be largely diminished if proper precautions are taken, though it must be admitted that, from the great difficulty of distinguishing a tiger lying amongst dried forest leaves, there must be a considerable amount of risk, though the amount of it is rather difficult to determine, but i may mention that though i suppose upwards of forty tigers have been killed in the neighbourhood of my plantation, only two natives have been killed when out shooting. besides these accidents, one man recovered from thirteen lacerated wounds, and another was deprived of his ear and cheek by the blow of a wounded tiger's paw. as regards the comparative risks to life of tigers, bears, and panthers, i have only been able to meet with one return which throws any light on the subject--a return which confirms the native view as to the bear being more dangerous than the tiger, and the panther much less dangerous than either. the return in question is to be found in the "north kanara gazetteer," and was supplied by the late colonel w. peyton, who wrote the section on wild animals. from this it appears that in north kanara, during the twenty-two years ending 1877, 510 tigers were killed and 44 persons killed by them, one of whom was lieutenant power, of the 35th madras infantry. between the years 1856 and 1882 51 bears were killed and 22 persons killed by them, one of whom was lord edward percy st. maur, second son of the duke of somerset. between the years 1856 and 1877 805 panthers were killed and 22 persons killed by them. from these returns it would appear that the bear is about four times as dangerous as the tiger, that the tiger is about three times as dangerous as the panther, and that the bear is about fourteen times as dangerous to man as the panther. as regards comparative destructiveness to animal life, i may observe in passing that the tiger seems to be more troublesome than the panther, and that colonel peyton records between 1878 and 1882 4,041 deaths of cattle killed by tigers against 1,617 killed by panthers. the bison (_gavoeus gaurus_) would appear to be very seldom dangerous to man, if i may judge by the fact that in his long experience colonel peyton does not record a single death from the gaur, though he observes that it frequently charges when attacked. in my part of mysore i have heard of but one death, which occurred in the case of a native who was tracking a bull which had been wounded by one of my managers. the wild boars, i may here add, seem to be now, from being much hunted, no doubt, more dangerous than they were in former years. within the last two years in my district five persons were severely wounded by them, of whom three died. but it is natural that all wild animals should become more dangerous the more they are hunted, and, rather to my amusement, my old shikari, to whom i have previously alluded, complained in a querulous and aggrieved tone that every animal--even the sambur deer--seemed to charge one nowadays. and this is a fact worth recording, and if wild animals are declining in numbers, it is some comfort to think that the sport to be had from the remainder will improve. but it is time to close these rather desultory remarks, and treat the subject in a systematic manner, and i now proceed to say (1) something as regards the natural history of mysore, and (2) something as to the big game shooting of the province. i may here mention that all the anecdotes given will either be interesting from a natural history point of view, or told with the view of illustrating points likely to be of use to the inexperienced sportsman. as the author of the gazetteer of the province, in his opening sentence on the fauna of mysore, says with much truth, that "nothing less than a separate treatise, and that a voluminous one, could do justice to the marvellous wealth of the animal kingdom in a province under the tropics marked by so many varied natural features as mysore," i need hardly say that i have only space to make a cursory allusion to the subject. the varieties of animals, reptiles, birds, fish, and insects are indeed very numerous, and though mr. rice informs us that he has only made an attempt to collect the names of the main representatives, he enumerates no less than 70 mammals, 332 birds, 35 reptiles, 42 fishes, and 49 insects, though only the leading families of the last are given, and many kinds of fish have not been identified. but, though i cannot, as i have said, go at any length into the subject, i can at least, give the names of the animals and birds which are of more or less interest to sportsmen, and perhaps touch upon some which are mainly of interest to the naturalist. there are then to be found in mysore, elephants, tigers, panthers, hunting leopards, bears, wolves, jungle-dogs, hyenas, and foxes. amongst the graminivorous animals i may mention the _gavoeus gaurus_, commonly called bison (a name to which i shall adhere as it is the one in common use), the sambur deer, the spotted deer, the hog deer, and the barking deer or jungle sheep. there are four kinds of antelopes, the nilgei, four-horned antelope, the antelope, and the gazelle. of the birds, i may mention 12 varieties of pigeons, 2 of sandgrouse, 2 of partridges, 8 of quail, peafowl, jungle-fowl, spenfowl, bustard, floriken (a kind of bustard), woodcock, woodsnipe, common snipe, jacksnipe, painted snipe, widgeon, 4 kinds of teal, and 5 of wild ducks. i may mention that there are 9 kinds of eagles, 20 kinds of hawks, and 13 varieties of owls. as regards reptiles, crocodiles are the only ones that sportsmen take any interest in, and they are to be found in many of the rivers of mysore. fish of various kinds are to be found in the numerous large tanks in mysore, though i may add, that some of these pieces of water would elsewhere be called lakes, as they are sometimes upwards of twelve miles in circumference. the well-known mahseer abounds in the rivers of the western ghauts of mysore, and gives excellent sport, and in the opinion of some anglers, superior to salmon fishing. i have said in my first chapter on coffee, that the life of a planter to any one fond of nature and an open air life is an agreeable one, so agreeable that, though from accidents of fortune no longer dependent on coffee, i still find it the most pleasant life in the world, and return to it annually with pleasure, and i think that the mere enumeration of the varied forms of animal life, which are so interesting both to the sportsman and the naturalist, will go far to justify my conclusions. having thus glanced at a part of the fauna of the province, i now proceed to the big game shooting section of my chapter, but, before doing so, i may mention that it is stated in the "mysore gazetteer" (vol. ii., p. 13) that, according to old legends, the lion was once to be found in the province. of elephants, and elephant shooting, i have had no experience. in mysore and in british india they are reserved by the state which, from time to time, captures the elephants by driving them into large inclosures, and there is a record of one of the sales of captured elephants in my second chapter. but the reader need not regret my want of experience here, as it would be difficult for any one to add to the admirable and exhaustive account of elephants and their ways which is to be found in the late mr. sanderson's[15] admirable work. his death is really much to be lamented, for he was not merely a destructive sportsman, but an intelligent and sympathetic observer of the wild animals he lived amongst, and i think i am only repeating current opinion when i say that a more admirable and interesting work of its kind never was written. mr. sanderson, i may mention, was specially employed by government to superintend the capture of herds of elephants, and also to hunt man-eating tigers, and tigers of obnoxious character. tigers, as to which i shall have, i am afraid, rather too long an account to give, are fairly numerous in the forests of the western ghauts, and some other parts of the country, if i may judge by the fact that rewards were paid for 68 in 1874, and for 100 in 1875, but in former times they were much more numerous in certain parts of the province, a fact which is testified to by general dobbs, who when a young man was in civil employ in the chittledroog division of mysore in 1834. he mentions in his "reminiscences of life in mysore"[16] that his division was infested with wild beasts and, to reduce their numbers, he obtained from one of the officials a plan of a pit 12 feet long, 12 feet deep, and 2-1/2 feet wide, closed with brushwood at both sides and one end. wooden spikes were fixed at the bottom, and the top of the pit was covered over with light brushwood. a sheep or goat was then tied inside at the closed end, where there was standing place left for it. as tigers usually spring on their prey they are thus sure to fall through the light brushwood into the pit. "in a short time," writes the general, "48 royal tigers were thus destroyed, four of which were brought to me on one morning. mr. stokes, the superintendent of the nuggur division, obtained from me the plan of these pits, and in an equally short time caught upwards of 70 tigers. now comes a circumstance which i can vouch for, but cannot explain. in a short time the success in both divisions terminated, and never again did a tiger fall into one of these pits, though numbers of tigers continued to infest the country." one result of the success obtained is worth recording. the balance of nature had been destroyed; the tigers to a great extent lived on wild pigs, and these, after the destruction of the tigers, multiplied so rapidly that the general records that there was an increased destruction of extensive sugar plantations. and i may note in passing, that the balance of nature may equally be destroyed from the other end of the line, and tigers made much more destructive than they otherwise would be. this is remarkably so near the western passes of mysore, for never were tigers more numerous or destructive than they have recently been in my neighbourhood, and this is clearly to be traced to the great destruction[17] of deer, pigs, and bison by the natives in the immediate vicinity of the great forests, a subject to which i shall afterwards have occasion to allude. the sudden spread amongst the tigers of the news about these pits is really very remarkable. we know that animals and birds are taught by example and experience to avoid certain dangers--that birds, which are at first killed in considerable numbers by telegraph wires, gradually learn to avoid them, and that hares which are at first excluded by rabbit netting in the course of time take to jumping it, but it is certainly impossible to explain by anything we know as regards the spread of experience amongst animals as to how the news could spread amongst the tigers, over a tract of country about half as large as scotland, for traps were set in two out of the four divisions into which mysore was then divided. it has often been a subject of remark that tigers, without any motive that we can even guess at, avoid certain parts of the country which, to us, seem to be equally favourable to them. this is remarkably so in my district in mysore, parts of which, apparently quite as suitable for tigers as other parts, have never been known to hold one. it is also remarkable that they invariably cross from one range of hills to another by almost exactly the same route, at least such is my experience. these tiger passes as they are called by the natives are well known to them. there is one about a mile and a half to the north of my bungalow, and another at about the same distance to the south, and between these two points i have never heard of the track of a tiger being seen except on one occasion. it seems singular that, as so much has been written about tigers, there should be any dispute as to the way in which the tiger usually seizes its prey, but i find that mr. sanderson differs widely from captain forsyth, and captain baldwin and others, and says that, though the tiger does occasionally seize by the nape of the neck in the case of his having to deal with very powerful animals, his usual method is to seize by the throat; and another sportsman of great experience tells me that, though he has seen hundreds of kills, the seizure was always by the throat. in my part of the country it is so much the usual method for the tiger to seize by the nape of the neck, that a native, when asked if he is sure that it was a tiger and not a panther, always puts his hand to the back of his neck, and if he says that the animal was seized by the throat, we invariably assume that the seizer is a panther. as mr. sanderson was a most careful observer, i cannot doubt the correctness of his experience, and as little can i doubt the experience in my neighbourhood. but this apparent discrepancy may easily be explained, and i regard it as probable, or even quite certain, that tigers may vary their method of attack in accordance as they live mainly on game or mainly on village cattle. in the case of a bison, a wild boar, or of a large and powerful village buffalo, mr. sanderson admits that the seizure is by the nape of the neck, and that no doubt is the rule with the forest tigers, such as those that have been killed near my estate, and which have lived mostly upon game, but i can easily conceive that tigers that have lived on village cattle would attack in a different way. there is also another difference between mr. sanderson and other sportsmen as to the tiger killing animals with a blow of its paw. mr. sanderson does not in the least believe that the paw is so used, but captain williamson[18] considers the paw as "the invariable engine of destruction." "i have seen," he says, "many men and oxen that had been killed by tigers, in most of which no mark of a claw could be seen." i have not paid much attention to this subject, but i do recollect one instance of a bullock that had been killed by a blow of the paw, as i remember being struck by the fact that there was no apparent cause of death, but on a closer examination i found a wide bruise, evidently from the tiger's paw, on the side of the head. a friend of mine of great experience tells me that he has known of animals being killed by a blow of the paw. that men are commonly killed by a blow of the paw on the head i have little doubt. captain williamson mentions a case that occurred in his presence, and i knew of a doctor who had examined seven bodies, and in each case the skull had been fractured by a blow of the paw. general rice,[19] when giving an account of the seizure of cornet elliot, mentions that he had a narrow escape from a blow of the tigress's paw, which he guarded off with his uplifted rifle. the stock of the rifle was marked with the claws, while the trigger and guard were knocked completely flat on one side, so that the gun was useless until repaired. there is no doubt, then, that the tiger can, and does sometimes, use his paw with deadly effect, though i have little doubt that he prefers to use his teeth, as the shock of a blow to the paw must, in the case of a bullock at any rate, be very considerable. the carrying power of tigers is very great, and has often been remarked on, but it has been doubted whether they often carry off an animal without some part of it dragging on the ground. mr. sanderson gives some instances of their doing so; and i have known of one instance in my neighbourhood where a tiger after killing a bullock took it into the jungle and carried the carcase along the trunk of a tree which had fallen across a ravine. but considering its size, the dragging power of a panther is much more remarkable, and it seems to carry off a bullock as easily as a tiger does. on one occasion a panther killed a donkey close to my bungalow, and carried it off, and had even attempted to jump up the bank of an old ditch with it, which was five or six feet high, but had failed in the attempt and abandoned the carcase. but why the panther did not drag the donkey down to another part of the jungle, where it could easily have dragged the carcase into it, is difficult to conceive, unless we suppose that these animals have not, after the failure of one plan, mind enough to try another. perhaps this is so, or that they take the pet in a case of failure and go off in disgust. i imagine that this kind of feeling must influence tigers, for i once found an uneaten carcase of a bullock wedged between two rocks. a tiger had killed, high up on a mountain side, and taken the carcase into the nearest ravine, evidently with the view of dragging it towards the water further down the hill. on his way he had to pass through a narrow passage between two rocks, and here the carcase stuck fast, and he had in vain tried to pull it through, but it had never occurred to him to pull it out backwards (which he might easily have done when the carcase was only slightly wedged) and try another route. but, after all, we must not be surprised, at this, as even the human animal does not always readily find the solution of a fresh difficulty. tigers, it is well known, are good swimmers, and seem to have no difficulty in taking the carcase of a bullock with them, if i may judge by the fact, which was told me by a friend, that a tiger once swam eighty yards across a river in the northern part of mysore, taking with it the carcase of a newly killed bullock. tiger shooting in the western ghauts is always carried out without the aid of elephants, and it is seldom that one can obtain, even for the first shot, a fairly safe position. colonel peyton, whom i have previously quoted, says that a man is not safe under sixteen feet from the ground, but it is seldom that such an elevation can be obtained, as the country is so steep that, though you have a fair drop on the lower side of the tree, a tiger from the upper side may easily spring on to you, and is then generally on your level, or even higher. of course you select a tree where, in theory, the tiger must come on the lower side, but tigers will often take most eccentric courses, and last year, after having taken up a position on a tree which had a drop of eight feet on the lower side, and where it was assumed by all of us as certain that the tiger would pass lower down the hill, it came on the upper side, on rather higher ground than the cleft i was sitting on, and so close that i could have touched it with a spear, and had i not fatally crippled it at the first shot, it might easily have jumped on to me. but i entirely agree with colonel peyton that it is always best for several reasons to get into a tree, even though it may not be a high one, or indeed into a scrubby tree so low that your feet are only some five feet from the ground. in the first place, you can command a wider view, then you are concealed, and can let the tiger pass your line, and as the tiger could pass under your feet you are not in his way, and there would be little chance, if you reserved your fire till he had passed, in his either attacking you or being driven back on the beaters. colonel peyton, whom i quote with great confidence, is in favour of a bamboo ladder with broad rungs to sit on, and which will enable you to have your feet eleven feet from the ground. to illustrate the risk of sitting on the ground, i may mention the following incident: many years ago news was brought that a tiger had killed cattle some six or seven miles off. the distance was considerable, the news came late, and it was, i think, about three in the afternoon when i reached the spot. the beaters were all ready and impatient, no doubt, owing to being kept waiting so long, and as i did not wish to delay them, and had no ladder, and there was no suitable tree, i took a seat on the ground behind a bush which lay on one side of, and about twenty yards from, a depression in the land through the bottom of which, by all the laws of tigers, the tiger ought to have passed to the main forest beyond. i had no sooner seated myself than i saw, from the lay of the ground, that if the tiger should happen to break at a point in a line with my bush he would probably gallop on to the top of me before it would be possible to make more than a snap shot. i at once left the spot and climbed a small tree on the opposite side of the depression, and this enabled me to have my feet some five feet from the ground. presently the beat began, and with a roar, and an evident determination to charge anything in his way, a very large tiger broke cover at full speed and went exactly over the very spot of ground i had been sitting on. at the pace he was coming at i do not indeed think he could have stopped himself, and i hardly think i should have had time to fire, and i have often wondered what would have happened had he galloped on to myself and my man. however, as it was, i was all right, fired just as he passed the bush and knocked him over with one shot, and put another into him as he got half up and struggled into the jungle, apparently with his back broken, and lay down about a few yards aside of it. and now by a curious coincidence we just missed what must have been a very serious accident, and this is well worth mentioning, as it confirms what another writer has said as to the care that should be used in approaching a tiger supposed to be dead. after the beat was over the beaters rushed up, and one of the natives, who had no doubt seen the tiger from a point on the hill above, said, "his back is broken, and he must be dead; let us go in and drag him out." feeling that it would be better to wait a little longer to make quite sure, i said, just to quiet them, "stand the people in line and count them for the division of the reward." i had not counted more than five when up got the tiger close to us with a startling roar, and i then experienced what colonel peyton has said, namely, that there are very few even of the stanchest sportsmen who will not draw back a pace or two at the sudden roar of a wounded tiger. on this occasion i removed more than that, for i at once seized a rifle and ran several yards up the hill to gain the advantage of the ground, and i need hardly say that there was a slight scatter amongst the unarmed natives. but as the tiger did not charge out, i saw that he was probably off, and at once ran down the side of the jungly ravine to head him, and at the first break in the jungle got up into a tree. the tiger almost immediately appeared on the opposite side of the ravine, going steadily along, and showing no signs of being wounded whatever, and i fired at, but missed him, partly on account of my awkward position in the tree and partly from excitement. then i ran on to the next open break in the jungly ravine, and again got up into a tree. by this time the beaters came up in the rear of the tiger, who refused to go further down the ravine, or was unable to do so, and the natives sent to me to go up and attack the tiger in the jungle, to which i replied by requesting them to be good enough to forward the animal to me. however, as he refused to move, and it was getting late, i went up the ravine, and they pointed out the tiger, which was lying on its side. i fired a shot at it, when it got up, then i fired another at once, and it fell and died almost immediately. this was by far the largest tiger ever killed in our district, and an old sportsman who had seen much of shooting during a long residence in india told me that he was sure he had never seen a larger skin, and did not know that he had ever seen one as big. as evidence of size, he attached, i may mention, great importance to the width of the skin of the tail just at its junction with the body. the paws of this tiger, too, were remarkably larger than those of other tigers. i found that the first bullet had taken effect in the neck, which it had no doubt grazed with sufficient force to paralyze the tiger for a time, and colonel peyton records a similar case where great risk had been incurred from approaching a tiger apparently dead, but where the spine had been merely grazed. what i have previously mentioned illustrates one danger from sitting on the ground, and i may give another instance which occurred to me in 1891. i had gone after a tiger, and my shikari had prepared an excellent seat on a tree at an absolutely safe height. the tiger, however, had shifted his ground, it appears, to an adjacent jungle. this consisted of one long and rather deep ravine, with several spurs at which the tiger might break. it had several times previously happened that tigers had come up the bottom of this ravine, and i had once killed one there from a tree in the jungle, but the trees so situated are difficult to ascend, and we did not wish to make a noise nor to waste time by making a ladder, so i determined on sitting on the ground in the jungle, about twenty yards from the bottom of the ravine, and made myself perfectly comfortable. while keeping an eye on the bottom of the ravine up which the tiger was expected to pass, i was suddenly startled by a roar from some little distance behind us. my old shikari at once saw the danger we were in, and looked extremely disturbed, and no wonder, for he saw at once that the tiger had been driven back by a stop at one of the spurs, and might come down on us from behind, so that we should have had no chance of seeing him till he was almost on the top of us, and as a matter of fact he did pass down into the ravine rather higher up and just out of our sight, and from this we failed to dislodge him. on the whole, for every reason, i am much against sitting on the ground. you are liable to be run into sometimes, as we have seen, and at others you are not high enough up to command the ground, and there is a greater chance of driving a tiger back on the beaters. there are, however, occasions when one must sit on the ground, and if you have occasion to do so, it is of course advisable always to try and get about twenty or thirty yards on one side of the course the tiger is likely to take, and always let him pass your line of fire before firing. it is also of great importance to have as your second man one who can remain absolutely motionless when a tiger is advancing towards him. to illustrate the importance of this i may mention the following incident: i was posted one day in a tree, when the tiger charged back through the beaters with a roar, and i had at once to get down and run to another point of the jungle to cut him off. i then tried to get up a tree on the grass land near the edge of the jungle, and next tried another a little further off, but could not got up into it, and when the beat recommenced there was nothing for it but to sit down beside a bush about one hundred yards from the jungle, and on ground on almost exactly the same level as the tiger would have to traverse. but this bush was so small that it only partially concealed me, and the entire body of my native second gun-bearer was exposed to view. this man fortunately had a most remarkable power of sitting absolutely motionless under any circumstances which required stillness. i also was fully prepared to remain quite still, and arranged myself so as to fire at the tiger when he was exactly in front of me. it was interesting to observe what followed. the tiger was evidently an old hand. he had anticipated our plan, and charged back through the beaters, as we have seen. he had also evidently anticipated the alterations we should probably make, and when the beat recommenced he cautiously emerged from the jungle and looked up (it is a rare thing for a tiger to do this) into the tree near the edge of the jungle into which i had tried to climb. he seemed then to be quite satisfied that all danger was at an end, and strolled leisurely towards us. as he was passing the point which put the whole bush between me and him, i cautiously levelled my rifle, which i already had in almost exact position to fire, so that when he came into my full view i had the sight on the second stripe behind the shoulder. by a curious coincidence he stood quite still when he came into my full view, and, as he was only about twenty yards away, presented a very fine sight. but i reserved my fire till he had moved forward a pace or two, and then i fired, and on he bounded. then followed one of those picturesque, exciting, and somewhat amusing scenes, which can only occur in tiger shooting on foot. for the leisurely proceedings of the tiger had given the beaters time to get to the end of the cover just as i was firing at the tiger, and as i ran round the hillside to the other side of a ravine which ran down the hill, they ran forward so rapidly and plunged so suddenly into the jungle, that the tiger came out just below me. i fired at him, and so did one or two of the natives who had run up to join me, and the tiger fell dead in the air in the middle of a long bound. but running and excitement are not favourable to accuracy of aim, and the tiger, on this occasion, was struck by only one ball, and, strange to say, in the sole of the foot, and the only bullet-mark on his body was from my first shot at him. my account of the incident may be valuable to an inexperienced sportsman, and illustrates also the peculiar disadvantage of sitting on the ground, because if the tiger had walked straight up to me, and i had fired at him in the face, which i should have been obliged to do, he would, if not killed outright, probably have either gone back amongst the beaters, or charged me. i have alluded to my second gun-carrier on this occasion as being a man who had the greatest power of remaining still under all circumstances, out shooting, when it was necessary to do so, and i may also mention that he was a man who combined the greatest coolness with the greatest daring. he was of a hindoo peasant family, entered my service as a workman, rose to be a duffadar or overseer, and for many years has been head overseer on my coffee estates, and he is as good as a planter as he is as a shikari. i could give many instances of his cool daring. on one occasion a wounded tigress--it was the cold weather season, when everything was still green about the edges of the jungle--went into a ravine which was flanked by a great bed of ferns about five feet high. the natives looked at this bed into which the tigress had disappeared with considerable doubt, and one of them said, "how is anyone to go in here?" "i will show you," said rama gouda quietly, and he picked up several large stones, threw them into the ferns, and then plunged into them. i afterwards killed the tiger on foot in the ravine, but of course he ran the risk of coming upon it in the ferns. but the coolest thing i ever knew him to do was when a manager of mine wanted to fire at a tiger as it was approaching him. it was in the days of the muzzle-loaders, and as rama gouda knew that to speak would be fatal, he quietly but firmly put both his fingers on the caps when my manager presented the gun at the tiger, and kept them there till the tiger had reached the proper point for action. then he withdrew them, and my manager killed the tiger. it is contrary to all rule, on account of the beaters, to fire at a tiger till he has passed you, and as the manager and rama gouda were seated on the ground, if the tiger had been fired at face to face an accident might have occurred. on only one occasion did i ever see him disturbed, and that was when he took up a position at a beat for big game. presently he heard a hiss, and on looking round found a reared-up cobra about to strike at his naked thigh. he saved himself by a jump on one side, but he showed by his eye when he mentioned the circumstance that he had been somewhat commoved. the natives have an idea that a tiger will not attack a group of from four to five people massed together, and in 1891 four or five unarmed natives proposed that i should sit on an absolutely bare piece of ground, and that they should sit round me, and that the tiger should be driven up to us. but this offer, and more especially as i had only one gun, i declined, with thanks, unless they could find a small bush or piece of rock to sit behind, and as neither could be found, i took up a position on a steep hillside and on a scrubby tree, which i thought safe enough, as i assumed that the tiger would pass on the lower side of it, but it approached close on the upper side, and on rather higher ground, and could easily have sprung on to me, as it was not more than fifteen feet distant, thus again illustrating how difficult it is in a hilly country to get into a reasonably safe position. altogether, the risks of tiger shooting in a hilly country where elephants cannot be used, and where you may have to run to cut off a wounded tiger or follow one into the jungle, is attended with risk even to the most experienced. the amount of that risk is difficult to determine, but i may say generally it is such that while bachelors, or married men of independent means whose families are well provided for, in short, people whose lives are of no cash value, may freely go into the jungle on foot after wounded tigers, and generally throw themselves in the way of the animals, i do not consider it right for a married man, whose family is dependent wholly or partially on his exertions, to go after tigers on foot, or without the aid of elephants, for though a man may resolve to stick to safe positions, they are often difficult and sometimes impossible to find, and the excitement soon does away with all feelings for one's personal safety. though i have no doubt that it is, generally speaking, true that a tiger will not attack a group of four or five people, i am not at all sure that this is correct as regards a wounded tiger, and a tiger i had wounded once sprang into a party of i should say at least twenty people, and killed one of them--at least the poor man died in the course of a few hours. i always regretted that i did not obtain and preserve his belt. at the back of it was the iron catch with which to hitch his wood-knife, and the tiger's tooth had grazed one side of the iron, and cut it as if one had worked at the iron with a steel file. another instance too occurred of a tiger attacking a party, or at least one of a party which was approaching a tiger. several tigers, it appeared, had been marked down, and the jungle in which they were was surrounded by nets. this was done in mysore on the arrival of the russian princes some years ago, but one of the tigers had managed to elude the shooters, and, as the native magistrate of the district was anxious to have it killed, a sporting photographer who was there undertook to look it up. as they approached the thicket in which the tiger was concealed the tiger rushed out with a sudden bound, aimed a blow with its paw at the leading native, tore his scalp right off and flung it on to a bush, bit the man in the arm, and retreated into the thicket with such suddenness that no one had time to fire. the poor man afterwards died. the great danger from following up wounded tigers on foot in the jungle arises from the extraordinary difficulty of seeing the animal when it is lying amongst dry fallen leaves, into which the body partially sinks, and this is more particularly the case if there is a flickering sunlight coming though the branches of the jungle trees. in one case of this kind, though i could see the tiger when it half raised itself up--it had been wounded in the back--i failed to pick it up the moment it sank back into the leaves; and my shikari told mo of another similar case he had seen when there was a similar flickering light. but even without that source of confusion to the sight a tiger is extremely difficult to see, as difficult as a hare in a ploughed field, or perhaps more so. on one occasion rama gouda said to me, when we were attacking a wounded tiger, or rather tigress in the jungle, "there is the tiger." "what!" i said, "that thing looking like a stone?" the light was bad. we both supposed it to be dead, but i said, "i suppose i had better take a shot at it," and did so, and, when the smoke cleared away, found that the tiger had removed. then a native went forward and gently parted the reeds with his hands, and showed me the tigress--which had moved about twenty yards--on her side, and evidently in a dying condition. she was now only a few yards from me, and i fired at her, and she rolled over and died. as it happened, i do not think that i ran much risk, but one never can exactly tell how much vitality a dying tiger has, and in the case previously alluded to i have no doubt that the tiger must have died immediately after he made his fatal attack on the party. it is owing obviously to their great power of concealment that tigers are so very rarely ever seen by accident, and mr. sanderson says that during some years of wandering in tigerish localities he has only come upon them accidentally about half a dozen times, and my own experience, and that of other sportsmen to whom i have spoken, quite confirms this. but i am persuaded that a native can see a tiger much more readily than a european, and the former have, i think, much better distinguishing power. for instance, a european has great difficulty in seeing a green pigeon in a green tree till the bird moves, while a native seems to have no such difficulty. my own sight is, or rather was, very good, but i found on one occasion, when i was stalked by a tiger, that it was most provokingly defective as compared with that of a native. the incident occurred in this way. in cloudy weather, during a break in the monsoon, i was beating a ravine for game, and had sent my second gun-carrier with the beaters. as the beat was drawing to a close, i heard a sambur deer belling at the head of a ravine, about a few hundred yards from the termination of the jungle we were beating. as i thought i might get a shot at it, i went across the grassland in the direction of the sound, and up to within about ten yards of the edge of the jungle, the fringe of which at that point projected a little. i could see nothing, but as the people were coming my way in any case, i remained where i was. the first person to arrive was a very plucky hindoo peasant--a keen sportsman and splendid stalker--and when he almost touched me he at once pointed and said "there is a tiger." i put my rifle to my shoulder, and said to him "where?" "there," he said, and as he put his hand on my shoulder i could feel it trembling with excitement. alas, i could not make out the tiger; but, after all, that was not so very wonderful, as the day was dark, and the underwood fringe rather thick, but the tiger actually managed to back gradually away without my being able to see him. he had evidently been stalking the sambur, which had uttered the note of alarm i had heard, and no doubt seeing that there was something at the edge of the jungle, had crawled to the edge, and there lain down within ten or twelve yards of me. tigers seem to recover easily from wounds, and so completely, that no trace of a bullet having entered the body can be found. on one occasion i shot a tiger, and when the skin was being removed we perceived a lump on the inner side of it. this we opened, and found that it contained a bullet which a brother of mine had fired into the tiger about a year before. we had no difficulty in identifying the bullet, as no other rifle in the country had anything like it. the tiger was perfectly well and fat, and had not a mark on it of having been previously wounded, and yet the bullet had gone close to mine, which proved fatal to the tiger. in 1891 i killed a tiger, which had evidently, from his action, been hunted before. he was in unusually good condition, and yet had a piece of lead in him, which appeared to be a fragment of an express bullet. but a friend of mine tells me that he has often found old bullets in tigers. it is a surprising thing that tigers and panthers seem often to be little influenced by wounds, and i have heard of one case of a panther, for which a sportsman was sitting up, which returned to the kill after being wounded and fired at several times. a friend of mine was once out small game shooting on the nilgiris when a tiger seized one of his dogs. he at once put a ball cartridge into his smooth bore, had a beat, and wounded the tiger. on the following day he returned to the spot with his rifle, and again beat the jungle, when he killed the tiger, which had returned and finished the dog, and then found that the bullet of the day before, which had struck the tiger in the chest, had travelled nearly the whole length of the body. i recollect once shooting a spotted deer which had a matchlock ball lying up against its liver, and pressing on it, but the deer, though it had good horns, was rather a stunted animal. i have previously remarked that, in the opinion of colonel peyton, even the stanchest sportsman when on foot in the jungle, is liable to be startled by the sudden roar of a wounded tiger close at hand, and so much so as even to draw back for a pace or two, but he says that the effect is only momentary. in 1891 i again had an opportunity of observing the effects on myself and others of the roar of a wounded tiger in the jungle, but on this occasion, though i confess i was very considerably startled, and generally commoved for a moment, as i had expected to find the tiger dead, i did not step back a pace, nor did the stanchest of the natives who were with me, though a certain number climbed right up to the tops of trees. as it happened, there was, after all, no danger, for the tiger had been damaged in the back, and i soon dispatched it. the effect of the roar of a tiger is really very remarkable, and of this the animal itself seems to be well aware, for the tiger i have just alluded to--evidently an old hand, from the trouble he had given us and the cunning he had displayed--remained in the open, or came out into the open as the beaters approached, then roared at them and afterwards retreated into the jungle--a narrow ravine in which he seemed determined to remain, though shots were fired into it, and in which i think he would have remained had not the beaters charged into it in a body in the most plucky manner. a friend of mine also met with a similar instance, where a tiger came out--confronted the beaters and roared at them. the beaters may see the tiger, and quite close, and yet not be much disturbed, but a roar even a good way off has on them a disturbing effect, though it is difficult to see why the nerves should be affected more easily through the medium of the ears than the eyes. i may here mention that, when the sportsman has a damaged heart, the roar of a wounded tiger, at least if the shooter is on foot in the jungle, is apt to produce a slight flutter of that organ, though that, too, like the effect alluded to by colonel peyton, is momentary. having had for some years a rather damaged heart, i was interested in experimenting as regards the effects of tigers on its action, but could come to no very distinct conclusion. i was once in an extremely insecure position on a conspicuous cleft of a bare tree, with my feet not more than seven or eight feet from the ground, when the tiger galloped into the arena as it were in the most sudden manner, and passed within fifteen feet of me. i knocked him over with a ball in the back at the second shot--the first, from the awkward position i was placed in, having either missed, or done him little harm. the tiger then lay on his side, with his head turned backwards and resting on his shoulder. he kept his eye on me, and i kept mine on him, and i did not fire again, as my second gun native (we had never expected the tiger to be where we found him, and were on our way home) had seated himself on another tree. in a low tone he said to me "load, load!" but the moment i took my eye off the tiger to do so he began to wriggle into the jungle, and i only got a snap shot at his hind leg. now when the tiger roared, which he did as he approached me, and he lay watching me, i felt no sensation of the heart, though i felt a distinct flutter when loading and when the tiger was wriggling away. on the following day, however, i felt my heart to be rather the worse, but i attributed this to exposure to the sun. on another occasion, which occurred shortly afterwards, i shot a tigress so close that i could have touched her with a spear, and she was on rather higher ground than myself, but on this occasion neither when i fired, nor when she fell, and turned her head to me and showed me all her teeth, did i experience any heart effect whatever. i must say, though, that i had my attention strongly turned to the necessity of not allowing myself to be excited, in case it should be bad for my heart, and the power of the will must no doubt have much effect in controlling the action of the heart. anyone who has anything the matter with his heart should take digitalis before going out, and also take a few doses of this tonic with him, as well as some very strong beef-tea. he should also endeavour to go after the tiger in the morning or late in the afternoon, and lie in a cool place in the jungle in the heat of the day, as i am quite sure, from my own experience, that exposure to much sun heat is bad for the heart. as heart disease, from the excitement of life, is becoming more common, these hints may be useful. since writing the preceding, i went out after a tiger near my house, where i was placed on a tree quite out of the reach of a tiger--in fact it was too high, and showed me the great disadvantage of being more than say fifteen feet from the ground. the beat was a peculiar one, and i was posted just inside the jungle. the beaters were rather long at their work, and i had fallen into a reverie, from which i was aroused by three roars of a tiger just behind me, and the roars were not charging roars, but of a character which meant, in tiger language, that people had better look out. now the tiger was below me, and i was as absolutely safe as a man at home in his armchair, and yet i felt my heart throb quickly. the explanation of this no doubt was that i had forgotten to take my dose of digitalis before starting. being in the jungle i was under great disadvantages from having to shoot through the underwood, and, though i knocked over the tiger, and there was plenty of blood to prove it, we lost him. this tiger is known as the lame tiger from being so in the right fore leg--the result of an old wound probably--and some ten days after my wounding him a curious coincidence happened. a young married lady, who was at the time on a visit to my bungalow, had expressed a great wish to see a tiger, and, when leaving for bangalore in her bullock coach between nine and ten o'clock one night, very nearly saw the lame tiger. he was standing in the road some miles from my house, at a sharp bend where the road deflects abruptly to cross a nullah, and waited till the coach got within ten or fifteen yards of him, whereupon, after delivering three moderate growls, he limped down off the road, and stood for a moment looking at the coach and bullocks. all sportsmen must regret the necessity for tying out live bait for tigers, but this is really a fully justifiable proceeding, as thereby an immense amount of pain is saved to animal life in general, and an immense sum of money to the native population. the destruction of cattle by tigers is really enormous, and, i believe, far exceeding that reported to government, and it is so mainly because the tiger is only allowed to eat a fraction of what he kills, as the moment that news of a bullock being killed reaches the village, the low class natives at once proceed to the spot, drive away the tiger, and carry off the beef. and this is only prevented when an english sportsman is within reach, in which case the cattle owners prevent the people from touching the carcase. it is often very annoying when tying out baits for tigers, to find them destroyed by panthers, as the panther, of course, from his habit of climbing trees, and concealing himself in the foliage, and from a kind of general facility that he seems to have for getting out of the way, is a difficult animal to find, in fact so much so, that i latterly would never go out after one, unless it had killed quite close at hand. in 1891 i was once much annoyed to find that a new kind of bait with an additional attraction had been quite ruined by a panther. this attraction consisted of a goat picketed in an open-topped (that was the mistake, it ought to have been closed) wooden cage which was placed in the branches of a tree, on the edge of the jungle, and about fifteen feet from the ground, while a bullock was picketed on the ground in the open land, about twenty yards away. the theory was that the, to a tiger, attractive aroma of the goat would be widely diffused, and that he might, too, further attract the tiger by his cries. news (false as it afterwards turned out to be) was brought in that a tiger had killed the bullock, and i toiled up on to the mountain some seven miles away from my bungalow, merely to find that a panther had killed the bullock and that my goat was hanging dead by the neck outside the cage just like a carcase in a butcher's shop. the panther had seized the goat, killed it, and jumped out of the cage with it, and had either not sense enough to cut the rope with his teeth, or had his suspicions aroused from finding the animal tied. to show that the suspicions of an animal can thus be aroused, i may mention the following incident, which is also especially interesting as showing the great skill of the tiger as a stalker and the singular power he has of stepping noiselessly on dry leaves, and his power to do mischief after being apparently shot dead. but before doing so i may mention rather an interesting circumstance. besides the bait killed by the panther, i had two bullocks tied out in the neighbourhood, and as i did not care much for that part of the country, ordered them to be released and brought home with us. i was much struck with the earnest and business-like air with which these poor animals, which had spent some miserable nights in the jungle, expecting every moment to be killed by a tiger, trotted along, on a line often parallel with the party, and it somewhat reminded me of a picture i had seen in an illustrated paper, of the hunted deer amicably trotting home with the hounds and huntsmen. the fact was that they were determined to get home in good time, for fear, i suppose, of being shut out of the cattle shed, and though, just as they neared the shed, the remainder of the herd, which had been out grazing in the neighbourhood, appeared within twenty yards, the liberated baits got first into the shed. and now for my story showing how easily the suspicions of the tiger are excited. a near neighbour of mine--at least he lived ten miles off---was much annoyed by tigers which, from the continuous nature of his large block of evergreen forest land, he could only get at by sitting over a bait. on one occasion he had tied out a bullock, in a piece of land of a few acres which he had cleared in the middle of the forest, and concealed himself on a tree. it was during the day, and the ground was covered with dried leaves which are so brittle in the hot weather that even the scratching, or walking of a bird can be heard some way off. presently a large tiger--my friend knew that he was about--made his appearance and commenced a stalk so elaborate and careful that my friend declared it would have been worth 1,000 rupees to a young sportsman to have witnessed it. he put every paw down so carefully, gradually crushing the leaves under it, that my friend, though quite close to the tiger, could not hear a sound. between the tiger and the bullock was the butt, about four feet high, of a felled tree, with long projecting surface roots, and this saved the tiger much trouble, for he got on to one of the roots, and carefully balanced himself on it, and so without noise was able to walk quickly along till he came to the butt which he seemed to wind round like a snake, and he then got on to a corresponding root on the other side, and walked along that. in short, he approached so gradually and noiselessly, and his colour against the brown dry leaves was so invisible, that he got quite close to the bullock before it perceived him. the moment it did so it charged, but the tiger, avoiding the horns, swung round the back of the bullock, and then sat up and put both its paws on its neck evidently to drag it down, but it then perceived that the animal was tied, and at once turned and sprang into the forest with such rapidity that my friend did not fire. he however sat patiently on, and after a considerable time the tiger reappeared, went through the whole stalking performance as carefully and exactly as before, and was seen and charged by the bullock as before. but this time the tiger was in earnest and seized the bullock. there was a struggle, the rope broke, and the bullock dropped dead, and then the tiger stood for a few seconds, a magnificent figure in the bright sunlight, looking all round as it were for signs of danger. whether the tiger saw or smelt my friend is uncertain, but it suddenly lay down behind the bullock, interposing the carcase between itself and my friend, and resting its head on the body. as it is always more or less precarious to fire at the head of an animal where it may suddenly move my friend waited to get a body shot, but as the tiger had evidently no intention of moving he fired at the head and the tiger was apparently shot dead on the spot. but my friend, who was an experienced sportsman, waited a little, and in the end thought it safe to fire another shot before going up to the tiger. he did so, when the tiger sprang up and went off into the forest at full speed, and fell and died at some little distance away. the first bullet had struck the tiger below the eye, but had been deflected, and was found lodged in the jaw. my friend thinks that it would have proved fatal to the tiger, but that is doubtful, as tigers make such wonderful recoveries from wounds. in tying out baits it is very important to use a chain instead of a rope, as the tiger will commonly cut the latter and carry off the carcase, and it is sometimes desirable, or even necessary in some cases, to sit over the carcase and await the return of the tiger. the latter is always the case where there are great continuous forests, where tigers cannot be isolated, or successfully pursued, unless one has an army of men and many guns. this form of sport, which mr. sanderson speaks highly of, i can imagine may be very interesting, but it is also very tiresome and tantalizing. a great many years ago i remember trying it for two nights, but without any success, and never again tried it till some years ago, when i made an attempt in one of the forests at the foot of one of the passes leading down to mangalore. my people had no experience in the matter either, still we might have been successful had the carcase been chained. i took down a small herd of cattle from my plantations, and ordered some baits to be tied one evening, and early the following morning went round to look at them. in the first case we found that the rope had been cut and the bullock carried off and deposited in a depression in the ground about fifty yards away. the carcase was untouched. in the next case we found that the rope, which was a very strong jungle creeper as thick as a large-sized rope, had not been cut, but that the animal had been killed, and merely a few steaks as it were eaten from the rump. in the third case we found that the bullock, which had evidently been the first one seized, was about half eaten. in the fourth case the bullock, which was an old one, had not been touched. i think my people made a great mistake in tying out so many cattle so close together--they were not one hundred yards apart--still this certainly made matters more sure from one point of view, as a tiger crossing the country might have missed one bait, whereas he could hardly have missed four, but his having killed three baits made our proceedings a little mixed. i first ordered the surviving bullock to be taken home, and two of the carcases to be dragged away to a considerable distance, and resolved to sit over kill number two, as it was the best animal, and in the most convenient position, but unfortunately i ordered two of my people to take a seat on a tree near the place where number one had been killed and carried off, and the tiger, which went there first, looked up and saw them and growled. his suspicions of course were aroused, and the result was that he did not come at all to the kill i was sitting over--at least while i was there. after it was too dark to see to shoot i went home, and returned the following morning, when i found that the tiger had returned, cut the rope, and carried off the bullock to a distance of about two hundred yards, and eaten a good deal of it. i organized a small silent beat of a section of the forest, but nothing came of it. my head man then resolved to prepare a watching place in a tree near the carcase, and this time i resolved to follow mr. sanderson's advice, and begin to watch quite early in the afternoon. my man finished his arrangements by about midday, and, after breakfasting at home, i returned with him to the spot at about three o'clock. horror of horrors, the carcase was gone again. my head shikari--the rama gouda, whom i have previously noticed as being such a cool and daring fellow--was enraged beyond measure. he at once, without saying a word, cut a creeper from the nearest tree, and without even a gun in his hand set off on the trail, but not, i observed, before gun-bearer number two, also a daring fellow, had looked at him with an inquiring eye, as much as to say, "are you not a trifle rash?" i followed rama gouda, though i was not quite sure of the prudence of our proceedings, and presently we perceived by the chattering of a squirrel that the tiger was moving along close to us. then we came to the carcase, of which there was now only about half left, and from the tracks about it, and the quantity of flesh eaten, rama gouda was satisfied that the tiger must have watched him making his preparations and then carried off the carcase the moment he had left. rama gouda now lashed the creeper to the bullock's horns, and, with the aid of the second man, proceeded to drag it back to the watching place he had prepared, and which was about one hundred yards away. by this time, the hinder part of the bullock had been eaten and only the fore part was intact and the carcase smelt horribly. there was something so ludicrous in the whole thing that i could not, and much to rama gouda's surprise, help laughing. the unfortunate animal had first been driven thirty miles from his home into these remote forests, then killed, then his remains were carried off as we have seen, and then again carried off, and now what was left was being dragged back again to the watching place. rama gouda soon arranged matters to his satisfaction by restoring the remains to their original position, but certainly not to mine, for there presently arose a most asphyxiating stench, which seemed to fill the entire air, and reminded one of what soldiers must often have experienced in our eastern campaigns. we waited till it was too dark to see to shoot and then went home, and early next morning i had to start for the coast, and thus ignominiously ended the only attempt of the kind i ever made. the tiger was evidently an old hand and was playing a regular game of hide and seek with us. the great error made was the neglect of mr. sanderson's advice as to chaining the bait in the first instance. some tigers always carry off the carcase each time they visit it, and a friend of mine told me that when he was once sitting over a carcase, the tiger made a sudden rush, picked up the carcase in the course of it, and made off so suddenly that he had no time to fire. i can easily understand that, as mr. sanderson says, there is a considerable charm and interest connected with this method (and in some cases it is the only method) of pursuing tigers, but i can see that it requires much experience, caution, and patience, and i would particularly advise those interested in this matter to consult mr. sanderson's valuable work. i have often found in conversation that people are surprised to find that tigers eat tigers when a suitable opportunity for doing so presents itself, but considering that man still, in some parts of the world, eats his fellow man, it seems to me extremely natural that a tiger should eat a tiger. i have, however, only met with one instance which occurred in my neighbourhood, and in this case i am strongly inclined to think that the eaten tiger was first of all killed. the incident occurred in this way. shortly before my arrival in india one winter, my manager wounded a tiger, but i do not think very severely, as the tiger not only travelled at least two miles, but ascended a mountain up to a considerable elevation. along one side of the mountain is a rather long strip of forest, which is a favourite place for tigers either to pass through or lie up in, as it is quite out of any village-to-village route, and had the tiger been hard hit he would certainly have remained there. but not only did he not do so, but skirting the jungle, or passing through it, he climbed up a steep ascent, evidently with the view of going into the next valley, and near the top of the ascent his living history ends. knowing from the direction taken by the wounded tiger that he would probably be in the jungle on the mountain side, my manager had it beaten on the day following, when a tiger came out which he took to be the wounded tiger, and which he killed. it then turned out that it was not the wounded tiger, but a fresh tiger with the wounded tiger, or nearly all the meat of it, inside him, and all that was recovered was the head and the skin of the chest, which i saw after my arrival, and which was sent in to government for the reward, and by the size of the head it must have been a fine tiger. when i visited the jungle in 1891, i carefully cross-examined the natives in the matter, and they said that they could not say whether the tiger had died from wounds or whether he had been killed by the tiger that had carried off and eaten the body, but they were positive that it was a tiger that had eaten the body, from the tracks, for the body had been taken down to water, on the margin of which no other tracks but those of a tiger were visible, and these were clearly defined. they could also be distinctly traced from the place in the open grassland whence the body was carried. taking all the circumstances into consideration--the distance travelled, the steepness of the ground, and the fact that the tiger passed a favourable jungle for lying in, i am strongly of opinion, in fact, i consider it almost certain, that the wounded tiger must have been dispatched by the other tiger, which was hungry and could not resist the smell of the blood. there is nothing remarkable in a tiger eating a tiger found dead, and i have read and heard of instances of this, and also of tigers fighting, and the vanquished tiger being eaten. it is a common idea that tigers cannot climb trees, but this has arisen from the fact that they have seldom occasion to do so. mr. sanderson mentions the case of a tigress having been seen to climb a tree in a wood on the nilgiri hills, and though he has never seen a tiger in a tree himself, deprecates the idea of there being anything impossible in the matter, and if we come to consider that the large forest panther, which commonly ascends trees, is really often nearly as heavy as a small-sized tigress, there is nothing at all improbable in the tiger doing so. i myself have never seen a tiger in a tree, but one of my managers did, who once went out after a tiger which he had wounded. he then ran on to cut him off, and tried to get up into a tree, but not succeeding in the attempt, went and took a seat some way off on the hillside. the tiger presently emerged from the jungle, went to the tree and began roaring and scraping at the ground, and he must have either smelt traces of the manager or seen him trying to get up into it, and concluded he was there. however, he deliberately went up the tree paw over paw, and got into a cleft of it and looked about in the tree, and then came down backwards, and was shot in the act of descending. i sent and obtained measurements of this tree, the stem of which was 16-1/2 feet up to the first branch. the tiger climbed up so far, and looked around in the tree. another case was told me by rama gouda, to whom i have previously alluded, of a wounded tiger going up a tree to get at a beater, whom he nearly reached. in the case just mentioned, the tiger rose on its hind legs and deliberately went up paw over paw, but in the second, started with a spring up the stem of the tree, and then ascended in the same way as the first tiger did. there is a common idea that jackals attach themselves to tigers, and are useful in warning them of danger, and i have been informed by an experienced sportsman that they always howl when they find a bait tied out for a tiger, and, it is supposed, with the view of informing any tiger within hearing that there is a bullock all ready for him. i have never heard but one confirmatory instance of the former, which was told me by a planter on the nilgiri hills, who was opening some new land in quarters occasionally visited by tigers. one evening, after the day's work was over, he went out accompanied by a kangaroo dog, and took a seat on the hillside to enjoy the view. immediately below him ran a jungly ravine, and behind him the hill rose sharply. he had no gun with him, not expecting any game so close to his new abode, and now, to his dismay, a large tiger emerged from the shola at a point between him and his bungalow. as the grass was long at that season, the tiger did not perceive my friend (and, as i have previously shown, tigers, and i believe all animals, do not readily perceive any non-conspicuous object which is not in motion), who, as may be supposed, sat as close and still as possible, and beckoning to the dog, held him fast by the collar. the tiger lay down in the grass, and was presently followed by another tiger, which lay down in front of the first and rolled over on its back. this was pretty well for a beginning, but presently, one after the other, emerged three smaller tigers, which also took their seats in the grass. here then was a nice family to have between one and one's dinner. the sun presently set, and the prospect of darkness was not encouraging. my friend naturally waited for the tigers to go, and no doubt devoutly hoped that they would not come his way, but time seemed to them to be of no importance, and they showed not the slightest disposition to move. presently there came on to the ridge of the hill above a jackal, which looked down upon the party and then set up a most unearthly howl. the three smaller tigers, evidently young and inexperienced animals, took no notice of the protestations of the jackal, but the two larger tigers at once got up and took a long steady look at him, and the jackal moved restlessly about and seemed to redouble his efforts to attract the attention of the tigers. the larger tigers now seemed satisfied that some danger was at hand, and to the immense relief of my friend, walked down into the jungle, followed by the three smaller tigers. after waiting a little my friend got up and proceeded homewards, and, he said, "i am not ashamed to own that, after passing the place where the tigers had disappeared from view, i fairly ran for the house." the most interesting experiences one hears of tigers and other wild animals are, as may be supposed, not from sportsmen engaged on shooting expeditions, and who have killed much game, but from pioneer planters and others whose business lies in tigerish localities, and that is why mr. sanderson's book is so particularly interesting. my friend told me when i last met him that he had only killed two tigers, but that he had had occasionally some unexpected interviews with them. one of these was interesting as showing that a tiger does not like the rearing of a horse. my friend was riding across the country one morning when he came suddenly, at the edge of a shola, on a tiger, which at once crouched as if to spring. the horse, an australian, wished to turn, but my friend, being afraid that the tiger might then spring on him, turned his horse's head towards the tiger and touched him with the spur. this caused the horse to rear, and the moment he did so the tiger turned tail and ran off. we have seen that man does not relish the roar of a tiger, and it may be interesting to record one instance where a single tiger was commoved and put to flight by the yell of a single man. he was a planter on the nilgiris, and the brother of a friend of mine, and was in the habit of going out at the end of his day's work with a book and a gun, and seating himself on the hillside to look out for sambur deer. on one occasion he was thus sitting in the long grass when he heard something coming through it. this turned out to be a large tiger which came into view suddenly, and quite close, as may be supposed from the fact that the planter was sitting in long grass. the tiger at once crouched, and the planter was afraid to raise his gun, as it was probable that the animal might spring at him before he was ready to fire. tiger and man thus looked at each other in silence. mr. b. had heard of the effect of the human eye, and he threw into his the fiercest glare he could, but found that the tiger returned his glance quite unmoved. then he thought he would try the effect of the human voice, and gathering himself together uttered the most awe-inspiring yell he could command. the tiger at once rose to his legs and turned his body half round. this was encouraging, and he emitted another yell, when the tiger went off. there can be no doubt that tigers, like men, are often very undecided how to act, and it would be interesting if we could penetrate their state of mind. shall i attack, or shall i do nothing? and in the end, after long deliberation, the tiger will determine on doing nothing, and walk off. of his state of mind the following is an instance. on one occasion i left my pony on the side of a hill just outside the forest, and went for a stalk over the mountain above. i could see nothing, and thought it would be well to take a seat and wait in case any game might turn up. i had not been seated more than a few minutes when one of my people, pointing downward, said, "there is a tiger," and we could see him at the foot of the hill about quarter of a mile away, walking steadily across a piece of open land to the forest beyond. just as he disappeared my horse-keeper came up alone, and evidently in a most agitated state, and no wonder, for we had no sooner got out of his sight when, a tiger appeared from the jungle and lay down on the ground just above the pony and crouched. the horse-keeper had another man with him, but he not unnaturally said that he was afraid to come and tell us, as he thought that there was safety in numbers, and that the tiger might attack the pony if it was left with only one man. the tiger must have thus remained in a state of low doubt for at least half an hour. finally he got up and left them, and, from the direction he took, was evidently the identical tiger which we had seen from the hill top. tigers, like wolves and other animals, form plans, communicate them to their companions, and conjointly carry them out. a friend of mine was once the subject of an excellent instance of this. he was out stalking one day, and with his glass was scanning the country carefully, when he made out a long way off, in a piece of open grassland which was surrounded by forest, three tigers looking in his direction. they evidently saw that there was something on the hillside, but the distance was, for them, too great to make out what. after steadily looking at him some time the tigers evidently formed their plan of operations, and plunged into the forest towards him. the tigers had taken my friend and his man for game of some kind, and had determined on a united stalk and drive, and, when they appeared, two remained at the edge of the jungle, while the third made a circuit evidently with the view of coming upon the supposed game from above. but presently they discovered their mistake and went off. these forest tigers are rarely dangerous to man unless attacked, and in my part of the country they never are so. however, there is no rule without an exception, and when making this assertion to some natives in my neighbourhood many years ago, one of them said, "i am not so sure about that. a tiger ate an aunt of mine not far from here some years ago." but that is the only instance i ever heard of in my neighbourhood, and even by tradition there were no instances of deaths from tigers, and it is also remarkable how in some cases tigers, when there is plenty of game, live for years near cattle without touching them. i was particularly struck with this in the case of a family who lived quite isolated at the crests of the ghauts, and the head of it told me that, though tigers were often about they never touched his cattle. there is an amusing story told in "my indian journal"[20] (a charming book which everyone should read who is interested in india) of a native who was ready enough it appears to track down tigers to be shot by others, but who by no means wished that any of his family should interfere. on one occasion colonel campbell found him belabouring his son with a stout bamboo, and on inquiry learned that the said son had killed a tiger. the father said it was all very well for people who lived in the open country, but with him the case was quite different, as he lived on sociable terms with the tigers in the jungle, had never injured them nor they him, and while there was peace between them he could go amongst them without fear, but now that his rascally son had picked a quarrel with them, there was no knowing where the feud might end. i have mentioned a case of tigers not interfering with cattle when there was plenty of game, but i should add that this was many years ago, when the natives had not so many guns as they have now. the rice-fields have been abandoned and the house of course deserted, and of recent years the tigers have changed their ways, for, ten years ago, i killed a tigress close to the site of the abandoned house, in the neighbourhood of which it had been killing cattle. i have said that forest tigers are rarely dangerous to man, and by that i mean the tigers inhabiting the long range of forests stretching along the south-western side of india at varying distances from the sea, but in the interior of mysore very dangerous man-eaters have existed, and i have been shown places which people made up parties to cross. one man-eater, at least--for it was assumed that the deaths were the work of one animal--killed, i am informed on good authority, about 500 people. two tigers were killed at one time, and after that the slaughter of human beings ceased, though it was never ascertained which was the culprit. there is no man-eater at present in mysore. mr. sanderson says that bold man-eaters have been known to enter a village and carry off a victim from the first open hut. the boldest attempt i ever knew of was mentioned to me by my nilgiri planter friend, and it occurred in this way. in the middle of the night there were loud cries of "tiger!" from a hut near his house which was occupied by some of his people. he always kept a loaded gun near him at night, and at once rushed out and fired, when two men came up to the bungalow and declared that a tiger had begun to claw the thatch off the roof of the hut in order to get at them. this was alarming to the planter, as, if proved, many of his people might have left the place, and he told the men to sleep in his veranda, and that he would see in the morning if their story was true. he then went to bed and rose very early the following morning, before anyone was about, and found that the story was quite true, and saw the tracks of the tiger. these he carefully obliterated, and then went back to bed. then when he rose at his usual time he roused the men and asked to be shown the track of the tiger. this of course they could not do, and he laughed off the whole story, and treated it as a fanciful illusion. i find many stories in sporting books of the great courage and determination often shown by natives in connection with tigers, but my nilgiri planter friend told me one which was really astonishing. a tiger one day had carried off a toda cattle herd, and his friend or relative was determined to recover the body, and was about to proceed single-handed and unarmed into the jungle with this view. my friend saw that he could not prevent him, and as he did not like to let him to go in alone, went with him. they went in accordingly, and presently heard the tiger crunching the bones of his unfortunate victim, but when the tiger heard them approaching he retired, and the toda recovered what was left of the body. there can be no doubt, however, that the death of one of a party does exercise a chilling effect on the zeal of the natives, or at least on a considerable proportion of them, but after all this is not surprising, as i have found a similar coldness coming over my own proceedings when a tiger has retorted with effect on his pursuers. on the occasion i am now alluding to an unfortunate report had spread that a tiger i had wounded had left the jungle in which we found him, and whither he had retreated. i had wounded the tiger in the evening, and we went to look him up next morning, and the beaters, influenced no doubt by the report in question, went into the jungle in a body in a careless manner, and without sending men up trees to keep a look out ahead. the tiger waited till the whole party was within springing distance, and then with a tremendous roar which i clearly heard at my post some way off, charged, and buried his deadly fangs in the back of an unfortunate hindoo peasant who was leading the way. the poor fellow was carried out of the jungle in an evidently dying state, and a caste dispute arose over him, the particulars of which i have given in my chapter on caste. after doing what we could for him we placed him on a rough litter and he was carried to the rear. i confess that after such an exhibition of temper on the part of the tiger and the nature of the jungle i, being europeanly speaking single-handed, was not so very comfortable at the idea of approaching him, but luckily a toddyman who had run up a tree (these men are wonderful climbers) when the tiger charged, and was afraid for some time to come down, now emerged from the jungle, and reported that he could see the tiger from the tree he had climbed into. this of course much simplified matters, and i at once proceeded into the jungle, but only about ten people, mostly my own followers, cared to accompany me. as it happened, we after all ran no risk whatever, as the tiger was dead, though he was lying with his head on his paws in such a life-like position that we fired a shot into him to make sure. when we were skinning him the poor man expired. in the same jungle, i think about a year afterwards, an english visitor at my house wounded a tiger, which went into one of those reedy and cactus-grown bottoms which make tiger shooting on foot so dangerous. i then declared that none of my people should go into this, and that they might return the next day and see if the tiger was dead (by no means an absolutely safe proceeding even then as we have seen). much to my amusement a lean toddy drawer of mine, an excellent shikari, went a few yards into the swampy ground, got on to a small boulder of rock, squatted down, took out his betel bag, threw some betel into his mouth preparatory to chewing, and then held out his long skinny arm and forefinger and said, "look! a tiger made a meal of a man close to this last year. let everyone therefore be careful and get up into trees, and mind what they are about." the next day the tiger was found dead quite close to the rock he had been squatting on. a most remarkable instance of courage on the part of a native occurred when a brother planter of mine was out tiger shooting on the ghauts to the north of my abode. a tiger flew at a hindoo peasant--a first-rate plucky sportsman, and as the tiger charged, the man struck at it with his hacking knife (a formidable weapon in the hands of a man who knows how to use it, and used to cut underwood, and thick boughs of trees), with the result that the tiger's skull was split open and the animal killed on the spot. the native was thrown backwards with great force, and his head came in contact with a stone. he got up, and by this time was surrounded by the people, when, holding out his hand, he said, "look here," and then paused. everyone expected some remark about the tiger, but, amidst general laughter--for the natives have a keen sense of humour--he continued, "there will be a bump on my head to-morrow as big as a cocoanut." and now, as we have heard so much of the courage of man, it is time that the dogs should have their turn, and i will conclude these reminiscences with an account of how a dog saved the life of the brother planter to whom i have just alluded. i was so much interested in the story that i wrote down the particulars in my diary at the time and read them over to my informant to make sure they were right. i give the account verbatim as i took it down at the time. mr. a. told me that he once wounded a tiger which afterwards sprang on him, knocked him down, and seized him by the hand and arm. with mr. a. was a large dog, half mastiff and half polygar (a savage and rare native breed), which at once attacked the tiger, and diverted its attention from mr. a. after driving off the dog the tiger again returned to mr. a. and commenced to worry him, but was again attacked by the dog. the dog was thus driven off about three or four times by the tiger. the tiger was all this time losing strength from his wounds, and the last time he returned to mr. a., died on him. the dog was uninjured. now comes the most curious and interesting part of the story. the dog, which was not affectionate generally, and indifferent to being noticed, belonged to mr. a.'s brother, and had previously taken no interest in anyone but his master, but after this event, he refused to go home with his master, and stuck closely to the wounded man, and when some carbolic was applied by mr. a.'s brother which caused pain to the wound, the dog began to growl and showed signs of displeasure. the dog would not allow anyone to come near mr. a. except his own special servant, and lay under the bed with his nose sticking out, and keeping close guard. when mr. a. was carried to the doctor some thirty-five miles away the dog went too, and on the doctor applying carbolic, and setting the bones, which caused pain, the dog at once seized the doctor by the leg. (evidently looking on him as tiger no. 2, i suppose.) in about three months mr. a. was quite cured, and after that the dog lost all interest in him, and returned to his master; and if he met mr. a. by chance, merely acknowledged him by the faintest wag of his tail. a year afterwards this dog, happening to meet the doctor, whom he had not met since, at once flew at him and seized him by the trousers. one great danger attending the bite of a tiger is that of blood-poisoning from the frequently foul state of the animal's jaws, and it is, of course, of great consequence to cleanse wounds as soon as possible and apply carbolic. an engineer in the northern part of mysore a good many years ago was bitten on the thigh by a tiger, and so little hurt that he walked home and went on with his business as usual, but a few days after he was suddenly taken ill and very soon died. of course there may happen to be no foul matter about the tiger's mouth, and a hindoo peasant wounded when i was out with no less than thirteen wounds in the arms--several of them double wounds as the man had thrust his locked arms into the tiger's mouth to keep him off--completely recovered. he goes by the nickname of tiger linga gouda, and i always make a point of sending for him when i visit mysore. on one occasion i was showing the marks of the wounds to a lady, and said that there were thirteen wounds. "thirteen," echoed linga gouda, "there were fifteen, and you have forgotten those two on the head, and i slept on your bed too," he added with an air of great satisfaction--in fact he seemed to attach more importance to that than to anything connected with the transaction. i had given him up my bed because it was a broad one, and so most convenient for resting his lacerated arms. the natives were certain that he would die, and i felt a great triumph in bringing him round. the great thing with wounds of that kind is of course to cleanse them well, and apply carbolic if you have it (i had none on this occasion) and afterwards cover the wounds with damp lint, which should be kept constantly moist by frequent applications of water. this was done in the case i have alluded to. the arms, of course, swelled greatly, and the heat arising from them was very great, hence the need for the constant application of water. the flow of blood from the arms was checked by a tourniquet. i never but once heard of a mad tiger. this animal was made over in an inoculated condition by a friend of mine to the garden in bangalore. he had caught it when out tiger shooting, and, when on the way to bangalore, he had chained it outside his tent where it was attacked and bitten by what turned out to be a mad pariah dog. before concluding this chapter i must say a few words, which perhaps ought to have been said at an earlier period, as regards one of the most important points of tiger shooting--i.e., that of taking up such a position as will enable you to fire to right or left without moving your body, or rather i should say without moving it more than in a most infinitesimal degree, for, as i have previously shown, it is movement of any kind which alone readily attracts the attention of an animal. it is evident that, if you sit facing the point from which the tiger is expected, though you can readily fire at him without moving if he passes to your left (and, as has been shown, you should not fire till he is just passing you) you cannot do so if he passes to your right without turning your whole body half round in that direction--a movement which might catch the eye of the tiger. to surmount this difficulty sir samuel baker has invented a small stool with a revolving top, which is no doubt air excellent thing if there is time to erect a suitable platform on which to support the stool, but it often happens that positions have to be taken up in a hurry, and that you have to sit on the fork of a branch, or on the ground behind a bush or rock, where the tiger may pass on either side. in such cases the shooter should sit facing nearly full face to the right, as he can, with hardly any perceptible movement of his body fire readily to his left, and he should instruct his man with the second gun to point with his finger in order to indicate the side on which the tiger is approaching. in all the books i have read about tigers i have never met with an allusion to tigers purring like cats from satisfaction, but a brother planter informs me that he heard a wounded tiger, that had killed one of the natives who was following him up, purr for several minutes, as he described it, "like a thousand cats." the evening was closing in when the accident occurred and as the jungle was thick nothing could be done. on the following morning the man and the tiger were found lying dead together. of all sports tiger shooting affords the most lasting satisfaction, and it is especially interesting when one lives in tigerish localities where one has more leisure and opportunity for going into all the details of this delightful sport, and where a knowledge of the people and their language makes the sport so much more agreeable, and one's acquaintance with the ground enables one to take an active and intelligent part in regulating the plan of operations when a tiger has killed. then in the case of an animal so destructive it is seldom possible to feel any commiseration, though i have done so on certainly one, or perhaps two occasions. against many sports something may be said, but that is impossible as regards tiger shooting. the tying out of live baits may be objected to, but after all the tooth of the tiger is to be preferred to the knife of the butcher. footnotes: [15] g. p. sanderson's "thirteen years among the wild beasts of india," 1878. [16] "reminiscences of life in mysore, south africa and burmah." by major-general r. s. dobbs. london, hatchards, piccadilly, 1882. [17] _vide_ appendix c. [18] "oriental field sports." by captain thomas williamson, london, 1807. [19] "tiger shooting in india; experiences 1850 to 1854," by william rice, 1857. [20] "my indian journal." by colonel walter campbell. edinburgh, edmonston and douglas, 1864. chapter v. bears--panthers--wild boars--jungle dogs--snakes--jungle pets. the indian black bear (_ursus labiatus_), we are informed by jerdon, is found throughout india and ceylon, from cape comorin to the ganges, chiefly in the hilly and jungly districts. the bear, unlike the tiger, which has sometimes five cubs, appears never to have more than two cubs, and i have not been able to hear or read of their ever having more. we have no means of knowing how often they breed, but i imagine that they must seldom do so, and that that is why they are so soon almost exterminated. as i never kept a game diary on my estate (which i now much regret), i have no idea how many have been killed from it, but i am sure we have killed a smaller number of bears than of tigers, and yet the bear is now rarely seen or heard of in my neighbourhood, while we hear as much of tigers as ever, and indeed quite recently a great deal more, for last year they were apparently more numerous than they have ever been in the tiger range of my district; and i say apparently, because, from the destruction of game, the tigers have naturally been compelled to live more upon cattle. it is alleged by the natives that the tigers kill and eat the bears. mr. sanderson notices this in his work, and gives one reported instance of it, but i have never known of one in my part of the country. a friend of mine, formerly in the employ of the mysore state, told me that he knew of two cases in the north-eastern division, of tigers killing bears, but in neither case did they eat them. in the first case the bear and tiger had met at a watering-place, and in the second in the jungle. mr. ball, in his "jungle life in india,"[21] tells us that he once came across the remains of a bear which the natives said had been killed by a tiger, and that a native shikari had sat over the carcase with the hope of getting a shot at the tiger. we have no returns as regards bears in mysore, but in the adjacent bombay districts--kanara and belgaum--colonel peyton tells us, in the "kanara gazetteer," they are fast becoming rare, except near the sahyadris, and even there are no longer numerous. in belgaum, between 1840 and 1880, he tells us that no fewer than 223 bears were killed. the steady decline of the numbers of the bears is shown by the fact that 137 were killed between 1840 and 1850, 51 between 1850 and 1860, 32 between 1860 and 1870, and 3 between 1870 and 1880. in kanara 51 bears were killed between 1856 and 1882, so we have a total then of 274 bears for these two districts alone. as regards big game, the first comers obviously have the best of it. colonel peyton tells us that the bear is, of all animals, most dreaded by the natives. there can be no doubt, he says, that an untouched bear will often charge, while a tiger will rarely do so, and there are numerous instances of people having been mauled and sometimes killed by them. i imagine, though--in fact, i am sure--that this must often occur from the bear constantly keeping his head down, evidently smelling and looking for things in or on the ground. all other game animals have some motive for looking ahead and around--deer and bison for their enemies, and tigers for their prey. but the bear lives on insects and fruits, and flowers and honey, and as he is not apprehensive of being attacked by any animal, has no motive for keeping a lookout, and so does not do so. he may thus, and no doubt often does, run into a man, under the mistaken idea that the man is running into or attacking him, and then the bear, naturally, does the best he can. i can give a remarkable confirmation of this view. one day, in a break in the monsoon, when the game lies much out of the forest, i was out in the mountains with my manager for a general stalk, when we saw, some way ahead of us, a bear walking along. we quickly formed a plan of operation, and it was arranged that i should make a circuit and get between the bear and a jungly ravine he appeared to be making for, and that my manager should follow on the track of the bear, which would thus be pretty certain to be overhauled. the bear was pottering along as bears do, and i had no difficulty in getting between him and the jungle he was approaching, and the moment i did so i advanced a little towards him. when the bear got within shooting distance--about fifty yards--i stooped down and moved a little on one side so as to get off his direct line, with the view of getting a side shot, but just as i did so he accidentally altered his route, thus bringing himself again head on to me. then i manoeuvred again to get out of his line, but the bear also altered his line, and as by this time he was getting rather too close--i.e., about ten yards off--i stood up and took a steady shot at his head and dropped him dead. now, strange to say, i do not believe that the bear ever saw me at all, and he could not wind me, as the south-westerly wind was blowing strongly from him to me, and yet, as the grass at that season was by no means long, he had no more difficulty in seeing me than i had in seeing him, and he probably would have walked right up to me. this instance is, i think, interesting, and goes far to explain the numerous accidents in connection with bears. still there can be no doubt that, as colonel peyton says, an unwounded and untouched bear will deliberately attack people when there is no occasion for his doing so, and that too, under circumstances where no other animal would make an attack, and of this the following little incident will serve as an illustration. on one occasion a bear was reported on a jungly hill about a mile from my bungalow, and as i was young and inexperienced then, i said that i would lie on the ground till i heard the beaters, and then stand behind a tree. i was alone, and had only a single barrelled rifle, which i laid on the ground beside me. as the cover was rather a large one, i had no reason to expect anything till i could at least hear the beaters in the distance, and i lay leaning on my elbow and thinking of i cannot now remember what, when on chancing to look up i saw a large bear standing at the edge of the jungle about twenty yards away. the moment i moved he charged, and i at once seized my rifle, sprang up and charged the bear at an angle (there was no time to fire), and made for the jungle from which he had emerged. i just missed his nose, and he followed me for a few paces as i ran towards the jungle from which he had come, which i did knowing that he would not be inclined to go in that direction. then, having thus cleared me out of the way, he turned, and resumed his original route, and as he was disappearing into the next jungle i fired at him, but the charge must have had a discomposing effect on my shooting, for i missed the bear altogether. now, as the beaters were far away and not within hearing, there was no occasion for the bear to have attacked me, and there was ample room for him to have altered his line. in fact, unless closely pressed by beaters, no other unwounded animal would have so acted. it will be observed that the bear, after having pursued me for a few yards, turned and went on his way, but had i not been nimble--in other words, had i been completely invested by the bear and thrown down--he might, as the natives would phrase it, have made my wife a widow. it is commonly supposed that, when making an attack, the bear stands on its hind legs, and thus gives the sportsman a good chance of killing him with a shot in the chest, but this is not my experience, and, though instances of the kind may have occurred, i should not advise the sportsman to count on any such delay in the proceedings of an attacking bear. the preceding illustration, i may point out, affords a useful lesson. if so suddenly attacked by a wild animal that you have no time to fire, always rush towards it, and to one side, so that you may, as it were, dodge past it. this will enable you to gain ground on it, and room to turn round and fire. i may observe that mr. ball, in his "jungle life in india," gives several instances of natives being wantonly attacked by bears, and colonel campbell[22] gives one remarkable instance of two bears attacking a party of his people, who were on the march through the jungle in belgaum in charge of his horses, one of which was so severely wounded by one of the bears that the life of the horse was despaired of for some days. the colonel was determined to be avenged on the bears, had them marked down, and, with the aid of his friends, bagged them both, but not before one of the bears had thrown down one of the party, who ran a great risk of being killed. the determination of the bear in following up his assailant was in this instance very great. i may here observe that some little caution is required in approaching, and looking into caves, and examining the entrances for tracks of bears, and the person doing so should be fully prepared for a sudden charge out of the cave, and be ready to jump on one side. no cave should be approached with the assumption that it is not at all likely that a bear will be at home, and especial care should be taken in the case of a cave with a drop in front of it over which a person might be hurled by a bear charging suddenly out. to get a bear out of a cave is often no easy matter, and different caves require, of course, different treatment. in some cases the bear may be poked out with the aid of a long pole, and when this is done the operation is both interesting and amusing, but care must be taken to see that you have a man who understands bears, and knows by the character of the growl when the bear really means to charge out into the open, and also that the man with the stick can readily get out of the way, which he cannot do in the case of every cave. the native with a long pole, or rather stick, usually commences with a quiet nervous sort of poke, which awakes the bear out of his midday slumbers and causes him to rush at the stick with a furious growl. but this is merely a demonstration, and the experienced native does not expect a charge, though i need hardly say that he is well prepared to get out of the way. then the native commences to poke away in a more pronounced style, and at the same time excites himself by calling in question the purity of bruin's mother, his female relations, and even those of his remote ancestors, to all of which the bear responds by growls and rushes at the stick. at last his growls and rushes at the stick become fierce and menacing, and all of a sudden the experienced hindoo, who by some instinctive knowledge is able to gauge the charging moment, drops the stick and scuttles out of the way, and the bear dashes headlong from the cave to be killed, or to make good his escape, as the case may be. poking a bear out of a cave is rather a severe trial of one's nervous system, and if anyone doubts that he has only to try it for himself, as it will perhaps show the individual that we seldom rightly estimate the amount of nerve which we often expect natives to show. i think i was never more startled in my life than i was one day when i put my ramrod (it was of course in the muzzle loading days) into the very narrow mouth of a cave in which i thought there was little chance of bruin being at home. a she-bear however was within, and all the fiercer as she had cubs, but luckily she did not charge out, and i need hardly say that i promptly drew back. sometimes a cave may be so deep and tortuous that the bear cannot be got out with the aid of a pole, and to meet such cases i had stink balls made, as bears have very fine olfactory nerves and seem particularly to object to disagreeable smells. these balls were composed of asafoetida, pig dung, and any other offensive ingredient that suggested itself to me at the time, and made up into about the size of a cricket ball and then dried in the sun. the ball was, when required to drive a bear out of a cave, impaled on the end of a long pole and surrounded by dried grass, or any other inflammable material which was at hand, and this being ignited the pole was thrust as far as possible into the cave. this i found to be a highly successful plan, and i may mention in passing that i have met with no account in the many sporting books i have read of this being done previously. sometimes large fires are lit in the mouth of a cave with the view of smoking a bear out, but this is rather a cruel process which i do not recommend. in some cases of peculiarly shaped and situated caves it is, however, the only practicable plan, but where adopted the bear should not be put to more inconvenience than is necessary to drive him out. a large fire should be lit at the entrance, and when the cave has got filled with smoke all the blazing fragments of wood should be removed from the entrance, and in doing this the people should talk loudly and make as much noise as possible, and afterwards retreat to a distance from the cave leaving the sportsman with his spare gun-carrier to sit just above the entrance to the cave. the bear finding that, as he erroneously supposes, every one has gone away, and being naturally desirous of quitting such uncomfortable quarters will, after a short time, come cautiously out and may thus be easily shot. it is very important to have a couple of bull-terriers when out bear shooting as they are most useful in bringing a wounded bear to bay. in considering these remarks upon the various ways of getting bears out of caves it may be useful to show how not to attempt to get a bear out of a cave, and the connecting circumstances will also be useful to anyone who may be overtaken by a hill fire. on one occasion many years ago news was brought in that a bear had been marked down into a small and very narrow mouthed cave on a bare hillside, and i accordingly proceeded to the spot. the whole mountain was at that time covered with long grass, and as the cave was closely surrounded by it, and the bear if poked out in the usual way would rush into the grass and thus give a bad chance to the shooter, i devised what i thought, and what at first appeared to be, an excellent plan for meeting the difficulty. this was to set fire to the whole hill just below the cave, and my theory was that, as the cave was a small one, the heat of the fire and the smoke would cause the bear to quit the cave after the fire had passed over it. the wind was, when we lit the fire, blowing from east to west and i perched myself on a pile of rocks rather above, and to the east of the bear's cave as, when leaving it, he would naturally go in a direction opposite to that of the fire, in which case he would pass within easy shot of my position. with this, distinctly original conception i was highly pleased and watched the progress of the terrific conflagration that ensued with interest and satisfaction. how it roared and leapt as it consumed the long dried grass, and how soon would the bear be likely to make its appearance! it reached the long grass around the cave and proceeded to sweep along the hill, away from me, and flying before the easterly wind. presently there was a dead lull. a few seconds more and the whole position was reversed. i had quite forgotten that, at that season of the year, and that hour of the day, the east wind dies down, and the westerly sea breeze comes in, and in an instant i was caught in my own trap. first of all i thought i would screen myself behind one of the rocks and remain where i was, but i was of course speedily enveloped with masses of smoke, and then i thought i would get down and run; first of all, however, i peeped over the rock, but merely to perceive a terrifying mass of roaring red flames rushing towards me, and this finally determined me, and i stuffed my handkerchief into my mouth and held on. as i had of course leggings and was fully clothed i had much the best of it, but my shikari with his bare limbs got a pretty good roasting. but the fire seemed no sooner to have reached us than it was swept onwards quite away, and i was astonished at the pace it travelled, which one can have no idea of when one witnesses these conflagrations, as one usually does, from a distance. beyond feeling as if my lungs were on fire for a day or two afterwards i experienced no ill effects from my temporary roasting, but the experience i had was quite sufficient to show me the amount of inconvenience a bear must suffer from being smoked out of his cave, and, as i have previously pointed out, no more fire should be lit at the entrance of a cave than is necessary to make it desirable for the bear to leave it, which, as i have shown, he will soon do, if the people retire to a distance. as for our bear, he probably knew far more about these hill fires and the sudden changes of wind than i did, and had not the slightest idea of coming out for some time, and i therefore had to introduce to his notice one of my stink balls, which had the effect of bringing him out. by way of a change i had intended fighting it out with the bear without firing, and told a native to attack the bear with my spear when he emerged, while i proposed, if he lodged his spear, to attack with the bayonet of my enfield rifle. but the spear came into contact with a bone in the bear's back, and thus the point was broken off, and seeing that my man had not lodged his spear i fired and killed the bear. from my subsequent experience of the great power of the bear i am now glad that the spear was not lodged. bear shooting from caves i have found to be a most interesting and sometimes most entertaining and even amusing sport, while it is attended with a sufficient amount of danger for all practical purposes. you never get a laugh out of a tiger shikar, but you sometimes do in connection with bears, and the following is at once an instance in point, and will besides illustrate the danger of approaching a cave which is perhaps rarely inhabited by bears, as also the surprising promptness of the bear in action. and i say surprising, because from his shambling gait, general deliberation of movement, and the clothing of long black hair which hides the powerful form and limbs, his activity and quickness of movement when aroused is astonishing to those who have no experience of bears. but to proceed with my story. one day, when returning from shooting in the mountains, we happened to pass a bear's cave which was rarely inhabited--at least on former occasions when we examined it we had found no traces of bears, nor had one ever been marked into it that i was able to hear of, though the cave had the reputation of being occasionally used by bears. the cave was in a beehive-shaped pile of rocks standing on, or rather projecting from, a steep hillside. from the upper side it is easily approached, but to get at the mouth of the cave you have to step down, as it were, from the roof of the beehive on to a ledge of rock about six feet wide, below which there is a drop of ten or twelve feet. from the absence of any signs of bears about the roof of the cave i assumed that the cave was as usual uninhabited, but i thought i would gratify my curiosity by looking into it, so i got down on to the ledge, and was imprudent enough to leave my guns with the people on the roof above. as there were no signs of bears on the ledge or at the entrance, i told one of the natives to go in and take a look at the cave, but he had only penetrated a few feet from the entrance, which was about five feet high, than with three furious growls a bear charged headlong, and drove the intruder out with such force that he was shot clean over the ledge, and alighting (luckily) on his side, rolled some way down the steep hillside at the bottom of the drop. bruin then with wonderful readiness knocked down the other man, who had not presence of mind enough to get out of the way, and after inflicting a scalp wound on the back of his head, dropped over the ledge, and got off unharmed amidst several shots which were fired at him by the people above, who of course from their position could not see the bear till he had got to a considerable distance. in the confusion that had occurred amongst the people left on the roof of the cave, who were as much unprepared for a bear as i was, some one had jostled my principal shikari--a testy and at times rather troublesome old man, but a most keen sportsman--and, to the great delight of every one, his shins had in consequence been barked against a sharp piece of rock. all the sympathy that ought to have been devoted to the wounded man he diverted to himself by the tremendous fuss he made about his injured shins, and this, and the chaff he had to sustain in consequence, quite rounded off the affair, and we all went home in high good humour, and the wounded man for years afterwards used to show his ear-to-ear scar with considerable satisfaction. some people might have objected to the escape of the bear, but i confess that i did not grudge him the victory he had earned so well, and we consoled ourselves further with the reflection that we would get the better of him next time. before concluding the subject of bears, i may give another incident which was rather amusing, and the narration of which may be of use as illustrating one or two points which are worthy of notice, and especially the advantage of having a good dog with one. on a mountain-side about five miles from my house is a rather large cave of considerable depth--so deep, at least, that the longest sticks would not reach to the end of it, and as we could get the bear out in no other way, i lit a large fire at the entrance, and, after some time, sent all the people away to a distance, and, with a single man to hold a second gun, sat over the mouth of the cave. the result that i anticipated soon followed, and, imagining that we had given up our project in despair, and being naturally desirous of leaving such uncomfortable quarters, bruin presently appeared looking cautiously about. the smoke prevented my taking a very accurate shot. however, i fired, and wounded the bear somewhere in the throat, though not fatally, and he plunged into a jungly ravine close to the cave, pursued by my bull terrier, an admirable and very courageous animal, which attacked the bear, and detained him sufficiently long to give me time to run to the other side of the ravine, and so get in front of the bear. a hill-man accompanied me, armed with a general officer's sword which i had brought out--why i really forget now, for it was anything but sharp, which i now regret, as it would have been interesting to see the effect of a really sharp sword on a bear's back. the bull terrier now rejoined me, and, in company with two additional natives who had run after us, i got on a piece of rock about three feet high. the man with the sword stood on my right, and the two natives--who were unarmed--on my left, and in this order we awaited the arrival of the bear. sore and angry, he presently emerged from the jungle at a distance of about twenty-five or thirty yards further down the slope of the hill. i fired at and hit him, and he then turned round, took a look at us, and charged. as he came on i fired my remaining shot. then the man with the sword struck the bear a tremendous blow on the back (which i think would have stopped the bear had the sword been sharp), and in a second more old bruin had thrown the whole of us off the rock on to the ground behind it. there we were then--four men, a wounded bear, and a bull terrier, all mixed up together. however, the man with the sword laid about him most manfully, and the bear, either not liking the situation, or being exhausted with his wounds and efforts (more likely the latter), retreated into the ravine out of which he had emerged. into this we presently followed him, and after another shot or two he expired, and i have the skin at homo with the mark of the sword-cut on the back. it had cut through the shaggy hair, and only penetrated the skin sufficiently to leave a scar. the man who had shown so much pluck was a young farmer from the adjacent village, and i at once offered him the sword with which he had defended me. but he seemed to think he had done nothing, and positively declined it, saying that his neighbours would be jealous of his having such a fine-looking thing. i had, however, a knife made after the native fashion, and afterwards gave it to him in commemoration of the event. in mysore there are two kinds of panthers. one, the largest of the two, is called by the natives the male kiraba, or forest panther, and confines itself generally to the forest regions, while the smaller kind haunts the neighbourhood of villages. the black panther, which is of rare occurrence, is merely an offshoot of the other varieties. the panther, in consequence of its tree-climbing habits, and general aptitude for suddenly disappearing, is of all animals the most disappointing to the sportsman, so much so, indeed, that i soon gave up going out after them. though it has great strength, and from the amazing suddenness of its movements, great means at its disposal for making successful attacks on man, it seems, unlike the tiger, bear, and wild boar, to have no confidence in its own powers, and though in one sense showing great daring by attacking dogs even when they are in the house and quite close to people, is, when attacked itself, of all animals the most cowardly--a fact which the natives are well aware of, and which is proved by the small number of people killed by panthers in proportion to the number of them accounted for. the only way of insuring success when hunting panthers is to have a small pack of country-bred dogs of so little value that when one or two of them may chance to be killed by the panther the matter is of little or no consequence. the pack will soon find the panther, and perhaps run him up a tree, and thus give the sportsman a good, or rather certain chance of killing the animal. in this way a manager of mine was very successful in bagging panthers. i have some reason to suppose that the panther, when severely wounded, sometimes feigns death, and give the following incident with the view of eliciting further information on the subject. two natives in my neighbourhood once sat up over a kill, and apparently killed a panther--at least it lay as if dead. they then with the aid of some villagers, who afterwards arrived on the scene of action, began to skin the panther, and the man who had wounded it took hold of the tail to stretch the body out when the panther came suddenly to life, and bit the man in the leg. one of the people present then fired at the panther, apparently killing it outright. the man, who had been only slightly bitten, then again took the animal by the tail, a proceeding which it evidently could not stand, for this time it came to life in earnest, and inflicted a number of wounds on the man at the tail. the natives then attacked it with their hacking knives, and finally put an end to it. the dresser of my estate was sent to the village, which was about six miles away, to treat the wounds, but the unfortunate man died. i may add that this is the only instance i have known of a man being killed by a panther in my neighbourhood. i now turn to an animal which is really dangerous, and i think more daring than any animal in the jungles--the wild boar--and whatever doubts the panther has of its own powers, i feel sure that the boar can have none--in fact its action is not only daring, but at times even insulting. to be threatened and attacked in the jungle one can understand, but to be growled at and menaced while on one's own premises is intolerable. i never but once heard the deep threatening don't-come-near-me growl of the wild boar (and in the many sporting books i have read i never met with any allusion to it), and that was some years ago, within about ten or fifteen yards of my bungalow, and the incident is worth mentioning as showing the great daring and coolness of the wild boar. one evening at about seven o'clock, and on a clear but moonless night, i went into the garden in front of my house. this is flanked by a low retaining wall some three or four feet high--a wall built to retain the soil when the ground was levelled--and below this a few bushes and plants had sprung up close to the bottom of the wall. in these i heard what i supposed to be a pariah dog gnawing a bone, and, in order to frighten it away, i quietly approached within a few yards of the spot, and made a slight noise between my lips. i was at once answered by a low deep growl, which i at first took to be the growl of a panther, and i then walked back to the bungalow and told my manager to bring a gun, telling him that there was either a large dog (which on second thoughts appeared to me most probable), or some animal gnawing a bone. we then quietly approached the spot where we could hear the gnawing going on quite plainly about five yards off. by my direction he fired into the bushes, and we then stood still and listened, and presently heard what was evidently some heavy animal walk slowly away. on the following morning i sent my most experienced shikari to the spot, and he reported that the animal was a wild boar, which had been munching the root of some plant, and the soil being gravelly, the noise we had heard proceeded from the chewing of roots and gravel together. this boar then had not only refused to desist from his proceedings when i was within five yards of him, but had even warned me, by the low growl afore mentioned, that if i came any nearer serious consequences might ensue. on the following day i assembled some natives and beat a narrow jungly ravine below my house, at a distance of about, fifty yards from it, and there came out, not the boar, but his wife with a family of five or six small pigs. she was shot by a native, and the young ones got away, but the boar either was not there, or, more probably, was too knowing to come out. he did not, however, neglect his family, but in some way best known to himself, collected them together, and went about with them, as, a day or two afterwards, he was seen with the young pigs by my manager, and their tracks were also to be seen on one of the paths in my compound, or the small inclosed park near my bungalow. this boar afterwards became very troublesome, ploughed up the beds in my rose garden at the foot of my veranda stops, and even injured a tree in the compound by tearing off the bark with his formidable tusks. but, daring though he was, he was once accidentally put to flight by a slash of an english hunting whip. the boar, it appears, was making his round one night when my manager, hearing something moving outside his bath-room, and imagining it to be a straying donkey--we keep some donkeys on the estate--rushed out with his hunting-whip, and made a tremendous slash at the animal, which turned out to be the boar, so startling him by this unexpected form of attack, that he charged up a steep bank near the house and disappeared. this boar was afterwards shot by one of my people in an adjacent jungle--at least a boar was shot, which we infer must have been the one in question, as since then my garden has not been disturbed. the boar is more dangerous to man than any animal in our jungles, and i have heard of three or four deaths caused by them in recent years in my district. the natives, however, say that, till he is wounded, the tiger is less dangerous than the boar, but that after a tiger is wounded, he is the more dangerous of the two; and i think that this is a correct view of the matter. the boar has a most remarkable power of starting at once into full speed, and that is why his attacks are so dangerous. in countries inhabited by wild boars it is very important to be always on the alert. as an illustration of this, and also of the great power of the boar, and of his sometimes attacking people without any provocation on their part, i may mention the following incident. when i was walking round part of my plantation one morning with my manager, and we chanced to stand in a path for a few moments (i forget now for what reason), my dogs went down the hill into the coffee, and appear there to have disturbed a boar. luckily for myself, i always keep a sharp look out, and my eye caught a glimpse of something black coming up amongst the coffee. in a single second a boar appeared in the path some twenty yards away. the path sloped downwards towards me, and at me he came, like an arrow from a bow. as there was no use in my attempting to arrest the progress of an animal of this kind, i stepped aside and let him into my manager, who, luckily for himself, was standing behind a broken off coffee tree, which stood at a sharp turn in the path some yards further on. the result was very remarkable. the boar's chest struck against the coffee tree and slightly bent it on one side. this threw the boar upwards, and, of course, broke the force of the charge, but there was still enough force left to toss my manager into an adjacent shallow pit with such violence that his ear was filled with earth. i was now seriously alarmed, as i had no weapon of any kind, but luckily the boar went on. his tusk, it appeared, had caught the manager--a man of about six feet, and thirteen stone in weight--under the armpit, but had merely torn his coat. we organized a beat the same afternoon, and killed the boar, which was suffering from an old wound, and this no doubt accounted, in some degree, for his sudden and gratuitous attack. tigers often attack the wild boar, and there are often desperate battles between them, and well authenticated instances have been known of the boar killing the tiger. i have never met with one in my neighbourhood, though i once aided in killing a tiger which had been ripped in several places by a boar. as it is impossible in jungly districts to ride the wild boar, he is invariably shot, except when, in the monsoon rains, he is occasionally speared. at that season the wild pigs make houses, or rather shelters, for themselves by cutting with their teeth and bending over some of the underwood, and under these they repose. when such shelters are discovered, a man approaches them cautiously and drives his spear through the shelter into the boar's back. i have never seen this done, but have often heard of its being done where i lived in former days, during the rainy season. boar's head pickled in vinegar and garnished with onions makes a good dish, especially after harvest, when the pigs are in good condition, but, from what i have known of the habits of the wild boar, i do not think i should ever be inclined to partake of it again, and certainly not when cholera is about. a neighbour of mine told me that when he was once beating a jungle for game the natives backed out of it with great promptness, having come upon wild pigs in the act of devouring the dead bodies of some people who had died of cholera. i may mention that it was customary in former times, and doubtless is so still to some extent, to deposit the bodies of cholera victims anywhere in the jungle, instead of burying them in the ordinary way. an official of the forest department told me that, passing one day near the place where the carcase of an elephant lay, he had the curiosity to go and look at it. to his astonishment he found the flanks heaving as if the elephant were still alive, and while he was wondering what this could mean, two wild boars, which had tunnelled their way in, and were luxuriating on the contents of the carcase, suddenly rushed out. from what i have hitherto said it seems plain that wild boar is not a safe article of food, unless, perhaps, when, it inhabits remote jungles where foul food can rarely be met with. i have never made any measurements of wild boars, but colonel peyton--a first-rate authority--writing in the "kanara gazetteer," says that some are to be found measuring forty inches high, and six feet long. the jungle dog (_kuon rutilans_) is a wolfish-looking-dog of a golden brown colour, with hair of moderate length, and a short and slightly bushy tail. it hunts in packs of seven and eight, and sometimes as many as twenty and even thirty have been reported. in my neighbourhood i have never actually known them to attack cattle or persons, but colonel peyton tells us, in the "kanara gazetteer," that they grew very bold in the 1876-77 famine, and killed great numbers of the half-starved cattle which were driven into the kanara forests to graze, and since then a reward of 10 rupees has been paid for the destruction of each fully grown wild dog. colonel peyton alludes to the native idea that these dogs attack and kill tigers, but says that no instance of their having killed a tiger is known. at the same time it is, he says, a fact that the tiger will give up his kill to wild dogs, and will leave a place in which they are present in large numbers. some years ago i beat a jungle in which a tiger had killed a bullock, and in which another tiger had on a former occasion lain up, but the tiger was not there, and a number of jungle dogs were beaten out. we afterwards found the tiger in a jungle about a mile away, and he had evidently abandoned his kill, for no other reason, apparently, than because of the presence of the dogs. an old indian sportsman tells me of a very widespread native tradition as to the action of these dogs previous to attacking a tiger. their belief is that the dogs first of all micturate on each others' bushy tails, and, when rushing past the tiger, whisk their tails into his eyes and thus blind him with, the objectionable fluid, after which they can attack him with comparative impunity. a forest officer informs me that the gonds have a somewhat similar tradition, and that they believe that the dogs first of all micturate on the ground around the tiger, and that the effluvium has the effect of blinding him.[23] the late mr. sanderson, in his "thirteen years amongst the wild beasts of india," mentions an instance reported to him by the natives of their finding a tiger sitting up with his back to a bamboo bush, so that nothing could pass behind him, while the wild dogs were walking up and down and passing quite close to him, evidently with the view of annoying the tiger, and the position then taken up by the tiger seemed to show that he was apprehensive of an attack. from his experience of the great power of the wild dog, mr. sanderson entertained no doubt that they could kill a tiger, though he knows of no instance of their having done so. the old indian sportsman above alluded to told me of a case where a tiger had been marked down by native shikaris, and where they afterwards found wild dogs eating the carcase of the tiger, which they had presumably killed, but i cannot find any account of the dogs having been seen in the act of killing a tiger, though i can easily conceive that a hungry tiger, and an equally hungry pack of wild dogs may have come into collision over a newly killed animal, and that the dogs may then in desperation have killed the tiger. a coorg planter who has had opportunities of observing the habits of those dogs, tells me that when hunting a deer they do not run in a body, but spread out rather widely, so as to catch the deer on the turn if it moved to right or left. some of the dogs hang behind to rest themselves, so as to take up the running when other dogs, which have pressed the deer hard, get tired. he once had a bitch the product of a cross between a pariah and a jungle dog. when she had pups she concealed them in the jungle, and in order to find them she had to be carefully watched and followed up. she went through many manoeuvres to prevent the discovery of her pups, and pottered about in the neighbourhood of the spot where she had concealed them, as if bent on nothing in particular. then she made a sudden rush into the jungle and disappeared. after much search her pups were found in a hole about three feet deep, which she had dug on the side of a rising piece of ground. the bitch did not bark--the jungle dog does not--and the pups barked but slightly, but the next generation barked as domestic dogs do. many years ago i met with a very singular and puzzling circumstance in connection with jungle dogs. i had offered a reward of five rupees for a pup, and one day several natives from a village some three or four miles away, brought me a pup--apparently about six or eight months old. this, it appears, they had caught by placing some nets near the carcase of a tiger i had killed, and on which a pack of these dogs was feeding. they drove the dogs towards the nets, which they jumped, but the pup in question was caught in the net. my cook now appeared on the scene and declared that the pup belonged to him, and that he had brought it from bangalore, and on hearing this i declined, of course, to pay the reward. as i had never, and have never, seen a jungle dog pup, i neither could then, nor can now, undertake to say whether the pup was a wild one or not, though it seemed to me that it might have been a kind of mongrel animal with a good deal of the pariah dog in it. the natives then requested the cook to take the pup and pay them five rupees for their trouble. this he declined to do, and they then said they would take it back to the carcase of the tiger and let it go. this they did, and the pup was never heard of again, and i assume that it must have rejoined the wild dogs. as my cook had no conceivable motive for falsely asserting that the dog was his, i can only assume that the animal had strayed away and joined the pack of wild dogs. there is no reward for killing wild dogs in mysore, as is the case in the madras presidency, and i should strongly advise that one should be given, as from the great destruction of the game, on which they at present live, these animals will soon become very destructive to cattle, and possibly, or even probably, dangerous to man. and it is the more important to attend to this matter at once, because i find, from jerdon's "mammals of india," that the bitch has at least six whelps at a birth, and he mentions that mr. elliot (the late sir walter) remarks that the wild dog was not known in the southern maharatta country until of late years, but that it was now very common; and he adds that he once captured a bitch and seven cubs, and had them alive for some time. no one has any interest in killing these jungle dogs, and until a reward is offered for their destruction, they will go on increasing at an alarming rate. i now pass on to offer some remarks on snakes, and especially on the great number of deaths said to be caused by them, and i say said to be caused by them, because i have good reason to suppose that the immense number of deaths (sometimes returned at 17,000 or 18,000 for all india) reported as being caused by them, are really poisoning cases which are falsely returned as being due to snake bite. when mentioning this surmise on board of a p. and o. ship to two civilians, they demurred to the idea, and i then asked them if they had ever known within their own cognizance of a man being killed by a snake--i.e., either seen a man fatally bitten, or who had been fatally bitten. they never had, and that too during a service of about twenty-four years. i then, out of curiosity, made inquiries through all the first-class passengers, and at last met with one lady who had a gardener who had been killed by a snake. i also got my english servant to make a similar inquiry in the second-class, and no passenger there had known of a case, though one of them had been engaged in surveying operations for ten years. my attention has been particularly called to this subject in consequence of my own long experience, which stretches back to the year 1855, and, though cobras have been killed in and around my house, and in the plantations, i have not only never known of a death from snake bite on my estates, but have, since the date mentioned, never heard of but one case in my neighbourhood, and that was of a boy who was killed by some deadly snake about four or five miles from my house. i made inquiries in bangalore on this subject. now bangalore is a place which always had a bad reputation as regards cobras. the population is large, and there are, of course, numerous gardens, and many grass cutters are employed, and the occupations there of a large number of people are such as to make them liable to risk from snake bite; and yet, in the course of the year, there had only been, three cases of snake bite. how is it then that such an infinitesimal number of the cases reported on occur within the cognizance of europeans? and unless some competent observer is at hand to determine the cause of death, what can be easier than to poison a man, puncture his skin, and then point to the puncture as an evidence that the death was caused by snake bite? of one thing i feel certain, and that is, that the cobra is a timid snake, that it is not at all inclined to bite, and unless assailed and so infuriated, will not bite, even if trodden on by accident, as long as the snake is not hurt, which, of course, it would not be if trodden upon by the bare foot, and that is why, i feel sure, i have so rarely heard of a man being bitten by a snake during my long experience in india. i can give a remarkable confirmatory instance, which happened at my bungalow some years ago. my english servant had got his feet wet one morning, and had placed his shoes to dry on a ledge of the bungalow just above the place where the bath-room water runs out. at about three in the afternoon he went in his slippers round the end of the bungalow to get his shoes, and trod on a cobra which was lying in the soft and rather muddy ground created by the bath-room water. he had stepped on to about the middle of the snake's body, but probably rather nearer the tail than the head. the cobra then reared up its body, spread its hood, hissed, and struggled to get free, while my servant held up his hands to avoid the chance of being bitten, and he said that he could see that the afternoon sun was illuminating the interior of its throat, but he was afraid to let it go, thinking that it would then be more able to bite him. this, however, he is quite positive it never attempted to do, and after some moments of hesitation he jumped to one side, and the snake, so far from offering to bite when liberated, went off in the opposite direction with all speed. i am sure that wild animals perceive quite as readily as tame ones do the difference between what is purely accidental, and what results from malice prepense. the snake must have perceived that its being trodden upon was a pure accident, and, as it was not hurt, did not bite. a brahmin once told me of a somewhat similar case, where his mother, seeing what she supposed was a kitten in a passage of the house, gave it a push on one side with her foot. it turned out to be a cobra, which spread its hood and hissed, but never offered to bite her. colonel barras, the author of some charming natural history books, told me that he quite agrees that the cobra is disinclined to bite, and pave me a practical illustration of this which had fallen within his own observation. on one occasion, when some of my coolies were crossing a log, which was lying on the ground, my overseer, just as they were doing so, observed that under a bent-up portion of the log there was a cobra. he waited till all the coolies had crossed over and moved on, and then stirred up the cobra and killed it. i mention these instances to show that it is probably owing to the fact of the cobra not being at all an aggressive snake, and not being given to bite unless attacked, or hurt, that no death has occurred on my estates, or in my neighbourhood during such a long period of time. but there is probably another reason, which has not, that i am aware of, been taken into account by previous writers, and that is that snakes keep a much better look out, and perceive the approach of people from a much greater distance than is usually supposed. i was much struck with this fact on two occasions this year. in one case i was walking along a foot road in my compound, and on going round a bend of the road saw, about thirty yards away, a snake in the road with its body half raised, and evidently in an on-the-look-out attitude, and the moment it perceived me it lowered its body and went off through the long grass. in the other case i saw a snake on bare ground upwards of 100 yards away which had evidently seen me, for it made off in the way which a disturbed snake always does. i was this year surprised to hear tigers and snakes classed together as to running away by a toddy-drawer--a class of people who are often out in the jungle at dusk, and sometimes later. i had made a new four feet trace of about a mile long along a beautiful ridge which connects my estate with an outlying piece of the property, and unfortunately mentioned to my wife that at the end of the path tigers crossed over occasionally (it was a tiger pass as the natives call it), and she objected to go there late in the evening. being desirous of going to the end of the path one evening, i called to a toddyman in my employ and told him to accompany us, telling my wife that he was a timid creature and not likely to incur any risk he could avoid. i mentioned to him the apprehension of the lady, when he said, "tigers and snakes run away," and he seemed to have no apprehension as regards either of them, though part of the land in which he cut toddy trees was on the tiger pass. and i may mention that i this year wounded a tiger within fifty yards of the pass, and on the following morning saw the tracks of a tiger and tigress (the track of the latter is easily to be distinguished as it is longer and narrower than that of the male) in the jungle adjoining the end of the foot road alluded to. as many europeans kill all snakes they meet with, it is well to mention that the tank snake--a large snake often from nine to ten feet long--is not only harmless but useful, as it lives so largely on rats and mice, and is in consequence sometimes called the rat snake. on one occasion a manager shot one of these snakes near my house, and it had a rat in its mouth when killed, and such snakes, so far from being killed, ought to be carefully protected. i was this year rather interested in observing the proceedings of one of these snakes when followed up by two dogs of mine in the open. first of all, it made for a clump of two or three scrubby trees, and, apparently first fastening itself by the neck to a stump, lashed out with its tail. then when the dogs came closer it again made off through the grass, but on being overtaken by the dogs must have either bitten one of them, or lashed it with its tail, as the dog gave a sharp cry and retreated. on a previous occasion one of these snakes bit a dog of mine, and it was not in the slightest degree affected. these snakes travel at a fair pace, and i found by trotting along parallel to one that it can move at the rate of the moderate jog trot of a horse, and apparently keep up this pace with ease. but, though it would be easy for me to write more about snakes, the reader has probably heard enough of them, and i hope has learnt some facts of practical importance by the way, and i shall now offer a few remarks on jungle pets. it is commonly supposed that wild animals naturally or instinctively dread man, but it seems to me that, though no doubt a certain degree of dread of man may have been, after having been acquired by experience, transmitted to the offspring, wild animals require to be taught to dread man by their parents, for we find that if animals are caught when very young and are not confined in any way, they not only do not dread man, but eventually prefer his society to that of their own species. the first instance i have to notice of this is in the case of a spotted deer stag which belonged to a neighbour of mine. this animal, which had been caught when a fawn, used to accompany the coolies in the morning and remained with them all day, but in the evening it went into the jungle regularly and disappeared for the night, and again turned up at the morning muster with unfailing regularity. it thus roamed the jungle all night, and remained with man all day. at last it became dangerous to man, as tame stags often do, and had to be shot. another still more extraordinary instance was in the case of a pet of my own--what the natives call a flying cat, but in reality a flying squirrel (_pteromys petaurista_)--an animal that sleeps all day and feeds at night (though on one occasion, mentioned in a previous chapter, i saw one feeding on fruit at about seven one morning), and is in habits somewhat like the bat, though clearly of the squirrel order. its wings, if indeed they may be called such, consist merely of a flap of skin stretching from the fore to the hind legs. when at rest this flap, as it folds into the side, is not very noticeable, and the animal presents, when on the ground, or on the branch of a tree, the appearance of a very large, grey furred squirrel. it cannot, of course, rise from the ground, but, when travelling from tree to tree, it spreads its flap, or perhaps rather sets its sail, by the agency of osseous appendages attached to the feet, but which fold up against the leg when the animal is at rest, and starts like a man on the trapeze--descending from one point to rise again to about a similar level on the next tree, but when the flight is extended (jerdon, in his "mammals of india," says he has seen one traverse in the air a distance of sixty yards) the squirrel reaches the tree very low down. when clearing the forest these squirrels often emerged from their holes in the trees and gave me good opportunities of observing their movements, and i feel sure that i have seen them traverse distances of at least 100 yards. one of these squirrels was brought to me when it was about half grown, and came to consider my house as its natural home. it soon discovered a suitable retreat for the day in the shape of an empty clothes-bag hanging at the back of a door, and in this it slept all day. it came out at dusk, and used often to sit on the back of my high backed chair as i sat at dinner, and then i gave it fruit and bread. after dinner away it went to the jungle, and i seldom saw anything more of it till very early in the morning, when it used to enter the house by an open swing window, get on to my bed, and curl itself up at my feet. when i rose my pet did so too and betook itself to the clothes-bag, and there spent the day, to go through the same round the following night. this very pretty and interesting animal met with the common fate of defenceless pets, and was killed by a dog as it was making its way to the jungle one evening. a third instance i may give as regards the way in which wild animals readily become domesticated, and eventually seem to prefer the society of man to that of their own species. in this case my pet was a hornbill, a bird of discordant note, and with a huge beak, and a box-like crowned head. this creature was also totally unrestrained, but showed a most decided preference for the society of man. one day it joined some of its species which made their appearance in the jungle near my house, but soon got tired of or disgusted with them, and speedily returned to the bungalow. it used to swallow its food like a man taking a pill, and it was surprising to observe the ease with which balls of rice of about the size of two large walnuts were dispatched. on one occasion it flew off with my bunch of keys, but was luckily seen by my servant, who gave the alarm. the bird threw back its head the moment it alighted on the first convenient branch, and it was only from the ring sticking in the front of its beak that it was prevented from swallowing the entire bunch. finding my people close upon it, the bird flew away to a piece of forest some hundreds of yards away, where it seemed to take a most aggravating pleasure in dangling my keys from the tops of the loftiest trees, and it was some time before it let them drop, which i conclude it at last did merely because it could not swallow them. now, though none of the pets i have mentioned were made miserable by restraint, and evidently must have found themselves perfectly happy in the society of man, it is very remarkable that, though all of them must have had (and the bird certainly had) frequent opportunities of making the acquaintance of their species as they roamed the jungle at night, they regularly returned to the society of man. i can only conjecture that the force of habit must have, as it were, chained them to the place they had become accustomed to. it is difficult to guess at any other reason than the force of habit, but it is just possible that the following fact may have something to do with their neglect of their own species. it is well known that a great many animals and birds refuse to, or cannot, propagate their kind when in a state of confinement. now these pets of mine, and the stag which belonged to my neighbour, were not indeed confined in any sense, but it is just possible that the altered conditions under which they lived may have acted on their animal desires, and so have rendered them indifferent to the society of their species. or perhaps it is conceivable that, in consequence of their living in or about an inhabited dwelling, they may have contracted bodily impurities which may have been perceptible to their wild congeners. i had here intended to close this chapter, but a few lines more must be devoted to guns, or rather to a gun, for the general opinion in india now seems to be that only one gun is necessary for shooting shot and ball--at least for all shot shooting and ball shooting in the jungly countries. that gun is the widely-known paradox, which, up to 100 yards, is as accurate as a double rifle, and even at 150 yards makes very fair practice. this gun was a good many years ago recommended to me by sir samuel baker, and i found it to be such an excellent weapon that i now use no other. the great advantage of the paradox is that the gun is a good shot gun, and gives a pattern quite equal to the best of cylinder guns, and of course comes up to the shoulder so readily that the sportsman can take snap shots as well as with any other fowling-piece. the immense advantage of this in a jungly country, and in one with long grass, must be readily apparent to anyone accustomed to shoot in such regions, where you often require to be able to fire as sharply as you do at a snipe rising just within range. i am informed by messrs. holland and holland, of 98, new bond street (the makers of the paradox guns), that the paradox system of ball and shot guns was the invention of colonel fosbery, v.c. originally it was intended for the ordinary 12-bore guns, but its principle has now been applied to smaller weapons, such as those of 20 bore, and also to heavy guns of 8 or 10 bore for attacking elephants, bison, and other very large game. guns of the two last-named bores are from two to three pounds lighter than rifles of similar bores, and the increased handiness caused by the diminution of weight is of course of immense advantage. messrs. holland and holland inform me that they have made many experiments with the 8-bore paradox against the 8-bore rifle, and in every case have obtained higher velocity and greater penetration with the paradox. the new 10-bore is almost a 9, and practically is big enough for any game. it shoots 8 drams of powder, and a fairly long conical bullet, and its weight is about 12-1/2 lbs. messrs. holland and holland have invented a new steel bullet for these guns, and with this the penetration is very great. the 20 and 16-bore paradox guns weigh from 6-1/2 lbs. to 7 lbs., and are largely used on the continent for shooting wild boar, bears, and other large game. nearly all these guns are made with hammers, because as a rule sportsmen travelling in wild countries prefer to have the old-fashioned hammer guns, which are so universally understood, instead of a hammerless gun, which cannot be so easily repaired should it break down in any part. messrs. holland and holland inform me that for the ordinary 12-bore paradox weighing 7 lbs. the usual charge of 3 drams is all that is necessary for soft-skinned animals such as tigers, leopards, and bears, but they also make a heavier 12-bore, weighing from 8 lbs. to 8-1/2 lbs., and shooting 4 or 4-1/2 drams of powder, but generally recommend the usual 7 lbs. paradox, and, from my experience of the latter with tigers, i do not think one could desire a better gun for all jungle shooting, though i need hardly add that for antelope shooting on the plains a long range rifle is desirable. footnotes: [21] "jungle life in india, or the journeys and journals of an indian geologist," by v. ball, m.a. london, thos. de la rue and co., 1880. [22] "my indian journal," by colonel walter campbell. edinburgh, edmonston and douglas, 1864. [23] in jerdon's "mammals of india" it is stated that in nepaul the wild dogs, whose urine is said to be peculiarly acrid, sprinkle it over bushes through which an animal will probably move with the view of blinding their victim. jerdon certainly disbelieves the native story of their capturing their prey through the acridity of their urine. it seems to me not improbable that the wild dogs may have become aware of the offensive character of their urine, and in passing near a tiger might discharge some of it with the view of annoying the tiger and driving him away, and also perhaps as a mark of contempt, and that this probably was the origin of the widely spread story i have alluded to in the text. chapter vi. the indian bison. though at the risk of being thought sentimental, i cannot say that i approach the subject of bison shooting with much satisfaction, except, perhaps, in the thought that what i am about to write may be the means of prolonging in some degree, however infinitesimal, the existence of the race of these splendid animals, for i am afraid that nothing that anyone could write would prevent their numbers from being steadily diminished, and diminished, too, in some cases even by people who call themselves sportsmen; for one rather well-known writer has not only killed cow bisons, but actually published the fact--a thing that he certainly would not have done had the custom of shooting them not been common in some parts of india. i am happy to say that i never saw a dead cow bison, and in my part of mysore, in the course of upwards of thirty-seven years' experience, i have never heard of more than two or three cows having been killed. anything more foolish and barbarous than the killing of cow bisons cannot be conceived, for there is not a more harmless and inoffensive animal in the jungle than the bison--harmless because it seldom attacks[24] crops (i have never known of more than one instance of their doing so), and inoffensive because, if not molested, it never attacks man; and mr. sanderson, in his admirable work entitled "thirteen years amongst the wild beasts of india," declares that even solitary bulls, which are supposed to be dangerous, even if not molested, are not really so, though in the event of a native coming suddenly on a bull in the long grass, he admits the bison may spring suddenly up and dash at the intruder to clear him from his path. he has a most sympathetic chapter on these noble animals, and has enjoyed from an elephant's back the best opportunities of observing them, as the bison does not fear the elephant, in whose company indeed it is often found to be, and after having thus observed a herd of bison grazing, he says that he has "often left the poor animals undisturbed." laterly he never thought of attacking herd bison, as it is often difficult to get a shot at the bull of the herd, and confined his shooting to those old solitary bulls which have been turned out of the herds by younger and more vigorous animals. these ought alone, indeed, to be the object of pursuit, and it is one usually carried on under such circumstances and amidst such splendid scenes that the sport is very attractive, and the pursuit of the solitary bull, writes mr. sanderson, can never, he imagines, pall on the most successful hunter. perhaps this is true, but after having killed, say six solitary bulls, i think that a sportsman ought to be content for the rest of his life. a young forest officer lately told me that, having killed about that number, he had announced to his friends his intention of not killing any more. shortly afterwards he fell in with two bulls who were engaged in a fierce battle with each other, and he might easily have shot one or perhaps both of them, but he had strength of mind to resist the temptation, a fact which, if known, would certainly entitle him to advancement in the service. i have said that the bison, unless molested, will never attack man, and i was so confident of this that i once sent a highly valued european in my employ, to photograph a solitary bull, merely sending with him a native with a gun, and with instructions to fire in the event of the photographer being attacked. i selected a small piece of open swampy grass ground in a detached piece of jungle through which solitary bulls often passed, and knowing the direction of the wind at that season of the year, had no difficulty in avoiding any chance of the bull winding the photographer. the camera was placed on the edge of the jungle, and presently a bull came slowly grazing along the swamp, when he unluckily looked up to find the photographer just taking the cap off, within about ten paces. never was there anything more annoying, and the thing would have been a magnificent success had my man been provided with the instantaneous process. but he was not, and the bull turned and fled through the mud with a most tremendous rush, having, i suppose, taken the lens for the glare of the eye of some new kind of tiger. the sudden change in the appearance of the bull was described to me as being most remarkable, for as he grazed quietly along he appeared to be one of the most harmless and domestic of animals, while the moment the sight of the camera fell on his astonished vision he was at once transformed into the wildest looking animal conceivable. it is difficult to believe that big game in remote spots can perceive whether a man means to harm them or not, but it is remarkable that when on his way to the jungle alluded to, the photographer passed two sambur deer in the long grass, and at no great distance away, and saw them still lying there on his return. a bear was also rolling and grunting in the jungle close to him as he was waiting for the bull. on his return to the hut (put up for the occasion about a mile away) he was amused to find the native servant i had sent with him seated between two roasting fires which he imagined, and perhaps not without reason, would prevent his being attacked by a tiger. during the absence of my amateur photographer either a tiger or panther had passed close to the hut. the photographer returned to the swamp on the following morning, but no bull arrived, and i gave up the attempt to obtain a photograph of a bison. but it is time now to describe the bison. the indian bison (_gavoeus gaurus_, sometimes called the gaur) is the largest member in the world of the ox tribe. it is quite free from mane or shaggy hair of any kind. the cows are of a dark brown, while in mature and old bulls the colour approaches to black. the legs from the knee downwards are of a dirty white (i once saw two bison with apparently blue legs, the colour being caused by standing on ashes, and this gave them a very remarkable appearance), and so is the forehead. the bison has no hump. it has a marked peculiarity in the shape of the back from the dorsal ridge running with a slight upward slope to about the middle of the back and then dropping suddenly towards the rump. mr. sanderson has never shot a bull more than six feet in height at the shoulder (if measured at the top of the dorsal ridge the height would of course be more), but jerdon the naturalist, quoting elliot (the late sir walter, a very careful observer) mentions six feet one-and-a-half inch as the height of one. i have generally found that an average sized bull is six feet, but i once killed one that was seven feet, and a neighbour of mine who has seen a great deal of bison shooting has killed one of similar height, and he informs me that he is positive that he has seen a larger bull than either of these very exceptional animals. bison herds generally number about twelve or fourteen, and i have never seen one of more than twenty-three, but at certain seasons they congregate in considerable numbers and again separate into small herds. they lie at night in a compact circle so that if attacked by a tiger they are ready to oppose at once a good front to the enemy. they seem to be quite aware that if they were to lie scattered about a tiger might suddenly spring upon one of them. the bison has never been kept long in captivity, and there is only one instance of its having been so, and that is in the case of a bull bison now in possession of his highness the maharajah of mysore. the history of this animal, and more especially of the warm friendship that sprung up between it and a doe sambur deer, is extremely interesting. i took down the following from my neighbour mr. park, and read over to him the account i now give. it appears then that mr. park when out shooting some years ago, caught a male calf bison which was supposed to be about three days old. about a week afterwards a young doe sambur, which was being pursued by jungle dogs, rushed into one of the labourer's huts and was secured. it was then resolved to keep the deer as a companion for the bison, and the two were kept together, though they were never shut up. they were first of all fed on milk, and then allowed to graze, and soon became quite inseparable companions. they were fed at twelve o'clock and at four in the afternoon, and seemed to know their feeding time exactly. when about two years old it was resolved to fit the bison with a nose rope, and for this the nose had of course to be bored. he was tied up to a tree to be operated on and, after the hole was bored, he was liberated, when he rushed all over the ground adjacent to the house bellowing with rage--the only time, i may add, mr. park ever heard him bellow. after this he was regularly led out to graze by a man who trained him, by pulling the nose rope, to go in one direction or another. after this he was fed on gram (a kind of pea). when thus led out to graze the sambur sometimes remained behind, but seemed to have no difficulty in finding the bull even though it had been taken to a considerable distance. it would hold up its nose to catch the scent and then go off on the track. when the bison occasionally missed the doe he would wander about in search of her, but seemed to have no power of following her by scent--a power which she evidently possessed and practised. when the doe bathed in the river and splashed up the water with her fore feet the bull would stand upon the bank watching her proceedings with evident interest and curiosity, but did not himself bathe, nor appear to have any desire to go into the water. the bison, however, seemed to enjoy the cooling effect of the heavy monsoon rains, and no doubt thought that a shower bath of some hundreds of inches was quite enough for the rest of the year. when the bull was about three years old it was presented to the maharajah of mysore, and sent off to the nearest railway station some sixty miles away. some time after he had left, the doe discovered his absence, and then, in her usual way, went about holding up her nose in order to discover the direction in which he had gone. presently she hit off the route and, setting off in pursuit, overtook her old companion after he gone about five or six miles, and, though the doe had not been given to the maharajah, she was allowed to accompany the bull. when the doe overtook the bull he showed the greatest signs of pleasure at her arrival, and the two travelled happily along to mysore. i saw the bison at mysore in 1891, when it looked remarkably well and happy, though the doe was not with it at the time. i was since glad to hear from a friend, who had seen them last october, that these strange and inseparable companions are in excellent health. it was very fortunate that the doe accompanied the bull, as i think it probable that the latter would have pined away and died, as the bison seems hitherto always to have done in captivity. bison are often attacked by tigers, and i once found the remains of one that had been killed by a tiger. it had been killed on the grass land between two and three hundred yards from the jungle, and i was much struck by the fact that the tiger had separated the head from the body and carried it into the forest, where i found the skull. it appeared to be that of a fair sized bull. but the largest bulls are sometimes killed by tigers, though i imagine that this must be rare, or we should not find very old bulls in a country where tigers are plentiful. a tiger i believe sometimes tires out a bull by inducing him to charge again and again till he is quite worn out, and sometimes, i am informed by an experienced sportsman, two tigers will join in attacking a bison, and have been known to hamstring it. i have been told by a toddyman who lived on the edge of the forest region, that in a valley near his house he had seen a tiger worrying a bison and inducing it to charge for nearly a whole day and ultimately killing it. but sometimes the bison succeeds in driving off the tiger, which then slinks away. about two years ago an interesting illustration took place of this, which was witnessed by a neighbour of mine, who found that when stalking a bull bison he had a fellow stalker in the shape of a tiger. the incident was at once rare and interesting--in fact, so far as i know, quite unique--and i asked my friend to write me an account of it for publication in my book. "when i was returning," writes my friend mr. brooke mockett, "one day in the beginning of the monsoon of 1891, from visiting a plantation of mine near the ghauts, i deflected somewhat from my route to visit an adjacent range of minor hills, and presently entered a shallow valley, on the opposite side of which the forest land was fringed with some scrubby bushes mingled with ferns, outside of which was a stretch of open grass land. as i entered the valley i saw on the opposite side of it a solitary bull bison grazing along towards the open grass land. this, at the rate he was moving, he would soon reach. i therefore took up a position so as to get a shot at him when he got fairly into the open land, where he would be immediately below and opposite to me. two hindoo ryots--always called goudas in manjarabad--from a neighbouring village were with me, and were keeping a sharp look out. we were all quite concealed in the long grass. presently one of them whispered, 'look, look, there is a tiger stalking the bison,' and, after peering into the bushes for a few seconds, i at last made out the tiger, which was about 200 yards further along the valley to the east of the bison, towards which it was stealthily creeping. i at once decided not to interfere at present, but to leave the animals alone and watch the result. the tiger struck me as being a small one, and the goudas thought so too. it was probably the same one that had some weeks before killed a three-parts-grown bison, the remains of which we saw when on the way to the spot. the bull was a magnificent animal, and just in his prime. it was a most exciting scene; the ponderous bull grazing quietly along the valley in utter ignorance of danger, and feeding so industriously that he never once lifted his head from the ground, while the tiger crawled towards him in a manner that was exquisite to see. belly to the ground, its movements resembled rather those of a snake than an animal as it wound its way through the scrub, gliding through the ferns, and taking advantage of all the bushes. occasionally it sat up to peer cautiously at the bull, and then sinking down it again glided on. except now and then, when the bushes were low, i doubt if it could see the bull, nor could the latter scent the tiger, for the bull was feeding down the valley in the teeth of the strong monsoon winds, and the tiger was following in its tracks. "as the two goudas sitting with me in the long grass observed the movements of the tiger, they could not contain their indignation. no doubt they thought of the many cattle they had recently lost, and, connecting the present revelation of the tiger's mode of proceeding with the slaughter of their buffaloes, they relieved their feelings by uttering _sotto voce_ the most virulent abuse of the tiger, its wife, and its female relations in general, and every fresh movement of the tiger drew from them some extremely powerful and untranslatable epithets. the temptation to fire at the tiger was very great, but i refrained, as every moment brought them nearer to me, and it seemed certain that the fight must come off just below the ground i was seated on. "the scene was now an extremely exciting one, for the animals were about 200 yards from us, the bull having fed to within fifty yards of the open grass, and the tiger having crept so close to him that every moment we expected something to happen. we saw the tiger crawl right up to the bull, and it seemed to get actually within a yard of it, and yet it did not spring. a few seconds more passed, and then the bull, suddenly becoming aware of the tiger's presence, made a rapid rush forward into the open grass land outside of the scrub. then he pulled up at a distance from it of about sixty yards, and faced round in the direction of the tiger. had he liked, he might have gone away altogether; but, far from showing fear, he was furious, and looked superb as he shook his head and snorted with rage. then for about two minutes he stood as still as if carved of stone, evidently straining all his senses to discover the tiger, after which he made a terrific charge up to the edge of the scrub, where he pulled up and again snorted, and shook his head. if ever a bison meant business he did, and could he have seen the tiger he would have certainly tried to kill it, but it was hiding in the scrub and was invisible to him, though we could just make out its golden red skin. "the sight of the infuriated bull within a few yards was altogether too much for the tiger, which now turned and commenced to sneak off with astonishing rapidity, keeping completely out of the bison's sight, and looking like the most abject wretch imaginable. my goudas became frantic at this, and seeing that there was now no chance of a fight between the bull and the tiger, i rushed along the hill with the view of trying to get a good shot at the latter, but this i found would be impossible, so i rested my rifle on a stamp, and, as he moved through the scrub, took a long shot, which knocked him off his legs, and we saw him partly roll and partly scramble into the dense jungle below. a shout of 'the bull is going,' from the goudas, made me look back, and just as he was starting i hastily fired my second barrel into his shoulder and dropped him dead. we then went to look for the tiger, but, most unfortunately, the rain, which up to this time had kept off, descended in torrents, and the whole country became enveloped in dense mist. we found the spot where the tiger had been knocked over, and the goudas soon discovered cut hair (by the bullet), a sure proof of a hit. we could see where he had rolled down, the slope to the thick forest, crushing the ferns, and tearing up the ground with his struggles, but the blood was of course washed away by the tropical rain torrents. within the forest, which was almost impenetrable, all was dark as night, and as no track could be seen, and we were soon all drenched to the skin, it was impossible to do anything more, and i was compelled to give up the pursuit. why the tiger, after getting so close to the bison did not attack, it is impossible to say, but the men who accompanied me were of opinion that, owing to the bison being partly hidden by the scrub, the tiger could not gauge its size till quite close to it, and then was afraid to attack such a large bull." i think that their surmise is correct, and as i have before suggested, i think that these very large bulls are but rarely attacked by tigers, for my experience shows that solitary bulls are easily stalked, to within quite close distances, and, were the tigers easily able to kill them, i feel sure that a solitary bull would very seldom be found. i have said that the bison is a harmless animal, but this of course is only when you keep away from it, and a wounded bison should be approached and tracked up with caution, and in no case should a single tracker follow up a wounded bull. he should always have a companion to keep a general look out in case of the bull suddenly charging the tracker when he is busy following the trail. on one occasion a manager of mine went out shooting, wounded a bull, and then went round to a point to cut him off, and sent in the only man he had to follow up the track and drive the bull on. he waited for some time and then shouted, but received no answer, for the poor tracker was dead. he had evidently been charged by the bull when he was busy tracking it, and was taken by surprise. by a curious coincidence my manager had dreamed the night before that he had gone out with this tracker, that he had been killed by a bull, and that the body was found extended in the position in which it was ultimately found on the following day. close to the place where the man was killed we had a capital illustration of the need for keeping a good look out when tracking. when out shooting one evening with a friend, we wounded a solitary bull (which i have reason to suppose was the same bull that killed the tracker), and on the following morning took up his track, which led down into a spot in the forest where, from some trees probably having been blown down in former years, there was a little thicket of small trees and underwood. into this the bull had gone, and we soon found where he had been lying, and were proceeding to take up the track again, when one of our men, who stood a little way behind, and luckily, was looking about, said "there's the bull." he had evidently heard us coming, got up, gone ten yards away, and was waiting for a favourable moment to charge, and, had he done so when we were in the thicket, he probably would have killed one of the party. my friend, who was an old hand, and of course saw the danger at a glance, cleared out of the thicket with wonderful alertness, and the rest were not slow to follow his example. we then passed round the upper side of the thicket, and came down upon the bull in the more open forest, and soon killed him. just as we had done so, news came that a herd of bison was grazing on a ridge about half or three-quarters of a mile or so away, and as our pursuit of them elucidates some points of practical importance, i give a short description of the stalk and its accompanying circumstances. the herd of bison, it appears, were just outside a jungly ravine which ran up from the main forest through the grass land. the jungle terminated just below a ridge of hill, along which we approached the spot. overhanging the hollow were some rocks which afforded us a convenient place to creep behind, and presently we lay down there, looking at the herd, which was below us, and about a hundred yards away. and then we found (as mr. sanderson so often did that he at last gave up attacking herd bison) that it was impossible to fire at the bull, as he was screened by the cows. how long we lay watching i cannot exactly tell, but as the day got hotter the bison began to move, and then we had a chance of firing at the big bull. the herd, bull included, then entered the jungly ravine, and presently reappeared a little further down and on the right of the ravine with a calf which had evidently been left in the ravine, and filed along the slope. the bull, however, had remained behind. now comes a point of great importance in following up big game, and which, curiously enough, has never been noticed hitherto, at least i have not been able to meet with any reference to it in the many big game shooting books i have looked at. if an animal is wounded, it is a common practice to follow it up at once, the result of which is that it will often go off to a considerable distance (which is often highly inconvenient) and frequently be lost. but if, instead of following the startled animal at once, a perfect silence is maintained, and you remain where you are, the animal, the moment it is inside the jungle, will stand to listen, and if it can neither hear nor see anything, will probably lie down to recover from the shock, and if it does so, will very probably not rise from the spot for a considerable time. you have thus an opportunity of getting ahead of your quarry and coming back to the margin of the forest from a direction opposite to that from which it naturally expects danger, and it will thus have to pass you again in order to get further into the forest, and you will then, as i have known from experience, get another shot. on this occasion it was of great importance to get between the wounded bull and the main forest towards the foot of the ghauts, and we accordingly resolved to go down the grass land on the outside of the jungly ravine, enter it a good way down, and lie up to rest for some time, and then look up the wounded bull. and now i received a lesson that i shall never forget. we had taken our early toast and tea, and had intended returning to breakfast, but we had been decoyed by the sport so far from home, and the weather was so hot, that we could not face the task of toiling back in the heat of the sun, and besides, we had our wounded bull to look up. the prospect of remaining all day without food was not pleasant, but luckily i had a few small biscuits in my pocket. then we were afraid to drink the water, as at that season it is not considered to be wholesome. "ah," said my friend, after fumbling in his pocket, "we are all right. i have got one peppermint lozenge. we will divide it into four parts, and it will last the day." this was my first introduction to the great practical value of the peppermint lozenge in taking away the sensation of thirst, and in hot climates i now never go without them. but they should be made at a good chemist's, as the peppermint then has none of that nauseous, or, at any rate, very disagreeable, smell which accompanies ordinary peppermint lozenges. they are also very useful in travelling, and in india i always carry them, as, if kept out longer in the morning than usual, they at once banish hunger and thirst, and are, besides, very refreshing, and i feel sure would be invaluable in the case of troops marching in hot weather, and where good water is not to be had. they are also very useful when going out after a tiger, and when news of one is brought in my first order is to put up two peppermint lozenges. another point of value i may here mention. always, if there is a chance of your being kept out late, take a lantern and matches. we experienced the evil of the neglect of this precaution when returning home. you may have starlight outside the forest, but darkness within, and a lantern is, of course, a great aid, and it is so even when there is moonlight, as you may be either on the wrong side of a ridge or have to pass through dark bottoms. but now as to the pursuit of the bull. after resting for several hours we took our way up the ravine in the direction of the point at which the bull entered it. and here we made a cardinal mistake, for we went together, whereas had one of us remained on the grass land outside, we should almost certainly have got the bull. we, however, omitted to take this precaution, and proceeded up the ravine to within about fifty yards of the spot where the bull entered, when up he got close to us, but without our being able to see him, and went out of the ravine on to the grass land and down into the main forest beyond, into which we had neither time, strength, nor inclination to follow him. the preceding will be a good lesson to any young sportsman, firstly, as to the value of not following up a wounded animal at once, and, secondly, as to taking every kind of precaution when you do. how often is sport spoiled from the want of appreciating the truism that a wall is no stronger than its weakest point. the importance of carefully guarding and refusing to be decoyed away from the pass into the main forest is of such consequence that i proceed to enforce it with another illustration. one day i found a fine bull grazing on the margin of a piece of detached jungle some five or six acres in extent; i got between him and the main forest, to which he would of course fly, fired at him, and he went at once into the ravine, or rather jungle-clad hollow, in front of him. i then ran to the only pass from it into the main forest, and told the two people who were with me to follow on the track of the bull, at which i should thus have been able to get another shot in the event of his having strength enough to leave the five or six acres of jungle he had entered. i waited for a considerable time, and at last went up the hill with the view of seeing what my people were about, and called out, to be answered by one man on the top of a hill on the other side, and by another from the top of a tree, who said that the bison had attacked them, and that one of them had run out of the jungle and the other up a tree. i called out to the man on the grass land to go and fetch a dog and some people from the village, and again returned to my pass, for had the bull once got down into the main forest-which led to the foot of the ghauts, we should probably have lost him. after rather a long interval some natives appeared with a dog, and i told them to drive the ravine, and soon there ensued a series of charges, accompanied by the barking of the dog, and a general state of confusion, from, which it was evident that the bison had lots of go in him. still i clung to the pass. at last my patience was worn out, and i went to look up the bull in the jungle. horror of horrors! he made off in the very direction of the pass into the main forest, and had it not been for the dog we should probably have lost him, but i at once set on the dog, and this had the desired effect of making the bull turn, when he came towards us, looking for some one to charge. when he was a few yards from me i gave him a shot which turned him aside, and as he deflected he presented a good shot, and was soon killed. the jumping, or rather bounding power of the bison is wonderful, and i was accidentally caused to ascertain it in this way. one evening, just at sundown, i found a bull in a very unexpected place, high up on a mountain, with very precipitous sides. he was on the edge of a piece of jungly, swampy land, about half an acre in extent, and when i fired at him he went into this, and i sent my second gun man round to drive him out. he soon appeared, took one look at me at a distance of about fifty yards, and then charged with wonderful suddenness. i was young and active then, and ran sideways to the only tree--a small one on the open land--but i had just time to save myself, for the bull, having struck or grazed the tree with his shoulder, fell at my feet, and as he rose, his horn caught my coat about the armpit and tore a hole in it. he galloped towards me with his nose up, but lowered his head as he approached me, evidently to clear me away. he, of course, was up again in a second, and disappeared over the crest of the hill. the ground i was standing on sloped only slightly upward towards the point at which the bison emerged, there being at the spot a length of about eighty yards of comparatively flat land, which, of course, accounted for the swampy ground, which, by the way, had been partly created by the natives having at some remote time formed a small tank there. well, the following morning i went to the spot with an english sporting companion, and said, "this is the place where i was charged." "but," he said, and so said the natives with him, "there has never been a bison here at all," and as there had been some rain the day before, the tracks would, of course, have been plainly visible. as it turned out, we happened to be standing between the tracks, and on measuring the distance between them, we found that the bull had covered twenty-one feet from hind-foot to hind-foot, and that, too, on ground which, as we have seen, sloped but very slightly. i cannot conclude this chapter without urging sportsmen to use every means in their power which can aid in the preservation of these harmless and interesting animals; and i trust that every effort may be made not only to obtain a game preservation act for india, but to have a special clause inserted in it with reference to cow bisons, and the imposition of a heavy line for killing one of them. is not the intelligent preservation of game one of the most prominent signs of advancing civilization? footnotes: [24] in jerdon's "mammals of india," roorkee, 1867, p. 304, however, i find that it is stated that the bison do ravage the fields of the ryots, but mr. sanderson has no mention of their doing so, and he had the best opportunities for observation. chapter vii. gold. gold mines are as uncertain as women, and yet from either it seems impossible to keep away. perhaps it is this very uncertainty which constitutes the chief charm of both. but, however that may be, it is certain that about gold in general, whether visible or prospective, there is such a degree of attractiveness that, as the kanarese proverb puts it, if gold is to be seen even a corpse will open its mouth; and i feel sure as i write, that in this chapter at least i can count not only on attention, but on a general attitude of expectancy in the mind of the reader. and from one point of view he will be fairly satisfied, for the history of gold mining in mysore has quite a romantic cast, and in the hands of a skilful novelist, there might be extracted from it much literary capital. the foremost fact indeed which i have to give has almost a sensational flavour, and at first sight seems a mere dream. we often read of fields of golden grain, but that corn should ever, by any process of nature, have on its ears grains of gold, seems beyond belief. and yet the fact of grains of gold being found on the ears of the rice plants is probably the very earliest tradition connected with gold, and it is not improbable that the circumstance may have been one of the means of calling attention to the existence of gold in mysore. an account of this tradition is to be found in the "selections from the records of the mysore government,"[25] and from them it appears that lieutenant john warren, when he was employed in surveying the eastern boundary of mysore in 1800, was told by a brahman that "in prosperous years when the gods favoured the zillah of kadogi (a small village on the west bank of the pennar river, hoskote talook, 15 miles from bangalore) with an ample harvest now and then grains of gold were found on the ears of the paddy (rice plants) grown under the tank lying close to the north of that village." and in this connection i may mention that, when visiting the kolar mines last january, i found, in the course of a conversation with the head man of the village of ooregum, that he was aware of this tradition, and that grains of gold were said to have been seen on the rice plants at a village about fifteen miles distant from his own. the explanation of this is extremely simple, as the rice plants are usually grown in nurseries and transplanted in bunches of several plants, after which the fields are flooded, and in heavy floods (and this accounts for the gold having been found in the years which are prosperous from the abundant rain) the plants would often be quite submerged. with the water no doubt came grains of gold, which were deposited on the rice plants, and as these grew, the grains of gold would naturally rise with them, and thus often be found adhering to the roughly-coated grain. after the attention of lieutenant warren was called to the subject, he seems to have taken some trouble in investigating it, and having heard a vague report that gold had been found in the earth somewhere near a small hill about nine miles east of budiakote, offered a reward for information regarding this, and shortly afterwards a ryot of the village offered to show him the place, which was close to his village. he visited the spot in question on february 17th, 1802, "when the women of the village were assembled, and, each being provided with a small broom and vaning basket, and hollow board to receive the earth, they went to a jungle on the west of the village. here they entered some small nullahs, or rather breaks in the ground, and removing the gravel with their hands, they swept the earth underneath into their vaning baskets, by the help of which they further cleared it of the smaller stones and threw it into the hollow board above mentioned. having thus got enough earth together, they adjourned to a tank and placed the hollow boards containing the earth in the water, but just deep enough for it to overflow when resting on the ground, and no more. then they stirred the earth with the hand, but keeping it over the centre of the board, so that the metal should fall into the depression by its own weight, and the earth wash over the edges. after a few minutes' stirring, they put the metallic matter thus freed of earth into a piece of broken pot, but only after examining it for gold, which they did by inclining the board and passing water over the metallic sediment which adhered to it. they thus drove the light particles before the water, leaving the heavier metal behind just at the edge where it could easily be seen, however small the quantity." lieutenant warren, having afterwards heard that gold was extracted from mines near marikoppa, three miles from ooregum, visited four of the mines, the descent into which was made by means of small foot holes which had been made in their sides. the first was two feet in breadth and four in length with a depth of about thirty feet, and in distance fifty feet (of galleries i presume), the others were from thirty to forty-five feet deep. "the miners extracted the stones (how we are not informed) and they were passed from hand to hand in baskets by the miners who were stationed at different points for the purpose of banking the stones. the women then took them to a large rock, and pounded them to dust. the latter was then taken to a well and washed by the same process as that used when washing the earth for gold, when about an equal quantity of gold was found to that procured from an equal quantity of the auriferous earth." the only people, writes lieutenant warren, who devote their time to searching-for gold are pariahs, who work as follows. "when they resolve on sinking a mine, they assemble to the number of ten or twelve from different villages. then they elect a daffadar, or head man, to superintend the work, and sell the gold, and they subscribe money to buy lamp oil, and the necessary iron tools, then partly from knowledge of the ground, and partly from the idea they have, that the tract over which a peacock has been observed to fly and alight, is that of a vein of gold, they fix on a spot and begin to mine." such, then, was the condition of gold mining in mysore about the end of the last and the beginning of this century, but in ancient times mining was carried on by the natives to very considerable depths, and i am informed by mr. b. d. plummer, who has had ten years' experience of mines at kolar, and worked the mysore and nundydroog mines, that the old native workings went down to a depth of about 260 feet. these, which were all choked up, were followed down to the bottom, and valuable lodes were found at about 150 to 260 feet. nothing was found in the old native workings, but remains of old chatties (earthenware pots) and the wooden props put in to secure the sides. the native workings, in the opinion of captain plummer, were evidently carried on with skill and efficiency, and appear to be of great antiquity. large quantities of water were found, requiring pumping machinery working day and night for its removal. how the natives in olden times got rid of the water is not known. it is supposed that they must have done so by chatties, and by hand, with the aid of large numbers of people. as no native iron tools[26] were found in the cases of the two above-mentioned mines, it is evident that they were deliberately abandoned, either from excess of water in them, or some unknown cause. as the lodes they worked at the depths they reached were rich, it is probable that the miners could no longer contend with the difficulty of removing the large quantities of water. i am informed by mr. plummer that the main lodes where the natives have formerly worked have, in nearly every case, proved successful. mr. plummer has examined other districts in the province, extending more than 100 miles north of mysore city, and thinks that there is a very large mining future for the mysore country. i am informed by one of the mine managers that from the quantity of charcoal found in the old native workings, it is probable that the natives first of all burnt the rock so as to make it the more easy of extraction, just as they now burn granite rock in order the more easily to split off the stone. as the facts connected with these mines were brought very fully to the notice of the government at such an early date, it at first sight seems strange that we have to skip over a period of about seventy years till we again meet, in the "selections" previously quoted from, any further notice of the mines; but the neglect of them was evidently owing to the similar neglect of coffee and other industries, which might have been pushed forward at a much earlier date, and most certainly would have been, had the government taken pains to see that the information so frequently obtained was published in an available and readable form, instead of being buried in the various offices of the state. that more efforts were not made in this direction was probably owing to the fact that the government officers did not perceive the widespread effect that the introduction of european capital would have on the agriculture of the country, and, consequently, on the finances of the state--a subject referred to in my introductory chapter, and to which i shall again allude in the chapter on coorg--while they were under the erroneous impression that europeans would probably be a cause of annoyance to the government and the people. we find a characteristic survival of the last idea in the "selections," and in clause x. of the conditions under which, in 1873, the first leave to mine was granted by the government of mysore, it is declared that, "in the event of the grantee causing annoyance or obstruction to any class of the people, or to the officers of government, the chief commissioner reserves the power of annulling the mining right thus granted." but such apprehensions, i need hardly say, have long since passed away, and certainly within my long experience they never existed in southern india in the case of the planters who, as a body, have always been encouraged by the state, and have always got on well with it and the people, though, of course, as in all countries, there are occasionally individuals who cannot bring themselves into harmony with any person, or condition of things. and now, before proceeding with my narrative of gold mining in mysore, i pause for one moment to note the rather remarkable fact that it seems impossible to find in old records or inscriptions any reference to gold mining in mysore.[27] as to this i have made diligent inquiry, from the librarian of h. h. the maharajah, from a member of the archæological survey of mysore, and in every quarter that occurred to me. i was informed by a european resident at bangalore that, at the eurasian settlement near that city, there is a stone pillar with an inscription said by tradition to relate to gold mining, but i can hardly suppose it possible that this could have escaped the notice of the officers of the archæological survey. one of the officers of this department informed me that, in consequence of the absence of traditions regarding gold mining, he inferred that mining in mysore must have been carried on from very remote times. but it is time to proceed with the history of mining in mysore. it appears, then, from the "selections," that a mr. lavelle on the 20th of august, 1873, applied for the right to carry on mining operations in kolar. two years previously he had examined portions of the kolar district (without any grant it would seem, from no mention of one being made), and found three auriferous strata, in one of which he sunk a shaft to the depth of eighteen feet, and found gold increase in quality and size as he went downwards. in the event of a mining right being granted he proposed to begin work again in november. after some correspondence came a letter from the chief commissioner, dated september 16th, 1874, submitting conditions (which must be regarded as final) as the basis of an agreement (to be afterwards legally drawn up) to be entered into between the government and mr. lavelle. it is unnecessary to recapitulate all the conditions; suffice it to say that the right to mine in kolar was to extend over twenty years, and that a royalty of ten per cent. on all metals and metallic ores, and of twenty per cent. on all precious stones, was to be paid. on september 20th, 1874, mr. lavelle accepted the terms, but what he did or did not do as regards mining does not appear in the "selections," and i find it merely stated therein that on march 28th, 1876, leave was given him to transfer his rights to other parties. it, however, appears from a statement made by mr. lavelle in 1885 to the special correspondent of the "madras mail,"[28] that a small syndicate was formed, and some work carried on in the native style, though little success seems to have been met with, and the work was abandoned. about a year afterwards it was again recommenced by mr. lavelle, who in the meanwhile had been prospecting in other parts of southern india, and he succeeded in once more attracting attention to the kolar field, and subsequently various companies were formed, but so disappointing were the results obtained that all were practically closed in 1882, except the mysore mine, which was working to a small extent. in february, 1883, the nundydroog mine was ordered to be closed, and almost every other mine was in a state of collapse. caretakers were put in and only a little work done. early in 1884, when only twelve or thirteen thousand pounds of their capital were left, the mysore shareholders were convened. some were for closing at once and dividing the remaining capital, but, acting on the advise of messrs. john taylor and sons, of 6, queen street place, london, it was, fortunately for the province of mysore, determined to spend it on the mine. the shares were then as low as tenpence. the company began to get gold about the end of 1884, and the prospect improved so much that the nundydroog mine in may, 1885, was enabled to raise money on debentures, and so to again carry on work. if the shareholders of the mysore company had not persevered, it is almost absolutely certain that the whole of the kolar gold field would have been permanently abandoned. this is just one of those cases which cheer the sinking hopes of shareholders, and attract vast sums of money to gold mines; and no wonder, when we find the chairman of the mysore company apologizing lately because he could not declare a dividend of more than fifty per cent.; that up to the end of 1892 the gold sold by the company realized £1,149,430 2s. 1d., and that the total sum paid in dividends amounted to £602,156 10s. 6d. the mysore mine had been sunk to a depth of about 200 feet when it was proposed that the project should be abandoned. just below this depth the miners struck the champion lode on which the mysore, ooregum, nundydroog, balaghaut, and indian consolidated companies are working. the mysore mine has now been sunk to a depth of over 1,200 feet, ooregum 850 feet, and nundydroog over 860 feet. the lode is not richer per ton, as is commonly supposed, on greater depths being reached. the yield per ton is probably about the same, though from larger quantities being taken out, and the use of the rock drill, which causes a large extraction of country rock, the product per ton of quartz is apparently smaller. the specimens now found are as good as ever. the circumstances of the champion lode are briefly these. in the interior of a surrounding of granite there is a great basin of hornblende rock of schistose character, and through this, at an angle of about forty-five degrees, runs the lode. this is not of continuous thickness. in some places it is four or five feet wide, in others runs down to an almost vanishing point, and then again thickens. in the case of the mines now working on this lode, the basin of hornblende is more than two miles in width, and is possibly many thousands of feet in depth, so there seems to be a reasonable prospect of there being a long future before the workers on the champion lode. the kolar gold field is about seven miles in length, and averages about two to three miles in width. there are in all fourteen mines, but two of them are practically stopped. the general appearance of it is at present by no means attractive, as the land is rocky and sterile, and unfavourable to the growth of trees, but, from the appearance of some of the baubul trees, i feel sure that if large pits for the trees were dug, and filled with soil from the low-lying ground, a great deal might be done to beautify the field, by planting here and there groups of baubul and other hardy trees indigenous to the locality. as i thought it would be interesting, and perhaps useful, to give some idea of life on the fields, i asked one of the ladies resident there to supply me with some notes for publication, and her observations on the situation from a social and general point of view are as follows. "you ask me for some notes on the field, and i may begin by telling you that we usually rise about half-past six, when the menkind go off to their offices, or underground, as the ease may be. we have tiffin between twelve and one, and dinner at half-past seven. breakfast is generally at about eight, and the managers commonly have theirs sent down to the office. "in the afternoon, that is to say, when the five o'clock whistle blows, we play tennis, or else go down to the gymkana ground to watch the cricket. sometimes there is a gymkana in which we all take great interest, particularly in those races called ladies' events, when the winners present their prizes to the ladies who have nominated them. the great drawback to the gold fields at present is the absence of some general meeting-place or club, but it is hoped that by next year this want will be supplied, as the ooregum, nundydroog, and champion reefs companies have combined to build a hall, which is to contain a billiard-room, card-room, library, etc., and there is to be a tennis court in the compound. "one of the great pleasures is gardening. the plants that grow best are jalaps, sunflowers, roses, cornflowers, nasturtiums, verbenas, and geraniums, all of which, with the exception of the two first-named plants, require water constantly. the creepers that grow best are passion-flowers, and a small kind of green creeper with convolvulus flowers, the name of which i do not know. honeysuckle also grows, though but slowly. trees have recently been planted in the various compounds, and also along some parts of the road leading to the bungalows, but owing to the shallowness of the soil, and the roots so soon reaching the rock, they seldom grow to any size. some casuarinas in the mysore mine camp have grown to about twenty feet in height, but these have now struck the rock, and most of them are dying. "we have occasional visitors, many of them being shareholders in the various mines, bringing with them introductions from england, and wishing to inspect all the works, stamps, etc., on the surface, and very often going underground. several ladies have been taken down the mines lately, but they do not seem to care for it much, for though of course it is interesting, still the fatigue of going down so many feet on ladders is great. the mines, too, in many parts are dirty and wet, and amongst other disagreeables are the cockroaches, which are enormous, and the stinging ants. ladies too, i find, are as a rule disappointed at not seeing more 'visible gold.' i believe they cherish generally some idea of picking up a nice little nugget to keep as a souvenir of their expedition. "none of the mines have any 'cages,' as they are called, so if one does not want to go down by the ladders, one can only go in the box in which the quartz comes up, and as this is only two feet square and four feet deep, the journey by it would be decidedly uncomfortable. at every eighty feet, i may mention, you come to a small wooden platform (or level) where you can rest, and from which branch off the cross cuts and drives, or narrow passages. the depths of the different mines vary a great deal, mysore being as low as 1,400 feet, the greatest depth sunk at present, while the least depth sunk is about 300 feet. ladies going underground have to wear suitable attire. skirts would be quite useless. a long coat, or short skirt reaching to the knees, and knickerbockers, is the most comfortable dress for the occasion. very strong boots should be worn. "many of the miners and people employed in the gold fields have joined the volunteers. there is now quite a strong corps of about 100 men, some being eurasians, but the majority are either english or italians. once a year some 'bigwig' comes from bangalore to review them. there is a sergeant-instructor on the field, and the adjutant comes very frequently to see them drill, etc. "round the various large tanks about six or eight miles away from the mines excellent snipe shooting is to be had, and duck and teal are also to be found. spotted deer and bears are sometimes shot by sportsmen from the mines, but for those one must go further away. the fishing is not considered to be very good, but perhaps those who fish do not know how to set to work. the natives sometimes bring very large tank fish round for sale. "driving and riding are not very enjoyable, owing to the terribly bad state of the roads. when the railway to the mines is opened, which it soon will be, i am happy to say, the roads will be better. at present the heavy machinery for the mines, boilers, etc.--sometimes taking sixty bullocks to draw them--cut up the roads dreadfully. these will of course come by rail directly the line is open for traffic. the supplies, vegetables, fruit, etc., come from bangalore three times a week, each mine keeping a 'supply boy' (servant), who goes in from kolar road (our railway station, seven miles from the mines), and returns the following day. we get mutton and beef from the local butcher, and also good bread from the bakery on the field. our butter comes from bangalore, and from there we obtain, peas, potatoes, french beans, tomatoes, cauliflowers, vegetable marrow, and lettuces, and also fruit, such as apples, peaches, grapes, plantains, custard apples, melons, and sometimes pine-apples. servants on the whole are good. most of them come from madras. wages are much higher on the gold fields than in bangalore--head butlers, 16 rupees; ayahs, 12 to 14 rupees; chokras, 10 to 11 rupees; cooks, 11 to 14 rupees; and gardeners, 10 to 16 rupees a month. many of them leave domestic service and take work in the mines, where they get higher wages very often." as the elevation of kolar is about 2,700 feet above sea level, the climate is for many months of the year extremely agreeable, and it would, so far as my experience goes, be difficult to find a more exhilarating and more exquisitely-tempered atmosphere than that of kolar in the month of january--at least such was my conclusion when i stayed with my friends at the field last january. nor did i hear anyone there complain of the climate, which, from the appearance of my host (who looked as if he had never left england) and others on the mines, must be a very healthy one, and in proof of this i may mention that mr. plummer, whom i have previously quoted, told me that the european miners had as good health as miners have in england. cholera has on several occasions broken out amongst the coolies, but this was rather a proof of the want of attention paid to sanitation and water supply, as none i believe has occurred since an improved water supply has been introduced by all the companies now pumping it up from depths of 200 feet from the bottoms of abandoned shafts. there was a remarkable confirmation of the connection between cholera and water supply and sanitation one year, and the first company which paid attention to these points had no cholera amongst its people, while most of the other mines had more or less of the disease. i may mention here a fact to which i have alluded in my chapter on coffee planting in mysore--namely, that europeans in mysore have been so little liable to cholera that in sixty years there has only been one death from it amongst the european officials of the province, and one doubtful case amongst the planters. as regards mining and the extraction of gold, there is little to be said. i inspected the works and the rock drills. these work through the agency of compressed air, and at a cost of 15 rupees a day for coal for each drill, the same tool which is used in drilling by hand. it is doubtful whether hand-drilling is not cheaper, but the latter is far slower, and hence does not pay as well, rapid progress being absolutely essential. when working with rock drills, a shaft can be sunk 10 to 20 feet a month, against 7 to 8 feet by hand, and a level may on the average be driven 45 to 50 feet a month by rock drills against 10 or 12 feet by hand. when, however, a large surface for operating on is exposed, hand-drilling may be profitably employed. this is interesting as illustrating the fact that where labour is cheap machines seldom pay, and this is particularly worth mentioning for the benefit of those who have thought that it would be useful to introduce agricultural machinery into india. after looking at the rock drills i inspected the gold extraction works. the processes here need not detain us long. the quartz is first broken by stone-breakers like those used in england. the broken stone is then placed in an iron trough (battery box), and is pounded by iron stampers, which of course are worked by machinery. in front of this trough is a fine sieve. water is incessantly run into the trough, and as it overflows, carries with it all the quartz which has been pounded sufficiently to pass through the sieve. the water, mingled with this finely powdered quartz, then falls on to a sloping plate of copper coated with quicksilver, which amalgamates with, and so detains, the gold. the deposit thus formed is scraped off the sheets of copper at intervals of about eight hours, and formed into balls of various sizes, which consist of about one-half gold and one-half quicksilver. the latter is subsequently separated from the gold by processes which i need not describe, and the gold is afterwards formed into bars for export. i inquired particularly as to the rates of wages. these are, for coolies working underground, from 7 to 8 annas a day (with the rupee at par one anna is equal to 1-1/2d., and 8 annas would therefore amount to 1s.). those who work rock drills in mines, 12 annas to a rupee a day; ordinary coolies working aboveground, 4 to 8 annas; and women, 2 to 4 annas a day. the working population on the field numbers about 10,000, while 20,000 more, who work for varying periods of the year, reside in the neighbouring villages. i was much struck with the fact that no advances whatever are given to coolies by the companies, as is the case with men working on plantations, and i would particularly call the attention of planters to this, as it proves what i have elsewhere stated--namely, that where labour rises to a comparatively high rate no advances are necessary, and i feel sure that if planters would resolve to reduce gradually the amount of advances, they might ultimately be altogether dispensed with. my next subject of inquiry relating to labour was as to the probable total amount paid for it, and, from an estimate made for me by a very competent authority residing on the mines, i believe that the following account is substantially correct. the amount of wages paid monthly to native labourers and the small number of eurasians working on the mines is about 2 lakhs of rupees. to natives who fell and bring in timber for fuel about 80,000 rupees monthly are paid. on quarrying and carting granite, and in building, about 30,000 rupees a month are spent; on the carriage of materials from the railway about 15,000 rupees, and probably from 5,000 to 10,000 rupees on local products such as straw, grain, oil, mats, bamboos, tiles, etc. now, if we take no account of the last two items, and deduct 10,000 rupees from the second and third, we shall have a fair estimate of three lakhs of rupees a month as the amount spent on the kolar gold field in wages, which, taking the rupee at par (and i think i am justified in doing so, as for expenditure in india by labourers it goes about as far as it ever did), amounts to £360,000 a year. and this great sum is earned by people who either have land and work for occasional periods of the year on the mines, or by labourers, who, when they have saved enough money from their wages (which they could do with ease in a year), will acquire and cultivate a small holding. a large proportion of this sum of £360,000 a year--probably two-thirds of it--goes to improving the status and condition of the agricultural and labouring classes, and i need hardly add that this not only leads to an improvement of the resources of the state, but enables the people the better to contend with famine and times of scarcity, and thus still further improves the financial condition of the government. and it is largely in consequence of the great sums brought into mysore by the planters and the gold companies that the revenues of mysore are in such a nourishing condition, and that year after year the annual budget presents an appearance more and more favourable. and here this question naturally arises. what can the government of mysore do to stimulate the employment of labour in mining, and thus still further strengthen the financial position of the state? i am prepared to show that it can do much to stimulate the opening of new mines, and also to encourage many of those now in existence which have not as yet been able to pay dividends. the reader will see by a glance at the map that the auriferous tracts of mysore (to which i shall presently more particularly allude) are of great extent, and, judging from the report of the geological surveyor employed by the government, and especially from the existence of numerous old native workings, there is no reason why prizes even greater than the best of those already obtained should not exist. now one of the greatest obstacles in the way of rapid progress lies in the fact that before mining can be got fairly under weigh much preliminary work has to be done, and the shareholders have therefore a long time to wait before any paying return can be obtained. but if the preliminary work, such as the providing of water, the collection of building materials, and the making of roads, etc., were carried out before a company was formed, mining could be begun at once, and results rapidly arrived at, and the frittering away of money, both in england and india, that at present necessarily occurs, would be averted. now the country has already been largely explored, and the government is therefore in a position to know the places where favourable results will probably be obtained, and as the state, besides the other advantages i have previously pointed out, gets a royalty on the gold, it has a natural interest in doing its utmost to select the most favourable sites for new mining operations. such sites then should, with the aid of experienced mining advisers, be selected by the government, which itself should execute the preliminary works previously specified, and then advertise the blocks, so selected and prepared, for sale in the london market. for such prepared blocks purchasers could readily be found, and if the price they paid merely covered the bare cost of the preliminary works, the expenditure of capital that would thus be stimulated, with all its consequent direct and indirect advantages to the province, would amply repay the government for its trouble and outlay. but the state may give yet another stimulus to mining, which, i feel sure, would prove of great advantage to the state. the present royalty is five per cent. on the value of the gold produced, and from this source the government last year received 5 lakhs and 18,000 rupees. now the prosperous companies which are paying good dividends do not feel this to be a very serious burden, but it is a serious burden--every shilling of expenditure indeed is--to a company which has not begun to pay dividends, and i would suggest that, till a company is able to pay dividends, one-half of the royalty, or, better still, the whole of it, might be remitted. this sum would by no means be lost to the state, for does not the milk that is left in the cow go to the calf? the measures i have proposed would be of such obvious advantage to the state that, were i a shareholder, or intending investor, in mines in mysore, i should have no hesitation in suggesting their adoption, but it may be as well to mention that i am neither. i drove one afternoon with my host to the court on the field, and had some conversation with the magistrate regarding thefts at the mines, and it certainly appears that a special act is required to check the stealing of gold. sponge-gold (i.e., gold from which the quicksilver has been evaporated), quartz, or gold amalgam, if found in the possession of any person, renders the individual liable to prosecution, if the possession of gold in any of these forms cannot be satisfactorily accounted for. but the individual cannot be called to account for having ordinary pure gold in possession. now in a man's possession at the mines there has been found all the means of separating the gold by quicksilver, and it is therefore quite clear that gold stolen in either of the first three mentioned forms may, after having been deprived of its concomitant impurities, be held by an individual to any amount, and even by a workman earning 6d. a day, without his being liable to be called upon to account for its possession. some act to meet this kind of case is then clearly required--an act similar to our mysore coffee-stealing prevention act, which provides that any person not a planter is liable to be called upon to account for coffee in his possession. a difficult point occurs where quartz is found in a hut occupied by several people, as it is impossible to charge any one person with being in illegal possession of the article. there are numerous evidences of gold stealing, and certainly some summary process ought to be established with the view of checking these thefts. i may add that the government is much interested in this matter, as five per cent. of the gold belongs to it, and is handed over in the shape of royalty. those who are most concerned should bring the matter annually before the members of the representative assembly. even in england remedies for, or mitigations of, evils are not provided without much continuous parliamentary hammering. after discussing the subject of gold stealing with the magistrate, i called on the manager of the mysore mine, and afterwards went with my host to a lawn tennis party at the house of the doctor of the mines, who is employed by the various companies. he has a comfortable bungalow, which is at a considerable elevation above the level of the valley, and commands an extensive view of the surrounding country and of the distant hills. above the house, and at some little distance on one side of it, stands the hospital, and on a knoll just below, the building of the new roman catholic church was in progress, and the walls were nearly finished. from the doctor's bungalow a good general view of the whole field can be obtained, and i was particularly struck with the number of buildings to be seen in all directions. i was told that from this point as many as thirty tall chimneys can be counted. there is a great want of water in the field, for purposes connected with the separation of the gold from the quartz, and tanks are being provided to store it. i venture to suggest that a considerable distance of the catchment area on the sides, and especially at the back, of the tanks should be honeycombed with pits, as the water, which is often largely lost from falling in heavy deluges, would thus percolate into the ground, and so find its way into the bed of the tank by degrees. i may mention that a great effect has been produced in the case of a tank on one of my coffee estates by thus digging pits to catch water that would otherwise run directly down into the tank, to be largely lost by the overflow during heavy rains, and a similar effect has been produced on the property of a neighbour. in fact, the effect produced by such pits on the supply of water in tanks is far greater than one could have imagined to be possible, and i may therefore, in passing, call particular attention to the advisability of such pits being made near tanks used for agricultural purposes. on the margins of the tanks, and in parts of the bed where sufficient soil exists, trees should be planted, with the view of diminishing evaporation from the surface of the water. when the railway is completed, soil might easily be brought into the field oil trucks, and the pits dug for trees should be filled with it. the planting of trees in and around the field would certainly be beneficial in many obvious ways, and would improve the climate and probably affect, not perhaps the amount, but the distribution of the rainfall. i would suggest that if earth closets were used by the people, and the used earth spread around the trees, there would be a great improvement in their growth. this would at once improve the sanitation of the field and beautify it at the same time. the reader has now probably learned enough of this rising settlement,[29] and i have only to add that on the day following i returned to bangalore, after having had a most pleasant and interesting time of it with my friends on the kolar field. i next pass to a brief mention of the other auriferous tracts in mysore, which were surveyed in 1887 by mr. r. bruce foote, superintendent of the geological survey of india, who, in connection with his investigations between february 2nd and may 7th of that year, travelled no less than 1,300 miles in mysore in marching and field work. a full report of his work appears in the "selections,"[30] and this is accompanied by a map in which mr. foote has sketched out the distribution of the auriferous rocks. in the "selections" alluded to there, is also a "report on the auriferous tracts in mysore," by mr. m. f. lavelle, and "notes on the occurrence of gold and other minerals in mysore," by mr. walter marsh, mining engineer. but in the brief remarks i have to make i shall confine my attention to mr. foote's report. mr. foote informs us that the chief gold-yielding rocks of southern india belong to one great geological system, to which, from the rocks forming it occurring very largely in the dharwar country, he two years previously gave the name of the dharwar system, as he saw the necessity of separating them from the great gneissic system, with which they had formerly been grouped. in his long tour in mysore he found that every important auriferous tract visited lies within one or other of the areas of the dharwar rocks, or forms an outlying patch of the same. these dharwar rocks, it appears, are the auriferous series in mysore, the ceded districts, and the southern maharatta country. mr. foote groups the auriferous rock series of mysore into four groups--the central, west-central, western, and the eastern--the last group being formed by the kolar gold field, which was not included in the tracts mr. foote was called upon to visit. he then gives a systematic account of his examination of the country, beginning with the central, and ending with the western group. he examined ten auriferous tracts or localities in the central group, beginning with the holgen workings near the southern border of the province, and ending with the hale kalgudda locality near the northern border, and reports more or less favourably on five out of the ten localities in question. for brevity i use the numbers into which he has divided the localities he regards as more or less promising. of part of number three, he says that his examination, though but a cursory one, led him to regard it "very favourably," and of another part, he says that the whole outline indicated, which is seven miles long by about a mile wide, is deserving of very close examination, and the reefs of being prospected to some depth. as regards number five, he reports the existence of old native workings occupying a considerable area, and which showed evidence of much work being done. fine reefs are to be seen pretty numerously, and he desires to draw attention to this promising tract. with reference to number eight, he says that "taking all things into consideration this tract is one of the most promising i have seen." of number nine he says, "with regard to this gold-yielding locality, it is one of very great promise and worthy of all attention from mining capitalists," and as regards number ten, he reports that, though not so favourable as the two numbers previously mentioned, it is yet deserving of the closest investigation. the west-central group was examined by mr. foote in the same order, i.e., from south to north, and he tells us that the auriferous localities in this group occur all in small detached strips or patches of schistose rock scattered over the older gneissic series. they are really, he says, remnants of the once apparently continuous spread of schistose (dharwar) rocks which covered great part of the southern half of the peninsula. mr. foote examined in all fifteen localities, and they do not, from his account, seem to present appearances as favourable as those of the central group, and he only recommends that attention should be paid to six of them. as regards the first locality mentioned, he says that, though the results from washings and other indications were not very favourable, the field was deserving of further close prospecting, as the nature of the country is favourable. of locality number five, he says that it contains a considerable number of large and well defined reefs, to which a great amount of attention has been paid by the old native miners, and thinks that they are deserving of the closest attention at the present time by deep prospecting on an ample scale. of number seven he finds it impossible to form any positive opinion, though he adds that the size of the old workings show that the old miners found the place worth their attention for a long period. he advises that number eleven should be prospected and tested. locality thirteen he considers to deserve close prospecting, and he makes much the same remark as to number fourteen. the western group, mr. foote tells us, is far poorer in auriferous localities than either of the others, and they are scattered widely apart. he examined in all seven localities. of the first locality examined, he says that the geological features are all favourable to the occurrence of gold, and that the locality is worthy of very careful prospecting. in locality number two, such a good show of coarse grained gold was got from the sands of a stream that he thought a portion of the land from which its water came ought to be closely tested in order to trace the source of the gold found in the stream. when writing on locality number three, mr. foote observes that the elevated tract of the auriferous rocks of which the bababudan mountains form the centre is one well deserving great attention both from the geologist and the mining prospector, it being an area of great disturbance, the rocks being greatly contorted on a large scale and, the north and south sides at least of the area, much cut up by great faults. the whole of the auriferous areas here, he says, are deserving of close survey, for even the best of them are very imperfectly known, and much of what was known to the old miners in former generations has been forgotten. "from the fact," writes mr. foote, "that in my hurried tour i came upon no less than five sets of old workings that had not been brought under the notice of messrs. lavelle and marsh (reports of whose investigations are given in the "selections"), i quite expect to hear that many other old abandoned workings exist in wild and jungly tracts which bound in the hilly and mountainous parts of the country." in locality number five such fine shows of gold were obtained, and there was such a good looking old mine, and quartz reefs of great size, that mr. foote considered the place deserving of "very marked attention from earnest prospectors." it is evident, from what mr. foote has said, that there is much to be done in the way of exploring and testing the mysore province for gold, and i hope that what i have written may be the means of attracting further attention to the subject. at the close of his report mr. foote mentions the fact that "a great dyke of beautiful porphyry traverses the hills east of the karigatta temple overlooking seringapatam. the porphyry, which is of warm brown or chocolate colour, includes many crystals of lighter coloured felspar, and dark crystals of hornblende. the stone would take a very high polish, and for decorative purposes of high class, such as vases, panels and bases for busts and tazzas, etc., it is unequalled in south india, and deserving of all attention. if well polished it fully equals many of the highly prized antique porphyries. the dyke is of great thickness and runs for fully a mile, so is practically inexhaustible. blocks of very large size could be raised, and from the situation of the dyke on the side of two steep hills, it would be very easy to open up large quarries if needful." as this dyke is close to a railway it may be worthy of the attention of capitalists. footnotes: [25] printed for the use of the government, and kindly lent to me by the dewan of mysore. [26] mr. bosworth-smith, _vide_ p. 36 of his report, says that, up to 1889, only three finds of iron tools had been met with in the old native workings. [27] in mr. hyde clarke's paper entitled "gold in india," london, effingham wilson, royal exchange, 1881, it is stated that "dr. burnell brings direct proof as to the abundance of gold, by his successful decipherment of a remarkable inscription in the tanjore temple. dr. burnell is thus enabled to state that in the eleventh century gold was still the most common precious metal in india, and stupendous quantities of it are mentioned. he considers, too, that this gold was obtained from mines, and that the moslem invasion interrupted their workings." it does not, however, appear, at least in mr. hyde clarke's paper, that the inscription deciphered by dr. burnell makes any reference to gold mining. [28] "the kolar gold field in the state of mysore." reprinted from the "madras mail," december, 1885; madras, the madras mail press. london, messrs. h. s. king and co., 1885. [29] those who desire detailed information are referred to mr. p. bosworth-smith's "report on the kolar gold field and its southern extension." madras, government press, 1889. mr. bosworth-smith writes as government mineralogist to the madras presidency. [30] "selections from the records of the mysore government. reports on auriferous tracts in mysore." bangalore. printed at the mysore government press, 1887. chapter viii. caste. in krilof's fable of "the peasant and the horse," the latter murmurs at the way his master throws oats broad-cast on the soil. "how much better," argues the horse, "it would have been to have kept them in his granary, or even to have given them to me to eat!" but the oats grow, and in due time are garnered, and from them the same horse is fed the year following. the horse, as we have seen, was unable to comprehend the working and the meaning of his master's acts; and, in the same way, we often see that man equally fails to comprehend the nature and effect of things around him. and thus it is, and for long has been, as regards the institution i am now about to consider. people in general have ignorantly murmured at the institution of caste; and, having ever looked at it with highly-civilized spectacles, and having seen especially a number of the inconveniences it has caused to the educated population of the towns, it has been argued that caste is the curse of all india. but it seems to me that an attentive, unprejudiced examination tends to prove that in former times it was exactly the reverse, and that at the present moment, as far as all the ignorant rural population is concerned, it may be considered, with reference to the state of the people, as a valuable and useful institution. and here, at the outset, i wish it to be clearly understood that an immense divergence has taken place between the town and country populations of india. the former have advanced with rapid strides on the paths of enlightenment and progress, while the latter, it is hardly too much to say, have remained almost universally stationary. to argue, therefore, from one to the other is not only impossible, but absurd; and it is merely a waste of time to point out, at any length, that what may be admirably suited to one set of people may be a positive nuisance to another. with reference, then, to this question of caste, instead of treating india as a whole, i shall divide it into town and country populations. in the first place, i shall treat of the effects of caste on the country populations, amongst whom i have lived; and, in the second place, i shall offer some considerations regarding the effects of the institution amongst the people of the towns. and, first of all, as to its effects on the rural population. in these observations on caste i shall not commence with any attempt to trace its origin, nor shall i endeavour to enumerate the countless forms it has assumed amongst the peoples of the great peninsula. my aim is to direct the attention of the reader not to the dry bones of its history so much as to the living effects of the institution. it is certainly a matter of interest to know something of the peculiar customs of the various tribes and races; but it is to be regretted that people generally have rested content with information of that sort, and have seldom attempted to investigate those points which are, i conceive, mainly of use and interest. what indians may or may not do--what they may eat, what they may drink, and what clothing they may put on--are not matters on which inquirers should bestow much time. the information most needed, and which has not yet, or only in the most imperfect sense, been acquired, is as to what caste has done for good or evil. it shall be my endeavour to solve that question; and i imagine the solution would be in a great measure effected if i could, in the first instance, answer the following questions: 1. how far has caste acted as a moral restraint amongst the indians themselves? 2. how far advantageously or the reverse in segregating them socially from the conquerors who have overrun their country? on the first of these points i may observe, without the slightest exaggeration, that very few of our countrymen indeed have had such opportunities as myself of forming a correct opinion; for very few englishmen have been so entirely dependent on a native population for society. for the first four or five years of my residence in manjarabad[31] there were only three europeans besides myself, and we were all about twelve miles apart. the natural consequence was that the farmers of the country were my sole companions; and, as i joined in their sports and had some of them always about me, terms of intimacy sprang up which never could have existed under any other circumstances. and further, when it is taken into consideration that i have employed the poorer of the better castes in various capacities on my estates, and a large number of the pariahs, or labourer caste, it seems pretty clear that i ought to be a tolerably competent judge as to whether caste did or did not exercise a favourable influence on the morals of the people. now, as regards one department of morals, at least, i unhesitatingly affirm that it did, and that, as regards the connection of the sexes, it would be difficult to find in any part of the world a more moral people than the two higher castes of manjarabad, who form about one-half of the population, and who may be termed the farming proprietors of the country. amongst themselves, indeed, it was not to be wondered at that their morality was extremely good, as, from the fact of nearly everyone being married at the age of puberty, and partly, perhaps, from the fact of their houses being more or less isolated, instead of being grouped in villages, the temptations to immorality were necessarily slight. their temptations, though, as regards the pariahs, who were, when i entered manjarabad, merely hereditary serfs, were considerable; and there it was that the value of caste law came in. caste said, "you shall not touch these women;" and so strong was this law, that i never knew of but one instance of one of the better classes offending with a pariah woman.[32] some aversion of race there might, no doubt, have been, but the police of caste and its penalties were so strong that he would be a bold man indeed who would venture to run any risk of detection. to give an idea of how the punishment for an offence of this kind would operate, it may be added that, if one of the farming classes in this country, on a case of seducing one of the lower, was fined by his neighbours £500, and cut by society till he paid the money, he would be in exactly the same position as a manjarabad farmer would be who had violated the important caste law under consideration. here, therefore, we have a moral police of tremendous power, and the very best proof we have of the regularity with which it has been enforced lies in the fact that the pariahs and the farmers are distinguished by a form and physiognomy almost as distinct as those existing between an englishman and a negro. caste, then, as we have seen, protects the poor from the passions of the rich, and it equally protects the upper classes themselves, and enforcedly makes them more moral than, judging from our experience in other quarters of the globe, they would otherwise be. having thus briefly glanced at caste law, as controlling the connection of the sexes, let us now look at it from another point of view, which i venture to think is, as regards its ultimate consequences, of even still more importance. if there is one vice more than another which is productive of serious crime, it is the abuse of alcohol; and there is no doubt that, to use the words of an eminent statesman, "if we could subtract from the ignorance, the poverty, the suffering, the sickness, and the crime now witnessed among us, the ignorance, the poverty, the sickness, and the crime caused by the single vice of drinking, this country would be so changed for the better that we should hardly know it again." regarding it, then, in all its consequences, whether physical or mental (and how many madmen and idiots are there not bred by drinking?[33]), it is difficult to estimate too highly the value of caste laws that utterly prohibit the use of those strong drinks that are injurious in any country, but are a thousand times more so under the rays of a tropical sun. and when we come to consider that a large proportion of the population of india are absolutely compelled to abstain from the use of alcohol, and that these being the very best, or at least equal to the very best, of the community, must always have exercised a large influence in discouraging the excessive use of intoxicating drinks, it is impossible to refrain from coming to the conclusion that this single fact is more than sufficient to counterbalance all the evils that have ever been said to arise from caste. on two very important points, then--the connection of the sexes and the use of alcohol--it is evident that caste laws have produced some very favourable and valuable results; but i do not think we can accurately gauge their value unless we compare the state of morality existing in manjarabad with the state of morality existing in one of our home counties; and the comparison i have to make, if not very soothing, is, i am sure, very interesting. take any one of our counties in great britain, for instance, and compare it with manjarabad as regards the points i have particularly referred to, and it will be found that manjarabad has an immense superiority. the crimes and misery arising from drinking are hardly to be found at all in manjarabad, while the morality of the sexes, i should think, could hardly be surpassed. now, there is nothing very surprising, considering that the people in this country are so heavily weighted, that this should be the case; on the contrary, it is the natural result of the circumstances of their worldly situation. but, supposing that the worldly situation as to the means of support and the opportunities of marrying were equal, it seems to me perfectly plain that the people who have a large proportion of the better classes total abstainers, and who have their society so controlled that the rich cannot gratify their passions at the expense of the poor, must be in the possession of a superior morality. before closing this branch of the subject, i may allude briefly to what has been so often attacked by the opponents of caste: i mean the prohibition of the marriage of widows. this rule exists in manjarabad, but i am not aware that any great moral evil arises from it, as a widow can always contract to live with a man, the difference being that the ceremonies performed are of an inferior kind. this is not allowed to be a marriage, but, in fact, it is a marriage, though of a kind held in rather low estimation. on customs like these, which in a great measure neutralize the evils arising from the restrictions on re-marriage, it seems to me that our information is very scanty, and i am not aware how far the practice alluded to prevails in other parts of india. having taken into consideration the advantages of caste in acting as a moral restraint amongst the indians themselves, i now purpose to inquire how far caste has acted advantageously, or the reverse, in segregating the people socially from the conquerors who have overrun their country. if the advantages of caste are striking and plainly apparent as regards the moral points i have alluded to, they seem to me to be infinitely more so when we come to consider the happy influence this institution has had in segregating the indians from the white races. and here i cannot help indulging in a vain regret that the blessings of caste have not been universally diffused amongst all inferior races. how many of these has our boasted civilization improved off the face of the earth? how much has that tide of civilization which the first conquerors invariably bring with them effected? how much, in other words, have their vice, rum, and gunpowder helped to exterminate those unhappy races which, unprotected by caste, have come in contact with the white man? nor in india itself are we altogether without a well-marked instance of the value, for a time at least, of an entire social separation between the dark and white races; and the todas, the lords of the soil on the nilgiri hills, furnish us with a lamentable example of what the absence of caste feeling is capable of producing. we found them a simple pastoral race, and the early visitors to the hills were struck with their inoffensive manners, and what was falsely considered to be their greatest advantage--freedom from caste associations. but what is their condition now? one of drunkenness, debauchery, and disease of the most fatal description. had the much-reviled caste law been theirs, what a different result would have ensued from their contact with europeans! caste would have saved them from alcohol, and their women from contamination: they would thus have maintained their self-respect; and if, at first, separation brought no progress nor shadow of change, it would have at least induced no evil, and education and enlightenment would in time have modified these caste institutions, which, to a superficial observer, seem to be productive of nothing but evil. we have now seen that social contact with whites, without any barrier between them and the inferior races, is not, in a moral point of view, a very desirable thing in any part of the world. but if there is a moral consequence, we may also point to a mental one, which exercises an immense influence: i mean the overwhelming sense of inferiority which is so apt to depress casteless races. i believe, then, for savages, or for people in a low state of civilization, it is of the greatest importance that they should have points of difference which may not only keep them socially apart, but which may enable them to maintain some feeling of superiority when coming in contact with highly-civilized races. nor is it necessary that the feeling of superiority should be well founded. an imaginary superiority will, i believe, answer the purpose equally well. "we don't touch beef, nor would we touch food cooked by englishmen or pariahs," seem but poor matters for self-congratulation. but if these considerations prevent a man from forming a poor opinion of himself, they should be carefully cherished. on these points, at least, a feeling of superiority is sustained, and therefore the tendency to degradation is diminished. but if on all points the white man makes his superiority felt, the weaker people speedily acquire a thorough contempt for themselves, and soon become careless of what they do, or of what becomes of them. their mental spring becomes fatally depressed, and this circumstance has probably more to do with the deterioration and extinction of inferior races than most people would be inclined to admit.[34] nothing, then, i believe, chills the soul and checks the progress of man so much as a hopeless sense of inferiority; and, had i time, i might turn the attention of the reader to the universality of this law, and to the numerous instances that have been collected to prove the depressing and injurious effects that even nature, on a grand and overwhelming scale, seems to exercise on the mind and spirit of man--how it makes him timid, credulous, and superstitious, and produces effects which retard his progress. but to advance further on this point, however interesting it may be, would only tend to distract the attention of the reader from the subject with which we are mainly concerned. if the remarks hitherto made are of any value, they undoubtedly tend to prove that all inferior races have a tendency, in the first instance, to adopt the vices rather than the virtues of the more civilized races they may come in contact with. assuming, then, as i think we have every right to do, that this statement is universally true, it is evident that the social separation maintained by caste has been of incalculable advantage. on the other hand, however, a number of disadvantages have been indicated by various writers; but only one of them seems to me at all worthy of serious attention. it has been asserted that this segregation has impeded advancement, that it has prevented the indians learning as much from us as they otherwise might, and that it has impeded the mainspring of all advancement--education. here, i apprehend, the argument against caste, as far as rural populations are concerned, utterly fails, and, in a province contiguous to my own, a most signal instance to the contrary can be pointed to. few people have more proudly segregated themselves than the coorgs; nowhere is the chastity of women more jealously guarded; and yet they were the first people in india who desired and petitioned for female education. and how, then, can it be for one moment asserted that the tendency of caste is to check the progress of the people? having thus glanced at some of the effects of caste institutions as they affect the rural population, we will now consider caste as it affects the people of the towns. following, then, the same order, and directing our attention to the same points selected for consideration when treating of the rural classes, let us ask how far caste has operated with the townspeople as regards the connection of the sexes and the use of alcohol. and here we shall find that the subject may be dismissed in almost a single sentence; for caste laws, as regards these points, can never act as a moral restraint, because the possibility of enforcing them cannot and does not exist. nor need i waste time in proving that people in towns, whether in india, or any other part of the world, may readily do things which could never escape the prying eyes of a country society. then, as regards the segregation from foreigners, it is evident that we need employ little time, for such of the town populations as have maintained a fair state of morality amid the evils of large cities, are not likely to be materially affected by the bad habits and customs of the white races; and as for those who have never led a steady life, it would not much matter with whom they mixed. but caste not only brings with it no good as far as the town population is concerned, but its continuance is fraught with a multitude of painful and vexatious evils, which meet us at every turn, for it hampers the actions, and clogs those efforts at progress which are the natural result of intellectual advancement. and here i cannot do better than quote the words of a parsee gentleman, whose unceasing efforts to aid the progress of india entitle him to be placed in the very highest rank of those who spend much time and labour to produce effects which they can never live to see the fruits of. these remarks of his, which i am now about to quote, were made at the close of a paper on caste, which i read at a meeting of the east india association, and are quoted from the report published in the journal of the association. after fully granting that, in the condition of society existing at the time the system of caste was established, it may have done a great deal of good, mr. dadabhai naoroji proceeded to remark on the way the present system of caste interferes with progress among the higher classes, and then gave several instances to illustrate his observation. "the great struggle," he said, "which is now going on in bombay about the widow-marriage question is an apt illustration of this; and, also, the fear of excommunication prevents a large body of natives from coming to this country, and profiting by their visit. it is often said, 'educated hindoos ought not to care for this excommunication;' but those who say that, little think what excommunication means. a man who is excommunicated may not care for it for his own sake, but he has his family to consider. what is to be done with daughters? they cannot marry if their father is excommunicated, and the result is, therefore, most serious to them. i knew of one instance of a native gentleman who, being excommunicated from his caste for having visited england, had, on the death of his child, been put to the very painful necessity of having the body carried by his servant, without anyone accompanying him." it would be impossible, i think, to furnish two better instances of the evils of caste to people desirous of shaking off in any way the habits of their forefathers; and a more melancholy picture than that of this unfortunate man setting out with his dead child without a single friend to accompany him it would indeed be difficult to find. many other illustrations might, of course, be given; but enough has been said already, and we may safely consider it as a settled question that, as far as the people of the towns are concerned, the sooner caste is abolished the better. i may here be permitted to remind the reader that we have considered the effects of caste, as regards the country population, in two very important particulars: first of all, as to the morality of the sexes, which is controlled to such a large extent by caste law; and secondly, we have looted at the effects of caste as controlling the use of alcohol, and consequently limiting the crimes and evils that can in most countries be traced to drinking. on both of these points we have compared an indian county with any county in great britain, and saw reason to think that morality, as regards the points under consideration, is better in manjarabad than in any british county. and, by facts which may be brought from many quarters of the globe, we have seen that it is a universal law that inferior races have a tendency to adopt the vices rather than the virtues of superior races, and that, therefore, caste laws which enjoin social separation are of the highest value. we have seen, too, the value of caste in keeping up feelings of superiority and self-respect. we have also seen that these caste laws can exist without retarding the progress of the people, or their desire for education. and, finally, taking all these points into consideration, we concluded that there were no drawbacks, and many striking advantages, connected with caste as far as the country populations are concerned. in the next place, we looked at the circumstances of the people of the towns, inquired as to how caste has affected them for good or evil, and came to the conclusion that not only does no good arise from caste, but that it is plainly and unmistakably an unmitigated evil. keeping these conclusions firmly in mind, let us now advance to the consideration of a third question, which naturally arises out of those facts which i assume to have been established. that question is--how far has caste acted beneficially, or the reverse, in helping to retard our interpretation of christianity? pursuing the same order as before, let us ask, in the first place, whether caste has, as regards the country populations, acted beneficially in this as well as in the other points we have looked at. but, before attempting to answer this question, it may be as well to offer a few general remarks which tend to show that, independently of any question of caste, it is hopeless to expect that any ignorant and generally unenlightened race can possibly derive any benefit from adopting the formulas and dogmas of a pure faith. to illustrate this old and well-established truth, let us point to four of the many instances which may be adduced as decisively confirming it--the history of christianity in europe, of islam amongst the indian mahomedans, and the history of christianity in abyssinia and india. as to the first, to use the words of buckle, "after the new religion had received the homage of the best part of europe, it was found that nothing had really been effected." superstition was merely turned from one channel into another. the adoration of idols was succeeded by the adoration of saints, and for centuries after christianity had become the established religion it entirely failed to produce its natural fruits, because ignorance imperatively demanded superstition in some shape or other. to some it may seem, at first sight, a curious circumstance that the same remarks may be applied to the history of mahomedanism in india. the idols were broken and the one god declared. but how long was it before the people, like the israelites of old, fell away from the grand central doctrine of mahomedanism--the unity of god? how long was it before the adoration of idols was followed by the adoration of saints? the exact coincidence, however, is no more striking than that given causes produce fixed results with an eastern as well as with a western people. when we turn, thirdly, to abyssinia, what do we find? how have the dogmas of christianity fared there? the abyssinians did not rise to the level of the dogmas and principles of christianity--that we all know. they simply reduced it to their own level. look, lastly, at our native christians in india. i believe it is quite certain that, in the general opinion of englishmen, they are, to say the least, very far from being the best class in india; in fact, i do not think it too much to say that most europeans hold them to be about the worst class of people in india. i confess that i do not share this opinion altogether. the fact probably is that, in consequence of their extreme ignorance and generally debased state, they are, in the rural districts, neither better nor worse than the classes from which they are principally drawn. in our cantonments, however, and especially in those where european soldiery abounds, there is every probability of their being worse than the classes from which they have sprung; and i have little doubt that the low estimation in which the native christians are held is owing to the fact that our countrymen have generally come in contact with the specimens that have been nurtured amidst the scum of our indian towns. were we to believe the assertions of our english missionaries, very different conclusions would, of course, be arrived at; but unless they can show that the lowest and most ignorant classes of natives, who from their habits, and from having nothing to lose, are under great temptations, form an exception to all specimens of humanity in other quarters of the globe, i am afraid there can be little reason to doubt that the opinions i have expressed are fairly correct. i doubt very much, in fact, from my intimate knowledge of the lower classes of natives--and it is from these, as i said before, that our converts are mainly derived--whether they are capable of comprehending our religion at all. of one thing i think we may be quite certain, and that is, that the moment the missionary's back is turned, these people return to their devils in the event of any danger or sickness arising. this might be arrived at deductively with perfect accuracy, and arguing solely from our knowledge of humanity under certain conditions; but i may mention that in ceylon instances of people reverting to their devil-worship are common amongst the native christians, and instances might, no doubt, be soon collected in india, if anyone thought it worth the trouble. while alluding to missionary assertions, i may mention that the credulity of these gentlemen seems only to be equalled by the credulity of the british public. if they would only extend their belief in the goodness of natives a little further, one might be tempted to sympathize with this amiable weakness. but the peculiar part of their statements lies in the fact that their converts have got all the virtue and morality in india, while the respectable classes of the community seem, by their account, to be very badly off in these respects. the most curious instance, however, of missionary credulity that i have met with is to be found in the evidence of mr. underhill, given before the committee on colonization (india) in 1859. and it certainly is a surprising result of conversion to find that the wives of the converts become not only more beautiful, but also more fertile, than their heathen sisters. two heathen natives had been heard to testify to these facts, and it is wonderful to observe the complacent air of satisfaction with which these statements are accepted by the witness, who added that this difference evidently arises from the more chaste and regular modes of life in which they fall.[35] i have said that the native christians are probably neither better nor worse than the lower classes from which they are drawn, and the painfully truthful remarks given in the note below[36] seem to show that, whatever may be the case now (and i believe that the low-class converts are somewhat better than they were then), the converts to christianity must have been originally a very indifferent set of people. christianity, however, if it did not make these classes much better, at any rate made them no worse. when we turn, however, to the middle-class farmers, it is evident that to have converted them, unless that conversion had been preceded by enlightenment, and a more advanced civilization than they had hitherto enjoyed, would have inflicted on them an incalculable injury, by depriving them of restraints which, as we have seen, are in some particulars of immense importance. to become a christian, the first thing required of a man is that he should give up caste, and deliver himself to the sole guidance of his conscience; that he should give up a powerful and effective moral restraint; that he should abandon a position which carries with it feelings of self-respect and superiority, and resign himself to the degrading reflection that he may eat from the same platter and drink from the same vessel as the filthiest pariah; and that this would be degrading there can be little doubt. were he an educated and enlightened man, he would be sustained by feelings which would raise him above the influence of such considerations. but, in the absence of enlightenment, sad would be his fate, and melancholy the deterioration that would inevitably ensue. the way in which that deterioration would take place, the way in which he would become careless of what he did, or of what became of him, has been sufficiently indicated in the previous pages of this chapter; and to give in detail the principal reasons against a change of faith which involved the abolition of caste, would only be to repeat what i have already said as to the effect of the institution in controlling the morality of the sexes and the use of alcohol. not only, then, i repeat, would a change of dogma be as unimproving and superficial as changes of that sort always are with unenlightened people, but a number of positive evils would follow from the necessary abandonment of the restrictions of caste; and we may therefore conclude that, as regards the whole population, the effect of caste in helping to prevent the adoption of our interpretation of christianity is of incalculable advantage. when we turn to the town populations the case is widely different. we have seen that for them the practical advantages of caste can hardly be said to exist at all, and therefore a change of religion which involved its abolition would, as regards any part of the society, at least produce no evil. here, at least, we are on safe ground. but this is not all. we see that with the better classes education and enlightenment have borne their natural fruit, and demanded a pure faith, which has already sprung up in the shape of deism. enlightenment, then, will produce a pure faith, which will in time react on society, and push it forward with accelerated speed. now, it cannot be denied that caste laws do retard the free and unfettered adoption of a pure faith; and if we assume that a pure faith will in turn become a cause, or even an accelerator, of progress, then it is certain that, as regards the peoples of the towns, caste, as retarding the adoption of the most advanced principles of religion, is an undoubted calamity. we have now looked at the bearings of caste on three very important points--its moral bearing amongst the indians themselves, its effects in maintaining a social separation between the white and dark races, and its effects in retarding the adoption of a religion which involves the entire abolition of caste laws. in the first place, we looked at the effects of caste laws on the rural populations, and came to the conclusion that on all these points caste has operated, and continues to operate, advantageously. in the second place, we looked at its effects on the peoples of the towns, and came to the conclusion that caste confers on them no advantages, while it is often productive of serious evil. let us now glance for one moment at the causes of the general outcry which you everywhere hear against caste institutions, and at the same time suggest the line of conduct that the people of the towns ought to adopt with reference to this question. and here i need not occupy much space in indicating the causes of that abuse of caste which has always been so popular with my countrymen. in fact, if we admit the truth of the facts and arguments hitherto adduced, these causes are so apparent that the reader must have already anticipated the solution i have to give. caste, as we have seen, is a serious evil to the peoples of the towns. now, it is amongst towns and cantonments that our principal experiences of this institution have been acquired, and the educated natives of the indian capitals, feeling all the evils and experiencing none of the advantages of caste, are naturally loud in its condemnation. hence the cry arising from all europeans and a trifling section of the indians, that caste should be abolished from one end of india to the other. but how is it that no response comes from these country populations amongst whom i have lived? how is it that these shrewd-headed people[37] are so insensible to the evils of caste, and that you never hear one word about it? the answer is extremely simple. they have never felt these evils, because for them they do not exist. if they felt the pressure of caste laws as do the people of the towns, the outcry would be universal, and the institution speedily done away with. need i add that when the people of the country are as advanced as the people of the towns, that then, and not till then, will the pressure, which is now confined to the latter, be universally felt; that then, and not till then, will this institution, being no longer suited to the requirements of the age, be universally discarded. let us now say a few words as to the line of conduct that should be adopted, as regards caste, by those who are desirous of freeing themselves from the restrictions of that institution. in the first place, the opponents of caste should not weaken their case by talking nonsense; and, in the second place, they should remember, above all things, that, to use a common saying, "if you want a pig to go to dublin, the best thing you can do is to start him off on the way to cork." i shall now enlarge a little on both of these recommendations. to illustrate my first suggestion--and to this suggestion i shall again have occasion to allude further on in this chapter--a few sentences may be devoted to glancing at some of those remarkable conclusions which sound so well in the observations one often hears when anything is said about india. the tendency of caste, you will hear it gravely urged, is to elevate the upper classes on the highest possible pinnacle, and keep the pariah grovelling in the dust. "what," continues the speaker, "keeps the brahmin at the top and the pariah at the bottom?" why, let me ask in turn, is a cow's tail long, and a fox's tail bushy? is it in this nineteenth century that we are to try and din into people's ears that the upper classes in india were at the top of the social scale, and the pariah at the bottom, centuries before caste, in its present shape, ever existed, and that the relative position of the two races would continue with little change if caste was to be abolished to-morrow morning? "what," gravely asks another, "has prevented the peoples of india uniting into one grand nation, and destroyed all hopes of political fusion?" nor, to many, would the absurdity of the question be apparent till you asked them what has prevented all europe becoming one nation; or, to take things on a smaller scale, till you asked what prevented the highland clans forming themselves into a nation. in short, whenever a man is in difficulty, and at a loss to account for anything connected with the state of the people of india, he takes refuge in caste, combined, perhaps, with what is called native prejudice, though what that last means i do not pretend to explain. now, it is not improbable that some of my readers may have heard of holloway's pills, and we know, in fact, that thousands believe that medicine to be an efficacious remedy for every constitutional ailment. only swallow holloway, and you are a cured man. well, the abolition of caste, with an incredible number of people, is, in like manner, confidently pronounced to be a universal remedy for all the political and social complaints of india. remove that, and you will at one stroke secure social liberty, national unity, the removal of idolatry, and, some even are rash enough to affirm, the universal adoption of christianity. such, then, are a few examples of the nonsense you will hear commonly talked about caste, and i think i need not waste time in pointing out that the opponents of caste must take very different ground if they wish to obtain a hearing from the peoples of india. in the second point to which i have called the attention of the reader i alluded to the general law of opposition, and used a common saying which exactly illustrates the probable result of violent and ill-judged attacks on caste. in fact, so apparent is this, that the reader must have already anticipated the line that, in my opinion, the opponents of caste should follow. what the opponents of caste should preach is, not the abolition of that institution, but toleration for the educated and advanced members of the community who, finding caste an impediment and a burden, wish to discard it. they should admit that this institution has been, and is at the present moment, of value amongst the rural populations, but they should, at the same time, point out that times are changing, and that the peoples of the towns ask for some toleration, not because caste is necessarily a universal evil in itself, but because it is, as far as they are concerned, highly inconvenient. this is the way--and, if this plan does not answer, i feel sure no other will--that the evils of caste are to be mitigated, and i urge these views accordingly on the serious attention of all enlightened indians. the reader will have observed that, when pointing out the advantages of caste in repelling our interpretation of christianity, i have assumed that the adoption of christianity necessarily involves the entire abolition of all those social distinctions that make up what we call caste. such have been the terms on which christianity has been offered to the peoples of india by our english missionaries; and i, for one, do most sincerely rejoice that their hide-bound interpretation of the protestant faith has been as promptly as it has been decidedly rejected. but why should caste--which, as i have shown, can be proved to have produced such favourable results as regards drinking, and as regards the morality of the sexes--why should this institution, which in these respects can be proved to have produced better results than christianity has over done in great britain--why should this be swept away because you wish to introduce the religion of christ? it has been alleged to be entirely incompatible with christianity; and were this so, there would, of course, be no more to be said. but this i wholly deny. it is, of course, incompatible in some respects with exalted conceptions of the most advanced christianity; but there is no reason why christianity should not be allowed to exist alongside of abnormal social growths, and why, in short, christianity should not be stretched to tolerate caste, in the same way that it was allowed by the apostles to exist alongside of evils with which the institution of caste cannot, for iniquity or for general ill effects, be for one moment compared. christianity was not held by the apostles to be an impossibility because the professors of that faith bought and sold slaves; it was not held so by their descendants for hundreds of years; and will those interpreters of christianity whom we have sent to india venture to assert that the americans had no right to the name of christians until the close of the late war? slavery was driven out at length, or at least in a great measure driven out, by christianity; but christianity, remember, had first of all to be introduced; and taking into consideration the acts of the apostles, the way in which they yielded to the customs and prejudices of their converts, and the resolution they came to "not to trouble those of the gentiles who were turning to god," on what grounds do our missionaries rest their claim to debar from the advantages of christianity those people who, wishing to retain their place in society, desire to become christians? this is not the first time that these questions have been asked. they were asked at great length by mr. irving in his "theory and practice of caste." hitherto they have been asked in vain; and owing to the indifference of people in this country, and to the slavish submission of the laity to the opinion of the missionaries, a system of attempting to propagate christianity has been allowed to exist which has been of incalculable mischief. but i think we may even go further than this. i think it may be asserted that the line taken up, as regards caste, by our missionaries has acted more prejudicially to the interests of christianity than if we had deliberately dispatched emissaries to india with the view of preventing the people from adopting the religion of christ. these may seem harsh, and i have no doubt they will prove to be unwelcome, expressions of opinion. they will hurt, and i am afraid will shock, the feelings of many a good and worthy man. i regret that this should be so, but i cannot help it. in any case good must arise. if i am right, as i firmly believe myself to be, the cause of enlightenment and christianity will be advanced; and if i am wrong, and it can be proved that the missionaries are right, they will have as great, and it may even be a greater claim to public support than they ever had before. but it must be clearly understood that, as an individual desirous of propagating truth, i have a right to demand an answer. if that answer is satisfactory, well and good. if it is not satisfactory, or if no answer be supplied at all, i would then propose to ask the public here to consider whether it would not be better to withhold all their subscriptions from our english, or at least transfer them to such missions as will consent to attempt to propagate christianity on the widest possible base. in considering this important subject i shall, in the first place, glance at bishop heber's "letter on caste;" bishop wilson's "circular;" the "report" of the madras commissioners; and the "statement" of the tanjore german missionaries. this may seem a formidable list of documents to commence with, but it is my intention to make only the most cursory allusion to each, as to consider these papers at any length would occupy far too much space. having thus stated the difference of opinions, as regards caste, between the germans and the protestant missionaries, i shall then proceed to inquire whether caste can or can not be traced to an idolatrous source; whether it was in any way necessarily wound up with religion; and whether, further, it is at all necessary that, supposing it to have been at any time wound up with religion, there should therefore be at the present day any necessary connection between the religions of the peoples and their caste customs. in bishop heber's "letter" of march 21st, 1826, he says that, "with regard to the distinctions of caste as yet maintained by professing christians, it appears that they are manifested--(a) in desiring separate seats at church; (b) in going up at different times to receive the holy communion; (c) in insisting on their children having different sides of the school; (d) in refusing to eat, drink, or associate with those of a different caste." on the first of these points the bishop observes, with great justice, that points of precedence have constantly been granted in christian churches to people of noble birth and of great fortune, and that in the united states of america these distinctions were always maintained between the whites and the negroes. he also points out that a christian gentleman conforms to those rules because, if he neglected them, he would lose influence with his own degree in society, and that a native of the better classes acts exactly on the same principle. and on this point he concludes that distinctions of caste in church may still be allowed, provided that due care is taken to teach the natives that in the sight of god they are all equal. with reference to the second point the good bishop says nothing, because, i surmise, he concluded the going up at different times to receive the sacrament was included in his remarks on precedence in church. as regards the schools, and amongst the children, he observes that caste must, as to taking places, etc., not be taken into account, "but," he adds, "even here caution should be observed to disgust no man needlessly." as to the fourth point, he was decidedly of opinion that, as regards private meals and social intercourse, we had no right to interfere whatever. after alluding to the objections raised by some zealous missionaries to the processions in marriages and other matters, he intimates pretty plainly that he has some fears that recent missionaries have been more scrupulous in these matters than need requires. he then concludes by saying that "god forbid we should wink at sin; but god forbid, also, that we should make the narrow gate of life narrower than christ has made it, or deal less favourably with the prejudices of this people than st. paul and the primitive church dealt with the almost similar prejudices of the jewish converts." the bishop then framed a set of questions as regards caste observances, to which he required particular answers; but, in consequence of his untimely death, and of the short tenure of office held by his successors, bishops james and turner, no further official action was taken till the middle of 1833, when bishop wilson's "circular"[38] dealt the most fatal blow to christianity that it has ever received in india. for this "circular" imperatively declared that the distinction of castes, as regards all the relations of life, must be abandoned, "decidedly, immediately, and finally." and in order that this mandate might be intensely galling to the upper class vegetarian christian, it was especially ordered that "differences of food and dress" were to be included in those overt acts which were to mark out for condemnation the christian who still clung to the habits of his fathers in these innocent and, as regards food, healthful restrictions. to cling to these differences of food and dress, and to abstain from alcohol, was to cling to caste; and it was especially ordered that the children of native christians should not be admitted to the holy communion without a full renunciation of all those social differences which might distinguish them from other members of the society in which they lived. this was quite sufficient. "the 'circular' was read in the churches of tanjore. it was received by the native christians with great displeasure, and they showed their views by seceding in a body." turning now to the report of the madras commissioners, which was written in 1845, we shall at once see the cause and root of this violent attack on social usages. for the commissioners commence their report by stating that the institution of caste and the divisions of society were things of priestly invention, and that, in fact, the whole of hindoo society, as we at present see it, originated in, and is maintained by, hindoo idolatry. and they further allege that the tyranny of this institution is such as to be perfectly unaccountable on any other supposition. how any body of priests had the power to issue and enforce mandates regarding the extraordinary diversities as to food and dress that we see prevailing throughout india, where the council sat that issued these decrees, and where the members of this council came from, they give no account. they do not seem to have even thought of such questions, and, for evidence of these astounding assertions, they refer us to what they call "the laws of manu,"[39] and to halhed's "gentoo hindoo code." caste and idolatry, then, according to them, are not only inextricably wound up together, but caste itself was caused by, and is a part of, idolatry; and we are, therefore, plainly told that it is impossible that a man should abandon the one without abandoning the other, and that, in other words, the two institutions must stand or fall together. leaving this part of these assertions to be commented on further on, i now pass on to the statement and arguments of the tanjore german missionaries. shortly after bishop heber's "letter," which i have referred to at the commencement of these remarks, he drew up a number of questions regarding caste practices amongst native christians, to which he required special answers. these "articles of inquiry," as they are termed, were sent to the tanjore missionaries, and by them a statement in reply was furnished. they were asked for their opinion in 1828, and though no date is affixed to these statements, i conclude that they probably replied towards the close of that year. they commence by observing that the distinctions of caste had been observed since the establishment of the mission by the rev. mr. schwartz, soon after the year 1762, and that he himself had been guided, partly by his own discretion, and partly by the example of the clergy of the tranquebar mission, which was started in the year 1705, by those good and amiable men of whom i have given some account in another part of this work. these successors of schwartz, then, observed that they had persistently imitated the conduct of that able and good man; but that, while they took care to imitate his caution, and forbearance, they seized every opportunity of softening the mutual prejudices arising from distinctions of caste; and they also observe that, in consequence, those distinctions of caste have gradually lost a great deal of their importance. alluding, in the next place, to the assertion that castes had been invented and entirely originated by the brahmins, the authors of the statement observe that, in the opinion of the most intelligent natives who were not of the brahminical order, the social distinctions which constitute caste existed long before the brahmins came into the country at all; and they assert, further, that though the brahmin priests blended those social distinctions with their idolatry, and framed a convenient legend to account for their divine institution, the whole thing was a mere fiction, which had been invented with the view of adding to the power of an ambitious priesthood. but the missionaries of tanjore asserted, further, that even if the legend of caste was a true one, and that caste had been a part of idolatry, still those who abandoned the worshipping of idols and superstitious rites were not therefore to be required to abandon such practices as had nothing of idolatry about them at all, and they distinctly declared that no rites of an idolatrous or even mixed nature were tolerated amongst their converts. the missionaries then pointed out that their high-caste converts simply retained these privileges and social customs because they would lose the respect of their neighbours if they abandoned those marks of station which they had inherited, and which they looked upon entirely as a civil prerogative. it was also pointed out that high-caste priests gained ready access to the houses of the better classes, and had, therefore, bettor chances of spreading christianity than pariah priests, whom no good-caste native would allow to cross the threshold of his house. at church those of the upper classes sat on one side, and those of the lower on the other, and the higher and lower castes went up at different times to the communion-table. in the schools no difficulty was experienced, and high and low caste children sat quite indiscriminately. as regards social intercourse, they observe that none of their converts have any objection to partake of food prepared by another caste, as long as that caste is of superior rank to them, but that no one would touch food prepared by a man of lower caste than himself. the distinction of caste was also preserved as regards marriages, though these, of course, were always solemnized in the church. finally, these good and sensible men regret the tendencies of caste, but seem to consider that more good was to be done by letting it alone, and, in short, letting it die a natural death, than by forcibly opposing the prejudices of the people. and they very justly observe, that to oblige a man of high caste to eat with the lowest is doing force to common delicacy and to natural feelings of sense, and may be sometimes of serious consequence to bodily health. i may here mention that about thirty-five years ago, dr. graul, the head of the leipsic missionary society, visited india, remained there three years at the various missionary stations, and was firmly convinced that to interfere with the social customs of the native christians would be at once unjust and impolitic. as regards the exact action of the roman catholics at present, i have no information to lay before the reader, but i know that they always had the wisdom to interfere as little as possible with the prejudices of the people, as long as they did not involve idolatrous rites. having thus laid before the reader an outline of the views of the supporters and opponents of caste, i shall now offer the conclusions i have arrived at, partly from my own observations and partly from the writings of others. i shall 1. inquire into the origin of caste. 2. i shall inquire into the sanitary uses of caste, more especially as it concerns the approaching the communion-table promiscuously, as to the sitting together in church or other places, and as to its effects as regards general social intercourse. 3. i shall inquire whether there are not some compensating advantages, as regards caste institutions, which tend in a great measure to neutralize the prejudicial effects that arise from people's sympathies and feelings being confined to the members of their own caste, instead of being evenly distributed over the human race, considered as a whole. and, first of all, as to the origin of caste--a point which seems to have been thought of no little importance by our caste-condemning missionaries. i confess that i, for my part, do not attach much importance to this question of the origin of caste, and think it of far more importance to ascertain its present bearing and effect. but, as many have raised the question, and asserted that caste had an idolatrous origin, and was the invention of an idolatrous priesthood, it may be worth while to gather together such facts as we can lay our hands on regarding this somewhat obscure subject. and it seems to me that the first thing we have to do is to clear away the rubbish which has been piled upon it in common with most indian institutions--to ask what is evidence, and what is not. our missionaries have asserted that caste can be clearly traced to an idolatrous origin, and that the institution is entirely unaccountable on any other supposition, and they pointed to the code of manu in proof of that assertion. but, on referring to mrs. manning's valuable work on "ancient and mediæval india," we can find no evidence that caste originated in any special way whatever. and we are told, on the authority of mr. muir, that the sacred books of the hindoos contain no uniform or consistent account of the origin of caste, and that the freest scope is given by the individual writers to fanciful and arbitrary conjecture. the story that the castes issued from the mouth, arms, thighs, and feet of brahma was simply an allegory, which, in the course of time, hardened into a literal statement of fact. the brahmins, of course, came out of the mouth of brahma; and, considering that they were the authors and compilers of all the principal books relating to castes and customs, it would have been extremely odd if they had not exalted their own order, and indulged in a tone of oriental exaggeration which was eminently calculated to deceive, not perhaps, their successors, but the englishmen who went to india. but the most curious thing is, that it never seems to have occurred to our missionaries to suspect that what they took as evidence of facts, and of a state of things really existing, was, in reality, only evidence of what an order or set of people could write, with the view of exalting themselves, and depressing the rest of the society amongst which they lived. the brahmins chose to assert that the castes were of divine origin. they wrote that down and handed it on. we came to india, and finding these statements ready to hand, have simply swallowed them down, and added them to the number of illusions existing as regards india. but the facts really are, that castes and orders of men sprang up, we don't exactly know how. brahmin writers described the castes, or at least part of them, and, in the course of time, the writings were said to have caused the castes, instead of the castes having caused the writings. but whatever may be the facts as regards caste, we know that caste can exist without idolatry, and idolatry without caste; and that though the brahmins, with their usual desire to incorporate everything in life with religion, gathered caste into their garners, and endeavoured to increase and extend it, still there is fair evidence for asserting that these two institutions have no necessary connection, and that, as it was perfectly possible to wind them up together, so it is perfectly possible to unwind them and produce again an entire separation. in a word, it is perfectly possible for a man to retain caste, not as believing it to be part of his native idolatrous religion, but as believing it to be (what it really was till the brahmins seized hold of it and attached it to their faith) a civil institution which had sprung up in remote times, and had been inherited by him, just as rank and station are inherited in this country.[40] and that caste can exist without religion, and alongside of a religion as opposite to brahminism as christianity is, we have the most indisputable evidence supplied by the late sir emerson tennent, in his "history of christianity in ceylon." "caste," he wrote, "as it exists at the present day amongst the buddhists of ceylon, is purely a social distinction, and entirely disconnected with any sanction or pretensions derivable from their system of religion. nor is evidence wanting that, even at a comparatively modern period, such was equally its aspect amongst the natives throughout the continent of india, by whom caste was held not as a sacred, but as a secular discrimination of ranks. the earliest notice of india by the greek historians and geographers enumerates the division of the people into brahmins, kistrayas, vaisyas, and sûdras; but this was a classification which applied equally to the followers of buddha" (who preached that, in the sight of god, all men were equal) "and of brahma, nor were the members of either section held ineligible for the offices of the priesthood." and, in the note below, the reader will find additional evidence which will show him that caste in ceylon, just as it originally was in india, can and does exist merely as a division of ranks, and that it need not at all be necessarily connected with any idolatrous rites or worship.[41] having thus shown how caste did not originate, it may, perhaps, not be altogether superfluous if i hazard a few remarks as to the way in which it did probably originate. the common idea of caste is that it is simply a combination of troublesome and fanciful restrictions, imposed upon the various peoples of india by those of the upper classes who desired to keep themselves above the jostling of the crowd. but this institution (if that be a correct term for it) arose naturally and regularly out of the circumstances of the times, and where these circumstances no longer exist, it will as naturally disappear; and that the last must happen we have seen from, the fact that altered circumstances have already caused the commencement of its removal amongst the people of the towns. but the general circumstances which gave birth to caste require a few words of explanation, and the following solution seems not an unnatural one. we know, as a certain fact, that peoples to whom we have given the names of dravidians and aryans entered india from the north and north-west; that they increased and multiplied, overspread the whole of india, and reduced the aborigines to serfdom. we also know that these tribes from the north, who were, comparatively speaking, fair, very naturally regarded the black, ugly, carrion-eating aborigines with disgust. hence, naturally, must have arisen the opinions as regards pariahs which all the superior castes hold to this day. even to have food touched by people of such abominable habits must have been repulsive, and therefore the separation into men of caste and men of no caste, or, in other words, into browns and blacks (for the word for caste means colour), followed as a matter of course. caste, then, seems naturally to have arisen from the idea that to associate in any way with people of bad habits and grovelling ideas is an intolerable degradation. the superior races, therefore must have considered it a matter of importance to retreat as far as possible from the habits of the aborigines; and when we take into consideration the influence of religion, the natural ambition of the priestly classes, the splitting up into sects, and the fondness of the hindoo mind for subtle distinctions, the rest easily follows. but, though numerous castes arose amongst the invaders, the main line of demarcation, is still the original one of race--between the races of the north and the aborigines whom they found in possession of india. the base, then, of caste, we may rest assured, was simply the result of a people, or rather of peoples, wishing to keep themselves uncontaminated when coming in contact with a debased population. this was exactly the case with the jews. they were simply a very strongly guarded caste, with a number of regulations as to what they were and were not to eat, and with rules which prohibited them intermarrying or associating with peoples with whom they came in contact. many of those rules may seem to us ridiculous and fanciful, but they were calculated to prevent the jews from any chance of adopting the manners and customs of the peoples around them; and the indians, having had similar views, naturally adopted similar means. such then is a brief generalization of the causes which led to caste laws, which were, no doubt, carried in some instances to a ridiculous length, but which were founded in common sense, and were admirably adapted to carry into effect the opinions of the superior races. we have now, in the second place, to consider caste with reference to the approach of native converts to the lord's table, the sitting apart of the various castes in church, and the effects of caste as regards what is called social intercourse. the whole difficulty of the caste question, as regards the sacrament, lies in this, namely, that a high-caste vegetarian objects to drink wine at the same time and after a low-caste meat-eater. and here i find a great difficulty in finding words or illustrations that will at all convey the feelings of a high-caste vegetarian at the very idea of drinking after a low-caste carrion-eater. if from the lowest, filthiest, and most poisonous dens in london, you were to take a man, reeking with beer and tobacco, and with his clothes crawling with vermin, and presenting, in short, every appearance of foulness, dirt, and disease; if you were to take that man and place him between two ladies at the administration of the holy communion, i do not say that they would there and then refuse the sacrament on these terms, but i think we may be pretty sure that, from sanitary motives, if from no others, they would in future take the sacrament in a place where they would not be liable to such contact. their feelings and senses would be shocked by such contact as i have imagined, but their sensations would merely bear the same proportion to the sensations of a high-caste vegetarian hindoo who had to drink after a pariah that a trifling cause of disgust would bear to the most intolerable and lasting degradation. now, to people in this country, this may seem an extraordinary thing; but they will think it less extraordinary when i tell them that, if i could not take the sacrament unless amongst pariahs, i would never take it again, unless perhaps, i were to put myself bodily into one of professor tyndall's cotton-gauze air-cleansers, and drink the sacramental wine after it had been boiled at a temperature of 212 degrees, and passed through a filter. and when i talk of the lowest castes as carrion-eaters, i must tell the reader that i am not in the slightest degree guilty of exaggeration, and that they are carrion-eaters in exactly the same sense that vultures are carrion-eaters. in fact, these men never get any meat unless that of animals that have died of disease; and as in these climates decomposition is extremely rapid, the reader can imagine the result of coming in contact with a man who has, perhaps, a few hours before been eating a mass of diseased and half decomposed meat. and in case the reader should not be able to imagine what the result is, i may mention the following circumstance. a few days after i had killed a bison i had occasion to point out some pieces of sawn wood which i wished to be removed from the jungle to my house, and i accordingly took with me a native overseer, and two coolies to carry the timber. when i was pointing out the pieces to them, i smelt a strong smell of putrid meat, which seemed to fill the air so entirely that i at once concluded that a tiger must have killed some animal and left the carcase near the spot. my overseer and myself looked about everywhere, but at last happening to pass the coolies, i at once perceived that the smell arose from their breath, and on questioning them, i found that before coming to work they had been feasting on decayed bison flesh. in fact, after killing a bison, we could never go near our coolies for some days afterwards. but to see a party of these men sitting like vultures around the carcase of some animal that has just died of some abominable disease is quite enough to inspire even an unprejudiced european meat-eater-with the most wholesome horror; and the reader need not, i think, be surprised at the feelings of disgust which these men's habits inspire amongst the respectable classes of the community. but independently of all feelings of disgust, there are sanitary considerations which are of infinitely more importance, for it so happens that, at a time when the weather is hottest and the season most unhealthy, a larger number of animals die; and i have very little doubt that this eating of rotten meat causes amongst the pariahs a large quantity of disease, and especially of cholera, which they would not fail to disseminate with fatal certainty amongst all classes, were the native christians compelled to take the sacrament indiscriminately. and, in my own experience, i have observed that cholera has passed through districts, that the upper classes have been free from it, but that amongst the lower the victims were many. and the same sanitary reasons that apply to the sacrament apply equally well to the mixing of castes indiscriminately in the churches; for it might so happen, as it frequently does, that fever and cholera may be prevalent amongst the lower castes, while the higher may be at that time comparatively free from such diseases. so that, when we take all these points into consideration, we shall find that the german missionaries were perfectly right in placing the men of the higher caste on one side of the church, and those of the lower on the other, and that they were equally right in allowing the higher castes to approach the sacrament at a different time from the lower. i may here remark that i once mentioned this taking of the sacrament in a sort of order of precedence to a clergyman in a country parish, when he told me that exactly the same sort of thing occurred in his parish, and that the lord of the manor invariably took the sacrament first, and, if i recollect rightly, the parish clerk last; and a special instance of this in a scotch parish was mentioned to me not long ago. the same sanitary considerations will also naturally be of value when we come to consider that indiscriminate social intercourse which the missionaries so much insist upon as one of the necessary signs of grace. i do not, of course, say that it is not advisable, and that it would not be desirable to see a little more intercourse between class and class than exists at the present. but between all the better classes there is a much greater degree of intercourse than our missionaries would have us believe; and it is not true that one caste will eat only the food prepared by a person of his own caste. i cannot, of course, say what may be the case as regards other parts of india; but, as regards my own district, each caste will eat of the food prepared by any of the castes higher, or at least purer, than its own. for instance, a gouda, who will not allow that the lingayet caste is better than his own, will eat of food prepared by a lingayet, while a lingayet will not eat of food prepared by a gouda. and the explanation of this is, that the lingayet is a vegetarian, and meat might have been boiled in the gouda's pots, while there would be nothing to offend the gouda customs in the pots of a vegetarian host. but in these matters i entirely agree with the good bishop heber, who said that we had no right to interfere in their private life, or to meddle in any way with their social customs, as long as there was no idolatry in them. turning now to the third point i proposed to consider, i have a few remarks to make regarding the only (from a christian point of view) solid objection that can, i conceive, be made to the institution of separate orders of men; namely, that the tendency of caste is to shut up the bowels of compassion towards all the world outside of a man's particular class. and here i confess that i am very much in want of information, and can think of no unprejudiced individuals to whom to apply for the facts as really existing in other parts of india. as for books, when i look into them for any information, i am at once met by quantities of unlimited condemnations, or a host of contradictory statements. and, as an instance of the latter, i may mention that in kerr's "domestic life of the natives of india" we are informed, at page 31, that "alms are given to the poor without distinction of caste," while at page 343 of the same volume we are told that "to extend kindness and hospitality to one of a different caste is regarded as sinful." but in matters of this sort we want the experience of individuals who have actually lived amongst the people, as much as anyone can who is not actually one of them. as for my own part of the country, i can answer for it that caste has no such effect as has been alleged to arise from it regarding the extension of hospitality and kindness to people of various castes; and, as a confirmatory illustration, may mention that i have found members of every caste assembled at the house of a toddy man to inquire how he was, and to see whether they could do anything for him. these toddy-drawers rank at least third amongst the castes in manjarabad, and though none of the members of the farmer castes above them would eat of food prepared in a toddy-drawer's house, yet there were numbers of both these castes present. this feeling would not, that i am aware of, go as far as one of the carrion-eating pariahs, but i am quite certain that it would extend to any other caste but theirs in the country. but on this point i do not offer any decided opinion, as, for what i know to the contrary, acts of kindness and hospitality may, no doubt, often have been extended even to the lowest. and i may also mention here that i have slept in the veranda of a farmer's house, in which members of the family slept close to some of my people, who were of the toddy-drawer caste above alluded to, and who, i am sure, were quite as welcome as members of their own caste would have been. but as regards all these matters concerning the inner life of the people, we know nothing, unless we actually live amongst them, and sleep in their houses, and, in fact, see the people at home; and as it is extremely difficult to find anyone who has done anything of the kind, it naturally follows that it is almost impossible to find anything like reliable sources of information regarding native habits throughout india. you may, it is true, stuff your very soul with information of some sort or other, if you go about asking questions, but if you do you will find yourself much in the same predicament that johnson found himself in his tour to the hebrides; and the reader may recollect that the worthy doctor very soon found that nothing could be more vague, unsatisfactory, and uncertain than the answers of an unsophisticated simple people, who were not much in the habit of being asked questions of any sort. however, the reader may, in the meantime, reasonably infer that the conduct of the people in the rural districts of india, and situated under similar circumstances, would not materially differ, as regards matters of caste, from the practice as existing in manjarabad. and should that turn out to be the case, it is plain that those notions, as regards the practice of caste, which have been so industriously circulated in england, are almost entirely false. i have said that i proposed inquiring, further, whether there are not some compensating advantages in this division of the people into castes which tend, in a great measure, to neutralize the prejudicial effects that arise from people's sympathies and feelings being more or less confined to members of their own caste, instead of being distributed over the human race considered as a whole. now, it is perfectly true that the tendency of caste is to weaken the claim that humanity in general has on an individual; but though the claim of society in general is weakened, it must be remembered that the claims of each caste on the members of it are strengthened. and though this fact may militate against an enlarged and christian philanthropy, the aggregate force of claims will be found to amount to a much larger sum than if one part of a society had no more claim on a man than another. a man of one caste would not, for instance, perhaps feel that a man of another caste had much claim on him; but he would distinctly and strongly feel that a member of his own caste had. and every caste acting on the same principle of supporting and helping its members, i am convinced that the aggregate force of assistance rendered must be greater than in a country where there is little or no caste principle. this may seem a rash assertion, and of course it is one that it is impossible, as far as i am aware, to prove. but the fact that there is not a poor-house from one end of india to the other, seems to me a significant and satisfactory circumstance; and the only way i can account for there being no need of such a thing is,[42] that caste feeling must often come in where all other aids fail. nor are we in this country without instances of the value of caste feelings, and both the jews and the scotch may still be pointed to as illustrations of what i mean. a scotchman still has a sort of caste feeling for a scotchman, and would do things for a man, as a scotchman, that he would not do for people of either english or irish descent. this principle may now have lessened, and is, no doubt, daily lessening. but when i started in india, i very soon experienced the benefit of this caste feeling; and, as one illustration to the point, i may mention that, before my estates came into bearing, i was attended in a long and serious illness by two scotch doctors (one of whom attended on me for six weeks incessantly), both of whom resolutely declined any remuneration whatever. i cannot, of course, positively assert that these gentlemen would not have attended me on the same terms had i been an englishman, but, from my general experience with other doctors, i am sure that these gentlemen must have been not a little influenced by caste feeling. and i have no doubt whatever that the way the scotch get on, wherever they go, is to be attributed, in no small measure, to the existence of the same feeling. it may seem to many of my readers that to use the term caste as a principle which impels one scotchman to help another is not exactly correct; and i must admit to having some doubts on the subject myself. the case of the jews, however, admits of none; and, if ever there was a caste of people in the world, in the strict hindoo sense, they are certainly an unmistakable example. and what are the results of caste feeling with them? as to other parts of the world i have no precise information; but in england i have ascertained from the best authority that caste feeling has produced some extremely favourable results. in the first place, jews are seldom or never found in our workhouses; and all cases of poverty are carefully investigated by a visiting committee, or board of guardians, and relief or employment is always afforded to every jewish pauper. then, again, no jewish child ever was, and no jewish child is now, without the means of obtaining elementary instruction; and it would be difficult to find an english jew unable to read and write. means are taken to secure the attendance of all poor children, and a sound middle-class education is afforded, while the study of the hebrew language is compulsory. there were only, when i obtained my information on the point, about twenty jewish (principally foreigners) convicts in england, and no female convict was to be found. another of the principal complaints brought against caste is the fact that it has a tendency to keep one caste fixed below another; but even here we shall find some compensating considerations which are of great value. for, if caste in this respect has a keeping-down tendency, it has also a levelling one. it may keep one order above another, but within the limits of that caste order it has a levelling tendency, and in one respect the poorest of each class feel themselves on a level with the richest. nor is a poor man of good caste made to experience the bitter sense of degradation which falls to the lot of a gentleman who, from poverty and misfortune, has fallen out of his original class into another far below him. the indian may descend into the most humble spheres, but if he attends to the regulations of his caste he is always a member of it, and his feelings of self-respect are maintained by the fact that, however poor, it is quite possible that his daughter may be married by a man of wealth and position. but in this country, where a man has gone a long way down the hill, when he has descended--as many gentlemen especially do in our colonies--into the lower ranks of life, he loses all connection with people who are of his own rank by birth. i do not, of course, mean to allege that this want of caste feeling is to be lamented with us, but i am merely stating facts which seem to me to show the number of ways in which this much-reviled caste system can be proved to have compensating advantages which tend to counterbalance the drawbacks of the situation. before concluding this chapter, it may be useful to make a few remarks as to the way in which caste laws act as regards the social condition of people who have by wealth raised themselves above the general average of their order; and i shall at the same time notice a few instances that have fallen within my observation as to the way in which caste laws of the most stringent nature are occasionally set aside by universal consent. the old idea we entertained of caste was that, to use the words of tennent, "each class is stationed between certain walls of separation, which are impassable by the purest virtue or the most conspicuous merit;" or that, to come to more recent times, and to use the words of the late mr. wilson, in his speech before leaving for india, "in india you see people tied down by caste, and, whatever their talents or exertions may be, they cannot rise." now the history of many families that have risen to eminence entirely belies this assertion, and the evidences are so numerous that i need not weary the reader by quoting them. but one instance i may perhaps mention, as the circumstances seem to me somewhat extraordinary, and a reference to them here may induce some one to make more particular inquiries in the locality alluded to. buchanan notices that "in bhagulpore there were certain families who, from having adopted a pure life, had within the memory of man risen from the lowest dregs of the people to the highest ranks of the nobility." in this instance, however, i cannot help suspecting that the families must have risen on something more substantial than their pure habits. but in matters of this sort we are very much in want (as indeed we are on almost every indian subject) of more detailed and particularly substantiated evidence. as regards the subject of low castes raising themselves in the social scale, i know of no instances that have fallen within my own observation, but i have obtained information from other parts of mysore, the truth of which i have no reason to doubt, although i would advise the reader to receive what i have to say on this point with the same caution that he should receive all information which is even in the smallest degree removed from the experience of personal observation. with this caution, i may then observe that, from information i have received, i have ample reason to believe that in the interior of mysore there are many families of pariahs who are as well off, in point of cattle, cash and land, as the average of the farmer caste, notwithstanding that the forefathers of these pariahs were merely the servants of the farmer tribe. nor is this all. many instances, i believe, may be pointed out of members of the farmer tribe being the tenants of the once-despised pariah. the pariah, it is true, does not reap all the advantages from his altered circumstances that might be expected in other countries, but it is a mistake to suppose that wealth does not tell in india as it does elsewhere.[43] the well-to-do pariah (and in the nuggur division of mysore i am told there are many such) receives that respect which is invariably paid to those who have much substance. he no longer stands respectfully without the veranda of a farmer of ordinary position, but takes his seat in the veranda itself, and on terms of perfect equality. but the farmer will not eat with his visitor, nor give him his daughter in marriage. this to us would be a disagreeable reflection, no doubt; but, in their present political state, i cannot see that the happiness or prosperity of the people is in any way affected by these facts, nor am i aware that any one has attempted to prove that the natural comforts of the people have been in any way lessened by these social separations. turning now to glance at the way in which caste laws are sometimes set aside, it is impossible to avoid suspecting that the instances given of caste feeling in these respects, though perhaps true in themselves, are not fair examples of what would universally occur in cases of emergency even with the most caste-observing people in india. from the instances given (and those most commonly given refer to natives preferring to die of thirst rather than take water from the hands of a person of inferior caste), people are led to believe that under no circumstances will a breach of caste take place, or be overlooked if it does take place, by members of the caste. but the illustration i have to give seem to point to a contrary conclusion, and if that is the case with people whom i know to be extremely strict, it seems very probable that we have adopted some very exaggerated notions as to the rigidity of caste laws. and what has contributed not a little to these delusions is, that tricky servants frequently make caste a most convenient pretence for avoiding to do this or that, or as an excuse wherever an excuse is for any purpose convenient. but however all this may be, the reader may form his opinions from the following cases. the first i have to give of violation of caste law is certainly the most extraordinary that i ever heard of. the act was, indeed, a remarkable and touching tribute of regard, or i may even say of affection, on the part of a native overseer of the farmer caste in manjarabad, and was a better monument than any that could have been erected to one of the best and most unselfish men i have over met. when mr. w----, my late manager, unhappily died on the estate, this overseer in question, understanding that it was considered by us as an honour to the deceased, volunteered to make one of the carrying party. this extraordinary determination was absolutely forbidden by the caste potail, or head man, who was present; but rama gouda[44] showed the same coolness and resolution that he always did in the case of a bear or a tiger, and simply saying, "let my caste go to-day," he made one of the carrying party in spite of every remonstrance. hundreds of all castes were present, but so strong were their feelings of regard for mr. w----, that no notice whatever was taken of the offence which was so publicly committed. the repugnance of all castes, except the very lowest, to touching the body of a european, is very well known to everyone who has been in india, and so fearful was the caste head man of sanctioning, even with his presence, this violation of caste law, that he immediately went home. in the next instance i have to give, one of the lingayet caste (vegetarians, and abstainers from intoxicating drinks) was wounded by a tiger, and there was a caste question raised, as to whether, under the circumstances, he should take wine. the occurrence came about in this way. some miles from my house i once wounded a tiger, somewhat late in the day, and, owing to the broken nature of the ground, and a general confusion that seemed to take possession of the people, it seemed impossible to bring the affair to a satisfactory conclusion, so i went home. the following morning i returned to take up the track of the tiger, but it was unluckily reported that the animal had quitted the jungle we had left him in, so the party (i having been posted at a point where the tiger would probably break cover, in case the report should prove false), it appears, blundered carelessly into the place where the animal had been last seen the evening before. now, this particular spot was full of a long sort of reed that grows in swampy ground, so that the people could not see far before them, and, to make a long story short, it seems that the tiger bided his time, sprang suddenly into the party, and gave one of them a fatal bite in the loins. the moment i heard the three roars, i expected that something disagreeable must have occurred, and, on arrival at the scene of events, i found a fine young fellow of the lingayet caste lying bathed in blood, and my people vainly endeavouring to stanch the wounds. he was half swooning away from loss of blood, and i offered him some wine to keep up his strength. this, however, he refused to take, unless the head man of his village, who happened to be present, would consent. the head man, evidently wishing to shirk the responsibility, shook his head doubtfully; but the members of his caste all called out--"it's no matter; let him drink;" and he drank accordingly. while this was going on, i had a rough stretcher made, and, doing up his wounds as well as we could, sent him off on the way to his village. while we were attending to the wounded man, rather an amusing incident occurred. it appears that when the tiger charged, one of the party, a toddy-drawer, at once climbed up a tree, and when the party retreated, carrying off the wounded, he was afraid to come down. his absence had not been remarked, and when we were engaged in doing up the wounded man, the toddyman, who had taken heart and come down, slunk quietly out of the jungle, and startled some of the party not a little, as they thought that it was perhaps the tiger coming down on them again. however, this toddyman reported that the tiger was still almost in the same spot where he had been lying when he made his attack: and i then proposed we should go into the jungle, and see how we liked the look of him. but the tiger had given such indications of temper that the main body of the people seemed to have no desire to see him again, and i think that only ten (and those mostly my own people) accompanied me. as i was, europeanly speaking, single-handed, this may have seemed an imprudent course, and no doubt it was not altogether unattended with danger; but it luckily turned out that the tiger was stone dead, though he was lying in such a natural position that we had some doubts as to whether he might not be shamming, even when we got within fifteen yards of him. as we were skinning the tiger, the wounded man (who had by that time only been carried a few hundred yards) expired: so, observing that it was "written on his forehead,"[45] we took up our man and our skin, and went home. these instances of infringement of caste rules will show the reader the way in which they are sometimes abandoned; and i could mention other minor points where i have seen them occasionally abandoned. but not only are these rules thus, on urgent occasions, summarily set aside, but within a very short distance i have observed an alteration of custom. for instance, on our side of the river which separates our county from the next, neither the farmers nor the toddy-drawers will eat of an animal that has even been touched after death by a pariah; whereas, on the other side of the river, the pariahs who came out shooting not only touched, but carried a couple of wild boars we had killed. and yet the people on one side of the river are exactly of the same caste as those on the other. but the fact seems to be, that many of the minor points of what is called caste law have arisen from some accident, and in the course of time have hardened into local customs. and here, before bringing this chapter to a close, i find it impossible to refrain from again alluding to the numerous instances where caste has been made the common scapegoat of every indian difficulty. what is the meaning of this? what is the meaning of that? why won't the natives do this, and why won't they do that? caste--and caste is the common refuge; and with most of our countrymen who have tried to introduce new customs or a new religion, caste has ever been a handy and convenient peg on which to hang any difficulties they may meet with, or any problem they cannot readily solve. in short, it is hard to say what difficulty has not been disposed of in this fashion. let us glance at two instances to illustrate my meaning. for the first instance, i cannot select, perhaps, a better example than that afforded by the rev. g. u. pope, in the notes he has made when editing a second edition of the valuable work of the abbé dubois. and, in alluding to these footnotes, it is impossible to repress some feeling of annoyance that the valuable work of the abbé should, in an evil hour, have fallen into the hands of a writer who has thought fit often, in a few brief and contemptuous words, summarily to dismiss and overrule those conclusions which were the result of a life spent on more intimate terms with natives than any i have ever been able to hear of. and mr. pope's statements are the more calculated to impose on the general reader, as he speaks of having had "more than twenty years of a somewhat intimate intercourse with the hindoos;" the fact being that he spent the greater part (in fact, all but a few years, as far as i have been able to ascertain) as head of the grammar school on the nilgiri hills, where he had no more opportunity of having any intercourse with natives than a hindoo would have of gaining experience of the natives of england, were he to take up his residence on the grampians, and interchange a few words occasionally with the shepherds of those mountains. but as to what caste has done. "caste," says mr. pope, "has prevented the hindoos from availing themselves of the opportunities afforded them of acquiring the sciences, arts, and civilization of nations with whom they have come in contact." caste, "the great petrifier," we are again told, is the real cause of the stagnation that everywhere abounds. caste, again, "upholds immutable distinctions by arbitrary and absurd laws, which are enforced by irresponsible authority, and maintains a standard of right and wrong entirely independent of the essential principles of moral science;" and, in order that everything may be included at one blow, we are finally told, in a note appended to the remarks of the abbé on the moral and social advantages of caste, that "caste, and its offspring custom, are among the hindrances to all good in india." but it is still more curious to observe how men of intelligence and observation can be led, by the force of inherited opinion, into statements as to the effects of caste which are actually contradicted by their own experience. and in mr. raikes's interesting work, "notes of the north-western provinces," we find an instance of how people will always attribute everything to this universal bugbear. observing on the pride of high caste, "which withers whatever it touches," mr. raikes informs us that the brahmins and rajpoots of the rich province of benares will not touch the plough owing to pride of caste. he next tells us that caste is little regarded to the north of allahabad, where, from various causes, the demand for labour is greater. all of which, being traced to its true cause, simply amounts to this, namely, that where landed proprietors of good family are well off they naturally do not care to work, whereas in another part of the country where they are not well off, or cannot procure labourers, they do work. in the same way, the author, after telling us that infanticide has at one time or other been common all over the world, tells us that in india it is entirely caused by caste. now, if we take caste to mean family pride solely, it certainly has influenced the matter, or at least tended to maintain the evil complained of; but i know of one instance, at least, in india where infanticide can be traced to satisfactory causes, and amongst a people who have always been observed to be remarkably free from what are called caste prejudices. the toda tribe, on the nilgiri hills, are polyandrists, and, in order to keep down the number of the tribe, they naturally had recourse to female infanticide. this they have now abandoned, and my toda guide very soon told me the reason. he said, "formerly we used to kill the females, because we had little more than the produce of our buffaloes to depend on; but now that more people have flocked to the hills we can let our lands and get plenty to eat." he added, also, that the government had ordered them not to kill their children; but, unless their means had improved, it is plain that a government order would have had little effect. but, as regards this subject of infanticide, it seems to be a thing difficult to avoid, whenever conditions arise which are favourable to its extension; nor will repressive measures alone ever place any very complete check upon it. like every other demand, it rises and falls with the necessities of the situation, and can never be originally caused by anything in the shape of caste feelings or regulations; and amongst these necessities i, of course, include the desire to avoid shame, or the prospect of shame in the family, or starvation, as well as the fact that women are an encumbrance to some tribes. some people, i may add, are under the impression that polyandric habits, when once established, become necessarily a cause of infanticide. but we have no means of knowing that this was ever the case, while the coorgs may be pointed to as a race who once were polyandrous, but who were never, that i am aware of, accused of infanticide. the explanation of this, i apprehend, is to be found in the fact that their circumstances were comfortable enough to preclude any necessity for keeping down the population. it is time now that i should bring this chapter to a close, but, as it may be a convenience to the reader, i think it well, before doing so, to sum up those conclusions which i assume to have been established; in doing so i shall, however, merely take notice of those points which seem to me to be of paramount importance. in the first place, then, we compared the morality of our british counties, as regards the connection of the sexes and the use of alcohol, with the morality of the indian county of manjarabad; and having seen that, owing to caste laws, the morality of manjarabad is superior, i think we are justified in concluding that these laws have acted more effectually than all the religious instruction that has for centuries been lavished on the people of this country; or, to put the case in shorter terms, we may assert that, as regards the branches of morality alluded to, caste has beaten christian influences. in the next place we took into consideration the action of our missionaries as regards caste, and having seen that they have always insisted on their converts entirely renouncing customs which can be proved to produce the most valuable results, we came to the conclusion that it has been a fortunate thing for india that its peoples have rejected our hide-bound interpretation of christianity. we then inquired as to whether the missionaries had any right to debar from the advantages of christianity those who, wishing to become christians, yet desired to retain their social customs; and, having come to the conclusion that there is nothing idolatrous in these customs, we have distinctly asked those interpreters of christianity whom we have in india to tell us by whose authority they have ventured to act in a way which, as has been shown, the apostles never did as regards the prejudices of their jewish converts. and generally, as regards the action of our missionaries in this matter, we have felt ourselves justified in asserting that our english missions have inflicted an incalculable injury on the cause of christianity by presenting it to the people of india as something that must necessarily tear the whole framework of their society to pieces. we then inquired more particularly into the origin of caste, and, having seen that it never could have originated in the way our missionaries suppose it to have done, we hazarded a conjecture as to the way in which it probably did originate, and saw grounds for supposing that the distinctions of caste came naturally about, and that they were in principle calculated to effect exactly the same ends that the jewish lawgivers had in view when they framed that levitical law which effectually prevented the jews from mingling socially with the races they lived amongst. we then looked at caste from a sanitary point of view, and came to the conclusion that in consequence of the carrion-eating habits of the lowest castes, and of their liability to transmit the germs of disease, the rules which prevented them from coming into contact with the higher castes, either in the way of taking the sacrament, or in any other way, are of the greatest value. we next inquired into the effects of caste as regards social intercourse, and especially as regards the exercise of hospitality amongst people of different castes, and saw reason to think that the restrictions of caste, with, perhaps, the exception of the very lowest, formed no bar whatever to the exercise of hospitality. glancing subsequently at the action of caste feeling in confining the sympathies of individuals more especially to the members of their own caste, we came to the conclusion that, though caste had undoubtedly the effect of contracting the feelings within a narrow circle, there was to be found a compensating advantage in the fact that the claims of caste produced, in the aggregate, a greater amount of charity, and, in short, were calculated to produce a better general result than would be arrived at in the absence of caste feelings. and as illustrations of the advantages of this caste feeling, we pointed to the fact of there being no poor-houses in india, and especially to the jews in england, as affording an example of the favourable effects of caste feeling. after this, we pointed to the fact that, though caste had the effect of keeping one caste or order of men above another, it had also a levelling tendency within each caste, and produced an important point of equality which no poverty can destroy. we then took into consideration some facts which seemed to show that families could raise themselves to a higher rank in society by adopting the purer habits of the classes above them; and we also saw that the influence of wealth does, to a very great degree, elevate a man of low caste in the social scale. we next saw reason to suppose that we have hitherto been labouring under very exaggerated notions as to the stringency of caste regulations, and two instances were given to illustrate the way in which caste laws are sometimes set summarily aside. and, finally, we pointed out, and gave some illustrations to prove, that with most of our countrymen who have either tried to introduce new customs or in any way to alter native habits of action, caste has ever been made, and very unjustly made, the common scapegoat. one word more. the absolute good that caste has done may be briefly summed up. it has acted as a strong moral police, and as a preserver of order and decorum in the community,[46] and it has prevented the spread of bad habits and customs, more especially that of drinking, as far as large numbers of the people are concerned.[47] on the other hand, caste is said to have hindered the progress of the people taken as a whole. but in every instance where we have really tried the introduction of any art, the removal of any public crime (as suttee and human sacrifice, for instance), the improvement of any cultivation, the introduction of education, or of new means of moving from place to place, we have either found caste to be no impediment at all, or an impediment so slight as not to be worth mentioning. * * * * * note.--with the view of obtaining information i briefly allude here to two points with reference to caste and its effects--the (1) curious custom of the marasa wokul tribe in mysore, and (2) the influence of caste in developing improved aptitudes which afterwards descend by hereditary transmission. as to the first, the mother of a girl is compelled to submit to the amputation of the terminal joints of the third and fourth fingers of the right hand on the occasion of the betrothal of her daughter, and in the event of a girl being motherless the mother of the bridegroom-elect must submit to the operation. the custom is alluded to in the well-known work of the abbé dubois, and in the appendix the editor of the second edition confirms the account given, and quotes confirmatory evidence from colonel wilks' "mysore," in which is published the legend which is reported to have given rise to the custom. colonel wilks, early in this century, saw some of the women who had been operated on. the tribe in question lives in the north-east of mysore, but after inquiry through the medium of natives in the interior of the country, i cannot now learn that the custom is continued. perhaps, being a disagreeable one, it may have been given up. i should feel much obliged for any information as to the point in question. as to the second point, i was informed in 1891 by mr. chatterton of the engineering college at madras, that he had many brahmins under him in the workshops, and that, though more intelligent than other castes, they are less efficient, owing to their ancestors never having been practised in any mechanical work. the influence of caste was here most perceptible, and he could always pick out the work done by boys whose caste had been employed in that particular work, and he further informed me that boys showed poor proficiency in work out of the line of their particular caste. footnotes: [31] manjarabad is a talook or county on the south-west frontier of mysore. [32] and that, i may observe, was a case in which a toddy-drawer, the third caste in manjarabad, was concerned. [33] i observe in the administration report for mysore, 1867-68, that nearly all the cases in the lunatic asylum were traced either to drinking or bhang-smoking. [34] _vide_ sproat's "studies of savage life." [35] it may be observed here that there are few who know so little as to the sexual morality of the people around them as clergymen. it does not become them, of course, to enter into the gossip of the village, nor does anyone care to broach such subjects in the first instance; and i may mention here that a relative of my own, a clergyman in a country parish, told me that if anything went wrong in these respects he was the very last person in the world to hear one word about it. [36] the abbé dubois makes the following remarks: "during the long period i lived in india, in the capacity of a missionary, i have made, with the assistance of a native missionary, in all between two and three hundred converts of both sexes. of this number two-thirds were pariahs or beggars, and the rest were composed of sûdras, vagrants, and outcasts of several tribes, who, being without resources, turned christians in order to form new connections, chiefly for the purpose of marriage, or with some other interested motive. among them are also to be found some who believed themselves to be possessed with the devil, and who turned christians after having been assured that on receiving baptism the unclean spirits would leave them and never return; and i will declare it with shame and confusion that i do not remember any one who may be said to have embraced christianity from conviction and from quite disinterested motives. among these newcomers many apostatized and relapsed into paganism, finding that the christian religion did not afford them the temporal advantages they had looked for in embracing it; and i am very much ashamed that the resolution i have taken to tell the whole truth on this subject forces me to make the humiliating avowal that those who continued christians are the very worst among my flock."--dr. allen's _india_, p. 522. [37] i may mention here that sir bartle frere, in his paper on "indian public works," said, with reference to opening up districts hitherto unpierced by roads, "and here let me observe, in passing, without any disparagement of my own countrymen, that i have generally found the agricultural and commercial classes of india quite as intelligent on points of this kind as the agricultural and commercial classes of our own old-fashioned country." but i have always found that the people who have had the best opportunities of judging have formed very favourable opinions as to the intelligence of the agricultural classes, who are generally painted as being entirely indifferent, and even hostile, to the best schemes undertaken for their benefit. [38] in this circular of bishop wilson's, it is surprising to observe the contradictions that exist. at one part of the circular we are told that the apostle's language is conclusive: and "seeing ye have put off the old man, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him, where there is neither greek nor jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, scythian, bond nor free, but christ is all, and in all," is quoted as evidence of the divine wishes. "so overwhelming," continues the bishop, "is the flood by which all petty distinctions of nation, caste, privilege, rank, climate, position in civilization are effaced, and one grand distinction substituted." and yet, at another part of the circular, we are told that the distinctions in civil society are acknowledged by the gospel, when they are "the natural result of difference of talents, industry, piety, station, and success." another decision of the apostle is quoted in the same circular, and it is this--"there is neither jew or greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in christ jesus;" and so, of course, we are all equal in his sight. and yet this is quoted as being a decision in favour of doing away with the civil institutions of caste, which are undoubtedly the marks of that "station" which the bishop tells us is acknowledged by the gospel, and in no way different from the station that a member of the house of lords inherits from his predecessors. and here, though i do not think that it is advisable to cling to isolated texts as evidence of the general conduct of the apostles regarding the prejudices of their converts, i may mention that peter, in his first epistle, says, "submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the lord's sake." and if we take dean alford's interpretation of this, and consider it as equivalent to a command, extending to every human institution (and i can see no reason why we should not), it is plain that our missionaries in india, if they wish to follow the examples of the apostles, should yield to the prejudices of caste as long as they do not involve idolatrous rites. but it is in the general action of the apostles, as illustrated in acts xv. 19, that the safest guide may, i apprehend, be found; and when, with reference to difficulties as regarding the customs of their converts, st. james said (dean alford's edition), "wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them which from the gentiles are turned to god; but that we write to them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood;" and again: "for it seemed good to the holy ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than [these] necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered unto idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which, if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well;"--when the apostle said thus, i think we ought to feel little doubt as to the course we ought to pursue regarding the social customs of the peoples of india. [39] "the name 'laws of manu,' somewhat resembles a pious fraud, for the 'laws' are merely the laws or customs of a school or association of hindoos, called the mânavas, who lived in the country rendered holy by the divine river saraswati. in this district the hindoos first felt themselves a settled people, and in this neighbourhood they established colleges and hermitages, or âsramas, from some of which we may suppose brâhmanas, upanishads, and other religious compositions may have issued; and under such influences we may imagine the code of manu to have been composed. "the mânavas were undoubtedly an active, energetic people, who governed themselves, paid taxes to the kins, established internal and external trade, and drew up an extensive system of laws and customs, to which they appended real and imaginary awards. this system appears to have worked so well, that it was adopted by other communities, and then the organizers announced it as laws given to them by their divine progenitor, the great mana. they added passages, moreover, which assert the divine claims of brâhmans and the inferiority of the rest of mankind. such assertions are little more than rhetorical flourishes, for brâhmans never were either so omnipotent or so unamiable as the code would represent them; nor were the sûdras ever so degraded. in sanskrit plays and poems, weak and indigent brâhmans are by no means unfrequent; and, on the other hand, we meet with sûdras who had political rights, and even in the code find the pedigrees of great men traced up to sûdra ancestors."--mrs. manning's _ancient and mediæval india_, v. i., p. 276. [40] as an instance that a man can abandon all religious rites whatever, and retain his caste unimpaired and unaltered, i may mention that my native clerk told me that he had done nothing in the way of religion at all for years; but that, of course, made no difference to him in the eyes of his neighbours, who didn't care what he did, as long as he did not depart from the social customs of his caste. i once said to a native shopkeeper in bangalore, "what religion are you of?" "oh!" he answered with a smile, "no religion at all, sir." but i need not trouble the reader with further evidence to show that a man may drop his religion altogether without dropping his caste, and that therefore religion and caste have no necessary connection with one another whatever. [41] "caste, though distinctly denounced by their sacred hooks, and ostensibly disavowed by the singhalese themselves, still exists in their veneration for rank, whether hereditary or adventitious. thus every district and every village has its little leader, a preeminence accorded to birth rather than property; and, by a descending scale, certain members of the community, in right of relationship or connection, assume an undefined superiority, and are tacitly admitted to the exercise of what is technically called an 'influence.' in the hamlets, so universal is this feeling amongst the natives, so habitual the impulse to classify themselves and to look up to some one as their superior in the scale of society, that the custom descends through every gradation of life and its occupations, and in some of the villages the missionaries found it necessary to appoint two schoolmasters, even where there was less than occupation for one--'influence,' as well as ability to teach, being an essential qualification; and if the individual did not possess the former, it was most indispensable to associate with him some other who did.[a] again, if a village could not furnish a master competent to teach, it was in vain to procure one from a distance; his 'influence' did not extend to that locality, and no pupils could he got to attend. nor was caste itself without the open avowal of its force, the children of a vellala or high-caste family being on no account permitted to enter the school-house of a lower-caste master. these are obstacles which prevail in all their original force even at the present day; and in the purely singhalese districts, such as matura, the prestige of caste is so despotic, that no amount of qualification in all other particulars can overcome the repugnance to intercourse with those who are deficient in the paramount requisite of rank."--sir j. e. tennent's _christianity in ceylon_, p. 286. [a] ms. account of baptist mission. [42] in the large towns this remark might not, perhaps, be justifiable. [43] since this chapter was written, i have received well authenticated information of a pariah, who had acquired both wealth and position, having been adopted into a superior caste. the caste was not a rich one, and he no doubt paid heavily for his admission into it. [44] the farmers in manjarabad invariably tack on the word "gouda" to their names, and it seems to answer for our mr. [45] the natives imagine that every man's fate is written in invisible characters on his forehead. [46] abbé dubois. [47] it is satisfactory to learn that caste feelings and regulations have a favourable influence with natives, even when they go to a foreign country; and it is equally satisfactory to quote the evidence of a gentleman who laughs at caste as an absurd custom. mr. w. sabonadière, in his work of "the coffee planter in ceylon" writes as follows: "the coolies who resort to ceylon are of various castes. those mostly preferred by planters are the low castes, such as pallans, shanars, and pariahs, as being more accustomed to and fit for hard work; but, as a class, they are more given to drink, spend their money more freely, and are more quarrelsome than the higher classes, whom their caste forbids to drink arrack or spirits, and who are more cleanly in their habits, better behaved (as fearing to lose caste), who have land of their own on the coast, and are more interested in working regularly and gaining their wages to take away with them." chapter ix. coffee planting in coorg. the british province of coorg consists of a mountainous and jungly tract of country with elevations of from about 2,700 to 3,809 feet. the last is the elevation of the capital, mercara, the tableland of which, for a stretch of about 26 miles, averages about 3,500 feet. this little province lies, as the reader will see by a glance at the map, on the south-west border of mysore, with which, since its annexation, it has always been connected, and the resident of mysore invariably holds the post of commissioner of coorg. the population of coorg is just over 170,000, and its area is 1,583 square miles, or about one-fourth of the size of yorkshire. but, though small in extent and population, its rajah and people played an important part as our allies in the war with tippoo, and a full account of the facts is given in the history of coorg which has been published in the "mysore and coorg gazetteer." the history of the country, however, which has been gathered up by various european writers, is by no means of an alluring character, and indeed, after the beginning of this century, a more disgusting record of cruelty and oppression it would be difficult to find in the annals of any country. but three things at least the record most distinctly proves. the first is (though this hardly requires any additional proof) that man, though capable of being the best, is also capable of being by far the worst of animals; the second is that, coorg being a sample of most of india in the times preceding ours, the hindoos were perfectly right in leaving few annals behind them; and the third is that the blessings of british rule far exceed anything that anyone could imagine who had not read something of the condition of things in india before we took possession of it, for we have not only conferred on the people immeasurable positive benefits, but relieved them from the barbarous rule of cruel oppressors. in the case of coorg there can be no doubt that we allowed the rajahs of that country to carry on their work of cruelty and oppression towards their subjects for much too long a period of time, and our failure to act can only be partially excused by the fact that we were, in connection with the war with tippoo, under great obligation to the ancestor of the rajah we deposed. however, his vile oppression and cruel murders, which exceed anything the reader could believe to be possible, could no longer be tolerated, and in 1834 he was deposed, and his country absorbed into the british dominions. since that date the general welfare of the country was of course insured, and much of it is now a thriving coffee field which, as i shall afterwards show, has been of the greatest benefit to mysore, and the adjacent british territory. of the history and cultivation of coffee in coorg, and my visits to the province, i now propose to give some account. after the planting season of 1857 i went with a brother planter for a change of air to mangalore, and from thence we went to cannanore--a military station about 200 miles further down the coast--and, after a short stay there, rode up the ghauts into coorg, where we found the planters busy clearing the forest. three years before our arrival mr. fowler had opened the mercara estate, and in 1855 mr. h. mann, and mr. donald stewart had begun work on the sumpaji ghaut, while dr. maxwell opened up the periambadi ghaut estates in 1856, and in 1857 mr. kaundinya founded a plantation in the bamboo district which lies on the eastern side of coorg. the first european plantation was, as we have seen, started in 1854, but for many years previously coffee cultivation had been carried on by natives in the nalknaad district, though it seems to be quite uncertain as to when or how it was first introduced, or where the first seeds were obtained. at first all seemed to be going well with coffee in coorg, and for a good many years the fatal mistake of the planters in clearing down the whole forest, and leaving no shade over the coffee, was not decisively apparent, and from the lands that were thus cleared down on the above-mentioned ghauts, which lie on the western side of the province, from 700 to 1,000 tons were picked annually when the coffee was at its best. but what in "the seventies" represented about £100,000 of valuable property, gradually became more and more unprofitable, till at last the estates were abandoned, and the land has now become covered with masses of lentana (a crawling, climbing, thorny plant which has become a perfect plague in coorg), amidst which may occasionally be seen the white walls of unroofed bungalows, and dismantled pulping houses, which testify to the melancholy ending of the work of the planters whom i found so busily engaged when, in 1857, i first entered coorg. some attributed the failure to the bug, some to the borer, and to leaf disease, while others blamed the heaviness of the tropical rains, which washed away the valuable surface soil, the flight of which towards the western sea was much expedited by weeding with the mamoty (a digging hoe), which loosened the soil, and so prepared the way for its more rapid disappearance. and these causes no doubt hastened the end, but they were mainly results arising from one great cause--the neglect to supply shade for the coffee, and this again arose from the circumstance that most of the pioneer planters came from ceylon where the coffee is planted in the open, and where shade is not required. and this failure, owing to the neglect of shade, had a most unfortunate effect, for it was owing to this that coorg naturally acquired such a doubtful coffee reputation in the eyes of the uninformed public--a reputation which, as i shall afterwards show, arose not from any fault of the country as a coffee field, but solely from the fatal mistake of attempting to plant without providing shade for the coffee. and this mistake the planters, as we shall see, had great difficulty in shaking off, for when they saw the inevitable end approaching, and hastened to take up land in the eastern part of coorg in what is known as the bamboo district (because the jungle lands there consist very largely of forest trees interspersed with clumps of bamboos), they persisted in carrying their fatal ceylon system with them, and mr. donald stewart, called the coffee king in mincing lane, who was a warm supporter of planting in the open, even issued, it is said, an order to his managers saying that if he found a single forest tree standing (the coffee around even a single tree would have proved him to be wrong) dismissal would follow. but nature proved to be too strong for mr. stewart and those who followed his example, and whole estates in the bamboo district were practically exterminated by the borer insect. at last the planters, warned by a long and bitter experience, gave way all along the line, and began to imitate the shade planters of mysore, and shade is now as universal in coorg as in mysore, and under its protection the coffee in both countries thrives equally well. i may mention here that the rev. g. richter, who is now the second oldest resident in coorg, took an active part in opening up the bamboo district, and was for some time a partner in one of the estates. he has shown great zeal in endeavouring to introduce new products, such as tea, cocoa, ceara rubber, and vanilla. his manual of coorg, i may add, is most interesting and exhaustive.[48] besides the first mentioned, and now abandoned coffee district, and the bamboo district, there is the important district of north coorg, which, though it has a smaller number of estates, certainly contains coffee that, so far as i am able to judge, it would be impossible to surpass. there are, in all, at present in coorg 130 european estates, with a total area of 32,323 acres (of which 20,000 are in the bamboo district), and 6,207 native estates and gardens, aggregating in all 70,669 acres. the average production of coffee from all these sources is estimated by competent authorities at from 4,000 to 5,000 tons of coffee per annum, or of a probable annual value of from £250,000 to £300,000. the yield from a well cultivated estate averages from 3 to 4 cwt. of clean coffee per acre. exceptional properties there are, of course, which give higher returns than this, and some could be quoted which give 6 to 7 cwt. on the average, while sensational figures might be quoted as regards some remarkable estates. but to give an account of such exceptional estates might convey a misleading idea of the general return to be obtained from coffee in coorg, though i think it well to allude to the fact that better returns than those first mentioned can be obtained, and have been obtained, as it is always of value to know what particular pieces of land can do under the most favourable circumstances, as this opens up the important question as to whether it would not pay better to confine cultivation on an estate to a narrow area of the best soils and situations on it--a subject to which i shall more particularly refer later on in this chapter. in the case of well cultivated estates, an expenditure of eighty rupees per acre is incurred on superintendence and field labour, and fifty rupees an acre on manures and their application, but in many european, and most native estates, a total expenditure for superintendence, labour and manures of about eighty rupees only is incurred, and the results obtained are, of course, proportionately smaller. the native gardens and plantations are, as a rule, worked on the principle of taking everything that can be got out of the land, and putting nothing into it. were these worked on european principles, it is hardly necessary to say that the export of coffee from coorg would be largely increased. cattle manure, bones, oil-cake and fish constitute the manures mainly used in coorg. the first is universally recognized as being the most valuable for coffee, but the supply available in the bamboo district (which contains, i may remind the reader, 20,000 out of the 32,323 acres under cultivation by europeans), where grazing is scarce, is so small that planters have to depend to a great extent on the three last-named manures. messrs. matheson & co., the owners of about 7,000 acres of coffee in coorg, kept for some years in their employ an analytical chemist,[49] whose time was devoted to the analysis of soil, and the making of experiments on their estates, with the view of ascertaining what was best adapted for maintaining and improving their fertility. salts of various kinds were experimented with, but, though the results from them were generally favourable, they were found to be too rapidly soluble for a climate so subject to heavy falls of rain. in the end, after many experiments, he came to the conclusion that the four above-mentioned manures were the best for the climate, and that the proportion applied should vary with the condition of the coffee. to illustrate this point i may add that in coorg, bones and oil-cake are usually applied in the proportion of two of the latter to one of the former. if, however, a field has suffered badly from leaf disease (which destroys many of the leaves), or is not making wood as rapidly as it ought, it is customary to apply a larger proportion of oil-cake, or in some cases, to put down that manure without adding any bones. on the other hand, if there is a superabundance of wood, and it is desirable to throw the whole energies of the tree into the production of berries, then the proportion of bone manure is increased and that of oil-cake diminished. in former times all manures were applied immediately after the crop was picked, and on estates where labour is scarce, or comes in late in the season, this system is still carried on. but from results actually obtained on estates in coorg, it has now been proved that it is more advantageous to apply part of the manure immediately after crop, in order to strengthen the tree when the blossom showers fall (which they usually do in march and april), and to aid it in perfecting and setting the blossom, and a second portion after the heavy monsoon rains are over, in order to assist the tree in growing fresh wood, and in maturing the crop. the bones, oil-cake, and fish are usually mixed with burnt earth--a cubic yard to every five cwt. of the manure--and then scattered on the surface of the land around the stems of the trees, and forked in. the burnt earth, or indeed almost any good earth, makes an admirable addition to bones, oil-cake, and fish, for, though the first two, or the last two, furnish complete manure for coffee, they of course cannot ameliorate the physical condition of the soil, which, as i have fully shown in the chapter on manures, is often of more importance than its strictly speaking chemical condition. the burnt earth, in short, takes the place of cattle manure as a physical agent, and, for that purpose, i think that the soil, is to be preferred to cattle manure, as the former would certainly be cheaper and more lasting in its effects in keeping the soil in a loose and easily workable condition. on the other hand, it must be considered that cattle manure would be more moisture-holding than ordinary earth, though not more so than jungle top-soil, and when first applied, would be perhaps more opening to the land, than burnt or ordinary earth, but if the red earth (kemmannu), to which i have alluded in my chapter on manures, can be obtained, that, i know from experience, would be more cooling, and moisture-absorbing than cattle manure. i now turn to a point of great general interest, and one which furnishes another illustration of what i dwelt upon at some length in my introductory chapter, the wide-spreading value arising from the introduction into india of english capital which, as i have shown, develops the agricultural resources of the country in ever-widening circles. at first in coorg the adjacent province of mysore was the only source of labour supply, but the increased prosperity of the labourer consequent upon ample employment and enhanced rates of wages, enabled him to take up land for the cultivation of cereal crops in the neighbourhood of his own village, and hence the supply of labour declined, those who came to work in the plantations came later in the season, and altogether the labour supply from mysore became more uncertain every year. planters consequently, as they had in mysore itself, had to go further afield, and now draw labour to a large extent from the madras presidency, the labourers from which in turn, will now have the means of developing the agricultural resources of their native villages. this is a point to which the attention of the government cannot be too often drawn with the view of encouraging the opening up, by it, of every means of stimulating the employment of labour in india. coorg is now fairly well off for labour, and the old labour difficulties which used to be experienced have to a great extent disappeared. the average cost of mysore labour--men, women, and children, and including the commission of the maistries (as the men who collect and bring the labourers to the estates are called), is from 3 annas 6 pie to 4 annas a day (or say 5d. to 6d. a day, calculating the rupee at par, or 2s.). in quite recent times the maistries, who obtained large sums from the planters to make advances to the coolies, sometimes absconded with the money and thereby great losses ensued. but a better class of maistries have arisen, and messrs. matheson and co. have now, with the aid of their permanent european labour agent, established a system of private registration by which the antecedents, status, and resources of the maistries are duly recorded. and though the services of doubtful maistries cannot as yet be altogether dispensed with, a preference is of course given to those of well established reputation, and the class of maistries generally is beginning to understand and appreciate the system of registration, which has every prospect of becoming general, and will, i need hardly add, be of great advantage to planters. but if maistries sometimes swindle their employers, the former are often liable to be swindled by the coolies to whom the advances have been made, and until a system of compulsory government registration of advances to coolies is introduced, as recommended in one of my chapters on coffee planting in mysore, it will be impossible to put our peculiar system of giving advances to coolies on a reasonably safe footing. the plantations in coorg have suffered, and still suffer considerably from leaf disease and borer, to both of which i have, for practical purposes, sufficiently alluded in the chapter on the diseases of coffee. the effects of the former, though entailing much injury on coffee in coorg, have not been so fatal as in ceylon, as the long stretches of dry weather, often of four or five months' duration, seem to kill off large numbers of the spores, and so mitigate the damage arising from the disease. messrs. matheson and co., at the instance of the chemist previously mentioned, sent out strawsoniser spray engines for the purpose of treating afflicted trees with various solutions, but, though good effects were noticeable on individual trees, it was found that to treat whole estates in this way was quite impracticable, both from the cost and the immense amount of labour that would be required, and this fatal obstacle to the use of such remedies has been amply proved in ceylon. but in coorg the borer is much more to be dreaded than leaf disease, and its ravages are such that even on the best estates fully twenty-five per cent.[50] of the acreage is under supplies (i.e., young plants to take the place of the old ones which have died), and the late mr. pringle--the chemist--was of opinion that the loss of crop from borer was not less than 2 cwt. per acre per annum. before the introduction of shade the total extermination of an estate was far from uncommon, the estate in the bamboo district opened by rev. h. a. kaundinya in 1857 being the first to perish, and though, as we have seen, owing to the introduction of shade, the borer has been largely brought into subjection, considerable damage still takes place from it. neither trouble nor expense has been spared in order to find an antidote to this pest. rubbing the stems with the view of destroying the eggs of the insect, and applying thereto chemical ingredients have both been tried, but with very limited results. the late mr. pringle's antidote consisted of the application of two washes of alkali vat waste, costing five rupees an acre each, but, when carried into practice, the results were far from what he anticipated. taking out the bored trees and burning them has proved the most effectual way of dealing with the pest, and would be productive of still better results if native neighbours would adopt the same practice. but as they will not adopt this practice, their plantations become nursery grounds for the propagation of the insect. many planters in the bamboo district pay 1 rupee per hundred for the borer fly, and this results in a large number being caught, but it is not supposed that any appreciable effect has been produced from this practice. there can be no doubt, it seems to me, that the primary cause of the existence of so much borer was owing to the planters having at first planted in the open. this must have created an enormous supply of the insect, which found a splendid breeding ground in the conditions furnished by the planters, as is evidenced by the fact of whole estates having been exterminated by it, and it will require many years of judicious shading before this insect can be reduced within comparatively harmless limits. the reader will observe that i say judicious shading, and i will more fully explain what i mean by that expression when, later on in the chapter, i give an account of my tour through coorg in 1891, and make some observations on the proper shading of coffee. most of the european estates in coorg and many of the larger native plantations are held under what are called "the waste land rules," under which land is put up to auction by the state at an upset price of 2 rupees per acre (10 rupees is the upset price in mysore), plus the value of the timber, which adds somewhat to the price. as a rule there is now considerable competition for land, and as much as 100 to 150 rupees has frequently to be paid per acre. the land so purchased is subject to no assessment up to the fourth year, but from the fourth to the ninth year 1 rupee is charged, and after that 2 rupees in perpetuity. the bulk of the land suitable for coffee has been taken up, though large extents that might be utilized are included in the state forests, and thus are not available to the public. hence there is little room for extension, and openings for young men with capital are few and far between, so far as obtaining fresh forest is concerned, though of course opportunities occasionally occur for purchasing estates, or acquiring shares in them on various terms. and here i would particularly call the attention of the government to the following remarks on the reservation of land in coorg for state forests, much of which, as we have seen, might be utilized for coffee. when, as in former times in coorg, the planters used no shade, many good arguments existed in favour of making very large reserves of forest land in order to prevent denudation, and its injurious effects on climate, and on the water supply of the rivers and the country generally. but when you merely replace the underwood of the forest with an underwood of coffee which completely covers the ground, and again shield this from drying winds and the burning sun by a complete covering of trees, either those of the original forest or others planted to take their place, the case is entirely altered, and from the coffee land thus shaded there is no more loss of water and soil (perhaps not so much loss of water, as great pains are taken to avert wash) than there was in the original forest, and the climatic and conservative effects of forests are therefore entirely undisturbed. wherever, then, lands exist which are suitable for coffee planting under shade, they should certainly, in the interests of the country generally, and especially of the rapidly increasing population, be taken up for coffee, and the state forests be confined to those tracts which, from over heavy rainfall, or other causes, are unsuitable for coffee planting. other products, and especially cinchona, have received a fair amount of attention in coorg, and the land on the ghauts to the westward, where, as we have seen, the coffee plantations have been abandoned, proved to be well suited for the production of the commoner kinds of bark, and large extents of abandoned or semi-abandoned lands were planted with cinchonas. but when the prices of bark fell (whoever takes to growing a drug will soon realize the meaning of the phrase "a drug in the market"), the cultivation was no longer worthy of attention, and has practically died out. ceara rubber also met with the same fate. i may here mention that messrs. matheson and co., who held no less than 7,000 out of the 20,000 acres occupied by europeans in the bamboo district, went to great expense in introducing coffee seed from brazil, venezuela, costa rica, and jamaica, with the view of ascertaining whether coffee grown from the seed thus imported would be less susceptible to attacks of leaf disease. but, though the plants raised from these seeds are doing exceedingly well, it was found that they were also liable to be attacked by leaf disease, often before they were even out of the nursery, and in this respect proved to be neither better nor worse than the coorg variety of coffee. a clearing of fifty acres has been entirely planted with coffee raised from blue mountain seed, but there is nothing in the appearance of the trees to show that they are not indigenous to the country. liberian coffee has been tried experimentally in several parts of coorg, but i cannot learn that any results have been obtained which would tend to encourage its adoption as a substitute for the variety at present grown. it is estimated that the coorg planters employ at least 30,000 mysore labourers in addition to local labourers and those from the madras presidency, and of the 30,000 in question messrs. matheson and co. employ no less than about 5,000 for six to eight months of the year. the 30,000 coolies, with their maistries, draw from 12 to 15 lakhs of rupees per annum (from £120,000 to £150,000, estimating the rupee at par, and for the purposes of a labourer it goes nearly as far in india as when it was so) in wages, very nearly the whole of which eventually reaches mysore either in payment for grain or as a surplus income which the labourers annually take with them when they return to their homes in mysore. and as this capital is largely employed in developing the agricultural resources of the mysore state, it is evident that anything that its government could do--in the way of railway extension or otherwise--that would stimulate the employment of labour in coorg would be of great advantage to the finances of mysore. it is extremely interesting to follow the labour-spent capital of the planters of coorg to its ultimate destination--to the western coast, to various parts of the madras presidency, and far away into the interior of mysore, and to observe its effects on the country and its financial results. i am not in a position to say exactly what should be done in the way of railways for coorg, but i trust i have sufficiently shown that the british and mysore governments are equally interested in doing all they can, in the way of railway communication and new and improved roads, to develop and encourage the planting resources of coorg. the last visit i paid to coorg was in october, 1891, immediately after the breaking up of the representative assembly at mysore, a full account of which i have given in a previous chapter. i left mysore on the morning of tuesday, october 20th, and on the first day drove to hunsur, a town of between four and five thousand inhabitants, which lies twenty-eight miles to the west of mysore city. at this place are the extensive coffee works and manure preparing establishment of messrs. matheson and co., by whose manager i was most hospitably and agreeably entertained. rather an interesting incident in connection with a panther had once occurred at his house, and as this illustrates what i have previously mentioned as to the (to man) innocuous character of this animal, it may not be uninteresting to give an account of what occurred. the circumstances were these. one night my hostess, some time after retiring to rest, heard a noise in the open veranda which runs round the side of the bungalow just outside her bedroom. she got up, and, taking a lamp in her hand, went round a corner of the building in the direction of the noise, and just as she turned the corner in question there fell upon her astonished vision the spectacle of a panther, which at the moment was busily engaged in devouring the family cat. when the panther saw the lady he tried to make off along the veranda (which at that point was shut in at the side by a trellis-work), but at the moment of his flight the cook, who had also heard the noise, appeared at the opposite end of the veranda with a lamp in his hand. the panther then turned back in the direction of the lady, who stood spell-bound with the lamp in her hand, and as the cook, apparently equally spell-bound, remained stationary with his lamp, the panther, being thus as it were between two fires, lay down under a table which was placed against the wall of the veranda. at last he got up, made a move in the direction of the cook, and then changing his mind, rushed past the lady, and thus made his escape. panthers seem to be numerous about hunsur, and i heard another interesting story of their boldness, which i have not space to give, from a neighbour of my host. after staying for a day at hunsur, i drove, on october 22nd, to titimutty, a small village on the frontier of coorg, where i was met by mr. rose, of hill grove estate, who drove me to his plantation near polibetta, which is in the bamboo district previously alluded to as containing about two-thirds of the european plantations in coorg. shortly after leaving titimutty we drove through coffee on both sides of the road, and, though i spent four days in the district, and was constantly on the move, i was never once out of sight of coffee, as the plantations lie in a continuous block, and, as they are all thoroughly shaded, sometimes by the original forest trees, and sometimes by trees planted for shade, the general effect is that you are travelling through a forest of which coffee is the underwood--a forest lying on gently undulating ground from which nothing can be seen of the surrounding country. as the bungalows of the planters are of course surrounded by coffee and shade trees, they have necessarily an extremely shut-in appearance. but this rather _triste_ effect might be obviated (and i have with good effect obviated it in the case of a bungalow which lies in the centre of an estate of my own in mysore) by cutting vistas here and there through the shade trees through which peeps may be had of distant hills. this may seem to be a point of little practical value, but, as i have shown in a previous chapter, the amenities of an estate are of value, and are likely to become more so when the desirable nature of shade coffee property is more widely known. the bungalows in the bamboo district are very comfortable, most of them having tennis grounds, and if the vistas i have suggested were cut out, their attractiveness would be much enhanced. but if the bamboo district has not the scenic advantages of plantations in other parts of coorg and in mysore, these are much compensated for by the close proximity of one plantation to another, and i was told that at certain seasons there was generally a well-attended lawn tennis party on every day of the week. there is besides, in the centre of the district, a comfortable club where balls and dances are occasionally given. in short, the bamboo district has features of its own which make it entirely different from any planting district in india. from being so much shut in, it might, at first sight, be supposed to be not a very healthy district, but i heard no complaints on that score, nor, from the appearance of the planters, would it have occurred to me that the district was at all unhealthy. on the evening of my arrival there was a dinner-party, at which four ladies were present, and later on there was music and singing, and all the accompaniments of a pleasant social life. so much do coffee districts vary in india, that the party was to me a startling surprise, which the reader may easily understand when i mention that, after leaving the most northerly plantation in coorg and entering my district of manjarabad, there is only one resident lady to be found there, and it is not till you reach the northern district of mysore, some sixty miles further, that ladies, in the plural, again commence, though even there they do not exist to a very serious extent. on the afternoon of the day of my arrival i walked round my host's estate, which carried an excellent crop, and also visited a neighbouring property. on the following morning i drove to the dubarri estate, and walked round part of it, and in the afternoon visited the club--a comfortable, and in every respect suitable, building which, as i mentioned, is occasionally used for dances. i also visited the co-operative store, which contained a large supply of various articles. the church, which was close to the club, had been recently built, at a cost of 5,000 rupees, but, when i saw it, the interior was not quite finished. i may mention that in the bamboo district there is a resident doctor who is employed by the various estates. later on in the afternoon i rode from the club with mr. william davies to the mattada kadu estate (messrs. matheson and co.'s property), of which he is manager, and rode through coffee all the way to the bungalow. i was most kindly entertained by mr. davies, who had a party of the neighbouring planters to meet me at dinner, after which we had much talk on the subject in which we were all mutually interested. on the following morning i awoke early, and was rather surprised, shortly after daylight, to hear the names of the coolies called over from the check-roll, as, though early hours were kept in the old days in mysore, we have now become considerably later, owing, i surmise, to feeling that in these labour-competing days we are not as completely master as we once were. after a small breakfast i rode through the estate, guided by mr. davies, who was accompanied by two of his guests of the night before, and we then passed into the nullagottay estate (all messrs. matheson's), after which we entered into whust nullagottay, and went to the bungalow from which (there is always an exception) there is a fine view of the brahmagiri hills. after a very short stay we again mounted, and presently passed into the whoshully estate, and finally arrived, after riding through that property, at about midday at mr. robinson's bungalow, where we had breakfast. mr. rose came over in the afternoon, and we rode home to hill grove through messrs. matheson's estate which had been bought from mr. minchin, besides visiting the hope estate. i thus rode through coffee for nearly the entire day. on the following day i went over another adjacent property, and on the day after, monday, october 26th, started for mercara, the capital of coorg. i drove by way of siddapur, paid a short visit to cannon kadu estate, and arrived at abiel, mr. martin's estate, at about midday, rode round his estate in the afternoon, and then drove on to mr. e. meynell's charming home--the retreat--which is about a mile from the town of mercara. i was particularly struck with the arrangements of this house, as it was a thoroughly english-looking home in every respect, and i only wish i could give a plan of it as a model for a residence in the hill and planting districts of india. the front veranda was inclosed with glass, and lined with flowers in pots, and from the centre of this projected a conservatory, at the end of which was the front door. you thus, after driving up to the house, walked through a conservatory into the inclosed veranda, and this not only gave a very pretty effect, but was practically useful by keeping carriages, with their attendant dust and disagreeables, at a sufficient distance from the veranda. my hostess very kindly permitted me to see the kitchen arrangements. these, as well as the storerooms, were in a wing projecting from the back of the bungalow. the kitchen, which consisted of a separate room, with a single door, was furnished with a wilson range, and there was no door between the kitchen and the scullery. the latter was at the outside edge of the wing, and was entered by its own door--an arrangement, by the way, that might be practised with advantage in this country, as a connecting door is liable to admit smells from the scullery into the kitchen. the reader will, i trust, excuse the mention of these apparently trivial matters, but as i strongly suspect that much of the ill-health in india is due to the dirt and horrors of the indian cook-room, which is usually at a little distance from the bungalow, and turned into a general lounge for the servants, i think it well to show that, with a little contrivance and attention, as great a degree of order and cleanliness may exist in india as in any other portion of the globe. on the following day i called on mr. mann, son of one of the pioneer planters of 1855, and inspected an interesting coffee garden of four acres which is close to his bungalow in mercara. some of the coffee trees were planted thirty and others forty years ago, and they have given for many years fifteen hundredweight an acre on the average, and though many of the trees were evidently suffering from the effects of overbearing, there seemed no reason why they should not continue to bear good crops for an indefinite period of time. estimating the value of the coffee at 80s. a hundredweight, the produce of an acre would be worth £60, of 100 acres £6,000, and allowing one-half for expenses--a very liberal estimate--there would be a clear income of £3,000 a year from 100 acres of such coffee. as 100 acres of land so situated--it was flat, lay in a hollow, and was well sheltered--could not be obtained, it might seem that an account of this garden could be of no practical value. but the garden in question raises one very important point in the mind, and that is whether it would not be better to abandon all inferior soils and situations on an estate, and concentrate all the labour and manurial resources on a more limited area, every operation on which could be carried out exactly at the right moment. this is a highly important question which i state here for the consideration of planters. after spending two pleasant days at the retreat, i bade my kind host and hostess good-bye (i have thanked mr. meynell, who i may mention represents messrs. matheson's large interests in coorg, in the preface for the valuable information he subsequently sent me as regards planting in coorg), and went on my way towards my home in mysore, and stayed first at the hallery estate, which is about six miles from mercara, and is the property of my friend mr. mangles. the approach to the bungalow through the coffee is very pretty; the building stands at the head of a slope, and commands a fine and extensive view of the country and the distant hills. the amenities here had been well attended to: below the front of the bungalow terraces edged with balustrades had been cut, and formed into flower gardens, and i was glad to see that, in parts of the plantation, from which good views could be had, there were seats. i may observe here that there is a great want in plantations of seats, which are now the more needed as all logs in the old plantations have of course disappeared. near the bungalow is an excellent stable, well paved, and quite in english style. on the following morning i wont with mr. sprott, who is in charge of mr. mangles's estate, to visit his santigherry property, some seven miles distant, and on the way there went on the left of the road through a plantation belonging to messrs. macpherson and ainslie. after this we re-entered the main road, passed the village of santikoopa, and then entered and went round the estate we had come to visit. on the way home we diverged to the left and went through mr. murray ainslie's estate, and round by an estate owned by mr. campbell, and finally arrived at hallery at about half-past twelve. in the afternoon i went round part of the estate, which i had already seen something of on the day of my arrival. early the following morning, after bidding good-bye to the host and hostess who had so kindly entertained me, i started on my journey northwards, and after a troublesome and trying drive (for my horses), in which two rivers had to be crossed by ferry boats, and much deep unmetalled road struggled through, i arrived at 12.30 at coovercolley--another estate of mr. mangles's--where i was kindly entertained by mr. and mrs. trelawney (mr. trelawney manages this fine property). the bungalow here is particularly comfortable, and had the great advantage of a very wide open veranda. on the right of the approach to the bungalow was a neatly trimmed shoe flower hedge, which had a very pretty effect, and, as at hallery, terraces had been cut in front for a flower garden. from the front of the bungalow there is an extensive view of much of the coorg country, and i was particularly struck by its continuous jungly character, and with its great contrast to the mysore country to the north, which is not so much a jungly country, as an open grass country studded with occasional wood, and park-like groups of trees. on the afternoon of my arrival i rode round part of this fine estate, and inspected other parts of it on the following morning and evening. on the next morning i started at a quarter to six, and after driving about twenty-four miles, crossed the frontier, and entered manjarabad--the southernmost coffee district of mysore. the northernmost part of coorg consists of a long tongue of land which projects into mysore, and the scenery, in its beautiful, open, and park-like character, naturally resembles that of manjarabad. on my visit to coorg i look back with pleasure. it was, indeed, extremely enjoyable and instructive, and i cannot help regretting the fact that, owing to the nature of their duties, planters are obliged to remain so continuously at home; and then, of course, when they can get away, they naturally go for change of air and scene anywhere out of the coffee districts. the result of this is that the planters of the north of mysore see little of those in the south, and that neither have any intercourse with coorg, and that, in consequence, much valuable interchange of views and experiences that might otherwise take place cannot now do so. had such intercourse existed, many of the mistakes made in coorg as regards shade would probably have been avoided, and much loss of money averted. the reader will have noticed that i have hitherto made no observations on the coffee i saw in coorg, my reason for not doing so being that i thought they might be more conveniently reserved for the close of the chapter. i am glad that in the course of my observations i shall have much to say in praise of the state of coffee in coorg, and if i should seem to be a little free in my remarks as to the management of shade, i trust that my coorg readers will bear in mind that my experience of trees planted as shade to supply the place of original forest trees removed is the oldest in india, and stretches back to the year 1857, and that it requires a very long time, as they will see by consulting the chapter on shade, before all the points connected with shade trees can be proved with certainty. that mistakes as regards shade should have been made in coorg, where shade experience is comparatively recent, is not at all surprising; in former times numerous mistakes were made in mysore, and have only been rectified by long experience and observation. my general impression on going through the bamboo district of coorg was that it contains a certain proportion of land of poor character (and this can be said of most coffee districts) which should never have been opened, but that there are many excellent and valuable estates, though it was plain to me that, from the more weakly, or perhaps i should rather say less robust, character of the shoots, and the appearance of the soil, it had, as a rule, much less growing power in it, and would consequently require more manure, than the deep and heavier soils of mysore. but these soils in the bamboo district, though lighter in character, are of course (and this is a fact of no small importance) more easily worked than those of mysore. the next point that attracted my attention was the shade, and of the numerous estates that i saw in the bamboo district there were only two that at all came up to my idea of what a well shaded property ought to be. i could see little signs of the shade being varied in kind and quantity to suit the various aspects, and many trees were preserved which were merely throwing shadow, not on to the coffee, but on to adjacent trees. then i found that in one excellent piece of young coffee the shade had been planted in lines running from east to west, instead of being closely planted in lines from north to south (_vide_ chapter on shade). the shade, too, generally speaking, was far too largely composed of one kind of tree,--the attí-mara (_ficus glomerata_)--and finally this tree, the defects of which i have remarked upon in my chapter on shade, was badly managed by being trimmed up to a considerable height above the ground. the result of this was that on land on which there was an enormous number of trees there was far too little shade, and a forester fresh from england would never have imagined that the planters had intended to grow umbrageous trees for the double purpose of lowering the temperature of the plantation and sheltering the coffee from sun and parching winds, but would have supposed that they were engaged in growing timber for sale. i saw land which, i feel sure, had at least three times the number of trees that would have been sufficient to shade it fully, had they been properly treated. such a number of trees throw out, of course, a corresponding number of large roots, and one planter told me that in some instances coffee was being killed by the masses of attí root in the land. as regards shade, then, there is much room for improvement in coorg, and especial attention should be paid to this in the bamboo district which has suffered so much from borer. this pest, we know, thrives best under warm and dry conditions, and it is therefore of great importance that the kinds of shade most recommended in my chapter on shade should be freely planted, and other kinds gradually removed. there was a very good crop on the trees when i passed through coorg--one that, when picked, quite exceeded the expectations of the planters--and i saw two estates which had at once a good crop on the trees, leaves of good, well-fed looking colour, and a show of wood giving promise of an equally good crop for the following year; and it says well for cultivation in coorg that any estate could show this, for the tendency of coffee, as of most fruit trees, is to give heavy and light crops alternately. as it is important to know the manures that were used to produce such results, i may mention that on one of these estates 6 cwt. of castor cake and 3 cwt. of bones had been applied the previous year, and for the four preceding years 2 cwt. of castor cake and 1 cwt. of bone had been used, but, in the opinion of the manager, the latter application had proved too small. on the other estate one-third of a bushel of cattle manure per tree, and from 7 cwt. to 10 cwt. of bones had been applied once in three years, and composts also had been used to a considerable extent. these were formed first of a layer of vegetable rubbish, then fresh pulp and lime, and lastly a layer of soil. the estate last referred to, on which the cattle manure, bones and compost had been used, belongs to mr. mangles--his coovercolley estate--and is certainly the finest i ever saw, if we take into consideration the state of the soil, the colour of the foliage, and the evident prospect of continuously good crops. so well fed, indeed, was the land with nitrogen, that an application of nitrate of soda produced no perceptible effect on the trees. the land was probably over supplied with phosphoric acid, and an analysis of the soil would be of practical value, for if, as i have good reason to surmise, there is a very large supply of phosphoric acid in the soil, the use of bones might be suspended for some years, and a light application of lime used instead. ten acres, at any rate, might be tried as an experiment. i was shown one piece of coffee which had been manured, when it was two years old, with cattle manure, and this piece had remained perceptibly superior ever since. on this estate 600 cattle are kept for the sake of their manure. i would suggest that the proprietor might, on say ten acres, discontinue the use of cattle manure, and, as an experiment, apply dressings of jungle top-soil instead, or the red earth alluded to in my chapter on manures, should that be available. the experiment might be valuable to the proprietor and to planters in general. cattle manure is very expensive, and when 12 to 14 tons per acre--some fairly well rotted and some slightly so--were used in coorg on one estate the cost was 72 rupees an acre, including cost of application. in bringing these brief remarks to a close, i may observe that i formed a very high opinion of coffee in coorg, and i feel confident that if the shade were remodelled on the system recommended in my chapter on that subject, the losses from borer and leaf disease would be largely diminished, and a great general improvement in the coffee take place. we have experienced such results from improved shade in mysore, and there can be no doubt that similar results will follow in coorg. in remodelling the shade system, all light and dry soils should be first attended to and planted up with trees which give an ample and cool shade. the treatment of other parts of plantations may be postponed. as regards the profits that may reasonably be expected from well managed and well situated estates in coorg, i am happy to say that i have obtained from a friend the returns from his estates for the last ten years, and as his properties are of large extent, the return may be regarded as a very reliable one, more especially as the prices for three years of the period were very low. the average yield per acre was 4 cwt. 1 qr. 7 lbs.; the expenses, £9 4s. 2d., and the profits per acre £7 8s. 6d. i only wish that, in conclusion, i could give as favourable an account of the prospects of sport in coorg as i can of its coffee. twenty-five years ago there was good big game shooting, but the absence of game laws, and the indiscriminate destruction of does, fawns, and cow bisons by the natives, at every season of the year, have changed all that, and it is with a melancholy smile that one reads in the "coorg gazetteer" that the coorgs are such ardent sportsmen that they have hardly left a head of game in the country. but the first sign of advanced civilization--the intelligent preservation of wild animals--has begun, or will shortly be begun, in the enlightened state of mysore, and i trust that its good example may soon be followed in coorg, and all parts of india. with the aid of preservation game will soon increase in the more remote forests into which it has been driven back, and from thence spread into other parts of the country. footnotes: [48] "manual of coorg," compiled by rev. g. richter, principal, government central college, mercara. mangalore, 1870. [49] the late mr. william pringle, who, after leaving coorg, wrote in 1891, for the "madras mail," some interesting and suggestive papers on the cultivation of coffee. [50] i make this statement on the authority of mr. meynell (_vide_ preface), and it is, no doubt, the result of his experience in the bamboo district, but his estimate could hardly, i should say, apply to the estates i visited in north coorg. chapter x. coffee planting in mysore. after a long and attentive observation of the various occupations of life, i have no hesitation in saying that, for one who has to earn his bread somewhere, the life of a planter in mysore, if not the very pleasantest and most interesting (and as far as my own experience goes it is both) in the world, is assuredly one of the most agreeable occupations that anyone of intelligence, industry, and active habits, and fond of sport and an independent and open-air life, could betake himself to. it will be observed that i place intelligence in the van, and i do so because, though there is some truth in the native proverb which declares that, "with plenty of manure even an idiot may be a successful agriculturist," i know of no occupation that calls for a greater degree of intelligence and steady application than that of a planter in mysore, or any district where shade trees are required. for where the planter has only to deal, as he has in ceylon, with the coffee on his land and nothing else, the business, though even then of course requiring considerable skill and intelligence, is comparatively speaking a simple one. but in mysore the necessity of providing shade for the coffee gives us at once an additional and highly complicated business in the planting and management of the shade trees, and their selection and distribution to suit the various soils, aspects and gradients we have to deal with. then the fact of having shade trees, which of course take up much of the manure intended for the coffee, makes the application of the manure, and especially the quantity to be put down at a time, a matter of constant doubt, for on the one hand, how much do the shade trees not rob us of, and on the other hand, how much do they not return to the land by their fallen leaves? then should we not manure and cultivate in a different manner and degree the coffee under the direct shade of the trees, and the coffee in the open spaces between them? such are some of the numerous points connected with coffee planting under shade, to which i briefly allude at the outset in order to show those who wish to plant coffee that a high degree of intelligence, and power of observation, are required to make a successful planter. then it must be considered further that a colloquial knowledge of the kanarese language must be acquired--a language which, from its admixture of ancient and modern kanarese, the variation in the accent, and the words in common use in various parts of the country, is generally considered to be the most difficult in india. and, as will be seen further on, it requires no small amount of study and observation in order to determine how best to lay out money in the purchase or manufacture of manures. there is also occasion for much tact, firmness, and temper, in dealing with the labourers and overseers on the estates, and also the native population with which nearly all the estates in mysore are surrounded. then much tact and judgment is required in dealing with the government officials. other points might also be added, but i have probably said enough to caution those who may be inclined to embark in coffee planting in mysore, against assuming, as has hitherto been too often done, that it is a business which may be managed by people of inferior capacity. i have said that the occupation is an agreeable one, and may add that, though the life of a planter involves much attention to his business, there is no really hard work in the sense that there is hard work in the colonies, and, from the coffee being in shade, there is no exposure to the sun, while as all the preparation of the crop is done by agents on the coast, there is none of that indoor factory work which tea planters have to undertake. then the climate, taking it all the year round, is distinctly an agreeable one,--an exquisitely fine one in the winter, never disagreeably warm in the hot weather, owing to the coffee districts being under the influence of breezes from the western sea, only disagreeably wet in the monsoon, though then the climate is so fresh and healthy, that many find that season of the year to be by no means unpleasant. besides, during the worst part of the wet season, there is comparatively little to do, and the owner of an estate can then leave home for change of air and scene. as regards the healthiness of mysore, i can only say that everything depends on the discretion of the individual. if he chooses to take reasonable care of himself, experience shows that the climate is a decidedly healthy one, but if he chooses to expose himself unnecessarily, and fails to take those precautions as regards food, and against chills which all sensible people do, then he will be pretty sure to get fever. i may mention that the elevations of the coffee estates vary from 2,800 to about 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, which partly accounts for the temperate nature of the climate, though this of course is, as i have previously pointed out, very largely controlled and improved by the estates being under the influence of the charming sea-breezes of the western ghauts. and if the planter wishes to avoid the hot weather altogether, he has only to go to ootacamund, 7,000 feet above sea-level, where he will not only come in for a delightful climate, but for the ootacamund season. april and may may be pleasantly spent there, and when the monsoon begins in june, the planter who desires to avoid it can go to bangalore, where he will be in time for the season there, and he can afterwards return to his estate in september. this is a change i can recommend from practical experience. or should a change to england be preferred, the planter should leave india about the end of april, and return in october. such changes as these of course are only to be thought of when the planter has made his way in the world; and i only allude to them here to show that he may personally see to the carrying out of all the important operations from october till april, and either spend the remainder of his time under most agreeable circumstances in india, or pass the summer and autumn in england. in former days such changes could not reasonably have been contemplated, owing partly to the time taken up in travelling, and partly to the cost, but we now have railways within thirty to sixty miles of the various plantations, and it is certain that at no very distant date these distances will be halved, and that we shall then be within seventeen to eighteen days of london--at present we may be said to be within eighteen to nineteen days of it. in expense the cost has been halved; a first-class return ticket from bombay to london may now be had for £90, and on other lines of steamers the rates are lower. but it is now time to turn from matters of detail to consider the advantages of coffee in mysore, as a good, safe, and permanent investment, and in order to show that the two last mentioned statements are well founded, i have obtained some details which will show the probable profits of coffee in mysore. for obvious reasons i withhold the names of the estates. i have said that the investment is a permanent one, and by this i mean that, unless ruined by profound and incredible stupidity, a well shaded coffee estate in mysore will last as long as the world will, or at any rate as long as the inhabitants of it choose to drink coffee, and in confirmation of this opinion, i may mention that one of the most flourishing pieces of coffee i have ever seen in mysore was planted on land first opened about ninety-five years ago, and which was replanted about seventy years after it was first opened. i can also point to land opened in 1857, and which has in recent years been replanted with the new variety of coffee imported from coorg, and, as the owner of it said to me last year when we were going round the property, "the estate is now looking better than you have ever seen it." but all the old estates in mysore that were planted in the proper coffee zone are in existence now, and many of them look better than they ever did. the durability of coffee property in mysore, then, is, as we have seen, not a subject of speculation, but an ascertained fact, and i now proceed to show that it is as profitable as it is durable. the first case i have to give relates to coffee property purchased by a friend of mine with money borrowed at eight per cent. interest, and with his permission i publish an account of his investment, as it not only shows what has been done in mysore in the face of great difficulties, but illustrates the profits that may be expected from a property that is well managed, and well situated as regards soil and climate. in 1876, then, he purchased a native estate of 240 acres of good coffee land, of which 180 acres had been very irregularly planted with "chick" coffee (the original mysore plant). the total cost amounted to 98,000 rupees, which sum was borrowed at eight per cent. by 1880 the loan was reduced, from the profits of the coffee, by about 30,000 rupees, and my friend then purchased an adjoining native estate of 163 acres, sixty of which were also very irregularly planted with chick coffee. the price was 13,250 rupees, which he also borrowed at eight per cent. the total amount borrowed was thus 111,250 rupees, and the total coffee land was 403 acres. up to about this time the chick coffee had done fairly well, and by 1880 the loan, as we have seen, was reduced by 30,000 rupees, but soon afterwards this variety of coffee plant began rapidly to deteriorate all over the district, and estates like my friend's, which had hitherto given satisfactory profits, did but little more than pay their working expenses. but, luckily for himself, my friend, directly after the purchase of each estate, began to plant them with the coorg kind of coffee (afterwards fully alluded to in this chapter) which had been recently introduced, and, as the old chick trees were from six to seven feet high, and had no lower branches, they did not for some time interfere with the progress of the coorg plants, and yielded enough to pay expenses. as the coorg plants came into bearing the old chick plants were removed, and in 1887-88 nearly ninety tons of coffee were picked, and by that year the whole debt, principal and interest, was paid off, and a considerable balance was left over to my friend's credit. in 1889-90 the property gave him a clear profit of £3,350, and it has done well ever since. thus with all these tremendous difficulties to contend with, and in the face of the loss of all the old coffee, and after having to replant the whole property at great expense, my friend found himself in the possession of an estate, free of all debt, capable of yielding good annual profits. and it must be remembered, further, that this result was obtained, not from virgin forest land exclusively, but from land the greater part of which consisted of old native plantations. there are, i need hardly say, no means of ascertaining the profits that may be expected from coffee in mysore, but the following analysis of a manjarabad estate of 400 acres under cultivation, which has been supplied to me by a friend, will form a fair guide to what may be reasonably expected from a mysore estate where the management is good. in the case in question, the average crop for the last five years, has been 3-3/4 cwt. an acre. the expenses were 111-1/2 rupees an acre, and the average profit 111-1/10 rupees per acre per annum, or rather over £7 2s. 6d. an acre. i may add that i consider this a fair average estimate of what may be expected in mysore on a well managed estate, as a considerable proportion of the land in question is of decidedly inferior quality. i have no special details to give from the northern part of mysore, but i am informed by a planter of experience, who resides in that part of the country that, from a good estate of 200 acres, a profit of from £1,500 to £2,000 a year may be counted on. we have seen that the life is attractive, that coffee property is durable and profitable, and the reputation of the coffee is not exceeded by any coffee in the world, and, as i shall show further on, the plant is singularly free, when properly shaded and worked, from risk in any form, or pests of any kind. nothing, in short, in the world would appear to be more desirable as a source of investment than coffee in mysore, for those who are prepared to understand and look after it. and with all these alluring advantages, which i have, i believe, most accurately described, it might naturally be supposed that, coffee property in mysore could be readily disposed of on advantageous terms to the seller. as a matter of fact, it is quite unsalable at any price that would be at all satisfactory to the owners. the explanation of this is very simple. those who are working their own estates on the spot seldom command enough capital to invest in new estates, or do not care to extend their property, while capitalists at a distance, have, from the absence of information, no means of judging as to whether coffee in mysore is a good investment or not. instead, then, of accurate, or fairly accurate, accounts to rely on, we have nothing but vague and misleading statements and reports, which often affect most injuriously industries of sound and thriving character, and, as an instance in point, i may mention that, from what i had heard of coffee in coorg (to which i have devoted a chapter), i should have been fully prepared, had i not learnt to regard all such reports with suspicion, to find a district on the high road to ruin. as it was, i was certainly prepared, and, indeed, expected to find, coffee in coorg in a doubtful position. that precisely the reverse proved to be the case was a most agreeable surprise to me. one of my informants dismissed the whole matter thus. coffee in ceylon, he said, has gone with leaf disease, wynaad (the district in the madras presidency, south of coorg) is following, coorg will go next, and mysore last. ceylon certainly has gone, wynaad i will not pronounce upon, as i have not visited the estates in that district, but that coorg and mysore with their shade grown coffee will go with leaf disease is a mere groundless assertion, as the reader will, i hope, admit when i come to treat, in its proper place, of leaf disease and the effect of shade in limiting its amount, and controlling its injurious effects. and so far had these reports gone, and so thoroughly do the public at home connect coffee with ceylon, and ceylon alone, that a most thriving mysore planter told me that, when he visited england, he now took good care to conceal his occupation, as he found that when he mentioned he was a coffee planter, people concluded at once that he was ruined. it is, then, most necessary to lay all the facts connected with coffee in mysore before the public, with the view of placing our industry in its legitimate position, and i therefore make no apology for having gone into this branch of my subject with considerable minuteness. but it is now time to address myself particularly to the history and cultivation of coffee in mysore, and to other matters in which the planters are directly or indirectly interested, and first of all it may not be uninteresting if i say a few words as to the introduction of the plant into india, or at any rate as to the earliest notices i can find on the subject. the earliest notice i can find of coffee in india is contained in a dutch work entitled "letters from malabar," by jacob canter visscher, chaplain at cochin. this collection of letters has been translated by major drury, or rather at his instance, and as the date of the dutch editor's preface is 1743, it is evident that the coffee plant must have at least been introduced five or six years earlier, but the date of its introduction is not mentioned, and we are merely informed, at page 160, that "the coffee shrub is planted in gardens for pleasure and yields plenty of fruit, which attains a proper degree of ripeness. but it has not the refined taste of the mocha coffee.... an entire new plantation has been laid out in ceylon." the plant, however, though introduced at that early period, does not seem to have met with much attention in india, and i can find no other allusion to coffee in indian books till we come to heyne's tracts, which were published in 1800, and we are there merely told that coffee was sold in the bazaars of bangalore and seringapatam. turning next to the history of coffee in mysore, we find that there is no official record of either plant or planting further back than the year 1822, which is not very surprising, as it was only placed under british rule in 1831; but tradition in these cases seldom fails to supply some story which is suitable enough, and it may after all be quite true that, as reported, a mussulman pilgrim, about two hundred years ago, returned from arabia with seven beans which he planted round his mutt (temple) on the bababudan hills in the northern part of mysore, near which some very old trees may still be seen, and that from these beans all the coffee in mysore has descended. but, though the plant may have been introduced at this early period, i think it improbable that anything in the shape of plantations existed before about the close of the last century. and, though the plant has been known for such a number of years, it is not a little remarkable that coffee has only come into use by the natives who grow it in recent years, and when i first settled in mysore, in 1856, i was repeatedly asked by the farmers of the country whether we ate the berry, and of what use it could possibly be. and even now, from all that i can learn, coffee is rarely used by the natives in the coffee growing districts, though i am informed that it is so to a considerable extent in the towns of the province. i have alluded to the tradition of coffee being first introduced into mysore by a mussulman pilgrim about two hundred years ago, and the species of coffee that was introduced then, or at some subsequent period, was the only one known in mysore when i entered the province in 1855. this plant was finally called the "chick" variety of coffee, and the name was taken, i believe, from the town of chickmaglur, which lies close to the original mysore home of the coffee plant. this variety had thriven well and promised to do so for an indefinite period of time, but towards the end of 1866, and during the three succeeding years, we had dry hot seasons, which caused a general attack of the borer insect, and at about the same time there occurred a general decline in the constitution of the trees, which, though no doubt greatly hastened in the majority of instances by the borer, of which the reader will find a particular account in a subsequent chapter, has never been explained, and so serious was this decline that, had we been dependent wholly on the original mysore variety, it is the opinion of one of our most experienced planters that, to use his own words, "there would have been an end of coffee planting in mysore except in the case of a few elevated tracts on the bababudan range of hills." but, most fortunately for the planters, the government, and the people of mysore, mr. stanley jupp--a south mysore planter--took in 1870 a trip into coorg, which lies on the south-west of mysore, and was so favourably impressed with the variety of coffee grown there that he recommended that experiments should be made with it in mysore, and in 1871 experiments on a considerable scale were made with carefully selected seed which was obtained from coorg by messrs. r. a. and graham anderson, mr. brooke mockett, and mr. arthur jupp. the experiments turned out to be a remarkable success, the young plants raised from the imported seed grew with extraordinary vigour, and it was soon found that the new variety would grow and crop well, and even on land on which all attempts to reproduce the "chick" variety had utterly failed. then this sinking industry rose almost as suddenly as it had fallen; old and abandoned estates, and every available acre of forest, and even scrub, were planted up, and land which used to change hands at from 5 to 10 rupees an acre was eagerly bought in at twelve times these amounts. but there was still some anxiety felt as regards the new variety, or rather the produce of it, for when we took it to market the brokers at once objected and said, "we are not going to give you mysore prices for coorg coffee." but it was found, as had been anticipated by many experienced planters, that as the trees from coorg seed aged the produce each year assimilated more and more in appearance and quality to that of the old mysore plant, which is still grown on some estates in north mysore, and some years ago i even obtained a slightly higher price for my coffee from the new variety than a friend had obtained for coffee of the old "chick" kind. the coffee industry of mysore is now established on a thoroughly sound basis. we have a plant which crops more regularly and heavily than the old variety, and which is in every respect satisfactory, and the produce of it has so improved under the influence of the soil and climate of mysore, that, with the exception of the estates which produce the long-established brand of "cannon's mysore," and perhaps a few other estates on the bababudans which have retained the original "chick" variety of coffee, there is little difference in value between the produce of coorg plants which have been long established in mysore and the coffee of the original and now generally discarded variety. i may here add that the coffee of mysore has always had a high reputation. this high quality has been partly attributed to soil and climate and partly to the coffee being slowly ripened under shade. but, however that may be, a glance at the weekly lists in the "economist" will show that mysore coffee of the best quality is commonly valued at from 10s. to 15s. a cwt. above that of any other kind that reaches the london market. i now propose to give a brief account of our coffee land tenures, and shall then address myself to the intricate question of coffee cultivation in mysore, and the still more difficult question of the shade trees which shelter the coffee from sun and wind, and the soil from the wash of the tropical rains. when i entered the province in 1855 anyone who desired to have a given tract of forest land for coffee planting sent an application to the government for it. an inquiry was then made, and, if no objection existed to the land being made over to the intending settler, or applicant, a puttah or grant, free of any charge for the land or any fee even in connection with the grant, was made out in kanarese, which mentioned the name of the land and the boundaries of it, and stated that the land was to be planted with coffee within three years' time, and that, if not so planted, it was liable to be resumed by the state. no survey was made of the land, nor was it of any importance to estimate the acreage, there being no land tax, but in its place a tax of 1 rupee per cwt. of clean coffee produced, which was only liable to be demanded when the coffee was exported from the country, and not before. this system may seem to many to have been an objectionable one, and, from one point of view, no doubt it was, because the more highly the planter cultivated, the more highly he paid on each acre of his holding, but, on the other hand, the system enabled the planter to start with a very small capital, as he paid nothing for his land, nor a single shilling to the state till he had produced his crop. for starting and stimulating the industry the system certainly had its merits; but after the industry had obtained a firm footing, it was evidently of advantage to institute a taxational system of a different character, and, after much discussion and correspondence on the subject, the existing forms of tenure were finally decided on, and the "mysore coffee land rules" were formally notified to the public in march, 1885. there are two forms of grant--form a, with an assessment of one rupee and a half an acre, which rate is fixed permanently, and form b, at one rupee per acre, with liability to revision at the end of each period of thirty years. the assessment for local purposes stands now at 1 anna an acre (1-1/2d. at 2s. exchange), and that is the only taxation we have. there is not, and never has been, an income-tax in mysore, nor is it at all probable that there ever will be, as the finances are in a flourishing condition, and the revenues under several important heads are improving, as may be seen on referring to the chapter on the general history of the province. those who desire further and more detailed information regarding the rules in question, may be referred to the notification of march 24th, 1855, and i may mention that they are given in full in the "mysore and coorg directory."[51] i regret that i have no precise information to give as regards the implanted coffee land in mysore. with reference to the southern part of the province, i think i am quite safe in saying that all the land suitable for coffee has been taken up, but i am informed by a correspondent who resides in the northern part of the province, that in that part of the country there is much implanted land both in the possession of the government and in the hands of private individuals. all along the sides of the western passes there are indeed large blocks of forest, but these, from the excessive rainfall, are quite unsuitable for coffee, as i am able to testify from an unfortunate practical experience, as i once took up land for coffee on the crests of the ghauts. after its failure had been completely proved i sold the land to a planter who has since cultivated cardamoms on it, and last year the rainfall registered there was no less than 340 inches, nearly all of which fell between may and the end of october. from what has hitherto been written as regards our taxation, i need hardly say that the planters are well satisfied with the terms granted to them by the government. with the roads, post, telegraphs, railways, dispensaries, and other facilities at their command, and the prospect of a further important development of communications, they have also every reason to be satisfied. in short, the progressive character of the government would seem to leave nothing to be desired. there is, however, always a "but" in life, and in our case there are two "buts." the first of these relates to the state of the law as regards advances given to labourers to be worked off by them, and to contractors to bring labourers; and the second to extradition. to these may be added three wants--i can hardly call them grievances--the want of a wild birds' protection act, a game act, and an agricultural chemist. on these five points i now propose briefly to remark. the practice of giving money advances to labourers to be gradually worked off by them, and to contractors who undertake to supply labourers, has been productive of great loss and annoyance to employers, a great temptation to natives to commit fraud, and a source of constant worry to the officers of the government. the government sought by act xiii. of 1859 to check these evils, not by preventive, but purely by punitive legislation. since then there has been a constant demand by employers of labour for more punitive legislation in the shape of amendments to the act of 1859, and from recent assurances made by the viceroy when he visited mysore in 1892, it seems probable that something further will be done on the same lines. and something may of course be done to insure that the defaulter shall be severely dealt with--when he is caught. when he is caught. yes, therein lies the whole difficulty, one which seems to have been as completely ignored by the government as it has been by the planters in the legislation adopted with a view to check the evils connected with advances. in order to prove the necessity for further legislation an old planter once printed an account of a case which he took up against a defaulting coolie. his description of the hunt, and the wiles of the defaulting labourer in moving from one part of the country to another, was positively amusing, and showed conclusively that it did not pay to attempt to catch a defaulting labourer. what, then, can be the use of an act which after all only punishes the coolie when he is caught, if the trouble and expense involved in catching him be so great, as to make the game not worth the candle? is it not evident that the only thing which can help the planter is legislation which will make it very difficult for the labourer to obtain money from one employer and then run away and take an advance from another, and which will make it a comparatively easy matter to trace a defaulter? now, after conferring with experienced planters and some leading native officials, i came to the conclusion that a system of registration could alone mitigate the serious evils of the advance system, and in conjunction with them i drew up a draft of a proposed act which i laid on the table for the consideration of the mysore government when i attended the representative assembly in 1891, and i may mention that the draft in question has been printed in the government report of the proceedings. it would be tedious to give an account of the provisions in the bill, and it is sufficient to say that its two chief features were the registration of advances and the limitation of their amount. the registration was to be effected by its being made compulsory that when an advance was given three tickets on a government form should be issued, one of which was to be held by the employer, the second by the labourer, and the third by the registrar of the talook. on each ticket was to be entered the name and address of the advancee, and the sum advanced, and as this was paid off the amounts so discharged were to be entered by the employer on the ticket retained by the labourer. when the whole amount was repaid, the ticket retained by the employer was to be handed to the registrar, who was then to erase the name of the labourer from the register of coolies under advances, and before any advance was handed to the labourer the registry was of course to be effected. the amount of advance was to be limited to ten rupees, and this was to be worked off in five months unless in the case of sickness. the object of limiting advances is as much in the interest of the labourer as of the employer, as it has been found that native employers of labour often give large advances to labourers and charge heavy interest on them when the coolie does not come to work, and thus so effectually get him into debt that he is reduced to the position of a slave. this system of registration would no doubt be troublesome, but it is the only way of checking the present evil system of giving advances which, now that labour is so well paid, is not really necessary, and that it is not so is evidenced by the fact that the large bodies of labourers employed in the gold mines receive no advances whatever. i may here mention that a private system of registration with reference to labour contractors has been started by the firm of messrs. matheson and co., in connection with their extensive estates in coorg, and that it has been found most useful. the system i have proposed would be valuable to the contractors, who themselves are often swindled by labourers to whom they have advanced money. i now turn to the subject of extradition, the law relating to which has much aggravated the evils connected with giving advances to labourers. the want of legislation on this subject has been brought to the notice of the viceroy, and it is to be hoped that there may soon be complete reciprocity between native states and the british government as regards warrants. at present a defaulter flying from mysore to british territory can only be arrested by calling in the interposition of the resident, a process so cumbrous that it is practically true, as alleged in the petition of the planters of southern india, that "planters or contractors residing in mysore cannot obtain warrants against defaulters in british territory, though planters in british territory can obtain warrants against defaulters in mysore." this is a grievance which requires redress, not only for the sake of the planters, but also of all other employers of labourers, or those who may have made contracts of any kind. cattle trespass, i may mention, is not here alluded to because, though it was at one time a great grievance, a cattle trespass amendment act received the assent of his highness the maharajah in december, 1892. by this, where it is proved to the satisfaction of government that in any given local area cattle are habitually allowed to trespass on land and damage crops, the fines will be doubled, and the owner of the land has besides the right to bring an action for compensation for any damage done to his land or crops. having alluded to our grievances, i now pass on to consider lastly what may be called our wants as regards wild birds' protection, game preservation, and a government agricultural chemist. a wild birds' protection act exists in british india, but as its provisions have not as yet been extended to our province, i would suggest that mysore, in consequence of its numerous plantations where coffee and other plants and trees are liable to be attacked by insects, probably requires such an act even more than any other part of india, and i may at the same time take the opportunity of suggesting that all the native states should be communicated with so that an act for the protection of wild birds may be provided for every part of india. it would be superfluous to adduce here the numerous and evident advantages that would arise from the protection of wild birds, as their value is now so universally recognized, and i therefore pass on to offer a few brief remarks on game preservation, or, to speak more exactly, of the preservation of those wild birds and harmless animals which are useful as food. the neglect of game preservation in india has not only been a cause of great loss to the country owing to the reckless waste of the sources of valuable supplies of food, but has severely injured the farmers in jungly tracts in a way that seems hitherto to have escaped notice. i allude to the fact that, in consequence of the wanton destruction of game in the western forests, tigers are compelled to inflict much greater losses on the herds of the natives. this is a fact to which i can personally testify, and which has since the middle of 1892 become steadily more apparent; for, when game was more plentiful in the forests along the crests, and at the foot of the ghauts, the tigers lived largely upon game and rarely attacked cattle; indeed, so much was this the case that, about thirty years ago, a native who had the most outlying farm on the crests of the ghauts told me that though tigers were constantly about they had never attacked his cattle. and as i was at the time living near his house, and clearing land for planting, and never got a shot at a tiger when residing there, i am sure that his statement was correct. but since that time english guns have become common, and the destruction of game of all kinds and of any age has gone on apace, and the result is that the tigers, which used to confine themselves mainly to preying on wild animals in the forests, have been forced to fall upon the village cattle, and i have never known tigers to be more destructive than they are now. on a single day this year no less than seven cattle were killed by tigers at one village, and an old planter of more than thirty years' standing, a near neighbour of mine, alluding to the subject in a recent letter, said, "yes, there have been more tigers about this year than i have ever known." but it is not only on account of the supply of food from game, and for the sake of the cattle of the natives that a game preservation act is urgently required, it is also urgently needed in order to check the abominable cruelties committed by the native hunters. writing to me with reference to this subject, colonel j. p. grant, the head of the survey and settlement service, observes as follows: "gunning and especially netting, in the most reckless and improvident manner, are on the increase. antelope are fast disappearing, and in the jungle tracts night shooting is clearing out spotted deer especially. as for cruelty nothing can exceed the indifference of net-workers to any pain they may cause their captures. snipe are caught and their legs and wings broken, and in this condition they are kept alive and carried to market. the wounding, necessarily reckless during night shooting, is horribly cruel. pea fowl, jungle fowl, or anything fairly big, have their eyes sewn up. i have often seen this. in the case of hares the tying is very cruel, the thong cutting down to the bone; and the same is the case with any deer they may catch alive." the rapid destruction of game of all kinds has been as melancholy as it has been remarkable, and i confess i never could have believed how complete, especially as regards small game, the deadly work has been had i not had occasion in recent years to drive, by easy stages, and early in the morning, along the whole of the western frontier of mysore, and also much of the adjacent district of coorg. in the old days, when riding, we always went at a walk and took our guns with us for shots at pea fowl, jungle fowl, pigeons, and other small game. but now you can neither see nor hear anything to shoot. and yet one of the favourite accusations of the indian congress against the indian government is that in consequence of the arms act the natives are unable to obtain guns and ammunition in order to defend themselves and their crops from the attacks of wild animals, though the scarcity of large game, and, in many cases, its absolute extinction, is notorious to sportsmen all over india. but the mysore government, i am happy to say, has at last directed its attention to the subject, and i have every reason to believe that a game act will soon be introduced in mysore. the last want i have to allude to is that of a government agricultural chemist, who should be empowered at a rate of fees, fixed by the state, to analyze soils and manures for private individuals, and to consult with planters and others as to the requirements of their soils and the best way of supplying them with manure. such an officer would be very useful in searching for coprolites and new manurial resources. my life-long experience in agriculture on a large scale both in scotland and mysore has shown me more and more the great value of an agricultural chemist for discovering new manurial resources, and perhaps more especially economizing those that already exist; and the great want of such an officer was brought to the notice of government by me when i was a member of the representative assembly in 1891. i may conclude this chapter by alluding to a discovery, or rather, i should say, a probable discovery, of the greatest importance, of a new hybrid coffee plant--a cross between the liberian and the coffea arabica. this has occurred on the property of a friend of mine, but, at his request, i do not publish his name, as he would be inundated with applications for seed. this magnificent hybrid, of which there are only two trees in existence as yet, has enormous bearing powers, and leaves which are apparently absolutely impervious to leaf disease, for i could not discover a trace of it though the hybrid is standing next to a coffee plant which is covered with it. it is of course uncertain as yet whether the new plant can be established as a distinct variety, nor do we know anything of the flavour of the coffee, as the quantity produced is yet so small that berries are reserved exclusively for seed; but should it be possible to establish the new variety (and i know of no reason why it should not be established), quite a new departure will take place in coffee production in india, and the value of coffee land will be enormous, as, from calculations made, the hybrid can produce at the rate of eight or nine tons an acre, while as many hundredweights an acre would be considered an unusually heavy crop in mysore. footnotes: [51] "hayes' mysore and coorg directory," bangalore. this valuable compilation, which contains no less than 573 pages, gives a most complete account of almost everything relating to mysore and coorg. chapter xi. shade. i now turn to the greatest of all the points connected with coffee--the question of shade. and i call it the greatest point, because if good shade of the best kind is grown it is absolutely impossible to destroy a plantation in mysore, even with the worst conceivable management or neglect, and i say this after ample experience, as had it not been for the abundant and excellent shade on a badly-managed property of my own it would have been permanently ruined. but with plenty of good kinds of shade trees on the land you might even close the plantation gates, and abandon the land, and, as long as cattle were kept out, return ten years afterwards, saw down the coffee, grow suckers from the stumps, plant up the land with young plants where vacancies had occurred, and in four or five years the plantation would be as good as ever, and the land even better, for it would not have been exhausted by crop, and the fallen leaves from the shade trees would have enriched the soil. and if the old trees were not in a condition, from old age, to grow suckers that would develop into good trees, the whole land could be advantageously replanted. but, as the reader will remember, i have said that the trees must be the best kinds of shade trees, a subject that requires great study and observation to master. before beginning, however, it may be well to point out those general principles which govern the whole subject, and which at once show us the best kinds of trees to select, and what is nearly of as great importance, how to manage them after they have been selected or planted, and i would lay particular stress on the latter point, which has, i may observe, been largely if not entirely misunderstood, simply because the great governing principle has been neglected. the governing principle, then, as regards shade for coffee is, that you should have on the land the smallest number of boles, because the more you multiply boles the more ground you waste; and the greater the number of large trees there are, the greater, of course, will be the number of large roots in the land, and the greater demand will there be on the resources of the soil; the greater, too, will be the waste of manure put down by the planter for the benefit of his coffee; and last, but by no means least, the smaller will be the amount of leaf deposit. i have seen much shade so managed as to give the greatest amount of boles with the smallest amount, and spread of branches, whereas the object of the planter ought to be to furnish the smallest number of boles with the greatest proportionate amount and spread of branches and foliage. and this unfortunate error, the evil of which will become more and more apparent as time advances, would never have been committed, had the primary principle i have pointed out been grasped at the outset. let us then keep firmly in mind that, (1) we require trees that will, from their wide-spreading branches, enable us to do with the smallest number possible on the land, and that (2) if we trim up the lower branches of these trees when the trees are young because we do not like to see them too closely over the coffee, we shall entirely defeat the main object we have in view, because we shall certainly produce a tall tree with a small head, and consequently small spread of branches; and the clear apprehension of the principle first named guides us at once to the selection of the right kind of trees, and their proper treatment. i will now proceed to state the names of the trees that are, in my experience, the most desirable, and, secondly, those which are good for coffee, but which for various reasons are undesirable. after much and close study of this important subject, and a very long experience, i have come to the conclusion that the only trees which are at once easily propagated; free from the risks of attacks from cattle owing to their being grown from long cuttings; little liable to attacks from parasites, and which afford a proper degree of shade, and also admit the largest relative supply of light; which afford a large supply of leaf deposit; and which lastly, but by no means leastly, have very wide spreading branches, are only five in number. i give first the kanarese and then the botanical name of each. there are, then, cub busree (_ficus tuberculata_), the gonee (_ficus mysorensis_), the kurry busree (_ficus infectoria_), eelee busree (a variety of the last named), and mitlee.[52] there are two kinds, heb mitlee, and harl mitlee--the second is a bad tree. the mitlee grows one fourth quicker than cub busree, and a recent close attention to this tree shows me that it is a much more desirable tree than either others or myself once supposed, for not only is it a quicker grower than the remainder of the most desirable kinds but its foliage lets in much light. it is, therefore, a most desirable tree for northern aspects. i next turn to a class of trees which are undoubtedly good for coffee, but which, for various reasons to be hereafter given, are less desirable than the five trees first given. the first of these less desirable trees is the jack--halsen-mara (_artocarpus integrifolia_), which was once a favourite tree, and there can be no doubt that coffee thrives well under it, but it is not a wide-spreading tree, the shade is too dense for every aspect, it is a slow grower, and it must be raised from young plants, which are very liable to be attacked by stray cattle. then when old, and sometimes of medium age, it is very liable to be attacked by parasites; and it produces annually a heavy[53] crop of fruit which costs money and trouble to remove when immature, and which, if left to ripen, exhausts the soil. it is, too, liable to suffer much from wind, and, in situations which are at all windy, is not much to be relied on, as, when under the influence of wind, the foliage becomes poor and scanty, and the tree sometimes dies altogether. a study of the foliage will show, that in one important particular, the five first-named trees are superior to jack, for their leaves are attached to the twigs by long stalks, and much light is thus admitted through the spaces between the stalks, while the leaves of the jack are not only more numerous but are attached by short stalks, and the foliage thus throws a very dark shade. then jack, as it is an evergreen, always affords a thick shade quite continuously, while the five first-named trees not only cast a chequered shade, but, at certain periods of the year, shed every leaf, leaving the tree quite bare for some time, which is an advantage to the coffee. and besides, i have some reason to suppose that the dense shade of the jack encourages rot (a disease remarked upon further on), as one of my managers reports that he has observed it under jack while it was not apparent on the coffee under other kinds of shade trees. but on hot westerly and southerly slopes, and especially where the soil is a bad retainer of moisture, and where the gradient is rather steep, jack may be used with advantage, as in such situations the heat is great and the light strong. i am therefore taking steps to remove jack by degrees from all but southerly and westerly exposures. i may add here that i have found that plants grown from seed procured from the dry plains of the interior of mysore, grow more than twice as fast as plants raised from local seed. in concluding my remarks on jack, i would particularly advise planters to remove the jack fruit when immature, and put it into the manure heap, or bury it, as, if left on the ground, it attracts cattle and village pigs into the plantation. the fruit is large and full of a great number of seeds which must be an exhaustive crop on the land. on the nilgiri hills i am told by the planters that there is a ready sale for jack fruit, but this is not the case in coffee districts generally. the attí (_ficus glomerata_) was with me once a favourite tree, and is generally considered to be a good one, as it affords a cool and desirable shade. as a young tree it is admirable, but as it ages the foliage becomes poor and scanty, and the tree has a tendency to run too much to thick bole, and thick branches, which are poorly supplied with smaller branches and foliage. when about thirty years old, i have generally found this tree to be a poor shader, but it can be much improved by severe pruning, or rather lopping. when thinning out shade on this estate about twenty years ago, a twelve year old tree had every branch removed preparatory to cutting down, but by some accident the tree was left standing, and the stumps of the branches threw out fresh shoots, and the tree is now flourishing, and has a comparatively wide spread of branches and fair amount of foliage. it is evident, then, that pruning heavily will cause the tree to throw out new and vigorous shoots, but as this is a troublesome and expensive work, and as attí is certainly liable to the defect above alluded to, and is, besides, not a wide-spreading tree, it is evidently not so desirable as any of the first five i have named. attí can be grown from cuttings, but these must not be large ones, i.e., they should be thinner than those commonly used when planting cuttings of the various fig trees recommended at the beginning of the section on shade. the noga (so called from its being much used to make bullock yokes from) or nogurigay (_cedrela microcarpa_) is a favourite tree to plant for shade, as it is a quick grower, and cattle do not eat it, and it has been extensively planted in mysore and coorg. the shade is fairly good, but the tree is not a wide spreader. then it has one very great objection owing to its being so peculiarly liable, when about thirty years old, to be severely attacked, and often killed, by parasites, and as it is so liable to be attacked, and therefore supplies a large quantity of parasite seed, the tree is the means of spreading these parasites to other shade trees. i have found that if you even remove every branch that is attacked, and quite below each parasite, the parasite will spring out again, and even more vigorously than before. in short, i found it impossible to contend with the parasites, and am ordering the removal of all nogurigays from my plantations. i may add here that when jack is lopped in order to remove parasites, they do not spring out again in the same way. my head duffadar informs me that the reason why nogurigays are so liable to parasites is on account of the rough, deeply-fissured bark, which retains the parasite seeds dropped by birds, whereas smooth-barked trees, like the first five named, of course do not retain them, and hence you rarely see parasites on smooth-barked trees. another objection to this tree is that, from its shedding its leaves in the monsoon, and not growing them again till we are liable to have hot bursts of sun, you may have a thoroughly saturated soil exposed to a hot sun, which of course has the effect of rapidly hardening the soil. a neighbouring planter tells me that he finds the noga tree liable to attacks from parasites at even ten years old, and that he therefore regards the tree as a temporary shade, i.e., as a shade to be removed after other more desirable trees are ready to take their place. since writing this chapter i have again paid particular attention to this tree, and have been struck with the fact that, for some unknown reason, some trees of this variety seem to be much more liable to attacks of parasites than others, while some escape altogether. but it is quite clear to me that, generally speaking, this tree is not to be relied on, and i have, therefore, no hesitation in advising planters who have relied on it as a permanent shade to at once put down trees of the desirable kind first given with the view of gradually removing the nogurigays. mullee geruguttee. a very thick, tall tree with large buttresses. coffee thrives well under this tree, but it is not a wide spreader, and, when old, the foliage becomes poor. it is evident that a tree of great thickness which is not a wide spreader, takes up an immense deal of room in proportion to the shade that it yields, and this tree is therefore not so desirable as any of the first five species i have given as being the most desirable trees. howligay (_acrocarpus flaxinifolia_). this tree has been largely planted in mysore for shade, but no one speaks well of it now. we have some on my estate upwards of thirty years old, and the foliage is poor and scanty. the trees, too, shoot up to a great height, and spread but little. by topping at a certain height, this defect may be remedied to some extent, but in order to get an efficient shade from this tree you would require to plant it thickly, and would thus have a large proportion of stems and roots in the land. this tree, though not injurious to coffee, is certainly very undesirable as compared with the first-named kinds i have given. some years ago two of these trees died on my property, and all the coffee died around them. hessan (_artocarpus hirsuta_). though said to be injurious in poor and shallow soil, coffee thrives under it in good land, but it has a tendency everywhere to run to stem, and therefore affords poor shade. an occasional tree branches out, and affords fair, and in some cases, even good shade, but, as a rule, this is not a desirable tree. it spreads little and thus gives but a poor return for the space taken up by its stem and roots. nairul (_eugenia jambolana_). this is a good shade tree. coffee thrives well under it, and wherever it exists, or may have sprung up accidentally in the plantation, it should be preserved, but it is not, i consider, a desirable tree to plant, as it is a slow grower and not a wide spreader. wartee. this is a tree we have always preserved, but it is a slow growing tree, not at all a wide spreader, and the leaf deposit from it is not of a valuable quality, and it is, therefore, not a desirable tree to plant. gwoddan (_dolichos fabaeformis_). coffee thrives well under this tree, but it has a great profusion of very hard fruits or seeds about the size of a small plum, and these, when falling from a high tree, injure the coffee berries, as may be readily supposed; the tree, too, is not a wide spreader. it is, therefore, not a desirable tree to plant. i may mention here that i have recently obtained a supply of seed of _albizzia moluccana_, which is the tree most approved of for shading coffee in the island of java, and i am informed by the superintendent of the agri-horticultural society's gardens, madras (from whom i obtained the seed), that one of their correspondents who tried it some years ago reports that, "it grows rapidly, and is of great utility in putting a field of coffee under a light shade such as coffee likes," and that, "in four years the _albizzia moluccana_, planted thirty feet apart, will cover the coffee trees." the leaves close during the night, thus giving the coffee plants the benefit of the moonlight and dew more freely. each ounce of the seed contains roughly 1,200 seeds, which, with ordinary care, should give 1,000 plants, and which, when planted out thirty feet apart, should shade twenty acres. i now proceed to consider the methods that are adopted for planting under shade in mysore. the first is to clear down and burn the entire forest, and then plant shade trees along with the coffee. the second is to clear and burn the underwood, and a certain portion of the forest trees, leaving the remainder for shade, and the third is (a system which i have myself adopted in the case of land lying in ravines) to clear off and burn the entire underwood and trees of the lower part of the ravines, leaving the upper portions of them, and the remainder of the land to be cleared and planted, under the original forest trees, as in the second method mentioned. there can be no doubt that the first-named method is the easiest. i am aware that it has been adopted by some very experienced planters, and it has been partially adopted by myself in the case of all my land in the lower part of ravines. i am well able to judge of the advantages and disadvantages of both systems, as i have them under observation and treatment side by side. on the whole, i think there can be no doubt that the balance of advantage lies much in favour of land that has not had the forest cleared wholly and burnt off. it is true that by a wholesale clearance you at once kill the vast mass of live forest tree roots in the land, but, on the other hand, you at the same time destroy a store of slowly-decaying vegetable matter, which is of vast importance, not only in feeding the coffee, but in maintaining the physical condition of the soil, and so making it more, easily, and therefore cheaply, workable, and a better agent for preserving the health of the tree. and as a proof of the actual loss incurred, i may observe that colonel c. i. taylor, in his book on "the borer in coorg, munzerabad and nuggar," mentions that an iron peg driven into the ground so that not a part of it protruded, was found, after the cleared jungle had been burned, to be no less than six inches out of the ground. there seems to be a general opinion too that land that has not been burnt will last far longer, and one experienced planter, mr. brooke mockett, attributes the circumstances of all the most ancient estates in mysore being still in existence to the fact that the land has never been burnt. mr. mockett also informs me that in good land, where there has been no burn, he has never had borer severely, though for a time there was no shade over it, as he cleared down ultimately all the old forest trees that had been left for shade, and planted fresh shade. i may mention, too, that i was lately shown an estate in coorg which had been partially cleared down and burnt off, and partly planted under the shade of the old forest trees. in the latter case the plants had never suffered from borer or leaf disease and were always healthy, while the coffee in the former case had suffered from both, and there was certainly a most marked difference perceptible in favour of the coffee planted in the unburnt land. there is also a great difference in my own property in favour of the coffee planted under the original forest shade as compared with the coffee on the land that was cleared down and burnt off, notwithstanding that in the latter case the most approved kinds of shade trees were afterwards planted, and that the land is now admirably shaded. it is highly important to notice these facts, both as a guide to those who have land to open, and also as regards the value of any property that may be for sale, for, after what i have mentioned, it is clear that a property planted under original forest shade, where the land has not been burnt off (for it is quite possible gradually to remove all the old forest trees and replace them with newly planted shade), must be much more valuable than one where the entire forest has been cleared down and burnt off. i now proceed to remark (1) on the course that should be pursued in the case of clearing down and burning the whole jungle and planting fresh shade, and (2) when planting under the original shade. after the land is ready for planting the coffee, and as early as possible in the monsoon, the young shade trees should be planted in lines or avenues running from east to west, and the trees should be planted so close that they may in five or six years touch each other, and thus form what looks like a series of hedges in parallel lines. the object of this formation is that as the declination of the sun is southerly during our non-cloudy or clear sky season, a close shadow may be cast from the south to the north, so that the spaces between the lines may have a lateral shade cast on them. when the trees begin to crowd each other every other one should of course be taken, out, and this may be repeated a second time if necessary. but, besides the southerly, we have also to consider the hot westerly sun, which will strike down the avenues from, say, between two and four in the afternoon. this it is important to block out with occasional trees planted in the avenue, but it is only, of course, where the land is exposed to the afternoon sun that the avenues should be blocked with occasional trees. after fully considering the subject, i find it impossible to say even approximately at what distance the lines of trees should be planted, on account of the great variety in the gradients, and the planter must here use his own judgment; and i can only say generally that the lines of trees require to be much nearer each other on a southerly than on a northerly aspect; nearly as close on a westerly aspect as on a southerly; and on an easterly aspect, at a closer distance than on a northerly one. some guide toward the nearness of these lines will afterwards be found in the remarks on the quantity of shade required for the various aspects. after having planted the young shade trees, then, there comes the question of providing shade for them, for without it their growth will be very slow, and the planter would have to wait a great many years before obtaining such an amount of shade as would have an effect in lowering the temperature of the plantation. he requires then some quick-growing tree as a nurse for the good caste shade trees, and the only tree i know of that is suitable for this purpose is the quick-growing charcoal tree (_sponia wightii_)--kanarese, _gorkul mara_--which springs up with the first rain after the forest has been cleared and burnt. planters, i am aware, have, generally speaking, a great objection to this tree, and it is considered by mr. graham anderson (_vide_ his book previously quoted) as being "generally regarded as prejudicial and useless." this conclusion has probably arisen from the fact that it is certainly a bad thing to have a rapid grower, and therefore a greedy feeder on the land, and hence it has been found that the charcoal tree is bad when young. but when it has attained its full height, which in ordinary circumstances is about thirty feet (i have one specimen on my property about sixty feet high, the only one of such a size i ever saw), coffee thrives well under it. this i found to be the case on plantations on the slopes of the nilgiri hills, where a very experienced planter told me that the tree was bad when young for coffee, but not so when old; and i there saw coffee thriving well under the shade of old charcoal trees. on my oldest plantation we only preserved one of the species (all the others having been cut down, as their good offices as nurses to better trees were no longer required), and the coffee always throve under it remarkably well. where, too, the shade has subsequently become deficient we always plant charcoal as a nurse for the more desirable trees, and have never observed that it is injurious to coffee. on the whole, after a very long experience and observation of this tree, i have no hesitation in recommending it as a nurse to be thinly distributed amongst the newly-planted shade trees. it is, i may observe, too, a tree with very light branches, which, of course, can easily be removed without injury to the coffee, and its branches should be thinned away when they crowd the young shade trees, and when these have been sufficiently drawn up and expanded the charcoal tree should be entirely removed. the subsequent treatment of the shade trees is of great importance. their lower branches in the early years of their growth are commonly thin and weakly, and thus, of course, droop close over the coffee, and often touch it. then the inexperienced shade tree grower begins to lop off the lower branches, with the result that he injures and bleeds the young tree, and deprives it of the nutriment it would otherwise derive from its full allowance of foliage. some carry this trimming up to a very injurious extent, and the result is that they grow young trees with long stems and poor foliage, and a narrow spread of branches, and thus require many more trees in the land than they would if they exercised a little more patience at first. but if the tree is only left alone the evil of branches drooping downwards on to the coffee will soon disappear, as these branches will not only rise with the rising stem, but will thicken and grow upwards, instead of drooping as they did when young and weakly. and some planters, i observe, are by no means satisfied with lopping the lower boughs, but trim off branches fifteen feet from the ground. under such a system the number of shade trees required is enormous, and the evils arising from the number of boles with their vast mass of large roots will only be the more severely apparent as time advances. by one shade planter in coorg i have been told that coffee there has already been suffering much from the quantity of boles and tree roots in the land, in consequence of the trimming up system and the quantity of trees required in consequence. it should also be remembered that we require our shade not only to protect our coffee from the sun's rays, but to shield it from those parching winds which sweep across the arid plains of the interior of india, and to prevent the drying up of the land. and is it not perfectly obvious that if we trim up the trees so as to produce a long stem with a small crown, the parching winds will sweep unchecked over plants and soil? there is, however, the usual proverbial exception, and that is in the case of trees growing near the bottoms of ravines with steep sides to them, and where you often want a drawn up stem and crown to cast a shadow on to a hot western or southern bank, and in such cases, of course, trimming up is necessary. having thus discussed the planting of coffee where the forest has been cut wholly down and burnt, we will now turn to planting under the shade of the original forest trees. in opening, then, a plantation which is to be shaded by preserving a portion of the original forest trees, the first thing to be done is to clear a wide track through the underwood from one end of the block of forest to the other, and as many tracks at right angles to the line as may facilitate your getting about and thoroughly inspecting the land to be cleared. the next thing to be done is to cut a wide track round the entire portion to be cleared, leaving a belt of from fifteen to twenty yards as a margin between the land to be cleared and the grassland lying outside the forest. this marginal belt will often be found useful for shelter in many cases, and it must be borne in mind, too, that the margins of jungles are generally composed of land into which the forest has more recently extended itself, and are therefore poorer than the interior portion of the forest, and consequently less adapted to the growth of the coffee. another advantage of this marginal belt is that it will prevent fires spreading from the grasslands, and that by planting thorny climbing plants on its outer edge a good fence may be formed. another very great advantage i have found from such belts is that valuable top soil may be taken from them to manure the adjacent coffee, and especially to afford a supply of rich virgin soil when filling up vacancies in the old coffee. this last use of the marginal belt is particularly valuable, as it is both troublesome and expensive to lay down either cattle manure or top soil brought from a distance in those odd corners here and there in the plantations where vacancies are apt to occur. after the above suggested preliminary tracks have been opened out, the whole underwood should be cleared and piled in heaps, and as far as possible, of course, from the trees which are most desirable for shade. then the trees positively injurious to coffee should be cut down and their branches lopped and piled on the stumps of the objectionable trees, and after this a certain proportion of the less desirable kinds should be felled. all burning should be carried on in separate piles, as a running fire through the clearing would be fatal to the standing trees, and, when firing the piles they should be burnt off in detail at as great a distance from each other as possible, as the bark of many of the forest trees is easily injured by the heat arising from many blazing piles in their neighbourhood. the land having thus been thoroughly cleared, should be planted. but by the process i have recommended much more shade will be left than will ultimately be required, and i have found that it is impossible to clear down at once all the trees you wish to get rid of, as, if you did, you would be sure to require such a number of piles as would, when they were burnt, be sure to injure the trees to be preserved. it is therefore necessary to complete the clearing during the season following. such trees, then, as you may wish further to remove may be thrown down between the rows of coffee, and others which may be likely to do much damage, either to the coffee or to the shade trees to be preserved, may be lopped and barked, and they should be barked as high up as a man can reach, as we have found that trees barked close to the ground die slowly. it sometimes, however, happens that the forest land is much cut up with narrow and deep ravines, and in that case the bottoms of such ravines should be cleared off entirely, and this can be done without injury to the standing trees above, as, when the wood in the bottom of the ravine is being burnt the flames will be too distant to inflict any injury to the trees left for shade higher up the slopes, but, as i have said, great care must be taken to prevent any running fire through the shaded land; and i can speak of the effect of such a fire from a melancholy experience. in the event of bottoms of ravines being thus cleared down, it may afterwards be found desirable to supply fresh shade on the southern and western slopes, and this can easily be done on the system recommended previously for lands which have been entirely cleared down. it is time now to turn our attention to the extremely complicated question of the quantity of shade required for the various aspects, gradients, and soils we have to deal with, and let us in the first place begin with some remarks on the effects of aspect as regards heat. in considering, then, aspect as regards sun and heat, i may observe that it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of taking into account the immense variation in temperature on the different exposures. for the effect that the sun's rays have on certain aspects in heating the soil and drying up the plant, are such as would be extremely difficult to believe, had the facts not been verified by competent observers, and with the aid of the thermometer. and as regards northern and southern slopes in particular, we shall find that the difference between one exposure and the other is just what constitutes the difference between green and dried grass, and between leaves luxuriantly green and leaves dry and withered. and that the first is literally true may be seen by anyone in the months of january and february, for in these months you will see grass on northern aspects green, and, comparatively speaking, fresh, while, even in a valley sheltered from drying winds, the grass on the southern slopes is completely withered. and you will see an equally striking difference in the coffee plants--those on the northern slopes full of health and life, while those on the southern ones are yellow, dried up, and sickly. even in parts of the district where coffee will not thrive without a considerable amount of shade, you will always find the plants thrive well (with little or even none) on a northern bank, and look much better than on a moderately shaded southern bank. nor in the nursery is the effect of aspect at all less striking. a nursery on a northern slope will require far less water, and far less shade over the plants, than one with a southern exposure. but the late mr. macivor, superintendent of the government cinchona plantations on the nilgiri hills, has tested the value of northern and southern aspects in a way which accurately judges their respective values. he accordingly tells us that, "the reason why a northern exposure in these latitudes is beneficial is from the fact that it is much more moist during the dry season than a southern aspect, because the sun's declension is southerly during the dry and cloudless season of the year, and thus, on the northern slopes, the rays of the sun do not penetrate and parch the soil. a northern aspect has also the advantage of preserving a much more uniform temperature than a southern aspect, because the excessive radiation and evaporation in the southern slopes greatly reduces the temperature at night, while in the day they are heated to excess by the action of the sun's rays striking the surface nearly at right angles. the practical effects of aspect on the plants are so great that they cannot be overlooked with impunity, and, in order to impress this on the minds of all those who may have the selection of localities for cinchona cultivation, i may mention that the difference of temperature is almost incredible; for example, at this elevation (probably about 7,000 feet) a thermometer laid on the surface of the southern face of a hill exposed to the sun at 3 p.m., will frequently indicate from 130° to 160° fahr.; the same thermometer, if left in its position, and examined at 6 a.m., will generally be observed to indicate from 30° to 40°, while on a similar slope, if selected with a northern aspect, the thermometer, under the same circumstances, at 3 p.m., will generally indicate from 70° to 80°, and at 6 a.m. from 40° to 50°." there is, then, about twice as much heat upon a southern as on a northern aspect, and, of course, a corresponding difference as regards the effect of sun and drought on plant and soil, and it is therefore obvious that our shade policy should be governed accordingly. as regards the comparative heat on western and eastern exposures, mr. macivor does not seem to have made any experiments with the thermometer, but where the slope is at all sharp the rays of the fierce western sun beat strongly into the soil, while it is quite off an easterly slope, of similar gradient, for the whole of the afternoon, and there is an enormous difference perceptible in the temperature. the effect, however, is in some degree counterbalanced by the fact that the soil and the plants on the easterly slope are swept by the withering and desiccating winds which sweep over the arid plains of the interior. we have seen, then, that the heat is very largely affected by the aspect, but the relative amount of heat and coolness is of course controlled, to a very considerable degree, by the gradient of the land, and just as steep northern slopes will be very cool, and steep eastern slopes moderately so, so will steep southerly and steep westerly gradients be extremely hot. the heat and coolness of the land, then, is constantly varying, not only with the aspect, but with the steepness of the gradients, and both of these points must be taken into consideration in regulating the quantity of shade required; and the reader will therefore see how impossible it is to give more than a general guide towards the quantity of shade required, and all i can undertake to say is that about twice as much shade is required on a southerly as on a northerly slope, that rather more shade is required on a westerly than on an eastern aspect, and that the last named requires less than a southerly aspect. but this question is further complicated by the varying quality of the soil. for our soils vary much in the same plantation, and require a greater or less degree of shade accordingly. the lighter and drier soils, of course, require not only more shade, but different kinds of trees, and in the case of such soils jack and cub busree should be freely used, and especially the former. the quantity and quality of the shade required is also complicated by considerations as regards wind, and, where the soil is exposed to drying east winds, more shade should be put down than would otherwise be necessary, had we only to deal with the drying caused by the sun's heat. and in the case of such lands the shade should consist very largely of jack and other thick foliaged trees, and these should be topped in order to keep them short and bushy, and thus the more able to shield the land from the effects of desiccating winds. and the whole subject is further complicated by questions of elevation and the varying quantity of rainfall, as the planter is nearer to, or farther from the western ghauts, and here i can only say generally, that the nearer you go to the ghauts the less shade you will require, and the further to the east the more is necessary, but the planter must be guided here by local experience, as it is impossible to write precisely on the subject. before quitting this branch of my subject, it may be well to show in a single sentence the overwhelming importance of having well regulated shade of the best kinds. if, then, the shade is excessive, the coffee will not bear well, and if it is deficient or composed of a bad class of trees, the coffee will be certain to suffer from borer and leaf disease. from what i have said in the previous sentence it is evident that the regulation of the shade is of great importance. and, as the plantation ages, this thinning of the shade, lopping sometimes lower boughs, removing others, and cutting down occasional trees, requires constant attention. as a rule the whole shade should be carefully re-regulated at the end of every second year, or at the beginning of the third, when it will generally be found that, in consequence of the spread of the trees, there will be much thinning to be done. to cut down trees without injury to the coffee is, i need hardly say, a very nice operation, though it is one that the natives of the wooded countries, and especially the labourers from the foot of the ghauts, are very expert at. it should never be attempted with coolies from the plains, who, of course, are unused to climbing trees, and have no experience of woodland work. the branches and tops of the trees to be felled are first removed, after a stout rope has been attached to a fork, above the point to be cut, and the end of the rope is then run round the butt of an adjacent tree, and held by a man. a huge bough is cut and falls with a threatening crash, but so well is the end of the rope judged that the ends of the twigs just touch the tops of the coffee trees. then a coolie proceeds to lop off the smaller twigs and branches of the bough, and as he does so, it is gradually lowered till all are removed, and the bough, bereft of its clothing, is laid on the ground. then comes the difficult task of felling the trees between the rows of coffee, a work of great nicety, which is partly effected by the final stroke of the axe, and partly by hauling a rope attached to the top of the tree. when a tree cannot be felled between the rows, it may often be felled so as to fall into the fork of an adjacent tree, and there it may be either left till it decays or let gently down to the ground, if the stem is a thin one. bamboo ladders should be used to ascend the tree up to the first branch, as, though coolies can readily ascend without them, their bare legs are apt to suffer, and it is for this reason that coolies often try to shirk joining the shade party. the branches lopped off should be cut up into short lengths, and piled between the coffee trees. such branches and twigs, as they decay, form good manure. i have said that the proper regulation of shade is a work of great importance. it is also one of great difficulty, for the person who marks the shade trees to be removed must have a thorough knowledge of the kinds most worthy of preservation, and at the same time bear in mind the aspects, the gradients, the relation of the earth to the sun during the hottest months, and the declination of the sun; and, as the planter will be usually marking shade trees in the morning, he must keep constantly in view the points where the sun will strike in during the hot afternoon hours. then as he looks at a shade tree that has shot up to a great height, he must consider whether its shade is thrown on the coffee it once shaded or on to the top of an adjacent shade tree, and, as regards such a tree, he will often find that he is keeping on his land a tree that is merely throwing a shade on to another shade tree. i was particularly struck with this lately when looking at some howligay trees that had shot up to a great height, and which i at once ordered to be removed, as i found that their shade was now simply thrown on to the surrounding shade trees. in short, the trees were now doing no good, and were therefore merely doing harm by occupying the land and robbing it of food. i have said that when marking shade the planters must bear in mind the relation of the earth to the sun during the hottest months, and this caution is very necessary, because if he should happen to be marking trees in january for removal after the crop season is over, and does not remember that the earth is daily shifting its position, he will find that he will have made many mistakes as to the trees which should be preserved, and that a tree that is very well placed for blocking out the hot afternoon sun in january, may be of very little use in march and april. after a shade tree has been cut down it is necessary, in order to prevent the stump throwing up suckers, to remove the bark thoroughly from the stump, and also from any roots that project from the surface of the ground. if this is not done the stump and its roots will live on and take up manure intended for the coffee. it is important to remember that, in many parts of an estate, as the shade trees become lofty the sun will come in, just as it would on a man's head if he carried his umbrella erect, and at the end of a long pole, and i have seen coffee trees so much exposed to the sun as to require fresh shade to be planted near them, not withstanding that some of the coffee trees in question were almost touching the stem of a very tall shade tree. when the planter observes that the sun is thus likely to come in from the shooting up of the shade trees, he should plant fresh shade. nor need he be afraid of putting down too much, for it is easily removed if this is done when the trees are small, and then it must also be remembered that, as the plantation ages, both coffee and soil call for more shade, as the growing power of the land, and its ability to keep the trees fresh and green, naturally diminishes with the advance of time. whenever, then, the appearance of the coffee shows that it is needed, fresh shade should be at once supplied, for every yellow leaved patch of coffee in a plantation is a breeding ground for the borer insects, which will gradually spread into the adjacent coffee, where their presence will never be detected till hot, dry seasons occur, which they are sure to do sooner or later. when spreading from such yellow patches the borer insect may not attack strong trees. on the contrary, it will generally attack those which are in a dried up condition either from weakness of constitution or because they are suffering from the effects of an over heavy crop, but in such trees it will surely obtain a footing, and so be ready to spread further when hot, dry seasons arrive. when, then, the appearance of the coffee shows that more shade is required, charcoal trees should be planted, and on the northern side of them cuttings of the good caste shade trees should be put down; and i particularly emphasize the side for the nurse because it is thus interposed between the sun and the permanent shade trees to be sheltered. when the permanent shade trees have grown to the required size, the charcoal trees should be removed. it must be remembered that the permanent shade trees will grow very slowly unless sheltered by such nurses from the sun, and further, that the older the land the slower is the growth of all trees. it is most necessary, then, in all old land to dig holes at least four feet deep, and fill them with some good top soil from the forest, or with ordinary soil and cattle manure and bones. in order fully to protect the young shade trees from cattle and the sun, i now erect a square of fencing composed of palm tree slabs, and so high that cattle cannot reach over it, and, in the dry season, place some toddy tree branches across the square so as to shade the plants put down. in each square i plant a cub busree cutting, or one of the five kinds of trees recommended; sow several jack seeds, and a charcoal tree as nurse. in the case of the tree cutting failing to thrive, the planter will then always have a jack tree to fall back on. should the cutting succeed the jack plant may be removed. i may here add that the parts requiring more shade are naturally more apparent in the hot season, and the planter should then put down a short pole with a flag at the end of it, whenever more shade is required. this will greatly facilitate the work of shade planting in the monsoon, as at that time the places where more shade is required are not very readily apparent, as all the coffee then becomes more or less green. i have alluded to the fact that parasites (kanarese--_bundlikay_) attack the shade trees, and especially the nogurigay and jack trees. they should, of course, be cut off along with the bough on which they may happen to be growing; and it is important to remember that this should be done before the seed ripens, which is usually at the beginning of the monsoon. the latter end of april is the best time to carry out this work, as, if deferred till rain begins, the trees become slippery, and so dangerous for the climbers. i have pointed out that the five trees i have recommended as being the best for shade can all be grown from cuttings, and it is important to point out that these should be taken from young and vigorous trees, and not, as is often done, from trees which are declining from age. there are some useful remarks at pages 88 and 89 of mr. graham anderson's "jottings on coffee," on the preparation and planting of cuttings. the holes should be two feet deep, and filled up to three-quarters of the depth with soil. the cuttings should be six feet long with a fork at the top. they should be made at the beginning of the monsoon, and left in a cool and shady place in order to thicken the sap, the lower extremity of the cutting should be cut off with a curved slope, like the mouth-piece of a flageolet. put the cutting gently into the hole, so as not to fray the bark, and tread down firmly. wounds should be smeared with a mixture of cowdung and mud. the attí (_ficus glomerata_) may also be grown from cuttings, but these should be rather thinner than those taken from the five trees first mentioned as being the best to plant for shade. it has been previously pointed out that charcoal trees are valuable as nurses. they may be raised by clearing and burning a small piece of jungle, or by putting some virgin jungle soil in a bed and watering it, when charcoal plants will spring up. when a few inches high, take the plants up carefully with a ball of earth and transplant into baskets filled with jungle top soil. put out the plants with their baskets in holes about the size of those usually made for coffee plants, and early in the monsoon, and see that they are well protected from cattle. in conclusion, i think it well to mention that we have on my property, so far as i am aware, by far the oldest artificial shading of coffee in india. for many years all the estates in mysore relied on the original forest shade, but mine was partly destroyed by a running fire when the clearings were first made, and some of the land was cleared wholly down, burned off, and planted with the most desirable kinds of shade trees. our experience on this property dates back to the year 1857, and is therefore particularly valuable, for the defects connected with some trees were not apparent for as much, in one important case, as thirty years. footnotes: [52] i regret that i am unable to give the botanical name of this tree, and of some others subsequently mentioned. i have drawn up a list of trees, some of which may be retained till better trees can be grown to supply their places, and also of other trees which are positively injurious to coffee, but do not publish them, partly in order to save space, and partly because i have not been able to ascertain the botanical names of all the trees in question. [53] my manager last year weighed and counted the jack fruits from a single tree. there were forty fruits which weighed 572 lbs. the largest fruit weighed 30 lbs. chapter xii. manure. the question of shade is, as we have seen, a highly complicated one, and is also, as we shall see, a cause of complication in the subject we are now about to consider; for, were no shade required, the subject of manuring the land for coffee would, comparatively speaking, be a simple one. and it is very important to call attention to this point, because hitherto planters have not in any way allowed shade to disturb their manurial practices, but have applied their manures equally to land under the direct shade of the trees, and to the open spaces between them, which are only under the influence of lateral shade, or, in other words, have manured their land as if there were no shade trees on it whatever. a little consideration, however, will show that the kinds and qualities of the manures applied should be quite different under the shade of trees, from what they ought to be in the open spaces between them. for, close around the stems of the shade trees we have a large leaf deposit, which manures the soil and maintains its physical condition, and, at the same time, comparatively speaking, small crops of coffee, while in the open spaces between the shade trees we have a small amount of leaf deposit, and much heavier crops of coffee. if, then, we further take into consideration the fact that the soil between the shade trees is liable to be deteriorated by a greater exposure to wash and to baking from the sun after the soil has been thoroughly soaked, it is evident that manuring should be largely varied both in quality and quantity, if we are at once to manure efficiently and economically. and i desire the more particularly to call attention to this matter, because no planter, as far as i am aware, has at all studied the subject. and it is principally of very great importance because what we call bulk manures, i.e., farmyard manures, pulp, composts, and top soil, are difficult to procure in large quantities, and cost much to apply, as they have to be carried on coolies' heads, and often for considerable distances, down the rows of coffee trees. the more, then, we can limit our applications of bulk manure to such lands as urgently require them, the better shall we be able to devote a full supply to the soil which most requires such manures. now if we apply our bulk manures to the land directly under the shade trees, we shall certainly be injudiciously using our mammal resources, because the leaf deposit under the shade trees supplies exactly that kind of padding which gives its chief value to bulk manures, and, if these opinions are sound, it therefore follows that we should, as a rule, apply all our bulk manures to the spaces between the shade trees, and only apply them to the land under the shade trees, when, from the soil being of a clayey character, an occasional application of bulk manure may be required to improve the texture of the soil, or, in other words, make it more easily workable. and it also follows that we should only apply bones, lime, and ashes, fish and oil-cake to the coffee under the direct influence of the shade trees. but there is another question as regards manuring under the shade trees that requires careful consideration, and that is, whether we can, by heavy manuring, produce in such situations a larger crop than we could by a small application of manure, and from an experiment made by the late mr. pringle, formerly chemist on messrs. matheson and co.'s estates in coorg, it would seem to be a waste of money to supply more than a very moderate amount to the coffee directly under the shade trees, for he found that a considerable increase in the quantity of manure gave no increase in the crop. but i do not, of course, accept this experiment as conclusive, as it was made with bones alone, and it is possible that a more favourable result might have been obtained had an application of foliage stimulating manure been used as well, for the growth of new wood under shade is extremely slow, and it is probable that this slow growth, by giving an insufficient supply of young wood, is really the main cause of the yield under the shade trees being so much less than that from the coffee in the spaces between them. but the whole of this branch of my subject requires further careful experiment and observation before we can arrive at any definite conclusion. in the meanwhile, and till it can be shown that, with the aid of foliage stimulating manures, we can increase the yield under the direct shade of the trees, it is evident that as coffee under direct shade produces less than coffee in the spaces between the shade trees, the coffee that produces more should have a larger supply of manure. it is hardly necessary to add here that, in order to prevent confusion, the whole field of coffee to be operated on should first of all be manured evenly all over with the quantity and quality of manure which it is advisable to use under the shade trees. after that, additional manure should be applied to the spaces between the shade trees. it is quite clear to me that a great economy of manure would be effected by this practice, and that from not applying bulk manures to the coffee under the shade trees, the physical condition of the land in the spaces between them could be maintained in a much more satisfactory degree than it is at present. then there is another question which, i believe, has hitherto escaped notice, and that is, as to whether we should not make some alteration in the kinds of manure so as to suit them better to the various aspects we have to deal with, for even in land of the same quality, and treated in precisely the same way, there is a considerable difference in the appearance of the coffee when we pass from an eastern or southern aspect to a western one, and a very great and marked difference is at once perceptible when you enter the coffee on a northern aspect. in the last-named case the coffee is nearly always green, and steadily but slowly growing, while on the southern and eastern aspects the coffee in the hot weather is apt to present a dried-up and sickly appearance. then on these two last-named aspects there is commonly an over supply of suddenly grown wood. we should therefore, i think, increase foliage-stimulating manures on northern aspects, and diminish them on the southern and eastern, while we should have a medium degree of such manure in the case of western aspects. it seems to me that the reasoning in favour of foliage-stimulating manures on northern aspects is the same as in the case of coffee trees under direct tree shade, which always prevents the rapid growth of new wood. but on this point, as well as on that in the previous section, experiments must be made before any definite conclusion can be arrived at. the quantity of manure that should be annually supplied is evidently a matter of the greatest importance, and here the first thing to be borne in mind is that of the four manures we require, namely, lime, nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, the first two are somewhat easily removed from the soil, while the last two are firmly retained by it. it is evident, then, that lime and nitrogen should be applied little and often, while phosphoric acid and potash may be applied either little and often, or in large quantities at longer intervals, whichever may be found most convenient. but in the opinion of an eminent agricultural chemist whom i have specially consulted on the subject, nitrogen, if applied in slowly decomposing form, as for instance, in the shape of oil-cake, would only be lost in an infinitesimal degree, but still he admits that there would be a loss, and as we cannot tell what that loss may amount to under the influence of our tropical climate and deluges of rain, it would be safe to assume that nitrogen, as well as lime, should be put down at short intervals and, in order to make up for the escape of these manures from the soil, in larger proportions than either phosphoric acid or potash. i have pointed out that phosphoric acid is retained by the soil, and it is important to remember that it is only removed by the crops of coffee to the extent of from one-and-a-half to two pounds per acre per annum, and these are two facts that every planter should bear in mind when he contemplates following the common custom of manuring with bones. for if he remembers that about one-half of the bones consists of phosphate of lime, and that about one-half of the latter consists of phosphoric acid, he will at a glance see, when he estimates the amount of phosphoric acid removed by the crops, that if he puts down even 100 lbs. of bones per acre he will have put down enough phosphoric acid for about twelve crops of coffee. and yet for a planter to put down 3 cwt. of bones per annum regularly is quite a common thing, and a friend of mine, after having manured his land one year with bones to a moderate amount, put down each year, for the two following years, no less than three-quarters of a ton of bone-meal per acre. so that, making a large allowance for the phosphoric acid taken up by the shade trees, he had put down, in these last two years, enough phosphoric acid to last for the crops of 300 years. from the application of bones he had undoubtedly obtained a great benefit, but i feel sure that it was from the lime and the nitrogen of the bones, for the application of bones that preceded the two applications of three-quarters of a ton per annum must have left the soil amply supplied with phosphoric acid. now assuming that the soil required lime, and a moderate degree of nitrogen, these could have been supplied far more cheaply, and just as efficiently had my friend applied a small dressing of ordinary lime, and some oil-cake, and i am the more convinced of the accuracy of this view after visiting mr. reilly's hillgrove estate near coonoor on the slopes of the nilgiri hills, and hearing the result of his very long experience. bones he had never used but once, and that on a small portion of the estate, but he had always applied lime once every three years at the rate of about 4 or 5 cwt. per acre; the other manures he had used were cattle manure, and town manure from coonoor, and these added to the small quantity originally in the soil, had supplied his coffee amply with the 2 lbs. of phosphoric acid annually removed by the crops. after much consideration, and hearing mr. reilly's views, it seems quite clear to me that as but a small quantity of phosphoric acid is removed by the crops, and as that manure is firmly retained by the soil, bones need only be used at long intervals provided lime is regularly applied in small quantities. and next, before we can approach, or attempt to determine, the quantity of manure required, we have to take into account the loss by wash, either from the surface or by downward percolation, and the absorption of manure by the roots of the shade trees. we have also to take into consideration the manure returned by the shade trees in the shape of fallen leaves, and the ammonia derived from the rainfall, so that it is impossible to state with any approach to accuracy the amount of manure that should be applied. we can only say then that, whatever the required amount may be it must be very considerable, for in addition to the above-mentioned losses of manure, we require a considerable amount for the demands of the coffee trees, and that, further, it must vary with the amount of the rainfall, and the retentive or non-retentive character of the soil. the crop, it is true, takes comparatively little from the soil, and mr. john hughes, agricultural chemist, 79, mark lane,--points out in his "reports on ceylon soils and coffee manures," that 5 cwt. of parchment coffee an acre, which is an average crop over a long series of years, only removes from the soil- lbs. nitrogen 8-1/4 potash 7-1/2 phosphoric acid 1-1/2 lime 1 -----total 18-1/4 assuming then, he tells us, that the small quantity of potash required could be supplied by the soil, and that the pulp is returned to it, the loss by the crops could be fully supplied by 100 lbs. of castor cake and 10 lbs. of bones per acre. then if we require much more from the plant than the production of crop (for we expect it, in addition, to grow wood for the succeeding crop, and during this process the plant grows much superfluous wood, besides suckers, which have to be removed), it must be remembered that all primings and superfluous wood are left on the land. what there is actually carried off it is really very small in quantity. why, then, it will naturally be asked, is it necessary that so much manure should be present in the soil if we wish to grow good coffee and have continuously good crops, and why is it that if manuring is neglected you will soon find that it is only the rich hollows that are able to maintain the coffee in good condition and produce good crops continuously? to such questions no distinct answer can be given, and we can only conjecture that coffee, when it wants its food, must, for some unknown reason, have a considerable supply at hand. there is, however, one test which, i think, always shows conclusively whether this food is present in the quantity required to supply the needs of the plant. just before the hot weather the coffee trees throw out a small flush of young wood. now if the trees have given a fair average crop, and at the same time have a good show of bearing wood for the next season's crop, and are also throwing out a good supply of vigorous young shoots, then you may be sure that your land is well fed. but if the trees throw out no young shoots at that time, or very few, then you will know that your land is not as well fed as it ought to be. it might naturally be supposed that i could furnish some guide to the planter, from our experience in mysore, as to the quantity of manure that should be put down, but i regret to say that i am unable to do so, as i know of no estate where a regular and continuous system of manuring has been carried out. but in north coorg, and very close to the mysore border, the continuous practice on mr. mangles's coovercolley estate of 500 acres gives a fairly approximate idea of what can keep an estate in a well-fed condition. there the practice has been to put down every third year from 7 to 10 cwt. of bone-meal an acre, and one-third of a bushel of cattle manure, and, besides this, composts of pulp, mixed with top soil and lime. now this is the finest estate i ever saw. the coffee was even and of a beautiful colour, and when i saw it towards the end of 1891 there was a fair crop of coffee on the trees, and an ample supply of young wood for the following crop, and the land was so well fed with nitrogen that an experimental application of nitrate of soda to a part of the land had produced no perceptible effect on the trees. from what i have previously said as to the application of bone-meal being overdone, i think it probable that the estate would have presented as good an appearance had the land, after once being well stored with phosphoric acid, been treated with small applications of lime instead of bones. then another estate i saw in 1891 in coorg, in the bamboo district, furnished some guide as to the amount of manure required where cattle manure was not available, and on the estate in question, which had both a good crop on the trees and ample wood for the future, i was informed that, in the year previous, 6 cwt. of castor cake and 3 cwt. of bones had been applied per acre, and that for the four preceding years 4-1/3 cwt. of manure, containing 2 parts of castor to i of bones, had been applied, but that the last-named amount had been found to be too small. the reader will find in the chapter on coorg some further information, which has since been supplied to me by mr. meynell, on this point. the quantity of manure that should be put down at a time is evidently a matter of great importance, as if you begin by putting down a large application you are certain to have an over-heavy crop, followed by exhaustion, and a very poor crop the following year, while the object of all intelligent fruit cultivators is to work for moderate even crops. it seems quite clear, then, that we should manure little and often, as you thereby not only avoid the risk of over-heavy crops, but economize your manure. for is it not obvious that if you put down at once a supply of nitrogen and lime to last for three years, you increase the risk of loss from wash and downward percolation? and it must also be considered that an over-heavy crop leaves the trees in an exhausted and dried-up state to go through the hot weather, when they will be liable to be attacked by the borer insect, which, as we shall afterwards more particularly see, delights in dry wood. so that when we further take into consideration the injury to the constitution of the trees which is caused by over-heavy crops, we need have no doubt that there is much reason to dread them. i would therefore strongly deprecate, for the preceding reasons, heavy manuring (even the mind may be over-manured in the eager desire to arrive at a cultured intellect), and would advise that a beginning be made with a moderate application, and, if this is found to be insufficient, that the amount be gradually increased till the trees show that they can with case give regular average crops. if cattle manure or jungle top soil is available, a quarter of a bushel a tree may be annually applied of either, accompanied by 3 cwt. of bone-meal. and, if neither of the two former sources are available, then 3 cwt. of bone-meal and 2 cwt. of white castor cakes would be a reasonable application. after applying 3 cwt. of bone-meal per acre for three consecutive years the land ought to be amply stocked with phosphoric acid, and the bone-meal should be discontinued, and its place supplied with small applications of lime, either annually or at intervals of two or three years, should the latter course be more convenient. and subsequently, when there is reason to suppose that the land requires a fresh supply of phosphoric acid, an application of bone-meal may again be used. i would particularly warn the planter against over-manuring light dry soil, or south and south-western aspects, or the upper and drier portions of eastern aspects, as an over-heavy crop on these aspects is very perilous even with good shade, for we may not have a drop of rain from november till april, and should such a drought occur, and be preceded by a dry season (and such seasons occurred in 1865 and 1866, and caused the great attack of the borer insect, which was so fatal to all insufficiently-shaded coffee, and from which even well-shaded coffee suffered to some extent), or should even a single dry, hot season follow immediately after the crop is picked, there would be sure to be a serious drying up of the plant, with but small chance of its bearing anything worth having the season following, and very great risk of a severe attack of borer. but on northern and north-western aspects the land is not exposed to parching east winds, and, as we have seen, has a temperature about one-half cooler than that on a southern aspect, and the planter may therefore on such aspects manure with greater freedom. but even in these aspects i am sure that over-heavy manuring will lead ultimately to injury to the trees, and, in a series of years, to the production of a smaller amount of coffee. i have indicated the amount of manure which in my opinion ought to be put down when manure is applied for the first time on a plantation, and if the plantation is of a flat character, or only on very moderate slopes, the manure should be evenly applied all over it. but if, as often happens, there are hollows and ridges on the land, then the ridges should be, as a rule, much more heavily manured than the hollows, for which a very little manure will suffice, as so much is washed into them, and they are, besides, much richer to start with. it is very important to note at the outset all those spots which, in the original forest, are very rich, so that the manure may be applied accordingly, and though, as i have said, the ridges as a rule are poor, there are many instances where the top of a ridge, from being pretty wide, is rich, though the sides of it for a little way down are nearly always poor. i have lately been minutely examining old forest land, with the view of removing top soil from it, and have been much struck with the variation in the depth of the rich surface soil. we have next to consider the time of year at which manure should be applied to the land, and here we shall find that the planter, like the farmer, often has to do things when he can, and not when he should, and though, from the risk of loss by wash alone, there can be no doubt that all manures should be put down after the heavy rains of the monsoon are over, it is difficult to see how this can be carried out in the case of bulk manures, on account of the difficulty of getting enough labour to at once cope with the ordinary estate work, and apply a class of manure which absorbs so much hand labour. then there is the difficulty of carting manure at that season when the roads, which are not macadamized, would be cut to pieces. but this difficulty could be overcome were a sufficient number of storage sheds provided to which the manure might be carted during the dry season. but the sheds would cost a good deal of money, and the cost of the manure would be increased by the cost of extra handling, or in other words putting the manure in the sheds and taking it out again. so that i am inclined to think that it would be better to apply, by direct cartage from the cattle sheds, as much bulk manure as can be applied in the month of september, and the remainder at any convenient time after crop. another great objection to applying manure after crop, and before the monsoon, is, that you stimulate the growth of the weeds which spring up with the early rains, and also much growth of suckers, and superfluous wood in the coffee, all of which have to be handled off at considerable expense, whereas, it is hardly necessary to say, that the weed growth is smaller at the end of the monsoon, and the force of the plant directed rather to the maturing of the berry than the growth of surplus wood. but in the case of light manures such as bones and castor cake, there is no difficulty in applying them in september, and an effort should certainly be made to put them down then. another advantage of manuring at the end of the monsoon would be that the planter could then clearly perceive what trees would be certain to give a good crop, and give them an extra quantity of manure, and also diminish his application of manure in the case of such parts of the plantation as might be yielding a small crop. i may here mention that, from reliable information received from coorg, results there have shown that it is best to apply a portion of the manure after crop to strengthen the blossom, and a portion after the heavy monsoon rains are over to strengthen the trees and assist in maturing the crop. but the most important point, perhaps, as regards the best time for manuring is the bearing that the time of manurial application has on leaf disease, and mr. marshall ward in his third report on leaf disease (p. 15) has some most valuable remarks on this question. "the object of the planter should be," he says "to produce mature leaves as soon as possible and keep them on the branches as long as possible." now if leaves are produced in april and may they become attacked by the fungus while still young, and in august and september the ripening crop is left bare on the branches. but the leaves which were in bud in december are matured and well hardened, and have already, by living longer, done much service to the tree. he then points out that when certain districts in ceylon suffered from a bad attack of leaf disease in july, "a large surface of young and succulent leaves were ready to receive the spores of the hemeleïa." the germination of the spores was rapid, and the young leaves were soon destroyed. the planter then, he says, should manure and prune so as to grow matured leaves during those months when the least damp and wind may be expected. and the same remarks are evidently equally valuable as regards rot, and show us the necessity of modifying our manurial and pruning practices so as to enable the tree the better to contend against it as well as leaf disease. all manuring, then, which leads to the production of young succulent foliage just at the beginning of the rains should be avoided, and the same remark applies equally to pruning. but i shall again return to the subject when writing on pruning. as to the best method of applying the manure, great differences of opinion and practice exist. at one time in mysore it was customary to cut a shallow trench in the shape of a half moon around the upper sides of the trees about two feet from the stem, and deep enough to contain the manure, which was then covered in with the soil taken out. but this process was found to be expensive, and of course took much labour, which is sometimes extremely scarce, and on my property we have for some years past--excepting in the case of manuring with fish, which is liable to be carried off by birds, dogs, jackals, and village pigs--scattered all the manure on the surface, and close around the stem of the tree, with the idea that the manure would be less likely to be taken up by weeds, and by the roots of the shade trees. but in connection with this system there is a fact which i did not take into account, but which is well worthy of careful consideration, and that is, that the tendency of such a system of manuring is to keep the coffee roots close to the surface. now it has been suggested by the late mr. pringle, whose opinion on another matter i have previously given, that this would have an unfavourable effect, if we had, as sometimes happens, deficient blossom showers; as in that case, and with many rootlets near the surface, a stimulus would be given to the plant which would induce it to throw out the blossom when there was not enough rain to bring it to perfection; whereas, if, by putting down the manure more deeply we attracted the roots downwards, the blossom buds could only be started after such an amount of rain as would give the soil such a soaking that a successful blossom would be insured. there certainly seems to me to be a great deal in this idea, but i am not aware that we have had any experiments made side by side as regards surface manuring, and manuring in pits, and therefore am not in a position to express a decided opinion on the subject, but theoretically there would seem to be much in favour of burying manure in pits, and it seems certain that the manure would be less likely to be taken up by weeds than in the case of surface manuring. i need hardly add that in the case of all steep parts of a plantation all manure should be, if not buried deeply, at least covered with soil after the digging of a trench large enough to contain the manure. on the plantations on the nilgiri hills the manure is put into pits 2-1/2 feet long, 1 foot 6 inches wide, and 1 foot deep on the lower side of the pit, which of course would make the side of the pit on the upper side of them much more than one foot in depth. the trenches or pits are dug across the slope and in front of each coffee tree, and in the line (i.e., not in the centre of each set of four plants). these pits are not filled up to the brim, but the manure is placed in the bottom of them, and is then covered with soil, so that the pit is about one-half filled up. the soil taken out is heaped in a curve above the pit so as to prevent heavy rain washing down into the pit. when more manure is required to be added--say bone-meal--it is scattered on the soil in the pit, or the top soil in it is scraped off and the manure scattered and then covered up. i now propose to consider our manurial resources in detail, and shall begin with the first stay of all agriculture, farmyard manure, as to the value of which for coffee i have never met with any difference of opinion. but there are many objections to relying on farmyard manure, or, at least, to applying it on a large scale, as, if the planter keeps many cattle of his own, he runs great risk of his herd being invaded by disease, and the difficulty and expense of feeding a large number of cattle is very considerable. in some cases it is possible to hire cattle from the natives, and this is done occasionally, and at the rate of 15 rupees a month for 100 head, but here again risk from disease is often incurred, and if it broke out, the natives would withdraw their cattle. the question then naturally arises whether, considering the great cost and trouble attendant on manufacturing cattle manure on a large scale, we cannot find some substitute that would diminish the quantity now required. and here it is important to ask what farmyard manure consists of. it consists, then, of the excreta of animals, and the vegetable matter used as litter. from a chemical point of view it mainly provides, in addition to the organic matter, in a slowly-acting form, lime, nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid, and from a physical point of view it furnishes a padding to maintain the texture of the soil, or, in other words, to keep it in a loose and friable condition. and with reference to this last very important point, i may remind the reader that sir john lawes has well pointed out that "all our experiments tend to show that it is the physical condition of the soil, its capacity for absorbing and retaining moisture, its permeability to roots, and its capacity for absorbing and radiating heat, that is of more importance than its strictly-speaking chemical composition." now as regards the chemical aspect of the manurial question, if we assume, as we have every reason to do from the small quantity of potash required, and its supply from decomposing stones in the land, that the potash does not require to be taken into account, we shall find that our nitrogen and phosphoric acid can be far more cheaply supplied by fish, or by a mixture of bone-meal and oil-cake than by farmyard manure, and should it be found that potash does require to be added, we could obtain it more cheaply from ashes or kainit. then in order to provide the padding that farmyard manure supplies, and to furnish nitrogen in a slowly-acting form, we could collect dry leaves, twigs from jungle trees, ferns, and any other available vegetable matter, form them into a compost with some earth, or jungle top soil, and apply the mixture to the land. with such a compost as i have suggested, bone-meal or fish-manure in small quantity might be mixed, and we should then have a very good substitute for all the chemical and physical advantages to be derived from the very best kind of farmyard manure. but there is another way of arriving at the same end, which is open to many planters, and that is by collecting top soil from the fringe of jungle commonly left round the plantation, or from the uncultivated jungle of the estate, or from adjacent pieces of jungle land. and such pieces of land varying from ten to twenty acres can commonly be purchased, and can be used to supply top soil. this, of course, has in it much vegetable matter in various stages of decay, and a mixture of it with a small quantity of bone-meal would form a manure superior, as i shall afterwards show when i come to treat of top soil, to farmyard manure chemically, and superior to it from a physical point of view. to such local manurial resources i would call particular attention, as planters have hitherto relied far too exclusively on cattle manure, and imported manures, such as bones, fish, and oil-cake, and it is evident that we could dispense with much of all these manures if we made a full use of the resources i have recommended. in concluding my remarks on cattle manure i may observe that it is both costly to supply and to apply to the land. it is difficult, of course, to make exact calculations on the subject, as the facilities for supplying litter vary so much, but generally speaking it costs from 70 to 80 rupees an acre if we manure at about the rate of a third of a bushel per tree. i now turn to a consideration of the value of jungle top soil, a manure to which i have only lately given particular attention, though i was, of course, well aware of its value in a general way, and may begin by stating that two samples of what we were using on my estates have been analyzed by dr. voelcker, the object being partly to ascertain the value of the soil and partly to compare its cost with the cost of cattle manure. after estimating the cost of making cattle manure, and calculating as closely as possible the cost of obtaining and applying jungle top soil from land adjacent to the plantation, it was found that in the case of the best sample of top soil, obtained by removing only four or five inches of the soil, it paid nearly twice as well to use it as a manurial agent as it would to use cattle manure, and i may add that three tons of the soil contain the same manurial matter as two tons of ordinary well-made english farmyard manure. in the case of the second sample analyzed, and which i was sure from the character of the land must be of inferior quality, it was found that 2-1/4 tons of the soil would contain as much manurial value as one ton of farmyard manure, and that the cost of using the two materials would be about the same. i had also analyzed at the same time a sample of a kind of decayed pink-coloured rock, as i had found that coffee had thriven well in the pink soil which had evidently been formed from the rock in question, but the manurial value was so small that dr. voelcker thought that it might merely be of use in improving the physical condition of the soil. i however applied it to some backward coffee, and also applied some of the best top soil to a contiguous piece of backward coffee, and was much surprised to find that the pink soil, to which little direct manurial value was attached by dr. voelcker, showed results superior to the best top soil applied alongside of it, and i am now applying it on a large scale. this soil, i may mention, is applied by the natives to the surface of their vegetable beds. they do not attach any manurial value to it, but apply it to keep the vegetables cool, as the soil has quite a remarkable effect in keeping itself cool while the adjacent soil is quite hot, and i have now applied it to the flower beds near my house, and also to the walks around the bungalow. this pink decayed rock is sometimes streaked with a white decayed rock, which the natives call jadi mannu, and sometimes the latter so much preponderates that it looks nearly white. i am told by the natives that if you mix the red and white earth together and apply the mixture to the surface of the land it will never get dry.[54] in concluding my remarks on soil applications, i may observe that if top soil costs the same price as cattle manure, the former is to be preferred for four reasons. it is much more easily handled and applied; it is a better substance for mixing with other manures, such as bonedust or ashes, for instance; it has a better physical effect on the soil; and is nearly free from weed seeds which abound in cattle manure. i may add that i have since made a calculation with the object of seeing how, by the addition of manures to the kemmannu soil, i could make a mixture which would have all the fertilizing ingredients of farmyard manure in addition to the advantages possessed by the soil, and which i have just enumerated. i find that if to 83 parts of the soil i added 1 part of bonedust, 12 parts of castor cake, 2 parts of potash salt, and 2 parts of lime, i should make up a compost equal to good english farmyard manure, and at but a slightly increased cost, which would be more than covered by the special physical and other advantages arising from the use of kemmannu. the pulp of the coffee is very apt to be carelessly treated, and it is important to remember that mr. hughes, in his "report on ceylon coffee, soils, and manures," estimates that, _if properly preserved_, two tons of pulp are equal to one ton of good farmyard manure. but it must not be washed, as it often is by being run into a pulp pit with water, or nearly all its valuable constituents would be lost. it should be mixed, he tells us, with cattle dung, or, if that is not procurable, with liberal supplies of lime, and he also suggests that it should be put under cover day by day. we have adopted on my property a plan which i think in these climates is the cheapest and best. a layer of top soil is placed in the road alongside of the coffee where we desire to use the manure; then each day's pulp is carted direct to the plantation and scattered over the top soil, and more top soil added, till we have a layer as thick as we find convenient, but of course not so thick as to prevent carts passing over it to other parts of the plantation. on these layers of pulp and top soil lime or bonedust may be sprinkled. dry fallen leaves is another local resource which should by no means be neglected, and they are commonly used for littering the cattle sheds. such leaves are about equal to cattle dung. a sample of those we use was analyzed by dr. voelcker, and the result gave 1 per cent. of phosphate of lime, 1 per cent. of ammonia, and 3/4 per cent. of potash. green twigs[55] cut from jungle trees are of considerable manurial value, and the natives seem well aware of the value of the different kinds. a sample of the following six kinds which are most approved of by the natives--namely, japel, nairal, ubble, gowl, mutty and hunchotee, was analyzed by dr. voelcker, and the result gave 1/4 per cent. phosphate of lime, 3/4 per cent. of potash, 1 per cent. of lime, and 3/4 per cent. of nitrogen. ferns are of considerable manurial value, and are rich in potash, and they should be used to litter the cattle sheds. burnt earth has been formerly used in ceylon, and has been recommended by mr. pringle for use in coorg, but i have no experience of its use, but if it pays to use it in coorg it would pay equally well to do so in mysore. wood ashes are much valued in ceylon, where they are applied at a cost of 1s. 3-1/2d. a bushel. we buy ashes at 2 annas (less than 3d.) a bushel delivered on the estate. though costing as much as 1s. 3-1/2d. in ceylon, mr. hughes says they are the cheapest form in which potash can be supplied there. it should be remembered that the ashes of the stem wood and thick branches are not nearly so valuable as those of young branches and twigs. a good sample of the last-named contains 20-1/2 per cent. of potash and more than 30 per cent. of lime. in many places in the vicinity of the estates much good manure might often be made by cutting down weeds and jungle plants of any kind, burning them, mixed with earth, slowly, and applying the mixture to the coffee. i have only heard of one planter who used night soil. he had planks pierced with the necessary apertures, underneath which buckets with some soil in each were placed; these were removed daily and emptied into renovation pits in the coffee. anybody depositing elsewhere was fined, and the fine given to the toty, who had thus an interest in looking out for defaulters. there can be no doubt that this is an excellent system, and obviously advantageous from a sanitary point of view, and that it could with, ease be carried out on an estate where all the coolies were of the lower castes, but it could not be carried out, and it would be very unwise to attempt it, in the case of an estate on which there are poor members of the better castes. it is even important on such a property to see that no pieces of ordinary paper find their way on to the farmyard manure heap, as, when such has been detected on my property, the women of the better castes refused to carry out the manure. we have now examined what i may call the local manurial resources, and i propose to consider in detail those manures which have to be imported into the coffee districts from various quarters. of these manures lime is one of the most important, and as three samples of soil from my property were all found to be very deficient in lime, it is probable that applications of lime are as desirable in mysore generally as they are in the case of plantations on the nilgiri slopes. limestone can be procured from the interior of mysore, and also from the port of mangalore. it should always be burnt on the estate. it is a cheaper plan than having it burnt before importing it, and we got, besides, the ashes of the wood used for burning the lime. lime is as valuable ground as burnt, and when it is ground is not so liable to suffer from rain as burnt lime is. it must not be mixed with bonedust, oil-cake, or potash salts, but should be put down some weeks before these manures. lime should only be used in small quantities of half a ton or a ton an acre (it is usually used at the latter rate in ceylon), as a free use of it would favour the escape of ammonia from the soil by too rapidly converting inert into active nitrogen, and, as a neighbour of mine once found, the result would probably be a heavy crop of coffee followed by exhaustion of the tree. lime might be advantageously used more often where the land is liable to be soured, or where much vegetable matter has accumulated. it should be remembered that, as ashes contain about 30 per cent. of lime, we should diminish the quantity of lime when we have applied ashes. i have said that lime should be used at the rate of half a ton to a ton an acre, but i may remind the reader that mr. reilly had found that 4 or 5 cwt. regularly applied every three years was enough, and as to the quantity that should be used, the planter must be largely guided by the local experience. as lime is easily washed out of the soil, it seems to me that more should be applied in the case of a heavy, and less with a light rainfall. bonedust has been largely, and i think, as the reader will see from my previous remarks, very wastefully used in manuring coffee. it varies much in quality, and the purchaser would do well to obtain a guarantee as regards its genuineness. bonedust should be mixed with fine top soil, and then applied to the land, or it may be mixed with cattle manure, or applied as a surface dressing, but either of the two first-named methods of application is to be preferred. in 500 lbs. of bones there are, in round numbers, about 250 lbs. of phosphate of lime, which consists of 125 lbs. of phosphoric acid and as many of lime. i may remind the reader that 5 cwt. of parchment takes from the soil 1 lb. of lime and 1-1/2 lb. of phosphoric acid. fish manure is of great value, especially in bringing rapidly on backward or sticky coffee. a sample i have had analyzed contained 7-1/3 per cent. of ammonia and nearly 9-1/2 per cent. of phosphate of lime. the whole fish can be imported from the coast, and they should be broken up and mixed with top soil. this is not only advantageous for distributing the manure throughout the land when it is applied, but it is particularly necessary in the case of fish, as i have found by practical experience that, if applied whole and covered with soil, crows, kites, jackals and pigs dig them up and carry them off. oil-cakes of various kinds have always been a favourite manure, and it is a particularly desirable one, because the nitrogen in it is in a slowly convertible form. of all the cakes castor is said to be of the highest manurial value (though an analysis i have had made of ground nut cakes gives a better result in nitrogen), and besides nitrogen it contains phosphate of lime, magnesia, and potash. in an analysis i had made of brown castor oil-cake, i.e., cake made after crushing the entire seeds, there was over 4 per cent. of phosphate of lime, or about equal to 5 per cent. had the cake been white castor, which is made after the seeds have been decorticated. but another sample of brown castor which was analyzed for me, only gave a little more than 2-3/4 per cent. of phosphate of lime. from this difference, and from the general consideration of the differences of all seeds in particular seasons, and also in some degree from various soils, it seems to me there must often be, from natural causes, a considerable difference in the value of cakes. the attention of purchasers should be directed to these differences; they should obtain, if possible, a guarantee as to the composition of the cakes they buy, and occasionally test the manure. from what i have said as to the composition of castor cake, it is probable that white castor contains from 4 to 5 per cent. of phosphate of lime, and i desire to call particular attention to this, because oil-cake is usually regarded purely as a nitrogenous source of manure, whereas one of the oil-cakes commonly used--i.e., castor cake--contains an appreciable quantity of that phosphate of lime of which bones are generally considered to be the sole suppliers by the planter. but it is evident that if we annually used 300 lbs. per acre of white castor, we should, even if it contained only 4 per cent. of phosphate of lime, be supplying six times the amount of lime and more than three times the amount of phosphoric acid removed by an average crop of coffee, and though the lime is liable to loss from waste, it must be remembered that the phosphoric acid is firmly retained by the soil. it is important to remember that castor cake should, like bones, be mixed with a considerable quantity of fine top soil, so that the manure may be widely distributed through the soil. nitrate of potash, or saltpetre, is an extremely expensive manure, and not a desirable one, because the nitrogen in it is in a too quickly assimilable form, and is very liable to be lost in drainage. but it might be used with effect, and in small quantities, for bringing forward supplies, and i am informed that for this purpose it has been used with advantage in coorg. i have used the nitrate of potash on my property--an experimental amount only--and it caused the trees to throw out strong and numerous shoots. it should be bought in the form of pure nitre. nitrate of soda is also liable to the objection that the nitrogen in it is in a too quickly available form, and liable to be lost. i have never used it on my property, but from observing its effect on an estate in coorg, and the effect it had in causing the trees to throw out a fine supply of young wood, can see that it might be used with great effect in rapidly forcing forward worn-out coffee growing on an exhausted soil. but if used for this purpose it should be backed up with a liberal supply of bones and castor cake, or of bones and farmyard manure, or bones and top soil, as, if not so backed up, the result would be unsatisfactory, if not disastrous, seeing that the nitrate of soda, if applied alone, would cause the plant to wring out everything that was available in the soil. the application of nitrate of soda on the estate alluded to was at the rate of 2 cwt. an acre, and cost 21 rupees an acre, inclusive of the cost of application. i saw the estate at the end of october, and the nitrate had been put down in march previous. the wood it had been the means of producing was very good and strong, dark green, and abundant, and the effect of the nitrate was by no means confined to one season, for the effect of the nitrate put down the year previous was still apparent. the land here evidently was short of nitrogen, and hence the good effect of the nitrate, but as i mentioned previously, an application of nitrate had produced no perceptible effect on another estate belonging to the same proprietor, which had been regularly well manured with bones and cattle manure and composts, and because, of course, the land was so well supplied with nitrogen that the coffee required no more. in concluding my remarks on the effects of nitrate of soda, i may observe that by using this manure, unremunerative coffee might be turned into a paying estate in less than two years, while without the aid of it, from three to four years would be required. potash is a manure as to which i can give no distinct information, or, at least, only information of a negative kind. i once sent out a small quantity of the muriate of potash, but my manager could perceive no effects from it whatever, and i have been informed of an instance of its having been applied to an estate in coorg at the rate of one quarter of a pound a tree, or at the rate of between 3 and 4 cwt. an acre, without any perceptible effect having been produced from the application. then it must be remembered that the quantity of potash removed by an average crop of coffee is only 7-1/2 lbs. an acre, that potash is firmly held by the soil, and that it is constantly being supplied in small quantities by the fallen leaves (these contain 3/4 per cent. of potash) of the shade trees and the decomposition of stones in the soil, and in applications of farmyard manure. and with reference to the demands for potash by the tree, i may mention that i, in conjunction with a friend, endeavoured to estimate the consumption of potash by the crop, and we sent to professor anderson, of glasgow, a carefully drawn sample of soil taken from between four coffee trees from which twelve crops of coffee had been removed without any manure being supplied, and also a sample of virgin soil adjacent to the coffee (soil similar in every respect except that it had not been cropped), and asked him to spare no expense in analysis. the result was remarkable, for the soil from which the twelve crops had been taken was found to be very little deteriorated in anything except the quantity of lime it held, which was less than in the virgin soil. the explanation evidently was that the leaves from the shade trees, and perhaps decomposing stones, had supplied all the potash removed by the crops. "why, then," asked my friend, who had called on the professor to hear the result of the investigation, "can young coffee easily be grown on the virgin soil, while it would come on very slowly and poorly in the soil from which the twelve crops of coffee had been taken?" "simply," was the answer, "because the untouched virgin soil is in a beautiful physical condition, while the soil in the plantation has been rained upon and walked upon, and thus had its physical condition impaired." i need hardly add that what i have just written is highly instructive, as it corroborates what sir john lawes has said, and which i have previously quoted, as to the physical condition of the soil being of more importance than its, strictly speaking, chemical composition, and it shows us the importance of maintaining a perfect physical condition of the soil, partly by cultivation and partly by additions of bulk manure--farmyard manure--top soil, and composts. to grow young plants in old soil requires great attention to manuring and preparing the soil, so as to supply the physical and chemical requirements necessary for the vigorous growth of the young plants. now we know that the plants thrive well in virgin soil, and we cannot do better than fill the holes with it, if it can possibly be procured within any reasonable distance. if it cannot, then the soil should be mixed with some thoroughly decayed and dried cattle manure, mixed with bonedust, and if it is desired to rush the plant forward, a slight dressing of nitrate of potash might subsequently be applied. coprolites, the supposed fossilized remains of animals, which would probably contain about 40 to 50 per cent. of phosphate of lime, have been discovered in mysore, and i am informed by an executive engineer officer in the mysore offices that they are to be found over an area of about two square miles, and at about a distance of seven miles from the maddur railway station on the bangalore mysore line. this is a highly important discovery, and, when developed, ought to be the means of furnishing the planter with cheap supplies of the mineral phosphate of lime. i may mention that as one find of coprolites has been made in the province, it is highly probable that further discoveries of this valuable manure may be made. a discovery of phosphatic nodules has also been made near trichinopoly, in the madras presidency, and though not of quality sufficiently good for export to england, has been reported on by dr. voelcker as being good enough for use amongst the plantations of southern india. a deposit has also been discovered in the cuddapah district. we have now glanced at all the local manurial resources at the command of the planters, and also the manures which may be purchased at a distance from the plantations, and as to the latter the question now naturally arises as to how the planter can best lay out his money when manuring his coffee. now i know of no planter in india who has knowledge enough to decide as to how he should lay out his money. the planter knows in a general way that he wants nitrogen, phosphoric acid, lime, and perhaps some potash, but as to the most desirable and economical sources from which to obtain them he is unable to decide, and it is not a question, even if he called in an agricultural chemist, to be decided once for all, for the prices of the various manures are constantly liable to change. here, then, is a matter that should be taken up by the government, which in this respect should follow the example of the sussex agricultural association, the chemist of which publishes every spring the most economical manurial mixture which the farmer can use for his various purposes. in this thinly populated country the well-to-do planters are too few, and the humble native planters too poor, to do what is done by the rich agricultural societies of great britain in the way of aiding the farmer. the societies at home are mainly composed of landlords and the richer tenants. the government in india is the one great landlord over two-thirds of british india, and should perform the duties of one. in concluding my remarks on manures, i need hardly say that it is of the greatest importance to keep a careful record of all the manures put down, and a special manure book should be kept for this purpose, in which notes should be kept of the effects observed. but for ready reference i have found it most convenient to have a plan made of each field on the estate, and on one side of it a space should be left in order to enter the manures applied. the date on which the field was planted might also be entered on the plan. finally, i may remind the reader of the tamul proverb which declares that "with plenty of manure even an idiot may be a successful agriculturist," and may add to it the english adage, which says to the farmer, "never get into debt, but if you do, let it be for manure." the work of bringing round an old and neglected plantation is by no means an easy one. the first thing to be done is to see to the physical condition of the land. this is sure to be hardened and deficient in vegetable matter, and this condition of things can only be remedied by applying large quantities of cattle manure or jungle top soil, or both. now it will generally be found impossible to obtain enough cattle manure to fully manure even fifty acres in the year, nor, if it could be obtained in large quantities, would cattle manure have nearly such lasting effects in ameliorating the condition of the land as would applications of jungle top soil, and besides, the latter, if procurable (which it often is), can at once be applied in large quantities, and at about one-half the cost of cattle manure, in the case, as has been previously shown, of the best top soil, and at about the same cost in the case of the most inferior quality of top soil. it is evident, then, that great efforts should be made to procure a supply of jungle top soil, and the best top soil could of course be carried from a considerable distance without exceeding the cost of cattle manure. with the cattle manure or top soil, bonedust and white castor cake should be applied at the rate of 8 cwt. an acre, and 5 cwt. of the former to 3 cwt. of the latter; and, if the planter is in a hurry for immediate results, he might put down a small dressing of nitrate of soda--say 112 lbs. an acre. with the addition of the nitrate i feel confident, after observing the results of it on one of mr. mangles' estates in coorg, that a remunerative crop would be picked in about two years after the application of the above suggested manures. i would particularly point out that, though the land, of course, must be well dug, the planter must not look to that alone for ameliorating the hardened condition of the soil, for however well dug, it will, unless cattle manure or jungle top soil should be applied, speedily run together again into as hardened a condition as ever. after the soil has been thoroughly manured and ameliorated in the manner suggested, moderate annual manuring will be quite sufficient for the future, for, as i have pointed out, coffee is not an exhaustive crop, though it is essential that a considerable supply of fertilizing matter should always be present in the soil. where top soil is not available, red soil (kemmannu), if procurable, might be used with advantage, and the results of the experiments previously given seem to show that it might be even preferable to top soil. after such an application of manure as i have above advised, the planter must be on his guard against producing such a heavy crop as will lead to an exhaustion of the tree, and a failure of the following crop. and should there be reason to apprehend an over heavy crop, it must be reduced by free handling and pruning. in the case of a neglected plantation the trees are sure to be covered with moss and rough dead bark, and it is of great importance to remove this at once, and rub the trees down thoroughly. when manuring, always leave here and there, and at some convenient point or edge of a road, a short block of coffee un-manured, perhaps about twelve trees, and next to that a similar block with double the dose of manure applied to the field, and note the results. in order to have the effects of the different systems of manuring under constant observation experiments with different manurial mixtures can be best conducted at places where four roads meet. i need hardly say that in the observation of results, nothing should be left to memory, but the planter, the moment he has observed any result, should on the spot write it in his note book. the experiments of most importance are the following:--(1) as to the manure best calculated to bring on vacancy plants rapidly in old and worn soil. (2) to determine the value of potash as manure. (3) to determine the best time of year for manuring. (4) to determine how far it pays to manure little and often, as compared with manuring seldom but in large quantities. (5) how far the value of bones is due to their lime, and how far to the phosphoric acid they contain; and (6) how far it would pay to top dress old soil with earth taken from the adjacent, grass lands. such are some of the many experiments that might usefully be tried. it would also be useful to experiment as regards native manurial practices. for instance, the growers of areca nut palms, and pepper vines, make a mixture of kemmannu, or red, or rather pink hued soil, which looks like recently-decomposed rock, black earth, and sheep dung, and apply the compost to their palms and pepper-vines, and it would be interesting to try such composts in the case of coffee. it would also be interesting to experiment with ordinary good soil taken from the grass lands. i am informed by a native farmer that the terraces on which ragi is grown, are occasionally dressed with such soil, and that the manurial effect of it lasts for two years, but no doubt the effect is much increased by the physical effect caused by the addition of the soil. the more i have studied these subjects the more am i convinced that the most, economical way of keeping up coffee land from a physical and chemical point of view is one of the many secrets yet to be discovered, and i would strongly urge planters to experiment. there is a common saying amongst farmers and planters that they cannot afford to make experiments. this is merely the refuge of the indolent and the ignorant. experiments may, of course, be made on such a scale as to be hazardous or even ruinous, but they can be made in such a way as to be neither the one nor the other. footnotes: [54] i am now so satisfied with the capacity of these soils to keep themselves cool, that i am applying them as a top dressing to land deficient in shade and dry ridges. since writing the above, i have ascertained from my manager the interesting fact that about seven weeks after putting down the red earth, newly grown white roots were found to be running all through this earth, though no rain had fallen from the time of the application of the soil up to the time the growth of the rootlets was observed. the adjacent land, to which virgin forest top soil had been applied, had no such growth of new rootlets, nor had any of the adjacent land, to which no top dressings had been applied. the red earth had evidently the power of taking in sufficient moisture from the atmosphere to stimulate a growth of young roots. the red earth was applied on february 20th, and no rain fell till april 7th. this growth of new rootlets, i may add, was also observed in another part of the plantation to which, a top dressing of the red earth had been applied. [55] the full analyses of these leaves and twigs are given in the appendix to dr. voelcker's work, "the improvement of indian agriculture," which contains other analyses of interest to the planter. this important work should, i may repeat, be in the hands of all those interested in tropical cultivations. chapter xiii. nurseries. since the introduction of the coorg plant, it has been customary for mysore planters to send annually to coorg for seed, and they have always endeavoured to obtain it from the best coffee grown on the best land, and, as the results from this practice have been very satisfactory, it may seem that no better course could be suggested. but till all courses are tried it is certainly open to doubt whether this is the best, and i am now experimenting with seeds produced not from the richest, but from the poorest and most exposed portion of a coorg estate (but of course neither so poor nor exposed as to be incapable of producing strong, healthy trees and sound seed), and i think it probable that seed from such trees will produce hardier plants than can be produced from seed gathered in rich and sheltered situations. as regards the climate from which the seed should be produced, one well-known planter, mr. edwin hunt, writing in the "madras mail," feb. 27th, 1891, says that he attaches the greatest importance to change of seed irrespective of the poorness or richness of the soil on which it has been raised, and thinks change of climate does as much as change of soil, and has for some years found it advantageous to procure seed from the wettest climate for the driest climate, and _vice versa_. i have had no experience on this point as regards coffee, but it may be interesting and useful from a shade-planting point of view, to note here that i have found that seeds of the jack tree from the dry plains of the interior produce plants which grow much more rapidly in the wet coffee districts than plants do which have been raised from local seed, and this naturally raises a question, i am now experimenting on, i.e., as to whether we should not procure coffee-seed from trees grown in the dry plains of the interior where the rainfall is less than half of that of our driest coffee districts. i may here note that coffee can be grown in low-lying sheltered land as far east as bangalore if the coffee is irrigated. i was shown in 1891 coffee that looked well, and had borne well, in mr. meenakshia's gardens, some miles from bangalore. one hundred and seventy trees planted 6 x 6 ft. in 1885 gave an appreciable crop in 1889, and in 1890 3 cwt. of clean coffee, or at the rate of upwards of a ton an acre. when i saw the trees in july, 1891, they were looking well, and had a fair crop on them. there was no shade except a bushy tree here and there. the proprietor, encouraged by his success, had been extending his cultivation. in the same garden i also saw cardamom plants about seven feet high and in blossom; these had been planted eighteen months previously. there were also some vines, grown from plants imported from caubul, which produced large fine white grapes. it is of course very important to select a good site for the nursery, and a ready command of water is essential, as it is both costly and unsatisfactory to carry to the beds even a short distance, and the aspect should, if possible, be northerly, as in that case very little shading is required if the ground is on a slope, as, if a line of trees is left at the head of the slope, a large amount of lateral shade will be thrown on to the beds. next to a northern an eastern aspect, if the land is low-lying, with a hill or sloping land rising rather abruptly behind it, is by no means a bad situation, as the sun will be entirely off the land early in the afternoon. should the planter unfortunately have to fall back on a southern aspect, this may be aided by leaving forest trees rather thickly on the western side of the nurseries so as to shield it from the afternoon sun, or a line of casuarinas may be planted on the west, and also on the southern side, so as to cast lateral shade on the nursery. a western aspect is to be deprecated, in consequence of the scorching heat of the afternoon sun. there is a common idea, which i myself once shared, that it is always best to have your nursery on new land, but this is really not at all necessary if you renew your land by carting on to it top soil from the jungle, or even a mixture of any fresh soil that has not been trampled upon, and which has been mixed with cattle manure and some bone-meal. i consider it most important to retain the same site for the nursery, because, by growing casuarinas to cast lateral shade on it, you can ultimately dispense with shading the nursery, as these trees run up quickly, and attain a great height. the light, too, comes readily through them, so that their lateral shade is most desirable, and lateral shade, it must be remembered, allows the plants to benefit by the dew fall. i may add that the height to which the trees grow enables the planter to grow them at such a distance from the beds as to be practically unable to reach them with their roots. as regards the best time for putting down the seed, opinions and practice have varied considerably, but it is now generally admitted that seed put down at christmas, which will give plants with ten leaves on them in june (the planting season) are the most suitable for new clearings. seed put down in september or october will give fine sturdy plants with one or two pairs of branches, and these are considered to be the most suitable for vacancies in old land. in order to do full justice to the last-named plants, they should, three months before planting out, be transplanted into small circular baskets, about the size of a small flower pot, and with wide spaces between the wickerwork. these baskets should be filled with a mixture of dried cattle dung and good soil; they should then be placed on the surface of the bed and touching each other, and, when the plants are put out, they should be put down with the basket, which will then be quite filled with a mass of fibrous roots all ready to extend themselves into the surrounding land. when this course is pursued the plant receives no check, and its rapid growth is insured. if this method is not adopted in the case of replanting old land, or filling up vacancies amongst old coffee, many plants are sure to perish, and the survivors will make but poor progress. but in the case of virgin soil this course, though obviously a safe one, and freeing the planters from all anxiety as to a failure in the rains, may be dispensed with. where baskets are expensive, or difficult to procure, pieces of worn out gunny bags answer the purpose fairly well, and i have seen them used on the nilgiri hills. the pits for vacancy plants should be dug shortly after the monsoon, and filled in soon after being dug, when the soil is quite dry, with a mixture of jungle top soil, bone-meal, and ordinary soil, or old, well dried cattle manure mixed with some fine bone-meal and ordinary soil. i have never used the nitrate of potash for manuring vacancy plants, but it has been used in coorg with good effect, as may be readily understood by anyone who has had any experience of that valuable manure. in conclusion, i may say that if the planter is not prepared to take all the steps necessary to insure the growth of vacancy plants in old land, he had far better not put down any at all, as he will find it to be a mere waste of money and labour, which is often more precious than money. as regards the important point of topping, there are considerable differences of opinion. i am in favour of short topping, because the coffee thus more quickly and completely covers the ground, and the trees are more easily pruned and handled, and some planters top at from three to three and a half feet. others again prefer four feet, and some four feet and a half, while i know of a planter who prefers a greater height, and cuts off the lower branches of his trees so as to turn them into an umbrella shape. the last practice i thought a very strange one once, but taking rot and leaf disease into consideration, i am by no means sure that, for our shade coffee, it is not the best, and at any rate feel quite sure that, as the lower branches in the case of highly topped trees soon become poor and thin, the practice of high topping, and removing some of the lower branches, is one to be decidedly recommended, and i am now adopting it on my estate. for, in the case of our shade plantation, if the coffee is short and thickly planted, so as to closely cover the ground, there is necessarily a great want of ventilation, and, when this is the case, rot must, from the great dampness of the ground, have a tendency to increase in the monsoon, while from there being no room for the passage of air underneath the trees, the spores of the leaf disease will be preserved from being dried up and killed during the season of strong and parching winds. but quite independently of these reasons, it seems to me that the souring of the land owing to excessive saturation would be much lessened were there free ventilation under the coffee trees. and, taking all these points into consideration, i am now letting up all my short topped trees, which is easily done by letting a sucker grow from the head of the tree, and topping it when it reaches the required height. in places which are exposed, or fairly exposed, to wind, short topping would not be attended with such disadvantages, as in the case of the land in more sheltered situations, but for all sheltered situations it certainly seems to me that, with reference to the limitation of rot, leaf disease and the souring of the land, the trees should be topped at not less than four feet and a half. the trees should not be topped until after the blossom comes out, as the result of topping at an earlier period would be to cause the trees to throw out a heavy crop on the primary branches, and more suckers, and so cause more trouble and expense in handling. it should be remembered, too, that in the case of all young plants if, before the first blossom, you cut the top, you check the growth of the roots. when topping, remove one of the topmost pair of branches as, if both are left, a split in the top of the stem is liable to occur. should waiting until after the bursting of the blossom cause the tree to grow so high as to be affected by wind, the top may be pinched off by hand, and the tree afterwards topped at the proper height. this is often necessary in the case of shaded coffee, which is, of course, liable to be drawn up. i have said that the evil of topping before blossom is, that a heavy crop is thereby thrown out on the primary branches, and i know of nothing more injurious to the young tree, or more certain to throw it out of shape, as the branch shrinks, and the tendency then is for the strongest secondary branch to take the lead. a judicious and full-pursed planter, it is true, would either remove the whole of the maiden crop, or at least from the three upper pairs of primaries, but the crop of the fourth year is apt to find a young planter with empty pockets, and he may not be able to afford the sacrifice; but he should in any case remove the immature berries, or blossom buds, from the greenwood of the primary branches, and if he refrains from topping before blossom, his trees may stand their maiden crop fairly well. but if the maiden crop threatens to be a heavy one it should certainly be lessened, as the following year there would be little crop, and much growth of superfluous wood, and an over heavy crop the succeeding year, and so on continuously. the trees would thus be thrown into the habit of giving heavy alternate crops, which is most injurious to the plant which, like all other fruit-yielding plants, should be worked so as to give even, moderate crops every year. but is it not evident that a heavy crop followed by a small crop and much superfluous growth must be extremely bad? for the trees thus produce an over heavy crop of berries one year, and an exhaustive crop of shoots and suckers during the next, and thus call for an extra expenditure of labour. it is very important, by what is called handling, to keep the tree clear of shoots within six inches of the stem, and to remove all cross shoots and suckers and thin out superfluous wood as soon as possible. for we must constantly keep in mind that a given weight of leaves is as exhaustive to the tree as a given weight of berries. prompt handling, and the removal of suckers, is also very necessary for the free ventilation of the tree, and especially during the monsoon months. i would call particular attention to the bearing that judicious and timely handling has on rot and leaf disease, as these are both much encouraged if the tree, at the beginning of the monsoon, has much immature foliage. we should handle them (and prune too, as is subsequently pointed out) so as to meet the monsoon as much as possible with well ripened leaves, and this can obviously be best done by preserving all the september and october shoots we can, and removing all the february shoots that the tree can spare. in connection with this subject, i would strongly advise planters to study mr. marshall ward's third report on leaf disease in ceylon, to which i have elsewhere referred, and would particularly call attention to what he urges as to the advisability of giving every leaf that is to be preserved as long a life as possible, in order that it may feed the tree for the greatest possible length of time. in our climate, anything approaching to heavy pruning is regarded as an abomination, and the general opinion is now in favour of shortening back long drooping primaries, removing cross shoots and wood that is not likely to bear anything more, and thinning out overgrowths of new wood. the most luxuriantly wooded part of the plantation should be pruned first, and the sticky coffee last, because, in the first place, it is important to stop the growth of superfluous wood as soon as possible, and in the second case, time will be given to the sticky coffee to throw out new shoots, so that the pruner can see exactly where to apply the knife, which is often a matter of difficulty, if he is dealing with trees quite exhausted from bearing a heavy crop, or from the land being insufficiently manured. it is very important to pare closely off the spikes left after cutting off a secondary branch, so that the bark may heal over the junction of the branch with the parent branch, as, if this is not done, the free circulation of the sap is checked. it runs up the branches, and, of course, cannot readily get on when it meets with a spike of wood sticking out of the branch. this spike or stump may be green or half or quite dead, but whatever state it is in the free circulation of the sap will be checked, and the quantity of sap in circulation for the benefit of the main branch will be lessened. the time for pruning trees is obviously of great importance. our present practice is to prune as soon after the crop as possible, and no doubt this follows the rule as regards all fruit tree culture, which is, that the trees, from the time of blossoming till up to the picking of the crop, should not be interfered with. but pruning at that time causes the tree to throw out much young wood which in the beginning of the monsoon is in an immature state, and, as mr. ward has pointed out (_vide_ p. 389), this succulent foliage is a good breeding ground for leaf disease. mr. brooke mockett, too (_vide_ p. 401), has pointed out that leaf disease is worst in the case of trees which have been heavily pruned, and obviously because the heavier the pruning the greater the supply of succulent foliage. such succulent foliage, too, is liable to be rotted away in the drenching rains of the south-west monsoon. so that, taking all the points into consideration, it is obvious that pruning should be so managed as to increase mature foliage, and, as much as possible, limit the amount of succulent foliage, at the beginning of the monsoon. how this object is to be attained it is difficult to see, but we can certainly do something towards attaining it by very light pruning; and i would suggest here that planters should make experiments both in pruning and manuring, with the view of growing the young wood earlier in the season. and i would suggest that planters might set aside say an acre, and leave the trees untouched at the usual pruning season, and confine their pruning to removing useless wood at the end of the monsoon. this, i surmise, would have the effect of throwing out new wood then, which would be mature at the beginning of the monsoon. such experimental plots should not be manured after crop, but should be manured immediately after the monsoon. it certainly seems to me that, if we could both manure and prune at the end of the monsoon, we should attain, as far as it can be attained, the production of mature wood and leaves at the beginning of the monsoon. some planters, when pruning, remove moss and rub down the trees at the same time, but this, i am sure, can be done more cheaply and effectually as a separate work. the removal of moss and rough bark, and generally cleaning and rubbing down the trees is a work of very great importance, and should be carried out once every two or three years. the injury arising from moss is too well known to call for any remark, but the reason why the removal of rough bark, and especially rough bark at the head of the tree, and at the junction of the topmost branches with the stem is of such importance is, that it is in the crevices of the rough bark that the borer fly lays its eggs. when thus removing the moss and rough bark, the eggs may often be destroyed, and in the absence of rough bark to shelter them, it is probable that the insect would probably not lay the eggs at all, or that, if it did, they would either become addled, or fall to the ground. i may add here that we have found a piece of square tin the best thing for scraping down the trees, and that the hair-like fibre of the sago palm is an excellent thing for rubbing down the stems. though moss thrives best in damp situations, and on northern aspects, it sometimes exists on open and eastern aspects, and, when the latter is the case, the moss is certainly due to poverty of soil, and in such cases, in addition to scraping the trees thoroughly, an application of top soil mixed with lime, or bonedust, should be applied to the land. i may add that i have seen trees on a dry knoll, and with no shade over head, covered with moss, and this was no doubt owing to poverty of soil, which caused the bark to be in an unhealthy condition, and therefore a suitable home for the growth and spread of moss. digging and working the soil in order to keep it in an open condition is of great importance, because, to use for the second or third time the words of sir john lawes, "it is the physical condition of the soil, its permeability to roots, its capacity for absorbing and radiating heat, and for absorbing and retaining water, that is more important than its strictly speaking chemical condition." in other words, a moderately fertile soil, if maintained in fine physical condition, will give better results than a rich one which is in a hardened state. but to keep the soil in good condition, and yet comply with the fruit cultivators' chief axiom that, "from the time of blossom till the crop is ripe the roots should not be disturbed," is a matter of great difficulty--i might almost indeed say an impossibility. for, from the trampling of the people in their passage up and down the lines, and the dash of the rain, the soil becomes exceedingly hard immediately after, or at least very shortly after the rain. here, then, the planter finds himself between the devil and the deep sea. is he to leave his soil in a hardened state from the beginning of november to the end of january, or perhaps the middle of february, or is he to violate the axiom which tells him not to disturb the roots till after the crop is ripened? and here i think the condition of things is such that he should come to a compromise, and dig up at the end of the monsoon a space of about 2 to 2-1/2 feet up the centre of the lines, which, being the part always walked upon, is necessarily liable to be puddled and hardened, and then, after crop-picking is finished, lightly dig, or pick over and stir, the remainder of the soil, breaking, of course, all clods at the same time. by such a process we should prevent the central portion drying up and cracking, and aerate laterally the rest of the soil, and at the same time do as little damage as possible to the roots. i need hardly say that it is of great importance to begin with all those places where the soil is most hardened, as, should the planter not be able, from shortness of labour, to complete his digging before crop, he will at least have dug those places most urgently in need of cultivation. if the soil of the estate is pretty even in character, the hottest aspects will of course harden soonest, and should be dug first, but it may so happen that a hot aspect may have a soil of a loose and open character, while a north aspect might have a soil of stiff character, and here the planter must alter the rule so as to suit his particular case. for digging, or rather loosening the soil at the end of the monsoon, my experience is that the four-pronged assam fork is the best tool, and that for the light picking over of the whole of the soil after crop a light two-pronged digger is best. this last tool is shaped like a mamoty, but with two prongs rather widely set apart instead of the broad blade of the mamoty. it being very light, it can easily be turned in the hand, so that clods may be broken with the back of the tool, and it can be used by women, which of course is of great advantage for pushing forward the work. renovation pits, as they are called, were once regarded as an excellent means of deeply stirring the soil, but, of recent years, have fallen out of favour with many planters, and i think justly so. these pits, or rather trenches, are dug in the spaces between four trees, and are generally about fifteen inches in depth, as many in width, and about ten feet long. weeds and rubbish were thrown into them, and when they were filled with these, and soil washed into them, the pits were abandoned and another set opened. i am now satisfied that these pits did much damage by the sub-soil--which is often of an undesirable quality, and always, of course, more liable to run together and harden than the original top soil--being thrown on to the surface of the land. in fact, they did the same damage that the steam plough has often done at home in unskilful hands, i.e., turned a fine loose surface soil into one of an inferior character. then the sides and edges of the pits harden and crack, and this of course adds to the heat of the plantation. but renovation pits may be put to an excellent use if employed in their character of water-holes, as they are called by the natives, and whenever land is liable to wash, they are of great service, and, though but small portions of our shaded plantations are ever liable to wash, a line of renovation pits should always be put on the lower sides of roads to catch the water that runs off them, and thus cause it to soak gradually into the soil. when renovation pits are used as water-holes no new ones should be opened, but the old pit should be cleaned out and its contents scattered on the surface of the land, not between the rows of coffee, as the soil would at once run into the renovation pits below, but around the stems of the coffee trees and in the lines. i have found that renovation pits, or water-holes, are of great value as water conservators, and wherever it is necessary to increase the supply of water for a tank, deep water-holes--say from 3 to 4 feet in depth and width--should be dug around the upper sides of the tank, and the rain water conducted into them by small channels. we have found, on my property, such an appreciable effect from even a moderate amount of such holes, that i am now largely increasing their number. a friend of mine has also found a similar effect in connection with his tank, though, i may mention, he had made the pits in connection with his coffee, and not with the view of increasing the water supply in his tank. i believe that this method of increasing the water supply would be well worth the attention of government in connection with its numerous tanks. the reader will remember that i have recommended applications of jungle top soil and other soil, and it should be remembered that such applications will, by rendering the soil more open, much lighten the work of digging, and this is a point that should be carefully estimated when calculating the expense of dressing the land with fresh soil. chapter xiv. the diseases of coffee. though coffee in mysore is liable to two diseases, and to the attack of one insect, these, when the cultivation is good, and the shade suitable in kind and degree, are not likely to cause any uneasiness in the minds of the planters. but it is, of course, necessary to go carefully into the whole subject of these diseases and the insect attack, in order to bring out fully the steps that should be taken so to cultivate and shade the coffee as to render these evils as innocuous as possible, and i have therefore, in addition to my own knowledge, taken pains specially to procure from two planters of long practical experience their views. the views, i may say, of mr. graham anderson as regards leaf disease are particularly valuable, as he has paid much attention to the subject. leaf disease is the common name given to the attack of _hemeleïa vastatrix_, a fungoid plant which distributes its spores in the form of a yellow powder. these alight on the leaves of coffee, and in weather favourable to the fungus, will germinate in about a day, and the fungoid plant then roots itself between the walls of the leaves. after the plant has completed its growth, which it generally does in about three weeks, more spores are produced to fly away with the wind, or be scattered by the movements of the coolies amongst the coffee, and thus the disease spreads. a great deal, of course, has been written about it, and those who desire more particular information may refer to mr. marshall ward's report on coffee loaf disease in ceylon. it is sufficient to say here that when the attack is severe the tree is deprived of its leaves, or of a large number of them; that much injury to the crop results; and that both the tree and the soil are heavily taxed in replacing the foliage that has been destroyed. leaf disease has probably existed[56] in mysore as long as coffee has, but was, from the small amount of it, so entirely unnoticed, that, when i wrote my chapter on coffee in the "experiences of a planter," more than twenty-two years ago, i had never heard of it, nor, i am sure, had any of my neighbours. a trick, however, i once played on mr. graham anderson's cousin about thirty years ago, enables me to trace it backwards so far with certainty. on coming through his plantation on one occasion, i picked oft a very large yellow coffee leaf, and placed it below the first of several plates with the aid of which he was helping his visitors. when the servant lifted the first plate, there was the leaf, and i said to my friend, "there are your golden prospects." many years afterwards mr. graham anderson recalled the incident to my memory, and said, "that was the leaf disease." but it was not till leaf disease appeared in ceylon in a severe form that our attention was called to the subject, and since then leaf disease has undoubtedly increased, and, in the opinion of one of the two experienced planters i have consulted, has caused much loss directly and indirectly, while the other informs me it has caused much loss on some estates. but i confess my own observation causes great doubts in my own mind as to whether the losses of leaves which planters attribute to leaf disease are entirely owing to that cause, and i was much struck with what mr. reilly, of hillgrove estate, coonoor, said to me on the subject; and when we were discussing leaf disease in general, he observed that it was often said to be the cause of leaves falling off, when their doing so was really owing to an over heavy crop of coffee. then with our dry east winds many leaves become yellow and fall off, and some become so because they have been injured by the pickers, others from rot, and others from old age, and all these leaf losses are commonly put down to leaf disease, so that, taking all these points into consideration, i find myself quite unable to determine, even approximately, the amount of loss arising from _hemeleïa vastatrix_. but of one thing, however, i do feel absolutely certain, and that is, that when the land is well cultivated, manured, and judiciously shaded with good caste trees, leaf disease may be reduced to such a degree that we need not trouble ourselves about it, and i feel equally sure that the most important of all the agents for controlling and limiting the disease is the shade of good caste trees. and as to the effect of shade upon _hemeleïa vastatrix_, i made particular inquiries when visiting estates in 1891 on the slopes of the nilgiris, and conversing with planters on the subject. one manager went so far as to say that there was no leaf disease under the shade trees. mr. reilly, of hillgrove estate, said there was much less leaf disease under the shade trees. another planter of great experience told me that leaf disease begins on the coffee in the open, and then spreads into even the finest trees under shade, but that those are affected in less degree. "in the end," he said, "you see the estate all yellow, but with green patches of coffee under the shade trees." in short, i found that all the planters i consulted were agreed in saying that there was but a small amount of leaf disease under the shade trees. the estates on the nilgiri slopes have been originally all in the open, but latterly shade has been encouraged on some estates, but not to a degree which in mysore would be called shade. however, the shade was quite sufficient, as we have seen, to illustrate the important fact that shade can control leaf disease. and as shade can control leaf disease, i need hardly say that it is of the utmost importance (just as it is as regards borer), to carefully fill up at once all spots where shade is deficient, because this deficiency encourages leaf disease, and forms a breeding ground for spores to fly into the surrounding coffee. open spots here and there may not strike one at first sight as being of much importance, but if they are all added together, the planter will see that they will amount to a considerable area of land, and quite sufficient, at any rate, to inoculate his plantation with leaf disease. the reader will observe that i have said that leaf disease may be reduced within practically speaking harmless limits if the coffee is judiciously shaded with good caste shade trees, and i would call particular attention to the term good caste trees, because bad caste shade trees will not control leaf disease. on the contrary, mr. graham anderson informs me that he has seen worse leaf disease under a dense covering of bad shade trees than he has in the open, and he also informs me that, though shade is the backbone of our success in mysore, he has had more misfortune from all causes when his estate was under the heavy shade of bad caste trees than he has ever had since, though many places are not yet properly covered with the good kind of shade trees which he had planted to take the place of the bad ones he had removed. i am much indebted to mr. graham anderson for information on the subject of leaf disease, and he has been kind enough to enumerate the following conditions under which leaf disease is liable to occur in the cases of good soils under good shade: "in the case of good soils under good shade trees," writes mr. graham anderson, "leaf disease is liable to occur under the following circumstances, or at the following times: "1. from the soil being saturated at some critical period of growth, particularly just when secondary growth commences in september. "2. during the time when the plants are maturing a heavy crop. "3. after the plants have been exhausted by ripening a heavy crop. "4. after heavy weeds--particularly if late in the season. "5. after a heavy digging where roots have been cut. "6. after pruning without manure having been applied, or from want of digging.[57] "7. even after manuring when the trees have large succulent roots in an immature condition--generally a sign that fibrous surface roots are deficient, and that large, deep-feeding roots are present in excess. "8. after large quantities of green or rotting weeds have been deeply buried, or large quantities of acid, unrotted, or forcing manures have been applied. "leaf disease is also liable to occur: "1. in poor gravelly soils, and on land which has caked in the hot weather, or become unmanageable during rain. "2. on land where ill-balanced manurial preparations have been used. "3. in soils suffering from a deficiency of the available supply of phosphates and alkalies. "4. under unsuitable shade trees." now it is to be observed that these are preventable causes, or aggravations of leaf disease, and, if carefully attended to, the planter will have little to apprehend from leaf disease. mr. anderson, in his communication to me, lays, and very rightly, particular stress on the maintenance of the physical condition of the land and its state of fertility. and it is satisfactory to find that he is exactly confirmed by mr. h. marshall ward in his third report (dated 1881) on coffee leaf disease in ceylon, and he points out (p. 3) that "leaf disease appears to affect different estates in different degrees on account of varieties in soil, climate, and other physical peculiarities." "but," he continues, "i would draw particular attention to this. careful cultivation and natural advantages of soil, climate, etc., enable certain estates to stand forth prominently, as though leaf disease did not affect them, or only to a slight extent, while poor nutrition, the ravages of insects, etc., have in other cases their effects as well as leaf disease." or, in other words, he states that, as was suggested to me by mr. reilly--a planter of long experience near coonoor on the nilgiris--that much loss of leaves, which has been attributed to leaf disease, is often due to other causes. mr. brooke mockett--one of the planters previously alluded to--informs me that "leaf disease is certainly worst (1) on trees that are cropping heavily, (2) on trees that have been severely pruned (heavy pruning being ruination in my opinion), (3) on plants under bad caste shade trees (these plants it seems to cripple), and (4) on plants in the open." it is worthy of note that the coorg plant is not nearly so liable to attacks of leaf disease as the original mysore chick plant. i have seen a tall plant of the latter variety heavily attacked, while a coorg plant partly under it was only slightly attacked on the side next the chick plant, and hardly at all on the side not under the chick plant. i observe, too, from the planting correspondent's notes in the "madras mail" of january 30th, 1892, that the same thing has been observed in coorg, and that occasional mysore plants, which had by some accident found their way into the coorg coffee, got the disease first, and that it then spread into the surrounding coffee. it should be borne in mind that leaf disease does not kill the tree, but only injures it, and diminishes its powers by depriving it of much of its foliage, so that there is nothing alarming in leaf disease when it is controlled by good management of the tree, and good shade, cultivation of the soil, and manuring; and the only case i can hear of where anything like permanent injury has occurred, is where the disease has existed under the shade of bad caste trees. but it is far otherwise with the justly dreaded borer insect, which, however, can, as we shall see, be effectively controlled by good shade. to the attacks of this insect i now propose to direct the attention of the reader. the too well-known coffee borer is a beetle, about as large as a horsefly, which lays its eggs in any convenient crevice, and generally, it is supposed, near the head of the tree, in the bark, or wood of the coffee tree. after the larvæ are hatched they at once burrow their way into the tree, where they live on the dead matter of the inner or heart-wood of the stem, and there they reside from, it is supposed, three to five months, till their transformation into winged beetles. then they bore their way out of the tree, and fly away to carry on their mischievous work. this insect has been declared to be, by mr. john keast lord, "a beetle of the second family of the coleoptera cerambycidæ, and to be closely allied to a somewhat common species known as the wasp-beetle (_clytus avietis_), which usually undergoes its changes in old dry palings." and in a collection made by m. chevrolat in southern india, and now in the british museum (at least it was so in 1867, when mr. lord investigated the point), a specimen was found, to which the name of _xylotrechus quadrupes_ was attached. this borer, like the leaf disease, has probably always attacked coffee, but the earliest probable notice of it is to be found in mr. stokes's report on the nuggur division of mysore, in about 1835, where he observes that coffee trees in dry seasons often wither and snap off suddenly at the root. the cause, or probable cause of this he does not state, but there can be little doubt that the borer had attacked the trees alluded to. since then the borer seems to have attracted little or no attention till towards the end of 1866, but about that time, and during the three following years, an alarming attack of borer took place, and inflicted immense injury on plantations, and there can be no doubt that this was in a great measure owing partly to insufficient shade, and partly to bad caste shade trees, accompanied by dry, hot seasons, which were favourable to the hatching of the eggs of this destructive insect. but since then much attention has been paid to shade, both as to quantity and kind, and the borer may now be regarded as an insect which can with certainty be held in check if the land is properly shaded with good caste trees. and i say good caste trees, because bad caste trees encourage borers, and mr. graham anderson, who has had a very large and disagreeable experience of the effects of bad caste trees, informs me that he has "seen worse borer under dense _bad_ caste shade than in open places in good soil on northern slopes." "some bad shade trees," he continues, in his communication to me on the subject, "keep the coffee in a debilitated state. they allow it to be parched up in the dry weather, and they smother it in the monsoon. they rob it of moisture and manure with their myriads of surface-feeding roots, and prevent dew and light showers benefiting the plant. i do not fear borer under well-regulated shade of approved descriptions. renovation pits left open in the hot weather, large clod-digging in a light soil even under fair shade, weeds left standing in dry weather; all these, by increasing evaporation, tend to cause increase of damage from borer. a hard caked surface, or a compact, undug soil is equally bad. rubbing and cleaning the stems is a valuable operation, because it removes rough bark in which eggs may be deposited, and contributes to the health of the tree. the prompt removal and burning of all affected trees, properly arranged shade of selected varieties, frequent light stirring of the surface soil, having well arranged shoots distributed all over the coffee trees, not opening the centre of the trees too much, and keeping the trees succulent and vigorous by culture and manure, may be at present classed among the best remedies for the borer pest." in other words, he would say that the borer loves dry wood. keep your coffee tree green and succulent and well shaded, and you have little to fear from it. i have also obtained the opinion of mr. brooke mockett, who informs me that "borer is certainly as destructive under bad caste trees as in the open." "borer," he continues, in his communication to me on the subject, "is always much worse in land where there has been a burn than in unburnt land. it is also bad in rocky and stony places. in good soil, where there has been no burn, i have never had borer severely, even though for a time there has been no shade whatever. i do not fear borer now that such an excellent system of shade raising has been discovered. rubbing stems once in about three years i look upon as of great use." i too have had great experience of borer, and agree with what my friends have written on the subject, with the exception of what mr. graham anderson has said as to the advisability of promptly removing and burning all bored trees. this i am aware is the common practice, but i have never carried it out on my property, and yet, though the trees were riddled with borer in the great borer years, and i have had since then a fair proportion of it on some part of my property, i believe that no estate has less borer now. instead of removing the bored trees i removed the borer itself with the aid of the shade of good caste trees, and especially, i believe, by paying strict attention to what i have particularly enforced in my shade section--the prompt filling up of every spot in the plantation that called for more shade. for it is in such spots that the borer first locates itself, and then it spreads to other dried up trees in the plantation. there is little use, i think, in removing the affected trees. you must remove the cause of their being affected, because, if you do not, the _sound_ trees that are insufficiently shaded will in time be affected: and then it must be remembered that the borer is a winged insect which, as long as you leave suitable ground for it, will be sure to make its appearance. out of curiosity i lately cut down and carefully examined a coffee tree which i could see, from the appearance of the bark, had once been heavily bored, but which i felt certain had no borer now, nor any recent attack of it. the tree i found, after a careful dissection, had not a sign of borer present in it, nor any sign of a recent attack, and yet in years gone by it had been heavily attacked and bored literally from end to end of the stem. the explanation was that the land had formerly not been sufficiently shaded, while now the shade is ample. the borers had then left the trees, and their descendants had either not thought it worth while to lay any eggs on them, or the eggs had, from the lowered temperature caused by the shade, become addled. many years ago i remember cutting down a fine coffee tree, when the round gimlet-made looking hole through which the insect makes its escape was plainly to be seen, when i found that a single borer had drilled a hole down a part of the centre of the tree, then passed into the fly state and left the tree. it was a fine succulent and nourishing tree, and would, in all probability, have not again been attacked. to remove, then, all attacked trees, as some planters do, seems to me to be a great waste. to do so will not prevent other borers arriving from some quarter or other to continue the deadly work; but shade, if it does not prevent their arrival, either prevents the insect from laying its eggs, from instinctively feeling that the ground is unsuitable for their being hatched, or causes the eggs to become addled. but whatever the cause may be, it is certain that succulent trees in well shaded land will not suffer from borer, while it is equally certain that coffee trees in a dried up state, and with either insufficient shade, or shade of bad caste trees over them, are certain to be attacked by borer again and again, and will eventually be killed. i turn, lastly, to the consideration of a disease in coffee which is popularly known by the name of rot, and scientifically as _pellicularia koleroga_, a fungoid plant which crawls over the leaves and seals up their breathing pores, till at last the leaf dies, as man does, from want of breath. on one of my estates we have had a considerable experience of it, and, whatever may cause rot, i feel sure that what aggravates it, and causes it to be very injurious, is the want of free circulation of air over the land, and through the coffee trees; and i am the more convinced of this because we have found rot worse in the open, and where there was little undecayed vegetable matter present in the soil, than in rather thick shade with abundance of undecayed vegetable matter on the surface. but in the latter case the land is on a rather high ridge exposed to the constant winds of the south-west monsoon, while in the former case the land was in a hollow under a hill which lies between it and the west--a hollow completely sheltered from the wind. and it is in such sheltered spots that we find rot worse, and quite independently of the presence or absence of shade or of vegetable matter lying on the land. to check rot, then, the free circulation of air is necessary both over the land and through the plant. much may be done in the first case by judiciously opening channels for air through the shade trees so as to admit a free circulation of air into hollows, and much in the latter by freely handling out the centres of the trees which, in the monsoon, and especially in hollows, are apt to grow a superabundance of young wood, which chokes up the centre of the tree and thus hinders the free circulation of air. the soil, too, is often excessively saturated in these hollows, and, where this is the case, the land should be surface drained. though i have not as yet adopted the plan of sweeping up and putting into the manure heap, or burying with a little lime added, the numerous dead leaves that are apt to drift into hollows, i feel sure that either of these plans would be attended with advantage, by lessening damp, and allowing a free circulation of air over the land. i am confident, i may add here, that the removal of the lower branches of the coffee trees, branches which in any case bear hardly anything in well-shaded land, would be of great advantage in lessening the damp in the plantation, and so diminishing the causes that promote rot. with reference to rot, it is of great importance to thin out young wood as early as possible, so that, when the rot season arrives, the trees may have a moderate amount of well-matured young wood, with fully-developed hardened leaves, instead of a largo number of small succulent shoots covered with succulent leaves, which are very apt to be rotted bodily away. and the importance of this is equally great with reference to leaf disease, and mr. ward, in his "report" (p. 15), points out that pruning and manuring should be so timed that the tree may have, at the beginning of the wet weather, mature wood and leaves, and the whole of his observations on this head point to the conclusion that manuring ought to be carried out at the close of the monsoon, and that pruning, which encourages the growth of much young wood, should be limited as much as possible to the removal of utterly useless, worn-out wood. under the head of pruning and handling, the reader will find some remarks with reference to the important subject of the best time for pruning so as to limit rot and leaf disease. i am glad to say that i have no other pests to chronicle as regard mysore estates, but as estates on the nilgiris sometimes suffer from green-bugs, i give the following treatment, which was discovered, and has been effectually used by mr. reilly of hill grove estate, coonoor, who has kindly permitted me to publish the recipe. for every 30 or 35 gallons of water take a bundle of wild merang (_leucas zeylanica_ or (kanarese) thumba soppu) plants about two feet in diameter, and, after removing the roots, boil it for about four or five hours, and let it cool all night, and in the morning apply the decoction to the coffee trees affected, with the aid of a garden syringe. the trees should be well syringed, and it is advisable to give the tree a second application. the refuse of the boiled plant should be scattered on the ground around the stem of the tree. this prescription might probably be useful in the case of garden plants or shrubs which have been attacked by insects. footnotes: [56] mr. reilly, of hillgrove estate, coonoor, told me that he had first noticed leaf disease about twenty-six years ago. it commenced low down on the coffee on the coonoor ghaut, and then came gradually up the ghaut. [57] a planter on the slopes of the nilgiris gave me a well marked instance of leaf disease being increased from want of digging, when there was a good opportunity of contrasting the dug with the undug soil. chapter xv. the selection of land for plantations, and the valuation of coffee property. the selection of land for the planting of coffee requires great judgment, and the consideration of many circumstances besides the question as to whether the land is or is not capable of growing good coffee. for, in addition to questions of the age of the forest land, climate, the steepness of the gradients, aspect, and soil, we have to consider the healthiness of the climate, the water supply, the facilities for procuring labour, and the proximity of the land to good means of communication. then as to the valuing of coffee plantations we have, of course, to consider all these points, as well as many others, to which i shall presently allude when i come to treat of that branch of my subject. in mysore, notwithstanding the enormous quantity of forest land stretching along the western ghauts, there is, compared to the total area of forest, but comparatively little land, suitable for coffee, to be cleared. in the southern part of the province there is none, that i am aware of, worthy of the attention of europeans, but one of the planters in the northern part of mysore tells me that in that part of the country there is still much uncleared land, partly in the hands of the state, and partly the property of individuals. such uncleared lands (and it is important when valuing a plantation to remember the following classification) may be divided into three classes, (1) the original forest, or, as the natives call it, mother jungle, that has never been touched by man; (2) the forest of secondary growth which has sprung up after the mother forest land has been cleared for grain growing, and abandoned after a crop or two has been taken from the soil; and (3) land on which young forest is growing, and which has never previously had any other forest on it. these three classes of lands are easily recognized by experienced persons, and even at a considerable distance. in the first there are large numbers of trees of great size, and often of timber of good quality. in the second there are no large trees, or perhaps only one or two samples of the original forest--generally mangoe, as they are often used as worshipping places--towering from fifty to sixty feet above the present level of the forest. in the case of the third, or young forest: this class of land may readily be recognized by the number of young nundy and other deciduous trees. the first-named class of forest is of course by far the most valuable; the second will be more or less valuable according to the time that has elapsed since the mother jungle was felled--in some cases this may be only 40 or 50 years ago, in others from 50 to 100, and perhaps in some instances upwards of 150 years ago. in the last case, of course, the land will approximate in value to the mother jungle, but in the first there is an enormous difference in the value of the land, which will easily be understood when we consider what takes place when forest is cleared, burnt off and cropped. for in the tremendous conflagration that ensues, much of the accumulated wealth of ages is destroyed; and i may remind the reader that an iron peg driven firmly down till its head was level with the ground of a newly-cleared piece of forest, was found to be projecting no less than six inches from the surface after the fire was over. then a crop is sown which indeed is not an exhaustive one, but it must be remembered that the land is exposed to heavy tropical rains, and perhaps for two years, after which it is abandoned, and allowed to grow up again into forest. so that the injury to the land from the burning of the forest, the removal of one or two crops of grain, and especially the loss from wash, bring about a state of exhaustion which a very long time is required to repair. the value of the land, then, in which this secondary growth of forest has sprung up, will entirely depend upon the time when the forest was cleared and burnt off, and as this is more or less conjectural, it is difficult to give on paper any guide as to the probable time, and the valuer can only form an opinion from the practice he has had in examining forest lands. as regards the third class, i.e., young forest on land that has never had any previous forest growth, the valuer can have little doubt. such lauds are not desirable, and are as inferior to lands of the second class as these generally are to those of the first, or mother jungles. i have said that a vast quantity of forest along the western ghauts is unsuitable for coffee; and it is so because of the excessive and continuous rainfall, and the estates, fortunately very few in number, which were started in the wet mountain regions which fringe the mysore tableland, have all been abandoned. but on the eastern side of the passes the rainfall gradually diminishes, and at a distance of about six or seven miles from the crests of the ghauts the coffee zone commences, and stretches inland to varying distances from the ghauts till the forest region gradually dies away into the wide-spreading plains of the interior of the province. of the rainfall in this coffee region we have no reliable accounts, and it varies much even within short distances, but it is generally believed to range from 50 inches on the most easterly side of the coffee districts[58] to about 120 on the west. opinions vary much as to the most desirable site for plantations, but i think that most planters are inclined to think that a rainfall of about 70 inches is the most desirable. as regards elevation above sea level, plantations vary from 2,800 feet to upwards of 4,000, and it is generally supposed that the highest elevations yield the best coffee, but it is very difficult to form any precise conclusion on the subject. cannon's coffee, which is mostly grown at about 4,000 feet, always fetched a high price, but this was owing, i believe, to its long-established good name, for, when i grew coffee at elevations of from, i believe, 3,200 to nearly 3,500 feet, and of the same variety of plant, a large wholesale and retail dealer told me that whether they bought my coffee, cannon's, or santawerry (an estate of the best reputation) it was all the same. after looking over many lists of sales in recent years, i am struck with the small differences in the prices obtained for mysore coffees, with the exception of cannon's and a few estates which still grow the old original plant of mysore. but all the estates which grow the coorg plant obtain prices very similar, though there is a considerable difference in the elevation of the estates, and therefore, so far as the price of the coffee is concerned, i should not, in valuing land for planting, attach much importance to mere elevation, as long as it does not go below 2,000 to 3,000 feet, for below that we have no experience to go by, and are, therefore, unable to say what effect a lower elevation would have on the character of the coffee. we have now considered both climate and elevation, and the values of the various kinds of forest land, and have next to look at, and if possible value, the effects of aspect. the more i have seen and studied coffee the more am i struck with the value of aspect, and this is of enormous importance in such a climate as mysore, which is liable to suffer so often from prolonged droughts, and as it is quite a common thing to have five months without a drop of rain, and also during part of that time to have either dry winds or hot desiccating blasts of air coming in from the heated plains of the interior, it can easily be understood that in valuing lands, much consequence should be attached to forest which contains a large proportion of north and north-western aspects. as to the relative value of the various aspects i have fully treated the subject in my remarks on shade, and i must leave it to the personal experience of planters to determine how much more value they would attach to land mainly facing north and north-west as compared with land facing mainly south and south-west. for myself i should consider that the former was at least ten per cent. more valuable than the latter; and that the relative value of the other aspects should be carefully weighed before coming to an opinion as to the price that should be given for forest land. in the valuation of land the next thing we have to consider is the steepness of the gradients on it. now after having had much experience of steep land, land on moderate slopes, and land which might almost be called flat, i have no hesitation in giving a decided preference to the moderately sloping land. i object to the steep land, because it is troublesome to work and manure, and because the ridges on it are sure to be poor; and to the flat land, because the soil is apt to become sodden in our heavy monsoons, and because it is soon apt to harden, and thus is troublesome to work. in my opinion, the highest value ought to be attached to the moderately sloping lands, less value to the flat, or nearly flat lands, and less still to steep lands. as regards the kinds of soil suitable for coffee, there are points on which some difference of opinion exists. all however are, i think, agreed in thinking that the most desirable soils are those of dark chocolate colour, considerable depth, and of easily workable character--what would be described in england as a rather heavy loamy soil. then, and sometimes touching these soils, there are soils of decidedly whitish appearance, against which a general prejudice exists; but though some of these soils are light and of inferior character, others are capable of growing coffee quite as well as the best of the chocolate soils. occasionally there are small sections to be found in good coffee lands of soil of a light character and pinkish hue, which few people not familiar with it could suppose to be a good soil, but in this i have found that coffee flourishes remarkably well. there are other classes of soil which are generally considered to be inferior to those above mentioned, lightish, bright rod soils, black soils (though i have seen very good coffee in such), and soils of a whitish and rather sandy character; but it may be laid down as a general rule that all the soils we have, and i think i have soil of almost every class, are capable of growing good coffee if the climate is suitable, and if the forest in it is of undoubted primæval character; and i have much reason to think that, where soils have been found to be unfavourable, it is owing to the original jungle, say 50 or over 100 years ago, having been felled, burnt off, and cropped with grain for a season, and then abandoned. in from thirty to forty years very fair forest can be grown, but i should say that it would take at least 150 years to restore the land to anything approaching its chemical and physical condition when the primæval forest was first felled. we have, lastly, to consider the healthiness of the climate, the water supply, the facilities for procuring labour, and the proximity of the land to good roads. as regards the climate of the coffee districts in mysore, i have no evidence before me to show that there is much difference as regards health in any of the climates, though some, from elevation and nearness to the ghauts and the source of the sea-breezes, are decidedly more agreeable than others which are lower, hotter, and more distant from the western passes. manjarabad, however, is generally considered to be the healthiest district, and some are of opinion that certain parts of the northern coffee district are rather below the average as to healthiness. a good water supply for drinking, and for pulping and nurseries, is, of course, of great importance, and a careful account should be taken of this in valuing land for planting. then the facilities as to the supply of labour require to be carefully taken into consideration. they vary very much, as, in some cases, the whole labour has to be imported, while in other cases a considerable supply can be drawn from villages in the immediate proximity of the land. at one time it was always considered that it was a great advantage to have local labour, but the local labourers have now become so well off and independent that many planters much prefer the imported labourers, because the former are so uncertain in their attendance, while the latter, when once on the estates, have nothing to take them away from their work till the season arrives for their departing to their homes, either below the ghauts, or in the interior of the province, from both of which sources the planters of mysore draw so much of their labour. but in the picking season there can be no doubt that the vicinity of villages is a great advantage, as this generally occurs before the rice harvest, and before that takes place, many people are glad to work for a month or two months on the plantations. so that, in valuing land, proximity to villages ought certainly to be taken into favourable account. finally, in valuing land, the proximity to good roads and easy access to them is of great importance--and i say easy access to them because it sometimes happens that land is situated on the wrong side of an unbridged river which is sure to be in flood for many months of the year. i now turn to the important subject of valuing plantations of various ages. i may commence here by observing that all the points enumerated as regards the valuation of land suitable for coffee apply equally to plantations, but it is hardly necessary to say that there are many additional points to be considered when valuing a plantation that is for sale, or for which a valuation may be required for any other purpose. the first point that a valuator should inquire into, is the age of the forest land on which a plantation has been formed. this may not be very easily determined, as the whole of the original forest may have been removed, but there are nearly certain to be corners left, and the valuator should remember that the surest sign of very old forest is an occasional very old and partly decayed nandi tree, or large and aged marragudtha trees. the next point to be considered is as to whether the forest was all felled at once and burnt off with a running fire, or whether it was cleared by degrees--i.e., in the first year cleared of underwood and a few of the large trees, and the wood piled and burned in separate heaps, and the large trees gradually removed in subsequent years. this may be regarded as a very important point, for in the latter case the physical condition of the soil will be sure to have been better maintained, and, in the opinion of one of our most experienced planters, the coffee will be much less liable to attacks of the borer. the age of the plantation should next be inquired into, but mere age, it must be remembered, though it may be of great importance, is by no means always so. at first sight it would appear that a young plantation, with its virgin soil, must be more valuable than an old one, but i have in my mind's eye a plantation in manjarabad, belonging to friends of mine, and the planting of which was begun as far back as 1857. last year one of my friends took me over it, and a finer plantation it would be impossible to find, and at the end of our walk he said to me, "the place is better than you ever saw it." and so it most undoubtedly was: and, as another planting friend once wrote to me, "all the old established estates in mysore are to the front still, and many of them better than they ever were," and better because manuring and cultivation have improved pieces of inferior land and ridges to such a degree as to make them superior to what they were before the land was first cleared and planted. one of the estates in question was opened about ninety-five years ago, and yet contains as fine coffee as one could wish to see. all depends upon the care with which the estate has been kept up, and into that the valuator must specially inquire, and he must also specially inquire into the age of the coffee trees, which, always supposing that the soil has been well kept up, is of far more importance than the mere age of the estate. my friends' estate, for instance, above alluded to, was an old estate, but it was, comparatively speaking, a fresh plantation, for all the old trees had been removed, and the whole property replanted with the coorg plant. so that, though the estate was old, the coffee was by no means so. from what i have hitherto said, it is evident that in many cases the valuing of an estate presents to the mind an extremely complicated problem, and there are so many exceptions and limitations, and so many points of doubtful nature--the question of the age, for instance, at which the coffee tree declines--that i cannot attempt to do more than indicate those to which the valuator should turn his attention. there are, however, points on which i can express a more decided opinion--the shade on an estate, its kind, or kinds, and regulation. after what has been previously written as to shade, its weight in determining the value of a plantation must obviously be very great; so much so, that planters, when going round an estate in mysore, are generally more taken up with observing the shade than the coffee underneath it. and i cannot, perhaps, better illustrate the effects of bad caste trees than by mentioning what a neighbour said to me when i was going round his plantation. he pointed to the coffee under a bad caste tree and said, "the coffee there gave a good crop this year, but the trees are suffering now, and will give a poor crop next year; while the coffee under the good caste trees there gave a good crop this year, are looking well now, and will give a good crop next year." such, then, is the difference, and sometimes it is much more, between bad and good caste shade trees. and when the reader remembers that mr. graham anderson has said that he has experienced more misfortune of every kind owing to the presence of bad caste shade trees, it is evident that a valuator should attach a much higher value to a plantation shaded entirely with good caste shade trees than to one with bad or indifferent kinds of shade trees. for the latter mean diminished crops, and more borer and leaf disease, while the former lead to the very opposite effects. manurial facilities have next to be taken into consideration, and here we shall find a very great difference between estates. some, but i am afraid very few, have spare, odd bits of jungle land which the proprietors have acquired for the purpose, or angles of the original forest which they have left uncleared, from which valuable top soil may be procured, while others are in parts of the country where the grazing for cattle is good, and where cattle manure can sometimes be bought from the natives. but many estates have no top soil resources, and but poor facilities of making bulk manure, and all these points require to be carefully considered when valuing an estate. but besides all the previously mentioned points, there are the labour facilities, the water supply, and lastly, but by no means leastly, the concentration of all the points of most importance in one central point to be taken into consideration. it often happens on estates that the nursery is in one place, the pulping-house half a mile from that, and the bungalow half a mile from either. but is it not obvious that an estate is more valuable when the bungalow, drying-ground, pulper, and nursery are all within a stone's throw of each other? lastly, we come to the most difficult question of all. how many years' purchase is a coffee property worth? to this question i can give no answer at all, nor is it likely that any answer can ever be given till all the facts connected with the industry become widely known. and of all these determining facts, the execution of the projected railway line through the southern coffee district to mangalore will certainly be the most important. this line, in fact (which will probably be opened in three years' time), will alter the entire position of coffee, as it will not only provide for the carriage of coffee to the coast and the importation of manure, but will bring the planters within ready touch of the finest sanatorium in the world--the nilgiri hills. footnotes: [58] my friend mr. graham anderson presented to the durbar, at the meeting of the representative assembly in 1892, an interesting memorandum on rainfall in mysore, and the influence of trees on the condition of climate, and in this he has given a return of the rainfall for a section of the manjarabad talook, stretching inland from the crest of the ghauts to about the termination of the forest tract--a parallelogram of fifteen miles in length from west to east, and about four miles from north to south. this section shows, from april to end of august, a rainfall of 291.53 inches on the extreme west, as compared with 44.21 inches on the extreme east. but it is remarkable that this variation of no less than 247.32 inches occurred on the northern side of the tract, the variation on the southern side being only from 232.46 inches to 72.42 inches, or a difference of only 160.04 inches. this shows an extraordinary, and at present unaccountable, deflecting of the south-west monsoon current. mr. anderson remarks that, though in heavy weather and with favourable winds, the monsoon rain is often carried to a considerable distance to the east of the termination of the forest tract, it is of common occurrence to find an almost total cessation of continuous rain a few miles beyond the forest zone. in the memorandum in question mr. anderson also remarks on the well known and interesting fact that the clearing away of certain descriptions of trees, and the substitution of others improves the supply of water in the springs. but the whole memorandum is both interesting and practical, and its presentation at the meeting of the representative assembly is an additional illustration of the value of that institution in pressing matters of importance on the attention of the government. the returns of the rainfall were obtained from various planters on the section of country investigated by mr. anderson. chapter xvi. how to make an estate pay, and the order of the work. the first step towards making a plantation pay is to eliminate all sources of loss, and the first point claiming attention relates to the advisability of abandoning all the spots on an estate which are difficult to keep up, sometimes from defects of soil, sometimes of aspect, and more often of both. at present you often find, just as you do in the case of farmers in scotland, that planters often make money on the good land to throw much of it away on the bad, and the people who thus act simply do so from want of strength of mind; for everyone knows that it costs more to keep up inferior coffee than it does to keep up the best, and that the latter yields good and certain crops, while the former yields poor and uncertain crops. and it is equally well known that highly manured and well situated coffee on good land can always be relied on to give a paying crop, even in the very worst season, while coffee on poor land with a bad aspect is simply at the mercy of the season. and one of the oldest planters in mysore told me that, some thirty years ago, when his land was, comparatively speaking, unexhausted, if the blossom showers were favourable he got a good crop all over the estate, but that if they were unfavourable, the best situated coffee on the best land still gave a fair crop, while the rest of the plantation produced very little. the maximum of high and safe profits, then, will be obtained where the land kept up is all good, well situated, and well manured. there are, of course, occasional spots of half an acre or so in the very best lands which must by no means be abandoned. on the contrary, they should be kept up at any cost, as they would be the means of spreading weeds into the surrounding land, and the places that should be abandoned are continuous pieces or blocks on the outside of the coffee to be kept up. i may remind the reader here that where an outside block can, as it were, be sliced off one side of the estate, an application can be made to the government to have it measured and classed in future as land thrown out of cultivation, which is liable to a reduced rate of taxation, but the government will make no reduction in the case of pieces of land, which are in the plantation, being thrown out of cultivation. i have said that the pieces of inferior land which may be occasionally found in the good coffee should certainly be kept up; but there are, in the case of steep lands, sometimes pieces of land at the heads of slopes, and next to the fence, where, from injudicious management, the soil has gradually worked down the hill, and in such cases a strip of the barest land near the head of the slope may with advantage be thrown out of cultivation, and the abandoned land should be thickly planted with trees, the leaves of which will be shed downwards amongst the coffee. and in planting such abandoned strips with trees an addition will be made to the value of the estate, as wood, as elsewhere pointed out, soon becomes scarce in any country that is taken up for coffee. the next source of loss which calls for observation is that arising from the system of giving advances to labourers and to maistries--the name for a class of men who take large sums to advance to coolies, and are paid a commission on the number they bring in. the planters have lost large sums from this pernicious and troublesome system, and in the remarks previously made on planters' grievances, the reader will find allusions to the existing legislation on the subject, and the need for fresh legislation to grapple with the evils arising out of giving advances for labour. sometimes the coolies die, and the money is lost altogether; sometimes, and not unfrequently, they abscond, and in the latter case it is such a difficult matter to trace them that the planter simply resigns himself to the loss of the money. then as regards money advanced to maistries to bring coolies, somewhat similar difficulties occur. the maistry may die, he may abscond, and sometimes he advances to coolies who decamp and take advances from another planter or his maistry. in short, whether the planter advances directly to coolies, or to maistries to bring coolies, he finds himself involved in a mixture of losses and worries and uncertainty as to getting through his various works at the proper time. now nearly every human system is calculated to serve some purpose, and arises out of a greater or lesser degree of necessity. but it sometimes happens that the original causes for the system have either disappeared or very largely vanished, and that the system goes on by the force of custom--very strong in all countries, and especially so in the east. and thus it is with the advance system. when labour was as low as 2 rupees 4 annas a month (which was the rate i paid at first), it was quite impossible that a man could, within any reasonable time, save enough money to pay the expenses of a marriage; thus borrowing became a necessity, and the labourer therefore mortgaged his future labour, the sole security he had to offer. the lender was, of course, always a man who wanted work done, and by lending the required money obtained a certain command over the labourer. in the early days of planting the local labourers were always in debt to some native employer, and when they wanted to come to a european plantation the owner of it had to pay off the sum owed by the labourers, and when these labourers' sons wanted to marry it was customary to advance enough for the purpose, and sums of from 20 to 40 rupees a head were thus advanced, and, in the end, many thousands of rupees were thus lent to the labourers, and led to the losses i have described. but in these days, when labour has risen to 7 rupees a month, and the labourer can live on about 2 rupees a month, he can save in a single year nearly enough for his marriage, and therefore the old necessity for his getting into debt no longer exists, and some years ago i began to give up making advances for marriages, and find that i am still well supplied with local labour; and i feel sure that if other planters would only follow my example, the advance system would gradually be reduced within small limits, and thus one great source of loss on a plantation would be either abolished or reduced to a minimum. but besides the advances made directly to local labourers by the planter, there are the advances made by him to maistries to bring in coolies from a distance. in former days the sums advanced were very small, and amounted to little more than a retaining fee of a few rupees a head. but from the competition for labour, or from planters weakly yielding to the demands made on them, the sums so advanced gradually rose to as much as ten rupees ahead, and, of course, the risks of the planter increased in proportion. now this, of course, is a state of things very difficult to contend against, but i see no reason why some attempt might not be made to reduce these advances to about one-half of their present amount; and i feel sure that if the planters would only agree amongst themselves not to advance more than five rupees a head, they would obtain as many coolies as they do now. i may remark, finally, that the evils connected with this system, and the great temptation to fraud held out by it, certainly call for the legislation which i have elsewhere alluded to when treating of planters' grievances. the losses arising from not closely supervising the people employed in minor works; from not having tools sharpened overnight; and from delay in setting the people to work, i do not touch on here, as i have alluded to them in my hints to managers: and the mention of tools reminds me that much loss is often incurred from their careless use, and from neglect in seeing after them, the result of which, of course, is that they are often lost or stolen. then losses often occur from want of attention to the order in which the various works should be carried out, and which should be influenced by the aspect and the kinds of soil on the plantation. even if all the work of the plantation could be finished with ease and certainty, it is important to observe the proper order, as to do so is most beneficial to the coffee, and then it should be considered that, should labour from some accident run short, it will at least be certain that the most important parts of the plantation will have been attended to. removing moss or rough bark and cleaning the trees should be begun on all northern aspects. then attend to the low-lying eastern aspects which have the sun off them all the afternoon. do next the north-western aspects, then the southern, and lastly the due western and south-western aspects, which are so much exposed to the sun that the trees there have little moss on them. the mossing party, it is hardly necessary to mention, should follow the pruners. pruning should be begun in the most luxuriantly wooded part of the estate first, and the same order as to aspect should be followed as when removing moss, as it is important to let light as soon as possible into the trees which are on the darkest aspect, and this order will, of course, suit the mossing party, which is, as i have said, always to follow the pruners. shade should be thinned in the same order as to aspect as that laid down for the removal of moss, and as soon after crop as possible. the shade cutters should precede the pruners, as, after pruning, the coffee is of course more liable to be injured by falling branches. dig all the hottest aspects first, as the soil on these hardens soonest and more severely. begin with the southern and south-western aspects, then dig the western aspects, then the eastern, and lastly the northern aspects. when all the soil is of much the same degree of stiffness, this order should be followed, but the rule may require to be modified on some estates, where the soil may be of loose character on a southern slope, and of stiffer character on another aspect, in which case the stiff soil aspect should be dug first. removing parasites should be done immediately after crop, and at the same time as removing shade, or at any rate before pruning, as the branches with the parasites on them would otherwise injure the coffee. it is important to remove these parasites before they seed, which is about the beginning of the rains. young jack fruit removal should be begun about the last week in february. do not remove the fruit when very small, as the tree will in that case at once blossom again, and the work will then have to be repeated. fences should all be in order, and every gap filled up by the time the rice harvest is over, when the natives either never herd their cattle at all, or so carelessly that they are liable to be frequently in the plantation. as regards weeding, wherever an estate is liable to rot, all the places that are most liable to it should be weeded first, as it is very important to keep the ground quite clean, so that there may be a complete circulation of air across it. should it be found that any part of an estate is more liable to leaf disease than other parts, then the weeding should be carried out first on the portion of the estate most liable to the disease. chapter xvii. the management of absentee estates. as many of my readers are no doubt aware, elephants are employed to pile timber in the government yards, in other words, to arrange the logs one above another, and at equal distances from each other. this they are soon trained to carry out with mathematical accuracy, and all that the mahout requires to do is to rest himself comfortably on some adjacent log and look on, cheering the elephant with his presence, and perhaps throwing in an occasional remark. but sometimes the mahout goes to his dinner, or absents himself for some other reason, and, before he leaves, addresses a few parting injunctions to the elephant to continue his exertions. and at first the animal does so, but not for long does he proceed with his work at the same pace as he did when the mahout was present. he soon begins sensibly to relax. presently, finding or imagining that there is no prospect of the mahout returning, he stops altogether, and stands for a moment in doubt. then all doubts seem to vanish, and finally he takes a bunch of foliage and begins to fan himself. such is the nature of the elephant, and the human animal does not greatly differ from him. exceptional men there may be, and no doubt also exceptional elephants, but, as the late sir charles trevelyan good-naturedly said to an official in the madras presidency, "the fact is, we all require a little looking after." and hence it is that, when the proprietor cannot look after his own property, he finds it always advisable to give the manager an interest in the concern, or some interest which will induce the manager to fan himself in moderation. in the case of tea plantations in india, sometimes a share is sold to the manager, and then he is given time to pay for this out of the profits of the concern. in coffee, sometimes, a salary is given, and a bonus of one rupee a hundredweight on the coffee produced. then on some estates belonging to a firm, as it was found that this worked unevenly, a bonus of a rupee a head was given on each coolie, which was done to encourage managers to make their estate as attractive to coolies as possible. in one case i know of, the manager is allowed to invest capital of his own in the concern to even as small an amount as 1,000 rupees, and for the sum invested he receives a share in the profits of the estate. the 1,000 rupees are treated as part of the capital of the estate, and whatever the profits may be, the owner of the capital gets his share. if he leaves, his capital is returned to him, or, in the event of death, paid to his heirs. another plan, and i think the best, is to give a share of the profits in lieu of salary; or, should the manager not like the risk, a salary enough for the manager to live on and a share of the profits besides. but i do not think it wise ever to part with a share in the ownership of the land, as, in the event of the death of a manager, who has been turned into a working partner, a very unsatisfactory state of things is liable to arise. and the original proprietor might, and probably would, have trouble as to the management of the estate, as he would then have to deal with the heirs of the deceased. it seems hardly necessary to say that a proprietor should exercise great care in the selection of a manager, but the circumstances of the estates in mysore, which are always surrounded by a native population, and sometimes a very considerable population, are such that unusual care is required when appointing a manager. for in dealing with the people around him, he requires to exercise much tact, and careful circumspection, and great control over his temper, which is often sorely tried. and he needs it all the more for the first few years, because anything new is sure to be attacked and worried. when alluding to the fact that the new comer is exposed to many annoyances, while the old planter seldom is, a native official once said to me, "the new man must submit to being worried and annoyed, and," he added with a laugh, "even to be kicked for four years, and then he may do anything." any planter, then, settling in a new district requires to act with great care and tact till he passes the four years period, when he may do anything in reason. but unless he has a full control of himself, he will be sure to be involved in squabbles and disputes of a more or less troublesome character, which are injurious to the interests of the estate. and hence there is the greater need for the proprietor being careful in his selection of a manager. it is very important that, at the outset, a clear understanding should be come to between the absentee proprietor and his manager, so as to prevent disputes and confusion. to avoid these it should be laid down either that the manager is to have full power to act on his responsibility, or that he is to act entirely under the instructions of the proprietor. when the latter understanding is come to, the manager must adhere strictly to the orders of the proprietor, even though the agent may think that he would serve the proprietor's interests better by neglecting the orders, and because, obviously, the proprietor may have reasons for his orders which are not apparent, or only partially apparent, to the manager. in the event of a manager not being disposed to carry out orders to the letter, he should at once resign his situation, as he has no right to receive his pay on the understanding that he is to carry out his employer's wishes, and then fail to do so. powers of attorney to managers should be carefully and fully drawn, as it is often of great importance that a manager should have full power to act in the courts as to buying and selling land, and other matters. if the full power of acting on his own responsibility is to rest with the manager, it should be distinctly so stated in the power of attorney. if the power of direction lies with the principal solely, it should be remembered (a fact that is not always remembered, by the way, as i know from my own experience) that, though the manager has the power of acting for the proprietor, he cannot do so in any degree at variance with the instructions received. if, for instance, the proprietor orders that, in the case of a dispute between him and another party, the manager is to call in arbitrators to decide on certain points in a dispute, the manager would have no right to put other points connected with the dispute to the decision of the arbitrators, because he, the manager, might think it would be of advantage to his principal to do so, or for any other reason whatsoever. the proprietor of an absentee estate is necessarily entirely in the power of his manager; and whatever the number of accounts, reports, and returns may be is of little consequence, as the proprietor cannot get behind them, i.e., he cannot count the coolies that enter the estate in the morning, and that being the case, he is wholly dependent on the honesty of the manager. but the proprietor, it might be urged, can call for the check-roll of people. so he can, but there is nothing to prevent the manager keeping two check-rolls, one to pay the people with and the other to send to the proprietor, and i have heard of this being done. nor is there anything to prevent a manager representing himself to be present on the estate and attending to his duties, while in reality he may be amusing himself fifty miles away. it is, if a little amusing, certainly very instructive to read in "balfour's cyclopædia"[59] that "coffee is liable to fail from leaf disease, bug, borer, and the absence of the eye of the owner," and the statement would have been quite complete had the writer added that it is the absence of the eye of the owner which, in mysore at least, i may certainly say, is responsible for much of the leaf disease and nearly all the borer. but the reader will readily understand that money is very easily frittered away in employing large bodies of labourers unless an active personal interest is taken in seeing that full value is obtained from them, and that their efforts are rightly directed. it is no wonder, then, that dr. balfour treats the absence of the eye of the owner as an equivalent for the presence of borer or leaf disease. i know of two estates in mysore, of about similar size, one of which gave a clear profit of over £5,000 one year, while a neighbouring estate as well situated, and with better soil, yielded a small loss. both estates were started in the same year. but in the case of the first, the eye of the owner was always present, while in the case of the second, the owner was totally absent for many years, and afterwards only visited his property at long intervals, sufficiently long to enable him not to estimate its steady decadence. every estate should have an information book,[60] so complete that, in the event of a new manager being appointed, he should hardly have to ask the proprietor a single question. the book should either be type written, or written in a hand as clear as type, should of course be paged, and have a well drawn up table of contents, and a blank page opposite every written page, for the insertion of notes and observations. the book should give, firstly, a history of the estate, then a list of the various fields, the dates on which they were planted, a description of the soil of each field, and an account of the manures put down in it, with notes on the results observed from the various manures applied. a list should be given of the native staff, and of the character and capabilities of the individuals comprising it, their pay and length of service, and also of those amongst the work people who would be likely to make good duffadars. the experience of the estate as to the order and way in which the various works should be done should be carefully recorded. a section should be devoted to observations made when visiting neighbouring estates, as it is of the greatest importance to record all the local experience and opinions. remarks should be made as to the best means of obtaining transport either for the estate or carrying coffee to the coast, and as to how and where anything and everything the estate may require can be procured. the dates of feasts and holidays should be entered, and a section should be devoted to financing the estate, accounts and rates of pay, and the advances given by the estate to coolies, or maistries. another section should be devoted to giving a complete inventory of all the tools, sawn timber, machines, carts, cattle, bungalow furniture, in short, everything on the property. and a section should be devoted to lines, or coolie houses, and sanitary precautions regarding them. careful record should also be entered of all the coffee sold, and the prices obtained for it, and remarks as to the changes, if any, in the quality of the produce, as such changes would perhaps throw light on the treatment of the property, and the manurial system most advisable. the dates on which vegetables should be put down, and the kinds most suitable to the locality, and the best method of growing them should also be noted, as well as the most suitable kinds of fruit, and the most desirable kinds of ornamental trees. the rainfall register should also be given, as well as any other information of interest, as for instance, a list of game shot from the estate. much of the above kind of information exists on estates, but it is either buried in diaries or accounts, and, in short, is not in a readily available form. when preparing my own information books i was especially struck with their value as books of reference, and found my first one of use even before i had completed it. notes soon accumulate, and in the course of about three or four years it will generally be found that a new edition is required. the book is especially valuable when you wish to hear the opinions of any planter whose experience you would like to compare with your own. in that case, instead of much talk ending perhaps in no very clear result, you can ask that the information book should be glanced over and a note made opposite any point as to which the experience of the person you wish to consult may differ from your own. i was particularly struck with the advantage of my information book when an eminent agricultural chemist once paid a visit to my estate. i handed it to him and asked him to be kind enough to look over the section relating to manures, and make any notes he thought fit on the conclusions arrived at. he presently came to me with the book marked here and there with brief yes, no, or, perhaps, memo.'s. i then took my note-book, and in a very short time wrote down his opinions as to the conclusions i had come to. an absentee proprietor should have the information book written in duplicate and keep one copy with him, and in this he should write his opinion as to how it would be advisable to deal with the property in the event of his death. the book, i need hardly add, would be of the greatest value to the proprietor's heir, as with it he would be the master of the manager, while without it the manager would be the master of the new proprietor. another great advantage arising from the information book is that it does away with all possibility of misunderstanding. there can be no "oh, i understood this, or thought you wanted the other," or, "oh, i was not informed, and now that i know what you want." in short, there can be no room either for disputes or excuses with a well-kept, written up to date, information book. the following hints may prove useful to young planters, or managers, but, as it will be more convenient, i shall use the word manager solely, and the reader will understand that in the term manager i include planters who are their own managers, or who, in other words, do not employ a manager. when the duke of wellington was asked by lord mahon (afterwards the earl stanhope) to what he attributed the success of his campaigns, the duke replied, "the real reason why i succeeded in my own campaigns is because i was always on the spot. i saw everything and did everything for myself." managers should remember this secret of success, and remember that, when they give orders they must always go and see that they are carried out, and if they do not do so, they may certainly rely on their orders being imperfectly, or inefficiently executed. and here i am reminded of a case to the point which happened one morning. my manager had ordered some top soil to be laid on one of the roads in the plantation, and on this bonedust was scattered, the intention being that each basketful of top soil should contain a certain proportion of the bonedust. on passing the spot on the way to look at some other work my manager dismounted, and said, "if you will remain here for a moment i will rejoin you." then he went down into the coffee to look at the application of the manure. during his absence i overheard a woman say to the man who was filling her basket, "you have put no bones in my basket." this called my attention to the subject, and i then observed that the bonedust had not been scattered right up to the edges of the top soil, which overlapped the deposit of bonedust by about a foot, and hence her basket, which was being filled from the edge of the heap (which was a flattened one), contained no bonedust, or but a very little of it, and the result of this, of course, would be injurious to all those trees which had been deprived of the proper share of bones, or got none at all. this may seem a trifling matter, but it will illustrate and enforce my suggestion as to the necessity of being always on the spot, and it is the attention to, or neglect of, all these apparently trifling matters which, in the total, makes estate management either a success or the reverse. what i have said will also illustrate the fact that coolies, who to those who do not understand them, appear so lifeless and uninteresting, do take an interest in what is going on, and this poor woman, as the reader will have observed, was defending my interests, and remonstrating with the duffadar (native overseer) as to the way in which the manuring was being carried out, at least so far as her share in the work was concerned at the moment. i do not think i could add anything further as to the necessity of being always on the spot, though i may as well mention that one planter of long experience once said to me, "every day that a man is off his estate is a loss to him." managers are apt to neglect seeing to the execution of the minor works of an estate, and it is there that there is often a great leakage of money, and, what is often of more importance, waste of labour which is required for pushing forward other works. i will take, for instance, the people sent off to gather leaves for littering the cattle sheds. i have found by personal inspection that, unless closely looked after, much of this labour will be lost, and the same is sure to be the case with the people employed in other minor works. to keep the people employed in minor works up to the mark the manager should always visit them daily, and, besides, pay them a surprise visit three times a week. another source of leakage on an estate, and not an inconsiderable one, arises from tools not being sharpened over night, or by some one before the arrival of the people, and nothing is more common than to see a group of coolies hanging round the grindstone in the morning waiting to have their axes or knives sharpened. ten minutes may here easily be lost, and on six men this leads to the loss of one hour's work. then time by a slow manager is often lost in getting his gangs under weigh and setting them to work. where the work can be done by contract, or task work, this does not of course matter, but such work as pruning, shade tree thinning, etc., cannot be tasked, and delay in setting to work is then a serious loss, partly in direct money, and partly from work delayed which it may be very important to push on. managers should always carry note-books and take down at once anything they may wish to remember. they should afterwards take out the principal points, enter them on a slip of paper and put it on the writing table, for, as the native saying goes, "a good memory is not equal to bad ink" for recording a fact. points or facts of more especial interest should be at once entered on the blank leaves of the information book to which i shall presently allude. when visiting other estates managers should always note down any points of interest, and especially as regards manuring and the effects of shade trees on the coffee. managers, in the case of a large estate, should never walk along the roads, unless of course for a very short distance, but only amongst the coolies at work, or when inspecting work done, or laying out fresh work. for these purposes all the strength and freshness of the managers are required, and it seems superfluous to observe that a tired man is seldom a good observer, or rather in a good state for observing. on a steep estate the manager should dismount on the upper road and walk downhill to his coolies, and send his horse down to the lower road so as to avoid climbing the hill. managers should be careful of their health, make it a rule always to change at once the moment they come in, and see that their food, however plain, is of good quality and well cooked. they should take remedies immediately at the first indication of disorder, and should be very careful to attend to the directions in the preceding section, and avoid all unnecessary fatigue, as it is when over fatigued that a man is most liable to the inroads of disease. it is very important to, as soon as possible, make a beginning, however small, as regards any work, even if it should have to be discontinued for a time on account of other works coming in the way. for the beginning stands there as a reminder that the work has to be done, and the proverbial first step has been taken. it is also important so to arrange work that parties may be within easy reach of each other, as this of course lightens the work of supervision. when visiting a working party the manager should not trouble himself so much about the work being then done, but should occupy most of his time in examining the work of the previous day, and he should see that the duffadars are not merely staring at the coolies as they work, but that they are examining the work that has been done. when pruning, for instance, the duffadar should move from one end of the line to the other examining as he goes the trees just finished by the people. it is hardly necessary to say that a fluent command of the vernacular is of the utmost, or i may say, of the most indispensable importance, for, as an old planter once said to me, "a native thinks that a european who can't speak the language is a perfect fool." the reader will find a chapter in the "experiences of a planter" on learning languages by ear, and i regret that i cannot, from want of space, insert it in this volume. footnotes: [59] "the cyclopædia of india, and of eastern and southern asia," by surgeon-general edward balfour. third edition. london: bernard quaritch, 15, piccadilly, 1885. [60] and so should every estate in england, and every business, too. chapter xviii. the planter's bungalow, and the amenities of an estate. the best form of bungalow is, in my opinion, one with the rooms in a row and an open veranda ten feet wide running around three sides of the house. the veranda at the back should also be ten feet, but there it would require to be partially inclosed, partly for bathrooms, and partly for a store-room for household supplies. the advantage of this form of bungalow is that the wide veranda is a pleasant place to sit in, and walk up and down in the rainy season, and besides, if an additional room is required, a temporary partition may be put up, and should a permanent addition to the accommodation be necessary, a portion of the veranda at the end of the bungalow may be built up. such a form of bungalow, too, can easily be added to in length. willesden paper should be put under the tiles, as it prevents leaks, keeps the wood of the roof largely free from the influence of damp, and the bungalow, too, in the monsoon months. for bedrooms i should recommend glazed tiles, and for the dining-rooms and verandas, unglazed square red tiles, fringed at the edges of the room with two or three rows of glazed tiles. i do not recommend the latter for any place where there are many people moving about, as i have found that the glazing soon becomes injured. it is generally the custom to have the kitchen at some little distance from the bungalow, but i do not think that this is a good arrangement, partly because it is inconvenient in the rainy season, and partly because the kitchen is apt to be turned into a resort for horsekeepers and loungers. the plan i have adopted is to have the kitchen and the go downs in a wing running at right angles to the west end of the bungalow, and with the kitchen door facing the back veranda. this arrangement is most convenient for the servants, and enables the master of the house to have the kitchen under easy observation, so as to see to its cleanliness, and prevent its being made a place of common resort. the dirt and disorder usual in an indian cook room is well known, but there is no reason why it should not be kept as neat and clean as an english kitchen. the floor should be paved with square tiles, and i believe it would pay well, for economy of fuel, and ready supply of hot water, to have a small wilson range (227, high holborn--range no. 11 is a convenient size). owing to the shape of the ground it may not be convenient to have the kitchen and go downs built as a wing of the bungalow, and in that case they should be opposite the back of the bungalow, and connected with it by a covered way. no drain should be made out of the kitchen or scullery. i have found it cheaper, and safer, from a sanitary point of view, to have all the dirty water used for watering purposes. i have a group of orange trees on a slope near the kitchen, and above each tree a hole is made. into this the dirty water is poured for several days. then the pit is closed with earth, and others are used in succession. i thus get rid of a nuisance in a wholesome way, and at the same time water the orange trees. the aspect of the bungalow is of great importance. it should front due north, as the declination of the sun is southerly during the cloudless season, and the sun is thus entirely off the front veranda, and if the situation should not be naturally well sheltered from the east, a solid block of casuarinas should at once be planted on the eastern side, as the easterly wind is disagreeable, and liable to create drafts, and consequently cause chills. a line of casuarinas should be planted on the south and west side of the bungalow, and at such a distance as to cast a shadow on to the southern and western walls, and also on to the roof, as this will keep the house much cooler than it would otherwise be. other trees might be suggested for this purpose, and trees affording more coolness, but i have suggested the casuarina as it is a quick grower, very ornamental, and not at all liable to be blown down. no carriage drive should be made up to the front of the bungalow, as it is obviously much pleasanter to look out of the veranda on to a pretty garden without a road intervening, and carriages should either drive up to the back of the bungalow, or to one end of it where a wide space may be left for turning. i have said that a line of casuarinas should be planted on the southern and western sides of the bungalow so as to shade it from the sun, and i would suggest that, in order to keep the ground on these aspects cool, orange trees should be thickly planted, and i may mention that i have done this with excellent effect on the southern side of my bungalow. when orange trees are planted for this purpose they should either not be allowed to bear fruit, or but a very small number of oranges, as the object of course is to have, for ornamental reasons, fresh looking trees, and full of foliage, so as to keep the ground near the bungalow as cool as possible. the bungalows in mysore are usually built on the grass land outside of the plantation, and where this is practicable it should always be done, as, from the value of the coffee land, much of it cannot be spared for planting, whereas in the open, as the land is of little value the planter can, by planting clumps of casuarinas and other trees, make his residence so much more agreeable and cheerful. but sometimes it is advisable or even necessary to have the bungalow in the plantation, and in that case the most must be made of the situation, and vistas cut here and there through the shade trees so as to let in the best available views. it should be remembered, a fact too often forgotten, that, what are called in scotland the amenities, are not only agreeable in themselves, but have an important marketable value, and when people discover that the winter on a mysore plantation is one of the pleasantest climates in the world, and have practically realized the ease with which the journey may now be made, a plantation will be often regarded (as i regard mine) as a pleasant winter home. and, whatever it may be regarded as, it is certain that an intending purchaser of coffee property on which he proposed to reside would naturally, and perhaps unknown to himself, be influenced by the amenities of the estate. as regards the garden in front of the bungalow, it should of course be limited to such an amount as may be within easy command of the water available. roses should be freely used, and violets, mignonette, geraniums, and phlox, while the edges of the veranda should have some crotons and ferns in pots. i have given this limited list because it contains all that is necessary to make a place reasonably presentable, but many additions may of course be advantageously made. i need hardly say that it is very desirable to place the bungalow as close as possible to the points where the near presence of the planter is advantageous. these are the pulping-house, store, drying-ground, nursery, vegetable garden, and orchard. i have two estates where this desirable combination exists, and by the exercise of a little care and time to study the situation, it may often be carried out; but the best site for the bungalow cannot sometimes be discovered without a residence of some duration on the estate, and it is of great advantage in making a new plantation to defer for some time building a permanent bungalow. for all practical purposes a house with sun-dried brick walls, and a roof of rough jungle wood, will answer very well for some years, and during that time a careful study of the land will generally disclose a much better site than one might at first be disposed to select. and i speak with personal experience on this point, as, had i built a permanent house on the site i at first selected on my head estate, i should certainly have had cause for regret. at first sight it may seem that the proximity of the bungalow to the drying-ground is not desirable, but the drying-ground, estate office, store, and other buildings may, by planting, be completely and quickly screened off from the dwelling-house. the permanent bungalow should be built of brick, but all steps should be made of stone, and not of brick, as is so commonly done, as the stone is so much more suitable in a climate which is wet for so many months of the year. it is very advisable to keep a bungalow cool at night, so that you may be able to have a cool house in the day, and in order to effect this a free admission of air is necessary, and the doors of the dining-room certainly should have wire gauze doors as well. the wooden doors may then be left open at night. the bedroom doors that open into the verandas should have the same too, for, though this is not quite so necessary, it is a great comfort to have plenty of air, and yet be able to exclude cats, rats, or snakes. building materials should be constantly collected--stones, stone-posts, the wood-work of native houses which is sometimes for sale; and a careful eye should also be kept on all the felled wood left in the plantation, as this is often overlooked till it partially decays, and it is very apt to be stolen. trees with a central dark wood, like jack, may be left unsawn for some years, but trees which have not, like neeral or mango, should be sawn up as soon as they are dry. sawn wood should be brought home at once and stored in a house sheltered from the east wind which dries up the wood extremely, and a careful list should be kept of it. wood for rafters is the better for being put into a tank and left there for four or five months. i may explain that stone posts (we use the literal translation from the kanarese) are blocks of from 8 to 12 feet in length, which are raised by fire by an ingenious process. the natives first light fires on the slab of sheet rock they desire to operate on, and then cut small holes along the segment they wish to split off. they then drive wedges into the side of the rock, and the segment splits off, giving a stone post of the length required (they may be raised as long as 20 feet) and about 18 inches wide and 5 inches thick. there are no more useful things to have a supply of on an estate, and we use short ones for the posts of wire fences and for stiles. they are particularly useful for supporting verandas. to prevent white ants attacking the roofs of buildings i have successfully used the following mixture. tar, one pailful; asphalte, 2 lbs.; and castor oil, one seer. mix and boil these ingredients. afterwards add sand. then plaster the mixture on the top of the walls to the depth of about two inches, and on this place the wall plates. this plan was adopted when one of my bungalows was re-roofed many years ago, and we have not a sign of white ants, though they are numerous all around the house. if posts, when put in the ground, are buried in sand, and surrounded with it up to the level of the floor, white ants will not attack the wood, as they cannot apparently work in sand. this is important to remember, as wooden posts are often used for cattle, and other sheds. toddy trees past yielding toddy should be cut down, split into convenient sizes for reapers and other purposes, and should then be smoked to preserve the wood. as i previously pointed out, the toddy tree (_caryota urens_ palm) is a most useful tree, and the seeds of it should be freely sown in the fences, waste jungle, and the bottoms of deep ravines, but it is not a desirable tree to have in the plantation. wood for handles should be kept in store, as it is of great importance to use well seasoned wood. jack roots are valuable for all short handles. lines, or rows of houses for labourers should be made of sun-dried bricks, and roofed with corrugated iron. for sanitary reasons they should, if possible, be divided over several sites. the manager should occasionally visit the lines, and a duffadar be appointed to see after them, and that no dirty water is thrown down in front of the doors. the houses should be numbered, and a list of the occupants kept. new arrivals should be at once reported, as bad characters are often harboured in the lines. a pensioned sepoy might be advantageously employed to look after the lines, and report on new arrivals, and also keep an eye on persons who may be suspected of stealing coffee. the advantage of employing a stranger for such purposes is obvious, as natives residing permanently in the locality are much afraid of making enemies, whereas a fresh pensioned sepoy might be got in from time to time, and he should be changed before he had time to make any friends on the estate. an application for a sepoy should be made to the officer in charge of pensioned sepoys in bangalore. these pensioned sepoys might also be employed with advantage in the crop season, with the special object of preventing coffee robbery from the plantations, which are often surrounded with villages. as regards coolie lines, it is important to consider aspect, and a slight slope towards the east, or slightly south, is a good one, as it catches the first rays of the sun, and so reminds the people of their duties in coming early to work, and enables them to warm themselves when the mornings are chilly. such an aspect is also sheltered from the south-west monsoon blasts, and, in the hot weather, from the heat of the westering sun. when i look at a magnificent row of casuarinas (_casuarina equisetifolia_, the tinian pine or beefwood) which i planted on my property about the year 1859, and which are now about 150 feet high, and consider the value of this tree, both for timber and firewood, i stand astounded at my own stupidity in not having planted them on a considerable scale. but it is thus in all new countries where you are surrounded by trees, and it is difficult to believe that, under such circumstances, timber and wood can ever become dear and scarce, and the englishman rarely plants trees for timber or fuel,--in fact, i am the only one who has done so as far as i am aware--and perhaps they do not realize, being born in a land of slow timber growth, how rapidly some trees shoot up in mysore. it may encourage planting if i mention that i took careful measurement by line of one of the row alluded to. in january, 1882, the height of the tree was 153 feet, in girth near the ground, 5 feet 8 inches; at 50 feet, 3 feet 8 inches; and 1 foot 6 inches at 100 feet. in february, 1884, the same tree was in girth at 4 feet from the ground, 5 feet 3 inches; at 50 feet, 4 feet 5 inches; and at 100 feet, 2 feet 3 inches. in march, 1886, this tree, at 6 feet from the ground, was 5 feet 4 inches in girth; at 77 feet, 3 feet 2 inches; and at 100 feet, 2 feet 3 inches. this tree was again measured in february, 1893, when its dimensions were found to be as follows. height, 154 feet. girth at 3 feet from ground, 6 feet 3 inches; at 6 feet, 5 feet 10 inches; at 77 feet from ground, 2 feet 9 inches; and at about 20 feet from the top of the tree, 1 foot 2 inches. the wood is very strong, and may be used for rafters. it makes excellent fuel, giving much heat, and little ash. the _grevillea robusta_--silver oak--should also be planted, as it affords excellent firewood. and _poinciana regia_--the gold mohur, which is also good for making charcoal. _pithecolobium saman_, the rain tree, should also be planted, as i find that (report of government gardens, bangalore, for 1888-89) "in good open soil it grows more rapidly than any introduced trees." i have an _eucalyptus globulus_ (the blue gum) growing fairly well on my property, and about eight or nine years old, but, as it is unfavourably reported on for mysore in the report previously mentioned, i do not recommend it. casuarinas should be planted in holes four feet deep, and certainly not less than that depth if a safe and rapid growth is desired. i have been particularly struck with the great difference in the rapidity of growth where the holes have not been deeply dug. the plants will require a little water during the dry weather of the first year. as the most important part of a planter's capital is his health, it is obvious that great pains should be taken to conserve it, for, though mysore will be found to be a very healthy country if ordinary precautions are taken, the extremes of temperature are very great--often cold in the morning--very hot in the sun in the middle of the day, and often turning suddenly cold again at sunset. in england the lowest mysore temperature would not be called cold, but relatively to the heat of the day it is so. then the east winds, if you get heated to the extent of perspiration, are apt to produce that chill which is the starting point of illness in most countries. for a great many years past i have, as a matter of curiosity, which has since become a matter of habit, always asked when told of the death of anyone, "did he not get a chill?" and i have almost invariably found the answer to be in the affirmative. when, then, a planter comes in, he should make it a rule always to change his things from head to foot, and he should avoid sitting in drafts when the wind is from the east. when he goes out shooting he should take a spare flannel shirt with him, change his shirt when suitable opportunities occur, and, of course, dry the one he has taken off in the sun. he should always take a cover coat with him to put on, when, after a hot day in the sun, he may have to ride home in the chilled evening air. as a protection against the sun there is nothing better than a coat padded with cotton all down the back and front, and with a stand up padded collar. some people prefer large solar topees. i dislike them, as they heat and oppress the head, and always prefer a light topee and an umbrella. it is well known that the head is affected more through the eyes than in any other way, and smoked glasses should always be used when going along unshaded roads, and especially across dried grass lands. over fatigue should be avoided as much as possible, and the effects of it done away with immediately. when tired do not call for brandy or whisky and soda-water, but if you feel that you require anything to keep up the system, a plateful of soup, made with one of brand's beef preparations, will be found to be far preferable. then a bath, and an hour in bed will turn you out a fresh man fit for anything, mentally or bodily, and you will be able to eat a good meal with appetite and advantage. the best kind of clothing is light tweeds, such as might be used in england in warm summer weather. cholera belts, or cummerbunds, are often recommended, but i much prefer thick, short flannel drawers coming rather high up over the middle of the body. you thus admit free ventilation, and at the same time avoid risk of chill about the loins. next to protecting the body from without, or perhaps of equal importance, is fortifying it from within. here the first point of importance is to get a good cook who is a good baker, and supply him with american flour. toddy from the sago-palm is an excellent substitute for yeast, and i imagine it must be better, for i never get better, and very seldom as good, bread anywhere in the world as i do in my indian home in the jungle. the flour usually to be bought in india, made from wheat grown in the country, is either bad or adulterated, and often has sand in it, and the bread made from it is of poor quality. as regards food, there is no difficulty in mysore, and at a moderate cost as good a table can be kept as could be desired for purposes of health and comfort. attention should, of course, be paid to having a good vegetable garden, in which a good supply of lettuces and tomatoes should form a principal feature, and during the wet weather months, when vegetables cannot be procured on the spot, tinned vegetables should be used. i have found the french tinned vegetables to be the best. there are now many excellent preparations of herrings preserved in tins, and these should be used occasionally. ghee is commonly used in india for cooking, but for all dishes for which it is suitable, oil is much cheaper and better. gingelly oil (_sesamum orientale_) is the best, or, i think, the only oil which is good for this purpose. it is, i find, by the article on oils in the "encyclopædia britannica," the finest culinary oil in the world, and superior to olive oil, for which, indeed, it is commonly sold, and large quantities of the seed go to southern europe. the seed should be procured and washed in cold water to remove the red epidermis, and then a native oil-maker may be got in to prepare the oil. when ghee, or clarified butter, is required, never buy that article in the bazaar, but buy the best native butter and have it made into ghee. boil the butter, and add to it a small quantity of sugar and salt, and skim off floatage. if to the clarified butter some fresh milk is added, it may be used for the table instead of butter, but it is better, i find now, to use tinned butter. cleanliness in the kitchen, and vessels in good order, are points easily talked about, but cannot be attained without some inspection, and the kitchen and its utensils should be examined from time to time. people who are particular have all the pots and pans ranged out ready for inspection daily, and such inspections are most necessary for health, as the dirty habits of the native servants are such that persistent vigilance is requisite. and i may here add that there is no use in telling the servants a thing once--they must be told again, again, and again. at last they give in to your persistence, and being, like most people in the world, a good deal creatures of habit, go on fairly well. it is only fair to the native servants to mention that, if they do keep things in a dirty state, it is often because they have not the means that servants have at home. the water supply at their command is commonly very deficient, and often not over clean, and they are generally ill supplied with places to wash up in, and with dusters and glass cloths, and then they are rated, and often abused, because plates are badly washed and things in general dirty. under the heading of health requisites, i, of course, include literature. this, for a planter of moderate means, is generally a matter of great difficulty, and must continue to be so till the railway system is extended to the planting districts. at present novels that cannot be read more than once are quite out of the question on the score of cost, and, under the circumstances, the planter should content himself with buying scott's and bulwer's and george eliot's novels. he should, of course, have a good atlas, an encyclopædia--chambers' is good and moderate in price, and balfour's "cyclopædia of india," which contains much valuable and interesting information. he might also buy lecky's works, and sir john strachey's "india," and buckle's "history of civilization," for, whatever the faults of the last may be, the writer's style is admirable, and the book stirs up thought and inquiry in the mind. addison's "spectator," as it is commonly called, amiel's "journal," and locke's "conduct of the understanding," might also be bought. ville's "artificial manures" should be procured and studied. then for newspapers, i may certainly recommend "the spectator," "the mail," or tri-weekly edition of the "times," and "the illustrated london news"--not the thin paper edition of it, which is most unsatisfactory in every way. one of the best, if not the very best of indian papers is the "madras mail," and that should certainly be taken, more especially as there is much planting intelligence in it. a note should be kept of the various books reviewed in "the spectator," and of any books the reader might fancy to buy, and smith's lists of second-hand books, and also the lists of messrs. mudie and co., should be procured, and from these booksellers books may often be bought at a very moderate price. do not buy cheap editions of novels, but buy the original three volume editions, which have good paper and print, and which may be bought second-hand at most moderate prices. it is of great importance that a planter should have some pursuit which may be both useful and interesting, such as botany, natural history, or geology, and drawing, too, would be most valuable. in the old days sport filled up our leisure hours, but that, in these days, is not always to be had without going far afield, as, from the number of guns in the hands of the natives, the game within their reach has been mostly destroyed. it is of great value, then, to have some pursuit to fill up time when there is not enough of it to spare to go to a distance from home for sport. attending to, and taking an interest in a garden is a great resource, and indirectly a source of great pleasure, which i am reminded of as i write these lines, and at the same time listen to the warbling of the bulbuls in the flower garden in front of my bungalow. these charming little birds are very active, and are now (february 28th), collecting materials for building their nests. there are, too, many charming warblers which are attracted by a garden so arranged as to attract birds. the beds in the foreground should consist of a mixture of flowers and standard roses, and those at the back of various flowering shrubs, and low trees which are suitable for the birds to nest in. i have no carriage road in front of the bungalow, and with this arrangement can have the beds quite close to the foot of the steps of the inclosed veranda. i am much struck with the persistent loquacity of these indian birds, and at no time of day--not even for a minute--is the sound of birds absent, and their notes are to be heard all through the fine weather. it is very advisable to take up waste paddy fields, i.e., abandoned rice terraces, for cattle grazing, and i may point out that this is also of advantage to the amenities of an estate, by providing snipe shooting close at hand. it will also be found of advantage for feeding ducks and geese. i have a stretch of such land on one of my properties, and find it most useful. the water, i may add, should be carefully conducted to the various terraces, just as if they were to be cultivated with rice, this, as i need hardly say, being necessary for the snipe. amongst these scraps of hints, which may be useful, i may mention the fact that tealeries were once common in india. i am told that they are easily established, though i have, myself, no experience of them. it is sometimes possible to add to the amenities of an estate by reserving pieces of land for tigers to lie up in, and this is very important, now that every scrap of land is being taken up for planting either coffee or cardamoms, and that cover for game is becoming proportionately scarce. there are two such pieces that i have reserved on my estate for tigers, but care must be taken beforehand to see that such reserves are on the exact route by which tigers cross from one part of the country to another. for instance, the pieces i have reserved are about three miles apart, and i have never known or heard of a tiger being between them excepting on one occasion last year, when a royal tiger inspected a cattle shed of mine about five minutes' walk from the house. at first sight it seems singular that these animals, like hares, should have their runs, and still more that the runs should be so regularly adhered to, though they may be several miles apart. in concluding this chapter, and my remarks on planting, i have only to observe that, if a planter chooses to take an interest in everything that is going on around him, and learns to make himself at home in the country, he will find the life both interesting and agreeable. in former times there was, no doubt, a sense of remoteness in the situation, but that, as we have seen, has been considerably removed by the railway extensions of recent years; and when the proposed lines, to which i have alluded in my introductory chapter, are carried out, planters, during the unimportant seasons of the year, may reside either at bangalore or on the nilgiri hills (the climate of the latter, taking it all the year round, is the finest in the world), and yet be in full touch with their affairs. finally, i may observe that in mysore we have the great advantage of being out of reach of the faddists of the house of commons, who, for the sake of their votes, have to be humoured, whether the interests of india suffer or not. there is no chance, for instance, of the opium faddists thrusting a commission on the mysoreans, and then making them pay for part of the expenses of the inquiry. the progress of india may be checked by the ignorant or unprincipled action of a party in the house of commons (and certainly will be checked if the opium faddists are allowed to have their way), but mysore is free from the only danger that threatens india--the sacrifice of its interests in order to serve party ends in the house of commons. chapter xix. the indian silver question. since the preceding chapters were written a great and most momentous step has been taken by the indian government. on the 26th of june, 1893, the finance minister in india announced that a gold standard was to be established, and that the mints were to be closed to the free coinage of silver. this measure, which so profoundly affects the prospects of the producers and manufacturers of india, i am compelled to notice. to do so, however, in an exhaustive manner would be quite beyond the scope of this book, and i shall confine my remarks as much as possible to the points of the subject which bear upon the welfare of those who produce or manufacture anything in india. the reports[61] and papers enumerated at the foot of the page supply me with a large amount of information and opinion, but i must warn those interested in the subject that a complete view of the whole situation, as far as india is concerned, cannot be obtained from them. for some, and in my opinion the most important, points connected with the question, have either not been alluded to at all, or quite inadequately investigated. these defects i hope in some degree to be able to supply from my long experience of the effects of the expenditure of capital in developing the resources of india--and i say in some degree, because i feel sure that a much fuller investigation is required before all the far-reaching effects of this momentous measure can be adequately weighed. i trust, however, that, even in the short space i am devoting to the subject, i shall be able sufficiently to elucidate those points which dominate the situation, and a consideration of which will show that if the government succeeds in forcing up the gold value of the rupee in the manner proposed, the prosperity of the people, the popularity of our rule, and the state of our trade in the east will be most seriously prejudiced. and now let me begin at the beginning, so that the uninformed reader may have a clear view of the whole subject as far as india is concerned. the origin of the movement in india with reference to the introduction of a gold standard and forcing up the gold value of the rupee is shortly, and i believe very accurately, stated by sir frank forbes adam in his evidence given before the currency committee; and on november 26th, 1892, he told the committee that "though there is undoubtedly dissatisfaction existing among a certain number of those carrying on foreign trade, really the origin of the movement and its true force proceed from the servants of government." of this, i think, there can be no doubt whatever; and it is important to remember that this movement did not originate with the people, or planters, or merchants, or manufacturers, or from any section of the producers and traders of india. the servants of the government had a great and legitimate grievance, because they found that, though rupee prices in india were not to be complained of, they experienced a grievous loss on their home remittances, and it was their persistent agitation which created and maintained the true force of the movement. the agitation they thus originated was joined in by some of the merchants of india, though to what extent does not appear, and i can only say generally that the merchants who did join the movement were small in number. bombay and karachi were clearly against any interference with the currency; and from the expression of disappointment which fell from the hon. mr. mackay--president of the currency association, calcutta--with reference to the small number of his supporters, i am led to the conclusion that, with the exception of a certain proportion of calcutta merchants, occasional individuals in other parts of india, and the servants of the state, all india was, and is, dead against the monetary policy of the government. of the twenty-two witnesses examined before the currency committee, thirteen were against the government measure, six in favour of it (four of the latter being government servants), two doubtful, and one presumably against the measure. the main features of the measure i take from the statement of the finance minister, who, on the 26th of june, 1893, announced the introduction of a bill "with the object of altering the indian monetary standard from silver to gold," and who in his next sentence declared that "it is not intended to do more at present than stop the free coinage of silver at the indian mints, and as a provisional arrangement to provide for the issue of rupees at these mints in exchange for gold at the ratio of 1s. 4d. per rupee."[62] in a subsequent part of his speech sir david barbour states "that an arrangement for the receipt of gold at the mints at a ratio of 1s. 4d. per rupee will be made by executive order, and so will the arrangements for the receipt of sovereigns in payment of sums due to government at the rate of fifteen rupees a sovereign." the current rate of exchange then, and still existing, is about 1s. 3d., and the government thus proposed, by creating an artificial scarcity of rupees, to force up the gold value of the rupee by one rupee per sovereign. let us now glance at the cash effects of the measure on the finances of the government and the prosperity of the people; and in doing so i shall, to aid the comprehension of the english reader who knows nothing of lakhs, or crores, or rs. x, state the figure in pounds sterling, treating the rupee at its old value of 2s. to do this will not materially affect my statements, for, though some articles have risen in price, others have fallen, and, on the average, the rupee (excepting as regards labourers' wages, which have much risen in many parts of india in recent years) goes nearly as far in india as it ever did, a fact which is fully corroborated by several very competent witnesses examined by the currency committee, though one witness maintained that silver prices in india had risen.[63] it may be interesting to note in this connection that the purchasing price of silver in china has remained unchanged for many years past, and that for the last thirty years there has been little change in the purchasing power of the rupee in ceylon. both these statements i make on the authority of witnesses examined before the currency committee. what then would be the cash effect (1) on the finances, and (2) on the people, were the government successful in forcing up the gold value of the rupee by one rupee a sovereign? the saving that the government would effect in remitting money to england to pay home charges would amount to about £1,570,000,[64] but as the amount is liable to loss by exchange we must make a deduction, and, in round numbers, the sum that the government would save is about a million and a half sterling. now as to the people of india. what the government gains, i.e., a rupee a sovereign, the seller of produce must lose, as exporters could afford to give them just so much less than they now do. now, taking the exports of india at one hundred millions,[65] the currency measure of the government would cause a loss to producers of 7 per cent., which is equivalent to a tax on the exported productions of india of seven millions. the result of course is, that to get little more than one million and a half into the treasury, the government proposes to take seven millions out of the pockets of the people. now i have no wish to pose as what is commonly called an expert, and i naturally shrink from any idea of criticising that long chain of financial luminaries which, beginning at the council chamber at calcutta, stretches through the rooms of the currency committee which recently sat in london, right up to that cabinet over which the greatest of financial luminaries presides, but i trust i may be allowed to go as far as to say that the arrangement made by mr. gladstone's government which is the body ultimately responsible--does not seem to be of a very alluring character, as it entails on india, viewed as a whole, a loss of £5,500,000. and this cheering result has apparently been viewed with such satisfaction by the financial experts, that it is to be regarded as merely a small instalment of the blessings they have in store for the happy toilers whose destinies they have been empowered to influence. for if the policy of taking five and a half millions sterling out of the pockets of the people in order to put about one million and a half into the financial till is a good one, the extension of the process, up to certain limits, must be equally so. for such an extension the indian finance minister is evidently prepared, as one may see by looking again at the sentence i have quoted from the speech, in which he declares that "it is not intended to do more _at present_ (the italics are mine) than aim at a rate of 1s. 4d." this, coupled with statements subsequently made, and by what the currency committee has suggested as to a farther increase if it should seem necessary, shows that the government evidently contemplates a rise to 1s. 6d.; and indeed this must obviously be the case, as the anticipated gain from a rise to 1s. 4d., when put against the probable loss on opium, and the allowances to be made to government servants to compensate them for the loss they sustain on home remittances, would go far to swallow up the gain to the state from a 1s. 4d. rate. supposing, then, that the government should be able to carry out its project of a 1s. 6d. rate, the blessings previously showered on the producers will be trebled; so, of course, will be the gain to the exchequer; and the account will then in round figures stand thus:--gain to the exchequer on home remittances, £4,500,000; loss to the producers, £21,000,000; or, in other words, the levy of an export tax of 21 per cent. on all the productions of india,[66] and a total annual loss to india considered as a whole of £16,500,000 sterling. this seems pretty well for a beginning, but it is really a very small part of the results that may with certainty be anticipated from the measure, which, as sir david barbour says, will have far-reaching effects. of this, as we shall see, there can be no doubt whatever. of the direct loss we can form a rough calculation; the indirect losses are indeed incalculable. but let me proceed. we have seen that, at the least, the government proposes to impose, and will impose if it can force up the exchange, an export tax (or what is practically an export tax) of 7 per cent., which is to be ultimately raised to 21 per cent. and we have now to follow out the effects of this on the producers, the people generally, and the financial prospects of the state. the producers in india of articles for foreign export either, as the planters generally do, send their produce for sale to london, or, as the main body of producers do, sell them to merchants who export the goods. both these classes of producers are of course much benefited by a low rate of exchange--the former when they sell in gold and remit money to india to pay for the up-keep of their estates, and the latter when they find that the merchant can afford to pay more rupees than they could when exchange was higher. if then, to put the case in a more precise way, the government succeeds in forcing up the gold value of the rupee, and the merchant is thereby compelled to turn his sovereign into 15 rupees instead of 16 rupees, it is obvious that to make the same profit as before he must give the seller of produce one rupee less. now let me take the business with which, as a planter, i am most familiar. i have roughly estimated the total value of the coffee annually produced in mysore at £870,000, and if, for the sake of even numbers, we knock off £70,000, a 7 per cent. export duty on this will amount to £56,000, and if the government could raise, as it proposes, the rupee to 1s. 6d., £168,000 a year would be the price that the measure would entail on a portion of the inhabitants of the native state of mysore on this single article of export. but this direct cash loss is far from being all; and if the reader will turn back to the introductory chapter, and to that on coffee planting in coorg, he will there find an explanation of the extraordinary effect produced by the introduction of capital into the rural districts of india, and of the remarkable effects it produces on the prosperity of the people, the development of the agricultural resources of the country, and the finances of the government. but, for the convenience of the reader, i may briefly repeat here what i have pointed out in greater detail in the chapters alluded to. from the estimate given of the profits of well-managed european plantations which have been formed on the best land (_vide_ chapters on coffee planting in coorg, and in mysore), it is evident that, though these would be greatly injured by the exchange being forced up, they could still make fair profits; and, indeed, it is conceivable that, from the losses that the government measure would entail, they might ultimately be in as good a position as they are now; for there are large amounts of poor lands which, if the government policy is pursued, would be thrown out of cultivation, either partially or entirely, and the diminished production and demand for labour would, of course, be of great advantage to the estates which survived. and what would largely accelerate the decrease of cultivation would be the fact that if the exchange is forced up all confidence in the government will naturally be shaken. for how can producers have any confidence in a government which, instead of levying on the country as a whole the increased taxes it requires, seeks to attain its financial ends by manipulating the currency in such a way as to reduce to the producers the prices of the commodities they grow for export? and if the gold value of silver is to be forced up to 1s. 4d., and with the declared possibility of its being forced up to 1s. 6d., what is more likely than that the government may persevere with this disastrous policy whenever it again finds itself in financial straits? and is it not evident that the present financial policy of the government, and the possibility of its being further pursued, must give that shock to confidence which will at once repel capital and injure credit? and is it not equally evident that if the gold value of the rupee can be forced up in the manner proposed, the first effect of this will be shown in a large decline in the demand for labour? now, as pointed out in the chapters previously alluded to, the results of an increased employment of labour are quite different from what they would be in england, where an increase of employment given to labourers merely means an increase of comfort amongst the working classes, and of the profits of the shopkeepers with whom they deal. for in india, the introduction of capital to be spent in labour in the rural districts means a social revolution, as large numbers of the labourers set up as cultivators the moment they have saved enough capital to do so. in some cases they give up working for europeans, in others they combine agriculture with occasional months of work on the plantations, or other sources of employment; the whole lower classes of the people are thus elevated, and this tells at once on the finances, enabling (1) rents to be more easily paid, and (2) because the finances improve as more land is brought under cultivation. now, not only would a large diminution of employment take place in connection with coffee-planting were exchange forced up, but the same cause would act on the growers of pepper, cardamoms, and other products, and the prosperity of the province would be thrown back, and the same kind of result would obviously occur in any part of india which grows articles for export. but there is yet another result from this truly far-reaching measure, as sir david barbour justly calls it, which to my mind is the most important of all--the bearing of it on famines; for we all know that the population is rapidly increasing, and that of all apprehensions which haunt the minds of those responsible for the safety of india, those as regard famines are by far the greatest. and here i must ask the reader to turn back to my introductory chapter, and consider the facts relating to famines--facts which show how constantly the fear of famine lies before the indian administrator, both from a financial and humane point of view. i ask him carefully to survey these facts, and then consider what effect the forcing up of the gold value of the rupee is likely to have on famine-producing causes. and is it not evident that the effect of the measure in diminishing the demand for labour must be enormous; that if less money is spent on labour, less will be spent in improving and developing the agricultural resources of india, in digging wells and other famine-preventing works; and that if the labourers fail to find the amount of employment they can now readily obtain, the greater will be the financial burden thrown on the hands of the state in times of famine and scarcity? and must it not be equally evident to anyone possessed of the humblest form of human reason that the government had far better exhaust every taxational resource before embarking on a course which, if the anticipations of government are realized as to silver, will be ruinous to the country, and which, at a vast direct and indirect cost to the people, will only, as i have shown, afford a comparatively speaking trifling financial relief to the state? but it is time now to pass to other points connected with the measure. and first of all let us glance at the evident political results that must arise from it. from what has been previously said, it is evident that the government has arrayed against itself every class in india excepting its own civilian and military servants, and to these we have only to add, not another class, but only a small proportion of the mercantile class. with the exception of some just complaints they had to make as regards charges[67] that had been unjustly thrust on the indian exchequer, and which i myself made in the "times" and elsewhere long before the congress was even thought of, the agitators of the congress had no serious grounds to go upon. but who can say that now? up till lately there was no cause for discontent. india has never been more prosperous, and has never shown greater, or nearly as great signs of progress, as she has within the last twenty years. not only has the demand for labour been abundant, but in many instances it has exceeded the supply. the rates of wages had largely increased, and were producing, as i have previously shown, an accelerated quickening of attention to the development of the resources of the soil. all that the country wanted was to be let alone, and if the financial conditions required increased taxation, no agitator could have successfully complained of this, seeing that it could only have been imposed on account of that cheapening of silver which has been one of the great causes (railways were the other) of the increased prosperity which all classes have enjoyed in recent years. but, if the government measure raises the gold value of the rupee, the agitator will be able to point out that, at an enormous cost to the producers of india, the government has only obtained a most trifling financial relief, and be able to complain with justice that the government has lessened the profits of the agriculturist and diminished the employment for labour. what an admirable advantage has the monetary measure of the government conferred on the popularity of british rule in india! i have alluded to the losses that the measure must inflict on the planters of southern india, and my remarks on that head apply equally to the tea-planters of india; but the latter have, besides, a special grievance which they share in common with the tea-planters of ceylon, and this grievance is also shared in by the coffee-planters, though, as far as i can see, hardly to the same extent. this well-founded grievance lies in the fact that if no international agreement (and there seems no probability whatever of such an agreement ever being come to within any time to be even guessed at) is come to between the silver-using countries in the east, the tea-planters of india and ceylon will be brought into unequal competition with their rivals in china, and the coffee-planters of india and ceylon will in like manner be unfairly weighted in their competition with the coffee producers of brazil. with reference to the tea-planters of india and ceylon the case is very clear, and it is perfectly obvious that if in india you have silver artificially raised in value relatively to gold, and that in china silver remains unprotected, the chinese will be able to accept a smaller gold value for their tea than the indian producers, and the difference in the exchange may be such that china may regain her former position in the tea market, and that indian teas may be partially driven from the field; and if we add to that that the indian tea-planter will, in consequence of exchange being forced up, have fewer rupees to pay his coolies than he has now, it is evident that the result of the government measure will be most serious to this industry. the evidence (currency committee) that relates to ceylon is very decisive on this point, and the witnesses examined with reference to tea expressed extremely depressed views as to the ruinous results that must arise if the monetary policy of the indian government can be carried into effect. from the correspondence that has passed between the government of india and the secretary of state for the colonies, it would seem that india has no objection to ceylon establishing its own mint for the coinage of silver (the silver coins at present in use in ceylon are rupees) and the island would then be in the same position as other silver-using countries. but if ceylon starts its own mint, and is thus able to prevent the evils of the artificial scarcity of silver to be created in india with the view of forcing up the gold value of the rupee, then it is plain that ceylon tea-planters would retain their present advantages, which arise from a low rate of exchange, and thus be able to carry on their business on far more advantageous conditions than their indian rivals. to estimate the effect on the indian coffee-planters with reference to the effect of the monetary policy of the government in placing the indian at a disadvantage as regards his competition with the brazilian planter would be difficult, and i am not in a position to form a decisive opinion on the subject; but i may mention that the manager of the london and brazilian bank informed the currency committee that the production of coffee in brazil has largely increased, and will still further largely increase, owing to the greater facilities of communication, and also the direct influence of a low rate of exchange. the last-mentioned fact gives, i may observe, one more instance of the direct effect of a low rate of exchange in stimulating production, and so swelling the volume of exports. if, then, the brazilians are to retain, and we are to lose, the benefits of the cheapness of silver relatively to gold, it is evident that the coffee-planters of india must be handicapped in their competition with those of brazil; but i do not hazard a decisive opinion as to the exact weight of the competition, as i am uncertain as to how far our quality of coffee comes into competition[68] with the quality produced in brazil. i must now at least allude to the effects of the measure on the trade, manufactures, and railways of india. i regret that i am unable to go more fully at present into a consideration of the effects on them of this ill-starred measure, but all that the general reader requires to know is, to use the words of sir frank adam (one of the most important witnesses examined by the currency committee), that if the government succeeds in forcing up the gold value of the rupee, china would be able to undersell india in tea and rice; the bombay manufacturers would receive fewer rupees for their wares, and, as in the case of opium, the advantage would go to the chinese and japanese; the railways would have little to carry from the interior if the rupee prices went down. finally, i may observe that the gold industry of india would be largely injured, and that, especially, mines struggling towards a successful issue would be seriously hampered if the gold value of the rupee were forced up. brief though my survey of this great subject may be, i trust i have said enough to expose the harmonious rottenness of the monetary policy of the government, and by this i mean a rottenness so complete that it is impossible to find a single redeeming feature in the measure that has been adopted. it is rotten economically, it is rotten financially, and it is, if possible, still more rotten from a political point of view. those who have knowledge enough to understand the bearing and ultimate evil effects of the measure are angrily arrayed against the government now, and when the ryots and labouring classes of all kinds experience the fall in prices and dearth of employment that will assuredly follow if the government should be able to force up the gold value of the rupee, and are able to trace this to the action of their rulers, widespread and serious will be the abiding discontent which will take possession of the people. i cannot conclude this short notice of a great subject without commenting on what, at first sight, seems the remarkable fact, that the government in india, as represented by the viceroy, and those merchants who are represented by mr. mackay, president of the currency association, have admitted that a low exchange has been a stimulus to the progress of india, and that producers have gained by it. it is true that the viceroy declared in his speech in council of june 26th, 1893, that "to leave matters as they were meant for the country as a whole a fatal and stunting arrestation [_sic_, probably a misprint for arrestment] of its development."[69] but the cat escapes later on in the speech when a hope is expressed that one of the effects of the measure will be "that capital will flow more freely into the country without the adventitious stimulus which we have hitherto been unable to refuse." the viceroy thus admits, what everyone knows, that a low exchange has acted as a stimulus to the progress of india, and in doing so has given away the whole case for the government. but no one has ever denied the admission in question except mr. mackay; and his absolute denial, when questioned on the subject, that the producers of india would be affected by the measure, was subsequently eaten up by himself in cross-examination towards the close of his evidence given before the currency committee. but it is of course the rule, to which there are few exceptions, that those who are engaged in the unfortunate business of bolstering up an indefensible case, invariably let out something which is absolutely destructive to the cause they are advocating; and we find another instance of this at p. 191, appendix i. of the "report of the currency committee." and if mr. mackay has given away the whole case in london, one of his followers equally did so in calcutta when a deputation, headed by mr. mackay, was received by the viceroy. and on this occasion mr. w. o. bell irving, as representing over 3,300 square miles of land in lower bengal, stated that he "was not prepared to contend that in certain respects the ryots and zemindars have not benefited from the depreciation of the rupee." we thus see that both the government, as represented by the viceroy, and the most active supporters of the present monetary policy, have admitted that the measure would have injurious effects on the producers of india--in other words, on those on whom the financial stability of the empire entirely rests. and the producers of india have as little reason to be satisfied with the action of the currency committee which was presided over by lord herschell as they have with the government in our eastern empire. a glance at the first page of the report, and at the professions of the witnesses examined, will show that this is the case. the committee was requested by mr. gladstone's government to form, _inter alia_, "a just estimate of the effect of a varying, and possibly much lower exchange, upon the commerce and people of india." now, the people of india almost entirely live either directly (and i think about ninety per cent. do so directly) or indirectly on the land; and yet, though in england there are to be found persons who, like myself, are indian landowners, and who, from having lived amongst the people in the rural districts, are well able to testify to the effects of the measure on the welfare of the people, not a single indian landed proprietor was called before the committee. if a parliamentary committee were called upon here to consider any proposed measure that would widely effect the people of england as a whole, and the landed classes in particular, would it not be scandalously unjust if not a single landed proprietor, or any person directly or indirectly connected with land, were requested to give evidence before it? but notwithstanding that a certain proportion of the witnesses were indian officials, and that the examination of representatives of the classes chiefly concerned (the producers) was carefully left out, the weight of the evidence was entirely against the monetary policy of the government. and yet the committee supported the indian government. so that this measure has been passed after a partial investigation, during which the most important points that ought to have been minutely examined were never even touched upon, and even then in the teeth of the majority of the witnesses examined, and whose opinions, from their character and position, were of great value. were it not that the committee was composed of english gentlemen, who would not wittingly do anything but examine into matters to the best of their ability, it would really seem, after a careful survey of the whole situation, as if this committee was a mere sham got up as a shield to protect a foregone conclusion. there can be little doubt that the indian government and the currency committee were acting under the idea that (1) india had been pushed into a financial corner, and (2) in fear of the result of the probable repeal of the sherman act in the united states; and so, urged on by a panic-stricken feeling to rush somewhere, the government began in haste to burn the whole house down in order to roast its financial pig. as to the first point, the state of the finances in india no doubt requires all the care and economy that can be exercised; but to imagine, as many people seem to do, that it has exhausted its taxational resources, is ridiculous. the salt tax, taking the price all over india, is lower than it was fifteen years ago, and this could be raised without hardship to the people. import duties might be imposed to the amount of several millions. then, considerable charges now defrayed from current revenues might be passed to capital account, as they would be in england. and if the worst came to the worst an export duty of three per cent. might be imposed, for though is would not be good policy to do so, it would still be better than the seven per cent. export duty the government would practically levy were exchange forced up to 1s. 4d., and obviously very much better than the twenty-one per cent. export tax which the government evidently look forward to, for, as we have seen, it is aiming at a 1s. 6d. rate. a large saving, too, might be effected by going back to the old system of having a local european force in india. let anyone consider these points, and weigh the remarkable and interesting statement quoted from sir william hunter, and he will at once see that the condition of india generally is full of hope (or at least was so till the monetary policy was announced), and that its taxational resources are by no means exhausted. it should also be considered that as the government has not only spent large sums in recent years in defensive works and public buildings, and at the same time paid off debt to the amount of twenty-three millions, it would be perfectly justified in borrowing, if it were necessary, in order to meet temporary difficulties. now let me turn to what is the dominant cause of the monetary policy of the government--the dread that if the sherman act were repealed exchange might sink even as low as a shilling per rupee.[70] what if it did? let us examine the consequences of that to india considered as a whole. the apprehension in question was proclaimed in the viceroy's speech of june, 26th, 1893, and in considering the consequences of a 1s. rate of exchange, he pointed out that this would entail an increase of rs. x 7,748,000 in the remittances required to be made for the home charges of the government, being, curiously enough, almost the exact sum which the people of india would lose on their exports were exchange forced up to 1s. 4d. by the monetary policy of the government. but as the producers of india would gain largely by the 1s. rate of exchange, the total account would stand thus:--loss to the government say, for the sake of round figures, seven millions; gain to the producers, twenty-one millions; total gain to india, considered as a whole, fourteen millions. so that if the very worst anticipations of the government were realized india would be a large gainer by the fall to a 1s. rate of exchange, and the finances could be squared by increased taxation, which, if levied considerably on imports, would be distinctly a popular measure. and, in any case, the agitators could have no ground to go upon, as i have shown, as the increased taxation could be amply justified. one word more. i cannot refrain from calling attention to the remarkable circumstance that mr. gladstone's government has in a single year adopted two measures which are highly objectionable from political, economical, and financial points of view--the home rule bill for ireland and the currency measure for india; and that both were forced on by arbitrary and tyrannical action. for just as the home rule bill was forced through the house of commons with inadequate examination and discussion, so was the currency measure forced through, not only without adequate investigation, but in the teeth of the majority of those whose opinions were laid before the viceroy, and in the teeth of the majority of the witnesses examined before the currency committee. but arbitrary and tyrannical action seems to be the order of the day with the gladstonian government; and it is worthy of notice in this connection that it forced an opium commission on india merely to buy a few votes in the house of commons, and, with the grossest injustice, provided that india should pay for a part of the cost. the outcry raised has, indeed, brought about a reduction of the charge that was to have been made, but, from a statement made in the "times," i observe that the government has clung to the travelling expenses of the members of the commission, which are to be charged to india, and probably with the view of proving that extreme meanness is not one of the national failings. as the english reader might imagine that the indian government was solely responsible for this measure being passed into law, i may point out that the decision of the cabinet was required and obtained in connection with the currency measure. from such a government the producers of india, while they have everything to fear, can have nothing to hope. our sole hope depends upon its being turned out, and replaced by an unionist administration which will either annul the suicidal policy that has been adopted, or at least suspend its action till a full and searching investigation has been made into all the immediate and all the consequential results that must arise from the measure in question, should the government be able to force up the gold value of the rupee. if the facts adduced in this chapter are substantially correct, the verdict cannot be doubtful, for these facts prove that the government proposes to levy what is practically a heavy export tax on the products of india, and in a form, too, most injurious to its best interests, and ultimately to the finances of the state. and i say in a form most injurious, because the gladstonian government (for the cabinet is distinctly responsible for the policy proposed to be carried into execution) has practically adopted a policy of protection, not for the benefit of the productions and industries of india, but for the protection and encouragement of the productions and industries of those silver-using countries which now compete with india. of all the grotesquely ludicrous policies that have ever been adopted by perverted human reason this surely is by far the most absurd. by one and the same measure to stamp down the progress of india and promote the progress of other silver-using countries; to diminish the traffic on indian railways, and correspondingly increase the traffic in such countries; to diminish the volume of india's trade and increase that of other eastern countries; to raise a comparatively small sum for the indian exchequer at a vast cost to the producers of india; to diminish the amount of capital that would otherwise flow into the hands of the people, and to, at the same time, sacrifice all its consequential effects; to diminish employment for labour and increase the causes that aggravate famines and scarcities; to ultimately diminish the financial resources of our indian empire; to create a serious cause of dispeace (a useful scotch word) between us and the people we govern;--such are some of the effects that must be produced should the government be successful in carrying out that monetary policy which it has forced on india in the most arbitrary and tyrannical manner. can we wonder then that sir david barbour, the indian finance minister, said that the measure would have "far-reaching effects, and ought not to be attempted unless under the pressure of necessity?" no such necessity, as i have completely shown, has arisen. out of its own mouth, then, does the government stand condemned. in this connection it may be interesting to quote the opinion of the great duke of wellington, who, speaking in the house of lords in 1833 (july 5), said, "my lords, i wish the noble lords opposite had taken the advice of sir john malcolm upon the subject of forming an independent body in london, representing the interests and carrying on the concerns of india. my lords, it is persons of this description who interpose an efficient check upon the government." unfortunately for india there is no such body, and the final decision on this great question has rested with a cabinet composed of men who know nothing of indian interests, and who, indeed, have no time to attend to them, seeing that their thoughts require to be almost exclusively devoted to a consideration of those vote-catching, parochial politics with the aid of which alone the government can hope to maintain its balance on the political tight-rope. i may observe, in conclusion, that, as regards the effects of the depreciation of silver on a silver-using country, we have, in the case of mexico, circumstances exactly parallel to those in india, and in the "times" of october 21st, 1893, a most interesting analysis is given of the report of our consul at mexico--mr. lionel carden--as regards the effects on that country of a further serious depreciation of silver. mr. carden sums up his conclusions on the hypothesis that the present value of the dollar, which is 3s. 1d., falls to 2s. 6d., and proceeds then to examine into the effects of such a fall on the country considered as a whole. he estimates the losses to the government and the railways which would arise from the sums they have to pay in gold, and then puts against them the advantages that the fall in silver would confer on miners, agriculturists, and manufacturers. his final conclusions are as follows: "in striking a balance between the advantages and disadvantages arising to different interests in mexico from a depreciation of silver, it must be borne in mind that the losses which would be sustained by the government and the railway companies are essentially limited in their amount, whereas the benefits that would accrue to certain of the productive industries are susceptible of indefinite extension. moreover, an increase in the productiveness of the country would make itself felt at once in an increase of the revenue of the government, as well as of the railways. the only conclusion, then, at which it is possible to arrive is that a low price of silver, if permanent, would not only not be prejudicial to mexico as a whole, but would conduce to its ultimate benefit by the stimulus it would afford to the development of its immense agricultural resources." yes. the losses from the payments that have to be made in gold are a comparatively speaking fixed quantity, while the gain to the people from cheap silver will yield wide-spreading consequential benefits far beyond the reach of calculation. this, too, is the case as regards india; we require for it a government which can appreciate, and act up to, this view of the situation. footnotes: [61] "minutes of evidence taken before the committee appointed to inquire into the indian currency, 1893." "report of committee appointed to inquire into the indian currency, 1893." "indian currency correspondence between the government of india and the secretary of state, 1893." "abstract of the proceedings of the council of the governor-general of india, the viceregal lodge, simla, monday, june 26th, 1893." [62] i may mention that formerly anyone could take bullion or ornaments in silver to the mints and change them for rupees. [63] it is very difficult to form an accurate opinion on this point. returns seem at first sight very conclusive, but you require a knowledge of facts which the returns do not disclose. for instance, in the government return quoted in the "economist" of september 30th, 1893, it would appear that, compared with 1873, there had been an enormous rise in the price of ragi--a millet which is the staple food of the people of mysore. in the table, the prices of 1873 being taken as equal to 100, the rise from 1876 to 1880 is 209, from 1881 to 1885 the ratio falls to 103, and remains at that till 1890. then, in 1891, it rises to 138, and in 1892 to 177. from this return the writer in the "economist" concludes that the purchasing power of the rupee is now about 30 per cent. lower than it was in 1873. but to my mind the rupee price of ragi, judging by the returns and omitting periods of famine and scarcity, has probably only risen 3 per cent. the high price of the 1876-80 period was caused by the great famine, and the price in 1891 is to be accounted for by the partial failure of the ragi crop in that year--the country being on the brink of a famine--and this circumstance of course affected prices in the year following. [64] the amount that the government would save is about 1,570,000 rs. x. [65] the reader will see that, for the sake of making even figures, i have taken the value of the exports at upwards of eleven millions less than they really are. the return of the trade of british india for 1891-92 is as follows: rs. x private imports 81,310,119 private exports 111,179,196 government imports 2,844,926 government exports 281,082 ---------- total trade rs. x 195,615,323 the above figures show that- the export trade is rs. x 111,179,196 the import trade is rs. x 84,155,045 ---------- net excess exports of total trade rs. x 27,305,233 [66] i observe that one of the witnesses calculates the export tax thus proposed to be levied by forcing up the exchange to 1s. 6d. at 20 per cent., but i have obtained my figures from a highly competent authority, and i have no doubt they are substantially correct. i may add that the "times" correspondent, telegraphing from calcutta on october 23rd, says, "exports cannot be profitably financed. the currency legislation alone is equivalent to 20 per cent. tax upon them." [67] as a set-off against the charges complained of, it should be remembered--a point which i did not take into account when formerly writing on the subject--that england bears the cost of the naval protection of india. [68] i have since ascertained, on good authority, that, though the coffee of brazil has not as yet come into competition with indian coffee (as people used to the latter do not care for the former, and would not use it unless there was a very great difference in the value), the coffee from costa rica, columbia, guatemala, and mexico (all silver-using countries) does so to a very considerable extent. [69] it might be imagined from this statement that a low rate of exchange had been already setting back, or at least arresting, the hand of progress, and i therefore quote the following passage from p. 40 of the, "report of the currency committee." "the following facts relating to the recent progress of india are taken from a paper read by sir w. hunter (one of the greatest existing authorities on the subject) at the society of arts, on the 16th of february, 1892. "between 1881 and 1891 the whole number of the army had been raised from 170,000 to 220,000, and the number of british soldiers in it from 60,000 to 71,000, or, including reserves, volunteers, etc., to very much more. many large and costly defensive works had been constructed, both on the north-west frontier and on the coast. in recent years almost all the public buildings have been reconstructed on a large scale. "railways, both military and commercial, have been greatly extended. notwithstanding these extraordinary expenses, there were, during the twenty-five years which followed 1862, fourteen years of surplus and eleven years of deficit, yielding a net surplus of rs. x 4,000,000. in 1889 the public debt of india, exclusive of capital invested in railways, showed a reduction since the mutiny period of rs. x 26,000,000. the rate at which india can borrow has been reduced from 4 or 5 per cent. to a little over 3 per cent. the revenue of india, exclusive of railways and municipal funds, has grown between 1856-57 and 1886-87 from rs. x 33,378,000 to rs. x 62,859,000, and in 1891 it had increased to rs. x 64,000,000, or, including railway and migration receipts, to rs. x 85,750,000; and this increase is due to the growth of old revenue rather than to new taxation. further, whilst the rent or land tax paid by the people has increased by one-third, the produce of their fields has more than doubled, in consequence partly of higher prices and partly of increase in cultivation. further, in 1891 there were nearly 18,000 miles of railway open, carrying 121,000,000 of passengers and 26,000,000 tons of goods, and adding a benefit to the people of india calculated as far back as 1886 at rs. x 60,000,000. further, the indian exports and imports at sea, which in 1858 were about rs. x 40,000,000, amounted in 1891 to about rs. x 200,000,000, and the produce thus exported has increased in quality and variety no less than in amount." what evidences of "a fatal and stunting arrestation of development"! [70] this extraordinary assumption must evidently have been founded on another, if possible still more wonderful; namely that the american government was composed of individuals so short-sighted that they would fail to take the precautions which men of ordinary common sense would be sure to adopt with the view of preventing, as far as possible, a sudden fall in the value of silver. but the american government, as we know, naturally diminished its purchases of silver, and as no one supposes (except perhaps the indian government) that it can be so silly as at once to lose money and create a gratuitous disturbance by suddenly flooding the market with the silver accumulated, we see that, since the repeal of the sherman act, the price of silver, so far from having gone down, as anticipated by the viceroy, has even slightly gone up. the tribes and castes of the central provinces of india by r.v. russell of the indian civil service superintendent of ethnography, central provinces assisted by rai bahadur hira lal extra assistant commissioner published under the orders of the central provinces administration in four volumes vol. i. macmillan and co., limited st. martin's street, london. 1916 preface this book is the result of the arrangement made by the government of india, on the suggestion of the late sir herbert risley, for the preparation of an ethnological account dealing with the inhabitants of each of the principal provinces of india. the work for the central provinces was entrusted to the author, and its preparation, undertaken in addition to ordinary official duties, has been spread over a number of years. the prescribed plan was that a separate account should be written of each of the principal tribes and castes, according to the method adopted in sir herbert risley's _tribes and castes of bengal_. this was considered to be desirable as the book is intended primarily as a work of reference for the officers of government, who may desire to know something of the customs of the people among whom their work lies. it has the disadvantage of involving a large amount of repetition of the same or very similar statements about different castes, and the result is likely therefore to be somewhat distasteful to the ordinary reader. on the other hand, there is no doubt that this method of treatment, if conscientiously followed out, will produce more exhaustive results than a general account. similar works for some other provinces have already appeared, as mr. w. crooke's _castes and tribes of the north-western provinces and oudh_, mr. edgar thurston's _castes and tribes of southern india_, and mr. ananta krishna iyer's volumes on cochin, while a glossary for the punjab by mr. h.a. rose has been partly published. the articles on religions and sects were not in the original scheme of the work, but have been subsequently added as being necessary to render it a complete ethnological account of the population. in several instances the adherents of the religion or sect are found only in very small numbers in the province, and the articles have been compiled from standard works. in the preparation of the book much use has necessarily been made of the standard ethnological accounts of other parts of india, especially colonel tod's _annals and antiquities of rajasthan_, mr. j.d. forbes' _rasmala or annals of gujarat_, colonel dalton's _ethnology of bengal_, dr. buchanan's _eastern india_, sir denzil ibbetson's _punjab census report_ for 1881, sir john malcolm's _memoir of central india_, sir edward gait's _bengal and india census reports_ and article on caste in dr. hastings' _encyclopaedia of religion and ethics_, colonel (sir william) sleeman's _report on the badhaks_ and _ramaseeana or vocabulary of the thugs,_ mr. kennedy's _criminal classes of the bombay presidency_, major gunthorpe's _criminal tribes of bombay, berar and the central provinces_, the books of mr. crooke and sir h. risley already mentioned, and the mass of valuable ethnological material contained in the _bombay gazetteer _ (sir j. campbell), especially the admirable volumes on _hindus of gujarat_ by mr. bhimbhai kirparam, and _parsis and muhammadans of gujarat_ by khan bahadur fazlullah lutfullah faridi, and mr. kharsedji nasarvanji seervai, j.p., and khan bahadur bamanji behramji patel. other indian ethnological works from which i have made quotations are dr. wilson's _indian caste_ (_times_ press and messrs. blackwood). bishop westcott's _kabir and the kabirpanth_ (baptist mission press, cawnpore), mr. rajendra lal mitra's _indo-aryans_ (newman & co., calcutta), _the jainas_ by dr. j.g. bühler and mr. j. burgess, dr. j.n. bhattacharya's _hindu castes and sects_ (thacker, spink & co., calcutta), professor oman's _mystics, ascetics and saints of india, cults, customs and superstitions of india_, and _brahmans, theists and muslims of india_ (t. fisher unwin), mr. v.a. smith's _early history of india_ (clarendon press), the rev. t.p. hughes' _dictionary of islam_ (w.h. allen & co., and heffer & sons, cambridge), mr. l.d. barnett's _antiquities of india_, m. andré chevrillon's _romantic india_, mr. v. ball's _jungle life in india_, mr. w. crooke's _popular religion and folklore of northern india_, and _things indian_, captain forsyth's _highlands of central india_ (messrs. chapman & hall), messrs. yule and burnell's _hobson-jobson_ (mr. crooke's edition), professor hopkins' _religions of india_, the rev. e.m. gordon's _indian folk-tales_ (elliot & stock), messrs. sewell and dikshit's _indian calendar_, mr. brennand's _hindu astronomy_, and the late rev. father p. dehon's monograph on the oraons in the _memoirs of the asiatic society of bengal_. ethnological works on the people of the central provinces are not numerous; among those from which assistance has been obtained are sir c. grant's _central provinces gazetteer_ of 1871, rev. stephen hislop's _notes on the aboriginal tribes of the central provinces_, colonel bloomfield's _notes on the baigas_, sir charles elliott's _hoshangabad settlement report_, sir reginald craddock's _nagpur settlement report_, colonel ward's _mandla settlement report_, colonel lucie smith's _chanda settlement report_, mr. g.w. gayer's _lectures on criminal tribes_, mr. c.w. montgomerie's _chhindwara settlement report_, mr. c.e. low's _balaghat district gazetteer_, mr. e.j. kitts' _berar census report_ of 1881, and the _central provinces census reports_ of mr. t. drysdale, sir benjamin robertson and mr. j.t. marten. the author is indebted to sir j.g. frazer for his kind permission to make quotations from _the golden bough_ and _totemism and exogamy_ (macmillan), in which the best examples of almost all branches of primitive custom are to be found; to dr. edward westermarck for similar permission in respect of _the history of human marriage_, and _the origin and development of the moral ideas_ (macmillan); to messrs. a. & c. black in respect of the late professor robertson smith's _religion of the semites_; to messrs. heinemann for those from m. salomon reinach's _orpheus_; and to messrs. hachette et cie and messrs. parker of oxford for those from _la cité antique_ of m. fustel de coulanges. much assistance has also been obtained from sir e. b. tylor's _early history of mankind_ and _primitive culture_, lord avebury's _the origin of civilisation_, mr. e. sidney hartland's _primitive paternity_, and m. salomon reinach's _cultes, mythes et religions_. the labours of these eminent authors have made it possible for the student to obtain a practical knowledge of the ethnology of the world by the perusal of a small number of books; and if any of the ideas put forward in these volumes should ultimately be so fortunate as to obtain acceptance, it is to the above books that i am principally indebted for having been able to formulate them. other works from which help has been obtained are m. emile senart's _les castes dans i'inde_, professor w. e. hearn's _the aryan household_, and dr. a.h. keane's _the world's peoples_. sir george grierson's great work, _the linguistic survey of india_, has now given an accurate classification of the non-aryan tribes according to their languages and has further thrown a considerable degree of light on the vexed question of their origin. i have received from mr. w. crooke of the indian civil service (retired) much kind help and advice during the final stages of the preparation of this work. as will be seen from the articles, resort has constantly been made to his _tribes and castes_ for filling up gaps in the local information. rai bahadur hira lal was my assistant for several years in the taking of the census of 1901 and the preparation of the central provinces district gazetteers; he has always given the most loyal and unselfish aid, has personally collected a large part of the original information contained in the book, and spent much time in collating the results. the association of his name in the authorship is no more than his due, though except where this has been specifically mentioned, he is not responsible for the theories and deductions from the facts obtained. mr. pyare lal misra, barrister, chhindwara, was my ethnographic clerk for some years, and he and munshi kanhya lal, late of the educational department, and mr. aduram chandhri, tahsildar, gave much assistance in the inquiries on different castes. among others who have helped in the work, rai bahadur panda baijnath, diwan of the patna and bastar states, should be mentioned first, and babu kali prasanna mukerji, pleader, saugor, mr. gopal datta joshi, district judge, saugor, mr. jeorakhan lal, deputy-inspector of schools, and mr. gokul prasad, tahsildar, may be selected from the large number whose names are given in the footnotes to the articles. among european officers whose assistance should be acknowledged are messrs. c.e. low, c.w. montgomerie, a.b. napier, a.e. nelson, a.k. smith, r.h. crosthwaite and h.f. hallifax, of the civil service; lt.-col. w.d. sutherland, i.m.s., surgeon-major mitchell of bastar, and mr. d. chisholm. some photographs have been kindly contributed by mrs. ashbrooke crump, mrs. mangabai kelkar, mr. g.l. corbett, c.s., mr. r.l. johnston, a.d.s.p., mr. j.h. searle, c.s., mr. strachey, mr. h.e. bartlett, professor l. scherman of munich, and the diwan of raigarh state. bishop westcott kindly gave the photograph of kabir, which appears in his own book. finally i have to express my gratitude to the chief commissioner, sir benjamin robertson, for the liberal allotment made by the administration for the publication of the work; and to the publishers, messrs. macmillan & co., and the printers, messrs. r. & r. clark, for their courtesy and assistance during its progress through the press. september 1915. contents part i--volume i introductory essay on caste articles on the religions and sects of the people of the central provinces glossary of minor castes and other articles, synonyms, subcastes, titles and names of exogamous septs or clans subject index part ii--volumes ii, iii and iv descriptive articles on the principal castes and tribes of the central provinces detailed list of contents part i articles on religions and sects the articles which are considered to be of most general interest are shown in capitals arya samaj religion 201 brahmo samaj religion 208 dadupanthi sect 215 dhami sect 216 jain religion 219 kabirpanthi sect 232 lingayat sect 244 muhammadan religion 247 nanakpanthi sect 277 parmarthi sect 281 parsi or zoroastrian religion 284 saiva sect 302 sakta sect 304 satnami sect 307 sikh religion 317 smarta sect 325 swami-narayan sect 326 vaishnava sect 330 vam-margi sect 333 wahhabi sect 335 articles on minor castes and miscellaneous notices included in the glossary agamudayan. alia. arab. are. arora. bahelia. bahrupia. banka. bargah. bayar. belwar. besta. bhand. bhatia. bhima. bhona. bind. birhor. bopchi. chenchuwar. chero. dangur. daraihan. dhalgar. dhera. dohor. gandli. girgira. goyanda. hatwa. jasondhi. jokhara. kamad. kamathi. kamma. kammala. kandra. kast. khadal. khadra. kotwar. kumrawat. kundera. londhari. madgi. malyar. mangan. marori. medara. mirdha. mukeri. mutrasi. nagarchi. otari. pabia. pahalwan. panchal. pandra. parka. periki. redka. rohilla. sais. santal. satani. segidi. siddi. sidhira. sikligar. solaha. sonkar. tanti. tirmale. tiyar. vellala. wakkaliga. part ii--vol. ii articles on castes and tribes of the central provinces in alphabetical order agaria (_iron-worker_) 3 agharia (_cultivator_) 8 aghori (_religious mendicant_) 13 ahir (_herdsman and milkman_) 18 andh (_tribe, now cultivators_) 38 arakh (_hunter_) 40 atari (_scent-seller_) 42 audhelia (_labourer_) 45 badhak (_robber_) 49 bahna (_cotton-cleaner_) 69 baiga (_forest tribe_) 77 bairagi (_religious mendicants_) 93 balahi (_labourer and village watchman_) 105 balija (_cultivator_) 108 bania (_merchant and moneylender_) 111 subcastes of bania agarwala. agrahari. ajudhiabasi. asathi. charnagri. dhusar. dosar. gahoi. golapurab. kasarwani. kasaundhan. khandelwal. lad. lingayat. maheshri. nema. oswal. parwar. srimali. umre. banjara (_pack-carrier_) 162 barai (_betel-vine grower and seller_) 192 barhai (_carpenter_) 199 bari (_maker of leaf-plates_) 202 basdewa (_cattle-dealer and religious mendicant_) 204 basor (_bamboo-worker_) 208 bedar (_soldier and public service_) 212 beldar (_digger and navvy_) 215 beria (_vagabond gipsy_) 220 bhaina (_forest tribe_) 225 bhamta (_criminal tribe and labourers_) 234 bharbhunja (_grain-parcher_) 238 bharia (_forest tribe_) 242 bhat (_bard and genealogist_) 251 bhatra (_forest tribe_) 271 bhil (_forest tribe_) 278 bhilala (_landowner and cultivator_) 293 bhishti (_water-man_) 298 bhoyar (_cultivator_) 301 bhuiya (_forest tribe_) 305 bhulia (_weaver_) 319 bhunjia (_forest tribe_) 322 binjhwar (_cultivator_) 329 bishnoi (_cultivator_) 337 bohra (_trader_) 345 brahman (_priest_) 351 subcastes of brahman ahivasi. jijhotia. kanaujia, kanyakubja. khedawal. maharashtra. maithil. malwi. nagar. naramdeo. sanadhya. sarwaria. utkal. chadar (_village watchman and labourer_) 400 chamar (_tanner and labourer_) 403 chasa (_cultivator_) 424 chauhan (_village watchman and labourer_) 427 chhipa (_dyer and calico-printer_) 429 chitari (_painter_) 432 chitrakathi (_picture showman_) 438 cutchi (_trader and shopkeeper_) 440 dahait (_village watchman and labourer_) 444 daharia (_cultivator_) 453 dangi (_landowner and cultivator_) 457 dangri (_vegetable-grower_) 463 darzi (_tailor_) 466 dewar (_beggar and musician_) 472 dhakar (_illegitimate, cultivator_) 477 dhangar (_shepherd_) 480 dhanuk (_bowman, labourer_) 484 dhanwar (_forest tribe_) 488 dhimar (_fisherman, water-carrier, and household servant_) 502 dhoba (_forest tribe, cultivator_) 515 dhobi (_washerman_) 519 dhuri (_grain-parcher_) 527 dumal (_cultivator_) 530 fakir (_religious mendicant_) 537 part ii--vol. iii gadaria (_shepherd_) 3 gadba (_forest tribe_) 9 ganda (_weaver and labourer_) 14 gandhmali (_uriya village priests and temple servants_) 17 garpagari (_averter of hailstorms_) 19 gauria (_snake-charmer and juggler_) 24 ghasia (_grass-cutter_) 27 ghosi (_buffalo-herdsman_) 32 golar (_herdsman_) 35 gond (_forest tribe and cultivator_) 39 gond-gowari (_herdsman_) 143 gondhali (_religious mendicant_) 144 gopal (_vagrant criminal caste_) 147 gosain (_religious mendicant_) 150 gowari (_herdsman_) 160 gujar (_cultivator_) 166 gurao (_village priest_) 175 halba (_forest tribe, labourer_) 182 halwai (_confectioner_) 201 hatkar (_soldier, shepherd_) 204 hijra (_eunuch, mendicant_) 206 holia (_labourer, curing hides_) 212 injhwar (_boatman and fisherman_) 213 jadam (_cultivator_) 217 jadua (_criminal caste_) 219 jangam (_priest of the lingayat sect_) 222 jat (_landowner and cultivator_) 225 jhadi telenga (_illegitimate, labourer_) 238 jogi (_religious mendicant and pedlar_) 243 joshi (_astrologer and village priest_) 255 julaha (_weaver_) 279 kachera (_maker of glass bangles_) 281 kachhi (_vegetable-grower_) 285 kadera (_firework-maker_) 288 kahar (_palanquin-bearer and household servant_) 291 kaikari (_basket-maker and vagrant_) 296 kalanga (_soldier, cultivator_) 302 kalar (_liquor vendor_) 306 kamar (_forest tribe_) 323 kanjar (_gipsies and prostitutes_) 331 kapewar (_cultivator_) 342 karan (_writer and clerk_) 343 kasai (_butcher_) 346 kasar (_worker in brass_) 369 kasbi (_prostitute_) 373 katia (_cotton-spinner_) 384 kawar (_forest tribe and cultivator_) 389 kayasth (_village accountant, writer and clerk_) 404 kewat (_boatman and fisherman_) 422 khairwar (_forest tribe; boilers of catechu_) 427 khandait (_soldier, cultivator_) 436 khangar (_village watchman and labourer_) 439 kharia (_forest tribe, labourer_) 445 khatik (_mutton-butcher_) 453 khatri (_merchant_) 456 khojah (_trader and shopkeeper_) 461 khond (_forest tribe, cultivator_) 464 kir (_cultivator_) 481 kirar (_cultivator_) 485 kohli (_cultivator_) 493 kol (_forest tribe, labourer_) 500 kolam (_forest tribe, cultivator_) 520 kolhati (_acrobat_) 527 koli (_forest tribe, cultivator_) 532 kolta (_landowner and cultivator_) 537 komti (_merchant and shopkeeper_) 542 kori (_weaver and labourer_) 545 korku (_forest tribe, labourer_) 550 korwa (_forest tribe, cultivator_) 571 koshti (_weaver_) 581 part ii--vol. iv kumhar (_potter_) 3 kunbi (_cultivator_) 16 kunjra (_greengrocer_) 50 kuramwar (_shepherd_) 52 kurmi (_cultivator_) 55 lakhera (_worker in lac_) 104 lodhi (_landowner and cultivator_) 112 lohar (_blacksmith_) 120 lorha (_growers of_ san-_hemp_) 126 mahar (_weaver and labourer_) 129 mahli (_forest tribe_) 146 majhwar (_forest tribe_) 149 mal (_forest tribe_) 153 mala (_cotton-weaver and labourer_) 156 mali (_gardener and vegetable-grower_) 159 mallah (_boatman and fisherman_) 171 mana (_forest tribe, cultivator_) 172 manbhao (_religious mendicant_) 176 mang (_labourer and village musician_) 184 mang-garori (_criminal caste_) 189 manihar (_pedlar_) 193 mannewar (_forest tribe_) 195 maratha (_soldier, cultivator and service_) 198 mehtar (_sweeper and scavenger_) 215 meo (_tribe_) 233 mina or deswali (_non-aryan tribe, cultivator_) 235 mirasi (_bard and genealogist_) 242 mochi (_shoemaker_) 244 mowar (_cultivator_) 250 murha (_digger and navvy_) 252 nagasia (_forest tribe_) 257 nahal (_forest tribe_) 259 nai (barber) 262 naoda (_boatman and fisherman_) 283 nat (_acrobat_) 286 nunia (_salt-refiner, digger and navvy_) 294 ojha (_augur and soothsayer_) 296 oraon (_forest tribe_) 299 paik (_soldier, cultivator_) 321 panka (_labourer and village watchman_) 324 panwar rajput (_landowner and cultivator_) 330 pardhan (_minstrel and priest_) 352 pardhi (_hunter and fowler_) 359 parja (_forest tribe_) 371 pasi (_toddy-drawer and labourer_) 380 patwa (_maker of silk braid and thread_) 385 pindari (_freebooter_) 388 prabhu (_writer and clerk_) 399 raghuvansi (_cultivator_) 403 rajjhar (_agricultural labourer_) 405 rajput (_soldier and landowner_) 410 rajput clans baghel. bagri. bais. baksaria. banaphar. bhadauria. bisen. bundela. chandel. chauban. dhakar. gaharwar. gaur. haihaya. huna. kachhwaha. nagvansi. nikumbh. paik. parihar. rathor. sesodia. solankhi. somvansi. surajvansi. tomara. yadu. rajwar (_forest tribe_) 470 ramosi (_village watchmen and labourers, formerly thieves_) 472 rangrez (_dyer_) 477 rautia (_forest tribe and cultivators, formerly soldiers_) 479 sanaurhia (_criminal thieving caste_) 483 sansia (_vagrant criminal tribe_) 488 sansia (uria) (_mason and digger_) 496 savar (_forest tribe_) 500 sonjhara (_gold-washer_) 509 sudh (_cultivator_) 514 sunar (_goldsmith and silversmith_) 517 sundi (_liquor distiller_) 534 tamera (_coppersmith_) 536 taonla (_soldier and labourer_) 539 teli (_oilman_) 542 thug (_criminal community of murderers by strangulation_) 558 turi (_bamboo-worker_) 588 velama (_cultivator_) 593 vidur (_village accountant, clerk and writer_) 596 waghya (_religious mendicant_) 603 yerukala (_criminal thieving caste_) 606 note.--the gonds are the most important of the non-aryan or primitive tribes, and their social customs are described in detail. the baiga, bhil, kawar, khond, kol, korku and korwa are other important tribes. the two representative cultivating castes are the kurmis and kunbis, and the articles on them include detailed descriptions of hindu social customs, and some information on villages, houses, dress, food and manner of life. articles in which subjects of general interest are treated are darzi (clothes), sunar (ornaments), kachera and lakhera (bangles), nai (hair), kalar (veneration of alcoholic liquor), bania (moneylending and interest), kasai (worship and sacrifice of domestic animals), joshi (the hindu calendar and personal names), bhat (suicide), dahait (significance of the umbrella), and kanjar (connection of indian and european gipsies). the articles on badhak, sansia and thug are compiled from sir william sleeman's reports on these communities of dacoits and murderers, whose suppression he achieved. for further information the subject index may be consulted. maps and illustrations maps map of india _frontispiece_ map of the central provinces map of the central provinces, showing principal linguistic or racial divisions 6 illustrations volume i 1. hindu temple of the god siva 16 2. hindu sculptures 26 3. peasant's hut 40 4. group of religious mendicants 56 5. drawing water from the village well 72 6. gayatri or sacred verse personified as a goddess 108 7. image of the god jagannath, a form of vishnu 118 8. the god rama, an incarnation of vishnu, with attendant deities 144 9. hindu bathing party 158 10. pilgrims carrying ganges water 184 11. a meeting of the arya samaj for investing boys with the sacred thread 202 12. jain temples at muktagiri, betul 220 13. jain ascetics with cloth before mouth and sweeping-brush 224 14. jain gods in attitude of contemplation 228 15. jain temple in seoni 230 16. kabir 232 17. beggar on artificial horse at the muharram festival 248 18. carrying the horse-shoe at the muharram festival 252 19. tazia or tombs of hussain at the muharram festival 256 20. famous tazia at khandwa 260 21. representing a tiger at the muharram festival 272 22. temple of siva at bandakpur, near damoh 302 23. images of siva and his consort devi, or parvati, with the bull and tiger 304 24. devotees, possessed, embracing each other, while supported on tridents, at siva's fair at pachmarhi 306 25. image of the prophet swami narayan in the teli temple at burhanpur 326 26. images of rama, lachman and sita, with attendants 330 27. image of lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, the consort of vishnu, with attendant 332 28. image of the boar incarnation of vishnu 334 29. bahrupia impersonating the goddess kali 344 30. dasari religious mendicant with discus and conch-shell of vishnu 406 volume ii 31. aghori mendicant 14 32. ahirs decorated with cowries for the stick dance at diwali 18 33. image of krishna as murlidhar or the flute-player, with attendant deities 28 34. ahir dancers in diwali costume 32 35. pinjara cleaning cotton 72 36. baiga village, balaghat district 88 37. hindu mendicants with sect-marks 94 38. anchorite sitting on iron nails 98 39. pilgrims carrying water of the river nerbudda 100 40. _coloured plate_: examples of tilaks or sect-marks worn on the forehead 102 41. group of marwari bania women 112 42. image of the god ganpati carried in procession 116 43. the elephant-headed god ganpati. his conveyance is a rat, which can be seen as a little blob between his feet 120 44. mud images made and worshipped at the holi festival 126 45. bania's shop 128 46. banjara women with the _singh_ or horn 184 47. group of banjara women 188 48. basors making baskets of bamboo 210 49. bhat with his _putla_ or doll 256 50. group of bhils 278 51. tantia bhil, a famous dacoit 282 52. group of bohras at burhanpur (nimar) 346 53. brahman worshipping his household gods 380 54. brahman bathing party 384 55. brahman pujaris or priests 390 56. group of maratha brahman men 392 57. group of naramdeo brahman women 396 58. group of naramdeo brahman men 398 59. chamars tanning and working in leather 416 60. chamars cutting leather and making shoes 418 61. chhipa or calico-printer at work 430 62. dhimar or fisherman's hut 502 63. fishermen in dug-outs or hollowed tree trunks 506 64. group of gurujwale fakirs 538 volume iii 65. gond women grinding corn 42 66. palace of the gond kings of garha-mandla at ramnagar 46 67. gonds on a journey 62 68. killing of rawan, the demon king of ceylon, from whom the gonds are supposed to be descended 114 69. woman about to be swung round the post called meghnath 116 70. climbing the pole for a bag of sugar 118 71. gonds with their bamboo carts at market 122 72. gond women, showing tattooing on backs of legs 126 73. maria gonds in dancing costume 136 74. gondhali musicians and dancers 144 75. gosain mendicant 150 76. alakhwale gosains with faces covered with ashes 152 77. gosain mendicants with long hair 154 78. famous gosain mahant. photograph taken after death 156 79. gujar village proprietress and her land agent 168 80. guraos with figures made at the holi festival called gangour 176 81. group of gurao musicians with their instruments 180 82. ploughing with cows and buffaloes in chhattisgarh 182 83. halwai or confectioner's shop 202 84. jogi mendicants of the kanphata sect 244 85. jogi musicians with _sarangi_ or fiddle 250 86. kaikaris making baskets 298 87. kanjars making ropes 332 88. a group of kasars or brass-workers 370 89. dancing girls and musicians 374 90. girl in full dress and ornaments 378 91. old type of sugarcane mill 494 92. group of kol women 512 93. group of kolams 520 94. korkus of the melghat hills 550 95. korku women in full dress 556 96. koshti men dancing a figure, holding strings and beating sticks 582 volume iv 97. potter at his wheel 4 98. group of kunbis 16 99. figures of animals made for pola festival 40 100. hindu boys on stilts 42 101. throwing stilts into the water at the pola festival 46 102. carrying out the dead 48 103. pounding rice 60 104. sowing 84 105. threshing 86 106. winnowing 88 107. women grinding wheat and husking rice 90 108. group of women in hindustani dress 92 109. _coloured plate_: examples of spangles worn by women on the forehead 106 110. weaving: sizing the warp 142 111. winding thread 144 112. bride and bridegroom with marriage crowns 166 113. bullocks drawing water with _mot_ 170 114. mang musicians with drums 186 115. statue of maratha leader, bimbaji bhonsla, in armour 200 116. image of the god vishnu as vithoba 248 117. coolie women with babies slung at the side 256 118. hindu men showing the _choti_ or scalp-lock 272 119. snake-charmer with cobras 292 120. transplanting rice 340 121. group of pardhans 350 122. little girls playing 400 123. gujarati girls doing figures with strings and sticks 402 124. ornaments 524 125. teli's oil-press 544 126. the goddess kali 574 127. waghya mendicants 604 pronunciation _a_ has the sound of _u_ in _but_ or _murmur_. _a_ has the sound of _a_ in _bath_ or _tar_. _e_ has the sound of _é_ in _écarté_ or _ai_ in _maid_. _i_ has the sound of _i_ in _bit_, or (as a final letter) of _y_ in _sulky_ _i_ has the sound of _ee_ in _beet_. _o_ has the sound of _o_ in _bore_ or _bowl_. _u_ has the sound of _u_ in _put_ or _bull_. _u_ has the sound of _oo_ in _poor_ or _boot_. the plural of caste names and a few common hindustani words is formed by adding _s_ in the english manner according to ordinary usage, though this is not, of course, the hindustani plural. note.--the rupee contains 16 annas, and an anna is of the same value as a penny. a pice is a quarter of an anna, or a farthing. rs. 1-8 signifies one rupee and eight annas. a lakh is a hundred thousand, and a krore ten million. part i. introductory essay on caste list of paragraphs 1. _the central provinces._ 2. _constitution of the population._ 3. _the word 'caste.'_ 4. _the meaning of the term 'caste.'_ 5. _the subcaste._ 6. _confusion of nomenclature._ 7. _tests of what a caste is._ 8. _the four traditional castes._ 9. _occupational theory of caste._ 10. _racial theory._ 11. _entry of the aryans into india. the aryas and dasyus._ 12. _the sudra._ 13. _the vaishya._ 14. _mistaken modern idea of the vaishyas._ 15. _mixed unions of the four classes._ 16. _hypergamy._ 17. _the mixed castes. the village menials._ 18. _social gradation of castes._ 19. _castes ranking above the cultivators._ 20. _castes from whom a brahman can take water. higher agriculturists._ 21. _status of the cultivator._ 22. _the clan and the village._ 23. _the ownership of land._ 24. _the cultivating status that of the vaishya._ 25. _higher professional and artisan castes._ 26. _castes from whom a brahman cannot take water; the village menials._ 27. _the village watchmen._ 28. _the village priests. the gardening castes._ 29. _other village traders and menials._ 30. _household servants._ 31. _status of the village menials._ 32. _origin of their status._ 33. _other castes who rank with the village menials._ 34. _the non-aryan tribes._ 35. _the kolarians and dravidians._ 36. _kolarian tribes._ 37. _dravidian tribes._ 38. _origin of the kolarian tribes._ 39. _of the dravidian tribes._ 40. _origin of the impure castes._ 41. _derivation of the impure castes from the indigenous tribes._ 42. _occupation the basis of the caste-system._ 43. _other agents in the formation of castes._ 44. _caste occupations divinely ordained._ 45. _subcastes, local type._ 46. _occupational subcastes._ 47. _subcastes formed from social or religious differences, or from mixed descent._ 48. _exogamous groups._ 49. _totemistic clans._ 50. _terms of relationship._ 51. _clan kinship and totemism._ 52. _animate creation._ 53. _the distribution of life over the body._ 54. _qualities associated with animals._ 55. _primitive language._ 56. _concrete nature of primitive ideas._ 57. _words and names concrete._ 58. _the soul or spirit._ 59. _the transmission of qualities._ 60. _the faculty of counting. confusion of the individual and the species._ 61. _similarity and identity._ 62. _the recurrence of events._ 63. _controlling the future._ 64. _the common life._ 65. _the common life of the clan._ 66. _living and eating together._ 67. _the origin of exogamy._ 68. _promiscuity and female descent._ 69. _exogamy with female descent._ 70. _marriage._ 71. _marriage by capture._ 72. _transfer of the bride to her husband's clan._ 73. _the exogamous clan with male descent and the village._ 74. _the large exogamous clans of the brahmans and rajputs. the sapindas, the_ gens _and the_ g'enoc. 75. _comparison of hindu society with that of greece and rome. the_ gens. 76. _the clients._ 77. _the plebeians._ 78. _the binding social tie in the city-states._ 79. _the suovetaurilia._ 80. _the sacrifice of the domestic animal._ 81. _sacrifices of the_ gens _and phratry._ 82. _the hindu caste-feasts._ 83. _taking food at initiation._ 84. _penalty feasts._ 85. _sanctity of grain-food._ 86. _the corn-spirit._ 87. _the king._ 88. _other instances of the common meal as a sacrificial rite._ 89. _funeral feasts._ 90. _the hindu deities and the sacrificial meal._ 91. _development of the occupational caste from the tribe._ 92. _veneration of the caste implements._ 93. _the caste_ panchayat _and its code of offences._ 94. _the status of impurity._ 95. _caste and hinduism._ 96. _the hindu reformers._ 97. _decline of the caste system._ 1. the central provinces. the territory controlled by the chief commissioner of the central provinces and berar has an area of 131,000 square miles and a population of 16,000,000 persons. situated in the centre of the indian peninsula, between latitudes 17°47' and 24°27' north, and longitudes 76° and 84° east, it occupies about 7.3 per cent of the total area of british india. it adjoins the central india states and the united provinces to the north, bombay to the west, hyderabad state and the madras presidency to the south, and the province of bihar and orissa to the east. the province was constituted as a separate administrative unit in 1861 from territories taken from the peshwa in 1818 and the maratha state of nagpur, which had lapsed from failure of heirs in 1853. berar, which for a considerable previous period had been held on a lease or assignment from the nizam of hyderabad, was incorporated for administrative purposes with the central provinces in 1903. in 1905 the bulk of the district of sambalpur, with five feudatory states inhabited by an uriya-speaking population, were transferred to bengal and afterwards to the new province of bihar and orissa, while five feudatory states of chota nagpur were received from bengal. the former territory had been for some years included in the scope of the ethnographic survey, and is shown coloured in the annexed map of linguistic and racial divisions. the main portion of the province may be divided, from north-west to south-east, into three tracts of upland, alternating with two of plain country. in the north-west the districts of sangor and damoh lie on the vindhyan or malwa plateau, the southern face of which rises almost sheer from the valley of the nerbudda. the general elevation of this plateau varies from 1500 to 2000 feet. the highest part is that immediately overhanging the nerbudda, and the general slope is to the north, the rivers of this area being tributaries of the jumna and ganges. the surface of the country is undulating and broken by frequent low hills covered with a growth of poor and stunted forest. the second division consists of the long and narrow valley of the nerbudda, walled in by the vindhyan and satpura hills to the north and south, and extending for a length of about 200 miles from jubbulpore to handia, with an average width of twenty miles. the valley is situated to the south of the river, and is formed of deep alluvial deposits of extreme richness, excellently suited to the growth of wheat. south of the valley the satpura range or third division stretches across the province, from amarkantak in the east (the sacred source of the nerbudda) to asirgarh in the nimar district in the west, where its two parallel ridges bound the narrow valley of the tapti river. the greater part consists of an elevated plateau, in some parts merely a rugged mass of hills hurled together by volcanic action, in others a succession of bare stony ridges and narrow fertile valleys, in which the soil has been deposited by drainage. the general elevation of the plateau is 2000 feet, but several of the peaks rise to 3500, and a few to more than 4000 feet. the satpuras form the most important watershed of the province, and in addition to the nerbudda and tapti, the wardha and wainganga rivers rise in these hills. to the east a belt of hill country continues from the satpuras to the wild and rugged highlands of the chota nagpur plateau, on which are situated the five states recently annexed to the province. extending along the southern and eastern faces of the satpura range lies the fourth geographical division, to the west the plain of berar and nagpur, watered by the purna, wardha and wainganga rivers, and further east the chhattisgarh plain, which forms the upper basin of the mahanadi. the berar and nagpur plain contains towards the west the shallow black soil in which autumn crops, like cotton and the large millet juari, which do not require excessive moisture, can be successfully cultivated. this area is the great cotton-growing tract of the province, and at present the most wealthy. the valleys of the wainganga and mahanadi further east receive a heavier rainfall and are mainly cropped with rice. many small irrigation tanks for rice have been built by the people themselves, and large tank and canal works are now being undertaken by government to protect the tract from the uncertainty of the rainfall. south of the plain lies another expanse of hill and plateau comprised in the zarmindari estates of chanda and the chhattisgarh division and the bastar and kanker feudatory states. this vast area, covering about 24,000 square miles, the greater part of which consists of dense forests traversed by precipitous mountains and ravines, which formerly rendered it impervious to hindu invasion or immigration, producing only on isolated stretches of culturable land the poorer raincrops, and sparsely peopled by primitive gonds and other forest tribes, was probably, until a comparatively short time ago, the wildest and least-known part of the whole indian peninsula. it is now being rapidly opened up by railways and good roads. 2. constitution of the population. up to a few centuries ago the central provinces remained outside the sphere of hindu and muhammadan conquest. to the people of northern india it was known as gondwana, an unexplored country of inaccessible mountains and impenetrable forests, inhabited by the savage tribes of gonds from whom it took its name. hindu kingdoms were, it is true, established over a large part of its territory in the first centuries of our era, but these were not accompanied by the settlement and opening out of the country, and were subsequently subverted by the dravidian gonds, who perhaps invaded the country in large numbers from the south between the ninth and twelfth centuries. hindu immigration and colonisation from the surrounding provinces occurred at a later period, largely under the encouragement and auspices of gond kings. the consequence is that the existing population is very diverse, and is made up of elements belonging to many parts of india. the people of the northern districts came from bundelkhand and the gangetic plain, and here are found the principal castes of the united provinces and the punjab. the western end of the nerbudda valley and betul were colonised from malwa and central india. berar and the nagpur plain fell to the marathas, and one of the most important maratha states, the bhonsla kingdom, had its capital at nagpur. cultivators from western india came and settled on the land, and the existing population are of the same castes as the maratha country or bombay. but prior to the maratha conquest berar and the nimar district of the central provinces had been included in the mughal empire, and traces of mughal rule remain in a substantial muhammadan element in the population. to the south the chanda district runs down to the godavari river, and the southern tracts of chanda and bastar state are largely occupied by telugu immigrants from madras. to the east of the nagpur plain the large landlocked area of chhattisgarh in the upper basin of the mahanadi was colonised at an early period by hindus from the east of the united provinces and oudh, probably coming through jubbulpore. a dynasty of the haihaivansi rajput clan established itself at ratanpur, and owing to the inaccessible nature of the country, protected as it is on all sides by a natural rampart of hill and forest, was able to pursue a tranquil existence untroubled by the wars and political vicissitudes of northern india. the population of chhattisgarh thus constitutes to some extent a distinct social organism, which retained until quite recently many remnants of primitive custom. the middle basin of the mahanadi to the east of chhattisgarh, comprising the sambalpur district and adjoining states, was peopled by uriyas from orissa, and though this area has now been restored to its parent province, notices of its principal castes have been included in these volumes. finally, the population contains a large element of the primitive or non-aryan tribes, rich in variety, who have retired before the pressure of hindu cultivators to its extensive hills and forests. the people of the central provinces may therefore not unjustly be considered as a microcosm of a great part of india, and conclusions drawn from a consideration of their caste rules and status may claim with considerable probability of success to be applicable to those of the hindus generally. for the same reason the standard ethnological works of other provinces necessarily rank as the best authorities on the castes of the central provinces, and this fact may explain and excuse the copious resort which has been made to them in these volumes. 3. the word 'caste.' the word 'caste,' dr. wilson states, [1] is not of indian origin, but is derived from the portuguese _casta_, signifying race, mould or quality. the indian word for caste is _jat_ or _jati_, which has the original meaning of birth or production of a child, and hence denotes good birth or lineage, respectability and rank. _jatha_ means well-born. thus _jat_ now signifies a caste, as every hindu is born into a caste, and his caste determines his social position through life. 4. the meaning of the term 'caste.' the two main ideas denoted by a caste are a community or persons following a common occupation, and a community whose members marry only among themselves. a third distinctive feature is that the members of a caste do not as a rule eat with outsiders with the exception of other hindu castes of a much higher social position than their own. none of these will, however, serve as a definition of a caste. in a number of castes the majority of members have abandoned their traditional occupation and taken to others. less than a fifth of the brahmans of the central provinces are performing any priestly or religious functions, and the remaining four-fifths are landholders or engaged in government service as magistrates, clerks of public offices, constables and orderlies, or in railway service in different grades, or in the professions as barristers and pleaders, doctors, engineers and so on. the rajputs and marathas were originally soldiers, but only an infinitely small proportion belong to the indian army, and the remainder are ruling chiefs, landholders, cultivators, labourers or in the various grades of government service and the police. of the telis or oil-pressers only 9 per cent are engaged in their traditional occupation, and the remainder are landholders, cultivators and shopkeepers. of the ahirs or graziers only 20 per cent tend and breed cattle. only 12 per cent of the chamars are supported by the tanning industry, and so on. the bahnas or cotton-cleaners have entirely lost their occupation, as cotton is now cleaned in factories; they are cartmen or cultivators, but retain their caste name and organisation. since the introduction of machine-made cloth has reduced the profits of hand-loom weaving, large numbers of the weaving castes have been reduced to manual labour as a means of subsistence. the abandonment of the traditional occupation has become a most marked feature of hindu society as a result of the equal opportunity and freedom in the choice of occupations afforded by the british government, coupled with the rapid progress of industry and the spread of education. so far it has had no very markedly disintegrating effect on the caste system, and the status of a caste is still mainly fixed by its traditional occupation; but signs are not wanting of a coming change. again, several castes have the same traditional occupation; about forty of the castes of the central provinces are classified as agriculturists, eleven as weavers, seven as fishermen, and so on. distinctions of occupation therefore are not a sufficient basis for a classification of castes. nor can a caste be simply defined as a body of persons who marry only among themselves, or, as it is termed, an endogamous group; for almost every important caste is divided into a number of subcastes which do not marry and frequently do not eat with each other. but it is a distinctive and peculiar feature of caste as a social institution that it splits up the people into a multitude of these divisions and bars their intermarriage; and the real unit of the system and the basis of the fabric of indian society is this endogamous group or subcaste. 5. the subcaste. the subcastes, however, connote no real difference of status or occupation. they are little known except within the caste itself, and they consist of groups within the caste which marry among themselves, and attend the communal feasts held on the occasions of marriages, funerals and meetings of the caste _panchayat_ or committee for the judgment of offences against the caste rules and their expiation by a penalty feast; to these feasts all male adults of the community, within a certain area, are invited. in the central provinces the 250 groups which have been classified as castes contain perhaps 2000 subcastes. except in some cases other hindus do not know a man's subcaste, though they always know his caste; among the ignorant lower castes men may often be found who do not know whether their caste contains any subcastes or whether they themselves belong to one. that is, they will eat and marry with all the members of their caste within a circle of villages, but know nothing about the caste outside those villages, or even whether it exists elsewhere. one subdivision of a caste may look down upon another on the ground of some difference of occupation, of origin, or of abstaining from or partaking of some article of food, but these distinctions are usually confined to their internal relations and seldom recognised by outsiders. for social purposes the caste consisting of a number of these endogamous groups generally occupies the same position, determined roughly according to the respectability of its traditional occupation or extraction. 6. confusion of nomenclature. no adequate definition of caste can thus be obtained from community of occupation or intermarriage; nor would it be accurate to say that every one must know his own caste and that all the different names returned at the census may be taken as distinct. in the central provinces about 900 caste-names were returned at the census of 1901, and these were reduced in classification to about 250 proper castes. in some cases synonyms are commonly used. the caste of _pan_ or betel-vine growers and sellers is known indifferently as barai, pansari or tamboli. the great caste of ahirs or herdsmen has several synonyms--as gaoli in the northern districts, rawat or gahra in chhattisgarh, gaur among the uriyas, and golkar among telugus. lohars are also called khati and kammari; masons are called larhia, raj and beldar. the more distinctly occupational castes usually have different names in different parts of the country, as dhobi, warthi, baretha, chakla and parit for washermen; basor, burud, kandra and dhulia for bamboo-workers, and so on. such names may show that the subdivisions to which they are applied have immigrated from different parts of india, but the distinction is generally not now maintained, and many persons will return one or other of them indifferently. no object is gained, therefore, by distinguishing them in classification, as they correspond to no differences of status or occupation, and at most denote groups which do not intermarry, and which may therefore more properly be considered as subcastes. titles or names of offices are also not infrequently given as caste names. members of the lowest or impure castes employed in the office of kotwar or village watchmen prefer to call themselves by this name, as they thus obtain a certain rise in status, or at least they think so. in some localities the kotwars or village watchmen have begun to marry among themselves and try to form a separate caste. chamars (tanners) or mahars (weavers) employed as grooms will call themselves sais and consider themselves superior to the rest of their caste. the thethwar rawats or ahirs will not clean household cooking-vessels, and therefore look down on the rest of the caste and prefer to call themselves by this designation, as 'theth' means 'exact' or 'pure,' and thethwar is one who has not degenerated from the ancestral calling. salewars are a subcaste of koshtis (weavers), who work only in silk and hence consider themselves as superior to the other koshtis and a separate caste. the rathor subcaste of telis in mandla have abandoned the hereditary occupation of oil-pressing and become landed proprietors. they now wish to drop their own caste and to be known only as rathor, the name of one of the leading rajput clans, in the hope that in time it will be forgotten that they ever were telis, and they will be admitted into the community of rajputs. it occurred to them that the census would be a good opportunity of advancing a step towards the desired end, and accordingly they telegraphed to the commissioner of jubbulpore before the enumeration, and petitioned the chief commissioner after it had been taken, to the effect that they might be recorded and classified only as rathor and not as teli; this method of obtaining recognition of their claims being, as remarked by sir bampfylde fuller, a great deal cheaper than being weighed against gold. on the other hand, a common occupation may sometimes amalgamate castes originally distinct into one. the sweeper's calling is well-defined and under the generific term of mehtar are included members of two or three distinct castes, as dom, bhangi and chuhra; the word mehtar means a prince or headman, and it is believed that its application to the sweeper by the other servants is ironical. it has now, however, been generally adopted as a caste name. similarly, darzi, a tailor, was held by sir d. ibbetson to be simply the name of a profession and not that of a caste; but it is certainly a true caste in the central provinces, though probably of comparatively late origin. a change of occupation may transfer a whole body of persons from one caste to another. a large section of the banjara caste of carriers, who have taken to cultivation, have become included in the kunbi caste in berar and are known as wanjari kunbi. another subcaste of the kunbis called manwa is derived from the mana tribe. telis or oilmen, who have taken to vending liquor, now form a subcaste of the kalar caste called teli-kalar; those who have become shopkeepers are called teli-bania and may in time become an inferior section of the bania caste. other similar subcastes are the ahir-sunars or herdsmen-goldsmiths, the kayasth-darzis or tailors, the kori-chamars or weaver-tanners, the gondi lohars and barhais, being gonds who have become carpenters and blacksmiths and been admitted to these castes; the mahar mhalis or barbers, and so on. 7. tests of what a caste is. it would appear, then, that no precise definition of a caste can well be formulated to meet all difficulties. in classification, each doubtful case must be taken by itself, and it must be determined, on the information available, whether any body of persons, consisting of one or more endogamous groups, and distinguished by one or more separate names, can be recognised as holding, either on account of its traditional occupation or descent, such a distinctive position in the social system, that it should be classified as a caste. but not even the condition of endogamy can be accepted as of universal application; for vidurs, who are considered to be descended from brahman fathers and women of other castes, will, though marrying among themselves, still receive the offspring of such mixed alliances into the community; in the case of gosains and bairagis, who, from being religious orders, have become castes, admission is obtained by initiation as well as by birth, and the same is the case with several other orders; some of the lower castes will freely admit outsiders; and in parts of chhattisgarh social ties are of the laxest description, and the intermarriage of gonds, chamars and other low castes are by no means infrequent. but notwithstanding these instances, the principle of the restriction of marriage to members of the caste is so nearly universal as to be capable of being adopted as a definition. 8. the four traditional castes. the well-known traditional theory of caste is that the aryans were divided from the beginning of time into four castes: brahmans or priests, kshatriyas or warriors, vaishyas or merchants and cultivators, and sudras or menials and labourers, all of whom had a divine origin, being born from the body of brahma--the brahmans from his mouth, the kshatriyas from his arms, the vaishyas from his thighs, and the sudras from his feet. intermarriage between the four castes was not at first entirely prohibited, and a man of any of the three higher ones, provided that for his first wife he took a woman of his own caste, could subsequently marry others of the divisions beneath his own. in this manner the other castes originated. thus the kaivarttas or kewats were the offspring of a kshatriya father and vaishya mother, and so on. mixed marriages in the opposite direction, of a woman of a higher caste with a man of a lower one, were reprobated as strongly as possible, and the offspring of these were relegated to the lowest position in society; thus the chandals, or descendants of a sudra father and brahman mother, were of all men the most base. it has been recognised that this genealogy, though in substance the formation of a number of new castes through mixed descent may have been correct, is, as regards the details, an attempt made by a priestly law-giver to account, on the lines of orthodox tradition, for a state of society which had ceased to correspond to them. 9. occupational theory of caste. in the ethnographic description of the people of the punjab, which forms the caste chapter of sir denzil ibbetson's _census report_ of 1881, it was pointed out that occupation was the chief basis of the division of castes, and there is no doubt that this is true. every separate occupation has produced a distinct caste, and the status of the caste depends now mainly or almost entirely on its occupation. the fact that there may be several castes practising such important callings as agriculture or weaving does not invalidate this in any way, and instances of the manner in which such castes have been developed will be given subsequently. if a caste changes its occupation it may, in the course of time, alter its status in a corresponding degree. the important kayasth and gurao castes furnish instances of this. castes, in fact, tend to rise or fall in social position with the acquisition of land or other forms of wealth or dignity much in the same manner as individuals do nowadays in european countries. hitherto in india it has not been the individual who has undergone the process; he inherits the social position of the caste in which he is born, and, as a rule, retains it through life without the power of altering it. it is the caste, as a whole, or at least one of its important sections or subcastes, which gradually rises or falls in social position, and the process may extend over generations or even centuries. in the _brief sketch of the caste system of the north-western provinces and oudh_, mr. j.c. nesfield puts forward the view that the whole basis of the caste system is the division of occupations, and that the social gradation of castes corresponds precisely to the different periods of civilisation during which their traditional occupations originated. thus the lowest castes are those allied to the primitive occupation of hunting, pasi, bhar, bahelia, because the pursuit of wild animals was the earliest stage in the development of human industry. next above these come the fishing castes, fishing being considered somewhat superior to hunting, because water is a more sacred element among hindus than land, and there is less apparent cruelty in the capturing of fish than the slaughtering of animals; these are the kahars, kewats, dhimars and others. above these come the pastoral castes--ghosi, gadaria, gujar and ahir; and above them the agricultural castes, following the order in which these occupations were adopted during the progress of civilisation. at the top of the system stands the rajput or chhatri, the warrior, whose duty is to protect all the lower castes, and the brahman, who is their priest and spiritual guide. similarly, the artisan castes are divided into two main groups; the lower one consists of those whose occupations preceded the age of metallurgy, as the chamars and mochis or tanners, koris or weavers, the telis or oil-pressers, kalars or liquor-distillers, kumhars or potters, and lunias or salt-makers. the higher group includes those castes whose occupations were coeval with the age of metallurgy, that is, those who work in stone, wood and metals, and who make clothing and ornaments, as the barhai or worker in wood, the lohar or worker in iron, the kasera and thathera, brass-workers, and the sunar or worker in the precious metals, ranking precisely in this order of precedence, the sunar being the highest. the theory is still further developed among the trading castes, who are arranged in a similar manner, beginning from the banjara or forest trader, the kunjra or greengrocer, and the bharbhunja or grain-parcher, up to the classes of banias and khatris or shopkeepers and bankers. it can hardly be supposed that the hindus either consciously or unconsciously arranged their gradation of society in a scientific order of precedence in the manner described. the main divisions of social precedence are correctly stated by mr. nesfield, but it will be suggested in this essay that they arose naturally from the divisions of the principal social organism of india, the village community. nevertheless mr. nesfield's book will always rank as a most interesting and original contribution to the literature of the subject, and his work did much to stimulate inquiry into the origin of the caste system. 10. racial theory. in his introduction to the _tribes and castes of bengal_ sir herbert risley laid stress on the racial basis of caste, showing that difference of race and difference of colour were the foundation of the indian caste system or division of the people into endogamous units. there seems reason to suppose that the contact of the aryans with the indigenous people of india was, to a large extent, responsible for the growth of the caste system, and the main racial divisions may perhaps even now be recognised, though their racial basis has, to a great extent, vanished. but when we come to individual castes and subcastes, the scrutiny of their origin, which has been made in the individual articles, appears to indicate that caste distinctions cannot, as a rule, be based on supposed difference of race. nevertheless sir h. risley's _castes and tribes of bengal_ and _peoples of india_ will, no doubt, always be considered as standard authorities, while as census commissioner for india and director of ethnography he probably did more to foster this branch of research in india generally than any other man has ever done. 11. entry of the aryans into india. the aryas and dasyus. m. emile senart, in his work _les castes dans l'inde_, gives an admirable sketch of the features marking the entry of the aryans into india and their acquisition of the country, from which the following account is largely taken. the institution of caste as it is understood at present did not exist among the aryans of the vedic period, on their first entry into india. the word _varna_, literally 'colour,' which is afterwards used in speaking of the four castes, distinguishes in the vedas two classes only: there are the arya varna and the dasa varna--the aryan race and the race of enemies. in other passages the dasyus are spoken of as black, and indra is praised for protecting the aryan colour. in later literature the black race, krishna varna, are opposed to the brahmans, and the same word is used of the distinction between aryas and sudras. the word _varna_ was thus used, in the first place, not of four castes, but of two hostile races, one white and the other black. it is said that indra divided the fields among his white-coloured people after destroying the dasyus, by whom may be understood the indigenous barbarian races. [2] the word dasyu, which frequently recurs in the vedas, probably refers to the people of foreign countries or provinces like the goim or gentiles of the hebrews. the dasyus were not altogether barbarians, for they had cities and other institutions showing a partial civilisation, though the aryas, lately from more bracing climes than those which they inhabited, proved too strong for them. [3] to the aryans the word dasyu had the meaning of one who not only did not perform religious rites, but attempted to harass their performers. another verse says, "distinguish, o indra, between the aryas and those who are dasyus: punishing those who perform no religious rites; compel them to submit to the sacrifices; be thou the powerful, the encourager of the sacrificer." [4] rakshasa was another designation given to the tribes with whom the aryans were in hostility. its meaning is strong, gigantic or powerful, and among the modern hindus it is a word for a devil or demon. in the satapatha brahmana of the white yajur-veda the rakshasas are represented as 'prohibiters,' that is 'prohibiters of the sacrifice.' [5] similarly, at a later period, manu describes aryavarrta, or the abode of the aryas, as the country between the eastern and western oceans, and between the himalayas and the vindhyas, that is hindustan, the deccan being not then recognised as an abode of the aryans. and he thus speaks of the country: "from a brahman born in aryavarrta let all men on earth learn their several usages." "that land on which the black antelope naturally grazes, is held fit for the performance of sacrifices; but the land of mlechchhas (foreigners) is beyond it." "let the three first classes (brahmans, kshatriyas and vaishyas) invariably dwell in the above-mentioned countries; but a sudra distressed for subsistence may sojourn wherever he chooses." [6] another passage states: "if some pious king belonging to the kshatriya or some other caste should defeat the mlechchhas [7] and establish a settlement of the four castes in their territories, and accept the mlechchhas thus defeated as chandalas (the most impure caste in ancient hindu society) as is the case in aryavarrta, then that country also becomes fit for sacrifice. for no land is impure of itself. a land becomes so only by contact." this passage is quoted by a hindu writer with the same reference to the code of manu as the preceding one, but it is not found there and appears to be a gloss by a later writer, explaining how the country south of the vindhyas, which is excluded by manu, should be rendered fit for aryan settlement. [8] similarly in a reference in the brahmanas to the migration of the aryans eastward from the punjab it is stated that agni the fire-god flashed forth from the mouth of a priest invoking him at a sacrifice and burnt across all the five rivers, and as far as he burnt brahmans could live. agni, as the god of fire by which the offerings were consumed, was addressed as follows: "we kindle thee at the sacrifice, o wise agni, the sacrificer, the luminous, the mighty." [9] the sacrifices referred to were, in the early period, of domestic animals, the horse, ox or goat, the flesh of which was partaken of by the worshippers, and the sacred soma-liquor, which was drunk by them; the prohibition or discouragement of animal sacrifices for the higher castes gradually came about at a later time, and was probably to a large extent due to the influence of buddhism. the early sacrifice was in the nature of a communal sacred meal at which the worshippers partook of the animal or liquor offered to the god. the dasyus or indigenous indian races could not worship the aryan gods nor join in the sacrifices offered to them, which constituted the act of worship. they were a hostile race, but the hostility was felt and expressed on religious rather than racial grounds, as the latter term is understood at present. 12. the sudra. m. senart points out that the division of the four castes appearing in post-vedic literature, does not proceed on equal lines. there were two groups, one composed of the three higher castes, and the other of the sudras or lowest. the higher castes constituted a fraternity into which admission was obtained only by a religious ceremony of initiation and investment with the sacred thread. the sudras were excluded and could take no part in sacrifices. the punishment for the commission of the gravest offences by a brahman was that he became a sudra, that is to say an outcast. the killing of a sudra was an offence no more severe than that of killing certain animals. a sudra was prohibited by the severest penalties from approaching within a certain distance of a member of any of the higher castes. in the sutras [10] it is declared [11] that the sudra has not the right (adhikara) of sacrifice enjoyed by the brahman, kshatriya and vaishya. he was not to be invested with the sacred thread, nor permitted, like them, to hear, commit to memory, or recite vedic texts. for listening to these texts he ought to have his ears shut up with melted lead or lac by way of punishment; for pronouncing them, his tongue cut out; and for committing them to memory, his body cut in two. [12] the veda was never to be read in the presence of a sudra; and no sacrifice was to be performed for him. [13] the sudras, it is stated in the harivansha, are sprung from vacuity, and are destitute of ceremonies, and so are not entitled to the rites of initiation. just as upon the friction of wood, the cloud of smoke which issues from the fire and spreads around is of no service in the sacrificial rite, so too the sudras spread over the earth are unserviceable, owing to their birth, to their want of initiatory rites, and the ceremonies ordained by the vedas. [14] again it is ordained that silence is to be observed by parties of the three sacrificial classes when a sudra enters to remove their natural defilements, and thus the servile position of the sudra is recognised. [15] here it appears that the sudra is identified with the sweeper or scavenger, the most debased and impure of modern hindu castes. [16] in the dharmashastras or law-books it is laid down that a person taking a sudra's food for a month becomes a sudra and after death becomes a dog. issue begotten after eating a sudra's food is of the sudra caste. a person who dies with sudra's food in his stomach becomes a village pig, or is reborn in a sudra's family. [17] an arya who had sexual intimacy with a sudra woman was to be banished; but a sudra having intimacy with an arya was to be killed. if a sudra reproached a dutiful arya, or put himself on equality with him on a road, on a couch or on a seat, he was to be beaten with a stick. [18] a brahman might without hesitation take the property of a sudra; he, the sudra, had indeed nothing of his own; his master might, doubtless, take his property. [19] according to the mahabharata the sudras are appointed servants to the brahmans, kshatriyas and vaishyas. [20] a brahman woman having connection with a sudra was to be devoured by dogs, but one having connection with a kshatriya or vaishya was merely to have her head shaved and be carried round on an ass. [21] when a brahman received a gift from another brahman he had to acknowledge it in a loud voice; from a rajanya or kshatriya, in a gentle voice; from a vaishya, in a whisper; and from a sudra, in his own mind. to a brahman he commenced his thanks with the sacred syllable om; to a king he gave thanks without the sacred om; to a vaishya he whispered his thanks; to a sudra he said nothing, but thought in his own mind, _svasti_, or 'this is good.' [22] it would thus seem clear that the sudras were distinct from the aryas and were a separate and inferior race, consisting of the indigenous people of india. in the atharva-veda the sudra is recognised as distinct from the arya, and also the dasa from the arya, as in the rig-veda. [23] dr. wilson remarks, "the aboriginal inhabitants, again, who conformed to the brahmanic law, received certain privileges, and were constituted as a fourth caste under the name of sudras, whereas all the rest who kept aloof were called dasyus, whatever their language might be." [24] the sudras, though treated by manu and hindu legislation in general as a component, if enslaved, part of the indian community, not entitled to the second or sacramental birth, are not even once mentioned in the older parts of the vedas. they are first locally brought to notice in the mahabharata, along with the abhiras, dwelling on the banks of the indus. there are distinct classical notices of the sudras in this very locality and its neighbourhood. "in historical times," says lassen, "their name reappears in that of the town sudros on the lower indus, and, what is especially worthy of notice, in that of the people sudroi, among the northern arachosians." [25] "thus their existence as a distinct nation is established in the neighbourhood of the indus, that is to say in the region in which, in the oldest time, the aryan indians dwelt. the aryans probably conquered these indigenous inhabitants first; and when the others in the interior of the country were subsequently subdued and enslaved, the name sudra was extended to the whole servile caste. there seems to have been some hesitation in the aryan community about the actual religious position to be given to the sudras. in the time of the liturgical brahmanas of the vedas, they were sometimes admitted to take part in the aryan sacrifices. not long afterwards, when the conquests of the aryans were greatly extended, and they formed a settled state of society among the affluents of the jumna and ganges, the sudras were degraded to the humiliating and painful position which they occupy in manu. there is no mention of any of the sankara or mixed castes in the vedas." [26] from the above evidence it seems clear that the sudras were really the indigenous inhabitants of india, who were subdued by the aryans as they gradually penetrated into india. when the conquering race began to settle in the land, the indigenous tribes, or such of them as did not retire before the invaders into the still unconquered interior, became a class of menials and labourers, as the amalekites were to the children of israel. the sudras were the same people as the dasyus of the hymns, after they had begun to live in villages with the aryans, and had to be admitted, though in the most humiliating fashion, into the aryan polity. but the hostility between the aryas and the dasyus or sudras, though in reality racial, was felt and expressed on religious grounds, and probably the aryans had no real idea of what is now understood by difference of race or deterioration of type from mixture of races. the sudras were despised and hated as worshippers of a hostile god. they could not join in the sacrifices by which the aryans renewed and cemented their kinship with their god and with each other; hence they were outlaws towards whom no social obligations existed. it would have been quite right and proper that they should be utterly destroyed, precisely as the israelites thought that jehovah had commanded them to destroy the canaanites. but they were too numerous, and hence they were regarded as impure and made to live apart, so that they should not pollute the places of sacrifice, which among the aryans included their dwelling-houses. it does not seem to have been the case that the aryans had any regard for the preservation of the purity of their blood or colour. from an early period men of the three higher castes might take a sudra woman in marriage, and the ultimate result has been an almost complete fusion between the two races in the bulk of the population over the greater part of the country. nevertheless the status of the sudra still remains attached to the large community of the impure castes formed from the indigenous tribes, who have settled in hindu villages and entered the caste system. these are relegated to the most degrading and menial occupations, and their touch is regarded as conveying defilement like that of the sudras. [27] the status of the sudras was not always considered so low, and they were sometimes held to rank above the mixed castes. and in modern times in bengal sudra is quite a respectable term applied to certain artisan castes which there have a fairly good position. but neither were the indigenous tribes always reduced to the impure status. their fortunes varied, and those who resisted subjection were probably sometimes accepted as allies. for instance, some of the most prominent of the rajput clans are held to have been derived from the aboriginal [28] tribes. on the aryan expedition to southern india, which is preserved in the legend of rama, as related in the ramayana, it is stated that rama was assisted by hanuman with his army of apes. the reference is generally held to be to the fact that the aryans had as auxiliaries some of the forest tribes, and these were consequently allies, and highly thought of, as shown by the legend and by their identification with the mighty god hanuman. and at the present time the forest tribes who live separately from the hindus in the jungle tracts are, as a rule, not regarded as impure. but this does not impair the identification of the sudras with those tribes who were reduced to subjection and serfdom in the hindu villages, as shown by the evidence here given. the view has also been held that the sudras might have been a servile class already subject to the aryans, who entered india with them. and in the old parsi or persian community four classes existed, the athornan or priest, the rathestan or warrior, the vasteriox or husbandman, and the hutox or craftsman. [29] the second and third of these names closely resemble those of the corresponding hindu classical castes, the rajanya or kshatriya and the vaishya, while athornan, the name for a priest, is the same as atharvan, the hindu name for a brahman versed in the atharva-veda. possibly then hutox may be connected with sudra, as _h_ frequently changes into _s_. but on the other hand the facts that the sudras are not mentioned in the vedas, and that they succeeded to the position of the dasyus, the black hostile indians, as well as the important place they fill in the later literature, seem to indicate clearly that they mainly consisted of the indigenous subject tribes. whether the aryans applied a name already existing in a servile class among themselves to the indigenous population whom they subdued, may be an uncertain point. 13. the vaishya. in the vedas, moreover, m. senart shows that the three higher castes are not definitely distinguished; but there are three classes--the priests, the chiefs and the people, among whom the aryans were comprised. the people are spoken of in the plural as the clans who followed the chiefs to battle. the word used is visha. one verse speaks of the vishas (clans) bowing before the chief (rajan), who was preceded by a priest (brahman). another verse says: "favour the prayer (brahma), favour the service; kill the rakshasas, drive away the evil; favour the power (_khatra_) and favour the manly strength; favour the cow (_dherm_, the representative of property) and favour the people (or house, _visha_)." [30] similarly wilson states that in the time of the vedas, _visha_ (related to _vesha_, a house or district) signified the people in general; and vaishya, its adjective, was afterwards applied to a householder, or that appertaining to an individual of the common people. the latin _vicus_ and the greek o>=ikoc are the correspondents of _vesha_. [31] the conclusion to be drawn is that the aryans in the vedas, like other early communities, were divided by rank or occupation into three classes--priests, nobles and the body of the people. the vishas or clans afterwards became the vaishyas or third classical caste. before they entered india the aryans were a migratory pastoral people, their domestic animals being the horse, cow, and perhaps the sheep and goat. the horse and cow were especially venerated, and hence were probably their chief means of support. the vaishyas must therefore have been herdsmen and shepherds, and when they entered india and took to agriculture, the vaishyas must have become cultivators. the word vaishya signifies a man who occupies the soil, an agriculturist, or merchant. [32] the word vasteriox used by the ancestors of the parsis, which appears to correspond to vaishya, also signifies a husbandman, as already seen. dr. max müller states: "the three occupations of the aryas in india were fighting, cultivating the soil and worshipping the gods. those who fought the battles of the people would naturally acquire influence and rank, and their leaders appear in the veda as rajas or kings. those who did not share in the fighting would occupy a more humble position; they were called vish, vaishyas or householders, and would no doubt have to contribute towards the maintenance of the armies. [33] according to manu, god ordained the tending of cattle, giving alms, sacrifice, study, trade, usury, and also agriculture for a vaishya." [34] the sutras state that agriculture, the keeping of cattle, and engaging in merchandise, as well as learning the vedas, sacrificing for himself and giving alms, are the duties of a vaishya. [35] in the mahabharata it is laid down that the vaishyas should devote themselves to agriculture, the keeping of cattle and liberality. [36] in the same work the god vayu says to bhishma: "and it was brahma's ordinance that the vaishya should sustain the three castes (brahman, kshatriya and vaishya) with money and corn; and that the sudra should serve them." [37] in a list of classes or occupations given in the white yajur-veda, and apparently referring to a comparatively advanced state of hindu society, tillage is laid down as the calling of the vaishya, and he is distinguished from the vani or merchant, whose occupation is trade or weighing. [38] manu states that a brahman should swear by truth; a kshatriya by his steed and his weapons; a vaishya by his cows, his seed and his gold; and a sudra by all wicked deeds. [39] yellow is the colour of the vaishya, and it must apparently be taken from the yellow corn, and the yellow colour of _ghi_ or butter, the principal product of the sacred cow; yellow is also the colour of the sacred metal gold, but there can scarcely have been sufficient gold in the hands of the body of the people in those early times to enable it to be especially associated with them. the vaishyas were thus, as is shown by the above evidence, the main body of the people referred to in the vedic hymns. when these settled down into villages the vaishyas became the householders and cultivators, among whom the village lands were divided; the sudras or indigenous tribes, who also lived in the villages or in hamlets adjoining them, were labourers and given all the most disagreeable tasks in the village community, as is the case with the impure castes at present. 14. mistaken modern idea of the vaishyas. the demonstration of the real position of the vaishyas is important, because the hindus themselves no longer recognise this. the name vaishya is now frequently restricted to the bania caste of bankers, shopkeepers and moneylenders, and hence the banias are often supposed to be the descendants and only modern representatives of the original vaishyas. evidence has been given in the article on bania to show that the existing bania caste is mainly derived from the rajputs. the name bani, a merchant or trader, is found at an early period, but whether it denoted a regular bania caste may be considered as uncertain. in any case it seems clear that this comparatively small caste, chiefly coming from rajputana, cannot represent the vaishyas, who were the main body or people of the invading aryans. at that time the vaishyas cannot possibly have been traders, because they alone provided the means of subsistence of the community, and if they produced nothing, there could be no material for trade. the vaishyas must, therefore, as already seen, have been shepherds and cultivators, since in early times wealth consisted almost solely of corn and cattle. at a later period, with the increased religious veneration for all kinds of life, agriculture apparently fell into some kind of disrepute as involving the sacrifice of insect life, and there was a tendency to emphasise trade as the vaishya's occupation in view of its greater respectability. it is considered very derogatory for a brahman or rajput to touch the plough with his own hands, and the act has hitherto involved a loss of status: these castes, however, did not object to hold land, but, on the contrary, ardently desired to do so like all other hindus. ploughing was probably despised as a form of manual labour, and hence an undignified action for a member of the aristocracy, just as a squire or gentleman farmer in england might consider it beneath his dignity to drive the plough himself. no doubt also, as the fusion of races proceeded, and bodies of the indigenous tribes who were cultivators adopted hinduism, the status of a cultivator sank to some extent, and his vaishyan ancestry was forgotten. but though the vaishya himself has practically disappeared, his status as a cultivator and member of the village community appears to remain in that of the modern cultivating castes, as will be shown subsequently. 15. mixed unions of the four classes. the settlement of the aryans in india was in villages and not in towns, and the hindus have ever since remained a rural people. in 1911 less than a tenth of the population of india was urban, and nearly three-quarters of the total were directly supported by agriculture. apparently, therefore, the basis or embryo of the gradation of hindu society or the caste system should be sought in the village. two main divisions of the village community may be recognised in the vaishyas or cultivators and the sudras or impure serfs and labourers. the exact position held by the kshatriyas and the constitution of their class are not quite clear, but there is no doubt that the brahmans and kshatriyas formed the early aristocracy, ranking above the cultivators, and a few other castes have since attained to this position. from early times, as is shown by an ordinance of manu, men of the higher castes or classes were permitted, after taking a woman of their own class for the first wife, to have second and subsequent wives from any of the classes beneath them. this custom appears to have been largely prevalent. no definite rule prescribed that the children of such unions should necessarily be illegitimate, and in many cases no doubt seems to exist that, if not they themselves, their descendants at any rate ultimately became full members of the caste of the first ancestor. according to manu, if the child of a brahman by a sudra woman intermarried with brahmans and his descendants after him, their progeny in the seventh generation would become full brahmans; and the same was the case with the child of a kshatriya or a vaishya with a sudra woman. a commentator remarks that the descendants of a brahman by a kshatriya woman could attain brahmanhood in the third generation, and those by a vaishya woman in the fifth. [40] such children also could inherit. according to the mahabharata, if a brahman had four wives of different castes, the son by a brahman wife took four shares, that by a kshatriya wife three, by a vaishya wife two, and by a sudra wife one share. [41] manu gives a slightly different distribution, but also permits to the son by a sudra wife a share of the inheritance. [42] thus the fact is clear that the son of a brahman even by a sudra woman had a certain status of legitimacy in his father's caste, as he could marry in it, and must therefore have been permitted to partake of the sacrificial food at marriage; [43] and he could also inherit a small share of the property. 16. hypergamy. the detailed rules prescribed for the status of legitimacy and inheritance show that recognised unions of this kind between men of a higher class and women of a lower one were at one time fairly frequent, though they were afterwards prohibited. and they must necessarily have led to much mixture of blood in the different castes. a trace of them seems to survive in the practice of hypergamy, still widely prevalent in northern india, by which men of the higher subcastes of a caste will take daughters in marriage from lower ones but will not give their daughters in return. this custom prevails largely among the higher castes of the punjab, as the rajputs and khatris, and among the brahmans of bengal. [44] only a few cases are found in the central provinces, among brahmans, sunars and other castes. occasionally intermarriage between two castes takes place on a hypergamous basis; thus rajputs are said to take daughters from the highest clans of the cultivating caste of dangis. more commonly families of the lower subcastes or clans in the same caste consider the marriage of their daughters into a higher group a great honour and will give large sums of money for a bridegroom. until quite recently a rajput was bound to marry his daughters into a clan of equal or higher rank than his own, in order to maintain the position of his family. it is not easy to see why so much importance should be attached to the marriage of a daughter, since she passed into another clan and family, to whom her offspring would belong. on the other hand, a son might take a wife from a lower group without loss of status, though his children would be the future representatives of the family. another point, possibly connected with hypergamy, is that a peculiar relation exists between a man and the family into which his daughter has married. sometimes he will accept no food or even water in his son-in-law's village. the word _sala_, signifying wife's brother, when addressed to a man, is also a common and extremely offensive term of abuse. the meaning is now perhaps supposed to be that one has violated the sister of the person spoken to, but this can hardly have been the original significance as _sasur_ or father-in-law is also considered in a minor degree an opprobrious term of address. 17. the mixed castes. the village menials. but though among the four classical castes it was possible for the descendants of mixed unions between fathers of higher and mothers of lower caste to be admitted into their father's caste, this would not have been the general rule. such connections were very frequent and the hindu classics account through them for the multiplication of castes. long lists are given of new castes formed by the children of mixed marriages. the details of these genealogies seem to be destitute of any probability, and perhaps, therefore, instances of them are unnecessary. matches between a man of higher and a woman of lower caste were called _anuloma_, or 'with the hair' or 'grain,' and were regarded as suitable and becoming. those between a man of lower and a woman of higher caste were, on the other hand, known as _pratiloma_ or 'against the hair,' and were considered as disgraceful and almost incestuous. the offspring of such unions are held to have constituted the lowest and most impure castes of scavengers, dog-eaters and so on. this doctrine is to be accounted for by the necessity of safeguarding the morality of women in a state of society where kinship is reckoned solely by male descent. the blood of the tribe and clan, and hence the right to membership and participation in the communal sacrifices, is then communicated to the child through the father; hence if the women are unchaste, children may be born into the family who have no such rights, and the whole basis of society is destroyed. for the same reason, since the tribal blood and life is communicated through males, the birth and standing of the mother are of little importance, and children are, as has been seen, easily admitted to their father's rank. but already in manu's time the later and present view that both the father and mother must be of full status in the clan, tribe or caste in order to produce a legitimate child, has begun to prevail, and the children of all mixed marriages are relegated to a lower group. the offspring of these mixed unions did probably give rise to a class of different status in the village community. the lower-caste mother would usually have been taken into the father's house and her children would be brought up in it. thus they would eat the food of the household, even if they did not participate in the sacrificial feasts; and a class of this kind would be very useful for the performance of menial duties in and about the household, such as personal service, bringing water, and so on, for which the sudras, owing to their impurity, would be unsuitable. in the above manner a new grade of village menial might have arisen and have gradually been extended to the other village industries, so that a third group would be formed in the village community ranking between the cultivators and labourers. this gradation of the village community may perhaps still be discerned in the main social distinctions of the different hindu castes at present. and an attempt will now be made to demonstrate this hypothesis in connection with a brief survey of the castes of the province. 18. social gradation of castes. an examination of the social status of the castes of the central provinces, which, as already seen, are representative of a great part of india, shows that they fall into five principal groups. the highest consists of those castes who now claim to be directly descended from the brahmans, kshatriyas or vaishyas, the three higher of the four classical castes. the second comprises what are generally known as pure or good castes. the principal mark of their caste status is that a brahman will take water to drink from them, and perform ceremonies in their houses. they may be classified in three divisions: the higher agricultural castes, higher artisan castes, and serving castes from whom a brahman will take water. the third group contains those castes from whose hands a brahman will not take water; but their touch does not convey impurity and they are permitted to enter hindu temples. they consist mainly of certain cultivating castes of low status, some of them recently derived from the indigenous tribes, other functional castes formed from the forest tribes, and a number of professional and menial castes, whose occupations are mainly pursued in villages, so that they formerly obtained their subsistence from grain-payments or annual allowances of grain from the cultivators at seedtime and harvest. the group includes also some castes of village priests and mendicant religious orders, who beg from the cultivators. in the fourth group are placed the non-aryan or indigenous tribes. most of these cannot properly be said to form part of the hindu social system at all, but for practical purposes they are admitted and are considered to rank below all castes except those who cannot be touched. the lowest group consists of the impure castes whose touch is considered to defile the higher castes. within each group there are minor differences of status some of which will be noticed, but the broad divisions may be considered as representing approximately the facts. the rule about brahmans taking water from the good agricultural and artisan castes obtains, for instance, only in northern india. maratha brahmans will not take water from any but other brahmans, and in chhattisgarh brahmans and other high castes will take water only from the hands of a rawat (grazier), and from no other caste. but nevertheless the kunbis, the great cultivating caste of the maratha country, though brahmans do not take water from them, are on the same level as the kurmis, the cultivating caste of hindustan, and in tracts where they meet kunbis and kurmis are often considered to be the same caste. the evidence of the statements made as to the origin of different castes in the following account will be found in the articles on them in the body of the work. 19. castes ranking above the cultivators. the castes of the first group are noted below: bania. bhat. brahman. gurao. karan. kayasth and prabhu. khatri. rajput. the brahmans are, as they have always been, the highest caste. the rajputs are the representatives of the ancient kshatriyas or second caste, though the existing rajput clans are probably derived from the hun, gujar and other invaders of the period before and shortly after the commencement of the christian era, and in some cases from the indigenous or non-aryan tribes. it does not seem possible to assert in the case of a single one of the present rajput clans that any substantial evidence is forthcoming in favour of their descent from the aryan kshatriyas, and as regards most of the clans there are strong arguments against such a hypothesis. nevertheless the rajputs have succeeded to the status of the kshatriyas, and an alternative name for them, chhatri, is a corruption of the latter word. they are commonly identified with the second of the four classical castes, but a hindu law-book gives rajaputra as the offspring of a kshatriya father and a mother of the karan or writer caste. [45] this genealogy is absurd, but may imply the opinion that the rajputs were not the same as the aryan kshatriyas. the khatris are an important mercantile caste of the punjab, who in the opinion of most authorities are derived from the rajputs. the name is probably a corruption of kshatri or kshatriya. the banias are the great mercantile, banking and shopkeeping caste among the hindus and a large proportion of the trade in grain and _ghi_ (preserved butter) is in their hands, while they are also the chief moneylenders. most of the important bania subcastes belonged originally to rajputana and central india, which are also the homes of the rajputs, and reasons have been given in the article on bania for holding that they are derived from the rajputs. they, however, are now commonly called vaishyas by the hindus, as, i think, under the mistaken impression that they are descended from the original vaishyas. the bhats are the bards, heralds and genealogists of india and include groups of very varying status. the bhats who act as genealogists of the cultivating and other castes and accept cooked food from their clients may perhaps be held to rank with or even below them. but the high-class bhats are undoubtedly derived from brahmans and rajputs, and rank just below those castes. the bard or herald had a sacred character, and his person was inviolable like that of the herald elsewhere, and this has given a special status to the whole caste. [46] the kayasths are the writer caste of hindustan, and the karans and prabhus are the corresponding castes of orissa and bombay. the position of the kayasths has greatly risen during the last century on account of their own ability and industry and the advantages they have obtained through their high level of education. the original kayasths may have been village accountants and hence have occupied a lower position, perhaps below the cultivators. they are an instance of a caste whose social position has greatly improved on account of the wealth and importance of its members. at present the kayasths may be said to rank next to brahmans and rajputs. the origin of the prabhus and karans is uncertain, but their recent social history appears to resemble that of the kayasths. the guraos are another caste whose position has greatly improved. they were priests of the village temples of siva, and accepted the offerings of food which brahmans could not take. but they also supplied leaf-plates for festivals, and were village musicians and trumpeters in the maratha armies, and hence probably ranked below the cultivators and were supported by contributions of grain from them. their social position has been raised by their sacred character as priests of the god siva and they are now sometimes called shaiva brahmans. but a distinct recollection of their former status exists. thus all the castes of the first group are derived from the representatives of the brahmans and kshatriyas, the two highest of the four classical castes, except the guraos, who have risen in status owing to special circumstances. the origin of the kayasths is discussed in the article on that caste. members of the above castes usually wear the sacred thread which is the mark of the dwija or twice-born, the old brahmans, kshatriyas and vaishyas. the thread is not worn generally by the castes of the second group, but the more wealthy and prominent sections of them frequently assume it. 20. castes from whom a brahman can take water. higher agriculturists. the second group of good castes from whom a brahman can take water falls into three sections as already explained: the higher agricultural castes, the higher artisans, and the serving or menial castes from whom a brahman takes water from motives of convenience. these last do not properly belong to the second group but to the next lower one of village menials. the higher agricultural castes or those of the first section are noted below: agharia. ahir. bhilala. bishnoi. chasa. daharia. dangi. dumal. gujar. jadum. jat. khandait. kirar. kolta. kunbi. kurmi. lodhi. mali. maratha. mina or deswali. panwar rajput. raghuvansi. velama. in this division the kurmis and kunbis are the typical agricultural castes of hindustan or the plains of northern india, and the bombay or maratha deccan. both are very numerous and appear to be purely occupational bodies. the name kurmi perhaps signifies a cultivator or worker. kunbi may mean a householder. in both castes, groups of diverse origin seem to have been amalgamated owing to their common calling. thus the kunbis include a subcaste derived from the banjara (carriers), another from the dhangars or shepherds, and a third from the manas, a primitive tribe. in bombay it is considered that the majority of the kunbi caste are sprung from the non-aryan or indigenous tribes, and this may be the reason why maratha brahmans do not take water from them. but they have now become one caste with a status equal to that of the other good cultivating castes. in many tracts of berar and elsewhere practically all the cultivators of the village belong to the kunbi caste, and there is every reason to suppose that this was once the general rule and that the kunbis or 'householders' are simply the cultivators of the maratha country who lived in village communities. similarly sir h. risley considered that some kurmis of bihar were of the aryan type, while others of chota nagpur are derived from the indigenous tribes. the chasas are the cultivating caste of orissa and are a similar occupational group. the word chasa has the generic meaning of a cultivator, and the caste are said by sir h. risley to be for the most part of non-aryan origin, the loose organisation of the caste system among the uriyas making it possible on the one hand for outsiders to be admitted into the caste, and on the other for wealthy chasas, who gave up ploughing with their own hands and assumed the respectable title of mahanti, to raise themselves to membership among the lower classes of kayasths. the koltas are another uriya caste, probably an offshoot of the chasas, whose name may be derived from the _kulthi_ [47] pulse, a favourite crop in that locality. similarly the vellalas are the great cultivating caste of the tamil country, to whom by general consent the first place in social esteem among the tamil sudra castes is awarded. in the _madras census report_ of 1901 mr. francis gives an interesting description of the structure of the caste and its numerous territorial, occupational and other subdivisions. he shows also how groups from lower castes continually succeed in obtaining admission into the vellala community in the following passage: "instances of members of other castes who have assumed the name and position of vellalas are the vettuva vellalas, who are only puluvans; the illam vellalas, who are panikkans; the karaiturai (lord of the shore) vellalas, who are karaiyans; the karukamattai (palmyra leaf-stem) vellalas, who are balijas; the guha (rama's boatmen) vellalas, who are sembadavans; and the irkuli vellalas, who are vannans. the children of dancing-girls also often call themselves mudali, and claim in time to be vellalas, and even paraiyans assume the title of pillai and trust to its eventually enabling them to pass themselves off as members of the caste." this is an excellent instance of the good status attaching to the chief cultivating caste of the locality and of the manner in which other groups, when they obtain possession of the land, strive to get themselves enrolled in it. the jats are the representative cultivating caste of the punjab. they are probably the descendants of one of the scythian invading hordes who entered india shortly before and after the commencement of the christian era. the scythians, as they were called by herodotus, appear to have belonged to the mongolian racial family, as also did the white huns who came subsequently. the gujar and ahir castes, as well as the jats, and also the bulk of the existing rajput clans, are believed to be descended from these invaders; and since their residence in india has been comparatively short in comparison with their aryan predecessors, they have undergone much less fusion with the general population, and retain a lighter complexion and better features, as is quite perceptible to the ordinary observer in the case of the jats and rajputs. the jats have a somewhat higher status than other agricultural castes, because in the punjab they were once dominant, and one or two ruling chiefs belonged to the caste. [48] the bulk of the sikhs were also jats. but in the central provinces, where they are not large landholders, and have no traditions of former dominance, there is little distinction between them and the kurmis. the gujars for long remained a pastoral freebooting tribe, and their community was naturally recruited from all classes of vagabonds and outlaws, and hence the caste is now of a mixed character, and their physical type is not noticeably distinct from that of other hindus. sir g. campbell derived the gujars from the khazars, a tribe of the same race as the white huns and bulgars who from an early period had been settled in the neighbourhood of the caspian. they are believed to have entered india during the fifth or sixth century. several clans of rajputs, as well as considerable sections of the ahir and kunbi castes were, in his opinion, derived from the gujars. in the central provinces the gujars have now settled down into respectable cultivators. the ahirs or cowherds and graziers probably take their name from the abhiras, another of the scythian tribes. but they have now become a purely occupational caste, largely recruited from the indigenous gonds and kawars, to whom the business of tending cattle in the jungles is habitually entrusted. in the central provinces ahirs live in small forest villages with gonds, and are sometimes scarcely considered as hindus. on this account they have a character for bucolic stupidity, as the proverb has it: 'when he is asleep he is an ahir and when he is awake he is a fool.' but the ahir caste generally has a good status on account of its connection with the sacred cow and also with the god krishna, the divine cowherd. the marathas are the military caste of the maratha country, formed into a caste from the cultivators, shepherds and herdsmen, who took service under sivaji and subsequent maratha leaders. the higher clans may have been constituted from the aristocracy of the deccan states, which was probably of rajput descent. they have now become a single caste, ranking somewhat higher than the kunbis, from whom the bulk of them originated, on account of their former military and dominant position. their status was much the same as that of the jats in the punjab. but the ordinary marathas are mainly engaged in the subordinate government and private service, and there is very little distinction between them and the kunbis. the khandaits or swordsmen (from _khanda_, a sword) are an uriya caste, which originated in military service, and the members of which belonged for the most part to the non-aryan bhuiya tribe. they were a sort of rabble, half military and half police, sir h. risley states, who formed the levies of the uriya zamindars. they have obtained grants of land, and their status has improved. "in the social system of orissa the sreshta (good) khandaits rank next to the rajputs, who are comparatively few in number, and have not that intimate connection with the land which has helped to raise the khandaits to their present position." [49] the small rautia landholding caste of chota nagpur, mainly derived from the kol tribe, was formed from military service, and obtained a higher status with the possession of the land exactly like the khandaits. several rajput clans, as the panwars of the wainganga valley, the raghuvansis, the jadums derived from the yadava clan, and the daharias of chhattisgarh, have formed distinct castes, marrying among themselves. a proper rajput should not marry in his own clan. these groups have probably in the past taken wives from the surrounding population, and they can no longer be held to belong to the rajput caste proper, but rank as ordinary agricultural castes. other agricultural castes have probably been formed through mixed descent from rajputs and the indigenous races. the agharias of sambalpur say they are sprung from a clan of rajputs near agra, who refused to bend their heads before the king of delhi. he summoned all the agharias to appear before him, and fixed a sword across the door at the height of a man's neck. as the agharias would not bend their heads they were as a natural consequence all decapitated as they passed through the door. only one escaped, who had bribed a chamar to go instead of him. he and his village fled from agra and came to chhattisgarh, where they founded the agharia caste. and, in memory of this, when an agharia makes a libation to his ancestors, he first pours a little water on the ground in honour of the dead chamar. such stories may be purely imaginary, or may contain some substratum of truth, as that the ancestors of the caste were rajputs, who took wives from chamars and other low castes. the kirars are another caste with more or less mixed descent from rajputs. they are also called dhakar, and this means one of illegitimate birth. the bhilalas are a caste formed of the offspring of mixed alliances between rajputs and bhils. in many cases in nimar rajput immigrants appear to have married the daughters of bhil chieftains and landholders, and succeeded to their estates. thus the bhilalas include a number of landed proprietors, and the caste ranks as a good agricultural caste, from whom brahmans will take water. among the other indigenous tribes, several of which have in the central provinces retained the possession of large areas of land and great estates in the wilder forest tracts, a subcaste has been formed of the landholding members of the tribe. such are the raj-gonds among the gonds, the binjhals among baigas, and the tawar subtribe of the kawar tribe of bilaspur, to which all the zamindars [50] belong. these last now claim to be tomara rajputs, on the basis of the similarity of the name. these groups rank with the good agricultural castes, and brahmans sometimes consent to take water from them. the dangis of saugor appear to be the descendants of a set of freebooters in the vindhyan hills, much like the gujars in northern india. the legend of their origin is given in sir b. robertson's _census report_ of 1891: "the chief of garhpahra or old saugor detained the palanquins of twenty-two married women and kept them as his wives. the issue of the illicit intercourse were named dangis, and there are thus twenty-two subdivisions of these people. there are also three other subdivisions who claim descent from pure rajputs, and who will take daughters in marriage from the remaining twenty-two, but will not give their daughters to them." thus the dangis appear to have been a mixed group, recruiting their band from all classes of the population, with some rajputs as leaders. the name probably means hillman, from _dang_, a hill. _khet men bami, gaon men dangi_ or 'a dangi in the village is like the hole of a snake in one's field,' is a proverb showing the estimation in which they were formerly held. they obtained estates in saugor and a dangi dynasty formerly governed part of the district, and they are now highly respectable cultivators. the minas or deswalis belonged to the predatory mina tribe of rajputana, but a section of them have obtained possession of the land in hoshangabad and rank as a good agricultural caste. the lodhas of the united provinces are placed lowest among the agricultural castes by mr. nesfield, who describes them as little better than a forest tribe. the name is perhaps derived from the bark of the _lodh_ tree, which was collected by the lodhas of northern india and sold for use as a dyeing agent. in the central provinces the name has been changed to lodhi, and they are said to have been brought into the district by a raja of the gond-rajput dynasty of mandla in the seventeenth century, and given large grants of waste land in the interior in order that they might clear it of forest. they have thus become landholders, and rank with the higher agricultural castes. they are addressed as thakur, a title applied to rajputs, and lodhi landowners usually wear the sacred thread. 21. status of the cultivator. the above details have been given to show how the different agricultural castes originated. though their origin is so diverse they have, to a great extent, the same status, and it seems clear that this status is dependent on their possession of the land. in the tracts where they reside they are commonly village proprietors and superior tenants. those who rank a little higher than the others, as the jats, marathas, dangis and lodhis, include in their body some ruling chiefs or large landed proprietors, and as a rule were formerly dominant in the territory in which they are found. in primitive agricultural communities the land is the principal, if not almost the sole, source of wealth. trade in the modern sense scarcely exists, and what interchange of commodities there is affects, as a rule, only a trifling fraction of the population. india's foreign trade is mainly the growth of the last century, and the great bulk of the exports are of agricultural produce, yet in proportion to the population the trading community is still extremely small. it thus seems quite impossible that the aryans could have been a community of priests, rulers and traders, because such a community would not have had means of subsistence. and if the whole production and control of the wealth and food of the community had been in the hands of the sudras, they could not have been kept permanently in their subject, degraded position. the flocks and herds and the land, which constituted the wealth of early india, must thus have been in the possession of the vaishyas; and grounds of general probability, as well as the direct evidence already produced, make it clear that they were the herdsmen and cultivators, and the sudras the labourers. the status of the modern cultivators seems to correspond to that of the vaishyas, that is, of the main body of the aryan people, who were pure and permitted to join in sacrifices. the status, however, no longer attaches to origin, but to the possession of the land; it is that of a constituent member of the village community, corresponding to a citizen of the city states of greece and italy. the original vaishyas have long disappeared; the brahmans themselves say that there are no kshatriyas and no vaishyas left, and this seems to be quite correct. but the modern good cultivating castes retain the status of the vaishyas as the rajputs retain that of the kshatriyas. the case of the jats and gujars supports this view. these two castes are almost certainly derived from scythian nomad tribes, who entered india long after the vedic aryans. and there is good reason to suppose that a substantial proportion, if not the majority, of the existing rajput clans were the leaders or aristocracy of the jats and gujars. thus it is found that in the case of these later tribes the main body were shepherds and cultivators, and their descendants have the status of good cultivating castes at present, while the leaders became the rajputs, who have the status of the kshatriyas; and it therefore seems a reasonable inference that the same had previously been the case with the aryans themselves. it has been seen that the word visha or vaishya signified one of the people or a householder. the name kunbi appears to have the same sense, its older form being _kutumbika_, which is a householder or one who has a family, [51] a _pater familias_. 22. the clan and the village. it has been seen also that visha in the plural signified clans. the clan was the small body which lived together, and in the patriarchal stage was connected by a tie of kinship held to be derived from a common ancestor. thus it is likely that the clans settled down in villages, the cultivators of one village being of the same exogamous clan. the existing system of exogamy affords evidence in favour of this view, as will be seen. all the families of the clan had cultivating rights in the land, and were members of the village community; and there were no other members, unless possibly a kshatriya headman or leader. the sudras were their labourers and serfs, with no right to hold land, and a third intermediate class of village menials gradually grew up. the law of mirasi tenures in madras is perhaps a survival of the social system of the early village community. under it only a few of the higher castes were allowed to hold land, and the monopoly was preserved by the rule that the right of taking up waste lands belonged primarily to the cultivators of the adjacent holdings; no one else could acquire land unless he first bought them out. the pariahs or impure castes were not allowed to hold land at all. this rule was pointed out by mr. slocock, and it is also noticed by sir henry maine: "there are in central and southern india certain villages to which a class of persons is hereditarily attached, in such a manner that they form no part of the natural and organic aggregate to which the bulk of the villagers belong. these persons are looked upon as essentially impure; they never enter the village, or only enter reserved portions of it; and their touch is avoided as contaminating. yet they bear extremely plain marks of their origin. though they are not included in the village, they are an appendage solidly connected with it; they have definite village duties, one of which is the settlement of boundaries, on which their authority is allowed to be conclusive. they evidently represent a population of alien blood whose lands have been occupied by the colonists or invaders forming the community." [52] elsewhere, sir henry maine points out that in many cases the outsiders were probably admitted to the possession of land, but on an inferior tenure to the primary holders or freemen who formed the cultivating body of the village; and suggests that this may have been the ground for the original distinction between occupancy and non-occupancy tenants. the following extract from a description of the maratha villages by grant duff [53] may be subjoined to this passage: "the inhabitants are principally cultivators, and are now either mirasidars or ooprees. these names serve to distinguish the tenure by which they hold their lands. the oopree is a mere tenant-at-will, but the mirasidar is a hereditary occupant whom the government cannot displace so long as he pays the assessment on his field. with various privileges and distinctions in his village of minor consequence, the mirasidar has the important power of selling or transferring his right of occupancy at pleasure. it is a current opinion in the maratha country that all the lands were originally of this description." as regards the internal relations of clans and village groups, sir h. maine states: "the men who composed the primitive communities believed themselves to be kinsmen in the most literal sense of the word; and, surprising as it may seem, there are a multitude of indications that in one stage of thought they must have regarded themselves as equals. when these primitive bodies first make their appearance as landowners, as claiming an exclusive enjoyment in a definite area of land, not only do their shares of the soil appear to have been originally equal, but a number of contrivances survive for preserving the equality, of which the most frequent is the periodical redistribution of the tribal domain." [54] similarly professor hearn states: "the settlement of europe was made by clans. each clan occupied a certain territory--much, i suppose, as an australian squatter takes up new country. the land thus occupied was distributed by metes and bounds to each branch of the clan; the remainder, if any, continuing the property of the clan." [55] and again: "in those cases where the land had been acquired by conquest there were generally some remains of the conquered population who retained more or less interest in the lands that had once been their own. but as between the conquerors themselves it was the clansmen, and the clansmen only, who were entitled to derive any advantage from the land that the clan had acquired. the outsiders, the men who lived with the clan but were not of the clan, were no part of the folk, and had no share in the folkland. no services rendered, no participation in the common danger, no endurance of the burden and heat of the day, could create in an outsider any colour of right. nothing short of admission to the clan, and of initiation in its worship, could enable him to demand as of right the grass of a single cow or the wood for a single fire." [56] 23. the ownership of land. thus it appears that the cultivating community of each village constituted an exogamous clan, the members of which believed themselves to be kinsmen. when some caste or tribe occupied a fresh area of land they were distributed by clans in villages, over the area, all the cultivators of a village being of one caste or tribe, as is still the case with the kunbis in berar. sometimes several alien castes or groups became amalgamated into a single caste, such as the kurmis and kunbis; in others they either remained as a separate caste or became one. when the non-aryan tribes retained possession of the land, there is every reason to suppose that they also were admitted into hinduism, and either constituted a fresh caste with the cultivating status, or were absorbed into an existing one with a change of name. individual ownership of land was probably unknown. the _patel_ or village headman, on whom proprietary right was conferred by the british government, certainly did not possess it previously. he was simply the spokesman and representative of the village community in its dealings with the central or ruling authority. but it seems scarcely likely either that the village community considered itself to own the land. cases in which the community as a corporate body has exercised any function of ownership other than that of occupying and cultivating the soil, if recorded at all, must be extremely rare, and i do not know that any instance is given by sir henry maine. a tutelary village god is to be found as a rule in every hindu village. in the central provinces the most common is khermata, that is the goddess of the village itself or the village lands. she is a form of devi, the general earth-goddess. when a village is founded the first thing to be done is to install the village god. thus the soil of the village is venerated as a goddess, and it seems doubtful whether the village community considered itself the owner. in the maratha districts, hanuman or mahabir, the monkey god, is the tutelary deity of the village. his position seems to rest on the belief of the villagers that the monkeys were the lords and owners of the soil before their own arrival. for the worship of these and the other village gods there is usually a village priest, known as bhumka, bhumia, baiga or jhankar, who is taken from the non-aryan tribes. the reason for his appointment seems to be that the hindus still look on themselves to some extent as strangers and interlopers in relation to the gods of the earth and the village, and consider it necessary to approach these through the medium of one of their predecessors. the words bhumka and bhumia both mean lord of the soil, or belonging to the soil. as already seen, the authority of some menial official belonging to the indigenous tribes is accepted as final in cases of disputed boundaries, the idea being apparently that as his ancestors first occupied the village, he has inherited from them the knowledge of its true extent and limits. all these points appear to tell strongly against the view that the hindu village community considered itself to own the village land as we understand the phrase. they seem to have looked on the land as a god, and often their own tutelary deity and protector. what they held themselves to possess was a right of occupancy, in virtue of prescriptive settlement, not subject to removal or disturbance, and transmitted by inheritance to persons born into the membership of the village community. under the muhammadans the idea that the state ultimately owned the land may have been held, but prior to them the existence of such a belief is doubtful. the hindu king did not take rent for land, but a share of the produce for the support of his establishments. the rajput princes did not call themselves after the name of their country, but of its capital town, as if their own property consisted only in the town, as jodhpur, jaipur and udaipur, instead of marwar, dhundhar and mewar. just as the village has a priest of the non-aryan tribes for propitiating the local gods, so the rajput chief at his accession was often inducted to the royal cushion by a bhil or mina, and received the badge of investiture as if he had to obtain his title from these tribes. indeed the right of the village community to the land was held sometimes superior to that of the state. sir j. malcolm relates that he was very anxious to get the village of bassi in indore state repopulated when it had lain waste for thirty-six years. he had arranged with the bhil headman of a neighbouring village to bring it under cultivation on a favourable lease. the plan had other advantages, and holkar's minister was most anxious to put it into execution, but said that this could not be done until every possible effort had been made to discover whether any descendant of the former _patel_ or of any _watandar_ or hereditary cultivator of bassi was still in existence; for if such were found, he said, "even we marathas, bad as we are, cannot do anything which interferes with their rights." none such being found at the time, the village was settled as proposed by malcolm; but some time afterwards, a boy was discovered who was descended from the old _patel's_ family, and he was invited to resume the office of headman of the village of his forefathers, which even the bhil, who had been nominated to it, was forward to resign to the rightful inheritor. [57] similarly the maratha princes, sindhia, holkar and others, are recorded to have set more store by the headship of the insignificant deccan villages, which were the hereditary offices of their families, than by the great principalities which they had carved out for themselves with the sword. the former defined and justified their position in the world as the living link and representative of the continuous family comprising all their ancestors and all their descendants; the latter was at first regarded merely as a transient, secular possession, and a source of wealth and profit. this powerful hereditary right probably rested on a religious basis. the village community was considered to be bound up with its village god in one joint life, and hence no one but they could in theory have the right to cultivate the lands of that village. the very origin and nature of this right precluded any question of transfer or alienation. the only lands in which any ownership, corresponding to our conception of the term, was held to exist, were perhaps those granted free of revenue for the maintenance of temples, which were held to be the property of the god. in rome and other greek and latin cities the idea of private or family ownership of land also developed from a religious sentiment. it was customary to bury the dead in the fields which they had held, and here the belief was that their spirits remained and protected the interests of the family. periodical sacrifices were made to them and they participated in all the family ceremonies. hence the land in which the tombs of ancestors were situated was held to belong to the family, and could not be separated from it. [58] gradually, as the veneration for the spirits of ancestors decayed, the land came to be regarded as the private property of the family, and when this idea had been realised it was made alienable, though not with the same freedom as personal property. but the word _pecunia_ for money, from _pecus_ a flock, like the hindi _dhan_, which means wealth and also flocks of goats and sheep, and feudal from the gaelic _fiu_, cattle, point to conditions of society in which land was not considered a form of private property or wealth. m. fustel de coulanges notices other primitive races who did not recognise property in land: "the tartars understand the term property as applying to cattle, but not as applying to land. according to some authors, among the ancient germans there was no ownership of land; every year each member of the tribe received a holding to cultivate, and the holding was changed in the following year. the german owned the crop; he did not own the soil. the same was the case among a part of the semitic race and certain of the slav peoples." [59] in large areas of the nigeria protectorate at present, land has no exchangeable value at all; but by the native system of taxation a portion of the produce is taken in consideration of the right of use. [60] in ancient arabia 'baal' meant the lord of some place or district, that is, a local deity, and hence came to mean a god. land naturally moist was considered as irrigated by a god and the special place or habitation of the god. to the numerous canaanite baalims, or local deities, the israelites ascribed all the natural gifts of the land, the corn, the wine, and the oil, the wool and the flax, the vines and fig trees. pasture land was common property, but a man acquired rights in the soil by building a house, or, by 'quickening' a waste place, that is, bringing it under cultivation. [61] the israelites thought that they derived their title to the land of canaan from jehovah, having received it as a gift from him. the association of rights over the land with cultivation and building, pointed out by professor robertson smith, may perhaps explain the right over the village lands which was held to appertain to the village community. they had quickened the land and built houses on it, establishing the local village deity on their village sites, and it was probably thought that their life was bound up with that of the village god, and only they had a right to cultivate his land. this would explain the great respect shown by the marathas for hereditary title to land, as seen above; a feeling which must certainly have been based on some religious belief, and not on any moral idea of equity or justice; no such deep moral principle was possible in the hindu community at the period in question. the hindu religious conception of rights to land was thus poles apart from the secular english law of proprietary and transferable right, and if the native feeling could have been, understood by the early british administrators the latter would perhaps have been introduced only in a much modified form. 24. the cultivating status that of the vaishya. the suggested conclusion from the above argument is that the main body of the aryan immigrants, that is the vaishyas, settled down in villages by exogamous clans or septs. the cultivators of each village believed themselves to be kinsmen descended from a common ancestor, and also to be akin to the god of the village lands from which they drew their sustenance. hence their order had an equal right to cultivate the village land and their children to inherit it, though they did not conceive of the idea of ownership of land in the sense in which we understand this phrase. the original status of the vaishya, or a full member of the aryan community who could join in sacrifices and employ brahmans to perform them, was gradually transferred to the cultivating member of the village communities. in process of time, as land was the chief source of wealth, and was also regarded as sacred, the old status became attached to castes or groups of persons who obtained or held land irrespective of their origin, and these are what are now called the good cultivating castes. they have now practically the same status, though, as has been seen, they were originally of most diverse origin, including bands of robbers and freebooters, cattle-lifters, non-aryan tribes, and sections of any castes which managed to get possession of an appreciable quantity of land. 25. higher professional and artisan castes. the second division of the group of pure or good castes, or those from whom a brahman can take water, comprises the higher artisan castes: barhai. bharbhunja. halwai. kasar. komti. sansia. sunar. tamera. vidur. the most important of these are the sunar or goldsmith; the kasar or worker in brass and bell-metal; the tamera or coppersmith; the barhai or carpenter; and the halwai and bharbhunja or confectioner and grain-parcher. the sansia or stone-mason of the uriya country may perhaps also be included. these industries represent a higher degree of civilisation than the village trades, and the workers may probably have been formed into castes at a later period, when the practice of the handicrafts was no longer despised. the metal-working castes are now usually urban, and on the average their members are as well-to-do as the cultivators. the sunars especially include a number of wealthy men, and their importance is increased by their association with the sacred metal, gold; in some localities they now claim to be brahmans and refuse to take food from brahmans. [62] the more ambitious members abjure all flesh-food and liquor and wear the sacred thread. but in bombay the sunar was in former times one of the village menial castes, and here, before and during the time of the peshwas, sunars were not allowed to wear the sacred thread, and they were forbidden to hold their marriages in public, as it was considered unlucky to see a sunar bridegroom. sunar bridegrooms were not allowed to see the state umbrella or to ride in a palanquin, and had to be married at night and in secluded places, being subject to restrictions and annoyances from which even mahars were free. thus the goldsmith's status appears to vary greatly according as his trade is a village or urban industry. copper is also a sacred metal, and the tameras rank next to the sunars among the artisan castes, with the kasars or brass-workers a little below them; both these castes sometimes wearing the sacred thread. these classes of artisans generally live in towns. the barhai or carpenter is sometimes a village menial, but most carpenters live in towns, the wooden implements of agriculture being made either by the blacksmith or by the cultivators themselves. where the barhai is a village menial he is practically on an equality with the lohar or blacksmith; but the better-class carpenters, who generally live in towns, rank higher. the sansia or stone-mason of the uriya country works, as a rule, only in stone, and in past times therefore his principal employment must have been to build temples. he could not thus be a village menial, and his status would be somewhat improved by the sanctity of his calling. the halwai and bharbhunja or confectioner and grain-parcher are castes of comparatively low origin, especially the latter; but they have to be given the status of ceremonial purity in order that all hindus may be able to take sweets and parched grain from their hands. their position resembles that of the barber and waterman, the pure village menials, which will be discussed later. in bengal certain castes, such as the tanti or weaver of fine muslin, the teli or oil-presser, and the kumhar or potter, rank with the ceremonially pure castes. their callings have there become important urban industries. thus the tantis made the world-renowned fine muslins of dacca; and the jagannathia kumhars of orissa provide the earthen vessels used for the distribution of rice to all pilgrims at the temple of jagannath. these castes and certain others have a much higher rank than that of the corresponding castes in northern and central india, and the special reasons indicated seem to account for this. generally the artisan castes ranking on the same or a higher level than the cultivators are urban and not rural. they were not placed in a position of inferiority to the cultivators by accepting contributions of grain and gifts from them, and this perhaps accounts for their higher position. one special caste may be noticed here, the vidurs, who are the descendants of brahman fathers by women of other castes. these, being of mixed origin, formerly had a very low rank, and worked as village accountants and patwaris. owing to their connection with brahmans, however, they are a well-educated caste, and since education has become the door to all grades of advancement in the public service, the vidurs have taken advantage of it, and many of them are clerks of offices or hold higher posts under government. their social status has correspondingly improved; they dress and behave like brahmans, and in some localities it is said that even maratha brahmans will take water to drink from vidurs, though they will not take it from the cultivating castes. there are also several menial or serving castes from whom a brahman can take water, forming the third class of this group, but their real rank is much below that of the cultivators, and they will be treated in the next group. 26. castes from whom a brahman cannot take water; the village menials. the third main division consists of those castes from whom a brahman cannot take water, though they are not regarded as impure and are permitted to enter hindu temples. the typical castes of this group appear to be the village artisans and menials and the village priests. the annexed list shows the principal of these. _village menials_. lohar--blacksmith. barhai--carpenter. kumhar--potter. nai--barber. dhimar--waterman. kahar--palanquin-bearer. bari--leaf-plate maker. bargah--household servant. dhobi--washerman. darzi--tailor. basor or dhulia--village musician. bhat and mirasi--bard and genealogist. halba--house-servant and farm-servant. _castes of village watchmen_. khangar. chadar. chauhan. dahait. panka. _village priests and mendicants_. joshi--astrologer. garpagari--hail-averter. gondhali--musician. manbhao jangam basdewa wandering priests and mendicants. satani waghya _others_. mali--gardener and maker of garlands. barai--betel-vine grower and seller. _other village traders and artisans_. kalar--liquor-vendor. teli--oil-presser. hatwa manihar pedlar. banjara--carrier. bahelia pardhi fowlers and hunters. bahna--cotton-cleaner. chhipa--calico-printer and dyer. chitrakathi--painter and picture-maker. kachera--glass bangle-maker. kadera--fireworks-maker. nat--acrobat. gadaria dhangar shepherds. kuramwar beldar murha diggers, navvies, and salt-refiners. nunia the essential fact which formerly governed the status of this group of castes appears to be that they performed various services for the cultivators according to their different vocations, and were supported by contributions of grain made to them by the cultivators, and by presents given to them at seed-time and harvest. they were the clients of the cultivators and the latter were their patrons and supporters, and hence ranked above them. this condition of things survives only in the case of a few castes, but prior to the introduction of a metal currency must apparently have been the method of remuneration of all the village industries. the lohar or blacksmith makes and mends the iron implements of agriculture, such as the ploughshare, axe, sickle and goad. for this he is paid in saugor a yearly contribution of 20 lbs. of grain per plough of land held by each cultivator, together with a handful of grain at sowing-time and a sheaf at harvest from both the autumn and spring crops. in wardha he gets 50 lbs. of grain per plough of four bullocks or 40 acres. for new implements he must either be paid separately or at least supplied with the iron and charcoal. in districts where the barhai or carpenter is a village servant he is paid the same as the lohar and has practically an equal status. the village barber receives in saugor 20 lbs. of grain annually from each adult male in the family, or 22 1/2 lbs. per plough of land besides the seasonal presents. in return for this he shaves each cultivator over the head and face about once a fortnight. the dhobi or washerman gets half the annual contribution of the blacksmith and carpenter, with the same presents, and in return for this he washes the clothes of the family two or three times a month. when he brings the clothes home he also receives a meal or a wheaten cake, and well-to-do families give him their old clothes as a present. the dhimar or waterman brings water to the house morning and evening, and fills the earthen water-pots placed on a wooden stand or earthen platform outside it. when the cultivators have marriages he performs the same duties for the whole wedding party, and receives a present of money and clothes according to the means of the family, and his food every day while the wedding is in progress. he supplies water for drinking to the reapers, receiving three sheaves a day as payment, and takes sweet potatoes and boiled plums to the field and sells them. the kumhar or potter is not now paid regularly by dues from the cultivators like other village menials, as the ordinary system of sale has been found to be more convenient in his case. but he sometimes takes for use the soiled grass from the stalls of the cattle and gives pots free to the cultivator in exchange. on akti day, at the beginning of the agricultural year, the village kumhar in saugor presents five pots with covers on them to each cultivator and is given 2 1/2 lbs. of grain. he presents the bride with seven new pots at a wedding, and these are filled with water and used in the ceremony, being considered to represent the seven seas. at a funeral he must supply thirteen vessels which are known as _ghats_, and must replace the household earthen vessels, which are rendered impure on the occurrence of a death in the house, and are all broken and thrown away. in the punjab and maratha country the kumhar was formerly an ordinary village menial. 27. the village watchmen. the office of village watchman is an important one, and is usually held by a member of the indigenous tribes. these formerly were the chief criminals, and the village watchman, in return for his pay, was expected to detect the crimes of his tribesmen and to make good any losses of property caused by them. the sections of the tribes who held this office have developed into special castes, as the khangars, chadars and chauhans of chhattisgarh. these last are probably of mixed descent from rajputs and the higher castes of cultivators with the indigenous tribes. the dahaits were a caste of gatekeepers and orderlies of native rulers who have now become village watchmen. the pankas are a section of the impure ganda caste who have embraced the doctrines of the kabirpanthi sect and formed a separate caste. they are now usually employed as village watchmen and are not regarded as impure. similarly those members of the mahar servile caste who are village watchmen tend to marry among themselves and form a superior group to the others. the village watchman now receives a remuneration fixed by government and is practically a rural policeman, but in former times he was a village menial and was maintained by the cultivators in the same manner as the others. 28. the village priests. the gardening castes. the village priests are another class of this group. the regular village priest and astrologer, the joshi or parsai, is a brahman, but the occupation has developed a separate caste. the joshi officiates at weddings in the village, selects auspicious names for children according to the constellations under which they were born, and points out the auspicious moment or _mahurat_ for weddings, name-giving and other ceremonies, and for the commencement of such agricultural operations as sowing, reaping, and threshing. he is also sometimes in charge of the village temple. he is supported by contributions of grain from the villagers and often has a plot of land rent-free from the proprietor. the social position of the joshis is not very good, and, though brahmans, they are considered to rank somewhat below the cultivating castes. the gurao is another village priest, whose fortune has been quite different. the caste acted as priests of the temples of siva and were also musicians and supplied leaf-plates. they were village menials of the maratha villages. but owing to the sanctity of their calling, and the fact that they have become literate and taken service under government, the guraos now rank above the cultivators and are called shaiva brahmans. the gondhalis are the village priests of devi, the earth-goddess, who is also frequently the tutelary goddess of the village. they play the kettle-drum and perform dances in her honour, and were formerly classed as one of the village menials of maratha villages, though they now work for hire. the garpagari, or hail-averter, is a regular village menial, his duty being to avert hail-storms from the crops, like the qalazof'ulax in ancient greece. the garpagaris will accept cooked food from kunbis and celebrate their weddings with those of the kunbis. the jogis, manbhaos, satanis, and others, are wandering religious mendicants, who act as priests and spiritual preceptors to the lower classes of hindus. with the village priests may be mentioned the mali or gardener. the malis now grow vegetables with irrigation or ordinary crops, but this was not apparently their original vocation. the name is derived from _mala_, a garland, and it would appear that the mali was first employed to grow flowers for the garlands with which the gods and also their worshippers were adorned at religious ceremonies. flowers were held sacred and were an essential adjunct to worship in india as in greece and rome. the sacred flowers of india are the lotus, the marigold and the _champak_ [63] and from their use in religious worship is derived the custom of adorning the guests with garlands at all social functions, just as in rome and greece they wore crowns on their heads. it seems not unlikely that this was the purpose for which cultivated flowers were first grown, at any rate in india. the mali was thus a kind of assistant in the religious life of the village, and he is still sometimes placed in charge of the village shrines and is employed as temple-servant in jain temples. he would therefore have been supported by contributions from the cultivators like the other village menials and have ranked below them, though on account of the purity and sanctity of his occupation brahmans would take water from him. the mali has now become an ordinary cultivator, but his status is still noticeably below that of the good cultivating castes and this seems to be the explanation. with the mali may be classed the barai, the grower and seller of the _pan_ or betel-vine leaf. this leaf, growing on a kind of creeper, like the vine, in irrigated gardens roofed with thatch for protection from the sun, is very highly prized by the hindus. it is offered with areca-nut, cloves, cardamom and lime rolled up in a quid to the guests at all social functions. it is endowed by them with great virtues, being supposed to prevent heartburn, indigestion, and other stomachic and intestinal disorders, and to preserve the teeth, while taken with musk, saffron and almonds, the betel-leaf is held to be a strong aphrodisiac. the juice of the leaf stains the teeth and mouth red, and the effect, though repulsive to europeans, is an indispensable adjunct to a woman's beauty in hindu eyes. this staining of the mouth red with betel-leaf is also said to distinguish a man from a dog. the idea that betel preserves the teeth seems to be unfounded. the teeth of hindus appear to be far less liable to decay than those of europeans, but this is thought to be because they generally restrict themselves to a vegetable diet and always rinse out their mouths with water after taking food. the betel-leaf is considered sacred; a silver ornament is made in its shape and it is often invoked in spells and magic. the original vine is held to have grown from a finger-joint of basuki, the queen of the serpents, and the cobra is worshipped as the tutelary deity of the _pan_-garden, which this snake is accustomed to frequent, attracted by the moist coolness and darkness. the position of the barai is the same as that of the mali; his is really a low caste, sometimes coupled with the contemned telis or oil-pressers, but he is considered ceremonially pure because the betel-leaf, offered to gods and eaten by brahmans and all hindus, is taken from him. the barai or tamboli was formerly a village menial in the maratha villages. 29. other village traders and menials. the castes following other village trades mainly fall into this group, though they may not now be village menials. such are the kalar or liquor-vendor and teli or oil-presser, who sell their goods for cash, and having learnt to reckon and keep accounts, have prospered in their dealings with the cultivators ignorant of this accomplishment. formerly it is probable that the village teli had the right of pressing all the oil grown in the village, and retaining a certain share for his remuneration. the liquor-vendor can scarcely have been a village menial, but since manu's time his trade has been regarded as a very impure one, and has ranked with that of the teli. both these castes have now become prosperous, and include a number of landowners, and their status is gradually improving. the darzi or tailor is not usually attached to the village community; sewn clothes have hitherto scarcely been worn among the rural population, and the weaver provides the cloths which they drape on the body and round the head. [64] the contempt with which the tailor is visited in english proverbial lore for working at a woman's occupation attaches in a precisely similar manner in india to the weaver. [65] but in gujarat the darzi is found living in villages and here he is also a village menial. the kachera or maker of the glass bangles which every hindu married woman wears as a sign of her estate, ranks with the village artisans; his is probably an urban trade, but he has never become prosperous or important. the banjaras or grain-carriers were originally rajputs, but owing to the mixed character of the caste and the fact that they obtained their support from the cultivators, they have come to rank below these latter. the wanjari cultivators of berar have now discarded their banjara ancestry and claim to be kunbis. the nat or rope-dancer and acrobat may formerly have had functions in the village in connection with the crops. in kumaon [66] a nat still slides down a long rope from the summit of a cliff to the base as a rite for ensuring the success of the crops on the occasion of a festival of siva. formerly if the nat or badi fell to the ground in his course, he was immediately despatched with a sword by the surrounding spectators, but this is now prohibited. the rope on which he slid down the cliff is cut up and distributed among the inhabitants of the village, who hang the pieces as charms on the eaves of their houses. the hair of the nat is also taken and preserved as possessing similar virtues. each district in kumaon has its hereditary nat or badi, who is supported by annual contributions of grain from the inhabitants. similarly in the central provinces it is not uncommon to find a deified nat, called nat baba or father nat, as a village god. a natni, or nat woman, is sometimes worshipped; and when two sharp peaks of hills are situated close to each other, it is related that there was once a natni, very skilful on the tight-rope, who performed before the king; and he promised her that if she would stretch a rope from the peak of one hill to that of the other, and walk across it, he would marry her and make her wealthy. accordingly the rope was stretched, but the queen from jealousy went and cut it nearly through in the night, and when the natni started to walk, the rope broke, and she fell down and was killed. having regard to the kumaon rite, it may be surmised that these legends commemorate the death of a natni or acrobat during the performance of some feat of dancing or sliding on a rope for the magical benefit of the crops. and it seems possible that acrobatic performances may have had their origin in this manner. the point bearing on the present argument is, however, that the nat performed special functions for the success of the village crops, and on this account was supported by contributions from the villagers, and ranked with the village menials. 30. household servants. some of the castes already mentioned, and one or two others having the same status, work as household servants as well as village menials. the dhimar is most commonly employed as an indoor servant in hindu households, and is permitted to knead flour in water and make it into a cake, which the brahman then takes and puts on the girdle with his own hands. he can boil water and pour pulse into the cooking-pot from above, so long as he does not touch the vessel after the food has been placed in it. he will take any remains of food left in the cooking-pot, as this is not considered to be polluted, food only becoming polluted when the hand touches it on the dish after having touched the mouth. when this happens, all the food on the dish becomes _jutha_ or leavings of food, and as a general rule no caste except the sweepers will eat these leavings of food of another caste or of another person of their own. only a wife, whose meal follows her husband's, will eat his leavings. as a servant, the dhimar is very familiar with his master; he may enter any part of the house, including the cooking-place and the women's rooms, and he addresses his mistress as 'mother.' when he lights his master's pipe he takes the first pull himself, to show that it has not been tampered with, and then presents it to him with his left hand placed under his right elbow in token of respect. maid-servants frequently belong also to the dhimar caste, and it often happens that the master of the household has illicit intercourse with them. hence there is a proverb: 'the king's son draws water and the water-bearer's son sits on the throne,'--similar intrigues on the part of high-born women with their servants being not unknown. the kahar or palanquin-bearer was probably the same caste as the dhimar. landowners would maintain a gang of kahars to carry them on journeys, allotting to such men plots of land rent-free. our use of the word 'bearer' in the sense of a body-servant has developed from the palanquin-bearer who became a personal attendant on his master. well-to-do families often have a nai or barber as a hereditary family servant, the office descending in the barber's family. such a man arranges the marriages of the children and takes a considerable part in conducting them, and acts as escort to the women of the family when they go on a journey. among his daily duties are to rub his master's body with oil, massage his limbs, prepare his bed, tell him stories to send him to sleep, and so on. the barber's wife attends on women in childbirth after the days of pollution are over, and rubs oil on the bodies of her clients, pares their nails and paints their feet with red dye at marriages and on other festival occasions. the bari or maker of leaf-plates is another household servant. plates made of large leaves fastened together with little wooden pins and strips of fibre are commonly used by the hindus for eating food, as are little leaf-cups for drinking; glazed earthenware has hitherto not been commonly manufactured, and that with a rougher surface becomes ceremonially impure by contact with any strange person or thing. metal vessels and plates are the only alternative to those made of leaves, and there are frequently not enough of them to go round for a party. the baris also work as personal servants, hand round water, and light and carry torches at entertainments and on journeys. their women are maids to high-caste hindu ladies, and as they are always about the zenana are liable to lose their virtue. 31. status of the village menials. the castes of village and household menials form a large group between the cultivators on the one hand and the impure and servile labourers on the other. their status is not exactly the same. on the one hand, the nai or barber, the kahar and dhimar or watermen, the household servants, the bari, ahir, and others, some of the village priests and the gardening castes, are considered ceremonially pure and brahmans will take water from them. but this is a matter of convenience, as, if they were not so held pure, they would be quite useless in the household. several of these castes, as the dhimars, baris and others, are derived from the primitive tribes. sir h. risley considered the baris of bengal as probably an offshoot from the bhuiya or musahar tribe: "he still associates with the bhuiyas at times, and if the demand for leaf-plates and cups is greater than he can cope with himself, he gets them secretly made up by his ruder kinsfolk and passes them off as his own production. instances of this sort, in which a non-aryan or mixed group is promoted on grounds of necessity or convenience to a higher status than their antecedents would entitle them to claim, are not unknown in other castes, and must have occurred frequently in outlying parts of the country, where the aryan settlements were scanty and imperfectly supplied with the social apparatus demanded by the theory of ceremonial purity. thus the undoubtedly non-aryan bhuiyas have in parts of chota nagpur been recognised as jal-acharani (able to give water to the higher castes) and it may be conjectured that the kahars themselves only attained this privilege in virtue of their employment as palanquin-bearers." [67] the fact that brahmans will take water from these castes does not in any way place them on a level with the cultivators; they remain menial servants, ranking, if anything, below such castes as lohar, teli and kalar, from whom brahmans will not take water; but these latter are, as corporate bodies, more important and prosperous than the household menial castes, because their occupation confers a greater dignity and independence. on the other hand, one or two of the village menials, such as the dhobi or washerman, are considered to some extent impure. this is due to specially degrading incidents attaching to their occupation, as in the case of the dhobi, the washing of the clothes of women in childbirth. [68] and the sungaria subcaste of kumhars, who keep pigs, are not touched, because the impurity of the animal is necessarily communicated to its owner's house and person. still, in the village society there is little real difference between the position of these castes and those of the other village menials. 32. origin of their status the status of the village menial castes appears to be fixed by their dependent position on the cultivators. the latter are their patrons and superiors, to whom they look for a livelihood. before the introduction of a currency in the rural tracts (an event of the last fifty to a hundred years) the village artisans and menials were supported by contributions of grain from the cultivators. they still all receive presents, consisting of a sowing-basketful of grain at seed-time and one or two sheaves at harvest. the former is known as _bij phutni_, or 'the breaking of the seed,' and the latter as _khanvar,_ or 'that which is left' sometimes, after threshing, the menials are each given as much grain as will fill a winnowing-fan. when the peasant has harvested his grain, all come and beg from him. the dhimar brings some water-nut, the kachhi or market-gardener some chillies, the barai betel-leaf, the teli oil and tobacco, the kalar liquor (if he drinks it), the bania some sugar, and all receive grain in excess of the value of their gifts. the joshi or village priest, the nat or acrobat, the gosain or religious mendicant and the fakir or muhammadan beggar solicit alms. on that day the cultivator is said to be like a little king in his fields, and the village menials constitute his court. in purely agricultural communities grain is the principal source of wealth, and though the average hindu villager may appear to us to be typical of poverty rather than wealth, such standards are purely relative. the cultivator was thus the patron and supporter of the village artisans and menials, and his social position was naturally superior to theirs. among the hindus it is considered derogatory to accept a gift from another person, the recipient being thereby placed in a position of inferiority to the donor. some exception to this rule is made in the case of brahmans, though even with them it partly applies. generally the acceptance of a gift of any value among hindus is looked upon in the same manner as the taking of money in england, being held to indicate that the recipient is in an inferior social position to the giver. and the existence of this feeling seems to afford strong support to the reason suggested here for the relative status of the cultivating and village menial castes. the group of village menial and artisan castes comes between the good cultivating castes who hold the status of the vaishyas or body of the aryans, and the impure castes, the subjected aborigines. the most reasonable theory of their status seems to be that it originated in mixed descent. as has already been seen, it was the common practice of members of the higher classes to take lower-caste women either as wives or concubines, and a large mixed class would naturally result. such children, born and brought up in the households of their fathers, would not be full members of the family, but would not be regarded as impure. they would naturally be put to the performance of the menial household duties, for which the servile castes were rendered unsuitable through their impure status. this would correspond with the tradition of the large number of castes originating in mixed descent, which is given in the hindu sacred books. it has been seen that where menial castes are employed in the household, classes of mixed descent do as a matter of fact arise. and there are traces of a relationship between the cultivators and the menial castes, which would be best explained by such an origin. at a betrothal in the great kunbi cultivating caste of the marathas, the services of the barber and washerman must be requisitioned. the barber washes the feet of the boy and girl and places vermilion on the foreheads of the guests; the washerman spreads a sheet on the ground on which the boy and girl sit. at the end of the ceremony the barber and washerman take the bride and bridegroom on their shoulders and dance to music in the marriage-shed, for which they receive small presents. after a death has occurred at a kunbi's house, the impurity is not removed until the barber and washerman have eaten in it. at a kunbi's wedding the gurao or village priest brings the leafy branches of five trees and deposits them at maroti's [69] temple, whence they are removed by the parents of the bride. before a wedding, again, a kunbi bride must go to the potter's house and be seated on his wheel, while it is turned round seven times for good luck. similarly at a wedding among the hindustani cultivating castes the bride visits the potter's house and is seated on his wheel; and the washerman's wife applies vermilion to her forehead. the barber's wife puts red paint on her feet, the gardener's wife presents her with a garland of flowers and the carpenter's wife gives her a new wooden doll. at the wedding feast the barber, the washerman and the bari or personal servant also eat with the guests, though sitting apart from them. sometimes members of the menial and serving castes are invited to the funeral feast as if they belonged to the dead man's caste. in madras the barber and his wife, and the washerman and his wife, are known as the son and daughter of the village. and among the families of ruling rajput chiefs, when a daughter of the house is married, it was customary to send with her a number of handmaidens taken from the menial and serving castes. these became the concubines of the bridegroom and it seems clear that their progeny would be employed in similar capacities about the household and would follow the castes of their mothers. the tamera caste of coppersmiths trace their origin from the girls so sent with the bride of dharam-pal, the haihaya rajput raja of ratanpur, through the progeny of these girls by the raja. 33. other castes who rank with the village menials. many other castes belong to the group of those from whom a brahman cannot take water, but who are not impure. among these are several of the lower cultivating castes, some of them growers of special products, as the kachhis and mowars or market-gardeners, the dangris or melon-growers, and the kohlis and bhoyars who plant sugarcane. these subsidiary kinds of agriculture were looked down upon by the cultivators proper; they were probably carried out on the beds and banks of streams and other areas not included in the regular holdings of the village, and were taken up by labourers and other landless persons. the callings of these are allied to, or developed from, that of the mali or gardener, and they rank on a level with him, or perhaps a little below, as no element of sanctity attaches to their products. certain castes which were formerly labourers, but have now sometimes obtained possession of the land, are also in this group, such as the rajbhars, kirs, manas, and various madras castes of cultivators. probably these were once not allowed to hold land, but were afterwards admitted to do so. the distinction between their position and that of the hereditary cultivators of the village community was perhaps the original basis of the different kinds of tenant-right recognised by our revenue law, though these now, of course, depend solely on length of tenure and other incidents, and make no distinction of castes. the shepherd castes who tend sheep and goats (the gadarias, dhangars and kuramwars) also fall into this group. little sanctity attached to these animals as compared with the cow, and the business of rearing them would be left to the labouring castes and non-aryan tribes. the names of all three castes denote their functional origin, gadaria being from _gadar_, a sheep, dhangar from _dhan_ or small-stock, the word signifying a flock of sheep or goats and also wealth; and kuramwar from _kurri_, the telugu word for sheep. others belonging to this group are the digging and earth-working castes, the beldars, murhas, nunias and so on, practically all derived from the indigenous tribes, who wander about seeking employment from the cultivators in the construction and repair of field embankments and excavation of wells and tanks; and various fishing and boating castes, as the injhwars, naodas, murhas and kewats, who rank as equal to the dhimars, though they may not be employed in household or village service. such castes, almost entirely derived from the non-aryan tribes, may have come gradually into existence as the wants of society developed and new functions were specialised; they would naturally be given the social status already attaching to the village menial castes. 34. the non-aryan tribes. the fourth group in the scheme of precedence comprises the non-aryan or indigenous tribes, who are really outside the caste system when this is considered as the social organisation of the hindus, so long at least as they continue to worship their own tribal deities, and show no respect for brahmans nor for the cow. these tribes have, however, entered the hindu polity in various positions. the leaders of some of them who were dominant in the early period were admitted to the kshatriya or rajput caste, and the origin of a few of the rajput clans can be traced to the old bhar and other tribes. again, the aristocratic or landholding sections of several existing tribes are at present, as has been seen, permitted to rank with the good hindu cultivating castes. in a few cases, as the andhs, halbas and manas, the tribe as a whole has become a hindu caste, when it retained possession of the land in the centre of a hindu population. these have now the same or a slightly higher position than the village menial castes. on the other hand, those tribes which were subjugated and permitted to live with a servile status in the hindu villages have developed into the existing impure castes of labourers, weavers, tanners and others, who form the lowest social group. the tribes which still retain their distinctive existence were not enslaved in this manner, but lived apart in their own villages in the forest tracts and kept possession of the land. this seems to be the reason why they rank somewhat higher than the impure castes, even though they may utterly defile themselves according to hindu ideas by eating cow's flesh. some tribes, such as the gonds, binjhwars and kawars, counted amongst them the owners of large estates or even kingdoms, and consequently had many hindu cultivators for their subjects. and, as the hindus themselves say, they could not regard the gonds as impure when they had a gond king. nevertheless, the gond labourers in hindu villages in the plains are more despised than the gonds who live in their own villages in the hill country. and the conversion of the tribes as a whole to hinduism goes steadily forward. at each census the question arises which of them should be classed as hindus, and which as animists or worshippers of their own tribal gods, and though the classification is necessarily very arbitrary, the process can be clearly observed. thus the andhs, kolis, rautias and halbas are now all hindus, and the same remark applies to the kols, bhils and korkus in several districts. by strict abstention from beef, the adoption of hindu rites, and to some extent of child-marriage, they get admission to the third group of castes from whom a brahman cannot take water. it will be desirable here to digress from the main argument by noticing briefly the origin and affinities of the principal forest tribes of the central provinces. 35. the kolarians and dravidians. these tribes are divided into two families, the munda or kolarian, named after the kol tribe, and the dravidian, of which the former are generally held to be the older and more primitive. the word kol is probably the santali _har_, a man. "this word is used under various forms, such as _har, hara, ho_ and _koro_ by most munda tribes in order to denote themselves. the change of _r_ to _l_ is familiar and presents no difficulty." [70] the word is also found in the alternative name ho for the kol tribe, and in the names of the cognate korwa and korku tribes. the word munda is a sanskrit derivative meaning a head, and, as stated by sir h. risley, is the common term employed by the kols for the headman of a village, whence it has been adopted as an honorific title for the tribe. in chota nagpur those kols who have partly adopted hinduism and become to some degree civilised are called munda, while the name ho or larka (fighting) kol is reserved for the wilder section of the tribe. 36. kolarian tribes. the principal tribes of the munda or kolarian family in the central provinces are shown below: kol, munda, ho. bhumij. santal. kharia. korwa. korku. nahal savar or saonr. mal, male. gadba. khairwar. baiga. bhuiya. bhaina. bhunjia. binjhwar. _probable_: bhar, koli, bhil, chero. one large group includes the kol, munda or ho tribe itself and the bhumij and santals, who appear to be local branches of the kols called by separate names by the hindus. the kharias seem to be the earliest kol settlers in chota nagpur, who were subjugated by the later comers. the name kol, as already seen, is probably a form of the santali _har_, a man. similarly the name of the korku tribe is simply a corruption of _koraku_, young men, and that of the korwa tribe is from the same root. the dialects of the korku and korwa tribes closely approximate to mundari. hence it would seem that they were originally one tribe with the kols, but have been separated for so long a period that their direct connection can no longer be proved. the disintegrating causes which have split up what was originally one into a number of distinct tribes, are probably no more than distance and settlement in different parts of the country, leading to cessation of intermarriage and social intercourse. the tribes have then obtained some variation in the original names or been given separate territorial or occupational designations by the hindus, and their former identity has gradually been forgotten. both the korwas of the chota nagpur plateau and the korkus of the satpura hills were known as muasi, a term having the meaning of robber or raider. the korwas have also a subtribe called koraku, and mr. crooke thinks that they were originally the same tribe. sir g. grierson states that the korwa dialect is closely allied to kharia. similarly the resemblance of the name raises a presumption that the great koli tribe of gujarat and western india may be a branch of the kols who penetrated to the western coast along the satpulra and central india hill ranges. the kolis and bhils are tribes of the same country and are commonly spoken of together. both have entirely lost their own language and cannot therefore be classified definitely either as kolarian or dravidian, but there is a probability that they are of the kolarian family. the nahals, another tribe of the western satpura range, are an offshoot of the korkus. they are coupled with the bhils and kolis in old hindu accounts. the savars, sawaras or saonrs are also a widely distributed tribe, being found as far west as bundelkhand and east in orissa and ganjam. in the central provinces they have lost their own language and speak hindi or uriya, but in madras they still retain their original speech, which is classified by sir g. grierson with gadba as a munda or kolarian dialect. the name occurs in vedic literature, and the tribe is probably of great antiquity. in the classical stories of their origin the first ancestor of the savars is sometimes described as a bhil. the wide extension of the savar tribe east and west is favourable to the hypothesis of the identity of the kols and kolis, who have a somewhat similar distribution. the gadbas of ganjam, and the mal or male paharia tribe of chota nagpur seem to be offshoots of the savars. the khairwars or kharwars are an important tribe of mirzapur and chota nagpur. there is some reason for supposing that they are an occupational offshoot of the kols and cheros, who have become a distinct group through taking to the manufacture of edible catechu from the wood of the _khair_ tree. [71] another great branch of the kolarian family is that represented by the bhuiya and baiga tribes and their offshoots, the bhunjias, bhainas and binjhwars. the kolarian origin of the bhuiyas has been discussed in the article on that tribe, and it has also been suggested that the baiga tribe of the central provinces are an offshoot of the bhuiyas. these tribes have all abandoned their own languages and adopted the local aryan vernaculars. the name bhuiya is a sanskrit derivative from _bhu_, earth, and signifies 'belonging to the soil.' bhumij, applied to a branch of the kol tribe, has the same origin. baiga is used in the sense of a village priest or a sorcerer in chota nagpur, and the office is commonly held by members of the bhuiya tribe in that locality, as being the oldest residents. thus the section of the tribe in the central provinces appears to have adopted, or been given, the name of the office. the bharias or bharia-bhumias of jubbulpore seem to belong to the great bhar tribe, once dominant over large areas of the united provinces. they also hold the office of village priest, which is there known as bhumia, and in some tracts are scarcely distinguished from the baigas. again, in sambalpur the bhuiyas are known as bhumia kol, and are commonly regarded as a branch of the kol tribe. thus it would seem that two separate settlements of the kolarian races may have occurred; the earlier one would be represented by the bhars, bhuiyas, baigas and kindred tribes who have entirely lost their own languages and identity, and have names given to them by the hindus; and a later one of the kols or mundas and their related tribes, whose languages and tribal religion and organisation, though in a decaying state, can be fully recognised and recorded. and the dravidian immigration would be subsequent to both of them. to judge from the cases in which the fissure or subdivision of single tribes into two or more distinct ones can still be observed, it seems quite a plausible hypothesis that the original immigrants may have consisted only of a single tribe on each occasion, and that the formation of new ones may have occurred after settlement. but the evidence does not warrant any definite assertion. 37. dravidian tribes. the principal dravidian tribes are the gonds, khonds and oraons. the gonds were once dominant over the greater part of the central provinces, which was called gondwana after them. the above three names have in each case been given to the tribes by the hindus. the following tribes are found in the province: gond, oraon or kurukh, khond, kolam, parja, kamar. _tribal castes_: bhatra, halba, dhoba. _doubtful_: kawar, dhanwar. the gonds and khonds call themselves koi or koitur, a word which seems to mean man or hillman. the oraon tribe call themselves kurukh, which has also been supposed to be connected with the kolarian _horo_, man. the name oraon, given to them by the hindus, may mean farmservant, while dhangar, an alternative name for the tribe, has certainly this signification. there seems good reason to suppose that the gonds and khonds were originally one tribe divided through migration. [72] the kolams are a small tribe of the wardha valley, whose dialect resembles those of the gonds and khonds. they may have split off from the parent tribe in southern india and come northwards separately. the parjas appear to represent the earliest gond settlers in bastar, who were subjugated by later gond and raj-gond immigrants. the halbas and bhatras are mixed tribes or tribal castes, descended from the unions of gonds and hindus. 38. origin of the kolarian tribes the munda languages have been shown by sir g. grierson to have originated from the same source as those spoken in the indo-pacific islands and the malay peninsula. "the mundas, the mon-khmer, the wild tribes of the malay peninsula and the nicobarese all use forms of speech which can be traced back to a common source though they mutually differ widely from each other." [73] it would appear, therefore, that the mundas, the oldest known inhabitants of india, perhaps came originally from the south-east, the islands of the indian archipelago and the malay peninsula, unless india was their original home and these countries were colonised from it. sir edward gait states: "geologists tell us that the indian peninsula was formerly cut off from the north of asia by sea, while a land connection existed on the one side with madagascar and on the other with the malay archipelago; and though there is nothing to show that india was then inhabited, we know that it was so in palaeolithic times, when communication was probably still easier with the countries to the north-east and south-west than with those beyond the himalayas." [74] in the south of india, however, no traces of munda languages remain at present, and it seems therefore necessary to conclude that the mundas of the central provinces and chota nagpur have been separated from the tribes of malaysia who speak cognate languages for an indefinitely long period; or else that they did not come through southern india to these countries but by way of assam and bengal or by sea through orissa. there is good reason to believe from the names of places and from local tradition that the munda tribes were once spread over bihar and parts of the ganges valley; and if the kolis are an offshoot of the kols, as is supposed, they also penetrated across central india to the sea in gujarat and the hills of the western ghats. the presumption is that the advance of the aryans or hindus drove the mundas from the open country to the seclusion of the hills and forests. the munda and dravidian languages are shown by sir g. grierson to be distinct groups without any real connection. though the physical characteristics of the two sets of tribes display no marked points of difference, the opinion has been generally held by ethnologists who know them that they represent two distinct waves of immigration, and the absence of connection between their languages bears out this view. it has always been supposed that the mundas were in the country of chota nagpur and the central provinces first, and that the dravidians, the gonds, khonds and oraons came afterwards. the grounds for this view are the more advanced culture of the dravidians; the fact that where the two sets of tribes are in contact those of the munda group have been ousted from the more open and fertile country, of which, according to tradition, they were formerly in possession; and the practice of the gonds and other dravidian tribes of employing the baigas, bhuiyas and other munda tribes for their village priests, which is an acknowledgment that the latter as the earlier residents have a more familiar acquaintance with the local deities, and can solicit their favour and protection with more prospect of success. such a belief is the more easily understood when it is remembered that these deities are not infrequently either the human ancestors of the earliest residents or the local animals and plants from which they supposed themselves to be descended. 39. of the dravidian tribes. the dravidian languages, gondi, kurukh and khond, are of one family with tamil, telugu, malayalam and canarese, and their home is the south of india. the word dravida comes from an older form damila or dramila, and was used in ancient pali and jain literature as a name for the people of the tamil country. [75] afterwards it came to signify generally the people of southern india as opposed to gaur or northern india. as stated by sir edward gait there is at present no evidence to show that the dravidians came to southern india from any other part of the world, and for anything that is known to the contrary the languages may have originated there. the existence of the small brahui tribe in baluchistan who speak a dravidian language but have no physical resemblance to other dravidian races cannot be satisfactorily explained, but, as he points out, this is no reason for holding that the whole body of speakers of dravidian languages entered india from the north-west, and, with the exception of this small group of brahuis, penetrated to the south and settled there without leaving any traces of their passage. the dravidian languages occupy a large area in madras, mysore and hyderabad, and they extend north into the central provinces and chota nagpur where they die out, practically not being found west and north of this tract. as the languages are more highly developed and the culture of their speakers is far more advanced in the south, it is justifiable to suppose, pending evidence to the contrary, that the south is their home and that they have spread thence as far north as the central provinces. the gonds and oraons, too, have stories to the effect that they came from the south. the belief has hitherto been, at least in the central provinces, that both the gonds and baigas have been settled in this territory for an indefinite period, that is, from prior to any aryan or hindu immigration. mr. h.a. crump, c.s., has however pointed out that if this was the case the munda or kolarian tribes, which have lost their own languages, should have adopted dravidian and not hindu forms of speech. as already seen, numerous kolarian tribes, as the binjhwar, bhaina, bhuiya, baiga, bhumij, chero, khairwar and the kols themselves in the central provinces have entirely lost their own languages, as well as the bhils and kolis, if these are held to be kolarian tribes. none of them have adopted a dravidian language, but all speak corrupt forms of the ancient aryan vernaculars derived from sanskrit. the fact seems to indicate that at the time when they abandoned their own languages these tribes were in contact with hindus, and were not surrounded by gonds, as several of them are at present. the history of the central provinces affords considerable support to the view that the gond immigration occurred at a comparatively late period, perhaps in the ninth or tenth century, or even later, after a considerable part of the province had been governed for some centuries by rajput dynasties. [76] the gonds and oraons still have well-defined legends about their immigration, which would scarcely be the case if it had occurred twenty centuries or more ago. any further evidence or argument as to the date of the dravidian immigration would be of considerable interest. 40. origin of the impure castes. the fifth or lowest group in the scheme of precedence is that of the impure castes who cannot be touched. if a high-caste hindu touches one of them he should bathe and have his clothes washed. these castes are not usually allowed to live inside a hindu village, but have a hamlet to themselves adjoining it. the village barber will not shave them, nor the washerman wash their clothes. they usually have a separate well assigned to them from which to draw water, and if the village has only one well, one side of it is allotted to them and the hindus take water from the other side. formerly they were subjected to more humiliating restrictions. in bombay a mahar might not spit on the ground lest a hindu should be polluted by touching it with his foot, but had to hang an earthen pot round his neck to hold his spittle. he was made to drag a thorny branch with him to brush out his footsteps, and when a brahman came by had to lie at a distance on his face lest his shadow might fall on the brahman. [77] even if the shadow of a mahar or mang fell on a brahman he was polluted and dare not taste food and water until he had bathed and washed the impurity away. in madras a paraiyan or pariah pollutes a high-caste hindu by approaching within a distance of 64 feet of him. [78] the debased and servile position of the impure castes corresponds to that which, as already seen, attached to the sudras of the classical period. the castes usually regarded as impure are the tanners, bamboo-workers, sweepers, hunters and fowlers, gipsies and vagrants, village musicians and village weavers. these castes, the chamars, basors, mahars, koris, gandas and others are usually also employed as agricultural and casual labourers. formerly, as already seen, they were not allowed to hold land. there is no reason to doubt that the status of impurity, like that of the sudra, was originally the mark of a subjugated and inferior race, and was practically equivalent to slavery. this was the position of the indigenous indians who were subjugated by the aryan invaders and remained in the country occupied by them. though they were of different races, and the distinction was marked and brought home to themselves by the contrast in the colour of their skins, it seems probable that the real basis for their antagonism was not social so much as religious. the indians were hated and despised by the immigrants as the worshippers of a hostile god. they could not join in the sacrifices by which the aryans held communion with their gods, and the sacrifice itself could not even be held, in theory at least, except in those parts of india which were thoroughly subdued and held to have become the dwelling-place of the aryan gods. the proper course prescribed by religion towards the indigenous residents was to exterminate them, as the israelites should have exterminated the inhabitants of canaan. but as this could not be done, because their numbers were too great or the conquerors not sufficiently ruthless, they were reduced to the servile condition of impurity and made the serfs of their masters like the amalekites and the plebeians and helots. if the whole of india had been thoroughly subjugated and settled like the punjab and hindustan, it may be supposed that the same status of impurity would have been imposed upon all the indigenous races; but this was very far from being the case. in central and southern india the aryans or subsequent immigrants from central asia came at first at any rate only in small parties, and though they may have established territorial states, did not regularly occupy the land nor reduce the indigenous population to a condition of servitude. thus large bodies of these must have retained a free position, and on their acceptance of the new religion and the development of the caste system, became enrolled in it with a caste status on the basis of their occupation. their leaders were sometimes admitted to rank as kshatriyas or rajputs, as has been stated. subsequently, as the racial distinction disappeared, the impure status came to attach to certain despised occupations and to customs abhorrent to hinduism, such as that of eating beef. but, as already seen, the tribes which have continued to live apart from the hindus are not usually regarded as impure, though they may eat beef and even skin animals. the dhimars, who keep pigs, still have a higher status than the impure castes because they are employed as water-bearers and household servants. it is at least doubtful whether at the time when the stigma of impurity was first attached to the sudras the hindus themselves did not sacrifice cows and eat beef. [79] the castes noted below are usually regarded as impure in the central provinces. the dhobi (washerman) and kumhar (potter) are sometimes included among the impure castes, but, as already noted, their status is higher than that of the castes in this list. audhelia: labouring caste of mixed descent who keep pigs. balahi: weavers and village messengers and watchmen. basor: bamboo basket-makers and village musicians. chamar: tanners and labourers. ganda: weavers and village musicians. ghasia: grass-cutters, labourers and sweepers. kaikari: vagrant basket-makers. kanjar, beria, sansia: gipsies and thieves. katia: cotton-spinners. kori: weavers and labourers. madgi: telugu tanners and hide-curriers. mahar: weavers and labourers. mala: telugu weavers and labourers. mang: broomand mat-makers and village musicians. they also castrate cattle. mehtar: sweepers and scavengers. certain occupations, those of skinning cattle and curing hides, weaving the coarse country cloth worn by the villagers, making baskets from the rind of the bamboo, playing on drums and tom-toms, and scavenging generally are relegated to the lowest and impure castes. the hides of domestic animals are exceedingly impure; a hindu is defiled even by touching their dead bodies and far more so by removing the skins. drums and tom-toms made from the hides of animals are also impure. but in the case of weaving and basket-making the calling itself entails no defilement, and it would appear simply that they were despised by the cultivators, and as a considerable number of workers were required to satisfy the demand for baskets and cloth, were adopted by the servile and labouring castes. basketand mat-making are callings naturally suited to the primitive tribes who would obtain the bamboos from the forests, but weaving would not be associated with them unless cloth was first woven of tree-cotton. the weavers of the finer cotton and silk cloths, who live in towns, rank much higher than the village weavers, as in the case of the koshtis and tantis, the latter of whom made the famous fine cotton cloth, known as _abrawan_, or 'running water,' which was supplied to the imperial zenana at delhi. on one occasion a daughter of aurangzeb was reproached on entering the room for her immodest attire and excused herself by the plea that she had on seven folds of cloth over her body. [80] in bengal brahmans will take water from tantis, and it seems clear that their higher status is a consequence of the lucrative and important nature of their occupation. the katias are a caste of cotton-spinners, the name being derived from _katna_, to cut or spin. but hand-spinning is now practically an extinct industry and the katias have taken to weaving or ordinary manual labour for a subsistence. the kanjars and berias are the gipsy castes of india. they are accustomed to wander about carrying their grass-matting huts with them. many of them live by petty thieving and cheating. their women practise palmistry and retail charms for the cure of sickness and for exorcising evil spirits, and love-philtres. they do cupping and tattooing and also make reed mats, cane baskets, palm-leaf mats and fans, ropes from grassand tree-fibre, brushes for the cotton-loom, string-net purses and balls, and so on; and the women commonly dance and act as prostitutes. there is good reason for thinking that the kanjars are the parents of the european gipsies, while the thugs who formerly infested the high-roads of india, murdering solitary travellers and small parties by strangulation, may also have been largely derived from this caste. [81] 41. derivation of the impure castes from the indigenous tribes. it can only be definitely shown in a few instances that the existing impure occupational castes were directly derived from the indigenous tribes. the chamar and kori, and the chuhra and bhangi, or sweepers and scavengers of the punjab and united provinces, are now purely occupational castes and their original tribal affinities have entirely disappeared. the chamars and mehtars or sweepers are in some places of a superior physical type, of comparatively good stature and light complexion; [82] this may perhaps be due to a large admixture of hindu blood through their women, during a social contact with the hindus extending over many centuries, and also to the fact that they eat flesh when they can obtain it, including carrion. such types are, however, exceptional among the impure castes, and there is no reason to doubt their general origin from the non-aryan tribes, which in a few instances can be directly traced. thus it seems likely that the kanjars, berias, sansias and other gipsy groups, as well as the mirasis, the vagrant bards and genealogists of the lower classes of hindus, are derived from the dom caste or tribe of bengal, who are largely employed as sweepers and scavengers as well as on ordinary labour. the evidence for the origin of the above groups from the doms is given in the article on kanjar. sir h.m. elliot considered the doms to be one of the original tribes of india. again, there is no doubt that the impure ganda caste, who are weavers, labourers and village musicians in the uriya country and chhattisgarh districts of the central provinces, are derived from the pan tribe of chota nagpur. the pans or pabs are a regular forest tribe, and are sometimes called ganda, while the gandas may be alternatively known as pan. but the section of the tribe who live among the hindus and are regarded as impure have now become a distinct caste with a separate name. the bhuiya tribe were once the rulers of chota nagpur; they still install the raja of keonjhar, and have a traditional relation to other ruling families. but in parts of chota nagpur and southern bihar the bhuiyas living in hindu villages have become a separate impure caste with the opprobrious designation of musahar or rat-eater. the great mahar caste of the maratha country or bombay are weavers and labourers, and formerly cured hides, like the chamars and koris of northern india. they are regarded as impure and were the serfs or villeins of the kunbis, attached to the land. an alternative name for them is dher, and this is supposed to be a corruption of dharada a hillman, a name applied in manu to all the indigenous races of india. though the connection cannot be traced in all cases, there is thus no reason to doubt that the existing impure castes represent the subjected or enslaved section of the primitive non-aryan tribes. 42. occupation the basis of the caste system. it has been seen that the old aryan polity comprised four classes: the brahmans and kshatriyas or priestly and military aristocracy; the vaishyas or body of the aryans, who were ceremonially pure and could join in sacrifices; and the sudras or servile and impure class of labourers. the vaishyas became cultivators and herdsmen, and their status of ceremonial purity was gradually transferred to the cultivating members of the village community, because land was the main source of wealth. between the last two there arose another class of village menials and craftsmen, originating principally from the offspring of fathers of the aryan classes and sudra women, to whom was left the practice of the village industries, despised by the cultivators. in spite of the almost complete fusion of races which the intercourse of centuries has effected, and the multiplication and rearrangement of castes produced by the diversity of occupation and other social factors, the divisions of the village community can still be recognised in the existing social gradation. it has been seen also that occupation is the real basis of the division and social precedence of castes in india, as in all communities which have made any substantial progress in civilisation and social development. distinctions of race, religion and family gradually disappear, and are merged in the gradation according to wealth or profession. the enormous majority of castes are occupational and their social position depends on their caste calling. thus in the case of an important industry like weaving, there are separate castes who weave the finer kinds of cloth, as the tantis and koshtis, while one subcaste of koshtis, the salewars, are distinguished as silk-weavers, and a separate caste of patwas embroider silk and braid on cloth; other castes, as the mahars, gandas and koris, weave coarse cloth, and a distinct caste of katias existed for the spinning of thread, and the muhammadan caste of bahnas for cleaning cotton. the workers in each kind of metal have formed a separate caste, as the lohars or blacksmiths, the kasars or brass-workers, the tameras or coppersmiths, and the sunars or goldand silversmiths, while the audhia subcaste of sunars [83] and the bharewas, an inferior branch of the kasars, work in bell-metal. each of these castes makes ornaments of its own metal, while the kachera caste [84] make glass bangles, and the lakheras make bangles from lac and clay. in the case of agriculture, as has been seen, there is usually a functional cultivating caste for each main tract of country, as the jats in the punjab, the kurmis in hindustan, the kunbis in the deccan, the chasas in orissa, the kapus in the telugu country and the vellalas in the tamil country. except the jats, who were perhaps originally a racial caste, the above castes appear to include a number of heterogeneous groups which have been welded into a single body through the acquisition of land and the status which it confers. various other cultivating castes also exist, whose origin can be traced to different sources; on obtaining possession of the land they have acquired the cultivating status, but retained their separate caste organisation and name. other agricultural castes have been formed for the growing of special products. thus the malis are gardeners, and within the caste there exist such separate groups as the phulmalis who grow flowers, the jire malis cumin and the halde malis turmeric. [85] hindus generally object to cultivate _san_-hemp, [86] and some special castes have been formed from those who grew it and thus underwent some loss of status; such are the lorhas and kumrawats and pathinas, and the santora subcaste of kurmis. the _al_ [87] or indian madder-dye is another plant to which objection is felt, and the alia subcastes of kachhis and banias consist of those who grow and sell it. the dangris and kachhis are growers of melons and other vegetables on the sandy stretches in the beds of rivers and the alluvial land on their borders which is submerged in the monsoon floods. the barais are the growers and sellers of the betel-vine. several castes have been formed from military service, as the marathas, khandaits, rautias, taonlas and paiks. all of these, except the marathas, are mainly derived from the non-aryan tribes; since they have abandoned military service and taken as a rule to agriculture, their rank depends roughly on their position as regards the land. thus the marathas and khandaits became landowners, receiving grants of property as a reward for, or on condition of, military service like the old feudal tenures; they rank with, but somewhat above, the cultivating castes. the same is the case, though to a less degree, with the rautias of chota nagpur, a military caste mainly formed from the kol tribe. on the other hand, the paiks or foot-soldiers and taonlas have not become landholders and rank below the cultivating castes. the hatkars are a caste formed from dhangars or shepherds who entered the maratha armies. they are now called bangi dhangars or shepherds with the spears, and rank a little above other dhangars. 43. other agents in the formation of castes. the great majority of castes have been formed from occupation, but other sources of origin can be traced. several castes are of mixed descent, as the vidurs, the descendants of brahman fathers and mothers of other castes; the bhilalas, by rajput fathers and bhil mothers; the chauhans, audhelias, khangars and dhakars of bastar, probably by hindu fathers and women of various indigenous tribes; the kirars of mixed rajput descent, and others. these also now generally take rank according to their occupation and position in the world. the vidurs served as village accountants and ranked below the cultivators, but since they are well educated and have done well in government service their status is rapidly improving. the bhilalas are landholders and rank as a good cultivating caste. the chauhans and khangars are village watchmen and rank as menials below the cultivators, the dhakars are farmservants and labourers with a similar position, while the audhelias are labourers who keep pigs and are hence regarded as impure. the halbas or 'ploughmen' are another mixed caste, probably the descendants of house-servants of the uriya rajas, who, like the khandaits, formed a sort of militia for the maintenance of the chiefs authority. they are now mainly farmservants, as the name denotes, but where they hold land, as in bastar, they rank higher, almost as a good cultivating caste. again, very occasionally a caste may be formed from a religious sect or order. the bishnois were originally a vaishnava sect, worshipping vishnu as an unseen god, and refusing to employ brahmans. they have now become cultivators, and though they retain their sectarian beliefs, and have no brahman priests, are generally regarded as a hindu cultivating caste. the pankas are members of the impure ganda caste who adhered to the kabirpanthi sect. they are now a separate caste and are usually employed as village watchmen, ranking with menials above the gandas and other similar castes. the lingayats are a large sect of southern india, devoted to the worship of siva and called after the _lingam_ or phallic emblem which they wear. they have their own priests, denying the authority of brahmans, but the tendency now is for members of those castes which have become lingayats to marry among themselves and retain their relative social status, thus forming a sort of inner microcosm of hinduism. 44. caste occupations divinely ordained. occupation is the real determining factor of social status in india as in all other societies of at all advanced organisation. but though in reality the status of occupations and of castes depends roughly on the degree to which they are lucrative and respectable, this is not ostensibly the case, but their precedence, as already seen, is held to be regulated by the degree of ceremonial purity or impurity attaching to them. the hindus have retained, in form at any rate, the religious constitution which is common or universal in primitive societies. the majority of castes are provided with a legend devised by the brahmans to show that their first ancestor was especially created by a god to follow their caste calling, or at least that this was assigned to him by a god. the ancestors of the bearer-caste of kahars were created by siva or mahadeo from the dust to carry his consort parvati in a litter when she was tired; the first mang was made by mahadeo from his own sweat to castrate the divine bull nandi when he was fractious, and his descendants have ever since followed the same calling, the impiety of mutilating the sacred bull in such a manner being thus excused by the divine sanction accorded to it. the first mali or gardener gave a garland to krishna. the first chamar or tanner made sandals for siva from a piece of his own skin; the ancestor of the kayasth or writer caste, chitragupta, keeps the record of men's actions by which they are judged in the infernal regions after death; and so on. 45. subcastes. local type. all important castes are divided into a number of subordinate groups or subcastes, which as a rule marry and take food within their own circle only. certain differences of status frequently exist among the subcastes of the occupational or social type, but these are usually too minute to be recognised by outsiders. the most common type of subcaste is the local, named after the tract of country in which the members reside or whence they are supposed to have come. thus the name kanaujia from the town of kanauj on the ganges, famous in ancient indian history, is borne by subcastes of many castes which have immigrated from northern india. jaiswar, from the old town of jais in the rai bareli district, is almost equally common. pardeshi or foreign, and purabia or eastern, are also subcaste names for groups coming from northern india or oudh. mahobia is a common name derived from the town of mahoba in central india, as are bundeli from bundelkhand, narwaria from narwar and marwari from marwar in rajputana. groups belonging to berar are called berari, warade or baone; those from gujarat are called lad, the classical term for gujarat, or gujarati, and other names are deccani from the deccan, nimari of nimar, havelia, the name of the wheat-growing tracts of jubbulpore and damoh; chhattisgarhia, kosaria, ratanpuria (from the old town of ratanpur in bilaspur), and raipuria (from raipur town), all names for residents in chhattisgarh; and so on. brahmans are divided into ten main divisions, named after different tracts in the north and south of india where they reside; [88] and these are further subdivided, as the maharashtra brahmans of the maratha country of bombay into the subcastes of deshasth (belonging to the country) applied to those of the poona country above the western ghats; karhara or those of the satara district, from karhar town; and konkonasth or those of the concan, the bombay coast; similarly the kanaujia division of the panch-gaur or northern brahmans has as subdivisions the kanaujia proper, the jijhotia from jajhoti, the old name of the lalitpur and saugor tract, which is part of bundelkhand; the sarwaria or those dwelling round the river sarju in the united provinces; the mathuria from muttra; and the prayagwals or those of allahabad (prayag), who act as guides and priests to pilgrims who come to bathe in the ganges at the sacred city. the creation of new local subcastes seems to arise in two ways: when different groups of a caste settle in different tracts of country and are prevented from attending the caste feasts and assemblies, the practice of intermarriage and taking food together gradually ceases, they form separate endogamous groups and for purposes of distinction are named after the territory in which they reside; this is what has happened in the case of brahmans and many other castes; and, secondly, when a fresh body of a caste arrives and settles in a tract where some of its members already reside, they do not amalgamate with the latter group, but form a fresh one and are named after the territory from which they have come, as in the case of such names as pardeshi, purabia, gangapari ('from the other side of the ganges'), and similar ones already cited. in former times, when the difficulties of communication were great, these local subcastes readily multiplied; thus the kanaujia brahmans of chhattisgarh are looked down upon by those of saugor and damoh, as chhattisgarh has been for centuries a backward tract cut off from the rest of india, and they may be suspected of having intermarried with the local people or otherwise derogated from the standard of strict hinduism. similarly the kanaujia brahmans of bengal are split into several local subcastes named after tracts in bengal, who marry among themselves and neither with other kanaujias of bengal nor with those of northern india. since the opening of railways people can travel long distances to marriage and other ceremonies, and the tendency to form new subcastes is somewhat checked; a native gentleman said to me, when speaking of his people, that when a few families of khedawal brahmans from gujarat first settled in damoh they had the greatest difficulty in arranging their marriages; they could not marry with their caste-fellows in gujarat because their sons and daughters could not establish themselves, that is, could not prove their identity as khedawal brahmans; but since the railway has been opened intermarriage takes place freely with other khedawals in gujarat and benares. proposals are on foot to authorise the intermarriage of the three great subcastes of maratha brahmans: deshasth, konkonasth and karhara. as a rule, there is no difference of status between the different local subcastes, and a man's subcaste is often not known except to his own caste-fellows. but occasionally a certain derogatory sense may be conveyed; in several castes of the central provinces there is a subcaste called jharia or jungly, a term applied to the oldest residents, who are considered to have lapsed in a comparatively new and barbarous country from the orthodox practices of hinduism. the subcaste called deshi, or 'belonging to the country,' sometimes has the same signification. the large majority of subcastes are of the local or territorial type. 46. occupational subcastes. many subcastes are also formed from slight differences of occupation, which are not of sufficient importance to create new castes. some instances of subcastes formed from growing special plants or crops have been given. audhia sunars (goldsmiths) work in brass and bell-metal, which is less respectable than the sacred metal, gold. the ekbeile telis harness one bullock only to the oil-press and the dobeile two bullocks. as it is thought sinful to use the sacred ox in this manner and to cover his eyes as the telis do, it may be slightly more sinful to use two bullocks than one. the udia ghasias (grass-cutters) cure raw hides and do scavengers' work, and are hence looked down upon by the others; the dingkuchia ghasias castrate cattle and horses, and the dolboha carry dhoolies and palanquins. the mangya chamars are beggars and rank below all other subcastes, from whom they will accept cooked food. frequently, however, subcastes are formed from a slight distinction of occupation, which connotes no real difference in social status. the hathgarhia kumhars (potters) are those who used to fashion the clay with their own hands, and the chakarias those who turned it on a wheel. and though the practice of hand pottery is now abandoned, the divisions remain. the shikari or sportsmen pardhis (hunters) are those who use firearms, though far from being sportsmen in our sense of the term; the phanse pardhis hunt with traps and snares; the chitewale use a tame leopard to run down deer, and the gayake stalk their prey behind a bullock. among the subcastes of dhimars (fishermen and watermen) are the singaria, who cultivate the _singara_ or water-nut in tanks, the tankiwalas or sharpeners of grindstones, the jhingars or prawn-catchers, the bansias and saraias or anglers (from _bansi_ or _sarai_, a bamboo fishing-rod), the kasdhonias who wash the sands of the sacred rivers to find the coins thrown or dropped into them by pious pilgrims, and the sonjharas who wash the sands of auriferous streams for their particles of gold. [89] the gariwan dangris have adopted the comparatively novel occupation of driving carts (_gari_) for a livelihood, and the panibhar are water-carriers, while the ordinary occupation of the dangris is to grow melons in river-beds. it is unnecessary to multiply instances; here, as in the case of territorial subcastes, the practice of subdivision appears to have been extended from motives of convenience, and the slight difference of occupation is adopted as a distinguishing badge. 47. subcastes formed from social or religious differences, or from mixed descent. subcastes are also occasionally formed from differences of social practice which produce some slight gain or loss of status. thus the biyahut or 'married' kalars prohibit the remarriage of widows, saying that a woman is married once for all, and hence rank a little higher than the others. the dosar banias, on the other hand, are said to take their name from _dusra_, second, because they allow a widow to marry a second time and are hence looked upon by the others as a second-class lot. the khedawal brahmans are divided into the 'outer' and 'inner': the inner subdivision being said to exist of those who accepted presents from the raja of kaira and remained in his town, while the outer refused the presents, quitted the town and dwelt outside. the latter rank a little higher than the former. the suvarha dhimars keep pigs and the gadhewale donkeys, and are considered to partake of the impure nature of these animals. the gobardhua chamars wash out and eat the undigested grain from the droppings of cattle on the threshing-floors. the chungia group of the satnami chamars are those who smoke the _chongi_ or leaf-pipe, though smoking is prohibited to the satnamis. the nagle or 'naked' khonds have only a negligible amount of clothing and are looked down upon by the others. the makaria kamars eat monkeys and are similarly despised. subcastes are also formed from mixed descent. the dauwa ahirs are held to be the offspring of ahir women who were employed as wet-nurses in the houses of bundela rajputs and bore children to their masters. the halbas and rautias are divided into subcastes known as purait or 'pure,' and surait or of 'mixed' descent. many castes have a subcaste to which the progeny of illicit unions is relegated, such as the dogle kayasths, and the lahuri sen subcaste of barais, banias and other castes. illegitimate children in the kasar (brass-worker) caste form a subcaste known as takle or 'thrown out,' vidur or 'illegitimate,' or laondi bachcha, the issue of a kept wife. in berar the mahadeo kolis, called after the mahadeo or pachmarhi hills, are divided into the khas, or 'pure,' and the akaramase or 'mixed'; this latter word means gold or silver composed of eleven parts pure metal and one part alloy. many subcastes of bania have subcastes known as bisa or dasa, that is 'twenty' or 'ten' groups, the former being of pure descent or twenty-carat, as it were, and the latter the offspring of remarried widows or other illicit unions. in the course of some generations such mixed groups frequently regain full status in the caste. subcastes are also formed from members of other castes who have taken to the occupation of the caste in question and become amalgamated with it; thus the korchamars are koris (weavers) adopted into the chamar (tanner) caste; khatri chhipas are khatris who have become dyers and printers; the small dangri caste has subcastes called teli, kalar and kunbi, apparently consisting of members of those castes who have become dangris; the baman darzis or tailors will not take food from any one except brahmans and may perhaps be derived from them, and the kaith darzis may be kayasths; and so on. occasionally subcastes may be formed from differences of religious belief or sectarian practice. in northern india even such leading hindu castes as rajputs and jats have large muhammadan branches, who as a rule do not intermarry with hindus. the ordinary hindu sects seldom, however, operate as a bar to marriage, hinduism being tolerant of all forms of religious belief. those chamars of chhattisgarh who have embraced the doctrines of the satnami reforming sect form a separate endogamous subcaste, and sometimes the members of the kabirpanthi sect within a caste marry among themselves. statistics of the subcastes are not available, but their numbers are very extensive in proportion to the population, and even in the same subcaste the members living within a comparatively small local area often marry among themselves and attend exclusively at their own caste feasts, though in the case of educated and well-to-do hindus the construction of railways has modified this rule and connections are kept up between distant groups of relatives. clearly therefore differences of occupation or social status are not primarily responsible for the subcastes, because in the majority of cases no such differences really exist. i think the real reason for their multiplication was the necessity that the members of a subcaste should attend at the caste feasts on the occasion of marriages, deaths and readmission of offenders, these feasts being of the nature of a sacrificial or religious meal. the grounds for this view will be given subsequently. 48. exogamous groups. the caste or subcaste forms the outer circle within which a man must marry. inside it are a set of further subdivisions which prohibit the marriage of persons related through males. these are called exogamous groups or clans, and their name among the higher castes is _gotra_. the theory is that all persons belonging to the same _gotra_ are descended from the same male ancestor, and so related. the relationship in the _gotra_ now only goes by the father's side; when a woman marries she is taken into the clan of her husband and her children belong to it. marriage is not allowed within the clan and in the course of a few generations the marriage of persons related through males or agnates is prohibited within a very wide circle. but on the mother's side the _gotra_ does not serve as a bar to marriage and the union of first cousins would be possible, other than the children of two brothers. according to hindu law, intermarriage is prohibited within four degrees between persons related through females. but generally the children of first cousins are allowed to marry, when related partly through females. and several castes allow the intermarriage of first cousins, that of a brother's daughter to a sister's son and in a less degree of a brother's son to a sister's daughter being specially favoured. one or two madras castes allow a man to marry his niece, and the small dhoba caste of mandla permit the union of children of the same mother but different fathers. sir herbert risley classed the names of exogamous divisions as eponymous, territorial or local, titular and totemistic. in the body of this work the word clan is usually applied only to the large exogamous groups of the rajputs and one or two other military castes. the small local or titular groups of ordinary hindu castes are called 'section,' and the totemic groups of the primitive tribes 'sept.' but perhaps it is simpler to use the word 'clan' throughout according to the practice of sir j.g. frazer. the vernacular designations of the clans or sections are _gotra_, which originally meant a stall or cow-pen; _khero_, a village; _dih_, a village site; _baink_, a title; _mul_ or _mur_, literally a root, hence an origin; and _kul_ or _kuri_, a family. the sections called eponymous are named after rishis or saints mentioned in the vedas and other scriptures and are found among the brahmans and a few of the higher castes, such as vasishta, garga, bharadwaj, vishvamitra, kashyap and so on. a few rajput clans are named after kings or heroes, as the raghuvansis from king raghu of ajodhia and the tilokchandi bais from a famous king of that name. the titular class of names comprise names of offices supposed to have been held by the founder of the clan, or titles and names referring to a personal defect or quality, and nicknames. instances of the former are kotwar (village watchman), chaudhri, meher or mahto (caste headman), bhagat (saint), thakuria and rawat (lord or prince), vaidya (physician); and of titular names and nicknames: kuldip (lamp of the family), mohjaria (one with a burnt mouth), jachak (beggar), garkata (cut-throat), bhatpagar (one serving on a pittance of boiled rice), kangali (poor), chikat (dirty), petdukh (stomach-ache), ghunnere (worm-eater) and so on. a special class of names are those of offices held at the caste feasts; thus the clans of the chitrakathi caste are the atak or mankari, who furnish the headman of the caste _panchayat_ or committee; the bhojin who serve the food at marriages and other ceremonies; the kakra who arrange for the lighting; the gotharya who keep the provisions, and the ghorerao (_ghora_, a horse) who have the duty of looking after the horses and bullock-carts of the caste-men who assemble. similarly the five principal clans of the small turi caste are named after the five sons of singhbonga or the sun: the eldest son was called mailuar and his descendants are the leaders or headmen of the caste; the descendants of the second son, chardhagia, purify and readmit offenders to caste intercourse; those of the third son, suremar, conduct the ceremonial shaving of such offenders, and those of the fourth son bring water for the ceremony and are called tirkuar. the youngest brother, hasdagia, is said to have committed some caste offence, and the four other brothers took the parts which are still played by their descendants in his ceremony of purification. in many cases exogamous clans are named after other castes or subcastes. many low castes have adopted the names of the rajput clans, either from simple vanity as people may take an aristocratic surname, or because they were in the service of rajputs, and have adopted the names of their masters or are partly descended from them. other names of castes found among exogamous groups probably indicate that an ancestor belonging to that caste was taken into the one in which the group is found. the bhaina tribe have clans named after the dhobi, ahir, gond, mali and panka castes. the members of such clans pay respect to any man belonging to the caste after which they are named and avoid picking a quarrel with him; they also worship the family gods of the caste. territorial names are very common, and are taken from that of some town or village in which the ancestor of the clan or the members of the clan themselves resided. [90] the names are frequently distorted, and it seems probable that the majority of the large number of clan names for which no meaning can be discovered were those of villages. these unknown names are probably more numerous than the total of all those classes of names to which a meaning can be assigned. 49. totemistic clans. the last class of exogamous divisions are those called totemistic, when the clan is named after a plant or animal or other natural object. these are almost universal among the non-aryan or primitive tribes, but occur also in most hindu castes, including some of the highest. the commonest totem names are those of the prominent animals, including several which are held sacred by the hindus, as _bagh_ or _nahar_, the tiger; _bachas_, the calf; _morkuria_, the peacock; _kachhwaha_ or _limuan_, the tortoise; _nagas_, the cobra; _hasti_, the elephant; _bandar_, the monkey; _bhainsa_, the buffalo; _richharia_, the bear; _kuliha_, the jackal; _kukura_, the dog; _karsayal_, the deer; _heran_, the black-buck, and so on. the utmost variety of names is found, and numerous trees, as well as rice, kodon and other crops, salt, sandalwood, cucumber, pepper, and some household implements, such as the pestle and rolling-slab, serve as names of clans. names which may be held to have a totemistic origin occur even in the highest castes. thus among the names of eponymous rishis or saints, bharadwaj means a lark, kaushik may be from the _kusha_ grass, agastya from the _agasti_ flower, kashyap from _kachhap_, a tortoise; taittiri from _titar_, a partridge, and so on. similarly the origin of other rishis is attributed to animals, as rishishringa to an antelope, mandavya to a frog, and kanada to an owl. [91] an inferior rajput clan, meshbansi, signifies descendants of the sheep, while the name of the baghel clan is derived from the tiger (bagh), that of the kachhwaha clan perhaps from _kachhap_, a tortoise, of the haihaivansi from the horse, of the nagvansi from the cobra, and of the tomara clan from _tomar_, a club. the karan or writer caste of orissa, similarly, have clans derived from the cobra, tortoise and calf, and most of the cultivating and other middle castes have clans with totemistic names. the usual characteristics of totemism, in its later and more common form at any rate, are that members of a clan regard themselves as related to, or descended from, the animal or tree from which the clan takes its name, and abstain from killing or eating it. this was perhaps not the original relation of the clan to its clan totem in the hunting stage, but it is the one commonly found in india, where the settled agricultural stage has long been reached. the bhaina tribe have among their totems the cobra, tiger, leopard, vulture, hawk, monkey, wild dog, quail, black ant, and so on. members of a clan will not injure the animal after which it is named, and if they see the corpse of the animal or hear of its death they throw away an earthen cooking-pot, and bathe and shave themselves as for one of the family. at a wedding the bride's father makes an image in clay of the bird or animal of the groom's sept and places it beside the marriage-post. the bridegroom worships the image, lighting a sacrificial fire before it, and offers to it the vermilion which he afterwards smears on the forehead of the bride. women are often tattooed with representations of their totem animal, and men swear by it as their most sacred oath. a similar respect is paid to the inanimate objects after which certain septs are named. thus members of the gawad or cowdung clan will not burn cowdung cakes for fuel; and those of the mircha clan do not use chillies. one clan is named after the sun, and when an eclipse occurs they perform the same formal rites of mourning as others do on the death of their totem animal. the baghani clan of majhwars, named after the tiger, think that a tiger will not attack any member of their clan unless he has committed an offence entailing temporary excommunication from caste. until this offence has been expiated his relationship with the tiger as head of the clan is in abeyance, and the tiger will eat him as he would any other stranger. if a tiger meets a member of the clan who is free from sin, he will run away. members of the khoba or peg clan will not make a peg nor drive one into the ground. those of the dumar or fig-tree clan say that their first ancestor was born under this tree. they consider the tree to be sacred and never eat its fruit, and worship it once a year. sometimes the members of the clan do not revere the object after which it is named but some other important animal or plant. thus the markam clan of gonds, named after the mango-tree, venerate the tortoise and do not kill it. the kathotia clan of kols is named after _kathota_, a bowl, but they revere the tiger. bagheshwar deo, the tiger-god, resides on a little platform in their verandas. they may not join in a tiger-beat nor sit up for a tiger over a kill. in the latter case they think that the tiger would not come and would be deprived of his food, and all the members of their family would get ill. the katharia clan take their name from _kathri_, a mattress. a member of this sept must never have a mattress in his house, nor wear clothes sewn in crosspieces as mattresses are sewn. the name of the mudia or mudmudia clan is said to mean shaven head, but they apparently revere the white _kumhra_ or gourd, perhaps because it has some resemblance to a shaven head. they give a white gourd to a woman on the day after she has borne a child, and her family then do not eat this vegetable for three years. the kumraya sept revere the brown _kumhra_ or gourd. they grow this vegetable on the thatch of their house-roof and from the time of planting it till the fruits have been plucked they do not touch it, though of course they afterwards eat the fruits. the bhuwar sept are named after _bhu_ or _bhumi_, the earth. they must always sleep on the earth and not on cots. the nun (salt) and dhan (rice) clans of oraons cannot dispense with eating their totems or titular ancestors. but the dhan oraons content themselves with refusing to consume the scum which thickens on the surface of the boiled rice, and the nun sept will not lick a plate in which salt and water have been mixed. at the weddings of the vulture clan of the small bhona caste one member of the clan kills a small chicken by biting off the head and then eats it in imitation of a vulture. definite instances of the sacrificial eating of the totem animal have not been found, but it is said that the tiger and snake clans of the bhatra tribe formerly ate their totems at a sacrificial meal. the gonds also worship the cobra as a household god, and once a year they eat the flesh of the snake and think that by doing so they will be immune from snake-bite throughout the year. on the festival of nag-panchmi the mahars make an image of a snake with flour and sugar and eat it. it is reported that the singrore dhimars who work on rivers and tanks must eat the flesh of a crocodile at their weddings, while the sonjharas who wash the sands of rivers for gold should catch a live crocodile for the occasion of the wedding and afterwards put it back into the river. these latter customs may probably have fallen into abeyance owing to the difficulty of catching a crocodile, and in any case the animals are tribal gods rather than totems. 50. terms of relationship. exogamy and totemism are found not only in india, but are the characteristics of primitive social groups over the greater part of the world. totemism establishes a relation of kinship between persons belonging to one clan who are not related by blood, and exogamy prescribes that the persons held to be so related shall not intermarry. further, when terms of relationship come into existence it is found that they are applied not to members of one family, but to all the persons of the clan who might have stood in each particular relationship to the person addressing them. thus a man will address as mother not only his own mother, but all the women of his clan who might have stood to him in the relation of mother. similarly he will address all the old men and women as grandfather or grandmother or aunt, and the boys and girls of his own generation as brother and sister, and so on. with the development of the recognition of the consanguineous family, the use of terms of relationship tends to be restricted to persons who have actual kinship; thus a boy will address only his father's brothers as father, and his cousins as brothers and sisters; but sufficient traces of the older system of clan kinship remain to attest its former existence. but it seems also clear that some, at least, of the terms of relationship were first used between persons really related; thus the word for mother must have been taught by mothers to their own babies beginning to speak, as it is a paramount necessity for a small child to have a name by which to call its mother when it is wholly dependent on her; if the period of infancy is got over without the use of this term of address there is no reason why it should be introduced in later life, when in the primitive clan the child quickly ceased to be dependent on its mother or to retain any strong affection for her. similarly, as shown by sir j.g. frazer in _totemism and exogamy_, there is often a special name for the mother's brother when other uncles or aunts are addressed simply as father or mother. this name must therefore have been brought into existence to distinguish the mother's brother at the time when, under the system of female descent, he stood in the relation of a protector and parent to the child. where the names for grandfather and grandmother are a form of duplication of those for father and mother as in english, they would appear to imply a definite recognition of the idea of family descent. the majority of the special names for other relatives, such as fraternal and maternal uncles and aunts, must also have been devised to designate those relatives in particular, and hence there is a probability that the terms for father and brother and sister, which on _a priori_ grounds may be considered doubtful, were also first applied to real or putative fathers and brothers and sisters. but, as already seen, under the classificatory system of relationship these same terms are addressed to members of the same clan who might by age and sex have stood in such a relationship to the person addressing them, but are not actually akin to him at all. and hence it seems a valid and necessary conclusion that at the time when the family terms of relationship came into existence, the clan sentiment of kinship was stronger than the family sentiment; that is, a boy was taught or made to feel that all the women of the clan of about the same age as his mother were as nearly akin to him as his own mother, and that he should regard them all in the same relation. and similarly he looked on all the men of the clan of an age enabling them to be his fathers in the same light as his own father, and all the children of or about his own age as his brothers and sisters. the above seems a necessary conclusion from the existence of the classificatory system of relationship, which is very widely spread among savages, and if admitted, it follows that the sentiment of kinship within the clan was already established when the family terms of relationship were devised, and therefore that the clan was prior to the family as a social unit. this conclusion is fortified by the rule of exogamy which prohibits marriage between persons of the same clan between whom no blood-relationship can be traced, and therefore shows that some kind of kinship was believed to exist between them, independent of and stronger than the link of consanguinity. further, mr. hartland shows in _primitive paternity_ [92] that during the period of female descent when physical paternity has been recognised, but the father and mother belong to different clans, the children, being of the mother's clan, will avenge a blood-feud of their clan upon their own father; and this custom seems to show clearly that the sentiment of clan-kinship was prior to and stronger than that of family kinship. 51. clan kinship and totemism. the same argument seems to demonstrate that the idea of kinship within the clan was prior to the idea of descent from a common ancestor, whether an animal or plant, a god, hero or nicknamed ancestor. because it is obvious that a set of persons otherwise unconnected could not suddenly and without reason have believed themselves to be descended from a common ancestor and hence related. if a number of persons not demonstrably connected by blood believe themselves to be akin simply on account of their descent from a common ancestor, it can only be because they are an expanded family, either actually or by fiction, which really had or might have had a common ancestor. that is, the clan tracing its descent from a common ancestor, if this was the primary type of clan, must have been subsequent to the family as a social institution. but as already seen the sentiment of kinship within the clan was prior to that within the family, and therefore the genesis of the clan from an expanded family is an impossible hypothesis; and it follows that the members of the clan must first have believed themselves to be bound together by some tie equivalent to or stronger than that of consanguineous kinship, and afterwards, when the primary belief was falling into abeyance, that of descent from a common ancestor came into existence to account for the clan sentiment of kinship already existing. if then the first form of association of human beings was in small groups, which led a migratory life and subsisted mainly by hunting and the consumption of fruits and roots, as the australian natives still do, the sentiment of kinship must first have arisen, as stated by mr. m'lennan, in that small body which lived and hunted together, and was due simply to the fact that they were so associated, that they obtained food for each other, and on occasion protected and preserved each other's lives. [93] these small bodies of persons were the first social units, and according to our knowledge of the savage peoples who are nearest to the original migratory and hunting condition of life, without settled habitations, domestic animals or cultivated plants, they first called themselves after some animal or plant, usually, as sir j.g. frazer has shown in _totemism and exogamy_, [94] after some edible animal or plant. the most probable theory of totemism on _a priori_ grounds seems therefore to be that the original small bodies who lived and hunted together, or totem-clans, called themselves after the edible animal or plant from which they principally derived their sustenance, or that which gave them life. while the real tie which connected them was that of living together, they did not realise this, and supposed themselves to be akin because they commonly ate this animal or plant together. this theory of totemism was first promulgated by professor robertson smith and, though much disputed, appears to me to be the most probable. it has also been advocated by dr. a.c. haddon, f.r.s. [95] the gaelic names for family, _teadhloch_ and _cuedichc_ or _coedichc_, mean, the first, 'having a common residence,' the second, 'those who eat together.' [96] the detailed accounts of the totems of the australian, red indian and african tribes, now brought together by sir j.g. frazer in _totemism and exogamy_, show a considerable amount of evidence that the early totems were not only as a rule edible animals, but the animals eaten by the totem-clans which bore their names. [97] but after the domestication of animals and the culture of plants had been attained to, the totems ceased to be the chief means of subsistence. hence the original tie of kinship was supplanted by another and wider one in the tribe, and though the totem-clans remained and continued to fulfil an important purpose, they were no longer the chief social group. and in many cases, as man had also by now begun to speculate on his origin, the totems came to be regarded as ancestors, and the totem-clans, retaining their sentiment of kinship, accounted for it by supposing themselves to be descended from a common ancestor. they thus also came to base the belief in clan-kinship on the tie of consanguinity recognised in the family, which had by now come into existence. this late and secondary form of totemism is that which obtains in india, where the migratory and hunting stage has long been passed. the indian evidence is, however, of great value because we find here in the same community, occasionally in the same caste, exogamous clans which trace their descent sometimes from animals and plants, or totems, and sometimes from gods, heroes, or titular ancestors, while many of the clans are named after villages or have names to which no meaning can be attached. as has been seen, there is good reason to suppose that all these forms of the exogamous clan are developed from the earliest form of the totem-clan; and since this later type of clan has developed from the totem-clan in india, it is a legitimate deduction that wherever elsewhere exogamous clans are found tracing their descent from a common ancestor or with unintelligible names, probably derived from places, they were probably also evolved from the totem-clan. this type of clan is shown in professor hearn's _aryan household_ to have been the common unit of society over much of europe, where no traces of the existence of totemism are established. [98] and from the indian analogy it is therefore legitimate to presume that the totem-clan may have been the original unit of society among several european races as well as in america, africa, australia and india. similar exogamous clans exist in china, and many of them have the names of plants and animals. [99] 52. animate creation. in order to render clear the manner in which the clan named after a totem animal (or, less frequently, a plant) came to hold its members akin both to each other and their totem animals, an attempt may be made to indicate, however briefly and imperfectly, some features of primitive man's conception of nature and life. apparently when they began dimly to observe and form conscious mental impressions of the world around them, our first ancestors made some cardinal, though natural and inevitable, mistakes. in the first place they thought that the whole of nature was animate, and that every animal, plant, or natural object which they saw around them, was alive and self-conscious like themselves. they had, of course, no words or ideas connoting life or consciousness, or distinguishing animals, vegetables or lifeless objects, and they were naturally quite incapable of distinguishing them. they merely thought that everything they saw was like themselves, would feel hurt and resentment if injured, and would know what was done to it, and by whom; whenever they saw the movement of an animal, plant, or other object, they thought it was volitional and self-conscious like their own movements. if they saw a tree waving in the wind, having no idea or conception of the wind, they thought the tree was moving its branches about of its own accord; if a stone fell, they, knowing nothing of the force of gravity, thought the stone projected itself from one place to another because it wished to do so. this is exactly the point of view taken by children when they first begin to observe. they also think that everything they see is alive like themselves, and that animals exercise volition and have a self-conscious intelligence like their own. but they quickly learn their mistakes and adopt the point of view of their elders because they are taught. primitive man had no one to teach him, and as he did not co-ordinate or test his observations, the traces of this first conception of the natural world remain clearly indicated by a vast assortment of primitive customs and beliefs to the present day. all the most prominent natural objects, the sun and moon, the sky, the sea, high mountains, rivers and springs, the earth, the fire, became objects of veneration and were worshipped as gods, and this could not possibly have happened unless they had been believed to have life. stone images and idols are considered as living gods. in india girls are married to flowers, trees, arrows, swords, and so on. a bachelor is married to a ring or a plant before wedding a widow, and the first ceremony is considered as his true marriage. the saligram, or ammonite stone, is held to represent the god vishnu, perhaps because it was thought to be a thunderbolt and to have fallen from heaven. its marriage is celebrated with the _tulsi_ or basil-plant, which is considered the consort of vishnu. trees are held to be animate and possessed by spirits, and before a man climbs a tree he begs its pardon for the injury he is about to inflict on it. when a tank is dug, its marriage is celebrated. to the ancient roman his hearth was a god; the walls and doors and threshold of his house were gods; the boundaries of his field were also gods. [100] it is precisely the same with the modern hindu; he also venerates the threshold of his house, the cooking-hearth, the grinding-mill, and the boundaries of his field. the jains still think that all animals, plants and inanimate objects have souls or spirits like human beings. the belief in a soul or spirit is naturally not primitive, as man could not at first conceive of anything he did not see or hear, but plants and inanimate objects could not subsequently have been credited with the possession of souls or spirits unless they had previously been thought to be alive. "the fijians consider that if an animal or a plant dies its soul immediately goes to bolotoo; if a stone or any other substance is broken, immortality is equally its reward; nay, artificial bodies have equal good luck with men and hogs and yams. if an axe or a chisel is worn out or broken up, away flies its soul for the service of the gods. if a house is taken down or any way destroyed, its immortal part will find a situation on the plains of bolotoo. the finns believed that all inanimate objects had their _haltia_ or soul." [101] the malays think that animals, vegetables and minerals, as well as human beings, have souls. [102] the kawar tribe are reported to believe that all articles of furniture and property have souls or spirits, and if any such is stolen the spirit will punish the thief. theft is consequently almost unknown among them. all the fables about animals and plants speaking and exercising volition; the practice of ordeals, resting on the belief that the sacred living elements, fire and water, will of themselves discriminate between the innocent and guilty; the propitiatory offerings to the sea and to rivers, such incidents as xerxes binding the sea with fetters, ajax defying the lightning, aaron's rod that budded, the superstitions of sailors about ships: all result from the same primitive belief. many other instances of self-conscious life and volition being attributed to animals, plants and natural objects are given by lord avebury in _origin of civilisation_, by dr. westermarck in _the origin and development of the moral ideas_, [103] and by sir j.g. frazer in _the golden bough_ [104] thus primitive man had no conception of inanimate matter, and it seems probable that he did not either realise the idea of death. though it may be doubtful whether any race exists at present which does not understand that death is the cessation of life in the body, indications remain that this view was not primary and may not have been acquired for some time. the gonds apparently once thought that people would not die unless they were killed by magic, and similar beliefs are held by the australian and african savages. several customs also point to the belief in the survival of some degree of life in the body after death, apart from the idea of the soul. 53. the distribution of life over the body. primitive man further thought that life, instead of being concentrated in certain organs, was distributed equally over the whole of the body. this mistake appears also to have been natural and inevitable when it is remembered that he had no name for the body, the different limbs and the internal organs, and no conception of their existence and distribution, nor of the functions which they severally performed. he perceived that sensation extended over all parts of the body, and that when any part was hurt or wounded the blood flowed and life gradually declined in vigour and ebbed away. for this reason the blood was subsequently often identified with the life. during the progress of culture many divergent views have been held about the source and location of life and mental and physical qualities, and the correct one that life is centred in the heart and brain, and that the brain is the seat of intelligence and mental qualities has only recently been arrived at. we still talk about people being hard-hearted, kind-hearted and heartless, and about a man's heart being in the right place, as if we supposed that the qualities of kindness and courage were located in the heart, and determined by the physical constitution and location of the heart. the reason for this is perhaps that the soul was held to be the source of mental qualities, and to be somewhere in the centre of the body, and hence the heart came to be identified with it. as shown by sir j.g. frazer in _the golden bough_ many peoples or races have thought that the life and qualities were centred in the whole head, not merely in the brain. and this is the reason why hindus will not appear abroad with the head bare, why it is a deadly insult to knock off a man's turban, and why turbans or other head-gear were often exchanged as a solemn pledge of friendship. the superstition against walking under a ladder may have originally been based on some idea of its being derogatory or dangerous to the head, though not, of course, from the fear of being struck by a falling brick. similarly, as shown in the article on nai, the belief that the bodily strength and vigour were located in the hair, and to a less extent in the nails and teeth, has had a world-wide prevalence. but this cannot have been primary, because the hair had first to be conceived of apart from the rest of the body, and a separate name devised for it, before the belief that the hair was the source of strength could gradually come into existence. the evolution of these ideas may have extended over thousands of years. the expression 'white-livered,' again, seems to indicate that the quality of courage was once held to be located in the liver, and the belief that the liver was the seat of life was perhaps held by the gonds. but the primary idea seems necessarily to have been that the life was equally distributed all over the body. and since, as will be seen subsequently, the savage was incapable of conceiving the abstract idea of life, he thought of it in a concrete form as part of the substance of the flesh and blood. and since primitive man had no conception of inanimate matter it followed that when any part of the body was severed from the whole, he did not think of the separate fraction as merely lifeless matter, but as still a part of the body to which it had originally belonged and retaining a share of its life. for according to his view of the world and of animate nature, which has been explained above, he could not think of it as anything else. thus the clippings of hair, nails, teeth, the spittle and any other similar products all in his view remained part of the body from which they had been severed and retained part of its life. in the case of the elements, earth, fire and water, which he considered as living beings and subsequently worshipped as gods, this view was correct. fractional portions of earth, fire and water, when severed from the remainder, retained their original nature and constitution, and afforded some support to his generally erroneous belief. and since he had observed that an injury done to any part of the body was an injury to the whole, it followed that if one got possession of any part of the body, such as the severed hair, teeth or nails, one could through them injure that body of which they still formed a part. it is for this reason that savages think that if an enemy can obtain possession of any waste product of the body, such as the severed hair or nails, that he can injure the owner through them. similarly the hindus thought that the clippings of the hair or nails, if buried in fertile ground, would grow into a plant, through the life which they retained, and as this plant waxed in size it would absorb more and more of the original owner's life, which would consequently wane and decline. the worship of relics, such as the bones or hair of saints, is based on the same belief that they retain a part of the divine life and virtue of him to whom they once belonged. 54. qualities associated with animals. it is probable that qualities were first conceived of by being observed in animals or natural objects. prior to the introduction of personal names, the individuality of human beings could neither be clearly realised nor remembered after they were dead. but man must have perceived at an early period that certain animals were stronger or swifter than he was, or more cunning, and since the same quality was reproduced in every animal of the species, it could easily become permanently associated with the animal. but there were no names for qualities, nor any independent conception of them apart from the animal or animals in which they were observed. supposing that strength and swiftness were mainly associated with the horse, as was often the case, then they would be necessarily conceived of as a part or essence of the horse and his life, not in the way we think of them, as qualities appertaining to the horse on account of the strength of his muscles and the conformation of his limbs. when names were devised for these qualities, they would be something equivalent to horsey or horse-like. the association of qualities with animals is still shown in such words as asinine, owlish, foxy, leonine, mulish, dogged, tigerish, and so on; but since the inferiority of animals to man has long been recognised, most of the animal adjectives have a derogatory sense. [105] it was far otherwise with primitive man, who first recognised the existence of the qualities most necessary to him, as strength, courage, swiftness, sagacity, cunning and endurance, as being displayed by certain animals in a greater degree than he possessed them himself. birds he admired and venerated as being able to rise and fly in the air, which he could not do; fish for swimming and remaining under water when he could not; while at the same time he had not as yet perceived that the intelligence of animals was in any way inferior to his own, and he credited many of them with the power of speech. thus certain animals were venerated on account of the qualities associated with them, and out of them in the course of time anthropomorphic gods personifying the qualities were evolved. the australian aborigines of the kangaroo totem, when they wish to multiply the number of kangaroos, go to a certain place where two special blocks of stone project immediately one above the other from the hillside. one is supposed to represent an 'old man' kangaroo and the other a female. the stones are rubbed and then painted with alternate red and white stripes, the red stripes representing the red fur of the kangaroos, and the white ones its bones. after doing this some of them open veins in their arms and allow the blood to spurt over the stones. the other men sing chants referring to the increase in the numbers of the kangaroos, and they suppose that this ceremony will actually result in producing an increased number of kangaroos and hence an additional supply of food. [106] here the inference seems to be that the stones represent the centre or focus of the life of kangaroos, and when they are quickened by the painting, and the supply of blood, they will manifest their creative activity and increase the kangaroos. if we suppose that some similar stone existed on the acropolis and was considered by the owl clan as the centre of the life of the owls which frequented the hill, then when the art of sculpture had made some progress, and the superiority of the human form and intellect began to be apprehended, if a sculptor carved the stone into the semblance of a human being, the goddess athena would be born. 55. primitive language. it has been seen that primitive man considered the life and qualities to be distributed equally over the body in a physical sense, so that they formed part of the substance and flesh. the same view extended even to instrumental qualities or functions, since his mental powers and vision were necessarily limited by his language. language must apparently have begun by pointing at animals or plants and making some sound, probably at first an imitation of the cry or other characteristic of the animal, which came to connote it. we have to suppose that language was at the commencement a help in the struggle for life, because otherwise men, as yet barely emerged from the animal stage, would never have made the painful mental efforts necessary to devise and remember the words. words which would be distinctly advantageous in the struggle would be names for the animals and plants which they ate, and for the animals which ate them. by saying the name and pointing in any direction, the presence of such animals or plants in the vicinity would be intimated more quickly and more accurately than by signs or actions. such names were then, it may be supposed, the first words. animals or plants of which they made no use nor from which they apprehended any danger, would for long be simply disregarded, as nothing was to be gained by inventing names for them. the first words were all nouns and the names of visible objects, and this state of things probably continued for a long period and was the cause of many erroneous primitive conceptions and ideas. some traces of the earliest form of language can still be discerned. thus of santali sir g. grierson states: "every word can perform the function of a verb, and every verbal form can, according to circumstances, be considered as a noun, an adjective or a verb. it is often simply a matter of convenience which word is considered as a noun and which as an adjective ... strictly speaking, in santali there is no real verb as distinct from the other classes of words. every independent word can perform the function of a verb, and every verbal form can in its turn be used as a noun or adjective." [107] and of the dravidian languages he says: "the genitive of ordinary nouns is in reality an adjective, and the difference between nouns and adjectives is of no great importance ... many cases are both nouns and verbs. nouns of agency are very commonly used as verbs." [108] thus if it be admitted that nouns preceded verbs as parts of speech, which will hardly be disputed, these passages show how the semi-abstract adjectives and verbs were gradually formed from the names of concrete nouns. of the language of the now extinct tasmanian aborigines it is stated: "their speech was so imperfectly constituted that there was no settled order or arrangement of words in the sentence, the sense being eked out by face, manner and gesture, so that they could scarcely converse in the dark, and all intercourse had to cease with nightfall. abstract forms scarcely existed, and while every gum-tree or wattle-tree had its name, there was no word for 'tree' in general, nor for qualities such as hard, soft, hot, cold, etc. anything hard was 'like a stone,' anything round 'like the moon,' and so on, the speaker suiting the action to the word, and supplementing the meaning to be understood by some gesture." [109] here the original concrete form of language can be clearly discerned. they had a sufficiency of names for all the objects which were of use to them, and apparently verbal ideas were largely conveyed by gesture. captain forsyth states [110] that though the korkus very seldom wash themselves, there exist in their language eight words for washing, one for washing the face, another for the hands and others for different parts of the body. thus we see that the verbal idea of washing was originally conceived not generally, but separately with reference to each concrete object or noun, for which a name existed and to which water was applied. 56. concrete nature of primitive ideas. the primitive languages consisted only of nouns or the names of visible objects, possibly with the subsequent addition of a few names for such conceptions as the wind and the voice, which could be heard, but not seen. there were no abstract nor semi-abstract terms nor parts of speech. the resulting inability to realise any abstract conception and the tendency to make everything concrete is a principal and salient characteristic of ethnology and primitive religion. [111] all actions are judged by their concrete aspect or effects and not by the motives which prompted them, nor the results which they produce. for a hindu to let a cow die with a rope round its neck is a grave caste offence, apparently because an indignity is thus offered to the sacred animal, but it is no offence to let a cow starve to death. a girl may be married to inanimate objects as already seen, or to an old man or a relative without any intention that she shall live with him as a wife, but simply so that she may be married before reaching puberty. if she goes through the ceremony of marriage she is held to be married. yet the motive for infant-marriage is held to be that a girl should begin to bear children as soon as she is physically capable of doing so, and such a marriage is useless from this point of view. some castes who cannot afford to burn a corpse hold a lighted brand to it or kindle a little fire on the grave and consider this equivalent to cremation. promises are considered as concrete; among some hindus promises are tied up in knots of cloth, and when they are discharged the knots are untied. mr. s.c. roy says of the oraons: "contracts are even to this day generally not written but acted. thus a lease of land is made by the lessor handing over a clod of earth (which symbolises land) to the lessee; a contract of sale of cattle is entered into by handing over to the buyer a few blades of grass (which symbolise so many heads of cattle); a contract of payment of bride-price is made by the bridegroom's father or other relative handing over a number of _baris_ or small cakes of pulse (which symbolise so many rupees) to the bride's father or other relative; and a contract of service is made by the mistress of the house anointing the head of the intended servant with oil, and making a present of a few pice, and entertaining him to a feast, thus signifying that he would receive food, lodging and some pay." [112] thus an abstract agreement is not considered sufficient for a contract; in each case it must be ratified by a concrete act. the divisions of time are considered in a concrete sense. the fortnight or nakshatra is presided over by its constellation, and this is held to be a nymph or goddess, who controls events during its course. similarly, as shown in _the golden bough_, [113] many kinds of new enterprises should be begun in the fortnight of the waxing moon, not in that of the waning moon. days are also thought to be concrete and governed by their planets, and from this idea come all the superstitions about lucky and unlucky days. if a day had been from the beginning realised as a simple division of time no such superstitions could exist. events, so far as they are conceived of, are also considered in a concrete sense. the reason why omens were so often drawn from birds [114] is perhaps that birds fly from a distance and hence are able to see coming events on their way; and the hare and donkey were important animals of augury, perhaps because, on account of their long ears, they were credited with abnormally acute hearing, which would enable them to hear the sound of coming events before ordinary people. the proverb 'coming events cast their shadows before,' appears to be a survival of this mode of belief, as it is obvious that that which has no substance cannot cast a shadow. the whole category of superstitions about the evil eye arises from the belief that the glance of the eye is a concrete thing which strikes the person or object towards which it is directed like a dart. the theory that the injury is caused through the malice or envy of the person casting the evil eye seems to be derivative and explanatory. if a stranger's glance falls on the food of a ramanuji brahman while it is being cooked, the food becomes polluted and must be buried in the ground. here it is clear that the glance of the eye is equivalent to real contact of some part of the stranger's body, which would pollute the food. in asking for leave in order to nurse his brother who was seriously ill but could obtain no advantage from medical treatment, a hindu clerk explained that the sick man had been pierced by the evil glance of some woman. 57. words and names concrete. similarly words were considered to have a concrete force, so that the mere repetition of words produced an effect analogous to their sense. the purely mechanical repetition of prayers was held to be a virtuous act, and this idea was carried to the most absurd length in the buddhist's praying-wheel, where merit was acquired by causing the wheel with prayers inscribed on its surface to revolve in a waterfall. the wearing of strips of paper, containing sacred texts, as amulets on the body is based on this belief, and some muhammadans will wash off the ink from paper containing a verse of the koran and drink the mixture under the impression that it will do them good. here the belief in the concrete virtue and substance of the written word is very clear. the hindus think that the continued repetition of the gayatri or sacred prayer to the sun is a means of acquiring virtue, and the prayer is personified as a goddess. the enunciation of the sacred syllable aum or om is supposed to have the most powerful results. homer's phrase 'winged words' perhaps recalls the period when the words were considered as physical entities which actually travelled through the air from the speaker to the hearer and were called winged because they went so fast. a korku clan has the name _lobo_ which means a piece of cloth. but the word _lobo_ also signifies 'to leak.' if a person says a sentence containing the word _lobo_ in either signification before a member of the clan while he is eating, he will throw away the food before him as if it were contaminated and prepare a meal afresh. here it is clear that the korku pays no regard to the sense but solely to the word or sound. this belief in the concrete force of words has had the most important effects both in law and religion. the earliest codes of law were held to be commands of the god and claimed obedience on this ground. the binding force of the law rested in the words and not in the sense because the words were held to be those of the god and to partake of his divine nature. in ancient rome the citizen had to take care to know the words of the law and to state them exactly. if he used one wrong word the law gave him no assistance. "gaius tells a story of a man whose neighbour had cut his vines; the facts were clear; he stated the law applying to his case, but he said vines, whereas the law said trees; he lost his suit." [115] the divine virtue attached to the sacred books of different religions rests on the same belief. frequently the books themselves are worshipped, and it was held that they could not be translated because the sanctity resided in the actual words and would be lost if other words were used. the efficacy of spells and invocations seems to depend mainly on this belief in the concrete power of words. if one knows an efficacious form of words connoting a state of physical facts and repeats it with the proper accessory conditions, then that state of facts is actually caused to exist; and if one knows a man's name and calls on him with a form of words efficacious to compel attendance, he has to come and his spirit can similarly be summoned from the dead. when a malay wishes to kill an enemy he makes an image of the man, transfixes or otherwise injures it, and buries it on the path over which the enemy will tread. as he buries it with the impression that he will thereby cause the enemy to die and likewise be buried, he says: it is not i who am burying him, it is gabriel who is burying him, and thinks that the repetition of these words produces the state of facts which they denote so that the guilt of the murder is removed from his own shoulders to those of the archangel gabriel. similarly when he has killed a deer and wishes to be free from the guilt of his action, or as he calls it to cast out the mischief from the deer, he says: it is not i who cast out these mischiefs, it is michael who casts them out. it is not i who cast out these mischiefs, it is israfel who casts them out, and so on, freeing himself in the same manner from responsibility for the death of the deer. [116] names also are regarded as concrete. primitive man could not regard a name as an abstract appellation, but thought of it as part of the person or thing to which it was applied and as containing part of his life, like his hair, spittle and the rest of his body. he would have used names for a long period before he had any word for a name, and his first idea of the name as a part of the substantive body to which it is applied has survived a more correct appreciation. thus if one knew a person's name one could injure him by working evil on it and the part of his life contained in it, just as one could injure him through the clippings of his hair, his spittle, clothes or the earth pressed by his foot. this is the reason for the common custom of having two names, one of which, the true name, is kept secret and only used on ceremonial occasions when it is essential, as at a wedding, while the other is employed for everyday life. the latter, not being the man's true name, does not contain part of his life, and hence there is no harm in letting an enemy know it. similarly the hindus think that a child's name should not be repeated at night, lest an owl might hear it, when this bird could injure the child through its name, just as if it got hold of a piece of cloth worn or soiled by the child. the practice of euphemism rests on this belief, as it was thought that if a person's name was said and a part of him was thus caused to be present the rest would probably follow. hence the rule of avoiding the use of the names of persons or things of which one does not desire the presence. thus sir e.b. tylor says: "the dayak will not speak of the smallpox by name, but will call it 'the chief,' or 'jungle leaves,' or say, 'has he left you?' the euphemism of calling the furies the eumenides, or 'gracious ones,' is the stock illustration of this feeling, and the euphemisms for fairies and for the devil are too familiar to quote." [117] similarly the name of a god was considered as part of him and hence partaking of his divine nature. it was thus so potent that it could not be mentioned on ordinary occasions or by common persons. allah is only an epithet for the name of god among the muhammadans and his true or great name is secret. those who know it have power over all created things. clearly then the divine power is held to reside in the name itself. the concealment of the name of the tutelary deity of rome, for divulging which valerius soranus is said to have paid the penalty of death, is a case in point. [118] sir e.b. tylor gives many other interesting examples of the above ideas and points out the connection clearly existing in the savage mind between the name and the object to which it is applied. the muhammadans think that solomon's name is very efficacious for casting out devils and evil spirits. the practice of naming children after gods or by the epithets or titles applied to the divine being, or after the names of saints, appears to be due to the belief that such names, by reason of their association with the god or saint, acquire a part of his divine life and virtue, which when given to children the names will in turn convey to them. [119] on the other hand, when a hindu mother is afraid lest her child may die, she sometimes gives it an opprobrious name as dirt, rubbish, sweepings, or sold for one or two cowries, so that the evil spirits who take the lives of children may be deceived by the name and think that such a valueless child is not worth having. the voice was also held to be concrete. the position of the roman tribune was peculiar, as he was not a magistrate chosen by divine authority and hence could not summon people to his court; but the tribune had been dedicated to the city gods, and his person was sacrosanct. he could therefore lay hands on a man, and once the tribune touched him, the man was held to be in the magistrate's power, and bound to obey him. this rule extended even to those who were within hearing of his voice; any one, even a patrician or consul, who heard the tribune's voice was compelled to obey him. in this case it is clear that the voice and spoken words were held to be concrete, and to share in the sanctity attaching to the body. [120] when primitive man could not think of a name as an abstraction but had to think of it as an actual part of the body and life of the person or visible object to which it belonged, it will be realised how impossible it was for him during a long period to conceive of any abstract idea, which was only a word without visible or corporal reality. 58. the soul or spirit. thus he could not at first have had any conception of a soul or spirit, which is an unseen thing. savages generally may have evolved the conception of a soul or spirit as an explanation of dreams, according to the view taken by mr. e. clodd in _myths and dreams_, [121] mr. clodd shows that dreams were necessarily and invariably considered as real events, and it could not have been otherwise, as primitive man would have been unable to conceive the abstract idea of a vision or fantasy. and since during dreams the body remained immobile and quiescent, it was thought that the spirit inside the body left it and travelled independently. hence the reluctance often evinced to waking a sleeper suddenly from fear lest the absent spirit might not have time to return to the body before its awakening and hence the man might die. savages, not having the conception of likeness or similarity, [122] would confuse death and sleep, because the appearance of the body is similar in death and in sleep. legends of the type of rip van winkle and the sleeping beauty, and of heroes like king arthur and frederick barbarossa lying asleep through the centuries in some remote cave or other hiding-place, from which they will one day issue forth to regenerate the world, perpetuate the primitive identification of death and sleep. and the belief long prevailed that after death the soul or spirit remained with the body in the place where it lay, leaving the body and returning to it as the spirit was held to do in sleep. the spirit was also thought to be able to quit the body and enter any other body, both during life and after death; most of the beliefs in spirit-possession and many of those about the power of witches arise from this view. the soul or spirit was commonly conceived of in concrete form; the egyptians, greeks and hindus thought of it as a little mannikin inside the body. after death the hindus often break the skull in order to allow the soul to escape. often an insect or a stone is thought to harbour the spirit. as shown by sir e. b. tylor in _primitive culture_, [123] the breath, the shadow and the pupil of the eye were sometimes held to be or to represent the soul or spirit. disembodied spirits are imprisoned in a tree or hole by driving nails into the tree or ground to confine them and prevent their exit. when a man died accidentally or a woman in childbirth and fear was felt that their spirits might annoy or injure the living, a stake might be driven through the body or a cairn of stones piled over it in order to keep the ghost down and prevent it from rising and walking. the genii of the arabian nights were imprisoned in sealed bottles, and when the bottle was opened they appeared in a cloud of vapour. there seems every reason to suppose, as the same author suggests, that man first thought he had a spirit himself and as a consequence held that animals, plants and inanimate objects also contained spirits. because the belief that the human body had a spirit can easily be accounted for, but there seems to be no valid reason why man should have thought that all other visible objects also contained spirits, except that at the period when he conceived of the existence of a soul or spirit he still held them to be possessed of life and self-conscious volition like himself. but certain beliefs, such as the universal existence of life, and of its distribution all over the body and transmission by contact and eating, the common life of the species, and possibly totemism itself, appear to have been pre-animistic or prior to any conception of or belief in a soul or spirit either in man himself or in nature. 59. the tranmission of qualities. primitive man thought that the life and all qualities, mental and physical, were equally distributed over the body as part of the substance of the flesh. he thus came to think that they could be transferred from one body or substance to another in two ways: either by contact of the two bodies or substances, or by the eating or assimilation of one by the other. the transmission of qualities by contact could be indicated through simply saying the two names of the objects in contact together, and transmission by eating through saying the two names with a gesture of eating. thus if one ate a piece of tiger's flesh, one assimilated an equivalent amount of strength, ferocity, cruelty, yellowness, and any other qualities which might be attributed to the tiger. warriors and youths are sometimes forbidden to eat deer's flesh because it will make them timid, but they are encouraged to eat the flesh of tigers, bears, and other ferocious animals, because it will make them brave. the gonds, if they wish a child to be a good dancer, cause it to eat the flesh of a kind of hawk, which hangs gracefully poised over the water, with its wings continually flapping, on the look-out for its prey. they think that by eating the flesh the limbs of the child will become supple like the wings of the bird. if a child is slow in learning to speak, they give it to eat the leaves of the pipal tree, which rustle continually in the wind and are hence supposed to have the quality of making a noise. all qualities, objective and instrumental, were conceived of in the same manner, because in the absence of verbs or abstract terms their proper relation to the subject and object could not be stated or understood. thus if a woman's labour in child-birth is prolonged she is given to drink water in which the charred wood of a tree struck by lightning has been dipped. here it is clear that the quality of swiftness is held to have been conveyed by the lightning to the wood, by the wood to the water, and by the water to the woman, so as to give her a swift delivery. by a similar train of reasoning she is given to drink the water of a swiftly-flowing stream which thus has the quality of swiftness, or water poured through a gun-barrel in which the fouling of a bullet is left. here the quality of swiftness appertaining to the bullet is conveyed by the soiling to the barrel and thence to the water and to the woman who drinks the water. in the above cases all the transfers except that to the woman are by contact. the belief in the transfer of qualities by contact may have arisen from the sensations of the body and skin, to which heat, cold and moisture are communicated by contact. it was applied to every kind of quality. a familiar instance is the worship of the marks on rocks or stone which are held to be the footprints left by a god. here a part of the god's divine virtue and power has been communicated through the sole of his foot to the rock dented by the latter. touching for the king's evil was another familiar case, when it was thought that a fraction of the king's divine life and virtue was communicated by contact to the person touched and cured him of his ailment. the wearing of amulets where these consist of parts of the bodies of animals is based on the same belief. when a man wears on his person the claws of a tiger in an amulet, he thinks that the claws being the tiger's principal weapon of offence contain a concentrated part of his strength, and that the wearer of the claws will acquire some of this by contact. the gonds carry the shoulder-bone of a tiger, or eat the powdered bone-dust, in order to acquire strength. the same train of reasoning applies to the wearing of the hair of a bear, a common amulet in india, the hair being often considered as the special seat of strength. [124] the whole practice of wearing ornaments of the precious metals and precious stones appears to have been originally due to the same motive, as shown in the article on sunar. if the gonds want a child to become fat, they put it in a pigsty or a place where asses have rolled, so that it may acquire by contact the quality of fatness belonging to the pigs or asses. if they wish to breed quarrels in an enemy's house, they put the seeds of the _amaltas_ or the quills of the porcupine in the thatch of the roof. the seeds in the dried pods of this tree rattle in the wind, while the fretful porcupine raises its quills when angry. hence the seeds will impart the quality of noise to the house, so that its inmates will be noisy, while the quills of the porcupine will similarly breed strife between them. the effects produced by weapons and instruments are thought of in the same manner. we say that an arrow is shot from a bow with such force as to penetrate the body and cause a wound. the savage could not think or speak in this way, because he had no verbs and could not think of nouns in the objective case. he thought of the arrow as an animate thing having a cutting or piercing quality. when placed in a suitable position to exercise its powers, it flew, of its own volition, through the air to the target, and communicated to it by contact some of the above quality. the idea is more easily realised in the case of balls, pieces of bone or other missiles thrown by magicians. here the person whom it is intended to injure may be miles away, so that the object could not possibly strike him merely through the force imparted to it by the thrower. but when the magician has said charms over the missile, communicating to it the power and desire to do his will, he throws it in the proper direction and savages believe that it will go of its own accord to the person against whom it is aimed and penetrate his body. to pretend to suck pieces of bone out of the body, which are supposed to have been propelled into the victim by an enemy, is one of the commonest magical methods of curing an illness. the following instances of this idea are taken from the admirable collection in _the golden bough_ [125]: "(in suffolk) if a man cuts himself with a bill-hook or a scythe he always takes care to keep the weapon bright, and oils it to prevent the wound from festering. if he runs a thorn or, as he calls it, a bush into his hand, he oils or greases the extracted thorn. a man came to a doctor with an inflamed hand, having run a thorn into it while he was hedging. on being told that the hand was festering, he remarked: 'that didn't ought to, for i greased the bush well after i pulled it out' if a horse wounds its foot by treading on a nail, a suffolk groom will invariably preserve the nail, clean it and grease it every day to prevent the wound from festering." here the heat and festering of the wounds are held to be qualities of the axe, thorn or nail, which have been communicated to the person or animal wounded by contact. if these qualities of the instrument are reduced by cleaning and oiling it, then that portion of them communicated to the wound, which was originally held to be a severed part of the life and qualities of the instrument, will similarly be made cool and easy. it is not probable that the people of suffolk really believe this at present, but they retain the method of treatment arising from the belief without being able to explain it. similarly the hindus must have thought that the results produced by the tools of artisans working on materials, and by the plough on the earth, were communicated by these instruments volitionally through contact; and this is why they worship once or twice a year the implements of their profession as the givers of the means of subsistence. all the stories of magic swords, axes, impenetrable shields, sandals, lamps, carpets and so on originally arose from the same belief. 60. the faculty of counting. confusion of the individual and the species. but primitive man not only considered the body as a homogeneous mass with the life and qualities distributed equally over it. he further, it may be suggested, did not distinguish between the individual and the species. the reason for this was that he could not count, and had no idea of numbers. the faculty of counting appears to have been acquired very late. messrs. spencer and gillan remark of the aborigines of central australia: [126] "while in matters such as tracking, which are concerned with their everyday life, and upon efficiency in which they actually depend for their livelihood, the natives show conspicuous ability, there are other directions in which they are as conspicuously deficient. this is perhaps shown most clearly in the matter of counting. at alice springs they occasionally count, sometimes using their fingers in doing so, up to five, but frequently anything beyond four is indicated by the word _oknira_, meaning 'much' or 'great.' one is _nintha_, two _thrama_ or _thera_, three _mapitcha_, four _therankathera_, five _therankathera-nintha_." the form of these words is interesting, because it is clear that the word for four is two and two, or twice two, and the word for five is two and two and one. these words indicate the prolonged and painful efforts which must have been necessary to count as far as five, and this though in other respects the australian natives show substantial mental development, having a most complicated system of exogamy, and sometimes two personal names for each individual. again, the andamanese islanders, despite the extraordinary complexity of their agglutinative language, have no names for the numerals beyond two. [127] it is said that the majhwar tribe can only count up to three, while among the bhatras the qualification for being a village astrologer, who foretells the character of the rainfall and gives auspicious days for sowing and harvest, is the ability to count a certain number of posts. the astrologer's title is meda gantia, or counter of posts. the above facts demonstrate that counting is a faculty acquired with difficulty after considerable mental progress, and primitive man apparently did not feel the necessity for it. [128] but if he could not count, it seems a proper deduction that his eye would not distinguish a number of animals of the same species together, because the ability to do this, and to appraise distinct individuals of like appearance appears to depend ultimately on the faculty of counting. major hendley, a doctor and therefore a skilled observer, states that the bhils were unable to distinguish colours or to count numbers, apparently on account of their want of words to express themselves. [129] now it seems clearly more easy for the eye to discriminate between opposing colours than to distinguish a number of individuals of the same species together. there are a few things which we still cannot count, such as the blades of grass, the ears of corn, drops of rain, snowflakes, and hailstones. all of these things are still spoken of in the singular, though this is well known to be scientifically incorrect. we say an expanse of grass, a field of corn, and so on, as if the grass and corn were all one plant instead of an innumerable quantity of plants. apparently when primitive man saw a number of animals or trees of the same species together, the effect on him must have been exactly the same as that of a field of grass or corn on us. he could be conscious only of an indefinite sense of magnitude. but he did not know, as we do in the cases cited, that the objects he saw were really a collection of distinct individuals. he would naturally consider them as all one, just as children would think a field of grass or corn to be one great plant until they were told otherwise. but there was no one to tell him, nor any means by which he could find out his mistake. he had no plural number, and no definite or indefinite articles. whether he saw one or a hundred tigers together, he could only describe them by the one word tiger. it was a long time before he could even say 'much tiger,' as the australian natives still have to do if they see more animals than five together, and the andamanese if they see more than two. the hypothesis therefore seems reasonable that at first man considered each species of animals or plants which he distinguished to have a separate single life, of which all the individuals were pieces or members. the separation of different parts of one living body presented no difficulties to his mind, since, as already seen, he believed the life to continue in severed fractions of the human body. a connection between individuals, apparently based on the idea that they have a common life, has been noticed in other cases. thus at the commencement of the patriarchal state of society, when the child is believed to derive its life from its father, any carelessness in the father's conduct may injuriously affect the child. sir e.b. tylor notes this among the tribes of south america. after the birth of a child among the indians of south america the father would eat no regular cooked food, not suitable for children, as he feared that if he did this his child would die. [130] "among the arawaks of surinam for some time after the birth of a child the father must fell no tree, fire no gun, hunt no large game; he may stay near home, shoot little birds with a bow and arrow, and angle for little fish; but his time hanging heavy on his hands the only comfortable thing he can do is to lounge in his hammock." [131] on another occasion a savage who had lately become a father, refused snuff, of which he was very fond, because his sneezing would endanger the life of his newly-born child. they believed that any intemperance or carelessness of the father, such as drinking, eating large quantities of meat, swimming in cold weather, riding till he was tired and sweated, would endanger the child's life, and if the child died, the father was bitterly reproached with having caused its death by some such indiscretion. [132] here the idea clearly seems to be that the father's and child's life are one, the latter being derived from and part of the former. the custom of the couvade may therefore perhaps be assigned to the early patriarchal stage. the first belief was that the child derived its life from its mother, and apparently that the weakness and debility of the mother after childbirth were due to the fact that she had given up a part of her life to the child. when the system of female descent changed to male descent, the woman was taken from another clan into her husband's; the child, being born in its father's clan, obviously could not draw its life from its mother, who was originally of a different clan. the inference was that it drew its life from its father; consequently the father, having parted with a part of his life to his child, had to imitate the conduct of the mother after childbirth, abstain from any violent exertion, and sometimes feign weakness and lie up in the house, so as not to place any undue strain on the severed fraction of his life in his child, which would be simultaneously affected with his own, but was much more fragile. 61. similarity and identity. again, primitive man had no conception of likeness or similarity, nor did he realise an imitation as distinct from the thing imitated. likeness or similarity and imitation are abstract ideas, for which he had no words, and consequently did not conceive of them. and clearly if one had absolutely no term signifying likeness or similarity, and if one wished to indicate say, that something resembled a goat, all one could do would be to point at the goat and the object resembling it and say 'goat,' 'goat.' since the name was held to be part of the thing named, such a method would strengthen the idea that resemblance was equivalent to identity. this point of view can also be observed in children, who have no difficulty in thinking that any imitation or toy model is just as good as the object or animal imitated, and playing with it as such. even to call a thing by the name of any object is sufficient with children to establish its identity with that object for the purposes of a game or mimicry, and a large part of children's games are based on such pretensions. they also have not yet clearly grasped the difference between likeness and identity, and between an imitation of an object and the object itself. a large part of the category of substituted ceremonies and sacrifices are based on this confusion between similarity and identity. thus when the hindus put four pieces of stick into a pumpkin and call it a goat, they do not mean to cheat the god to whom it is offered, but fancy that when they have made a likeness of a goat and called it a goat, it is a goat, at any rate for the purpose of sacrifice. and when the jains, desiring to eat after sunset against the rule of their religion, place a lamp under a sieve and call it the sun, and eat by it, they are acting on the same principle and think they have avoided committing a sin. a baiga should go to his wedding on an elephant, but as he cannot obtain a real elephant, two wooden cots are lashed together and covered with blankets, with a black cloth trunk in front, and this arrangement passes muster for an elephant. a small gold image of a cat is offered to a brahman in expiation for killing a cat, silver eyes are offered to the goddess to save the eyes of a person suffering from smallpox, a wisp of straw is burnt on a man's grave as a substitute for cremating the body, a girl is married to an image of a man made of _kusha_ grass, and so on. in rites where blood is required vermilion is used as a substitute for blood; on the other hand castes which abstain from flesh sometimes also decline to eat red vegetables and fruits, because the red colour is held to make them resemble and be equivalent to blood. these beliefs survive in religious ceremonial long after the hard logic of facts has dispelled them from ordinary life. [133] thus when an image of a god was made it was at once the god and contained part of his life. primitive man had no idea of an imitation or an image nor of a lifeless object, and therefore could not conceive of the representation being anything else than the god. only in later times was some ceremony of conveying life to the image considered requisite. the prohibition of sculpture among the jews and of painting among the muhammadans was based on this view, [134] because sculptures and paintings were not considered as images or representations, but as living beings or gods, and consequently false gods. the world-wide custom of making an image of a man with intent to injure him arises from the same belief. since primitive man could conceive neither of an imitation nor of an inanimate object, the image of a man was to his view the man; there was nothing else which it could be. and thus it contained part of the man's life, just as every idol of a god was the god himself and contained part of the god's life. since the man's life was common to himself and the image, by injuring or destroying the image it was held that the man's life would similarly be injured or destroyed, on the analogy already explained of injury to life being frequently observed to follow a hurt or wound of any part of the body. afterwards the connection between the man and the image was strengthened by working into the material of the latter some fraction of his body, such as severed hair or the earth pressed by his foot. but this was not necessary to the original belief. the objection often raised by savages to having their photographs taken or pictures painted may be explained in the same manner. here the photograph or picture cannot be realised as a simple imitation; it is held to be the man himself, and must therefore contain part of his life. hence any one in whose possession it is can do him harm by injuring or destroying the photograph or picture, according to the method of reasoning already explained. the superstitions against looking in a mirror, especially after dark, or seeing one's reflection in water, are analogous cases. here the reflection in the mirror or water is held to be the person himself, because savages do not understand the nature of the reflected image. it is the person himself, but has no corporeal substance; therefore the reflection must be his ghost or spirit. but if the spirit appears once it is an omen that it will appear again; and in order that it may do so the man will have to die so that the spirit may be set free from the body in order to appear. the special reason for not looking into a mirror at night would thus be because the night is the usual time for the appearance of spirits. the fable of narcissus, who fell in love with his own image reflected in the water and was drowned, probably arose from the superstition against seeing one's image reflected in water. and similarly the belief was that a man's clothes and other possessions contained part of his life by contact; this is the explanation of the custom of representing a person by some implement or article of clothing, such as performing the marriage ceremony with the bridegroom's sword instead of himself, and sending the bride's shoes home with the bridegroom to represent her. a barren woman will try to obtain a piece of a pregnant woman's breast-cloth and will burn it and eat the ashes, thinking thereby to transfer the pregnant woman's quality of fertility to herself. when a hindu widow is remarried her clothes and ornaments are sometimes buried on the boundary of her second husband's village and she puts on new clothes, because it is thought that her first husband's spirit will remain in the old clothes and give trouble. 62. the recurrence of events. a brief digression may be made here in order to suggest an explanation of another important class of primitive ideas. these arise from the belief that when something has happened, that same event, or some other resembling it, will again occur, or, more briefly, the belief in the recurrence of events. this view is the origin of a large class of omens, and appears to have been originally evolved simply from the recurring phenomena of day and night and of the months and climatic seasons. for suppose that one was in the position of primitive man, knowing absolutely nothing of the nature and constitution of the earth and the heavenly bodies, or of the most elementary facts of astronomy; then, if the question were asked why one expected the sun to rise to-morrow, the only possible answer, and the answer which one would give, would be because it had risen to-day and every day as long as one could remember. the reason so stated might have no scientific value, but would at any rate establish a strong general probability. but primitive man could not have given it in this form, because he had no memory and could not count. even now comparatively advanced tribes like the gonds have a hopelessly inaccurate memory for ordinary incidents; and, as suggested subsequently, the faculty of memory was probably acquired very slowly with the development of language. and since he could not count, the continuous recurrence of natural phenomena had no cumulative force with him, so that he might distinguish them from other events. his argument was thus simply "the sun will rise again because it rose before; the moon will wax and wane again because she waxed and waned before"; grass and leaves and fruit would grow again because they did so before; the animals which gave him food would come again as before; and so on. but these were the only events which his brain retained at all, and that only because his existence depended upon them and they continually recurred. the ordinary incidents of life which presented some variation passed without record in his mind, as they still do very largely in those of primitive savages. and since he made no distinction between the different classes of events, holding them all to be the acts of volitional beings, he applied this law of the recurrence of events to every incident of life, and thought that whenever anything happened, reason existed for supposing that the same thing or something like it would happen again. it was sufficient that the second event should be like the first, since, as already seen, he did not distinguish between similarity and identity. thus, to give instances, the hindus think that if a man lies full length inside a bed, he is lying as if on a bier and will consequently soon be dead on a real bier; hence beds should be made so that one's feet project uncomfortably over the end. by a similar reasoning he must not lie with his feet to the south because corpses are laid in this direction. a hindu married woman always wears glass bangles as a sign of her state, and a widow may not wear them. a married woman must therefore never let her arms be without bangles or it is an omen that she will become a widow. she must not wear wholly white clothes, because a widow wears these. if a man places one of his shoes over the other in the house, it is an omen that he will go on a journey when the shoes will be in a similar position as he walks along. a kolta woman who desires to ascertain whether she will have a son, puts a fish into a pot full of water and spreads her cloth by it. if the fish jumps into her lap, it is thought that her lap will shortly hold another living being, that is a son. at a wedding, in many hindu castes, the bride and bridegroom perform the business of their caste or an imitation of it. among the kuramwar shepherds the bride and bridegroom are seated with the shuttle which is used for weaving blankets between them. a miniature swing is put up and a doll is placed in it in imitation of a child and swung to and fro. the bride then takes the doll out and gives it to the bridegroom, saying:--"here, take care of it, i am now going to cook food"; while, after a time, the boy returns the doll to the girl saying, "i must now weave the blanket and go to tend the flock." thus, having performed their life's business at their wedding, it is thought that they will continue to do so happily as long as they live. many castes, before sowing the real crop, make a pretence of sowing seed before the shrine of the god, and hope thus to ensure that the subsequent sowing will be auspicious. the common stories of the appearance of a ghost, or other variety of apparition, before the deaths of members of a particular family, are based partly on the belief in the recurrence of associated events. the well-known superstition about sitting down thirteen to dinner, on the ground that one of the party may die shortly afterwards, is an instance of the same belief, being of course based on the last supper. but the number thirteen is generally unlucky, being held to be so by the hindus, muhammadans and persians, as well as europeans, and the superstition perhaps arose from its being the number of the intercalary month in the soli-lunar calendar, which is present one year and absent the next year. thirteen is one more than twelve, the auspicious number of the months of the year. similarly seven was perhaps lucky or sacred as being the number of the planets which gave their names to the days of the week, and three because it represented the sun, moon and earth. when a gambler stakes his money on a number such as the date of his birth or marriage, he acts on the supposition that a number which has been propitious to him once will be so again, and this appears to be a survival of the belief in the recurrence of events. 63. controlling the future. but primitive man was not actuated by any abstract love of knowledge, and when he had observed what appeared to him to be a law of nature, he proceeded to turn it to advantage in his efforts for the preservation of his life. since events had the characteristic of recurrence, all he had to do in order to produce the recurrence of any particular event which he desired, was to cause it to happen in the first instance; and since he did not distinguish between imitation and reality, he thought that if he simply enacted the event he would thus ensure its being brought to pass. and so he assiduously set himself to influence the course of nature to his own advantage. when the australian aborigines are performing ceremonies for the increase of witchetty grubs, a long narrow structure of boughs is made which represents the chrysalis of the grub. the men of the witchetty grub totem enter the structure and sing songs about the production and growth of the witchetty grub. then one after another they shuffle out of the chrysalis, and glide slowly along for a distance of some yards, imitating the emergence and movements of the witchetty grubs. by thus enacting the production of the grubs they think to cause and multiply the real production. [135] when the men of the emu totem wish to multiply the number of emus, they allow blood from their arms, that is emu blood, to fall on the ground until a certain space is covered. then on this space a picture is drawn representing the emu; two large patches of yellow indicate lumps of its fat, of which the natives are very fond, but the greater part shows, by means of circles and circular patches, the eggs in various stages of development, some before and some after laying. then the men of the totem, placing on their heads a stick with a tuft of feathers to represent the long neck and small head of the bird, stand gazing about aimlessly after the manner of the emu. here the picture itself is held to be a living emu, perhaps the source or centre from which all emus will originate, and the men, pretending to be emus, will cause numbers of actual emus to be produced. [136] before sowing the crops, a common practice is to sow small quantities of grain in baskets or pots in rich soil, so that it will sprout and grow up quickly, the idea being to ensure that the real crop will have a similarly successful growth. these baskets are the well-known gardens of adonis fully described in _the golden bough_. they are grown for nine days, and on the tenth day are taken in procession by the women and deposited in a river. the women may be seen carrying the baskets of wheat to the river after the nine days' fasts of chait and kunwar (march and september) in many towns of the central provinces, as the athenian women carried the gardens of adonis to the sea on the day that the expedition under nicias set sail for syracuse. [137] the fire kindled at the holi festival in spring is meant, as explained by sir j.g. frazer, to increase the power of the sun for the growth of vegetation. by the production of fire the quantity and strength of the heavenly fire is increased. he remarks: [138]--"the custom of throwing blazing discs, shaped like suns, into the air, is probably also a piece of imitative magic. in these, as in so many cases, the magic force is supposed to take effect through mimicry or sympathy; by imitating the desired result you actually produce it; by counterfeiting the sun's progress through the heavens you really help the luminary to pursue his celestial journey with punctuality and despatch. the name 'fire of heaven,' by which the midsummer fire is sometimes popularly known, clearly indicates a consciousness of the connection between the earthly and the heavenly flame." the obscene songs of the holi appear to be the relic of a former period of promiscuous sexual debauchery, which, through the multiplied act of reproduction, was intended to ensure that nature should also reproduce on a generous scale. the red powder thrown over everybody at the holi is said to represent the seed of life. the gifts of easter eggs seem to be the vestige of a rite having the same object. at a wedding in the lodhi caste the bride is seated before the family god while an old woman brings a stone rolling-pin wrapped up in a piece of cloth, which is supposed to be a baby, and the old woman imitates a baby crying. she puts the roller in the bride's lap, saying, "take this and give it milk." the bride is abashed and throws it aside. the old woman picks it up and shows it to the assembled women, saying, "the bride has just had a baby," amid loud laughter. then she gives the stone to the bridegroom, who also throws it aside. this ceremony is meant to induce fertility, and it is supposed that by making believe that the bride has had a baby she will quickly have one. similar rites are performed in several other castes, and when a girl becomes adult her lap is filled with fruits with the idea that this will cause it subsequently to be filled with the fruit of her womb. the whole custom of giving dolls to girls to play with, perhaps originated in the belief that by doing so they would afterwards come to play with children. the dances of the kol tribe consist partly of symbolical enactments of events which they desired to be successfully accomplished. some variations of the dance, colonel dalton states, represent the different seasons and the necessary acts of cultivation that each brings with it. in one the dancers, bending down, make a motion with their hands, as though they were sowing the grain, keeping step with their feet all the time. then comes the reaping of the crop and the binding of the sheaves, all done in perfect time and rhythm, and making, with the continuous droning of the voices, a quaint and picturesque performance. [139] the karma dance of the gonds and oraons is also connected with the crops, and probably was once an enactment of the work of cultivation. [140] the bhils danced at their festivals and before battles. the men danced in a ring, holding sticks and striking them against one another. before a battle they had a war-dance in which the performers were armed and imitated a combat. to be carried on the shoulders of one of the combatants was a great honour, perhaps because it symbolised being on horseback. the object was to obtain success in battle by going through an imitation of a successful battle beforehand. this was also the common custom of the red indians, whose war-dances are well known; they brandished their weapons and killed their foe in mimicry in order that they might soon do so in reality. the sela dance of the gonds and baigas, in which they perform the figure of the grand chain of the lancers, only that they strike their sticks together instead of clasping hands as they pass, was probably once an imitation of a combat. it is still sometimes danced before their communal hunting and fishing parties. in these mimetic rehearsals of events with the object of causing them to occur we may perhaps discern the origin of the arts both of acting and dancing. another, and perhaps later form, was the reproduction of important events, or those which had influenced history. for to the primitive mind, as already seen, the results were not conceived of as instrumentally caused by the event, but as part of the event itself and of its life and personality. hence by the re-enactment of the event the beneficial results would be again obtained or at least preserved in undiminished potency and vigour. this was perhaps the root idea of the drama and the representation of sacred or heroic episodes on the stage. 64. the common life. thus, resuming from paragraph 61, primitive man had no difficulty in conceiving of a life as shared between two or more persons or objects, and it does not seem impossible that he should have at first conceived it to extend through a whole species. [141] a good instance of the common life is afforded by the gods of the hindu and other pantheons. each god was conceived of as performing some divine function, guiding the chariot of the sun, manipulating the thunder and so on; but at the same time thousands of temples existed throughout the country, and in each of these the god was alive and present in his image or idol, able to act independently, receive and consume sacrifices and offerings, protect suppliants and punish transgressors. no doubt at all can be entertained that each idol was in itself held to be a living god. in india food is offered to the idol, it goes through its ablutions, is fanned, and so on, exactly like a human king. the ideas of sanctuary and sacrilege appear to depend primarily on the belief in the actual presence of the god in his shrine. and in india no sanctity at all attaches to a temple from which the idol has been removed. thus we see the life of the god distributed over a multitude of personalities. again, the same god, as vishnu or the sun, is held to have had a number of incarnations, as the boar, the tortoise, a man-lion, a dwarf, rama and krishna, and these are venerated simultaneously as distinct deities. the whole brahman caste considered itself divine or as partaking in the life of the god, the original reason for this perhaps being that the brahmans obtained the exclusive right to perform sacrifices, and hence the life of the sacrificial animal or food passed to them, as in other societies it passed to the king who performed the sacrifice. a brahman further holds that the five gods, indra, brahma, siva, vishnu and ganesh, are present in different parts of his body, [142] and here again the life of the god is seen to be divided into innumerable fragments. the priests of the vallabhacharya sect, the gokulastha gosains, were all held to be possessed by the god krishna, so that it was esteemed a high privilege to perform the most menial offices for them, because to touch them was equivalent to touching the god, and perhaps assimilating by contact a fragment of his divine life and nature. [143] the belief in a common life would also explain the veneration of domestic animals and the prohibition against killing them, because to kill one would injure the whole life of the species, from which the tribe drew its subsistence. similarly in a number of cases the first idea of seasonal fasts is that the people abstain from the grain or fruit which is growing or sown in the ground. thus in india during the rains the vegetables growing at this period are not eaten, and are again partaken of for the first time after the sacrificial offering of the new crop. this rule could not possibly be observed in the case of grain, but instead certain single fast-days are prescribed, and on these days no cultivated grain or fruit, but only those growing wild, should be eaten. these rules seem to indicate that the original motive of the fast was to avoid injuring the common life of the grain or fruit, which injury would be caused by a consumption of any part of it, at a time when the whole of the common life and vigour was required for its reproduction and multiplication. this idea may have operated to enable the savage to restrain himself from digging up and eating the grain sown in the ground, or slaughtering his domestic animals for food, and a taboo on the consumption of grain and fruits during their period of ripening may have first begun in their wild state. the intichiuma ceremonies of the australian natives are carried out with the object of increasing the supply of the totem for food purposes. in the ilpirla or manna totem the members of the clan go to a large boulder surrounded by stones, which are held to represent masses of ilpirla or the manna of the _mulga_ tree. a churinga stone is dug up, which is supposed to represent another mass of manna, and this is rubbed over the boulder, and the smaller stones are also rubbed over it. while the leader does this, the others sing a song which is an invitation to the dust produced by the rubbing of the stones to go out and produce a plentiful supply of ilpirla on the _mulga_ trees. [144] then the dust is swept off the surface of the stones with twigs of the _mulga_ tree. here apparently the large boulder and other stones are held to be the centre or focus of the common life of the manna, and from them the seed issues forth which will produce a crop of manna on all the _mulga_ trees. the deduction seems clear that the trees are not conceived of individually, but are held to have a common life. in the case of the _hakea_ flower totem they go to a stone lying beneath an old tree, and one of the members lets his blood flow on to the stone until it is covered, while the others sing a song inciting the _hakea_ tree to flower much and to the blossoms to be full of honey. [145] the blood is said to represent a drink prepared from the _hakea_ flowers, but probably it was originally meant to quicken the stone with the blood of a member of the totem, that is its own blood or life, in order that it might produce abundance of flowers. here again the stone seems to be the centre of the common life of the _hakea_ flower. the songs are sung with the idea that the repetition of words connoting a state of facts will have the effect of causing that state of facts to exist, in accordance with the belief already explained in the concrete virtue of words. sir e. b. tylor states: "in polynesia, if a village god were accustomed to appear as an owl, and one of his votaries found a dead owl by the roadside, he would mourn over the sacred bird and bury it with much ceremony, but the god himself would not be thought to be dead, for he remains incarnate in all existing owls. according to father geronimo boscana, the acagchemen tribe of upper california furnish a curious parallel to this notion. they worshipped the _panes_ bird, which seems to have been an eagle or vulture, and each year, in the temple of each village, one of them was solemnly killed without shedding blood, and the body buried. yet the natives maintained and believed that it was the same individual bird they sacrificed each year, and more than this, that the same bird was slain by each of the villages." [146] an account of the north american indians quoted by the same author states that they believe all the animals of each species to have an elder brother, who is as it were the principle and origin of all the individuals, and this elder brother is marvellously great and powerful. according to another view each species has its archetype in the land of souls; there exists, for example, a _manitu_ or archetype of all oxen, which animates all oxen. [147] generally in the relations between the totem-clan and its totem-animal, and in all the fables about animals, one animal is taken as representing the species, and it is tacitly assumed that all the animals of the species have the same knowledge and qualities and would behave in the same manner as the typical one. thus when the majhwar says that the tiger would run away if he met a member of the tiger-clan who was free from sin, but would devour any member who had been put out of caste for an offence, he assumes that every tiger would know a member of the clan on meeting him, and also whether that member was in or out of caste. he therefore apparently supposes a common knowledge and intelligence to exist in all tigers as regards the clan, as if they were parts of one mind or intelligence. and since the tigers know instinctively when a member of the clan is out of caste, the mind and intelligence of the tigers must be the same as that of the clan. the kols of the tiger clan think that if they were to sit up for a tiger over a kill the tiger would not come and would be deprived of his food, and that they themselves would fall ill. here the evil effects of the want of food on one tiger are apparently held to extend to all tigers and also to all members of the tiger clan. 65. the common life of the clan. the totem-clan held itself to partake of the life of its totem, and on the above hypothesis one common life would flow through all the animals and plants of the totem and all the members of the clan. an australian calls his totem his wingong (friend) or tumang (flesh), and nowadays expresses his sorrow when he has to eat it. [148] if a man wishes to injure any man of a certain totem, he kills any animal of that man's totem. [149] this clearly shows that one common life is held to bind together all the animals of the totem-species and all the members of the totem-clan, and the belief seems to be inexplicable on any other hypothesis. the same is the case with the sex-totems of the kurnai tribe. in addition to the clan-totems all the boys have the superb warbler bird as a sex-totem, and call it their elder brother; and all the girls the emu-wren, and call it their elder sister. if the boys wish to annoy the girls, or vice versa, each kills or injures the other's totem-bird, and such an act is always followed by a free fight between the boys and girls. [150] sex-totems are a peculiar development which need not be discussed here, but again it would appear that a common life runs through the birds of the totem and the members of the sex. professor robertson smith describes the clan or kin as follows: "a kin was a group of persons whose lives were so bound up together, in what must be called a physical unity, that they could be treated as parts of one common life. the members of one kindred looked on themselves as one living whole, one single animated mass of blood, flesh and bones, of which no member could be touched without all the members suffering. this point of view is expressed in the semitic tongue in many familiar forms of speech. in case of homicide arabian tribesmen do not say, 'the blood of m. or n. has been spilt' (naming the man): they say, 'our blood has been spilt.' in hebrew the phrase by which one claims kinship is, 'i am your bone and your flesh.' both in hebrew and in arabic flesh is synonymous with 'clan' or kindred group." [151] the custom of the blood-feud appears to have arisen from the belief in a common life of the clan. "the blood-feud is an institution not peculiar to tribes reckoning descent through females; and it is still in force. by virtue of its requirements every member of a kin, one of whom had suffered at the hands of a member of another kin, was bound to avenge the wrong upon the latter kin. such is the solidarity between members of a kin that vengeance might be taken upon any member of the offending kin, though he might be personally quite innocent. in the growth of civilisation vengeance has gradually come to be concentrated upon the offender only." [152] thus the blood-feud appears to have originated from the idea of primary retributive justice between clan and clan. when a member of a clan had been killed, one of the offending clan must be killed in return. who he might be, and whether the original homicide was justifiable or not, were questions not regarded by primitive man; motives were abstract ideas with which he had no concern; he only knew that a piece of the common life had been lopped off, and the instinct of self-preservation of the clan demanded that a piece of the life of the offending clan should be cut off in return. and the tie which united the kin was eating and drinking together. "according to antique ideas those who eat and drink together are by this very act tied to one another by a bond of friendship and mutual obligation." [153] this was the bond which first united the members of the totem-clan both among themselves and with their totem. and the relationship with the totem could only have arisen from the fact that they ate it. the belief in a common life could not possibly arise in the totem-clan towards any animal or plant which they did not eat or otherwise use. these they would simply disregard. nor would savages, destitute at first of any moral ideas, and frequently on the brink of starvation, abstain from eating any edible animal from sentimental considerations; and, as already seen, the first totems were generally edible. they could not either have in the first place eaten the totem ceremonially, as there would be no reason for such a custom. but the ceremonial eating of the domestic animal, which was the tie subsequently uniting the members of the tribe, [154] cannot be satisfactorily explained except on the hypothesis that it was evolved from the customary eating of the totem-animal. primitive savages would only feel affection towards the animals which they ate, just as the affection of animals is gained by feeding them. the objection might be made that savages could not feel affection and kinship for an animal which they killed and ate, but no doubt exists that they do. "in british columbia, when the fishing season commenced and the fish began coming up the rivers, the indians used to meet them and speak to them. they paid court to them and would address them thus: 'you fish, you fish; you are all chiefs, you are; you are all chiefs.' among the northas when a bear is killed, it is dressed in a bonnet, covered with fine down, and solemnly invited to the chiefs presence." [155] and there are many other instances. [156] savages had no clear realisation of death, and they did not think that the life of the animal was extinguished but that it passed to them with the flesh. moreover they only ate part of the life. in many cases also the totem-animal only appeared at a certain season of the year, in consequence of the habit of hibernation or migration in search of food, while trees only bore fruit in their season. the savage, regarding all animals and plants as possessed of self-conscious life and volition, would think that they came of their own accord to give him subsistence or life. afterwards, when they had obtained the idea of a soul or spirit, and of the survival of the soul after death, and when, on the introduction of personal names, the personality of individuals could be realised and remembered after death, they frequently thought that the spirits of ancestors went back to the totem-animal, whence they derived their life. the idea of descent from the totem would thus naturally arise. as the means of subsistence increased, and especially in those communities which had domesticated animals or cultivated plants, the conception of the totem as the chief source of life would gradually die away and be replaced by the belief in descent from it; and when they also thought that the spirits of ancestors were in the totem, they would naturally abstain from eating it. perhaps also the australians consider that the members of the totem-clan should abstain from eating the totem for fear of injuring the common life, as more advanced communities abstained from eating the flesh of domestic animals. this may be the ground for the rule that they should only eat sparingly of the totem. to the later period may be ascribed the adoption of carnivorous animals as totems; when these animals came to be feared and also venerated for their qualities of strength, ferocity and courage, warriors would naturally wish to claim kinship with and descent from them. 66. living and eating together. when the members of the totem-clan who lived together recognised that they owed something to each other, and that the gratification of the instincts and passions of the individual must to a certain degree be restrained if they endangered the lives and security of other members of the clan, they had taken the first step on the long path of moral and social progress. the tie by which they supposed themselves to be united was quite different from those which have constituted a bond of union between the communities who have subsequently lived together in the tribe, the city-state and the country. these have been a common religion, common language, race, or loyalty to a common sovereign; but the real bond has throughout been the common good or the public interest. and the desire for this end on the part of the majority of the members of the community, or the majority of those who were able to express their opinions, though its action was until recently not overt nor direct, and was not recognised, has led to the gradual evolution of the whole fabric of law and moral feeling, in order to govern and control the behaviour and conduct of the individual in his relations with his family, neighbours and fellow-citizens for the public advantage. the members of the totem-clan would have been quite unable to understand either the motives by which they were themselves actuated or the abstract ideas which have united more advanced communities; but they devised an even stronger bond than these, in supposing that they were parts or fractions of one common body or life. this was the more necessary as their natural impulses were uncontrolled by moral feeling. they conceived the bond of union in the concrete form of eating together. as language improved and passing events were recorded in speech and in the mind, the faculty of memory was perhaps concurrently developed. then man began to realise the insecurity of his life, the dangers and misfortunes to which he was subject, the periodical failure or irregularity of the supply of food, and the imminent risks of death. memory of the past made him apprehensive for the future, and holding that every event was the result of an act of volition, he began to assume an attitude either of veneration, gratitude, or fear towards the strongest of the beings by whom he thought his destinies were controlled--the sun, moon, sky, wind and rain, the ocean and great rivers, high mountains and trees, and the most important animals of his environment, whether they destroyed or assisted to preserve his life. the ideas of propitiation, atonement and purification were then imparted to the sacrifice, and it became an offering to a god. [157] but the primary idea of eating or drinking together as a bond of union was preserved, and can be recognised in religious and social custom to an advanced period of civilisation. 67. the origin of exogamy. again, dr. westermarck shows that the practice of exogamy or the avoidance of intermarriage did not at first arise between persons recognised as blood relations, but between those who lived together. "facts show that the extent to which relatives are not allowed to intermarry is nearly connected with their close living together. generally speaking the prohibited degrees are extended much further among savage and barbarous peoples than in civilised societies. as a rule the former, if they have not remained in the most primitive social condition of man, live not in separate families but in large households or communities, all the members of which dwell in very close contact with each other." [158] and later, after adducing the evil results of self-fertilisation in plants and close interbreeding in animals, dr. westermarck continues: "taking all these facts into consideration, i cannot but believe that consanguineous marriages, in some way or other, are more or less detrimental to the species. and here i think we may find a quite sufficient explanation of the horror of incest; not because man at an early stage recognised the injurious influence of close intermarriage, but because the law of natural selection must inevitably have operated. among the ancestors of man, as among other animals, there was no doubt a time when blood relationship was no bar to sexual intercourse. but variations here, as elsewhere, would naturally present themselves; and those of our ancestors who avoided in-and-in breeding would survive, while the others would gradually decay and ultimately perish. thus an instinct would be developed, which would be powerful enough as a rule to prevent injurious unions. of course it would display itself simply as an aversion on the part of individuals to union with others with whom they lived; but these as a matter of fact would be blood relations, so that the result would be the survival of the fittest." 68. promiscuity and female descent. the instinct of exogamy first developed in the totem-clan when it was migratory and lived by hunting, at least among the australians and probably the american indians. the first condition of the clan was one of sexual promiscuity, and in _totemism and exogamy_ sir j.g. frazer has adduced many instances of periodical promiscuous debauchery which probably recall this state of things. [159] the evil results which would accrue from in-breeding in the condition of promiscuity may have been modified by such incidents as the expulsion of the young males through the spasmodic jealousy of the older ones, the voluntary segregation of the old males, fights and quarrels leading to the rearrangement of groups, and the frequent partial destruction of a group, when the survivors might attach themselves to a new group. primitive peoples attached the utmost importance to the rule of exogamy, and the punishments for the breach of it were generally more severe than those for the violation of the laws of affinity in civilised countries. the australians say that the good spirit or the wise men prescribed to them the rule that the members of each totem-clan should not marry with each other. [160] similarly the gonds say that their divine hero, lingo, introduced the rule of exogamy and the division into clans before he went to the gods. at first, however, the exogamous clan was not constituted by descent through males, but through females. the hypothesis that female everywhere preceded male descent is strongly supported by natural probability. in the first instance, the parentage of children was no more observed and remembered than that of animals. when first observed, it was necessarily through the mother, the identity of the father being wholly uncertain. the mother would also be the first parent to remember her children, her affection for them being based on one of the strongest natural instincts, whereas the father neither knew nor cared for his children until long afterwards. sir j.g. frazer has further shown that even now some of the australian aborigines are ignorant of the physical fact of paternity and its relation to sexual intercourse. that such ignorance could have survived so long is the strongest evidence in favour of the universal priority of female to male descent. it is doubtful, however, whether even the mother could remember her children after they had become adult, prior to the introduction of personal names. mr. m'lennan states: "the tie between mother and child, which exists as a matter of necessity during infancy, is not infrequently found to be lost sight of among savages on the age of independence being reached." [161] personal names were probably long subsequent to clan-names, and when they were first introduced the name usually had some reference to the clan. the red indians and other races have totem-names which are frequently some variant of the name of the totem. [162] when personal names came to be generally introduced, the genesis of the individual family might soon follow, but the family could scarcely have come into existence in the absence of personal names. as a rule, in the exogamous clan with female descent no regard was paid to the chastity of women, and they could select their partners as they pleased. mr. hartland has shown in _primitive paternity_ that in a large number of primitive communities the chastity of women was neither enforced nor desired by the men, this state of things being probably a relic of the period of female descent. thus exogamy first arose through the women of the clan resorting to men outside it. when we consider the extreme rigour of life and the frequent danger of starvation to which the small clans in the hunting stage must have been exposed, it does not seem impossible that the evil effects of marriage within the clan may have been noticed. at that time probably only a minority even of healthy children survived, and the slight congenital weakness produced by in-breeding might apparently be fatal to a child's chance of life. possibly some dim perception may have been obtained of the different fates of the children of women who restricted their sexual relations to men within the clan and those who resorted to strangers, even though the nature of paternity may not have been understood. the strength of the feeling and custom of exogamy seems to demand some such recognition for its satisfactory explanation, though, on the other hand, the lateness of the recognition of the father's share in the production of children militates against this view. the suggestion may be made also that the belief that the new life of a child must be produced by a spirit entering the woman, or other extraneous source, does not necessarily involve an ignorance of the physical fact of paternity; the view that the spirits of ancestors are reborn in children is still firmly held by tribes who have long been wholly familiar with the results of the commerce of the sexes. the practice of exogamy was no doubt, as shown by dr. westermarck, favoured and supported by the influence of novelty in sexual attraction, since according to common observation and experience sexual love or desire is more easily excited between strangers or slight acquaintances than between those who have long lived together in the same household or in familiar intercourse. in the latter case the attraction is dulled by custom and familiarity. 69. exogamy with female descent. the exogamous clan, with female descent, was, however, an unstable social institution, in that it had no regular provision for marriage nor for the incorporation of married couples. the men who associated with the women of the clan were not necessarily, nor as a rule, admitted to it, but remained in their own clans. how this association took place is not altogether clear. at a comparatively late period in arabia, according to professor robertson smith, [163] the woman would have a tent, and could entertain outside men for a shorter or longer period according to her inclination. the practice of serving for a wife also perhaps dates from the period of female descent. the arrangement would have been that a man went and lived with a woman's family and gave his services in return for her conjugal society. whether the residence with the wife's family was permanent or not is perhaps uncertain. when jacob served for leah and rachel, society seems to have been in the early patriarchal stage, as laban was their father and he was laban's sister's son. but it seems doubtful whether his right was then recognised to take his wives away with him, for even after he had served fourteen years laban pursued him, and would have taken them back if he had not been warned against doing so in a vision. the episode of rachel's theft of the images also seems to indicate that she intended to take her own household gods with her and not to adopt those of her husband's house. and laban's chief anxiety was for the recovery of the images. a relic of the husband's residence with his wife's family during the period of female descent may perhaps be found in the banjara caste, who oblige a man to go and live with his wife's father for a month without seeing her face. under the patriarchal system this rule of the banjaras is meaningless, though the general practice of serving for a wife survives as a method of purchase. among the australian aborigines apparently the clans, or sections of them, wander about in search of food and game, and meet each other for more or less promiscuous intercourse. this may perhaps be supposed to have been the general primitive condition of society after the introduction of exogamy combined with female descent. and its memory is possibly preserved in the tradition of the golden age, golden only in the sense that man was not troubled either by memory or anticipation, and lived only for the day. the entire insecurity of life and its frequent end by starvation or a violent death did not therefore trouble him any more than is the case with animals. he took no thought for the morrow, nor did the ills of yesterday oppress his mind. as when one of a herd of deer is shot by a hunter and the others stand by it pityingly as it lies dying on the ground, uncertain of its mishap, though they would help it if they could; yet when they perceive the hunter they make quickly off and in a few minutes are again grazing happily a mile or two away: little or no more than this can primitive man be supposed to have been affected by the deaths of his fellows. but possibly, since he was carnivorous, the sick and old may have been killed for food, as is still the practice among some tribes of savages. in the natural course, however, more or less permanent unions, though perhaps not regular marriages, must have developed in the female exogamous clan, which would thus usually have men of other clans living with it. and since identification of individuals would be extremely difficult before the introduction of personal names, there would be danger that when two clans met, men and women belonging to the same totem-clan would have sexual intercourse. this offence, owing to the strength of the feeling for exogamy, was frequently held to entail terrible evils for the community, and was consequently sometimes punished with death as treason. moreover, if we suppose a number of small clans, a, b, c, d and e, to meet each other again and again, and the men and women to unite promiscuously, it is clear that the result would be a mixture of relationships of a very incestuous character. the incest of brothers and sisters by the same father would be possible and of almost all other relations, though that of brothers and sisters by the same mother would not be caused. this may have been the reason for the introduction of the class system among the australians and red indians, by which all the clans of a certain area were divided into two classes, and the men of any clan of one class could only marry or have intercourse with the women of a clan of the other class. by such a division the evil results of the mixture of totems in exogamous clans with female descent would be avoided. the class system was sometimes further strengthened by the rule, in australia, that different classes should, when they met, encamp on opposite sides of a creek or other natural division [164]; whilst among the red indians, the classes camp on opposite sides of the road, or live on different sides of the same house or street. [165] in australia, and very occasionally elsewhere, the class system has been developed into four and eight sub-classes. a man of one sub-class can only marry a woman of one other, and their children belong to one of those different from either the father's or mother's. this highly elaborate and artificial system was no doubt, as stated by sir j. g. frazer, devised for the purpose of preventing the intermarriage of parents and children belonging to different clans where there are four sub-classes, and of first cousins where there are eight sub-classes. [166] the class system, however, would not appear to have been the earliest form of exogamy among the australian tribes. its very complicated character, and the fact that the two principal classes sometimes do not even have names, seem to preclude the idea of its having been the first form of exogamy, which is a strong natural feeling, so much so that it may almost be described as an instinct, though of course not a primitive animal instinct. and just as the totem clan, which establishes a sentiment of kinship between people who are not related by blood, was prior to the individual family, so exogamy, which forbids the marriage of people who are not related by blood, must apparently have been prior to the feeling simply against connections of persons related by blood or what we call incest. if the two-class system was introduced in australia to prohibit the marriage of brothers and sisters at a time when they could not recognise each other in adult life, then on the introduction of personal names which would enable brothers and sisters to recognise and remember each other, the two-class system should have been succeeded by a modern table of prohibited degrees, and not by clan exogamy at all. it is suggested that the two-class system was a common and natural form of evolution of a society divided into exogamous totem clans with female descent, when a man was not taken into the clan of the woman with whom he lived. the further subdivision into four and eight sub-classes is almost peculiar to the australian tribes; its development may perhaps be attributed to the fact that these tribes have retained the system of female descent and the migratory hunting method of life for an abnormally long period, and have evolved this special institution to prevent the unions of near relatives which are likely to occur under such conditions. the remains of a two-class system appear to be traceable among the gonds of the central provinces. in one part of bastar all the gond clans are divided into two classes without names, and a man cannot marry a woman belonging to any clan of his own class, but must take one from a clan of the other class. elsewhere the gonds are divided into two groups of six-god and seven-god worshippers among whom the same rule obtains. formerly the gonds appear in some places to have had seven groups, worshipping different numbers of gods from one to seven, and each of these groups was exogamous. but after the complete substitution of male for female kinship in the clan, and the settlement of clans in different villages, the classes cease to fulfil any useful purpose. they are now disappearing, and it is very difficult to obtain any reliable information about their rules. the system of counting kinship through the mother, or female descent, has long been extinct in the central provinces and over most of india. some survival of it, or at least the custom of polyandry, is found among the nairs of southern india and in thibet. elsewhere scarcely a trace remains, and this was also the condition of things with the classical races of antiquity; so much so, indeed, that even great thinkers like sir henry maine and m. fustel de coulanges, with the examples only of india, greece and rome before them, did not recognise the system of female descent, and thought that the exogamous clan with male descent was an extension of the patriarchal family, this latter having been the original unit of society. the wide distribution of exogamy and the probable priority of the system of female to that of male descent were first brought prominently to notice by mr. m'lennan. still a distinct trace of the prior form survives here in the special relationship sometimes found to exist between a man and his sister's children. this is a survival of the period when a woman's children, under the rule of female descent, belonged to her own family and her husband or partner in sexual relations had no proprietary right or authority over them, the place and authority of a father belonging in such a condition of society to the mother's brother or brothers. among the halbas a marriage is commonly arranged when practicable between a brother's daughter and a sister's son. and a man always shows a special regard and respect for his sister's son, touching the latter's feet as to a superior, while whenever he desires to make a gift as an offering of thanks and atonement, or as a meritorious action, the sister's son is the recipient. at his death he usually leaves a substantial legacy, such as one or two buffaloes, to his sister's son, the remainder of the property going to his own family. similarly among the kamars the marriage of a man's children with his sister's children is considered the most suitable union. if a man's sister is poor, he will arrange for the weddings of her children. he will never beat his sister's children however much they may deserve it, and he will not permit his sister's son or daughter to eat from the dish from which he eats. the last rule, it is said, also applies to the maternal aunt. the kunbis, and other maratha castes, have a saying: 'at the sister's house the brother's daughter is a daughter-in-law.' the gonds call the wedding of a brother's daughter to a sister's son _dudh lautana_, or 'bringing back the milk.' the reason why a brother was formerly anxious to marry his daughter to his sister's son was that the latter would be his heir under the matriarchal system; but now that inheritance is through males, and girls are at a premium for marriage, a brother is usually more anxious to get his sister's daughter for his son, and on the analogy of the opposite union it is sometimes supposed, as among the gonds, that he also has a right to her. many other instances of the special relation between a brother and his sister's children are given by sir j.g. frazer in _totemism and exogamy_. in some localities also the korkus build their villages in two long lines of houses on each side of the road, and it may be the case that this is a relic of the period when two or more clans with female descent lived in the same village, and those belonging to each class who could not marry or have sexual relations among themselves occupied one side of the road. 70. marriage. the transfer of the reckoning of kinship and descent from the mother's to the father's side may perhaps be associated with the full recognition of the physical fact of paternity. though they may not have been contemporaneous in all or even the majority of societies, it would seem that the former was in most cases the logical outcome of the latter, regard being had also to the man's natural function as protector of the family and provider of its sustenance. but this transition from female to male kinship was a social revolution of the first importance. under the system of female descent there had been generally no transfer of clanship; both the woman and her partner or husband retained their own clans, and the children belonged to their mother's clan. in the totemic stage of society the totem-clan was the vital organism, and the individual scarcely realised his own separate existence, but regarded himself as a member of his totem-clan, being a piece or fraction of a common life which extended through all the members of the clan and all the totem animals of the species. they may have thought also that each species of animals and plants had a different kind of life, and consequently also each clan whose life was derived from, and linked to, that of its totem-species. for the name, and life, and qualities, and flesh and blood were not separate conceptions, but only one conception; and since the name and qualities were part of the life, the life of one species could not be the same as that of another, and every species which had a separate name must have been thought to have a different kind of life. nor would man have been regarded as a distinct species in the early totem-stage, and there would be no word for man; but each totem-clan would regard itself as having the same life as its totem-species. with the introduction of the system of male kinship came also the practice of transferring a woman from her own clan to that of her husband. it may be suggested that this was the origin of the social institution of marriage. primitive society had no provision for such a procedure, which was opposed to its one fundamental idea of its own constitution, and involved a change of the life and personality of the woman transferred. 71. marriage by capture. the view seems to have been long held that this transfer could only be effected by violence or capture, the manner in which presumably it was first practised. marriage by capture is very widely prevalent among savage races, as shown by mr. m'lennan in _primitive marriage_, and by dr. westermarck in _the history of human marriage_. where the custom has given place to more peaceable methods of procuring a wife, survivals commonly occur. in bastar the regular capture of the girl is still sometimes carried out, though the business is usually arranged by the couple beforehand, and the same is the case among the kolams of wardha. a regular part of the marriage procedure among the gonds and other tribes is that the bride should weep formally for some hours, or a day before the wedding, and she is sometimes taught to cry in the proper note. at the wedding the bride hides somewhere and has to be found or carried off by the bridegroom or his brother. this ritualistic display of grief and coyness appears to be of considerable interest. it cannot be explained by the girl's reluctance to marriage as involving the loss of her virginity, inasmuch as she is still frequently not a virgin at her wedding, and to judge from the analogy of other tribes, could seldom or never have been one a few generations back. nor is affection for her family or grief at the approaching separation from them a satisfactory motive. this would not account for the hiding at all, and not properly for the weeping, since she will after all only live a few miles away and will often return home; and sometimes she does not only weep at her own house but at all the houses of the village. the suggestion may be made that the procedure really indicates the girl's reluctance to be severed from her own clan and transferred to another; and that the sentiment is a survival of the resistance to marriage by capture which was at first imposed on the women by the men from loyalty to the clan totem and its common life, and had nothing to do with the conjugal relationship of marriage. but out of this feeling the sexual modesty of women, which had been non-existent in the matriarchal condition of society, was perhaps gradually developed. the chamars of bilaspur have sham fights on the approach of the wedding party, and in most hindu castes the bridegroom on his arrival performs some militant action, such as striking the marriage-shed or breaking one of its festoons. after the marriage the bride is nearly always sent home with the bridegroom's party for a few days, even though she may be a child and the consummation of the marriage impossible. this may be in memory of her having formerly been carried off, and some analogous significance may attach to our honeymoon. when the custom of capture had died down it was succeeded by the milder form of elopement, or the bride was sold or exchanged against a girl from the bridegroom's family or clan, but there is usually a relic of a formal transfer, such as the hindu _kanyadan_ or gift of the virgin, the roman _traditio in manum_ or her transfer from her father's to her husband's power, and the giving away of the bride. 72. transfer of the bride to her husband's clan. these customs seem to mark the transfer of the woman from her father's to her husband's clan, which was in the first instance effected forcibly and afterwards by the free gift of her father or guardian, and the change of surname would be a relic of the change of clan. among the hindus a girl is never called by her proper name in her husband's house, but always by some other name or nickname. this custom seems to be a relic of the period when the name denoted the clan, though it no longer has any reference either to the girl's clan or family. another rite portraying the transfer in india is the marking of the bride's forehead with vermilion, which is no doubt a substitute for blood. the ceremony would be a relic of participation in the clan sacrifice when the bride would in the first place drink the blood of the totem animal or tribal god with the bridegroom in sign of her admission to his clan and afterwards be marked with the blood as a substitute. this smear of vermilion a married woman always continues to wear as a sign of her state, unless she wears pink powder or a spangle as a substitute. [167] where this pink powder _(kunku)_ or spangles are used they must always be given by the bridegroom to the bride as part of the _sohag_ or trousseau. at a bhaina wedding the bride's father makes an image in clay of the bird or animal of the groom's sept and places it beside the marriage-post. the bridegroom worships the image, lighting a sacrificial fire before it, or offers to it the vermilion which he afterwards smears upon the forehead of the bride. the khadals at their marriages worship their totem animal or tree, and offer to it flowers, sandalwood, vermilion, uncooked rice, and the new clothes and ornaments intended for the bride, which she may not wear until this ceremony has been performed. again, the sacrament of the meher or marriage cakes is sometimes connected with the clan totem in india. these cakes are cooked and eaten sacramentally by all the members of the family and their relatives, the bride and bridegroom commencing first. among the kols the relatives to whom these cakes are distributed cannot intermarry, and this indicates that the eating of them was formerly a sacrament of the exogamous clan. the association of the totem with the marriage cakes is sometimes clearly shown. thus in the dahait caste members of the clans named after certain trees, go to the tree at the time of their weddings and invite it to be present at the ceremony. they offer the marriage cakes to the tree. those of the nagotia or cobra clan deposit the cakes at a snake's hole. members of the singh (lion) and bagh (tiger) clans draw images of these animals on the wall at the time of their weddings and offer the cakes to them. the basors of the kulatia or somersault clan do somersaults at the time of eating the cakes; those of the karai nor clan, who venerate a well, eat the cakes at a well and not at home. basors of the lurhia clan, who venerate a grinding-stone, worship this implement at the time of eating the marriage cakes. m. fustel de coulanges states that the roman confarreatio, or eating of a cake together by the bride and bridegroom in the presence of the family gods of the latter, constituted their holy union or marriage. by this act the wife was transferred to the gods and religion of her husband. [168] here the gods referred to are clearly held to be the family gods, and in the historical period it seems doubtful whether the roman _gens_ was still exogamous. but if the patriarchal family developed within the exogamous clan tracing descent through males, and finally supplanted the clan as the most important social unit, then it would follow that the family gods were only a substitute for the clan gods, and the bride came to be transferred to her husband's family instead of to his clan. the marriage ceremony in greece consisted of a common meal of a precisely similar character, [169] and the english wedding cake seems to be a survival of such a rite. at their weddings the bhils make cakes of the large millet juari, calling it juari mata or mother juari. these cakes are eaten at the houses of the bride and bridegroom by the members of their respective clans, and the remains are buried inside the house as sacred food. dr. howitt states of the kurnai tribe: "by and by, when the bruises and perhaps wounds received in these fights (between the young men and women) had healed, a young man and a young woman might meet, and he, looking at her, would say, for instance, 'djiitgun! [170] what does the djiitgun eat?' the reply would be 'she eats kangaroo, opossum,' or some other game. this constituted a formal offer and acceptance, and would be followed by the elopement of the couple as described in the chapter on marriage." [171] there is no statement that the question about eating refers to the totem, but this must apparently have been the original bearing of the question, which otherwise would be meaningless. since this proposal of marriage followed on a fight between the boys and girls arising from the fact that one party had injured the other party's sex-totem, the fight may perhaps really have been a preliminary to the proposal and have represented a symbolic substitute for or survival of marriage by capture. among the santals, colonel dalton says, "the social meal that the boy and girl eat together is the most important part of the ceremony, as by the act the girl ceases to belong to her father's tribe and becomes a member of the husband's family." since the terms tribe and family are obviously used loosely in the above statement, we may perhaps substitute clan in both cases. many other instances of the rite of eating together at a wedding are given by dr. westermarck. [172] if, therefore, it be supposed that the wedding ceremony consisted originally of the formal transfer of the bride to the bridegroom's clan, and further that the original tie which united the totem-clan was the common eating of the totem animal, then the practice of the bride and bridegroom eating together as a symbol of marriage can be fully understood. when the totem animal had ceased to be the principal means of subsistence, bread, which to a people in the agricultural stage had become the staff or chief support of life, was substituted for it, as argued by professor robertson smith in _the religion of the semites_. if the institution of marriage was thus originally based on the forcible transfer of a woman from her own to her husband's clan, certain indian customs become easily explicable in the light of this view. we can understand why a brahman or rajput thought it essential to marry his daughter into a clan or family of higher status than his own; because the disgrace of having his daughter taken from him by what had been originally an act of force, was atoned for by the superior rank of the captor or abductor. and similarly the terms father-in-law and brother-in-law would be regarded as opprobrious because they originally implied not merely that the speaker had married the sister or daughter of the person addressed, but had married her forcibly, thereby placing him in a position of inferiority. a rajput formerly felt it derogatory that any man should address him either as father-or brother-in-law. and the analogous custom of a man refusing to take food in the house of his son-in-law's family and sometimes even refusing to drink water in their village would be explicable on precisely the same grounds. this view of marriage would also account for the wide prevalence of female infanticide. because in the primitive condition of exogamy with male descent, girls could not be married in their own clan, as this would transgress the binding law of exogamy, and they could not be transferred from their own totem-clan and married in another except by force and rape. hence it was thought better to kill girl children than to suffer the ignominy of their being forcibly carried off. both kinds of female infanticide as distinguished by sir h. risley [173] would thus originally be due to the same belief. the khond killed his daughter because she could not be married otherwise than by forcible abduction; not necessarily because he was unable to protect her, but because he could not conceive of her being transferred from one totem-clan to another by any other means; and he was bound to resist the transfer because by acquiescing in it, he would have been guilty of disloyalty to his own totem, whose common life was injured by the loss of the girl. the rajput killed his daughter because it was a disgrace to him to get her married at all outside his clan, and she could not be married within it. afterwards the disgrace was removed by marrying her into a higher clan than his own and by lavish expenditure on the wedding; and the practice of female infanticide was continued to avoid the ruinous outlay which this primitive view of marriage had originally entailed. the hindu custom of the swayamvara or armed contest for the hand of a rajput princess, and the curious recognition by the hindu law-books of simple rape as a legitimate form of marriage would be explained on the same ground. 73. the exogamous clan with male descent and the village. it has been seen that the exogamous clan with female descent contained no married couples, and therefore it was necessary either that outside men should live with it, or that the clans should continually meet each other, or that two or more should live in the same village. with the change to male descent and the transfer of women to their husbands' clans, this unstable characteristic was removed. henceforth the clan was self-contained, having its married couples, both members of it, whose children would also be born in and belong to it. since the clan was originally a body of persons who wandered about and hunted together, its character would be maintained by living together, and there is reason to suppose that the indian exogamous clan with male descent took its special character because its members usually lived in one or more villages. this fact would account for the large number and multiplication of clans in india as compared with other places. as already seen one of the names of a clan is _khera_, which also means a village, and a large number of the clan names are derived from, or the same, as those of villages. among the khonds all the members of one clan live in the same locality about some central village. thus the tupa clan are collected about the village of teplagarh in patna state, the loa clan round sindhekala, the borga clan round bangomunda and so on. the nunias of mirzapur, mr. crooke remarks, [174] have a system of local subdivisions called _dih_, each subdivision being named after the village which is supposed to be its home. the word _dih_ itself means a site or village. those who have the same _dih_ do not intermarry. in the villages first settled by the oraons, father dehon states, [175] the population is divided into three _khunts_ or branches, the founders of the three branches being held to have been sons of the first settler. members of each branch belong to the same clan or _got_. each _khunt_ or branch has a share of the village lands. the mochis or cobblers have forty exogamous sections or _gotras_, mostly named after rajput clans, and they also have an equal number of _kheras_ or groups named after villages. the limits of the two groups seem to be identical; and members of each group have an ancestral village from which they are supposed to have come. marriage is now regulated by the rajput sept-names, but the probability is that the _kheras_ were the original divisions, and the rajput _gotras_ have been more recently adopted in support of the claims already noticed. the parjas have totemistic exogamous clans and marriage is prohibited in theory between members of the same clan. but as the number of clans is rather small, the rule is not adhered to, and members of the same clan are permitted to marry so long as they do not come from the same village. the minas of rajputana are divided into twelve exogamous _pals_ or clans; the original meaning of the word _pal_ was a defile or valley suitable for defence, where the members of the clan would live together as in a scotch glen. thus among the cultivating castes apparently each exogamous clan consisted originally of the residents of one village, though they afterwards spread to a number of villages. the servile labouring castes may also have arranged their clans by villages as the primitive forest-tribes did. how the menial castes formed exogamous clans is not altogether clear, as the numbers in one village would be only small. but it may be supposed that as they gradually increased, clans came into existence either in one large village or a number of adjacent ones, and sometimes traced their descent from a single family or from an ancestor with a nickname. as a rule, the artisan castes do not appear to have formed villages of their own in india, as they did in russia, though this may occasionally have happened. when among the cultivating castes the lands were divided, separate joint families would be constituted; the head only of each family would be its representative in the clan, as he would hold the share of the village land assigned to the family, which was their joint means of subsistence, and the family would live in one household. thus perhaps the hindu joint family came into existence as a subdivision of the exogamous clan with male descent, on which its constitution was modelled. in chhattisgarh families still live together in large enclosures with separate huts for the married couples. a human ancestor gradually took the place of the totem as the giver of life to the clan. the members thought themselves bound together by the tie of his blood which flowed through all their veins, and frequently, as in athens, rome and scotland, every member of the clan bore his name. in this capacity, as the source of the clan's life, the original ancestor was perhaps venerated, and on the development of the family system within the clan, the ancestors of the family were held in a similar regard, and the feeling extended to the living ancestor or father, who is treated with the greatest deference in the early patriarchal family. even now hindu boys, though they may be better educated and more intelligent than their father, will not as a rule address him at meals unless he speaks to them first, on account of their traditional respect for him. the regard for the father may be strengthened by his position as the stay and support of the family, but could scarcely have arisen solely from this cause. dr. westermarck's view that the origin of exogamy lay in the feeling against the marriage of persons who lived together, receives support from the fact that a feeling of kinship still subsists between hindus living in the same village, even though they may belong to different castes and clans. it is commonly found that all the households of a village believe themselves in a manner related. a man will address all the men of the generation above his own as uncle, though they may be of different castes, and the children of the generation below his own as niece and nephew. when a girl is married, all the old men of the village call her husband 'son-in-law.' this extends even to the impure castes who cannot be touched. yet owing to the fact that they live together they are considered by fiction to be related. the gowari caste do not employ brahmans for their weddings, but the ceremony is performed by the _bhanja_ or sister's son either of the girl's father or the boy's father. if he is not available, any one whom either the girl's father or the boy's father addresses as _bhanja_ or nephew in the village, even though he may be no relation and may belong to another caste, may perform the ceremony as a substitute. among the oraons and other tribes prenuptial intercourse between boys and girls of the same village is regularly allowed. it is not considered right, however, that these unions should end in marriage, for which partners should be sought from other villages. [176] in the maratha country the villagers have a communal feast on the occasion of the dasahra festival, the kunbis or cultivators eating first and the members of the menial and labouring castes afterwards. 74. the large exogamous clans of the brahmans and rajputs. the sapindas, the _gens_ and the g'enoc. the brahmans and rajputs, however, and one or two other military castes, as the marathas and lodhis, do not have the small exogamous clans (which probably, as has been seen, represented the persons who lived together in a village), but large ones. thus the rajputs were divided into thirty-six royal races, and theoretically all these should have been exogamous, marrying with each other. each great clan was afterwards, as a rule, split into a number of branches, and it is probable that these became exogamous; while in cases where a community of rajputs have settled on the land and become ordinary cultivators, they have developed into an endogamous subcaste containing small clans of the ordinary type. it seems likely that the rajput clan originally consisted of those who followed the chief to battle and fought together, and hence considered themselves to be related. this was, as a matter of fact, the case. colonel tod states that the great rathor clan, who said that they could muster a hundred thousand swords, spoke of themselves as the sons of one father. the members of the scotch clans considered themselves related in the same manner, and they were probably of similar character to the rajput clans. [177] i do not know, however, that there is any definite evidence as to the exogamy of the scotch clans, which would have disappeared with their conversion to christianity. the original rajput clan may perhaps have lived round the chiefs castle or headquarters and been supported by the produce of his private fief or demesne. the regular brahman _gotras_ are also few in number, possibly because they were limited by the paucity of eponymous saints of the first rank. the word _gotra_ means a stall or cow-pen, and would thus originally signify those who lived together in one place like a herd of cattle. but the _gotras_ are now exceedingly large, the same ones being found in most or all of the brahman subcastes, and it is believed that they do not regulate marriage as a rule. sometimes ordinary surnames have taken the place of clan names, and persons with the same surname consider themselves related and do not marry. but usually brahmans prohibit marriage between sapindas or persons related to each other within seven degrees from a common ancestor. the word sapinda signifies those who partake together of the _pindas_ or funeral cakes offered to the dead. the sapindas are also a man's heirs in the absence of closer relations; the group of the sapindas is thus an exact replica within the _gotra_ of the primitive totem clan which was exogamous and constituted by the tie of living and eating together. similarly marriage at rome was prohibited to seven degrees of relationship through males within the _gens_, [178] and this exogamous group of kinsmen appear to have been the body of agnatic kinsmen within the _gens_ who are referred to by sir h. maine as a man's ultimate heirs. [179] at athens, when a contest arose upon a question of inheritance, the proper legal evidence to establish kinship was the proof that the alleged ancestor and the alleged heir observed a common worship and shared in the same repast in honour of the dead. [180] the distant heirs were thus a group within the athenian g'enoc corresponding to the sapindas and bound by the same tie of eating together. professor hearn states that there is no certain evidence that the roman _gens_ and greek g'enoc were originally exogamous, but we find that of the roman matrons whose names are known to us none married a husband with her own gentile name; and further, that plutarch, in writing of the romans, says that in former days men did not marry women of their own blood or, as in the preceding sentence he calls them, kinswomen suggen'idac, just as in his own day they did not marry their aunts or sisters; and he adds that it was long before they consented to wed with cousins. [181] professor hearn's opinion was that the hindu _gotra_, the roman _gens_ and the greek g'enoc were originally the same institution, the exogamous clan with male descent, and all the evidence available, as well as the close correspondence in other respects of early hindu institutions with those of the greek and latin cities would tend to support this view. 75. comparison of hindu society with that of greece and rome. the _gens_. in the admirable account of the early constitution of the city-states of greece and italy contained in the work of m. fustel de coulanges, _la cité antique_, a close resemblance may be traced with the main strata of hindu society given earlier in this essay. the roman state was composed of a number of _gentes_ or clans, each _gens_ tracing its descent from a common ancestor, whose name it usually bore. the termination of the gentile name in _ius_ signified descendant, as claudius, fabius, and so on. similarly the names of the athenian g'enh or clans ended in _ides_ or _ades_, as butades, phytalides, which had the same signification. [182] the gentile or clan name was the _nomen_ or principal name, just as the personal names of the members of the totem-clans were at first connected with the totems. the members of the _gens_ lived together on a section of the city land and cultivated it under the control of the head of the _gens_. the original _ager romanus_ is held to have been 115 square miles or about 74,000 acres, [183] and this was divided up among the clans. the heads of clans originally lived on their estates and went in to rome for the periodical feasts and other duties. the principal family or eldest branch of the _gens_ in the descent from a common ancestor ranked above the others, and its head held the position of a petty king in the territory of the _gens_. in greece he was called >'anax or basile'uc. [184] originally the roman senate consisted solely of the heads of _gentes,_ and the consuls, flamens and augurs were also chosen exclusively from them; they were known as _patres_; after the expulsion of the kings, fresh senators were added from the junior branches of the _gentes_, of which there were at this period 160, and these were known as _patres conscripti_ [185]. the distinction between the eldest and junior branches of the _gentes_ may have corresponded to the distinction between the kshatriyas and vaishyas, though as practically nothing is known of the constitution of the original kshatriyas, this can only be hypothetical. 76. the clients. within the _gens_, and living in the household or households of its members, there existed a body of slaves, and also another class of persons called clients. [186] the client was a servant and dependant; he might be assigned a plot of land by his patron, but at first could not transmit it nor hold it against his patron. it is probable that originally he had no right of property of his own, but he gradually acquired it. first he obtained a right of occupancy in his land and of its devolution to his son if he had one. finally he was given the power of making a will. but he was still obliged to contribute to such expenses of the patron as ransom in war, fines imposed by the courts, or the dowry of a daughter. [187] the client was considered as a member of the family and bore its name. [188] but he was not a proper member of the family or _gens_, because his pedigree never ascended to a _pater_ or the head of a _gens_. [189] it was incumbent on the patron to protect the client, and guard his interests both in peace and war. the client participated in the household and gentile sacrifices and worshipped the gods of the _gens_. [190] at first the people of rome consisted of three classes, the patricians, the clients and the plebeians. in course of time, as the rights and privileges of the plebeians increased after the appointment of tribunes, their position, from having originally been much inferior, became superior to that of the clients, and the latter preferred to throw off the tie uniting them to their patrons and become merged in the plebeians. in this manner the intermediate class of clients at length entirely disappeared. [191] these clients must not be confused with the subsequent class of the same name, who are found during the later period of the republic and the empire, and were the voluntary supporters or hangers-on of rich men. it would appear that these early clients corresponded very closely to the household servants of the indian cultivators, from whom the village menial castes were developed. the roman client was sometimes a freed slave, but this would not have made him a member of the family, even in a subordinate position. apparently the class of clients may have to a great extent originated in mixed descent, as the indian household and village menials probably did. this view would account satisfactorily for the client's position as a member of the family but not a proper one. from the fact that they were considered one of the three principal divisions of the people it is clear that the clients must at one time have been numerous and important. 77. the plebeians. below the clients came the plebeians, whose position, as m. fustel de coulanges himself points out, corresponded very closely to that of the sudras. the plebeians had no religion and no ancestors; they did not belong to a family or a _gens_. [192] they were a despised and abject class, who lived like beasts outside the proper boundary of the city. the touch of the plebeian was impure. [193] "when tribunes were created a special law was necessary to protect their life and liberty, and it was promulgated as follows: 'it is forbidden to strike or kill a tribune, as if he was an ordinary plebeian.' it would appear then that a patrician had the right to strike or kill an ordinary plebeian, or at least that he was amenable to no legal punishment for doing so." [194] similarly in the ancient greek cities the citizens were known as >agajo'i or good, and the plebeians as kako'i or bad. this latter class is described by the poet theognis as having had aforetime neither tribunals nor laws; they were not allowed even to enter the town, but lived outside like wild beasts. they had no part in the religious feasts and could not intermarry with the proper citizens. [195] this position corresponds exactly with that of the sudras and the existing impure castes, who have to live outside the village and cannot enter or even approach hindu temples. m. de coulanges considers that the plebeians were to a large extent made up of conquered and subjected peoples. an asylum was also established at rome for broken men and outlaws from other cities, with a view to increasing the population and strength of the state. subsequently the class of clients became absorbed among the plebeians. 78. the binding social tie in the city-states. thus the gradation of society in the city-states of greece and italy, the account given above being typical of them all, is seen to correspond fairly closely with that of the hindus, as exemplified in the hindu classics and the microcosm of hindu society, the village community. it is desirable, therefore, to inquire what was the tie which united the members of the _gens_, the _curia_ or _phratry_, and the city, and which distinguished the patricians from the plebeians. on this point m. fustel de coulanges leaves us in no doubt at all. the bond of union among all these bodies was a common sacrifice or sacrificial meal, at which all the members had to be present. "the principal ceremony of the religion of the household was a meal, which was called a sacrifice. to eat a meal prepared on an altar was, according to all appearance, the first form of religious worship." [196] "the principal ceremony of the religion of the city was also a public feast; it had to be partaken of communally by all the citizens in honour of the tutelary deities. the custom of holding these public feasts was universal in greece; and it was believed that the safety of the city depended on their accomplishment." [197] m. de coulanges quotes from the _odyssey_ an account of one of these sacred feasts at which nine long tables were set out for the people of pylos; five hundred citizens were seated and nine bulls were slaughtered for each table. when orestes arrived at athens after the murder of his mother, he found the people, assembled round their king, about to hold the sacred feast. similar feasts were held and numerous victims were slaughtered in xenophon's time. [198] at these meals the guests were crowned with garlands and the vessels were of a special form and material, such as copper or earthenware, no doubt dating from the antique past. [199] as regards the importance and necessity of being present at the gentile sacrificial feast, the same author states: "the capitol was blockaded by the gauls; but fabius left it and passed through the hostile lines, clad in religious garb, and carrying in his hand the sacred objects; he was going to offer a sacrifice on the altar of his _gens_ which was situated on the quirinal. in the second punic war another fabius, he who was called the buckler of rome, was holding hannibal in check; it was assuredly of the greatest importance to the republic that he should not leave his army; he left it, however, in the hands of the imprudent minucius; it was because the anniversary day of the sacrifice of his _gens_ had come and it was necessary that he should hasten to rome to perform the sacred rite." in greece the members of the _gens_ were known by the fact that they performed communal sacrifices together from a remote period. [200] as already seen, a communal sacrifice meant the eating together of the sacred food, whether the flesh of a victim or grain. 79. the suovetaurilia. the roman city sacrifice of the suovetaurilia, as described by m. de coulanges, is of the greatest interest. the magistrate whose duty it was to accomplish it, that is in the first place the king, after him the consul, and after him the censor, had first to take the auspices and ascertain that the gods were favourable. then he summoned the people through a herald by a consecrated form of words. on the appointed day all the citizens assembled outside the walls; and while they stood silent the magistrate proceeded three times round the assembly, driving before him three victims--a pig, a ram and a bull. the combination of these three victims constituted with the greeks as well as the romans an expiatory sacrifice. priests and attendants followed the procession: when the third round had been accomplished, the magistrate pronounced a prayer and slaughtered the victims. from this moment all sins were expiated, and neglect of religious duties effaced, and the city was at peace with its gods. there were two essential features of this ceremony: the first, that no stranger should be present at it; and the second, that no citizen should be absent from it. in the latter case the whole city might not have been freed from impurity. the suovetaurilia was therefore preceded by a census, which was conducted with the greatest care both at rome and athens. the citizen who was not enrolled and was not present at the sacrifice could no longer be a member of the city. he could be beaten and sold as a slave, this rule being relaxed only in the last two centuries of the republic. only male citizens were present at the sacrifice, but they gave a list of their families and belongings to the censor, and these were considered to be purified through the head of the family. [201] this sacrifice was called a _lustratio_ or purification, and in the historical period was considered to be expiatory. but it does not seem probable that this was its original significance. for there would not in that case have been the paramount necessity for every citizen to be present. all females and children under power were purified through the list given to the censor, and there seems no reason why absent citizens could not have been purified in the same manner. but participation in this sacrifice was itself the very test and essence of citizenship. and it has been seen that a public meal was the principal religious rite of the city. the conclusion therefore seems reasonable that the suovetaurilia was originally also a sacrificial meal of which each citizen partook, and that the eating of the deified domestic animals in common was the essence of the rite and the act which conferred the privilege of citizenship. the driving of the sacrificial animals round the citizens three times might well be a substitute for the previous communal meal, if for any reason, such as the large number of citizens, the practice of eating them had fallen into abeyance. the original ground for the taking of a census was to ensure that all the citizens were present at the communal sacrifice; and it was by the place which a man occupied on this day that his rank in the city was determined till the next sacrifice. if the censor counted him among the senators, he remained a senator; if among the equites, he remained a knight; if as a simple member of a tribe, he belonged henceforward to the tribe in which he was counted. if the censor refused to enumerate him, he was no longer a citizen. [202] such was the vital importance of the act of participation in the sacrifice. 80. the sacrifice of the domestic animal. the roman sacrifice of the suovetaurilia was in no way peculiar, similar rites being found in other greek and latin cities. some instances are recorded in the article on kasai, and in _themis_ [203] miss jane harrison gives an account of a sacrifice at magnesia in which a bull, ram and heand she-goats were sacrificed to the gods and partaken of communally by the citizens. as already seen, the act of participation in the sacrifice conferred the status of citizenship. the domestic animals were not as a rule eaten, but their milk was drunk, and they were used for transport, and clothes were perhaps sometimes made from their hair and skins. hence they were the principal source of life of the tribe, as the totem had been of the clan, and were venerated and deified. one common life was held to run through all the members of the tribe and all the domestic animals of the species which was its principal means of support. in the totem or hunting stage the clan had necessarily been small, because a large collection of persons could not subsist together by hunting and the consumption of roots and fruits. when an additional means of support was afforded by the domestication of an important animal, a much larger number of persons could live together, and apparently several clans became amalgamated into a tribe. the sanctity of the domestic animals was much greater than that of the totem because they lived with man and partook of his food, which was the strongest tie of kinship; and since he still endowed them with self-consciousness and volition, he thought they had come voluntarily to aid him in sustaining life. both on this account and for fear of injuring the common life they were not usually killed. but it was necessary to primitive man that the tie should take a concrete form and that he should actually assimilate the life of the sacred animal by eating its flesh, and this was accordingly done at a ceremonial sacrifice, which was held annually, and often in the spring, the season of the renewal and increase of life. since this renewal of the communal life was the concrete tie which bound the tribe together, any one who was absent from it could no longer be a member of the tribe. the whole of this rite and the intense importance attached to it are inexplicable except on the supposition that the tie which had originally constituted the totem-clan was the eating of the totem-animal, and that this tie was perpetuated in the tribe by the communal eating of the domestic animal. the communal sacrifice of the domestic animal was, as already seen, typical of society in the tribal or pastoral stage. but one very important case, in addition to those given above and in the article on kasai, remains for notice. the id-ul-zoha or bakr-id festival of the muhammadans is such a rite. in pre-islamic times this sacrifice was held at mecca and all the arab tribes went to mecca to celebrate it. the month in which the sacrifice was held was one of those of truce, when the feuds between the different clans were in abeyance so that they could meet at mecca. muhammad continued the sacrifice of the id-ul-zoha and it is this sacrifice which a good muhammadan takes the pilgrimage to mecca to perform. he must be at mecca on the tenth day of the month of z'ul hijjah and perform the sacrifice there, and unless he does this there is no special merit in making the journey to mecca. it is incumbent on every muhammadan who can afford it to make the pilgrimage to mecca or the hajj once in his life and perform the sacrifice there; and though as a matter of fact only a very small minority of muhammadans now carry out the rule, the pilgrimage and sacrifice may yet be looked upon as the central and principal rite of the muhammadan religion. all muhammadans who cannot go to mecca nevertheless celebrate the sacrifice at home at the indian festival of the id-ul-zoha and the turkish and egyptian idu-bairam. at the id-ul-zoha any one of four domestic animals, the camel, the cow, the sheep or the goat, may be sacrificed; and this rule makes it a connecting link between the two great semitic sacrifices described in the article on kasai, the camel sacrifice of the arabs in pre-islamic times and the passover of the jews. at the present time one-third of the flesh of the sacrificial animal should be given to the poor, one-third to relations, and the remainder to the sacrificer's own family. [204] though it has now become a household sacrifice, the communal character thus still partly survives. 81. sacrifices of the _gens_ and phratry. both in athens and rome there was a division known as phratry or _curia_. this apparently consisted of a collection of _gentes_, g'enh, or clans, and would correspond roughly to a hindu subcaste. the evidence does not show, however, that it was endogamous. the bond which united the phratry or _curia_ was precisely the same as that of the _gens_ or clan and the city. it consisted also in a common meal, which was prepared on the altar, and was eaten with the recitation of prayers, a part being offered to the god, who was held to be present. at athens on feast-days the members of the phratry assembled round their altar. a victim was sacrificed and its flesh cooked on the altar, and divided among the members of the phratry, great care being taken that no stranger should be present. a young athenian was presented to the phratry by his father, who swore that the boy was his son. a victim was sacrificed and cooked on the altar in the presence of all the members of the phratry; if they were doubtful of the boy's legitimacy, and hence wished to refuse him admittance, as they had the right to do, they refused to remove the flesh from the altar. if they did not do this, but divided and partook of the flesh with the candidate, he was finally and irrevocably admitted to the phratry. the explanation of this custom, m. de coulanges states, is that food prepared on an altar and eaten by a number of persons together, was believed to establish between them a sacred tie which endured through life. [205] even a slave was to a certain degree admitted into the family by the same tie of common eating of food. at athens he was made to approach the hearth; he was purified by pouring water on his head, and ate some cakes and fruit with the members of the family. this ceremony was analogous to those of marriage and adoption. it signified that the new arrival, hitherto a stranger, was henceforth a member of the family and participated in the family worship. [206] 82. the hindu caste-feasts. the analogy of greece and rome would suggest the probability that the tie uniting the members of the indian caste or subcaste is also participation in a common sacrificial meal, and there is a considerable amount of evidence to support this view. the confarreatio or eating together of the bride and bridegroom finds a close parallel in the family sacrament of the _meher_ or marriage cakes, which has already been described. this would appear formerly to have been a clan rite, and to have marked the admission of the bride to the bridegroom's clan. it is obligatory on relations of the families to attend a wedding and they proceed from great distances to do so, and clerks and other officials are much aggrieved if the exigencies of government business prevent them from obtaining leave. the obligation seems to be of the same character as that which caused fabius to leave the army in order to attend his gentile sacrifice at rome. if he did not attend the gentile sacrifice he was not a member of the _gens_, and if a hindu did not attend the feast of his clan in past times perhaps he did not remain a member of the clan. among the maratha brahmans the girl-bride eats with her husband's relations on this day only to mark her admission into their clan, and among the bengali brahmans, when the wedding guests are collected, the bride comes and puts a little sugar on each of their leaf-plates, which they eat in token of their recognition of her in her new status of married woman. the members of the caste or subcaste also assemble and eat together on three occasions: at a marriage, which will have the effect of bringing new life into the community; at a death, when a life is lost; and at the initiation of a new member or the readmission of an offender temporarily put out of caste. it is a general rule of the caste feasts that all members of the subcaste in the locality must be invited, and if any considerable number of them do not attend, the host's position in the community is impugned. for this reason he has to incur lavish expenditure on the feast, so as to avoid criticism or dissatisfaction among his guests. these consider themselves at liberty to comment freely on the character and quality of the provisions offered to them. in most castes the feast cannot begin until all the guests have assembled; the maheshri banias and one or two other castes are distinguished by the fact that they allow the guests at the _pangat_ or caste feast to begin eating as they arrive. those who bear the host a grudge purposely stay away, and he has to run to their houses and beg them to come, so that his feast can begin. when the feast has begun it was formerly considered a great calamity if any accident should necessitate the rising of the guests before its conclusion. even if a dog or other impure animal should enter the assembly they would not rise. the explanation of this rule was that it would be disrespectful to um deo, the food-god, to interrupt the feast. at the feast each man sits with his bare crossed knees actually touching those of the men on each side of him, to show that they are one brotherhood and one body. if a man sat even a few inches apart from his fellows, people would say he was out of caste; and in recent times, since those out of caste have been allowed to attend the feasts, they sit a little apart in this manner. the gowaris fine a man who uses abusive language to a fellow-casteman at a caste feast, and also one who gets up and leaves the feast without the permission of the caste headman. the hatkars have as the names of two exogamous groups _wakmar_, or one who left the pangat or caste feast while his fellows were eating; and _polya_, or one who did not take off his turban at the feast. it has been seen also [207] that in one or two castes the exogamous sections are named after the offices which their members hold or the duties they perform at the caste feast. among the halbas the illegitimate subcaste surait is also known as chhoti pangat or the inferior feast, with the implication that its members cannot be admitted to the proper feast of the caste, but have an inferior one of their own. 83. taking food at initiation. when an outsider is admitted to the caste the rite is usually connected with food. a man who is to be admitted to the dahait caste must clean his house, break his earthen cooking-vessels and buy new ones, and give a feast to the caste-fellows in his house. he sits and takes food with them, and when the meal is over he takes a grain of rice from the leaf-plate of each guest and eats it, and drinks a drop of water from his leaf-cup. after this he cannot be readmitted to his own caste. a new mehtar or sweeper gives water to and takes bread from each casteman. in mandla a new convert to the panka caste vacates his house and the caste _panchayat_ or committee go and live in it, in order to purify it. he gives them a feast inside the house, while he himself stays outside. finally he is permitted to eat with the _panchayat_ in his own house in order to mark his admission into the caste. a candidate for admission in the mahli caste has to eat a little of the leavings of the food of each of the castemen at a feast. the community of robbers known as badhak or baoria formerly dwelt in the oudh forests. they were accustomed to take omens from the cry of the jackal, and they may probably have venerated it as representing the spirit of the forest and as a fellow-hunter. they were called jackal-eaters, and it was said that when an outsider was admitted to one of their bands he was given jackal's flesh to eat. again, the rite of initiation or investiture with the sacred thread appears to be the occasion of the admission of a boy to the caste community. before this he is not really a member of the caste and may eat any kind of food. the initiation is called by the brahmans the second birth, and appears to be the birth of the soul or spirit. after it the boy will eat the sacrificial food at the caste feasts and be united with the members of the caste and their god. the bodies of children who have not been initiated are buried and not burnt. the reason seems to be that their spirits will not go to the god nor be united with the ancestors, but will be born again. formerly such children were often buried in the house or courtyard so that their spirits might be born again in the same family. the lower castes sometimes consider the rite of ear-piercing as the initiation and sometimes marriage. among the panwar rajputs a child is initiated when about two years old by being given cooked rice and milk to eat. the initiation cannot for some reason be performed by the natural father, but must be done by a _guru_ or spiritual father, who should thereafter be regarded with a reverence equal to or even exceeding that paid to the natural father. 84. penalty feasts. when a man is readmitted to caste after exclusion for some offence, the principal feature of the rite is a feast at which he is again permitted to eat with his fellows. there are commonly two feasts, one known as the _maili roti_ or impure meal, and the other as _chokhi_ or pure, both being at the cost of the offender. the former is eaten by the side of a stream or elsewhere on neutral ground, and by it the offender is considered to be partly purified; the latter is in his own house, and by eating there the castemen demonstrate that no impurity attaches to him, and he is again a full member. some castes, as the dhobas, have three feasts: the first is eaten at the bank of a stream, and at this the offender's hair is shaved and thrown into the stream; the second is in his yard; and the third in his house. the offender is not allowed to partake of the first two meals himself, but he joins in the third, and before it begins the head of the _panchayat_ gives him water to drink in which gold has been dipped as a purificatory rite. among the gonds the flesh of goats is provided at the first meal, but at the second only grain cooked with water, which they now, in imitation of the hindus, consider as the sacred sacrificial food. frequently the view obtains that the head of the caste _panchayat_ takes the offender's sins upon himself by commencing to eat, and in return for this a present of some rupees is deposited beneath his plate. similarly among some castes, as the bahnas, exclusion from caste is known as the stopping of food and water. the gowaris readmit offenders by the joint drinking of opium and water. one member is especially charged with the preparation of this, and if there should not be enough for all the castemen to partake of it, he is severely punished. opium was also considered sacred by the rajputs, and the chief and his kinsmen were accustomed to drink it together as a pledge of amity. [208] 85. sanctity of grain-food. grain cooked with water is considered as sacred food by the hindus. it should be eaten only on a space within the house called _chauka_ purified with cowdung, and sometimes marked out with white quartz-powder or flour. before taking his meal a member of the higher castes should bathe and worship the household gods. at the meal he should wear no sewn clothes, but only a waist-cloth made of silk or wool, and not of cotton. the lower castes will take food cooked with water outside the house in the fields, and are looked down upon for doing this, so that those who aspire to raise their social position abandon the practice, or at least pretend to do so. sir j.g. frazer quotes a passage showing that the ancient brahmans considered the sacrificial rice-cakes cooked with water to be transformed into human bodies. [209] the urdu word _bali_ means a sacrifice or offering, and is applied to the portion of the daily meal which is offered to the gods and to the hearth-fire. thus all grain cooked with water is apparently looked upon as sacred or sacramental food, and it is for this reason that it can only be eaten after the purificatory rites already described. the grain is venerated as the chief means of subsistence, and the communal eating of it seems to be analogous to the sacrificial eating of the domestic animals, such as the camel, horse, ox and sheep, which is described above and in the article on kasai. just as in the hunting stage the eating of the totem-animal, which furnished the chief means of subsistence, was the tie which united the totem-clan: and in the pastoral stage the domestic animal which afforded to the tribe its principal support, not usually as an article of food, but through its milk and its use as a means of transport, was yet eaten sacrificially owing to the persistence of the belief that the essential bond which united the tribe was the communal eating of the flesh of the animal from which the tribe obtained its subsistence: so when the community reaches the agricultural stage the old communal feast is retained as the bond of union, but it now consists of grain, which is the principal support of life. 86. the corn-sprit. the totem-animal was regarded as a kinsman, and the domestic animal often as a god. [210] but in both these cases the life of the kinsman and god was sacrificed in order that the community might be bound together by eating the body and assimilating the life. consequently, when grain came to be the sacrificial food, it was often held that an animal or human being must be sacrificed in the character of the corn-god or spirit, whether his own flesh was eaten or the sacred grain was imagined to be his flesh. numerous instances of the sacrifice of the corn-spirit have been adduced by sir j.g. frazer in _the golden bough_, and it was he who brought this custom prominently to notice. one of the most important cases in india was the meriah-sacrifice of the khonds, which is described in the article on that tribe. two features of the khond sacrifice of a human victim as a corn-spirit appear to indicate its derivation from the sacrifice of the domestic animal and the eating of the totem-animal, the ties uniting the clan and tribe: first, that the flesh was cut from the living victim, and, second, that the sacrifice was communal. when the meriah-victim was bound the khonds hacked at him with their knives while life remained, leaving only the head and bowels untouched, so that each man might secure a strip of flesh. this rite appears to recall the earliest period when the members of the primitive group or clan tore their prey to pieces and ate and drank the raw flesh and blood. the reason for its survival was apparently that it was the actual life of the divine victim, existing in concrete form in the flesh and blood which they desired to obtain, and they thought that this end was more certainly achieved by cutting the flesh off him while he was still alive. in the sacrifice of the camel in arabia the same procedure was followed; the camel was bound on an altar and the tribesmen cut the flesh from the body with their knives and swallowed it raw and bleeding. [211] m. salomon reinach shows how the memory of similar sacrifices in greece has been preserved in legend: [212] "actaeon was really a great stag sacrificed by women devotees, who called themselves the great hind and the little hinds; he became the rash hunter who surprised artemis at her bath and was transformed into a stag and devoured by his own dogs. the dogs are a euphemism; in the early legend they were the human devotees of the sacred stag who tore him to pieces and devoured him with their bare teeth. these feasts of raw flesh survived in the secret religious cults of greece long after uncooked food had ceased to be consumed in ordinary life. orpheus (_ophreus,_ the haughty), who appears in art with the skin of a fox on his head, was originally a sacred fox devoured by the women of the fox totem-clan; these women call themselves bassarides in the legend, and _bassareus_ is one of the old names of the fox. hippolytus in the fable is the son of theseus who repels the advances of phaedra, his stepmother, and was killed by his runaway horses because theseus, deceived by phaedra, invoked the anger of a god upon him. but hippolytus in greek means 'one torn to pieces by horses.' hippolytus is himself a horse whom the worshippers of the horse, calling themselves horses and disguised as such, tore to pieces and devoured." all such sacrifices in which the flesh was taken from the living victim may thus perhaps be derived from the common origin of totemism. the second point about the khond sacrifice is that it was communal; every householder desired a piece of the flesh, and for those who could not be present at the sacrifice relays of messengers were posted to carry it to them while it was still fresh and might be supposed to retain the life. they did not eat the strips of flesh, but each householder buried his piece in his field, which they believed would thereby be fertilised and caused to produce the grain which they would eat. the death of the victim was considered essential to the life of the tribe, which would be renewed and strengthened by it as in the case of the sacrifice of the domestic animal. lord avebury gives in _the origin of civilisation_ [213] an almost exact parallel to the khond sacrifice in which the flesh of the victim actually was eaten. this occurred among the marimos, a tribe of south africa much resembling the bechuanas. the ceremony was called 'the boiling of the corn.' a young man, stout but of small stature, was usually selected and secured by violence or by intoxicating him with _yaala_. "they then lead him into the fields, and sacrifice him in the fields, according to their own expression, _for seed_. his blood, after having been coagulated by the rays of the sun, is burned along with the frontal bone, the flesh attached to it and the brain. the ashes are then scattered over the fields to fertilise them and the remainder of the body is eaten." in other cases quoted by the same author an image only was made of flour and eaten instead of a human being: [214] "in mexico at a certain period of the year the priest of quetzalcoatl made an image of the deity, of meal mixed with infants' blood, and then, after many impressive ceremonies, killed the image by shooting it with an arrow, and tore out the heart, which was eaten by the king, while the rest of the body was distributed among the people, every one of whom was anxious to procure a piece to eat, however small." here the communal sacrificial meal, the remaining link necessary to connect the sacrifice of the corn-spirit with that of the domestic animal and clan totem, is present. among cases of animals sacrificed as the corn-spirit in india that of the buffalo at the dasahra festival is the most important. the rite extends over most of india, and a full and interesting account of it has recently been published by mr. w. crooke. [215] the buffalo is probably considered as the corn-spirit because it was the animal which mainly damaged the crops in past times. where the sacrifice still survives the proprietor of the village usually makes the first cut in the buffalo and it is then killed and eaten by the inferior castes, as hindus cannot now touch the flesh. in the deccan after the buffalo is killed the mahars rush on the carcase and each one secures a piece of the flesh. this done they go in procession round the walls, calling on the spirits and demons, and asking them to accept the pieces of meat as offerings, which are then thrown to them backwards over the wall. [216] the buffalo is now looked upon in the light of a scape-goat, but the procedure described above cannot be satisfactorily explained on the scape-goat theory, and would appear clearly to have been substituted for the former eating of the flesh. in the maratha districts the lower castes have a periodical sacrifice of a pig to the sun; they eat the flesh of the pig together, and even the panwar rajputs of the waringanga valley join in the sacrifice and will allow the impure caste of mahars to enter their houses and eat of this sacrifice with them, though at other times the entry of a mahar would defile a panwar's house. [217] the pig is sacrificed either as the animal which now mainly injures the crops or because it was the principal sacrificial animal of the non-aryan tribes, or from a combination of both reasons. probably it may be regarded as the corn-spirit because pigs are sacrificed to bhanisasur or the buffalo demon for the protection of the crops. 87. the king. when the community reached the national or agricultural stage some central executive authority became necessary for its preservation. this authority usually fell into the hands of the priest who performed the sacrifice, and he became a king. since the priest killed the sacrificial animal in which the common life of the community was held to be centred, it was thought that the life passed to him and centred in his person. for the idea of the extinction of life was not properly understood, and the life of a human being or animal might pass by contact, according to primitive ideas, to the person or even the weapon which killed it, just as it could pass by assimilation to those who ate the flesh. in most of the city-states of greece and italy the primary function of the kings was the performance of the communal or national sacrifices. through this act they obtained political power as representing the common life of the people, and its performance was sometimes left to them after their political power had been taken away. [218] after the expulsion of the kings from rome the duty of performing the city sacrifices devolved on the consuls. in india also the kings performed sacrifices. when a king desired to be paramount over his neighbours he sent a horse to march through their territories. if it passed through them without being captured they became subordinate to the king who owned the horse. finally the horse was sacrificed at the ashva-medha, the king paramount making the sacrifice, while the other kings performed subordinate parts at it. [219] similarly the raja of nagpur killed the sacrificial buffalo at the dasahra festival. but the common life of the people was sometimes conveyed from the domestic animal to the king by other methods than the performance of a sacrifice. the king of unyoro in africa might never eat vegetable food but must subsist on milk and beef. mutton he might not touch, though he could drink beer after partaking of meat. a sacred herd was kept for the king's use, and nine cows, neither more nor less, were daily brought to the royal enclosure to be milked for his majesty. the boy who brought the cows from the pasture to the royal enclosure must be a member of a particular clan and under the age of puberty, and was subject to other restrictions. the milk for the king was drawn into a sacred pot which neither the milkman nor anybody else might touch. the king drank the milk, sitting on a sacred stool, three times a day, and any which was left over must be drunk by the boy who brought the cows from pasture. numerous other rules and restrictions are detailed by sir j.g. frazer, and it may be suggested that their object was to ensure that the life of the domestic animal and with it the life of the people should be conveyed pure and undefiled to the king through the milk. the kings of unyoro had to take their own lives while their bodily vigour was still unimpaired. when the period for his death arrived the king asked his wife for a cup of poison and drank it. "the public announcement of the death was made by the chief milkman. taking a pot of the sacred milk in his hands he mounted the house-top and cried, 'who will drink the milk?' with these words he dashed the pot on the roof; it rolled off and falling to the ground was broken in pieces. that was the signal for war to the death between the princes who aspired to the throne. they fought till only one was left alive. he was the king." [220] after completing the above account, of which only the principal points have been stated, sir j.g. frazer remarks: "the rule which obliged the kings of unyoro to kill themselves or be killed before their strength of mind and body began to fail through disease or age is only a particular example of a custom which appears to have prevailed widely among barbarous tribes in africa and to some extent elsewhere. apparently this curious practice rests on a belief that the welfare of the people is sympathetically bound up with the welfare of their king, and that to suffer him to fall into bodily or mental decay would be to involve the whole kingdom in ruin." [221] other instances connecting the life of the king with the ox or other domestic animal are given in _totemism and exogamy_ and _the golden bough_ [222] among the hereros the body of a dead chief was wrapped up in the hide of an ox before being buried. [223] in the vedic horse-sacrifice in india the horse was stifled in robes. the chief queen approached him; a cloak having been thrown over them both, she performed a repulsively obscene act symbolising the transmission to her of his fructifying powers. [224] in other cases the king was identified with the corn-spirit, and in this manner he also, it may be suggested, represented the common life of the people. the belief that the king was the incarnation of the common life of the people led to the most absurd restrictions on his liberty and conduct, a few instances of which from the large collection in _the golden bough_ have been quoted in the article on nai. thus in an old account of the daily life of the mikado it is stated: "in ancient times he was obliged to sit on the throne for some hours every morning, with the imperial crown on his head, but to sit altogether like a statue, without stirring either hands or feet, head or eyes, nor indeed any part of his body, because, by this means, it was thought that he could preserve peace and tranquillity in his empire; for if, unfortunately, he turned himself on one side or the other, or if he looked a good while towards any part of his dominions, it was apprehended that war, famine, fire or some great misfortune was near at hand to desolate the country." [225] here it would appear that by sitting absolutely immobile the king conferred the quality of tranquillity on the common life of his people incarnate in his person; but by looking too long in any one direction he would cause a severe disturbance of the common life in the part to which he looked. and when the israelites were fighting with the amalekites, so long as moses held up his hands the israelites prevailed; but when his hands hung down they gave way before the enemy. here apparently the common life was held to be centred in moses, and when he held his arms up it was vigorous, but declined as he let them down. similarly it was often thought that the king should be killed as soon as his bodily strength showed signs of waning, so that the common life might be renewed and saved from a similar decay. even the appearance of grey hair or the loss of a tooth were sometimes considered sufficient reasons for putting the king to death in africa. [226] another view was that any one who killed the king was entitled to succeed him, because the life of the king, and with it the common life of the people, passed to the slayer, just as it had previously passed from the domestic animal to the priest-king who sacrificed it. one or two instances of succession by killing the king are given in the article on bhil. sometimes the view was that the king should be sacrificed annually, or at other intervals, like the corn-spirit or domestic animal, for the renewal of the common life. and this practice, as shown by sir j.g. frazer, tended to result in the substitution of a victim, usually a criminal or slave, who was identified with the king by being given royal honours for a short time before his death. sometimes the king's son or daughter was offered as a substitute for him, and such a sacrifice was occasionally made in time of peril, apparently as a means of strengthening or preserving the common life. when chitor, the home of the sesodia clan of rajputs, was besieged by the muhammadans, the tradition is that the goddess of their house appeared and demanded the sacrifice of twelve chiefs as a condition of its preservation. eleven of the chiefs sons were in turn crowned as king, and each ruled for three days, while on the fourth he sallied out and fell in battle. lastly, the rana offered himself in order that his favourite son, ajeysi, might be spared and might perpetuate the clan. in reality the chief and his sons seem to have devoted themselves in the hope that the sacrifice of the king might bring strength and victory to the clan. the sacrifice of iphigenia and possibly of jephthah's daughter appear to be parallel instances. the story of alcestis may be an instance of the substitution of the king's wife. the position of the king in early society and the peculiar practices and beliefs attaching to it were brought to notice and fully illustrated by sir j.g. frazer. the argument as to the clan and the veneration of the domestic animal follows that outlined by the late professor robertson smith in _the religion of the semites_. 88. other instances of the common meal as a sacrificial rite. some other instances of the communal eating of grain or other food as a sacramental rite and bond of union have been given in the articles. thus at a kabirpanthi chauka or religious service the priest breaks a cocoanut on a stone, and the flesh is cut up and distributed to the worshippers with betel-leaf and sugar. each receives it on his knees, taking the greatest care that none falls on the ground. the cocoanut is commonly regarded by the hindus as a substituted offering for a human head. the betel-leaves which are distributed have been specially consecrated by the head priest of the sect, and are held to represent the body of kabir. [227] similarly, guru govind singh instituted a _prasad_ or communion among the sikhs, in which cakes of flour, butter and sugar are made and consecrated with certain ceremonies while the communicants sit round in prayer, and are then distributed equally to all the faithful present, to whatever caste they may belong. at a guru-mata or great council of the sikhs, which was held at any great crisis in the affairs of the state, these cakes were laid before the sikh scriptures and then eaten by all present, who swore on the scriptures to forget their internal dissensions and be united. among the rajputs the test of legitimacy of a member of the chief's family was held to depend on whether he had eaten of the chief's food. the rice cooked at the temple of jagannath in orissa may be eaten there by all castes together, and, when partaken of by two men together, is held to establish a bond of indissoluble friendship between them. members of several low castes of mixed origin will only take food with their relatives, and not with other families of the caste with whom they intermarry. [228] the chaukhutia bhunjias will not eat food cooked by other members of the same community, and will not take it from their own daughters after the latter are married. at a feast among the dewars uncooked food is distributed to the guests, who cook it for themselves; parents will not accept cooked food either from married sons or daughters, and each family with its children forms a separate commensal group. thus the taking of food together is a more important and sacred tie than intermarriage. in most hindu castes a man is not put out of caste for committing adultery with a woman of low caste, but for taking cooked food from her hands; though it is assumed that if he lives with her openly he must necessarily have accepted cooked food from her. opium and alcoholic liquor or wine, being venerated on account of their intoxicating qualities, were sometimes regarded as substitutes for the sacrificial food and partaken of sacramentally. [229] 89. funeral feasts. an important class of communal meals remaining for discussion consists in the funeral feasts. the funeral feast seems a peculiar and unseasonable observance, but several circumstances point to the conclusion that it was originally held in the dead man's own interest. he or his spirit was indeed held to participate in the feast, and it seems to have been further thought that unless he did so and ate the sacred food, his soul would not proceed to the heaven or god, but would wander about as an unquiet spirit or meet with some other fate. many of the lower hindu castes, such as the kohlis and bishnois, take food after a funeral, seated by the side of the grave. this custom is now considered somewhat derogatory, perhaps in consequence of a truer realisation of the fact of death. at a baiga funeral the mourners take one white and one black fowl to a stream and kill and eat them there, setting aside a portion for the dead man. the gonds also take their food and drink liquor at the grave. the lohars think that the spirit of the dead man returns to join in the funeral feast. among the telugu koshtis the funeral party go to the grave on the fifth day, and after the priest has worshipped the image of vishnu on the grave, the whole party take their food there. after a panka funeral the mourners bathe and then break a cocoanut over the grave and distribute it among themselves. on the tenth day they go again and break a cocoanut, and each man buries a little piece of it in the earth over the grave. among the tameras, at the feast with which mourning is concluded, a leaf-plate containing a portion for the deceased is placed outside the house with a pot of water and a burning lamp to guide his spirit to the food. on the third day after death the kolhatis sometimes bring back the skull of a corpse and, placing it on the bed, offer to it powder, dates and betel-leaves, and after a feast lasting for three days it is again buried. it is said that the members of the lingayat sect formerly set up the corpse in their midst at the funeral feast and sat round it, taking their food, but the custom is not known to exist at present. among the bangalas, an african negro tribe, at a great funeral feast lasting for three days in honour of the chief's son, the corpse was present at the festivities tied in a chair. [230] 90. the hindu deities and the sacrificial meal. thus there seems reason to suppose that the caste-tie of the hindus is the same as that which united the members of the city-states of greece and italy, that is the eating of a sacramental food together. among the vedic aryans that country only was considered pure and fit for sacrifice in which the aryan gods had taken up their residence. [231] hindustan was made a pure country in which aryans could offer sacrifices by the fact that agni, the sacrificial god of fire, spread himself over it. but the gods have changed. the old vedic deities indra, the rain-god, varuna, the heaven-god, the maruts or winds, and soma, the divine liquor, have fallen into neglect. these were the principal forces which controlled the existence of a nomad pastoral people, dependent on rain to make the grass grow for their herds, and guiding their course by the sun and stars. the soma or liquor apparently had a warming, exhilarating effect in the cold climate of the central asian steppes, and was therefore venerated. since in the hot plains of india abstinence from alcoholic liquor has become a principal religious tenet of high-caste hindus, soma is naturally no more heard of. agni, the fire-god, was also one of the greatest deities to the nomads of the cold uplands, as the preserver of life against cold. but in india, except as represented by the hearth, for cooking, little regard is paid to him, since fires are not required for warmth. new gods have arisen in hinduism. the sun was an important vedic deity, both as mitra and under other names. vishnu as the sun, or the spirit of whom the sun is the visible embodiment, has become the most important deity in his capacity of the universal giver and preserver of life. he is also widely venerated in his anthropomorphic forms of rama, the hero-prince of ajodhia and leader of the aryan expedition to ceylon, and krishna, the divine cowherd, perhaps some fabled hero sprung from the indigenous tribes. siva is the mountain-god of the himalayas and a moon-deity, and in his character of god of destruction the lightning and cobra are associated with him. but he is really worshipped in his beneficent form of the phallic emblem as the agent of life, and the bull, the fertiliser of the soil and provider of food. devi, the earth, is the great mother goddess. sprung from her are hanuman, the monkey-god, and ganpati, the elephant-god, and in one of her forms, as the terrible goddess kali, she is perhaps the deified tiger. [232] lachmi, the goddess of wealth, and held to have been evolved from the cow, is the consort of vishnu. it was thus not the god to whom the sacrifice was offered, but the sacrifice itself that was the essential thing, and participation in the common eating of the sacrifice constituted the bond of union. in early times a sacrifice was the occasion for every important gathering or festivity, as is shown both in indian history and legend. and the caste feasts above described seem to be the continuation and modern form of the ancient sacrifice. 91. development of the occupational caste from the tribe. the roman population, as already seen, consisted of a set of clans or _gentes_. the clans were collected in tribal groups such as the _curia_, but it does not appear that these latter were endogamous. the rite which constituted a roman citizen was participation in the suovetaurilia, the communal sacrifice of the domestic animals, the pig, the ram, and the bull. since all the roman citizens at first lived in a comparatively small area, they were all able to be present at the sacrifice. the other states of greece and italy had an analogous constitution, as stated by m. fustel de coulanges. it may be supposed that the aryans were similarly divided into clans and tribes. the word _visha,_ the substantive root of vaishya, originally meant a clan. [233] but as pointed out by m. senart, they did not form city-states in india, but settled in villages over a large area of country. their method of government was by small states under kings, and probably they had a kind of national constitution, of which the king was the centre and embodiment. but these states gradually lost their individuality, and were merged in large empires, where the king could no longer be the centre of the state or of the common life of his people, nor perform a sacrifice at which they could all be present, as the roman kings did. this religious idea of nationality, based on participation in a common sacrifice, was the only one which existed in early times. thus apparently the aryans retained their tribal constitution instead of expanding it into a national one, and the members of clans within a certain local area gathered for a communal sacrifice. but there was a great class, that of the sudras or indigenous inhabitants, who could not join in the sacrifices at all. and between the sudras and the vaishyas or main body of the aryans there gradually grew up another mixed class, which also could not properly participate in them. the priests and rulers, brahmans and kshatriyas, tended to form exclusive bodies, and in this manner a classification by occupation gradually grew up, the distinction being marked by participation in separate sacrificial feasts. the cause which ultimately broke down the religious distinctions of the roman and greek states was the development of a feeling of nationality. in the common struggle for the preservation of the city the prejudices of the patricians weakened, and after a long internal conflict, the plebeians were admitted to full rights of citizenship. the plebeians were employed as infantry in the roman armies, while the patricians rode, and the increased importance of infantry in war was one great cause of the improvement in the position of the plebeians. [234] in india, in the absence of any national feeling, and with the growth of a large and powerful priestly order, religious barriers and prejudices became accentuated rather than weakened. the class distinctions grew more rigid, and gradually, as the original racial line of cleavage was fused by intermarriage and the production of groups of varying status, these came to arrange themselves on a basis of occupation. this is the inevitable and necessary rule in all societies whose activities and mode of life are at all complicated. racial distinctions cannot be preserved unless in the most exceptional cases, where they are accentuated by the difference of colour, and such a moral and social gulf as that which exists between the whites and negroes in north america. in primitive society there is no such mental cleavage to render the idea of fusion abhorrent to the superior race; the bar is religious, and while it places the inferior race in a despised and abject position, there is no prohibition of illicit unions nor any such moral feeling or principle as would tend to restrict them. the ideas of the responsibilities and duties of parentage in connection with heredity, or the science of eugenics, are entirely modern, and have no place at all in ancient society. as racial and religious distinctions fade away, and social progress takes place, a fresh set of divisions by wealth and occupation grows up. but though this happened also in the greek and italian cities, the old religious divisions were not transferred to the new occupational groups, but fell slowly into abeyance, and the latter assumed the simply social character which they have in modern communities. the main reason for the obliteration of religious barriers, as already stated, was the growth of the idea of nationality and the public interest. but in india the feeling of nationality never arose. the hindu states and empires had no national basis, since at the period in question the only way in which the idea of nationality could be conceived, was by participation of the citizens in a common sacrifice, and this participation is only possible to persons living in a small local area. hence hindu society developed on its own lines independently of the form of government to which it was subject, and in the new grouping by occupation the old communal sacrifices were preserved and adapted to the fresh divisions. the result was the growth of the system of occupational castes which still exists. but since the basis of society was the participation of each social group in a communal meal, the group could not be extended to take in persons of the same occupation over a large area, and as a result the widely ramified system of subcastes came into existence. the subcaste or commensal group was the direct evolutionary product of the pre-existing tribe. its size was limited by the fact that its members had to meet at the periodical sacrificial feasts, by which their unity and the tie which bound them together was cemented and renewed. as already seen, when members of a subcaste migrated to a fresh local area, and were cut off from communication with those remaining behind, they tended as a rule to form a fresh endogamous and commensal group. since the tie between the members of the subcaste was participation in a sacrificial meal of grain cooked with water, and as this food was held to be sacred, the members of the subcaste came to refuse to eat it except with those who could join in the communal feast; and as the idea gradually gained acceptance, that a legitimate child must be the offspring of a father and mother both belonging to the commensal group, the practice of endogamy within the subcaste became a rule. 92. veneration of the caste implements. since all the citizens of the roman state participated in a common sacrifice, they might be considered as a single caste, or even a subcaste or commensal group. the hindu castes have a common ceremony which presents some analogy to that of the roman state. they worship or pay homage once or twice a year to the implements of their profession. the occasions for this rite are usually the dasahra festival in september and the fast after the holi festival in march. both these are festivals of the goddess devi or mother earth, when a fast is observed in her honour, first before sowing the spring crops and secondly before reaping them. on each occasion the fast lasts for nine days and the jawaras or pots of wheat corresponding to the gardens of adonis are sown. the fasts and festivals thus belong primarily to the agricultural castes, and they worship the earth-mother, who provides them with subsistence. but the professional and artisan castes also take the occasion to venerate the implements of their profession. thus among the kasars or brass-workers, at the festival of mando amawas or the new moon of chait (march), every kasar must return to the community of which he is a member and celebrate the feast with them. and in default of this he will be expelled from the caste until the next amawas of chait comes round. they close their shops and worship the implements of their profession on this day. the rule is thus the same as that of the roman suovetaurilia. he who does not join in the sacrificial feast ceases to be a member of the community. and the object of veneration is the same; the romans venerated and sacrificed the domestic animals which in the pastoral stage had been their means of subsistence. the kasars and other occupational castes worship the implements of their profession which are also their means of livelihood, or that which gives them life. formerly all these implements were held to be animate, and to produce their effect by their own power and volition. the nats or acrobats of bombay say that their favourite and only living gods are those which give them their bread: the drum, the rope and the balancing-pole. the murha or earth-digger invokes the implements of his trade as follows: "o, my lord the basket, my lord the pickaxe shaped like a snake, and my lady the hod! come and eat up those who do not pay me for my work!" similarly the dhimar venerates his fishing-net, and will not wear shoes of sewn leather, because he thinks that the sacred thread which makes his net is debased if used for shoes. the chamar worships his currier's knife; the ghasia or groom his horse and the peg to which the horse is secured in the stable; the rajput his horse and sword and shield; the writer his inkpot, and so on. the pola festival of the kunbis has a feature resembling the suovetaurilia. on this occasion all the plough-bullocks of the cultivators are mustered and go in procession to a _toran_ or arch constructed of branches and foliage. the bullock of the village proprietor leads the way, and has flaming torches tied to his horns. the bullocks of the other cultivators follow according to the status of each cultivator in the village, which depends upon hereditary right and antiquity of tenure, and not on mere wealth. a kunbi feels bitterly insulted if his bullocks are not awarded the proper place in the procession. a string across the arch is broken by the leading bullock, and the cattle are then all driven helter-skelter through the arch and back to the village. the rite would appear to be a relic of the communal sacrifice of a bullock, the torches tied to the proprietor's bullock signifying that he was formerly killed and roasted. it is now said that this bullock is full of magic, and that he will die within three years. the rite may be compared to the needfire as practised in russia when all the horses of the village were driven between two fires, or through fire, and their bridles thrown into the fire and burnt. the burning of the bridles would appear to be a substitute for the previous sacrifice of the horse. [235] the pola ceremony of the kunbis resembles the roman suovetaurilia inasmuch as all the cultivators participate in it according to their status, just as the rank of roman citizens was determined by their position at the ceremony. formerly, if a bull was sacrificed and eaten sacramentally it would have been practically an exact parallel to the roman rite. 93. the caste _panchayat_ and its code of offences. the tribunal for the punishment of caste offences is known as the _panchayat_, because it usually consists of five persons (_panch_, five). as a rule a separate _panchayat_ exists for every subcaste over an area not too large for all the members of it to meet. in theory, however, the _panchayat_ is only the mouthpiece of the assembly, which should consist of all the members of the subcaste. some castes fine a member who absents himself from the meeting. the _panchayat_ may perhaps be supposed to represent the hand acting on behalf of the subcaste, which is considered the body. the _panchayat_, however, was not the original judge. it was at first the god before whom the parties pleaded their cause, and the god who gave judgment by the method of trial by ordeal. this was probably the general character of primitive justice, and in some of the lower castes the ordeal is still resorted to for decisions. the tribe or subcaste attended as jurors or assessors, and carried out the proceedings, perhaps after having united themselves to the god for the purpose by a sacrificial meal. the _panchayat_, having succeeded the god as the judge, is held to give its decisions by divine inspiration, according to the sayings: 'god is on high and the _panch_ on earth,' and 'the voice of the _panchayat_ is the voice of god.' [236] the headship of the _panchayat_ and the subcaste commonly descends in one family, or did so till recently, and the utmost deference is shown to the person holding it, even though he may be only a boy for the above reason. the offences involving temporary or permanent excommunication from caste are of a somewhat peculiar kind. in the case of both a man and woman, to take food from a person of a caste from whom it is forbidden to do so, and especially from one of an impure caste, is a very serious offence, as is also that of being beaten by a member of an impure caste, especially with a shoe. it is also a serious offence to be sent to jail, because a man has to eat the impure jail food. to be handcuffed is a minor offence, perhaps by analogy with the major one of being sent to jail, or else on account of the indignity involved by the touch of the police. as regards sexual offences, there is no direct punishment for a man as a rule, but if he lives with a low-caste woman he is temporarily expelled because it is assumed that he has taken food from her hands. sometimes a man and woman of the caste committing adultery together are both punished. a married woman who commits adultery should in the higher and middle castes, in theory at least, be permanently expelled, but if her husband does not put her away she is sometimes readmitted with a severe punishment. a girl going wrong with an outsider is as a rule expelled unless the matter can be hushed up, but if she becomes pregnant by a man of the caste, she can often be readmitted with a penalty and married to him or to some other man. there are also some religious crimes, such as killing a cow or a cat or other sacred domestic animal; and in the case of a woman it is a very serious offence to get the lobe of her ear torn apart at the large perforation usually made for earrings; [237] while for either a man or a woman to get vermin in a wound is an offence of the first magnitude, entailing several months' exclusion and large expenditure on readmission. offences against ordinary morality are scarcely found in the category of those entailing punishment. murder must sometimes be expiated by a pilgrimage to the ganges, but other criminal offences against the person and property are not taken cognisance of by the caste committee unless the offender is sent to jail. both in its negative and positive aspects the category of offences affords interesting deductions on the basis of the explanation of the caste system already given. the reason why there is scarcely any punishment for offences against ordinary morality is that the caste organisation has never developed any responsibility for the maintenance of social order and the protection of life and property. it has never exercised the function of government, because in the historical hindu period india was divided into large military states, while since then it has been subject to foreign domination. the social organisation has thus maintained its pristine form, neither influenced by the government nor affording to it any co-operation or support. and the aims of the caste tribunal have been restricted to preserving its own corporate existence free from injury or pollution, which might arise mainly from two sources. if a member's body was rendered impure either by eating impure food or by contact with a person of impure caste it became an unfit receptacle for the sacred food eaten at the caste feast, which bound its members together in one body. this appears to be the object of the rules about food. and since the blood of the clan and of the caste is communicated by descent through the father under the patriarchal system, adultery on the part of a married woman would bring a stranger into the group and undermine its corporate existence and unity. hence the severity of the punishment for the adultery of a married woman, which is a special feature of the patriarchal system. it has already been seen that under the rule of female descent, as shown by mr. hartland in _primitive paternity_, the chastity of women was as a rule scarcely regarded at all or even conceived of. after the change to the patriarchal system a similar laxity seems to have prevailed for some period, and it was thought that any child born to a man in his house or on his bed was his own, even though he might not be the father. this idea obtained among the arabs, as pointed out by professor robertson smith in _kinship and marriage in early arabia_, and is also found in the hindu classics, and to some extent even in modern practice. it was perhaps based on the virtue assigned to concrete facts; just as the hindus think that a girl is properly married by going through the ceremony with an arrow or a flower, and that the fact of two children being suckled by the same woman, though she is not their mother, establishes a tie akin to consanguinity between them, so they might have thought that the fact of a boy being born in a man's house constituted him the man's son. subsequently, however, the view came to be held that the clan blood was communicated directly through the father, to whom the life of the child was solely assigned in the early patriarchal period. and the chastity of married women then became of vital importance to the community, because the lack of it would cause strangers to be born into the clan, which now based its tie of kinship on descent from a common male ancestor. thus the adultery of women became a crime which would undermine the foundations of society and the state, and as such was sometimes punished with death among communities in the early patriarchal stage. it is this view, and not simply moral principle, which has led to the severe caste penalties for the offence. some of the primitive tribes care nothing about the chastity of unmarried girls, but punish unfaithful wives rigorously. among the maria gonds a man will murder his wife for infidelity, but girls are commonly unchaste. another rule sometimes found is that an unmarried girl becoming with child by an outsider is put out of caste for the time. when her child, which does not belong to the caste, has been born, she must make it over to some outside family, and she herself can then be readmitted to the community. out of the view of adultery as a religious and social offence, a moral regard for chastity is however developing among the hindus as it has in other societies. 94. the status of impurity. it has been seen that the sudras as well as the plebeians were regarded as impure, and the reason was perhaps that they were considered to belong to a hostile god. by their participation in the sacrifice and partaking of the sacrificial food, the indian aryans and other races considered that they were not only in fellowship with, but actually a part of the god. and similarly their enemies were part of the substance of a hostile god, whose very existence and contact were abhorrent to their own. hence their enemies should as far as possible be completely exterminated, but when this was impossible they must dwell apart and not pollute by contact of their persons, or in any other way, the sacred soil on which the gods dwelt, nor the persons of those who became part of the substance of the god by participation in the sacrificial meal. for this reason the plebeians had to live outside the roman city, which was all sacred ground, and the sudras and modern impure castes have to live outside the village, which is similarly sacred as the abode of the earth-goddess in her form of the goddess of the land of that village. for the same reason their contact had to be avoided by those who belonged to the village and were united to the goddess by partaking of the crops which she brought forth on her land. as already seen, the belief existed that the life and qualities could be communicated by contact, and in this case the worshippers would assimilate by contact the life of a god hostile to their own. in the same manner, as shown by m. salomon reinach in _cults, myths and religions_, all the weapons, clothes and material possessions of the enemy were considered as impure, perhaps because they also contained part of the life of a hostile god. as already seen, [238] a man's clothing and weapons were considered to contain part of his life by contact, and since the man was united to the god by partaking of the sacrificial feast, all the possessions of the enemy might be held to participate in the life of the hostile god, and hence they could not be preserved, nor taken by the victors into their own houses or dwellings. this was the offence which achan committed when he hid in his tent part of the spoils of jericho; and in consequence jehovah ceased to be with the children of israel when they went up against ai, that is ceased to be in them, and they could not stand before the enemy. achan and his family were stoned and his property destroyed by fire and the impurity was removed. for the same reason the ancient gauls and germans destroyed all the spoils of war or burned them, or buried them in lakes where they are still found. at a later stage the romans, instead of destroying the spoils of war, dedicated them to their own gods, perhaps as a visible sign of the conquest and subjection of the enemy's gods; and they were hung in temples or on oak-trees, where they could not be touched except in the very direst need, as when rome was left without arms after cannae. subsequently the spoils were permitted to decorate the houses of the victorious generals, where they remained sacred and inviolable heirlooms. [239] 95. caste and hinduism. in _the religions of india_ m. barth defined a hindu as a man who has a caste: 'the man who is a member of a caste is a hindu; he who is not, is not a hindu.' his definition remains perhaps the best. there is practically no dogma which is essential to hinduism, nor is the veneration of any deity or sacred object either necessary or heretical. as has often been pointed out, there is no assembly more catholic or less exclusive than the hindu pantheon. another writer has said that the three essentials of a hindu are to be a member of a caste, to venerate brahmans, and to hold the cow sacred. of the latter two, the veneration of brahmans cannot be considered indispensable; for there are several sects, as the lingayats, the bishnois, the manbhaos, the kabirpanthis and others, who expressly disclaim any veneration for brahmans, and, in theory at least, make no use of their services; and yet the members of these sects are by common consent acknowledged as hindus. the sanctity of the bull and cow is a more nearly universal dogma, and extends practically to all hindus, except the impure castes. these latter should not correctly be classed as hindus; the very origin of their status is, as has been seen, the belief that they are the worshippers of gods hostile to hinduism. but still they must now practically be accounted as hindus. they worship the hindu gods, standing at a distance when they are not allowed to enter the temples, perform their ceremonies by hindu rites, and employ brahmans for fixing auspicious days, writing the marriage invitation and other business, which the brahman is willing to do for a consideration, so long as he does not have to enter their houses. some of the impure castes eat beef, while others have abandoned it in order to improve their social position. at the other end of the scale are many well-educated hindu gentlemen who have no objection to eat beef and may often have done so in england, though in india they may abstain out of deference to the prejudices of their relatives, especially the women. and hindus of all castes are beginning to sell worn-out cattle to the butchers for slaughter without scruple--an offence which fifty years ago would have entailed permanent expulsion from caste. the reverence for the cow is thus not an absolutely essential dogma of hinduism, though it is the nearest approach to one. as a definition or test of hinduism it is, however, obviously inadequate. caste, on the other hand, regulates the whole of a hindu's life, his social position and, usually, his occupation. it is the only tribunal which punishes religious and social offences, and when a man is out of caste he has, for so long as this condition continues, no place in hinduism. theoretically he cannot eat with any other hindu nor marry his child to any hindu. if he dies out of caste the caste-men will not bury or burn his body, which is regarded as impure. the binding tie of caste is, according to the argument given above, the communal meal or feast of grain cooked with water, and this, it would therefore seem, may correctly be termed the chief religious function of hinduism. caste also obtains among the jains and sikhs, but sikhism is really little more than a hindu sect, while the jains, who are nearly all banias, scarcely differ from vaishnava hindu banias, and have accepted caste, though it is not in accordance with the real tenets of their religion. the lower industrial classes of muhammadans have also formed castes in imitation of the hindus. many of these are however the descendants of converted hindus, and nearly all of them have a number of hindu practices. 96. the hindu reformers. there have not been wanting reformers in hinduism, and the ultimate object of their preaching seems to have been the abolition of the caste system. the totem-clans, perhaps, supposed that each species of animals and plants which they distinguished had a different kind of life, the qualities of each species being considered as part of its life. this belief may have been the original basis of the idea of difference of blood arising from nobility of lineage or descent, and it may also have been that from which the theory of caste distinctions was derived. though the sacrificial food of each caste is the same, yet its members may have held themselves to be partaking of a different sacrificial feast and absorbing a different life; just as the sacrificial feasts and the gods of the different greek and latin city-states were held to be distinct and hostile, and a citizen of one state could not join in the sacrificial feast of another, though the gods and sacrificial animals might be as a matter of fact the same. and the earth-goddess of each village was a separate form or part of the goddess, so that her land should only be tilled by the descendants of the cultivators who were in communion with her. the severe caste penalties attached to getting vermin in a wound, involving a long period of complete ostracism and the most elaborate ceremonies of purification, may perhaps be explained by the idea that the man so afflicted has in his body an alien and hostile life which is incompatible with his forming part of the common life of the caste or subcaste. the leading feature of the doctrines of the hindu reformers has been that there is only one kind of life, which extends through the whole of creation and is all equally precious. everything that lives has a spark of the divine life and hence should not be destroyed. the belief did not extend to vegetable life, perhaps because the true nature of the latter was by then partly realised, while if the consumption of vegetable life had been prohibited the sect could not have existed. the above doctrine will be recognised as a comparatively simple and natural expansion of the beliefs that animals have self-conscious volitional life and that each species of animals consists of one common life distributed through its members. if the true nature of individual animals and plants had been recognised from the beginning, it is difficult to see how the idea of one universal life running through them all could have been conceived and have obtained so large a degree of acceptance. as the effect of such a doctrine was that all men were of the same blood and life, its necessary consequence was the negation of caste distinctions. the transmigration of souls followed as a moral rule apportioning reward and punishment for the actions of men. the soul passed through a cycle of lives, and the location or body of its next life, whether an animal of varying importance or meanness, or a human being in different classes of society, was determined by its good or evil actions in previous lives. finally, those souls which had been purified of all the gross qualities appertaining to the body were released from the cycle of existence and reabsorbed into the divine centre or focus of life. in the case of the buddhists and jains the divine centre of life seems to have been conceived of impersonally. the leading authorities on buddhism state that its founder's doctrine was pure atheism, but one may suggest that the view seems somewhat improbable in the case of a religion promulgated at so early a period. and on such a hypothesis it is difficult to understand either the stress laid on the escape from life as the highest aim or the sanctity held to attach to all kinds of animal life. but these doctrines follow naturally on the belief in a divine centre or focus of life from which all life emanates for a time, to be ultimately reabsorbed. the vaishnava reformers, who arose subsequently, took the sun or the spirit of the sun as the divine source of all life. they also preached the sanctity of animal life, the transmigration of souls, and the final absorption of the purified soul into the divine centre of life. the abolition of caste was generally a leading feature of their doctrine and may have been its principal social aim. the survival of the individual soul was not a tenet of the earlier reformers, though the later ones adopted it, perhaps in response to the growing perception of individuality. but even now it is doubtful how far the separate existence of the individual soul after it has finally left the world is a religious dogma of the hindus. the basis of hindu asceticism is the necessity of completely freeing the soul or spirit from all the appetites and passions of the body before it can be reabsorbed into the god. those who have so mortified the body that the life merely subsists in it, almost unwillingly as it were, and absolutely unaffected by human desires or affections or worldly events, have rendered their individual spark of life capable of being at once absorbed into the divine life and equal in merit to it, while still on earth. thus hindu ascetics in the last or perfect stage say, 'i am god,' or 'i am siva,' and are revered by their disciples and the people as divine. both the buddhists and jains lay the same stress on the value of asceticism as enabling the soul to attain perfection through complete detachment from the appetites and passions of the body and the cares of the world; and the deduction therefore seems warranted that the end of the perfect soul would be a similar reabsorption in the divine soul. 97. decline of the caste system. the caste system has maintained its vigour unimpaired either by the political vicissitudes and foreign invasions of india or by muhammadan persecution. except where it has been affected by european education and inventions, hindu society preserved until recently a remarkably close resemblance to that of ancient greece and rome in the classical period. but several signs point to the conclusion that the decay of caste as the governing factor of indian society is in sight. the freedom in selection of occupation which now obtains appears to strike at the root of the caste system, because the relative social status and gradation of castes is based on their traditional occupations. when in a large number of the principal castes the majority of the members have abandoned their traditional occupation and taken freely to others, the relative status of castes becomes a fiction, which, though it has hitherto subsisted, cannot apparently be indefinitely maintained. the great extension of education undertaken by government and warmly advocated by the best indian opinion exercises an analogous influence. education is free to all, and, similarly, in the careers which it opens to the most successful boys there is no account of caste. thus members of quite low castes obtain a good social position and, as regards them personally, the prejudices and contempt for their caste necessarily fall into abeyance. the process must, probably, in time extend to general social toleration. the educated classes are also coming to regard the restrictions on food and drink, and on eating and drinking with others, as an irksome and unnecessary bar to social intercourse, and are gradually abandoning them. this tendency is greatly strengthened by the example and social contact of europeans. finally, the facilities for travelling and the democratic nature of modern travel have a very powerful effect. the great majority of hindus of all castes are obliged by their comparative poverty to avail themselves of the cheap third-class fares, and have to rub shoulders together in packed railway carriages. soon they begin to realise that this does them no harm, and get accustomed to it, with the result that the prejudices about bodily contact tend to disappear. the opinion has been given that the decline of social exclusiveness in england was largely due to the introduction of railway travelling. taking account of all these influences, and assuming their continuance, the inference may safely be drawn that the life of the indian caste system is limited, though no attempt can be made to estimate the degree of its vitality, nor to predict the form and constitution of the society which will arise on its decay. articles on religions and sects arya samaj [_bibliography_: sir e.d. maclagan's _punjab census report of 1891_; mr. r. burn's _united provinces census report of 1901_; professor j. c. oman's _cults, customs and superstitions of india_.] list of paragraphs 1. _the founder of the sect, dayanand saraswati_. 2. _his methods and the scientific interpretation of the vedas_. 3. _tenets of the samaj_. 4. _modernising tendencies_. 5. _aims and educational institutions_. 6. _prospects of the sect_. 1. the founder of the sect, dayanand saraswati. _arya samaj religion_.--this important reforming sect of hinduism numbered nearly 250,000 persons in india in 1911, as against 92,000 in 1901. its adherents belong principally to the punjab and the united provinces. in the central provinces 974 members were returned. the sect was founded by pandit dayanand saraswati, a gujarati brahman, born in 1824. according to his own narrative he had been carefully instructed in the vedas, which means that he had been made to commit a great portion of them to memory, and had been initiated at an early age into the saiva sect to which his family belonged; but while still a mere boy his mind had revolted against the practices of idolatry. he could not bring himself to acknowledge that the image of siva seated on his bull, the helpless idol, which, as he himself observed in the watches of the night, allowed the mice to run over it with impunity, ought to be worshipped as the omnipotent deity. [240] he also conceived an intense aversion to marriage, and fled from home in order to avoid the match which had been arranged for him. he was attracted by the practice of yoga, or ascetic philosophy, and studied it with great ardour, claiming to have been initiated into the highest secrets of _yoga vidya_. he tells in one of his books of his many and extensive travels, his profound researches in sanskritic lore, his constant meditations and his ceaseless inquirings. he tells how, by dissecting in his own rough way a corpse which he found floating on a river, he finally discerned the egregious errors of the hindu medical treatises, and, tearing up his books in disgust, flung them into the river with the mutilated corpse. by degrees he found reason to reject the authority of all the sacred books of the hindus subsequent to the vedas. once convinced of this, he braced himself to a wonderful course of missionary effort, in which he formulated his new system and attacked the existing orthodox hinduism. [241] he maintained that the vedas gave no countenance to idolatry, but inculcated monotheism, and that their contents could be reconciled with all the results of modern science, which indeed he held to be indicated in them. the arya samaj was founded in lahore in 1877, and during the remainder of his life dayanand travelled over northern india continually preaching and disputing with the advocates of other religions, and founding branches of his sect. in 1883 he died at ajmer, according to the story of his followers, from the effects of poison administered to him at the instigation of a prostitute against whose profession he had been lecturing. [242] 2. his methods and the scientific interpretation of the vedas. dayanand's attempt to found a sect which, while not going entirely outside hinduism, should prove acceptable to educated hindus desiring a purer faith, appears to have been distinctly successful. the leaders of the brahmo samaj were men of higher intelligence and ability than he, and after scrupulously fair and impartial inquiry were led to deny the infallibility of the vedas, while they also declined to recognise caste. but by so doing they rendered it impossible for a man to become a brahmo and remain a hindu, and their movement has made little headway. by retaining the tenet of the divine authority of the vedas, dayanand made it possible for educated hindus to join his sect without absolutely cutting themselves adrift from their old faith. but dayanand's contention that the vedas should be figuratively interpreted, and are so found to foreshadow the discoveries of modern science, will naturally not bear examination. the following instances of the method are given by professor oman: "at one of the anniversary meetings of the society a member gravely stated that the vedas mentioned _pure_ fire, and as pure fire was nothing but electricity, it was evident that the indians of the vedic period were acquainted with electricity. a leading member of the sect, who had studied science in the government college, discovered in two vedic texts, made up of _only eighteen words in all_, that oxygen and hydrogen with their characteristic properties were known to the writers of the rig veda, who were also acquainted with the composition of water, the constitution of the atmosphere, and had anticipated the modern kinetic theory of gases." [243] mr. burn gives the following parallel versions of a verse of the rig veda by professor max müller and the late pandit guru datt, m.a., of the arya samaj: _professor max müller_.--"may mitra, varuna, aryaman, ayu, indra, the lord of the ribhus, and the maruts not rebuke us because we shall proclaim at the sacrifice the virtues of the swift horse sprung from the gods." _pandit guru datt_.--"we shall describe the power-generating virtues of the energetic horses endowed with brilliant properties (or the virtues of the vigorous force of heat) which learned or scientific men can evoke to work for purposes of appliances. let not philanthropists, noble men, judges, learned men, rulers, wise men and practical mechanics ever disregard these properties." in fact, the learned pandit has interpreted horse as horse-power. 3. tenets of the samaj. nevertheless the arya samaj does furnish a haven for educated hindus who can no longer credit hindu mythology, but do not wish entirely to break away from their religion; a step which, involving also the abandonment of caste, would in their case mean the cessation to a considerable extent of social and family intercourse. the present tenets and position of the arya samaj as given to professor oman by lala lajpat rai [244] indicate that, while tending towards the complete removal of the over-swollen body of hindu ritual and the obstacles to social progress involved in the narrow restrictions of the caste system, the sect at present permits a compromise and does not require of its proselytes a full abjuration. in theory members of any religion may be admitted to the samaj, and a few muhammadans have been initiated, but unless they renounce islam do not usually participate in social intercourse. sikhs are freely admitted, and converts from any religion who accept the purified hinduism of the samaj are welcome. such converts go through a simple ceremony of purification, for which a brahman is usually engaged, though not required by rule. those who, as hindus, wore the sacred thread are again invested with it, and it has also been conferred on converts, but this has excited opposition. a few marriages between members of different subcastes have been carried out, and in the case of orphan girls adopted into the samaj caste, rules have been set aside and they have been married to members of other castes. lavish expenditure on weddings is discouraged. vishnu and siva are accepted as alternative names of the one god; but their reputed consorts kali, durga, devi, and so on, are not regarded as deities. brahmans are usually employed for ceremonies, but these may also, especially birth and funeral ceremonies, be performed by non-brahmans. in the punjab members of the samaj of different castes will take food together, but rarely in the united provinces. dissension has arisen on the question of the consumption of flesh, and the samaj is split into two parties, vegetarians and meat-eaters. in the united provinces, mr. burn states, the vegetarian party would not object to employ men of low caste as cooks, excepting such impure castes as chamars, doms and sweepers, so long as they were also vegetarians. the aryas still hold the doctrine of the transmigration of souls and venerate the cow, but they do not regard the cow as divine. in this respect their position has been somewhat modified from that of dayanand, who was a vigorous supporter of the gaoraksha or cow-protection movement. 4. modernising tendencies. again dayanand enunciated a very peculiar doctrine on niyoga or the custom of childless women, either married or widows, resorting to men other than their husbands for obtaining an heir. this is permitted under certain circumstances by the hindu lawbooks. dayanand laid down that a hindu widow might resort in succession to five men until she had borne each of them two children, and a married woman might do the same with the consent of her husband, or without his consent if he had been absent from home for a certain number of years, varying according to the purpose for which he was absent. [245] dayanand held that this rule would have beneficial results. those who could restrain their impulses would still be considered as following the best way; but for the majority who could not do so, the authorised method and degree of intimacy laid down by him would prevent such evils as prostitution, connubial unfaithfulness, and the secret _liaisons_ of widows, resulting in practices like abortion. the prevalence of such a custom would, however, certainly do more to injure social and family life than all the evils which it was designed to prevent, and it is not surprising to find that the samaj does not now consider niyoga an essential doctrine; instead of this they are trying in face of much opposition to introduce the natural and proper custom of the remarriage of widows. the principal rite of the samaj is the old hom sacrifice of burning clarified butter, grain, and various fragrant gums and spices on the sacred fire, with the repetition of sanskrit texts. they now explain this by saying that it is a sanitary measure, designed to purify the air. the samaj does not believe in any literal heaven and hell, but considers these as figurative expressions of the state of the soul, whether in this life or the life to come. the aryas therefore do not perform the _shradhh_ ceremony nor offer oblations to the dead, and in abolishing these they reduce enormously the power and influence of the priesthood. 5. aims and educational institutions. the above account indicates that the arya samaj is tending to become a vaguely theistic sect. its religious observances will probably fall more and more into the background, and its members will aspire to observe in their conduct the code of social morality obtaining in europe, and to regulate their habit of life by similar considerations of comfort and convenience. already the principal aims of the samaj tend mainly to the social improvement of its members and their fellow-indians. it sets its face against child-marriage, and encourages the remarriage of widows. it busies itself with female education, with orphanages and schools, dispensaries and public libraries, and philanthropic institutions of all sorts. [246] its avowed aim is to unite and regenerate the peoples of aryavarrta or india. as one of its own poets has said: [247] ah! long have ye slept, sons of india, too long! your country degenerate, your morals all wrong. its principal educational institutions are the dayanand anglo-vedic college at lahore and the anglo-vedic school at meerut, a large orphanage at bareilly, smaller ones at allahabad and cawnpore, and a number of primary schools. it employs a body of travelling teachers or upadeshaks to make converts, and in the famine of 1900 took charge of as many famine orphans as the local governments would entrust to it, in order to prevent them from being handed over to christian missionaries. all members of the samaj are expected to contribute one per cent of their incomes to the society, and a large number of them do this. the arya samaj has been accused of cherishing political aims and of anti-british propaganda, but the writers quoted in this article unite in acquitting it of such a charge as an institution, though some of its members have been more or less identified with the extremist party. from the beginning, however, and apparently up to the present time, its religious teaching has been directed to social and not to political reform, and so long as it adheres to this course its work must be considered to be useful and praiseworthy. nevertheless some danger may perhaps exist lest the boys educated in its institutions may with youthful intemperance read into the instruction of their teachers more than it is meant to convey, and divert exhortations for social improvement and progress to political ends. 6. prospects of the sect. the census of 1911 showed the arya samaj to be in a flourishing and progressive condition. there seems good reason to suppose that its success may continue, as it meets a distinct religious and social requirement of educated hindus. narsinghpur is the principal centre of the sect in the central provinces, and here an orphanage is maintained with about thirty inmates; the local members have an _ata_ fund, to which they daily contribute a handful of flour, and this accumulates and is periodically made over to the orphanage. there is also a vedic school at narsinghpur, and a sanskrit school has been started at drug. [248] brahmo samaj [_bibliography:_ professor j. c. oman's _brahmans, theists and muslims of india_ (1907); _cults, customs and superstitions of india_ (1908); rev. f. lillingston's _brahmo samaj and arya samaj_ (1901). the following brief account is simply compiled from the above works and makes no pretence to be critical.] list of paragraphs 1. _ram mohan roy, founder of the sect_. 2. _much esteemed by the english_. 3. _foundation of the brahmo samaj_. 4. _debendra nath tagore_. 5. _keshub chandar sen_. 6. _the civil marriage act_. 7. _keshub chandar's relapse into mysticism_. 8. _recent history of the samaj_. 9. _character of the movement_. 1. ram mohan roy, founder of the sect. _brahmo samaj religion_.--this monotheistic sect of bengal numbered only thirty-two adherents in the central provinces in 1911, of whom all or nearly all were probably bengalis. nevertheless its history is of great interest as representing an attempt at the reform and purification of hinduism under the influence of christianity. the founder of the sect, ram mohan roy, a brahman, was born in 1772 and died in england in 1833. he was sent to school at patna, where under the influence of muhammadan teachers he learnt to despise the extravagant stories of the puranas. at the age of sixteen he composed a tract against idolatry, which stirred up such a feeling of animosity against him that he had to leave his home. he betook himself first to benares, where he received instruction in the vedas from the brahmans. from there he went to tibet, that he might learn the tenets of buddhism from its adherents rather than its opponents; his genuine desire to form a fair judgment of the merits of every creed being further evidenced by his learning the language in which each of these finds its expression: thus he learnt sanskrit that he might rightly understand the vedas, pali that he might read the buddhist tripitaka, arabic as the key to the koran, and hebrew and greek for the old and new testaments. [249] in 1819, after a diligent study of the bible, he published a book entitled _the precepts of jesus, the guide to peace and happiness._ although this work was eminently appreciative of the character and teaching of christ, it gave rise to an attack from the missionaries of serampore. strange to say, ram mohan roy so far converted his tutor mr. adam (himself a missionary) to his own way of thinking that that gentleman relinquished his spiritual office, became editor of the _indian gazette,_ and was generally known in calcutta as 'the second fallen adam.' [250] 2. much esteemed by the english. ram mohan roy was held in great esteem by his english contemporaries in india. he dispensed in charities the bulk of his private means, living himself with the strictest economy in order that he might have the more to give away. it was to a considerable extent due to his efforts, and more especially to his demonstration that the practice of sati found no sanction in the vedas, that this abominable rite was declared illegal by lord william bentinck in 1829. the titular emperor of delhi conferred the title of raja upon him in 1830 and induced him to proceed to england on a mission to the home government. he was the first brahman who had crossed the sea, and his distinguished appearance, agreeable manners, and undoubtedly great ability, coupled with his sympathy for christianity, procured him a warm welcome in england, where he died in 1833. [251] 3. foundation of the brahmo samaj. ram mohan roy, with the help of a few friends and disciples, founded, in 1830, the brahmo samaj or society of god. in the trust deed of the meeting-house it was laid down that the society was founded for "the worship and adoration of the eternal, unsearchable and immutable being who is the author and preserver of the universe, but not by any other name, designation or title peculiarly used by any men or set of men; and that in conducting the said worship and adoration, no object, animate or inanimate, that has been or is or shall hereafter become ... an object of worship by any men or set of men, shall be reviled or slightingly or contemptuously spoken of or alluded to either in preaching, or in the hymns or other mode of worship that may be delivered or used in the said messuage or building." [252] this well exemplifies the broad toleration and liberality of the sect. the service in the new theistic church consisted in the recital of the vedas by two telugu brahmans, the reading of texts from the upanishads, and the expounding of the same in bengali. the samaj, thus constituted, based its teaching on the vedas and was at this time, though unorthodox, still a hindu sect, and made no attempt at the abolition of caste. "indeed, in establishing this sect, ram mohan roy professed to be leading his countrymen back to the pure, uncorrupted, monotheistic religion of their vedic ancestors; but his monotheism, based, as it was, essentially upon the vedanta philosophy, was in reality but a disguised pantheism, enriched as regards its ethics by ideas derived from muslim and christian literature and theology." [253] 4. debendra nath tagore. after the death of its founder the sect languished for a period of ten years until it was taken in hand by debendra nath tagore, whose father dwarka nath had been a friend and warm admirer of ram mohan roy, and had practically maintained the society by paying its expenses during the interval. in 1843 debendra drew up a form of initiation which involved the renunciation of idolatry. he established branches of the brahmo samaj in many towns and villages of bengal, and in 1845 he sent four pandits to benares to copy out and make a special study of the vedas. on their return to calcutta after two years debendra nath devoted himself with their aid to a diligent and critical study of the sacred books, and eventually, after much controversy and even danger of disruption, the samaj, under his guidance, came to the important decision that the teaching of the vedas could not be reconciled with the conclusions of modern science or with the religious convictions of the brahmos, a result which soon led to an open and public denial of the infallibility of the vedas. "there is nothing," professor oman remarks, "in the brahmic movement more creditable to the parties concerned than this honest and careful inquiry into the nature of the doctrines and precepts of the vedas." [254] 5. keshub chandar sen. the tenets of the brahmo samaj consisted at this time of a pure theism, without special reliance on the hindu sacred books or recognition of such hindu doctrines as the transmigration of souls. but in their ordinary lives its members still conformed generally to the caste practices and religious usages of their neighbours. but a progressive party now arose under the leadership of keshub chandar sen, a young man of the vaidya caste, which desired to break altogether with hinduism, abolish the use of sect marks and the prohibition of intermarriage between castes, and to welcome into the community converts from all religions. meanwhile debendra nath tagore had spent three years in seclusion in the himalayas, occupied with meditation and prayer; on his return he acceded so far to the views of keshub chandar sen as to celebrate the marriage of his daughter according to a reformed theistic ritual; but when his friend pressed for the complete abolition of all caste restrictions, debendra nath refused his consent and retired once more to the hills. [255] the result was a schism in the community, and in 1866 the progressive party seceded and set up a samaj of their own, calling themselves the brahmo samaj of india, while the conservative group under debendra nath tagore was named the adi or original samaj. in 1905 the latter was estimated to number only about 300 persons. [256] keshub chandar sen had been educated in the presidency college, calcutta, and being more familiar with english and the bible than with the sanskrit language and vedic literature, he was filled with deep enthusiastic admiration of the beauty of christ's character and teaching. [257] he had shown a strong passion for the stage and loved nothing better than the plays of shakespeare. he was fond of performing himself, and especially delighted in appearing in the role of a magician or conjurer before his family and friends. the new sect took up the position that all religions were true and worthy of veneration. at the inaugural meeting, texts from the sacred scriptures of the christians, hindus, muhammadans, parsis and chinese were publicly read, in order to mark and to proclaim to the world the catholicity of spirit in which it was formed. [258] keshub by his writings and public lectures kept himself prominently before the indian world, enlisting the sympathies of the viceroy (sir john lawrence) by his tendencies towards christianity. 6. the civil marriage act. by this time several marriages had been performed according to the revised ritual of the brahmic church, which had given great offence to orthodox hindus and exposed the participators in these novel rites to much obloquy. the legality of marriages thus contracted had even been questioned. to avoid this difficulty keshub induced government in 1872 to pass the native marriage act, introducing for the first time the institution of civil marriage into hindu society. the act prescribed a form of marriage to be celebrated before the registrar for persons who did not profess either the hindu, the muhammadan, the parsi, the sikh, the jaina or the buddhist religion, and who were neither christians nor jews; and fixed the minimum age for a bridegroom at eighteen and for a bride at fourteen. only six years later, however, keshub chandar sen committed the fatal mistake of ignoring the law which he had himself been instrumental in passing: he permitted the marriage of his daughter, below the age of fourteen, to the young maharaja of kuch bihar, who was not then sixteen years of age. [259] this event led to a public censure of keshub chandar sen by his community and the secession of a section of the members, who formed the sadharan or universal brahmo samaj. the creed of this body consisted in the belief in an infinite creator, the immortality of the soul, the duty and necessity of the spiritual worship of god, and disbelief in any infallible book or man as a means of salvation. [260] 7. keshub chandar's relapse into mysticism. from about this period, or a little before, keshub chandar sen appears to have attempted to make a wider appeal to indians by developing the emotional side of his religion. and he gradually relapsed from a pure unitarian theism into what was practically hindu pantheism and the mysticism of the yogis. at the same time he came to consider himself an inspired prophet, and proclaimed himself as such. the following instances of his extravagant conduct are given by professor oman. [261] "in 1873 he brought forward the doctrine of adesh or special inspiration, declaring emphatically that inspiration is not only possible, but a veritable fact in the lives of many devout souls in this age. the following years witnessed a marked development of that essentially asiatic and perhaps more especially indian form of religious feeling, which finds its natural satisfaction in solitary ecstatic contemplation. as a necessary consequence an order of devotees was established in 1876, divided into three main classes, which in ascending gradation were designated shabaks, bhaktas and yogis. the lowest class, divided into two sections, is devoted to religious study and the practical performance of religious duties, including doing good to others. the aspiration of the bhakta is ... 'inebriation in god. he is most passionately fond of god and delights in loving him and all that pertains to him.... the very utterance of the divine name causes his heart to overflow and brings tears of joy to his eyes.' as for the highest order of devotees, the yogis, 'they live in the spirit-world and readily commune with spiritual realities. they welcome whatever is a help to the entire subjugation of the soul, and are always employed in conquering selfishness, carnality and worldliness. they are happy in prayer and meditation and in the study of nature.' "the new dispensation having come into the world to harmonise conflicting creeds and regenerate mankind, must have its outward symbol, its triumphal banner floating proudly on the joyful air of highly-favoured india. a flag was therefore made and formally consecrated as 'the banner of the new dispensation.' this emblem of 'regenerated and saving theism' the new prophet himself formed with a yak's tail and kissed with his own inspired lips. in orthodox hindu fashion his missionaries--apostles of the new dispensation--went round it with lights in their hands, while his less privileged followers respectfully touched the sacred pole and humbly bowed down to it. in a word, the banner was worshipped as hindu idols are worshipped any day in india. carried away by a spirit of innovation, anxious to keep himself prominently before the world, and realising no doubt that since churches and sects do not flourish on intellectual pabulum only, certain mystic rites and gorgeous ceremonials were necessary to the success of the new dispensation, keshub introduced into his church various observances which attracted a good deal of attention and did not escape criticism. on one occasion he went with his disciples in procession, singing hymns, to a stagnant tank in calcutta, and made believe that they were in palestine and on the side of the jordan. standing near the tank keshub said, 'beloved brethren, we have come into the land of the jews, and we are seated on the bank of the jordan. let them that have eyes see. verily, verily, here was the lord jesus baptised eighteen hundred years ago. behold the holy waters wherein was the son of god immersed.' we learn also that keshub and his disciples attempted to hold communication with saints and prophets of the olden time, upon whose works and teaching they had been pondering in retirement and solitude. on this subject the following notice appeared in the _sunday mirror_: "'it is proposed to promote communion with departed saints among the more advanced brahmos. with a view to achieve this object successfully ancient prophets and saints will be taken one after another on special occasions and made the subject of close study, meditation and prayer. particular places will also be assigned to which the devotees will resort as pilgrims. there for hours together they will try to draw inspiration from particular saints. we believe a spiritual pilgrimage to moses will be shortly undertaken. only earnest devotees ought to join.'" 8. recent history of the samaj. keshub chandar sen died in 1884, and the brahmo samaj seems subsequently to have returned more or less to its first position of pure theism coupled with hindu social reform. his successor in the leadership of the sect was babu p.c. mazumdar, who visited america and created a favourable impression at the parliament of religions at chicago. under his guidance the samaj seems to have gradually drifted towards american unitarianism, and to have been supported in no slight degree by funds from the united states of america. [262] he died in 1905, and left no one of prominent character and attainments to succeed to the leadership. in 1911 the adherents of the different branches of the samaj numbered at the census only 5500 persons. 9. character of the movement. the history of the brahmo samaj is of great interest, because it was the first attempt at the reform and purification of hinduism made under the influence of christianity, the long line of vaishnavite reformers who strove to abrogate hindu polytheism and the deadening restrictions of caste, having probably been inspired by the contemplation of islam. the samaj is further distinguished by the admirable toleration and broadness of view of its religious position, and by having had for its leaders three men of exceptional character and attainments, two of whom, and especially keshub chandar sen, made a profound impression in england among all classes of society. but the failure of the samaj to attract any large number of converts from among the hindus was only what might have been expected. for it requires its followers practically to cut themselves adrift from family and caste ties and offers nothing in return but an undefined theism, not calculated to excite any enthusiasm or strong feeling in ordinary minds. its efforts at social reform have probably, however, been of substantial value in weakening the rigidity of hindu rules on caste and marriage. dadupanthi sect. [263] _dadupanthi sect._--one of the sects founded by vaishnava reformers of the school of kabir; a few of its members are found in the western districts of the central provinces. dadu was a pinjara or cotton-cleaner by caste. he was born at ahmadabad in the sixteenth century, and died at narayana in the jaipur state shortly after a.d. 1600. he is said to have been the fifth successor in spiritual inspiration from kabir, or the sixth from ramanand. dadu preached the unity of god and protested against the animistic abuses which had grown up in hinduism. "to this day," writes mr. coldstream, "the dadupanthis use the words sat ram, the true god, as a current phrase expressive of their creed. dadu forbade the worship of idols, and did not build temples; now temples are built by his followers, who say they worship in them the dadubani or sacred book." this is what has been done by other sects such as the sikhs and dhamis, whose founders eschewed the veneration of idols; but their uneducated followers could not dispense with some visible symbol for their adoration, and hence the sacred script has been enthroned in a temple. the worship of the dadupanthis, professor wilson says, is addressed to rama, but it is restricted to the japa or repetition of his name, and the rama intended is the deity negatively described in the vedanta theology. the chief place of worship of the sect is narayana, where dadu died. a small building on a hill marks the place of his disappearance, and his bed and the sacred books are kept there as objects of veneration. like other sects, the dadupanthis are divided into celibate or priestly and lay or householder branches. but they have also a third offshoot, consisting in the naga gosains of jaipur, nearly naked ascetics, who constituted a valuable part of the troops of jaipur and other states. it is said that the nagas always formed the van of the army of jaipur. the sect have white caps with four corners and a flap hanging down at the back, which each follower has to make for himself. to prevent the destruction of animal life entailed by cremation, the tenets of the sect enjoin that corpses should be laid in the forests to be devoured by birds and beasts. this rule, however, is not observed, and their dead are burnt at early dawn. dhami, prannathi sect. _dhami, prannathi sect._--a small religious sect or order, having its headquarters in the panna state of bundelkhand. a few members of the sect are found in the saugor and damoh districts of the central provinces. the name dhami is simply a derivative from _dham_, a monastery, and in northern india they are called prannathi after their founder. they are also known as sathi bhai, brothers in religion, or simply as bhai or brothers. the sect takes its origin from one prannath, a rajput who lived in the latter part of aurangzeb's reign towards the end of the seventeenth century. he is said to have acquired great influence with chatra sal, raja of panna, by the discovery of a diamond mine there, and on this account panna was made the home of the sect. prannath was well acquainted with the sacred books of islam, and, like other hindu reformers, he attempted to propagate a faith which should combine the two religions. to this end he composed a work in gujarati called the kulzam sarup, in which texts from the koran and the vedas are brought together and shown not to be incompatible. his creed also proclaimed the abolition of the worship of idols, and apparently of caste restrictions and the supremacy of brahmans. as a test of a disciple's assent to the real identity of the hindu and muhammadan creeds, the ceremony of initiation consists in eating in the society of the followers of both religions; but the amalgamation appears to be carried no further, and members of the sect continue to follow generally their own religious practices. theoretically they should worship no material objects except the founder's book of faith, which lies on a table covered with gold cloth in the principal temple at panna. but in fact they adore the boy krishna as he was at mathura, and in some temples there are images of radha and krishna, while in others the decorations are so arranged as to look like an idol from a distance. all temples, however, contain a copy of the sacred book, round which a lighted lamp is waved in the morning and evening. the dhamis now say also that their founder prannath was an incarnation of krishna, and they observe the janam-ashtami or krishna's birthday as their principal festival. they wear the radha vallabhi _tilak_ or sect-mark, consisting of two white lines drawn down the forehead from the roots of the hair, and curving to meet at the top of the nose, with a small red dot between them. on the cheeks and temples they make rosette-like marks by bunching up the five fingers, dipping them in a solution of sandalwood and then applying them to the face. [264] they regard the jumna as a sacred river and its water as holy, no doubt because mathura is on its banks, but pay no reverence to the ganges. their priests observe celibacy, but do not practise asceticism, and all the dhamis are strict vegetarians. there is also a branch of the sect in gujarat, where the founder is known as meheraj thakur. he appears to have been identical with prannath, and instituted a local headquarters at surat. [265] it is related by mr. bhimbhai kirparam that meheraj thakur was himself the disciple of one deo chand, a native of amarkot in sind. the latter was devoted to the study of the bhagwat puran, and came to jamnagar in kathiawar, where he founded a temple to radha and krishna. as there is a temple at panna consecrated to deo chand as the guru or preceptor of prannath, and as the book of the faith is written in gujarati, the above account would appear to be correct, and it follows that the sect originated in the worship of krishna, and was refined by prannath into a purer form of faith. a number of cutchis in surat are adherents of the sect, and usually visit the temple at panna on the full-moon day of kartik (october). curiously enough the sect has also found a home in nepal, having been preached there, it is said, by missionary dhamis in the time of raja ram bahadur shah of nepal, about 150 years ago. its members there are known as pranami or parnami, a corruption of prannathi and they often come to panna to study the sacred book. it is reported that there are usually about forty nepalis lodging in the premises of the great temple at panna. [266] jain religion [_bibliography: the jainas_, by dr. j.g. bühler and j. burgess, london, 1903; _the religions of india_, professor e.w. hopkins; _the religions of india_, professor a. barth; _punjab census report_ (1891), sir e.d. maclagan; article on jainism in dr. hastings' _encyclopaedia of religion and ethics_.] list of paragraphs 1. _numbers and distribution_. 2. _the jain religion. its connection with buddhism_. 3. _the jain tenets. the tirthakars_. 4. _the transmigration of souls_. 5. _strict rules against taking life_. 6. _jain sects_. 7. _jain ascetics_. 8. _jain subcastes of banias_. 9. _rules and customs of the laity_. 10. _connection with hinduism_. 11. _temples and car festival_. 12. _images of the tirthakars_. 13. _religious observances_. 14. _tenderness for animal life_. 15. _social condition of the jains_. 1. numbers and distribution. _jain_.--the total number of jains in the central provinces in 1911 was 71,000 persons. they nearly all belong to the bania caste, and are engaged in moneylending and trade like other banias. they reside principally in the vindhyan districts, saugor, damoh and jubbulpore, and in the principal towns of the nagpur country and berar. 2. the jain religion. its connection with buddhism. the jain tenets present marked features of resemblance to buddhism, and it was for some time held that jainism was merely a later offshoot from that religion. the more generally accepted view now, however, is that the jina or prophet of the jains was a real historical personage, who lived in the sixth century b.c., being a contemporary of gautama, the buddha. vardhamana, as he was commonly called, is said to have been the younger son of a small chieftain in the province of videha or tirhut. like sakya-muni the buddha or enlightened, vardhamana became an ascetic, and after twelve years of a wandering life he appeared as a prophet, proclaiming a modification of the doctrine of his own teacher parsva or parasnath. from this time he was known as mahavira, the great hero, the same name which in its familiar form of mahabir is applied to the god hanuman. the title of jina or victorious, from which the jains take their name, was subsequently conferred on him, his sect at its first institution being called nirgrantha or ascetic. there are very close resemblances in the traditions concerning the lives of vardhamana and gautama or buddha. both were of royal birth; the same names recur among their relatives and disciples; and they lived and preached in the same part of the country, bihar and tirhut. [267] vardhamana is said to have died during buddha's lifetime, the date of the latter's death being about 480 b.c. [268] their doctrines also, with some important differences, present, on the whole, a close resemblance. like the buddhists, the jains claim to have been patronised by the maurya princes. while asoka was mainly instrumental in the propagation of buddhism over india, his grandfather chandragupta is stated to have been a jain, and his grandson sampadi also figures in jain tradition. a district which is a holy land for one is almost always a holy land for the other, and their sacred places adjoin each other in bihar, in the peninsula of gujarat, on mount abu in rajputana and elsewhere. [269] the earliest of the jain books belongs to the sixth century a.d., the existence of the nirgrantha sect in buddha's lifetime being proved by the cingalese books of the buddhists, and by references to it in the inscriptions of asoka and others. [270] while then m. barth's theory that jainism was simply a later sect of buddhism has been discarded by subsequent scholars, it seems likely that several of the details of vardhamana's life now recorded in the jain books are not really authentic, but were taken from that of buddha with necessary alterations, when the true facts about their own prophet had been irrevocably lost. 3. the jain tenets. the tirthakars. like the buddhists, the jains recognise no creator of the world, and suppose it to have existed from eternity. similarly, they had originally no real god, but the jina or victor, like the buddha or enlightened one, was held to have been an ordinary mortal man, who by his own power had attained to omniscience and freedom, and out of pity for suffering mankind preached and declared the way of salvation which he had found. [271] this doctrine, however, was too abstruse for the people, and in both cases the prophet himself gradually came to be deified. further, in order perhaps to furnish objects of worship less distinctively human and to whom a larger share of the attributes of deity could be imputed, in both religions a succession of mythical predecessors of the prophet was gradually brought into existence. the buddhists recognise twenty-five buddhas or divine prophets, who appeared at long epochs of time and taught the same system one after another; and the jains have twenty-four tirthakars or tirthankars, who similarly taught their religion. of these only vardhamana, its real founder, who was the twenty-fourth, and possibly parsva or parasnath, the twenty-third and the founder's preceptor, are or may be historical. the other twenty-two tirthakars are purely mythical. the first, rishaba, was born more than 100 billion years ago, as the son of a king of ajodhya; he lived more than 8 million years, and was 500 bow-lengths in height. he therefore is as superhuman as any god, and his date takes us back almost to eternity. the others succeeded each other at shorter intervals of time, and show a progressive decline in stature and length of life. the images of the tirthakars are worshipped in the jain temples like those of the buddhas in buddhist temples. as with buddhism also, the main feature of jain belief is the transmigration of souls, and each successive incarnation depends on the sum of good and bad actions or _karman_ in the previous life. they hold also the primitive animistic doctrine that souls exist not only in animals and plants but in stones, lumps of earth, drops of water, fire and wind, and the human soul may pass even into these if its sins condemn it to such a fate. [272] 4. the transmigration of souls. the aim which jainism, like buddhism, sets before its disciples is the escape from the endless round of successive existences, known as samsara, through the extinction of the _karman_ or sum of actions. this is attained by complete subjection of the passions and destruction of all desires and appetites of the body and mind, that is, by the most rigid asceticism, as well as by observing all the moral rules prescribed by the religion. it was the jina or prophet who showed this way of escape, and hence he is called tirthakar or 'the finder of the ford,' through the ocean of existence. [273] but jainism differs from buddhism in that it holds that the soul, when finally emancipated, reaches a heaven and there continues for ever a separate intellectual existence, and is not absorbed into nirvana or a state of blessed nothingness. 5. strict rules against taking life. the moral precepts of the jains are of the same type as those of buddhism and vaishnavite hinduism, but of an excessive rigidity, at any rate in the case of the yatis or jatis, the ascetics. they promise not to hurt, not to speak untruths, to appropriate nothing to themselves without permission, to preserve chastity and to practise self-sacrifice. but these simple rules are extraordinarily expanded on the part of the jains. thus, concerning the oath not to hurt, on which the jains lay most emphasis: it prohibits not only the intentional killing or injuring of living beings, plants or the souls existing in dead matter, but requires also the utmost carefulness in the whole manner of life, and a watchfulness also over all movements and functions of the body by which anything living might be hurt. it demands, finally, strict watch over the heart and tongue, and the avoidance of all thoughts and words which might lead to disputes and quarrels, and thereby do harm. in like manner the rule of sacrifice requires not only that the ascetic should have no houses or possessions, but he must also acquire a complete unconcern towards agreeable or disagreeable impressions, and destroy all feelings of attachment to anything living or dead. [274] similarly, death by voluntary starvation is prescribed for those ascetics who have reached the kewalin or brightest stage of knowledge, as the means of entering their heaven. owing to the late date of the jain scriptures, any or all of its doctrines may have been adopted from buddhism between the commencement of the two religions and the time when they were compiled. the jains did not definitely abolish caste, and hence escaped the persecution to which buddhism was subjected during the period of its decline from the fifth or sixth century a.d. on account of this trouble many buddhists became jains, and hence a further fusion of the doctrines of the rival sects may have ensued. the digambara sect of jains agree with the buddhists in holding that women cannot attain nirvana or heaven, while the swetambara sect say that they can, and also admit women as nuns into the ascetic order. the jain scripture, the yogashastra, speaks of women as the lamps that burn on the road that leads to the gates of hell. 6. jain sects. the jains are divided into the above two principal sects, the digambara and the swetambara. the digambara are the more numerous and the stricter sect. according to their tenets death by voluntary starvation is necessary for ascetics who would attain heaven, though of course the rule is not now observed. the name digambara signifies sky-clad, and swetambara white-clad. formerly the digambara ascetics went naked, and were the gymnosophists of the greek writers, but now they take off their clothes, if at all, only at meals. the theory of the origin of the two sects is that parasnath, the twenty-third tirthakar, wore clothes, while mahavira the twenty-fourth did not, and the two sects follow their respective examples. the digambaras now wear ochre-coloured cloth, and the swetambaras white. the principal difference at present is that the images in digambara temples are naked and bare, while those of the swetambaras are clothed, presumably in white, and also decorated with jewellery and ornaments. the digambara ascetics may not use vessels for cooking or holding their food, but must take it in their hands from their disciples and eat it thus; while the swetambara ascetics may use vessels. the digambara, however, do not consider the straining-cloth, brush, and gauze before the mouth essential to the character of an ascetic, while the swetambara insist on them. there is in the central provinces another small sect called channagri or samaiya, and known elsewhere as dhundia. these do not put images in their temples at all, but only copies of the jain sacred books, and pay reverence to them. they will, however, worship in regular jain temples at places where there are none of their own. 7. jain ascetics. the initiation of a yati or jati, a jain ascetic, is thus described: it is frequent for banias who have no children to vow that their first-born shall be a yati. such a boy serves a novitiate with a _guru_ or preceptor, and performs for him domestic offices; and when he is old enough and has made progress in his studies he is initiated. for this purpose the novice is carried out of the tower with music and rejoicing in procession, followed by a crowd of sravakas or jain laymen, and taken underneath the banyan, or any other tree the juice of which is milky. his hair is pulled out at the roots with five pulls; camphor, musk, sandal, saffron and sugar are applied to the scalp; and he is then placed before his _guru,_ stripped of his clothes and with his hands joined. a text is whispered in his ear by the _guru_, and he is invested with the clothes peculiar to yatis; two cloths, a blanket and a staff; a plate for his victuals and a cloth to tie them up in; a piece of gauze to tie over his mouth to prevent the entry of insects; a cloth through which to strain his drinking-water to the same end; and a broom made of cotton threads or peacock feathers to sweep the ground before him as he walks, so that his foot may not crush any living thing. the duty of the yati is to read and explain the sacred books to the sravakas morning and evening, such functions being known as sandhya. his food consists of all kinds of grain, vegetables and fruit produced above the earth; but no roots such as yams or onions. milk and _ghi_ are permitted, but butter and honey are prohibited. some strict yatis drink no water but what has been first boiled, lest they should inadvertently destroy any insect, it being less criminal to boil them than to destroy them in the drinker's stomach. a yati having renounced the world and all civil duties can have no family, nor does he perform any office of mourning or rejoicing. [275] a yati was directed to travel about begging and preaching for eight months in the year, and during the four rainy months to reside in some village or town and observe a fast. the rules of conduct to be observed by him were extremely strict, as has already been seen. those who observed them successfully were believed to acquire miraculous powers. he who was a siddh or victor, and had overcome his karma or the sum of his human actions and affections, could read the thoughts of others and foretell the future. he who had attained kewalgyan, or the state of perfect knowledge which preceded the emancipation of the soul and its absorption into paradise, was a god on earth, and even the gods worshipped him. wherever he went all plants burst into flower and brought forth fruit, whether it was their season or not. in his presence no animal bore enmity to another or tried to kill it, but all animals lived peaceably together. this was the state attained to by each tirthakar during his last sojourn on earth. the number of jain ascetics seems now to be less than formerly and they are not often met with, at least in the central provinces. they do not usually perform the function of temple priest. 8. jain subcastes of banias. practically all the jains in the central provinces are of the bania caste. there is a small subcaste of jain kalars, but these are said to have gone back to hinduism. [276] of the bania subcastes who are jains the principal are the parwar, golapurab, oswal and saitwal. saraogi, the name for a jain layman, and charnagar, a sect of jains, are also returned as subcastes of jain banias. other important subcastes of banias, as the agarwal and maheshri, have a jain section. nearly all banias belong to the digambara sect, but the oswal are swetambaras. they are said to have been originally rajputs of os or osnagar in rajputana, and while they were yet rajputs a swetambara ascetic sucked the poison from the wound of an oswal boy whom a snake had bitten, and this induced the community to join the swetambara sect of the jains. [277] 9. rules and customs of the laity. the jain laity are known as shrawak or saraogi, learners. there is comparatively little to distinguish them from their hindu brethren. their principal tenet is to avoid the destruction of all animal, including insect life, but the hindu banias are practically all vaishnavas, and observe almost the same tenderness for animal life as the jains. the jains are distinguished by their separate temples and method of worship, and they do not recognise the authority of the vedas nor revere the _lingam_ of siva. consequently they do not use the hindu sacred texts at their weddings, but repeat some verses from their own scriptures. these weddings are said to be more in the nature of a civil contract than of a religious ceremony. the bride and bridegroom walk seven times round the sacred post and are then seated on a platform and promise to observe certain rules of conduct towards each other and avoid offences. it is said that formerly a jain bride was locked up in a temple for the first night and considered to be the bride of the god. but as scandals arose from this custom, she is now only locked up for a minute or two and then let out again. jain boys are invested with the sacred thread on the occasion of their weddings or at twenty-one or twenty-two if they are still unmarried at that age. the thread is renewed annually on the day before the full moon of bhadon (august), after a ten days' fast in honour of anant nath tirthakar. the thread is made by the jain priests of tree cotton and has three knots. at their funerals the jains do not shave the moustaches off as a rule, and they never shave the _choti_ or scalp-lock, which they wear like hindus. they give a feast to the caste-fellows and distribute money in charity, but do not perform the hindu _shraddh_ or offering of sacrificial cakes to the dead. the agarwal and khandelwal jains, however, invoke the spirits of their ancestors at weddings. traces of an old hostility between jains and hindus survive in the hindu saying that one should not take refuge in a jain temple, even to escape from a mad elephant; and in the rule that a jain beggar will not take alms from a hindu unless he can perform some service in return, though it may not equal the value of the alms. 10. connection with hinduism. in other respects the jains closely resemble the hindus. brahmans are often employed at their weddings, they reverence the cow, worship sometimes in hindu temples, go on pilgrimages to the hindu sacred places, and follow the hindu law of inheritance. the agarwal bania jains and hindus will take food cooked with water together and intermarry in bundelkhand, although it is doubtful whether they do this in the central provinces. in such a case each party pays a fine to the jain temple fund. in respect of caste distinctions the jains are now scarcely less strict than the hindus. the different jain subcastes of banias coming from bundelkhand will take food together as a rule, and those from marwar will do the same. the khandelwal and oswal jain banias will take food cooked with water together when it has been cooked by an old woman past the age of child-bearing, but not that cooked by a young woman. the spread of education has awakened an increased interest among the jains in their scriptures and the tenets of their religion, and it is quite likely that the tendency to conform to hinduism in caste matters and ceremonies may receive a check on this account. [278] 11. temple and car festival. the jains display great zeal in the construction of temples in which the images of the tirthakars are enshrined. the temples are commonly of the same fashion as those of the hindus, with a short, roughly conical spire tapering to a point at the apex, but they are frequently adorned with rich carved stone and woodwork. there are fine collections of temples at muktagiri in betul, kundalpur in damoh, and at mount abu, girnar, the hill of parasnath in chota nagpur, and other places in india. the best jain temples are often found in very remote spots, and it is suggested that they were built at times when the jains had to hide in such places to avoid hindu persecution. and wherever a community of jain merchants of any size has been settled for a generation or more several fine temples will probably be found. a jain bania who has grown rich considers the building of one or more temples to be the best method of expending his money and acquiring religious merit, and some of them spend all their fortune in this manner before their death. at the opening of a new temple the _rath_ or chariot festival should be held. wooden cars are made, sometimes as much as five stories high, and furnished with chambers for the images of the tirthakars. in these the idols of the hosts and all the guests are placed. each car should be drawn by two elephants, and the procession of cars moves seven times round the temple or pavilion erected for the ceremony. for building a temple and performing this ceremony honorary and hereditary titles are conferred. those who do it once receive the designation of singhai; for carrying it out twice they become sawai singhai; and on a third occasion seth. in such a ceremony performed at khurai in saugor one of the participators was already a seth, and in recognition of his great liberality a new title was devised and he became srimant seth. it is said, however, that if the car breaks and the elephants refuse to move, the title becomes derisive and is either 'lule singhai,' the lame one, or 'arku singhai,' the stumbler. if no elephants are available and the car has to be dragged by men, the title given is kadhore singhai. 12. images of the tirthakars. in the temples are placed the images of tirthakars, either of brass, marble, silver or gold. the images may be small or life-size or larger, and the deities are represented in a sitting posture with their legs crossed and their hands lying upturned in front, the right over the left, in the final attitude of contemplation prior to escape from the body and attainment of paradise. there may be several images in one temple, but usually there is only one, though a number of temples are built adjoining each other or round a courtyard. the favourite tirthakars found in temples are rishab deva, the first; anantnath, the fourteenth; santnath, the sixteenth; nemnath, the twenty-second; parasnath, the twenty-third; and vardhamana or mahavira, the twenty-fourth. [279] as already stated only mahavira and perhaps parasnath, his preceptor, were real historical personages, and the remainder are mythical. it is noticeable that to each of the tirthakars is attached a symbol, usually in the shape of an animal, and also a tree, apparently that tree under which the tirthakar is held to have been seated at the time that he obtained release from the body. and these animals and trees are in most cases those which are also revered and held sacred by the hindus. thus the sacred animal of rishab deva is the bull, and his tree the banyan; that of anantnath is the falcon or bear, and his tree the holy asoka; [280] that of santnath is the black-buck or indian antelope, and his tree the _tun_ or cedar; [281] the symbol of nemnath is the conch shell (sacred to vishnu), but his tree, the _vetasa_, is not known; the animal of parasnath is the serpent or cobra and his tree the _dhataki_; [282] and the animal of mahavira is the lion or tiger and his tree the teak tree. among the symbols of the other tirthakars are the elephant, horse, rhinoceros, boar, ape, the brahmani duck, the moon, the pipal tree, the lotus and the _swastik_ figure; and among their trees the mango, the _jamun_ [283] and the _champak_. [284] most of these animals and trees are sacred to the hindus, and the elephant, boar, ape, cobra and tiger were formerly worshipped themselves, and are now attached to the principal hindu gods. similarly the asoka, pipal, banyan and mango trees are sacred, and also the brahmani duck and the _swastik_ sign. it cannot be supposed that the tirthakars simply represent the deified anthropomorphic emanations from these animals, because the object of vardhamana's preaching was perhaps like that of buddha to do away with the promiscuous polytheism of the hindu religion. but nevertheless the association of the sacred animals and trees with the tirthakars furnished a strong connecting link between them and the hindu gods, and considerably lessens the opposition between the two systems of worship. the god indra is also frequently found sculptured as an attendant guardian in the jain temples. the fourteenth tirthakar, anantnath, is especially revered by the people because he is identified with gautama buddha. 13. religious observances. the priest of a jain temple is not usually a yati or ascetic, but an ordinary member of the community. he receives no remuneration and carries on his business at the same time. he must know the jain scriptures, and makes recitations from them when the worshippers are assembled. the jain will ordinarily visit a temple and see the god every morning before taking his food, and his wife often goes with him. if there is no temple in their own town or village they will go to another, provided that it is within a practicable distance. the offerings made at the temple consist of rice, almonds, cocoanuts, betel-leaves, areca, dates, cardamoms, cloves and similar articles. these are appropriated by the hindu mali or gardener, who is the menial servant employed to keep the temple and enclosures clean. the jain will not take back or consume himself anything which has been offered to the god. offerings of money are also made, and these go into the _bhandar_ or fund for maintenance of the temple. the jains observe fasts for the last week before the new moon in the months of phagun (february), asarh (june) and kartik (october). they also fast on the second, fifth, eighth, eleventh and fourteenth days in each fortnight of the four months of the rains from asarh to kartik, this being in lieu of the more rigorous fast of the ascetics during the rains. on these days they eat only once, and do not eat any green vegetables. after the week's fast at the end of kartik, at the commencement of the month of aghan, the jains begin to eat all green vegetables. 14. tenderness for animal life. the great regard for animal life is the most marked feature of the jain religion among the laity as well as the clergy. the former do not go to such extremes as the latter, but make it a practice not to eat food after sunset or before sunrise, owing to the danger of swallowing insects. now that their beliefs are becoming more rational, however, and the irksome nature of this rule is felt, they sometimes place a lamp with a sieve over it to produce rays of light, and consider that this serves as a substitute for the sun. formerly they maintained animal hospitals in which all kinds of animals and reptiles, including monkeys, poultry and other birds were kept and fed, and any which had broken a limb or sustained other injuries were admitted and treated. these were known as _pinjrapol_ or places of protection. [285] a similar institution was named _jivuti_, and consisted of a small domed building with a hole at the top large enough for a man to creep in, and here weevils and other insects which the jains might find in their food were kept and provided with grain. [286] in rajputana, where rich jains probably had much influence, considerable deference was paid to their objections to the death of any living thing. thus a mewar edict of a.d. 1693 directed that no one might carry animals for slaughter past their temples or houses. any man or animal led past a jain house for the purpose of being killed was thereby saved and set at liberty. traitors, robbers or escaped prisoners who fled for sanctuary to the dwelling of a jain yati or ascetic could not be seized there by the officers of the court. and during the four rainy months, when insects were most common, the potter's wheel and teli's oil-press might not be worked on account of the number of insects which would be destroyed by them. [287] 15. social condition of the jains. as they are nearly all of the bania caste the jains are usually prosperous, and considering its small size, the standard of wealth in the community is probably very high for india, the total number of jains in the country being about half a million. beggars are rare, and, like the parsis and europeans, the jains feeling themselves a small isolated body in the midst of a large alien population, have a special tenderness for their poorer members, and help them in more than the ordinary degree. most of the jain banias are grain-dealers and moneylenders like other banias. cultivation is prohibited by their religion, owing to the destruction of animal life which it involves, but in saugor, and also in the north of india, many of them have now taken to it, and some plough with their own hands. mr. marten notes [288] that the jains are beginning to put their wealth to a more practical purpose than the lavish erection and adornment of temples. schools and boarding-houses for boys and girls of their religion are being opened, and they subscribe liberally for the building of medical institutions. it may be hoped that this movement will continue and gather strength, both for the advantage of the jains themselves and the country generally. kabirpanthi [_bibliography_: right reverend g. h. westcott, _kabir and the kabirpanth_, cawnpore, 1907; _asiatic researches_, vol. xvi. pp. 53-75 (wilson's _hindu sects_); mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, article kabirpanthi; _central provinces census report_ (1891), sir b. robertson.] list of paragraphs 1. _life of kabir_. 2. _kabir's teachings_. 3. _his sayings_. 4. _the kabirpanthi sect in the central provinces_. 5. _the religious service_. 6. _initiation_. 7. _funeral rites_. 8. _idol worship_. 9. _statistics of the sect_. 1. life of kabir. _kabirpanthi sect_.--a well-known religious sect founded by the reformer kabir, who flourished in the fifteenth century, and is called by dr. hunter the luther of india. the sect has now split into two branches, the headquarters of one of these being at benares, and of the other at kawardha, or damakheda in raipur. bishop westcott gives the date of kabir's life as a.d. 1440--1518, while mr. crooke states that he flourished between 1488 and 1512. numerous legends are now told about him; thus, according to one of these, he was the son of a virgin brahman widow, who had been taken at her request to see the great reformer ramanand. he, unaware of her condition, saluted her with the benediction which he thought acceptable to all women, and wished her the conception of a son. his words could not be recalled, and the widow conceived, but, in order to escape the disgrace which would attach to her, exposed the child, who was kabir. he was found by a julaha or muhammadan weaver and his wife, and brought up by them. the object of this story is probably to connect kabir with ramanand as his successor in reformation and spiritual heir; because the ramanandis are an orthodox vaishnava sect, while the kabirpanthis, if they adhered to all kabir's preaching, must be considered as quite outside the pale of hinduism. to make out that kabir came into the world by ramanand's act provides him at any rate with an orthodox spiritual lineage. for the same reason [289] the date of kabir's birth is sometimes advanced as early as 1398 in order to bring it within the period of ramanand's lifetime (_circa_ 1300-1400). another story is that the deity took mortal shape as a child without birth, and was found by a newly-married weaver's wife lying in a lotus flower on a tank, like moses in the bulrushes. bishop westcott thus describes the event: "a feeling of thirst overcame nima, the newly-wedded wife of niru, the weaver, as after the marriage ceremony she was making her way to her husband's house. she approached the tank, but was much afraid when she there beheld the child. she thought in her heart, 'this is probably the living evidence of the shame of some virgin widow.' niru suggested that they might take the child to their house, but nima at first demurred, thinking that such action might give rise to scandal. women would ask, 'who is the mother of a child so beautiful that its eyes are like the lotus?' however, laying aside all fears, they took pity on the child. on approaching the house they were welcomed with the songs of women, but when the women saw the child dark thoughts arose in their heads, and they began to ask, 'how has she got this child?' nima replied that she had got the child without giving birth to it, and the women then refrained from asking further questions." it is at any rate a point generally agreed on that kabir was brought up in the house of a muhammadan weaver. it is said that he became the _chela_ or disciple of ramanand, but this cannot be true, as ramanand was dead before his birth. it seems probable that he was married, and had two children named kamal and kamali. bishop westcott states [290] that the _kabir kasauti_ explains the story of his supposed marriage by the fact that he had a girl disciple named loi, a foundling brought up by a holy man; she followed his precepts, and coming to benares, passed her time in the service of the saints. afterwards kabir raised two children from the dead and gave them to loi to bring up, and the ignorant suppose that these were his wife and children. such a statement would appear to indicate that kabir was really married, but after his sect had become important, this fact was felt to be a blot on his claim to be a divine prophet, and so was explained away in the above fashion. the plain speaking of kabir and his general disregard for religious conventions excited the enmity of both hindus and muhammadans, and he was accused before the emperor sikandar lodi, by whose orders various attempts were made to kill him; but he was miraculously preserved in each case, until at last the emperor acknowledged his divine character, asked his forgiveness, and expressed his willingness to undergo any punishment that he might name. to this kabir replied that a man should sow flowers for those who had sown him thorns. bishop westcott continues:--"all accounts agree that the earthly life of kabir came to a close at maghar, in the district of gorakhpur. tradition relates that kabir died in extreme old age, when his body had become infirm and his hands were no longer able to produce the music with which he had in younger days celebrated the praises of rama. "a difficulty arose with regard to the disposal of his body after death. the muhammadans desired to bury it and the hindus to cremate it. as the rival parties discussed the question with growing warmth kabir himself appeared and bade them raise the cloth in which the body lay enshrouded. they did as he commanded, and lo! beneath the cloth there lay but a heap of flowers. of these flowers the hindus removed half and burnt them at benares, while what remained were buried at maghar by the muhammadans." 2. kabir's teachings. the religion preached by kabir was of a lofty character. he rejected the divine inspiration of the vedas and the whole hindu mythology. he taught that there was no virtue in outward observances such as shaving the head, ceremonial purity and impurity, and circumcision among muhammadans. he condemned the worship of idols and the use of sect-marks and religious amulets, but in all ordinary matters allowed his followers to conform to usage in order to avoid giving offence. he abolished distinctions of caste. he enjoined a virtuous life, just conduct and kindly behaviour and much meditation on the virtues of god. he also condemned the love of money and gain. in fact, in many respects his creed resembles christianity, just as the life of kabir contains one or two episodes parallel to that of christ. he prescribed obedience to the guru or spiritual preceptor in all matters of faith and morals. his religion appears to have been somewhat of a pantheistic character and his idea of the deity rather vague. but he considered that the divine essence was present in all human beings, and apparently that those who freed themselves from sin and the trammels of worldly desires would ultimately be absorbed into the godhead. it does not seem that kabir made any exact pronouncement on the doctrine of the transmigration of souls and re-birth, but as he laid great stress on avoiding the destruction of any animal life, a precept which is to some extent the outcome of the belief in transmigration, he may have concurred in this tenet. some kabirpanthis, however, have discarded transmigration. bishop westcott states that they do believe in the re-birth of the soul after an intervening period of reward or punishment, but always apparently in a human body. 3. his sayings he would seem never to have promulgated any definite account of his own religion, nor did he write anything himself. he uttered a large number of sakhis or apothegms which were recorded by his disciples in the bijak, sukhanidhan and other works, and are very well known and often quoted by kabirpanthis and others. the influence of kabir extended beyond his own sect. nanak, the founder of the nanakpanthis and sikhs, was indebted to kabir for most of his doctrine, and the adi-granth or first sacred book of the sikhs is largely compiled from his sayings. other sects such as the dadupanthis also owe much to him. a small selection of his sayings from those recorded by bishop westcott may be given in illustration of their character: 1. adding cowrie to cowrie he brings together lakhs and crores. at the time of his departure he gets nothing at all, even his loin-cloth is plucked away. 2. fire does not burn it, the wind does not carry it away, no thief comes near it; collect the wealth of the name of rama, that wealth is never lost. 3. by force and love circumcision is made, i shall not agree to it, o brother. if god will make me a turk by him will i be circumcised; if a man becomes a turk by being circumcised what shall be done with a woman? she must remain a hindu. 4. the rosaries are of wood, the gods are of stone, the ganges and jumna are water. rama and krishna are dead. the four vedas are fictitious stories. 5. if by worshipping stones one can find god, i shall worship a mountain; better than these stones (idols) are the stones of the flour-mill with which men grind their corn. 6. if by immersion in the water salvation be obtained, the frogs bathe continually. as the frogs so are these men, again and again they fall into the womb. 7. as long as the sun does not rise the stars sparkle; so long as perfect knowledge of god is not obtained, men practise rites and ceremonies. 8. brahma is dead with siva who lived in kashi; the immortals are dead. in mathura, krishna, the cowherd, died. the ten incarnations (of vishnu) are dead. machhandranath, gorakhnath, dattatreya and vyas are no longer living. kabir cries with a loud voice, all these have fallen into the slip-knot of death. 9. while dwelling in the womb there is no clan nor caste; from the seed of brahm the whole of creation is made. whose art thou the brahman? whose am i the sudra? whose blood am i? whose milk art thou? kabir says, 'who reflects on brahm, he by me is made a brahman.' 10. to be truthful is best of all if the heart be truthful. a man may speak as much as he likes; but there is no pleasure apart from truthfulness. 11. if by wandering about naked union with hari be obtained; then every deer of the forest will attain to god. if by shaving the head perfection is achieved, the sheep is saved, no one is lost. if salvation is got by celibacy, a eunuch should be the first saved. kabir says, 'hear, o man and brother; without the name of rama no one has obtained salvation.' the resemblance of some of the above ideas to the teaching of the gospels is striking, and, as has been seen, the story of kabir's birth might have been borrowed from the bible, while the kabirpanthi chauka or religious service has one or two features in common with christianity. these facts raise a probability, at any rate, that kabir or his disciples had some acquaintance with the bible or with the teaching of christian missionaries. if such a supposition were correct, it would follow that christianity had influenced the religious thought of india to a greater extent than is generally supposed. because, as has been seen, the nanakpanthi and sikh sects are mainly based on the teaching of kabir. another interesting though accidental resemblance is that the religion of kabir was handed down in the form of isolated texts and sayings like the logia of jesus, and was first reduced to writing in a connected form by his disciples. the fact that kabir called the deity by the name of rama apparently does not imply that he ascribed a unique and sole divinity to the hero king of ajodhia. he had to have some name which might convey a definite image or conception to his uneducated followers, and may have simply adopted that which was best known and most revered by them. 4. the kabirpanthi sect in the central provinces. the two principal headquarters of the kabirpanthi sect are at benaires and at kawardha, the capital of the state of that name, or damakheda in the raipur district. these appear to be practically independent of each other, the head mahants exercising separate jurisdiction over members of the sect who acknowledge their authority. the benares branch of the sect is known as bap (father) and the kawardha branch as mai (mother). in 1901 out of 850,000 kabirpanthis in india 500,000 belonged to the central provinces. the following account of the practices of the sect in the province is partly compiled from local information, and it differs in some minor, though not in essential, points from that given by bishop westcott. the benares church is called the kabirchaura math and the kawardha one the dharam das math. one of the converts to kabir's teaching was dharam das, a kasaundhan bania, who distributed the whole of his wealth, eighteen lakhs of rupees, in charity at his master's bidding and became a mendicant. in reward for this kabir promised him that his family should endure for forty-two generations. the mahants of kawardha claim to be the direct descendants of dharam das. they marry among kasaundhan banias, and their sons are initiated and succeed them. the present mahants dayaram and ugranam are twelfth and thirteenth in descent from dharam das. kabir not only promised that there should be forty-two mahants, but gave the names of each of them, so that the names of all future mahants are known. [291] ugranam was born of a marar woman, and, though acclaimed as the successor of his father, was challenged by dhirajnam, whose parentage was legitimate. their dispute led to a case in the bombay high court, which was decided in favour of dhirajnam, and he accordingly occupied the seat at kawardha. dayaram is his successor. but dhirajnam was unpopular, and little attention was paid to him. ugranam lives at damakheda, near simga, [292] and enjoys the real homage of the followers of the sect, who say that dhiraj was the official mahant but ugra the people's mahant. of the previous mahants, four are buried at kawardha, two at kudarmal in bilaspur, the site of a kabirpanthi fair, and two at mandla. under the head mahant are a number of subordinate mahants or gurus, each of whom has jurisdiction over the members of the sect in a certain area. the guru pays so much a year to the head mahant for his letter of jurisdiction and takes all the offerings himself. these subordinate mahants may be celibate or married, and about two-thirds of them are married. a dissenting branch called nadiapanthi has now arisen in raipur, all of whom are celibate. the mahants have a high peaked cap somewhat of the shape of a mitre, a long sleeveless white robe, a _chauri_ or whisk, _chauba_ or silver stick, and a staff called _kuari_ or _aska_. it is said that on one occasion there was a very high flood at puri and the sea threatened to submerge jagannath's temple, but kabir planted a stick in the sand and said, 'come thus far and no further,' and the flood was stayed. in memory of this the mahants carry the crutched staff, which also serves as a means of support. when officiating they wear a small embroidered cap. each mahant has a diwan or assistant, and he travels about his charge during the open season, visiting the members of the sect. a mahant should not annoy any one by begging, but rather than do so should remain hungry. he must not touch any flesh, fish or liquor. and if any living thing is hungry he should give it of his own food. 5. the religious service. a kabirpanthi religious service is called chauka, the name given to the space marked out for it with lines of wheat-flour, 5 or 7 1/2 yards square. [293] in the centre is made a pattern of nine lotus flowers to represent the sun, moon and seven planets, and over this a bunch of real flowers is laid. at one corner is a small hollow pillar of dough serving as a candle-stick, in which a stick covered with cotton-wool burns as a lamp, being fed with butter. the mahant sits at one end and the worshippers sit round. _bhajans_ or religious songs are sung to the music of cymbals by one or two, and the others repeat the name of kabir counting on their _kanthi_ or necklace of beads. the mahant lights a piece of camphor and waves it backwards and forwards in a dish. this is called arti, a hindu rite. he then breaks a cocoanut on a stone, a thing which only a mahant may do. the flesh of the cocoanut is cut up and distributed to the worshippers with betel-leaf and sugar. each receives it on his knees, taking the greatest care that none fall on the ground. if any of the cocoanut remain, it is kept by the mahant for another service. the hindus think that the cocoanut is a substitute for a human head. it is supposed to have been created by viswamitra and the _buch_ or tuft of fibre at the end represents the hair. the kabirpanthis will not eat any part of a cocoanut from other hindus from which this tuft has been removed, as they fear that it may have been broken off in the name of some god or spirit. once the _buch_ is removed the cocoanut is not an acceptable offering, as its likeness to a human head is considered to be destroyed. after this the mahant gives an address and an interval occurs. some little time afterwards the worshippers reassemble. meanwhile, a servant has taken the dough candle-stick and broken it up, mixing it with fragments of the cocoanut, butter and more flour. it is then brought to the mahant, who makes it into little _puris_ or wafers. the mahant has also a number of betel-leaves known as _parwana_ or message, which have been blessed by the head _guru_ at kawardha or damakheda. these are cut up into small pieces for delivery to each disciple and are supposed to represent the body of kabir. he has also brought _charan amrita_ or nectar of the feet, consisting of water in which the feet of the head _guru_ have been washed. this is mixed with fine earth and made up into pills. the worshippers reassemble, any who may feel unworthy absenting themselves, and each receives from the mahant, with one hand folded beneath the other, a wafer of the dough, a piece of the _parwana_ or betel-leaf, and a pill of the foot-nectar. after partaking of the sacred food they cleanse their hands, and the proceedings conclude with a substantial meal defrayed either by subscription or by a well-to-do member. bishop westcott states that the _parwana_ or betel-leaf is held to represent kabir's body, and the kabirpanthis say that the flame of the candle is the life or spirit of kabir, so that the dough of the candle-stick might also be taken to symbolise his body. the cocoanut eaten at the preliminary service is undoubtedly offered by hindus as a substitute for a human body, though the kabirpanthis may now disclaim this idea. and the foot-nectar of the _guru_ might be looked upon as a substitute for the blood of kabir. 6. initiation. the initiation of a proselyte is conducted at a similar service, and he is given cocoanut and betel-leaf. he solemnly vows to observe the rules of the sect, and the mahant whispers a text into his ear and hangs a necklace of wooden beads of the wood of the _tulsi_ or basil round his neck. this _kanthi_ or necklace is the mark of the kabirpanthi, but if lost, it can be replaced by any other necklace, not necessarily of _tulsi_. one man was observed with a necklace of pink beads bought at allahabad. sometimes only a single _tulsi_ bead is worn on a string. the convert is also warned against eating the fruit of the _gular_ [294] fig-tree, as these small figs are always full of insects. kabir condemned sect-marks, but many kabirpanthis now have them, the mark usually being a single broad streak of white sandalwood from the top of the forehead to the nose. 7. funeral rites. the kabirpanthis are usually buried. formerly, the bodies of married people both male and female were buried inside the compound of the house, but this is now prohibited on sanitary grounds. a cloth is placed in the grave and the corpse laid on it and another cloth placed over it covering the face. over the grave a little platform is made on which the mahant and two or three other persons can sit. on the twenty-first day after the death, if possible, the mahant should hold a service for the dead. the form of the service is that already described, the mahant sitting on the grave and the _chauka_ being made in front of it. he lays a cocoanut and flowers on the grave and lights the lamp, afterwards distributing the cocoanut. the kabirpanthis think that the soul of the dead person remains in the grave up to this time, but when the lamp is burnt the soul mingles with the flame, which is the soul of kabir, and is absorbed into the deity. when breaking a cocoanut over the grave of the dead the kabirpanthis say, 'i am breaking the skull of yama,' because they think that the soul of a kabirpanthi is absorbed into the deity and therefore is not liable to be taken down to hell and judged by chitragupta and punished by yama. from this it would appear that some of them do not believe in the transmigration of souls. 8. idol worship. ordinarily the kabirpanthis have no regular worship except on the occasion of a visit of the _guru_. but sometimes in the morning they fold their hands and say '_sat sahib_,' or the 'true god,' two or three times. they also clean a space with cowdung and place a lighted lamp on it and say '_jai kabir ki_,' or 'victory to kabir.' they conceive of the deity as consisting of light, and therefore it seems probable that, like the other vaishnava sects, they really take him to be the sun. kabir prohibited the worship of all idols and visible symbols, but as might be expected the illiterate kabirpanthis cannot adhere strictly to this. some of them worship the bijak, the principal sacred book of their sect. at rudri near dhamtari on the mahanadi one of the gurus is buried, and a religious fair is held there. recently a platform has been made with a footprint of kabir marked on it, and this is venerated by the pilgrims. similarly, kudarmal is held to contain the grave of churaman, the first _guru_ after dharam das, and a religious fair is held here at which the kabirpanthis attend and venerate the grave. dharam das himself is said to be buried at puri, the site of jagannath's temple, but it seems doubtful whether this story may not have been devised in order to give the kabirpanthis a valid reason for going on pilgrimage to puri. similarly, an arch and platform in the court of the temple of rama at ramtek is considered to belong to the kabirpanthis, though the brahmans of the temple say that the arch was really made by the daughter of a surajvansi king of the locality in order to fasten her swing to it. once in three years the mahar kabirpanthis of mandla make a sacrificial offering of a goat to dulha deo, the bridegroom god, and eat the flesh, burying the remains beneath the floor. on this occasion they also drink liquor. other kabirpanthis venerate brahma, vishnu and siva, and light a lamp and burn camphor in their names, but do not make idols of them. they will accept the cooked food offered to vishnu as satnarayan and a piece of the cocoanut kernel offered to devi, but not the offerings to any other deities. and a number even of illiterate kabirpanthis appear to abstain from any kind of idol-worship. 9. statistics of the sect. about 600,000 kabirpanthis were returned in the central provinces in 1911, this being equivalent to an increase of 19 per cent since the previous census. as this was less than the increase in the total population the sect appears to be stationary or declining in numbers. the weaving castes are usually kabirpanthis, because kabir was a weaver. the brahmans call it 'the weaver's religion.' of the panka caste 84 per cent were returned as members of the sect, and this caste appears to be of sectarian formation, consisting of pans or gandas who have become kabirpanthis. other weaving castes such as balahis, koris, koshtis and mahars belong to the sect in considerable numbers, and it is also largely professed by other low castes as the telis or oilmen, of whom 16 per cent adhere to it, and by dhobis and chamars; and by some castes from whom a brahman will take water, as the ahirs, kurmis, lodhis and kachhis. though there seems little doubt that one of the principal aims of kabir's preaching was the abolition of the social tyranny of the caste system, which is the most real and to the lower classes the most hateful and burdensome feature of hinduism, yet as in the case of so many other reformers his crusade has failed, and a man who becomes a kabirpanthi does not cease to be a member of his caste or to conform to its observances. and a few brahmans who have been converted, though renounced by their own caste, have, it is said, been compensated by receiving high posts in the hierarchy of the sect. formerly all members of the sect took food together at the conclusion of each chauka or service conducted by a mahant. but this is no longer the case, and presumably different chaukas are now held for communities of different castes. only on the 13th day of bhadon (august), which was the birthday of kabir, as many kabirpanthis as can meet at the headquarters of the guru take food together without distinction of caste in memory of their founder's doctrine. otherwise the kabirpanthis of each caste make a separate group within it, but among the lower castes they take food and marry with members of the caste who are not kabirpanthis. these latter are commonly known as saktaha, a term which in chhattisgarh signifies an eater of meat as opposed to a kabirpanthi who refrains from it. the mahars and pankas permit intermarriage between kabirpanthi and saktaha families, the wife in each case adopting the customs and beliefs of her husband. kabirpanthis also wear the _choti_ or scalp-lock and shave the head for the death of a relative, in spite of kabir's contempt of the custom. still, the sect has in the past afforded to the uneducated classes a somewhat higher ideal of spiritual life than the chaotic medley of primitive superstitions and beliefs in witchcraft and devil worship, from which the brahmans, caring only for the recognition of their social supremacy, made no attempt to raise them. lingayat sect _lingayat sect_.--a sect devoted to the worship of siva which has developed into a caste. the lingayat sect is supposed [295] to have been founded in the twelfth century by one basava, a brahman minister of the king of the carnatic. he preached the equality of all men and of women also by birth, and the equal treatment of all. women were to be treated with the same respect as men, and any neglect or incivility to a woman would be an insult to the god whose image she wore and with whom she was one. caste distinctions were the invention of brahmans and consequently unworthy of acceptance. the _madras census report_ [296] of 1871 further states that basava preached the immortality of the soul, and mentions a theory that some of the traditions concerning him might have been borrowed from the legends of the syrian christians, who had obtained a settlement in madras at a period not later than the seventh century. the founder of the sect thus took as his fundamental tenet the abolition of caste, but, as is usual in the history of similar movements, the ultimate result has been that the lingayats have themselves become a caste. in bombay they have two main divisions, mr. enthoven states: [297] the panchamsalis or descendants of the original converts from brahmanism and the non-panchamsalis or later converts. the latter are further subdivided into a number of groups, apparently endogamous. converts of each caste becoming lingayats form a separate group of their own, as ahir lingayats, bania lingayats and so on, severing their connection with the parent caste. a third division consists of members of unclean castes attached to the lingayat community by reason of performing to it menial service. a marked tendency has recently been displayed by the community in bombay to revert to the original brahmanic configuration of society, from which its founder sought to free it. on the occasion of the census a complete scheme was supplied to the authorities professing to show the division of the lingayats into the four groups of brahman, kshatriya, vaishya and sudra. in the central provinces lingayats were not shown as a separate caste, and the only return of members of the sect is from the bania caste, whose subcastes were abstracted. lingayat was recorded as a subcaste by 8000 banias, and these form a separate endogamous group. but members of other castes as gaolis, malis, patwas and the telugu balijas are also lingayats and marry among themselves. a child becomes a lingayat by being invested with the _lingam_ or phallic sign of siva, seven days after its birth, by the jangam priest. this is afterwards carried round the neck in a small casket of silver, brass or wood throughout life, and is buried with the corpse at death. the corpse of a lingayat cannot be burnt because it must not be separated from the _lingam_, as this is considered to be the incarnation of siva and must not be destroyed in the fire. if it is lost the owner must be invested with a fresh one by the jangam in the presence of the caste. it is worshipped three times a day, being washed in the morning with the ashes of cowdung cakes, while in the afternoon leaves of the _bel_ tree and food are offered to it. when a man is initiated as a lingayat in after-life, the jangam invests him with the _lingam_, pours holy water on to his head and mutters in his ear the sacred text, '_aham so aham_,' or 'i and you are now one and the same.' the lingayats are strict vegetarians, and will not expose their drinking water to the sun, as they think that by doing this insects would be bred in it and that by subsequently swallowing them they would be guilty of the destruction of life. they are careful to leave no remains of a meal uneaten. their own priests, the jangams, officiate at their weddings, and after the conclusion of the ceremony the bride and bridegroom break raw cakes of pulse placed on the other's back, the bride with her foot and the bridegroom with his fist. widow-marriage is allowed. the dead are buried in a sitting posture with their faces turned towards the east. water sanctified by the jangam having dipped his toe into it is placed in the mouth of the corpse. the jangam presses down the earth over the grave and then stands on it and refuses to come off until he is paid a sum of money varying with the means of the man, the minimum payment being rs. 1-4. in some cases a platform with an image of mahadeo is made over the grave. when meeting each other the lingayats give the salutation _sharnat_, or, 'i prostrate myself before you.' they address the jangam as maharaj and touch his feet with their head. the lingayat banias of the central provinces usually belong to madras and speak telugu in their houses. as they deny the authority of brahmans, the latter have naturally a great antipathy for them, and make various statements to their discredit. one of these is that after a death the lingayats have a feast, and, setting up the corpse in the centre, arrange themselves round it and eat their food. but this is not authenticated. similarly the abbe dubois stated: [298] "they do not recognise the laws relating to defilement which are generally accepted by other castes, such, for instance, as those occasioned by a woman's periodical ailments, and by the death and funeral of relations. their indifference to all such prescriptive customs relating to defilement and cleanliness has given rise to a hindu proverb which says, 'there is no river for a lingayat,' meaning that the members of the sect do not recognise, at all events on many occasions, the virtues and merits of ablutions." the same author also states that they entirely reject the doctrine of migration of souls, and that, in consequence of their peculiar views on this point, they have no _tithis_ or anniversary festivals to commemorate the dead. a lingayat is no sooner buried than he is forgotten. in view of these remarks it must be held to be doubtful whether the lingayats have the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. muhammadan religion [_bibliography_: rev. t.p. hughes, _notes on muhammadanism_, and _dictionary of islam_, london, w.h. allen, 1895; _bombay gazetteer_, vol. ix. part ii. _muhammadans of gujarat_, by khan bahadur fazalullah lutfullah faridi; _qaun-i-islam,_ g.a. herklots, madras, higginbotham, reprint 1895; _muhammadanism and early developments of muhammadanism_, by professor d.s. margoliouth; _life of mahomet_, by sir. w. muir; mr. j.t. marten's _central provinces census report_, 1911. this article is mainly compiled from the excellent accounts in the _bombay gazetteer_ and the _dictionary of islam_.] list of paragraphs 1. _statistics and distribution_. 2. _occupations_. 3. _muhammadan castes_. 4. _the four tribal divisions_. 5. _marriage_. 6. _polygamy, divorce and widow-remarriage_. 7. _devices for procuring children, and beliefs about them_. 8. _pregnancy rites_. 9. _childbirth and naming children_. 10. _the ukika sacrifice_. 11. _shaving the hair and ear-piercing_ 12. _birthdays_. 13. _circumcision, and maturity of girls_. 14. _funeral rites_. 15. _muhammadan sects. shiah and sunni_. 16. _leading religious observations. prayer._ 17. _the fast ramazan._ 18. _the pilgrimage to mecca._ 19. _festivals. the muharram_. 20. _id-ul-fitr._ 21. _id-ul-zoha._ 22. _mosques._ 22. _mosques_ 23. _the friday service._ 24. _priest. mulla and maulvi._ 25. _the kazi._ 26. _general features of islam._ 27. _the koran._ 28. _the traditions_ 29. _the schools of law._ 30. _food._ 31. _dress._ 32. _social rules. salutations._ 33. _customs._ 34. _position of women._ 35. _interest on money._ 36. _muhammadan education._ 1. statistics and distribution. _muhammadan religion._--the muhammadans numbered nearly 600,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911, or about 3 per cent of the population. of these about two-fifths belong to berar, the amraoti and akola districts containing more than 70,000 each; while of the 350,000 returned from the central provinces proper, about 40,000 reside in each of the jubbulpore, nagpur and nimar districts. berar was for a long period governed by the muhammadan bahmani dynasty, and afterwards formed part of the mughal empire, passing to the mughal viceroy, the nizam of hyderabad, when he became an independent ruler. though under british administration, it is still legally a part of hyderabad territory, and a large proportion of the official classes as well as many descendants of retired soldiers are muhammadans. similarly nimar was held by the muhammadan faruki dynasty of khandesh for 200 years, and was then included in the mughal empire, burhanpur being the seat of a viceroy. at this period a good deal of forcible conversion probably took place, and a considerable section of the bhils nominally became muhammadans. when the gond raja of deogarh embraced islam after his visit to delhi, members of this religion entered his service, and he also brought back with him various artificers and craftsmen. the cavalry of the bhonsla raja of nagpur was largely composed of muhammadans, and in many cases their descendants have settled on the land. in the chhattisgarh division and the feudatory states the number of muhammadans is extremely small, constituting less than one per cent of the population. 2. occupations. no less than 37 per cent of the total number of muhammadans live in towns, though the general proportion of urban population in the provinces is only 7 1/2 per cent. the number of muhammadans in government service excluding the police and army, is quite disproportionate to their small numerical strength in the provinces, being 20 per cent of all persons employed. in the garrison they actually outnumber hindus, while in the police they form 37 per cent of the whole force. in the medical and teaching professions also the number of muhammadans is comparatively large, while of persons of independent means a proportion of 29 per cent are of this religion. of persons employed in domestic services nearly 14 per cent of the total are muhammadans, and of beggars, vagrants and prostitutes 23 per cent. muhammadans are largely engaged in making and selling clothes, outnumbering the hindus in this trade; they consist of two entirely different classes, the muhammadan tailors who work for hire, and the bohra and khoja shopkeepers who sell all kinds of cloth; but both live in towns. of dealers in timber and furniture 36 per cent are muhammadans, and they also engage in all branches of the retail trade in provisions. the occupations of the lower-class muhammadans are the manufacture of glass bangles and slippers and the dyeing of cloth. [299] 3. muhammadan castes. about 14 per cent of the muhammadans returned caste names. the principal castes are the bohra and khoja merchants, who are of the shiah sect, and the cutchis or memans from gujarat, who are also traders; these classes are foreigners in the province, and many of them do not bring their wives, though they have now begun to settle here. the resident castes of muhammadans are the bahnas or cotton-cleaners; julahas, weavers; kacheras, glass bangle-makers; kunjras, greengrocers; kasais, butchers; and the rangrez caste of dyers who dye with safflower. as already stated, a section of the bhils are at least nominally muhammadans, and the fakirs or muhammadan beggars are also considered a separate caste. but no caste of good standing such as the rajput and jat includes any considerable number of muhammadans in the central provinces, though in northern india large numbers of them belong to this religion, while retaining substantially their caste usages. the muhammadan castes in the central provinces probably consist to a large extent of the descendants of hindu converts. their religious observances present a curious mixture of hindu and muhammadan rites, as shown in the separate articles on these castes. proper muhammadans look down on them and decline to take food or intermarry with them. 4. the four tribal divisions. the muhammadans proper are usually divided into four classes, shaikh, saiyad, mughal and pathan. of these the shaikhs number nearly 300,000, the pathans nearly 150,000, the saiyads under 50,000, and the pathans about 9000 in the central provinces. the term saiyad properly means a descendant of ali, the son-in-law, and the lady fatimah, the daughter of the prophet. they use the title saiyad or mir [300] before, and sometimes shah after, their name, while women employ that of begum. many saiyads act as pirs or spiritual guides to other muhammadan families. the external mark of a saiyad is the right to wear a green turban, but this is of course no longer legally secured to them. the title shaikh properly belongs only to three branches of the quraish tribe or that of muhammad: the siddikis, who claim descent from abu bakr siddik, [301] the father-in-law of the prophet and the second caliph; the farukis claiming it from umar ul faruk, the third caliph, and also the father-in-law of the prophet; and the abbasis, descended from abbas, one of the prophet's nine uncles. the farukis are divided into two families, the chistis and faridis. both these titles, however, and especially shaikh, are now arrogated by large numbers of persons who cannot have any pretence to the above descent. sir d. ibbetson quotes a proverb, 'last year i was a butcher; this year i am a shaikh; next year if prices rise i shall become a saiyad.' and sir h. m. elliot relates that much amusement was caused in 1860 at gujarat by the sherishtadar or principal officer of the judicial department describing himself in an official return as saiyad hashimi quraishi, that is, of the family and lineage of the prophet. his father, who was living in obscurity in his native town, was discovered to be a lohar or blacksmith. [302] the term shaikh means properly an elder, and is freely taken by persons of respectable position. shaikhs commonly use either shaikh or muhammad as their first names. the pathans were originally the descendants of afghan immigrants. the name is probably the indian form of the word pushtun (plural pushtanah), now given to themselves by speakers of the pushtu language. [303] the men add khan to their names and the women khatun or khatu. it is not at all likely either that the bulk of the muhammadans who returned themselves as pathans in the central provinces are really of afghan descent. the mughals proper are of two classes, irani or persian, who belong to the shiah sect, and turani, turkish or tartar, who are sunnis. mughals use the title mirza (short for amirzada, son of a prince) before their names, and add beg after them. it is said that the prophet addressed a mughal by the title of beg after winning a victory, and since then it has always been used. mughal women have the designation khanum after their names. [304] formerly the saiyads and mughals constituted the superior class of muhammadan gentry, and never touched a plough themselves, like the hindu brahmans and rajputs. these four divisions are not proper subcastes as they are not endogamous. a man of one group can marry a woman of any other and she becomes a member of her husband's group; but the daughters of saiyads do not usually marry others than saiyads. nor is there any real distinction of occupation between them, the men following any occupation indifferently. in fact, the divisions are now little more than titular, a certain distinction attaching to the titles saiyad and shaikh when borne by families who have a hereditary or prescriptive right to use them. 5. marriage. the census returns of 1911 show that three-fourths of muhammadan boys now remain unmarried till the age of 20; while of girls 31 per cent are unmarried between 15 and 20, but only 13 per cent above that age. the age of marriage of boys may therefore be taken at 18 to 25 or later, and that of girls at 10 to 20. the age of marriage both of girls and boys is probably getting later, especially among the better classes. marriage is prohibited to the ordinary near relatives, but not between first cousins. a man cannot marry his foster-mother or foster-sister, unless the foster-brother and sister were nursed by the same woman at intervals widely separated. a man may not marry his wife's sister during his wife's lifetime unless she has been divorced. a muhammadan cannot marry a polytheist, but he may marry a jewess or a christian. no specific religious ceremony is appointed, nor are any rites essential for the contraction of a valid marriage. if both persons are legally competent, and contract marriage with each other in the presence of two male or one male and two female witnesses, it is sufficient. and the shiah law even dispenses with witnesses. as a rule the kazi performs the ceremony, and reads four chapters of the koran with the profession of belief, the bridegroom repeating them after him. the parties then express their mutual consent, and the kazi, raising his hands, says, "the great god grant that mutual love may reign between this couple as it existed between adam and eve, abraham and sarah, joseph and zuleika, moses and zipporah, his highness muhammad and ayesha, and his highness ali and fatimah." [305] a dowry or _meher_ must be paid to the wife, which under the law must not be less than ten silver _dirhams_ or drachmas; but it is customary to fix it at rs. 17, the dowry of fatimah, the prophet's favourite daughter, or at rs. 750, that of the prophet's wife, ayesha. [306] the wedding is, however, usually accompanied by feasts and celebrations not less elaborate or costly than those of the hindus. several hindu ceremonies are also included, such as the anointing of the bride and bridegroom with oil and turmeric, and setting out earthen vessels, which are meant to afford a dwelling-place for the spirits of ancestors, at least among the lower classes. [307] another essential rite is the rubbing of the hands and feet of the bridegroom with _mehndi_ or red henna. the marriage is usually arranged and a ceremony of betrothal held at least a year before it actually takes place. 6. polygamy, divorce and widow-remarriage. a husband can divorce his wife at pleasure by merely repeating the prescribed sentences. a wife can obtain divorce from her husband for impotence, madness, leprosy or non-payment of the dowry. a woman who is divorced can claim her dowry if it has not been paid. polygamy is permitted among muhammadans to the number of four wives, but it is very rare in the central provinces. owing to the fact that members of the immigrant trading castes leave their wives at home in gujarat, the number of married women returned at the census was substantially less than that of married men. a feeling in favour of the legal prohibition of polygamy is growing up among educated muhammadans, and many of them sign a contract at marriage not to take a second wife during the lifetime of the first. there is no prohibition on the remarriage of widows in muhammadan law, but the hindu rule on the subject has had considerable influence, and some muhammadans of good position object to the marriage of widows in their family. the custom of the seclusion of women also, as mr. marten points out, operates as a bar to a widow finding a husband for herself. 7. devices for procuring children, and beliefs about them. women who desire children resort to the shrines of saints, who are supposed to be able to induce fertility. "blochmann notes that the tomb of saint salim-i-chishti at fatehpur-sikri, in whose house the emperor jahangir was born, is up to the present day visited by childless hindu and musalman women. a tree in the compound of the saint shaih alam of ahmedabad yields a peculiar acorn-like fruit, which is sought after far and wide by those desiring children; the woman is believed to conceive from the moment of eating the fruit. if the birth of a child follows the eating of the acorn, the man and woman who took it from the tree should for a certain number of years come at every anniversary of the saint and nourish the tree with a supply of milk. in addition to this, jasmine and rose-bushes at the shrines of certain saints are supposed to possess issue-giving properties. to draw virtue from the saint's jasmine the woman who yearns for a child bathes and purifies herself and goes to the shrine, and seats herself under or near the jasmine bush with her skirt spread out. as many flowers as fall into her lap, so many children will she have. in some localities if after the birth of one child no other son is born, or being born does not live, it is supposed that the first-born child is possessed by a malignant spirit who destroys the young lives of the new-born brothers and sisters. so at the mother's next confinement sugar and sesame-seed are passed seven or nine times over the new-born infant from head to foot, and the elder boy or girl is given them to eat. the sugar represents the life of the young one given to the spirit who possesses the first-born. a child born with teeth already visible is believed to exercise a very malignant influence over its parents, and to render the early death of one of them almost certain." [308] 8. pregnancy rites. in the seventh or ninth month of pregnancy a fertility rite is performed as among the hindus. the woman is dressed in new clothes, and her lap is filled with fruit and vegetables by her friends. in some localities a large number of pots are obtained, and a little water is placed in each of them by a fertile married woman who has never lost a child. prayers are repeated over the pots in the names of the male and female ancestors of the family, and especially of the women who have died in childbirth. this appears to be a propitiation of the spirits of ancestors. [309] 9. childbirth and naming children. a woman goes to her parents' home after the last pregnancy rite and stays there till her confinement is over. the rites performed by the midwife at birth resemble those of the hindus. when the child is born the _azan_ or summons to prayer is uttered aloud in his right ear, and the _takbir_ or muhammadan creed in his left. the child is named on the sixth or seventh day. sometimes the name of an ancestor is given, or the initial letter is selected from the koran at a venture and a name beginning with that letter is chosen. some common names are those of the hundred titles of god combined with the prefix _abd_ or servant. such are abdul aziz, servant of the all-honoured; ghani, the everlasting; karim, the gracious; rahim, the pitiful; rahman, the merciful; razzak, the bread-giver; sattar, the concealer; and so on, with the prefix abdul, or servant of, in each case. similarly abdullah, or servant of god, was the name of muhammad's father, and is a very favourite one. other names end with baksh or 'given by,' as haidar baksh, given by the lion (ali); these are similar to the hindu names ending in prasad. the prefix ghulam, or slave of, is also used, as ghulam hussain, slave of hussain; and names of hebrew patriarchs mentioned in the koran are not uncommon, as ayub job, harun aaron, ishaq isaac, musa moses, yakub jacob, yusaf joseph, and so on. [310] 10. the ukika sacrifice. after childbirth the mother must not pray or fast, touch the koran or enter a mosque for forty days; on the expiry of this period she is bathed and dressed in good clothes, and her relatives bring presents for the child. some people do not let her oil or comb her hair during these days. the custom would seem to be a relic of the period of impurity of women after childbirth. on the fortieth day the child is placed in a cradle for the first time. in some localities a rite called ukika is performed after the birth of a child. it consists of a sacrifice in the name of the child of two he-goats for a boy and one for a girl. the goats must be above a year old, and without spot or blemish. the meat must be separated from the bones so that not a bone is broken, and the bones, skin, feet and head are afterwards buried in the earth. when the flesh is served the following prayer is said by the father: "o, almighty god, i offer in the stead of my own offspring life for life, blood for blood, head for head, bone for bone, hair for hair, and skin for skin. in the name of god do i sacrifice this he-goat." this is apparently a relic of the substitution of a goat for ishmael when abraham was offering him as a sacrifice. the muhammadans say that it was ishmael instead of isaac who was thus offered, and they think that ishmael or ismail was the ancestor of all the arabs. [311] 11. shaving the hair and ear-piercing. either on the same day as the ukika sacrifice or soon afterwards the child's hair is shaved for the first time. by the rich the hair is weighed against silver and this sum is distributed to beggars. it is then tied up in a piece of cloth and either buried or thrown into a river, or sometimes set afloat on a little toy raft in the name of a saint. occasionally tufts of hair or even the whole head may be left unshaven in the name of a saint, and after one or more years the child is taken to the saint's tomb and the hair shaved there; or if this cannot be done it is cut off at home in the name of the saint. [312] when a girl is one or two years old the lobes of her ears are bored. by degrees other holes are bored along the edge of the ear and even in the centre, till by the time she has attained the age of two or three years she has thirteen holes in the right ear and twelve in the left. little silver rings and various kinds of earrings are inserted and worn in the holes. but the practice of boring so many holes has now been abandoned by the better-class muhammadans. 12. birthdays. the child's birthday is known as _sal-girah_ and is celebrated by a feast. a knot is tied in a red thread and annually thereafter a fresh knot to mark his age, and prayers are offered in the child's name to the patriarch noah, who is believed to have lived to five hundred or a thousand years, and hence to have the power of conferring longevity on the child. when a child is four years, four months and four days old the ceremony of bismillah or taking the name of god is held, which is obligatory on all muhammadans. friends are invited, and the child is dressed in a flowered robe (_sahra_) and repeats the first chapters of the koran after his or her tutor. [313] 13. circumcision, and maturity of girls. a boy is usually circumcised at the age of six or seven, but among some classes of shiahs and the arabs the operation is performed a few days after birth. the barber operates and the child is usually given a little _bhang_ or other opiate. some muhammadans leave circumcision till an age bordering on puberty, and then perform it with a pomp and ceremony almost equalling those of a marriage. when a girl arrives at the age of puberty she is secluded for seven days, and for this period eats only butter, bread and sugar, all fish, flesh, salt and acid food being prohibited. in the evening she is bathed, warm water is poured on her head, and among the lower classes an entertainment is given to friends. [314] 14. funeral rites. the same word _janazah_ is used for the corpse, the bier and the funeral. when a man is at the point of death a chapter of the koran, telling of the happiness awaiting the true believer in the future life, is read, and some money or sherbet is dropped into his mouth. after death the body is carefully washed and wrapped in three or five cloths for a male or female respectively. some camphor or other sweet-smelling stuff is placed on the bier. women do not usually attend funerals, and the friends and relatives of the deceased walk behind the bier. there is a tradition among some muhammadans that no one should precede the corpse, as the angels go before. to carry a bier is considered a very meritorious act, and four of the relations, relieving each other in turn, bear it on their shoulders. muhammadans carry their dead quickly to the place of interment, for muhammad is stated to have said that it is good to carry the dead quickly to the grave, so as to cause the righteous person to attain the sooner to bliss; and, on the other hand, in the case of a bad man it is well to put wickedness away from one's shoulders. funerals should always be attended on foot, for it is said that muhammad once rebuked people who were following a bier on horseback, saying, "have you no shame, since god's angels go on foot and you go upon the backs of quadrupeds?" it is a highly meritorious act to attend a funeral whether it be that of a muslim, a jew or a christian. the funeral service is not recited in the cemetery, this being too polluted a place for so sacred an office, but either in a mosque or in some open space close to the dwelling of the deceased person or to the graveyard. the nearest relative is the proper person to recite the service, but it is usually said by the family priest or the village kazi. the grave sometimes has a recess at the side, in which the body is laid to prevent the earth falling upon it, or planks may be laid over the body slantwise or supported on bricks for the same purpose. coffins are only used by the rich. when the body has been placed in the grave each person takes up a clod of earth and pronouncing over it a verse of the koran, 'from earth we made you, to earth we return you and out of earth we shall raise you on the resurrection day,' places it gently in the grave over the corpse. [315] the building of stone or brick tombs and writing verses of the koran on them is prohibited by the traditions, but large masonry tombs are common in all muhammadan countries and very frequently they bear inscriptions. on the third day a feast is given in the morning and after it trays of flowers with a vessel containing scented oil are handed round and the guests pick flowers and dip them into the oil. they then proceed to the grave, where the oil and flowers are placed. maulvis are employed to read the whole of the koran over the grave, which they accomplish by dividing it into sections and reading them at the same time. rich people sometimes have the whole koran read several times over in this manner. a sheet of white or red cloth is spread over the grave, green being usually reserved for fakirs or saints. on the evening of the ninth day another feast is given, to which friends and neighbours, and religious and ordinary beggars are invited, and a portion is sent to the fakir or mendicant in charge of the burying-ground. some people will not eat any food from this feast in their houses but take it outside. [316] on the morning of the tenth day they go again to the grave and repeat the offering of flowers and scented oil as before. other feasts are given on the fortieth day, and at the expiration of four, six and nine months, and one year from the date of the death, and the rich sometimes spend large sums on them. none of these observances are prescribed by the koran but have either been retained from pre-islamic times or adopted in imitation of the hindus. for forty days all furniture is removed from the rooms and the whole family sleep on the bare ground. sometimes a cup of water and a wheaten cake are placed nightly for forty days on the spot where the deceased died, and a similar provision is sent to the mosque. when a man dies his mother and widow break their glass bangles. the mother can get new ones, but the widow does not wear glass bangles or a nose-ring again unless she takes a second husband. for four months and ten days the widow is strictly secluded and does not leave the house. prayers for ancestors are offered annually at the shab-i-barat or bakr-id festival. [317] the property of a deceased muhammadan is applicable in the first place to the payment of his funeral expenses; secondly, to the discharge of his debts; and thirdly, to the payment of legacies up to one-third of the residue. if the legacies exceed this amount they are proportionately reduced. the remainder of the property is distributed by a complicated system of shares to those of the deceased's relatives who rank as sharers and residuaries, legacies to any of them in excess of the amount of their shares being void. the consequence of this law is that most muhammadans die intestate. [318] 15. muhammadan sects. shiah and sunni. of the two main sects of islam, ninety-four per cent of the muhammadans in the central province were returned as being sunnis in 1911 and three per cent as shiahs, while the remainder gave no sect. only the cutchi, bohra and khoja immigrants from gujarat are shiahs and practically all other muhammadans are sunnis. with the exception of persia, oudh and part of gujarat, the inhabitants of which are shiahs, the sunni sect is generally prevalent in the muhammadan world. the main difference between the sunnis and shiahs is that the latter think that according to the koran the caliphate or spiritual headship of the muhammadans had to descend in the prophet's family and therefore necessarily devolved on the lady fatimah, the only one of his children who survived him, and on her husband ali the fourth caliph. they therefore reject the first three caliphs after muhammad, that is abu bakr, omar and othman. after ali they also hold that the caliphate descended in his family to his two sons hasan and hussain, and the descendants of hussain. consequently they reject all the subsequent caliphs of the muhammadan world, as hussain and his children did not occupy this position. they say that there are only twelve caliphs, or imams, as they now prefer to call them, and that the twelfth has never really died and will return again as the messiah of whom muhammad spoke, at the end of the world. he is known as the mahdi, and the well-known pretender of the soudan, as well as others elsewhere, have claimed to be this twelfth or unrevealed imam. other sects of the shiahs, as the zaidiyah and ismailia, make a difference in the succession of the imamate among hussain's descendants. the central incident of the shiah faith is the slaughter of hussain, the son of ali, with his family, on the plain of karbala in persia by the sons of yazid, the second caliph of the umaiyad dynasty of damascus, on the 10th day of the month muharram, in the 61st year of the hijra or a.d. 680. the martyrdom of hussain and his family at karbala is celebrated annually for the first ten days of the month of muharram by the shiahs. properly the sunnis should take no part in this, and should observe only the tenth day of muharram as that on which adam and eve and heaven and hell were created. but in the central provinces the sunnis participate in all the muharram celebrations, which now have rather the character of a festival than of a season of mourning. the shiahs also reject the four great schools of tradition of the sunnis, and have separate traditional authorities of their own. they count the month to begin from the full moon instead of the new moon, pray three instead of five times a day, and in praying hold their hands open by their sides instead of folding them below the breast. the word shiah means a follower, and sunni one proceeding on the _sunnah_, the path or way, a term applied to the traditions of the prophet. the two words have thus almost the same signification. except when otherwise stated, the information in this article relates to the sunnis. 16. leading religious observances. prayer. the five standard observances of the muhammadan religion are the kalima, or creed; sula, or the five daily prayers; roza, or the thirty-day fast of ramazan; zakab, the legal alms; and hajj, the pilgrimage to mecca, which should be performed once in a lifetime. the kalima, or creed, consists simply in the sentence, 'there is but one god and muhammad is his prophet,' which is frequently on the lips of muhammadans. the five periods for prayer are fajr ki namaz, in the morning before sunrise; zohar, or the midday prayer, after the sun has begun to decline; asur, or the afternoon prayer, about four; maghrib, or the evening prayer, immediately after sunset; and aysha, or the evening prayer, after the night has closed in. these prayers are repeated in arabic, and before saying them the face, hands and feet should be washed, and, correctly speaking, the teeth should also be cleaned. at the times of prayer the azan or call to prayer is repeated from the mosque by the _muezzan_ or crier in the following terms: "god is great, god is great, god is great, god is great! i bear witness that there is no god but god! (twice). i bear witness that muhammad is the apostle of god! (twice). come to prayers! come to prayers! come to salvation! come to salvation! god is great! there is no other god but god." in the early morning the following sentence is added, 'prayers are better than sleep.' [319] 17. the fast of ramazan. the third necessary observance is the fast in the month of ramazan, the ninth month of the muhammadan year. the fast begins when the new moon is seen, or if the sky is clouded, after thirty days from the beginning of the previous month. during its continuance no food or water must be taken between sunrise and sunset, and betel-leaf, tobacco and conjugal intercourse must be abjured for the whole period. the abstention from water is a very severe penance during the long days of the hot weather when ramazan falls at this season. mr. hughes thinks that the prophet took the thirty days' fast from the christian lent, which was observed very strictly in the eastern church during the nights as well as days. in ordaining the fast he said that god 'would make it an ease and not a difficulty,' but he may not have reflected that his own action in discarding the intercalary month adopted by the arabs and reverting to the simple lunar months would cause the fast to revolve round the whole year. during the fast people eat before sunrise and after sunset, and dinner-parties are held lasting far into the night. it is a divine command to give alms annually of money, cattle, grain, fruit and merchandise. if a man has as much as eighty rupees, or forty sheep and goats, or five camels, he should give alms at specified rates amounting roughly to two and a half per cent of his property. in the case of fruit and grain the rate is one-tenth of the harvest for unirrigated, and a twentieth for irrigated crops. these alms should be given to pilgrims who desire to go to mecca but have not the means; and to religious and other beggars if they are very poor, debtors who have not the means to discharge their debts, champions of the cause of god, travellers without food and proselytes to islam. religious mendicants consider it unlawful to accept the _zakat_ or legal alms unless they are very poor, and they may not be given to saiyads or descendants of the prophet. 18. the pilgrimage to mecca. the hajj or pilgrimage to mecca is incumbent on all men and women who have sufficient means to meet the expenses of the journey and to maintain their families at home during their absence. only a very small proportion of indian muhammadans, however, now undertake it. mecca is the capital of arabia and about seventy miles from the red sea. the pilgrimage must be performed during the month zu'l hijjah, so that the pilgrim may be at mecca on the festival of id-ul-zoha or the bakr-id. at the last stage near mecca the pilgrims assume a special dress, consisting of two seamless wrappers, one round the waist and the other over the shoulders. sandals of wood may also be worn. formerly the pilgrim would take with him a little compass in which the needle in the shape of a dove pointed continually towards mecca in the west. on arrival at mecca he performs the legal ablutions, proceeds to the sacred mosque, kisses the black stone, and encompasses the kaaba seven times. the kaaba or 'cube' is a large stone building and the black stone is let into one of its walls. he drinks the water of the sacred well zem-zem from which hagar and ishmael obtained water when they were dying of thirst in the wilderness, and goes through various other rites up to the day of id-ul-zoha, when he performs the sacrifice or _kurban_, offering a ram or he-goat for every member of his family, or for every seven persons a female camel or cow. the flesh is distributed in the same manner as that of the ordinary bakr-id sacrifice. [320] he then gets himself shaved and his nails pared, which he has not done since he assumed the pilgrim's garb, and buries the cuttings and parings at the place of the sacrifice. the pilgrimage is concluded after another circuit of the kaaba, but before his departure the pilgrim should visit the tomb of muhammad at medina. one who has performed the pilgrimage to mecca thereafter has the title of haji. 19. festivals. the muharram. the principal festivals are the muharram and the two ids. the month of muharram is the first of the year, and the first ten days, as already stated, are devoted to mourning for the death of hussain and his family. this is observed indifferently by sunnis and shiahs in the central provinces, and the proceedings with the sunnis at any rate have now rather the character of a festival than a time of sorrow. models of the tomb of hussain, called _tazia_, are made of bamboo and pasteboard and decorated with tinsel. wealthy shiahs have expensive models, richly decorated, which are permanently kept in a chamber of the house called the imambara or imam's place, but this is scarcely ever done in the central provinces. as a rule the _tazias_ are taken in procession and deposited in a river on the last and great day of the muharram. women who have made vows for the recovery of their children from an illness dress them in green and send them to beg; and men and boys of the lower classes have themselves painted as tigers and go about mimicking a tiger for what they can get from the spectators. it seems likely that the representations of tigers may be in memory of the lion which is said to have kept watch over the body of hussain after he had been buried. in persia a man disguised as a tiger appears on the tomb of hussain in the drama of his murder at karbala, which is enacted at the muharram. in hindu mythology the lion and tiger appear to be interchangeable. during the tragedy at karbala, kasim, a young nephew of hussain, was married to his little daughter sakinah, kasim being very shortly afterwards killed. it is supposed that the cast shoe of kasim's horse was brought to india, and at the muharram models of horse-shoes are made and carried fixed on poles. men who feel so impelled and think that they will be possessed by the spirit of kasim make these horse-shoes and carry them, and frequently they believe themselves to be possessed by the spirit, exhibiting the usual symptoms of a kind of frenzy, and women apply to them for children or for having evil spirits cast out. [321] 20. id-ul-fitr. the id-ul-fitr, or the breaking of the fast, is held on the first day of the tenth month, shawwal, on the day after the end of the fast of ramazan. on this day the people assemble dressed in their best clothes and proceed to the id-gah, a building erected outside the town and consisting of a platform with a wall at the western end in the direction of mecca. here prayers are offered, concluding with one for the king-emperor, and a sermon is given, and the people then return escorting the kazi or other leading member of the community and sometimes paying their respects in a body to european officers. they return to their homes and spend the rest of the day in feasting and merriment, a kind of vermicelli being a special dish eaten on this day. 21. id-ul-zoha the idu-l-azha or id-ul-zoha, the feast of sacrifice, also called the bakr-id or cow-festival, is held on the tenth day of the last month, zu'l hijjah. it is the principal day of the muhammadan year, and pilgrims going to mecca keep it there. [322] at this time also the arabs were accustomed to go to mecca and offer animal sacrifices there to the local deities. according to tradition, when abraham (ibrahim) founded mecca the lord desired him to prepare a feast and to offer his son ishmael (ismail). but when he had drawn the knife across his son's throat the angel gabriel substituted a ram and ishmael was saved, and the festival commemorates this. as already stated, the arabs believe themselves to be descended from ishmael or ismail. according to a remarkable hadis or tradition, related by ayesha, muhammad said: "man hath not done anything on the id-ul-zoha more pleasing to god than spilling blood in sacrifice; for, verily, its blood reacheth the acceptance of god before it falleth upon the ground, therefore be joyful in it." [323] on this day, as on the other id, the people assemble for prayers at the id-gah. on returning home the head of a family takes a sheep, cow or camel to the entrance of his house and sacrifices it, repeating the formula, 'in the name of god, god is great,' as he cuts its throat. the flesh is divided, two-thirds being kept by the family and one-third given to the poor in the name of god. this is the occasion on which muhammadans offend hindu feeling by their desire to sacrifice cows, as camels are unobtainable or too valuable, and the sacrifice of a cow has probably more religious merit than that of a sheep or goat. but in many cases they abandon their right to kill a cow in order to avoid stirring up enmity. 22. mosques. the entrance to a muhammadan mosque consists of a stone gateway, bearing in verse the date of its building; this leads into a paved courtyard, which in a large mosque may be 40 or 50 yards long and about 20 wide. the courtyard often contains a small tank or cistern about 20 feet square, its sides lined with stone seats. beyond this lies the building itself, open towards the courtyard, which is on its eastern side, and closed in on the other three sides, with a roof. the floor is raised about a foot above the level of the courtyard. in the back wall, which is opposite the courtyard to the west in the direction of mecca, is an arched niche, and close by a wooden or masonry pulpit raised four or five feet from the ground. against the wall is a wooden staff, which the preacher holds in his hand or leans upon according to ancient custom. [324] the walls are bare of decorations, images and pictures having been strictly prohibited by muhammad, and no windows are necessary; but along the walls are scrolls bearing in golden letters the name of the prophet and the first four caliphs, or a chapter of the koran, the arabic script being especially suitable for this kind of ornamental writing. [325] the severe plainness of the interior of a mosque demonstrates the strict monotheism of islam, and is in contrast to the temples and shrines of most other religions. the courtyard of a mosque is often used as a place of resort, and travellers also stay in it. 23. the friday service. a service is held in the principal mosque on fridays about midday, at which public prayers are held and a sermon or _khutbak_ is preached or recited. friday is known as jumah, or the day of assembly. friday was said by muhammad to have been the day on which adam was taken into paradise and turned out of it, the day on which he repented and on which he died. it will also be the day of resurrection. the prophet considered that the jews and christians had erred in transferring their sabbath from friday to saturday and sunday respectively. [326] 24. priests, mulla and maulvi. the priest in charge of a mosque is known as mulla. any one can be a mulla who can read the koran and say the prayers, and the post is very poorly paid. the mulla proclaims the call to prayer five times a day, acts as imam or leader of the public prayers, and if there is no menial servant keeps the mosque clean. he sometimes has a little school in the courtyard in which he teaches children the koran. he also sells charms, consisting of verses of the koran written on paper, to be tied round the arm or hung on the neck. these have the effect of curing disease and keeping off evil spirits or the evil eye. sometimes there is a mosque servant who also acts as sexton of the local cemetery. the funds of the mosque and any endowment attached to it are in charge of some respectable resident, who is known as mutawalli or churchwarden. the principal religious officer is the maulvi, who corresponds to the hindu guru or preceptor. these men are frequently intelligent and well-educated. they are also doctors of law, as all muhammadan law is based on the koran and traditions and the deductions drawn from them by the great commentators. the maulvi thus acts as a teacher of religious doctrine and also of law. he is not permanently attached to a mosque, but travels about during the open season, visiting his disciples in villages, teaching and preaching to them, and also treating the sick. if he knows the whole of the koran by heart he has the title of hafiz, and is much honoured, as it is thought that a man who has earned the title of hafiz frees twenty generations of his ancestors and descendants from the fires of hell. such a man is much in request during the month of ramazan, when the leader of the long night prayers is expected to recite nightly one of the thirty sections of the koran, so as to complete them within the month. [327] 25. the kazi. the kazi was under muhammadan rule the civil and criminal judge, having jurisdiction over a definite local area, and he also acted as a registrar of deeds. now he only leads the public prayers at the id festivals and keeps registers of marriages and divorces. he does not usually attend marriages himself unless he receives a special fee, but pays a deputy or _naib_ to do so. [328] the kazi is still, however, as a rule the leading member of the local muhammadan community, the office being sometimes elective and sometimes hereditary. 26. general features of islam. in proclaiming one unseen god as the sole supernatural being, muhammad adopted the religion of the jews of arabia, with whose sacred books he was clearly familiar. he looked on the jewish prophets as his predecessors, he himself being the last and greatest. the koran says, "we believe in god, and that which hath been sent down to us, and that which was sent down unto abraham, and ishmael and isaac, and jacob, and the tribes, and that which was delivered unto moses, and jesus and the prophets from the lord, and we make no distinction between any of them." thus muhammad accepted the bulk of the old but not of the new testament, which the jews also do not receive. his deity was the jewish jehovah of the old testament, though called allah after the name of a god worshipped at mecca. the six prophets who brought new laws were adam, the chosen of god; noah, the preacher of god; abraham, the friend of god; moses, one who conversed with god; jesus, the spirit of god; and muhammad, the messenger of god. his seven heavens and his prophecy of a messiah and day of judgment were jewish beliefs, though it is supposed that he took the idea of the sirat or narrow bridge over the midst of hell, sharper than the edge of a sword, over which all must pass, while the wicked fall from it into hell, from zoroastrianism. muhammad recognised a devil, known as iblis, while the jinns or genii of pagan arabia became bad angels. the great difference between islam and judaism arose from muhammad's position in being obliged continually to fight for his own existence and the preservation of his sect this circumstance coloured the later parts of the koran and gave islam the character of a religious and political crusade, a kind of faith eminently fitted to the arab nature and training. and to this character may be assigned its extraordinary success, but, at the same time, probably the religion itself might have been of a somewhat purer and higher tenor if its birth and infancy had not had place in a constant state of war. muhammad accomplished most beneficent reforms in abolishing polytheism and such abuses as female infanticide, and at least regulating polygamy. in forbidding both gambling and the use of alcohol he set a very high standard to his disciples, which if adhered to would remove two of the main sources of vice. his religion retained fewer relics of the pre-existing animism and spirit-worship than almost any other, though in practice uneducated indian muhammadans, at least, preserve them in a large measure. and owing to the fact that the muhammadan months revolve round the year, its festivals have been dissociated from the old pagan observances of the changes of the sun and seasons and the growth of vegetation. at the same time the religious sanction given to polygamy and slavery, and the sensual nature of the heaven promised to true believers after death, must be condemned as debasing features; and the divine authority and completeness ascribed to the koran and the utterances of the prophet, which were beyond criticism or question, as well as the hostility towards all other forms of religion and philosophy, have necessarily had a very narrowing influence on muhammadan thought. while the formal and lifeless precision of the religious services and prayers, as well as the belief in divine interference in the concerns of everyday life, have produced a strong spirit of fatalism and resignation to events. 27. the koran. the word kuran is derived from _kuraa_, to recite or proclaim. the muhammadans look upon the koran as the direct word of god sent down by him to the seventh or lowest heaven, and then revealed from time to time to the prophet by the angel gabriel. a few chapters are supposed to have been delivered entire, but the greater part of the book was given piecemeal during a period of twenty-three years. the koran is written in arabic prose, but its sentences generally conclude in a long-continued rhyme. the language is considered to be of the utmost elegance and purity, and it has become the standard of the arabic tongue. muhammadans pay it the greatest reverence, and their most solemn oath is taken with the koran placed on the head. formerly the sacred book could only be touched by a saiyad or a mulla, and an assembly always rose when it was brought to them. the book is kept on a high shelf in the house, so as to avoid any risk of contamination, and nothing is placed over it. every chapter in the koran except one begins with the invocation, '_bismillah-nirrahman-nirrahim_,' or 'in the name of god, the compassionate, the merciful'; and nearly all muhammadan prayers and religious writings also begin with this. as the koran is the direct word of god, any statement in it has the unquestioned and complete force of law. on some points, however, separate utterances in the work itself are contradictory, and the necessity then arises of determining which is the later and more authoritative statement. [329] 28. the traditions. next to the koran in point of authority come the traditions of the sayings and actions of the prophet, which are known as hadis or sunnah. these were eagerly collected as the jurisdiction of islam was extended, and numerous cases arose for decision in which no ruling was provided by the koran. for some time it was held necessary that a tradition should be oral and not have been reduced to writing. when the necessity of collecting and searching for the traditions became paramount, indefatigable research was displayed in the work. the most trustworthy collection of traditions was compiled by abu abdullah muhammad, a native of bokhara, who died in the hijra year 256, or nearly 250 years after muhammad. he succeeded in amassing no fewer than 600,000 traditions, of which he selected only 7275 as trustworthy. the authentic traditions of what the prophet said and did were considered practically as binding as the koran, and any case might be decided by a tradition bearing on it. the development of moslem jurisdiction was thus based not on the elucidation and exposition of broad principles of law and equity, but on the record of the words and actions of one man who had lived in a substantially less civilised society than that existing in the countries to which muhammadan law now came to be applied. such a state of things inevitably exercised a cramping effect on the moslem lawyers and acted as a bar to improvement. thus, because the koran charged the jews and christians with having corrupted the text of their sacred books, it was laid down that no jew or christian could be accepted as a credible witness in a moslem lawsuit; and since the prophet had forbidden the keeping of dogs except for certain necessary purposes, it was ruled by one school that there was no property in dogs, and that if a man killed a dog its owner had no right to compensation. [330] 29. the schools of law. after the koran and traditions the decisions of certain lawyers during the early period of islam were accepted as authoritative. of them four schools are recognised by the sunnis in different countries, those of the imams abu hanifa, shafei, malik, and hambal. in northern india the school of abu hanifa is followed. he was born at kufa, the capital of irak, in the hijra year 80, when four of the prophet's companions were still alive. he is the great oracle of jurisprudence, and with his two pupils was the founder of the hanifi code of law. in southern india the shafei school is followed. [331] the shiahs have separate collections of traditions and schools of law, and they say that a mujtahid or doctor of the law can still give decisions of binding authority, which the sunnis deny. except as regards marriage, divorce and inheritance and other personal matters, muhammadan law is of course now superseded by the general law of india. 30. food. an animal only becomes lawful food for muhammadans if it is killed by cutting the throat and repeating at the time the words, '_bismillah allaho akbar_,' or 'in the name of god, god is great.' but in shooting wild animals, if the invocation is repeated at the time of discharging the arrow or firing the gun, the carcase becomes lawful food. this last rule of sunni law is, however, not known to, or not observed by, many muhammadans in the central provinces, who do not eat an animal unless its throat is cut before death. fish and locusts may be eaten without being killed in this manner. the animal so killed by zabh is lawful food when slain by a moslem, jew or christian, but not if slaughtered by an idolater or an apostate from islam. cloven-footed animals, birds that pick up food with their bills, and fish with scales are lawful, but not birds or beasts of prey. it is doubtful whether the horse is lawful. elephants, mules, asses, alligators, turtles, crabs, snakes and frogs are unlawful, and swine's flesh is especially prohibited. muhammadans eat freely of mutton and fish when they can afford it, but some of them abstain from chickens in imitation of the hindus. their favourite drink is sherbet, or sugar and water with cream or the juice of some fruit. wine is forbidden in the koran, and the prohibition is held to include intoxicating drugs, but this latter rule is by no means observed. according to his religion a muhammadan need have no objection to eat with a christian if the food eaten is of a lawful kind; but he should not eat with hindus, as they are idolaters. in practice, however, many muhammadans have adopted the hindu rule against eating food touched by christians, while owing to long association together they will partake of it when cooked by hindus. [332] 31. dress. the most distinctive feature of muhammadan dress is that the men always wear trousers or pyjamas of cotton, silk or chintz cloth, usually white. they may be either tight or loose below the knee, and are secured by a string round the waist. a muhammadan never wears the hindu _dhoti_ or loin-cloth. he has a white, sleeved muslin shirt, made much like an english soft-fronted shirt, but usually without a collar, the ends of which hang down outside the trousers. over these the well-to-do have a waistcoat of velvet, brocade or broadcloth. on going out he puts on a long coat, tight over the chest, and with rather full skirts hanging below the knee, of cotton cloth or muslin, or sometimes broadcloth or velvet. in the house he wears a small cap, and on going out puts on a turban or loose headcloth. but the fashion of wearing the small red fez with a tassel is now increasing among educated muhammadans, and this serves as a distinctive mark in their dress, which trousers no longer do, as the hindus have also adopted them. the removal of the shoes either on entering a house or mosque is not prescribed by muhammadan law, though it has become customary in imitation of the hindus. the prophet in fact said, 'act the reverse of the jews in your prayers, for they do not pray in boots or shoes.' but he himself sometimes took his shoes off to pray and sometimes not. the following are some of the sayings of the prophet with regard to dress: 'whoever wears a silk garment in this world shall not wear it in the next.' 'god will not have compassion on him who wears long trousers (below the ankle) from pride.' 'it is lawful for the women of my people to wear silks and gold ornaments, but it is unlawful for the men.' 'wear white clothes, because they are the cleanest and the most agreeable, and bury your dead in white clothes.' men are prohibited from wearing gold ornaments and also silver ones other than a signet ring. a silver ring, of value sufficient to produce a day's food in case of need, should always be worn. the rule against ornaments has been generally disregarded, and gold and silver ornaments have been regularly worn by men, but the fashion of wearing ornaments is now going out, both among muhammadan and hindu men. a rich muhammadan woman has a long shirt of muslin or net in different colours, embroidered on the neck and shoulders with gold lace, and draping down to the ankles. under it she wears silk pyjamas, and over it an _angia_ or breast-cloth of silk, brocade or cloth of gold, bordered with gold and silver lace. on the head she has a shawl or square kerchief bordered with lace. a poor woman has simply a bodice and pyjamas, with a cloth round the waist to cover their ends. women as a rule always wear shoes, even though they do not go out, and they have a profusion of ornaments of much the same character as hindu women. [333] 32. social rules. salutations. there are certain social obligations known as farz or imperative, but if one person in eight or ten perform them it is as if all had done so. these are, to return a salutation; to visit the sick and inquire after their welfare; to follow a bier on foot to the grave; to accept an invitation; and that when a person sneezes and says immediately, '_alhamd ul lillah_' or 'god be praised,' one of the party must reply, '_yar hamak allah_' or 'god have mercy on you.' the muhammadan form of salutation is '_salam u alaikum_' or 'the peace of god be with you,' and the reply is '_wo alaikum as salam_' or 'and on you also be peace.' [334] from this form has come the common anglo-indian use of the word _salaam_. when invitations are to be sent for any important function, such as a wedding, some woman who does not observe _parda_ is employed to carry them. she is dressed in good clothes and provided with a tray containing betel-leaf _biras_ or packets, cardamoms wrapped in red paper, sandalwood and sugar. she approaches any lady invited with great respect, and says: "so-and-so sends her best compliments to you and embraces you, and says that 'as to-morrow there is a little gaiety about to take place in my house, and i wish all my female friends by their presence to grace and ornament with their feet the home of this poor individual, and thereby make it a garden of roses, you must also positively come, and by remaining a couple of hours honour my humble dwelling with your company.'" if the invitation is accepted the woman carrying it applies a little sandalwood to the neck, breast and back of the guest, puts sugar and cardamoms into her mouth, and gives her a betel-leaf. if it is declined, only sandalwood is applied and a betel-leaf given. [335] next day _dhoolies_ or litters are sent for the guests, or if the hostess is poor she sends women to escort them to the house before daybreak. the guests are expected to bring presents. if any ceremony connected with a child is to be performed they give it clothes or sweets, and similar articles of higher value to the bride and bridegroom in the case of a wedding. 33. customs. certain customs known as fitrah are supposed to have existed among the arabs before the time of the prophet, and to have been confirmed by him. these are: to keep the moustache clipped short so that food or drink cannot touch them when entering the mouth; not to cut or shave the beard; to clean the teeth with a _mismak_ or wooden toothbrush; this should really be done at all prayers, but presumably once or twice a day are held sufficient; to clean the nostrils and mouth with water at the time of the usual ablutions; to cut the nails and clean the finger-joints; and to pull out the hair from under the armpits and the pubic hair. it is noticeable that though elaborate directions are given for washing the face, hands and feet before each prayer, there is no order to bathe the whole body daily, and this may probably not have been customary in arabia owing to the scarcity of water. [336] and while many muhammadans have adopted the hindu custom of daily bathing, yet others in quite a respectable position have not, and only bathe once a week before going to the mosque. gambling as well as the drinking of wine is prohibited in the koran according to the text: "o believers! surely wine and games of chance and statues and the divining-arrows are an abomination of satan's work." statues as well as pictures were prohibited, because at this time they were probably made only as idols to be worshipped, the prohibition being exactly analogous to that contained in the second commandment. the koran enjoins a belief in the existence of magic, but forbids its practice. magic is considered to be of two kinds, that accomplished with the help of the koran and the names of prophets and saints, which is divine or good, and evil magic practised with the aid of genii and evil spirits which is strongly condemned. divining-rods apparently belong to the latter class. perfection in divine magic consists in the knowledge of the ismi aazam or great name, a knowledge first possessed by the prophet sulaiman or solomon, and since solomon transmitted only to those who are highly favoured by providence. this appears to be the true name of god, which is too awful and potent to be known or used by the commonalty; hence allah, really an epithet, is used instead. it was in virtue of engraving the great name on his ring that solomon possessed dominion over men and genii, and over the winds and birds and beasts. the uttering of solomon's own name casts out demons, cures the sick, and raises the dead. the names of certain prophets and holy men have also a special virtue, and written charms of mysterious numerical combinations and diagrams have power for good. [337] both kinds of magic are largely practised by muhammadans. muhammad disapproved of whistling, apparently because whistling and clapping the hands were part of the heathen ritual at mecca. hence it is considered wrong for good muhammadans to whistle. [338] 34. position of women. the inferior status of women in islam is inherited from arabian society before the time of muhammad. among the pagan arabs a woman was a mere chattel, and descended by inheritance. hence the union of men with their step-mothers and mothers-in-law was common. muhammad forbade these incestuous marriages, and also the prevalent practice of female infanticide. he legalised polygamy, but limited it to four wives, and taught that women as well as men could enter paradise. it would have been quite impossible to abolish polygamy in arabia at the time when he lived, nor could he strike at the practice of secluding women even if he had wished to do so. this last custom has shown an unfortunate persistence, and is in full force among indian muhammadans, from whom the higher castes of hindus in northern india have perhaps imitated it. nor can it be said to show much sign of weakening at present. it is not universal over the islamic world, as in afghanistan women are not usually secluded. as a matter of fact both polygamy and divorce are very rare among indian muhammadans. mr. hughes quotes an interesting passage against polygamy from a persian book on marriage customs: "that man is to be praised who confines himself to one wife, for if he takes two it is wrong and he will certainly repent of his folly. thus say the seven wise women: be that man's life immersed in gloom who weds more wives than one, with one his cheeks retain their bloom, his voice a cheerful tone; these speak his honest heart at rest, and he and she are always blest; but when with two he seeks his joy, together they his soul annoy; with two no sunbeam of delight can make his day of misery bright." adultery was punished by stoning to death in accordance with the jewish custom. 35. interest on money. usury or the taking of interest on loans was prohibited by the prophet. this precept was adopted from the mosaic law and emphasised, and while it has to all appearance been discarded by the jews, it is still largely adhered to by moslems. in both cases the prohibition was addressed to a people in the pastoral stage of culture when loans were probably very rare and no profit could as a rule be made by taking a loan, as it would not lead to any increase. loans would only be made for subsistence, and as the borrower was probably always poor, he would frequently be unable to pay the principal much less the interest, and would ultimately become the slave of the creditor in lieu of his debt. usury would thus result in the enslavement of a large section of the free community, and would be looked upon as an abuse and instrument of tyranny. as soon as the agricultural stage is reached usury stands on a different footing. loans of seed for sowing the land and of cattle or money for ploughing it then become frequent and necessary, and the borrower can afford to pay interest from the profit of the harvest. it is clearly right and proper also that the lender should receive a return for the risk involved in the loan and the capacity of gain thus conferred on the borrower, and usury becomes a properly legitimate and necessary institution, though the rate, being probably based on the return yielded by the earth to the seed, has a tendency to be very excessive in primitive societies. the prohibition of interest among muhammadans is thus now a hopeless anachronism, which has closed to those who observe it some of the most important professions. a tendency is happily visible towards the abrogation of the rule, and mr. marten notes that the berar muhammadan council has set an example by putting out its own money at interest. [339] 36. muhammadan education. the indian muhammadans have generally been considered to be at a disadvantage in modern india as compared with the hindus, owing to their unwillingness to accept regular english education for their sons, and their adherence to the simply religious teaching of their own maulvis. however this may have been in the past, it is doubtful whether it is at all true of the present generation. while there is no doubt that muhammadans consider it of the first importance that their sons should learn urdu and be able to read the koran, there are no signs of muhammadan boys being kept away from the government schools, at least in the central provinces. the rationalising spirit of sir saiyad ahmad, the founder of the aligarh college, and the general educational conference for indian muhammadans has, through the excellent training given by the college, borne continually increasing fruit. a new class of educated and liberal-minded muhammadan gentlemen has grown up whose influence on the aims and prejudices of the whole muhammadan community is gradually becoming manifest. the statistics of occupation given at the commencement of this article show that the muhammadans have a much larger share of all classes of administrative posts under government than they would obtain if these were awarded on a basis of population. presumably when it is asserted that muhammadans are less successful than hindus under the british government, what is meant is that they have partly lost their former position of the sole governing class over large areas of the country. the community are now fully awake to the advantages of education, and their anjumans or associations have started high schools which educate students up to the entrance of the university on the same lines as the government schools. where these special schools do not exist, muhammadan boys freely enter the ordinary schools, and their standard of intelligence and application is in no way inferior to that of hindu boys. nanakpanthi 1. account of the sect. _nanakpanthi [340] sect, nanakshahi, udasi, suthra shahi_.--the nanakpanthi sect was founded by the well-known baba nanak, a khatri of the lahore district, who lived between 1469 and 1538-39. he is the real founder of sikhism, but this development of his followers into a military and political organisation was the work of his successors, har govind and govind singh. nanak himself was a religious reformer of the same type as kabir and others, who tried to abolish the worship of idols and all the body of hindu superstition, and substitute a belief in a single unseen deity without form or special name. as with most of the other vaishnava reformers, nanak's creed was largely an outcome of his observation of islam. "there is nothing in his doctrine," sir e.d. maclagan says, "to distinguish it in any marked way from that of the other saints who taught the higher forms of hinduism in northern india. the unity of god, the absence of any real distinction between hindus and musalmans, the uselessness of ceremonial, the vanity of earthly wishes, even the equality of castes, are topics common to nanak and the bhagats; and the adi-granth or sacred book compiled by nanak is full of quotations from elder or contemporary teachers, who taught essentially the same doctrine as nanak himself." it was partly, he explains, because nanak was the first reformer in the punjab, and thus had the field practically to himself, and partly in consequence of the subsequent development of sikhism, that his movement has been so successful and his adherents now outnumber those of any other reformer of the same period. nanak's doctrines were also of a very liberal character. the burden of his teaching was that there is no hindu and no muhammadan. he believed in transmigration, but held that the successive stages were but purifications, and that at last the soul, cleansed from sin, went to dwell with its maker. he prescribed no caste rules or ceremonial observances, and indeed condemned them as unnecessary and even harmful; but he made no violent attack on them, he insisted on no alteration in existing civil and social institutions, and was content to leave the doctrine of the equality of all men in the sight of god to work in the minds of his followers. he respected the hindu veneration of the cow and the muhammadan abhorrence of the hog, but recommended as a higher rule than either total abstinence from flesh. nothing could have been gentler or less aggressive than his doctrine, nothing more unlike the teaching of his great successor govind. [341] two other causes contributed to swell the numbers of the nanakpanthis. the first of these was that during the late mughal empire the hindus of the frontier tracts of the punjab were debarred by the fanaticism of their muhammadan neighbours from the worship of idols; and they therefore found it convenient to profess the faith of nanak which permitted them to declare themselves as worshippers of one god, while not forcing them definitely to break with caste and hinduism. the second was that guru govind singh required the absolute abandonment of caste as a condition of the initiation of a sikh; and hence many who would not consent to this remained nanakpanthis without adopting sikhism. the nanakpanthis of the present day are roughly classified as sikhs who have not adopted the term singh, which is attached to the names of all true sikhs; they also do not forbid smoking or insist on the adoption of the five _kakkas_ or k's which are in theory the distinguishing marks of the sikh; the _kes_ or uncut hair and unshaven beard; the _kachh_ or short drawers ending above the knee; the _kara_ or iron bangle; the _khanda_ or steel knife; and the _kanga_ or comb. the nanakpanthi retains the hindu custom of shaving the whole head except the _choti_ or scalp-lock, and hence is often known as a munda or shaven sikh. [342] the sect do not prohibit the consumption of meat and liquor, but some of them eat only the flesh of animals killed by the sikh method of jatka, or cutting off the head by a blow on the back of the neck. their only form of initiation is the ordinary hindu practice of drinking the foot-nectar or sugar and water in which the toe of the _guru_ has been dipped, and this is not very common. it is known as the _charan ka pahul_ or foot-baptism, as opposed to the _khande ka pahul_ or sword-baptism of the govindi sikhs. [343] baba nanak himself, sir e. maclagan states, is a very favourite object of veneration among sikhs of all kinds, and the picture of the _guru_ with his long white beard and benevolent countenance is constantly met with in the sacred places of the punjab. 2. nanakpanthis in the central provinces. in 1901 about 13,000 persons returned themselves as nanakpanthis in the central provinces, of whom 7000 were banjaras and the remainder principally kunbis, ahirs and telis. the banjaras generally revere nanak, as shown in the article on that caste. a certain number of mehtars or sweepers also profess the sect, being attached to it, as to the sikh religion, by the abolition of caste restrictions and prejudices advocated by their founders; but this tolerance has not been perpetuated, and the unclean classes, such as the mazbi or scavenger sikhs, are as scrupulously avoided and kept at a distance by the sikh as by the hindu, and are even excluded from communion, and from the rites and holy places of their religion. [344] 3. udasis. the udasis are a class of ascetics of the nanakpanthi or sikh faith, whose order was founded by sri chand, the younger son of nanak. they are recruited from all castes and will eat food from any hindu. they are almost all celibates, and pay special reverence to the adi-granth of nanak, but also respect the granth of govind singh and attend the same shrines as the sikhs generally. their service consists of a ringing of bells and blare of instruments, and they chant hymns and wave lights before the adi-granth and the picture of baba nanak. in the central provinces members of several orders which have branched off from the main nanakpanthi community are known as udasi. thus some of them say they do not go to any temples and worship nirankal or the deity without shape or form, a name given to the supreme god by nanak. in the punjab the nirankaris constitute a separate order from the udasis. [345] these udasis wear a long rope of sheep's wool round the neck and iron chains round the wrist and waist. they carry half a cocoanut shell as a begging-bowl and have the _chameta_ or iron tongs, which can also be closed and used as a poker. their form of salutation is '_matha tek_,' or 'i put my head at your feet.' they never cut their hair and have a long string of wool attached to the _choti_ or scalp-lock, which is coiled up under a little cap. they say that they worship nirankal without going to temples, and when they sit down to pray they make a little fire and place _ghi_ or sweetmeats upon it as an offering. when begging they say 'alakh,' and they accept any kind of uncooked and cooked food from brahmans. 4. suthra shahis. another mendicant nanakpanthi order, whose members visit the central provinces, is that of the suthra shahis. here, however, they often drop the special name, and call themselves simply nanakshahi. the origin of the order is uncertain, and sir e. maclagan gives various accounts. here they say that their founder was a disciple of nanak, who visited mecca and brought back the seli and syahi which are their distinctive badges. the seli is a rope of black wool which they tie round their heads like a turban, and syahi the ink with which they draw a black line on their foreheads, though this is in fact usually made with charcoal. they carry a wallet in which these articles are kept, and also the two small ebony sticks which they strike against each other as an accompaniment to their begging-songs. the larger stick is dedicated to nanak and the smaller to the goddess kali. they are most importunate beggars, and say that the privilege of levying a pice (farthing) was given to them by aurangzeb. they were accustomed in former times to burn their clothes and stand naked at the door of any person who refused to give them alms. they also have a _bahi_ or account-book in which the gifts they receive, especially from banias, are recorded. mr. crooke states that "they indulge freely in intoxicants and seldom cease from smoking. their profligacy is notorious, and they are said to be composed mainly of spendthrifts who have lost their wealth in gambling. they are recruited from all castes and always add the title shah to their names. a proverb says in allusion to their rapacity: kehu mare, kehu jiye, suthra gur batasa piye; or, 'others may live or die, but the suthra shahi must have his drink of sugar and water.' [346] parmarthi sect _parmarthi sect_.--a vishnuite sect of which 26,000 persons were returned as members in the census of 1901. nearly all of these belonged to the uriya state of kalahandi, since transferred to bihar and orissa. the following account of the sect has been furnished by rai bahadur panda baijnath, formerly diwan of kalahandi state. this sect penetrated the state from the orissa side, and seems to belong to bengal. in the beginning it consisted only in pure devotion to the worship of krishna, but later it has been degraded by sexual indulgence and immorality, and this appears to be the main basis of its ritual at present. outwardly its followers recite the bhagavad gita and pretend to be persons of very high morals. their secret practices were obtained from one of his officials who had entered the sect in the lowest grade. on the day of initiation there is a great meeting of members at the cost of the neophyte. a text is taught to him, and the initiation is completed by all the members partaking together of a feast without distinction of caste. the food eaten at this is considered to be mahaprasad, or as if offered to vishnu in his form of jagannath at puri, and to be therefore incapable of defilement. the _mantra_ or text taught to the disciple is as follows: o hari, o krishna, o hari, o krishna, o krishna, o krishna, o hari, o hari, o hari, o ramo, o hari, o ramo, o ramo, o ramo, o hari, o hari. the disciple is enjoined to repeat this text a prescribed number of times, 108 or more, every day. to those pupils who show their devotional ardour by continual repetition of the first text others are taught. the next step is that the disciple should associate himself or herself with some other parmarthi of the opposite sex and tend and serve them. this relation, which is known as _asra-patro_, cannot exist between husband and wife, some other person having to be chosen in each case, and it results of course in an immoral connection. following this is the further rite of _almo-samarpana_ or offering of oneself, in which the disciple is required to give his wife to the guru or preceptor as the acme of self-sacrifice. the _guru_ calls the disciple by a female name of one of the milkmaids of brindaban to indicate that the disciple regards krishna with the same devotion as they did. sometimes the _guru_ and a woman personate krishna and radha, but reverse the names, the _guru_ calling himself radha and the woman krishna. the other disciples wait upon and serve them, and they perform an immoral act in public. parmarthi women sometimes have the _mantra_ or text, 'o hari, o krishna,' tattooed on their breasts. the parmarthis often deny the accusation of immorality, and the above statements may not be true of all of them; but they are believed to be true as regards a considerable part of the sect at any rate. "with all his cleanliness, vegetarianism and teetotalism," one writer remarks, "the vaishnava is perhaps the most dangerous in the whole list of hindu sects. he has done very good service in civilising the lower classes to some extent and in suppressing the horrors of the tantric worship. but the moral laxity which the vaishnava encourages by the stories of the illicit loves between the god and goddess, and by the strong tendency to imitate them which his teachings generate, outweigh the good done by him." this statement applies, however, principally to one or two sects devoted to krishna, and by no means to all nor to the majority of the vaishnava sects. parsi or zoroastrian religion [_bibliography of works quoted_: dr. martin haug's _essays on the parsis_, trübner's oriental series; _bombay gazetteer_, vol. ix. part ii., _parsis of gujarat_. by the late mr. kharsedji nasarvanji seervai, j.p., and khan bahadur bamanji behramji patel; m. salomon reinach's _orphéus_; rev. j. murray mitchell's _great religions of india_. the whole account of the customs and social life of the parsis is taken from the excellent description in the _bombay gazetteer_.] list of paragraphs 1. _introductory_. 2. _the zoroastrian religion_. 3. _the zend-avesta._ 4. _the zend-avesta and the vedas_. 5. _reasons for the schism between the persian and indian aryans_. 6. _the dual principle and the conflict between good and evil_. 7. _the dual principle derived from the antagonism of light and darkness_. 8. _the zoroastrians in persia_. 9. _their migration to india and settlement there_. 10. _their wealth and prosperity_. 11. _marriage customs_. 12. _religion_. _worship of fire_. 13. _the homa liquor_. 14. _parsi priests_. 15. _the sacred shirt and cord_. 16. _disposal of the dead_. 17. _previous exposure of the dead, and migration of souls_. 18. _clothes, food and ceremonial observances_. 1. introductory. the number of parsis in the central provinces in 1911 was about 1800. they are immigrants from bombay, and usually reside in large towns, where they are engaged in different branches of trade, especially in the manufacture and vend of liquor and the management of cotton mills and factories. [347] the word parsi means a resident of the province of fars or pars in persia, from which the name of the country is also derived. 2. the zoroastrian religion. also known as mazdaism, the zoroastrian religion was that of the ancient magi or fire-worshippers of persia, mentioned in scripture. it is supposed that zoroaster or spitama zarathustra, if he was a historical personage, effected a reformation of this religion and placed it on a new basis at some time about 1100 b.c. it is suggested by haug [348] that zarathustra was the designation of the high priests of the cult, and spitama the proper name of that high priest who carried out its distinctive reformation, and perhaps separated the religion of the persian from the indian aryans. this would account for the fact that the sacred writings, which, according to the testimony of greek and roman authors, were of great extent, their compilation probably extending over several centuries, were subsequently all ascribed to one man, or to zarathustra alone. the zend-avesta or sacred book of the parsis does not mention the fire priests under the name of magi, but calls them athravan, the same word as the sanskrit atharva-veda. the reason for this, m. reinach suggests, is that the magi had rebelled against cambyses, the son of cyrus, in the sixth century b.c., during his absence in egypt, and placed a rival creature of their own on the throne. darius, the son of hystaspes, overthrew him and re-established the persian kingdom in 523 b.c., and this may have discredited the magian priests and caused those of the reformed religion to adopt a new name. [349] it is certain that cyrus conformed to the precept of the avesta against the pollution of the sacred element water, when he diverted the course of the river gyndanes in order to recover the body of a horse which had been drowned in it, and that darius i. invokes in his inscriptions ormazd or ahura mazda, the deity of the avesta. [350] on the subversion of the persian empire by alexander, and the subsequent conquest of persia by the arsacid parthian dynasty, the religion of the fire-worshippers fell into neglect, but was revived on the establishment of the sassanian dynasty of ardeshir babegan or artaxerxes in a.d. 226, and became the state religion, warmly supported by its rulers, until the arab conquest in a.d. 652. it was at the beginning of this second period of prosperity that the zend-avesta as it still exists was collected and reduced to writing, but it is thought that the greater part of the remains of the ancient texts recovered at the time were again lost during the arab invasion, as the original literature is believed to have been very extensive. 3. the zend-avesta. the language of the zend-avesta is the ancient east iranian or bactrian dialect, which probably died out finally in the third century b.c., modern persian being descended from the west iranian or median tongue. the bactrian language of the zend-avesta is, haug states, a genuine sister of sanskrit, greek, latin and gothic. "the relationship of the avesta language to the most ancient sanskrit, the so-called vedic dialect, is as close as that of the different dialects of the greek language, aeolic, ionic, doric or attic, to each other. the languages of the sacred hymns of the brahmans, and of those of the parsis, are only the two dialects of two separate tribes of one and the same nation. as the ionians, dorians, aetolians, etc., were different tribes of the greek nation whose general name was hellenes, so the ancient brahmans and parsis were two tribes of the nation which is called aryas both in the veda and zend-avesta." [351] the sections of the zend-avesta which remain are about equal in size to the bible. they consist of sacrificial hymns, prayers and accounts of the making of the world, in the form of conversations between ahura mazda and zoroaster. the whole arrangement is, however, very fragmentary and chaotic, and much of the matter is of a trivial character. it cannot be compared in merit with the old testament. 4. the zend avesta and the vedas. a cuneiform inscription discovered in the centre of asia minor at ptorium proves that about 1400 b.c. certain tribes who had relations with the hittite empire had for their deities mitra, indra, varuna and the nasatyas. the first two names are common to the persian and indian aryans, while the last two are found only in india. it appears then that at this time the ancestors of the hindus and iranians were not yet separated. [352] certain important contrasts between the ancient zoroastrian and vedic religions have led to the theory that the separation was the result of a religious and political schism. the words deva and asura have an exactly opposite significance in the two religions. deva [353] is the term invariably used for the gods of the hindus in the whole vedic and brahmanical literature. in the zend-avesta, on the other hand, deva (pers. _div_) is the general name of an evil spirit, a fiend, demon or devil, who is inimical to all that is good and comes from god. the part of the avesta called the vendidad, consisting of a collection of spells and incantations, means _vi-daevo-data_ or given against the devas or demons. the devas, dr. haug states, are the originators of all that is bad, of every impurity, of death; and are constantly thinking of causing the destruction of the fields and trees, and of the houses of religious men. "asura, occurring as ahura in the first part of ahura-mazda (hormazd), is the name of god among the parsis; and the zoroastrian religion is distinctly called the ahura religion, in strict opposition to the deva religion. but among the hindus asura has assumed a bad meaning, and is applied to the bitterest enemies of their devas (gods), with whom the asuras are constantly waging war. this is the case throughout the whole puranic literature and as far back as the later parts of the vedas; but in the older parts of the rig-veda sanhita we find the word asura used in as good and elevated a sense as in the zend-avesta. the chief gods, such as indra, varuna, agni, savitri, rudra or siva, are honoured with the epithet 'asura,' which means 'living, spiritual,' and signifies the divine in its opposition to human nature. "in a bad sense we find asura only twice in the older parts of the rig-veda, in which passages the defeat of the 'sons or men of the asura' is ordered or spoken of; but we find the word more frequently in this sense in the last book of the rig-veda (which is only an appendix to the whole made in later times), and in the atharva-veda, where the rishis are said to have frustrated the tricks of the asuras and to have the power of putting them down. in the brahmanas or sacrificial books belonging to each of the vedas we find the devas always fighting with the asuras. the latter are the constant enemies of the hindu gods, and always make attacks upon the sacrifices offered by devotees. to defeat them, all the craft and cunning of the devas were required; and the means of checking them was generally found in a new sacrificial rite." [354] professor haug adduces other arguments in this connection from resemblance of metres. again the principal vedic god, indra, is included in the list of devas or demons in the zoroastrian scripture, the vendidad. siva and the nasatyas or ashvins, the divine horsemen of the vedas, are also said to be found in the list of devas or demons. others of the vedic gods as mitra the sun, aryaman, either another name for the sun or his constant associate and representative, vayu the wind, and one or two more are found as yazatas or angels in the zend-avesta. [355] 5. reasons for the schism between the persian and indian aryans. professor haug's suggestion as to the cause of the schism between the iranian and indian branches of the aryans is very interesting. he thinks that the aryan tribes after they had left their original home, which was in all likelihood a cold country, led mainly a pastoral life, and cultivated only occasionally some patches of land for their own support. but when they arrived in the tract between the oxus and jaxartes rivers, and the highlands of bactria, which were suitable for permanent settlement, certain of them, who were the ancestors of the iranian branch, forsook the pastoral life of their ancestors and became agriculturists. others, the ancestors of the indian aryans, retained their nomadic habits, and took to the practice of making predatory incursions into the territories of the settled communities. hence arose a bitter hostility between them; and as the success of the raiders was attributed to their religious spells and incantations, and especially to the consumption of the soma liquor under the auspices of the god indra, this part of their joint religion became hateful to the iranians and led to the founding of the reformed zoroastrian religion, in which special stress is laid on the virtue obtained from bringing land under cultivation, making enclosures and permanent settlements and protecting agricultural cattle. this is forcibly expressed in the saying, 'he who cultivates barley cultivates righteousness,' and others. [356] finally the nomadic tribes left the common residence in the central asian highlands and migrated into india. it is not certain that scholars generally accept the above hypothesis. 6. the dual principles and the conflict between good and evil. the most prominent feature of the religion of zarathustra is the dual principle of good and evil and the conflict between them. ahura mazda is the supreme deity, the creator of the world, and ahriman or angro mainyush is the evil one, his constant opponent. a perpetual struggle proceeds between them, extending over the whole of creation, and will continue for a period of 12,000 years. the virtuous lives and prayers and sacrifices of men help the cause of ahura mazda, while every bad action and all kinds of ceremonial impurity constitute an assistance rendered by them to ahriman. not only virtue, courage, charity humility and kindness to animals, when displayed by men, are held to reinforce ahura mazda, but also such useful acts as cleaning a field for cultivation, digging a canal or building a bridge. the animals are also divided into good and bad, the latter being considered the creation of ahriman and designated the seed of the serpent. the bad animals include tigers, snakes, cats, wolves, frogs, mice, ants and others, and to kill them is to perform a virtuous act in the cause of ahura mazda. among good animals dogs and agricultural cattle appear to be the chief. the division is very imperfect, and it would seem that the classification does not extend to birds and fish. most trees are good, but their bark is evil. hail, snow and all kinds of diseases are believed to be the work of ahriman and his evil spirits. [357] as all ceremonial impurity renders assistance to the evil one, the parsis are very careful in such matters, as will be noticed subsequently. ahura mazda is assisted in his struggle for the good by six amesha-spentas or good spirits, who are something like archangels. they consist of the spirits of cattle, fire, metals, the earth, health and immortality. with the first four of these some moral quality or attribute as truth, wisdom and the curing of diseases is now associated. another great spirit sraosha is the judge of the dead. similarly ahriman is assisted by six arch-fiends and a whole host of evil spirits (deva and druj) of all kinds, against whom men have to be perpetually on their guard. one of the principal bad spirits is aeshma deva, the roaring demon, who appears to be the asmodeus mentioned in the apocrypha. at the end of the period of struggle ahura mazda will engage in a final contest with ahriman and will conquer with the help of the archangel sraosha, who will overcome the demon aeshma. a virgin will then conceive and bring forth the second zoroaster as a messiah, who will cause the resurrection of the dead. the good will be separated from the bad, but the punishment of the latter will not be eternal; and after the purification of the world by a general conflagration all humanity will unite in the adoration of ahura mazda. [358] meanwhile after death the souls of all men are weighed and have to pass over a narrow bridge called chinvad. the good souls, lightened by the absence of sin, find it a broad and easy path to heaven, while to the bad ones, weighed down with their sins, it becomes narrow as a razor's edge, and they fall over into hell. m. salomon reinach points out that their beliefs have several points of resemblance with those of judaism, but it is not easy to say which religion has borrowed from the other. [359] the word paradise, according to dr. haug, comes from _pairidaesa_ in the zend-avesta and means a park or beautiful garden protected by a fence. 7. the dual principle derived from the antagonism of light and darkness. it is noticeable that ahura mazda is considered as luminous and good, and ahriman as gloomy and bad. ahura mazda, according to darmesteter, can be traced back to asura, the supreme god of indo-iranian times, and is the representative of varuna, zeus or jupiter, that is the sky or heavens. similarly ahura mazda is described in the zend-avesta as righteous, brilliant, glorious, the originator of the spirit of nature, of the luminaries and of the self-shining brightness which is in the luminaries. again he is the author of all that is bright and shining, good and useful in nature, while ahriman called into existence all that is dark and apparently noxious. both are complementary as day and night, and though opposed to each other, are indispensable for the preservation of creation. the beneficent spirit appears in the blazing flame, the presence of the hurtful one is marked by the wood converted into charcoal. ahura mazda created the light of day and ahriman the darkness of night; the former awakens men to their duties and the latter lulls them to sleep. these features of the good and evil spirits seem to point to the conclusion that the original antithesis which is portrayed in the conflict between the principles of good and evil is that of night and day or darkness and light. the light of day and all that belongs to it is good, and the darkness of night and that which belongs to it evil. as already seen, ahura mazda is considered to be equivalent to varuna or zeus, that is the god of the sky or heavens. originally it seems likely that this deity also comprised the sun, but afterwards the sun was specialised, so to speak, into a separate god, perhaps in consequence of a clearer recognition of his distinctive attributes and functions in nature. thus in the zoroastrian religion mithra became the special sun-god, and may be compared with vishnu and surya in india and apollo in greece. in the avesta the sun is addressed as the king. [360] ahura mazda speaks of the sun-deity mithra as follows to zoroaster: "i created mithra, who rules over large fields, to be of the same rank and dignity as i myself am (for purposes of worship)." the only visible emblem of ahura mazda worshipped by the parsis is fire, and it would seem that the earthly fire, which is called ahura mazda's son, is venerated as the offspring and representative of the heavenly fire or the sun. thus ahura mazda may have been originally an old god of the heavens, and may have become the abstract spirit of light from whom the sun in turn was derived. if, as is now supposed, the original home of the aryan race was somewhere in northern europe, whence the iranian and indian branches migrated to the east, the religious tenets of the parsis may perhaps have arisen from the memory of this journey. their veneration of fire would be more easily understood if it was based on the fact that they owed their lives to this element during their wanderings across the steppes of eastern europe. the association of cold, darkness and snow with ahriman or the evil one supports this hypothesis. similarly among the indian aryans the god of fire was one of the greatest vedic gods, and fire was essential to the preservation of life in the cold hilly regions beyond the north-west of india. but in india itself fire is of far less importance and agiri has fallen into the background in modern hinduism, except for the domestic reverence of the hearth-fire. but zoroastrianism has preserved the old form of its religion without change. the narrow bridge which spans the gulf leading to heaven and from which the wicked fall into hell, may have originally been suggested by the steep and narrow passes by which their ancestors must have crossed the mountain ranges lying on their long journey, and where, no doubt, large numbers had miserably perished; while their paradise, as already seen, was the comparatively warm and fertile country to which they had so hardly attained, where they had learnt to grow corn and where they wanted to stay thenceforth and for ever. 8. the zoroastrians in persia. in persia itself the zoroastrian faith is now almost extinct, but small colonies still survive in the towns of yezd and kerman. they are in a miserable and oppressed condition and are subjected to various irritating restrictions, as being forbidden to make wind towers to their houses for coolness, to wear spectacles or to ride horses. in 1904 their number was estimated at 9000 persons. [361] 9. their migration to india and settlement there. the migration of the parsis to india dates from the arab conquest of persia in a.d. 638-641. the refugees at first fled to the hills, and after passing through a period of hardship moved down to the coast and settled in the city of ormuz. being again persecuted, a party of them set sail for india and landed in gujarat. there were probably two migrations, one immediately after the arab conquest in 641, and the second from ormuz as described above in a.d. 750. their first settlement was at sanjan in gujarat, and from here they spread to various other cities along the coast. during their period of prosperity at sanjan they would seem to have converted a large section of the hindu population near thana. the first settlers in gujarat apparently took to tapping palm trees for toddy, and the parsis have ever since been closely connected with the liquor traffic. the portuguese writer garcia d'orta (a.d. 1535) notices a curious class of merchants and shopkeepers, who were called coaris, that is gaurs, in bassein, and esparis or parsis in cambay. the portuguese called them jews; but they were no jews, for they were uncircumcised and ate pork. besides they came from persia and had a curious written character, strange oaths and many foolish superstitions, taking their dead out by a special door and exposing the bodies till they were destroyed. in 1578, at the request of the emperor akbar, the parsis sent learned priests to explain to him the zoroastrian faith. they found akbar a ready listener and taught him their peculiar rites and ceremonies. akbar issued orders that the sacred fire should be made over to the charge of abul fazl, and that after the manner of the kings of persia, in whose temples blazed perpetual fires, abul fazl should take care that the sacred fire was never allowed to go out either by night or day, for that it was one of the signs of god and one light from among the many lights of his creation. akbar, according to portuguese accounts, was invested with the sacred shirt and girdle, and in return granted the gujarat priest meherji rana an estate near naosari, where his descendants have ever since been chief priests. [362] 10. their wealth and prosperity. the parsis had begun to settle in bombay under the portuguese (a.d. 1530-1666). one of them, dorabji nanabhai, held a high position in the island before its transfer to the british in the latter year, and before the end of the seventeenth century several more families, of whom the modis, pandes, banajis, dadiseths and vadias were among the earliest, settled in the island. to the gujarat parsis more than to any class of native merchants was due the development of the trade of bombay, especially with china. though many parsis came to bombay, almost all continued to consider surat or naosari their home; and after its transfer to the british in 1759 the surat parsis rose greatly in wealth and position. they became the chief merchants of surat, and their leading men were the english, portuguese and dutch brokers. shortly afterwards, owing to the great development of the opium and cotton trade with china, the parsis made large profits in commerce both at surat and bombay. after the great fire at surat in 1857 bombay became the headquarters of the parsis, and since then has had as permanent settlers the largest section of the community. the bulk of the native foreign trade fell into their hands, and the very great liberality of some of the leading parsis has made their name honourable. they secured a large share of the wealth that was poured into western india by the american war and the making of railways, and have played a leading part in starting and developing the great factory industry of bombay. many of the largest and best managed mills belong to parsis, and numbers of them find highly paid employment as mechanical engineers, and weaving, carding and spinning masters. broach ranks next to bombay in the prosperity of its parsis; they deal extensively in cotton, timber, fuel and the manufacture of spirit from the flowers of the mahua tree. [363] from the bombay presidency the parsis have spread to other parts of india, following the same avocations; they are liquor and timber contractors, own and manage weaving mills and ginning factories, and keep shops for retailing european stores, and are the most prosperous and enterprising section of the native population. two parsis have become members of parliament, and others have risen to distinction in government service, business and the professions. the sea-face road in bombay in the evening, thronged with the carriages and motor-cars of parsi men and ladies, is strong testimony to the success which the ability and industry of this race have achieved under the encouragement of peace, the protection of property and the liberty to trade. though they have a common aryan ancestry and their religion is so closely connected with hinduism, the parsis feel themselves a race alien to the hindus and probably have no great sympathy with them. their wealth and position have been mainly obtained under british rule, and the bulk of them are believed to be its warm adherents. the parsis now make no proselytes, and no regular provision exists for admitting outsiders to their religion, though it is believed that, in one or two cases, wives taken from outside the community have been admitted. they object strongly to the adoption of any other religion, such as christianity, by members of their body. the parsis are notable for the fact that their women are very well educated and appear quite freely in society. this is a comparatively recent reform and may be ascribed to the english example, though the credit they deserve for having broken through prejudice and tradition is in no way diminished on that account. the total number of parsis in india in 1911 was just 100,000 persons. 11. marriage customs. polygamy among the parsis has been forbidden by the parsi marriage and divorce act of 1865. the remarriage of widows is allowed but is celebrated at midnight. if a bachelor is to marry a widow, he first goes through a sham rite with the branch of a tree, as among the hindus. similarly before the wedding the bride and bridegroom are rubbed with turmeric, and for the ceremony a marriage-shed is erected. at a feast before the wedding one of the women beats a copper dish and asks the ancestral spirits to attend, calling them by name. another woman comes running in, barking like a dog. the women drive her away, and with fun and laughing eat all the things they can lay their hands on. prior to the rite the bride and bridegroom are purified in the same manner as when invested with the sacred shirt and cord. the bridegroom wears a long white robe reaching to his ankles and a white sash round his waist; he has a garland of flowers round his neck, a red mark on his forehead, and carries a bunch of flowers and a cocoanut in his right hand. at every street corner on his way to the bride's home a cocoanut is waved round his head, broken and thrown away. he sets his right foot in the house first, and as he enters rice and water are thrown under his feet and an egg and cocoanut are broken. at the wedding the couple throw rice on each other, and it is supposed that whoever is quickest in throwing the rice will rule the other. they are then seated side by side, and two priests stand before them with a witness on each side, holding brass plates full of rice. the two priests pronounce the marriage blessing in old persian and sanskrit, at each sentence throwing rice on the bride's and bridegroom's heads. at intervals in the midst of the blessing the bridegroom and bride are asked in persian, 'have you chosen her?' and 'have you chosen him?' they answer in persian, or if they are too young their mothers answer for them, 'i have chosen.' [364] 12. religion. worship of fire. the religious ritual of the parsis consists of the worship of fire. the fire temples are of a single storey and contain three rooms. on reaching the outer hall the worshipper washes his face, hands and feet, and recites a prayer. then, carrying a piece of sandalwood and some money for the officiating priest, he passes to the inner hall, in which a carpet is spread. he takes off his shoes and rings one of four brass bells hanging at the corners of the room. the priest also rings one of these bells at each watch when he performs worship. he then proceeds to the threshold of the central fire-room, kneels there, and again standing begins to recite prayers. none may enter the fire-room except the priests. here the fire is kept always blazing in a silver or copper urn on a solid stone pedestal, and is fed day and night with sandal and other commoner woods. a priest is always present, dressed in long white robes, his hands covered with white cloths and his face veiled. the worshipper lays down his offering of sandalwood at the entrance, and the priest takes it up with a pair of tongs, and gives him some ashes from the urn in a silver or brass ladle. these the worshipper rubs on his forehead and eyebrows. on concluding his prayers, which are in the avesta language, he walks backward to where he left his shoes and goes home. a parsi man never allows his hearth fire to go out, and if he changes his residence he carries it with him to the next place of abode. 13. the homa liquor. like the hindus, the iranian ancestors of the parsis revered the sacred liquor made from the soma or homa plant. it was considered a panacea for all diseases, and many stories about the miraculous effects obtained from drinking the juice are contained in a hymn of the zend-avesta composed in its honour. according to dr. mitchell [365] the offering of homa is still made at parsi temples, though apparently some substitute must have been obtained for the original plant, which does not grow in the plains of india. at any rate the offering and sacrificial drinking of the liquor were probably continued so long as the parsis remained in persia. as this is a comparatively cool country, the bad effects of alcohol did not perhaps become apparent to the parsis as they did to the hindus in the plains of india, and hence the sanctity attaching to the liquor underwent no similar decline. from this it perhaps results that the parsis have no feeling at all against alcohol, and drink it for pleasure, like europeans. both the toddy of the date-palm and mahua spirit are freely consumed at their feasts, while the rich members of the community drink european wines and spirits. as any dealing in alcohol is practically prohibited to high-caste hindus and also to muhammadans, and low-caste hindus have hitherto scarcely ever been literate, the parsis on account of this peculiarity have found a profitable opening in the wholesale liquor trade, and until recently have had very little effective competition to face. this is perhaps a reason for their special addiction to it, and also for their engaging in the sale of european stores and wines. 14. parsi priests. the parsi priests form a hereditary caste, and are all supposed to be descended from one shapur sheheriar, who with his sons and grandsons, one of whom translated the zend-avesta into sanskrit, are believed to have been among the first parsi settlers of the priestly caste at sanjan in north thana. the training of a priest consists of learning substantial portions of the zend-avesta by heart, and in going through elaborate ceremonies of purification, in which the drinking of _nerang_ and _nerangdin_, or cow's and bull's urine, being bathed, chewing pomegranate leaves and rubbing the same urine and sand on his body are leading features. priests always dress in white and wear a full beard. they must never shave the head or face, and never allow the head to be bare nor wear coloured clothes. if a priest's turban happens to fall off, or if he travels by rail or sea, his state of purity ends, and he must go through the whole ceremony of purification again and pass nine days in retreat at a temple. [366] the principal business of a priest, as already seen, is the tending of the sacred fire in the temples, and he also conducts marriage and other ceremonies. 15. the sacred shirt and cord. parsi boys and girls are received into the zoroastrian faith between the ages of seven and nine. the child is purified by being bathed, sipping bull's urine and chewing a pomegranate leaf, and makes the profession of belief in the faith. he or she is then invested with the sacred shirt, _sadra_, and the sacred cord or thread called _kusti_. the shirt is of thin muslin, with short sleeves and falling a little below the hip. the sacred cord is of wool, and can be made only by the wives and daughters of parsi priests. [367] 16. disposal of the dead. the parsi method of exposing the dead in dakhmas or towers of silence to be devoured by vultures has often been described. it has objectionable features, and the smaller communities in the interior of india do not as a rule erect towers of silence, and are content simply to bury the dead. it seems probable that the original custom was simply to expose the dead on waste land, the towers of silence being a substitute which became necessary when the parsis began to live in towns. this hypothesis would explain some points in their funeral customs recorded in the _bombay gazetteer_. the dead body is washed, dressed in an old clean cloth and laid on the floor of the house, the space being marked off. if the floor is of earth the surface of this enclosed space is broken up. if the floor is of cement or stone one or two stone slabs are set on it and the body laid on them; it is never laid on a wooden floor, nor on stone slabs placed on such a floor. the space where the body was laid is marked off, and is not used for a month if the death occurs between the eighth and twelfth months of the year, and for ten days if the death occurs between the first and seventh months. the last are said to be the hottest months. [368] it would appear that these rules are a reminiscence of the time when the body was simply exposed. it was then naturally always laid on earth or rock, and never on wood, hence the prohibition of a wooden floor. the fact that the spot where the body is now laid in the house is held impure for a shorter period during the summer months may be explained on the ground that all traces of the decaying corpse, after it had been devoured by wild animals and vultures, would have been dried up by the sun more quickly at this time than during the winter months. in the latter period, as the process would take longer, the place in the home is similarly held impure for a month, as against ten days in summer, though at present neither the sun nor weather can possibly affect a site inside the house. the fact that when the floor is of earth the site for the corpse is broken up may indicate that it was formerly laid on rough waste ground, and not on a floor beaten smooth, though it might also be simply a means of avoiding contamination of the floor. but if this was the object it would be simpler to avoid letting the body come into contact with the floor at all. the corpse may still be wrapped in an old cloth because it was originally exposed in the cloth worn at death. the body is carried to the tower on an iron bier by special bearers; if the journey is a long one a bullock cart may be used, but in this case the cart must be broken up and the pieces buried near the tower. before the funeral starts a number of priests attend at the house and recite the prayers for the dead. during the service a dog is brought in to look on the face of the dead. the mourners follow in the usual manner, and on arrival at the tower the bearers alone take the corpse inside and lay it naked on one of the slabs, which are built in circular terraces in the interior. the mourners must be purified at the tower by pouring a little cow's urine into their hands, and on returning home they wash their face and hands, and recite a prayer before entering the house. they must bathe and have their clothes washed before these are again used. when a married man dies his widow breaks her glass bangles and wears only metal bracelets, and so long as she remains a widow she takes no part in any festal celebrations. every morning for three days after a death rice is cooked and laid in the veranda for dogs to eat. no other food is cooked in the house of death, the family being supplied by their friends. during these three days prayers are said for the dead several times a day by priests, and kinsmen pay short visits of condolence. on the third day a meeting is held in the house and prayers are said for the dead; trays of flowers and burning incense are placed before the spot where the body lay, and a list of charitable gifts made by the family in memory of the dead man is read. on the fourth day a feast is held specially for priests, and friends are also asked to join in it. a little of the food cooked on this day is sent to all relations and friends, who make a point of eating or at least of tasting it. on the tenth and thirtieth days after death, and on monthly anniversaries for the first year, and subsequently on annual anniversaries, ceremonies in honour of the dead are performed. [369] 17. previous exposure of the dead, and migration of souls. some of these customs are peculiar and interesting. it has been seen that for three days the home is impure, and no food is cooked in it except what is given to dogs; and since on the third day offerings are made on the spot where the body lay, it seems to be supposed that the dead man's spirit is still there. on the fourth day is the funeral feast, in which all relations and friends join, and after this the house becomes pure, it being presumably held that the dead man's spirit has taken its departure. for these three days food is cooked in the house and given to dogs, and immediately after the man is dead a dog is brought in to look at his face. it has been suggested that the manner of laying out the body recalls the time when it was simply exposed. but when it was exposed the body would have been devoured principally by dogs and vultures, and the customs connected with dogs seem to arise from this. the cooked food given to dogs for three days is perhaps a substitute for the flesh of the dead man which they would have eaten, and the display of the body to a dog is in substitution for its being devoured by these animals, who now that it is exposed in a tower of silence no longer have access to it. it has further been seen how during the marriage rites, after an invitation has been issued to the ancestors to attend, a woman comes in barking like a dog. the other women drive her away and laughingly eat everything they can lay their hands on, perhaps in imitation of the way dogs devour their food. this custom seems to indicate that the parsis formerly believed that the spirits of their ancestors went into the dogs which devoured their bodies, a belief which would be quite natural to primitive people. such a hypothesis would explain the peculiar customs mentioned, and also the great sanctity which the parsis attach to dogs. on the same analogy they should apparently also have believed that the spirits of ancestors went into vultures; but it is not recorded that they show any special veneration for these birds, though it must be almost certain that they do not kill them. the explanation given for the custom of the exposure of the dead is that none of the holy elements, earth, fire or water, can be polluted by receiving dead bodies. but, as already stated, towers of silence cannot be a primitive institution, and the bodies in all probability were previously exposed on the ground. the custom of exposure probably dates from a period prior to the belief in the extreme sanctity of the earth. it may have been retained in order that the spirits of ancestors might find a fresh home in the animals which devoured their bodies; and some platform, from which the towers of silence subsequently developed, may have been made to avoid defilement of the earth; while in after times this necessity of not defiling the earth and other elements might be advanced as a reason justifying the custom of exposure. 18. clothes, food and ceremonial observances. parsi men usually wear a turban of dark cloth spotted with white, folded to stand up straight from the forehead, and looking somewhat as if it was made of pasteboard. this is very unbecoming, and younger men often abandon it and simply wear the now common felt cap. they usually have long coats, white or dark, and white cotton trousers. well-to-do parsi women dress very prettily in silks of various colours. the men formerly shaved the head, either entirely, or leaving a scalp-lock and two ear-locks. but now many of them simply cut their hair short like the english. they wear whiskers and moustaches, but with the exception of the priests, not usually beards. neither men nor women ever put off the sacred shirt or the thread. they eat the flesh only of goats and sheep among animals, and also consume fish, fowls and other birds; but they do not eat a cock after it has begun to crow, holding the bird sacred, because they think that its crowing drives away evil spirits. if ahura mazda represented the sun and the light of day, the cock, the herald of the dawn, might be regarded as his sacred bird. sometimes when a cock or parrot dies the body is wrapped in a sacred shirt or thread and carefully buried. palm-juice toddy is a favourite drink at almost all meals in gujarat, and mahua spirit is also taken. parsis must never smoke, as this would be derogatory to the sacred element fire. [370] saiva, shaiva, sivite sect _saiva, shaiva, sivite sect_.--the name given to hindus who venerate siva as their special god. siva, whose name signifies 'the propitious,' is held to have succeeded to the vedic god rudra, apparently a storm-god. siva is a highly composite deity, having the double attributes of destroyer and creator of new life. his heaven, kailas, is in the himalayas according to popular belief. he carries the moon on his forehead, and from the central one of his three eyes the lightning flashes forth. he has a necklace of skulls, and snakes are intertwined round his waist and arms. and he has long matted hair (_jata_), from which the ganges flows. it seems likely that the matted locks of the god represent the snow on the himalayas, as the snow is in reality the source of the ganges; the snow falling through the air and covering the peaks of the mountains might well suggest the hair of a mountain-god; and this interpretation seems to be accepted in mr. bain's _in the great god's hair_. siva has thus three components from which the idea of death might be derived: first, his residence on the himalaya mountains, the barren, lifeless region of ice and snow, and the cause of death to many pilgrims and travellers who ventured into it. secondly, he is the god of the moon, and hence of darkness and night, which are always associated with death. in this light he might well be opposed to vishnu, the god of the sun and day, and the source of growth and life; their association as the two supreme deities representing the preservation and destruction of life, would thus, to some extent, correspond to the conflict of good and bad deities representing light and darkness among the zoroastrians. thirdly, siva is a snake-god, and the sudden death dealt out by the poisonous snake has always excited the greatest awe among primitive people. the cobra is widely revered in india, and it is probably this snake which is associated with the god. in addition the lightning, a swift, death-dealing power, is ascribed to siva, and this may have been one of his earliest attributes, as it was probably associated with his vedic prototype rudra. whether siva obtained his character as a god of destruction from one only of the above associations, or from a combination of them, is probably not known. two great forces lend the deity his character of a god of reproduction, the bull and the phallic emblem. the bull tills the soil and renders it fertile and capable of bringing forth the crops which form the sustenance of mankind; while the phallic emblem is worshipped as the instrument of generation. it is believed that there is a natural tendency to associate these two objects, and to ascribe to the bull the capacity of inducing human fertility as well as the increase of the earth. it is in these two attributes that siva is worshipped in the rural tract; he is represented by the emblem referred to standing on a circular grooved stone, which is the _yoni_, and in front of him is a stone bull. and he is revered almost solely as a beneficent deity under the name of mahadeo or the great god. thus his dual qualities of destruction and reproduction appear to be produced by the combination in him of different objects of worship; the himalayas, the moon, the cobra and the lightning on the one hand, and the bull and the emblem of regeneration on the other. other interesting characteristics of siva are that he is the first and greatest of ascetics and that he is immoderately addicted to the intoxicating drugs _ganja_ and _bhang_, the preparations of indian hemp. it may be supposed that the god was given his character as an ascetic in order to extend divine sanction and example to the practice of asceticism when it came into favour. and the drugs, [371] first revered themselves for their intoxicating properties, were afterwards perpetuated in a sacred character by being associated with the god. siva's throat is blue, and it is sometimes said that this is on account of his immoderate consumption of _bhang_. the _nilkanth_ or blue-jay, which was probably venerated for its striking plumage, and is considered to be a bird of very good omen, has become siva's bird because its blue throat resembles his. his principal sacred tree is the _bel_ tree, [372] which has trifoliate leaves, and may have been held sacred on this account. the practice of sati or the self-immolation of widows has also been given divine authority by the story that sati was siva's first wife, and that she committed suicide because she and her husband were not invited to daksha's sacrifice. [373] siva's famous consort is the multiform devi, kali or parvati, of whom some notice is given elsewhere. [374] the cult of siva has produced the important sakta sect, who, however, venerate more especially the female principle of energy as exemplified in his consort. [375] another great sect of southern india, the lingayats, worship him in the character of the _lingam_ or phallic emblem, and are noticeable as being a sivite sect who have abolished caste. the sivite orders of gosains or dasnamis and jogis also constitute an important feature of hinduism. all these are separately described. apart from them the hindus who call themselves saivas because they principally venerate siva, do not appear to have any very special characteristics, nor to be markedly distinguished from the vaishnavas. they abstain from the consumption of flesh and liquor, and think it objectionable to take life. their offerings to the god consist of flowers, the leaves of the _bel_ tree which is sacred to him, and ripe ears of corn, these last being perhaps intended especially for the divine bull. the sect-mark of the saivas consists of three curved lines horizontally drawn across the forehead, which are said to represent the _tirsul_ or trident of the god. a half-moon may also be drawn. the mark is made with ganges clay, sandalwood, or cowdung cakes, these last being considered to represent the disintegrating force of the deity. [376] sakta, shakta sect _sakta, shakta sect_.--the name of a hindu sect, whose members worship the female principle of energy, which is the counterpart of the god siva. the metaphysical ideas of saktism are thus described by sir edward gait: [377] "saktism is based on the worship of the active producing principle, prakriti, as manifested in one or other of the goddess wives of siva (durga, kali, parvati) the female energy or sakti of the primordial male, purusha or siva. in this cult the various forces of nature are deified under separate personalities, which are known as the divine mothers or matrigan. the ritual to be observed, the sacrifices to be offered, and the _mantras_ or magic texts to be uttered, in order to secure the efficacy of the worship and to procure the fulfilment of the worshipper's desire, are laid down in a series of religious writings known as tantras. the cult is supposed to have originated in east bengal or assam about the fifth century." dr. bhattacharya states [378] that the practical essence of the sakta cult is the worship of the female organ of generation. according to a text of the tantras the best form of sakti worship is to adore a naked woman, and it is said that some tantrics actually perform their daily worship in their private chapels by placing before them such a woman. a triangular plate of brass or copper may be taken as a substitute, and such plates are usually kept in the houses of tantric brahmans. in the absence of a plate of the proper shape a triangle may be painted on a copper dish. in public the veneration of the saktas is paid to the goddess kali. she is represented as a woman with four arms. in one hand she has a weapon, in a second the hand of the giant she has slain, and with the two others she is encouraging her worshippers. for earrings she has two dead bodies, she wears a necklace of skulls, and her only clothing is a garland made of men's skulls. in the kalika puran [379] the immolation of human beings is recommended, and numerous animals are catalogued as suitable for sacrifice. at the present time pigeons, goats, and more rarely buffaloes, are the usual victims at the shrine of the goddess. the ceremony commences with the adoration of the sacrificial axe; various _mantras_ are recited, and the animal is then decapitated at one stroke. as soon as the head falls to the ground the votaries rush forward and smear their foreheads with the blood of the victim. it is of the utmost importance that the ceremony should pass off without any hitch or misadventure, [380] and special services are held to supplicate the goddess to permit of this. if in spite of them the executioner fails to sever the head of the animal at one stroke, it is thought that the goddess is angry and that some great calamity will befall the family in the next year. if a death should occur within the period, they attribute it to the miscarriage of the sacrifice, that is to the animal not having been killed with a single blow. if any such misfortune should happen, dr. bhattacharya states, the family generally determine never to offer animal sacrifices again; and in this way the slaughter of animals, as part of the religious ceremony in private houses, is becoming more and more rare. if a goat is sacrificed, the head is placed before the goddess and the flesh cooked and served to the invited guests; but in the case of a buffalo, as respectable hindus do not eat the flesh of this animal, it is given to the low-caste musicians employed for the occasion. wine is also offered to the goddess, and after being consecrated is sprinkled on every kind of uncooked food brought before her. but the worshipper and his family often drink only a few drops. the saktas are divided into the dakshinacharis and bamacharis, or followers of the rightand left-handed paths respectively. the dakshinacharis have largely abandoned animal sacrifices, and many of them substitute red flowers or red sandalwood as offerings, to represent blood. an account of those bamacharis who carry sexual practices to extreme lengths, has been given in the article on vam-margi. the sect-mark of the saktas is three horizontal lines on the forehead made with a mixture of charcoal and butter. some of them have a single vertical line of charcoal or sandalwood. in the central provinces sakta is a general term for a hindu who eats meat, as opposed to the vaishnavas and kabirpanthis, who abjure it. the animals eaten are goats and chickens, and they are usually sacrificed to the goddess devi prior to being consumed by the worshippers. satnami list of paragraphs 1. _origin of the sect_. 2. _ghasi das, founder of the satnami sect_. 3. _the message of ghasi das_. 4. _subsequent history of the satnamis_. 5. _social profligacy_. 6. _divisions of the satnamis_. 7. _customs of the satnamis_. 8. _character of the satnami movement_. 1. origin of the sect. _satnami sect_ [381] (a worshipper of the true name of god).--a dissenting sect founded by a chamar reformer in the chhattisgarh country of the central provinces. it is practically confined to members of the chamar caste, about half of whom belong to it. in 1901 nearly 400,000 persons returned themselves as adherents of the satnami sect, of whom all but 2000 were chamars. the satnami sect of the central provinces, which is here described, is practically confined to the chhattisgarh plain, and the handful of persons who returned themselves as satnamis from the northern districts are believed to be adherents of the older persuasion of the same name in northern india. the satnami movement in chhattisgarh was originated by one ghasi das, a native of the bilaspur district, between a.d. 1820 and 1830. but it is probable that ghasi das, as suggested by mr. hira lal, got his inspiration from a follower of the older satnami sect of northern india. this was inaugurated by a rajput, jagjiwan das of the bara banki district, who died in 1761. he preached the worship of the true name of the one god, the cause and creator of all things, void of sensible qualities and without beginning or end. he prohibited the use of meat, lentils (on account of their red colour suggesting blood) of the brinjal or eggplant, which was considered, probably on account of its shape, to resemble flesh, and of intoxicating liquors. the creed of ghasi das enunciated subsequently was nearly identical with that of jagjiwan das, and was no doubt derived from it, though ghasi das never acknowledged the source of his inspiration. 2. ghasi das, founder of the satnami sect. ghasi das was a poor farmservant in girod, a village formerly in bilaspur and now in raipur, near the sonakan forests. on one occasion he and his brother started on a pilgrimage to the temple at puri, but only got as far as sarangarh, whence they returned ejaculating '_satnam, satnam_.' from this time ghasi das began to adopt the life of an ascetic, retiring all day to the forest to meditate. on a rocky hillock about a mile from girod is a large _tendu_ tree (_diospyros tomentosa_) under which it is said that he was accustomed to sit. this is a favourite place of pilgrimage of the chamars, and two satnami temples have been built near it, which contain no idols. once these temples were annually visited by the successors of ghasi das. but at present the head of the sect only proceeds to them, like the greeks to delphi, in circumstances of special difficulty. in the course of time ghasi das became venerated as a saintly character, and on some miracles, such as the curing of snake-bite, being attributed to him, his fame rapidly spread. the chamars began to travel from long distances to venerate him, and those who entertained desires, such as for the birth of a child, believed that he could fulfil them. the pilgrims were accustomed to carry away with them the water in which he had washed his feet, in hollow bamboos, and their relatives at home drank this, considering it was nectar. finally, ghasi das retired to the forests for a period, and emerged with what he called a new gospel for the chamars; but this really consisted of a repetition of the tenets of jagjiwan das, the founder of the satnami sect of upper india, with a few additions. mr. chisholm [382] gave a graphic account of the retirement of ghasi das to the sonakan forests for a period of six months, and of his reappearance and proclamation of his revelation on a fixed date before a great multitude of chamars, who had gathered from all parts to hear him. an inquiry conducted locally by mr. hira lal in 1903 indicates that this story is of doubtful authenticity, though it must be remembered that mr. chisholm wrote only forty years after the event, and forty more had elapsed at the time of mr. hira lal's investigation. [383] of the chamar reformer himself mr. chisholm writes: [384] "ghasi das, like the rest of his community, was unlettered. he was a man of unusually fair complexion and rather imposing appearance, sensitive, silent, given to seeing visions, and deeply resenting the harsh treatment of his brotherhood by the hindus. he was well known to the whole community, having travelled much among them; had the reputation of being exceptionally sagacious and was universally respected." 3. the message of ghasi das. the seven precepts of ghasi das included abstinence from liquor, meat and certain red vegetables, such as lentils chillies and tomatoes, because they have the colour of blood, the abolition of idol worship, the prohibition of the employment of cows for cultivation, and of ploughing after midday or taking food to the fields, and the worship of the name of one solitary and supreme god. the use of _taroi_ [385] is said to have been forbidden on account of its fancied resemblance to the horn of the buffalo, and of the brinjal [386] from its likeness to the scrotum of the same animal. the prohibition against ploughing after the midday meal was probably promulgated out of compassion for animals and was already in force among the gonds of bastar. this precept is still observed by many satnamis, and in case of necessity they will continue ploughing from early morning until the late afternoon without taking food, in order not to violate it. the injunction against the use of the cow for ploughing was probably a sop to the brahmans, the name of gondwana having been historically associated with this practice to its disgrace among hindus. [387] the satnamis were bidden to cast all idols from their homes, but they were permitted to reverence the sun, as representing the deity, every morning and evening, with the ejaculation 'lord, protect me.' caste was abolished and all men were to be socially equal except the family of ghasi das, in which the priesthood of the cult was to remain hereditary. 4. subsequent history of the satnamis. the creed enunciated by their prophet was of a creditable simplicity and purity, of too elevated a nature for the chamars of chhattisgarh. the crude myths which are now associated with the story of ghasi das and the obscenity which distinguishes the ritual of the sect furnish a good instance of the way in which a religion, originally of a high order of morality, will be rapidly degraded to their own level when adopted by a people who are incapable of living up to it. it is related that one day his son brought ghasi das a fish to eat. he was about to consume it when the fish spoke and forbade him to do so. ghasi das then refrained, but his wife and two sons insisted on eating the fish and shortly afterwards they died. [388] overcome with grief ghasi das tried to commit suicide by throwing himself down from a tree in the forest, but the boughs of the tree bent with him and he could not fall. finally the deity appeared, bringing his two sons, and commended ghasi das for his piety, at the same time bidding him go and proclaim the satnami doctrine to the world. ghasi das thereupon went and dug up the body of his wife, who arose saying '_satnam._' ghasi das lived till he was eighty years old and died in 1850, the number of his disciples being then more than a quarter of a million. he was succeeded in the office of high priest by his eldest son balak das. this man soon outraged the feelings of the hindus by assuming the sacred thread and parading it ostentatiously on public occasions. so bitter was the hostility aroused by him, that he was finally assassinated at night by a party of rajputs at the rest-house of amabandha as he was travelling to raipur. the murder was committed in 1860 and its perpetrators were never discovered. balak das had fallen in love with the daughter of a chitari (painter) and married her, proclaiming a revelation to the effect that the next chamar guru should be the offspring of a chitari girl. accordingly his son by her, sahib das, succeeded to the office, but the real power remained in the hands of agar das, brother of balak das, who married his chitari widow. by her agar das had a son ajab das; but he also had another son agarman das by a legitimate wife, and both claimed the succession. they became joint high priests, and the property has been partitioned between them. the chief _guru_ formerly obtained a large income by the contributions of the chamars on his tours, as he received a rupee from each household in the villages which he visited on tour. he had a deputy, known as bhandar, in many villages, who brought the commission of social offences to his notice, when fines were imposed. he built a house in the village of bhandar of the raipur district, having golden pinnacles, and also owned the village. but he has been extravagant and become involved in debt, and both house and village have been foreclosed by his creditor, though it is believed that a wealthy disciple has repurchased the house for him. the golden pinnacles were recently stolen. the contributions have also greatly fallen off. formerly an annual fair was held at bhandar to which all the satnamis went and drank the water in which the _guru_ had dipped his big toe. each man gave him not less than a rupee and sometimes as much as fifty rupees. but the fair is no longer held and now the satnamis only give the _guru_ a cocoanut when he goes on tour. the satnamis also have a fair in ratanpur, a sacred place of the hindus, where they assemble and bathe in a tank of their own, as they are not allowed to bathe in the hindu tanks. 5. social profligacy. formerly, when a satnami chamar was married, a ceremony called satlok took place within three years of the wedding, or after the birth of the first son, which mr. durga prasad pande describes as follows: it was considered to be the initiatory rite of a satnami, so that prior to its performance he and his wife were not proper members of the sect. when the occasion was considered ripe, a committee of men in the village would propose the holding of the ceremony to the bridegroom; the elderly members of his family would also exert their influence upon him, because it was believed that if they died prior to its performance their disembodied spirits would continue a comfortless existence about the scene of their mortal habitation, but if afterwards that they would go straight to heaven. when the rite was to be held a feast was given, the villagers sitting round a lighted lamp placed on a water-pot in the centre of the sacred _chauk_ or square made with lines of wheat-flour; and from evening until midnight they would sing and dance. in the meantime the newly married wife would be lying alone in a room in the house. at midnight her husband went in to her and asked her whom he should revere as his _guru_ or preceptor. she named a man and the husband went out and bowed to him and he then went in to the woman and lay with her. the process would be repeated, the woman naming different men until she was exhausted. sometimes, if the head priest of the sect was present, he would nominate the favoured men, who were known as _gurus_. next morning the married couple were seated together in the courtyard, and the head priest or his representative tied a _kanthi_ or necklace of wooden beads round their necks, repeating an initiatory text. [389] this silly doggerel, as shown in the footnote, is a good criterion of the intellectual capacity of the satnamis. it is also said that during his annual progresses it was the custom for the chief priest to be allowed access to any of the wives of the satnamis whom he might select, and that this was considered rather an honour than otherwise by the husband. but the satnamis have now become ashamed of such practices, and, except in a few isolated localities, they have been abandoned. 6. divisions of the satnamis. ghasi das or his disciples seem to have felt the want of a more ancient and dignified origin for the sect than one dating only from living memory. they therefore say that it is a branch of that founded by rohi das, a chamar disciple of the great liberal and vaishnavite reformer ramanand, who flourished at the end of the fourteenth century. the satnamis commonly call themselves rohidasi as a synonym for their name, but there is no evidence that rohi das ever came to chhattisgarh, and there is practically no doubt, as already pointed out, that ghasi das simply appropriated the doctrine of the satnami sect of northern india. one of the precepts of ghasi das was the prohibition of the use of tobacco, and this has led to a split in the sect, as many of his disciples found the rule too hard for them. they returned to their _chongis_ or leaf-pipes, and are hence called chungias; they say that in his later years ghasi das withdrew the prohibition. the chungias have also taken to idolatry, and their villages contain stones covered with vermilion, the representations of the village deities, which the true satnamis eschew. they are considered lower than the satnamis, and intermarriage between the two sections is largely, though not entirely, prohibited. a chungia can always become a satnami if he ceases to smoke by breaking a cocoanut in the presence of his _guru_ or preceptor or giving him a present. among the satnamis there is also a particularly select class who follow the straitest sect of the creed and are called _jaharia_ from _jahar_, an essence. these never sleep on a bed but always on the ground, and are said to wear coarse uncoloured clothes and to eat no food but pulse or rice. 7. customs of the satnamis. the social customs of the satnamis resemble generally those of other chamars. they will admit into the community all except members of "the impure castes, as dhobis (washermen), ghasias (grass-cutters) and mehtars (sweepers), whom they regard as inferior to themselves. their weddings must be celebrated only during the months of magh (january), phagun (february), the light half of chait (march) and baisakh (april). no betrothal ceremony can take place during the months of shrawan (august) and pus (january). they always bury the dead, laying the body with the face downwards, and spread clothes in the grave above and below it, so that it may be warm and comfortable during the last long sleep. they observe mourning for three days and have their heads shaved on the third day with the exception of the upper lip, which is never touched by the razor. the satnamis as well as the kabirpanthis in chhattisgarh abstain from spirituous liquor, and ordinary hindus who do not do so are known as saktaha or sakta (a follower of devi) in contradistinction to them. a satnami is put out of caste if he is beaten by a man of another caste, however high, and if he is touched by a sweeper, ghasia or mahar. their women wear nose-rings, simply to show their contempt for the hindu social order, as this ornament was formerly forbidden to the lower castes. under native dynasties any violation of a rule of this kind would have been severely punished by the executive government, but in british india the chamar women can indulge their whim with impunity. it was also a rule of the sect not to accept cooked food from the hands of any other caste, whether hindu or muhammadan, but this has fallen into abeyance since the famines. another method by which the satnamis show their contempt for the hindu religion is by throwing milk and curds at each other in sport and trampling it under foot. this is a parody of the hindu celebration of the janam-ashtami or krishna's birthday, when vessels of milk and curds are broken over the heads of the worshippers and caught and eaten by all castes indiscriminately in token of amity. they will get into railway carriages and push up purposely against the hindus, saying that they have paid for their tickets and have an equal right to a place. then the hindus are defiled and have to bathe in order to become clean. 8. character of the satnami movement. several points in the above description point to the conclusion that the satnami movement is in essence a social revolt on the part of the despised chamars or tanners. the fundamental tenet of the gospel of ghasi das, as in the case of so many other dissenting sects, appears to have been the abolition of caste, and with it of the authority of the brahmans; and this it was which provoked the bitter hostility of the priestly order. it has been seen that ghasi das himself had been deeply impressed by the misery and debasement of the chamar community; how his successor balak das was murdered for the assumption of the sacred thread; and how in other ways the satnamis try to show their contempt for the social order which brands them as helot outcastes. a large proportion of the satnami chamars are owners or tenants of land, and this fact may be surmised to have intensified their feeling of revolt against the degraded position to which they were relegated by the hindus. though slovenly cultivators and with little energy or forethought, the chamars have the utmost fondness for land and an ardent ambition to obtain a holding, however small. the possession of land is a hall-mark of respectability in india, as elsewhere, and the low castes were formerly incapable of holding it; and it may be surmised that the chamar feels himself to be raised by his tenant-right above the hereditary condition of village drudge and menial. but for the restraining influence of the british power, the satnami movement might by now have developed in chhattisgarh into a social war. over most of india the term hindu is contrasted with muhammadan, but in chhattisgarh to call a man a hindu conveys primarily that he is not a chamar, or chamara according to the contemptuous abbreviation in common use. a bitter and permanent antagonism exists between the two classes, and this the chamar cultivators carry into their relations with their hindu landlords by refusing to pay rent. the records of the criminal courts contain many cases arising from collisions between chamars and hindus, several of which have resulted in riot and murder. faults no doubt exist on both sides, and mr. hemingway, settlement officer, quotes an instance of a hindu proprietor who made his chamar tenants cart timber and bricks to rajim, many miles from his village, to build a house for him during the season of cultivation, their fields consequently remaining untilled. but if a proprietor once arouses the hostility of his chamar tenants he may as well abandon his village for all the profit he is likely to obtain from it. generally the chamars are to blame, as pointed out by mr. blenkinsop who knows them well, and many of them are dangerous criminals, restrained only by their cowardice from the worst outrages against person and property. it may be noted in conclusion that the spread of christianity among the chamars is in one respect a replica of the satnami movement, because by becoming a christian the chamar hopes also to throw off the social bondage of hinduism. a missionary gentleman told the writer that one of the converted chamars, on being directed to perform some menial duty of the village, replied: 'no, i have become a christian and am one of the sahibs; i shall do no more _bigar_ (forced labour).' sikh religion list of paragraphs 1. _foundation of sikhism--baba nanak._ 2. _the earlier gurus_. 3. _guru govind singh_. 4. _sikh initiation and rules_. 5. _character of the nanakpanthis and sikh sects._ 6. _the akalis._ 7. _the sikh council or guru-mata. their communal meal._ 1. foundation of sikhism--baba nanak. _sikh, akali_.--the sikh religion and the history of the sikhs have been fully described by several writers, and all that is intended in this article is a brief outline of the main tenets of the sect for the benefit of those to whom the more important works of reference may not be available. the central provinces contained only 2337 sikhs in 1911, of whom the majority were soldiers and the remainder probably timber or other merchants or members of the subordinate engineering service in which punjabis are largely employed. the following account is taken from sir denzil ibbetson's _census report of the punjab_ for 1881: "sikhism was founded by baba nanak, a khatri of the punjab, who lived in the fifteenth century. but nanak was not more than a religious reformer like kabir, ramanand, and the other vaishnava apostles. he preached the unity of god, the abolition of idols, and the disregard of caste distinctions. [390] his doctrine and life were eminently gentle and unaggressive. he was succeeded by nine _gurus_, the last and most famous of whom, govind singh, died in 1708. "the names of the _gurus_ were as follows: 1. baba nanak 1469-1538-9 2. angad 1539-1552 3. amar das 1552-1574 4. ram das 1574-1581 5. arjun 1581-1606 6. har govind 1606-1645 7. har rai 1645-1661 8. har kishen 1661-1664 9. teg bahadur 1664-1675 10. govind singh 1675-1708 2. the earlier gurus. "under the second guru angad an intolerant and ascetic spirit began to spring up among the followers of the new tenets; and had it not been for the good sense and firmness displayed by his successor, amar das, who excommunicated the udasis and recalled his followers to the mildness and tolerance of nanak, sikhism would probably have merely added one more to the countless orders of ascetics or devotees which are wholly unrepresented in the life of the people. the fourth _guru_, ram das, founded amritsar; but it was his successor, arjun, that first organised his following. he gave them a written rule of faith in the granth or sikh scripture which he compiled, he provided a common rallying-point in the city of amritsar which he made their religious centre, and he reduced their voluntary contributions to a systematic levy which accustomed them to discipline and paved the way for further organisation. he was a great trader, he utilised the services and money of his disciples in mercantile transactions which extended far beyond the confines of india, and he thus accumulated wealth for his church. "unfortunately he was unable wholly to abstain from politics; and having become a political partisan of the rebel prince khusru, he was summoned to delhi and there imprisoned, and the treatment he received while in confinement hastened, if it did not cause, his death. and thus began that muhammadan persecution which was so mightily to change the spirit of the new faith. this was the first turning-point in sikh history; and the effects of the persecution were immediately apparent. arjun was a priest and a merchant; his successor, har govind, was a warrior. he abandoned the gentle and spiritual teaching of nanak for the use of arms and the love of adventure. he encouraged his followers to eat flesh, as giving them strength and daring; he substituted zeal in the cause for saintliness of life as the price of salvation; and he developed the organised discipline which arjun had initiated. he was, however, a military adventurer rather than an enthusiastic zealot, and fought either for or against the muhammadan empire as the hope of immediate gain dictated. his policy was followed by his two successors; and under teg bahadur the sikhs degenerated into little better than a band of plundering marauders, whose internal factions aided to make them disturbers of the public peace. moreover, teg bahadur was a bigot, while the fanatical aurangzeb had mounted the throne of delhi. him therefore aurangzeb captured and executed as an infidel, a robber and a rebel, while he cruelly persecuted his followers in common with all who did not accept islam. 3. guru govind singh. "teg bahadur was succeeded by the last and greatest _guru_, his son govind singh; and it was under him that what had sprung into existence as a quietist sect of a purely religious nature, and had become a military society of by no means high character, developed into the political organisation which was to rule the whole of north-western india, and to furnish the british arms their stoutest and most worthy opponents. for some years after his father's execution govind singh lived in retirement, and brooded over his personal wrongs and over the persecutions of the musalman fanatic which bathed the country in blood. his soul was filled with the longing for revenge; but he felt the necessity for a larger following and a stronger organisation, and, following the example of his muhammadan enemies, he used his religion as the basis of political power. emerging from his retirement he preached the khalsa, the pure, the elect, the liberated. he openly attacked all distinctions of caste, and taught the equality of all men who would join him; and instituting a ceremony of initiation, he proclaimed it as the _pahul_ or 'gate' by which all might enter the society, while he gave to its members the _prasad_ or communion as a sacrament of union in which the four castes should eat of one dish. the higher castes murmured and many of them left him, for he taught that the brahman's thread must be broken; but the lower orders rejoiced and flocked in numbers to his standard. these he inspired with military ardour, with the hope of social freedom and of national independence, and with abhorrence of the hated muhammadan. he gave them outward signs of their faith in the unshorn hair, the short drawers, and the blue dress; he marked the military nature of their calling by the title of singh or 'lion,' by the wearing of steel, and by the initiation by sprinkling of water with a two-edged dagger; and he gave them a feeling of personal superiority in their abstinence from the unclean tobacco. "the muhammadans promptly responded to the challenge, for the danger was too serious to be neglected; the sikh army was dispersed, and govind's mother, wife and children were murdered at sirhind by aurangzeb's orders. the death of the emperor brought a temporary lull, and a year later govind himself was assassinated while fighting the marathas as an ally of aurangzeb's successor. he did not live to see his ends accomplished, but he had roused the dormant spirit of the people, and the fire which he lit was only damped for a while. his chosen disciple banda succeeded him in the leadership, though never recognised as _guru_. the internal commotions which followed upon the death of the emperor, bahadur shah, and the attacks of the marathas weakened the power of delhi, and for a time banda carried all before him; but he was eventually conquered and captured in a.d. 1716, and a period of persecution followed so sanguinary and so terrible that for a generation nothing more was heard of the sikhs. how the troubles of the delhi empire thickened, how the sikhs again rose to prominence, how they disputed the possession of the punjab with the mughals, the marathas and the durani, and were at length completely successful, how they divided into societies under their several chiefs and portioned out the province among them, and how the genius of ranjit singh raised him to supremacy and extended his rule beyond the limits of the punjab, are matters of political and not of religious history. no formal alteration has been made in the sikh religion since govind singh gave it its military shape; and though changes have taken place, they have been merely the natural result of time and external influences. 4. sikh initiation and rules. "the word sikh is said to be derived from the common hindu term sewak and to mean simply a disciple; it may be applied therefore to the followers of nanak who held aloof from govind singh, but in practice it is perhaps understood to mean only the latter, while the nanakpanthis are considered as hindus. a true sikh always takes the termination singh to his name on initiation, and hence they are sometimes known as singhs in distinction to the nanakpanthis. a man is also not born a sikh, but must always be initiated, and the _pahul_ or rite of baptism cannot take place until he is old enough to understand it, the earliest age being seven, while it is often postponed till manhood. five sikhs must be present at the ceremony, when the novice repeats the articles of the faith and drinks sugar and water stirred up with a two-edged dagger. at the initiation of women a one-edged dagger is used, but this is seldom done. thus most of the wives of sikhs have never been initiated, nor is it necessary that their children should become sikhs when they grow up. the faith is unattractive to women owing to the simplicity of its ritual and the absence of the feasts and ceremonies so abundant in hinduism; formerly the sikhs were accustomed to capture their wives in forays, and hence perhaps it was considered of no consequence that the husband and wife should be of different faith. the distinguishing marks of a true sikh are the five _kakkas_ or _k's_ which he is bound to carry about his person: the _kes_ or uncut hair and unshaven beard; the _kachh_ or short drawers ending above the knee; the _kasa_ or iron bangle; the _khanda_ or steel knife; and the _kanga_ or comb. the other rules of conduct laid down by guru govind singh for his followers were to dress in blue clothes and especially eschew red or saffron-coloured garments and caps of all sorts, to observe personal cleanliness, especially in the hair, and practise ablutions, to eat the flesh of such animals only as had been killed by _jatka_ or decapitation, to abstain from tobacco in all its forms, never to blow out flame nor extinguish it with drinking-water, to eat with the head covered, pray and recite passages of the granth morning and evening and before all meals, reverence the cow, abstain from the worship of saints and idols and avoid mosques and temples, and worship the one god only, neglecting brahmans and mullas, and their scriptures, teaching, rites and religious symbols. caste distinctions he positively condemned and instituted the _prasad_ or communion, in which cakes of flour, butter and sugar are made and consecrated with certain ceremonies while the communicants sit round in prayer, and then distributed equally to all the faithful present, to whatever caste they may belong. the above rules, so far as they enjoin ceremonial observances, are still very generally obeyed. but the daily reading and recital of the granth is discontinued, for the sikhs are the most uneducated class in the punjab, and an occasional visit to the sikh temple where the granth is read aloud is all that the villager thinks necessary. blue clothes have been discontinued save by the fanatical akali sect, as have been very generally the short drawers or kachh. the prohibition of tobacco has had the unfortunate effect of inducing the sikhs to take to hemp and opium, both of which are far more injurious than tobacco. the precepts which forbid the sikh to venerate brahmans or to associate himself with hindu worship are entirely neglected; and in the matter of the worship of local saints and deities, and of the employment of and reverence for brahmans, there is little, while in current superstitions and superstitious practices there is no difference between the sikh villager and his hindu brother." [391] 5. character of the nanakpanthis and sikh sects. it seems thus clear that if it had not been for the political and military development of the sikh movement, it would in time have lost most of its distinctive features and have come to be considered as a hindu sect of the same character, if somewhat more distinctive than those of the nanakpanthis and kabirpanthis. but this development and the founding of the sikh state of lahore created a breach between the sikhs and ordinary hindus wider than that caused by their religious differences, as was sufficiently demonstrated during the mutiny. in their origin both the sikh and nanakpanthi sects appear to have been mainly a revolt against the caste system, the supremacy of brahmans and the degrading mass of superstitions and reverence of idols and spirit-worship which the brahmans encouraged for their own profit. but while nanak, influenced by the observation of islamic monotheism, attempted to introduce a pure religion only, the aim of govind was perhaps political, and he saw in the caste system an obstacle to the national movement which he desired to excite against the muhammadans. so far as the abolition of caste was concerned, both reformers have, as has been seen, largely failed, the two sects now recognising caste, while their members revere brahmans like ordinary hindus. 6. the akalis. the akalis or nihangs are a fanatical order of sikh ascetics. the following extract is taken from sir e. maclagan's account of them: [392] "the akalis came into prominence very early by their stout resistance to the innovations introduced by the bairagi banda after the death of guru govind; but they do not appear to have had much influence during the following century until the days of maharaja ranjit singh. they constituted at once the most unruly and the bravest portion of the very unruly and brave sikh army. their headquarters were at amritsar, where they constituted themselves the guardians of the faith and assumed the right to convoke synods. they levied offerings by force and were the terror of the sikh chiefs. their good qualities were, however, well appreciated by the maharaja, and when there were specially fierce foes to meet, such as the pathans beyond the indus, the akalis were always to the front. "the akali is distinguished very conspicuously by his dark-blue and checked dress, his peaked turban, often surmounted with steel quoits, and by the fact of his strutting about like ali baba's prince with his 'thorax and abdomen festooned with curious cutlery.' he is most particular in retaining the five _kakkas_, and in preserving every outward form prescribed by guru govind singh. some of the akalis wear a yellow turban underneath the blue one, leaving a yellow band across the forehead. the yellow turban is worn by many sikhs at the basant panchmi, and the akalis are fond of wearing it at all times. there is a couplet by bhai gurdas which says: siah, sufed, surkh, zardae, jo pahne, sot gurbhai; or, 'those that wear black (the akalis), white (the nirmalas), red (the udasis) or yellow, are all members of the brotherhood of the sikhs.' "the akalis do not, it is true, drink spirits or eat meat as other sikhs do, but they are immoderate in the consumption of _bhang_. they are in other respects such purists that they will avoid hindu rites even in their marriage ceremonies. "the akali is full of memories of the glorious day of the khalsa; and he is nothing if he is not a soldier, a soldier of the guru. he dreams of armies, and he thinks in lakhs. if he wishes to imply that five akalis are present, he will say that 'five lakhs are before you'; or if he would explain he is alone, he will say that he is with 'one and a quarter lakhs of the khalsa.' you ask him how he is, and he replies that 'the army is well'; you inquire where he has come from, and he says, 'the troops marched from lahore.' the name akali means 'immortal.' when sikhism was politically dominant, the akalis were accustomed to extort alms by accusing the principal chiefs of crimes, imposing fines upon them, and in the event of their refusing to pay, preventing them from performing their ablutions or going through any of the religious ceremonies at amritsar." 7. the sikh council or guru-mata. their communal meal. the following account was given by sir j. malcolm of the guru-mata or great council of the sikhs and their religious meal: [393] "when a guru-mata or great national council is called on the occasion of any danger to the country, all the sikh chiefs assemble at amritsar. the assembly is convened by the akalis; and when the chiefs meet upon this solemn occasion it is concluded that all private animosities cease, and that every man sacrifices his personal feelings at the shrine of the general good. "when the chiefs and principal leaders are seated, the adi-granth and dasama padshah ka granth [394] are placed before them. they all bend their heads before the scriptures and exclaim, '_wah guruji ka khalsa! wah guruji ka fateh!_' [395] a great quantity of cakes made of wheat, butter and sugar are then placed before the volumes of their sacred writings and covered with a cloth. these holy cakes, which are in commemoration of the injunction of nanak to eat and to give to others to eat next receive the salutation of the assembly, who then rise, while the akalis pray aloud and the musicians play. the akalis, when the prayers are finished, desire the council to be seated. they sit down, and the cakes are uncovered and eaten by all classes of the sikhs, those distinctions of tribe and caste which are on other occasions kept up being now laid aside in token of their general and complete union in one cause. the akalis proclaim the guru-mata, and prayers are again said aloud. the chiefs after this sit closer and say to each other, 'the sacred granth is between us, let us swear by our scriptures to forget all internal disputes and to be united.' this moment of religious fervour is taken to reconcile all animosities. they then proceed to consider the danger with which they are threatened, to devise the best plans for averting it and to choose the generals who are to lead their armies against the common enemy." the first guru-mata was assembled by guru govind, and the latest was called in 1805, when the british army pursued holkar into the punjab. the sikh army was known as dal khalsa, or the army of god, _khalsa_ being an arabic word meaning one's own. [396] at the height of the sikh power the followers of this religion only numbered a small fraction of the population of the punjab, and its strength is now declining. in 1911 the sikhs were only three millions in the punjab population of twenty-four millions. smarta sect _smarta sect_.--this is an orthodox hindu sect, the members of which are largely brahmans. the name is derived from smriti or tradition, a name given to the hindu sacred writings, with the exception of the vedas, which last are regarded as a divine revelation. members of the sect worship the five deities, siva, vishnu, suraj or the sun, ganpati and sakti, the divine principle of female energy corresponding to siva. they say that their sect was founded by shankar acharya, the great sivite reformer and opponent of buddhism, but this appears to be incorrect. shankar acharya himself is said to have believed in one unseen god, who was the first cause and sole ruler of the universe; but he countenanced for the sake of the weaker brethren the worship of orthodox hindu deities and of their idols. swami-narayan sect 1. the founder. _swami-narayan sect._ [397]--this, one of the most modern vaishnava sects, was founded by sahajanand swami, a sarwaria brahman, born near ajodhia in the united provinces in a.d. 1780. at an early age he became a religious mendicant, and wandered all over india, visiting the principal shrines. when twenty years old he was made a sadhu of the ramanandi order, and soon nominated as his successor by the head of the order. he preached with great success in gujarat, and though his tenets do not seem to have differed much from the ramanandi creed, his personal influence was such that his followers founded a new sect and called it after him. he proclaimed the worship of one sole deity, krishna or narayana, whom he identified with the sun, and apparently his followers held, and he inclined to believe himself, that he was a fresh incarnation of vishnu. it is said that he displayed miraculous powers before his disciples, entrancing whomsoever he cast his eyes upon, and causing them in this mesmeric state (samadhi) to imagine they saw sahajanand as krishna with yellow robes, weapons of war, and other characteristics of the god, and to behold him seated as chief in an assembly of divine beings. 2. tenets of the sect. his creed prohibited the destruction of animal life; the use of animal food and intoxicating liquors or drugs on any occasion; promiscuous intercourse with the other sex; suicide, theft and robbery, and false accusations. much good was done, the collector testified, by his preaching among the wild kolis of gujarat; [398] his morality was said to be far better than any which could be learned from the shastras; he condemned theft and bloodshed; and those villages and districts which had received him, from being among the worst, were now among the best and most orderly in the province of bombay. his success was great among the lower castes, as the kolis, bhils and kathis. he was regarded by his disciples as the surety of sinners, his position in this respect resembling that of the founder of christianity. to bishop heber he said that while he permitted members of different castes to eat separately here below, in the future life there would be no distinction of castes. [399] his rules for the conduct of the sexes towards each other were especially severe. no sadhu of the swami-narayan sect might ever touch a woman, even the accidental touching of any woman other than a mother having to be expiated by a whole-day fast. similarly, should a widow-disciple touch even a boy who was not her son, she had to undergo the same penalty. there were separate passages for women in their large temples, and separate reading and preaching halls for women, attended by wives of the acharyas or heads of the sect. these could apparently be married, but other members of the priestly order must remain single; while the lay followers lived among their fellows, pursuing their ordinary lives and avocations. the strictness of the swami on sexual matters was directed against the licentious practices of the maharaj or vallabhacharya order. he boldly denounced the irregularities they had introduced into their forms of worship, and exposed the vices which characterised the lives of their clergy. this attitude, as well as the prohibition of the worship of idols, earned for him the hostility of the peshwa and the maratha brahmans, and he was subjected to a considerable degree of persecution; his followers were taught the christian doctrine of suffering injury without retaliation, and the devotees of hostile sects took advantage of this to beat them unmercifully, some being even put to death. 3. meeting with bishop heber. in order to protect the swami, his followers constituted from themselves an armed guard, as shown by bishop heber's account of their meeting: "about eleven o'clock i had the expected visit from swami-narayan. he came in a somewhat different guise from all which i expected, having with him near 200 horsemen, mostly well-armed with matchlocks and swords, and several of them with coats of mail and spears. besides them he had a large rabble on foot with bows and arrows, and when i considered that i had myself an escort of more than fifty horses and fifty muskets and bayonets, i could not help smiling, though my sensations were in some degree painful and humiliating, at the idea of two religious teachers meeting at the head of little armies, and filling the city which was the scene of their interview with the rattling of gunners, the clash of shields and the tramp of the war-horse. had our troops been opposed to each other, mine, though less numerous, would have been doubtless far more effective from the superiority of arms and discipline. but in moral grandeur what a difference was there between his troop and mine. mine neither knew me nor cared for me; they escorted me faithfully and would have defended me bravely, because they were ordered by their superiors to do so. the guards of swami-narayan were his own disciples and enthusiastic admirers, men who had voluntarily repaired to hear his lessons, who now took a pride in doing him honour, and would cheerfully fight to the last drop of blood rather than suffer a fringe of his garment to be handled roughly.... the holy man himself was a middle-aged, thin and plain-looking person, about my own age, with a mild expression of countenance, but nothing about him indicative of any extraordinary talent. i seated him on a chair at my right hand and offered two more to the thakur and his son, of which, however, they did not avail themselves without first placing their hands under the feet of their spiritual guide and then pressing them reverently to their foreheads." 4. meeting with governor of bombay. owing, apparently, to the high moral character of his preaching and his success in reducing to order and tranquillity the turbulent kolis and bhils who accepted his doctrines, swami-narayan enjoyed a large measure of esteem and regard from the officers of government. this will be evidenced from the following account of his meeting with the governor of bombay: [400] "on the receipt of the above two letters, swami-narayan maharaj proceeded to rajkote to visit the right honourable the governor, and on the 26th february 1830 was escorted as a mark of honourable reception by a party of troops and military foot-soldiers to the political agent's bungalow, when his excellency the governor, the secretary, mr. thomas williamson, six other european gentlemen, and the political agent, mr. blane, having come out of the bungalow to meet the swami-narayan, his excellency conducted the swami, hand in hand, to a hall in the bungalow and made him sit on a chair. his excellency afterwards with pleasure enquired about the principles of his religion, which were communicated accordingly. his excellency also made a present to swami-narayan of a pair of shawls and other piece-goods. swami-narayan was asked by the governor whether he and his disciples have had any harm under british rule; and his excellency was informed in reply that there was nothing of the sort, but that on the contrary every protection was given them by all the officers in authority. his excellency then asked for a code of the religion of swami-narayan, and the book called the shiksapatri was presented to him accordingly. thus after a visit extending to an hour swami-narayan asked permission to depart, when he was sent back with the same honours with which he had been received, all the european officers accompanying him out of the door from the bungalow." 5. conclusion. the author of the above account is not given, and it apparently emanates from a follower of the saint, but there seems little reason to doubt its substantial accuracy, and it certainly demonstrates the high estimation in which he was held. after his death his disciples erected chauras or resthouses and monuments to his memory in all the villages and beneath all the trees where he had at any time made any stay in gujarat; and here he is worshipped by the sect. in 1901 the sect had about 300,000 adherents in gujarat. in the central provinces a number of persons belong to it in nimar, principally of the teli caste. the telis of nimar are anxious to improve their social position, which is very low, and have probably joined the sect on account of its liberal principles on the question of caste. vaishnava, vishnuite sect 1. vishnu as representing the sun. _vaishnava, vishnuite sect_.--the name given to hindus whose special deity is the god vishnu, and to a number of sects which have adopted various special doctrines based on the worship of vishnu or of one of his two great incarnations, rama and krishna. vishnu was a personification of the sun, though in ancient literature the sun is more often referred to under another name, as savitri, surya and aditya. it may perhaps be the case that when the original sun-god develops into a supreme deity with the whole heavens as his sphere, the sun itself comes to be regarded as a separate and minor deity. his weapon of the _chakra_ or discus, which was probably meant to resemble the sun, supports the view of vishnu as a sun-god, and also his _vahan_, the bird garuda, on which he rides. this is the brahminy kite, a fine bird with chestnut plumage and white head and breast, which has been considered a sea-eagle. mr. dewar states that it remains almost motionless at a great height in the air for long periods; and it is easy to understand how in these circumstances primitive people mistook it for the spirit of the sky, or the vehicle of the sun-god. it is propitious for a hindu to see a brahminy kite, especially on sunday, the sun's day, for it is believed that the bird is then returning from vishnu, whom it has gone to see on the previous evening. [401] a similar belief has probably led to the veneration of the eagle in other countries and its association with the god of the sky or heavens, as in the case of zeus. similarly the gayatri, the most sacred hindu prayer, is addressed to the sun, and it could hardly have been considered so important unless the luminary was identified with one of the greatest hindu gods. every brahman prays to the sun daily when he bathes in the morning. vishnu's character as the preserver and fosterer of life is probably derived from the sun's generative power, so conspicuous in india. as the sun is seen to sink every night into the earth, so it was thought that he could come down to earth, and vishnu has done this in many forms for the preservation of mankind. 2. his incarnations. he is generally considered to have had ten incarnations, of which nine are past and one is still to come. the incarnations were as follows: 1. as a great fish he guided the ark in which manu the primeval man escaped from the deluge. 2. as a tortoise he supported the earth and poised it in its present position; or according to another version he lay at the bottom of the sea while the mountain meru was set on its peak on his back, and with the serpent vasuki as a rope round the mountain the ocean was churned by the gods for making the divine amrit or nectar which gives immortality. 3. as a boar he dived under the sea and raised the earth on his tusks after it had been submerged by a demon. 4. as narsingh, the man-lion, he delivered the world from the tyranny of another demon. 5. as waman or a dwarf he tricked the king bali, who had gained possession over the earth and nether world and was threatening the heavens, by asking for as much ground as he could cover in three steps. when his request was derisively granted he covered heaven and earth in two steps, but on bali's intercession left him the nether regions and refrained from making the third step which would have covered them. 6. as parasurama [402] he cleared the earth of the kshatriyas, who had oppressed the brahman hermits and stolen the sacred cow, by a slaughter of them thrice seven times repeated. 7. as rama, the divine king of ajodhia or oudh, he led an expedition to ceylon for the recovery of his wife sita, who had been abducted by rawan, the demon king of ceylon. this story probably refers to an early expedition of the aryans to southern india, in which they may have obtained the assistance of the munda tribes, represented by hanuman and his army of apes. 8. as krishna he supported the pandavas in their war against the kauravas, and at the head of the yadava clan founded the city of dwarka in gujarat, where he was afterwards killed. the popular group of legends about krishna in his capacity of a cowherd in the forests of mathura was perhaps at first distinct and afterwards combined with the story of the yadava prince. [403] but it is in this latter character as the divine cowherd that krishna is most generally known and worshipped. 9. as buddha he was the great founder of the religion known by his name; the brahmans, by making buddha an incarnation of vishnu, have thus provided a connecting link between buddhism and hinduism. in his tenth incarnation he will come again as nishka-lanki or the stainless one for the final regeneration of the world, and his advent is expected by some hindus, who worship him in this form. 3. worship of vishnu and vaishnava doctrines. in the central provinces vishnu is worshipped as narayan deo, who is identified with the sun, or as parmeshwar, the supreme beneficent god. he is also much worshipped in his incarnations as rama and krishna, and their images, with those of their consorts, sita and radha, are often to be found in his temples as well as in their own. these images are supposed to be subject to all the conditions and necessities incident to living humanity. hence in the daily ritual they are washed, dressed, adorned and even fed like human beings, food being daily placed before them, and its aroma, according to popular belief, nourishing the god present in the image. the principal vishnuite sects are described in the article on bairagi, and the dissenting sects which have branched off from these in special articles. [404] the cult of vishnu and his two main incarnations is the most prominent feature of modern hinduism. the orthodox vaishnava sects mainly differed on the point whether the human soul or spirit was a part of the divine soul or separate from it, and whether it would be reabsorbed into the divine soul, or have a separate existence after death. but they generally regarded all human souls as of one quality, and hence were opposed to distinctions of caste. animals also have souls or spirits, and the vishnuite doctrine is opposed to the destruction of animal life in any form. in the bania caste the practices of vaishnava hindus and jains present so little difference that they can take food together, and even intermarry. the creed is also opposed to suicide. faithful worshippers of vishnu will after his death be transported to his heaven, vaikuntha, or to golaka, the heaven of krishna. the sect-mark of the vaishnavas usually consists of three lines down the forehead, meeting at the root of the nose or below it. all three lines may be white, or the centre one black or red, and the outside ones white. they are made with a kind of clay called gopichandan, and are sometimes held to be the impress of vishnu's foot. to put on the sect-mark in the morning is to secure the god's favour and protection during the day. vam-margi, bam-margi, vama-chari sect. _vam-margi, bam-margi, vama-chari sect._ [405]--a sect who follow the worship of the female principle in nature and indulge in sensuality at their rites according to the precepts of the tantras. the name signifies 'the followers of the crooked or left-handed path.' their principal sacred text is the rudra-yamal-damru tantra, which is said to have been promulgated by rudra or siva through his damru or drum at the end of his dance in kailas, his heaven in the himalayas. the tantras, according to professor monier-williams, inculcate an exclusive worship of siva's wife as the source of every kind of supernatural faculty and mystic craft. the principle of female energy is known as sakti, and is personified in the female counterparts of all the gods of the hindu triad, but is practically concentrated in devi or kali. the five requisites for tantra worship are said to be the five makaras or words beginning with m: madya, wine; mansa, flesh; matsya, fish; mudra, parched grain and mystic gesticulation; and maithuna, sexual indulgence. among the vam-margis both men and women are said to assemble at a secret meeting-place, and their rite consists in the adoration of a naked woman who stands in the centre of the room with a drawn sword in her hand. the worshippers then eat fish, meat and grain, and drink liquor, and thereafter indulge in promiscuous debauchery. the followers of the sect are mainly brahmans, though other castes may be admitted. the vam-margis usually keep their membership of the sect a secret, but their special mark is said to be a semicircular line or lines of red powder or vermilion on the forehead, with a red streak half-way up the centre, and a circular spot of red at the root of the nose. they use a rosary of rudraksha or of coral beads, but of no greater length than can be concealed in the hand, or they keep it in a small purse or bag of red cloth. during worship they wear a piece of red silk round the loins and decorate themselves with garlands of crimson flowers. in their houses they worship a figure of the double triangle drawn on the ground or on a metal plate and make offerings of liquor to it. they practise various magical charms by which they think they can kill their enemies. thus fire is brought from the pyre on which a corpse has been burnt, and on this the operator pours water, and with the charcoal so obtained he makes a figure of his enemy in a lonely place under a pipal tree or on the bank of a river. he then takes an iron bar, twelve finger-joints long, and after repeating his charms pierces the figure with it. when all the limbs have been pierced the man whose effigy has been so treated will die. other methods will procure the death of an enemy in a certain number of months or cause him to lose a limb. sometimes they make a rosary of 108 fruits of the _dhatura_ [406] and pierce the figure of the enemy through the neck after repeating charms, and it is supposed that this will kill him at once. wahhabi sect _wahhabi sect._ [407]--a puritan sect of muhammadans. the sect was not recorded at the census, but it is probable that it has a few adherents in the central provinces. the wahhabi sect is named after its founder, muhammad abdul wahhab, who was born in arabia in a.d. 1691. he set his face against all developments of islam not warranted by the koran and the traditional utterances of the companions of the prophet, and against the belief in omens and worship at the shrines of saints, and condemned as well all display of wealth and luxury and the use of intoxicating drugs and tobacco. he denied any authority to islamic doctrines other than the koran itself and the utterances of the companions of the prophet who had received instruction from his lips, and held that in the interpretation and application of them moslems must exercise the right of private judgment. the sect met with considerable military success in arabia and persia, and at one time threatened to spread over the islamic world. the following is an account of the taking of mecca by saud, the grandson of the founder, in 1803: "the sanctity of the place subdued the barbarous spirit of the conquerors, and not the slightest excesses were committed against the people. the stern principles of the reformed doctrines were, however, strictly enforced. piles of green huqqas and persian pipes were collected, rosaries and amulets were forcibly taken from the devotees, silk and satin dresses were demanded from the wealthy and worldly, and the whole, piled up into a heterogeneous mass, were burnt by the infuriated reformers. so strong was the feeling against the pipes and so necessary did a public example seem to be, that a respectable lady, whose delinquency had well-nigh escaped the vigilant eye of the muhtasib, was seized and placed on an ass, with a green pipe suspended from her neck, and paraded through the public streets--a terrible warning to all of her sex who might be inclined to indulge in forbidden luxuries. when the usual hour of prayer arrived the myrmidons of the law sallied forth, and with leathern whips drove all slothful moslems to their devotions. the mosques were filled. never since the days of the prophet had the sacred city witnessed so much piety and devotion. not one pipe, not a single tobacco-stopper, was to be seen in the streets or found in the houses, and the whole population of mecca prostrated themselves at least five times a day in solemn adoration." the apprehensions of the sultan of turkey were aroused and an army was despatched against the wahhabis, which broke their political power, their leader, saud's son, being executed in constantinople in 1818. but the tenets of the sect continued to be maintained in arabia, and in 1822 one saiyad ahmad, a freebooter and bandit from rai bareli, was converted to it on a pilgrimage to mecca and returned to preach its doctrines in india. being a saiyad and thus a descendant of the prophet, he was accepted by the muhammadans of india as the true khalifa or mahdi, awaited by the shiahs. unheeded by the british government, he traversed our provinces with a numerous retinue of devoted disciples and converted the populace to his reformed doctrine by thousands, patna becoming a centre of the sect. in 1826 he declared a _jihad_ or religious war against the sikhs, but after a four years' struggle was defeated and killed. the sect gave some trouble in the mutiny, but has not since taken any part in politics. its reformed doctrines, however, have obtained a considerable vogue, and still exercise a powerful influence on muhammadan thought. the wahhabis deny the authority of islamic tradition after the deaths of the companions of the prophet, do not illuminate or pay reverence to the shrines of departed saints, do not celebrate the birthday of muhammad, count the ninety-nine names of god on their fingers and not on a rosary, and do not smoke. part i glossary of minor castes and other articles, synonyms, subcastes, titles and names of exogamous septs or clans _note_.--in this glossary the references under each heading are to the detailed articles on castes, religions and sects, in part i. and part ii. of the work. the synonyms, subcastes and titles have been taken from the main articles and are arranged here in index form as an aid to identification. section or clan names, however, will not usually be found in the main articles. they have been selected from an alphabetical list prepared separately, and are included as being of some interest, in addition to those contained in the articles. the glossary also serves the purpose of indicating how subcaste and clan names are common to several castes and tribes. glossary _abhimanchkul_.--a section of komti in chanda. they abstain from using a preparation of lead which is generally ground to powder and applied to wounds. _abhira_.--an immigrant nomad tribe from which the modern ahir caste is believed to have originated. a division of maratha and gujarati brahmans, so called because they are priests of the abhiras or the modern ahirs. _abdhut_.--name for a religious mendicant. applied to gosains, _q.v._ _acharya_, _acharaj_.--(superintendent of ceremonies.) title of the heads of the swami-narayan sect. a surname of adi gaur brahmans in saugor. _adhia_.--(half.) a subcaste of telis considered to be illegitimate in betul. _adhaighar_, _arhaighar_.--(2 1/2 houses.) a subdivision of saraswat brahmans. _adhali_.--a name given to malyars by outsiders. _adigaur_.--a subdivision of brahman, probably a branch of the gaur brahmans, though in saugor they are considered to be kanaujias. _adkandh_, _adikandh_.--(superior khonds.) a subcaste of khonds, being the most hinduised section of this tribe. a title of khond. _adnath_, _adinath_.--a subdivision of jogi. adinath was the father of matsyendranath and grandfather of gorakhnath, the first great jogi. _agamudayan_.--a large tamil cultivating caste, of which a few members reside in the central provinces in jubbulpore and raipur. they are the families of madras sepoys who have retired from regiments stationed in these places. the agamudayans sometimes call themselves by the title of pillai, which means 'son of a god' and was formerly reserved to brahmans. _agarwala_, _agarwal_.--a subcaste of bania. see bania-agarwala. _agastya_.--an eponymous section of brahmans. _aghorpanthi_.--synonym for aghori. _agnihotri_.--a surname of kanaujia and jijhotia brahmans in saugor. (one who performs the sacrifice to agni or the god of fire.) _agnikula_.--a name given to four clans of rajputs said to have been born from the fire-pit on mount abu. see article panwar rajput. _agrahari_.--a subcaste of bania found chiefly in jubbulpore district and raigarh state. their name has been connected with the cities of agra and agroha. _agrajanma_.--(first-born.) a synonym for brahmans. _aharia_.--clan of rajput. synonym for sesodia. _ahir_.--the professional caste of herdsmen. a clan of maratha. a subcaste of rawat and salewar koshti in nimar. a subcaste of bishnoi, gurao, and sunar. _ahirwar_.--a resident of the old town of ahar in the bulandshahr district. subcaste of kori. _ahivasi_, _ahiwasi_.--(from ahiwas, 'the abode of the dragon,' the hermitage of sanbhari rishi in mathura.) a brahmanical or pseudo-brahmanical tribe. they are said to be sprung from a brahman father and a kshatriya mother, and were formerly pack-carriers. found in jubbulpore and the nerbudda valley. _ahke_.--(seduced.) a sept of the uika clan of gonds in betul. they are said to be so named because their priests once seduced a dhurwa girl, and her son was given this name. _aithana_.--a subcaste of kayasth. _ajodhia_.--subcaste of jadam. _ajudhiabasi_.--see audhia. _akali_.--order of sikh devotees. see article sikh. _akhadewale_.--a class of bairagis who do not marry. also known as nihang. _akhroti_.--a subdivision of pathans. (from _akhrot_, walnut.) _akre_.--a bastard khatik. title of a child a khatik gets by a woman of another caste. _alia_.--a grower of the _al_ plant. a subcaste of bania and kachhi, a synonym of chasa. _alia_, _alkari_.--these terms are derived from the _al_ or indian mulberry (_morinda citrifolia_). the alias are members of the kachhi caste who formerly grew the _al_ plant in nimar for sale to the dyers. its cultivation then yielded a large profit and the alias devoted themselves solely to it, while they excommunicated any of their members who were guilty of selling or giving away the seed. the imported alizarin has now almost entirely superseded the indigenous dye, and _al_ as a commercial product has been driven from the market. alkari is a term applied to banias and others in the damoh district who were formerly engaged in the cultivation of the _al_ plant. the members of each caste which took to the cultivation of this plant were somewhat looked down upon by the others and hence became a distinct group. the explanation generally given of the distaste for the crop is that in the process of boiling the roots to extract the dye a number of insects have to be killed. a further reason is that the red dye is considered to resemble or be equivalent to blood, the second idea being a necessary consequence of the first in primitive modes of thought, and hence to cause a certain degree of pollution to those who prepare it. a similar objection is held to the purveying of lac-dye as shown in the article on lakhera. notwithstanding this, clothes dyed red are considered lucky, and the _al_ dye was far more commonly used by hindus than any other, prior to the introduction of aniline dyes. tents were also coloured red with this dye. the tents of the mughal emperors and royal princes were of red cloth dyed with the roots of the _al_ plant. [408] similarly nadir shah, the victor of panipat, had his field headquarters and lived in one small red tent. in these cases the original reason for colouring the tents red may probably have been that it was a lucky colour for battles, and the same belief may have led to the adoption of red as a royal and imperial colour. _alkari_.--synonym for alia. _alua_.--a subcaste of uriya brahmans, so named because their forefathers grew the _alu_ or potato. _amal_.--a section of komti. the members of this section do not eat the plantain. _ambadar_.--(mango-branch.) a section of rawat (ahir). _ambashta_.--a subcaste of kayasth. _amethia_.--(from amethi, a pargana in lucknow district.) a sept of rajputs, who are chauhans according to sir h.m. elliott, but others say they are a branch of the chamar gaur. _amisht_.--a subcaste of kayasth. _amnait_.--subcaste of bhatra. _amrite_.--(from amrit nectar.) a section of kirar. _anapa_.--(leather-dealers.) subcaste of madgi. _anavala_.--a subdivision of gujarati or khedawal brahmans. they derive their name from the village anaval in baroda. they are otherwise known as bhatela, desai or mastan. _andhra_, _tailanga_.--one of the five orders of the panch dravid brahmans inhabiting the telugu country. _antarvedi_.--a resident of antarved or the doab, the tract of land between the ganges and the jumna rivers. subcaste of chamar. _apastambha_.--a sutra of the vedas. a subdivision of brahmans following that sutra and forming a caste subdivision. but they marry with rig-vedis, though the sutra belongs to the black yajur-vedi. _atharvarvedi_, _antharwarvedi_.--a subcaste of brahmans who follow the atharvar-veda and are very rarely met with. _arab_.--this designation is sometimes returned by the descendants of the arab mercenaries of the bhonsla kings. these were at one time largely employed by the different rulers of southern india and made the best of soldiers. in the maratha armies [409] their rate of pay was rs. 12 a month, while the ordinary infantry received only rs. 5. general hislop stated their character as follows: [410] "there are perhaps no troops in the world that will make a stouter or more determined stand at their posts than the arabs. they are entirely unacquainted with military evolutions, and undisciplined; but every arab has a pride and heart of his own that never forsakes him as long as he has legs to stand on. they are naturally brave and possess the greatest coolness and quickness of sight: hardy and fierce through habit, and bred to the use of the matchlock from their boyhood: and they attain a precision and skill in the use of it that would almost exceed belief, bringing down or wounding the smallest object at a considerable distance, and not unfrequently birds with a single bullet. they are generally armed with a matchlock, a couple of swords, with three or four small daggers stuck in front of their belts, and a shield. on common occasions of attack and defence they fire but one bullet, but when hard pressed at the breach they drop in two, three, and four at a time, from their mouths, always carrying in them from eight to ten bullets, which are of a small size. we may calculate the whole number of arabs in the service of the peshwa and the berar raja at 6000 men, a loose and undisciplined body, but every man of them a tough and hardy soldier. it was to the arabs alone those provinces looked, and placed their dependence on. their own troops fled and abandoned them, seldom or never daring to meet our smallest detachment. nothing can exceed the horror and atarm with which some of our native troops view the arab. at nagpur in november 1817 the arabs alone attacked us on the defence and reduced us to the last extremity, when we were saved by captain fitzgerald's charge. the arabs attacked us at koregaon and would have certainly destroyed us had not the peshwa withdrawn his troops on general smith's approach. the arabs kept general doveton at bay with his whole army at nagpur for several days, repulsing our attack at the breach, and they gained their fullest terms. the arabs worsted us for a month at malegaon and saved their credit. they terrified the surat authorities by their fame alone. they gained their terms of money from sir john malcolm at asirgarh. they maintained to the last for their prince their post at alamner and nobly refused to be bought over there. they attacked us bravely, but unfortunately at talner. they attacked captain spark's detachment on the defence and destroyed it. they attacked a battalion of the 14th madras infantry with 26-pounders and compelled them to seek shelter in a village; and they gave us a furious wind-up at asirgarh. yet the whole of these arabs were not 6000." there is no doubt that the arabs are one of the finest fighting races of the world. their ancestors were the saracens who gained a great empire in europe and asia. their hardihood and powers of endurance are brought to the highest pitch by the rigours of desert life, while owing to their lack of nervous sensibility the shock and pain of wounds affect them less than civilised troops. and in addition their religion teaches that all who die in battle against the infidel are transported straight to a paradise teeming with material and sensual delights. arab troops are still employed in hyderabad state. mr. stevens notices them as follows in his book _in india_: "a gang of half-a-dozen, brilliantly dishevelled, a faggot of daggers with an antique pistol or two in each belt, and a six-foot matchlock on each shoulder. they serve as irregular troops there, and it must be owned that if irregularity is what you want, no man on earth can supply it better. the arab irregulars are brought over to serve their time and then sent back to arabia; there is one at this moment, who is a subaltern in hyderabad, but as soon as he crosses the british border gets a salute of nine guns; he is a sheikh in his own country near aden." the arabs who have been long resident here have adopted the ways and manners of other musalmans. their marriages are in the nikah form and are marked by only one [411] dinner, following the example of the prophet, who gave a dinner at the marriage of his daughter the lady fatimah and ali. in obedience to the order of the prophet a death is followed by no signs of mourning. arabs marry freely with other sunni muhammadans and have no special social or religious organisation. the battle-cry of the arabs at sitabaldi and nagpur was '_din, din, muhammad_.' _arakh_.--a caste. a subcaste of dahait, gond and pasi. _aranya_.--name of one of the ten orders of gosains. _are_.--a cultivating caste of the chanda district, where they numbered 2000 persons in 1911. the caste are also found in madras and bombay, where they commonly return themselves under the name of marathi; this name is apparently used in the south as a generic term for immigrants from the north, just as in the central provinces people coming from northern india are called pardeshi. mr. (sir h.) stuart says [412] that are is a synonym for arya, and is used as an equivalent of a maratha and sometimes in a still wider sense, apparently to designate an immigrant aryan into the dravidian country of the south. the ares of the central provinces appear to be kunbis who have migrated into the telugu country. the names of their subcastes are those of the kunbis, as khaire, tirelle, a form of tirole, and dhanoj for dhanoje. other subdivisions are called kayat and kattri, and these seem to be the descendants of kayasth and khatri ancestors. the caste admit brahmans, banias, and komtis into the community and seem to be, as shown by mr. stuart, a mixed group of immigrants from maharashtra into the telugu country. some of them wear the sacred thread and others do not. some of their family names are taken from those of animals and plants, and they bury persons who die unmarried, placing their feet towards the north like the forest tribes. _arka_.--a sept of gonds in chanda who worship the saras crane. _armachi_.--(the _dhaura_ tree.) a totemistic sept of gonds. _arora_, _rora_.--an important trading and mercantile caste of the punjab, of which a few persons were returned from the nimar district in 1901. sir d. ibbetson was of opinion that the aroras were the khatris of aror, the ancient capital of scinde, represented by the modern rori. he described the arora as follows: [413] "like the khatri and unlike the bania he is no mere trader; but his social position is far inferior to theirs, partly no doubt because he is looked down upon simply as being a hindu in the portions of the province which are his special habitat. he is commonly known as a kirar, a word almost synonymous with coward, and even more contemptuous than is the name bania in the east of the province. the arora is active and enterprising, industrious and thrifty.... 'when an arora girds up his loins he makes it only two miles from jhang to lahore.' he will turn his hand to any work, he makes a most admirable cultivator, and a large proportion of the aroras of the lower chenab are purely agricultural in their avocations. he is found throughout afghanistan and even turkistan and is the hindu trader of those countries; while in the western punjab he will sew clothes, weave matting and baskets, make vessels of brass and copper and do goldsmith's work. but he is a terrible coward, and is so branded in the proverbs of the countryside: the thieves were four and we eighty-four; the thieves came on and we ran away; and again: to meet a rathi armed with a hoe makes a company of nine kirars (aroras) feel alone. yet the peasant has a wholesome dread of the kirar when in his proper place: vex not the jat in his jungle, nor the kirar at his shop, nor the boatman at his ferry; for if you do they will break your head. again: trust not a crow, a dog or a kirar, even when asleep. so again: you can't make a friend of a kirar any more than a _sati_ of a prostitute." _asathi_.--a subcaste of bania. they are both jains and hindus. _ashram_.--name of one of the ten orders of gosains. _ashthana_.--a subcaste of kayasth. _atharadesia_.--(a man of eighteen districts.) subcaste of banjara. _athbhaiya_.--(eight brothers.) a subdivision of saraswat brahman in hoshangabad. an athbhaiya cannot take a wife from the chaubhaiya subdivision, to whom the former give their daughters in marriage. _athia_.--a subcaste of chadar, so named because they worship their goddess devi on the 8th day (athain) of kunwar (september), and correspond to the brahmanical sakta sect, as opposed to the other chadar subcaste parmasuria, who correspond to the vaishnavas. _audhalia_.--synonym for audhelia. _audhia_, _ajudhiabasi_.--a resident of oudh. subcaste of bania and of kasar and sunar. _audichya_.--a subcaste of brahmans coming from oudh. _aughad_.--a subdivision of jogi. they resemble the aghoris with the difference that they may not eat human flesh. _aughar_.--a subdivision of jogi. _aukule_.--a subcaste of koshtis. they are also called vidurs, being of mixed descent from koshtas and other castes. _aulia_.--(a favourite of god.) title of muhammadan saints. _baba_.--synonym of gosain. _babhan_.--synonym for bhuinhar, being the name of a landholding caste in bengal. used as a title by bhuiyas. _babuan_.--title for the descendants of the former ruling families of the chero tribe. _bachhalya_, _bachhap_, _bachhilia_.--(from _bachha_, a calf.) a section of bania, chadar and khangar. a section of patwa in raipur. they do not castrate bullocks. _bad_.--(high or great.) subcaste of agharia and sudh. _bad_ or _bhand_.--a caste. title of khatik. _bad_.--(banyan tree.) a section of joshi. _badaria_.--(from _badar_, cloud.) a section of kandera. _badgainya_.--(from badgaon (_bara gaon_), a large village.) a surname of sarwaria brahmans. a section of basdewa, gadaria and kurmi. _badgujar_.--(from _bada_, great.) one of the thirty-six royal races of rajputs. a subcaste of gujar, also of gaur brahman. a section of mehtar. _badhaiya_.--(barhai, carpenter.) a subcaste of lohar and kol. a sept of savar. _badharia_.--a resident of badhas in mirzapur. subcaste of bahna and dhuri. _badi_.--(a rope-walker.) synonym of nat. _badkur_.--title used in the dhobi caste. _badwaik_.--(the great ones.) a subcaste of mana. a title of dhobi and pan or ganda. _bagaria_.--(a young buffalo.) a sept of dhanwar and sonkar. _bagh_, _baghwa_.--(tiger.) a totemistic sept of ahir, bhatra, kawar, munda, oraon, sonkar, teli and turi. _baghel_, _baghela_.--(a tiger or tiger-cub.) a clan of rajputs which has given its name to baghelkhand. a subcaste of audhia sunar and chamar. a section of bhilala, dhanwar, gond, lodhi, mali, and panwar rajput. _baghmar_, _baghmarya_, _bagmar_.--(a tiger-slayer.) a section of oswal bania, basor, chamar, dhimar, koilabhuti gond, and teli. a subsept of nika gonds in betul, who abstain from killing tigers. _bagri_.--a clan of rajputs. a subcaste of jat. one of the 72 1/2 sections of maheshri banias. people belonging to the badhak or bawaria, and pardhi castes are sometimes known by this name. _bahargainyan_.--(from _bahar gaon_, outside the village.) a subcaste of kurmi. _baharketu_.--(bush-cutter.) a subcaste of korwa. _bahelia_.--the caste of fowlers and hunters in northern india. in the central provinces the bahelias are not to be distinguished from the pardhis, as they have the same set of exogamous groups named after the rajput clans, and resemble them in all other respects. the word bahelia is derived from the sanskrit vyadha, 'one who pierces or wounds,' hence a hunter. pardhi is derived from the marathi _paradh_, hunting. the latter term is more commonly used in the central provinces, and has therefore been chosen as the title of the article on the caste. _bahre_.--(outside the walls.) a subdivision of khedawal brahmans. _bahrup_.--subcaste of banjara. _bahrupia_.--a small class of mendicant actors and quick-change artists. they are recruited from all classes of the population, and though a distinct caste of bahrupias appears to exist, people of various castes also call themselves bahrupia when they take to this occupation. in berar the mahar, mang and maratha divisions of the bahrupias are the most common: [414] the former two begging only from the castes from which they take their name. in gujarat they appear to be principally muhammadans. sir d. ibbetson says of them: [415] "the name is derived from the sanskrit _bahu_, many, and _rupa_, form, and denotes an actor, a mimic or one who assumes many forms or characters. one of their favourite devices is to ask for money, and when it is refused to ask that it may be given if the bahrupia succeeds in deceiving the person who refused it. some days later the bahrupia will again visit the house in the disguise of a pedlar, a milkman or what not, sell his goods without being detected, throw off his disguise and claim the stipulated reward." in gujarat "they are ventriloquists and actors with a special skill of dressing one side of their face like a man and the other side like a woman, and moving their head about so sharply that they seem to be two persons." [416] mr. kitts states that "the men are by profession story-tellers and mimics, imitating the voices of men and the notes of animals; their male children are also trained to dance. in payment for their entertainment they are frequently content with cast-off clothes, which will of course be of use to them in assuming other characters." [417] occasionally also they dress up in european clothes and can successfully assume the character of a eurasian. _baid_.--(physician.) a surname of sanadhia and maratha brahmans in saugor. a section of oswal bania, and darzi. _bairagi_.--a caste or religious order. subcaste of bhat. _bais_.--a clan of rajputs. _bajania_.--(one who plays on musical instruments.) subcaste of panka. _bajanya_.--(drummer.) a subcaste of panka in balaghat. _bajarha_.--(bazar.) a section of daraiha in bilaspur. _bajna_, _bajgari_.--(musicians at feasts and marriages.) subcaste of ganda. _bajpai_.--(a priest officiating at the horse sacrifice.) a surname of kanaujia brahmans. a section of brahmans. title of some old families whose ancestors were sacrificial priests. _bakar kasai_.--(goat-butcher.) a subcaste of khatik. _bakra_.--(goat.) a totemistic sept of bhatra and halba. _baksaria_.--from buxar in bengal. a clan of rajputs. a section of daraiha and lodhi. _balla_.--one of the 36 rajkuls or royal clans of rajputs noted in tod's _rajasthan_. _balnik_.--subcaste of kayasth. _balusudia_.--(shaven.) title of khond. _balutedar_.--name for a village menial in berar. title of dhobi. _balwanda_.--(quarrelsome.) a section of teli. _bam-margi._--synonym for the vam-margi sect. _baman_ or _brahman_. subcaste of bishnoi, darzi and gondhali. _bamania_.--(from brahman.) a section of ahir. they do not touch the pipal tree. a section of mahar and of rajjhar in hoshangabad. _bamhan gour_ or _brahman gour_.--a clan of rajputs in saugor and narsinghpur. _bamhania_.--a subcaste of kasar, from bamhan or brahman. a section of katia. _bamnaiha_.--(belonging to a brahman.) a section of basor. _banaphar_, _banafar_.--a clan of rajputs. a section of daharia. _banbhainsa_.--(wild buffalo.) a section of rawat (ahir). _banda_.--(tailless.) a section of kirar. _banda bagh_.--(tailless tiger.) a section of teli. _bandar_.--(a rocket-thrower.) synonym of kadera. _bandarwale_.--(one who catches monkeys.)--subcaste of pardhi. _bandesia_.--(a man of 52 districts.) subcaste of banjara. _bandhaiya_.--a subcaste of nunia who confine themselves to the excavation of tanks and wells. also a subcaste of dhimar. _bandhaiya_.--(from bandhogarh.) subcaste of nai. _bandhia_--(from _bandh_, an embankment.) a subcaste of darzi and dhimar. a section of chamar. _bandrele_.--(monkey.) a section of basor, and barai. _banghore_.--(wild horses.) a section of dom (mehtar). _bania_.--a caste. subcaste of bishnoi. a synonym of sunar in sambalpur. a subcaste of banjara. a section of nandvansi gauli. _banka_.--a small caste found principally in the kalahandi state which now forms part of bengal. the caste was formed from military service like the khandaits, paiks and marathas, and some families bear the names of different castes, as brahman banka, kumhar banka, and so on. they were formerly notorious freebooters, but have now settled down to cultivation. each man, however, still carries a sword or knife on his person, and in kalahandi they are permitted to do this without taking out a licence. _banku_.--(one who frequents sequestered parts of forests.) a sept of korku. _bansberia_.--(one who performs acrobatic feats on a stick or bamboo.) synonym of kolhati. _bansia_.--(angler.) from _bansi_, a fishing-hook. subcaste of dhimar. _bansphor_.--(a breaker of bamboos.) synonym of basor. subcaste of mehtar and mahli. _banstalai_.--(a tank with bamboo trees on its bank.) a section of teli. _bant_.--subcaste of dhimar. _bantia_.--(from _banat_, a red woollen blanket.) a section of oswal bania. _baone_ or _baonia_.--from the phrase _bawan berar_, a term applied to the province by the mughals, because it paid fifty-two lakhs of revenue, as against only eight lakhs realised from the adjoining jhadi or hilly country in the central provinces. subcaste of kunbi, mahar and mali. _baoria_.--synonym of badhak. _bara-hazar._--(twelve thousand.) subcaste of chero. _barade, berari_.--a resident of berar. subcaste of bahna, barhai, chamar, dhangar, dhobi, khatik, mang and nai. _baram_ or _birm_.--subcaste of bhat. _barapatre_.--(a large leaf-plate.) a section of koshti. _baraua_.--(a fisherman.) synonym of dhimar; title of dhimar. _bardhia_.--(from _bardh_, a term for the edge of a weapon.) synonym of sikligar. _bardia_.--one who uses bullocks for transport. subcaste of kumhar. _baretha_.--(a washerman.) synonym for dhobi. _barga_.--subcaste of oraon. _bargah_, [418] _bargaha_, _barghat_.--a small caste of cultivators belonging principally to the bilaspur district. they appear to be immigrants from rewah, where the caste is numerically strong, and they are also found in the adjacent districts of the united provinces and bengal. in the united provinces they are employed as higher domestic servants and make leaf-plates, while their women act as midwives. [419] here they claim kinship with the goala ahirs, but in the central provinces and bengal they advance pretensions to be rajputs. they have a story, however, which shows their connection with the ahirs, to the effect that on one occasion brahma stole krishna's cows and cowherds. krishna created new ones to replace them, exactly similar to those lost, but brahma subsequently returned the originals, and the bargahas are the descendants of the artificial cowherds created by krishna. in sarguja, bargaha is used as a title by ahirs, while in rewah the bargahs are looked on as the bastard offspring of baghel rajputs. dr. buchanan writes of them as follows: [420] "in gorakhpur the rajput chiefs have certain families of ahirs, the women of which act as wet-nurses to their children, while the men attend to their persons. these families are called bargaha; they have received, of course, great favours and many of them are very rich, but others look down upon them as having admitted their women to too great familiarity with their chiefs." in the united provinces they also claim to be rajputs, as they returned themselves as a clan of rajputs in 1881. [421] their position as described by buchanan is precisely the same as that of the dauwa ahirs, who are the household servants of bundela rajputs in bundelkhand, and the facts set forth above leave little or no doubt that the bargahs are a mixed caste, arising from the connection of rajputs with the ahir women who were their personal servants. in the central provinces no subdivisions of the caste exist at present, but a separate and inferior subcaste is in process of formation from those who have been turned out of caste. they are divided for the purpose of marriage into exogamous _gotras_ or clans, the names of which correspond to those of rajputs, as kaunsil, chandel, rana, bundela, rathor, baghel, chauhan and others. marriage between members of the same clan and also between first cousins is prohibited. the custom of _guranwat_ or exchanging girls in marriage between families is very prevalent, and as there is a scarcity of girls in the caste, a man who has not got a daughter must pay rs. 100 to rs. 200 to obtain a bride for his son. on the arrival of the marriage procession the bridegroom touches with a dagger a grass mat hung in front of the marriage-shed. during the marriage the bridegroom's father presents him with a grass ring, which he places on his wrist. the hands of the bridegroom and bride are tied one over the other with a piece of thread, and the bride's parents catching the hands say to the bridegroom, 'we have given you our daughter; protect her.' the couple then walk seven times round a sacrificial fire and a pestle and slab containing seven pieces of turmeric, nuts and heaps of coloured rice, the bride leading and kicking over a heap of rice from the slab at each turn. the other common ceremonies are also performed. the bargahs do not tolerate sexual offences and expel a girl or married woman who goes wrong. the bargahs are usually cultivators in the central provinces, but they consider it beneath their dignity to touch the plough with their own hands. many of them are mlguzrs or village proprietors. they take food cooked without water from a brahman, and water only from a rajput. rajputs take water from their hands, and their social position is fairly high. _bargandi_,--synonym for kaikari. _barghat_.--synonym of bargah. _barki_.--high. subcaste of rautia. _barkia_.--(a spinner of fine thread.) subcaste of mahar. _barmaiyan, barmian, malaiya_.--subcaste of basor, dhimar and gadaria. _baroni_.--title of a female dhimar. _barora_ or _warkara_.--(wild cat.) a subsept of the uika clan of gonds in betul. _barpaihi_.--(_bar,_ banyan tree.) a sept of the uika clan of gonds in betul, so named because their priest offered food to their gods on the leaves of a banyan tree. _barwa_.--synonym for garpagari. one who wards off hailstones from the standing crops. subcaste of jogi. _bashishta_.--see vasishta. a section of vidur. _bastarha_.--a resident of bastar state. subcaste of halba. _bathri_.--(from _batkur_, a vegetable.) a subcaste of dhobi and teli. _bathudia_.--subcaste of bhuiya. _batri_.--a grower of _batar_, a kind of pea. subcaste of teli. _batti_.--(a ball.) a subsept of the uika clan of gonds in betul, so named because their priest stole balls of cooked mahua. they do not kill or eat goats or sheep, and throw away anything smelt by them. _bawan, bawanjaye_.--_(bawan_-52.) a subcaste of saraswat brahmans. _bawaria_.--a dweller of bhanwargarh tract in betul district. subcaste of korku. _bawisa_.--(twenty-two.) a subcaste of gujarati brahmans in hoshangabad and makrai state. _bayar, biyar, biar_.--a small caste of labourers belonging to the eastern districts of the united provinces, of whom about 200 persons were returned from bilaspur in 1891. they are found in the korba zamindari, and are professional diggers or navvies, like the murhas. they are apparently a mixed caste derived from the primitive tribes with some hindu blood. they eat fowls and pork, but will not take food from any other caste. they work by contract on the _dangri_ system of measurement, a _dangri_ being a piece of bamboo five cubits long. for one rupee they dig a patch 8 _dangris_ long by one broad and a cubit in depth, or 675 cubic feet. but this rate does not allow for lift or lead. _bazigar_.--(an acrobat.) synonym of nat. _behar_.--(cat.) a totemistic sept of kawar. _behera_.--a subcaste of taonla. a section of tiyar. a title of khadal. _belwar, bilwar_.--a small caste of carriers and cattle-dealers belonging to oudh, whose members occasionally visit the northern districts of the central provinces. they say that their ancestors were sanadhya brahmans, who employed bullocks as pack-animals, and hence, being looked down on by the rest of the caste, became a separate body, marrying among themselves. _benaika, binaika_.--a subcaste of parwar bania, consisting of the offspring of remarried widows or illegitimate unions. probably also found among other subcastes of bania. _benatia_.--a subcaste of sansia in sambalpur. _bendiwala_.--name of a minor vishnuite order. see bairagi. _benetiya, benatia_.--subcaste of chasa and sansia. _bengali_.--bengali immigrants are usually brahmans or kayasths. _bengani_.--(brinjal.) one of the 1444 sections of oswal bania. _benglah_.--an immigrant from bengal. subcaste of bharbhunja. _beora basia_.--(hawk.) a totemistic sept of bhatra. _beraria_, _beradia_.--(belonging to berar.) a subcaste of bahna, barai, barhai, chamar, dhangar, dhimar, kasar and kunbi. _beria_.--a caste of gipsies and vagrants, whose women are prostitutes. hence sometimes used generally to signify a prostitute. a subcaste of nat. _besra_.--(hawk.) a totemistic sept of bhatra and rawat (ahir). _besta_.--a telugu caste of fishermen. they are also called bhoi and machchnaik, and correspond to the dhimars. they are found only in the chanda district, where they numbered 700 persons in 1911, and their proper home is mysore. they are a low caste and rear pigs and eat pork, crocodiles, rats and fowls. they are stout and strong and dark in colour. like the dhimars they also act as palanquin-bearers, and hence has arisen a saying about them, 'the besta is a great man when he carries shoes,' because the head of a gang of palanquin-bearers carries the shoes of the person who sits in it. at their marriages the couple place a mixture of cummin and jaggery on each other's heads, and then gently press their feet on those of the other seven times. drums are beaten, and the bridegroom places rings on the toes of the bride and ties the _mangal-sutram_ or necklace of black beads round her neck. they are seated side by side on a plough-yoke, and the ends of their cloths are tied together. they are then taken outside and shown the great bear, the stars of which are considered to be the spirits of the seven principal hindu saints, and the pole-star, arundhati, who represents the wife of vasishtha and is the pattern of feminine virtue. on the following two days the couple throw flowers at each other for some time in the morning and evening. before the marriage the bridegroom's toe-nails are cut by the barber as an act of purification. this custom, mr. thurston [422] states, corresponds among the sudras to the shaving of the head among the brahmans. the bestas usually take as their principal deity the nearest large river and call it by the generic term of ganga. on the fifth day after a death they offer cooked food, water and sesamum to the crows, in whose bodies the souls of the dead are believed to reside. the food and water are given to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul, while the sesamum is supposed to give it coolness and quench its heat. on the tenth day the ashes are thrown into a river. the beard of a boy whose father is alive is shaved for the first time before his marriage. children are tattooed with a mark on the forehead within three months of birth, and this serves as a sect mark. a child is named on the eleventh day after birth, and if it is subsequently found to be continually ailing and sickly, the name is changed under the belief that it exercises an evil influence on the child. _betala_.--(goblin.) one of the 1444 sections of oswal bania. _bhadauria_.--(from bhadawar in gwalior state.) a clan of rajputs. a clan of dangi in saugor from whom rajputs take daughters in marriage, but do not give daughters to them. a surname of sanadhia brahman. _bhadonia_.--subcaste of dangi. _bhadoria_.--(a drum-beater.) subcaste of chamar. _bhadri_, _bhaddari_.--a synonym for joshi, having a derogatory sense, as of one who begs with deceit or fraud. _bhadune_.--(from the month bhadon.) a section of kalar. _bhagat_.--(devotee.) a section of ahir or gaoli, barai and panwar rajput. _bhains-mara_.--(killer of the buffalo.) a section of kanjar. _bhainsa_.--(buffalo.) a section of chamar, dhanwar, ganda, kawar, kanjar, mali, panka and rawat (ahir). _bhairon_.--(the god bhairon.) a section of panwar rajput. _bhaiya_.--(brother.) one of the 72 1/2 sections of maheshri bania. _bhala_.--(spear.) one of the 72 1/2 sections of maheshri bania. _bhaldar_.--(a spear-man.) a class of dahaits, who have commonly been employed as village watchmen. _bhale sultan_.--(lords of the spear.) a clan of rajputs. _bhamti_, _bhamtia_.--synonyms of bhamta. _bhanare_.--named after the town of bhandara in the central provinces. subcaste of dhimar. _bhand_, _bhanr_. [423]--a small caste of story-tellers and buffoons. the name is derived from the sanskrit bhanda, a jester, and the caste are also known as naqqal or actor. only a trifling number of bhands are shown by the census as belonging to the central provinces. mr. crooke remarks: "the bhand is sometimes employed in the courts of rajas and native gentlemen of rank, where he amuses the company at entertainments with buffoonery and a burlesque of european and native manners, much of which is of a very coarse nature. the bhand is quite separate from and of a lower professional rank than the bahrupia. the bulk of the caste are muhammadans, but they have exogamous sections, some of which, as kaithela (kayasth), bamhaniya (brahman), gujartha (gujar), nonela (lunia), and so on, are derived from those of hindu castes, and indicate that the caste is a heterogeneous community recruited from different sources. there are two recognised endogamous subcastes--the chenr, which seems to mean little (hindi, _chenra_), and the kashmiri. the former trace their origin to the time of tamarlane, who, on the death of his son, gave himself over to mourning for twelve years. then one sayyid hasan, a courtier of the emperor, composed a humorous poem in arabic, which gained him the title of bhanr. sayyid hasan is regarded as the founder of the caste. though he was a sayyid the present bhanrs are either shaikhs or mughals; and the difference of faith, sunni and shiah, is a bar to intermarriage. the kashmiri bhanrs are said to be of quite recent origin, having been invited from kashmir by nasir-ud-din haidar, king of oudh." the bhands perform their marriages by the nikah form, in which a kazi officiates. in virtue of being muhammadans they abstain from pork and liquor. dr. buchanan [424] quaintly described them as "impudent fellows, who make long faces, squeak like pigs, bark like dogs, and perform many other ludicrous feats. they also dance and sing, mimicking and turning into ridicule the dancing boys and girls, on whom they likewise pass many jokes, and are employed on great occasions." the bhand, in fact, seems to correspond very nearly to the court jester of the middle ages. _bhandari_.--(a barber, also a cook in the uriya country.) a synonym for nai. a subcaste of gondhali. a section of oswal bania and halba. title of the deputies of the chief _guru_ of the satnami sect. _bhangi_.--(hemp-smoker.) synonym of mehtar. _bhanr_.--synonym of bhand, a story-teller. _bhanwar_.--(a bee, also honey.) a section of gadaria and kawar. _bhaosar_.--synonym of chhipa. _bharadwaj_.--(a skylark. name of a great brahman rishi or saint.) one of the common eponymous sections of brahmans. also a section of joshi, lohar, prabhu, sunar, and of several clans of rajputs. _bharewa_.--(from _bharat_, a mixture of copper and lead.) a group of brass or bell-metal workers classed with the kasar caste, but of lower social standing than the kasars. a subcaste of sunar in raipur. _bhargava_.--(born of bhrigu rishi.) a subcaste of kanaujia brahmans. a section of maratha brahmans. bhargava dhusar is a subcaste of bania. see bania-dhusar. _bharia_.--(from the bhar tribe.) a tribe. a subcaste of baiga in mandla, and of kol. _bharia-bhumia_.--synonym of bharia. _bharotia_ or _mudia_.--(shaven.) subcaste of baiga, also of ahir. _bharthi_.--name of one of the ten orders of gosains. _bhatia_.--a commercial caste of sind and gujarat, a few of whom settle temporarily in the central provinces. sir d. ibbetson writes of them: [425] "the bhatias are a class of rajputs, originally coming from bhatner, jaisalmer and the rajputana desert, who have taken to domestic pursuits. the name would seem to show that they were bhatis (called bhatti in the punjab); but be that as it may, their rajput origin seems to be unquestioned. they stand distinctly below the khatri, and perhaps below the arora, and are for the most part engaged in petty shopkeeping, though the bhatias of dera ismail khan are described as belonging to a widely-spread and enterprising mercantile community. they are very strict hindus, far more so than the other trading classes of the western punjab; and eschew meat and liquor. they do not practise widow-marriage." mr. crooke's account [426] leaves little doubt that the bhatias are a branch of the bhatti or yaduvansi rajputs of jaisalmer who have gone into trade; and colonel tod expresses the same view: "the bhattiah is also one of the equestrian order converted into the commercial, and the exchange has been to his advantage. his habits are like those of the arora, next to whom he ranks as to activity and wealth." [427] "the chief occupation of the bhatias," mr. crooke states, "is moneylending, and to this they add trade of all kinds, agriculture, landholding and government service. many of them go on expeditions to arabia, kabul, bokhara and other distant places of business. many in bombay carry on trade with zanzibar, java and the malay peninsula." _bhatnagar_.--a subcaste of kayasth. _bhatpagar_.--(wage of rice.) a section of katia. _bhikshakunti_.--(_bhiksha_, begging; _kunti_, lame.) a subcaste of kapewar who are the bhats or bards of the caste. _bhil_.--a tribe. a subcaste of pardhi. _bhilaophod_.--(those who extract oil from the _bhilawa_ nut, _semecarpus anacardium_.) subcaste of kol. _bhilsaiyan_, _bhilsia_, _bhilasia_.--(from bhilsa, a town in gwalior state.) a section and surname of jijhotia brahmans. a section of purania sunar and of rathor teli and teli. _bhima_.--a small caste belonging to the mandla and seoni districts. they are musicians of the gond tribe and dance and beg at their weddings. the caste are an offshoot of the gonds, their exogamous septs having gond names, as marabi, markam, dhurwa, parteti, tekam and so on; but they now marry among themselves. they worship the gond god, bura deo, their own elders serving as priests. at their performances the men play and dance, wearing hollow anklets of metal with little balls of iron inside to make them tinkle. the women are dressed like hindu women and dance without ornaments. their instrument is called tuma or gourd. it consists of a hollow piece of bamboo fixed horizontally over a gourd. over the bamboo a string is stretched secured to a peg at one end and passing over a bridge at the other. little knobs of wax are made on the bamboo so that the string touches them during its vibrations. the gourd acts as a sounding-board. _bhogta_.--subcaste of khairwar. _bhoi_.--(one who carries litters or palanquins.) synonym of dhimar and kahar. a title or honorific name for gonds and one by which they are often known. see article kahar. a section of binjhal. _bhoir_.--synonym for bhoyar. _bhojni_.--subcaste of chitrakathi. they serve the food at marriage and other ceremonies. _bholia_.--(from _bhulna_, to forget.) synonym of bhulia. _bhona_.--a small caste of labourers in the mandla district. they are practically all employed by the local pansaris (barai) or _pan_-growers in tending their _barejas_ or betel-vine gardens. there is some ground for supposing that the bhonas are an offshoot of the bharia or bharia-bhumia tribe of jubbulpore, which is itself derived from the bhars. one of the sections of the bhonas is named after the vulture, and at their weddings a man of this section catches a young chicken and bites off the head in imitation of a vulture. _bhondih_.--(from _bhond_, dung-beetle.) a section of ahir. _bhonsla_.--a clan of marathas to which the rajas of nagpur belong. _bhope_ or _bhoall_.--subcaste of manbhao. _bhoriya_.--synonym of bhulia. _bhoyar_.--a caste. a subcaste of koshti and marar. _bhudes_.--(the gods on earth.) title of brahmans. _bhuinhar_.--name of a landholding caste in benares and bengal who claim to be brahmans or rajputs. they are also known as babhan. a title of the bhuiya tribe. see article bhuiya. a title of the bhaina tribe. _bhumia_.--(born from the land, or aboriginal.) a title of the bharia tribe in jubbulpore, also a title of baiga and korku. a synonym of bhuiya. a subdivision of gond. a section of kurmi. _bhura_.--(grey.) one of the sections of oswal bania. a proper name. _bhusar_.--(lord of the earth.) a title of brahman. _bhusarjin_.--(from _bhusa_, the chaff of wheat.) subcaste of banjara. _bhuskate_.--(from _bhusa_, fodder, one who supplies fodder.) a family name. _bhuta_.--a subtribe of gond in betul, the same as koilabhuta. they are said to be of immoral character. _biar_.--synonym of bayar. _bichhuwa_, _bichhi_.--(from _bichhu_, scorpion.) a section of dhobi and kawar. _bidur_.--synonym of the vidur caste. _biloria_.--(from _bilori_, marble stone.) a section of chhipa. _bilwar_.--synonym of belwar, a carrier and cattle-dealer. _bind_.--a large non-aryan caste of bihar and the united provinces, of which 380 persons were returned in 1911. sir h. risley says of them: [428] "they are a tribe employed in agriculture, earthwork, fishing, hunting, making saltpetre and collecting indigenous drugs. traditions current among the caste profess to trace their origin to the vindhya hills, and one of these legends tells how a traveller, passing by the foot of the hills, heard a strange flute-like sound coming out of a clump of bamboos. he cut a shoot and took from it a fleshy substance which afterwards grew into a man, the supposed ancestor of the binds. another story says that the binds and nunias were formerly all binds and that the present nunias are the descendants of a bind who consented to dig a grave for a muhammadan king and was outcasted for doing so." a third legend tells how in the beginning of all things mahadeo made a lump of earth and endowed it with life. the creature thus produced asked mahadeo what he should eat. the god pointed to a tank and told him to eat the fish in it and the wild rice which grew near the banks. mr. crooke [429] says that they use fish largely except in the fortnight (pitripaksh) sacred to the dead in the month of kunwar, and sir h. risley notes that after the rice harvest the binds wander about the country digging up the stores of rice accumulated by field rats in their burrows. from four to six pounds of grain are usually found, but even this quantity is sometimes exceeded. the binds also feast on the rats, but they deny this, saying that to do so would be to their own injury, as a reduction of the next year's find of grain would thus be caused. _binjhal_.--synonym of binjhwar. _binjhwar_.--a caste derived from the baiga tribe. a subtribe of baiga and gond. a subcaste of gowari. _birchheya_.--(a dweller in the forest.) subcaste of ghosi. _birchkia_.--(from _birchka_, a tree.) a subcaste of ghosi. _birhor._--a small kolarian tribe of whom about 150 persons were returned in 1911 from the chota nagpur states. the name means a dweller in the forest. sir h. risley states that the birhors live in tiny huts made of branches of trees and leaves, and eke out a miserable living by snaring hares and monkeys, and collecting jungle products, especially the bark of the _chob_ creeper, [430] from which a coarse kind of rope is made. they are great adepts at ensnaring monkeys and other small animals, and sell them alive or eat them. colonel dalton described them as, [431] "a small, dirty, miserable-looking race, who have the credit of devouring their parents, and when i taxed them with it they did not deny that such a custom had once obtained among them. but they declared they never shortened lives to provide such feasts and shrank with horror from the idea of any bodies but those of their own blood-relatives being served up to them." it would appear that this custom may be partly ceremonial, and have some object, such as ensuring that the dead person should be born again in the family or that the survivors should not be haunted by his ghost. it has been recorded of the bhunjias that they ate a small part of the flesh of their dead parents. [432] colonel dalton considered the birhors to be a branch of the kharia tribe, and this is borne out by dr. grierson's statement that the specimen of the birhor dialect returned from the jashpur state was really kharia. [433] elsewhere the birhor dialect resembles mundari. _birjhia, birjia._ (one who practises _bewar_ or shifting cultivation in a forest.) subcaste of binjhwar, baiga and korwa. _birkhandia._--from birkhand (sand of heroes), a name for rajputana. a section of teli. _birtiya._ title of nai or barber. _bisen, bisan._--a clan of rajput. a section of daharia and of panwar rajput. a section of marar. _bobaiaya._--(from bobbili, a town in madras.) a section of teli in chanda. _bogam._--a name for madrasi prostitutes, perhaps a separate caste. their honorific title is sani. _bohra._--a muhammadan caste. a section of oswal bania. _bombay._--a subdivision of valmiki kayasth. _bondoya_--a resident of jitgarh and the pachmarhi tract of the central provinces. subcaste of korku. _bopchi._--a section of panwar rajput. _bopchi_--a small caste in the wardha district numbering a few hundred persons. they are in reality korkus, the name being a corruption of that of the bendoya subtribe, but they have discarded their proper tribal name and formed a separate caste. they retain some of the korku sept names, while others are derived from the marathi words or from the names of other castes, and these facts indicate that the bopchis are of mixed descent from korkus and other low maratha castes with which unions have taken place. as might be expected, they are very tolerant of sexual and social offences, and do not expel a woman who has a _liaison_ with a man of another caste or takes food from him. she is readmitted to caste intercourse, but has to undergo the penalty of washing her body with cowdung and having a lock of her hair cut off. a man committing a similar offence has his upper lip shaved. they employ gosains for their _gurus_ and their social position is very low. _borakar._(a mat-maker.) synonym of gopal. _borjharia._--(_bor_-plum.) a sept of halba. _brahmachare._--(a celibate.) subcaste of manbhao. _brahman gaur_, or _bamhan gaur_.--a branch of the gaur clan of rajputs. a subcaste of bhat. _brid-dhari_.--begging bhats. subcaste of bhat. _brihaspati, brahaspati_.--an eponymous section of brahmans. _buchar_.--a corruption of the english word 'butcher.' subcaste of khatik in agra. _budalgir_.--(from _budla_, a leathern bag made for the transport and storage of oil and _ghi_ (butter).) subcaste of chamar. _bukekari_.--(a seller of scented powder _(bukka)_.) synonym of atari. _bundela_.--a clan of rajputs of mixed descent. name probably from the vindhya hills. a subcaste of basor. a sept of manihar and rawat. _bundelkhandi_.--a resident of bundelkhand. subcaste of basdewa, barai, basor, chamar, darzi, dhobi, kumhar, lohar, nai and sunar. _bundhrajia_.--subcaste of kamar. _bunkar_.--(a weaver.) title of balahi. _burad_.--a synonym for the basor caste of bamboo-workers. a section of koshti and oswal bania. _burthia_.--subcaste of charan banjara. _burud_.--(a bamboo-worker.) synonym for basor in the maratha country. _butka_.--(one who brings leaves.) subcaste of chasa. _byahut_.--(married.) subcaste of kalar. _chadar_.--a caste. a subcaste of kori. _chakere_.--(one who uses the potter's wheel in localities where other kumhars do not use it.) subcaste of kumhar. _chakla_.--(a professional washerman.) synonym for dhobi. _chalukya_.--a synonym for solanki rajputs. (perhaps from _chhullu_ or _challu_, hollow of the hand.) a subcaste of panwar rajput. _chamar, chamara_.--(from _chamra_, a hide.) the well-known caste of tanners. a subcaste of banjara, barhai and darzi. _chamar gaur_.--(chamar and gaur.) a well-known clan of rajputs. see rajput-gaur. _chambhar_.--name of the chamar caste in berar. _chamra_.--a contemptuous diminutive for the chamar caste in chhattisgarh. _chandan, chandania_.--(sandalwood.) a section of chamar, kawar, khangar and kurmi. _chandel_.--a famous clan of rajputs. see rajput-chandel. _chandewar_.--(belonging to chanda.) subcaste of injhwar. _chandi_.--(one who hides behind a fishing-net.) a sept of korku. _chandra, chandraha_. (from _chanda_, the moon.) a section of gujar and teli. _chandravansi_ or _somvansi_.--(descended from the moon.) a clan of rajputs. _chandravedi_.--synonym of sanaurhia, meaning 'one who observes the moon.' _chankhatia_.--a subcaste of bhuiya and chamar. _channagri_.--a small jain sect. a subcaste of bania. _chanti_.--name derived from _chiti_, an ant. subcaste of kawar. a section of kumhar. _chanwar_.--(whisk.) a totemistic sept of kawar and pabia. _charak_.--a subdivision of maratha brahman; a section of brahman. _charan_.--subcaste of banjara and bhat. title of bhat in rajputana. _chardeve_.--a clan of gonds worshiping four gods and paying special reverence to the tortoise. _charghar_.--(four houses.) a subdivision of saraswat brahmans. _charnagri_.--a jain sect or subcaste of bania. _chatrapati_.--(lord of the umbrella.) title of the ancient indian kings. _chatri, chhatri_.--a common synonym for a rajput. a subcaste of bhamta. _chaturbhuji_.--(four-armed.) an epithet of vishnu. a title of the chauhan clan of rajputs. a class of bairagis or religious mendicants. _chaube, chaturvedi_.--(from chaturvedi, or one learned in the four vedas.) a surname for kanaujia, jijhotia and other hindustani brahmans. subcaste of banjara. _chaubhaiya_.--(four brothers.) a subdivision of saraswat brahmans. they take wives from the athbhaiya subdivision, but do not give girls to them in marriage. _chaudhri_, _chaudhari_, _choudhri_.--(a headman, the first person.) title of kalar panwar, rajput and other castes; title of dhobi, vice-president of the caste committee. a section of ahir, maheshri bania, gadaria, gujar, halba and marar (mali). a subdivision of kapewar. _chauhan_.--a famous clan of rajputs. name of a low caste of village watchmen in chhattisgarh, perhaps the illegitimate descendants of panwar rajputs. _chauka_.--title of the kabirpanthi religious service. the _chauk_ is a sanctified place on the floor of the house or yard, plastered with cowdung and marked out with lines of wheat-flour or quartz-dust within which ceremonies are performed. _chaukhutia_.--a term which signifies a bastard in chhattisgarh. subcaste of bhunjia. _chauske_.--subcaste of kalar. they are so called because they prohibit the marriage of persons having a common ancestor up to four generations. _chaurasia_.--resident of a chaurasi or estate of eighty-four villages. subcaste of barai and bhoyar. a section of dhimar and kumhar. many estates are called by this name, grants of eighty-four villages having been commonly made under native rule. _chawara_, _chaura_.--one of the thirty-six royal races of rajputs. _chenchuwar_, _chenchuwad_ or _chenchu_--a forest tribe of the telugu country of whom a few persons were returned from the chanda district in 1911. in madras the tribe is known as chenchu, and the affix _wad_ or _wadu_ merely signifies person or man. [434] the marriage ceremony of the chenchus may be mentioned on account of its simplicity. the couple sometimes simply run away together at night and return next day as husband and wife, or, if they perform a rite, walk round and round a bow and arrow stuck into the ground, while their relations bless them and throw rice on their heads. each party to a marriage can terminate it at will without assigning any reason or observing any formality. the bodies of the dead are washed and then buried with their weapons. _chenr_.--(little.) subcaste of bhand. _cheorakuta_.--(one who prepares _cheora_ or pounded rice.) subcaste of dhuri. _chero_. [435]--a well-known tribe of the munda or kolarian family, found in small numbers in the chota nagpur feudatory states. they are believed to have been at one time the rulers of bihar, where numerous monuments are attributed, according to the inquiries of buchanan and dalton, to the kols and cheros. "in shahabad [436] also most of the ancient monuments are ascribed to the cheros, and it is traditionally asserted that the whole country belonged to them in sovereignty. an inscription at budh gaya mentions one phudi chandra who is traditionally said to have been a chero. the cheros were expelled from shahabad, some say by the sawaras (saonrs), some say by a tribe called hariha; and the date of their expulsion is conjectured to be between the fifth and sixth centuries of the christian era. both cheros and sawaras were considered by the brahmans of shahabad as impure or mlechchas, but the harihas are reported good kshatriyas. "the overthrow of the cheros in mithila and magadha seems to have been complete. once lords of the gangetic provinces, they are now found in shahabad and other bihar districts only holding the meanest offices or concealing themselves in the woods skirting the hills occupied by their cousins, the kharwars; but in palamau they retained till a recent period the position they had lost elsewhere. a chero family maintained almost an independent rule in that pargana till the accession of the british government; they even attempted to hold their castles and strong places against that power, but were speedily subjugated, forced to pay revenue and submit to the laws. they were, however, allowed to retain their estates; and though the rights of the last raja of the race were purchased by government in 1813, in consequence of his falling into arrears, the collateral branches of the family have extensive estates there still. according to their own traditions (they have no trustworthy annals) they have not been many generations in palamau. they invaded that country from rohtas, and with the aid of rajput chiefs, the ancestors of the thakurais of ranka and chainpur drove out and supplanted a rajput raja of the raksel family, who retreated into sarguja and established himself there. "all the cheros of note who assisted in the expedition obtained military service grants of land, which they still retain. the kharwars were then the people of most consideration in palamau, and they allowed the cheros to remain in peaceful possession of the hill tracts bordering on sarguja. it is popularly asserted that at the commencement of the chero rule in palamau they numbered twelve thousand families, and the kharwars eighteen thousand; and if an individual of one or the other is asked to what tribe he belongs, he will say, not that he is a chero or a kharwar, but that he belongs to the twelve thousand or to the eighteen thousand, as the case may be. the palamau cheros now live strictly as rajputs and wear the _paita_ or caste thread." it has been suggested in the article on khairwar that the close connection between the two tribes may arise from the kharwars or khairwars having been an occupational offshoot of the cheros and santals. in palamau [437] the cheros are now divided into two subcastes, the bara-hazar or twelve thousand, and the terah-hazar or thirteen thousand, who are also known as birbandhi. the former are the higher in rank and include most of the descendants of former ruling families, who assume the title babuan. the terah-hazar are supposed to be the illegitimate offspring of the bara-hazar. "the distinctive physical traits of the cheros," colonel dalton states, "have been considerably softened by the alliances with pure hindu families, which their ancient power and large possessions enabled them to secure; but they appear to me still to exhibit an unmistakable mongolian physiognomy. they vary in colour, but are usually of a light brown. they have, as a rule, high cheek-bones, small eyes obliquely set, and eyebrows to correspond, low broad noses, and large mouths with protuberant lips." _cherwa_.--subcaste of kawar. _chetti_.--subcaste of gandli. _chhachan_.--(a hawk.) a section of rawat (ahir). _chhadesia_.--(a man of six districts.) subcaste of banjara. _chhadidar_ or _darwan_.--title of the dahaits, who were door-keepers of the rajas of mahoba in former times. _chhanava kule_.--(the ninety-six houses.) a subcaste of maratha. _chhatakia_.--an illegitimate group of the kumhar caste. _chhattisgarhi, chhattisgarhia_.--resident of chhattisgarh or the region of the thirty-six forts, a name given to the eastern tract of the central provinces. subcaste of bahna, darzi and halba. _chhehghar (chhenghar)_.--(members of the six houses.) a hypergamous division of kanaujia brahmans. they take daughters from the other two divisions, but do not give their daughters to them. _chhipa_.--(a dyer.) synonym of darzi. _chhoha_ or _saroria_.--a subcaste of agharia of mixed descent. _chholia_.--(rubbish.) a section of rajjhar. _chhote_.--(inferior.) subcaste of agharia and teli. _chhoti pangat_.--a subcaste of halba, synonym surait. chhoti pangat signifies the inferior caste feast, and the implication is that these members cannot join in the proper feast. _chhotki bhir or gorhi_.--(low.) subcaste of rautia. _chhura_,--(razor.) a section of panka. it was their business to shave other members of the caste after a death; _chicham_.--(hawk.)--a sept of gonds. _chicheria_.--(from _church_, forelock, which the children of this sept wear.) a sept of dhimar. _chika_.--subcaste of majhwar. _chikwa_.--synonym of khatik. _chinchkul_.--a section of komti. they abstain from the use of ginger and from the juice of the _bhilawa_ or marking-nut tree. _chita purdhi, chilewala_.--(leopard-hunter.) a subcaste of pardhi. _chiturkar, chitrakar_.--(a painter.) synonym for chitari. _chiter_.--(a painter.) see chitari. _chitevari_.--(one who makes clay idols.) synonym for mochi. _chitpawan_.--(the pure in heart.) a synonym for konkanasth brahman. _chitragupta vansi_.--(descendants of chitragupta.) a name for kayasths. _chobdar_.--(a mace-bearer.) title of dahait. _chorbans_.--(family of thieves.) a section of chamar. _chourdhar_.--(a whisk-carrier.) a section of sunar. _chuhra_.--subcaste of mehtar. name for the sweeper caste in the punjab. _chungia_.--(one who smokes a leaf-pipe.) subcaste of chamar and satnami. _chunwiha_.--(from _chunri_, a coloured sheet worn by women.) a section of tamera. _churha_.--(thief.) a subcaste of sunar. a section of chhipa. _cutchwaha_.--clan of rajput. synonym for kachhwaha. _daharia_.--(from dahar, the old name of the jubbulpore country.) a clan of rajputs which has developed into a caste. a subcaste of bhoyar, kalar, mahar, maratha and teli. a section of chadar, chamar and katia. _dahat_.--a variant for dahait. a subcaste of khangar. _dahia_.--one of the thirty-six royal races of rajputs. _daijanya_.--subcaste of chamar. they are so called because their women act as _dai_ or midwives. _dakhne, dakshne, dakshni, dakshini._--(belonging to the deccan.) subcaste of bahna, chamar, gondhali, gurao, kunbi, mahar, mang and nai. _dakochia_.--a synonym for bhadri, an astrologer. _dal_.--(from _dal_, an army.) subcaste of khond. _dalboha, dalbuha_.--(one who carries _dhoolies_ or palanquins.) subcaste of ghasia and katia. _dalia_.--(from _dal_ or the pulse of burhanpur which had a great reputation). subcaste of kunbi. _dal khalsa_.--(army of god.) title of the sikh army. _dandewala_.--(one who performs acrobatic feats on a stick or bamboo.) synonym for kolhati. _dandi_.--(one who carries a stick.) name of a class of religious mendicants. see article gosain. _dandsena_.--(one who carries a stick.) subcaste of kalar. _dang-charha._--(a rope-climber.) synonym of nut. _dangiwara_.--name of part of the saugor district, which is called after the dangi caste. subcaste of kadera. _dangua_.--(a hill-dweller.) subcaste of taonla. _dangur_.--a small caste of hemp weavers numbering about 100 persons, and residing almost entirely in the village of masod in betul district. they are of the same standing as the caste of kumrawat or patbina which pursues this occupation in other districts, but acknowledge no connection with them and are probably an occupational offshoot of the kunbi caste, from whose members they readily accept any kind of cooked food. like many other small occupational castes with no definite traditions, they profess to have a kshatriya origin, calling themselves bhagore rajputs, while their families are known by such high-sounding titles as rathor, chauhan, gaur, solanki and other well-known rajput names. these pretensions have no foundation in fact, and the dangurs formerly did not abjure pork, while they still eat fowls and drink liquor. they neither bathe nor clean their kitchens daily. they may eat food taken from one place to another, but not if they are wearing shoes, this being only permissible in the case when the bridegroom takes his food wearing his marriage shoes. _dantele_.--(with teeth.) a section of purania sunars in saugor. _daraihan_.--a small caste of debased rajputs found in the bilaspur district of chhattisgarh and numbering some 2000 persons in 1901. they say that their ancestors were rajputs from upper india who settled in chhattisgarh some generations back in the village of dargaon in raipur district. thence they were given the name of dargaihan, which has been corrupted into daraihan. others say that the name is derived from _dari_, a prostitute, but this is perhaps a libel. in any case they do not care about the name daraihan and prefer to call themselves kshatriyas. they have now no connection with the rajputs of upper india, and have developed into an endogamous group who marry among themselves. it seems likely that the caste are an inferior branch of the daharia cultivating caste of chhattisgarh, which is derived from the daharia clan of rajputs. [438] like other rajputs the daraihans have an elaborate system of septs and subsepts, the former having the names of rajput clans, while the latter are taken from the eponymous _gotras_ of the brahmans. there are fourteen septs, named as a rule after the principal rajput clans, of whom four, the chandel, kachhwaha, dhandhul and sakrawara, rank higher than the other ten, and will take daughters from these in marriage, but not give their daughters in return. besides the septs they have the standard brahmanical _gotras_, as kausilya, bharadwaj, vasishtha and so on to the number of seven, and the members of each sept are divided into these _gotras_. theoretically a man should not take a wife whose sept or _gotra_ is the same as his own. the marriage of first cousins is forbidden, and while the grandchildren of two sisters may intermarry, for the descendants of a brother and a sister the affinity is a bar till the third generation. but the small numbers of the caste must make the arrangement of matches very difficult, and it is doubtful whether these rules are strictly observed. they permit the practice of gunravat or giving a bride for a bride. in other respects the social customs of the caste resemble those of their neighbours, the daharias, and their rules as to the conduct of women are strict. the men are well built and have regular features and fair complexions, from which their rajput ancestry may still be recognised. they wear the sacred thread. the daraihans are good and intelligent cultivators, many of them being proprietors or large tenants, and unlike the daharias they do not object to driving the plough with their own hands. in the poorer families even the women work in the fields. they have a strong clannish feeling and will readily combine for the support or protection of any member of the caste who may be in need of it. _darbania_.--(door-keeper.) title of khangur. _darshani_.--title of the most holy members of the kanphata jogis. _darshni_.--(from _darshan_, seeing, beholding, as of a god.) a sub-division of jogi. _darwan_.--(a door-keeper.) title of dahait. _darwe_ or _dalwe_.--a subcaste of gonds in chanda; the darwes are also called naik. _darwesh_.--persian name for a muhammadan fakir or religious mendicant. _darzi_.--a caste of tailors. subcaste of ghasia. _das_.--(servant.) used as the termination of their names by bairagis or religious mendicants. a term applied by pankas and other kabirpanthis to themselves. _dasa_.--(ten.) a subdivision of agarwala and other subcastes of bania, meaning those of pure blood. _dasghar_.--(ten houses.) one of the three subdivisions of kanaujia brahmans. they give their daughters to members of the chheghar or six houses and receive them from the panchghar or five houses. _dasnami_.--a member of the ten orders. synonym for gosain. _datta_ or _dutt_.--surname of bengali kayasths. _daune_.--a subdivision of prabhu or parbhu in nagpur, so called on account of their living in the island of diu, a portuguese possession. _deccani_.--see dakhne. _dehalwi_.--(from delhi.) a subdivision of gaur kayasths. _dehri_.--(a worshipper.) subcaste of sudh. _dekkala_.--(a genealogist.) subcaste of madgi. _delki_.--subcaste of kharia. _deo_.--(god.) a hereditary title borne by certain feudatory chiefs. a surname of karhara brahmans in saugor. a subcaste of gandli in chanda. _deobansi_.--(a descendant of a god.) subcaste of patwa. _deogarhia_ or _rajkunwar_.--(from deogarh.) a subcaste of pardhan. a subcaste of audhelia made up of prostitutes. a sept of dhimar. _deokia_.--title used in the bedar caste. _deoputra_.--(son of god.) synonym of charan. _desa_ or _kota_.--subcaste of balija. _desai_.--a variant for deshmukh or a maratha revenue officer. title of the pardhan caste. _desawal_.--a subdivision of brahman in jubbulpore. they take their name from disa, a town in palanpur state in bombay presidency. _desha, desaha_.--(belonging to the home country.) the name is usually applied to immigrants from malwa or hindustan. a subcaste of ahir, bargah, bari, chamar, dhuri, gadaria, kalar, kol, kurmi, lakhera, lohar, mahar, sunar and teli. _deshastha_.--a subcaste of maratha brahmans inhabiting the country (desh) above the western ghats. a subcaste of gurao. _deshkar_.--(one belonging to the country.) a subcaste of gondhali, gurao, kasar, koshti, kunbi, mahar, mali, maratha, nai, sunar and teli. _deshmukh_.--under maratha rule the deshmukh was a pargana officer who collected the revenue of the pargana or small subdivision, and other taxes, receiving a certain share. the office of deshmukh was generally held by a leading kunbi of the neighbourhood. he also held revenue-free land in virtue of his position. the deshmukh families now tend to form a separate subcaste of kunbis and marry among themselves. _deshpande_.--the deshpande was the pargana accountant. he was generally a brahman and the right-hand man of the deshmukh, and having the advantage of education he became powerful like the deshmukh. now used as a surname by maratha brahmans. _deswali_.--synonym for mina. _devadasi_.--(handmaidens of the gods.) synonym for kasbi. _devarukhe_.--a subdivision of maratha brahmans. the word is derived from devarishi, a shakha (branch) of the atharva veda, or from devarukh, a town in ratnagiri district of bombay presidency. among brahmans they hold rather a low position. _dewangan_.--(from the old town of this name on the wardha river.) subcaste of koshti. _dhaighar_.--(2 1/2 houses.) a subcaste of khatri. _dhakan_.--(a witch.) subcaste of bhat. _dhakar_.--name of a caste in bastar. a clan of rajputs. a subcase of barai, bania and kirar. a sept of halba. _dhalgar_.--a small occupational caste who made leather shields, and are now almost extinct as the use of shields has gone out of fashion. they are muhammadans, but mr. crooke [439] considers them to be allied to the dabgars, who make leather vessels for holding oil and _ghi_ and are also known as kuppesaz. the dabgars are a hindu caste whose place in the central provinces is taken by the budalgir chamars. these receive their designation from _budla_, the name of the leather bag which they make. _budlas_ were formerly employed for holding _ghi_ or melted butter, oil and the liquid extract of sugarcane, but vegetable oil is now generally carried in earthen vessels slung in baskets, and _ghi_ in empty kerosene tins. small bottles of very thin leather are still used by scent-sellers for holding their scents, though they also have glass bottles. the song of the leather bottél recalls the fact that vessels for holding liquids were made of leather in europe prior to the introduction of glass. the dhalgars also made targets for archery practice from the hides of buffaloes; and the similar use of the hides of cattle in europe survives in our phrase of the bull's eye for the centre of the target. _dhamonia_.--(from dhamoni, a town in saugor.) a subcaste of sonkar. a territorial sept of darzi and dhobi. _dhanak sammani_.--(one who reverences the bow.) a section of barai. _dhandere_.--(probably from dhundhar, an old name of jaipur or amber state.) a sept of rajputs. _dhangar_.--(a farmservant.) synonym of oraon. _dhanka_.--perhaps a variant for dhangar. subcaste of oraon. _dhanoj_, _dhanoje_.--(from _dhangar_, a shepherd.) subcaste of are and kunbi. _dhanpagar_.--(one serving for a pittance of paddy.) a section of teli. _dhanuhar_.--(a corrupt form of dhanusdhar or a holder of a bow.) synonym of dhanwar. _dhanuk_.--(a bowman.) a caste. a subcaste of mehtar. _dhanushban_.--(bow and arrow.) a sept of kawar. _dharampuria_.--(resident of dharampur.) subcaste of dhobi. _dhare_.--title of gowari. _dhari_.--a subcaste of banjara. they are the bards of the caste. _dharkar_.--subcaste of basor. _dharmik_.--(religious or virtuous.) a subcaste of mahar and maratha. _dhed_.--synonym for mahar. _dhengar_.--a subcaste of bharewa (kasar) and gadaria. _dhera_. [440]--a small telugu caste of weavers, the bulk of whom reside in the sonpur state, transferred to bengal in 1905. the dheras were brought from orissa by the raja of sonpur to make clothes for the images of the gods, which they also claim to be their privilege in puri. their exogamous groups are named after animals, plants or other objects, and they practise totemism. the members of the surya or sun group will not eat during an eclipse. those of the nalla (black) sept will not wear black clothes. those of the bansethi and bhanala septs will not use the _bandi_, a kind of cart from which they consider their name to be derived. the otals take their name from _utti_, a net, from which pots are hung, and they will not use this net. those of the gunda sept, who take their name from _gunda_, a bullet, will not eat any game shot with a gun. marriage within the sept is prohibited, but the dheras always, where practicable, arrange the marriage of a boy with his maternal uncle's daughter. even in childhood the members of such families address each other as brother-in-law and sister-in-law. when the bridegroom and bride go home after the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom's sister bars the door of the house and will not let them in until they have severally promised to give her their daughter for her son. a girl must be married before arriving at adolescence on pain of permanent exclusion from the caste. if a suitable husband has not therefore been found when the period approaches, the parents marry the girl to her elder sister's husband or any other married man. she is not bound to enter into conjugal relations with the man to whom she is thus united, and with his consent she may be consequently married to any other man in the guise of a widow. if a bachelor takes such a girl to wife, he must first be married to a _sahara_ tree (_streblus asper_). when a betrothal is arranged, an elderly member of the bridegroom's family proceeds to the bride's house and asks her people three times in succession whether the betrothal is arranged, and at each reply in the affirmative ties a knot in his cloth. he then goes home and in the bridegroom's house solemnly unties the knots over another cloth which is spread on the ground. this cloth is then considered to contain the promises and it is wrapped up and carefully put away to keep them as if they were material objects. _dherha_.--(brother-in-law or paternal aunt's husband.) title of kharia. _dhimar_.--a caste. subcaste of kori. _dhimra_.--synonym for dhimar. _dhobi_.--the caste of washermen. a sept of bharia and bhaina. _dhokhede_.--one of doubtful parentage. a sept of teli. _dholewar_.--(from _dhola_, a drum.) a subcaste of bhoyar and gaoli. a section of basor. _dholi_.--(a minstrel.) subcaste of bhat. _dhubela_.--origin perhaps from the dhobi caste. subcaste of basor. _dhulbajia_.--(from _dhol_, a drum.) a subcaste of chamar, also known as daijania. _dhulia_, _dholin_, _dholi_.--(a player on a _dhol_ or drum.) synonym for the basor caste. a subcaste of gond in chanda and betul. a subcaste of mahar. _dhunak pathan_.--synonym for bahna. _dhunia_.--(from _dhunna_, to card cotton.) synonym for bahna. _dhunka_.--(a cotton-cleaner.) subcaste of kadera. _dhur gond_.--(from _dhur_, dust.) a subcaste of gonds. they are also known as rawanvansi or descendants of rawan. _dhuri_.--a caste of grain-parchers. a subcaste of dhimar. _dhuria_.--subcaste of nagasia and dhimar. they are so called because they mark the forehead of the bride with dust (_dhur_) taken from the sole of the bridegroom's foot. _dhurwa_.--the word may be derived from _dhur_, dust. dhur is a name given to the body of gonds as opposed to the raj-gonds. one of the commonest septs of gonds. a sept of baiga, kolta, kalar and nat. a title of parja. _dhusar_.--subcaste of bania. _dhusia_.--subcaste of murha. _digambari_.--a sect of jain banias who do not clothe their idols and apply saffron to their feet. also a class of bairagis or religious mendicants. _diharia_ or _kisan_.--(one who lives in a village or a cultivator.). subcaste of korwa. _dikhit_, _dikshit_, _dixit_.--(the initiator.) a subcaste of brahman. a clan of rajputs of the solar race formerly dominant in the united provinces. _dila_.--(a pointed stick tied to a calf's mouth to prevent him from sucking.) a totemistic sept of kawar. they do not use a stick in this manner. a section of ahir. _dillawal_.--a subcaste of kasar. those belonging to or coming from delhi. _dingkuchia_.--(one who castrates cattle and ponies.) subcaste of ghasia. _dipawalia_.--(one who supplies oil for the lamps at diwali.) a sept of teli. _dipbans_.--(son of the lamp.) title of teli. _diwan_.--title of the members of the dahait caste committee. _dixit_.--see dikhit. _dobaile_.--(one who yokes two bullocks to the oil-press.) subcaste of telis in the nagpur country. _dobisya_.--(two score.) subcaste of halwai. _doda_ or _dor_.--one of the thirty-six royal races of rajputs. _dogle_.--name applied to kayasths of illegitimate descent. _dohor_. [441]--a small caste of berar, who are really chamars; in the central provinces the dohors are a well-known subcaste of chamars, but in berar they appear to have obtained a separate name, under which about 6000 persons were returned in 1911. they work in leather like the chamars or mochis. with the ambition of bettering their social status among the hindus the caste strictly observe the sanctity of animal life. no dohor may molest an animal or even pelt it with stones. a man who sells a cow or bullock to butchers is put out of caste, but if he repents and gets the animal back before it is slaughtered, a fine of rs. 5 only is imposed. if, on the other hand, the animal is killed, the culprit must give his daughter in marriage without taking any price from the bridegroom, and must feed the whole caste and pay a fine of rs. 50, which is expended on liquor. failing this he is expelled from the community. similarly the pardeshi dohors rigidly enforce infant-marriage. if a girl is not married before she is ten her family are fined and put out of caste until the fine is paid. and if the girl has leprosy or any other disease, which prevents her from getting married, a similar penalty is imposed on the family. nevertheless the dohors are considered to be impure and are not allowed to enter hindu temples; the village barber does not shave them nor the washerman wash their clothes. a bachelor desiring to marry a widow must first perform the ceremony with a _rui_ or cotton-tree. but such a union is considered disgraceful; the man himself must pay a heavy fine to get back into caste, and his children are considered as partly illegitimate and must marry with the progeny of similar unions. either husband or wife can obtain a divorce by a simple application to the caste _panchayat_, and a divorced woman can marry again as a widow. the caste offer sheep and goats to their deities and worship the animals before killing them. at dasahra they also pay reverence to the skinning-knife, and the needle with which shoes are sewn. the caste burn the bodies of those who die married and bury the unmarried. before setting out for a funeral they drink liquor and again on their return, and a little liquor is sprinkled over the grave. when a man has been cremated his ashes are taken and thrown into a river on the third day. the chief mourner, after being shaved by his brother-in-law, takes the hair with some copper coins in his hand and, diving into the river, leaves them there as an offering to the dead man's spirit. _dolia_.--(palanquin-bearer.) a section of dhimar. _dom_.--an important caste in bengal. see article kanjar. used as a synonym for ganda in the uriya country. _domra_.--subcaste of turi. _dongaria_, _dongarwar_.--(from _dongar_, a hill.) a sept of bhil, dhobi, mali, mang and sonkar. a surname of maratha brahmans. _dora_.--(sahib or lord.) title of the mutrasi caste. _dosar_.--subcaste of bania. _dravida_.--(southern.) see panch-dravida. _dube_.--(a teacher and a man learned in two vedas.) a common surname of hindustani brahmans. a subcaste of banjara. _dudh_.--(milk.) dudh-barai, a subcaste of barai; dudh-gowari, a subcaste of ahir or gowari; dudh-kawar, a subcaste of kawar. _dudh bhai_.--(milk-brothers.) a fraternity of gonds in betul, who are apparently foster-brothers. they do not marry, though they have different septs. _dukar_.--a subcaste of kolhati. from _dukar_, hog, because they are accustomed to hunt the wild pig with dogs and spears when these animals become too numerous and damage the crops of the villagers. _dukaria_.--title of the officer of the andh caste who constitutes the caste committee. _dulha_.--(bridegroom.) a section of chadar. _dumar_ or _dom_.--a low caste of sweepers in bengal. see kanjar. subcaste of basor, ganda, panka and turi. synonym and subcaste of mehtar. a section of kawar. _durgbansi_.--a clan of rajputs in ragnandgaon. _dusre_.--(second.) a subdivision of shrivastab, gaur and saksena kayasths, meaning those of inferior or mixed origin as opposed to khare or those of pure origin. _dwarka_.--one of the most holy places in india, situated on or near the sea in gujarat. it is supposed to have been founded by krishna. site of one of the monasteries (ashram) of sankaracharya, the founder of the non-dualistic or vedanta philosophy. _dwija_.--(twice-born.) a title applied to the three higher classical castes, brahman, kshatriya and vaishya, and now especially to brahmans. _ekbahia_.--(one-armed.) subcaste of teli, so called because their women wear glass bangles only on one arm. _ekbaile_.--one who yokes one bullock only to the oil-press. subcaste of teli. _elama, elma_.--synonym for velama. a subcaste of kapewar or kapu. _erenga._--subcaste of kharia in bengal. _erna_.--(from eran, in saugor district.) a section of teli. _fakir_.--a muhammadan mendicant. synonym sain. see article. _farid_.--sheikh farid was a well-known muhammadan saint. a section of panwar rajput. _farsi_.--persian. from the province of fars. the term farsi is also used by the hindus to signify foreign or non-aryan languages like gondi. _fidawi._--(a disciple.) an order of devotees of the khojah sect known to the crusaders as assassins. title of khojah. _gadaba_.--synonym of gadba. _gadaria_.--a caste. subcaste of ahir. _gadha_.--(an ass.) a sept of the uika clan of gonds in betul, so named because their priest rode on an ass in crossing a river. _gadhao_.--(from _gadha_, an ass.) subcaste of kunbi. _gadhewal, gadhere, gadhwe, gadhilla_.--(one who keeps donkeys. from _gadha_, an ass.) a subcaste of dhimar, katia, koshti, kumhar and sonkar. a sept of gond and pardhan. _gadhwana_.--(from garha, near jubbulpore.) subcaste of nai. _gadiwan_.--(a cart-driver.) subcaste of dangri. _gadri_.--(from _gadar_, a sheep.) a synonym of gadaria. a subcaste of dhangar. _gaharwar, gaharval, gherwal_.--one of the thirty-six royal races of rajputs chiefly found in bilaspur and khairagarh. a section of patwas. _gahbainya_ or _gahboniya_.--(those who hid in a village when called by a king to his presence.) a subcaste of kurmi. a section of kurmi. _gahlot_ or _sesodia_.--a famous clan of rajputs. a section of daraiha and joshi. _gahoi_.--subcaste of bania. see article bania-gahoi. _gahra_.--synonym for ahir or herdsman in the uriya country. _gai-gowari._--subcaste of gowari. _gaiki_.--a cowherd. (a subcaste of gond in betul.) a section of chamar. _gaikwar_ or _gaika_.--(a cowherd.) a clan of maratha. a section of ahir, bhil, kunbi and mahar. _gaita_.--subcaste of gond. _gaiwale_.--(cow-keeper.) a subcaste of moghia. _gajarha_.--_(gajar_, a carrot.) a section of teli in mandla. _gajjam_.--a sept of the dhurwa clan of gonds in betul named after gajjami. (bow and arrows in gondi.) _ganda_.--(a messenger.) a low caste of village watchmen. in the uriya country the gandas are known as dom. a subcaste of pardhan. title of kharia. _gandhi_.--a scent-seller. (from _gandh_, a sanskrit word for scent.) synonym of atari. a section of maheshir bania. _gandli_.--the telugu caste of oil-pressers, numbering about 3000 persons in the central provinces, in the chanda, nagpur and bhandara districts. they are immigrants from the godavari district of madras and have been settled in the central provinces for some generations. here many of them have prospered so that they have abandoned the hereditary calling and become landowners, traders and moneylenders. like the well-to-do telis they are keenly desirous of bettering their social position and now repudiate any connection with what may be known as 'the shop,' or the profession of oil-pressing. as this ranks very low, among the more despised village handicrafts, the progress of the gandlis and telis to the social standing of banias, to which they generally aspire, is beset with difficulties; but the gandlis, in virtue of having migrated to what is practically a foreign country so far as they are concerned, have achieved a considerable measure of success, and may be said to enjoy a better position than any telis. a few of them wear the sacred thread, and though they eat flesh, they have abjured liquor except in chanda, where they are most numerous and the proportion of wealthy members is smallest. here also they are said to eat pork. others eat flesh and fowls. the gandlis are divided into the reddi, chetti and telkala subcastes, and the last are generally oil-pressers. it is probable that the reddis are the same as the redu-eddu or rendu-eddu subcaste of madras, who derive their name from the custom of using two bullocks to turn the oil-press, like the do-baile telis of the central provinces. but it has been changed to reddi, a more respectable name, as being a synonym for the kapu cultivating caste. chetti really means a trader, and is, mr. francis says, [442] "one of those occupational or titular terms, which are largely employed as caste names. the weavers, oil-pressers and others use it as a title, and many more tack it on to their names to denote that trade is their occupation." marriage is regulated by exogamous groups, the names of which are said to be derived from those of villages. girls are generally married during childhood. a noticeable point is that the ceremony is celebrated at the bridegroom's house, to which the bride goes, accompanied by her party, including the women of her family. the ceremony follows the maratha form of throwing fried rice over the bridal couple, and brahman priests are employed to officiate. widow-marriage is permitted. the dead are both buried and burnt, and during mourning the gandlis refrain from eating _khichri_ or mixed rice and pulse, and do not take their food off plantain leaves, in addition to the other usual observances. they have the _shantik_ ceremony or the seclusion of a girl on the first appearance of the signs of adolescence, which is in vogue among the higher maratha castes, and is followed by a feast and the consummation of her marriage. they now speak marathi fluently, but still use telugu in their houses and wear their head-cloths tied after the tulugu fashion. [443] _gangabalu_.--(sand of the ganges.) a family name of ganda. _gangabasia_.--(living on the banks of the ganges.) a section of ahir. _gangapari_.--(one coming from the further side of the ganges.) subcaste of barai, barhai, chamar, dhobi, gondhali, kumhar and umre bania. _gangasagar_.--(sea of the ganges.) a section of chitari and kawar. _gangavansi_.--(descended from the ganges.) a clan of rajputs. the chief of bamra state is a gangavansi. _gangthade_.--dwellers on the banks of the godavari and wainganga. these rivers are sometimes called ganga or ganges, which is used as a general term for a great river. a subcaste of maratha. _gannore_.--name of a minor rajput clan. subcaste of balahi. _ganth-chor_.--(a bundle-thief.) title of bhamta. _gaolan_.--a synonym of ahir or gaoli, applied to an inferior section of the caste. _gaoli_, _gauli_.--(a milkman.) synonym for ahir. subcaste of hatkar. _gaontia_.--(a village headman.) title of the head of the kol caste committee. title of kol. _garde_.--(dusty.) a surname of karhara brahmans in saugor. _garg_ or _gargya_.--the name of a famous rishi or saint. an eponymous section of brahmans. a section of agarwala banias. gargabansi is a clan of rajputs. _garhawala_, _garhewala_, _garhewar_.--a resident of garha, an old town near jubbulpore which gave its name to the garha-mandla dynasty, and is a centre of weaving. a subcaste of katia, koshti and mahar, all weaving castes. a subcaste of binjhal. _garkata_.--(cut-throat.) a section of koshti. _garpagari_.--a body of jogis or naths who avert hailstorms and are considered a separate caste. see article. from _gar_, hail. a subcaste of koshta and kumhar. a section of ghasia. _gate_.--(a bastard.) subcaste of naoda. _gaur_.--the ancient name of part of bengal and perhaps applied also to the tract in the united provinces round about the modern gonda district. a subcaste of brahman and kayasth. a clan of rajputs. see articles. _gauria_, _gauriya_.--a caste. a subcaste of dhimar, khond, kumhar and uriya sansia. _gauriputra_.--a son of gauri, the wife of mahadeo. title of balija. _gautam_.--a name of a famous rishi or saint. a common eponymous section of brahmans. a clan of rajputs. a section of agharia, ahir, maratha, panwar rajput, rangari and jangam. _gayake_.--subcaste of pardhi, meaning a man who stalks deer behind a bullock. _gayawal_.--(from the town of gaya on the ganges, a favourite place for performing the obsequies of the dead.) a subcaste of brahmans who act as emissaries for the owners of the shrines at gaya and wander about the country inducing villagers to undertake the pilgrimage and personally conducting their constituents. _gazulu_.--(a bangle-seller.) subcaste of balija. _gedam_.--a sept of gonds. a sept of baigas. _ghadyachi tong_.--(the rim of the pitcher.) a section of kirar. _ghanta_.--(bell.) a section of kumhar. _ghantra_.--name of a caste of lohars or blacksmiths in the uriya country. _gharbari_.--one who while leading a mendicant life is permitted to marry with the permission of his _guru_. a householder, synonym grihastha. the married groups of the gosain, bairagi and manbhao orders as distinguished from the nihang or celibate section. _ghasi mali_.--subcaste of mali. _ghatole_, _ghatode_.--those who dwell on the _ghats_ or passes of the sainhyadri hills to the south of the berar plain. subcaste of bahna, gondhali and kunbi. _ghatmathe_.--(residents of the mahadeo plateau in berar.) subcaste of maratha. _gherwal_.--a clan of rajputs. synonym for gaharwar. _ghidoda_.--(giver of _ghi_.) a section of telis so named because their first ancestors presented _ghi_ to the king bhoramdeo. _ghisadi_, _ghisari_.--a group of wandering lohars or blacksmiths. synonym for lohar. _ghoderao_.--(_ghoda_, a horse.) subcaste of chitrakathi. they have the duty of looking after the horses and bullock-carts of the castemen who assemble for marriage or other ceremonies. _ghodke_.--those who tend horses. subcaste of mang. _ghodmaria_.--(horse-killer.) a sept of binjhwar. _ghopi_.--(wild _jamun_ tree.) a sept of gonds. _ghosi_.--a caste. a subcaste of ahir. a section of chamar. _ghudchoda_.--a subcaste of pasi, who have become grooms. (from _ghora_, a horse.) _ghughu, ghughwa_.--(owl.) a section of ganda, kawar, kewat and panka. pankas of the ghughu sept are said to have eaten the leavings of their caste-fellows. _ghunnere_.--(worm-eater.) a section of teli in betul and rathor teli. _ghura_ or _gura_.--(dunghill.) a section of chadar and sunar. _ghuttin_.--a sept of bhils. they reverence the _gular_, or fig tree. _gingra_.--a subcaste of tiyar. _girgira_.--a small caste found in sonpur state and sambalpur district. they are fishermen, and also parch rice. they are perhaps an offshoot of the kewat caste. _giri_ or _gir_.--(_gir_, mountain.) an order of gosains. _girnara_.--a subcaste of brahmans in jubbulpore. they are said to take their name from girnar in kathiawar, where they were settled by krishna after he rose from the damodar reservoir in the bed of the sonrekha river at junagarh. they have the monopoly of the office of priests to pilgrims visiting girnar. _(bombay gazetteer_, ix.) _goal_ or _gowala, guala_.--(sanskrit gopal, a cowherd.) synonym of ahir, also subcaste of ahir. _gaoli_.--(a cowherd.) synonym for ahir. subcaste of maratha. _gobardhua_.--(from _gobar_, cowdung.) subcaste of chamar. _gohia, gohi_.--(from _goh_ or _gohi_, a large lizard.) a section of jain bania or khatik. a sept of bhatra and parja. _gohil_.--a well-known clan of rajputs in the united provinces. _goia_.--(from _gohi_, a mango-stone.) a section of chadar. they draw a picture of the mango-stone at the maihar or distribution of sacrificial cakes. _gola._--synonym of golar. _golak_.--synonym govardhan or gaomukh. an illegitimate group of maratha brahmans. _golalare_.--a subcaste of bania. _golandaz_.--(an artilleryman.) synonym of kadera. _golapurab_.--a subcaste of bania, darzi and kalar. _golkar_.--synonym of golar and ahir. _golia_.--one who dyes cloth with _goli ka rang_, the fugitive aniline dyes. subcaste of chhipa. _golla_.--synonym of golar. _gollam_.--synonym of golar. _gondadya_.--(gond.) subcaste of otari. _gondi_.--(from the gonds.) a subcaste of ahir, binjhwar and lohar. _gondia_.--subcaste of dhimar. _gondi-lohar._--a gond who works as a blacksmith. subcaste of lohar. _gondvansi_.--(descendants of gonds.) a section of ghasia. _gondwaina_.--subcaste of baiga. _gopal_.--a caste. synonym of ahir in rajputana. _goranda_.--synonym of goyanda. _gorakhnath_.--a sect of jogis. from guru gorakhnath, a great jogi. _gorasia_.--(from _goras_, milk.) a section of lonare mali. _gorigawar, gaigowal_.--(a cowherd.) a section of otari and panka. _gosain, goswami_.--a caste. a surname of sanadhya brahmans in saugor. _gotte_.--a subcaste of gond. they are also called made in chanda. _goundia_.--a class of bairagi. synonym madhavachari. a section of bharia-bhumia. _gowalvansi_.--subcaste of ahir. _goyanda, goranda_.--a name applied to a small class of persons in jubbulpore, who are descendants of thug approvers, formerly confined there. the name is said to mean, 'one who speaks,' and to have been applied to those thugs who escaped capital punishment by giving information against their confederates. goranda is said to be a corruption of goyanda. the goyandas are both hindus and muhammadans. the latter commonly call themselves deccani musalmans as a more respectable designation. they are said to be a gipsy class of muhammadans resembling the kanjars. the hindus are of different castes, but are also believed to include some beria gipsies. the goyandas are employed in making gloves, socks and strings for pyjamas, having probably taken to this kind of work because the thug approvers were employed in the manufacture of tents. their women are quarrelsome, and wrangle over payment when selling their wares. this calling resembles that of the kanjar women, who also make articles of net and string, and sell them in villages. some of the goyandas are employed in government and railway service, and mr. gayer notes that the latter are given to opium smuggling, and carry opium on their railway engines. [444] _grihastha, gharbari_.--(a householder.) a name given to those divisions of the religious mendicant orders who marry and have families. _guar_.--(from _guara_ or _gwala_, a milkman.) subcaste of banjara. _gudarh_ or _gudar_.--(from _gudra_, a rag.) a sect of the bairagi, gosain and jogi orders of mendicants. _gudha_ or _gurha_.--(from _gudh_, a pigsty.) subcaste of basor. _gugaria_.--one who trades in _gugar_, a kind of gum. subcaste of banjara. _gujar_.--a caste. a subcaste of ahir, darzi, koshti and pasi. a clan of maratha. a section of khatik. _gujarati_.--(from gujarat.) a territorial subcaste of bahelia, bania, barhai, chhipa, darzi, gopal, nai, sunar and teli. _gurasthulu_.--a synonym for the balija caste. _gurbhelia_.--(a ball of molasses.) a section of gohira ahirs in chanda. _guria_.--(a preparer of _gur_ or unrefined sugar.) synonym of halwai in the uriya country. _gurujwale_.--a class of fakirs or muhammadan beggars. _guru-mata._--title of the great council of the sikhs and their religious meal. _guru_.--(a preacher or teacher or spiritual guide.) brahmans and members of the religious orders, bairagis and gosains, are the gurus of ordinary hindus. most hindu men and also women of the higher and middle castes have a guru, whose functions are, however, generally confined to whispering a sacred verse into the ear of the disciple on initiation, and paying him a visit about once a year; it is not clear what happens on these occasions, but the guru is entertained by this disciple, and a little moral exhortation may be given. _gurusthulu_.--synonym of balija. _guthau_.--title of gadba. _gwalbansi, gokulbansi, goalbansi_.--(descended from a cowherd.) a subcaste of ahir or gaoli, a subcaste of khairwar. _gwalhare_.--(cowherd.) a subcaste of lodhi. _habshi_.--synonym of siddi. an abyssinian. _hadi_.--(sweeper or scavenger.) one of the 72 1/2 gotras of meheshri bania. a synonym for mangan. _hadia_.--(from _hadi_, bone.) a section of raghuvansi. _haihaya, haihaivansi_.--(race of the horse.) a clan of rajputs of the lunar race. _hajjam_.--muhammadan name for nai or barber. _hakkya_.--title of hatkar. _halai_.--subcaste of cutchi. _halbi_.--synonym of halba. subcaste of koshti. _haldia, hardiya, hardiha, halde_.--(a grower of _haldi_, or turmeric.) subcaste of kachhi, lodhi, mali, rajjhar and teli. a section of rajjhar. _halia_.--(ploughman.) a subcaste of teli in nandgaon state. _halua_.--a subcaste of uriya brahmans, so called because they use the plough (_hal_). _hans, hansi, hansa_,--(the swan.) a section of agharia, ahir, mali and savar. _hansele_.--(_hansna_, to laugh.) a section of ahir. _hanuman, hanumanta_.--(the monkey-god hanuman.) a section of bhatra, mahar and mowar. _hara_.--a clan of rajputs, a branch of the chauhans. _harbola_.--derived from hari, a name of vishnu or krishna, and _bolna_ to speak. synonym of basdewa and also subcaste of basdewa. _hardas_.--a religious mendicant who travels about and tells stories about heroes and gods accompanied with music. synonym of chitrakathi. _hari_.--(a bone-gatherer.) synonym of mehtar and subcaste of mehtar. _haria_.--(_hal_, plough.) a subcaste of mahar. _harial_.--(green pigeon.) a section of ahir. _harshe_.--(glad.) surname of karhara brahmans in saugor. _hatgar_.--synonym of hatkar. _hatghar_.--subcaste of koshti. _hathgarhia_.--subcaste of kumhar, meaning one who moulds vessels with his hands only, without using the wheel as an implement. _hathia, hasti_.--(from _hathi_, elephant.) a section of ahir, chasa, mehra and mowar. _hatkar, hatgar_.--a caste. a subcaste of koshta and maratha. _hatwa_.--a small caste of pedlars and hawkers in the uriya country, who perambulate the village bazars or _hats_, from which word their name is derived. they sell tobacco, turmeric, salt, and other commodities. the caste are in reality a branch of the kewats, and are also called semli kewat, because their ancestors travelled on the mahanadi and other rivers in canoes made from the bark of the _semal_ tree (_bombax malabaricum_). they were thus kewats or boatmen who adopted the practice of carrying small articles up and down the river for sale in their canoes, and then beginning to travel on land as well as on water, became regular pedlars, and were differentiated into a separate caste. the caste originated in orissa where river travelling has until lately been much in vogue, and in sambalpur they are also known as uriyas, because of their recent immigration into this part of the country. the hatwas consider themselves to be descended from the nag or cobra, and say that they all belong to the nag _gotra_. they will not kill a cobra, and will save it from death at the hands of others if they have the opportunity, and they sometimes pay the snake-charmers to set free captive snakes. the oath on the snake is their most solemn form of affirmation. for the purposes of marriage they have a number of exogamous sections or _vargas_, the names of which in some cases indicate a military calling, as dalai, from dalpati, commander of an army, and senapati, commander-in-chief; while others are occupational, as maharana (painter), dwari (gatekeeper) and mangual (steersman of a boat). the latter names show, as might be expected, that the caste is partly of functional origin, while as regards the military names, the hatwas say that they formerly fought against the bhonslas, under one of the uriya chiefs. they say that they have the perpetual privilege of contributing sixteen poles, called naikas, for the car of jagannath, and that in lieu of this they hold seven villages in orissa revenue-free. those of them who use pack-bullocks for carrying their wares worship banjari devi, a deity who is held to reside in the sacks used for loading the bullocks; to her they offer sweetmeats and grain boiled with sugar. _havelia_.--(resident of a haveli or fertile wheat tract.) subcaste of ghosi and kurmi. _hawaidar_.--(a maker of fireworks.) synonym of kadera. _hela_.--(from _hela_, a cry.) subcaste of mehtar. _hichami_.--(a comb.) a sept of maria gonds. _hijra_.--(a eunuch.) see article. a subcaste of gondhali. _hindustani_.--subcaste of kunbi. _hira, hirani_.--(diamond.) a section of bhulia and of uriya sansia. _hirangotri_.--(_hiran_, deer.) a section of agarwal bania. _ho_.--synonym of kol. _holer_.--(a hide-curer.) subcaste of mang. _holia, holer_.--a caste. a subcaste of golar. holer, perhaps from holia, a subcaste of mang. _hudila_.--(wolf.) a totemistic sept of kawar. _hulhulia sahu_.--a section of chasa so named, because as a mark of respect they make the noise 'hulhuli,' when a king passes through the village. _huna, hoon_ or _hun_.--one of the thirty-six royal races of rajputs. probably descendants of the hun invaders of the fifth century. see articles rajput and panwar rajput. _husaini_.--subcaste of brahman. _ikbainha_.--a subcaste of kurmi, so called because their women put bangles on one arm only. _iksha kul_ or _ikshawap kul_.--a section of komti. they abstain from using the sugarcane and the _sendia_ flower. _ilakeband_.--(from _ilaqa_ or _alaqa_, meaning connection, and _bandhna_, to bind.) synonym of patwa. _inga_.--subcaste of gowari. _irpachi_.--(mahua flowers.) a sept of dhurwa gonds in betul. _ivna inde_.--(_inde_, chicken.) a sept of dhurwa gonds in betul. they offer chickens to their gods. _ivna jagleya_.--(_jagna_, to be awake.) a sept of the dhurwa clan of gonds in betul. they are so named because they kept awake to worship their gods at night. _jadam, jaduvansi, yadava_.--an important clan of rajputs now become a caste. name derived from yadu or yadava. a subcaste of gujar. a subcaste and section of ahir; a section of rathor rajputs in betul. _jadia, jaria_.--(an enameller.) a subcaste of sunar. they practise hypergamy by taking wives from the pitariye and sudihe subdivisions, and giving daughters to the sri nagariye and banjar mahuwe subdivisions. also an occupational term meaning one who sets precious stones in rings. _jadubansi, yadubansi_.--see jadum. a subcaste of ahir. _jaga_.--(awakener.) synonym of basdewa. _jagat_.--(an awakener or sorcerer.) a sept of gond in many localities. a section of nat and kasar. _jaharia_.--(from _jahar_, an essence.) subcaste of satnami. _jain_.--name of a religion. see article. a subcaste of kalar, kumbar and simpi (darzi). _jaina_.--(one who follows the jain faith.) subcaste of komti, gurao. _jain koshti_.--subcaste of koshti. _jaipuria_.--(a resident of jaipur.) subcaste of mali. _jaiswar_.--(from the old town of jais in rai bareli district.) a subcaste of chamars, who usually call themselves jaiswara in preference to their caste name. a subcaste of barai, kunbi and kalar. _jalalia_.--a class of fakirs or muhammadan beggars. _jaitwa_ or _kamari_.--a clan of rajputs; one of the thirty-six royal races mentioned by colonel tod. _jallad_.--(an executioner.) subcaste of kanjar. _jamadagni_.--an eponymous section of karhare brahman and agharia. _jambu_.--(from the _jaman_ tree.) a subcaste of brahman and marar. a sept of korku. _jambu dalia_.--(born in a shed made of _jaman_ branches.) a section of ghasia. _jamnabasi_.--(residing on the banks of the jumna.) a subcaste of dhobi. _jangam_.--a caste of saiva mendicants, who call themselves vir shaiva, and are priests of the lingayat sect; a subcaste of jogi. _jangra_.--(perhaps the same as jharia or jungly.) a subcaste of lodhi. a section of dhimar, mali and sunar. _jani_.--a wise man; an exorciser. _janta_.--(flour grinding-mill.) a section of panka, a sept of kawar. _janughanta_.--mendicants who tie bells to their thighs; a kind of jogis. _jaria_.--a totemistic section of basor, who worship the _ber_ or wild plum tree. _jasondhi, dasaundhi_.--a caste. a subcaste of bhat. _jasondhi, karohla_.--a small caste of the narsinghpur district, who were employed at the gond and maratha courts to sing the _jas_ or hymns in praise of the chiefs. they may be considered as a branch of the bhat caste, and some of them are said to be addicted to petty theft. some jasondhis, who are also known as karohla, now wander about as religious mendicants, singing the praises of devi. they carry an image of the goddess suspended by a chain round the neck and ask for gifts of _tilli_ (sesamum) or other vegetable oil, which they pour over their heads and over the image. their clothes and bodies are consequently always saturated with this oil. they also have a little cup of vermilion which they smear on the goddess and on their own bodies after receiving an offering. they call on devi, saying, '_maiji, maiji mata meri, kahe ko janam diya_' or 'mother, mother, why did you bring me into the world?' women who have no children sometimes vow to dedicate their first-born son as a karohla, and it is said that such children were bound to sacrifice themselves to the goddess on attaining manhood in one of three ways. either they went to benares and were cut in two by a sword, or else to badrinarayan, a shrine on the summit of the himalayas, where they were frozen to death, or to dhaolagiri, where they threw themselves down from a rock, and one might occasionally escape death. their melancholy refrain may thus be explained by the fate in store for them. the headquaters of the order is the shrine of the bindhyachal devi in the vindhyan hills. _jat_.--a caste. one of the thirty-six royal races of rajputs. a subcaste of barhai, bishnoi and kumhar. _jatadhari_.--(with matted hair.) a sect of celibate manbhaos. _jati_.--name of jain mendicant ascetics. _jaunpuri_.--(from jaunpur.) a subcaste of halwai and lohar. _jemadar_.--honorific title of khangar and mehtar. _jemadarin_.--title of the female leaders of the yerukala communities of thieves. _jera_.--(a forked stick for collecting thorny wood.) a section of dangi. _jhadi, jhade, jharia, jharkua_. (jungly.)--a name often applied to the oldest residents of a caste in any locality of the central provinces. in berar it is used to designate the wainganga valley and adjacent hill ranges. a subcaste of ahir, barai, barhai, chamar, dhangar, dhanwar, dhobi, gadaria, gurao, kapewar, kasar, katia, kewat, khatik, khond, kirar, kumhar, kunbi, kurmi, mahar, mali, nai, sunar, teli and turi. _jhadukar_.--(from _jhadu_, a broom.) a synonym of mehtar. _jhal_ or _jhala_.--one of the thirty-six royal races of rajputs. a subcaste of raj-gond. _jhankar_.--name of a village priest in the uriya country. the jhankar is usually a binjhwar or member of another primitive tribe. _jhara, jhira, jhora_.--synonym of sonjhara. _jharha_.--subcaste of lodhi. _jharia_.--(jungly.) see jhadi. _jharola_.--(perhaps from the town of jhalor in marwar.) a subcaste of brahmans in jubbulpore. _jhinga_.--(a prawn-catcher.) subcaste of dhimar. _jijhotia_ or _jujhotia_.--(from jajhoti, the old name of the country of lalitpur and saugor.) a subcaste of brahmans of the kanaujia division. a subcaste of ahir; a section of joshi and kumhar. _jildgar_.--(a bookbinder.) a class of _mochi._ _jingar._--(a saddlemaker.) a class of mochi. a subcaste of chamar and of simpi (darzi). _jirayat_.--synonym for mochis in berar who have taken up the finer kinds of ironwork, such as mending guns, etc. _jire-mali._--formerly was the only subcaste of mali who would grow cumin or _jira_. _jiria_.--(from _jira_, or cumin.) subcaste of kachhi. _jogi, jugi_. a caste. a subcaste of dewar. a section of chamar, chhipa and lohar. _joharia_.--(from _johar_, a form of salutation.) subcaste of dahaits in bilaspur. _johri_.--a subcaste of rajput. _jokhara_.--a small class of muhammadans who breed leeches and apply them to patients, the name being derived from _jonk_, a leech. they were not separately classified at the census, but a few families of them are found in burhanpur, and they marry among themselves, because no other muhammadans will marry with them. in other parts of india leeches are kept and applied by sweepers and sometimes by their women. [445] people suffering from boils, toothache, swellings of the face, piles and other diseases have leeches applied to them. for toothache the leeches are placed inside the mouth on the gum for two days in succession. there are two kinds of leeches known as bhainsa-jonk, the large or buffalo-leech, and rai-jonk, the small leech. they are found in the mud of stagnant tanks and in broken-down wells, and are kept in earthen vessels in a mixture of black soil and water; and in this condition they will go without food for months and also breed. some patients object to having their blood taken out of the house, and in such cases powdered turmeric is given to the leeches to make them disgorge, and the blood of the patient is buried inside the house. the same means is adopted to prevent the leeches from dying of repletion. in gujarat the jokharas are a branch of the hajjam or muhammadan barber caste, [446] and this recalls the fact that the barber chirurgeon or surgeon in mediæval england was also known as the leech. it would be natural to suppose that he was named after the insect which he applied, but murray's dictionary holds that the two words were derived from separate early english roots, and were subsequently identified by popular etymology. _jondhara_.--(indian millet.) a totemistic sept of korku and halba. _joshi_.--(an astrologer.) a caste. a surname of karhara brahmans. _juthia_.--(one who eats the leavings of others.) subcaste of basor. _jyotishi_.--a synonym for joshi; an astrologer. _kabiraya_.--(followers of kabir.) a subcaste of kori. a section of koshti. _kabirpanthi_.--a member of the kabirpanthi sect. a subcaste of panka and agharia. a class of bairagis or religious mendicants. _kabra_.--(spotted.) one of the 72 1/2 sections of maheshri bania. _kabutari_.--(pigeon.) a synonym for kolhati. a name given to female dancers of the nat caste. _kabutkunia_.--(those who find place at the corner of the door.) a subcaste of sudh in sambalpur, being the illegitimate issues of the baro sudh subcaste. _kachara_.--synonym of kachera. _kachchhi_.--(from cutch in gujarat.) a subdivision of balmiki kayasths and mathur kayasths. _kachhap_.--(tortoise.) a totemistic sept of agharia, sudh, bhulia, chasa, kamar and khandait. _kachhotia_.--subcaste of jadam. _kachhutva_.--(the tortoise.) a totemistic sept of several groups of gonds, also of darzi, halba, kol, rawat, munda, jat, kachhi and lohar. _kachhwaha_.--(the tortoise.) one of the thirty-six royal races of rajputs, the princes of jaipur or amber being of this clan. they derive the name from cutch, or from kush, an eponymous ancestor. a section of nandbansi ahir, gadaria, kachhi and nat. the kachhwaha section of gadarias worship the tortoise. _kada-kalle-bhallavi._--one who uses donkeys for pack-carriage (_bhallavi_), but stole a horse (_kalle-kada_). a sept of the dhurwa clan of satdeve gonds in betul. _kagar_.--synonym of dhimar. _kagwaria_.--from _kagwar_, an offering made to the ancestors in the month of kunwar. subcaste of kol. _kaibartta_.--synonym of kewat. _kaikadi_.--synonym of kaikari. _kainthwans_.--a subcaste of pasi in saugor and betul, said to have originated in a cross between a badhak or baori, and a kayasth woman. _kaith_.--synonym for kayasth. _kaitha, kaithia_.--subcaste of bharbhunja and darzi. _kakra_.--one who arranges for the lighting at the marriage and other ceremonies. subcaste of chitrakathi. _kala_.--(black.) a subcaste of golkar (ahir. _kalachuri_.--synonym for the haihaya clan of rajputs. _kalanga_.--a caste. a subcaste of gond. _kalanki_.--a subdivision of maharashtra brahmans found in nagpur. they are considered degraded, as their name indicates. they are said to have cut up a cow made of flour to please a muhammadan governor, and to follow some other muhammadan practices. _kalapithia_,--(having black backs.) a subcaste of savars in puri of orissa. they have the right of dragging the car of jagannath. _kalawant_.--title of mirasi. _kalbelia_.--(catcher of snakes.) a subcaste of nat. _kalibelia_.--(_bel_, an ox.) a section of chadar. they draw a picture of an ox at their weddings. _kalihari_.--(bridle.) a section of teli in nandgaon, so named because they presented a bridle to their king. _kalkhor_.--(castor-oil plant.) a totemistic sept of the audhalia caste. _kalutia, kalota_.--a subtribe of gonds in chanda and betul. _kalwar_.--synonym of kalar. _kamad._ [447]--a small caste of jugglers, who come from rajputana and travel about in the hoshangabad and nimar districts. they were not returned at the census, and appear to belong to rajputana. their special entertainment consists in playing with cymbals, and women are the chief performers. the woman has eight or nine cymbals secured to her legs before and behind, and she strikes these rapidly in turn with another held in her hand, twisting her body skilfully so as to reach all of them, and keeping time with the music played on guitar-like instruments by the men who accompany her. if the woman is especially skilful, she will also hold a naked sword in her mouth, so as to increase the difficulty of the performance. the kamads dress after the rajputana fashion, and wear yellow ochre-coloured clothes. their exogamous sections have rajput names, as chauhan, panwar, gudesar, jogpal and so on, and like the rajputs they send a cocoanut-core to signify a proposal for marriage. but the fact that they have a special aversion to dhobis and will not touch them makes it possible that they originated from the dom caste, who share this prejudice. [448] reason has been found to suppose that the kanjars, kolhatis and other migrant groups of entertainers are sprung from the doms, and the kamads may be connected with these. no caste, not even the sweepers, will accept food from the kamads. they employ a brahman, however, to officiate at their marriage and death ceremonies. like the gosains the kamads bury their dead in a sitting posture, a niche being hollowed out at the side of the grave in which the corpse is placed. crushed bread (_malida_) and a gourd full of water are laid beside the corpse. the caste worship the footprints of ramdeo, a saint of marwar, and pay special reverence to the goddess hinglaj, who is a deity of several castes in rajputana. _kamalbansi_.--(stock of the lotus.) subcaste of kawar. _kamal kul_.--(lotus.) a section of komti. they do not use lotus roots nor yams. _kamari, kailwa_.--one of the thirty-six royal races of rajputs. _kamaria_.--(from _kambal_, blanket.) a subcaste of ahir. a section of dhimar and sonkar. _kamathi, kamati_.--a term applied in the maratha districts to immigrants from madras. it is doubtful whether the kamathis have become a caste, but about 150 persons returned this name as their caste in the central provinces and berar in 1911, and there are about 7000 in india, none, however, being recorded from the madras presidency. it is stated that the word kamathi means 'fool' in tamil, and that in bombay all telugus are called kamathis, to whatever caste they may belong. similarly, maratha immigrants into madras are known by the generic name of arya, [449] and those coming from hindustan into the nerbudda valley as pardeshi, while in the same locality the brahmans and rajputs of central india are designated by the marathas as rangra. this term has the signification of rustic or boorish, and is therefore a fairly close parallel to kamathi, if the latter word has the meaning given above. in the thana district of bombay [450] people of many classes are included under the name of kamathi. though they do not marry or even eat together, the different classes of kamathis have a strong feeling of fellowship, and generally live in the same quarter of the town. in the central provinces the kamathis are usually masons and house-builders or labourers. they speak telugu in their houses and marathi to outsiders. in sholapur [451] the kamathis dress like kunbis. they are bound together by a strong caste feeling, and appear to have become a regular caste. their priests are telugu brahmans, and their ceremonies resemble those of kunbis. on the third day after a child is born the midwife lifts it up for the first time, and it is given a few light blows on the back. for three days the child sucks one end of a rag the other end of which rests in a saucer of honey, and the mother is fed on rice and clarified butter. on the fourth day the mother begins to suckle the child. until the mother is pregnant a second time, no _choti_ or scalp-lock is allowed to grow on the child's head. when she becomes pregnant, she is taken with the child before the village god, and a tuft of hair is thereafter left to grow on the crown of its head. _kamma._--a large cultivating caste of the madras presidency, of which a few representatives were returned from the chanda district in 1911. they are derived from the same dravidian stock as the other great cultivating castes of madras, and, originally soldiers by profession, have now settled down to agriculture. no description of the caste need be given here, but the following interesting particulars may be recorded. the word kamma means an ear ornament, and according to tradition a valuable jewel of this kind belonging to a raja of warangal fell into the hands of his enemies. one section of the great kapu caste, boldly attacking the foe and recovering the jewel, were hence called kamma, while another section, which ran away, received the derogatory title of velama (_veli_, away). another story says that the kammas and velamas were originally one caste, and had adopted the muhammadan system of _gosha_ or _purda_. but finding that they were thus handicapped in competition with the other cultivating castes, it was proposed that the new custom should be abandoned. those who agreed to this signed a bond, which was written on a palm-leaf (_kamma_), and hence received their new name. in the central provinces the kammas are divided into three subcastes, the illuvellani or those who do not go out of the house, the tadakchatu or those who live within _tadaks_ or mat screens, and the polumtir or those who go into the fields. these names are derived from the degrees in which the different subdivisions seclude their women, the illuvellani observing strict _purda_ and the polumtir none whatever, while the tadakchatu follow a middle course. on this account some social difference exists between the three subcastes, and when the illuvellani dine with either of the other two they will not eat from the plates of their hosts, but take their food separately on a leaf. and the tadakchatu practise a similar distinction with the polumtir, but the two latter divisions do not decline to eat from plates or vessels belonging to an illuvellani. the kammas forbid a man to marry in the _gotra_ or family group to which he belongs, but a wife from the same _gotra_ as his mother's is considered a most desirable match, and if his maternal uncle has a daughter he should always take her in marriage. a man is even permitted to marry his own sister's daughter, but he may not wed his mother's sister's daughter, who is regarded as his own sister. among the kammas of the tamil country mr. (sir h.) stuart [452] states that a bride is often much older than her husband, and a case is cited in which a wife of twenty-two years of age used to carry her boy-husband on her hip as a mother carries her child. one other curious custom recorded of the caste may be noticed. a woman dying within the lifetime of her husband is worshipped by her daughters, granddaughters or daughters-in-law, and in their absence by her husband's second wife if he has one. the ceremony is performed on some festival such as dasahra or til-sankrant, when a brahman lady, who must not be a widow, is invited and considered to represent the deceased ancestor. she is anointed and washed with turmeric and saffron, and decorated with sandal-paste and flowers; a new cloth and breast-cloth are then presented to her which she puts on; sweets, fruit and betel-leaf are offered to her, and the women of the family bow down before her and receive her benediction, believing that it comes from their dead relative. _kammala._--a small telugu caste in the chanda district. the name kammala is really a generic term applied to the five artisan castes of kamsala or goldsmith, kanchara or brazier, kammara or blacksmith, vadra or carpenter, and silpi or stone-mason. these are in reality distinct castes, but they are all known as kammalas. the kammalas assert that they are descended from visva karma, the architect of the gods, and in the telugu country they claim equality with brahmans, calling themselves visva brahmans. but inscriptions show that as late as the year a.d. 1033 they were considered a very inferior caste and confined to the village site. [453] mr. (sir h.) stuart writes in the _madras census report_ that it is not difficult to account for the low position formerly held by the kammalas, for it must be remembered that in early times the military castes in india as elsewhere looked down upon all engaged in labour, whether skilled or otherwise. with the decline of military power, however, it was natural that a useful caste like the kammalas should gradually improve its position, and the reaction from this long oppression has led them to make the exaggerated claims described above, which are ridiculed by every other caste, high or low. the five main subdivisions of the caste do not intermarry. they have priests of their own and do not allow even brahmans to officiate for them, but they invite brahmans to their ceremonies. girls must be married before puberty. the binding ceremony of the marriage consists in the tying of a circular piece of gold on a thread of black beads round the bride's neck by the bridegroom. widow-marriage is prohibited. _kammari._--telugu lohars or blacksmiths. _kamsala._--(a goldsmith.) subcaste of kammala. _kanalsia._--(_kanelu_, a tile.) a section of ahir in nimar who do not live in tiled huts. _kanare._--(a resident of canara.) a subcaste of dhangar. _kanaujia, kankubja._--a very common subcaste name, indicating persons whose ancestors are supposed to have come from the town of kanauj in northern india, into the central provinces. a subcaste of ahir, bahna, bharbhunja, bhat, brahman, dahait, darzi, dhobi, halwai, lohar, mali, nai, patwa, sunar and teli. _kanbajia_ or _ahirwar._--same as kanaujia. subcaste of chamar. _kanchara._--(a brassworker.) subcaste of kammala. _kand._--(roots or tubers of wild plants.) a section of raghuvansi rajputs in hoshangabad. _kanda potel_.--(one who grows roots.) a section of mali. _kande_.--subcaste of bedar. _kandera_.--synonym for kadera. subcaste of bahna. _kandh_.--synonym of khond. a subcaste of taonla in sambalpur. _kandhana_.--subcaste of khond. _kandhia_.--(a big-beaked vulture.) a sept of dhanwar. _kandia_.--(_kandi_, a shell, also a snake.) a section of teli in betul. _kandol_.--a subcaste of brahmans, who take their name from the village kandol, in kathiawar. _kandra_.--a small caste of bamboo-workers in the uriya country, akin to the basors elsewhere. members of the caste are found in small numbers in the raipur and balaghat districts. the word kandra may be derived from _kand_, an arrow, just as dhanuk, often a synonym for basor, has the meaning of an archer. it is not improbable that among the first articles made of bamboo were the bow and arrow of the forest tribes, and that the bow-maker was the parent of the modern basor or basket-maker, bows being a requisite of an earlier stage of civilisation than baskets. in bhandara the kandras are an offshoot of gonds. their women do not wear their cloths over the head, and knot their hair behind without plaiting it. they talk a gondi dialect and are considered an impure caste. _kandu_.--(a grain-parcher.) a synonym and subcaste of bharbhunja. a subcaste of halwai. _kandua_.--(from _kand_, onion, as they eat onions.) a subcaste of bharbhunja. _kanera_.--(from the _kaner_ tree.) a totemistic section of ganda and khangar. _kangali_.--(poor.) a common sept of gonds. _kanhejin_.--subcaste of banjara. _kanhpuria_.--(from cawnpore, which was founded by their eponymous hero kanh.) a clan of rajputs. _kanjar_.--a caste of gipsies. a subcaste of banjara. _kankubja_.--see kanaujia. _kannow_.--a sectarian division of brahmans. _kanphata_.--(one who has his ears bored or pierced.) a class of jogi mendicants. _kansari_.--synonym of kasar. _kanwar_.--synonym of kawar. _kanwarbansi_.--a subtribe of khairwar. _kaonra_ or _kora_.--a caste. a subcaste of ahir. _kaore_.--a sept of gonds. a surname of maratha brahmans. _kapalia_.--(covered with skulls.) a section of telis in betul. _kaparia_.--(from _kapra_ cloth, owing to their wearing several dresses, which they change rapidly like the bahrupia.) synonym of basdewa. _kapasia_.--(from _kapas_, cotton.) a section of mahar. _kapdi_.--synonym of basdewa. _kapur_.--(camphor.) a section of khatri. _kapuria_.--a subdivision of arhaighar saraswat brahmans in hoshangabad, probably deriving their title from being the priests of the kapur section of khatris. _karai nor_.--a section of basor. they perform the meher ceremony of eating the marriage cakes near a well and not in the house. _karait_.--(a poisonous snake.) a section of ahir, halba and panka. _karan_ (mahanti).--a caste. a subcaste of kayasth. an eponymous section of binjhwar and tanti. _karaola_.--(one who pours sesamum oil on his clothes and begs.) synonym for jasondhi and bhat. _karbal_.--subcaste of khangar. _karchuli_.--a clan of rajputs, formerly a ruling race in the jubbulpore country. see rajput-haihaya. a section of joshi and mochi. _kare, karia_.--(black.) a subcaste of marar. a section of binjhwar, ahir, chhipa and lodhi. _karela_.--(bitter gourd.) a section of sonkar. _karhada_.--a subcaste of maharashtra brahmans deriving their name from karhad, near the junction of the krishna and koyana rivers, about fifteen miles from satara. _karhaiya_.--(frying-pan.) a section of raghuvansi. _karigar_.--(a workman.) an honorific title of barhai and lohar. a subcaste and synonym of beldar. _karijat_.--subcaste of pardhi. the members of this subcaste only kill birds of a black colour. _karkarkadhe_.--(stone-diggers.) subcaste of mang. _karnam_.--synonym of karan, a palm-leaf writer. _karnata, karnataka_.--one of the five orders of panch dravida or southern brahmans, inhabiting the canarese country. _karnati_.--(from the carnatic.) synonym for a class of nats or acrobats. _karohla_.--a religious mendicant who wanders about singing praises of devi. see jasondhi. _karpachor_.--(stealer of straw.) a sept of the uika clan of gonds in betul. _karsayal_.--(a deer.) a sept of the kawar tribe. also a sept of ahir, bhaina, dhobi in chhattisgarh, kewat, lohar and turi. _karsi_.--(from _kalas_, a pitcher.) a totemistic sept of kawar. they do not drink water from a red jar on the akti festival. _karwa_.--subcaste of kunbi. _karwar_.--(an oar.) a section of dangi in damoh. a section of kawar. _kasai_.--a caste of butchers. name applied to banjaras. _kasar_.--a caste. a subdivision of audhia sunar. a section of kewat. _kasarwani_.--a subcaste of bania. _kasaundhan_.--a subcaste of bania. _kasda_.--(one who hides himself in the bed of the river.) a sept of korku; a man of this sept has the privilege of directing the ceremony for the readmission of an outcaste. _kasdhonia_.--a subcaste of dhimar. they wash the sand in the sacred rivers for coins thrown there by pilgrims, and dive into water to find lost ornaments or gold. _kasera_.--synonym of kasar. _kashi_.--(benares.) a section of agharia, ahir, dhuri, kewat, kurmi and mali. _kashyap_.--name of a famous rishi or saint. the name may perhaps be really derived from _kachhap_, a tortoise. one of the common eponymous sections of brahmans. also a section of barai, bari, beldar, bharbhunja, bhulia, binjhwar, chandnahu kurmi, gond, jangam, joshi, kalar, kasar, kasarwani bania, khangar, nai, rajput, sunar. some castes say that they are all of the kashyap _gotra_ or section, the tortoise being considered a common ancestor of mankind, because it supports the world. _kasia_.--(kansa, or bell-metal.) a section of chamar. they draw a picture of a bell-metal dish at their weddings. _kasondhi_.--a subcaste of bania. _kassab, kassia_.--(a butcher.) synonym of kasai. _kast_.--a small caste found in the maratha districts and bombay, who appear to be a separate or inferior group of the kayasths. in chanda they work as patwaris and clerks to moneylenders, while some are merchants and landholders. like the kayasths, they wash their pens and inkstands on the dasahra festival and worship them. their principal deity is the god venkatesh, a maratha incarnation of vishnu. in bombay the kasts claim to be yajur-vedi brahmans, dress like them and keep the regular brahman ceremonies. [454] but they are considered to be half marathas and half brahmans, and strict deshasth and kokanasth brahmans hold their touch unclean. [455] _katare_.--(_katar_, dagger.) a surname of sanadhya brahmans in saugor. a section of agarwal and oswal bania, chhattisgarhi ahir or rawat, chadar and basor. the katare sept of basors worship a dagger. _katharia_.--(from kathibar, the old name of eastern rohilkhand.) a section of gadaria and kasar. _kathbhaina_;--subcaste of baiga in bilaspur. _kathi_.--a rajput clan included in the thirty-six royal races of rajputs. originally an indigenous tribe of gujarat, who gave their name to kathiawar. _kathia_.--name of an akhara or school of bairagi religious mendicants. see bairagi. _kathotia_.--(_kathotia_, a wooden bowl.) a section of darzi. _kati_ or _khatti_.--subcaste of bhuiya. _katia_.--a cast of spinners. a subcaste of balahi and mahar. _kattri_.--subcaste of are. _katwa_.--(from _katna_, to cut.) synonym of katia and chamar. _kaur_.--synonym of kawar. _kaushalya_.--(from koshal, the name of a famous rishi or saint.) a section of agarwal bania, darzi, lodhi and khatri sunar. _kaushik_.--the name of a rishi or saint. an eponymous section of brahmans. a section of ahir, dhobi, rajput, sunar and other castes. _kaviraj_.--title of a bhat who has the qualification of literacy, and can therefore read the old sanskrit medical works. a physician. _kayasth patwa_.--a subcaste of patwa in hoshangabad and saugor. _kekre_.--subcaste of gujar. _kesaria_.--(from _kesar_, saffron.) a section of ahir and gadaria. _kewat_.--a caste. a subcaste of dhimar and mallah. _khad_.--subcaste of mana. _khadal_.--a caste of palanquin-carriers. _khadal_ [456] (honorific titles _nayak_ and _behera_).--a small dravidian caste of labourers in the uriya country. in 1901 they numbered 1200 persons and resided principally in the patna and sonpur states now transferred to bengal. the khadals are probably an offshoot of the great bauri caste of bengal, with which the members of the caste in patna admitted their identity, though elsewhere they deny it. their traditional occupations of palanquin-bearing and field labour are identical with those of the bauris, as stated by sir h. risley. [457] the name khadal is a functional one, denoting persons who work with a hoe. the khadals have totemistic exogamous groups, the kilasi sept worshipping a tree, the julsi and kandualsi sept a snake-hole, and balunasi a stone and others the sun. each sept salutes the revered object or totem on seeing it, and those who worship trees will not burn them or stand in their shade. when a marriage takes place they worship the totem and offer to it flowers, sandalwood, vermilion, uncooked rice, and the new clothes and ornaments intended for the bride, which she may not wear until this ceremony has been performed. another curious custom adopted by the khadals in imitation of the hindus is that of marrying adult boys and girls, for whom a partner has not been found, to a tree. but this does not occur when they arrive at puberty as among hindu castes, but when a boy still unmarried becomes thirty years old and a girl twenty. in such a case he or she is married to a mango, cotton or _jamun_ tree, and after this no second ceremony need be performed on subsequent union with a wife or husband. a widower must pay rs. 10, or double the usual price, for a second wife, owing to the risk of her death being caused by the machinations of the first wife's spirit. when a corpse has been buried or burnt the mourners each take a twig of mango and beat about in the grass to start a grasshopper. having captured one they wrap it in a piece of new cloth, and coming home place it beside the family god. this they call bringing back the life of the soul, and consider that the ceremony procures salvation for the dead. the khadals are usually considered as impure, but those of sonpur have attained a somewhat higher status. _khadia_.--(a kind of snake.) a section of ahir and raghuvansi. a sept of nahal. _khadra_, [458] _khadura_ or _kharura_.--a small uriya caste whose occupation is to make brass ornaments. they are immigrants from cuttack and say that they are called there sankhari, so that the khadras may not improbably be an offshoot of the sankhari caste of shell-cutters of bengal. according to their traditions their original ancestor was created by viswakarma, the celestial architect, for the business of making a pinnacle for the temple of jagannath at puri, in which eight metals had to be combined. he left two sons, one of whom became the ancestor of the khadras, and the other of the kasars, with whom the khadras thus claim affinity. they have no subcastes but four _gotras_ or clans called after the nag or cobra, the singh or lion, and kasyap and kachchap, both derived from the tortoise. they also have four _bargas_ or family names, which are patra (a term of respect), das (slave), sao (banker) and maharana (artificer). the groups are supposed to be descended from four families who migrated from curtack. neither _bargas_ nor _gotras_ are now considered in the arrangement of marriages, which are prohibited between blood relatives for three generations. marriage is infant, and a girl arriving at puberty while still unwed is permanently expelled from the caste. the khadras still follow the old rule of writing the _lagun_ or date of the marriage on a palm-leaf, with which they send rs. 10-4 as a bride-price to the girl's father, the acceptance of this constituting a confirmation of the betrothal. the marriage ceremony resembles that of the other uriya castes, and the khadras have the rite called _badapani_ or breaking the bachelorhood. a little water brought from seven houses is sprinkled over the bridegroom and his loin-cloth is then snatched away, leaving him naked. in this state he runs towards his own house, but some boys are posted at a little distance who give him a new cloth. widow-marriage and divorce are permitted, but the hand of a widow must not be sought so long as she remains in her late husband's house, and does not return to her father. when a bachelor marries a widow he must first perform the regular ceremony with a leaf-cup filled with flowers, after which he can take the widow as his second wife. all important agreements are confirmed by a peculiar custom called _heskani_. a deer-skin is spread on the ground before the caste committee, and the person making the agreement bows before it a number of times. to break an agreement made by the _heskani_ rite is believed to involve terrible calamities. the khadras eat the flesh of animals and fish but not that of birds, and they do not drink country liquor. when an estate is to be partitioned the eldest son first takes a tenth of the whole in right of primogeniture and the remainder is then divided equally. the khadras rank as an artisan caste of somewhat low status. _khadura_.--synonym of khadra. _khaijraha_.--(a resident of khaira, a town in central india.) subcaste of chamar. _khair, khaira_.--(from _khair_, catechu or the catechu tree. a maker of catechu.) synonym for khairwar. _khairchura_.--(carechu preparer.) a subcaste of khairwar. _khaire_.--a subcaste of are (gondhali), kanbi and oraon. _khairwar_.--a catechu-making caste. a section of chamar. _khaiyaware_.--(_khai_, ditch; owing to their houses having been originally built on the ditch of hatta fort.) a section of beldar sonkars in damoh. _khaki_.--(from _khak_, ashes.) a class of bairagi, or religious mendicants. _khalifa_.--(lord.) an honorific title for darzis or tailors, and muhammadan barbers. _khaltaha_.--subcaste of ghasia. _khaltati_.--(illegitimate.) subcaste of andh. _khaltia_.--subcaste of basdewa. _khamari_.--(farmservant.) a section of kolta. _khambi_.--(one who hides behind the graveyard.) a sept of korku. _khanda_.--(a sword.) a section of panka and mahar. _khandait_.--(a swordsman.) an uriya caste. a subcaste of sansia, taonla and chasa. also a name of koltas in cuttack. _khandapatra_.--(one who cleans swords.) a section of khandwal. _khandapi_.--(_khanda_, a sword.) a sept of the dhurwa clan of sahdeve or six-god gonds in betul, named after the sword of raja durga shah by which a victory was gained over the muhammadans. _khandele_.--(from _khanda_, sword.) a section of raghuvansi rajputs in hoshangabad. _khandelwal_.--a subcaste of bania. _khandeshi_.--(a resident of khandesh.) a territorial subcaste of darzi, joshi, mahar and mang. _khanne, khanna_.--a subdivision of chargarh saraswat brahmans in hoshangabad, probably deriving their name from being priests of the khanna section of khatris. a section of khatri. _khanonkha_.--(a kind of basket to catch birds with.) a totemistic sept of rautia kawars in bilaspur. _kharadi_.--(a turner, one who turns woodwork on a lathe.) a synonym of kundera and barhai. _kharchi_.--bastard marathas forming a separate division as distinguished from the khasi or pure marathas. _khare_.--a subdivision of srivastab, gaur and saksena kayasths, meaning those of pure descent. _khari bind kewat_.--title of the murha caste. _kharodia_.--(a resident of kharod in bilaspur.) a subcaste of nunia. _kharsisjha_.--(maker of cowdung cakes.) a section of mali. _kharwade_.--(refuse.) a subcaste of simpi or maratha darzi (tailor) originally formed of excommunicated members of the caste, but now occupying a position equal to other subcastes in nagpur. _kharwar_.--synonym of the khairwar tribe. subcaste of chero and kol. _khasi_.--a subdivision of marathas, meaning those born in wedlock. _khasua_.--(a eunuch.) synonym of hijra. _khati_.--(from the sanskrit _kskatri_, one who cuts.) a subcaste of barhai and lohar. _khatik_.--a caste. synonym of chikwa. a subcaste of pasi in saugor, said to have originated in a cross between a bauri and a khatik woman. _khatkudia_.--(illegitimate.) a section of teli in betul. _khatri_.--a caste. a subcaste of chhipa and of sunar in narsinghpur. _khatua_.--(having a cot.) a section of the hatwa caste. _khatulha_ or _khatola_.--a subtribe of gond. _khatulwar_.--a subtribe of gonds in chanda, the same as the khatulha of the northern districts. _khawas_.--a title of nai or barber. a subcaste of dhuri. a section of halba. _khedawal_.--a subcaste of gujarati brahmans. they take their name from kheda or kaira, a town in gujarat. _khedule_.--from _kheda_, a village. subcaste of kunbi. _khendro_.--subcaste of oraon. _kheralawala_.--an immigrant from kherala in malwa. subcaste of rangrez. _kherawal_.--see khedawal. _kheti_.--(cultivation.) a section of dumal. _khewat_.--synonym of kewat. _khichi_.--a clan of rajputs, a branch of the sesodia clan. _khoba_.--(sticks for fencing the grain-store.) a sept of kawar; they abstain from using these sticks. _khoksa_.--(a kind of fish.) a totemistic sept of rautia kawar in bilaspur. _khuntia_.--a subcaste of agaria. one who uses a _khunti_ or peg to fix the bellows in the ground for smelting iron. a sept of savars. (those who bury their dead on a high place.) _khursam_.--a sept of pardhan and dhur gond. _khutha_.--(impure.) a section of tamera in mandla. _khyaurokar_.--(one who shaves, from _kshaur_, to shave.) a synonym of nai or bhandari. _kilanaya_.--(_kilna,_ a dog-house.) a nickname section of ahir. _kilkila_.--(the kingfisher.) a sept of khairwar. _killibusum_.--(one who eats dead animals.) a sept of korku. _kindra_.--(one who hides behind a tree.) a sept of korku. _kirachi_ or _karachi_.--a sept of gonds of raipur and betul. _kirad_.--synonym of kirar. _kirahiboijir_.--(a kind of fruit.) a section of teli in nandgaon. _kirar_.--a caste. synonym dhakar. a subcaste of kachhi. a section of khatik. _kirnakha_.--a sept of gonds in chanda. _kirvant_ or _kilvant_.--a subdivision of maharashtra brahmans in khairagarh. the name is said to be derived from _kira_, an insect, because they kill insects in working their betel-vine gardens. another explanation is that the name is really kriyavant, and that they are so called because they conducted _kriya_ or funeral services, an occupation which degraded them. a third form of the name is _kramwant_ or reciters of the veda. _kisan_.--(a cultivator.) oraons are commonly known by this name in chota nagpur and gonds in mandla and other districts. a section of marar, rawat or ahir, and savar. _koathia_.--a section of bais rajputs. _kochia_.--perhaps a name for bahnas or cotton cleaners. _kodjet_.--(a conqueror of crores of people.) a section of bhulia. _kohistani_.--(a dweller on mountains.) a section of pathan. _kohkatta_.--a sept of gonds in khairagarh. _kohri_.--a synonym for the kohli caste. _koi_.--a class of gonds. _koikopal_.--a subcaste of gond. _koilabhut_ or _koilabhuti_.--a subtribe of gonds. their women are prostitutes. _koiri_.--a synonym of the murao caste. _koitur_.--a synonym for gond. the name by which the gonds call themselves in many districts. _kokonasth_ or _chitpavan_.--a subcaste of maharashtra brahmans inhabiting the konkan country. chitpavan means the pure in heart. _koksinghia_.--_(koka,_ the brahmani duck.) a subsection of the pardhan section of koltas. _kol_.--a tribe. subcaste of dahait. _kolabhut_.--a name for gonds. _kolam_.--a tribe. a subtribe of gonds in chanda. _kolchar_.--a clan of maratha. _kolia_.--(from _kolu_, oil-press.) a section of teli in betul. _koliha_.--(jackal.) a section of panwar rajput, chamar and kawar. _kolita_, _kulta_.--synonyms of kolta. _kolta_.--a caste. a subcaste of chasa. _kolya_.--(one who hides behind a jackal-hole.) a sept of korku. _komalwar_.--(_komal_, soft.) a section of kurumwar. _komati_.--synonym of komti. _kommu_.--(a story-teller.) subcaste of madgi. _kondawar_.--(_konda_, a mountain.) a section of palewar dhimar and koshti in chanda. _kondwan_ or _kundi_.--a name of a tract south of the mahanadi which is called after the khond tribe, and was formerly owned by them. subcaste of baiga. _korai_.--a subcaste of ahir or rawat in bilaspur. _koraku_.--(young men.) subcaste of korwa. _koratkul_.--a section of komti; they do not eat the _kumhra_ or pumpkin. _korava_.--synonym of yerukala. _korchamar_.--a descendant of alliances between chamars and koris or weavers. subcaste of chamar. _kori_.--a caste. a subcaste of balahi, jaiswara chamar and katia. _korku_.--a tribe. a subtribe of nahal. _korre_.--(residents of the korai hill-tract in seoni.) subcaste of injhwar. _kosaria_.--a subcaste of rawat or ahir, barai, dhobi, kalar, mali, panka and teli; a section of chamar and gond. _koshti_, _koshta_.--a caste of weavers. see article. a subcaste of katia and bhulia. _koskati_.--a subcaste of koshti. _kothari_--(a store-keeper, from _kotha_, a store-room.) a section of oswal and maheshri banias. _kotharya_.--(a store-keeper.) subcaste of chitrakathi. _kotwal_.--(keeper of a castle, or a village watchman.) honorific title of the khangar caste. a surname of yajurvedi brahmans in saugor. a section of halba. _kotwar_.--a person holding the office of village watchman. this post is usually assigned to members of the lowest or impure castes derived from the aboriginal tribes, such as the mahars, ramosis, gandas, pankas, minas and khangars. some of these were or still are much addicted to crime. the name _kotwar_ appears to be a corruption of _kotwal_, the keeper or guardian of a _kot_ or castle. under native rule the kotwal was the chief of police in important towns, and the central police office in some towns is still called the kotwali after him. in some villages there are still to be found both a kotwal and a kotwar; in this case the former performs the duties of watch and ward of the village, and the latter has the menial work of carrying messages, collecting supplies and so on. both are paid by fixed annual contributions of grain from the cultivators. in hoshangabad the kotwar is allowed to glean for a day in the fields of each tenant after the crop has been removed. it would appear that the kotwar was chosen from the criminal castes as a method of insurance. the kotwar was held responsible for the good behaviour of his caste-fellows, and was often under the obligation of making good any property stolen by them. and if a theft occurred in another village and the thief was traced into the borders of the kotwar's village he was bound to take up the pursuit and show that the thief had passed beyond his village, or to pay for the stolen property. thieves were sometimes tracked by the kotwar, and sometimes in gujarat and central india by a special official called paggal, [459] who measured their footprints with a string, and in this way often followed them successfully from village to village. [460] the rule that the kotwar had to make good all thefts occurring in his village or perpetrated by criminals belonging to it, can only have been enforced to a very partial extent, as unless he could trace the property he would be unable to pay any substantial sum out of his own means. still, it apparently had a considerable effect in the protection of property in the rural area, for which the regular police probably did very little. it was similarly the custom to employ a _chaukidar_ or night-watchman to guard private houses when the owners could afford it, and this man was taken from a criminal caste on the same principle. the kotwar was also the guardian of the village boundaries, and his opinion was often taken as authoritative in all cases of disputes about land. this position he perhaps occupied as a representative of the pre-aryan tribes, the oldest residents of the country, and his appointment may have also been partly based on the idea that it was proper to employ one of them as the guardian of the village lands, just as the priest of the village gods of the earth and fields was usually taken from these tribes. in some localities those members of an impure caste such as the mahars, who hold the office of village watchman, obtain a certain rise in status on account of the office, and show a tendency to marry among themselves. similarly persons of the impure ganda caste, who joined the kabirpanthi sect and now form a separate and somewhat higher caste under the name of panka, usually work as village watchmen in preference to the gandas. under british rule the kotwar has been retained as a village policeman, and his pay increased and generally fixed in cash. besides patrolling the village, he has to report all cognisable crime at the nearest police post as well as births and deaths occurring in the village, and must give general assistance to the regular police in the detection of crime. kotwar is used in saugor as a synonym for the chadar caste. it is also a subcaste of the kori caste. _kowa_.--(a crow.) a section of tamera and of gond in chanda. _koya_ a subtribe of gond in bastar. _koyudu_.--a synonym of gond in chanda used by telugus. _kramikul_.--a section of komti. they do not use the black radish. _kshatriya_.--name of the second hindu classical caste or the warrior caste. synonym for rajput. _kshirsagar_.--(ocean of milk.) a section of panwar rajput, and a proper name of maratha brahmans. _kuch_.--(a weaver's brush.) a section of raghuvansi rajputs in hoshangabad. _kuchbandhia_, _kunchbandhia_.--(a maker of weavers' brushes.) synonym and subcaste of beldar in chhattisgarh. _kudaiya_.--(_kodon_, a small millet.) a section of ahir. _kudappa_.--a sept of gonds in raipur and khairagarh. _kudarbohna_.--a hindu bhana. _kudaria_.--(_kudali_, a pickaxe.) a section of the bharia tribe. _kukra_.--(a dog.) a totemistic sept of bhatra gonds. a section of kumhar. _kukuta_.--(cock.) a sept of gonds in raipur. _kulatia_.--a section of basor. from _kulara_, a somersault, because they perform somersaults at the time of the _maihir_ ceremony, or eating the marriage cakes. _kuldip_.--(the lamp of the family.) a section of panka in raipur. _kuldiya_.--(those who stop eating if the lamp goes out at supper.) a section of ghasia. _kulin_.--(of high caste.) a well-known class of bengali brahmans. a subdivision of uriya mahantis. a section of panka. _kulshreshta_.--(of good family.) a subcaste of kayasth. _kuman_.--subcaste of barai. _kumarrha_ or _kumarra_.--(a bird.) a sept of sahdeve or six-god gonds. in betul the members of this sept do not eat or kill a goat or sheep, and throw away any article smelt by one. _kumarshishta_.--a section of komti. they do not use _mehndi_ or henna leaves. _kumbhar_.--(potter.) marathi synonym for kumhar. a section of ganda and bhulia. _kumbhoj_.--(born of a pitcher, a rishi or saint.) an eponymous section of agharia. _kumbhira_.--(crocodile.) a totemistic sept of bhulia. _kumbhwar_.--(_kumbh_, a pot.) a surname of gandli in chanda. _kumharbans_.--(descended from a potter.) a section of ghasia. _kumrayete_.--(_yete_, a goat.) a sept of the uika clan of sahdeve or six-god gonds in betul. they do not eat goats, and are said to have offered human sacrifices in ancient times. _kunbi_.--a caste. subcaste of dangri, gondhali and maratha. _kumrawat, [461] patbina, dangur_.--a small caste of _san_-hemp growers and weavers of sacking. they are called kumrawat in the northern districts and patbina (_pat patti_, sacking, and _binna_, to weave) in chhattisgarh. a small colony of hemp-growers in the betul district are known as dangur, probably from the _dang_ or wooden steelyard which they use for weighing hemp. both the kumrawats and dangurs claim rajput origin, and may be classed together. the caste of barais or betel-vine growers have a subcaste called kumrawat, and the kumrawats may be an offshoot of the barais, who split off from the parent body on taking to the cultivation of hemp. as most hindu castes have until recently refused to grow hemp, the kumrawats are often found concentrated in single villages. thus a number of patbinas reside in darri, a village in the khujji zamindari of raipur, while the dangurs are almost all found in the village of masod in betul; in jubbulpore khapa is their principal centre, and in seoni the village of deori. the three divisions of the caste known by the names given above marry, as a rule, among themselves. for their exogamous groups the dangurs have usually the names of different rajput septs, the kumrawats have territorial names, and those of the patbinas are derived from inanimate objects, though they have no totemistic practices. the number of girls in the caste is usually insufficient, and hence they are married at a very early age. the boy's father, accompanied by a few friends, goes to the girl's father and addresses a proposal for marriage to him in the following terms: "you have planted a tamarind tree which has borne fruit. i don't know whether you will catch the fruit before it falls to the ground if i strike it with my stick." the girl's father, if he approves of the match, says in reply, 'why should i not catch it?' and the proposal for the marriage is then made. the ceremony follows the customary ritual in the northern districts. when the family gods are worshipped, the women sit round a grinding-stone and invite the ancestors of the family by name to attend the wedding, at the same time placing a little cowdung in one of the interstices of the stone. when they have invited all the names they can remember they plaster up the remaining holes, saying, 'we can't recollect any more names.' this appears to be a precaution intended to imprison any spirits which may have been forgotten, and to prevent them from exercising an evil influence on the marriage in revenge for not having been invited. among the dangurs the bride and bridegroom go to worship at hanuman's shrine after the ceremony, and all along the way the bride beats the bridegroom with a tamarind twig. the dead are both buried and burnt, and mourning is observed during a period of ten days for adults and of three days for children. but if another child has been born to the mother after the one who has died, the full period of mourning must be observed for the latter; because it is said that in this case the mother does not tear off her _sari_ or body-cloth to make a winding-sheet for the child as she does when her latest baby dies. the kumrawats both grow and weave hemp, though they have no longer anything like a monopoly of its cultivation. they make the _gons_ or double bags used for carrying grain on bullocks. in chhattisgarh the status of the patbinas is low, and no castes except the most debased will take food or water from them. the kumrawats of jubbulpore occupy a somewhat more respectable position and take rank with kachhis, though below the good cultivating castes. the dangurs of betul will take food from the hands of the kunbis. _kumrayete_.--(_yete_, a goat.) a sept of the uika clan of sahdeve or six-god gonds in betul. they do not eat goats, and are said to have offered human sacrifices in ancient times. _kunbi_.--a caste. subcaste of dangri, gondhali and maratha. _kundera_.--a caste. a subcaste of the larhia beldars. _kundera_, _kharadi_.--a small caste of wood-turners akin to the barhais or carpenters. in 1911 the caste numbered 120 persons, principally in saugor. when asked for the name of their caste they not infrequently say that they are rajputs; but they allow widows to remarry, and their social customs and position are generally the same as those of the barhais. both names of the caste are functional, being derived from the hindi _kund_, and the arabic _kharat_, a lathe. some of them abstain from flesh and liquor, and wear the sacred thread, merely with a view to improve their social position. the kunderas make toys from the _dudhi_ (_holarrhena antidysenterica_) and huqqa stems from the wood of the _khair_ or catechu tree. the toys are commonly lacquered, and the surface is smoothed with a dried leaf of the _kevara_ tree. [462] they also make chessmen, wooden flutes and other articles. _kundgolakar_.--a subdivision of degraded maratha brahmans, the offspring of adulterous connections. _kunjam_.--a sept of solaha in raipur. a section of basor and bhunjia. a sept of gond and pardhan. _kunnatya_--(rope-dancer.) a name applied to nats. _kunti_ or _kunte_.--(_kunti_, lame.) a subcaste of kapewar, synonym bhiksha kunti or lame beggars. _kunwar_.--(prince.) a title of rajput ruling families. a section of rajput and kawar. _kura sasura_.--husband's elder brother. title of kharia. _kurathiya_, _kuratia_.--(from _kur_, a fowl, which they have given up eating.) a subtribe of gonds in khairagarh. _kurha_ or _sethia_.--title of the sonkar caste headman. _kurkere_.--one who moulds his vessels on a stone slab revolving on a stick and not on a wheel. subcaste of kumhar. _kurmeta_.--a sept of gonds in chanda. _kurmgutia_.--(from _kurm_, tortoise.) a section of mahar. _kurmi_.--a caste. a subcaste of agharia in the uriya country. a subcaste of barai. a sept of pardhan. a section of mahar. _kurochi_.--(_kur_, hen.) a sept of the uika clan of sahdeve or six-god gonds in betul, so named because their priest once stole a hen. _kurpachi_.--(_kur_, hen.) a sept of the uika clan of gonds in betul, so named because their priest offered the contents of a hen's intestines to the gods. _kurru_ or _kura_.--title of yerukala. _kusangia_.--(of bad company.) a section of lohar. _kushbansi_.--a subcaste of ahir. (descendants of kush, one of the two sons of rama.) _kush ranjan_.--a section of brahman, barai, chamar, chandnahu kurmi, rawat (ahir), marar and rajbhar. _kushta_, _koshta_.--subcaste of kori. _kuslia_.--(_kusli_, boat.) a subcaste of mali. _kusram_.--_(kusri_, pulse.) a sept of the uika gonds in betul and chanda. _labhana_.--synonym and subcaste of banjara. _lad_.--the old name for the territory of gujarat. a subcaste of bania, kalar, koshti and sunar. _ladaimar_.--one who hunts jackals and sells and eats their flesh. subcaste of jogi. _ladele_.--(quarrelsome.) a section of shribathri teli. _ladjin_.--subcaste of banjara. _ladse_ or _ladvi_.--subcaste of chamar and dhangar. _ladwan_, _ladvan_.--a subcaste of mahar. perhaps from lad, the old name of gujarat. _laheri_.--synonym of lakhera. _laheria_.--subcaste of brahman. _lahgera_ or _lahugera_.--(_lahanga_, weaver.) a subcaste of kori. _lahuri sen_.--a subcaste of barai in the northern districts who are formed of excommunicated members of the caste. _lahuria_.--(from lahore.) a section of rathor and chauhan banjaras. _lajjhar_.--synonym of rajjhar. _lakariha_.--a subdivision of pardhan in kawardha. while begging they play a musical instrument, hence the name from _lakri_, a stick. _lala_.--(a term of endearment.) synonym for kayasth. a subcaste of chamar. _lalbegi_.--a follower of lalbeg, patron saint of the sweepers. synonym of mehtar. _lal padri_.--red priests, because they rub _geru_ or red ochre on their bodies. title of jogi. _lamechu_.--a subcaste of bania. _langoti_.--subcaste of pardhi. they wear only a narrow strip of cloth called _langoti_ round the loins. _lanjia_.--a subcaste of lohar and nai, from lanji in balaghat. a subtribe of gonds in khairagarh. _lanjiwar_.--(one living round lanji in balaghat.) subcaste of injhwar. _laphangia_.--(upstart.) a section of kolta. _laria_, _larhia_.--(belonging to chhattisgarh.) a synonym of beldar. a subcaste of bhaina, binjhwar, chamar, ganda, ghasia, gond, gosain, kalar, kewat, koshti, mahar, marar, mowar, panka, savar, sunar and teli. _lasgaria_.--a class of bairagi mendicants. _lasukar_.--a subcaste of gondhalis who sell books and calendars. _lat_.--subcaste of chamar. _lave_.--subcaste of kunbi. _laya_.--(bird.) a section of binjhwar, mahar, and panka. _lekha_.--subcaste of gujar. _lemuan_, _limuan_.--(tortoise.) a totemistic sept of audhelia, munda and oraon. _lidha_.--(excrement of swine.) subcaste of khatik in jubbulpore. _lilia_.--(from _lil_ or _nil_, the indigo plant.) subcaste of kachhi. _lilorhia_.--subcaste of gujar. _limba_.--_(nim_ tree.) a totemistic section of dumals. _lingayat_.--a religious order which has become a caste. see article and subordinate article to bania. a subcaste of bania and kumhar. _lodha_.--synonym of lodhi. subcaste of lodhi. _lohar_.--a caste of blacksmiths, synonym luhura. a section of binjhwar and ganda. _lohar barhai_.--a subcaste of barhai in bundelkhand. _loharia_.--a subcaste of ahir. _lonaria_.--a salt-maker. subcaste of mahar. _lonchatia_.--(salt-licker.) a sept of the uika clan of gonds. the members of this sept lick salt on the death of their relatives. another account from betul says that they spread salt on a platform raised in honour of the dead and make cattle lick it up. _londhari_.--a small caste of cultivators found in the bhandara district. they appear to be immigrants from northern india, as their women wear the hindustani dress and they speak hindi at home. at their weddings the bridal couple walk round the sacred post according to the northern custom. when a widow marries again the couple worship a sword before the ceremony. if a man is convicted of an intrigue with a low-caste woman, he has to submit to a symbolical purification by fire. a heap of juari-stalks is piled all round him and set alight, but as soon as the fire begins to burn he is permitted to escape from it. this rite is known as agnikasht. the londharis appear to be distinct from the lonhare kunbis of betul, with whom i was formerly inclined to connect them. these latter derive their name from the lonar mehkar salt lake in the buldana district, and are probably so called because they once collected the salt evaporated from the lake. they thus belong to the maratha country, whereas the londharis probably came from northern india. the name lonhare is also found as a subdivision of one or two other castes living in the neighbourhood of the lonar mehkar lake. _londhe_, _londe_.--(one who hides himself behind cloth.) a section of kohli. a sept of korku. _londibacha_.--a subcaste of kasar, including persons of illegitimate descent. _lonhare_, _lonare_.--(from lonar-mehkar, the well-known salt lake of the buldana district.) a subcaste of kunbi. a section of arakh and ahir. _ludhela_.--a section of basor who worship the _ludhia_, a round stone for pounding food, at the maihar ceremony. _luhura_.--(one who works in iron.) synonym of lohar. subcaste of sidhira. _lunia_.--synonym of murha, nunia. _machhandar_.--(one who catches fish.) synonym of dhimar. _machhandra nath_.--a subdivision of jogi. _machhia_.--(from _machhi_, fish.) a section of dhimar and lodhi. _machhri_.--(fish.) a sept of oraon. _mada kukuria_.--(dead dog.) a subsection of the viswal section of koltas. _madankul_.--a section of komti. they do not use red clothes, nor the wood of the swallow-wort tree. _madari_.--a class of fakirs or muhammadan beggars. _made_.--a resident of the mad country in chanda and bastar. subcaste of pardhan. _madgi_, _madiga_. [463]--the telugu caste of workers in leather corresponding to the chamars, which numbers nearly 1 1/2 millions in madras, mysore and hyderabad. in 1911 there were nearly 6000 madgis in the central provinces and 3000 in berar. according to tradition, the madigas derive their name from that of a sage called matanga muni, and it is said that a dynasty belonging to the caste once ruled in the canarese country. the following legend of their origin comes from mysore: [464] in former times the sage jambava rishi was habitually late in attending at siva's court. siva asked him why this happened, and he replied that he was occupied in tending his children. on this siva took pity on him and gave him the sacred cow, kamdhenu, from which all the needs of the children could be satisfied. but one day while jambava was absent at siva's court, another sage, sankhya, visited his hermitage and was hospitably entertained by his son, yugamuni. the cream which sankhya was given was so good that he desired to kill the cow, kamdhenu, thinking that her flesh would taste even better. in spite of yugamuni's objections sankhya killed the cow and distributed the meat to various persons. while this was in progress jambava returned, and, on hearing what had been done, dragged sankhya and yugamuni before siva's judgment seat. the two offenders did not enter the court but stood outside the doorway, sankhya on the right side and yugamuni on the left. siva condemned them to become chandalas or outcastes, and the descendants of sankhya have become the right-hand holias, while those of yugamuni and his wife matangi are the left-hand caste of madigas. the latter were set to make shoes to expiate the sin committed by their ancestor in killing a cow. another story given in the central provinces is that the golla caste of cowherds, corresponding to the ahirs and the madgis, are the descendants of two brothers. the brothers had a large herd of cattle and wanted to divide them. at this time, however, cattle disease was prevalent, and many of the herd were affected. the younger brother did not know of this, and seeing that most of the herd were lying on the ground, he proposed to the elder brother that he himself should take all the cattle lying on the ground, and the elder brother all those which were standing up, as a suitable method of division. the elder brother agreed, but when the younger came to take his cattle which were on the ground he found that they were all dead, and hence he had no alternative but to take off the hides and cure and sell them. his descendants continued his degraded profession and became the madgi caste. in chanda the following six subcastes of madgis are reported: the nulka chandriah or caste priests; the anapa or leather dealers; the sindhi who are supposed to have been performers of dramas; the masti or dancers; the kommu or tellers of stories; and the dekkala or genealogists of the caste. it is said that kommu really means a horn and dekka a hoof. these last two are the lowest subdivisions, and occupy a most degraded position. in theory they should not sleep on cots, pluck the leaves of trees, carry loads on any animal other than a donkey, or even cook food for themselves, but should obtain their subsistence by eating the leavings of other madgis or members of different castes. the nulka chandriah or priests are the highest subdivision and will not take food or water from any of the others, while the four remaining subcastes eat and drink together, but do not intermarry. there are also a number of exogamous groups, most of which have territorial names; but a few are titular or totemistic, as--mukkidi, noseless; kumawar, a potter; nagarwar, a citizen; dobbulwar, one who possesses a _dobbulu_ or copper coin; ippawar, from the mahua tree; itkalwar from _itkal_ a brick, and so on. the caste customs of the madigas need not be recorded in detail. they are an impure caste and eat all kinds of food, and the leavings of others, though the higher subdivisions refuse to accept these. they live outside the village, and their touch is considered to convey pollution. _madhavacharya_.--a vishnuite sect and order of religious mendicants. see bairagi. _madhyanjan, madhyandina_.--a class of brahmans, the same as the yajur-vedis, or a section of them. _madia_.--a class of gonds in bastar. _madpotwa_.--(one who distils liquor.) subcaste of teli. _madrasi_.--subcaste of dhobi. _magadha_.--a subcaste of ahir or rawat in chhattisgarh, who ask for food from others and do not cook for themselves. _magar, magra_.--a sept of khangar, ahir or rawat, gond and chadar. _magida_.--synonym of madgi. _mahabrahman_.--a degraded class of brahmans who accept gifts for the dead. _mahadeva thakur_.--(lord mahadeo.) a section of mali. _mahajalia_.--(deceitful.) a section of lohar. _mahajan_.--a banker. title of the bania caste. _mahakul_.--synonym for ahir. _mahalodhi_.--(great lodhi.) subcaste of lodhi. _mahanadiya_.--(those who came from the mahanadi river.) a subcaste of lodhi. a section of ganda, ghasia and panka. _mahant_.--chief of a _math_ or monastery. a superior class of priest. a section of ahir, panka, chamar and koshta. _mahanti_.--a synonym for the karan or writer caste of orissa. a section of chasa. _mahapatra_.--a subdivision of degraded brahmans who take funeral gifts. an honorific title of thanapati and of uriya brahmans. a subcaste of bhat. _mahar_.--a caste. a subcaste of balahi and gondhali. a section of rawat in raigarh. _maharaj_.--(great king.) a title of brahmans. _mahurana_.--synonym of chitari. _maharashtra_ or _marathe_.--one of the five orders of panch dravida brahmans inhabiting the maratha country. they are also called dakshini brahmans. a subcaste of kumhar, kasar and lohar. _mahedia_.--a section of basors who worship pounded rice mixed with curds. _mahenga_.--(an elephant.) a totemistic sept of rautia and kawar in bilaspur. _maheshri_.--subcaste of baina. _mahili_.--synonym for mahli. _mahipia_.--(a drinker of curds.) a subsection of the viswal section of koltas. _mahisur_.--(lord of the earth.) a synonym of brahmans. _mahli-munda._--subcaste of mahli. _mahobia_.--(from the town of mahoba in central india.) a subcaste of barai, chamar, dangi, ghasia, khangar and mahar. a section of dangi, kumhar and kori. _mahoda_.--a subdivision of brahmans in jubbulpore. _mahore, mahure_.--a subcaste of bania, kori, kumhar and kalar. _mahratta_.--synonym of maratha. _mahto, mahton_.--a chief or village headman. subcaste and title of teli and khairwar; title of the leader of the bhuiya caste. a section of ganda and rawat (ahir). _mahur_.--(poison.) a subcaste of sunars in chhindwara. _mahure, mahuria_.--(from mahur, a town in hyderabad.) subcaste of barhai and dhangar. _mai_.--(mother.) a division of the kabirpanthi sect. _maichhor_.--a small clan of rajputs. perhaps from maichuri in jaipur. _mailwar_.--(dirty.) a group of sunars in raipur. _maina_.--synonym of mina. _mair_.--a subcaste of sunar named after mair, their original ancestor, who melted down a golden demon. _maithil_.--one of the five divisions of panch gaur brahmans inhabiting the province of maithil or bihar and tirhut. _majarewar_.--a territorial section of binjhwar (from majare in balaghat). _majhi_.--(a village headman.) title of bhatra. _majhia_.--synonym of majhwar. _majhli_.--(middle.) subcaste of rautia. _makaria_.--(from _makad_, monkey.) a subcaste of kamar, so called because they eat monkeys. _makhia_.--subcaste of mehtar. _malaiya_.--an immigrant from malwa. subcaste of chhipa. _male_, _maler_.--synonyms of mal. _malha_.--a boatman. synonym of mallah. _malhar_.--subcaste of koli. _mali_.--(a caste.) a section of kalar. _mal-paharia_.--synonym of mal. _malvi_, _malwi_.--(from _malwa_.) a subdivision of brahmans in hoshangabad and betul. a subcaste of ahir, barhai, darzi, dhobi, gadaria, kalar, koshti, kumhar, nai and sunar. _malyar._ [465]--a small and curious caste of workers in gold and silver in bastar state. they are known alternatively as marhatia sunar or panchal, and outsiders call them adhali. the name malyar is said to be derived from _mal_, dirt, and _jar_ or _jalna_, to burn, the malyars having originally been employed by sunars or goldsmiths to clean and polish their ornaments. no doubt can be entertained that the malyars are in reality gonds, as they have a set of exogamous septs all of which belong to the gonds, and have gondi names. so far as possible, however, they try to disguise this fact and perform their marriages by walking round the sacred post like the hindustani castes. they will take food cooked without water from brahmans, rajputs and banias, but will not eat _katcha_ (or food cooked with water) from anybody, and not even from members of their own caste unless they are relatives. this custom is common to some other castes of mixed descent, and indicates that illicit connections are frequent among the malyars, as indeed would necessarily be the case owing to the paucity of their numbers. but their memories are short, and the offspring of such irregular unions are recognised as belonging to the caste after one or two generations. an outsider belonging to any higher caste may be admitted to the community. the caste worship mata devi or the goddess of smallpox, and revere the spirit of a malyar woman who became a sati. they have learned as servants of the sunars the rudiments of their art, and manufacture rough ornaments for the primitive people of bastar. _mana ojha_.--subcaste of ojha. _mandal_.--(a name for a prosperous cultivator in chhattisgarh.) a section of chamar and panka. see article kurmi. _mandilwar_.--name derived from mandla. subcaste of katia. _mandkul_.--a section of komti who do not eat mangoes. _mandlaha_.--(from mandla town.) subtribe of gond. _mane kunbi_.--subcaste of gondhali. _mang_ or _mangia_.--a caste. subcaste of ganda, gondhali, bahrupia. _mangan_.--(from _manghunia_, beggar.) a caste. _mangan_. [466]--a small caste found in chhattisgarh and sambalpur who are the musicians and genealogists of the ghasias. the term is considered opprobrious, as it means 'beggar,' and many mangans probably return themselves as ghasias. they are despised by the ghasias, who will not take food or water from them. at the marriages of the former the mangans play on a drum called _ghunghru_, which they consider as the badge of the caste, their cattle being branded with a representation of it. the only point worth notice about the caste is that they are admittedly of mixed descent from the unions of members of other castes with ghasia prostitutes. they have five totemistic exogamous sections, about each of which a song is sung relating its origin. the sunani sept, which worships gold as its totem and occupies the highest position, is said to be descended from a brahman father and a ghasia mother; the sendaria sept, worshipping vermilion, from a kewat ancestor and a ghasia woman; the bhainsa sept, worshipping a buffalo, from a gaur or ahir and a ghasia; the mahanadia sept, having the mahanadi for their totem, from a gond and a ghasia woman; while the bagh sept, who revere the tiger, say that a cow once gave birth to two young, one in the form of a tiger and the other of a human being; the latter on growing up took a ghasia woman to himself and became the ancestor of the sept. as might be expected from their ancestry, the mangan women are generally of loose character. the mangans sometimes act as sweepers. _mangta._--(a beggar.) a subcaste of pasi in sangor, who beg from their caste-fellows. _maniara._--(a pedlar.) subcaste of jogi. _manihar._--a caste. the manihars are also known as bisati. an occupational name of jogis. _manikpuria._--(a resident manikpur.) subcaste of panka. _manjhi._--(headman.) a synonym of santal and kewat. a section of chasa, dhanuhar and kolta. a title of chasa. _manjur._--(peacock.) a totemistic sept of munda. _manjmar._--term for a boatman. included in kewat. _mankar._--name of a superior class of village watchmen in nimar district. see article bhil. a subcaste of mana and halba. _mannepuwar._--a subcaste of mala. synonym, teluga bhoi. _manwa._--subcaste of kunbi. _marabi._--a common sept of gond. a section of nat. _marai._--(a name for the goddess of cholera, who is called marai mata.) a common sept of gond. also a sept of baiga, pasor and bhunjia. a subcaste of majhwar. _maral._--synonym of mali. _marapa._--a sept of gonds in betul, who abstain from killing or eating a goat or sheep and throw away any article smelt by them. _marar._--synonym for mali, a gardener. also a subcaste of kachhi. _maratha, marathe._--a caste. a subcaste of barhai, bedar, chamar, dhimar, gadaria, kumhar, mahar, mali, mang, nai and teli. _marathi, maratha, marthe, marathe._--(a resident of the maratha country.) subcaste of bahrupia, chamar, dhargar, gundhali, gopal, injhwar, kaikari, kasar, koshti, nahal, otari. _marathia._--resident of bhandara or another maratha district. subcaste of halba. _maria._--a well-known tribe of gonds in bastar and chanda. see article gond. a subcaste of gowari. a section of ahir, chamar and kumhar. _markam._--(_marka,_ mango.) one of the principal septs of gonds. also a sept of baiga, basor, bhumjia, pardhan and solaha. _marori._ [467]--a small caste of degraded rajputs from marwar found in the bhandara and chhindwara districts and also in berar. the name is a local corruption of marwari, and is applied to them by their neighbours, though many of the caste do not accept it and call themselves rajputs. in chhindwara they go by the name of chhatri, and in the tirora tahsil they are known as alkari, because they formerly grew the _al_ or indian madder for a dye, though it has now been driven out of the market. they have been in the central provinces for some generations, and though retaining certain peculiarities of dress, which show their northern origin, have abandoned in many respects the caste usages of rajputs. their women wear the hindustani _angia_ tied with string behind in place of the maratha _choli_ or breast-cloth, and drape their _saris_ after the northern fashion. they wear ornaments of the rajputans shape on their arms, and at their weddings they sing marwari songs. they have rajput sept names, as parihar, rathor, solanki, sesodia and others, which constitute exogamous groups and are called _kulis._ some of these have split up into two or three subdivisions, as, for instance, the pathar (stone) panwars, the pandhre or white panwars and the dhatura or thorn-apple panwars; and members of these different groups may intermarry. the reason seems to be that it was recognised that people belonged to the same panwar sept who were not blood kin to each other, and the prohibition of marriage between them was a serious inconvenience in a small community. they also have eponymous _gotras_, as vasishtha, batsa and others of the brahmanical type, but these do not influence exogamy. the paucity of their numbers and the influence of local usage have caused them to relax the marriage rules adhered to by rajputs. women are very scarce, and a price varying from forty to a hundred rupees is commonly paid for a bride, though they feel keenly the degradation attaching to the acceptance of a bride-price. widow-marriage is permitted, no doubt for the same reasons, and a girl going wrong with a man of another caste may be readmitted to the community. divorce is not permitted, and an unfaithful wife may be abandoned; she cannot then marry again in the caste. formerly, on the arrival of the marriage procession, the bride's and bridegroom's parties let off fireworks, aiming them against each other, but this practice is now discontinued. when the bridegroom approaches the marriage-shed the bride comes out and strikes him on the breast or forehead with a ball of dough, a sheet being held between them; the bridegroom throws a handful of rice over her and strikes the festoons of the shed with a naked sword. a bachelor espousing a widow must first be married to a ring, which he thereafter carries in his ear, and if it is lost funeral ceremonies must be performed as for a real wife. women are tattooed on the arms only. children have as many as five names, one for ordinary use, and the others for ceremonial purposes and the arrangement of marriages. if a man kills a cow or a cat he must have a miniature figure of the animal made of gold and give it to a brahman in expiation of his sin. _marskola_.--(from _markets_, an axe.) a common sept of gonds and pardhans. _maru_.--subcaste of charan bhats. _marwari_.--a resident of marwar or the desert tract of rajputana; marwar is also used as a name for jodhpur state. see subordinate article rajput-rathor. the name marwari is commonly applied to banias coming from marwar. see article bania. a subcaste of bahna, gurao, kumhar, nai, sunar and teli. _masania_.--(from _masin_, straw or grass mats, or _masina_, thatched roof.) a section of lohar. a synonym for san bhatras in bastar. _mashki_.--(a water-bearer.) synonym of bhishti. _masram_.--a common sept of gonds. _masti_.--(dancer.) subcaste of madgi. _mastram_.--(mastra, brass bangles.) a sept of gonds in betul. the women of this sept wear brass bangles. _masuria_.--a subcaste of kurmi. from _masur_, lentil. a section of rajput. _mathadhari_.--(living in a monastery.) a celibate clan of manbhao mendicants. _mathpati_.--(lord of the hermitage.) a subcaste of jangam. _mathur, mathuria_.--(from mathura or muttra.) a subcaste of kayasth. a subdivision of brahman. a subcaste of banjara, darzi and nai. _matkuda_, _matkora_.--(earth-digger.) a subcaste and synonym of beldar. a name for gonds and pardhans who take to earthwork. _mattha_.--corruption of maratha. a subcaste of koshti, mahar and teli, and a title of teli. _matti_.--a subdivision of low-class brahmans returned from khairagarh. also a class of kashmiri brahmans. _matwala_.--(a drinker of country liquor.) subcaste of kadera. _mawasi_, _mirdhan_.--subcaste of dahait. title of the headman of the dahait caste committee. _mayaluar_.--(chief man of the caste.) a subcaste of turi. _mayur_.--(peacock.) a totemistic section of the ahir, hatwa, gond, sonjhara and sundi castes. _mayurmara_.--(killer of peacock.) a section of bahelia. _meda gantia_.--(counter of posts.) title of bhatra. official who fixes date and hour for wedding. _medara, medari_.--the telugu caste of bamboo-workers and mat-makers, corresponding to the basors. they have the same story as the basors of the first bamboo having been grown from the snake worn by siva round his neck, which was planted head downwards in the ground. the customs of the medaras, mr. francis says, [468] differ from place to place. in one they will employ brahman _purohits_ (priests), and prohibit widow-marriage, while in the next they will do neither, and will even eat rats and vermin. the better classes among them are taking to calling themselves balijas or baljis, and affixing the title of chetti to their names. _medari_.--synonym of medara. _mehar_.--synonym of bhulia. _meher_.--a section of malwi ahir, a synonym for bhulia. a title of chamar. _mehra_.--synonym for mahar. a subcaste of katia and kori. _mehta_.--a group of brahmans. a section of oswal bania. _mehtar_.--(a prince or leader.) common name for the sweeper caste. title of the president of the dhobi caste committee. _meman_.--synonym of cutchi. _meshbansi_.--(descendant of a sheep.) a clan of rajputs. _mewada, mewari_.--(from _mewar_.) a division of gujarati or khedawal brahmans. a subcaste of chhipa, darzi, mali and sunar. _mewati_.--synonym of meo. see article. a class of fakirs or muhammadan beggars. _mhali_.--synonym of nai. _mhasia, mhashi_.--(_mhas_, buffalo.) a sept of halba. a section of kohli. _mihir_.--synonym of bhulia. _mina_.--a caste. a section of raghuvansis. _mirdaha_.--a subcaste of dahait, khangar, and nat. a section of raghuvansi. name used for the mate of a gang of coolies. _mir-dahait._--title of the mirdha caste. _mirdha_.--a small caste found only in the narsinghpur district. they are a branch of the khangar or dahait caste of saugor and damoh. the names of their exogamous sections tally with those of the khangars, and they have the same story of their ancestors having been massacred at a fort in orchha state and of one pregnant woman escaping and hiding under a _kusum_ tree (_schleichera trijuga_), which consequently they revere. like khangars they regard muhammadan eunuchs and fakirs (beggars) with special friendship, on the ground that it was a fakir who sheltered their ancestress when the rest of the caste were massacred by rajputs, and fakirs do not beg at their weddings. one explanation of the name is that this section of the caste were born from a muhammadan father and a dahait woman, and hence were called mir-dahaits or mirdaha, mir being a muhammadan title. mirdha is, however, as noted by mr. hira lal, the name of the head of the caste committee among the dahaits; and in hoshangabad he is a servant of the village proprietor and acts as assistant to the kotwar or village watchman; he realises the rents from the tenants, and sometimes works as a night guard. in gujarat the name is said to be a corruption of _mir-deh_ or 'mason of the village.' [469] here it is said that the mirdhas are held to be of part foreign, part rajput origin, and were originally official spies of the gujarat sultans. they are now employed as messengers and constables, and therefore seem to be analogous to the same class of persons in the central provinces. _mirshikar_.--synonym of pardhi. _misra_ or _misar_.--a surname of kanaujia, jijhotia, sarwaria and uriya brahmans. _mistri_.--(corruption of the english mister.) a master carpenter or mate of a gang. title of barhai, beldar and lohar. _mithia_.--(a preparer of sweets.) synonym of halwai. _mochi_.--(a shoemaker.) a caste. subcaste of chamar. _modh_.--a subdivision of khedawal or gujarati brahmans who take their name from modhera, an ancient place in gujarat. a subcaste of gujarati bania. _modh-ghaneli_.--subcaste of teli in gujarat. _moghia_.--synonym of pardhi. _mohania_.--(captivator.) a section of rajjhar and kirar. _mohtaria_.--title of the headman of the andh caste committee. _mohtera_.--one who fixes the auspicious moment, hence the headman of the caste. a titular section of basor. _monas_.--a subdivision of brahmans. _mongre_, _mongri_, _mongrekair_.--(a club or mallet.) a section of ahir or rawat in chhattisgarh, and of chamar, ganda, and panka. _mori_.--a branch of the panwar rajputs. _mor kachhi_.--one who prepares the _maur_ or marriage-crown for weddings. subcaste of kachhi. _morkul_.--a section of komti. they do not use asafoetida (_hing_) nor the fruit of the _umar_ fig-tree. _motate_.--(from _mot_, water-bag.) a subcaste of kapewar. _moujikul_.--a section of komti. they do not use pepper. _mowar_.--subcaste of rajwar. _mowasi_.--a resident of the forests of kalibhit and melghat known as the mowas. subcaste of korku. _muamin_.--synonym of cutchi. _muasi_.--title of korku; subcaste of korwa. _muchi_.--synonym of mochi. _mudara_.--subcaste of parja. _mudgalia_.--(from _mudgal_, indian club--an athlete.) a surname of adi gaur brahmans in saugor. _mudha_.--synonym for munda. _mudotia_.--(from _mudha_, a cheat.) a surname of sanadhia brahmans in saugor. _mughal_.--a tribal division of muhammadans. see article muhammadan religion. _muhammadan_.--subcaste of koli. _muhjaria_.--(burnt mouth.) a section of lodhi. _mukeri_.--or kasai, a small muhammadan caste of traders in cattle and butchers. in 1891 more than 900 were returned from the saugor district. their former occupation was to trade in cattle like the banjaras, but they have now adopted the more profitable trade of slaughtering them for the export of meat; and as this occupation is not considered very reputable, they have perhaps thought it desirable to abandon their caste name. the derivation of the term mukeri is uncertain. according to one account they are a class of banjaras, and derive their name from mecca, on the ground that one of their naiks or headmen was camping in the neighbourhood of this town, at the time when abraham was building it, and assisted him in the work. when they emigrated from mecca their illustrious name of makkai was corrupted into mukeri. [470] a variant of this story is that their ancestor was one makka banjara, who also assisted in the building of mecca, and that they came to india with the early muhammadan invaders. [471] the mukeris form a caste and marry among themselves. in their marriage ceremony they have adopted some hindu observances, such as the anointing of the bride and bridegroom with turmeric and the erection of a marriage-shed. they take food from the higher hindu castes, but will not eat with a kayasth, though there is no objection to this on the score of their religion. they will admit an outsider, if he becomes a muhammadan, but will not give their daughters to him in marriage, at any rate until he has been for some years a member of the caste. in other matters they follow muhammadan law. _mullaji_.--title of the priests of the bohra caste. _multani_.--subcaste and synonym of banjara. _munda_.--(a village headman, from _munda_, the head.) title and synonym of kol. a subcaste of kharia and oraon. _mundela_.--(bald-headed.) a surname of jijhotia brahmans in saugor. _mundle_.--(shaven ones.) subcaste of gujar. _munikul_.--a section of komti. they do not use _munga_ beans. _munjia_.--name of an akhara or school of bairagi religious mendicants. see bairagi. _munurwar_.--synonym of kapewar. _murai, murao_.--(from _muli_, or radish.) subcaste of kachhi. _murchulia_.--(one who puts rings on the fingers of the caste.) a section of ganda and panka in raipur. _muria_.--a well-known subtribe of gonds in bastar and chanda. _murli_.--synonym of waghya. _musabir_.--synonym of mochi. _musahar_.--(a rat-eater.) subcaste and title of bhuiya. _musare_.--(_musar_, a pestle.) a section of mali. _mussali_.--title of mehtar. _mutracha_.--synonym of mutrasi. _mutrasa_.--synonym of mutrasi. _mutrasi_, _mutrasa_, _muthrasi_, _mutracha_.--(from the dravidian roots _mudi_, old, and _racha_, a king, or from mutu raja, a sovereign of some part of the telugu country.) [472] a caste which is numerous in hyderabad and madras, and of which a few persons are found in the chanda district of the central provinces. the mutrasis are the village watchmen proper of telingana or the telugu country. [473] they were employed by the vijayanagar kings to defend the frontier of their country, and were honoured with the title of paligar. their usual honorific titles at present are dora (sahib or lord) and naidu. as servants they are considered very faithful and courageous. some of them have taken to masonry in chanda, and are considered good stone-carvers. they are a comparatively low caste, and eat fowls and drink liquor, but they do not eat beef or pork. it is compulsory among them to marry a girl before she arrives at adolescence, and if this is not done her parents are put out of caste, and only readmitted on payment of a penalty. _nabadia_.--(boatman or sailor.) a synonym for kewat. _naddaf_.--a synonym for bahna or pinjara. _nadha_.--(those who live on the banks of streams.) subcaste of dhimar. _nadia_.--a clan of dangi. _nag, nagesh_.--(cobra.) a sept of the ahir or rawat, binjhal, bhatia, chasa, hatwa, halba, khadal, kawar, khangar, karan, katia, kolta, lohar, mahar, mali, mowar, parja, redka, sulia, sundi and taonla castes. most of these castes belong to chhattisgarh and the uriya country. _naga_.--a clan of gosains or mendicants. see gosain. _nagar_.--a subcaste of brahmans belonging to gujarat; a subcaste of bania; a section of teli. _nagarchi_.--(a drum-beater.) a class of gonds. a subcaste of ganda and ghasia. _nagarchi_.--the nagarchis appear to be a class of gonds, whose special business was to beat the _nakkara_ or kettledrums at the gates of forts and palaces. in some districts they now form a special community, marrying among themselves, and numbered about 6000 persons in 1911. the _nagara_ or _nakkara_ is known in persia as well as in india. here the drum is made of earthenware, of a tapering shape covered at both ends with camel-hide for the _zir_ or treble, and with cowhide for the _bam_ or bass. it is beaten at the broader end. in persia the drums were played from the nakkara-khana or gateway, which still exists as an appanage of royalty in the chief cities of iran. they were beaten to greet the rising and to usher out the setting sun. during the months of mourning, safar and muharram, they were silent. [474] in india the _nagara_ were a pair of large kettledrums bound with iron hoops and twice as large as those used in europe. they were a mark of royalty and were carried on one of the state elephants, the royal animal, in the prince's _sowari_ or cavalcade, immediately preceding him on the line of march. the right of displaying a banner and beating kettledrums was one of the highest marks of distinction which could be conferred on a rajput noble. when the titular maratha raja had retired to satara and any of the maratha princes entered his territory, all marks of royalty were laid aside by the latter and his _nagara_ or great drum of empire ceased to be beaten. [475] the stick with which the kettledrum was struck was called _danka_, and the king's jurisdiction was metaphorically held to extend so far as his kettledrums were beaten. _angrezi raj ka danka bajta hai_ or 'where the english drum is beaten,' means 'so far as the english empire extends.' in egypt the kettledrums were carried on camels. [476] _nagaria_.--(a drum-player.) a section of jasondhi bhat and teli. _nagbans_.--(descended from the cobra.) a totemistic sept of gadba, ghasia, and gond. _nagla_.--(naked.) subcaste of khond. _nagpure_.--(from nagpur.) a section of lodhi and kohli. _nagvansi_.--a clan of rajputs. see article rajput-nagvansi. a subcaste and section of sunar. a section of daharia or daraiha and gond. _nahar_.--(tiger.) a subtribe of baiga. a section of rajputs in saugor. _nahonia_.--a clan of dangi in damoh and saugor. they were formerly kachhwaha rajputs from narwar, but being cut off from their own domicile they married with dangis. rajputs accept daughters from them but do not give their daughters to nahonias. _naidu_.--title of the balija, mutrasi and velama castes. often used by balijas as their caste name. _naik_.--(leader.) a subdivision of gond, also known as darwe. a title of banjara headmen. a title of teli and kolta. a section of ahir, chamar, chasa, gadaria, halba, kewat, khond, mali, sudh. _nakib_.--mace-bearer or flag-bearer in a procession. subcaste of jasondhi bhat and khangar. _nakshbandia_.--a class of fakirs or muhammadan beggars. _naksia_.--synonym of nagasia. _namdeo_.--a religious sect confined to members of the chhipa and darzi castes, which has become a subcaste. _nanakshahi_.--synonym of nanakpanthi. _nandia_.--(one who leads about with him a performing bullock). from nandi, the bull on which mahadeo rides. subcaste of jogi. _nandvansi_.--subcaste of ahir. _nanghana_.--a name given to the kol tribe in hoshangabad. _napita_.--sanskrit name for nai or barber. _naqqal_.--title of bhand. _naraina_.--subcaste of patwa. _naramdeo_.--a subcaste of brahmans belonging to the gaur branch. they take their name from the river nerbudda. _narbadi_, _narmada_.--(from the river nerbudda.) a subdivision of maharashtra brahmans. a section of yajur-vedi brahmans. a synonym for naramdeo brahmans. a section of agharia, binjhal and chamar. _narnolia_.--(from a place called narnol in the punjab.) subcaste of mehtar. _narwaria_.--a clan of dangi. a subcaste of ahir. _nata_.--(a young bullock.) a section of ahir and oswal bania. _nathunia_.--(nose-ring.) a subcaste of pasi. _navadesia_.--(a man of nine districts.) subcaste of banjara. _nawaria_.--a subcaste of barhai, lohar, kachera or sisgar, nai and tamera. _nazir_.--(a cashier or usher.) subcaste of jasondhi bhat. _negi_.--a vice-president of the caste committee in the kharia caste. _nema_ or _nima_.--a subcaste of bania. see article bania, nema. _netam_.--(the dog in gondi.) one of the common septs of gond. also a sept of basor, bhatra, bhuiya, dewar, kawar and parja. _nawari_.--(from _newar_, thick tape used for webbing of beds.) subcaste of bahna. _niaria_.--an occupational term applied to persons who take the refuse and sweepings from a sunar's shop and wash out the particles of gold and silver. see article sunar. _nigam_, _nigum_.--a subcaste of kayasth. _nihal_.--synonym of nahal. _nihang_.--a class of bairagis or religious mendicants, who remain celibate. _nikhar_.--a subcaste of ahir, bharewa (kasar), gadaria. a clan of rajput. a section of koshti. _nikumbh_.--a clan of rajputs included in the thirty-six royal races. a section of joshi. _nilgar_.--synonym of chhipa. _nilkar_.--(from _nil_, indigo.) a subcaste of darzi or simpi (tailors) in naagpur, so named because they took up the work of dyeing in addition to their own and formed a new subcaste. _nimanandi_.--a vishnuite sect and order of religious mendicants. see bairagi. _nimari_, _nimadi_, _nimaria_.--(a resident of nimar.) a subcaste of balahi, bania, dhobi, mahar and nai. _nimawal_.--a class of bairagi. _nirali_.--synonym of chhipa. _niranjani_.--name of an akhara or school of bairagis. see bairagi. _nirbani_.--(_nir_, without; _bani_, speech.) a class of bairagis who refrain from speech as far as possible. _nirmohi_.--a class of bairagis. _nona_ or _lona_.--name derived from nona or lona chamarin, a well-known witch. subcaste of chamar. _nulkachandriah_.--caste priests. subcaste of madgi. _nun_.--(salt.) a sept of oraon. _nunia_, _nonia_, _lunia_.--(saltmaker.) a synonym of beldar. a section of binjhwar and koli. _od_.--synonym of beldar. _odde_, _ud_.--(from odra the old name of orissa.) term for a digger or navvy. a group of beldars. _odhia_.--synonym for audhia bania. _odia_ or _uriya_.--subcaste of beldar in chhattisgarh. _oiku_.--subtribe of majhwar. _ojha_.--(from _ojh_, entrails.) a caste of gond augurs, see article. a title of maithil brahmans. a subcaste of lohar, nat and savar. _okkilyan_.--synonym of wakkaliga. _omre_, _umre_.--a subcaste of bania. see bania umre.--a subcaste of teli. _onkar nath_.--a subdivision of jogis. _onkule_.--subcaste of koshti. _orha_.--subcaste of chasa. _oswal_.--a subcaste of bania. see subordinate article to bania. _ota_.--(one who recites the vedas aloud in sacrifices.) an honorific title of uriya brahmans. _otari, watkari_.--a low caste of workers in brass in the maratha country. the name is derived from the marathi verb _otne_, to pour or smelt. they number about 2600 persons in the bhandara and chanda districts, and in berar. the caste have two subcastes, gondadya and maratha, or the gond and maratha otaris. the latter are no doubt members of other castes who have taken to brass-working. members of the two subcastes do not eat with each other. their family names are of different kinds, and some of them are totemistic. they employ brahmans for their ceremonies, and otherwise their customs are like those of the lower artisan castes. but it is reported that they have a survival of marriage by capture, and if a man refuses to give his daughter in marriage after being asked twice or thrice, they abduct the girl and afterwards pay some compensation to the father. they make and sell ornaments of brass and bell-metal, such as are worn by the lower castes, and travel from village to village, hawking their toe-rings and anklets. there is also an otari subcaste of kasars. _pabaiya_.--(from pabai in bundelkhand.) a clan of rajputs in hoshangabad. _pabia_.--a small caste in the zamindaris of the bilaspur district, and some of the feudatory states, who numbered about 9000 persons in 1911. they appear to be pans or gandas, who also bear the name of pab, and this has been corrupted into pabia, perhaps with a view to hiding their origin. they are wretchedly poor and ignorant. they say that they have never been to a government dispensary, and would be afraid that medicine obtained from it would kill them. their only remedies for diseases are branding the part affected or calling in a magician. they never send their children to school, as they hold that educated children are of no value to their parents, and that the object of government in opening schools is only to obtain literate persons to carry on its business. one curious custom may be noticed. when any one dies in a family, all the members, as soon as the breath leaves his body, go into another room of the house; and across the door they lay a net opened into the room where the corpse lies. they think that the spirit of the dead man will follow them, and will be caught in the net. then the net is carried away and burnt or buried with the corpse, and thus they think that the spirit is removed and prevented from remaining about the house and troubling the survivors. _pabeha_.--synonym for dhimar. _pabudia_ or _madhai_.--a subcaste of bhuiya. _pachadhe_.--(western.)--a subdivision of saraswat brahman. _pachbhaiya_.--(five brothers.) a section of ahir and audhelia. _pada_.--(a pig-eater.) a section of muria gonds and pardhans. _padhan_.--(an uriya name for a chief or headman of a village.) a section of bhuiya, chasa, dumal, hatwa, kolta, tiyar and other uriya castes. a title of chasa and kolta. _padmasale_.--subcaste of koshti. _padyal_.--a subtribe of gond in chanda. a section of marori. _pahalwan_.--a small community numbering about 600 persons in the bilaspur district and surrounding tracts of chhattisgarh. the word pahalwan means a wrestler, but sir b. robertson states [477] that they are a small caste of singing beggars and have no connection with wrestling. they appear, however, to belong to the gopal caste, who have a branch of pahalwans in their community. and the men returned from bilaspur may have abandoned wrestling in favour of singing and begging from trees, which is also a calling of the gopals. they themselves say that their ancestors were gopals and lived somewhere towards berar, and that they came to bilaspur with the maratha leader chimnaji bhonsla. _pahar_.--subcaste of mahli. _paharia_ or _benwaria_.--subcaste of korwa. _paik_.--(a foot-soldier.) see rajput-paik. _paikaha_.--(one who follows the calling of curing hides.) synonym for chamar. _paikara_.--(from paik, a foot-soldier.) subcaste of kawar. _pailagia_.--(pailagi or 'i fall at your feet,' is a common term of greeting from an inferior to a superior.) subcaste of dahait. _paiyam_.--(from _paiya_, a calf.) a sept of gonds in betul. _pajania_.--(_paijana_, tinkling anklets.) a section of kurmi. _pakhali_.--(from _pakhali_, a leathern water-bag.) synonym of bhishti. _pakhawaji_.--(one who plays on the _pakhawaj_ or timbrel.) title of mirasi. _pakhia_.--(they are so called because they eat the flesh of the _por_ or buffalo.) subcaste of khond. _palas._--(from the _palas_ tree, _butea frondosa_.) a totemistic sept of gonds. _palewar_.--a _gotra_ of binjhwar; a subcaste of dhimar found in the telugu country. they are also called bhoi in chanda. a name for telugu dhimars or watermen. a section of binjhwar. _palgaria_.--(sleeping on a _palang_ or cot.) a sept of bhunjia. _palliwal_.--a subcaste of brahmans belonging to the kanaujia division. they take their name from pali, a trading town of marwar. a subcaste of bania, whose name is derived from the same place. _palsa-gacha_.--(_palas_ tree, _butea frondosa_.) a totemistic sept of pans. _palshe_.--a subcaste of maratha brahmans. they derive their name from palsaoli village in kalyan (bombay presidency). _pampatra_.--(those who use their hands as pots.) a section of khandwal. _pan_.--(name of a forest tribe.) synonym for ganda. _panch, panchayat_.--(a caste committee, so called because it is supposed to consist of five (_panch_) persons.) a section of marar. _panchal_.--an indeterminate group of artisans engaged in any of the following five trades: workers in iron, known as manu; workers in copper or brass called twashtik; workers in stone or shilpik; workers in wood or maya; and workers in gold and silver designated as daivagnya. [478] the caste appear to be of telugu origin, and in madras they are also known as kammala. in the central provinces they were amalgamated with the sunars in 1901, but in 1891 a total of 7000 were returned, belonging to the southern districts; while 2700 members of the caste are shown in berar. the name is variously derived, but the principal root is no doubt _panch_ or five. captain glasfurd writes it panchyanun. [479] in the central provinces the panchals appear generally to work in gold or brass, while in berar they are blacksmiths. the gold-workers are an intelligent and fairly prosperous class, and devote themselves to engraving, inlaying, and making gold beads. they are usually hired by sunars and paid by the piece. [480] they are intent on improving their social position and now claim to be vishwa brahmans, presumably in virtue of their descent from viswa karma, the celestial architect. at the census they submitted a petition begging to be classified as brahmans, and to support their claim they employ members of their own caste to serve them as priests. but the majority of them permit the remarriage of widows, and do not wear the sacred thread. in other respects their customs resemble those of the sunars. the berar panchals, on the other hand, appear to be a much lower group. mr. kitts describes [481] them as a "wandering caste of smiths living in grass-mat huts and using as fuel the roots of thorn bushes, which they batter out of the ground with the back of a short-handled axe peculiar to themselves. the berari panchals," he continues, "who differ from the dakhani division in the custom of shaving their heads and beards on the death of a parent, have been in the provinces for some generations. they live in small _pals_ or tents, and move from place to place with buffaloes, donkeys, and occasionally ponies to carry their kit. the women of the berari division may be distinguished from those of the dakhani panchals by their wearing their _lugras_ or body-cloths tucked in at the back, in the fashion known as _kasote_." it is no doubt from the desire to dissociate themselves from the wandering blacksmiths of berar that the panchals of the central provinces desire to drop their caste name. _pancham_.--a subcaste of bania. a subcaste of barai, the same as beraria. _panchbhai_.--(five brothers.) a surname of bhanara dhimars, a section of ghasia. _panchdeve_.--a subdivision of gonds, worshipping five gods and paying special reverence to the _saras_ crane. _panch dravid_.--one of the two primary divisions of brahmans, inhabiting the country south of the vindhya hills and nerbudda river, and including the following five orders: viz., karnata (carnatic), dravid (madras), tailanga (telugu country), maharashtra (bombay) and gurjara (gujarat). _panch gaur_.--one of the two primary divisions of brahmans inhabiting the country north of the vindhya hills and nerbudda river; it includes the following five orders: saraswat (punjab), kanaujia (hindustan), gaur (bengal), utkal (orissa) and maithil (bihar or tirhut). _panchghar_.--one of the three subdivisions of kanaujia brahmans in hoshangabad. _panda_.--(a priest of devi, a wise man.) a subcaste or title of mali. a subcaste and surname of uriya brahmans. a subcaste of jasondhi bhats. _pandaram_.--a class of brahman priests. _pande_.--(a wise man.) a surname of kanaujia and gaur brahmans. a section of agharia, barhai, kewat and marar. a title of joshi and kumhar. _pandhare_.--(white.) subcaste of sunar. _pandit_.--(a learned man.) a title of brahmans. _pandki_.--(dove.) a totemistic sept of bhatra, kawar and parja. _pandra_.--a small caste of cultivators in the uriya country. it is said that one of the rajas of patna had an illegitimate son to whom he gave the village of pandri. his descendants were the pandras. _pandwar_ or _padwar_.--a section of panka in raipur. they are said to be so named because they washed the feet of others. _pangal_.--subcaste of gopal. they make mats, but in addition to this they are mendicants begging from trees. _panhara_.--an occupational term meaning a seller of _pan_ or betel-leaf. _panibhar_.--(a waterman.) subcaste of dangri. _panigrahi_.--(husband.) an honorific title of uriya brahmans. _panjha_.--(paw of an animal.) a sept of gond. _panka_.--a weaver caste derived from the gandas, being gandas who follow the kabirpanthi sect. see article. in chhattisgarh pankas sometimes call themselves das, as servants of kabir. panka is also a subcaste of ganda. _pansari_.--(a druggist.) synonym for barai. _panwar_.--a clan of rajput. see article panwar rajput. a subcaste of banjara and bhoyar. a section of ahir, bhilala, koshti, maratha and marori. _parasar, parashar_.--(name of a brahmanical saint.) an eponymous section of brahmans. a surname of sanadhya and gaur brahmans. a section of basdeva, rangari, sunar and vidur. _parauha_.--(from _para_, a male buffalo calf.) a subcaste of basdewa who deal in buffaloes. _parbat_.--name of one of the ten orders of gosain. _parbhu_.--synonym of prabhu. _pardeshi_.--(a foreigner.) the name is sometimes applied to immigrants from malwa, and also to those coming from northern india. a subcaste of the bahna, barai, barhai, chamar, dhimar, dhobi, garpagari, kimbi, kasar, kumhar, lohar, nai, rangari, sunar and teli castes. _pardhan_.--(a chief.) a caste who are priests of the gonds. see article. a section of chhattisgarhi ahir or rawat, halba and pabia. title of caste headman of the kharia tribe. _pardhi_.--(a hunter.) a caste. see article. a subcaste of khatik. a section of kunbi and panwar rajput. _parewa_.--(a pigeon.) a section of chhattisgarhi ahir or rawat, and panka. _parganiha_.--a synonym of pardhan (gond priests) in kawardha. _parihar_.--an important clan of rajputs. see rajput parihar. a section of daharia and daraiha, of panwar rajput and pardhi. _parit_.--synonym for dhobi in the maratha districts. _parka_. [482]--a small caste of labourers belonging to the jubbulpore district and adjoining tracts, whose strength was something over 2000 persons in 1901. sir b. robertson wrote [483] in 1891 that the parkas of the three northern districts had been kept separate from the panka caste in the census tables, but that they were in all probability the same. mr. hira lal points out that several of the names of septs as padwar, sanwani, gullia and dharwa are the same in the two castes, and that in the districts where parkas are found there are no pankas. the panka caste was probably formed in chhattisgarh by the separation of those gandas or pans who had embraced the doctrines of kabir from their parent caste, and the name is a variant of pan. in jubbulpore the name panka has no understood meaning, and it may have been corrupted into pandka (a dove) and thence to parka. like the pankas the parkas often act as village watchmen. many of the parkas are also kabirpanthis and, as with the pankas, those who are not kabirpanthis and do not abstain from flesh and liquor are called saktahas. intermarriage is not prohibited between the parka kabirpanthis and saktahas. some of the parkas play on drums and act as village musicians, which is a regular occupation of the pankas and gandas. it may also be noted that the parkas will take food cooked with water from a gond and that they worship bura deo, the great god of the gonds. perhaps the most probable surmise as to their origin is that they are a small mixed group made up of pankas and gonds. a proverbial saying about the caste is '_gond raja, parka pardhan_,' or 'the gond is the master and the parka the servant,' and this also points to their connection with the gonds. several of their section names indicate their mixed origin, as kumharia from kumhar a potter, gullia from gaolia or milkman, bhullia from bhulia an uriya weaver, andwan a subcaste of the mahar caste, tilasia a sept of the kawars, and so on. if a parka man forms a connection with any woman of higher caste she will be admitted into the community, and the same privilege is accorded to a man of any equal or higher caste who may desire to marry a parka girl. a girl is only cast out when she is discovered to have been living with a man of lower caste than the parkas. all these facts indicate their mixed origin. as already seen, the caste are labourers, village watchmen-and musicians, and their customs resemble those of low-caste hindus, but they rank above the impure castes. they will eat food cooked with water from lodhis, many of whom are landowners in jubbulpore, and as such no doubt stand to the parka in the relation of employer to servant. every year on the second day of bhadon (august) they worship a four-sided iron plate and a spear, which latter is perhaps the emblem of the village watchman. fines imposed for caste offences are sometimes expended in the purchase of vessels which thereafter become common property and are lent to any one who requires them. _parnami_.--(a follower of prannath of panna.) subcaste of dangi. _parsai_.--(village priest.) synonym for joshi. _parsoli_.--(_parsa_, an axe.) a section of ahir or rawat in chhattisgarh. _parwar_.--a subcaste of bania. see article bania-parwar. a subcaste of kumhar. _passi_.--synonym of pasi. _patadhari_.--(one occupying the seat of instruction.) a section of celibate manbhaos. _patane_.--a subcaste of prabhu, so called on account of their living near patan in gujarat. _patbina_.--(from _patti_, sacking, and _binna_, to weave.) synonym of kumrawat. subcaste of jogi. _patel_.--(headman of a village.) a subcaste and title of mali. a surname of gaur brahmans in saugor and of parsis. a surname or section of agharia, mahar and kachhi. a title of the ahir and bhoyar castes. _pathak_.--(teacher.) a surname of kanaujia and other classes of brahmans. _pathan_.--one of the four tribes of muhammadans. see article muhammadan religion. _pathari_.--(a hillman.) synonym of pardhan. subcaste of katia. _patharia_.--a subcaste of katia, kurmi and mahar. a section of halba. a subcaste of agaria, who place a stone on the mouth of the bellows to fix them in the ground for smelting iron. _pathmukh_.--a subsept of the dhurwa gonds in betul. they offer a young goat to their gods and do not kill bears. _pathrot_, _pathrawat_.--(one who makes and sharpens millstones and grindstones.) synonym of beldar. _pati_.--(lord.) an honorific title of uriya brahmans. _patkar_.--(from _pat_, widow-marriage.) a subcaste of sunar in wardha. a section of rangari. _patlia_.--(from _patel_.) title of panwar rajput. _patnaik_.--a surname of karan or mahanti, the uriya writer caste. _patra_.--(an uriya word meaning councillor.) a subcaste of kolta and chasa, and title of several uriya castes. also a synonym for the patwa caste. _patti_.--(a thread-seller.) subcaste of kaikari. _patwa_.--a caste. see article. in seoni tahsil of hoshangabad district patwa and lakhera appear to be synonymous terms. a section of oswal bania. _patwari_.--(name of the village accountant and surveyor, who is now a salaried government official.) the kayasth caste were formerly patwaris by profession. see article. _patwi_.--(a dyer who colours the silk thread which weavers use to border their cotton cloth.) synonym of patwa. subcaste of koshti. from _pata_, a woven cloth. _pawanbans_.--(the children of the wind.) synonym for bhuiya. _pendhari_.--synonym of pindari. _peng_.--subcaste of parja. _penthi_.--(sheep.) a totemistic sept of bhulia. _periki_, _perki_, _perka_.--the perikis are really a subcaste of the great balija or balji caste, but they have a lower position and are considered as a distinct group. about 4000 perikis were returned in the central provinces in 1911 from the nagpur, wardha and chanda districts. they derive their names from the _perike_ or panniers in which they carried salt and grain on bullocks and donkeys. they were thus formerly a nomadic group, and like the banjaras and bhamtas they also made gunny-bags and sacking. most of them have now taken to cultivation, and in madras some perikis have become large landholders and claim rajput rank. in the central provinces the balijas and naidus deny that the perikis have any connection with the balija caste. _peta_.--(a trading balija.) subcaste of balija. _phal barhai_.--(a carpenter who only works on one side of the wood.) synonym for chitari in the uriya country. _phanse_.--(a pardhi who hunts with traps and snares.) subcaste of pardhi. _phansigar_.--(a strangler.) synonym of thug. _pharsi_.--(axe.) a section of uriya, ahir or gahara. _phopatia_.--title of the officer of the andh caste who summons the caste committee. _phulia_, _phulmali_.--(a flower-gardener.) subcaste of kachhi and mali. _phuljharia_.--(from phuljhar zamindari in raipur.) a territorial subcaste of ahir or rawat, ghasia and panka. _phul kunwar_.--a section of kawar. they use the _akre_ or swallow-wort flower for their marriage-crown. _phulsunga_.--a totemistic section of gadaria. they abstain from smelling or touching a flower called _gadha_. _phurasti_.--(a wanderer.) subcaste of kaikari. _pindara_.--synonym of pindari. _pindari_.--a caste. subcaste of mang. _pinjara_.--(one who cards cotton.) synonym of bahna. _pipar_.--(a tree.) a section of khatik and kalar. _pipariya_.--(from the pipal tree, or from piparia, a common place-name derived from the tree.) a clan of rajputs in saugor. a section of sunars in saugor. _piria_.--subcaste of kachhi. from _piria_, the basket in which they carry earth. _pit_.--subcaste of bhatra. _pitariya_.--(from _pital_, brass.) a subdivision of pardeshi sunars in nagpur. they practise hypergamy, taking wives from the sadihe subcaste, and giving daughters to the srinagariye, bangar, mahuwe and jadiye subcastes. _pohni_.--subcaste of jhadi telenga. _poiya_,--subcaste of majhwar. _polya_.--(one who did not take off his turban at the feast.) title of hatkar. _pondro_.--(a tree.) one of the six subsepts of the marai clan of pathari gonds in khairagarh. _ponwar_.--synonym of panwar rajput. _portai_.--(basket.) a subsept of the uika clan of gonds in betul. they do not kill the tiger or crocodile. a sept of dhur gonds. _potdar_.--(a money-tester.) synonym and title of sunar. a surname of karhara brahmans in saugor. _potdukh_.--(stomach-ache.) a section of teli in chanda. _potharia_.--(one to whom a certain dirty habit is imputed.) subcaste of korku. _potwa_.--(a worker in tasar silk.) synonym for darzi; a subcaste of darzi. _poyam_.--(worshipper of eight gods.) a sept of pardhan and of maria gonds. _prajapati_.--title of kumhar. _pramara_.--synonym for panwar rajput. _prannathi_.--a follower of prannath of panna. synonym for dhami. _pravar_.--a term for the ancestors sharing in a sacrificial invocation, particularly that of the horn or fire-sacrifice. _prayagwal_.--(from prayag-allahabad.) a subcaste of brahmans who preside at the ceremonial bathing in the ganges at allahabad. _puar_.--synonym of panwar rajput. _pujari_.--(a worshipper.) name for the priest in charge of a temple. a title of bhatra. _purad_.--a small mixed caste in nagpur. they say that their ancestor was a brahman, who was crossing a river and lost his sacred thread, on being carried down in a flood (_pur_). therefore he was put out of caste because the sacred thread must be changed before swallowing the spittle, and he had no other thread ready. at the census the purads were amalgamated with vidurs. they are shopkeepers by profession. _purait_.--(one who is of pure blood.) a subdivision of jharia rawat (ahir) in chhattisgarh. a subcaste of dhakar, halba and marar. _purania_.--(old.) a subcaste of kachera or sisgar in saugor. the puranias are the muhammadan bangle-makers who originally practised this calling. a subcaste of barai, basor, nai and sunar. a section of chamar and darzi. _purbia_.--this term, which means eastern or coming from the east, is used in hoshangabad and other districts to designate rajputs from oudh and the adjoining tracts, especially retired sepoys from the bengal army. they appear to belong to different clans, but many of them are bais rajputs. some of the purbias say that their king, somewhere in northern india, heard that cows were being killed in the central provinces, so he sent them to stop the practice and they came and stopped it and settled there. in gujarat this name appears to be applied to brahmans. a subcaste of barhai and gadaria. a section of nat and sunar. _purkam_.--(_purka_-pumpkin.) a sept of the uika clan of gonds in betul. _purohit_.--(family priest.) a common title of brahmans. _purouti_ or _pudoti_.--(bowels.) a sept of gonds in khairagarh. _pusam_.--(worshipper of five gods.) a sept of raj-gond and dhur gond, and of baiga and pardhan. _putka_.--a subcaste of sudh, being the illegitimate issue of the dehri sudhs. _qawwal_.--(one who speaks fluently.) title of mirasi. _rachhbandia_.--(comb-makers.) a subcaste of kuchhbandia (kanjar). _raghunathia_.--a small group of brahmans, so called because their ancestors are said to have received a grant of five villages from raghunath deo of hindoli. _raghuvansi_.--a caste formed from a rajput clan. see article. a subcaste of ahir; a section of mali and gond. _raghvi_.--synonym of raghuvansi. _rahmat_.--(compassion.) a section of panwar rajput. a muhammadan proper name. _rai_ or _raj_.--subcaste of darzi, kalar, khangar. _rai-bhaina_.--subcaste of baiga in balaghat. _raipuria_.--(from raipur.) a subcaste of dhimars who do not wear gold ornaments. a subcaste of dewar in bilaspur. _raj_ or _rai_.--from raja, a king. this term designates the landholding division of certain tribes, as the raj-gonds, the raj-korkus, the raj-khonds and the rajbhars. the raj-bhats, raj-dhuris and rai-darzis are similarly subcastes of good position in their respective castes. raj is also used as a synonym for beldar, meaning a mason. _raja_.--(a king.) title of a ruling chief, and occasionally conferred on prominent indian gentlemen. _rajak_.--(a washerman.) synonym for dhobi. _rajbhar_.--(a landowning bhar.) synonym for rajjhar. _raj-bhat._--subcaste of bhat. _raj-dhuri._--a subcaste of dhuri, said to be descendants of personal servants in rajput families. _raj-gond_.--the landholding subdivision of the gond tribe; a section of chamar and kachhi. _raj-khond_.--subcaste of khond. _raj-kunwar, raj-pardhan_.--a subcaste of pardhan in balaghat. _rajoria_.--(kingly.) a section of barhai, dangi, khatik and sanadhya brahman. _raj-pardhan_.--a subcaste of pardhan. they are said to be also known as kunwar pardhan or gond bhat and to be beggars and bards of the gonds. _raj-pasi_.--subcaste of pasi. _rajput_.--(son of a king.) a caste, representing the ancient kshatriya caste. see article. a subcaste of banjara, kadera, kumhar and patwa. _rajwaria_.--from the rajwar caste. subcaste of dahait. subdivision of kol in mirzapur. _rakaseya_.--(from rakas, a devil.) a section of katia. _rakhotia_.--an illegitimate section of kumhar. _rakhwaldar_.--(village watchman.) title of ramosi. _raksa_.--(demoniac.) a section of kumhar and kawar. _ramanandi_.--a class of bairagis or religious mendicants. see article bairagi. _ramanuja_.--a class of bairagis or religious mendicants. see article bairagi. _ramgarhia_.--(a resident of ramgarh in mandla.) subcaste of ghasia. _ramoshi_.--synonym of ramosi. _rana_.--a title of sesodia rajputs. a section of halba and panwar. _randgolak_.--a subdivision of degraded maharashtra brahmans, the offspring of illicit unions or remarried widows. _rangari_.--(one who works in indigo (_nil_).) synonym for chhipa. _rao_.--synonym for bhat. a section of chamar and lohar. a title of the bhilala caste. _ratanpuria_.--(a resident of ratanpur in bilaspur.) subcaste of nunia and dewar. _ratha_.--(a car for carrying a god.) honorific title of uriya brahmans. _rathia_.--subcaste of kawar. _rathor_, _rathaur_.--a famous rajput clan. see article rajput-rathor. a subcaste of banjara, bari and of teli in mandla, betul, nimar and other districts. a section of ahir, bhilala, mochi, nahal and pardhi. _ratna banik_.--(dealer in jewels.) a synonym of sunar in sambalpur. _rautadi_.--subcaste of bhuiya. _rautele_.--a subcaste of kol. a section of barai, bhat, gadaria and of sunar in saugor. _rautia_.--a subcaste of kol in several districts. a subcaste of dahait. a subcaste of kawar. a section of chamar and rawat (ahir). _rawal_.--title borne by some rajput chieftains in western india. probably a diminutive of rao, the marathi form of raj or raja. a section of chasa, mali and garpagari. _rawanbansi_.--descendants of rawan, the demon king of ceylon. a name applied to the gonds generally, and now used as a subtribal designation to distinguish them from raj-gonds. _rawanvansi_.--name of a clan of gosain mendicants. _rawat_.--a title borne by some minor rajput chiefs. probably a diminutive of rajputra, the original form of the term rajput. an honorific title of gonds and savars in saugor and damoh. the name by which the ahir caste is generally known in chhattisgarh. a subcaste and title of khairwar. a title sometimes used by sunars and brahmans in bundelkhand and by lodhis. a subcaste of mehtar and mali. a section of arakh, banjara, binjhwar, dhanwar, kawar, khairwar, kunbi, nat, patwa, panwar rajput, and sudh. _reddi_.--a synonym for the kapewar or kapu caste; a subcaste of kapewar and gandli. _redka_.--a small labouring caste of sambalpur. they are apparently the result of intermarriages between some members of the reddi or kapu cultivating caste of telingana, who came to sambalpur during the orissa famine of 1866, with low-class uriya women. they still speak telugu among themselves, using uriya to outsiders. only one curious feature of the marriage ceremony of the redkas need be noticed here. this is that the officiating brahman actually places a red-hot copper seal on the arms of the bride and bridegroom as a symbol of sealing the marriage bond. in other respects their customs resemble those of low-caste uriyas. _rekwar_.--subcaste of dhimar. _rig-vedi_.--sectarian division of brahmans. _rikhiasan mahatwar_.--subcaste of bhuiya. _ritha biknath_.--one who prepares and sells soap-nuts for washing clothes. subcaste of jogi. _rohidasi_.--honorific term for a chamar. it signifies a follower of the sect of rohidas in northern india. the chamars often describe themselves by this name instead of their caste name. _rohilla_.--a pathan tribe who have settled in rohilkhand or the bareilly tract of the united provinces. they derive their name from roh, the designation given to the country where the pushto language is spoken by residents of hindustan. the word roh, like koh, means a mountain, and rohilla therefore signifies a highlander. [484] the rohilla pathans occupied rohilkhand in the eighteenth century. their name first attracted attention when warren hastings was charged with hiring out british troops for their suppression. the rohillas say that they are of coptic origin, and that driven out of egypt by one of the pharaohs they wandered westward till they arrived under that part of the mountains of afghanistan known as sulaimani koh. [485] parties of rohillas visit the central provinces bringing woollen cloths and dried fruits for sale. here they formerly bore a bad character, being accustomed to press the sale of their merchandise on the villagers on credit at exorbitant interest; and when the time for realisation came, to extort their money by threats of violence, or actual assault, or, if this was not practicable, by defiling the graves of their debtors' ancestors. these practices have now, however, been largely suppressed. _romya_ or _haralya._--subcaste of chamar. _ror_.--subcaste of khatri. _rora_.--synonym of arora. _ruma_.--a resident of basim and gangra in amraoti district. subcaste of korku. _ruthia_.--a name formed from the noise _rut, rut_ made by the oil-mill in turning. subcaste of teli. _sabara_.--synonym for the savar tribe. a section of kawar and teli. _sabat_.--(from _saot_, co-wife.) an honorific title of uriya brahmans. _sadaphal_.--(a fruit.) a section of chandnahu kurmi and sonkar. _sada-sohagal_.--a class of fakirs or muhammadan beggars. _sadhu_.--(a religious mendicant.) synonym for bairagis or gosains. _sagar_.--name of one of the ten orders of gosains. _sagunsale_.--a group of illegitimate descent. subcaste of koshti. _sahadeve_.--a clan of gonds worshipping six gods and paying special reverence to the tiger. _sahani_.--(from _siahi_, ink.) an honorific title of karan or mahanti. a subcaste of paik. _sahara_.--synonym for the savar tribe. _sahasra audichya_.--(a thousand men of the north.) a subdivision of gujarati brahmans who are said to have accepted presents from raja mulraj of anhalwara patan at a sacrifice, and hence to have suffered some degradation in rank. audichya probably signifies coming from oudh. _sahra_.--synonym of savar. _sahu_.--(a trader.) an honorific title of bania. a synonym for sunar in sambalpur. a subdivision of uriya brahmans. a section of khadra, kolta, sundi and teli. _sahukar_.--title of bania. see sahu. _sain_.--synonym for fakir. _saiqalgar_.--from arabic _saiqal_, a polisher. synonym for sikligar. _sais_.--the title by which grooms or horse-keepers are usually known. the word sais, colonel temple states, [486] is arabic and signifies a nobleman; it is applied to grooms as an honorific title, in accordance with the common method of address among the lower castes. other honorific designations for grooms, as given by colonel temple, are bhagat or 'saint,' and panch, 'arbitrator,' but neither of these is generally used in the central provinces. another name for saises is thanwar, which means a person in charge of a stable or place where a horse is kept. grooms from northern india are usually of the jaiswara division of chamars, who take their name from the old town of jais in oudh; but they drop the chamar and give jaiswara as their caste. these men are thin and wiry and can run behind their horses for long distances. the grooms indigenous to the central provinces are as a rule promoted grass-cutters and are either of the ghasia (grass-cutter) or the kori and mahar (weaver) castes. they cannot usually run at all well. it is believed that both the jaiswaras and mahars who work as grooms have taken to marrying among themselves and tend to form separate endogamous groups, because they consider themselves superior to the remainder of the caste. a sais will frequently refuse to tie up a dog with a rope or lead him with one because he uses a rope for leading his horses. this taboo is noticed by sir b. fuller as follows: "horses in india are led not by the bridle but by a thick cotton leading-rope which is passed over the headstall, and such a rope is carried by every indian groom. i asked my groom one day to tie up with his leading rope a dog that would not follow. he absolutely refused, and i discovered that the rope was the fetish of his caste and was formerly adored and propitiated in the course of an annual caste festival. to touch a dog with it would have been sacrilege." [487] _saitwal_.--a subcaste of jain banias. _saiyad_.--one of the four muhammadan tribes, which is supposed to comprise the descendants of the prophet. _sakadwipi_.--a tribe of brahmans taking their name from sakadwipa, the country of the sakas. the sakas were a central asian tribe who invaded india before the commencement of the christian era, and sakadwipa is said to be the valley of the kabul river. _sakarwal, sikarwar_.--a clan of rajputs whose name is said to be derived from fatehpur sikri. _saksena_.--a subcaste of kayasth, also called sukhsena. a subcaste of bharbhunja and kachhi. _saktaha_.--a synonym for shakta, a worshipper of devi in chhattisgarh. saktaha practically means a person who eats flesh, as opposed to a kabirpanthi who abstains from it. a subcaste of panka, who are not kabirpanthis. _sakum_.--a sept of korku. (one who hides behind a teak tree.) _salam_.--(worshipper of six gods.) a clan of gond. a section of dewar. _salewar_.--a name for telugu koshtis. a subcaste of koshti. _samaiya_.--a sect of jains. _san_.--a subcaste of bhatra. _sanadhya_.--a subcaste of brahmans belonging to the gaur division. _sanak-kul._--a section of komti. they do not use _jaiphal_ or nutmeg. _sanaurhia_.--subcaste of brahman. synonym for sanadhya. _sanbagh_.--(a little tiger.) a section of bhulia. _sand_.--(the bull.) a totemistic sept of kawar. they do not use bullocks for ploughing, or are supposed not to. a section of khangar. they do not give a present of a bull at weddings. a section of mali. _sania_.--(a grower of _san_-hemp.) subcaste of kachhi. _saniasi_.--name for a religious mendicant. synonym for gosain. _sanjogi_.--a class of bairagis or mendicants who marry, also called grihastha. _sankrita_.--an eponymous section of kanaujia brahmans. _sanp_.--(snake.) a sept of gond and kawar. _santal, saonta, sonthal._--an important tribe of bengal, belonging to the munda family. the transfer of five of the chota nagpur states has brought more than 10,000 santals into the central provinces. they belong principally to the sarguja state and a few are returned from udaipur state and from the bilaspur district, but in all those tracts they are known as saonta and appear to have been cut off from the main tribe for a considerable period. according to mr. skrefsrud the name santal is a corruption of saontar and was given to the tribe by the bengalis because they lived in the country about saont in midnapur. sir h. risley held that the tribe might equally well have given its name to the locality, and there was no means of ascertaining which theory was correct. the forms santal and sonthal are only used by natives who have come into contact with europeans. santals call themselves '_harko_,' men, or '_harhapan_,' man-child. [488] at the present day when a santal is asked to what caste he belongs he will almost invariably reply manjhi, which means a village headman, and is the common title of the tribe; if further explanation is demanded, he will add santal manjhi. whether the term santal was derived from the saont pargana or not, it is therefore at any rate a name conferred by the hindus and affords no evidence in favour of a separate origin of the tribe. there seems good reason to hold that the santals are only a branch of the kols or mundas, who have been given a distinct designation by their hindu neighbours, while their customs and traditions have been modified either by long separation from the mundas of chota nagpur or by contact with hindu influences. sir g. grierson's account of the two dialects santali and mundari shows that they closely resemble each other and differ only in minor particulars. the difference is mainly to be found in the vocabulary borrowed from aryan neighbours, and in the grammatical modifications occasioned by the neighbouring aryan forms of speech. [489] of mundari he says: "aspirated letters are used as in santali, the semi-consonants are apparently pronounced in the same way as in santali; genders and numbers are the same, the personal pronouns are the same, the inflexion of verbs is mainly the same." [490] some points of difference are mentioned by sir g. grierson, but they appear to be of minor importance. the mundas, like the santals, call themselves _hara-ko_ or men. in the vocabulary of common words of mundari and santali given by colonel dalton [491] a large proportion of the words are the same. similarly in the list of sept-names of the tribes given by sir h. risley [492] several coincide. among the 15 names of main septs of the santals, besra, a hawk, murmu nilgai, or stag, and aind, eel, are also the names of munda septs. the santal sept hansda, a wild goose, is nearly identical with the munda sept hansa, a swan; the santal septs kisku and tudu are sept-names of the hos, a branch of the mundas; and in one or two other names there is a great resemblance. the principal deity of the santals, marang buru, is a munda god. in the inheritance of property both tribes have the same rule of the exclusion of daughters. in his article on ho, sir h. risley indeed states that the santals, hos and mundas are local branches of the same tribe. the saontas of sarguja and bilaspur appear to have been separated from the parent tribe for some generations and to have assimilated some of the customs of the gonds. they have some gond sept-names, as markam and dhurwa. those of pendra zamindari have no traditions of their origin beyond saying that the adjoining kenda zamindari was their original home. they profess to revere only the sun, fire and water. in order to worship the jal-deota or water-god they pour water round the fire and then throw a little butter on the fire in his name. mr. c.u. wills, settlement officer, records of them the following curious custom: when a man is at the point of death or actually dead, they sometimes set fire to the hut in which his body is lying and run away, no doubt to save themselves from being haunted and troubled by his spirit, to the attainment of which end so large a part of funeral ritual is everywhere directed. the following short account of them by colonel dalton may be reproduced for reference: [493] "the name saont or saonta directs us to the santal branch of the kols, and, as i have already noticed, there is in sarguja a small tribe so called. they are the sole inhabitants of the magnificent tableland forming the southern barrier of sarguja, called the mainpat or more correctly perhaps the manipat. they are a small tribe living scattered over the vast area of the plateau in about a dozen hamlets, and they are strong in the belief that they were especially created to dwell there, or that they and the plateau somehow sprang into existence together, and cannot be separated. i saw a number of them when i was last in sarguja, and from their features i should be inclined to class them as kols, but they have some customs and notions which they must have derived from the dravidian gonds. they acknowledge dulha deo as a household god, and follow the customs of the gonds and other southerners in their marriage ceremonies. "they worship the sun as bhagwan, and like the kharias offer sacrifices to that luminary in an open place with an ant-hill for an altar. the mainpat is their marang buru, and as it is 16 miles long, 12 miles broad, and rises 3850 feet above the sea-level, it is not unworthy of the name, but they do not use that or any other kol term. the great mainpat is their fatherland and their god. they have it all to themselves except during the summer months, when it becomes a vast grazing field for the cattle of mirzapur and bihar. "the saonts are armed like the korwas with bows and arrows, and the peculiar battle-axe of the country, but it is against the beasts of the forest that these weapons are used. formerly the mainpat was a magnificent hunting field, especially noted for its herds of antelope and gaur. the late maharaja of sarguja strictly preserved it, but on his death it fell into the hands of his widow, a very money-loving old lady, who allowed it to become one of the great grazing tracts, and the pasturage alone gives her an income of £250 a year; but the wild animals have in consequence withdrawn from it. "the position of the saonts is altogether very curious, and though they now speak no language but a rude hindi, the evidence is, on the whole, favourable to their being a remnant of the ancient kol aborigines of sarguja, cut off from connection with those people by successive inroads of other races or tribes. their substitution of a hindi dialect for their own language seems to indicate that they were first subjugated by aryans. the gond chiefs only count about twenty-four generations in sarguja, and they have all adopted the hindi language." _sanyasi_.--(a religious recluse.) synonym for gosain. _sao_.--(for _sahu_, a banker, a rich man.) a subcaste of kalar and teli. an honorific title of chhipa or rangari. a sept of gond. _saojin_.--(from _sao_, a banker.) subcaste of banjara. _saonr_.--synonym of savar. _saonta_.--name by which the santal tribe is known in bilaspur. a subcaste of dhanwar. _sapera_.--(a snake-charmer.) name of a clan of nats, who exhibit snakes. a section of basor and khatik. _saraf_.--(a money-changer and tester.) a synonym of sunar. _saraia_ (angler.) from _sarai_, a bamboo fishing-rod. subcaste of dhimar. _sarangarhia_.--(from sarangarh.) a subtribe of gonds in khairagarh. a subcaste of dewar. _saraogi_.--a name by which jain laymen are known. subcaste of bania. _saras_.--(a large crane.) a section of chamar. _saraswat_.--one of the five orders of panch gaur brahmans inhabiting the country of the river saraswati. one of the ten orders of gosains. _sarati_.--a sept of gond and pardhan. _sariyam_.--a subsept of the dhurwa clan of gonds in betul, said to be so called because the road to the place of the gods was swept by their priests. _sarolia_ or _sarwaria_.--(inferior or mixed.) subcaste of agharia. _saroti_.--a sept of pardhans said to be named after _sarra_, a whip, because their priest once struck a man with a whip. _sarsatia_.--(from the saraswati river.) subcaste of bahna. _satani_. [494]--a telugu caste of priests and mendicants of which 900 persons were returned, principally from the chanda district, in 1911. in the central provinces, ayawar, satani and dasari have been taken as one caste, but elsewhere they are considered as distinct. ayawar is a term of respect analogous to the hindustani maharaj, and is applied to the satanis and other religious orders. the satanis and dasaris are distinguished in madras; satani is stated [495] to be a corruption of sattadavan, which means 'one who does not wear' (_e.g._ the sacred thread and scalp-lock). it is a mixed religious order recruited from any caste except the pariahs, leather-workers and muhammadans. the dasaris [496] are said to be the reputed descendants of a wealthy sudra of one of the northern districts, who, being childless, vowed that if offspring should be granted to him he would devote a son to the service of the god. after this he had several children, one of whom he consecrated to the deity, calling him dasan (the obedient servant). dasan and his offspring made their livelihood by begging. this order, like that of the satanis, is reinforced by idle members of the lower sudra castes, who become dasaris by being branded by the guru of tirupatti and other shrines. in the central provinces the dasaris are stated to be recruited from the impure mala caste of the telugu country, and hence to rank below the satanis. many of the madrasi servants in european households call themselves dasaris. members of the agricultural castes are usually admitted into the satani order and its status is almost equal to theirs. the caste, in spite of its small numbers, has several subdivisions, as the sale satanis, who are weavers, the bukkas, who are sellers of _kunku_ or red powder, and five other subdivisions who are all beggars. some of these eat together but do not intermarry. they have exogamous family groups, usually named after sacred places in madras or celebrated gurus (spiritual preceptors) or deities, as tirupatti, ramanujamwar, shaligramwar and so on. the caste marry in the ordinary way and do not observe celibacy. widow-marriage is allowed, but a widow must marry a widower, and the officiating priest at the ceremony must also be a widower. the satanis principally revere vishnu, whom they worship on fridays. their priests are taken from their own order and form a separate subcaste under the name of parmastwar. a novice, on being initiated to the order, is branded with the figures of a sankha (conch-shell) and chakra (discus). they both burn and bury the dead, and the spirits of female as well as of male ancestors are propitiated. this is done by calling a married woman by the name of the dead female, putting red powder on her forehead and worshipping her. among the satanis a widow accompanies the corpse of her husband to the grave. they officiate at funerals, and a satani priest applies the caste-mark to the body of the corpse and also to that of the four persons who are to carry it. he receives presents in the name of the dead man, and takes the red cloth with which the corpse is covered. at the funeral feast the satani offers cooked food, including flesh and also liquor, to the god, and the assembled guests then partake of them. the satani drinks liquor only and does not eat the food, and since he must stay to the end of the feast he sometimes becomes intoxicated. the satanis are priests and mendicants. though they do not wear the sacred thread themselves, the manufacture of it is one of their hereditary occupations. they collect alms in a _lota_ or brass vessel, on which representations of the conch and discus are drawn. the dasaris wander about, singing hymns to a monotonous accompaniment upon a leather instrument called _tappai_ (perhaps a tabor). they are engaged by some sudra castes to sing their chants in front of the corpse at funerals. others exhibit what is called the _panda sewai_, that is, they become possessed by the deity and beat themselves over the body with a flaming torch. a few train young bulls to perform tricks and travel about exhibiting them. some have become masons and goldsmiths. men have the mark of the trident on the forehead, the two outer lines being white and the middle one red or yellow. they shave the head and face clean, not retaining the scalp-lock. women have a vertical streak on the forehead and do not wear glass bangles nor the necklace of black beads. neither men nor women are tattooed. the satanis have a fairly good social position and the lower castes will take food from them. _satbhuiyan_ or _utar_.--subcaste of khond. _satdeve_.--a clan of gonds worshipping seven gods and paying special reverence to the porcupine. _satghare_.--(seven houses.) a division of the maratha caste, consisting of seven of the highest clans who marry among themselves and sometimes take daughters from the other ninety-six clans. _satnami_.--a religious sect, which now practically forms a subcaste of chamar. _satputia_.--(having seven sons.) a section of lonare mali. _satyanath_. a subcaste of jogi or nath. _savar_, _savara_.--a tribe. _sawalakh_.--(1 1/4 lakhs.) a section of dhobi. _sawara_.--synonym for savar. subcaste of kol. _segidi_, [497] _shegadi_.--the telugu caste of toddy-drawers and distillers, of which a few representatives were returned from the nagpur district in 1901. they will draw _tari_ or palm-juice only from the _sindi_ palm (_phoenix sylvestris_) and not from the palmyra palm (_borassics flabelliformis_). this is the occupation of a separate caste, the yatas, from whom the segidis will not even take water. at a segidi marriage the bride is shown the polar star, which is believed to be the wife of rishi vasishtha, the model of conjugal excellence. she is then made to step on to a stone slab to remind her how ahalya, the beautiful wife of rishi gautama, was turned to a stone for committing adultery. widow-marriage is permitted, and, by a very curious exception to the ordinary rule, a widow may marry her deceased husband's elder brother but not his younger one. the usual prohibition on a widow marrying her husband's elder brother is based on the ground that he is looked on as her father; the segidis say, on the other hand, that his younger brother is as her son. if an unmarried adult male dies, the ceremony of marriage is performed between the corpse and a plantain tree; and if an unmarried woman dies she is married to a sword. a corpse is always buried with the head to the east and the feet to the west. this peculiar practice may be a reminiscence of vedic times, when the west was considered to be the abode of the departed, the sun being the first mortal who died and went to the west as recorded in the rig-veda. the segidis are also cultivators, traders or soldiers. they have a method of divining a boy's proper calling in his infancy. when his mouth is touched with grain as food for the first time, they put a sword, a pen, a book, food and other articles, being the symbols of different professions, on the ground and place the child in front of them. and his vocation in life is held to be determined by the article which he touches first. _senapati_.--(general.) honorific title of sundi. _sendia_.--title of caste headman of panwar rajput. _sendur_.--a section of ahir or rawat. _senduria_.--subcaste of nagasia. they mark the forehead of the bride with vermilion (_sendur_). _sengar._--a clan of rajputs belonging to saugor and jubbulpore. _sesodia_.--a famous clan of rajputs. _seth_.--(banker or moneylender.) a title of bania. _setti_.--a corruption of the sanskrit shreshta, good. title of komti caste. _sewak_.--(servant.) the name given to an inferior class of brahmans who serve in vaishnava temples. _shaikh, sheikh_.--one of the four tribes of muhammadans. a subcaste of mehtar. _shaiva, saiva_.--(a worshipper of siva.) the term shaiva brahman is applied to guraos. _shandilya, sandilya_.--an eponymous _gotra_ or section of brahmans. a section of darzi, raj-gond, rawat (ahir) and sunar. _shegudi_.--see segidi. _shendia_.--a section of teli and otari (kasar). _shenvi_.--a subcaste of maratha brahmans in hoshangabad. _sheohare_ or _sivahare_.--subcaste of kalar. _shiah_.--one of the two great sects of muhammadans. _shikari_.--(a hunter.) a synonym for pardhi or bahelia. _shimpi_.--(a tailor.) synonym for darzi in the maratha country. _shishi ke telwale_.--subcaste of pardhi. they sell oil obtained from the bodies of crocodiles. _siddi, sidi, habshi._--the name given to africans, whether abyssinians or negroes. habshi means one coming from el habish, the arabic name for north-east africa. siddi is a corruption of saiyad, the designation of a descendant of the prophet, and is commonly used as a term of respectful address in north africa, like sahib in india. the _bombay gazetteer_ states [498] that about the middle of the fifteenth century, when the bahmani dynasty became independent of delhi and intercourse with northern india ceased, the fashion arose of bringing to western india large numbers of abyssinians and other east africans. though most of the habshis came to india as slaves, their faithfulness, courage and energy often raised them to positions of high trust in the bahmani court. according to orme, the successful abyssinians gathered round them all of their countrymen whom they could procure either by purchase or invitation, including negroes from other parts of africa, as well as abyssinians. from their marriages, first with natives of india and afterwards among their own families, there arose a separate community, distinct from other muhammadans in figure, colour and character. as soon as they were strong enough they formed themselves into an aristocratic republic and produced some of the most skilful and daring soldiers and sailors of western india. the rulers of janjira and sachin states in bombay are siddis by descent. they are now employed as stokers and firemen on steamers and as fitters and mechanics in the dockyards of bombay, and are described [499] as "a hardy race with muscular frames, thick lips and crisp black hair--the very last men whom you would wish to meet in a rough-and-tumble, and yet withal a jovial people, well-disposed and hospitable to any one whom they regard as a friend." in other parts of india the siddis are usually beggars and are described as 'fond of intoxicating drinks, quarrelsome, dirty, unthrifty and pleasure-loving, obstinacy being their leading trait.' they worship baba ghor, an abyssinian saint. [500] it is recorded that the medicine called silajit, a nervine tonic for the generative power, was formerly believed to be prepared from the flesh of abyssinian boys. mr. hooper writes: "silajit is allied to another ancient drug named momiayi which has long been employed in the east. the original drug is said to have been made from egyptian mummies, and subsequently to have been prepared by boiling down and extracting the essence of abyssinian boys. since the last source of supply has become scarce, several bituminous exudations are reported to have been substituted." [501] the drug is now said to be made from the gum of some stone in hardwar, and this must be the bitumen referred to by mr. hooper. the virtue ascribed to the flesh of abyssinian boys was no doubt based on their superior bodily strength and perhaps partly on the prolificacy of the negroes. in the case of mummies, as the body of the mummy was believed to have retained life or the capacity of life for many ages, its material would naturally possess extraordinary vitality and should be capable of imparting this quality to others when assimilated into their bodies. _sidhira_, _sithira_.--a small occupational caste of sambalpur and the uriya states. the caste is not found elsewhere in india. they are braziers by trade, and in spite of their small numbers say they have three subcastes, one of which, the luhura, works in iron. they are an impure caste, whose touch conveys pollution in sambalpur. they accept alms from a munda or oraon on the occasion of a death in the latter's family, and have totemistic septs. they eat fowls and rats and consume much liquor. they also admit outsiders into the caste. it may be concluded, therefore, that they are an occupational caste formed from the tribes above mentioned or others, through adopting the calling of brass-workers. the adultery of a sidhira woman with a man of any higher caste is looked upon as an absolutely trifling offence, and this is a common feature of low castes of mixed origin. as among many primitive tribes, one particular sept performs the ceremony of readmitting offenders to caste intercourse by sprinkling a little ganges water over them. the man fulfilling this office is known as the baikar, and after a wedding the bridal pair go to the baikar's house and he pours two jars full of water over their heads and bodies. they go inside the house, and the bridegroom then comes out and gives the wet clothes to the baikar with a small present. this appears to be a sort of purificatory ceremony at marriage. _sidi_.--synonym of siddi. _silpi_.--(a stone-mason.) subcaste of kammala. _sindhi_.--(performers of dramas.) subcaste of madgi. _sindhupushkar_.--a subcaste of brahmans in khairagarh state, perhaps the same as the marwari pushkama brahmans. it is said that sindhu has the meaning of a lake. _singade_.--(from _singh_, horn, and _gadna_, to bury.) subcaste of koli. the members of this group, when their buffaloes die, bury the horns in their compound. _singar_.--(a fish.) a totemistic sept of kawar. a section of agharia. _singaria_.--those who cultivate the _singara_ nut. subcaste of dhimar. _singh_.--(a lion.) the usual suffix to the names of rajputs, sikhs and castes which claim rajput rank, such as lodhis. _singh, singhi_.--(horn.) a totemistic sept of dhanwar. a section of kurmi, and of oswal and maheshri bania. _singhal_.--(ceylon.) a section of brahmans in damoh. _singrore_.--subcaste of kunbi and lodhi. _sikligar_, _bardhia_, _saiqalgar_. [502]--a small caste of armourers and knife-grinders. the name saiqalgar comes from the arabic _saiqal_, a polisher, and bardhia is from _bardh_, the term for the edge of a weapon. they number only about 450 persons in the central provinces and berar, and reside mainly in the large towns, as jubbulpore and nagpur. the caste is partly hindu and partly muhammadan, but very few members of it in the central provinces profess the latter religion. in bombay [503] the muhammadan sikligars are said to be ghisaris or tinkers who were forcibly converted by aurangzeb. the writer of the belgaum gazetteer [504] says that they are scarcely more than muhammadans in name, as they practically never go to the mosque, keep hindu gods in their houses, eschew beef, and observe no special muhammadan rites other than circumcision. the hindu sikligars claim to be rajputs and have rajput sept names, and it is not unlikely that in old times the armourer's calling should have been adopted by the lower classes of rajputs. the headquarters of the caste is in gwalior, where there is probably still some scope for their ancient trade. but in british territory the sikligar has degenerated into a needy knife-grinder. mr. crooke [505] describes him as "a trader of no worth. his whole stock-in-trade is a circular whetstone worked by a strap between two posts fixed in the ground. he sharpens knives, razors, scissors and sometimes swords." _sirdar_.--title of the kawar caste. _siriswar_.--(from _siris_, a tree.) a section of gadaria. _sirnet_.--a clan of rajputs. _sirwa_.--(a resident of the ancient city of sravasti in gonda district.) subcaste of teli. _sita padri_.--title of vaishnava mendicants. _sithira_.--synonym of _sidhira_. _solaha_. [506]--a very small caste numbering less than a hundred persons in the raipur district. the caste only deserves mention as affording an instance of an attempt to rise in the social scale. the solahas are certainly of gond origin. their name appears to be a corruption of tolaha, from _tol_, which means leather in gondi or telugu. their exogamous sections, as markam, warai, wika, sori, kunjam, are also gond names, and like the agarias they are an occupational offshoot of that great tribe, who have taken to the special profession of leather-curing and primitive carpentry. but they claim to belong to the barhai caste and say that their ancestors immigrated from benares at the time of a great famine there. in pursuance of the claim some of them employ inferior brahmans as their priests. they also say that they accept food only from brahmans and rajputs, though they eat fowls, pork and even rats. women of any other caste can be admitted into the community, but not men. the fact that they are not barhais is sufficiently shown by their ignorance of carpentering tools. they do not even know the use of a rope for turning the drill and do it by hand with a pointed nail. they have no planes, and smooth wood with a chisel. their business is to make musical instruments for the gonds, which consist of hollow pieces of wood covered with skin to act as single or double drums. they use sheep and goat-skins, and after letting them dry scrape off the hair and rub them with a paste of boiled rice and powdered iron filings and glass. _solanki, solankhi_.--a well-known clan of rajputs, also called chalukya. the name is perhaps derived from _sulakshana_, one bearing an auspicious mark. a section of pardhi and gujar. _sompura_.--a subdivision of gujarati brahmans in jubbulpore. they take their name from somnath in kathiawar. _somvansi_.--(children of the moon.) subcaste of mahar. a clan of rajputs. _sonar_.--synonym for sunar in the maratha country. _sonbarha_.--(gold pig.) a section of teli in khairagarh, so named as they presented a golden pig to their king bharam deo. _sonboyir_.--(gold plum.) a section of teli in nandgaon, so called because their ancestor presented a gold plum to their raja. _sonbukra_.--(yellow goat.) a totemistic sept of kawar. _sondi_.--(_sondi_, tiger.) a sept of gonds in raipur. it is said to be of mixed descent from all the septs, and can intermarry with any other. _sondhi_.--synonym for sundi. _songainda_.--(gold unicorn.) a section of teli in khairagarh, so named because they presented a golden unicorn to their king bharam deo. _sonha_; _sonkutta_.--(wild dog.) a sept of dhanwar, kawar, saonta or santal, and chero. _soni_.--synonym for sunar. _sonjhara, sonjharia_.--(one who washes for gold in the beds of streams.) a caste. subcaste of binjhwar, injhwar and dhimar. _sonkar_.--a small caste found in the chhattisgarh country, and also in saugor and damoh. the name sonkar is said to be a corruption of chunkar or lime-dealer, and the sonkars of saugor make their living by carrying clay and lime on donkeys for building and whitewashing walls. in saugor they are also known as beldar (navvy) and gadhera (donkey-driver), and occupy a despised position. possibly on this account a few of them in the northern districts and the whole community in chhattisgarh have abandoned their traditional calling, and have taken to growing vegetables like the malis and marars. here their status is better, and they rank as a gardening caste. their customs resemble those of the lower castes of chhattisgarh. they obtain auspicious dates for their marriages and different ceremonies from brahmans, but otherwise these are not employed, and the caste headman, known as kurha or sethia, officiates as priest. at their weddings the sacred post round which the couple walk must consist of a forked bough of the mahua tree divided in a v shape, and they take much trouble to find and cut a suitable bough. they will not take cooked food from the hands of any other caste, even from brahmans. _sonkarasaria_.--(impure gold.) a section of bhona or bhulia. _sonkutri_.--(bitch of the wild dog.) a totemistic sept of kawar. _sonpakar_.--(a tree.) a totemistic sept of kawar and chero. _sonratan_.--(gold jewel.) a section of chandnahu kurmi. _sonthaga_.--(gold-cheat.) a subdivision of pardhans in kawardha. they cheated people by passing false gold, and hence were so named. _sonthal_.--synonym for santal. _sonwani_.--(_sona-pani_, gold-water.) this is a common sept among the primitive tribes and castes derived from them. the members of this sept occupy a quasi-priestly position, and readmit offenders into caste by giving them water to drink in which gold has been dipped. they also purify those who have got vermin in a wound by sprinkling this water over them. a section of ahir and of rawat or chhattisgarhi ahir; a sept of dhoba, dhanwar, gond and kawar; a section of kalanga, kumhar, panka and teli. _sori_.--a sept of gond and pardhan. sori and khusro are the two subsepts of the markam sept. _soyam_.--(worshipper of seven gods.) a division of gond in chanda. _sravaka_.--a jain layman. _sri gaur mala_.--(a resident of malwa.) subcaste of barhai. _srimali_.--(from the old city of srimal in rajputana.) a subcaste of gujarati brahman and bania. _srivastab, sriwastab_.--(from the old city of sravasti in the north of oudh.) a well-known subcaste of kayasth. a subcaste of bharbhunja, darzi and teli. _sua_.--(parrot.) a section of chadar, khangar and kasar. a sept of bhatra and kawar. _suda_.--synonym of sudh. _sudh_.--a caste. a subcaste of kolta and lohar. _sudha_.--synonym of sudh. _sudho_.--synonym of sudh. _sudra_.--the lowest of the four traditional castes. see introduction. there is no sudra caste at present in the central provinces. a subcaste of barai. _suibadiwa_.--(_sui_, porcupine.) a totemistic sept of the dhurwa gonds in betul. _suji_.--(from _sui_, a needle.) synonym for darzi. _sukul, shukul_.--(white.) a surname of kanaujia brahmans. _sulankhi_.--subcaste of mahli. _sunar_.--a caste of goldsmiths. subcaste of bishnoi. _sundhi_.--synonym of sundi. _sungaria_.--(one who keeps pigs.) subcaste of kumhar. _sunni_.--one of the two principal sects of muhammadans who follow the orthodox traditions, sunni meaning traditionist. _sunri_.--synonym of sundi. _surait_.--a name signifying persons of impure or mixed descent. a subcaste of dhakar and halba. a subcaste of jharia rawat (ahir) in bastar, being the offspring of jharia rawat fathers by women of other rawat subcastes. a subcaste of sonkar in kanker, consisting of the offspring of illegitimate unions. a subcaste of jhadi telenga, kumhar and marar (mali). _suraj, surya_.--(the sun.) a section of binjhwar, gond, khangar, marar, mowar, rawat (ahir) and sansia (in sambalpur). _surajdhwaja_.--a subcaste of kayasth. _surajvansi_.--(descendants of the sun.) name of one of the two great divisions of rajputs. a clan of rajputs. a subcaste of barai, khairwar and kalar. a section of chamar, dhanwar, gond and koli. _suratha_.--a subdivision of valmiki kayasth. _sureyam_.--a gond sept named after the _sui_ or porcupine, because, it is said, a porcupine passed by when they were worshipping their god. _surkhi_.--(red.) a clan of surajvansi rajputs. _sutar_.--the name of a carpenter in the maratha districts. synonym of barhai. _suthra shahi_.--synonym for nanakpanthi. _sutsale_.--(a thread-weaver.) subcaste of koshti. _suvarha_.--named after the _suar_ or pig. subcaste of dhimar. _swami_ or _aiya (iyer)_.--(master.) a title given to leaders of the religious orders. a title of sanadhya brahmans in saugor. a subcaste of jangam. _swetambari_.--a sect of jains who put clothes on their images. _tadvi_.--a name for muhammadan bhils. _tak, takshac_.--a clan of rajputs, now extinct. _takankar, takari_.--(from _takna_, to tap, to roughen the face of a mill-stone.) a synonym or subcaste of pardbi. a synonym for the pathrot or pathrawat stone-workers in berar, who are classed with beldars. _takle_.--(fallen.) a subcaste of kasar, said to consist of the descendants of persons excommunicated for sexual offences. _tamashawala_.--(showman.) a name given to nats. _tambatkar_.--(a coppersmith.) synonym for tamera. _tamboli, tamoli_.--(a seller of the prepared betel-leaves.) synonym for barai. _tandan_.--a subdivision of saraswat brahmans in hoshangabad, perhaps so called from their being priests of the tandan khatris. _tankiwala_.--(a sharpener of grindstones.) subcaste of dhimar. _tanti_.--(_tanta_, weaver's loom.) a caste. a subcaste of bhulia and mahli. _tanti, tatwa_ (from sanskrit _tantu_, a fibre).--the great weaver caste of bengal and bihar. a few tantis were enumerated in raipur district in 1911. sir h. risley is of opinion that the tantis are probably a functional group developed under the pressure of the natural demand for fine woven cloth. [507] one tradition of their origin is that the first ancestor of the caste was begotten by the celestial architect viswakarma on a low sudra woman. viswakarma is regarded as the tutelary deity of the caste, and is worshipped twice a year with offerings of flowers, rice and sugar. images are sometimes made of him, but more commonly the weaver's loom or some of the tools of the craft are regarded as the dwelling-place or symbol of the god. in past times the tantis made the famous fine cotton cloth, known as _abrawan_ or 'running water,' which was supplied only to the imperial zenana at delhi. sir h. risley relates the following stories illustrating its gossamer texture. on one occasion a daughter of aurangzeb was reproached on entering the room for her immodest attire, through which her limbs could be seen, and excused herself by the plea that she had on seven folds of cloth over her body. again in the reign of alivardi khan (1742-56), a dacca tanti was flogged and banished from the city for not preventing his cow from eating up a piece of _abrawan_ cloth which had been laid out to bleach on the grass. the famous female spinners who used to wind the fine native thread were still to be found in 1873, but their art has now died out. in illustration of their delicate touch it is told that one of them wound 88 yards of thread on a reel, and the whole weight of the thread was only one _rati_ or two grains. nowadays the finest thread spun weighs 70 yards to the _rati_. the best cloths were woven by the dacca tantis, to whom the koshtis of burhanpur in the central provinces stood second. the bamanmara tank in the old village of dhanpur in pendra zamindari of bilaspur is so named from the fact that about a century ago some brahman traders were murdered on its bank for the sake of the fine cloths they were carrying rolled up in hollow bamboo sticks. in bengal the tantis are included among the castes from whom a brahman can take water. sir h. risley is of opinion that they have to some extent raised themselves to this position by their own influence, their trade being prosperous and lucrative, and having long ago attained to the development of an urban industry. the ordinary status of the weaving castes being at the bottom of the social scale, the superior position of the bengal tantis is an interesting exception. it is analogous to that of the koshtis in the central provinces, also a class of urban weavers, who rank above the impure castes, though they have not attained to the position of the tantis, as brahmans will not take water from them. _tanwar_.--a subcaste of kawar, to which zamindars belong. _tanwat, tanwatkari_.--a synonym for panchal sunar. _tarane_.--synonym of dobaile teli. _tasa_.--synonym of chasa. _tatwa_.--synonym for tanti. (from sanskrit _tantu_, a fibre.) _tawaif_.--(a prostitute.) synonym for kasbi. _tekam_.--(the teak tree.) one of the commonest clans of gonds. a sept of baiga, bharewa, binjhwar and pardhan. a subdivision of majhwar. _telenga dora_.--(telugu lord.) a designation used by the velama caste. _telenge_.--a telugu name used by balijas and other telugu castes. subcaste of nai. _telha_.--subcaste of nagasia. the members of this subcaste mark the forehead of the bride with _tel_ or oil at the marriage ceremony. _teli_.--a caste of oil-pressers. subcaste of barhai, dangri and gondhali. _teli-bania._--a group of the teli caste who have taken to shopkeeping. subcaste of teli. _teli-kalar._--a mixed group of the kalar and teli castes. subcaste of teli. _teli-marar._--a subcaste of marar. _telkala_.--subcaste of gandli. _terah-hazar_ or _birbandhi_.--(thirteen thousand.) subcaste of chero. _thakur_.--(lord.) the common title of rajputs. this title is also used by lodhis, raj-gonds and other landowning castes. a surname of karhara brahmans in saugor. a section of ahir, marar (mali), panwar rajput and sudh. _thakuria_.--(lordling.) a subcaste of murao. a subcaste of kol and parja. a section of darzi and katia. _thanapati_.--(master of the sacred place.) synonym for gandhmali. _thapak_.--a surname of sanadhia brahmans in saugor. (from sthapak, the consecrator of idols.) _thapatkari_.--synonym of beldar. _thathari_.--a caste of coppersmiths in sambalpur. _thatia_.--a subtribe of gonds, also called gaiki or mahato in betul. _thethwar_.--(one who follows the straight path.) a subcaste of rawat (ahir) in chhattisgarh. _thotia, thothia_.--(maimed.) a subdivision of gonds and pardhans, who live by begging from the gonds. _thuria_.--subcaste of banjara in sambalpur. _tilokchandi_.--(bais.) a subdivision of the bais clan of rajputs. _tirelle_.--(tirole.) subcaste of are. _tirgam_.--a subsept of the uika clan of gonds in betul. a sept of pardhan. _tirmale, tirmalle_.--a small caste of wandering telugu beggars. nearly 400 were returned in the central provinces and berar in 1911. tirmales take about performing bulls. the animal is decorated with brass ornaments and bells, and his back is covered with a patched quilt of different colours. the tirmale has a red turban with a scarf round his neck, and a follower carries a drum. the bull is cleverly trained and performs various tricks. the caste do this in the mornings, but in the afternoon they appear as bairagis or ordinary beggars, and in the evening as sellers of various sacred articles, such as sandalwood, ganges water and rudraksha beads. they take water from the ganges in small phials and go down to the south of india selling it. on this account they are known in poona as kashi kawadi or those who carry banghys from kashi (benares). in telugu they are called gangeddulu and in tamil endandi, both words meaning people who beg with bulls. they may properly be considered as a subcaste of dasaris. [508] the tirmales travel with their families like the banjaras, and live in tents or sheds outside the village. their marriages are generally celebrated in the month of shrawan in the rains, when they return from their wanderings. they speak a corrupt telugu among themselves, but marathi to outsiders. they eat flesh and drink liquor. the dead are buried. _tirmalle_.--synonym of tirmale. _tirtha_.--name of one of the ten orders of gosains. _titha_.--(from _titahri_, a sandpiper.) a section of basor. _tiwari_.--(learned in three vedas.) a family name of kanaujia and gaur brahmans. _tiyar_.--a boating and fishing caste of sambalpur and bengal. in the central provinces they numbered 700 in 1911. the caste is a numerous one in bengal and has been fully described by sir h. risley, [509] so that no detailed notice of it is necessary here. the name is derived from the sanskrit _tivara_, a hunter, the tiyars styling themselves the hunters of the sea. they came to the central provinces from angul in orissa, and they offer to the goddess durga in angul an oblation of 60 to 100 _jian_ fish and a headload of lotus flowers on her special festival. in honour of durga they observe a fast on the four tuesdays of the months of chait and kunwar (march and september). in chait they also worship their hooks and nets. at their marriages when a father has selected a bride for his son he consults an astrologer to compare their horoscopes. if the conjunction is unsatisfactory he will change the boy's name to suit the astrological calculations. the wedding is celebrated in the common fashion of the uriya castes. if a bachelor marries a widow he first goes through the form of wedlock with a bunch of flowers. among their caste penalties, that imposed for the killing of a cow may be mentioned. it is called the gocharan brit, and the offender is required to consort with cows for twenty-one days. he must mix and take his meals in the cowshed, and must copy the behaviour of the cows, lying down when they lie down, standing up when they stand up, following them when they walk about, and so on. at the expiration of this period he makes a pilgrimage to a certain village, and on his return partakes of the five products of the sacred cow and gives a feast to the caste. the tiyars are a low caste, and eat fowls and drink liquor. they will admit a member of any higher caste on his giving a feast to the community. in the central provinces they have exogamous sections within which marriage is prohibited; these generally have titular names, as padhan chief, das slave, guru preceptor, and so on. they catch fish with the _ghani benda_, a large bamboo basket covered with palm-tree bark, which is sunk under water and secured in the bed of the stream. _todasai_.--(worshipper of six gods.) a section of raj-gond. _tomara, tuar, tawar_.--(_tomar_, a club.) a well-known clan of rajputs. a sept of gond. _toriya_.--a name given to gonds who worship twelve gods in chanda. _tumram_.--(_tumria_, a pumpkin.) a clan of gond, said to be those who worship six gods. _turi_.--a caste. a synonym for basors or bamboo-workers. a section of kalanga. _turk_.--(muhammadan.) a section of panwa rajput in balaghat. _turkan_.--a subcaste of bahna, so called because their forefathers are said to have been soldiers in the army of the king of delhi. _turkia, kurkanya_.--a muhammadan group. subcaste of banjara, chamar. _uchla_.--(a lifter.) title for bharota. _uchle_.--(pickpocket.) subcaste of mang. _uchodia_.--a subcaste of bhand. _ud_.--subcaste of chasa. see odde. _udainath_.--a subdivision of jogi. _udaiputria_.--(one belonging to udaipur.) subcaste of dhobi. _udasi_.--a class of religious mendicants. see nanakpanthi. _uika, oika_.--a very common clan of gonds, who are said to be worshippers of six gods. _ukas_.--a subcaste of barhai. _ulluka_.--(an owl.) a totemistic sept of sudh and dumal. _umre_.--a subcaste of bania. see subordinate article to bania. a subcaste of kalar, nai and teli. _unayo, unnaya_.--(from unan in oudh.) a subdivision of nigam kayasth. it is also sometimes considered as a half subcaste, in addition to the twelve proper subcastes. _unewal_.--a subdivision of rhedawal brahmans found in jubbulpore. they take their name from una, a village in kathiawar. _upadhya_.--(a teacher.) a surname of kananjia and sanadhya brahmans. a title of manbhao. _upmanyu_.--an eponymous section of brahmans. _uraon_.--synonym of oraon. _uriya_,--(a native of orissa.) a synonym for the sansia caste of masons in sambalpur. a subcaste of ganda, ghasia, gond, karan, kewat, koshti, savar, sundi and sunar. _urkara, urkare_.--(from warkora, a wild cat in gondi.) a section of sunar and gond. _usrete_.--a subcaste of kurmi and nai. _uthaigira_.--(a picker-up of that which has fallen.) synonym of sanaurhia. _utkala_.--(a resident of orissa.) one of the five orders of panch gaur brahmans inhabiting orissa. _vadar or wadewar_.--(a stone-cutter.) synonym of beldar. _vade, wade_.--(a carpenter.) a sept of maria gonds. _vadra_.--(a carpenter.) subcaste of kammala. _vaghe_.--(from _vagh_, a tiger.) see waghya. _vaidika_.--(reciter of the vedas.) a title of brahmans. _vaishnava_.--(a worshipper of vishnu.) a name for the mendicant orders of vishnuite devotees and bairagis. _vaishnava sunar_.--a group of sunars who claim to be brahmans. see panchal. _vaishya_.--name of the third of the four classical castes. see introduction. there is no vaishya caste at present, but the bania caste are considered, perhaps incorrectly, to be descended from the vaishyas. _vajantri, wajantri_.--(musician.) a subcaste of gurao. a synonym and section of mang. _vallabkacharya_.--a vishnuite sect and order of religious mendicants. see article bairagi. _valmika, valmiki_.--a subdivision of khedawal brahmans who take their name from the sage valmika. a subcaste of kayasths. _vamachari sect_.--synonym for vam-margi. _vani_.--synonym for bania. _varade, warade_.--(a resident of berar, a variant of berari, _q.v._) a subcaste of simpi or maratha darzi. a subcaste of dhangar and nai. _varendra or barendra_.--a subcaste of bengali brahmans. _vartati_.--(pure.) subcaste of andh. _vasishta or vashishta_.--name of a famous saint in classical literature. an eponymous section of brahmans. _vellala_.--the great cultivating caste of the tamil country, to whom by general consent the first place in social esteem among the tamil sudra castes is awarded. they have a strength of more than 2 1/2 millions in india; in the central provinces there were in 1911 about 700 in chanda, nagpur and other districts. in the _madras census report_ of 1901, mr. francis gives an interesting description of the structure of the caste and its numerous territorial, occupational and other subdivisions. he shows also how groups from lower castes continually succeed in obtaining admission into the vellala community in the following passage: "instances of members of other castes who have assumed the name and position of vellalas are the vettuva vellalas, who are really vettuvans; the puluva vellalas, who are only puluvans; the illam vellalas, who are panikkans; the karaiturai (lord of the shore) vellalas, who are karaiyans; the karukamattai (palmyra leaf stem) vellalas, who are balijas; the guha (rama's boatman) vellalas, who are sembadavans; and the irkuli vellalas, who are vannans. the children of dancing girls also often call themselves mudali, and claim in time to be vellalas, and even paraiyans assume the title of pillai, and trust to its eventually enabling them to pass themselves off as members of the caste." the vellalas will not touch the plough with their own hands. some of them abstain from flesh and liquor, and prohibit the remarriage of widows with a view to raising their social status. _vidur_.--a caste. a subcaste of gondhali, kasar, komti, kunbi, and lohar, comprising persons of illegitimate descent. _vir_.--subcaste of gopal. _virmushti_.--a class of bairagis or religious mendicants. _vishnu swami_.--a class of bairagis or religious mendicants. _vishwamitra_.--name of a famous saint in classical literature. an eponymous section of brahmans. _vyas_.--a section of brahmans and of agharia. _waddar_.--a name for telugu oddes or navvies in chanda. a subcaste of beldar. _wadewar_.--synonym of odde or beldar in chanda. _waghe_.--(_wagh_ or _bagh_, a tiger.) a section of koshti and mana, a clan of maratha. _waghmare_.--(tiger-killer.) a clan of arakh, gopal and mahar. _wakkaliga, okkiliyan_.--a canarese caste of cultivators, of which a few representatives were returned from nagpur. they reside mainly in the madura and coimbatore districts. the name is derived from the canarese _okkalu_, [510] which means cultivation or agriculture. _wakmar_.--(one who left the _pangat_ or caste feast while his fellows were eating.) title of hatkar. _wandhekar_.--subcaste of kunbi. _wanjari_.--synonym for banjara. subcaste of kunbi. _warade_.--(a resident of berar.) subcaste of gurao. _wartki_.--(a washerman.) synonym for dhobi in the maratha country. _wasudeo, wasdeo_.--the name of the father of krishna, the hindu god. synonym of basdewa. a subcaste of joshi. _watkari_. see otari. _wika_.--synonym for uika, a well-known clan of gonds. _yadu, yadava_.--a well-known clan of rajputs. _yadubansi_.--(of the yadu race.) a subcaste of ahir. _yadu-bhatti._--clan of rajputs. synonym for yadu. _yajur-vedi._--a subcaste of brahmans who follow the yajur-veda. they are also known as madhyandan and apastambha. _yarande_.--(one who presses the _erandi_ or castor-oil seed.) subcaste of teli. _yati_.--(for jati). a jain ascetic. _yelama_.--synonym of velama. _yogi_.--synonym of jogi. _yojna_.--subcaste of komti. subject index this index contains references to general ethnological and other subjects referred to in the articles, either those on main castes and tribes in part ii., or those on religions and sects in part i. these latter are usually distinguished by the letters r. for religion or s. for sect. very occasionally a reference is made to one of the minor articles in the glossary. the reference numbers are to the paragraphs of the articles. in the few cases where no reference number is given the subject is either treated generally in the article referred to, or the article itself is so short that further indication is unnecessary. abhiras, the--ahir, 2 aboriginal tribes, position of, in hindu society--bhuiya, 3 acrobatic performances--nat, 4, 5 address, methods of--bairagi 11, brahman, 18, gond, 72, gosain, 5, lodhi, 10, muhammadan r., 32 admission of outsiders--arya samaj r., 3, bhaina, 6, bhamta, 3, bhil, 11, dahait, 3, dhanwar, 11, gond, 70, injhwar, 4, jhadi telenga, 3, kaikari, 4, kanjar, 8, khond, 9, mahli, 2, mehtar, 5, panka, 5, turi, 6, vellala, adoption--bhamta, 3 agricultural rites--gond' 48, kohli, 4, kurmi, 32, oraon, 21, 22 agricultural superstitions--kurmi, 33 akali sect, the--sikh r., 6 akti or akshit tritiya festival--chitari, 6, chitrakathi alcohol, prohibition of--kalar 6 ambagarhia deo, worship of--koshti, 3 amulets--bhil, 9, sunar, 12 ancestors, reincarnation of--chamar, 7, dhakar, 2, gond, 37, 39, khond, 5. oraon, 10 ancestors, worship of--badhak, 9, gond, 38, 42, gowari, 5, koshti, 4, oraon, 14, sansia, 3, sundi, thug, 17, turi, 4 angad guru--sikh r., 2 animal hospitals--jain r., 14 animal sacrifices, in greece--kasai, 17 sacrifice of buffalo--mahar, 2 animals, kindness to--bishnoi, 3, dohor animals, veneration for--bhil, 8, gowari, 5, jain r., 14, kasai, oraon, 20 animism--kasai, 4 anniversaries of the dead--kurmi, 28 appearance and mode of life--baiga, 7, 8, beria, 1, bhil, 12, bhishti, bhuiya, 14, chamar, 1, khatri, 1, kirar, 4, kohli, 5, kol, 16, korku, 10, korwa, 2, oraon, 23, panwar rajput, 13, velama, 1 arjun guru--sikh r., 2 arts, origin of the--mochi, 3 arya samaj r., prospects of--arya samaj r., 6 assassination, methods of--thug, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 astronomical beliefs and stories--bhatra, 4, dhuri, 3, dumal, 4, jadua brahman, joshi, 1-16, mahar, 11, turi, 4 baigas, a branch of the bhuiyas--bhuiya, 6 balak das--satnami s., 4 banda, worship of--kharia, 8 banjari devi, worship of--banjara, 10 bankrupt, going (or diwala nikalna)--bhat, 16 barber. see article nai barber-surgeon--nai, 6 bathing--gond, 64, kurmi, 39 beard, the--nai, 11 beggars or religious mendicants. see articles bairagi, fakir, gosain, etc. begging, mode of--aghori, 1, basdewa, gopal, jogi, 11, waghya bell-metal--kasar, 4 betel-vine, account of--barai, 5 betrothal--_passim_. see especially banjara, 6, gadaria, 3, gond, kawar, 4, kolta, 3, korku, 4, kunbi, 7, kurmi, 5, prabhu, 1, rajput, turi, 3 bhang--kalar, 10 bhanwar ceremony (walking round the sacred post at marriage)--kirar, 2, kurmi, 9 bhats and charans--bhat 2 birth ceremonies--_passim_, see especially ahir 10, chamur 8, gond 28, 29, halba 15, jat 11, kawar 6, kunbi 10, 11, kurmi 15-17, mehtar 8-11, muhammadan r. 7-9, sonjhara 4; ceremony of second birth--korku 10 birthdays--muhammadan r. 12 blacksmiths--lohar 5 blanket-weaving--gadaria 7 blood, smeared on images of gods--lakhera 5 blood-covenant--kewat 2, khairwar 5 brahmo samaj r., veneration of, foundation of, progress of--brahmo samaj religion 2, 3, 9 branding the body--gond 67, oraon 11 bride, purchase of--agaria 2, audhelia 2, banjara 6, dahait 3, dangi 3, kawar 4, khadra, kharia 5, khond 4, kir 2, kohli 2, kol 10, panwar rajput 7, pardhi 3, rajjhar 3 bridegroom, dress of a--daharia 3, khangar 3, sansia (uria) 2 buddhism compared with jainism--jain r. 2 buffalo, as a corn god--kumhar 9, mahar 2 bullocks, veneration for--kunbi 24 buradeo, worship of--bhunjia 1, gond 38, 45, pardhan 4 burial--kurmi 23 calendar, the hindu--joshi 1-15 camel, sacrifice of the--kasai 15 cannibalism--aghori 2, birhor, gond 52 car festival--jain r. 11 carpentering and woodwork--barhai 6 caste customs--badhak 8, balahi 3, banjara 19, chasa 3, kabirpanthi s. 9, panwar rajput 13, satnami s. 8. see also _admission of outsiders._ caste feasts--kurmi 41, intro. 82, 84 caste panchayat or committee--alur 17, brahman 20, dhoba 5, gond 73, gowari 7, halba 18, kadera 3, kawar 12, kol 19, oraon 27, pardhan 6, intro. 93 caste rules and penalties--_passim_. see especially bharia 7, brahman 20, dhanwar 11, dhimar 12, dohor, gond 73, 74, gowari 7, jat 13, kamar 9, kawar 12, kol 18, kurmi 44, mahar 12, mehtar 4, panwar rajput 12, pardhi 4, teli 11 caste structure--mehtar 3; origin of--intro. 3, 4 cattle, castration of--chamar 15; slaughter of--kasai 2; worship of--banjara 13, hatkar 2 character. see _moral character_ charans--banjara 2, bhat 9, 12 children, devices for procuring--kunbi 12, mehtar 8, muhammadan r. 7; superstitions about--gond 31; traffic in--ganda 2 choti or scalp-lock--nai 9 circumcision--muhammadan r. 13 civil marriage act--brahmo samaj religion 6 clothes. see _dress_ cocoanut, legends about--kabirpanthi s. 5 conception, miraculous, of children--dhanwar 1 coppersmiths--tamera counting, official counter or medha gantia--bhatra 4, parja 7, intro. 60 courtesans, education of--kasbi 4 couvade, practice of--oraon 9, sonjhara 4, verukala, intro. 60 cow-killing, penalty for--tiyar cradle songs--chitari 5 criminal practices--badhak 17, banjara 21, beldar 6, beria 2, bharota 1, chamar 16, kanjar 5, pardhan 6, pasi 7. see also _theft_ crows, beliefs about--kunbi 15 cultivating status--jat 5, kunbi 4, kurmi 45, intro. 21 cultivation--gond 79; patch cultivation 80 dacoity--badhak 2, 3, 4, korwa 10, mang garori, mina 3, pardhi 12, pindari 4, 5, 6, ramosi 2, sansia 4, 5 daily life--maratha 8 dancing--gond 76, gondhali, kashi 3, 8, kharia 12, kol 17, korwa 8, majhwar 7, oraon 25, 26, parja 4 dasahra festival--kumhar 10, mahar 2, sunar 4 dauwa or wet-nurse--ahir 7 dayanand saraswati--arya samaj r. 1, 2 days--joshi 9, 16; omens from--kawar 10, parja 7 dead, beliefs about the--kurmi 29 death ceremonies--_passim_. see especially bedar 3, binjhwar 6, bishnoi 8, brahman 14, chamar 7, dhakar 3, gond 32-38, gosain 10, gujar 6, gurao 6, halba 12, kabirpanthi s. 7, katia 4, kawar 7, 8, kharia 9, khatri 4, khojah, khond 6, kirar 3, kol 14, koli 6, korku 9, kunbi 14, kunjra, kurmi 20, 21, 22, 26, lingayat, mahar 6, muhammadan r. 14, panwar rajput 11, parsi r. 16, 17, rajput 6, sonjhara 5, intro. 89 dehendra nath tagore--brahmo samaj religion 4 deo brahman, ceremony of--bedar 2 demeter, the goddess--kumhar 7 deshmukh and deshpandia, offices of--kunbi, 2 devi, the goddess--kumhar, 11 dhar and ujjain--panwar rajput, 3 dharam das, legend of--kabirpanthi s., 4 dharna, sitting--aghori, 2, bhat, 14, maratha, 14 dhatura--kalar, 10 digging earth for oven at wedding--kirar, 2 diseases--mehtar, 13 magical cure for--koshti, 6 disguises--badhak, 5, bhamta, 1, jadua brahman, thug, 7 divorce--binjhwar, 5, chamar, 6, dewar, 3, dhanwar, 6, dhimar, 4, gadba, 2, gond, 25, halba, 10, katia, 3, kohli, 2, koli, 4, korku, 10, koshti, 3, kunbi, 8, mahar, 5, mina, 4, muhammadan r., 6, panwar rajput, 8, savar, 4, taonla diwali festival, the--ahir, 15, bania, 15 dog--banjara, 20; associated with the god khandoba--maratha, 7 domestic animals, taboos about--dhangar, 4, mang, 7, naoda, sonjhara, 6 doms, the--kanjar, 4 donkey, the--dhobi, 7 dravidian tribes, their origin and immigration--kol, 4, 5, intro., 37, 39 dress--banjara, 18, bharia, 7, bohra, 7, brahman, 22, darzi, 4, gadba, 5, gond, 61, gosain, 4, halba, 19, jogi, 7, kasbi, 8, kawar, 11, kol, 16, korku, 10, koshti, 7, kunbi, 22, kurmi, 37, 38, mahar, 12, muhammadan r., 31, oraon, 23, 24, pardhi, 5, parsi r., 18, rajput 11 dyeing clothes--rangrez, chhipa ear, tearing the--sunar, 10 ear-piercing--gond, 62, kachhi, 5, muhammadan r., 11, sunar, 10, 11 earth, beliefs about the--bhunjia, 4 earth-eating--chitari, 3, kurmi, 14 earth-goddess--kumhar, 11 eating with relatives, taboos on--gauria eclipse, legends about--mehtar, 19, teli, 8 emasculation. see article hijra eunuchs. see article hijra evil eye--bhatra, 8, chitari, 4, khangar, 3, mahar, 11 exogamous septs or clans--_passim_. see especially bhaina, 3, brahman, 8, chadar, 1, dahait, 2, dangi, 2, gond, 12, gowari, 3, halba, 4, jhadi telenga, 2, karan, katia, 2, kawar, 3, kewat, 2, khond, 3, korku, 3, kunbi, 5, kurmi, 4 and appendix, lodhi, 4, mahar, 5, maratha, 4, panwar rajput, 6, rajput, 4, savar, 3, intro., 48, 69 extortionate practices of bards--bhat, 7 false bride, custom of--dhobi, 2 fasting for the crops--kunbi, 7, oraon, 22; other fasts--jain r., 13, thug, 18 female palanquin bearers--kahar, 3 festivals--gadba, 3, gond, 53, khond, 10, maratha, 7, oraon, 20, 21, parja, 7 fighting, methods of--gosain, 9, khond, 7, 8 fights of animals--kasai, 21 fishing--dhimar, 8 flowers--mali, 3, 4, 10 folktales--korwa, 11 food--baiga, 8, bania, 17, bharia, 7, brahman, 21, gadba, 5, gond, 68, kawar, 12, khond, 9, kol, 18, kolta, 4, korku, 10, kunbi, 21, kurmi, 40, lodhi, 9, mina (or deswali), 4, muhammadan r., 30, parsi r., 18, rajput, 8, tiyar, intro., 85, 88; leavings of food--dhimar, 10 foreign religions, adoption of--mahar, 10, mehtar, 16 forest ascetics--jogi, 5 fosterage--ahir, 7 funeral priest--kurmi, 26 furniture--baiga, 7, kunbi, 20, kurmi, 36 games and pastimes--kamar, mal, pardhi, 7, 11 ganja (indian hemp)--kalar, 10, 11 ganpati, worship of--bania, 14, koshti, 5; legend about--kunbi, 16 gardening--mali, 10, intro., 28 ghasi das (legends and teachings of)--satnami s., 2, 3, 4 ghosts, beliefs about--bhat, 10, 11 gipsies, origin of--kanjar, 2 girls dedicated to temples--kashi, 2, waghya goats and sheep--dhangar, 5, gadaria, 6 gods, attitude towards the--garpagari, 4; making contracts with the--mehtar, 8 going away ceremony (or gauna)--halba, 9, katia, 3, lodhi, 6, panwar rajput, 8 gold, sanctity of--sunar, 7; washing for--sonjhara, 8 gondwana--gond, 2 govind singh, guru--sikh r., 3 graveyards--bohra, 4, kurmi, 23 grazing cattle--ahir, 19 greeting--see _address, methods of_ grinding grain--kanjar, 9 _gur_ or sugar, the sacred--thug, 16 _guru_ or spiritual preceptor--bairagi, 13, daharia, 3 hailstorms, averting--garpagari, 1, 4 hair--gond, 63, jogi 7, manbhao 3, nai _passim_ hair-cutting--nai 3 halal (sacrifice) rites of muhammadan,--atari 4, kasai 3 hanuman, the god--garpagari 3, 4, kunbi 12 haveli, meaning of--kurmi, 3 heber, bishop--swami narayan s. 3 hindu r., aversion to--satnami s. 7. see _religious beliefs_ holi festival--bania 16, gond 54, khairwar 9, mannewar homosexual practices--hijra horoscopes--prabhu 1 horse--maratha 7 houses--banjara 19, bohra 7, gond 60, kunbi 19, kurmi 34, sonjhara 7; superstitions about--gond 36, kurmi 35, parja 7 human corpse, eating of--aghori 2 human sacrifices--banjara 16, gond 51, khond 12, oraon 17 hun immigration, the--gujar 1, 2, panwar rajput 1, 2 hunting, methods of--gond 81, kolhati 6, mal, pardhi 8, 9, 10; ceremonial hunting--bhatra 7, and gond hypergamy--brahman 10, dangi 2, daraihan, lodhi 3, mina 4, murha 2, intro. 16 id festivals--muhammadan r. 20, 21 illegitimacy--khatri 3, vidur 3, dhakar immorality of girls--oraon 4 impure castes--intro. 40, 94 incest, legend of--lohar 1 indoor servants--dhimar 10, kahar, 4 infant-marriage--dhuri 2, khandait, kir 2 infanticide--rajput 4 inheritance--kamar 6, kawar 12, khairwar 8, kol 15, korku 12, kunbi 6, rautia 5 initiation, rites of--bairagi 11, bishnoi 4, gosain 3, kabirpanthi s. 6, manbhao 2, parmarthi s., satnami s. 5, sikh r. 4, thug 19, waghya, intro. 83 interest on money--bania, 23, muhammadan r. 35 iron-working industry--lohar 5; superstitions about iron--lohar 2 jain banias--bania, 9, and bania, parwar subcaste; jain guraos--gurao 8 jasondhis, the--bhat 8 jawaras or gardens of adonis--kurmi 31 jhambaji--bishnoi 2 juari as a food--kunbi 21 juggling--jadua brahman kabir, legend and teachings of--kabirpanthi s. 1, 2, 3 kali, worship of--sakta s., thug, 14; derived from the tiger--thug, 14, 16, 22 karan, legend of--basdewa karma festival--baiga 8, binjhwar 8, gond 56, majhwar 7, oraon 19 kayasths, aversion to--ghasia 8 kazi--muhammadan r. 25 keshub chandar sen--brahmo samaj r. 5. 7 kettle-drum--ganda 5, nagarchi khandoba, worship of--bhil 8, maratha 7, waghya khatpati--bhat 16 khonds, rebellion of the--khond 14 kidnapping children--banjara 17 king, legend of killing--bhil 2 kinship, basis of--kasai 9, 10, 11 kolarians and dravidians, the--kol 4, intro. 35-39 koli caste; derived from kol tribes--kohli, 1 koran--muhammadan r. 27 krishna, the god--ahir, 4, 12; worship of krishna--bairagi 7 lac (bangles and toys)--lakhera, 4, 9; industry--lakhera 3 lalbeg, worship of--mehtar 15 land, rules for occupation of--khond 7; rights in--bania 24; ownership of--intro. 23 language--ahir 3, baiga 10, bhil 14, gond 78, halba 5, kharia 14, kol 5, 22, kolam 1, korku 14 leather--chamar 11, 12, 13 leather-workers--mochi 4 legends of origin--_passim_. see especially agharia, baiga, balahi, bhat, bhoyar, bhunjia, brahman (kanaujia and nagar sub-castes), chamar, daharia, dangi, dhanwar, dhimar, halba, holia, jat, kalar, kasar, kharia, khatri, kol, komti, korku, lohar, mali, mang, panwar rajput, parja, sanaurhia, sunar, sundi, teli levirate, the--mang 4, mina (or deswali) 4, parja 6, sunar 3, turi 3 lingo, gond hero, legend of--gond 5-10 liquor, drinking--gond 69, kalar 4, 7; and preparation of--kalar 13; rice-beer--kol 7, oraon 26; toddy or date-palm liquor--pasi 6 liquor, sanctity of--kalar 8, 9 lizard hunting--badhak15 love charms--kunbi 13 lukman hakim, worship of--kadera 4 madak or opium smoking--kalar 11 magic--banjara 15, bharia 6, bhat 11, bhatra 8, dhanwar 10, gauria, gond 46, 49, jhadi telenga 7, kawar 6, 10, kol 13, korku 8, teli 14, vam-margi s. maha-brahman, presents to--kurmi 26 manasa devi--nat 6 maratha, derivation of name--mahar 1, maratha 2 maratha immigration into the central provinces--kunbi 2, 3 maratha soldiers--maratha 13, 15, 16 marriage, barber's duties at--nai 5 marriage between relations, restrictions on--balahi 2, brahman 9, dangi 3, dhoba 2, gond 15, injhwar 3, kai-kari 2, kunbi 6, murha 2, panka 4, tamera 2 marriage by capture--gond 22, kolam 2, oraon 6, intro. 71, 72 marriage cakes, the--kurmi 7 marriage crowns--chitari 6 marriage customs--_passim_. see especially baiga 4, bania 11, banjara 7, bhatra 5, binjhwar 3, 4, brahman 11, chamar 5, daharia 3, gadaria 3, ganda 3, gond 15-23, halba 6, 8, jat 8, jhadi telenga 4, kachera 3, kachhi 3, kapewar, kasbi 5, kawar 4, kayasth 8, kharia 5, khatri 4, khond 4, kol 10, kolam 2, kolta 3, komti, korku 5, koshti 3, kunbi 7, kunjra, kurmi, lodhi 5, mahar 5, mali 6, muhammadan r. 5, oraon 6, panwar rajput 7, parja 3, 4, 5, prabhu 1, raghuvansi 2, rajput 5, sansia 2, teli 5, turi 3 masan baba, worship of--teli 7 massage--nai 4 mecca, pilgrimage to--muhammadan r. 18 meghnath rites--gond 55 menstruation--dhanwar 2, gond 27, halba 14, kamar 4, kunbi 10, kurmi 12, 15 migration--bhuiya 5, kirar, kohli 1, kol 5, kunbi 2 military system--arab, maratha 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 milk--ahir 20 miscarriage--kurmi 12 monasteries--bairagi 14, gosain 8 moneychangers and testers--sunar 14 moneylenders--bania 18-24 months, the hindu--joshi 11, 13 moon, legends about--bharia 6, kunbi 16, turi 4; the moon's path and daily mansions--joshi 4, 8, 10, 15 moral character, disposition, or conduct--badhak 16, banjara 22, bhil 3, 12, bhilala 5, brahman 25, chamar 17, dangi 5, gond 58, 59, gujar 3, hijra, jat 4, kohli 5, kunbi 11, 23, 24, kunjra, manbhao 2, oraon 28, panwar rajput 13, pardhan 5, parja 1, pindari 7, rajput 9, 10, 14, thug 11, turi 6 mosques--muhammadan r. 22 mourning--bania 13, brahman 14, chauhan, dumal 4, ganda 4, gond 34, kawar 7, khatri 4, kirar 3, kunbi 15, kurmi 25, 27; shaving hair for--nai 15 muhammadan and hindu rites, mixture of--bishnoi 5, kunbi 18, kunjra, meo, mukeri, sikligar, teli 8 muhammadan castes--muhammadan r. 3 muhammadan tribal divisions, families and names--muhammadan r. 4, 9 muharram rites--kunbi 18, muhammadan r. 19 mulla, the--bohra 3, muhammadan r. 24 music, in connection with dancing--kasbi 3 musical instruments--mochi nails, superstitions about--nai 16 _nakshatras_, the--joshi 7, 8, 14 namdeo sect--darzi 5 names--agaria 4, baiga 5, bhatra 10, bhoyar 3, chamar 8, dhanwar 13, gond 30, halba 16, jhadi telenga 6, joshi 18-21, khond 5, kol 20, kolhati 5, mahar 8, sunar 2, vidur 6 naming of a child--oraon 10, vidur 6 naming relations, taboos on--bhatra 10, dhanwar 13, gond 72, khond 9, lodhi 10 nanak--nanakpanthi s. 1, sikh r. 1 nanakpanthi and sikh sects, distinction between--sikh r. 5 narayandeo, worship of--koshti 5, panwar rajput 9 nudity of women--garpagari 4 numbers, superstitions about--joshi 12 oaths--mahar 12 oil-pressing--teli 15 omens, beliefs about--ahir 16, badhak 12, baiga 6, gond 21, 47, kawar 10, koli 3, korku 8, mang-garori, mina 3, pardhi 4, parja 7, sansia 6, thug 22, 23, 24 opium--kalar 10, 11, rajput 9 ordeals--bharia 6, kaikari 4, kolhati 5, pardhi 6, sansia 7 ornaments--ahir 18, gond 61, kunbi 22, sunar 6, 8, 9 outram, sir james--bhil 4 paida ceremony--jat 10 palanquin or doli--kahar 2 parasurama, legend of--panwar rajput 2 passover, the--kasai 18 pavilion or the marriage-shed--kurmi 6 pearls--sunar 9 physical type. see _appearance_ pickaxe, the sacred--thug 15 pigs, breeding for sacrifice and estimation of--kumhar 6, 8 pipal tree, beliefs about--kunbi 12 pledge, or covenant, between married couple--bhatra 5; with the gods--bhat 14. see also _dharna_ pola festival--kunbi 17 polyandry, survivals of fraternal--bhuiya 10, khond 4, korku 5, oraon 7. see also gowari 3 polygamy--agharia 3, andh, bania 12, barai 3, dangri, dhuri 2, gond 26, kaikari 2, kohli 2, korwa 4, kunbi 8, kurmi 11, mali 7, muhammadan r. 6 prannath--dhami s. pregnancy, rites during--chitari 3, gond 28, halba 15, kasbi 6, kunbi 10, kurmi 13, muhammadan r. 8 priests, tribal--koshti 5 prostitution--beria 3, kasbi 2, 7 proverbs--arora, bahna 5, bharbhunja 3, dhobi 7, jogi 14, julaha puberty rites--gurao 3, kaikari 3, lodhi 7 rajput and jat, relations of--jat 3 rakshabandhan festival--patwa ramazan, fast of--muhammadan r. 17 ram das, guru--sikh r. 2 ram mohan roy--brahmo samaj r. 1, 2 red a lucky colour--lakhera 5 red dye on the feet--lakhera 7 red threads, custom of wearing--lakhera 8 relatives, taboos between--kanjar 8, kharia 6. see also marriages between relatives, and naming relatives religious beliefs--_passim_. see especially collection of articles on religions and sects, and caste articles on bishnoi, manbhao, bairagi and gosain. also articles baiga 6, banjara 10, brahman 15, 16, chamar 9, gond 40-56, khond 11, korku 6, koshti 5, kunbi 16, kurmi 30, mahar 9, oraon 15, 16, thug 12; hinduism, intro. 90, 95, 96 sacred thread, the--brahman 17, gurao 5, kunbi 16, lodhi 11; of the jains--jain r. 9; the sacred cord of the parsis--parsi r. 15 sacrifices, beliefs about and method of--kasai 22, 23 sacrificial meal, the--kasai 8, kurmi 7, lakhera 5, 6 sacrificial method of slaughter--kasai 22 sacrificial slaughter for food--kasai 20 sahajanand swami--swami-narayan s. 1 sal flower festival--oraon 20 _san_-hemp--lorha sankrants--joshi 6 sati or burning of widows--brahman 13 scent--atari 4 sculpture, hindu--mochi 3 sects. for individual sects see articles in section on religions and sects. for right-hand and left-hand sects see articles mala and vam-margi s. self-torture--jogi 4 sewn clothes, wearing of--darzi 3 sexual morality--gosain 11, khond 4, mali 6, oraon 4, 21 shankar acharya--gosain 2, smarta s. shantik ceremony--gurao 3, maratha 6 sheep--gadaria 6, dhangar 5 shoes--chamar 12, 14, mochi 7 sikh council (guru-mata)--sikh r. 7 silajit--siddi singaji, deified ahir--ahir 12 singara or waternut--dhimar 8 sister's son, importance of--bhamta 2, dhera, gowari 4, gurao 5, halba 7, kamar 3, pasi 5; marriage to maternal uncle's daughter-bhatra 5, parja 3; connection with uncle--mehtar 13 siva, the god. see article saiva sect sleeping-place or common dormitory--bhuiya 9, gond 71, oraon 4; dormitory discipline--oraon 12 snake-bite, cure for--gauria, kir 3, nat 6 snake-worship and snake-charmers--gond 43, nat 6, panwar rajput 10 social extravagance--jat 10, kirar 2, kurmi 5, maratha 8 social life--kunbi 19, muhammadan r. 32 social status and customs--barhai 5, basor 5, bhat 4, bhilala 1, bhunjia 5, brahman 18, chamar 16, dangi 4, dewar 4, halwai, jat 5, kahar 1, kalar 4, kolam 5, koshti 8, kumhar 3, kunbi 5, lodhi 2, 9, lohar 2, mahar 13, 14, mali 1, mehtar 17, mina (or deswali) 1, 4, nat 3, oraon 26, pardhi 5, sunar 5, tanti, teli 10, 13, velama, vidur 6 soldiers. see articles arab, bhil, khandait, maratha, paik, rajput, taonla soma, sacred liquor--kalar 5; homa liquor--parsi r. 13 songs--bhat 17, bhunjia 1, chitari 5, dhanwar 4, gond 77, gondhali, kayasth 9, murha 5, panwar rajput 7, parja 4 souls of the dead recalled--ahir 11, gond 37, kharia 10, khond 6, kurmi 24, lohar 4, oraon 13, taonla spangles for the forehead--lakhera 6 spells--lohar 4 spirits, beliefs in--badhak 10, bhat 15, halba 13, kalanga 3, mahar 11, panwar rajput 10 spirits-laying--kawar 8 (of persons killed by tiger) subcastes--_passim_. see especially brahman 5, 6, 7, chamaar 2, 3, dhimar 2, gond 11, halba 3, kalar 2, ,3, kanjar 1-6, kawar 2, kayasth 7, khond 2, kol 2, 8, korku 3, kunbi 3, kurmi 3, lodhi 3, lohar 3, mali 5, mehtar 2, sunar 2, intro. 5, 45-47 suckling children--kurmi 18 sudra--intro. 12 suicide--bhat 10, 13, jasondhi, rajput 14; burning of widows--brahman 13 suthra shahi--nanakpanthi s. 4 sweetmeats, preparation of--halwai swindling practices--jadua brahman, jogi 13, sunar 15, yerukala taboos, on food--dhakar 3, kharia 6; of relationship--sansia 3; general--jat 13, thug 23 tank building--kohli 3, sansia (uria) 4 tanning--chamaar 11 tattooing--bharia 7, binjhwar 9, brahman 23, dhanwar 12, gond 65, 66, gowari 8, halba 20, kamar 10, mahar 12, oraon 11; suggested origin of--sunar 11 teeth, disposal of--kaikari 3, kunbi 10, nai 16 theft, and detection of--bhamta 1, bharia 6, mang-garori, ramosi 3, sanaurhia 3, yerukala. see also _criminal practices_ threads as amulets--lakhera 8, patwa thugs derived from kanjars and doms--thug 3 tiger, worship of--koshti 1, panwar rajput 10 tirthakars of jains--jain r. 3, 12 tobacco--kalar 12 tomb-stones--gond 35 totem, worship of--kewat 1 totemism--agharia 2, andh, audhelia 2, barai 2, basor 3, bhaina 3, bharia 2, bhil 6, bhoyar 2, bhulia, chadar, chasa 2, chauhan, dahait 2, dhanwar 2, dumal 2, gadba 1, gond 13, 14, kalanga 2, kawar 3, kewat 2, khadal, khadra, khangar 2, kharia 4, khond 3, kol 9, kurmi 4, lodhi 4, majhwar 4, oraon 3, parja 2, rautia 2, savar 3, sudh, intro. 49, 51 traps for animals--gond 81 trees, spirits in--kunbi 12 turmeric--mali 5 twins, beliefs about--kurmi 19 udasi--nanakpanthi s. 3 ukika sacrifice, the--muhammadan r. 10 umbrella--dahait 6, 7 vaishnava, sect--kasbi 7 vaishya--intro. 13 valmiki, legend of--mehtar 14 vermilion and spangles, meaning of, substitutes for blood--lakhera 5, 6 village community--intro. 22, 23, 73 village gods--banjara devi in banjara 10, chordewa in oraon 16, khermata in baiga 6, kurmi 30, maiya andhiyari in dhanwar 9, mithu bhukia in banjara 11 village menials--chamaar 15, dhimar 12, gurao 1, kahar 1, kumhar 4, mang 6 village--priests (bhumka jhankar)--binjhwar 9, korku 7, intro. 28 villages--gond 60, korku 10, kunbi 19 vishnu, the god. see article vaishnava sect washerman--dhobi 8 washing clothes, method of--dhobi 5, 6, gond 64 watchman, village--kotwar, ramosi 3, intro. 27 weapons--khond 7 weeping, custom of--bharia 3, chauhan, gond 22 widow-marriage--_passim_. see especially bania 12, banjara 8, brahman 12, chamaar 6, gauria (disposal of first husband's children), gond 24, gujar 5, halba 10, kirar 2, kohli 2, kori 2, koshti 3, kunbi 9, kurmi 11, mahar 5, mali 7, muhammadan r. 6, panwar rajput 8, teli 6; sale of widows--panwar rajput 8; sati or burning of widows--brahman 13 wine-drinking, legend of--kalar 7. see liquor witchcraft--bhatra 8, bhil 9, gond 50, kawar 10, oraon 16 women, sexual morality of--gond, gowari; seclusion of--rajput, 13 wool, sanctity of--gadaria, 8; shearing and weaving--gadaria, 7 yadava tribe, the--ahir, 4 yawning--chitari, 4 yoga philosophy--jogi, 1 zend-avesta--parsi r., 3, 4 zodiac, the--joshi, 2-7 end of vol. i notes [1] _indian caste_, p. 12. [2] dr. wilson's _indian caste_ (times press and messrs. blackwood), 1875, p. 88, quoting from rig-veda. [3] dr. wilson's _indian caste_ (times press and messrs. blackwood), 1875, p. 88, quoting from rig-veda. [4] rig-veda, i. 11. wilson, _ibidem_, p. 94. [5] wilson, _ibidem_, p. 99. [6] manu, ii. 17, 24. [7] barbarians or foreigners. [8] see burnett and hopkins, _ordinances of manu, s.v._ [9] wilson, _indian caste_, p. 170, quoting weber, _indische studien_, i. 170. [10] a collection of rules for sacrifices and other rites, coming between the vedas and the law-books, and dated by max müller between 600-200 b.c. [11] wilson, _indian caste_, p. 182. [12] wilson, p. 184, quoting from shrauta-sutra of katyayana, 1. 1. 6. [13] manu, iv. 99; iii. 178. [14] wilson, pp. 421, 422. [15] wilson, p. 187, quoting from hiranyakeshi sutra. [16] see article mehtar in text. [17] wilson, p. 363, quoting from smriti of angira. [18] wilson, _indian caste_, p. 195, from hiranyakeshi sutra. [19] manu, viii. 417. [20] wilson, p. 260, quoting mahabharata, viii. 1367 _et seq._ [21] wilson, p. 403, quoting from _vyavahara mayukha_. [22] wilson, p. 400, from parashara smriti. [23] wilson, p. 140, quoting from _atharva veda_, iv. 32. 1. [24] wilson, p. 211. [25] wilson, _indian caste_, referring to ptolemy, vii. 1. 61 and vi. 120. 3. [26] wilson, pp. 113, 114. [27] see for the impure castes _para._ 40 _post_. [28] the word "aboriginal" is used here for convenience and not as conveying any assertion as to the origin of the pre-aryan population. [29] _bombay gazetteer_, _parsis of gujarat_, p. 213. [30] rig-veda, 6. 3. 16, quoted by wilson, _indian caste_, p. 110. [31] wilson, p. 109. [32] monier-williams, sanskrit dictionary, pointed out by mr. crooke. [33] quoted by wilson, p. 209. it would seem probable, however, that the vaishyas must themselves have formed the rank and file of the fighting force, at least in the early period. [34] manu, i. 90. [35] wilson, _indian caste_, p. 193, quoting from hiranyakeshi sutra. [36] wilson, p. 260, quoting mahabharata, viii. 1367 _et seq_. [37] mahabharata, xii. 2749 _et seq_. [38] list of classes of indian society given in the purusha-medha of the white yajur-veda, wilson, pp. 126-135. [39] manu, viii. 113. [40] hopkin's and burnett's _code of manu,_ x. 64, 65, and footnotes. [41] mahabharata, xiii. 2510 _et. seq_., quoted by wilson, p. 272. [42] manu, ix. 149, 157. [43] manu indeed declares that such children could not be initiated (x. 68), but it is clear that they must, as a matter of fact, have been capable of initiation or they could not possibly have been married in the father's caste. [44] see article on brahman for some further details. [45] wilson, _indian caste_, i. 440, quoting _brahma vaivarrta purana_. [46] see article bhat for further discussion of this point. [47] _dolichos uniflorus_. [48] see article jat for a more detailed discussion of their status. [49] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. khandait. [50] proprietors of large landed estates. [51] see article on kunbi, para. 1. [52] _village communities_, p. 127. [53] _history of the marathas_, vol. i. p. 25. [54] _village communities_, pp. 226, 227. [55] _the aryan household_, ed. 1891, p. 190. [56] _ibidem_, p. 228. professor hearn followed sir henry maine in thinking that the clan was an expansion of the patriarchal joint family; but the reasons against this view are given subsequently. [57] _memoir of central india_, vol. ii. p. 22. [58] _la cité antique_, 21st ed. pp. 66, 68. [59] _la cité antique_, 21 st ed. pp. 66, 68. [60] _nigeria_, quoted in _saturday review_, 6th april 1912. [61] _religion of the semites_, p. 96. [62] see article sunar for a discussion of the sanctity of gold and silver, and the ornaments made from them. [63] _michelia champaka_, a variety of the jack or bread-fruit tree. [64] see article darzi for further discussion of the use of sewn clothes in india. [65] see articles on bhulia, panka, kori and julaha. [66] traill's _account of kumaon, asiatic researches_, vol. xvi. (1828) p. 213. [67] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. bari. [68] pointed out by mr. crooke. [69] the marathi name for the god hanuman. [70] _linguistic survey_, vol. iv., _munda and dravidian languages_, p. 7. [71] _acacia catechu_. [72] see article on gond. [73] _linguistic survey_, p. 15. [74] introduction to _the mundas and their country_, p. 9. [75] _linguistic survey_, p. 277. [76] see for this the article on kol, from which the above passage is abridged. [77] bombay gazetteer, vol. xii. p. 175. [78] _cochin census report_, 1901, quoted in sir h. risley's _peoples of india_, 2nd ed. p. 115. [79] this was permissible in the time of asoka, _circa_ 250 b.c. mr. v.a. smith's _asoka_, pp. 56, 58. [80] sir h. risley's _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. tanti. [81] see article kanjar for a discussion of the connection of the gipsies and thugs with the kanjars. [82] see article chamar, para. 1. [83] _loha_, iron; _tamba_, copper; _kansa_, brass or bell-metal; _sona_, gold. [84] _kanch_, glass. [85] _phul_, flower; _haldi_,turmeric; _jira_, cumin. [86] _crotalaria juncea_. see article lorha for a discussion of the objections to this plant. [87] _morinda citrifolia_. the taboo against the plant is either because the red dye resembles blood, or because a number of insects are destroyed in boiling the roots to extract the dye. [88] see article on brahman. [89] sonjhara is a separate caste as well as a subcaste of dhimar. [90] see article kurmi, appendix, for some instances of territorial names. [91] wilson's _indian caste_, p. 439. [92] vol. i. pp. 272, 276. [93] _studies in ancient history_, p. 123. [94] see lists of totems of australian and red indian tribes. sir j.g. frazer notes that the majority are edible animals or plants. [95] address to the british association, 1902. i had not had the advantage of reading the address prior to the completion of this work. [96] m'lennan, _studies in ancient history_, p. 123, quoting from grant's _origin and descent of the gael_. [97] _totemism and exogamy_, i. pp. 112, 120, ii. p. 536, iii. pp. 100, 162; _native tribes of central australia_, pp. 209-10; _native tribes of south-east australia_ p. 145; _native tribes of northern australia_ (professor baldwin spencer), pp. 21, 197; j.h. weeks, _among the primitive bakongo_, p. 99. [98] see pp. ii, 138, 190 (edition 1891). [99] _totemism and exogamy_, ii. pp. 338, 339. [100] _la cité antique_, p. 254. [101] _the origin of civilisation_, 7th ed. p. 246. [102] w.w. skeat, _malay magic_, pp. 52, 53. [103] i. p. 253. [104] 2nd ed. vol. i. pp. 169, 174. see also sir e.b. tylor's _primitive culture_, i. pp. 282, 286, 295; ii. pp. 170, 181, etc. [105] see also _primitive culture_, i. pp. 119, 121, 412, 413, 514. [106] messrs. spencer and gillan, _native tribes of central australia_ (london, macmillan), p. 201. [107] _linguistic survey of india_, vol. iv., _munda and dravidian languages_, pp. 40, 41, 45. [108] _linguistic survey of india_, vol. iv., _munda and dravidian languages_, pp. 292, 294. [109] dr. a.h. keane, _the world's peoples_, london, hutchinson, 1908, p. 50. [110] _nimar settlement report_. [111] see also _primitive culture_, i. p. 408. [112] _the oraons_, pp. 408, 409. [113] 2nd ed. vol. ii. p. 457 _et seq._ [114] for instances of omens see article thug and index. also miss harrison's _themis_, pp. 98, 99. [115] _la cité antique_, p. 225. [116] w.w. skeat, _malay magic_, pp. 178, 571. [117] _early history of mankind_, 3rd ed. p. 143. [118] _ibidem_, p. 125. [119] see article joshi for examples of hindu names. [120] _la cité antique_, p. 357. [121] p. 182, _et seq._ [122] see para. 61. [123] i. p. 430. [124] see article on nai. [125] 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 57. [126] _native tribes of central australia,_ introduction, p. 25. [127] dr. a. h. keane, _the worlds peoples,_ p. 62. [128] for counting, see _primitive culture_, 5th ed. pp. 240, 254, 265, 266. [129] _account of the mewar bhils_, j.a.s.b., vol. xxiv. (1875) p. 369. [130] _early history of mankind_, p. 293. [131] _ibidem_, p. 294. [132] _ibidem_, p. 295. [133] see also _primitive culture_, i. p. 493, ii. p. 431. [134] see article on mochi for the muhammadan reference. the jewish reference is of course to the second commandment. [135] _native tribes of central australia_, p. 176. [136] _ibidem_, pp. 181, 182. [137] _the golden bough_, 2nd ed. ii. p. 120. [138] _the golden bough_, 2nd ed. iii. p. 301. [139] section on the kol tribe in dalton's _ethnology of bengal_. [140] mr. s.c. roy, _the oraons_, p. 262. [141] see also _primitive culture_, 5th ed. ii. pp. 243, 244, 246. [142] see article on brahman. [143] see article bairagi. [144] _native tribes of central australia_, pp. 185, 186. [145] _ibidem_, pp. 154, 155. [146] _primitive culture_, 5th ed. ii. pp. 243, 244. [147] _primitive culture_, 5th ed. ii. pp. 243, 244. [148] dr. a.w. howitt, _native tribes of south-east australia_, p. 146. in this case the reference seems to be to any one of several totems of a sub-class. [149] dr. a.w. howitt, _native tribes of south-east australia_, p. 145. [150] _ibidem_, pp. 148, 149. [151] _the religion of the semites_, pp. 273, 274. [152] _primitive paternity_, vol. i. pp. 272, 273. [153] _the religion of the semites_, p. 265. [154] see paragraph 80 below and the article on kasai. [155] _the origin of civilisation_, p. 240. [156] see _the golden bough_, ii. p. 396 _et seq._ [157] this view of sacrifice was first enunciated by professor robertson smith in the article on sacrifice in the _encyclopædia britannica_, and _the religion of the semites_. [158] _history of human marriage_, p. 324. [159] many instances are also given by mr. hartland in _primitive paternity_. [160] _native tribes of south-east australia_, p. 481. [161] _primitive marriage_, p. 135, footnote. [162] _totemism and exogamy_, ii. p. 473, iii. pp. 34, 76, 101, 225, 272, 308, 360. the australians have secret churinga names, the churingas apparently representing the spirits of ancestors which have returned to the totem. (spencer and gillan, _ibidem_, appendix a.) [163] _kinship and marriage in early arabia_, pp. 198, 200. [164] _native tribes of central australia_, p. 70; _natives of australia,_ mr. n.w. thomas, p. 75. [165] _totemism and exogamy_, iii. pp. 93, 120, 122, 124, 226, ii. p. 6. [166] _totemism and exogamy_, vol. iv. [167] see article lakhera for further discussion of the marking with vermilion and its substitutes. [168] _la cité antique_, paris, librairie hachette, 21st ed. p. 4. [169] _la cité antique_, p. 45. [170] this word seems to mean elder sister, and is applied by the girls to their sex-totem, the emu-wren. [171] _native tribes of s.-e. australia,_ p. 149. [172] _history of human marriage_, pp. 418-420. [173] _the people of india_ (thacker & co.), pp. 171, 173. [174] _tribes and castes of the n.-w.p. and oudh_, art. nunia. [175] _religion and customs of the oraons, memoirs_, as. socy. of bengal, vol. i. no. 9. [176] mr. s.c. roy, _the oraons_, p. 247. [177] see article on rajput, para. 9. [178] professor w. e. hearn's _aryan household_ (london, longmans, green & co.), p. 160. [179] at first the whole _gens_ were the heirs, _ancient law_, p. 221. the group of agnatic kinsmen are mentioned in _early law and custom_, pp. 238, 239, but not directly as heirs. [180] _aryan household_, p. 28, quoting becker's _charicles_, p. 394. [181] _aryan household_, p. 160, quoting plutarch, _quaestiones romanae_, c. 6. [182] _la cité antique_, 21st ed. paris, hachette et cie. [183] _aryan household_, p. 215. [184] _la cité antique_, p. 299. [185] _la cité antique_, p. 304. [186] _ibidem_, pp. 128, 129. [187] _ibidem_, p. 318. [188] _ibidem_, p. 129. [189] _ibidem_, p. 273. [190] _ibidem_, p. 129. [191] _ibidem_, p. 320. [192] _la cité antique_, p. 279. [193] _ibidem_, pp. 281, 282. [194] _ibidem_, p. 281. [195] _ibidem_, p. 320. [196] _la cité antique_, p. 179. [197] _ibidem_. [198] _ibidem_. [199] _ibidem_, p. 181. [200] _la cité antique_, p. 113. [201] _ibidem_, pp. 186-188. [202] _la cité antique_, _ibidem_. [203] pp. 151, 154. [204] the above account of the festival and pilgrimage is taken from the rev. t.p. hughes' _dictionary of islam_, articles idu-l-azha and hajj. [205] _la cité antique_, p. 134. [206] _ibidem_, p. 127. [207] para. 48 above. [208] see article on rajput, para. 9. [209] _the magic art_, ii. p. 89, quoting satapatha brahmana. [210] see article on kasai. [211] see account in article on kasai. [212] _orpheus_, pp. 123, 125. [213] 7th ed. p. 300. [214] _origin of civilisation_, 7th ed. p. 299. [215] _the dasahra: an autumn festival of the hindus_, folk-lore, march 1915. some notice of the dasahra in the central provinces is contained in the article on kumhar. [216] crooke, _loc. cit._ p. 41. [217] see also article mahar. [218] _la cité antique_, pp. 202, 204. [219] _imperial gazetteer of india_, ii. p. 312. [220] _totemism and exogamy_, vol. ii. pp. 528, 530. [221] _ibidem_. [222] _totemism and exogamy_, vol. ii. p. 608; _the golden bough_, 2nd ed. vol. iii. p. 407. [223] dr. a.h. keane, _the world's peoples,_ p. 138. [224] mr. l.d. barnett's _antiquities of india_, p. 171. [225] _the golden bough_, 2nd ed. vol. i. pp. 234, 235. [226] _ibidem_, vol. ii. pp. 9, 10. [227] other features of the sacramental rite, strengthening this hypothesis, are given in the article kabirpanthi sect. the account is taken from bishop westcott's _kabir and the kabirpanth._ [228] see articles dewar, bhunjia, gauria, sonjhara, malyar. [229] some instances are given in the article on kalar and on rajput, para. 9. [230] dr. a.h. keane, _the world's peoples_, pp. 129, 130. [231] para. 11. [232] for further notice of vishnu and siva see articles vaishnava and saiva sects; for devi see article kumhar, and for kali, article thug; for krishna, article ahir; for ganpati, article bania. [233] see above, para. 13. [234] _la cité antique_, p. 341. [235] _early history of mankind_, pp. 259, 260. the needfire, as described by sir e.b. tylor, had the character of a purificatory rite, but it may be doubted whether this was its original form, any more than in the case of the suovetaurilia or pola ceremonies. [236] mr. j.t. marten's _central provinces census report_, p. 238. [237] for further notice of this offence see article sunar under ear-piercing. [238] para. 61. [239] "tarpeia" in m. salomon reinach's _cults, myths and religions_ (english edition, london, david nutt, 1912). [240] _cults, customs_, p. 130. [241] maclagan, _punjab census report_, p. 174. [242] burn, _united provinces census report_, p. 82. [243] _cults, customs_, p. 144. [244] _ibidem_, pp. 176, 177. [245] _cults, customs_, pp. 148, 149. [246] maclagan, _l.c._ [247] _ibidem_. [248] j. t. marten, _census report_ (1911). [249] lillingston, p. 45, on the authority of max mullet. professor oman states, however, that he had but little acquaintance with the vedas (_brahmans, tkeists,_ p. 103), and if this was so it would seem likely that his knowledge of the other ancient languages was not very profound. but he published a book in persian and knew english well. [250] oman, quoting from dr. george smith's _life of dr. alexander duff_, vol. i. p. 118. [251] oman, quoting mary carpenter's _last days in england of the raja ram mohan roy_, p. 67. [252] lillingston, p. 51. [253] _brahmans, theists_, p. 105. [254] _brahmans, theists_, p. 111. [255] lillingston, p. 73. [256] _brahmans, theists_, p. 116. [257] _ibidem_, p. 113. [258] _brahmans, theists_, p. 118. [259] lillingston, p. 96. [260] _brahmans, theists_, p. 133. [261] _brahmans, theists_, pp. 131, 139, 140. [262] _brahmans, theists_, p. 148. [263] this article is compiled from the notices in wilson's _hindu sects, as. res._ vol. xvi. pp. 79-81; sir e. maclagan's _punjab census report_, 1891; and mr. bhimbhai kirparam's _hindus of gujarat_, _bombay gazetteer_, vol. ix. [264] captain c.e. luard, in _central india census report_ (1901), p. 88. [265] _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat_ (mr. bhimbhai kirparam), p. 545. [266] this information was kindly furnished by the diwan of panna, through the political agent at bundelkhand. [267] barth, p. 148. [268] hopkins, p. 310, and _the jains_, p. 40. [269] barth, p. 149. [270] _the jainas_, pp. 38-47. [271] the writer is inclined to doubt whether either buddhism or jainism were really atheistic, and to think that they were perhaps rather forms of pantheism; but the above is the view of the best authorities. [272] _the jainas_, p. 10. [273] _the jainas_, p. 6. [274] _ibidem_, p. 10. [275] moor's _hindu infanticide_, pp. 175-176. [276] marten, _c.p. census report_ (1911), p. 67. [277] maclagan, _punjab census report_ (1891), p. 183. [278] mr. marten's _central provinces census report_, 1911. [279] the particulars about the tirthakars and the animals and trees associated with them are taken from _the jainas_. [280] _jonesia asoka_. [281] _cedrela toona_. [282] _grislea tomentosa_. [283] _eugenia jambolana_. [284] _michelia champaka_. [285] crooke, _things indian_, art. pinjrapol. [286] moor, _hindu infanticide_, p. 184. [287] _rajasthan_, vol. i. p. 449, and pp. 696, 697, app. [288] _central provinces census report_, 1911. [289] westcott, _op. cit._ p. 3. [290] _op. cit._ p. 12. [291] _kabir and the kabirpanth_, pp. 115 and 116. [292] raipur district. [293] the description of the chauka service is mainly taken from bishop westcott's full and detailed account. [294] _ficus glomerata_. [295] sherring, _hindu castes and tribes,_ iii. pp. 96, 123. [296] by surgeon-major cornish. [297] _bombay census report_, 1901, pp. 181-183. [298] _hindu manners, customs and ceremonies_, p. 117. [299] mr. marten's _c.p. census report_ (1911), subsidiary table, ix., occupation, p. 276. [300] short for amir or prince. [301] siddik means veracious or truthful, and he was given the name on account of his straightforward character (_bombay gazetteer._) [302] _supplemental glossary_, vol. i. p. 195. [303] mr. a. m. t. jackson in _bomb. gaz. muh. guj_;, p. 10. [304] _bombay gazetteer, ibidem_. [305] hughes' _dictionary of islam, s. v._ marriage. [306] _bomb. gaz. muh. guj._ p. 166. [307] _ibidem_, p. 66. [308] _bomb. gaz. muh. guj._ pp. 147,148, from which the whole paragraph is taken. [309] _bomb. gas. muh. guj._ p. 150. [310] temple's _proper names of the punjabis_, pp. 41, 43. [311] _qanun-islam_, p. 20. [312] _ibidem_. [313] _qanun-i-islam_, pp. 26, 27. [314] _ibidem_, pp. 30, 35. [315] hughes, _notes on muhammadanism_, pp. 122, 131. [316] _qanun-i-islam_, p. 286. [317] _bomb. gaz. muh. guj._ pp. 168, 170. [318] _dictionary of islam_, art. inheritance. [319] hughes, _notes on muhammadanism_, pp. 63, 75. [320] see _post_. the account is compiled mainly from the _dictionary of islam,_ articles idu-l-azha and hajj. [321] _bomb. gas. muh. guj_. p. 138. [322] hughes, _dictionary of islam, s.v._ idu-l-azha. [323] hughes, _ibidem_. [324] _bomb. gaz. muh. guj_. p. 131. [325] professor margoliouth's _muhammadanism._ [326] _bomb. gaz. muh. guj_. p. 131. [327] _bomb. gaz. muh. guj._ pp. 132, 135. [328] _bomb. gaz., ibidem_. [329] professor margoliouth's _muhammadanism_ and the _dictionary of islam_. [330] _early developments of muhammadanism_, pp. 87, 97. [331] _notes on muhammadanism_, p. 168. [332] _dictionary of islam_, _s.v._ food. [333] _bomb. gaz. muh. guj._ pp. 100-103, and _dictionary of islam_, art. dress and ornaments. [334] hughes, _notes on muhammadanism_. [335] _qanun-i-islam, _ pp. 24, 25. this account is a very old one, and the elaborate procedure may now have been abandoned. [336] hughes, _dictionary of islam, s.v._ fitrah. [337] _bomb. gaz. muh. guj._ pp. 143, 144. [338] hughes, _dictionary of islam_, _s.v._ whistling. [339] _c.p. census report_, 1911, p. 66. [340] this article is compiled from sir denzil ibbetson's _punjab census report_ of 1881, and sir e.d. maclagan's _punjab census report_ of 1891. [341] ibbetson, para. 260. [342] maclagan, para. 88. [343] maclagan, _loc. cit._ [344] ibbetson, para. 265. [345] maclagan, para. 95. [346] _tribes and castes_, article suthra shahi. [347] _c.p. census report_ (1911), p. 69. [348] p. 276. [349] _orphéus_, p. 94. [350] _ibidem_. [351] haug, _loc. cit._ pp. 69, 70. [352] _orphéus_, pp. 91, 92. [353] haug, pp. 267, 268. [354] haug, p. 269. [355] haug, pp. 272, 273. [356] _great religions of india_. [357] _great religions of india_. [358] _orphéus_, p. 96. [359] _ibidem_, p. 98. [360] haug, p. 199. [361] sykes' _persia and its people_, p. 180; _great religions of india_, p. 173. [362] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. ix. part ii., _parsis of gujarat_ p. 190. [363] _bombay gazetteer, ibidem._ [364] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. ix. part ii., _parsis of gujarat_, pp. 233, 237. [365] p. 133. [366] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. ix. part ii., _parsis of gujarat_, pp. 221-226. [367] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. ix. part ii., _parsis of gujarat_, p. 231. [368] _ibidem_, pp. 239-242. [369] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. ix. part ii., _parsis of gujarat_, pp. 241, 243. [370] _bombay gazetteer, parsis of gujarat_, pp. 205, 207, 219, 220. [371] see also article on kalar. [372] _aegle marmelos_. [373] dr. bhattacharya's _hindu castes and sects_, p. 371. [374] see articles kumhar, thug and sakta sect. [375] see art. sakta sect. [376] mr. marten's _c. p. census report_, 1911. [377] _india census report_ (1901), p. 360. [378] _hindu castes and sects_ (thacker, spink & co., calcutta), pp. 407-413. [379] sir e. gait's note, _india census report_. [380] _hindu castes and sects_. [381] this article is based principally on a paper by mr. durga prasad pande, tahsildar, raipur. [382] _bilaspur settlement report_ (1888), p. 45. [383] some of mr. chisholm's statements are undoubtedly inaccurate. for instance, he says that ghasi das decided on a temporary withdrawal into the wilderness, and proceeded for this purpose to a small village called girod near the junction of the jonk and mahanadi rivers. but it is an undoubted fact, as shown by mr. hira lal and others, that ghasi das was born in girod and had lived there all his life up to the time of his proclamation of his gospel. [384] _ibidem_. [385] _luffa acutangula_. [386] _solanum melangenum_. [387] some of the bundela raids in the north of the province were made on the pretext of being crusades for the protection of the sacred animal. [388] from mr. durga prasad pande's paper. [389] this text is recorded by mr. durga prasad pande as follows: "bhaji chhurai bhanta chhurdi gondli karat chhonka lai bhaji ke chhurawate gaon la marai chauka. sahib ke satnamia; 'thonka.'" or "we have given up eating vegetables, we eat no brinjals: we eat onions with more relish; we eat no more red vegetables. the _chauka_ has been placed in the village. the true name is of god; (to which the pair replied) 'amen.'" [390] see article nanakpanthi for an account of nanak's creed. [391] here again, sir d. ibbetson notes, it is often the women who are the original offenders: "i have often asked sikhs how it is that, believing as they do in only one god, they can put any faith in and render any obedience to brahmans who acknowledge a large number of deities, and their answer in every case has been that they do not themselves believe in them; but their women do, and to please them they are obliged to pay attention to what the brahmans say." [392] _punjab census report_ (1891), para. 107. [393] account of the sikhs, _asiatic researches_. [394] apparently the scripture of govind, the tenth _guru_. [395] 'hurrah for the guru's khalsa, victory to the guru.' [396] sir lepel griffin's _life of ranjit singh_. [397] based on the account of the sect in the volume, _hindus of gujarat,_ of the _bombay gazetteer_, and _the swami-narayan sect_ pamphlet, printed at the education society's press, bombay, 1887. [398] bishop heber's _narrative of a journey through the upper provinces,_ pp. 143, 153. [399] _the swami-narayan sect_, pp. 4, 22. the above details are given, because in the _bombay gazetteer_ the swami is said to have prohibited the taking of food with low-caste people, and caste pollution; and this appears incorrect. [400] _the swami-narayan sect_, p. 25. [401] _bombay ducks_, p. 194. [402] for a suggested explanation of the myth of parasurama see article panwar rajput. [403] see also article ahir. [404] kabirpanthi, nanakpanthi, dadupanthi, swami-narayan, etc. [405] this article is based on professor wilson's _hindu sects_, m. chevrillon's _romantic india_, and some notes collected by munshi kanhya lal of the gazetteer office. [406] _dhatura alba_, a plant sacred to siva, whose seed is a powerful narcotic, and is used to poison travellers. [407] this article consists entirely of extracts from the article on the wahhabi sect in the rev. t. p. hughes' _dictionary of islam_. [408] irvine, _army of the mughals_, p. 198. [409] irvine, _army of the mughals_, p. 232. [410] _summary of the maratha and pindari campaigns_, p. 264. [411] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. ix. part ii. p. 16. [412] _madras census report_ (1891), p. 221. [413] _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 543. [414] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 128. [415] _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 529. [416] khan bahadur lutfullah faridi in _bombay gazetteer_, _muh. guj._ [417] _berar census report_, _ibidem_. [418] in 1911 about 3000 persons belonging to the caste were returned, mainly from bilaspur district, and the korea and sarguja states. [419] crooke, vol. i. p. 184. [420] _eastern india_, ii. p. 467. [421] _north-west provinces gazetteer_, vol. xiv., mirzapur, p. 365. [422] _ethnographic notes in southern india_, page 72. [423] this article consists of extracts from mr. crooke's account of the caste in his _tribes and castes_. [424] _eastern india_, ii. 248. [425] _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 542. [426] _tribes and castes_, art. bhatia. [427] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 292. [428] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. bind. [429] _tribes and castes of the n.w.p. and oudh_, art. bind. [430] _bauhinia scandens._ [431] _ethnology of bengal._ pp. 158, 221. [432] see art. bhunjia. [433] _linguistic survey of india,_ vol. iv., _munda and dravidian dialects,_ p. 102. [434] caldwell's _dravidian grammar_, pp. 123 and 134. captain glasfurd says: 'the termination _war_ is a telugu affix signifying person or man' (_settlement report of the upper godavari district_ (1868), p. 26). [435] this article consists only of extracts from the accounts of colonel dalton and sir h. risley. [436] dalton's _ethnology of bengal_, pp. 126, 127. [437] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. chero. [438] see also art. daharia for a discussion of the origin of that caste. [439] _tribes and castes_, art. dhalgar. [440] from a paper by narayan bohidar, schoolmaster, sonpur state. [441] this article is based on papers by mr. d.p. kshirsagar, naib-tahsildar, buldana, and mr. khandekar, headmaster, nandura. [442] _madras census report_ (1901), p. 149. [443] _bhandara settlement report_ (mr. a.b. napier), p. 8. [444] _criminal tribes of the c.p._, p. 61. [445] buchanan, i. p. 331. [446] _b.g. muh. guj_., p. 84. [447] this article is based on information collected by mr. hira lai in betul. [448] art. dom. in _tribes and castes of bengal_, and of the _north-western provinces and oudh_. [449] see article are. [450] _thana gazetteer_, pp. 119, 120. [451] _sholapur gazetteer_, p. 158. [452] _madras census report_ (1891), p. 238. [453] _ibidem_, p. 280. [454] _satara gazetteer_, p, 41. [455] _nasik gazetteer_, p. 54. [456] this account is taken from inquiries made by mr. hira lal in patna. [457] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. bauri. [458] from a paper by mr. kripasindh tripathi, headmaster, saria middle school, sarangarh state. [459] from _pag_, a foot. [460] malcolm, _memoir of central india_, ii. p. 21. [461] this paper is compiled from notes taken by mr. hira lal at raj-nandgaon and betul. [462] perhaps _pandanus fascicularis_. [463] this article is compiled from papers by c. ramiah, kanungo, sironcha, and w.g. padaya naidu, clerk, district office, chanda. [464] _mysore census report_ (1891), p. 205. [465] this article is compiled from a paper by mr. ghasinam dani, deputy inspector of schools, bastar state. [466] the caste numbered 85 persons in 1911. the above notice is compiled from a paper by mr. krishna sewak, naib-tahsildar, bargarh. [467] based on inquiries made by mr. hira lal, assistant gazetteer superintendent in bhandara. [468] _madras census report_ (1901), p. 168. [469] _bombay gazetteer, guj. mukh_. p. 18. [470] elliott's _memoirs_, vol. i. p. 54. [471] crooke's _tribes and castes_, vol. i. p. 161. [472] _madras census report_ (1891), p. 303. [473] _india census report_ (1891), p. 200. [474] _man_, november 1909. [475] tone, _letter on the marathas_ (1798), india office tracts, p. 25. [476] lane, _modern egyptians_, p. 373. [477] _census report_ (1891), p. 211. [478] from a paper by mr. rajaram gangadhar deshpande, tahsildar, wardha. [479] _settlement report of the upper godavari district_ (1868), quoted in mr. nunn's _monograph on the gold and silver industries of the central provinces_. [480] _monograph on the gold and silver industries, loc. cit._ [481] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 219. [482] based on a paper by mr. ali mustafa, naib-tahsildar, hatta. [483] _census report_ (1891), p. 179. [484] in the introduction to firishta's history (elliot, vi. p. 568), it is stated that roh is the name of a particular mountain (country) which extends in length from swat and bajaur to the town of siwi belonging to bhakar. in breadth it stretches from hasan abdul to kabul. kandahar is situated in this country. (crooke's _hobson-jobson_, p. 766.) [485] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, vol. iv. pp. 165, 166. [486] _proper names of the punjabis_, p. 74. [487] _indian life and sentiment_, p. 99. [488] _linguistic survey_, vol. iv. p. 30. [489] _linguistic survey_, vol. iv., _munda and dravidian languages_, p. 79. [490] _ibidem_, pp. 84, 85. [491] _ethnology of bengal_, p. 235 _et seq._ [492] _tribes and castes of bengal_, app. i. [493] _ibidem_, pp. 222, 223. [494] this article is written from papers by mr. g.a. khan, assistant commissioner, venkatesh tumaiya ayawar, schoolmaster, chanda, and mr. g. padaya naidu, district officer, chanda. [495] _north arcot manual_, i. p. 200. [496] _north arcot manual_, i. p. 242. [497] based on a paper by g. pydiah naidu of the gazetteer office. [498] vol. xi. p. 433. [499] mr. edwardes, _byways of bombay_, p. 79. [500] _bombay gazetteer, ibidem_. [501] _j.a.s.b._, no. 3 of 1903, p. 103. [502] partly based on a note by mr. c.j. irwin, assistant commissioner, jubbulpore. [503] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xvii. (_sholapur_), p. 234. [504] _bombay gazetteer, belgaum_, p. 250. [505] _tribes and castes_, art. sikligar. [506] based on a paper by mr. gokul prasad, naib-tahsildar, dhamtari. [507] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. tanti. [508] _madras census report_ (1901), p. 153. [509] _tribes and castes of bengal, s.v._ [510] _madras census report_ (1891), p. 243. the tribes and castes of the central provinces of india by r.v. russell of the indian civil service superintendent of ethnography, central provinces assisted by rai bahadur hira lal extra assistant commissioner published under the orders of the central provinces administration in four volumes vol. ii. macmillan and co., limited st. martin's street, london. 1916 contents of volume ii articles on castes and tribes of the central provinces in alphabetical order the articles which are considered to be of most general interest are shown in capitals agaria (_iron-worker_) 3 agharia (_cultivator_) 8 aghori (_religious mendicant_) 13 ahir (_herdsman and milkman_) 18 andh (_tribe, now cultivators_) 38 arakh (_hunter_) 40 atari (_scent-seller_) 42 audhelia (_labourer_) 45 badhak (_robber_) 49 bahna (_cotton-cleaner_) 69 baiga (_forest tribe_) 77 bairagi (_religious mendicants_) 93 balahi (_labourer and village watchman_) 105 balija (_cultivator_) 108 bania (_merchant and moneylender_) 111 subcastes of bania agarwala. agrahari. ajudhiabasi. asathi. charnagri. dhusar. dosar. gahoi. golapurab. kasarwani. kasaundhan. khandelwal. lad. lingayat. maheshri. nema. oswal. parwar. srimali. umre. banjara (_pack-carrier_) 162 barai (_betel-vine grower and seller_) 192 barhai (_carpenter_) 199 bari (_maker of leaf-plates_) 202 basdewa (_cattle-dealer and religious mendicant_) 204 basor (_bamboo-worker_) 208 bedar (_soldier and public service_) 212 beldar (_digger and navvy_) 215 beria (_vagabond gipsy_) 220 bhaina (_forest tribe_) 225 bhamta (_criminal tribe and labourers_) 234 bharbhunja (_grain-parcher_) 238 bharia (_forest tribe_) 242 bhat (_bard and genealogist_) 251 bhatra (_forest tribe_) 271 bhil (_forest tribe_) 278 bhilala (_landowner and cultivator_) 293 bhishti (_water-man_) 298 bhoyar (_cultivator_) 301 bhuiya (_forest tribe_) 305 bhulia (_weaver_) 319 bhunjia (_forest tribe_) 322 binjhwar (_cultivator_) 329 bishnoi (_cultivator_) 337 bohra (_trader_) 345 brahman (_priest_) 351 subcastes of brahman ahivasi. jijhotia. kanaujia, kanyakubja. khedawal. maharashtra. maithil. malwi. nagar. naramdeo. sanadhya. sarwaria. utkal. chadar (_village watchman and labourer_) 400 chamar (_tanner and labourer_) 403 chasa (_cultivator_) 424 chauhan (_village watchman and labourer_) 427 chhipa (_dyer and calico-printer_) 429 chitari (_painter_) 432 chitrakathi (_picture showman_) 438 cutchi (_trader and shopkeeper_) 440 dahait (_village watchman and labourer_) 444 daharia (_cultivator_) 453 dangi (_landowner and cultivator_) 457 dangri (_vegetable-grower_) 463 darzi (_tailor_) 466 dewar (_beggar and musician_) 472 dhakar (_illegitimate, cultivator_) 477 dhangar (_shepherd_) 480 dhanuk (_bowman, labourer_) 484 dhanwar (_forest tribe_) 488 dhimar (_fisherman, water-carrier, and household servant_) 502 dhoba (_forest tribe, cultivator_) 515 dhobi (_washerman_) 519 dhuri (_grain-parcher_) 527 dumal (_cultivator_) 530 fakir (_religious mendicant_) 537 illustrations in volume ii 31. aghori mendicant 14 32. ahirs decorated with cowries for the stick dance at diwali 18 33. image of krishna as murlidhar or the flute-player, with attendant deities 28 34. ahir dancers in diwali costume 32 35. pinjara cleaning cotton 72 36. baiga village, balaghat district 88 37. hindu mendicants with sect-marks 94 38. anchorite sitting on iron nails 98 39. pilgrims carrying water of the river nerbudda 100 40. _coloured plate_: examples of tilaks or sect-marks worn on the forehead 102 41. group of marwari bania women 112 42. image of the god ganpati carried in procession 116 43. the elephant-headed god ganpati. his conveyance is a rat, which can be seen as a little blob between his feet 120 44. mud images made and worshipped at the holi festival 126 45. bania's shop 128 46. banjara women with the _singh_ or horn 184 47. group of banjara women 188 48. basors making baskets of bamboo 210 49. bhat with his _putla_ or doll 256 50. group of bhils 278 51. tantia bhil, a famous dacoit 282 52. group of bohras at burhanpur (nimar) 346 53. brahman worshipping his household gods 380 54. brahman bathing party 384 55. brahman pujaris or priests 390 56. group of maratha brahman men 392 57. group of naramdeo brahman women 396 58. group of naramdeo brahman men 398 59. chamars tanning and working in leather 416 60. chamars cutting leather and making shoes 418 61. chhipa or calico-printer at work 430 62. dhimar or fisherman's hut 502 63. fishermen in dug-outs or hollowed tree trunks 506 64. group of gurujwale fakirs 538 pronunciation _a_ has the sound of _u_ in _but_ or _murmur_. _a_ has the sound of _a_ in _bath_ or _tar_. _e_ has the sound of _é_ in _écarté_ or _ai_ in _maid_. _i_ has the sound of _i_ in _bit_, or (as a final letter) of _y_ in _sulky_ _i_ has the sound of _ee_ in _beet_. _o_ has the sound of _o_ in _bore_ or _bowl_. _u_ has the sound of _u_ in _put_ or _bull_. _u_ has the sound of _oo_ in _poor_ or _boot_. the plural of caste names and a few common hindustani words is formed by adding _s_ in the english manner according to ordinary usage, though this is not, of course, the hindustani plural. note.--the rupee contains 16 annas, and an anna is of the same value as a penny. a pice is a quarter of an anna, or a farthing. rs. 1-8 signifies one rupee and eight annas. a lakh is a hundred thousand, and a krore ten million. part ii articles on castes and tribes agaria--fakir agaria 1. origin and subdivisions. agaria. [1]--a small dravidian caste, who are an offshoot of the gond tribe. the agarias have adopted the profession of iron-smelting and form a separate caste. they numbered 9500 persons in 1911 and live on the maikal range in the mandla, raipur and bilaspur districts. the name probably signifies a worker with _ag_ or fire. an agaria subcaste of lohars also exists, many of whom are quite probably gonds, but they are not included in the regular caste. similar dravidian castes of agarias are to be found in mirzapur and bengal. the agarias are quite distinct from the agharia cultivating caste of the uriya country. the raipur agarias still intermarry with the rawanbansi gonds of the district. the agarias think that their caste has existed from the beginning of the world, and that the first agaria made the ploughshare with which the first bullocks furrowed the primeval soil. the caste has two endogamous divisions, the patharia and the khuntia agarias. the patharias place a stone on the mouth of the bellows to fix them in the ground for smelting, while the khuntias use a peg. the two subcastes do not even take water from one another. their exogamous sections have generally the same names as those of the gonds, as sonwani, dhurua, tekam, markam, uika, purtai, marai, and others. a few names of hindi origin are also found, as ahindwar, ranchirai and rathoria, which show that some hindus have probably been amalgamated with the caste. ahindwar or aindwar and ranchirai mean a fish and a bird respectively in hindi, while rathoria is a _gotra_ both of rajputs and telis. the gond names are probably also those of animals, plants or other objects, but their meaning has now generally been forgotten. tekam or _teka_ is a teak tree. sonwani is a sept found among several of the dravidian tribes, and the lower hindu castes. a person of the sonwani sept is always chosen to perform the ceremony of purification and readmission into caste of persons temporarily excommunicated. his duty often consists in pouring on such a person a little water in which gold has been placed to make it holy, and hence the name is considered to mean sonapani or gold-water. the agarias do not know the meanings of their section names and therefore have no totemistic observances. but they consider that all persons belonging to one _gotra_ are descended from a common ancestor, and marriage within the _gotra_ is therefore prohibited. as among the gonds, first cousins are allowed to marry. 2. marriage. marriage is usually adult. when the father of a boy wishes to arrange a marriage he sends emissaries to the father of the girl. they open the proceedings by saying, 'so-and-so has come to partake of your stale food.' [2] if the father of the girl approves he gives his consent by saying, 'he has come on foot, i receive him on my head.' the boy's father then repairs to the girl's house, where he is respectfully received and his feet are washed. he is then asked to take a drink of plain water, which is a humble method of offering him a meal. after this, presents for the girl are sent by a party accompanied by tomtom players, and a date is fixed for the marriage, which, contrary to the usual hindu rule, may take place in the rains. the reason is perhaps because iron-smelting is not carried on during the rains and the agarias therefore have no work to do. a few days before the wedding the bride-price is paid, which consists of 5 seers each of _urad_ and til and a sum of rs. 4 to rs. 12. the marriage is held on any monday, tuesday or friday, no further trouble being taken to select an auspicious day. in order that they may not forget the date fixed, the fathers of the parties each take a piece of thread in which they tie a knot for every day intervening between the date when the marriage day is settled and the day itself, and they then untie one knot for every day. previous to the marriage all the village gods are propitiated by being anointed with oil by the baiga or village priest. the first clod of earth for the ovens is also dug by the baiga, and received in her cloth by the bride's mother as a mark of respect. the usual procedure is adopted in the marriage. after the bridegroom's arrival his teeth are cleaned with tooth-sticks, and the bride's sister tries to push _saj_ leaves into his mouth, a proceeding which he prevents by holding his fan in front of his face. for doing this the girl is given a small present. a _paili_ [3] measure of rice is filled alternately by the bride and bridegroom twelve times, the other upsetting it each time after it is filled. at the marriage feast, in addition to rice and pulse, mutton curry and cakes of _urad_ pulse fried in oil are provided. _urad_ is held in great respect, and is always given as a food at ceremonial feasts and to honoured guests. the greater part of the marriage ceremony is performed a second time at the bridegroom's house. finally, the decorations of the marriage-shed and the palm-leaf crowns of the bride and bridegroom are thrown into a tank. the bride and bridegroom go into the water, and each in turn hides a jar under water, which the other must find. they then bathe, change their clothes, and go back to the bridegroom's house, the bride carrying the jar filled with water on her head. the boy is furnished with a bow and arrows and has to shoot at a stuffed deer over the girl's shoulder. after each shot she gives him a little sugar, and if he does not hit the deer in three shots he must pay 4 annas to the _sawasa_ or page. after the marriage the bridegroom does not visit his wife for a month in order to ascertain whether she is already pregnant. they then live together. the marriage expenses usually amount to rs. 15 for the bridegroom's father and rs. 40 for the bride's father. sometimes the bridegroom serves his father-in-law for his wife, and he is then not required to pay anything for the marriage, the period of service being three years. if the couple anticipate the ceremony, however, they must leave the house, and then are recalled by the bride's parents, and readmitted into caste on giving a feast, which is in lieu of the marriage ceremony. if they do not comply with the first summons of the parents, the latter finally sever connection with them. widow marriage is freely permitted, and the widow is expected to marry her late husband's younger brother, especially if he is a bachelor. if she marries another man with his consent, the new husband gives him a turban and shoulder-cloth. the children by the first husband are made over to his relatives if there are any. divorce is permitted for adultery or extravagance or ill-treatment by either party. a divorced wife can marry again, but if she absconds with another man without being divorced the latter has to pay rs. 12 to the husband. 3. birth and death ceremonies. when a woman becomes pregnant for the first time, her mother goes to her taking a new cloth and cakes and a preparation of milk, which is looked on as a luxurious food, and which, it is supposed, will strengthen the child in the womb. after birth the mother is impure for five days. the dead are usually burnt, but children under six whose ears have not been pierced, and persons dying a violent death or from cholera or smallpox are buried. when the principal man of the family dies, the caste-fellows at the mourning feast tie a cloth round the head of his successor to show that they acknowledge his new position. they offer water to the dead in the month of kunwar (september-october). 4. religion and social customs. they have a vague belief in a supreme god but do not pay much attention to him. their family god is dulha deo, to whom they offer goats, fowls, cocoanuts and cakes. in the forest tracts they also worship bura deo, the chief god of the gonds. the deity who presides over their profession is loha-sur, the iron demon, who is supposed to live in the smelting-kilns, and to whom they offer a black hen. formerly, it is said, they were accustomed to offer a black cow. they worship their smelting implements on the day of dasahra and during phagun, and offer fowls to them. they have little faith in medicine, and in cases of sickness requisition the aid of the village sorcerer, who ascertains what deity is displeased with them by moving grain to and fro in a winnowing-fan and naming the village gods in turn. he goes on repeating the names until his hand slackens or stops at some name, and the offended god is thus indicated. he is then summoned and enters into the body of one of the persons present, and explains his reason for being offended with the sick person, as that he has passed by the god's shrine without taking off his shoes, or omitted to make the triennial offering of a fowl or the like. atonement is then promised and the offering made, while the sick person on recovery notes the deity in question as one of a vindictive temper, whose worship must on no account be neglected. the agarias say that they do not admit outsiders into the caste, but gonds, kawars and ahirs are occasionally allowed to enter it. they refuse to eat monkeys, jackals, crocodiles, lizards, beef and the leavings of others. they eat pork and fowls and drink liquor copiously. they take food from the higher castes and from gonds and baigas. only bahelias and other impure castes will take food from them. temporary excommunication from caste is imposed for conviction of a criminal offence, getting maggots in a wound, and killing a cow, a dog or a cat. permanent excommunication is imposed for adultery or eating with a very low caste. readmission to caste after temporary exclusion entails a feast, but if the offender is very poor he simply gives a little liquor or even water. the agarias are usually sunk in poverty, and their personal belongings are of the scantiest description, consisting of a waist-cloth, and perhaps another wisp of cloth for the head, a brass _lota_ or cup and a few earthen vessels. their women dress like gond women, and have a few pewter ornaments. they are profusely tattooed with representations of flowers, scorpions and other objects. this is done merely for ornament. 5. occupation. the caste still follow their traditional occupation of iron-smelting and also make a few agricultural implements. they get their ore from the maikal range, selecting stones of a dark reddish colour. they mix 16 lbs. of ore with 15 lbs. of charcoal in the furnace, the blast being produced by a pair of bellows worked by the feet and conveyed to the furnace through bamboo tubes; it is kept up steadily for four hours. the clay coating of the kiln is then broken down and the ball of molten slag and charcoal is taken out and hammered, and about 3 lbs. of good iron are obtained. with this they make ploughshares, mattocks, axes and sickles. they also move about from village to village with an anvil, a hammer and tongs, and building a small furnace under a tree, make and repair iron implements for the villagers. agharia 1. origin. _agharia_ [4] (a corruption of agaria, meaning one who came from agra).--a cultivating caste belonging to the sambalpur district [5] and adjoining states. they number 27,000 persons in the raigarh and sarangarh states and bilaspur district of the central provinces, and are found also in some of the chota nagpur states transferred from bengal. according to the traditions of the agharias their forefathers were rajputs who lived near agra. they were accustomed to salute the king of delhi with one hand only and without bending the head. the king after suffering this for a long time determined to punish them for their contumacy, and summoned all the agharias to appear before him. at the door through which they were to pass to his presence he fixed a sword at the height of a man's neck. the haughty agharias came to the door, holding their heads high and not seeing the sword, and as a natural consequence they were all decapitated as they passed through. but there was one agharia who had heard about the fixing of the sword and who thought it better to stay at home, saying that he had some ceremony to perform. when the king heard that there was one agharia who had not passed through the door, he sent again, commanding him to come. the agharia did not wish to go but felt it impossible to decline. he therefore sent for a chamar of his village and besought him to go instead, saying that he would become a rajput in his death and that he would ever be held in remembrance by the agharia's descendants. the chamar consented to sacrifice himself for his master, and going before the king was beheaded at the door. but the agharia fled south, taking his whole village with him, and came to chhattisgarh, where each of the families in the village founded a clan of the agharia caste. and in memory of this, whenever an agharia makes a libation to his ancestors, he first pours a little water on the ground in honour of the dead chamar. according to another version of the story three brothers of different families escaped and first went to orissa, where they asked the gajpati king to employ them as soldiers. the king caused two sheaths of swords to be placed before them, and telling them that one contained a sword and the other a bullock-goad, asked them to select one and by their choice to determine whether they would be soldiers or husbandmen. from one sheath a haft of gold projected and from the other one of silver. the agharias pulled out the golden haft and found that they had chosen the goad. the point of the golden and silver handles is obvious, and the story is of some interest for the distant resemblance which it bears to the choice of the caskets in _the merchant of venice_. condemned, as they considered, to drive the plough, the agharias took off their sacred threads, which they could no longer wear, and gave them to the youngest member of the caste, saying that he should keep them and be their bhat, and they would support him with contributions of a tenth of the produce of their fields. he assented, and his descendants are the genealogists of the agharias and are termed dashanshi. the agharias claim to be somvansi rajputs, a claim which colonel dalton says their appearance favours. "tall, well-made, with high aryan features and tawny complexions, they look like rajputs, though they are more industrious and intelligent than the generality of the fighting tribe." [6] 2. subdivisions. owing to the fact that with the transfer of the sambalpur district, a considerable portion of the agharias have ceased to be residents of the central provinces, it is unnecessary to give the details of their caste organisation at length. they have two subdivisions, the bad or superior agharias and the chhote, sarolia or sarwaria, the inferior or mixed agharias. the latter are a cross between an agharia and a gaur (ahir) woman. the bad agharias will not eat with or even take water from the others. further local subdivisions are now in course of formation, as the ratanpuria, phuljharia and raigarhia or those living round ratanpur, phuljhar and raigarh. the caste is said to have 84 _gotras_ or exogamous sections, of which 60 bear the title of patel, 18 that of naik, and 6 of chaudhri. the section names are very mixed, some being those of eponymous brahman _gotras_, as sandilya, kaushik and bharadwaj; others those of rajput septs, as karchhul; while others are the names of animals and plants, as barah (pig), baram (the pipal tree), nag (cobra), kachhapa (tortoise), and a number of other local terms the meaning of which has been forgotten. each of these sections, however, uses a different mark for branding cows, which it is the religious duty of an agharia to rear, and though the marks now convey no meaning, they were probably originally the representations of material objects. in the case of names whose meaning is understood, traces of totemism survive in the respect paid to the animal or plant by members of the sept which bears its name. this analysis of the structure of the caste shows that it was a very mixed one. originally consisting perhaps of a nucleus of immigrant rajputs, the offspring of connections with inferior classes have been assimilated; while the story already quoted is probably intended to signify, after the usual brahmanical fashion, that the pedigree of the agharias at some period included a chamar. 3. marriage customs. marriage within the exogamous section and also with first cousins is forbidden, though in some places the union of a sister's son with a brother's daughter is permitted. child marriage is usual, and censure visits a man who allows an unmarried daughter to arrive at adolescence. the bridegroom should always be older than the bride, at any rate by a day. when a betrothal is arranged some ornaments and a cloth bearing the _swastik_ or lucky mark are sent to the girl. marriages are always celebrated during the months of magh and phagun, and they are held only once in five or six years, when all children whose matches can be arranged for are married off. this custom is economical, as it saves expenditure on marriage feasts. colonel dalton also states that the agharias always employ hindustani brahmans for their ceremonies, and as very few of these are available, they make circuits over large areas, and conduct all the weddings of a locality at the same period. before the marriage a kid is sacrificed at the bride's house to celebrate the removal of her status of maidenhood. when the bridegroom arrives at the bride's house he touches with his dagger the string of mango-leaves suspended from the marriage-shed and presents a rupee and a hundred betel-leaves to the bride's _sawasin_ or attendant. next day the bridegroom's father sends a present of a bracelet and seven small earthen cups to the bride. she is seated in the open, and seven women hold the cups over her head one above the other. water is then poured from above from one cup into the other, each being filled in turn and the whole finally falling on the bride's head. this probably symbolises the fertilising action of rain. the bride is then bathed and carried in a basket seven times round the marriage-post, after which she is seated in a chair and seven women place their heads together round her while a male relative winds a thread seven times round the heads of the women. the meaning of this ceremony is obscure. the bridegroom makes his appearance alone and is seated with the bride, both being dressed in clothes coloured yellow with turmeric. the bridegroom's party follows, and the feet of the couple are washed with milk. the bride's brother embraces the bridegroom and changes cloths with him. water is poured over the hands of the couple, the girl's forehead is daubed with vermilion, and a red silk cloth is presented to her and the couple go round the marriage-post. the bride is taken for four days to the husband's house and then returns, and is again sent with the usual _gauna_ ceremony, when she is fit for conjugal relations. no price is usually paid for the bride, and each party spends about rs. 100 on the marriage ceremony. polygamy and widow marriage are generally allowed, the widow being disposed of by her parents. the ceremony at the marriage of a widow consists in putting vermilion on the parting of her hair and bangles on her wrists. divorce is allowed on pain of a fine of rs. 50 if the divorce is sought by the husband, and of rs. 25 if the wife asks for it. in some localities divorce and also polygamy are said to be forbidden, and in such cases a woman who commits adultery is finally expelled from the caste, and a funeral feast is given to symbolise her death. 4. religious and social customs. the family god of the agharias is dulha deo, who exists in every household. on the haraiti day or the commencement of the agricultural year they worship the implements of cultivation, and at dasahra the sword if they have one. they have a great reverence for cows and feed them sumptuously at festivals. every agharia has a _guru_ or spiritual guide who whispers the _mantra_ or sacred verse into his ear and is occasionally consulted. the dead are usually burnt, but children and persons dying of cholera or smallpox are buried, males being placed on the pyre or in the grave on their faces and females on their backs, with the feet pointing to the south. on the third day the ashes are thrown into a river and the bones of each part of the body are collected and placed under the pipal tree, while a pot is slung over them, through which water trickles continually for a week, and a lighted lamp, cooked food, a leaf-cup and a tooth-stick are placed beside them daily for the use of the deceased during the same period. mourning ends on the tenth day, and the usual purification ceremonies are then performed. children are mourned for a shorter period. well-to-do members of the caste feed a brahman daily for a year after a death, believing that food so given passes to the spirit of the deceased. on the anniversary of the death the caste-fellows are feasted, and after that the deceased becomes a _purkha_ or ancestor and participates in devotions paid at the _shradhh_ ceremony. when the head of a joint family dies, his successor is given a turban and betel-leaves, and his forehead is marked by the priest and other relations with sandalwood. after a birth the mother is impure for twenty-one days. a feast is given on the twelfth day, and sometimes the child is named then, but often children are not named until they are six years old. the names of men usually end in _ram_, _nath_ or _singh_, and those of women in _kunwar_. women do not name their husbands, their elderly relations, nor the sons of their husband's eldest brother. a man does not name his wife, as he thinks that to do so would tend to shorten his life in accordance with the sanskrit saying, 'he who is desirous of long life should not name himself, his _guru_, a miser, his eldest son, or his wife.' the agharias do not admit outsiders into the caste. they will not take cooked food from any caste, and water only from a gaur or rawat. they refuse to take water from an uriya brahman, probably in retaliation for the refusal of uriya brahmans to accept water from an agharia, though taking it from a kolta. both the uriya brahmans and agharias are of somewhat doubtful origin, and both are therefore probably the more concerned to maintain the social position to which they lay claim. but kewats, rawats, telis and other castes eat cooked food from agharias, and the caste therefore is admitted to a fairly high rank in the uriya country. the agharias do not drink liquor or eat any food which a rajput would refuse. 5. occupation. as cultivators they are considered to be proficient. in the census of 1901 nearly a quarter of the whole caste were shown as malguzars or village proprietors and lessees. they wear a coarse cloth of homespun yarn which they get woven for them by gandas; probably in consequence of this the agharias do not consider the touch of the ganda to pollute them, as other castes do. they will not grow turmeric, onions, garlic, _san_-hemp or tomatoes, nor will they rear tasar silk-cocoons. colonel dalton says that their women do no outdoor work, and this is true in the central provinces as regards the better classes, but poor women work in the fields. aghori 1. general accounts of the caste. _aghori, aghorpanthi._ [7]--the most disreputable class of saiva mendicants who feed on human corpses and excrement, and in past times practised cannibalism. the sect is apparently an ancient one, a supposed reference to it being contained in the sanskrit drama _malati madhava_, the hero of which rescues his mistress from being offered as a sacrifice by one named aghori ghanta. [8] according to lassen, quoted by sir h. risley, the aghoris of the present day are closely connected with the kapalika sect of the middle ages, who wore crowns and necklaces of skulls and offered human sacrifices to chamunda, a form of devi. the aghoris now represent their filthy habits as merely giving practical expression to the abstract doctrine that the whole universe is full of brahma, and consequently that one thing is as pure as another. by eating the most horrible food they utterly subdue their natural appetites, and hence acquire great power over themselves and over the forces of nature. it is believed that an aghori can at will assume the shapes of a bird, an animal or a fish, and that he can bring back to life a corpse of which he has eaten a part. the principal resort of the aghoris appears to be at benares and at girnar near mount abu, and they wander about the country as solitary mendicants. a few reside in saugor, and they are occasionally met with in other places. they are much feared and disliked by the people owing to their practice of extorting alms by the threat to carry out their horrible practices before the eyes of their victims, and by throwing filth into their houses. similarly they gash and cut their limbs so that the crime of blood may rest on those who refuse to give. "for the most part," mr. barrow states, [9] "the aghorpanthis lead a wandering life, are without homes, and prefer to dwell in holes, clefts of rocks and burning-_ghats_. they do not cook, but eat the fragments given them in charity as received, which they put as far as may be into the cavity of the skull used as a begging-bowl. the bodies of _chelas_ (disciples) who die in benares are thrown into the ganges, but the dead who die well off are placed in coffins. as a rule, aghoris do not care what becomes of their bodies, but when buried they are placed in the grave sitting cross-legged. the aghori _gurus_ keep dogs, which may be of any colour, and are said to be maintained for purposes of protection. the dogs are not all pariahs of the streets, although some _gurus_ are followed by three or four when on pilgrimage. occasionally the dogs seem to be regarded with real affection by their strange masters. the aghori is believed to hold converse with all the evil spirits frequenting the burning-_ghats_, and funeral parties must be very badly off who refuse to pay him something. in former days he claimed five pieces of wood at each funeral in benares; but the doms interfere with his perquisites, and in some cases only let him carry off the remains of the unburned wood from each pyre. when angered and excited, aghoris invoke kali and threaten to spread devastation around them. even among the educated classes, who should know better, they are dreaded, and as an instance of the terror which they create among the ignorant, it may be mentioned that in the lucknow district it is believed that if alms are refused them the aghoris will cause those who refuse to be attacked with fever. "on the other hand, their good offices may secure benefits, as in the case of a zamindar of muzaffarnagar, who at allahabad refused to eat a piece of human flesh offered to him by an aghori; the latter thereupon threw the flesh at the zamindar's head, on which it stuck. the zamindar afterwards became so exceedingly wealthy that he had difficulty in storing his wealth." 2. instances of cannibalism. in former times it is believed that the aghoris used to kidnap strangers, sacrifice them to the goddess and eat the bodies, and mr. barrow relates the following incident of the murder of a boy: [10] "another horrible case, unconnected with magic and apparently arising from mere blood-thirst, occurred at neirad in june 1878. an aghori mendicant of dwarka staying at the temple of sitaram laldas seized a boy of twelve, named shankar ramdas, who was playing with two other boys, threw him down on the _oatla_ of the temple, ripped open his abdomen, tore out part of his entrails, and, according to the poor little victim's dying declaration, began to eat them. the other boys having raised an alarm, the monster was seized. when interrogated by the magistrate as to whether he had committed the crime in order to perform aghorbidya, the prisoner said that as the boy was bhakshan he had eaten his flesh. he added that if he had not been interrupted he would have eaten all the entrails. he was convicted, but only sentenced to transportation for life. the high court, however, altered the sentence and ordered the prisoner to be hanged." the following instance, quoted by mr. barrow from rewah, shows how an aghori was hoist with his own petard: "some years ago, when maharaja bishnath singh was chief of rewah, a man of the aghori caste went to rewah and sat _dharna_ on the steps of the palace; having made ineffectual demands for alms, he requested to be supplied with human flesh, and for five days abstained from food. the maharaja was much troubled, and at last, in order to get rid of his unwelcome visitor, sent for ghansiam das, another aghori, a fakir, who had for some years lived in rewah. ghansiam das went up to the other aghori and asked him if it was true that he had asked to be supplied with human flesh. on receiving a reply in the affirmative, ghansiam das said: 'very well, i too am extremely partial to this form of food; here is my hand, eat it and i will eat you'; and at the same time he seized hold of the other's hand and began to gnaw at it. the aghori on this became much alarmed and begged to be excused. he shortly afterwards left rewah and was not heard of again, while ghansiam das was rewarded for his services." the following recent instance of an aghori devouring human corpses is reported from the punjab: [11] "the loathsome story of a human ghoul from patiala shows that the influence of the aghorpanthi has not yet completely died out in this country. it is said that for some time past human graves have been found robbed of their contents, and the mystery could not be solved until the other day, when the police succeeded in arresting a man in the act of desecrating a child's grave, some forty miles distant from the capital (patiala). the ghoul not only did not conceal the undevoured portion of the corpse he had with him, but told his captors the whole story of his gruesome career. he is a low-caste hindu named ram nath, and is, according to a gentleman who saw him, 'a singularly mild and respectful-looking man, instead of a red-eyed and ravenous savage,' as he had expected to find him from the accounts of his disgusting propensities. he became an orphan at five and fell into the hands of two sadhus of his own caste, who were evidently aghorpanthis. they taught him to eat human flesh, which formed the staple of their food. the meat was procured from the graves in the villages they passed through. when ram nath was thoroughly educated in this rank the sadhus deserted him. since then he had been living on human carrion only, roaming about the country like a hungry vulture. he cannot eat cooked food, and therefore gets two seers of raw meat from the state every day. it is also reported that the maharaja has now prohibited his being given anything but cooked food with a view to reforming him." sir j. b. fuller relates the following incident of the employment of an aghori as a servant: [12] "there are actually ten thousand persons who at census time classed themselves as aghoris. all of them do not practise cannibalism and some of them attempt to rise in the world. one of them secured service as a cook with a british officer of my acquaintance. my friend was in camp in the jungle with his wife and children, when his other servants came to him in a body and refused to remain in service unless the cook was dismissed, since they had discovered, they declared, that during the night-time he visited cemeteries and dug up the bodies of freshly buried children. the cook was absent, but they pointed to a box of his that emitted a sickening smell. the man was incontinently expelled, but for long afterwards the family were haunted by reminiscences of the curries they had eaten." ahir list of paragraphs 1. _general notice._ 2. _former dominance of the abhiras._ 3. _ahir dialects._ 4. _the yadavas and krishna._ 5. _the modern ahirs an occupational caste._ 6. _subcastes._ 7. _the dauwa or wet-nurse ahirs. fosterage._ 8. _exogamy._ 9. _marriage customs._ 10. _birth customs._ 11. _funeral rites. bringing back the soul._ 12. _religion. krishna and other deified cowherds._ 13. _caste deities._ 14. _other deities._ 15. _the diwali festival._ 16. _omens._ 17. _social customs._ 18. _ornaments._ 19. _occupation._ 20. _preparations of milk._ 1. general notice. _ahir, [13] gaoli, guala, golkar, gaolan, rawat, gahra, mahakul._--the caste, of cowherds, milkmen and cattle-breeders. in 1911 the ahirs numbered nearly 750,000 persons in the central provinces and berar, being the sixth caste in point of numbers. this figure, however, excludes 150,000 gowaris or graziers of the maratha districts, and if these were added the ahirs would outnumber the telis and rank fifth. the name ahir is derived from abhira, a tribe mentioned several times in inscriptions and the hindu sacred books. goala, a cowherd, from gopala, [14] a protector of cows, is the bengali name for the caste, and gaoli, with the same signification, is now used in the central provinces to signify a dairyman as opposed to a grazier. the gaolans appear to be an inferior class of gaolis in berar. the golkars of chanda may be derived from the telugu golars or graziers, with a probable admixture of gond blood. they are described as wild-looking people scattered about in the most thickly forested tracts of the district, where they graze and tend cattle. rawat, a corruption of rajputra or a princeling, is the name borne by the ahir caste in chhattisgarh; while gahra is their designation in the uriya country. the mahakul ahirs are a small group found in the jashpur state, and said to belong to the nandvansi division. the name means 'great family.' 2. former dominance of the abhiras. the abhiras appear to have been one of the immigrant tribes from central asia who entered india shortly before or about the commencement of the christian era. in the puranas and mahabharata they are spoken of as dasyu or robbers, and mlechchhas or foreigners, in the story which says that arjuna, after he had burned the dead bodies of krishna and balaram at dwarka, was proceeding with the widows of the yadava princes to mathura through the punjab when he was waylaid by the abhiras and deprived of his treasures and beautiful women. [15] an inscription of the saka era 102, or a.d. 180, speaks of a grant made by the senapati or commander-in-chief of the state, who is called an abhira, the locality being sunda in kathiawar. another inscription found in nasik and assigned by mr. enthoven to the fourth century speaks of an abhira king, and the puranas say that after the andhrabhrityas the deccan was held by the abhiras, the west coast tract from the tapti to deogarh being called by their name. [16] in the time of samudragupta in the middle of the fourth century the abhiras were settled in eastern rajputana and malwa. [17] when the kathis arrived in gujarat in the eighth century, they found the greater part of the country in the possession of the ahirs. [18] in the mirzapur district of the united provinces a tract known as ahraura is considered to be named after the tribe; and near jhansi another piece of country is called ahirwar. [19] elliot states that ahirs were also rajas of nepal about the commencement of our era. [20] in khandesh, mr. enthoven states, the settlements of the ahirs were important. in many castes there is a separate division of ahirs, such as the ahir sunars, sutars, lohars, shimpis, salis, guraos and kolis. the fort of asirgarh in nimar bordering on khandesh is supposed to have been founded by one asa ahir, who lived in the beginning of the fifteenth century. it is said that his ancestors had held land here for seven hundred years, and he had 10,000 cattle, 20,000 sheep and 1000 mares, with 2000 followers; but was still known to the people, to whom his benevolence had endeared him, by the simple name of asa. this derivation of asirgarh is clearly erroneous, as it was known as asir or asirgarh, and held by the tak and chauhan rajputs from the eleventh century. but the story need not on that account, mr. grant says, [21] be set down as wholly a fable. firishta, who records it, has usually a good credit, and more probably the real existence of a line of ahir chieftains in the tapti valley suggested a convenient ethnology for the fortress. other traditions of the past domination of the pastoral tribes remain in the central provinces. deogarh on the chhindwara plateau was, according to the legend, the last seat of gaoli power prior to its subversion by the gonds in the sixteenth century. jatba, the founder of the deogarh gond dynasty, is said to have entered the service of the gaoli rulers, mansur and gansur, and subsequently with the aid of the goddess devi to have slain them and usurped their kingdom. but a gaoli chief still retained possession of the fort of narnala for a few years longer, when he also was slain by the muhammadans. similarly the fort of gawilgarh on the southern crest of the satpuras is said to be named after a gaoli chief who founded it. the saugor traditions bring down the gaoli supremacy to a much later date, as the tracts of etawa and khurai are held to have been governed by their chieftains till the close of the seventeenth century. 3. ahir dialects. certain dialects called after the abhiras or ahirs still remain. one, known as ahirwati, is spoken in the rohtak and gurgaon districts of the punjab and round delhi. this is akin to mewati, one of the forms of rajasthani or the language of rajputana. the malwi dialect of rajasthani is also known as ahiri; and that curious form of gujarati, which is half a bhil dialect, and is generally known as khandeshi, also bears the name of ahirani. [22] the above linguistic facts seem to prove only that the abhiras, or their occupational successors, the ahirs, were strongly settled in the delhi country of the punjab, malwa and khandesh. they do not seem to throw much light on the origin of the abhiras or ahirs, and necessarily refer only to a small section of the existing ahir caste, the great bulk of whom speak the aryan language current where they dwell. another authority states, however, that the ahirs of gujarat still retain a dialect of their own, and concludes that this and the other ahir dialects are the remains of the distinct abhira language. 4. the yadavas and krishna. it cannot necessarily be assumed that all the above traditions relate to the abhira tribe proper, of which the modern ahir caste are scarcely more than the nominal representatives. nevertheless, it may fairly be concluded from them that the abhiras were widely spread over india and dominated considerable tracts of country. they are held to have entered india about the same time as the sakas, who settled in gujarat, among other places, and, as seen above, the earliest records of the abhiras show them in nasik and kathiawar, and afterwards widely spread in khandesh, that is, in the close neighbourhood of the sakas. it has been suggested in the article on rajput that the yadava and other lunar clans of rajputs may be the representatives of the sakas and other nomad tribes who invaded india shortly before and after the christian era. the god krishna is held to have been the leader of the yadavas, and to have founded with them the sacred city of dwarka in gujarat. the modern ahirs have a subdivision called jaduvansi or yaduvansi, that is, of the race of the yadavas, and they hold that krishna was of the ahir tribe. since the abhiras were also settled in gujarat it is possible that they may have been connected with the yadavas, and that this may be the foundation for their claim that krishna was of their tribe. the dyashraya-kavya of hemachandra speaks of a chordasama prince reigning near junagarh as an abhira and a yadava. but this is no doubt very conjectural, and the simple fact that krishna was a herdsman would be a sufficient reason for the ahirs to claim connection with him. it is pointed out that the names of abhira chieftains given in the early inscriptions are derived from the god siva, and this would not have been the case if they had at that epoch derived their origin from krishna, an incarnation of vishnu. "if the abhiras had really been the descendants of the cowherds (gopas) whose hero was krishna, the name of the rival god siva would never have formed components of the names of the abhiras, whom we find mentioned in inscriptions. hence the conclusion may safely be drawn that the abhiras were by no means connected with krishna and his cowherds even as late as about a.d. 300, to which date the first of the two inscriptions mentioned above is to be assigned. precisely the same conclusion is pointed to by the contents of the harivansha and bhagwat purana. the upbringing of krishna among the cowherds and his flirtations with the milkmaids are again and again mentioned in these works, but the word abhira does not occur even once in this connection. the only words we find used are gopa, gopi and vraja. this is indeed remarkable. for the descriptions of the removal of krishna as an infant to nanda, the cowherd's hut, of his childhood passed in playing with the cowherd boys, and of his youth spent in amorous sports with the milkmaids are set forth at great length, but the word abhira is not once met with. from this only one conclusion is possible, that is, that the abhiras did not originally represent the gopas of krishna. the word abhira occurs for the first time in connection with the krishna legend about a.d. 550, from which it follows that the abhiras came to be identified with the gopas shortly before that date." [23] this argument is interesting as showing that abhira was not originally an occupational term for a herdsman, nor a caste name, but belonged to an immigrant tribe. owing apparently to the fact that the abhiras, like the gujars, devoted themselves to a pastoral mode of life in india, whereas the previous aryan immigrants had settled down to cultivation, they gave their name to the great occupational caste of herdsmen which was subsequently developed, and of which they may originally have constituted the nucleus. the gujars, who came to india at a later period, form a parallel case; although the gujar caste, which is derived from them, is far less important than the ahir, the gujars have also been the parents of several rajput clans. the reason why the early mathura legends of krishna make no mention of the ahirs may be that the deity krishna is probably compounded of at least two if not more distinct personalities. one is the hero chief of the yadavas, who fought in the battle of the pandavas and kauravas, migrated to gujarat and was killed there. as he was chief of the yadavas this krishna must stand for the actual or mythical personality of some leader of the immigrant nomad tribes. the other krishna, the boy cowherd, who grazed cattle and sported with the milkmaids of brindaban, may very probably be some hero of the indigenous non-aryan tribes, who, then as now, lived in the forests and were shepherds and herdsmen. his lowly birth from a labouring cowherd, and the fact that his name means black and he is represented in sculpture as being of a dark colour, lend support to this view. the cult of krishna, mr. crooke points out, was comparatively late, and probably connected with the development of the worship of the cow after the decay of buddhism. this latter krishna, who is worshipped with his mother as a child-god, was especially attractive to women, both actual and prospective mothers. it is quite probable therefore that as his worship became very popular in hindustan in connection with that of the cow, he was given a more illustrious origin by identification with the yadava hero, whose first home was apparently in gujarat. in this connection it may also be noted that the episodes connected with krishna in the mahabharata have been considered late interpolations. 5. the modern ahirs an occupational caste. but though the ahir caste takes its name and is perhaps partly descended from the abhira tribe, there is no doubt that it is now and has been for centuries a purely occupational caste, largely recruited from the indigenous tribes. thus in bengal colonel dalton remarks that the features of the mathuravasi goalas are high, sharp and delicate, and they are of light-brown complexion. those of the magadha subcaste, on the other hand, are undefined and coarse. they are dark-complexioned, and have large hands and feet. "seeing the latter standing in a group with some singhbhum kols, there is no distinguishing one from the other. there has doubtless been much mixture of blood." [24] similarly in the central provinces the ahirs are largely recruited from the gonds and other tribes. in chanda the gowaris are admittedly descended from the unions of gonds and ahirs, and one of their subcastes, the gond-gowaris, are often classed as gonds. again, the kaonra ahirs of mandla are descended from the unions of ahirs either with the gonds or kawars, and many of them are probably pure gonds. they have gond sept-names and eat pork. members of one of their subdivisions, the gond-kaonra, will take water from gonds, and rank below the other kaonras, from whom they will accept food and water. as cattle have to go into the thick jungles to graze in the hot weather, the graziers attending them become intimate with the forest tribes who live there, and these latter are also often employed to graze the cattle, and are perhaps after a time admitted to the ahir caste. many ahirs in mandla are scarcely considered to be hindus, living as they do in gond villages in sole company with the gonds. 6. subcastes. the principal subcastes of the ahirs in northern india are the jaduvansi, nandvansi and gowalvansi. the jaduvansi claimed to be descended from the yadavas, who now form the yadu and jadon-bhatti clans of rajputs. the probability of a historical connection between the abhiras and yadavas has already been noticed. the nandvansi consider their first ancestor to have been nand, the cowherd, the foster-father of krishna; while the name of the gowalvansi is simply goala or gauli, a milkman, a common synonym for the caste. the kaonra ahirs of mandla and the kamarias of jubbulpore are considered to belong to the nandvansi group. other subcastes in the northern districts are the jijhotia, who, like the jijhotia brahmans, take their name from jajhoti, the classical term for bundelkhand; the bharotia; and the narwaria from narwar. the rawats of chhattisgarh are divided into the jhadia, kosaria and kanaujia groups. of these the jhadia or 'jungly,' and kosaria from kosala, the ancient name of the chhattisgarh country, are the oldest settlers, while the kanaujia are largely employed as personal servants in chhattisgarh, and all castes will take water from their hands. the superior class of them, however, refuse to clean household cooking vessels, and are hence known as thethwar, or exact or pure, as distinguished from the other rawats, who will perform this somewhat derogatory work. 7. the dauwa or wet-nurse ahirs. fosterage. the dauwa or wet-nurse ahirs are descended from the illegitimate offspring of bundela rajput fathers by ahir mothers who were employed in this capacity in their families. an ahir woman kept by a bundela was known as pardwarin, or one coming from another house. this is not considered a disgraceful origin; though the dauwa ahirs are not recognised by the ahirs proper, they form a separate section of the caste, and brahmans will take water from them. the children of such mothers stood in the relation of foster-brothers to the rajputs, whom their mothers had nursed. the giving of milk, in accordance with the common primitive belief in the virtue attaching to an action in itself, was held to constitute a relation of quasi-maternity between the nurse and infant, and hence of fraternity between her own children and her foster-children. the former were called dhai-bhais or foster-brothers by the rajputs; they were often given permanent grants of land and employed on confidential missions, as for the arrangement of marriages. the minister of a raja of karauli was his dauwa or foster-father, the husband of his nurse. similarly, colonel tod says that the dhai-bhai or foster-brother of the raja of boondi, commandant of the fortress of tanagarh, was, like all his class, devotion personified. [25] a parallel instance of the tie of foster-kinship occurs in the case of the foster-brothers of conachar or hector in _the fair maid of perth_. thus the position of foster-brother of a rajput was an honourable one, even though the child might be illegitimate. ahir women were often employed as wet-nurses, because domestic service was a profession in which they commonly engaged. owing to the comparatively humble origin of a large proportion of them they did not object to menial service, while the purity of their caste made it possible to use them for the supply of water and food. in bengal the uriya ahirs were a common class of servants in european houses. the gaolis or milkmen appear to form a distinct branch of the caste with subcastes of their own. among them are the nandvans, common to the ahirs, the malwi from malwa and the raghuvansi, called after the rajput clan of that name. the ranyas take their designation from _ran_, forest, like the jhadia rawats. 8. exogamy. the caste have exogamous sections, which are of the usual low-caste type, with titular or totemistic names. those of the chhattisgarhi rawats are generally named after animals. a curious name among the mahakul ahirs is mathankata, or one who bit his mother's nipples. the marriage of persons belonging to the same section and of first cousins is prohibited. a man may marry his wife's younger sister while his wife is living, but not her elder sister. the practice of exchanging girls between families is permissible. 9. marriage customs. as a rule, girls may be married before or after puberty, but the golkars of chanda insist on infant marriage, and fine the parents if an unmarried girl becomes adolescent. on the other hand, the kaonra ahirs of mandla make a practice of not getting a girl married till the signs of puberty have appeared. it is said that in mandla if an unmarried girl becomes pregnant by a man of the caste the _panchayat_ give her to him and fine him rs. 20 or 30, which they appropriate themselves, giving nothing to the father. if an ahir girl is seduced by an outsider, she is made over to him, and a fine of rs. 40 or 50 is exacted from him if possible. this is paid to the girl's father, who has to spend it on a penalty feast to the caste. generally, sexual offences within the community are leniently regarded. the wedding ceremony is of the type prevalent in the locality. the proposal comes from the boy's family, and a price is usually given for the bride. the kaonra ahirs of mandla and the jharia and kosaria rawats of chhattisgarh employ a brahman only to write the _lagun_ or paper fixing the date of the wedding, and the ceremony is conducted by the _sawasins_ or relatives of the parties. in chhattisgarh the bridegroom is dressed as a girl to be taken to the wedding. in betul the weddings of most gaolis are held in magh (january), and that of the ranya subcaste in the bright fortnight of kartik (october). at the ceremony the bride is made to stand on a small stone roller; the bridegroom then takes hold of the roller facing the bride and goes round in a circle seven times, turning the roller with him. widow remarriage is permitted, and a widow is often expected to marry the younger brother of her deceased husband. if a bachelor wishes to marry a widow he first goes through the ceremony with a dagger or an earthen vessel. divorce is freely permitted. in hoshangabad a strip is torn off the clothes worn by husband and wife as a sign of their divorce. this is presumably in contrast to the knotting of the clothes of the couple together at a wedding. 10. birth customs. among the rawats of chhattisgarh, when a child is shortly to be born the midwife dips her hand in oil and presses it on the wall, and it is supposed that she can tell by the way in which the oil trickles down whether the child will be a boy or a girl. if a woman is weak and ill during her pregnancy it is thought that a boy will be born, but if she is strong and healthy, a girl. a woman in advanced pregnancy is given whatever she desires to eat, and on one occasion especially delicate kinds of food are served to her, this rite being known as sidhori. the explanation of the custom is that if the mother does not get the food she desires during pregnancy the child will long for it all through life. if delivery is delayed, a line of men and boys is sometimes made from the door of the house to a well, and a vessel is then passed from hand to hand from the house, filled with water, and back again. thus the water, having acquired the quality of speed during its rapid transit, will communicate this to the woman and cause her quick delivery. or they take some of the clay left unmoulded on the potter's wheel and give it her to drink in water; the explanation of this is exactly similar, the earth having acquired the quality of swiftness by the rapid transit on the wheel. if three boys or three girls have been born to a woman, they think that the fourth should be of the same sex, in order to make up two pairs. a boy or girl born after three of the opposite sex is called titra or titri, and is considered very unlucky. to avert this misfortune they cover the child with a basket, kindle a fire of grass all round it, and smash a brass pot on the floor. then they say that the baby is the fifth and not the fourth child, and the evil is thus removed. when one woman gives birth to a male and another to a female child in the same quarter of a village on the same day and they are attended by the same midwife, it is thought that the boy child will fall ill from the contagion of the girl child communicated through the midwife. to avoid this, on the following sunday the child's maternal uncle makes a banghy, which is carried across the shoulders like a large pair of scales, and weighs the child in it against cowdung. he then takes the banghy and deposits it at cross-roads outside the village. the father cannot see either the child or its mother till after the chathi or sixth-day ceremony of purification, when the mother is bathed and dressed in clean clothes, the males of the family are shaved, all their clothes are washed, and the house is whitewashed; the child is also named on this day. the mother cannot go out of doors until after the barhi or twelfth-day ceremony. if a child is born at an unlucky astrological period its ears are pierced in the fifth month after birth as a means of protection. 11. funeral rites. bringing back the soul. the dead are either buried or burnt. when a man is dying they put basil leaves and boiled rice and milk in his mouth, and a little piece of gold, or if they have not got gold they put a rupee in his mouth and take it out again. for ten days after a death, food in a leaf-cup and a lamp are set out in the house-yard every evening, and every morning water and a tooth-stick. on the tenth day they are taken away and consigned to a river. in chhattisgarh on the third day after death the soul is brought back. the women put a lamp on a red earthen pot and go to a tank or stream at night. the fish are attracted towards the light, and one of them is caught and put in the pot, which is then filled with water. it is brought home and set beside a small heap of flour, and the elders sit round it. the son of the deceased or other near relative anoints himself with turmeric and picks up a stone. this is washed with the water from the pot, and placed on the floor, and a sacrifice of a cock or hen is made to it according as the deceased was a man or a woman. the stone is then enshrined in the house as a family god, and the sacrifice of a fowl is repeated annually. it is supposed apparently that the dead man's spirit is brought back to the house in the fish, and then transferred to the stone by washing this with the water. 12. religion. krishna and other deified cowherds. the ahirs have a special relation to the hindu religion, owing to their association with the sacred cow, which is itself revered as a goddess. when religion gets to the anthropomorphic stage the cowherd, who partakes of the cow's sanctity, may be deified as its representative. this was probably the case with krishna, one of the most popular gods of hinduism, who was a cowherd, and, as he is represented as being of a dark colour, may even have been held to be of the indigenous races. though, according to the legend, he was really of royal birth, krishna was brought up by nand, a herdsman of gokul, and jasoda or dasoda his wife, and in the popular belief these are his parents, as they probably were in the original story. the substitution of krishna, born as a prince, for jasoda's daughter, in order to protect him from destruction by the evil king kansa of mathura, is perhaps a later gloss, devised when his herdsman parentage was considered too obscure for the divine hero. krishna's childhood in jasoda's house with his miraculous feats of strength and his amorous sports with radha and the other milkmaids of brindawan, are among the most favourite hindu legends. govind and gopal, the protector or guardian of cows, are names of krishna and the commonest names of hindus, as are also his other epithets, murlidhar and bansidhar, the flute-player; for krishna and balaram, like greek and roman shepherds, were accustomed to divert themselves with song, to the accompaniment of the same instrument. the child krishna is also very popular, and his birthday, the janam-ashtami on the 8th of dark bhadon (august), is a great festival. on this day potsful of curds are sprinkled over the assembled worshippers. krishna, however, is not the solitary instance of the divine cowherd, but has several companions, humble indeed compared to him, but perhaps owing their apotheosis to the same reasons. bhilat, a popular local godling of the nerbudda valley, was the son of an ahir or gaoli woman; she was childless and prayed to parvati for a child, and the goddess caused her votary to have one by her own husband, the god mahadeo. bhilat was stolen away from his home by mahadeo in the disguise of a beggar, and grew up to be a great hero and made many conquests; but finally he returned and lived with his herdsman parents, who were no doubt his real ones. he performed numerous miracles, and his devotees are still possessed by his spirit. singaji is another godling who was a gaoli by caste in indore. he became a disciple of a holy gokulastha gosain or ascetic, and consequently a great observer of the janam-ashtami or krishna's birthday. [26] on one occasion singaji was late for prayers on this day, and the _guru_ was very angry, and said to him, 'don't show your face to me again until you are dead.' singaji went home and told the other children he was going to die. then he went and buried himself alive. the occurrence was noised abroad and came to the ears of the _guru_, who was much distressed, and proceeded to offer his condolences to singaji's family. but on the way he saw singaji, who had been miraculously raised from the dead on account of his virtuous act of obedience, grazing his buffaloes as before. after asking for milk, which singaji drew from a male buffalo calf, the _guru_ was able to inform the bereaved parents of their son's joyful reappearance and his miraculous powers; of these singaji gave further subsequent demonstration, and since his death, said to have occurred 350 years ago, is widely venerated. the gaolis pray to him for the protection of their cattle from disease, and make thank-offerings of butter if these prayers are fulfilled. other pilgrims to singaji's shrine offer unripe mangoes and sugar, and an annual fair is held at it, when it is said that for seven days no cows, flies or ants are to be seen in the place. in the betul district there is a village godling called dait, represented by a stone under a tree. he is the spirit of any ahir who in his lifetime was credited in the locality with having the powers of an exorcist. in mandla and other districts when any buffalo herdsman dies at a very advanced age the people make a platform for him within the village and call it mahashi deo or the buffalo god. similarly, when an old cattle herdsman dies they do the same, and call it balki deo or the bullock god. here we have a clear instance of the process of substituting the spirit of the herdsman for the cow or buffalo as an object of worship. the occupation of the ahir also lends itself to religious imaginations. he stays in the forest or waste grass-land, frequently alone from morning till night, watching his herds; and the credulous and uneducated minds of the more emotional may easily hear the voices of spirits, or in a half-sleeping condition during the heat and stillness of the long day may think that visions have appeared to them. thus they come to believe themselves selected for communication with the unseen deities or spirits, and on occasions of strong religious excitement work themselves into a frenzy and are held to be possessed by a spirit or god. 13. caste deities. among the special deities of the ahirs is kharak deo, who is always located at the _khirkha_, or place of assembly of the cattle, on going to and returning from pasture. he appears to be the spirit or god of the _khirkha_. he is represented by a platform with an image of a horse on it, and when cattle fall ill the owners offer flour and butter to him. these are taken by the ahirs in charge, and it is thought that the cattle will get well. matar deo is the god of the pen or enclosure for cattle made in the jungle. three days after the diwali festival the rawats sacrifice one or more goats to him, cutting off their heads. they throw the heads into the air, and the cattle, smelling the blood, run together and toss them with their horns as they do when they scent a tiger. the men then say that the animals are possessed by matar deo. guraya deo is a deity who lives in the cattle-stalls in the village and is worshipped once a year. a man holds an egg in his hand, and walks round the stall pouring liquid over the egg all the way, so as to make a line round it. the egg is then buried beneath the shrine of the god, the rite being probably meant to ensure his aid for the protection of the cattle from disease in their stalls. a favourite saint of the ahirs is haridas baba. he was a jogi, and could separate his soul from his body at pleasure. on one occasion he had gone in spirit to benares, leaving his body in the house of one of his disciples, who was an ahir. when he did not return, and the people heard that a dead body was lying there, they came and insisted that it should be burnt. when he came back and found that his body was burnt, he entered into a man and spoke through him, telling the people what had happened. in atonement for their unfortunate mistake they promised to worship him. 14. other deities. the mahakul ahirs of jashpur have three deities, whom they call mahadeo or siva, sahadeo, one of the five pandava brothers, and the goddess lakshmi. they say that the buffalo is mahadeo, the cow sahadeo, and the rice lakshmi. this also appears to be an instance of the personification of animals and the corn into anthropomorphic deities. 15. the diwali festival. the principal festival of the ahirs is the diwali, falling about the beginning of november, which is also the time when the autumn crops ripen. all classes observe this feast by illuminating their houses with many small saucer-lamps and letting off crackers and fireworks, and they generally gamble with money to bring them good luck during the coming year. the ahirs make a mound of earth, which is called govardhan, that is the mountain in mathura which krishna held upside down on his finger for seven days and nights, so that all the people might gather under it and be protected from the devastating storms of rain sent by indra. after dancing round the mound they drive their cattle over it and make them trample it to pieces. at this time a festival called marhai is held, at which much liquor is drunk and all classes disport themselves. in damoh on this day the ahirs go to the standing-place for village cattle, and after worshipping the god, frighten the cattle by waving leaves of the basil-plant at them, and then put on fantastic dresses, decorating themselves with cowries, and go round the village, singing and dancing. elsewhere at the time of the marhai they dance round a pole with peacock feathers tied to the top, and sometimes wear peacock feathers themselves, as well as aprons sewn all over with cowries. it is said that krishna and balaram used to wear peacock feathers when they danced in the jungles of mathura, but this rite has probably some connection with the worship of the peacock. this bird might be venerated by the ahirs as one of the prominent denizens of the jungle. in raipur they tie a white cock to the top of the pole and dance round it. in mandla, khila mutha, the god of the threshing-floor, is worshipped at this time, with offerings of a fowl and a goat. they also perform the rite of _jagana_ or waking him up. they tie branches of a small shrub to a stick and pour milk over the stone which is his emblem, and sing, 'wake up, khila mutha, this is the night of amawas' (the new moon). then they go to the cattle-shed and wake up the cattle, crying, 'poraiya, god of the door, watchman of the window, open the door, nand gowal is coming.' then they drive out the cattle and chase them with the branches tied to their sticks as far as their grazing-ground. nand gowal was the foster-father of krishna, and is now said to signify a man who has a lakh (100,000) of cows. this custom of frightening the cattle and making them run is called _dhor jagana_ or _bichkana_, that is, to wake up or terrify the cattle. its meaning is obscure, but it is said to preserve the cattle from disease during the year. in raipur the women make an image of a parrot in clay at the diwali and place it on a pole and go round to the different houses, singing and dancing round the pole, and receiving presents of rice and money. they praise the parrot as the bird who carries messages from a lover to his mistress, and as living on the mountains and among the green verdure, and sing: "oh, parrot, where shall we sow _gondla_ grass and where shall we sow rice? "we will sow _gondla_ in a pond and rice in the field. "with what shall we cut _gondla_ grass, and with what shall we cut rice? "we shall cut _gondla_ with an axe and rice with a sickle." it is probable that the parrot is revered as a spirit of the forest, and also perhaps because it is destructive to the corn. the parrot is not, so far as is known, associated with any god, but the hindus do not kill it. in bilaspur an ear of rice is put into the parrot's mouth, and it is said there that the object of the rite is to prevent the parrots from preying on the corn. 16. omens. on the night of the full moon of jesth (may) the ahirs stay awake all night, and if the moon is covered with clouds they think that the rains will be good. if a cow's horns are not firmly fixed in the head and seem to shake slightly, it is called maini, and such an animal is considered to be lucky. if a bullock sits down with three legs under him and the fourth stretched out in front it is a very good omen, and it is thought that his master's cattle will increase and multiply. when a buffalo-calf is born they cover it at once with a black cloth and remove it from the mother's sight, as they think that if she saw the calf and it then died her milk would dry up. the calf is fed by hand. cow-calves, on the other hand, are usually left with the mother, and many people allow them to take all the milk, as they think it a sin to deprive them of it. 17. social customs. the ahirs will eat the flesh of goats and chickens, and most of them consume liquor freely. the kaonra ahirs of mandla eat pork, and the rawats of chhattisgarh are said not to object to field-mice and rats, even when caught in the houses. the kaonra ahirs are also said not to consider a woman impure during the period of menstruation. nevertheless the ahirs enjoy a good social status, owing to their relations with the sacred cow. as remarked by eha: "his family having been connected for many generations with the sacred animal he enjoys a certain consciousness of moral respectability, like a man whose uncles are deans or canons." [27] all castes will take water from the hands of an ahir, and in chhattisgarh and the uriya country the rawats and gahras, as the ahir caste is known respectively in these localities, are the only caste from whom brahmans and all other hindus will take water. on this account, and because of their comparative purity, they are largely employed as personal servants. in chhattisgarh the ordinary rawats will clean the cooking-vessels even of muhammadans, but the thethwar or pure rawats refuse this menial work. in mandla, when a man is to be brought back into caste after a serious offence, such as getting vermin in a wound, he is made to stand in the middle of a stream, while some elderly relative pours water over him. he then addresses the members of the caste _panchayat_ or committee, who are standing on the bank, saying to them, 'will you leave me in the mud or will you take me out?' then they tell him to come out, and he has to give a feast. at this a member of the meliha sept first eats food and puts some into the offender's mouth, thus taking the latter's sin upon himself. the offender then addresses the _panchayat_ saying, 'rajas of the panch, eat.' then the _panchayat_ and all the caste take food with him and he is readmitted. in nandgaon state the head of the caste _panchayat_ is known as thethwar, the title of the highest subcaste, and is appointed by the raja, to whom he makes a present. in jashpur, among the mahakul ahirs, when an offender is put out of caste he has on readmission to make an offering of rs. 1-4 to balaji, the tutelary deity of the state. these mahakuls desire to be considered superior to ordinary ahirs, and their social rules are hence very strict. a man is put out of caste if a dog, fowl or pig touches his water or cooking-pots, or if he touches a fowl. in the latter case he is obliged to make an offering of a fowl to the local god, and eight days are allowed for procuring it. a man is also put out of caste for beating his father. in mandla, ahirs commonly have the title of patel or headman of a village, probably because in former times, when the country consisted almost entirely of forest and grass land, they were accustomed to hold large areas on contract for grazing. 18. ornaments. in chhattisgarh the rawat women are especially fond of wearing large _churas_ or leg-ornaments of bell-metal. these consist of a long cylinder which fits closely to the leg, being made in two halves which lock into each other, while at each end and in the centre circular plates project outwards horizontally. a pair of these _churas_ may weigh 8 or 10 lbs., and cost from rs. 3 to rs. 9. it is probable that some important magical advantage was expected to come from the wearing of these heavy appendages, which must greatly impede free progression, but its nature is not known. 19. occupation. only about thirty per cent of the ahirs are still occupied in breeding cattle and dealing in milk and butter. about four per cent are domestic servants, and nearly all the remainder cultivators and labourers. in former times the ahirs had the exclusive right of milking the cow, so that on all occasions an ahir must be hired for this purpose even by the lowest castes. any one could, however, milk the buffalo, and also make curds and other preparations from cow's milk. [28] this rule is interesting as showing how the caste system was maintained and perpetuated by the custom of preserving to each caste a monopoly of its traditional occupation. the rule probably applied also to the bulk of the cultivating and the menial and artisan castes, and now that it has been entirely abrogated it would appear that the gradual decay and dissolution of the caste organisation must follow. the village cattle are usually entrusted jointly to one or more herdsmen for grazing purposes. the grazier is paid separately for each animal entrusted to his care, a common rate being one anna for a cow or bullock and two annas for a buffalo per month. when a calf is born he gets four annas for a cow-calf and eight annas for a she-buffalo, but except in the rice districts nothing for a male buffalo-calf, as these animals are considered useless outside the rice area. the reason is that buffaloes do not work steadily except in swampy or wet ground, where they can refresh themselves by frequent drinking. in the northern districts male buffalo-calves are often neglected and allowed to die, but the cow-buffaloes are extremely valuable, because their milk is the principal source of supply of _ghi_ or boiled butter. when a cow or buffalo is in milk the grazier often gets the milk one day out of four or five. when a calf is born the teats of the cow are first milked about twenty times on to the ground in the name of the local god of the ahirs. the remainder of the first day's milk is taken by the grazier, and for the next few days it is given to friends. the village grazier is often also expected to prepare the guest-house for government officers and others visiting the village, fetch grass for their animals, and clean their cooking vessels. for this he sometimes receives a small plot of land and a present of a blanket annually from the village proprietor. malguzars and large tenants have their private herdsmen. the pasturage afforded by the village waste lands and forest is, as a rule, only sufficient for the plough-bullocks and more valuable milch-animals. the remainder are taken away sometimes for long distances to the government forest reserves, and here the herdsmen make stockades in the jungle and remain there with their animals for months together. the cattle which remain in the village are taken by the owners in the early morning to the _khirkha_ or central standing-ground. here the grazier takes them over and drives them out to pasture. he brings them back at ten or eleven, and perhaps lets them stand in some field which the owner wants manured. then he separates the cows and milch-buffaloes and takes them to their masters' houses, where he milks them all. in the afternoon all the cattle are again collected and driven out to pasture. the cultivators are very much in the grazier's hands, as they cannot supervise him, and if dishonest he may sell off a cow or calf to a friend in a distant village and tell the owner that it has been carried off by a tiger or panther. unless the owner succeeds by a protracted search or by accident in finding the animal he cannot disprove the herdsman's statement, and the only remedy is to dispense with the latter's services if such losses become unduly frequent. on this account, according to the proverbs, the ahir is held to be treacherous and false to his engagements. they are also regarded as stupid because they seldom get any education, retain their rustic and half-aboriginal dialect, and on account of their solitary life are dull and slow-witted in company. 'the barber's son learns to shave on the ahir's head.' 'the cow is in league with the milkman and lets him milk water into the pail.' the ahirs are also hot-tempered, and their propensity for drinking often results in affrays, when they break each other's head with their cattle-staffs. 'a gaoli's quarrel: drunk at night and friends in the morning.' 20. preparations of milk. hindus nearly always boil their milk before using it, as the taste of milk fresh from the cow is considered unpalatable. after boiling, the milk is put in a pot and a little old curds added, when the whole becomes _dahi_ or sour curds. this is a favourite food, and appears to be exactly the same substance as the bulgarian sour milk which is now considered to have much medicinal value. butter is also made by churning these curds or _dahi_. butter is never used without being boiled first, when it becomes converted into a sort of oil; this has the advantage of keeping much better than fresh butter, and may remain fit for use for as long as a year. this boiled butter is known as _ghi_, and is the staple product of the dairy industry, the bulk of the surplus supply of milk being devoted to its manufacture. it is freely used by all classes who can afford it, and serves very well for cooking purposes. there is a comparatively small market for fresh milk among the hindus, and as a rule only those drink milk who obtain it from their own animals. the acid residue after butter has been made from _dahi_ (curds) or milk is known as _matha_ or butter-milk, and is the only kind of milk drunk by the poorer classes. milk boiled so long as to become solidified is known as _khir_, and is used by confectioners for making sweets. when the milk is boiled and some sour milk added to it, so that it coagulates while hot, the preparation is called _chhana_. the whey is expressed from this by squeezing it in a cloth, and a kind of cheese is obtained. [29] the liquid which oozes out at the root of a cow's horns after death is known as _gaolochan_ and sells for a high price, as it is considered a valuable medicine for children's cough and lung diseases. andh _andh._ [30]--a low cultivating caste of berar, who numbered 52,000 persons in 1911, and belong to the yeotmal, akola and buldana districts. the andhs appear to be a non-aryan tribe of the andhra or tamil country, from which they derive their name. the territories of the andhra dynasty extended across southern india from sea to sea in the early part of the christian era. this designation may, however, have been given to them after migration, emigrants being not infrequently called in their new country by the name of the place from which they came, as berari, purdesi, audhia (from oudh), and so on. at present there seems to be no caste called andh in madras. mr. kitts [31] notes that they still come from hyderabad across the penganga river. the caste are divided into two groups, vartati or pure and khaltati or illegitimate, which take food together, but do not intermarry. they have a large number of exogamous septs, most of which appear to have marathi names, either taken from villages or of a titular character. a few are called after animals or plants, as majiria the cat, ringni a kind of tree, dumare from dumar, an ant-hill, dukare from dukar, a pig, and titawe from titawa, a bird. baghmare means tiger-killer or one killed by a tiger; members of this sept revere the tiger. two septs, bhoyar and wanjari, are named after other castes. marriage between members of the same sept is prohibited, and also between first cousins, except that a sister's son may marry a brother's daughter. until recently marriage has been adult, but girls are now wedded as children, and betrothals are sometimes arranged before they are born. the ceremony resembles that of the kunbis. betrothals are arranged between october and december, and the weddings take place three or four months later, from january to april. if the bride is mature she goes at once to her husband's house. polygamy is allowed; and as only a well-to-do man can afford to obtain more than one wife, those who have several are held to be wealthy, and treated with respect. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted, but the widow may not marry her husband's brother nor any member of his clan. if an unmarried girl becomes pregnant by a man of her own or a superior caste she is fined, and can then be married as a widow. her feet are not washed nor besmeared with red powder at the wedding ceremony like those of other girls. in some localities andh women detected in a criminal intimacy even with men of such impure castes as the mahars and mangs have been readmitted into the community. a substantial fine is imposed on a woman detected in adultery according to her means and spent on a feast to the caste. all the members thus have a personal interest in the detection and punishment of such offences. the dead are usually buried, and water and sugar are placed in a dying man's mouth instead of the sacred objects used by hindus; nor are the dying urged to call on rama. the dead are buried with the head to the south, in opposition to the hindu custom. the andhs will eat the flesh of fowls and pigs, and even cats, rats and snakes in some localities, though the more civilised have abjured these latter. they are very fond of pork, and drink liquor, and will take food from kunbis, malis and kolis, but not from gonds. they have a caste _panchayat_ or committee, with a headman called mohtaria, and two officers known as phopatia and dukria. when a caste offence is committed the dukria goes to call the offender, and is given the earthen pots used at the penalty-feast, while the phopatia receives a new piece of cloth. the mohtaria or headman goes from village to village to decide cases, and gets a share of the fine. the caste are _shikaris_ or hunters, and cultivators. they catch antelope, hares, pig and nilgai in their nets, and kill them with sticks and stones, and they dam up streams and net fish. birds are not caught. generally, the customs of the andhs clearly point to an aboriginal origin, but they are rapidly being hinduised, and in some tracts can scarcely be distinguished from kunbis. they have marathi names; and though only one name is given at birth, mr. slaney notes that this is frequently changed for some pet name, and as often as not a man goes regularly by some name other than his real one. arakh _arakh._--a small caste of cultivators and labourers found principally in the chanda district and berar and scattered over other localities. the arakhs are considered to be an offshoot of the pasi or bahelia caste of hunters and fowlers. mr. crooke [32] writes of them: "all their traditions connect them with the pasis and parasurama, the sixth avatara of vishnu. one story runs that parasurama was bathing in the sea, when a leech bit his foot and caused it to bleed. he divided the blood into two parts; out of one part he made the first pasi and out of the second the first arakh. another story is that the pasis were made out of the sweat (_pasina_) of parasurama. while parasurama was away the pasi shot some animals with his bow, and the deity was so enraged that he cursed the pasi, and swore that his descendants should keep pigs. this accounts for the degradation of the pasis. subsequently parasurama sent for some pasis to help him in one of his wars; but they ran away and hid in an _arhar_ [33] field and were hence called arakhs." this connection with the pasis is also recognised in the case of the arakhs of berar, of whom mr. kitts writes: [34] "the arakhs found in morsi are a race akin to the bahelias. their regular occupation is bird-catching and _shikar_ (hunting). they do not follow hindu customs in their marriages, but although they keep pigs, eat flesh and drink spirits, they will not touch a chamar. they appear to be a branch of the pasi tribe, and are described as a semi-hinduised class of aborigines." in the chanda district, however, the arakhs are closely connected with the gond tribe, as is evident from their system of exogamy. thus they say that they are divided into the matia, tekam, tesli, godam, madai, sayam and chorliu septs, worshipping respectively three, four, five, six, seven, eight and twelve gods; and persons who worship the same number of gods cannot marry with one another. this system of divisions according to the different number of gods worshipped is found in the central provinces only among the gonds and one or two other tribes like the baigas, who have adopted it from them, and as some of the names given above are also gondi words, no doubt need be entertained that the arakhs of chanda are largely of gond descent. they are probably, in fact, the offspring of irregular connections between the gonds and pasis, who, being both frequenters of the forests, would naturally come much into contact with each other. and being disowned by the true pasis on account of their defective pedigree, they have apparently set up as a separate caste and adopted the name of arakh to hide the deficiencies of their ancestry. the social customs of the arakhs resemble those of other low hindu castes, and need not be given in detail. their weddings are held near a temple of maroti, or if there be none such, then at the place where the holi fire was lit in the preceding year. a bride-price varying from rs. 25 to rs. 40 is usually paid. in the case of the marriage of a widow, the second husband goes to the house of the woman, where the couple are bathed and seated on two wooden boards, a branch of a cotton-plant being placed near them. the bridegroom then ties five strings of black glass beads round the woman's neck. the dead are mourned for one day only, and a funeral feast is given to the caste-fellows. the arakhs are a very low caste, but their touch does not convey impurity. atari 1. general notice. _atari, [35] gandhi, bukekari._--a small muhammadan caste of retailers of scent, incense, tooth-powder and _kunku_ or pink powder. atari is derived from _atar_ or _itra_, attar of roses. gandhi comes from _gandh_, a sanskrit word for scent. bukekari is a marathi word meaning a seller of powder. the ataris number about two hundred persons in nagpur, wardha and berar. both hindus and muhammadans follow the profession, but the hindu ataris are not a separate caste, and belong to the teli, gurao and beldar castes. the muhammadan ataris, to whom this article refers, may marry with other muhammadans, with the exception of low-class tradesmen like the pinjaras, kasais and kunjras. one instance of an atari marrying a rangrez is known, but usually they decline to do so. but since they are not considered to be the equals of ordinary muhammadans, they constitute more or less a distinct social group. they are of the same position as muhammadan tin-workers, bangle-makers and pedlars, and sometimes intermarry with them. they admit hindu converts into the community, but the women refuse to eat with them, and the better-class families will not intermarry with converts. a new convert must be circumcised, but if he is of advanced age, or if his foreskin is wanting, as sometimes happens, they take a rolled-up betel-leaf and cut it in two in substitution for the rite. 2. marriage customs. it is essential that a girl should be married before adolescence, as it is said that when the signs of puberty appear in her before wedlock her parents commit a crime equivalent to the shedding of human blood. the father of the boy looks for a bride, and after dropping hints to the girl's family to see if his proposal is acceptable, he sends some female relatives or friends to discuss the marriage. before the wedding the boy is presented with a _chhap_ or ring of gold or silver with a small cup-like attachment. a _mehar_ or dowry must be given to the bride, the amount of which is not below rs. 50 or above rs. 250. the bride's parents give her cooking vessels, bedding and a bedstead. after the wedding, the couple are seated on a cot while the women sing songs, and they see each other's face reflected in a mirror. the procession returns after a stay of four days, and is received by the women of the bridegroom's family with some humorous ceremonies bearing on the nature of marriage. a feast called tamm walima follows, and the couple are shut up together in an inner room, even though they may be under age. the marriage includes some hindu customs, such as the erection of the _pandal_ or shed, rubbing the couple with turmeric and oil, and the tying on of _kankans_ or wrist-bands. a girl going wrong before marriage may be wedded with full rites so long as she has not conceived, but after conception until her child is born she cannot go through the ceremony at all. after the birth of the child she may be married simply with the rite for widows. she retains the child, but it has no claim to succeed to her husband's property. a widow may marry again after an interval of forty days from her first husband's death, and she may wed her younger brother-in-law. divorce is permitted at the instance of either party, and for mere disagreement. a man usually divorces his wife by vowing in the presence of two witnesses that he will in future consider intercourse with her as incestuous in the same degree as with his mother. a divorced woman has a claim to her _mehar_ or dowry if not already paid, but forfeits it if she marries again. a man can marry the daughter of his paternal uncle. the services of a kazi at weddings are paid for with a fee of rs. 1-4, and well-to-do persons also give him a pair of turbans. 3. religion. the ataris are muhammadans of the sunni sect. they revere the muhammadan saints, and on the night of shabrat they let off fireworks in honour of their ancestors and make offerings of _halwa_ [36] to them and place lamps and scent on their tombs. they swear by the pig and abstain from eating its flesh. the dog is considered an unclean animal and its tail, ears and tongue are especially defiling. if the hair of a dog falls on the ground they cannot pray in that place because the souls of the prophets cannot come there. to see a dog flapping its ears is a bad omen, and a person starting on a journey should postpone his departure. they esteem the spider, because they say it spread its web over the mouth of the cave where hasan and husain lay concealed from their enemies and thus prevented it from being searched. some of them have pirs or spiritual preceptors, these being muhammadan beggars, not necessarily celibate. the ceremony of adhesion is that a man should drink sherbet from the cup from which his preceptor has drunk. they do not observe impurity after a death nor bathe on returning from a funeral. 4. social customs. liquor is of course prohibited to the ataris as to other muhammadans, but some of them drink it nevertheless. some of them eat beef and others abstain. the blood of animals killed must flow before death according to the rite of _halal_, but they say that fish are an exception, because when abraham was offering up his son ishmael and god substituted a goat, the goat bleated before it was killed, and this offended abraham, who threw his sacrificial knife into the sea: the knife struck and killed a fish, and on this account all fish are considered to be _halal_ or lawful food without any further rite. the ataris observe the hindu law of inheritance, and some of them worship hindu deities, as mata the goddess of smallpox. as a rule their women are not secluded. the ataris make _missi_ or tooth-powder from myrobalans, cloves and cardamoms, and other constituents. this has the effect of blackening the teeth. they also sell the _kunku_ or red powder which women rub on their foreheads, its constituents being turmeric, borax and the juice of limes. they sell scent and sometimes deal in tobacco. the scents most in demand are _gulab-pani_ or rose-water and _phulel_ or essence of tilli or sesamum. scents are usually sold by the tola of 18 annas silver weight, [37] and a tola of attar may vary in price from 8 annas to rs. 80. other scents are made from _khas-khas_ grass, the mango, henna and musk, the _bela_ flower, [38] the champak [39] and cucumber. scent is manufactured by distillation from the flowers boiled in water, and the drops of congealed vapour fall into sandalwood oil, which they say is the basis of all scents. fragrant oils are also sold for rubbing on the hair, made from orange flowers, jasmine, cotton-seed and the flowers of the _aonla_ tree. [40] scent is sold in tiny circular glass bottles, and the oils in little bottles made from thin leather. the ataris also retail the little black sticks of incense which are set up and burnt at the time of taking food and in temples, so that the smell and smoke may keep off evil spirits. when professional exorcists are called upon to clear any building, such as a hospital, supposed to be haunted by spirits or the ghosts of the dead, they commence operations by placing these sticks of incense at the entrance and setting them alight as in a temple. audhelia 1. origin. _audhelia (audhalia)._--a small hybrid caste found almost exclusively in the bilaspur district, where they number about 1000 persons. the name is derived from the word udharia, meaning a person with clandestine sexual intimacies. the audhelias are a mixed caste and trace their origin from a daharia rajput ancestor, by one bhuri bandi, a female slave of unknown caste. this couple is supposed to have resided in ratanpur, the old capital of chhattisgarh, and the female ancestors of the audhelias are said to have been prostitutes until they developed into a caste and began to marry among themselves. their proper avocation at present is the rearing of pigs, while some of them are also tenants and farm-labourers. owing to the base descent and impure occupation of the caste they are held in very low esteem, and their touch is considered to convey pollution. 2. marriage. the caste have at present no endogamous divisions and still admit members of other castes with the exception of the very lowest. but social gradations exist to a certain extent among the members according to the position of their male ancestors, a daharia audhelia, for instance, being reluctant to eat or intermarry with a panka audhelia. under these circumstances it has become a rule among the audhelias not to eat with their caste-fellows excepting their own relations. on the occasion of a caste feast, therefore, each guest prepares his own food, taking only uncooked grain from his host. at present seven _gotras_ or exogamous divisions appear to have been formed in the caste with the names of pachbhaiya, chhahri, kalkhor, bachhawat, dhanawat, bhainsa and limuan. the following story exists as to the origin of these _gotras_: there were formerly three brothers, sahasman, budha and mangal, who were sansis or robbers. one evening the three brothers halted in a forest and went to look for food. one brought back a buffalo-horn, another a peacock's feather and the youngest, mangal, brought plums. the other brothers asked mangal to let them share his plums, to which he agreed on condition that one of the brothers should give his daughter to him in marriage. as mangal and his brothers were of one _gotra_ or section, and the marriage would thus involve splitting up the _gotra_, the brothers were doubtful whether it could be performed. they sought about for some sign to determine this difficult question, and decided that if mangal succeeded in breaking in pieces an iron image of a cat simply by blows of his naked fist, it would be a sufficient indication that they might split up their _gotra_. mangal was therefore put to the ordeal and succeeded in breaking the image, so the three brothers split up their _gotra_, the eldest assuming the _gotra_ name of bhainsa because he had found a buffalo-horn, the second that of kalkhor, which is stated to mean peacock, and the third that of chhahri, which at any rate does not mean a plum. the word chhahri means either 'shadow,' or 'one who washes the clothes of a woman in confinement.' if we assume it to have the latter meaning, it may be due to the fact that mangal had to wash the clothes of his own wife, not being able to induce a professional washerman to do so on account of the incestuous nature of the connection. as the eldest brother gave his daughter in an incestuous marriage he was also degraded, and became the ancestor of the kanjars or prostitutes, who, it is said, to the present day do not solicit audhelias in consideration of the consanguinity existing between them. the story itself sufficiently indicates the low and mixed descent of the audhelias, and its real meaning may possibly be that when they first began to form a separate caste they permitted incestuous marriages on account of the paucity of their members. a curious point about the story is that the incestuous nature of the connection is not taken to be the most pressing objection to the marriage of mangal with his own niece, but the violation of the caste rule prohibiting marriage within the same _gotra_. bachhawat and dhanawat are the names of sections of the banjara caste, and the persons of these _gotras_ among the audhelias are probably the descendants of illicit connections among banjaras. the word pachbhaiya means 'five brothers,' and this name possibly commemorates a polyandrous connection of some audhelia woman. limuan means a tortoise, which is a section of many castes. several of the section-names are thus totemistic, and, as in other castes, some reverence is paid to the animal from whom the name is derived. at present the audhelias forbid marriage within the same _gotra_ and also the union of first cousins. girls are married between five and seven years of age as their numbers are scarce, and they are engaged as early as possible. unless weddings are arranged by exchanging girls between two families, a high bride-price, often amounting to as much as rs. 60, is paid. no stigma is incurred, however, if a girl should remain unmarried till she arrives at adolescence, but, on the contrary, a higher price is then obtained for her. sexual licence either before or after marriage is considered a venial offence, but a woman detected in a _liaison_ with a man of one of the lowest castes is turned out of caste. widow marriage and divorce are freely allowed. 3. religion, birth and death. the audhelias venerate dulha deo and devi, to whom they usually offer pigs. their principal festival is the holi, at which their women were formerly engaged to perform as professional dancers. they usually burn their dead and remove the ashes on the third day, throwing them into the nearest stream. a few of the bones are picked up and buried under a pipal tree, and a pitcher with a hole in the bottom is hung on the tree so that water may trickle down on to them. on the tenth day the caste-people assemble and are shaved and bathe and rub their bodies with oil under the tree. unmarried men and persons dying of cholera are buried, the head being placed to the north. they consider that if they place the corpse in the reverse position it would be an insult to the ganges equivalent to kicking the holy river, as the feet of the body would then be turned towards it. badhak list of paragraphs 1. _introductory notice._ 2. _the badhak dacoits._ 3. _instances of dacoities._ 4. _further instances of dacoities._ 5. _disguise of religious mendicants._ 6. _countenance and support of landowners._ 7. _pride in their profession._ 8. _caste rules and admission of outsiders._ 9. _religion. offerings to ancestors._ 10. _the wounded haunted by spirits._ 11. _pious funeral observances._ 12. _taking the omens._ 13. _suppression of dacoity._ 14. _the badhaks or baoris at the present time._ 15. _lizard-hunting._ 16. _social observances._ 17. _criminal practices._ 1. introductory notice. _badhak, bagri, baoria._--a famous tribe of dacoits who flourished up to about 1850, and extended their depredations over the whole of northern and central india. the bagris and baorias or bawarias still exist and are well known to the police as inveterate criminals; but their operations are now confined to ordinary burglary, theft and cheating, and their more interesting profession of armed gang-robbery on a large scale is a thing of the past. the first part of this article is entirely compiled from the report on their suppression drawn up by colonel sleeman, [41] who may be regarded as the virtual founder of the thuggee and dacoity department. some mention of the existing bagri and baoria tribes is added at the end. 2. the badhak dacoits. the origin of the badhaks is obscure, but they seem to have belonged to gujarat, as their peculiar dialect, still in use, is a form of gujarati. the most striking feature in it is the regular substitution of _kh_ for _s_. they claimed to be rajputs and were divided into clans with the well-known rajput names of solanki, panwar, dhundhel, chauhan, rathor, gahlot, bhatti and charan. their ancestors were supposed to have fled from chitor on one of the historical occasions on which it was assaulted and sacked. but as they spoke gujarati it seems more probable that they belonged to gujarat, a fertile breeding-place of criminals, and they may have been descended from the alliances of rajputs with the primitive tribes of this locality, the bhils and kolis. the existing bagris are of short stature, one writer stating that none of them exceed five feet two inches in height; and this seems to indicate that they have little rajput blood. it may be surmised that the badhaks rose into importance and found scope for their predatory instincts during the period of general disorder and absence of governing authority through which northern india passed after the decline of the mughal empire. and they lived and robbed with the connivance or open support of the petty chiefs and landholders, to whom they gave a liberal share of their booty. the principal bands were located in the oudh forests, but they belonged to the whole of northern india including the central provinces; and as colonel sleeman's report, though of much interest, is now practically unknown, i have thought it not out of place to compile an article by means of short extracts from his account of the tribe. in 1822 the operations of the badhaks were being conducted on such a scale that an officer wrote: "no district between the brahmaputra, the nerbudda, the satlej and the himalayas is free from them; and within this vast field hardly any wealthy merchant or manufacturer could feel himself secure for a single night from the depredations of badhak dacoits. they had successfully attacked so many of the treasuries of our native sub-collectors that it was deemed necessary, all over the north-western provinces, to surround such buildings with extensive fortifications. in many cases they carried off our public treasure from strong parties of our regular troops and mounted police; and none seemed to know whence they came or whither they fled with the booty acquired." [42] 3. instances of dacoities. colonel sleeman thus described a dacoity in the town of narsinghpur when he was in charge of that district: [43] "in february 1822, in the dusk of the evening, a party of about thirty persons, with nothing seemingly but walking-sticks in their hands, passed the piquet of sepoys on the bank of the rivulet which separates the cantonment from the town of narsinghpur. on being challenged by the sentries they said they were cowherds and that their cattle were following close behind. they walked up the street; and coming opposite the houses of the most wealthy merchants, they set their torches in a blaze by blowing suddenly on pots filled with combustibles, stabbed everybody who ventured to move or make the slightest noise, plundered the houses, and in ten minutes were away with their booty, leaving about twelve persons dead and wounded on the ground. no trace of them was discovered." another well-known exploit of the badhaks was the attack on the palace of the ex-peshwa, baji rao, at bithur near cawnpore. this was accomplished by a gang of about eighty men, who proceeded to the locality in the disguise of carriers of ganges water. having purchased a boat and a few muskets to intimidate the guard they crossed the ganges about six miles below bithur, and reached the place at ten o'clock at night; and after wounding eighteen persons who attempted resistance they possessed themselves of property, chiefly in gold, to the value of more than two and a half lakhs of rupees; and retiring without loss made their way in safety to their homes in the oudh forests. the residence of this gang was known to a british police officer in the king of oudh's service, mr. orr, and after a long delay on the part of the court an expedition was sent which recovered a portion of the treasure and captured two or three hundred of the badhaks. but none of the recovered property reached the hands of baji rao and the prisoners were soon afterwards released. [44] again in 1839, a gang of about fifty men under a well-known leader, gajraj, scaled the walls of jhansi and plundered the surafa or bankers' quarter of the town for two hours, obtaining booty to the value of rs. 40,000, which they carried off without the loss of a man. the following account of this raid was obtained by colonel sleeman from one of the robbers: [45] "the spy (_hirrowa_) having returned and reported that he had found a merchant's house in jhansi which contained a good deal of property, we proceeded to a grove where we took the auspices by the process of _akut_ (counting of grains) and found the omens favourable. we then rested three days and settled the rates according to which the booty should be shared. four or five men, who were considered too feeble for the enterprise, were sent back, and the rest, well armed, strong and full of courage, went on. in the evening of the fourth day we reached a plain about a mile from the town, where we rested to take breath for an hour; about nine o'clock we got to the wall and remained under it till midnight, preparing the ladders from materials which we had collected on the road. they were placed to the wall and we entered and passed through the town without opposition. a marriage procession was going on before us and the people thought we belonged to it. we found the bankers' shops closed. thana and saldewa, who carried the axes, soon broke them open, while kulean lighted up his torch. gajraj with twenty men entered, while the rest stood posted at the different avenues leading to the place. when all the property they could find had been collected, gajraj hailed the god hanuman and gave orders for the retreat. we got back safely to mondegri in two days and a half, and then reposed for two or three days with the raja of narwar, with whom we left five or six of our stoutest men as a guard, and then returned home with our booty, consisting chiefly of diamonds, emeralds, gold and silver bullion, rupees and about sixty pounds of silver wire. none of our people were either killed or wounded, but whether any of the bankers' people were i know not." 4. further instances of dacoities. colonel sleeman writes elsewhere [46] of the leader of the above exploit: "this gajraj had risen from the vocation of a _bandarwala_ (monkey showman) to be the robin hood of gwalior and the adjacent states; he was the governor-general of banditti in that country of banditti and kept the whole in awe; he had made himself so formidable that the durbar appointed him to keep the _ghats_ or ferries over the chambal, which he did in a very profitable manner to them and to himself, and none entered or quitted the country without paying blackmail." a common practice of the badhaks, when in need of a little ready money, was to lie in wait for money-changers on their return from the markets. these men take their bags of money with them to the important bazars at a distance from their residence and return home with them after dusk. the dacoits were accustomed to watch for them in the darkest and most retired places on the roads and fell them to the ground with their bludgeons. this device was often practised and usually succeeded. [47] of another badhak chief, meherban, it is stated [48] that he hired a discharged sepoy to instruct his followers in the european system of drill, that they might travel with him in the disguise of regular soldiers, well armed and accoutred. during the rains meherban's spies (_hirrowa_) were sent to visit the great commercial towns and report any despatches of money or other valuables, which were to take place during the following open season. his own favourite disguise was that of a hindu prince, while the remainder of the gang constituted his retinue and escort. on one occasion, assuming this character, he followed up a boat laden with spanish dollars which was being sent from calcutta to benares; and having attacked it at its moorings at makrai, he killed one and wounded ten men of the guard and made off with 25,000 spanish dollars and rs. 2600 of the company's coinage. a part of the band were sent direct to the rendezvous previously arranged, while meherban returned to the grove where he had left his women and proceeded with them in a more leisurely fashion to the same place. retaining the character of a native prince he halted here for two days to celebrate the holi festival. marching thence with his women conveyed in covered litters by hired bearers who were changed at intervals, he proceeded to his bivouac in the oudh forests; and at seosagar, one of his halting-places, he gave a large sum of money to a gardener to plant a grove of mango trees near a tank for the benefit of travellers, in the name of raja meherban singh of gaur in oudh; and promised him further alms on future occasions of pilgrimage if he found the work progressing well, saying that it was a great shame that travellers should be compelled as he had been to halt without shade for themselves or their families during the heat of the day. he arrived safely at his quarters in the forest and was received in the customary fashion by a procession of women in their best attire, who conducted him with dancing and music, like a victorious roman proconsul, to his fort. [49] 5. disguise of religious mendicants. but naturally not all the badhaks could do things in the style of meherban singh. the disguise which they most often assumed in the north was that of carriers of ganges water, while in central india they often pretended to be banjaras travelling with pack-bullocks, or pilgrims, or wedding-parties going to fetch the bride or bridegroom. sometimes also they took the character of religious mendicants, the leader being the high priest and all the rest his followers and disciples. one such gang, described by colonel sleeman, [50] had four or five tents of white and dyed cloth, two or three pairs of _nakkaras_ or kettle-drums and trumpets, with a great number of buffaloes, cows, goats, sheep and ponies. some were clothed, but the bodies of the greater part were covered with nothing but ashes, paint and a small cloth waistband. but they always provided themselves with five or six real bairagis, whose services they purchased at a very high price. these men were put forward to answer questions in case of difficulty and to bully the landlords and peasantry; and if the people demurred to the demands of the badhaks, to intimidate them by tricks calculated to play upon the fears of the ignorant. they held in their hands a preparation of gunpowder resembling common ashes; and when they found the people very stubborn they repeated their _mantras_ over this and threw it upon the thatch of the nearest house, to which it set fire. the explosion was caused by a kind of fusee held in the hand which the people could not see, and taking it for a miracle they paid all that was demanded. another method was to pretend to be carrying the bones of dead relatives to the ganges. the bones or ashes of the deceased, says [51] colonel sleeman, are carried to the ganges in bags, coloured red for females and white for males. these bags are considered holy, and are not allowed to touch the ground upon the way, and during halts in the journey are placed on poles or triangles. the carriers are regarded with respect as persons engaged upon a pious duty, and seldom questioned on the road. when a gang assumed this disguise they proceeded to their place of rendezvous in small parties, some with red and some with white bags, in which they carried the bones of animals most resembling those of the human frame. these were supported on triangles formed of the shafts on which the spear-heads would be fitted when they reached their destination and had prepared for action. 6. countenance and support of landowners. it would have been impossible for the badhaks to exist and flourish as they did without the protection of the landowners on whose estates they lived; and this they received in full measure in return for a liberal share of their booty. when the chief of karauli was called upon to dislodge a gang within his territory, he expressed apprehension that the coercion of the badhaks might cause a revolution in the state. he was not at all singular, says colonel sleeman, in his fear of exasperating this formidable tribe of robbers. it was common to all the smaller chiefs and the provincial governors of the larger ones. they everywhere protected and fostered the badhaks, as did the landholders; and the highest of them associated with the leaders of gangs on terms of equality and confidence. it was very common for a chief or the governor of a district in times of great difficulty and personal danger to require from one of the leaders of such gangs a night-guard or _palang ki chauki_: and no less so to entertain large bodies of them in the attack and defence of forts and camps whenever unusual courage and skill were required. the son of the raja of charda exchanged turbans with a badhak leader, mangal singh, as a mark of the most intimate friendship. this episode recalls an alliance of similar character in _lorna doone_; and indeed it would not be difficult to find several points of resemblance between the careers of the more enterprising badhak leaders and the doones of bagworthy; but india produced no character on the model of john ridd, and it was reserved for an englishman, colonel sleeman, to achieve the suppression of the badhaks as well as that of the thugs. after the fortress and territory of garhakota in saugor had been taken by the maharaja sindhia, zalim singh, a cousin of the dispossessed bundela chief, collected a force of bundelas and pindaris and ravaged the country round garhakota in 1813. in the course of his raid he sacked and burnt the town of deori, and 15,000 persons perished in the flames. colonel jean baptiste, sindhia's general, obtained a number of picked badhaks from rajputana and offered them a rich reward for the head of zalim singh; and after watching his camp for three months they managed to come on him asleep in the tent of a dancing-girl, who was following his camp, and stabbed him to the heart. for this deed they received rs. 20,000 from baptiste with other valuable presents. their reputation was indeed such that they were frequently employed at this period both by chiefs who desired to take the lives of others and by those who were anxious for the preservation of their own. when it happened that a gang was caught after a robbery in a native state, the custom was not infrequently to make them over to the merchant whose property they had taken, with permission to keep them in confinement until they should refund his money; and in this manner by giving up the whole or a part of the proceeds of their robbery they were enabled to regain their liberty. even if they were sent before the courts, justice was at that time so corrupt as to permit of easy avenues of escape for those who could afford to pay; and colonel sleeman records the deposition of a badhak describing their methods of bribery: "when police officers arrest badhaks their old women get round them and give them large sums of money; and they either release them or get their depositions so written that their release shall be ordered by the magistrates. if they are brought to court, their old women, dressed in rags, follow them at a distance of three or four miles with a thousand or two thousand rupees upon ponies; and these rupees they distribute among the native officers of the court and get the badhaks released. these old women first ascertain from the people of the villages who are the nazirs and munshis of influence, and wait upon them at their houses and make their bargains. if the officials cannot effect their release, they take money from the old women and send them off to the sadar court, with letters of introduction to their friends, and advice as to the rate they shall pay to each according to his supposed influence. this is the way that all our leaders get released, and hardly any but useless men are left in confinement." [52] 7. pride in their profession. it may be noticed that these robbers took the utmost pleasure in their calling, and were most averse to the idea of giving it up and taking to honest pursuits. "some of the men with me," one magistrate wrote, [53] "have been in jail for twenty, and one man for thirty years, and still do not appear to have any idea of abandoning their illegal vocation; even now, indeed, they look on what we consider an honest means of livelihood with the most marked contempt; and in relating their excursions talk of them with the greatest pleasure, much in the way an eager sportsman describes a boar-chase or fox-hunt. while talking of their excursions, which were to me really very interesting, their eyes gleamed with pleasure; and beating their hands on their foreheads and breasts and muttering some ejaculation they bewailed the hardness of their lot, which now ensured their never again being able to participate in such a joyous occupation." another badhak, on being examined, said he could not recall a case of one of the community having ever given up the trade of dacoity. "none ever did, i am certain of it," he continued. [54] "after having been arrested, on our release we frequently take lands, to make it appear we have left off dacoity, but we never do so in reality; it is only done as a feint and to enable our zamindars (landowners) to screen us." they sometimes paid rent for their land at the rate of thirty rupees an acre, in return for the countenance and protection afforded by the zamindars. "our profession," another badhak remarked, [55] "has been a _padshahi kam_ (a king's trade); we have attacked and seized boldly the thousands and hundreds of thousands that we have freely and nobly spent; we have been all our lives wallowing in wealth and basking in freedom, and find it hard to manage with the few copper pice a day we get from you." at the time when captures were numerous, and the idea was entertained of inducing the dacoits to settle in villages and supporting them until they had been trained to labour, several of them, on being asked how much they would require to support themselves, replied that they could not manage on less than two rupees a day, having earned quite that sum by dacoity. this amount would be more than twenty times the wages of an ordinary labourer at the same period. another witness put the amount at one to two rupees a day, remarking, 'we are great persons for eating and drinking, and we keep several wives according to our means.' of some of them colonel sleeman had a high opinion, and he mentions the case of one man, ajit singh, who was drafted into the native army and rose to be commander of a company. "i have seldom seen a man," he wrote, [56] "whom i would rather have with me in scenes of peril and difficulty." an attempt of the king of oudh's, however, to form a regiment of badhaks had ended in failure, as after a short time they mutinied, beat their commandant and other officers and turned them out of the regiment, giving as their reason that the officers had refused to perform the same duties as the men. and they visited with the same treatment all the other officers sent to them, until they were disbanded by the british on the province of allahabad being made over to the company. colonel sleeman notes that they were never known to offer any other violence or insult to females than to make them give up any gold ornaments that they might have about their persons. "in all my inquiries into the character, habits and conduct of these gangs, i have never found an instance of a female having been otherwise disgraced or insulted by them. they are all hindus, and this reverence for the sex pervades all hindu society." [57] according to their own account also they never committed murder; if people opposed them they struck and killed like soldiers, but this was considered to be in fair fight. it may be noted, nevertheless, that they had little idea of clan loyalty, and informed very freely against their fellows when this course was to their advantage. they also stated that they could not settle in towns; they had always been accustomed to live in the jungles and commit dacoities upon the people of the towns as a kind of _shikar_ (sport); they delighted in it, and they felt living in towns or among other men as a kind of prison, and got quite confused (_ghabraye_), and their women even more than the men. 8. caste rules and admission of outsiders. the badhaks had a regular caste organisation, and members of the different clans married with each other like the rajputs after whom they were named. they admitted freely into the community members of any respectable hindu caste, but not the impure castes or muhammadans. but at least one instance of the admission of a muhammadan is given. [58] the badhaks were often known to the people as siarkhawa or jackal-eaters, or sabkhawa, those who eat everything. and the muhammadan in question was given jackal's flesh to eat, and having partaken of it was considered to have become a member of the community. this indicates that the badhaks were probably accustomed to eat the flesh of the jackal at a sacrificial meal, and hence that they worshipped the jackal, revering it probably as the deity of the forests where they lived. such a veneration would account for the importance attached to the jackal's cry as an omen. the fact of their eating jackals also points to the conclusion that the badhaks were not rajputs, but a low hunting caste like the pardhis and bahelias. the pardhis have rajput sept names as well as the badhaks. no doubt a few outcaste rajputs may have joined the gangs and become their leaders. others, however, said that they abstained from the flesh of jackals, snakes, foxes and cows and buffaloes. children were frequently adopted, being purchased in large numbers in time of famine, and also occasionally kidnapped. they were brought up to the trade of dacoity, and if they showed sufficient aptitude for it were taken out on expeditions, but otherwise left at home to manage the household affairs. they were married to other adopted children and were known as ghulami or slave badhaks, like the jangar banjaras; and like them also, after some generations, when their real origin had been forgotten, they became full badhaks. it was very advantageous to a badhak to have a number of children, because all plunder obtained was divided in regularly apportioned shares among the whole community. men who were too old to go on dacoity also received their share, and all children, even babies born during the absence of the expedition. the badhaks said that this rule was enforced because they thought it an advantage to the community that families should be large and their numbers should increase; from which statement it must be concluded that they seldom suffered any stringency from lack of spoil. they also stated that badhak widows would go and find a second husband from among the regular population, and as a rule would sooner or later persuade him to join the badhaks. 9. religion: offerings to ancestors. like other indian criminals the badhaks were of a very religious or superstitious disposition. they considered the gods of the hindu creed as favouring their undertakings so long as they were suitably propitiated by offering to their temples and priests, and the spirits of the most distinguished of their ancestors as exercising a vicarious authority under these deities in guiding them to their prey and warning them of danger. [59] the following is an account of a badhak sacrifice given to colonel sleeman by the ajit singh already mentioned. it was in celebration of a dacoity in which they had obtained rs. 40,000, out of which rs. 4500 were set aside for sacrifices to the gods and charity to the poor. ajit singh said: "for offerings to the gods we purchase goats, sweet cakes and spirits; and having prepared a feast we throw a handful of the savoury food upon the fire in the name of the gods who have most assisted us; but of the feast so consecrated no female but a virgin can partake. the offering is made through the man who has successfully invoked the god on that particular occasion; and, as my god had guided us this time, i was employed to prepare the feast for him and to throw the offering upon the fire. the offering must be taken up before the feast is touched and put upon the fire, and a little water must be sprinkled on it. the savoury smell of the food as it burns reaches the nostrils of the god and delights him. on this as on most occasions i invoked the spirit of ganga singh, my grandfather, and to him i made the offering. i considered him to be the greatest of all my ancestors as a robber, and him i invoked on this solemn occasion. he never failed me when i invoked him, and i had the greatest confidence in his aid. the spirits of our ancestors can easily see whether we shall succeed in what we are about to undertake; and when we are to succeed they order us on, and when we are not they make signs to us to desist." their mode [60] of ascertaining which of their ancestors interested himself most in their affairs was commonly this, that whenever a person talked incoherently in a fever or an epileptic fit, the spirit of one or other of his ancestors was supposed to be upon him. if they were in doubt as to whose spirit it was, one of them threw down some grains of wheat or coloured glass beads, a pinch at a time, saying the name of the ancestor he supposed the most likely to be at work and calling odd or even as he pleased. if the number proved to be as he called it several times running while that name was repeated, they felt secure of their family god, and proceeded at once to sacrifice a goat or something else in his name. when they were being hunted down and arrested by colonel sleeman and his assistants, they ascribed their misfortunes to the anger of the goddess kali, because they had infringed her rules and disregarded her signs, and said that their forefathers had often told them they would one day be punished for their disobedience. [61] 10. the wounded haunted by spirits. whenever one of the gang was wounded and was taken with his wounds bleeding near a place haunted by a spirit, they believed the spirit got angry and took hold of him, [62] in the manner described by ajit singh as follows: "the spirit comes upon him in all kinds of shapes, sometimes in that of a buffalo, at others in that of a woman, sometimes in the air above and sometimes from the ground below; but no one can see him except the wounded person he is angry with and wants to punish. upon such a wounded person we always place a naked sword or some other sharp steel instrument, as spirits are much afraid of weapons of this kind. if there be any good conjurer at hand to charm away the spirits from the person wounded he recovers, but nothing else can save him." in one case a dacoit named ghisa had been severely wounded in an encounter and was seized by the spirit of a banyan tree as he was being taken away: "we made a litter with our ropes and cloaks thrown over them and on this he was carried off by four of our party; at half a mile distant the road passed under a large banyan tree and as the four men carried him along under the tree, the spirit of the place fell upon him and the four men who carried him fell down with the shock. they could not raise him again, so much were they frightened, and four other men were obliged to lift him and carry him off." the man died of his wounds soon after they reached the halting-place, and in commenting on this ajit singh continued: "when the spirit seized ghisa under the tree we had unfortunately no conjurer, and he, poor fellow, died in consequence. it was evident that a spirit had got hold of him, for he could not keep his head upright; it always fell down upon his right or left shoulder as often as we tried to put it right; and he complained much of a pain in the region of the liver. we therefore concluded that the spirit had broken his neck and was consuming his liver." 11. pious funeral observances. like pious hindus as they were, the badhaks were accustomed, whenever it was possible, to preserve the bones of their dead after the body had been burnt and carry them to the ganges. if this was not possible, however, and the exigencies of their profession obliged them to make away with the body without the performance of due funeral rites, they cut off two or three fingers and sent these to the ganges to be deposited instead of the whole body. [63] in one case a dacoit, kundana, was killed in an affray, and the others carried off his body and thrust it into a porcupine's hole after cutting off three of the fingers. "we gave kundana's fingers to his mother," ajit singh stated, "and she sent them with due offerings and ceremonies to the ganges by the hands of the family priest. she gave this priest money to purchase a cow, to be presented to the priests in the name of her deceased son, and to distribute in charity to the poor and to holy men. she got from us for these purposes eighty rupees over and above her son's share of the booty, while his widow and children continued to receive their usual share of the takings of the gang so long as they remained with us." 12. taking the omens. before setting out on an expedition it was their regular custom to take the omens, and the following account may be quoted of the preliminaries to an expedition of the great leader, meherban singh, who has already been mentioned: "in the latter end of that year, meherban and his brother set out and assembled their friends on the bank of the bisori river, where the rate at which each member of the party should share in the spoil was determined in order to secure to the dependants of any one who should fall in the enterprise their due share, as well as to prevent inconvenient disputes during and after the expedition. the party assembled on this occasion, including women and children, amounted to two hundred, and when the shares had been determined the goats were sacrificed for the feast. each leader and member of the gang dipped his finger in the blood and swore fidelity to his engagements and his associates under all circumstances. the whole feasted together and drank freely till the next evening, when meherban advanced with about twenty of the principal persons to a spot chosen a little way from the camp on the road they proposed to take in the expedition, and lifting up his hands in supplication said aloud, 'if it be thy will, o god, and thine, kali, to prosper our undertaking for the sake of the blind and the lame, _the widow and the orphan_, who depend upon our exertions for subsistence, vouchsafe, we pray thee, the call of the female jackal.' all his followers held up their hands in the same manner and repeated these words after him. all then sat down and waited in silence for the reply or spoke only in whispers. at last the cry of the female jackal was heard three times on the left, and believing her to have been inspired by the deity for their guidance they were all much rejoiced." the following was another more elaborate method of taking omens described by ajit singh: "when we speak of seeking omens from our gods or devi deota, we mean the spirits of those of our ancestors who performed great exploits in dacoity in their day, gained a great name and established lasting reputations. for instance, mahajit, my grandfather, and sahiba, his father, are called gods and admitted to be so by us all. we have all of us some such gods to be proud of among our ancestors; we propitiate them and ask for favourable omens from them before we enter upon any enterprise. we sometimes propitiate the suraj deota (sun god) and seek good omens from him. we get two or three goats or rams, and sometimes even ten or eleven, at the place where we determine to take the auspices, and having assembled the principal men of the gang we put water into the mouth of one of them and pray to the sun and to our ancestors thus: 'o thou sun god! and o all ye other gods! if we are to succeed in the enterprise we are about to undertake we pray you to cause these goats to shake their bodies.' if they do not shake them after the gods have been thus duly invoked, the enterprise must not be entered upon and the goats are not sacrificed. we then try the auspices with wheat. we burn frankincense and scented wood and blow a shell; and taking out a pinch of wheat grains, put them on the cloth and count them. if they come up odd the omen is favourable, and if even it is bad. after this, which we call the auspices of the akut, we take that of the siarni or female jackal. if it calls on the left it is good, but if on the right bad. if the omens turn out favourable in all three trials then we have no fear whatever, but if they are favourable in only one trial out of the three the enterprise must be given up." 13. suppression of dacoity. between 1837 and 1849 the suppression of the regular practice of armed dacoity was practically achieved by colonel sleeman. a number of officers were placed under his orders, and with small bodies of military and police were set to hunt down different bands of dacoits, following them all over india when necessary. and special acts were passed to enable the offence of dacoity, wherever committed, to be tried by a competent magistrate in any part of india as had been done in the case of the thugs. many of the badhaks received conditional pardons, and were drafted into the police in different stations, and an agricultural labour colony was also formed, but does not seem to have been altogether successful. during these twelve years more than 1200 dacoits in all were brought to trial, while some were killed during the operations, and no doubt many others escaped and took to other avocations, or became ordinary criminals when their armed gangs were broken up. in 1825 it had been estimated that the oudh forests alone contained from 4000 to 6000 dacoits, while the property stolen in 1811 from known dacoities was valued at ten lakhs of rupees. 14. the badhaks or baoris at the present time. the badhaks still exist, and are well known as one of the worst classes of criminals, practising ordinary house-breaking and theft. the name badhak is now less commonly used than those of bagri and baori or bawaria, both of which were borne by the original badhaks. the word bagri is derived from a tract of country in malwa which is known as the bagar or 'hedge of thorns,' because it is surrounded on all sides by wooded hills. [64] there are bagri jats and bagri rajputs, many of whom are now highly respectable landholders. bawaria or baori is derived from _banwar_, a creeper, or the tendril of a vine, and hence a noose made originally from some fibrous plant and used for trapping animals, this being one of the primary occupations of the tribe. [65] the term badhak signifies a hunter or fowler, hence a robber or murderer (platts). the bagris and bawarias are sometimes considered to be separate communities, but it is doubtful whether there is any real distinction between them. in bombay the bagris are known as vaghris by the common change of _b_ into _v_. a good description of them is contained in appendix c to mr. bhimbhai kirparam's volume _hindus of gujarat_ in the _bombay gazetteer_. he divides them into the chunaria or lime-burners, the datonia or sellers of twig tooth-brushes, and two other groups, and states that, "they also keep fowls and sell eggs, catch birds and go as _shikaris_ or hunters. they traffic in green parrots, which they buy from bhils and sell for a profit." 15. lizard-hunting. their strength and powers of endurance are great, the same writer states, and they consider that these qualities are obtained by the eating of the _goh_ and _sandha_ or iguana lizards, which a vaghri prizes very highly. this is also the case with the bawarias of the punjab, who go out hunting lizards in the rains and may be seen returning with baskets full of live lizards, which exist for days without food and are killed and eaten fresh by degrees. their method of hunting the lizard is described by mr. wilson as follows: [66] "the lizard lives on grass, cannot bite severely, and is sluggish in his movements, so that he is easily caught. he digs a hole for himself of no great depth, and the easiest way to take him is to look out for the scarcely perceptible airhole and dig him out; but there are various ways of saving oneself this trouble. one, which i have seen, takes advantage of a habit the lizard has in cold weather (when he never comes out of his hole) of coming to the mouth for air and warmth. the chuhra or other sportsman puts off his shoes and steals along the prairie till he sees signs of a lizard's hole. this he approaches on tiptoe, raising over his head with both hands a mallet with a round sharp point, and fixing his eyes intently upon the hole. when close enough he brings down his mallet with all his might on the ground just behind the mouth of the hole, and is often successful in breaking the lizard's back before he awakes to a sense of his danger. another plan, which i have not seen, is to tie a wisp of grass to a long stick and move it over the hole so as to make a rustling noise. the lizard within thinks, 'oh here's a snake! i may as well give in,' and comes to the mouth of the hole, putting out his tail first so that he may not see his executioner. the sportsman seizes his tail and snatches him out before he has time to learn his mistake." this common fondness for lizards is a point in favour of a connection between the gujarat vaghris and the punjab bawarias. 16. social observances. in sirsa the great mass of the bawarias are not given to crime, and in gujarat also they do not appear to have special criminal tendencies. it is a curious point, however, that mr. bhimbhai kirparam emphasises the chastity of the women of the gujarat vaghris. [67] "when a family returns home after a money-making tour to bombay or some other city, the women are taken before vihat (devi), and with the women is brought a buffalo or a sheep that is tethered in front of vihat's shrine. they must confess all, even their slightest shortcomings, such as the following: 'two weeks ago, when begging in parsi bazar-street, a drunken sailor caught me by the hand. another day a miyan or musalman ogled me, and forgive me, devi, my looks encouraged him.' if devi is satisfied the sheep or buffalo shivers, and is then sacrificed and provides a feast for the caste." [68] on the other hand, mr. crooke states [69] that in northern india, "the standard of morality is very low because in muzaffarnagar it is extremely rare for a bawaria woman to live with her husband. almost invariably she lives with another man: but the official husband is responsible for the children." the great difference in the standard of morality is certainly surprising. in gujarat [70] the vaghris have _gurus_ or religious preceptors of their own. these men take an eight-anna silver piece and whisper in the ear of their disciples "be immortal."... "the bhuvas or priest-mediums play an important part in many vaghri ceremonies. a bhuva is a male child born after the mother has made a vow to the goddess vihat or devi that if a son be granted to her she will devote him to the service of the goddess. no bhuva may cut or shave his hair on pain of a fine of ten rupees, and no bhuva may eat carrion or food cooked by a muhammadan." 17. criminal practices. the criminal bagris still usually travel about in the disguise of gosains and bairagis, and are very difficult of detection except to real religious mendicants. their housebreaking implement or jemmy is known as _gyan_, but in speaking of it they always add _das_, so that it sounds like the name of a bairagi. [71] they are usually very much afraid of the _gyan_ being discovered on their persons, and are careful to bury it in the ground at each halting-place, while on the march it may be concealed in a pack-saddle. the means of identifying them, mr. kennedy remarks, [72] is by their family _deo_ or god, which they carry about when wandering with their families. it consists of a brass or copper box containing grains of wheat and the seeds of a creeper, both soaked in _ghi_ (melted butter). the box with a peacock's feather and a bell is wrapped in two white and then in two red cloths, one of the white cloths having the print of a man's hand dipped in goat's blood upon it. the grains of wheat are used for taking the omens, a few being thrown up at sun-down and counted afterwards to see whether they are odd or even. when even, two grains are placed on the right hand of the omen-taker, and if this occurs three times running the auspices are considered to be favourable. [73] mr. gayer [74] notes that the badhaks have usually from one to three brands from a hot iron on the inside of their left wrist. those of them who are hunters brand the muscles of the left wrist in order to steady the hand when firing their matchlocks. the customs of wearing a peculiar necklace of small wooden beads and a kind of gold pin fixed to the front teeth, which mr. crooke [75] records as having been prevalent some years ago, have apparently been since abandoned, as they are not mentioned in more recent accounts. the dehliwal and malpura baorias have, mr. kennedy states, [76] an interesting system of signs, which they mark on the walls of buildings at important corners, bridges and cross-roads and on the ground by the roadside with a stick, if no building is handy. the commonest is a loop, the straight line indicating the direction a gang or individual has taken: ________________________ / / /---\ ( ( /// ) \ \---/ \________ the addition of a number of vertical strokes inside the loop signifies the number of males in a gang. if these strokes are enclosed by a circle it means that the gang is encamped in the vicinity; while a square inside a circle and line as below means that property has been secured by friends who have left in the direction pointed by the line. it is said that baorias will follow one another up for fifty or even a hundred miles by means of these hieroglyphics. the signs are bold marks, sometimes even a foot or more in length, and are made where they will at once catch the eye. when the marwari baorias desire to indicate to others of their caste, who may follow in their footsteps, the route taken, a member of the gang, usually a woman, trails a stick in the dust as she walks along, leaving a spiral track on the ground. another method of indicating the route taken is to place leaves under stones at intervals along the road. [77] the form of crime most in favour among the ordinary baoris is housebreaking by night. their common practice is to make a hole in the wall beside the door through which the hand passes to raise the latch; and only occasionally they dig a hole in the base of the wall to admit of the passage of a man, while another favoured alternative is to break in through a barred window, the bars being quickly and forcibly bent and drawn out. [78] one class of marwari bagris are also expert coiners. /-------\ / +---+ \ | | | |-------------------- \ +---+ / \-------/ bahna 1. nomenclature and internal structure. _bahna, pinjara, dhunia._ [79]--the occupational caste of cotton-cleaners. the bahnas numbered 48,000 persons in the central provinces and berar in 1911. the large increase in the number of ginning-factories has ruined the bahna's trade of cleaning hand-ginned cotton, and as no distinction attaches to the name of bahna it is possible that members of the caste who have taken to other occupations may have abandoned it and returned themselves simply as muhammadans. the three names bahna, pinjara, dhunia appear to be used indifferently for the caste in this province, though in other parts of india they are distinguished. pinjara is derived from the word _pinjan_ used for a cotton-bow, and dhunia is from _dhunna_, to card cotton. the caste is also known as dhunak pathani. though professing the muhammadan religion, they still have many hindu customs and ceremonies, and in the matter of inheritance our courts have held that they are subject to hindu and not muhammadan law. [80] in raipur a girl receives half the share of a boy in the division of inherited property. the caste appears to be a mixed occupational group, and is split into many territorial subcastes named after the different parts of the country from which its members have come, as badharia from badhas in mirzapur, sarsutia from the saraswati river, berari of berar, dakhni from the deccan, telangi from madras, pardeshi from northern india, and so on. two groups are occupational, the newaris of saugor, who make the thick _newar_ tape used for the webbing of beds, and the kanderas, who make fireworks and generally constitute a separate caste. there is considerable ground for supposing that the bahnas are mainly derived from the caste of telis or oil-pressers. in the punjab sir d. ibbetson says [81] that the penja or cotton-scutcher is an occupational name applied to telis who follow this profession; and that the penja, kasai and teli are all of the same caste. similarly in nasik the telis and pinjaras are said to form one community, under the government of a single _panchayat_. in cases of dispute or misconduct the usual penalty is temporary excommunication, which is known as the stopping of food and water. [82] the telis are an enterprising community of very low status, and would therefore be naturally inclined to take to other occupations; many of them are shopkeepers, cultivators and landholders, and it is quite probable that in past times they took up the bahna's profession and changed their religion with the hope of improving their social status. the telis are generally considered to be quarrelsome and talkative, and the bahnas or dhunias have the same characteristics. if one man abusing another lapses into billingsgate, the other will say to him, '_hamko julaha dhunia neh jano_,' or 'don't talk to me as if i was a julaha or a dhunia.' 2. marriage. some bahnas have exogamous sections with hindu names, while others are without these, and simply regulate their marriages by rules of relationship. they have the primitive hindu custom of allowing a sister's son to marry a brother's daughter, but not _vice versa_. a man cannot marry his wife's younger sister during her lifetime, nor her elder sister at any time. children of the same foster-mother are also not allowed to marry. their marriages are performed by a kazi with an imitation of the nikah rite. the bridegroom's party sit under the marriage-shed, and the bride with the women of her party inside the house. the kazi selects two men, one from the bride's party, who is known as the nikahi bap or 'marriage father,' and the other from the bridegroom's, who is called the gowah or 'witness.' these two men go to the bride and ask her whether she accepts the bridegroom, whose name is stated, for her husband. she answers in the affirmative, and mentions the amount of the dowry which she is to receive. the bridegroom, who has hitherto had a veil (_mukhna_) over his face, now takes it off, and the men go to him and ask him whether he accepts the bride. he replies that he does, and agrees to pay the dowry demanded by her. the kazi reads some texts and the guests are given a meal of rice and sugar. many of the preliminaries to a hindu marriage are performed by the more backward members of the caste, and until recently they erected a sacred post in the marriage-shed, but now they merely hang the green branch of a mango tree to the roof. the minimum amount of the _mehar_ or dowry is said to be rs. 125, but it is paid to the girl's parents as a bride-price and not to herself, as among the muhammadans. a widow is expected, but not obliged, to marry her deceased husband's younger brother. divorce is permitted by means of a written deed known as 'farkhati.' 3. religious and other customs. the bahnas venerate muhammad, and also worship the tombs of muhammadan saints or _pirs_. a green sheet or cloth is spread over the tomb and a lamp is kept burning by it, while offerings of incense and flowers are made. when the new cotton crop has been gathered they lay some new cotton by their bow and mallet and make an offering of _malida_ or cakes of flour and sugar to it. they believe that two angels, one good and one bad, are perched continually on the shoulders of every man to record his good and evil deeds. and when an eclipse occurs they say that the sun and moon have gone behind a pinnacle or tower of the heavens. for exorcising evil spirits they write texts of the koran on paper and burn them before the sufferer. the caste bury the dead with the feet pointing to the south. on the way to the grave each one of the mourners places his shoulder under the bier for a time, partaking of the impurity communicated by it. incense is burnt daily in the name of a deceased person for forty days after his death, with the object probably of preventing his ghost from returning to haunt the house. muhammadan beggars are fed on the tenth day. similarly, after the birth of a child a woman is unclean for forty days, and cannot cook for her husband during that period. a child's hair is cut for the first time on the tenth or twelfth day after birth, this being known as jhalar. some parents leave a lock of hair to grow on the head in the name of the famous saint sheikh farid, thinking that they will thus ensure a long life for the child. it is probably in reality a way of preserving the hindu _choti_ or scalp-lock. 4. occupation. the hereditary calling [83] of the bahna is the cleaning or scutching of cotton, which is done by subjecting it to the vibration of a bow-string. the seed has been previously separated by a hand-gin, but the ginned cotton still contains much dirt, leaf-fibre and other rubbish, and to remove this is the bahna's task. the bow is somewhat in the shape of a harp, the wide end consisting of a broad piece of wood over which the string passes, being secured to a straight wooden bar at the back. at the narrow end the bar and string are fixed to an iron ring. the string is made of the sinew of some animal, and this renders the implement objectionable to hindus, and may account for the bahnas being muhammadans. the club or mallet is a wooden implement shaped like a dumb-bell. the bow is suspended from the roof so as to hang just over the pile of loose cotton; and the worker twangs the string with the mallet and then draws the mallet across the string, each three or four times. the string strikes a small portion of the cotton, the fibre of which is scattered by the impact and thrown off in a uniform condition of soft fluff, all dirt being at the same time removed. this is the operation technically known as teasing. buchanan remarked that women frequently did the work themselves at home, using a smaller kind of bow called _dhunkara_. the clean cotton is made up into balls, some of which are passed on to the spinner, while others are used for the filling of quilts and the padded coats worn in the cold weather. the ingenious though rather clumsy method of the bahna has been superseded by the ginning-factory, and little or no cotton destined for the spindle is now cleaned by him. the caste have been forced to take to cultivation or field labour, while many have become cartmen and others are brokers, peons or constables. nearly every house still has its _pinjan_ or bow, but only a desultory use is made of this during the winter months. as it is principally used by a muhammadan caste it seems a possible hypothesis that the cotton-bow was introduced into india by invaders of that religion. the name of the bow, _pinjan_, is, however, a sanskrit derivative, and this is against the above theory. it has already been seen that the fact of animal sinew being used for the string would make it objectionable to hindus. the bahnas are subjected to considerable ridicule on account of their curious mixture of hindu and muhammadan ceremonies, amounting in some respects practically to a caricature of the rites of islam; and further, they share with the weaver class the contempt shown to those who follow a calling considered more suitable for women than men. it is related that when the mughal general asaf khan first made an expedition into the north of the central provinces he found the famous gond-rajput queen durgavati of the garha-mandla dynasty governing with success a large and prosperous state in this locality. he thought a country ruled by a woman should fall an easy prey to the muhammadan arms, and to show his contempt for her power he sent her a golden spindle. the queen retorted by a present of a gold cotton-cleaner's bow, and this so enraged the mughal that he proceeded to attack the gond kingdom. the story indicates that cotton-carding is considered a muhammadan profession, and also that it is held in contempt. 5. proverbs about bahnas. various sayings show that the bahna is not considered a proper muhammadan, as turuk to turuk aur bahna turuk, or 'a muhammadan (turk) is a muhammadan and the bahna is also a muhammadan'; and again- achera, [84] kachera, pinjara, muhammad se dur, din se niyara, or 'the kachera and pinjara are lost to muhammad and far from the faith'; and again- adho hindu adho musalman tinkhon kahen dhunak pathan, or 'half a hindu and half a muhammadan, that is he who is a dhunak pathan.' they have a grotesque imitation of the muhammadan rite of _halal_, or causing an animal's blood to flow on to the ground with the repetition of the _kalma_ or invocation; thus it is said that when a bahna is about to kill a fowl he addresses it somewhat as follows: kahe karkarat hai? kahe barbarat hai? kahe jai jai logon ka dana khat hai? tor kiamat mor niamat, bismillah hai tuch, or "why do you cackle? why do you crow? why do you eat other people's grain? your death is my feast; i touch you in the name of god." and saying this he puts a knife to the fowl's throat. the vernacular verse is a good imitation of the cackling of a fowl. and again, they slice off the top of an egg as if they were killing an animal and repeat the formula, "white dome, full of moisture, i know not if there is a male or female within; in the name of god i kill you." a person whose memory is not good enough to retain these texts will take a knife and proceed to one who knows them. such a man will repeat the texts over the knife, blowing on it as he does so, and the bahna considers that the knife has been sanctified and retains its virtue for a week. others do not think this necessary, but have a special knife, which having once been consecrated is always kept for killing animals, and descends as an heirloom in the family, the use of this sacred knife being considered to make the repetition of the _kalma_ unnecessary. these customs are, however, practised only by the ignorant members of the caste in raipur and bilaspur, and are unknown in the more civilised tracts, where the bahnas are rapidly conforming to ordinary muhammadan usage. such primitive bahnas perform their marriages by walking round the sacred post, keep the hindu festivals, and feed brahmans on the tenth day after a death. they have a priest whom they call their kazi, but elect him themselves. in some places when a bahna goes to the well to draw water he first washes the parapet of the well to make it ceremonially clean, and then draws his water. this custom can only be compared with that of the raj-gonds who wash the firewood with which they are about to cook their food, in order to make it more pure. respectable muhammadans naturally look down on the bahnas, and they retaliate by refusing to take food or water from any muhammadan who is not a bahna. by such strictness the more ignorant think that they will enhance their ceremonial purity and hence their social consideration; but the intelligent members of the caste know better and are glad to improve themselves by learning from educated muhammadans. the other menial artisan castes among the muhammadans have similar ideas, and it is reported that a rangrez boy who took food in the house of one of the highest muhammadan officers of government in the province was temporarily put out of caste. another saying about the bahnas is- sheikhon ki sheikhi, pathanon ki tarr, turkon ki turkshahi, bahnon ki bharrr ... or 'proud as a sheikh, obstinate as a pathan, royal as a turk, buzzing like a bahna.' this refers to the noise of the cotton-cleaning bow, the twang of which as it is struck by the club is like a quail flying; and at the same time to the bahna's loquacity. another story is that a bahna was once going through the forest with his cotton-cleaning bow and club or mallet, when a jackal met him on the path. the jackal was afraid that the bahna would knock him on the head, so he said, "with thy bow on thy shoulder and thine arrow in thy hand, whither goest thou, o king of delhi?" the bahna was exceedingly pleased at this and replied, 'king of the forest, eater of wild plums, only the great can recognise the great.' but when the jackal had got to a safe distance he turned round and shouted, "with your cotton-bow on your shoulder and your club in your hand, there you go, you sorry bahna." it is said also that although the bahnas as good muhammadans wear beards, they do not cultivate them very successfully, and many of them only have a growth of hair below the chin and none on the under-lip, in the fashion known as a goat's beard. this kind of beard is thus proverbially described as '_bahna kaisi darhi_' or 'a bahna's beard.' it may be repeated in conclusion that much of the ridicule attaching to the bahnas arises simply from the fact that they follow what is considered a feminine occupation, and the remainder because in their ignorance they parody the rites of islam. it may seem ill-natured to record the sayings in which they are lampooned, but the bahnas cannot read english, and these have an interest as specimens of popular wit. baiga list of paragraphs 1. _the tribe and its offshoots._ 2. _tribal legends._ 3. _tribal subdivisions._ 4. _marriage._ 5. _birth and funeral rites._ 6. _religion._ 7. _appearance and mode of life._ 8. _dress and food._ 9. _occupation._ 10. _language._ 1. the tribe and its offshoots. _baiga._ [85]--a primitive dravidian tribe whose home is on the eastern satpura hills in the mandla, balaghat and bilaspur districts. the number of the baigas proper was only 30,000 in 1911. but the binjhals or binjhwars, a fairly numerous caste in the chhattisgarh division, and especially in the sambalpur district, appear to have been originally baigas, though they have dropped the original caste name, become hinduised, and now disclaim connection with the parent tribe. a reason for this may be found in the fact that sambalpur contains several binjhwar zamindars, or large landowners, whose families would naturally desire a more respectable pedigree than one giving them the wild baigas of the satpuras for their forefathers. and the evolution of the binjhwar caste is a similar phenomenon to the constitution of the raj-gonds, the raj-korkus, and other aristocratic subdivisions among the forest tribes, who have been admitted to a respectable position in the hindu social community. the binjhwars, however, have been so successful as to cut themselves off almost completely from connection with the original tribe, owing to their adoption of another name. but in balaghat and mandla the binjhwar subtribe is still recognised as the most civilised subdivision of the baigas. the bhainas, a small tribe in bilaspur, are probably another offshoot, kath-bhaina being the name of a subtribe of baigas in that district, and rai-bhaina in balaghat, though the bhainas too no longer admit identity with the baigas. a feature common to all three branches is that they have forgotten their original tongue, and now speak a more or less corrupt form of the indo-aryan vernaculars current around them. finally, the term bhumia or 'lord of the soil' is used sometimes as the name of a separate tribe and sometimes as a synonym for baiga. the fact is that in the central provinces [86] bhumia is the name of an office, that of the priest of the village and local deities, which is held by one of the forest tribes. in the tract where the baigas live, they, as the most ancient residents, are usually the priests of the indigenous gods; but in jubbulpore the same office is held by another tribe, the bharias. the name of the office often attaches itself to members of the tribe, who consider it as somewhat more respectable than their own, and it is therefore generally true to say that the people known as bhumias in jubbulpore are really bharias, but in mandla and bilaspur they are baigas. in mandla there is also found a group called bharia-baigas. these are employed as village priests by hindus, and worship certain hindu deities and not the gond gods. they may perhaps be members of the bharia tribe of jubbulpore, originally derived from the bhars, who have obtained the designation of baiga, owing to their employment as village priests. but they now consider themselves a part of the baiga tribe and say they came to mandla from rewah. in mandla the decision of a baiga on a boundary dispute is almost always considered as final, and this authority is of a kind that commonly emanates from recognised priority of residence. [87] there seems reason to suppose that the baigas are really a branch of the primitive bhuiya tribe of chota nagpur, and that they have taken or been given the name of baiga, the designation of a village priest, on migration into the central provinces. there is reason to believe that the baigas were once dominant in the chhattisgarh plain and the hills surrounding it which adjoin chota nagpur, the home of the bhuiyas. the considerations in favour of this view are given in the article on bhuiya, to which reference may be made. 2. tribal legends. the baigas, however, are not without some conceit of themselves, as the following legend will show. in the beginning, they say, god created nanga baiga and nangi baigin, the first of the human race, and asked them by what calling they would choose to live. they at once said that they would make their living by felling trees in the jungle, and permission being accorded, have done so ever since. they had two sons, one of whom remained a baiga, while the other became a gond and a tiller of the soil. the sons married their own two sisters who were afterwards born, and while the elder couple are the ancestors of the baigas, from the younger are descended the gonds and all the remainder of the human race. in another version of the story the first baiga cut down two thousand old _sal_ [88] trees in one day, and god told him to sprinkle a few grains of kutki on the ashes, and then to retire and sleep for some months, when on his return he would be able to reap a rich harvest for his children. in this manner the habit of shifting cultivation is accorded divine sanction. according to binjhwar tradition nanga baiga and nangi baigin dwelt on the _kajli ban pahar_, which being interpreted is the hill of elephants, and may well refer to the ranges of mandla and bilaspur. it is stated in the _ain-i-akbari_ [89] that the country of garha-mandla abounded in wild elephants, and that the people paid their tribute in these and gold mohurs. in mandla the baigas sometimes hang out from their houses a bamboo mat fastened to a long pole to represent a flag which they say once flew from the palace of a baiga king. it seems likely that the original home of the tribe may have been the chhattisgarh plain and the hill-ranges surrounding it. a number of estates in these hills are held by landowners of tribes which are offshoots of the baigas, as the bhainas and binjhwars. the point is further discussed in the article on bhuiya. most of the baigas speak a corrupt form of the chhattisgarhi dialect. when they first came under the detailed observation of english officers in the middle of the nineteenth century, the tribe were even more solitary and retired than at present. their villages, it is said, were only to be found in places far removed from all cleared and cultivated country. no roads or well-defined paths connected them with ordinary lines of traffic and more thickly inhabited tracts, but perched away in snug corners in the hills, and hidden by convenient projecting spurs and dense forests from the country round, they could not be seen except when nearly approached, and were seldom visited unless by occasional enterprising banias and vendors of country liquor. indeed, without a baiga for a guide many of the villages could hardly be discovered, for nothing but occasional notches on the trees distinguished the tracks to them from those of the sambhar and other wild animals. 3. tribal subdivisions. the following seven subdivisions or subtribes are recognised: binjhwar, bharotia, narotia or nahar, raibhaina, kathbhaina, kondwan or kundi, and gondwaina. of these the binjhwar, bharotia and narotia are the best-known. the name of the binjhwars is probably derived from the vindhyan range, which in turn comes from the sanskrit _vindhya_, a hunter. the rule of exogamy is by no means strictly observed, and in kawardha it is said that these three subcastes intermarry though they do not eat together, while in balaghat the bharotias and narotias both eat together and intermarry. in both places the binjhwars occupy the highest position, and the other two subtribes will take food from them. the binjhwars consider themselves as hindus and abjure the consumption of buffalo's and cow's flesh and rats, while the other baigas will eat almost anything. the bharotias partially shave their heads, and in mandla are apparently known as mundia or mudia, or "shaven." the gondwainas eat both cow's flesh and monkeys, and are regarded as the lowest subcaste. as shown by their name they are probably the offspring of unions between baigas and gonds. similarly the kondwans apparently derive their name from the tract south of the mahanadi which is named after the khond tribe, and was formerly owned by them. each subtribe is divided into a number of exogamous septs, the names of which are identical in many cases with those of the gonds, as markam, maravi, netam, tekam and others. gond names are found most frequently among the gondwainas and narotias, and these have adopted from the gonds the prohibition of marriage between worshippers of the same number of gods. thus the four septs above mentioned worship seven gods and may not intermarry. but they may marry among other septs such as the dhurua, pusam, bania and mawar who worship six gods. the baigas do not appear to have assimilated the further division into worshippers of five, four, three and two gods which exist among the gonds in some localities, and the system is confined to the lower subtribes. the meanings of the sept names have been forgotten and no instances of totemism are known. and the binjhwars and bharotias, who are more or less hinduised, have now adopted territorial names for their septs, as lapheya from lapha zamindari, ghugharia from ghughri village in mandla, and so on. the adoption of gond names and septs appears to indicate that gonds were in former times freely admitted into the baiga tribe; and this continues to be the case at present among the lower subtribes, so far that a gond girl marrying a baiga becomes a regular member of the community. but the binjhwars and bharotias, who have a somewhat higher status than the others, refuse to admit gonds, and are gradually adopting the strict rule of endogamy within the subtribe. 4. marriage. a baiga must not take a wife from his own sept or from another one worshipping the same number of gods. but he may marry within his mother's sept, and in some localities the union of first cousins is permitted. marriage is adult and the proposal comes from the parents of the bride, but in some places the girl is allowed to select a husband for herself. a price varying from five to twenty rupees is usually paid to the bride's parents, or in lieu of this the prospective husband serves his father-in-law for a period of about two years, the marriage being celebrated after the first year if his conduct is satisfactory. orphan boys who have no parents to arrange their marriages for them often take service for a wife. three ceremonies should precede the marriage. the first, which may take place at any time after the birth of both children, consists merely in the arrangement for their betrothal. the second is only a ratification of the first, feasts being provided by the boy's parents on both occasions. while on the approach of the children to marriageable age the final betrothal or _barokhi_ is held. the boy's father gives a large feast at the house of the girl and the date of the wedding is fixed. to ascertain whether the union will be auspicious, two grains of rice are dropped into a pot of water, after various preliminary solemnities to mark the importance of the occasion. if the points of the grains meet almost immediately it is considered that the marriage will be highly auspicious. if they do not meet, a second pair of grains are dropped in, and should these meet it is believed that the couple will quarrel after an interval of married life and that the wife will return to her father's house. while if neither of the two first essays are successful and a third pair is required, the regrettable conclusion is arrived at that the wife will run away with another man after a very short stay with her husband. but it is not stated that the betrothal is on that account annulled. the wedding procession starts from the bridegroom's house [90] and is received by the bride's father outside the village. it is considered essential that he should go out to meet the bride's party riding on an elephant. but as a real elephant is not within the means of a baiga, two wooden bedsteads are lashed together and covered with blankets with a black cloth trunk in front, and this arrangement passes muster for an elephant. the elephant makes pretence to charge and trample down the marriage procession, until a rupee is paid, when the two parties embrace each other and proceed to the marriage-shed. here the bride and bridegroom throw fried rice at each other until they are tired, and then walk three or seven times round the marriage-post with their clothes tied together. it is stated by colonel ward that the couple always retired to the forest to spend the wedding night, but this custom has now been abandoned. the expenditure on a marriage varies between ten and fifty rupees, of which only about five rupees fall on the bride's parents. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and the widow is expected, though not obliged, to wed her late husband's younger brother, while if she takes another husband he must pay her brother-in-law the sum of five rupees. the ceremony consists merely of the presentation of bangles and new clothes by the suitor, in token of her acceptance of which the widow pours some tepid water stained with turmeric over his head. divorce may be effected by the husband and wife breaking a straw in the presence of the caste _panchayat_ or committee. if the woman remains in the same village and does not marry again, the husband is responsible for her maintenance and that of her children, while a divorced woman may not remarry without the sanction of the _panchayat_ so long as her husband is alive and remains single. polygamy is permitted. 5. birth and funeral rites. a woman is unclean for a month after childbirth, though the binjhwars restrict the period to eight days. at the ceremony of purification a feast is given and the child is named, often after the month or day of its birth, as chaitu, phagu, saoni, and so on, from the months of chait, phagun and shrawan. children who appear to be physically defective are given names accordingly, such as langra (lame), or bahira (deaf). the dead are usually buried, the bodies of old persons being burnt as a special honour and to save them from the risk of being devoured by wild animals. bodies are laid naked in the grave with the head pointing to the south. in the grave of a man of importance two or three rupees and some tobacco are placed. in some places a rupee is thrust into the mouth of the dying man, and if his body is burnt, the coin is recovered from the pyre by his daughter or sister, who wears it as an amulet. over the grave a platform is made on which a stone is erected. this is called the bhiri of the deceased and is worshipped by his relatives in time of trouble. if one of the family has to be buried elsewhere, the relatives go to the bhiri of the great dead and consign his spirit to be kept in their company. at a funeral the mourners take one black and one white fowl to a stream and kill and eat them there, setting aside a portion for the dead man. mourning is observed for a period of from two to nine days, and during this time labour and even household work are stopped, food being supplied by the friends of the family. when a man is killed by a tiger the baiga priest goes to the spot and there makes a small cone out of the blood-stained earth. this must represent a man, either the dead man or one of his living relatives. his companions having retired a few paces, the priest goes on his hands and knees and performs a series of antics which are supposed to represent the tiger in the act of destroying the man, at the same time seizing the lump of blood-stained earth in his teeth. one of the party then runs up and taps him on the back with a small stick. this perhaps means that the tiger is killed or otherwise rendered harmless; and the baiga immediately lets the mud cone fall into the hands of one of the party. it is then placed in an ant-hill and a pig is sacrificed over it. the next day a small chicken is taken to the place, and after a mark supposed to be the dead man's name is made on its head with red ochre, it is thrown back into the forest, the priest exclaiming, 'take this and go home.' the ceremony is supposed to lay the dead man's spirit and at the same time to prevent the tiger from doing any further damage. the baigas believe that the ghost of the victim, if not charmed to rest, resides on the head of the tiger and incites him to further deeds of blood, rendering him also secure from harm by his preternatural watchfulness. [91] they also think that they can shut up the tiger's _dar_ or jaws, so that he cannot bite them, by driving a nail into a tree. the forest track from kanha to kisli in the banjar forest reserve of mandla was formerly a haunt of man-eating tigers, to whom a number of the wood-cutters and baiga coolies, clearing the jungle paths, fell victims every year. in a large tree, at a dangerous point in the track, there could recently be seen a nail, driven into the trunk by a baiga priest, at some height from the ground. it was said that this nail shut the mouth of a famous man-eating tiger of the locality and prevented him from killing any more victims. as evidence of the truth of the story there were shown on the trunk the marks of the tiger's claws, where he had been jumping up the tree in the effort to pull the nail out of the trunk and get his man-eating powers restored. 6. religion. although the binjhwar subcaste now profess hinduism, the religion of the baigas is purely animistic. their principal deity is bura deo, [92] who is supposed to reside in a _saj_ tree (_terminalia tomentosa_); he is worshipped in the month of jeth (may), when goats, fowls, cocoanuts, and the liquor of the new mahua crop are offered to him. thakur deo is the god of the village land and boundaries, and is propitiated with a white goat. the baigas who plough the fields have a ceremony called bidri, which is performed before the breaking of the rains. a handful of each kind of grain sown is given by each cultivator to the priest, who mixes the grains together and sows a little beneath the tree where thakur deo lives. after this he returns a little to each cultivator, and he sows it in the centre of the land on which crops are to be grown, while the priest keeps the remainder. this ceremony is believed to secure the success of the harvest. dulha deo is the god who averts disease and accident, and the offering made to him should consist of a fowl or goat of reddish colour. bhimsen is the deity of rainfall, and dharti mata or mother earth is considered to be the wife of thakur deo, and must also be propitiated for the success of the crops. the grain itself is worshipped at the threshing floor by sprinkling water and liquor on to it. certain hindu deities are also worshipped by the baigas, but not in orthodox fashion. thus it would be sacrilege on the part of a hindu to offer animal sacrifices to narayan deo, the sun-god, but the baigas devote to him a special oblation of the most unclean animal, the pig. the animal to be sacrificed is allowed to wander loose for two or three years, and is then killed in a most cruel manner. it is laid across the threshold of a doorway on its back, and across its stomach is placed a stout plank of _saj_-wood. half a dozen men sit or stand on the ends of this, and the fore and hind feet of the pig are pulled backwards and forwards alternately over the plank until it is crushed to death, while all the men sing or shout a sacrificial hymn. the head and feet are cut off and offered to the deity, and the body is eaten. the forests are believed to be haunted by spirits, and in certain localities _pats_ or shrines are erected in their honour, and occasional offerings are made to them. the spirits of married persons are supposed to live in streams, while trees afford a shelter to the souls of the unmarried, who become _bhuts_ or malignant spirits after death. nag deo or the cobra is supposed to live in an ant-hill, and offerings are made to him there. demoniacal possession is an article of faith, and a popular remedy is to burn human hair mixed with chillies and pig's dung near the person possessed, as the horrible smell thus produced will drive away the spirit. many and weird, mr. low writes, are the simples which the baiga's travelling scrip contains. among these a dried bat has the chief place; this the baiga says he uses to charm his nets with, that the prey may catch in them as the bat's claws catch in whatever it touches. as an instance of the baiga's pantheism it may be mentioned that on one occasion when a train of the new satpura railway [93] had pulled up at a wayside forest station, a baiga was found offering a sacrifice to the engine. like other superstitious people they are great believers in omens. a single crow bathing in a stream is a sign of death. a cock which crows in the night should be instantly killed and thrown into the darkness, a custom which some would be glad to see introduced into much more civilised centres. the woodpecker and owl are birds of bad omen. the baigas do not appear to have any idea of a fresh birth, and one of their marriage songs says, "o girl, take your pleasure in going round the marriage-post once and for all, for there is no second birth." the baigas are generally the priests of the gonds, probably because being earlier residents of the country they are considered to have a more intimate acquaintance with the local deities. they have a wide knowledge of the medicinal properties of jungle roots and herbs, and are often successful in effecting cures when the regular native doctors have failed. their village priests have consequently a considerable reputation as skilled sorcerers and persons conversant with the unseen world. a case is known of a brahman transferred to a jungle station, who immediately after his arrival called in a baiga priest and asked what forest gods he should worship, and what other steps he should take to keep well and escape calamity. colonel ward states that in his time baigas were commonly called in to give aid when a town or village was attacked by cholera, and further that he had seen the greatest benefit to result from their visit. for the people had so much confidence in their powers and ceremonies that they lost half their fright at once, and were consequently not so much predisposed to an attack of the disease. on such an occasion the baiga priest goes round the village and pulls out a little straw from each house-roof, afterwards burning the whole before the shrine of khermata, the goddess of the village, to whom he also offers a chicken for each homestead. if this remedy fails goats are substituted for chickens, and lastly, as a forlorn hope, pigs are tried, and, as a rule, do not fail, because by this time the disease may be expected to have worked itself out. it is suggested that the chicken represents a human victim from each house, while the straw stands for the house itself, and the offering has the common idea of a substituted victim. 7. appearance and mode of life. in stature the baigas are a little taller than most other tribes, and though they have a tendency to the flat nose of the gonds, their foreheads and the general shape of their heads are of a better mould. colonel ward states that the members of the tribe inhabiting the maikal range in mandla are a much finer race than those living nearer the open country. [94] their figures are very nearly perfect, says colonel bloomfield, [95] and their wiry limbs, unburdened by superfluous flesh, will carry them over very great distances and over places inaccessible to most human beings, while their compact bodies need no other nutriment than the scanty fare afforded by their native forests. they are born hunters, hardy and active in the chase, and exceedingly bold and courageous. in character they are naturally simple, honest and truthful, and when their fear of a stranger has been dissipated are most companionable folk. a small hut, 6 or 7 feet high at the ridge, made of split bamboos and mud, with a neat veranda in front thatched with leaves and grass, forms the baiga's residence, and if it is burnt down, or abandoned on a visitation of epidemic disease, he can build another in the space of a day. a rough earthen vessel to hold water, leaves for plates, gourds for drinking-vessels, a piece of matting to sleep on, and a small axe, a sickle and a spear, exhaust the inventory of the baiga's furniture, and the money value of the whole would not exceed a rupee. [96] the baigas never live in a village with other castes, but have their huts some distance away from the village in the jungle. unlike the other tribes also, the baiga prefers his house to stand alone and at some little distance from those of his fellow-tribesmen. while nominally belonging to the village near which they dwell, so separate and distinct are they from the rest of people that in the famine of 1897 cases were found of starving baiga hamlets only a few hundred yards away from the village proper in which ample relief was being given. on being questioned as to why they had not caused the baigas to be helped, the other villagers said, 'we did not remember them'; and when the baigas were asked why they did not apply for relief, they said, 'we did not think it was meant for baigas.' 8. dress and food. their dress is of the most simple description, a small strip of rag between the legs and another wisp for a head-covering sufficing for the men, though the women are decently covered from their shoulders to half-way between the thighs and knees. a baiga may be known by his scanty clothing and tangled hair, and his wife by the way in which her single garment is arranged so as to provide a safe sitting-place in it for her child. baiga women have been seen at work in the field transplanting rice with babies comfortably seated in their cloth, one sometimes supported on either hip with their arms and legs out, while the mother was stooping low, hour after hour, handling the rice plants. a girl is tattooed on the forehead at the age of five, and over her whole body before she is married, both for the sake of ornament and because the practice is considered beneficial to the health. the baigas are usually without blankets or warm clothing, and in the cold season they sleep round a wood fire kept burning or smouldering all night, stray sparks from which may alight on their tough skins without being felt. mr. lampard relates that on one occasion a number of baiga men were supplied by the mission under his charge with large new cloths to cover their bodies with and make them presentable on appearance in church. on the second sunday, however, they came with their cloths burnt full of small holes; and they explained that the damage had been done at night while they were sleeping round the fire. a baiga, mr. lampard continues, is speedily discerned in a forest village bazar, and is the most interesting object in it. his almost nude figure, wild, tangled hair innocent of such inventions as brush or comb, lithe wiry limbs and jungly and uncivilised appearance, mark him out at once. he generally brings a few mats or baskets which he has made, or fruits, roots, honey, horns of animals, or other jungle products which he has collected, for sale, and with the sum obtained (a few pice or annas at the most) he proceeds to make his weekly purchases, changing his pice into cowrie shells, of which he receives eighty for each one. he buys tobacco, salt, chillies and other sundries, besides as much of kodon, kutki, or perhaps rice, as he can afford, always leaving a trifle to be expended at the liquor shop before departing for home. the various purchases are tied up in the corners of the bit of rag twisted round his head. unlike pieces of cloth known to civilisation, which usually have four corners, the baiga's headgear appears to be nothing but corners, and when the shopping is done the strip of rag may have a dozen minute bundles tied up in it. in baihar of balaghat buying and selling are conducted on perhaps the most minute scale known, and if a baiga has one or two pice [97] to lay out he will spend no inconsiderable time over it. grain is sold in small measures holding about four ounces called _baraiyas_, but each of these has a layer of mud at the bottom of varying degrees of thickness, so as to reduce its capacity. before a purchase can be made it must be settled by whose _baraiya_ the grain is to be measured, and the seller and purchaser each refuse the other's as being unfair to himself, until at length after discussion some neutral person's _baraiya_ is selected as a compromise. their food consists largely of forest fruits and roots with a scanty allowance of rice or the light millets, and they can go without nourishment for periods which appear extraordinary to civilised man. they eat the flesh of almost all animals, though the more civilised abjure beef and monkeys. they will take food from a gond but not from a brahman. the baiga dearly loves the common country liquor made from the mahua flower, and this is consumed as largely as funds will permit of at weddings, funerals and other social gatherings, and also if obtainable at other times. they have a tribal _panchayat_ or committee which imposes penalties for social offences, one punishment being the abstention from meat for a fixed period. a girl going wrong with a man of the caste is punished by a fine, but cases of unchastity among unmarried baiga girls are rare. among their pastimes dancing is one of the chief, and in their favourite dance, known as _karma_, the men and women form long lines opposite to each other with the musicians between them. one of the instruments, a drum called _mandar_, gives out a deep bass note which can be heard for miles. the two lines advance and retire, everybody singing at the same time, and when the dancers get fully into the time and swing, the pace increases, the drums beat furiously, the voices of the singers rise higher and higher, and by the light of the bonfires which are kept burning the whole scene is wild in the extreme. 9. occupation. the baigas formerly practised only shifting cultivation, burning down patches of jungle and sowing seed on the ground fertilised by the ashes after the breaking of the rains. now that this method has been prohibited in government forest, attempts have been made to train them to regular cultivation, but with indifferent success in balaghat. an idea of the difficulties to be encountered may be obtained from the fact that in some villages the baiga cultivators, if left unwatched, would dig up the grain which they had themselves sown as seed in their fields and eat it; while the plough-cattle which were given to them invariably developed diseases in spite of all precautions, as a result of which they found their way sooner or later to the baiga's cooking-pot. but they are gradually adopting settled habits, and in mandla, where a considerable block of forest was allotted to them in which they might continue their destructive practice of shifting sowings, it is reported that the majority have now become regular cultivators. one explanation of their refusal to till the ground is that they consider it a sin to lacerate the breast of their mother earth with a ploughshare. they also say that god made the jungle to produce everything necessary for the sustenance of men and made the baigas kings of the forest, giving them wisdom to discover the things provided for them. to gonds and others who had not this knowledge, the inferior occupation of tilling the land was left. the men never become farmservants, but during the cultivating season they work for hire at uprooting the rice seedlings for transplantation; they do no other agricultural labour for others. women do the actual transplantation of rice and work as harvesters. the men make bamboo mats and baskets, which they sell in the village weekly markets. they also collect and sell honey and other forest products, and are most expert at all work that can be done with an axe, making excellent woodcutters. but they show no aptitude in acquiring the use of any other implement, and dislike steady continuous labour, preferring to do a few days' work and then rest in their homes for a like period before beginning again. their skill and dexterity in the use of the axe in hunting is extraordinary. small deer, hares and peacocks are often knocked over by throwing it at them, and panthers and other large animals are occasionally killed with a single blow. if one of two baigas is carried off by a tiger, the survivor will almost always make a determined and often successful attempt to rescue him with nothing more formidable than an axe or a stick. they are expert trackers, and are also clever at setting traps and snares, while, like korkus, they catch fish by damming streams in the hot weather and throwing into the pool thus formed some leaf or root which stupefies them. even in a famine year, mr. low says, a baiga can collect a large basketful of roots in a single day; and if the bamboo seeds he is amply provided for. nowadays baiga cultivators may occasionally be met with who have taken to regular cultivation and become quite prosperous, owning a number of cattle. 10. language. as already stated, the baigas have completely forgotten their own language, and in the satpura hills they speak a broken form of hindi, though they have a certain number of words and expressions peculiar to the caste. bairagi list of paragraphs 1. _definition of name and statistics._ 2. _the four sampradayas or main orders._ 3. _the ramanujis._ 4. _the ramanandis._ 5. _the nimanandis._ 6. _the madhavacharyas._ 7. _the vallabhacharyas._ 8. _minor sects._ 9. _the seven akharas._ 10. _the dwaras._ 11. _initiation, appearance and customs._ 12. _recruitment of the order and its character._ 13. _social position and customs._ 14. _bairagi monasteries._ 15. _married bairagis._ 1. definition of name and statistics. _bairagi_, [98] _sadhu_.--the general term for members of the vishnuite religious orders, who formerly as a rule lived by mendicancy. the bairagis have now, however, become a caste. in 1911 they numbered 38,000 persons in the provinces, being distributed over all districts and states. the name bairagi is supposed to come from the sanskrit vairagya and to signify one who is free from human passions. bairaga is also the term for the crutched stick which such mendicants frequently carry about with them and lean upon, either sitting or standing, and which in case of need would serve them as a weapon. platts considers [99] that the name of the order comes from the sanskrit abstract term, and the crutch therefore apparently obtained its name from being used by members of the order. properly, a religious mendicant of any vishnuite sect should be called a bairagi. but the term is not generally applied to the more distinctive sects as the kabirpanthi, swami-narayan, satnami and others, some of which are almost separated from hinduism, nor to the sikh religious orders, nor the chaitanya sect of bengal. a proper bairagi is one whose principal deity is either vishnu or either of his great incarnations, rama and krishna. 2. the four sampradayas or main orders. it is generally held that there are four sampradayas or main sects of bairagis. these are-(_a_) the ramanujis, the followers of the first prominent vishnuite reformer ramanuj in southern india, with whom are classed the ramanandis or adherents of his great disciple ramanand in northern india. both these are also called sri vaishnava, that is, the principal or original vaishnava sect. (_b_) the nimanandi, nimat or nimbaditya sect, followers of a saint called nimanand. (_c_) the vishnu-swami or vallabhacharya sect, worshippers of krishna and radha. (_d_) the madhavacharya sect of southern india. it will be desirable to give a few particulars of each of these, mainly taken from wilson's _hindu sects_ and dr. bhattacharya's _hindu castes and sects_. 3. the ramanujis. ramanuj was the first great vishnuite prophet, and lived in southern india in the eleventh or twelfth century on an island in the kaveri river near trichinopoly. he preached the worship of a supreme spirit, vishnu and his consort lakshmi, and taught that men also had souls or spirits, and that matter was lifeless. he was a strong opponent of the cult of siva, then predominant in southern india, and of phallic worship. he, however, admitted only the higher castes into his order, and cannot therefore be considered as the founder of the liberalising principle of vishnuism. the superiors of the ramanuja sect are called acharya, and rank highest among the priests of the vishnuite orders. the most striking feature in the practice of the ramanujis is the separate preparation and scrupulous privacy of their meals. they must not eat in cotton garments, but must bathe, and then put on wool or silk. the teachers allow their select pupils to assist them, but in general all the ramanujis cook for themselves, and should the meal during this process, or while they are eating, attract even the look of a stranger, the operation is instantly stopped and the viands buried in the ground. the ramanujis address each other with the salutation dasoham, or 'i am your slave,' accompanied with the pranam or slight inclination of the head and the application of joined hands to the forehead. to the acharyas or superiors the other members of the sect perform the ashtanga or prostration of the body with eight parts touching the ground. the _tilak_ or sect-mark of the ramanujis consists of two perpendicular white lines from the roots of the hair to the top of the eyebrows, with a connecting white line at the base, and a third central line either of red or yellow. the ramanujis do not recognise the worship of radha, the consort of krishna. the mendicant orders of the satanis and dasaris of southern india are branches of this sect. 4. the ramanandis ramanand, the great prophet of vishnuism in northern india, and the real founder of the liberal doctrines of the cult, lived at benares at the end of the fourteenth century, and is supposed to have been a follower of ramanuj. he introduced, however, a great extension of his predecessor's gospel in making his sect, nominally at least, open to all castes. he thus initiated the struggle against the social tyranny and exclusiveness of the caste system, which was carried to greater lengths by his disciples and successors, kabir, nanak, dadu, rai das and others. these afterwards proclaimed the worship of one unseen god who could not be represented by idols, and the religious equality of all men, their tenets no doubt being considerably influenced by their observance of islam, which had now become a principal religion of india. ramanand himself did not go so far, and remained a good hindu, inculcating the special worship of rama and his consort sita. the ramaaandis consider the ramayana as their most sacred book, and make pilgrimages to ajodhia and ramnath. [100] their sect-mark consists of two white lines down the forehead with a red one between, but they are continued on to the nose, ending in a loop, instead of terminating at the line of the eyebrows, like that of the ramanujis. the ramanandis say that the mark on the nose represents the singasun or lion's throne, while the two white lines up the forehead are rama and lakhshman, and the centre red one is sita. some of their devotees wear ochre-coloured clothes like the sivite mendicants. 5. the nimanandis. the second of the four orders is that of the nimanandis, called after a saint nimanand. he lived near mathura brindaban, and on one occasion was engaged in religious controversy with a jain ascetic till sunset. he then offered his visitor some refreshment, but the jain could not eat anything after sunset, so nimanand stopped the sun from setting, and ordered him to wait above a _nim_ tree till the meal was cooked and eaten under the tree, and this direction the sun duly obeyed. hence nimanand, whose original name was bhaskaracharya, was called by his new name after the tree, and was afterwards held to have been an incarnation of vishnu or the sun. the doctrines of the sect, mr. growse states, [101] are of a very enlightened character. thus their tenet of salvation by faith is thought by many scholars to have been directly derived from the gospels; while another article in their creed is the continuance of conscious individual existence in a future world, when the highest reward of the good will not be extinction, but the enjoyment of the visible presence of the divinity whom they have served while on earth. the nimanandis worship krishna, and were the first sect, dr. bhattacharya states, [102] to associate with him as a divine consort radha, the chief partner of his illicit loves. their headquarters are at muttra, and their chief festival is the janam-ashtami [103] or krishna's birthday. their sect-mark consists of two white lines down the forehead with a black patch in the centre, which is called shiambindini. shiam means black, and is a name of krishna. they also sometimes have a circular line across the nose, which represents the moon. 6. the madhavacharyas. the third great order is that of the madhavas, named after a saint called madhavacharya in southern india. he attempted to reconcile the warring sivites and vishnuites by combining the worship of krishna with that of siva and parvati. the doctrine of the sect is that the human soul is different from the divine soul, and its members are therefore called dualists. they admit a distinction between the divine soul and the universe, and between the human soul and the material world. they deny also the possibility of nirvana or the absorption and extinction of the human soul in the divine essence. they destroy their thread at initiation, and also wear red clothes like the sivite devotees, and like them also they carry a staff and water-pot. the _tilak_ of the madhavacharyas is said to consist of two white lines down the forehead and continued on to the nose where they meet, with a black vertical line between them. 7. the vallabhacharyas. the fourth main order is the vishnu-swami, which is much better known as the vallabhacharya sect, called after its founder vallabha, who was born in a.d. 1479. the god krishna appeared to him and ordered him to marry and set up a shrine to the god at gokul near mathura (muttra). the sect worship krishna in his character of bala gopala or the cowherd boy. their temples are numerous all over india, and especially at mathura and brindaban, where krishna was brought up as a cowherd. the temples at benares, jagannath and dwarka are rich and important, but the most celebrated shrine is at sri nathadwara in mewar. the image is said to have transported itself thither from mathura, when aurangzeb ordered its temple at mathura to be destroyed. krishna is here represented as a little boy in the act of supporting the mountain govardhan on his finger to shelter the people from the storms of rain sent by indra. the image is splendidly dressed and richly decorated with ornaments to the value of several thousand pounds. the images of krishna in the temples are commonly known as thakurji, and are either of stone or brass. at all vallabhacharya temples there are eight daily services: the mangala or morning _levée_, a little after sunrise, when the god is taken from his couch and bathed; the sringara, when he is attired in his jewels and seated on his throne; the gwala, when he is supposed to be starting to graze his cattle in the woods of braj; the raj bhog or midday meal, which, after presentation, is consumed by the priests and votaries who have assisted at the ceremonies; the uttapan, about three o'clock, when the god awakes from his siesta; the bhog or evening collation; the sandhiya or disrobing at sunset; and the sayan or retiring to rest. the ritual is performed by the priests and the lay worshipper is only a spectator, who shows his reverence by the same forms as he would to a human superior. [104] the priests of the sect are called gokalastha gosain or maharaja. they are considered to be incarnations of the god, and divine honours are paid to them. they always marry, and avow that union with the god is best obtained by indulgence in all bodily enjoyments. this doctrine has led to great licentiousness in some groups of the sect, especially on the part of the priests or maharajas. women were taught to believe that the service of and contact with the priest were the most real form of worshipping the god, and that intercourse with him was equivalent to being united with the god. dr. bhattacharya quotes [105] the following tariff for the privilege of obtaining different degrees of contact with the body of the maharaja or priest: for homage by sight rs. 5. for homage by touch rs. 20. for the honour of washing the maharaja's foot rs. 35. for swinging him rs. 40. for rubbing sweet unguents on his body rs. 42. for being allowed to sit with him on the same couch rs. 60. for the privilege of dancing with him rs. 100 to 200. for drinking the water in which he has bathed rs. 17. for being closeted with him in the same room rs. 50 to 500. the public disapprobation caused by these practices and their bad effect on the morality of women culminated in the great maharaj libel suit in the bombay high court in 1862. since then the objectionable features of the cult have to a large extent disappeared, while it has produced some priests of exceptional liberality and enlightenment. the _tilak_ of the vallabhacharyas is said to consist of two white lines down the forehead, forming a half-circle at its base and a white dot between them. they will not admit the lower castes into the order, but only those from whom a brahman can take water. 8. minor sects. besides the main sects as described above, vaishnavism has produced many minor sects, consisting of the followers of some saint of special fame, and mendicants belonging to these are included in the body of bairagis. one or two legends concerning such saints may be given. a common order is that of the bendiwale, or those who wear a dot. their founder began putting a red dot on his forehead between the two white lines in place of the long red line of the ramanandis. his associates asked him why he had dared to alter his _tilak_ or sect-mark. he said that the goddess janki had given him the dot, and as a test he went and bathed in the sarju river, and rubbed his forehead with water, and all the sect-mark was rubbed out except the dot. so the others recognised the special intervention of the goddess, and he founded a sect. another sect is called the chaturbhuji or four-armed, chaturbhuj being an epithet of vishnu. he was taking part in a feast when his loin-cloth came undone behind, and the others said to him that as this had happened, he had become impure at the feast. he replied, 'let him to whom the _dhoti_ belongs tie it up,' and immediately four arms sprang from his body, and while two continued to take food, the other two tied up his loin-cloth behind. thus it was recognised that the chaturbhuji vishnu had appeared in him, and he was venerated. 9. the seven akharas. among the bairagis, besides the four sampradayas or main orders, there are seven akharas. these are military divisions or schools for training, and were instituted when the bairagis had to fight with the gosains. any member of one of the four sampradayas can belong to any one of the seven akharas, and a man can change his akhara as often as he likes, but not his sampradaya. the akharas, with the exception of the lasgaris, who change the red centre line of the ramanandis into a white line, have no special sect-marks. they are distinguished by their flags or standards, which are elaborately decorated with gold thread embroidered on silk or sometimes with jewels, and cost two or three hundred rupees to prepare. these standards were carried by the naga or naked members of the akhara, who went in front and fought. once in twelve years a great meeting of all the seven akharas is held at allahabad, nasik, ujjain or hardwar, where they bathe and wash the image of the god in the water of the holy rivers. the quarrels between the bairagis and gosains usually occurred at the sacred rivers, and the point of contention was which sect should bathe first. the following is a list of the seven akharas: digambari, khaki, munjia, kathia, nirmohi, nirbani or niranjani and lasgari. the name of the digamber or meghdamber signifies sky-clad or cloud-clad, that is naked. they do penance in the rainy season by sitting naked in the rain for two or three hours a day with an earthen pot on the head and the hands inserted in two others so that they cannot rub the skin. in the dry season they wear only a little cloth round the waist and ashes over the rest of the body. the ashes are produced from burnt cowdung picked up off the ground, and not mixed with straw like that which is prepared for fuel. the khaki bairagis also rub ashes on the body. during the four hot months they make five fires in a circle, and kneel between them with the head and legs and arms stretched towards the fires. the fires are kindled at noon with little heaps of cowdung cakes, and the penitent stays between them till they go out. they also have a block of wood with a hole through it, into which they insert the organ of generation and suspend it by chains in front and behind. they rub ashes on the body, from which they probably get their name of khaki or dust-colour. the munjia akhara have a belt made of _munj_ grass round the waist, and a little apron also of grass, which is hung from it, and passed through the legs. formerly they wore no other clothes, but now they have a cloth. they also do penance between the fires. the kathias have a waist-belt of bamboo fibre, to which is suspended the wooden block for the purpose already described. their name signifies wooden, and is probably given to them on account of this custom. the nirmohi carry a _lota_ or brass vessel and a little cup, in which they receive alms. the nirbani wear only a piece of string or rope round the waist, to which is attached a small strip of cloth passing through the legs. when begging, they carry a _kawar_ or banghy, holding two baskets covered with cloth, and into this they put all their alms. they never remove the cloth, but plunge their hands into the basket at random when they want something to eat. they call the basket kamdhenu, the name of the cow which gave inexhaustible wealth. these bairagis commonly marry and accumulate property. the lasgari are soldiers, as the name denotes. [106] they wear three straight lines of sandalwood up the forehead. it is said that on one occasion the bairagis were suddenly attacked by the gosains when they had only made the white lines of the sect-mark, and they fought as they were. in consequence of this, they have ever since worn three white lines and no red one. others say that the lasgari are a branch of the digambari akhara, and that the munjia and kathia are branches of the khaki akhara. they give three other akharas--niralankhi, mahanirbani and santokhi--about which nothing is known. 10. the dwaras. besides the akharas, the bairagis are said to have fifty-two dwaras or doors, and every man must be a member of a dwara as well as of a sampradaya and akhara. the dwaras seem to have no special purpose, but in the case of bairagis who marry, they now serve as exogamous sections, so that members of the same dwara do not intermarry. 11. initiation, appearance and customs. a candidate for initiation has his head shaved, is invested with a necklace of beads of the _tulsi_ or basil, and is taught a _mantra_ or text relating to vishnu by his preceptor. the initiation text of the ramanandis is said to be _om ramaya namah_, or _om_, salutation to rama. _om_ is a very sacred syllable, having much magical power. thereafter the novice must journey to dwarka in gujarat and have his body branded with hot iron or copper in the shape of vishnu's four implements: the _chakra_ or discus, the _guda_ or club, the _shank_ or conch-shell and the _padma_ or lotus. sometimes these are not branded but are made daily on the arms with clay. the sect-mark should be made with gopichandan or the milkmaid's sandalwood. this is supposed to be clay taken from a tank at dwarka, in which the gopis or milkmaids who had been krishna's companions drowned themselves when they heard of his death. but as this can seldom be obtained any suitable whitish clay is used instead. the bairagis commonly let their hair grow long, after being shaved at initiation, to imitate the old forest ascetics. if a man makes a pilgrimage on foot to some famous shrine he may have his head shaved there and make an offering of his hair. others keep their hair long and shave it only at the death of their _guru_ or preceptor. they usually wear white clothes, and if a man has a cloth on the upper part of the body it should be folded over the shoulders and knotted at the neck. he also has a _chimta_ or small pair of tongs, and, if he can obtain it, the skin of an indian antelope, on which he will sit while taking his food. the skin of this animal is held to be sacred. every bairagi before he takes his food should dip a sprig of _tulsi_ or basil into it to sanctify it, and if he cannot get this he uses his necklace of _tulsi_-beads for the purpose instead. the caste abstain from flesh and liquor, but are addicted to the intoxicating drugs, _ganja_ and _bhang_ or preparations of indian hemp. a hindu on meeting a bairagi will greet him with the phrase 'jai sitaram,' and the bairagi will answer, 'sitaram.' this word is a conjunction of the names of rama and his consort sita. when a bairagi receives alms he will present to the giver a flower and a sprig of _tulsi_. 12. recruitment of the order and its character. a man belonging to any caste except the impure ones can be initiated as a bairagi, and the order is to a large extent recruited from the lower castes. theoretically all members of the order should eat together; but the brahmans and other high castes belonging to it now eat only among themselves, except on the occasion of a ghosti or special religious assembly, when all eat in common. as a matter of fact the order is a very mixed assortment of people. many persons who lost their caste in the famine of 1897 from eating in government poor-houses, joined the order and obtained a respectable position. debtors who have become hopelessly involved sometimes find in it a means of escape from their creditors. women of bad character, who have been expelled from their caste, are also frequently enrolled as female members, and in monasteries live openly with the men. the caste is also responsible for a good deal of crime. not only is the disguise a very convenient one for thieves and robbers to assume on their travels, but many regular members of the order are criminally disposed. nevertheless large numbers of bairagis are men who have given up their caste and families from a genuine impulse of self-sacrifice, and the desire to lead a religious life. 13. social position and customs. on account of their sanctity the bairagis have a fairly good social position, and respectable hindu castes will accept cooked food from them. brahmans usually, but not always, take water. they act as _gurus_ or spiritual guides to the laymen of all castes who can become bairagis. they give the ram and gopal mantras, or the texts of rama and krishna, to their disciples of the three twice-born castes, and the sheo mantra or siva's text to other castes. the last is considered to be of smaller religious efficacy than the others, and is given to the lower castes and members of the higher ones who do not lead a particularly virtuous life. they invest boys with the sacred thread, and make the sect-mark on their foreheads. when they go and visit their disciples they receive presents, but do not ask them to confess their sins nor impose penalties. if a mendicant bairagi keeps a woman it is stated that he is expelled from the community, but this rule does not seem to be enforced in practice. if he is detected in a casual act of sexual intercourse a fine should be imposed, such as feeding two or three hundred bairagis. the property of an unmarried bairagi descends to a selected _chela_ or disciple. the bodies of the dead are usually burnt, but those of saints specially famous for their austerities or piety are buried, and salt is put round the body to preserve it. such men are known as bhakta. 14. bairagi monasteries. the bairagis [107] have numerous _maths_ or monasteries, scattered over the country and usually attached to temples. the math comprises a set of huts or chambers for the mahant or superior and his permanent pupils; a temple and often the samadhi or tomb of the founder, or of some eminent mahant; and a dharmsala or charitable hostel for the accommodation of wandering members of the order, and of other travellers who are constantly visiting the temple. ingress and egress are free to all, and, indeed, a restraint on personal liberty seems never to have entered into the conception of any hindu religious legislator. there are, as a rule, a small number of resident _chelas_ or disciples who are scholars and attendants on the superiors, and also out-members who travel over the country and return to the monastery as a headquarters. the monastery has commonly some small endowment in land, and the resident _chelas_ go out and beg for alms for their common support. if the mahant is married the headship may descend in his family; but when he is unmarried his successor is one of his disciples, who is commonly chosen by election at a meeting of the mahants of neighbouring monasteries. formerly the hindu governor of the district would preside at such an election, but it is now, of course, left entirely to the bairagis themselves. 15. married bairagis. large numbers of bairagis now marry and have children, and have formed an ordinary caste. the married bairagis are held to be inferior to the celibate mendicants, and will take food from them, but the mendicants will not permit the married bairagis to eat with them in the _chauka_ or place purified for the taking of food. the customs of the married bairagis resemble those of ordinary hindu castes such as the kurmis. they permit divorce and the remarriage of widows, and burn the dead. those who have taken to cultivation do not, as a rule, plough with their own hands. many bairagis have acquired property and become landholders, and others have extensive moneylending transactions. two such men who had acquired possession of extensive tracts of zamindari land in chhattisgarh, in satisfaction of loans made to the gond zamindars, and had been given the zamindari status by the marathas, were subsequently made feudatory chiefs of the nandgaon and chhuikhadan states. these chiefs now marry and the states descend in their families by primogeniture in the ordinary manner. as a rule, the bairagi landowners and moneylenders are not found to be particularly good specimens of their class. balahi 1. general notice. _balahi._ [108]--a low functional caste of weavers and village watchmen found in the nimar and hoshangabad districts and in central india. they numbered 52,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911, being practically confined to the two districts already mentioned. the name is a corruption of the hindi _bulahi_, one who calls, or a messenger. the balahis seem to be an occupational group, probably an offshoot of the large kori caste of weavers, one of whose subdivisions is shown as balahi in the united provinces. in the central provinces they have received accretions from the spinner caste of katias, themselves probably a branch of the koris, and from the mahars, the great menial caste of bombay. in hoshangabad they are known alternatively as mahar, while in burhanpur they are called bunkar or weaver by outsiders. the following story which they tell about themselves also indicates their mixed origin. they say that their ancestors came to nimar as part of the army of raja man of jodhpur, who invaded the country when it was under muhammadan rule. he was defeated, and his soldiers were captured and ordered to be killed. [109] one of the balahis among them won the favour of the muhammadan general and asked for his own freedom and that of the other balahis from among the prisoners. the musalman replied that he would be unable to determine which of the prisoners were really balahis. on this the balahi, whose name was ganga kochla, replied that he had an effective test. he therefore killed a cow, cooked its flesh and invited the prisoners to partake of it. so many of them as consented to eat were considered to be balahis and liberated; but many members of other castes thus obtained their freedom, and they and their descendants are now included in the community. the subcastes or endogamous groups distinctly indicate the functional character of the caste, the names given being nimari, gannore, katia, kori and mahar. of these katia, kori and mahar are the names of distinct castes, nimari is a local subdivision indicating those who speak the peculiar dialect of this tract, and the gannore are no doubt named after the rajput clan of that name, of whom their ancestors were not improbably the illegitimate offspring. the nimari balahis are said to rank lower than the rest, as they will eat the flesh of dead cattle which the others refuse to do. they may not take water from the village well, and unless a separate one can be assigned to them, must pay others to draw water for them. partly no doubt in the hope of escaping from this degraded position, many of the nimari group became christians in the famine of 1897. they are considered to be the oldest residents of nimar. at marriages the balahi receives as his perquisite the leaf-plates used for feasts with the leavings of food upon them; and at funerals he takes the cloth which covers the corpse on its way to the burning-_ghat_. in nimar the korkus and balahis each have a separate burying-ground which is known as murghata. [110] the katias weave the finer kinds of cloth and rank a little higher than the others. in burhanpur, as already stated, the caste are known as bunkar, and they are probably identical with the bunkars of khandesh; bunkar is simply an occupational term meaning a weaver. 2. marriage. the caste have the usual system of exogamous groups, some of which are named after villages, while the designations of others are apparently nicknames given to the founder of the clan, as bagmar, a tiger-killer, bhagoria, a runaway, and so on. they employ a brahman to calculate the horoscopes of a bridal couple and fix the date of their wedding, but if he says the marriage is inauspicious, they merely obtain the permission of the caste _panchayat_ and celebrate it on a saturday or sunday. apparently, however, they do not consult real brahmans, but merely priests of their own caste whom they call balahi brahmans. these brahmans are, nevertheless, said to recite the satya narayan katha. they also have _gurus_ or spiritual preceptors, being members of the caste who have joined the mendicant orders; and bhats or genealogists of their own caste who beg at their weddings. they have the practice of serving for a wife, known as gharjamai or lamjhana. when the pauper suitor is finally married at the expense of his wife's father, a marriage-shed is erected for him at the house of some neighbour, but his own family are not invited to the wedding. after marriage a girl goes to her husband's house for a few days and returns. the first diwali or akha-tij festival after the wedding must also be passed at the husband's house, but consummation is not effected until the _aina_ or _gauna_ ceremony is performed on the attainment of puberty. the cost of a wedding is about rs. 80 to the bridegroom's family and rs. 20 to the bride's family. a widow is forbidden to marry her late husband's brother or other relatives. at the wedding she is dressed in new clothes, and the foreheads of the couple are marked with cowdung as a sign of purification. they then proceed by night to the husband's village, and the woman waits till morning in some empty building, when she enters her husband's house carrying two water-pots on her head in token of the fertility which she is to bring to it. 3. other customs. like the mahars, the balahis must not kill a dog or a cat under pain of expulsion; but it is peculiar that in their case the bear is held equally sacred, this being probably a residue of some totemistic observance. the most binding form of oath which they can use is by any one of these animals. the balahis will admit any hindu into the community except a man of the very lowest castes, and also gonds and korkus. the head and face of the neophyte are shaved clean, and he is made to lie on the ground under a string-cot; a number of the balahis sit on this and wash themselves, letting the water drip from their bodies on to the man below until he is well drenched; he then gives a feast to the caste-fellows, and is considered to have become a balahi. it is reported also that they will receive back into the community balahi women who have lived with men of other castes and even with jains and muhammadans. they will take food from members of these religions and of any hindu caste, except the most impure. balija 1. origin and traditions. _balija, balji, gurusthulu, naidu._--a large trading caste of the madras presidency, where they number a million persons. in the central provinces 1200 were enumerated in 1911, excluding 1500 perikis, who though really a subcaste and not a very exalted one of balijas, [111] claim to be a separate caste. they are mainly returned from places where madras troops have been stationed, as nagpur, jubbulpore and raipur. the caste are frequently known as naidu, a corruption of the telugu word nayakdu, a prince or leader. their ancestors are supposed to have been nayaks or kings of madura, tanjore and vijayanagar. the traditional occupation of the caste appears to have been to make bangles and pearl and coral ornaments, and they have still a subcaste called gazulu, or a bangle-seller. in madras they are said to be an offshoot of the great cultivating castes of kamma and kapu and to be a mixed community recruited from these and other telugu castes. another proof of their mixed descent may be inferred from the fact that they will admit persons of other castes or the descendants of mixed marriages into the community without much scruple in madras. [112] the name of balija seems also to have been applied to a mixed caste started by basava, the founder of the lingayat sect of sivites, these persons being known in madras as linga balijas. 2. marriage. the balijas have two main divisions, desa or kota, and peta, the desas or kotas being those who claim descent from the old balija kings, while the petas are the trading balijas, and are further subdivided into groups like the gazulu or bangle-sellers and the periki or salt-sellers. the subdivisions are not strictly endogamous. every family has a surname, and exogamous groups or _gotras_ also exist, but these have generally been forgotten, and marriages are regulated by the surnames, the only prohibition being that persons of the same surname may not intermarry. instances of such names are: singiri, gudari, jadal, sangnad and dasiri. in fact the rules of exogamy are so loose that an instance is known of an uncle having married his niece. marriage is usually infant, and the ceremony lasts for five days. on the first day the bride and bridegroom are seated on a yoke in the _pandal_ or marriage pavilion, where the relatives and guests assemble. the bridegroom puts a pair of silver rings on the bride's toes and ties the _mangal-sutram_ or flat circular piece of gold round her neck. on the next three days the bridegroom and bride are made to sit on a plank or cot face to face with each other and to throw flowers and play together for two hours in the mornings and evenings. on the fourth day, at dead of night, they are seated on a cot and the jewels and gifts for the bride are presented, and she is then formally handed over to the bridegroom's family. in madras mr. thurston [113] states that on the last day of the marriage ceremony a mock ploughing and sowing rite is held, and during this, the sister of the bridegroom puts a cloth over the basket containing earth, wherein seeds are to be sown by the bridegroom, and will not allow him to go on with the ceremony till she has extracted a promise that his first-born daughter shall marry her son. no bride-price is paid, and the remarriage of widows is forbidden. 3. occupation and social status. the balijas bury their dead in a sitting posture. in the central provinces they are usually lingayats and especially worship gauri, siva's wife. jangams serve them as priests. they usually eat flesh and drink liquor, but in chanda it is stated that both these practices are forbidden. in the central provinces they are mainly cultivators, but some of them still sell bangles and salt. several of them are in government service and occupy a fairly high social position. in madras a curious connection exists between the kapus and balijas and the impure mala caste. it is said that once upon a time the kapus and balijas were flying from the muhammadans and came to the northern pallar river in high flood. they besought the river to go down and let them across, but it demanded the sacrifice of a first-born child. while the kapus and balijas were hesitating, the malas who had followed them boldly sacrificed one of their children. immediately the river divided before them and they all crossed in safety. ever since then the kapus and balijas have respected the malas, and the balijas formerly even deposited the images of the goddess gauri, of ganesha, and of siva's bull with the malas, as the hereditary custodians of their gods. [114] bania list of paragraphs 1. _general notice._ 2. _the banias a true caste: use of the name._ 3. _their distinctive occupation._ 4. _their distinctive status._ 5. _the endogamous divisions of the banias._ 6. _the banias derived from the rajputs._ 7. _banias employed as ministers in rajput courts._ 8. _subcastes._ 9. _hindu and jain subcastes: divisions among subcastes._ 10. _exogamy and rules regulating marriage._ 11. _marriage customs._ 12. _polygamy and widow-marrriage._ 13. _disposal of the dead and mourning._ 14. _religion: the god ganpati or ganesh._ 15. _diwali festival._ 16. _holi festival._ 17. _social customs: rules about food._ 18. _character of the bania._ 19. _dislike of the cultivators towards him._ 20. _his virtues._ 21. _the moneylender changed for the worse._ 22. _the enforcement of contracts._ 23. _cash coinage and the rate of interest._ 24. _proprietary and transferable rights in land._ 25. _the bania as a landlord._ 26. _commercial honesty._ list of subordinate articles on subcastes 1. agarwala, agarwal. 2. agrahari. 3. ajudhiabasi, audhia. 4. asathi. 5. charnagri, channagri, samaiya. 6. dhusar, bhargava dhusar. 7. dosar, dusra. 8. gahoi. 9. golapurab, golahre. 10. kasarwani. 11. kasaundhan. 12. khandelwal. 13. lad. 14. lingayat. 15. maheshri. 16. nema. 17. oswal. 18. parwar. 19. srimali. 20. umre. 1. general notice. _bania, bani, vani, mahajan, seth, sahukar._--the occupational caste of bankers, moneylenders and dealers in grain, _ghi_ (butter), groceries and spices. the name bania is derived from the sanskrit _vanij_, a merchant. in western india the banias are always called vania or vani. mahajan literally means a great man, and being applied to successful banias as an honorific title has now come to signify a banker or moneylender; seth signifies a great merchant or capitalist, and is applied to banias as an honorific prefix. the words _sahu_, _sao_ and _sahukar_ mean upright or honest, and have also, curiously enough, come to signify a moneylender. the total number of banias in the central provinces in 1911 was about 200,000, or rather over one per cent of the population. of the above total two-thirds were hindus and one-third jains. the caste is fairly distributed over the whole province, being most numerous in districts with large towns and a considerable volume of trade. 2. the banias a true caste: use of the name. there has been much difference of opinion as to whether the name bania should be taken to signify a caste, or whether it is merely an occupational term applied to a number of distinct castes. i venture to think it is necessary and scientifically correct to take it as a caste. in bengal the word banian, a corruption of bania, has probably come to be a general term meaning simply a banker, or person dealing in money. but this does not seem to be the case elsewhere. as a rule the name bania is used only as a caste name for groups who are considered both by themselves and outsiders to belong to the bania caste. it may occasionally be applied to members of other castes, as in the case of certain teli-banias who have abandoned oil-pressing for shop-keeping, but such instances are very rare; and these telis would probably now assert that they belonged to the bania caste. that the banias are recognised as a distinct caste by the people is shown by the number of uncomplimentary proverbs and sayings about them, which is far larger than in the case of any other caste. [115] in all these the name bania is used and not that of any subdivision, and this indicates that none of the subdivisions are looked upon as distinctive social groups or castes. moreover, so far as i am aware, the name bania is applied regularly to all the groups usually classified under the caste, and there is no group which objects to the name or whose members refuse to describe themselves by it. this is by no means always the case with other important castes. the rathor telis of mandla entirely decline to answer to the name of teli, though they are classified under that caste. in the case of the important ahir or grazier caste, those who sell milk instead of grazing cattle are called gaoli, but remain members of the ahir caste. an ahir in chhattisgarh would be called rawat and in the maratha districts gowari, but might still be an ahir by caste. the barai caste of betel-vine growers and sellers is in some localities called tamboli and not barai; elsewhere it is known only as pansari, though the name pansari is correctly an occupational term, and, where it is not applied to the barais, means a grocer or druggist by profession and not a caste. bania, on the other hand, over the greater part of india is applied only to persons who acknowledge themselves and are generally recognised by hindu society to be members of the bania caste, and there is no other name which is generally applied to any considerable section of such persons. certain of the more important subcastes of bania, as the agarwala, oswal and parwar, are, it is true, frequently known by the subcaste name. but the caste name is as often as not, or even more often, affixed to it. agarwala, or agarwala bania, are names equally applied to designate this subcaste, and similarly with the oswals and parwars; and even so the subcaste name is only applied for greater accuracy and for compliment, since these are the best subcastes; the bania's quarter of a town will be called bania mahalla, and its residents spoken of as banias, even though they may be nearly all agarwals or oswals. several rajput clans are similarly spoken of by their clan names, as rathor, panwar, and so on, without the addition of the caste name rajput. brahman subcastes are usually mentioned by their subcaste name for greater accuracy, though in their case too it is usual to add the caste name. and there are subdivisions of other castes, such as the jaiswar chamars and the somvansi mehras, who invariably speak of themselves only by their subcaste name, and discard the caste name altogether, being ashamed of it, but are nevertheless held to belong to their parent castes. thus in the matter of common usage bania conforms in all respects to the requirements of a proper caste name. 3. their distinctive occupation. the banias have also a distinct and well-defined traditional occupation, [116] which is followed by many or most members of practically every subcaste so far as has been observed. this occupation has caused the caste as a body to be credited with special mental and moral characteristics in popular estimation, to a greater extent perhaps than any other caste. none of the subcastes are ashamed of their traditional occupation or try to abandon it. it is true that a few subcastes such as the kasaundhans and kasarwanis, sellers of metal vessels, apparently had originally a somewhat different profession, though resembling the traditional one; but they too, if they once only sold vessels, now engage largely in the traditional bania's calling, and deal generally in grain and money. the banias, no doubt because it is both profitable and respectable, adhere more generally to their traditional occupation than almost any great caste, except the cultivators. mr. marten's analysis [117] of the occupations of different castes shows that sixty per cent of the banias are still engaged in trade; while only nineteen per cent of brahmans follow a religious calling; twenty-nine per cent of ahirs are graziers, cattle-dealers or milkmen; only nine per cent of telis are engaged in all branches of industry, including their traditional occupation of oil-pressing; and similarly only twelve per cent of chamars work at industrial occupations, including that of curing hides. in respect of occupation therefore the banias strictly fulfil the definition of a caste. 4. their distinctive status. the banias have also a distinctive social status. they are considered, though perhaps incorrectly, to represent the vaishyas or third great division of the aryan twice-born; they rank just below rajputs and perhaps above all other castes except brahmans; brahmans will take food cooked without water from many banias and drinking-water from all. nearly all banias wear the sacred thread; and the banias are distinguished by the fact that they abstain more rigorously and generally from all kinds of flesh food than any other caste. their rules as to diet are exceptionally strict, and are equally observed by the great majority of the subdivisions. 5. the endogamous divisions of the banias. thus the banias apparently fulfil the definition of a caste, as consisting of one or more endogamous groups or subcastes with a distinct name applied to them all and to them only, a distinctive occupation and a distinctive social status; and there seems no reason for not considering them a caste. if on the other hand we examine the subcastes of bania we find that the majority of them have names derived from places, [118] not indicating any separate origin, occupation or status, but only residence in separate tracts. such divisions are properly termed subcastes, being endogamous only, and in no other way distinctive. no subcaste can be markedly distinguished from the others in respect of occupation or social status, and none apparently can therefore be classified as a separate caste. there are no doubt substantial differences in status between the highest subcastes of bania, the agarwals, oswals and parwars, and the lower ones, the kasaundhan, kasarwani, dosar and others. but this difference is not so great as that which separates different groups included in such important castes as rajput and bhat. it is true again that subcastes like the agarwals and oswals are individually important, but not more so than the maratha, khedawal, kanaujia and maithil brahmans, or the sesodia, rathor, panwar and jadon rajputs. the higher subcastes of bania themselves recognise a common relationship by taking food cooked without water from each other, which is a very rare custom among subcastes. some of them are even said to have intermarried. if on the other hand it is argued, not that two or three or more of the important subdivisions should be erected into independent castes, but that bania is not a caste at all, and that every subcaste should be treated as a separate caste, then such purely local groups as kanaujia, jaiswar, gujarati, jaunpuri and others, which are found in forty or fifty other castes, would have to become separate castes; and if in this one case why not in all the other castes where they occur? this would result in the impossible position of having forty or fifty castes of the same name, which recognise no connection of any kind with each other, and make any arrangement or classification of castes altogether impracticable. and in 1911 out of 200,000 banias in the central provinces, 43,000 were returned with no subcaste at all, and it would therefore be impossible to classify these under any other name. 6. the banias derived from the rajputs. the banias have been commonly supposed to represent the vaishyas or third of the four classical castes, both by hindu society generally and by leading authorities on the subject. it is perhaps this view of their origin which is partly responsible for the tendency to consider them as several castes and not one. but its accuracy is doubtful. the important bania groups appear to be of rajput stock. they nearly all come from rajputana, bundelkhand or gujarat, that is from the homes of the principal rajut clans. several of them have legends of rajput descent. the agarwalas say that their first ancestor was a kshatriya king, who married a naga or snake princess; the naga race is supposed to have signified the scythian immigrants, who were snake-worshippers and from whom several clans of rajputs were probably derived. the agarwalas took their name from the ancient city of agroha or possibly from agra. the oswals say that their ancestor was the rajput king of osnagar in marwar, who with his followers was converted by a jain mendicant. the nemas state that their ancestors were fourteen young rajput princes who escaped the vengeance of parasurama by abandoning the profession of arms and taking to trade. the khandelwals take their name from the town of khandela in jaipur state of rajputana. the kasarwanis say they immigrated from kara manikpur in bundelkhand. the origin of the umre banias is not known, but in gujarat they are also called bagaria from the bagar or wild country of the dongarpur and pertabgarh states of rajputana, where numbers of them are still settled; the name bagaria would appear to indicate that they are supposed to have immigrated thence into gujarat. the dhusar banias ascribe their name to a hill called dhusi or dhosi on the border of alwar state. the asatis say that their original home was tikamgarh state in bundelkhand. the name of the maheshris is held to be derived from maheshwar, an ancient town on the nerbudda, near indore, which is traditionally supposed to have been the earliest settlement of the yadava rajputs. the headquarters of the gahoi banias is said to have been at kharagpur in bundelkhand, though according to their own legend they are of mixed origin. the home of the srimalis was the old town of srimal, now bhinmal in marwar. the palliwal banias were from the well-known trading town of pali in marwar. the jaiswal are said to take their name from jaisalmer state, which was their native country. the above are no doubt only a fraction of the bania subcastes, but they include nearly all the most important and representative ones, from whom the caste takes its status and character. of the numerous other groups the bulk have probably been brought into existence through the migration and settlement of sections of the caste in different parts of the country, where they have become endogamous and obtained a fresh name. other subcastes may be composed of bodies of persons who, having taken to trade and prospered, obtained admission to the bania caste through the efforts of their brahman priests. but a number of mixed groups of the same character are also found among the brahmans and rajputs, and their existence does not invalidate arguments derived from a consideration of the representative subcastes. it may be said that not only the banias, but many of the low castes have legends showing them to be of rajput descent of the same character as those quoted above; and since in their case these stories have been adjudged spurious and worthless, no greater importance should be attached to those of the banias. but it must be remembered that in the case of the banias the stories are reinforced by the fact that the bania subcastes certainly come from rajputana; no doubt exists that they are of high caste, and that they must either be derived from brahmans or rajputs, or themselves represent some separate foreign group; but if they are really the descendants of the vaishyas, the main body of the aryan immigrants and the third of the four classical castes, it might be expected that their legends would show some trace of this instead of being unitedly in favour of their rajput origin. colonel tod gives a catalogue of the eighty-four mercantile tribes, whom he states to be chiefly of rajput descent. [119] in this list the agarwal, oswal, srimal, khandelwal, palliwal and lad subcastes occur; while the dhakar and dhusar subcastes may be represented by the names dhakarwal and dusora in the lists. the other names given by tod appear to be mainly small territorial groups of rajputana. elsewhere, after speaking of the claims of certain towns in rajputana to be centres of trade, colonel tod remarks: "these pretensions we may the more readily admit, when we recollect that nine-tenths of the bankers and commercial men of india are natives of marudesh, [120] and these chiefly of the jain faith. the oswals, so termed from the town of osi, near the luni, estimate one hundred thousand families whose occupation is commerce. all these claim a rajput descent, a fact entirely unknown to the european inquirer into the peculiarities of hindu manners." [121] similarly, sir d. ibbetson states that the maheshri banias claim rajput origin and still have subdivisions bearing rajput names. [122] elliot also says that almost all the mercantile tribes of hindustan are of rajput descent. [123] it would appear, then, that the banias are an offshoot from the rajputs, who took to commerce and learnt to read and write for the purpose of keeping accounts. the charans or bards are another literate caste derived from the rajputs, and it may be noticed that both the banias and charans or bhats have hitherto been content with the knowledge of their own rude marwari dialect and evinced no desire for classical learning or higher english education. matters are now changing, but this attitude shows that they have hitherto not desired education for itself but merely as an indispensable adjunct to their business. 7. banias employed as ministers in rajput courts. being literate, the banias were not infrequently employed as ministers and treasurers in rajput states. forbes says, in an account of an indian court: "beside the king stand the warriors of rajput race or, equally gallant in the field and wiser far in council, the wania (bania) muntreshwars, already in profession puritans of peace, and not yet drained enough of their fiery kshatriya blood.... it is remarkable that so many of the officers possessing high rank and holding independent commands are represented to have been wanias." [124] colonel tod writes that nunkurn, the kachhwaha chief of the shekhawat federation, had a minister named devi das of the bania or mercantile caste, and, like thousands of that caste, energetic, shrewd and intelligent. [125] similarly, muhaj, the jadon bhatti chief of jaisalmer, by an unhappy choice of a bania minister, completed the demoralisation of the bhatti state. this minister was named sarup singh, a bania of the jain faith and mehta family, whose descendants were destined to be the exterminators of the laws and fortunes of the sons of jaisal. [126] other instances of the employment of bania ministers are to be found in rajput history. finally, it may be noted that the banias are by no means the only instance of a mercantile class formed from the rajputs. the two important trading castes of khatri and bhatia are almost certainly of rajput origin, as is shown in the articles on those castes. 8. subcastes. the banias are divided into a large number of endogamous groups or subcastes, of which the most important have been treated in the annexed subordinate articles. the minor subcastes, mainly formed by migration, vary greatly in different provinces. colonel tod gave a list of eighty-four in rajputana, of which eight or ten only can be identified in the central provinces, and of thirty mentioned by bhattacharya as the most common groups in northern india, about a third are unknown in the central provinces. the origin of such subcastes has already been explained. the main subcastes may be classified roughly into groups coming from rajputana, bundelkhand and the united provinces. the leading rajputana groups are the oswal, maheshri, khandelwal, saitwal, srimal and jaiswaal. these groups are commonly known as marwari bania or simply marwari. the bundelkhand or central india subcastes are the gahoi, golapurab, asati, umre and parwar; [127] while the agarwal, dhusar, agrahari, ajudhiabasi and others come from the united provinces. the lad subcaste is from gujarat, while the lingayats originally belonged to the telugu and canarese country. several of the subcastes coming from the same locality will take food cooked without water from each other, and occasionally two subcastes, as the oswal and khandelwal, even food cooked with water or _katchi_. this practice is seldom found in other good castes. it is probably due to the fact that the rules about food are less strictly observed in rajputana. 9. hindu and jain subcastes: divisions among subcastes. another classification may be made of the subcastes according as they are of the hindu or jain religion; the important jain subcastes are the oswal, parwar, golapurab, saitwal and charnagar, and one or two smaller ones, as the baghelwal and samaiya. the other subcastes are principally hindu, but many have a jain minority, and similarly the jain subcastes return a proportion of hindus. the difference of religion counts for very little, as practically all the non-jain banias are strict vaishnava hindus, abstain entirely from any kind of flesh meat, and think it a sin to take animal life; while on their side the jains employ brahmans for certain purposes, worship some of the local hindu deities, and observe the principal hindu festivals. the jain and hindu sections of a subcaste have consequently, as a rule, no objection to taking food together, and will sometimes intermarry. several of the important subcastes are subdivided into bisa and dasa, or twenty and ten groups. the bisa or twenty group is of pure descent, or twenty carat, as it were, while the dasas are considered to have a certain amount of alloy in their family pedigree. they are the offspring of remarried widows, and perhaps occasionally of still more irregular unions. intermarriage sometimes takes place between the two groups, and families in the dasa group, by living a respectable life and marrying well, improve their status, and perhaps ultimately get back into the bisa group. as the dasas become more respectable they will not admit to their communion newly remarried widows or couples who have married within the prohibited degrees, or otherwise made a _mésalliance_, and hence a third inferior group, called the pacha or five, is brought into existence to make room for these. 10. exogamy and rules regulating marriage. most subcastes have an elaborate system of exogamy. they are either divided into a large number of sections, or into a few _gotras_, usually twelve, each of which is further split up into subsections. marriage can then be regulated by forbidding a man to take a wife from the whole of his own section or from the subsection of his mother, grandmothers and even greatgrandmothers. by this means the union of persons within five or more degrees of relationship either through males or females is avoided, and most banias prohibit intermarriage, at any rate nominally, up to five degrees. such practices as exchanging girls between families or marrying two sisters are, as a rule, prohibited. the _gotras_ or main sections appear to be frequently named after brahman rishis or saints, while the subsections have names of a territorial or titular character. 11. marriage customs. there is generally no recognised custom of paying a brideor bridegroom-price, but one or two instances of its being done are given in the subordinate articles. on the occasion of betrothal, among some subcastes, the boy's father proceeds to the girl's house and presents her with a _mala_ or necklace of gold or silver coins or coral, and a _mundri_ or silver ring for the finger. the contract of betrothal is made at the village temple and the caste-fellows sprinkle turmeric and water over the parties. before the wedding the ceremony of benaiki is performed; in this the bridegroom, riding on a horse, and the bride on a decorated chair or litter, go round their villages and say farewell to their friends and relations. sometimes they have a procession in this way round the marriage-shed. among the marwari banias a _toran_ or string of mango-leaves is stretched above the door of the house on the occasion of a wedding and left there for six months. and a wooden triangle with figures perched on it to represent sparrows is tied over the door. the binding portion of the wedding is the procession seven times round the marriage altar or post. in some jain subcastes the bridegroom stands beside the post and the bride walks seven times round him, while he throws sugar over her head at each turn. after the wedding the couple are made to draw figures out of flour sprinkled on a brass plate in token of the bridegroom's occupation of keeping accounts. it is customary for the bride's family to give _sidha_ or uncooked food sufficient for a day's consumption to every outsider who accompanies the marriage party, while to each member of the caste provisions for two to five days are given. this is in addition to the evening feasts and involves great expense. sometimes the wedding lasts for eight days, and feasts are given for four days by the bridegroom's party and four days by the bride's. it is said that in some places before a bania has a wedding he goes before the caste _panchayat_ and they ask him how many people he is going to invite. if he says five hundred, they prescribe the quantity of the different kinds of provisions which he must supply. thus they may say forty maunds (3200 lbs.) of sugar and flour, with butter, spices, and other articles in proportion. he says, 'gentlemen, i am a poor man; make it a little less'; or he says he will give _gur_ or cakes of raw cane sugar instead of refined sugar. then they say, 'no, your social position is too high for _gur_; you must have sugar for all purposes.' the more guests the host invites the higher is his social consideration; and it is said that if he does not maintain this his life is not worth living. sometimes the exact amount of entertainment to be given at a wedding is fixed, and if a man cannot afford it at the time he must give the balance of the feasts at any subsequent period when he has money; and if he fails to do this he is put out of caste. the bride's father is often called on to furnish a certain sum for the travelling expenses of the bridegroom's party, and if he does not send this money they do not come. the distinctive feature of a bania wedding in the northern districts is that women accompany the marriage procession, and the banias are the only high caste in which they do this. hence a high-caste wedding party in which women are present can be recognised to be a bania's. in the maratha districts women also go, but here this custom obtains among other high castes. the bridegroom's party hire or borrow a house in the bride's village, and here they erect a marriage-shed and go through the preliminary ceremonies of the wedding on the bridegroom's side as if they were at home. 12. polygamy and widow-marriage. polygamy is very rare among the banias, and it is generally the rule that a man must obtain the consent of his first wife before taking a second one. in the absence of this precaution for her happiness, parents will refuse to give him their daughter. the remarriage of widows is nominally prohibited, but frequently occurs, and remarried widows are relegated to the inferior social groups in each subcaste as already described. divorce is also said to be prohibited, but it is probable that women put away for adultery are allowed to take refuge in such groups instead of being finally expelled. 13. disposal of the dead and mourning. the dead are cremated as a rule, and the ashes are thrown into a sacred river or any stream. the bodies of young children and of persons dying from epidemic disease are buried. the period of mourning must be for an odd number of days. on the third day a leaf plate with cooked food is placed on the ground where the body was burnt, and on some subsequent day a feast is given to the caste. rich banias will hire people to mourn. widows and young girls are usually employed, and these come and sit before the house for an hour in the morning and sometimes also in the evening, and covering their heads with their cloths, beat their breasts and make lamentations. rich men may hire as many as ten mourners for a period of one, two or three months. the marwaris, when a girl is born, break an earthen pot to show that they have had a misfortune; but when a boy is born they beat a brass plate in token of their joy. 14. religion: the god ganpati or ganesh. nearly all the banias are jains or vaishnava hindus. an account of the jain religion has been given in a separate article, and some notice of the retention of hindu practices by the jains is contained in the subordinate article on parwar bania. the vaishnava banias no less than the jains are strongly averse to the destruction of animal life, and will not kill any living thing. their principal deity is the god ganesh or ganpati, the son of mahadeo and parvati, who is the god of good-luck, wealth and prosperity. ganesh is represented in sculpture with the head of an elephant and riding on a rat, though the rat is now covered by the body of the god and is scarcely visible. he has a small body like a child's with a fat belly and round plump arms. perhaps his body signifies that he is figured as a boy, the son of parvati or gauri. in former times grain was the main source of wealth, and from the appearance of ganesh it can be understood why he is the god of overflowing granaries, and hence of wealth and good fortune. the elephant is a sacred animal among hindus, and that on which the king rides. to have an elephant was a mark of wealth and distinction among banias, and the jains harness the cars of their gods to elephants at their great _rath_ or chariot festival. gajpati or 'lord of elephants' is a title given to a king; gajanand or 'elephant-faced' is an epithet of the god ganesh and a favourite hindu name. gajvithi or the track of the elephant is a name of the milky way, and indicates that there is believed to be a divine elephant who takes this course through the heavens. the elephant eats so much grain that only a comparatively rich man can afford to keep one; and hence it is easy to understand how the attribute of plenty or of wealth was associated with the divine elephant as his special characteristic. similarly the rat is connected with overflowing granaries, because when there is much corn in a hindu house or store-shed there will be many rats; thus a multitude of rats implied a rich household, and so this animal too came to be a symbol of wealth. the hindus do not now consider the rat sacred, but they have a tenderness for it, especially in the maratha country. the more bigoted of them objected to rats being poisoned as a means of checking plague, though observation has fully convinced them that rats spread the plague; and in the bania hospitals, formerly maintained for preserving the lives of animals, a number of rats were usually to be found. the rat, in fact, may now be said to stand to ganpati in the position of a disreputable poor relation. no attempt is made to deny his existence, but he is kept in the background as far as possible. the god ganpati is also associated with wealth of grain through his parentage. he is the offspring of siva or mahadeo and his wife devi or gauri. mahadeo is in this case probably taken in his beneficent character of the deified bull; devi in her most important aspect as the great mother-goddess is the earth, but as mother of ganesh she is probably imagined in her special form of gauri, the yellow one, that is, the yellow corn. gauri is closely associated with ganesh, and every hindu bridal couple worship gauri ganesh together as an important rite of the wedding. their conjunction in this manner lends colour to the idea that they are held to be mother and son. in rajputana gauri is worshipped as the corn goddess at the gangore festival about the time of the vernal equinox, especially by women. the meaning of gauri, colonel tod states, is yellow, emblematic of the ripened harvest, when the votaries of the goddess adore her effigies, in the shape of a matron painted the colour of ripe corn. here she is seen as ana-purna (the corn-goddess), the benefactress of mankind. "the rites commence when the sun enters aries (the opening of the hindu year), by a deputation to a spot beyond the city to bring earth for the image of gauri. a small trench is then excavated in which barley is sown; the ground is irrigated and artificial heat supplied till the grain germinates, when the females join hands and dance round it, invoking the blessings of gauri on their husbands. the young corn is then taken up, distributed and presented by the females to the men, who wear it in their turbans." [128] thus if ganesh is the son of gauri he is the offspring of the bull and the growing corn; and his genesis from the elephant and the rat show him equally as the god of full granaries, and hence of wealth and good fortune. we can understand therefore how he is the special god of the banias, who formerly must have dealt almost entirely in grain, as coined money had not come into general use. 15. diwali festival. at the diwali festival the banias worship ganpati or ganesh, in conjunction with lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. lakshmi is considered to be the deified cow, and, as such, the other main source of wealth, both as mother of the bull, the tiller of the soil, and the giver of milk from which _ghi_ (clarified butter) is made; this is another staple of the bania's trade, as well as a luxurious food, of which he is especially fond. at diwali all banias make up their accounts for the year, and obtain the signatures of clients to their balances. they open fresh account-books, which they first worship and adorn with an image of ganesh, and perhaps an invocation to the god on the front page. a silver rupee is also worshipped as an emblem of lakshmi, but in some cases an english sovereign, as a more precious coin, has been substituted, and this is placed on the seat of the goddess and reverence paid to it. the banias and hindus generally think it requisite to gamble at diwali in order to bring good luck during the coming year; all classes indulge in a little speculation at this season. 16. holi festival. in the month of phagun (february), about the time of the holi, the marwaris make an image of mud naked, calling it nathu ram, who was supposed to be a great marwari. they mock at this and throw mud at it, and beat it with shoes, and have various jests and sports. the men and women are divided into two parties, and throw dirty water and red powder over each other, and the women make whips of cloth and beat the men. after two or three days, they break up the image and throw it away. the banias, both jain and hindu, like to begin the day by going and looking at the god in his temple. this is considered an auspicious omen in the same manner as it is commonly held to be a good omen to see some particular person or class of person the first thing in the morning. others begin the day by worshipping the sacred _tulsi_ or basil. 17. social customs: rules about food. the banias are very strict about food. the majority of them abstain from all kinds of flesh food and alcoholic liquor. the kasarwanis are reported to eat the flesh of clean animals, and perhaps others of the lower subcastes may also do so, but the banias are probably stricter than any other caste in their adherence to a vegetable diet. many of them eschew also onions and garlic as impure food. banias take the lead in the objection to foreign sugar on account of the stories told of the impure ingredients which it contains, and many of them, until recently, at any rate, still adhered to indian sugar. drugs are not forbidden, but they are not usually addicted to them. tobacco is forbidden to the jains, but both they and the hindus smoke, and their women sometimes chew tobacco. the bania while he is poor is very abstemious, and it is said that on a day when he has made no money he goes supperless to bed. but when he has accumulated wealth, he develops a fondness for _ghi_ or preserved butter, which often causes him to become portly. otherwise his food remains simple, and as a rule he confined himself until recently to two daily meals, at midday and in the evening; but banias, like most other classes who can afford it, have now begun to drink tea in the morning. in dress the bania is also simple, adhering to the orthodox hindu garb of a long white coat and a loin-cloth. he has not yet adopted the cotton trousers copied from the english fashion. some banias in their shops wear only a cloth over their shoulders and another round their waist. the _kardora_ or silver waist-belt is a favourite bania ornament, and though plainly dressed in ordinary life, rich marwaaris will on special festival occasions wear costly jewels. on his head the marwari wears a small tightly folded turban, often coloured crimson, pink or yellow; a green turban is a sign of mourning and also black, though the latter is seldom seen. the banias object to taking the life of any animal. they will not castrate cattle even through their servants, but sell the young bulls and buy oxen. in saugor, a bania is put out of caste if he keeps buffaloes. it is supposed that good hindus should not keep buffaloes nor use them for carting or ploughing, because the buffalo is impure, and is the animal on which yama, the god of death, rides. thus in his social observances generally the bania is one of the strictest castes, and this is a reason why his social status is high. sometimes he is even held superior to the rajput, as the local rajputs are often of impure descent and lax in their observance of religious and social restrictions. though he soon learns the vernacular language of the country where he settles, the marwari usually retains his own native dialect in his account-books, and this makes it more difficult for his customers to understand them. 18. character of the bania. the bania has a very distinctive caste character. from early boyhood he is trained to the keeping of accounts and to the view that it is his business in life to make money, and that no transaction should be considered successful or creditable which does not show a profit. as an apprentice, he goes through a severe training in mental arithmetic, so as to enable him to make the most intricate calculations in his head. with this object a boy commits to memory a number of very elaborate tables. for whole numbers he learns by heart the units from one to ten multiplied as high as forty times, and the numbers from eleven to twenty multiplied to twenty times. there are also fractional tables, giving the results of multiplying 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1 1/4, 1 1/2, 2 1/2, 3 1/2 into units from one to one hundred; interest-tables showing the interest due on any sum from one to one thousand rupees for one month, and for a quarter of a month at twelve per cent; tables of the squares of all numbers from one to one hundred, and a set of technical rules for finding the price of a part from the price of the whole. [129] the self-denial and tenacity which enable the bania without capital to lay the foundations of a business are also remarkable. on first settling in a new locality, a marwari bania takes service with some shopkeeper, and by dint of the strictest economy puts together a little money. then the new trader establishes himself in some village and begins to make grain advances to the cultivators on high rates of interest, though occasionally on bad security. he opens a shop and retails grain, pulses, condiments, spices, sugar and flour. from grain he gradually passes to selling cloth and lending money, and being keen and exacting, and having to deal with ignorant and illiterate clients, he acquires wealth; this he invests in purchasing villages, and after a time blossoms out into a big seth or banker. the bania can also start a retail business without capital. the way in which he does it is to buy a rupee's worth of stock in a town, and take it out early in the morning to a village, where he sits on the steps of the temple until he has sold it. up till then he neither eats nor washes his face. he comes back in the evening after having eaten two or three pice worth of grain, and buys a fresh stock, which he takes out to another village in the morning. thus he turns over his capital with a profit two or three times a week according to the saying, "if a bania gets a rupee he will have an income of eight rupees a month," or as another proverb pithily sums up the immigrant marwari's career, 'he comes with a _lota_ [130] and goes back with a lakh.' the bania never writes off debts, even though his debtor may be a pauper, but goes on entering them up year by year in his account-books and taking the debtor's acknowledgment. for he says, '_purus parus_', or man is like the philosopher's stone, and his fortune may change any day. 19. dislike of the cultivators towards him. the cultivators rarely get fair treatment from the banias, as the odds are too much against them. they must have money to sow their land, and live while the crops are growing, and the majority who have no capital are at the moneylender's mercy. he is of a different caste, and often of a different country, and has no fellow-feeling towards them, and therefore considers the transaction merely from the business point of view of getting as much profit as possible. the debtors are illiterate, often not even understanding the meaning of figures, or the result of paying compound interest at twenty-five or fifty per cent; they can neither keep accounts themselves nor check their creditor's. hence they are entirely in his hands, and in the end their villages or land, if saleable, pass to him, and they decline from landlord to tenant, or from tenant to labourer. they have found vent for their feelings in some of the bitterest sayings ever current: 'a man who has a bania for a friend has no need of an enemy.' 'borrow from a bania and you are as good as ruined.' 'the rogue cheats strangers and the bania cheats his friends.' 'kick a bania even if he is dead.' "his heart, we are told, is no bigger than a coriander seed; he goes in like a needle and comes out like a sword; as a neighbour he is as bad as a boil in the armpit. if a bania is on the other side of a river you should leave your bundle on this side for fear he should steal it. if a bania is drowning you should not give him your hand; he is sure to have some pecuniary motive for drifting down-stream. a bania will start an auction in a desert. if a bania's son tumbles down he is sure to pick up something. he uses light weights and swears that the scales tip up of themselves; he keeps his accounts in a character that no one but god can read; if you borrow from him your debt mounts up like a refuse-heap or gallops like a horse; if he talks to a customer he debits the conversation in his accounts; and when his own credit is shaky he writes up his transactions on the wall so that they can easily be rubbed out." [131] 20. his virtues. nevertheless there is a good deal to be said on the other side, and the bania's faults are probably to a large extent produced by his environment, like other people's. one of the bania's virtues is that he will lend on security which neither the government nor the banks would look at, or on none at all. then he will always wait a long time for his money, especially if the interest is paid. no doubt this is no loss to him, as he keeps his money out at good interest; but it is a great convenience to a client that his debt can be postponed in a bad year, and that he can pay as much as he likes in a good one. the village moneylender is indispensable to its economy when the tenants are like school-boys in that money burns a hole in their pocket; and sir denzil ibbetson states that it is surprising how much reasonableness and honesty there is in his dealings with the people, so long as he can keep his transactions out of a court of justice. [132] similarly, sir reginald craddock writes: "the village bania is a much-abused individual, but he is as a rule a quiet, peaceable man, a necessary factor in the village economy. he is generally most forbearing with his clients and customers, and is not the person most responsible for the indebtedness of the ryot. it is the casual moneylender with little or no capital who lives by his wits, or the large firms with shops and agents scattered over the face of the country who work the serious mischief. these latter encourage the people to take loans and discourage repayment until the debt has increased by accumulation of interest to a sum from which the borrower cannot easily free himself." [133] 21. the moneylender changed for the worse. the progress of administration, bringing with it easy and safe transit all over the country; the institution of a complete system of civil justice and the stringent enforcement of contracts through the courts; the introduction of cash coinage as the basis of all transactions; and the grant of proprietary and transferable rights in land, appear to have at the same time enhanced the bania's prosperity and increased the harshness and rapacity of his dealings. when the moneylender lived in the village he had an interest in the solvency of the tenants who constituted his clientèle and was also amenable to public opinion, even though not of his own caste. for it would clearly be an impossibly unpleasant position for him to meet no one but bitter enemies whenever he set foot outside his house, and to go to bed in nightly fear of being dacoited and murdered by a combination of his next-door neighbours. he therefore probably adopted the motto of live and let live, and conducted his transactions on a basis of custom, like the other traders and artisans who lived among the village community. but with the rise of the large banking-houses whose dealings are conducted through agents over considerable tracts of country, public opinion can no longer act. the agent looks mainly to his principal, and the latter has no interest in or regard for the cultivators of distant villages. he cares only for his profit, and his business is conducted with a single view to that end. he himself has no public opinion to face, as he lives in a town among a community of his caste-fellows, and here absolutely no discredit is attached to grinding the faces of the poor, but on the contrary the honour and consideration accruing to him are in direct proportion to his wealth. the agent may have some compunction, but his first aim is to please his principal, and as he is often a sojourner liable to early transfer he cares little what may be said or thought about him locally. 22. the enforcement of contracts. again the introduction of the english law of contract and transfer of property, and the increase in the habit of litigation have greatly altered the character of the money-lending business for the worse. the debtor signs a bond sometimes not even knowing the conditions, more often having heard them but without any clear idea of their effect or of the consequences to himself, and as readily allows it to be registered. when it comes into court the witnesses, who are the moneylender's creatures, easily prove that it was a genuine and _bona fide_ transaction, and the debtor is too ignorant and stupid to be able to show that he did not understand the bargain or that it was unconscionable. in any case the court has little or no power to go behind a properly executed contract without any actual evidence of fraud, and has no option but to decree it in terms of the deed. this evil is likely to be remedied very shortly, as the government of india have announced a proposal to introduce the recent english act and allow the courts the discretion to go behind contracts, and to refuse to decree exorbitant interest or other hard bargains. this urgently needed reform will, it may be hoped, greatly improve the character of the civil administration by encouraging the courts to realise that it is their business to do justice between litigants, and not merely to administer the letter of the law; and at the same time it should have the result, as in england, of quickening the public conscience and that of the moneylenders themselves, which has indeed already been to some extent awakened by other government measures, including the example set by the government itself as a creditor. 23. cash coinage and the rate of interest. again the free circulation of metal currency and its adoption as a medium for all transactions has hitherto been to the disadvantage of the debtors. interest on money was probably little in vogue among pastoral peoples, and was looked upon with disfavour, being prohibited by both the mosaic and muhammadan codes. the reason was perhaps that in a pastoral community there existed no means of making a profit on a loan by which interest could be paid, and hence the result of usury was that the debtor ultimately became enslaved to his creditor; and the enslavement of freemen on any considerable scale was against the public interest. with the introduction of agriculture a system of loans on interest became a necessary and useful part of the public economy, as a cultivator could borrow grain to sow land and support himself and his family until the crop ripened, out of which the loan, principal and interest, could be repaid. if, as seems likely, this was the first occasion for the introduction of the system of loan-giving on a large scale, it would follow that the rate of interest would be based largely on the return yielded by the earth to the seed. support is afforded to this conjecture by the fact that in the case of grain loans in the central provinces the interest on loans of grain of the crops which yield a comparatively small return, such as wheat, is twenty-five to fifty per cent, while in the case of those which yield a large return, such as juari and kodon, it is one hundred per cent. these high rates of interest were not of much importance so long as the transaction was in grain. the grain was much less valuable at harvest than at seed time, and in addition the lender had the expense of storing and protecting his stock of grain through the year. it is probable that a rate of twenty-five per cent on grain loans does not yield more than a reasonable profit to the lender. but when in recent times cash came to be substituted for grain it would appear that there was no proportionate reduction in the interest. the borrower would lose by having to sell his grain for the payment of his debt at the most unfavourable rate after harvest, and since the transaction was by a regular deed the lender no longer took any share of the risk of a bad harvest, as it is probable that he was formerly accustomed to do. the rates of interest for cash loans afforded a disproportionate profit to the lender, who was put to no substantial expense in keeping money as he had formerly been in the case of grain. it is thus probable that rates for cash loans were for a considerable period unduly severe in proportion to the risk, and involved unmerited loss to the borrower. this is now being remedied by competition, by government loans given on a large scale in time of scarcity, and by the introduction of co-operative credit. but it has probably contributed to expedite the transfer of land from the cultivating to the moneylending classes. 24. proprietary and transferable rights in land. lastly the grant of proprietary and transferable right to land has afforded a new incentive and reward to the successful moneylender. prior to this measure it is probable that no considerable transfers of land occurred for ordinary debt. the village headman might be ousted for non-payment of revenue, or simply through the greed of some government official under native rule, and of course the villages were continually pillaged and plundered by their own and hostile armies such as the pindaris, while the population was periodically decimated by famine. but apart from their losses by famine, war and the badness of the central government, it is probable that the cultivators were held to have a hereditary right to their land, and were not liable to ejectment on the suit of any private person. it is doubtful whether they had any conception of ownership of the land, and it seems likely that they may have thought of it as a god or the property of the god; but the cultivating castes perhaps had a hereditary right to cultivate it, just as the chamar had a prescriptive right to the hides of the village cattle, the kalar to the mahua-flowers for making his liquor, the kumhar to clay for his pots, and the teli to press the oil-seeds grown in his village. the inferior castes were not allowed to hold land, and it was probably never imagined that the village moneylender should by means of a piece of stamped paper be able to oust the cultivators indebted to him and take their land himself. with the grant of proprietary right to land such as existed in england, and the application of the english law of contract and transfer of property, a new and easy road to wealth was opened to the moneylender, of which he was not slow to take advantage. the banias have thus ousted numbers of improvident proprietors of the cultivating castes, and many of them have become large landlords. a considerable degree of protection has now been afforded to landowners and cultivators, and the process has been checked, but that it should have proceeded so far is regrettable; and the operation of the law has been responsible for a large amount of unintentional injustice to the cultivating castes and especially to proprietors of aboriginal descent, who on account of their extreme ignorance and improvidence most readily fall a prey to the moneylender. 25. the bania as a landlord. as landlords the banias were not at first a success. they did not care to spend money in improving their property, and ground their tenants to the utmost. sir r. craddock remarks of them: [134] "great or small they are absolutely unfitted by their natural instincts to be landlords. shrewdest of traders, most business-like in the matter of bargains, they are unable to take a broad view of the duties of landlord or to see that rack-renting will not pay in the long run." still, under the influence of education, and the growth of moral feeling, as well as the desire to stand well with government officers and to obtain recognition in the shape of some honour, many of the marwari proprietors are developing into just and progressive landlords. but from the cultivator's point of view, residence on their estates, which are managed by agents in charge of a number of villages for an absent owner, cannot compare with the system of the small cultivating proprietor resident among tenants of his own caste, and bound to them by ties of sympathy and caste feeling, which produces, as described by sir r. craddock, the ideal village. 26. commercial honesty. as a trader the bania formerly had a high standard of commercial probity. even though he might show little kindliness or honesty in dealing with the poorer class of borrowers, he was respected and absolutely reliable in regard to money. it was not unusual for people to place their money in a rich bania's hands without interest, even paying him a small sum for safe-keeping. bankruptcy was considered disgraceful, and was visited with social penalties little less severe than those enforced for breaches of caste rules. there was a firm belief that a merchant's condition in the next world depended on the discharge of all claims against him. and the duty of paying ancestral debts was evaded only in the case of helpless or hopeless poverty. of late, partly owing to the waning power of caste and religious feeling in the matter, and partly to the knowledge of the bankruptcy laws, the standard of commercial honour has greatly fallen. since the case of bankruptcy is governed and arranged for by law, the trader thinks that so long as he can keep within the law he has done nothing wrong. a banker, when heavily involved, seldom scruples to become a bankrupt and to keep back money enough to enable him to start afresh, even if he does nothing worse. this, however, is probably a transitory phase, and the same thing has happened in england and america at one stage of commercial development. in time it may be expected that the loss of the old religious and caste feeling will be made good by a new standard of commercial honour enforced by public opinion among merchants generally. the banias are very good to their own caste, and when a man is ruined will have a general subscription and provide funds to enable him to start afresh in a small way. beggars are very rare in the caste. rich marwaris are extremely generous in their subscriptions to objects of public utility, but it is said that the small bania is not very charitably inclined, though he doles out handfuls of grain to beggars with fair liberality. but he has a system by which he exacts from those who deal with him a slight percentage on the price received by them for religious purposes. this is called deodan or a gift to god, and is supposed to go into some public fund for the construction or maintenance of a temple or similar object. in the absence of proper supervision or audit it is to be feared that the bania inclines to make use of it for his private charity, thus saving himself expense on that score. the system has been investigated by mr. napier, commissioner of jubbulpore, with a view to the application of these funds to public improvements. bania, agarwala _bania, agarwala, agarwal._--this is generally considered to be the highest and most important subdivision of the banias. they numbered about 25,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911, being principally found in jubbulpore and nagpur. the name is probably derived from agroha, a small town in the hissar district of the punjab, which was formerly of some commercial importance. buchanan records that when any firm failed in the city each of the others contributed a brick and five rupees, which formed a stock sufficient for the merchant to recommence trade with advantage. the agarwalas trace their descent from a raja agar sen, whose seventeen sons married the seventeen daughters of basuki, the king of the nagas or snakes. elliot considers that the snakes were really the scythian or barbarian immigrants, the yueh-chi or kushans, from whom several of the rajpat clans as the tak, haihayas and others, who also have the legend of snake ancestry, were probably derived. elliot also remarks that raja agar sen, being a king, must have been a kshatriya, and thus according to the legend the agarwalas would have rajput ancestry on both sides. their appearance, mr. crooke states, indicates good race and breeding, and would lend colour to the theory of a rajput origin. raja agar sen is said to have ruled over both agra and agroha, and it seems possible that the name of the agarwalas may also be connected with agra, which is a much more important place than agroha. the country round agra and delhi is their home, and the shrine of the tutelary goddess of some of the agarwalas in the central provinces is near delhi. the memory of the naga princess who was their ancestor is still, sir h. risley states, held in honour by the agarwalas, and they say, 'our mother's house is of the race of the snake.' [135] no agarwala, whether hindu or jain, will kill or molest a snake, and the vaishnava agarwalas of delhi paint pictures of snakes on either side of the outside doors of their houses, and make offerings of fruit and flowers before them. in the central provinces, like other bania subcastes, they are divided into the bisa and dasa or twenty and ten subdivisions, which marry among themselves. the bisa rank higher than the dasa, the latter being considered to have some flaw in their pedigree, such as descent from a remarried widow. the dasas are sometimes said to be the descendants of the maidservants who accompanied the seventeen naga or snake princesses on their marriages to the sons of raja agar sen. a third division has now come into existence in the central provinces, known as the pacha or fives; these are apparently of still more doubtful origin than the dasas. the divisions tend to be endogamous, but if a man of the bisa or dasa cannot obtain a wife from his own group he will sometimes marry in a lower group. the agarwalas are divided into seventeen and a half _gotras_ or exogamous sections, which are supposed to be descended from the seventeen sons of raja agar sen. the extra half _gotra_ is accounted for by a legend, but it probably has in reality also something to do with illegitimate descent. some of the _gotras_, as given by mr. crooke, are as a matter of fact named after brahmanical saints like those of the brahmans; instances of these are garga, gautama, kaushika, kasyapa and vasishtha; the others appear to be territorial or titular names. the prohibitions on marriage between relations are far-reaching among the agarwalas. the detailed rules are given in the article on bania, and the effect is that persons descended from a common ancestor cannot intermarry for five generations. when the wedding procession is about to start the kumhar brings his donkey and the bridegroom has to touch it with his foot, or, according to one version, ride upon it. the origin of this custom is obscure, but the people now say that it is meant to emphasise the fact that the bridegroom is going to do a foolish thing. the remarriage of widows is prohibited, and divorce is not recognised. most of the agarwalas are vaishnava by religion, but a few are jains. intermarriage between members of the two religions is permitted in some localities, and the wife adopts that of her husband. the jain agarwalas observe the hindu festivals and employ brahmans for their ceremonies. in nimar the caste have some curious taboos. it is said that a married woman may not eat wheat until a child has been born to her, but only juari; and if she has no child she may not eat wheat all her life. if a son is born to her she must go to mahaur, a village near delhi where the tutelary goddess of the caste has her shrine. this goddess is called mohna devi, and she is the deified spirit of a woman who burnt herself with her husband. after this the woman may eat wheat; but if a second son is born she must stop eating wheat until she has been to the shrine again. but if she has a daughter she may at once and always eat wheat without visiting the shrine. these rules, as well as the veneration of a snake, from which they believe themselves to be descended on the mother's side, may perhaps, as suggested by sir h. risley, be a relic of the system of matriarchal descent. it is said that when raja agar sen or his sons married the naga princesses, he obtained permission as a special favour from the goddess lakshmi that the children should bear their father's name and not their mother's. [136] in nimar some agarwalas worship goba pir, the god of the sweepers. he is represented by a pole some 30 feet long on which are hung a cloth and cocoanuts. the sweepers carry this through the city almost daily during the month of shrawan (july), and people offer cocoanuts, tying them on to the pole. some agarwalas offer vermilion to the god in token of worship, and a few invite it to the compounds of their houses and keep it there all night for the same purpose. when a feast is given in the caste the agarwalas do not take their own brass vessels according to the usual practice, but the host gives them little earthen pots to drink from which are afterwards broken, and leaf-plates for their food. the agarwalas will take food cooked without water (_pakki_) from oswal, maheshri and khandelwal banias. the agarwalas of the central provinces hold some substantial estates in chhattisgarh; these were obtained at the first settlements during 1860-70, when considerable depression existed, and many of the village headmen were unwilling to accept the revenue assessed on their villages. the more enterprising banias stepped in and took them, and have profited enormously owing to the increase in the value of land. akbar's great minister, todar mal, who first introduced an assessment of the land-revenue based on the measurement and survey of the land, is said to have been an agarwala. bania, agrahari _bania, agrahari._ [137]--this subcaste numbered nearly 2000 persons in 1911, resident principally in jubbulpore, raipur and bilaspur, and some of the feudatory states. mr. crooke states that they claim partly a vaishya and partly a brahmanical descent, and wear the sacred thread. like that of the agarwala banias their name has been connected with the cities of agra and agroha. there is no doubt that they are closely connected with the agarwalas, and mr. nesfield suggests that the two groups must have been sections of one and the same caste which quarrelled on some trifling matter connected with cooking or eating, and have remained separate ever since. the agrahari banias are hindus, and some of them belong to the nanakpanthi sect. they are principally dealers in provisions, and they have acquired some discredit as compared with their kinsfolk the agarwalas, through not secluding their women and allowing them to attend the shop. they also retail various sweet-smelling woods which are used in religious ceremonies, such as aloe-wood and sandalwood, besides a number of medicines and simples. the richer members of the caste are bankers, dealers in grain and pawnbrokers. bania, ajudhiabasi _bania, ajudhiabasi, audhia_.--a subcaste of bania, whose name signifies a resident of ajodhia, the old name of oudh. outsiders often shorten the name to audhia, but, as will be seen, the name audhia is regularly applied to a criminal class, who may have been derived from the ajudhiabasi banias, but are now quite distinct from them. the ajudhiabasis numbered nearly 2000 persons in 1911, belonging chiefly to the jubbulpore, narsinghpur and hoshangabad districts. this total includes any persons who may have returned themselves as audhia. the ajudhiabasis are nearly all hindus with a small jain minority. though oudh was their original home they are now fairly numerous in cawnpore and bundelkhand as well, and it may have been from this last locality that they entered the central provinces. here they form a separate endogamous group and do not marry with their caste-fellows in northern india. they have exogamous sections, and marriage is prohibited within the section and also between first cousins. they permit the remarriage of widows, but are said not to recognise divorce, and to expel from the caste a woman guilty of adultery. it may be doubted, however, whether this is correct. brahmans serve as their priests, and they invest boys with the sacred thread either at marriage or at a special ceremony known as gurmukh. the dead are either buried or burnt; in the case of burial men are laid on the face and women on the back, the body being first rubbed with salt, clarified butter, turmeric and milk. a little earth from the grave is carried away and thrown into a sacred river, and when the dead are burnt the ashes are similarly disposed of. their principal deity is the goddess devi, and at the dasahra festival they offer a goat to her, the flesh of which is distributed among members of the caste. the audhias are a well-known criminal tribe, whose headquarters is in the fatehpur district. they say that they are banias, and use the name ajudhiabasi in speaking of themselves, and from their customs and criminal methods it seems not unlikely that they may originally have been an offshoot from the ajudhiabasi banias. they are now, however, perfectly distinct from this group, and any confusion between them would be very unjust to the latter. in northern india it is said that the audhias deal largely in counterfeit coin and false jewellery, and never commit crimes of violence; [138] but in bombay they have taken to housebreaking, though they usually select an empty house. [139] from their homes in the united provinces they wander over central india, the central provinces, bengal and bombay; they are said to avoid the punjab and sind owing to difficulties of working, and they have made it a caste offence to commit any crime in the ganges-jumna doab, probably because this is their home. it is said also that if any one of them is imprisoned he is put out of caste. they wander about disguised as religious mendicants, brahmans or bairagis. they carry their bedding tied on their back with a cloth, and a large bag slung over the shoulders which contains food, cooking-vessels and other articles. sometimes they pretend to be banias and hawk about sweets and groceries, or one of the gang opens a shop, which serves as a rendezvous and centre for collecting information. [140] in the districts where they reside they are perfectly well-behaved. they are well-to-do and to all appearance respectable in their habits. their women are well-dressed with plenty of ornaments on their persons. they have no apparent means of support; they neither cultivate land nor trade; and all that appears on the surface is that most of the men and boys go off after the rains and return at the end of the cold weather. if asked how they support themselves they reply by begging. their marriage rules are those of high-caste hindus. they are divided into two classes, unch or high and nich or low, the former being of pure blood, and the latter the descendants of kept women. these are practically endogamous. a man may not have more than two wives. if a girl is detected in immorality before marriage, she is permanently excommunicated, and a married woman can be turned out by her husband on proof of adultery. a bridegroom-price is usually paid, the father of the bride visiting the bridegroom and giving him the money in secret. the dead are burnt, and brahmans are duly fed. if a man has died through an accident or from cholera, smallpox, poison or leprosy, the corpse, if available, is at once consigned to the ganges or other river, and during the course of the next twelve months a mahabrahman is paid to make an image of the deceased in gram-flour, which is cremated with the usual rites. as in the case of the ajudhiabasi banias, the tribal deity of the audhias is the goddess devi. [141] bania, asathi _bania, asathi._--this subcaste numbers about 2500 persons in the central provinces, belonging principally to the damoh and jubbulpore districts. they say that their original home was the tikamgarh state in bundelkhand. they do not rank very high, and are sometimes said to be the descendants of an ahir who became a bania. the great bulk are hindus and a small minority jains. it is told of the asathis that they first bury their dead, in accordance presumably with a former practice, and then exhume and burn the bodies; and there is a saying- ardha jale, ardha gare jinka nam asathi pare, or, 'he who is an asathi is half buried and half burnt.' but this practice, if it ever really existed, has now been abandoned. bania, charnagri _bania, charnagri, channagri, samaiya._--the charnagris are a small jain subcaste which numbered about 2500 persons in 1911, residing principally in the damoh and chhindwara districts. they are the followers of one taran swami, who is said to have lived about five centuries ago. he preached against the worship of the images of the jain tirthakars, and said that this should be abandoned and only the sacred books be revered. the chief sacred place of the sect is malhargarh in gwalior state; here the tomb of their prophet is situated and there is also a large temple in which the jain scriptures are enshrined. in the month of phagun (february) a fair is held here, and charnagris dance in the temples, holding lighted lamps in their hands. nowadays the charnagris also visit the ordinary jain temples when their own are not available. they are practically all derived from parwar banias, and formerly would sometimes give their daughters to parwars in marriage, but this practice is said to have stopped. like other bania subcastes, they are divided into bisa and dasa, or twenty and ten sections, the dasa being of irregular descent. intermarriage between the two sections occasionally occurs, and the dasa will take food from the bisa section, but the latter do not reciprocate except at caste feasts. bania, dhusar _bania, dhusar, bhargava dhusar._--the origin of this group is much disputed. they are usually classed as a subcaste of bania, but claim to be brahmans. they take their name from a hill called dhusi or dhosi, near narnaul on the border of alwar state. the title bhargava signifies a descendant of bhrigu, one of the famous eponymous rishis or brahmanical saints, to whom manu confided his institutes, calling him his son. if this was their original name, it would show that they were brahmans, but its adoption appears to be somewhat recent. their claim to be brahmans is, however, admitted by many members of that caste, and it is stated that they perform the functions of brahmans in their original home in rajputana. mr. burn wrote of them: [142] "in his book on castes published in 1872 mr. sherring does not refer to any claim to kinship with brahmans, though in his description of dhusar banias he appears to include the people under consideration. both the dhusar bhargavas and dhusar banias assert that himu, the capable vazir of muhammad shah suri, belonged to their community, and such a claim by the former is if anything in favour of the view that they are not brahmans, since himu is variously described by muhammadan writers as a corn-chandler, a weighman and a bania. colonel dow in his history of hindustan calls him a shopkeeper who was raised by sher shah to be superintendent of markets. it is not improbable that himu's success laid the foundation for a claim to a higher position, but the matter does not admit of absolute proof, and i have therefore accepted the decision of the majority of the caste-committees and considered them as a caste allied to brahmans." in the punjab the dhusars appear to be in some places brahmans and in others banias. "they take their food before morning prayer, contrary to the hindu rule, but of late years they have begun to conform to the orthodox practice. the brahman dhusar marries with his caste-fellows and the bania with banias, avoiding always the same family (_gotra_) or one having the same family deity." [143] from the above accounts it would appear that the dhusars may have originally been a class of brahmans who took to trade, like the palliwal brahmans of marwar, and have lost their position as brahmans and become amalgamated with the bania caste; or they may have been banias, who acted as priests to others of the community, and hence claimed to be brahmans. the caste is important and influential, and is now making every effort to recover or substantiate its brahman status. one writer states that they combine the office aptitude and hard-heartedness to a debtor characteristic of the bania. the dhusars are rigid in the maintenance of the purity of their order and in the performance of hindu ceremonies and duties, and neither eat meat nor drink any kind of spirit. in delhi they were distinguished for their talent as singers, and cultivated a peculiar strain or measure, in which they were unsurpassed. [144] in the central provinces the dhusars are a flourishing body, their leaders being rai bahadur bihari lal khizanchi of jubbulpore and rai sahib seth sundar lal of betul. they have founded the bhargava bank of jubbulpore, and shown considerable public spirit; to the latter gentleman's generosity a large part of the success of the recent debt-conciliation proceedings in the betul district must be attributed. bania, dosar _bania, dosar, dusra._ [145]--this subcaste numbers about 600 persons. the original name is dusra or second, and the dosar or dusra are a section of the ummar banias, who were so called because they permit widows to make a second marriage. their home is the ganges-jumna doab and oudh, and in the united provinces they are classed as an inferior subcaste of the ummars. here they say that the ummars are their elder brothers. in the central provinces they are said to be forming three local endogamous groups according as their homes were in the doab, oudh or the allahabad country; and members of each of these marry among themselves. the dosars say that they all belong to the kashyap [146] _gotra_ or clan, but for the purpose of marriage they have territorial or titular exogamous sections; instances of these are gangapari, a native of oudh; sagarah, a resident of saugor; makraha, a seller of _makka_ or maize, and tamakhuha, a tobacco-seller. they pay a bridegroom-price, the full recognised amount of which is rs. 211, either in cash or brass cooking-vessels. those who cannot afford this sum give half of it or rs. 105, and the poorest classes pay anything they can afford. the dosars are vaishnava hindus and employ sanadhya brahmans as their priests. these brahmans will take food without water from their clients, but they are an inferior class and are looked down upon by other brahmans. the caste are mainly shopkeepers, and they deal in gold and silver ornaments, as well as grain, tobacco and all kinds of groceries. bania, gahoi _bania, gahoi._ [147]--this hindu subcaste numbered nearly 7000 persons in 1911, belonging principally to the saugor, jubbulpore and narsinghpur districts. their home is the bundelkhand country, which these districts adjoin, and they say that their original headquarters was at kharagpur in bundelkhand, whence they have spread over the surrounding country. they tell a curious story of their origin to the effect that once upon a time there was a certain schoolmaster, one biya pande brahman, who could foretell the future. one day he was in his school with his boys when he foresaw that there was about to be an earthquake. he immediately warned his boys to get out of the building, and himself led the way. only twelve of the boys had followed, and the others were still hesitating, when the earthquake began, the school fell in, and they were all buried in the ruins. the schoolmaster formed the boys who had escaped into one caste, calling them gahoi, which is supposed to mean that which is left or the residue; and he determined that he and his descendants would be the priests of the new caste. at the weddings of the gahois an image of the schoolmaster is painted on the house wall, and the bridegroom worships it with offerings of butter and flowers. the story indicates clearly that the gahois are of mixed descent from several castes. the subcaste has twelve _gotras_ or sections, and seventy-two _al_ or _anken_, which are subsections of the _gotras_. several of the _al_ names appear to be of a titular or totemistic character, as mor peacock, sohania beautiful, nagaria a drummer, paharia a hillman, matele the name of a village headman in bundelkhand, piparvania from the pipal tree, dadaria a singer. the rule of exogamy is said to be that a man must not marry in his own _gotra_ nor in the _al_ of his mother or either grandmother. [148] their weddings are held only at the bride's house, no ceremonies being performed at the bridegroom's; at the ceremony the bridegroom stands in the centre of the shed by the marriage-post and the bride walks seven times round him. at their weddings the gahois still use the old rupees of the nagpur kingdom for presents and payments to menials, and they hoard them up, when they can get them, for this special purpose. the rupee is sacred with the bania, and this is an instance of the preservation of old accessories for religious ceremonies when they have been superseded in ordinary use. polygamy is permitted, but is rare. the gahois employ bhargava brahmans for their priests, and these are presumably the descendants of the schoolmaster who founded the caste. at the thirteenth-day feast after a death the brahmans must be fed first before the members of the caste. on this occasion thirteen brass or earthen vessels are filled with flour, and a piece of money, and presented to thirteen brahmans, while the family priest receives a bed and piece of cloth. the priests are said to be greedy, and to raise quarrels over the value of the presents given to them. at the diwali festival the gahois worship the implements of their trade, pen and ink, and their account-books. the gahois are vaishnava hindus, and abstain from all flesh and alcoholic liquor. they trade in grain and groceries, and are bankers and moneylenders. they are considered to be cunning in business, and a proverb says that a gahoi will deceive even his own father. bania, golapurab _bania, golapurab, golahre._--this jain subcaste numbers about 6000 persons in the central provinces, and belongs mainly to the saugor, damoh and narsinghpur districts. its distribution is nearly the same as that of the gahois, and it is probably also a bundelkhand group. the golapurabs are practically all digambari jains with a small hindu minority. in some localities they intermarry with parwar banias who are also digambari jains; and they will take food cooked without water from the nema subcaste who are hindus. according to one story the golapurabs were the offspring of a purabia, that is probably a bais rajput, by a kept woman of the ahir caste. this fits in very well with the name, as golak means a bastard, and the termination _purab_ would be from purabia; but it is probably the name which has given rise to the story, or at any rate to the supposed descent from a purabia. in the united provinces a small subcaste of bania called golahre exists, belonging to the jhansi district, that is the country of the golapurabs, and jain by religion. there is no doubt that this group is the same as the golapurabs, and mr. crooke derives [149] the name from _gola_, a grain-mart, which seems more probable than the derivation suggested above. but it is an interesting fact that there is also a caste of cultivators called golapurab in the united provinces, found only in the agra district. it is suggested that these people are the illegitimate offspring of sanadhya brahmans, with whom they appear to be closely connected. from their sept-names, however, which include those of several rajput clans and also some titular terms of a low-caste type, mr. crooke thinks their brahmanical origin improbable. it is noticeable that these golapurabs though a cultivating caste have, like the banias, a subcaste called dasa, comprising persons of irregular descent; they also prohibit the remarriage of widows, and abstain from all flesh and from onions and garlic. such customs are peculiar in a cultivating caste, and resemble those of banias. it seems possible that a detailed investigation might give ground for supposing that both the golahre and golapurab subcastes of banias in the united and central provinces respectively are connected with this cultivating caste of golapurabs. the latter might have abandoned the jain religion on taking to cultivation, as a jain cannot well drive the plough, which involves destruction of animal life; or the bania section might have adopted jainism in order to obtain a better social position and differentiate themselves from the cultivators. unfortunately no detailed information about the golapurabs of the central provinces is available, from which the probability or otherwise of this hypothesis could be tested. bania, kasarwani _bania, kasarwani_. [150]--this hindu subcaste numbers about 6500 persons in the central provinces, who belong mainly to saugor, jubbulpore and the three chhattisgarh districts. the name is probably derived from _kansa_, bell-metal, as these banias retail brass and bell-metal vessels. the kasarwanis may therefore not improbably be an occupational group formed from persons who engaged in the trade, and in that case they may be wholly or partly derived from the kasars and tameras, the castes which work in brass, copper and bell-metal. the kasarwanis are numerous in allahabad and mirzapur, and they may have come to chhattisgarh from mirzapur, attracted by the bell-metal industries in ratanpur and drug. in saugor and also in the united provinces they say that they came from kara manikpur several generations ago. if the selling of metal vessels was their original calling, many, or the majority of them, have now abandoned it, and deal in grain and groceries, and lend money like other banias. the kasarwanis do not observe the same standard of strictness as the good bania subcastes in their social rules. they eat the flesh of goats, sheep, birds and fish, though they abstain from liquor. they permit the remarriage of widows and divorce; and women who have been divorced can marry again in the caste by the same rite as widows. they also allow the exchange of girls in marriage between two families. they do not as a rule wear the sacred thread. their priests are sarwaria brahmans, and these brahmans and a few bania subcastes, such as the agarwalas, umres and gahois, can take food cooked without water from them, but other brahmans and rajputs will not take any kind of food. matches are arranged in the presence of the head of the caste _panchayat_, who is known as chaudhri. the parents on each side give their consent, and in pledge of it six pice (farthings) are taken from both of them, mixed together and given to their family priests and barbers, four pice to the priests and two to the barbers. the following is a local derivation of the name; the word _kasar_ means more or the increase, and _bhata_ means less; and _hamara kya kasar bhata?_ means 'how does my account stand?' hence kasarbani is one who keeps accounts, that is a bania. bania, kasaundhan _bania, kasaundhan._--this subcaste numbers about 5500 persons in the central provinces and is returned principally from the bilaspur, raipur and jubbulpore districts. the name is derived [151] by mr. crooke from _kansa_, bell-metal, and _dhana_, wealth, and it would appear that the kasaundhans like the kasarwanis are an occupational group, made up of shopkeepers who dealt in metal vessels. like them also the kasaundhans may have originally been constituted from the metal-working castes, and indeed they may be only a local branch of the kasarwanis, though no information is available which would decide this point. in the united provinces both the kasarwanis and kasaundhans are divided into the purbia or eastern and pachhaiyan or western subcastes. dharam das, the great disciple of kabir, who founded the kabirpanthi sect in the central provinces, was a kasaundhan bania, and the kabirpanthi mahants or high-priests of kawardha are of this caste. it is probable that a good many of the kasaundhan banias in bilaspur and raipur belong to the kabirpanthi sect. the remainder are ordinary hindus. bania, khandelwal _bania, khandelwal._--this subcaste numbers about 1500 persons in the central provinces; they are most numerous in the hoshangabad and amraoti districts, but are scattered all over the province. they take their name from the town of khandela in the jaipur state of rajputana, which was formerly the capital of the shekhawati federation. there is also a khandelwal subcaste of the brahman caste, found in the united provinces. [152] mr. bhattacharya says of them: [153] "the khandelwal banias are not inferior to any other division of the caste either in wealth or refinement. there are both vaishnavites and jains among them, and the vaishnavite khandelwals wear the sacred thread. the millionaire seths of mathura are khandelwal banias." bania, lad _bania, lad._--this subcaste numbers about 5000 persons in the central provinces, being settled in nimar, nagpur and all the berar districts. the lad banias came from gujarat, and lad is derived from lat-desh, the old name for gujarat. like other banias they are divided into the bisa and dasa groups or twenties and tens, the dasa being of irregular descent. their family priests are khedawal brahmans, and their caste deity is ashapuri of ashnai, near petlad. lad women, especially those of baroda, are noted for their taste in dress. the lad banias are hindus of the vallabhacharya sect, who worship krishna, and were formerly addicted to sexual indulgence. [154] bania, lingayat _bania, lingayat._--the lingayat banias number nearly 8000 persons in the central provinces, being numerous in wardha, nagpur and all the berar districts. a brief account of the lingayat sect has been given in a separate article. the lingayat banias form a separate endogamous group, and they do not eat or intermarry either with other banias or with members of other castes belonging to the lingayat sect. but they retain the name and occupation of banias. they have five subdivisions, pancham, dikshawant, chilliwant, takalkar and kanade. the pancham or panchamsalis are the descendants of the original brahman converts to the lingayat sect. they are the main body of the community and are initiated by what is known as the eight-fold sacrament or _eshta-varna_. the dikshawant, from _diksha_ or initiation, are a subdivision of the panchamsalis, who apparently initiate disciples like the dikshit brahmans. the takalkar are said to take their name from a forest called takali, where their first ancestress bore a child to the god siva. the kanade are from canara. the meaning of the term chilliwant is not known; it is said that a member of this subcaste will throw away his food or water if it is seen by any one who is not a lingayat, and they shave the whole head. the above form endogamous subcastes. the lingayat banias also have exogamous groups, the names of which are mainly titular, of a low-caste type. instances of them are kaode, from _kawa_ a crow, teli an oil-seller, thubri a dwarf, ubadkar an incendiary, gudkari a sugar-seller and dhamankar from dhamangaon. they say that the _maths_ or exogamous groups are no longer regarded, and that marriage is now prohibited between persons having the same surname. it is stated that if a girl is not married before adolescence she is finally expelled from the caste, but this rule has probably become obsolete. the proposal for marriage comes from either the boy's or girl's party, and sometimes the bridegroom receives a small sum for his travelling expenses, while at other times a bride-price is paid. at the wedding, rice coloured red is put in the hands of the bridegroom and juari coloured yellow in those of the bride. the bridegroom places the rice on the bride's head and she lays the juari at his feet. a dish full of water with a golden ring in it is put between them, and they lay their hands on the ring together under the water and walk five times round a decorative little marriage-shed erected inside the real one. a feast is given, and the bridal couple sit on a little dais and eat out of the same dish. the remarriage of widows is permitted, but the widow may not marry a man belonging to the section either of her first husband or of her father. divorce is recognised. the lingayats bury the dead in a sitting posture with the _lingam_ or emblem of siva, which has never left the dead man during his lifetime, clasped in his right hand. sometimes a platform is made over the grave with an image of siva. they do not shave the head in token of mourning. their principal festival is shivratri or siva's night, when they offer the leaves of the bel tree and ashes to the god. a lingayat must never be without the _lingam_ or phallic sign of siva, which is carried slung round the neck in a little case of silver, copper or brass. if he loses it, he must not eat, drink nor smoke until he finds it or obtains another. the lingayats do not employ brahmans for any purpose, but are served by their own priests, the jangams, [155] who are recruited both by descent and by initiation from members of the pancham group. the lingayat banias are practically all immigrants from the telugu country; they have telugu names and speak this language in their homes. they deal in grain, cloth, groceries and spices. bania, maheshri _bania, maheshri._--this important subcaste of banias numbered about 14,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911, of whom 8000 belonged to the berar districts, and the remainder principally to hoshangabad, nimar, wardha and nagpur. the name is said to be derived from maheshwar, an ancient town on the nerbudda, near indore, and one of the earliest rajput settlements. but some of them say that their original home is in bikanir, and tell a story to the effect that their ancestor was a raja who was turned into stone with his seventy-two followers by some ascetics whose devotions they had interrupted in the forest. but when their wives came to commit _sati_ by the stone figures the god siva intervened and brought them to life again. he told them to give up the profession of arms and take to trade. so the seventy-two followers were the ancestors of the seventy-two _gotras_ or sections of the maheshris, and the raja became their tribal _bhat_ or genealogist, and they were called maheshri or maheswari, from mahesh, a name of siva. in gujarat the term maheshri or meshri appears to be used for all banias who are not jains, including the other important hindu subcastes. [156] this is somewhat peculiar, and perhaps tends to show that several of the local subcastes are of recent formation. but though they profess to be named after siva, the maheshris, like practically all other hindu banias, are vaishnava by sect, and wear the _kunti_ or necklace of beads of basil. a small minority are jains. it is to be noticed that both the place of their origin, an early rajput settlement of the yadava clan, and their own legend tend to show that they were derived from the rajput caste; for as their ancestors were attendants on a raja and followed the profession of arms, which they were told to abandon, they could be none other than rajputs. the maheshris also have the rajput custom of sending a cocoanut as a symbol of a proposal of marriage. in nimar the maheshri banias say they belong to the dhakar subcaste, a name which usually means illegitimate, though they themselves explain that it is derived from a place called dhakargarh, from which they migrated. as already stated they are divided into seventy-two exogamous clans, the names of which appear to be titular or territorial. it is said that at their weddings when the bridegroom gets to the door of the marriage-shed, the bride's mother ties a scarf round his neck and takes hold of his nose and drags him into the shed. sometimes they make the bridegroom kneel down and pay reverence to a shoe as a joke. they do not observe the custom of the _pangat_ or formal festal assembly, which is usual among hindu castes; according to this, none can begin to eat until all the guests have assembled, when they all sit down at once. among the maheshris the guests sit down as they come in, and are served and take their food and go. they only have the _pangat_ feast on very rare occasions. the maheshris are one of the richest, most enterprising and influential classes of banias. they are intelligent, of high-bred appearance, cleanly habits and courteous manners. the great bankers, sir kasturchand daga of kamptee, of the firm of bansi lal abirchand, and rai bahadur seth jiwan das and diwan bahadur seth ballabh das, of jubbulpore, belong to this subcaste. bania, nema _bania, nema._--this subcaste numbers nearly 4000 persons, the bulk of whom reside in the saugor, damoh, narsinghpur and seoni districts. the nemas are most largely returned from central india, and are probably a bundelkhand group; they will eat food cooked without water with golapurab banias, who are also found in bundelkhand. they are mainly hindus, with a small minority of jains. the origin of the name is obscure; the suggestion that it comes from nimar appears to be untenable, as there are very few nemas in that district. they say that when parasurama was slaying the kshatriyas fourteen young rajput princes, who at the time were studying religion with their family priests, were saved by the latter on renouncing their kshatriya status and declaring themselves to be vaishyas. these fourteen princes were the ancestors of the fourteen _gotras_ of the nema subcaste, but the _gotras_ actually bear the names of the fourteen rishis or saints who saved their lives. these sections appear to be of the usual brahmanical type, but marriage is regulated by another set of fifty-two subsections, with names which are apparently titular or territorial. like other bania groups the nemas are divided into bisa and dasa subdivisions or twenties and tens, the bisa being of pure and the dasa of irregular descent. there is also a third group of pacha or fives, who appear to be the offspring of kept women. after some generations, when the details of their ancestry are forgotten, the pachas probably obtain promotion into the dasa group. the bisa and dasa groups take food together, but do not intermarry. the nemas wear the sacred thread and apparently prohibit the remarriage of widows. the nemas are considered to be very keen business men, and a saying about them is, "where a sheep grazes or a nema trades, what is there left for anybody else?" bania, oswal _bania, oswal._--this is perhaps the most important subdivision of the banias after the agarwala. the oswals numbered nearly 10,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911, being found in considerable numbers in all the berar districts, and also in nimar, wardha and raipur. the name is derived from the town of osia or osnagar in marwar. according to one legend of their origin the raja of osnagar had no son, and obtained one through the promise of a jain ascetic. the people then drove the ascetic from the town, fearing that the raja would become a jain; but osadev, the guardian goddess of the place, told the ascetic, sri ratan suri, to convert the raja by a miracle. so she took a small hank (_puni_) of cotton and passed it along the back of the saint, when it immediately became a snake and bit jaichand, the son of the raja, in the toe, while he was asleep beside his wife. every means was tried to save his life, but he died. as his corpse was about to be burnt, the ascetic sent one of his disciples and stopped the cremation. then the raja came with the body of his son and stood with hands clasped before the saint. he ordered that it was to be taken back to the place where the prince had been bitten, and that the princess was to lie down beside it as before. at midnight the snake returned and licked the bite, when the prince was restored to life. then the raja, with all his court and people, became a jain. he and his family founded the _gotra_ or section now known as sri srimal or most noble; his servants formed that known as srimal or excellent, while the other rajputs of the town became ordinary oswals. when the brahmans of the place heard of these conversions they asked the saint how they were to live, as all their clients had become jains. the saint directed that they should continue to be the family priests of the oswals and be known as bhojak or 'eaters.' thus the oswals, though jains, continue to employ marwari brahmans as their family priests. another version of the story is that the king of srimali [157] allowed no one who was not a millionaire to live within his city walls. in consequence of this a large number of persons left srimal, and, settling in mandovad, called it osa or the frontier. among them were srimali banias and also bhatti, chauhan, gahlot, gaur, yadava, and several other clans of rajputs, and these were the people who were subsequently converted by the jain ascetic, sri ratan suri, and formed into the single caste of oswal. [158] finally, colonel tod states that the oswals are all of pure rajput descent, of no single tribe, but chiefly panwars, solankis and bhattis. [159] from these legends and the fact that their headquarters are in rajputana, it may safely be concluded that the oswal banias are of rajput origin. the large majority of the oswals are jain by religion, but a few are vaishnava hindus. intermarriage between the hindu and jain sections is permitted. like the agarwalas, the oswals are divided into bisa, dasa and pacha sections or twenties, tens and fives, according to the purity of their lineage. the pacha subcaste still permit the remarriage of widows. the three groups take food together but do not intermarry. in bombay, dasa oswals intermarry with the dasa groups of srimali and parwar banias, [160] and oswals generally can marry with other good bania subcastes so long as both parties are jains. the oswals are divided into eighty-four _gotras_ or exogamous sections for purposes of marriage, a list of which is given by mr. crooke. [161] most of these cannot be recognised, but a few of them seem to be titular, as lorha a caste which grows hemp, nunia a salt-refiner, seth a banker, daftari an office-boy, vaid a physician, bhandari a cook, and kukara a dog. these may indicate a certain amount of admixture of foreign elements in the caste. as stated from benares, the exogamous rule is that a man cannot marry in his own section, and he cannot marry a girl whose father's or mother's section is the same as that of either his father or mother. this would bar the marriage of first cousins. though jains the oswals perform their weddings by walking round the sacred fire and observe certain hindu rites, including the worship of the god ganpati. [162] they also revere other hindu deities and the sun and moon. the dead are burnt, but they do not observe any impurity after a death nor clean the house. on the day after the death the mourning family, both men and women, visit parasnath's temple, and lay one seer (2 lbs.) of indian millet before the god, bow to him and go home. they do not gather the ashes of the dead nor keep the yearly death-day. their only observance is that on some day between the twelfth day after a death and the end of a year, the caste-people are treated to a dinner of sweetmeats and the dead 'are then forgotten.' [163] the oswals will take food cooked with water (_katchi_) only from brahmans, and that cooked without water (_pakki_) from agarwala and maheshri banias. in the central provinces the principal deity of the oswals is the jain tirthakar parasnath, and they spend large sums in the erection of splendid temples. the oswals are the most prominent trading caste in rajputana; and they have also frequently held high offices, such as diwan or minister, and paymaster in rajput states. [164] bania, parwar 1. origin. _bania, parwar._ [165]--this jain subcaste numbered nearly 29,000 persons in 1911. they belong almost entirely to the jubbulpore and nerbudda divisions, and the great bulk are found in the saugor, damoh and jubbulpore districts. the origin of the parwars and of their name is not known, but there is some reason to suppose that they are from rajputana. their women wear on the head the _bij_, a rajputana ornament, and use the _charu_, a deep brass plate for drinking, which also belongs there. their songs are said to be in the rajasthani dialect. it seems likely that the parwars may be identical with the porawal subcaste found in other provinces, which, judging from the name, may belong to rajputana. in the northern districts the parwars speak bundeli, but in the south their language is said to be marwari. 2. subdivisions. among the parwars the samaiya or channagri form a separate sectarian jain group. they do not worship the images of the jain tirthakars, but enshrine the sacred books of the jains in their temples, and worship these. the parwars will take daughters in marriage from the channagris, and sometimes give their daughters in consideration of a substantial bride-price. among the parwars themselves there is a social division between the ath sake and the chao sake; the former will not permit the marriage of persons related more nearly than eight degrees, while the latter permit it after four degrees. the ath sake have the higher position, and if one of them marries a chao sake he is degraded to that group. besides this the parwars have an inferior division called benaikia, which consists of the offspring of irregular unions and of widows who have remarried. persons who have committed a caste offence and cannot pay the fine imposed on them for it also go into this subcaste. the benaikias [166] themselves are distributed into four groups of varying degrees of respectability, and families who live correctly and marry as well as they can tend to rise from one to the other until after several generations they may again be recognised as parwars proper. 3. exogamy. the parwars have twelve _gotras_ or main sections, and each _gotra_ has, or is supposed to have, twelve _muls_ or subsections. a parwar must not marry in his own _gotra_ nor in the _mul_ of his mother, or any of his grandmothers or greatgrandmothers. this practically bars marriage within seven degrees of relationship. but a man's sister and daughter may be married in the same family, and even to two brothers, and a man can marry two sisters. 4. marriage customs. as a rule no bride-price is paid, but occasionally an old man desiring a wife will give something substantial to her father in secret. there are two forms of marriage, called thinga and dajanha; in the former, women do not accompany the wedding procession, and they have a separate marriage-shed at the bridegroom's house for their own celebrations; while in the latter, they accompany it and erect such a shed at the house in the bridegroom's village or town where they have their lodging. before the wedding, the bridegroom, mounted on a horse, and the bride, carried in a litter, proceed together round the marriage-shed. the bridegroom then stands by the sacred post in the centre and the bride walks seven times round him. in the evening there was a custom of dressing the principal male relatives of the bridegroom in women's clothes and making them dance, but this is now being discarded. on the fifth day is held a rite called palkachar. a new cot is provided by the bride's father, and on it is spread a red cloth. the couple are seated on this with their hands entwined, and their relations come and make them presents. if the bridegroom catches hold of the dress of his motheror father-in-law, they are expected to make him a handsome present. in other respects the wedding follows the ordinary hindu ritual. widow-marriage and divorce are forbidden among the parwars proper, and those who practise them go into the lower benaikia group. 5. religion: hindu observances. the parwars are practically all jains of the digambari sect. they build costly and beautiful temples for their tirthakars, especially for their favourite parasnath. they have also many hindu practices. they observe the diwali, rakshabandhan and holi festivals; they say that at the diwali the last tirthakar mahavira attained beatitude and the gods rained down jewels; the little lamps now lighted at diwali are held to be symbolic of these jewels. they tie the threads round the wrist on rakshabandhan to keep off evil spirits. they worship sitala devi, the hindu goddess of smallpox, and employ brahmans to choose names for their children and fix the dates of their wedding and other ceremonies, though not at the ceremonies themselves. 6. disposal of the dead. the caste burn the dead, with the exception of the bodies of young children, which are buried. the corpse is sometimes placed sitting in a car to be taken to the cremation ground, but often laid on a bier in the ordinary manner. the sitting posture is that in which all the tirthakars attained paradise, and their images always represent them in this posture. the corpse is naked save for a new piece of cloth round the waist, but it is covered with a sheet. the jains do not shave their hair in token of mourning, nor do they offer sacrificial cakes to the dead. when the body is burnt they bathe in the nearest water and go home. neither the bearers nor the mourners are held to be impure. next day the mourning family, both men and women, visit parasnath's temple, lay two pounds of indian millet before the god and go home. [167] but in the central provinces they whitewash their houses, get their clothes washed, throw away their earthen pots and give a feast to the caste. 7. social rules and customs. the parwars abstain from eating any kind of flesh and from drinking liquor. they have a _panchayat_ and impose penalties for offences against caste rules like the hindus. among the offences are the killing of any living thing, unchastity or adultery, theft or other bad conduct, taking cooked food or water from a caste from which the parwars do not take them, and violation of any rule of their religion. to get vermin in a wound, or to be beaten by a low-caste man or with a shoe, incidents which entail serious penalties among the hindus, are not offences with the parwars. when an offender is put out of caste the ordinary deprivation is that he is not allowed to enter a jain temple, and in serious cases he may also not eat nor drink with the caste. the parwars are generally engaged in the trade in grain, _ghi_, and other staples. several of them are well-to-do and own villages. bania, srimali _bania, srimali._--this subcaste takes its name from the town of srimal, which is now bhinmal in marwar. they numbered 600 persons in the central provinces in 1911, most of whom belonged to the hoshangabad district. more than two-thirds were hindus and the remainder jains. colonel tod writes of bhinmal and an adjoining town, sanchor: "these towns are on the high road to cutch and gujarat, which has given them from the most remote times a commercial celebrity. bhinmal is said to contain about 1500 houses and sanchor half that number. very wealthy _mahajans_ or merchants used to reside here, but insecurity both within and without has much injured these cities." from bhinmal the srimalis appear to have gone to gujarat, where they are found in considerable numbers. their legend of origin is that the goddess lakshmi created from a flower-garland 90,000 families to act as servants to the 90,000 srimali brahmans, and these were the ancestors of the srimali banias. [168] both the jain and hindu sections of the srimali banias employ srimali brahmans as priests. like other classes of banias, the srimali are divided into two sections, the bisa and dasa, or twenty and ten, of which the bisa are considered to be of pure and the dasa of somewhat mixed descent. in gujarat they also have a third territorial group, known as ladva, from lad, the old name of gujarat. all three subdivisions take food together but do not intermarry. [169] the two highest sections of the oswal banias are called sri srimal and srimal, and it is possible that further investigation might show the srimals and oswals to have been originally of one stock. bania, umre _bania, umre._--this hindu subcaste belongs to damoh and jubbulpore. they are perhaps the same as the ummar banias of the united provinces, who reside in the meerut, agra and kumaon divisions. the name umre is found as a subdivision of several castes in the central provinces, as the telis and others, and is probably derived from some town or tract of country in northern or central india, but no identification has been made. mr. bhimbhai kirparam states that in gujarat the ummar banias are also known as bagaria from the bagar or wild country, comprised in the dongarpur and pertabgarh states of rajputana, where considerable numbers of them are still settled. their headquarters is at sagwara, near dongarpur. [170] in damoh the umre banias formerly cultivated the _al_ plant, [171] which yielded a well-known dye, and hence they lost caste, as in soaking the roots of the plant to extract the dye the numerous insects in them are necessarily destroyed. the dosar subcaste [172] are a branch of the umre, who allow widow-remarriage. banjara list of paragraphs 1. _historical notice of the caste._ 2. _banjaras derived from the charans or bhats._ 3. _charan banjaras employed with the mughal armies._ 4. _internal structure._ 5. _minor subcastes._ 6. _marriage: betrothal._ 7. _marriage._ 8. _widow-remarriage._ 9. _birth and death._ 10. _religion: banjari devi._ 11. _mithu bhukia._ 12. _siva bhaia._ 13. _worship of cattle._ 14. _connection with the sikhs._ 15. _witchcraft._ 16. _human sacrifice._ 17. _admission of outsiders: kidnapped children and slaves._ 18. _dress._ 19. _social customs._ 20. _the naik or headman. banjara dogs._ 21. _criminal tendencies of the caste._ 22. _their virtues._ 1. historical notice of the caste. _banjara, wanjari, lahana, mukeri_. [173]--the caste of carriers and drivers of pack-bullocks. in 1911 the banjaras numbered about 56,000 persons in the central provinces and 80,000 in berar, the caste being in greater strength here than in any part of india except hyderabad, where their total is 174,000. bombay comes next with a figure approaching that of the central provinces and berar, and the caste belongs therefore rather to the deccan than to northern india. the name has been variously explained, but the most probable derivation is from the sanskrit _banijya kara_, a merchant. sir h. m. elliot held that the name banjara was of great antiquity, quoting a passage from the dasa kumara charita of the eleventh or twelfth century. but it was subsequently shown by professor cowell that the name banjara did not occur in the original text of this work. [174] banjaras are supposed to be the people mentioned by arrian in the fourth century b.c., as leading a wandering life, dwelling in tents and letting out for hire their beasts of burden. [175] but this passage merely proves the existence of carriers and not of the banjara caste. mr. crooke states [176] that the first mention of banjaras in muhammadan history is in sikandar's attack on dholpur in a.d. 1504. [177] it seems improbable, therefore, that the banjaras accompanied the different muhammadan invaders of india, as might have been inferred from the fact that they came into the deccan in the train of the forces of aurangzeb. the caste has indeed two muhammadan sections, the turkia and mukeri. [178] but both of these have the same rajput clan names as the hindu branch of the caste, and it seems possible that they may have embraced islam under the proselytising influence of aurangzeb, or simply owing to their having been employed with the muhammadan troops. the great bulk of the caste in southern india are hindus, and there seems no reason for assuming that its origin was muhammadan. 2. banjaras derived from the charans or bhats. it may be suggested that the banjaras are derived from the charan or bhat caste of rajputana. mr. cumberlege, whose _monograph_ on the caste in berar is one of the best authorities, states that of the four divisions existing there the charans are the most numerous and by far the most interesting class. [179] in the article on bhat it has been explained how the charans or bards, owing to their readiness to kill themselves rather than give up the property entrusted to their care, became the best safe-conduct for the passage of goods in rajputana. the name charan is generally held to mean 'wanderer,' and in their capacity of bards the charans were accustomed to travel from court to court of the different chiefs in quest of patronage. they were first protected by their sacred character and afterwards by their custom of _traga_ or _chandi_, that is, of killing themselves when attacked and threatening their assailants with the dreaded fate of being haunted by their ghosts. mr. bhimbhai kirparam [180] remarks: "after parasurama's dispersion of the kshatris the charans accompanied them in their southward flight. in those troubled times the charans took charge of the supplies of the kshatri forces and so fell to their present position of cattle-breeders and grain-carriers...." most of the charans are graziers, cattle-sellers and pack-carriers. colonel tod says: [181] "the charans and bhats or bards and genealogists are the chief carriers of these regions (marwar); their sacred character overawes the lawless rajput chief, and even the savage koli and bhil and the plundering sahrai of the desert dread the anathema of these singular races, who conduct the caravans through the wildest and most desolate regions." in another passage colonel tod identifies the charans and banjaras [182] as follows: "murlah is an excellent township inhabited by a community of charans of the tribe cucholia (kacheli), who are bunjarris (carriers) by profession, though poets by birth. the alliance is a curious one, and would appear incongruous were not gain the object generally in both cases. it was the sanctity of their office which converted our _bardais_ (bards) into _bunjarris_, for their persons being sacred, the immunity extended likewise to their goods and saved them from all imposts; so that in process of time they became the free-traders of rajputana. i was highly gratified with the reception i received from the community, which collectively advanced to meet me at some distance from the town. the procession was headed by the village elders and all the fair charanis, who, as they approached, gracefully waved their scarfs over me until i was fairly made captive by the muses of murlah! it was a novel and interesting scene. the manly persons of the charans, clad in the flowing white robe with the high loose-folded turban inclined on one side, from which the _mala_ or chaplet was gracefully suspended; and the _naiques_ or leaders, with their massive necklaces of gold, with the image of the _pitriswar_ (_manes_) depending therefrom, gave the whole an air of opulence and dignity. the females were uniformly attired in a skirt of dark-brown camlet, having a bodice of light-coloured stuff, with gold ornaments worked into their fine black hair; and all had the favourite _churis_ or rings of _hathidant_ (elephant's tooth) covering the arm from the wrist to the elbow, and even above it." a little later, referring to the same charan community, colonel tod writes: "the _tanda_ or caravan, consisting of four thousand bullocks, has been kept up amidst all the evils which have beset this land through mughal and maratha tyranny. the utility of these caravans as general carriers to conflicting armies and as regular tax-paying subjects has proved their safeguard, and they were too strong to be pillaged by any petty marauder, as any one who has seen a banjari encampment will be convinced. they encamp in a square, and their grain-bags piled over each other breast-high, with interstices left for their matchlocks, make no contemptible fortification. even the ruthless turk, jamshid khan, set up a protecting tablet in favour of the charans of murlah, recording their exemption from _dind_ contributions, and that there should be no increase in duties, with threats to all who should injure the community. as usual, the sun and moon are appealed to as witnesses of good faith, and sculptured on the stone. even the forest bhil and mountain mair have set up their signs of immunity and protection to the chosen of hinglaz (tutelary deity); and the figures of a cow and its _kairi_ (calf) carved in rude relief speak the agreement that they should not be slain or stolen within the limits of murlah." in the above passage the community described by colonel tod were charans, but he identified them with banjaras, using the name alternatively. he mentions their large herds of pack-bullocks, for the management of which the charans, who were graziers as well as bards, would naturally be adapted; the name given to the camp, _tanda_, is that generally used by the banjaras; the women wore ivory bangles, which the banjara women wear. [183] in commenting on the way in which the women threw their scarves over him, making him a prisoner, colonel tod remarks: "this community had enjoyed for five hundred years the privilege of making prisoner any rana of mewar who may pass through murlah, and keeping him in bondage until he gives them a _got_ or entertainment. the patriarch (of the village) told me that i was in jeopardy as the rana's representative, but not knowing how i might have relished the joke had it been carried to its conclusion, they let me escape." mr. ball notes a similar custom of the banjara women far away in the bastar state of the central provinces: [184] "today i passed through another banjara hamlet, from whence the women and girls all hurried out in pursuit, and a brazen-faced powerful-looking lass seized the bridle of my horse as he was being led by the _sais_ in the rear. the _sais_ and _chaprasi_ were both muhammadans, and the forward conduct of these females perplexed them not a little, and the former was fast losing his temper at being thus assaulted by a woman." colonel mackenzie in his account of the banjara caste remarks: [185] "it is certain that the charans, whoever they were, first rose to the demand which the great armies of northern india, contending in exhausted countries far from their basis of supply, created, viz. the want of a fearless and reliable transport service.... the start which the charans then acquired they retain among banjaras to this day, though in very much diminished splendour and position. as they themselves relate, they were originally five brethren, rathor, turi, panwar, chauhan and jadon. but fortune particularly smiled on bhika rathor, as his four sons, mersi, multasi, dheda and khamdar, great names among the charans, rose immediately to eminence as commissariat transporters in the north. and not only under the delhi emperors, but under the satara, subsequently the poona raj, and the subahship of the nizam, did several of their descendants rise to consideration and power." it thus seems a reasonable hypothesis that the nucleus of the banjara caste was constituted by the charans or bards of rajputana. mr. bhimbhai kirparam [186] also identifies the charans and banjaras, but i have not been able to find the exact passage. the following notice [187] by colonel tone is of interest in this connection: "the vast consumption that attends a maratha army necessarily superinduces the idea of great supplies; yet, notwithstanding this, the native powers never concern themselves about providing for their forces, and have no idea of a grain and victualling department, which forms so great an object in a european campaign. the banias or grain-sellers in an indian army have always their servants ahead of the troops on the line of march, to purchase in the circumjacent country whatever necessaries are to be disposed of. articles of consumption are never wanting in a native camp, though they are generally twenty-five per cent dearer than in the town bazars; but independent of this mode of supply the vanjaris or itinerant grain-merchants furnish large quantities, which they bring on bullocks from an immense distance. these are a very peculiar race, and appear a marked and discriminated people from any other i have seen in this country. formerly they were considered so sacred that they passed in safety in the midst of contending armies; of late, however, this reverence for their character is much abated and they have been frequently plundered, particularly by tipu." the reference to the sacred character attaching to the banjaras a century ago appears to be strong evidence in favour of their derivation from the charans. for it could scarcely have been obtained by any body of commissariat agents coming into india with the muhammadans. the fact that the example of disregarding it was first set by a muhammadan prince points to the same conclusion. mr. irvine notices the banjaras with the mughal armies in similar terms: [188] "it is by these people that the indian armies in the field are fed, and they are never injured by either army. the grain is taken from them, but invariably paid for. they encamp for safety every evening in a regular square formed of the bags of grain of which they construct a breastwork. they and their families are in the centre, and the oxen are made fast outside. guards with matchlocks and spears are placed at the corners, and their dogs do duty as advanced posts. i have seen them with droves of 5000 bullocks. they do not move above two miles an hour, as their cattle are allowed to graze as they proceed on the march." one may suppose that the charans having acted as carriers for the rajput chiefs and courts, both in time of peace and in their continuous intestinal feuds, were pressed into service when the mughal armies entered rajputana and passed through it to gujarat and the deccan. in adopting the profession of transport agents for the imperial troops they may have been amalgamated into a fresh caste with other hindus and muhammadans doing the same work, just as the camp language formed by the superposition of a persian vocabulary on to a grammatical basis of hindi became urdu or hindustani. the readiness of the charans to commit suicide rather than give up property committed to their charge was not, however, copied by the banjaras, and so far as i am aware there is no record of men of this caste taking their own lives, though they had little scruple with those of others. 3. charan ranjarans employed with the mughal armies. the charan banjaras, mr. cumberlege states, [189] first came to the deccan with asaf khan in the campaign which closed with the annexation by the emperor shah jahan of ahmadnagar and berar about 1630. their leaders or naiks were bhangi and jhangi of the rathor [190] and bhagwan das of the jadon clan. bhangi and jhangi had 180,000 pack-bullocks, and bhagwan das 52,000. it was naturally an object with asaf khan to keep his commissariat well up with his force, and as bhangi and jhangi made difficulties about the supply of grass and water to their cattle, he gave them an order engraved on copper in letters of gold to the following effect: ranjan ka pani chhappar ka ghas din ke tin khun muaf; aur jahan asaf jah ke ghore wahan bhangi jhangi ke bail, which may be rendered as follows: "if you can find no water elsewhere you may even take it from the pots of my followers; grass you may take from the roofs of their huts; and i will pardon you up to three murders a day, provided that wherever i find my cavalry, bhangi and jhangi's bullocks shall be with them." this grant is still in the possession of bhangi naik's descendant who lives at musi, near hingoli. he is recognised by the hyderabad court as the head naik of the banjara caste, and on his death his successor receives a _khillat_ or dress-of-honour from his highness the nizam. after asaf khan's campaign and settlement in the deccan, a quarrel broke out between the rathor clan, headed by bhangi and jhangi, and the jadons under bhagwan das, owing to the fact that asaf khan had refused to give bhagwan das a grant like that quoted above. both bhangi and bhagwan das were slain in the feud and the jadons captured the standard, consisting of eight _thans_ (lengths) of cloth, which was annually presented by the nizam to bhangi's descendants. when mr. cumberlege wrote (1869), this standard was in the possession of hatti naik, a descendant of bhagwan das, who had an estate near muchli bunder, in the madras presidency. colonel mackenzie states [191] that the leaders of the rathor clan became so distinguished not only in their particular line but as men of war that the emperors recognised their carrying distinctive standards, which were known as _dhal_ by the rathors themselves. jhangi's family was also represented in the person of ramu naik, the _patel_ or headman of the village of yaoli in the yeotmal district. in 1791-92 the banjaras were employed to supply grain to the british army under the marquis of cornwallis during the siege of seringapatam, [192] and the duke of wellington in his indian campaigns regularly engaged them as part of the commissariat staff of his army. on one occasion he said of them: "the banjaras i look upon in the light of servants of the public, of whose grain i have a right to regulate the sale, always taking care that they have a proportionate advantage." [193] 4. internal structure. mr. cumberlege gives four main divisions of the caste in berar, the charans, mathurias, labhanas and dharis. of these the charans are by far the most numerous and important, and included all the famous leaders of the caste mentioned above. the charans are divided into the five clans, rathor, panwar, chauhan, puri and jadon or burthia, all of these being the names of leading rajput clans; and as the charan bards themselves were probably rajputs, the banjaras, who are descended from them, may claim the same lineage. each clan or sept is divided into a number of subsepts; thus among the rathors the principal subsept is the bhurkia, called after the bhika rathor already mentioned; and this is again split into four groups, mersi, multasi, dheda and khamdar, named after his four sons. as a rule, members of the same clan, panwar, rathor and so on, may not intermarry, but mr. cumberlege states that a man belonging to the banod or bhurkia subsepts of the rathors must not take a wife from his own subsept, but may marry any other rathor girl. it seems probable that the same rule may hold with the other subsepts, as it is most unlikely that intermarriage should still be prohibited among so large a body as the rathor charans have now become. it may be supposed therefore that the division into subsepts took place when it became too inconvenient to prohibit marriage throughout the whole body of the sept, as has happened in other cases. the mathuria banjaras take their name from mathura or muttra and appear to be brahmans. "they wear the sacred thread, [194] know the _gayatri mantra_, and to the present day abstain from meat and liquor, subsisting entirely on grain and vegetables. they always had a sufficiency of charans and servants (_jangar_) in their villages to perform all necessary manual labour, and would not themselves work for a remuneration otherwise than by carrying grain, which was and still is their legitimate occupation; but it was not considered undignified to cut wood and grass for the household. both mathuria and labhana men are fairer than the charans; they wear better jewellery and their loin-cloths have a silk border, while those of the charans are of rough, common cloth." the mathurias are sometimes known as ahiwasi, and may be connected with the ahiwasis of the hindustani districts, who also drive pack-bullocks and call themselves brahmans. but it is naturally a sin for a brahman to load the sacred ox, and any one who does so is held to have derogated from the priestly order. the mathurias are divided according to mr. cumberlege into four groups called pande, dube, tiwari and chaube, all of which are common titles of hindustani brahmans and signify a man learned in one, two, three and four vedas respectively. it is probable that these groups are exogamous, marrying with each other, but this is not stated. the third division, the labhanas, may derive their name from _lavana_, salt, and probably devoted themselves more especially to the carriage of this staple. they are said to be rajputs, and to be descended from mota and mola, the cowherds of krishna. the fourth subdivision are the dharis or bards of the caste, who rank below the others. according to their own story [195] their ancestor was a member of the bhat caste, who became a disciple of nanak, the sikh apostle, and with him attended a feast given by the mughal emperor humayun. here he ate the flesh of a cow or buffalo, and in consequence became a muhammadan and was circumcised. he was employed as a musician at the mughal court, and his sons joined the charans and became the bards of the banjara caste. "the dharis," mr. cumberlege continues, "are both musicians and mendicants; they sing in praise of their own and the charan ancestors and of the old kings of delhi; while at certain seasons of the year they visit charan hamlets, when each family gives them a young bullock or a few rupees. they are muhammadans, but worship sarasvati and at their marriages offer up a he-goat to gaji and gandha, the two sons of the original bhat, who became a muhammadan. at burials a fakir is called to read the prayers." 5. minor subcastes. besides the above four main divisions, there are a number of others, the caste being now of a very mixed character. two principal muhammadan groups are given by sir h. elliot, the turkia and mukeri. the turkia have thirty-six septs, some with rajput names and others territorial or titular. they seem to be a mixed group of hindus who may have embraced islam as the religion of their employers. the mukeri banjaras assert that they derive their name from mecca (makka), which one of their naiks, who had his camp in the vicinity, assisted father abraham in building. [196] mr. crooke thinks that the name may be a corruption of makkeri and mean a seller of maize. mr. cumberlege says of them: "multanis and mukeris have been called banjaras also, but have nothing in common with the caste; the multanis are carriers of grain and the mukeris of wood and timber, and hence the confusion may have arisen between them." but they are now held to be banjaras by common usage; in saugor the mukeris also deal in cattle. from chanda a different set of subcastes is reported called bhusarjin, ladjin, saojin and kanhejin; the first may take their name from _bhusa_, the chaff of wheat, while lad is the term used for people coming from gujarat, and sao means a banker. in sambalpur again a class of thuria banjaras is found, divided into the bandesia, atharadesia, navadesia and chhadesia, or the men of the 52 districts, the 18 districts, the 9 districts and the 6 districts respectively. the first and last two of these take food and marry with each other. other groups are the guar banjaras, apparently from guara or gwala, a milkman, the guguria banjaras, who may, mr. hira lal suggests, take their name from trading in _gugar_, a kind of gum, and the bahrup banjaras, who are nats or acrobats. in berar also a number of the caste have become respectable cultivators and now call themselves wanjari, disclaiming any connection with the banjaras, probably on account of the bad reputation for crime attached to these latter. many of the wanjaris have been allowed to rank with the kunbi caste, and call themselves wanjari kunbis in order the better to dissociate themselves from their parent caste. the existing caste is therefore of a very mixed nature, and the original brahman and charan strains, though still perfectly recognisable, cannot have maintained their purity. 6. marriage: betrothal. at a betrothal in nimar the bridegroom and his friends come and stay in the next village to that of the bride. the two parties meet on the boundary of the village, and here the bride-price is fixed, which is often a very large sum, ranging from rs. 200 to rs. 1000. until the price is paid the father will not let the bridegroom into his house. in yeotmal, when a betrothal is to be made, the parties go to a liquor-shop and there a betel-leaf and a large handful of sugar are distributed to everybody. here the price to be paid for the bride amounts to rs. 40 and four young bullocks. prior to the wedding the bridegroom goes and stays for a month or so in the house of the bride's father, and during this time he must provide a supply of liquor daily for the bride's male relatives. the period was formerly longer, but now extends to a month at the most. while he resides at the bride's house the bridegroom wears a cloth over his head so that his face cannot be seen. probably the prohibition against seeing him applies to the bride only, as the rule in berar is that between the betrothal and marriage of a charan girl she may not eat or drink in the bridegroom's house, or show her face to him or any of his relatives. mathuria girls must be wedded before they are seven years old, but the charans permit them to remain single until after adolescence. 7. marriage. banjara marriages are frequently held in the rains, a season forbidden to other hindus, but naturally the most convenient to them, because in the dry weather they are usually travelling. for the marriage ceremony they pitch a tent in lieu of the marriage-shed, and on the ground they place two rice-pounding pestles, round which the bride and bridegroom make the seven turns. others substitute for the pestles a pack-saddle with two bags of grain in order to symbolise their camp life. during the turns the girl's hand is held by the joshi or village priest, or some other brahman, in case she should fall; such an occurrence being probably a very unlucky omen. afterwards, the girl runs away and the brahman has to pursue and catch her. in bhandara the girl is clad only in a light skirt and breast-cloth, and her body is rubbed all over with oil in order to make his task more difficult. during this time the bride's party pelt the brahman with rice, turmeric and areca-nuts, and sometimes even with stones; and if he is forced to cry with the pain, it is considered lucky. but if he finally catches the girl, he is conducted to a dais and sits there holding a brass plate in front of him, into which the bridegroom's party drop presents. a case is mentioned of a brahman having obtained rs. 70 in this manner. among the mathuria banjaras of berar the ceremony resembles the usual hindu type. [197] before the wedding the families bring the branches of eight or ten different kinds of trees, and perform the _hom_ or fire sacrifice with them. a brahman knots the clothes of the couple together, and they walk round the fire. when the bride arrives at the bridegroom's hamlet after the wedding, two small brass vessels are given to her; she fetches water in these and returns them to the women of the boy's family, who mix this with other water previously drawn, and the girl, who up to this period was considered of no caste at all, becomes a mathuria. [198] food is cooked with this water, and the bride and bridegroom are formally received into the husband's _kuri_ or hamlet. it is possible that the mixing of the water may be a survival of the blood covenant, whereby a girl was received into her husband's clan on her marriage by her blood being mixed with that of her husband. [199] or it may be simply symbolical of the union of the families. in some localities after the wedding the bride and bridegroom are made to stand on two bullocks, which are driven forward, and it is believed that whichever of them falls off first will be the first to die. 8. widow remarriage. owing to the scarcity of women in the caste a widow is seldom allowed to go out of the family, and when her husband dies she is taken either by his elder or younger brother; this is in opposition to the usual hindu practice, which forbids the marriage of a woman to her deceased husband's elder brother, on the ground that as successor to the headship of the joint family he stands to her, at least potentially, in the light of a father. if the widow prefers another man and runs away to him, the first husband's relatives claim compensation, and threaten, in the event of its being refused, to abduct a girl from this man's family in exchange for the widow. but no case of abduction has occurred in recent years. in berar the compensation claimed in the case of a woman marrying out of the family amounts to rs. 75, with rs. 5 for the naik or headman of the family. should the widow elope without her brother-in-law's consent, he chooses ten or twelve of his friends to go and sit _dharna_ (starving themselves) before the hut of the man who has taken her. he is then bound to supply these men with food and liquor until he has paid the customary sum, when he may marry the widow. [200] in the event of the second husband being too poor to pay monetary compensation, he gives a goat, which is cut into eighteen pieces and distributed to the community. [201] 9. birth and death. after the birth of a child the mother is unclean for five days, and lives apart in a separate hut, which is run up for her use in the _kuri_ or hamlet. on the sixth day she washes the feet of all the children in the _kuri_, feeds them and then returns to her husband's hut. when a child is born in a moving _tanda_ or camp, the same rule is observed, and for five days the mother walks alone after the camp during the daily march. the caste bury the bodies of unmarried persons and those dying of smallpox and burn the others. their rites of mourning are not strict, and are observed only for three days. the banjaras have a saying: "death in a foreign land is to be preferred, where there are no kinsfolk to mourn, and the corpse is a feast for birds and animals"; but this may perhaps be taken rather as an expression of philosophic resignation to the fate which must be in store for many of them, than a real preference, as with most people the desire to die at home almost amounts to an instinct. 10. religion: banjari devi. one of the tutelary deities of the banjaras is banjari devi, whose shrine is usually located in the forest. it is often represented by a heap of stones, a large stone smeared with vermilion being placed on the top of the heap to represent the goddess. when a banjara passes the place he casts a stone upon the heap as a prayer to the goddess to protect him from the dangers of the forest. a similar practice of offering bells from the necks of cattle is recorded by mr. thurston: [202] "it is related by moor that he passed a tree on which were hanging several hundred bells. this was a superstitious sacrifice of the banjaras (lambaris), who, passing this tree, are in the habit of hanging a bell or bells upon it, which they take from the necks of their sick cattle, expecting to leave behind them the complaint also. our servants particularly cautioned us against touching these diabolical bells, but as a few of them were taken for our own cattle, several accidents which happened were imputed to the anger of the deity to whom these offerings were made; who, they say, inflicts the same disorder on the unhappy bullock who carries a bell from the tree, as that from which he relieved the donor." in their houses the banjari devi is represented by a pack-saddle set on high in the room, and this is worshipped before the caravans set out on their annual tours. 11. mithu bhukia. another deity is mithu bhukia, an old freebooter, who lived in the central provinces; he is venerated by the dacoits as the most clever dacoit known in the annals of the caste, and a hut was usually set apart for him in each hamlet, a staff carrying a white flag being planted before it. before setting out for a dacoity, the men engaged would assemble at the hut of mithu bhukia, and, burning a lamp before him, ask for an omen; if the wick of the lamp drooped the omen was propitious, and the men present then set out at once on the raid without returning home. they might not speak to each other nor answer if challenged; for if any one spoke the charm would be broken and the protection of mithu bhukia removed; and they should either return to take the omens again or give up that particular dacoity altogether. [203] it has been recorded as a characteristic trait of banjaras that they will, as a rule, not answer if spoken to when engaged on a robbery, and the custom probably arises from this observance; but the worship of mithu bhukia is now frequently neglected. after a successful dacoity a portion of the spoil would be set apart for mithu bhukia, and of the balance the naik or headman of the village received two shares if he participated in the crime; the man who struck the first blow or did most towards the common object also received two shares, and all the rest one share. with mithu bhukia's share a feast was given at which thanks were returned to him for the success of the enterprise, a burnt offering of incense being made in his tent and a libation of liquor poured over the flagstaff. a portion of the food was sent to the women and children, and the men sat down to the feast. women were not allowed to share in the worship of mithu bhukia nor to enter his hut. 12. siva bhaia. another favourite deity is siva bhaia, whose story is given by colonel mackenzie [204] as follows: "the love borne by mari mata, the goddess of cholera, for the handsome siva rathor, is an event of our own times (1874); she proposed to him, but his heart being pre-engaged he rejected her; and in consequence his earthly bride was smitten sick and died, and the hand of the goddess fell heavily on siva himself, thwarting all his schemes and blighting his fortunes and possessions, until at last he gave himself up to her. she then possessed him and caused him to prosper exceedingly, gifting him with supernatural power until his fame was noised abroad, and he was venerated as the saintly siva bhaia or great brother to all women, being himself unable to marry. but in his old age the goddess capriciously wished him to marry and have issue, but he refused and was slain and buried at pohur in berar. a temple was erected over him and his kinsmen became priests of it, and hither large numbers are attracted by the supposed efficacy of vows made to siva, the most sacred of all oaths being that taken in his name." if a banjara swears by siva bhaia, placing his right hand on the bare head of his son and heir, and grasping a cow's tail in his left, he will fear to perjure himself, lest by doing so he should bring injury on his son and a murrain on his cattle. [205] 13. worship of cattle. naturally also the banjaras worshipped their pack-cattle. [206] "when sickness occurs they lead the sick man to the feet of the bullock called hatadiya. [207] on this animal no burden is ever laid, but he is decorated with streamers of red-dyed silk, and tinkling bells with many brass chains and rings on neck and feet, and silken tassels hanging in all directions; he moves steadily at the head of the convoy, and at the place where he lies down when he is tired they pitch their camp for the day; at his feet they make their vows when difficulties overtake them, and in illness, whether of themselves or their cattle, they trust to his worship for a cure." 14. connection with the sikhs. mr. balfour also mentions in his paper that the banjaras call themselves sikhs, and it is noticeable that the charan subcaste say that their ancestors were three rajput boys who followed guru nanak, the prophet of the sikhs. the influence of nanak appears to have been widely extended over northern india, and to have been felt by large bodies of the people other than those who actually embraced the sikh religion. cumberlege states [208] that before starting to his marriage the bridegroom ties a rupee in his turban in honour of guru nanak, which is afterwards expended in sweetmeats. but otherwise the modern banjaras do not appear to retain any sikh observances. 15. witchcraft. "the banjaras," sir a. lyall writes, [209] "are terribly vexed by witchcraft, to which their wandering and precarious existence especially exposes them in the shape of fever, rheumatism and dysentery. solemn inquiries are still held in the wild jungles where these people camp out like gipsies, and many an unlucky hag has been strangled by sentence of their secret tribunals." the business of magic and witchcraft was in the hands of two classes of bhagats or magicians, one good and the other bad, [210] who may correspond to the european practitioners of black and white magic. the good bhagat is called nimbu-katna or lemon-cutter, a lemon speared on a knife being a powerful averter of evil spirits. he is a total abstainer from meat and liquor, and fasts once a week on the day sacred to the deity whom he venerates, usually mahadeo; he is highly respected and never panders to vice. but the janta, the 'wise or cunning man,' is of a different type, and the following is an account of the devilry often enacted when a deputation visited him to inquire into the cause of a prolonged illness, a cattle murrain, a sudden death or other misfortune. a woman might often be called a dakun or witch in spite, and when once this word had been used, the husband or nearest male relative would be regularly bullied into consulting the janta. or if some woman had been ill for a week, an avaricious [211] husband or brother would begin to whisper foul play. witchcraft would be mentioned, and the wise man called in. he would give the sufferer a quid of betel, muttering an incantation, but this rarely effected a cure, as it was against the interest of all parties that it should do so. the sufferer's relatives would then go to their naik, tell him that the sick person was bewitched, and ask him to send a deputation to the janta or witch-doctor. this would be at once despatched, consisting of one male adult from each house in the hamlet, with one of the sufferer's relatives. on the road the party would bury a bone or other article to test the wisdom of the witch-doctor. but he was not to be caught out, and on their arrival he would bid the deputation rest, and come to him for consultation on the following day. meanwhile during the night the janta would be thoroughly coached by some accomplice in the party. next morning, meeting the deputation, he would tell every man all particulars of his name and family; name the invalid, and tell the party to bring materials for consulting the spirits, such as oil, vermilion, sugar, dates, cocoanut, _chironji_, [212] and sesamum. in the evening, holding a lamp, the janta would be possessed by mariai, the goddess of cholera; he would mention all particulars of the sick man's illness, and indignantly inquire why they had buried the bone on the road, naming it and describing the place. if this did not satisfy the deputation, a goat would be brought, and he would name its sex with any distinguishing marks on the body. the sick person's representative would then produce his _nazar_ or fee, formerly rs. 25, but lately the double of this or more. the janta would now begin a sort of chant, introducing the names of the families of the _kuri_ other than that containing her who was to be proclaimed a witch, and heap on them all kinds of abuse. finally, he would assume an ironic tone, extol the virtues of a certain family, become facetious, and praise its representative then present. this man would then question the janta on all points regarding his own family, his connections, worldly goods, and what gods he worshipped, ask who was the witch, who taught her sorcery, and how and why she practised it in this particular instance. but the witch-doctor, having taken care to be well coached, would answer everything correctly and fix the guilt on to the witch. a goat would be sacrificed and eaten with liquor, and the deputation would return. the punishment for being proclaimed a dakun or witch was formerly death to the woman and a fine to be paid by her relatives to the bewitched person's family. the woman's husband or her sons would be directed to kill her, and if they refused, other men were deputed to murder her, and bury the body at once with all the clothing and ornaments then on her person, while a further fine would be exacted from the family for not doing away with her themselves. but murder for witchcraft has been almost entirely stopped, and nowadays the husband, after being fined a few head of cattle, which are given to the sick man, is turned out of the village with his wife. it is quite possible, however, that an obnoxious old hag would even now not escape death, especially if the money fine were not forthcoming, and an instance is known in recent times of a mother being murdered by her three sons. the whole village combined to screen these amiable young men, and eventually they made the janta the scapegoat, and he got seven years, while the murderers could not be touched. colonel mackenzie writes that, "curious to relate, the jantas, known locally as bhagats, in order to become possessed of their alleged powers of divination and prophecy, require to travel to kazhe, beyond surat, there to learn and be instructed by low-caste koli impostors." this is interesting as an instance of the powers of witchcraft being attributed by the hindus or higher race to the indigenous primitive tribes, a rule which dr. tylor and dr. jevons consider to hold good generally in the history of magic. 16. human sacrifice. several instances are known also of the banjaras having practised human sacrifice. mr. thurston states: [213] "in former times the lambadis, before setting out on a journey, used to procure a little child and bury it in the ground up to the shoulders, and then drive their loaded bullocks over the unfortunate victim. in proportion to the bullocks thoroughly trampling the child to death, so their belief in a successful journey increased." the abbé dubois describes another form of sacrifice: [214] "the lambadis are accused of the still more atrocious crime of offering up human sacrifices. when they wish to perform this horrible act, it is said, they secretly carry off the first person they meet. having conducted the victim to some lonely spot, they dig a hole in which they bury him up to the neck. while he is still alive they make a sort of lamp of dough made of flour, which they place on his head; this they fill with oil, and light four wicks in it. having done this, the men and women join hands and, forming a circle, dance round their victim, singing and making a great noise until he expires." mr. cumberlege records [215] the following statement of a child kidnapped by a banjara caravan in 1871. after explaining how he was kidnapped and the tip of his tongue cut off to give him a defect in speech, the kunbi lad, taken from sahungarhi, in the bhandara district, went on to say that, "the _tanda_ (caravan) encamped for the night in the jungle. in the morning a woman named gangi said that the devil was in her and that a sacrifice must be made. on this four men and three women took a boy to a place they had made for _puja_ (worship). they fed him with milk, rice and sugar, and then made him stand up, when gangi drew a sword and approached the child, who tried to run away; caught and brought back to this place, gangi, holding the sword with both hands and standing on the child's right side, cut off his head with one blow. gangi collected the blood and sprinkled it on the idol; this idol is made of stone, is about 9 inches high, and has something sparkling in its forehead. the camp marched that day, and for four or five days consecutively, without another sacrifice; but on the fifth day a young woman came to the camp to sell curds, and having bought some, the banjaras asked her to come in in the evening and eat with them. she did come, and after eating with the women slept in the camp. early next morning she was sacrificed in the same way as the boy had been, but it took three blows to cut off her head; it was done by gangi, and the blood was sprinkled on the stone idol. about a month ago sitaram, a gond lad, who had also been kidnapped and was in the camp, told me to run away as it had been decided to offer me up in sacrifice at the next jiuti festival, so i ran away." the child having been brought to the police, a searching and protracted inquiry was held, which, however, determined nothing, though it did not disprove his story. 17. admission of outsiders: kidnapped children and slaves. the banjara caste is not closed to outsiders, but the general rule is to admit only women who have been married to banjara men. women of the lowest and impure castes are excluded, and for some unknown reason the patwas [216] and nunias are bracketed with these. in nimar it is stated that formerly gonds, korkus and even balahis [217] might become banjaras, but this does not happen now, because the caste has lost its occupation of carrying goods, and there is therefore no inducement to enter it. in former times they were much addicted to kidnapping children--these were whipped up or enticed away whenever an opportunity presented itself during their expeditions. the children were first put into the _gonis_ or grain bags of the bullocks and so carried for a few days, being made over at each halt to the care of a woman, who would pop the child back into its bag if any stranger passed by the encampment. the tongues of boys were sometimes slit or branded with hot gold, this last being the ceremony of initiation into the caste still used in nimar. girls, if they were as old as seven, were sometimes disfigured for fear of recognition, and for this purpose the juice of the marking-nut [218] tree would be smeared on one side of the face, which burned into the skin and entirely altered the appearance. such children were known as jangar. girls would be used as concubines and servants of the married wife, and boys would also be employed as servants. jangar boys would be married to jangar girls, both remaining in their condition of servitude. but sometimes the more enterprising of them would abscond and settle down in a village. the rule was that for seven generations the children of jangars or slaves continued in that condition, after which they were recognised as proper banjaras. the jangar could not draw in smoke through the stem of the huqqa when it was passed round in the assembly, but must take off the stem and inhale from the bowl. the jangar also could not eat off the bell-metal plates of his master, because these were liable to pollution, but must use brass plates. at one time the banjaras conducted a regular traffic in female slaves between gujarat and central india, selling in each country the girls whom they had kidnapped in the other. [219] 18. dress. up to twelve years of age a charan girl only wears a skirt with a shoulder-cloth tucked into the waist and carried over the left arm and the head. after this she may have anklets and bangles on the forearm and a breast-cloth. but until she is married she may not have the _wankri_ or curved anklet, which marks that estate, nor wear bone or ivory bangles on the upper arm. [220] when she is ten years old a labhana girl is given two small bundles containing a nut, some cowries and rice, which are knotted to two corners of the _dupatta_ or shoulder-cloth and hung over the shoulder, one in front and one behind. this denotes maidenhood. the bundles are considered sacred, are always knotted to the shoulder-cloth in wear, and are only removed to be tucked into the waist at the girl's marriage, where they are worn till death. these bundles alone distinguish the labhana from the mathuria woman. women often have their hair hanging down beside the face in front and woven behind with silver thread into a plait down the back. this is known as anthi, and has a number of cowries at the end. they have large bell-shaped ornaments of silver tied over the head and hanging down behind the ears, the hollow part of the ornament being stuffed with sheep's wool dyed red; and to these are attached little bells, while the anklets on the feet are also hollow and contain little stones or balls, which tinkle as they move. they have skirts, and separate short cloths drawn across the shoulders according to the northern fashion, usually red or green in colour, and along the skirt-borders double lines of cowries are sewn. their breast-cloths are profusely ornamented with needle-work embroidery and small pieces of glass sewn into them, and are tied behind with cords of many colours whose ends are decorated with cowries and beads. strings of beads, ten to twenty thick, threaded on horse-hair, are worn round the neck. their favourite ornaments are cowries, [221] and they have these on their dress, in their houses and on the trappings of their bullocks. on the arms they have ten or twelve bangles of ivory, or in default of this lac, horn or cocoanut-shell. mr. ball states that he was "at once struck by the peculiar costumes and brilliant clothing of these indian gipsies. they recalled to my mind the appearance of the gipsies of the lower danube and wallachia." [222] the most distinctive ornament of a banjara married woman is, however, a small stick about 6 inches long made of the wood of the _khair_ or catechu. in nimar this is given to a woman by her husband at marriage, and she wears it afterwards placed upright on the top of the head, the hair being wound round it and the head-cloth draped over it in a graceful fashion. widows leave it off, but on remarriage adopt it again. the stick is known as _chunda_ by the banjaras, but outsiders call it _singh_ or horn. in yeotmal, instead of one, the women have two little sticks fixed upright in the hair. the rank of the woman is said to be shown by the angle at which she wears this horn. [223] the dress of the men presents no features of special interest. in nimar they usually have a necklace of coral beads, and some of them carry, slung on a thread round the neck, a tin tooth-pick and ear-scraper, while a small mirror and comb are kept in the head-cloth so that their toilet can be performed anywhere. mr. cumberlege [224] notes that in former times all charan banjaras when carrying grain for an army placed a twig of some tree, the sacred _nim_ [225] when available, in their turban to show that they were on the war-path; and that they would do the same now if they had occasion to fight to the death on any social matter or under any supposed grievance. 19. social customs. the banjaras eat all kinds of meat, including fowls and pork, and drink liquor. but the mathurias abstain from both flesh and liquor. major gunthorpe states that the banjaras are accustomed to drink before setting out for a dacoity or robbery and, as they smoke after drinking, the remains of leaf-pipes lying about the scene of action may indicate their handiwork. they rank below the cultivating castes, and brahmans will not take water to drink from them. when engaged in the carrying trade, they usually lived in _kuris_ or hamlets attached to such regular villages as had considerable tracts of waste land belonging to them. when the _tanda_ or caravan started on its long carrying trips, the young men and some of the women went with it with the working bullocks, while the old men and the remainder of the women and children remained to tend the breeding cattle in the hamlet. in nimar they generally rented a little land in the village to give them a footing, and paid also a carrying fee on the number of cattle present. their spare time was constantly occupied in the manufacture of hempen twine and sacking, which was much superior to that obtainable in towns. even in captain forsyth's [226] time (1866) the construction of railways and roads had seriously interfered with the banjaras' calling, and they had perforce taken to agriculture. many of them have settled in the new ryotwari villages in nimar as government tenants. they still grow _tilli_ [227] in preference to other crops, because this oilseed can be raised without much labour or skill, and during their former nomadic life they were accustomed to sow it on any poor strip of land which they might rent for a season. some of them also are accustomed to leave a part of their holding untilled in memory of their former and more prosperous life. in many villages they have not yet built proper houses, but continue to live in mud huts thatched with grass. they consider it unlucky to inhabit a house with a cement or tiled roof; this being no doubt a superstition arising from their camp life. their houses must also be built so that the main beams do not cross, that is, the main beam of a house must never be in such a position that if projected it would cut another main beam; but the beams may be parallel. the same rule probably governed the arrangement of tents in their camps. in nimar they prefer to live at some distance from water, probably that is of a tank or river; and this seems to be a survival of a usage mentioned by the abbé dubois: [228] "among other curious customs of this odious caste is one that obliges them to drink no water which is not drawn from springs or wells. the water from rivers and tanks being thus forbidden, they are obliged in case of necessity to dig a little hole by the side of a tank or river and take the water filtering through, which, by this means, is supposed to become spring water." it is possible that this rule may have had its origin in a sanitary precaution. colonel sleeman notes [229] that the banjaras on their carrying trips preferred by-paths through jungles to the high roads along cultivated plains, as grass, wood and water were more abundant along such paths; and when they could not avoid the high roads, they commonly encamped as far as they could from villages and towns, and upon the banks of rivers and streams, with the same object of obtaining a sufficient supply of grass, wood and water. now it is well known that the decaying vegetation in these hill streams renders the water noxious and highly productive of malaria. and it seems possible that the perception of this fact led the banjaras to dig shallow wells by the sides of the streams for their drinking-water, so that the supply thus obtained might be in some degree filtered by percolation through the intervening soil and freed from its vegetable germs. and the custom may have grown into a taboo, its underlying reason being unknown to the bulk of them, and be still practised, though no longer necessary when they do not travel. if this explanation be correct it would be an interesting conclusion that the banjaras anticipated so far as they were able the sanitary precaution by which our soldiers are supplied with portable filters when on the march. 20. the naik or headman. banjara dogs. each _kuri_ (hamlet) or _tanda_ (caravan) had a chief or leader with the designation of naik, a telugu word meaning 'lord' or 'master.' the office of naik [230] was only partly hereditary, and the choice also depended on ability. the naik had authority to decide all disputes in the community, and the only appeal from him lay to the representatives of bhangi and jhangi naik's families at narsi and poona, and to burthia naik's successors in the telugu country. as already seen, the naik received two shares if he participated in a robbery or other crime, and a fee on the remarriage of a widow outside her family and on the discovery of a witch. another matter in which he was specially interested was pig-sticking. the banjaras have a particular breed of dogs, and with these they were accustomed to hunt wild pig on foot, carrying spears. when a pig was killed, the head was cut off and presented to the naik or headman, and if any man was injured or gored by the pig in the hunt, the naik kept and fed him without charge until he recovered. the following notice of the banjaras and their dogs may be reproduced: [231] "they are brave and have the reputation of great independence, which i am not disposed to allow to them. the wanjari indeed is insolent on the road, and will drive his bullocks up against a sahib or any one else; but at any disadvantage he is abject enough. i remember one who rather enjoyed seeing his dogs attack me, whom he supposed alone and unarmed, but the sight of a cocked pistol made him very quick in calling them off, and very humble in praying for their lives, which i spared less for his entreaties than because they were really noble animals. the wanjaris are famous for their dogs, of which there are three breeds. the first is a large, smooth dog, generally black, sometimes fawn-coloured, with a square heavy head, most resembling the danish boarhound. this is the true wanjari dog. the second is also a large, square-headed dog, but shaggy, more like a great underbred spaniel than anything else. the third is an almost tailless greyhound, of the type known all over india by the various names of lat, polygar, rampuri, etc. they all run both by sight and scent, and with their help the wanjaris kill a good deal of game, chiefly pigs; but i think they usually keep clear of the old fighting boars. besides sport and their legitimate occupations the wanjaris seldom stickle at supplementing their resources by theft, especially of cattle; and they are more than suspected of infanticide." the banjaras are credited with great affection for their dogs, and the following legend is told about one of them: once upon a time a banjara, who had a faithful dog, took a loan from a bania (moneylender) and pledged his dog with him as security for payment. and some time afterwards, while the dog was with the moneylender, a theft was committed in his house, and the dog followed the thieves and saw them throw the property into a tank. when they went away the dog brought the bania to the tank and he found his property. he was therefore very pleased with the dog and wrote a letter to his master, saying that the loan was repaid, and tied it round his neck and said to him, 'now, go back to your master.' so the dog started back, but on his way he met his master, the banjara, coming to the bania with the money for the repayment of the loan. and when the banjara saw the dog he was angry with him, not seeing the letter, and thinking he had run away, and said to him, 'why did you come, betraying your trust?' and he killed the dog in a rage. and after killing him he found the letter and was very grieved, so he built a temple to the dog's memory, which is called the kukurra mandhi. and in the temple is the image of a dog. this temple is in the drug district, five miles from balod. a similar story is told of the temple of kukurra math in mandla. 21. criminal tendencies of the caste. the following notice of banjara criminals is abstracted from major gunthorpe's interesting account: [232] "in the palmy days of the tribe dacoities were undertaken on the most extensive scale. gangs of fifty to a hundred and fifty well-armed men would go long distances from their _tandas_ or encampments for the purpose of attacking houses in villages, or treasure-parties or wealthy travellers on the high roads. the more intimate knowledge which the police have obtained concerning the habits of this race, and the detection and punishment of many criminals through approvers, have aided in stopping the heavy class of dacoities formerly prevalent, and their operations are now on a much smaller scale. in british territory arms are scarcely carried, but each man has a good stout stick (_gedi_), the bark of which is peeled off so as to make it look whitish and fresh. the attack is generally commenced by stone-throwing and then a rush is made, the sticks being freely used and the victims almost invariably struck about the head or face. while plundering, hindustani is sometimes spoken, but as a rule they never utter a word, but grunt signals to one another. their loin-cloths are braced up, nothing is worn on the upper part of the body, and their faces are generally muffled. in house dacoities men are posted at different corners of streets, each with a supply of well-chosen round stones to keep off any people coming to the rescue. banjaras are very expert cattle-lifters, sometimes taking as many as a hundred head or even more at a time. this kind of robbery is usually practised in hilly or forest country where the cattle are sent to graze. secreting themselves they watch for the herdsman to have his usual midday doze and for the cattle to stray to a little distance. as many as possible are then driven off to a great distance and secreted in ravines and woods. if questioned they answer that the animals belong to landowners and have been given into their charge to graze, and as this is done every day the questioner thinks nothing more of it. after a time the cattle are quietly sold to individual purchasers or taken to markets at a distance." 22. their virtues. the banjaras, however, are far from being wholly criminal, and the number who have adopted an honest mode of livelihood is continually on the increase. some allowance must be made for their having been deprived of their former calling by the cessation of the continual wars which distracted india under native rule, and the extension of roads and railways which has rendered their mode of transport by pack-bullocks almost entirely obsolete. at one time practically all the grain exported from chhattisgarh was carried by them. in 1881 mr. kitts noted that the number of banjaras convicted in the berar criminal courts was lower in proportion to the strength of the caste than that of muhammadans, brahmans, koshtis or sunars, [233] though the offences committed by them were usually more heinous. colonel mackenzie had quite a favourable opinion of them: "a banjara who can read and write is unknown. but their memories, from cultivation, are marvellous and very retentive. they carry in their heads, without slip or mistake, the most varied and complicated transactions and the share of each in such, striking a debtor and creditor account as accurately as the best-kept ledger, while their history and songs are all learnt by heart and transmitted orally from generation to generation. on the whole, and taken rightly in their clannish nature, their virtues preponderate over their vices. in the main they are truthful and very brave, be it in war or the chase, and once gained over are faithful and devoted adherents. with the pride of high descent and with the right that might gives in unsettled and troublous times, these banjaras habitually lord it over and contemn the settled inhabitants of the plains. and now not having foreseen their own fate, or at least not timely having read the warnings given by a yearly diminishing occupation, which slowly has taken their bread away, it is a bitter pill for them to sink into the ryot class or, oftener still, under stern necessity to become the ryot's servant. but they are settling to their fate, and the time must come when all their peculiar distinctive marks and traditions will be forgotten." barai 1. origin and traditions. _barai, [234] tamboli, pansari._--the caste of growers and sellers of the betel-vine leaf. the three terms are used indifferently for the caste in the central provinces, although some shades of variation in the meaning can be detected even here--barai signifying especially one who grows the betel-vine, and tamboli the seller of the prepared leaf; while pansari, though its etymological meaning is also a dealer in _pan_ or betel-vine leaves, is used rather in the general sense of a druggist or grocer, and is apparently applied to the barai caste because its members commonly follow this occupation. in bengal, however, barai and tamboli are distinct castes, the occupations of growing and selling the betel-leaf being there separately practised. and they have been shown as different castes in the india census tables of 1901, though it is perhaps doubtful whether the distinction holds good in northern india. [235] in the central provinces and berar the barais numbered nearly 60,000 persons in 1911. they reside principally in the amraoti, buldana, nagpur, wardha, saugor and jubbulpore districts. the betel-vine is grown principally in the northern districts of saugor, damoh and jubbulpore and in those of berar and the nagpur plain. it is noticeable also that the growers and sellers of the betel-vine numbered only 14,000 in 1911 out of 33,000 actual workers of the barai caste; so that the majority of them are now employed in ordinary agriculture, field-labour and other avocations. no very probable derivation has been obtained for the word barai, unless it comes from _bari_, a hedge or enclosure, and simply means 'gardener.' another derivation is from _barana,_ to avert hailstorms, a calling which they still practise in northern india. _pan_, from the sanskrit _parna_ (leaf), is _the_ leaf _par excellence_. owing to the fact that they produce what is perhaps the most esteemed luxury in the diet of the higher classes of native society, the barais occupy a fairly good social position, and one legend gives them a brahman ancestry. this is to the effect that the first barai was a brahman whom god detected in a flagrant case of lying to his brother. his sacred thread was confiscated and being planted in the ground grew up into the first betel-vine, which he was set to tend. another story of the origin of the vine is given later in this article. in the central provinces its cultivation has probably only flourished to any appreciable extent for a period of about three centuries, and the barai caste would appear to be mainly a functional one, made up of a number of immigrants from northern india and of recruits from different classes of the population, including a large proportion of the non-aryan element. 2. caste subdivisions. the following endogamous divisions of the caste have been reported: chaurasia, so called from the chaurasi pargana of the mirzapur district; panagaria from panagar in jubbulpore; mahobia from mahoba in hamirpur; jaiswar from the town of jais in the rai bareli district of the united provinces; gangapari, coming from the further side of the ganges; and pardeshi or deshwari, foreigners. the above divisions all have territorial names, and these show that a large proportion of the caste have come from northern india, the different batches of immigrants forming separate endogamous groups on their arrival here. other subcastes are the dudh barais, from _dudh_, milk; the kuman, said to be kunbis who have adopted this occupation and become barais; the jharia and kosaria, the oldest or jungly barais, and those who live in chhattisgarh; the purania or old barais; the kumhardhang, who are said to be the descendants of a potter on whose wheel a betel-vine grew; and the lahuri sen, who are a subcaste formed of the descendants of irregular unions. none of the other subcastes will take food from these last, and the name is locally derived from _lahuri_, lower, and _sen_ or _shreni_, class. the caste is also divided into a large number of exogamous groups or septs which may be classified according to their names as territorial, titular and totemistic. examples of territorial names are: kanaujia of kanauj, burhanpuria of burhanpur, chitoria of chitor in rajputana, deobijha the name of a village in chhattisgarh, and kharondiha from kharond or kalahandi state. these names must apparently have been adopted at random when a family either settled in one of these places or removed from it to another part of the country. examples of titular names of groups are: pandit (priest), bhandari (store-keeper), patharha (hail-averter), batkaphor (pot-breaker), bhulya (the forgetful one), gujar (a caste), gahoi (a caste), and so on. while the following are totemistic groups: katara (dagger), kulha (jackal), bandrele (monkey), chikhalkar (from _chikhal_, mud), richharia (bear), and others. where the group is named after another caste it probably indicates that a man of that caste became a barai and founded a family; while the fact that some groups are totemistic shows that a section of the caste is recruited from the indigenous tribes. the large variety of names discloses the diverse elements of which the caste is made up. 3. marriage marriage within the _gotra_ or exogamous group and within three degrees of relationship between persons connected through females is prohibited. girls are usually wedded before adolescence, but no stigma attaches to the family if they remain single beyond this period. if a girl is seduced by a man of the caste she is married to him by the _pat_, a simple ceremony used for widows. in the southern districts a barber cuts off a lock of her hair on the banks of a tank or river by way of penalty, and a fast is also imposed on her, while the caste-fellows exact a meal from her family. if she has an illegitimate child, it is given away to somebody else, if possible. a girl going wrong with an outsider is expelled from the caste. polygamy is permitted and no stigma attaches to the taking of a second wife, though it is rarely done except for special family reasons. among the maratha barais the bride and bridegroom must walk five times round the marriage altar and then worship the stone slab and roller used for pounding spices. this seems to show that the trade of the pansari or druggist is recognised as being a proper avocation of the barai. they subsequently have to worship the potter's wheel. after the wedding the bride, if she is a child, goes as usual to her husband's house for a few days. in chhattisgarh she is accompanied by a few relations, the party being known as chauthia, and during her stay in her husband's house the bride is made to sleep on the ground. widow marriage is permitted, and the ceremony is conducted according to the usage of the locality. in betul the relatives of the widow take the second husband before maroti's shrine, where he offers a nut and some betel-leaf. he is then taken to the malguzar's house and presents to him rs. 1-4-0, a cocoanut and some betel-vine leaf as the price of his assent to the marriage. if there is a deshmukh [236] of the village, a cocoanut and betel-leaf are also given to him. the nut offered to maroti represents the deceased husband's spirit, and is subsequently placed on a plank and kicked off by the new bridegroom in token of his usurping the other's place, and finally buried to lay the spirit. the property of the first husband descends to his children, and failing them his brother's children or collateral heirs take it before the widow. a bachelor espousing a widow must first go through the ceremony of marriage with a swallow-wort plant. when a widower marries a girl a silver impression representing the deceased first wife is made and worshipped daily with the family gods. divorce is permitted on sufficient grounds at the instance of either party, being effected before the caste committee or _panchayat_. if a husband divorces his wife merely on account of bad temper, he must maintain her so long as she remains unmarried and continues to lead a moral life. 4. religion and social status. the barais especially venerate the nag or cobra and observe the festival of nag-panchmi (cobra's fifth), in connection with which the following story is related. formerly there was no betel-vine on the earth. but when the five pandava brothers celebrated the great horse sacrifice after their victory at hastinapur, they wanted some, and so messengers were sent down below the earth to the residence of the queen of the serpents, in order to try and obtain it. basuki, the queen of the serpents, obligingly cut off the top joint of her little finger and gave it to the messengers. this was brought up and sown on the earth, and _pan_ creepers grew out of the joint. for this reason the betel-vine has no blossoms or seeds, but the joints of the creepers are cut off and sown, when they sprout afresh; and the betel-vine is called nagbel or the serpent-creeper. on the day of nag-panchmi the barais go to the _bareja_ with flowers, cocoanuts and other offerings, and worship a stone which is placed in it and which represents the nag or cobra. a goat or sheep is sacrificed and they return home, no leaf of the _pan_ garden being touched on that day. a cup of milk is also left, in the belief that a cobra will come out of the _pan_ garden and drink it. the barais say that members of their caste are never bitten by cobras, though many of these snakes frequent the gardens on account of the moist coolness and shade which they afford. the agarwala banias, from whom the barais will take food cooked without water, have also a legend of descent from a naga or snake princess. 'our mother's house is of the race of the snake,' say the agarwals of bihar. [237] the caste usually burn the dead, with the exception of children and persons dying of leprosy or snake-bite, whose bodies are buried. mourning is observed for ten days in the case of adults and for three days for children. in chhattisgarh if any portion of the corpse remains unburnt on the day following the cremation, the relatives are penalised to the extent of an extra feast to the caste-fellows. children are named on the sixth or twelfth day after birth either by a brahman or by the women of the household. two names are given, one for ceremonial and the other for ordinary use. when a brahman is engaged he gives seven names for a boy and five for a girl, and the parents select one out of these. the barais do not admit outsiders into the caste, and employ brahmans for religious and ceremonial purposes. they are allowed to eat the flesh of clean animals, but very rarely do so, and they abstain from liquor. brahmans will take sweets and water from them, and they occupy a fairly good social position on account of the important nature of their occupation. 5. occupation. "it has been mentioned," says sir h. risley, [238] "that the garden is regarded as almost sacred, and the superstitious practices in vogue resemble those of the silk-worm breeder. the barui will not enter it until he has bathed and washed his clothes. animals found inside are driven out, while women ceremonially unclean dare not enter within the gate. a brahman never sets foot inside, and old men have a prejudice against entering it. it has, however, been known to be used for assignations." the betel-vine is the leaf of _piper betel_ l., the word being derived from the malayalam _vettila_, 'a plain leaf,' and coming to us through the portuguese _betre_ and _betle_. the leaf is called _pan_, and is eaten with the nut of _areca catechu_, called in hindi _supari_. the vine needs careful cultivation, the gardens having to be covered to keep off the heat of the sun, while liberal treatment with manure and irrigation is needed. the joints of the creepers are planted in february, and begin to supply leaves in about five months' time. when the first creepers are stripped after a period of nearly a year, they are cut off and fresh ones appear, the plants being exhausted within a period of about two years after the first sowing. a garden may cover from half an acre to an acre of land, and belongs to a number of growers, who act in partnership, each owning so many lines of vines. the plain leaves are sold at from 2 annas to 4 annas a hundred, or a higher rate when they are out of season. damoh, ramtek and bilahri are three of the best-known centres of cultivation in the central provinces. the bilahri leaf is described in the _ain-i-akbari_ as follows: "the leaf called bilahri is white and shining, and does not make the tongue harsh and hard. it tastes best of all kinds. after it has been taken away from the creeper, it turns white with some care after a month, or even after twenty days, when greater efforts are made." [239] for retail sale _bidas_ are prepared, consisting of a rolled betel-leaf containing areca-nut, catechu and lime, and fastened with a clove. musk and cardamoms are sometimes added. tobacco should be smoked after eating a _bida_ according to the saying, 'service without a patron, a young man without a shield, and betel without tobacco are alike savourless.' _bidas_ are sold at from two to four for a pice (farthing). women of the caste often retail them, and as many are good-looking they secure more custom; they are also said to have an indifferent reputation. early in the morning, when they open their shops, they burn some incense before the bamboo basket in which the leaves are kept, to propitiate lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. barhai list of paragraphs 1. _strength and local distribution._ 2. _internal structure._ 3. _marriage customs._ 4. _religion._ 5. _social position._ 6. _occupation._ 1. strength and local distribution. _barhai, sutar, kharadi, mistri._--the occupational caste of carpenters. the barhais numbered nearly 110,000 persons in the central provinces and berar in 1911, or about 1 in 150 persons. the caste is most numerous in districts with large towns, and few carpenters are to be found in villages except in the richer and more advanced districts. hitherto such woodwork as the villagers wanted for agriculture has been made by the lohar or blacksmith, while the country cots, the only wooden article of furniture in their houses, could be fashioned by their own hands or by the gond woodcutter. in the mandla district the barhai caste counts only 300 persons, and about the same in balaghat, in drug only 47 persons, and in the fourteen chhattisgarh feudatory states, with a population of more than two millions, only some 800 persons. the name barhai is said to be from the sanskrit vardhika and the root _vardh_, to cut. sutar is a common name of the caste in the maratha districts, and is from sutra-kara, one who works by string, or a maker of string. the allusion may be to the barhai's use of string in planing or measuring timber, or it may possibly indicate a transfer of occupation, the sutars having first been mainly string-makers and afterwards abandoned this calling for that of the carpenter. the first wooden implements and articles of furniture may have been held together by string before nails came into use. kharadi is literally a turner, one who turns woodwork on a lathe, from _kharat_, a lathe. mistri, a corruption of the english mister, is an honorific title for master carpenters. 2. internal structure. the comparatively recent growth of the caste in these provinces is shown by its subdivisions. the principal subcastes of the hindustani districts are the pardeshi or foreigners, immigrants from northern india, and the purbia or eastern, coming from oudh; other subcastes are the sri gaur malas or immigrants from malwa, the beradi from berar, and the mahure from hyderabad. we find also subcastes of jat and teli barhais, consisting of jats and telis (oil-pressers) who have taken to carpentering. two other caste-groups, the chamar barhais and gondi barhais, are returned, but these are not at present included in the barhai caste, and consist merely of chamars and gonds who work as carpenters but remain in their own castes. in the course of some generations, however, if the cohesive social force of the caste system continues unabated, these groups may probably find admission into the barhai caste. colonel tod notes that the progeny of one makur, a prince of the jadon rajput house of jaisalmer, became carpenters, and were known centuries after as makur sutars. they were apparently considered illegitimate, as he states: "illegitimate children can never overcome this natural defect among the rajputs. thus we find among all classes of artisans in india some of royal but spurious descent." [240] the internal structure of the caste seems therefore to indicate that it is largely of foreign origin and to a certain degree of recent formation in these provinces. 3. marriage customs. the caste are also divided into exogamous septs named after villages. in some localities it is said that they have no septs, but only surnames, and that people of the same surname cannot intermarry. well-to-do persons marry their daughters before puberty and others when they can afford the expense of the ceremony. brahman priests are employed at weddings, though on other occasions their services are occasionally dispensed with. the wedding ceremony is of the type prevalent in the locality. when the wedding procession reaches the bride's village it halts near the temple of maroti or hanuman. among the panchal barhais the bridegroom does not wear a marriage crown but ties a bunch of flowers to his turban. the bridegroom's party is entertained for five days. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. in most localities it is said that a widow is forbidden to marry her first husband's younger as well as his elder brother. among the pardeshi barhais of betul if a bachelor desires to marry a widow he must first go through the ceremony with a branch or twig of the _gular_ tree. [241] 4. religion. the caste worship viswakarma, the celestial architect, and venerate their trade implements on the dasahra festival. they consider the sight of a mongoose and of a light-grey pigeon or dove as lucky omens. they burn the dead and throw the ashes into a river or tank, employing a maha-brahman to receive the gifts for the dead. 5. social position. in social status the barhais rank with the higher artisan castes. brahmans take water from them in some localities, perhaps more especially in towns. in betul for instance hindustani brahmans do not accept water from the rural barhais. in damoh where both the barhai and lohar are village menials, their status is said to be the same, and brahmans do not take water from lohars. mr. nesfield says that the barhai is a village servant and ranks with the kurmi, with whom his interests are so closely allied. but there seems no special reason why the interests of the carpenter should be more closely allied with the cultivator than those of any other village menial, and it may be offered as a surmise that carpentering as a distinct trade is of comparatively late origin, and was adopted by kurmis, to which fact the connection noticed by mr. nesfield might be attributed; hence the position of the barhai among the castes from whom a brahman will take water. in some localities well-to-do members of the caste have begun to wear the sacred thread. 6. occupation. in the northern districts and the cotton tract the barhai works as a village menial. he makes and mends the plough and harrow (_bakhar_) and other wooden implements of agriculture, and makes new ones when supplied with the wood. in wardha he receives an annual contribution of 100 lbs. of grain from each cultivator. in betul he gets 67 lbs. of grain and other perquisites for each plough of four bullocks. for making carts and building or repairing houses he must be separately paid. at weddings the barhai often supplies the sacred marriage-post and is given from four annas to a rupee. at the diwali festival he prepares a wooden peg about six inches long, and drives it into the cultivator's house inside the threshold, and receives half a pound to a pound of grain. in cities the carpenters are rapidly acquiring an increased degree of skill as the demand for a better class of houses and furniture becomes continually greater and more extensive. the carpenters have been taught to make english furniture by such institutions as the friends' mission of hoshangabad and other missionaries; and a government technical school has now been opened at nagpur, in which boys from all over the province are trained in the profession. very little wood-carving with any pretensions to excellence has hitherto been done in the central provinces, but the jain temples at saugor and khurai contain some fair woodwork. a good carpenter in towns can earn from 12 annas to rs. 1-8 a day, and both his earnings and prospects have greatly improved within recent years. sherring remarks of the barhais: "as artisans they exhibit little or no inventive powers: but in imitating the workmanship of others they are perhaps unsurpassed in the whole world. they are equally clever in working from designs and models." [242] bari _bari._--a caste of household servants and makers of leaf-plates, belonging to northern india. the baris numbered 1200 persons in the central provinces in 1911, residing mainly in jubbulpore and mandla. sir h. risley remarks of the caste: [243] "mr. nesfield regards the bari as merely an offshoot from a semi-savage tribe known as banmanush and musahar. he is said still to associate with them at times, and if the demand for leaf-plates and cups, owing to some temporary cause, such as a local fair or an unusual multitude of marriages, happens to become larger than he can at once supply, he gets them secretly made by his ruder kinsfolk and retails them at a higher rate, passing them off as his own production. the strictest brahmans, those at least who aspire to imitate the self-denying life of the ancient indian hermit, never eat off any other plates than those made of leaves." "if the above view is correct," sir h. risley remarks, "the baris are a branch of a non-aryan tribe who have been given a fairly respectable position in the social system in consequence of the demand for leaf-plates, which are largely used by the highest as well as the lowest castes. instances of this sort, in which a non-aryan or mixed group is promoted on grounds of necessity or convenience to a higher status than their antecedents would entitle them to claim, are not unknown in other castes, and must have occurred frequently in outlying parts of the country, where the aryan settlements were scanty and imperfectly supplied with the social apparatus demanded by the theory of ceremonial purity." there is no reason why the origin of the bari from the banmanush (wild man of the woods) or musahar (mouse-eater), a forest tribe, as suggested by mr. nesfield from his observation of their mutual connection, should be questioned. the making of leaf-plates is an avocation which may be considered naturally to pertain to the tribes frequenting jungles from which the leaves are gathered; and in the central provinces, though in the north the nai or barber ostensibly supplies the leaf-plates, probably buying the leaves and getting them made up by gonds and others, in the maratha districts the gond himself does so, and many gonds make their living by this trade. the people of the maratha country are apparently less strict than those of northern india, and do not object to eat off plates avowedly the handiwork of gonds. the fact that the bari has been raised to the position of a pure caste, so that brahmans will take water from his hands, is one among several instances of this elevation of the rank of the serving castes for purposes of convenience. the caste themselves have the following legend of their origin: once upon a time parmeshwar [244] was offering rice milk to the spirits of his ancestors. in the course of this ceremony the performer has to present a gift known as vikraya dan, which cannot be accepted by others without loss of position. parmeshwar offered the gift to various brahmans, but they all refused it. so he made a man of clay, and blew upon the image and gave it life, and the god then asked the man whom he had created to accept the gift which the brahmans had refused. this man, who was the first bari, agreed on condition that all men should drink with him and recognise his purity of caste. parmeshwar then told him to bring water in a cup, and drank of it in the presence of all the castes. and in consequence of this all the hindus will take water from the hands of a bari. they also say that their first ancestor was named sundar on account of his personal beauty; but if so, he failed to bequeath this quality to his descendants. the proper avocation of the baris is, as already stated, the manufacture of the leaf-cups and plates used by all hindus at festivals. in the central provinces these are made from the large leaves of the _mahul_ creeper (_bauhinia vahlii_), or from the _palas_ (_butea frondosa_). the caste also act as personal servants, handing round water, lighting and carrying torches at marriages and other entertainments and on journeys, and performing other functions. some of them have taken to agriculture. their women act as maids to high-caste hindu ladies, and as they are always about the zenana, are liable to lose their virtue. a curious custom prevails in marwar on the birth of an heir to the throne. an impression of the child's foot is taken by a bari on cloth covered with saffron, and is exhibited to the native chiefs, who make him rich presents. [245] the baris have the reputation of great fidelity to their employers, and a saying about them is, 'the bari will die fighting for his master.' basdewa _basdewa, [246] wasudeo, harbola, kaparia, jaga, kapdi._--a wandering beggar caste of mixed origin, who also call themselves sanadhya or sanaurhia brahmans. the basdewas trace their origin to wasudeo, the father of krishna, and the term basdewa is a corruption of wasudeo or wasudeva. kaparia is the name they bear in the anterved or country between the ganges and jumna, whence they claim to have come. kaparia has been derived from _kapra_, cloth, owing to the custom of the basdewas of having several dresses, which they change rapidly like the bahrupia, making themselves up in different characters as a show. harbola is an occupational term, applied to a class of basdewas who climb trees in the early morning and thence vociferate praises of the deity in a loud voice. the name is derived from _har_, god, and _bolna_, to speak. as the harbolas wake people up in the morning they are also called jaga or awakener. the number of basdewas in the central provinces and berar in 1911 was 2500, and they are found principally in the northern districts and in chhattisgarh. they have several territorial subcastes, as gangaputri or those who dwell on the banks of the ganges; khaltia or deswari, those who belong to the central provinces; parauha, from _para_, a male buffalo calf, being the dealers in buffaloes; harbola or those who climb trees and sing the praises of god; and wasudeo, the dwellers in the maratha districts who marry only among themselves. the names of the exogamous divisions are very varied, some being taken from brahman _gotras_ and rajput septs, while others are the names of villages, or nicknames, or derived from animals and plants. it may be concluded from these names that the basdewas are a mixed occupational group recruited from high and low castes, though they themselves say that they do not admit any outsiders except brahmans into the community. in bombay [247] the wasudevas have a special connection with kumhars or potters, whom they address by the term of _kaka_ or paternal uncle, and at whose houses they lodge on their travels, presenting their host with the two halves of a cocoanut. the caste do not observe celibacy. a price of rs. 25 has usually to be given for a bride, and a brahman is employed to perform the ceremony. at the conclusion of this the brahman invests the bridegroom with a sacred thread, which he thereafter continues to wear. widow marriage is permitted, and widows are commonly married to widowers. divorce is also permitted. when a man's wife dies he shaves his moustache and beard, if any, in mourning and a father likewise for a daughter-in-law; this is somewhat peculiar, as other hindus do not shave the moustache for a wife or daughter-in-law. the basdewas are wandering mendicants. in the maratha districts they wear a plume of peacock's feathers, which they say was given to them as a badge by krishna. in saugor and damoh instead of this they carry during the period from dasahra to the end of magh or from september to january a brass vessel called _matuk_ bound on their heads. it is surmounted by a brass cone and adorned with mango-leaves, cowries and a piece of red cloth, and with figures of rama and lakshman. their stock-in-trade for begging consists of two _kartals_ or wooden clappers which are struck against each other; _ghungrus_ or jingling ornaments for the feet, worn when dancing; and a _paijna_ or kind of rattle, consisting of two semicircular iron wires bound at each end to a piece of wood with rings slung on to them; this is simply shaken in the hand and gives out a sound from the movement of the rings against the wires. they worship all these implements as well as their beggar's wallet on the janam-ashtami or krishna's birthday, the dasahra, and the full moon of magh (january). they rise early and beg only in the morning from about four till eight, and sing songs in praise of sarwan and karan. sarwan was a son renowned for his filial piety; he maintained and did service to his old blind parents to the end of their lives, much against the will of his wife, and was proof against all her machinations to induce him to abandon them. karan was a proverbially charitable king, and all his family had the same virtue. his wife gave away daily rice and pulse to those who required it, his daughter gave them clothes, his son distributed cows as alms and his daughter-in-law cocoanuts. the king himself gave only gold, and it is related of him that he was accustomed to expend a maund and a quarter [248] weight of gold in alms-giving before he washed himself and paid his morning devotions. therefore the basdewas sing that he who gives early in the morning acquires the merit of karan; and their presence at this time affords the requisite opportunity to anybody who may be desirous of emulating the king. at the end of every couplet they cry 'jai ganga' or 'har ganga,' invoking the ganges. the harbolas have each a beat of a certain number of villages which must not be infringed by the others. their method is to ascertain the name of some well-to-do person in the village. this done, they climb a tree in the early morning before sunrise, and continue chanting his praises in a loud voice until he is sufficiently flattered by their eulogies or wearied by their importunity to throw down a present of a few pice under the tree, which the harbola, descending, appropriates. the basdewas of the northern districts are now commonly engaged in the trade of buying and selling buffaloes. they take the young male calves from saugor and damoh to chhattisgarh, and there retail them at a profit for rice cultivation, driving them in large herds along the road. for the capital which they have to borrow to make their purchases, they are charged very high rates of interest. the basdewas have here a special veneration for the buffalo as the animal from which they make their livelihood, and they object strongly to the calves being taken to be tied out as baits for tiger, refusing, it is said, to accept payment if the calf should be killed. their social status is not high, and none but the lowest castes will take food from their hands. they eat flesh and drink liquor, but abstain from pork, fowls and beef. some of the caste have given up animal food. basor list of paragraphs 1. _numbers and distribution._ 2. _caste traditions._ 3. _subdivisions._ 4. _marriage._ 5. _religion and social status._ 6. _occupation._ 1. numbers and distribution. _basor, [249] bansphor, dhulia, burud._--the occupational caste of bamboo-workers, the two first names being hindi and the last the term used in the maratha districts. the cognate uriya caste is called kandra and the telugu one medara. the basors numbered 53,000 persons in the central provinces and berar in 1911. about half the total number reside in the saugor, damoh and jubbulpore districts. the word basor is a corruption of bansphor, 'a breaker of bamboos.' dhulia, from _dholi_, a drum, means a musician. 2. caste traditions. the caste trace their origin from raja benu or venu who ruled at singorgarh in damoh. it is related of him that he was so pious that he raised no taxes from his subjects, but earned his livelihood by making and selling bamboo fans. he could of course keep no army, but he knew magic, and when he broke his fan the army of the enemy broke up in unison. venu is a sanskrit word meaning bamboo. but a mythological sanskrit king called vena is mentioned in the puranas, from whom for his sins was born the first nishada, the lowest of human beings, and manu [250] states that the bamboo-worker is the issue of a nishada or chandal father and a vaideha [251] mother. so that the local story may be a corruption of the brahmanical tradition. another legend relates that in the beginning there were no bamboos, and the first basor took the serpent which siva wore round his neck and going to a hill planted it with its head in the ground. a bamboo at once sprang up on the spot, and from this the basor made the first winnowing fan. and the snake-like root of the bamboo, which no doubt suggested the story to its composer, is now adduced in proof of it. 3. subdivisions. the basors of the northern districts are divided into a number of subcastes, the principal of which are: the purania or juthia, who perhaps represent the oldest section, purania being from _purana_ old; they are called juthia because they eat the leavings of others; the barmaiya or malaiya, apparently a territorial group; the deshwari or bundelkhandi who reside in the _desh_ or native place of bundelkhand; the gudha or gurha, the name being derived by some from _guda_ a pigsty; the dumar or dom basors; the dhubela, perhaps from the dhobi caste; and the dharkar. two or three of the above names appear to be those of other low castes from which the basor caste may have been recruited, perhaps at times when a strong demand existed for bamboo-workers. the buruds do not appear to be sufficiently numerous to have subcastes. but they include a few telenga buruds who are really medaras, and the caste proper are therefore sometimes known as maratha buruds to distinguish them from these. the caste has numerous _bainks_ or exogamous groups or septs, the names of which may chiefly be classified as territorial and totemistic. among the former are mahobia, from the town of mahoba; sirmaiya, from sirmau; orahia, from orai, the battlefield of the banaphar generals, alha and udal; tikarahia from tikari, and so on. the totemistic septs include the sanpero from _sanp_ a snake, the mangrelo from _mangra_ a crocodile, the morya from _mor_ a peacock, the titya from the _titehri_ bird and the sarkia from _sarki_ or red ochre, all of which worship their respective totems. the katarya or 'dagger' sept worship a real or painted dagger at their marriage, and the kemia, a branch of the _kem_ tree (_stephegyne parvifolia_). the bandrelo, from _bandar_, worship a painted monkey. one or two groups are named after castes, as bamhnelo from brahman and bargujaria from bargujar rajput, thus indicating that members of these castes became basors and founded families. one sept is called marha from marhai, the goddess of cholera, and the members worship a picture of the goddess drawn in black. the name of the kulhantia sept means somersault, and these turn a somersault before worshipping their gods. so strong is the totemistic idea that some of the territorial groups worship objects with similar names. thus the mahobia group, whose name is undoubtedly derived from the town of mahoba, have adopted the mahua tree as their totem, and digging a small hole in the ground place in it a little water and the liquor made from mahua flowers, and worship it. this represents the process of distillation of country liquor. similarly, the orahia group, who derive their name from the town of orai, now worship the _urai_ or _khaskhas_ grass, and the tikarahia from tikari worship a _tikli_ or glass spangle. 4. marriage. the marriage of persons belonging to the same _baink_ or sept and also that of first cousins is forbidden. the age of marriage is settled by convenience, and no stigma attaches to its postponement beyond adolescence. intrigues of unmarried girls with men of their own or any higher caste are usually overlooked. the ceremony follows the standard hindi and marathi forms, and presents no special features. a bride-price called _chari_, amounting to seven or eight rupees, is usually paid. in betul the practice of _lamjhana_ or serving the father-in-law for a term of years before marrying his daughter, is sometimes followed. widow-marriage is permitted, and the widow is expected to wed her late husband's younger brother. the basors are musicians by profession, but in betul the _narsingha_, a peculiar kind of crooked trumpet, is the only implement which may be played at the marriage of a widow. a woman marrying a second time forfeits all interest in the property of her late husband, unless she is without issue and there are no near relatives of her husband to take it. divorce is effected by the breaking of the woman's bangles in public. if obtained by the wife, she must repay to her first husband the expenditure incurred by him for her marriage when she takes a second. but the acceptance of this payment is considered derogatory and the husband refuses it unless he is poor. 5. religion and social status. the basors worship the ordinary hindu deities and also ghosts and spirits. like the other low castes they entertain a special veneration for devi. they profess to exorcise evil spirits and the evil eye, and to cure other disorders and diseases through the agency of their incantations and the goblins who do their bidding. they burn their dead when they can afford it and otherwise bury them, placing the corpse in the grave with its head to the north. the body of a woman is wrapped in a red shroud and that of a man in a white one. they observe mourning for a period of three to ten days, but in jubbulpore it always ends with the fortnight in which the death takes place; so that a person dying on the 15th or 30th of the month is mourned only for one day. they eat almost every kind of food, including beef, pork, fowls, liquor and the leavings of others, but abjure crocodiles, monkeys, snakes and rats. many of them have now given up eating cow's flesh in deference to hindu feeling. they will take food from almost any caste except sweepers, and one or two others, as joshi and jasondhi, towards whom for some unexplained reason they entertain a special aversion. they will admit outsiders belonging to any caste from whom they can take food into the community. they are generally considered as impure, and live outside the village, and their touch conveys pollution, more especially in the maratha districts. the ordinary village menials, as the barber and washerman, will not work for them, and services of this nature are performed by men of their own community. as, however, their occupation is not in itself unclean, they rank above sweepers, chamars and dhobis. temporary exclusion from caste is imposed for the usual offences, and the almost invariable penalty for readmission is a feast to the caste-fellows. a person, male or female, who has been convicted of adultery must have the head shaved, and is then seated in the centre of the caste-fellows and pelted by them with the leavings of their food. basor women are not permitted to wear nose-rings on pain of exclusion from caste. 6. occupation. the trade of the basors is a very essential one to the agricultural community. they make numerous kinds of baskets, among which may be mentioned the _chunka_, a very small one, the _tokni_, a basket of middle size, and the _tokna_, a very large one. the _dauri_ is a special basket with a lining of matting for washing rice in a stream. the _jhanpi_ is a round basket with a cover for holding clothes; the _tipanna_ a small one in which girls keep dolls; and the _bilahra_ a still smaller one for holding betel-leaf. other articles made from bamboo-bark are the _chalni_ or sieve, the _khunkhuna_ or rattle, the _bansuri_ or wooden flute, the _bijna_ or fan, and the _supa_ or winnowing-fan. all grain is cleaned with the help of the _supa_ both on the threshing-floor and in the house before consumption, and a child is always laid in one as soon as it is born. in towns the basors make the bamboo matting which is so much used. the only implement they employ is the _banka_, a heavy curved knife, with which all the above articles are made. the _banka_ is duly worshipped at the diwali festival. the basors are also the village musicians, and a band of three or four of them play at weddings and on other festive occasions. some of them work as pig-breeders and others are village watchmen. the women often act as midwives. one subcaste, the dumar, will do scavenger's work, but they never take employment as _saises_, because the touch of horse-dung is considered as a pollution, entailing temporary excommunication from caste. bedar 1. general notice. _bedar. [252]_--a small caste of about 1500 persons, belonging to akola, khandesh and hyderabad. their ancestors were pindaris, apparently recruited from the different maratha castes, and when the pindaris were suppressed they obtained or were awarded land in the localities where they now reside, and took to cultivation. the more respectable bedars say that their ancestors were tirole kunbis, but when tipu sultan invaded the carnatic he took many of them prisoners and ordered them to become muhammadans. in order to please him they took food with muhammadans, and on this account the kunbis put them out of caste until they should purify themselves. but as there were a large number of them, they did not do this, and have remained a separate caste. the real derivation of the name is unknown, but the caste say that it is _be-dar_ or 'without fear,' and was given to them on account of their bravery. they have now obtained a warrant from the descendant of shankar acharya, or the high priest of sivite hindus, permitting them to describe themselves as put kunbi or purified kunbi. [253] the community is clearly of a most mixed nature, as there are also dher or mahar bedars. they refuse to take food from other mahars and consider themselves defiled by their touch. the social position of the caste also presents some peculiar features. several of them have taken service in the army and police, and have risen to the rank of native officer; and rao sahib dhonduji, a retired inspector of police, is a prominent member of the caste. the raja of surpur, near raichur, is also said to be a bedar, while others are ministerial officials occupying a respectable position. yet of the bedars generally it is said that they cannot draw water freely from the public wells, and in nasik bedar constables are not considered suitable for ordinary duty, as people object to their entering houses. the caste must therefore apparently have higher and lower groups, differing considerably in position. 2. subdivisions and marriage customs. they have three subdivisions, the maratha, telugu and kande bedars. the names of their exogamous sections are also marathi. nevertheless they retain one or two northern customs, presumably acquired from association with the pindaris. their women do not tuck the body-cloth in behind the waist, but draw it over the right shoulder. they wear the _choli_ or hindustani breast-cloth tied in front, and have a hooped silver ornament on the top of the head, which is known as _dhora_. they eat goats, fowls and the flesh of the wild pig, and drink liquor, and will take food from a kunbi or a phulmali, and pay little heed to the rules of social impurity. but hindustani brahmans act as their priests. before a wedding they call a brahman and worship him as a god, the ceremony being known as deo brahman. the brahman then cooks food in the house of his host. on the same occasion a person specially nominated by the brahman, and known as deokia, fetches an earthen vessel from the potter, and this is worshipped with offerings of turmeric and rice, and a cotton thread is tied round it. formerly it is said they worshipped the spent bullets picked up after a battle, and especially any which had been extracted from the body of a wounded person. 3. funeral rites. when a man is about to die they take him down from his cot and lay him on the ground with his head in the lap of a relative. the dead are buried, a person of importance being carried to the grave in a sitting posture, while others are laid out in the ordinary manner. a woman is buried in a green cloth and a breast-cloth. when the corpse has been prepared for the funeral they take some liquor, and after a few drops have been poured into the mouth of the corpse the assembled persons drink the rest. while following to the grave they beat drums and play on musical instruments and sing religious songs; and if a man dies during the night, since he is not buried till the morning, they sit in the house playing and singing for the remaining hours of darkness. the object of this custom must presumably be to keep away evil spirits. after the funeral each man places a leafy branch of some tree or shrub on the grave, and on the thirteenth day they put food before a cow and also throw some on to the roof of the house as a portion for the crows. beldar list of paragraphs 1. _general notice._ 2. _beldars of the northern districts._ 3. _odias of chhattisgarh._ 4. _other chhattisgarhi beldars._ 5. _munurwar and telenga._ 6. _vaddar._ 7. _pathrot._ 8. _takari._ 1. general notice. _beldar, [254] od, sonkar, raj, larhia, karigar, matkuda, chunkar, munurwar, thapatkari, vaddar, pathrot, takari._--the term beldar is generically applied to a number of occupational groups of more or less diverse origin, who work as masons or navvies, build the earthen embankments of tanks or fields, carry lime and bricks and in former times refined salt. beldar means one who carries a _bel_, a hoe or mattock. in 1911 a total of 25,000 beldars were returned from the central provinces, being most numerous in the nimar, wardha, nagpur, chanda and raipur districts. the nunia, murha and sansia (uriya) castes, which have been treated in separate articles, are also frequently known as beldar, and cannot be clearly distinguished from the main caste. if they are all classed together the total of the earthand stone-working castes comes to 35,000 persons. it is probable that the bulk of the beldars and allied castes are derived from the non-aryan tribes. the murhas or navvies of the northern districts appear to be an offshoot of the bind tribe; the people known as matkuda (earth-digger) are usually gonds or pardhans; the sansias and larhias or uriyas of chhattisgarh and the uriya country seem to have originated from the kol, bhuiya and oraon tribes, the kols especially making excellent diggers and masons; the oddes or vaddars of madras are a very low caste, and some of their customs point to a similar origin, though the munurwar masons of chanda appear to have belonged originally to the kapu caste of cultivators. the term raj, which is also used for the beldars in the northern districts, has the distinctive meaning of a mason, while chunkar signifies a lime-burner. the sonkars were formerly occupied in saugor in carrying lime, bricks and earth on donkeys, but they have now abandoned this calling in chhattisgarh and taken to growing vegetables, and have been given a short separate notice. in hoshangabad some muhammadan beldars are now also found. 2. beldars of the northern districts. the beldars of saugor say that their ancestors were engaged in refining salt from earth. a divine saint named nona rishi (_non_, salt) came down on earth, and while cooking his food mixed some saline soil with it. the bread tasted much better in consequence, and he made the earth into a ball or _goli_ and taught his followers to extract the salt from it, whence their descendants are known as goli beldars. the customs of these beldars are of the ordinary low-caste type. the wedding procession is accompanied by drums, fireworks and, if means permit, a nautch-girl. if a man puts away his wife without adequate cause the caste _panchayat_ may compel him to support her so long as she remains of good conduct. the party seeking a divorce, whether husband or wife, has to pay rs. 7 to the caste committee and the other partner rs. 3, irrespective of where the blame rests, and each remains out of caste until he or she pays. these beldars will not take food from any caste but their own, and will not take water from a brahman, though they will accept it from kurmis, gujars and similar castes. sir h. risley notes that their women always remove earth in baskets on the head. "the beldars regard this mode of carrying earth as distinctive of themselves, and will on no account transport it in baskets slung from the shoulders. they work very hard when paid by the piece, and are notorious for their skill in manipulating the pillars (_sakhi_, witness) left to mark work done, so as to exaggerate the measurement. on one occasion while working for me on a large lake at govindpur, in the north of the manbhum district, a number of beldars transplanted an entire pillar during the night and claimed payment for several thousand feet of imaginary earthwork. the fraud was most skilfully carried out, and was only detected by accident." [255] the beldars are often dishonest in their dealings, and will take large advances for a tank or embankment, and then abscond with the money without doing the work. during the open season parties of the caste travel about in camp looking for work, their furniture being loaded on donkeys. they carry grain in earthen pots encased in bags of netting, neatly and closely woven, and grind their wheat daily in a small mill set on a goat-skin. butter is made in one of their pots with a churning-stick, consisting of a cogged wheel fixed on to the end of a wooden rod. 3. odias of chhattisgarh. the beldars of chhattisgarh are divided into the odia or uriya, larhia, kuchbandhia, matkuda and karigar groups. uriya and larhia are local names, applied to residents of the uriya country and chhattisgarh respectively. odia is the name of a low madras caste of masons, but whether it is a corruption of uriya is not clear. karigar means a workman, and kuchbandhia is the name of a separate caste, who make loom-combs for weavers. the odias pretend to be fallen rajputs. they say that when indra stole the sacrificial horse of raja sagar and kept it in the underworld, the raja's thousand sons dug great holes through the earth to get it. finally they arrived at the underworld and were all reduced to ashes by the rishi kapil muni, who dwelt there. their ghosts besought him for life, and he said that their descendants should always continue to dig holes in the earth, which would be used as tanks; and that whenever a tank was dug by them, and its marriage celebrated with a sacrifice, the savour of the sacrifice would descend to the ghosts and would afford them sustenance. the odias say that they are the descendants of the raja's sons, and unless a tank is dug and its marriage celebrated by them it remains impure. these odias have their tutelary deity in rewah state, and at his shrine is a flag which none but an odia of genuine descent from raja sagar's sons can touch without some injury befalling him. if any beldaar therefore claims to belong to their caste they call on him to touch the flag, and if he does so with impunity they acknowledge him as a brother. 4. other chhattisgarhi beldars. the other group of chattisgarhi beldars are of lower status, and clearly derived from the non-aryan tribes. they eat pigs, and at intervals of two or three years they celebrate the worship of gosain deo with a sacrifice of pigs, the deity being apparently a deified ascetic or mendicant. on this occasion the dhimars, gonds, and all other castes which eat pig's flesh join in the sacrifice, and consume the meat together after the fashion of the rice at jagannath's temple, which all castes may eat together without becoming impure. these beldars use asses for the transport of their bricks and stones, and on the diwali day they place a lamp before the ass and pay reverence to it. they say that at their marriages a bride-price of rs. 100 or rs. 200 must always be paid, but they are allowed to give one or two donkeys and value them at rs. 50 apiece. they make grindstones (_chakki_), combs for straightening the threads on the loom, and frames for stretching the threads. these frames are called _dongi_, and are made either wholly or partly from the horns of animals, a fact which no doubt renders them impure. 5. munurwar and telenga. in chanda the principal castes of stone-workers are the telengas (telugus), who are also known as thapatkari (tapper or chiseller), telenga kunbi and munurwar. they occupy a higher position than the ordinary beldar, and kunbis will take water from them and sometimes food. they say that they came into chanda from the telugu country along the godavari and pranhita rivers to build the great wall of chanda and the palaces and tombs of the gond kings. there is no reason to doubt that the munurwars are a branch of the kapu cultivating caste of the telugu country. mr. a. k. smith states that they refuse to eat the flesh of an animal which has been skinned by a mahar, a chamar, or a gond; the kunbis and marathas also consider flesh touched by a mahar or chamar to be impure, but do not object to a gond. like the berar kunbis, the telengas prefer that an animal should be killed by the rite of _halal_ as practised by muhammadan butchers. the reason no doubt is that the _halal_ is a method of sacrificial slaughter, and the killing of the animal is legitimised even though by the ritual of a foreign religion. the thapatkaris appear to be a separate group, and their original profession was to collect and retail jungle fruits and roots having medicinal properties. though the majority have become stoneand earth-workers some of them still do this. 6. vaddar. the vaddars or wadewars are a branch of the odde caste of madras. they are almost an impure caste, and a section of them are professional criminals. their women wear glass bangles only on the left arm, those on the right arm being made of brass or other metal. this rule has no doubt been introduced because glass bangles would get broken when they were supporting loads on the head. the men often wear an iron bangle on the left wrist, which they say keeps off the lightning. mr. thurston states that "women who have had seven husbands are much respected among the oddes, and their blessing on a bridal pair is greatly prized. they work in gangs on contract, and every one, except very old and very young, shares in the labour. the women carry the earth in baskets, while the men use the pick and spade. the babies are usually tied up in cloths, which are suspended, hammock-fashion, from the boughs of trees. a woman found guilty of immorality is said to have to carry a basketful of earth from house to house before she is readmitted to the caste. the stone-cutting vaddars are the principal criminals, and by going about under the pretence of mending grindstones they obtain much useful information as to the houses to be looted or parties of travellers to be attacked. in committing a highway robbery or dacoity they are always armed with stout sticks." [256] 7. pathrot. in berar besides the regular beldars two castes of stone-workers are found, the pathrawats or pathrots (stone-breakers) and the takaris, who should perhaps be classed as separate castes. both make and sharpen millstones and grindstones, and they are probably only occupational groups of recent formation. the takaris are connected with the pardhi caste of professional hunters and fowlers and may be a branch of them. the social customs of the pathrots resemble those of the kunbis. "they will take cooked food from a sutar or a kumbhar. imprisonment, the killing of a cow or criminal intimacy of a man with a woman of another caste is punished by temporary outcasting, readmission involving a fine of rs. 4 or rs. 5. their chief deity is the devi of tuljapur and their chief festival dasahra; the implements of the caste are worshipped twice a year, on gudhi padwa and diwali. women are tattooed with a crescent between the eyebrows and dots on the right side of the nose, the right cheek, and the chin, and a basil plant or peacock is drawn on their wrists." [257] 8. takari. "the takaris take their name from the verb _takne_, to reset or rechisel. they mend the handmills (_chakkis_) used for grinding corn, an occupation which is sometimes shared with them by the langoti pardhis. the takari's avocation of chiselling grindstones gives him excellent opportunities for examining the interior economy of houses, and the position of boxes and cupboards, and for gauging the wealth of the inmates. they are the most inveterate house-breakers and dangerous criminals. a form of crime favoured by the takari, in common with many other criminal classes, is that of decoying into a secluded spot outside the village the would-be receiver of stolen property and robbing him of his cash--a trick which carries a wholesome lesson with it." [258] the chisel with which they chip the grindstones furnishes, as stated by mr. d. a. smyth, d.s.p., an excellent implement for breaking a hole through the mud wall of a house. beria, bedia. [_bibliography_: sir h. risley's _tribes and castes of bengal_; rajendra lal mitra in _memoirs, anthropological society of london_, iii. p. 122; mr. crooke's _tribes and castes of the north-western provinces and oudh_; mr. kennedy's _criminal classes of the bombay presidency_; major gunthorpe's _criminal tribes_; mr. gayer's _lectures on some criminal tribes of the central provinces_; colonel sleeman's _report on the badhak or bagri dacoits_.] 1. historical notice. a caste of gipsies and thieves who are closely connected with the sansias. in 1891 they numbered 906 persons in the central provinces, distributed over the northern districts; in 1901 they were not separately classified but were identified with the nats. "they say that some generations ago two brothers resided in the bhartpur territory, of whom one was named sains mul and the other mullanur. the descendants of sains mul are the sansias and those of mullanur the berias or kolhatis, who are vagrants and robbers by hereditary profession, living in tents or huts of matting, like nats or other vagrant tribes, and having their women in common without any marriage ceremonies or ties whatsoever. among themselves or their relatives the sansias or descendants of sains mul, they are called dholi or kolhati. the descendants of the brothers eat, drink and smoke together, and join in robberies, but never intermarry." so colonel sleeman wrote in 1849, and other authorities agree on the close connection or identity of the berias and sansias of central india. the kolhatis belong mainly to the deccan and are apparently a branch of the berias, named after the _kolhan_ or long pole with which they perform acrobatic feats. the berias of central india differ in many respects from those of bengal. here sir h. risley considers beria to be 'the generic name of a number of vagrant, gipsy-like groups'; and a full description of them has been given by babu rajendra lal mitra, who considers them to resemble the gipsies of europe. "they are noted for a light, elastic, wiry make, very uncommon in the people of this country. in agility and hardness they stand unrivalled. the men are of a brownish colour, like the bulk of bengalis, but never black. the women are of lighter complexion and generally well-formed; some of them have considerable claims to beauty, and for a race so rude and primitive in their habits as the berias, there is a sharpness in the features of their women which we see in no other aboriginal race in india. like the gipsies of europe they are noted for the symmetry of their limbs; but their offensive habits, dirty clothing and filthy professions give them a repulsive appearance, which is heightened by the reputation they have of kidnapping children and frequenting burial-grounds and places of cremation.... familiar with the use of bows and arrows and great adepts in laying snares and traps, they are seldom without large supplies of game and flesh of wild animals of all kinds. they keep the dried bodies of a variety of birds for medical purposes; mongoose, squirrels and flying-foxes they eat with avidity as articles of luxury. spirituous liquors and intoxicating drugs are indulged in to a large extent, and chiefs of clans assume the title of bhangi or drinkers of hemp (_bhang_) as a mark of honour.... in lying, thieving and knavery the beria is not a whit inferior to his brother gipsy of europe. the beria woman deals in charms for exorcising the devil and palmistry is her special vocation. she also carries with her a bundle of herbs and other real or pretended charms against sickness of body or mind; and she is much sought after by village maidens for the sake of the philtre with which she restores to them their estranged lovers; while she foretells the date when absent friends will return and the sex of unborn children. they practise cupping with buffalo horns, pretend to extract worms from decayed teeth and are commonly employed as tattooers. at home the beria woman makes mats of palm-leaves, while her lord alone cooks.... beria women are even more circumspect than european gipsies. if a wife does not return before the jackal's cry is heard in the evening, she is subject to severe punishment. it is said that a _faux pas_ among her own kindred is not considered reprehensible; but it is certain that no berini has ever been known to be at fault with any one not of her own caste." this last statement is not a little astonishing, inasmuch as in central india and in bundelkhand berni is an equivalent term for a prostitute. a similar diversity of conjugal morality has been noticed between the bagris of northern india and the vaghris of gujarat. [259] 2. criminal tendencies in the central provinces. in other respects also the berias of bengal appear to be more respectable than the remainder of the caste, obtaining their livelihood by means which, if disreputable, are not actually dishonest; while in central india the women berias are prostitutes and the men house-breakers and thieves. these latter are so closely connected with the sansias that the account of that caste is also applicable to the berias. in jubbulpore, mr. gayer states, the caste are expert house-breakers, bold and daring, and sometimes armed with swords and matchlocks. they sew up stolen property in their bed-quilts and secrete it in the hollow legs of their sleeping-cots, and the women habitually conceal jewels and even coins in the natural passages of the body, in which they make special _saos_ or receptacles by practice. the beria women go about begging, and often break open the doors of unoccupied houses in the daytime and steal anything they can find. [260] both sansia and beria women wear a _laong_ or clove in the left nostril. 3. social customs. as already stated, the women are professional prostitutes, but these do not marry, and on arrival at maturity they choose the life which they prefer. mr. crooke states, [261] however, that regular marriages seldom occur among them, because nearly all the girls are reserved for prostitution, and the men keep concubines drawn from any fairly respectable caste. so far is this the rule that in some localities if a man marries a girl of the tribe he is put out of caste or obliged to pay a fine to the tribal council. this last rule does not seem to obtain in the central provinces, but marriages are uncommon. in a colony of berias in jubbulpore [262] numbering sixty families it was stated that only eight weddings could be remembered as having occurred in the last fifty years. the boys therefore have to obtain wives as best they can; sometimes orphan girls from other castes are taken into the community, or any outsider is picked up. for a bride from the caste itself a sum of rs. 100 is usually demanded, and the same has to be paid by a beria man who takes a wife from the nat or kanjar castes, as is sometimes done. when a match is proposed they ask the expectant bridegroom how many thefts he has committed without detection; and if his performances have been inadequate they refuse to give him the girl on the ground that he will be unable to support a wife. at the betrothal the boy's parents go to the girl's house, taking with them a potful of liquor round which a silver ring is placed and a pig. the ring is given to the girl and the head of the pig to her father, while the liquor and the body of the pig provide a feast for the caste. they consult brahmans at their birth and marriage ceremonies. their principal deities appear to be their ancestors, whom they worship on the same day of the month and year as that on which their death took place. they make an offering of a pig to the goddess dadaju or devi before starting on their annual predatory excursions. some rice is thrown into the animal's ear before it is killed, and the direction in which it turns its head is selected as the one divinely indicated for their route. prostitution is naturally not regarded as any disgrace, and the women who have selected this profession mix on perfectly equal terms with those who are married. they occupy, in fact, a more independent position, as they dispose absolutely of their own earnings and property, and on their death it devolves on their daughters or other female relatives, males having no claim to it, in some localities at least. among the children of married couples daughters inherit equally with sons. a prostitute is regarded as the head of the family so far as her children are concerned. outsiders are freely admitted into the caste on giving a feast to the community. in saugor the women of the caste, known as berni, are the village dancing-girls, and are employed to give performances in the cold weather, especially at the holi festival, where they dance the whole night through, fortified by continuous potations of liquor. this dance is called _rai_, and is accompanied by most obscene songs and gestures. bhaina list of paragraphs 1. _the tribe derived from the baigas._ 2. _closely connected with the kawars._ 3. _internal structure. totemism._ 4. _marriage._ 5. _religious superstitions._ 6. _admission of outsiders and caste offences._ 7. _social customs._ 1. the tribe derived from the baigas. _bhaina._ [263]--a primitive tribe peculiar to the central provinces and found principally in the bilaspur district and the adjoining area, that is, in the wild tract of forest country between the satpura range and the south of the chota nagpur plateau. in 1911 about 17,000 members of the tribe were returned. the tribe is of mixed descent and appears to have been derived principally from the baigas and kawars, having probably served as a city of refuge to persons expelled from these and other tribes and the lower castes for irregular sexual relations. their connection with the baigas is shown by the fact that in mandla the baigas have two subdivisions, which are known as rai or raj-bhaina, and kath, or catechu-making bhaina. the name therefore would appear to have originated with the baiga tribe. a bhaina is also not infrequently found to be employed in the office of village priest and magician, which goes by the name of baiga in bilaspur. and a bhaina has the same reputation as a baiga for sorcery, it being said of him- mainhar ki manjh bhaina ki pang or 'the magic of a bhaina is as deadly as the powdered _mainhar_ fruit,' this fruit having the property of stupefying fish when thrown into the water, so that they can easily be caught. this reputation simply arises from the fact that in his capacity of village priest the bhaina performs the various magical devices which lay the ghosts of the dead, protect the village against tigers, ensure the prosperity of the crops and so on. but it is always the older residents of any locality who are employed by later comers in this office, because they are considered to have a more intimate acquaintance with the local deities. and consequently we are entitled to assume that the bhainas are older residents of the country where they are found than their neighbours, the gonds and kawars. there is other evidence to the same effect; for instance, the oldest forts in bilaspur are attributed to the bhainas, and a chief of this tribe is remembered as having ruled in bilaigarh; they are also said to have been dominant in pendra, where they are still most numerous, though the estate is now held by a kawar; and it is related that the bhainas were expelled from phuljhar in raipur by the gonds. phuljhar is believed to be a gond state of long standing, and the raja of raigarh and others claim to be descended from its ruling family. a manuscript history of the phuljhar chiefs records that that country was held by a bhaina king when the gonds invaded it, coming from chanda. the bhaina with his soldiers took refuge in a hollow underground chamber with two exits. but the secret of this was betrayed to the gonds by an old gond woman, and they filled up the openings of the chamber with grass and burnt the bhainas to death. on this account the tribe will not enter phuljhar territory to this day, and say that it is death to a bhaina to do so. the binjhwars are also said to have been dominant in the hills to the east of raipur district, and they too are a civilised branch of the baigas. and in all this area the village priest is commonly known as baiga, the deduction from which is, as already stated, that the baigas were the oldest residents. [264] it seems a legitimate conclusion, therefore, that prior to the immigration of the gonds and kawars, the ancient baiga tribe was spread over the whole hill country east and north of the mahanadi basin. 2. closely connected with the kawars. the bhainas are also closely connected with the kawars, who still own many large estates in the hills north of bilaspur. it is said that formerly the bhainas and kawars both ate in common and intermarried, but at present, though the bhainas still eat rice boiled in water from the kawars, the latter do not reciprocate. but still, when a kawar is celebrating a birth, marriage or death in his family, or when he takes in hand to make a tank, he will first give food to a bhaina before his own caste-men eat. and it may safely be assumed that this is a recognition of the bhaina's position as having once been lord of the land. a kawar may still be admitted into the bhaina community, and it is said that the reason of the rupture of the former equal relations between the two tribes was the disgust felt by the kawars for the rude and uncouth behaviour of the bhainas. for on one occasion a kawar went to ask for a bhaina girl in marriage, and, as the men of the family were away, the women undertook to entertain him. and as the bhainas had no axes, the daughter proceeded to crack the sticks on her head for kindling a fire, and for grass she pulled out a wisp of thatch from the roof and broke it over her thigh, being unable to chop it. this so offended the delicate susceptibilities of the kawar that he went away without waiting for his meal, and from that time the kawars ceased to marry with the bhainas. it seems possible that the story points to the period when the primitive bhainas and baigas did not know the use of iron and to the introduction of this metal by the later-coming kawars and gonds. it is further related that when a kawar is going to make a ceremonial visit he likes always to take with him two or three bhainas, who are considered as his retainers, though not being so in fact. this enhances his importance, and it is also said that the stupidity of the bhainas acts as a foil, through which the superior intelligence of the kawar is made more apparent. all these details point to the same conclusion that the primitive bhainas first held the country and were supplanted by the more civilised kawars, and bears out the theory that the settlement of the munda tribes was prior to those of the dravidian family. 3. internal structure: totemism. the tribe has two subdivisions of a territorial nature, laria or chhattisgarhi, and uriya. the uriya bhainas will accept food cooked without water from the sawaras or saonrs, and these also from them; so that they have probably intermarried. two other subdivisions recorded are the jhalyara and ghantyara or ghatyara; the former being so called because they live in _jhalas_ or leaf huts in the forest, and the latter, it is said, because they tie a _ghanta_ or bell to their doors. this, however, seems very improbable. another theory is that the word is derived from _ghat_, a slope or descent, and refers to a method which the tribe have of tattooing themselves with a pattern of lines known as _ghat_. or it is said to mean a low or despised section. the jhalyara and ghatyara divisions comprise the less civilised portion of the tribe, who still live in the forests; and they are looked down on by the uriya and laria sections, who belong to the open country. the exogamous divisions of the tribe show clearly enough that the bhainas, like other subject races, have quite failed to preserve any purity of blood. among the names of their _gots_ or septs are dhobia (a washerman), ahera (cowherd), gond, mallin (gardener), panika (from a panka or ganda) and others. the members of such septs pay respect to any man belonging to the caste after which they are named and avoid picking a quarrel with him. they also worship the family gods of this caste. the tribe have also a number of totem septs, named after animals or plants. such are nag the cobra, bagh the tiger, chitwa the leopard, gidha the vulture, besra the hawk, bendra the monkey, kok or lodha the wild dog, bataria the quail, durgachhia the black ant, and so on. members of a sept will not injure the animal after which it is named, and if they see the corpse of the animal or hear of its death, they throw away an earthen cooking-pot and bathe and shave themselves as for one of the family. members of the baghchhal or tiger sept will, however, join in a beat for tiger though they are reluctant to do so. at weddings the bhainas have a ceremony known as the _gotra_ worship. the bride's father makes an image in clay of the bird or animal of the groom's sept and places it beside the marriage-post. the bridegroom worships the image, lighting a sacrificial fire before it, and offers to it the vermilion which he afterwards smears upon the forehead of the bride. at the bridegroom's house a similar image is made of the bride's totem, and on returning there after the wedding she worships this. women are often tattooed with representations of their totem animal, and men swear by it as their most sacred oath. a similar respect is paid to the inanimate objects after which certain septs are named. thus members of the gawad or cowdung sept will not burn cowdung cakes for fuel; and those of the mircha sept do not use chillies. one sept is named after the sun, and when an eclipse occurs these perform the same formal rites of mourning as the others do on the death of their totem animal. some of the groups have two divisions, male and female, which practically rank as separate septs. instances of these are the nagbans andura and the nagbans mai or male and female cobra septs; the karsayal singhara and karsayal mundi or stag and doe deer septs; and the baghchhal andura and baghchhal mai or tiger and tigress septs. these may simply be instances of subdivisions arising owing to the boundaries of the sept having become too large for convenience. 4. marriage. the tribe consider that a boy should be married when he has learnt to drive the plough, and a girl when she is able to manage her household affairs. when a father can afford a bride for his son, he and his relatives go to the girl's village, taking with them ten or fifteen cakes of bread and a bottle of liquor. he stays with some relative and sends to ask the girl's father if he will give his daughter to the inquirer's son. if the former agrees, the bread and liquor are sent over to him, and he drinks three cups of the spirit as a pledge of the betrothal, the remainder being distributed to the company. this is known as _tatia kholna_ or 'the opening of the door,' and is followed some days afterwards by a similar ceremonial which constitutes the regular betrothal. on this occasion the father agrees to marry his daughter within a year and demands the bride-price, which consists of rice, cloth, a goat and other articles, the total value being about five rupees. a date is next fixed for the wedding, the day selected being usually a monday or friday, but no date or month is forbidden. the number of days to the wedding are then counted, and two knotted strings are given to each party, with a knot for each day up to that on which the anointings with oil and turmeric will commence at the bridegroom's and bride's houses. every day one knot is untied at each house up to that on which the ceremonies begin, and thus the correct date for them is known. the invitations to the wedding are given by distributing rice coloured yellow with turmeric to all members of the caste in the locality, with the intimation that the wedding procession will start on a certain day and that they will be pleased to attend. during the four days that they are being anointed the bride and bridegroom dance at their respective houses to the accompaniment of drums and other instruments. for the wedding ceremony a number of hindu rites have been adopted. the eldest sister of the bridegroom or bride is known as the _sawasin_ and her husband as the _sawasa_, and these persons seem to act as the representatives of the bridal couple throughout the marriage and to receive all presents on their behalf. the custom is almost universal among the hindus, and it is possible that they are intended to act as substitutes and to receive any strokes of evil fortune which may befall the bridal pair at a season at which they are peculiarly liable to it. the couple go round the sacred post, and afterwards the bridegroom daubs the bride's forehead with red lead seven times and covers her head with her cloth to show that she has become a married woman. after the wedding the bridegroom's parents say to him, "now your parents have done everything they could for you, and you must manage your own house." the expenditure on an average wedding is about fifteen or twenty rupees. a widow is usually taken in marriage by her late husband's younger brother or dewar, or by one of his relatives. if she marries an outsider, the dewar realises twelve rupees from him in compensation for her loss. but if there is no dewar this sum is not payable to her first husband's elder brother or her own father, because they could not have married her and hence are not held to be injured by a stranger doing so. if a woman is divorced and another man wishes to marry her, he must make a similar payment of twelve rupees to the first husband, together with a goat and liquor for the penal feast. the bhainas bury or burn the dead according as their means permit. 5. religious superstitions. their principal deity in bilaspur is nakti devi [265] or the 'noseless goddess.' for her ritual rice is placed on a square of the floor washed with cowdung, and _ghi_ or preserved butter is poured on it and burnt. a hen is made to eat the rice, and then its head is cut off and laid on the square. the liver is burnt on the fire as an offering to the deity and the head and body of the animal are then eaten. after the death of a man a cock is offered to nakti devi and a hen after that of a woman. the fowl is made to pick rice first in the yard of the house, then on the threshold, and lastly inside the house. thakur deo is the deity of cultivation and is worshipped on the day before the autumn crops are sown. on this day all the men in the village go to his shrine taking a measure of rice and a ploughshare. at the same time the baiga or village priest goes and bathes in the tank and is afterwards carried to the assembly on a man's shoulders. here he makes an offering and repeats a charm, and then kneeling down strikes the earth seven times with the ploughshare, and sows five handfuls of rice, sprinkling water over the seed. after him the villagers walk seven times round the altar of the god in pairs, one man turning up the earth with the ploughshare and the other sowing and watering the seed. while this is going on the baiga sits with his face covered with a piece of cloth, and at the end the villagers salute the baiga and go home. when a man wishes to do an injury to another he makes an image of him with clay and daubs it with vermilion and worships it with an offering of a goat or a fowl and liquor. then he prays the image that his enemy may die. another way of injuring an enemy is to take rice coloured with turmeric, and after muttering charms throw it in the direction in which the enemy lives. 6. admission of outsiders and caste offences. outsiders are not usually admitted, but if a bhaina forms a connection with a woman of another tribe, they will admit the children of such a union, though not the woman herself. for they say: 'the seed is ours and what matters the field on which it was sown.' but a man of the kawar tribe having intimacy with a bhaina woman may be taken into the community. he must wait for three or four months after the matter becomes known and will beg for admission and offer to give the penalty feast. a day is fixed for this and invitations are sent to members of the caste. on the appointed day the women of the tribe cook rice, pulse, goat's flesh and urad cakes fried in oil, and in the evening the people assemble and drink liquor and then go to take their food. the candidate for admission serves water to the men and his prospective wife to the women, both being then permitted to take food with the tribe. next morning the people come again and the woman is dressed in a white cloth with bangles. the couple stand together supported by their brother-in-law and sister-in-law respectively, and turmeric dissolved in water is poured over their heads. they are now considered to be married and go round together and give the salutation or johar to the people, touching the feet of those who are entitled to this mark of respect, and kissing the others. among the offences for which a man is temporarily put out of caste is getting the ear torn either accidentally or otherwise, being beaten by a man of very low caste, growing san-hemp (_crotalaria juncea_), rearing tasar silk-worms or getting maggots in a wound. this last is almost as serious an offence as killing a cow, and, in both cases, before an offender can be reinstated he must kill a fowl and swallow a drop or two of its blood with turmeric. women commonly get the lobe of the ear torn through the heavy ear-rings which they wear; and in a squabble another woman will often seize the ear-ring maliciously in order to tear the ear. a woman injured in this way is put out of caste for a year in janjgir. to grow turmeric or garlic is also an offence against caste, but a man is permitted to do this for his own use and not for sale. a man who gets leprosy is said to be permanently expelled from caste. the purification of delinquents is conducted by members of the sonwani (gold-water) and patel (headman) septs, whose business it is to give the offender water to drink in which gold has been dipped and to take over the burden of his sins by first eating food with him. but others say that the hathi or elephant sept is the highest, and to its members are delegated these duties. and in janjgir again the president of the committee gives the gold-water, and is hence known as sonwan; and this office must always be held by a man of the bandar or monkey sept. 7. social customs. the bhainas are a comparatively civilised tribe and have largely adopted hindu usages. they employ brahmans to fix auspicious days for their ceremonies, though not to officiate at them. they live principally in the open country and are engaged in agriculture, though very few of them hold land and the bulk are farm-labourers. they now disclaim any connection with the primitive baigas, who still prefer the forests. but their caste mark, a symbol which may be affixed to documents in place of a signature or used for a brand on cattle, is a bow, and this shows that they retain the recollection of hunting as their traditional occupation. like the baigas, the tribe have forgotten their native dialect and now speak bad hindi. they will eat pork and rats, and almost anything else they can get, eschewing only beef. but in their intercourse with other castes they are absurdly strict, and will take boiled rice only from a kawar, or from a brahman if it is cooked in a brass and not in an earthen vessel, and this only from a male and not from a female brahman; while they will accept baked _chapatis_ and other food from a gond and a rawat. but in sambalpur they will take this from a savar and not from a gond. they rank below the gonds, kawars and savars or saonrs. women are tattooed with a representation of their sept totem; and on the knees and ankles they have some figures of lines which are known as _ghats_. these they say will enable them to climb the mountains leading to heaven in the other world, while those who have not such marks will be pierced with spears on their way up the ascent. it has already been suggested that these marks may have given rise to the name of the ghatyara division of the tribe. bhamta or bhamtya 1. occupation. _bhamta or bhamtya._ [266]--a caste numbering 4000 persons in the central provinces, nearly all of whom reside in the wardha, nagpur and chanda districts of the nagpur division. the bhamtas are also found in bombay, berar and hyderabad. in bombay they are known by the names of uchla or 'lifter' and ganthachor or 'bundle-thief.' [267] the bhamtas were and still are notorious thieves, but many of the caste are now engaged in the cultivation of hemp, from which they make ropes, mats and gunny-bags. formerly it was said in wardha that a bhamta girl would not marry unless her suitor had been arrested not less than fourteen times by the police, when she considered that he had qualified as a man. the following description of their methods does not necessarily apply to the whole caste, though the bulk of them are believed to have criminal tendencies. but some colonies of bhamtas who have taken to the manufacture of sacking and gunny-bags from hemp-fibre may perhaps be excepted. they steal only during the daytime, and divide that part of the province which they frequent into regular beats or ranges. they adopt many disguises. even in their own cottages one dresses as a marwari bania, another as a gujarat jain, a third as a brahman and a fourth as a rajput. they keep to some particular disguise for years and often travel hundreds of miles, entering and stealing from the houses of the classes of persons whose dress they adopt, or taking service with a merchant or trader, and having gained their employer's confidence, seizing an opportunity to abscond with some valuable property. sometimes two or three bhamtas visit a large fair, and one of them dressed as a brahman mingles with the crowd of bathers and worshippers. the false brahman notices some ornament deposited by a bather, and while himself entering the water and repeating sacred verses, watches his opportunity and spreads out his cloth near the ornament, which he then catches with his toes, and dragging it with him to a distance as he walks away buries it in the sand. the accomplices meanwhile loiter near, and when the owner discovers his loss the brahman sympathises with him and points out the accomplices as likely thieves, thus diverting suspicion from himself. the victim follows the accomplices, who make off, and the real thief meanwhile digs the ornament out of the sand and escapes at his leisure. women often tie their ornaments in bundles at such bathing-fairs, and in that case two bhamtas will go up to her, one on each side, and while one distracts her attention the other makes off with the bundle and buries it in the sand. a bhamta rarely retains the stolen property on his person while there is a chance of his being searched, and is therefore not detected. they show considerable loyalty to one another, and never steal from or give information against a member of the caste. if stolen property is found in a bhamta's house, and it has merely been deposited there for security, the real thief comes forward. an escaped prisoner does not come back to his friends lest he should get them into trouble. a bhamta is never guilty of house-breaking or gang-robbery, and if he takes part in this offence he is put out of caste. he does not steal from the body of a person asleep. he is, however, expert at the theft of ornaments from the person. he never steals from a house in his own village, and the villagers frequently share directly or indirectly in his gains. the bhamtas are now expert railway thieves. [268] two of them will get into a carriage, and, engaging the other passengers in conversation, find out where they are going, so as to know the time available for action. when it gets dark and the travellers go to sleep, one of the bhamtas lies down on the floor and covers himself with a large cloth. he begins feeling some bag under the seat, and if he cannot open it with his hands, takes from his mouth the small curved knife which all bhamtas carry concealed between their gum and upper lip, and with this he rips up the seams of the bag and takes out what he finds; or they exchange bags, according to a favourite device of english railway thieves, and then quickly either leave the train or get into another carriage. if attention is aroused they throw the stolen property out of the window, marking the place and afterwards going back to recover it. another device is to split open and pick the pockets of people in a crowd. besides the knife they often have a needle and thread and an iron nut-cutter. 2. subdivisions and marriage customs. members of other castes, as chhatri, kanjar, rawat and others, who have taken to stealing, are frequently known as bhamtas, but unless they have been specially initiated do not belong to the caste. the bhamtas proper have two main divisions, the chhatri bhamtas, who are usually immigrants from gujarat, and those of the maratha country, who are often known as bhamtis. the former have a dialect which is a mixture of hindi, marathi and gujarati, while the latter speak the local form of marathi. the sections of the chhatri bhamtas are named after rajput septs, as badgujar, chauhan, gahlot, bhatti, kachhwaha and others. they may be partly of rajput descent, as they have regular and pleasing features and a fair complexion, and are well built and sturdy. the sections of the bhamtis are called by maratha surnames, as gudekar, kaothi, bailkhade, satbhaia and others. the chhatri bhamtas have northern customs, and the bhamtis those of the maratha country. marriage between persons of the same _gotra_ or surname is prohibited. the chhatris avoid marriage between relations having a common greatgrandparent, but among the bhamtis the custom of mehunchar is prevalent, by which the brother's daughter is married to the sister's son. girls are usually married at ten and eleven years of age or later. the betrothal and marriage customs of the two subcastes differ, the chhatris following the ceremonial of the northern districts and the bhamtis that of the maratha country. the chhatris do not pay a bride-price, but the bhamtis usually do. widow-marriage is allowed, and while the chhatris expect the widow to marry her deceased husband's brother, the bhamtis do not permit this. among both subdivisions a price is paid for the widow to her parents. divorce is only permitted for immoral conduct on the part of the wife. a divorced woman may remarry after giving a feast to the caste _panchayat_ or committee, and obtaining their consent. 3. religion and social customs. the goddess devi is the tutelary deity of the caste, as of all those who ply a disreputable profession. animals are sacrificed to her or let loose to wander in her name. the offerings are appropriated by the village washerman. in bombay the rendezvous of the bhamtis is the temple of devi at konali, in akalkot state, near sholapur, and here the gangs frequently assemble before and after their raids to ask the goddess that luck may attend them and to thank her for success obtained. [269] they worship their rope-making implements on the dasahra day. they both bury and burn the dead. ghosts and spirits are worshipped. if a man takes a second wife after the death of his first, the new wife wears a _putli_ or image of the first wife on a piece of silver on her neck, and offers it the _hom_ sacrifice by placing some _ghi_ on the fire before taking a meal. in cases of doubt and difficulty she often consults the _putli_ by speaking to it, while any chance stir of the image due to the movement of her body is interpreted as approval or disapproval. in the central provinces the bhamtis say that they do not admit outsiders into the caste, but this is almost certainly untrue. in bombay they are said to admit all hindus [270] except the very lowest castes, and also muhammadans. the candidate must pass through the two ceremonies of admission into the caste and adoption into a particular family. for the first he pays an admission fee, is bathed and dressed in new clothes, and one of the elders drops turmeric and sugar into his mouth. a feast follows, during which some elders of the caste eat out of the same plate with him. this completes the admission ceremony, but in order to marry in the caste a candidate must also be adopted into a particular family. the bhamta who has agreed to adopt him invites the caste people to his house, and there takes the candidate on his knee while the guests drop turmeric and sugar into his mouth. the bhamtas eat fish and fowl but not pork or beef, and drink liquor. this last practice is, however, frequently made a caste offence by the bhamtis. they take cooked food from brahmans and kunbis and water from gonds. the keeping of concubines is also an offence entailing temporary excommunication. the morality of the caste is somewhat low and their women are addicted to prostitution. the occupation of the bhamta is also looked down on, and it is said, _bhamta ka kam sub se nikam_, or 'the bhamta's work is the worst of all.' this may apply either to his habits of stealing or to the fact that he supplies a bier made of twine and bamboo sticks at a death. in bombay the showy dress of the bhamta is proverbial. women are tattooed before marriage on the forehead and lower lip, and on other parts of the body for purposes of adornment. the men have the head shaved for three inches above the top of the forehead in front and an inch higher behind, and they wear the scalp-lock much thicker than brahmans do. they usually have red head-cloths. bharbhunja 1. general notice _bharbhunja._ [271]--the occupational caste of grain-parchers. the name is derived from the sanskrit _bhrastra_, a frying-pan, and _bharjaka_, one who fries. the bharbhunjas numbered 3000 persons in 1911, and belong mainly to the northern districts, their headquarters being in upper india. in chhattisgarh the place of the bharbhunjas is taken by the dhuris. sir h. elliot [272] remarks that the caste are traditionally supposed to be descended from a kahar father and a sudra mother, and they are probably connected with the kahars. in saugor they say that their ancestors were kankubja brahmans who were ordered to parch rice at the wedding of the great rama, and in consequence of this one of their subcastes is known as kanbajia. but kankubja is one of the commonest names of subcastes among the people of northern india, and merely indicates that the bearers belong to the tract round the old city of kanauj; and there is no reason to suppose that it means anything more in the case of the bharbhunjas. another group are called kaitha, and they say that their ancestors were kayasths, who adopted the profession of grain-parching. it is said that in bhopal proper kayasths will take food from kaitha bharbhunjas and smoke from their huqqa; and it is noticeable that in northern india mr. crooke gives [273] not only the kaitha subcaste, but other groups called saksena and srivastab, which are the names of well-known kayasth subdivisions. it is possible, therefore, that the kaitha group may really be connected with the kayasths. other subcastes are the benglah, who are probably immigrants from bengal; and the kandu, who may also come from that direction, kandu being the name of the corresponding caste of grain-parchers in bengal. 2. social customs. the social customs of the bharbhunjas resemble those of hindustani castes of fairly good position. [274] they employ brahmans for their ceremonies, and the family priest receives five rupees for officiating at a wedding, three rupees for a funeral, one rupee for a birth, and four annas on ordinary occasions. no price is paid for a bride, and at their marriages the greater part of the expense falls on the girl's father, who has to give three feasts as against two provided by the bridegroom's father. after the wedding the bridegroom's father puts on women's clothes given by the bride's father and dances before the family. rose-coloured water and powder are sprinkled over the guests and the proceeding is known as _phag_, because it is considered to have the same significance as the holi festival observed in phagun. this is usually done on the bank of a river or in some garden outside the village. at the _gauna_ or going-away ceremony the bride and bridegroom take their seats on two wooden boards and then change places. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. the union of a widow with her deceased husband's younger brother is considered a suitable match, but is not compulsory. when a bachelor marries a widow, he first goes through the proper ceremony either with a stick or an ear-ring, and is then united to the widow by the simple ritual employed for widow remarriage. a girl who is seduced by a member of the caste may be married to him as if she were a widow, but if her lover is an outsider she is permanently expelled from the caste. 3. occupation. the bharbhunjas occupy a fairly high social position, analogous to that of the barais, kahars and other serving castes, the explanation being that all hindus require the grain parched by them; this, as it is not cooked with water, may be eaten abroad, on a journey or in the market-place. this is known as _pakki_ food, and even brahmans will take it from their hands. but mr. crooke notes [275] that the work they do, and particularly the sweeping up of dry leaves for fuel, tends to lower them in the popular estimation, and it is a favourite curse to wish of an enemy that he may some day come to stoke the kiln of a grain-parcher. of their occupation sir h. risley states that "throughout the caste the actual work of parching grain is usually left to the women. the process is a simple one. a clay oven is built, somewhat in the shape of a bee-hive, with ten or twelve round holes at the top. a fire is lighted under it and broken earthen pots containing sand are put on the holes. the grain to be parched is thrown in with the sand and stirred with a flat piece of wood or a broom until it is ready. the sand and parched grain are then placed in a sieve, through which the former escapes. the wages of the parcher are a proportion of the grain, varying from one-eighth to one-fourth. in bengal the caste was spoken of by early english travellers under the quaint name of the frymen." [276] in the central provinces also grain-parching is distinctly a woman's industry, only twenty-two per cent of those shown as working at it being men. there are two classes of tradesmen, those who simply keep ovens and parch grain which is brought to them, and those who keep the grain and sell it ready parched. the rates for parching are a pice a seer or an eighth part of the grain. gram and rice, husked or unhusked, are the grains usually parched. when parched, gram is called _phutana_ (broken) and rice _lahi_. the bharbhunjas also prepare _sathu_, a flour made by grinding parched gram or wheat, which is a favourite food for a light morning meal, or for travellers. it can be taken without preparation, being simply mixed with water and a little salt or sugar. the following story is told about _sathu_ to emphasise its convenience in this respect. once two travellers were about to take some food before starting in the morning, of whom one had _sathu_ and the other _dhan_ (unhusked rice). the one with the _dhan_ knew that it would take him a long time to pound, and then cook and eat it, so he said to the other, "my poor friend, i perceive that you only have _sathu_, which will delay you because you must find water, and then mix it, and find salt, and put it in, before your _sathu_ can be ready, while rice--pound, eat and go. but if you like, as you are in a greater hurry than i am, i will change my rice for your _sathu_." the other traveller unsuspectingly consented, thinking he was getting the best of the bargain, and while he was still looking for a mortar in which to pound his rice, the first traveller had mixed and eaten the _sathu_ and proceeded on his journey. in the vernacular the point is brought out by the onomatopoeic character of the lines, which cannot be rendered in english. the caste are now also engaged in selling tobacco and sweetmeats and the manufacture of fireworks. they stoke their ovens with any refuse they can collect from the roads, and hence comes the saying, '_bhar men dalna_', 'to throw into the oven,' meaning to throw away something or to make ducks and drakes with it; while _bhar-jhokna_ signifies to light or heat the oven, and, figuratively, to take up a mean occupation (platts). another proverb quoted by mr. crooke is, '_bharbhunja ka larki kesar ka tika_,' or 'the bharbhunja's slut with saffron on her forehead,' meaning one dressed in borrowed plumes. another saying is, '_to tum kya abhi tak bhar bhunjte rahe_,' or 'have you been stoking the oven all this time?'--meaning to imply that the person addressed has been wasting his time, because the profits from grain-parching are so small. the oven of the psalmist into which the grass was cast no doubt closely resembled that of the bharbhunjas. bharia list of paragraphs 1. _origin and tribal legend._ 2. _tribal subdivisions._ 3. _marriage._ 4. _childbirth._ 5. _funeral ceremonies._ 6. _religion and magic._ 7. _social life and customs._ 8. _occupation._ 1. origin and tribal legend. _bharia, bharia-bhumia._ [277]--a dravidian tribe numbering about 50,000 persons and residing principally in the jubbulpore district, which contains a half of the total number. the others are found in chhindwara and bilaspur. the proper name of the tribe is bharia, but they are often called bharia-bhumia, because many of them hold the office of bhumia or priest of the village gods and of the lower castes in jubbulpore, and the bharias prefer the designation of bhumia as being the more respectable. the term bhumia or 'lord of the soil' is an alternative for bhuiya, the name of another dravidian tribe, and no doubt came to be applied to the office of village priest because it was held by members of this tribe; the term baiga has a similar signification in mandla and balaghat, and is applied to the village priest though he may not belong to the baiga tribe at all. the bharias have forgotten their original affinities, and several stories of the origin of the tribe are based on far-fetched derivations of the name. one of these is to the effect that arjun, when matters were going badly with the pandavas in their battle against the kauravas, took up a handful of _bharru_ grass and, pressing it, produced a host of men who fought in the battle and became the ancestors of the bharias. and there are others of the same historical value. but there is no reason to doubt that bharia is the contemptuous form of bhar, as telia for teli, jugia for jogi, kuria for kori, and that the bharias belong to the great bhar tribe who were once dominant in the eastern part of the united provinces, but are now at the bottom of the social scale, and relegated by their conquerors to the degrading office of swineherds. the rajjhars, who appear to have formed a separate caste as the landowning subdivision of the bhars, like the raj-gonds among gonds, are said to be the descendants of a raja and a bharia woman. the rajjhars form a separate caste in the central provinces, and the bharias acknowledge some connection with them, but refuse to take water from their hands, as they consider them to be of impure blood. the bharias also give mahoba or bandhogarh as their former home, and these places are in the country of the bhars. according to tradition raja karna deva, a former king of dahal, the classical name of the jubbulpore country, was a bhar, and it may be that the immigration of the bharias into jubbulpore dates from his period, which is taken as 1040 to 1080 a.d. while then it may be considered as fairly certain that the bharias are merely the bhar tribe with a variant of the name, it is clear from the titles of their family groups, which will shortly be given, that they are an extremely mixed class and consist largely of the descendants of members of other castes, who, having lost their own social position, have taken refuge among the bharias at the bottom of the social scale. mr. crooke says of the bhars: [278] "the most probable supposition is that the bhars were a dravidian race closely allied to the kols, cheros and seoris, who at an early date succumbed to the invading aryans. this is borne out by their appearance and physique, which closely resemble that of the undoubted non-aryan aborigines of the vindhyan-kaimur plateau." in the central provinces the bharias have been so closely associated with the gonds that they have been commonly considered to belong to that tribe. thus mr. drysdale says of them: [279] 'the bharias were the wildest of the wild gonds and were inveterate _dhaya_ [280] cutters.' although, however, they have to some extent intermarried with the gonds, the bharias were originally quite a distinct tribe, and would belong to the kolarian or munda group but that they have entirely forgotten their own language and speak only hindi, though with a peculiar intonation especially noticeable in the case of their women. 2. tribal subdivisions. the structure of the tribe is a very loose one, and though the bharias say that they are divided into subcastes, there are none in reality. members of all castes except the very lowest may become bharias, and one bharia will recognise another as a fellow-tribesman if he can show relationship to any person admitted to occupy that position. but a division is in process of formation in bilaspur based on the practice of eating beef, from which some abstain, and in consequence look down on the others who are addicted to it, and call them dhur bharias, the term _dhur_ meaning cattle. the abstainers from beef now refuse to marry with the others. the tribe is divided into a number of exogamous groups, and the names of these indicate the very heterogeneous elements of which it consists. out of fifty-one groups reported not less than fifteen or sixteen have names derived from other castes or clans, showing almost certainly that such groups were formed by a mixed marriage or the admission of a family of outsiders. such names are: agaria, from the agarias or iron-workers: this clan worships loha-sur, the god of the agarias; ahirwar, or the descendants of an ahir: this clan worships the ahir gods; bamhania, born of a brahman ancestor; binjhwar or binjha, perhaps from the tribe of that name; chandel, from a rajput clan; dagdoha, a synonym of basor: persons of this sept hang a piece of bamboo and a curved knife to the waist of the bride at their marriages; dhurua, born of a dhurua gond; kuanpa, born of an ahir subcaste of that name; kurka, of korku parentage; maravi, the name of a gond clan; rathor from a rajput clan; samarba from a chamar; and yarkara, the name of a gond clan. these names sufficiently indicate the diverse elements of which the tribe is made up. other group names with meanings are: gambhele, or those who seclude their women in a separate house during the menstrual period; kaitha, from the _kaith_ tree (_feronia elephantum_); karondiha, from the _karonda_ plant (_carissa carandas_); magarha, from _magar_ a crocodile: members of this group worship an image of a crocodile made with flour and fried in oil; sonwani, from _sona_ gold: members of this group perform the ceremony of readmission of persons temporarily put out of caste by sprinkling on them a little water in which gold has been dipped. any person who does not know his clan name calls himself a chandel, and this group, though bearing the name of a distinguished rajput clan, is looked upon as the lowest. but although the rule of exogamy in marriage is recognised, it is by no means strictly adhered to, and many cases are known in which unions have taken place between members of the same clan. so long as people can recollect a relationship between themselves, they do not permit their families to intermarry. but the memory of the bharia does not extend beyond the third generation. 3. marriage. marriages are adult, and the proposal comes from the boy's father, who has it conveyed to the girl's father through some friend in his village. if a betrothal is arranged the bride's father invites the father and friends of the bridegroom to dinner; on this occasion the boy's father brings some necklaces of lac beads and spangles and presents them to the bride's female relatives, who then come out and tie the necklaces round his neck and those of his friends, place the spangles on their foreheads, and then, catching hold of their cheeks, press and twist them violently. some turmeric powder is also thrown on their faces. this is the binding portion of the betrothal ceremony. the date of marriage is fixed by a brahman, this being the only purpose for which he is employed, and a bride-price varying from six to twelve rupees is paid. on this occasion the women draw caricatures with turmeric or charcoal on the loin-cloth of the boy's father, which they manage to purloin. the marriage ceremony follows generally the hindu form. the bridegroom puts on women's ornaments and carries with him an iron nut-cracker or dagger to keep off evil spirits. after the wedding, the _midua_, a sort of burlesque dance, is held. the girl's mother gets the dress of the boy's father and puts it on, together with a false beard and moustaches, and dances, holding a wooden ladle in one hand and a packet of ashes in the other. every time she approaches the bridegroom's father on her rounds she spills some of the ashes over him, and occasionally gives him a crack on the head with her ladle, these actions being accompanied by bursts of laughter from the party and frenzied playing by the musicians. when the party reach the bridegroom's house on their return, his mother and the other women come out and burn a little mustard and human hair in a lamp, the unpleasant smell emitted by these articles being considered potent to drive away evil spirits. every time the bride leaves her father's house she must weep, and must cry separately with each one of her caste-sisters when taking leave of them. when she returns home she must begin weeping loudly on the boundary of the village, and continue doing so until she has embraced each of her relatives and friends, a performance which in a village containing a large number of bharias may take from three to six hours. these tears are, however, considered to be a manifestation of joy, and the girl who cannot produce enough of them is often ridiculed. a prospective son-in-law who serves for his wife is known as gharjian. the work given him is always very heavy, and the bharias have a saying which compares his treatment with that awarded to an ox obtained on hire. if a girl is seduced by a man of the tribe, she may be married to him by the ceremony prescribed for the remarriage of a widow, which consists merely in the placing of bangles on the wrists and a present of a new cloth, together with a feast to the caste-fellows. similarly if she is seduced by a man of another caste who would be allowed to become a bharia, she can be married as a widow to any man of the tribe. a widow is expected to marry her late husband's younger brother, but no compulsion is exercised. if a bachelor espouses a widow, he first goes through the ceremony of marriage with a ring to which a twig of the date-palm is tied, by carrying the ring seven times round the marriage post. this is necessary to save him from the sin of dying unmarried, as the union with a widow is not reckoned as a true marriage. in jubbulpore divorce is said to be allowed only for conjugal misbehaviour, and a bharia will pass over three transgressions on his wife's part before finally turning her out of his house. a woman who wishes to leave her husband simply runs away from him and lives with somebody else. in this case the third party must pay a goat to the husband by way of compensation and give a feast to the caste-fellows. 4. childbirth. the carelessness of the bharias in the matter of childbirth is notorious, and it is said that mothers commonly went on working up to the moment of childbirth and were delivered of children in the fields. now, however, the woman lies up for three days, and some ceremonies of purification are performed. in chhattisgarh infants are branded on the day of their birth, under the impression that this will cause them to digest the food they have taken in the womb. the child is named six months after birth by the father's sister, and its lips are then touched with cooked food for the first time. 5. funeral ceremonies. the tribe both burn and bury the dead, and observe mourning for an adult for ten days, during which time they daily put out a leaf-cup containing food for the use of the deceased. in the third year after the death, the _mangan_ or caste beggar visits the relatives of the deceased, and receives what they call one limb (_ang_), or half his belongings; the _ang_ consists of a loin-cloth, a brass vessel and dish, an axe, a scythe and a wrist-ring. 6. religion and magic. the bharias call themselves hindus and worship the village deities of the locality, and on the day of diwali offer a black chicken to their family god, who may be bura deo, dulha deo or karua, the cobra. for this snake they profess great reverence, and say that he was actually born in a bharia family. as he could not work in the fields he was usually employed on errands. one day he was sent to the house, and surprised one of his younger brother's wives, who had not heard him coming, without her veil. she reproached him, and he retired in dudgeon to the oven, where he was presently burnt to death by another woman, who kindled a fire under it not knowing that he was there. so he has been deified and is worshipped by the tribe. the bharias also venerate bagheshwar, the tiger god, and believe that no tiger will eat a bharia. on the diwali day they invite the tiger to drink some gruel which they place ready for him behind their houses, at the same time warning the other villagers not to stir out of doors. in the morning they display the empty vessels as a proof that the tiger has visited them. they practise various magical devices, believing that they can kill a man by discharging at him a _muth_ or handful of charmed objects such as lemons, vermilion and seeds of urad. this ball will travel through the air and, descending on the house of the person at whom it is aimed, will kill him outright unless he can avert its power by stronger magic, and perhaps even cause it to recoil in the same manner on the head of the sender. they exorcise the sudhiniyas or the drinkers of human blood. a person troubled by one of these is seated near the bharia, who places two pots with their mouths joined over a fire. he recites incantations and the pots begin to boil, emitting blood. this result is obtained by placing a herb in the pot whose juice stains the water red. the blood-sucker is thus successfully exorcised. to drive away the evil eye they burn a mixture of chillies, salt, human hair and the husks of kodon, which emits a very evil smell. such devices are practised by members of the tribe who hold the office of bhumia or village priest. the bharias are well-known thieves, and they say that the dark spots on the moon are caused by a banyan tree, which god planted with the object of diminishing her light and giving thieves a chance to ply their trade. if a bhumia wishes to detect a thief, he sits clasping hands with a friend, while a pitcher is supported on their hands. an oblation is offered to the deity to guide the ordeal correctly, and the names of suspected persons are recited one by one, the name at which the pitcher topples over being that of the thief. but before employing this method of detection the bhumia proclaims his intention of doing so on a certain date, and in the meantime places a heap of ashes in some lonely place and invites the thief to deposit the stolen article in the ashes to save himself from exposure. by common custom each person in the village is required to visit the heap and mingle a handful of ashes with it, and not infrequently the thief, frightened at the bhumia's powers of detection, takes the stolen article and buries it in the ash-heap where it is duly found, the necessity for resorting to the further method of divination being thus obviated. occasionally the bharia in his character of a hindu will make a vow to pay for a recitation of the satya narayan katha or some other holy work. but he understands nothing of it, and if the brahman employed takes a longer time than he had bargained for over the recitation he becomes extremely bored and irritated. 7. social life and customs. the scantiness of the bharia's dress is proverbial, and the saying is '_bharia bhwaka, pwanda langwata_', or 'the bharia is verily a devil, who only covers his loins with a strip of cloth.' but lately he has assumed more clothing. formerly an iron ring carried on the wrist to exorcise the evil spirits was his only ornament. women wear usually only one coarse cloth dyed red, spangles on the forehead and ears, bead necklaces, and cheap metal bracelets and anklets. some now have hindu ornaments, but in common with other low castes they do not usually wear a nose-ring, out of respect to the higher castes. women, though they work in the fields, do not commonly wear shoes; and if these are necessary to protect the feet from thorns, they take them off and carry them in the presence of an elder or a man of higher caste. they are tattooed with various devices, as a cock, a crown, a native chair, a pitcher stand, a sieve and a figure called _dhandha_, which consists of six dots joined by lines, and appears to be a representation of a man, one dot standing for the head, one for the body, two for the arms and two for the legs. this device is also used by other castes, and they evince reluctance if asked to explain its meaning, so that it may be intended as a representation of the girl's future husband. the bharia is considered very ugly, and a saying about him is: 'the bharia came down from the hills and got burnt by a cinder, so that his face is black.' he does not bathe for months together, and lives in a dirty hovel, infested by the fowls which he loves to rear. his food consists of coarse grain, often with boiled leaves as a vegetable, and he consumes much whey, mixing it with his scanty portion of grain. members of all except the lowest castes are admitted to the bharia community on presentation of a _pagri_ and some money to the headman, together with a feast to the caste-fellows. the bharias do not eat monkeys, beef or the leavings of others, but they freely consume fowls and pork. they are not considered as impure, but rank above those castes only whose touch conveys pollution. for the slaughter of a cow the bilaspur bharias inflict the severe punishment of nine daily feasts to the caste, or one for each limb of the cow, the limbs being held to consist of the legs, ears, horns and tail. they have an aversion for the horse and will not remove its dung. to account for this they tell a story to the effect that in the beginning god gave them a horse to ride and fight upon. but they did not know how to mount the horse because it was so high. the wisest man among them then proposed to cut notches in the side of the animal by which they could climb up, and they did this. but god, when he saw it, was very angry with them, and ordered that they should never be soldiers, but should be given a winnowing-fan and broom to sweep the grain out of the grass and make their livelihood in that way. 8. occupation. the bharias are usually farmservants and field-labourers, and their services in these capacities are in much request. they are hardy and industrious, and so simple that it is an easy matter for their masters to involve them in perpetual debt, and thus to keep them bound to service from generation to generation. they have no understanding of accounts, and the saying, 'pay for the marriage of a bharia and he is your bond-slave for ever,' sufficiently explains the methods adopted by their employers and creditors. bhat list of paragraphs 1. _origin of the bhats._ 2. _bhats and charans._ 3. _lower-class bhats._ 4. _social status of the caste._ 5. _social customs._ 6. _the bhat's business._ 7. _their extortionate practices._ 8. _the jasondhis._ 9. _the charans as carriers._ 10. _suicide and the fear of ghosts._ 11. _instances of haunting and laying ghosts._ 12. _the charans as sureties._ 13. _suicide as a means of revenge._ 14. _dharna._ 15. _casting out spirits._ 16. _sulking. going bankrupt._ 17. _bhat songs._ 1. origin of the bhats. _bhat, rao, jasondhi._--the caste of bards and genealogists. in 1911 the bhats numbered 29,000 persons in the central provinces and berar, being distributed over all districts and states, with a slight preponderance in large towns such as nagpur, jubbulpore and amraoti. the name bhat is derived from the sanskrit bhatta, a lord. the origin of the bhats has been discussed in detail by sir h. risley. some, no doubt, are derived from the brahman caste as stated by mr. nesfield: "they are an offshoot from those secularised brahmans who frequented the courts of princes and the camps of warriors, recited their praises in public, and kept records of their genealogies. such, without much variation, is the function of the bhat at the present day. the mahabharata speaks of a band of bards and eulogists marching in front of yudishthira as he made his progress from the field of kurukshetra towards hastinapur. but these very men are spoken of in the same poem as brahmans. naturally as time went on these courtier priests became hereditary bards, receded from the parent stem and founded a new caste." "the best modern opinion," sir h. risley states, [281] "seems disposed to find the germ of the brahman caste in the bards, ministers and family priests, who were attached to the king's household in vedic times. the characteristic profession of the bhats has an ancient and distinguished history. the literature of both greece and india owes the preservation of its oldest treasures to the singers who recited poems in the households of the chiefs, and doubtless helped in some measure to shape the masterpieces which they handed down. their place was one of marked distinction. in the days when writing was unknown, the man who could remember many verses was held in high honour by the tribal chief, who depended upon the memory of the bard for his personal amusement, for the record of his own and his ancestors' prowess, and for the maintenance of the genealogy which established the purity of his descent. the bard, like the herald, was not lightly to be slain, and even odysseus in the heat of his vengeance spares the aoidos phemius, 'who sang among the wooers of necessity.'" [282] 2. bhats and charans. there is no reason to doubt that the birm or baram bhats are an offshoot of brahmans, their name being merely a corruption of the term brahman. but the caste is a very mixed one, and another large section, the charans, are almost certainly derived from rajputs. malcolm states that according to the fable of their origin, mahadeo first created bhats to attend his lion and bull; but these could not prevent the former from killing the latter, which was a source of infinite vexation and trouble, as it compelled mahadeo to create new ones. he therefore formed the charan, equally devout with the bhat, but of bolder spirit, and gave him in charge these favourite animals. from that time no bull was ever destroyed by the lion. [283] this fable perhaps indicates that while the peaceful bhats were brahmans, the more warlike charans were rajputs. it is also said that some rajputs disguised themselves as bards to escape the vengeance of parasurama. [284] the maru charans intermarry with rajputs, and their name appears to be derived from maru, the term for the rajputana desert, which is also found in marwar. malcolm states [285] that when the rajputs migrated from the banks of the ganges to rajputana, their brahman priests did not accompany them in any numbers, and hence the charans arose and supplied their place. they had to understand the rites of worship, particularly of siva and parvati, the favourite deities of the rajputs, and were taught to read and write. one class became merchants and travelled with large convoys of goods, and the others were the bards and genealogists of the rajputs. their songs were in the rudest metre, and their language was the local dialect, understood by all. all this evidence shows that the charans were a class of rajput bards. 3. lower-class bhats. but besides the birm or brahman bhats and the rajput charans there is another large body of the caste of mixed origin, who serve as bards of the lower castes and are probably composed to a great extent of members of these castes. these are known as the brid-dhari or begging bhats. they beg from such castes as lodhis, telis, kurmis, ahirs and so on, each caste having a separate section of bhats to serve it; the bhats of each caste take food from the members of the caste, but they also eat and intermarry with each other. again, there are bairagi bhats who beg from bairagis, and keep the genealogies of the temple-priests and their successors. yet another class are the dasaundhis or jasondhis, who sing songs in honour of devi, play on musical instruments and practise astrology. these rank below the cultivating castes and sometimes admit members of such castes who have taken religious vows. 4. social status of the caste. the brahman or birm-bhats form a separate subcaste, and the rajputs are sometimes called rajbhat. these wear the sacred thread, which the brid-bhats and jasondhis do not. the social status of the bhats appears to vary greatly. sir h. risley states that they rank immediately below kayasths, and brahmans will take water from their hands. the charans are treated by the rajputs with the greatest respect; [286] the highest ruler rises when one of this class enters or leaves an assembly, and the charan is invited to eat first at a rajput feast. he smokes from the same huqqa as rajputs, and only caste-fellows can do this, as the smoke passes through water on its way to the mouth. in past times the charan acted as a herald, and his person was inviolable. he was addressed as maharaj, [287] and could sit on the singhasan or lion's hide, the ancient term for a rajput throne, as well as on the hides of the tiger, panther and black antelope. the rajputs held him in equal estimation with the brahman or perhaps even greater. [288] this was because they looked to him to enshrine their heroic deeds in his songs and hand them down to posterity. his sarcastic references to a defeat in battle or any act displaying a want of courage inflamed their passions as nothing else could do. on the other hand, the brid-bhats, who serve the lower castes, occupy an inferior position. this is because they beg at weddings and other feasts, and accept cooked food from members of the caste who are their clients. such an act constitutes an admission of inferior status, and as the bhats eat together their position becomes equivalent to that of the lowest group among them. thus if other bhats eat with the bhats of telis or kalars, who have taken cooked food from their clients, they are all in the position of having taken food from telis and kalars, a thing which only the lowest castes will do. if the bhat of any caste, such as the kurmis, keeps a girl of that caste, she can be admitted into the community, which is therefore of a very mixed character. such a caste as the kurmis will not even take water from the hands of the bhats who serve them. this rule applies also where a special section of the caste itself act as bards and minstrels. thus the pardhans are the bards of the gonds, but rank below ordinary gonds, who give them food and will not take it from them. and the sansias, the bards of the jats, and the mirasis, who are employed in this capacity by the lower castes generally, occupy a very inferior position, and are sometimes considered as impure. 5. social customs. the customs of the bhats resemble those of other castes of corresponding status. the higher bhats forbid the remarriage of widows, and expel a girl who becomes pregnant before marriage. they carry a dagger, the special emblem of the charans, in order to be distinguished from low-class bhats. the bhats generally display the _chaur_ or yak-tail whisk and the _chhadi_ or silver-plated rod on ceremonial occasions, and they worship these emblems of their calling on the principal festivals. the former is waved over the bridegroom at a wedding, and the latter is borne before him. the brahman bhats abstain from flesh of any kind and liquor, and other bhats usually have the same rules about food as the caste whom they serve. brahman bhats and charans alone wear the sacred thread. the high status sometimes assigned to this division of the caste is shown in the saying: age brahman pichhe bhat take pichhe aur jat, or, 'first comes the brahman, then the bhat, and after them the other castes.' 6. the bhat's business. the business of a bhat in former times is thus described by forbes: [289] "when the rainy season closes and travelling becomes practicable, the bard sets off on his yearly tour from his residence in the bhatwara or bard's quarter of some city or town. one by one he visits each of the rajput chiefs who are his patrons, and from whom he has received portions of land or annual grants of money, timing his arrival, if possible, to suit occasions of marriage or other domestic festivals. after he has received the usual courtesies he produces the wai, a book written in his own crabbed hieroglyphics or in those of his father, which contains the descent of the house from its founder, interspersed with many a verse or ballad, the dark sayings contained in which are chanted forth in musical cadence to a delighted audience, and are then orally interpreted by the bard with many an illustrative anecdote or tale. the wai, however, is not merely a source for the gratification of family pride or even of love of song; it is also a record by which questions of relationship are determined when a marriage is in prospect, and disputes relating to the division of ancestral property are decided, intricate as these last necessarily are from the practice of polygamy and the rule that all the sons of a family are entitled to a share. it is the duty of the bard at each periodical visit to register the births, marriages and deaths which have taken place in the family since his last circuit, as well as to chronicle all the other events worthy of remark which have occurred to affect the fortunes of his patron; nor have we ever heard even a doubt suggested regarding the accurate, much less the honest fulfilment of this duty by the bard. the manners of the bardic tribe are very similar to those of their rajput clients; their dress is nearly the same, but the bard seldom appears without the _katar_ or dagger, a representation of which is scrawled beside his signature, and often rudely engraved upon his monumental stone, in evidence of his death in the sacred duty of _traga_ (suicide)." [290] 7. their extortionate practices. the bhat thus fulfilled a most useful function as registrar of births and marriages. but his merits were soon eclipsed by the evils produced by his custom of extolling liberal patrons and satirising those who gave inadequately. the desire of the rajputs to be handed down to fame in the bhat's songs was such that no extravagance was spared to satisfy him. chand, the great rajput bard, sang of the marriage of prithwi raj, king of delhi, that the bride's father emptied his coffers in gifts, but he filled them with the praises of mankind. a lakh of rupees [291] was given to the chief bard, and this became a precedent for similar occasions. "until vanity suffers itself to be controlled," colonel tod wrote, [292] "and the aristocratic rajputs submit to republican simplicity, the evils arising from nuptial profusion will not cease. unfortunately those who should check it find their interest in stimulating it, namely, the whole crowd of _mangtas_ or beggars, bards, minstrels, jugglers, brahmans, who assemble on these occasions, and pour forth their epithalamiums in praise of the virtue of liberality. the bards are the grand recorders of fame, and the volume of precedent is always resorted to by citing the liberality of former chiefs; while the dread of their satire [293] shuts the eyes of the chief to consequences, and they are only anxious to maintain the reputation of their ancestors, though fraught with future ruin." owing to this insensate liberality in the desire to satisfy the bards and win their praises, a rajput chief who had to marry a daughter was often practically ruined; and the desire to avoid such obligations led to the general practice of female infanticide, formerly so prevalent in rajputana. the importance of the bards increased their voracity; mr. nesfield describes them as "rapacious and conceited mendicants, too proud to work but not too proud to beg." the dholis [294] or minstrels were one of the seven great evils which the famous king sidhraj expelled from anhilwada patan in gujarat; the dakans or witches were another. [295] malcolm states that "they give praise and fame in their songs to those who are liberal to them, while they visit those who neglect or injure them with satires in which the victims are usually reproached with illegitimate birth and meanness of character. sometimes the bhat, if very seriously offended, fixes an effigy of the person he desires to degrade on a long pole and appends to it a slipper as a mark of disgrace. in such cases the song of the bhat records the infamy of the object of his revenge. this image usually travels the country till the party or his friends purchase the cessation of the curses and ridicule thus entailed. it is not deemed in these countries within the power of the prince, much less any other person, to stop a bhat or even punish him for such a proceeding. in 1812 sevak ram seth, a banker of holkar's court, offended one of these bhats, pushing him rudely out of the shop where the man had come to ask alms. the man made a figure [296] of him to which he attached a slipper and carried it to court, and everywhere sang the infamy of the seth. the latter, though a man of wealth and influence, could not prevent him, but obstinately refused to purchase his forbearance. his friends after some months subscribed rs. 80 and the bhat discontinued his execrations, but said it was too late, as his curses had taken effect; and the superstitious hindus ascribe the ruin of the banker, which took place some years afterwards, to this unfortunate event." the loquacity and importunity of the bhats are shown in the saying, 'four bhats make a crowd'; and their insincerity in the proverb quoted by mr. crooke, "the bard, the innkeeper and the harlot have no heart; they are polite when customers arrive, but neglect those leaving (after they have paid)" [297] the bhat women are as bold, voluble and ready in retort as the men. when a bhat woman passes a male caste-fellow on the road, it is the latter who raises a piece of cloth to his face till the woman is out of sight. [298] 8. the jasondhis. some of the lower classes of bhats have become religious mendicants and musicians, and perform ceremonial functions. thus the jasondhis, who are considered a class of bhats, take their name from the _jas_ or hymns sung in praise of devi. they are divided into various sections, as the nakib or flag-bearers in a procession, the nazir or ushers who introduced visitors to the raja, the nagaria or players on kettle-drums, the karaola who pour sesamum oil on their clothes and beg, and the panda, who serve as priests of devi, and beg carrying an image of the goddess in their hands. there is also a section of muhammadan bhats who serve as bards and genealogists for muhammadan castes. some bhats, having the rare and needful qualification of literacy so that they can read the old sanskrit medical works, have, like a number of brahmans, taken to the practice of medicine and are known as kaviraj. 9. the charans as carriers. as already stated, the persons of the charans in the capacity of bard and herald were sacred, and they travelled from court to court without fear of molestation from robbers or enemies. it seems likely that the charans may have united the breeding of cattle to their calling of bard; but in any case the advantage derived from their sanctity was so important that they gradually became the chief carriers and traders of rajputana and the adjoining tracts. they further, in virtue of their holy character, enjoyed a partial exemption from the perpetual and harassing imposts levied by every petty state on produce entering its territory; and the combination of advantages thus obtained was such as to give them almost a monopoly in trade. they carried merchandise on large droves of bullocks all over rajputana and the adjoining countries; and in course of time the carriers restricted themselves to their new profession, splitting off from the charans and forming the caste of banjaras. 10. suicide and the fear of ghosts. but the mere reverence for their calling would not have sufficed for a permanent safeguard to the charans from destitute and unscrupulous robbers. they preserved it by the customs of _chandi_ or _traga_ and _dharna_. these consisted in their readiness to mutilate, starve or kill themselves rather than give up property entrusted to their care; and it was a general belief that their ghosts would then haunt the persons whose ill deeds had forced them to take their own lives. it seems likely that this belief in the power of a suicide or murdered man to avenge himself by haunting any persons who had injured him or been responsible for his death may have had a somewhat wide prevalence and been partly accountable for the reprobation attaching in early times to the murderer and the act of self-slaughter. the haunted murderer would be impure and would bring ill-fortune on all who had to do with him, while the injury which a suicide would inflict on his relatives in haunting them would cause this act to be regarded as a sin against one's family and tribe. even the ordinary fear of the ghosts of people who die in the natural course, and especially of those who are killed by accident, is so strong that a large part of the funeral rites is devoted to placating and laying the ghost of the dead man; and in india the period of observance of mourning for the dead is perhaps in reality that time during which the spirit of the dead man is supposed to haunt his old abode and render the survivors of his family impure. it was this fear of ghosts on which the charans relied, nor did they hesitate a moment to sacrifice their lives in defence of any obligation they had undertaken or of property committed to their care. when plunderers carried off any cattle belonging to the charans, the whole community would proceed to the spot where the robbers resided; and in failure of having their property restored would cut off the heads of several of their old men and women. frequent instances occurred of a man dressing himself in cotton-quilted cloths steeped in oil which he set on fire at the bottom, and thus danced against the person against whom _traga_ was performed until the miserable creature dropped down and was burnt to ashes. on one occasion a cutch chieftain, attempting to escape with his wife and child from a village, was overtaken by his enemy when about to leap a precipice; immediately turning he cut off his wife's head with his scimitar and, flourishing his reeking blade in the face of his pursuer, denounced against him the curse of the _traga_ which he had so fearfully performed. [299] in this case it was supposed that the wife's ghost would haunt the enemy who had driven the husband to kill her. 11. instances of haunting and laying ghosts. the following account in the _rasmala_ [300] is an instance of suicide and of the actual haunting by the ghost: a charan asserted a claim against the chief of siela in kathiawar, which the latter refused to liquidate. the bard thereupon, taking forty of his caste with him, went to siela with the intention of sitting _dharna_ at the chief's door and preventing any one from coming out or going in until the claim should be discharged. however, as they approached the town, the chief, becoming aware of their intention, caused the gates to be closed. the bards remained outside and for three days abstained from food; on the fourth day they proceeded to perform _traga_ as follows: some hacked their own arms; others decapitated three old women of the party and hung their heads up at the gate as a garland; certain of the women cut off their own breasts. the bards also pierced the throats of four of their old men with spikes, and they took two young girls by the heels, and dashed out their brains against the town gate. the charan to whom the money was due dressed himself in clothes wadded with cotton which he steeped in oil and then set on fire. he thus burned himself to death. but as he died he cried out, "i am now dying; but i will become a headless ghost (_kuvis_) in the palace, and will take the chiefs life and cut off his posterity." after this sacrifice the rest of the bards returned home. on the third day after the charan's death his bhut (ghost) threw the rani downstairs so that she was very much injured. many other persons also beheld the headless phantom in the palace. at last he entered the chief's head and set him trembling. at night he would throw stones at the palace, and he killed a female servant outright. at length, in consequence of the various acts of oppression which he committed, none dared to approach the chief's mansion even in broad daylight. in order to exorcise the bhut, jogis, fakirs and brahmans were sent for from many different places; but whoever attempted the cure was immediately assailed by the bhut in the chief's body, and that so furiously that the exorcist's courage failed him. the bhut would also cause the chief to tear the flesh off his own arms with his teeth. besides this, four or five persons died of injuries received from the bhut; but nobody had the power to expel him. at length a foreign jyotishi (astrologer) came who had a great reputation for charms and magic, and the chief sent for him and paid him honour. first he tied all round the house threads which he had charged with a charm; then he sprinkled charmed milk and water all round; then he drove a charmed iron nail into the ground at each corner of the mansion, and two at the door. he purified the house and continued his charms and incantations for forty-one days, every day making sacrifices at the cemetery to the bhut's spirit. the joshi lived in a room securely fastened up; but people say that while he was muttering his charms stones would fall and strike the windows. finally the joshi brought the chief, who had been living in a separate room, and tried to exorcise the spirit. the patient began to be very violent, but the joshi and his people spared no pains in thrashing him until they had rendered him quite docile. a sacrificial fire-pit was made and a lemon placed between it and the chief. the joshi commanded the bhut to enter the lime. the possessed, however, said, 'who are you; if one of your deos (gods) were to come, i would not quit this person.' thus they went on from morning till noon. at last they came outside, and, burning various kinds of incense and sprinkling many charms, the bhut was got out into the lemon. when the lemon began to jump about, the whole of the spectators praised the joshi, crying out: 'the bhut has gone into the lemon! the bhut has gone into the lemon!' the possessed person himself, when he saw the lemon hopping about, was perfectly satisfied that the bhut had left his body and gone out into the lemon. the joshi then drove the lemon outside the city, followed by drummers and trumpeters; if the lemon left the road, he would touch it with his stick and put it into the right way again. on the track they sprinkled mustard and salt and finally buried the lemon in a pit seven cubits deep, throwing into the hole above it mustard and salt, and over these dust and stones, and filling in the space between the stones with lead. at each corner, too, the joshi drove in an iron nail, two feet long, which he had previously charmed. the lemon buried, the people returned home, and not one of them ever saw the bhut thereafter. according to the recorder of the tale, the cure was effected by putting quicksilver into the lemon. when a man is attacked with fever or becomes speechless or appears to have lockjaw, his friends conclude from these indications that he is possessed by a bhut. in another case some bhats had been put in charge, by the chief of a small state, of a village which was coveted by a neighbouring prince, the rana of danta. the latter sent for the bhats and asked them to guard one or two of his villages, and having obtained their absence by this pretext he raided their village, carrying off hostages and cattle. when the bhats got back they collected to the number of a hundred and began to perform _dharna_ against the rana. they set out from their village, and at every two miles as they advanced they burned a man, so that by the time they got to the rana's territory seven or eight men had been burnt. they were then pacified by his people and induced to go back. the rana offered them presents, but they refused to accept them, as they said the guilt of the death of their fellows who had been burned would thereby be removed from the rana. the rana lost all the seven sons born to him and died childless, and it was generally held to be on account of this sin. [301] 12. the charans as sureties. such was the certainty attaching to the charan's readiness to forfeit his life rather than prove false to a trust, and the fear entertained of the offence of causing him to do so and being haunted by his ghost, that his security was eagerly coveted in every kind of transaction. "no traveller could journey unattended by these guards, who for a small sum were satisfied to conduct him in safety. [302] the guards, called valavas, were never backward in inflicting the most grievous wounds and even causing the death of their old men and women if the robbers persisted in plundering those under their protection; but this seldom happened, as the wildest koli, kathi or rajput held the person of a charan sacred. besides becoming safeguards to travellers and goods, they used to stand security to the amount of many lakhs of rupees. when rents and property were concerned, the rajputs preferred a charan's bond to that of the wealthiest banker. they also gave security for good behaviour, called _chalu zamin_, and for personal attendance in court called _hazar zamin_. the ordinary _traga_ went no farther than a cut on the arm with the _katar_ or crease; the forearms of those who were in the habit of becoming security had generally several cuts from the elbow downwards. the charans, both men and women, wounded themselves, committed suicide and murdered their relations with the most complete self-devotion. in 1812 the marathas brought a body of troops to impose a payment on the village of panchpipla. [303] the charans resisted the demand, but finding the marathas determined to carry their point, after a remonstrance against paying any kind of revenue as being contrary to their occupation and principles, they at last cut the throats of ten young children and threw them at the feet of the marathas, exclaiming, 'these are our riches and the only payment we can make.' the charans were immediately seized and confined in irons at jambusar." as was the case with the bhat and the brahman, the source of the charan's power lay in the widespread fear that a charan's blood brought ruin on him who caused the blood to be spilt. it was also sometimes considered that the charan was possessed by his deity, and the caste were known as deoputra or sons of god, the favourite dwelling of the guardian spirit. 13. suicide as a means of revenge. such a belief enhanced the guilt attaching to the act of causing or being responsible for a charan's death. suicide from motives of revenge has been practised in other countries. "another common form of suicide which is admired as heroic in china is that committed for the purpose of taking revenge upon an enemy who is otherwise out of reach--according to chinese ideas a most effective mode of revenge, not only because the law throws the responsibility of the deed on him who occasioned it, but also because the disembodied soul is supposed to be better able than the living man to persecute the enemy." [304] similarly, among the hos or mundas the suicide of young married women is or was extremely common, and the usual motive was that the girl, being unhappy in her husband's house, jumped down a well or otherwise made away with herself in the belief that she would take revenge on his family by haunting them after her death. the treatment of the suicide's body was sometimes directed to prevent his spirit from causing trouble. "according to jewish custom persons who had killed themselves were left unburied till sunset, perhaps for fear lest the spirit of the deceased otherwise might find its way back to the old home." [305] at athens the right hand of a person who had taken his own life was struck off and buried apart from the rest of the body, evidently in order to make him harmless after death. [306] similarly, in england suicides were buried with a spike through the chest to prevent their spirits from rising, and at cross-roads, so that the ghost might not be able to find its way home. this fear appears to have partly underlain the idea that suicide was a crime or an offence against society and the state, though, as shown by dr. westermarck, the reprobation attaching to it was far from universal; while in the cultured communities of ancient greece and rome, and among such military peoples as the japanese suicide was considered at all times a legitimate and, on occasion, a highly meritorious and praiseworthy act. that condition of mind which leads to the taking of one's own life from motives of revenge is perhaps a fruit of ignorance and solitude. the mind becomes distorted, and the sufferer attributes the unhappiness really caused by accident or his own faults or defects to the persecution of a malignant fate or the ill-will of his neighbours and associates. and long brooding over his wrongs eventuates in his taking the extreme step. the crime known as running amok appears to be the outcome of a similar state of mind. here too the criminal considers his wrongs or misery as the result of injury or unjust treatment from his fellow-men, and, careless of his own life, determines to be revenged on them. such hatred of one's kind is cured by education, leading to a truer appreciation of the circumstances and environment which determine the course of life, and by the more cheerful temper engendered by social intercourse. and these crimes of vengeance tend to die out with the advance of civilisation. 14. _dharna._ analogous to the custom of _traga_ was that of _dharna_, which was frequently and generally resorted to for the redress of wrongs and offences at a time when the law made little provision for either. the ordinary method of _dharna_ was to sit starving oneself in front of the door of the person from whom redress was sought until he gave it from fear of causing the death of the suppliant and being haunted by his ghost. it was, naturally, useless unless the person seeking redress was prepared to go to extremes, and has some analogy to the modern hunger-strike with the object of getting out of jail. another common device was to thrust a spear-blade through both cheeks, and in this state to dance before the person against whom _dharna_ was practised. the pain had to be borne without a sign of suffering, which, if displayed, would destroy its efficacy. or a creditor would proceed to the door of his debtor and demand payment, and if not appeased would stand up in his presence with an enormous weight upon his head, which he had brought with him for the purpose, swearing never to alter his position until satisfaction was given, and denouncing at the same time the most horrible execrations on his debtor, should he suffer him to expire in that situation. this seldom failed to produce the desired effect, but should he actually die while in _dharna_, the debtor's house was razed to the earth and he and his family sold for the satisfaction of the creditor's heirs. another and more desperate form of _dharna_, only occasionally resorted to, was to erect a large pile of wood before the house of the debtor, and after the customary application for payment had been refused the creditor tied on the top of the pile a cow or a calf, or very frequently an old woman, generally his mother or other relation, swearing at the same time to set fire to it if satisfaction was not instantly given. all the time the old woman denounced the bitterest curses, threatening to persecute the wretched debtor both here and hereafter. [307] the word _dharna_ means 'to place or lay on,' and hence 'a pledge.' mr. hira lal suggests that the standing with a weight on the head may have been the original form of the penance, from which the other and severer methods were subsequently derived. another custom known as _dharna_ is that of a suppliant placing a stone on the shrine of a god or tomb of a saint. he makes his request and, laying the stone on the shrine, says, "here i place this stone until you fulfil my prayer; if i do not remove it, the shame is on you." if the prayer is afterwards fulfilled, he takes away the stone and offers a cocoanut. it seems clear that the underlying idea of this custom is the same as that of standing with a stone on the head as described above, but it is difficult to say which was the earlier or original form. 15. casting out spirits. as a general rule, if the guilt of having caused a suicide was at a man's door, he should expiate it by going to the ganges to bathe. when a man was haunted by the ghost of any one whom he had wronged, whether such a person had committed suicide or simply died of grief at being unable to obtain redress, it was said of him _brahm laga_, or that brahma had possessed him. the spirit of a brahman boy, who has died unmarried, is also accustomed to haunt any person who walks over his grave in an impure condition or otherwise defiles it, and when a man is haunted in such a manner it is called _brahm laga_. then an exorcist is called, who sprinkles water over the possessed man, and this burns the brahm deo or spirit inside him as if it were burning oil. the spirit cries out, and the exorcist orders him to leave the man. then the spirit states how he has been injured by the man, and refuses to leave him. the exorcist asks him what he requires on condition of leaving the man, and he asks for some good food or something else, and is given it. the exorcist takes a nail and goes to a _pipal_ tree and orders the brahm deo to go into the tree. brahm deo obeys, and the exorcist drives the nail into the tree and the spirit remains imprisoned there until somebody takes the nail out, when he will come out again and haunt him. the hindus think that the god brahma lives in the roots of the _pipal_ tree, siva in its branches, and vishnu in the _choti_ or scalp-knot, that is the topmost foliage. 16. sulking. going bankrupt. another and mild form of _dharna_ is that known as _khatpati_. when a woman is angry with her husband on account of his having refused her some request, she will put her bed in a corner of the room and go and lie on it, turning her face to the wall, and remain so, not answering when spoken to nor taking food. the term khatpati signifies keeping to one side of the bed, and there she will remain until her husband accedes to her request, unless indeed he should decide to beat her instead. this is merely an exaggerated form of the familiar display of temper known as sulking. it is interesting to note the use of the phrase turning one's face to the wall, with something of the meaning attached to it in the bible. a custom similar to that of _dharna_ was called _diwala nikalna_ or going bankrupt. when a merchant had had heavy losses and could not meet his liabilities, he would place the lock of his door outside, reversing it, and sit in the veranda with a piece of sackcloth over him. or he wrapped round him the floor-carpet of his room. when he had displayed these signs of ruin and self-abasement his creditors would not sue him, but he would never be able to borrow money again. 17. bhat songs. in conclusion a few specimens of bhat songs may be given. the following is an account of the last king of nagpur, raghuji iii., commonly known as baji rao: they made a picture of baji rao; baji rao was the finest king to see; the brahmans told lies about him, they sent a letter from nagpur to calcutta, they made baji rao go on a pilgrimage. brothers! the great sirdars who were with him, they brought a troop of five hundred horse! the tuesday fair in benares was held with fireworks, they made the ganges pink with rose-petals. baji rao's gifts were splendid, his turban and coat were of brocaded silk, a pair of diamonds and emeralds he gave to the brahmans of benares. oh brothers! the raja sat in a covered howdah bound on an elephant! many fans waved over his head; how charitable a king he was! in the above song a note of regret is manifest for the parade and display of the old court of nagpur, english rule being less picturesque. the next is a song about the english: the english have taken the throne of nagpur, the fear of the english is great. in a moment's time they conquer countries. the guns boomed, the english came strong and warlike, they give wealth to all. they ram the ramrods in the guns. they conquered also tippoo's dominions, the english are ruling in the fort of gawilgarh. the following is another song about the english, not quite so complimentary: the english became our kings and have made current the _kaldar_ (milled) rupee. the menials are favoured and the bhats have lost their profession, the mango has lost its taste, the milk has lost its sweetness, the rose has lost its scent. baji rao of nagpur he also is gone, no longer are the drums beaten at the palace gate. poona customs have come in. brahmans knowing the eighteen purans have become christians; the son thinks himself better than his father, the daughter-in-law no longer respects her mother-in-law. the wife fights with her husband. the english have made the railways and telegraphs; the people wondered at the silver rupees and all the country prospered. the following is a song about the nerbudda at mandla, rewa being another name for the river: the stream of the world springs out breaking apart the hills; the rewa cuts her path through the soil, the air is darkened with her spray. all the length of her banks are the seats of saints; hermits and pilgrims worship her. on seeing the holy river a man's sins fall away as wood is cut by a saw; by bathing in her he plucks the fruit of holiness. when boats are caught in her flood, the people pray: 'we are sinners, o rewa, bring us safely to the bank!' when the nerbudda is in flood, mandla is an island and the people think their end has come: the rain pours down on all sides, earth and sky become dark as smoke, and men call on rama. the bard says: 'let it rain as it may, some one will save us as krishna saved the people of brindawan!' this is a description of a beautiful woman: a beautiful woman is loved by her neighbours, but she will let none come to her and answers them not. they say: 'since god has made you so beautiful, open your litter and let yourself be seen!' he who sees her is struck as by lightning, she shoots her lover with the darts of her eyes, invisible herself. she will not go to her husband's house till he has her brought by the government. when she goes her father's village is left empty. she is so delicate she faints at the sight of a flower, her body cannot bear the weight of her cloth, the garland of jasmine-flowers is a burden on her neck, the red powder on her feet is too heavy for them. it is interesting to note that weakness and delicacy in a woman are emphasised as an attraction, as in english literature of the eighteenth century. the last is a gentle intimation that poets, like other people, have to live: it is useless to adorn oneself with sandalwood on an empty belly, nobody's body gets fat from the scent of flowers; the singing of songs excites the mind, but if the body is not fed all these are vain and hollow. all bhats recite their verses in a high-pitched sing-song tone, which renders it very difficult for their hearers to grasp the sense unless they know it already. the vedas and all other sacred verses are spoken in this manner, perhaps as a mark of respect and to distinguish them from ordinary speech. the method has some resemblance to intoning. women use the same tone when mourning for the dead. bhatra list of paragraphs 1. _general notice and structure of the caste._ 2. _admission of outsiders._ 3. _arrangement of marriages._ 4. _the counter of posts._ 5. _marriage customs._ 6. _propitiation of ghosts._ 7. _religion. ceremonies at hunting._ 8. _superstitious remedies._ 9. _occupation._ 10. _names._ 1. general notice and structure of the caste. _bhatra._ [308]--a primitive tribe of the bastar state and the south of raipur district, akin to the gonds. they numbered 33,000 persons in 1891, and in subsequent enumerations have been amalgamated with the gonds. nothing is known of their origin except a legend that they came with the rajas of bastar from warangal twenty-three generations ago. the word bhatra is said to mean a servant, and the tribe are employed as village watchmen and household and domestic servants. they have three divisions, the pit, amnait and san bhatras, who rank one below the other, the pit being the highest and the san the lowest. the pit bhatras base their superiority on the fact that they decline to make grass mats, which the amnait bhatras will do, while the san bhatras are considered to be practically identical with the muria gonds. members of the three groups will eat with each other before marriage, but afterwards they will take only food cooked without water from a person belonging to another group. they have the usual set of exogamous septs named after plants and animals. formerly, it is said, they were tattooed with representations of the totem plant and animal, and the septs named after the tiger and snake ate the flesh of these animals at a sacrificial meal. these customs have fallen into abeyance, but still if they kill their totem animal they will make apologies to it, and break their cooking-pots, and bury or burn the body. a man of substance will distribute alms in the name of the deceased animal. in some localities members of the kachhun or tortoise sept will not eat a pumpkin which drops from a tree because it is considered to resemble a tortoise. but if they can break it immediately on touching the ground they may partake of the fruit, the assumption being apparently that it has not had time to become like a tortoise. 2. admission of outsiders. outsiders are not as a rule admitted. but a woman of equal or higher caste who enters the house of a bhatra will be recognised as his wife, and a man of the panara, or gardener caste, can also become a member of the community if he lives with a bhatra woman and eats from her hand. 3. arrangement of marriages. in raipur a girl should be married before puberty, and if no husband is immediately available, they tie a few flowers into her cloth and consider this as a marriage. if an unmarried girl becomes pregnant she is debarred from going through the wedding ceremony, and will simply go and live with her lover or any other man. matches are usually arranged by the parents, but if a daughter is not pleased with the prospective bridegroom, who may sometimes be a well-to-do man much older than herself, she occasionally runs away and goes through the ceremony on her own account with the man of her choice. if no one has asked her parents for her hand she may similarly select a husband for herself and make her wishes known, but in that case she is temporarily put out of caste until the chosen bridegroom signifies his acquiescence by giving the marriage feast. what happens if he definitely fails to respond is not stated, but presumably the young woman tries elsewhere until she finds herself accepted. 4. the counter of posts. the date and hour of the wedding are fixed by an official known as the meda gantia, or counter of posts. he is a sort of illiterate village astrologer, who can foretell the character of the rainfall, and gives auspicious dates for sowing and harvest. he goes through some training, and as a test of his capacity is required by his teacher to tell at a glance the number of posts in an enclosure which he has not seen before. having done this correctly he qualifies as a meda gantia. apparently the bhatras, being unable at one time to count themselves, acquired an exaggerated reverence for the faculty of counting, and thought that if a man could only count far enough he could reckon into the future; or it might be thought that as he could count and name future days, he thus obtained power over them, and could tell what would happen on them just as one can obtain power over a man and work him injury by knowing his real name. 5. marriage customs. at a wedding the couple walk seven times round the sacred post, which must be of wood of the mahua [309] tree, and on its conclusion the post is taken to a river or stream and consigned to the water. the bhatras, like the gonds, no doubt revere this tree because their intoxicating liquor is made from its flowers. the couple wear marriage crowns made from the leaves of the date palm and exchange these. a little turmeric and flour are mixed with water in a plate, and the bride, taking the bridegroom's right hand, dips it into the coloured paste and strikes it against the wall. the action is repeated five times, and then the bridegroom does the same with the bride's hand. by this rite the couple pledge each other for their mutual behaviour during married life. from the custom of making an impression of the hand on a wall in token of a vow may have arisen that of clasping hands as a symbol of a bargain assented to, and hence of shaking hands, by persons who meet, as a pledge of amity and the absence of hostile intentions. usually the hand is covered with red ochre, which is probably a substitute for blood; and the impression of the hand is made on the wall of a temple in token of a vow. this may be a survival of the covenant made by the parties dipping their hands in the blood of the sacrifice and laying them on the god. a pit about a foot deep is dug close to the marriage-shed, and filled with mud or wet earth. the bride conceals a nut in the mud and the bridegroom has to find it, and the hiding and finding are repeated by both parties. this rite may have the signification of looking for children. the remainder of the day is spent in eating, drinking and dancing. on the way home after the wedding the bridegroom has to shoot a deer, the animal being represented by a branch of a tree thrown across the path by one of the party. but if a real deer happens by any chance to come by he has to shoot this. the bride goes up to the real or sham deer and pulls out the arrow, and presents her husband with water and a tooth-stick, after which he takes her in his arms and they dance home together. on arrival at the house the bridegroom's maternal uncle or his son lies down before the door covering himself with a blanket. he is asked what he wants, and says he will have the daughter of the bridegroom to wife. the bridegroom promises to give a daughter if he has one, and if he has a son to give him for a friend. the tribe consider that a man has a right to marry the daughter of his maternal uncle, and formerly if the girl was refused by her parents he abducted her and married her forcibly. the bride remains at her husband's house for a few days and then goes home, and before she finally takes up her abode with him the _gauna_ or going-away ceremony must be performed. the hands of the bride and bridegroom are tied together, and an arrow is held upright on them and some oil poured over it. the foreheads of the couple are marked with turmeric and rice, this rite being known as _tika_ or anointing, and presents are given to the bride's family. 6. propitiation of ghosts. the dead are buried, the corpse being laid on its back with the head to the north. some rice, cowrie-shells, a winnowing-fan and other articles are placed on the grave. the tribe probably consider the winnowing-fan to have some magical property, as it also forms one of the presents given to the bride at the betrothal. if a man is killed by a tiger his spirit must be propitiated. the priest ties strips of tiger-skin to his arms, and the feathers of the peacock and blue jay to his waist, and jumps about pretending to be a tiger. a package of a hundred seers (200 lbs.) of rice is made up, and he sits on this and finally takes it away with him. if the dead man had any ornaments they must all be given, however valuable, lest his spirit should hanker after them and return to look for them in the shape of the tiger. the large quantity of rice given to the priest is also probably intended as a provision of the best food for the dead man's spirit, lest it be hungry and come in the shape of the tiger to satisfy its appetite upon the surviving relatives. the laying of the ghosts of persons killed by tigers is thus a very profitable business for the priests. 7. religion. ceremonies at hunting. the tribe worship the god of hunting, who is known as mati deo and resides in a separate tree in each village. at the bijphutni (threshing) or harvest festival in the month of chait (march) they have a ceremonial hunting party. all the people of the village collect, each man having a bow and arrow slung to his back and a hatchet on his shoulder. they spread out a long net in the forest and beat the animals into this, usually catching a deer, wild pig or hare, and quails and other birds. they return and cook the game before the shrine of the god and offer to him a fowl and a pig. a pit is dug and water poured into it, and a person from each house must stand in the mud. a little seed taken from each house is also soaked in the mud, and after the feast is over this is taken and returned to the householder with words of abuse, a small present of two or three pice being received from him. the seed is no doubt thus consecrated for the next sowing. the tribe also have joint ceremonial fishing excursions. their ideas of a future life are very vague, and they have no belief in a place of reward or punishment after death. they propitiate the spirits of their ancestors on the 15th of asarh (june) with offerings of a little rice and incense. 8. superstitious remedies. to cure the evil eye they place a little gunpowder in water and apply it to the sufferer's eyes, the idea perhaps being that the fiery glance from the evil eye which struck him is quenched like the gunpowder. to bring on rain they perform a frog marriage, tying two frogs to a pestle and pouring oil and turmeric over them as in a real marriage. the children carry them round begging from door to door and finally deposit them in water. they say that when rain falls and the sun shines together the jackals are being married. formerly a woman suspected of being a witch was tied up in a bag and thrown into a river or tank at various places set apart for the purpose. if she sank she was held to be innocent, and if she floated, guilty. in the latter case she had to defile herself by taking the bone of a cow and the tail of a pig in her mouth, and it was supposed that this drove out the magic-working spirit. in the case of illness of their children or cattle, or the failure of crops, they consult the pujari or priest and make an offering. he applies some flowers or grains of rice to the forehead of the deity, and when one of these falls down he diagnoses from it the nature of the illness, and gives it to the sufferer to wear as a charm. 9. occupation. the tribe are cultivators and farmservants, and practise shifting cultivation. they work as village watchmen and also as the majhi or village headman and the pujari or village priest. these officials are paid by contributions of grain from the cultivators. and as already seen, the bhatras are employed as household servants and will clean cooking-vessels. since they act as village priests, it may perhaps be concluded that the bhatras like the parjas are older residents of bastar than the bulk of the gonds, and they have become the household servants of the hindu immigrants, which the gonds would probably disdain to do. some of them wear the sacred thread, but in former times the bastar raja would invest any man with this for a fee of four or five rupees, and the bhatras therefore purchased the social distinction. they find it inconvenient, however, and lay it aside when proceeding to their work or going out to hunt. if a man breaks his thread he must wait till a brahman comes round, when he can purchase another. 10. names. among a list of personal names given by mr. baijnath the following are of some interest: pillu, one of short stature; matola, one who learnt to walk late; phagu, born in phagun (february); ghinu, dirty-looking; dasru, born on the dasahra festival; ludki, one with a fleshy ear; dalu, big-bellied; mudi, a ring, this name having been given to a child which cried much after birth, but when its nose was pierced and a ring put in it stopped crying; chhi, given to a child which sneezed immediately after birth; nunha, a posthumous child; and bhuklu, a child which began to play almost as soon as born. the above instances indicate that it is a favourite plan to select the name from any characteristic displayed by the child soon after birth, or from any circumstance or incident connected with its birth. among names of women are: cherangi, thin; fundi, one with swollen cheeks; kandri, one given to crying; mahina (month), a child born a month late; batai, one with large eyes; gaida, fat; pakli, of fair colour; boda, one with crooked legs; jhunki, one with small eyes; rupi, a girl who was given a nose-ring of silver as her brothers had died; paro, born on a field-embankment; dango, tall. a woman must not call by their names her father-in-law, mother-in-law, her husband's brothers and elder sisters and the sons and daughters of her husband's brothers and sisters. bhil list of paragraphs 1. _general notice. the bhils a kolarian tribe._ 2. _rajputs deriving their title to the land from the bhils._ 3. _historical notice._ 4. _general outram and the khandesh bhil corps._ 5. _subdivisions._ 6. _exogamy and marriage customs._ 7. _widow-marriage, divorce and polygamy._ 8. _religion._ 9. _witchcraft and amulets._ 10. _funeral rites._ 11. _social customs._ 12. _appearance and characteristics._ 13. _occupation._ 14. _language._ 1. general notice. the bhils a kolarian tribe. _bhil._ [310]--an indigenous or non-aryan tribe which has been much in contact with the hindus and is consequently well known. the home of the bhils is the country comprised in the hill ranges of khandesh, central india and rajputana, west from the satpuras to the sea in gujarat. the total number of bhils in india exceeds a million and a half, of which the great bulk belong to bombay, rajputana and central india. the central provinces have only about 28,000, practically all of whom reside in the nimar district, on the hills forming the western end of the satpura range and adjoining the rajpipla hills of khandesh. as the southern slopes of these hills lie in berar, a few bhils are also found there. the name bhil seems to occur for the first time about a.d. 600. it is supposed to be derived from the dravidian word for a bow, which is the characteristic weapon of the tribe. it has been suggested that the bhils are the pygmies referred to by ktesias (400 b.c.) and the phyllitae of ptolemy (a.d. 150). the bhils are recognised as the oldest inhabitants of southern rajputana and parts of gujarat, and are usually spoken of in conjunction with the kolis, who inhabit the adjoining tracts of gujarat. the most probable hypothesis of the origin of the kolis is that they are a western branch of the kol or munda tribe who have spread from chota nagpur, through mandla and jubbulpore, central india and rajputana to gujarat and the sea. if this is correct the kolis would be a kolarian tribe. the bhils have lost their own language, so that it cannot be ascertained whether it was kolarian or dravidian. but there is nothing against its being kolarian in sir g. grierson's opinion; and in view of the length of residence of the tribe, the fact that they have abandoned their own language and their association with the kolis, this view may be taken as generally probable. the dravidian tribes have not penetrated so far west as central india and gujarat in appreciable numbers. 2. rajputs deriving their title to the land from the bhils. the rajputs still recognise the bhils as the former residents and occupiers of the land by the fact that some rajput chiefs must be marked on the brow with a bhil's blood on accession to the _gaddi_ or regal cushion. tod relates how goha, [311] the eponymous ancestor of the sesodia rajputs, took the state of idar in gujarat from a bhil: "at this period idar was governed by a chief of the savage race of bhils. the young goha frequented the forests in company with the bhils, whose habits better assimilated with his daring nature than those of the brahmans. he became a favourite with these _vena-putras_ or sons of the forest, who resigned to him idar with its woods and mountains. the bhils having determined in sport to elect a king, their choice fell on goha; and one of the young savages, cutting his finger, applied the blood as the badge (_tika_) of sovereignty to his forehead. what was done in sport was confirmed by the old forest chief. the sequel fixes on goha the stain of ingratitude, for he slew his benefactor, and no motive is assigned in the legend for the deed." [312] the legend is of course a euphemism for the fact that the rajputs conquered and dispossessed the bhils of idar. but it is interesting as an indication that they did not consider themselves to derive a proper title to the land merely from the conquest, but wished also to show that it passed to them by the designation and free consent of the bhils. the explanation is perhaps that they considered the gods of the bhils to be the tutelary guardians and owners of the land, whom they must conciliate before they could hope to enjoy it in quiet and prosperity. this token of the devolution of the land from its previous holders, the bhils, was till recently repeated on the occasion of each succession of a sesodia chief. "the bhil landholders of oguna and undri still claim the privilege of performing the _tika_ for the sesodias. the oguna bhil makes the mark of sovereignty on the chief's forehead with blood drawn from his own thumb, and then takes the chief by the arm and seats him on the throne, while the undri bhil holds the salver of spices and sacred grains of rice used in making the badge." [313] the story that goha killed the old bhil chief, his benefactor, who had adopted him as heir and successor, which fits in very badly with the rest of the legend, is probably based on another superstition. sir j. g. frazer has shown in _the golden bough_ that in ancient times it was a common superstition that any one who killed the king had a right to succeed him. the belief was that the king was the god of the country, on whose health, strength and efficiency its prosperity depended. when the king grew old and weak it was time for a successor, and he who could kill the king proved in this manner that the divine power and strength inherent in the late king had descended to him, and he was therefore the fit person to be king. [314] an almost similar story is told of the way in which the kachhwaha rajputs took the territory of amber state from the mina tribe. the infant rajput prince had been deprived of narwar by his uncle, and his mother wandered forth carrying him in a basket, till she came to the capital of the minas, where she first obtained employment in the chiefs kitchen. but owing to her good cooking she attracted his wife's notice and ultimately disclosed her identity and told her story. the mina chief then adopted her as his sister and the boy as his nephew. this boy, dhola rai, on growing up obtained a few rajput adherents and slaughtered all the minas while they were bathing at the feast of diwali, after which he usurped their country. [315] the repetition both of the adoption and the ungrateful murder shows the importance attached by the rajputs to both beliefs as necessary to the validity of their succession and occupation of the land. the position of the bhils as the earliest residents of the country was also recognised by their employment in the capacity of village watchmen. one of the duties of this official is to know the village boundaries and keep watch and ward over them, and it was supposed that the oldest class of residents would know them best. the bhils worked in the office of mankar, the superior village watchman, in nimar and also in berar. grant duff states [316] that the ramosi or bhil was employed as village guard by the marathas, and the ramosis were a professional caste of village policemen, probably derived from the bhils or from the bhils and kolis. 3. historical notice. the rajputs seem at first to have treated the bhils leniently. intermarriage was frequent, especially in the families of bhil chieftains, and a new caste called bhilala [317] has arisen, which is composed of the descendants of mixed rajput and bhil marriages. chiefs and landholders in the bhil country now belong to this caste, and it is possible that some pure bhil families may have been admitted to it. the bhilalas rank above the bhils, on a level with the cultivating castes. instances occasionally occurred in which the children of rajput by a bhil wife became rajputs. when colonel tod wrote, rajputs would still take food with ujla bhils or those of pure aboriginal descent, and all castes would take water from them. [318] but as hinduism came to be more orthodox in rajputana, the bhils sank to the position of outcastes. their custom of eating beef had always caused them to be much despised. a tradition is related that one day the god mahadeo or siva, sick and unhappy, was reclining in a shady forest when a beautiful woman appeared, the first sight of whom effected a cure of all his complaints. an intercourse between the god and the strange female was established, the result of which was many children; one of whom, from infancy distinguished alike by his ugliness and vice, slew the favourite bull of mahadeo, for which crime he was expelled to the woods and mountains, and his descendants have ever since been stigmatised by the names of bhil and nishada. [319] nishada is a term of contempt applied to the lowest outcastes. major hendley, writing in 1875, states: "some time since a thakur (chief) cut off the legs of two bhils, eaters of the sacred cow, and plunged the stumps into boiling oil." [320] when the marathas began to occupy central india they treated the bhils with great cruelty. a bhil caught in a disturbed part of the country was without inquiry flogged and hanged. hundreds were thrown over high cliffs, and large bodies of them, assembled under promise of pardon, were beheaded or blown from guns. their women were mutilated or smothered by smoke, and their children smashed to death against the stones. [321] this treatment may to some extent have been deserved owing to the predatory habits and cruelty of the bhils, but its result was to make them utter savages with their hand against every man, as they believed that every one's was against them. from their strongholds in the hills they laid waste the plain country, holding villages and towns to ransom and driving off cattle; nor did any travellers pass with impunity through the hills except in convoys too large to be attacked. in khandesh, during the disturbed period of the wars of sindhia and holkar, about a.d. 1800, the bhils betook themselves to highway robbery and lived in bands either in mountains or in villages immediately beneath them. the revenue contractors were unable or unwilling to spend money in the maintenance of soldiers to protect the country, and the bhils in a very short time became so bold as to appear in bands of hundreds and attack towns, carrying off either cattle or hostages, for whom they demanded handsome ransoms. [322] in gujarat another writer described the bhils and kolis as hereditary and professional plunderers--'soldiers of the night,' as they themselves said they were. [323] malcolm said of them, after peace had been restored to central india: [324] "measures are in progress that will, it is expected, soon complete the reformation of a class of men who, believing themselves doomed to be thieves and plunderers, have been confirmed in their destiny by the oppression and cruelty of neighbouring governments, increased by an avowed contempt for them as outcasts. the feeling this system of degradation has produced must be changed; and no effort has been left untried to restore this race of men to a better sense of their condition than that which they at present entertain. the common answer of a bhil when charged with theft or robbery is, 'i am not to blame; i am the thief of mahadeo'; in other words, 'my destiny as a thief has been fixed by god.'" the bhil chiefs, who were known as bhumia, exercised the most absolute power, and their orders to commit the most atrocious crimes were obeyed by their ignorant but attached subjects without a conception on the part of the latter that they had an option when he whom they termed their dhunni (lord) issued the mandates. [325] firearms and swords were only used by the chiefs and headmen of the tribe, and their national weapon was the bamboo bow having the bowstring made from a thin strip of its elastic bark. the quiver was a piece of strong bamboo matting, and would contain sixty barbed arrows a yard long, and tipped with an iron spike either flattened and sharpened like a knife or rounded like a nail; other arrows, used for knocking over birds, had knob-like heads. thus armed, the bhils would lie in wait in some deep ravine by the roadside, and an infernal yell announced their attack to the unwary traveller. [326] major hendley states that according to tradition in the mahabharata the god krishna was killed by a bhil's arrow, when he was fighting against them in gujarat with the yadavas; and on this account it was ordained that the bhil should never again be able to draw the bow with the forefinger of the right hand. "times have changed since then, but i noticed in examining their hands that few could move the forefinger without the second finger; indeed the fingers appeared useless as independent members of the hands. in connection with this may be mentioned their apparent inability to distinguish colours or count numbers, due alone to their want of words to express themselves." [327] 4. general outram and the khandesh bhil corps. the reclamation and pacification of the bhils is inseparably associated with the name of lieutenant, afterwards sir james, outram. the khandesh bhil corps was first raised by him in 1825, when bhil robber bands were being hunted down by small parties of troops, and those who were willing to surrender were granted a free pardon for past offences, and given grants of land for cultivation and advances for the purchase of seed and bullocks. when the first attempts to raise the corps were made, the bhils believed that the object was to link them in line like galley-slaves with a view to extirpate the race, that blood was in high demand as a medicine in the country of their foreign masters, and so on. indulging the wild men with feasts and entertainments, and delighting them with his matchless urbanity, captain outram at length contrived to draw over to the cause nine recruits, one of whom was a notorious plunderer who had a short time before successfully robbed the officer commanding a detachment sent against him. this infant corps soon became strongly attached to the person of their new chief and entirely devoted to his wishes; their goodwill had been won by his kind and conciliatory manners, while their admiration and respect had been thoroughly roused and excited by his prowess and valour in the chase. on one occasion, it is recorded, word was brought to outram of the presence of a panther in some prickly-pear shrubs on the side of a hill near his station. he went to shoot it with a friend, outram being on foot and his friend on horseback searching through the bushes. when close on the animal, outram's friend fired and missed, on which the panther sprang forward roaring and seized outram, and they rolled down the hill together. being released from the claws of the furious beast for a moment, outram with great presence of mind drew a pistol which he had with him, and shot the panther dead. the bhils, on seeing that he had been injured, were one and all loud in their grief and expressions of regret, when outram quieted them with the remark, 'what do i care for the clawing of a cat?' and this saying long remained a proverb among the bhils. [328] by his kindness and sympathy, listening freely to all that each single man in the corps had to say to him, outram at length won their confidence, convinced them of his good faith and dissipated their fears of treachery. soon the ranks of the corps became full, and for every vacant place there were numbers of applicants. the bhils freely hunted down and captured their friends and relations who continued to create disturbances, and brought them in for punishment. outram managed to check their propensity for liquor by paying them every day just sufficient for their food, and giving them the balance of their pay at the end of the month, when some might have a drinking bout, but many preferred to spend the money on ornaments and articles of finery. with the assistance of the corps the marauding tendencies of the hill bhils were suppressed and tranquillity restored to khandesh, which rapidly became one of the most fertile parts of india. during the mutiny the bhil corps remained loyal, and did good service in checking the local outbursts which occurred in khandesh. a second battalion was raised at this time, but was disbanded three years afterwards. after this the corps had little or nothing to do, and as the absence of fighting and the higher wages which could be obtained by ordinary labour ceased to render it attractive to the bhils, it was finally converted into police in 1891. [329] 5. subdivisions. the bhils of the central provinces have now only two subdivisions, the muhammadan bhils, who were forcibly converted to islam during the time of aurangzeb, and the remainder, who though retaining many animistic beliefs and superstitions, have practically become hindus. the muhammadan bhils only number about 3000 out of 28,000. they are known as tadvi, a name which was formerly applied to a bhil headman, and is said to be derived from _tad_, meaning a separate branch or section. these bhils marry among themselves and not with any other muhammadans. they retain many hindu and animistic usages, and are scarcely muhammadan in more than name. both classes are divided into groups or septs, generally named after plants or animals to which they still show reverence. thus the jamania sept, named after the _jaman_ tree, [330] will not cut or burn any part of this tree, and at their weddings the dresses of the bride and bridegroom are taken and rubbed against the tree before being worn. similarly the rohini sept worship the _rohan_ [331] tree, the avalia sept the _aonla_ [332] tree, the meheda sept the _bahera_ [333] tree, and so on. the mori sept worship the peacock. they go into the jungle and look for the tracks of a peacock, and spreading a piece of red cloth before the footprint, lay their offerings of grain upon it. members of this sept may not be tattooed, because they think the splashes of colour on the peacock's feathers are tattoo-marks. their women must veil themselves if they see a peacock, and they think that if any member of the sept irreverently treads on a peacock's footprints he will fall ill. the ghodmarya (horse-killer) sept may not tame a horse nor ride one. the masrya sept will not kill or eat fish. the sanyan or cat sept have a tradition that one of their ancestors was once chasing a cat, which ran for protection under a cover which had been put over the stone figure of their goddess. the goddess turned the cat into stone and sat on it, and since then members of the sept will not touch a cat except to save it from harm, and they will not eat anything which has been touched by a cat. the ghattaya sept worship the grinding mill at their weddings and also on festival days. the solia sept, whose name is apparently derived from the sun, are split up into four subsepts: the ada solia, who hold their weddings at sunrise; the japa solia, who hold them at sunset; the taria solia, who hold them when stars have become visible after sunset; and the tar solia, who believe their name is connected with cotton thread and wrap several skeins of raw thread round the bride and bridegroom at the wedding ceremony. the moharia sept worship the local goddess at the village of moharia in indore state, who is known as the moharia mata; at their weddings they apply turmeric and oil to the fingers of the goddess before rubbing them on the bride and bridegroom. the maoli sept worship a goddess of that name in barwani town. her shrine is considered to be in the shape of a kind of grain-basket known as _kilia_, and members of the sept may never make or use baskets of this shape, nor may they be tattooed with representations of it. women of the sept are not allowed to visit the shrine of the goddess, but may worship her at home. several septs have the names of rajput clans, as sesodia, panwar, mori, and appear to have originated in mixed unions between rajputs and bhils. 6. exogamy and marriage customs. a man must not marry in his own sept nor in the families of his mothers and grandmothers. the union of first cousins is thus prohibited, nor can girls be exchanged in marriage between two families. a wife's sister may also not be married during the wife's lifetime. the muhammadan bhils permit a man to marry his maternal uncle's daughter, and though he cannot marry his wife's sister he may keep her as a concubine. marriages may be infant or adult, but the former practice is becoming prevalent and girls are often wedded before they are eleven. matches are arranged by the parents of the parties in consultation with the caste _panchayat_; but in bombay girls may select their own husbands, and they have also a recognised custom of elopement at the tosina fair in the month of the mahi kantha. if a bhil can persuade a girl to cross the river there with him he may claim her as his wife; but if they are caught before getting across he is liable to be punished by the bride's father. [334] the betrothal and wedding ceremonies now follow the ordinary ritual of the middle and lower castes in the maratha country. [335] the bride must be younger than the bridegroom except in the case of a widow. a bride-price is paid which may vary from rs. 9 to 20; in the case of muhammadan bhils the bridegroom is said to give a dowry of rs. 20 to 25. when the ovens are made with the sacred earth they roast some of the large millet juari [336] for the family feast, calling this juari mata or the grain goddess. offerings of this are made to the family gods, and it is partaken of only by the members of the bride's and bridegroom's septs respectively at their houses. no outsider may even see this food being eaten. the leavings of food, with the leaf-plates on which it was eaten, are buried inside the house, as it is believed that if they should fall into the hands of any outsider the death or blindness of one of the family will ensue. when the bridegroom reaches the bride's house he strikes the marriage-shed with a dagger or other sharp instrument. a goat is killed and he steps in its blood as he enters the shed. a day for the wedding is selected by the priest, but it may also take place on any sunday in the eight fine months. if the wedding takes place on the eleventh day of kartik, that is on the expiration of the four rainy months when marriages are forbidden, they make a little hut of eleven stalks of juari with their cobs in the shape of a cone, and the bride and bridegroom walk round this. the services of a brahman are not required for such a wedding. sometimes the bridegroom is simply seated in a grain basket and the bride in a winnowing-fan; then their hands are joined as the sun is half set, and the marriage is completed. the bridegroom takes the basket and fan home with him. on the return of the wedding couple, their _kankans_ or wristbands are taken off at hanuman's temple. the muhammadan bhils perform the same ceremonies as the hindus, but at the end they call in the kazi or registrar, who repeats the muhammadan prayers and records the dowry agreed upon. the practice of the bridegroom serving for his wife is in force among both classes of bhils. 7. widow--marriage, divorce and polygamy. the remarriage of widows is permitted, but the widow may not marry any relative of her first husband. she returns to her father's house, and on her remarriage they obtain a bride-price of rs. 40 or 50, a quarter of which goes in a feast to the tribesmen. the wedding of a widow is held on the amawas or last day of the dark fortnight of the month, or on a sunday. a wife may be divorced for adultery without consulting the _panchayat_. it is said that a wife cannot otherwise be divorced on any account, nor can a woman divorce her husband, but she may desert him and go and live with a man. in this case all that is necessary is that the second husband should repay to the first as compensation the amount expended by the latter on his marriage with the woman. polygamy is permitted, and a second wife is sometimes taken in order to obtain children, but this number is seldom if ever exceeded. it is stated that the bhil married women are generally chaste and faithful to their husbands, and any attempt to tamper with their virtue on the part of an outsider is strongly resented by the man. 8. religion. the bhils worship the ordinary hindu deities and the village godlings of the locality. the favourite both with hindu and muhammadan bhils is khande rao or khandoba, the war-god of the marathas, who is often represented by a sword. the muhammadans and the hindu bhils also to a less extent worship the pirs or spirits of muhammadan saints at their tombs, of which there are a number in nimar. major hendley states that in mewar the seats or _sthans_ of the bhil gods are on the summits of high hills, and are represented by heaps of stones, solid or hollowed out in the centre, or mere platforms, in or near which are found numbers of clay or mud images of horses. [337] in some places clay lamps are burnt in front of the images of horses, from which it may be concluded that the horse itself is or was worshipped as a god. colonel tod states that the bhils will eat of nothing white in colour, as a white sheep or goat; and their grand adjuration is 'by the white ram.' [338] sir a. lyall [339] says that their principal oath is by the dog. the bhil sepoys told major hendley that they considered it of little use to go on worshipping their own gods, as the power of these had declined since the english became supreme. they thought the strong english gods were too much for the weak deities of their country, hence they were desirous of embracing brahmanism, which would also raise them in the social scale and give them a better chance of promotion in regiments where there were brahman officers. 9. witchcraft and amulets. they wear charms and amulets to keep off evil spirits; the charms are generally pieces of blue string with seven knots in them, which their witch-finder or badwa ties, reciting an incantation on each; the knots were sometimes covered with metal to keep them undefiled and the charms were tied on at the holi, dasahra or some other festival. [340] in bombay the bhils still believe in witches as the agents of any misfortunes that may befall them. if a man was sick and thought some woman had bewitched him, the suspected woman was thrown into a stream or swung from a tree. if the branch broke and the woman fell and suffered serious injury, or if she could not swim across the stream and sank, she was considered to be innocent and efforts were made to save her. but if she escaped without injury she was held to be a witch, and it frequently happened that the woman would admit herself to be one either from fear of the infliction of a harder ordeal, or to keep up the belief in her powers as a witch, which often secured her a free supper of milk and chickens. she would then admit that she had really bewitched the sick man and undertake to cure him on some sacrifice being made. if he recovered, the animal named by the witch was sacrificed and its blood given her to drink while still warm; either from fear or in order to keep up the character she would drink it, and would be permitted to stay on in the village. if, on the other hand, the sick person died, the witch would often be driven into the forest to die of hunger or to be devoured by wild animals. [341] these practices have now disappeared in the central provinces, though occasionally murders of suspected witches may still occur. the bhils are firm believers in omens, the nature of which is much the same as among the hindus. when a bhil is persistently unlucky in hunting, he sometimes says '_nat laga_,' meaning that some bad spirit is causing his ill-success. then he will make an image of a man in the sand or dust of the road, or sometimes two images of a man and woman, and throwing straw or grass over the images set it alight, and pound it down on them with a stick with abusive yells. this he calls killing his bad luck. [342] major hendley notes that the men danced before the different festivals and before battles. the men danced in a ring holding sticks and striking them against each other, much like the baiga dance. before battle they had a war-dance in which the performers were armed and imitated a combat. to be carried on the shoulders of one of the combatants was a great honour, perhaps because it symbolised being on horseback. the dance was probably in the nature of a magical rite, designed to obtain success in battle by going through an imitation of it beforehand. the priests are the chief physicians among the bhils, though most old men were supposed to know something about medicine. [343] 10. funeral rites. the dead are usually buried lying on the back, with the head pointing to the south. cooked food is placed on the bier and deposited on the ground half-way to the cemetery. on return each family of the sept brings a wheaten cake to the mourners and these are eaten. on the third day they place on the grave a thick cake of wheaten flour, water in an earthen pot and tobacco or any other stimulant which the deceased was in the habit of using in his life. 11. social customs. the hindu bhils say that they do not admit outsiders into the caste, but the muhammadans will admit a man of any but the impure castes. the neophyte must be shaved and circumcised, and the kazi gives him some holy water to drink and teaches him the profession of belief in islam. if a man is not circumcised, the tadvi or muhammadan bhils will not bury his body. both classes of bhils employ brahmans at their ceremonies. the tribe eat almost all kinds of flesh and drink liquor, but the hindus now abjure beef and the muhammadans pork. some bhils now refuse to take the skins off dead cattle, but others will do so. the bhils will take food from any caste except the impure ones, and none except these castes will now take food from them. temporary or permanent exclusion from caste is imposed for the same offences as among the hindus. 12. appearance and characteristics. the typical bhil is small, dark, broad-nosed and ugly, but well built and active. the average height of 128 men measured by major hendley was 5 feet 6.4 inches. the hands are somewhat small and the legs fairly developed, those of the women being the best. "the bhil is an excellent woodsman, knows the shortest cuts over the hills, can walk the roughest paths and climb the steepest crags without slipping or feeling distressed. he is often called in old sanskrit works venaputra, 'child of the forest,' or pal indra, 'lord of the pass.' these names well describe his character. his country is approached through narrow defiles (_pal_), and through these none could pass without his permission. in former days he always levied _rakhwali_ or blackmail, and even now native travellers find him quite ready to assert what he deems his just rights. the bhil is a capital huntsman, tracking and marking down tigers, panthers and bears, knowing all their haunts, the best places to shoot them, the paths they take and all those points so essential to success in big-game shooting; they will remember for years the spots where tigers have been disposed of, and all the circumstances connected with their deaths. the bhil will himself attack a leopard, and with his sword, aided by his friends, cut him to pieces." [344] their agility impressed the hindus, and an old writer says: "some bhil chieftains who attended the camp of sidhraj, king of gujarat, astonished him with their feats of activity; in his army they seemed as the followers of hanuman in attendance upon ram." [345] 13. occupation. the bhils have now had to abandon their free use of the forests, which was highly destructive in its effects, and their indiscriminate slaughter of game. many of them live in the open country and have become farmservants and field-labourers. a certain proportion are tenants, but very few own villages. some of the tadvi bhils, however, still retain villages which were originally granted free of revenue on condition of their keeping the hill-passes of the satpuras open and safe for travellers. these are known as hattiwala. bhils also serve as village watchmen in nimar and the adjoining tracts of the berar districts. captain forsyth, writing in 1868, described the bhils as follows: "the muhammadan bhils are with few exceptions a miserable lot, idle and thriftless, and steeped in the deadly vice of opium-eating. the unconverted bhils are held to be tolerably reliable. when they borrow money or stock for cultivation they seldom abscond fraudulently from their creditors, and this simple honesty of theirs tends, i fear, to keep numbers of them still in a state little above serfdom." [346] 14. language. the bhils have now entirely abandoned their own language and speak a corrupt dialect based on the aryan vernaculars current around them. the bhil dialect is mainly derived from gujarati, but it is influenced by marwari and marathi; in nimar especially it becomes a corrupt form of marathi. bhili, as this dialect is called, contains a number of non-aryan words, some of which appear to come from the mundari, and others from the dravidian languages; but these are insufficient to form any basis for a deduction as to whether the bhils belonged to the kolarian or dravidian race. [347] bhilala 1. general notice. _bhilala_, [348]--a small caste found in the nimar and hoshangabad districts of the central provinces and in central india. the total strength of the bhilalas is about 150,000 persons, most of whom reside in the bhopawar agency, adjoining nimar. only 15,000 were returned from the central provinces in 1911. the bhilalas are commonly considered, and the general belief may in their case be accepted as correct, to be a mixed caste sprung from the alliances of immigrant rajputs with the bhils of the central india hills. the original term was not improbably bhilwala, and may have been applied to those rajput chiefs, a numerous body, who acquired small estates in the bhil country, or to those who took the daughters of bhil chieftains to wife, the second course being often no doubt a necessary preliminary to the first. several bhilala families hold estates in nimar and indore, and their chiefs now claim to be pure rajputs. the principal bhilala houses, as those of bhamgarh, selani and mandhata, do not intermarry with the rest of the caste, but only among themselves and with other families of the same standing in malwa and holkar's nimar. on succession to the _gaddi_ or headship of the house, representatives of these families are marked with a _tika_ or badge on the forehead and sometimes presented with a sword, and the investiture may be carried out by custom by the head of another house. bhilala landholders usually have the title of rao or rawat. they do not admit that a bhilala can now spring from intermarriage between a rajput and a bhil. the local brahmans will take water from them and they are occasionally invested with the sacred thread at the time of marriage. the bhilala rao of mandhata is hereditary custodian of the great shrine of siva at onkar mandhata on an island in the nerbudda. according to the traditions of the family, their ancestor, bharat singh, was a chauhan rajput, who took mandhata from nathu bhil in a.d. 1165, and restored the worship of siva to the island, which had been made inaccessible to pilgrims by the terrible deities, kali and bhairava, devourers of human flesh. in such legends may be recognised the propagation of hinduism by the rajput adventurers and the reconsecration of the aboriginal shrines to its deities. bharat singh is said to have killed nathu bhil, but it is more probable that he only married his daughter and founded a bhilala family. similar alliances have taken place among other tribes, as the korku chiefs of the gawilgarh and mahadeo hills, and the gond princes of garha mandla. the bhilalas generally resemble other hindus in appearance, showing no marked signs of aboriginal descent. very probably they have all an infusion of rajput blood, as the rajputs settled in the bhil country in some strength at an early period of history. the caste have, however, totemistic group names; they will eat fowls and drink liquor; and they bury their dead with the feet to the north, all these customs indicating a dravidian origin. their subordinate position in past times is shown by the fact that they will accept cooked food from a kunbi or a gujar; and indeed the status of all except the chief's families would naturally have been a low one, as they were practically the offspring of kept women. as already stated, the landowning families usually arrange alliances among themselves. below these comes the body of the caste and below them is a group known as the chhoti tad or bastard bhilalas, to which are relegated the progeny of irregular unions and persons expelled from the caste for social offences. 2. marriage. the caste, for the purpose of avoiding marriages between relations, are also divided into exogamous groups called _kul_ or _kuri_, several of the names of which are of totemistic origin or derived from those of animals and plants. members of the jamra _kuri_ will not cut or burn the _jamun_ [349] tree; those of the saniyar _kuri_ will not grow _san_-hemp, while the astaryas revere the _sona_ [350] tree and the pipaladya, the _pipal_ tree. some of the _kuris_ have rajput sept names, as mori, baghel and solanki. a man is forbidden to take a wife from within his own sept or that of his mother, and the union of first cousins is also prohibited. the customs of the bhilalas resemble those of the kunbis and other cultivating castes. at their weddings four cart-yokes are arranged in a square, and inside this are placed two copper vessels filled with water and considered to represent the ganges and jumna. when the sun is half set, the bride and the bridegroom clasp hands and then walk seven times round the square of cart-yokes. the water of the pots is mixed and this is considered to represent the mingling of the bride's and bridegroom's personalities as the ganges and jumna meet at allahabad. a sum of about rs. 60 is usually paid by the parents of the bridegroom to those of the bride and is expended on the ceremony. the ordinary bhilalas have, mr. korke states, a simple form of wedding which may be gone through without consulting a brahman on the ekadashi or eleventh of kartik (october); this is the day on which the gods awake from sleep and marks the commencement of the marriage season. a cone is erected of eleven plants of juari, roots and all, and the couple simply walk round this seven times at night, when the marriage is complete. the remarriage of widows is permitted. the woman's forehead is marked with cowdung by another widow, probably as a rite of purification, and the cloths of the couple are tied together. 3. social customs. the caste commonly bury the dead and erect memorial stones at the heads of graves which they worship in the month of chait (april), smearing them with vermilion and making an offering of flowers. this may either be a dravidian usage or have been adopted by imitation from the muhammadans. the caste worship the ordinary hindu deities, but each family has a _kul-devi_ or household god, mr. korke remarks, to which they pay special reverence. the offerings made to the kul-devi must be consumed by the family alone, but married daughters are allowed to participate. they employ nimari brahmans as their priests, and also have _gurus_ or spiritual preceptors, who are gosains or bairagis. they will take food cooked with water from brahmans, rajputs, munda gujars and tirole kunbis. the last two groups are principal agricultural castes of the locality and the bhilalas are probably employed by them as farmservants, and hence accept cooked food from their masters in accordance with a common custom. the local brahmans of the nagar, naramdeo, baisa and other subcastes will take water from the hand of a bhilala. temporary excommunication from caste is imposed for the usual offences, such as going to jail, getting maggots in a wound, killing a cow, a dog or a squirrel, committing homicide, being beaten by a man of low caste, selling shoes at a profit, committing adultery, and allowing a cow to die with a rope round its neck; and further, for touching the corpses of a cow, cat or horse, or a barhai (carpenter) or chamar (tanner). they will not swear by a dog, a cat or a squirrel, and if either of the first two animals dies in a house, it is considered to be impure for a month and a quarter. the head of the caste committee has the designation of mandloi, which is a territorial title borne by several families in nimar. he receives a share of the fine levied for the _sarni_ or purification ceremony, when a person temporarily expelled is readmitted into caste. under the mandloi is the kotwal whose business is to summon the members to the caste assemblies; he also is paid out of the fines and his office is hereditary. 4. occupation and character. the caste are cultivators, farmservants and field-labourers, and a bhilala also usually held the office of mankar, a superior kind of kotwar or village watchman. the mankar did no dirty work and would not touch hides, but attended on any officer who came to the village and acted as a guide. where there was a village _sarai_ or rest-house, it was in charge of the mankar, who was frequently also known as zamindar. this may have been a recognition of the ancient rights of the bhilalas and bhils to the country. 5. character. captain forsyth, settlement officer of nimar, had a very unfavourable opinion of the bhilalas, whom he described as proverbial for dishonesty in agricultural engagements and worse drunkards than any of the indigenous tribes. [351] this judgment was probably somewhat too severe, but they are poor cultivators, and a bhilala's field may often be recognised by its slovenly appearance. [352] a century ago sir j. malcolm also wrote very severely of the bhilalas: "the bhilala and lundi chiefs were the only robbers in malwa whom under no circumstances travellers could trust. there are oaths of a sacred but obscure kind among those that are rajputs or who boast their blood, which are almost a disgrace to take, but which, they assert, the basest was never known to break before mandrup singh, a bhilala, and some of his associates, plunderers on the nerbudda, showed the example. the vanity of this race has lately been flattered by their having risen into such power and consideration that neighbouring rajput chiefs found it their interest to forget their prejudices and to condescend so far as to eat and drink with them. hatti singh, grassia chief of nowlana, a khichi rajput, and several others in the vicinity cultivated the friendship of nadir, the late formidable bhilala robber-chief of the vindhya range; and among other sacrifices made by the rajputs, was eating and drinking with him. on seeing this take place in my camp, i asked hatti singh whether he was not degraded by doing so; he said no, but that nadir was elevated." [353] bhishti _bhishti._--a small muhammadan caste of water-bearers. only 26 bhishtis were shown in the central provinces in 1901 and 278 in 1891. the tendency of the lower muhammadan castes, as they obtain some education, is to return themselves simply as muhammadans, the caste name being considered derogatory. the bhishtis are, however, a regular caste numbering over a lakh of persons in india, the bulk of whom belong to the united provinces. many of them are converts from hinduism, and they combine hindu and muhammadan practices. they have _gotras_ or exogamous sections, the names of which indicate the hindu origin of their members, as huseni brahman, samri chauhan, bahmangour and others. they prohibit marriage within the section and within two degrees of relationship on the mother's side. marriages are performed by the muhammadan ritual or nikah, but a brahman is sometimes asked to fix the auspicious day, and they erect a marriage-shed. the bridegroom goes to the bride's house riding on a horse, and when he arrives drops rs. 1-4 into a pot of water held by a woman. the bride whips the bridegroom's horse with a switch made of flowers. during the marriage the bride sits inside the house and the bridegroom in the shed outside. an agent or vakil with two witnesses goes to the bride and asks her whether she consents to marry the bridegroom, and when she gives her consent, as she always does, they go out and formally communicate it to the kazi. the dowry is then settled, and the bond of marriage is sealed. but when the parents of the bride are poor they receive a bride-price of rs. 30, from which they pay the dowry. the bhishtis worship their leather bag (_mashk_) as a sort of fetish, and burn incense before it on fridays. [354] the traditional occupation of the bhishti is to supply water, and he is still engaged in this and other kinds of domestic service. the name is said to be derived from the persian _bihisht_, 'paradise,' and to have been given to them on account of the relief which their ministrations afforded to the thirsty soldiery. [355] perhaps, too, the grandiloquent name was applied partly in derision, like similar titles given to other menial servants. they are also known as mashki or pakhali, after their leathern water-bag. the leather bag is a distinctive sign of the bhishti, but when he puts it away he may be recognised from the piece of red cloth which he usually wears round his waist. there is an interesting legend to the effect that the bhishti who saved the emperor humayun's life at chausa, and was rewarded by the tenure of the imperial throne for half a day, employed his short lease of power by providing for his family and friends, and caused his leather bag to be cut up into rupees, which were gilded and stamped with the record of his date and reign in order to perpetuate its memory. [356] the story of the bhishti obtaining his name on account of the solace which he afforded to the muhammadan soldiery finds a parallel in the case of the english army: the uniform 'e wore was nothin' much before, an' rather less than 'arf o' that be'ind, for a piece o' twisty rag an' a goatskin water-bag was all the field-equipment 'e could find. with 'is mussick on 'is back, 'e would skip with our attack, an' watch us till the bugles made 'retire,' an' for all 'is dirty 'ide 'e was white, clear white, inside when 'e went to tend the wounded under fire. [357] an excellent description of the bhishti as a household servant is contained in eha's _behind the bungalow_, [358] from which the following extract is taken: "if you ask: who is the bhishti? i will tell you. bihisht in the persian tongue means paradise, and a bihishtee is therefore an inhabitant of paradise, a cherub, a seraph, an angel of mercy. he has no wings; the painters have misconceived him; but his back is bowed down with the burden of a great goat-skin swollen to bursting with the elixir of life. he walks the land when the heaven above him is brass and the earth iron, when the trees and shrubs are languishing and the last blade of grass has given up the struggle for life, when the very roses smell only of dust, and all day long the roaming dust-devils waltz about the fields, whirling leaf and grass and cornstalk round and round and up and away into the regions of the sky; and he unties a leather thong which chokes the throat of his goat-skin just where the head of the poor old goat was cut off, and straightway, with a life-reviving gurgle, the stream called _thandha pani_ gushes forth, and plant and shrub lift up their heads and the garden smiles again. the dust also on the roads is laid, and a grateful incense rises from the ground, the sides of the water _chatti_ grow dark and moist and cool themselves in the hot air, and through the dripping interstices of the _khaskhas_ tattie a chilly fragrance creeps into the room, causing the mercury in the thermometer to retreat from its proud place. i like the bhishti and respect him. as a man he is temperate and contented, eating _bajri_ bread and slaking his thirst with his own element. and as a servant he is laborious and faithful, rarely shirking his work, seeking it out rather. for example, we had a bottle-shaped filter of porous stoneware, standing in a bucket of water which it was his duty to fill daily; but the good man, not content with doing his bare duty, took the plug out of the filter and filled it too. and all the station knows how assiduously he fills the rain-gauge." with the construction of water-works in large stations the bhishti is losing his occupation, and he is a far less familiar figure to the present generation of anglo-indians than to their predecessors. bhoyar 1. origin and traditions. _bhoyar, [359] bhoir_ (honorific titles, mahajan and patel).--a cultivating caste numbering nearly 60,000 persons in 1911, and residing principally in the betul and chhindwara districts. the bhoyars are not found outside the central provinces. they claim to be the descendants of a band of panwar rajputs, who were defending the town of dharanagri or dhar in central india when it was besieged by aurangzeb. their post was on the western part of the wall, but they gave way and fled into the town as the sun was rising, and it shone on their faces. hence they were called bhoyar from a word _bhor_ meaning morning, because they were seen running away in the morning. they were put out of caste by the other rajputs, and fled to the central provinces. the name may also be a variant of that of the bhagore rajputs. and another derivation is from _bhora_, a simpleton or timid person. their claim to be immigrants from central india is borne out by the fact that they still speak a corrupt form of the malwi dialect of rajputana, which is called after them bhoyari, and their bhats or genealogists come from malwa. but they have now entirely lost their position as rajputs. 2. subcastes and sections. the bhoyars are divided into the panwari, dholewar, chaurasia and daharia subcastes. the panwars are the most numerous and the highest, as claiming to be directly descended from panwar rajputs. they sometimes called themselves jagdeo panwars, jagdeo being the name of the king under whom they served in dharanagri. the dholewars take their name from dhola, a place in malwa, or from _dhol_, a drum. they are the lowest subcaste, and some of them keep pigs. it is probable that these subcastes immigrated with the malwa rajas in the fifteenth century, the dholewars being the earlier arrivals, and having from the first intermarried with the local dravidian tribes. the daharias take their name from dahar, the old name of the jubbulpore country, and may be a relic of the domination of the chedi kings of tewar. the name of the chaurasias is probably derived from the chaurasi or tract of eighty-four villages formerly held by the betul korku family of chandu. the last two subdivisions are numerically unimportant. the bhoyars have over a hundred _kuls_ or exogamous sections. the names of most of these are titular, but some are territorial and a few totemistic. instances of such names are onkar (the god siva), deshmukh and chaudhari, headman, hazari (a leader of 1000 horse), gore (fair-coloured), dongardiya (a lamp on a hill), pinjara (a cotton-cleaner), gadria (a shepherd), khaparia (a tyler), khawasi (a barber), chiknya (a sycophant), kinkar (a slave), dukhi (penurious), suplya toplya (a basket and fan maker), kasai (a butcher), gohattya (a cow-killer), and kalebhut (black devil). among the territorial sections may be mentioned sonpuria, from sonpur, and patharia, from the hill country. the name badnagrya is also really territorial, being derived from the town of badnagar, but the members of the section connect it with the _bad_ or banyan tree, the leaves of which they refrain from eating. two other totemistic gotras are the baranga and baignya, derived from the _barang_ plant (_kydia calycina_) and from the brinjal respectively. some sections have the names of rajput septs, as chauhan, parihar and panwar. this curiously mixed list of family names appears to indicate that the bhoyars originate from a small band of rajputs who must have settled in the district about the fifteenth century as military colonists, and taken their wives from the people of the country. they may have subsequently been recruited by fresh bands of immigrants who have preserved a slightly higher status. they have abandoned their old high position, and now rank below the ordinary cultivating castes like kunbis and kurmis who arrived later; while the caste has probably in times past also been recruited to a considerable extent by the admission of families of outsiders. 3. marriage. marriage within the _kul_ or family group is forbidden, as also the union of first cousins. girls are usually married young, and sometimes infants of one or two months are given in wedlock, while contracts of betrothal are made for unborn children if they should be of the proper sex, the mother's womb being touched with _kunku_ or red powder to seal the agreement. a small _dej_ or price is usually paid for the bride, amounting to rs. 5 with 240 lbs. of grain, and 8 seers of _ghi_ and oil. at the betrothal the joshi or astrologer is consulted to see whether the names of the couple make an auspicious conjunction. he asks for the names of the bride and bridegroom, and if these are found to be inimical another set of names is given, and the experiment is continued until a union is obtained which is astrologically auspicious. in order to provide for this contingency some bhoyars give their children ten or twelve names at birth. if all the names fail, the joshi invents new ones of his own, and in some way brings about the auspicious union to the satisfaction of both parties, who consider it no business of theirs to pry into the joshi's calculations or to question his methods. after the marriage-shed is erected the family god must be invoked to be present at the ceremony. he is asked to come and take his seat in an earthen pot containing a lighted wick, the pot being supported on a toy chariot made of sticks. a thread is coiled round the neck of the jar, and the bhoyars then place it in the middle of the house, confident that the god has entered it, and will ward off all calamities during the marriage. this is performed by the _bhanwar_ ceremony, seven earthen pots being placed in a row, while the bride and bridegroom walk round in a circle holding a basket with a lighted lamp in it. as each circle is completed, one pot is removed. this always takes place at night. the dholewars do not perform the _bhanwar_ ceremony, and simply throw sacred rice on the couple, and this is also done in wardha. sometimes the bhoyars dispense with the presence of the brahman and merely get some rice and juari consecrated by him beforehand, which they throw on the heads of the couple, and thereupon consider the marriage complete. weddings are generally held in the bright fortnight of baisakh (april-may), and sometimes can be completed in a single day. widow-marriage is allowed, but it is considered that the widow should marry a widower and not a bachelor. 4. occupation. the regular occupation of the bhoyars is agriculture, and they are good cultivators, growing much sugar-cane with well-irrigation. they are industrious, and their holdings on the rocky soils of the plateau districts are often cleared of stones at the cost of much labour. their women work in the fields. in betul they have the reputation of being much addicted to drink. 5. social status. they do not now admit outsiders, but their family names show that at one time they probably did so, and this laxity of feeling survives in the toleration with which they readmit into caste a woman who has gone wrong with an outsider. they eat flesh and fowls, and the dholewars eat pork, while as already stated they are fond of liquor. to have a shoe thrown on his house by a caste-fellow is a serious degradation for a bhoyar, and he must break his earthen pots, clean his house and give a feast. to be beaten with a shoe by a low caste like mahar entails shaving the moustaches and paying a heavy fine, which is spent on a feast. the bhoyars do not take food from any caste but brahmans, but no caste higher than kunbis and malis will take water from them. in social status they rank somewhat below kunbis. in appearance they are well built, and often of a fair complexion. unmarried girls generally wear skirts instead of _saris_ or cloths folding between the legs; they also must not wear toe-rings. women of the panwar subcaste wear glass bangles on the left hand, and brass ones on the right. all women are tattooed. they both burn and bury the dead, placing the corpse on the pyre with its head to the south or west, and in wardha to the north. here they have a peculiar custom as regards mourning, which is observed only till the next monday or thursday whichever falls first. thus the period of mourning may extend from one to four days. the bhoyars are considered in wardha to be more than ordinarily timid, and also to be considerable simpletons, while they stand in much awe of government officials, and consider it a great misfortune to be brought into a court of justice. very few of them can read and write. bhuiya list of paragraphs 1. _the tribe and its name._ 2. _distribution of the tribe._ 3. _example of the position of the aborigines in hindu society._ 4. _the bhuiyas a kolarian tribe._ 5. _the baigas and the bhuiyas. chhattisgarh the home of the baigas._ 6. _the baigas a branch of the bhuiyas._ 7. _tribal subdivisions._ 8. _exogamous septs._ 9. _marriage customs._ 10. _widow-marriage and divorce._ 11. _religion._ 12. _religious dancing._ 13. _funeral rites and inheritance._ 14. _physical appearance and occupation._ 15. _social customs._ 1. the tribe and its name. _bhuiya, bhuinhar, bhumia._ [360]--the name of a very important tribe of chota nagpur, bengal and orissa. the bhuiyas numbered more than 22,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911, being mainly found in the sarguja and jashpur states. in bengal and bihar the bhuiyas proper count about half a million persons, while the musahar and khandait castes, both of whom are mainly derived from the bhuiyas, total together well over a million. the name bhuiya means 'lord of the soil,' or 'belonging to the soil,' and is a sanskrit derivative. the tribe have completely forgotten their original name, and adopted this designation conferred on them by the immigrant aryans. the term bhuiya, however, is also employed by other tribes and by some hindus as a title for landholders, being practically equivalent to zamindar. and hence a certain confusion arises, and classes or individuals may have the name of bhuiya without belonging to the tribe at all. "in most parts of chota nagpur," sir h. risley says, "there is a well-known distinction between a bhuiya by tribe and a bhuiya by title. the bhuiyas of bonai and keonjhar described by colonel dalton belong to the former category; the bhuiya mundas and oraons to the latter. the distinction will be made somewhat clearer if it is explained that every 'tribal bhuiya' will as a matter of course describe himself as bhuiya, while a member of another tribe will only do so if he is speaking with reference to a question of land, or desires for some special reason to lay stress on his status as a landholder or agriculturist." we further find in bengal and benares a caste of landholders known as bhuinhar or babhan, who are generally considered as a somewhat mixed and inferior group of brahman and rajput origin. both sir h. risley and mr. crooke adopt this view and deny any connection between the bhuinhars and the bhuiya tribes. babhan appears to be a corrupt form of brahman. mr. mazumdar, however, states that bhuiya is never used in bengali as an equivalent for zamindar or landholder, and he considers that the bhuinhars and also the barah bhuiyas, a well-known group of twelve landholders of eastern bengal and assam, belonged to the bhuiya tribe. he adduces from sir e. gait's _history of assam_ the fact that the chutias and bhuiyas were dominant in that country prior to its conquest by the ahoms in the thirteenth century, and considers that these chutias gave their name to chutia or chota nagpur. i am unable to express any opinion on mr. mazumdar's argument, and it is also unnecessary as the question does not concern the central provinces. 2. distribution of the tribe. the principal home of the bhuiya tribe proper is the south of the chota nagpur plateau, comprised in the gangpur, bonai, keonjhar and bamra states. "the chiefs of these states," colonel dalton says, "now call themselves rajputs; if they be so, they are strangely isolated families of rajputs. the country for the most part belongs to the bhuiya sub-proprietors. they are a privileged class, holding as hereditaments the principal offices of the state, and are organised as a body of militia. the chiefs have no right to exercise any authority till they have received the _tilak_ or token of investiture from their powerful bhuiya vassals. their position altogether renders their claim to be considered rajputs extremely doubtful, and the stories told to account for their acquisition of the dignity are palpable fables. they were no doubt all bhuiyas originally; they certainly do not look like rajputs." members of the tribe are the household servants of the bamra raja's family, and it is said that the first raja of bamra was a child of the patna house, who was stolen from his home and anointed king of bamra by the bhuiyas and khonds. similarly colonel dalton records the legend that the bhuiyas twenty-seven generations ago stole a child of the moharbhanj raja's family, brought it up amongst them and made it their raja. he was freely admitted to intercourse with bhuiya girls, and the children of this intimacy are the progenitors of the rajkuli branch of the tribe. but they are not considered first among bhuiyas because they are not of pure bhuiya descent. again the raja of keonjhar is always installed by the bhuiyas. these facts indicate that the bhuiyas were once the rulers of chota nagpur and are recognised as the oldest inhabitants of the country. from this centre they have spread north through lohardaga and hazaribagh and into southern bihar, where large numbers of bhuiyas are encountered on whom the opprobrious designation of musahar or 'rat-eater' has been conferred by their hindu neighbours. others of the tribe who travelled south from chota nagpur experienced more favourable conditions, and here the tendency has been for the bhuiyas to rise rather than to decline in social status. "some of their leading families," sir h. risley states, "have come to be chiefs of the petty states of orissa, and have now sunk the bhuiya in the khandait or swordsman, a caste of admitted respectability in orissa and likely in course of time to transform itself into some variety of rajput." 3. example of the position of the aborigines in hindu society. the varying status of the bhuiyas in bihar, chota nagpur and orissa is a good instance of the different ways in which the primitive tribes have fared in contact with the immigrant aryans. where the country has been completely colonised and populated by hindus, as in bihar, the aboriginal residents have commonly become transformed into village drudges, relegated to the meanest occupations, and despised as impure by the hindu cultivators, like the chamars of northern india and the mahars of the maratha districts. where the hindu immigration has only been partial and the forests have not been cleared, as in chota nagpur and the central provinces, they may keep their old villages and tribal organisation and be admitted as a body into the hierarchy of caste, ranking above the impure castes but below the hindu cultivators. this is the position of the gonds, baigas and other tribes in these tracts. while, if the hindus come only as colonists and not as rulers, the indigenous residents may retain the overlordship of the soil and the landed proprietors among them may be formed into a caste ranking with the good cultivating castes of the aryans. instances of such are the khandaits of orissa, the binjhwars of chhattisgarh and the bhilalas of nimar and indore. 4. the bhuiyas a kolarian tribe. the bhuiyas have now entirely forgotten their own language and speak hindi, uriya and bengali, according as each is the dominant vernacular of their hindu neighbours. they cannot therefore on the evidence of language be classified as a munda or kolarian or as a dravidian tribe. colonel dalton was inclined to consider them as dravidian: [361] "mr. stirling in his account of orissa classes them among the kols; but there are no grounds that i know of for so connecting them. as i have said above, they appear to me to be linked with the dravidian rather than with the kolarian tribes." his account, however, does not appear to contain any further evidence in support of this view; and, on the other hand, he identifies the bhuiyas with the savars or saonrs. speaking of the bendkars or savars of keonjhar, he says: "it is difficult to regard them otherwise than as members of the great bhuiya family, and thus connecting them we link the bhuiyas and savaras and give support to the conjecture that the former are dravidian." but it is now shown in the _linguistic survey_ that the savars have a munda dialect. in chota nagpur this has been forgotten, and the tribe speak hindi or uriya like the bhuiyas, but it remains in the hilly tracts of ganjam and vizagapatam. [362] savara is closely related to kharia and juang, the dialects of two of the most primitive munda tribes. the savars must therefore be classed as a munda or kolarian tribe, and since colonel dalton identified the bhuiyas with the savars of chota nagpur, his evidence appears really to be in favour of the kolarian origin of the bhuiyas. he notes further that the ceremony of naming children among the bhuiyas is identical with that of the mundas and hos. [363] mr. mazumdar writes: "judging from the external appearance and general physical type one would be sure to mistake a bhuiya for a munda. their habits and customs are essentially mundari. the bhuiyas who live in and around the district of manbhum are not much ashamed to admit that they are kol people; and bhumia kol is the name that has been given them there by the hindus. the mundas and larka-kols of chota nagpur tell us that they first established themselves there by driving out the bhuiyas; and it seems likely that the bhuiyas formed the first batch of the munda immigrants in chota nagpur and became greatly hinduised there, and on that account were not recognised by the mundas as people of their kin." if the tradition of the mundas and kols that they came to chota nagpur after the bhuiyas be accepted, and tradition on the point of priority of immigration is often trustworthy, then it follows that the bhuiyas must be a munda tribe. for the main distinction other than that of language between the munda and dravidian tribes is that the former were the earlier and the latter subsequent immigrants. the claim of the bhuiyas to be the earliest residents of chota nagpur is supported by the fact that they officiate as priests in certain temples. because in primitive religion the jurisdiction of the gods is entirely local, and foreigners bringing their own gods with them are ignorant of the character and qualities of the local deities, with which the indigenous residents are, on the other hand, well acquainted. hence the tendency of later comers to employ these latter in the capacity of priests of the godlings of the earth, corn, forests and hills. colonel dalton writes: [364] "it is strange that these hinduised bhuiyas retain in their own hands the priestly duties of certain old shrines to the exclusion of brahmans. this custom has no doubt descended in bhuiya families from the time when brahmans were not, or had obtained no footing amongst them, and when the religion of the land and the temples were not hindu; they are now indeed dedicated to hindu deities, but there are evidences of the temples having been originally occupied by other images. at some of these shrines human sacrifices were offered every third year and this continued till the country came under british rule." and again of the pauri bhuiyas of keonjhar: "the pauris dispute with the juangs the claim to be the first settlers in keonjhar, and boldly aver that the country belongs to them. they assert that the raja is of their creation and that the prerogative of installing every new raja on his accession is theirs, and theirs alone. the hindu population of keonjhar is in excess of the bhuiya and it comprises gonds and kols, but the claim of the pauris to the dominion they arrogate is admitted by all; even brahmans and rajputs respectfully acknowledge it, and the former by the addition of brahmanical rites to the wild ceremonies of the bhuiyas affirm and sanctify their installation." in view of this evidence it seems a probable hypothesis that the bhuiyas are the earliest residents of these parts of chota nagpur and that they are a kolarian tribe. 5. the baigas and the bhuiyas. chhattisgarh the home of the baigas. there appears to be considerable reason for supposing that the baiga tribe of the central provinces are really a branch of the bhuiyas. though the baigas are now mainly returned from mandla and balaghat, it seems likely that these districts were not their original home, and that they emigrated from chhattisgarh into the satpura hills on the western borders of the plain. the hill country of mandla and the maikal range of balaghat form one of the wildest and most inhospitable tracts in the province, and it is unlikely that the baigas would have made their first settlements here and spread thence into the fertile plain of chhattisgarh. migration in the opposite direction would be more natural and probable. but it is fairly certain that the baiga tribe were among the earliest if not the earliest residents of the chhattisgarh plain and the hills north and east of it. the bhaina, bhunjia and binjhwar tribes who still reside in this country can all be recognised as offshoots of the baigas. in the article on bhaina it is shown that some of the oldest forts in bilaspur are attributed to the bhainas and a chief of this tribe is remembered as having ruled in bilaigarh south of the mahanadi. they are said to have been dominant in pendra where they are still most numerous, and to have been expelled from phuljhar in raipur by the gonds. the binjhwars or binjhals again are an aristocratic subdivision of the baigas, belonging to the hills east of chhattisgarh and the uriya plain country of sambalpur beyond them. the zamindars of bodasamar, rampur, bhatgaon and other estates to the south and east of the chhattisgarh plain are members of this tribe. both the bhainas and binjhwars are frequently employed as priests of the village deities all over this area, and may therefore be considered as older residents than the gond and kawar tribes and the hindus. sir g. grierson also states that the language of the baigas of mandla and balaghat is a form of chhattisgarhi, and this is fairly conclusive evidence of their first having belonged to chhattisgarh. [365] it seems not unlikely that the baigas retreated into the hills round chhattisgarh after the hindu invasion and establishment of the haihaya rajput dynasty of ratanpur, which is now assigned to the ninth century of the christian era; just as the gonds retired from the nerbudda valley and the nagpur plain before the hindus several centuries later. sir h. risley states that the binjhias or binjhwars of chota nagpur say that their ancestors came from ratanpur twenty generations ago. [366] 6. the baigas a branch of the bhuiyas. but the chhattisgarh plain and the hills north and east of it are adjacent to and belong to the same tract of country as the chota nagpur states, which are the home of the bhuiyas. sir h. risley gives baiga as a name for a sorcerer, and as a synonym or title of the khairwar tribe in chota nagpur, possibly having reference to the idea that they, being among the original inhabitants of the country, are best qualified to play the part of sorcerer and propitiate the local gods. it has been suggested in the article on khairwar that that tribe are a mongrel offshoot of the santals and cheros, but the point to be noticed here is the use of the term baiga in chota nagpur for a sorcerer; and a sorcerer may be taken as practically equivalent for a priest of the indigenous deities, all tribes who act in this capacity being considered as sorcerers by the hindus. if the bhuiyas of chota nagpur had the title of baiga, it is possible that it may have been substituted for the proper tribal name on their migration to the central provinces. mr. crooke distinguishes two tribes in mirzapur whom he calls the bhuiyas and bhuiyars. the bhuiyas of mirzapur seem to be clearly a branch of the bhuiya tribe of chota nagpur, with whom their section-names establish their identity. [367] mr. crooke states that the bhuiyas are distinguished with very great difficulty from the bhuiyars with whom they are doubtless very closely connected. [368] of the bhuiyars [369] he writes that the tribe is also known as baiga, because large numbers of the aboriginal local priests are derived from this caste. he also states that "most bhuiyars are baigas and officiate in their own as well as allied tribes; in fact, as already stated, one general name for the tribe is baiga." [370] it seems not unlikely that these bhuiyars are the baigas of the central provinces and that they went to mirzapur from here with the gonds. their original name may have been preserved or revived there, while it has dropped out of use in this province. the name baiga in the central provinces is sometimes applied to members of other tribes who serve as village priests, and, as has already been seen, it is used in the same sense in chota nagpur. the baigas of mandla are also known as bhumia, which is only a variant of bhuiya, having the same meaning of lord of the soil or belonging to the soil. both bhuiya and bhumia are in fact nearly equivalent to our word 'aboriginal,' and both are names given to the tribe by the hindus and not originally that by which its members called themselves. it would be quite natural that a branch of the bhuiyas, who settled in the central provinces and were commonly employed as village priests by the hindus and gonds should have adopted the name of the office, baiga, as their tribal designation; just as the title of munda or village headman has become the name of one branch of the kol tribe, and bhumij, another term equivalent to bhuiya, of a second branch. mr. a. f. hewitt, settlement officer of raipur, considered that the buniyas of that district were the same tribe as the bhuiyas of the garhjat states. [371] by buniya he must apparently have meant the bhunjia tribe of raipur, who as already stated are an offshoot of the baigas. colonel dalton describes the dances of the bhuiyas of chota nagpur as follows: [372] "the men have each a wide kind of tambourine. they march round in a circle, beating these and singing a very simple melody in a minor key on four notes. the women dance opposite to them with their heads covered and bodies much inclined, touching each other like soldiers in line, but not holding hands or wreathing arms like the kols." this account applies very closely to the sela and rina dances of the baigas. the sela dance is danced by men only who similarly march round in a circle, though they do not carry tambourines in the central provinces. here, however, they sometimes carry sticks and march round in opposite directions, passing in and out and hitting their sticks against each other as they meet, the movement being exactly like the grand chain in the lancers. similarly the baiga women dance the rina dance by themselves, standing close to each other and bending forward, but not holding each other by the hands and arms, just as described by colonel dalton. the gonds now also have the sela and rina dances, but admit that they are derived from the baigas. another point of some importance is that the bhuiyas of chota nagpur and the baigas and the tribes derived from them in the central provinces have all completely abandoned their own language and speak a broken form of that of their hindu neighbours. as has been seen, too, the bhuiyas are commonly employed as priests in chota nagpur, and there seems therefore to be a strong case for the original identity of the two tribes. [373] both the baigas and bhuiyas, however, have now become greatly mixed with the surrounding tribes, the baigas of mandla and balaghat having a strong gond element. 7. tribal sub-divisions. in singhbhum the bhuiyas call themselves _pawan-bans_ or 'the children of the wind,' and in connection with hanuman's title of _pawan-ka-put_ or 'the son of the wind,' are held to be the veritable apes of the ramayana who, under the leadership of hanuman, the monkey-god, assisted the aryan hero rama on his expedition to ceylon. this may be compared with the name given to the gonds of the central provinces of rawanbansi, or descendants of rawan, the idea being that their ancestors were the subjects of rawan, the demon king of ceylon, who was conquered by rama. "all bhuiyas," sir h. risley states, "affect great reverence for the memory of rikhmun or rikhiasan, whom they regard, some as a patron deity, others as a mythical ancestor, whose name distinguishes one of the divisions of the tribe. it seems probable that in the earliest stage of belief rikhmun was the bear-totem of a sept of the tribe, that later on he was transformed into an ancestral hero, and finally promoted to the rank of a tribal god." the rikhiasan mahatwar subtribe of the bhuiyas in the central provinces are named after this hero rikhmun; the designation of mahatwar signifies that they are the mahtos or leaders of the bhuiyas. the khandaits or paiks are another subcaste formed from those who became soldiers; in orissa they are now, as already stated, a separate caste of fairly high rank. the parja or 'subject people' are the ordinary bhuiyas, probably those living in hindu tracts. the dhur or 'dust' gonds, and the parja gonds of bastar may be noted as a parallel in nomenclature. the rautadi are a territorial group, taking their name from a place called raotal. the khandaits practise hypergamy with the rautadi, taking daughters from them, but not giving their daughters to them. the pabudia or madhai are the hill bhuiyas, and are the most wild and backward portion of the tribe. dalton writes of them in keonjhar: "they are not bound to fight for the raja, though they occasionally take up arms against him. their duty is to attend on him and carry his loads when he travels about, and so long as they are satisfied with his person and his rule, no more willing or devoted subjects could be found. they are then in keonjhar, as in bonai, a race whom you cannot help liking and taking an interest in from the primitive simplicity of their customs, their amenability and their anxiety to oblige; but unsophisticated as they are they wield an extraordinary power in keonjhar, and when they take it into their heads to use that power, the country may be said to be governed by an oligarchy composed of the sixty chiefs of the pawri desh, the bhuiya highlands. a knotted string passed from village to village in the name of the sixty chiefs throws the entire country into commotion, and the order verbally communicated in connection with it is as implicitly obeyed as if it emanated from the most potent despot." this knotted string is known as _ganthi_. the pabudias say that their ancestors were twelve brothers belonging to keonjhar, of whom eight went to an unknown country, while the remaining four divided among themselves all the territory of which they had knowledge, this being comprised in the four existing states of keonjhar, bamra, palahara and bonai. any pabudia who takes up his residence permanently beyond the boundaries of these four states is considered to lose his caste, like hindus in former times who went to dwell in the foreign country beyond the indus. [374] but if the wandering pabudia returns in two years, and proves that he has not drunk water from any other caste, he is taken back into the fold. other subdivisions are the kati or khatti and the bathudia, these last being an inferior group who are said to be looked down on because they have taken food from other low castes. no doubt they are really the offspring of irregular unions. 8. exogamus septs. in raigarh the bhuiyas appear to have no exogamous divisions. when they wish to arrange a marriage they compare the family gods of the parties, and if these are not identical and there is no recollection of a common ancestor for three generations, the union is permitted. in sambalpur, however, mr. mazumdar states, all bhuiyas are divided into the following twelve septs: thakur, or the clan of royal blood; saont, from _samanta_, a viceroy; padhan, a village headman; naik, a military leader; kalo, a wizard or priest; dehri, also a priest; chatria, one who carried the royal umbrella; sahu, a moneylender; majhi, a headman; behra, manager of the household; amata, counsellor; and dandsena, a police official. the dehrin sept still worship the village gods on behalf of the tribe. 9. marriage customs. marriage is adult, but the more civilised bhuiyas are gradually adopting hindu usages, and parents arrange matches for their children while they are still young. among the pabudias some primitive customs survive. they have the same system as the oraons, by which all the bachelors of the village sleep in one large dormitory; this is known as dhangarbasa, _dhangar_ meaning a farmservant or young man, or mandarghar, the house of the drums, because these instruments are kept in it. "some villages," colonel dalton states, "have a dhangaria basa, or house for maidens, which, strange to say, they are allowed to occupy without any one to look after them. they appear to have very great liberty, and slips of morality, so long as they are confined to the tribe, are not much heeded." this intimacy between boys and girls of the same village does not, however, commonly end in marriage, for which a partner should be sought from another village. for this purpose the girls go in a body, taking with them some ground rice decorated with flowers. they lay this before the elders of the village they have entered, saying, 'keep this or throw it into the water, as you prefer.' the old men pick up the flowers, placing them behind their ears. in the evening all the boys of the village come and dance with the girls, with intervals for courtship, half the total number of couples dancing and sitting out alternately. this goes on all night, and in the morning any couples who have come to an understanding run away together for a day or two. the boy's father must present a rupee and a piece of cloth to the girl's mother, and the marriage is considered to be completed. among the pabudia or madhai bhuiyas the bride-price consists of two bullocks or cows, one of which is given to the girl's father and the other to her brother. the boy's father makes the proposal for marriage, and the consent of the girl is necessary. at the wedding turmeric and rice are offered to the sun; some rice is then placed on the girl's head and turmeric rubbed on her body, and a brass ring is placed on her finger. the bridegroom's father says to him, "this girl is ours now: if in future she becomes one-eyed, lame or deaf, she will still be ours." the ceremony concludes with the usual feast and drinking bout. if the boy's father cannot afford the bride-price the couple sometimes run away from home for two or three days, when their parents go in search of them and they are brought back and married in the boy's house. 10. widow-marriage and divorce. a widow is often taken by the younger brother of the deceased husband, though no compulsion is exerted over her. but the match is common because the bhuiyas have the survival of fraternal polyandry, which consists in allowing unmarried younger brothers to have access to an elder brother's wife during his lifetime. [375] divorce is allowed for misconduct on the part of the wife or mutual disagreement. 11. religion. the bhuiyas commonly take as their principal deity the spirit of the nearest mountain overlooking their village, and make offerings to it of butter, rice and fowls. in april they present the first-fruits of the mango harvest. they venerate the sun as dharam deota, but no offerings are made to him. nearly all bhuiyas worship the cobra, and some of them call it their mother and think they are descended from it. they will not touch or kill a cobra, and do not swear by it. in rairakhol they venerate a goddess, rambha devi, who may be a corn-goddess, as the practice of burning down successive patches of jungle and sowing seed on each for two or three years is here known as _rambha_. they think that the sun and moon are sentient beings, and that fire and lightning are the children of the sun, and the stars the children of the moon. one day the moon invited the sun to dinner and gave him very nice food, so that the sun asked what it was. the moon said she had cooked her own children, and on this the sun went home and cooked all his children and ate them, and this is the reason why there are no stars during the day. but his eldest son, fire, went and hid in a _rengal_ tree, and his daughter, the lightning, darted hither and thither so that the sun could not catch her. and when night came again, and the stars came out, the sun saw how the moon had deceived him and cursed her, saying that she should die for fifteen days in every month. and this is the reason for the waxing and waning of the moon. ever since this event fire has remained hidden in a _rengal_ tree, and when the bhuiyas want him they rub two pieces of its wood together and he comes out. this is the bhuiya explanation of the production of fire from the friction of wood. 12. religious dancing. in the month of kartik (october), or the next month, they bring from the forest a branch of the _karm_ tree and venerate it and perform the _karma_ dance in front of it. they think that this worship and dance will cause the _karma_ tree, the mango, the jack-fruit and the mahua to bear a full crop of fruit. monday, wednesday and friday are considered the proper days for worshipping the deities, and children are often named on a friday. 13. funeral rites and inheritance. the dead are either buried or burnt, the corpse being placed always with the feet pointing to its native village. on the tenth day the soul of the dead person is called back to the house. but if a man is killed by a tiger or by falling from a tree no mourning is observed for him, and his soul is not brought back. to perish from snake-bite is considered a natural death, and in such cases the usual obsequies are awarded. this is probably because they revere the cobra as their first mother. the pabudia bhuiyas throw four to eight annas' worth of copper on to the pyre or into the grave, and if the deceased had a cow some _ghi_ or melted butter. no division of property can take place during the lifetime of either parent, but when both have died the children divide the inheritance, the eldest son taking two shares and the others one equal share each. 14. physical appearance and occupation. colonel dalton describes the bhuiyas as, "a dark-brown, well-proportioned race, with black, straight hair, plentiful on the head, but scant on the face, of middle height, figures well knit and capable of enduring great fatigue, but light-framed like the hindu rather than presenting the usual muscular development of the hillman." their dress is scanty, and in the tributary states dalton says that the men and women all wear dresses of brown cotton cloth. this may be because white is a very conspicuous colour in the forests. they wear ornaments and beads, and are distinctive in that neither men nor women practise tattooing, though in some localities this rule is not observed by the women. to keep themselves warm at night they kindle two fires and sleep between them, and this custom has given rise to the saying, 'wherever you see a bhuiya he always has a fire.' in bamra the bhuiyas still practise shifting cultivation, for which they burn the forest growth from the hillsides and sow oilseeds in the fresh soil. this method of agriculture is called locally khasrathumi. they obtain their lands free from the raja in return for acting as luggage porters and coolies. in bamra they will not serve as farm-servants or labourers for hire, but elsewhere they are more docile. 15. social customs. a woman divorced for adultery is not again admitted to caste intercourse. her parents take her to their village, where she has to live in a separate hut and earn her own livelihood. if any bhuiya steals from a kol, ganda or ghasia he is permanently put out of caste, while for killing a cow the period of expulsion is twelve years. the emblem of the bhuiyas is a sword, in reference to their employment as soldiers, and this they affix to documents in place of their signature. bhulia _bhulia, [376] bholia, bhoriya, bholwa, mihir, mehar._--a caste of weavers in the uriya country. in 1901 the bhulias numbered 26,000 persons, but with the transfer of sambalpur and the uriya states to bengal this figure has been reduced to 5000. a curious fact about the caste is that though solely domiciled in the uriya territories, many families belonging to it talk hindi in their own houses. according to one of their traditions they immigrated to this part of the country with the first chauhan raja of patna, and it may be that they are members of some northern caste who have forgotten their origin and taken to a fresh calling in the land of their adoption. the koshtas of chhattisgarh have a subcaste called bhoriya, and possibly the bhulias have some connection with these. the caste sometimes call themselves devang, and devang or devangan is the name of another subcaste of koshtis. various local derivations of the name are current, generally connecting it with _bhulna_, to forget. the bhulias occupy a higher rank than the ordinary weavers, corresponding with that of the koshtis elsewhere, and this is to some extent considered to be an unwarranted pretension. thus one saying has it: "formerly a son was born from a chandal woman; at that time none were aware of his descent or rank, and so he was called bhulia (one who is forgotten). he took the loom in his hands and became the brother-in-law of the ganda." the object here is obviously to relegate the bhulia to the same impure status as the ganda. again the bhulias affect the honorific title of meher, and another saying addresses them thus: "why do you call yourself meher? you make a hole in the ground and put your legs into it and are like a cow with foot-and-mouth disease struggling in the mud." the allusion here is to the habit of the weaver of hollowing out a hole for his feet as he sits before the loom, while cattle with foot-and-mouth disease are made to stand in mud to cool and cleanse the feet. the caste have no subcastes, except that in kalahandi a degraded section is recognised who are called sanpara bhulias, and with whom the others refuse to intermarry. these are, there is little reason to doubt, the progeny of illicit unions. they say that they have two _gotras_, nagas from the cobra and kachhap from the tortoise. but these have only been adopted for the sake of respectability, and exercise no influence on marriage, which is regulated by a number of exogamous groups called _vansa_. the names of the _vansas_ are usually either derived from villages or are titles or nicknames. two of them, bagh (tiger) and kimir (crocodile), are totemistic, while two more, kumhar (potter) and dhuba (washerman), are the names of other castes. examples of titular names are bankra (crooked), ranjujha (warrior), kodjit (one who has conquered a score of people) and others. the territorial names are derived from those of villages where the caste reside at present. marriage within the _vansa_ is forbidden, but some of the _vansas_ have been divided into _bad_ and _san_, or great and small, and members of these may marry with each other, the subdivision having been adopted when the original group became so large as to include persons who were practically not relations. the binding portion of the wedding ceremony is that the bridegroom should carry the bride in a basket seven times round the _hom_ or sacrificial fire. if he cannot do this, the girl's grandfather carries them both. after the ceremony the pair return to the bridegroom's village, and are made to sleep on the same bed, some elder woman of the family lying between them. after a few days the girl goes back to her parents and does not rejoin her husband until she attains maturity. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and in native states is not less costly to the bridegroom than the regular ceremony. in sonpur the suitor must proceed to the raja and pay him twenty rupees for his permission, which is given in the shape of a present of rice and nuts. similar sums are paid to the caste-fellows and the parents of the girl, and the raja's rice and nuts are then placed on the heads of the couple, who become man and wife. divorce may be effected at the instance of the husband or the wife's parents on the mere ground of incompatibility of temper. the position of the caste corresponds to that of the koshtas; that is, they rank below the good cultivating castes, but above the menial and servile classes. they eat fowls and the flesh of wild pig, and drink liquor. a _liaison_ with one of the impure castes is the only offence entailing permanent expulsion from social intercourse. a curious rule is that in the case of a woman going wrong with a man of the caste, the man only is temporarily outcasted and forced to pay a fine on readmission, while the woman escapes without penalty. they employ brahmans for ceremonial purposes. they are considered proverbially stupid, like the koris in the northern districts, but very laborious. one saying about them is: "the kewat catches fish but himself eats crabs, and the bhulia weaves loin-cloths but himself wears only a rag"; and another: "a bhulia who is idle is as useless as a confectioner's son who eats sweetmeats, or a moneylender's son with a generous disposition, or a cultivator's son who is extravagant." bhunjia 1. origin and traditions. _bhunjia. [377]_--a small dravidian tribe residing in the bindranawagarh and khariar zamindaris of the raipur district, and numbering about 7000 persons. the tribe was not returned outside this area in 1911, but sherring mentions them in a list of the hill tribes of the jaipur zamindari of vizagapatam, which touches the extreme south of bindranawagarh. the bhunjias are divided into two branches, chaukhutia and chinda, and the former have the following legend of their origin. on one occasion a bhatra gond named bachar cast a net into the pairi river and brought out a stone. he threw the stone back into the river and cast his net again, but a second and yet a third time the stone came out. so he laid the stone on the bank of the river and went back to his house, and that night he dreamt that the stone was bura deo, the great god of the gonds. so he said: 'if this dream be true let me draw in a deer in my net to-morrow for a sign'; and the next day the body of a deer appeared in his net. the stone then called upon the gond to worship him as bura deo, but the gond demurred to doing so himself, and said he would provide a substitute as a devotee. to this bura deo agreed, but said that bachar, the gond, must marry his daughter to the substituted worshipper. the gond then set out to search for somebody, and in the village of lafandi he found a halba of the name of konda, who was a cripple, deaf and dumb, blind, and a leper. he brought konda to the stone, and on reaching it he was miraculously cured of all his ailments and gladly began to worship bura deo. he afterwards married the gond's daughter and they had a son called chaukhutia bhunjia, who was the ancestor of the chaukhutia division of the tribe. now the term chaukhutia in chhattisgarhi signifies a bastard, and the story related above is obviously intended to signify that the chaukhutia bhunjias are of mixed descent from the gonds and halbas. it is clearly with this end in view that the gond is made to decline to worship the stone himself and promise to find a substitute, an incident which is wholly unnatural and is simply dragged in to meet the case. the chaukhutia subtribe especially worship bura deo, and sing a song relating to the finding of the stone in their marriage ceremony as follows: johar, johar thakur deota, tumko lagon, do matia ghar men dine tumhare nam. johar, johar konda, tumko lagon, do matia ghar men, etc. johar, johar bachar jhakar tumko lagon, etc. johar, johar budha raja tumko lagon, etc. johar, johar lafandi mati tumko lagon, etc. johar, johar anand mati tumko lagon, etc. which may be rendered: i make obeisance to thee, o thakur deo, i bow down to thee! in thy name have i placed two pots in my house (as a mark of respect). i make obeisance to thee, o konda pujari, i bow down to thee! in thy name have i placed two pots in my house. i make obeisance to thee, o bachar jhakar! in thy name have i placed two pots in my house. i make obeisance to thee, o budha raja! in thy name have i placed two pots in my house. i make obeisance to thee, o soil of lafandi! in thy name have i placed two pots in my house. i make obeisance to thee, o happy spot! in thy name have i placed two pots in my house. the song refers to the incidents in the story. thakur deo is the title given to the divine stone, konda is the halba priest, and bachar the gond who cast the net. budha raja, otherwise singh sei, is the chief who was ruling in bindranawagarh at the time, lafandi the village where konda halba was found, and the anand mati or happy spot is that where the stone was taken out of the river. the majority of the sept-names returned are of gond origin, and there seems no doubt that the chaukhutias are, as the story says, of mixed descent from the halbas and gonds. it is noticeable, however, that the bhunjias, though surrounded by gonds on all sides, do not speak gondi but a dialect of hindi, which sir g. grierson considers to resemble that of the halbas, and also describes as "a form of chhattisgarhi which is practically the same as baigani. it is a jargon spoken by binjhwars, bhumias and bhunjias of raipur, raigarh, sarangarh and patna in the central provinces." [378] the binjhwars also belong to the country of the bhunjias, and one or two estates close to bindranawagarh are held by members of this tribe. the chinda division of the bhunjias have a saying about themselves: '_chinda raja, bhunjia paik'_; and they say that there was originally a kamar ruler of bindranawagarh who was dispossessed by chinda. the kamars are a small and very primitive tribe of the same locality. _paik_ means a foot-soldier, and it seems therefore that the bhunjias formed the levies of this chinda, who may very probably have been one of themselves. the term bhunjia may perhaps signify one who lives on the soil, from _bhum_, the earth, and _jia_, dependent on. the word _birjia_, a synonym for binjhwar, is similarly a corruption of _bewar jia_, and means one who is dependent on _dahia_ or patch cultivation. sir h. risley gives birjia, binjhia and binjhwar [379] as synonymous terms, and bhunjia may be another corruption of the same sort. the binjhwars are a hinduised offshoot of the ancient baiga tribe, who may probably have been in possession of the hills bordering the chhattisgarh plain as well as of the satpura range before the advent of the gonds, as the term baiga is employed for a village priest over a large part of this area. it thus seems not improbable that the chinda bhunjias may have been derived from the binjhwars, and this would account for the fact that the tribe speaks a dialect of hindi and not gondi. as already seen, the chaukhutia subcaste appear to be of mixed origin from the gonds and halbas, and as the chindas are probably descended from the baigas, the bhunjias may be considered to be an offshoot from these three important tribes. 2. subdivisions. of the two subtribes already mentioned the chaukhutia are recognised to be of illegitimate descent. as a consequence of this they strive to obtain increased social estimation by a ridiculously strict observance of the rules of ceremonial purity. if any man not of his own caste touches the hut where a chaukhutia cooks his food, it is entirely abandoned and a fresh one built. at the time of the census they threatened to kill the enumerator if he touched their huts to affix the census number. pegs had therefore to be planted in the ground a little in front of the huts and marked with their numbers. the chaukhutia will not eat food cooked by other members of his own community, and this is a restriction found only among those of bastard descent, where every man is suspicious of his neighbour's parentage. he will not take food from the hands of his own daughter after she is married; as soon as the ceremony is over her belongings are at once removed from the hut, and even the floor beneath the seat of the bride and bridegroom during the marriage ceremony is dug up and the surface earth thrown away to avoid any risk of defilement. only when it is remembered that these rules are observed by people who do not wash themselves from one week's end to the other, and wear the same wisp of cloth about their loins until it comes to pieces, can the full absurdity of such customs as the above be appreciated. but the tendency appears to be of the same kind as the intense desire for respectability so often noticed among the lower classes in england. the chindas, whose pedigree is more reliable, are far less particular about their social purity. 3. marriage. as already stated, the exogamous divisions of the bhunjias are derived from those of the gonds. among the chaukhutias it is considered a great sin if the signs of puberty appear in a girl before she is married, and to avoid this, if no husband has been found for her, they perform a 'kand byah' or 'arrow marriage': the girl walks seven times round an arrow fixed in the ground, and is given away without ceremony to the man who by previous arrangement has brought the arrow. if a girl of the chinda group goes wrong with an outsider before marriage and becomes pregnant, the matter is hushed up, but if she is a chaukhutia it is said that she is finally expelled from the community, the same severe course being adopted even when she is not pregnant if there is reason to suppose that the offence has been committed. a proposal for marriage among the chaukhutias is made on the boy's behalf by two men who are known as mahalia and jangalia, and are supposed to represent a nai (barber) and dhimar (water-carrier), though they do not actually belong to these castes. as among the gonds, the marriage takes place at the bridegroom's village, and the mahalia and jangalia act as stewards of the ceremony, and are entrusted with the rice, pulse, salt, oil and other provisions, the bridegroom's family having no function in the matter except to pay for them. the provisions are all stored in a separate hut, and when the time for the feast has come they are distributed raw to all the guests, each family of whom cook for themselves. the reason for this is, as already explained, that each one is afraid of losing status by eating with other members of the tribe. the marriage is solemnised by walking round the sacred post, and the ceremony is conducted by a hereditary priest known as dinwari, a member of the tribe, whose line it is believed will never become extinct. among the chinda bhunjias the bride goes away with her husband, and in a short time returns with him to her parents' house for a few days, to make an offering to the deities. but the chaukhutias will not allow her, after she has lived in her father-in-law's house, to return to her home. in future if she goes to visit her parents she must stay outside the house and cook her food separately. widow-marriage and divorce are permitted, but a husband will often overlook transgressions on the part of his wife and only put her away when her conduct has become an open scandal. in such a case he will either quietly leave house and wife and settle alone in another village, or have his wife informed by means of a neighbour that if she does not leave the village he will do so. it is not the custom to bring cases before the tribal committee or to claim damages. a special tie exists between a man and his sister's children. the marriage of a brother's son or daughter to a sister's daughter or son is considered the most suitable. a man will not allow his sister's children to eat the leavings of food on his plate, though his own children may do so. this is a special token of respect to his sister's children. he will not chastise his sister's children, even though they deserve it. and it is considered especially meritorious for a man to pay for the wedding ceremony of his sister's son or daughter. 4. religion. every third year in the month of chait (march) the tribe offer a goat and a cocoanut to mata, the deity of cholera and smallpox. they bow daily to the sun with folded hands, and believe that he is of special assistance to them in the liquidation of debt, which the bhunjias consider a primary obligation. when a debt has been paid off they offer a cocoanut to the sun as a mark of gratitude for his assistance. they also pay great reverence to the tortoise. they call the tortoise the footstool (_pidha_) of god, and have adopted the hindu theory that the earth is supported by a tortoise swimming in the midst of the ocean. professor tylor explains as follows how this belief arose: [380] "to man in the lower levels of science the earth is a flat plain over which the sky is placed like a dome as the arched upper shell of the tortoise stands upon the flat plate below, and this is why the tortoise is the symbol or representative of the world." it is said that bhunjia women are never allowed to sit either on a footstool or a bed-cot, because these are considered to be the seats of the deities. they consider it disrespectful to walk across the shadow of any elderly person, or to step over the body of any human being or revered object on the ground. if they do this inadvertently, they apologise to the person or thing. if a man falls from a tree he will offer a chicken to the tree-spirit. 5. social rules. the tribe will eat pork, but abstain from beef and the flesh of monkeys. notwithstanding their strictness of social observance, they rank lower than the gonds, and only the kamars will accept food from their hands. a man who has got maggots in a wound is purified by being given to drink water, mixed with powdered turmeric, in which silver and copper rings have been dipped. women are secluded during the menstrual period for as long as eight days, and during this time they may not enter the dwelling-hut nor touch any article belonging to it. the bhunjias take their food on plates of leaves, and often a whole family will have only one brass vessel, which will be reserved for production on the visit of a guest. but no strangers can be admitted to the house, and a separate hut is kept in the village for their use. here they are given uncooked grain and pulse, which they prepare for themselves. when the women go out to work they do not leave their babies in the house, but carry them tied up in a small rag under the arm. they have no knowledge of medicine and are too timid to enter a government dispensary. their panacea for most diseases is branding the skin with a hot iron, which is employed indifferently for headache, pains in the stomach and rheumatism. mr. pyare lal notes that one of his informants had recently been branded for rheumatism on both knees and said that he felt much relief. binjhwar list of paragraphs 1. _origin and tradition._ 2. _tribal subdivisions._ 3. _marriage._ 4. _the marriage ceremony._ 5. _sexual morality._ 6. _disposal of the dead._ 7. _religion._ 8. _festivals._ 9. _social customs._ 1. origin and tradition. _binjhwar, binjhal._ [381]--a comparatively civilised dravidian tribe, or caste formed from a tribe, found in the raipur and bilaspur districts and the adjoining uriya country. in 1911 the binjhwars numbered 60,000 persons in the central provinces. there is little or no doubt that the binjhwars are an offshoot of the primitive baiga tribe of mandla and balaghat, who occupy the satpura or maikal hills to the north of the chhattisgarh plain. in these districts a binjhwar subdivision of the baigas exists; it is the most civilised and occupies the highest rank in the tribe. in bhandara is found the injhwar caste who are boatmen and cultivators. this caste is derived from the binjhwar subdivision of the baigas, and the name injhwar is simply a corruption of binjhwar. neither the binjhwars nor the baigas are found except in the territories above mentioned, and it seems clear that the binjhwars are a comparatively civilised section of the baigas, who have become a distinct caste. they are in fact the landholding section of the baigas, like the raj-gonds among the gonds and the bhilalas among bhils. the zamindars of bodasamar, rampur, bhatgaon and other estates to the south and east of the chhattlsgarh plain belong to this tribe. but owing to the change of name their connection with the parent baigas has now been forgotten. the name binjhwar is derived from the vindhya hills, and the tribe still worship the goddess vindhyabasini of these hills as their tutelary deity. they say that their ancestors migrated from binjhakop to lampa, which may be either lamta in balaghat or laphagarh in bilaspur. the hills of mandla, the home of perhaps the most primitive baigas, are quite close to the vindhya range. the tribe say that their original ancestors were _barah bhai betkar_, or the twelve brother archers. they were the sons of the goddess vindhyabasini. one day they were out shooting and let off their arrows, which flew to the door of the great temple at puri and stuck in it. nobody in the place was able to pull them out, not even when the king's elephants were brought and harnessed to them; till at length the brothers arrived and drew them forth quite easily with their hands, and the king was so pleased with their feat that he gave them the several estates which their descendants now hold. the story recalls that of arthur and the magic sword. according to another legend the mother of the first raja of patna, a chauhan rajput, had fled from northern india to sambalpur after her husband and relations had been killed in battle. she took refuge in a binjhwar's hut and bore a son who became raja of patna; and in reward for the protection afforded to his mother he gave the binjhwar the bodasamar estate, requiring only of him and his descendants the tribute of a silk cloth on accession to the zamindari; and this has been rendered ever since by the zamindars of bodasamar to the rajas of patna as a mark of fealty. it is further stated that the twelve archers when they fired the memorable arrows in the forest were in pursuit of a wild boar; and the landholding class of binjhwars are called bariha from _barah_, a boar. as is only fitting, the binjhwars have taken the arrow as their tribal symbol or mark; their cattle are branded with it, and illiterate binjhwars sign it in place of their name. if a husband cannot be found for a girl she is sometimes married to an arrow. at a binjhwar wedding an arrow is laid on the trunk of mahua [382] which forms the marriage-post, and honours are paid to it as representing the bridegroom. 2. tribal subdivisions. the tribe have four subdivisions, the binjhwars proper, the sonjharas, the birjhias and the binjhias. the sonjharas consist of those who took to washing for gold in the sands of the mahanadi, and it may be noted that a separate caste of sonjharas is also in existence in this locality besides the binjhwar group. the birjhias are those who practised _bewar_ or shifting cultivation in the forests, the name being derived from _bewarjia_, one living by _bewar_-sowing. binjhia is simply a diminutive form of binjhwar, but in bilaspur it is sometimes regarded as a separate caste. the zamindar of bhatgaon belongs to this group. the tribe have also exogamous divisions, the names of which are of a diverse character, and on being scrutinised show a mixture of foreign blood. among totemistic names are bagh, a tiger; pod, a buffalo; kamalia, the lotus flower; panknali, the water-crow; tar, the date-palm; jal, a net, and others. some of the sections are nicknames, as udhar, a debtor; marai meli bagh, one who carried a dead tiger; ultum, a talker; jalia, a liar; kessal, one who has shaved a man, and so on. several are the names of other castes, as lohar, dudh kawaria, bhil, banka and majhi, indicating that members of these castes have become binjhwars and have founded families. the sept names also differ in different localities; the birjhia subtribe who live in the same country as the mundas have several munda names among their septs, as munna, son, solai; while the binjhwars who are neighbours of the gonds have gond sept names, as tekam, sonwani, and others. this indicates that there has been a considerable amount of intermarriage with the surrounding tribes, as is the case generally among the lower classes of the population in chhattisgarh. even now if a woman of any caste from whom the binjhwars will take water to drink forms a connection with a man of the tribe, though she herself must remain in an irregular position, her children will be considered as full members of it. the barhias or landowning group have now adopted names of sanskrit formation, as gajendra, an elephant, rameswar, the god rama, and nageshwar, the cobra deity. two of their septs are named lohar (blacksmith) and kumhar (potter), and may be derived from members of these castes who became binjhwars or from binjhwars who took up the occupations. at a binjhwar wedding the presence of a person belonging to each of the lohar and kumhar septs is essential, the reason being probably the estimation in which the two handicrafts were held when the binjhwars first learnt them from their hindu neighbours. 3. marriage. in sambalpur there appears to be no system of exogamous groups, and marriage is determined simply by relationship. the union of agnates is avoided as long as the connection can be traced between them, but on the mother's side all except first cousins may marry. marriage is usually adult, and girls are sometimes allowed to choose their own husbands. a bride-price of about eight _khandis_ (1400 lbs.) of unhusked rice is paid. the ceremony is performed at the bridegroom's house, to which the bride proceeds after bidding farewell to her family and friends in a fit of weeping. weddings are avoided during the four months of the rainy season, and in chait (march) because it is inauspicious, jeth (may) because it is too hot, and pus (december) because it is the last month of the year among the binjhwars. the marriage ceremony should begin on a sunday, when the guests are welcomed and their feet washed. on monday the formal reception of the bride takes place, the gandsan or scenting ceremony follows on tuesday, and on wednesday is the actual wedding. at the scenting ceremony seven married girls dressed in new clothes dyed yellow with turmeric conduct the bridegroom round the central post; one holds a dish containing rice, mango leaves, myrobalans and betel-nuts, and a second sprinkles water from a small pot. at each round the bridegroom is made to throw some of the condiments from the dish on to the wedding-post, and after the seven rounds he is seated and is rubbed with oil and turmeric. 4. the marriage ceremony. among the birjhias a trunk of mahua with two branches is erected in the marriage-shed, and on this a dagger is placed in a winnowing-fan filled with rice, the former representing the bridegroom and the latter the bride. the bride first goes round the post seven times alone, and then the bridegroom, and after this they go round it together. a plough is brought and they stand upon the yoke, and seven cups of water having been collected from seven different houses, four are poured over the bridegroom and three over the bride. some men climb on to the top of the shed and pour pots of water down on to the couple. this is now said to be done only as a joke. next morning two strong men take the bridegroom and bride, who are usually grown up, on their backs, and the parties pelt each other with unhusked rice. then the bridegroom holds the bride in his arms from behind and they stand facing the sun, while some old man ties round their feet a thread specially spun by a virgin. the couple stand for some time and then fall to the ground as if dazzled by his rays, when water is again poured over their bodies to revive them. lastly, an old man takes the arrow from the top of the marriage-post and draws three lines with it on the ground to represent the hindu trinity, brahma, vishnu and siva, and the bridegroom jumps over these holding the bride in his arms. the couple go to bathe in a river or tank, and on the way home the bridegroom shoots seven arrows at an image of a sambhar deer made with straw. at the seventh shot the bride's brother takes the arrow, and running away and hiding it in his cloth lies down at the entrance of the bridegroom's house. the couple go up to him, and the bridegroom examines his body with suspicion, pretending to think that he is dead. he draws the arrow out of his cloth and points to some blood which has been previously sprinkled on the ground. after a time the boy gets up and receives some liquor as a reward. this procedure may perhaps be a symbolic survival of marriage by capture, the bridegroom killing the bride's brother before carrying her off, or more probably, perhaps, the boy may represent a dead deer. in some of the wilder tracts the man actually waylays and seizes the girl before the wedding, the occasion being previously determined, and the women of her family trying to prevent him. if he succeeds in carrying her off they stay for three or four days in the forest and then return and are married. 5. sexual morality. if a binjhwar girl is seduced and rendered pregnant by a man of the tribe, the people exact a feast and compel them to join their hands in an informal manner before the caste committee, the tie thus formed being considered as indissoluble as a formal marriage. polygamy is permitted; a binjhwar zamindar marries a new wife, who is known as pat rani, to celebrate his accession to his estates, even though he may have five or six already. divorce is recognised but is not very common, and a married woman having an intrigue with another binjhwar is often simply made over to him and they live as husband and wife. if this man does not wish to take her she can live with any other, conjugal morality being very loose in sambalpur. in bodasamar a fine of from one to ten rupees is payable to the zamindar in the case of each divorce, and a feast must also be given to the caste-fellows. 6. disposal of the dead. the tribe usually bury the dead, and on the third day they place on the grave some uncooked rice and a lighted lamp. as soon as an insect flies to the lamp they catch it, and placing it in a cake of flour carry this to a stream, where it is worshipped with an offering of coloured rice. it is then thrust into the sand or mud in the bed of the stream with a grass broom. this ceremony is called kharpani or 'grass and water,' and appears to be a method of disposing of the dead man's spirit. it is not performed at all for young children, while, on the other hand, in the case of respected elders a second ceremony is carried out of the same nature, being known as badapani or 'great water.' on this occasion the _jiva_ or soul is worshipped with greater pomp. except in the case of wicked souls, who are supposed to become malignant ghosts, the binjhwars do not seem to have any definite belief in a future life. they say, '_je maris te saris_,' or 'that which is dead is rotten and gone.' 7. religion. the tribe worship the common village deities of chhattisgarh, and extend their veneration to bura deo, the principal god of the gonds. they venerate their daggers, spears and arrows on the day of dasahra, and every third year their tutelary goddess vindhyabasini is carried in procession from village to village. mr. mian bhai gives the following list of precepts as forming the binjhwar's moral code:--not to commit adultery outside the caste; not to eat beef; not to murder; not to steal; not to swear falsely before the caste committee. the tribe have _gurus_ or spiritual preceptors, whom he describes as the most ignorant bairagis, very little better than impostors. when a boy or girl grows up the bairagi comes and whispers the _karn mantra_ or spell in his ear, also hanging a necklace of _tulsi_ (basil) beads round his neck; for this the _guru_ receives a cloth, a cocoanut and a cash payment of four annas to a rupee. thereafter he visits his disciples annually at harvest time and receives a present of grain from them. 8. festivals. on the 11th of bhadon (august) the tribe celebrate the _karma_ festival, which is something like may-day or a harvest feast. the youths and maidens go to the forest and bring home a young _karma_ tree, singing, dancing and beating drums. offerings are made to the tree, and then the whole village, young and old, drink and dance round it all through the night. next morning the tree is taken to the nearest stream or tank and consigned to it. after this the young girls of five or six villages make up a party and go about to the different villages accompanied by drummers and ganda musicians. they are entertained for the night, and next morning dance for five or six hours in the village and then go on to another. 9. social customs. the tribe are indiscriminate in their diet, which includes pork, snakes, rats, and even carnivorous animals, as panthers. they refuse only beef, monkeys and the leavings of others. the wilder binjhwars of the forests will not accept cooked food from any other caste, but those who live in association with hindus will take it when cooked without water from a few of the higher ones. the tribe are not considered as impure. their dress is very simple, consisting as a rule only of one dirty white piece of cloth in the case of both men and women. their hair is unkempt, and they neither oil nor comb it. a genuine binjhwar of the hills wears long frizzled hair with long beard and moustaches, but in the open country they cut their hair and shave the chin. every binjhwar woman is tattooed either before or just after her marriage, when she has attained to the age of adolescence. a man will not touch or accept food from a woman who is not tattooed on the feet. the expenses must be paid either by the woman's parents or her brothers and not by her husband. the practice is carried to an extreme, and many women have the upper part of the chest, the arms from shoulder to wrist, and the feet and legs up to the knee covered with devices. on the chest and arms the patterns are in the shape of flowers and leaves, while along the leg a succession of zigzag lines are pricked. the binjhwars are usually cultivators and labourers, while, as already stated, several zamindari and other estates are owned by members of the tribe. binjhwars also commonly hold the office of jhankar or priest of the village gods in the sambalpur district, as the baigas do in mandla and balaghat. in sambalpur the jhankar or village priest is a universal and recognised village servant of fairly high status. his business is to conduct the worship of the local deities of the soil, crops, forests and hills, and he generally has a substantial holding, rent free, containing some of the best land in the village. it is said locally that the jhankar is looked on as the founder of the village, and the representative of the old owners who were ousted by the hindus. he worships on their behalf the indigenous deities, with whom he naturally possesses a more intimate acquaintance than the later immigrants; while the gods of these latter cannot be relied on to exercise a sufficient control over the works of nature in the foreign land to which they have been imported, or to ensure that the earth and the seasons will regularly perform their necessary functions in producing sustenance for mankind. bishnoi list of paragraphs 1. _origin of the sect._ 2. _precepts of jhambaji._ 3. _customs of the bishnois in the punjab._ 4. _initiation and baptism._ 5. _nature of the sect._ 6. _bishnois in the central provinces._ 7. _marriage._ 8. _disposal of the dead._ 9. _development into a caste._ 1. origin of the sect. _bishnoi._ [383]--a hindu sect which has now developed into a caste. the sect was founded in the punjab, and the bishnois are immigrants from northern india. in the central provinces they numbered about 1100 persons in 1911, nearly all of whom belonged to the hoshangabad district. the best description of the sect is contained in mr. wilson's _sirsa settlement report_ (quoted in sir e. maclagan's _census report of the punjab_ for 1891), from which the following details are taken: "the name bishnoi means a worshipper of vishnu. the founder of the sect was a panwar rajput named jhambaji, who was born in a village of bikaner state in a.d. 1451. his father had hitherto remained childless, and being greatly oppressed by this misfortune had been promised a son by a muhammadan fakir. after nine months jhambaji was born and showed his miraculous origin in various ways, such as producing sweets from nothing for the delectation of his companions. until he was thirty-four years old he spoke no word and was employed in tending his father's cattle. at this time a brahman was sent for to get him to speak, and on confessing his failure, jhambaji showed his power by lighting a lamp with a snap of his fingers and spoke his first word. he adopted the life of a teacher and went to reside on a sandhill some thirty miles south of bikaner. in 1485 a fearful famine desolated the country, and jhambaji gained an enormous number of disciples by providing food for all who would declare their belief in him. he is said to have died on his sandhill at the good old age of eighty-four, and to have been buried at a spot about a mile distant from it. a further account says that his body remained suspended for six months in the bier without decomposing. his name jhambaji was a contraction of achambha (the wonder), with the honorific suffix _ji_. 2. precepts of jhambaji. "the sayings (_shabd_) of jhambaji, to the number of one hundred and twenty, were recorded by his disciples, and have been handed down in a book (_pothi_) which is written in the nagari character, and in a hindu dialect similar to bagri and therefore probably a dialect of rajasthani. the following is a translation of the twenty-nine precepts given by him for the guidance of his followers: 'for thirty days after childbirth and five days after a menstrual discharge a woman must not cook food. bathe in the morning. commit no adultery. be content. be abstemious and pure. strain your drinking-water. be careful of your speech. examine your fuel in case any living creature be burnt with it. show pity to living creatures. keep duty present to your mind as the teacher bade. do not steal. do not speak evil of others. do not tell lies. never quarrel. avoid opium, tobacco, _bhang_ and blue clothing. flee from spirits and flesh. see that your goats are kept alive (not sold to musalmans, who will kill them for food). do not plough with bullocks. keep a fast on the day before the new moon. do not cut green trees. sacrifice with fire. say prayers; meditate. perform worship and attain heaven.' and the last of the twenty-nine duties prescribed by the teacher: 'baptise your children if you would be called a true bishnoi.' [384] 3. customs of the bishnois in the punjab. "some of these precepts are not strictly obeyed. for instance, though ordinarily they allow no blue in their clothing, yet a bishnoi, if he is a police constable, is allowed to wear a blue uniform; and bishnois do use bullocks, though most of their farming is done with camels. they also seem to be generally quarrelsome (in words) and given to use bad language. but they abstain from tobacco, drugs and spirits, and are noted for their regard for animal life, which is such that not only will they not themselves kill any living creature, but they do their utmost to prevent others from doing so. consequently their villages are generally swarming with antelope and other animals, and they forbid their musalman neighbours to kill them, and try to dissuade european sportsmen from interfering with them. they wanted to make it a condition of their settlement that no one should be allowed to shoot on their land, but at the same time they asked that they might be assessed at lower rates than their neighbours, on the ground that the antelope, being thus left undisturbed, did more damage to their crops; but i told them that this would lessen the merit (_pun_) of their actions in protecting the animals, and they must be treated just as the surrounding villages were. they consider it a good deed to scatter grain to pigeons and other birds, and often have a large number of half-tame birds about their villages. the day before the new moon (amawas) they observe as a sabbath and fast-day, doing no work in the fields or in the house. they bathe and pray three times a day, in the morning, afternoon and evening, saying 'bishnu! bishnu!' instead of the ordinary hindu 'ram! ram.' their clothing is the same as that of other bagris, except that their women do not allow the waist to be seen, and are fond of wearing black woollen clothing. they are more particular about ceremonial purity than ordinary hindus are, and it is a common saying that if a bishnoi's food is on the first of a string of twenty camels and a man of another caste touches the last camel of the string, the bishnoi would consider his food defiled and throw it away." 4. initiation and baptism. the ceremony of initiation is as follows: "a number of representative bishnois assemble, and before them a sadh or bishnoi priest, after lighting a sacrificial fire (_hom_), instructs the novice in the duties of the faith. he then takes some water in a new earthen vessel, over which he prays in a set form (_bishno gayatri_), stirring it the while with his string of beads (_mala_), and after asking the consent of the assembled bishnois he pours the water three times into the hands of the novice, who drinks it off. the novice's scalp-lock (_choti_) is then cut off and his head shaved, for the bishnois shave the whole head and do not leave a scalp-lock like the hindus, but they allow the beard to grow, only shaving the chin on the father's death. infant baptism is also practised, and thirty days after birth the child, whether boy or girl, is baptised by the priest (sadh) in much the same way as an adult; only the set form of prayer is different, and the priest pours a few drops of water into the child's mouth, and gives the child's relatives each three handfuls of the consecrated water to drink; at the same time the barber clips off the child's hair. the baptismal ceremony has the effect of purifying the house, which has been made impure by the birth (_sutak_). "the bishnois do not revere brahmans, but have priests of their own known as sadh, who are chosen from among the laity. the priests are a hereditary class, and do not intermarry with other bishnois, from whom, like brahmans, they receive food and offerings. the bishnois do not burn their dead, but bury them below the cattle-shed or in some place like a pen frequented by cattle. they make pilgrimages to the place where jhambaji is buried to the south of bikaner; here a tomb and temple have been erected to his memory, and gatherings are held twice a year. the sect observe the holi in a different way from other hindus. after sunset on that day they fast till the next forenoon when, after hearing read the account of how prahlad was tortured by his infidel father, hrianya kasipu, for believing in the god vishnu, until he was delivered by the god himself in his incarnation of narsingh, the man-lion, and mourning over prahlad's sufferings, they light a sacrificial fire and partake of consecrated water, and after distributing sugar (_gur_) in commemoration of prahlad's delivery from the fire into which he was thrown, they break their fast." 5. nature of the sect. the above interesting account of the bishnois by mr. wilson shows that jhambaji was a religious reformer, who attempted to break loose from the debased hindu polytheism and arrogant supremacy of the brahmans by choosing one god, vishnu, out of the hindu pantheon and exalting him into the sole and supreme deity. in his method he thus differed from kabir and other reformers, who went outside hinduism altogether, preaching a monotheistic faith with one unseen and nameless deity. the case of the manbhaos, whose unknown founder made krishna the one god, discarding the vedas and the rest of hinduism, is analogous to jhambaji's movement. his creed much resembles that of the other hindu reformers and founders of the vaishnavite sects. the extreme tenderness for animal life is a characteristic of most of them, and would be fostered by the hindu belief in the transmigration of souls. the prohibition of liquor is another common feature, to which jhambaji added that of all kinds of drugs. his mind, like those of kabir and nanak, was probably influenced by the spectacle of the comparatively liberal creed of islam, which had now taken root in northern india. mr. crooke remarks that the bishnois of bijnor appear to differ from those of the punjab in using the muhammadan form of salutation, _salam alaikum_, and the title of shaikhji. they account for this by saying they murdered a muhammadan kazi, who prevented them from burning a widow, and were glad to compound the offence by pretending to adopt islam. but it seems possible that on their first rupture with hinduism they were to some extent drawn towards the muhammadans, and adopted practices of which, on tending again to conform to their old religion, they have subsequently become ashamed. 6. bishnois in the central provinces. in northern india the members of different castes who have become bishnois have formed separate endogamous groups, of which mr. crooke gives nine; among these are the brahman, bania, jat, sunar, ahir and nai bishnois. only members of comparatively good castes appear to have been admitted into the community, and in the punjab they are nearly all jats and banias. in the central provinces the caste forms only one endogamous group. they have _gotras_ or exogamous sections, the names of which appear to be of the titular or territorial type. some of the _gotras_, jhuria, ajna, sain and ahir, [385] are considered to be lower than the others, and though they are not debarred from intermarriage, a connection with them is looked upon as something of a _mésalliance_. they are not consulted in the settlement of tribal disputes. no explanation of the comparatively degraded position of these septs is forthcoming, but it may probably be attributed to some blot in their ancestral escutcheon. the bishnois celebrate their marriages at any period of the year, and place no reliance on astrology. according to their saying, "every day is as good as sankrant, [386] every day is as good as amawas. [387] the ganges flows every day, and he whose preceptor has taught him the most truth will get the most good from bathing in it." 7. marriage. before a wedding the bride's father sends, by the barber, a cocoanut and a silver ring tied round it with a yellow thread. on the thread are seven, nine, eleven or thirteen knots, signifying the number of days to elapse before the ceremony. the barber on his arrival stands outside the door of the house, and the bridegroom's father sends round to all the families of his caste. the men go to the house and the women come singing to the barber, and rub turmeric on the boy. a married woman touches the cocoanut and waves a lighted lamp seven times round the bridegroom's head. this is meant to scare off evil spirits. on arrival at the bride's village the bridegroom touches the marriage-shed with the branch of a _ber_ or wild plum tree. the mother of the bride gives him some sugar, rubs lamp-black on his eyes and twists his nose. the bride and bridegroom are seated side by side on wooden boards, and after the caste priest (sadh) has chanted some sacred verses, water is poured nine times on to the palms of the bridegroom, and he drinks it. they do not perform the ceremony of walking round the sacred pole. girls are usually married at a very early age, sometimes when they are only a few months old. subsequently, when the bridegroom comes to take his bride, her family present her with clothing and a spinning-wheel, this implement being still in favour among the bishnois. when a widow is to be married again she is taken to her new husband's house at night, and there grinds a flour-mill five times, being afterwards presented with lac bangles. 8. disposal of the dead. the dead are never burnt, but their bodies are weighted with sand-bags and thrown into a stream. the practice which formerly prevailed among the bishnois of burying their dead in the courtyard of the house by the cattle-stalls has now fallen into desuetude as being insanitary. a red cloth is spread over the body of a woman, and if her maternal relatives are present each of them places a piece of cloth on the bier. after the funeral the mourning party proceed to a river to bathe, and then cook and eat their food on the bank. this custom is also followed by the panwar rajputs of the wainganga valley, but is forbidden by most of the good hindu castes. no period of impurity is observed after a death, but on some day between the fourth and tenth days afterwards a feast is given to the caste-fellows. 9. development into a caste. the bishnois of the central provinces are gradually becoming an ordinary hindu caste, a fate which has several times befallen the adherents of hindu reformers. many of the precepts of jhambaji are neglected. they still usually strain their water and examine their fuel before burning it to remove insects, and they scatter flour to feed the ants and grain for peacocks and pigeons. the wearing of blue cloth is avoided by most, blue being for an obscure reason a somewhat unlucky colour among the hindus. but they now use bullocks for ploughing, and cut green trees except on the amawas day. many of them, especially the younger generation, have begun to grow the hindu _choti_ or scalp-lock. they go on pilgrimage to all the hindu sacred places, and no doubt make presents there to brahman priests. they offer _pindas_ or sacrificial cakes to the spirits of their deceased ancestors. they observe some of the ordinary hindu festivals, as the anant chaturthi, and some of them employ brahmans to read the satya narayan katha, the favourite hindu sacred book. they still retain their special observance of the holi. the admission of proselytes has practically ceased, and they marry among themselves like an ordinary hindu caste, in which light they are gradually coming to be regarded. the bishnois are usually cultivators or moneylenders by calling. bohra list of paragraphs 1. _origin of the sect._ 2. _their religious tenets._ 3. _the mullahs._ 4. _bohra graveyards._ 5. _religious customs._ 6. _occupation._ 7. _houses and dress._ 1. origin of the sect. _bohra, bohora._ [388]--a muhammadan caste of traders who come from gujarat and speak gujarati. at the last census they numbered nearly 5000 persons, residing principally in the nimar, nagpur and amraoti districts, burhanpur being the headquarters of the sect in the central provinces. the name is probably derived from the hindi _byohara_, a trader. members of the caste are honorifically addressed as mullaji. according to the received account of the rise of the bohras in gujarat a missionary, abdulla, came from yemen to cambay in a.d. 1067. by his miracles he converted the great king sidhraj of anhilvada patan in gujarat, and he with numbers of his subjects embraced the new faith. for two centuries and a half the bohras flourished, but with the establishment of muzaffar shah's power (a.d. 1390-1413) in that country the spread of sunni doctrines was encouraged and the bohra and other shia sects suppressed. since then, with gradually lessening numbers, they have passed through several bitter persecutions, meeting with little favour or protection, till at the close of the eighteenth century they found shelter under british rule. in 1539 the members of the sect living in arabia were expelled from there and came to gujarat, where they were hospitably received by their brethren, the headquarters of the sect being thenceforward fixed at surat. the bohras are shias of the great ismailia sect of egypt. the ismailia sect split off from the orthodox shias on the question of the succession to the sixth imam, jafar sadik, in a.d. 765. the dispute was between his eldest son's son ismail and his second son musi, the ismailias being those who supported the former and the orthodox shias the latter. the orthodox shias are distinguished as believers in twelve imams, the last of whom is still to come. the ismailias again divided on a similar dispute as to the succession to the khalifa almustansir billah by his eldest son nazar or his younger son almustaali. the bohras are descended from the mustaalians or supporters of the younger son and the khojas from the nazarians who supported the elder son. [389] all these distinctions appear somewhat trivial. 2. their religious tenets. gujarat contains two classes of bohras: the traders who are all shias and are the only immigrants into the central provinces, and a large class of cultivating bohras who are sunnis. the latter may be the descendants of the earliest converts and may have been forced to become sunnis when this sect was dominant in gujarat as noticed above, while the shias are perhaps descended from the later immigrants from arabia. the shia bohras themselves are further divided into several sects of which the daudi are the principal. mr. faridi writes of them: [390] "they are attentive to their religious duties, both men and women knowing the koran. they are careful to say their prayers, to observe muharram as a season of mourning and to go on pilgrimage to mecca and kerbala. they strictly abstain from music and dancing and from using or dealing in intoxicating drinks or drugs. though fierce sectarians, keenly hating and hated by the regular sunnis and other muhammadans than those of their own sect, their reverence for ali and for their high priest seems to be further removed from adoration than among the khojahs. they would appear to accept the ordinary distinctions of right and wrong, punishing drunkenness, adultery and other acts generally considered disgraceful. of the state beyond death they hold that, after passing a time of freedom as evil spirits, unbelievers go to a place of torment. believers, but apparently only believers of the ismaili faith, after a term of training enter a state of perfection. among the faithful each disembodied spirit passes the term of training in communion with the soul of some good man. the spirit can suggest good or evil to the man and may learn from his good deeds to love the right; when the good man dies the spirits in communion with his soul are, if they have gained by their training, attached to some more perfect man, or if they have lost by their opportunities are sent back to learn; spirits raised to a higher degree of knowledge are placed in communion with the high priest on earth; and on his death are with him united to the imams, and when through the imams they have learnt what they still require to know they are absorbed in perfection. except for some peculiarities in their names; that they attach special importance to circumcision; that the sacrifice or _alsikah_ ceremony is held in the mullah's house; that at marriage the bride and bridegroom when not of age are represented by sponsors or _walis_; that at death a prayer for pity on his soul and body is laid in the dead man's hands; and that on certain occasions the high priest feeds the whole community--bohra customs do not so far as has been ascertained differ from those of ordinary muhammadans. 3. the mullahs. "their leader, both in things religious and social, is the head mullah of surat. the ruling mullah names his successor, generally, but it is said not always, from among the members of his own family. short of worship the head mullah is treated with the greatest respect. he lives in much state and entertains with the most profuse liberality. on both religious and civil questions his authority is final. discipline is enforced in religious matters by fine, and in case of adultery, drunkenness and other offences, by fine, excommunication and rarely by flogging. on ceremonial occasions the head mullah sits on his throne, and in token of his power has the flyflapper, _chauri_, held before him. as the bohras enter they make three prostrations, _salaams_, close their hands and stand before him. to such as are worthy he says 'be seated,' to others 'stand.' once a year, on the 18th rajjab, every daudi lays his palm within the head mullah's hand and takes an oath to be faithful. on this day when he goes to the mosque the bohras are said to kiss the mullah's footsteps and to apply the dust he treads to their heads and eyes." each considerable settlement of the sect has a deputy mullah of its own. 4. bohra graveyards. the sahadra or burial-place of the bohras at burhanpur contains the tombs of three of the surat mullahs who happened to die when they were at burhanpur. the tombs are in shell-lime and are fairly handsome erections. the bohras support here by voluntary subscription a rest-house, where members of the sect coming to the city can obtain free board and lodging for as long as they like to stay. mr. conolly says of their graveyards: [391] "their burial-grounds have a pleasing appearance, the tombs being regularly arranged in streets, east and west. the tombs themselves, which are, of course, north and south, the corpse resting on its right side, differ in no respect from those of sunnis, with the exception of a small _chiragh takia_ or lamp-socket, cut out of the north face, just like the cavity for the inscription of our own tombs." 5. religious customs. of their religion mr. kitts writes: [392] "in prayers they differ both from shias and sunnis in that they follow their mullah, praying aloud after him, but without much regularity of posture. the times for commencing their devotions are about five minutes later than those observed by sunnis. after the midday and sunset supplications they allow a short interval to elapse, remaining themselves in the mosque meanwhile. they then commence the afternoon and evening prayers and thus run five services into three." mr. thurston notes that the bohras consider themselves so superior to other sects that if another muhammadan enters their mosque they afterwards clean the spot which he has occupied during his prayers. [393] they show strictness in other ways, making their own sweetmeats at home and declining to eat those of the halwai (confectioner). it is said also that they will not have their clothes washed by a dhobi, nor wear shoes made by a chamar, nor take food touched by any hindu. they are said to bathe only on fridays, and some of them not on every friday. if a dog touches them they are unclean and must change their clothes. they celebrate the id and ramazan a day before other muhammadans. at the muharram their women break all their bangles and wear new bangles next day to show that they have been widowed, and during this period they observe mourning by going without shoes and not using umbrellas. mr. conolly says of them: "i must not omit to notice that a fine of 20 cowries (equally for rich and poor) punishes the non-attendance of a bohra at the daily prayers. a large sum is exacted for remissness during the ramazan, and it is said that the dread of loss operates powerfully upon a class of men who are particularly penny-wise. the money collected thus is transmitted by the ujjain mullah to his chief at surat, who devotes it to religious purposes such as repairing or building mosques, assisting the needy of his subjects and the like. several other offences have the same characteristic punishment, such as fornication, drunkenness, etc. but the cunning bohras elude many of the fines and daily indulge in practices not sanctioned by their creed; thus in their shops pictures and figures may be purchased though it is against the commandments to sell the likeness of any living thing." it has been seen that when a bohra is buried a prayer for pity on his soul and body is laid in the dead man's hands, of which mr. faridi gives the text. but other muhammadans tell a story to the effect that the head mullah writes a letter to the archangel gabriel in which he is instructed to supply a stream of honey, a stream of milk, water and some fruit trees, a golden building and a number of houris, the extent of the order depending on the amount of money which has been paid to the mullah by the departed in his lifetime; and this letter is placed beneath the dead man's head in the grave, the bohras having no coffins. the bohras indignantly repudiate any such version of the letter, and no doubt if the custom ever existed it has died out. 6. occupation. the bohras, captain forsyth remarks, though bigoted religionists, are certainly the most civilised and enterprising and perhaps also the most industrious class in the nimar district. they deal generally in hardware, piece-goods and drugs, and are very keen traders. there is a proverb, "he who is sharper than a bohra must be mad, and he who is fairer than a khatri must be a leper." some of them are only pedlars and hawkers, and in past times their position seems to have been lower than at present. an old account says: [394] "the bohras are an inferior set of travelling merchants. the inside of a bohra's box is like that of an english country shop; spelling-books, prayer-books, lavender-water, soap, tapes, scissors, knives, needles and thread make but a small part of the variety." and again: "in bombay the bohras go about the town as the dirty jews do in london early and late, carrying a bag and inviting by the same nasal tone servants and others to fill it with old clothes, empty bottles, scraps of iron, etc." [395] 7. houses and dress. of their method of living malcolm wrote: [396] "i visited several of the houses of this tribe at shahjahanpur, where a colony of them are settled, and was gratified to find not only in their apartments, but in the spaciousness and cleanliness of their kitchens, in the well-constructed chimney, the neatly arranged pantries, and the polished dishes and plates as much of real comfort in domestic arrangements as could be found anywhere. we took the parties we visited by surprise and there could have been no preparation." the bohras do not charge interest on loans, and they combine to support indigent members of the community, never allowing one of their caste to beg. the caste may easily be known from other muhammadans by their small, tightly wound turbans and little skull-caps, and their long flowing robes, and loose trousers widening from the ankle upwards and gathered in at the waist with a string. the women dress in a coloured cotton or silk petticoat, a short-sleeved bodice and a coloured cotton head-scarf. when they go out of doors they throw a dark cloak over the head which covers the body to the ankles, with gauze openings for the eyes. brahman [397] list of paragraphs 1. _origin and development of the caste._ 2. _their monopoly of literature._ 3. _absence of central authority._ 4. _mixed elements in the caste._ 5. _caste subdivisions._ 6. _miscellaneous groups._ 7. _sectarian divisions._ 8. _exogamy._ 9. _restrictions on marriage._ 10. _hypergamy._ 11. _marriage customs._ 12. _polygamy, divorce and treatment of widows._ 13. _sati or burning of widows._ 14. _funeral rites and mourning._ 15. _religion._ 16. _daily ritual._ 17. _the sacred thread._ 18. _social position._ 19. _titles._ 20. _caste panchayat and offences._ 21. _rules about food._ 22. _dress._ 23. _tattooing._ 24. _occupation._ 25. _character of brahmans._ list of subordinate articles on subcastes 1. ahivasi. 2. jijhotia. 3. kanaujia, kanyakubja. 4. khedawal. 5. maharashtra, maratha. 6. maithil. 7. malwi. 8. nagar. 9. naramdeo. 10. sanadhya, sanaurhia. 11. sarwaria. 12. utkal. 1. origin and development of the caste. _brahman, baman._--the well-known priestly caste of india and the first of the four traditional castes of the hindu scriptures. in 1911 the brahmans numbered about 450,000 persons in the central provinces and berar, or nearly 3 per cent of the population. this is less than the average strength for india as a whole, which is about 4 1/2 per cent. the caste is spread over the whole province, but is in greatest numbers in proportion to the population in saugor and jubbulpore, and weakest in the feudatory states. the name brahman or brahma is said to be from the root _brih_ or _vrih_, to increase. the god brahma is considered as the spirit and soul of the universe, the divine essence and source of all being. brahmana, the masculine numerative singular, originally denoted one who prays, a worshipper or the composer or reciter of a hymn. [398] it is the common term used in the vedas for the officiating priest. sir h. risley remarks on the origin of the caste: [399] "the best modern opinion seems disposed to find the germ of the brahman caste in the bards, ministers and family priests who were attached to the king's household in vedic times. different stages of this institution may be observed. in the earliest ages the head of every aryan household was his own priest, and even a king would himself perform the sacrifices which were appropriate to his rank. by degrees families or guilds of priestly singers arose, who sought service under the kings, and were rewarded by rich presents for the hymns or praise and prayer recited and sacrifices offered by them on behalf of their masters. as time went on the sacrifices became more numerous and more elaborate, and the mass of ritual grew to such an extent that the king could no longer cope with it unaided. the employment of _purohits_ or family priests, formerly optional, now became a sacred duty if the sacrifices were not to fall into disuse. the brahman obtained a monopoly of priestly functions, and a race of sacerdotal specialists arose which tended continually to close its ranks against the intrusion of outsiders." gradually then from the household priests and those who made it their business to commit to memory and recite the sacred hymns and verses handed down orally from generation to generation through this agency, an occupational caste emerged, which arrogated to itself the monopoly of these functions, and the doctrine developed that nobody could perform them who was not qualified by birth, that is, nobody could be a brahman who was not the son of a brahman. when religious ritual became more important, as apparently it did, a desire would naturally arise among the priests to make their revered and lucrative profession a hereditary monopoly; and this they were easily and naturally able to do by only teaching the sacred songs and the sacrificial rules and procedure to their own descendants. the process indeed would be to a considerable extent automatic, because the priests would always take their own sons for their pupils in the first place, and in the circumstances of early indian society a married priesthood would thus naturally evolve into a hereditary caste. the levites among the jews and the priests of the parsis formed similar hereditary orders, and the reason why they did not arise in other great religions would appear to have been the prescription or encouragement of the rule of celibacy for the clergy and the foundation of monasteries, to which admission was free. but the military landed aristocracies of europe practically formed hereditary castes which were analogous to the brahman and rajput castes, though of a less stereotyped and primitive character. the rise of the brahman caste was thus perhaps a comparatively simple and natural product of religious and social evolution, and might have occurred independently of the development of the caste system as a whole. the former might be accounted for by reasons which would be inadequate to explain the latter, even though as a matter of fact the same factors were at work in both cases. 2. their monopoly of literature. the hereditary monopoly of the sacred scriptures would be strengthened and made absolute when the sanskrit language, in which they had been composed and handed down, ceased to be the ordinary spoken language of the people. nobody then could learn them unless he was taught by a brahman priest. and by keeping the sacred literature in an unknown language the priesthood made their own position absolutely secure and got into their own hands the allocation of the penalties and rewards promised by religion, for which these books were the authority, that is to say, the disposal of the souls of hindus in the afterlife. they, in fact, held the keys of heaven and hell. the jealousy with which they guarded them is well shown by the abbé dubois: [400] "to the brahmans alone belongs the right of reading the vedas, and they are so jealous of this, or rather it is so much to their interest to prevent other castes obtaining any insight into their contents, that the brahmans have inculcated the absurd theory, which is implicitly believed, that should anybody of any other caste be so highly imprudent as even to read the title-page his head would immediately split in two. the very few brahmans who are able to read those sacred books in the original, only do so in secret and in a whisper. expulsion from caste, without the smallest hope of re-entering it, would be the lightest punishment of a brahman who exposed those books to the eyes of the profane." it would probably be unfair, however, to suppose that the vedas were kept in the original sanskrit simply from motives of policy. it was probably thought that the actual words of the sacred text had themselves a concrete force and potency which would be lost in a translation. this is the idea underlying the whole class of beliefs in the virtue of charms and spells. but the brahmans had the monopoly not only of the sacred sanskrit literature, but practically of any kind of literacy or education. they were for long the only literate section of the people. subsequently two other castes learnt to read and write in response to an economic demand, the kayasths and the banias. the kayasths, it has been suggested in the article on that caste, were to a large extent the offspring and inmates of the households of brahmans, and were no doubt taught by them, but only to read and write the vernacular for the purpose of keeping the village records and accounts of rent. they were excluded from any knowledge of sanskrit, and the kayasths subsequently became an educated caste in spite of their brahman preceptors, by learning persian under their muhammadan, and english under their european employers. the banias never desired nor were encouraged to attain to any higher degree of literacy than that necessary for keeping accounts of sale and loan transactions. the brahmans thus remained the only class with any real education, and acquired a monopoly not only of intellectual and religious leadership, but largely of public administration under the hindu kings. no literature existed outside their own, which was mainly of a sacerdotal character; and india had no heritage such as that bequeathed by greece and rome to mediaeval europe which could produce a renaissance or revival of literacy, leading to the reformation of religion and the breaking of the fetters in which the roman priesthood had bound the human mind. the brahmans thus established, not only a complete religious, but also a social ascendancy which is only now beginning to break down since the british government has made education available to all. 3. absence of central authority. the brahman body, however, lacked one very important element of strength. they were apparently never organised nor controlled by any central authority such as that which made the roman church so powerful and cohesive. colleges and seats of learning existed at benares and other places, at which their youth were trained in the knowledge of religion and of the measure of their own pretensions, and the means by which these were to be sustained. but probably only a small minority can have attended them, and even these when they returned home must have been left practically to themselves, spread as the brahmans were over the whole of india with no means of postal communication or rapid transit. and by this fact the chaotic character of the hindu religion, its freedom of belief and worship, its innumerable deities, and the almost complete absence of dogmas may probably be to a great extent explained. and further the brahman caste itself cannot have been so strictly organised that outsiders and the priests of the lower alien religions never obtained entrance to it. as shown by mr. crooke, many foreign elements, both individuals and groups, have at various times been admitted into the caste. 4. mixed elements in the caste. the early texts indicate that brahmans were in the habit of forming connections with the widows of rajanyas and vaishyas, even if they did not take possession of the wives of such men while they were still alive. [401] the sons of angiras, one of the great ancestral sages, were brahmans as well as kshatriyas. the descendants of garga, another well-known eponymous ancestor, were kshatriyas by birth but became brahmans. visvamitra was a kshatriya, who, by the force of his austerities, compelled brahma to admit him into the brahmanical order, so that he might be on a level with vasishtha with whom he had quarrelled. according to a passage in the mahabharata all castes become brahmans when once they have crossed the gomti on a pilgrimage to the hermitage of vasishtha. [402] in more recent times there are legends of persons created brahmans by hindu rajas. sir j. malcolm in central india found many low-caste female slaves in brahman houses, the owners of which had treated them as belonging to their own caste. [403] it would appear also that in some cases the caste priests of different castes have become brahmans. thus the saraswat brahmans of the punjab are the priests of the khatri caste. they have the same complicated arrangement of exogamy and hypergamy as the khatris, and will take food from that caste. it seems not improbable that they are really descendants of khatri priests who have become brahmans. [404] similarly such groups as the oswal, srimal and palliwal brahmans of rajputana, who are priests of the subcastes of banias of the same name, may originally have been caste priests and become brahmans. the naramdeo brahmans, or those living on the nerbudda river, are said to be descendants of a brahman father by a woman of the naoda or dhimar caste; and the golapurab brahmans similarly of a brahman father and ahir mother. in many cases, such as the island of onkar mandhata in the nerbudda in nimar, and the mahadeo caves at pachmarhi, the places of worship of the non-aryan tribes have been adopted by hinduism and the old mountain or river gods transformed into hindu deities. at the same time it is not improbable that the tribal priests of the old shrines have been admitted into the brahman caste. 5. caste subdivisions. the brahman caste has ten main territorial divisions, forming two groups, the panch-gaur or five northern, and the panch-dravida or five southern. the boundary line between the two groups is supposed to be the nerbudda river, which is also the boundary between hindustan and the deccan. but the gujarati brahmans belong to the southern group, though gujarat is north of the nerbudda. the five northern divisions are: (_a_) _saraswat._--these belong to the punjab and are named after the saraswati river of the classical period, on whose banks they are supposed to have lived. (_b_) _gaur._--the home of these is the country round delhi, but they say that the name is from the old gaur or lakhnauti kingdom of bengal. if this is correct, it is difficult to understand how they came from bengal to delhi contrary to the usual tendency of migration. general cunningham has suggested that gaura was also the name of the modern gonda district, and it is possible that the term was once used for a considerable tract in northern india as well as bengal, since it has come to be applied to all the northern brahmans. [405] (_c_) _kankubja or kanaujia._--these are named after the old town of kanauj on the ganges near cawnpore, once the capital of india. the kanaujia are the most important of the northern groups and extend from the west of oudh to beyond benares and into the northern districts of the central provinces. here they are subdivided into four principal groups--the kanaujia, jijhotia, sarwaria and sanadhya, which are treated in annexed subordinate articles. (_d_) _maithil._--they take their name from mithila, the old term for bihar or tirhut, and belong to this tract. (_e_) _utkal._--these are the brahmans of orissa. the five groups of the panch-dravida are as follows: (_a_) _maharashtra._--these belong to the maratha country or bombay. they are subdivided into three main territorial groups--the deshasth, or those of the home country, that is the poona tract above the western ghats; the konkonasth, who belong to the bombay konkan or littoral; and the karhara, named after a place in the satara district. [406] (_b_) _tailanga or andhra._--the brahmans of the telugu country, hyderabad and the northern part of madras. this territory was known as andhra and governed by an important dynasty of the same name in early times. (_c_) _dravida._--the brahmans of the tamil country or the south of madras. (_d_) _karnata._--the brahmans of the carnatic, or the canarese country. the canarese area comprises the mysore state, and the british districts of canara, dharwar and belgaum. (_e_) _gurjara._--the brahmans of gujarat, of whom two subcastes are found in the central provinces. the first consists of the khedawals, named after kheda, a village in gujarat, who are a strictly orthodox class holding a good position in the caste. and the second are the nagar brahmans, who have been long settled in nimar and the adjacent tracts, and act as village priests and astrologers. their social status is somewhat lower. there are, however, a large number of other subcastes, and the tendency to fissure in a large caste, and to the formation of small local groups which marry among themselves, is nowhere more strikingly apparent than among the brahmans. this is only natural, as they, more than any other caste, attach importance to strict ceremonial observance in matters of food and the daily ritual of prayer, and any group which was suspected of backsliding in respect of these on emigration to a new locality would be debarred from intermarriage with the parent caste at home. an instance of this is found among the chhattisgarhi brahmans, who have been long settled in this backward tract and cut off from communication with northern india. they are mainly of the kanaujia division, but the kanaujias of oudh will neither take food nor intermarry with them, and they now constitute a separate subcaste of kanaujias. similarly the malwi brahmans, whose home is in malwa, whence they have spread to hoshangabad and betul, are believed to have been originally a branch of the gaur or kanaujia, but have now become a distinct subcaste, and have adopted many of the customs of maratha brahmans. mandla contains a colony of sarwaria [407] brahmans who received grants of villages from the gond kings and have settled down there. they are now cultivators, and some have taken to the plough, while they also permit widow-remarriage in all but the name. they are naturally cut off from intercourse with the orthodox sarwarias and marry among themselves. the harenia brahmans of saugor are believed to have immigrated from hariana some generations ago and form a separate local group; and also the laheria brahmans of the same district, who, like the mandla sarwarias, permit widows to marry. in hoshangabad there is a small subcaste of bawisa or 'twenty-two' brahmans, descended from twenty-two families from northern india, who settled here and have since married among themselves. a similar diversity of subcastes is found in other provinces. the brahmans of bengal are also mainly of the kanaujia division, but they are divided into several local subcastes, of which the principal are rarhi and barendra, named after tracts in bengal, and quite distinct from the subdivisions of the kanaujia group in the central provinces. 6. miscellaneous groups. another class of local subdivisions consists of those brahmans who live on the banks of the various sacred rivers or at famous shrines, and earn their livelihood by conducting pilgrims through the series of ceremonies and acts of worship which are performed on a visit to such places; they receive presents from the pilgrims and the offerings made at the shrines. the most prominent among these are the gayawals of gaya, the prayagwals of allahabad (prayag), the chaubes of mathura, the gangaputras (sons of the ganges) of benares, the pandarams of southern india and the naramdeo brahmans who hold charge of the many temples on the nerbudda. as such men accept gifts from pilgrims they are generally looked down on by good brahmans and marry among themselves. many of them have a character for extortion and for fleecing their clients, a propensity commonly developed in a profession of this kind. such a reputation particularly attaches to the chaubes of mathura and brindaban, the holy places of the god krishna. they are strong and finely built men, but gluttonous, idle and dissolute. some of the benares brahmans are known as sawalakhi, or having one and a quarter lakhs, apparently on account of the wealth they amass from pilgrims. a much lower group are the maha-brahmans (great brahmans), who are also known as patit (degraded) or katia. these accept the gifts offered by the relatives after a death for the use of the dead man in the next world during the period of mourning; they also eat food which it is supposed will benefit the dead man, and are considered to represent him. probably on this account they share in the impurity attaching to the dead, and are despised by all castes and sometimes not permitted to live in the village. other brahmans are degraded on account of their having partly adopted muhammadan practices. the husaini brahmans of western india are so called as they combine muhammadan with hindu rites. they are principally beggars. and the kalanki brahmans of wardha and other districts are looked down upon because, it is said, that at the bidding of a muhammadan governor they make a figure of a cow from sugar and eat it up. probably they may have really acted as priests to muhammadans who were inclined to adopt certain hindu rites on the principle of imitation, and with a view to please their disciples conformed to some extent to islam. 7. sectarian divisions. brahmans have also sectarian divisions according to the different vedas, which they especially study. it is held that the ancient rishis or saints, like the jewish patriarchs, lived far beyond the ordinary span of existence, and hence had time to learn all the vedas and their commentaries. but this was impossible for their shorter-lived descendants, and hence each veda has been divided into a number of shakhas or branches, and the ordinary brahman only learns one shakha of one veda. most brahmans of the central provinces are either rigvedis or yajurvedis, and these commonly marry only followers of their own veda, thus forming a sort of cross set of endogamous divisions. the restriction on marriage may also extend to the shakha, so that a man can only marry in a family of the same shakha as himself. this applies in the central provinces mainly to the yajurvedis, who have three well-known shakhas or branches called kannava, apastambha and madhyandina. these are derived from the shukla or white yajurveda, which can be understood, while the black yajurveda is obscure and unintelligible. the rigvedis and yajurvedis have some differences in their methods of recitation. the rigvedis are said to move the head up and down when they recite and not to use the hands; while the yajurvedis swing the hands and body from side to side. it is said that a madhyandina cannot say his prayers nor take his food before midday, and hence the name, which means half the day. these points of distinction are given as stated by the local brahmans, and it is not known whether they would be endorsed by the pandits. the maratha brahmans of the central provinces are usually rigvedis and the kanaujia brahmans yajurvedis. followers of the other two vedas are practically not found. among kanaujia brahmans it is also customary to ask the head of a family with which a marriage is proposed whether he ties a knot in the right or left half of his shikha or scalp-lock during his prayers and whether he washes his right or left foot first in the performance of a religious ceremony. 8. exogamy. the exogamous arrangements of the brahmans are also very complex. it is said that the brahmans are descended from the seven sons of the god brahma, who were bhrigu, angirasa, marichi, atri, pulaha, pulastya and vasishtha. but pulaha only begot demons and pulastya giants, while vasishtha died and was born again as a descendant of marichi. consequently the four ancestors of the brahmans were bhrigu, angirasa, marichi and atri. but according to another account the ancestors of the brahmans were the seven rishis or saints who form the constellation of the great bear. these were jamadagni, bharadwaj, gautam, kashyap, vasishtha, agastya, atri and visvamitra, who makes the eighth and is held to be descended from atri. these latter saints are also said to be the descendants of the four original ones, atri appearing in both lists. but the two lists taken together make up eleven great saints, who were the eponymous ancestors of the brahmans. all the different subcastes have as a rule exogamous classes tracing their descent from these saints. but each group, such as that of bhrigu or angirasa, contains a large number of exogamous sections usually named after other more recent saints, and intermarriage is sometimes prohibited among the different sections, which are descended from the same son of brahma or star of the great bear. the arrangement thus bears a certain resemblance to the classification system of exogamy found among primitive races, only that the number of groups is now fairly large; but it is said that originally there were only four, from the four sons of brahma who gave birth to brahmans. the names of other important saints, after whom exogamous sections are most commonly called, are garg, sandilya, kaushik, vatsya and bhargava. these five appear sometimes to be held as original ancestors in addition to the eleven already mentioned. it may be noted that some of the above names of saints have a totemistic character; for instance, bharadwaj means a lark; kashyap resembles kachhap, the name for a tortoise; kaushik may come from the _kusha_ grass; agastya from the _agasti_ flower, and so on. within the main group exogamy sometimes also goes by titles or family names. thus the principal titles of the kanaujias are: pande, a wise man; dube, learned in two vedas; tiwari, learned in three vedas; chaube, learned in four vedas; sukul, white or pure; upadhya, a teacher; agnihotri, the priest who performs the fire-sacrifice; dikshit, the initiator, and so on. marriage between persons bearing the same family name tends to be prohibited, as they are considered to be relations. 9. restrictions on marriage. the prohibition of marriage within the _gotra_ or exogamous section bars the union of persons related solely through males. in addition to this, according to hindu law a brahman must not marry a girl of his mother's or maternal grandfather's _gotra_, or one who is a _sapinda_ of his father or maternal grandfather. mr. joshi states that _sapindas_ are persons related through being particles of the same body. it is also understood that two persons are said to be _sapindas_ when they can offer _pindas_ or funeral cakes to the same ancestor. the rule barring the marriage of _sapindas_ is that two persons cannot marry if they are both as near as fourth in descent from a common ancestor, and the relationship is derived through the father of either party. if either is more remote than fourth in descent they apparently could marry. if the relationship of the couple is through their mothers in each case, then they cannot marry if they are third in descent from the same ancestor, but may do so in the fourth or subsequent generations. it is of no importance whether the intervening links between the common ancestor and the proposed couple are male or female; descent is considered to be male if through the father, and female if through the mother. in practice, marriages are held to be valid between persons fourth in descent from a common ancestor in the case of male relationship, and third in the case of female relationship, that is, persons having a common greatgrandparent in the male line or a common grandparent in the female line can marry. other rules are that girls must not be exchanged in marriage between two families, and a man may not marry two sisters, though he can marry his deceased wife's sister. the bride should be both younger in age and shorter in stature than the bridegroom. a younger sister should not be married while her elder sister is single. 10. hypergamy. the practice of hypergamy is, or was until recently, common among brahmans. this is the rule by which the social estimation of a family is raised if its girls are married into a class of higher social status than its own. members of the superior classes will take daughters from the lower classes on payment usually of a substantial bride-price, but will not give their daughters to them. according to manu, men of the higher castes were allowed to take wives from the lower ones but not to give daughters to them. the origin of the custom is obscure. if caste was based on distinctions of race, then apparently the practice of hypergamy would be objectionable, because it would destroy the different racial classes. if, on the other hand, the castes consisted of groups of varying social status, the distinction being that those of the lower ones could not participate in the sacramental or communal meals of the higher ones, then the marriage of a daughter into a higher group, which would carry with it participation at the sacramental marriage feast of this group, might well be a coveted distinction. the custom of hypergamy prevails somewhat largely in northern india between different subcastes, groups of different social status in the same subcaste, and occasionally even between different castes. the social results of hypergamy, when commonly practised, are highly injurious. men of the higher subcastes get paid for marrying several wives, and indulge in polygamy, while the girls of the higher subcastes and the boys of the lower ones find it difficult and sometimes even impossible to obtain husbands and wives. the custom attained its most absurd development among the kulin brahmans of eastern bengal, as described by sir h. risley. [408] here the brahmans were divided by a hindu king, ballal sen, into two classes, the kulin (of good family), who had observed the entire nine counsels of perfection; and the srotriya, who, though regular students of the vedas, had lost sanctity by intermarrying with families of inferior birth. the latter were further subdivided into three classes according to their degree of social purity, and each higher class could take daughters from the next one or two lower ones. the doctrine known as kula-gotra was developed, whereby the reputation of a family depended on the character of the marriages made by its female members. in describing the results of the system sir h. risley states: "the rush of competition for kulin husbands on the part of the inferior classes became acute. in order to dispose of the surplus of women in the higher groups polygamy was resorted to on a very large scale: it was popular with the kulins because it enabled them to make a handsome income by the accident of their birth; and it was accepted by the parents of the girls concerned as offering the only means of complying with the requirements of the hindu religion. tempted by a _pan_ or premium, which often reached the sum of two thousand rupees, swabhava kulins made light of their _kul_ and its obligations, and married girls, whom they left after the ceremony to be taken care of by their parents. matrimony became a sort of profession, and the honour of marrying a girl to a kulin is said to have been so highly valued in eastern bengal that as soon as a boy was ten years old his friends began to discuss his matrimonial prospects, and before he was twenty he had become the husband of many wives of ages varying from five to fifty." the wives were commonly left at home to be supported by their parents, and it is said that when a kulin brahman had a journey to make he usually tried to put up for the night at the house of one of his fathers-in-law. all the marriages were recorded in the registers of the professional ghataks or marriage-brokers, and each party was supplied with an extract. on arrival at his father-in-law's house the kulin would produce his extract showing the date on which his marriage took place; and the owner of the house, who was often unfamiliar with the bridegroom's identity, would compare it with his own extract. when they agreed he was taken in and put up for the night, and enjoyed the society of his wife. the system thus entailed the greatest misery to large numbers of women, both those who were married to husbands whom they scarcely ever saw, and those of the higher classes who got no husbands at all. it is now rapidly falling into abeyance. hypergamy is found in the central provinces among the subcastes of kanaujia brahmans. the sarwaria subcaste, which is the highest, takes daughters from kanaujias and jijhotias, and the kanaujias take them from the jijhotias. these and other subcastes such as the khedawals are also often divided into two groups of different status, the higher of which takes daughters from the lower. usually the parents of the girl pay a liberal bridegroom-price in money or ornaments. it has never, however, been carried to the same length here as in bengal, and two, or in some cases three, wives are the limit for a man of the higher classes. one division of kanaujias is called the satkul or seven families, and is the highest. other kanaujias, who are known as pachhadar, pay substantial sums for husbands for this group, and it is reported that if such a marriage takes place and the bridegroom-price is not paid up, the husband will turn his wife out and send her home to her father. certain subcastes of sunars also have hypergamy and, as between different castes, it exists between the dangis and rajputs, pure rajputs being held willing to take daughters in marriage from the highest clans of dangis. 11. marriage customs. a text of manu prescribes: [409] "if a young woman marry while she is pregnant, whether her pregnancy be known or unknown, the male child in her womb belongs to the bridegroom and is called a son received with his bride." but at present a brahman girl who is known to be pregnant will be wholly debarred from the sacrament of marriage. an invitation to a wedding is sent by means of grains of rice coloured yellow with turmeric and placed in a brass bowl with areca-nuts over them. all the members of the caste or subcaste who eat food with the host and are resident in the same town or close at hand are as a rule invited, and all relatives of the family who reside at a distance. the head of the family goes himself to the residence of the guests and invites them with expressions of humility to honour his home. before the wedding the ancestors of the family and also the divine mothers are worshipped, these latter consisting of the consorts of the principal gods. in front of the wedding procession are carried _kalashas_ or earthen jars filled to the brim with water, and with green shoots and branches floating on the top. the _kalasha_ is said to represent the universe and to contain the principal gods and divine mothers, while the waters in it are the seven seas. all these are witnesses to the wedding. among other ceremonies, presents of fruit, food, ornaments and jewellery are exchanged between the parties, and these are called _choli-ka-bharana_ or filling the bride's breast-cloth. the original object of giving these presents was thus, it would appear from the name, to render the bride fertile. the father then gives his daughter away in a set form of speech. after reciting the exact moment of time, the hour, the day, the minute according to solar and lunar reckoning, the year and the epoch, he proceeds: "in the name of vishnu (repeating the name three times), the supreme spirit, father and creator of the universe, and in furtherance of his wish for the propagation of the human species, i (specifying his full name and section, etc.), in the company of my married wife, do hereby offer the hand of my daughter--may she live long--full of all virtuous qualities, image of lakshmi, wife of vishnu, anxious of union in lawful wedlock, ornamented and dressed, brought up and instructed according to the best of my means, by name (naming her and repeating the full description of ancestors, class, etc.) in the solemn presence of the brahmans, gurus, fire and deities, to you--may you live long--(repeating the bridegroom's name and full description), anxious to obtain a wife with a view to secure the abode of bliss and eternal happiness in the heaven of brahma. accept her with _kusha_ grass, grains of rice, water and presents of money." afterwards the father asks the bridegroom never to disregard the feelings and sentiments of his wife in matters of religion, social pleasures and the acquisition of money, and the bridegroom agrees. the binding portion of the ceremony consists in walking seven times round the sacred post, and when the seventh round is completed the marriage is irrevocable. among the maratha brahmans the bridegroom is called nawar deo or the new god. during the five days of the wedding he is considered to be a sort of king, and is put in the highest place, and everybody defers to him. they make the bridegroom and bride name each other for a joke, as they are ashamed to do this, and will not untie their clothes to let them bathe until they have done it. at all the feasts the bride and bridegroom are made to eat out of the same plate, and they put pieces of food in each other's mouth, which is supposed to produce affection between them. the wedding expenses in an ordinary kanaujia brahman's family, whose income is perhaps rs. 20 to 40 a month, are estimated at rs. 200 for the bridegroom's party and rs. 175 for the bride's, exclusive of any brideor bridegroom-price. the bulk of the expenditure is on feasts to the caste. the bride does not live with her husband until after she arrives at puberty, but it is thought desirable that she should spend long visits with his family before this, in order that she may assimilate their customs and be trained by her mother-in-law, according to the saying, 'tender branches are easily bent.' among some maratha brahmans, when the bride arrives at puberty a ceremony called garhbhadan is performed, and the husband confesses whether he has cohabited with his wife before her puberty, and if so, he is fined a small sum. such instances usually occur when the signs of puberty are delayed. if the planet mangal or mars is adverse to a girl in her horoscope, it is thought that her husband will die. the women of her family will, therefore, first marry her secretly to a pipal-tree, so that the tree may die instead. but they do not tell this to the bridegroom. in saugor, girls whose horoscope is unfavourable to the husband are first married to the _arka_ or swallow-wort plant. if a brahman has not sufficient funds to arrange for the marriage of his daughter he will go about and beg, and it is considered that alms given for this purpose acquire special merit for the donor, nor will any good brahman refuse a contribution according to his means. 12. polygamy, divorce and treatment of widows. polygamy conveys no stigma among brahmans, but is uncommon. divorce is not recognised, a woman who is put away by her husband being turned out of the caste. the remarriage of widows is strictly prohibited. it is said that marriage is the only sacrament (sanskar) for a woman, and she can only go through it once. the holy nuptial texts may not be repeated except for a virgin. the prohibition of the remarriage of widows has become a most firmly rooted prejudice among the higher classes of hindus, and is the last to give way before the inroads of liberal reform. only a small minority of the most advanced brahmans have recognised widow-remarriage, and these are generally held to be excluded from the caste, though breaches of the rules against the consumption of prohibited kinds of meat, and the drinking of aerated waters and even alcoholic liquor, are now winked at and not visited with the proper penalty. nevertheless, many classes of brahmans, who live in the country and have taken to cultivation, allow widows to live with men without putting the family out of caste. where this is not permitted, surreptitious intercourse may occasionally take place with members of the family. the treatment of widows is also becoming more humane. only maratha and khedawal brahmans in the central provinces still force them to shave their heads, and these will permit a child-widow to retain her hair until she grows up, though they regard her as impure while she has it. a widow is usually forbidden to have a cot or bed, and must sleep on the ground or on a plank. she may not chew betel-leaves, should eat only once a day, and must rigorously observe all the prescribed fasts. she wears white clothes only, no glass bangles, and no ornaments on her feet. she is subject to other restrictions and is a general drudge in the family. it is probable that the original reason for such treatment of a widow was that she was considered impure through being perpetually haunted by her husband's ghost. hindus say that a widow is half-dead. she should not be allowed to cook the household food, because while cooking it she will remember her husband and the food will become like a corpse. the smell of such food will offend the gods, and it cannot be offered to them. a widow is not permitted to worship the household god or the ancestors of the family. it was no doubt an advantage under the joint family system that a widow should not claim any life-interest in her husband's property. the modern tendency of widows, who are left in possession, to try and alienate the property from the husband's relatives has been a fruitful cause of litigation and the ruin of many old landed families. the severe treatment of widows was further calculated to suppress any tendency on the part of wives to poison their husbands. these secondary grounds may have contributed something to the preservation and enforcement of an idea based originally on superstitious motives. 13. _sati_ or burning of widows. for a widow to remain single and lead an austere and joyless life was held to confer great honour on her family; and this was enormously enhanced when she decided to become _sati_ and die with her husband on the funeral pyre. though it is doubtful whether this practice is advocated by the vedas, subsequent hindu scriptures insist strongly on it. it was said that a widow who was burnt with her husband would enjoy as many years in paradise as there are hairs on the human head, that is to say, thirty-five million. conversely, one who insisted on surviving him would in her next birth go into the body of some animal. by the act of _sati_ she purified all her husband's ancestors, even from the guilt of killing a brahman, and also those of her own family. if a man died during an absence from home in another country his wife was recommended to take his slippers or any other article of dress and burn herself with them tied to her breast. [410] great honour was paid to a sati, and a temple or memorial stone was always erected to her at which her spirit was venerated, and this encouraged many pious women not only to resign themselves to this terrible death but ardently to desire it. the following account given by mr. ward of the method of a _sati_ immolation in bengal may be reproduced: [411] "when the husband's life is despaired of and he is carried to the bank of the ganges, the wife declares her resolution to be burnt with him. in this case she is treated with great respect by her neighbours, who bring her delicate food, and when her husband is dead she again declares her resolve to be burnt with his body. having broken a small branch from a mango tree she takes it with her and proceeds to the body, where she sits down. the barber then paints the sides of her feet red, after which she bathes and puts on new clothes. during these preparations the drum beats a certain sound by which it is known that a widow is about to be burnt with the corpse of her husband. a hole is dug in the ground round which posts are driven into the earth, and thick green stakes laid across to form a kind of bed; and upon these are laid in abundance dry faggots, hemp, clarified butter and pitch. the officiating brahman now causes the widow to repeat the prayer that as long as fourteen indras reign, or as many years as there are hairs on her head, she may abide in heaven with her husband; that during this time the heavenly dancers may wait on her and her husband; and that by this act of merit all the ancestors of her mother and husband may ascend to heaven. she now presents her ornaments to her friends, ties some red cotton on both wrists, puts two new combs in her hair, paints her forehead, and takes into the end of the cloth that she wears some parched rice and cowries. the dead body is bathed, anointed with butter, and dressed in new clothes. the son takes a handful of boiled rice and offers it in the name of his deceased father. ropes and another piece of cloth are spread on the wood, and the dead body is laid upon the pile. the widow next walks round the pyre seven times, as she did round the marriage-post at her wedding, strewing parched rice and cowries as she goes, which the spectators catch and keep under the belief that they will cure diseases. the widow then lies down on the fatal pile by the side of the dead body. the bodies are bound together with ropes and the faggots placed over them. the son, averting his head, puts fire to the face of his father, and at the same moment several persons light the pile at different sides, when the women and mourners set up cries. more faggots are hastily brought and thrown over the pile, and two bamboo levers are pressed over them to hold down the bodies and the pile. several persons are employed in holding down these levers. more clarified butter, pitch and faggots are thrown on to the pile till the bodies are consumed. this may take about two hours, but i conceive the woman must be dead in a few minutes after the fire has been kindled." as showing the tenacity with which women sometimes adhered to their resolve to be burned with their husbands, and thus, as they believed, resume their conjugal life in heaven, the following account by sir william sleeman, in his _rambles and recollections_, of a _sati_ at jubbulpore may be given: "at gopalpur on the nerbudda are some very pretty temples built for the most part to the memory of women who have burned themselves with the remains of their husbands, and on the very spot where the cremation occurred. among them was one recently raised over the ashes of one of the most extraordinary old bodies i had ever seen, who burned herself in my presence in 1829. in march 1828 i had issued a proclamation prohibiting any one from aiding or assisting in _sati_, and distinctly stating that to bring one ounce of wood for the purpose would be considered as so doing. subsequently, on tuesday, 24th november, i had an application from the heads of the most respectable and most extensive family of brahmans in the district, to suffer this old woman to burn herself with the remains of her husband, umeid singh upadhya, who had that morning died upon the banks of the nerbudda. i threatened to enforce my order and punish severely any man who assisted; and placed a police guard for the purpose of seeing that no one did so. the old woman remained by the edge of the water without eating or drinking. next day the body of her husband was burned in the presence of several thousand spectators, who had assembled to see the _sati_. the sons and grandsons of the old woman remained with her, urging her to desist from her resolve, while her other relatives surrounded my house urging me to allow her to burn. all the day she remained sitting upon a bare rock in the bed of the nerbudda, refusing every kind of sustenance, and exposed to the intense heat of the sun by day and the severe cold of the night, with only a thin sheet thrown over her shoulders. on the next day, thursday, to cut off all hope of her being moved from her purpose, she put on the _dhujja_ or coarse red turban and broke her bracelets in pieces, by which she became dead in law and for ever excluded from caste. should she choose to live after this she could never return to her family. on the morning of saturday, the fourth day after the death, i rode out ten miles to the spot, and found the poor old widow sitting with the _dhujja_ round her head, a brass plate before her with undressed rice and flowers, and a cocoanut in each hand. she talked very collectedly, telling me that she had determined to mix her ashes with those of her departed husband, and should patiently await my permission to do so, assured that god would enable her to sustain life till that was given, though she dared not eat or drink. looking at the sun, then rising before her over a long and beautiful reach of the nerbudda, she said calmly: 'my soul has been for five days with my husband's near that sun; nothing but my earthly frame is left, and this i know you will in time suffer to be mixed with the ashes of his in yonder pit, because it is not in your nature wantonly to prolong the miseries of a poor old woman.' i told her that my object and duty was to save and preserve her; i was come to urge her to live and keep her family from the disgrace of being thought her murderers. i tried to work upon her pride and fears. i told her that the rent-free lands on which her family had long subsisted might be resumed by government if her children permitted her to do this act; and that no brick or stone should ever mark the place of her death; but if she would live, a splendid habitation should be made for her among the temples, and an allowance given her from the rent-free lands. she smiled, but held out her arm and said, 'my pulse has long ceased to beat, for my spirit has departed, and i have nothing left but a little earth that i wish to mix with the ashes of my husband. i shall suffer nothing in burning, and if you wish proof order some fire, and you shall see this arm consumed without giving me any pain.' i did not attempt to feel her pulse, but some of my people did, and declared that it had ceased to be perceptible. at this time every native present believed that she was incapable of suffering pain, and her end confirmed them in their opinion. satisfied myself that it would be unavailing to attempt to save her life, i sent for all the principal members of the family, and consented that she should be suffered to burn herself if they would enter into engagements that no other member of their family should ever do the same. this they all agreed to, and the papers having been drawn out in due form about midday, i sent down notice to the old lady, who seemed extremely pleased and thankful. the ceremonies of bathing were gone through before three, while the wood and other combustible materials for a strong fire were collected and put into the pit. after bathing she called for a _pan_ (betel-leaf) and ate it, then rose up, and with one arm on the shoulder of her eldest son, and the other on that of her nephew, approached the fire. as she rose up fire was set to the pile, and it was instantly in a blaze. the distance was about one hundred and fifty yards; she came on with a calm and cheerful countenance, stopped once, and casting her eyes upwards said, 'why have they kept me five days from thee, my husband?' on coming to the sentries her supports stopped, she walked round the pit, paused a moment; and while muttering a prayer threw some flowers into the fire. she then walked deliberately and steadily to the brink, stepped into the centre of the flame, sat down, and leaning back in the midst as if reposing upon a couch, was consumed without uttering a shriek or betraying one sign of agony." in cases, however, where women shrank from the flames they were frequently forced into them, as it was a terrible disgrace to their families that they should recoil on the scene of the sacrifice. opium and other drugs were also administered to stupefy the woman and prevent her from feeling pain. widows were sometimes buried alive with their dead husbands. the practice of _sati_ was finally prohibited in 1829, without exciting the least discontent. 14. funeral rites and mourning. the bodies of children dying before they are named, or before the tonsure ceremony is performed on them, are buried, and those of other persons are burnt. in the grave of a small child some of its mother's milk, or, if this is not available, cow's milk in a leaf-cup or earthen vessel, is placed. before a body is burnt cakes of wheat-flour are put on the face, breast and both shoulders, and a coin is always deposited for the purchase of the site. mourning or impurity is observed for varying periods, according to the nearness of relationship. for a child, relatives other than the parents have only to take a bath to remove the impurity caused by the death. in a small town or village all brahmans of the same subcaste living in the place are impure from the time of the death until cremation has taken place. after the funeral the chief mourner performs the _shraddh_ ceremony, offering _pindas_ or cakes of rice, with libations of water, to the dead. presents are made to brahmans for the use of the dead man in the other world, and these are sometimes very valuable, as it is thought that the spirit will thereby be profited. such presents are taken by the maha-brahman, who is much despised. when a late zamindar of khariar died, rs. 2000 were given to the maha-brahman for the use of his soul in the next world. the funeral rites are performed by an ordinary brahman, known as malai, who may receive presents after the period of impurity has expired. formerly a calf was let loose in the name of the deceased after being branded with the mark of a trident to dedicate it to siva, and allowed to wander free thenceforth. sometimes it was formally married to three or four female calves, and these latter were presented to brahmans. sometimes the calf was brought to stand over the dying man and water poured down its tail into his mouth. the practice of letting loose a male calf is now declining, as these animals are a great nuisance to the crops, and cultivators put them in the pound. the calf is therefore also presented to a brahman. it is believed that the _shraddh_ ceremony is necessary to unite the dead man's spirit with the pitris or ancestors, and without this it wanders homeless. some think that the ancestors dwell on the under or dark side of the moon. those descendants who can offer the _pindas_ or funeral cakes to the same ancestor are called sapindas or relatives, and the man who fills the office of chief mourner thereby becomes the dead man's heir. persons who have died a violent death or have been executed are not entitled to the ordinary funeral oblations, and cannot at once be united with the ancestors. but one year after the death an effigy of the deceased person is made in _kusha_ grass and burnt, with all the ordinary funeral rites, and offerings are made to his spirit as if he had died on this occasion. if the death was caused by snake-bite a gold snake is made and presented to a brahman before this ceremony is begun. this is held to be the proper funeral ceremony which unites his spirit with the ancestors. formerly in madras if a man died during the last five days of the waning of the moon it was considered very unlucky. in order to escape evil effects to the relatives a special opening was made in the wall of the house, through which the body was carried, and the house itself was afterwards abandoned for three to six months. [412] a similar superstition prevails in the central provinces about a man dying in the mul nakshatra or lunar asterism, which is perhaps the same or some similar period. in this case it is thought that the deaths of four other members of the household are portended, and to avert this four human figures are made of flour or grass and burnt with the corpse. according to the abbé dubois if a man died on a saturday it was thought that another death would occur in the family, and to avert this a living animal, such as a ram, goat or fowl, was offered with the corpse. [413] 15. religion. the religion of the brahmans is hinduism, of which they are the priests and exponents. formerly the brahman considered himself as a part of brahma, and hence a god. this belief has decayed, but the gods are still held to reside in the body; siva in the crown of the head, vishnu in the chest, brahma in the navel, indra in the genitals and ganesh in the rectum. most brahmans belong to a sect worshipping especially siva or vishnu, or rama and krishna, the incarnations of the latter god, or sakti, the female principle of energy of siva. but as a rule brahmans, whether of the sivite or vishnuite sects, abstain from flesh meat and are averse to the killing of any living thing. the following account of the daily ritual prayers of a benares brahman may be reproduced from m. andré chevrillon's _romantic india_, [414] as, though possibly not altogether accurate in points of detail, it gives an excellent idea of their infinitely complicated nature: 16. daily ritual. "here is the daily life of one of the twenty-five thousand brahmans of benares. he rises before the dawn, and his first care is to look at an object of good omen. if he sees a crow at his left, a kite, a snake, a cat, a hare, a jackal, an empty jar, a smoking fire, a wood-pile, a widow, a man blind of one eye, he is threatened with great dangers during the day. if he intended to make a journey, he puts it off. but if he sees a cow, a horse, an elephant, a parrot, a lizard, a clear-burning fire, a virgin, all will go well. if he should sneeze once, he may count upon some special good fortune; but if twice some disaster will happen to him. if he yawns some demon may enter his body. having avoided all objects of evil omen, the brahman drops into the endless routine of his religious rites. under penalty of rendering all the day's acts worthless, he must wash his teeth at the bank of a sacred stream or lake, reciting a special _mantra_, which ends in this ascription: 'o ganges, daughter of vishnu, thou springest from vishnu's foot, thou art beloved by him! remove from us the stains of sin and birth, and until death protect us thy servants!' he then rubs his body with ashes, saying: 'homage to siva, homage to the source of all birth! may he protect me during all births!' he traces the sacred signs upon his forehead--the three vertical lines representing the foot of vishnu, or the three horizontal lines which symbolise the trident of siva--and twists into a knot the hair left by the razor on the top of his head, that no impurity may fall from it to pollute the sacred river. "he is now ready to begin the ceremonies of the morning (_sandhya_), those which i have just observed on the banks of the river. minutely and mechanically each brahman performs by himself these rites of prescribed acts and gestures. first the internal ablution: the worshipper takes water in the hollow of his hand, and, letting it fall from above into his mouth, cleanses his body and soul. meanwhile he mentally invokes the names of vishnu, saying, 'glory to keshava, to narayana, to madhava, to govinda,' and so on. "the second rite is the exercise or 'discipline' of the respiration (_prajayama_). here there are three acts: first, the worshipper compresses the right nostril with the thumb, and drives the breath through the left; second, he inhales through the left nostril, then compresses it, and inhales through the other; third, he stops the nose completely with thumb and forefinger, and holds his breath as long as possible. all these acts must be done before sunrise, and prepare for what is to follow. standing on the water's edge, he utters solemnly the famous syllable om, pronouncing it _aum_, with a length equalling that of three letters. it recalls to him the three persons of the hindu trinity: brahma, who creates; vishnu, who preserves; siva, who destroys. more noble than any other word, imperishable, says manu, it is eternal as brahma himself. it is not a sign, but a being, a force; a force which constrains the gods, superior to them, the very essence of all things. mysterious operations of the mind, strange associations of ideas, from which spring conceptions like these! having uttered this ancient and formidable syllable, the man calls by their names the three worlds: earth, air, sky; and the four superior heavens. he then turns towards the east, and repeats the verse [415] from the rig-veda: 'let us meditate upon the resplendent glory of the divine vivifier, that it may enlighten our minds.' as he says the last words he takes water in the palm of his hand and pours it upon the top of his head. 'waters,' he says, 'give me strength and vigour that i may rejoice. like loving mothers, bless us, penetrate us with your sacred essence. we come to wash ourselves from the pollution of sins: make us fruitful and prosperous.' then follow other ablutions, other _mantras_, verses from the rig-veda, and this hymn, which relates the origin of all things: 'from the burning heat came out all things. yes, the complete order of the world; night, the throbbing ocean, and after the throbbing ocean, time, which separates light from darkness. all mortals are its subjects. it is this which disposes of all things, and has made, one after another, the sun, the sky, the earth, the intermediate air.' this hymn, says manu, thrice repeated, effaces the gravest sins. "about this time, beyond the sands of the opposite shore of the ganges, the sun appears. as soon as its brilliant disc becomes visible the multitude welcome it, and salute it with 'the offering of water.' this is thrown into the air, either from a vase or from the hand. thrice the worshipper, standing in the river up to his waist, flings the water towards the sun. the farther and wider he flings it, the greater the virtue attributed to this act. then the brahman, seated upon his heels, fulfils the most sacred of his religious duties: he meditates upon his fingers. for the fingers are sacred, inhabited by different manifestations of vishnu; the thumb by govinda, the index-finger by madhava, the middle finger by hrikesa, the third by trivikama and the little finger by vishnu himself. 'homage to the two thumbs,' says the brahman, 'to the two index-fingers, to the two middle fingers, to the two "unnamed fingers," to the two little fingers, to the two palms, to the two backs of the hands.' then he touches the various parts of the body, and lastly, the right ear, the most sacred of all, where reside fire, water, the sun and the moon. he then takes a red bag (_gomukhi_), into which he plunges his hand, and by contortions of the fingers rapidly represents the chief incarnations of vishnu: a fish, a tortoise, a wild boar, a lion, a slip-knot, a garland. [416] "the second part of the service is no less rich than the first in ablutions and _mantras_. the brahman invokes the sun, 'mitra, who regards all creatures with unchanging gaze,' and the dawns, 'brilliant children of the sky,' the earliest divinities of our aryan race. he extols the world of brahma, that of siva, that of vishnu; recites passages from the mahabharata, the puranas, all the first hymn of the rig-veda, the first lines of the second, the first words of the principal vedas, of the yajur, the sama, and the atharva, then fragments of grammar, inspired prosodies, and, in conclusion, the first words of the book of the laws of yajnavalkya, the philosophic sutras: and finally ends the ceremony with three kinds of ablutions, which are called the refreshing of the gods, of the sages and of the ancestors. "first, placing his sacred cord upon the left shoulder, the brahman takes up water in the right hand, and lets it run off his extended fingers. to refresh the sages, the cord must hang about the neck, and the water run over the side of the hand between the thumb and the forefinger, which is bent back. for the ancestors, the cord passes over the right shoulder, and the water falls from the hand in the same way as for the sages. 'let the fathers be refreshed,' says the prayer, 'may this water serve all those who inhabit the seven worlds, as far as to brahma's dwelling, even though their number be greater than thousands of millions of families. may this water, consecrated by my cord, be accepted by the men of my race who have left no sons.' "with this prayer the morning service ends. now, remember that this worship is daily, that these formulas must be pronounced, these movements of the hands made with mechanical precision; that if the worshipper forgets one of the incarnations of vishnu which he is to figure with his fingers, if he stop his left nostril when it should be the right, the entire ceremony loses its efficacy; that, not to go astray amid this multitude of words and gestures required for each rite, he is obliged to use mnemotechnic methods; that there are five of these for each series of formulas; that his attention always strained and always directed toward the externals of the cult, does not leave his mind a moment in which to reflect upon the profound meaning of some of these prayers, and you will comprehend the extraordinary scene that the banks of the ganges at benares present every morning; this anxious and demented multitude, these gestures, eager and yet methodical, this rapid movement of the lips, the fixed gaze of these men and women who, standing in the water, seem not even to see their neighbours, and count mentally like men in the delirium of a fever. remember that there are ceremonies like these in the afternoon and also in the evening, and that in the intervals, in the street, in the house at meals, when going to bed, similar rites no less minute pursue the brahman, all preceded by the exercises of respiration, the enunciation of the syllable om, and the invocation of the principal gods. it is estimated that between daybreak and noon he has scarcely an hour of rest from the performance of these rites. after the great powers of nature, the ganges, the dawn, and the sun, he goes to worship in their temples the representations of divinity, the sacred trees, finally the cows, to whom he offers flowers. in his own dwelling other divinities await him, five black stones, [417] representing siva, ganesa, surya, devi and vishnu, arranged according to the cardinal points: one towards the north, a second to the south-east, a third to the south-west, a fourth to the north-west, and one in the centre, this order changing according as the worshipper regards one god or another as most important; then there is a shell, a bell--to which, kneeling, he offers flowers--and, lastly, a vase, whose mouth contains vishnu, the neck rudra, the paunch brahma, while at the bottom repose the three divine mothers, the ganges, the indus, and the jumna. "this is the daily cult of the brahman of benares, and on holidays it is still further complicated. since the great epoch of brahmanism it has remained the same. some details may alter, but as a whole it has always been thus tyrannical and thus extravagant. as far back as the upanishads appears the same faith in the power of articulate speech, the same imperative and innumerable prescriptions, the same singular formulas, the same enumeration of grotesque gestures. every day, for more than twenty-five hundred years, since buddhism was a protest against the tyranny and absurdity of rites, has this race mechanically passed through this machinery, resulting in what mental malformations, what habitual attitudes of mind and will, the race is now too different from ourselves for us to be able to conceive." secular brahmans now, however, greatly abridge the length of their prayers, and an hour or an hour and a half in the morning suffices for the daily bath and purification, the worship of the household deities and the morning meal. 17. the sacred thread. brahman boys are invested with the sacred thread between the ages of five and nine. the ceremony is called upanayana or the introduction to knowledge, since by it the boy acquires the right to read the sacred books. until this ceremony he is not really a brahman, and is not bound to observe the caste rules and restrictions. by its performance he becomes dvija or twice-born, and the highest importance is attached to the change or initiation. he may then begin to acquire divine knowledge, and perhaps in past times it was thought that he obtained the divine character belonging to a brahman. the sacred thread is made of three strands of cotton, which should be obtained from the cotton tree growing wild. sometimes a tree is grown in the yard of the house for the provision of the threads. it has several knots in it, to which great importance is attached, the number of knots being different for a brahman, a kshatriya and a vaishya, the three twice-born castes. the thread hangs from the left shoulder, falling on to the right hip. sometimes, when a man is married, he wears a double thread of six strands, the second being for his wife; and after his father dies a treble one of nine strands. at the investiture the boy's nails are cut and his hair is shaved, and he performs the _hom_ or fire sacrifice for the first time. he then acquires the status of a brahmachari or disciple, and in former times he would proceed to some religious centre and begin to study the sacred books. the idea of this is preserved by a symbolic ritual. some brahmans shave the boy's head completely, make a girdle of _kusha_ or _munj_ grass round his waist, provide him with a begging-bowl and tongs and the skin of an antelope to sit on and make him go and beg from four houses. among others the boy gets on to a wooden horse and announces his intention of going off to benares to study. his mother then sits on the edge of a well and threatens to throw herself in if he will not change his mind, or the maternal uncle promises to give the boy his daughter in marriage. then the boy relinquishes his intention and agrees to stay at home. the sacred thread must always be passed through the hand before saying the gayatri text in praise of the sun, the most sacred brahmanical text. the sacred thread is changed once a year on the day of rakshabandhan; the brahman and all his family change it together. the word rakshabandhan means binding or tying up the devils, and it would thus appear that the sacred thread and the knots in it may have been originally intended to some extent to be a protection against evil spirits. it is also changed on the occasion of a birth or death in the family, or of an eclipse, or if it breaks. the old threads are torn up or sewn into clothes by the very poor in the maratha districts. it is said that the brahmans are afraid that the kunbis will get hold of their old threads, and if they do get one they will fold it into four strings, holding a lamp in the middle, and wave it over any one who is sick. the brahmans think that if this is done all the accumulated virtue which they have obtained by many repetitions of the gayatri or sacred prayer will be transferred to the sick kunbi. many castes now wear the sacred thread who have no proper claim to do so, especially those who have become landholders and aspire to the status of rajputs. 18. social position. the brahman is of course supreme in hindu society. he never bows his head in salutation to any one who is not a brahman, and acknowledges with a benediction the greetings of all other classes. no member of another caste, dr. bhattacharya states, can, consistently with hindu etiquette and religious beliefs, refuse altogether to bow to a brahman. "the more orthodox sudras carry their veneration for the priestly caste to such an extent that they will not cross the shadow of a brahman, and it is not unusual for them to be under a vow not to eat any food in the morning before drinking brahman nectar, [418] or water in which the toe of a brahman has been dipped. on the other hand, the pride of the brahman is such that he does not bow even to the images of the gods in a sudra's house. when a brahman invites a sudra the latter is usually asked to partake of the host's _prasada_ or favour in the shape of the leavings of his plate. orthodox sudras actually take offence if invited by the use of any other formula. no sudra is allowed to eat in the same room or at the same time with brahmans." [419] a man of low caste meeting a brahman says 'pailagi' or 'i fall at your feet,' and touches the brahman's foot with his hand, which he then carries to his own forehead to signify this. a man wishing to ask a favour in a humble manner stands on one leg and folds his cloth round his neck to show that his head is at his benefactor's disposal; and he takes a piece of grass in his mouth by which he means to say, 'i am your cow.' brahmans greeting each other clasp the hands and say 'salaam,' this method of greeting being known as namaskar. since most brahmans have abandoned the priestly calling and are engaged in government service and the professions, this exaggerated display of reverence is tending to disappear, nor do the educated members of the caste set any great store by it, preferring the social estimation attaching to such a prominent secular position as they often attain for themselves. 19. titles. any brahman is, however, commonly addressed by other castes as maharaj, great king, or else as pandit, a learned man. i had a brahman chuprassie, or orderly, who was regularly addressed by the rest of the household as pandit, and on inquiring as to the literary attainments of this learned man, i found he had read the first two class-books in a primary school. other titles of brahmans are dvija, or twice-born, that is, one who has had the thread ceremony performed; bipra, applied to a brahman learned in the shastras or scriptures; and srotriya, a learned brahman who is engaged in the performance of vedic rites. 20. caste _panchayat_ and offences. the brahmans have a caste _panchayat_, but among the educated classes the tendency is to drop the _panchayat_ procedure and to refer matters of caste rules and etiquette to the informal decision of a few of the most respected local members. in northern india there is no supreme authority for the caste, but the five southern divisions acknowledge the successor of the great reformer shankar acharya as their spiritual head, and important caste questions are referred to him. his headquarters are at the monastery of sringeri on the cauvery river in mysore. mr. joshi gives four offences as punishable with permanent exclusion from caste: killing a brahman, drinking prohibited wine or spirits, committing incest with a mother or step-mother or with the wife of one's spiritual preceptor, and stealing gold from a priest. some very important offences, therefore, such as murder of any person other than a brahman, adultery with a woman of impure caste and taking food from her, and all offences against property, except those mentioned, do not involve permanent expulsion. temporary exclusion is inflicted for a variety of offences, among which are teaching the vedas for hire, receiving gifts from a sudra for performing fire-worship, falsely accusing a spiritual preceptor, subsisting by the harlotry of a wife, and defiling a damsel. it is possible that some of the offences against morality are comparatively recent additions. brahmans who cross the sea to be educated in england are readmitted into caste on going through various rites of purification; the principal of these is to swallow the five products of the sacred cow, milk, _ghi_ or preserved butter, curds, dung and urine. but the small minority who have introduced widow-marriage are still banned by the orthodox. 21. rules about food. brahmans as a rule should not eat meat nor drink intoxicating liquor. but it is said that the following indulgences have been recognised: for residents in eastern india the eating of flesh and drinking liquor; for those of northern india the eating of flesh; for those in the west the use of water out of leather buckets; and in the south marriage with a first cousin on the mother's side. hindustani brahmans eat meat, according to mr. joshi, and others are now also adopting this custom. the kinds of meat permitted are mutton and venison, scaly, but not scaleless, fish, hares, and even the tortoise, wild boar, wild buffalo and rhinoceros. brahmans are said even to eat domestic fowls, though not openly, and wild jungle fowls are preferred, but are seldom obtainable. maratha brahmans will not eat meat openly. formerly only the flesh of animals offered in sacrifice could be eaten, but this rule is being disregarded and some brahmans buy mutton from the butchers. a brahman should not eat even _pakki rasoi_ or food cooked without water, such as sweetmeats and cakes fried in butter or oil, except when cooked by his own family and in his own home. but these are now partaken of abroad, and also purchased from the halwai or confectioner on the assumption that he is a brahman. a brahman should take food cooked with water only from his own relations and in his own home after the place has been purified and spread with cowdung. he bathes before eating, and wears only a yellow silk or woollen cloth round his waist, which is kept specially for this purpose, cotton being regarded as impure. but these rules are tending to become obsolete, as educated brahmans recognise more and more what a hindrance they cause to any social enjoyment. boys especially who receive an english education in high schools and universities are rapidly becoming more liberal. they will drink soda-water or lemonade of which they are very fond, and eat european sweets and sometimes biscuits. the social intercourse of boys of all castes and religions in school and games, and in the latter the frequent association with europeans, are having a remarkable effect in breaking down caste prejudice, the results of which should become very apparent in a few years. a brahman also should not smoke, but many now do so, and when they go to see a friend will take their own huqqa with them as they cannot smoke out of his. maratha and khedawal brahmans, however, as a rule do not smoke, but only chew tobacco. 22. dress. a brahman's dress should be white, and he can have a coloured turban, preferably red. maratha brahmans were very particular about the securing of their _dhoti_ or loin-cloth, which always had to have five tucks, three into the waistband at the two sides and in front, while the loose ends were tucked in in front and behind. buttons had to be avoided as they were made of bone, and shoes were considered to be impure as being of leather. formerly a brahman never entered a house with his shoes on, as he would consider the house to be defiled. according to the old rule, if a brahman touches a man of an impure caste, as a chamar (tanner) or basor (basket-maker), he should bathe and change his loin-cloth, and if he touches a sweeper he should change his sacred thread. now, however, educated brahmans usually wear white cotton trousers and black or brown coats of cloth, alpaca or silk with the normal allowance of buttons, and european shoes and boots which they keep on indoors. boys are even discarding the _choti_ or scalp-lock and simply cut their hair short in imitation of the english. for the head small felt caps have become fashionable in lieu of turbans. 23. tattooing. men are never tattooed, but women are freely tattooed on the face and body. one dot is made in the centre of the forehead and three on the left nostril in the form of a triangle. all the limbs and the fingers and toes may also be tattooed, the most common patterns being a peacock with spread wings, a fish, cuckoo, scorpion, a child's doll, a sieve, a pattern of sita's cookroom and representations of all female ornaments. some women think that they will be able to sell the ornaments tattooed on their bodies in the next world and subsist on the proceeds. 24. occupation. in former times the brahman was supposed to confine himself to priestly duties, learning the vedas and giving instruction to the laity. his subsistence was to be obtained from gleaning the fields after the crop had been cut and from unsolicited alms, as it was disgraceful for him to beg. but if he could not make a living in this manner he was at liberty to adopt a trade or profession. the majority of brahmans have followed the latter course with much success. they were the ministers of hindu kings, and as these were usually illiterate, most of the power fell into the brahmans' hands. in poona the maratha brahmans became the actual rulers of the state. they have profited much from gifts and bequests of land for charitable purposes and are one of the largest landholding castes. in mewar it was recorded that a fifth of the state revenue from land was assigned in religious grants, [420] and in the deeds of gift, drawn up no doubt by the brahmans themselves, the most terrible penalties were invoked on any one who should interfere with the grant. one of these was that such an impious person would be a caterpillar in hell for sixty thousand years. [421] plots of land and mango groves are also frequently given to brahmans by village proprietors. a brahman is forbidden to touch the plough with his own hands, but this rule is falling into abeyance and many brahman cultivators plough themselves. brahmans are also prohibited from selling a large number of articles, as milk, butter, cows, salt and so on. formerly a brahman village proprietor refused payment for the supplies of milk and butter given to travellers, and some would expend the whole produce of their cattle in feeding religious mendicants and poor brahmans. but these scruples, which tended to multiply the number of beggars indefinitely, have happily vanished, and brahmans will even sell cows to a butcher. mr. joshi relates that a suit was brought by a brahman in his court for the hide of a cow sold by him for slaughter. a number of brahmans are employed as personal servants, and these are usually cooks, a brahman cook being very useful, since all hindus can eat the food which he prepares. nor has this calling hitherto been considered derogatory, as food is held to be sacred, and he who prepares it is respected. many live on charitable contributions, and it is a rule among hindus that a brahman coming into the house and asking for a present must be given something or his curse will ruin the family. liberality is encouraged by the recitation of legends, such as that of the good king harischandra who gave away his whole kingdom to the great brahman saint visvamitra, and retired to benares with a loin-cloth which the recipient allowed him to retain from his possessions. but brahmans who take gifts at the time of a death, and those who take them from pilgrims at the sacred shrines, are despised and considered as out of caste, though not the priests in charge of temples. the rapacity of all these classes is proverbial, and an instance may be given of the conduct of the pandas or temple-priests of benares. these men were so haughty that they never appeared in the temple unless some very important visitor was expected, who would be able to pay largely. it is related that when the ex-peshwa of poona came to benares after the death of his father he solicited the panda of the great temple of viseshwar to assist him in the performance of the ceremonies necessary for the repose of his father's soul. but the priest refused to do so until the maharaja had filled with coined silver the _hauz_ or font of the temple. the demand was acceded to and rs. 125,000 were required to fill the font. [422] those who are very poor adopt the profession of a maha-brahman or mahapatra, who takes gifts for the dead. respectable brahmans will not accept gifts at all, but when asked to a feast the host usually gives them one to four annas or pence with betel-leaf at the time of their departure, and there is no shame in accepting this. a very rich man may give a gold mohar (guinea) to each brahman. other brahmans act as astrologers and foretell events. they pretend to be able to produce rain in a drought or stop excessive rainfall when it is injuring the crops. they interpret dreams and omens. in the case of a theft the loser will go to a brahman astrologer, and after learning the circumstances the latter will tell him what sort of person stole the property and in what direction the property is concealed. but the large majority of brahmans have abandoned all priestly functions, and are employed in all grades of government service, the professions and agriculture. in 1911 about fifty-three per cent of brahmans in the central provinces were supported by agriculture as landowners, cultivators and labourers. about twenty-two per cent were engaged in the arts and professions, seven per cent in government service, including the police which contains many brahman constables, and only nineteen per cent were returned under all occupations connected with religion. 25. character of brahmans. many hard things have been said about the brahman caste and have not been undeserved. the brahman priesthood displayed in a marked degree the vices of arrogance, greed, hypocrisy and dissimulation, which would naturally be engendered by their sacerdotal pretensions and the position they claimed at the head of hindu society. but the priests and mendicants now, as has been seen, contribute only a comparatively small minority of the whole caste. the majority of the brahmans are lawyers, doctors, executive officers of government and clerks in all kinds of government, railway and private offices. the defects ascribed to the priesthood apply to these, if at all, only in a very minor degree. the brahman official has many virtues. he is, as a rule, honest, industrious and anxious to do his work creditably. he spends very little on his own pleasures, and his chief aim in life is to give his children as good an education as he can afford. a half or more of his income may be devoted to this object. if he is well-to-do he helps his poor relations liberally, having the strong fellow-feeling for them which is a relic of the joint family system. he is a faithful husband and an affectionate father. if his outlook on life is narrow and much of his leisure often devoted to petty quarrels and intrigues, this is largely the result of his imperfect, parrot-like education and lack of opportunity for anything better. in this respect it may be anticipated that the excellent education and training now afforded by government in secondary schools for very small fees will produce a great improvement; and that the next generation of educated hindus will be considerably more manly and intelligent, and it may be hoped at the same time not less honest, industrious and loyal than their fathers. brahman, ahivasi _brahman, ahivasi._--a class of persons who claim to be brahmans, but are generally engaged in cultivation and pack-carriage. they are looked down upon by other brahmans, and permit the remarriage of widows. the name means the abode of the snake or dragon, and the caste are said to be derived from a village sunrakh in muttra district, where a dragon once lived. for further information mr. crooke's article on the caste, [423] from which the above details are taken, may be consulted. brahman, jijhotia _brahman, jijhotia._--this is a local subdivision of the kanaujia subcaste, belonging to bundelkhand. they take their name from jajhoti, the classical term for bundelkhand, and reside in saugor and the adjoining districts, where they usually act as priests to the higher castes. the jijhotia brahmans rank a little below the kanaujias proper and the sarwarias, who are also a branch of the kanaujia division. the two latter classes take daughters in marriage from jijhotias, but do not give their daughters to them. but these hypergamous marriages are now rare. jijhotia brahmans will plough with their own hands in saugor. brahman, kanaujia, kanyakubja _brahman, kanaujia, kanyakubja._--this, the most important division of the northern brahmans, takes its name from the ancient city of kanauj in the farukhabad district on the ganges, which was on two occasions the capital of india. the great king harsha vardhana, who ruled the whole of northern india in the seventh century, had his headquarters here, and when the chinese pilgrim hiuen tsang stayed at kanauj in a.d. 638 and 643 he found upwards of a hundred monasteries crowded by more than 10,000 buddhist monks. "hinduism flourished as well as buddhism, and could show more than two hundred temples with thousands of worshippers. the city, which was strongly fortified, extended along the east bank of the ganges for about four miles, and was adorned with lovely gardens and clear tanks. the inhabitants were well-to-do, including some families of great wealth; they dressed in silk, and were skilled in learning and the arts." [424] when mahmud of ghazni appeared before kanauj in a.d. 1018 the number of temples is said to have risen to 10,000. the sultan destroyed the temples, but seems to have spared the city. thereafter kanauj declined in importance, though still the capital of a rajput dynasty, and the final sack by shihab-ud-din in a.d. 1194 reduced it to desolation and insignificance for ever. [425] the kanaujia brahmans include the principal body of the caste in bengal and in the hindi districts of the central provinces. they are here divided into four sub-groups, the kanaujia proper, sarwaria, jijhotia and sanadhya, which are separately noticed. the sarwarias are sometimes considered to rank a little higher than the proper kanaujias. it is said that the two classes are the descendants of two brothers, kanya and kubja, of whom the former accepted a present from the divine king rama of ayodhya when he celebrated a sacrifice on his return from ceylon, while the latter refused it. the sarwarias are descended from kubja who refused the present and therefore are purer than the kanaujias, whose ancestor, kanya, accepted it. kanya and kubja are simply the two parts of kanyakubja, the old name for kanauj. it may be noted that kanya means a maiden and also the constellation virgo, while kubja is a name of the planet mars; but it is not known whether the words in this sense are connected with the name of the city. the kanaujia brahmans of the central provinces practise hypergamy, as described in the general article on brahman. mr. crooke states that in the united provinces the children of a man's second wife can intermarry with those of his first wife, provided that they are not otherwise related or of the same section. the practice of exchanging girls between families is also permitted there. [426] in the central provinces the kanaujias eat meat and sometimes plough with their own hands. the chhattisgarhi kanaujias form a separate group, who have been long separated from their brethren elsewhere. as a consequence other kanaujias will neither eat nor intermarry with them. similarly in saugor those who have come recently from the united provinces will not marry with the older settlers. a kanaujia brahman is very strict in the matter of taking food, and will scarcely eat it unless cooked by his own relations, according to the saying, '_ath kanaujia, nau chulha_' or 'eight kanaujias will want nine places to cook their food.' brahman, khedawal _brahman, khedawal._--the khedawals are a class of gujarati brahmans, who take their name from kheda or kaira, the headquarters of the kaira district, where they principally reside. they have two divisions, known as inside and outside. it is said that once the kaira chief was anxious to have a son and offered them gifts. the majority refused the gifts, and leaving kaira settled in villages outside the town; while a small number accepted the gifts and remained inside, and hence two separate divisions arose, the outside group being the higher. [427] it is said that the first khedawal who came to the central provinces was on a journey from gujarat to benares when, on passing through panna state, he saw some diamonds lying in a field. he stopped and picked up as many as he could and presented them to the raja of panna, who made him a grant of an estate, and from this time other khedawals came and settled. a considerable colony of them now exists in saugor and damoh. the khedawals are clever and astute, and many of them are the agents of landowners and moneylenders, while a large proportion are in the service of the government. they do not as a rule perform priestly functions in the central provinces. their caste observances are strict. formerly it is said that a khedawal who was sent to jail was permanently expelled from caste, and though the rule has been relaxed the penalties for readmission are still very heavy. they do not smoke, but only chew tobacco. widows must dress in white, and their heads are sometimes shaved. they are said to consider a camel as impure as a donkey, and will not touch either animal. one of their common titles is mehta, meaning great. the khedawals of the central provinces formerly married only among themselves, but since the railway has been opened intermarriage with their caste-fellows in gujarat has been resumed. brahman, maharashtra _brahman, maharashtra, maratha._--the maratha brahmans, or those of the bombay country, are numerous and important in the central provinces. the northern districts were for a period governed by maratha brahmans on behalf of the peshwa of poona, and under the bhonsla dynasty of nagpur in the south they took a large part in the administration. the maratha brahmans have three main subcastes, the deshasth, konkonasth and karhada. the deshasth brahmans belong to the country of poona above the western ghats, which is known as the _desh_ or home country. they are numerous in berar and nagpur. the konkonasth are so called because they reside in the konkan country along the bombay coast. they have noticeably fair complexions, good features and often grey eyes. according to a legend they were sprung from the corpses of a party of shipwrecked foreigners, who were raised to life by parasurama. [428] this story and their fine appearance have given rise to the hypothesis that their ancestors were shipwrecked sailors from some european country, or from arabia or persia. they are also known as chitpavan, which is said to mean the pure in heart, but a derivation suggested in the _bombay gazetteer_ is from chiplun or chitapolan, a place in the konkan which was their headquarters. the peshwa of poona was a konkonasth brahman, and there are a number of them in saugor. the karhada brahmans take their name from the town of karhad in the satara district. they show little difference from the deshasths in customs and appearance. formerly the above three subcastes were endogamous and married only among themselves. but since the railway has been opened they have begun to intermarry with each other to a limited extent, having obtained sanction to this from the successor of shankar acharya, whom they acknowledge as their spiritual head. the maratha brahmans are also divided into sects, according to the veda which they follow. most of them are either rigvedis or yajurvedis, and these two sects marry among themselves. these brahmans are strict in the observance of caste rules. they do not take water from any but other brahmans, and abstain from flesh and liquor. they will, however, eat with any of the panch-dravid or southern divisions of brahmans except those of gujarat. they usually abstain from smoking, and until recently have made widows shave their heads; but this rule is perhaps now relaxed. as a rule they are well educated, and the majority of them look to government service for a career, either as clerks in the public offices or as officers of the executive and judicial services. they are intelligent and generally reliable workers. the full name of a maratha or gujarati brahman consists of his own name, his father's name and a surname. but he is commonly addressed by his own name, followed by the honorific termination rao for raja, a king, or pant for pandit, a wise man. brahman, maithil _brahman, maithil._--one of the five panch-gaur or northern divisions, comprising the brahmans of bihar or tirhut. there are some maithil brahman families settled in mandla, who were formerly in the service of the gond kings. they have the surname of ojha, which is one of those borne by the caste and signifies a soothsayer. the maithil brahmans are said to have at one time practised magic. mithila or bihar has also, from the earliest times, been famous for the cultivation of sanskrit, and the great lawgiver yajnavalkya is described as a native of this country. [429] the head of the subcaste is the maharaja of darbhanga, to whom family disputes are sometimes referred for decision. the maithil brahmans are said to be mainly sakti worshippers. they eat flesh and fish, but do not drink liquor or smoke tobacco. [430] brahman, malwi _brahman, malwi._--this is a local class of brahmans from malwa in central india, who are found in the hoshangabad and betul districts. they are said to have been invited here by the gond kings of kherla in betul six or more centuries ago, and are probably of impure descent. malwa is north of the nerbudda, and they should therefore properly belong to the panch-gaur division, but they speak marathi and their customs resemble those of maratha brahmans, who will take food cooked without water from them. the malwi brahmans usually belong to the madhyandina branch of the yajurvedi sect. they work as village accountants (_patwaris_) and village priests, and also cultivate land. brahman, nagar _brahman, nagar._--a class of gujarati brahmans found in the nimar district. the name is said to be derived from the town of vadnagar of gujarat, now in baroda state. according to one account they accepted grants of land from a rajput king, and hence were put out of caste by their fellows. another story is that the nagar brahman women were renowned for their personal beauty and also for their skill in music. the emperor jahangir, hearing of their fame, wished to see them and sent for them, but they refused to go. the emperor then ordered that all the men should be killed and the women be taken to his court. a terrible struggle ensued, and many women threw themselves into tanks and rivers and were drowned, rather than lose their modesty by appearing before the emperor. a body of brahmans numbering 7450 (or 74 1/2 hundred) threw away their sacred threads and became sudras in order to save their lives. since this occurrence the figure 74 1/2 is considered very unlucky. banias write 74 1/2 in the beginning of their account-books, by which they are held to take a vow that if they make a false entry in the book they will be guilty of the sin of having killed this number of brahmans. the same figure is also written on letters, so that none but the person to whom they are addressed may dare to open them. [431] the above stories seem to show that the nagar brahmans are partly of impure descent. in gujarat it is said that one section of them called barud are the descendants of nagar brahman fathers who were unable to get wives in their own caste and took them from others. the barud section also formerly permitted the remarriage of widows. [432] this seems a further indication of mixed descent. the nagars settled in the central provinces have for a long time ceased to marry with those of gujarat owing to difficulties in communication. but now that the railway has been opened they have petitioned the rao of bhaunagar, who is the head of the caste, and a nagar brahman, to introduce intermarriage again between the two sections of the caste. many nagar brahmans have taken to secular occupations and are land-agents and cultivators. formerly the nagar brahmans observed very strict rules about defilement when in the state called _nuven_, that is, having bathed and purified themselves prior to taking food. a brahman in this condition was defiled if he touched an earthen vessel unless it was quite new and had never held water. if he sat down on a piece of cotton cloth or a scrap of leather or paper he became impure unless hindu letters had been written on the paper; these, as being the goddess saraswati, would preserve it from defilement. but cloth or leather could not be purified through being written on. thus if the brahman wished to read any book before or at his meal it had to be bound with silk and not with cotton; leather could not be used, and instead of paste of flour and water the binder had to employ paste of pounded tamarind seed. a printed book could not be read, because printing-ink contained impure matter. raw cotton did not render the brahman impure, but if it had been twisted into the wick of a lamp by any one not in a state of purity he became impure. bones defiled, but women's ivory armlets did not, except in those parts of the country where they were not usually worn, and then they did. the touch of a child of the same caste who had not learned to eat grain did not defile, but if the child ate grain it did. the touch of a donkey, a dog or a pig defiled; some said that the touch of a cat also defiled, but others were inclined to think it did not, because in truth it was not easy to keep the cat out. [433] if a brahman was defiled and rendered impure by any of the above means he could not proceed with his meal. brahman, naramdeo _brahman, naramdeo._--a class of brahmans who live in the hoshangabad and nimar districts near the banks of the nerbudda, from which river their name is derived. according to their own account they belong to the gurjara or gujarati division, and were expelled from gujarat by a raja who had cut up a golden cow and wished them to accept pieces of it as presents. this they refused to do on account of the sin involved, and hence were exiled and came to the central provinces. a local legend about them is to the effect that they are the descendants of a famous rishi or saint, who dwelt beside the nerbudda, and of a naoda or dhimar woman who was one of his disciples. the naramdeo brahmans have for the most part adopted secular occupations, though they act as village priests or astrologers. they are largely employed as village accountants (_patwaris_), clerks in government offices, and agents to landowners, that is, in very much the same capacity as the kayasths. as land-agents they show much astuteness, and are reputed to have enriched themselves in many cases at the expense of their masters. hence they are unpopular with the cultivators just as the kayasths are, and very uncomplimentary proverbs are current about them. brahman, sanadhya _brahman, sanadhya, sanaurhia._--the sanadhyas are considered in the central provinces to be a branch of the kanaujia division. their home is in the ganges-jumna doab and rohilkhand, between the gaur brahmans to the north-west and the kanaujias to the east. mr. crooke states that in some localities the sanadhyas intermarry with both the kanaujia and gaur divisions. but formerly both kanaujias and gaurs practised hypergamy with the sanadhyas, taking daughters from them in marriage but not giving their daughters to them. [434] this fact indicates the inferiority of the sanadhya group, but marriage is now becoming reciprocal. in bengal the sanadhyas account for their inferiority to the other kanaujias by saying that their ancestors on one occasion at the bidding of a raja partook of a sacrificial feast with all their clothes on, instead of only their loin-cloths according to the rule among brahmans, and were hence degraded. the sanadhyas themselves have two divisions, the _sarhe-tin ghar_ and _dasghar_, or three-and-a-half houses and ten houses, of whom the former are superior, and practise hypergamy with the latter. further, it is said that the three-and-a-half group were once made to intermarry with the degraded kataha or maha-brahmans, who are funeral priests. [435] this further indicates the inferior status of the sanadhyas. the sanaurhia criminal caste of pickpockets are supposed to be made up of a nucleus of sanadhya brahmans with recruits from all other castes, but this is not certain. in the central provinces a number of sanadhyas took to carrying grain and merchandise on pack-bullocks, and are hence known as belwar. they form a separate subcaste, ranking below the other sanadhyas and marrying among themselves. mr. crooke notes that at their weddings the sanadhyas worship a potter's wheel. some make an image of it on the wall of the house, while others go to the potter's house and worship his wheel there. in the central provinces after the wedding they get a bed newly made with _newar_ tape and seat the bride and bridegroom on it, and put a large plate at their feet, in which presents are placed. the sanadhyas differ from the kanaujias in that they smoke tobacco but do not eat meat, while the kanaujias eat meat but do not smoke. they greet each other with the word dandawat, adding maharaj to an equal or superior. brahman, sarwaria _brahman, sarwaria._--this is the highest class of the kanaujia bramans, who take their name from the river sarju or gogra in oudh, where they have their home. they observe strict rules of ceremonial purity, and do not smoke tobacco nor plough with their own hands. an orthodox sarwaria braman will not give his daughter in marriage in a village from which his family has received a girl, and sometimes will not even drink the water of that village. the sarwarias make widows dress in white and sometimes shave their heads. in some tracts they intermarry with the kanaujia brahmans, and in others take daughters in marriage but do not give their own daughters to them. in dr. buchanan's time, a century ago, the sarwaria brahmans would not eat rice sold in the bazar which had been cleaned in boiling water, as they considered that it had thereby become food cooked with water; and they carried their own grain to the grain-parcher to be prepared for them. when they ate either parched grain or sweetmeats from a confectioner in public they must purify the place on which they sat down with cowdung and water. [436] this may be compared with a practice observed by very strict brahmans even now, of adding water to the medicine which they obtain from a government dispensary, to purify it before drinking it. brahman, utkal _brahman, utkal._--these are the brahmans of orissa and one of the panch-gaur divisions. they are divided into two groups, the dakshinatya or southern and the jajpuria or northern clan. the utkal brahmans, who first settled in sambalpur, are known as jharia or jungly, and form a separate subcaste, marrying among themselves, as the later immigrants refuse to intermarry with them. another group of orissa brahmans have taken to cultivation, and are known as halia, from _hal_, a plough. they grow the betel-vine, and in orissa the areca and cocoanuts, besides doing ordinary cultivation. they have entirely lost their sacerdotal character, but glory in their occupation, and affect to despise the bed or veda brahmans, who live upon alms. [437] a third class of orissa brahmans are the pandas, who serve as priests and cooks in the public temples and also in private houses, and travel about india touting for pilgrims to visit the temple at jagannath. dr. bhattacharya describes the procedure of the temple-touts as follows: [438] "their tours are so organised that during their campaigning season, which commences in november and is finished by the car-festival at the beginning of the rains, very few villages of the adjoining provinces escape their visits and taxation. their appearance causes a disturbance in every household. those who have already visited 'the lord of the world' at puri are called upon to pay an instalment towards the debt contracted by them while at the sacred shrine, which, though paid many times over, is never completely satisfied. that, however, is a small matter compared with the misery and distraction caused by the 'jagannath mania,' which is excited by the preachings and pictures of the panda. a fresh batch of old ladies become determined to visit the shrine, and neither the waitings and protestations of the children nor the prospect of a long and toilsome journey can dissuade them. the arrangements of the family are for the time being altogether upset, and the grief of those left behind is heightened by the fact that they look upon the pilgrims as going to meet almost certain death...." this vivid statement of the objections to the habit of pilgrimage from a brahman writer is very interesting. since the opening of the railway to puri the danger and expense as well as the period of absence have been greatly reduced; but the pilgrimages are still responsible for a large mortality, as cholera frequently breaks out among the vast assembly at the temple, and the pilgrims, hastily returning to all parts of india, carry the disease with them, and cause epidemics in many localities. all castes now eat the rice cooked at the temple of jagannath together without defilement, and friendships are cemented by eating a little of this rice together as a sacred bond. chadar _chadar, [439] kotwar._--a small caste of weavers and village watchmen resident in the districts of saugor, damoh, jubbulpore and narsinghpur. they numbered 28,000 persons in 1911. the caste is not found outside the northern districts of the central provinces. the name is derived from the sanskrit _chirkar_, a weaver, and belongs to bundelkhand, but beyond this the chadars have no knowledge or traditions of their origin. they are probably an occupational group formed from members of the dravidian tribes and others who took to the profession of village watchmen. a number of other occupational castes of low status are found in the northern districts, and their existence is probably to be accounted for by the fact that the forest tribes were subjected and their tribal organisation destroyed by the invading bundelas and other hindus some centuries ago. they were deprived of the land and relegated to the performance of menial and servile duties in the village, and they have formed a new set of divisions into castes arising from the occupations they adopted. the chadars have two subcastes based on differences of religious practice, the parmesuria or worshippers of vishnu, and athia or devotees of devi. it is doubtful, however, whether these are strictly endogamous. they have a large number of exogamous septs or _bainks_, which are named after all sorts of animals, plants and natural objects. instances of these names are dhana (a leaf of the rice plant), kasia (bell-metal), gohia (a kind of lizard), bachhulia (a calf), gujaria (a milkmaid), moria (a peacock), laraiya (a jackal), khatkira (a bug), sugaria (a pig), barraiya (a wasp), neora (a mongoose), bhartu chiraiya (a sparrow), and so on. thirty-nine names in all are reported. members of each sept draw the figure of the animal or plant after which it is named on the wall at marriages and worship it. they usually refuse to kill the totem animal, and the members of the sugaria or pig sept throw away their earthen vessels if a pig should be killed in their sight, and clean their houses as if on the death of a member of the family. marriage between members of the same sept is forbidden and also between first cousins and other near relations. the chadars say that the marriages of persons nearly related by blood are unhappy, and occasion serious consequences to the parties and their families. girls are usually wedded in the fifth, seventh, ninth, or eleventh year of their age and boys between the ages of eight and sixteen. if an unmarried girl is seduced by a member of the caste she is married to him by the simple form adopted for the wedding of a widow. but if she goes wrong with an outsider of low caste she is permanently expelled. the remarriage of widows is permitted and divorce is also allowed, a deed being executed on stamped paper before the _panchayat_ or caste committee. if a woman runs away from her husband to another man he must repay to the husband the amount expended on her wedding and give a feast to the caste. a brahman is employed to fix the date of a wedding and sometimes for the naming of children, but he is only consulted and is never present at the ceremony. the caste venerate the goddess devi, offering her a virgin she-goat in the month of asarh (june-july). they worship their weaving implements at the diwali and holi festivals, and feed the crows in kunwar (september-october) as representing the spirits of their ancestors. this custom is based on the superstition that a crow does not die of old age or disease, but only when it is killed. to cure a patient of fever they tie a blue thread, irregularly knotted, round his wrist. they believe that thunder-bolts are the arrows shot by indra to kill his enemies in the lower world, and that the rainbow is indra's bow; any one pointing at it will feel pain in his finger. the dead are mourned for ten days, and during that time a burning lamp is placed on the ground at some distance from the house, while on the tenth day a tooth-stick and water and food are set out for the soul of the dead. they will not throw the first teeth of a child on to a tiled roof, because they believe that if this is done his next teeth will be wide and ugly like the tiles. but it is a common practice to throw the first teeth on to the thatched roof of the house. the chadars will admit members of most castes of good standing into the community, and they eat flesh, including pork and fowls, and drink liquor, and will take cooked food from most of the good castes and from kalars, khangars and kumhars. the social status of the caste is very low, but they rank above the impure castes and are of cleanly habits, bathing daily and cleaning their kitchens before taking food. they are employed as village watchmen and as farmservants and field-labourers, and also weave coarse country cloth. chamar list of paragraphs 1. _general notice of the caste._ 2. _endogamous divisions._ 3. _subcastes continued._ 4. _exogamous divisions._ 5. _marriage._ 6. _widow-marriage and divorce._ 7. _funeral customs._ 8. _childbirth._ 9. _religion._ 10. _occupation._ 11. _the tanning process._ 12. _shoes._ 13. _other articles made of leather._ 14. _customs connected with shoes._ 15. _the chamar as general village drudge._ 16. _social status._ 17. _character._ 1. general notice of the caste. _chamar, chambhar._ [440]--the caste of tanners and menial labourers of northern india. in the central provinces the chamars numbered about 900,000 persons in 1911. they are the third caste in the province in numerical strength, being exceeded by the gonds and kunbis. about 600,000 persons, or two-thirds of the total strength of the caste in the province, belong to the chhattisgarh division and adjacent feudatory states. here the chamars have to some extent emancipated themselves from their servile status and have become cultivators, and occasionally even malguzars or landed proprietors; and between them and the hindus a bitter and long-standing feud is in progress. outside chhattisgarh the chamars are found in most of the hindi-speaking districts whose population has been recruited from northern and central india, and here they are perhaps the most debased class of the community, consigned to the lowest of menial tasks, and their spirit broken by generations of servitude. in the maratha country the place of the chamars is taken by the mehras or mahars. in the whole of india the chamars are about eleven millions strong, and are the largest caste with the exception of the brahmans. the name is derived from the sanskrit charmakara, a worker in leather; and, according to classical tradition, the chamar is the offspring of a chandal or sweeper woman by a man of the fisher caste. [441] the superior physical type of the chamar has been noticed in several localities. thus in the kanara district of bombay [442] the chamar women are said to be famed for their beauty of face and figure, and there it is stated that the padminis or perfect type of women, middle-sized with fine features, black lustrous hair and eyes, full breasts and slim waists, [443] are all chamarins. sir d. ibbetson writes [444] that their women are celebrated for beauty, and loss of caste is often attributed to too great a partiality for a chamarin. in chhattisgarh the chamars are generally of fine stature and fair complexion; some of them are lighter in colour than the chhattisgarhi brahmans, and it is on record that a european officer mistook a chamar for a eurasian and addressed him in english. this, however, is by no means universally the case, and sir h. risley considers [445] that "the average chamar is hardly distinguishable in point of features, stature or complexion from the members of those non-aryan races from whose ranks we should primarily expect the profession of leather-dressers to be recruited." again, sir henry elliot, writing of the chamars of the north-western provinces, says: "chamars are reputed to be a dark race, and a fair chamar is said to be as rare an object as a black brahman: karia brahman, gor chamar, inke sath na utariye par, that is, 'do not cross a river in the same boat with a black brahman or a fair chamar,' both being of evil omen." the latter description would certainly apply to the chamars of the central provinces outside the chhattisgarh districts, but hardly to the caste as a whole within that area. no satisfactory explanation has been offered of this distinction of appearance of some groups of chamars. it is possible that the chamars of certain localities may be the descendants of a race from the north-west, conquered and enslaved by a later wave of immigrants; or that their physical development may owe something to adult marriage and a flesh diet, even though consisting largely of carrion. it may be noticed that the sweepers, who eat the broken food from the tables of the europeans and wealthy natives, are sometimes stronger and better built than the average hindu. similarly, the kasais or muhammadan butchers are proverbially strong and lusty. but no evidence is forthcoming in support of such conjectures, and the problem is likely to remain insoluble. "the chamars," sir h. risley states, [446] "trace their own pedigree to ravi or rai das, the famous disciple of ramanand at the end of the fourteenth century, and whenever a chamar is asked what he is, he replies a ravi das. another tradition current among them alleges that their original ancestor was the youngest of four brahman brethren who went to bathe in a river and found a cow struggling in a quicksand. they sent the youngest brother in to rescue the animal, but before he could get to the spot it had been drowned. he was compelled, therefore, by his brothers to remove the carcase, and after he had done this they turned him out of their caste and gave him the name of chamar." other legends are related by mr. crooke in his article on the caste. 2. endogamous divisions. the chamars are broken up into a number of endogamous subcastes. of these the largest now consists of the members of the satnami sect in chhattisgarh, who do not intermarry with other chamars. they are described in the article on that sect. the other chamars call the satnamis jharia or 'jungly', which implies that they are the oldest residents in chhattisgarh. the satnamis are all cultivators, and have given up working in leather. the chungias (from _chungi_, a leaf-pipe) are a branch of the satnamis who have taken to smoking, a practice which is forbidden by the rules of the sect. in chhattisgarh those chamars who still cure hides and work in leather belong either to the kanaujia or ahirwar subcastes, the former of whom take their name from the well-known classical town of kanauj in northern india, while the latter are said to be the descendants of unions between chamar fathers and ahir mothers. the kanaujias are much addicted to drink, and though they eat pork they do not rear pigs. the ahirwars, or erwars as they are called outside chhattisgarh, occupy a somewhat higher position than the kanaujias. they consider themselves to be the direct descendants of the prophet raidas or rohidas, who, they say, had seven wives of different castes; one of them was an ahir woman, and her offspring were the ancestors of the ahirwar subcaste. both the kanaujias and ahirwars of chhattisgarh are generally known to outsiders as paikaha, a term which indicates that they still follow their ancestral calling of curing hides, as opposed to the satnamis, who have generally eschewed it. those chamars who are curriers have, as a rule, the right to receive the hides of the village cattle in return for removing the carcases, each family of chamars having allotted to them a certain number of tenants whose dead cattle they take, while their women are the hereditary midwives of the village. such chamars have the designation of meher. the kanaujias make shoes out of a single piece of leather, while the ahirwars cut the front separately. the latter also ornament their shoes with fancy work consisting of patterns of silver thread on red cloth. no ahirwar girl is married until she has shown herself proficient in this kind of needlework. [447] another well-known group, found both in chhattisgarh and elsewhere, are the jaiswaras, who take their name from the old town of jais in the united provinces. many of them serve as grooms, and are accustomed to state their caste as jaiswara, considering it a more respectable designation than chamar. the jaiswaras must carry burdens on their heads only and not on their shoulders, and they must not tie up a dog with a halter or neck-rope, this article being venerated by them as an implement of their calling. a breach of either of these rules entails temporary excommunication from caste and a fine for readmission. among a number of territorial groups may be mentioned the bundelkhandi or immigrants from bundelkhand; the bhadoria from the bhadawar state; the antarvedi from antarved or the doab, the country lying between the ganges and jumna; the gangapari or those from the north of the ganges; and the pardeshi (foreigners) and desha or deswar (belonging to the country), both of which groups come from hindustan. the deswar chamars of narsinghpur [448] are now all agriculturists and have totally abjured the business of working in leather. the mahobia and khaijraha take their names from the towns of mahoba and khaijra in central india. the ladse or ladvi come from south gujarat, which in classical times was known as lat; while the maratha, beraria and dakhini subdivisions belong to southern india. there are a number of other territorial groups of less importance. 3. subcastes continued. certain subcastes are of an occupational nature, and among these may be mentioned the budalgirs of chhindwara, who derive their name from the _budla_, or leather bag made for the transport and storage of oil and _ghi_. the _budla_, mr. trench remarks, [449] has been ousted by the kerosene oil tin, and the industry of the budalgirs has consequently almost disappeared; but the _budlas_ are still used by barbers to hold oil for the torches which they carry in wedding processions. the daijanya subcaste are so named because their women act as midwives (_dai_), but this business is by no means confined to one particular group, being undertaken generally by chamar women. the kataua or katwa are leather-cutters, the name being derived from _katna_, to cut. and the gobardhua (from _gobar_, cowdung) collect the droppings of cattle on the threshing-floors and wash out and eat the undigested grain. the mochis or shoemakers and jingars [450] or saddlemakers and bookbinders have obtained a better position than the ordinary chamars, and have now practically become separate castes; while, on the other hand, the dohar subcaste of narsinghpur have sunk to the very lowest stage of casual labour, grass-cutting and the like, and are looked down on by the rest of the caste. [451] the korchamars are said to be the descendants of alliances between chamars and koris or weavers, and the turkanyas probably have turk or musalman blood in their veins. in berar the romya or haralya subcaste claim the highest rank and say that their ancestor harlya was the primeval chamar who stripped off a piece of his own skin to make a pair of shoes for mahadeo. [452] the mangya [453] chamars of chanda and the nona chamars of damoh are groups of beggars, who are the lowest of the caste and will take food from the hands of any other chamar. the nona group take their name from nona or lona chamarin, a well-known witch about whom mr. crooke relates the following story: [454] "her legend tells how dhanwantari, the physician of the gods, was bitten by takshaka, the king of the snakes, and knowing that death approached he ordered his sons to cook and eat his body after his death, so that they might thereby inherit his skill in medicine. they accordingly cooked his body in a cauldron, and were about to eat it when takshaka appeared to them in the form of a brahman and warned them against this act of cannibalism. so they let the cauldron float down the ganges, and as it floated down, lona the chamarin, who was washing on the bank of the river, took the vessel out in ignorance of its contents, and partook of the ghastly food. she at once obtained power to cure diseases, and especially snake-bite. one day all the women were transplanting rice, and it was found that lona could do as much work as all her companions put together. so they watched her, and when she thought she was alone she stripped off her clothes (nudity being an essential element in magic), muttered some spells, and threw the plants into the air, when they all settled down in their proper places. finding she was observed, she tried to escape, and as she ran the earth opened, and all the water of the rice-fields followed her and thus was formed the channel of the loni river in the unao district." this lona or nona has obtained the position of a nursery bogey, and throughout hindustan, sir h. risley states, parents frighten naughty children by telling them that nona chamarin will carry them off. the chamars say that she was the mother or grandmother of the prophet ravi das, or rai das already referred to. 4. exogamous divisions. the caste is also divided into a large number of exogamous groups or sections, whose names, as might be expected, present a great diversity of character. some are borrowed from rajput clans, as surajvansi, gaharwar and rathor; while others, as marai, are taken from the gonds. instances of sections named after other castes are banjar (banjara), jogi, chhipia (chhipi, a tailor) and khairwar (a forest tribe). the chhipia section preserve the memory of their comparatively illustrious descent by refusing to eat pork. instances of sections called after a title or nickname of the reputed founder are maladhari, one who wears a garland; machhi-mundia or fly-headed, perhaps the equivalent of feather-brained; hathila, obstinate; baghmar, a tiger-killer; mangaya, a beggar; dhuliya, a drummer; jadkodiha, one who digs for roots, and so on. there are numerous territorial groups named after the town or village where the ancestor of the clan may be supposed to have lived; and many names also are of a totemistic nature, being taken from plants, animals or natural objects. among these are khunti, a peg; chandaniha, sandalwood; tarwaria, a sword; borbans, plums; miri, chillies; chauria, a whisk; baraiya, a wasp; khalaria, a hide or skin; kosni, _kosa_ or tasar silk; and purain, the lotus plant. totemistic observances survive only in one or two isolated instances. 5. marriage. a man must not take a wife from his own section, nor in some localities from that of his mother or either of his grandmothers. generally the union of first cousins is prohibited. adult marriage is the rule, but those who wish to improve their social position have taken to disposing of their daughters at an early age. matches are always arranged by the parents, and it is the business of the boy's father to find a bride for his son. a bride-price is paid which may vary from two pice (farthings) to a hundred rupees, but usually averages about twenty rupees. in chanda the amount is fixed at rs. 13 and it is known as _hunda_, but if the bride's grandmother is alive it is increased to rs. 15-8, and the extra money is given to her. the marriage ceremony follows the standard type prevalent in the locality. on his journey to the girl's house the boy rides on a bullock and is wrapped up in a blanket. in bilaspur a kind of sham fight takes place between the parties, which is a reminiscence of the former practice of marriage by capture and is thus described as an eye-witness by the rev. e. m. gordon of mungeli: [455] "as the bridegroom's party approached the home of the bride the boy's friends lifted him up on their shoulders, and, surrounding him on every side, they made their way to the bride's house, swinging round their sticks in a threatening manner. on coming near the house they crossed sticks with the bride's friends, who gradually fell back and allowed the bridegroom's friends to advance in their direction. the women of the house gathered with baskets and fans and some threw about rice in pretence of self-defence. when the sticks of the bridegroom's party struck the roof of the bride's house or of the marriage-shed her friends considered themselves defeated and the sham fight was at an end." among the maratha chamars of betul two earthen pots full of water are half buried in the ground and worship is paid to them. the bride and bridegroom then stand together and their relatives take out water from the pots and pour it on to their heads from above. the idea is that the pouring of the sacred water on to them will make them grow, and if the bride is much smaller than the bridegroom more water is poured on to her in order that she may grow faster. the practice may symbolise the fertilising influence of rain. among the dohar chamars of narsinghpur the bride and bridegroom are seated on a plough-yoke while the marriage ceremony is performed. before the wedding the bride's party take a goat's leg in a basket with other articles to the _janwasa_ or bridegroom's lodging and present it to his father. the bride and bridegroom take the goat's leg and beat each other with it alternately. another ceremony, known as pendpuja, consists in placing pieces of stick with cotton stuck to the ends in an oven and burning them in the name of the deceased ancestors; but the significance, if there be any, of this rite is obscure. some time after the wedding the bride is taken to her husband's house to live with him, and on this occasion a simple ceremony known as chauk or pathoni is performed. 6. widow-marriage and divorce. widows commonly remarry, and may take for their second husband anybody they please, except their own relatives and their late husband's elder brother and ascendant relations. in chhattisgarh widows are known either as _barandi_ or _randi_, the _randi_ being a widow in the ordinary sense of the term and the _barandi_ a girl who has been married but has not lived with her husband. such a girl is not required to break her bangles on her husband's death, and, being more in demand as a second wife, her father naturally obtains a good price for her. to marry a woman whose husband is alive is known as _chhandwe banana_, the term _chhandwe_ implying that the woman has discarded, or has been discarded by, her husband. the second husband must in this case repay to the first husband the expenses incurred by him on his wedding. the marriage ceremony for a widow is of the simplest character, and consists generally of the presentation to her by her new husband of those articles which a married woman may use, but which should be forsworn by a widow, as representing the useless vanities of the world. thus in saugor the bridegroom presents his bride with new clothes, vermilion for the parting of her hair, a spangle for her forehead, lac dye for her feet, antimony for the eyes, a comb, glass bangles and betel-leaves. in mandla and seoni the bridegroom gives a ring, according to the english custom, instead of bangles. when a widow marries a second time her first husband's property remains with his family and also the children, unless they are very young, when the mother may keep them for a few years and subsequently send them back to their father's relatives. divorce is permitted for a variety of causes, and is usually effected in the presence of the caste _panchayat_ or committee by the husband and wife breaking a straw as a symbol of the rupture of the union. in chanda an image of the divorced wife is made of grass and burnt to indicate that to her husband she is as good as dead; if she has children their heads and faces are shaved in token of mourning, and in the absence of children the husband's younger brother has this rite performed; while the husband gives a funeral feast known as _marti jiti ka bhat_, or 'the feast of the living dead woman.' in chhattisgarh marriage ties are of the loosest description, and adultery is scarcely recognised as an offence. a woman may go and live openly with other men and her husband will take her back afterwards. sometimes, when two men are in the relation of mahaprasad or nearest friend to each other, that is, when they have vowed friendship on rice from the temple of jagannath, they will each place his wife at the other's disposal. the chamars justify this carelessness of the fidelity of their wives by the saying, 'if my cow wanders and comes home again, shall i not let her into her stall?' in seoni, if a chamar woman is detected in a misdemeanour with a man of the caste, both parties are taken to the bank of a tank or river, where their heads are shaved in the presence of the caste _panchayat_ or committee. they are then made to bathe, and the shoes of all the assembled chamars made up into two bundles and placed on their heads, while they are required to promise that they will not repeat the offence. 7. funeral customs. the caste usually bury the dead with the feet to the north, like the gonds and other aboriginal tribes. they say that heaven is situated towards the north, and the dead man should be placed in a position to start for that direction. another explanation is that the head of the earth lies towards the north, and yet another that in the satyug or beginning of time the sun rose in the north; and in each succeeding yug or era it has veered round the compass until now in the kali yug or iron age it rises in the east. in chhattisgarh, before burying a corpse, they often make a mark on the body with butter, oil or soot; and when a child is subsequently born into the same family they look for any kind of mark on the corresponding place on its body. if any such be found they consider the child as a reincarnation of the deceased person. still-born children, and those who die before the chathi or sixth-day ceremony of purification, are not taken to the burial-ground, but their bodies are placed in an earthen pot and interred below the doorway or in the courtyard of the house. in such cases no funeral feast is demanded from the family, and some people believe that the custom tends in favour of the mother bearing another child; others say, however, that its object is to prevent the _tonhi_ or witch from getting hold of the body of the child and rousing its spirit to life to do her bidding as matia deo. [456] in seoni a curious rule obtains to the effect that the bodies of those who eat carrion or the flesh of animals dying a natural death should be cremated. in the northern districts a bier painted white is used for a man and a red one for a woman. 8. childbirth. among the better-class chamars it is customary to place a newborn child in a winnowing-fan on a bed of rice. the nurse receives the rice and she also goes round to the houses of the headman of the village and the relatives of the family and makes a mark with cowdung on their doors as an announcement of the birth, for which she receives a small present. in chhattisgarh a woman is given nothing to eat or drink on the day that a child is born and for two days afterwards. on the fourth day she receives a liquid decoction of ginger, the roots of the _orai_ or _khaskhas_ grass, areca-nut, coriander and turmeric and other hot substances, and in some places a cake of linseed or sesamum. she sometimes goes on drinking this mixture for as long as a month, and usually receives solid food for the first time on the sixth day after the birth, when she bathes and her impurity is removed. the child is not permitted to suckle its mother until the third day after it is born, but before this it receives a small quantity of a mixture made by boiling the urine of a calf with some medicinal root. in chhattisgarh it is a common practice to brand a child on the stomach on the name-day or sixth day after its birth; twenty or more small burns may be made with the point of a _hansia_ or sickle on the stomach, and it is supposed that this operation will prevent it from catching cold. another preventive for convulsions and diseases of the lungs is the rubbing of the limbs and body with castor-oil; the nurse wets her hands with the oil and then warms them before a fire and rubs the child. it is also held in the smoke of burning _ajwain_ plants (_carum copticum_). infants are named on the chathi or sixth day, or sometimes on the twelfth day after birth. the child's head is shaved, and the hair, known as jhalar, thrown away, the mother and child are washed and the males of the family are shaved. the mother is given her first regular meal of grain and pulse cooked with pumpkins. a pregnant woman who is afraid that her child will die will sometimes sell it to a neighbour before its birth for five or six cowries. [457] the baby will then be named pachkouri or chhekouri, and it is thought that the gods, who are jealous of the lives of children, will overlook one whose name shows it to be valueless. children are often nicknamed after some peculiarity as kanwa (one-eyed), behra (deaf), konda (dumb), khurwa (lame), kari (black), bhuri (fair). it does not follow that a child called konda is actually dumb, but it may simply have been late in learning to speak. parents are jealous of exposing their children to the gaze of strangers and especially of a crowd, in which there will almost certainly be some malignant person to cast the evil eye upon them. young children are therefore not infrequently secluded in the house and deprived of light and air to an extent which is highly injurious to them. 9. religion. the caste worship the ordinary hindu and village deities of the localities in which they reside, and observe the principal festivals. in saugor the chamars have a family god, known as marri, who is represented by a lump of clay kept in the cooking-room of the house. he is supposed to represent the ancestors of the family. the seoni chamars especially worship the castor-oil plant. generally the caste revere the _rampi_ or skinning-knife with offerings of flour-cakes and cocoanuts on festival days. in chhattisgarh more than half the chamars belong to the reformed satnami sect, by which the worship of images is at least nominally abolished. this is separately treated. mr. gordon states [458] that it is impossible to form a clear conception of the beliefs of the village chamars as to the hereafter: "that they have the idea of hell as a place of punishment may be gathered from the belief that if salt is spilt the one who does this will in patal--or the infernal region--have to gather up each grain of salt with his eyelids. salt is for this reason handed round with great care, and it is considered unlucky to receive it in the palm of the hand; it is therefore invariably taken in a cloth or in a vessel. there is a belief that the spirit of the deceased hovers round familiar scenes and places, and on this account, whenever it is possible, it is customary to destroy or desert the house in which any one has died. if a house is deserted the custom is to sweep and plaster the place, and then, after lighting a lamp, to leave it in the house and withdraw altogether. after the spirit of the dead has wandered around restlessly for a certain time it is said that it will again become incarnate and take the form of man or of one of the lower animals." 10. occupation. the curing and tanning of hides is the primary occupation of the chamar, but in 1911 only 80,000 persons, or about a seventh of the actual workers of the caste, were engaged in it, and by satnamis the trade has been entirely eschewed. the majority of the chhattisgarhi chamars are cultivators with tenant right, and a number of them have obtained villages. in the northern districts, however, the caste are as a rule miserably poor, and none of them own villages. a very few are tenants, and the vast majority despised and bullied helots. the condition of the leather-working chamars is described by mr. trench as lamentable. [459] chief among the causes of their ruin has been the recently established trade in raw hides. formerly the bodies of all cattle dying within the precincts of the village necessarily became the property of the chamars, as the hindu owners could not touch them without loss of caste. but since the rise of the cattle-slaughtering industry the cultivator has put his religious scruples in his pocket, and sells his old and worn-out animals to the butchers for a respectable sum. "for a mere walking skeleton of a cow or bullock from two to four rupees may be had for the asking, and so long as he does not actually see or stipulate for the slaughter of the sacred animal, the cultivator's scruples remain dormant. no one laments this lapse from orthodoxy more sincerely than the outcaste chamar. his situation may be compared with that of the cornish pilchard-fishers, for whom the growing laxity on the part of continental roman catholic countries in the observance of lent is already more than an omen of coming disaster." [460] 11. the tanning process. when a hide is to be cured the inside is first cleaned with the _rampi_, a chisel-like implement with a short blade four inches broad and a thick short handle. it is then soaked in a mixture of water and lime for ten or twelve days, and at intervals scraped clean of flesh and hair with the _rampi_. "the skill of a good tanner appears in the absence of superfluous inner skin, fat or flesh, remaining to be removed after the hide is finally taken out of the lime-pit. next the hard berries of the _ghont_ [461] tree are poured into a large earthen vessel sunk in the ground, and water added till the mixture is so thick as to become barely liquid. in this the folded hide is dipped three or four times a day, undergoing meanwhile a vigorous rubbing and kneading. the average duration of this process is eight days, and it is followed by what is according to european ideas the real tanning. using as thread the roots of the ubiquitous _palas_ [462] tree, the chamar sews the hide up into a mussack-shaped bag open at the neck. the sewing is admirably executed, and when drawn tight the seams are nearly, but purposely not quite, water-tight. the hide is then hung on low stout scaffolding over a pit and filled with a decoction of the dried and semi-powdered leaves of the _dhaura_ [463] tree mixed with water. as the decoction trickles slowly through the seams below, more is poured on from above, and from time to time the position of the hide is reversed in such a way that the tanning permeates each part in turn. sometimes only one reversal of the hide takes place half-way through the process, which occupies as a rule some eight days. but energetic chamars continually turn and refill the skin until satisfied that it is thoroughly saturated with the tanning. after a washing in clean water the hide is now considered to be tanned." [464] 12. shoes. in return for receiving the hides of the village cattle the chamar had to supply the village proprietor and his family with a pair of shoes each free of payment once a year, and sometimes also the village accountant and watchman; but the cultivators had usually to pay for them, though nowadays they also often insist on shoes in exchange for their hides. shoes are usually worn in the wheat and cotton growing areas, but are less common in the rice country, where they would continually stick in the mud of the fields. the saugor or bundelkhandi shoe is a striking specimen of footgear. the sole is formed of as many as three layers of stout hide, and may be nearly an inch thick. the uppers in a typical shoe are of black soft leather, inlaid with a simple pattern in silver thread. these are covered by flaps of stamped yellow goat-skin cut in triangular and half-moon patterns, the interstices between the flaps being filled with red cloth. the heel-piece is continued more than half-way up the calf behind. the toe is pointed, curled tightly over backwards and surmounted by a brass knob. the high frontal shield protects the instep from mud and spear-grass, and the heel-piece ensures the retention of the shoe in the deepest quagmire. such shoes cost one or two rupees a pair. [465] in the rice districts sandals are often worn on the road, and laid aside when the cultivator enters his fields. women go bare-footed as a rule, but sometimes have sandals. up till recently only prostitutes wore shoes in public, and no respectable woman would dare to do so. in towns boots and shoes made in the english fashion at cawnpore and other centres have now been generally adopted, and with these socks are worn. the mochis and jingars, who are offshoots from the chamar caste, have adopted the distinctive occupations of making shoes and horse furniture with prepared leather, and no longer cure hides. they have thus developed into a separate caste, and consider themselves greatly superior to the chamars. 13. other articles made of leather. other articles made of leather are the thongs and nose-strings for bullocks, the buckets for irrigation wells, rude country saddlery, and _mussacks_ and _pakhals_ for carrying water. these last are simply hides sewn into a bag and provided with an orifice. to make a pair of bellows a goat-skin is taken with all four legs attached, and wetted and filled with sand. it is then dried in the sun, the sand shaken out, the sticks fitted at the hind-quarters for blowing, and the pair of bellows is complete. 14. customs connected with shoes. the shoe, as everybody in india knows, is a symbol of the greatest degradation and impurity. this is partly on account of its manufacture from the impure leather or hide, and also perhaps because it is worn and trodden under foot. all the hides of tame animals are polluted and impure, but those of certain wild animals, such as the deer and tiger, are not so, being on the contrary to some extent sacred. this last feeling may be due to the fact that the old anchorites of the forests were accustomed to cover themselves with the skins of wild animals, and to use them for sitting and kneeling to pray. a bairagi or vaishnava religious mendicant much likes to carry a tiger-skin on his body if he can afford one; and a brahman will have the skin of a black-buck spread in the room where he performs his devotions. possibly the sin involved in killing tame animals has been partly responsible for the impurity attaching to their hides, to the obtaining of which the death of the animal must be a preliminary. every hindu removes his shoes before entering a house, though with the adoption of english boots a breach is being made in this custom. so far as the houses of europeans are concerned, the retention of shoes is not, as might be imagined, of recent origin, but was noticed by buchanan a hundred years ago: "men of rank and their attendants continue to wear their shoes loose for the purpose of throwing them off whenever they enter a room, which they still continue to do everywhere except in the houses of europeans, in which all natives of rank now imitate our example." in this connection it must be remembered that a hindu house is always sacred as the shrine of the household god, and shoes are removed before stepping across the threshold on to the hallowed ground. this consideration does not apply to european houses, and affords ground for dispensing with the removal of laced shoes and boots. to be beaten or sometimes even touched with a shoe by a man of low caste entails temporary social excommunication to most hindus, and must be expiated by a formal purification and caste feast. the outcaste mahars punish a member of their community in the same manner even if somebody should throw a shoe on to the roof of his house, and the pharasaical absurdities of the caste system surely find their culminating point in this rule. similarly if a man touches his shoe with his hand and says 'i have beaten you,' to a member of any of the lower castes in seoni, the person so addressed is considered as temporarily out of caste. if he then immediately goes and informs his caste-fellows he is reinstated with a nominal fine of grain worth one or two pice. but if he goes back to his house and takes food, and the incident is subsequently discovered, a penalty of a goat is levied. a curious exception recognised is that of the _sirkari juta_, or shoe belonging to a government servant, and to be beaten with this shoe does not entail social punishment. 15. the chamar as general village drudge. in return for his perquisite of the hides of cattle the chamar has to act as the general village drudge in the northern districts and is always selected for the performance of _bigar_ or forced labour. when a government officer visits the village the chamar must look after him, fetch what grass or fuel he requires, and accompany him as far as the next village to point out the road. he is also the bearer of official letters and messages sent to the village. the special chamar on whom these duties are imposed usually receives a plot of land rent-free from the village proprietor. another of the functions of the chamar is the castration of the young bullocks, which task the cultivators will not do for themselves. his method is most primitive, the scrotum being held in a cleft bamboo or a pair of iron pincers, while the testicles are bruised and rubbed to pulp with a stone. the animal remains ill for a week or a fortnight and is not worked for two months, but the operation is rarely or never fatal. in the northern districts the chamars are said to be very strong and to make the best farmservants and coolies for earthwork. it is a proverb that 'the chamar has half a rib more than other men.' notwithstanding his strength, however, he is a great coward, this characteristic having probably been acquired through centuries of oppression. many chamar women act as midwives. in raipur the cultivators give her five annas at the birth of a boy and four annas for a girl, while well-to-do people pay a rupee. when the first child of a rich man is born, the midwife, barber and washerman go round to all his friends and relations to announce the event and obtain presents. it is a regular function of the chamars to remove the carcases of dead cattle, which they eat without regard to the disease from which the animal may have died. but a chamar will not touch the corpse of a pony, camel, cat, dog, squirrel or monkey, and to remove the bodies of such animals a mehtar (sweeper) or a gond must be requisitioned. in raipur it is said that the chamars will eat only the flesh of four-legged animals, avoiding presumably birds and fish. when acting as a porter the chamar usually carries a load on his head, whereas the kahar bears it on his shoulders, and this distinction is proverbial. in raipur the chamars have become retail cattle-dealers and are known as kochias. they purchase cattle at the large central markets of baloda and bamnidih and retail them at the small village bazars. it is said that this trade could only flourish in chhattisgarh, where the cultivators are too lazy to go and buy their cattle for themselves. many chamars have emigrated from chhattisgarh to the assam tea-gardens, and others have gone to calcutta and to the railway workshops at kharagpur and chakardharpur. many of them work as porters on the railway. it is probable that their taste for emigration is due to the resentment felt at their despised position in chhattisgarh. 16. social status. the chamar ranks at the very bottom of the social scale, and contact with his person is considered to be a defilement to high-caste hindus. he cannot draw water from the common well and usually lives in a hamlet somewhat removed from the main village. but in several localities the rule is not so strict, and in saugor a chamar may go into all parts of the house except the cooking and eating rooms. this is almost necessary when he is so commonly employed as a farmservant. here the village barber will shave chamars and the washerman will wash their clothes. and the chamar himself will not touch the corpse of a horse, a dog or any animal whose feet are uncloven; and he will not kill a cow though he eats its flesh. it is stated indeed that a chamar who once killed a calf accidentally had to go to the ganges to purify himself. the crime of cattle-poisoning is thus rare in saugor and the other northern districts, but in the east of the provinces it is a common practice of the chamars. as is usual with the low castes, many chamars are in some repute as gunias or sorcerers, and in this capacity they are frequently invited to enter the houses of hindus to heal persons possessed of evil spirits. when children fall ill one of them is called in and he waves a branch of the _nim_ [466] tree over the child and taking ashes in his hand blows them at it; he is also consulted for hysterical women. when a chamar has had something stolen and wishes to detect the thief, he takes the wooden-handled needle used for stitching leather and sticks the spike into the sole of a shoe. then two persons standing in the relation of maternal uncle and nephew hold the needle and shoe up by placing their forefingers under the wooden handle. the names of all suspected persons are pronounced, and he at whose name the shoe turns on the needle is taken to be the thief. the caste do not employ brahmans for their ceremonies, but consult them for the selection of auspicious days, as this business can be performed by the brahman at home and he need not enter the chamar's house. but poor and despised as the chamars are they have a pride of their own. when the dohar and maratha chamars sell shoes to a mahar they will only allow him to try on one of them and not both, and this, too, he must do in a sitting posture, as an indication of humility. the harale or maratha chamars of berar [467] do not eat beef nor work with untanned leather, and they will not work for the lowest castes, as mahars, mangs, basors and kolis. if one of these buys a pair of shoes from the chamar the seller asks no indiscreet questions; but he will not mend the pair as he would for a man of higher caste. the satnamis of chhattisgarh have openly revolted against the degraded position to which they are relegated by hinduism and are at permanent feud with the hindus; some of them have even adopted the sacred thread. but this interesting movement is separately discussed in the article on satnami. 17. character. in chhattisgarh the chamars are the most criminal class of the population, and have made a regular practice of poisoning cattle with arsenic in order to obtain the hides and flesh. they either mix the poison with mahua flowers strewn on the grazing-ground, or make it into a ball with butter and insert it into the anus of the animal when the herdsman is absent. they also commit cattle-theft and frequently appear at the whipping-post before the court-house. the estimation in which they are held by their neighbours is reflected in the proverb, 'hemp, rice and a chamar; the more they are pounded the better they are.' "the caste," mr. trench writes, "are illiterate to a man, and their intellectual development is reflected in their style of living. a visit to a hamlet of tanning chamars induces doubt as to whence the appalling smells of the place proceed--from the hides or from the tanners. were this squalor invariably, as it is occasionally, accompanied by a sufficiency of the necessaries of life, victuals and clothing, the chamar would not be badly off, but the truth is that in the northern districts at all events the chamar, except in years of good harvest, does not get enough to eat. this fact is sufficiently indicated by a glance at the perquisites of the village chamar, who is almost invariably the shoemaker and leather-worker for his little community. in one district the undigested grain left by the gorged bullocks on the threshing-floor is his portion, and a portion for which he will sometimes fight. everywhere he is a carrion-eater, paying little or no regard to the disease from which the animal may have died." the custom above mentioned of washing grain from the dung of cattle is not so repugnant to the hindus, owing to the sacred character of the cow, as it is to us. it is even sometimes considered holy food:--"the zamindar of idar, who is named naron das, lives with such austerity that his only food is grain which has passed through oxen and has been separated from their dung; and this kind of aliment the brahmans consider pure in the highest degree." [468] old-fashioned cultivators do not muzzle the bullocks treading out the corn, and the animals eat it the whole time, so that much passes through their bodies undigested. the chamar will make several maunds (80 lbs.) of grain in this way, and to a cultivator who does not muzzle his bullocks he will give a pair of shoes and a plough-rein and yoke-string. another duty of the chamar is to look after the _banda_ or large underground masonry chamber in which grain is kept. after the grain has been stored, a conical roof is built and plastered over with mud to keep out water. the chamar looks after the repairs of the mud plaster and in return receives a small quantity of grain, which usually goes bad on the floor of the store-chamber. they prepare the threshing-floors for the cultivators, making the surface of the soil level and beating it down to a smooth and hard surface. in return for this they receive the grain mixed with earth which remains on the threshing-floor after the crop is removed. like all other village artisans the chamar is considered by the cultivators to be faithless and dilatory in his dealings with them; and they vent their spleen in sayings such as the following:--"the kori, the chamar and the ahir, these are the three biggest liars that ever were known. for if you ask the chamar whether he has mended your shoes he says, 'i am at the last stitch,' when he has not begun them; if you ask the ahir whether he has brought back your cow from the jungle he says, 'it has come, it has come,' without knowing or caring whether it has come or not; and if you ask the kori whether he has made your cloth he says, 'it is on the loom,' when he has not so much as bought the thread." another proverb conveying the same sense is, 'the mochi's to-morrow never comes.' but no doubt the uncertainty and delay in payment account for much of this conduct. chasa 1. origin and traditions. _chasa_, [469] _tasa_ (also called alia in the sonpur and patna states).--the chief cultivating caste of orissa. in 1901 more than 21,000 chasas were enumerated in sambalpur and the adjoining feudatory states, but nearly all these passed in 1905 to bengal. the chasas are said [470] by sir h. risley to be for the most part of non-aryan descent, the loose organisation of the caste system among the uriyas making it possible on the one hand for outsiders to be admitted into the caste, and on the other for wealthy chasas who gave up ploughing with their own hands and assumed the respectable title of mahanti to raise themselves to membership among the lower classes of kayasths. this passage indicates that the term mahanti is or was a broader one than karan or uriya kayasth, and was applied to educated persons of other castes who apparently aspired to admission among the karans, in the same manner as leading members of the warlike and landholding castes lay claim to rank as rajputs. for this reason probably the uriya kayasths prefer the name of karan to that of mahanti, and the uriya saying, 'he who has no caste is called a mahanti,' supports this view. the word chasa has the generic meaning of 'a cultivator,' and the chasas may in sambalpur be merely an occupational group recruited from other castes. this theory is supported by the names of their subdivisions, three of which, kolta, khandait and ud or orh are the names of distinct castes, while the fourth, benatia, is found as a subdivision of several other castes. 2. exogamous divisions. each family has a _got_ or sept and a _varga_ or family name. the _vargas_ are much more numerous than the _gots_, and marriages are arranged according to them, unions of members of the same _varga_ only being forbidden. the sept names are totemistic and the family names territorial or titular. among the former are _bachhas_ (calf), _nagas_ (cobra), _hasti_ or _gaj_ (elephant), _harin_ (deer), _mahumachhi_ (bee), _dipas_ (lamp), and others; while instances of the _varga_ names are pitmundia, hulbulsingia, giringia and dumania, all names of villages in angul state; and nayak (headman), mahanti (writer), dehri (worshipper), behera (cook), kandra (bamboo-worker), and others. the different _gots_ or septs revere their totems by drawing figures of them on their houses, and abstaining from injuring them in any way. if they find the footprints of the animal which they worship, they bow to the marks and obliterate them with the hand, perhaps with the view of affording protection to the totem animal from hunters or of preventing the marks from being trampled on by others. they believe that if they injured the totem animal they would be attacked by leprosy and their line would die out. members of the _dipas_ sept will not eat if a lamp is put out at night, and will not touch a lamp with unclean hands. those of the _mahumachhi_ or bee sept will not take honey from a comb or eat it. those of the _gaj_ sept will not join an elephant kheddah. some of the septs have an ishta devata or tutelary hindu deity to whom worship is paid. thus the elephant sept worship ganesh, the elephant-headed god, and also do not kill rats because ganesh rides on this animal. similarly the _harin_ or deer sept have pawan, the god of the wind, as their ishta devata, because a deer is considered to be as swift as the wind. it would appear then that the septs, each having its totem, were the original divisions for the restriction of marriage, but as these increased in size they were felt to debar the union of persons who had no real relationship and hence the smaller family groups were substituted for them; while in the case of the old septs, the substitution of the hindu god representing the animal worshipped by the sept for the animal itself as the object of veneration is an instance of the process of abandoning totem or animal worship and conforming to hinduism. in one or two cases the _vargas_ themselves have been further subdivided for the purpose of marriage. thus certain families of the padhan (leader, chief) _varga_ were entrusted with the duty of readmitting persons temporarily put out of caste to social intercourse, for which they received the remuneration of a rupee and a piece of cloth in each case. these families were called the parichha or 'scrutinisers' and have now become a separate _varga_, so that a parichha padhan may marry another padhan. this is a further instance of the process of subdivision of exogamous groups which must take place as the groups increase in size and numbers, and the original idea of the common ancestry of the group vanishes. until finally the primitive system of exogamy disappears and is replaced by the modern and convenient method of prohibition of marriage within certain degrees of relationship. 3. status and customs of the caste. the chasas do not marry within the same _varga,_ but a man may usually take a wife from his mother's _varga_. a girl must always be wedded before arriving at adolescence, the penalty for breach of this rule being the driving out of the girl to seclusion in the forest for a day and a half, and a feast to the caste-fellows. if no husband is available she may be married to an arrow or a flower, or she goes through the form of marriage with any man in the caste, and when a suitable partner is subsequently found, is united with him by the form of widow-marriage. widows may marry again and divorce is also allowed. the dead are usually buried if unmarried, and burnt when married. the chasas worship the hindu deities and also the village god gramsiri, who is represented by a stone outside the village. at festivals they offer animal sacrifices to their agricultural implements, as hoes and hatchets. they employ brahmans for religious ceremonies. they have an aversion to objects of a black colour, and will not use black umbrellas or clothes woven with black thread. they do not usually wear shoes or ride horses, even when they can afford these latter. cultivation is the traditional occupation of the caste, and they are tenants, farmservants and field-labourers. they take food from rajputs and brahmans, and sometimes from koltas and sudhs. they eat flesh and fish, but abjure liquor, beef, pork and fowls. their social position is a little below that of the good agricultural castes, and they are considered somewhat stupid, as shown by the proverb: chasa, ki jane pasar katha, padili bolai dons; or 'what does the chasa know of the dice? at every throw he calls out "twenty."' chauhan _chauhan._ [471]--a small caste of village watchmen and labourers in the chhattisgarh division. they are also known as chandel by outsiders. in 1911 the chauhans numbered 7000 persons in the raipur and bilaspur districts, and the adjoining feudatory states. the caste claim themselves to be of rajput origin, and say that their ancestors came from mainpuri, which is the home of the chauhan clan of rajputs. a few of their section names are taken from those of rajput clans, but the majority are of a totemistic nature, being called after animals and plants, as nag the cobra, neora the mongoose, kolhia the jackal, kamal the lotus, pat silk, chanwar rice, khanda a sword, and so on. members of each sept worship the object after which it is named at the time of marriage, and if the tree or animal itself is not readily available, they make a representation of it in flour and pay their respects to that. thus members of the bedna or sugarcane sept make a stick of flour and worship it. they will not kill or eat their sept totem, but in some cases, as in that of the chanwar or rice sept, this rule is impossible of observance, so the members of this sept content themselves with abstaining from a single variety of rice, the kind called nagkesar. families who belong to septs named after heroic ancestors make an image in flour of the ancestral saint or hero and worship it. the caste employ brahmans for their marriage and other ceremonies, and will not take food from any caste except brahmans and their bairagi _gurus_ or spiritual preceptors. but their social position is very low, as none except the most debased castes will take food or water from their hands, and their hereditary calling of village watchman would not be practised by any respectable caste. by outsiders they are considered little, if at all, superior to the pankas and gandas, and the most probable theory of their origin is that they are the descendants of irregular alliances between immigrant rajput adventurers and the women of the country. their social customs resemble those of other low castes in chhattisgarh. before the bridegroom starts for a wedding, they have a peculiar ceremony known as naodori. seven small earthen cups full of water are placed on the boy's head, and then poured over him in succession. a piece of new cloth is laid on his head, and afterwards placed seven times in contact with the earth. during this ritual the boy keeps his eyes shut, and it is believed that if he should open them before its completion, his children would be born blind. when the bride leaves her father's house she and all her relatives mourn and weep noisily, and the bride continues doing so until she is well over a mile from her own village. similarly on the first three or four visits which she pays to her parents after her wedding, she begins crying loudly a mile away from their house, and continues until she reaches it. it is the etiquette also that women should cry whenever they meet relatives from a distance. in such cases when two women see each other they cry together, each placing her head on the other's shoulder and her hands at her sides. while they cry they change the position of their heads two or three times, and each addresses the other according to their relationship, as mother, sister, and so on. or if any member of the family has recently died, they call upon him or her, exclaiming 'o my mother! o my sister! o my father! why did not i, unfortunate one, die instead of thee?' a woman when weeping with a man holds to his sides and rests her head against his breast. the man exclaims at intervals, 'stop crying, do not cry.' when two women are weeping together it is a point of etiquette that the elder should stop first and then beg her companion to do so, but if it is doubtful which is the elder, they sometimes go on crying for an hour at a time, exciting the younger spectators to mirth, until at length some elder steps forward and tells one of them to stop. the chauhans permit the remarriage of widows, and a woman is bound by no restrictions as to her choice of a second husband. the goddess durga or devi is chiefly revered by the caste, who observe fasts in her honour in the months of kunwar (september) and chait (march). when they make a _badna_ or vow, they usually offer goats to the goddess, and sow the _jawaras_ or gardens of adonis in her name, but except on such occasions they present less costly articles, as cocoanuts, betel-leaves, areca-nuts and flowers. on the dasahra festival they worship the _lathi_ or stick which is the badge of office of the village watchman. they were formerly addicted to petty theft, and it is said that they worshipped the _khunta_ or pointed rod for digging through the wall of a house. the caste usually burn the dead, but children whose ears or noses have not been pierced are buried. children who die before they have begun to eat grain are not mourned at all, while for older children the period of mourning is three to seven days, and for adults ten days. on the tenth day they clean their houses, shave themselves and offer balls of rice to the dead under the direction of a brahman, to whom they present eating and drinking vessels, clothes, shoes and cattle with the belief that the articles will thus become available for the use of the dead man in the other world. the chauhans will not eat fowls, pork or beef, and in some places they abstain from drinking liquor. chhipa 1. constitution of the caste. _chhipa, rangari, bhaosar, nirali, nilgar._--the hindu caste of cotton printers and dyers. they are commonly known as chhipa in the northern districts and rangari or bhaosar in the maratha country. the chhipas and rangaris together number about 23,000 persons. in the south of the central provinces and berar cotton is a staple crop, and the cotton-weaving industry is much stronger than in the north, and as a necessary consequence the dyers also would be more numerous. though the chhipas and rangaris do not intermarry or dine together, no essential distinction exists between them. they are both of functional origin, pursue exactly the same occupation, and relate the same story about themselves, and no good reason therefore exists for considering them as separate castes. nilgar or nirali is a purely occupational term applied to chhipas or rangaris who work in indigo (_nil_); while bhaosar is another name for the rangaris in the northern districts. 2. its origin and position. the rangaris say that when parasurama, the brahman, was slaying the kshatriyas, two brothers of the warrior caste took refuge in a temple of devi. one of them, called bhaosar, threw himself upon the image, while the other hid behind it. the goddess saved them both and told them to adopt the vocation of dyers. the rangaris are descended from the brother who was called bhaosar and the chhipas from the other brother, because he hid behind the image (_chhipna_, to hide). the word is really derived from _chhapna_, to print, because the chhipas print coloured patterns on cotton cloths with wooden stamps. rangari comes from the common word _rang_ or colour. the chhipas have a slightly different version of the same story, according to which the goddess gave one brother a needle and a piece of thread, and the other some red betel-leaf which she spat at him out of her mouth; and told one to follow the vocation of a tailor, and the other that of a dyer. hence the first was called chhipi or shimpi and the second chhipa. this story indicates a connection between the dyeing and tailoring castes in the maratha districts, which no doubt exists, as one subcaste of the rangaris is named after namdeo, the patron saint of the shimpis or tailors. both the dyeing and tailoring industries are probably of considerably later origin than that of cotton-weaving, and both are urban rather than village industries. and this consideration perhaps accounts for the fact that the chhipas and rangaris rank higher than most of the weaving castes, and no stigma or impurity attaches to them. 3. caste subdivisions. the caste have a number of subdivisions, such as the malaiyas or immigrants from malwa, the gujrati who come from gujarat, the golias or those who dye cloth with _goli ka rang_, the fugitive aniline dyes, the namdeos who belong to the sect founded by the darzi or tailor of that name, and the khatris, these last being members of the khatri caste who have adopted the profession. 4. marriage and other customs. marriage is forbidden between persons so closely connected as to have a common ancestor in the third generation. in bhandara it is obligatory on all members of the caste, who know the bride or bridegroom, to ask him or her to dine. the marriage rite is that prevalent among the hindustani castes, of walking round the sacred post. divorce and the marriage of widows are permitted. in narsinghpur, when a bachelor marries a widow, he first goes through a mock ceremony by walking seven times round an earthen vessel filled with cakes; this rite being known as langra biyah or the lame marriage. the caste burn their dead, placing the head to the north. on the day of dasahra the chhipas worship their wooden stamps, first washing them and then making an offering to them of a cocoanut, flowers and an image consisting of a bottle-gourd standing on four sticks, which is considered to represent a goat. the chhipas rank with the lower artisan castes, from whose hands brahmans will not take water. nevertheless some of them wear the sacred thread and place sect-marks on their foreheads. 5. occupation. the bulk of the chhipas dye cloths in red, blue or black, with ornamental patterns picked out on them in black and white. formerly their principal agent was the _al_ or indian mulberry (_morinda citrifolia_), from which a rich red dye is obtained. but this indigenous product has been ousted by alizarin, a colouring agent made from coal-tar, which is imported from germany, and is about thirty per cent cheaper than the native dye. chhipas prepare _saris_ or women's wearing-cloths, and floor and bed cloths. the dye stamps are made of teakwood by an ordinary carpenter, the flat surface of the wood being hollowed out so as to leave ridges which form either a design in curved lines or the outlines of the figures of men, elephants and tigers. there is a great variety of patterns, as many as three hundred stamps having been found in one chhipa's shop. the stamps are usually covered with a black ink made of sulphate of iron, and this is fixed by myrobalans; the nilgars usually dye a plain blue with indigotin. no great variety or brilliancy of colours is obtained by the hindu dyers, who are much excelled in this branch of the art by the muhammadan rangrez. in gujarat dyeing is strictly forbidden by the caste rules of the chhipas or bhaosars during the four rainy months, because the slaughter of insects in the dyeing vat adds to the evil and ill-luck of that sunless time. [472] chitari list of paragraphs 1. _origin and traditions._ 2. _social customs._ 3. _birth and childhood._ 4. _the evil eye._ 5. _cradle-songs._ 6. _occupation._ 1. origin and traditions. _chitari, chiter, chitrakar, maharana._--a caste of painters on wood and plaster. chiter is the hindustani, and chitari the marathi name, both being corruptions of the sanskrit chitrakar. maharana is the term used in the uriya country, where the caste are also known as phal-barhai, or a carpenter who only works on one side of the wood. chitari is further an occupational term applied to mochis and jingars, or leather-workers, who have adopted the occupation of wall-painting, and there is no reason to doubt that the chitaris were originally derived from the mochis, though they have now a somewhat higher position. in mandla the chitrakars and jingars are separate castes, and do not eat or intermarry with one another. neither branch will take water from the mochis, who make shoes, and some chitrakars even refuse to touch them. they say that the founder of their caste was biskarma, [473] the first painter, and that their ancestors were rajputs, whose country was taken by akbar. as they were without occupation akbar then assigned to them the business of making saddles and bridles for his cavalry and scabbards for their swords. it is not unlikely that the jingar caste did really originate or first become differentiated from the mochis and chamars in rajputana owing to the demand for such articles, and this would account for the mochis and jingars having adopted rajput names for their sections, and making a claim to rajput descent. the chitrakars of mandla say that their ancestors belonged to garha, near jubbulpore, where the tomb of a woman of their family who became _sati_ is still to be seen. garha, which was once the seat of an important gond dynasty with a garrison, would also naturally have been a centre for their craft. another legend traces their origin from chitrarekha, a nymph who was skilled in painting and magic. she was the friend of a princess usha, whose father was king of sohagpur in hoshangabad. usha fell in love with a beautiful young prince whom she saw in a dream, and chitrarekha drew the portraits of many gods and men for her, until finally usha recognised the youth of her dream in the portrait of aniruddha, the grandson of krishna. chitrarekha then by her magic power brought aniruddha to usha, but when her father found him in the palace he bound him and kept him in prison. on this krishna appeared and rescued his grandson, and taking usha from her father married them to each other. the chitaris say that as a reward to chitrarekha, krishna promised her that her descendants should never be in want, and hence members of their caste do not lack for food even in famine time. [474] the chitaris are declining in numbers, as their paintings are no longer in demand, the people preferring the cheap coloured prints imported from germany and england. 2. social customs. the caste is a mixed occupational group, and those of maratha, telugu and hindustani extraction marry among themselves. a few wear the sacred thread, and abstain from eating flesh or drinking liquor, while the bulk of them do not observe these restrictions. among the jingars women accompany the marriage procession, but not with the chitaris. widow-marriage is allowed, but among the maharanas a wife who has lived with her husband may not marry any one except his younger brother, and if there are none she must remain a widow. in mandla, if a widow marries her younger brother-in-law, half her first husband's property goes to him finally, and half to the first husband's children. if she marries an outsider she takes her first husband's property and children with her. formerly if a wife misbehaved the chitari sometimes sold her to the highest bidder, but this custom has fallen into abeyance, and now if a man divorces his wife her father usually repays to him the expenses of his marriage. these he realises in turn from any man who takes his daughter. a second wife worships the spirit of the dead first wife on the day of akhatij, offering some food and a breast-cloth, so that the spirit may not trouble her. 3. birth and childhood. a pregnant woman must stay indoors during an eclipse; if she goes out and sees it they believe that her child will be born deformed. they think that a woman in this condition must be given any food which she takes a fancy for, so far as may be practicable, as to thwart her desires would affect the health of the child. women in this condition sometimes have a craving for eating earth; then they will eat either the scrapings or whitewash from the walls, or black clay soil, or the ashes of cowdung cakes to the extent of a small handful a day. a woman's first child should be born in her father-in-law's or husband's house if possible, but at any rate not in her father's house. and if she should be taken with the pangs of travail while on a visit to her own family, they will send her to some other house for her child to be born. the ears of boys and the ears and nostrils of girls are pierced, and until this is done they are not considered to be proper members of the caste and can take food from any one's hand. the chitaris of mandla permit a boy to do this until he is married. a child's hair is not shaved when it is born, but this should be done once before it is three years old, whether it be a boy or girl. after this the hair may be allowed to grow, and shaved off or simply cut as they prefer. except in the case of illness a girl's hair is only shaved once, and that of an adult woman is never cut, unless she becomes a widow and makes a pilgrimage to a sacred place, when it is shaved off as an offering. 4. the evil eye. in order to avert the evil eye they hang round a child's neck a nut called _bajar-battu_, the shell of which they say will crack and open if any one casts the evil eye on the child. if it is placed in milk the two parts will come together again. they also think that the nut attracts the evil eye and absorbs its effect, and the child is therefore not injured. if they think that some one has cast the evil eye on a child, they say a charm, '_ishwar, gauri, parvati ke an nazar dur ho jao_,' or 'depart, evil eye, in the name of mahadeo and parvati,' and as they say this they blow on the child three times; or they take some salt, chillies and mustard in their hand and wave it round the child's head and say, '_telin ki lagi ho, tamolin ki lagi ho, mararin ki ho, gorania (gondin) ki ho, oke, oke, parparake phut jawe_,' 'if it be a telin, tambolin, mararin or gondin who has cast the evil eye, may her eyes crack and fall out.' and at the same time they throw the mustard, chillies and salt on the fire so that the eyes of her who cast the evil eye may crack and fall out as these things crackle in the fire. if tiger's claws are used for an amulet, the points must be turned outwards. if any one intends to wish luck to a child, he says, '_tori balayan leun_,' and waves his hands round the child's head several times to signify that he takes upon himself all the misfortunes which are to happen to the child. then he presses the knuckles of his hands against the sides of his own head till they crack, which is a lucky omen, averting calamity. if the knuckles do not crack at the first attempt, it is repeated two or three times. when a man sneezes he will say 'chatrapati,' which is considered to be a name of devi, but is only used on this occasion. but some say nothing. after yawning they snap their fingers, the object of which, they say, is to drive away sleep, as otherwise the desire will become infectious and attack others present. but if a child yawns they sometimes hold one of their hands in front of his mouth, and it is probable that the original meaning of the custom was to prevent evil spirits from entering through the widely opened mouth, or the yawner's own soul or spirit from escaping; and the habit of holding the hand before the mouth from politeness when yawning inadvertently may be a reminiscence of this. 5. cradle-songs. the following are some cradle-songs taken down from a chitrakar, but probably used by most of the lower hindu castes: 1. mother, rock the cradle of your pretty child. what is the cradle made of, and what are its tassels made of? the cradle is made of sandalwood, its tassels are of silk. some gaolin (milkwoman) has overlooked the child, he vomits up his milk. dasoda [475] shall wave salt and mustard round his head, and he shall play in my lap. my baby is making little steps. o sunar, bring him tinkling anklets! the sunar shall bring anklets for him, and my child will go to the garden and there we will eat oranges and lemons. 2. my krishna's tassel is lost, tell me, some one, where it is. my child is angry and will not come into my arms. the tears are falling from his eyes like blossoms from the _bela_ [476] flower. he has bangles on his wrists and anklets on his feet, on his head a golden crown and round his waist a silver chain. the _jhumri_ or tassel referred to above is a tassel adorned with cowries and hung from the top of the cradle so that the child may keep his eyes on it while the cradle is being rocked. 3. sleep, sleep, my little baby; i will wave my hands round your head [477] on the banks of the jumna. i have cooked hot cakes for you and put butter in them; all the night you lay awake, now take your fill of sleep. the little mangoes are hanging on the tree; the rope is in the well; sleep thou till i go and come back with water. i will hang your cradle on the banyan tree, and its rope to the pipal tree; i will rock my darling gently so that the rope shall never break. the last song may be given in the vernacular as a specimen: 4. ram ki chireya, ram ko khet. khaori chireya, bhar, bhar pet. tan munaiyan kha lao khet, agao, labra, gali det; kahe ko, labra, gali de; apni bhuntia gin, gin le. or- the field is rama's, the little birds are rama's; o birds, eat your fill; the little birds have eaten up the corn. the surly farmer has come to the field and scolds them; the little birds say, 'o farmer, why do you scold us? count your ears of maize, they are all there.' this song commemorates a favourite incident in the life of tulsi das, the author of the ramayana, who when he was a little boy was once sent by his _guru_ to watch the crop. but after some time the _guru_ came and found the field full of birds eating the corn and tulsi das watching them. when asked why he did not scare them away, he said, 'are they not as much the creatures of rama as i am? how should i deprive them of food?' 6. occupation. the chitaris pursue their old trade, principally in nagpur city, where the taste for wall-paintings still survives; and they decorate the walls of houses with their crude red and blue colours. but they have now a number of other avocations. they paint pictures on paper, making their colours from the tins of imported aniline dyeing-powders which are sold in the bazar; but there is little demand for these. they make small pictures of the deities which the people hang on their walls for a day and then throw away. they also paint the bodies of the men who pretend to be tigers at the muharram festival, for which they charge a rupee. they make the clay paper-covered masks of monkeys and demons worn by actors who play the ramlila or story of rama on the ramnaomi festival in chait (march); they also make the _tazias_ or representations of the tomb of hussain and paper figures of human beings with small clay heads, which are carried in the muharram procession. they make marriage crowns; the frames of these are of conical shape with a half-moon at the top, made from strips of bamboo; they are covered with red paper picked out with yellow and green and with tinfoil, and are ornamented with borders of date-palm leaves. the crowns cost from four annas to a rupee each. they make the artificial flowers used at weddings; these are stuck on a bamboo stick and at the arrival and departure of the bridegroom are scrambled for by the guests, who take them home as keepsakes or give them to their children for playthings. the flowers copied are the lotus, rose and chrysanthemum, and the imitations are quite good. sometimes the bridegroom is surrounded by trays or boxes of flowers, carried in procession and arranged so as to look as if they were planted in beds. other articles made by the chitrakar are paper fans, paper globes for hanging to the roofs of houses, chinese lanterns made either of paper or of mica covered with paper, and small caps of velvet embroidered with gold lace. at the akti festival [478] they make pairs of little clay dolls, dressing them as male and female, and sell them in red lacquered bamboo baskets, and the girls take them to the jungle and pretend that they are married. formerly the chitrakars made clay idols for temples, but these have been supplanted by marble images imported from jaipur. the jingars make the cloth saddles on which natives ride, and some of them bind books, the leather for which is made from goat-skin, and is not considered so impure as that made from the hides of cattle. but one class of them, who are considered inferior, make leather harness from cow-hide and buffalo-hide. chitrakathi _chitrakathi, hardas._ [479]--a small caste of religious mendicants and picture showmen in the maratha districts. in 1901 they numbered 200 persons in the central provinces and 1500 in berar, being principally found in the amraoti district. the name, mr. enthoven writes, [480] is derived from _chitra,_ a picture, and _katha_, a story, and the professional occupation of the caste is to travel about exhibiting pictures of heroes and gods, and telling stories about them. the community is probably of mixed functional origin, for in bombay they have exogamous section-names taken from those of the marathas, as jadhow, more, powar and so on, while in the central provinces and berar an entirely different set is found. here several sections appear to be named after certain offices held or functions performed by their members at the caste feasts. thus the atak section are the caste headmen; the mankari appear to be a sort of substitute for the atak or their grand viziers, the word mankar being primarily a title applied to maratha noblemen, who held an official position at court; the bhojni section serve the food at marriage and other ceremonies; the kakra arrange for the lighting; the kotharya are store-keepers; and the ghoderao (from _ghoda_, a horse) have the duty of looking after the horses and bullock-carts of the castemen who assemble. the chitrakathis are really no doubt the same caste as the chitaris or chitrakars (painters) of the central provinces, and, like them, a branch of the mochis (tanners), and originally derived from the chamars. but as the berar chitrakathis are migratory instead of settled, and in other respects differ from the chitaris, they are treated in a separate article. marriage within the section is forbidden, and, besides this, members of the atak and mankari sections cannot intermarry as they are considered to be related, being divisions of one original section. the social customs of the caste resemble those of the kunbis, but they bury their dead in a sitting posture, with the face to the east, and on the eighth day erect a platform over the grave. at the festival of akhatij (3rd of light baisakh) [481] they worship a vessel of water in honour of their dead ancestors, and in kunwar (september) they offer oblations to them. though not impure, the caste occupy a low social position, and are said to prostitute their married women and tolerate sexual licence on the part of unmarried girls. mr. kitts [482] describes them as "wandering mendicants, sometimes suspected of associating with kaikaris for purposes of crime; but they seem nevertheless to be a comparatively harmless people. they travel about in little huts like those used by the waddars; the men occasionally sell buffaloes and milk; the women beg, singing and accompanying themselves on the _thali_. the old men also beg, carrying a flag in their hand, and shouting the name of their god, hari vithal (from which they derive their name of hardas). they are fond of spirits, and, when drunk, become pot-valiant and troublesome." the _thali_ or plate on which their women play is also known as _sarthada_, and consists of a small brass dish coated with wax in the centre; this is held on the thigh and a pointed stick is moved in a circle so as to produce a droning sound. the men sometimes paint their own pictures, and in bombay they have a caste rule that every chitrakathi must have in his house a complete set of sacred pictures; this usually includes forty representations of rama's life, thirty-five of that of the sons of arjun, forty of the pandavas, forty of sita and rawan, and forty of harishchandra. the men also have sets of puppets representing the above and other deities, and enact scenes with them like a punch and judy show, sometimes aided by ventriloquism. cutchi 1. general notice. _cutchi_ or _meman, kachhi, muamin._--a class of muhammadan merchants who come every year from gujarat and cutch to trade in the towns of the central provinces, where they reside for eight months, returning to their houses during the four months of the rainy season. in 1911 they numbered about 2000 persons, of whom five-sixths were men, this fact indicating the temporary nature of their settlements. nevertheless a large proportion of the trade of the province is in their hands. the caste is fully and excellently described by khan bahadur fazalullah lutfullah faridi, assistant collector of customs, bombay, in the _bombay gazetteer_. [483] he remarks of them: "as shopkeepers and miscellaneous dealers cutchis are considered to be the most successful of muhammadans. they owe their success in commerce to their freedom from display and their close and personal attention to and keen interest in business. the richest meman merchant does not disdain to do what a parsi in his position would leave to his clerks. their hope and courage are also excellent endowments. they engage without fear in any promising new branch of trade and are daring in their ventures, a trait partly inherited from their lohana ancestors, and partly due to their faith in the luck which the favour of their saints secures them." another great advantage arises from their method of trading in small corporations or companies of a number of persons either relations or friends. some of these will have shops in the great centres of trade, bombay and calcutta, and others in different places in the interior. each member then acts as correspondent and agent for all the others, and puts what business he can in their way. many are also employed as assistants and servants in the shops; but at the end of the season, when all return to their native gujarat, the profits from the different shops are pooled and divided among the members in varying proportion. by this method they obtain all the advantages which are recognised as attaching to co-operative trading. 2. origin of the caste. according to mr. faridi, from whose description the remainder of this article is mainly taken, the memans or more correctly muamins or 'believers' are converts from the hindu caste of lohanas of sind. they venerate especially maulana abdul kadir gilani who died at baghdad in a.d. 1165. his sixth descendant, syed yusufuddin kordiri, was in 1421 instructed in a dream to proceed to sind and guide its people into the way of islam. on his arrival he was received with honour by the local king, who was converted, and the ruler's example was followed by one manikji, the head of one of the _nukhs_ or clans of the lohana community. he with his three sons and seven hundred families of the caste embraced islam, and on their conversion the title of muamin or 'believer' was conferred on them by the saint. it may be noted that colonel tod derives the lohanas from the rajputs, remarking of them: [484] "this tribe is numerous both in dhat and talpura; formerly they were rajputs, but betaking themselves to commerce have fallen into the third class. they are scribes and shopkeepers, and object to no occupation that will bring a subsistence; and as to food, to use the expressive idiom of this region where hunger spurns at law, 'excepting their cats and their cows they will eat anything.'" in his account of sind, postans says of the lohanas: "the hindu merchants and bankers have agents in the most remote parts of central asia and could negotiate bills upon candahar, khelat, cabul, khiva, herat, bokhara or any other marts of that country. these agents, in the pursuit of their calling, leave sind for many years, quitting their families to locate themselves among the most savage and intolerant tribes." this account could equally apply to the khatris, who also travel over central asia, as shown in the article on that caste; and if, as seems not improbable, the lohanas and khatris are connected, the hypothesis that the former, like the latter, are derived from rajputs would receive some support. the present pir or head of the community is sayyid jafir shah, who is nineteenth in descent from yusufuddin and lives partly in bombay and partly in mundra of south cutch. "at an uncertain date," mr. faridi continues, "the lohana or cutchi memans passed from cutch south through kathiawar to gujarat. they are said to have been strong and wealthy in surat during the period of its prosperity (1580-1680). as surat sank the cutchi memans moved to bombay. outside cutch and kathiawar, which may be considered their homes, the memans are scattered over the cities of north and south gujarat and other districts of bombay. beyond that presidency they have spread as traders and merchants and formed settlements in calcutta, madras, the malabar coast, south burma, siam, singapore and java; in the ports of the arabian peninsula, except muscat, where they have been ousted by the khojas; and in mozambique, zanzibar and the east african coast." [485] they have two divisions in bombay, known as cutchi or kachhi and halai. 3. social customs. cutchis and memans retain some non-muhammadan usages. the principal of these is that they do not allow their daughters and widows to inherit according to the rule of muhammadan law. [486] they conduct their weddings by the nikah form and the _mehar_ or dowry is always the same sum of a hundred and twenty-five rupees, whatever may be the position of the parties and in the case of widows also. they say that either party may be divorced by the other for conjugal infidelity, but the _mehar_ or dowry must always be paid to the wife in the case of a divorce. the caste eat flesh and fowls and abstain from liquor. most of them also decline to eat beef as a consequence of their hindu ancestry and they will not take food from hindus of low caste. dahait [487] list of paragraphs 1. _origin of the caste._ 2. _internal structure: totemism._ 3. _marriage and other customs._ 4. _social position._ 5. _former occupations, door-keeper and mace-bearer._ 6. _the umbrella._ 7. _significance of the umbrella._ 1. origin of the caste. _dahait, dahayat._--a mixed caste of village watchmen of the jubbulpore and mandla districts, who are derived from the cognate caste of khangars and from several of the forest tribes. in 1911 the dahaits numbered about 15,000 persons in the central provinces, of whom the large majority were found in the jubbulpore district and the remainder in bilaspur, damoh and seoni. outside the province they reside only in bundelkhand. according to one story the dahaits and khangars had a common ancestor, and in mandla again they say that their ancestors were the door-keepers of the rajas of mahoba, and were known as chhadidar or darwan; and they came to mandla about 200 years ago, during the time of raja nizam shah of the raj-gond dynasty of that place. in mandla the names of their subdivisions are given as rawatia or rautia, kol, mawasi, sonwani and rajwaria. of these kol and rajwar are the names of separate tribes; mawasi is commonly used as a synonym for korku, another tribe; sonwani is the name of a sept found among several of the primitive tribes; while rawat is a title borne by the saonrs and gonds. the names rautia and rajwaria are found as subdivisions of the kol tribe in mirzapur, [488] and it is not improbable that the dahaits are principally derived from this tribe. the actual name dahait is also given by mr. crooke as a subdivision of the kols, and he states it to have the meaning of 'villager,' from _dehat_, a village. the dahaits were a class of personal attendants on the chief or raja, as will be seen subsequently. they stood behind the royal cushion and fanned him, ran in front of his chariot or litter to clear the way, and acted as door-keepers and ushers. service of this kind is of a menial nature and, further, demands a considerable degree of physical robustness; and hence members of the non-aryan forest tribes would naturally be selected for it. and it would appear that these menial servants gradually formed themselves into a caste in bundelkhand and became the dahaits. they obtained a certain rise in status, and now rank in the position of village menials above their parent tribes. in the central provinces the dahaits have commonly been employed as village watchmen, a post analogous to that of door-keeper or porter. the caste are also known as bhaldar or spearmen, and kotwar or village watchmen. 2. internal structure: totemism. the subcastes returned from the mandla district have already been mentioned. in bilaspur they have quite different ones, of which two, joharia and pailagia, are derived from methods of greeting. johar is the salutation which a rajput prince sends to a vassal or chief of inferior rank, and pailagi or 'i fall at your feet' is that with which a member of a lower caste accosts a brahman. how such names came to be adopted as subcastes cannot be explained. the caste have a number of exogamous groups named after plants and animals. members of the bel, [489] rusallo and chheola [490] septs revere the trees after which these septs are named. they will not cut or injure the tree, and at the time of marriage they go and invite it to be present at the ceremony. they offer to the tree the _maihar_ cake, which is given only to the members of the family and the husbands and children of daughters. those belonging to the nagotia sept [491] will not kill a snake, and at the time of marriage they deposit the _maihar_ cake at a snake-hole. members of the singh (lion) and bagh (tiger) septs will not kill a tiger, and at their weddings they draw his image on a wall and offer the cake to it, being well aware that if they approached the animal himself, he would probably repudiate the relationship and might not be satisfied with the cake for his meal. 3. marriage and other customs. prior to a marriage a bride-price, known as _sukh_ or _chari_, and consisting of six rupees with some sugar, turmeric and sesamum oil, must be paid by the parents of the bridegroom to those of the bride; and in the absence of this they will decline to perform the ceremony. at the wedding the couple go round the sacred post, and then the bridegroom mingles the flames of two burning lamps and pierces the nose of the image of a bullock made in flour. this rite is performed by several castes, and is said to be in commemoration of krishna's having done so on different occasions. it is probably meant to excuse or legitimise the real operation, which should properly be considered as sinful in view of the sacred character of the animal. and it may be mentioned here that the people of the vindhyan or bundelkhand districts where the dahaits live do not perforate the nostrils of bullocks, and drive them simply by a rope tied round the mouth. in consequence they have little control over them and are quite unable to stop a cart going downhill, which simply proceeds at the will of the animals until it reaches the level or bangs up against some obstacle. in bilaspur a widow is expected to remain single for five years after her husband's death, and if she marries within that time she is put out of caste. divorce is permitted, but is not of frequent occurrence. the caste will excuse a married woman caught in adultery once, but on a second offence she must be expelled. if a woman leaves her husband and goes to live with another man, the latter must repay to her husband the amount expended on his marriage. but in such a case, if the woman was already a widow or _kari aurat_, [492] no penalty is incurred by a man who takes her from her second husband. a man of any good cultivating caste who has a _liaison_ with a dahait woman will be admitted into the community. an outsider who desires to become a member of the caste must clean his house, break his earthen cooking-pots and buy new ones, and give a meal to the caste-fellows at his house. he sits and takes food with them, and when the meal is over he takes a grain of rice from the leaf-plate of each guest and eats it, and drinks a drop of water from his leaf-cup. this act is equivalent to eating the leavings of food, and after it he cannot re-enter his own caste. on such occasions a rupee and a piece of cloth must be given to the headman of the caste, and a piece of cloth to each member of the _panchayat_ or committee. the headman is known as mirdhan, and a member of the committee as diwan, the offices of both being hereditary. the caste worship the hindu and village gods of the locality. they have a curious belief that the skull of a man of the kayasth (writer) caste cannot be burnt in fire, and that if it is placed in a dwelling-house the inmates will quarrel. a child's first teeth, if found, are thrown into a sacred river or on to the roof of a house with a few grains of rice, in order that the second teeth may grow white and pointed like the rice. the jhalar or first hair of a boy or girl is cut between two and ten years of age and is wrapped in a piece of dough and thrown into a sacred river. women are tattooed on the back of the hands, and also sometimes on the shoulder and the arms above the elbow, but not on the feet or face. 4. social position. the dahaits are now commonly employed as village watchmen and as guards or porters (_chaukidar_) of houses. in bilaspur they also carry litters and work as navvies and stonebreakers like the kols. here they will eat pork, but in jubbulpore greater regard is paid to hindu prejudice, and they have given up pork and fowls and begun to employ brahmans for their ceremonies. the men of the caste will accept cooked food from any man of the higher castes or those cultivators from whom a brahman will take water, but the women are more strict and will only accept it from a brahman, bania, lodhi or kurmi. 5. former occupations: door-keeper and mace-bearer. in past times the dahaits were the personal attendants on the king. they fanned him with the _chaur_ or yak-tail whisk when he sat in state on the royal cushion. this implement is held sacred and is also used by brahmans to fan the deities. on ordinary occasions the raja was fanned by a pankha made of _khaskhas_ grass and wetted, but not so that the water fell on his head. they also acted as gate-keepers of the palace, and had the title of darwan. the gate-keeper's post was a responsible one, as it lay on him to see that no one with evil intentions or carrying secret arms was admitted to the palace. whenever a chief or noble came to visit the king he deposited his arms with the porter or door-keeper. the necessity of a faithful door-keeper is shown in the proverb: "with these five you must never quarrel: your guru, your wife, your gate-keeper, your doctor and your cook." the reasons for the inclusion of the others are fairly clear. on the other hand the gate-porter had usually to be propitiated before access was obtained to his master, like the modern chuprassie; and the resentment felt at his rapacity is shown in the proverb: "the broker, the octroi moharrir, the door-keeper and the bard: these four will surely go to hell." the darwan or door-keeper would be given the right to collect dues, equivalent to those of a village watchman, from forty or fifty villages. the dahaits also carried the _chob_ or silver mace before the king. this was about five feet long with a knob at the upper end as thick as a man's wrist. the mace-bearer was known as chobdar, and it was his duty to carry messages and announce visitors; this latter function he performed with a degree of pomposity truly asiatic, dwelling with open mouth very audibly on some of the most sounding and emphatic syllables in a way that appeared to strangers almost ludicrous, [493] as shown in the following instance: "on advancing, the chobdars or heralds proclaimed the titles of this princely cow-keeper in the usual hyperbolical style. one of the most insignificant-looking men i ever saw then became the destroyer of nations, the leveller of mountains, the exhauster of the ocean. after commanding every inferior mortal to make way for this exalted prince, the heralds called aloud to the animal creation, 'retire, ye serpents; fly, ye locusts; approach not, iguanas, lizards and reptiles, while your lord and master condescends to set his foot on the earth.'" [494] the dahaits ran before the raja's chariot or litter to clear the way for him and announce his coming; and it was also a principal business of the caste to carry the royal umbrella above the head of the king. 6. the umbrella. the umbrella was the essential symbol of sovereignty in asia like the crown in europe. "among the ancient egyptians the umbrella carried with it a mark of distinction, and persons of quality alone could use it. the assyrians reserved it for royal personages only. the umbrella or parasol, says layard, that emblem of royalty so universally adopted by eastern nations, was generally carried over the king in time of peace and sometimes even in war. in shape it resembled very closely those now in common use; but it is always seen open in the sculptures. it was edged with tassels and usually decorated at the top by a flower or some other ornament. the greeks used it as a mystic symbol in some of their sacred festivals, and the romans introduced the custom of hanging an umbrella in the basilican churches as a part of the insignia of office of the judge sitting in the basilica. it is said that on the judgment hall being turned into a church the umbrella remained, and in fact occupied the place of the canopy over thrones and the like; and beatian, an italian herald, says that a vermilion umbrella in a field argent symbolises dominion. it is also believed that the cardinal's hat is a modification of the umbrella in the basilican churches. the king of burma is proud to call himself the lord of twenty-four umbrellas, and the emperor of china carries that number even to the hunting-field." [495] in buddhist architecture the 'wheel of light' symbolising buddha is overshadowed by an umbrella, itself adorned with garlands. at sanchi we find sculptured representations of two and even three umbrellas placed one above the other over the temples, the double and triple canopies of which appear to be fixed to the same handle or staff as in the modern state umbrellas of china and burma. thus we have the primary idea of the accumulated honour of stone or metal discs which subsequently became such a prominent feature of buddhist architecture, culminating in the many-storied pagodas of china and japan. [496] similarly in hindu temples the pinnacle often stands on a circular stone base, probably representing an umbrella. the umbrella of state was apparently not black like its successor of commerce, but of white or another colour, though the colour is seldom recorded. sometimes it was of peacock's feathers, the symbol of the indian war-god, and as seen above, in italy it was of red, the royal colour. it has been suggested that the halo originally represented an umbrella, and there is no reason to doubt that the umbrella was the parent of the state canopy. 7. significance of the umbrella. it has been supposed that the reason for carrying the umbrella above the king's head was to veil his eyes from his subjects, and prevent them from being injured by the magical power of his glance. [497] but its appearance on temples perhaps rather militates against this view. possibly it may have merely served as a protection or covering to the king's head, the head being considered especially sacred as the seat of life. the same idea is perhaps at the root of the objection felt by hindus to being seen abroad without a covering on the head. it seems likely that the umbrella may have been held to be a representation of the sky or firmament. the muhammadans conjoined with it an _aftada_ or sun-symbol; this was an imitation of the sun, embroidered in gold upon crimson velvet and fixed on a circular framework which was borne aloft upon a gold or silver staff. [498] both were carried over the head of any royal personage, and the association favours the idea that the umbrella represents the sky, while the king's head might be considered analogous to the sun. when one of the early indian monarchs made extensive conquests, the annexed territories were described as being brought under his umbrella; of the king harsha-vardhana (606-648 a.d.) it is recorded that he prosecuted a methodical scheme of conquest with the deliberate object of bringing all india under one umbrella, that is, of constituting it into one state. this phrase seems to support the idea that the umbrella symbolised the firmament. similarly, when visvamitra sent beautiful maidens to tempt the good king harischandra he instructed them to try and induce the king to marry them, and if he would not do this, to ask him for the puchukra undi or state umbrella, which was the emblem of the king's protecting power over his kingdom, with the idea that that power would be destroyed by its loss. chhatrapati or lord of the umbrella was the proudest title of an indian king. when sivaji was enthroned in 1674 he proclaimed himself as pinnacle of the kshatriya race and lord of the royal umbrella. all these instances seem to indicate that some powerful significance, such as that already suggested, attached to the umbrella. several tribes, as the gonds and mundas, have a legend that their earliest king was born of poor parents, and that one day his mother, having left the child under some tree while she went to her work, returned to find a cobra spreading its hood over him. the future royal destiny of the boy was thus predicted. it is commonly said that the cobra spread its hood over the child to guard it from the heat of the sun, but such protection would perhaps scarcely seem very important to such a people as the gonds, and the mother would naturally also leave the child in the shade. it seems a possible hypothesis that the cobra's hood really symbolised the umbrella, the principal emblem of royal rank, and it was in this way that the child's great destiny was predicted. in this connection it may be noticed that one of the jain tirthakars, parasnath, is represented in sculpture with an umbrella over his head; but some jains say that the carving above the saint's head is not an umbrella but a cobra's hood. even after it had ceased to be the exclusive appanage of the king, the umbrella was a sign of noble rank, and not permitted to the commonalty. the old anglo-indian term for an umbrella was 'roundel,' an early english word, applied to a variety of circular objects, as a mat under a dish, or a target, and in its form of 'arundel' to the conical handguard on a lance. [499] an old indian writer says: "roundels are in these warm climates very necessary to keep the sun from scorching a man, they may also be serviceable to keep the rain off; most men of account maintain one, two or three roundeliers, whose office is only to attend their master's motion; they are very light but of exceeding stiffness, being for the most part made of rhinoceros hide, very decently painted and guilded with what flowers they best admire. exactly in the midst thereof is fixed a smooth handle made of wood, by which the roundelier doth carry it, holding it a foot or more above his master's head, directing the centre thereof as opposite to the sun as possibly he may. any man whatever that will go to the charge of it, which is no great matter, may have one or more katysols to attend him but not a roundel; unless he be a governor or one of the council. the same custom the english hold good amongst their own people, whereby they may be distinguished by the natives." [500] the katysol was a chinese paper and bamboo sunshade, and the use of them was not prohibited. it was derived from the portuguese _quito-sol_, or that which keeps off the sun. [501] an extract from the _madras standing orders_, 1677-78, prescribed: "that except by the members of this council, those that have formerly been in that quality, chiefs of factories, commanders of ships out of england, and the chaplains, rundells shall not be worn by any men in this town, and by no woman below the degree of factors' wives and ensigns' wives, except by such as the governor shall permit." [502] another writer in 1754 states: "some years before our arrival in the country, they (the e. i. co.) found such sumptuary laws so absolutely necessary, that they gave the strictest orders that none of these young gentlemen should be allowed even to hire a roundel boy, whose business it is to walk by his master and defend him with his roundel or umbrella from the heat of the sun. a young fellow of humour, upon this last order coming over, altered the form of his umbrella from a round to a square, called it a squaredel instead of a roundel, and insisted that no order yet in force forbade him the use of it." [503] the fact that the anglo-indians called the umbrella a roundel and regarded it as a symbol of sovereignty or nobility indicates that it was not yet used in england; and this mr. skeat shows to be correct. "the first umbrella used in england by a man in the open street for protection against rain is usually said to have been that carried by jonas hanway, a great traveller, who introduced it on his return from paris about 1750, some thirty years before it was generally adopted. "some kind of umbrella was, however, occasionally used by ladies at least so far back as 1709; and a fact not generally known is that from about the year 1717 onwards, a 'parish' umbrella, resembling the more recent 'family' umbrella of the nineteenth century, was employed by the priest at open-air funerals, as the church accounts of many places testify." [504] this ecclesiastical use of the umbrella may have been derived from its employment as a symbol in italian churches, as seen above. the word umbrella is derived through the italian from the latin _umbra_, shade, and in mediaeval times a state umbrella was carried over the doge or duke at venice on the occasion of any great ceremony. [505] even recently it is said that in saugor no bania dare go past a bundela rajput's house without getting down from his pony and folding up his umbrella. in hindu slang a 'chhatawali' or carrier of an umbrella was a term for a smart young man; as in the line, 'an umbrella has two kinds of ribs; two women are quarrelling for the love of him who carries it.' now that the umbrella is free to all, and may be bought for a rupee or less in the bazar, the prestige which once attached to it has practically disappeared. but some flavour of its old associations may still cling to it in the minds of the sais and ayah who proudly parade to a festival carrying umbrellas spread over them to shade their dusky features from the sun; though the raja, in obedience to the dictates of fashion, has discarded the umbrella for a _sola-topi_. daharia 1. origin and traditions. _daharia._ [506]--a caste of degraded rajputs found in bilaspur and raipur, and numbering about 2000 persons. the daharias were originally a clan of rajputs but, like several others in the central provinces, they have now developed into a caste and marry among themselves, thus transgressing the first rule of rajput exogamy. colonel tod included the daharias among the thirty-six royal races of rajasthan. [507] their name is derived from dahar or dahal, the classical term for the jubbulpore country at the period when it formed the dominion of the haihaya or kalachuri rajput kings of tripura or tewar near jubbulpore. this dynasty had an era of their own, commencing in a.d. 248, and their line continued until the tenth or eleventh century. the arabian geographer alberuni (born a.d. 973) mentions the country of dahal and its king gangeya deva. his son karna daharia is still remembered as the builder of temples in karanbel and bilahri in jubbulpore, and it is from him that the daharia rajputs take their name. the haihaya dynasty of ratanpur were related to the kalachuri kings of tewar, and under them the ancestors of the daharia rajputs probably migrated from jubbulpore into chhattisgarh. but they themselves have forgotten their illustrious origin, and tell a different story to account for their name. they say that they came from baghelkhand or rewah, which may well be correct, as rewah lies between chhattisgarh and jubbulpore, and a large colony of kalachuri rajputs may still be found about ten miles north-east of rewah town. the daharias relate that when parasurama, the great brahman warrior, was slaying the kshatriyas, a few of them escaped towards ratanpur and were camping in the forest by the wayside. parasurama came up and asked them who they were, and they said they were _daharias_ or wayfarers, from _dahar_ the chhattisgarhi term for a road or path; and thus they successfully escaped the vengeance of parasurama. this futile fiction only demonstrates the real ignorance of their brahman priests, who, if they had known a little history, need not have had recourse to their invention to furnish the daharias with a distinguished pedigree. a third derivation is from a word _dahri_ or gate, and they say that the name of dahria or daharia was conferred on them by bimbaji bhonsla, because of the bravery with which they held the gates of ratanpur against his attack. but history is against them here, as it records that ratanpur capitulated to the marathas without striking a blow. 2. sept and subsept. as already stated, the daharias were originally a clan of rajputs, whose members must take wives or husbands from other clans. they have now become a caste and marry among themselves, but within the caste they still have exogamous groups or septs, several of which are named after rajput clans as bais, chandel, baghel, bundela, mainpuri chauhan, parihar, rathor and several others. certain names are not of rajput origin, and probably record the admission of outsiders into the caste. like the rajputs, within the sept they have also subsepts, some of which are taken from the brahmans, as parasar, bharadwaj, sandilya, while others are nicknames, as kachariha (one who does not care about a beating), atariha, hiyas and others. the divisions of the septs and subsepts are very confused, and seem to indicate that at different times various foreign elements have been received into the community, including rajputs of many different clans. according to rule, a man should not take a wife whose sept or subsept are the same as his own, but this is not adhered to; and in some cases the daharias, on account of the paucity of their numbers and the difficulty of arranging matches, have been driven to permit the marriage of first cousins, which among proper rajputs is forbidden. they also practise hypergamy, as members of the mainpuri chauhan, hiyas, bisen, surkhi and bais septs or subsepts will take girls in marriage from families of other septs, but will not give their daughters to them. this practice leads to polygamy among the five higher septs, whose daughters are all married in their own circle, while in addition they receive girls from the other groups. members of these latter also consider it an honour to marry a daughter into one of the higher septs, and are willing to pay a considerable price for such a distinction. it seems probable that the small daraiha caste of bilaspur are an inferior branch of the daharias. 3. social customs. the daharias, in theory at any rate, observe the same rules in regard to their women as brahmans and rajputs. neither divorce nor the marriage of widows is permitted, and a woman who goes wrong is finally expelled from the caste. their social customs resemble those of the higher hindustani castes. when the bridegroom starts for the wedding he is dressed in a long white gown reaching to the ankles, with new shoes, and he takes with him a dagger; this serves the double purpose of warding off evil spirits, always prone to attack the bridal party, and also of being a substitute for the bridegroom himself, as in case he should for some unforeseen reason be rendered unable to appear at the ceremony, the bride could be married to the dagger as his representative. it may also be mentioned that, before the bridegroom starts for the wedding, after he has been rubbed with oil and turmeric for five days he is seated on a wooden plank over a hole dug in the courtyard and bathed. he then changes his clothes, and the women bring twenty-one small _chukias_ or cups full of water and empty them over him. his head is then covered with a piece of new cloth, and a thread wound round it seven times by a brahman. the thread is afterwards removed, and tied round an iron ring with some mango leaves, and this ring forms the _kankan_ which is tied to the bridegroom's wrist, a similar one being worn by the bride. before the wedding the bride goes round to the houses of her friends, accompanied by the women of her party singing songs, and by musicians. at each house the mistress appears with her forehead and the parting of her hair profusely smeared with vermilion. she rubs her forehead against the bride's so as to colour it also with vermilion, which is now considered the symbol of a long and happy married life. the barber's wife applies red paint to the bride's feet, the gardener's wife presents her with a garland of flowers, and the carpenter's wife gives her a new wooden doll. she must also visit the potter's and washerman's wives, whose benisons are essential; they give her a new pot and a little rice respectively. when the bridegroom comes to touch the marriage-shed with his dagger he is resisted by the bride's sister, to whom he must give a rupee as a present. the binding portion of the marriage consists in the couple walking seven times round the marriage-post. at each turn the bridegroom seizes the bride's right toe and with it upsets one of seven little cups of rice placed near the marriage-post. this is probably a symbol of fertility. after it they worship seven pairs of little wooden boxes smeared with vermilion and called _singhora_ and _singhori_ as if they were male and female. the bridegroom's father brings two little dough images of mahadeo and parvati as the ideal married pair, and gives them to the couple. the new husband applies vermilion to his wife's forehead, and covers and uncovers her head seven times, to signify to her that, having become a wife, she should henceforth be veiled when she goes abroad. the bride's maid now washes her face, which probably requires it, and the wedding is complete. the daharias usually have a _guru_ or spiritual preceptor, but husband and wife must not have the same one, as in that case they would be in the anomalous position of brother and sister, a _guru's_ disciples being looked upon as his children. the daharias were formerly warriors in the service of the ratanpur kings, and many families still possess an old sword which they worship on the day of dasahra. their names usually end in singh or lal. they are now engaged in cultivation, and many of them are proprietors of villages, and tenants. some of them are employed as constables and chuprassies, but few are labourers, as they may not touch the plough with their own hands. they eat the flesh of clean animals, but do not drink liquor, and avoid onions and tomatoes. they have good features and fair complexions, the traces of their rajput blood being quite evident. brahmans will take water from them, but they now rank below rajputs, on a level with the good cultivating castes. dangi 1. origin and traditions. _dangi._--a cultivating caste found almost exclusively in the saugor district, which contained 23,000 persons out of a total of 24,000 of the caste in the central provinces in 1911. there are also considerable numbers of them in rajputana and central india, from which localities they probably immigrated into the saugor district during the eleventh century. the dangis were formerly dominant in saugor, a part of which was called dangiwara after them. the kings of garhpahra or old saugor were dangis, and their family still remains at the village of bilehra, which with a few other villages they hold as a revenue-free grant. the name of the caste is variously derived. the traditional story is that the rajput king of garhpahra detained the palanquins of twenty-two married women of different castes and kept them as his wives. the issue of the illicit intercourse were named dangis, and there are thus twenty-two subdivisions of the caste, besides three other subdivisions who are held to be descended from pure rajputs. the name is said to be derived from _dang_, fraud, on account of the above deception. a more plausible derivation is from the persian _dang_, a hill, the dangis being thus hillmen; and they may not improbably have been a set of robbers and freebooters in the vindhyan hills, like the gujars and mewatis in northern india, naturally recruiting their band from all classes of the population, as is shown by ingenious implication in this story itself. '_khet men bami, gaon men dangi_,' or 'a dangi in the village is like the hole of a snake in one's field' is a proverb which shows the estimation in which they were formerly held. the three higher septs may have been their leaders and may well have been rajputs. since they have settled down as respectable cultivators and enjoy a good repute among their neighbours, the dangis have disowned the above story, and now say that they are descended from raja dang, a kachhwaha rajput king of narwar in central india. nothing is known of raja dang except a rude couplet which records how he was cheated by a horse-dealer: jitki ghori tit gayi dang hath karyari rahi, 'the mare bolted to the seller again, leaving in dang's hand nothing except the reins.' the dangis have a more heroic version of this story to the effect that the mare was a fairy of indra's court, who for some reason had been transformed into this shape and was captured by raja dang. he refused to give her up to indra and a battle was about to ensue, when the mare besought them to place her on a pyre and sacrifice her instead of fighting. they agreed to do this, and out of the flames of the pyre the fairy emerged and floated up to heaven, leaving only the reins and bridle of the mare in raja dang's hand. yet a third story is that their original ancestor was raja nipal singh of narwar, and when he was fighting with indra over the fairy, krishna came to indra's assistance. but nipal singh refused to bow down to krishna, and being annoyed at this and wishing to teach him a lesson the god summoned him to his court. at the gate through which nipal singh had to pass, krishna fixed a sword at the height of a man's neck, so that he must bend or have his head cut off. but nipal singh saw the trick, and, sitting down, propelled himself through the doorway with his head erect. the outwitted god remarked, '_tum bare dandi ho_,' or 'you are very cunning,' and the name dandi stuck to nipal singh and was afterwards corrupted to dangi. there can be little doubt that the caste are an offshoot of rajputs of impure blood, and with a large admixture of other classes of the population. some of their sept names indicate their mixed descent, as rakhya, born of a potter woman, dhoniya, born of a washerwoman, and pavniya, born of a weaver woman. in past times the dangis served in the rajput and maratha armies, and a small isolated colony of them is found in one village of indora in the nagpur district, the descendants of dangis who engaged in military service under the bhonsla kings. 2. caste subdivisions. the dangis have no subcastes distinguished by separate names, but they are divided into three classes, among whom the principle of hypergamy prevails. as already seen, there were formerly twenty-five clans, of whom the three highest, the nahonias, bhadonias and nadias, claimed to be pure rajputs. the other twenty-two clans are known as baisa (22) or prithwipat dangis, after the king who is supposed to have been the ancestor of all the clans. each of his twenty-two wives is said to have been given a village for her maintenance, and the clans are named after these villages. but there are now only thirteen of these local clans left, and below them is a miscellaneous group of clans, representing apparently later accretions to the caste. some of them are named from the places from which they came, as mahobia, from mahoba, narwaria, from narwar, and so on. the solakhia sept is named after the solanki rajputs, of whom they may be the partly illegitimate descendants. the parnami sept are apparently those who have the creed of the dhamis, the followers of prannath of panna. and as already seen, some are named from women of low caste, from whom by dangi fathers they are supposed to be descended. the whole number of septs is thus divided into three groups, the highest containing the three quasi-rajput septs already mentioned, the next highest the thirteen septs of prithwipat dangis, and the lowest all the other septs. pure rajputs will take daughters in marriage from the highest group, and this in turn takes girls of the prithwipat dangis of the thirteen clans, though neither will give daughters in return; and the prithwipat dangis will similarly accept the daughters of the miscellaneous septs below them in marriage with their sons. matches are, however, not generally arranged according to the above system of hypergamy, but each group marries among its own members. girls who are married into a higher group have to be given a larger dowry, the fathers often being willing to pay rs. 500 or rs. 1000 for the social distinction which such an alliance confers on the family. among the highest septs there is a further difference between those whose ancestors accepted food from raja jai singh, the founder of jaisinghnagar, and those who refused it. the former are called sakrodia or those who ate the leavings of others, and the latter _deotaon ki sansar_, or the divine dangis. pure rajputs will take daughters only from the members of the latter group in each sept. marriage within the sept or _baink_ is prohibited, and as a rule a man does not marry a wife belonging to the same sept as his mother or grandmother. marriage by exchange also is not allowed, that is, a girl cannot be married into the same family as that in which her brother has married. 3. marriage. girls are generally married between seven and twelve and boys between ten and twenty, but no stigma attaches to a family allowing an unmarried girl to exceed the age of puberty. the bridegroom should always be older than the bride. matches are arranged by the parents, the horoscopes of the children being compared among the well-to-do. the zodiacal sign of the boy's horoscope should be stronger than that of the girl's, so that she may be submissive to him in after-life. thus a girl whose zodiac sign is the lion should not be married to a boy whose sign is the ram, because in that case the wife would dominate the husband. there is no special rule as to the time of the betrothal, and the ceremony is very simple, consisting in the presentation of a cocoanut by the bride's father to the bridegroom's father, and the distribution of sweets to the caste-fellows. the betrothal is not considered to have any particularly binding force and either party may break through it. among the dangis a bridegroom-price is usually paid, which varies according to the social respectability of the boy's sept, as much as rs. 2000 having been given for a bridegroom of higher class according to the rule of hypergamy already described. but no value is placed on educational qualifications, as is the case among brahmans and kayasths. the marriage ceremony is conducted according to the ritual prevalent in the northern districts, and presents no special features. two feasts are given by the bride's father to the caste-fellows, one consisting of _katchi_ food or that which is cooked with water, and another of _pakki_ food cooked with _ghi_ (butter). if the bride is of marriageable age the _gauna_ or sending away ceremony is performed at once, otherwise it takes place in the third or fifth year after marriage. at the _gauna_ ceremony the bride's cloth is tied to that of the bridegroom, and they change seats. widow-marriage is not fashionable, and the caste say that it is not permitted, but several instances are known of its having occurred. divorce is not allowed, and a woman who goes wrong is finally expelled from the caste. polygamy is allowed, and many well-to-do persons have more than one wife. 4. religious and social customs. the dangis pay special reverence to the goddess durga or devi as the presiding deity of war. they worship her during the months of kunwar (september) and chait (march), and at the same time pay reverence to their weapons of war, their swords and guns, or if they have not got these, to knives and spears. they burn their dead, but children are usually buried. they observe mourning for three days for a child and for ten days for an adult, and on the 13th day the caste-fellows are feasted. their family priests, who are jijhotia brahmans, used formerly to shave the head and beard when a death occurred among their clients as if they belonged to the family, but this practice was considered derogatory by other brahmans, and they have now stopped it. the dangis perform the _shradhh_ ceremony in the month of kunwar. the caste wear the sacred thread, but it is said that they were formerly not allowed to do so in bundelkhand. they eat fish and flesh, including that of wild boars, but not fowls or beef, and they do not drink liquor. they take _pakki_ food or that cooked without water from kayasths and gahoi banias, and _katchi_ food, cooked with water, from jijhotia and sanadhya brahmans. jijhotia brahmans formerly took _pakki_ food from dangis, but have now ceased to do so. the dangis require the services of brahmans at all ceremonies. they have a caste _panchayat_ or committee. a person who changes his religion or eats with a low caste is permanently expelled, while temporary exclusion is awarded for the usual delinquencies. in the case of the more serious offences, as murder or killing of a cow, the culprit must purify himself by a pilgrimage to a sacred river. 5. occupation and character. the dangis were formerly, as already stated, of a quarrelsome temperament, but they have now settled down and, though spirited, are of a good disposition, and hard-working cultivators. they rank slightly above the representative cultivating castes owing to their former dominant position, and are still considered to have a good conceit of themselves, according to the saying: tin men neh terah men, mirdang bajawe dere men, or 'though he belong neither to the three septs nor the thirteen septs, yet the dangi blows his own trumpet in his own house.' they are still, too, of a fiery disposition, and it is said that the favourite dish of gram-flour cooked with curds, which is known as _karhi_, is never served at their weddings. because the word _karhi_ also signifies the coming out of a sword from its sheath, and when addressed to another man has the equivalent of the english word 'draw' in the duelling days. so if one dangi said it to another, meaning to ask him for the dish, it might result in a fight. they are very backward in respect of education and set no store by it. they consider their traditional occupation to be military service, but nearly all of them are now engaged in agriculture. at the census of 1901 over 2000 were returned as supported by the ownership of land and 3000 as labourers and farmservants. practically all the remainder are tenants. they are industrious, and their women work in the fields. the only crops which they object to grow are _kusum_ or safflower and san-hemp. the nahonia dangis, being the highest subcaste, refuse to sell milk or _ghi_. the men usually have singh as a termination to their names, like rajputs. their dress and ornaments are of the type common in the northern districts. the women tattoo their bodies. dangri _dangri._ [508]--a small caste of melon and vegetable growers, whose name is derived from _dangar_ or _dangra_, a water-melon. they reside in the wardha and bhandara districts, and numbered about 1800 persons in 1911. the caste is a mixed one of functional origin, and appears to be an offshoot from the kunbis with additions from other sources. in wardha they say that their ancestor was one of two brothers to whom mahadeo gave the seeds of a juari plant and a water-melon respectively for sowing. the former became the ancestor of the kunbis and the latter of the dangris. on one occasion when mahadeo, assuming the guise of a beggar, asked the dangri brother for a water-melon, he refused to give it, and on this account his descendants were condemned to perpetual poverty. in fact, the dangris, like the other market-gardening castes, are badly off, possibly on account of their common habit of marrying a number of wives, whom they utilise as labourers in their vegetable gardens; for though a wife is better than a hired labourer for their particular method of cultivation, where supervision is difficult and the master may be put to serious loss from bad work and petty pilfering, while there is also much scope for women workers; yet on the other hand polygamy tends to the breeding of family quarrels and to excessive subdivision of property. the close personal supervision which is requisite perhaps also renders it especially difficult to carry on the business of market-gardening on a large scale. in any case the agricultural holdings of the malis and dangris are as a rule very small. the conclusion indicated by the above story that the dangris are an offshoot from the kunbi caste of cultivators appears to be correct; and it is supported by the fact that they will accept food cooked with water from the baone kunbis. but their subcastes show that even this small body is of very heterogeneous composition; for they are divided into the teli, the kalar, the kunbi and the gadiwan dangris, thus showing that the caste has received recruits from the telis or oilmen and the kalars or liquor-sellers. the gadiwan, as their name denotes, are a separate section who have adopted the comparatively novel occupation of cart-driving for a livelihood. in wardha there is also a small class of panibhar or waterman dangris who are employed as water-bearers, this occupation arising not unnaturally from that of growing melons and other crops in river-beds. and a few members of the caste have taken to working in iron. the bulk of the dangris, however, grow melons, chillies and brinjals on the banks or in the beds of rivers; but as the melon crop is raised in a period of six weeks during the hot season, they can also undertake some ordinary cultivation. when the melons ripen the first fruits are offered to mahadeo and given to a brahman to ensure the success of the crop. when the melon plants are in flower, a woman must not enter the field during the period of her monthly impurity, as it is believed that she would cause the crop to wither. while it may safely be assumed that the dangris originated from the great kunbi caste, it may be noted that some of them tell a story to the effect that their original home was benares, and that they came from there into the central provinces; hence they call themselves kashi dangri, kashi being the classical name for benares. this legend appears to be entirely without foundation, as their family names, speech and customs are alike of purely marathi origin. but it is found among other castes also that they like to pretend that they came from benares, the most sacred centre of hinduism. the social customs of the dangris resemble those of the kunbis, and it is unnecessary to describe them in detail. before their weddings they have a curious ceremony known as dewat puja. the father of the bridegroom, with an axe over his shoulder and accompanied by his wife, goes to a well or a stream. here they clean a small space with cow-dung and make an offering of rice, flowers, turmeric and incense, after which the man, breaking his bangle from off his wrist, throws it into the water, apparently as a propitiatory offering for the success of the marriage. it is not stated what the bangle is made of, but it may be assumed that a valuable one would not thus be thrown away. as among some of the other maratha castes, the bridegroom must be wrapped in a blanket on his journey to the bride's village. if a bachelor desires to espouse a widow he must first go through the ceremony of marriage with a swallow-wort plant. polygamy is freely permitted, and some dangris are known to have as many as five wives. as already stated, wives are of great assistance in gardening work, which demands much hand-labour. divorce and the remarriage of widows are allowed. the dangris commonly bury the dead, and they place cotton leaves over the eyes and ears of the corpse. in bhandara they say that this is done when it is believed the dead person was possessed by an evil spirit, and there is possibly some idea of preventing the escape of the spirit from the body. in wardha the dangris have rather a bad reputation, and a saying current about them is '_dangri beta puha chor_,' or 'a dangri will steal even a shred of cotton'; but this may be a libel. darzi list of paragraphs 1. _general notice._ 2. _subdivisions._ 3. _sewn clothes not formerly worn._ 4. _occupation._ 5. _religion._ 1. general notice. _darzi, shimpi, chhipi, suji._--the occupational caste of tailors. in 1911 a total of 51,000 persons were returned as belonging to the caste in the central provinces and berar. the darzis are an urban caste and are most numerous in districts with large towns. mr. crooke derives the word darzi from the persian _darz_, meaning a seam. the name suji from _sui_, a needle, was formerly more common. shimpi is the maratha name, and chhipi, from chhipa a calico-printer or dyer, is another name used for the caste, probably because it is largely recruited from the chhipas. in bombay they say that when parasurama was destroying the kshatriyas, two rajput brothers hid themselves in a temple and were protected by the priest, who set one of them to sew dresses for the idol and the other to dye and stamp them. the first brother was called chhipi and from him the darzis are descended, the name being corrupted to shimpi, and the second was called chhipa and was the ancestor of the dyers. the common title of the darzis is khalifa, an arabic word meaning 'the successor of the prophet.' colonel temple says that it is not confined to them but is also used by barbers, cooks and monitors in schools. [509] the caste is of comparatively recent formation. in fact sir d. ibbetson wrote [510] that "darzi, or its hindi equivalent suji, is purely an occupational term, and though there is a darzi guild in every town, there is no darzi caste in the proper acceptation of the word. the greater number of darzis belong perhaps to the dhobi and chhimba castes, more especially to the latter." 2. subdivisions. the darzis, however, are now recognised as a distinct caste, but their mixed origin is shown by the names of their subcastes and exogamous sections. thus they have a baman subdivision named after the brahman caste. these will not take food from any other caste except brahmans and are probably an offshoot from them. they are considered to be the highest subdivision, and next to them come the rai or raj darzis. another subcaste is named kaithia, after the kayasths, and a third srivastab, which is the name of a well-known subcaste of kayasths derived from the town of sravasti, now sahet mahet in the gonda district. [511] in betul the srivastab darzis are reported to forbid the remarriage of widows, thus showing that they desire to live up to their distinguished ancestry. a third subcaste is known as chamarua and appears to be derived from the chamars. other subcastes are of the territorial type as malwi, khandeshi, chhattisgarhi, mathuria and so on, and the section or family names are usually taken from villages. among them, however, we find jugia from jogi, thakur or rajput, gujar, khawas or barber, and baroni, the title of a female dhimar. mr. crooke gives several other names. 3. sewn clothes not formerly worn. it may thus reasonably be concluded that the darzis are a caste of comparatively recent origin, and the explanation is probably that the use of the needle and thread in making clothes is a new fashion. buchanan remarks: "the needle indeed seems to have been totally unknown to the hindus, and i have not been able to learn any hindi word for sewing except that used to express passing the shuttle in the act of weaving...." "cloth composed of several pieces sewn together is an abomination to the hindus, so that every woman of rank when she eats, cooks or prays, must lay aside her petticoat and retain only the wrapper made without the use of scissors or needle"; and again, "the dress of the hindu men of rank has become nearly the same with that of the muhammadans [512] who did not allow any officer employed by them to appear at their _levées_ (durbars) except in proper dress. at home, however, the hindu men, and on all occasions their women, retain almost entirely their native dress, which consists of various pieces of cloth wrapped round them without having been sewn together in any form, and only kept in their place by having their ends thrust under the folds." and elsewhere he states: "the flowering of cotton cloth with the needle has given a good deal of employment to the muhammadan women of maldeh as the needle has never been used by the hindus." [513] darzi, as has been seen, is a persian word, and in northern india many tailors are muhammadans. and it seems, therefore, a possible hypothesis that the needle and the art of sewing were brought into general use by the moslem invaders. it is true that in his _indo-aryans_ [514] mr. rajendra lal mitra combats this hypothesis and demonstrates that made-up clothes were known to the aryans of the rig-veda and are found in early statuary. but he admits that the instances are not numerous, and it seems likely that the use of such clothes may have been confined to royal and aristocratic families. it is possible also that the scythian invasions of the fifth century brought about a partial relapse from civilisation, during which certain arts and industries, and among them that of cutting and sewing cloth, were partially or completely lost. the tailor is not the familiar figure in hindu social life that he is, for example, in england. here he is traditionally an object or butt for ridicule as in the saying, 'nine tailors make a man,' and so on; and his weakness is no doubt supposed to be due to the fact that he pursues a sedentary indoor occupation and one more adapted to women than men, the needle being essentially a feminine implement. a similar ridicule, based no doubt on exactly the same grounds, attaches in india to the village weaver, as is evidenced by the proverbs given in the articles on bhulia, kori, and jolaha. no reason exists probably for the contempt in which the weaver class is held other than that their work is considered to be more fitting for women than men. thus in india the weaver appears to take the place of the tailor, and this leads to the conclusion that woven and not sewn clothes have always been commonly worn. in the central provinces, at least, the darzi caste is practically confined to the towns, and though cotton jackets are worn even by labourers and shirts by the better-to-do, these are usually bought ready-made at the more important markets. women, more conservative in their dress than men, have only one garment prepared with the needle, the small bodice known as _choli_ or _angia_. and in chhattisgarh, a landlocked tract very backward in civilisation, the _choli_ has hitherto not been worn and is only now being introduced. though he first copied the muhammadan and now shows a partiality for the english style of dress for outdoor use, the hindu when indoors still reverts to the one cloth round the waist and a second over the shoulders, which was probably once the regular garb of his countrymen. for meals the latter is discarded, and this costume, so strange to english ideas, while partly based on considerations of ceremonial purity, may also be due to a conservative adherence to the ancient fashion, when sewn clothes were not worn. it is noticeable also that high-caste hindus, though they may wear a coat of cloth or tasar silk and cotton trousers, copying the english, still often carry the _dupatta_ or shoulder-cloth hanging round the neck. this now appears a useless encumbrance, but may be the relic of the old body-cloth and therefore interesting as a survival in dress, like the buttons on the back of our tail-coats to which the flaps were once hooked up for riding, or the seams on the backs of gloves, a relic of the time when the glove consisted simply of finger-lengths sewn together. [515] more recently the _dupatta_ has been made to fulfil the function of a pocket-handkerchief, while the educated are now discarding the _dupatta_ and carry their handkerchiefs in their pockets. the old dress of ceremony for landowners is the _angarkha_, a long coat reaching to the knees and with flaps folding over the breast and tied with strings. this is worn with pyjamas and is probably the muhammadan ceremonial costume as remarked by buchanan. in its correct form, at, least it has no buttons, and recalls the time when a similar state of things prevailed in english dress and the 'trussing of his points' was a laborious daily task for every english gentleman. the _ghundis_ or small pieces of cloth made up into a ball, which were the precursors of the button, may still be seen on the cotton coats of rustics in the rural area. the substitution of clothes cut and sewn to fit the body for draped clothes is a matter of regret from an artistic or picturesque point of view, as the latter have usually a more graceful appearance. this is shown by the difficulty of reproducing modern clothes in statuary, trousers being usually the despair of the sculptor. but sewn clothes, when once introduced, must always prevail from considerations of comfort. when a hindu pulls his _dhoti_ or loin-cloth up his legs and tucks it in round his hips in order to run or play a game he presumably performs the act described in the bible as 'girding up his loins.' 4. occupation. the social customs of the darzis present no features of special interest and resemble those of the lower castes in their locality. they rank below the cultivating castes, and brahmans will not take water from their hands. though not often employed by the hindu villager the darzi is to europeans one of the best known of all castes. he is on the whole a capable workman and especially good at copying from a pattern. his proficiency in this respect attracted notice so long ago as 1689, as shown in an interesting quotation in the _bombay gazetteer_ referring to the tailors of surat: [516] "the tailors here fashion clothes for the europeans, either men or women, according to every mode that prevails, and fit up the commodes and towering head-dresses for the women with as much skill as if they had been an indian fashion, or themselves had been apprenticed at the royal exchange. (the commode was a wire structure to raise the cap and hair.)" since then the darzi has no doubt copied in turn all the changes of english fashions. he is a familiar figure in the veranda of the houses of europeans, and his idiosyncrasies have been delightfully described by eha in _behind the bungalow_. his needles and pins are stuck into the folds of his turban, and eha says that he is bandy-legged because of the position in which he squats on his feet while sewing. in gujarat the tailor is often employed in native households. "though even in well-to-do families," mr. bhimbhai kirparam writes, [517] "women sew their bodices and young children's clothes for everyday wear, every family has its own tailor. as a rule tailors sew in their own houses, and in the tailor's shop may be seen workmen squatting in rows on a palm-leaf mat or on cotton-stuffed quilts. the wives and sons' wives of the head of the establishment sit and work in the shop along with the men. their busy time is during the marriage season from november to june. a village tailor is paid either in cash or grain and is not infrequently a member of the village establishment. during the rains, the tailor's slack season, he supplements his earnings by tillage, holding land which government has continued to him on payment of one-half the ordinary rental. in south gujarat, in the absence of brahmans, a darzi officiates at bhawad marriages, and in some brahman marriages a darzi is called with some ceremony to sew a bodice for the bride. on the other hand, in the panch mahals and rewa kantha, besides tailoring darzis blow trumpets at marriage and other processions and hold so low a position that even dhedas object to eat their food." it seems clear that in gujarat the darzi caste is of older standing than in northern india, and it is possible that the art of sewing may have been acquired through the sea trade which was carried on between the western coast and arabia and the persian gulf. here the darzi has become a village menial, which he is not recorded as being in any other part of india. 5. religion. like the weaver, the darzi is of a somewhat religious turn of mind, probably on account of his sedentary calling which gives him plenty of time for reflection. many of them belong to the namdeo sect, originated by a chhipa or dyer, namdeo sadhu. namdeo is said to have been a contemporary of kabir and to have flourished in the twelfth or thirteenth century. he was a great worshipper of the god vithoba of pandharpur and is considered by the marathas to be their oldest writer, being the author of many abhangs, or sacred hymns. [518] he preached the unity of god, recognising apparently vithoba or vishnu as the one deity, and the uselessness of ceremonial. his followers are mainly dhobis and chhipas, the two principal castes from whom the darzis have originated. [519] namdeo's sect was thus apparently a protest on the part of the chhipas and dhobis against their inferior position in the caste system and the tyranny of the brahmans, and resembled the spiritual revolt of the weavers under kabir and of the chamars under ghasi das and jagjiwan das. in berar it is stated [520] that "the simpi caste has twelve and a half divisions; of these the chief are known as the jain, marathi and telugu simpis. the jain simpis claim the hero riminath as a caste-fellow, while the marathas are often lingayats and the telugu division generally vaishnavas." before beginning work in the morning the darzi bows to his scissors or needle and prays to them for his livelihood for that day. the darzi's occupation, mr. crooke remarks, is a poor one and held rather in contempt. the village proverb runs, '_darzi ka put jab tak jita tab tak sita_,' 'the tailor's boy will do nothing but sew all his life long.' another somewhat more complimentary saying is, '_tanak si suiya tak tak kare aur lakh taka ko banj kare_,' or 'the tiny needle goes _tuk tuk_, and makes merchandise worth a lakh of rupees.' the hindustani version of both proverbs is obviously intended to give the sound of a needle passing through cloth, and it is possible that our word 'tuck' has the same origin. dewar 1. general notice. _dewar._ [521]--(derived from devi, whom they worship, or from diabar, 'one who lights a lamp,' because they always practise magic with a lighted lamp.) a dravidian caste of beggars and musicians. they numbered about 2500 persons in 1911 and are residents of the chhattisgarh plain. the dewars themselves trace their origin from a binjhia named gopal rai, who accompanied raja kalyan sai of ratanpur on a visit to the court of delhi in akbar's time. gopal rai was a great wrestler, and while at delhi he seized and held a _mast_ elephant belonging to the emperor. when the latter heard of it he ordered a wrestling match to be arranged between gopal rai and his own champion wrestler. gopal rai defeated and killed his opponent, and kalyan sai ordered him to compose a triumphal song and sing it in honour of the occasion. he composed his song in favour of devi maha mai, or devi the great mother, and the composition and recitation of similar songs has ever since been the profession of his descendants the dewars. the caste is, as is shown by the names of its sections, of mixed origin, and its members are the descendants of gonds and kawars reinforced probably by persons who have been expelled from their own caste and have become dewars. they will still admit persons of any caste except the very lowest. 2. subdivisions. the caste has two principal divisions according to locality, named raipuria and ratanpuria, raipur and ratanpur having been formerly the two principal towns of chhattisgarh. within these are several other local subdivisions, _e.g._ navagarhia or those belonging to nawagarh in bilaspur, sonakhania from sonakhan south of the mahanadi, chatarrajiha from chater raj, in raipur, and sarangarhia from sarangarh state. some other divisions are either occupational or social; thus the baghurra dewars are those who tame tigers and usually live in the direction of bastar, the baipari dewars are petty traders in brass or pewter ornaments which they sell to banjara women, and the lohar and jogi dewars may be so called either because their ancestors belonged to these castes, or because they have adopted the profession of blacksmiths and beggars respectively. probably both reasons are partly applicable. these subdivisions are not strictly endogamous, but show a tendency to become so. the two main subcastes, raipuria and ratanpuria, are distinguished by the musical instruments which they play on while begging. that of the raipurias is a sort of rude fiddle called _sarangi_, which has a cocoanut shell as a resonator with horsehair strings, and is played with a bow. the ratanpurias have an instrument called _dhungru_, which consists of a piece of bamboo about three feet long with a hollow gourd as a resonator and catgut strings. in the latter the resonator is held uppermost and rests against the shoulder of the player, while in the former it is at the lower end and is placed against his waist. the section names of the dewars are almost all of dravidian origin. sonwania, markam, marai, dhurwa, ojha, netam, salam, katlam and jagat are the names of well-known gond septs which are also possessed by the dewars, and telasi, karsayal, son-mungir and others are kawar septs which they have adopted. they admit that their ancestors were members of these septs among the gonds and kawars. where the name of the ancestor has a meaning which they understand, some totemistic observances survive. thus the members of the karsayal sept will not kill or eat a deer. the septs are exogamous, but there is no other restriction on marriage and the union of first cousins is permissible. 3. marriage customs. adult marriage is usual, and if a husband cannot be found for a girl who has reached maturity she is given to her sister's husband as a second wife, or to any other married person who will take her and give a feast to the caste. in some localities the boy who is to be married is sent with a few relatives to the girl's house. on arrival he places a pot of wine and a nut before the girl's father, who, if he is willing to carry out the marriage, orders the nut to be pounded up. this is always done by a member of the sonwani sept, a similar respect being paid to this sept among some of the dravidian tribes. the foreheads of the betrothed couple are smeared with the nut and with some yellow-coloured rice and they bow low to the elders of the caste. usually a bride-price of rs. 5 or 10 is then paid to the parents of the girl together with two pieces of cloth intended for their use. a feast follows, which consists merely of the distribution of uncooked food, as the dewars, like some other low castes, will not take cooked food from each other. pork and wine are essential ingredients in the feast or the ceremony cannot be completed. if liquor is not available, water from the house of a kalar (distiller) will do instead, but there is no substitute for pork. this, however, is as a rule easily supplied as nearly all the dewars keep pigs, which are retailed to the gonds for their sacrifices. the marriage ceremony is performed within three or four months at most after the betrothal. before entering the mandwa or marriage-shed the bridegroom must place a jar of liquor in front of his prospective father-in-law. the bridegroom must also place a ring on the little finger of the bride's right hand, while she resists him as much as she can, her hand having previously been smeared with castor oil in order to make the task more difficult. before taking the bride away the new husband must pay her father rs. 20, and if he cannot do this, and in default of arrangements for remission which are sometimes made, must remain domiciled in his house for a certain period. as the bride is usually adult there is no necessity for a _gauna_ ceremony, and she leaves for her husband's house once for all. thereafter when she visits the house of her parents she does so as a stranger, and they will not accept cooked food at her hands nor she at theirs. neither will her husband's parents accept food from her, and each couple with their unmarried children form an exclusive group in this respect. such a practice is found only among the low castes of mixed origin where nobody is certain of his neighbour's standing. if a woman has gone wrong before marriage, most of the ceremonies are omitted. in such a case the bridegroom catches hold of the bride by the hair and gives her a blow by way of punishment for her sin, and they then walk seven times round the sacred pole, the whole ceremony taking less than an hour. the bride-price is under these circumstances reduced to rs. 15. widow-marriage is permitted, and while in some localities the new husband need give nothing, in others he must pay as much as rs. 50 to the relatives of the deceased husband. if a woman runs away from her husband to another man, the latter must pay to the husband double the ordinary amount payable for a widow. if he cannot afford this, he must return the woman with rs. 10 as compensation for the wrong he has done. the dewars are also reported to have the practice of mortgaging their wives or making them over temporarily to a creditor in return for a loan. divorce is allowed for the usual causes and by mutual consent. the husband must give a feast to the caste, which is looked on as the funeral ceremony of the woman so far as he is concerned; thereafter she is dead to him and he cannot marry her again on pain of the permanent exclusion of both from the caste. but a divorced woman can marry any other dewar. polygamy is freely allowed. 4. religion and social practices. the dewars especially worship devi maha mai and dulha deo. to the former they offer a she-goat and to the latter a he-goat which must be of a dark colour. they worship their _dhungru_ or musical instrument on the day of dasahra. they consider the sun and the moon to be brother and sister, and both to be manifestations of the deity. they bury their dead, but those who are in good circumstances dig up the bones after a year or two and burn them, taking the ashes to a sacred river. mourning lasts for seven or ten days according as the deceased is unmarried or married, and during this time they abjure flesh and oil. their social rules are peculiar. though considered impure by the higher castes, they will not take cooked food from a brahman, whom they call a kumhati kida, or an insect which effects the metamorphosis of others into his own form, and who will therefore change them into his own caste. nor will they take cooked food from members of their own caste, but they accept it from several of the lower castes including gonds, whose leavings they will eat. this is probably because they beg from gonds and attend their weddings. they keep pigs and pork is their favourite food, but they do not eat beef. they have a tribal council with a headman called gaontia or jemadar, who always belongs either to the sonwani or telasi section. among offences for which a man is temporarily put out of caste is that of naming his younger brother's wife. he must also abstain from going into her room or touching her clothes. this rule does not apply to an elder brother's wife. 5. occupation. the dewars are professional beggars, and play on the musical instruments called _dhungru_ and _sarangi_ which have already been described. the ratanpurias usually celebrate in an exaggerated style the praises of gopal rai, their mythical ancestor. one of his exploits was to sever with a single sword-stroke the stalk of a plantain inside which the emperor of delhi had caused a solid bar of iron to be placed. the raipurias prefer a song, called gujrigit, about curds and milk. they also sing various songs relating how a woman is beloved by a raja who tries to seduce her, but her chastity is miraculously saved by some curious combination of circumstances. they exorcise ghosts, train monkeys, bears and tigers for exhibition, and sell ornaments of base metal. in raipur the men take about performing monkeys and the women do tattooing, for which they usually receive payment in the shape of an old or new cloth. a few have settled down to cultivation, but as a rule they are wanderers, carrying from place to place their scanty outfit of a small tent and mattress, both made of old rags, and a few vessels. they meet at central villages during the holi festival. the family is restricted to the parents and unmarried children, separation usually taking place on marriage. dhakar 1. origin and subdivisions. _dhakar._ [522]--a small caste belonging solely to the bastar state. in 1911 they numbered 5500 persons in bastar, and it is noticeable that there were nearly twice as many women as men. the term dhakar connotes a man of illegitimate descent and is applied to the kirars of the central provinces and perhaps to other castes of mixed rajput origin. but in bastar it is the special designation of a considerable class of persons who are the descendants of alliances between brahman and rajput immigrants and women of the indigenous tribes. they are divided, like the halbas, into two groups--purait or pure, and surait or mixed. the son of a brahman or rajput father by a rawat (herdsman) or halba mother is a purait, but one born from a woman of the muria, marar, nai or kalar castes is a surait. but these latter can become puraits after two or three generations, and the same rule applies to the son of a dhakar father by a halba or rawat woman, who also ranks in the first place as a surait. descendants of a dhakar father by a muria or other low-caste woman, however, always remain suraits. the puraits and suraits form endogamous groups, and the latter will accept cooked food from the former. the more respectable dhakars round jagdalpur are now tending, however, to call themselves rajputs and refuse to admit any one of mixed birth into their community. one legend of their origin is that the first dhakar was the offspring of a brahman cook of the raja of bastar with a kosaria rawat woman; and though this is discredited by the dhakars it is probably a fairly correct version of the facts. an inferior branch of the caste exists which is known as chikrasar; it is related of them that their ancestors once went out hunting and set the forest on fire as a method of driving the game, as they occasionally do still. they came across the roasted body of a dog in the forest and ate it without knowing what animal it was. in the stomach, however, some cooked rice was found, and hence it was known as a dog and they were branded as dog-eaters. as a penalty the raja imposed on them the duty of thatching a hut for him at the dasahra festival, which their descendants still perform. the other dhakars refuse to marry or eat with them, and it is clear from the custom of thatching the raja's hut that they are a primitive and jungly branch of the caste. 2. marriage. if a girl becomes with child by a member of the caste she is made over to him without a marriage, or to the man to whom she was previously betrothed if he is still willing to take her. neither is she expelled if the same event occurs with a man of any higher caste, but if he be of lower caste she is thrown out. marriages are usually arranged by the parents but an adult girl may choose her own husband, and she is then wedded to him with abbreviated rites so that her family may avoid the disgrace of her entering his house like a widow or kept woman. formerly a dhakar might marry his granddaughter, but this is no longer done. when the signs of puberty first appear in a girl she is secluded and must not see or be seen by any man. they think that the souls of dead ancestors are reborn in children, and if a child refuses to suck they ask which of their ancestors he is and what he wants, or they offer it some present such as a silver bangle, and if the child then takes to the breast they give away the bangle to a brahman. the sixth day after a child is born the paternal aunt prepares lamp-black from a lamp fed with melted butter and rubs it on the child's eyes and receives a small present. 3. funeral rites. the period of mourning or impurity after a death must terminate with a feast to the caste-men, and it continues until this is given. consequently the other caste-men subscribe for a poor member, so that he may give the feast and resume his ordinary avocations. on this occasion one of the guests puts a small fish in a leaf-cup full of water, which no doubt represents the spirit of the deceased, and all the mourners touch this cup and are freed from their impurity. a brahman is also invited, who lights a lamp fed with melted butter and then asks for a cow or some other valuable present as a recompense for his service of blowing out the lamp. until this is done the dhakars think that the soul of the departed is tortured by the flame of the lamp. if the brahman is pleased, he pours some curds over the lamp and this acts as a cooling balm to the soul. when a member of the family dies the mourners shave the whole head with beard and moustache. 4. occupation and social status. the dhakars are mainly engaged in cultivation as farmservants and labourers. like the halbas, they consider it a sin to heat or forge iron, looking upon the metal as sacred. they eat the flesh of clean animals, but abstain from both pigs and chickens, and some also do not eat the peacock. a man as well as a woman is permanently expelled for adultery with a person of lower caste, the idea of this rule being no doubt to prevent degradation in the status of the caste from the admission of the offspring of such unions. if one dhakar beats another with a shoe, both are temporarily put out of caste. but if a man seduces a caste-man's wife and is beaten with a shoe by the husband, he is permanently expelled, while the husband is readmitted after a feast. on being received back into caste intercourse an offender is purified by drinking water in which the image of a local god has been dipped or the raja of bastar has placed his toe. like other low castes of mixed origin, they are very particular about each other's status and will only accept cooked food from families who are well known to them. at caste feasts each family or group of families cooks for itself, and in some cases parents refuse to eat with the family into which their daughter has married and hence cannot do so with the girl herself. dhangar 1. traditions and structure of the caste. _dhangar._ [523]--the maratha caste of shepherds and blanket-weavers, numbering 96,000 persons in the central provinces and berar. they reside principally in the nagpur, wardha, chanda and nimar districts of the central provinces and in all districts of berar. the dhangars are a very numerous caste in bombay and hyderabad. the name is derived either from the sanskrit _dhenu_, a cow, or more probably from _dhan_, [524] wealth, a term which is commonly applied to flocks of sheep and goats. it is said that the first sheep and goats came out of an ant-hill and scattering over the fields began to damage the crops of the cultivators. they, being helpless, prayed to mahadeo to rescue them from this pest and he thereupon created the first dhangar to tend the flocks. the dhangars consequently revere an ant-hill, and never remove one from their fields, while they worship it on the diwali day with offerings of rice, flowers and part of the ear of a goat. when tending and driving sheep and goats they ejaculate 'har, har,' which is a name of mahadeo used by devotees in worshipping him. the dhangars furnished a valuable contingent to sivaji's guerilla soldiery, and the ruling family of indore state belong to this caste. it is divided into the following subcastes: varadi or barade, belonging to berar; kanore or kanade, of kanara; jhade, or those belonging to the bhandara, balaghat and chhindwara districts, called the jhadi or hill country; ladse, found in hyderabad; gadri, from _gadar_, a sheep, a division probably consisting of northerners, as the name for the cognate caste of shepherds in hindustan is gadaria; telange, belonging to the telugu country; marathe, of the maratha country; mahurai from mahur in hyderabad, and one or two others. eleven subcastes in all are reported. for the purposes of marriage a number of exogamous groups or septs exist which may be classified according to their nomenclature as titular and totemistic, many having also the names of other castes. examples of sept names are: powar, a rajput sept; dokra, an old man; marte, a murderer or slayer; sarodi, the name of a caste of mendicants; mhali, a barber; kaode, a crow; chambhade, a chamar; gujde, a gujar; juade, a gambler; lamchote, long-haired; bodke, bald-headed; khatik, a butcher; chandekar, from chanda; dambhade, one having pimples on the body; halle, a he-buffalo; moya, a grass, and others. the sept names show that the caste is a functional one of very mixed composition, partly recruited from members of other castes who have taken to sheep-tending and generally from the non-aryan tribes. 2. marriage. a man must not marry within his own sept or that of his mother, nor may he marry a first cousin. he may wed a younger sister of his wife during her lifetime, and the practice of marrying a girl and boy into the same family, called anta santa or exchange, is permitted. occasionally the husband does service for his wife in his father-in-law's house. in wardha the dhangars measure the heights of a prospective bride and bridegroom with a piece of string and consider it a suitable match if the husband is taller than the wife, whether he be older or not. marriages may be infant or adult, and polygamy is permitted, no stigma attaching to the taking of a second wife. weddings may be celebrated in the rains up to the month of kunwar (september), this provision probably arising from the fact that many dhangars wander about the country during the open season, and are only at home during the rainy months. perhaps for the same reason the wedding may, if the officiating priest so directs, be held at the house of a brahman. this happens only when the brahman has sown an offering of rice, called gag, in the name of the goddess rana devi, the favourite deity of the dhangars. on his way to the bride's house the bridegroom must be covered with a black blanket. nowadays the wedding is sometimes held at the bridegroom's house and the bride comes for it. the caste say that this is done because there are not infrequently among the members of the bridegroom's family widows who have remarried or women who have been kept by men of higher castes or been guilty of adultery. the bride's female relatives refuse to wash the feet of these women and this provokes quarrels. to meet such cases the new rule has been introduced. at the wedding the priest sits on the roof of the house facing the west, and the bride and bridegroom stand below with a curtain between them. as the sun is half set he claps his hands and the bridegroom takes the clasped hands of the bride within his own, the curtain being withdrawn. the bridegroom ties round the bride's neck a yellow thread of seven strands, and when this is done she is married. next morning a black bead necklace is substituted for the thread. the expenses of the bridegroom's party are about rs. 50, and of the bride's about rs. 30. the remaining procedure follows the customary usage of the maratha districts. widows are permitted to marry again, but must not take a second husband from the sept to which the first belonged. a considerable price is paid for a widow, and it is often more expensive to marry one than a girl. a brahman and the malguzar (village proprietor) should be present at the ceremony. if a bachelor marries a widow he must first go through the ceremony with a silver ring, and if the ring is subsequently lost or broken, its funeral rites must be performed. divorce is allowed in the presence of the caste _panchayat_ at the instance of either party for sufficient reason, as the misconduct or bad temper of the wife or the impotency of the husband. 3. religion. mahadeo is the special deity of the dhangars, and they also observe the ordinary hindu festivals. at diwali they worship their goats by dyeing their horns and touching their feet. one bahram of nachangaon near pulgaon is the tutelary deity of the wardha dhangars and the protector of their flocks. on the last day of the month of magh they perform a special ceremony called the deo puja. a dhimar acts as priest to the caste on this occasion and fashions some figures of idols out of rice to which vermilion and flowers are offered. he then distributes the grains of rice to the dhangars who are present, pronouncing a benediction. the dhimar receives his food and a present, and it is essential that the act of worship should be performed by one of this caste. in their houses they have kul-devi and khandoba the maratha hero, who are the family deities. but in large families they are kept only in the house of the eldest brother. kul-devi or the goddess of the family is worshipped at weddings, and a goat is offered to her in the month of chait (march). the head is buried beneath her shrine inside the house and the body is consumed by members of the family only. khandoba is worshipped on sundays and they identify him with the sun. vithoba, a form of vishnu, is revered on wednesdays, and balaji, the younger brother of rama, on fridays. many families also make a representation of some deceased bachelor relative, which they call munjia, and of some married woman who is known as mairni or sasin, and worship them daily. 4. birth, death and social status. the dhangars burn their dead unless they are too poor to purchase wood for fuel, in which case burial is resorted to. unmarried children and persons dying from smallpox, leprosy, cholera and snake-bite are also buried. at the pyre the widow breaks her bangles and throws her glass beads on to her husband's body. on returning from the burning _ghat_ the funeral party drink liquor. some ganja, tobacco and anything else which the deceased may have been fond of during his life are left near the grave on the first day. mourning is observed during ten days on the death of an adult and for three days for a child. children are usually named on the twelfth day after birth, the well-to-do employing a brahman for the purpose. on this day the child must not see a lamp, as it is feared that if he should do so he will afterwards have a squint. only one name is given as a rule, but subsequently when the child comes to be married, if the brahman finds that its name does not make the marriage auspicious, he substitutes another and the child is afterwards known by this new name. the caste employ brahmans for ceremonies at birth and marriage. they eat flesh including fowls and wild pig, and drink liquor, but abstain from other unclean food. they will take food from a kunbi, phulmali or a sunar, and water from any of the good cultivating castes. a kunbi will take water from them. the women of the caste wear bracelets of lead or brass on the right wrist and glass bangles on the left. permanent or temporary excommunication from caste is imposed for the usual offences, and among those visited with the minor penalty are selling shoes, touching the carcase of a dog or cat, and killing a cow or buffalo, or allowing one to die with a rope round its neck. no food is cooked for five weeks in a house in which a cat has died. the social standing of the caste is low. 5. occupation. the traditional occupation of the dhangars is to tend sheep and goats, and they also sell goats' milk, make blankets from the wool of sheep, and sometimes breed and sell stock for slaughter. they generally live near tracts of waste land where grazing is available. sheep are kept in open and goats in roofed folds. like english shepherds they carry sticks or staffs and have dogs to assist in driving the flocks, and they sometimes hunt hares with their dogs. their dress consists frequently only of a loin-cloth and a blanket, and having to bear exposure to all weathers, they are naturally strong and hardy. in appearance they are dark and of medium size. they eat three times a day and bathe in the evening on returning from work, though their ablutions are sometimes omitted in the cold weather. dhanuk 1. original and classical records. _dhanuk._--a low caste of agriculturists found principally in the narsinghpur district, which contained three-fourths of the total of nearly 7000 persons returned in 1911. the headquarters of the caste are in the united provinces, which contains more than a lakh of dhanuks. the name is derived from the sanskrit _dhanuska_, an archer, and the caste is an ancient one, its origin as given in the padma purana, quoted by sir henry elliot, being from a chamar father and a chandal or sweeper mother. another pedigree makes the mother a chamar and the father an outcaste ahir. such statements, sir h. risley remarks in commenting on this genealogy, [525] serve to indicate in a general way the social rank held by the dhanuks at the time when it was first thought necessary to enrol them among the mixed castes. dr. buchanan [526] says that the dhanuks were in former times the militia of the country. he states that all the dhanuks were at one time probably slaves and many were recruited to fill up the military ranks--a method of security which had long been prevalent in asia, the armies of the parthians having been composed entirely of slaves. a great many dhanuks, at the time when buchanan wrote, were still slaves, but some annually procured their liberty by the inability of their masters to maintain them and their unwillingness to sell their fellow-creatures. it may be concluded, therefore, that the dhanuks were a body of servile soldiery, recruited as was often the case from the subject dravidian tribes; following the all-powerful tendency of hindu society they became a caste, and owing to the comparatively respectable nature of their occupation obtained a rise in social position from the outcaste status of the subject dravidians to the somewhat higher group of castes who were not unclean but from whom a brahman would not accept water. they did not advance so far as the khandaits, another caste formed from military service, who were also, sir h. risley shows, originally recruited from a subject tribe, probably because the position of the dhanuks was always more subordinate and no appreciable number of them came to be officers or leaders. the very debased origin of the caste already mentioned as given in the padma purana may be supposed as in other cases to be an attempt on the part of the priestly chronicler to repress what he considered to be unfounded claims to a rise in rank. but the dhanuks, not less than the other soldier castes, have advanced a pretension to be kshatriyas, those of narsinghpur sometimes calling themselves dhankarai rajputs, though this claim is of course in their case a pure absurdity. it is not necessary to suppose that the dhanuks of the central provinces are the lineal descendants of the caste whose genealogy is given in the puranas; they may be a much more recent offshoot from a main caste, formed in a precisely similar manner from military service. [527] mr. crooke [528] surmises that they belonged to the large impure caste of basors or basket-makers, who took to bow-making and thence to archery; and some connection is traceable between the dhanuks and basors in narsinghpur. such a separation must probably have occurred in comparatively recent times, inasmuch as some recollection of it still remains. the fact that lodhis are the only caste besides brahmans from whom the dhanuks of narsinghpur will take food cooked without water may indicate that they formed the militia of lodhi chieftains in the nerbudda valley, a hypothesis which is highly probable on general grounds. 2. marriage. in the central provinces the dhanuks have no subcastes. [529] the names of their _gotras_ or family groups, though they themselves cannot explain them, are apparently territorial: as maragaiyan from maragaon, benaikawar from benaika village, pangarya from panagar, binjharia from bindhya or vindhya, barodhaya from barodha village, and so on. marriages within the same _gotra_ and between first cousins are prohibited, and child-marriage is usual. the father of the boy always takes the initiative in arranging a match, and if a man wants to find a husband for his daughter he must ask the assistance of his relatives to obtain a proposal, as it would be derogatory to move in the matter himself. the contract for marriages is made at the boy's house and is not inviolable. before the departure of the bridegroom for the bride's village, he stands at the entrance of the marriage-shed, and his mother comes up and places her breast to his mouth and throws rice balls and ashes over him. the former action signifies the termination of his boyhood, while the latter is meant to protect him on his important journey. the bridegroom in walking away treads on a saucer in which a little rice is placed. widow-marriage and divorce are permitted. 3. social rank and customs. a few members of the caste are tenants and the bulk of them farmservants and field-labourers. they also act as village watchmen. the dhanuks eat flesh and fish, but not fowls, beef or pork, and they abstain from liquor. they will take food cooked without water from a brahman and a lodhi, but not from a rajput; but in nimar the status of the caste is distinctly lower, and they eat pig's flesh and the leavings of brahmans and rajputs. the mixed nature of the caste is shown by the fact that they will receive into the community illegitimate children born of a dhanuk father and a woman of a higher caste such as lodhi or kurmi. they rank as already indicated just above the impure castes. dhanwar list of paragraphs 1. _origin and traditions._ 2. _exogamous septs._ 3. _marriage._ 4. _festivities of the women of the bridegroom's party._ 5. _conclusion of the marriage._ 6. _widow-marriage and divorce._ 7. _childbirth._ 8. _disposal of the dead._ 9. _religion._ 10. _magic and witchcraft._ 11. _social rules._ 12. _dress and tattooing._ 13. _names of children._ 14. _occupation._ 1. origin and traditions. _dhanwar, dhanuhar._ [530]--a primitive tribe living in the wild hilly country of the bilaspur zamindari estates, adjoining chota nagpur. they numbered only 19,000 persons in 1911. the name dhanuhar means a bowman, and the bulk of the tribe have until recently been accustomed to obtain their livelihood by hunting with bow and arrows. the name is thus merely a functional term and is analogous to those of dhangar, or labourer, and kisan, or cultivator, which are applied to the oraons, and perhaps halba or farmservant, by which another tribe is known. the dhanwars are almost certainly not connected with the dhanuks of northern india, though the names have the same meaning. they are probably an offshoot of either the gond or the kawar tribe or a mixture of both. their own legend of their origin is nearly the same as that of the gonds, while the bulk of their sept or family names are identical with those of the kawars. like the kawars, the dhanwars have no language of their own and speak a corrupt form of chhattisgarhi hindi. mr. jeorakhan lal writes of them:--"the word dhanuhar is a corrupt form of dhanusdhar or a holder of a bow. the bow consists of a cleft piece of bamboo and the arrow is made of wood of the _dhaman_ tree. [531] the pointed end is furnished with a piece or a nail of iron called _phani_, while to the other end are attached feathers of the vulture or peacock with a string of tasar silk. dhanuhar boys learn the use of the bow at five years of age, and kill birds with it when they are seven or eight years old. at their marriage ceremony the bridegroom carries an arrow with him in place of a dagger as among the hindus, and each household has a bow which is worshipped at every festival." according to their own legend the ancestors of the dhanuhars were two babies whom a tigress unearthed from the ground when scratching a hole in her den, and brought up with her own young. they were named naga lodha and nagi lodhi, _naga_ meaning naked and _lodha_ being the chhattisgarhi word for a wild dog. growing up they lived for some time as brother and sister, until the deity enjoined them to marry. but they had no children until naga lodha, in obedience to the god's instructions, gave his wife the fruit of eleven trees to eat. from these she had eleven sons at a birth, and as she observed a fortnight's impurity for each of them the total period was five and a half months. in memory of this, dhanuhar women still remain impure for five months after delivery, and do not worship the gods for that period. afterwards the couple had a twelfth son, who was born with a bow and arrows in his hand, and is now the ancestral hero of the tribe, being named karankot. one day in the forest when karankot was not with them, the eleven brothers came upon a wooden palisade, inside which were many deer and antelope tended by twelve gaoli (herdsmen) brothers with their twelve sisters. the lodha brothers attacked the place, but were taken prisoners by the gaolis and forced to remove dung and other refuse from the enclosure. after a time karankot went in search of his brothers and, coming to the place, defeated the gaolis and rescued them and carried off the twelve sisters. the twelve brothers subsequently married the twelve gaoli girls, karankot himself being wedded to the youngest and most beautiful, whose name was maswasi. from each couple is supposed to be descended one of the tribes who live in this country, as the binjhwar, bhumia, korwa, majhi, kol, kawar and others, the dhanuhars themselves being the progeny of karankot and maswasi. the bones of the animals killed by karankot were thrown into ditches dug round the village and form the pits of _chhui mithi_ or white clay now existing in this tract. 2. exogamous septs. the dhanuhars, being a small tribe, have no endogamous divisions, but are divided into a number of totemistic exogamous septs. many of the septs are called after plants or animals, and members of the sept refrain from killing or destroying the animal or plant after which it is named. the names of the septs are generally chhattisgarhi words, though a few are gondi. out of fifty names returned twenty are also found in the kawar tribe and four among the gonds. this makes it probable that the dhanuhars are mainly an offshoot from the kawars with an admixture of gonds and other tribes. a peculiarity worth noticing is that one or two of the septs have been split up into a number of others. the best instance of this is the sonwani sept, which is found among several castes and tribes in chhattisgarh; its name is perhaps derived from _sona pani_ (gold water), and its members have the function of readmitting those temporarily expelled from social intercourse by pouring on them a little water into which a piece of gold has been dipped. among the dhanuhars the sonwani sept has become divided into the son-sonwani, who pour the gold water over the penitent; the rakat sonwani, who give him to drink a little of the blood of the sacrificial fowl; the hardi sonwani, who give turmeric water to the mourners when they come back from a funeral; the kari sonwani, who assist at this ceremony; and one or two others. the totem of the kari sonwani sept is a black cow, and when such an animal dies in the village members of the sept throw away their earthen pots. all these are now separate exogamous septs. the deswars are another sept which has been divided in the same manner. they are, perhaps, a more recent accession to the tribe, and are looked down on by the others because they will eat the flesh of bison. the other dhanwars refuse to do this because they say that when sita, rama's wife, was exiled in the jungles, she could not find a cow to worship and so revered a bison in its stead. and they say that the animal's feet are grey because of the turmeric water which sita poured on them, and that the depression on its forehead is the mark of her hand when she placed a _tika_ or sign there with coloured rice. the deswars are also called dui duaria or 'those having two doors,' because they have a back door to their huts which is used only by women during their monthly period of impurity and kept shut at all other times. one of the septs is named manakhia, which means 'man-eater,' and it is possible that its members formerly offered human sacrifices. similarly, the rakat-bund or 'drop of blood deswars' may be so called because they shed human blood. a member of the telasi or 'oil' sept, when he has killed a deer, will cut off the head and bring it home; placing it in his courtyard, he suspends a burning lamp over the head and places grains of rice on the forehead of the deer; and he then considers that he is revering the oil in the lamp. members of the surajgoti or sun sept are said to have stood as representatives of the sun in the rite of the purification of an offender. 3. marriage. marriage within the sept is prohibited, and usually also between first cousins. girls are commonly married a year or two after they arrive at maturity. the father of the boy looks out for a suitable girl for his son and sends a friend to make the proposal. if this is accepted a feast is given, and is known as phul phulwari or 'the bursting of the flower.' the betrothal itself is called phaldan or 'the gift of the fruit'; on this occasion the contract is ratified and the usual presents are exchanged. yet a third ceremony, prior to the marriage, is that of the barokhi or inspection, when the bride and bridegroom are taken to see each other. on this occasion they exchange copper rings, placing them on each other's finger, and the boy offers vermilion to the earth, and then rubs it on the bride's forehead. when the girl is mature the date of the wedding is fixed, a small bride-price of six rupees and a piece of cloth being usually paid. if the first signs of puberty appear in the girl during the bright fortnight of the month, the marriage is held during the dark fortnight and vice versa. the marriage-shed is built in the form of a rectangle and must consist of either seven or nine posts in three lines. the bridegroom's party comprises from twenty to forty persons of both sexes. when they arrive at the bride's village her father comes out to meet them and gives them leaf-pipes to smoke. he escorts them inside the village where a lodging has been prepared for them. the ceremony is based on that of the local hindus with numerous petty variations in points of detail. in the actual ceremony the bride and bridegroom are first supported on the knees of two relatives. a sheet is held between them and each throws seven handfuls of parched rice over the other. they are then made to stand side by side; a knot is made of their cloths containing a piece of turmeric, and the bride's left hand is laid over the bridegroom's right one, and on it a _sendhaura_ or wooden box for vermilion is placed. the bride's mother moves seven times round the pair holding a lighted lamp, at which she warms her hand and then touches the marriage-crowns of the bride and bridegroom seven times in succession. and finally the couple walk seven times round the marriage-post, the bridegroom following the bride. the marriage is held during the day, and not, as is usual, at night or in the early morning. afterwards, the pair are seated in the marriage-shed, the bridegroom's leg being placed over that of the bride, with their feet in a brass dish. the bride's mother then washes their great toes with milk and the rest of their feet with water. the bridegroom applies vermilion seven times to the marriage-post and to his wife's forehead at the parting of her hair. the couple are fed with rice and pulses one after the other out of the same leaf-plates, and the parties have a feast. next morning, before their departure, the father of the bride asks the bridegroom to do his best to put up with his daughter, who is thievish, gluttonous and so slovenly that she lets her food drop on to the floor; but if he finds he cannot endure her, to send her home. in the same manner the father of the boy apologises for his son, saying that he cares only for mischief and pleasure. the party then returns to the bridegroom's house. 4. festivities of the women of the bridegroom's party. during the absence of the wedding party the women of the bridegroom's house with others in the village sing songs at night in the marriage-shed constructed at his house. these are known as dindwa, a term applied to a man who has no wife, whether widower or bachelor. as they sing, the women dance in two lines with their arms interlaced, clapping their hands as they move backwards and forwards. the songs are of a lewd character, treating of intrigues in love mingled with abuse of their relatives and of other men who may be watching the proceedings by stealth. no offence is taken on such occasions, whatever may be said. in upper india, mr. jeorakhan lal states such songs are sung at the time of the marriage and are called _naktoureki louk_ or the ceremony of the useless or shameless ones, because women, however shy and modest, become at this time as bold and shameless as men are at the holi festival. the following are a few lines from one of these songs: the wheat-cake is below and the urad-cake is above. do you see my brother's brother-in-law watching the dance in the narrow lane. [532] a sweetmeat is placed on the wheat-cake; a handsome young black-guard has climbed on to the top of the wall to see the dance. when a woman sees a man from afar he looks beautiful and attractive: but when he comes near she sees that he is not worth the trouble. i went to the market and came back with my salt. oh, i looked more at you than at my husband who is wedded to me. 5. conclusion of the marriage. several of the ceremonies are repeated at the bridegroom's house after the return of the wedding party. on the day following them the couple are taken to a tank walking under a canopy held up by their friends. here they throw away their marriage-crowns, and play at hiding a vessel under the water. when they return to the house a goat is sacrificed to dulha deo and the bride cooks food in her new house for the first time, her husband helping her, and their relatives and friends in the village are invited to partake of it. after this the conjugal chamber is prepared by the women of the household, and the bride is taken to it and told to consider her husband's house as her own. the couple are then left together and the marriage is consummated. 6. widow-marriage and divorce. the remarriage of widows is permitted but it is not considered as a real marriage, according to the saying: "a woman cannot be anointed twice with the marriage oil, as a wooden cooking-vessel cannot be put twice on the fire." a widow married again is called a _churiyahi dauki_ or 'wife made by bangles,' as the ceremony may be completed by putting bangles on her wrists. when a woman is going to marry again she leaves her late husband's house and goes and lives with her own people or in a house by herself. the second husband makes his proposal to her through some other women. if accepted he comes with a party of his male friends, taking with him a new cloth and some bangles. they are received by the widow's guardian, and they sit in her house smoking and chewing tobacco while some woman friend retires with her and invests her with the new cloth and bangles. she comes out and the new husband and wife bow to all the dhanwars, who are subsequently regaled with liquor and goats' flesh, and the marriage is completed. polygamy is permitted but is not common. a husband may divorce his wife for failing to bear him issue, for being ugly, thievish, shrewish or a witch, or for an intrigue with another man. if a married woman commits adultery with another man of the tribe they are pardoned with the exaction of one feast. if her paramour is a gond, rawat, binjhwar or kawar, he is allowed to become a dhanwar and marry her on giving several feasts, the exact number being fixed by the village baiga or priest in a _panchayat_ or committee. with these exceptions a married woman having an intrigue with a man of another caste is finally expelled. a wife who desires to divorce her husband without his agreement is also turned out of the caste like a common woman. 7. childbirth. after the birth of a child the mother receives no food for the first and second, and fourth and fifth days, while on the third she is given only a warm decoction to drink. on the sixth day the men of the house are shaved and their impurity ceases. but the mother cooks no food for two months after bearing a female child and for three months if it is a male. the period has thus been somewhat reduced from the traditional one of five and a half months, [533] but it must still be highly inconvenient. at the expiration of the time of impurity the earthen pots are changed and the mother prepares a meal for the whole household. during her monthly period of impurity a woman cooks no food for six days. on the seventh day she bathes and cleans her hair with clay, and is then again permitted to touch the drinking water and cook food. 8. disposal of the dead. the tribe bury the dead. the corpse is wrapped in an old cloth and carried to the grave on a cot turned upside down. on arrival there it is washed with turmeric and water and wrapped in a new cloth. the bearers carry the corpse seven times round the open grave, saying, 'this is your last marriage,' that is, with the earth. the male relatives and friends fill in the grave with earth, working with their hands only and keep their backs turned to the grave so as to avoid seeing the corpse. it is said that each person should throw only five handfuls. other people then come up and fill in the grave, trampling down the surface as much as possible. for three days after a death the bereaved family do not cook for themselves but are supplied with food by their friends. these, however, do not give them any salt as it is thought that the craving for salt will divert their minds from dwelling on their loss. the tribe do not perform the _shraddh_ ceremony, but in the month of kunwar, on the day corresponding to that on which his father died, a man feeds the caste-fellows in memory of him. and at this period he offers libations to his ancestors, pouring a double handful of water on the ground for each one that he can remember and then one for all the others. while doing this he stands facing the east and does not turn to three different directions as the hindu custom is. the spirit of a man who has been killed by a tiger becomes baghia masan or the tiger imp, and that of a woman who dies in childbirth becomes a churel. both are very troublesome to the living. 9. religion. the principal deities of the dhanwars are thakur deo, the god of agriculture, and dulha deo, the deity of the family and hearth. twice a year the village baiga or medicine-man, who is usually a gond, offers a cocoanut to thakur deo. he first consecrates it to the god by placing it in contact with water and the small heap of rice which lies in front of his shrine, and then splits it asunder on a stone, saying, '_jai thakur deo_,' or 'victory to thakur deo.' when any serious calamity befalls the tribe a goat is offered to the deity. it must also be first consecrated to him by eating his rice; its body is then washed in water and some of the sacred _dub_ [534] grass is placed on it, and the baiga severs the head from the body with an axe. dulha deo is the god of the family and the marriage-bed, and when a dhanwar is married or his first son is born, a goat is offered to the deity. another interesting deity is maiya andhiyari, or the goddess of the dark fortnight of the month. she is worshipped in the house conjointly by husband and wife on any tuesday in the dark fortnight of magh (january-february), all the relatives of the family being invited. on the day of worship the husband and wife observe a fast, and all the water which is required for use in the house during the day and night must be brought into it in the early morning. a circular pit is dug inside the house, about three feet deep and as many wide. a she-goat which has borne no young is sacrificed to the goddess in the house in the same manner as in the sacrifice to thakur deo. the goat is skinned and cut up, the skin, bones and other refuse being thrown into the hole. the flesh is cooked and eaten with rice and pulse in the evening, all the family and relatives, men and women, eating together at the same time. after the meal, all the remaining food and the water including that used for cooking, and the new earthen pots used to carry water on that day are thrown into the pit. the mouth of the pit is then covered with wooden boards and plastered over with mud with great care to prevent a child falling into it; as it is held that nothing which has once gone into the pit may be taken out, even if it were a human being. it is said that once in the old days a man who happened to fall into the pit was buried alive, its mouth being covered over with planks of wood; and he was found alive when the pit was reopened next year. this is an instance of the sacrificial meal, common to many primitive peoples, at which the sacred animal was consumed by the worshippers, skin, bones and all. but now that such a course has become repugnant to their more civilised digestions, the refuse is considered sacred and disposed of in some such manner as that described. the goddess is also known as rat devi or the goddess of the night; or rat mai, the night mother. the goddess maswasi was the mythical ancestress of the dhanwars, the wife of karankot, and also the daughter of maiya andhiyari or rat mai. she too is worshipped every third year in the dark fortnight of the month of magh on any tuesday. her sacrifice is offered in the morning hours in the forest by men only, and consists also of a black she-goat. a site is chosen under a tree and cleaned with cowdung, the bones of animals being placed upon it in a heap to represent the goddess. the village baiga kills the goat with an axe and the body is eaten by the worshippers. maswasi is invoked by the dhanwars before they go hunting, and whenever they kill a wild boar or a deer they offer it to her. she is thus clearly the goddess of hunting. the tribe also worship the spirits of hills and woods and the ghosts of the illustrious dead. the ghosts of dead baigas or medicine-men are believed to become spirits attending on thakur deo, and when he is displeased with the dhanwars they intervene to allay his anger. the brothers of maswasi, the twelve gaolis, are believed to be divine hunters and to haunt the forests, where they kill beasts and occasionally men. six of them take post and the other six drive the beasts or men towards these through the forest, when they are pierced as with an arrow. the victim dies after a few days, but if human he may go to a sorcerer, who can extract the arrow, smaller than a grain of rice, from his body. in the month of aghan (november), when the grass of the forests is to be cut, the members of the village collectively offer a goat to the grass deity, in order that none of the grass-cutters may be killed by a tiger or bitten by a snake or other wild animal. 10. magic and witchcraft. the dhanwars are fervent believers in all kinds of magic and witchcraft. magic is practised both by the baiga, the village priest or medicine-man, who is always a man and who conducts the worship of the deities mentioned above, and by the _tonhi_, the regular witch, who may be a man or woman. little difference appears to exist in the methods of the two classes of magicians, but the baiga's magic is usually exercised for the good of his fellow-creatures, which indeed might be expected as he gets his livelihood from them, and he is also less powerful than the _tonhi_. the baiga cures ordinary maladies and the bites of snakes and scorpions by mesmeric passes fortified by the utterance of charms. he raises the dead in much the same manner as a witch does, but employs the spirit of the dead person in casting out other evil spirits by which his clients may be possessed. one of the miracles performed by the baiga is to make his wet cloth stand in the air stiff and straight, holding only the two lower ends. he can cross a river walking on leaves, and change men into beasts. witches are not very common among the dhanwars. a witch, male or female, maybe detected by a sunken and gloomy appearance of the eyes, a passionate temperament, or by being found naked in a graveyard at night, as only a witch would go there to raise a corpse from the dead. the dhanwars eat nearly all kinds of food except beef and the leavings of others. they will take cooked food from the hands of kawars, and the men also from gonds, but not the women. in some places they will accept food from brahmans, but not everywhere. they are not an impure caste, but usually live in a separate hamlet of their own, and are lower than the gonds and kawars, who will take water from them but not food. they are a very primitive people, and it is stated that at the census several of them left their huts and fled into the jungle, and were with difficulty induced to return. when an elder man dies his family usually abandon their hut, as it is believed that his spirit haunts it and causes death to any one who lives there. 11. social rules. a kawar is always permitted to become a dhanwar, and a woman of the gond, binjhwar and rawat tribes, if such a one is living with a dhanwar, may be married to him with the approval of the tribe. she does not enjoy the full status of membership herself, but it is accorded to her children. when an outsider is to be admitted a _panchayat_ of five dhanwars is assembled, one of whom must be of the majhi sept. the members of the _panchayat_ hold out their right hands, palm upwards, one below the other, and beneath them the candidate and his wife place their hands. the majhi pours water from a brass vessel on to the topmost hand, and it trickles down from one to the other on to those of the candidate and his wife. the blood of a slaughtered goat is mixed with the water in their palms and they sip it, and after giving a feast to the caste are considered as dhanwars. permanent exclusion from caste is imposed only for living with a man or woman of another caste other than those who may become dhanwars, or for taking food from a member of an impure caste, the only ones which are lower than the dhanwars. temporary exclusion for an indefinite period is awarded for an irregular connection between a dhanwar man and woman, or of a dhanwar with a kawar, binjhwar, rawat or gond; on a family which harbours any one of its members who has been permanently expelled; and on a woman who cuts the navel-cord of a newly-born child, whether of her own caste or not. irregular sexual intimacies are usually kept secret and condoned by marriage whenever possible. a person expelled for any of the above offences cannot claim readmission as a right. he must first please the members of the caste, and to do this he attends every caste feast without being invited, removes their leaf-plates with the leavings of food, and waits on them generally, and continually proffers his prayer for readmission. when the other dhanwars are satisfied with his long and faithful service they take him back into the community. temporary exclusion from caste, with the penalty of one or more feasts for readmission, is imposed for killing a cow or a cat accidentally, or in the course of giving it a beating; for having a cow or bullock in one's possession whose nostrils or ears get split; for getting maggots in a wound; for being beaten except by a government official; for taking food from any higher caste other than those from whom food is accepted; and in the case of a woman for saying her husband's name aloud. this list of offences shows that the dhanwars have almost completely adopted the hindu code in social matters, while retaining their tribal religion. a person guilty of one of the above offences must have his or her head shaved by a barber, and make a pilgrimage to the shrine of narsingh nath in bodasamar zamindari; after having accomplished this he is purified by one of the sonwani sept, being given water in which gold has been dipped to drink through a bamboo tube, and he provides usually three feasts for the caste-fellows. 12. dress and tattooing. the tribe dress in the somewhat primitive fashion prevalent in chhattisgarh, and there is nothing distinctive about their clothing. women are tattooed at their parents' house before or just after marriage. it is said that the tattoo marks remain on the soul after death, and that she shows them to god, probably for purposes of identification. there is a saying, 'all other pleasures are transient, but the tattoo marks are my companions through life.' a dhanwar will not take water from a woman who is not tattooed. 13. names of children. children are named on the _chathi_ or sixth day after birth, and the parents always ascertain from a wise man whether the soul of any dead relative has been born again in the child so that they may name it after him. it is also thought that the sex may change in transmigration, for male children are sometimes named after women relatives and female after men. mr. hira lal notes the following instance of the names of four children in a family. the eldest was named after his grandfather; the second was called bhalu or bear, as his maternal uncle who had been eaten by a bear was reborn in him; the third was called ghasi, the name of a low caste of grass-cutters, because the two children born before him had died; and the fourth was called kausi, because the sorcerer could not identify the spirit of any relative as having been born again in him. the name kausi is given to any one who cannot remember his sept, as in the saying, '_bhule bisare kausi got_,' or 'a man who has got no _got_ belongs to the kausi _got_.' kausi is said to mean a stranger. bad names are commonly given to avert ill-luck or premature death, as boya, a liar; labdu, one smeared with ashes; marha, a corpse; or after some physical defect as lati, one with clotted hair; petwa, a stammerer; lendra, shy; ghundu, one who cannot walk; ghunari, stunted; or from the place of birth, as dongariha or paharu, born on a hill; banjariha, born in brushwood, and so on. a man will not mention the names of his wife, his son's wife or his sister's son's wife, and a woman will not name her husband or his elder brother or parents. as already stated, a woman saying her husband's name aloud is temporarily put out of caste, the hindu custom being thus carried to extremes, as is often the case among the lower castes. 14. occupation. the tribe consider hunting to have been their proper calling, but many of them are now cultivators and labourers. they also make bamboo matting and large baskets for storing grain, but they will not make small bamboo baskets or fans, because this is the calling of the turis, on whom the dhanwar looks down. the women collect the leaves of _sal_ [535] trees and sell them at the rate of about ten bundles for a pice (farthing) for use as _chongis_ or leaf-pipes. as already stated, the tribe have no language of their own, but speak a corrupt form of chhattisgarhi. dhimar [536] list of paragraphs 1. _general notice._ 2. _subcastes._ 3. _exogamous groups._ 4. _marriage._ 5. _childbirth._ 6. _disposal of the dead._ 7. _religion._ 8. _occupation: fisherman._ 9. _water-carrier._ 10. _palanquin-bearer and personal servant._ 11. _other occupations._ 12. _social status._ 13. _legend of the caste._ 1. general notice. _dhimar, kahar, bhoi, palewar, baraua, machhandar._--the caste of fishermen and palanquin-bearers. in 1911 the dhimars numbered 284,000 persons in the central provinces and berar, being most numerous in the maratha districts. in the north of the province we find in place of the dhimars the kahars and mullahs, and in the east or chhattisgarh country the kewats. but the distinction between these castes is no more than nominal, for in some localities both kahar and kewat are returned as subcastes of dhimar. in some parts of india the bhois and dhimars are considered as separate castes, but in the central provinces they are not to be distinguished, both names being applied indiscriminately to the same persons. the name of bhoi perhaps belongs more particularly to those who carry litters or palanquins, and that of dhimar to the fishermen. the word dhimar is a corruption of the sanskrit dhivara, a fisherman. bhoi is a south indian word (telugu and malayalam _boyi_, tamil _bovi_), and in the konkan people of this class are known as kahar bhui. among the gonds bhoi is considered as an honorific name or title; and this indicates that a large number of gonds have become enrolled in the dhimar or kahar caste, and consider it a rise in status. palewar is the name of the telugu fishermen of chanda. machhandar signifies one who catches fish. 2. subcastes. the caste has a large number of subdivisions of a local or occupational nature; among occupational names may be mentioned the singaria or those who cultivate the _singara_ nut, the nadha or those who live on the banks of streams, the tankiwalas or sharpeners of grindstones, the jhingas or prawn-catchers, the bansias and saraias or anglers (from _bansi_ or _sarai_, a bamboo fishing-rod), the bandhaiyas or those who make ropes and sacking of hemp and fibre, and the dhurias who sell parched rice. these last say that their original ancestors were created by mahadeo out of a handful of dust (_dhur_) for carrying the palanquin of parvati when she was tired. they are probably the same people as the dhuris who also parch grain, and in chhattisgarh are considered as a separate caste. similarly the sonjhara dhimars wash for gold, the calling of the separate sonjhara caste. the kasdhonia dhimars wash the sands of the sacred rivers to find the coins which pious pilgrims frequently drop or throw into the river as an offering when they bathe in it. the gondia subcaste is clearly an offshoot from the gond tribe, but a large proportion of the whole caste in the central provinces is probably derived from the gonds or kols, members of this latter tribe being especially proficient as palanquin-bearers. the suvarha subcaste is named after the _suar_ or pig, because members of this subcaste breed and eat the unclean animal; they are looked down on by the others. similarly the gadhewale dhimars keep donkeys, and are despised by the other subcastes who will not take food from them. they use donkeys for carrying loads of wood, and the bridegroom rides to his wedding on this animal; and among them a donkey is the only animal the corpse of which can be touched without conveying pollution. the bhanare dhimars appear to be named after the town of bhandara. 3. exogamous groups. a large number of exogamous groups are also returned, either of a titular or totemistic nature: such are baghmar, a tiger-slayer; ojhwa, from ojha, or sorcerer; guru pahchan, one who knows his teacher; midoia, a guardian of boundaries, from _med_, a boundary or border; gidhwe, a vulture; kolhe, or jackal; gadhekhaya, a donkey-eater; and kasture, musk; a few names are from towns or villages, as tumsare from tumsar, nagpurkar from nagpur; and a few from other castes as madgi, bhoyar, pindaria from pindari, a freebooter; gondia (gond) and gondhali; and kachhwaha, a sept of rajputs. 4. marriage. marriage is prohibited between members of the same sept and also between first cousins. in many localities families do not intermarry so long as they remember any relationship to have existed between them. in mandla, mr. govind moreshwar states, the nadha and kehera subcastes do not intermarry; but if a man desires a girl of the other subcaste he can be admitted into it on giving a feast to the caste-fellows according to his means, and thus marry her. two families may exchange daughters in marriage. a maiden who goes wrong with a man of the caste or of any higher caste may be readmitted to the community under penalty of a feast to the caste and of having a lock of her hair cut off. in the hindustani districts women do not accompany the marriage procession, but in the maratha districts they do. among the bhanara dhimars of chanda the wedding may be held either at the bride's or the bridegroom's house. in the former case a bride-price of rs. 16 is paid, and in the latter one of rs. 20, because the expenses of the bride's family are increased if the wedding is held at her house. a custom exists among the poorer dhimars in chanda of postponing the marriage ceremony to avoid expense; a man will thus simply take a girl for his wife, making a payment of rs. 1-4 or twenty pence to her father and giving a feast to the community. she will then live in his house as his wife, and at some subsequent date, perhaps in old age, the religious ceremony will be held so that the couple may have been properly married before they die. in this fashion the weddings of grandparents, parents and children have all been celebrated simultaneously. the singaria dhimars of chhindwara grow _singara_ or water-nut in tanks, and at their weddings a crocodile must be killed and eaten. the sonjharas or gold-washers must also have a crocodile, but they keep it alive and worship it, and when the ceremony is concluded let it go back again to the river. it is natural that castes whose avocations are connected with rivers and tanks should in a manner deify the most prominent or most ferocious animal contained in their waters. and the ceremonial eating of a sacred animal has been recorded among divers peoples all over the world. at a dhimar marriage in bhandara a net is given to the bridegroom, and _sidori_ or cooked food, tied in a piece of cloth, to the bride, and they walk out together as if going to a river to fish, but the bride's brother comes up and stops them. after a wedding in mandla they kill a pig and bury it before the door of the bridegroom's house, covering it with earth, and the bride and bridegroom step over its body into the house. widow-marriage is freely permitted; in mandla the marriage of a widow may be held on the night of any day except sunday, tuesday and saturday. divorce is allowed, but is of rare occurrence. adultery on the part of a wife will be frequently overlooked, and the extreme step of divorcing her is only taken if she creates a public scandal. in such a case the parties appear before a meeting of the caste, and the headman asks them whether they have determined to separate. he then breaks a straw in token of the disruption of the union, and the husband and wife must pronounce each other's names in an audible voice. [537] a fee of rs. 1-4 is paid to the headman, and the divorce is completed. [538] in some localities the woman's bangles are also broken. in jhansi the fine for keeping a widow is ten rupees and for living with the wife of another man sixty rupees. 5. childbirth children are named either on the day of birth or the twelfth day afterwards. the women place the child in a cradle, spreading boiled wheat and gram over its body, and after swinging it to and fro the name is given. sweets or boiled wheat and gram are distributed to those present. in berar on the third day after a birth cakes of juari flour and buttermilk are distributed to other children; on the fifth day the slab and roller used for grinding the household corn are washed, anointed and worshipped; on the twelfth day the child is named and shortly after this its head is shaved. [539] 6. disposal of the dead. the bodies of the dead are usually buried, cremation being beyond the means of dhimars. children whose ears have not been pierced are mourned only for one day, and others for ten days. when a body has been burnt the ashes are consigned to a tank or river on the third day, or if the third day be a sunday or a wednesday, then on the fifth day. in berar, mr. kitts remarks, [540] the funeral ceremony of the dhimars resembles that of the gonds. after a burial the mourners repair to the deceased's house to drink; and subsequently each fetches his own dinner and dines with the chief mourner. at this time he and his family are impure and the others cannot take food prepared by him; but ten days afterwards when the mourning is over and the chief mourner has bathed and shaved they again dine with him, and on the next day the caste is feasted. during the period of mourning a lighted lamp is daily placed outside the house. when the period of mourning expires all the clothes of the family are washed and their house is newly whitewashed. there is no subsequent annual performance of funeral rites as among the higher hindus; but at the akshayatritiya or commencement of the agricultural year the head of the household throws at each meal a little food into the fire, in honour of his dead ancestors. 7. religion. one of the principal deities of the dhimars [541] as of other low castes is dulha deo, the deified bridegroom. they fashion his image of _kadamb_ [542] wood and besmear it with red lead. in berar they also pray to anna purna, the corn-giving goddess of madras corresponding to durga or devi, whose form with that of her horse is engraved on a brass plate and anointed with yellow and red turmeric. when about to enter a river or tank for fishing or other purposes they pray to the water-god to save them from being drowned or molested by its denizens. they address a river as ganga mai or 'mother ganges' in order to propitiate it by this flattery. those who are employed on ferry-boats especially venerate ghatoia [543] deo, the god of ferries and river-crossings. his shrine is near the place where the boats are tied up, and ferry contractors keep a live chicken in their boat to be offered to ghatoia on the first occasion when the river is sufficiently in flood to be crossed by ferry after the breaking of the rains. other local godlings are the bare purakh or great men, a collective term for their deceased ancestors, of whom they make silver images; parihar, the soul of the village priest; baram deo, the spirit of the banyan tree; and gosain deo, a deified ascetic. to the goddess devi they offer a black she-goat which is eaten ceremonially, and when they have finished, the bones, skin and all the other remains of the animal are placed in a pit inside the house. if anything should fall into this pit it must be buried with the remains of the offering and not taken out. and they relate that on one occasion a child fell into the pit, and the parents, setting obedience to the law of the goddess above the life of their child, buried it alive. but next year when the sacrifice was again made and the pit was opened, the child was found in it alive and playing. so they say that the goddess will save the life of any one who is buried in the pit with her offering. when a widower marries a second time his wife sometimes wears a _tawiz_ or amulet in the shape of a silver box containing charms round her neck in order to ward off the evil machinations of her predecessor's spirit. 8. occupation: fisherman. the occupations of the dhimar are many and various. he is primarily a fisherman and boatman, and has various kinds of nets for taking fish. one of these is of triangular shape about 150 feet wide at the base and 80 feet in height to the apex. the meshes vary from an inch wide at the top to three inches at the bottom. the ends of the base are weighted with stones and the net is then sunk into a river so that the base rests on its bed and the top is held by men in boats at the surface. then other dhimars beat the surface of the water for some distance with long bamboos on both sides of the net, driving the fish towards it. they call this a _kheda_, the term used for a beat of the forest for game. another method is to stretch a long rope or cord across the river, secured on either bank, with baited hooks attached to it at short intervals. it is left for some hours and then drawn in. when the river is shallow one wide-bottomed boat will be paddled up the stream and a line of men will wade on each side beating the water with bamboos so as to make the small fish jump into the boat. or they put a little cotton-seed on a stone in shallow water, and when the fish collect to eat the seed a long circular net weighted with pieces of iron is let down over the stone. then the upper end is drawn tight and the fishermen put their hands inside and seize the little fish. the dhimar is also regularly employed as a worker on ferries. his primitive boat made from the hollowed trunk of a tree and sometimes lashed in couples for greater stability may still be seen on all rivers. he makes his own fishing-nets, knitting them on a stick at his leisure while he is walking along or sitting down to smoke and talk. he worships his fishing-nets at the diwali festival, and his reverence for the knitted thread is such that he will not touch or wear a shoe made of thread, because he thinks that the sacred article is debased by being sewn into leather. when engaged in road-work the dhimars have unsewn sandals secured to the feet with strips of leather. it is a special degradation to a dhimar to be struck with a shoe. he has a monopoly of growing _singara_ [544] or water-nuts in tanks. the fruit of this plant has a taste somewhat between a cocoanut and a potato, with a flavour of soap. it can be taken raw and is therefore a favourite comestible for fast days when cooked food is forbidden. it is also sold at railway stations and the fresh fruit is prescribed by village doctors as easy of digestion. the dhimar grows melons, cucumbers and other vegetables on the sandy stretches along the banks of streams, but at agriculture proper he does not excel. 9. water-carrier. the dhimar's connection with water has led to his becoming the water-carrier for hindus, or that section of the community which can afford to employ one. this is more especially the case in the hindustani districts where women are frequently secluded and therefore cannot draw water for the household, while in the maratha districts where the women go to the well no water-bearer is required. in this capacity the dhimar is usually the personal servant of the village proprietor, but in large villages every house has a _ghinochi_, either an earthen platform or wooden stand just outside the house, on which four or five earthen water-pots are kept. these the dhimar fills up morning and evening and receives two or three annas or pence a month for doing so. he also brings water for government servants when they come to the village, and cleans their cooking-vessels and prepares the hearth with fresh cowdung and water in order to cleanse it. if he cleans the malguzar's vessels he gets his food for doing so. when the tenants have marriages he performs the same duties for the whole wedding party and receives a present of one or two rupees and some clothes if the families are well off, and also his food every day while the marriage is in progress. in his capacity of waterman the title baraua is used to him as an honorific method of address; and to his wife baroni. in a hot country like india water is revered as the source of relief, comfort and life itself, like fire in cold countries, and the waterman participates in the regard paid to his element. another business of the dhimar's is to take sweet potatoes and boiled plums to the fields at harvest-time and sell them. he supplies water for drinking to the reapers and receives three sheaves a day in payment. on the fifteenth of jesth (may) the dhimar goes round to the cultivators, throwing his fishing-net over their heads and receives a small present. 10. palanquin-bearer and personal servant. at the period prior to the introduction of wheeled transport when palanquins or litters were largely used for travelling, the carriers belonged to the kahar caste in northern india and to the dhimars or bhois in the south. though litters are now practically not used for travelling except occasionally by high-caste women, a survival of the old custom is retained in the marriage ceremony, the bride and bridegroom being always carried back from the marriage-shed to the temporary lodging of the bridegroom in a _palki_, though for the longer journey to the bridegroom's village some less cumbrous conveyance is utilised. four dhimars carry the _palki_ and receive rs. 1-4. well-to-do people will be carried in procession round the town. when employed by the village proprietor the dhimar accompanies him on his journey, carrying his cooking-vessels and other necessaries in a _banhgi_ or wooden cross-bar slung across the shoulders, from which two baskets are suspended by loops of rope. water he will always carry in a _banhgi_ and never on his head or shoulders. from waterman and litter-carrier the dhimar has become a personal servant; it is he to whom the term 'bearer' as designating a body-servant was first applied because he bears or carries his master in a _palki_ and his clothes in a _banhgi_. he is commonly so employed in native houses, but rarely by europeans, whether because he is too stupid or on account of caste objections of his own. when employed as a cook the dhimar or his wife is permitted to knead flour with water and make it into a cake which the brahman will then take and put on to the girdle with his own hands. he can also boil water and pour pulse into the cooking-pot from above so long as he does not touch the vessel after the food has been placed in it. he or she will also take any remains of food which is left in the cooking-pot as this is not considered to be polluted, food only becoming polluted when the hand touches it on the dish after having touched the mouth. when this has happened all the food on the dish becomes _jutha_ or leavings of food, and as a general rule no caste except the sweepers will eat the leavings of food of another caste or of another person of their own. only the wife, whose meal follows her husband's, will eat his leavings. as a servant the dhimar is very familiar with his master; he may enter any part of the house, including the cooking-place and the women's rooms, and he addresses his mistress as 'mother.' in northern india mr. crooke states that the kahars are sometimes known as mahra, from the sanskrit mahila, a woman, because they have the entry of the female apartments. when he lights his master's pipe he takes the first pull himself to show that it has not been tampered with, and then presents it to him with his left hand placed under his right elbow in token of respect. maid-servants also frequently belong to the dhimar caste, and it often happens that the master of the household has illicit intercourse with them. hence there is a proverb, 'the king's son draws water and the water-bearer's son sits on the throne,' similar intrigues on the part of high-born women with their servants being not unknown. the dhimar often acts as a pimp, this being an incident of his profession of indoor servant. 11. other occupations. another occupation of the dhimar's is to sell parched grain and rice to travellers in markets and railway stations like the bharbhunja and dhuri. this he can do because of his comparative social purity, as all castes will take water and cakes and sweetmeats from his hands. some dhimars and kewats also weave hemp-matting and gunny-bags, but such members of the caste rank lower than the others and brahmans will not take water from them. another calling by which a few dhimars find support is that of breeding pigs. one would think it a difficult matter to make a living out of the village pig, an animal abhorred by both hindus and muhammadans as the most unclean of the brute creation, and equally abjured by europeans as unfit for food. but the pig is in considerable demand by the forest tribes for sacrifice to their deities. the dhimar participates in the sacrifice to narayan deo described in the article on mahar, when a pig is eaten in concert by several of the lower castes. lastly, the business of rearing the cocoons of the tasar silk-worm is usually in the hands of dhimars and kewats. while the caterpillars are feeding on leaves and spinning their cocoons these men live in the forests for two months together and watch the _kosa-baris_ or silk-gardens, that is the blocks of trees which are set apart for the purpose of rearing the caterpillars. during this period they eat only once a day, abstain from meat and lentils, do not get shaved and do not visit their wives. when the eggs of the caterpillars are to be placed on the trees they tie a silk thread round the first tree to be used and worship it as pat deo or the god of silk thread. on this subject mr. ball writes: [545] "the trees which it is intended to stock are carefully pollarded before the rains, and in early spring the leaves are stocked with young caterpillars which have been hatched in the houses. the men in charge erect wigwams and remain on the spot, isolated from their families, who regard them for the time being as unclean. during the daytime they have full occupation in guarding the large green caterpillars from the attacks of kites and other birds. the cocoons are collected soon after they are spun and boiled in a lye of wood-ash, and the extracted chrysalids must then be eaten by the caretakers, who have to undergo certain ceremonial rites before they are readmitted into the society of their fellows. the effect of the boiling in the lye is the removal of the glutinous matter, which renders it possible to wind off the silk." the eating of the caterpillars is no doubt a ceremonial observance like that of the crocodile at weddings. they are killed by the boiling of the cocoons and on this account members of good castes will not engage in the business of rearing them. the abstention from conjugal intimacy while engaged in some important business is a very common phenomenon. 12. social status. the social status of the dhimar is somewhat peculiar. owing to his employment as palanquin-bearer, cook and household servant he has been promoted to the group of castes who are ceremonially clean, so that brahmans in northern india will take water and food cooked in butter from his hands. but by origin he no doubt belongs to the primitive or non-aryan tribes, a fact which he shows by his appearance and also by his customs. in diet he is the reverse of fastidious, eating crocodiles, tortoises and crabs, and also pork in the maratha districts, though in the north where he is employed by brahmans as a personal servant he abstains from this food. with all this, however, the dhimars practise in some social matters a pharasaical strictness. in jubbulpore mr. pancham lal records that among the four subcastes of rekwar, bant, barmaian and pabeha a woman of one subcaste will not partake of any food cooked by one of another division. a man will take any kind of food cooked by a man of another subcaste, but from a woman only such as is not mixed with water. a woman will drink the water held in the metal vessel of a woman of another division, but not in an earthen vessel; and in a metal vessel only provided that it is brought straight from the well and not taken from the _ghinochi_ or water-stand of such woman's house. a man will take water to drink from the metal or earthen vessel of any other dhimar, male or female. in berar again mr. kitts states [546] that a bhoi considers it pollution to eat or drink at the house of a lohar (blacksmith), a sutar (carpenter), a bhat (bard), a washerman or a barber; he will not even carry their palanquins at a marriage. once a year at the muharram festival the dhimars will eat at the hands of muhammadans. they go round and beg for offerings of food and take them to the fakir, who places a little before the _tazia_ or tomb of husain and distributes the remainder to the dhimars and other hindus and muhammadans who have been begging. except on this occasion they will eat nothing touched by a muhammadan. the dhimar, the nai or barber, and the bari or indoor servant are the three household menials of the northern districts, and are known as pauni parja. sometimes the ahir or grazier is an indoor servant and takes the place of the dhimar or the bari. these menials are admitted to the wedding and other family feasts and allowed to eat at them. they sit in a line apart from the members of the caste and one member of the family is deputed to wait on them. their food is brought to them in separate dishes and no food from these dishes is served to guests of the caste. permanent expulsion [547] from caste is inflicted only for marrying, or eating regularly, with a man or woman of some other low caste; but in the case of unmarried persons the latter offence may also be expiated. temporary exclusion is imposed for killing a cat, dog or squirrel, getting maggots in a wound, being sentenced to imprisonment [548] or committing adultery with a person of any low caste. one who has committed any of the above offences must be purified by the batta of the caste, that is a person who takes the sins of others upon himself. the batta conducts the culprit to a river and then causes him to bathe, cuts off a lock of his hair, breaks a cocoanut as a sacrifice, and gives him a little cowdung and milk to eat. then they proceed to eat together; the batta eats five mouthfuls first and declares that he has taken the sin of the offender on himself; the latter gives the batta rs. 1-4 as his fee, and is once more a proper member of the community. in berar a bhoi who has been put out of caste is received back by his fellows when he has drunk the water touched by a brahman's toe, and has feasted them with a bout of liquor. in towns the caste are generally addicted to drink, and no marriage or other social function is held without a sufficient supply of liquor. they also smoke _ganja_ (indian hemp). 13. legend of the caste. the dhimars are proverbially of a cheerful disposition, though simple and easily cheated. when carrying _palkis_ or litters at night they talk continually or sing monotonous songs to lighten the tedium of the way. in illustration of these qualities the following story is told: one day when mahadeo and parvati were travelling the goddess became very tired, so mahadeo created four men from the dust, who bore her in a litter. on the way they talked and laughed, and parvati was very pleased with them, so when she got home she told them to wait while she sent them out a reward. the bhois found that they could get plenty of liquor, so they went on drinking it and forgot all about going for the reward. in the meantime a marwari bania who had heard what the goddess said, waited at the door of the palace, and when the servants brought out a bag of money he pretended that he was one of the bhois and got them to give him the money, with which he made off. after a time the bhois remembered about the reward and went to the door of the palace to get it, when the goddess came out and found out what had happened. the bhois then wept and asked for another reward, but the goddess refused and said that as they had been so stupid their caste would always be poor, but at the same time they would be cheerful and happy. dhoba list of paragraphs 1. _general notice._ 2. _exogamous divisions._ 3. _marriage customs._ 4. _funeral rites._ 5. _caste panchayat and social penalties._ 6. _occupation and social customs._ 1. general notice. _dhoba._ [549]--a small caste belonging to the mandla district and apparently an offshoot from one of the primitive tribes. they have never been separately classified at the census but always amalgamated with the dhobi or washerman caste. but the mandla dhobas acknowledge no connection with dhobis, nor has any been detected. one dhoba has indeed furnished a story to the rev. e. price that the first ancestor of the caste was a foundling boy, by appearance of good lineage, who was brought up by some dhobis, and, marrying a dhobi girl, made a new caste. but this is not sufficient to demonstrate the common origin of the dhobas and dhobis. the dhobas reside principally in a few villages in the upper valley of the burhner river, and members of the caste own two or three villages. they are dark in complexion and have, though in a less degree, the flat features, coarse nose and receding forehead of the gond; but they are taller in stature and not so strongly built, and are much less capable of exertion. 2. exogamous divisions. the caste has twelve exogamous septs, though the list is probably not complete. these appear to be derived from the names of villages. marriage is forbidden between the baghmar and baghcharia septs, the maratha and khatnagar and maralwati septs and the sonwani and sonsonwani septs. these septs are said to have been subdivided and to be still related. the names baghmar and baghcharia are both derived from the tiger; sonnwani is from sona-pani or gold-water, and the sonsonwani sept seems therefore to be the aristocratic branch or _crême de la crême_ of the sonwanis. the children of brothers and sisters may marry but not those of two sisters, because a man's maternal aunt or _mausi_ is considered as equivalent to his mother. a man may also marry his step-sister on the mother's side, that is the daughter of his own mother by another husband either prior to or subsequent to his father, the step-sister being of a different sept. this relaxation may have been permitted on account of the small numbers of the caste and the consequent difficulty of arranging marriages. 3. marriage customs. the bridegroom goes to the bride's house for the wedding, which is conducted according to the hindu ritual of walking round the sacred post. the cost of a marriage in a fairly well-to-do family, including the betrothal, may be about rs. 140, of which a quarter falls on the bride's people. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. a pregnant woman stops working after six months and goes into retirement. after a birth the woman is impure for five or six days. she does not appear in public for a month, and takes no part in outdoor occupations or field-work until the child is weaned, that is six months after its birth. 4. funeral rites. the dead are usually buried, and all members of the dead man's sept are considered to be impure. after the funeral they bathe and come home and have their food cooked for them by other dhobas, partaking of it in the dead man's house. on the ninth, eleventh or thirteenth day, when the impurity ends, the male members of the sept are shaved on the bank of a river and the hair is left lying there. when they start home they spread some thorns and two stones across the path. then, as the first man steps over the thorns, he takes up one of the stones in his hand and passes it behind him to the second, and each man successively passes it back as he steps over the thorns, the last man throwing the stone behind the thorns. thus the dead man's spirit in the shape of the stone is separated from the living and prevented from accompanying them home. then a feast is held, all the men of the dead man's sept sitting opposite to the _panchayat_ at a distance of three feet. next day water in which gold has been dipped is thrown over the dead man's house and each member of the sept drinks a little and is pure. 5. caste _panchayat_ and social penalties. the head of the caste is always a member of the sonwani sept and is known as raja. it is his business to administer water in which gold has been dipped (_sona-pani_) to offenders as a means of purification, and from this the name of the sept is derived. the raja has no deputy, and officiates in all ceremonies of the caste; he receives no contribution from the caste, but a double share of food and sweetmeats when they are distributed. the other members of the panch he is at liberty to choose from any _got_ or sept he likes. when a man has been put out of caste for a serious offence he has to give three feasts for readmission. the first meal consists of a goat with rice and pulse, and is eaten on the bank of a stream; on this occasion the head of the offender is shaved clean and all the hair thrown into the stream. the second meal is eaten in the yard of his house, and consists of cakes fried in butter with rice and pulse. the offender is not allowed to partake of either the first or second meal. on the third day the raja gives the offender gold-water, and he is then considered to be purified and cooks food himself, which the caste-people eat with him in his house. a man is not put out of caste when he is sent to jail, as this is considered to be an order of the government. a man keeping a woman of another caste is expelled and not reinstated until he has put her away, and even then it is said that they will consider his character before taking him back. a man who gets maggots in a wound may be readmitted to caste only during the months of chait and pus. 6. occupation and social customs. the dhobas act as priests of the gonds and are also cultivators. their social position is distinctly higher than that of the gonds and some of them have begun to employ brahmans for their ceremonies. they will eat the flesh of most animals, except those of the cow-tribe, and also field-mice, and most of them drink liquor, though the more prominent members have begun to abstain. the origin of the caste is very obscure, but it would appear that they must be an offshoot of one of the dravidian tribes. in this connection it is interesting to note that chhattisgarh contains a large number of dhobis, though the people of this tract have until recently worn little in the way of clothing, and usually wash it themselves when this operation is judged necessary. many of the dhobis of chhattisgarh are cultivators, and it seems possible that a proportion of them may also really belong to this dhoba caste. dhobi list of paragraphs 1. _character and structure of the caste._ 2. _marriage customs._ 3. _other social customs._ 4. _religion._ 5. _occupation: washing clothes._ 6. _social position._ 7. _proverbs about the dhobi._ 8. _wearing and lending the clothes of customers._ 1. character and structure of the caste. _dhobi, warthi, baretha, chakla, rajak, parit._--the professional caste of washermen. the name is derived from the hindi _dhona_, and the sanskrit _dhav_, to wash. warthi is the maratha name for the caste, and bareth or baretha is an honorific or complimentary term of address. rajak and parit are synonyms, the latter being used in the maratha districts. the chakla caste of madras are leather-workers, but in chanda a community of persons is found who are known as chakla and are professional washermen. in 1911 the dhobis numbered 165,000 persons in the central provinces and berar, or one to every hundred inhabitants. they are numerous in the districts with large towns and also in chhattisgarh, where, like the dhobas of bengal, they have to a considerable extent abandoned their hereditary profession and taken to cultivation and other callings. no account worth reproduction has been obtained of the origin of the caste. in the central provinces it is purely functional, as is shown by its subdivisions; these are generally of a territorial nature, and indicate that the dhobis like the other professional castes have come here from all parts of the country. instances of the subcastes are: baonia and beraria from berar; malwi, bundelkhandi, nimaria, kanaujia, udaipuria from udaipur; madrasi, dharampuria from dharampur, and so on. a separate subcaste is formed of muhammadan dhobis. the exogamous groups known as _khero_ are of the usual low-caste type, taking their names from villages or titular or professional terms. 2. marriage customs. marriage within the _khero_ is prohibited and also the union of first cousins. it is considered disgraceful to accept a price for a bride, and it is said that this is not done even by the parents of poor girls, but the caste will in such cases raise a subscription to defray the expenses of her marriage. in the northern districts the marriages of dhobis are characterised by continuous singing and dancing at the houses of the bridegroom and bride, these performances being known as _sajnai_ and _birha_. some man also puts on a long coat, tight down to the waist and loose round the hips, to have the appearance of a dancing-girl, and dances before the party, while two or three other men play. mr. crooke considers that this ritual, which is found also among other low castes, resembles the european custom of the false bride and is intended to divert the evil eye from the real bride. he writes: [550] "now there are numerous customs which have been grouped in europe under the name of the false bride. thus among the esthonians the false bride is enacted by the bride's brother dressed in woman's clothes; in polonia by a bearded man called the wilde braut; in poland by an old woman veiled in white and lame; again among the esthonians by an old woman with a brickwork crown; in brittany, where the substitutes are first a little girl, then the mistress of the house, and lastly the grandmother. "the supposition may then be hazarded in the light of the indian examples that some one assumes on this occasion the part of the bride in order to divert on himself from her the envious glance of the evil eye." any further information on this interesting custom would be welcome. the remarriage of widows is allowed, and in betul the bridegroom goes to the widow's house on a dark night wrapped up in a black blanket, and presents the widow with new clothes and bangles, and spangles and red lead for the forehead. divorce is permitted with the approval of the caste headman by the execution of a deed on stamped paper. 3. other social customs. after a birth the mother is allowed no food for some days except country sugar and dates. the child is given some honey and castor-oil for the first two days and is then allowed to suckle the mother. a pit is dug inside the lying-in room, and in this are deposited water and the first cuttings of the nails and hair of the child. it is filled up and on her recovery the mother bows before it, praying for similar safe deliveries in future and for the immunity of the child from physical ailments. after the birth of a male child the mother is impure for seven days and for five days after that of a female. 4. religion. the principal deity of the dhobis is ghatoia, the god of the _ghat_ or landing-place on the river to which they go to wash their clothes. libations of liquor are made to him in the month of asarh (june), when the rains break and the rivers begin to be flooded. before entering the water to wash the clothes they bow to the stone on which these are beaten out, asking that their work may be quickly finished; and they also pray to the river deity to protect them from snakes and crocodiles. they worship the stone on the dasahra festival, making an offering to it of flowers, turmeric and cooked food. the dhobi's washing-stone is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of departed dhobis when revisiting the glimpses of the moon, and is held to have magical powers. if a man requires a love-charm he should steal a _supari_ or areca-nut from the bazar at night or on the occasion of an eclipse. the same night he goes to the dhobi's stone and sets the nut upon it. he breaks an egg and a cocoanut over the stone and burns incense before it. then he takes the nut away and gives it to the woman of his fancy, wrapped up in betel-leaf, and she will love him. their chief festivals are the holi and diwali, at which they drink a great deal. the dead are buried or burnt as may be convenient, and mourning is observed for three days only, the family being purified on the sunday or wednesday following the death. they have a caste committee whose president is known as mehtar, while other officials are the chaudhri or vice-president, and the badkur, who appoints dates for the penal feasts and issues the summons to the caste-fellows. these posts are hereditary and their holders receive presents of a rupee and a cloth when members of the caste have to give expiatory feasts. 5. occupation: washing clothes. before washing his clothes the dhobi steams them, [551] hanging them in a bundle for a time over a cauldron of boiling water. after this he takes them to a stream or pond and washes them roughly with fuller's earth. the washerman steps nearly knee-deep into the water, and taking a quantity of clothes by one end in his two hands he raises them aloft in the air and brings them down heavily upon a huge stone slab, grooved, at his feet. this threshing operation he repeats until his clothes are perfectly clean. in saugor the clothes are rubbed with wood-ashes at night and beaten out in water with a stick in the morning. silk clothes are washed with the nut of the _ritha_ tree (_sapindus emarginatus_) which gives a lather like soap. sir h. risley writes of the dacca washermen: [552] "for washing muslins and other coloured garments well or spring water is alone used; but if the articles are the property of a poor man or are commonplace, the water of the nearest tank or river is accounted sufficiently good. indigo is in as general use as in england for removing the yellowish tinge and whitening the material. the water of the wells and springs bordering on the red laterite formation on the north of the city has been for centuries celebrated, and the old bleaching fields of the european factories were all situated in this neighbourhood. various plants are used by the dhobis to clarify water such as the _nirmali_ (_strychnos potatorum_), the _piu_ (_basella_), the _nagphani_ (_cactus indicus_) and several plants of the mallow family. alum, though not much valued, is sometimes used." in most districts of the central provinces the dhobi is employed as a village servant and is paid by annual contributions of grain from the cultivators. for ordinary washing he gets half as much as the blacksmith or carpenter, or 13 to 20 lbs. of grain annually from each householder, with about another 10 lbs. at seedtime or harvest. when he brings the clothes home he also receives a meal or a _chapati_, and well-to-do persons give him their old clothes as a present. in return for this he washes all the clothes of the family two or three times a month, except the loin-cloths and women's bodices which they themselves wash daily. the dhobi is also employed on the occasion of a birth or a death. these events cause impurity and hence all the clothes of all the members of the family must be washed when the impurity ceases. in saugor when a man dies the dhobi receives eight annas and for a woman four annas, and similar rates in the case of the birth of a male or female child. when the first son is born in a family the dhobi and barber place a brass vessel on the top of a pole and tie a flag to it as a cloth and take it round to all the friends and relations of the family, announcing the event. they receive presents of grain and money which they expend on a drinking-bout. 6. social position. the dhobi is considered to be impure, and he is not allowed to come into the houses of the better castes nor to touch their water-vessels. in saugor he may come as far as the veranda but not into the house. his status would in any case be low as a village menial, but he is specially degraded, mr. crooke states, by his task of washing the clothes of women after child-birth and his consequent association with puerperal blood, which is particularly abhorred. formerly a brahman did not let the dhobi wash his clothes, or, if he did, they were again steeped in water in the house as a means of purification. now he contents himself with sprinkling the clean clothes with water in which a piece of gold has been dipped. the dhobi is not so impure as the chamar and basor, and if a member of the higher castes touches him inadvertently it is considered sufficient to wash the face and hands only and not the clothes. colonel tod writes [553] that in rajputana the washermen's wells dug at the sides of streams are deemed the most impure of all receptacles. and one of the most binding oaths is that a man as he swears should drop a pebble into one of these wells, saying, "if i break this oath may all the good deeds of my forefathers fall into the washerman's well like this pebble." nevertheless the dhobi refuses to wash the clothes of some of the lowest castes as the mang, mahar and chamar. like the teli the dhobi is unlucky, and it is a bad omen to see him when starting on a journey or going out in the morning. but among some of the higher castes on the occasion of a marriage the elder members of the bridegroom's family go with the bride to the dhobi's house. his wife presents the bride with betel-leaf and in return is given clothes with a rupee. this ceremony is called _sohag_ or good fortune, and the present from the dhobin is supposed to be lucky. in berar the dhobi is also a balutedar or village servant. mr. kitts writes of him: [554] "at a wedding he is called upon to spread the clothes on which the bridegroom and his party alight on coming to the bride's house; he also provides the cloth on which the bride and bridegroom are to sit and fastens the _kankan_ (bracelet) on the girl's hand. in the yeotmal district the barber and the washerman sometimes take the place of the maternal uncle in the _jhenda_ dance; and when the bridegroom, assisted by five married women, has thrown the necklace of black beads round the bride's neck and has tied it with five knots, the barber and the washerman advance, and lifting the young couple on their thighs dance to the music of the _wajantri_, while the bystanders besprinkle them with red powder." in chhattisgarh the dhobis appear to have partly abandoned their hereditary profession and taken to agriculture and other callings. sir benjamin robertson writes of them: [555] "the caste largely preponderates in chhattisgarh, a part of the country where, at least to the superficial observer, it would hardly seem as if its services were much availed of; the number of dhobis in raipur and bilaspur is nearly 40,000. in both districts the washerman is one of the recognised village servants, but as a rule he gets no fixed payment, and the great body of cultivators dispense with his services altogether. according to the _raipur settlement report_ (mr. hewett), he is employed by the ryots only to wash the clothes of the dead, and he is never found among a population of satnamis. it may therefore be assumed that in chhattisgarh the bareth caste has largely taken to cultivation." in bengal sir h. risley states [556] that "the dhobi often gives up his caste trade and follows the profession of a writer, messenger or collector of rent (_tahsildar_), and it is an old native tradition that a bengali dhobi was the first interpreter the english factory at calcutta had, while it is further stated that our early commercial transactions were carried on solely through the agency of low-caste natives. the dhobi, however, will never engage himself as an indoor servant in the house of a european." 7. proverbs about the dhobi. like the other castes who supply the primary needs of the people, the dhobi is not regarded with much favour by his customers, and they revenge themselves in various sarcasms at his expense for the injury caused to their clothes by his drastic measures. the following are mentioned by sir g. grierson: [557] '_dhobi par dhobi base, tab kapre par sabun pare_', or 'when many dhobis compete, then some soap gets to the clothes,' and 'it is only the clothes of the dhobi's father that never get torn.' the dhobi's donkey is a familiar sight as one meets him on the road still toiling as in the time of issachar between two bundles of clothes each larger than himself, and he has also become proverbial, '_dhobi ka gadha neh ghar ka neh ghat ka_,' 'the dhobi's donkey is always on the move'; and 'the ass has only one master (a washerman), and the washerman has only one steed (an ass).' the resentment felt for the dhobi by his customers is not confined to his indian clients, as may be seen from eha's excellent description of the dhobi in _behind the bungalow_; and it may perhaps be permissible to introduce here the following short excerpt, though it necessarily loses in force by being detached from the context: "day after day he has stood before that great black stone and wreaked his rage upon shirt and trouser and coat, and coat and trouser and shirt. then he has wrung them as if he were wringing the necks of poultry, and fixed them on his drying line with thorns and spikes, and finally he has taken the battered garments to his torture chamber and ploughed them with his iron, longwise and crosswise and slantwise, and dropped glowing cinders on their tenderest places. son has followed father through countless generations in cultivating this passion for destruction, until it has become the monstrous growth which we see and shudder at in the dhobi." 8. wearing and lending the clothes of customers. it is also currently believed that the dhobi wears the clothes of his customers himself. thus, 'the dhobi looks smart in other people's clothes'; and '_rajache shiri, paritache tiri_,' or 'the king's headscarf is the washerman's loin-cloth.' on this point mr. thurston writes of the madras washerman: "it is an unpleasant reflection that the vannans or washermen add to their income by hiring out the clothes of their customers for funeral parties, who lay them on the path before the pall-bearers, so that they may not step upon the ground. on one occasion a party of europeans, when out shooting near the village of a hill tribe, met a funeral procession on its way to the burial-ground. the bier was draped in many folds of clean cloth, which one of the party recognised by the initials as one of his bed-sheets. another identified as his sheet the cloth on which the corpse was lying. he cut off the corner with the initial, and a few days later the sheet was returned by the dhobi, who pretended ignorance of the mutilation, and gave as an explanation that it must have been done in his absence by one of his assistants." [558] and eha describes the same custom in the following amusing manner: "did you ever open your handkerchief with the suspicion that you had got a duster into your pocket by mistake, till the name of de souza blazoned on the corner showed you that you were wearing some one else's property? an accident of this kind reveals a beneficent branch of the dhobi's business, one in which he comes to the relief of needy respectability. suppose yourself (if you can) to be mr. lobo, enjoying the position of first violinist in a string band which performs at parsi weddings and on other festive occasions. _noblesse oblige_; you cannot evade the necessity for clean shirt-fronts, ill able as your precarious income may be to meet it. in these circumstances a dhobi with good connections is what you require. he finds you in shirts of the best quality at so much an evening, and you are saved all risk and outlay of capital; you need keep no clothes except a greenish-black surtout and pants and an effective necktie. in this way the wealth of the rich helps the want of the poor without their feeling it or knowing it--an excellent arrangement. sometimes, unfortunately, mr. lobo has a few clothes of his own, and then, as i have hinted, the dhobi may exchange them by mistake, for he is uneducated and has much to remember; but if you occasionally suffer in this way you gain in another, for mr. lobo's family are skilful with the needle, and i have sent a torn garment to the wash which returned carefully repaired." [559] dhuri 1. origin and subdivisions. _dhuri._ [560]--a caste belonging exclusively to chhattisgarh, which numbered 3000 persons in 1911. dhuri is an honorific abbreviation from dhuriya as bani from bania. the special occupation of the caste is rice-parching, and they are an offshoot from kahars, though in chhattisgarh the dhuris now consider the kahars as a subcaste of their own. in bengal the dhuriyas are a subcaste of the kandus or bharbhunjas. sir h. risley states that "the dhurias rank lowest of all the subcastes of kandus, owing either to their having taken up the comparatively menial profession of palanquin-bearing, or to their being a branch of the kahar caste who went in for grain-parching and thus came to be associated with the kandus." [561] the caste have immigrated to chhattisgarh from the united provinces. in kawardha they believe that the raja of that state brought them back with him on his return from a pilgrimage. in bilaspur and raipur they say they came from badhar, a pargana in the mirzapur district, adjoining rewah. badhar is mentioned in one of the rajim inscriptions, and is a place remembered by other castes of chhattisgarh as their ancestral home. the dhuris of chhattisgarh relate their origin as follows: mahadeo went once to the jungle and the damp earth stuck to his feet. he scraped it off and made it into a man, and asked him what caste he would like to belong to. the man said he would leave it to mahadeo, who decided that he should be called dhuri from _dhur,_ dust. the man then asked mahadeo to assign him an occupation, and mahadeo said that as he was made from dust, which is pounded earth, his work should be to prepare _cheora_ or pounded rice, and added as a special distinction that all castes including brahmans should eat the pounded rice prepared by him. all castes do eat _cheora_ because it is not boiled with water. the dhuris have two subcastes, a higher and a lower, but they are known by different names in different tracts. in kawardha they are called raj dhuri and cheorakuta, the raj dhuris being the descendants of personal servants in the raja's family and ranking above the cheorakutas or rice-pounders. in bilaspur they are called badharia and khawas, and in raipur badharia and desha. the khawas and desha subcastes do menial household service and rank below the badharias, who are perhaps later immigrants and refuse to engage in this occupation. the names of their exogamous sections are nearly all territorial, as naugahia from naogaon in bilaspur district, agoria from agori, a pargana in mirzapur district, kashi or benares, and a number of other names derived from villages in bilaspur. but the caste do not strictly enforce the rule forbidding marriage within the _gotra_ or section, and are content with avoiding three generations both on the father's and mother's side. they have probably been driven to modify the rule on account of the paucity of their numbers and the difficulty of arranging marriages. for the same reason perhaps they look with indulgence on the practice, as a rule strictly prohibited, of marriage with a woman of another caste of lower social rank, and will admit the children of such a marriage into the caste, though not the woman herself. 2. marriage. infant-marriage is in vogue, and polygamy is permitted only if the first wife be barren. the betrothal is cemented by an exchange of betel-leaves and areca-nuts between the fathers of the engaged couple. a bride-price of from ten to twenty rupees is usually paid. some rice, a pice coin, 21 cowries and 21 pieces of turmeric are placed in the hole in which the marriage post is erected. when the wedding procession arrives at the girl's house the bridegroom goes to the marriage-shed and pulls out the festoons of mango leaves, the bride's family trying to prevent him by offering him a winnowing-fan. he then approaches the door of the house, behind which his future mother-in-law is standing, and slips a piece of cloth through the door for her. she takes this and retires without being seen. the wedding consists of the _bhanwar_ ceremony or walking round the sacred pole. during the proceedings the women tie a new thread round the bridegroom's neck to avert the evil eye. after the wedding the bride and bridegroom, in opposition to the usual custom, must return to the latter's house on foot. in explanation of this they tell a story to the effect that the married couple were formerly carried in a palanquin. but on one occasion when a wedding procession came to a river, everybody began to catch fish, leaving the bride deserted, and the palanquin-bearers, seeing this, carried her off. to prevent the recurrence of such a mischance the couple now have to walk. widow-marriage is permitted, and the widow usually marries her late husband's younger brother. divorce is only permitted for misconduct on the part of the wife. 3. religious beliefs. the dhuris principally worship the goddess devi. nearly all members of the caste belong to the kabirpanthi sect. they believe that the sun on setting goes through the earth, and that the milky way is the path by which the elephant of the heavens passes from south to north to feed on the young bamboo shoots, of which he is very fond. they think that the constellation of the great bear is a cot with three thieves tied to it. the thieves came to steal the cot, which belonged to an old woman, but god caught them and tied them down there for ever. orion is the plough left by one of the pandava brothers after he had finished tilling the heavens. the dead are burnt. they observe mourning during nine or ten days for an adult and make libations to the dead at the usual period in the month of kunwar (september-october). 4. occupation and social status. the proper occupation of the caste is to parch rice. the rice is husked and then parched in an earthen pan, and subsequently bruised with a mallet in a wooden mortar. when prepared in this manner it is called _cheora_. the dhuris also act as _khidmatgars_ or household servants, but the members of the badharia subcaste refuse to do this work. some members of the caste are fishermen, and others grow melons and sweet potatoes. considering that they live in chhattisgarh, the caste are somewhat scrupulous in the matter of food, neither eating fowls nor drinking liquor. the kawardha dhuris, however, who are later immigrants than the others, do not observe these restrictions, the reason for which may be that the dhuris think it necessary to be strict in the matter of food, so that no one may object to take parched rice from them. rawats and gonds take food from their hands in some places, and their social status in chhattisgarh is about equivalent to that of the rawats or ahirs. a man of the caste who kills a cow or gets vermin in a wound must go to amarkantak to bathe in the nerbudda. dumal 1. origin and traditions. _dumal._ [562]--an agricultural caste found in the uriya country and principally in the sonpur state, recently transferred to bihar and orissa. in 1901, 41,000 dumals were enumerated in the central provinces, but only a few persons now remain. the caste originally came from orissa. they themselves say that they were formerly a branch of the gaurs, with whom they now have no special connection. they derive their name from a village called dumba hadap in the athmalik state, where they say that they lived. another story is that dumal is derived from duma, the name of a gateway in baud town, near which they dwelt. sir h. risley says: "the dumals or jadupuria gaura seem to be a group of local formation. they cherish the tradition that their ancestors came to orissa from jadupur, but this appears to be nothing more than the name of the jadavas or yadavas, the mythical progenitors of the goala caste transformed into the name of an imaginary town." 2. subdivisions. the dumals have no subcastes, but they have a complicated system of exogamy. this includes three kinds of divisions or sections, the _got_ or sept, the _barga_ or family title and the _mitti_ or earth from which they sprang, that is, the name of the original village of the clan. marriage is prohibited only between persons who have the same _got_, _barga_ and _mitti_; if any one of these is different it is allowed. thus a man of the nag _got_, padhan _barga_ and hindolsai _mitti_ may marry a girl of the nag _got_, padhan _barga_ and kandhpada _mitti_; or one of the nag _got_, karmi _barga_ and hindolsai _mitti_; or one of the bud _got_, padhan _barga_ and hindolsai _mitti_. the _bargas_ are very numerous, but the _gots_ and _mittis_ are few and common to many _bargas_; and many people have forgotten the name of their _mitti_ altogether. marriage therefore usually depends on the _bargas_ being different. the following table shows the _got_, _barga_ and _mitti_ of a few families: got. barga. mitti. nag (cobra) padhan (chief) hindolsai nag karmi (manager) unda (a village in athmalik) nag behra (palki-bearer) kandhpada (a village in athmalik) nag mahakul (great family) do. do. nag mesua (shepherd) dalpur (a village in baud) nag karan (writer) kandhpada (a village in athmalik) nag or nagesh mahakul (great family) bamanda (a village in baud) bud (a fish) kolta (caste) kandhpada (a village in athmalik) bud (a fish) baghar (buffalo) do. do. bichhu (scorpion) mahakul (great family) bamada (a village in baud) the only other _gots_ besides those given above are kachhap (tortoise), uluk (owl) and limb (_nim_-tree). the _gots_ are thus totemistic, and the animal or plant giving its name to the _got_ is venerated and worshipped. the names of _bargas_ are diverse. some are titles indicating the position of the founder of the family in life, as naik (leader), padhan (chief), karmi (manager), mahakul (great family) and so on. others are derived from functions performed in sacrifices, as amayat (one who kills the animal in the sacrifice), gurandi (one who makes a preparation of sugar for it), dehri (priest), barik (one who carries the god's umbrella), kamp (one who is in charge of the baskets containing the sacred articles of the temple). another set of _bargas_ are names signifying the performance of menial functions in household service, as gejo (kitchen-cleaner), chaulia (rice-cleaner), gadua (_lota_-bearer), dang (spoon-bearer), ghusri (cleaner of the dining-place with cowdung). other names of _bargas_ are derived from the caste's traditional occupation of grazing cattle, as mesua or mendli (shepherd), gaigariya (milkman), chhand (one who ties a rope to the legs of a cow when milking her). these names are interesting as showing that the dumals before taking to their present occupation of agriculture were temple servants, household menials and cattle-herds, thus fulfilling the functions now performed by the rawat or gaur caste of graziers in sambalpur. the names of the _mittis_ or villages show that their original home was in the orissa tributary mahals, while the totemistic names of _gots_ indicate their dravidian origin. the marriage of first cousins is prohibited. 3. marriage. girls must be married before adolescence, and in the event of the parents failing to accomplish this, the following heavy penalty is imposed on the girl herself. she is taken to the forest and tied to a tree with thread, this proceeding signifying her permanent exclusion from the caste. any one belonging to another caste can then take her away and marry her if he chooses to do so. in practice, however, this penalty is very rarely imposed, as the parents can get out of it by marrying her to an old man, whether he is already married or not, the parents bearing all the expenses, while the husband gives two to four annas as a nominal contribution. after the marriage the old man can either keep the girl as his wife or divorce her for a further nominal payment of eight annas to a rupee. she then becomes a widow and can marry again, while her parents will get ten or twenty rupees for her. the boy's father makes the proposal for the marriage according to the following curious formula. taking some fried grain he goes to the house of the father of the bride and addresses him as follows in the presence of the neighbours and the relatives of both parties: "i hear that the tree has budded and a blossom has come out; i intend to pluck it." to which the girl's father replies: "the flower is delicate; it is in the midst of an ocean and very difficult to approach: how will you pluck it?" to which the reply is: 'i shall bring ships and _dongas_ (boats) and ply them in the ocean and fetch the flower.' and again: "if you do pluck it, can you support it? many difficulties may stand in the way, and the flower may wither or get lost; will it be possible for you to steer the flower's boat in the ocean of time, as long as it is destined to be in this world?" to which the answer is: 'yes, i shall, and it is with that intention that i have come to you.' on which the girl's father finally says: 'very well then, i have given you the flower.' the question of the bride's price is then discussed. there are three recognised scales--rs. 7 and 7 pieces of cloth, rs. 9 and 9 pieces of cloth, and rs. 18 and 18 pieces of cloth. the rupees in question are those of orissa, and each of them is worth only two-thirds of a government rupee. in cases of extreme poverty rs. 2 and 2 pieces of cloth are accepted. the price being fixed, the boy's father goes to pay it after an interval; and on this occasion he holds out his cloth, and a cocoanut is placed on it and broken by the girl's father, which confirms the betrothal. before the marriage seven married girls go out and dig earth after worshipping the ground, and on their return let it all fall on to the head of the bridegroom's mother, which is protected only by a cloth. on the next day offerings are made to the ancestors, who are invited to attend the ceremony as village gods. the bridegroom is shaved clean and bathed, and the brahman then ties an iron ring to his wrist, and the barber puts the turban and marriage-crown on his head. the procession then starts, but any barber who meets it on the way may put a fresh marriage-crown on the bridegroom's head and receive eight annas or a rupee for it, so that he sometimes arrives at his destination wearing four or five of them. the usual ceremonies attend the arrival. at the marriage the couple are blindfolded and seated in the shed, while the brahman priest repeats _mantras_ or verses, and during this time the parents and the parties must continue placing nuts and pice all over the shed. these are the perquisites of the brahman. the hands of the couple are then tied together with _kusha_ grass (_eragrostis cynosuroides_), and water is poured over them. after the ceremony the couple gamble with seven cowries and seven pieces of turmeric. the boy then presses a cowrie on the ground with his little finger, and the girl has to take it away, which she easily does. the girl in her turn holds a cowrie inside her clenched hand, and the boy has to remove it with his little finger, which he finds it impossible to do. thus the boy always loses and has to promise the girl something, either to give her an ornament or to take her on a pilgrimage, or to make her the mistress of his house. on the fifth or last day of the ceremony some curds are placed in a small pot, and the couple are made to churn them; this is probably symbolical of the caste's original occupation of tending cattle. the bride goes to her husband's house for three days, and then returns home. when she is to be finally brought to her husband's house, his father with some relatives goes to the parents of the girl and asks for her. it is now strict etiquette for her father to refuse to send her on the first occasion, and they usually have to call on him three or four times at intervals of some days, and selecting the days given by the astrologer as auspicious. occasionally they have to go as many as ten times; but finally, if the girl's father proves very troublesome, they send an old woman who drags away the girl by force. if the father sends her away willingly he gives her presents of several basket-loads of grain, oil, turmeric, cooking-pots, cloth, and if he is well off a cow and bullocks, the value of the presents amounting to about rs. 50. the girl's brother takes her to her husband's house, where a repetition of the marriage ceremony on a small scale is performed. twice again after the consummation of the marriage she visits her parents for periods of one and six months, but after this she never again goes to their house unaccompanied by her husband. widow-marriage is allowed, and the widow may marry the younger brother of her late husband or not as she pleases. but if she marries another man he must pay a sum of rs. 10 to rs. 20 for her, of which rs. 5 go to the panua or headman of the caste, and rs. 2 to their tutelary goddess parmeshwari. the children by the first husband are kept either by his relatives or the widow's parents, and do not go to the new husband. when a bachelor marries a widow, he is first married to a flower or _sahara _tree. a widow who has remarried cannot take part in any worship or marriage ceremony in her house, not even in the marriage of her own sons. divorce is allowed, and is effected in the presence of the caste _panchayat_ or committee. a divorced woman may marry again. 4. religious and social customs. the caste worship the goddess parmeshwari, the wife of vishnu, and jagannath, the uriya incarnation of vishnu. parmeshwari is worshipped by brahmans, who offer bread and _khir_ or rice and milk to her; goats are also offered by the dehri or mahakul, the caste priest, who receives the heads of the goats as his remuneration. they believe in witches, who they think drink the blood of children, and employ sorcerers to exorcise them. they worship a stick on dasahra day in remembrance of their old profession of herding cattle, and they worship cows and buffaloes at the full moon of shrawan (july-august). during kunwar, on the eighth day of each fortnight, two festivals are held. at the first each girl in the family wears a thread containing eighteen knots twisted three times round her neck. all the girls fast and receive presents of cloths and grain from their brothers. this is called bhaijiuntia, or the ceremony for the welfare of the brothers. on the second day the mother of the family does the same, and receives presents from her sons, this being puajiuntia, or the ceremony for the welfare of sons. the dumals believe that in the beginning water covered the earth. they think that the sun and moon are the eyes of god, and that the stars are the souls of virtuous men, who enjoy felicity in heaven for the period measured by the sum of their virtuous actions, and when this has expired have to descend again to earth to suffer the agonies of human life. when a shooting star is seen they think it is the soul of one of these descending to be born again on earth. they both burn and bury their dead according to their means. after a body is buried they make a fire over the grave and place an empty pot on it. mourning is observed for twelve days in the case of a married and for seven in the case of an unmarried person. children dying when less than six days old are not mourned at all. during mourning the persons of the household do not cook for themselves. on the third day after the death three leaf-plates, each containing a little rice, sugar and butter, are offered to the spirit of the deceased. on the fourth day four such plates are offered, and on the fifth day five, and so on up to the ninth day when the pindas or sacrificial cakes are offered, and nine persons belonging to the caste are invited, food and a new piece of cloth being given to each. should only one attend, nine plates of food would be served to him, and he would be given nine pieces of cloth. if two or more persons in a family are killed by a tiger, a sulia or magician is called in, and he pretends to be the tiger and to bite some one in the family, who is then carried as a corpse to the burial-place, buried for a short time and taken out again. all the ceremonies of mourning are observed for him for one day. this proceeding is believed to secure immunity for the family from further attacks. in return for his services the sulia gets a share of everything in the house corresponding to what he would receive, supposing he were a member of the family, on a partition. thus if the family consisted of only two persons he would get a third part of the whole property. the dumals eat meat, including wild boar's flesh, but not beef, fowls or tame pigs. they do not drink liquor. they will take food cooked with water from brahmans and sudhs, and even the leavings of food from brahmans. this is probably because they were formerly the household servants of brahmans, though they have now risen somewhat in position and rank, together with the koltas and sudhs, as a good cultivating caste. their women and girls can easily be distinguished, the girls because the hair is shaved until they are married, and the women because they wear bangles of glass on one arm and of lac on the other. they never wear nose-rings or the ornament called _pairi_ on the feet, and no ornaments are worn on the arm above the elbow. they do not wear black clothing. the women are tattooed on the hands, feet and breast. morality within the caste is lax. a woman going wrong with a man of her own caste is not punished, because the dumals live generally in native states, where it is the business of the raja to find the seducer. but she is permanently excommunicated for a _liaison_ with a man of another caste. eating with a very low caste is almost the only offence which entails permanent exclusion for both sexes. the dumals have a bad reputation for fidelity, according to a saying: 'you cannot call the jungle a plain, and you should not call the dumal a brother,' that is, do not trust a dumal. like the ahirs they are somewhat stupid, and when enquiry was being made from them as to what crops they did not grow, one of them replied that they did not sow salt. they are good cultivators, and will grow anything except hemp and turmeric. in some places they still follow their traditional occupation of grazing cattle. fakir 1. general notice. _fakir._ [563]--the class of muhammadan beggars. in the central provinces the name is practically confined to muhammadans, but in upper india hindus also use it. nearly 9000 fakirs were returned in 1911, being residents mainly of districts with large towns, as jubbulpore, nagpur and amraoti. nearly two-fifths of the muhammadans of the central provinces live in towns, and muhammadan beggars would naturally congregate there also. the name is derived from the arabic _fakr_, poverty. the fakirs are often known as shah, lord, or sain, a corruption of the sanskrit swami, master. muhammad did not recognise religious ascetism, and expressly discouraged it. but even during his lifetime his companions abu bakr and ali established religious orders with zikrs or special exercises, and all muhammadan fakirs trace their origin to abu bakr or ali subsequently the first and fourth caliphs. [564] the fakirs are divided into two classes, the ba shara or those who live according to the rules of islam and marry; and the be shara or those without the law. these latter have no wives or homes; they drink intoxicating liquor, and neither fast, pray nor rule their passions. but several of the orders contain both married and celibate groups. 2. principal orders. the principal classes of fakirs in the central provinces are the madari, gurujwale or rafai, jalali, mewati, sada sohagal and nakshbandia. all of these except the nakshbandia are nominally at least be shara, or without the law, and celibate. the madari are the followers of one madar shah, a converted jew of aleppo, whose tomb is supposed to be at makhanpur in the united provinces. their characteristic badge is a pair of pincers. some, in order to force people to give them alms, go about dragging a chain or lashing their legs with a whip. others are monkeyand bear-trainers and rope-dancers. the madaris are said to be proof against snakes and scorpions, and to have power to cure their bites. they will leap into a fire and trample it down, crying out, '_aam madar, aam madar_.' [565] the gurujwale or rafai have as their badge a spiked iron club with small chains attached to the end. the fakir rattles the chains of his club to announce his presence, and if the people will not give him alms strikes at his own cheek or eye with the sharp point of his club, making the blood flow. they make prayers to their club once a year, so that it may not cause them serious injury when they strike themselves with it. the jalalias are named after their founder, jalal-ud-din of bokhara, and have a horse-whip as their badge, with which they sometimes strike themselves on the hands and feet. they are said to consume large quantities of _bhang_, and to eat snakes and scorpions; they shave all the hair on the head and face, including the eyebrows, except a small scalp-lock on the right side. the mewati appear to be a thieving order. they are also known as kulchor or thieves of the family, and appear to have been originally a branch of the madari, who were perhaps expelled on account of their thieving habits. their distinguishing mark is a double bag like a pack-saddle, which they hang over their shoulders. the sada or musa sohag are an order who dress like women, put on glass bangles, have their ears and noses pierced for ornaments, and wear long hair, but retain their beards and moustaches. they regard themselves as brides of god or of hussan, and beg in this guise. the nakshbandia are the disciples of khwaja mir muhammad, who was called nakshband or brocade-maker. they beg at night-time, carrying an open brass lamp with a short wick. children are fond of the nakshband, and go out in numbers to give him money. in return he marks them on the brow with oil from his lamp. they are quiet and well behaved, belonging to the ba shara class of fakirs, and having homes and families. the kalandaria or wandering dervishes, who are occasionally met with, were founded by kalandar yusuf-ul-andalusi, a native of spain. having been dismissed from another order, he founded this as a new one, with the obligation of perpetual travelling. the kalandar is a well-known figure in eastern stories. [566] the maulawiyah are the well-known dancing dervishes of constantinople and cairo, but do not belong to india. the different orders of fakirs are not strictly endogamous, and marriages can take place between their members, though the madaris prefer to confine marriage to their own order. fakirs as a body are believed to marry among themselves, and hence to form something in the nature of a caste, but they freely admit outsiders, whether muhammadans or proselytised hindus. 3. rules and customs. every fakir must have a murshid or preceptor, and be initiated by him. this applies also to boys born in the order, and a father cannot initiate his son. the rite is usually simple, the novice having to drink sherbet from the same cup as his preceptor and make him a present of rs. 1-4; but some orders insist that the whole body of a novice should be shaved clean of hair before he is initiated. the principal religious exercise of fakirs is known as zikr, and consists in the continual repetition of the names of god by various methods, it being supposed that they can draw the name from different parts of the body. the exercise is so exhausting that they frequently faint under it, and is varied by repetition of certain chapters of the koran. the fakir has a _tasbih_ or rosary, often consisting of ninety-nine beads, on which he repeats the ninety-nine names of god. the fakirs beg both from hindus and muhammadans, and are sometimes troublesome and importunate, inflicting wounds on themselves as a means of extorting alms. one beggar in saugor said that he would give every one who gave him alms five strokes with his whip, and attracted considerable custom by this novel expedient. some of them are in charge of muhammadan cemeteries and receive fees for a burial, while others live at the tombs of saints. they keep the tomb in good repair, cover it with a green cloth and keep a lighted lamp on it, and appropriate the offerings made by visitors. owing to their solitude and continuous repetition of prayers many fakirs fall into a distraught condition, when they are known as _mast_, and are believed to be possessed of a spirit. at such a time the people attach the greatest importance to any utterances which fall from the fakir's lips, believing that he has the gift of prophecy, and follow him about with presents to induce him to make some utterance. end of vol. ii notes [1] this article is compiled from papers by mr. mir padshah, tahsildar of bilaspur, and kanhya lal, clerk in the gazetteer office. [2] _basi_ or rice boiled in water the previous day. [3] a measure containing about 2 1/2 lbs. of grain. [4] this article is mainly compiled from papers by the late mr. baikunth nath pujari, extra assistant commissioner, sambalpur; sitaram, head master of the raigarh english school, and kanhya lal, clerk in the gazetteer office. [5] now transferred to bengal. [6] dalton's _ethnology of bengal_, p. 322. [7] this article is mainly based on a paper on _aghoris and aghorpanthis_, by mr. h. w. barrow, in the _journal anthr. soc. bombay_, iii. p. 197. [8] bhattacharya, _hindu castes and sects_, p. 392. [9] _aghoris and aghorpanthis_, pp. 224, 226. [10] page 208. [11] _the tribune_ (lahore), november 29, 1898, quoted in oman's _mystics, ascetics and saints of india_, pp. 164, 165. [12] _studies of indian life and sentiment_, p. 44. [13] the information about birth customs in this article is from a paper by mr. kalika prasad, tahsildar, raj-nandgaon state. [14] _go_, _gau_ or _gai_, an ox or cow, and _pal_ or _palak_, guardian. [15] _ind. ant._ (jan. 1911), 'foreign elements in the hindu population,' by mr. d. r. bhandarkar. [16] elliot, _supplemental glossary_, _s.v._ ahir. [17] _early history of india_, 3rd ed. p. 286. [18] elliot, _ibidem._ [19] _bombay monograph on ahir._ [20] elliot, _ibidem._ [21] _central provinces gazetteer_ (1871), introduction. [22] _linguistic survey of india_, vol. ix. part ii. p. 50. [23] _bombay ethnographic survey._ [24] quoted in _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. goala. [25] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 639. [26] gokul was the place where krishna was brought up, and the gokulastha gosains are his special devotees. [27] _behind the bungalow._ [28] _eastern india_, ii. p. 467. [29] buchanan, _eastern india_, ii. pp. 924, 943. [30] this article is mainly based on a paper by mr. w. s. slaney, e.a.c., akola. [31] _berar census report_ (1881). [32] _tribes and castes_, art. arakh. [33] _cajanus indicus._ [34] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 157. [35] based on papers by mr. bijai bahadur royzada, naib-tahsildar hinganghat, and munshi kanhya lal of the gazetteer office. [36] a preparation of raisins and other fruits and rice. [37] the ordinary tola is a rupee weight or two-fifths of an ounce. [38] _jasminum zambac._ [39] _michelia champaca._ [40] _phyllanthus emblica._ [41] _report on the badhak or bagri dacoits and the measures adopted by the government of india for their suppression_, printed in 1849. [42] sleeman, p. 10. [43] sleeman, p. 10. [44] sleeman, p. 57. [45] sleeman, p. 95. [46] sleeman, p. 231. [47] sleeman, p. 217. [48] sleeman, p. 20. [49] sleeman, p. 21. [50] sleeman, p. 81. [51] sleeman, p. 82. [52] sleeman, p. 152. [53] sleeman, p. 127. this passage is from a letter written by a magistrate, mr. ramsay. [54] sleeman, p. 129. [55] sleeman, p. 112. [56] sleeman, p. 124. [57] sleeman, p. 125. [58] sleeman, p. 147. [59] sleeman, p. 104. [60] sleeman, p. 110. [61] sleeman, p. 131. [62] sleeman, p. 205. [63] sleeman, p. 106. [64] malcolm's _memoir of central india_, ii. p. 479. [65] crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. bawaria. [66] _sirsa settlement report._ [67] it would appear that the gujarat vaghris are a distinct class from the criminal section of the tribe. [68] _bombay gazetteer_, _gujarat hindus_, p. 514. [69] art. bawaria, quoting from _north indian notes and queries_, i. 51. [70] _bombay gazetteer_, _hindus of gujarat_, p. 574. [71] gunthorpe's _criminal tribes_. [72] _criminal classes in the bombay presidency_, p. 151. [73] gunthorpe's _criminal tribes_, art. badhak. [74] _c. p. police lectures_, art. badhak. [75] art. bawaria, para. 12. [76] _criminal classes in the bombay presidency_, p. 179. [77] kennedy, _loc. cit._ p. 208. [78] kennedy, _loc. cit._ p. 185. [79] this article is partly based on a paper by munshi kanhya lal of the gazetteer office. [80] sir b. robertson's _c.p. census report_ (1891), p. 203. [81] _punjab census report_ (1881), paras. 646, 647. [82] _nasik gazetteer_, pp. 84, 85. [83] crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. bahna. [84] the word achera is merely a jingle put in to make the rhyme complete. kachera is a maker of glass bangles. [85] this article is based largely on a monograph by the rev. j. lampard, missionary, baihar, and also on papers by muhammad hanif siddiqi, forest ranger, bilaspur, and mr. muhammad ali haqqani, b.a., tahsildar, dindori. some extracts have been made from colonel ward's _mandla settlement report_ (1869), and from colonel bloomfield's _notes on the baigas_. [86] in bengal the bhumia or bhumij are an important tribe. [87] colonel ward's _mandla settlement report_ (1868-69), p. 153. [88] _shorea robusta._ [89] jarrett's _ain-i-akbari_, vol. ii. p. 196. [90] colonel ward gives the bride's house as among the gonds. but inquiry in mandla shows that if this custom formerly existed it has been abandoned. [91] forsyth's _highlands of central india_, p. 377. [92] the great god. the gonds also worship bura deo, resident in a _saj_ tree. [93] opened in 1905. [94] _mandla settlement report_ (1868-69), p. 153. [95] _notes on the baigas_, p. 4. [96] mr. lampard's monograph. [97] farthings. [98] this article contains material from sir e. maclagan's _punjab census report_ (1891), and dr. j. n. bhattacharya's _hindu castes and sects_ (thacker, spink & co., calcutta). [99] _dictionary_, s.v. [100] sir e. maclagan's _punjab census report_ (1891), p. 122. [101] _memoir of mathura._ [102] _hindu castes and sects_, p. 449. [103] lit. the birth on the eighth day, as krishna was born on the 8th of dark bhadon. [104] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. vallabhacharya. [105] _hindu castes and sects_, p. 457. [106] from _laskkar_, an army. [107] this paragraph is taken from professor wilson's _account of hindu sects in the asiatic researches_. [108] this article is based on papers by mr. habib ullah, pleader, burhanpur, mr. w. bagley, subdivisional officer, and munsh kanhya lal, of the gazetteer office. [109] this legend is probably a vague reminiscence of the historical fact that a malwa army was misled by a gond guide in the nimar forests and cut up by the local muhammadan ruler. the well-known raja man of jodhpur was, it is believed, never in nimar. [110] the _ghat_ or river-bank for the disposal of corpses. [111] _madras census report_ (1891), p. 277. [112] _ibidem_ (1891), p. 226. [113] _ethnographic notes in southern india_, p. 16. [114] _madras census report_ (1891), p. 277. [115] see para. 19 below. [116] see commencement of article. [117] _c.p. census report_ (1911), occupation chapter, subsidiary table i. p. 234. [118] for examples, the subordinate articles on agarwal, oswal, maheshri, khandelwal, lad, agrahari, ajudhiabasi, and srimali may be consulted. the census lists contain numerous other territorial names. [119] _rajasthan_, i. pp. 76, 109. [120] that is marwar. but perhaps the term here is used in the wider sense of rajputana. [121] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 145. [122] _punjab census report_ (1881), p. 293. [123] _supplemental glossary_, p. 110. [124] _rasmala_, i. pp. 240, 243. [125] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 360. [126] _ibid._ ii. p. 240. [127] the parwars probably belonged originally to rajputana; see subordinate article. [128] _rajasthan_, i. p. 491. [129] _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat_, p. 80. [130] the common brass drinking-vessel. [131] sir h. h. risley's _peoples of india_, p. 127, and appendix i. p. 8. [132] _punjab census report_ (1881), p. 291. [133] _nagpur settlement report_ (1900), para. 54. [134] _nagpur settlement report_ (1900), para. 54. [135] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. agarwala. [136] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. agarwala. [137] the information on this subcaste is taken from mr. crooke's article on it in his _tribes and castes_. [138] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. audhia. [139] kennedy's _criminal classes of the bombay presidency_, art. audhia. [140] kennedy, _ibidem._ [141] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. audhia. [142] _united provinces census report_ (1901), p. 220. [143] atkinson, _himalayan gazetteer_, ii. p. 473, quoted in mr. crooke's article dhusar. [144] sherring, _hindu castes_, i. p. 293. [145] this account is based on a paper furnished by mr. jeorakhan lal, deputy inspector of schools, bilaspur. [146] kashyap was a brahman saint, but the name is perhaps derived from kachhap, a tortoise. [147] this article is mainly based on a paper by mr. pancham lal, naib-tahsildar sihora. [148] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. gahoi. [149] _tribes and castes_, art. golahre. [150] the above notice is partly based on a paper by mr. sant prasad, schoolmaster, nandgaon. [151] _tribes and castes_, art. kasaundhan. [152] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. khandelwal. [153] _hindu castes and sects_, p. 209. [154] see article bairagi for some notice of the sect. [155] see separate article on jangam. [156] _bombay gazetteer_, _hindus of gujarat_, p. 70. [157] a town near jhalor in marwar, now called bhinmal. [158] _bombay gazetteer_, _hindus of gujarat_, p. 97. [159] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 210, footnote. [160] _hindus of gujarat_, _loc. cit._, and _bombay gazetteer_, xvi. 45. [161] _tribes and castes_, art. oswal. [162] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xvii. p. 51. [163] _ibidem._ [164] bhattacharya, _hindu castes and sects_, p. 207. [165] this article is based on papers by mr. pancham lal, naib-tahsildar sihora, and munshi kanhya lal, of the gazetteer office. [166] see also notice of benaikias in article on vidur. [167] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xvii. p. 81. [168] _bombay gazetteer_, _hindus of gujarat_, p. 99. [169] _ibidem._ [170] _ibidem._ p. 98. [171] _merinda citrifolia_, see art. alia. [172] see article. [173] this article is based principally on a _monograph on the banjara clan_, by mr. n. f. cumberlege of the berar police, believed to have been first written in 1869 and reprinted in 1882; notes on the banjaras written by colonel mackenzie and printed in the _berar census report_ (1881) and the _pioneer_ newspaper (communicated by mrs. horsburgh); major gunthorpe's _criminal tribes_; papers by mr. m. e. khare, extra-assistant commissioner, chanda; mr. narayan rao, tahr., betul; mr. mukund rao, manager, pachmarhi estate; and information on the caste collected in yeotmal and nimar. [174] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. banjara, para. 1. [175] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 150. [176] _ibidem_, para. 2, quoting dowson's elliot, v. 100. [177] khan bahadur fazalullah lutfullah faridi in the _bombay gazetteer_ (_muhammadans of gujarat_, p. 86) quoting from general briggs (_transactions bombay literary society_, vol. i. 183) says that "as carriers of grain for muhammadan armies the banjaras have figured in history from the days of muhammad tughlak (a.d. 1340) to those of aurangzeb." [178] sir h. m. elliot's _supplemental glossary_. [179] _monograph on the banjara clan_, p. 8. [180] _hindus of gujarat_, p. 214 _et seq._ [181] _rajasthan_, i. 602. [182] _ibidem_, ii. 570, 573. [183] this custom does not necessarily indicate a special connection between the banjaras and charans, as it is common to several castes in rajputana; but it indicates that the banjaras came from rajputana. banjara men also frequently wear the hair long, down to the neck, which is another custom of rajputana. [184] _jungle life in india_, p. 517. [185] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 152. [186] _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat._ [187] _letter on the marathas_ (1798), p. 67, _india office tracts._ [188] _army of the indian mughals_, p. 192. [189] _monograph_, p. 14, and _berar census report_ (1881) (kitts), p. 151. [190] these are held to have been descendants of the bhika rathor referred to by colonel mackenzie above. [191] see note 3, p. 168. [192] general briggs quoted by mr. faridi in _bombay gazetteer, muhammadans of gujarat_, p. 86. [193] a. wellesley (1800), quoted in mr. crooke's edition of _hobson-jobson_, art. brinjarry. [194] cumberlege, _loc. cit._ [195] cumberlege, pp. 28, 29. [196] elliot's _races_, quoted by mr. crooke, _ibidem._ [197] cumberlege, pp. 4, 5. [198] cumberlege, _l.c._ [199] this custom is noticed in the article on khairwar. [200] cumberlege, p. 18. [201] mr. hira lal suggests that this custom may have something to do with the phrase _athara jat ke gayi_, or 'she has gone to the eighteen castes,' used of a woman who has been turned out of the community. this phrase seems, however, to be a euphemism, eighteen castes being a term of indefinite multitude for any or no caste. the number eighteen may be selected from the same unknown association which causes the goat to be cut into eighteen pieces. [202] _ethnographic notes in southern india_, p. 344, quoting from moor's _narrative of little's detachment_. [203] cumberlege, p. 35. [204] _berar census report_, 1881. [205] cumberlege, p. 21. [206] the following instance is taken from mr. balfour's article, 'migratory tribes of central india,' in _j. a. s. b._, new series, vol. xiii., quoted in mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_. [207] from the sanskrit hatya-adhya, meaning 'that which it is most sinful to slay' (balfour). [208] _monograph_, p. 12. [209] _asiatic studies_, i. p. 118 (ed. 1899). [210] cumberlege, p. 23 _et seq._ the description of witchcraft is wholly reproduced from his _monograph_. [211] his motive being the fine inflicted on the witch's family. [212] the fruit of _buchanania latifolia_. [213] _ethnographic notes in southern india_, p. 507, quoting from the rev. j. cain, _ind. ant._ viii. (1879). [214] _hindu manners, customs and ceremonies_, p. 70. [215] _monograph_, p. 19. [216] the patwas are weavers of silk thread and the nunias are masons and navvies. [217] an impure caste of weavers, ranking with the mahars. [218] _semecarpus anacardium._ [219] malcolm, _memoir of central india_, ii. p. 296. [220] cumberlege, p. 16. [221] small double shells which are still used to a slight extent as a currency in backward tracts. this would seem an impossibly cumbrous method of carrying money about nowadays, but i have been informed by a comparatively young official that in his father's time, change for a rupee could not be had in chhattisgarh outside the two principal towns. as the cowries were a form of currency they were probably held sacred, and hence sewn on to clothes as a charm, just as gold and silver are used for ornaments. [222] _jungle life in india_, p. 516. [223] brewer's _dictionary of phrase and fable_ contains the following notice of horns as an article of dress: "mr. buckingham says of a tyrian lady, 'she wore on her head a hollow silver horn rearing itself up obliquely from the forehead. it was some four inches in diameter at the root and pointed at the extremity. this peculiarity reminded me forcibly of the expression of the psalmist: "lift not up your horn on high; speak not with a stiff neck. all the horns of the wicked also will i cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted" (ps. lxxv. 5, 10).' bruce found in abyssinia the silver horns of warriors and distinguished men. in the reign of henry v. the horned headgear was introduced into england and from the effigy of beatrice, countess of arundel, at arundel church, who is represented with the horns outspread to a great extent, we may infer that the length of the head-horn, like the length of the shoe-point in the reign of henry vi., etc., marked the degree of rank. to cut off such horns would be to degrade; and to exalt and extend such horns would be to add honour and dignity to the wearer." webb (_heritage of dress_, p. 117) writes: "mr. elworthy in a paper to the british association at ipswich in 1865 considered the crown to be a development from horns of honour. he maintained that the symbols found in the head of the god serapis were the elements from which were formed the composite head-dress called the crown into which horns entered to a very great extent." this seems a doubtful speculation, but still it may be quite possible that the idea of distinguishing by a crown the leader of the tribe was originally taken from the antlers of the leader of the herd. the helmets of the vikings were also, i believe, decorated with horns. [224] _monograph_, p. 40. [225] _melia indica._ [226] author of the _nimar settlement report_. [227] _sesamum._ [228] _hindu manners, customs and ceremonies_, p. 21. [229] _report on the badhak or bagri dacoits_, p. 310. [230] colonel mackenzie's notes. [231] mr. w. f. sinclair, c.s., in _ind. ant._ iii. p. 184 (1874). [232] _notes on criminal tribes frequenting bombay, berar and the central provinces_ (bombay, 1882). [233] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 151. [234] this notice is compiled principally from a good paper by mr. m. c. chatterji, retired extra assistant commissioner, jubbulpore, and from papers by professor sada shiva jai ram, m.a., government college, jubbulpore, and mr. bhaskar baji rao deshmukh, deputy inspector of schools, nagpur. [235] sherring, _hindu tribes and castes_, i. p. 330. nesfield, _brief view_, p. 15. _n.w.p. census report_ (1891), p 317. [236] the name of a superior revenue office; under the marathas, now borne as a courtesy title by certain families. [237] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. agarwal. [238] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. barui. [239] blochmann, _ain-i-akbari_, i. p. 72, quoted in crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. tamboli. [240] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 210. [241] _ficus glomerata._ [242] _hindu castes_, i. p. 316. [243] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. bari. [244] vishnu. [245] sherring, _tribes and castes_, i. pp. 403, 404. [246] this article is compiled from papers by mr. w. n. maw, deputy commissioner, damoh, and murlidhar, munsiff of khurai in saugor. [247] _bombay gazetteer_, xvii. p. 108. [248] about 100 lbs. [249] compiled from papers by mr. ram lal, b. a., deputy inspector of schools, saugor; mr. vishnu gangadhar gadgil, tahsildar, narsinghpur; mr. devi dayal, tahsildar, hatta; mr. kanhya lal, b. a., deputy inspector of schools, betul; mr. keshava rao, headmaster, middle school, seoni; and bapu gulab singh, superintendent, land records, betul. [250] chapter x. 37, and shudra kamlakar, p. 284. [251] a vaideha was the child of a vaishya father and a brahman mother. [252] based on a paper by rao sahib dhonduji, retired inspector of police, akola, and information collected by mr. aduram chaudhri of the gazetteer office. [253] mr. marten's _c. p. census report_ (1911), p. 212. [254] this article is based on papers by mr. a. k. smith, c.s., mr. khande rao, superintendent of land records, raipur, and munshi kanhiya lal, of the gazetteer office. [255] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. beldar. [256] _the castes and tribes of southern india_, art. odde. [257] _akola district gazetteer_ (mr. c. brown), pp. 132, 133. [258] _amraoti district gazetteer_ (messrs. nelson and fitzgerald), p. 146. [259] see article on badhak. [260] kennedy, p. 247. [261] crooke, art. beria. [262] the following particulars are taken from a note by mr. k. n. date, deputy superintendent, reformatory school, jubbulpore. [263] this article is based principally on a paper by panna lal, revenue inspector, bilaspur, and also on papers by mr. syed sher ali, naib-tahsildar, mr. hira lal and mr. aduram chaudhri of the gazetteer office. [264] for the meaning of the term baiga and its application to the tribe, see also article on bhuiya. [265] it is or was, of course, a common practice for a husband to cut off his wife's nose if he suspected her of being unfaithful to him. but whether the application of the epithet to the goddess should be taken to imply anything against her moral character is not known. [266] this article is mainly compiled from a paper by pyare lal misra, ethnographic clerk. [267] _bombay gazetteer_ (campbell), xviii. p. 464. [268] the following particulars are taken from colonel portman's _report on the bhamtas of the deccan_ (bombay, 1887). [269] portman, _loc. cit._ [270] _bombay gazetteer_ (campbell), xviii. p. 465. [271] this article contains some information from a paper by mr. gopal parmanand, deputy inspector of schools, saugor. [272] _memoirs of the races of the n.w.p._ vol. i. p. 35. [273] _tribes and castes_, art. bharbhunja. [274] see article on kurmi. the remainder of this section is taken from mr. gopal parmanand's notes. [275] _ibidem._ [276] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. kandu. [277] this article is compiled from notes taken by mr. hira lal, assistant gazetteer superintendent in jubbulpore, and from a paper by ram lal sharma, schoolmaster, bilaspur. [278] _tribes and castes of the n.w.p._, art. bhar. [279] _c.p. census report_, 1881, p. 188. [280] _dhaya_ means the system of shifting cultivation, which until prohibited was so injurious to the forests. [281] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. brahman. [282] art. bhat. [283] malcolm, _central india_, ii. p. 132. [284] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 406. [285] malcolm, ii. p. 135. [286] _rajasthan_, ii. pp. 133, 134. [287] great king, the ordinary method of address to brahmans. [288] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 175. [289] _rasmala_, ii. pp. 261, 262. [290] see later in this article. [291] this present of a lakh of rupees is known as lakh pasaru, and it is not usually given in cash but in kind. it is made up of grain, land, carriages, jewellery, horses, camels and elephants, and varies in value from rs. 30,000 to rs. 70,000. a living bard, mahamahopadhyaya murar das, has received three lakh pasarus from the rajas of jodhpur and has refused one from the rana of udaipur in view of the fact that he was made _ayachaka_ by the jodhpur raja. _ayachaka_ means literally 'not a beggar,' and when a bard has once been made _ayachaka_ he cannot accept gifts from any person other than his own patron. an _ayachaka_ was formerly known as _polpat_, as it became his bounden duty to sing the praises of his patron constantly from the gate (_pol_) of the donor's fort or castle. (mr. hira lal.) [292] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 548. [293] _viserva_, lit. poison. [294] from _dhol_, a drum. [295] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 184. [296] lit. _putli_ or doll. [297] _tribes and castes_, art. bhat. [298] _ibidem._ veiling the face is a sign of modesty. [299] postans. _cutch_, p. 172. [300] vol. ii. pp. 392-394. [301] _rasmala_, ii. pp. 143, 144. [302] _bombay gazetteer_, _hindus of gujarat_, mr. bhimbhai kirparam, pp. 217, 219. [303] in broach. [304] westermarck, _origin and development of the moral ideas_, ii. p. 242. [305] westermarck, _ibidem_, p. 246. [306] westermarck, _ibidem_, p. 248. [307] the above account of _dharna_ is taken from colonel tone's _letter on the marathas_ (india office tracts). [308] this article is compiled from papers drawn up by rai bahadur panda baijnath, superintendent, bastar state; mr. ravi shankar, settlement officer, bastar; and mr. gopal krishna, assistant superintendent, bastar. [309] _bassia latifolia_. [310] the principal authorities on the bhils are: _an account of the mewar bhils_, by major p. h. hendley, _j.a.s.b._ vol. xliv., 1875, pp. 347-385; the _bombay gazetteer_, vol. ix., _hindus of gujarat_; and notices in colonel tod's _rajasthan_, mr. a. l. forbes's _rasmala_, and _the khandesh bhil corps_, by mr. a. h. a. simcox, c.s. [311] the old name of the sesodia clan, gahlot, is held to be derived from this goha. see the article rajput sesodia for a notice of the real origin of the clan. [312] _rajasthan_, i. p. 184. [313] _ibidem_, p. 186. [314] reference may be made to _the golden bough_ for the full explanation and illustration of this superstition. [315] _rajasthan_, ii. pp. 320, 321. [316] _history of the marathas_, i. p. 28. [317] see article. [318] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 466. [319] malcolm, _memoir of central india_, i. p. 518. [320] _an account of the bhils, j.a.s.b._ (1875), p. 369. [321] _hyderabad census report_ (1891), p. 218. [322] _the khandesh bhil corps_, by mr a. h. a. simcox. [323] forbes, _rasmala_, i. p. 104. [324] _memoir of central india_, i. pp. 525, 526. [325] _ibidem_, i. p. 550. [326] _hobson-jobson_, art. bhil. [327] _an account of the bhils_, p. 369. [328] _the khandesh bhil corps_, p. 71. [329] _ibidem_, p. 275. [330] _eugenia jambolana._ [331] _soymida febrifuga._ [332] _phyllanthus emblica._ [333] _terminalia belerica._ [334] _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat_, p. 309. [335] see article kunbi. [336] _sorghum vulgare._ [337] _loc. cit._ p. 347. [338] _western india._ [339] _asiatic studies_, 1st series, p. 174. [340] _asiatic studies_, 1st series, p. 352. [341] _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat_, p. 302. [342] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xii. p. 87. [343] _an account of the bhils_, pp. 362, 363. [344] _account of the mewar bhils_, pp. 357, 358. [345] forbes, _rasmala_, i. p. 113. [346] _nimar settlement report_, pp. 246, 247. [347] sir g. grierson, _linguistic survey of india_, vol. ix. part iii. pp. 6-9. [348] this article is based mainly on captain forsyth's _nimar settlement report_, and a paper by mr. t. t. korke, pleader, khandwa. [349] _eugenia jambolana._ [350] _bauhinia racemosa._ [351] _settlement report_ (1869), para. 411. [352] mr. montgomerie's _nimar settlement report_. [353] _memoir of central india_, ii. p. 156. [354] crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. bhishti. [355] elliott's _memoirs of the north-western provinces_, i. p. 191. [356] crooke's _tribes and castes_, ii. p. 100. [357] rudyard kipling, _barrack-room ballads_, 'gunga din.' [358] thacker and co., london. [359] this article is mainly compiled from papers by mr. pandurang lakshman bakre, pleader, betul, and munshi pyare lal, ethnographic clerk. [360] this article is compiled partly from colonel dalton's _ethnology of bengal_ and sir h. risley's _tribes and castes of bengal_; a monograph has also been furnished by mr. b. c. mazumdar, pleader, sambalpur, and papers by mr. a. b. napier, deputy commissioner, raipur, and mr. hira lal. [361] _ethnology of bengal_, p. 140. [362] _linguistic survey_, vol. xiv. _munda and dravidian languages_, p. 217. [363] page 142. [364] _ibidem_, p. 141. [365] in the article on binjhwar, it was supposed that the baigas migrated east from the satpura hills into chhattisgarh. but the evidence adduced above appears to show that this view is incorrect. [366] _tribes and castes_, art. binjhia. [367] crooke, _tribes and castes_, art. bhuiya, para. 4. [368] _ibidem_, para. 3. [369] _ibidem_, art. bhuiyar, para. 1. [370] _ibidem_, para. 16. [371] dalton, p. 147. [372] page 142. [373] the question of the relation of the baiga tribe to mr. crooke's bhuiyars was first raised by mr. e. a. h. blunt, census superintendent, united provinces. [374] mr. mazumdar's monograph. [375] from mr. mazumdar's monograph. [376] this article is compiled from a paper taken by mr. hira lal at sonpur. [377] this article is based on papers by mr. hira lal, mr. gokul prasad, tahsildar, dhamtari, mr. pyare lal misra of the gazetteer office, and munshi ganpati giri, superintendent, bindranawagarh estate. [378] from the _index of languages and dialects_, furnished by sir g. grierson for the census. [379] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. binjhia. [380] _early history of mankind_, p. 341. [381] this article is based on a paper by mr. mian bhai abdul hussain, extra assistant commissioner, sambalpur. [382] _bassia latifolia_. [383] this article is compiled from mr. wilson's account of the bishnois as reproduced in mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, and from notes taken by mr. aduram chaudhri in the hoshangabad district. [384] the total number of precepts as given above is only twenty-five, but can be raised to twenty-nine by counting the prohibition of opium, tobacco, _bhang_, blue clothing, spirits and flesh separately. [385] jhuria may be jharia, jungly; sain is a term applied to beggars; the ahir or herdsman sept may be descended from a man of this caste who became a bishnoi. [386] the day when the sun passes from one zodiacal sign into another. [387] the new moon day or the day before. [388] this article is largely based on mr. f. l. faridi's full description of the sect in the _bombay gazetteer, muhammadans of gujarat_, and on a paper by mr. habib ullah, pleader, burhanpur. [389] _bombay gazetteer, muhammadans of gujarat_, p. 30. sir h. t. colebrooke and mr. conolly thought that the bohras were true shias and not ismailias. [390] _ibidem_, pp. 30-32. [391] _j.a.s.b._ vol. vi. (1837), part ii. p. 847. [392] _berar census report_ (1818), p. 70. [393] _castes and tribes of southern india_, art. bohra. [394] crooke's edition of _hobson-jobson_, art. bohra. [395] moor's _hindu infanticide_, p. 168. [396] _memoir of central india_, ii. p. 111. [397] this article is mainly compiled from a full and excellent account of the caste by mr. gopal datta joshi, civil judge, saugor, c.p., to whom the writer is much indebted. extracts have also been taken from mr. w. crooke's and sir h. risley's articles on the caste in their works on the _tribes and castes_ of the united provinces and bengal respectively; from mr. j. n. bhattacharya's _hindu castes and sects_ (thacker, spink & co., calcutta, 1896), and from the rev. w. ward's _view of the history, literature and religion of the hindus_ (london, 1817). [398] crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. brahman, quoting professor eggeling in _encyclopædia britannica_, s.v. brahmanism. [399] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. brahman. [400] _hindu manners, customs, and ceremonies_, 3rd ed. p. 172. [401] muir, _ancient sanskrit texts_, i. 282 _sq._ [402] quoted in mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. brahman. [403] quoted by mr. crooke. [404] _tribes and castes of the punjab_, by mr. h. a. rose, vol. ii. p. 123. [405] see also article rajput-gaur. [406] see subordinate articles. [407] a section of the kanaujia. see above. [408] _tribes and castes_, art. brahman. [409] chap. ix. v. 173. [410] ward's _hindus_, vol. ii. p. 97. [411] _ibidem_, pp. 98, 100. [412] _hindu manners, customs and ceremonies_, by the abbé dubois, 3rd ed. p. 499. [413] _ibidem_, p. 500. [414] london, heinemann (1897), pp. 84-91. [415] this is the famous gayatri. [416] it is not known how a slip-knot and a garland are connected with any incarnation of vishnu. for the incarnations see articles vaishnava sect. [417] in the central provinces ganpati is represented by a round red stone, surya by a rock crystal or the swastik sign, devi by an image in brass or by a stone brought from her famous temple at mahur, and vishnu by the round black stone or saligram. besides these every brahman will have a special family god, who may be one of the above or another deity, as rama or krishna. [418] _bipracharanamrita._ [419] _hindu castes and sects_, pp. 19-21. [420] _rajasthan_, i. p. 487. [421] _rajasthan_, i. p. 698. [422] at that time £12,500 or more, now about £8000. [423] _tribes and castes of the north-west provinces and oudh_, s.v. [424] _early history of india_, 3rd ed. p. 376. [425] _ibidem_, p. 385. [426] _tribes and castes_, art. kanaujia. [427] _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat_, p. 11. [428] _bombay gazetteer, satara_, p. 54. [429] bhattacharya, _hindu castes and sects_, p. 47. [430] _ibidem_, p. 48. [431] from mr. gopal datta joshi's paper. [432] _rasmala_, ii. p. 233. [433] _rasmala_, ii. p. 259. [434] _tribes and castes_, art. sanadhya. [435] crooke, _ibidem_, paras. 3 and 6. [436] _eastern india_, ii. 472, quoted in mr. crooke's art. sarwaria. [437] stirling's description of orissa in _as. res_. vol. xv. p. 199, quoted in _hindu castes and sects_. [438] _hindu castes and sects_, p. 63. [439] this article is compiled from papers by mr. wali muhammad, tahsildar of khurai, and kanhya lal, clerk in the gazetteer office. [440] this article is based on the rev. e. m. gordon's _indian folk-tales_ (london, elliott & stock, 1908), and the central provinces _monograph on the leather industry_, by mr. c. g. chenevix trench, c.s.; with extracts from sir h. h. risley's and mr. crooke's descriptions of the caste, and from the _berar census report_ (1881); on information collected for the district gazetteers; and papers by messrs. durga prasad pande, tahsildar, raipur; ram lal, deputy inspector of schools, saugor; govind vithal kane, naib-tahsildar, wardha; balkrishna ramchandra bakhle, tahsildar, mandla; sitaram, schoolmaster, balaghat; and kanhya lal of the gazetteer office. some of the material found in mr. gordon's book was obtained independently by the writer in bilaspur before its publication and is therefore not specially acknowledged. [441] there are other genealogies showing the chamar as the offspring of various mixed unions. [442] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xv. kanara, p. 355. [443] the hindus say that there are five classes of women, padmini, hastini, chitrani and shunkhini being the first four, and of these padmini is the most perfect. no details of the other classes are given. _rasmala_, i. p. 160. [444] _punjab census report_ (1881), p. 320. [445] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. chamar. [446] _loc. cit._ [447] from mr. gordon's paper. [448] _monograph on leather industries_, p. 9. [449] _ibidem._ [450] see articles on these castes. [451] _monograph on leather industries_, p. 3. [452] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 149. [453] from _mangna_, to beg. [454] _tribes and castes_, art. chamar. [455] _indian folk-tales._ [456] _indian folk-tales_, pp. 49, 50. [457] shells which were formerly used as money. [458] _indian folk-tales_, pp. 49, 50. [459] _monograph_, p. 3. [460] _monograph on leather industries_, p. 5. [461] _zizyphus xylopera._ [462] _butea frondosa._ [463] _anogeissus latifolia._ [464] the above is an abridgment of the description in mr. trench's _monograph_, to which reference may be made for further details. [465] _monograph on the leather industries_, pp. 10, 11. [466] _melia indica._ [467] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 149. [468] _rasmala_, i. 395, quoting from the _ain-i-akbari_. [469] from papers by mr. parmeshwar misra, settlement superintendent, rairakhol, and mr. rasanand, sireshtedar, bamra. [470] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. chasa. [471] this article is based principally on notes taken by mr. hira lal at bhatgaon. [472] _bombay gazetteer_, _hindus of gujarat_, p. 178. [473] a corruption for viswakarma, the divine artificer and architect. [474] the story, however, really belongs to northern india. usha is the goddess of dawn. [475] krishna's mother. [476] little white flowers like jasmine. this simile would be unlikely to occur to the ordinary observer who sees a hindu child crying. [477] _tori balayan leun._ for explanation see above. [478] commencement of the agricultural year. [479] this article is partly based on a paper by mr. bijai bahadur, naib-tahsildar, balaghat. [480] _bombay ethnographic survey_, draft article on chitrakathi. [481] may-june. the akhatij is the beginning of the agricultural year. [482] _berar census report_ (1881), paragraph 206. the passage is slightly altered and abridged in reproduction. [483] vol. ix. part. ii. _muhammadans of gujarat_, p. 57. [484] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 292. [485] _bombay gazetteer, l.c._ [486] in recording this point mr. faridi gives the following note: "in 1847 a case occurred which shows how firmly the memans cling to their original tribal customs. the widow of haji nur muhammad of the lakariya family demanded a share of her deceased husband's property according to muhammadan law. the _jama-at_ or community decided that a widow had no claim to share her husband's estates under the hindu law. before the high court, in spite of the ridicule of other sunnis, the elders of the cutchi memans declared that their caste rules denied the widow's claim. the matter caused and is still (1896) causing agitation, as the doctors of the sunni law at mecca have decided that as the law of inheritance is laid down by the holy koran, a wilful departure from it is little short of apostasy. the memans are contemplating a change, but so far they have not found themselves able to depart from their tribal practices." [487] this article is based on papers by mr. vithal rao, naib-tahsildar, bilaspur, and messrs. kanhya lal and pyare lal misra of the gazetteer office. [488] crooke, _tribes and castes_, art. kol. [489] _aegle marmelos._ [490] _butea frondosa._ [491] _nag_, a cobra. [492] kept woman, a term applied to a widow. [493] moor's _hindu infanticide_, p. 133. [494] james forbes, _oriental memoirs_, i. p. 313. [495] rajendra lal mitra, _indo-aryans_, i. p. 263. [496] _journal of indian art and industry_, xvi., april 1912, p. 3. [497] dr. jevons, _introduction to the history of religion_, p. 60. [498] _private life of an eastern king_, p. 294. [499] _hobson-jobson, s.v._ 'roundel.' [500] old english manuscript quoted by sir r. temple in _ind. ant._ (december 1904), p. 316. [501] _hobson-jobson, s.v._ 'kittysol.' [502] _hobson-jobson, s.v._ 'roundel.' [503] _hobson-jobson, ibidem._ [504] w. w. skeat, _the past at our doors_. [505] skeat, _ibidem_, p. 95. [506] this article is compiled from papers by mr. bahmanji muncherji, extra assistant commissioner; mr. jeorakhan lal, deputy inspector of schools, and pandit pyare lal misra, ethnographic clerk. the historical notice is mainly supplied by mr. hira lal. [507] tod's _rajasthan_, i. p. 128. [508] this article is based on notes taken by pandit pyare lal misra in wardha, and mr. hira lal in bhandara. [509] _proper names of the punjabis_, p. 74. [510] _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 645. [511] crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. darzi. [512] buchanan's _eastern india_, martin's edition, ii. pp. 417, 699. [513] _ibidem_, p. 977. [514] vol. i. pp. 178-184. [515] webb's _heritage of dress_, p. 33. [516] _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat_, p. 180, quoting from ovington, _voyage to surat_, p. 280. [517] _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat_, p. 180. [518] _bombay gazetteer, nasik_, p. 50. [519] according to another account namdeo belonged to marwar. mr. maclagan's _punjab census report_ (1891), p. 144. [520] _berar census report_ (1881), para. 231. [521] this article is partly based on a note by mr. gokul prasad, tahsildar, dhamtari. [522] this article is based entirely on a paper by rai bahadur panda baijnath, superintendent, bastar state. [523] compiled mainly from a paper by kanhya lal, clerk in the gazetteer office. [524] cf. the two meanings of the word 'stock' in english. [525] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. dhanuk. [526] _eastern india_, i. 166, as quoted in crooke's _tribes and castes_. [527] cf. the two perfectly distinct groups of paiks or foot-soldiers found in jubbulpore and the uriya country. [528] _tribes and castes of the n. w. p. and oudh_, art. basor. [529] the following particulars are from a paper by kanhya lal, a clerk in the gazetteer office belonging to the educational department. [530] this article is based almost entirely on a monograph by mr. jeorakhan lal, deputy inspector of schools, bilaspur. [531] _grewia vestita._ [532] the term brother's brother-in-law is abusive in the same sense as brother-in-law (_sala_) said by a man. [533] see commencement of this article. [534] _cynodon dactylon._ [535] _shorea robusta._ [536] this article is based partly on papers by mr. govind moreshwar, head clerk, mandla, and mr. pancham lal, naib-tahsildar, sihora. much of the interesting information about the occupations of the caste was given to the writer by babu kali prasanna mukerji, pleader, saugor. [537] as a rule a husband and wife never address each other by name. [538] among hindus it is customary to give a little more than the proper sum on ceremonial occasions in order to show that there is no stint. thus rs. 1-4 is paid instead of a rupee. [539] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 133. [540] _ibidem_, _l.c._ [541] _ibidem_, _l.c._ [542] _anthocephalus kadamba._ [543] from _ghat_, a steep hillside or slope; hence a river-crossing because of the banks sloping down to it. [544] _trapa bispinosa._ [545] _jungle life in india_, p. 137. [546] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 132. [547] the following notice of caste offences is from mr. govind moreshwar's paper. [548] not probably on account of the commission of a crime, but because being sentenced to imprisonment involves the eating of ceremonially impure food. these rules are common to most hindu castes, and the dhimars are taken only as a typical example. they seem to have little or no connection with ordinary morality. but in jhansi mr. crooke remarks that a kahar is put out of caste for theft in his master's house. this again, however, might be considered as an offence against the community, tending to lower their corporate character in their business, and as such deserving of social punishment. [549] this article is partly based on an account of the caste furnished by mr. h. f. e. bell and drawn up by mr. f. r. r. rudman in the _mandla district gazetteer_. [550] _folklore of northern india_, vol. ii. p. 8. [551] sherring's _hindu castes_, i. 342-3. [552] _tribes and castes_, art. dhobi. [553] _annals and antiquities of rajasthan._ [554] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 155. [555] _central provinces census report_ (1891), p. 202. [556] _loc. cit._ [557] _bihar peasant life, s.v._ dhobi. [558] _ethnographic notes in southern india_, p. 226. [559] _behind the bungalow._ [560] this article is mainly compiled from papers by mr. gokul prasad, naib-tahsildar, dhamtari, and pyare lal misra, a clerk in the gazetteer office. [561] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. kandu. [562] this article is taken almost entirely from a paper drawn up by mr. hira lal, extra assistant commissioner. [563] this article is mainly compiled from sir e. d. maclagan's _punjab census report_ (1891), pp. 192-196, the article on fakir in the rev. t. p. hughes' _dictionary of islam_, and the volume on _muhammadans of gujarat_ in the _bombay gazetteer_, pp. 20-24. [564] hughes, p. 116. [565] _punjab census report_ (1891), p. 196. [566] hughes' _dictionary of islam_, art. fakir. gutenberg. the tribes and castes of the central provinces of india by r.v. russell of the indian civil service superintendent of ethnography, central provinces assisted by rai bahadur hira lal extra assistant commissioner published under the orders of the central provinces administration in four volumes vol. iii. macmillan and co., limited st. martin's street, london. 1916 contents of volume iii articles on castes and tribes of the central provinces in alphabetical order the articles which are considered to be of most general interest are shown in capitals page gadaria (shepherd) 3 gadba (forest tribe) 9 ganda (weaver and labourer) 14 gandhmali (uriya village priests and temple servants) 17 garpagari (averter of hailstorms) 19 gauria (snake-charmer and juggler) 24 ghasia (grass-cutter) 27 ghosi (buffalo-herdsman) 32 golar (herdsman) 35 gond (forest tribe and cultivator) 39 gond-gowari (herdsman) 143 gondhali (religious mendicant) 144 gopal (vagrant criminal caste) 147 gosain (religious mendicant) 150 gowari (herdsman) 160 gujar (cultivator) 166 gurao (village priest) 175 halba (forest tribe, labourer) 182 halwai (confectioner) 201 hatkar (soldier, shepherd) 204 hijra (eunuch, mendicant) 206 holia (labourer, curing hides) 212 injhwar (boatman and fisherman) 213 jadam (cultivator) 217 jadua (criminal caste) 219 jangam (priest of the lingayat sect) 222 jat (landowner and cultivator) 225 jhadi telenga (illegitimate, labourer) 238 jogi (religious mendicant and pedlar) 243 joshi (astrologer and village priest) 255 julaha (weaver) 279 kachera (maker of glass bangles) 281 kachhi (vegetable-grower) 285 kadera (firework-maker) 288 kahar (palanquin-bearer and household servant) 291 kaikari (basket-maker and vagrant) 296 kalanga (soldier, cultivator) 302 kalar (liquor vendor) 306 kamar (forest tribe) 323 kanjar (gipsies and prostitutes) 331 kapewar (cultivator) 342 karan (writer and clerk) 343 kasai (butcher) 346 kasar (worker in brass) 369 kasbi (prostitute) 373 katia (cotton-spinner) 384 kawar (forest tribe and cultivator) 389 kayasth (village accountant, writer and clerk) 404 kewat (boatman and fisherman) 422 khairwar (forest tribe; boilers of catechu) 427 khandait (soldier, cultivator) 436 khangar (village watchman and labourer) 439 kharia (forest tribe, labourer) 445 khatik (mutton-butcher) 453 khatri (merchant) 456 khojah (trader and shopkeeper) 461 khond (forest tribe, cultivator) 464 kir (cultivator) 481 kirar (cultivator) 485 kohli (cultivator) 493 kol (forest tribe, labourer) 500 kolam (forest tribe, cultivator) 520 kolhati (acrobat) 527 koli (forest tribe, cultivator) 532 kolta (landowner and cultivator) 537 komti (merchant and shopkeeper) 542 kori (weaver and labourer) 545 korku (forest tribe, labourer) 550 korwa (forest tribe, cultivator) 571 koshti (weaver) 581 illustrations in volume iii page 65. gond women grinding corn 42 66. palace of the gond kings of garha-mandla at ramnagar 46 67. gonds on a journey 62 68. killing of rawan, the demon king of ceylon, from whom the gonds are supposed to be descended 114 69. woman about to be swung round the post called meghnath 116 70. climbing the pole for a bag of sugar 118 71. gonds with their bamboo carts at market 122 72. gond women, showing tattooing on backs of legs 126 73. maria gonds in dancing costume 136 74. gondhali musicians and dancers 144 75. gosain mendicant 150 76. alakhwale gosains with faces covered with ashes 152 77. gosain mendicants with long hair 154 78. famous gosain mahant. photograph taken after death 156 79. gujar village proprietress and her land agent 168 80. guraos with figures made at the holi festival called gangour 176 81. group of gurao musicians with their instruments 180 82. ploughing with cows and buffaloes in chhattisgarh 182 83. halwai or confectioner's shop 202 84. jogi mendicants of the kanphata sect 244 85. jogi musicians with sarangi or fiddle 250 86. kaikaris making baskets 298 87. kanjars making ropes 332 88. a group of kasars or brass-workers 370 89. dancing girls and musicians 374 90. girl in full dress and ornaments 378 91. old type of sugarcane mill 494 92. group of kol women 512 93. group of kolams 520 94. korkus of the melghat hills 550 95. korku women in full dress 556 96. koshti men dancing a figure, holding strings and beating sticks 582 pronunciation a has the sound of u in but or murmur. a has the sound of a in bath or tar. e has the sound of é in écarté or ai in maid. i has the sound of i in bit, or (as a final letter) of y in sulky. i has the sound of ee in beet. o has the sound of o in bore or bowl. u has the sound of u in put or bull. u has the sound of oo in poor or boot the plural of caste names and a few common hindustani words is formed by adding s in the english manner according to ordinary usage, though this is not, of course, the hindustani plural. note.--the rupee contains 16 annas, and an anna is of the same value as a penny. a pice is a quarter of an anna, or a farthing. rs. 1-8 signifies one rupee and eight annas. a lakh is a hundred thousand, and a krore ten million. part iii articles on castes and tribes garardia--koshti gadaria list of paragraphs 1. general notice. 2. subdivisions. 3. marriage customs. 4. religion and funeral rites. 5. social customs. 6. goats and sheep. 7. blanket-weaving. 8. sanctity of wool. 1. general notice. gadaria, gadri. [1]--the occupational shepherd caste of northern india. the name is derived from the hindi gadar and the sanskrit gandhara, a sheep, the sanskrit name being taken from the country of gandhara or kandahar, from which sheep were first brought. the three main shepherd castes all have functional names, that of the dhangars or maratha shepherds being derived from dhan, small stock, while the kuramwars or telugu shepherds take their name like the gadarias from kuruba, a sheep. these three castes are of similar nature and status, and differ only in language and local customs. in 1911 the gadarias numbered 41,000 persons. they are found in the northern districts, and appear to have been amongst the earliest settlers in the nerbudda valley, for they have given their name to several villages, as gadariakheda and gadarwara. 2. subdivisions. the gadarias are a very mixed caste. they themselves say that their first ancestor was created by mahadeo to tend his rams, and that he married three women who were fascinated by the sight of him shearing the sheep. these belonged to the brahman, dhimar and barai castes respectively, and became the ancestors of the nikhar, dhengar and barmaiyan subcastes of gadarias. the nikhar subcaste are the highest, their name meaning pure. dhengar is probably, in reality, a corruption of dhangar, the name of the maratha shepherd caste. they have other subdivisions of the common territorial type, as jheria or jungly, applied to the gadarias of chhattisgarh; desha from desh, country, meaning those who came from northern india; purvaiya or eastern, applied to immigrants from oudh; and malvi or those belonging to malwa. nikhar and dhengar men take food together, but not the women; and if a marriage cannot be otherwise arranged these subcastes will sometimes give daughters to each other. a girl thus married is no longer permitted to take food at her father's house, but she may eat with the women of her husband's subcaste. many of their exogamous groups are named after animals or plants, as hiranwar, from hiran, a deer; sapha from the cobra, moria from the peacock, nahar from the tiger, phulsungha, a flower, and so on. others are the names of rajput septs and of other castes, as ahirwar (ahir) and bamhania (brahman). another more ambitious legend derives their origin from the bania caste. they say that once a bania was walking along the road with a cocoanut in his hand when vishnu met him and asked him what it was. the bania answered that it was a cocoanut. vishnu said that it was not a cocoanut but wool, and told him to break it, and on breaking the cocoanut the bania found that it was filled with wool. the bania asked what he should do with it, and vishnu told him to make a blanket out of it for the god to sit on. so he made a blanket, and vishnu said that from that day he should be the ancestor of the gadaria caste, and earn his bread by making blankets from the wool of sheep. the bania asked where he should get the sheep from, and the god told him to go home saying 'ehan, ehan, ehan,' all the way, and when he got home he would find a flock of sheep following him; but he was not to look behind him all the way. and the bania did so, but when he had almost got home he could not help looking behind him to see if there were really any sheep. and he saw a long line of sheep following him in single file, and at the very end was a ram with golden horns just rising out of the ground. but as he looked it sank back again into the ground, and he went back to vishnu and begged for it, but vishnu said that as he had looked behind him he had lost it. and this was the origin of the gadaria caste, and the gadarias always say 'ehan, ehan,' as they lead their flocks of sheep and goats to pasture. 3. marriage customs. marriage within the clan is forbidden and also the union of first cousins. girls may be married at any age, and are sometimes united to husbands much younger than themselves. four castemen of standing carry the proposal of marriage from the boy's father, and the girl's father, being forewarned, sends others to meet them. one of the ambassadors opens the conversation by saying, 'we have the milk and you have the milk-pail; let them be joined.' to which the girl's party, if the match be agreeable, will reply, "yes, we have the tamarind and you have the mango; if the panches agree let there be a marriage." the boy's father gives the girl's father five areca-nuts, and the latter returns them and they clasp each other round the neck. when the wedding procession reaches the bride's village it is met by their party, and one of them takes the sarota or iron nut-cutter, which the bridegroom holds in his hand, and twirls it about in the air several times. the ceremony is performed by walking round the sacred pole, and the party return to the bridegroom's lodging, where his brother-in-law fills the bride's lap with sweetmeats and water-nut as an omen of fertility. the maihar or small wedding-cakes of wheat fried in sesamum oil are distributed to all members of the caste present at the wedding. while the bridegroom's party is absent at the bride's house, the women who remain behind enjoy amusements of their own. one of them strips herself naked, tying up her hair like a religious mendicant, and is known as baba or holy father. in this state she romps with her companions in turn, while the others laugh and applaud. occasionally some man hides himself in a place where he can be a witness of their play, but if they discover him he is beaten severely with belnas or wooden bread-rollers. widow-marriage and divorce are permitted, the widow being usually expected to marry her late husband's younger brother, whether he already has a wife or not. sexual offences are not severely reprobated, and may be atoned for by a feast to the caste-fellows. 4. religion and funeral rites. the gadarias worship the ordinary hindu deities and also dishai devi, the goddess of the sheep-pen. no gadaria may go into the sheep-pen with his shoes on. on entering it in the morning they make obeisance to the sheep, and these customs seem to indicate that the goddess dishai devi [2] is the deified sheep. when the sheep are shorn and the fleeces are lying on the ground they take some milk from one of the ewes and mix rice with it and sprinkle it over the wool. this rite is called jimai, and they say that it is feeding the wool, but it appears to be really a sacrificial offering to the material. the caste burn the dead when they can afford to do so, and take the bones to the ganges or nerbudda, or if this is not practicable, throw them into the nearest stream. 5. social customs. well-to-do members of the caste employ brahmans for ceremonial purposes, but others dispense with their services. the gadarias eat flesh and drink liquor, but abstain from fowls and pork. they will take food cooked with water from a lodhi or a dangi, members of these castes having formerly been their feudal chieftains in the vindhyan districts and nerbudda valley. brahmans and members of the good cultivating castes would be permitted to become gadarias if they should so desire. the head of the caste committee has the title of mahton and the office is hereditary, the holder being invariably consulted on caste questions even if he should be a mere boy. the gadarias rank with those castes from whom a brahman cannot take water, but above the servile and labouring castes. they are usually somewhat stupid, lazy and good-tempered, and are quite uneducated. owing to their work in cleaning the pens and moving about among the sheep, the women often carry traces of the peculiar smell of these animals. this is exemplified in the saying, 'ek to gadaria, dusre lahsan khae,' or 'firstly she is a gadaria and then she has eaten garlic'; the inference being that she is far indeed from having the scent of the rose. 6. goats and sheep. the regular occupations of the gadarias are the breeding and grazing of sheep and goats, and the weaving of country blankets from sheep's wool. the flocks are usually tended by the children, while the men and women spin and weave the wool and make blankets. goats are bred in larger numbers than sheep in the central provinces, being more commonly used for food and sacrifices, while they are also valuable for their manure. any hindu who thinks an animal sacrifice requisite, and objects to a fowl as unclean, will choose a goat; and the animal after being sacrificed provides a feast for the worshippers, his head being the perquisite of the officiating priest. muhammadans and most castes of hindus will eat goat's meat when they can afford it. the milk is not popular and there is very little demand for it locally, but it is often sold to the confectioners, and occasionally made into butter and exported. sheep's flesh is also eaten, but is not so highly esteemed. in the case of both sheep and goats there is a feeling against consuming the flesh of ewes. sheep are generally black in colour and only occasionally white. goats are black, white, speckled or reddish-white. both animals are much smaller than in europe. both sheep and goats are in brisk demand in the cotton tracts for their manure in the hot-weather months, and will be kept continually on the move from field to field for a month at a time. it is usual to hire flocks at the rate of one rupee a hundred head for one night; but sometimes the cultivators combine to buy a large flock, and after penning them on their fields in the hot weather, send them to nagpur in the beginning of the rains to be disposed of. the gadaria was formerly the bête noir of the cultivator, on account of the risk incurred by the crops from the depredations of his sheep and goats. this is exemplified in the saying: ahir, gadaria, pasi, yeh tinon satyanasi, or, 'the ahir (herdsman), the gadaria and the pasi, these three are the husbandmen's foes.' and again: ahir, gadaria, gujar, yeh tinon chahen ujar, or 'the ahir, the gadaria and the gujar want waste land,' that is for grazing their flocks. but since the demand for manure has arisen, the gadaria has become a popular personage in the village. the shepherds whistle to their flocks to guide them, and hang bells round the necks of goats but not of sheep. some of them, especially in forest tracts, train ordinary pariah dogs to act as sheep-dogs. as a rule, rams and he-goats are not gelt, but those who have large flocks sometimes resort to this practice and afterwards fatten the animals up for sale. they divide their sheep into five classes, as follows, according to the length of the ears: kanari, with ears a hand's length long; semri, somewhat shorter; burhai, ears a forefinger's length; churia, ears as long as the little finger; and neori, with ears as long only as the top joint of the forefinger. goats are divided into two classes, those with ears a hand's length long being called bangalia or bagra, while those with small ears a forefinger's length are known as gujra. 7. blanket-weaving. while ordinary cultivators have now taken to keeping goats, sheep are still as a rule left to the gadarias. these are of course valued principally for their wool, from which the ordinary country blanket is made. the sheep [3] are shorn two or sometimes three times a year, in february, june and september, the best wool being obtained in february from the cold weather coat. members of the caste commonly shear for each other without payment. the wool is carded with a kamtha, or simple bow with a catgut string, and spun by the women of the household. blankets are woven by men on a loom like that used for cotton cloth. the fabric is coarse and rough, but strong and durable, and the colour is usually a dark dirty grey, approaching black, being the same as that of the raw material. every cultivator has one of these, and the various uses to which it may be put are admirably described by 'eha' as follows: [4] "the kammal is a home-spun blanket of the wool of black sheep, thick, strong, as rough as a farrier's rasp, and of a colour which cannot get dirty. when the kunbi (cultivator) comes out of his hole in the morning it is wrapped round his shoulders and reaches to his knees, guarding him from his great enemy, the cold, for the thermometer is down to 60° fahrenheit. by-and-by he has a load to carry, so he folds his kammal into a thick pad and puts it on the top of his head. anon he feels tired, so he lays down his load, and arranging his kammal as a cushion, sits with comfort on a rugged rock or a stony bank, and has a smoke. or else he rolls himself in it from head to foot, like a mummy, and enjoys a sound sleep on the roadside. it begins to rain, he folds his kammal into an ingenious cowl and is safe. many more are its uses. i cannot number them all. whatever he may be called upon to carry, be it forest produce, or grain or household goods, or his infant child, he will make a bundle of it with his kammal and poise it on his head, or sling it across his back, and trudge away." 8. sanctity of wool. wool is a material of some sanctity among the hindus. it is ceremonially pure, and woollen clothing can be worn by brahmans while eating or performing sacred functions. in many castes the bridegroom at a wedding has a string of wool with a charm tied round his waist. religious mendicants wear jatas or wigs of sheep's wool, and often carry woollen charms. the beads used for counting prayers are often of wool. the reason for wool being thus held sacred may be that it was an older kind of clothing used before cotton was introduced, and thus acquired sanctity by being worn at sacrifices. perhaps the aryans wore woollen clothing when they entered india. gadba 1. description and structure of the tribe. gadba, gadaba. [5]--a primitive tribe classified as mundari or kolarian on linguistic grounds. the word gadba, surgeon-major mitchell states, signifies a person who carries loads on his shoulders. the tribe call themselves guthau. they belong to the vizagapatam district of madras, and in the central provinces are found only in the bastar state, into which they have immigrated to the number of some 700 persons. they speak a mundari dialect, called gadba, after their tribal name, and are one of the two mundari tribes found so far south as vizagapatam, the other being the savars. [6] their tribal organisation is not very strict, and a bhatra, a parja, a muria, or a member of any superior caste may become a gadba at an expenditure of two or three rupees. the ceremony consists of shaving the body of the novice, irrespective of sex, clean of hair, after which he or she is given to eat rice cooked in the water of the ganges. this is followed by a feast to the tribe in which a pig must be killed. the gadbas have totemistic exogamous septs, usually named after animals, as gutal dog, angwan bear, dungra tortoise, surangai tiger, gumal snake, and so on. members of each sept abstain from killing or injuring the animal or plant after which it is named, but they have no scruple in procuring others to do this. thus if a snake enters the hut of a person belonging to the gumal sept, he will call a neighbour of another sept to kill it. he may not touch its carcase with his bare hand, but if he holds it through a piece of rag no sin is incurred. 2. marriage. marriage is adult, but the rule existing in madras that a girl is not permitted to marry until she can weave her own cloth does not obtain in the central provinces. [7] as a rule the parents of the couple arrange the match, but the wishes of the girl are sometimes consulted and various irregular methods of union are recognised. thus a man is permitted with the help of his friends to go and carry off a girl and keep her as his wife, more especially if she is a relation on the maternal side more distant than a first cousin. another form is the paisa mundi, by which a married or unmarried woman may enter the house of a man of her caste other than her husband and become his wife; and the upaliya, when a married woman elopes with a lover. the marriage ceremony is simple. the bridegroom's party go to the girl's house, leaving the parents behind, and before they reach it are met and stopped by a bevy of young girls and men in their best clothes from the bride's village. a girl comes forward and demands a ring, which one of the men of the wedding party places on her finger, and they then proceed to the bride's house, where the bridegroom's presents, consisting of victuals, liquor, a cloth, and two rupees, are opened and carefully examined. if any deficiency is found, it must at once be made good. the pair eat a little food together, coloured rice is applied to their foreheads, and on the second day a new grass shed is erected, in which some rice is cooked by an unmarried girl. the bride and bridegroom are shut up in this, and two pots of water are poured over them from the roof, the marriage being then consummated. if the girl is not adult this ceremony is omitted. widow-marriage is permitted by what is called the tika form, by which a few grains of rice coloured with turmeric are placed on the foreheads of the pair and they are considered as man and wife. there is no regular divorce, but if a married woman misbehaves with a man of the caste, the husband goes to him with a few friends and asks whether the story is true, and if the accusation is admitted demands a pig and liquor for himself and his friends as compensation. if these are given he does not turn his wife out of his house. a liaison of a gadba woman with a man of a superior caste is also said to involve no penalty, but if her paramour is a low-caste man she is excommunicated for ever. in spite of these lax rules, however, major mitchell states that the women are usually very devoted to their husbands. mr. thurston [8] notes that among the bonda gadabas a young man and a maid retire to the jungle and light a fire. then the maid, taking a burning stick, places it on the man's skin. if he cries out he is unworthy of her, and she remains a maid. if he does not, the marriage is at once consummated. the application of the brand is probably light or severe according to the girl's feelings towards the young man. 3. religious beliefs and festivals. the gadbas worship burhi mata or thakurani mata, who is the goddess of smallpox and rinderpest. they offer to her flowers and incense when these diseases are prevalent among men or cattle, but if the epidemic does not abate after a time, they abuse the goddess and tell her to do her worst, suspending the offerings. they offer a white cock to the sun and a red one to the moon, and various other deities exercise special functions, bhandarin being the goddess of agriculture and dharni of good health, while bharwan is the protector of cattle and dand devi of men from the attacks of wild beasts. they have vague notions of a heaven and hell where the sinful will be punished, and also believe in re-birth. but these ideas appear to be borrowed from their hindu neighbours. when the new rice crop is ripe, the first-fruits are cooked and served to the cattle in new bamboo baskets, and are then partaken of by men. the ripening of the mango crop is also an important festival. in the bright fortnight of chait (march) the men go out hunting, and on their return cook the game before matideo, the god of hunting, who lives in a tree. in madras the whole male population turn out to hunt, and if they come back without success the women pelt them with cowdung on their return. if successful, however, they have their revenge on the women in another way. [9] on festival days men and women dance together to the music of a pipe and drum. sometimes they form a circle, holding long poles, and jump backwards and forwards to and from the centre by means of the pole; or the women dance singly or in pairs, their hands resting on each other's waists. a man and woman will then step out of the crowd and sing at each other, the woman reflecting on the man's ungainly appearance and want of skill as a cultivator or huntsman, while the man retorts by reproaching her with her ugliness and slatternly habits. [10] 4. disposal of the dead. the dead are buried with their feet to the west, ready to start for the region of the setting sun. on their return from the funeral the mourners stop on the way, and a fish is boiled and offered to the dead. an egg is cut in half and placed on the ground, and pieces of mango bark are laid beside it on which the mourners tread. the women accompany the corpse, and in the meantime the house of the dead person is cleaned with cowdung by the children left behind. on the first day food is supplied to the mourners by their relatives, and in the evening some cooked rice and vegetables are offered to the dead. the mourning lasts for nine days, and on the last day a cow or bullock is killed with the blunt head of an axe, the performance of this function being hereditary in certain families of the caste. some blood from the animal and some cooked rice are put in leaf-cups and placed on the grave by the head of the corpse. the animal is cooked and eaten by the grave, and they then return to the cooking shed and place its jawbone under a stick supported on two others, blood and cooked rice being again offered. the old men and women bathe in warm water, and all return to the place where the dead man breathed his last. here they drink and have another meal of rice and beef, which is repeated on the following day, and the business of committing the dead to the ancestors is complete. liquor is offered to the ancestors on feast days. 5. occupation and mode of living. the caste are cultivators and labourers, while some are employed as village watchmen, and others are hereditary palki-bearers to the raja of bastar, enjoying a free grant of land. they practise shifting cultivation, cleaning a space by indiscriminate felling in the forest, and roughly ploughing the ground for a single broad-cast crop of rice; in the following year the clearing is usually abandoned. their dress is simple, though they now wear ordinary cloth. forty years ago it is said that they wore coverings made from the bark of the kuring tree and painted with horizontal bands of red, yellow and blue. [11] a girdle of the thickness of a man's arm made from fine strips of bark is still worn and is a distinguishing feature of the gadba women. they also carry a circlet round their forehead of the seeds of kusa grass threaded on a string. both men and women wear enormous earrings, the men having three in each ear. the gadbas are almost omnivorous, and eat flesh, fish, fowls, pork, buffaloes, crocodiles, non-poisonous snakes, large lizards, frogs, sparrows, crows and large red ants. they abstain only from the flesh of monkeys, horses and asses. a gadba must not ride on a horse under penalty of being put out of caste. mr. thurston [12] gives the following reason for this prejudice:--"the gadbas of vizagapatam will not touch a horse, as they are palanquin-bearers, and have the same objection to a rival animal as a cart-driver has to a motor-car." they will eat the leavings of other castes and take food from all except the impure ones, but like the mehtars and ghasias elsewhere they will not take food or water from a kayasth. only the lowest castes will eat with gadbas, but they are not considered as impure, and are allowed to enter temples and take part in religious ceremonies. ganda 1. distribution and origin. ganda.--a servile and impure caste of chota nagpur and the uriya districts. they numbered 278,000 persons in 1901, resident largely in sambalpur and the uriya states, but since the transfer of this territory to bengal, only about 150,000 gandas remain in the central provinces in raipur, bilaspur and raigarh. in this province the gandas have become a servile caste of village drudges, acting as watchmen, weavers of coarse cloth and musicians. they are looked on as an impure caste, and are practically in the same position as the mehras and chamars of other districts. in chota nagpur, however, they are still in some places recognised as a primitive tribe, [13] being generally known here as pan, pab or chik. sir h. risley suggests that the name of ganda may be derived from gond, and that the pans may originally have been an offshoot of that tribe, but no connection between the gandas and gonds has been established in the central provinces. 2. caste subdivisions. the subcastes reported differ entirely from those recorded in orissa. in the central provinces they are mainly occupational. thus the bajna or bajgari are those who act as musicians at feasts and marriages; the mang or mangia make screens and mats, while their women serve as midwives; the dholias make baskets; the doms skin cattle and the nagarchis play on nakkaras or drums. panka is also returned as a subcaste of ganda, but in the central provinces the pankas are now practically a separate caste, and consist of those gandas who have adopted kabirpanthism and have thereby obtained some slight rise in status. in bengal sir h. risley mentions a group called patradias, or slaves and menials of the khonds, and discusses the patradias as follows:--"the group seems also to include the descendants of pans, who sold themselves as slaves or were sold as merias or victims to the khonds. we know that an extensive traffic in children destined for human sacrifice used to go on in the khond country, and that the pans were the agents who sometimes purchased, but more frequently kidnapped, the children, whom they sold to the khonds, and were so debased that they occasionally sold their own offspring, though they knew of course the fate that awaited them. [14] moreover, apart from the demand for sacrificial purposes, the practice of selling men as agricultural labourers was until a few years ago by no means uncommon in the wilder parts of the chota nagpur division, where labour is scarce and cash payments are almost unknown. numbers of formal bonds have come before me, whereby men sold themselves for a lump sum to enable them to marry." the above quotation is inserted merely as an interesting historical reminiscence of the pans or gandas. 3. marriage. the gandas have exogamous groups or septs of the usual low-caste type, named after plants, animals or other inanimate objects. marriage is prohibited within the sept, and between the children of two sisters, though the children of brothers and sisters may marry. if a girl arrives at maturity without a husband having been found for her, she is wedded to a spear stuck up in the courtyard of the house, and then given away to anybody who wishes to take her. a girl going wrong with a man of the caste is married to him by the ceremony employed in the case of widows, while her parents have to feed the caste. but a girl seduced by an outsider is permanently expelled. the betrothal is marked by a present of various articles to the father of the bride. marriages must not be celebrated during the three rainy months of shrawan, bhadon or kunwar, nor during the dark fortnight of the month, nor on a saturday or tuesday. the marriage-post is of the wood of the mahua tree, and beneath it are placed seven cowries and seven pieces of turmeric. an elderly male member of the caste known as the sethia conducts the ceremony, and the couple go five times round the sacred pole in the morning and thrice in the evening. when the bride and bridegroom return home after the wedding, an image of a deer is made with grass and placed behind the ear of the bride. the bridegroom then throws a toy arrow at it made of grass or thin bamboo, and is allowed seven shots. if he fails to knock it out of her ear after these the bride's brother takes it and runs away and the bridegroom must follow and catch him. this is clearly a symbolic process representing the chase, of the sort practised by the khonds and other primitive tribes, and may be taken as a reminiscence among the gandas of their former life in the forests. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and the younger brother of the deceased husband takes his widow if he wishes to do so. otherwise she may marry whom she pleases. a husband may divorce his wife for adultery before the caste committee, and if she marries her lover he must repay to the husband the expenses incurred by the latter on his wedding. 4. religion. the gandas principally worship dulha deo, the young bridegroom who was carried off by a tiger, and they offer a goat to him at their weddings. they observe the hindu fasts and festivals, and at dasahra worship their musical instruments and the weaver's loom. being impure, they do not revere the tulsi plant nor the banyan or pipal trees. children are named on the sixth day after birth without any special ceremony. the dead are generally buried from motives of economy, as with most families the fuel required for cremation would be a serious item of expenditure. a man is laid on his face in the grave and a woman on her back. mourning is observed for three days, except in the case of children under three years old, whose deaths entail no special observances. on the fourth day a feast is given, and when all have been served, the chief mourner takes a little food from the plate of each guest and puts it in a leaf-cup. he takes another leaf-cup full of water and places the two outside the house, saying 'here is food for you' to the spirit of the departed. 5. occupation and social status. the gandas are generally employed either in weaving coarse cloth or as village musicians. they sing and dance to the accompaniment of their instruments, the dancers generally being two young boys dressed as women. they have long hair and put on skirts and half-sleeved jackets, with hollow anklets round their feet filled with stones to make them tinkle. on their right shoulders are attached some peacocks' feathers, and coloured cloths hang from their back and arms and wave about when they dance. among their musical instruments is the sing-baja, a single drum made of iron with ox-hide leather stretched over it; two horns project from the sides for purposes of decoration and give the instrument its name, and it is beaten with thick leather thongs. the dafla is a wooden drum open on one side and covered with a goat-skin on the other, beaten with a cane and a bamboo stick. the timki is a single hemispherical drum of earthenware; and the sahnai is a sort of bamboo flute. the gandas of sambalpur have strong criminal tendencies which have recently called for special measures of repression. nevertheless they are usually employed as village watchmen in accordance with long-standing custom. they are considered as impure and, though not compelled actually to live apart from the village, have usually a separate quarter and are not permitted to draw water from the village well or to enter hindu temples. their touch defiles, and a hindu will not give anything into the hands of one of the caste while holding it himself, but will throw it down in front of the ganda, and will take anything from him in the same manner. they will admit outsiders of higher rank into the caste, taking from them one or two feasts. and it is reported that in raipur a brahman recently entered the caste for love of a ganda girl. gandhmali gandhmali, [15] thanapati.--the caste of village priests of the temples of siva or mahadeo in sambalpur and the uriya states. they numbered about 700 persons in the central provinces in 1911. the caste appears to be an offshoot of the malis or gardeners, differentiated from them by their special occupation of temple attendants. in hindustan the priests of siva's temples in villages are often malis, and in the maratha country they are guraos, another special caste, or phulmalis. some members of the caste in sambalpur, however, aspire to rajput origin and wear the sacred thread. these prefer the designation of thanapati or 'master of the sacred place,' and call the others who do not wear the thread gandhmalis. gandh means incense. the thanapatis say that on one occasion a rajput prince from jaipur made a pilgrimage to the temple of jagannath at puri, and on his return stopped at the celebrated temple of mahadeo at huma near sambalpur. mahadeo appeared before the prince and asked him to become his priest; the rajput asked to be excused as he was old, but mahadeo promised him three sons, which he duly obtained and in gratitude dedicated them to the service of the god. from these sons the thanapatis say that they are descended, but the claim is no doubt quite illusory. the truth is, probably, that the thanapatis are priests of the temples situated in towns and large villages, and owing to their calling have obtained considerable social estimation, which they desire to justify and place on an enduring basis by their claim to rajput ancestry; while the gandhmalis are village priests, more or less in the position of village menials and below the cultivating castes, and any such pretensions would therefore in their case be quite untenable. there are signs of the cessation of intermarriage between the two groups, but this has not been brought about as yet, probably owing to the paucity of members in the caste and the difficulty of arranging matches. three functional subdivisions also appear to be in process of formation, the pujaris or priests of mahadeo's temples, the bandhadias or those who worship him on the banks of tanks, and the mundjhulas [16] or devotees of the goddess somlai in sambalpur, on whom the inspiration of the goddess descends, making them shake and roll their heads. when in this state they are believed to drink the blood flowing from goats sacrificed in the temple. for the purposes of marriage the caste is divided into exogamous groups or bargas, the names of which are usually titles or designations of offices. marriage within the barga is prohibited. when the bride is brought to the altar in the marriage ceremony, she throws a garland of jasmine flowers on the neck of the bridegroom. this custom resembles the old swayamwara form of marriage, in which a girl chose her own husband by throwing a garland of flowers round his neck. but it probably has no connection with this and merely denotes the fact that the caste are gardeners by profession, similar ceremonies typifying the caste calling being commonly performed at marriages, especially among the telugu castes. girls should be married before adolescence and, as is usual among the uriya castes, if no suitable husband is forthcoming a symbolic marriage is celebrated; the thanapatis make her go through the form with her maternal grandfather or sister's husband, and in default of them with a tree. she is then immediately divorced and disposed of as a widow. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. a bachelor marrying a widow must first go through the ceremony with a flower. the gandhmalis, as the priests of mahadeo, are generally saivas and wear red clothes covered with ochre. they consider that their ultimate ancestor is the nag or cobra and especially observe the festival of nag-panchmi, abstaining from any cooked food on that day. they both burn and bury the dead and perform the shraddh ceremony or the offering of sacrificial cakes. they eat flesh but do not drink liquor. their social position is fairly good and brahmans will take water from their hands. many of them hold free grants of land in return for their services at the temples. a few are ordinary cultivators. garpagari 1. origin of the caste. garpagari. [17]--a caste of village menials whose function it is to avert hailstorms from the crops. they are found principally in the maratha districts of the nagpur country and berar, and numbered 9000 persons in 1911. the name is derived from the marathi gar, hail. the garpagaris are really naths or jogis who have taken to this calling and become a separate caste. they wear clothes coloured with red ochre, and a garland of rudraksha beads, and bury their dead in a sitting posture. according to their tradition the first garpagari was one raut, a jogi, who accompanied a kunbi malguzar on a visit to benares, and while there he prophesied that on a certain day all the crops of their village would be destroyed by a hailstorm. the kunbi then besought him to save the crops if he could, and he answered that by his magic he could draw off the hail from the rest of the village and concentrate it in his own field, and he agreed to do this if the cultivators would recompense him for his loss. when the two came home to their village they found that there had been a severe hailstorm, but it had all fallen in the jogi's field. his loss was made good to him and he adopted this calling as a profession, becoming the first garpagari, and being paid by contributions from the proprietor and tenants. there are no subcastes except that the kharchi garpagari are a bastard group, with whom the others refuse to intermarry. 2. marriage. marriage is regulated by exogamous groups, two of which, watari from the otari or brass-worker, and dhankar from the dhangar or shepherds, are named after other castes. some are derived from the names of animals, as harnya from the black-buck, and wagh from the tiger. the diunde group take their name from diundi, the kotwar's [18] drum. they say that their ancestor was so named because he killed his brother, and was proclaimed as an outlaw by beat of drum. the marriage of members of the same group is forbidden and also that of the children of two sisters, so long as the relationship between them is remembered. the caste usually celebrate their weddings after those of the kunbis, on whom they depend for contributions to their expenses. widow-marriage is permitted, but the widow sometimes refuses to marry again, and, becoming a bhagat or devotee, performs long pilgrimages in male attire. divorce is permitted, but as women are scarce, is rarely resorted to. the garpagaris say, "if one would not throw away a vegetable worth a damri (one-eighth of a pice or farthing), how shall one throw away a wife who is 3 1/2 cubits long." a divorced wife is allowed to marry again. 3. religion. the caste worship mahadeo or siva and mahabir or hanuman, and do not usually distinguish them. their principal festival is called mahi and takes place on the first day of poush (december), this being the day from which hailstorms may be expected to occur; and next to this mando amawas, or the first day of chait (march), after which hailstorms need not be feared. they offer goats to mahadeo in his terrible form of kal bhairava, and during the ceremony the kunbis beat the daheka, a small drum with bells, to enhance the effect of the sacrifice, so that their crops may be saved. when a man is at the point of death he is placed in the sitting posture in which he is to be buried, for fear that after death his limbs may become so stiff that they cannot be made to assume it. the corpse is carried to the grave in a cloth coloured with red ochre. a gourd containing pulse and rice, a pice coin, and a small quantity of any drug to which the deceased may have been addicted in life are placed in the hands, and the grave is filled in with earth and salt. a lamp is lighted on the place where the death occurred, for one night, and on the third day a cocoanut is broken there, after which mourning ends and the house is cleaned. a stone brought from the bed of a river is plastered down on to the grave with clay, and this may perhaps represent the dead man's spirit. 4. occupation. the occupation of the garpagari is to avert hailstorms, and he was formerly remunerated by a customary contribution of rice from each cultivator in the village. he received the usual presents at seed-time and harvest, and two pice from each tenant on the basant-panchmi festival. when the sky is of mixed red and black at night like smoke and flame, the garpagari knows that a hailstorm is coming. then, taking a sword in his hand, he goes and stands before mahabir, and begs him to disperse the clouds. when entreaties fail, he proceeds to threats, saying that he will kill himself, and throws off his clothes. sometimes his wife and children go and stand with him before mahabir's shrine and he threatens to kill them. formerly he would cut and slash himself, so it is said, if mahabir was obdurate, but now the utmost he does is to draw some blood from a finger. he would also threaten to sacrifice his son, and instances are known of his actually having done so. two ideas appear to be involved in these sacrifices of the garpagari. one is the familiar principle of atonement, the blood being offered to appease the god as a substitute for the crops which he seems about to destroy. but when the garpagari threatened to kill himself, and actually killed his son, it was not merely as an atonement, because in that case the threats would have had no meaning. his intention seems rather to have been to lay the guilt of homicide upon the god by slaying somebody in front of his shrine, in case nothing less would move him from his purpose of destroying the crops. the idea is the same as that with which people committed suicide in order that their ghosts might haunt those who had driven them to the act. as late as about the year 1905 a gond bhumka or village priest was hanged in chhindwara for killing his two children. he owed a debt of rs. 25 and the creditor was pressing him and he had nothing to pay. so he flew into a rage and exclaimed that the gods would do nothing for him even though he was a bhumka, and he seized his two children and cut off their heads and laid them before the god. in this it would appear that the bhumka's intention was partly to take revenge on his master for the neglect shown to him, the god's special servant. the garpagari diverts the hail by throwing a handful of grain in the direction in which he wishes it to go. when the storm begins he will pick up some hailstones, smear them with his blood and throw them away, telling them to rain over rivers, hills, forests and barren ground. when caterpillars or locusts attack the crops he catches one or two and offers them at mahabir's shrine, afterwards throwing them up in the air. or he buries one alive and this is supposed to stay the plague. when rust appears in the crops, one or two blades are in like manner offered to mahabir, and it is believed that the disease will be stayed. or if the rice plants do not come into ear a few of them are plucked and offered, and fresh fertile blades then come up. he also has various incantations which are believed to divert the storm or to cause the hailstones to melt into water. in some localities, when the buffalo is slaughtered at the dasahra festival, the garpagari takes seven different kinds of spring-crop seeds and dips them in its blood. he buries them in a spot beside his hearth, and it is believed that when a hailstorm threatens the grains move about and give out a humming sound like water boiling. thus the garpagari has warning of the storm. if the garpagari is absent and a storm comes his wife will go and stand naked before mahabir's shrine. the wives know the incantations, but they must not learn them from their husbands, because in that case the husband would be in the position of a guru or spiritual preceptor to his wife and the conjugal relation could no longer continue. no other caste will learn the incantations, for to make the hailstones melt is regarded as equivalent to causing an abortion, and as a sin for which heavy retribution would be incurred in a future life. in chhattisgarh the baiga or village priest of the aboriginal tribes averts hailstorms in the same manner as the garpagari, and elsewhere the barais or betel-vine growers perform this function, which is especially important to them because their vines are so liable to be injured by hailstorms. in ancient greece there existed a village functionary, the chalazo phulax, who kept off hailstorms in exactly the same manner as the garpagari. he would offer a victim, and if he had none would draw blood from his own fingers to appease the storm. [19] the same power has even been imputed to christian priests as recorded by sir james frazer: "in many villages of provence the priest is still required to possess the faculty of averting storms. it is not every priest who enjoys this reputation; and in some villages when a change of pastors takes place, the parishioners are eager to learn whether the new incumbent has the power (pouder) as they call it. at the first sign of a heavy storm they put him to the proof by inviting him to exorcise the threatening clouds; and if the result answers to their hopes, the new shepherd is assured of the sympathy and respect of his flock. in some parishes where the reputation of the curate in this respect stood higher than that of the rector, the relations between the two have been so strained in consequence that the bishop has had to translate the rector to another benefice." [20] of late years an unavoidable scepticism as to the garpagari's efficiency has led to a reduction of his earnings, and the cultivators now frequently decline to give him anything, or only a sheaf of corn at harvest. some members of the caste have taken to weaving newar or broad tape for beds, and others have become cultivators. 5. social status. the garpagaris eat flesh and drink liquor. they will take cooked food from a kunbi, though the kunbis will not take even water from them. they are a village menial caste and rank with others of the same position, though on a somewhat lower level because they beg and accept cooked food at the weddings of kunbis. their names usually end in nath, as ramnath, kisannath and so on. gauria gauria. [21]--a small caste of snake-charmers and jugglers who are an offshoot of the gond tribe. they number about 500 persons and are found only in chhattisgarh. they have the same exogamous septs as the gonds, as markam, marai, netam, chhedaiha, jagat, purteti, chichura and others. but they are no doubt of very mixed origin, as is shown by the fact that they do not eat together at their feasts, but the guests all cook their own food and eat it separately. and after a daughter has been married her own family even will not take food from her hand because they are doubtful of her husband's status. it is said that the gaurias were accustomed formerly to beg only from the kewat caste, though this restriction is no longer maintained. the fact may indicate that they are partly descended from the unions of kewats with gond women. adult marriage is the general rule of the caste and a fixed bride-price of sixteen rupees is paid. the couple go away together at once and six months afterwards return to visit the bride's parents, when they are treated as outsiders and not allowed to touch the food cooked for the family, while they reciprocally insist on preparing their own. male gaurias will take food from any of the higher castes, but the women will eat only from gaurias. they will admit outsiders belonging to any caste from whom they can take food into the community. and if a gauria woman goes wrong with a member of any of these castes they overlook the matter and inflict only a feast as a penalty. their marriage ceremony consists merely in the placing of bangles on the woman's wrists, which is the form by which a widow is married among other castes. if a widow marries a man other than her husband's younger brother, the new husband must pay twelve rupees to her first husband's family, or to her parents if she has returned to them. if she takes with her a child born of her first husband with permission to keep it, the second husband must pay eight rupees to the first husband's family as the price of the child. but if the child is to be returned as soon as it is able to shift for itself the second husband receives eight rupees instead of paying it, as remuneration for his trouble in rearing the baby. the caste bury their dead with the feet to the south, like the hindus. the principal business of the gaurias is to catch and exhibit snakes, and they carry a damru or rattle in the shape of an hour-glass, which is considered to be a distinctive badge of the caste. if a gauria saw an ojha snake-charmer carrying a damru he would consider himself entitled to take it from the ojha forcibly if he could. a gauria is forbidden to exhibit monkeys under penalty of being put out of caste. their principal festival is the nag-panchmi, when the cobra is worshipped. they also profess to know charms for curing persons bitten by snakes. the following incantation is cried by a gauria snake-doctor three times into the ears of his patient in a loud voice: "the bel tree and the bel leaves are on the other side of the river. all the gaurias are drowned in it. the breast of the koil; over it is a net. eight snakes went to the forest. they tamed rats on the green tree. the snakes are flying, causing the parrots to fly. they want to play, but who can make them play? after finishing their play they stood up; arise thou also, thou sword. i am waking you (the patient) up by crying in your ear, i conjure you by the name of dhanvantari [22] to rise carefully." similar meaningless charms are employed for curing the bites of scorpions and for exorcising bad spirits and the influence of the evil eye. the gaurias will eat almost all kinds of flesh, including pigs, rats, fowls and jackals, but they abstain from beef. their social status is so low that practically no caste will take food or water from them, but they are not considered as impure. they are great drunkards, and are easily known by their damrus or rattles and the baskets in which they carry their snakes. ghasia list of paragraphs 1. description of the caste. 2. subcastes. 3. exogamous sections. 4. marriage. 5. religion and superstitions. 6. occupation. 7. social customs. 8. ghasias and kayasths. 1. description of the caste. ghasia, sais. [23]--a low dravidian caste of orissa and central india who cut grass, tend horses and act as village musicians at festivals. in the central provinces they numbered 43,000 in 1911, residing principally in the chhattisgarh division and the adjoining feudatory states. the word ghasia is derived from ghas (grass) and means a grass-cutter. sir h. risley states that they are a fishing and cultivating caste of chota nagpur and central india, who attend as musicians at weddings and festivals and also perform menial offices of all kinds. [24] in bastar they are described as an inferior caste who serve as horse-keepers and also make and mend brass vessels. they dress like the maria gonds and subsist partly by cultivation and partly by labour. [25] dr. ball describes them in singhbhum as gold-washers and musicians. colonel dalton speaks of them as "an extraordinary tribe, foul parasites of the central indian hill tribes and submitting to be degraded even by them. if the chandals of the puranas, though descended from the union of a brahmini and a sudra, are the lowest of the low, the ghasias are chandals and the people further south who are called pariahs are no doubt of the same distinguished lineage." [26] 2. subcastes. the ghasias generally, however, appear now to be a harmless caste of labourers without any specially degrading or repulsive traits. in mandla their social position and customs are much on a par with those of the gonds, from whom a considerable section of the caste seems to be derived. in other localities they have probably immigrated into the central provinces from bundelkhand and orissa. among their subdivisions the following may be mentioned: the udia, who cure raw hides and do the work of sweepers and are generally looked down on; the dingkuchia, who castrate cattle and ponies; the dolboha, who carry dhoolies or palanquins; the nagarchi, who derive their name from the nakkara or kettle-drum and are village musicians; the khaltaha or those from raipur; the laria, belonging to chhattisgarh, and the uria of the uriya country; the ramgarhia, who take their name from ramgarh in the mandla district, and the mahobia from mahoba in bundelkhand. those members of the caste who work as grooms have become a separate group and call themselves sais, dropping the name of ghasia. they rank higher than the others and marry among themselves, and some of them have become cultivators or work as village watchmen. they are also called thanwar by the gonds, the word meaning stable or stall. in chota nagpur a number of ghasias have become tailors and are tending to form a separate subcaste under the name of darzi. 3. exogamous sections. their septs are of the usual low-caste type, being named after animals, inanimate objects or nicknames of ancestors. one of them is panch-biha or 'he who had five wives,' and another kul-dip or 'the sept of the lamp.' members of this sept will stop eating if a lamp goes out. the janta ragda take their name from the mill for grinding corn and will not have a grinding-mill in their houses. they say that a female ancestor was delivered of a child when sitting near a grinding-mill and this gave the sept its name. three septs are named after other castes: kumharbans, descended from a potter; gandbans, from a ganda; and luha, from a lohar or blacksmith, and which names indicate that members of these castes have been admitted into the community. 4. marriage. marriage is forbidden within the sept, but is permitted between the children of brothers and sisters. those members of the caste who have become kabirpanthis may also marry with the others. marriages may be infant or adult. a girl who is seduced by a member of the caste is married to him by a simple ceremony, the couple standing before a twig of the umar [27] tree, while some women sprinkle turmeric over them. if a girl goes wrong with an outsider she is permanently expelled and a feast is exacted from her parents. the boy and his relatives go to the girl's house for the betrothal, and a present of various articles of food and dress is made to her family, apparently as a sort of repayment for their expenditure in feeding and clothing her. a gift of clothes is also made to her mother, called dudh-sari, and is regarded as the price of the milk with which the mother nourished the girl in her infancy. a goat, which forms part of the bride-price, is killed and eaten by the parties and their relatives. the binding portion of the marriage is the bhanwar ceremony, at which the couple walk seven times round the marriage-post, holding each other by the little fingers. when they return to the bridegroom's house, a cock or a goat is killed and the head buried before the door; the foreheads of the couple are marked with its blood and they go inside the house. if the bride is not adult, she goes home after a stay of two days, and the gauna or going-away ceremony is performed when she finally leaves her parents' house. the remarriage of widows is permitted, no restriction being imposed on the widow in her choice of a second husband. divorce is permitted for infidelity on the part of the wife. 5. religion and superstitions. children are named on the sixth day after birth, special names being given to avert ill-luck, while they sometimes go through the ceremony of selling a baby for five cowries in order to disarm the jealousy of the godlings who are hostile to children. they will not call any person by name when they think an owl is within hearing, as they believe that the owl will go on repeating the name and that this will cause the death of the person bearing it. the caste generally revere dulha deo, the bridegroom god, whose altar stands near the cooking place, and the goddess devi. once in three years they offer a white goat to bura deo, the great god of the gonds. they worship the sickle, the implement of their trade, at dasahra, and offer cocoanuts and liquor to ghasi sadhak, a godling who lives by the peg to which horses are tied in the stable. he is supposed to protect the horse from all kinds of diseases. at dasahra they also worship the horse. their principal festival is called karma and falls on the eleventh day of the second half of bhadon (august). on this day they bring a branch of a tree from the forest and worship it with betel, areca-nut and other offerings. all through the day and night the men and women drink and dance together. they both burn and bury the dead, throwing the ashes into water. for the first three days after a death they set out rice and pulse and water in a leaf cup for the departed spirit. they believe that the ghosts of the dead haunt the living, and to cure a person possessed in this manner they beat him with shoes and then bury an effigy of the ghost outside the village. 6. occupation. the ghasias usually work as grass-cutters and grooms to horses, and some of them make loom-combs for weavers. these last are looked down upon and called madarchawa. they make the kunch or brushes for the loom, like the kuchbandhias, from the root of the babai or khas-khas grass, and the rachh or comb for arranging the threads on the loom from the stalks of the bharru grass. other ghasias make ordinary hair combs from the kathai, a grass which grows densely on the borders of streams and springs. the frame of the comb is of bamboo and the teeth are fixed in either by thread or wire, the price being one pice (farthing) in the former case and two in the latter. 7. social customs. the caste admit outsiders by a disgusting ceremony in which the candidate is shaved with urine and forced to eat a mixture of cowdung, basil leaves, dub [28] grass and water in which a piece of silver or gold has been dipped. the women do not wear the choli or breast-cloth nor the nose-ring, and in some localities they do not have spangles on the forehead. women are tattooed on various parts of the body before marriage with the idea of enhancing their beauty, and sometimes tattooing is resorted to for curing a pain in some joint or for rheumatism. a man who is temporarily put out of caste is shaved on readmission, and in the case of a woman a lock of her hair is cut. to touch a dead cow is one of the offences entailing temporary excommunication. they employ a brahman only to fix the dates of their marriages. the position of the caste is very low and in some places they are considered as impure. the ghasias are very poor, and a saying about them is 'ghasia ki jindagi hasia', or 'the ghasia is supported by his sickle,' the implement used for cutting grass. the ghasias are perhaps the only caste in the central provinces outside those commonly returning themselves as mehtar, who consent to do scavenger's work in some localities. 8. ghasias and kayasths. the caste have a peculiar aversion to kayasths and will not take food or water from them nor touch a kayasth's bedding or clothing. they say that they would not serve a kayasth as horse-keeper, but if by any chance one of them was reduced to doing so, he at any rate would not hold his master's stirrup for him to mount. to account for this hereditary enmity they tell the following story: on one occasion the son of the kayasth minister of the raja of ratanpur went out for a ride followed by a ghasia sais (groom). the boy was wearing costly ornaments, and the ghasia's cupidity being excited, he attacked and murdered the child, stripped him of his ornaments and threw the body down a well. the murder was discovered and in revenge the minister killed every ghasia, man, woman or child that he could lay his hands on. the only ones who escaped were two pregnant women who took refuge in the hut of a ganda and were sheltered by him. to them were born a boy and a girl and the present ghasias are descended from the pair. therefore a ghasia will eat even the leavings of a ganda but will accept nothing from the hands of a kayasth. this story is an instance of the process which has been called the transplantation of myth. sir h. risley tells a similar legend of the ghasias of orissa, [29] but in their case it was a young kayasth bridegroom who was killed, and before dying he got leave from his murderers to write a letter to his relatives informing them of his death, on condition that he said nothing as to its manner. but in the letter he disclosed the murder, and the ghasias, who could not read, were duly brought to justice. in the ratanpur story as reported from bilaspur it was stated that "somehow, even from down the well, the minister's son managed to get a letter sent to his father telling him of the murder." and this sentence seems sufficient to establish the fact that the central provinces story has merely been imported from orissa and slightly altered to give it local colour. the real reason for the traditional aversion felt by the ghasias and other low castes for the kayasths will be discussed in the article on that caste. ghosi ghosi. [30]--a caste of herdsmen belonging to northern india and found in the central provinces in saugor and other districts of the jubbulpore and nerbudda divisions. in 1911 they numbered 10,000 persons in this province out of a strength of about 60,000 in india. the name is said to be derived from the sanskrit root ghush, to shout, the word ghosha meaning one who shouts as he herds his cattle. a noticeable fact about the caste is that, while in upper india they are all muhammadans--and it is considered to be partly on account of the difference in religion that they have become differentiated into a separate caste from the ahirs--in the central provinces they are nearly all hindus and show no trace of muhammadan practices. a few muhammadan ghosis are found in nimar and some muhammadans who call themselves gaddi in mandla are believed to be ghosis. and as the ghosis of the northern districts of the central provinces must in common with the bulk of the population be descended from immigrants from northern india, it would appear that they must have changed their religion, or rather abandoned one to which their ancestors had only been imperfectly proselytised, when it was no longer the dominant faith of the locality in which they lived. sir d. ibbetson says that in the punjab the name ghosi is used only for muhammadans, and is often applied to any cowherd or milkman of that religion, whether gujar, ahir or of any other caste, just as goala is used for a hindu cowherd. it is said that hindus will buy pure milk from the musalman ghosi, but will reject it if there is any suspicion of its having been watered by the latter, as they must not drink water at his hands. [31] but in berar brahmans will now buy milk and curds from muhammadan milkmen. mr. crooke remarks that most of the ghosis are ahirs who have been converted to islam. to the east of the united provinces they claim a gujar origin, and here they will not eat beef themselves nor take food with any muhammadans who consume it. they employ brahmans to fix the auspicious times for marriage and other ceremonies. the ghosis of lucknow have no other employment but the keeping of milch cattle, chiefly buffaloes of all kinds, and they breed buffaloes. [32] this is the case also in saugor, where the ghosis are said to rank below ordinary ahirs because they breed and tend buffaloes instead of cows. those of narsinghpur, however, are generally not herdsmen at all but ordinary cultivators. in northern india, owing to the large number of muhammadans who, other things being equal, would prefer to buy their milk and ghi from co-religionists, there would be an opening for milkmen professing this faith, and on the facts stated above it may perhaps be surmised that the ghosi caste came into existence to fill the position. or they may have been forcibly converted as a number of ahirs in berar were forcibly converted to islam, and still call themselves muhammadans, though they can scarcely repeat the kalma and only go to mosque once a year. [33] but when some of the ghosis migrated into the central provinces, they would find, in the absence of a musalman clientele, that their religion, instead of being an advantage, was a positive drawback to them, as hindus would be reluctant to buy milk from a muhammadan who might be suspected of having mixed it with water; and it would appear that they have relapsed naturally into hinduism, all traces of their profession of islam being lost. even so, however, in narsinghpur they have had to abandon their old calling and become ordinary cultivators, while in saugor, perhaps on account of their doubtful status, they are restricted to keeping buffaloes. if this suggestion turned out to be well founded, it would be an interesting instance of a religion being changed to secure a professional advantage. but it can only be considered as a guess. a parallel to the disadvantage of being unable to water their milk without rendering it impure, which attaches to the ghosis of the punjab, may be adduced in the case of the telis of the small town of multai in betul district. here the dairyman's business is for some reason in the hands of telis (oilmen) and it is stated that from every teli who engages in it a solemn oath is exacted that he will not put water in the milk, and any violation of this would be punished by expulsion from caste. because if the hindus once found that they had been rendered impure by drinking water touched by so low a caste as the telis, they would decline any longer to purchase milk from them. it is curious that the strict rule of ceremonial purity which obtains in the case of water has apparently no application to milk. in the central provinces the ghosis have two subcastes, the havelia or those living in open wheat country, and the birchheya or residents of jungle tracts. in saugor they have another set of divisions borrowed from the ahirs, and here the muhammadan ghosis are said to be a separate subcaste, though practically none were returned at the census. they have the usual system of exogamous groups with territorial names derived from those of villages. at their marriages the couple walk six times round the sacred post, reserving the seventh round, if the bride is a child, to be performed subsequently when she goes to her husband. but if she is adult, the full number may be completed, the ceremony known as lot pata coming between the sixth and seventh rounds. in this the bride sits first on the right of her husband and then changes seats so as to be on his left; and she is thus considered to become joined to her husband as the left part of his body, which the hindus consider the wife to be, holding the same belief as that expressed in genesis. after this the bride takes some child of the household into her lap and then makes it over to the bridegroom saying, 'take care of the baby while i go and do the household work.' this ceremony, which has been recorded also of the kapus in chanda, is obviously designed as an auspicious omen that the marriage may be blessed with children. like other castes of their standing, the ghosis permit polygamy, divorce and the remarriage of widows, but the practice of taking two wives is rare. the dead are burnt, with the exception that the bodies of young children whose ears have not been pierced and of persons dying of smallpox are buried. children usually have their ears pierced when they are three or four years old. a corpse must not be taken to the pyre at night, as it is thought that in that case it would be born blind in the next birth. the caste have bards and genealogists of their own who are known as patia. in damoh the ghosis are mainly cart-drivers and cultivators and very few of them sell milk. in nimar there are some muhammadan ghosis who deal in milk. their women are not secluded and may be known by the number of little rings worn in the ear after the muhammadan custom. like the ahirs, the ghosis are considered to be somewhat stupid. they call themselves ghosi thakur, as they claim to be rajputs, and outsiders also sometimes address them as thakur. but in sangor and damoh these aspirations to kshatriya rank are so widespread that when one person asks another his caste the usual form of the question is 'what thakur are you?' the questioner thus politely assumes that his companion must be a rajput of some sort and leaves it to him to admit or deny the soft impeachment. another form of this question is to say 'what dudh, or milk, are you?' golar golar, [34] gollam, golla, gola, golkar.--the great shepherd caste of the telugu country, which numbers nearly 1 1/2 million of persons in madras and hyderabad. in the central provinces there were under 3000 golars in 1901, and they were returned principally from the balaghat and seoni districts. but 2500 golkars, who belonged to chanda and were classified under ahirs in 1901, may, in view of the information now available, be considered to belong to the golar caste. some 2000 golars were enumerated in berar. they are a nomadic people and frequent balaghat, owing to the large area of grazing land found in the district. the caste come from the south and speak a dialect of canarese. hindus liken the conversation of two golars to two cocks crowing at each other. [35] they seem to have no subcastes except that in chanda the yera and nana, or black and white golkars, are distinguished. marriage is regulated by the ordinary system of exogamous groups, but no meaning can be assigned to the names of these. in seoni they say that their group-names are the same as those of the gonds, and that they are related to this great tribe; but though both are no doubt of the same dravidian stock, there is no reason for supposing any closer affinity to exist, and the statement may be explained by the fact that golars frequently reside in gond villages in the forest; and in accordance with a practice commonly found among village communities the fiction of relationship has grown up. the children of brothers and sisters are allowed to marry, but not those of two sisters, the reason stated for this prohibition being that during the absence of the mother her sister nurses her children; the children of sisters are therefore often foster brothers and sisters, and this is considered as equivalent to the real relationship. but the marriage of a brother's son to a sister's daughter is held, as among the gonds, to be a most suitable union. the adult marriage of girls involves no stigma, and the practice of serving for a wife is sometimes followed. weddings may not be held during the months of shrawan, bhadon, kunwar and pus. the marriage altar is made of dried cowdung plastered over with mud, in honour perhaps of the animal which affords the golars their livelihood. the clothes of the bridegroom and bride are knotted together and they walk five times round the altar. in bhandara the marriages of golars are celebrated both at the bride's house and the bridegroom's. the bridegroom rides on a horse, and on arrival at the marriage-shed is presented by his future mother-in-law with a cup of milk. the bride and bridegroom sit on a platform together, and each gets up and sits down nine times, whoever accomplishes this first being considered to have won. the bridegroom then takes the bride's little finger in his hand and they walk nine times round the platform. he afterwards falls at the girl's feet, and standing up carries her inside the house, where they eat together out of one dish. after three days the party proceeds to the bridegroom's house, where the same ceremonies are gone through. here the family barbers of the bride and bridegroom take the couple up in their arms and dance, holding them, and all the party dance too. the remarriage of widows is permitted, a sum of rs. 25 being usually paid to the parents of the woman by her second husband. divorce may be effected at the option of either party, and documents are usually drawn up on both sides. the golars worship mahadeo and have a special deity, hularia, who protects their cattle from disease and wild beasts. a clay image of hularia is erected outside the village every five or ten years and goats are offered to it. each head of a family is supposed to offer on the first occasion two goats, and on the second and subsequent ones, five, seven, nine and twelve goats respectively. but when a man dies his son starts afresh with an offering of two. the flesh of the animals offered is consumed by the caste-fellows. the name hularia deo has some connection with the holias, a low telugu caste of leather-workers to whom the golars appear to be related, as they have the same family names. when a golar dies a plate of cooked rice is laid on his body and then carried to the burning-ghat. the holias belonging to the same section go with it, and before arrival the plate of rice is laid on the ground and the holias eat it. the golars have various superstitions, and on saturdays, sundays and mondays they will not give salt, fire, milk or water to any one. they usually burn the dead, the corpse being laid with the head to the south, though in some localities the hindu custom of placing the head to the north has been adopted. they employ brahmans for religious and ceremonial purposes. the occupation of the caste is to breed and tend buffaloes and cattle, and they also deal in live-stock, and sell milk, curds and ghi. they were formerly addicted to dacoity and cattle-theft. they have a caste panchayat, the head of which is designated as mokasi. formerly the mokasi received rs. 15 on the marriage of a widow, and rs. 5 when a person temporarily outcasted was readmitted to social intercourse, but these payments are now only occasionally made. the caste drink liquor and eat flesh, including pigs and fowls, but not beef. they employ brahmans for ceremonial purposes, but their social status is low and they are practically on a level with the dravidian tribes. the dialect of canarese spoken by the golars is known as golari, holia or komtau, and is closely related to the form which that language assumes in bijapur; [36] but to outsiders they now speak hindi. gond [bibliography.--the most important account of the gond tribe is that contained in the rev. stephen hislop's papers on the aboriginal tribes of the central provinces, published after his death by sir r. temple in 1866. mr. hislop recorded the legend of lingo, of which an abstract has been reproduced. other notices of the gonds are contained in the ninth volume of general cunningham's archaeological survey reports, sir c. grant's central provinces gazetteer of 1871 (introduction), colonel ward's mandla settlement report (1868), colonel lucie smith's chanda settlement report (1870), and mr. c. w. montgomerie's chhindwara settlement report (1900). an excellent monograph on the bastar gonds was contributed by rai bahadur panda baijnath, superintendent of the state, and other monographs by mr. a. e. nelson, c.s., mandla; mr. ganga prasad khatri, forest divisional officer, betul; mr. j. langhorne, manager, ahiri zamindari, chanda; mr. r. s. thakur, tahsildar, balaghat; and mr. din dayal, deputy inspector of schools, nandgaon state. papers were also furnished by the rev. a. wood of chanda; the rev. h. j. molony, mandla; and major w. d. sutherland, i.m.s., saugor. notes were also collected by the writer in mandla. owing to the inclusion of many small details from the different papers it has not been possible to acknowledge them separately.] list of paragraphs (a) origin and history 1. numbers and distribution. 2. gondwana. 3. derivation of name and origin of the gonds. 4. history of the gonds. 5. mythical traditions. story of lingo. 6. legend of the creation. 7. creation of the gonds and their imprisonment by mahadeo. 8. the birth and history of lingo. 9. death and resurrection of lingo. 10. he releases the gonds shut up in the cave and constitutes the tribe. (b) tribal subdivisions 11. subcastes. 12. exogamy. 13. totemism. 14. connection of totemism with the gods. (c) marriage customs 15. prohibitions on intermarriage, and unions of relations. 16. irregular marriages. 17. marriage. arrangement of matches. 18. the marriage ceremony. 19. wedding expenditure. 20. special customs. 21. taking omens. 22. marriage by capture. weeping and hiding. 23. serving for a wife. 24. widow remarriage. 25. divorce. 26. polygamy. (d) birth and pregnancy 27. menstruation. 28. superstitions about pregnancy and childbirth. 29. procedure at a birth. 30. names. 31. superstitions about children. (e) funeral rites 32. disposal of the dead. 33. funeral ceremony. 34. mourning and offerings to the dead. 35. memorial stones to the dead. 36. house abandoned after a death. 37. bringing back the soul. 38. the dead absorbed in bura deo. 39. belief in a future life. (f) religion 40. nature of the gond religion. the gods. 41. tribal gods, and their place of residence. 42. household gods. 43. nag deo. 44. narayan deo. 45. bura deo. 46. charms and magic. 47. omens. 48. agricultural superstitions. 49. magical or religious observances in fishing and hunting. 50. witchcraft. 51. human sacrifice. 52. cannibalism. 53. festivals. the new crops. 54. the holi festival. 55. the meghnath swinging rite. 56. the karma and other rites. (g) appearance and character and social rules and customs 57. physical type. 58. character. 59. shyness and ignorance. 60. villages and houses. 61. clothes and ornaments. 62. ear-piercing. 63. hair. 64. bathing and washing clothes. 65. tattooing. 66. special system of tattooing. 67. branding. 68. food. 69. liquor. 70. admission of outsiders and sexual morality. 71. common sleeping-houses. 72. methods of greeting and observances between relatives. 73. the caste panchayat and social offences. 74. caste penalty feasts. 75. special purification ceremony. 76. dancing. 77. songs. 78. language. (h) occupation 79. cultivation. 80. patch cultivation. 81. hunting. traps for animals. (a) origin and history 1. numbers and distribution. gond.--the principal tribe of the dravidian family, and perhaps the most important of the non-aryan or forest tribes in india. in 1911 the gonds were three million strong, and they are increasing rapidly. the kolis of western india count half a million persons more than the gonds, and if the four related tribes kol, munda, ho, and santal were taken together, they would be stronger by about the same amount. but if historical importance be considered as well as numbers, the first place should be awarded to the gonds. of the whole caste the central provinces contain 2,300,000 persons, central india, and bihar and orissa about 235,000 persons each, and they are returned in small numbers from assam, madras and hyderabad. the 50,000 gonds in assam are no doubt immigrant labourers on the tea-gardens. 2. gondwana. in the central provinces the gonds occupy two main tracts. the first is the wide belt of broken hill and forest country in the centre of the province, which forms the satpura plateau, and is mainly comprised in the chhindwara, betul, seoni and mandla districts, with portions of several others adjoining them. and the second is the still wider and more inaccessible mass of hill ranges extending south of the chhattisgarh plain, and south-west down to the godavari, which includes portions of the three chhattisgarh districts, the bastar and kanker states, and a great part of chanda. in mandla the gonds form nearly half the population, and in bastar about two-thirds. there is, however, no district or state of the province which does not contain some gonds, and it is both on account of their numbers and the fact that gond dynasties possessed a great part of its area that the territory of the central provinces was formerly known as gondwana, or the country of the gonds. [37] the existing importance of the central provinces dates from recent years, for so late as 1853 it was stated before the royal asiatic society that "at present the gondwana highlands and jungles comprise such a large tract of unexplored country that they form quite an oasis in our maps." so much of this lately unexplored country as is british territory is now fairly well served by railways, traversed almost throughout by good roads, and provided with village schools at distances of five to ten miles apart, even in the wilder tracts. 3. derivation of name and origin of the gonds. the derivation of the word gond is uncertain. it is the name given to the tribe by the hindus or muhammadans, as their own name for themselves is koitur or koi. general cunningham considered that the name gond probably came from gauda, the classical term for part of the united provinces and bengal. a benares inscription relating to one of the chedi kings of tripura or tewar (near jubbulpore) states that he was of the haihaya tribe, who lived on the borders of the nerbudda in the district of the western gauda in the province of malwa. three or four other inscriptions also refer to the kings of gauda in the same locality. gauda, however, was properly and commonly used as the name of part of bengal. there is no evidence beyond a few doubtful inscriptions of its having ever been applied to any part of the central provinces. the principal passage in which general cunningham identifies gauda with the central provinces is that in which the king of gauda came to the assistance of the ruler of malwa against the king of kanauj, elder brother of the great harsha vardhana, and slew the latter king in a.d. 605. but mr. v. a. smith holds that gauda in this passage refers to bengal and not to the central provinces; [38] and general cunningham's argument on the locality of gauda is thus rendered extremely dubious, and with it his derivation of the name gond. in fact it seems highly improbable that the name of a large tribe should have been taken from a term so little used and known in this special application. though in the imperial gazetteer [39] the present writer reproduced general cunningham's derivation of the term gond, it was there characterised as speculative, and in the light of the above remarks now seems highly improbable. mr. hislop considered that the name gond was a form of kond, as he spelt the name of the khond tribe. he pointed out that k and g are interchangeable. thus gotalghar, the empty house where the village young men sleep, comes from kotal, a led horse, and ghar, a house. similarly, koikopal, the name of a gond subtribe who tend cattle, is from koi or gond, and gopal, a cowherd. the name by which the gonds call themselves is koi or koitur, while the khonds call themselves ku, which word sir g. grierson considers to be probably related to the gond name koi. further, he states that the telugu people call the khonds, gond or kod (kor). general cunningham points out that the word gond in the central provinces is frequently or, he says, usually pronounced gaur, which is practically the same sound as god, and with the change of g to k would become kod. thus the two names gond and kod, by which the telugu people know the khonds, are practically the same as the names gond and god of the gonds in the central provinces, though sir g. grierson does not mention the change of g to k in his account of either language. it seems highly probable that the designation gond was given to the tribe by the telugus. the gonds speak a dravidian language of the same family as tamil, canarese and telugu, and therefore it is likely that they come from the south into the central provinces. their route may have been up the godavari river into chanda; from thence up the indravati into bastar and the hills south and east of the chhattisgarh plain; and up the wardha and wainganga to the districts of the satpura plateau. in chanda, where a gond dynasty reigned for some centuries, they would be in contact with the telugus, and here they may have got their name of gond, and carried it with them into the north and east of the province. as already seen, the khonds are called gond by the telugus, and kandh by the uriyas. the khonds apparently came up more towards the east into ganjam and kalahandi. here the name of gond or kod, given them by the telugus, may have been modified into kandh by the uriyas, and from the two names came the english corruption of khond. the khond and gondi languages are now dissimilar. still they present certain points of resemblance, and though sir g. grierson does not discuss their connection, it appears from his highly interesting genealogical tree of the dravidian languages that khond or kui and gondi are closely connected. these two languages, and no others, occupy an intermediate position between the two great branches sprung from the original dravidian language, one of which is mainly represented by telugu and the other by tamil, canarese and malayalam. [40] gondi and khond are shown in the centre as the connecting link between the two great branches. gondi is more nearly related to tamil and khond to telugu. on the telugu side, moreover, khond approaches most closely to kolami, which is a member of the telugu branch. the kolams are a tribe of wardha and berar, sometimes considered an offshoot of the gonds; at any rate, it seems probable that they came from southern india by the same route as the gonds. thus the khond language is intermediate between gondi and the kolami dialect of wardha and berar, though the kolams live west of the gonds and the khonds east. and a fairly close relationship between the three languages appears to be established. hence the linguistic evidence appears to afford strong support to the view that the khonds and gonds may originally have been one tribe. further, mr. hislop points out that a word for god, pen, is common to the gonds and khonds; and the khonds have a god called bura pen, who might be the same as bura deo, the great god of the gonds. mr. hislop found kodo pen and pharsi pen as gond gods, [41] while pen or pennu is the regular word for god among the khonds. this evidence seems to establish a probability that the gonds and khonds were originally one tribe in the south of india, and that they obtained separate names and languages since they left their original home for the north. the fact that both of them speak languages of the dravidian family, whose home is in southern india, makes it probable that the two tribes originally belonged there, and migrated north into the central provinces and orissa. this hypothesis is supported by the traditions of the gonds. 4. history of the gonds. as stated in the article on kol, it is known that rajput dynasties were ruling in various parts of the central provinces from about the sixth to the twelfth centuries. they then disappear, and there is a blank till the fourteenth century or later, when gond kingdoms are found established at kherla in betul, at deogarh in chhindwara, at garha-mandla, [42] including the jubbulpore country, and at chanda, fourteen miles from bhandak. it seems clear, then, that the hindu dynasties were subverted by the gonds after the muhammadan invasions of northern india had weakened or destroyed the central powers of the hindus, and prevented any assistance being afforded to the outlying settlements. there is some reason to suppose that the immigration of the gonds into the central provinces took place after the establishment of these hindu kingdoms, and not before, as is commonly held. [43] but the point must at present be considered doubtful. there is no reason however to doubt that the gonds came from the south through chanda and bastar. during the fourteenth century and afterwards the gonds established dynasties at the places already mentioned in the central provinces. for two or three centuries the greater part of the province was governed by gond kings. of their method of government in narsinghpur, sleeman said: "under these gond rajas the country seems for the most part to have been distributed among feudatory chiefs, bound to attend upon the prince at his capital with a stipulated number of troops, to be employed wherever their services might be required, but to furnish little or no revenue in money. these chiefs were gonds, and the countries they held for the support of their families and the payment of their troops and retinue little more than wild jungles. the gonds seem not to have been at home in open country, and as from the sixteenth century a peaceable penetration of hindu cultivators into the best lands of the province assumed large dimensions, the gonds gradually retired to the hill ranges on the borders of the plains." the headquarters of each dynasty at mandla, garha, kherla, deogarh and chanda seem to have been located in a position strengthened for defence either by a hill or a great river, and adjacent to an especially fertile plain tract, whose produce served for the maintenance of the ruler's household and headquarters establishment. often the site was on other sides bordered by dense forest which would afford a retreat to the occupants in case it fell to an enemy. strong and spacious forts were built, with masonry tanks and wells inside them to provide water, but whether these buildings were solely the work of the gonds or constructed with the assistance of hindu or muhammadan artificers is uncertain. but the hindu immigrants found gond government tolerant and beneficent. under the easy eventless sway of these princes the rich country over which they ruled prospered, its flocks and herds increased, and the treasury filled. so far back as the fifteenth century we read in firishta that the king of kherla, who, if not a gond himself, was a king of the gonds, sumptuously entertained the bahmani king and made him rich offerings, among which were many diamonds, rubies and pearls. of the rani durgavati of garha-mandla, sleeman said: "of all the sovereigns of this dynasty she lives most in the page of history and in the grateful recollections of the people. she built the great reservoir which lies close to jubbulpore, and is called after her rani talao or queen's pond; and many other highly useful works were formed by her about garha." when the castle of chauragarh was sacked by one of akbar's generals in 1564, the booty found, according to firishta, comprised, independently of jewels, images of gold and silver and other valuables, no fewer than a hundred jars of gold coin and a thousand elephants. of the chanda rulers the settlement officer who has recorded their history wrote that, "they left, if we forget the last few years, a well-governed and contented kingdom, adorned with admirable works of engineering skill and prosperous to a point which no aftertime has reached. they have left their mark behind them in royal tombs, lakes and palaces, but most of all in the seven miles of battlemented stone wall, too wide now for the shrunk city of chanda within it, which stands on the very border-line between the forest and the plain, having in front the rich valley of the wardha river, and behind and up to the city walls deep forest extending to the east." according to local tradition the great wall of chanda and other buildings, such as the tombs of the gond kings and the palace at junona, were built by immigrant telugu masons of the kapu or munurwar castes. another excellent rule of the gond kings was to give to any one who made a tank a grant of land free of revenue of the land lying beneath it. a large number of small irrigation tanks were constructed under this inducement in the wainganga valley, and still remain. but the gond states had no strength for defence, as was shown when in the eighteenth century maratha chiefs, having acquired some knowledge of the art of war and military training by their long fighting against the mughals, cast covetous eyes on gondwana. the loose tribal system, so easy in time of peace, entirely failed to knit together the strength of the people when united action was most required, and the plain country fell before the maratha armies almost without a struggle. in the strongholds, however, of the hilly ranges which hem in every part of gondwana the chiefs for long continued to maintain an unequal resistance, and to revenge their own wrongs by indiscriminate rapine and slaughter. in such cases the maratha plan was to continue pillaging and harassing the gonds until they obtained an acknowledgment of their supremacy and the promise, at least, of an annual tribute. under this treatment the hill gonds soon lost every vestige of civilisation, and became the cruel, treacherous savages depicted by travellers of this period. they regularly plundered and murdered stragglers and small parties passing through the hills, while from their strongholds, built on the most inaccessible spurs of the satpuras, they would make a dash into the rich plains of berar and the nerbudda valley, and after looting and killing all night, return straight across country to their jungle fortresses, guided by the light of a bonfire on some commanding peak. [44] with the pacification of the country and the introduction of a strong and equable system of government by the british, these wild marauders soon settled down and became the timid and inoffensive labourers which they now are. 5. mythica traditions. story of lingo. mr. hislop took down from a pardhan priest a gond myth of the creation of the world and the origin of the gonds, and their liberation from a cave, in which they had been shut up by siva, through the divine hero lingo. general cunningham said that the exact position of the cave was not known, but it would seem to have been somewhere in the himalayas, as the name dhawalgiri, which means a white mountain, is mentioned. the cave, according to ordinary gond tradition, was situated in kachikopa lohagarh or the iron valley in the red hill. it seems clear from the story itself that its author was desirous of connecting the gonds with hindu mythology, and as siva's heaven is in the himalayas, the name dhawalgiri, where he located the cave, may refer to them. it is also said that the cave was at the source of the jumna. but in mr. hislop's version the cave where all the gonds except four were shut up is not in kachikopa lohagarh, as the gonds commonly say; but only the four gonds who escaped wandered to this latter place and dwelt there. and the story does not show that kachikopa lohagarh was on mount dhawalgiri or the himalayas, where it places the cave in which the gonds were shut up, or anywhere near them. on the contrary, it would be quite consonant with mr. hislop's version if kachikopa lohagarh were in the central provinces. it may be surmised that in the original gond legend their ancestors really were shut up in kachikopa lohagarh, but not by the god siva. very possibly the story began with them in the cave in the iron valley in the red hill. but the hindu who clearly composed mr. hislop's version wished to introduce the god siva as a principal actor, and he therefore removed the site of the cave to the himalayas. this appears probable from the story itself, in which, in its present form, kachikopa lohagarh plays no real part, and only appears because it was in the original tradition and has to be retained. [45] but the gonds think that their ancestors were actually shut up in kachikopa lohagarh, and one tradition puts the site at pachmarhi, whose striking hill scenery and red soil cleft by many deep and inaccessible ravines would render it a likely place for the incident. another version locates kachikopa lohagarh at darekasa in bhandara, where there is a place known as kachagarh or the iron fort. but pachmarhi is perhaps the more probable, as it has some deep caves, which have always been looked upon as sacred places. the point is of some interest, because this legend of the cave being in the himalayas is adduced as a gond tradition that their ancestors came from the north, and hence as supporting the theory of the immigration of the dravidians through the north-west of india. but if the view now suggested is correct, the story of the cave being in the himalayas is not a genuine gond tradition at all, but a hindu interpolation. the only other ground known to the writer for asserting that the gonds believed their ancestors to have come from the north is that they bury their dead with the feet to the north. there are other obvious hindu accretions in the legend, as the saintly brahmanic character of lingo and his overcoming the gods through fasting and self-torture, and also the fact that siva shut up the gonds in the cave because he was offended by their dirty habits and bad smell. but the legend still contains a considerable quantity of true gond tradition, and though somewhat tedious, it seems necessary to give an abridgment of mr. hislop's account, with reproduction of selected passages. captain forsyth also made a modernised poetical version, [46] from which one extract is taken. certain variations from another form of the legend obtained in bastar are included. 6. legend of the creation. in the beginning there was water everywhere, and god was born in a lotus-leaf and lived alone. one day he rubbed his arm and from the rubbing made a crow, which sat on his shoulder; he also made a crab, which swam out over the waters. god then ordered the crow to fly over the world and bring some earth. the crow flew about and could find no earth, but it saw the crab, which was supporting itself with one leg resting on the bottom of the sea. the crow was very tired and perched on the crab's back, which was soft so that the crow's feet made marks on it, which are still visible on the bodies of all crabs at present. the crow asked the crab where any earth could be found. the crab said that if god would make its body hard it would find some earth. god said he would make part of the crab's body hard, and he made its back hard, as it still remains. the crab then dived to the bottom of the sea, where it found kenchna, the earth-worm. it caught hold of kenchna by the neck with its claws and the mark thus made is still to be seen on the earth-worm's neck. then the earth-worm brought up earth out of its mouth and the crab brought this to god, and god scattered it over the sea and patches of land appeared. god then walked over the earth and a boil came on his hand, and out of it mahadeo and parvati were born. 7. creation of the gonds and their imprisonment by mahadeo. from mahadeo's urine numerous vegetables began to spring up. parvati ate of these and became pregnant and gave birth to eighteen threshing-floors [47] of brahman gods and twelve threshing-floors of gond gods. all the gonds were scattered over the jungle. they behaved like gonds and not like good hindus, with lamentable results, as follows: [48] hither and thither all the gonds were scattered in the jungle. places, hills, and valleys were filled with these gonds. even trees had their gonds. how did the gonds conduct themselves? whatever came across them they must needs kill and eat it; they made no distinction. if they saw a jackal they killed and ate it; no distinction was observed; they respected not antelope, sambhar and the like. they made no distinction in eating a sow, a quail, a pigeon, a crow, a kite, an adjutant, a vulture, a lizard, a frog, a beetle, a cow, a calf, a heand she-buffalo, rats, bandicoots, squirrels--all these they killed and ate. so began the gonds to do. they devoured raw and ripe things; they did not bathe for six months together; they did not wash their faces properly, even on dunghills they would fall down and remain. such were the gonds born in the beginning. a smell was spread over the jungle when the gonds were thus disorderly behaved; they became disagreeable to mahadeva, who said: "the caste of the gonds is very bad; i will not preserve them; they will ruin my hill dhawalgiri." mahadeo then determined to get rid of the gonds. with this view he invited them all to a meeting. when they sat down mahadeo made a squirrel from the rubbings of his body and let it loose in the middle of the gonds. all the gonds at once got up and began to chase it, hoping for a meal. they seized sticks and stones and clods of earth, and their unkempt hair flew in the wind. the squirrel dodged about and ran away, and finally, directed by mahadeo, ran into a large cave with all the gonds after it. mahadeo then rolled a large stone to the mouth of the cave and shut up all the gonds in it. only four remained outside, and they fled away to kachikopa lohagarh, or the iron cave in the red hill, and lived there. meanwhile parvati perceived that the smell of the gonds, which had pleased her, had vanished from dhawalgiri. she desired it to be restored and commenced a devotion. for six months she fasted and practised austerities. bhagwan (god) was swinging in a swing. he was disturbed by parvati's devotion. he sent narayan (the sun) to see who was fasting. narayan came and found parvati and asked her what she wanted. she said that she missed her gonds and wanted them back. narayan told bhagwan, who promised that they should be given back. 8. the birth and history of lingo. the yellow flowers of the tree pahindi were growing on dhawalgiri. bhagwan sent thunder and lightning, and the flower conceived. first fell from it a heap of turmeric or saffron. in the morning the sun came out, the flower burst open, and lingo was born. lingo was a perfect child. he had a diamond on his navel and a sandalwood mark on his forehead. he fell from the flower into the heap of turmeric. he played in the turmeric and slept in a swing. he became nine years old. he said there was no one there like him, and he would go where he could find his fellows. he climbed a needle-like hill, [49] and from afar off he saw kachikopa lohagarh and the four gonds. he came to them. they saw he was like them, and asked him to be their brother. they ate only animals. lingo asked them to find for him an animal without a liver, and they searched all through the forest and could not. then lingo told them to cut down trees and make a field. they tried to cut down the anjan [50] trees, but their hands were blistered and they could not go on. lingo had been asleep. he woke up and saw they had only cut down one or two trees. he took the axe and cut down many trees, and fenced a field and made a gate to it. black soil appeared. it began to rain, and rained without ceasing for three days. all the rivers and streams were filled. the field became green with rice, and it grew up. there were sixteen score of nilgai or blue-bull. they had two leaders, an old bull and his nephew. the young bull saw the rice of lingo's field and wished to eat it. the uncle told him not to eat of the field of lingo or all the nilgai would be killed. but the young bull did not heed, and took off all the nilgai to eat the rice. when they got to the field they could find no entrance, so they jumped the fence, which was five cubits high. they ate all the rice from off the field and ran away. the young bull told them as they ran to put their feet on leaves and stones and boughs and grass, and not on the ground, so that they might not be tracked. lingo woke up and went to see his field, and found all the rice eaten. he knew the nilgai had done it, and showed the brothers how to track them by the few marks which they had by accident made on the ground. they did so, and surrounded the nilgai and killed them all with their bows and arrows except the old uncle, from whom lingo's arrow rebounded harmlessly on account of his innocence, and one young doe. from these two the nilgai race was preserved. then lingo told the gonds to make fire and roast the deer as follows: he said, i will show you something; see if anywhere in your waistbands there is a flint; if so, take it out and make fire. but the matches did not ignite. as they were doing this, a watch of the night passed. they threw down the matches, and said to lingo, thou art a saint; show us where our fire is, and why it does not come out. lingo said: three koss (six miles) hence is rikad gawadi the giant. there is fire in his field; where smoke shall appear, go there, come not back without bringing fire. thus said lingo. they said, we have never seen the place, where shall we go? ye have never seen where this fire is? lingo said; i will discharge an arrow thither. go in the direction of the arrow; there you will get fire. he applied the arrow, and having pulled the bow, he discharged one: it crashed on, breaking twigs and making its passage clear. having cut through the high grass, it made its way and reached the old man's place (above mentioned). the arrow dropped close to the fire of the old man, who had daughters. the arrow was near the door. as soon as they saw it, the daughters came and took it up, and kept it. they asked their father: when will you give us in marriage? thus said the seven sisters, the daughters of the old man. i will marry you as i think best for you; remain as you are. so said the old man, the rikad gawadi. lingo said, hear, o brethren! i shot an arrow, it made its way. go there, and you will see fire; bring thence the fire. each said to the other, i will not go; but (at last) the youngest went. he descried the fire, and went to it; then beheld he an old man looking like the trunk of a tree. he saw from afar the old man's field, around which a hedge was made. the old man kept only one way to it, and fastened a screen to the entrance, and had a fire in the centre of the field. he placed logs of the mahua and anjun and saj trees on the fire, teak faggots he gathered, and enkindled flame. the fire blazed up, and warmed by the heat of it, in deep sleep lay the rikad gawadi. thus the old man like a giant did appear. when the young gond beheld him, he shivered; his heart leaped; and he was much afraid in his mind, and said: if the old man were to rise he will see me, and i shall be eaten up; i will steal away the fire and carry it off, then my life will be safe. he went near the fire secretly, and took a brand of tendu wood tree. when he was lifting it up a spark flew and fell on the hip of the old man. that spark was as large as a pot; the giant was blistered; he awoke alarmed. and said: i am hungry, and i cannot get food to eat anywhere; i feel a desire for flesh; like a tender cucumber hast thou come to me. so said the old man to the gond, who began to fly. the old man followed him. the gond then threw away the brand which he had stolen. he ran onward, and was not caught. then the old man, being tired, turned back. thence he returned to his field, and came near the fire and sat, and said, what nonsense is this? a tender prey had come within my reach; i said i will cut it up as soon as i can, but it escaped from my hand! let it go; it will come again, then i will catch it. it has gone now. then what happened? the gond returned and came to his brethren. and said to them: hear, o brethren, i went for fire, as you sent me, to that field; i beheld an old man like a giant. with hands stretched out and feet lifted up. i ran. i thus survived with difficulty. the brethren said to lingo, we will not go. lingo said, sit ye here. o brethren, what sort of a person is this giant? i will go and see him. so saying, lingo went away and reached a river. he thence arose and went onward. as he looked, he saw in front three gourds. then he saw a bamboo stick, which he took up. when the river was flooded it washed away a gourd tree, and its seed fell, and each stem produced bottle-gourds. he inserted a bamboo stick in the hollow of the gourd and made a guitar. he plucked two hairs from his head and strung it. he held a bow and fixed eleven keys to that one stick, and played on it. lingo was much pleased in his mind. holding it in his hand, he walked in the direction of the old man's field. he approached the fire where rikad gawadi was sleeping. the giant seemed like a log lying close to the fire; his teeth were hideously visible; his mouth was gaping. lingo looked at the old man while sleeping. his eyes were shut. lingo said, this is not a good time to carry off the old man while he is asleep. in front he looked, and turned round and saw a tree of the pipal sort standing erect; he beheld its branches with wonder, and looked for a fit place to mount upon. it appeared a very good tree; so he climbed it, and ascended to the top of it to sit. as he sat the cock crew. lingo said, it is daybreak; meanwhile the old man must be rising. therefore lingo took the guitar in his hand, and held it; he gave a stroke, and it sounded well; from it he drew one hundred tunes. it sounded well, as if he was singing with his voice. thus (as it were) a song was heard. trees and hills were silent at its sound. the music loudly entered into the old man's ears; he rose in haste, and sat up quickly; lifted up his eyes, and desired to hear (more). he looked hither and thither, but could not make out whence the sound came. the old man said: whence has a creature come here to-day to sing like the maina bird? he saw a tree, but nothing appeared to him as he looked underneath it. he did not look up; he looked at the thickets and ravines, but saw nothing. he came to the road, and near to the fire in the midst of his field and stood. sometimes sitting, and sometimes standing, jumping, and rolling, he began to dance. the music sounded as the day dawned. his old woman came out in the morning and began to look out. she heard in the direction of the field a melodious music playing. when she arrived near the edge of her field, she heard music in her ears. that old woman called her husband to her. with stretched hands, and lifted feet, and with his neck bent down, he danced. thus he danced. the old woman looked towards her husband, and said, my old man, my husband, surely, that music is very melodious. i will dance, said the old woman. having made the fold of her dress loose, she quickly began to dance near the hedge. 9. death and resurrection of lingo. then lingo disclosed himself to the giant and became friendly with him. the giant apologised for having tried to eat his brother, and called lingo his nephew. lingo invited him to come and feast on the flesh of the sixteen scores of nilgai. the giant called his seven daughters and offered them all to lingo in marriage. the daughters produced the arrow which they had treasured up as portending a husband. lingo said he was not marrying himself, but he would take them home as wives for his brothers. so they all went back to the cave and lingo assigned two of the daughters each to the three elder brothers and one to the youngest. then the brothers, to show their gratitude, said that they would go and hunt in the forest and bring meat and fruit and lingo should lie in a swing and be rocked by their seven wives. but while the wives were swinging lingo and his eyes were shut, they wished to sport with him as their husbands' younger brother. so saying they pulled his hands and feet till he woke up. then he reproached them and called them his mothers and sisters, but they cared nothing and began to embrace him. then lingo was filled with wrath and leapt up, and seeing a rice-pestle near he seized it and beat them all with it soundly. then the women went to their houses and wept and resolved to be revenged on lingo. so when the brothers came home they told their husbands that while they were swinging lingo he had tried to seduce them all from their virtue, and they were resolved to go home and stay no longer in kachikopa with such a man about the place. then the brothers were exceedingly angry with lingo, who they thought had deceived them with a pretence of virtue in refusing a wife, and they resolved to kill him. so they enticed him into the forest with a story of a great animal which had put them to flight and asked him to kill it, and there they shot him to death with their arrows and gouged out his eyes and played ball with them. but the god bhagwan became aware that lingo was not praying to him as usual, and sent the crow kageshwar to look for him. the crow came and reported that lingo was dead, and the god sent him back with nectar to sprinkle it over the body and bring it to life again, which was done. 10. he releases the gonds shut up in the cave and constitutes the tribe. lingo then thought he had had enough of the four brothers, so he determined to go and find the other sixteen score gonds who were imprisoned somewhere as the brothers had told him. the manner of his doing this may be told in captain forsyth's version: [51] and our lingo redivivus wandered on across the mountains, wandered sadly through the forest till the darkening of the evening, wandered on until the night fell. screamed the panther in the forest, growled the bear upon the mountain, and our lingo then bethought him of their cannibal propensities. saw at hand the tree niruda, clambered up into its branches. darkness fell upon the forest, bears their heads wagged, yelled the jackal kolyal, the king of jackals. sounded loud their dreadful voices in the forest-shade primeval. then the jungle-cock gugotee, mull the peacock, kurs the wild deer, terror-stricken, screeched and shuddered, in that forest-shade primeval. but the moon arose at midnight, poured her flood of silver radiance, lighted all the forest arches, through their gloomy branches slanting; fell on lingo, pondering deeply on his sixteen scores of koiturs. then thought lingo, i will ask her for my sixteen scores of koiturs. 'tell me, o moon!' said lingo, 'tell, o brightener of the darkness! where my sixteen scores are hidden.' but the moon sailed onwards, upwards, and her cold and glancing moonbeams said, 'your gonds, i have not seen them.' and the stars came forth and twinkled twinkling eyes above the forest. lingo said, "o stars that twinkle! eyes that look into the darkness, tell me where my sixteen scores are." but the cold stars twinkling ever, said, 'your gonds, we have not seen them.' broke the morning, the sky reddened, faded out the star of morning, rose the sun above the forest, brilliant sun, the lord of morning, and our lingo quick descended, quickly ran he to the eastward, fell before the lord of morning, gave the great sun salutation- 'tell, o sun!' he said, 'discover where my sixteen scores of gonds are.' but the lord of day reply made- "hear, o lingo, i a pilgrim wander onwards, through four watches serving god, i have seen nothing of your sixteen scores of koiturs." then our lingo wandered onwards through the arches of the forest; wandered on until before him saw the grotto of a hermit, old and sage, the black kumait, he the very wise and knowing, he the greatest of magicians, born in days that are forgotten, in the unremembered ages, salutation gave and asked him- 'tell, o hermit! great kumait! where my sixteen scores of gonds are. then replied the black magician, spake disdainfully in this wise- "lingo, hear, your gonds are asses eating cats, and mice, and bandicoots, eating pigs, and cows, and buffaloes; filthy wretches! wherefore ask me? if you wish it i will tell you. our great mahadeva caught them, and has shut them up securely in a cave within the bowels of his mountain dewalgiri, with a stone of sixteen cubits, and his bulldog fierce basmasur; serve them right, too, i consider, filthy, casteless, stinking wretches!" and the hermit to his grotto back returned, and deeply pondered on the days that are forgotten, on the unremembered ages. but our lingo wandered onwards, fasting, praying, doing penance; laid him on a bed of prickles, thorns long and sharp and piercing. fasting lay he devotee-like, hand not lifting, foot not lifting, eye not opening, nothing seeing. twelve months long thus lay and fasted, till his flesh was dry and withered, and the bones began to show through. then the great god mahadeva felt his seat begin to tremble, felt his golden stool, all shaking from the penance of our lingo. felt, and wondered who on earth this devotee was that was fasting till his golden stool was shaking. stepped he down from dewalgiri, came and saw that bed of prickles where our lingo lay unmoving. asked him what his little game was, why his golden stool was shaking. answered lingo, "mighty ruler! nothing less will stop that shaking than my sixteen scores of koiturs rendered up all safe and hurtless from your cave in dewalgiri." then the great god, much disgusted, offered all he had to lingo, offered kingdom, name, and riches, offered anything he wished for, 'only leave your stinking koiturs well shut up in dewalgiri.' but our lingo all refusing would have nothing but his koiturs; gave a turn to run the thorns a little deeper in his midriff. winced the great god: "very well, then, take your gonds--but first a favour. by the shore of the black water lives a bird they call black bindo, much i wish to see his young ones, little bindos from the sea-shore; for an offering bring these bindos, then your gonds take from my mountain." then our lingo rose and wandered, wandered onwards through the forest, till he reached the sounding sea-shore, reached the brink of the black water, found the bingo birds were absent from their nest upon the sea-shore, absent hunting in the forest, hunting elephants prodigious, which they killed and took their brains out, cracked their skulls, and brought their brains to feed their callow little bindos, wailing sadly by the sea-shore. seven times a fearful serpent, bhawarnag the horrid serpent, serpent born in ocean's caverns, coming forth from the black water, had devoured the little bindos- broods of callow little bindos wailing sadly by the sea-shore- in the absence of their parents. eighth this brood was. stood our lingo, stood he pondering beside them- "if i take these little wretches in the absence of their parents they will call me thief and robber. no! i'll wait till they come back here." then he laid him down and slumbered by the little wailing bindos. as he slept the dreadful serpent, rising, came from the black water, came to eat the callow bindos, in the absence of their parents. came he trunk-like from the waters, came with fearful jaws distended, huge and horrid, like a basket for the winnowing of corn. rose a hood of vast dimensions o'er his fierce and dreadful visage. shrieked the bindos young and callow, gave a cry of lamentation; rose our lingo; saw the monster; drew an arrow from his quiver, shot it swift into his stomach, sharp and cutting in the stomach, then another and another; cleft him into seven pieces, wriggled all the seven pieces, wriggled backward to the water. but our lingo, swift advancing, seized the headpiece in his arms, knocked the brains out on a boulder; laid it down beside the bindos, callow, wailing, little bindos. on it laid him, like a pillow, and began again to slumber. soon returned the parent bindos from their hunting in the forest; bringing brains and eyes of camels and of elephants prodigious, for their little callow bindos wailing sadly by the sea-shore. but the bindos young and callow brains of camels would not swallow; said--"a pretty set of parents you are truly! thus to leave us sadly wailing by the sea-shore to be eaten by the serpent- bhawarnag the dreadful serpent- came he up from the black water, came to eat us little bindos, when this very valiant lingo shot an arrow in his stomach, cut him into seven pieces- give to lingo brains of camels, eyes of elephants prodigious." then the fond paternal bindo saw the head-piece of the serpent under lingo's head a pillow, and he said, 'o valiant lingo, ask whatever you may wish for.' then he asked the little bindos for an offering to the great god, and the fond paternal bindo, much disgusted first refusing, soon consented; said he'd go too with the fond maternal bindo- take them all upon his shoulders, and fly straight to dewalgiri. then he spread his mighty pinions, took his bindos up on one side and our lingo on the other. thus they soared away together from the shores of the black water, and the fond maternal bindo, o'er them hovering, spread an awning with her broad and mighty pinions o'er her offspring and our lingo. by the forests and the mountains six months' journey was it thither to the mountain dewalgiri. half the day was scarcely over ere this convoy from the sea-shore lighted safe on dewalgiri; touched the knocker to the gateway of the great god, mahadeva. and the messenger narayan answering, went and told his master- "lo, this very valiant lingo! here he is with all the bindos, the black bindos from the sea-shore." then the great god, much disgusted, driven quite into a corner, took our lingo to the cavern, sent basmasur to his kennel, held his nose, and moved away the mighty stone of sixteen cubits; called those sixteen scores of gonds out made them over to their lingo. and they said, "o father lingo! what a bad time we've had of it, not a thing to fill our bellies in this horrid gloomy dungeon." but our lingo gave them dinner, gave them rice and flour of millet, and they went off to the river, had a drink, and cooked and ate it. the next episode is taken from a slightly different local version: and while they were cooking their food at the river a great flood came up, but all the gonds crossed safely except the four gods, tekam, markam, pusam and telengam. [52] these were delayed because they had cooked their food with ghi which they had looted from the hindu deities. then they stood on the bank and cried out, o god of the crossing, o boundary god! should you be here, come take us across. hearing this, the tortoise and crocodile came up to them, and offered to take them across the river. so markam and tekam sat on the back of the crocodile and pusam and telengam on the back of the tortoise, and before starting the gods made the crocodile and tortoise swear that they would not eat or drown them in the sea. but when they got to the middle of the river the tortoise and crocodile began to sink, with the idea that they would drown the gonds and feed their young with them. then the gonds cried out, and the raigidhni or vulture heard them. this bird appears to be the same as the bindo, as it fed its young with elephants. the raigidhni flew to the gonds and took them up on its back and flew ashore with them. and in its anger it picked out the tongue of the crocodile and crushed the neck of the tortoise. and this is why the crocodile is still tongueless and the tortoise has a broken neck, which is sometimes inside and sometimes outside its shell. both animals also have the marks of string on their backs where the gond gods tied their necks together when they were ferried across. thus all the gonds were happily reunited and lingo took them into the forest, and they founded a town there, which grew and prospered. and lingo divided all the gonds into clans and made the oldest man a pardhan or priest and founded the rule of exogamy. he also made the gond gods, subsequently described, [53] and worshipped them with offerings of a calf and liquor, and danced before them. he also prescribed the ceremonies of marriage which are still observed, and after all this was done lingo went to the gods. (b) tribal subdivisions 11. subcastes. out of the gond tribe, which, as it gave its name to a province, may be considered as almost a people, a number of separate castes have naturally developed. among them are several occupational castes such as the agarias or iron-workers, the ojhas or soothsayers, pardhans or priests and minstrels, solahas or carpenters, and koilabhutis or dancers or prostitutes. these are principally sprung from the gonds, though no doubt with an admixture of other low tribes or castes. the parjas of bastar, now classed as a separate tribe, appear to represent the oldest gond settlers, who were subdued by later immigrants of the race; while the bhatras and jhadi telengas are of mixed descent from gonds and hindus. similarly the gowari caste of cattle-graziers originated from the alliances of gond and ahir graziers. the mannewars and kolams are other tribes allied to the gonds. many hindu castes and also non-aryan tribes living in contact with the gonds have a large gond element; of the former class the ahirs, basors, barhais and lohars, and of the latter the baigas, bhunjias and khairwars are instances. among the gonds proper there are two aristocratic subdivisions, the raj-gonds and khatolas. according to forsyth the raj-gonds are in many cases the descendants of alliances between rajput adventurers and gonds. but the term practically comprises the landholding subdivision of the gonds, and any proprietor who was willing to pay for the privilege could probably get his family admitted into the raj-gond group. the raj-gonds rank with the hindu cultivating castes, and brahmans will take water from them. they sometimes wear the sacred thread. in the telugu country the raj-gond is known as durla or durlasattam. in some localities raj-gonds will intermarry with ordinary gonds, but not in others. the khatola gonds take their name from the khatola state in bundelkhand, which is said to have once been governed by a gond ruler, but is no longer in existence. in saugor they rank about equal with the raj-gonds and intermarry with them, but in chhindwara it is said that ordinary gonds despise them and will not marry with them or eat with them on account of their mixed descent from gonds and hindus. the ordinary gonds in most districts form one endogamous group, and are known as the dhur or 'dust' gonds, that is the common people. an alternative name conferred on them by the hindus is rawanvansi or of the race of rawan, the demon king of ceylon, who was the opponent of rama. the inference from this name is that the hindus consider the gonds to have been among the people of southern india who opposed the aryan expedition to ceylon, which is preserved in the legend of rama; and the name therefore favours the hypothesis that the gonds came from the south and that their migration northward was sufficiently recent in date to permit of its being still remembered in tradition. there are several other small local subdivisions. the koya gonds live on the border of the telugu country, and their name is apparently a corruption of koi or koitur, which the gonds call themselves. the gaita are another chanda subcaste, the word gaite or gaita really meaning a village priest or headman. gattu or gotte is said to be a name given to the hill gonds of chanda, and is not a real subcaste. the darwe or naik gonds of chanda were formerly employed as soldiers, and hence obtained the name of naik or leader. other local groups are being formed such as the larhia or those of chhattisgarh, the mandlaha of mandla, the lanjiha from lanji and so on. these are probably in course of becoming endogamous. the gonds of bastar are divided into two groups, the maria and the muria. the maria are the wilder, and are apparently named after the mad, as the hilly country of bastar is called. mr. hira lal suggests the derivation of muria from mur, the palas tree, which is common in the plains of bastar, or from mur, a root. both derivations must be considered as conjectural. the murias are the gonds who live in the plains and are more civilised than the marias. the descendants of the raja of deogarh bakht buland, who turned muhammadan, still profess that religion, but intermarry freely with the hindu gonds. the term bhoi, which literally means a bearer in telugu, is used as a synonym for the gonds and also as an honorific title. in chhindwara it is said that only a village proprietor is addressed as bhoi. it appears that the gonds were used as palanquin-bearers, and considered it an honour to belong to the kahar or bearer caste, which has a fairly good status. [54] 12. exogamy. the gond rules of exogamy appear to preserve traces of the system found in australia, by which the whole tribe is split into two or four main divisions, and every man in one or two of them must marry a woman in the other one or two. this is considered by sir j. g. frazer to be the beginning of exogamy, by which marriage was prohibited, first, between brothers and sisters, and then between parents and children, by the arrangement of these main divisions. [55] among the gonds, however, the subdivision into small exogamous septs has been also carried out, and the class system, if the surmise that it once existed be correct, remains only in the form of a survival, prohibiting marriage between agnates, like an ordinary sept. in one part of bastar all the septs of the maria gonds are divided into two great classes. there are ninety septs in a class and sixty-nine in b class, though the list may be incomplete. all the septs of a class say that they are bhaiband or dadabhai to each other, that is in the relation of brothers, or cousins being the sons of brothers. no man of class a can marry a woman of any sept in class a. the septs of class a stand in relation of mamabhai or akomama to those of class b. mamabhai means a maternal uncle's son, and akomama apparently signifies having the same maternal grandfather. any man of a sept in class a can marry any woman of a sept in class b. it will thus be seen that the smaller septs seem to serve no purpose for regulating marriage, and are no more than family names. the tribe might just as well be divided into two great exogamous clans only. marriage is prohibited between persons related only through males; but according to the exogamous arrangement there is no other prohibition, and a man could marry any maternal relative. separate rules, however, prohibit his marriage with certain female relatives, and these will be given subsequently. [56] it is possible that the small septs may serve some purpose which has not been elicited, though the inquiry made by rai bahadur panda baijnath was most careful and painstaking. in another part of bastar there were found to be five classes, and each class had a small number of septs in it. the people who supplied this information could not give the names of many septs. thus class a had six septs, class b five, classes c and d one each, class e four, and class f two. a man could not marry a woman of any sept belonging to his own class. the muria gonds of bastar have a few large exogamous septs or clans named in hindi after animals, and each of these clans contains several subsepts with gondi names. thus the bakaravans or goat race contains the garde, kunjami, karrami and vadde septs. the kachhimvans or tortoise race has the netami, kawachi, usendi and tekami septs; the nagvans or cobra race includes the maravi, potari, karanga, nurethi, dhurwa and others. other exogamous races are the sodi (or tiger), behainsa (buffalo), netam (dog in gondi), chamchidai (bat) and one or two more. in this case the exogamous clans with hindi names would appear to be a late division, and have perhaps been adopted because the meaning of the old gondi names had been forgotten, or the septs were too numerous to be remembered. in chanda a classification according to the number of gods worshipped is found. there are four main groups worshipping seven, six, five and four gods respectively, and each group contains ten to fifteen septs. a man cannot marry a woman of any sept which worships the same number of gods as himself. each group has a sacred animal which the members revere, that of the seven-god worshippers being a porcupine, of the six-god worshippers a tiger, of the five-god worshippers the saras crane, and of the four-god worshippers a tortoise. as a rule the members of the different groups do not know the names of their gods, and in practice it is doubtful whether they restrict themselves to the proper number of gods of their own group. formerly there were three-, twoand one-god worshippers, but in each of these classes it is said that there were only one or two septs, and they found that they were much inconvenienced by the paucity of their numbers, perhaps for purposes of communal worship and feasting, and hence they got themselves enrolled in the larger groups. in reality it would appear that the classification according to the number of gods worshipped is being forgotten, and the three lowest groups have disappeared. this conjecture is borne out by the fact that in chhindwara and other localities only two large classes remain who worship six and seven gods respectively, and marry with each other, the union of a man with a woman worshipping the same number of gods as himself being prohibited. here, again, the small septs included in the groups appear to serve no purpose for regulating marriages. in mandla the division according to the number of gods worshipped exists as in chanda; but many gonds have forgotten all particulars as to the gods, and say only that those septs which worship the same number of gods are bhaiband, or related to each other, and therefore cannot intermarry. in betul the division by numbers of gods appears to be wholly in abeyance. here certain large septs, especially the uika and dhurwa, are subdivided into a number of subsepts, within each of which marriage is prohibited. 13. totemism. many of the septs are named after animals and plants. among the commonest septs in all districts are markam, the mango tree; tekam, the teak tree; netam, the dog; irpachi, the mahua tree; tumrachi, the tendu tree; warkara, the wild cat, and so on. generally the members of a sept do not kill or injure their totem animals, but the rule is not always observed, and in some cases they now have some other object of veneration, possibly because they have forgotten the meaning of the sept name, or the object after which it is named has ceased to be sacred. thus the markam sept, though named after the mango, now venerate the tortoise, and this is also the case with the netam sept in bastar, though named after the dog. in bastar a man revering the tortoise, though he will not catch the animal himself, will get one of his friends to catch it, and one revering the goat, if he wishes to kill a goat for a feast, will kill it not at his own house but at a friend's. the meaning of the important sept names marabi, dhurwa and uika has not been ascertained, and the members of the sept do not know it. in mandla the marabi sept are divided into the eti marabi and padi marabi, named after the goat and pig. the eti or goat marabi will not touch a goat nor sacrifice one to bura deo. they say that once their ancestors stole a goat and were caught by the owner, when they put a basket over it and prayed bura deo to change it into a pig, which he did. therefore they sacrifice only pigs to bura deo, but apparently the padi marabi also both sacrifice and eat pigs. the dhurwa sept are divided into the tumrachi and nabalia dhurwa, named after the tendu tree and the dwarf date-palm. the nabalia dhurwas will not cut a dwarf date-palm nor eat its fruit. they worship bura deo in this tree instead of in the saj tree, making an iron doll to represent him and covering it with palm-leaves. the uika sept in mandla say that they revere no animal or plant, and can eat any animal or cut down any plant except the saj tree, [57] the tree of bura deo; but in betul they are divided into several subsepts, each of which has a totem. the parteti sept revere the crocodile. when a marriage is finished they make a sacrifice to the crocodile, and if they see one lying dead they break their earthen pots in token of mourning. the warkara sept revere the wild cat; they also will not touch a village cat nor keep one in their house, and if a cat comes in they drive it out at once. the kunjam sept revere the rat and do not kill it. 14. connection of totemism with the gods. in betul the gonds explain the totemistic names of their septs by saying that some incident connected with the animal, tree or other object occurred to the ancestor or priest of the sept while they were worshipping at the deo-khulla or god's place or threshing-floor. mr. ganga prasad khatri has made an interesting collection of these. the reason why these stories have been devised may be that the totem animals or plants have ceased to be revered on their own merits as ancestors or kinsmen of the sept, and it was therefore felt necessary to explain the sept name or sanctity attaching to the totem by associating it with the gods. if this were correct the process would be analogous to that by which an animal or plant is first held sacred of itself, and, when this feeling begins to decay with some recognition of its true nature, it is associated with an anthropomorphic god in order to preserve its sanctity. the following are some examples recorded by mr. ganga prasad khatri. some of the examples are not associated with the gods. gajjami, subsept of dhurwa sept. from gaj, an arrow. their first ancestor killed a tiger with an arrow. gouribans dhurwa. their first ancestor worshipped his gods in a bamboo clump. kusadya dhurwa. (kosa, tasar silk cocoon.) the first ancestor found a silk cocoon on the tree in which he worshipped his gods. kohkapath. kohka is the fruit of the bhilawa [58] or marking-nut tree, and path, a kid. the first ancestor worshipped his gods in a bhilawa tree and offered a kid to them. members of this sept do not eat the fruit or flowers of the bhilawa tree. jaglya. one who keeps awake, or the awakener. the first ancestor stayed awake the whole night in the deo-khulla, or god's threshing-floor. sariyam. (sarri, a path.) the first ancestor swept the path to the deo-khulla. guddam. gudda is a place where a hen lays her eggs. the first ancestor's hen laid eggs in the deo-khulla. irpachi. the mahua tree. a mahua tree grew in the deo-khulla or worshipping-place of this sept. admachi. the dhaura tree. [59] the first ancestor worshipped his gods under a dhaura tree. members of the sept do not cut this tree nor burn its wood. sarati dhurwa. (sarati, a whip.) the first ancestor whipped the priest of the gods. suibadiwa. (sui, a porcupine.) the first ancestor's wife had a porcupine which went and ate the crop of an old man's field. he tried to catch it, but it went back to her. he asked the name of her sept, and not being able to find it out called it suibadiwa. watka. (a stone.) members of this sept worship five stones for their gods. some say that the first ancestors were young boys who forgot where the deo-khulla was and therefore set up five stones and offered a chicken to them. as they did not offer the usual sacrifice of a goat, members of this sept abstain from eating goats. tumrecha uika. (the tendu tree. [60]) it is said that the original ancestor of this sept was walking in the forest with his pregnant wife. she saw some tendu fruit and longed for it and he gave it to her to eat. perhaps the original idea may have been that she conceived through swallowing a tendu fruit. members of this sept eat the fruit of the tendu tree, but do not cut the tree nor make any use of its leaves or branches. tumdan uika. tumdan is a kind of pumpkin or gourd. they say that this plant grows in their deo-khulla. the members drink water out of this gourd in the house, but do not carry it out of the house. kadfa-chor uika. (stealer of the kadfa.) kadfa is the sheaf of grain left standing in the field for the gods when the crop is cut. the first ancestor stole the kadfa and offered it to his gods. gadhamar uika. (donkey-slayer.) some say that the gods of the sept came to the deo-khulla riding on donkeys, and others that the first ancestor killed a donkey in the deo-khulla. eti-kumra. eti is a goat. the ancestors of the sept used to sacrifice a brahman boy to their gods. once they were caught in the act by the parents of the boy they had stolen, and they prayed to the gods to save them, and the boy was turned into a goat. they do not kill a goat nor eat its flesh, nor sacrifice it to the gods. ahke. this word means 'on the other side of a river.' they say that a man of the dhurwa sept abducted a girl of the uika sept from the other side of a river and founded this sept. tirgam. the word means fire. they say that their ancestor's hand was burnt in the deo-khulla while cooking the sacrifice. tekam. (the teak tree.) the ancestor of the sept had his gods in this tree. members of the sept will not eat food off teak leaves, but they will use them for thatching, and also cut the tree. manapa. in gondi mani is a son and apa a father. they say that their ancestors sacrificed a brahman father and son to their gods and were saved by their being turned into goats like the eti-kumra sept. members of the sept do not kill or eat a goat. korpachi. the droppings of a hen. the ancestors of the sept offered these to his gods. mandani. the female organ of generation. the ancestor of the sept slept with his wife in the deo-khulla. paiyam. paiya is a heifer which has not borne a calf, such as is offered to the gods. other gonds say that the people of this sept have no gods. they are said not only to marry a girl from any other subsept of the dhurwas and uikas, but from their own sept and even their own sisters, though this is probably no longer true. they are held to be the lowest of the gonds. except in this instance, as already seen, the subsepts of the dhurwa and uika septs do not intermarry with each other. (c) marriage customs 15. prohibitions on intermarriage, and unions of relations. a man must not marry in his own sept, nor in one which worships the same number of gods, in localities where the classification of septs according to the number of gods worshipped obtains. intermarriage between septs which are bhaiband or brothers to each other is also prohibited. the marriage of first cousins is considered especially suitable. formerly, perhaps, the match between a brother's daughter and sister's son was most common; this is held to be a survival of the matriarchate, when a man's sister's son was his heir. but the reason has now been generally forgotten, and the union of a brother's son to a sister's daughter has also become customary, while, as girls are scarce and have to be paid for, it is the boy's father who puts forward his claim. thus in mandla and bastar a man thinks he has a right to his sister's daughter for his son on the ground that his family has given a girl to her husband's family, and therefore they should give one back. this match is known as dudh lautana or bringing back the milk; and if the sister's daughter marries any one else her maternal uncle sometimes claims what is known as 'milk money,' which may be a sum of rs. 5, in compensation for the loss of the girl as a wife for his son. this custom has perhaps developed out of the former match in changed conditions of society, when the original relation between a brother and his sister's son has been forgotten and girls have become valuable. but it is said that the dudh or milk money is also payable if a brother refuses to give his daughter to his sister's son. in mandla a man claims his sister's daughter for his son and sometimes even the daughter of a cousin, and considers that he has a legitimate grievance if the girl is married to somebody else. frequently, if he has reason to apprehend this, he invites the girl to his house for some ceremony or festival, and there marries her to his son without the consent of her parents. as this usually constitutes the offence of kidnapping under the penal code, a crop of criminal cases results, but the procedure of arrest without warrant and the severe punishment imposed by the code are somewhat unsuitable for a case of this kind, which, according to gond ideas, is rather in the nature of a civil wrong, and a sufficient penalty would often be the payment of an adequate compensation or bride-price for the girl. the children of two sisters cannot, it is said, be married, and a man cannot marry his wife's elder sister, any aunt or niece, nor his mother-in-law or her sister. but marriage is not prohibited between grandparents and grandchildren. if an old man marries a young wife and dies, his grandson will marry her if she is of proper age. in this there would be no blood-relationship, but it is doubtful whether even the existence of such relationship would prevent the match. it is said that even among hindu castes the grandfather will flirt with his granddaughter, and call her his wife in jest, and the grandmother with her grandson. in bastar a man can marry his daughter's daughter or maternal grandfather's or grandmother's sister. he could not marry his son's daughter or paternal grandfather's sister, because they belong to the same sept as himself. 16. irregular marriages. in the maria country, if a girl is made pregnant by a man of the caste before marriage, she simply goes to his house and becomes his wife. this is called paithu or entering. the man has to spend rs. 2 or 3 on food for the caste and pay the price for the girl to her parents. if a girl has grown up and no match has been arranged for her to which she agrees, her parents will ask her maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's son to seize her and take her away. these two cousins have a kind of prescriptive claim to the girl, and apparently it makes no difference whether the prospective husband is already married or not. he and his friends lie in wait near her home and carry her off, and her parents afterwards proceed to his house to console their daughter and reconcile her to the match. sometimes when a woman is about to become what is known as a paisamundi or kept woman, without being married, the relations rub her and the man whose mistress she is with oil and turmeric, put marriage crowns of palm-leaves on their heads, pour water on them from the top of a post, and make them go seven times round a mahua branch, so that they may be considered to be married. when a couple are very poor they may simply go and live together without any wedding, and perform the ceremony afterwards when they have means, or they distribute little pieces of bread to the tribesmen in lieu of the marriage feast. 17. marriage. arrangement of matches. marriage is generally adult. among the wild maria gonds of bastar the consent of the girl is considered an essential preliminary to the union. she gives it before a council of elders, and if necessary is allowed time to make up her mind. the boy must also agree to the match. elsewhere matches are arranged by the parents, and a bride-price which amounts to a fairly substantial sum in comparison with the means of the parties is usually paid. but still the girls have a considerable amount of freedom. it is generally considered that if a girl goes of her own accord and pours turmeric and water over a man, it is a valid marriage and he can take her to live in his house. married women also sometimes do this to another man if they wish to leave their husbands. 18. the marriage ceremony. the most distinctive feature of a gond marriage is that the procession usually starts from the bride's house and the wedding is held at that of the bridegroom, in contradistinction to the hindu practice. it is supposed that this is a survival of the custom of marriage by capture, when the bride was carried off from her own house to the bridegroom's, and any ceremony which was requisite was necessarily held at the house of the latter. but the gonds say that since dulha deo, the bridegroom god and one of the commonest village deities, was carried off by a tiger on his way to his wedding, it was decided that in future the bride must go to the bridegroom to be married in order to obviate the recurrence of such a calamity. any risk incidental to the journey thus falls to the lady. among the wilder maria gonds of bastar the ritual is very simple. the bride's party arrive at the bridegroom's village and occupy some huts made ready for them. his father sends them provisions, including a pig and fowls, and the day passes in feasting. in the evening they go to the bridegroom's house, and the night is spent in dancing by the couple and the young people of the village. next morning the bride's people go back again, and after another meal her parents bring her to the bridegroom's house and push her inside, asking the boy's father to take charge of her, and telling her that she now belongs to her husband's family and must not come back to them alone. the girl cries a little for form's sake and acquiesces, and the business is over, no proper marriage rite being apparently performed at all. among the more civilised marias the couple are seated for the ceremony side by side under a green shed, and water is poured on them through the shed in imitation of the fertilising action of rain. some elder of the village places his hands on them and the wedding is over. but hindu customs are gradually being adopted, and the rubbing of powdered turmeric and water on the bodies of the bride and bridegroom is generally essential to a proper wedding. the following description is given of the gonds of kanker. on the day fixed for the marriage the pair, accompanied by the dosi or caste priest, proceed to a river, in the bed of which two reeds five or six feet high are placed just so far apart that a man can lie down between them, and tied together with a thread at the top. the priest lies down between the reeds, and the bride and bridegroom jump seven times over his body. after the last jump they go a little way off, throw aside their wet clothes, and then run naked to a place where their dry clothes are kept; they put them on and go home without looking back. among the gonds in khairagarh the pair are placed in two pans of a balance and covered with blankets. the caste priest lifts up the bridegroom's pan and her female relatives the bride's, and walk round with them seven times, touching the marriage-post at each time. after this they are taken outside the village without being allowed to see each other. they are placed standing at a little distance with a screen between them, and liquor is spilt on the ground to make a line from one to the other. after a time the bridegroom lifts up the screen, rushes on the bride, gives her a blow on the back and puts the ring on her finger, at the same time making a noise in imitation of the cry of a goat. all the village then indulge in bacchanalian orgies, not sparing their own relations. 19. wedding expenditure. in bastar it is said that the expenses of a wedding vary from rs. 5 to rs. 20 for the bride's family and from rs. 10 to rs. 50 for the bridegroom's, according to their means. [61] in a fairly well-to-do family the expenditure of the bridegroom's family is listed as follows: liquor rs. 20, rice rs. 12, salt rs. 2, two goats rs. 2, chillies rs. 2, ghi rs. 4, turmeric rs. 2, oil rs. 3, three cloths for the bride rs. 8, two sheets and a loin-cloth for her relatives rs. 5, payment to the kumhar for earthen pots rs. 5, the bride-price rs. 10, present to the bride's maternal uncle when she is not married to his son rs. 2, and something for the drummers. the total of this is rs. 76, and any expenditure on ornaments which the family can afford may be added. in wealthier localities the bride-price is rs. 15 to 20 or more. sometimes if the girl has been married and dies before the bride-price has been paid, her father will not allow her body to be buried until it is paid. the sum expended on a wedding probably represents the whole income of the family for at least six months, and often for a considerably longer period. in chanda [62] the bride's party on arrival at the bridegroom's village receive the bara jawa or marriage greeting, every one present being served with a little rice-water, an onion and a piece of tobacco. at the wedding the bridegroom has a ring either of gold, silver or copper, lead not being permissible, and places this on the bride's finger. often the bride resists and the bridegroom has to force her fist open, or he plants his foot on hers in order to control her while he gets the ring on to her finger. elsewhere the couple hold each other by the little fingers in walking round the marriage-post, and then each places an iron ring on the other's little finger. the couple then tie strings, coloured yellow with turmeric, round each other's right wrists. on the second day they are purified with water and put on new clothes. on the third day they go to worship the god, preceded by two men who carry a chicken in a basket. this chicken is called the dhendha or associate of the bridal couple, and corresponds to the child which in hindu marriages is appointed as the associate of the bridegroom. just before their arrival at the temple the village jester snatches away the chicken, and pretends to eat it. at the temple they worship the god, and deposit before him the strings coloured with turmeric which had been tied on their wrists. in chhindwara the bride is taken on a bullock to the bridegroom's house. at the wedding four people hold out a blanket in which juari, lemons and eggs are placed, and the couple walk round this seven times, as in the hindu bhanwar ceremony. they then go inside the house, where a chicken is torn asunder and the blood sprinkled on their heads. at the same time the bride crushes a chicken under her foot. in mandla the bride on entering the marriage-shed kills a chicken by cutting off its head either with an axe or a knife. then all the gods of her house enter into her and she is possessed by them, and for each one she kills a chicken, cutting off its head in the same manner. the chickens are eaten by all the members of the bride's party who have come with her, but none belonging to the bridegroom's party may partake of them. here the marriage-post is made of the wood of the mahua tree, round which a toran or string of mango leaves is twisted, and the couple walk seven times round this. in wardha the bride and bridegroom stand on the heap of refuse behind the house and their heads are knocked together. in bhandara two spears are placed on the heap of refuse and their ends are tied together at the top with the entrails of a fowl. the bride and bridegroom have to stand under the spears while water is poured over them, and then run out. before the bride starts the bridegroom must give her a blow on the back, and if he can do this before she runs out from the spears it is thought that the marriage will be lucky. the women of the bride's and bridegroom's party also stand one at each end of a rope and have a competition in singing. they sing against each other and see which can go on the longest. brahmans are not employed at a gond wedding. the man who officiates is known as dosi, and is the bridegroom's brother-in-law, father's sister's husband or some similar relative. a woman relative of the bride helps her to perform her part and is known as sawasin. to the dosi and sawasin the bride and bridegroom's parties present an earthen vessel full of kodon. the donors mark the pots, take them home and sow them in their own fields, and then give the crop to the dosi and sawasin. 20. special customs. some years ago in balaghat the bride and bridegroom sat and ate food together out of two leaf-plates. when they had finished the bride took the leaf-plates, ran with them to the marriage-shed, and fixed them in the woodwork so that they did not fall down. the bridegroom ran after her, and if she did not put the plates away quickly, gave her one or two blows with his fist. this apparently was a symbolical training of the bride to be diligent and careful in her household work. among the raj-gonds of saugor, if the bridegroom could not come himself he was accustomed to send his sword to represent him. the sawasin carried the sword seven times round the marriage-post with the bride and placed a garland on her on its behalf, and the bride put a garland over the sword. this was held to be a valid marriage. in a rich raj-gond or khatola gond family two or three girls would be given with the bride, and they would accompany her and become the concubines of the bridegroom. among the maria gonds of chanda the wedded pair retire after the ceremony to a house allotted to them and spend the night together. their relatives and friends before leaving shout and make merry round the house for a time, and throw all kinds of rubbish and dirt on it. in the morning the couple have to get up early and clear all this off, and clean up the house. a curious ceremony is reported from one part of mandla. when a gond girl is leaving to be married, her father places inside her litter a necklace of many strings of blue and yellow beads, with a number of cowries at the end, and an iron ring attached to it. on her arrival at the bridegroom's house his father takes out the necklace and ring. sometimes it is said that he simply passes a stone through the ring, but often he hangs it up in the centre of a room, and the bridegroom's relatives throw stones at it until one of them goes through the ring, or they throw long bamboo sticks or shoot arrows at it, or even fire bullets from a gun. in a recent case it is said that a man was trying to fire a bullet through the ring and killed a girl. until a stone, stick, arrow or bullet has been sent through the ring the marriage cannot take place, nor can the bridegroom or his father touch the bride, and they go on doing this all night until somebody succeeds. when the feat has been done they pour a bottle of liquor over the necklace and ring, and the bride's relatives catch the liquor as it falls, and drink it. the girl wears the necklace at her wedding, and thereafter so long as her husband lives, and when he dies she tears the string to pieces and throws it into the river. the iron ring must be made by a gondi lohar or blacksmith, and he will not accept money in payment for it, but must be given a cow, calf, or buffalo. the symbolical meaning of this rite does not appear to require explanation. [63] in many places the bride and bridegroom go and bathe in a river or tank on the day after the wedding, and throw mud and dirt over each other, or each throws the other down and rolls him or her in the mud. this is called chikhal-mundi or playing in the mud. afterwards the bride has to wash the bridegroom's muddy clothes, roll them up in a blanket, and carry them on her head to the house. a see-saw is then placed in the marriage-shed, and the bridegroom's father sits on it. the bride makes the see-saw move up and down, while her relations joke with her and say, 'your child is crying.' elsewhere the bridegroom's father sits in a swing. the bride and bridegroom swing him, and the bystanders exclaim that the old man is the child of the new bride. it seems possible that both customs are meant to portray the rocking of a baby in a cradle or swinging it in a swing, and hence it is thought that through performing them the bride will soon rock or swing a real baby. 21. taking omens. in bastar an omen is taken before the wedding. the village elders meet on an auspicious day as monday, thursday or friday, and after midnight they cook and eat food, and go out into the forest. they look for a small black bird called usi, from which omens are commonly taken. when anybody sees this bird, if it cries 'sun, sun,' on the right hand, it is thought that the marriage will be lucky. if, however, it cries 'chi, chi' or 'fie, fie,' the proposed match is held to be of evil omen, and is cancelled. the koya gonds of bastar distil mahua liquor before arranging for a match. if the liquor is good they think the marriage will be lucky, and take the liquor with them to cement the betrothal; but if it is bad they think the marriage will be unlucky, and the proposal is dropped. mondays, wednesdays and fridays are held to be lucky days for marriages, and they are celebrated in the hot-weather months of baisakh, jesth and asar, or april, may and june, or in pus (december), and rarely in magh (january). a wedding is only held in kartik (october) if the bride and bridegroom have already had sexual intercourse, and cannot take place in the rains. 22. marriage by capture. weeping and hiding. survivals of the custom of marriage by capture are to be found in many localities. in bastar the prospective bridegroom collects a party of his friends and lies in wait for the girl, and they catch her when she comes out and gets a little distance from her house. the girl cries out, and women of the village come and rescue her and beat the boys with sticks till they have crossed the boundary of the village. the boys neither resist nor retaliate on the women, but simply make off with the girl. when they get home a new cloth is given to her, and the boys have a carouse on rice-beer, and the marriage is considered to be complete. the parents do not interfere, but as a rule the affair is prearranged between the girl and her suitor, and if she really objects to the match they let her go. a similar procedure occurs in chanda. other customs which seem to preserve the idea that marriage was once a forcible abduction are those of the bride weeping and hiding, which are found in most districts. in balaghat the bride and one or two friends go round to the houses of the village and to other villages, all of them crying, and receive presents from their friends. in wardha the bride is expected to cry continuously for a day and a night before the wedding, to show her unwillingness to leave her family. in kanker it is said that before marriage the bride is taught to weep in different notes, so that when that part of the ceremony arrives in which weeping is required, she may have the proper note at her command. in chhindwara the bridegroom's party go and fetch the bride for the wedding, and on the night before her departure she hides herself in some house in the village. the bridegroom's brother and other men seek all through the village for her, and when they find her she runs and clings to the post of the house. the bridegroom's brother carries her off by force, and she is taken on a bullock to the bridegroom's house. in seoni the girl hides in the same manner, and calls out 'coo, coo,' when they are looking for her. after she is found, the bridegroom's brother carries her round on his back to the houses of his friends in the village, and she weeps at each house. when the bride's party arrive at the bridegroom's village the latter's party meet them and stop them from proceeding further. after waving sticks against each other in a threatening manner they fall on each other's necks and weep. then two spears are planted to make an arch before the door, and the bridegroom pushes the bride through these from behind, hitting her to make her go through, while she hangs back and feigns reluctance. in mandla the bride sometimes rides to the wedding on the shoulders of her sister's husband, and it is supposed that she never gets down all the way. 23. serving for a wife. the practice of lamsena, or serving for a wife, is commonly adopted by boys who cannot afford to buy one. the bridegroom serves his prospective father-in-law for an agreed period, usually three to five or even six years, and at its expiry he should be married to the girl without expense. during this time he is not supposed to have access to the girl, but frequently they become intimate, and if this happens the boy may either stay and serve his unexpired term or take his wife away at once; in the latter case his parents should pay the girl's father rs. 5 for each year of the bridegroom's unexpired service. the lamsena custom does not work well as a rule, since the girl's parents can break their contract, and the lamsena has no means of redress. sometimes if they are offered a good bride-price they will marry the girl to another suitor when he has served the greater part of his term, and all his work goes for nothing. 24. widow remarriage. the remarriage of widows is freely permitted. as a rule it is considered suitable that she should marry her deceased husband's younger brother, but she may not marry his elder brother, and in the south of bastar and chanda the union with the younger brother is also prohibited. in mandla, if she will not wed the younger brother, on the eleventh day after the husband's death he puts the tarkhi or palm-leaf earrings in her ears, and states that if she marries anybody else he will claim dawa-bunda or compensation. similarly in bastar, if an outsider marries the widow, he first goes through a joint ceremony with the younger brother, by which the latter relinquishes his right in favour of the former. the widow must not marry any man whom she could not have taken as her first husband. after her husband's death she resides with her parents, and a price is usually paid to them by any outsider who wishes to marry her. in bastar there is a fixed sum of rs. 24, half of which goes to the first husband's family and half to the caste panchayat. the payment to the panchayat perhaps comes down from the period when widows were considered the property of the state or the king, and sold by auction for the benefit of the treasury. it is said that the descendants of the gond rajas of chanda still receive a fee of rs. 1-8 from every gond widow who is remarried in the territories over which their jurisdiction extended. in bastar when a widow marries again she has to be transferred from the gods of her first husband's sept to those of her second husband. for this two leaf-cups are filled with water and mahua liquor respectively, and placed with a knife between them. the liquor and water are each poured three times from one cup to the other and back until they are thoroughly mixed, and the mixture is then poured over the heads of the widow and her second husband. this symbolises her transfer to the god of the new sept. in parts of bastar when a man has been killed by a tiger and his widow marries again, she goes through the ceremony not with her new husband but with a lance, axe or sword, or with a dog. it is thought that the tiger into which her first husband's spirit has entered will try to kill her second husband, but owing to the precaution taken he will either simply carry off the dog or will himself get killed by an axe, sword or lance. in most localities the ceremony of widow-marriage is simple. turmeric is rubbed on the bodies of the couple and they may exchange a pair of rings or their clothes. 25. divorce. divorce is freely allowed on various grounds, as for adultery on the wife's part, a quarrelsome disposition, carelessness in the management of household affairs, or if a woman's children continue to die, or she is suspected of being a witch. divorce is, however, very rare, for in order to get a fresh wife the man would have to pay for another wedding, which few gonds can afford, and he would also have difficulty in getting a girl to marry him. therefore he will often overlook even adultery, though a wife's adultery not infrequently leads to murder among the gonds. in order to divorce his wife the husband sends for a few castemen, takes a piece of straw, spits on it, breaks it in two and throws it away, saying that he has renounced all further connection with his wife. if a woman is suspected of being a witch she often has to leave the village and go to some place where she is not known, and in that case her husband must either divorce her or go with her. there is no regular procedure for a wife divorcing her husband, but she can, if sufficiently young and attractive, take matters into her own hands, and simply leave her husband's house and go and live with some one else. in such a case the man who takes her has to repay to the husband the sum expended by the latter on his marriage, and the panchayat may even decree that he should pay double the amount. when a man divorces his wife he has no liability for her maintenance, and often takes back any ornaments he may have given her. and a man who marries a divorced woman may be expected to pay her husband the expenses of his marriage. instances are known of a bride disappearing even during the wedding, if she dislikes her partner; and mr. lampard of the baihir mission states that one night a gond wedding party came to his house and asked for the loan of a lantern to look for the bride who had vanished. 26. polygamy. polygamy is freely allowed, and the few gonds who can afford the expense are fond of taking a number of wives. wives are very useful for cultivation as they work better than hired servants, and to have several wives is a sign of wealth and dignity. a man who has a number of wives will take them all to the bazar in a body to display his importance. a gond who had seven wives in balaghat was accustomed always to take them to the bazar like this, walking in a line behind him. (d) birth and pregnancy 27. menstruation. in parts of mandla the first appearance of the signs of puberty in a girl is an important occasion. she stays apart for four days, and during this time she ties up one of her body-cloths to a beam in the house in the shape of a cradle, and swings it for a quarter or half an hour every day in the name of jhulan devi, the cradle goddess. on the fifth day she goes and bathes, and the baiga priest and his wife go with her. she gives the baiga a hen and five eggs and a bottle of wine, and he offers them to jhulan devi at her shrine. to the baigan she gives a hen and ten eggs and a bottle of liquor, and the baigan tattoos the image of jhulan devi on each side of her body. a black hen with feathers spotted with white is usually chosen, as they say that this hen's blood is of a darker colour and that she lays more eggs. all this ceremonial is clearly meant to induce fertility in the girl. the gonds regard a woman as impure for as long as the menstrual period lasts, and during this time she cannot draw water nor cook food, nor go into a cowshed or touch cowdung. in the wilder maria tracts there is, or was till lately, a building out of sight of the village to which women in this condition retired. her relatives brought her food and deposited it outside the hut, and when they had gone away she came out and took it. it was considered that a great evil would befall any one who looked on the face of a woman during the period of this impurity. the raj-gonds have the same rules as hindus regarding the menstrual periods of women. [64] 28. superstitions about pregnancy and childbirth. no special rites are observed during pregnancy, and the superstitions about women in this condition resemble those of the hindus. [65] a pregnant woman must not go near a horse or elephant, as they think that either of these animals would be excited by her condition and would assault her. in cases where labour is prolonged they give the woman water to drink from a swiftly flowing stream, or they take pieces of wood from a tree struck by lightning or by a thunder-bolt, and make a necklace of them and hang it round her neck. in these instances the swiftness of the running water, or of the lightning or thunder-bolt, is held to be communicated to the woman, and thus she will obtain a quick delivery. or else they ask the gunia or sorcerer to discover what ancestor will be reborn in the child, and when he has done this he calls on the ancestor to come and be born quickly. if a woman is childless they say that she should worship bura deo and fast continually, and then on the termination of her monthly impurity, after she has bathed, if she walks across the shadow of a man she will have a child. it is thus supposed that the woman can be made fertile by the man's shadow, which will be the father of the child. or she should go on a sunday night naked to a saj tree [66] and pray to it, and she may have a child. the saj is the tree in which bura deo resides, and was probably in the beginning itself the god. hence it is supposed that the woman is impregnated by the spirit of the tree, as hindu women think that they can be made fertile by the spirits of unmarried brahman boys living in pipal trees. or she may have recourse to the village priest, the bhumka or the baiga, who probably finds that her barren condition is the work of an evil spirit and propitiates him. if a woman dies in the condition of pregnancy they cut her belly open before burial, so that the spirit of the child may escape. if she dies during or soon after delivery they bury her in some remote jungle spot, from which her spirit will find it difficult to return to the village. the spirit of such a woman is supposed to become a churel and to entice men, and especially drunken men, to injury by causing them to fall into rivers or get shut up in hollow trees. the only way they can escape her is to offer her the ornaments which a married woman wears. her enmity to men is due to the fact that she was cut off when she had just had the supreme happiness of bearing a child, and the present of these ornaments appeases her. the spirit of a woman whose engagement for marriage has been broken off, or who has deserted her husband's house for another man's, is also supposed to become a churel. if an abortion occurs, or a child is born dead or dies very shortly after birth, they put the body in an earthen pot, and bury it under the heap of refuse behind the house. they say that this is done to protect the body from the witches, who if they get hold of it will raise the child's spirit, and make it a bir or familiar spirit. witches have special power over the spirits of such children, and can make them enter the body of an owl, a cat, a dog, or a headless man, and in this form cause any injury which the witch may desire to inflict on a human being. the real reason for burying the bodies of such children close to the house is probably, however, the belief that they will thus be born again in the same family. if the woman is fat and well during pregnancy they think a girl will be born, but if she is ailing and thin, that the child will be a boy. if the nipples of her breasts are of a reddish colour they think the birth of a boy is portended, but if of blackish colour, a girl. when a birth occurs another woman carefully observes the knots or protuberances on the navel-cord. it is supposed that the number of them indicates the further number of children which will be born to the mother. a blackish knot inclining downwards portends a boy, and a reddish one inclining upwards a girl. it is supposed that an intelligent midwife can change the order of these knots, and if a woman has only borne girl-children can arrange that the next one shall be a boy. 29. procedure at a birth. professional midwives are not usually employed at childbirth, and the women look after each other. among the maria gonds of bastar the father is impure for a month after the birth of a child and does not go to his work. a muria gond father is impure until the navel-cord drops; he may reap his crop, but cannot thresh or sow. this is perhaps a relic of the custom of the couvade. the rules for the treatment of the mother resemble those of the hindus, but they do not keep her so long without food. on some day from the fifth to the twelfth after the birth the mother is purified and the child is named. on this day its hair is shaved by the son-in-law or husband's or wife's brother-in-law. the mother and child are washed and rubbed with oil and turmeric, and the house is freshly whitewashed and cleaned with cowdung. they procure a winnowing-fan full of kodon and lay the child on it, and the mother ties this with a cloth under her arm. in the nagpur country the impurity of the mother is said to last for a month, during which time she is not allowed to cook food and no one touches her. among the poorer gonds the mother often does not lie up at all after a birth, but eats some pungent root as a tonic and next day goes on with her work. 30. names. on the sor night, or that of purification, the women of the village assemble and sing. the mother holds the child in her lap, and they each put a pice (1/4d.) in a dish as a present to it. a name is chosen, and an elderly woman announces it. names are now often hindu words, and are selected very much at random. [67] if the child was born on a tuesday, wednesday, friday or sunday the name of the day is often given, as mangal, budhu, sukhiya, itwari; or if born in the month of magh (january), phagun (february), chait (march), baisakh (april), jesth (may), or pus (december), the name may be from the month, as mahu, phagu, chaitia, baisakhu, jetha and puso. the names of the other months are also given, but are less common. if any government official is in the village when the child is born it may be named after his office, as daroga, havildar (head-constable), vaccinator, patwari (village surveyor), jemadar (head process-server), or munshi (clerk). if a european officer is in the village the child may be called gora (red) or bhura (brown). other names are zamindar (landholder) or kirsan (tenant). or the child may be named after any peculiarity, as ghurman, fat, kaluta, black, chatua, one who kicks, and so on. or it may be given a bad name in order to deceive the evil spirits as to its value, as ghurha, a heap of cowdung, jharu, sweepings, dumre or bhangi, a sweeper, chamari, a chamar or tanner, and so on. if the mother has got the child after propitiating a spirit, it may be called bhuta, from bhut, a spirit or ghost. nicknames are also given to people when they grow up, as dariya, long-footed, bobdi, fat and sluggish, putchi, having a tail or cat-like, bera, an idiot, and so on. such names come into general use, and the bearers accept and answer to them without objection. all the above names are hindi. names taken from the gond language are rare or non-existent, and it would appear either that they have been completely forgotten, or else that the gonds had not advanced to the stage of giving every individual a personal name prior to their contact with the hindus. 31. superstitions about children. if a child is born feet first its feet are supposed to have special power, and people suffering from pain in the back come and have their backs touched by the toes of the child's left foot. this power is believed to be retained in later life. if a woman gets a child when the signs of menstruation have not appeared, the child is called lamka, and is held to be in danger of being struck by lightning. in order to avert this fate an offering of a white cock is made to the lightning during the month of asarh (june) following the birth, when thunderstorms are frequent, and prayer is made that it will accept this sacrifice in lieu of the life of the child. they think that the ancestors who have been mingled with bura deo may be born again. sometimes such an ancestor appears in a dream and intimates that he is coming back to earth. then if a newborn child will not drink its mother's milk, they think it is some important male ancestor, and that he is vexed at being in such a dependent position to a woman over whom he formerly had authority. so they call the gunia or sorcerer, and he guesses what ancestor has been reborn by measuring a stick. he says that if the length of the stick is an even number of times the breadth of his hand, or more or less than half a hand-breadth over, such and such an ancestor is reborn in the child. then he measures his hand along the stick breadthwise, and when the measurement comes to that foretold for a particular ancestor he says that this one has been reborn; or if they find any mark on the body of the child corresponding to one they remember to have been borne by a particular ancestor, they identify it with this ancestor. then they wash the child's feet as a token of respect, and pass their hands over its head and say to it, 'drink milk, and we will give you a ring and clothes and jewels.' sometimes they think that an ancestor has been born again in a calf, and the gunia ascertains who he is in the same manner. then this calf is not castrated if a bull, nor put to the plough if it is a cow, and when it dies they will not take off its hide for sale but bury it with the hide on. it is believed that if a barren woman can get hold of the first hair of another woman's child or its navel-cord, she can transfer the mother's fertility to herself, so they dispose of these articles very carefully. if they wish the child to grow fat, they bury the navel-cord in a manure-heap. the upper milk teeth are thrown on to the roof, and the lower ones buried under a water-pot. they say that the upper ones should be in a high place, and the lower ones in a low place. the teeth thrown on the roof may be meant for the rats, who in exchange for them will give the child strong white teeth like their own, while those thrown under the water-pot will cause the new teeth to grow large and quickly, like the grass under a water-pot. diseases of children are attributed to evil spirits. the illness called sukhi, in which the body and limbs grow weak and have a dried-up appearance, is very common, and is probably caused by malnutrition. they attribute it to the machinations of an owl which has heard the child's name or obtained a piece of its soiled clothing. if a stone or piece of wood is thrown at the owl to scare it away, it will pick this up, and after wetting it in a stream, put it out in the sun to dry. as the stone or wood dries up, so will the child's body dry up and wither. in order to cure this illness they use charms and amulets, and also let the child wallow in a pig-sty so that it may become as fat as the pigs. they say that they always beat a brass dish at a birth so that the noise may penetrate the child's ears, and this will remove any obstruction there may be to its hearing. if the child appears to be deaf, they lay it several times in a deep grain-bin for about half an hour at a time; when it cries the noise echoes in the bin, and this is supposed to remove the obstruction to its power of hearing. if they wish the boy to be a good dancer, they get a little of the flesh of the kingfisher or hawk which hangs poised in the air over water by the rapid vibration of its wings, on the look-out for a fish, and give him this to eat. if they wish him to speak well, they touch his finger with the tip of a razor, and think that he will become talkative like a barber. if they want him to run fast, they look for a stone on which a hare has dropped some dung and rub this on his legs, or they get a piece of a deer's horn and hang it round his neck as a charm. if a girl or boy is very dark-coloured, they get the branches of a creeper called malkangni, and express the oil from them, and rub it on the child's face, and think it will make the face reddish. thus they apparently consider a black colour to be ugly. (e) funeral rites 32. disposal of the dead. burial of the dead has probably been the general custom of the gonds in the past, and the introduction of cremation may be ascribed to hindu influence. the latter method of disposal involves greater expense on account of the fuel, and is an honour reserved for elders and important men, though in proportion as the body of the tribe in any locality becomes well-to-do it may be more generally adopted. the dead are usually buried with the feet pointing to the north in opposition to the hindu practice, and this fact has been adduced in evidence of the gond belief that their ancestors came from the north. the maria gonds of bastar, however, place the feet to the west in the direction of the setting sun, and with the face upwards. in some places the hindu custom of placing the head to the north has been adopted. formerly it is said that the dead were buried in or near the house in which they died, so that their spirits would thus the more easily be born again in children, but this practice has now ceased. in most british districts hindu ceremonial [68] tends more and more to be adopted, but in bastar state and chanda some interesting customs remain. 33. funeral ceremony. among the maria gonds a drum is beaten to announce a death, and the news is sent to relatives and friends in other villages. the funeral takes place on the second or third day, when these have assembled. they bring some pieces of cloth, and these, together with the deceased's own clothes and some money, are buried with him, so that they may accompany his spirit to the other world. sometimes the women will put a ring of iron on the body. the body is borne on a hurdle to the burialor burning-ground, which is invariably to the east of the village, followed by all the men and women of the place. arrived there, the bearers with the body on their shoulders face round to the west, and about ten yards in front of them are placed three saj leaves in a line with a space of a yard between each, the first representing the supreme being, the second disembodied spirits, and the third witchcraft. sometimes a little rice is put on the leaves. an axe is struck three times on the ground, and a villager now cries to the corpse to disclose the cause of his death, and immediately the bearers, impelled, as they believe, by the dead man, carry the body to one of the leaves. if they halt before the first, then the death was in the course of nature; if before the second, it arose from the anger of offended spirits; if before the third, witchcraft was the cause. the ordeal may be thrice repeated, the arrangement of the leaves being changed each time. if witchcraft is indicated as the cause of death, and confirmed by the repeated tests, the corpse is asked to point out the sorcerer or witch, and the body is carried along until it halts before some one in the crowd, who is at once seized and disposed of as a witch. sometimes the corpse may be carried to the house of a witch in another village to a distance of eight or ten miles. in mandla in such cases a gunia or exorciser formerly called on the corpse to go forward and point out the witch. the bearers then, impelled by the corpse, made one step forward and stopped. the exorciser then again adjured the corpse, and they made a step, and this was repeated again and again until they halted in front of the supposed witch. all the beholders and the bearers themselves thus thought that they were impelled by the corpse, and the episode is a good illustration of the power of suggestion. frequently the detected witch was one of the deceased's wives. in mandla the cause of the man's death was determined in the digging of his grave. when piling in the earth removed for the grave after burial, if it reached exactly to the surface of the ground, they thought that the dead man had died after living the proper span of his life. if the earth made a mound over the hole, they thought he had lived beyond his allotted time and called him sigpur, that is a term for a measure of grain heaped as high as it will stand above the brim. but if the earth was insufficient and did not reach to the level of the ground, they held that he had been prematurely cut off, and had been killed by an enemy or by a witch through magic. children at breast are buried at the roots of a mahua tree, as it is thought that they will suck liquor from them and be nourished as if by their mother's milk. the mahua is the tree from whose flowers spirits are distilled. the body of an adult may also be burnt under a mahua tree so that the tree may give him a supply of liquor in the next world. sometimes the corpse is bathed in water, sprinkled over with milk and then anointed with a mixture of mahua oil, turmeric and charcoal, which will prevent it from being reincarnated in a human body. in the case of a man killed by a tiger the body is burned, and a bamboo image of a tiger is made and thrown outside the village. none but the nearest relatives will touch the body of a man killed by a tiger, and they only because they are obliged to do so. none of the ornaments are removed from the corpse, and sometimes any other ornaments possessed by the deceased are added to them, as it is thought that otherwise the tiger into which his spirit passes will come back to look for them and kill some other person in the house. in some localities any one who touches the body of a man killed or even wounded by a tiger or panther is put temporarily out of caste. yet the gonds will eat the flesh of tigers and panthers, and also of animals killed and partly devoured by them. when a man has been killed by a tiger, or when he has died of disease and before death vermin have appeared in a wound, the whole family are temporarily out of caste and have to be purified by an elaborate ceremony in which the bhumka or village priest officiates. the method of laying the spirit of a man killed by a tiger resembles that described in the article on baiga. 34. mourning and offerings to the dead. mourning is usually observed for three days. the mourners abstain from work and indulgence in luxuries, and the house is cleaned and washed. the gonds often take food on the spot after the burial or burning of a corpse and they usually drink liquor. on the third day a feast is given. in chhindwara a bullock or cow is slaughtered on the death of a male or female gond respectively. they tie it up by the horns to a tree so that its forelegs are in the air, and a man slashes it across the head once or twice until it dies. the head is buried under a platform outside the village in the name of the deceased. sometimes the spirit of the dead man is supposed to enter into one of the persons present and inform the party how he died, whether from witchcraft or by natural causes. he also points out the place where the bullock's or cow's head is to be buried, and here they make a platform to his spirit with a memorial stone. red lead is applied to the stone and the blood of a chicken poured over it, and the party then consume the bodies of the cow and chicken. in mandla the mourners are shaved at the grave nine or ten days after the death by the brother-in-law or son-in-law of the deceased, and they cook and eat food there and drink liquor. then they come home and put oil on the head of the heir and tie a piece of new cloth round his head. they give the dead man's clothes and also a cow or bullock to the pardhan priest, and offer a goat to the dead man, first feeding the animal with rice, and saying to the dead man's spirit, 'your sonor brother-in-law has given you this.' sometimes the rule is that the priest should receive all the ornaments worn on the right side of a man or the left side of a woman, including those on the head, arm and leg. if they give him a cow or bullock, they will choose the one which goes last when the animals are let out to graze. then they cook and eat it in the compound. they have no regular anniversary ceremonies, but on the new moon of kunwar (september) they will throw some rice and pulse in front of the house and pour water on it in honour of the dead. the widow breaks her glass bangles when the funeral takes place, and if she is willing she may be married to the dead man's younger brother on the expiry of the period of mourning. 35. memorial stones to the dead. in bastar, at some convenient time after the death, a stone is set up in memory of any dead person who was an adult, usually by the roadside. families who have emigrated to other localities often return to their parent village for setting up these stones. the stones vary according to the importance of the deceased, those for prominent men being sometimes as much as eight feet high. in some places a small stone seat is made in front, and this is meant for the deceased to sit on, the memorial stone being his house. after being placed in position the stone is anointed with turmeric, curds, ghi and oil, and a cow or pig is offered to it. afterwards irregular offerings of liquor and tobacco are made to the dead man at the stone by the family and also by strangers passing by. they believe that the memorial stones sometimes grow and increase in size, and if this happens they think that the dead man's family will become extinct, as the stone and the family cannot continue to grow together. elsewhere a long heap of stones is made in honour of a dead man, sometimes with a flat-topped post at the head. this is especially done for men who have died from epidemic disease or by an accident, and passers-by fling stones on the heap with the idea that the dead man's spirit will thereby be kept down and prevented from returning to trouble the living. in connection with the custom of making a seat at the deceased's tomb for his spirit to sit upon, mr. a. k. smith writes: "it is well known to every gond that ghosts and devils cannot squat on the bare ground like human beings, and must be given something to sit on. the white man who requires a chair to sit on is thus plainly akin to the world of demons, so one of the few effective ways of getting gonds to open their mouths and talk freely is to sit on the ground among them. outside every gond house is placed a rough bench for the accommodation of any devils that may be flitting about at night, so that they may not come indoors and trouble the inmates." 36. house abandoned after a death. if one or two persons die in a house in one year, the family often leave it and make another house. on quitting the old house they knock a hole in the back wall to go out, so as to avoid going out by the front door. this is usually done when the deaths have been due to an epidemic, and it is presumably supposed that the dead men's spirits will haunt the house and cause others to die, from spite at their own untimely end. if an epidemic visits a village, the gonds will also frequently abandon it, and make a new village on another site. 37. bringing back the soul. they believe that the spirits of ancestors are reincarnated in children or in animals. sometimes they make a mark with soot or vermilion on the body of a dead man, and if some similar mark is subsequently found on any newborn child it is held that the dead man's spirit has been reborn in it. in bastar, on some selected day a short time after the death, they obtain two small baskets and set them out at night, placing a chicken under one and some flour of wheat or kutki under the other. the householder then says, "i do the work of those old men who died. o spirits, i offer a chicken to you to-day; be true and i will perform your funeral rites to-morrow." on the next morning the basket placed over the flour is lifted up, and if a mark resembling a footprint of a man or any animal be found, they think that the deceased has become incarnate in a human being or in that animal. subsequently they sacrifice a cow to the spirit as described. in other places on the fifth day after death they perform the ceremony of bringing back the soul. the relatives go to the riverside and call aloud the name of the dead person, and then enter the river, catch a fish or insect and, taking it home, place it among the sainted dead of the family, believing that the spirit of the dead person has in this manner been brought back to the house. the brother-in-law or son-in-law of the dead man will make a miniature grass hut in the compound and place the fish or insect inside it. he will then sacrifice a pig, killing it with a rice-husker, and with not more than three blows. the animal is eaten, and next morning he breaks down the hut and throws away the earthen pots from the house. they will spread some flour on the ground and in the morning bring a chicken up to it. if the animal eats the flour they say that the soul of the deceased has shown his wish to remain in the house, and he is enshrined there in the shape of a stone or copper coin. if it does not eat, then they say that the spirit will not remain in the house. they take the stone or coin outside the village, sacrifice a chicken to it and bury it under a heap of stones to prevent it from returning. sometimes at the funeral ceremony one of the party is possessed by the spirit of the dead man, and a little white mark or a small caterpillar appears on his hand, and they say that it is the soul of the dead man come back. then the caterpillar vanishes again, and they say that the dead man has been taken among the gods, and go home. occasionally some mark may appear on the hand of the dead man's son after a period of time, and he says that his father's soul has come back, and gives another funeral feast. the good souls are quickly appeased and their veneration is confined to their descendants. but the bad ones excite a wider interest because their evil influences may be extended to others. and the same fear attaches to the spirits of persons who have died a violent or unnatural death. the soul of a man who has been eaten by a tiger must be specially propitiated, and ten or twelve days are occupied in bringing it back. to ascertain when this has been done a thread is tied to a beam and a copper ring is suspended from it, being secured by twisting the thread round it and not by a knot. a pot full of water is placed below the ring. songs are then sung in propitiation and a watch is kept day and night. when the ring falls from the thread and drops into the water it is considered that the soul has come back. if the ring delays to fall they adjure the dead man to come back and ask where he has gone to and why he is tarrying. animals are offered to the ring and their blood poured over it, and when it finally falls they rejoice greatly and say that the dead man has come back. the ancestors are represented by small pebbles kept in a basket in the kitchen, which is considered the holiest part of the house, or they may be pice copper coins (1/4d.) tied up in a little bundle. they are daubed with vermilion and worshipped occasionally. a man who has been killed by a tiger or cobra may receive general veneration, with the object of appeasing his spirit, and become a village god. and the same honour may be accorded to any prominent man, such as the founder of a village. 38. the dead absorbed in bura deo. in mandla the dead are sometimes mingled with bura deo or the great god. on the occasion of a communal sacrifice to bura deo a stalk of charra grass is picked in the name of each of the dead ancestors, and tied to the little bundle containing a pice and a piece of turmeric, which represents the dead ancestor in the house. the stalk of grass and the bundle is called kunda; and all the kundas are then hidden in grass or under stones in the adjacent forest. then bura deo comes on some man and possesses him, and he waves his arms about and goes and finds all the kundas. some of them he throws down beside bura deo, and these they say have been absorbed in bura deo and are disposed of. others he throws apart, and these are said not to have been absorbed into the god. for the latter, as well as for all persons who have died a violent death, a heap of stones should be made outside the village, and wine and a fowl are offered at the heap, and passers-by cast additional stones on it to keep down their spirits, which remain unquiet because they have not been absorbed in the god, and are apt to wander about and trouble the living. 39. belief in a future life. the gonds seem originally to have had no idea of a place of abode for the spirits of the dead, that is a heaven or hell. so far as can be conjectured, their primary view of the fate of the spirits of the dead, after they had come to consider the soul or spirit as surviving the death of the body, was that they hung about the houses and village where they had dwelt, and were able to exert considerable influence on the lives and fortunes of their successors. an alternative or subsequent view was that they were reincarnated, most frequently in the bodies of children born in the same family, and less frequently in animals. whether or no this doctrine of reincarnation is comparatively late and borrowed from hinduism cannot be decided. in bastar, however, they have now a conception of retribution after death for the souls of evil-doers. they say that the souls are judged after death, and the sinful are hurled down into a dense forest without any sulphi trees. the sulphi tree appears to be that variety of palm from which palm-liquor or toddy is obtained in bastar, and the gond idea of a place of punishment for departed sinners is, therefore, one in which no alcoholic liquor is to be had. (f) religion 40. nature of the gond religion. the gods. the religious practices of the gonds present much variety. the tribal divisions into groups worshipping seven, six, five and four gods, already referred to, are generally held to refer to the number of gods which a man has in his house. but very few gonds can name the gods of their sect, and the prescribed numbers are seldom adhered to. the worship of ancestors is an integral part of their religion and is described in the section on funeral customs. bura deo, their great god in most localities, was probably at first the saj tree, [69] but afterwards the whole collection of gods were sometimes called bura deo. he is further discussed subsequently. the other gond gods proper appear to be principally implements and weapons of the chase, one or two animals, and deified human beings. a number of hindu deities have now also been admitted into the gond pantheon. the following account of the gods is largely taken from a note written by mr. j. a. tawney. [70] the worship of the gonds may be summarised as that of the gods presiding over the village destinies, the crops, and epidemic disease, the spirits of their forefathers and the weapons and creatures of the chase. the village gods are generally common to the gonds and hindus. they consist of stones, or mud platforms, placed at a convenient distance from the village under the shade of some appropriate tree, and often having a red or white flag, made of a piece of cloth, tied to the end of a pole to indicate their position. the principal village gods have been given in the article on kurmi. besides these in gond villages there is especially bhimsen, who is held to be bhima, one of the five pandava brothers, and is the god of strength. ghor deo [71] is the horse god, and holera, who is represented by a wooden bullock's bell, is the god of cattle. ghansiam deo is a god much worshipped in mandla. he is said to have been a prince who was killed by a tiger on his way to his wedding like dulha deo. in northern bastar the gonds worship the spirit of a muhammadan doctor under the name of doctor deo. a gond of the place where the doctor died is occasionally possessed by his spirit, and on such occasions he can talk fluent urdu. this man's duty is to keep off cholera, and when the epidemic breaks out he is ordered by the raja to drive it away. the local method of averting cholera is to make a small litter covered with cloth, and in it to place a brass or silver image of the cholera goddess, marai mata. when the goddess is thus sent from one village to another it is supposed that the epidemic is similarly transferred. the man possessed by doctor deo has the power of preventing the approach of this litter to villages in bastar, and apparently also can drive away the epidemic, though his method of doing this is not explained. the dealings of the gonds with the government of india are mainly conducted through chuprassies or peons, who come to collect their revenue, obtain supplies and so on. the peons have in the past been accustomed to abuse their authority and practise numerous petty extortions, which is a very easy business with the ignorant gonds of the wilder tracts. regarding the peons as the visible emblem of authority, the gonds, like the oraons, have similarly furnished the gods with a peon, who is worshipped under the name of kalha deo with offerings of liquor and fowls. besides this if a tiger makes himself troublesome a stone is set up in his honour and he receives a small offering; and if a platform has been erected to the memory of the founder of the village he is included with the others. the cholera and smallpox deities are worshipped when an epidemic breaks out. the worship of the village gods is communal, and in chhindwara is performed at the end of the hot weather before seed is sown, houses thatched, or the new mahua oil eaten by the gonds. all the villagers subscribe, and the bhumka or village priest conducts the rite. if in any year the community cannot afford a public worship they hang up a little grass over the god just to intimate that they have not forgotten him, but that he will have to wait till next year. 41. tribal gods, and their place of residence. besides the village gods worshipped in common with the hindus, the gonds have also their special tribal gods. these are sometimes kept at a deo-khulla, which is said to mean literally the threshing-floor of the gods, and is perhaps so called because the place of meeting of the worshippers is cleaned and plastered like a threshing-floor in the fields. the gods most commonly found are pharsi pen, the battle-axe god; matiya, the great god of mischief; ghangra, the bell god; chawar, the cow's tail, which is also used as a whisk; palo, who consists of a piece of cloth used to cover spear-heads; and sale, who may be the god who presides over cattle-pens (sala). the deo-khulla of a six-god gond should have six, and that of a seven-god gond seven gods, but this rule is not regularly observed, and the deo-khullas themselves now tend to disappear as the gonds become hinduised and attention is concentrated on the village and household gods. the collection of gods at a deo-khulla, mr. tawney remarks, is called bura deo, and when a gond swears by bura deo, he swears by all the gods of his sect. "the gods," mr. tawney writes, "are generally tied up in grass and fixed in the fork of the saj tree, or buried in some recess in the forest, except palo, who is put in a bag to prevent his getting wet, and chawar the cow's tail. the bhumkas or priests are somewhat shy of showing the gods at the deo-khulla, and they may have some reason for this, for not long since, a young scamp of a muhammadan, having determined to put to a test the reputed powers of the gond gods for evil, hid himself in a tree near the deo-khulla during a meeting, and afterwards took the gods out and threw them bag and baggage down a well. however, when i went there, the bhumka at mujawar after some parley retired into the forest, and came out quite confidingly with an armful of gods. the deo-khulla gods are generally all of iron, and those at mujawar were all spear-shaped except palo, who is a piece of cloth, and ghangra, who is of bell-metal and in form like the bells ordinarily put round the necks of bullocks. when a spear-head has been lost, and another is not available, anything in the shape of a pike or spear will do, and it does not appear to make any difference so long as iron is the metal used. women may not worship at the deo-khulla. it seems clear that the original gods were, with the exception of ghangra, hunting-weapons and representations of animals. ghangra may be venerated because of his association with bullocks and also on account of the melodious sound made by bullock-bells. of all the gods the most remarkable probably is palo. he is made of cloth and acts as a covering for the spear-heads at the time of worship. the one i saw was a small cloth, about 30 by 18 inches, and in the form of a shield. he is a very expensive god and costs from rs. 50 to rs. 80, his outside value perhaps being rs. 5. when a new one is required it has to be made by a katia or raj-pardhan, who must live in a separate house and not go near his own till its completion. he must also be naked while he is working and may not eat, drink, smoke or perform natural functions till he has finished for the day. while engaged on the cloth he is well fed by the gonds and supplied with fowls and spirits; it is not surprising, therefore, that the god is never finished in six months, though i would engage to make one in a week. the cloth is embroidered with figures in coloured silk, with a stitch or two of red silk in each animal, which will subsequently represent blood. the animals i saw embroidered were a bullock, some sort of deer, a gouty-looking snake with a body as thick as the elephant's, and the latter animal barely distinguishable from it by having two legs and a trunk. when ready the cloth palo is taken to the deo-khulla and a great worship is held, during which blood is seen to flow from the figures on the cloth and they are supposed to be endowed with life." the animals embroidered on the cloth are probably those principally revered by the gonds, as the elephant, snake, deer and bullock, while the worship of the cloth itself and the embroidery on it indicates that they considered the arts of weaving and sewing as divinely revealed accomplishments. and the fact that the other gods were made of iron shows a similar reverence for this metal, which they perhaps first discovered in india. at any rate the quarrying and refining of indigenous iron-ore is at present carried out by the agarias, a caste derived from the gonds. the spear-head shape of most of the gods and that of palo like a shield show their veneration for these weapons of war, which are themselves sacred. 42. household gods. "in almost every house," mr. tawney states, "there is also a set of gods for everyday use. they are often the same as the village gods or those of the deo-khulla and also include deified ancestors. these household gods have a tendency to increase, as special occasions necessitate the creation of a new god, and once he is enthroned in the house he never seems to leave it of his own accord. thus if a man is killed by a cobra; he or the cobra becomes a household god and is worshipped for many generations. if a set of gods does not work satisfactorily, they are also, some or all of them, discarded and a new lot introduced. the form of the gods varies considerably, the only constant thing about them being the vermilion with which they are all daubed. they are sometimes all earthen cones and vary from that to miniature wooden tables. i may mention that it is somewhat difficult to get a gond either to confess that he has any household gods or to show them. the best way is to send off the father of the family on some errand, and then to ask his unsuspecting wife to bring out the gods. you generally get them on a tray and some of the villagers will help her to name them." in mandla in every gond's house there is a deothana or god's place, where all the gods are kept. those who have children include jhulan devi, or the cradle goddess, among their household deities. in the deothana there is always a vessel full of water and a stick, and when a man comes in from outside he goes to this and sprinkles a little water over his body to free himself from any impurity he may have contracted abroad. 43. nag deo. on one of the posts of the house the image of nag deo, the cobra god, is made in mud. in asarh (june) the first month of the rains, which the gonds consider the beginning of the year, snakes frequently appear. in this month they try to kill a cobra, and will then cut off the head and tail, and offer them to nag deo, inside the house, while they cook and eat the body. they think that the eating of the snake's body will protect them from the effects of eating any poisonous substance throughout the year. 44. narayan deo. narayan deo or the sun is also a household deity. he has a little platform inside the threshold of the house. he may be worshipped every two or three years, but if a snake appears in the house or any one falls ill they think that narayan deo is impatient and perform his worship. a young pig is offered to him and is sometimes fattened up beforehand by feeding it on rice. the pig is laid on its back over the threshold of the door and a number of men press a heavy beam of wood on its body till it is crushed to death. they cut off the tail and testicles and bury them near the threshold. the body of the pig is washed in a hole dug in the yard, and it is then cooked and eaten. they sing to the god, "eat, narayan deo, eat this rice and meat, and protect us from all tigers, snakes and bears in our houses; protect us from all illnesses and troubles." next day the bones and any other remains of the pig are buried in the hole in the compound and the earth is well stamped down over it. 45. bura deo. bura deo, the great god of the gonds, is sometimes, as seen, a name for all the gods in the deo-khulla. but he is usually considered as a single god, and often consists of a number of brass or iron balls suspended to a ring and hung on a saj tree. again, he may be represented by a few links of a roughly forged iron chain also hung on the tree, and the divine power of the chain is shown by the fact that it can move of itself, and occasionally descends to rest on a stone under the tree or migrates to a neighbouring nullah (stream). nowadays in mandla bura deo is found as an iron doll made by a neighbouring blacksmith instead of a chain. it would appear, however, that he was originally the saj tree (boswellia serrata), an important forest tree growing to a considerable height, which is much revered by the gonds. they do not cut this tree, nor its branches, except for ceremonial purposes, and their most sacred form of oath is to swear by the name of bura deo, holding a branch of the saj tree above the head. if bura deo was first the saj tree, then we may surmise that when the gonds discovered iron they held it more sacred than the tree because it was more important, as the material from which their axes and spears were made. and therefore bura deo became an iron chain hanging on the saj tree. the axe is a gond's most valuable implement, as with it he cut down the forest to clear a space for his shifting cultivation, and also provided himself with wood for hutting, fuel and other purposes. the axe and spear were also his weapons of war. hence the discovery of iron was an enormous step forward in civilisation, and this may account for the reverence in which it is held by the gonds. the metamorphosis of bura deo from an iron chain to an iron doll may perhaps be considered to mark the arrival of the gonds at the stage of religion when anthropomorphic gods are worshipped. bura deo is sometimes represented with mahadeo or siva and parvati, two of the greatest hindu deities, in attendance on him on each side. communal sacrifices of pigs and also of goats are made to him at intervals of one or two years; the animals are stretched out on their backs and killed by driving a stake of saj or tendu [72] wood through the belly. sometimes a goat is dedicated to him a year beforehand, and allowed to wander loose in the village in the name of bura deo, and given good food, and even called by the name of the god. it would appear that the original sacrificial animal was the pig, and the goat was afterwards added or substituted. bura deo is also worshipped on special occasions, as when a man has got vermin in a wound, or, as the people of the country say, when god has remembered him. in this case the sufferer must pay all the expenses of the ceremony which is necessary for his purification. the dead are also mingled in bura deo, as described in the section on funeral rites. bura deo is believed to protect the gonds from wild animals; and if members of a family meet a tiger, snake or other dangerous animal several times within a fairly short period, they think that bura deo is displeased with them and have a special sacrifice in his honour. ordinarily when the panda or priest sacrifices an animal he severs its head with an axe and holds the head over the image or symbol of the god to allow the blood to drop on it. before sacrificing a chicken he places some grain before it and says, 'if i have committed no fault, eat,' and if the chicken does not eat of itself he usually forces it to pick a grain. then he says that the sacrifice is acceptable to the god. 46. charms and magic. when they think a child has been overlooked they fetch a strip of leather from the chamar's house, make it into a little bag, fill it with scrapings from a clean bit of leather, and hang it round the child's neck. if a child is ill they sometimes fetch from the chamar's house water which has been used for tanning and give it him to drink. if a man is possessed by an evil spirit, they will take some coins, silver for preference, and wave them round his head with a lamp, and take them out and bury them in a waste place. they throw one or two more rupees on the surface of the soil in which they have buried the coins. then they think the spirit will leave the sufferer, and if any one picks up the coins on the surface of the ground the spirit will possess him. hindus who find such buried coins frequently refuse to take them, even though they may be valuable, from fear of being possessed by the spirit. occasionally a man of a treacherous disposition may transfer an evil spirit, which is haunting him, with a daughter in marriage. the husband's family suspect this if a spirit begins to trouble them. a vaddai or magician is called, and he tries to transfer the spirit to a fowl or goat by giving the latter some rice to eat. if the spirit then ceases troubling they conclude that it was transferred by the bride's father, and go to him and reproach him. if he admits that he had a spirit in his family which has given no trouble lately, they ask him to take it back, even though he may not have intended its transfer. the goat or fowl to which the spirit was transferred is then sacrificed in its name and the meat is eaten only by the father-in-law's family, to whom the spirit thus returns. a miniature hut is built for the spirit in his yard, and a pot, a lamp and a knife are placed in the hut for its use, and an offering of a goat is made to the spirit occasionally at festivals. in order to injure an enemy they will make an image of him in clay, preferably taken from underneath his footprint, and carry it to the cemetery. here they offer red lead, red thread, bangles, and various kinds of grain and pulse to the ghosts and say to them, "male and female deities, old and newly buried, maimed and lame, spirits of the wind, i pronounce this charm with your help." then they pierce the figure with arrows in the chest and cut it with a knife in the region of the liver and think that their enemy will die. another method is to draw the likeness of an enemy on cloth with lime or charcoal, and bury it in a pot in front of his house on a sunday or tuesday night so that he may walk on it in the morning, when they hope that the same result will be achieved. in order to breed a quarrel in an enemy's house they get the feathers of a crow, or the seeds of the amaltas, [73] or porcupine needles, and after smoking them over a fire in which some nails have been placed, tie them to the eaves of his house, repeating some charm. the seeds of the amaltas rattle in their pods in the wind, and hence it is supposed that they will produce a noise of quarrelling. porcupine's quills are sharp and prickly, and crow's feathers are perhaps efficacious because the crow is supposed to be a talkative and quarrelsome bird. the nails in the fire, being sharp-pointed, may be meant to add potency to the charm. one who wishes to transfer sickness to another person obtains a cloth belonging to the latter and draws two human figures on it, one right side up and the other upside down, in lamp-black. after saying charms over the cloth he puts it back surreptitiously in the owner's house. when people are ill they make a vow to some god that if they recover they will sacrifice a certain number of animals proportionate to the severity of the illness. if the patient then recovers, and the vow is for a larger number of animals than he can afford, he sets fire to a piece of forest so that a number of animals may be burnt as an offering to the god, and his vow may thus be fulfilled. this practice has no doubt gone out owing to the conservation of forests. 47. omens. if a gond, when starting on a journey in the morning, should meet a tiger, cat, hare, or a four-horned deer, he will return and postpone his journey; but if he meets one of these animals when he is well on the way it is considered to be lucky. rain falling at a wedding or some other festival is believed to be unlucky, as it is as if somebody were crying. in mandla, if a cock crows in the night, a man will get up at once, catch it and twist its neck, and throw it over the house as far away as he can. apparently the cock is supposed to be calling to evil spirits. if a hen cackles, or lays eggs at night, it is also considered inauspicious, and the bird is often killed or given away. they think they can acquire strength by carrying the shoulder-bones of a tiger on their shoulders or drinking a little of the bone-dust pounded in water. if there is disease in the village, the bhumka or village priest performs the ceremony of gaon bandhna or tying up the village. accompanied by a party of men he drives a pig all round the village boundary, scattering grains of urad pulse and mustard seed on the way. the pig is then sacrificed, its blood is sprinkled on all the village gods, and it is eaten by the party. no man or animal may go outside the village on the day of this ceremony, which should be performed on a sunday or wednesday. when cattle disease breaks out the bhumka makes an arch of three poles, to which is hung a string of mango leaves, and all the cattle of the village are driven under it to avert the disease. 48. agricultural superstitions. when there is drought two boys put a pestle across their shoulders, tie a living frog to it with a rag, and go from house to house accompanied by other boys and girls singing: mendak bhai pani de, dhan, kodon pakne de, mere byah hone de, or 'brother frog give rain; let the rice and kodon ripen; let my marriage be held.' the frog is considered to be able to produce rain because it lives in water and therefore has control over its element. the boy's point in asking the frog to let his marriage be held is that if the rains failed and the crops withered, his parents would be unable to afford the expense. another method of obtaining rain is for two naked women to go and harness themselves to a plough at night, while a third naked woman drives the plough and pricks them with a goad. this does not appear capable of explanation on any magical basis, so far as i know, and the idea may possibly be to force the clemency of the gods by showing their extraordinary sufferings, or to show that the world is topsy-turvy for want of rain. a leather rope is sometimes tied to a plough and harrow, and the boys and girls pull against one another on the rope in a tug-of-war. if the girls win they think that rain will soon come, but if the boys win that it will not. in order to stop excessive rain, a naked bachelor collects water from the eaves in a new earthen pot, covers the pot with a lid or with mud, and buries it beneath the earth; or the pot may be filled with salt. here it may perhaps be supposed that, as the water dries up in the pot or the salt gets dry, so the rain will stop and the world generally become dry. the reason for employing women to produce rain, and men to stop it, may be that women, as they give milk, will be more potent in obtaining the other liquid, water. nakedness is a common element in magic, perhaps because clothes are considered a civilised appanage, and unsuitable for a contest with the powers of nature; a certain idea of impurity may also attach to them. if a crow in carrying a straw to build its nest holds it in the middle, they think that the rains will be normal and adequate; but if the straw is held towards one end, that the rains will be excessive or deficient. if the titahri or sandpiper lays four eggs properly arranged, they think that sufficient rain will fall in all the four monsoon months. if only one, two or three eggs are laid, or only this number properly placed in the nest and the others at the side, then the rains will be good only in an equivalent number of months. at the beginning of the harvest they pluck an ear of corn and say, 'whatever god is the guardian of this place, this is your share, take it, and do not interfere.' the last plants in the field are cut and sent home by a little girl and put at the bottom of the grain-bin of the house. chitkuar devi is the goddess of the threshing-floor, and before beginning to winnow the grain they sacrifice a pig and a chicken to her, cutting the throats of the animals and letting their blood drop on to the central post of the threshing-floor. when they are about to take the kodon home, they set aside a basketful and give it to the sister's son or sister's husband of the owner, placing a bottle of liquor on the top, and he takes it home to the house, and there they drink one or two bottles of liquor, and then begin eating the new grain. 49. magical or religious observances in fishing and hunting. in mandla the gonds still perform, or did till recently, various magical or religious rites to obtain success in fishing and hunting. the men of a village were accustomed to go out fishing as a communal act. they arrived at the river before sunrise, and at midday their women brought them pej or gruel. on returning the women made a mound or platform before the house of the principal man of the party. all the fish caught were afterwards laid on this platform and the leader then divided them, leaving one piece on the platform. next morning this piece was taken away and placed on the grave of the leader's ancestor. if no fish were caught on the first day, then on the next day the women took the men no food. and if they caught no fish for two or three days running, they went and dug up the platform erected in front of the leader's house and levelled it with the ground. then the next morning early all the people of the village went to another village and danced the sela dance before the tombs of the ancestors of that village. sometimes they went on to a third village and did the same. the headman of the village visited levied a contribution from his people, and gave them food and drink and a present of rs. 1-4. with this they bought liquor, and coming back to their own village, offered it in front of the platform which they had levelled, and drank it. next morning they went fishing again, but said that they did not care whether they caught anything or not, as they had pleased their god. next year all the people of the village they had visited would come and dance the sela dance at their village the whole day, and the hosts had to give the visitors food and drink. this was said to be from gratitude to the headman of the other village for placating their god with an offering of rs. 1-4. and the visit might even be repeated annually so long as the headman of the other village was alive. apparently in this elaborate ritual the platform especially represented the forefathers of the village, whose spirits were supposed to give success in fishing. if the fishers were unsuccessful, they demolished the platform to show their displeasure to the spirits, and went and danced before the ancestors of another village to intimate the transfer of their allegiance from their own ancestors to these latter. the ancestors would thus feel themselves properly snubbed and discarded for their ill-nature in not giving success to the fishing party. but when they had been in this condition for a day or so the headman of the other village sent them an offering of liquor, and it was thus intimated to them that, though their own descendants had temporarily transferred their devotion, they were not entirely abandoned. it would be hoped that the ancestors would lay the lesson to heart, and, placated by the liquor, be more careful in future of the welfare of their descendants. the season for fishing was in kunwar and kartik, and it sometimes extended into aghan (september to november). during these months, from the time the new kodon was cut at the beginning of the period, they danced the sela, and they did not dance this dance at any other time of the year. [74] at other seasons they would dance the karma. the sela dance is danced by men alone; they have sticks and form two circles, and walk in and out in opposite directions, beating their sticks together as they pass. sometimes other men sit on the shoulders of the dancers and beat their sticks. sela is said to be the name of the stick. in the sela dance the singing is in the form of dadaria, that is, one party recites a line and the other party replies; this is not done in the karma dance, for which they have regular songs. it seems possible that the sela dance was originally a mimic combat, danced before they went out to fight in order to give them success in the battle. subsequently it might be danced before they went out hunting and fishing with the same object. if there was no stream to which they could go fishing they would buy some fish and offer it to the god, and have a holiday and eat it, or if they could not go fishing they might go hunting in a party instead. when a single gond intends to go out hunting in the forest he first lights a lamp before his household god in the house, or if he has no oil he will kindle a fire, and the lamp or fire must be kept burning all the time he is out. if he returns successful he offers a chicken to the god and extinguishes the lamp. but if he is unsuccessful he keeps the lamp burning all night, and goes out again early next morning. if he gets more game this time he will offer the chicken, but if not he will extinguish the lamp, put his gun outside and not touch it again for eight days. a gond never takes food in the morning before going out hunting, but goes out in a fasting condition perhaps in order that the god, seeing his hunger, may send him some game to eat. nor will a gond visit his wife the night before he goes out hunting. when a baiga goes out hunting he bangs his liquor-gourd on the ground before his household god and vows that, if successful, he will offer to the god the gourd full of liquor and a chicken. but if he returns empty-handed, instead of doing this he fills the gourd with earth and throws it over the god to show his wrath. then if he is successful on the next day, he will scrape off the earth and offer the liquor and chicken as promised. a baiga should worship his god and go out hunting at the new moon, and then he will hunt the whole month. but if he has not worshipped his god at the new moon, and still goes out hunting and is unsuccessful, he will hunt no more that month. some gonds before they go hunting draw an image of mahabir or hanuman, the monkey god and the god of strength, on their guns, and rub it out when they get home again. 50. witchcraft. the belief in witchcraft has been till recently in full force and vigour among the gonds, and is only now showing symptoms of decline. in 1871 sir c. grant wrote: [75] "the wild hill country from mandla to the eastern coast is believed to be so infested by witches that at one time no prudent father would let his daughter marry into a family which did not include among its members at least one of the dangerous sisterhood. the non-aryan belief in the power of evil here strikes a ready chord in the minds of their conquerors, attuned to dread by the inhospitable appearance of the country and the terrible effect of its malicious influences upon human life. in the wilds of mandla there are many deep hillside caves which not even the most intrepid baiga hunter would approach for fear of attracting upon himself the wrath of their demoniac inhabitants; and where these hillmen, who are regarded both by themselves and by others as ministers between men and spirits, are afraid, the sleek cultivator of the plains must feel absolute repulsion. then the suddenness of the epidemics to which, whether from deficient water-supply or other causes, central india seems so subject, is another fruitful source of terror among an ignorant people. when cholera breaks out in a wild part of the country it creates a perfect stampede--villages, roads, and all works in progress are deserted; even the sick are abandoned by their nearest relations to die, and crowds fly to the jungles, there to starve on fruits and berries till the panic has passed off. the only consideration for which their minds have room at such times is the punishment of the offenders, for the ravages caused by the disease are unhesitatingly set down to human malice. the police records of the central provinces unfortunately contain too many sad instances of life thus sacrificed to a mad unreasoning terror." the detection of a witch by the agency of the corpse, when the death is believed to have been caused by witchcraft, has been described in the section on funeral rites. in other cases a lamp was lighted and the names of the suspected persons repeated; the flicker of the lamp at any name was held to indicate the witch. two leaves were thrown on the outstretched hand of a suspected person, and if the leaf representing her or him fell above the other suspicion was deepened. in bastar the leaf ordeal was followed by sewing the person accused into a sack and letting her down into shallow water; if she managed in her struggles for life to raise her head above water she was finally adjudged to be guilty. a witch was beaten with rods of the tamarind or castor-oil plants, which were supposed to be of peculiar efficacy in such cases; her head was shaved cross-wise from one ear to the other over the head and down to the neck; her teeth were sometimes knocked out, perhaps to prevent her from doing mischief if she should assume the form of a tiger or other wild animal; she was usually obliged to leave the village, and often murdered. murder for witchcraft is now comparatively rare as it is too often followed by detection and proper punishment. but the belief in the causation of epidemic disease by personal agency is only slowly declining. such measures as the disinfection of wells by permanganate of potash during a visitation of cholera, or inoculation against plague, are sometimes considered as attempts on the part of the government to reduce the population. when the first epidemic of plague broke out in mandla in 1911 it caused a panic among the gonds, who threatened to attack with their axes any government officer who should come to their village, in the belief that all of them must be plague-inoculators. in the course of six months, however, the feeling of panic died down under a system of instruction by schoolmasters and other local officials and by circulars; and by the end of the period the gonds began to offer themselves voluntarily for inoculation, and would probably have come to do so in fairly large numbers if the epidemic had not subsided. 51. human sacrifice. [76] the gonds were formerly accustomed to offer human sacrifices, especially to the goddess kali and to the goddess danteshwari, the tutelary deity of the rajas of bastar. her shrine was at a place called dantewara, and she was probably at first a local goddess and afterwards identified with the hindu goddess kali. an inscription recently found in bastar records the grant of a village to a medipota in order to secure the welfare of the people and their cattle. this man was the head of a community whose business it was, in return for the grants of land which they enjoyed, to supply victims for human sacrifice either from their own families or elsewhere. tradition states that on one occasion as many as 101 persons were sacrificed to avert some great calamity which had befallen the country. and sacrifices also took place when the raja visited the temple. during the period of the bhonsla rule early in the nineteenth century the raja of bastar was said to have immolated twenty-five men before he set out to visit the raja of nagpur at his capital. this would no doubt be as an offering for his safety, and the lives of the victims were given as a substitute for his own. a guard was afterwards placed on the temple by the marathas, but reports show that human sacrifice was not finally stamped out until the nagpur territories lapsed to the british in 1853. at chanda and lanji also, mr. hislop states, human sacrifices were offered until well into the nineteenth century [77] at the temples of kali. the victim was taken to the temple after sunset and shut up within its dismal walls. in the morning, when the door was opened, he was found dead, much to the glory of the great goddess, who had shown her power by coming during the night and sucking his blood. no doubt there must have been some of her servants hid in the fane whose business it was to prepare the horrid banquet. it is said that an iron plate was afterwards put over the face of the goddess to prevent her from eating up the persons going before her. in chanda the legend tells that the families of the town had each in turn to supply a victim to the goddess. one day a mother was weeping bitterly because her only son was to be taken as the victim, when an ahir passed by, and on learning the cause of her sorrow offered to go instead. he took with him the rope of hair with which the ahirs tie the legs of their cows when milking them and made a noose out of it. when the goddess came up to him he threw the noose over her neck and drew it tight like a thug. the goddess begged him to let her go, and he agreed to do so on condition that she asked for no more human victims. no doubt, if the legend has any foundation, the ahir found a human neck within his noose. it has been suggested in the article on thug that the goddess kali is really the deified tiger, and if this were so her craving for human sacrifices is readily understood. all the three places mentioned, dantewara, lanji and chanda, are in a territory where tigers are still numerous, and certain points in the above legends favour the idea of this animal origin of the goddess. such are the shutting of the victim in the temple at night as an animal is tied up for a tiger-kill, and the closing of her mouth with an iron plate as the mouths of tigers are sometimes supposed to be closed by magic. similarly it may perhaps be believed that the raja of bastar offered human sacrifices to protect himself and his party from the attacks of tigers, which would be the principal danger on a journey to nagpur. in mandla there is a tradition that a brahman boy was formerly sacrificed at intervals to the god bura deo, and the forehead of the god was marked with his hair in place of sandalwood, and the god bathed in his blood and used his bones as sticks for playing at ball. similarly in bindranawagarh in raipur the gonds are said to have entrapped strangers and offered them to their gods, and if possible a brahman was obtained as the most suitable offering. these legends indicate the traditional hostility of the gonds to the hindus, and especially to the brahmans, by whom they were at one time much oppressed and ousted from their lands. according to tradition, a gond raja of garha-mandla, madhkur shah, had treacherously put his elder brother to death. divine vengeance overtook him and he became afflicted with chronic pains in the head. no treatment was of avail, and he was finally advised that the only means of appeasing a justly incensed deity was to offer his own life. he determined to be burnt inside the trunk of the sacred pipal tree, and a hollow trunk sufficiently dry for the purpose having been found at deogarh, twelve miles from mandla, he shut himself up in it and was burnt to death. the story is interesting as showing how the neurotic or other pains, which are the result of remorse for a crime, are ascribed to the vengeance of a divine providence. 52. cannibalism. mr. wilson quotes [78] an account, written by lieutenant prendergast in 1820, in which he states that he had discovered a tribe of gonds who were cannibals, but ate only their own relations. the account was as follows: "in may 1820 i visited the hills of amarkantak, and having heard that a particular tribe of gonds who lived in the hills were cannibals, i made the most particular inquiries assisted by my clerk mohan singh, an intelligent and well-informed kayasth. we learned after much trouble that there was a tribe of gonds who resided in the hills of amarkantak and to the south-east in the gondwana country, who held very little intercourse with the villagers and never went among them except to barter or purchase provisions. this race live in detached parties and seldom have more than eight or ten huts in one place. they are cannibals in the real sense of the word, but never eat the flesh of any person not belonging to their own family or tribe; nor do they do this except on particular occasions. it is the custom of this singular people to cut the throat of any person of their family who is attacked by severe illness and who they think has no chance of recovering, when they collect the whole of their relations and friends, and feast upon the body. in like manner when a person arrives at a great age and becomes feeble and weak, the halalkhor operates upon him, when the different members of the family assemble for the same purpose as above stated. in other respects this is a simple race of people, nor do they consider cutting the throats of their sick relations or aged parents any sin; but on the contrary an act acceptable to kali, a blessing to their relatives, and a mercy to their whole race." it may be noted that the account is based on hearsay only, and such stories are often circulated about savage races. but if correct, it would indicate probably only a ritual form of cannibalism. the idea of the gonds in eating the bodies of their relatives would be to assimilate the lives of these as it were, and cause them to be reborn as children in their own families. possibly they ate the bodies of their parents, as many races ate the bodies of animal gods, in order to obtain their divine virtues and qualities. no corroboration of this custom is known in respect of the gonds, but colonel dalton records [79] a somewhat similar story of the small birhor tribe who live in the chota nagpur hills not far from amarkantak, and it has been seen that the bhunjias of bilaspur eat small portions of the bodies of their dead relatives. [80] 53. festivals. the new crops. the original gond festivals were associated with the first eating of the new crops and fruits. in chait (march) a festival called chaitrai is observed in bastar. a pig or fowl with some liquor is offered to the village god, and the new urad and semi beans of the year's crop are placed before him uncooked. the people dance and sing the whole night and begin eating the new pulse and beans. in bhadon (august) is the nawakhai or eating of the new rice. the old and new grain is mixed and offered raw to the ancestors, a goat is sacrificed, and they begin to eat the new crop of rice. similarly when the mahua flowers, from which country spirit is made, first appear, they proceed to the forest and worship under a saj tree. before sowing rice or millet they have a rite called bijphutni or breaking the seed. some grain, fowls and a pig are collected from the villagers by subscription. the grain is offered to the god and then distributed to all the villagers, who sow it in their fields for luck. 54. the holi festival. the holi festival, which corresponds to the carnival, being held in spring at the end of the hindu year, is observed by gonds as well as hindus. in bilaspur a gond or baiga, as representing the oldest residents, is always employed to light the holi fire. sometimes it is kindled in the ancient manner by the friction of two pieces of wood. in mandla, at the holi, the gonds fetch a green branch of the semar or cotton tree and plant it in a little hole, in which they put also a pice (farthing) and an egg. they place fuel round and burn up the branch. then next day they take out the egg and give it to a dog to eat and say that this will make the dog as swift as fire. they choose a dog whom they wish to train for hunting. they bring the ploughshare from the house and heat it red-hot in the holi fire and take it back. they say that this wakes up the ploughshare, which has fallen asleep from rusting in the house, and makes it sharp for ploughing. perhaps when rust appears on the metal they think this a sign of its being asleep. they plough for the first time on a monday or wednesday and drive three furrows when nobody is looking. 55. the meghnath swinging rite. in the western districts on one of the five days following the holi the swinging rite is performed. for this they bring a straight teak or saj tree from the forest, as long as can be obtained, and cut from a place where two trees are growing together. the bhumka or village priest is shown in a dream where to cut the tree. it is set up in a hole seven feet deep, a quantity of salt being placed beneath it. the hole is coloured with geru or red ochre, and offerings of goats, sheep and chickens are made to it by people who have vowed them in sickness. a cross-bar is fixed on to the top of the pole in a socket and the bhumka is tied to one end of the cross-bar. a rope is attached to the other end and the people take hold of this and drag the bhumka round in the air five times. when this has been done the village proprietor gives him a present of a cocoanut, and headand body-clothes. if the pole falls down it is considered that some great misfortune, such as an epidemic, will ensue. the pole and ritual are now called meghnath. meghnath is held to have been the son of rawan, the demon king of ceylon, from whom the gonds are supposed by the hindus to be descended, as they are called rawanvansi, or of the race of rawan. after this they set up another pole, which is known as jheri, and make it slippery with oil, butter and other things. a little bag containing rs. 1-4 and also a seer (2 lbs.) of ghi or butter are tied to the top, and the men try to climb the pole and get these as a prize. the women assemble and beat the men with sticks as they are climbing to prevent them from doing so. if no man succeeds in climbing the pole and getting the reward, it is given to the women. this seems to be a parody of the first or meghnath rite, and both probably have some connection with the growth of the crops. 56. the karma and other rites. during bhadon (august), in the rains, the gonds bring a branch of the kalmi or of the haldu tree from the forest and wrap it up in new cloth and keep it in their houses. they have a feast and the musicians play, and men and women dance round the branch singing songs, of which the theme is often sexual. the dance is called karma and is the principal dance of the gonds, and they repeat it at intervals all through the cold weather, considering it as their great amusement. a further notice of it is given in the section on social customs. the dance is apparently named after the tree, though it is not known whether the same tree is always selected. many deciduous trees in india shed their leaves in the hot weather and renew them in the rains, so that this season is partly one of the renewal of vegetation as well as of the growth of crops. in kunwar (september) the gond girls take an earthen pot, pierce it with holes, and put a lamp inside and also the image of a dove, and go round from house to house singing and dancing, led by a girl carrying the pot on her head. they collect contributions and have a feast. in chhattisgarh among the gonds and rawats (ahirs) there is from time to time a kind of feminist movement, which is called the stiria-raj or kingdom of women. the women pretend to be soldiers, seize all the weapons, axes and spears that they can get hold of, and march in a body from village to village. at each village they kill a goat and send its head to another village, and then the women of that village come and join them. during this time they leave their hair unbound and think that they are establishing the kingdom of women. after some months the movement subsides, and it is said to occur at irregular intervals with a number of years between each. the women are commonly considered to be out of their senses. (g) appearance and character, and social rules and customs 57. physical type. hislop describes the gonds as follows: [81] "all are a little below the average size of europeans and in complexion darker than the generality of hindus. their bodies are well proportioned, but their features rather ugly. they have a roundish head, distended nostrils, wide mouth, thickish lips, straight black hair and scanty beard and moustache. it has been supposed that some of the aborigines of central india have woolly hair; but this is a mistake. among the thousands i have seen i have not found one with hair like a negro." captain forsyth says: [82] "the gond women differ among themselves more than the men. they are somewhat lighter in colour and less fleshy than korku women. but the gond women of different parts of the country vary greatly in appearance, many of them in the open tracts being great robust creatures, finer animals by far than the men; and here hindu blood may fairly be expected. in the interior again bevies of gond women may be seen who are more like monkeys than human beings. the features of all are strongly marked and coarse. the girls occasionally possess such comeliness as attaches to general plumpness and a good-humoured expression of face; but when their short youth is over all pass at once into a hideous age. their hard lives, sharing as they do all the labours of the men except that of hunting, suffice to account for this." there is not the least doubt that the gonds of the more open and civilised country, comprised in british districts, have a large admixture of hindu blood. they commonly work as farmservants, women as well as men, and illicit connections with their hindu masters have been a natural result. this interbreeding, as well as the better quality of food which those who have taken to regular cultivation obtain, have perhaps conduced to improve the gond physical type. gond men as tall as hindus, and more strongly built and with comparatively well-cut features, are now frequently seen, though the broad flat nose is still characteristic of the tribe as a whole. most gonds have very little hair on the face. 58. character. of the maria gonds, colonel glasfurd wrote [83] that "they are a timid, quiet race, docile, and though addicted to drinking they are not quarrelsome. without exception they are the most cheerful, light-hearted people i have met with, always laughing and joking among themselves. seldom does a maria village resound with quarrels or wrangling among either sex, and in this respect they present a marked contrast to those in more civilised tracts. they, in common with many other wild races, bear a singular character for truthfulness and honesty, and when once they get over the feeling of shyness which is natural to them, are exceedingly frank and communicative." writing in 1825 sleeman said: "such is the simplicity and honesty of character of the wildest of these gonds that when they have agreed to a jama [84] they will pay it, though they sell their children to do so, and will also pay it at the precise time that they agreed to. they are dishonest only in direct theft, and few of them will refuse to take another man's property when a fair occasion offers, but they will immediately acknowledge it." [85] the more civilised gonds retain these characteristics to a large extent, though contact with the hindus and the increased complexity of life have rendered them less guileless. murder is a comparatively frequent crime among gonds, and is usually due either to some quarrel about a woman or to a drunken affray. the kidnapping of girls for marriage is also common, though hardly reckoned as an offence by the gonds themselves. otherwise crime is extremely rare in gond villages as a rule. as farmservants the gonds are esteemed fairly honest and hard-working; but unless well driven they are constitutionally averse to labour, and care nothing about provision for the future. the proverb says, 'the gond considers himself a king as long as he has a pot of grain in the house,' meaning that while he has food for a day or two he will not work for any more. during the hot weather the gonds go about in parties and pay visits to their relatives, staying with them several days, and the time is spent simply in eating, drinking when liquor is available, and conversation. the visitors take presents of grain and pulse with them and these go to augment the host's resources. the latter will kill a chicken or, as a great treat, a young pig. mr. montgomerie writes of the gonds as follows: [86] "they are a pleasant people, and leave kindly memories in those who have to do with them. comparatively truthful, always ready for a laugh, familiar with the paths and animals and fruits of the forest, lazy cultivators on their own account but good farmservants under supervision, the broad-nosed gonds are the fit inhabitants of the hilly and jungly tracts in which they are found. with a marigold tucked into his hair above his left ear, with an axe in his hand and a grin on his face, the gond turns out cheerfully to beat for game, and at the end of the day spends his beating pay on liquor for himself or on sweetmeats for his children. he may, in the previous year, have been subsisting largely on jungle fruits and roots because his harvest failed, but he does not dream of investing his modest beating pay in grain." 59. shyness and ignorance. in the wilder tracts the gonds were, until recently, extremely shy of strangers, and would fly at their approach. their tribute to the raja of bastar, paid in kind, was collected once a year by an officer who beat a tom-tom outside the village and forthwith hid himself, whereupon the inhabitants brought out whatever they had to give and deposited it on an appointed spot. colonel glasfurd notes that they had great fear of a horse, and the sight of a man on horseback would put a whole village to flight. [87] even within the writer's experience, in the wilder forest tracts of chanda gond women picking up mahua would run and climb a tree at one's approach on a pony. as displaying the ignorance of the gonds, mr. cain relates [88] that about forty years ago a gond was sent with a basket of mangoes from palvatsa to bhadrachalam, and was warned not to eat any of the fruit, as it would be known if he did so from a note placed in the basket. on the way, however, the gond and his companion were overcome by the attraction of the fruit, and decided that if they buried the note it would be unable to see them eating. they accordingly did so and ate some of the mangoes, and when taxed with their dishonesty at the journey's end, could not understand how the note could have known of their eating the mangoes when it had not seen them. the gonds can now count up to twenty, and beyond that they use the word kori or a score, in talking of cattle, grain or rupees, so that this, perhaps, takes them up to twenty score. they say they learnt to count up to twenty on their ten fingers and ten toes. 60. villages and houses. when residing in the centre of a hindu population the gonds inhabit mud houses, like the low-class hindus. but in the jungles their huts are of bamboo matting plastered with mud, with thatched roofs. the internal arrangements are of the simplest kind, comprising two apartments separated from each other by a row of tall baskets, in which they store up their grain. adjoining the house is a shed for cattle, and round both a bamboo fence for protection from wild beasts. in bastar the walls of the hut are only four or five feet high, and the door three feet. here there are one or two sheds, in which all the villagers store their grain in common, and no man steals another's grain. in gond villages the houses are seen perched about on little bluffs or other high ground, overlooking the fields, one, two and three together. the gond does not like to live in a street. he likes a large bari or fenced enclosure, about an acre in size, besides his house. in this he will grow mustard for sale, or his own annual supply of tobacco or vegetables. he arranges that the village cattle shall come and stand in the bari on their way to and from pasture, and that the cows shall be milked there for some time. his family also perform natural functions in it, which the hindus will not do in their fields. thus the bari gets well manured and will easily give two crops in the year, and the gond sets great store by this field. when building a new house a man plants as the first post a pole of the saj tree, and ties a bundle of thatching-grass round it, and buries a pice (1/4d.) and a bhilawa nut beneath it. they feed two or three friends and scatter a little of the food over the post. the post is called khirkhut deo, and protects the house from harm. a brass or pewter dish and lota or drinking-vessel of the same material, a few earthen cooking-pots, a hatchet and a clay chilam or pipe-bowl comprise the furniture of a gond. 61. clothes and ornaments. in sir r. jenkins' time, a century ago, the gonds were represented as naked savages, living on roots and fruits, and hunting for strangers to sacrifice. about fifty years later, when mr. hislop wrote, the maria women of the wilder tracts were said only to have a bundle of leafy twigs fastened with a string round their waist to cover them before and behind. now men have a narrow strip of cloth round the waist and women a broader one, but in the south of bastar they still leave their breasts uncovered. here a woman covers her breasts for the first time when she becomes pregnant, and if a young woman did it, she would be thought to be big with child. in other localities men and women clothe themselves more like hindus, but the women leave the greater part of the thighs bare, and men often have only one cloth round the loins and another small rag on the head. they have bangles of glass, brass and zinc, and large circlets of brass round the legs, though these are now being discarded. in bastar both men and women have ten to twenty iron and brass hoops round their necks, and on to these rings of the same metal are strung. rai bahadur panda baijnath counted 181 rings on one hoop round an old woman's neck. in the maria country the boys have small separate plots of land, which they cultivate themselves and use the proceeds as their pocket-money, and this enables them to indulge in a profusion of ornaments sometimes exceeding those worn by the girls. in mandla women wear a number of strings of yellow and bluish-white beads. a married woman has both colours, and several cowries tied to the end of the necklace. widows and girls may only wear the bluish-white beads without cowries, and a remarried widow may not have any yellow beads, but she can have one cowrie on her necklace. yellow beads are thus confined to married women, yellow being the common wedding-colour. a gond woman is not allowed to wear a choli or little jacket over the breasts. if she does she is put out of caste. this rule may arise from opposition to the adoption of hindu customs and desire to retain a distinctive feature of dress, or it may be thought that the adoption of the choli might make gond women weaker and unfitted for hard manual labour, like hindu women. a gond woman must not keep her cloth tucked up behind into her waist when she meets an elderly man of her own family, but must let it down so as to cover the upper part of her legs. if she omits to do this, on the occasion of the next wedding the bhumka or caste priest will send some men to catch her, and when she is brought the man to whom she was disrespectful will put his right hand on the ground and she must make obeisance to it seven times, then to his left hand, then to a broom and pestle, and so on till she is tired out. when they have a sprain or swelling of the arm they make a ring of tree-fibre and wear this on the arm, and think that it will cure the sprain or swelling. 62. ear-piercing. the ears of girls are pierced by a thorn, and the hole is enlarged by putting in small pieces of wood or peacock's feathers. gond women wear in their ears the tarkhi or a little slab in shape like a palm-leaf, covered with coloured glass and fixed on to a stalk of hemp-fibre nearly an inch thick, which goes through the ear; or they wear the silver shield-shaped ornament called dhara, which is described in the article on sunar. in bastar the women have their ears pierced in a dozen or more places, and have a small ring in each hole. if a woman gets her ear torn through she is simply put out of caste and has to give a feast for readmission, and is not kept out of caste till it heals, like a hindu woman. 63. hair. gond men now cut their hair. before scissors were obtainable it is said that they used to tie it up on their heads and chop off the ends with an axe, or burn them off. but the wilder gonds often wear their hair long, and as it is seldom combed it gets tangled and matted. the pandas or priests do not cut their hair. women wear braids of false hair, of goats or other animals, twisted into their own to improve their appearance. in mandla a gond girl should not have her hair parted in the middle till she is married. when she is married this is done for the first time by the baiga, who subsequently tattoos on her forehead the image of chandi mata. [89] 64. bathing and washing clothes. gonds, both men and women, do not bathe daily, but only wash their arms and legs. they think a complete bath once a month is sufficient. if a man gets ill he may think the god is angry with him for not bathing, and when he recovers he goes and has a good bath, and sometimes gives a feast. hindus say that a gond is only clean in the rains, when he gets a compulsory bath every day. in bastar they seldom wash their clothes, as they think this impious, or else that the cloth would wear out too quickly if it were often washed. here they set great store by their piece of cloth, and a woman will take it off before she cleans up her house, and do her work naked. it is probable that these wild gonds, who could not weave, regarded the cloth as something miraculous and sacred, and, as already seen, the god palo is a piece of cloth. [90] 65. tattooing. both men and women were formerly much tattooed among the gonds, though the custom is now going out among men. women are tattooed over a large part of the body, but not on the hips or above them to the waist. sorcerers are tattooed with some image or symbol of their god on their chest or right shoulder, and think that the god will thus always remain with them and that any magic directed against them by an enemy will fail. a woman should be tattooed at her father's house, if possible before marriage, and if it is done after marriage her parents should pay for it. the tattooing is done with indigo in black or blue, and is sometimes a very painful process, the girl being held down by her friends while it is carried out. loud shrieks, forsyth says, would sometimes be heard by the traveller issuing from a village, which proclaimed that some young gondin was being operated upon with the tattooing-needle. patterns of animals and also common articles of household use are tattooed in dots and lines. in mandla the legs are marked all the way up behind with sets of parallel lines, as shown above. these are called ghats or steps, and sometimes interspersed at intervals is another figure called sankal or chain. perhaps their idea is to make the legs strong for climbing. 66. special system of tattooing. tattooing seems to have been originally a magical means of protecting the body against real and spiritual dangers, much in the same manner as the wearing of ornaments. it is also supposed that people were tattooed with images of their totem in order the better to identify themselves with it. the following account is stated to have been taken from the baiga priest of a popular shrine of devi in mandla. his wife was a tattooer of both baigas and gonds, and considered it the correct method for the full tattooing of a woman, though very few women can nowadays be found with it. the magical intent of tattooing is here clearly brought out:-on the sole of the right foot is the annexed device: it represents the earth, and will have the effect of preventing the woman's foot from being bruised and cut when she walks about barefoot. on the sole of the left foot is this pattern: it is meant to be in the shape of a foot, and is called padam sen deo or the foot-god. this deity is represented by stones marked with two footprints under a tree outside the village. when they have a pain in the foot they go to him, rub his two stones together and sprinkle the dust from them on their feet as a means of cure. the device tattooed on the foot no doubt performs a similar protective function. on the upper part of the foot five dots are made, one on each toe, and a line is drawn round the foot from the big toe to the little toe. this sign is said to represent gajkaran deo, the elephant god, who resides in cemeteries. he is a strong god, and it is probably thought that his symbol on the feet will enable them to bear weight. on the legs behind they have the images of the baiga priest and priestess. these are also supposed to give strength for labour, and when they cannot go into the forest from fever or weakness they say that bura deo, as the deified priest is called, is angry with them. on the upper legs in front they tattoo the image of a horse, and at the back a saddle between the knee and the thigh. this is koda deo the horse-god, whose image will make their thighs as strong as those of a horse. if they have a pain or weakness in the thigh they go and worship koda deo, offering him a piece of saddle-cloth. on the outer side of each upper arm they tattoo the image of hanuman, the deified monkey and the god of strength, in the form of a man. both men and women do this, and men apply burning cowdung to the tattoo-mark in order to burn it effectually into the arm. this god makes the arms strong to carry weights. down the back is tattooed an oblong figure, which is the house of the god bhimsen, with an opening at the lower end just above the buttocks to represent the gate. inside this on the back is the image of bhimsen's club, consisting of a pattern of dots more or less in the shape of an indian club. bhimsen is the god of the cooking-place, and the image of his club, in white clay stained green with the leaves of the semar tree, is made on the wall of the kitchen. if they have no food, or the food is bad, they say that bhimsen is angry with them. the pattern tattooed on the back appears therefore to be meant to facilitate the digestion of food, which the gonds apparently once supposed to pass down the body along the back. on the breast in front women tattoo the image of bura deo, as shown, the head on her neck and the body finishing at her breast-bone. the marks round the body represent stones, because the symbol of bura deo is sometimes a basket plastered with mud and filled with stones. on each side of the body women have the image of jhulan devi, the cradle goddess, as shown by the small figures attached to bura deo. but a woman cannot have the image of jhulan devi tattooed on her till she has borne a child. the place where the image is tattooed is that where a child rests against its mother's body when she carries it suspended in her cloth, and it is supposed that the image of the goddess supports and protects the child, while the mother's arms are left free for work. round the neck they have kanteshwar mata, the goddess of the necklace. she consists of three to six lines of dots round the neck representing bead necklaces. on the face below the mouth there is sometimes the image of a cobra, and it is supposed that this will protect them from the effects of eating any poisonous thing. on the forehead women have the image of chandi mata. this consists of a dot at the forehead at the parting of the hair, from which two lines of dots run down to the ears on each side, and are continued along the sides of the face to the neck. this image can only be tattooed after the hair of a woman has been parted on her marriage, and they say that chandi mata will preserve and guard the parting of the hair, that is the life of the woman's husband, because the parting can only be worn so long as her husband is alive. chandi means the moon, and it seems likely that the parting of the hair may be considered to represent the bow of the moon. the elaborate system of tattooing here described is rarely found, and it is perhaps comparatively recent, having been devised by the baiga and pardhan priests as their intelligence developed and their theogony became more complex. 67. branding. men are accustomed to brand themselves on the joints of the wrists, elbows and knees with burning wood of the semar tree from the holi fire in order to render their joints supple for dancing. it would appear that the idea of suppleness comes from the dancing of the flames or the swift burning of the fire, while the wood is also of very light weight. men are also accustomed to burn two or three marks on each wrist with a piece of hare's dung, perhaps to make the joints supple like the legs of a hare. 68. food. the gonds have scarcely any restriction on diet. they will eat fowls, beef, pork, crocodiles, certain kinds of snakes, lizards, tortoises, rats, cats, red ants, jackals and in some places monkeys. khatola and raj-gonds usually abstain from beef and the flesh of the buffalo and monkey. they consider field-mice and rats a great delicacy, and will take much trouble in finding and digging out their holes. the maria gonds are very fond of red ants, and in bastar give them fried or roasted to a woman during her confinement. the common food of the labouring gond is a gruel of rice or small millet boiled in water, the quantity of water increasing in proportion to their poverty. this is about the cheapest kind of food on which a man can live, and the quantity of grain taken in the form of this gruel or pej which will suffice for a gond's subsistence is astonishingly small. they grow the small grass-millets kodon and kutki for their subsistence, selling the more valuable crops for rent and expenses. the flowers of the mahua tree are also a staple article of diet, being largely eaten as well as made into liquor, and the gond knows of many other roots and fruits of the forest. he likes to eat or drink his pej several times a day, and in seoni, it is said, will not go more than three hours without a meal. gonds are rather strict in the matter of taking food from others, and in some localities refuse to accept it even from brahmans. elsewhere they will take it from most hindu castes. in hoshangabad the men may take food from the higher hindu castes, but not the women. this, they say, is because the woman is a wooden vessel, and if a wooden vessel is once put on the fire it is irretrievably burnt. a woman similarly is the weaker vessel and will sustain injury from any contamination. the raj-gond copies hindu ways and outdoes the hindu in the elaboration of ceremonial purity, even having the fuel with which his brahman cook prepares his food sprinkled with water to purify it before it is burnt. mr. a. k. smith states that a gond will not eat an antelope if a chamar has touched it, even unskinned, and in some places they are so strict that a wife may not eat her husband's leavings of food. the gonds will not eat the leavings of any hindu caste, probably on account of a traditional hostility arising out of their subjection by the hindus. very few hindu castes will take water or food from the gonds, but some who employ them as farmservants do this for convenience. the gonds are not regarded as impure, even though from a hindu point of view some of their habits are more objectionable than those of the impure castes. this is because the gonds have never been completely reduced to subjection, nor converted into the village drudges, who are consigned to the most degraded occupations. large numbers of them hold land as tenants and estates as zamindars; and the greater part of the province was once governed by gond kings. the hindus say that they could not consider a tribe as impure to which their kings once belonged. brahmans will take water from raj-gonds and khatola gonds in many localities. this is when it is freshly brought from the well and not after it has been put in their houses. 69. liquor. excessive drinking is the common vice of the gonds and the principal cause which militates against their successfully competing with the hindus. they drink the country spirit distilled from the flowers of the mahua tree, and in the south of the province toddy or the fermented juice of the date-palm. as already seen, in bastar their idea of hell is a place without liquor. the loss of the greater part of the estates formerly held by gond proprietors has been due to this vice, which many hindu liquor-sellers have naturally fostered to their own advantage. no festival or wedding passes without a drunken bout, and in chanda at the season for tapping the date-palm trees the whole population of a village may be seen lying about in the open dead drunk. they impute a certain sanctity to the mahua tree, and in some places walk round a post of it at their weddings. liquor is indispensable at all ceremonial feasts, and a purifying quality is attributed to it, so that it is drunk at the cemetery or bathing-ghat after a funeral. the family arranges for liquor, but mourners attending from other families also bring a bottle each with them, if possible. practically all the events of a gond's life, the birth of a child, betrothals and weddings, recovery from sickness, the arrival of a guest, bringing home the harvest, borrowing money or hiring bullocks, and making contracts for cultivation, are celebrated by drinking. and when a gond has once begun to drink, if he has the money he usually goes on till he is drunk, and this is why the habit is such a curse to him. he is of a social disposition and does not like to drink alone. if he has drunk something, and has no more money, and the contractor refuses to let him have any more on credit as the law prescribes, the gond will sometimes curse him and swear never to drink in his shop again. nevertheless, within a few days he will be back, and when chaffed about it will answer simply that he could not resist the longing. in spite of all the harm it does him, it must be admitted that it is the drink which gives most of the colour and brightness to a gond's life, and without this it would usually be tame to a degree. when a gond drinks water from a stream or tank, he bends down and puts his mouth to the surface and does not make a cup with his hands like a hindu. 70. admission of outsiders and sexual morality. outsiders are admitted into the tribe in some localities in bastar, and also the offspring of a gond man or woman with a person of another caste, excepting the lowest. but some people will not admit the children of a gond woman by a man of another caste. not much regard is paid to the chastity of girls before marriage, though in the more civilised tracts the stricter hindu views on the subject are beginning to prevail. here it is said that if a girl is detected in a sexual intrigue before marriage she may be taken into caste, but may not participate in the worship of bura deo nor of the household god. but this is probably rather a counsel of perfection than a rule actually enforced. if a daughter is taken in the sexual act, they think some misfortune will happen to them, as the death of a cow or the failure of crops. similarly the maria gonds think that if tigers kill their cattle it is a punishment for the adultery of their wives, and hence if a man loses a head or two he looks very closely after his wife, and detection is often followed by murder. here probably adultery was originally considered an offence as being a sin against the tribe, because it contaminated the tribal blood, and out of this attitude marital jealousy has subsequently developed. speaking generally, the enforcement of rules of sexual morality appears to be comparatively recent, and there is no doubt that the baigas and other tribes who have lived in contact with the gonds, as well as the ahirs and other low castes, have a large admixture of gond blood. in bastar a gond woman formerly had no feelings of modesty as regards her breasts, but this is now being acquired. laying the hand on a married woman's shoulder gives great offence. mr. low writes: [91] "it is difficult to say what is not a legal marriage from a gond point of view; but in spite of this laxity abductions are frequent, and colonel bloomfield mentions one particularly noteworthy case where the abductor, an unusually ugly gond with a hare-lip, was stated by the complainant to have taken off first the latter's aunt, then his sister and finally his only wife." 71. common sleeping-houses. many gond villages in chhattisgarh and the feudatory states have what is known as a gotalghar. this is a large house near the village where unmarried youths and maidens collect and dance and sing together at night. some villages have two, one for the boys and one for the girls. in bastar the boys have a regular organisation, their captain being called sirdar, and the master of the ceremonies kotwar, while they have other officials bearing the designation of the state officers. after supper the unmarried boys go first to the gotalghar and are followed by the girls. the kotwar receives the latter and directs them to bow to the sirdar, which they do. each girl then takes a boy and combs his hair and massages his hands and arms to refresh him, and afterwards they sing and dance together until they are tired and then go to bed. the girls can retire to their own house if they wish, but frequently they sleep in the boys' house. thus numerous couples become intimate, and if on discovery the parents object to their marriage, they run away to the jungle, and it has to be recognised. in some villages, however, girls are not permitted to go to the gotalghar. in one part of bastar they have a curious rule that all males, even the married, must sleep in the common house for the eight months of the open season, while their wives sleep in their own houses. a maria gond thinks it impious to have sexual intercourse with his wife in his house, as it would be an insult to the goddess of wealth who lives in the house, and the effect would be to drive her away. their solicitude for this goddess is the more noticeable, as the maria gond's house and furniture probably constitute one of the least valuable human habitations on the face of the globe. 72. methods of greeting and observances between relatives. when two gond friends or relatives meet, they clasp each other in their arms and lean against each shoulder in turn. a man will then touch the knees of an elder male relative with his fingers, carrying them afterwards to his own forehead. this is equivalent to falling at the other's feet, and is a token of respect shown to all elder male relatives and also to a son-in-law, sister's husband, and a samhdi, that is the father of a sonor daughter-in-law. their term of salutation is johar, and they say this to each other. another method of greeting is that each should put his fingers under the other's chin and then kiss them himself. women also do this when they meet. or a younger woman meeting an elder will touch her feet, and the elder will then kiss her on the forehead and on each cheek. if they have not met for some time they will weep. it is said that baigas will kiss each other on the cheek when meeting, both men and women. a gond will kiss and caress his wife after marriage, but as soon as she has a child he drops the habit and never does it again. when husband and wife meet after an absence the wife touches her husband's feet with her hand and carries it to her forehead, but the husband makes no demonstration. the gonds kiss their children. among the maria gonds the wife is said not to sleep on a cot in her husband's house, which would be thought disrespectful to him, but on the ground. nor will a woman even sit on a cot in her own house, as if any male relative happened to be in the house it would be disrespectful to him. a woman will not say the name of her husband, his elder or younger brother, or his elder brother's sons. a man will not mention his wife's name nor that of her elder sister. 73. the caste panchayat and social offences. the tribe have panchayats or committees for the settlement of tribal disputes and offences. a member of the panchayat is selected by general consent, and holds office during good behaviour. the office is not hereditary, and generally there does not seem to be a recognised head of the panchayat. in mandla there is a separate panchayat for each village, and every gond male adult belongs to it, and all have to be summoned to a meeting. when they assemble five leading elderly men decide the matter in dispute, as representing the assembly. caste offences are of the usual hindu type with some variations. adultery, taking another man's wife or daughter, getting vermin in a wound, being sent to jail and eating the jail food, or even having handcuffs put on, a woman getting her ear torn, and eating or even smoking with a man of very low caste, are the ordinary offences. others are being beaten by a shoe, dealing in the hides of cattle or keeping donkeys, removing the corpse of a dead horse or donkey, being touched by a sweeper, cooking in the earthen pots of any impure caste, a woman entering the kitchen during her monthly impurity, and taking to wife the widow of a younger brother, but not of course of an elder brother. in the case of septs which revere a totem animal or plant, any act committed in connection with that animal or plant by a member of the sept is an offence within the cognisance of the panchayat. thus in mandla the kumhra sept revere the goat and the markam sept the crocodile and crab. if a member of one of these septs touches, keeps, kills or eats the animal which his sept reveres, he is put out of caste and comes before the panchayat. in practice the offences with which the panchayat most frequently deals are the taking of another man's wife or the kidnapping of a daughter for marriage, this last usually occurring between relatives. both these offences can also be brought before the regular courts, but it is usually only when the aggrieved person cannot get satisfaction from the panchayat, or when the offender refuses to abide by its decision, that the case goes to court. if a gond loses his wife he will in the ordinary course compromise the matter if the man who takes her will repay his wedding expenses; this is a very serious business for him, as his wedding is the principal expense of a man's life, and it is probable that he may not be able to afford to buy another girl and pay for her wedding. if he cannot get his wedding expenses back through the panchayat he files a complaint of adultery under the penal code, in the hope of being repaid through a fine inflicted on the offender, and it is perfectly right and just that this should be done. when a girl is kidnapped for marriage, her family can usually be induced to recognise the affair if they receive the price they could have got for the girl in an ordinary marriage, and perhaps a little more, as a solace to their outraged feelings. the panchayat takes no cognisance of theft, cheating, forgery, perjury, causing hurt and other forms of crime. these are not considered to be offences against the caste, and no penalty is inflicted for them. only if a man is arrested and handcuffed, or if he is sent to jail for any such crime, he is put out of caste for eating the jail food and subjected in this latter case to a somewhat severe penalty. it is not clear whether a gond is put out of caste for murder, though hindu panchayats take cognisance of this offence. 74. caste penalty feasts. the punishments inflicted by the panchayat consist of feasts, and in the case of minor offences of a fine. this last, subject perhaps to some commission to the members for their services, is always spent on liquor, the drinking of which by the offender with the caste-fellows will purify him. the gonds consider country liquor as equivalent to the hindu amrita or nectar. the penalty for a serious offence involves three feasts. the first, known as the meal of impurity, consists of sweet wheaten cakes which are eaten by the elders on the bank of a stream or well. the second or main feast is given in the offender's courtyard to all the castemen of the village and sometimes of other villages. rice, pulse, and meat, either of a slaughtered pig or goat, are provided at this. the third feast is known as 'the taking back into caste' and is held in the offender's house and may be cooked by him. wheat, rice and pulses are served, but not meat or vegetables. when the panchayat have eaten this food in the offender's house he is again a proper member of the caste. liquor is essential at each feast. the nature of the penalty feasts is thus very clear. they have the effect of a gradual purification of the offender. in the first meal he can take no part, nor is it served in his house, but in some neutral place. for the second meal the castemen go so far as to sit in his compound, but apparently he does not cook the food nor partake of it. at the third meal they eat with him in his house and he is fully purified. these three meals are prescribed only for serious offences, and for ordinary ones only two meals, the offender partaking of the second. the three meals are usually exacted from a woman taken in adultery with an outsider. in this case the woman's head is shaved at the first meal by the sharmia, that is her son-in-law, and the children put her to shame by throwing lumps of cowdung at her. she runs away and bathes in a stream. at the second meal, taken in her courtyard, the sharmia sprinkles some blood on the ground and on the lintel of the door as an offering to the gods and in order that the house may be pure for the future. if a man is poor and cannot afford the expense of the penalty feasts imposed on him, the panchayat will agree that only a few persons will attend instead of the whole community. the procedure above described is probably borrowed to a large extent from hinduism, but the working of a panchayat can be observed better among the gonds and lower castes than among high-caste hindus, who are tending to let it lapse into abeyance. 75. special purification ceremony. the following detailed process of purification had to be undergone by a well-to-do gond widow in mandla who had been detected with a man of the panka caste, lying drunk and naked in a liquor-shop. the gonds here consider the pankas socially beneath themselves. the ritual clearly belongs to hinduism, as shown by the purifying virtue attached to contact with cows and bullocks and cowdung, and was directed by the panda or priest of devi's shrine, who, however, would probably be a gond. first, the offending woman was taken right out of the village across a stream; here her head was shaved with the urine of an all-black bullock and her body washed with his dung, and she then bathed in the stream, and a feast was given on its bank to the caste. she slept here, and next day was yoked to the same bullock and taken thus to the kharkha or standing-place for the village cattle. she was rolled over the surface of the kharkha about four times, again rubbed with cowdung, another feast was given, and she slept the night on the spot, without being washed. next day, covered with the dust and cowdung of the kharkha, she crouched underneath the black bullock's belly and in this manner proceeded to the gate of her own yard. here a bottle of liquor and fifteen chickens were waved round her and afterwards offered at devi's shrine, where they became the property of the panda who was conducting the ceremony. another feast was given in her yard and the woman slept there. next day the woman, after bathing, was placed standing with one foot outside her threshold and the other inside; a feast was given, called the feast of the threshold, and she again slept in her yard. on the following day came the final feast of purification in the house. the woman was bathed eleven times, and a hen, a chicken and five eggs were offered by the panda to each of her household gods. then she drank a little liquor from a cup of which the panda had drunk, and ate some of the leavings of food of which he had eaten. the black bullock and a piece of cloth sufficient to cover it were presented to the panda for his services. then the woman took a dish of rice and pulse and placed a little in the leaf-cup of each of the caste-fellows present, and they all ate it and she was readmitted to caste. twelve cow-buffaloes were sold to pay for the ceremony, which perhaps cost rs. 600 or more. 76. dancing. dancing and singing to the dance constitute the social amusement and recreation of the gonds, and they are passionately fond of it. the principal dance is the karma, danced in celebration of the bringing of the leafy branch of a tree from the forest in the rains. they continue to dance it as a recreation during the nights of the cold and hot weather, whenever they have leisure and a supply of liquor, which is almost indispensable, is forthcoming. the marias dance, men and women together, in a great circle, each man holding the girl next him on one side round the neck and on the other round the waist. they keep perfect time, moving each foot alternately in unison throughout the line, and moving round in a slow circle. only unmarried girls may join in a maria dance, and once a woman is married she can never dance again. this is no doubt a salutary provision for household happiness, as sometimes couples, excited by the dance and wine, run away from it into the jungle and stay there for a day or two till their relatives bring them home and consider them as married. at the maria dances the men wear the skins of tigers, panthers, deer and other animals, and sometimes head-dresses of peacock's feathers. they may also have a girdle of cowries round the waist, and a bell tied to their back to ring as they move. the musicians sit in the centre and play various kinds of drums and tom-toms. at a large maria dance there may be as many as thirty musicians, and the provision of rice or kodon and liquor may cost as much as rs. 50. in other localities the dance is less picturesque. men and women form two long lines opposite each other, with the musicians in the centre, and advance and retreat alternately, bringing one foot forward and the other up behind it, with a similar movement in retiring. married women may dance, and the men do not hold the women at any time. at intervals they break off and liquor is distributed in small leaf-cups, or if these are not available, it is poured into the hands of the dancers held together like a cup. in either case a considerable proportion of the liquor is usually spilt on to the ground. 77. songs. all the time they are dancing they also sing in unison, the men sometimes singing one line and the women the next, or both together. the songs are with few exceptions of an erotic character, and a few specimens are subjoined. a. be not proud of your body, your body must go away above (to death). your mother, brother and all your kinsmen, you must leave them and go. you may have lakhs of treasure in your house, but you must leave it all and go. b. the musicians play and the feet beat on the earth. a pice (1/4d.) for a divorced woman, two pice for a kept woman, for a virgin many sounding rupees. the musicians play and the earth sounds with the trampling of feet. c. raja darwa is dead, he died in his youth. who is he that has taken the small gun, who has taken the big bow? who is aiming through the harra and bahera trees, who is aiming on the plain? who has killed the quail and partridge, who has killed the peacock? raja darwa has died in the prime of his youth. the big brother says, 'i killed him, i killed him'; the little brother shot the arrow. raja darwa has died in the bloom of his youth. d. rawan [92] is coming disguised as a bairagi; by what road will rawan come? the houses and castles fell before him, the ruler of bhanwargarh rose up in fear. he set the match to his powder, he stooped and crept along the ground and fired. e. little pleasure is got from a kept woman; she gives her lord pej (gruel) of kutki to drink. she gives it him in a leaf-cup of laburnum; [93] the cup is too small for him to drink. she put two gourds full of water in it, and the gruel is so thin that it gives him no sustenance. f. man speaks: the wife is asleep and her raja (husband) is asleep in her lap. she has taken a piece of bread in her lap and water in her vessel. see from her eyes will she come or not? woman: i have left my cow in her shed, my buffalo in her stall. i have left my baby at the breast and am come alone to follow you. g. the father said to his son, 'do not go out to service with any master, neither go to any strange woman. i will sell my sickle and axe, and make you two marriages.' he made a marriage feast for his son, and in one plate he put rice, and over it meat, and poured soup over it till it flowed out of the plate. then he said to the men and women, young and old, 'come and eat your fill.' 78. language. in 1911 gondi was spoken by 1,500,000 persons, or more than half the total number of gonds in india. the other gonds of the central provinces speak a broken hindi. gondi is a dravidian language, having a common ancestor with tamil and canarese, but little immediate connection with its neighbour telugu; the specimens given by sir g. grierson show that a large number of hindi words have been adopted into the vocabulary of gondi, and this tendency is no doubt on the increase. there are probably few gonds outside the feudatory states, and possibly a few of the wildest tracts in british districts, who could not understand hindi to some extent. and with the extension of primary education in british districts gondi is likely to decline still more rapidly. gondi has no literature and no character of its own; but the gospels and the book of genesis have been translated into it and several grammatical sketches and vocabularies compiled. in saugor the hindus speak of gondi as farsi or persian, apparently applying this latter name to any foreign language. (h) occupation 79. cultivation. the gonds are mainly engaged in agriculture, and the great bulk of them are farmservants and labourers. in the hilly tracts, however, there is a substantial gond tenantry, and a small number of proprietors remain, though the majority have been ousted by hindu moneylenders and liquor-sellers. in the eastern districts many important zamindari estates are owned by gond proprietors. the ancestors of these families held the wild hilly country on the borders of the plains in feudal tenure from the central rulers, and were responsible for the restraint of the savage hillmen under their jurisdiction, and the protection of the rich and settled lowlands from predatory inroads from without. their descendants are ordinary landed proprietors, and would by this time have lost their estates but for the protection of the law declaring them impartible and inalienable. a few of the feudatory chiefs are also gonds. gond proprietors are generally easy-going and kind-hearted to their tenants, but lacking in business acumen and energy, and often addicted to drink and women. the tenants are as a class shiftless and improvident and heavily indebted. but they show signs of improvement, especially in the ryotwari villages under direct government management, and it may be hoped that primary education and more temperate habits will gradually render them equal to the hindu cultivators. 80. patch cultivation. in the feudatory states and some of the zamindaris the gonds retain the dahia or bewar method of shifting cultivation, which has been prohibited everywhere else on account of its destructive effects on the forests. the maria gonds of bastar cut down a patch of jungle on a hillside about february, and on its drying up burn all the wood in april or may. tying strips of the bark of the saj tree to their feet to prevent them from being burnt, they walk over the smouldering area, and with long bamboo sticks move any unburnt logs into a burning patch, so that they may all be consumed. when the first showers of rain fall they scatter seed of the small millets into the soft covering of wood ashes, and the fertility of the soil is such that without further trouble they get a return of a hundred-fold or more. the same patch can be sown for three years in succession without ploughing, but it then gives out, and the gonds move themselves and their habitations to a fresh one. when the jungle has been allowed to grow on the old patch for ten or twelve years, there is sufficient material for a fresh supply of wood-ash manure, and they burn it over again. teak yields a particularly fertilising ash, and when standing the tree is hurtful to crops grown near it, as its large, broad leaves cause a heavy drip and wash out the grain. hence the gonds were particularly hostile to this tree, and it is probably to their destructive efforts that the poor growth of teak over large areas of the provincial forests is due. [94] the maria gonds do not use the plough, and their only agricultural implement is a kind of hoe or spade. elsewhere the gonds are gradually adopting the hindu methods of cultivation, but their land is generally in hilly and jungly tracts and of poor quality. they occupy large areas of the wretched barra or gravel soil which has disintegrated from the rock of the hillsides, and covers it in a thin sheet mixed with quantities of large stones. the gonds, however, like this land, as it is so shallow as to entail very little trouble in ploughing, and it is suitable for their favourite crops of the small millets, kodon and kutki, and the poorer oilseeds. after three years of cropping it must be given an equal or longer period of fallow before it will again yield any return. the gonds say it is narang or exhausted. in the new ryotwari villages formed within the last twenty years the gonds form a large section, and in mandla the great majority, of the tenantry, and have good black-soil fields which grow wheat and other valuable crops. here, perhaps, their condition is happier than anywhere else, as they are secured in the possession of their lands subject to the payment of revenue, liberally assisted with government loans at low interest, and protected as far as possible from the petty extortion and peculation of hindu subordinate officials and moneylenders. the opening of a substantial number of primary schools to serve these villages will, it may be hoped, have the effect of making the gond a more intelligent and provident cultivator, and counteract the excessive addiction to liquor which is the great drawback to his prosperity. the fondness of the gond for his bari or garden plot adjoining his hut has been described in the section on villages and houses. 81. hunting: traps for animals. the primary occupation of the gonds in former times was hunting and fishing, but their opportunities in this respect have been greatly circumscribed by the conservation of the game in government forests, which was essential if it was not to become extinct, when the native shikaris had obtained firearms. their weapons were until recently bows and arrows, but now gond hunters usually have an old matchlock gun. they have several ingenious devices for trapping animals. it is essential for them to make a stockade round their patch cultivation fields in the forests, or the grain would be devoured by pig and deer. at one point in this they leave a narrow opening, and in front of it dig a deep pit and cover it with brushwood and grass; then at the main entrance they spread some sand. coming in the middle of the night they see from the footprints in the sand what animals have entered the enclosure; if these are worth catching they close the main gate, and make as much noise as they can. the frightened animals dash round the enclosure and, seeing the opening, run through it and fall into the pit, where they are easily despatched with clubs and axes. they also set traps across the forest paths frequented by animals. the method is to take a strong raw-hide rope and secure one end of it to a stout sapling, which is bent down like a spring. the other end is made into a noose and laid open on the ground, often over a small hole. it is secured by a stone or log of wood, and this is so arranged by means of some kind of fall-trap that on pressure in the centre of the hole it is displaced and releases the noose. the animal comes and puts his foot in the hole, thus removing the trap which secured the noose. this flies up and takes the animal's foot with it, being drawn tight in mid-air by the rebound of the sapling. the animal is thus suspended with one foot in the air, which it cannot free, and the gonds come and kill it. tigers are sometimes caught in this manner. a third very cruel kind of trap is made by putting up a hedge of thorns and grass across a forest-path, on the farther side of which they plant a few strong and sharply-pointed bamboo stakes. a deer coming up will jump the hedge, and on landing will be impaled on one of the stakes. the wound is very severe and often festers immediately, so that the victim dies in a few hours. or they suspend a heavy beam over a forest path held erect by a loose prop which stands on the path. the deer comes along and knocks aside the prop, and the beam falls on him and pins him down. mr. montgomerie writes as follows on gond methods of hunting: [95] "the use of the bow and arrow is being forgotten owing to the restrictions placed by government on hunting. the gonds can still throw an axe fairly straight, but a running hare is a difficult mark and has a good chance of escaping. the hare, however, falls a victim to the fascination of fire. the gond takes an earthen pot, knocks a large hole in the side of it, and slings it on a pole with a counterbalancing stone at the other end. then at night he slings the pole over one shoulder, with the earthen pot in front containing fire, and sallies out hare-hunting. he is accompanied by a man who bears a bamboo. the hare, attracted and fascinated by the light, comes close and watches it stupidly till the bamboo descends on the animal's head, and the gonds have hare for supper." sometimes a bell is rung as well, and this is said to attract the animals. they also catch fish by holding a lamp over the water on a dark night and spearing them with a trident. gond-gowari gond-gowari. [96]--a small hybrid caste formed from alliances between gonds and gowaris or herdsmen of the maratha country. though they must now be considered as a distinct caste, being impure and thus ranking lower than either the gonds or gowaris, they are still often identified with either of them. in 1901 only 3000 were returned, principally from the nagpur and chanda districts. in 1911 they were amalgamated with the gowaris, and this view may be accepted as their origin is the same. the gowaris say that the gond-gowaris are the descendants of one of two brothers who accidentally ate the flesh of a cow. both the gonds and gowaris frequent the jungles for long periods together, and it is natural that intimacies should spring up between the youth of either sex. and the progeny of these irregular connections has formed a separate caste, looked down upon by both its progenitors. the gond-gowaris have no subcastes, and for purposes of marriages are divided into exogamous septs, all bearing gond names. like the gonds, the caste is also split into two divisions, worshipping six and seven gods respectively, and members of septs worshipping the same number of gods must not marry with each other. the deities of the six and seven god-worshippers are identical, except that the latter have one extra called durga or devi, who is represented by a copper coin of the old nagpur dynasty. of the other deities bura deo is a piece of iron, khoda and khodavan are both pieces of the kadamb tree (nauclea parvifolia), supari is the areca-nut, and kaipen consists of two iron rings and counts as two deities. it seems probable, therefore, from the double set of identical deities that two of the original ones have been forgotten. the gods are kept on a small piece of red cloth in a closed bamboo basket, which must not be opened except on days of worship, lest they should work some mischief; on these special days they are rendered harmless for the time being by the homage which is rendered to them. marriage is adult, and a bride-price of nine rupees and some grain is commonly paid by the boy's family. the ceremony is a mixture of gond and maratha forms; the couple walk seven times round a bohla or mound of earth and the guests clap their hands. at a widow-marriage they walk three and a half times round a burning lamp, as this is considered to be only a kind of half-marriage. the morality of the caste is very loose, and a wife will commonly be pardoned any transgression except an intrigue with a man of very low caste. women of other castes, such as kunbis or barhais, may be admitted to the community on forming a connection with a gond-gowari. the caste have no prescribed observance of mourning for the dead. the gond-gowaris are cultivators and labourers, and dress like the kunbis. they are considered to be impure and must live outside the village, while other castes refuse to touch them. the bodies of the women are disfigured by excessive tattooing, the legs being covered with a pattern of dots and lines reaching up to the thighs. in this matter they simply follow their gond ancestors, but they say that a woman who is not tattooed is impure and cannot worship the deities. gondhali gondhali. [97]--a caste or order of wandering beggars and musicians found in the maratha districts of the central provinces and in berar. the name is derived from the marathi word gondharne, to make a noise. in 1911 the gondhalis numbered about 3000 persons in berar and 500 in the central provinces, and they are also found in bombay. the origin of the caste is obscure, but it appears to have been recruited in recent times from the offspring of waghyas and murlis or male and female children devoted to temples by their parents in fulfilment of a vow. mr. kitts states in the berar census report [98] of 1881 that the gondhalis are there attached either to the temple of tukai at tuljapur or the temple of renuka at mahur, and in consequence form two subcastes, the kadamrai and renurai, who do not intermarry. in the central provinces, however, besides these two there are a number of other subcastes, most of which bear the names of distinct castes, and obviously consist of members of that caste who became gondhalis, or of their descendants. thus among the names of subcastes reported are the brahman, maratha, mane kunbi, khaire kunbi, teli, mahar, mang and vidur gondhalis, as well as others like the deshkars, or those coming from the deccan, the gangapare, [99] or those from beyond the ganges, and the hijade or eunuchs. it is clear, therefore, that members of these castes becoming gondhalis attempt to arrange their marriages with other converts from their own caste and to retain their relative social position. there is little doubt that all gondhalis are theoretically meant to be equal, a principle which at their first foundation applies to nearly all sects and orders, but here as elsewhere the social feeling of caste has been too strong to permit of its retention. it may be doubted, however, whether in view of the small total numbers of the caste all these groups can be strictly endogamous. the kunbi gondhalis can take food from the ordinary kunbis, but they rank below them, as being mendicants. the caste has also a number of exogamous groups or gotras, the names of which may be classified as titular or territorial. instances of the former kind are dokiphode or one who broke his head while begging, sukt (thin, emaciated), muke (dumb), jabal (one with long hair like a jogi), and panchange (one who has five limbs). girls are married as a rule before adolescence, and the ceremony resembles that of the kunbis, but a special prayer is offered to the deity renuka, and the boy is invested with a necklace of cowries by five married men of the caste. till this has been done he is not considered to be a proper gondhali. celibacy is not a tenet of the order. the remarriage of widows is allowed, and the ceremony consists in the husband placing a string of small black glass beads round the woman's neck, while she holds out a pair of new shoes for him to put his feet into. the second wife often wears a small silver or golden image of the first wife round her neck, and worships it before she eats by touching it with food; she also asks its permission before going to sleep with her husband. the goddess bhawani or devi is especially revered by the caste, and they fast in her honour on tuesdays and fridays. they worship their musical instruments at dasahra with an offering of a goat, and afterwards sing and dance for the whole night, this being their principal festival. they also observe the nine days' fasts in honour of devi in chait (march) and kunwar (september) and sow the jawaras or pots of wheat. the gondhalis are mendicant musicians, and are engaged on the occasion of marriages among the higher castes to perform their gondhal or dance accompanied by music. four men are needed for it, one being the dancer who is dressed in a long white robe with a necklace of cowries and bells on his ankles, while the other three stand behind him, two of them carrying drums and the third a sacred torch called dioti. the torch-bearer serves as a butt for the witticisms of the dancer. their instruments are the chonka, an open drum carrying an iron string which is beaten with a small wooden pin, and two sambals or double drums of iron, wood or earth, one of which emits a dull and the other a sharp sound. the dance is performed in honour of the goddess bhawani. they set up a wooden stool on the stage arranged for the performance, covered with a cloth on which wheat is spread, and over this is placed a brass vessel containing water and a cocoanut. this represents the goddess. after the performance the gondhalis take away and eat the cocoanut and wheat; their regular fee for an engagement is rs. 1-4, and the guests give them presents of a few pice (farthings). they are engaged for important ceremonies such as marriages, the barsa or name-giving of a boy, and the shantik or maturity of a girl, and also merely for entertainment; but in this case the stool and cocoanut representing the goddess are not set up. the following is a specimen of a gondhali religious song: where i come from and who am i, this mystery none has solved; father, mother, sister and brother, these are all illusions. i call them mine and am lost in my selfish concerns. worldliness is the beginning of hell, man has wrapped himself in it without reason. remember your guru, go to him and touch his feet. put on the shield of mercy and compassion and take the sword of knowledge. god is in every human body. the caste beg between dawn and noon, wearing a long white or red robe and a red turban folded from twisted strings of cloth like the marathas. their status is somewhat low, but they are usually simple and honest. occasionally a man becomes a gondhali in fulfilment of a vow without leaving his own caste; he will then be initiated by a member of the caste and given the necklace of cowries, and on every tuesday he will wear this and beg from five persons in honour of the goddess devi; while except for this observance he remains a member of his own caste and pursues his ordinary business. gopal gopal, borekar.--bibliography: major gunthorpe's criminal tribes; mr. kitt's berar census report, 1881. a small vagrant and criminal caste of berar, where they numbered about 2000 persons in 1901. in the central provinces they were included among the nats in 1901, but in 1891 a total of 681 were returned. here they belong principally to the nimar district, and major gunthorpe considers that they entered berar from nimar and indore. they are divided into five classes, the marathi, vir, pangul, pahalwan, or kham, and gujarati gopals. the ostensible occupation of all the groups is the buying and selling of buffaloes. the word gopal means a cowherd and is a name of krishna. the marathi gopals rank higher than the rest, and all other classes will take food from them, while the vir gopals eat the flesh of dead cattle and are looked down upon by the others. the ostensible occupation of the vir gopals is that of making mats from the leaves of the date-palm tree. they build their huts of date-leaves outside a village and remain there for one or two years or more until the headman tells them to move on. the name borekar is stated to have the meaning of mat-maker. the pangul gopals also make mats, but in addition to this they are mendicants, begging from off trees, and must be the same as the harbola mendicants of the central provinces. the pangul spreads a cloth below a tree and climbing it sits on some high branch in the early morning. here he sings and chants the praises of charitable persons until somebody throws a small present on to the cloth. this he does only between cock-crow and sunrise and not after sunrise. others walk through the streets, ejaculating dam! [100] dam! and begging from door to door. with the exception of shaving after a death they never cut the hair either of their head or face. their principal deity is dawal malik, but they also worship khandoba; and they bury the bodies of their dead. the corpse is carried to the grave in a jholi or wallet and is buried in a sitting posture. in order to discover whether a dead ancestor has been reborn in a child they have recourse to magic. a lamp is suspended from a thread, and the upper stone of the grinding-mill is placed standing upon the lower one. if either of them moves when the name of the dead ancestor is pronounced they consider that he has been reborn. one section of the panguls has taken to agriculture, and these refuse to marry with the mendicants, though eating and drinking with them. the pahalwan gopals live in small tents and travel about, carrying their belongings on buffaloes. they are wrestlers and gymnasts, and belong mainly to hyderabad. [101] the kham gopals are a similar group also belonging to hyderabad; and are so named because they carry about a long pole (kham) on which they perform acrobatic feats. they also have thick canvas bags, striped blue and white, in which they carry their property. the gujarati gopals are lower than the other divisions, who will not take food from them. they are tumblers and do feats of strength and also perform on the tight-rope. all five groups, major gunthorpe states, are inveterate cattle-thieves; and have colonies of their people settled on the indore and hyderabad borders and between them along the foot of the satpura hills. buffaloes or other animals which they steal are passed along from post to post and taken to foreign territory in an incredibly short space of time. a considerable proportion of them, however, have now taken to agriculture, and their proper traditional calling is to sell milk and butter, for which they keep buffaloes. gopal is a name of krishna, and they consider themselves to be descended from the herdsmen of brindaban. gosain list of paragraphs 1. names for the gosains. 2. the ten orders. 3. initiation. 4. dress. 5. methods of begging and greetings. 6. the dandis. 7. the rawanvansis. 8. monasteries. 9. the fighting gosains. 10. burial. 11. sexual indulgence. 12. missionary work. 13. the gosain caste. 1. names for the gosains. gosain, gusain, sanniasi, dasnami. [102]--a name for the orders of religious mendicants of the sivite sect, from which a caste has now developed. in 1911 the gosains numbered a little over 40,000 persons in the central provinces and berar, being distributed over all districts. the name gosain signifies either gao-swami, master of cows, or go-swami, master of the senses. its significance sometimes varies. thus in bengal the heads of bairagi or vaishnava monasteries are called gosain, and the priests of the vishnuite vallabhacharya sect are known as gokulastha gosain. but over most of india, as in the central provinces, gosain appears to be a name applied to members of the sivite orders. sanniasi means one who abandons the desires of the world and the body. properly every brahman should become a sanniasi in the fourth stage or ashram of his life, when after marrying and begetting a son to celebrate his funeral rites in the second stage, he should retire to the forest, become a hermit and conquer all the appetites and passions of the body in the third stage. thereafter, when the process of mortification is complete he should beg his bread as a sanniasi. but only those who enter the religious orders now become sanniasis, and the name is therefore confined to them. dasnami means the ten names, and refers to the ten orders in which the gosains or sivite anchorites are commonly classified. sadhu is a generic term for a religious mendicant. the name gosain is now more commonly applied to the married members of the caste, who pursue ordinary avocations, while the mendicants are known as sadhu or sanniasi. 2. the ten orders. the gosains consider their founder to have been shankar acharya, the great apostle of the revival of the worship of siva in southern india, who lived between the eighth and tenth centuries. he had four disciples from whom the ten orders of gosains are derived. these are commonly stated as follows: 1. giri (peak or top of a hill). 2. puri (a town). 3. parbat (a mountain). 4. sagar (the ocean). 5. ban or van (the forest). 6. tirtha (a shrine of pilgrimage). 7. bharthi (the goddess of speech). 8. saraswati (the goddess of learning). 9. aranya (forest). 10. ashram (a hermitage). the names may perhaps be held to refer to the different places in which the members of each order would pursue their austerities. the different orders have their headquarters at great shrines. the saraswati, bharthi and puri orders are supposed to be attached to the monastery at sringeri in mysore; the tirtha and ashram to that at dwarka in gujarat; the ban and aranya to the govardhan monastery at puri; and the giri, parbat and sagara to the shrine of badrinath in the himalayas. dandi is sometimes shown as one of the ten orders, but it seems to be the special designation of certain ascetics who carry a staff and may belong to either the tirtha, ashram, bharthi or saraswati groups. another name for gosain ascetics is abdhut, or one who has separated himself from the world. the term abdhut is sometimes specially applied to followers of the maratha saint, dattatreya, an incarnation of siva. the commonest orders in the central provinces are giri, puri and bharthi, and the members frequently use the name of the order as their surname. members of the aranya, sagara and parbat orders are rarely met with at present. 3. initiation. a notice of the gosains who have become an ordinary caste will be given later. formerly only brahmans or members of the twice-born castes could become gosains, but now a man of any caste, as kurmi, kunbi or mali, from whom a brahman takes water, may be admitted. in some localities it is said that gonds and kols can now be made gosains, and hence the social position of the gosains has greatly fallen, and high-caste hindus will not take water from them. it is supposed, however, that the giri order is still recruited only from brahmans. at initiation the body of a neophyte is cleaned with the five products of the sacred cow, milk, curds, ghi, dung and urine. he drinks water in which the great toe of his guru has been dipped and eats the leavings of the latter's food, thus severing himself from his own caste. his sacred thread is taken off and broken, and it is sometimes burned and he eats the ashes. all the hair of his head is shaved, including the scalp-lock, which every secular hindu wears. a mantra or text is then whispered or blown into his ear. 4. dress. the novice is dressed in a cloth coloured with geru or red ochre, such as the gosains usually wear. it is probable that the red or pink colour is meant to symbolise blood and to signify that the gosains allow the sacrifice of animals and the consumption of flesh, and on this account they are called lal padri or red priest, while vishnuite mendicants, who dress in white, are called sita padri. he has a necklace or rosary of the seeds of the rudraksha tree, [103] sacred to siva, consisting of 32 or 64 beads. these are like nuts with a rough indented shell. on his forehead he marks with bhabhut or ashes three horizontal lines to represent the trident of siva, or sometimes the eye of the god. others make only two lines with a dot above or below, and this sign is said to represent the phallic emblem. a crescent moon or a triangle may also be made. [104] the marks are often made in sandalwood, and the gosains say that the original sandalwood grows on a tree in the himalayas, which is guarded by a great snake so that nobody can approach it; but its scent is so strong that all the surrounding trees of the grove are scented with it and sandalwood is obtained from them. those who worship bhairon make a round mark with vermilion between the eyes, taking it from beneath the god's foot. a mendicant usually has a begging-bowl and a pair of tongs, which are useful for kindling a fire. those who have visited badrinath or one of the other himalayan shrines have a ring of iron, brass or copper on the arm, often inscribed with the image of a deity. if they have been to the temple of devi at hinglaj in the lasbela state of beluchistan they have a necklace of little white stone beads called thumra; and one who has made a pilgrimage to rameshwaram at the extreme southern point of india has a ring of conch-shell on the wrist. when he can obtain it a gosain also carries a tigeror panther-skin, which he wears over his shoulders and uses to sit and lie down on. among the ancient greeks it was the custom to sleep in a temple or its avenue either on the bare ground or on the skin of a sacred animal, in order to obtain visions or appearances of the god in a dream or to be cured of diseases. [105] formerly the gosains were accustomed to go about naked, and at the religious festivals they would go in procession naked to bathe in the river. at amarnath in the punjab they would throw themselves naked on the block of ice which represented siva. [106] the naga gosains, so called because they were once accustomed to go naked into battle, were a famous fighting corps. though they shave the head and scalp-lock on initiation the gosains usually let the hair grow, and either have it hanging down in matted locks over the shoulders, which gives them a wild and unkempt appearance, or wind it on the top of the head into a coil often thickened with strips of sheep's wool. they say that they let the hair grow in imitation of the ancient forest ascetics, who could not but let it grow as they had no means to shave it, and also of the matted locks of the god siva. sometimes they let the hair grow during the whole period of a pilgrimage, and on arrival at the shrine of their destination shave it off and offer it to the god. those who are initiated on the banks of the nerbudda throw the hair cut from their head into the sacred river. 5. methods of begging and greetings. they have various rules about begging. some will never turn back to receive alms. they may also make a rule only to accept the surplus of food cooked for the family, and to refuse any of special quality or cooked expressly for them. one gosain, noticed by mr. a. k. smith, always begged hopping, and only from five houses; he took from them respectively two handfuls of flour, a pinch of salt, and sufficient quantities of vegetables, spices and butter for his meal, and then went hopping home. those who are performing the perikrama or circuit of the nerbudda from its source to its mouth and back, do not cut their hair or nails during the whole period of about three years. they may not enter the nerbudda above their knees nor wash their vessels in it. after crossing any tributary river or stream in their path they may not re-cross this; and if they have forgotten or left any article behind, must abandon it unless they can persuade somebody to go back and fetch it for them. some carry a gourd with a single string stretched on a stick, on which they twang some notes; others have a belt of sheep's hair hung with the bells of bullocks which they tie round the waist, so that the tinkling of the bells may announce their coming. a common begging cry is alakh, which is said to mean 'apart,' and to refer to themselves as being apart or separated from the world. the beggar gives this cry and stands at the door of the house for half a minute, shaking his body about all the time. if no alms are brought in this time he moves on. when an ordinary hindu meets a gosain he says 'namu narayan' or 'i go to narayan,' and the gosain answers 'narayan.' narayan is a name of vishnu, and its use by the gosains is curious. those who have performed the circuit of the nerbudda say 'har nerbudda,' and the person addressed answers 'nerbudda mai ki jai' or 'victory to mother nerbudda.' 6. the dandis. the dandis are a special group of ascetics belonging to several of the ten orders. according to one account a novice who desires to become a sanniasi must serve a period of probation for twelve years as a dandi. others say that only a brahman can be a dandi, while members of other castes may become sanniasis, and a brahman can only become one if he is without father, mother, wife or child. [107] the dandi is so called because he has a dand or bamboo staff like the ancient vedic students. he must always carry this and never lay it down, but when sleeping plant it in the ground. sometimes a piece of red cloth is tied round the staff. the dandi should live in the forest, and only come once a day to beg at a brahman's house for a part of such food as the family may have cooked. he should not ask for food if any one else, even a dog, is waiting for it. he must not accept money, or touch fire or any metal. as a matter of fact these rules are disregarded, and the dandi frequents towns and is accompanied by companions who will accept all kinds of alms on his behalf. [108] dandis and sanniasis do not worship idols, as they are themselves considered to have become part of the deity. they repeat the phrase 'sevoham,' which signifies 'i am siva.' 7. the rawanvansis. another curious class of gosains are the rawanvansis, who go about in the character of rawan, the demon king of ceylon, as he was when he carried off sita. the legend is that in order to do this, rawan first sent his brother in the shape of a golden deer before rama's palace. sita saw it and said she must have the head of the deer, and sent rama to kill it. so rama pursued it to the forest, and from there rawan cried out, imitating rama's voice. then sita thought rama was being attacked and told his brother lachman to go to his help. but lachman had been left in charge of her by rama and refused to leave her, till sita said he was hoping rama would be killed, so that he might marry her. then he drew a circle round her on the ground, and telling her not to step outside it until his return, went off. then rawan took the disguise of a beggar and came and begged for alms from sita. she told him to come inside the magic circle and she would give him alms, but he refused. so finally sita came outside the circle, and rawan at once seized her and carried her off to ceylon. the rawanvansi gosains wear rings of hair all up their arms and a rope of hair round the waist, and the hair of their head hanging down. it would appear that they are intended to represent some animal. they smear vermilion on the forehead, and beg only at twilight and never at any other time, whether they obtain food or not. in begging they will never move backwards, so that when they have passed a house they cannot take alms from it unless the householder brings the gift to them. 8. monasteries. unmarried sanniasis often reside in maths or monasteries. the superior is called mahant, and he appoints his successor by will from the members. the mahant admits all those willing and qualified to enter the order. if the applicant is young the consent of the parents is usually obtained; and parents frequently vow to give a child to the order. many convents have considerable areas of land attached to them, and also dependent institutions. the whole property of the convent and its dependencies seems to be at the absolute disposal of the mahant, but he is bound to give food, raiment and lodging to the inmates, and he entertains all travellers belonging to the order. [109] 9. the fighting gosains. in former times the gosains often became soldiers and entered the service of different military chiefs. the most famous of these fighting priests were the naga gosains of the jaipur state of rajputana, who are said to have been under an obligation from their guru or religious chief to fight for the raja of jaipur whenever required. they received rent-free lands and pay of two pice (1/2d.) a day, which latter was put into a common treasury and expended on the purchase of arms and ammunition whenever needed for war. they would also lend money, and if a debtor could not pay would make him give his son to be enrolled in the force. the 7000 naga gosains were placed in the vanguard of the jaipur army in battle. their weapons were the bow, arrow, shield, spear and discus. the gosain proprietor of the deopur estate in raipur formerly kept up a force of naga gosains, with which he used to collect the tribute from the feudatory chiefs of chhattisgarh on behalf of the raja of nagpur. it is said that he once invaded bastar with this object, where most of the gosains died of cholera. but after they had fasted for three days, the goddess danteshwari appeared to them and promised them her protection. and they took the goddess away with them and installed her in their own village in raipur. forbes records that in gujarat an english officer was in command of a troop known as the gosain's wife's troops. these naga gosains wore only a single white garment, like a sleeveless shirt reaching to the knees, and hence it is said that they were called naked. the gosains and bairagis, or adherents of siva and vishnu, were often engaged in religious quarrels on the merits of their respective deities, and sometimes came to blows. a favourite point of rivalry was the right of bathing first in the ganges on the occasion of one of the great religious fairs at allahabad or hardwar. the gosains claim priority of bathing, on the ground that the ganges flows from the matted locks of siva; while the bairagis assert that the source of the river is from vishnu's foot. in 1760 a pitched battle on this question ended in the defeat of the bairagis, of whom 1800 were slain. again in 1796 the gosains engaged in battle with the sikh pilgrims and were defeated with the loss of 500 men. [110] during the reign of akbar a combat took place in the emperor's presence between the two sivite sects of gosains, or sanniasis and jogis, having been apparently arranged for his edification, to decide which sect had the best ground for its pretensions to supernatural power. the jogis were completely defeated. [111] 10. burial. a dead sanniasi is always buried in the sitting attitude of religious contemplation with the legs crossed. the grave may be dug with a side receptacle for the corpse so that the earth, on being filled in, does not fall on it. the corpse is bathed and rubbed with ashes and clad in a new reddish-coloured shirt, with a rosary round the neck. the begging-wallet with some flour and pulse are placed in the grave, and also a gourd and staff. salt is put round the body to preserve it, and an earthen pot is put over the head. sometimes cocoanuts are broken on the skull, to crack it and give exit to the soul. perhaps the idea of burial and of preserving the corpse with salt is that the body of an ascetic does not need to be purified by fire from the appetites and passions of the flesh like that of an ordinary hindu; it is already cleansed of all earthly frailty by his austerities, and the belief may therefore have originally been that such a man would carry his body with him to the afterworld or to absorption with the deity. the burial of a sanniasi is often accompanied with music and signs of rejoicing; mr. oman describes such a funeral in which the corpse was seated in a litter, open on three sides so that it could be seen; it was tied to the back of the litter, and garlands of flowers partly covered the body, but could not conceal the hideousness of death as the unconscious head rolled helplessly from side to side with the movement of the litter. the procession was headed by a european brass band and by men carrying censers of incense. [112] 11. sexual indulgence. celibacy is the rule of the gosain orders, and a man's property passes in inheritance to a selected chela or disciple. but the practice of keeping women is very common, even outside the large section of the community which now recognises marriage. women could be admitted into the order, when they had to shave their heads, assume the ochre-coloured shirt and rub their bodies with ashes. afterwards, with the permission of the guru and on payment of a fine, they could let their hair grow again, at least temporarily. these women were supposed to remain quite chaste and live in nunneries, but many of them lived with men of the order. it is not known to what extent women are admitted at present. the sons born of such unions would be adopted as chelas or disciples by other gosains, and made their heirs by a reciprocal arrangement. women who are convicted of some social offence, or who wish to leave their husbands, often join the order nominally and live with a gosain or are married into the caste. many of the wandering mendicants lead an immoral life, and scandals about their enticing away the wives of rich hindus are not infrequent. [113] during their visits to villages they also engage in intrigues, and a ribald gond song sung at the holi festival describes the pleasure of the village women at the arrival of a gosain owing to the sexual gratification which they expected to receive from him. 12. missionary work. nevertheless the wandering gosains have done much to foster and maintain the hindu religion among the people. they are the gurus or spiritual preceptors of the middle and lower castes, and though their teaching may be of little advantage, it perhaps quickens and maintains to some extent the religious feelings of their clients. in former times the gosains travelled over the wildest tracts of country, proselytising the primitive non-aryan tribes, for whose conversion to hinduism they are largely responsible. on such journeys they necessarily carried their lives in their hands, and not infrequently lost them. 13. the gosain caste. the majority of the gosains are, however, now married and form an ordinary caste. buchanan states that the ten different orders became exogamous groups, the members of which married with each other, but it is doubtful whether this is the case at present. it is said that all giri gosains marry, whether they are mendicants or not, while the bharthi order can marry or not as they please. they prohibit any marriage between first cousins, but permit widow remarriage and divorce. they eat the flesh of all clean animals and also of fowls, and drink liquor, and will take cooked food from the higher castes, including sunars and kunbis. hence they do not rank high socially, and brahmans do not take water from them, but their religious character gives them some prestige. many gosains have become landholders, obtaining their estates either as charitable grants from clients or through moneylending transactions. in this capacity they do not usually turn out well, and are often considered harsh landlords and grasping creditors. gowari 1. origin of the caste. gowari. [114]--the herdsman or grazier caste of the maratha country, corresponding to the ahirs or gaolis. the name is derived from gai or gao, the cow, and means a cowherd. the gowaris numbered more than 150,000 persons in 1911, of whom nearly 120,000 belonged to the nagpur division and nearly 30,000 to berar. in localities where the gowaris predominate, ahirs or gaolis, the regular herdsman caste, are found only in small numbers. the honorific title of the gowaris is dhare, which is said to mean 'one who keeps cattle.' the gowaris rank distinctly below the ahirs or gaolis. the legend of their origin is that an ahir, who was tending the cows of krishna, stood in need of a helper. he found a small boy in the forest and took him home and brought him up. he then gave to the boy the work of grazing cows in the jungle, while he himself stayed at home and made milk and butter. this boy was the ancestor of the gowari caste. his descendants took to eating fowls and peacocks and drinking liquor, and hence were degraded below the gaolis. but the latter will allow gowaris to sit at their feasts and eat, they will carry the corpse of a gowari to the grave, and they will act as members of the panchayat in readmitting a gowari who has been put out of caste. in the maratha country any man who touches the corpse of a man of another caste is temporarily excommunicated, and the fact that a gaoli will do this for a gowari demonstrates the close relationship of the castes. the legend, in fact, indicates quite clearly and correctly the origin of the gowaris. the small boy in the forest was a gond, and the gowari caste is of mixed descent from ahirs and gonds. the ahirs or gaolis of the maratha country have largely abandoned the work of grazing cattle in the forest, and have taken to the more profitable business of making milk and ghi. the herdsman's duties have been relegated to the mixed class of gowaris, produced from the unions of ahirs and gonds in the forests, and not improbably including a considerable section of pure gond blood. at present only gaolis and no other caste are admitted into the gowari community, though there is evidence that the rule was not formerly so strict. 2. subcastes. the gowaris have three divisions, the gai gowari, inga, and maria or gond gowari. the gai or cow gowaris are the highest and probably have more gaoli blood in them. the inga and maria or gond gowaris are more directly derived from the gonds. maria is the name given to a large section of the gond tribe in chanda. both the other two subcastes will take cooked food from the gai gowaris and the gond gowaris from the inga, but the inga subcaste will not take it from the gond, nor the gai gowaris from either of the other two. the gond gowaris have been treated as a distinct caste and a separate article is given on them, but at the census mr. marten has amalgamated them with the gowaris. this is probably more correct, as they are locally held to be a branch of the caste. but their customs differ in some points from those of the other gowaris. they will admit outsiders from any respectable caste and worship the gond gods, [115] and there seems no harm, therefore, in allowing the separate article on them to remain. 3. totemism and exogamy. the gowaris have exogamous sections of the titular and totemistic types, such as chachania from chachan, a bird, lohar from loha iron, ambadare a mango-branch, kohria from the kohri or kohli caste, sarwaina a gond sept, and rawat the name of the ahir caste in chhattisgarh. some septs do not permit intermarriage between their members, saying that they are dudh-bhais or foster-brothers, born from the same mother. thus the chachania, kohria, senwaria, sendua (vermilion) and wagare (tiger) septs cannot intermarry. they say that their fathers were different, but their mothers were related or one and the same. this is apparently a relic of polyandry, and it is possible that in some cases the gonds may have allowed ahirs sojourning in the forest to have access to their wives during the period of their stay. if this was permitted to ahirs of different sections coming to the same gond village in successive years, the offspring might be the ancestors of sections who consider themselves to be related to each other in the manner of the gowari sections. marriage is prohibited within the same section or kur, and between sections related to each other as dudh-bhais in the manner explained above. a man can marry his daughter to his sister's son, but cannot take her daughter for his son. the children of two sisters cannot be married. 4. marriage customs. girls are usually married after attaining maturity, and a bride-price is paid which is normally two khandis (800 lbs.) of grain, rs. 16 to 20 in cash, and a piece of cloth. the auspicious date of the wedding is calculated by a mahar mohturia or soothsayer. brahmans are not employed, the ceremony being performed by the bhanya or sister's son of either the girl's father or the boy's father. if he is not available, any one whom either the girl's father or the boy's father addresses as bhanja or nephew in the village, according to the common custom of addressing each other by terms of relationship, even though he may be no relative and belong to another caste, may be substituted; and if no such person is available a son-in-law of either of the parties. the peculiar importance thus attached to the sister's son as a relation is probably a relic of the matriarchate, when a man's sister's son was his heir. the substitution of a son-in-law who might inherit in the absence of a sister's son perhaps strengthens this view. the wedding is held mainly according to the maratha ritual. [116] the procession goes to the girl's house, and the bridegroom is wrapped in a blanket and carries a spear, in the absence of which the wedding cannot be held. a spear is also essential among the gonds. the ancestors of the caste are invited to the wedding by beating a drum and calling on them to attend. the original ancestors are said to be kode kodwan, the names of two gond gods, baghoba (the tiger-god), and meghnath, son of rawan, the demon king of ceylon, after whom the gonds are called rawanvansi, or descendants of rawan. the wedding costs about rs. 50, all of which is spent by the boy's father. the girl's father only gives a feast to the caste out of the amount which he receives as bride-price. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. 5. funeral rites. the dead are either buried or burnt, burial being more common. the corpse is laid with head to the south and feet to the north. on returning from the funeral they go and drink at the liquor-shop, and then kill a cock on the spot where the deceased died, and offer some meat to his spirit, placing it outside the house. the caste-fellows sit and wait until a crow comes and pecks at the food, when they think that the deceased has enjoyed it, and begin to eat themselves. if no crow comes before night the food may be given to a cow, and the party can then begin to eat. when the next wedding is held in the family, the deceased is brought down from the skies and enshrined among the deified ancestors. 6. religion. the principal deities of the gowaris are the kode kodwan or deified ancestors. they are worshipped at the annual festivals, and also at weddings. when a man or woman dies without children their spirits are known as dhal, and are worshipped in the families to which they belonged. a male dhal is represented by a stick of bamboo with one cross-piece at the top, and a female dhal by a stick with two others crossing each other lashed to it at the top. these sticks are worshipped at the diwali festival, and carried in procession. dudhera is a godling worshipped for the protection of cattle. he is represented by a clay horse placed near a white ant-hill. if a cow stops giving milk her udder is smoked with the burning wood of a tree called sanwal, and this is supposed to drive away the spirits who drink the milk from the udder. all gowaris revere the haryal, or green pigeon. they say that it gives a sound like a gowari calling his cows, and that it is a kinsman. they would on no account kill this bird. they say that the cows will go to a tree from which green pigeons are cooing, and that on one occasion when a thief was driving away their cows a green pigeon cooed from a tree, and the cows turned round and came back again. this is like the story of the sacred geese at rome, who gave warning of the attack of the goths. 7. caste rules and the panchayat. the head of the caste committee is known as shendia, from shendi, a scalp-lock or pig-tail, perhaps because he is at the top of the caste as the scalp-lock is at the top of the head. the shendia is elected, and holds office for life. he has to readmit offenders into caste by being the first to eat and drink with them, thus taking their sins on himself. on such occasions it is necessary to have a little opium, which is mixed with sugar and water, and distributed to all members of the caste. if the quantity is insufficient for every one to drink, the man responsible for preparing it is fined, and this mixture, especially the opium, is indispensable on all such occasions. the custom indicates that a sacred or sacrificial character is attributed to the opium, as the drinking of the mixture together is the sign of the readmission of a temporary outcaste into the community. after this has been drunk he becomes a member of the caste, even though he may not give the penalty feast for some time afterwards. the ahirs and sunars of the maratha country have the same rite of purification by the common drinking of opium and water. a caste penalty is incurred for the removal of bital or impurity arising from the usual offences, and among others for touching the corpse of a man of any other caste, or of a buffalo, horse, cow, cat or dog, for using abusive language to a casteman at any meeting or feast, and for getting up from a caste feast without permission from the headman. for touching the corpse of a prohibited animal and for going to jail a man has to get his head, beard and whiskers shaved. if a woman becomes with child by a man of another caste, she is temporarily expelled, but can be readmitted after the child has been born and she has disposed of it to somebody else. such children are often made over for a few rupees to muhammadans, who bring them up as menial servants in their families, or, if they have no child of their own, sometimes adopt them. on readmission a lock of the woman's hair is cut off. in the same case, if no child is born of the liaison, the woman is taken back with the simple penalty of a feast. permanent expulsion is imposed for taking food from, or having an intrigue with a member of an impure caste as madgi, mehtar, pardhan, mahar and mang. 8. social customs. the gowaris eat pork, fowls, rats, lizards and peacocks, and abstain only from beef and the flesh of monkeys, crocodiles and jackals. they will take food from a mana, marar or kohli, and water from a gond. kunbis will take water from them, and gonds, dhimars and dhobis will accept cooked food. all gowari men are tattooed with a straight vertical line on the forehead, and many of them have the figures of a peacock, deer or horse on the right shoulder or on both shoulders. a man without the mark on the forehead will scarcely be admitted to be a true gowari, and would have to prove his birth before he was allowed to join a caste feast. women are tattooed with a pattern of straight and crooked lines on the right arm below the elbow, which they call sita's arm. they have a vertical line standing on a horizontal one on the forehead, and dots on the temples. gujar list of paragraphs 1. historical notice of the caste. 2. the gujars and the khazars. 3. predatory character of the gujars in northern india. 4. subdivisions. 5. marriage. 6. disposal of the dead. 7. religion. 8. character. 1. historical notice of the caste. gujar.--a great historical caste who have given their name to the gujarat district and the town of gujaranwala in the punjab, the peninsula of gujarat or kathiawar and the tract known as gujargarh in gwalior. in the central provinces the gujars numbered 56,000 persons in 1911, of whom the great majority belonged to the hoshangabad and nimar districts. in these provinces the caste is thus practically confined to the nerbudda valley, and they appear to have come here from gwalior probably in the middle of the sixteenth century, to which period the first important influx of hindus into this area has been ascribed. but some of the nimar gujars are immigrants from gujarat. owing to their distinctive appearance and character and their exploits as cattle-raiders, the origin of the gujars has been the subject of much discussion. general cunningham identified them with the yueh-chi or tochari, the tribe of indo-scythians who invaded india in the first century of the christian era. the king kadphises i. and his successors belonged to the kushan section of the yueh-chi tribe, and their rule extended over north-western india down to gujarat in the period 45-225 a.d. mr. v. a. smith, however, discards this theory and considers the gujars or gurjaras to have been a branch of the white huns who invaded india in the fifth and sixth centuries. he writes: [117] "the earliest foreign immigration within the limits of the historical period which can be verified is that of the sakas in the second century b.c.; and the next is that of the yueh-chi and kushans in the first century a.d. probably none of the existing rajput clans can carry back their genuine pedigrees so far. the third recorded great irruption of foreign barbarians occurred during the fifth century and the early part of the sixth. there are indications that the immigration from central asia continued during the third century, but, if it did, no distinct record of the event has been preserved, and, so far as positive knowledge goes, only three certain irruptions of foreigners on a large scale through the northern and north-western passes can be proved to have taken place within the historical period anterior to the muhammadan invasions of the tenth and eleventh centuries. the first and second, as above observed, were those of the sakas and yueh-chi respectively, and the third was that of the hunas or white huns. it seems to be clearly established that the hun group of tribes or hordes made their principal permanent settlements in the punjab and rajputana. the most important element in the group after the huns themselves was that of the gurjaras, whose name still survives in the spoken form gujar as the designation of a widely diffused middle-class caste in north-western india. the prominent position occupied by gurjara kingdoms in early mediaeval times is a recent discovery. the existence of a small gurjara principality in bharoch (broach), and of a larger state in rajputana, has been known to archaeologists for many years, but the recognition of the fact that bhoja and the other kings of the powerful kanauj dynasty in the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries were gurjaras is of very recent date and is not yet general. certain misreadings of epigraphic dates obscured the true history of that dynasty, and the correct readings have been established only within the last two or three years. it is now definitely proved that bhoja (circ. a.d. 840-890), his predecessors and successors belonged to the pratihara (parihar) clan of the gurjara tribe or caste, and, consequently, that the well-known clan of parihar rajputs is a branch of the gurjara or gujar stock." [118] 2. the gujars and the khazars. sir j. campbell identified the gujars with the khazar tribe of central asia: [119] "what is known of the early history of the gujaras in india points to their arrival during the last quarter of the fifth or the first quarter of the sixth century (a.d. 470-520). that is the gujaras seem to have formed part of the great horde of which the juan-juan or avars, and the ephthalites, yetas or white hunas were leading elements. the question remains: how far does the arrival of the gujara in india, during the early sixth century, agree with what is known of the history of the khazar? the name khazar appears under the following forms: among chinese as kosa, among russians as khwalisses, among byzantines as chozars or chazars, among armenians as khazirs and among arabs as khozar. other variations come closer to gujara. these are gazar, the form kazar takes to the north of the sea of asof; ghysar, the name for khazars who have become jews; and ghusar, the form of khazar in use among the lesghians of the caucasus. howarth and the writer in the encyclopædia britannica follow klaproth in holding that the khazars are the same as the white hunas.... "admitting that the khazar and white huna are one, it must also be the case that the khazars included two distinct elements, a fair or ak-khazar, the akatziroi or khazaroi of byzantine historians, and a dark or kara khazar. the kara khazar was short, ugly and as black as an indian. he was the ughrian nomad of the steppes, who formed the rank and file of the army. the white khazar or white huna was fair-skinned, black-haired and beautiful, their women (in the ninth and tenth centuries) being sought after in the bazars of baghdad and byzantium. according to klaproth, a view adopted by the writer in the encyclopædia britannica, the white khazar represented the white race which, since before christ has been settled round the caspian. as white hunas, ephthalites, [120] white ughrians and white bulgars, this white race were the carriers between europe and east asia; they were also the bearers of the brunt of the tartar inroads. a trace both of the beautiful and coarse clans seems to survive in the complimentary marwar proverb, 'handsome as a huna,' and in the abusive gujarat proverb, 'yellow and short as a huna's beard.' under its hindu form gurjara, khazar appears to have become the name by which the great bulk of the sixth-century horde was known." sir j. campbell was of opinion that the sesodia or gahlot rajputs, the most illustrious of all the clans, were of gujar stock, as well as the parihar, chauhan, and chalukya or solanki; these last were three of the agnikula clans or those created from the firepit, [121] and a solanki dynasty ruled in gujarat. he also considered the nagar brahmans of gujarat to be derived from the gujars and considerable sections of the ahir and kunbi castes. the badgujar (great gujar) clan of rajputs is no doubt also an aristocratic branch of the caste. in ajmere it is said that though all gujars are not rajputs, no rajput becomes a hero unless he is suckled by a gujar woman. gujarika dudh, nahari ka dudh; or 'gujar's milk is tiger's milk.' a rajput who has not been suckled by a gujar woman is a gidar or jackal. [122] 3. predatory character of the gujars in northern india. the fact of the white huns being tall and of fine features, in contrast to the horde which invaded europe under attila, accounts for these characteristics being found among the highest rajput clans, who, as has been seen, are probably derived from them. the gujar caste generally is now, however, no doubt of mixed and impure blood. they were distinguished in the past as vagrant and predatory marauders, and must have assimilated various foreign elements. mr. crooke writes of them: [123] "the gujars as a tribe have always been noted for their turbulence and habit of cattle-stealing. babar in his memoirs describes how the commander of the rearguard captured a few gujar ruffians who followed the camp, decapitated them and sent their heads to the emperor. the gujars of pali and pahal became exceedingly audacious while sher shah was fortifying delhi, and he marched to the hills and expelled them so that not a vestige of their habitations was left. jahangir remarks that the gujars live chiefly on milk and curds and seldom cultivate land; and babar says: 'every time i entered hindustan the jats and gujars have regularly poured down in prodigious numbers from the hills and wilds to carry off oxen and buffaloes. these were the wretches that really inflicted the chief hardships and were guilty of the chief oppression in the country.' they maintained their old reputation in the mutiny when they perpetrated numerous outrages and seriously impeded the operations of the british army before delhi." in northern india the gujars are a pastoral caste. the saying about them is- ahir, gadaria, gujar, e tinon tâken ujar, or, 'the ahir, gadaria and gujar want waste land'; that is for grazing their flocks. in kangra the gujars generally keep buffaloes. here they are described as "a fine, manly race with peculiar and handsome features. they are mild and inoffensive in manner, and in these hills are not distinguished by the bad pre-eminence which attaches to their race in the plains." [124] sir d. ibbetson had a very unfavourable opinion of the gujars of the plains, of whom he wrote as follows: [125] "the gujar is a fine stalwart fellow, of precisely the same physical type as the jat; and the theory of aboriginal descent which has been propounded is to my mind conclusively negatived by his cast of countenance. he is of the same social standing as the jat, or perhaps slightly inferior; but the two eat and drink in common without any scruple, and the proverb says: 'the jat, gujar, ahir and gola are all hail fellow well met.' but he is far inferior in both personal character and repute to the jat. he is lazy to a degree, and a wretched cultivator; his women, though not secluded, will not do field-work save of the lightest kind; while his fondness for cattle extends to those of other people. the difference between a gujar and a rajput cattle-thief was once explained to me thus by a jat: 'the rajput will steal your buffalo. but he will not send his old father to say he knows where it is and will get it back for rs. 20, and then keep the rs. 20 and the buffalo too. the gujar will.'" 4. subdivisions. the gujars of the central provinces have, however, entirely given up the predatory habits of their brethren in northern india and have developed into excellent cultivators and respectable law-abiding citizens. in hoshangabad they have three subcastes, lekha, mundle and jadam. the mundle or 'shaven' are so called because they take off their turbans when they eat and expose their crowns bare of hair, while the lekha eat with their turbans on. the mundle are also known as rewe, from the rewa or nerbudda, near which they reside. the jadam are probably an offshoot from the cultivating caste of hoshangabad of that name, jadam being a corruption of jadubansi, a tribe of rajputs. the badgujars, who belong to nimar, consider themselves the highest, deriving their name from bara or 'great' gujar. as already seen, there is a badgujar clan of rajputs. the nimar badgujars, however, were formerly engaged in the somewhat humble calling of clearing cotton of its seeds, and on this account they are also known as ludhare, the word lodhna meaning to work the hand-ginning machine (charkhi). it seems possible that the small caste of lorhas of the hoshangabad district, whose special avocation is to grow san-hemp, may be derived from these ludhare gujars. the kekre or kanwe subcaste are the lowest and are of illegitimate descent. they are known as kekre or 'crabs,' but prefer their other name. they will take food from the other subcastes, but these do not return the compliment. another group in the sohagpur tahsil of hoshangabad are the lilorhia gujars. they say that their ancestors were grazing calves when some of them with their herdsmen were stolen by brahma. then krishna created fresh cowherds and the lilorhias were made from the sweat of his forehead (lilat). afterwards brahma restored the original cowherds, who were known as murelia, because they were the first players on the murli or flute. [126] the badgujars or highest branch of the clan are descendants of these murelias. the caste have also a set of exogamous groups, several of which bear the names of rajput clans, while others are called after villages, titles or nicknames or natural objects. a man is not permitted to marry any one belonging either to his own sept or that of his mother or grandmother. 5. marriage. at a gujar wedding four plough-yokes are laid out to form a square under the marriage booth, with a copper pot full of water in the centre. at the auspicious moment the bride's hand is placed on that of the bridegroom, and the two walk seven times round the pot, the bridegroom leading for the first four rounds and the bride for the last three. widows are allowed to remarry, and, as girls are rather scarce in the caste, a large price is often paid for the widow to her father or guardian, though this is not willingly admitted. as much as rs. 3000 is recorded to have been paid. a widow marriage is known as natra or pat. a woman is forbidden to marry any relative of her first husband. when the marriage of a widow is to take place a fee of rs. 1-4 must be paid to the village proprietor to obtain his consent. the gujars of the bulandshahr district of the united provinces furnish, mr. crooke says, [127] perhaps the only well-established instance of polyandry among the hindus of the plains. owing to the scarcity of women in the caste it was customary for the wife of one brother, usually the eldest, to be occasionally at the disposal of other unmarried brothers living in the house. the custom arose owing to the lack of women caused by the prevalence of female infanticide, and now that this has been stopped it is rapidly dying out, while no trace of it is believed to exist in the central provinces. 6. disposal of the dead. the bodies of unmarried persons are buried, and also of those who die of any epidemic disease. others are cremated. the funeral of an elderly man of good means and family is an occasion for great display. a large feast is given and the brahman priests of the caste go about inviting all the gujars to attend. sometimes the number of guests rises to three or four thousand. at the conclusion of the feast one of the hosts claps his hands and all the guests then get up and immediately depart without ceremony or saying farewell. such an occasion is known as gujarwada, and the gujars often spend as much, or more, on a funeral as on a wedding, in the belief that the outlay is of direct benefit to the dead man's spirit. this idea is inculcated and diligently fostered by the family priests and those brahmans who receive gifts for the use of the dead, the greed of these cormorants being insatiable. 7. religion. the household goddess of the caste is known as kul devi, the word kul meaning family. to her a platform is erected inside the house, and she must be worshipped by the members of the family alone, no stranger being present. offerings of cocoanuts, rice, turmeric and flowers are made to her, but no animal sacrifices. when a son of the family dies unmarried, an image of him, known as mujia, is made on a piece of silver, copper or brass, and is worshipped on mondays and fridays during the month of magh (january). on one of these days also a feast is given to the caste. each member of the caste has a guru or spiritual preceptor, who visits him every second or third year and receives a small present of a cocoanut or a piece of cloth. but he does not seem to perform any duties. the guru may belong to any of the religious mendicant castes. a man who is without a guru is known as nugra and is looked down on. to meet him in the morning is considered unlucky and portends misfortune. sir c. elliot [128] characterised the mundle gujars as "a very religious race; they never plough on the new moon nor on the 8th of the month, because it is krishna's birthday. their religious and social head is the mahant of the ramjidas temple at hoshangabad." in nimar many of the gujars belong to the pirzada sect, which is a kind of reformed creed, based on a mixture of hinduism and islam. 8. character. the gujars wear the dress of northern india and their women usually have skirts (lahenga) and not saris or body-cloths. married women have a number of strings of black beads round the neck and widows must change these for red ones. as a rule neither men nor women are tattooed. the men sometimes have their hair long and wear beards and whiskers. the gujars are now considered the best cultivators of the nimar district. they are fond of irrigation and sink unfaced wells to water their land and get a second crop off it. they are generally prosperous and make good landlords. members of the caste have the custom of lending and borrowing among themselves and not from outsiders, and this no doubt conduces to mutual economy and solvency. like keen cultivators elsewhere, such as the panwars and kurmis, the gujar sets store by having a good house and good cattle. the return from a mundle gujar's wedding, captain forsyth wrote, [129] is a sight to be seen. every gujar from far and near has come with his whole family in his best bullock-cart gaily ornamented, and, whatever the road may be, nothing but a smash will prevent a breakneck race homewards at full gallop, cattle which have won in several such races acquiring a much coveted reputation throughout the district. gurao list of paragraphs 1. origin of the caste. 2. internal structure. 3. marriage and ceremonies of adolescence. 4. birth customs. 5. the sacred thread. 6. funeral customs. 7. social position. 8. the jain guraos. 1. origin of the caste. gurao. [130]--a caste of village priests of the temples of mahadeo in the maratha districts. they numbered about 14,000 persons in the central provinces and berar in 1911. the guraos say that they were formerly brahmans and worshippers of siva, but for some negligence or mistake in his ritual they were cursed by the god and degraded from the status of brahmans, though subsequently the god relented and permitted them to worship him and take the offerings made to him. it is related that a certain brahman, who was a votary of siva, had to go on a journey. he left his son behind and strictly enjoined on him to perform the worship of the god at midday. the son had bathed and purified himself for this purpose, when shortly before midday his wife came to him and so importuned him to have conjugal intercourse with her that he was obliged to comply. it was then midday and in his impure condition the son went to the shrine of the god to worship him. but siva cursed him and said that his descendants should be degraded from the status of brahmans, though he afterwards relented so far as to permit of their continuing to act as his priests; and this was the origin of the guraos. it seems doubtful, however, whether the caste are really of brahman origin. they were formerly village priests, and grant-duff gives the gurao as one of the village menials in the maratha villages. they have the privilege of taking the naivedya or offerings of cooked food made to the god mahadeo, which brahmans will not accept. they also sell leaf-plates and flowers and bel leaves [131] which are offered at the temples of mahadeo; and on the festival of shivratri and during the month of shrawan (july) they take round the bel leaves which the cultivators require for their offerings and receive presents in return. in wardha the guraos get small gifts of grain from the cultivators at seed-time and harvest. they also act as village musicians and blow the conch-shell, beat the drum and play other musical instruments for the morning and evening worship at the temple. they play on the cymbals and drums at the marriages of brahmans and other high castes. in the bombay presidency [132] some are astrologers and fortune-tellers, and others make the basing or coronet of flowers which the bridegroom wears. sometimes they play on the drum or fiddle for their spiritual followers, the dancing-girls or kalavants. when a dancing-girl became pregnant she worshipped the gurao, and he, in return, placed the missi or tooth-powder made from myrobalans on her teeth. if this was not done before her child was born, a kalavantin was put out of caste. in some localities the guraos will take food from kunbis. and further, as will be seen subsequently, the caste have no proper gotras or exogamous sections, but in arranging their marriages they simply avoid persons having a common surname. all these considerations point to the fact that the caste is not of brahmanical origin but belongs to a lower class of the population. nevertheless in wardha they are known as shaiva brahmans and rank above the kunbis. they may study the sama veda only and not the others, and may repeat the rudra gayatri or sacred verse of siva. clearly the brahmans could not accept the offerings of cooked food made at siva's shrine; though the larger temples of this deity have brahman priests. it seems uncertain whether siva or mahadeo was first a village deity and was subsequently exalted to the position of a member of the supreme hindu trinity, or whether the opposite process took place and the guraos obtained their priestly functions on his worship being popularised. but in any case it would appear that they were originally a class of village priests regarded as the servants of the cultivating community, by whose gifts and offerings they were maintained. grant-duff in enumerating the village servants says: "ninth, the gurao, who is a sudra employed to wash the ornaments and attend the idol in the village temples, and on occasions of feasting to prepare the patraoli or leaves which the hindus substitute for plates. they are also trumpeters by profession and in this capacity are much employed in maratha armies." [133] 2. internal structure. the caste has several subdivisions which are principally of a territorial nature, as warade from berar; jhade, inhabitants of the forest or rice country; telanga, of the telugu country; dakshne, from the deccan; marwari, from marwar, and so on. other subcastes are the ahir and jain guraos, of whom the former are apparently ahirs who have adopted the priestly profession, while the jain guraos are held in bombay to be the descendants of jain temple servants who entered the caste when their own deities were thrown out and their shrines annexed by the votaries of siva. [134] in bombay, mr. enthoven states "that the koli and maratha ministrants at the temples of siva and other deities often describe themselves as guraos, but they have not formed themselves into separate castes and are members of the general koli or maratha community. they cease to call themselves guraos when they cease to minister at temples." [135] in the central provinces one of the subcastes is known as vajantri because they act as village musicians. the caste have no regular exogamous sections, but a number of surnames which answer the same purpose. these are of a professional type, as lokhandes, an iron-dealer; phulzares, a maker of fireworks; sontake, a gold-merchant; gaikwad, a cowherd; nakade, long-nosed, and so on. they say they all belong to the same gotra, sankhiayan, named after sankhiaya rishi, the ancestor of the caste. 3. marriage and ceremonies of adolescence. marriage is avoided between persons having the same surname and those within six degrees of descent from a common ancestor whether male or female. the marriage ceremony generally resembles that of the brahmans. before the wedding the bridegroom's father prepares an image of siva from rice and til-seed, [136] covers it with a cloth and sends it to the bride's house. in return her mother prepares and sends back a similar image of gauri, siva's consort. girls are married as infants, and when a woman arrives at adolescence the following ritual is observed: she goes to her husband's house and is there secluded for three or four days while her impurity lasts. on its termination she is bathed and clothed in a green dress and yellow choli or breast-cloth, and seated in a gaily decked wooden frame. her lap is filled with wheat and a cocoanut, and her female friends and relatives and father and father-in-law give her presents of sweets and clothes. this is known as the shantik ceremony and is practised by the higher castes in the maratha country. it may continue for as long as sixteen days. finally, on an auspicious day the bride and bridegroom are given delicate food and dressed in new clothes. the fire sacrifice is offered and they are taken into a room where a bed, the gift of the bride's parents, has been prepared for them, and left to consummate the marriage. this is known as garbhadhan. next day the bride's parents give new clothes and a feast to the bridegroom's family; this feast is known as godai, and after giving it the bride's parents may eat at their daughter's house. a girl seduced by a man of the caste may be properly married to him after her parents have performed prayaschit or atonement. but if she has a child out of wedlock, he is relegated to the vidur or illegitimate group. even if a girl be seduced by a stranger, provided he be of higher or equal caste, as the kunbis and marathas, she may be taken back into the community. 4. birth customs. if a child is born at an unlucky season, they take two winnowing-fans and tie the baby between them with a thread wound many times round about. a cow is brought and made to lick the child, which is thus supposed to have been born again from it as a calf, the evil omen of the first birth being removed. the father performs the fire sacrifice, and a human figure is made from cooked rice and worshipped. a burning wick is placed in its stomach and it is taken out and left at cross-roads, this being probably a substitute for the member of the family whose death was presaged by the untimely birth of the child. similarly if any one dies at the astronomical period known as panchak, they make five figures of wheat-flour and burn or bury them with the body, as it is thought that otherwise five members of the family would die. 5. the sacred thread. boys are invested with the sacred thread at the age of five, seven or nine years, and until that time they are considered to be sudras and not members of the caste. from a hundred to three hundred rupees may be spent on the investiture. on the day before the ceremony a brahman and his wife are invited to take food, and a yellow thread with a mango leaf is tied round the boy's wrist. the spirits of other boys who died before their thread ceremony was performed and of women of the family who died before their husbands are invited to attend. these are represented by young boys and married women of other families who come to the house and are bathed and anointed with turmeric and oil, and given presents of sugar and new clothes. next day the initiate is seated on a platform in a shed erected for the purpose and puts on the sacred thread made of cotton and also a strip of the skin of the black-buck with a silk apron and cap. the boy's father takes him on his lap and whispers or, as the hindus say, blows the gayatri mantra or sacred text into his ear. a sacrifice is performed, and the friends and fellow-castemen of the family make presents to the boy of copper and silver coin. the amount thus given is not used by the parents, but is spent on the boy's education or on the purchase of an ornament for him. on the conclusion of the ceremony the boy mounts a wooden model of a horse and pretends to set out for benares. his paternal uncle then says to him, 'why are you going away?' and the boy replies, 'because you have not married me.' his uncle then promises to find a bride for him and he gives up his project. the part played by the maternal uncle in this ceremony is probably a survival of the period of the matriarchate, when a man's property descended to his sister's son. he would thus naturally claim the boy as a husband for his own daughter, and such a marriage apparently became customary and in course of time acquired binding force. and although all recollection of the rule of inheritance through women has long been forgotten, the marriage of a brother's daughter to a sister's son is still considered peculiarly suitable, and the idea that it is the duty of the maternal uncle to find a bride for his nephew appears to be simply a development of this. the above account also gives reason for supposing that the investiture with the sacred thread was originally a ceremony of puberty. 6. funeral customs. the dead are burnt and the ashes thrown into water or carried to the ganges. a small piece of gold, two or three small pearls, and some basil leaves are put into the mouth, and flowers, red powder and betel leaves are spread over the corpse. the son or male heir of the deceased walks in front carrying fire in an earthen pot. at a small distance from the burning-ground, when the bearers change places, he picks up a stone, known as the life-stone or jivkhada. this is afterwards buried at the burning-ghat until the priest comes to effect the purification of the mourners on the tenth day. it is then dug up, set up and worshipped, and thrown into a well. a man is burnt naked; a woman in a robe and bodice. the heads of widows are not shaved as a rule, but on the tenth day after her husband's death a widow is asked whether she would like her head shaved; if she refuses, the people conclude that she intends to marry again. but if the deceased left no male heir to carry behind his bier the burning wood with which the funeral pyre is to be kindled, then the widow must be shaved before the funeral starts and perform this duty. if there is no male relative and no widow, the pot containing fire is tied to the bier. when the corpse of a woman who has died in child-bed is being carried to the burning-ground various rites are observed to prevent her spirit from becoming a churel and troubling the living. a lemon charmed by a magician is buried under the corpse and a man follows the body strewing the seeds of rala, while nails are driven into the threshold of the house. [137] 7. social position. the caste has now a fairly high social status and ranks above the kunbis. they abstain from all flesh and from liquor and will take food only from the hands of a maratha brahman, while kunbis and other cultivating and serving castes will accept food from their hands. they worship siva principally on mondays, this day being sacred to the deity, who carries the moon as an ornament on his head, crowning the matted locks from which the ganges flows. 8. the jain guraos. of the jain guraos mr. enthoven quotes the following interesting description from the bombay gazetteer: "they are mainly servants in village temples which, though dedicated to brahmanic gods, have still by their sides broken remains of jain images. this, and the fact that most of the temple land-grants date from a time when jainism was the state religion, support the theory that the jain guraos are probably jain temple servants who have come under the influence partly of lingayatism and partly of brahmanism. a curious survival of their jainism occurs at dasahra, shimga and other leading festivals, when the village deity is taken out of the temple and carried in procession. on these occasions, in front of the village god's palanquin, three, five or seven of the villagers, among whom the gurao is always the leader, carry each a long, gaily-painted wooden pole resting against their right shoulder. at the top of the pole is fastened a silver mask or hand and round it is draped a rich silk robe. of these poles, the chief one, carried by the gurao, is called the jain's pillar, jainacha khamb." halba list of paragraphs 1. traditions of the caste. 2. halba landowners in bastar and bhandara. 3. internal structure. subcastes. 4. exogamous sections. 5. theory of the origin of the caste. 6. marriage. 7. importance of the sister's son. 8. the wedding ceremony. 9. going-away ceremony. 10. widow-marriage and divorce. 11. religion. 12. disposal of the dead. 13. propitiating the spirits of those who have died a violent death. 14. impurity of women. 15. childbirth. 16. names. 17. social status. 18. caste panchayat. 19. dress. 20. tattooing. 21. occupation. 1. traditions of the caste. halba, halbi. [138]--a caste of cultivators and farmservants whose home is the south of the raipur district and the kanker and bastar states; from here small numbers of them have spread to bhandara and parts of berar. in 1911 they numbered 100,000 persons in the combined provinces. the halbas have several stories relating to their own origin. one of these, reported by mr. gokul prasad, is as follows: one of the uriya rajas had erected four scarecrows in his field to keep off the birds. one night mahadeo and parvati were walking on the earth and happened to pass that way, and parvati saw them and asked what they were. when it was explained to her she thought that as they had excited her interest something should be done for them, and at her request mahadeo gave them life and they became two men and two women. next morning they presented themselves before the raja and told him what had happened. the raja said, "since you have come on earth, you must have a caste. run after mahadeo and find out what caste you should belong to." so they ran after the god and inquired of him, and he said that as they had excited his and parvati's attention by waving in the wind they should be called halba, from halna, to wave. this story is clearly based on one of those fanciful punning derivations so dear to the brahmanical mind, but the legend about being created from scarecrows is found among other agricultural castes of non-aryan origin, as the lodhis. the story continues that the reason why the halbas came to settle in bastar and kanker was that they had accompanied one of the rajas of jagannath in orissa, who was afflicted with leprosy, to the sihawa jungles, where he proposed to pass the rest of his life in retirement. on a certain day the raja went out hunting with his dogs, one of which was quite white. this dog jumped into a spring of water and came out with his white skin changed to copper red. the raja, observing this miracle, bathed in the spring himself and was cured of his leprosy. he then wished to return to orissa, but the halbas induced him to remain in his adopted country, and he became the ancestor of the rajas of kanker. the halbas are still the household servants of the kanker family, and when a fresh chief succeeds, one of them, who has the title of kapardar, takes him to the temple and invests him with the durbar ki poshak or royal robes, affixing also the tika or badge of office on his forehead with turmeric, rice and sandalwood, and rubbing his body over with ottar of roses. until lately the kapardar's family had a considerable grant of rent-free land, but this has now been taken away. a halba is or was also the priest of the temple at sihawa, which is said to have been built by the first raja over the spring where he was healed of his leprosy. the halbas are also connected with the rajas of bastar, and a suggestion has been made [139] that they originally belonged to the telugu country and came with the rajas of bastar from warangal in the deccan. mr. gilder derives the name from an old canarese word halbar or halbaru, meaning 'old ones or ancients' or 'primitive inhabitants.' the halba dialect, however, contains no traces of canarese, and on the question of their entering bastar with the rajas, rai bahadur panda baijnath, diwan of bastar, writes as follows: in the following saying relating to the coming of the bastar rajas, which is often repeated, the halba's name does not occur: chalkibans raja dibdibi baja. kosaria rawat pita bhatra. peng parja raja muria. tendukhuti pania lava. which may be rendered: "the raja was of the chalki race. [140] the drum was called dibdibi. kosaria rawat, pita bhatra, peng parja and raja muria, [141] these four castes came with the raja. the tribute paid (to the raja) was a comb of tendu wood and a lava quail." this doggerel rhyme is believed to recall the circumstances of the immigration of the bastar rajas. so the halbas did not perhaps come with the raja, but they were his guards for a long time. in the dasahra ceremony a halba carried the royal chhatra or umbrella, and the raja walked under the protection of another halba's naked sword. a halba's widows were not sold and his intestate property was not taken over by the raja. 2. halba landowners in bastar and bhandara. thus the halbas occupy a comparatively honourable position in bastar. they are the highest local caste with the exception of the brahmans, the dhakars or illegitimate descendants of brahmans, and a few rajput families. the reason for this is no doubt that they have become landholders in the state, a position which it would not be difficult for them to acquire when their only rivals were the gonds. they are moderately good cultivators, and in dhamtari can hold their own with hindus, so that they could well surpass the gond. traditions also remain in bastar of a halba revolt. it is said that during raja daryao deo's reign, about 125 years back, the halbas rebelled and many were thrown down a waterfall ninety feet high, one only of these escaping with his life. the eyes of some were also put out as a punishment for the oppression they had exercised, and a stone inscription at donger records the oath of fealty taken by the halbas before the image of danteshwari, the tutelary deity of bastar, after their insurrection was put down in samvat 1836 or a.d. 1779. the halbas were thus a caste of considerable influence, since they could attempt to subvert the ruling dynasty. in bhandara again the caste have quite a different story, and say that they came from the united provinces or, according to another version, the makrai state, where they were of the status of rajputs and wore the sacred thread. there a girl of their family, of great beauty, was asked in marriage by a muhammadan king. the father could not refuse the king, but would not give his daughter in marriage to one not of his own caste. so he fled south and took asylum with the gond raja of chanda, from whom the halba zamindars subsequently received their estates. it seems unnecessary to attach any importance to this story; the tale of the beautiful daughter is most hackneyed, and the whole has probably been devised by the brahmans to give the halba zamindars of bhandara a more respectable ancestry than they could claim if they admitted having come from bastar, certainly no home of rajputs. but if this supposition is correct it is interesting to note how a legend may show a caste as originating in some place with which it never had any connection whatever; and it seems a necessary conclusion that no importance can be attached to such traditions without corroborating evidence. 3. internal structure: subcastes. the caste have local divisions known as bastarha, chhattisgarhia and marethia, according as they live in bastar, chhattisgarh, or bhandara and the other maratha districts. the last two groups, however, intermarry, so only the bastar halbas really form a separate subcaste. but the caste is also everywhere divided into two groups of pure and mixed halbas. these are known in bastar and chhattisgarh as purait or nekha, and surait or nayak, respectively, and in bhandara as barpangat and khalpangat or those of good and bad stock. the suraits or khalpangats are said to be of mixed origin, born from halba fathers and women of other castes. but in past times unions of halba mothers and men of other castes were perhaps not less frequent. these two sets of groups do not intermarry. a surait halba will take food from a purait, but the puraits do not return the compliment; though in some localities they will accept food which does not contain salt. the two divisions will take water from each other and exchange leaf-pipes. in bhandara the barpangat or pure halbas have now further split into two groups, the zamindari families having constituted themselves into a separate subdivision; they practise hypergamy with the others, taking daughters from them in marriage but not giving their daughters to them. this is simply of a piece with their claim to be rajputs, hypergamy being a custom of northern india. 4. exogamous sections. the exogamous sections of the caste afford further evidence of their mixed origin. many of the names recorded are those of other castes, as baretha (a washerman), bhoyar (bhoi or bearer), rawat (herdsman), barhai (carpenter), malia (mali or gardener), dhakar (vidur or illegitimate brahman), bhandari (barber), pardhan (gond), mankar (title of various tribes), sahara (saonr), kanderi (turner), agri (agarwala bania), baghel (a sept of rajputs), elmia (from velama, telugu cultivators), and chalki and ponwar (chalukya and panwar rajputs). it may be concluded that these groups are descended from ancestors of the caste after which they are named. there are also a number of territorial and titular names of the usual type, and many totemistic names, as ghorapatia (a horse), kawaliha (lotus), aurila (tamarind), lendia (a tree), gohi (a lizard), manjur (a peacock), bhringraj (a blackbird) and so on. in bastar they revere the animal or plant after which their sept is named and will not kill or injure it. if a man accidentally kills his devak or sacred animal he will tear off a small piece of his cloth and throw it away to make a shroud for the corpse. a few of them will break their earthen pots as if a relative had died in their house, but this is not general. in bastar the totemistic groups are named barags, and many men also belong to a thok, having some titular name which they use as a surname. nowadays marriage is avoided by persons having the same thok or surname as well as between those of the same barag. 5. theory of the origin of the caste. in view of the information available the most probable theory of the origin of the halbas is that they were a mixed caste, born of irregular alliances between the uriya rajas and their retainers with the women of their household servants and between the different servants themselves. mr. gokul prasad points out that many of the names of halba sections are those of the haguas or household menials of the uriya chiefs. the halbas, according to their own story, came here in attendance on one of the chiefs, and are still employed as household servants in kanker and bastar. they are clearly a caste of mixed origin as they still admit women of other castes married by halba men into the community, and one of their two subcastes in each locality consists of families of impure descent. the dhakars of bastar are the illegitimate offspring of brahmans with women of the country who have grown into a caste, and mr. panda baijnath quotes a proverb, saying that 'the halbas and dhakars form two portions of a bedsheet.' instances of other castes similarly formed are the audhelias of bilaspur, who are said to be the offspring of daharia rajputs by their kept women, and the bargahs, descended from the nurses of rajput families. the name halba might be derived from hal, a plough, and be a variant for harwaha, the common term for a farmservant in the northern districts. this derivation they give themselves in one of their stories, saying that their first ancestor was created from a sod of earth on the plough of balaram or haladhara, the brother of krishna; and it has also the support of sir g. grierson. the caste includes no doubt a number of gonds, rawats (herdsmen) and others, and it may be partly occupational, consisting of persons employed as farmservants by the hindu settlers. the farmservant in chhattisgarh has a very definite position, his engagement being permanent and his wages consisting always in a fourth share of the produce, which is divided among them when several are employed. the caste have a peculiar dialect of their own, which dr. grierson describes as follows: [142] "linguistic evidence also points to the fact that the halbas are an aboriginal tribe, who have adopted hinduism and an aryan language. their dialect is a curious mixture of uriya, chhattisgarhi and marathi, the proportions varying according to the locality. in bhandara it is nearly all marathi, but in bastar it is much more mixed and has some forms which look like telugu." if the home of the halbas was in the debateable land between chhattisgarh and the uriya country to the east and south of the mahanadi, their dialect might, as mr. hira lal points out, have originated here. they themselves give the ruined but once important city of sihawa on the banks of the mahanadi in this tract as that of their first settlement; and uriya is spoken to the east of sihawa and marathi to the west, while chhattisgarhi is the language of the locality itself and of the country extending north and south. subsequently the halbas served as soldiers in the armies of the ratanpur kings and their position no doubt considerably improved, so that in bastar they became an important landholding caste. some of these soldiers may have migrated west and taken service under the gond kings of chanda, and their descendants may now be represented by the bhandara zamindars, who, however, if this theory be correct, have entirely forgotten their origin. others took up weaving and have become amalgamated with the koshti caste in bhandara and berar. 6. marriage. girls are not usually married until they are above ten years old, or nearly adult as age goes in india; but there is no rule on the subject. many girls reach twenty without entering wedlock. if the parents are too poor to pay for their daughter's marriage the neighbours will subscribe. in bastar, however, the uriya custom prevails, and an unmarried girl in whom the signs of puberty appear is put out of caste. in such a case her father marries her to a mahua tree. the strictness of the rule on this subject among the uriyas is probably due to the strength of brahmanical influence, the priestly caste possessing more power and property in sambalpur and orissa than in almost any part of india. if a death occurs in the family of the bridegroom just before the date fixed for the wedding, and the ceremonies of purification cannot be completed prior to it, the bride is formally wedded to an achar [143] or mahua tree; [144] the marriage crown is tied on to the tree, and the bride walks round it seven times. after the bridegroom's purification the couple are taken to the same tree, and here the forehead of the bridegroom is marked with turmeric paste and rice. the couple sit one on each side of the tree, and the tikawan ceremony or presentation of gifts by the relatives and friends is performed, and the marriage is considered to be complete. if an unmarried girl goes wrong with an outsider of low caste she is expelled from the community; but if with a member of a caste from whom a halba can take water she may be readmitted to caste, provided she has not eaten food cooked in an earthen pot from the hands of her seducer; but not if she has done so. if there be a child of the seducer she must wait until it be weaned and either taken by the putative father or given away to a chamar or gond. the girl can then be given in marriage to any halba as a widow. women of other castes married by halbas are admitted into the community. this happens most frequently in the case of women of the rawat (herdsman) caste. 7. importance of the sister's son. a match which is commonly arranged where practicable is that of a brother's daughter to a sister's son. and a man always shows a special regard and respect for his sister's son, touching his feet as to a superior, while, whenever he desires to make a gift as an offering of thanks or atonement or as a meritorious action, the sister's son is the recipient. at his death he usually leaves a substantial legacy, such as one or two buffaloes, to his sister's son, the remainder of the property going to his own family. this recognition of a special relationship is probably a survival of the matriarchate, when property descended through women, and a sister's son would be his uncle's heir. thus a man would naturally desire to marry his daughter to his nephew in order that she might participate in his property, and hence arose the custom of making this match, which is still the most favoured among the halbas and gonds, though the reasons which led to it have been forgotten for several centuries. 8. the wedding ceremony. matches are usually arranged on the initiative of the boy's father through a mutual friend who resides in the girl's village, and is known as the mahalia or matchmaker. when the contract is concluded the boy's father sends a present of fixed quantities of grain to the girl, which are in the nature of a bride-price, and subsequently on an auspicious day selected by the family priest he and his friends proceed to the girl's village. the girl meets them, standing at the entrance of the principal house, dressed in the new clothes sent on behalf of the bridegroom, and holding out her cloth for the reception of presents. the boy's father goes up to her and smooths her hair with his hand, chucks her under the chin with his right hand, and makes a noise with his lips as if he were kissing her. he then touches her feet, places a rupee on the skirt of her cloth, and retires. the other members of his party follow his example, giving small presents of copper, and afterwards the women of the girl's party treat the bridegroom in the same manner, but they actually kiss him (chumna). betrothals can be held only in the five months from magh (january) to jeth (may), while marriages may be celebrated during the eight dry months. the auspicious date is selected by the joshi or caste-priest, who is chosen by the community for his personal qualities. if the names of the couple do not point to an auspicious union the bridegroom's name may be changed either temporarily or permanently. the joshi takes two pieces of cloth, which should be torn from the scarf of the boy's father, and ties up in each of them some rice, areca nuts, turmeric and dub grass (cynodon dactylon). one of these is marked with red lead, and is intended for the bride, and the other, which is left plain, is for the bridegroom. at the wedding some of this rice with pulse is placed with a twig of mahua in a hole in the marriage-shed and addressed: 'you are the goddess lachhmi; you have come to assist in the marriage.' the halbas, like the other lower castes of chhattisgarh, have two forms of wedding, known as the 'small' and 'large,' the former being held at the bridegroom's house with curtailed ceremonies, and being much cheaper than the latter or hindu marriage proper, which is held at the bride's house. the 'small' wedding is more popular among the halbas, and for this the bride, accompanied by some of her girl and boy friends, arrives at the bridegroom's village in the evening, her parents following her only on the third day. on entering the lands of the village her party begin singing obscene songs filled with abuse of the bridegroom's parents and relatives. nobody goes to receive or welcome them, and on reaching the bridegroom's house they enter it without ceremony and sit down in the room where the family gods are kept. all this time they continue singing, and the musicians keep up a deafening din in accompaniment. subsequently the bride's party are shown to their lodging, known as the dulhi-kuria or bride's apartments, and here the bridegroom's father visits her and washes her big toes first with milk and then with water. the practice of washing the feet of guests, which strikes strangely on our minds when we meet it in scripture, was obviously a welcome attention when travellers went bare-footed, or at most wore sandals, and arrived at their journey's end with the feet soiled and bruised by the rigours of the way. another of the bridegroom's friends pretends to act as a barber, and shaves all the bride's men friends with a piece of straw as if it were a razor. for the marriage ceremony proper the bride and bridegroom stand facing each other by the marriage hut with a sheet held between them; the joshi or caste-priest takes two lamps and mingles their flames, and the cloth between the couple being pulled down the bridegroom drags the bride over to him. if the wedding is held on a sunday, tuesday or saturday the bridegroom stands facing the east, and if on a monday, thursday or friday, to the north. after this the cloths of the couple are tied together, or the end of the bridegroom's scarf is tucked in the bride's waistcloth, and they go round the marriage-post seven times, the bride following the bridegroom throughout. a plough-yoke is then brought and placed close by the marriage-post and the couple take their seats on it, the bride sitting on the left of the bridegroom. the bundles of rice consecrated by the joshi are given to them and they throw it over each other. the bridegroom takes some red lead and smears the bride's face with it, making a line from the end of her nose up across her forehead and along the parting of her hair. he says her name aloud and covers her head with her cloth. this signifies that she is a married woman, as in chhattisgarh unmarried girls go about with the head bare. after this the mother and father of the bride come and wash the feet of the couple with milk and water. this ceremony is known as dharam tika, and after its completion the bride's parents will take food in the bridegroom's house, which they abstain from doing from the date of the betrothal up to this washing of the feet. it is on this account that they do not accompany the bride but only follow her on the third day, but the reason for the rule is by no means clear. on the following day more ceremonies are performed, and the friends of the couple touch their foreheads with rice and make presents to them of cowries. last of all the bride's parents come and give them cattle and other articles according to their means. these gifts are known as tikawan and remain the separate property of the bride which she can dispose of as she pleases. the ceremonies usually extend over four days, the wedding itself taking place on the third. the bride's party then go home, leaving her with her husband, and after a week or so they return and take the couple to the bride's house for the ceremony known as pinar dhawai or getting their yellow wedding clothes washed. the bridegroom stays here two or three weeks, and during this time he must work at building or repairing the walls of his father-in-law's house. the custom of serving for a wife still obtains among the halbas, and the above rule may perhaps indicate that it was once more general. at the end of the bridegroom's visit his father-in-law gives him a new cloth and pair of shoes and sends him back to his parents' house with his wife. the expenses of the wedding average about fifty rupees for the bridegroom's family and from five to thirty rupees for the bride's family. 9. going-away ceremony. after the wedding if the bride is grown up she lives with her husband at once; but if she is a child she goes back to her parents until her adolescence, when the ceremony of pathoni or 'going away' is performed. on this occasion some people from the bridegroom's home go to fetch her and their number must be even, so that when she returns with them the party may be an odd one, which is lucky. they take a new cloth for the bride and stay the night at her house; next morning the bride's parents put some rice, pulse, oil and a comb in a basket for her, and she sets out with the party, wearing her new cloth. but when she gets outside the village this is taken off her and placed in the basket, which she has to carry on her head as far as her husband's house. as she enters his village the people stretch a rope across the way and prevent her passage until her father-in-law gives them a present. on arriving at his house her feet are washed by her mother-in-law, and she is then made to cook the food brought in her basket. after a fortnight she again goes back to her parents' house and stays with them for another year, before finally taking up her abode with her husband. it has been remarked that this return of a married woman to her parents' house for such lengthened periods is likely to be a pregnant source of immorality, and the advantage of the custom has been questioned; the explanation may perhaps be that it is an outcome of the joint family system by which young married couples live with the bridegroom's parents, and that the object is to accustom the girl gradually to the habits of a fresh household and the yoke, necessarily irksome, of her mother-in-law. the proverb with reference to a young wife, 'if your husband loves you your mother-in-law can do nothing,' indicates how formidable this may be in the event of any cooling of marital affection; and it is well known that if she does not please her husband's family a young wife may be treated as little better than a slave. to throw a young girl, therefore, into a family of complete strangers is probably too severe a trial, and this is the reason of the goings and returnings of the bride after her wedding between her husband's home and her own. 10. widow-marriage and divorce. the remarriage of a widow must be held during the bright fortnight of the month, and on any odd day of the fortnight excluding the first. the couple are seated together on a yoke in a part of the courtyard cleaned with cowdung, and their clothes are tied together, while the husband rubs vermilion on his wife's hair. a bachelor should not take a widow in marriage, and if he does so he must at the same time also wed a maiden with the regular ceremony, as otherwise he is likely after death to become a masaan or evil spirit. in order to avoid this contingency a bachelor who espouses a widow in kanker is first wedded to a spear. turmeric and oil are rubbed on his body and on the spear, and he walks round it seven times. divorce is freely permitted in chhattisgarh at the instance of either party and for the most trivial reasons, as a mere allegation of disagreement; but if a husband puts away his wife when she has not been unfaithful to him he must give her something for her support. in some localities no ceremony is performed at all, but a wife or husband who tires of wedlock simply leaves the other as the case may be. in bastar a wife cannot divorce her husband. a divorced woman does not break her glass bangles until she marries again, when new ones are given to her by her second husband. 11. religion. a large proportion of the halbas of chhattisgarh belong to the kabirpanthi sect. these are known as kabirhas and abjure the consumption of flesh and alcoholic liquor; while the others who indulge in these articles are known as sakatha or sakta, that is, a worshipper of devi or durga. these latter, however, also revere all the village godlings of chhattisgarh. 12. disposal of the dead. the dead are always buried by the kabirpanthis and usually by other halbas, cremation being reserved by the latter as a special mark of respect for elders and heads of families. a dead body is wrapped in a new white cloth and laid on an inverted cot. the kabirpanthis lay plantain leaves at the sides of the cot and over the body to cover it. one of the mourners carries a burning cowdung cake with the party. before burial the thread which every male wears round his waist is broken, the clothes are taken off the corpse and given to a sweeper, and the body is wrapped in the shroud and laid in the grave, salt being sprinkled under and over it. if the dead body should be touched by any person of another caste, the deceased's family has to pay a fine or give a penal caste-feast. after the interment the mourners bathe and return to the deceased's house in their wet clothes. before entering it they wash their feet in water, which is kept for that purpose at the door, and chew the leaves of the nim tree (melia indica). they smoke their chongis or leaf-pipes and console the deceased's family and then return home, washing their feet again and changing their clothes at their own houses. on the third day, known as tij nahan, the male members of the family with the relatives and mourners walk in indian file to a river or tank, where they are all shaved by the barber, the sons of the dead man or woman having the entire head and face cleared of hair, while in the case of other relatives, the scalp-lock and moustache may be left, and the mourning friends are only shaved as on ordinary occasions. for his services the barber receives a cow or a substantial cash present, which he divides with the washerman. the latter subsequently washes all clothes worn at the funeral and on this occasion. on the akti festival, or commencement of the agricultural year, libations of water and offerings of urad [145] cakes are made to the spirits of ancestors. a feast is given to women in honour of all departed female ancestors on the ninth day of the pitripaksh or mourning fortnight of kunwar (september), and feasts for male ancestors may be held on the same day of the fortnight as that on which they died at any other time of the year. [146] such observances are practised only by the well-to-do. nothing is done for persons who die before their marriage or without children, unless they trouble some member of the family and appear in a dream to demand that these honours be paid to them. during an epidemic of cholera all funeral and mourning ceremonies are suspended, and a general purification of the village takes place on its conclusion. 13. propitiating the spirits of those who have died a violent death. if a person has been killed by a tiger, the people go out, and if any remains of the body are found, these are burnt on the spot. the baiga is then invoked to bring back the spirit of the deceased, a most essential precaution as will shortly be seen. in order to do this he suspends a copper ring on a long thread above a vessel of water and then burns butter and sugar on the fire, muttering incantations, while the people sing songs and call on the spirit of the dead man to return. the thread swings to and fro, and at length the copper ring falls into the pot, and this is taken as a sign that the spirit has come and entered the vessel. the mouth of this is immediately covered and it is buried or kept in some secure place. the people believe that unless the dead man's spirit is secured it will accompany the tiger and lure solitary travellers to destruction. this is done by calling out and offering them tobacco to smoke, and when they proceed in the direction of the voice the tiger springs out and kills them. and they think that a tiger directed in this manner grows fiercer and fiercer with every person whom it kills. when somebody has been killed by a tiger the relatives will not even remove the ornaments from the corpse, for they think that these would constitute a link by which its spirit would cause the tiger to track them down. the malevolence thus attributed to persons killed by tigers is explained by their bitter wrath at having encountered such an untimely death and consequent desire to entice others to the same. 14. impurity of women. during the monthly period of menstruation women are spoken of as 'mund maili' or having the head dirty, and are considered to be impure for four or five days, for which time they sleep on the ground and not on cots. in kanker they are secluded in a separate room, and forbidden to cook or to touch the clothes or persons of other members of the family. they must not walk on a ploughed field, nor will the men of their family drive the plough or sow seed during the time of their impurity. on the fifth day they wash their heads with earth and boil their clothes in water mixed with wood ashes. cloth stained with the menstrual blood is usually buried underground; if it is burnt it is supposed that the woman to whom it belonged will become barren, and if a barren woman should swallow the ashes of the cloth the fertility of its owner would be transferred to her. 15. childbirth. when pregnant women experience longings for strange kinds of food, it is believed that these really come from the child in the womb and must be satisfied if its development is not to be retarded. consequently in the fifth month of a wife's first pregnancy, or shortly before delivery, her mother takes to her various kinds of rich food and feeds her with them. it is a common custom also for pregnant women, driven by perverted appetite, to eat earth of a clayey texture, or the ordinary black cotton soil, or dried clay scraped off the walls of houses, or the ashes of burnt cowdung cakes. this is done by low-caste women in most parts of the province, and if carried to excess leads to severe intestinal derangement which may prove fatal. a pregnant woman must not cross a river or eat anything with a knife, and she must observe various precautions against the machinations of witches. at the time of delivery the woman sits on the ground and is attended by a midwife, who may be a chamar, mahar or ganda by caste. the navel cord is burnt in the lying-in room, but the after-birth, known as phul, is usually buried in a rubbish pit outside the house. the portion of the cord attached to the child's body is also burnt when it falls off, but in the northern districts it is preserved and used as a cure for the child if it suffers from sore eyes. if a woman who has borne only girl children can obtain the dried navel-string of a male child and swallow it, they believe that she will have a son, and that the mother of the boy will henceforth bear only daughters. this is the reason why the cord is carefully secreted and not simply thrown away. in bastar on the sixth or naming day the female relatives and friends of the family are invited to take food at the house. the father touches the feet of the child with blades of dub grass (cynodon dactylon) steeped first in milk or melted butter, then in sandal-paste, and finally in water, and each time passes the blade over his head as a mark of respect. the blades of grass are afterwards thrown over the roof of the house, so that they may not be trampled under foot. the women guests then bring leaf-cups containing rice and a few copper coins, which they offer to the mother, the younger ones bowing before her with a prayer that the child may grow as old as the speaker. all the women kiss the child, and the elder ones the mother also. the offerings of rice and coins are taken by the midwife. 16. names. the names of the halbas are of the ordinary type found in chhattisgarh, but at present they often add the termination sinha or singh in imitation of the rajputs. two names are sometimes given, one for daily use and the other for comparison with that of the girl when the marriage is to be arranged. as already seen, either the bride's or bridegroom's name may be changed to make their union auspicious. when a daughter-in-law comes into her husband's house she is usually not called by her own name, but by some nickname or that of her home, as jabalpurwali, raipurwali (she who comes from jabalpur or raipur), and so on. sometimes men of the caste are addressed by the name of the clan or section and not by their own. a woman must not utter the names of her husband, his parents or brothers, nor of the sons of his elder brother and his sisters. but for these last as well as for her own son-in-law she may invent fictitious names. these rules she observes to show her respect for her husband's relatives. a child must not be called by name at night, because if an owl hears the name and repeats it the child will probably die. the owl is everywhere regarded as a bird of the most evil omen. its hoot is unlucky, and a house in which its nest is built will be destroyed or deserted. if it perches on the roof of a house and hoots, some one of the family will probably fall ill, or if a member of the household is already ill, he or she will probably die. 17. social status. the social customs of the caste present some differences. in bastar, where they have a fairly high status, the purait halbas abstain from liquor, though they will eat the flesh of clean animals and of the wild pig. the halbas of raipur on the other hand, who are usually farmservants, will eat fowls, pigs and rats, and abstain only from beef and the leavings of others. in bastar, sunars, kurmis and castes of similar position will take water from the hands of a halba, and kosaria rawats will eat all kinds of food with them. in chhattisgarh the halbas will accept water from telis, kahars and other like castes, and will also allow any of them to become a halba. in chhattisgarh they will take even food cooked with water from the hands of a man of these castes, provided that they are not in their own villages. these differences of custom are probably due to the varying social status of the caste. in bastar they hold land and behave accordingly, while in chhattisgarh they are only labourers. they do not employ brahmans for ceremonial purposes but have their own caste priest, known as joshi, while among the kabirpanthis the local mahant or bairagi of the sect takes his place. 18. caste panchayat. they have a caste panchayat or committee, the headman of which is known as kursha; he has jurisdiction over ten or twenty villages, and is usually chosen from the kotwar, chanap or naik sections. it is the duty of the men of these sections to scatter the sonpani or 'water of gold' [147] as an act of purification over persons who have been temporarily put out of caste for social offences. they are also the first to eat food with such offenders on readmission to social intercourse, and thereby take the sins of these persons upon their own heads. in order to counteract the effect of this the purifier usually asks three or four other men to eat with him at his own house, and passes on a part of his burden to them. for such duties he receives a payment of money varying from four annas to a rupee and a half. among the offences punished with temporary exclusion from caste are those of rearing the lac insect and tasar silk cocoons, probably because such work involves the killing of the insects and caterpillars which produce the dye and silk. in bastar a man loses his caste if he is beaten with a shoe except by a government servant, and is not readmitted to it. if a man seduces a married woman and is beaten with a shoe by her husband he is also finally expelled from caste. but happily, mr. panda baijnath remarks, shoes are very scarce in the state, and hence such cases do not often arise. they never yoke cows to the plough as other castes do in bastar, nor do they tie up two cows with the same rope. 19. dress. the dress of the halbas, as of other chhattisgarh castes, is scanty, and most of them have only a short cloth about the loins and another round the shoulders. they dispense with both shoes and head-cloth, but every man must have a thread tied round his waist. to this thread in former times, colonel dalton remarks, the apron of leaves was not improbably suspended. the women do not wear nose-rings, spangles on the forehead or rings on the toes; but girl children have the left nostril pierced, and this must always be done on the full moon day of the month of pus (december). a copper ring is inserted in the nostril and worn for a few months, but must be removed before the girl's marriage. a married woman has a cloth over her head, and smears vermilion on the parting of her hair and also on her forehead. an unmarried girl may have the copper ring already mentioned, and may place a dab of vermilion on her forehead, but must not smear it on the parting of her hair. she goes bare-headed till marriage, as is the custom in chhattisgarh. a widow should not have vermilion on her face at all, nor should she use glass bangles or ornaments about the ankles. she may have a string of glass beads about her neck. a woman's cloth is usually white with a broad red border all round it. the gonds and halbas tie the cloth round the waist and carry the slack end from the left side behind up the back and over the head and right shoulder; while women of higher castes take the cloth from the right side over the head and left shoulder. 20. tattooing. girls are tattooed before marriage, usually at the age of four or five years, with dots on the left nostril and centre of the chin, and three dots in a line on the right shoulder. a girl is again tattooed after marriage, but before leaving for her husband's house. on this occasion four pairs of parallel lines are made on the leg above the ankle, in front, behind, and on the sides. as a rule, the legs are not otherwise tattooed, nor the trunk of the body. groups of dots, triangles and lines are made on the arms, and on the left arm is pricked a zigzag line known as the sikri or chain, the pattern of which is distinctive. teli and gahra (ahir) women also have the sikri, but in a slightly different form. the tattooing is done by a woman of the dewar caste, and she receives some corn and the cloth worn by the girl at the time of the operation. if a child is slow in learning to walk they tattoo it on the loins above the hips, and believe that this is efficacious. men who suffer from rheumatism also get the affected joints tattooed, and are said to experience much relief. the tattooing acts no doubt as a blister, and may produce a temporarily beneficial effect. it may be compared to the bee-sting cure for rheumatism now advocated in england. tattooing is believed to enhance the beauty of women, and it is also said that the tattoo marks are the only ornament which will accompany the soul to the other world. from this belief it seems clear that they expect to have the same body in the after-life. 21. occupation. nearly all the halbas are now engaged in agriculture as tenants and labourers. seven zamindari estates are held by members of the caste, six in bhandara and one in chanda, and they also have some villages in the south of the raipur and drug districts. it is probable that they obtained this property in reward for military service, at the period when they were employed in the armies of the ratanpur kings and of the gond dynasty of chanda. in the forest tracts of dhamtari they are considered the best cultivators next to the telis, and they show themselves quite able to hold their own in the open country, where their villages are usually prosperous. in bastar they still practise shifting cultivation, sowing their crops on burnt-out patches of forest. though hunting is not now one of their regular occupations, mr. gokul prasad describes them as catching game by the following method: six or seven men go out together at night, tying round their feet ghunghunias or two small hollow balls of brass with stones inside which tinkle as they move, such as are worn by postal runners. they move in indian file, the first man carrying a lantern and the others walking behind him in its shadow. they walk with measured tread, and the ghunghunias give out a rhythmical harmonious sound. hares and other small animals are attracted by the sound, and at the same time half-blinded by the light, so that they do not see the line of men. they approach, and are knocked over or caught by the men following the leader. halwai halwai.--the occupational caste of confectioners, numbering about 3000 persons in the central provinces and berar in 1911. the halwai takes his name from halwa, a sweet made of flour, clarified butter and sugar, coloured with saffron and flavoured with almonds, raisins and pistachio-nuts. [148] the caste gives no account of its origin in northern india, but it is clearly a functional group composed of members of respectable middle-class castes who adopted the profession of sweetmeat-making. the halwais are also called mithaihas, or preparers of sweets, and in the uriya country are known as guria from gur or unrefined sugar. the caste has several subdivisions with territorial names, generally derived from places in northern india, as kanaujia from kanauj, and jaunpuria from jaunpur; others are kandu, a grain-parcher, and dobisya, meaning two score. one of the guria subdivisions is named haldia from haldi, turmeric, and members of this subcaste are employed to prepare the mahaprasad or cooked rice which is served at the temple of jagannath and which is eaten by all castes together without scruple. the gurias have exogamous divisions or bargas, the names of which are generally functional, as darban, door-keeper; saraf, treasurer; bhitarya, one who looks to household affairs, and others. marriage within the barga is forbidden, but the union of first cousins is not prohibited. marriage may be infant or adult. a girl who has a liaison with a man of the caste may be wedded to him by the form used for the remarriage of a widow, but if she goes wrong with an outsider she is finally expelled. widow-marriage is allowed, and divorce may be effected for misconduct on the part of the wife. the social standing of the halwai is respectable. "his art," says mr. nesfield, [149] "implies rather an advanced state of culture, and hence his rank in the social scale is a high one. there is no caste in india which considers itself too pure to eat what a confectioner has made. in marriage banquets it is he who supplies a large part of the feast, and at all times and seasons the sweetmeat is a favourite food to a hindu requiring a temporary refreshment. there is a kind of bread called puri, consisting of wheaten dough fried in melted butter, which is taken as a substitute for the chapati or wheaten pancake by travellers and others who happen to be unable to have their bread cooked at their own fire, and is made by the halwais." the real reason why the halwai occupies a good position perhaps simply results from the necessity that other castes should be able to take cakes from him. among the higher castes food cooked with water should not be eaten except at the hearth after this has been specially cleansed and spread with cowdung, and those who are to eat have bathed and otherwise purified themselves. but as the need continuously arises for travellers and others to take a meal abroad where they cannot cook it for themselves, sweetmeats and cakes made without water are permitted to be eaten in this way, and the halwai, as the purveyor of these, has been given the position of a pure caste from whose hands a brahman can take water. in a similar manner, water may be taken from the hands of the dhimar who is a household servant, the kahar or palanquin-bearer, the barai or betel-leaf seller, and the bharbhunja or rice-parcher, although some of these castes have a very low origin and occupy the humble position of menial servants. the halwai's shop is one of the most familiar in an indian bazar, and in towns a whole row of them may be seen together, this arrangement being doubtless adopted for the social convenience of the caste-fellows, though it might be expected to decrease the custom that they receive. his wares consist of trays full of white and yellow-coloured sweetmeats and cakes of flour and sugar, very unappetising to a european eye, though hindu boys show no lack of appreciation of them. the hindus are very fond of sweet things, which is perhaps a common trait of an uneducated palate. hindu children will say that such sweets as chocolate almonds are too bitter, and their favourite drink, sherbet, is simply a mixture of sugar and water with some flavouring, and seems scarcely calculated to quench the thirst produced by an indian hot weather. similarly their tea is so sweetened with sugar and spices as to be distasteful to a european. the ingredients of a halwai's sweets are wheat and gram-flour, milk and country sugar. those called batashas consist merely of syrup of sugar boiled with a little flour, which is taken out in spoonfuls and allowed to cool. they are very easy to make and are commonly distributed to schoolboys on any occasion of importance, and are something like a meringue in composition. the kind called barafi or ice is made from thick boiled milk mixed with sugar, and is more expensive and considered more of a treat than batashas. laddus are made from gram-flour which is mixed with water and dropped into boiling butter, when it hardens into lumps. these are taken out and dipped in syrup of sugar and allowed to cool. pheni is a thin strip of dough of fine wheat-flour fried in butter and then dipped in syrup of sugar. other sweets are made from the flour of singara or water-nut and from chironji, the kernel of the achar [150] nut, coated with sugar. of ordinary sweets the cheaper kinds cost 8 annas a seer of 2 lb. and the more expensive ones 10 or 12 annas. sweets prepared by bengali confectioners are considered the best of all. the halwai sits on a board in his shop surrounded by wooden trays of the different kinds of sweets. these are often covered with crowds of flies and in some places with a variety of formidable-looking hornets. the latter do not appear to be vicious, however, and when he wishes to take sweets off a tray the halwai whisks them off with a palm-leaf brush. only if one of them gets into his cloth, or he unguardedly pushes his hand down into a heap of sweets and encounters a hornet, he may receive a sting of which the mark remains for some time. the better-class confectioners now imitate english sweets, and at fairs when they retail boiled grain and ghi they provide spoons and little basins for their customers. hatkar 1. derivation and historical notice. hatkar, hatgar. [151]--a small caste of berar, numbering about 14,000 persons in 1911. they are found principally in the pusad taluk of yeotmal district, their villages being placed like a line of outposts along the hyderabad border. the hatkars are a branch of the dhangar or shepherd caste, and in some localities they are considered as a subcaste of dhangars. the derivation of the name hatkar is obscure, but the hatkars appear to be those dhangars who first took to military service under sivaji and hence became a distinct group. "undisciplined, often unarmed, men of the mawals or mountain valleys above the ghauts who were called mawallees, and of those below the mountains towards the sea, called hetkurees, joined the young leader." [152] the hatkars were thus the soldiers of the konkan in sivaji's army. the ain-i-akbari states that the hatkars were driven westward across the wardha by the gonds. at this time (a.d. 1600) they were holding the country round basim by force of arms, and are described as a refractory and perfidious race. [153] "the hatkars of berar are all bargi or bangi dhangars, the shepherds with the spears. they say that formerly when going on any expedition they took only a blanket seven cubits long and a bear-spear. they would appear to have been all footmen. the naiks or village headman of basim were principally hatkars. the duty of a naik was to maintain order and stop robbery; but in time they became law-breakers and their men the dacoits of the country. some of them were very powerful, and in 1818 nowsaji naik's troops gave battle to the nizam's regular forces under major pitman before umarkhar. he was beaten and sent to hyderabad, where he died, and the power of the naiks was broken by major sutherland. he hanged so many that the naiks pronounce his name to this day with awe. to some of the naiks he gave money and told them to settle down in certain villages. others who also came, expecting money, were at once hanged." [154] but it would appear that only those leaders were hanged who did not come in before a certain fixed date. 2. the gauli hatkar's reverence for cattle. the hatkars are also called bangi dhangars, and in berar rank above other dhangars because they took to soldiering and obtained grants of land, just as the marathas rank above the kunbis. another group have given up sheep-tending and keep cattle, which is a more respectable occupation on account of the sanctity of cattle, and these call themselves gauli hatkars. these gauli hatkars have given up drinking liquor and eating fowls. they will not touch or sell the milk of buffaloes and cows before sunset on mondays, the day on which they worship krishna. if any one is in need of milk on that day they will let him milk the animal himself, but will take no price for the milk. on a monday also they will not give fire from their house to any member of a low caste, such as a mahar. on the day of diwali they worship their cows, tying a bunch of wool to the animal's forehead and putting rice on it; they make a mud image of govardhan, the mountain held up by krishna as an umbrella to protect the people from the rain, and then let the cows trample it to pieces with their hoofs. if a bullock dies with the rope halter through its nose, the owner is put out of caste; this rule also obtains among the ahirs and gaulis, and is perhaps responsible for the objection felt in some localities to putting string through the nostrils of ploughand cart-bullocks, though it is the only means of obtaining any control over them. 3. funeral rites. formerly the hatkars burned the corpses only of men who died in battle or the chase or subsequently of their wounds, cremation being reserved for this honourable end. others were buried sitting cross-legged, and a small piece of gold was placed in the mouth of the corpse. now they either burn or bury the dead according to their means. most of them at the time they were soldiers never allowed the hair on their face to be cut. 4. exogamous groups. the hatkars of berar are said to be divided into three exogamous clans who apparently marry with each other, their names being poli, gurdi and muski. in the central provinces they have a set of exogamous sections with titular names of a somewhat curious nature; among them are hakkya, said to be so called because their ancestor was absent when his cow gave birth to a calf; wakmar, one who left the pangat or caste feast while his fellows were eating; and polya, one who did not take off his turban at the feast. hijra hijra, khasua. [155]--the class of eunuchs, who form a separate community, recruited by the admission of persons born with this deformity or reduced to the like condition by amputation. in saugor it is said that the khasuas are natural and the hijras artificial eunuchs, and the khasuas deny that they admit hijras into their society. they may be either hindus or muhammadans by birth, but all become muhammadans. children born in the condition of eunuchs are usually made over to the khasuas by their parents. the caste are beggars, and also sing and dance at weddings and at the births of male children, and obtain presents of grain from the cultivators at seedtime and harvest. they wear female clothes and ornaments and assume the names of women. they are admitted to mosques, but have to stand behind the women, and in saugor they have their own mosque. they observe muhammadan rites and festivals generally, and are permitted to smoke from the huqqas of other muhammadans. they are governed by a caste panchayat or committee, which imposes fines but does not expel any member from the community. each khasua has a beat or locality reserved to him for begging and no other may infringe on it, violations of this rule being punished by the committee. sometimes a well-to-do khasua adopts an orphan and celebrates the child's marriage with as much expense and display as he can afford, and the kazi officiates at the ceremony. the hijras form apparently a separate group, and the following account of them is mainly taken from the bombay gazetteer. [156] in gujarat they are the emasculated male votaries of the goddess bouchera or behechra, a sister of devi. she is the spirit of a martyred charan or bhat woman. some charan women were travelling from sulkhunpur in gujarat when they were attacked and plundered by kolis. one of the women, of the name of bouchera, snatched a sword from a boy who attended her and with it cut off both her breasts. she immediately perished, and was deified and worshipped as a form of devi in the chunwal. [157] the hijras usually mutilate themselves in the performance of a religious vow, sometimes taken by the mother as a means of obtaining children, and in rare cases by the boy himself to obtain recovery by the favour of the goddess from a dangerous illness. [158] hence it is clear that they worship boucheraji on the ground that she obtained divine honours by self-mutilation and should enable her votaries to do the same. but the real reason for the charan woman cutting off her breasts was no doubt that her ghost might haunt and destroy the koli robbers, in accordance with the usual practice of the charans. [159] as a further fulfilment of their vow the hijras pull out the hair of their beards and moustaches, bore their ears and noses for female ornaments, and affect female speech and manners. the meaning of the vow would appear to be that the mother sacrifices her great blessing of a boy child and transforms him after a fashion into a girl, at the same time devoting him to the service of the goddess. similarly, as a much milder form of the same idea, a mother whose sons have died will sometimes bore the nose of a later-born son and put a small nose-ring in it to make believe he is a girl. but in this case the aim is also partly to cheat the goddess or the evil spirits who cause the death of children, and make them think the boy is a girl and therefore not worth taking. the rite of mutilation is described by mr. faridi as follows: "the initiation takes place at the temple of the goddess behechra about 60 miles from ahmadabad, where the neophyte repairs under the guardianship or adoption of some older member of the brotherhood. the lad is called the daughter of the old hijra his guardian. the emasculation is a secret rite and takes place under the direction of the chief hijra priest of behechra. it is said that the operation and initiation are held in a house with closed doors, where all the hijras meet in holiday dress. a special dish of fried pastry is cooked, and the neophyte is bathed, dressed in red female attire, decked with flower-garlands and seated on a stool in the middle of the room, while the others sing to the accompaniment of a small drum and copper cymbals. another room is prepared for the operation, soft ashes being spread on the floor and piled in a heap in the centre. when the time for the operation approaches, the neophyte is led to the room and is made to lie on his back on the ash-heap. the operator approaches chewing betel-leaf. the hands and legs of the neophyte are firmly held by some one of the fraternity, and the operator, carelessly standing near with an unconcerned air, when he finds the attention of his patient otherwise occupied, with great dexterity and with one stroke completely cuts off the genital organs. he spits betel and areca juice on the wound and staunches the bleeding with a handful of the ashes of the babul. [160] the operation is dangerous and not uncommonly fatal." another method is to hold the organs in a cleft bamboo and slice them off. the hijras are beggars like the khasuas, and sometimes become very importunate. soon after the birth of a child in gujarat the hated hijras or eunuchs crowd round the house for gifts. if the demand of one of them is refused the whole rank and file of the local fraternity besiege the house with indecent clamour and gesture. their claim to alms rests, as with other religious mendicants, in the sacred character which attaches to them. in bombay there is also a belief that the god hanuman cries out once in twelve years, and that those men who hear him are transformed into eunuchs. [161] some of them make money by allowing spectators to look at the mutilated part of their body, and also by the practice of pederasty. homosexual practices are believed to be distinctly rare among hindus, and not common among muhammadans of the central provinces. for this the early age of marriage may probably be considered a principal cause. the hindu sacred books, however, do not attach severe penalties to this offence. "according to the laws of manu, a twice-born man who commits an unnatural offence with a male, or has intercourse with a female in a cart drawn by oxen, in water or in the daytime, shall bathe, dressed in his clothes; and all these are reckoned as minor offences." [162] in his origin and development of the moral ideas dr. westermarck shows that, apart from the genuine cases of sexual perversion, as to the frequency of which opinions differ, homosexual love frequently arises in three conditions of society. these are, when women are actually scarce, as among the australian aborigines and other primitive races; when the men are frequently engaged in war or in predatory expeditions and are separated from their wives for long periods, a condition which accounts for its prevalence among the sikhs and pathans; and lastly, when women are secluded and uneducated and hence their society affords little intellectual pleasure to men. this was the case in ancient greece where women received no education and had no place at the public spectacles which were the chief means of culture; [163] and the same reason probably accounts for the frequency of the vice among the persians and modern egyptians. "so also it seems that the ignorance and dulness of muhammadan women, which is a result of their total lack of education and their secluded life, is a cause of homosexual practices; moors are sometimes heard to defend pederasty on the plea that the company of boys, who have always news to tell, is so much more entertaining than the company of women." [164] the christian church in this as in other respects has set a very high standard of sexual morality. unnatural crimes were regarded with peculiar horror in the middle ages, and the punishments for them in english law were burying and burning alive, though these were probably seldom or never enforced. [165] the attitude of the church, which was reflected in the civil law, was partly inherited from the jews of the old testament, and reinforced by similar conditions in mediaeval society. in both cases this crime was especially associated with the heathen and heretics, as shown in dr. westermarck's interesting account: [166] "according to genesis, unnatural vice was the sin of a people who were not the lord's people, and the levitical legislation represents canaanitish abominations as the chief reason why the canaanites were exterminated. now we know that sodomy entered as an element in their religion. besides kedeshoth, or female prostitutes, there were kedeshim or male prostitutes, attached to their temples. the word kadesh, translated 'sodomite,' properly denotes a man dedicated to a deity; and it appears that such men were consecrated to the mother of the gods, the famous dea syria, whose priests or devotees they were considered to be. the male devotees of this and other goddesses were probably in a position analogous to that occupied by the female devotees of certain gods, who also, as we have seen, have developed into libertines; and the sodomitic acts committed with these temple prostitutes may, like the connections with priestesses, have had in view to transfer blessings to the worshippers. in morocco supernatural benefits are expected not only from heterosexual, but also from homosexual intercourse with a holy person. the kedeshim are frequently alluded to in the old testament, especially in the period of the monarchy, when rites of foreign origin made their way into both israel and judah. and it is natural that the yahveh worshipper should regard their practices with the utmost horror as forming part of an idolatrous cult. "the hebrew conception of homosexual love to some extent affected muhammadanism, and passed into christianity. the notion that it is a form of sacrilege was here strengthened by the habits of the gentiles. st. paul found the abominations of sodom prevalent among nations who had 'changed the truth of god into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the creator.' during the middle ages heretics were accused of unnatural vice as a matter of course. indeed, so closely was sodomy associated with heresy that the same name was applied to both. in la coutume de touraine-anjou the word hérite, which is the ancient form of hérétique, seems to be used in the sense of 'sodomite'; and the french bougre (from the latin bulgarus, bulgarian), as also its english synonym, was originally a name given to a sect of heretics who came from bulgaria in the eleventh century and was afterwards applied to other heretics, but at the same time it became the regular expression for a person guilty of unnatural intercourse. in mediaeval laws sodomy was also repeatedly mentioned together with heresy, and the punishment was the same for both. it thus remained a religious offence of the first order. it was not only a 'vitium nefandum et super omnia detestandum,' but it was one of the four 'clamantia peccata,' or crying sins, a 'crime de majestie, vers le roy celestre.' very naturally, therefore, it has come to be regarded with somewhat greater leniency by law and public opinion in proportion as they have emancipated themselves from theological doctrines. and the fresh light which the scientific study of the sexual impulse has lately thrown upon the subject of homosexuality must also necessarily influence the moral ideas relating to it, in so far as no scrutinising judge can fail to take into account the pressure which a powerful non-volitional desire exercises upon an agent's will." holia holia. [167]--a low caste of drummers and leather-workers who claim to be degraded golars or telugu ahirs, under which caste most of the holias seem to have returned themselves in 1901. [168] the holias relate the following story of their origin. once upon a time two brothers, golar by caste, set out in search of service, having with them a bullock. on the way the elder brother went to worship his tutelary deity holiari deva; but while he was doing so the bullock accidentally died, and the ceremony could not be proceeded with until the carcase was removed. neither a chamar nor anybody else could be got to do this, so at length the younger brother was prevailed upon by the elder one to take away the body. when he returned, the elder brother would not touch him, saying that he had lost his caste. the younger brother resigned himself to his fate and called himself holu, after the god whom he had been worshipping at the time he lost his caste. his descendants were named holias. but he prayed to the god to avenge him for the treachery of his brother, and from that moment misfortunes commenced to shower upon the golar until he repented and made what reparation he could; and in memory of this, whenever a golar dies, the holias are feasted by the other golars to the present day. the story indicates a connection between the castes, and it is highly probable that the holias are a degraded class of golars who took to the trade of tanning and leather-working. when a holia goes to a golar's house he must be asked to come in and sit down or the golar will be put out of caste; and when a golar dies the house must be purified by a holia. the caste is a very numerous one in madras. here the holia is superior only to the madiga or chamar. [169] in the central provinces they are held to be impure and to rank below the mahars, and they live on the outskirts of the village. their caste customs resemble generally those of the golars. they believe their traditional occupation to be the playing of leathern drums, and they still follow this trade, and also make slippers and leather thongs for agricultural purposes. but they must not make or mend shoes on pain of excommunication from caste. they are of middle stature, dark in colour, and very dirty in their person and habits. like the golars, the holias speak a dialect of canarese, which is known as golari, holia or komtau. mr. thurston gives the following interesting particulars about the holias: [170] "if a man of another caste enters the house of a mysore holia, the owner takes care to tear the intruder's cloth, and turn him out. this will avert any evil which might have befallen him. it is said that brahmans consider great luck will wait upon them if they can manage to pass through a holia village unmolested. should a brahman attempt to enter their quarters, the holias turn him out, and slipper him, in former times it is said to death." injhwar 1. origin of the caste. injhwar. [171]--a caste of agricultural labourers and fishermen found in the maratha tract of the wainganga valley, comprised in the bhandara and balaghat districts. in 1901 they numbered 8500 persons as against 11,000 in 1891. the name injhwar is simply a marathi corruption of binjhwar, as is for bis (twenty) and ithoba for bithoba or vithoba. in his census report of 1891 sir benjamin robertson remarked that the name was often entered in the census books as vinjhwar, and in marathi b and v are practically interchangeable. the injhwars are thus a caste formed from the binjhwars or highest subdivision of the baiga tribe of balaghat; they have adopted the social customs of the marathi-speaking people among whom they live, and have been formed into a separate caste through a corruption of their name. they still worship injha or vindhya devi, the tutelary deity of the vindhyan hills, from which the name of the binjhwars is derived. the injhwars have also some connection with the gowari or cowherd caste of the maratha country. they are sometimes known as dudh-gowari, and say that this is because an injhwar woman was a wet-nurse of the first-born gowari. the gowaris themselves, as a low caste of herdsmen frequenting the jungles, would naturally be brought into close connection with both the baigas and gonds. their alliances with the gonds have produced the distinct caste of gond-gowari, and it is not improbable that one fact operating to separate the injhwars from their parent tribe of the baigas was an admixture of gowari blood. but they rank higher than the gond-gowaris, who are regarded as impure; this is probably on account of the superior position of the binjhwars, who form the aristocracy of the baiga tribe, and, living in the forests, were never reduced to the menial and servile condition imposed on the gond residents in hindu villages. the injhwars, however, admit the superiority of the gowaris by taking food from their hands, a favour which the latter will not reciprocate. several of the sept or family names of the caste are also taken from the gonds, and this shows an admixture of gond blood; the injhwars are thus probably a mixed group of gonds, gowaris, and binjhwars or baigas. 2. subdivisions. the injhwars have four subcastes, three of the territorial and one of the occupational class. these are the lanjiwar, or those living round lanji in balaghat; the korre, or those of the korai hill tract in seoni; the chandewar or maratha injhwars who belong to chanda, and are distinguished by holding their weddings only in the evening after the maratha custom, while other injhwars will perform the ceremony at any time of day; and the sonjharias, or those who have taken to washing for gold in the beds of streams. of their sept or family names some, as already stated, are taken from the gonds, as mesram, tekam, marai, ukya. [172] three names, bhoyar, kawara and kohrya (from kohli), are the names of other castes or tribes, and indicate that members of these became injhwars and founded families; and others are of the territorial, titular and totemistic types. among them may be mentioned the pithvalyas, from pith, flour; all families of this sept should steal a little rice from somebody else's field as soon as it is ripe, husband and wife making a joint expedition for the purpose. they must not speak a word to each other from the time they start until they have brought back the rice, pounded and cooked it, offered it to the god and made their meal. the paunpats, named after the lotus, will not touch the flowers or leaves of the lotus plants, or even drink water from a tank in which the lotus grows. the dobokria rawats are so named because they make an offering of two goats to their gods. some of the septs are subdivided. thus the sonwani or gold-water sept, whose members readmit social culprits, is divided into the paunpat or lotus sonwanis; the gurhiwal, who revere a brass vessel tied to a bamboo on the first day of the year; the sati sonwani, who worship the spirit of a sati woman ancestor; and the mungphatia sonwanis, whose token is the broken mung pulse. at present these subsepts cannot intermarry, the union of any two sonwanis being forbidden, but it seems likely that intermarriage may be permitted in the course of time. 3. marriage and other customs. the social customs of the injhwars resemble those of the lower maratha castes. [173] marriage is forbidden between members of the same sept and first cousins, and a man should also not take a wife from the sept of his brother or sister-in-law. this rule prevents the marriage of two brothers to two sisters, to which there is of course no objection on the ground of affinity. girls are usually not married until they are grown up; but in places where they have been much subjected to hindu influences, the injhwars will sometimes wed an adult girl to a basil plant in order to avoid the stigma of keeping her in the house unmarried. the boy's father goes to make a proposal of marriage, and the girl's father, if he approves it, intimates his consent by washing his visitor's feet. a bride-price of about rs. 20 is usually paid, which is increased somewhat if the bridegroom is a widower, and decreased if the bride has been seduced before marriage. the marriage is performed by throwing coloured rice over the couple. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. a bachelor who marries a widow must first go through the ceremony with an arka or swallow-wort plant, this being considered his real marriage. the injhwars usually bury the dead, and in accordance with dravidian custom place the corpse in the grave with the feet to the north. when the body is that of a young girl, the face is left exposed as it is carried to the grave. the regular ceremonies are performed for the welfare of the deceased's soul, and they try to ascertain its fate in the next incarnation by spreading flour on the ground overnight and looking in the morning for anything resembling the foot-mark of a human being, animal or bird. on the festival of akhatij and in the month of kartik (october) they offer libations to the dead, setting out a large pitcher of water for a male and a small one for a female. on the former they paint five lines of sandalwood to represent a man's caste-mark, and on the latter five splashes of kunku or the red powder which women rub on their foreheads. a burning lamp is placed before the pitchers, and they feed a male mali or gardener as representative of a dead man and a female for a woman. 4. occupation and social status. the injhwars are generally labourers and cultivators, while the sonjharias wash for gold. the women of the maratha or chandewar subcaste serve as midwives. their social status is low, and in the forest tracts they will eat snakes and crocodiles, and in fact almost anything except beef. they will admit members of the brahman, dhimar (waterman), mali and gowari castes into the community on payment of a premium of five to fifteen rupees and a dinner to the caste-fellows. the candidate for admission, whether male or female, must have his head shaved clean. both men and women can obtain pardon for a liaison with an outsider belonging to any except the most impure castes by giving a feast to the community. to be beaten with a shoe involves temporary excommunication from caste, unless the striker be a government official, when no penalty is inflicted. if a man kills a cat, he is required to have an image of it made in silver, which, after being worshipped, is presented to a temple or thrown into a river. jadam jadam. [174]--a branch of the well-known yadu or yadava sept of rajputs which has now developed into a caste in the nerbudda valley. colonel tod describes the yadu as the most illustrious of all the tribes of india, this name having been borne by the descendants of buddha, progenitor of the lunar race. the yadavas were the herdsmen of mathura, and krishna was born in this tribe. his son was bharat, from whom the classical name of bharatavarsha for india is held to be derived. it is related that when krishna was about to ascend to heaven, he reflected that the yadavas had multiplied exceedingly and would probably cause trouble to the world after he had left it. so he decided to reduce their numbers, and one day he persuaded one of his companions to dress up as a pregnant woman in jest, and they took him to the hermitage of the saint durvasa and asked the saint to what the woman would give birth. durvasa, who was of a very irascible temper, divined that he was being trifled with, and replied that a rice-pestle would be born by which the yadavas would be destroyed. on the return of the party they found to their astonishment that a pestle had actually, as it were, been born from the man. so they were alarmed at the words of the saint and tried to destroy the pestle by rubbing it on a stone. but as the sawdust of the pestle fell on the ground there sprang up from it the shoots of the gondla or elephant grass, which grows taller than the head of a man on horseback. and some time afterwards a quarrel arose among the yadavas, and they tore up the stalks of this grass and slew each other with it. only one woman escaped, whose son was afterwards the king of mathura and the ancestor of the existing tribe. another body, however, with whom was krishna, fled to gujarat, and on the coast there built the great temple of dwarka, in the place known as jagat khant, or the world's end. the story has some resemblance to that of the sowing of the dragon's teeth by cadmus at thebes. the principal branches of the yadavas are the yaduvansi chiefs of karauli, in rajputana, and the bhatti chiefs of jaisalmer. the jadams of hoshangabad say that they immigrated from karauli state about 700 years ago, having come to the country on a foray for plunder and afterwards settled here. they have now developed into a caste, marrying among themselves. in hoshangabad the caste has two subdivisions, the kachhotia who belong principally to the sohagpur tahsil, and the adhodias who live in seoni and harda. these two groups are endogamous and do not marry with each other. the kachhotia are the offspring of irregular unions and are looked down upon by the others. they say that they have fifty-two exogamous groups or sections, but this number is used locally as an expression of indefinite magnitude. all the sections appear to be named after villages where their ancestors once lived, but the preference for totemism has led some of the groups to connect their names with natural objects. thus the designation of the semaria section may be held to be derived from a village of that name, both on account of its form, and because the other known section-names are taken from villages. but the semaria jadams have adopted the semar or cotton-tree as their totem and pay reverence to this. [175] infant-marriage is favoured in the caste, and polygamy is also prevalent. this is often the case among the agricultural castes, where a man will marry several wives in order to obtain their assistance in his cultivation, a wife being a more industrious and reliable worker than a hired servant. no penalty is, however, imposed for allowing a girl to reach adolescence before marriage, and this not infrequently happens. if a girl becomes with child through a man of the caste she is united to him by a simple rite known as gunda, in which she merely gives him a ring or throws a garland of flowers over his neck. a caste feast is also exacted, and the couple are then considered to be married. the remarriage of widows is permitted, but it is known by the opprobrious name of kukar-gauna or 'dog-marriage,' signifying that it is held to be little or no better than a simple illicit connection. divorce is also somewhat common in the caste, notwithstanding that the person who occupies the position of co-respondent must repay to the husband the expenses incurred by him on the marriage ceremony. some women are known to have had ten or twelve husbands. the jadams are proprietors, tenants and labourers, and are reckoned to be efficient cultivators; they plough with their own hands and allow their women to work in the fields. they will also eat food cooked with water in the field, which is against the practice of the higher castes. they eat flesh, including that of the wild pig, and fish, but abstain from liquor, and will take food cooked with water only from jijhotia or sanadhya brahmans who are their family priests. a brahman will take water from the hands of a jadam in a metal, but not in an earthen, vessel. boys are invested with the sacred thread at the time of their wedding, a common practice among the higher agricultural castes, and one pointing to the hypothesis suggested in the article on gurao that the investiture with the sacred thread was in its origin a rite of puberty. the women wear a peculiar dress know as sawang, consisting of a small skirt of about six feet of cloth and a long body-cloth wrapped round the waist and over the shoulders. they also have larger spangles on the forehead than other women. the women of the caste are emancipated to an unusual degree, and it is stated that they commonly accompany their husbands to market for shopping, to prevent them from being cheated. dr. hunter describes the jadam as a brave soldier, but a bad agriculturist; but in the central provinces his courage is rated less highly, and a proverb quoted about him is: 'patta khatka, jadam satka,' or 'the jadam trembles at the rustle of a leaf.' jadua jadua-, jaduah-brahman. [176]--this is the name of a class of swindlers, who make money by pretending to turn other metals into gold or finding buried treasure. they are believed to have originated from the caste of bhadris or jyotishis, the astrologers of western india. the jyotishi or joshi astrologers are probably an offshoot of the brahman caste. the name jadua is derived from jadu, magic. the bhadris or jyotishis were in former times, mr. knyvett writes, attached to the courts of all important rajas in western india, where they told fortunes and prophesied future events from their computations of the stars, often obtaining great influence and being consulted as oracles. readers of quentin durward will not need to be reminded that an exactly similar state of things obtained in europe. and both the european and indian astrologers were continually searching for the philosopher's stone and endeavouring by the practice of alchemy to discover the secret of changing silver and other metals into gold. it is easy to understand how the more dishonest members of the community would come to make a livelihood by the pretence of being possessed of this power. the jaduas belong principally to bihar, and mr. knyvett's account of them is based on inquiries in that province. but it is probable that, like the bhadris, travelling parties of jaduas occasionally visit the central provinces. their method of procedure is somewhat as follows. they start out in parties of three or four and make inquiries for the whereabouts of some likely dupe, in the shape of an ignorant and superstitious person possessed of property. sometimes they settle temporarily in a village and open a small grain-shop in order to facilitate their search. when the victim has been selected one of them proceeds to his village in the disguise of a sadhu or anchorite, being usually accompanied by another as his chela or disciple. soon afterwards the others come, one of them perhaps posing as a considerable landholder, and go about inquiring if a very holy brahman has been seen. they go to the house of their intended dupe, who naturally asks why they are seeking the brahman; they reply that they have come to do homage to him as he had turned their silver and brass ornaments into gold. the dupe at once goes with them in search of the brahman, and is greatly impressed by seeing the landholder worship him with profound respect and make him presents of cloth, money and cattle. he at once falls into the trap and says that he too has a quantity of silver which he would like to have turned into gold. the brahman pretends reluctance, but eventually yields to the dupe's entreaties and allows himself to be led to the latter's house, where with his chela he takes up his quarters in an inner room, dark and with a mud floor. a variety of tricks are now resorted to, to impress the dupe with the magic powers of the swindlers. sometimes he is directed to place a rupee on his forehead and go to the door and look at the sun for five minutes, being assured that when he returns the brahman will have disappeared by magic. having looked at the sun for five minutes he can naturally see nothing on returning to a dark room and expresses wonder at the brahman's disappearance and gradual reappearance as his eyes get accustomed to the darkness. or if the trick to be practised is the production of buried treasure, a rupee may be buried in the ground and after various incantations two rupees are produced from the same spot by sleight of hand. or by some trickery the victim is shown the mouth of an earthen vessel containing silver or gold coins in a hole dug in the ground. he is told that the treasure cannot be obtained until more treasure has been added to it and religious rites have been performed. sometimes the victim is made to visit a secluded spot, where he is informed that after repeating certain incantations sivaji will appear before him. a confederate, dressed in tinsel and paint, appears before the victim posing as sivaji, and informs him that there is treasure buried in his house, and it is only necessary to follow the instructions of the holy brahman in order to obtain it. the silver ornaments, all that can be collected, are then made over to the brahman, who pretends to tie them in a cloth or place them in an earthen pot and bury them in the floor of the room. if buried treasure is to be found the brahman explains that it is first necessary to bury more treasure in order to obtain it, and if the ornaments are to be turned into gold they are buried for the purpose of transmutation. during the process the victim is induced on some pretence to leave the room or cover himself with a sheet, when a bundle containing mud or stones is substituted for the treasure. the brahman calls for ghi, oil and incense, and lights a fire over the place where the ornaments are supposed to be buried, bidding his victim watch over it for some hours or days until his return. the brahman and his disciple, with the silver concealed about them, then leave the house, join their confederates and make their escape. the duped villager patiently watches the fire until he becomes tired of waiting for the brahman's return, when he digs up the earth and finds nothing in the cloth but stones and rubbish. jangam jangam, jangama.--a sivite order of wandering religious mendicants. the jangams are the priests or gurus of the sivite sect of lingayats. they numbered 3500 persons in the central provinces and berar in 1911, and frequent the maratha country. the jangam is said to be so called because he wears a movable emblem of siva (jana gama, to come and go) in contradistinction to the sthawar or fixed emblems found in temples. the jangams discard many of the modern phases of hinduism. they reject the poems in honour of vishnu, rama and krishna, such as the bhagavad gita and ramayana; they also deny the authority of brahmans, the efficacy of pilgrimage and self-mortification, and the restrictions of caste; while they revere principally the vedas and the teaching of the great sivite reformer shankar acharya. [177] like other religious orders, the jangams have now become a caste, and are divided into two groups of celibate and married members. the gharbaris (married members) celebrate their weddings in the usual maratha fashion, except that they perform no hom or fire sacrifice. they permit the remarriage of widows. the jangams wear ochre-coloured or badami clothes and long necklaces of seeds called rudraksha [178] beads, which resemble a nutmeg in size, in colour and nearly in shape; they besmear their forehead, arms and various other parts of the body with cowdung ashes. they wear the lingam or phallic sign of siva either about the neck or loins in a little casket of gold, silver, copper or brass. as the lingam is supposed to represent the god and to be eternal, they are buried and not burnt after death, because the lingam must be buried with them and must not be destroyed in the fire. if any jangam loses the lingam he or she must not eat or drink until it has been replaced by the guru or spiritual preceptor. it must be worshipped thrice a day, and ashes and bel [179] leaves are offered to it, besides food when the owner is about to partake of this himself. the jangams worship no deity other than siva or mahadeo, and their great festival is the shivratri. some of them make pilgrimages to pachmarhi, to the mahadeo hills. most of them subsist by begging and singing songs in praise of mahadeo. grant-duff gives the jangam as one of the twenty-four village servants in a maratha village, perhaps as the priest of the local shrine of siva, or as the caste priest of the lingayats, who are numerous in some districts of bombay. he carries a wallet over the shoulder and a conch-shell and bell in the hand. on approaching the door of a house he rings his bell to bring out the occupant, and having received alms proceeds on his way, blowing his conch-shell, which is supposed to be a propitious act for the alms-giver, and to ensure his safe passage to heaven. the wallet is meant to hold the grain given to him, and on returning home he never empties it completely, but leaves a little grain in it as its own share. the jangams are strict vegetarians, and take food only from the hands of lingayats. they bless their food before eating it and always finish it completely, and afterwards wash the dish with water and drink down the water. when a child is born, the priest is sent for and his feet are washed with water in a brass tray. the water is then rubbed over the bodies of those present, and a few drops sprinkled on the walls of the house as a ceremony of purification. the priest's great toes are then washed in a cup of water, and he dips the lingam he wears into this, and then sips a few drops of the water, each person present doing the same. this is called karuna or sanctification. he then dips a new lingam into the holy water, and ties it round the child's neck for a minute or two, afterwards handing it to the mother to be kept till the child is old enough to wear it. the dead are buried in a sitting posture, the lingam being placed in the palm of the hand. on the third day a clay image of mahadeo is carried to the grave, and food and flowers are offered to it, as well as any intoxicants to which the deceased person may have been addicted. the following notice of the jangams more than a century ago may be quoted from the abbé dubois, though the custom described does not, so far as is known, prevail at present, at least in the central provinces: [180] "the gurus or priests of siva, who are known in the western provinces by the name of jangams, are for the most part celibates. they have a custom which is peculiar to themselves, and curious enough to be worth remarking. when a guru travels about his district he lodges with some member of the sect, and the members contend among themselves for the honour of receiving him. when he has selected the house he wishes to stay in, the master and all the other male inmates are obliged, out of respect for him, to leave it and go and stay elsewhere. the holy man remains there day and night with only the women of the house, whom he keeps to wait on him and cook for him, without creating any scandal or exciting the jealousy of the husbands. all the same, some scandal-mongers have remarked that the jangams always take care to choose a house where the women are young." the jangams are not given to austerities, and go about well clad. jat list of paragraphs 1. theories of the origin of the caste. 2. sir d. ibbetson's description of the caste. 3. are the jats and rajputs distinct? 4. the position of the jat in the punjab. 5. social status of the jats. 6. brahmanical legend of origin. 7. the jats in the central provinces. 8. marriage customs. 9. funeral rites. 10. the paida ceremony. 11. customs at birth. 12. religion. 13. social customs. 14. occupation. 1. theories of the origin of the caste. jat. [181]--the representative cultivating caste of the punjab, corresponding to the kurmi of hindustan, the kunbi of the deccan, and the kapu of telingana. in the central provinces 10,000 jats were returned in 1911, of whom 5000 belonged to hoshangabad and the bulk of the remainder to narsinghpur, saugor and jubbulpore. the origin of the jat caste has been the subject of much discussion. sir d. ibbetson stated some of the theories as follows: [182] "suffice it to say that both general cunningham and major tod agree in considering the jats to be of indo-scythian stock. the former identifies them with the zanthii of strabo and the jatii of pliny and ptolemy; and holds that they probably entered the punjab from their home on the oxus very shortly after the meds or mands, who also were indo-scythians, and who moved into the punjab about a century before christ.... major tod classes the jats as one of the great rajput tribes, and extends his identification with the getae to both races; but here general cunningham differs, holding the rajputs to belong to the original aryan stock, and the jats to a later wave of immigrants from the north-west, probably of scythian race." it is highly probable that the jats may date their settlement in the punjab from one of the three scythian inroads mentioned by mr. v. a. smith, [183] but i do not know that there is as yet considered to be adequate evidence to identify them with any particular one. the following curious passage from the mahabharata would appear to refer to the jats: [184] "an old and excellent brahman reviling the countries bahika and madra in the dwelling of dhritarashtra, related facts long known, and thus described those nations. external to the himavan, and beyond the ganges, beyond the sarasvati and yamuna rivers and kurukshetra, between five rivers, and the sindhu as the sixth, are situated the bahikas, devoid of ritual or observance, and therefore to be shunned. their figtree is named govardhana (i.e. the place of cow-killing); their market-place is subhadram (the place of vending liquor: at least so say the commentators), and these give titles to the doorway of the royal palace. a business of great importance compelled me to dwell amongst the bahikas, and their customs are therefore well known to me. the chief city is called shakala, and the river apaga. the people are also named jarttikas; and their customs are shameful. they drink spirits made from sugar and grain, and eat meat seasoned with garlic; and live on flesh and wine: their women intoxicated appear in public places, with no other garb than garlands and perfumes, dancing and singing, and vociferating indecencies in tones more harsh than those of the camel or the ass; they indulge in promiscuous intercourse and are under no restraint. they clothe themselves in skins and blankets, and sound the cymbal and drum and conch, and cry aloud with hoarse voices: 'we will hasten to delight, in thick forests and in pleasant places; we will feast and sport; and gathering on the highways spring upon the travellers, and spoil and scourge them!' in shakala, a female demon (a rakshasi) on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight sings aloud: 'i will feast on the flesh of kine, and quaff the inebriating spirit attended by fair and graceful females.' the sudra-like bahikas have no institutes nor sacrifices; and neither deities, manes, nor brahmans accept their offerings. they eat out of wooden or earthen plates, nor heed their being smeared with wine or viands, or licked by dogs, and they use equally in its various preparations the milk of ewes, of camels and of asses. who that has drunk milk in the city yugandhara can hope to enter svarga? bahi and hika were the names of two fiends in the vipasha river; the bahikas are their descendants and not of the creation of brahma. some say the arattas are the name of the people and bahika of the waters. the vedas are not known there, nor oblation, nor sacrifice, and the gods will not partake of their food. the prasthalas (perhaps borderers), madras, gandharas, arattas, khashas, vasas, atisindhus (or those beyond the indus), sauviras, are all equally infamous. there one who is by birth a brahman, becomes a kshatriya, or a vaishya, or a sudra, or a barber, and having been a barber becomes a brahman again. a virtuous woman was once violated by aratta ruffians, and she cursed the race, and their women have ever since been unchaste. on this account their heirs are their sisters' children, not their own. all countries have their laws and gods: the yavanas are wise, and preeminently brave; the mlechchas observe their own ritual, but the madrakas are worthless. madra is the ordure of the earth: it is the region of inebriety, unchastity, robbery, and murder: fie on the panchanada people! fie on the aratta race!" in the above account the country referred to is clearly the punjab, from the mention of the five rivers and the indus. the people are called bahika or jarttika, and would therefore seem to be the jats. and the account would appear to refer to a period when they were newly settled in the punjab and had not come under hindu influence. but at the same time the aryans or hindus had passed through the punjab and were settled in hindustan. and it would therefore seem to be a necessary inference that the jats were comparatively late immigrants, and were one of the tribes who invaded india between the second century b.c. and the fifth century a.d. as suggested above. 2. sir d. ibbetson's description of the caste. sir d. ibbetson held that the jats and rajputs must be, to some extent at least, of the same blood. though the jats are represented in the central provinces only by a small body of immigrants it will be permissible to quote the following passages from his admirable and classical account of the caste: [185] "it may be that the original rajput and the original jat entered india at different periods in its history, though to my mind the term rajput is an occupational rather than an ethnological expression. but if they do originally represent two separate waves of immigration, it is at least exceedingly probable, both from their almost identical physique and facial character and from the close communion which has always existed between them, that they belong to one and the same ethnic stock; while, whether this be so or not, it is almost certain that they have been for many centuries and still are so intermingled and so blended into one people that it is practically impossible to distinguish them as separate wholes. it is indeed more than probable that the process of fusion has not ended here, and that the people who thus in the main resulted from the blending of the jat and the rajput, if these two were ever distinct, is by no means free from foreign elements.... 3. are the jats and rajputs distinct? "but whether jats and rajputs were or were not originally distinct, and whatever aboriginal elements may have been affiliated to their society, i think that the two now form a common stock, the distinction between jat and rajput being social rather than ethnic. i believe that those families of that common stock whom the tide of fortune has raised to political importance have become rajputs almost by mere virtue of their rise; and that their descendants have retained the title and its privileges on the condition, strictly enforced, of observing the rules by which the higher are distinguished from the lower castes in the hindu scale of precedence; of preserving their purity of blood by refusing to marry with families of inferior social rank, of rigidly abstaining from widow-marriage, and of refraining from degrading occupations. those who transgressed these rules have fallen from their high position and ceased to be rajputs; while such families as, attaining a dominant position in their territory, began to affect social exclusiveness and to observe the rules, have become not only rajas but also rajputs or sons of rajas. for the last seven centuries at least the process of elevation has been almost at a standstill. under the delhi emperors king-making was practically impossible. under the sikhs the rajput was overshadowed by the jat, who resented his assumption of superiority and his refusal to join him on equal terms in the ranks of the khalsa, deliberately persecuted him wherever and whenever he had the power, and preferred his title of jat sikh to that of the proudest rajput. on the frontier the dominance of pathans and biloches and the general prevalence of muhammadan feelings and ideas placed recent indian origin at a discount, and led the leading families who belonged to neither of these two races to claim connection not with the kshatriyas of the sanskrit classics but with the mughal conquerors of india or the qureshi cousins of the prophet; in so much that even admittedly rajput tribes of famous ancestry, such as the khokha, have begun to follow the example. but in the hills, where rajput dynasties, with genealogies perhaps more ancient and unbroken than can be shown by any other royal families in the world, retained their independence till yesterday, and where many of them still enjoy as great social authority as ever, the twin processes of degradation from and elevation to rajput rank are still to be seen in operation. the raja is there the fountain not only of honour but also of caste, which is the same thing in india.... 4. the position of the jat in the punjab. "the jat is in every respect the most important of the punjab peoples. in point of numbers he surpasses the rajput, who comes next to him, in the proportion of nearly three to one; while the two together constitute twenty-seven per cent of the whole population of the province. politically he ruled the punjab till the khalsa yielded to our arms. ethnologically he is the peculiar and most prominent product of the plain of the five rivers. and from an economical and administrative point of view he is the husbandman, the peasant, the revenue-payer par excellence of the province. his manners do not bear the impress of generations of wild freedom which marks the races of our frontier mountains. but he is more honest, more industrious, more sturdy, and no less manly than they. sturdy independence indeed and patient, vigorous labour are his strongest characteristics. the jat is of all punjab races the most impatient of tribal or communal control, and the one which asserts the freedom of the individual most strongly. in tracts where, as in rohtak, the jat tribes have the field to themselves, and are compelled, in default of rival castes as enemies, to fall back upon each other for somebody to quarrel with, the tribal ties are strong. but as a rule a jat is a man who does what seems right in his own eyes and sometimes what seems wrong also, and will not be said nay by any man. i do not mean, however, that he is turbulent; as a rule he is very far from being so. he is independent and he is self-willed; but he is reasonable, peaceably inclined if left alone, and not difficult to manage. he is usually content to cultivate his fields and pay his revenue in peace and quietness if people will let him do so; though when he does go wrong he takes to anything from gambling to murder, with perhaps a preference for stealing other people's wives and cattle. as usual the proverbial wisdom of the villages describes him very fairly though perhaps somewhat too severely: 'the soil, fodder, clothes, hemp, grass-fibre, and silk, these six are best beaten; and the seventh is the jat.' 'a jat, a bhat, a caterpillar, and a widow woman; these four are best hungry. if they eat their fill they do harm.' 'the jat, like a wound, is better when bound.' in agriculture the jat is pre-eminent. the market-gardening castes, the arain, the mali, the saini are perhaps more skilful cultivators on a small scale; but they cannot rival the jat as landowners and yeoman cultivators. the jat calls himself zamindar or 'husbandman' as often as jat, and his women and children alike work with him in the fields: 'the jat's baby has a plough-handle for a plaything.' 'the jat stood on his corn heap and said to the king's elephant-drivers, will you sell those little donkeys?' socially the jat occupies a position which is shared by the ror, the gujar, and the ahir, all four eating and smoking together. he is, of course, far below the rajput, from the simple fact that he practises widow-marriage. the jat father is made to say in the rhyming proverbs of the countryside, 'come, my daughter, and be married; if this husband dies there are plenty more.' but among the widow-marrying castes he stands first. the bania with his sacred thread, his strict hinduism, and his twice-born standing, looks down on the jat as a sudra. but the jat looks down upon the bania as a cowardly, spiritless money-grubber, and society in general agrees with the jat. the khatri, who is far superior to the bania in manliness and vigour, probably takes precedence of the jat. but among the races or tribes of purely hindu origin, i think that the jat stands next after the brahman, the rajput, and the khatri." 5. social status of the jats. the above account clearly indicates the social position of the jat. his is the highest caste except the aristocracy consisting of the brahmans and rajputs, the khatris who are derived from the rajputs, and the banias who are recognised as ranking not much below the rajputs. the derivation of some of the rajput clans from the jats seems highly probable, and is confirmed by other instances of aristocratic selection in such castes as the marathas and kunbis, the raj-gonds and gonds, and so on. if, however, the rajputs are a jat aristocracy, it is clear that the jats were not the sudras, who are described as wholly debased and impure in the hindu classics; and the present application of the term sudra to them is a misnomer arising from modern errors in classification by the hindus themselves. the jats, if sir d. ibbetson's account be accepted, must have been the main body of the invading host, whether aryan or scythian, of whom the rajputs were the leaders. they settled on the land and formed village communities, and the status of the jat at present appears to be that of a member of the village community and part-holder of its land. a slightly undue importance may perhaps have been given in the above passage to the practice of widow-marriage as determining the position of a great caste like the jats. some rajputs, kayasths and banias permit widow-marriage, and considerable sections of all these castes, and brahmans also, permit the practice of keeping widows, which, though not called a marriage, does not differ very widely from it. the jat probably finds his women too valuable as assistants in cultivation to make a pretence at the abolition of widow-marriage in order to improve his social status as some other castes do. the jat, of course, ranks as what is commonly called a pure caste, in that brahmans take water to drink from him. but his status does not depend on this, because brahmans take water from such menials as barbers, kahars or bearers, baris or household servants, and so on, who rank far below the jat, and also from the malis and other gardening castes who are appreciably below him. the jat is equal to the gujar and ahir so far as social purity is concerned, but still above them, because they are graziers and vagrants, while he is a settled cultivator. it is from this fact that his status is perhaps mainly derived; and his leading characteristics, his independence, self-sufficiency, doggedness, and industry, are those generally recognised as typical of the peasant proprietor. but the jat, in the punjab at any rate, has also a higher status than the principal cultivating castes of other provinces, the kurmi and the kunbi. and this may perhaps be explained by his purer foreign descent, and also by the fact that both as jat and as sikh his caste has been a military and dominant one in history and has furnished princes and heads of states. 6. brahmanical legend of origin. the jats themselves relate the following brahmanical legend of their origin. on one occasion when himachal or daksha raja, the father-in-law of mahadeo, was performing a great sacrifice, he invited all the gods to be present except his son-in-law mahadeo (siva). the latter's wife parvati was, however, very anxious to go, so she asked mahadeo to let her attend, even though she had not been invited. mahadeo was unwilling to do this, but finally consented. but daksha treated parvati with great want of respect at the sacrifice, so she came home and told mahadeo about him. when mahadeo heard this he was filled with wrath, and untying his matted hair (jata) dashed it on the ground, when two powerful beings arose from it. he sent them to destroy daksha's sacrifice and they went and destroyed it, and from these were descended the race of the jats, and they take their name from the matted locks (jata) of the lord mahadeo. another saying of the caste is that "the ancestor of the rajputs was kashyap [186] and of the jats siva. in the beginning these were the only two races of india." 7. the jats in the central provinces. no detailed description of the jats need be attempted here, but some information which has been obtained on their customs in this province may be recorded. they entered the hoshangabad district, sir c. elliot states, [187] in the eighteenth century, and came originally from bharatpur (bhurtpur), but halted in marwar on the way. "they are the best cultivators in the district after the pardeshi kurmis, and though they confine themselves to ordinary crops they are very laborious, and the tilth of their fields is pleasant to look on." for the purposes of marriage the caste is divided into exogamous sections in the usual manner. the bulk of the section-names cannot be explained, being probably corrupted forms of the names of villages, but it is noticeable that several pairs of them are considered to be related so that their members cannot intermarry. thus no marriages can take place between the golia and gwalwa, the choyala and sarana, the bhukar and bhari, and the lathial and lalar sections, as each pair is considered to be descended from a common ancestor. 8. marriage customs. a man may not take a wife either from his own section or that of his mother or his grandmother, nor from those of the husbands of his father's sisters. for a jat wedding a square enclosure is marked out with pegs, and a thread is wound seven times round the pegs touching the ground, and covered over with rice or wheat so that it may not be burnt. the enclosure is known as chaonri, and inside it the hom or fire sacrifice is performed with butter, barley, sesamum, sugar and saffron placed on the top of a heap of wheat-flour. after the sacrifice the bride and bridegroom walk seven times round the chaonri with their right hands inwards. after this tufts of cotton are thrown over the bodies of the bridegroom and bride and they have to pick it off each other, the one who finishes first being considered the winner. this is apparently a symbolical imitation of the agricultural operation of cotton-picking. the remarriage of widows is permitted, the ceremony being usually performed on a saturday. a bachelor who is to marry a widow must first walk seven times round a pipal tree. contrary to the usual custom, a widow is forbidden to espouse her deceased husband's younger brother or any of his relations within three degrees of consanguinity. 9. funeral rites. the dead are burnt, with the exception of children under seven whose bodies are buried. after the death of a married man his widow walks round his body seven times with her left hand inwards, or in the reverse direction to the perambulation of the chaonri at marriage. this ceremony is therefore, as it were, a sort of undoing of the marriage. the women wear lac or ivory bangles, and the widow breaks a few of these when the corpse of her husband is lifted up to be carried outside the house. she breaks the remaining ones on the twelfth day after the death and throws them on the chulha or earthen hearth. 10. the paida ceremony. an important occasion for display among the jats is known as the paida ceremony. this is sometimes performed by wealthy families when the head of the household or his wife dies or a daughter is married. they get a long pole of teakwood and plant it in the ground so that it stands some forty feet high. before being raised the pole is worshipped with offerings of milk; a cart-wheel is tied to the upper end and it is then pulled erect with ropes, and if any difficulty is experienced the celebrant believes himself to be in fault and gives away some cows in charity. on the axle of the cart-wheel is secured a brass pot called kaseri, containing wheat and money, with a cloth tied over the mouth. the pole is left standing for three days, and during this time the celebrant feasts the bhats or genealogists of the caste and all the caste-fellows from his own and the surrounding villages. if the occasion of the ceremony be a death, male and female calves are taken and their marriage is performed; oil and turmeric are rubbed on their bodies, and they are led seven times round the high pole. the heifer is then given to a brahman, and the male, being first branded on one flank with a figure of a trident and on the other with a representation of the sun and moon, is set at liberty for life, and no hindu will injure it. this last practice is, however, falling into desuetude, owing to the injury which such animals inflict on the crops. a jat who performs the paida ceremony obtains great consideration in the community, and his opinion is given weight in caste disputes. a similar liberality is observed in other ways by wealthy men; thus one rich proprietor in hoshangabad, whose son was to be married, gave a feast to all the residents of every village through which the wedding procession passed on its way to the bride's house. another presented each of his wedding guests with new cloth to the value of ten or twelve rupees, and as in the case of a prominent family the number of guests may be a thousand or more, the cost of such liberality can be easily realised. similarly colonel tod states that on the occasion of their weddings the jats of bikaner even blocked up the highways to obtain visitors, whose numbers formed the measure of the liberality and munificence of the donor of the fête. indeed, the desire for the social distinction which accrues to generous hosts on such occasions has proved to be the undoing of many a once notable family. 11. customs at birth. if a woman is barren, she is taken to the meeting of the boundaries of three villages and bathed there. on the birth of a boy a brass dish is hammered to announce the event, but on that of a girl only a winnowing-fan. the navel-string is buried in the lying-in room. when the newborn child is a few days old, it is taken out of doors and made to bow to the sun. when a man proposes to adopt a son the caste-fellows are invited, and in their presence the boy is seated in his lap, while music is played and songs are sung by the women. each of the guests then comes up and presents the boy with a cocoanut, while sugar is distributed and a feast is afterwards given. 12. religion. the favourite deity of the caste is siva or mahadeo, whom they consider to be their ultimate ancestor. on the festival of shivratri (siva's night) they observe a total fast, and pass the whole day and night singing songs in honour of the god, while offerings of bel [188] leaves, flowers, rice and sandalwood are made on the following morning. in hoshangabad the caste have two minor deities, ramji deo and bairam deo, who are presumably the spirits of defunct warriors. these are worshipped on the eleventh day of every month, and many jats wear an impression of their images on a piece of gold or silver round the neck. on the dasahra festival the caste worship their swords and horses in memory of their soldier ancestors, and they revere their implements of husbandry on the akshaya tritiya of baisakh (june), the commencement of the agricultural year, while each cultivator does the same on the days that he completes the sowing of his rain crops and winter crops. 13. social customs. the caste employ brahmans for the performance of their ceremonies, and also as their gurus or spiritual preceptors. they eat flesh and drink liquor in the central provinces, but in hoshangabad they do not consume either birds or fish; and when they eat mutton or the flesh of the wild pig, they do this only outside the house, in order not to offend their women, who will not eat flesh. in hoshangabad the jats, like other immigrants from marwar, commonly wear their hair long and keep the face unshaven, and this gives them rather a wild and farouche appearance among the neatly shorn hindus of the nerbudda valley. [189] they are of light complexion, the difference in shade between the jats and ordinary residents in the locality being apparent to the casual observer. their women are fond of the hollow anklets known as bora, which contain small balls or pebbles, and tinkle as they walk. girls are tattooed before marriage, and while the operation is being carried out the women of the caste collect and sing songs to divert the sufferer's attention from the pain. the men have pagris or turbans made of many little strings of twisted cloth, which come down over the ears. if a man kills a cow or a squirrel, he must stay outside the village for five weeks and nobody looks upon his face. after this he should go and bathe in the ganges, but if he is too poor the nerbudda may be substituted for it with the permission of the caste committee. the penalty for killing a cat is almost as severe, but to slay a dog involves no sin. if a man who has committed a murder escapes conviction but his guilt is known to the caste, it is absolutely incumbent on him to go and bathe in the ganges and be purified there, having his head and face shaved. after this he may be readmitted to caste intercourse. the caste observe some curious rules or taboos: they never drink the milk of a black cow; their women do not have their noses bored for nose-rings, but if a woman loses several children she will have the nose bored of the next one which is born; women never wear glass bangles, but have them made of ivory or lac and clay; they never wear the bazuband or armlet with bars crossed on hinges which can be pulled in or out, but instead of it the kara or rigid bangle; and the caste never keep a basil plant in the house for worship, though they may revere it outside the house. as the basil is the emblem of vishnu, and the jats consider themselves to be descended from siva, they would naturally not be inclined to pay any special respect to the plant. 14. occupation. the jats are good cultivators, and at the thirty years' settlement (1865) several members of the caste held considerable estates; but a number of these have now been lost, owing probably to extravagance of living. in saugor the jats are commonly employed as masons or navvies. jhadi telenga list of paragraphs 1. general notice. 2. exogamous divisions. 3. admission of outsiders. 4. marriage. 5. religion. 6. names. 7. magical devices. 8. occupation. 1. general notice. jhadi telenga. [190]--a small caste in the bastar state who appear to be a mixture of gonds and the lower telugu castes, the name meaning 'the jungly telugus.' those living in the open country are called mandar telengas. in the census of 1901 these telengas were wrongly classified under the balji or balija caste. they numbered about 5000 persons. the caste have three divisions according to their comparative purity of descent, which are named purait, surait and pohni. the son of a purait by a woman of different caste will be a surait, and the son of a surait by such a woman will be a pohni. such alliances are now, however, infrequent, and most of the telengas in bastar belong to the purait or legitimate group. a pohni will take cooked food from the two higher groups and a surait from a purait. the last will take water from the two lower groups, but not food. 2. exogamous divisions. for the purposes of marriage the caste is divided into the usual exogamous septs, and these are further arranged in two groups. the first group contains the following septs: kudmulwadu, from kudmul, a preparation of rice; kolmulwadu, from kolmul, a treasure-pit; lingawadu, from the linga emblem; and nagulwadu, a ploughman. the second group contains the following septs: kodamajjiwadu, a hunter and trapper of animals; wargaiwadu, one who makes ropes from wood-fibre; paspulwadu, one who prepares turmeric; pankiwadu, one who distributes cooked food; bhandariwadu, a rich man; and one or two others. the rule is that no man or woman of a sept belonging to the first group should marry in any other sept of that group, but always from some sept of the other. this, therefore, appears to be a relic of the classificatory system of marriage, which obtains among the australian aborigines. the rule is now, however, sometimes violated. the caste say that their ancestors came from warangal with the ruling family of bastar. 3. admission of outsiders. they will admit brahmans, rajputs and halbas into the community. if a man of any of these castes has a child by a telenga woman, this child will be considered to belong to the same group of the jhadi telengas as its mother. if a man of lower caste, such as rawat, dhakar, jangam, kumhar or kalar has such a child it will be admitted into the next lower group than that to which the mother belonged. thus the child of a purait woman by one of these castes will become a surait. a telenga woman having a child by a gond, sunar, lohar or mehra man is put out of caste. 4. marriage. a girl cannot be properly married unless the ceremony is performed before she arrives at puberty. after this she can only be married by an abridged rite, which consists of rubbing her with oil and turmeric, investing her with glass bangles and a new cloth, and giving a feast to the caste. in such a case the bridegroom first goes through a sham marriage with the branch of a mahua tree. the boy's father looks out for a girl, and the most suitable match is considered to be his sister's daughter. before giving away his daughter he must ask his wife's brother and his own sister whether they want her for one of their sons. when setting out to make a proposal they take the omens from a bird called usi. the best omen is to hear this bird's call on both sides of them as they go into the jungle. when asking for the girl the envoys say to her father, 'you have got rice and pulse; give them to us for our friend's son.' the wedding should be held on a monday or thursday, and the bridegroom should arrive at the bride's village on a sunday, tuesday, wednesday or friday. the sacred post in the centre of the marriage-shed must be of the mahua [191] tree, which is no doubt held sacred by these people, as by the gonds, because spirituous liquor is made from its fruit. a widow must mourn her husband for a month, and can then marry again. but she may not marry her late husband's brother, nor his first cousin, nor any member of her father's sept. divorce is allowed, but no man will divorce his wife unless she leaves him of her own accord or is known to be intriguing with a man of lower caste. 5. religion. each sept has a deity of its own who is usually some local god symbolised by a wooden post or a stone. instances of these are kondraj of santoshpur represented by a wooden pillar carved into circular form at the top; chikat raj of bijapur by two bamboos six feet in length leaning against a wall; kaunam raj of gongla by a stone image, and at fairs by a bamboo with peacock's feathers tied at the top. they offer incense, rice and a fowl to their ancestors in their own houses in chait (march) at the new year, and at the festival of the new rice in bhadon (august). at the sowing festival they go out hunting, and those who return empty-handed think they will have ill-luck. each tenant also worships the earth-goddess, whose image is then decorated with flowers and vermilion. he brings a goat, and rice is placed before it at her shrine. if the animal eats the sacrifice is held to be accepted, but if not it is returned to the owner, and it is thought that some misfortune will befall him. the heads of all the goats offered are taken by the priest and the bodies returned to the worshippers to be consumed at a feast. each village has also its tutelary god, having a hut to himself. inside this a post of mahua wood is fixed in the ground and roughly squared, and a peg is driven into it at the top. the god is represented by another bamboo peg about two inches long, which is first worshipped in front of the post and then suspended from it in a receptacle. in each village the smallpox goddess is also present in the form of a stone, either with or without a hut over it. a jangam or devotee of the lingayat sect is usually the caste priest, and at a funeral he follows the corpse ringing his bell. if a man is put out of caste through getting maggots in a wound or being beaten by a shoe, he must be purified by the jangam. the latter rubs some ashes on his own body and places them in the offender's mouth, and gives him to drink some water from his own lota in place of water from a sacred river. for this the offender pays a fee of five rupees and a calf to the jangam and must also give a feast to the caste. the dead are either buried or burnt, the head being placed to the east. the eldest son has his head and face shaved on the death of the father of the family, and the youngest on that of the mother. 6. names. a child is named on the seventh or eighth day after birth by the old women. if it is much given to crying they consider the name unsuitable and change it, repeating those of deceased relatives. when the child stops crying at the mention of a particular name, they consider that the relative mentioned has been born again in the child and name it after him. often the name of the sept is combined with the personal name as lingam-lachha, lingam-kachchi, panki-samaya, panki-ganglu, panki-buchcham, nagul-sama, nagul-mutta. 7. magical devices when a man wishes to destroy an enemy he makes an image of him with earth and offers a pig and goat to the family god, praying for the enemy's destruction. then the operator takes a frog or a tree-lizard which has been kept ready and breaks all its limbs, thinking that the limbs of his enemy will similarly be broken and that the man will die. or he takes some grains of kossa, a small millet, and proceeds to a saj [192] or mahua tree. a pigeon is offered to the tree and to the family god, and both are asked to destroy the foe. the man then ascends the tree, and muttering incantations throws the grains in the direction of his enemy thinking that they will enter his body and destroy him. to counteract these devices a man who thinks himself bewitched calls in the aid of a wizard, who sucks out of his body the grains or other evil things which have been caused to enter it as shown above. occasionally a man will promise a human sacrifice to his god. for this he must get some hair or a piece of cloth belonging to somebody else and wash it in water in the name of the god, who may then kill the owner of the hair or cloth and thus obtain the sacrifice. or the sacrificer may pick a quarrel and assault the other person so as to draw blood from him. he picks up a drop or two of the blood and offers it to the deity with the same end in view. 8. occupation. the caste are cultivators and farmservants, and are, as a rule, very poor, living from hand to mouth. they practise shifting cultivation and are too lazy to grow the more valuable crops. they eat grain twice a day during the four months from october to january only, and at other times eke out their scanty provision with edible roots and leaves, and hunt and fish in the forest like the muria and maria gonds. jogi [bibliography: sir e. maclagan's punjab census report (1891); mr. crooke's tribes and castes, articles jogi, kanphata and aghorpanthi; mr. kitts' berar census report (1881); professor oman's mystics, ascetics and saints of india (london: t. fisher unwin).] list of paragraphs 1. the yoga philosophy. 2. abstraction of the senses or autohypnotism. 3. breathing through either nostril. 4. self-torture of the jogis. 5. resort to them for oracles. 6. divisions of the order. 7. hair and clothes. 8. burial. 9. festivals. 10. caste subdivisions. 11. begging. 12. other occupations. 13. swindling practices. 14. proverbs about jogis. 1. the yoga philosophy. jogi, yogi.--the well-known order of religious mendicants and devotees of siva. the jogi or yogi, properly so called, is a follower of the yoga system of philosophy founded by patanjali, the main characteristics of which are a belief in the power of man over nature by means of austerities and the occult influences of the will. the idea is that one who has obtained complete control over himself, and entirely subdued all fleshly desires, acquires such potency of mind and will that he can influence the forces of nature at his pleasure. the yoga philosophy has indeed so much sub-stratum of truth that a man who has complete control of himself has the strongest will, and hence the most power to influence others, and an exaggerated idea of this power is no doubt fostered by the display of mesmeric control and similar phenomena. the fact that the influence which can be exerted over other human beings through their minds in no way extends to the physical phenomena of inanimate nature is obvious to us, but was by no means so to the uneducated hindus, who have no clear conceptions of the terms mental and physical, animate and inanimate, nor of the ideas connoted by them. to them all nature was animate, and all its phenomena the results of the actions of sentient beings, and hence it was not difficult for them to suppose that men could influence the proceedings of such beings. and it is a matter of common knowledge that savage peoples believe their magicians to be capable of producing rain and fine weather, and even of controlling the course of the sun. [193] the hindu sacred books indeed contain numerous instances of ascetics who by their austerities acquired such powers as to compel the highest gods themselves to obedience. 2. abstraction of the senses or autohypnotism. the term yoga is held to mean unity or communion with god, and the yogi by virtue of his painful discipline and mental and physical exercises considered himself divine. "the adept acquires the knowledge of everything past and future, remote or hidden; he divines the thoughts of others, gains the strength of an elephant, the courage of a lion, and the swiftness of the wind; flies into the air, floats in the water, and dives into the earth, contemplates all worlds at one glance and performs many strange things." [194] the following excellent instance of the pretensions of the yogis is given by professor oman: [195] "wolff went also with mr. wilson to see one of the celebrated yogis who was lying in the sun in the street, the nails of whose hands were grown into his cheeks and a bird's nest upon his head. wolff asked him, 'how can one obtain the knowledge of god?' he replied, 'do not ask me questions; you may look at me, for i am god.' "it is certainly not easy at the present day," professor oman states, [196] "for the western mind to enter into the spirit of the so-called yoga philosophy; but the student of religious opinions is aware that in the early centuries of our era the gnostics, manichæans and neo-platonists derived their peculiar tenets and practices from the yoga-vidya of india, and that at a later date the sufi philosophy of persia drew its most remarkable ideas from the same source. [197] the great historian of the roman empire refers to the subject in the following passage: "the fakirs of india and the monks of the oriental church, were alike persuaded that in total abstraction of the faculties of the mind and body, the pure spirit may ascend to the enjoyment and vision of the deity. the opinion and practice of the monasteries of mount athos will be best represented in the words of an abbot, who flourished in the eleventh century: 'when thou art alone in thy cell,' says the ascetic teacher, 'shut thy door, and seat thyself in a corner, raise thy mind above all things vain and transitory, recline thy beard and chin on thy breast, turn thine eyes and thy thoughts towards the middle of the belly, the region of the navel, and search the place of the heart, the seat of the soul. at first all will be dark and comfortless; but if you persevere day and night, you will feel an ineffable joy; and no sooner has the soul discovered the place of the heart, than it is involved in a mystic and ethereal light.' this light, the production of a distempered fancy, the creature of an empty stomach and an empty brain, was adored by the quietists as the pure and perfect essence of god himself." [198] "without entering into unnecessary details, many of which are simply disgusting, i shall quote, as samples, a few of the rules of practice required to be followed by the would-be yogi in order to induce a state of samadhi--hypnotism or trance--which is the condition or state in which the yogi is to enjoy the promised privileges of yoga. the extracts are from a treatise on the yoga philosophy by assistant surgeon nobin chander pal." [199] "place the left foot upon the right thigh, and the right foot upon the left thigh; hold with the right hand the right great toe and with the left hand the left great toe (the hands coming from behind the back and crossing each other); rest the chin on the interclavicular space, and fix the sight on the tip of the nose. "inspire through the left nostril, fill the stomach with the inspired air by the act of deglutition, suspend the breath, and expire through the right nostril. next inspire through the right nostril, swallow the inspired air, suspend the breath, and finally expire through the left nostril. "be seated in a tranquil posture, and fix your sight on the tip of the nose for the space of ten minutes. "close the ears with the middle fingers, incline the head a little to the right side and listen with each ear attentively to the sound produced by the other ear, for the space of ten minutes. "pronounce inaudibly twelve thousand times the mystic syllable om, and meditate upon it daily after deep inspirations. "after a few forcible inspirations swallow the tongue, and thereby suspend the breath and deglutate the saliva for two hours. "listen to the sounds within the right ear abstractedly for two hours, with the left ear. "repeat the mystic syllable om 20,736,000 times in silence and meditate upon it. "suspend the respiratory movements for the period of twelve days, and you will be in a state of samadhi." another account of a similar procedure is given by buchanan: [200] "those who pretend to be eminent saints perform the ceremony called yoga, described in the tantras. in the accomplishment of this, by shutting what are called the nine passages (dwara, lit. doors) of the body, the votary is supposed to distribute the breath into the different parts of the body, and thus to obtain the beatific vision of various gods. it is only persons who abstain from the indulgence of concupiscence that can pretend to perform this ceremony, which during the whole time that the breath can be held in the proper place excites an ecstasy equal to whatever woman can bestow on man." 3. breathing through either nostril. it is clear that the effect of some of the above practices is designed to produce a state of mind resembling the hypnotic trance. the yogis attach much importance to the effect of breathing through one or the other nostril, and this is also the case with hindus generally, as various rules concerning it are prescribed for the daily prayers of brahmans. to have both nostrils free and be breathing through them at the same time is not good, and one should not begin any business in this condition. if one is breathing only through the right nostril and the left is closed, the condition is propitious for the following actions: to eat and drink, as digestion will be quick; to fight; to bathe; to study and read; to ride on a horse; to work at one's livelihood. a sick man should take medicine when he is breathing through his right nostril. to be breathing only through the left nostril is propitious for the following undertakings: to lay the foundations of a house and to take up residence in a new house; to put on new clothes; to sow seed; to do service or found a village; to make any purchase. the jogis practise the art of breathing in this manner by stopping up their right and left nostril alternately with cotton-wool and breathing only through the other. if a man comes to a brahman to ask him whether some business or undertaking will succeed, the brahman breathes through his nostrils on to his hand; if the breath comes through the right nostril the omen is favourable and the answer yes; if through the left nostril the omen is unfavourable and the answer no. 4. self-torture of the jogis. the following account of the austerities of the jogis during the mughal period is given by bernier: [201] "among the vast number and endless variety of fakirs or dervishes, and holy men or gentile hypocrites of the indies, many live in a sort of convent, governed by superiors, where vows of chastity, poverty, and submission are made. so strange is the life led by these votaries that i doubt whether my description of it will be credited. i allude particularly to the people called 'jogis,' a name which signifies 'united to god.' numbers are seen day and night, seated or lying on ashes, entirely naked; frequently under the large trees near talabs or tanks of water, or in the galleries round the deuras or idol temples. some have hair hanging down to the calf of the leg, twisted and entangled into knots, like the coats of our shaggy dogs. i have seen several who hold one, and some who hold both arms perpetually lifted above the head, the nails of their hands being twisted and longer than half my little finger, with which i measured them. their arms are as small and thin as the arms of persons who die in a decline, because in so forced and unnatural a position they receive not sufficient nourishment, nor can they be lowered so as to supply the mouth with food, the muscles having become contracted, and the articulations dry and stiff. novices wait upon these fanatics and pay them the utmost respect, as persons endowed with extraordinary sanctity. no fury in the infernal regions can be conceived more horrible than the jogis, with their naked and black skin, long hair, spindle arms, long twisted nails, and fixed in the posture which i have mentioned. "i have often met, generally in the territory of some raja, bands of these naked fakirs, hideous to behold. some have their arms lifted up in the manner just described; the frightful hair of others either hung loosely or was tied and twisted round their heads; some carried a club like the hercules, others had a dry and rough tiger-skin thrown over their shoulders. in this trim i have seen them shamelessly walk stark naked through a large town, men, women, and girls looking at them without any more emotion than may be created when a hermit passes through our streets. females would often bring them alms with much devotion, doubtless believing that they were holy personages, more chaste and discreet than other men. "several of these fakirs undertake long pilgrimages not only naked but laden with heavy iron chains, such as are put about the legs of elephants. i have seen others who, in consequence of a particular vow, stood upright during seven or eight days without once sitting or lying down, and without any other support than might be afforded by leaning forward against a cord for a few hours in the night; their legs in the meantime were swollen to the size of their thighs. others, again, i have observed standing steadily, whole hours together, upon their hands, the head down and the feet in the air. i might proceed to enumerate various other positions in which these unhappy men place their body, many of them so difficult and painful that they could not be imitated by our tumblers; and all this, let it be recollected is performed from an assumed feeling of piety, of which there is not so much as the shadow in any part of the indies." 5. resort to them for oracles. the forest ascetics were credited with prophetic powers, and were resorted to by hindu princes to obtain omens and oracles on the brink of any important undertaking. this custom is noticed by colonel tod in the following passage describing the foundation of jodhpur: [202] "like the druids of the cells, the vana-perist jogis, from the glades of the forest (vana) or recess in the rocks (gopha), issue their oracles to those whom chance or design may conduct to their solitary dwellings. it is not surprising that the mandates of such beings prove compulsory on the superstitious rajput; we do not mean those squalid ascetics who wander about india and are objects disgusting to the eye, but the genuine jogi, he who, as the term imports, mortifies the flesh, till the wants of humanity are restricted merely to what suffices to unite matter with spirit, who had studied and comprehended the mystic works and pored over the systems of philosophy, until the full influence of maia (illusion) has perhaps unsettled his understanding; or whom the rules of his sect have condemned to penance and solitude; a penance so severe that we remain astonished at the perversity of reason which can submit to it. we have seen one of these objects, self-condemned never to lie down during forty years, and there remained but three to complete the term. he had travelled much, was intelligent and learned, but, far from having contracted the moroseness of the recluse, there was a benignity of mien and a suavity and simplicity of manner in him quite enchanting. he talked of his penance with no vainglory and of its approaching term without any sensation. the resting position of this druid (vana-perist) was by means of a rope suspended from the bough of a tree in the manner of a swing, having a cross-bar, on which he reclined. the first years of this penance, he says, were dreadfully painful; swollen limbs affected him to that degree that he expected death, but this impression had long since worn off. to these, the druids of india, the prince and the chieftain would resort for instruction. such was the ascetic who recommended joda to erect his castle of jodhpur on the 'hill of strife' (jodagir), a projecting elevation of the same range on which mundore was placed, and about four miles south of it." 6. divisions of the order. about 15,000 jogis were returned from the central provinces in 1911. they are said to be divided into twelve panths or orders, each of which venerates one of the twelve disciples of gorakhnath. but, as a rule, they do not know the names of the panths. their main divisions are the kanphata and aughar jogis. the kanphatas, [203] as the name denotes, pierce their ears and wear in them large rings (mundra), generally of wood, stone or glass; the ears of a novice are pierced by the guru, who gets a fee of rs. 1-4. the earring must thereafter always be worn, and should it be broken must be replaced temporarily by a model in cloth before food is taken. if after the ring has been inserted the ear tears apart, they say that the man has become useless, and in former times he was buried alive. now he is put out of caste, and no tomb is erected over him when he dies. it is said that a man cannot become a kanphata all at once, but must first serve an apprenticeship of twelve years as an aughar, and then if his guru is satisfied he will be initiated as a kanphata. the elect among the kanphatas are known as darshani. these do not go about begging, but remain in the forest in a cave or other abode, and the other jogis go there and pay their respects; this is called darshan, the term used for visiting a temple and worshipping the idol. these men only have cooked food when their disciples bring it to them, otherwise they live on fruits and roots. the aughars do not pierce their ears, but have a string of black sheep's wool round the neck to which is suspended a wooden whistle called nadh; this is blown morning and evening and before meals. [204] the names of the kanphatas end in nath and those of the aughars in das. 7. hair and clothes. when a novice is initiated all the hair of his head is shaved, including the scalp-lock. if the ganges is at hand the guru throws the hair into the ganges, giving a great feast to celebrate the occasion; otherwise he keeps the hair in his wallet until he and his disciple reach the ganges and then throws it into the river and gives the feast. after this the jogi lets all his hair grow until he comes to some great shrine, when he shaves it off clean and gives it as an offering to the god. the jogis wear clothes coloured with red ochre like the jangams, sanniasis and all the sivite orders. the reddish colour perhaps symbolises blood and may denote that the wearers still sacrifice flesh and consume it. the vaishnavite orders usually wear white clothes, and hence the jogis call themselves lal padris (red priests), and they call the vaishnava mendicants sita padris, apparently because sita is the consort of rama, the incarnation of vishnu. when a jogi is initiated the guru gives him a single bead of rudraksha wood which he wears on a string round his neck. he is not branded, but afterwards, if he visits the temple of dwarka in gujarat, he is branded with the mark of the conch-shell on the arm; or if he goes on pilgrimage to the shrine of badri-narayan in the himalayas he is branded on the chest. copper bangles are brought from badri-narayan and iron ones from the shrine of kedarnath. a necklace of small white stones, like juari-seeds, is obtained from the temple of hinglaj in the territories of the jam of lasbela in beluchistan. during his twelve years' period as a brahmachari or acolyte, a jogi will make either one or three parikramas of the nerbudda; that is, he walks from the mouth at broach to the source at amarkantak on one side of the river and back again on the other side, the journey usually occupying about three years. during each journey he lets his hair grow and at the end of it makes an offering of all except the choti or scalp-lock to the river. even as a full jogi he still retains the scalp-lock, and this is not finally shaved off until he turns into a sanniasi or forest recluse. other jogis, however, do not merely keep the scalp-lock but let their hair grow, plaiting it with ropes of black wool over their heads into what is called the jata, that is an imitation of siva's matted locks. [205] 8. burial. the jogis are buried sitting cross-legged with the face to the north in a tomb which has a recess like those of muhammadans. a gourd full of milk and some bread in a wallet, a crutch and one or two earthen vessels are placed in the grave for the sustenance of the soul. salt is put on the body and a ball of wheat-flour is laid on the breast of the corpse and then deposited on the top of the grave. 9. festivals. the jogis worship siva, and their principal festival is the shivratri, when they stay awake all night and sing songs in honour of gorakhnath, the founder of their order. on the nag-panchmi day they venerate the cobra and they take about snakes and exhibit them. 10. caste subdivisions. a large proportion of the jogis have now developed into a caste, and these marry and have families. they are divided into subcastes according to the different professions they have adopted. thus the barwa or garpagari jogis ward off hailstorms from the standing crops; the manihari are pedlars and travel about to bazars selling various small articles; the ritha bikanath prepare and sell soap-nut for washing clothes; the patbina make hempen thread and gunny-bags for carrying grain on bullocks; and the ladaimar hunt jackals and sell and eat their flesh. these jogis rank as a low hindu caste of the menial group. no good hindu caste will take food or water from them, while they will accept cooked food from members of any caste of respectable position, as kurmis, kunbis or malis. a person belonging to any such caste can also be admitted into the jogi community. their social customs resemble those of the cultivating castes of the locality. they permit widow-marriage and divorce and employ brahmans for their ceremonies, with the exception of the kanphatas, who have priests of their own order. 11. begging. begging is the traditional occupation of the jogis, but they have now adopted many others. the kanphatas beg and sell a woollen string amulet (ganda), which is put round the necks of children to protect them from the evil eye. they beg only from hindus and use the cry 'alakh,' 'the invisible one.' [206] the nandia jogis lead about with them a deformed ox, an animal with five legs or some other malformation. he is decorated with ochre-coloured rags and cowrie shells. they call him nandi or the bull on which mahadeo rides, and receive gifts of grain from pious hindus, half of which they put into their wallet and give the other half to the animal. they usually carry on a more profitable business than other classes of beggars. the ox is trained to give a blessing to the benevolent by shaking its head and raising its leg when its master receives a gift. [207] some of the jogis of this class carry about with them a brush of peacock's feathers which they wave over the heads of children afflicted with the evil eye or of sick persons, muttering texts. this performance is known as jharna (sweeping), and is the commonest method of casting out evil spirits. 12. other occupations. many jogis have also adopted secular occupations, as has already been seen. of these the principal are the manihari jogis or pedlars, who retail small hand-mirrors, spangles, dyeing-powders, coral beads and imitation jewellery, pens, pencils, and other small articles of stationery. they also bring pearls and coral from bombay and sell them in the villages. the garpagaris, who protect the crops from hailstorms, have now become a distinct caste and are the subject of a separate article. others make a living by juggling and conjuring, and in saugor some jogis perform the three-card trick in the village markets, employing a confederate who advises customers to pick out the wrong card. they also play the english game of sandown, which is known as 'animur,' from the practice of calling out 'any more' as a warning to backers to place their money on the board before beginning to turn the fish. 13. swindling practices. these people also deal in ornaments of base metal and practise other swindles. one of their tricks is to drop a ring or ornament of counterfeit gold on the road. then they watch until a stranger picks it up and one of them goes up to him and says, "i saw you pick up that gold ring, it belongs to so-and-so, but if you will make it worth my while i will say nothing about it." the finder is thus often deluded into giving him some hush-money and the jogis decamp with this, having incurred no risk in connection with the spurious metal. they also pretend to be able to convert silver and other metals into gold. they ingratiate themselves with the women, sometimes of a number of households in one village or town, giving at first small quantities of gold in exchange for silver, and binding them to secrecy. then each is told to give them all the ornaments which she desires to be converted on the same night, and having collected as much as possible from their dupes the jogis make off before morning. a very favourite device some years back was to personate some missing member of a family who had gone on a pilgrimage. up to within a comparatively recent period a large proportion of the pilgrims who set out annually from all over india to visit the famous shrines at benares, jagannath and other places perished by the way from privation or disease, or were robbed and murdered, and never heard of again by their families. many households in every town and village were thus in the position of having an absent member of whose fate they were uncertain. taking advantage of this, and having obtained all the information he could pick up among the neighbours, the jogi would suddenly appear in the character of the returned wanderer, and was often successful in keeping up the imposture for years. [208] 14. proverbs about jogis. the jogi is a familiar figure in the life of the people and there are various sayings about him: [209] jogi jogi laren, khopron ka dam, or 'when jogis fight skulls are smashed,' that is, the skulls which some of them use as begging-cups, not their own skulls, and with the implication that they have nothing else to break; jogi jugat jani nahin, kapre range, to kya hua, 'if the jogi does not know his magic, what is the use of his dyeing his clothes?' jogi ka larka khelega, to sanp se, or, 'if a snake-charmer's son plays, he plays with a snake.' joshi list of paragraphs 1. the village priest and astrologer. 2. the apparent path of the sun. the ecliptic or zodiac. 3. inclination of the ecliptic to the equator. 4. the orbits of the moon and planets. 5. the signs of the zodiac. 6. the sankrants. 7. the nakshatras or constellations of the moon's path. 8. the revolution of the moon. 9. the days of the week. 10. the lunar year. 11. intercalary months. 12. superstitions about numbers. 13. the hindu months. 14. the solar nakshatras. 15. lunar fortnights and days. 16. divisions of the day. 17. the joshi's calculations. 18. personal names. 19. terminations of names. 20. women's names. 21. special names and bad names. 1. the village priest and astrologer. joshi, jyotishi, bhadri, parsai.--the caste of village priests and astrologers. they numbered about 6000 persons in 1911, being distributed over all districts. the joshis are nearly all brahmans, but have now developed into a separate caste and marry among themselves. their social customs resemble those of brahmans, and need not be described in detail. the joshi officiates at weddings in the village, selects auspicious names for children according to the nakshatra or constellation of the moon under which they were born, and points out the auspicious time or mahurat for all such ceremonies and for the commencement of agricultural operations. he is also sometimes in charge of the village temples. he is supported by the contributions from the villagers, and often has a plot of land rent-free from the proprietor. the social position of the joshis is not very good, and, though brahmans, they are considered to rank somewhat below the cultivating castes, the kurmis and kunbis, by whose patronage they are supported. [210] the bhadris are a class of joshis who wander about and live by begging, telling fortunes and giving omens. they avert the evil influences of the planet saturn and accept the gifts offered to this end, which are always black, as black blankets, charcoal, tilli or sesamum oil, the urad pulse, [211] and iron. people born on saturday or being otherwise connected with the planet are especially subject to his malign influence. the joshi ascertains who these unfortunate persons are from their horoscopes, and neutralises the evil influence of the planet by the acceptance of the gifts already mentioned, while he sometimes also receives a buffalo or a cow. he computes by astrological calculations the depth at which water will be found when a cultivator wishes to dig a well. he also practises palmistry, classifying the whorls of the fingers into two patterns, called the shank or conch-shell and chakra or discus of vishnu. the shank is considered to be unfortunate and the chakra fortunate. the lines on the balls of the toes and on the forehead are similarly classified. when anything has been lost or stolen the joshi can tell from the daily nakshatra or mansion of the moon in which the loss or theft occurred whether the property has gone to the north, south, east or west, and within what interval it is likely to be found. the people have not nowadays much faith in his prophetic powers, and they say, "if clouds come on friday, and the sky is black on saturday, then the joshi foretells that it will rain on sunday." the joshi's calculations are all based on the rashis or signs of the zodiac through which the sun passes during the year, and the nakshatras or those which mark the monthly revolutions of the moon. these are given in all hindu almanacs, and most joshis simply work from the almanac, being quite ignorant of astronomy. since the measurement of the sun's apparent path on the ecliptic, and the moon's orbit mapped out by the constellations are of some interest, and govern the arrangement of the hindu calendar, it has been thought desirable to give some account of them. and in order to make this intelligible it is desirable first to recapitulate some elementary facts of astronomy. 2. the apparent path of the sun. the ecliptic or zodiac. the universe may be conceived for the purpose of understanding the sun's path among the stars as if it were a huge ball, of which looking from the earth's surface we see part of the inside with the stars marked on it, as on the inside of a dome. this imaginary inside of a ball is called the celestial sphere, and the ancients believed that it actually existed, and also, in order to account for the varying distances of the stars, supposed that there were several of them, one inside the other, and each with a number of stars fixed to it. the sun and earth may be conceived as smaller solid balls suspended inside this large one. then looking from the surface of the earth we see the sun outlined against the inner surface of the imaginary celestial sphere. and as the earth travels round the sun in its orbit, the appearance to us is that the sun moves over the surface of the celestial sphere. the following figure will make this clear. [212] thus when the earth is at a in its orbit the sun will appear to be at m, and as the earth travels from a to b the sun will appear to move from m to n on the line of the ecliptic. it will be seen that as the earth in a year makes a complete circuit round the sun, the sun will appear to have made a complete circuit among the stars, and have come back to its original position. this apparent movement is annual, and has nothing to do with the sun's apparent diurnal course over the sky, which is caused by the earth's daily rotation on its axis. the sun's annual path among the stars naturally cannot be observed during the day. professor newcomb says: "but the fact of the motion will be made very clear if, day after day, we watch some particular fixed star in the west. we shall find that it sets earlier and earlier every day; in other words, it is getting continually nearer and nearer the sun. more exactly, since the real direction of the star is unchanged, the sun seems to be approaching the star. "if we could see the stars in the daytime all round the sun, the case would be yet clearer. we should see that if the sun and a star were together in the morning, the sun would, during the day, gradually work past the star in an easterly direction. between the rising and setting it would move nearly its own diameter, relative to the star. next morning we should see that it had got quite away from the star, being nearly two diameters distant from it. this motion would continue month after month. at the end of the year the sun would have made a complete circuit relative to the star, and we should see the two once more together. this apparent motion of the sun in one year round the celestial sphere was noticed by the ancients, who took much trouble to map it out. they imagined a line passing round the celestial sphere, which the sun always followed in its annual course, and which was called the ecliptic. they noticed that the planets followed nearly the same course as the sun among the stars. a belt extending on each side of the ecliptic, and broad enough to contain all the known planets, as well as the sun, was called the zodiac. it was divided into twelve signs, each marked by a constellation. the sun went through each sign in a month, and through all twelve signs in a year. thus arose the familiar signs of the zodiac, which bore the same names as the constellations among which they are situated. this is not the case at present, owing to the precession of the equinoxes." it was by observing the paths of the sun and moon round the celestial sphere along the zodiac that the ancients came to be able to measure the solar and lunar months and years. 3. inclination of the ecliptic to the equator. as is well known, the celestial sphere is imagined to be spanned by an imaginary line called the celestial equator, which is in the same plane as the earth's equator, and as it were, a vast concentric circle. the points in the celestial sphere opposite the north and south terrestrial poles are called the north and south celestial poles, and the celestial equator is midway between these. owing to the special form of the earth the north celestial pole is visible to us in the northern hemisphere, and marked very nearly by the pole-star, its height above the horizon being equal to the latitude of the place where the observer stands. owing to the daily rotation of the earth the whole celestial sphere seems to revolve daily on the axis of the north and south celestial poles, carrying the sun, moon and stars with it. to this the apparent daily course of the sun and moon is due. their course seems to us oblique, as we are north of the equator. if the earth's axis were set vertically to the plane of its orbit round the sun, then it would follow that the plane of the equator would pass through the centre of the sun, and that the line drawn by the sun in its apparent revolution against the background of the celestial sphere would be in the same plane. that is, the sun would seem to move round a circle in the heavens in the same plane as the earth's equator, or round the celestial equator. but the earth's axis is inclined at 23 1/2° to the plane of its orbit, and therefore the apparent path traced by the sun in the celestial sphere, which is the same path as the earth would really follow to an observer on the surface of the sun, is inclined at 23 1/2° to the celestial equator. this is the ecliptic, and is really the line of the plane of the earth's orbit extended to cut the celestial sphere. 4. the orbits of the moon and planets. all the planets move round the sun in orbits whose planes are slightly inclined to that of the earth, the plane of mercury having the greatest inclination of 6°. the plane of the moon's orbit round the earth is also inclined at 5° 9' to the ecliptic. the orbits of the moon and all the planets must necessarily intersect the plane of the earth's orbit on the ecliptic at two points, and these are called the nodes of the moon and each planet respectively. in consequence of the inclination being so slight, though the course of the moon and planets is not actually on the ecliptic, they are all so close to it that they are included in the belt of the zodiac. thus the moon and all the planets follow almost the same apparent course on the zodiac or belt round the ecliptic in the changes of position resulting from their own and the earth's orbital movements with reference to what are called the fixed stars. 5. the signs of the zodiac. as the sun completes his circuit of the ecliptic or zodiac in the course of a year, it followed that if his course could be measured and divided into periods, these periods would form divisions of time for the year. this was what the ancients did, and it is probable that the measurement and division of time was the primary object of the science of astronomy, as apart from the natural curiosity to ascertain the movements of the sun, moon and planets, when they were looked upon as divine beings controlling the world. they divided the zodiac or the path of the sun into twelve parts, and gave to each part the name of the principal constellation situated on, or adjacent to, that section of the line of the ecliptic. when they had done this and observed the dates of the sun's entry into each sign or rashi, as it is called in hindi, they had divided the year into twelve solar months. the following are the hindu names and meanings of the signs of the zodiac: 1. aries. the ram. mesha. 2. taurus. the bull. vrisha. 3. gemini. the twins. mithuna. 4. cancer. the crab. karkati. 5. leo. the lion. sinha. 6. virgo. the virgin. kanya. 7. libra. the balance. tula. 8. scorpio. the scorpion. vrischika. 9. sagittarius. the archer. dhanus or chapa. 10. capricornus. the goat. makara (said to mean a sea-monster). 11. aquarius. the water-bearer. kumbha (a water-pot). 12. pisces. the fishes. mina. the signs of the zodiac were nearly the same among the greeks, egyptians, persians, babylonians and indians. they are supposed to have originated in chaldea or babylonia, and the fact that the constellations are indicated by nearly the same symbols renders their common origin probable. it seems likely that the existing hindu zodiac may have been adopted from the greeks. 6. the sankrants. the solar year begins with the entrance of the sun into mesha or aries. [213] the day on which the sun passes into a new sign is called sankrant, and is to some extent observed as a holy day. but the til sankrant or entry of the sun into makara or capricorn, which falls about the 15th january, is a special festival, because it marks approximately the commencement of the sun's northern progress and the lengthening of the days, as christmas roughly does with us. on this day every hindu who is able bathes in a sacred river at the hour indicated by the joshis of the sun's entrance into the sign. presents of til or sesamum are given to the joshi, owing to which the day is called til sankrant. people also sometimes give presents to each other. 7. the nakshatras or constellations of the moon's path. the sankrants do not mark the commencement of the hindu months, which are still lunar and are adjusted to the solar year by intercalation. it is probable that long before they were able to measure the sun's progress along the ecliptic the ancients had observed that of the moon, which it was much easier to do, as she is seen among the stars at night. similarly there is little reason to doubt that the first division of time was the lunar month, which can be remarked by every one. ancient astronomers measured the progress of the moon's path along the ecliptic and divided it into twenty-seven sections, each of which represented roughly a day's march. each section was distinguished by a group of stars either on the ecliptic or so near it, either in the northern or southern hemisphere, as to be occultated by the moon or capable of being in conjunction with it or the planets. these constellations are called nakshatras. naturally, some of these constellations are the same as those subsequently chosen to mark the sun's path or the signs of the zodiac. in some cases a zodiacal constellation is divided into two nakshatras. like the signs, the nakshatras were held to represent animals or natural objects. the following is a list of them with their corresponding stars, and the object which each was supposed to represent: [214] nakshatra. constellation. object. corresponding zodiacal sign. 1. aswini. b and g arietis. a horse's aries. head. 2. bharani. 35, 39 and 41 pudendum aries. arietis. muliebre. 3. krittika. pleiades. a knife. part of taurus. 4. rohini. a, g, d, e, th a wheeled taurus. tauri carriage or a (aldebaran). temple. 5. mrigasiras. l, ph1, ph2, a deer's orionis (orion's head. head). 6. ardra. betelgeux or a a gem. orionis (one of orion's arms). 7. punarvasu. gemini or castor a house. gemini. and pollux. 8. pushya. g, d and th an arrow. cancer. cancri. 9. aslesha. d, e, ê, r and s a wheel. hydrae. 10. magha. a, g, e, z, ê and a house. leo. m leonis. 11. purva d and th leonis. a couch. leo. phalguni. 12. uttara b and 93 leonis. a bed. leo. phalguni. 13. hasta. a, b, g, d and e a hand. corvi. 14. chitra. spica (a a pearl. virgo. virginis). 15. swati. arcturus (a a coral bead. boötis). 16. visacha. a, b, g and i a garland. libra. librae. 17. anuradha. b, a sacrifice or scorpio. d and p offering. scorpionis. 18. jyestha. a, s and t an earring. scorpio. scorpionis. 19. mula. e, z, ê, th, i, a lion's scorpio. k, l, m, y tail. scorpionis. 20. purva d and e a couch or an sagittarius. ashadha. sagittarii. elephant's tusk. 21. uttara z and s an elephant's sagittarius. ashadha. sagittarii. tusk or the singara nut. 22. sravana. a, b and g the footprint aquilae. of vishnu. 23. dhanishtha. a, b, g and d a drum. delphinis. 24. sata-bhishaj. l aquarii. a circular aquarius. jewel or a circle. 25. purva a and b pegasi. a two-faced bhadrapada. image. 26. uttara g pegasi and a a two-faced bhadrapada. andromedae. image or a couch. 27. revati. z piscium. a tabor. pisces. 8. the revolution of the moon. all the zodiacal constellations are thus included in the nakshatras except capricorn, for which aquila and delphinis are substituted. these, as well as hydra, are a considerable distance from the ecliptic, but may perhaps be nearer the moon's path, which, as already seen, slightly diverges from it. but this point has not been ascertained by me. the moon completes the circuit of the heavens in its orbit round the earth in a little less than a lunar month or 27 days 8 hours. as twenty-seven nakshatras were demarcated, it seems clear that a nakshatra was meant to represent the distance travelled by the moon in a day. subsequently a twenty-eighth small nakshatra was formed called abhijit, out of uttarashadha and sravana, and this may have been meant to represent the fractional part of the day. the days of the lunar month have each, as a matter of fact, a nakshatra allotted to them, which is recorded in all hindu almanacs, and enters largely into the joshi's astrological calculations. it may have been the case that prior to the naming of the days of the week, the days of the lunar month were distinguished by the names of their nakshatras, but this could only have been among the learned. for though there was a nakshatra for every day of the moon's path round the ecliptic, the same days in successive months could not have the same nakshatras on account of what is called the synodical revolution of the moon. the light of the moon comes from the sun, and we see only that part of it which is illuminated by the sun. when the moon is between the earth and the sun, the light hemisphere is invisible to us, and there is no moon. when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth to the sun we see the whole of the illuminated hemisphere, and it is full moon. thus in the time between one new moon and the next, the moon must proceed from its position between the earth and the sun to the same position again, and to do this it has to go somewhat more than once round the ecliptic, as is shown by the following figure. [215] 9. the days of the week. as during the moon's circuit of the earth, the earth is also travelling on its orbit, the moon will not be between the earth and the sun again on completion of its orbit, but will have to traverse the further arc shown in the figure to come between the earth and the sun. when the moon has completed the circle of the ecliptic from the position me, its position relative to the earth has become as nf and it has not yet come between the earth and the sun. hence while the moon completes the circuit of the ecliptic [216] in 27 days 8 hours, the time from one new moon to another is 29 days 13 hours. hence the nakshatras will not fall on the same days in successive lunar months, and would not be suitable as names for the days. it seems that, recognising this, the ancient astronomers had to find other names. they had the lunar fortnights of 14 or 15 days from new to full and full to new moon. hence apparently they hit on the plan of dividing these into half and regulating the influence which the sun, moon and planets were believed to exercise over events in the world by allotting one day to each of them. they knew of five planets besides the sun and moon, and by giving a day to each of them the seven-day week was formed. the term planet signifies a wanderer, and it thus perhaps seemed suitable that they should give their names to the days which would revolve endlessly in a cycle, as they themselves did in the heavens. the names of the days are: etwar or raviwar. sunday. (ravi--the sun.) somwar. monday. (soma--the moon.) mangalwar. tuesday. (mangal or bhauma--mars.) budhwar. wednesday. (buddha--mercury.) brihaspatwar or guru. thursday. (brihaspat or guru--jupiter.) shukurwar. friday. (shukra--venus.) saniwar or sanichara. saturday. (sani--saturn.) the termination vara means a day. the weekdays were similarly named in rome and other countries speaking aryan languages, and they are readily recognised in french. in english three days are named after the sun, moon and saturn, but four, tuesday, wednesday, thursday and friday, are called after scandinavian deities, the last three being woden or odin, thor and freya. i do not know whether these were identified with the planets. it is supposed that the hindus obtained the seven-day week from the greeks. [217] 10. the lunar year. four seven-day weeks were within a day and a fraction of the lunar month, which was the nearest that could be got. the first method of measuring the year would be by twelve lunar months, which would bring it back nearly to the same period. but as the lunar month is 29 days 13 hours, twelve months would be 354 days 12 hours, or nearly eleven days less than the tropical solar year. hence if the lunar year was retained the months would move back round the year by about eleven days annually. this is what actually happens in the muhammadan calendar where the twelve lunar months have been retained and the muharram and other festivals come earlier every year by about eleven days. 11. intercalary months. in order to reconcile the lunar and solar years the hindus hit upon an ingenious device. it was ordained that any month in which the sun did not enter a new sign of the zodiac would not count and would be followed by another month of the same name. thus in the month of chait the sun must enter the sign mesha or aries. if he does not enter it during the lunar month there will be an intercalary chait, followed by the proper month of the same name during which the sun will enter mesha. [218] such an intercalary month is called adhika. an intercalary month, obtained by having two successive lunar months of the same name, occurs approximately once in three years, and by this means the reckoning by twelve lunar months is adjusted to the solar year. on the other hand, the sun very occasionally passes two sankrants or enters into two fresh signs during the lunar month. this is rendered possible by the fact that the time occupied by the sun in passing through different signs of the zodiac varies to some extent. it is said that the zodiac was divided into twelve equal signs of 30° each or 1° for each day, as at this period it was considered that the year was 360 days. [219] possibly in adjusting the signs to 365 odd days some alterations may have been made in their length, or errors discovered. at any rate, whatever may be the reason, the length of the sun's periods in the signs, or of the solar months, varies from 31 days 14 hours to 29 days 8 hours. three of the months are less than the lunar month, and hence it is possible that two sankrants or passages of the sun into a fresh sign may occasionally occur in the same lunar month. when this happens, following the same rule as before, the month to which the second sankrant properly belongs, that is the one following that in which two sankrants occur, is called a kshaya or eliminated month and is omitted from the calendar. intercalary months occur generally in the 3rd, 5th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 16th and 18th years of a cycle of nineteen years, or seven times in nineteen years. it is found that in each successive cycle only one or two months are changed, so that the same month remains intercalary for several cycles of nineteen years and then gives way generally to one of the months preceding and rarely to the following month. suppressed months occur at intervals varying from 19 to 141 years, and in a year when a suppressed month occurs there must always be one intercalary month and not infrequently there are two. [220] this method of adjusting the solar and lunar years, though clumsy, is so far scientific that the solar and lunar years are made to agree without any artificial intercalation of days. it has, however, the great disadvantages of the frequent intercalary month, and also of the fact that the lunar months begin on different dates in the english solar calendar, varying by nearly twenty days. 12. superstitions about numbers. it seems not improbable that the unlucky character of the number thirteen may have arisen from its being the number of the intercalary month. though the special superstition against sitting down thirteen to a meal is, no doubt, associated particularly with the last supper, the number is generally unlucky as a date and in other connections. and this is not only the case in europe, but the hindus, persians and parsis also consider thirteen an unlucky number; and the muhammadans account for a similar superstition by saying that muhammad was ill for the first thirteen days of the month safar. twelve, as being the number of the months in the lunar and solar years, is an auspicious number; thirteen would be one extra, and as being the intercalary month would be here this year and missing next year. hence it might be supposed that one of thirteen persons met together would be gone at their next meeting like the month. similarly, the auspicious character of the number seven may be due to its being the total of the sun, moon and five planets, and of the days of the week named after them. and the number three may have been invested with mystic significance as representing the sun, moon and earth. in the hindu trinity vishnu and siva are the sun and moon, and brahma, who created the earth, and has since remained quiescent, may have been the personified representative of the earth itself. 13. the hindu months. the names of the hindu months were selected from among those of the nakshatras, every second or third being taken and the most important constellations apparently chosen. the following statement shows the current names for the months, the nakshatras from which they are derived, and the constellations they represent: month. nakshatra. constellation. 1. chait. chitra. virgo. 2. baisakh. visacha. libra. 3. jeth. jyestha. scorpio. 4. asarh. purva ashadha. sagittarius. uttara ashadha. 5. shrawan. sravana. aquila. 6. bhadon. purva (e) bhadrapada. pegasus. uttara (n) bhadrapada. 7. kunwar or aswini. aries. aswin. 8. kartik. krittika. pleiades (part of taurus). 9. aghan or mrigasiras. orion. margashir. 10. pus. pushya. cancer. 11. magh. magha. leo. 12. phagun. purva (e) phalguni. leo. uttara (n) phalguni. thus if the pleiades are reckoned as part of taurus, [221] eight zodiacal signs give their names to months as well as orion, pegasus and aquila, while two months are included in leo. it appears that in former times the year began with pus or december, as the month margashir was also called aghan or agrahana, or 'that which went before,' that is the month before the new year. but the renewal of vegetation in the spring has exercised a very powerful effect on the primitive mind, being marked by the holi festival in india, corresponding to the carnival in europe. the vernal equinox was thus perhaps selected as the most important occasion and the best date for beginning the new year, which now commences in northern india with the new moon of chait, immediately following the holi festival, when the sun is in the sign of mesha or aries. at first the months appear to have travelled round the year, but subsequently they were fixed by ordaining that the month of chait should begin with the new moon during the course of which the sun entered the sign aries. [222] the constellation chitra, from which the sign is named, is nearly opposite to this in the zodiac, as shown by the above figure. [223] consequently, the full moon, being nearly opposite the sun on the ecliptic, would be in the sign chitra or near it. in southern india the months begin with the full moon, but in northern india with the new moon; it seems possible that the months were called after the nakshatra, of the full moon to distinguish them from the solar months which would be called after the sign of the zodiac in which the sun was. but no authoritative explanation seems to be available. similarly, the nakshatras after which the other months are named, fall nearly opposite to them at the new moon, while the full moon would be in or near them. 14. the solar nakshatras. the periods during which the sun passes through each nakshatra are also recorded, and they are of course constant in date like the solar months. as there are twenty-seven nakshatras, the average time spent by the sun in each is about 13 1/2 days. these periods are well known to the people as they have the advantage of not varying in date like the lunar months, while over most of india the solar months are not used. the commencement of the various agricultural operations is dated by the solar nakshatras, and there are several proverbs about them in connection with the crops. the following are some examples: "if it does not rain in pushya and punarvasu nakshatras the children of nimar will go without food." 'rain in magha nakshatra (end of august) is like food given by a mother,' because it is so beneficial. "if there is no wind in mrigasiras (beginning of june), and no heat in rohini (end of may), sell your plough-cattle and go and look for work." 'if it rains during uttara (end of september) dogs will turn up their noses at grain,' because the harvest will be so abundant. "if it rains during aslesha (first half of august) the wheat-stalks will be as stout as drum-sticks" (because the land will be well ploughed). 'if rain falls in chitra or swati nakshatras (october) there won't be enough cotton for lamp-wicks.' 15. lunar fortnights and days. the lunar month was divided into two fortnights called paksha or wing. the period of the waxing moon was known as sukla or sudi paksha, that is the light fortnight, and that of the waning moon as krishna or budi paksha, that is the dark fortnight. each lunar month was also divided into thirty equal periods, called tithis or lunar days. since there are less than thirty days in the lunar month, a tithi does not correspond to an ordinary day, but begins and ends at odd hours of the day. nevertheless the tithis are printed in all almanacs, and are used for the calculation of auspicious moments. [224] 16. divisions of the day. the day is divided for ordinary purposes of measuring time into eight pahars or watches, four of the day and four of the night; and into sixty gharis or periods of twenty-four minutes each. the pahars, however, are not of equal length. at the equinox the first and fourth pahar of the day and night each contain eight gharis, and the two middle ones seven gharis. in summer the first and fourth pahars of the day contain nine gharis each, and the two middle ones eight each, while the first and fourth pahars of the night contain seven and the two middle ones six each. thus in summer the four day pahars contain 13 hours 36 minutes and the night ones 10 hours 24 minutes. and in winter the exact opposite is the case, the night pahars being lengthened and the day ones shortened in precisely the same manner. no more unsatisfactory measure of time could well be devised. the termination of the second watch or do pahar always corresponds with midday and midnight respectively. the apparatus with which the hours were measured and announced consisted of a shallow metal pan, named from its office, gharial, and suspended so as to be easily struck with a wooden mallet by the ghariali. he measured the passing of a ghari by an empty thin brass cup or katori, perforated at the bottom, and placed on the surface of a large vessel filled with water, where nothing could disturb it; the water came through the small hole in the bottom of the cup and filled it, causing it to sink in the period of one ghari. at the expiration of each ghari the gharial struck its number from one to nine with a mallet on a brass plate, and at the end of each pahar he struck a gujar or eight strokes to announce the fact, followed by one to four hollow-sounding strokes to indicate the number of the pahar. this custom is still preserved in the method by which the police-guards of the public offices announce the hours on a gong and subsequently strike four, eight and twelve strokes to proclaim these hours of the day and night by our clock. only rich men could afford to maintain a gharial, as four persons were required to attend to it during the day and four at night. [225] 17. the joshi's calculations. the joshi calculates auspicious [226] seasons by a consideration of the sun's zodiacal sign, the moon's nakshatra or daily mansion, and other rules. from the monthly zodiacal signs and daily nakshatras in which children are born, as recorded in their horoscopes, he calculates whether their marriage will be auspicious. thus the zodiacal signs are supposed to be divided among the four castes, pisces, cancer and scorpio belonging to the brahman; aries, leo and sagittarius to the kshatriya; taurus, virgo and capricorn to the vaishya; and gemini, libra and aquarius to the sudra. if the boy and girl were born under any of the three signs of the same caste it is a happy conjunction. if the boy's sign was of a caste superior to the girl's, it is suitable, but if the girl's sign is of a superior caste to the boy's it is an omen that she will rule the household; and though the marriage may take place, certain ceremonies should be performed to obviate this effect. there is also a division of the zodiacal signs according to their nature. thus virgo, libra, gemini, aquarius and half of sagittarius are considered to be of the nature of man, or formed by him; aries, taurus, half of sagittarius and half of capricorn are of the nature of animals; cancer, pisces and half of capricorn are of a watery nature; leo is of the desert or wild nature; and scorpio is of the nature of insects. if the boy and girl were both born under signs of the same nature their marriage will be auspicious, but if they were born under signs of different natures, they will share only half the blessings and comforts of the marriage state, and may be visited by strife, enmity, misery or distress. as leo and scorpio are looked upon as being enemies, evil consequences are much dreaded from the marriage of a couple born under these signs. there are also numerous rules regarding the nakshatras or mansions of the moon and days of the week under which the boy and girl were born, but these need not be reproduced. if on the day of the wedding the sun or any of the planets passes from one zodiacal sign to another, the wedding must be delayed for a certain number of gharis or periods of twenty-four minutes, the number varying for each planet. the hours of the day are severally appointed to the seven planets and the twelve zodiacal signs, and the period of ascendancy of a sign is known as lagan; this name is also given to the paper specifying the day and hour which have been calculated as auspicious for the wedding. it is stated that no weddings should be celebrated during the period of occultation of the planets jupiter and venus, nor on the day before new moon, nor the sankrant or day on which the sun passes from one zodiacal sign to another, nor in the singhast year, when the planet jupiter is in the constellation leo. this takes place once in twelve years. marriages are usually prohibited during the four months of the rainy season, and sometimes also in pus, jeth or other months. 18. personal names. the joshi names children according to the moon's daily nakshatra under which they were born, each nakshatra having a letter or certain syllables allotted to it with which the name must begin. thus magha has the syllables ma, mi, mu and me, with which the name should begin, as mansaram, mithu lal, mukund singh, meghnath; purwa phalguni has mo and te, as moji lal and tegi lal; punarvasu has ke, ko, ha and hi, as kesho rao, koshal prasad, hardyal and hira lal, and so on. the primitive idea connecting a name with the thing or person to which it belongs is that the name is actually a concrete part of the person or object, containing part of his life, just as the hair, nails and all the body are believed to contain part of the life, which is not at first localised in any part of the body nor conceived of as separate from it. the primitive mind could conceive no abstract idea, that is nothing that could not be seen or heard, and it could not think of a name as an abstract appellation. the name was thought of as part of that to which it was applied. thus, if one knew a man's name, it was thought that one could use it to injure him, just as if one had a piece of his hair or nails he could be injured through them because they all contained part of his life; and if a part of the life was injured or destroyed the remainder would also suffer injury, just as the whole body might perish if a limb was cut off. for this reason savages often conceal their real names, so as to prevent an enemy from obtaining power to injure them through its knowledge. by a development of the same belief it was thought that the names of gods and saints contained part of the divine life and potency of the god or saint to whom they were applied. and even separated from the original owner the name retained that virtue which it had acquired in association; hence the power assigned to the names of gods and superhuman beings when used in spells and incantations. similarly, if the name of a god or saint was given to a child it was thought that some part of the nature and virtue of the god might be conferred on the child. thus hindu children are most commonly named after gods and goddesses under the influence of this idea; and though the belief may now have decayed the practice continues. similarly the common muhammadan names are epithets of allah or god or of the prophet and his relations. jewish children are named after the jewish patriarchs. in european countries the most common male names are those of the apostles, as john, peter, james, paul, simon, andrew and thomas; and the names of the evangelists were, until recently, also given. the most common girl's name in several european countries is mary, and a generation or two ago other biblical names, as sarah, hannah, ruth, rachel, and so on, were very usually given to girls. in england the names next in favour for boys and girls are those of kings and queens, and the same idea perhaps originally underlay the application of these names. the following are some of the best-known hindu names, taken from those of gods:-names of vishnu. narayan. probably 'the abode of mortals,' or else 'he who dwelt on the waters (before creation)'; now applied to the sun. waman. the dwarf, one of vishnu's incarnations. janardan. said to mean protector of the people. narsingh. the man-lion, one of vishnu's incarnations. hari. yellow or gold-colour or green. perhaps applied to the sun. parashram. from parasurama or rama with the axe, one of the incarnations of vishnu. gadadhar. wielder of the club or gada. jagannath. lord of the world. dinkar. the sun, or he who makes the days (din karna). bhagwan. the fortunate or illustrious. anant. the infinite or eternal. madhosudan. destroyer of the demon madho (madho means honey or wine). pandurang. yellow-coloured. names of rama, or vishnu's great incarnation as king rama of ayodhia. ramchandra, the moon of rama, and rambaksh, the gift of rama, are the commonest hindu male names. atmaram. soul of rama. sitaram. rama and sita his wife. ramcharan. the footprint of rama. sakharam. the friend of rama. sewaram. servant of rama. names of krishna. krishna and its diminutive kishen are very common names. kanhaiya. a synonym for krishna. damodar. because his mother tied him with a rope to a large tree to keep him quiet and he pulled up the tree, roots and all. balkishen. the boy krishna. ghansiam. the dark-coloured or black one (like dark clouds); probably referring to the belief that krishna belonged to the non-aryan races. madan mohan. the enchanter of love. manohar. the heart-stealer. yeshwant. the glorious. kesho. having long, fine hair. a name of krishna. also the destroyer of the demon keshi, who was covered with hair. it would appear that the epithet was first applied to krishna himself and afterwards to a demon whom he was supposed to have destroyed. balwant. strong. an epithet of krishna, used in conjunction with other names. madhava. honey-sweet or belonging to the spring, vernal. girdhari. he who held up the mountain. krishna held up the mountain govardhan, balancing the peak on his finger to protect the people from the destructive rains sent by indra. shiamsundar. the dark and beautiful one. nandkishore, nandkumar. child of nand the cowherd, krishna's foster-father. names of siva. sadasheo. siva the everlasting. mahadeo. the great god. trimbak. the three-eyed one (?). gangadhar. the holder of the ganges, because it flows from siva's hair. kashinath. the lord of benares. kedarnath. the lord of cedars (referring to the pine-forests of the himalayas). nilkanth. the blue-jay sacred to siva. name of siva because his throat is bluish-black either from swallowing poison at the time of the churning of the ocean or from drinking large quantities of bhang. shankar. he who gives happiness. vishwanath. lord of the universe. sheo prasad. gift of siva. names of ganpati or ganesh. ganpati is itself a very common name. vidhyadhar. the lord of learning. vinayak. the remover of difficulties. ganesh prasad. gift of ganesh. a child born on the fourth day of any month will often be given this name, as ganesh was born on the 4th bhadon (august). names of hanuman. hanuman itself is a very common name. maroti, son of marut the god of the wind. mahavira or mahabir. the strong one. other common sacred names are: amrit, the divine nectar, and moreshwar, lord of the peacock, perhaps an epithet of the god kartikeya. men are also often named after jewels, as: hira lal, diamond; panna lal, emerald; ratan lal, a jewel; kundan lal, fine gold. a child born on the day of full moon may be called puran chand, which means full moon. there are of course many other male names, but those here given are the commonest. children are also frequently named after the day or month in which they were born. 19. terminations of names. common terminations of male names are: charan, footprint; das, slave; prasad, food offered to a god; lal, dear; datta, gift, commonly used by maithil brahmans; din or baksh, which also means gift; nath, lord of; and dulare, dear to. these are combined with the names of gods, as: kalicharan, footprint of kali; ram prasad or kishen prasad, an offering to rama or krishna; bishen lal, dear to vishnu; ganesh datta, a gift from ganesh; ganga din, a gift from the ganges; sheo dulare, dear to siva; vishwanath, lord of the universe. boys are sometimes given the names of goddesses with such terminations, as lachmi or janki prasad, an offering to these goddesses. a child born on the 8th of light chait (april) will be called durga prasad, as this day is sacred to the goddess durga or devi. 20. women's names. women are also frequently named after goddesses, as: parvati, the consort of siva; sita, the wife of rama; janki, apparently another name for sita; lakshmi, the consort of vishnu, and the goddess of wealth; saraswati, the goddess of wisdom; radha, the beloved of krishna; dasoda, the foster-mother of krishna; dewaki, who is supposed to have been the real mother of krishna; durga, another name for siva's consort; devi, the same as durga and the earth-goddess; rukhmini, the bright or shining one, a consort of vishnu; and tulsi, the basil-plant, sacred to vishnu. women are also named after the sacred rivers, as: ganga, jamni or yamuni (jumna); gomti, the river on which lucknow stands; godha or gautam, after the godavari river; and bhagirathi, another name for the ganges. the river nerbudda is commonly found as a man's name, especially in places situated on its banks. other names of women are: sona, gold; puna, born at the full moon; manohra, enchanting; kamala, the lotus; indumati, a moonlight night; sumati, well-minded; sushila, well-intentioned; srimati, wealthy; amrita, nectar; phulwa, a flower; imlia, the tamarind; malta, jasmine; and so on. if a girl is born after four sons she will be called pancho or fifth, and one born in the unlucky mul nakshatra is called mulia. when a girl is married and goes to her husband's house her name is always changed there. if two girls have been married into the household, they may be called bari bohu and choti bohu, or the elder and younger daughters-in-law; or a girl may be called after the place from which she comes, as jabalpurwali, raipurwali, and so on. 21. special names and bad names. the higher castes have two names, one given by the joshi, which is called rashi-ka-nam or the ceremonial name, rashi meaning the nakshatra or moon's daily mansion under which the child was born. this is kept secret and only used in marriage and other ceremonies, though the practice is now tending to decay. the other is the chaltu or current name, and may either be a second ordinary name, such as those already given, or it may be taken from some peculiarity of the child. names of the latter class are: bhura, brown; putro, a doll, given to a pretty child; dukali, born in famine-time; mahinga, dear or expensive; chhota, little; babu, equivalent to little prince or noble; papa, father; kakku, born in the cucumber season; lada, pet; pattu, a somersault; judawan, cooling, and so on. bad names are also given to avert ill-luck and remove the enmity of the spirits hostile to children, if the mother's previous babies have been lost. instances of these are raisa, short in stature; lula, having a maimed arm; ghasita, dragged along on a board; damru, bought for a farthing; khairati, alms; dukhi, pain; kubra, hunch-back; gudri, rag; kana, one-eyed; birla, thin or lean; bisahu, bought or purchased; and bulaki and chedi, having a pierced nostril; these names are given to a boy whose nostril has been pierced to make him resemble a girl and thus decrease his value. [227] further instances of such names have been given in other articles. julaha julaha, momin.--a low muhammadan caste of weavers resident mainly in saugor and burhanpur. they numbered about 4000 persons in 1911. in nagpur district the muhammadan weavers generally call themselves momin, a word meaning 'orthodox.' in northern india and bengal julahas are very numerous and the bulk of them are probably converted hindus. mr. (sir denzil) ibbetson remarks: "we find koli-julahas, chamar-julahas, morhi-julahas, ramdasi-julahas, and so forth; and it is probable that after a few generations these men will drop the prefix which denotes their low origin and become julahas pure and simple." [228] the julahas claim adam as the founder of their craft, inasmuch as when satan made him realise his nakedness he taught the art of weaving to his sons. and they say that their ancestors came from arabia. in nimar the julahas or momins assert that they do not permit outsiders to be admitted as members of the caste, but the accuracy of this is doubtful, while in saugor any muhammadan who wishes to do so may become a julaha. they follow the muhammadan laws of marriage and inheritance. unions between relatives are favoured, but a man may not marry his sister, niece, aunt or foster-sister. the julaha or momin women observe no purda, and are said to be almost unique among muhammadans in this respect. "the musalman [229] weaver or julaha," sir g. grierson writes, "is the proverbial fool of hindu stories and proverbs. he swims in the moonlight across fields of flowering linseed, thinking the blue colour to be caused by water. he hears his family priest reading the koran, and bursts into tears to the gratification of the reader. when pressed to tell what part affected him most, he says it was not that, but that the wagging beard of the old gentleman so much reminded him of a favourite goat of his which had died. when forming one of a company of twelve he tries to count them and finding himself missing wants to perform his own funeral obsequies. he finds the rear peg of a plough and wants to set up farming on the strength of it. he gets into a boat at night and forgets to pull up the anchor. after rowing till dawn he finds himself where he started, and concludes that the only explanation is that his native village could not bear to lose him and has followed him. if there are eight weavers and nine huqqas, they fight for the odd one. once on a time a crow carried off to the roof of the house some bread which a weaver had given his child. before giving the child any more he took the precaution of removing the ladder. like the english fool he always gets unmerited blows. for instance, he once went to see a ram-fight and got butted himself, as the saying runs: karigah chhor tamasa jay nahak chot julaha khay. 'he left his loom to see the fun and for no reason got a bruising.' another story (told by fallon) is that being told by a soothsayer that it was written in his fate that his nose would be cut off with an axe, the weaver was incredulous and taking up an axe, kept flourishing it, saying- yon karba ta gor katbon yon karba ta hath katbon aur yon karba tab na---'if i do so i cut off my leg, if i do so i cut off my hand, but unless i do so my no----,' and his nose was off. another proverb julaha janathi jo katai, 'does a weaver know how to cut barley,' refers to a story (in fallon) that a weaver unable to pay his debt was set to cut barley by his creditor, who thought to repay himself in this way. but instead of reaping, the stupid fellow kept trying to untwist the tangled barley stems. other proverbs at his expense are; 'the julaha went out to cut the grass at sunset, when even the crows were going home.' 'the julaha's brains are in his backside.' his wife bears an equally bad character, as in the proverb: 'a wilful julahin will pull her own father's beard.'" kachera 1. origin of the caste. kachera, [230] kachara (from kanch, glass).--the functional caste of makers of glass bangles. the kacheras numbered 2800 persons in the central provinces in 1911, of whom 1800 were found in the jubbulpore district. the caste say that in former times glass bangles were made only by turk or muhammadan kacheras. the present name of turkari is probably derived from turk. but when gauri parvati was to be married to mahadeo, she refused to wear the bangles made by a turkari. so mahadeo constructed a vedi or furnace, and from this sprang the first hindu kachera, who was employed to make bangles for parvati. a later variant of the legend, having a sufficiently obvious deduction, is that mahadeo did not create a man, but caught hold of a kshatriya who happened to be present and ordered him to make the bangles. his descendants followed the new profession and thus came to be known as kacheras. it is a possible conclusion from the story that the art of making glass bangles was introduced by the muhammadans and, as suggested in the article on lakhera, it may be the case that hindu women formerly wore ornaments made of lac. 2. exogamous groups. the exogamous sections of the kacheras show that the caste is of very mixed origin. several of them are named after other castes, as bharia (forest tribe), gadaria (shepherd), sunar, naua (nai), thakurel (thakur or rajput), kachhwaha and chauhan (septs of rajputs), and kuria or kori (weaver), and indicate that members of these castes took to the profession of bangle-making and became kacheras. it may be surmised that, in the first instance perhaps, when the objection to using the product of the muhammadan workman arose, if the theory of the prior use of lac bangles be correct, members of different castes took to supplying bangles for their own community, and from these in the course of time the kachera caste was developed. other names of sections worth mentioning are jharraha, one who frets or worries; kharraha, a choleric person; dukesha, one who carries a begging-bowl; thuthel, a maimed man, and khajha, one suffering from the itch. 3. social customs. the exogamous sections are known as baink. the marriage of persons belonging to the same section and of first cousins is forbidden. girls are generally married at an early age, as there is a scarcity of women in the caste, and they are snapped up as soon as available. as a natural consequence a considerable bride-price is paid, and the desire of the kachera to make a profit by the marriage of his daughter is ridiculed in the following saying, supposed to be his prayer: "o god, give me a daughter. in exchange for her i shall get a pair of bullocks and a potful of rupees, and i shall be rich for the rest of my life. as her dowry i shall give her a sickle, a hoe and a spinning-machine, and these will suffice for my daughter to earn her livelihood." the usual sum paid for a girl is rs. 50. the marriage ceremony is performed by walking round the sacred pole, and after it the couple try their strength against each other, the bride trying to push a stone pestle on to a slab with her foot and the groom pushing it off with his. at the end of the wedding an omen is taken, a silver ornament known as dhal [231] which women wear in the ear being fixed on to a wall and milk poured over it. if the ornament is displaced by the stream of milk and falls down, it is considered that the union will be a happy one. the proceeding perhaps symbolises roughly the birth of a child. the marriage of widows is permitted, and in consequence of the scarcity of women the widow is usually married to her late husband's younger brother, if there be one, even though he may be only a child. divorce is permitted. liaisons within the caste are usually overlooked, but a woman going wrong with an outsider is expelled from the community. the kacheras commonly burn the dead. they employ brahmans for ceremonial purposes, but their social status is low and no high caste will take water from them. they eat flesh and fish, and some of them drink liquor, while others have given it up. they have a caste committee or panchayat for the punishment of social offences, which is headed by officials known as malik and diwan. their favourite deity is devi, and in her honour they sow the jawaras or pots of wheat corresponding to the gardens of adonis during the nine days prior to the ramnaomi and dasahra festivals in march and september. some of them carry their devotion so far as to grow the plants of wheat on their bodies, sitting in one posture for nine days and almost giving up food and drink. at the diwali festival they worship the furnace in which glass bangles are made. 4. occupation. the traditional occupation of the caste is the manufacture of glass bangles. they import the glass in lumps from northern india and melt it in their furnace, after which the colouring matter is applied and the ring is turned on a slab of stone. nearly all hindu married women have glass bangles, which are broken or removed if their husbands die. but the rule is not universal, and some castes do not wear them at all. marwari women have bangles of ivory, and dhangar (shepherd) women of cocoanut-shell. women of several castes who engage in labour have glass bangles only on the left wrist and metal ones on the right, as the former are too fragile. low-caste women sometimes wear the flat, black bangles known as khagga on the upper arm. in many castes the glass bangles are also broken after the birth of a child. bangles of many colours are made, but hindus usually prefer black or indigo-blue. among hindus of good caste a girl may wear green bangles while she is unmarried; at her wedding black bangles are put on her wrists, and thereafter she may have them of black, blue, red or yellow, but not green. muhammadans usually wear black or dark-green bangles. a hindu woman has the same number of bangles on each wrist, not less than five and more if she likes. she will never leave her arms entirely without bangles, as she thinks this would cause her to become a widow. consequently when a new set are purchased one or two of the old ones are kept on each arm. similarly among castes who wear lac bangles like banjaras, five should be worn, and these cover the greater part of the space between the wrist and the elbow. the men of the caste usually stay at home and make the bangles, and the women travel about to the different village markets, carrying their wares on little ponies if they can afford them. it is necessary that the seller of bangles should be a woman, as she has to assist her customers to work them on to their wrists, and also display her goods to high-caste women behind the purda in their homes. the kacheras' bangles are very cheap, from two to fourteen being obtainable for a pice (farthing), according to quality. many are also broken, and the seller has to bear the loss of all those broken when the purchaser is putting them on, which may amount to 30 per cent. and though an improvement on the old lac bangles, the colours are very dull, and bracelets of better and more transparent glass imported from austria now find a large sale and tend to oust the indigenous product. the kachera, therefore, is, as a rule, far from prosperous. the incessant bending over the furnace tends to undermine his constitution and often ruins his eyesight. there is in fact a hindi saying to the effect that, "when the kachera has a son the rejoicings are held in the kundera's (turner's) house. for he will go blind and then he will find nothing else to do but turn the kundera's lathe." kachhi list of paragraphs 1. general notice. 2. subdivisions. 3. marriage customs. 4. child-birth. 5. ear-piercing. 6. disposal of the dead. 1. general notice. kachhi.--an important cultivating caste of the northern districts, who grow vegetables and irrigated crops requiring intensive cultivation. the distinction between the kachhis and malis of the hindustani districts is that the former grow regular irrigated crops, while the latter confine their operations to vegetables and flower-gardens; whereas the mali or marar of the maratha country is both a cultivator and a gardener. the kachhis numbered about 120,000 persons in 1911, and resided mainly in the saugor, damoh, jubbulpore and narsinghpur districts. the word kachhi may be derived from kachhar, the name given to the alluvial land lying on river banks, which they greatly affect for growing their vegetables. another derivation is from kachhni, a term used for the process of collecting the opium from the capsules of the poppy. [232] the caste are probably an offshoot of the kurmis. owing to the resemblance of names they claim a connection with the kachhwaha sept of rajputs, but this is not at all probable. 2. subdivisions. the caste is divided into a number of subcastes, most of which take their names from special plants which they grow. thus the hardia kachhis grow haldi or turmeric; the alias cultivate the al or indian madder, from which the well-known red dye is obtained; the phulias are flower-gardeners; the jirias take their name from jira or cumin; the murai or murao kachhis are called after the muli or radish; the pirias take their name from the piria or basket in which they carry earth; the sanias grow san or hemp; the mor kachhis are those who prepare the maur or marriage-crown for weddings; and the lilia subcaste are called after the indigo plant (il or nil). in some localities they have a subcaste called kachhwahi, who are considered to have a connection with the rajputs and to rank higher than the others. 3. marriage customs. the social customs of the kachhis resemble those of the kurmis. the descendants of the same parents do not intermarry for three generations. a man may have two sisters to wife at the same time. in the damoh district, on the arrival of the bridegroom's party, the bride is brought into the marriage-shed, and is there stripped to the waist while she holds a leaf-cup in her hand; this is probably done so that the bridegroom may see that the bride is free from any bodily defect. girls are usually married before they are ten years old, and if the parents are too poor to arrange a match for their daughter, the caste-fellows often raise a subscription when she attains this age and get her married. the bridegroom should always be older than the bride, and the difference is generally from five to ten years. the bridegroom wears a loin-cloth and long coat reaching to the ground, both of which are stained yellow with turmeric; the bride wears a red cloth or one in which red is the main colour. the girl's father gives her a dowry of a cow or jewels, or at least two rupees; while the boy's father pays all the expenses of the wedding with the exception of one feast. the bridegroom gives the bride a present of three shoulder-cloths and three skirts, and one of these is worn by her at the wedding; this is the old northern method of dress, but married women do not usually adhere to it and have adopted the common sari or single body-cloth. the principal ceremony is the bhanwar or walking round the sacred post. while the bride and bridegroom are engaged in this the parents and elderly relatives shut themselves into the house and weep. during the first four rounds of the post the bride walks in front bowing her head and the bridegroom places his right hand on her back; while during the last three the bridegroom walks in front holding the bride by her third finger. after this the bride is hidden somewhere in the house and the bridegroom has to search for her. sometimes the bride's younger sister is dressed up in her clothes and the bridegroom catches her in mistake for his wife, whereupon the old women laugh and say to him, 'do you want her also?' if finally he fails to find the bride he must give her some ornament. after the wedding the bridegroom's marriage-crown is hung to the roof in a basket. and on the sixth day of the following month of bhadon (august), he again dresses himself in his wedding clothes, and taking his marriage-crown on a dish, proceeds to the nearest stream or river accompanied by his friends. here he throws the crown into the water, and the wedding coat is washed clean of the turmeric and unsewn and made up into ordinary clothes. this ceremony is known as moschatt and is common to hindu castes generally. widows are permitted to marry again, and the most usual match is with the younger brother of the deceased husband. divorce is allowed at the instance either of the husband or wife, and may be effected by a simple declaration before the caste committee. 4. childbirth. after a birth neither the mother nor child are given anything to eat the first day; and on the second they bring a young calf and give a little of its urine to the child, and to the mother a little sugar and the half of a cocoanut. in the evening of this day they buy all kinds of hot spices and herbs from a bania and make a cake with them and give it to the mother to eat. on the second day the child begins to drink its mother's milk. the navel-string is cut and buried in the room on the first day, and over it a fire is kept burning continuously during the period of impurity. the small piece which falls from the child's body is buried beneath the mother's bed. the period of impurity after the birth of a girl lasts for four days and five days for a boy. on the sixth day the mother is given rice to eat. twelve days after a child is born the barber's wife cuts its nails for the first time and throws the clippings away. 5. ear-piercing the ears of boys and girls are pierced when they are four or five years old; until this is done they are not considered as members of the caste and may take food from anyone. the ear is always pierced by a sunar (goldsmith), who travels about the country in the pursuit of this calling. a brass pin is left in the ear for fifteen days, and is then removed and a strip of wood is substituted for it in a boy's ear and a peacock's feather in that of a girl to enlarge the hole. girls do not have their nostrils pierced nor wear nose-rings, as the kachhis are a comparatively low caste. they are tattooed before or after marriage with patterns of a scorpion, a peacock, a discus, and with dots on the chin and cheek-bones. during the period of her monthly impurity a girl is secluded in the house and does not eat flesh or fish. when the time is finished she goes to the river and bathes and dresses her hair with earth, which is a necessary ceremony of purification. 6. disposal of the dead. the bodies of children under five and of persons dying from smallpox, snake-bite or cholera are buried, and those of others are cremated. in chhindwara they do not wash or anoint the corpses of the dead, but sprinkle on them a little turmeric and water. on the day of the funeral or cremation the bereaved family is supplied with food by friends. the principal deity of the kachhis is bhainsasur, who is regarded as the keeper of the vegetable garden and is represented by a stone placed under a tree in any part of it. he is worshipped once a year after the holi festival with offerings of vermilion, areca-nuts and cocoanuts, and libations of liquor. the kachhis raise all kinds of vegetables and garden crops, the principal being chillies, turmeric, tobacco, garlic, onions, yams and other vegetables. they are diligent and laborious, and show much skill in irrigating and manuring their crops. kadera 1. historical notice. kadera, kandera, golandaz, bandar, hawaidar. [233]--a small occupational caste of makers of fireworks. the kaderas numbered 2200 persons in 1911, and were most numerous in the narsinghpur district. they consider themselves to have come from bundelkhand, where the caste is also found, but it is in greatest strength in the gwalior state. in former times kaderas were employed to manufacture gunpowder and missiles of iron, and serve cannon in the indian armies. the term golandaz or 'ball-thrower' was also applied to native artillerymen. the bandar or 'rocket-throwers' were a separate class, who fired rockets containing missiles, the name being derived from van, an arrow. with them may be classed the deg-andaz or 'mortar-throwers,' who used thick earthenware pots filled with powder and having fuses attached, somewhat resembling the modern bomb--missiles which inflicted dreadful wounds. [234] mr. irvine writes of the mughal artillery as follows: "the fire was never very rapid. orme speaks of the artillery firing once in a quarter of an hour. in 1721 the usual rate of fire of heavy guns was once every three hours. artillery which fired once in two gharis or forty-four minutes was praised for its rapidity of action. the guns were usually posted behind the clay walls of houses; or they might take up a commanding position on the top of a brick-kiln; or a temporary entrenchment might be formed out of the earthen bank and ditch which usually surround a grove of mango-trees." hawaidar is a term for a maker of fireworks, while the name kandera itself may perhaps be derived from kand, an arrow. 2. subdivisions. in narsinghpur the kaderas have three subcastes, rajput or dangiwara, dhunka, and matwala. the first claim to be rajputs, but the alternative name of dangiwara indicates that they are a mixed group, perhaps partly of rajput descent like the dangis of saugor. it is by no means unlikely that the lower classes of rajputs should have been employed in the avocations of the kaderas. the term dhunka signifies a cotton-cleaner, and some of the kaderas may have taken up this calling, when they could no longer find employment in the native armies. matwala means a drinker of country liquor, in which members of this group indulge. but with the exception of the rajput kaderas in narsinghpur, other members of the caste also drink it. 3. social customs. they celebrate their marriages by walking round the sacred post. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. they have a caste committee, with a headman called chaudhri or mehtar, and an inferior officer known as diwan. when a man has been put out of caste the chaudhri first takes food with him on readmission, and for this is entitled to a fee of a rupee and a turban, while the diwan receives a smaller cloth. these offices are hereditary. the kaderas have no purda system, and a wife may speak freely to her father-in-law. they bury the milk-teeth of children below the ghinochi, or stand for water-pots, with the idea probably of preventing heat and inflammation in the gums. a child's jhala or birth-hair is usually cut for the first time on the occasion of some marriage in the family, and is thrown into the nerbudda or buried at a temple. names are given by the brahman on the day of birth or soon afterwards, and a second pet name is commonly used in the family. if a child sees a lamp on the chhati or sixth day after its birth they think that it will squint. 4. religion and occupation. the caste employ brahmans for religious ceremonies, but their social position is low, and they rank with castes from whom a brahman cannot take water. on the tenth day of jeth (may) they worship lukman hakim, a personage whom they believe to have been the inventor of gunpowder. he is popularly identified with solomon, and is revered with muhammadan rites in the shop and not in the house. a fakir is called in who sacrifices a goat, and makes an offering of the head, which becomes his perquisite; sugar-cakes and sweet rice are also offered and given away to children, and the flesh of the goat is eaten by the family of the worshipper. since the worship is paid only in the shop it would appear that lukman hakim is considered a deity foreign to the domestic religion, and is revered as having invented the substance which enables the caste to make their livelihood; and since he is clearly a muhammadan deity, and is venerated according to the ritual of this religion by the kaderas, who are otherwise hindus, a recognition seems to be implied that as far at least as the kaderas are concerned the introduction of gunpowder into india is attributed to the muhammadans. it is not stated whether or not the month of may was selected of set purpose for the worship of the inventor of gunpowder, but it is at any rate a most appropriate season in india. at present the kadera makes his own gunpowder and manufactures fireworks, and in this capacity he is also known as atashbaz. the ingredients for gunpowder in narsinghpur are a pound of saltpetre, two ounces of sulphur, and four ounces of charcoal of a light wood, such as saleh [235] or the stalks of arhar. [236] water is sprinkled on the charcoal and the ingredients are pounded together in a mortar, a dangerous proceeding which is apt to cause occasional vacancies in the family circle. arsenic and potash are also used for different fireworks, and sesamum oil is added to prevent smoke. fireworks form a very popular spectacle in india, and can be obtained of excellent quality even in small towns. bharbhunjas or grain-parchers now also deal in them. kahar 1. origin and statistics. kahar, [237] bhoi.--the caste of palanquin-bearers and watermen of northern india. no scientific distinction can be made between the kahars and dhimars, both names being applied to the same people. in northern india the term kahar is generally used, and mr. crooke has an article on kahar, but none on dhimar. in the central provinces the latter is the more common name for the caste, and in 1911 23,000 kahars were returned as against nearly 300,000 dhimars. berar had also 27,000 kahars. the social customs of the caste are described in the article on dhimar, but a short separate notice is given to the kahars on account of their special social interest. some kahars refuse to clean household cooking-vessels and hence occupy a slightly higher social position than the dhimars generally. mr. crooke derives the name of the caste from the sanskrit skandha-kara, or 'one who carries things on his shoulder.' the brahmanical genealogists represent the kahar as descended from a brahman father and a chandal or sweeper mother, and this is typical of the position occupied by the caste, who, though probably derived from the primitive non-aryan tribes, have received a special position on account of their employment as household servants, so that all classes may take water and cooked food at their hands. as one of mr. crooke's correspondents remarks: "this caste is so low that they clean the vessels of almost all castes except menials like the chamar and dhobi, and at the same time so high that, except kanaujia brahmans, all other castes eat pakki and drink water at their hands." sir d. ibbetson says of the kahar: "he is a true village menial, receiving customary dues and performing customary service. his social standing is in one respect high; for all will drink water at his hands. but he is still a servant, though the highest of his class." this comparatively high degree of social purity appears to have been conferred on the kahars and dhimars from motives of convenience, as it would be intolerable to have a palanquin-bearer or indoor servant from whom one could not take a drink of water. 2. the doli or palanquin. the proper occupation of the kahar is that of doli or litter-bearer. when carts could not travel owing to the absence of roads this was the regular mode of conveyance of those who could afford it and did not ride. buchanan remarks: "few or none except some chief native officers of government keep bearers in constant pay; but men of large estates give farms at low rents to their bearers, who are ready at a call and receive food when employed." [238] a superior kind of litter used by rich women had a domed roof supported on eight pillars with side-boards like venetian blinds; and was carried on two poles secured to the sides beneath the roof. this is perhaps the progenitor of the modern calcutta ghari or four-wheeler, just as the body of the hansom-cab was modelled on the old sedan-chair. it was called kharkhariya in imitation of the rattling of the blinds when in motion. [239] the palki or ordinary litter consisted of a couch slung under a long bamboo, which formed an arch over it. over the arch was suspended a tilt made of cloth, which served to screen the passenger from sun and rain. a third kind was the chaupala or square box open at the sides and slung on a bamboo; the passenger sat doubled up inside this. if as was sometimes the case the chaupala was hung considerably beneath the bamboo the passenger was miserably draggled by dust and mud. nowadays regular litters are so little used that they are not to be found in villages; but when required because one cannot ride or for travelling at night they are readily improvised by slinging a native wooden cot from two poles by strings of bamboo-fibre. most of the kahars and dhimars have forgotten how to carry a litter, and proceed very slowly with frequent stops to change shoulders or substitute other bearers. but the kols of mandla still retain the art, and will do more than four miles an hour for several hours if eight men are allowed. under native governments the privilege of riding in a palanquin was a mark of distinction; and a rule was enforced that no native could thus enter into the area of the forts in madras and bombay without the permission of the governor; such permission being recorded in the order book at the gates of the fort and usually granted only to a few who were lame or otherwise incapacitated. when general medows assumed the office of governor of bombay in 1788 some parsis waited on him and begged for the removal of this restriction; to which the governor replied, "so long as you do not force me to ride in this machine he may who likes it"; and so the rule was abrogated. [240] a passage from hobson-jobson, however, shows that the portuguese were much stricter in this respect: "in 1591 a proclamation of the viceroy, matthias d'albuquerque, ordered: 'that no person of what quality or condition soever, shall go in a palanquy without my express licence, save they be over sixty years of age, to be first proved before the auditor-general of police ... and those who contravene this shall pay a penalty of 200 cruzados, and persons of mean estate the half, the palanquys and their belongings to be forfeited, and the bois or mouços who carry such palanquys shall be condemned to his majesty's galleys.'" [241] the meaning of the last sentence appears to be that the bearers were considered as slaves, and were forfeited to the king's service as a punishment to their owner. as the unauthorised use of this conveyance was so severely punished it would appear that riding in a palanquin must have been a privilege of nobility. similarly to ride on a horse was looked upon in something of the same light; and when a person of inferior consequence met a superior or a government officer while riding, he had to dismount from his horse as a mark of respect until the other had passed. this last custom still obtains to some extent, though it is rapidly disappearing. as a means of conveyance the litter would be held sacred by primitive people, and mr. crooke gives an instance of the regard paid to it: "at the holi festival eight days before diwali in the western districts the house is plastered with cowdung and figures of a litter (doli) and bearers are made on the walls with four or five colours, and to them offerings of incense, lights and flowers are given." [242] even after passable roads were made tongas or carts drawn by trotting-bullocks were slow in coming into general use owing to the objection felt by the hindus to harnessing the sacred ox. 3. female bearers. at royal courts women were employed to carry the litters of the king and the royal ladies into the inner precincts of the palace, the male bearers relinquishing their charge outside. "another class of attendants at the palace peculiar to lucknow were the female bearers. their occupation was to carry the palanquins and various covered conveyances of the king and his ladies into the inner courts of the harem. these female bearers were also under military discipline. they had their officers, commissioned and non-commissioned. the head of them, a great masculine woman of pleasing countenance, was an especial favourite of the king. the badinage which was exchanged between them was of the freest possible character--not fit for ears polite, of course; but the extraordinary point in it was that no one hearing it or witnessing such scenes could have supposed it possible that a king and a slave stood before him as the two chief disputants." [243] similarly female sepoys were employed to guard the harem, dressed in ordinary uniform and regularly drilled and taught to shoot. [244] a battalion of female troops for guarding the zenana is still maintained in hyderabad. [245] 4. indoor servants. from being a palanquin-bearer the kahar became the regular indoor servant of hindu households. originally of low caste, and derived from the non-aryan tribes, they did not object to eat the leavings of food of their masters, a relation which is naturally very convenient, if not essential, in poor hindu houses. sir h. risley notes, however, that in bengal a kahar engaged in personal service with a brahman, rajput, babhan, kayasth or agarwal, will only eat his master's leavings so long as he is himself unmarried. [246] it seems that the marriage feast may be considered as the sacrificial meal conferring full membership of the caste, after which the rules against taking food from other castes must be strictly observed. slaves were commonly employed as indoor servants, and hence the term kahar came to be almost synonymous with a slave. "in the eighteenth century the title kahar was at patna the distinctive appellation of a hindu slave, as maulazadah was of a muhammadan, and the tradition in 1774 was that the kahar slavery took its rise when the muhammadans first invaded northern india." [247] as the kahar was the common indoor servant in hindu houses so apparently he came to be employed in the same capacity by the english. but he was of too high a caste to serve the food of a european, which would have involved touching the cooked flesh of the cow, and thus lost him his comparatively good status and social purity among the hindus. hence arose the anomaly of a body servant who would not touch his master's food, and confined himself to the duties of a valet; while the name of bearer given to this servant indicates clearly that he is the successor of the old-time kahar or palanquin-bearer. the uriya bearers of bengal were well known as excellent servants and most faithful; but in time the inconvenience of their refusal to wait at table has led to their being replaced by low-caste madrasis and by muhammadans. the word 'boy' as applied to indian servants is no doubt of english origin, as it is also used in china and the west indies; but the south indian term boyi or hindi bhoi for a palanquin-bearer also appears to have been corrupted into boy and to have made this designation more common. the following instances of the use of the word 'boy' from hobson-jobson [248] may be quoted in conclusion: "the real indian ladies lie on a sofa, and if they drop their handkerchief they just lower their voices and say 'boy,' in a very gentle tone" (letters from madras in 1826). 'yes, sahib, i christian boy. plenty poojah do. sunday time never no work do' (trevelyan, the dawk bungalow, in 1866). the hindu term bhoi or bearer is now commonly applied to the gonds, and is considered by them as an honorific name or title. the hypothesis thus appears to be confirmed that the kahar caste of palanquin-bearers was constituted from the non-aryan tribes, who were practically in the position of slaves to the hindus, as were the chamars and mahars, the village drudges and labourers. but when the palanquin-bearer developed into an indoor servant, his social status was gradually raised from motives of convenience, until he grew to be considered as ceremonially pure, and able to give his master water and prepare food for cooking. thus the kahars or dhimars came to rank considerably above the primitive tribes from whom they took their origin, their ceremonial purity being equal to that of the hindu cultivating castes, while the degrading status of slavery which had at first attached to them gradually fell into abeyance. and thus one can understand why the gonds should consider the name of bhoi or bearer as a designation of honour. kaikari 1. origin and traditions. kaikari, kaikadi (also called bargandi by outsiders). [249]--a disreputable wandering tribe, whose ostensible profession is to make baskets. they are found in nimar and the maratha districts, and number some 2000 persons in the central provinces. the kaikaris here, as elsewhere, claim to have come from telingana or the deccan, but there is no caste of this name in the madras presidency. they may not improbably be the caste there known as korva or yerukala, whose occupations are similar. mr. kitts [250] has stated that the kaikaris are known as koravars in arcot and as korvas in the carnatic. the kaikaris speak a gipsy language, which according to the specimen given by hislop [251] contains tamil and telugu words. one derivation of kaikari is from the tamil kai, hand, and kude, basket, and if this is correct it is in favour of their identification with the korvas, who always carry their tattooing and other implements in a basket in the hand. [252] the kaikaris of the central provinces say that their original ancestor was one kanoba ramjan who handed a twig to his sons and told them to earn their livelihood by it. since then they have subsisted by making baskets from the stalks of the cotton-plant, the leaves of the date-palm and grass. they themselves derive their name from kai, standing for kanoba ramjan and kadi, a twig, an etymology which may be dismissed with that given in the berar census report [253] that they are the remnants of the kaikeyas, who before the christian era dwelt north of the jalandhar doab. two subcastes exist in nimar, the marathas and the phirasti or wandering kaikaris, the former no doubt representing recruits from maratha castes, not improbably from the kunbis. the maratha kaikaris look down on the phirastis as the latter take cooked food from a number of castes including the telis, while the marathas refuse to do this. in the nagpur country there are several divisions which profess to be endogamous, as the kamathis or those selling toys made of palm-leaves, the bhamtis or those who steal from bazars, the kunbis or cultivators, the tokriwalas or makers and sellers of baskets and the boriwalas or those who carry bricks, gravel and stone. kunbi and bhamti are the names of other castes, and kamathi is a general term applied in the maratha country to telugu immigrants; the names thus show that the kaikaris, like other vagrant groups, are largely recruited from persons expelled from their own caste for social offences. these groups cannot really be endogamous as yet, but as in the case of several other wandering tribes they probably have a tendency to become so. in berar [254] an entirely different set of 12 1/2 subcastes is recorded, several of which are territorial, and two, the pungis or blowers of gourds, and the wajantris or village musicians, are occupational. in nimar as in khandesh [255] the kaikaris have only two exogamous clans, jadon and gaikwar, who must marry with each other. in the southern districts there are a number of exogamous divisions, as jadon, mane, kumre, jeshti, kade, dane and others. jadon is a well-known rajput sept, and the kaikaris do not explain how they came by the name, but claim to have fought as soldiers under several kings, during which occasions the name may have been adopted from some rajput leader in accordance with the common practice of imitation. mane and gaikwar are family names of the maratha caste. the names and varied nomenclature of the subdivisions show that the kaikaris, as at present constituted, are a very mixed caste, though they may not improbably have been originally connected with the korvas of madras. 2. marriage. marriage within the same gotra or section is prohibited, but with one or two exceptions there are no other restrictions on intermarriage between relatives. a sister's son may marry a brother's daughter, but not vice versa. a man may not marry his wife's elder sister either during his wife's lifetime or after her death, and he may marry her younger sister, but not the younger but one. girls are generally married between 8 and 12 years of age. if a girl cannot get a partner nothing is done, but when the marriage of a boy has not been arranged, a sham rite is performed with an akao plant (swallow-wort) or with a silver ring, all the ceremonies of a regular marriage being gone through. the tree is subsequently carefully reared, or the ring worn on the finger. should the tree die or the ring be lost, funeral obsequies are performed for it as for a member of the family. a bride-price is paid which may vary from rs. 20 to rs. 100. in the southern districts the following custom is in vogue at weddings. after the ceremony the bridegroom pretends to be angry and goes out of the mandap or shed, on which the bride runs after him, and throwing a piece of cloth round his neck, drags him back again. her father then gives him some money or ornaments to pacify him. after this the same performance is gone through with the bride. the bride is taken to her husband's house, but is soon brought back by her relatives. on her second departure the husband himself does not go to fetch her, and she is brought home by his father and other relations, her own family presenting her with new clothes on this occasion. widow-marriage is permitted, and the widow is expected to marry the next younger brother of the deceased husband. she may not marry any except the next younger, and if another should take her he is expelled from the caste until the connection is severed. if she marries somebody else he must repay to her late husband's brother a half of the expenses incurred on the first marriage. in the southern districts she may not marry a brother of her husband's at all. a widow cannot be married in her late husband's house, but is taken to her parents' house and married from there. in nimar her family do not take anything, but in the south they are paid a small sum. here also the marriage is performed at the second husband's house; the woman carries to it a new earthen pitcher filled with water, and, placing it on the chauk or pattern of lines traced with flour in the courtyard, touches the feet of the panch or caste committee, after which her skirt is tied to her husband's cloth. the pair are seated on a blanket and new bangles are placed on the woman's wrist, widows officiating at the ceremony. the couple then leave the village and pass the night outside it, returning next morning, when the woman manages to enter the house without being perceived by a married woman or unmarried girl. a bachelor marrying a widow must first go through the ceremony with a ring or akao plant, as already described, this being his real marriage; if he omits the rite his daughters by the widow will not be considered as members of the caste, though his sons will be admitted. polygamy is allowed, but the consent of the first wife must be obtained to the taking of a second, and she may require a written promise of good treatment after the second marriage. a second wife is usually only taken if the first is barren, and if she has children her parents usually interfere to dissuade the husband, while other parents are always averse to giving their daughter in marriage to a man under such circumstances. divorce is permitted for the usual reasons, a deed being drawn up and attested by the panchayat, to whom the husband pays a fine of rs. 8 or rs. 10. 3. religion. the tutelary god of the kaikaris is the nag or cobra, who is worshipped at marriages and on the day of nag-panchmi. every family has in the house a platform dedicated to khandoba, the maratha god of war. they also worship marimata, to whom flowers are offered at festivals, and a little ghi is poured out in her honour by way of incense. when the juari harvest is gathered, dalias or cakes of boiled juari and a ewe are offered to marimata. they do not revere the hindu sacred trees, the pipal and banyan, nor the basil plant, and will readily cut them down. they both burn and bury the dead. the jadons burn all married persons, but if they cannot afford firewood they touch the corpse with a burning cinder and then bury it. the gaikwars always bury their dead, the corpse being laid naked on its back with the feet pointing to the south. on returning from the burial-ground each relative of the deceased gives one roti or wheaten cake to the bereaved family, and they eat, sharing the cakes with the panchayat. bread is also presented on the second day, and on the third the family begin to cook again. mourning lasts for ten days, and on the last day the house is cleaned and the earthen pots thrown out; the clothes of the family are washed and the males are shaved. ten balls of rice cooked in milk are offered to the soul of the dead person and a feast is given to the caste. after a birth the mother remains impure for five weeks. for the first five days both the mother and child are bathed daily. the navel cord and after-birth are buried by the midwife in a rubbish heap. when the milk teeth fall out they are placed in a ball of the dung of an ass and thrown on to the roof of the house. it is considered that the rats or mice, who have very good and sharp teeth, will take them and give the child good teeth in exchange. women are impure for five days during the menstrual period. when a girl attains maturity a ceremony called god-bharni is performed. the neighbours are invited and songs are sung and the girl is seated in the chauk or pattern of lines traced with flour. she is given new clothes and bangles by her father, or her father-in-law if she is married, and rice and plantains, cocoanuts and other fruits are tied up in her skirt. this is no doubt done so that the girl may in like manner be fruitful, the cocoanuts perhaps being meant to represent human heads, as they usually do. 4. social customs and position. the kaikaris eat flesh, including pork and fowls, but not beef. in nimar the animals which they eat must have their throats cut by a muhammadan with the proper formula, otherwise it is considered as murder to slaughter them. both men and women drink liquor. they take food cooked with water from kunbis and malis and take water from the same castes, but not from dhimars, nais or kahars. no caste will take food from a kaikari. their touch is considered to defile a brahman, bania, kalar and other castes, but not a kunbi. they are not allowed to enter temples but may live inside the village. their status is thus very low. they have a caste panchayat or committee, and punishments are imposed for the usual offences. permanent exclusion from caste is rarely or never inflicted, and even a woman who has gone wrong with an outsider may be readmitted after a peculiar ceremony of purification. the delinquent is taken to a river, tank or well, and is there shaved clean. her tongue is branded with a ring or other article of gold, and she is then seated under a wooden shed having two doors. she goes in by one door and sits in the shed, which is set on fire. she must remain seated until the whole shed is burning and is then allowed to escape by the other door. a young boy of the caste is finally asked to eat from her hand, and thus purified she is readmitted to social intercourse. fire is the great purifier, and this ceremony probably symbolises the immolation of the delinquent and her new birth. a similar ordeal is practised among the korvas of bombay, and this fact may be taken as affording further evidence of the identity of the two castes. [256] the morals of the caste are, however, by no means good, and some of them are said to live by prostituting their women. the dog is held especially sacred as with all worshippers of khandoba, and to swear by a dog is khandoba's oath and is considered the most binding. the kaikaris are of dark colour and have repulsive features. they do not bathe or change their clothes for days together. they are also quarrelsome, and in bombay the word kaikarin is a proverbial term for a dirty shrew. women are profusely tattooed, because tattooing is considered to be a record of the virtuous acts performed in this world and must be displayed to the deity after death. if no marks of tattooing are found the soul is sent to hell and punished for having acquired no piety. 5. occupation. basket-making is the traditional occupation of the kaikaris and is still followed by them. they do not however make baskets from bamboos, but from cotton-stalks, palm-leaves and grass. in the south they are principally employed as carriers of stone, lime, bricks and gravel. like most wandering castes they have a bad character. in berar the ran kaikaris are said to be the most criminal class. [257] they act under a chief who is elected for life, and wander about in the cold weather, usually carrying their property on donkeys. their ostensible occupations are to make baskets and mend grinding mills. a notice of them in lawrence's settlement report of bhandara (1867) stated that they were then professional thieves, openly avowing their dependence on predatory occupations for subsistence, and being particularly dexterous at digging through the walls of houses and secret pilfering. kalanga 1. origin. kalanga.--a cultivating caste of chhattisgarh numbering 1800 persons in 1911. in sambalpur they live principally in the phuljhar zamindari on the border, between chhattisgarh and the uriya track. the kalangas appear to be a dravidian tribe who took up military service and therefore adopted a territorial name, kalanga being probably derived from kalinga, the name of the sea-board of the telugu country. the kalangas may be a branch of the great kalingi tribe of madras. they have mixed much with the kawars, and in phuljhar say that they have three branches, the kalingia, kawar and chero kalangas; kawar and chero are names for the same tribe, and the last two branches are thus probably a mixture of kalingis and kawars, while the first comprises the original kalingis. the kalangas themselves, like the kawars, say that they are the descendants of the kauravas of the mahabharata, and that they came from northern india with the rajas of patna, whom they still serve. but their features indicate their dravidian descent as also their social customs, especially that of killing a cock with the bare hands on the birth of a child, and anointing the infant's forehead with its blood. they have not retained their telugu language, however, and like the kawars now speak a dialect of chhattisgarhi at home, while many also know uriya. 2. subdivisions. the kalangas have no real endogamous divisions but a large number of exogamous groups or bargas, the names of which are derived from animals, plants, or material objects, nicknames, occupations or titles. instances of the totemistic groups are barha the wild boar, magar the crocodile, bichhi the scorpion, saria a variety of rice, chhati a mushroom, khumri a leaf umbrella, and several others. the members of the group revere the animal, plant or other object from which it takes its name and would refuse to injure it or use it for food. they salute the object whenever they see it. instances of other group names are manjhi a headman, behra a cook, gunda dusty, kapat a shutter, bhundi a hole, chika muddy, bhil a tribe, rendia quarrelsome, and bersia a thug or strangler. some of the nicknames or titles are curious, as for instance kapat, a shutter, which stands for gate-keeper, and bhundi, a hole, which indicates a defective person. some of the group names are those of other castes, and this probably indicates the admission of families of other castes among the kalangas. one of the groups is called kusundi, the meaning of which is not known, but whenever any one of the caste gets maggots in a wound and is temporarily expelled, it is a member of the kusundi group, if one is available, who gives him water on his readmission into caste. this is a dangerous service, because it renders the performer liable to the burden of the other's sin, and when no kusundi is present five or seven men of other groups combine in doing it so as to reduce the risk to a fraction. but why this function of a scapegoat should be imposed upon the kusundi group, or whether it possesses any peculiar sanctity which protects it from danger, cannot be explained. 3. marriage. marriage within the same barga or group is prohibited and also the union of first cousins. marriage is usually adult and matches are arranged between the parents of the parties. a considerable quantity of grain with five pieces of cloth and rs. 5 are given to the father of the bride. a marriage-shed is erected and a post of the mahua tree fixed inside it. three days before the wedding a ganda goes to the shed with some pomp and worships the village gods there. in the ceremony the bridegroom and bride proceed separately seven times round the post, this rite being performed for three days running. during the four days of the wedding the fathers of the bride and bridegroom each give one meal to the whole caste on two days, while the other meal on all four days is given to the wedding party by the members of the caste resident in the village. this may be a survival of the time when all members of the village community were held to be related. widow-marriage is allowed, but the widow must obtain the consent of the caste people before taking a second husband, and a feast must be given to them. if the widow has no children and there are no relatives to succeed to her late husband's property, it is expended on feeding the caste people. divorce is permitted and is effected by breaking the woman's bangles in front of the caste panchayat. in memory perhaps of their former military profession the kalangas worship the sword on the 15th day of shrawan and the 9th day of kunwar. offerings are made to the dead in the latter month, but not to persons who have died a violent death. the spirits of these must be laid lest they should trouble the living, and this is done in the following manner: a handful of rice is placed at the threshold of the house, and a ring is suspended by a thread so as to touch the rice. a goat is then brought up, and when it eats the rice, the spirit of the dead person is considered to have entered into the goat, which is thereupon killed and eaten by the family so as to dispose of him once for all. if the goat will not eat the rice it is made to do so. the spirit of a man who has been killed by a tiger must, however, be laid by the sulia or sorcerer of the caste, who goes through the formula of pretending to be a tiger and of mauling another sorcerer. 4. social position. the kalangas are at present cultivators and many of them are farmservants. they do not now admit outsiders into the caste, but they will receive the children begotten on any woman by a kalanga man. they take food cooked without water from a guria, but katchi food from nobody. only the lowest castes will take food from them. they drink liquor and eat fowls and rats, but not beef or pork. a man who gets his ear torn is temporarily excluded from caste, and this penalty is also imposed for the other usual offences. a woman committing adultery with a man of another caste is permanently expelled. the kalangas are somewhat tall in stature. their features are dravidian, and in their dress and ornaments they follow the chhattisgarhi style. kalar list of paragraphs 1. strength of the caste. 2. internal structure. 3. dandsena kalars in chhattisgarh. 4. social customs. 5. liquor held divine in vedic times. 6. subsequent prohibition of alcohol. 7. spirits habitually drunk in ancient times. 8. drunkenness and divine inspiration. 9. sanctity of liquor among the gonds and other castes. 10. drugs also considered divine. 11. opium and ganja. 12. tobacco. 13. customs in connection with drinking. 1. strength of the caste. kalar, kalwar. [258]--the occupational caste of distillers and sellers of fermented liquor. in 1911 the kalars numbered nearly 200,000 persons in the central provinces and berar, or rather more than one per cent of the population; so they are a somewhat important caste numerically. the name is derived from the sanskrit kalyapala, a distiller of liquor. 2. internal structure. the caste has a number of subdivisions, of which the bulk are of the territorial type, as malvi or the immigrants from malwa, lad those coming from south gujarat, daharia belonging to dahar or the jubbulpore country, jaiswar and kanaujia coming from oudh. the rai kalars are an aristocratic subcaste, the word rai signifying the highest or ruling group like raj. but the byahut or 'married' are perhaps really the most select, and are so called because they forbid the remarriage of widows, their women being thus married once for all. in bengal they also decline to distil or sell liquor. [259] the chauske kalars are said to be so called because they prohibit the marriage of persons having a common ancestor up to the fourth generation. the name of the seohare or sivahare subcaste is perhaps a corruption of somhare or dealers in soma, the sacred fermented liquor of the vedas; or it may mean the worshippers of the god siva. the seohare kalars say that they are connected with the agarwala banias, their common ancestors having been the brothers seoru and agru. these brothers on one occasion purchased a quantity of mahua [260] flowers; the price afterwards falling heavily. agru sold his stock at a discount and cut the loss; but seoru, unwilling to suffer it, distilled liquor from his flowers and sold the liquor, thus recouping himself for his expenditure. but in consequence of his action he was degraded from the bania caste and his descendants became kalars. the jaiswar, kanaujia and seohare divisions are also found in northern india, and the byahut both there and in bengal. mr. crooke states that the caste may be an offshoot from the bania or other vaishya tribes; and a slight physical resemblance may perhaps be traced between kalars and banias. it may be noticed also that some of the kalars are jains, a religion to which scarcely any others except banias adhere. another hypothesis, however, is that since the kalars have become prosperous and wealthy they devised a story connecting them with the bania caste in order to improve their social position. 3. dandsena kalars in chhattisgarh. in chhattisgarh the principal division of the kalars is that of the dandsenas or 'stick-carriers,' and in explanation of the name they relate the following story: "a kalar boy was formerly the mahaprasad or bosom friend of the son of the rajput king of balod. [261] but the raja's son fell in love with the kalar boy's sister and entertained evil intentions towards her. then the kalar boy went and complained to the raja, who was his phulbaba, [262] the father of his friend, saying, 'a dog is always coming into my house and defiling it, what am i to do?' the raja replied that he must kill the dog. then the boy asked whether he would be punished for killing him, and the raja said, no. so the next day as the rajput boy was entering his house to get at his sister, the kalar boy killed him, though he was his dearest friend. then the rajputs attacked the kalars, but they were led only by the queen, as the king had said that the kalar boy might kill the dog. but the rajputs were being defeated and so the raja intervened, and the kalars then ceased fighting as the raja had broken his word. but they left balod, saying that they would drink no more of its waters, which they have not done to this day." [263] and the kalars are called dandsena, because in this fight sticks were their only weapons. 4. social customs. the marriage customs of the caste follow the ordinary hindu ritual prevalent in the locality and are not of special interest. before a kalar wedding procession starts a ceremony known as marrying the well is performed. the mother or aunt of the bridegroom goes to the well and sits in the mouth with her legs hanging down inside it and asks what the bridegroom will give her. he then goes round the well seven times, and a stick of kans [264] grass is thrown into it at each turn. afterwards he promises the woman some handsome present and she returns to the house. another explanation of the story is that the woman pretends to be overcome with grief at the bridegroom's departure and threatens to throw herself into the well unless he will give her something. the well-to-do marry their daughters at an early age, but no stigma attaches to those who have to postpone the ceremony. a bride-price is not customary, but if the girl's parents are poor they sometimes receive help from those of the boy in order to carry out the wedding. matches are usually arranged at the caste feasts, and a brahman officiates at the ceremony. divorce is recognised and widows are allowed to marry again except by the byahut subcaste. the kalars worship the ordinary hindu deities, and those who sell liquor revere an earthen jar filled with wine at the holi festival. the educated are usually vaishnavas by sect, and as already stated a few of them belong to the jain religion. the social status of the kalars is equivalent to that of the village menials, ranking below the good cultivating castes. brahmans do not take water from their hands. but in mandla, where the kalars are important and prosperous, certain sarwaria brahmans who were their household priests took water from them, thus recognising them as socially pure. this has led to a split among the local sarwaria brahmans, the families who did not take water from the kalars refusing to intermarry with those who did so. while the highest castes of hindus eschew spirituous liquor the cultivating and middle classes are divided, some drinking it and others not; and to the menial and labouring classes, and especially to the forest tribes, it is the principal luxury of their lives. unfortunately they have not learnt to indulge in moderation and nearly always drink to excess if they have the means, while the intoxicating effect of even a moderate quantity is quickly perceptible in their behaviour. in the central provinces the liquor drunk is nearly all distilled from the flowers of the mahua tree (bassia latifolia), though elsewhere it is often made from cane sugar. the smell of the fermented mahua and the refuse water lying about make the village liquor-shop an unattractive place. but the trade has greatly profited the kalars by the influence which it has given them over the lower classes. "with the control of the liquor-supply in their hands," mr. montgomerie writes, "they also controlled the gonds, and have played a more important part in the past history of the chhindwara district than their numbers would indicate." [265] the kalar and teli (oil-presser) are usually about on the same standing; they are the creditors of the poorer tenants and labourers, as the bania is of the landowners and substantial cultivators. these two of the village trades are not suited to the method of payment by annual contributions of grain, and must from an early period have been conducted by single transactions of barter. hence the kalar and teli learnt to keep accounts and to appreciate the importance of the margin of profit. this knowledge and the system of dealing on credit with the exaction of interest have stood them in good stead and they have prospered at the expense of their fellow-villagers. the kalars have acquired substantial property in several districts, especially in those mainly populated by gonds, as mandla, betul and chhindwara. in british districts of the central provinces they own 750 villages, or about 4 per cent of the total. in former times when salt was highly taxed and expensive the gonds had no salt. the kalars imported rock-salt and sold it to the gonds in large pieces. these were hung up in the gond houses just as they are in stables, and after a meal every one would go up to the lump of salt and lick it as ponies do. when the gonds began to wear cloth instead of leaves and beads the kalars retailed them thin strips of cloth just sufficient for decency, and for the cloth and salt a large proportion of the gond's harvest went to the kalar. when a gond has threshed his grain the kalar takes round liquor to the threshing-floor and receives a present of grain much in excess of its value. thus the gond has sold his birthright for a mess of pottage and the kalar has taken his heritage. only a small proportion of the caste are still supported by the liquor traffic, and a third of the whole are agriculturists. others have engaged in the timber trade, purchasing teak timber from the gonds in exchange for liquor, a form of commerce which has naturally redounded to their great advantage. a few are educated and have risen to good positions in government service. sir d. ibbetson describes them as 'notorious for enterprise, energy and obstinacy. death may budge, but a kalar won't.' the sikh kalars, who usually call themselves ahluwalia, contain many men who have attained to high positions under government, especially as soldiers, and the general testimony is that they make brave soldiers. [266] one of the ruling chiefs of the punjab belongs to this caste. until quite recently the manufacture of liquor, except in the large towns, was conducted in small pot-stills, of which there was one for a circle of perhaps two dozen villages with subordinate shops. the right of manufacture and vend in each separate one of these stills was sold annually by auction at the district headquarters, and the kalars assembled to bid for it. and here instances of their dogged perseverance could often be noticed; when a man would bid up for a licence to a sum far in excess of the profits which he could hope to acquire from it, rather than allow himself to be deprived of a still which he desired to retain. 5. liquor held divine in vedic times. though alcoholic liquor is now eschewed by the higher castes of hindus and forbidden by their religion, this has by no means always been the case. in vedic times the liquor known as soma was held in so much esteem by the aryans that it was deified and worshipped as one of their principal gods. dr. hopkins summarises [267] the attributes of the divine wine, soma, as follows, from passages in the rig-veda: "this offering of the juice of the soma-plant in india was performed thrice daily. it is said in the rig-veda that soma grows upon the mountain mujawat, that its or his father is parjanya, the rain-god, and that the waters are his sisters. from this mountain, or from the sky, accounts differ, soma was brought by a hawk. he is himself represented in other places as a bird; and as a divinity he shares in the praise given to indra. it was he who helped indra to slay vritra, the demon that keeps back the rain. indra, intoxicated by soma, does his great deeds, and indeed all the gods depend on soma for immortality. divine, a weapon-bearing god, he often simply takes the place of indra and other gods in vedic eulogy. it is the god soma himself who slays vritra, soma who overthrows cities, soma who begets the gods, creates the sun, upholds the sky, prolongs life, sees all things, and is the one best friend of god and man, the divine drop (indu), the friend of indra. as a god he is associated not only with indra but also with agni, rudra and pushan. a few passages in the later portion of the rig-veda show that soma already was identified with the moon before the end of this period. after this the lunar yellow god was regularly regarded as the visible and divine soma of heaven represented on earth by the plant." mr. hopkins discards the view advanced by some commentators that it is the moon and not the beverage to which the vedic hymns and worship are addressed, and there is no reason to doubt that he is right. the soma plant has been thought to be the asclepias acida, [268] a plant growing in persia and called hom in persian. the early persians believed that the hom plant gave great energy to body and mind. [269] an angel is believed to preside over the plant, and the hom yast is devoted to its praises. twigs of it are beaten in water in the smaller agiari or fire-temple, and this water is considered sacred, and is given to newborn children to drink. [270] dr. hopkins states, however, that the hom or asclepias acida was not the original soma, as it does not grow in the punjab region, but must have been a later substitute. afterwards again another kind of liquor, sura, became the popular drink, and soma, which was now not so agreeable, was reserved as the priests' (gods') drink, a sacrosanct beverage not for the vulgar, and not esteemed by the priests except as it kept up the rite. [271] soma is said to have been prepared from the juice of the creeper already mentioned, which was diluted with water, mixed with barley meal, clarified butter and the flour of wild rice, and fermented in a jar for nine days. [272] sura was simply arrack prepared from rice-flour, or rice-beer. 6. subsequent prohibition of alcohol. though in the cold regions of central asia the cheering and warming liquor had been held divine, in the hot plains of india the evil effects of alcohol were apparently soon realised. "even more bold is the scorn of the gods in hymn x. 119 of the rig-veda, which introduces indra in his merriest humour, ready to give away everything, ready to destroy the earth and all that it contains, boasting of his greatness in ridiculous fashion--all this because, as the refrain tells us, he is in an advanced state of intoxication caused by excessive appreciation of the soma offered to him. another hymn (vii. 103) sings of the frogs, comparing their voices to the noise of a brahmanical school and their hopping round the tank to the behaviour of drunken priests celebrating a nocturnal offering of soma." [273] it seems clear, therefore, that the evil effects of drunkenness were early realised, and led to a religious prohibition of alcohol. dr. rajendra lal mitra writes: [274] "but the fact remains unquestioned that from an early period the hindus have denounced in their sacred writings the use of wine as sinful, and two of their greatest law-givers, manu and yajnavalkya, held that the only expiation meet for a brahman who had polluted himself by drinking spirit was suicide by a draught of spirit or water or cow's urine or milk, in a boiling state taken in a burning hot metal pot. angira, vasishtha and paithurasi restricted the drink to boiling spirits alone. dewala went a step farther and prescribed a draught of molten silver, copper or lead as the most appropriate.... manu likewise provides for the judicial cognisance of such offences by brahmans, and ordains excommunication, and branding on the forehead the figure of a bottle as the most appropriate punishment." 7. spirits habitually drunk in ancient times. nevertheless the consumption of alcohol was common in classical times. bharadwaja, a great sage, offered wine to bharata and his soldiers when they spent a night under his roof. [275] when sita crossed the ganges on her way to the southern wilderness she begged the river for a safe passage, saying, "be merciful to me, o goddess, and i shall on my return home worship thee with a thousand jars of arrack and dishes of well-dressed flesh meat." when crossing the jumna she said, "be auspicious, o goddess; i am crossing thee. when my husband has accomplished his vow i shall worship thee with a thousand head of cattle and a hundred jars of arrack." similarly the companions of krishna, the yadavas, destroyed each other when they were overcome by drink; and many other instances are given by dr. rajendra lal mitra. the puranas abound in descriptions of wine and drinking, and though the object of many of them is to condemn the use of wine the inference is clear that there was a widespread malady which they proposed to overcome. [276] pulastya, an ancient sage and author of one of the original smritis, enumerates twelve different kinds of liquor, besides the soma beer which is not usually reckoned under the head of madya or wine, and his successors have added largely to the list. the twelve principal liquors of this sage are those of the jack fruit, the grape, honey or mead, date-liquor, palm-liquor or toddy, sugarcane-liquor, mahua-liquor, rum and those made from long-pepper, soap-berries and cocoanuts. [277] all these drinks were not merely fermented, but distilled and flavoured with different kinds of spices, fruits and herbs; they were thus varieties of spirits or liqueurs. it is probable that without the use of glass bottles and corks it would be very difficult to keep fermented wine for any length of time in the indian climate. but spirits drunk neat as they were would produce more markedly evil results in a hot country, and would strengthen and accelerate the reaction against alcoholic liquor, which has gone so far that probably a substantial majority at least of the inhabitants of india are total abstainers. to this good result the adoption of buddhism as stated by dr. mitra no doubt largely contributed. this was for some centuries the state religion, and was a strong force in aid of temperance as well as of abstention from flesh. the sivite revival reacted in favour of liquor drinking as well as of the consumption of drugs. but the prohibition of alcohol has again been a leading tenet of practically all the vaishnava reforming sects. 8. drunkenness and divine inspiration. the intoxication of alcohol is considered by primitive people as a form of divine inspiration or possession like epileptic fits and insanity. this is apparently the explanation of the vedic liquor, soma, being deified as one of the greatest gods. in later hindu mythology, varuni, the goddess of wine, was produced when the gods churned the ocean with the mountain mandara as a churning-stick on the back of the tortoise, vishnu, and the serpent as a rope, for the purpose of restoring to man the comforts lost during the great flood. [278] varuni was considered to be the consort of varuna, the vedic neptune. similarly the bacchantes in their drunken frenzy were considered to be possessed by the wine-god dionysus. "the aztecs regarded pulque or the wine of the country as bad, on account of the wild deeds which men did under its influence. but these wild deeds were believed to be the acts, not of the drunken man, but of the wine-god by whom he was possessed and inspired; and so seriously was this theory of inspiration held that if any one spoke ill of or insulted a tipsy man, he was liable to be punished for disrespect to the wine-god incarnate in his votary." [279] sir james frazer thinks that the grape-juice was also considered to be the blood of the vine. at one time the arrack or rice-beer liquor was also considered by the hindus as holy and purifying. siva says to his consort: "oh, sweet-speaking goddess, the salvation of brahmans depends on drinking wine.... no one becomes a brahman by repeating the gayatri, the mother of the vedas; he is called a brahman only when he has knowledge of brahma. the ambrosia of the gods is their brahma, and on earth it is arrack, and because one attains the character of a god (suratva) therefore is arrack called sura." [280] the sakta tantras insist upon the use of wine as an element of devotion. the kaulas, who are the most ardent followers of the sakta tantras, celebrate their rites at midnight in a closed room, when they sit in a circle round a jar of country arrack, one or more young women of a lewd character being in the company; they drink, drink and drink until they fall down on the ground in utter helplessness, then rising again they drink in the hope of never having a second birth. [281] "i knew a highly respectable widow lady, connected with one of the most distinguished families in calcutta, who belonged to the kaula sect, and had survived the 75th anniversary of her birthday, who never said her prayers (and she did so regularly every morning and evening) without touching the point of her tongue with a tooth-pick dipped in a phial of arrack, and sprinkling a few drops of the liquor on the flowers which she offered to her god. i doubt very much if she had ever drunk a wine-glassful of arrack at once in all her life, and certain it is that she never had any idea of the pleasures of drinking; but as a faithful kaula she felt herself in duty bound to observe the mandates of her religion with the greatest scrupulousness." [282] in this case it seems clear that the liquor was considered to have a purifying effect, which was perhaps especially requisite for the offerings of a widow. 9. sanctity of liquor among the gonds and other castes. similarly the gonds and baigas revere the mahua tree and consider the liquor distilled from its flowers as sacred and purificatory. at a gond wedding the sacred post round which the couple go is made of the wood of the mahua tree. the bhatras of bastar also use the mahua for the wedding post, and the sonkars of chhattisgarh a forked branch of the tree. minor caste offences are expiated among the gonds by a fine of liquor, and by drinking it the culprit is purified. at a gond funeral one man may be seen walking with a bottle or two of liquor slung to his side; this is drunk by all the party on the spot after the burial or burning of the corpse as a means of purification. among the korwas and other tribes the baiga or priest protects the village from ghosts by sprinkling a line of liquor all round the boundary, over which the ghosts cannot pass. similarly during epidemics of cholera liquor is largely used in the rites of the baigas for averting the disease and is offered to the goddess. at their weddings the mahars drink together ceremoniously, a pot of liquor being placed on a folded cloth and all the guests sitting round it in a circle. an elder man then lays a new piece of cloth on the pot and worships it. he takes a cup of the liquor himself and hands round a cupful to every person present. at the hareli or festival of the new green vegetation in july the gonds take the branches of four kinds of trees and place them at the corners of their fields and also inside the house over the door. they pour ghi (butter) on the fire as incense and an offering to the deities. then they go to the meeting-place of the village and there they all take a bottle or two of liquor each and drink together, having first thrown a little on the ground as an offering. then they invite each other to their houses to take food. the baigas do not observe hareli, but on any moonlight night in shrawan (july) they will go to the field where they have sown grain and root up a few plants and bring them to the house, and, laying them on a clean place, pour ghi and a little liquor over them. then they take the corn plants back to the field and replace them. for these rites and for offerings to the deities of disease the gonds say that the liquor should be distilled at home by the person who offers the sacrifice and not purchased from the government contractor. this is a reason or at any rate an excuse for the continuance of the practice of illicit distillation. hindus generally make a libation to devi before drinking liquor. they pour a little into their hand and sprinkle it in a circle on the ground, invoking the goddess. the palm-tree is also held sacred on account of the tari or toddy obtained from it. "the shreds of the holy palm-tree, holy because liquor-yielding, are worn by some of the early konkan tribes and by some of the konkan village gods. the strip of palm-leaf is the origin of the shape of one of the favourite hindu gold bracelet patterns." [283] 10. drugs also considered divine. the abstinence from liquor enjoined by modern hinduism to the higher castes of hindus has unfortunately not extended to the harmful drugs, opium, and ganja [284] or indian hemp with its preparations. on the contrary ganja is regularly consumed by hindu ascetics, whether devotees of siva or vishnu, though it is more favoured by the sivite jogis. the blue throat of siva or mahadeo is said to be due to the enormous draughts of bhang [285] which he was accustomed to swallow. the veneration attached to these drugs may probably be explained by the delusion that the pleasant dreams and visions obtained under their influence are excursions of the spirit into paradise. it is a common belief among primitive people that during sleep the soul leaves the body and that dreams are the actual experiences of the soul when travelling over the world apart from the body. [286] the principal aim of hindu asceticism is also the complete conquest of all sensation and movement in the body, so that while it is immobile the spirit freed from the trammels of the body and from all worldly cares and concerns may, as it is imagined, enter into communion with and be absorbed in the deity. hence the physical inertia and abnormal mental exaltation produced by these drugs would be an ideal condition to the hindu ascetic; the body is lulled to immobility and it is natural that he should imagine that the delightful fantasies of his drugged brain are beatific visions of heaven. ganja and bhang are now considered sacred as being consumed by mahadeo, and are offered to him. before smoking ganja a hindu will say, 'may it reach you, shankar,' [287] that is, the smoke of the ganja, like the sweet savour of a sacrifice; and before drinking bhang he will pour a little on the ground and say 'jai shankar.' [288] similarly when cholera visits a village and various articles of dress with food and liquor are offered to the cholera goddess, marhai mata, smokers of ganja and madak [289] will offer a little of their drugs. hindu ascetics who smoke ganja are accustomed to mix with it some seeds of the dhatura (datura alba), which have a powerful stupefying effect. in large quantities these seeds are a common narcotic poison, being administered to travellers and others by criminals. this tree is sacred to siva, and the purple and white flowers are offered on his altars, and probably for this reason it is often found growing in villages so that the poisonous seeds are readily available. its sanctity apparently arises from the narcotic effects produced by the seeds. the conclusion of hostilities and ratification of peace after a bhil fight was marked by the solemn administration of opium to all present by the jogi or gammaiti priests. [290] this incident recalls the pipe of peace of the north american indians, among whom a similar divine virtue was no doubt ascribed to tobacco. in ancient greece the priestesses of apollo consumed the leaves of the laurel to produce the prophetic ecstasy; the tree was therefore held sacred and associated with apollo and afterwards developed into a goddess in the shape of daphne pursued by apollo and transformed into a laurel. [291] the laurel was also considered to have a purifying or expiatory effect like alcoholic liquor in india. wreaths of laurel were worn by such heroes as apollo and cadmus before engaging in battle to cleanse themselves from the pollution of bloodshed, and hence the laurel-wreath afterwards became the crown of victory. [292] in india bhang was regularly drunk by the rajputs before going into battle, to excite their courage and render them insensible to pain. the effects produced were probably held to be caused by divine agency. herodotus says that the scythians had a custom of burning the seeds of the hemp plant in religious ceremonies and that they became intoxicated with the fumes. [293] ganja is the hashish of the old man of the mountain and of monte cristo. the term hashshash, meaning 'a smoker or eater of hemp,' was first applied to arab warriors in syria at the time of the crusades; from its plural hashshasheen our word assassin is derived. [294] 11. opium and ganja. the sacred or divine character attributed to the indian drugs in spite of their pernicious effects has thus probably prevented any organised effort for their prohibition. buchanan notes that "no more blame follows the use of opium and ganja than in europe that of wine; yet smoking tobacco is considered impure by the highest castes." [295] it is said, however, that a brahman should abstain from drugs until he is in the last or ascetic stage of life. in india opium is both eaten and smoked. it is administered to children almost from the time of their birth, partly perhaps because its effects are supposed to be beneficial and also to prevent them from crying and keep them quiet while their parents are at work. one of the favourite methods of killing female children was to place a fatal dose of opium on the nipple of the mother's breast. many children continue to receive small quantities of opium till they are several years old, sometimes eight or nine, when it is gradually abandoned. it can scarcely be doubted that the effect of the drug must be to impair their health and enfeeble their vitality. the effect of eating opium on adults is much less pernicious than when the habit of smoking it is acquired. madak or opium prepared for smoking may not now be sold, but people make it for themselves, heating the opium in a little brass cup over a fire with an infusion of tamarind leaves. it is then made into little balls and put into the pipe. opium-smokers are gregarious and partake of the drug together. as the fumes mount to their brains, their intellects become enlivened, their tongues unloosed and the conversation ranges over all subjects in heaven and earth. this factitious excitement must no doubt be a powerful attraction to people whose lives are as dull as that of the average hindu. and thus they become madakis or confirmed opium-smokers and are of no more use in life. dhimars or fishermen consume opium and ganja largely under the impression that these drugs prevent them from taking cold. ganja is smoked and is usually mixed with tobacco. it is much less injurious than opium in the same form, except when taken in large quantities, and is also slower in acquiring a complete hold over its votaries. many cultivators buy a little ganja at the weekly bazar and have one pipeful each as a treat. sweepers are greatly addicted to ganja, and their patron saint lalbeg was frequently in a comatose condition from over-indulgence in the drug. ahirs or herdsmen also smoke it to while away the long days in the forests. but the habitual consumers of either kind of drug are now only a small fraction of the population, while english education and the more strenuous conditions of modern life have effected a substantial decline in their numbers, at least among the higher classes. at the same time a progressive increase is being effected by government in the retail price of the drugs, and the number of vend licences has been very greatly reduced. the prohibition of wine to muhammadans is held to include drugs, but it is not known how far the rule is strictly observed. but addiction to drugs is at any rate uncommon among muhammadans. 12. tobacco. no kind of sanctity attaches to tobacco and, as has been seen, certain classes of brahmans are forbidden to smoke though they may chew the leaves. tobacco is prohibited by the sikhs, the satnamis and some other vaishnava sects. the explanation of this attitude is simple if, as is supposed, tobacco was first introduced into india by the portuguese in the fifteenth century. [296] in this case as a new and foreign product it could have no sacred character, only those things being held sacred and the gifts of the gods whose origin is lost in antiquity. in a note on the subject [297] mr. ganpat rai shows that several references to smoking and also to the huqqa are found in ancient sanskrit literature; but it does not seem clear that the plant smoked was tobacco and, on the other hand, the similarity of the vernacular to the english name [298] is strong evidence in favour of its foreign origin. 13. customs in connection with drinking. the country liquor, consisting of spirits distilled from the flowers of the mahua tree, is an indispensable adjunct to marriage and other ceremonial feasts among the lower castes of hindus and the non-aryan tribes. it is usually drunk before the meal out of brass vessels, cocoanut-shells or leaf-cups, water being afterwards taken with the food itself. if an offender has to give a penalty feast for readmission to caste but the whole burden of the expense is beyond his means, other persons who may have committed minor offences and owe something to the caste on that account are called upon to provide the liquor. similarly at the funeral feast the heir and chief mourner may provide the food and more distant relatives the liquor. the gonds never take food while drinking, and as a rule one man does not drink alone. three or four of them go to the liquor-shop together and each in turn buys a whole bottle of liquor which they share with each other, each bottle being paid for by one of the company and not jointly. and if a friend from another village turns up and is invited to drink he is not allowed to pay anything. in towns there will be in the vicinity of the liquor-shop retailers of little roasted balls of meat on sticks and cakes of gram-flour fried in salt and chillies. these the customers eat, presumably to stimulate their thirst or as a palliative to the effects of the spirit. illicit distillation is still habitual among the gonds of mandla, who have been accustomed to make their own liquor from time immemorial. in the rains, when travelling is difficult and the excise officers cannot descend on them without notice, they make the liquor in their houses. in the open season they go to the forest and find some spot secluded behind rocks and also near water. when the fermented mahua is ready they put up the distilling vat in the middle of the day so that the smoke may be less perceptible, and one of them will climb a tree and keep watch for the approach of the excise sub-inspector and his myrmidons while the other distils. kamar [299] list of paragraphs 1. origin and traditions. 2. subdivisions and marriage. 3. the sister's son. 4. menstruation. 5. birth customs. 6. death and inheritance. 7. religious beliefs. 8. veneration of iron and liquor. 9. social customs and caste penalties. 10. tattooing. 11. hair. 12. occupation and manner of life. 13. their skill with bows and arrows. 1. origin and traditions. kamar.--a small dravidian tribe exclusively found in the raipur district and adjoining states. they numbered about 7000 persons in 1911, and live principally in the khariar and bindranawagarh zamindaris of raipur. in bengal and chota nagpur the term kamar is merely occupational, implying a worker in iron, and similarly kammala in the telugu country is a designation given to the five artisan castes. though the name is probably the same the kamars of the central provinces are a purely aboriginal tribe and there is little doubt that they are an offshoot of the gonds, nor have they any traditions of ever having been metal-workers. they claim to be autochthonous like most of the primitive tribes. they tell a long story of their former ascendancy, saying that a kamar was the original ruler of bindranawagarh. but a number of kamars one day killed the bhimraj bird which had been tamed and taught hawking by a foreigner from delhi. he demanded satisfaction, and when it was refused went to delhi and brought man-eating soldiers from there, who ate up all the kamars except one pregnant woman. she took refuge in a brahman's hut in patna and there had a son, whom she exposed on a dung-heap for fear of scandal, as she was a widow at the time. hence the boy was called kachra-dhurwa or rubbish and dust. this name may be a token of the belief of the kamars that they were born from the earth as insects generate in dung and decaying organisms. similarly one great subtribe of the gonds are called dhur or dust gonds. kachra-dhurwa was endowed with divine strength and severed the head of a goat made of iron with a stick of bamboo. on growing up he collected his fellow-tribesmen and slaughtered all the cannibal soldiers, regaining his ancestral seat in bindranawagarh. it is noticeable that the kamars call the cannibal soldiers aghori, the name of a sect of ascetics who eat human flesh. they still point to various heaps of lime-encrusted fossils in bindranawagarh as the bones of the cannibal soldiers. the state of the kamars is so primitive that it does not seem possible that they could ever have been workers in iron, but they may perhaps, like the agarias, be a group of the gonds who formerly quarried iron and thus obtained their distinctive name. 2. subdivisions and marriage. they have two subdivisions, the bundhrajia and makadia. the latter are so called because they eat monkeys and are looked down on by the others. they have only a few gots or septs, all of which have the same names as those of gond septs. the meaning of the names has now been forgotten. their ceremonies also resemble those of the gonds, and there can be little doubt that they are an offshoot of that tribe. marriage within the sept is prohibited, but is permitted between the children of brothers and sisters or of two sisters. those who are well-to-do marry their children at about ten years old, but among the bulk of the caste adult-marriage is in fashion, and the youths and maidens are sometimes allowed to make their own choice. at the betrothal the boy and girl are made to stand together so that the caste panchayat or elders may see the suitability of the match, and a little wine is sprinkled in the name of the gods. the marriage ceremony is a simple one, the marriage-post being erected at the boy's house. the party go to the girl's house to fetch her, and there is a feast, followed by a night of singing and dancing. they then return to the boy's house and the couple go round the sacred pole and throw rice over each other seven times. all the guests also throw rice over the couple with the object, it is said, of scaring off the spirits who are always present on this occasion, and protecting the bride and bridegroom from harm. but perhaps the rice is really meant to give fertility to the match. the wife remains with her husband for four days and then they return to the house of her parents, where the wedding clothes stained yellow with turmeric must be washed. after this they again proceed to the bridegroom's house and live together. polygamy and widow-marriage are allowed, the ceremony in the marriage of a widow consisting simply in putting bangles on her wrists and giving her a piece of new cloth. the kamars never divorce their wives, however loose their conduct may be, as they say that a lawful wife is above all suspicion. they also consider it sinful to divorce a wife. the liaison of an unmarried girl is passed over even with a man outside the caste, unless he is of a very low caste, such as a ganda. 3. the sister's son. as among some of the other primitive tribes, a man stands in a special relation to his sister's children. the marriage of his children with his sister's children is considered as the most suitable union. if a man's sister is poor he will arrange for the wedding of her children. he will never beat his sister's children, however much they may deserve it, and he will not permit his sister's son or daughter to eat from the dish from which he eats. this special connection between a maternal uncle and his nephew is held to be a survival of the matriarchate, when a man stood in the place a father now occupies to his sister's children, the real father having nothing to do with them. 4. menstruation. during the period of her monthly impurity a woman is secluded for eight days. she may not prepare food nor draw water nor worship the gods, but she may sweep the house and do outdoor work. she sleeps on the ground and every morning spreads fresh cowdung over the place where she has slept. the kamars think that a man who touched a woman in this condition would be destroyed by the household god. when a woman in his household is impure in this manner a man will bathe before going into the forest lest he should pollute the forest gods. 5. birth customs. a woman is impure for six days after a birth until the performance of the chathi or sixth-day ceremony, when the child's head is shaved and the mother and child are bathed and their bodies rubbed with oil and turmeric. after this a woman can go about her work in the house, but she may not cook food nor draw water for two and a half months after the birth of a male child, nor for three months after that of a female one. till the performance of the chathi ceremony the husband is also impure, and he may not worship the gods or go hunting or shooting or even go for any distance into the forest. if a child is born within six months of the death of any person in the family, they think that the dead relative has been reborn in the child and give the child the same name, apparently without distinction of sex. if a mother's milk runs dry and she cannot suckle her child they give her fresh fish and salt to eat, and think that this will cause the milk to flow. the idea of eating the fish is probably that being a denizen of the liquid element it will produce liquid in the mother's body, but it is not clear whether the salt has any special meaning. 6. death and inheritance. the dead are buried with the head to the north, and mourning is nominally observed for three days. but they have no rules of abstinence, and do not even bathe to purify themselves as almost all castes do. sons inherit equally, and daughters do not share with sons. but if there are no sons, then an unmarried daughter or one married to a lamsena, or man who has served for her, and living in the house, takes the whole property for her lifetime, after which it reverts to her father's family. widows, mr. ganpati giri states, only inherit in the absence of male heirs. 7. religious beliefs. they worship dulha deo and devi, and have a firm belief in magic. they tell a curious story about the origin of the world, which recalls that of the flood. they say that in the beginning god created a man and a woman to whom two children of opposite sex were born in their old age. mahadeo, however, sent a deluge over the world in order to drown a jackal who had angered him. the old couple heard that there was going to be a deluge, so they shut up their children in a hollow piece of wood with provision of food to last them until it should subside. they then closed up the trunk, and the deluge came and lasted for twelve years, the old couple and all other living things on the earth being drowned, but the trunk floated on the face of the waters. after twelve years mahadeo created two birds and sent them to see whether his enemy the jackal had been drowned. the birds flew over all the corners of the world, but saw nothing except a log of wood floating on the surface of the water, on which they perched. after a short time they heard low and feeble voices coming from inside the log. they heard the children saying to each other that they only had provision for three days left. so the birds flew away and told mahadeo, who then caused the flood to subside, and taking out the children from the log of wood, heard their story. he thereupon brought them up, and they were married, and mahadeo gave the name of a different caste to every child who was born to them, and from them all the inhabitants of the world are descended. the fact that the kamars should think their deity capable of destroying the whole world by a deluge, in order to drown a jackal which had offended him, indicates how completely they are wanting in any exalted conception of morality. they are said to have no definite ideas of a future life nor any belief in a resurrection of the body. but they believe in future punishment in the case of a thief, who, they say, will be reborn as a bullock in the house of the man whose property he has stolen, or will in some other fashion expiate his crime. they think that the sun and moon are beings in human shape, and that darkness is caused by the sun going to sleep. they also think that a railway train is a live and sentient being, and that the whistle of the engine is its cry, and they propitiate the train with offerings lest it should do them some injury. when a man purposes to go out hunting, mr. ganpati giri states, he consults the village priest, who tells him whether he will fail or succeed. if the prediction is unfavourable he promises a fowl or a goat to his family god in order to obtain his assistance, and then confidently expects success. when an animal has been killed and brought home, the hunter cuts off the head, and after washing it with turmeric powder and water makes an offering of it to the forest god. ceremonial fishing expeditions are sometimes held, in which all the men and women of the village participate, and on such occasions the favour of the water-goddess is first invoked with an offering of five chickens and various feminine adornments, such as vermilion, lamp-black for the eyes, small glass bangles and a knot of ribbons made of cotton or silk, after which a large catch of fish is anticipated. the men refrain from visiting their wives on the day before they start for a hunting or fishing expedition. 8. veneration of iron and liquor. the tribe have a special veneration for iron, which they now say is the emblem of durga mata or the goddess of smallpox. on their chief festivals of hareli and dasahra all iron implements are washed and placed together in the house, where they are worshipped with offerings of rice, flowers and incense; nor may any iron tool be brought into use on this day. on the day appointed for the worship of dulha deo, the bridegroom god, or other important deities, and on the dasahra festival, they will not permit fire or anything else to be taken out of the house. before drinking liquor they will pour a few drops on the ground, making a libation first to mother-earth, then to their family and other important gods, and lastly to their ancestors. 9. social customs and caste penalties. the kamars will eat with all except the very lowest castes, and do not refuse any kind of food. the bundhrajias, however, abstain from the flesh of snakes, crocodiles and monkeys, and on this account claim to be superior to the makadias who eat these animals. temporary exclusion from caste is imposed for the usual offences, and in serious cases, such as adultery with a woman of impure caste or taking food from her, the penalty is severe. the offender puts a straw and a piece of iron between his teeth, and stands before the elders with one leg lifted in his clasped hands. he promises never to repeat the offence nor permit his children to do so, and falls prostrate at the feet of each elder, imploring his forgiveness. he supplies the elders with rice, pulse, salt and vegetables for two days, and on the third day he and his family prepare a feast with one or more goats and two rupees' worth of liquor. the elders eat of this in his house, and readmit him to social intercourse. 10. tattooing. the women are tattooed either before or after marriage, the usual figures being a peacock on the shoulders, a scorpion on the back of the hand, and dots representing flies on the fingers. on their arms and legs they have circular lines of dots representing the ornaments usually worn, and they say that if they are destitute in the other world they will be able to sell these. this indicates that the more civilised of them, at any rate, now believe in a future life. they also have circular dotted lines round the knees which they say will help them to climb to heaven. like the gonds the men scarify their bodies by burning the outer skin of the forearm in three or four places with a small piece of burning cloth. 11. hair. the men shave the whole head on the death of a father or other venerable relative, but otherwise they never cut their hair, and let it grow long, twisting it into a bunch at the back of the head. they shave off or eradicate the hair of the face and pubes, but that on other parts of the body is allowed to remain. the hair of the head is considered to be sacred. 12. occupation and manner of life. the tribe wear only the narrowest possible strip of cloth round the loins, and another strip on the head, one end of which is often allowed to hang down over the ear. formerly they lived by dahya cultivation, burning down patches of forest and scattering seed on the ground fertilised by the ashes, and they greatly resent the prohibition of this destructive method. they have now taken to making baskets and other articles from the wood of the bamboo. they are of dirty habits, and seldom wash themselves. forty years ago their manner of life was even ruder than at present, as shown in the following notice [300] of them by mr. ball in 1876: "proceeding along the bed of the valley i came upon two colonies of a wild race of people called kamars by their neighbours. they were regular troglodytes in their habits, dwelling in caves and existing chiefly on roots and fish. it is singular to observe how little the people of these wild races do to protect themselves from the inclemency of the weather. in one of these caves the sole protection from the air was a lean-to of loosely placed branches. the people seemed to be very timid, hiding themselves on our approach. i did not therefore like to attempt an examination of their dwellings. after some calling on our part one man was induced to make his appearance. he was a most wretched-looking, leprous object, having lost several fingers and toes. he could give no very definite explanation as to his means of subsistence. all he could say was that he lived 'by picking up odds and ends here and there.' however, he seemed to be able to afford himself the solace of tobacco. a few cocks and hens at one of the caves, and a goat at the other, were the only domestic animals which i saw." 13. their skill with bows and arrows. the tribe are of small stature. they are very fond of hunting, and are expert at using their bows and arrows, with which they have killed even bison. mr. w. e. ley, c.s., relates the following particulars of a recent murder by a kamar in raipur: two hindus went to a kamar's house in the jungle to dun him for a debt. he could not pay the debt, but invited them to take food in his house. at the meal the creditor's companion said the food was bad, and a quarrel thereupon ensuing, slapped the kamar in the face. the latter started up, snatched up his bow and arrow and axe, and ran away into the jungle. the hindus then set out for home, and as they were afraid of being attacked by the kamar, they took his brother with them as a protection. nevertheless the kamar shot one of them through the side, the arrow passing through the arm and penetrating the lung. he then shot the other through the chest, and running in, mutilated his body in a shocking manner. when charged with the murders he confessed them freely, saying that he was a wild man of the woods and knew no better. kanjar [bibliography: mr. j. c. nesfield's the kanjars of upper india, calcutta review, vol. lxxvii., 1883; mr. crooke's castes and tribes, art. kanjar; major gunthorpe's criminal tribes; mr. kitts' berar census report (1881); mr. gayer's lectures on criminal tribes of the central provinces.] list of paragraphs 1. derivation of the kanjars from the doms. 2. the kanjars and the gipsies. 3. the thugs derived from the kanjars. 4. the doms. 5. the criminal kanjars. 6. the kunchband kanjars. 7. marriage and religion. 8. social customs. 9. industrial arts. 1. derivation of the kanjars from the doms. kanjar.--a name applied somewhat loosely to various small communities of a gipsy character who wander about the country. in 1911 about 1000 kuchbandhia kanjars were returned in the province. in berar the kanjars seem to be practically identical with the sansias; major gunthorpe [301] gives kanjar and sansia as alternative names of the same caste of criminals, and this is also done by mr. kennedy in bombay. [302] mr. kitts writes of them: [303] "the deccani and marwari kanjars were originally bhats (bards) of the jat tribe; and as they generally give themselves out to be bhats are probably not included at all among the kanjars returned at the census. they are a vagrant people, living in tents and addicted to crime. the women are good-looking; some are noted for their obscene songs, filthy alike in word and gesture; while others, whose husbands play on the sarangi, lead a life of immorality. the men are often skilful acrobats." and in another passage: [304] "the sansia family or the 'long firm' of india includes two principal divisions represented in berar by the kanjars and kolhatis respectively. they will eat, drink and smoke together, and occasionally join in committing dacoity. they eat all kinds of meat and drink all liquors; they are lax of morals and loose of life." now in northern india the business of acting as bards to the jats and begging from them is the traditional function of the sansias; and we may therefore conclude that so far as berar and the maratha districts are concerned the kanjars are identical with the sansias, while the kolhatis mentioned by mr. kitts are the same people as the berias, as shown in the article on kolhati, and the berias themselves are another branch of the sansias. [305] there seems some reason to suppose that these four closely allied groups, the kanjar or sansia, and the kolhati or beria, may have their origin from the great dom caste of menials and scavengers in hindustan and bengal. in the punjab the doms are the regular bards and genealogists of the lower castes, being known also as mirasi: "the two words are used throughout the province as absolutely synonymous. the word mirasi is derived from the arabic miras or inheritance; and the mirasi is to the inferior agricultural castes and the outcaste tribes what the bhat is to the rajputs." [306] in the article on sansia it is shown that the primary calling of the sansias was to act as bards and genealogists of the jats; and this common occupation is to some extent in favour of the original identity of the two castes dom and sansia, though sir d. ibbetson was not of this opinion. [307] in the united provinces mr. crooke gives the jallad or executioners as one of the main divisions of the kanjars; [308] and the jallads of umballa are said to be the descendants of a kanjar family who were attached to the delhi court as executioners. [309] but the jallad or supwala is also a name of the doms. "the term jallad, which is an arabic name for 'a public flogger,' is more especially applied to those doms who are employed in cities to kill ownerless dogs and to act as public executioners." [310] mr. gayer states that as the result of special inquiries made by an experienced police-officer it would appear that these jallad kanjars are really doms. [311] in gujarat the mirs or mirasis are also known as dom after the tribe of that name; they were originally of two classes, one the descendants of gujarat bhats or bards, the other from northern india, partly of bhat descent and partly connected with the doms. [312] and the sansias and berias in bombay when accompanied by their families usually pass themselves off as gujarati bhats, that is, bards of the jat caste from marwar or of the kolis from gujarat. [313] major gunthorpe states that the kolhatis or berias of berar appear to be the same as the domras of bengal; [314] and mr. kitts that the kham kolhatis are the domarus of telingana. [315] in writing of the kanjar bards sherring also says: "these are the kanjars of gondwana, the sansis of northern india; they are the most desperate of all dacoits and wander about the country as though belonging to the gujarati domtaris or showmen." the above evidence seems sufficient to establish a prima facie case in favour of the dom origin of these gipsy castes. it may be noticed further that the jallad kanjars of the united provinces are also known as supwala or makers of sieves and winnowing-fans, a calling which belongs specially to the doms, bhangis, and other sweeper castes. both doms and bhangis have divisions known as bansphor or 'breaker of bamboos,' a name which has the same signification as supwala. again, the deity of the criminal doms of bengal is known as sansari mai. [316] 2. the kanjars and the gipsies. the kanjars and berias are the typical gipsy castes of india, and have been supposed to be the parents of the european gipsies. on this point mr. nesfield writes: "the commonly received legend is that multitudes of kanjars were driven out of india by the oppressions of tamerlane, and it is inferred that the gipsies of europe are their direct descendants by blood, because they speak like them a form of the hindi language." [317] sir g. grierson states: [318] "according to the shah-nama, the persian monarch bahram gaur received in the fifth century from an indian king 12,000 musicians who were known as luris, and the luris or lulis, that is gipsies, of modern persia are the descendants of these." these people were also called lutt, and hence it was supposed that they were the indian jats. sir g. grierson, however, shows it to be highly improbable that the jats, one of the highest castes of cultivators, could ever have furnished a huge band of professional singers and dancers. he on the contrary derives the gipsies from the dom tribe: [319] "mr. leland has made a happy suggestion that the original gipsies may have been doms of india. he points out that romany is almost letter for letter the same as domni, the plural of dom. domni is the plural form in the bhojpuri dialect of the bihari language. it was originally a genitive plural; so that romany-rye, 'a gipsy gentleman,' may be well compared with the bhojpuri domni rai, 'a king of the doms.' the bhojpuri-speaking doms are a famous race, and they have many points of resemblance with the gipsies of europe. thus they are darker in complexion than the surrounding biharis, are great thieves, live by hunting, dancing and telling fortunes, their women have a reputation for making love-philtres and medicines to procure abortion, they keep fowls (which no orthodox hindu will do), and are said to eat carrion. they are also great musicians and horsemen. the gipsy grammar is closely connected with bhojpuri, and the following mongrel, half-gipsy, half-english rhyme will show the extraordinary similarity of the two vocabularies: [320] gipsy. the rye (squire) he mores (hunts) adrey the wesh (wood) bhojpuri. rai mare andal besh (pers. bysh) gipsy. the kaun-engro (ear-fellow, hare) and chiriclo (bird). bhojpuri. kanwala chirin gipsy. you sovs (sleep) with leste (him) drey (within) the wesh (wood) bhojpuri. soe andal besh gipsy. and rigs (carry) for leste (him) the gono (sack, game-bag). bhojpuri. gon gipsy. oprey (above) the rukh (tree) adrey (within) the wesh (wood) bhojpuri. upri rukh andal besh gipsy. are chiriclo (male-bird) and chiricli (female-bird). bhojpuri. chirin chirin gipsy. tuley (below) the rukh (tree) adrey (within) the wesh (wood) bhojpuri. tule rukh andal besh gipsy. are pireno (lover) and pireni (lady-love). bhojpuri. pyara pyari in the above it must be remembered that the verbal terminations of the gipsy text are english and not gipsy." sir g. grierson also adds (in the passage first quoted): "i may note here a word which lends a singular confirmation to the theory. it is the gipsy term for bread, which is manro or manro. this is usually connected either with the gaudian manr 'rice-gruel' or with manrua, the millet (eleusine coracana). neither of these agrees with the idea of bread, but in the magadhi dialect of bihari, spoken south of the ganges in the native land of these maghiya doms, there is a peculiar word manda or manra which means wheat, whence the transition to the gipsy manro, bread, is eminently natural." the above argument renders it probable that the gipsies are derived from the doms; and as mr. nesfield gives it as a common legend that they originated from the kanjars, this is perhaps another connecting link between the doms and kanjars. the word gipsy is probably an abbreviation of 'egyptian,' the country assigned as the home of the gipsies in mediaeval times. it has already been seen that the doms are the bards and minstrels of the lower castes in the punjab, and that the kanjars and sansias, originally identical or very closely connected, were in particular the bards of the jats. it is a possible speculation that they may have been mixed up with the lower classes of jats or have taken their name, and that this has led to the confusion between the jats and gipsies. some support is afforded to this suggestion by the fact that the kanjars of jubbulpore say that they have three divisions, the jat, multani and kuchbandia. the jat kanjars are, no doubt, those who acted as bards to the jats, and hence took the name; and if the ancestors of these people emigrated from india they may have given themselves out as jat. 3. the thugs derived from the kanjars. in the article on thug it is suggested that a large, if not the principal, section of the thugs were derived from the kanjars. at the thug marriages an old matron would sometimes repeat, "here's to the spirits of those who once led bears and monkeys; to those who drove bullocks and marked with the godini (tattooing-needle); and those who made baskets for the head." and these are the occupations of the kanjars and berias. the goyandas of jubbulpore, descendants of thug approvers, are considered to be a class of gipsy muhammadans, akin to or identical with the kanjars, of whom the multani subdivision are also muhammadans. like the kanjar women the goyandas make articles of net and string. there is also a colony of berias in jubbulpore, and these are admittedly the descendants of thugs who were located there. if the above argument is well founded, we are led to the interesting conclusion that four of the most important vagrant and criminal castes of india, as well as the mirasis or low-class hindu bards, the gipsies, and a large section of the thugs, are all derived from the great dom caste. 4. the doms. the doms appear to be one of the chief aboriginal tribes of northern india, who were reduced to servitude like the mahars and chamars. sir h. m. elliot considered them to be "one of the original tribes of india. tradition fixes their residence to the north of the ghagra, touching the bhars on the east in the vicinity of the rohini. several old forts testify to their former importance, and still retain the names of their founders, as, for instance, domdiha and domingarh in the gorakhpur district. ramgarh and sahukot on the rohini are also dom forts." [321] sir g. grierson quotes dr. fleet as follows: "in a south indian inscription a king rudradeva is said to have subdued a certain domma, whose strength evidently lay in his cavalry. no clue is given as to who this domma was, but he may have been the leader of some aboriginal tribe which had not then lost all its power"; and suggests that this domma may have been a leader of the doms, who would then be shown to have been dominant in southern india. as already seen there is a domaru caste of telingana, with whom mr. kitts identified the berias or kolhatis. in northern india the doms were reduced to a more degraded condition than the other pre-aryan tribes as they furnished a large section of the sweeper caste. as has been seen also they were employed as public executioners like the mangs. this brief mention of the doms has been made in view of the interest attaching to them on account of the above suggestions, and because there will be no separate article on the caste. 5. the criminal kanjars. in berar two main divisions of the kanjars may be recognised, the kunchbandhia or those who make weavers' brooms and are comparatively honest, and the other or criminal kanjars. [322] the criminal kanjars may again be divided into the marwari and deccani groups. they were probably once the same, but the deccanis, owing to their settlement in the south, have adopted some maratha or gujarati fashions, and speak the marathi language; their women wear the angia or maratha breast-cloth fastening behind, and have a gold ornament shaped like a flower in the nose; [323] while the marwari kanjars have no breast-cloth and may not wear gold ornaments at all. the deccani kanjars are fond of stealing donkeys, their habit being either to mix their own herds with those of the village and drive them all off together, or, if they catch the donkeys unattended, to secrete them in some water-course, tying their legs together, and if they remain undiscovered to remove them at nightfall. the animals are at once driven away for a long distance before any attempt is made to dispose of them. the marwari kanjars consider it derogatory to keep donkeys and therefore do not steal these animals. they are preeminently cattle-lifters and sheep-stealers, and their encampments may be recognised by the numbers of bullocks and cows about them. their women wear the short marwari petticoat reaching half-way between the knees and ankles. their hair is plaited over the forehead and cowrie shells and brass ornaments like buttons are often attached in it. bead necklaces are much worn by the women and bead and horse-hair necklets by the men. a peculiarity about the women is that they are confirmed snuff-takers and consume great quantities of the weed in this form. the women go into the towns and villages and give exhibitions of singing and dancing; and picking up any information they can acquire about the location of property, impart this to the men. sometimes they take service, and a case was known in jubbulpore of kanjar women hiring themselves out as pankha-pullers, with the result that the houses in which they were employed were subsequently robbed. [324] it is said, however, that they do not regularly break into houses, but confine themselves to lurking theft. i have thought it desirable to record here the above particulars of the criminal kanjars, taken from major gunthorpe's account; for, though the caste is, as already stated, identical with the sansias, their customs in berar differ considerably from those of the sansias of central india, who are treated of in the article on that caste. 6. the kunchband kanjars. we come, finally, to the kunchband kanjars, the most representative section of the caste, who as a body are not criminals, or at any rate less so than the others. the name kunchband or kuchband, by which they are sometimes known, is derived from their trade of making brushes (kunch) of the roots of khas-khas grass, which are used by weavers for cleaning the threads entangled on the looms. this has given rise to the proverb 'kori ka bigari kunchbandhia' or 'the kunchbandhia must look to the kori (weaver) as his patron'; the point being that the kori is himself no better than a casual labourer, and a man who is dependent on him must be in a poor way indeed. the kunchbandhias are also known in northern india as sankat or patharkat, because they make and sharpen the household grinding-stones, this being the calling of the takankar pardhis in the maratha districts, and as goher because they catch and eat the goh, the large lizard or iguana. [325] other divisions are the dhobibans or washerman's race, the lakarhar or wood-cutters, and the untwar or camelmen. 7. marriage and religion. in the central provinces there are other divisions, as the jat and multani kanjars. they say they have two exogamous divisions, kalkha and malha, and a member of either of these must take a wife from the other division. both the kalkhas and malhas are further divided into kuls or sections, but the influence of these on marriage is not clear. at a kanjar marriage, mr. crooke states, the gadela or spade with which they dig out the khas-khas grass and kill wolves or vermin, is placed in the marriage pavilion during the ceremony. the bridegroom swears that he will not drive away nor divorce his wife, and sometimes a mehar or dowry is also fixed for the bride. the father-in-law usually, however, remits a part or the whole of this subsequently, when the bridegroom goes to take food at his house on festival occasions. mr. nesfield states that the principal deity of the kanjars is the man-god mana, who was not only the teacher and guide, but also the founder and ancestor of the tribe. he is buried, as some kanjars relate, at kara in the allahabad district, not far from the ganges and facing the old city of manikpur on the opposite bank. mana is worshipped with special ceremony in the rainy season, when the tribe is less migratory than in the dry months of the year. on such occasions, if sufficient notice is circulated, several encampments unite temporarily to pay honour to their common ancestor. the worshippers collect near a tree under which they sacrifice a pig, a goat, a sheep, or a fowl, and make an offering of roasted flesh and spirituous liquor. formerly, it is said, they used to sacrifice a child, having first made it insensible with fermented palm-juice or toddy. [326] they dance round the tree in honour of mana, and sing the customary songs in commemoration of his wisdom and deeds of valour. 8. social customs. the dead are usually buried, both male and female corpses being laid on their faces with the feet pointing to the south. kanjars who become muhammadans may be readmitted to the community after the following ceremony. a pit is dug and the convert sits in it and each kanjar throws a little curds on to his body. he then goes and bathes in a river, his tongue is touched or branded with heated gold and he gives a feast to the community. a kanjar woman who has lived in concubinage with a brahman, rajput, agarwal bania, kurmi, ahir or lodhi may be taken back into the caste after the same ceremony; but not one who has lived with a kayasth, sunar or lohar or any lower caste. a kanjar is not put out of caste for being imprisoned, nor for being beaten by an outsider, nor for selling shoes. if a man touches his daughter-in-law even accidentally he is fined the sum of rs. 2-8. 9. industrial arts. the following account of the industries of the vagrant kanjars was written by mr. nesfield in 1883. in the central provinces many of them are now more civilised, and some are employed in government service. their women also make and retail string-net purses, balls and other articles. "among the arts of the kanjar are making mats of the sirki reed, baskets of wattled cane, fans of palm-leaves and rattles of plaited straw: these last are now sold to hindu children as toys, though originally they may have been used by the kanjars themselves (if we are to trust to the analogy of other backward races) as sacred and mysterious implements. from the stalks of the munj grass and from the roots of the palas [327] tree they make ropes which are sold or bartered to villagers in exchange for grain and milk. they prepare the skins of which drums are made and sell them to hindu musicians; though, probably, as in the case of the rattle, the drum was originally used by the kanjars themselves and worshipped as a fetish; for even the aryan tribes, who are said to have been far more advanced than the indigenous races, sang hymns in honour of the drum or dundubhi as if it were something sacred. they make plates of broad leaves which are ingeniously stitched together by their stalks; and plates of this kind are very widely used by the inferior indian castes and by confectioners and sellers of sweetmeats. the mats of sirki reed with which they cover their own movable leaf huts are models of neatness and simplicity and many of these are sold to cart-drivers. the toddy or juice of the palm tree, which they extract and ferment by methods of their own and partly for their own use, finds a ready sale among low-caste hindus in villages and market towns. they are among the chief stone-cutters in upper india, especially in the manufacture of the grinding-mill which is very widely used. this consists of two circular stones of equal diameter; the upper one, which is the thicker and heavier, revolves on a wooden pivot fixed in the centre of the lower one and is propelled by two women, each holding the same handle. but it is also not less frequent for one woman to grind alone." it is perhaps not realised what this business of grinding her own grain instead of buying flour means to the indian woman. she rises before daybreak to commence the work, and it takes her perhaps two or three hours to complete the day's provision. grain-grinding for hire is an occupation pursued by poor women. the pisanhari, as she is called, receives an anna (penny) for grinding 16 lbs. of grain, and can get through 30 lbs. a day. in several localities temples are shown supposed to have been built by some pious pisanhari from her earnings. "the kanjars," mr. nesfield continues, "also gather the white wool-like fibre which grows in the pods of the semal or indian cotton tree and twist it into thread for the use of weavers. [328] in the manufacture of brushes for the cleaning of cotton-yarn the kanjars enjoy almost a complete monopoly. in these brushes a stiff mass of horsehair is attached to a wooden handle by sinews and strips of hide; and the workmanship is remarkably neat and durable. [329] another complete or almost complete monopoly enjoyed by kanjars is the collection and sale of sweet-scented roots of the khas-khas grass, which are afterward made up by the chhaparbands and others into door-screens, and through being continually watered cool the hot air which passes through them. the roots of this wild grass, which grows in most abundance on the outskirts of forests or near the banks of rivers, are dug out of the earth by an instrument called khunti. this has a handle three feet long, and a blade about a foot long resembling that of a knife. the same implement serves as a dagger or short spear for killing wolves or jackals, as a tool for carving a secret entrance through the clay wall of a villager's hut in which a burglary is meditated, as a spade or hoe for digging snakes, field-rats, and lizards out of their holes, and edible roots out of the earth, and as a hatchet for chopping wood." kapewar kapewar, [330] munurwar.--a great cultivating caste of the telugu country, where they are known as kapu or reddi, and correspond to the kurmi in hindustan and the kunbi in the maratha districts. in the central provinces about 18,000 persons of the caste were enumerated in the chanda district and berar in 1911. the term kapu means a watchman, and reddi is considered to be a corruption of rathor or rashtrakuta, meaning a king, or more properly the headman of a village. kapewar is simply the plural form of kapu, and munurwar, in reality the name of a subcaste of kapewars, is used as a synonym for the main caste in chanda. they are divided into various occupational subcastes, as the upparwars or earth-diggers, from uppar, earth; the gone, who make gonas or hemp gunny-bags; the elmas, who are household servants; the gollewars, who sell milk; and the gamadis or masons. the kunte or lame kapewars, the lowest group, say that their ancestor was born lame; they are also called bhiksha kunte or lame beggars and serve as the bards of the caste besides begging from them. they are considered to be of illegitimate origin. no detailed account of the caste need be given here, but one or two interesting customs reported from chanda may be noted. girls must be married before they are ten years old, and in default of this the parents are temporarily put out of caste and have to pay a penalty for readmission. but if they take the girl to some sacred place on the godavari river and marry her there the penalty is avoided. contrary to the usual custom the bride goes to the bridegroom's house to be married. on the fourth night of the marriage ceremony the bridegroom takes with him all the parts of a plough as if he was going out to the field, and walks up the marriage-shed to the further end followed by the bride, who carries on her head some cooked food tied up in a cloth. the skirts of the couple are knotted together. on reaching the end of the shed the bridegroom makes five drills in the ground with a bullock-goad and sows cotton and juari seeds mixed together. then the cooked food is eaten by all who are present, the bridal couple commencing first, and the seed is irrigated by washing their hands over it. this performance is a symbolical portrayal of the future life of the couple, which will be spent in cultivation. in chanda a number of kapewars are stone-masons, and are considered the most proficient workers at this trade in the locality. major lucie smith, the author of the chanda settlement report of 1869, thought that the ancestors of the caste had been originally brought to chanda to build the fine walls with ramparts and bastions which stretch for a length of six or seven miles round the town. the caste are sometimes known as telugu kunbis. men may be distinguished by the single dot which is always tattooed on the forehead during their infancy. men of the gowari caste have a similar mark. karan karan, [331] karnam, mahanti.--the indigenous writer caste of orissa. in 1901 a total of 5000 karans were enumerated in sambalpur and the uriya states, but the bulk of these have since passed under the jurisdiction of bihar and orissa, and only about 1000 remain in the central provinces. the total numbers of the caste in india exceed a quarter of a million. the poet kalidas in his raghuvansa describes karans as the offspring of a vaishya father and a sudra mother. the caste fulfils the same functions in orissa as the kayasths elsewhere, and it is said that their original ancestors were brought from northern india by yayati kesari, king of orissa (a.d. 447-526), to supply the demand for writers and clerks. the original of the word karan is said to be the hindi karani, kiran, which wilson derives from sanskrit karan, 'a doer.' the word karani was at one time applied by natives to the junior members of the civil service--'writers,' as they were designated. and the 'writers' buildings' of calcutta were known as karani kibarik. from this term a corruption 'cranny' came into use, and was applied in bengal to a clerk writing english, and thence to the east indians or half-castes from whom english copyists were subsequently recruited. [332] the derivation of mahanti is obscure, unless it be from maha, great, or from mahant, the head of a monastery. the caste prefer the name of karan, because that of mahanti is often appropriated by affluent chasas and others who wish to get a rise in rank. in fact a proverb says: jar nahin jati, taku bolanti mahanti, or 'he who has no caste calls himself a mahanti.' the karans, like the kayasths, claim chitragupta as their first ancestor, but most of them repudiate any connection with the kayasths, though they are of the same calling. the karans of sambalpur have two subcastes, the jhadua or those of the jhadi or jungle and the utkali or uriyas. the former are said to be the earlier immigrants and are looked down on by the latter, who do not intermarry with them. their exogamous divisions or gotras are of the type called eponymous, being named after well-known rishis or saints like those of the brahmans. instances of such names are bharadwaj, parasar, valmik and vasishtha. some of the names, however, are in a manner totemistic, as nagas, the cobra; kounchhas, the tortoise; bachas, a calf, and so on. these animals are revered by the members of the gotra named after them, but as they are of semi-divine nature, the practice may be distinguished from true totemism. in some cases, however, members of the bharadwaj gotra venerate the blue-jay, and of the parasar gotra, a pigeon. marriage is regulated according to the table of prohibited degrees in vogue among the higher castes. girls are commonly married before they are ten years old, but no penalty attaches to the postponement of the ceremony to a later age. the binding portion of the marriage is hastabandhan or the tying of the hands of the couple together with kusha grass, [333] and when this has been done the marriage cannot be annulled. the bride goes to her husband's house for a few days and then returns home until she attains maturity. divorce and remarriage of widows are prohibited, and an unfaithful wife is finally expelled from the caste. the karans worship the usual hindu gods and call themselves smarths. some belong to the local parmarth and kumbhipatia sects, the former of which practises obscene rites. they burn their dead, excepting the bodies of infants, and perform the shraddh ceremony. the caste have a high social position in sambalpur, and brahmans will sometimes take food cooked without water from them. they wear the sacred thread. they eat fish and the flesh of clean animals but do not drink liquor. bhandaris or barbers will take katcha food from a karan. they are generally engaged in service as clerks, accountants, schoolmasters or patwaris. their usual titles are patnaik or bohidar. the karans are considered to be of extravagant habits, and one proverb about them is- mahanti jati, udhar paile kinanti hathi, or, 'the mahanti if he can get a loan will at once buy an elephant.' their shrewdness in business transactions and tendency to overreach the less intelligent cultivating castes have made them unpopular like the kayasths, and another proverb says- patarkata, tankarkata, paniota, gaudini mai e chari jati ku vishwas nai, or, 'trust not the palm-leaf writer (karan), the weaver, the liquor-distiller nor the milk-seller.' kasai list of paragraphs 1. general notice of the caste. 2. the cattle-slaughtering industry. 3. muhammadan rite of zibah or halal. 4. animism. 5. animal-gods. the domestic animals. 6. other animals. 7. animals worshipped in india. 8. the sacrificial meal. 9. primitive basis of kinship. 10. the bond of food. 11. the blood-feud. 12. taking food together and hospitality. 13. the roman sacra. 14. the hindu caste-feasts. 15. sacrifice of the camel. 16. the joint sacrifice. 17. animal sacrifices in greece. 18. the passover. 19. sanctity of domestic animals. 20. sacrificial slaughter for food. 21. animal-fights. 22. the sacrificial method of killing. 23. animal sacrifices in indian ritual. 1. general notice of the caste. kasai, kassab.--the caste of muhammadan butchers, of whom about 4000 persons were returned from the central provinces and berar in 1911. during the last decade the numbers of the caste have very greatly increased owing to the rise of the cattle-slaughtering industry. two kinds of kasais may be distinguished, the gai kasai or cow-killers and the bakar kasai or mutton butchers. the latter, however, are usually hindus and have been formed into a separate caste, being known as khatik. like other muhammadans who have adopted professions of a not too reputable nature, the kasais have become a caste, partly because the ordinary muhammadan declines to intermarry with them, and partly no doubt in imitation of the hindu social system. the kasais are one of the lowest of the muhammadan castes, and will admit into their community even low-caste hindu converts. they celebrate their weddings by the nikah form, but until recently many hindu rites were added to it. the kazi is employed to conduct the marriage, but if his services are not available a member of the caste may officiate instead. polygamy is permitted to the number of four wives. a man may divorce his wife simply for disobedience, but if a woman wishes to divorce her husband she must forego the meher or dowry promised at the time of the wedding. the kasai women, perhaps owing to their meat diet, are noticeably strong and well nourished, and there is a saying to the effect that, 'the butcher's daughter will bear children when she is ten years old.' the deities of the kasais are a number of muhammadan saints, who are known as aulia or favourites of god. the caste bury the dead, and on the third day they read the kalma over some parched grain and distribute this to the caste-fellows, who eat it in the name of the deceased man, invoking a blessing upon him. on the ninth day after the death they distribute food to muhammadan fakirs or beggars, and on the twentieth and fortieth days two more feasts are given to the caste and a third on the anniversary of the death. owing to what is considered the degrading nature of his occupation, the social position of the kasai is very low, and there is a saying- na dekha ho bagh, to dekh belai; na dekha ho thag, to dekh kasai, or, 'if you have not seen a tiger, look at a cat; and if you have not seen a thug, look at a butcher.' many hindus have a superstition that leprosy is developed by the continual eating of beef. 2. the cattle-slaughtering industry. in recent years an extensive industry in the slaughter of cattle has sprung up all over the province. worn-out animals are now eagerly bought up and killed; their hides are dried and exported, and the meat is cured and sent to madras and burma, a substantial profit being obtained from its sale. the blood, horns and hoofs are other products which yield a return. the religious scruples of the hindus have given way to the temptation of obtaining what is to them a substantial sum for a valueless animal, and, with the exception perhaps of brahmans and banias, all castes now dispose of their useless cattle to the butchers. at first this was done by stealth, and efforts were made to impose severe penalties on anybody guilty of the crime of being accessory to the death of the sacred kine, while it is said that the emissaries of the butchers were sent to the markets disguised as brahmans or religious mendicants, and pretended that they wished to buy cattle in order to preserve their lives as a meritorious act. but such attempts at restriction have generally proved fruitless, and the trade is now openly practised and acquiesced in by public opinion. in spite of many complaints of the shortage of plough cattle caused by the large numbers of animals slaughtered, the results of this traffic are probably almost wholly advantageous; for the villages no longer contain a horde of worn-out and decrepit animals to deprive the valuable plough and milch cattle of a share of the too scanty pasturage. kasais themselves are generally prosperous. 3. muhammadan rite of zibah or halal. when killing an animal the butcher lays it on the ground with its feet to the west and head stretched towards the north and then cuts its throat saying: in the name of god; god is great. this method of killing an animal is known as zibah. the muhammadan belief that an animal is not fit for food unless its throat has been cut so that the blood flows on to the ground is thus explained in professor robertson smith's religion of the semites [334]: "in heathen canaan all the animals belonged to the god of the country; but it was lawful to kill them if payment was made to the god by pouring out their life or blood on the ground." the arabs are of the same semitic stock, and this may be partly the underlying idea of their rite of zibah. it seems doubtful, however, whether the explanation suffices to explain its continuance for so long a period among the muhammadans who have long ceased to reverence any earth-deity, and in a foreign country where the soil cannot be sacred to them; and a short summary of dr. robertson smith's luminous explanation of the underlying principle of animal sacrifice in early times seems requisite to its full understanding. 4. animism. primitive man did not recognise any difference of intelligence and self-consciousness between himself and the lower animals and even plants, but believed them all to be possessed of consciousness and volition as he was. he knew of no natural laws of the constitution of matter and the action of forces, and therefore thought that all natural phenomena, the sun, moon and stars, the wind and rain, were similarly appearances, manifestations or acts of volition of beings conscious like himself. this is what is meant by animism. among several races the community was divided into totem-clans, and each clan held sacred some animal or bird, which was considered as a kinsman. all the members of the clan were kin to each other through the tie formed by their eating their totem animal, which in the hunting stage was probably their chief means of subsistence, and from which they consequently thought that they derived their common life. [335] in process of time the animals which were domesticated, such as the horse, the sheep, the cow and the camel, acquired a special sanctity, and became, in fact, the principal deities of the community, such as the calf-god apis, the cow-goddess isis-hathor, and the ram-god amen in egypt, hera, probably a cow-goddess, and dionysus, who may be the deified bull or goat (or a combination of them) in greece, and so on. 5. animal-gods. the domestic animals. it is easy to see how these domestic animals would overshadow all others in importance when the tribe had arrived at the pastoral or agricultural stage; thus in the former the camel, horse, goat or sheep, and in the latter pre-eminently the bull and cow, as the animals which afforded subsistence to the whole tribe, would become their greatest gods. it must be presumed that men forgot that their ancestors had tamed these animals, and looked on them as divine helpers who of their own free will had come to give mankind their aid in gaining a subsistence. those who have observed the reverence paid to the cow and bull in india will have no difficulty in realising this point of view. many other instances can be obtained. thus in the vedic religion of the aryans the ashvins, from ashva, a horse, were the divine horsemen of the dawn or of the sun. the principal sacrifice was that of the horse, considered, perhaps, as the representative of the sun or carrier of celestial fire. in a hymn the horse is said to be sprung from the gods. in greece phaethon was the charioteer of the horses of the sun. mars, as the roman god of war, may perhaps have been the deified horse, as suggested later. the chieftains of the anglo-saxon invaders of england, hengist and horsa, were held to be descended from the god odin, to whom horses were sacrificed; hengist means a stallion and horsa a horse, the word having survived in modern english. other mythical kings in bede's chronicle have names derived from that of the horse (vicg.). [336] the camel does not seem to have become an anthropomorphic god, but the arabs venerated it and refrained from killing it except as a sacrifice, when it was offered to the morning-star and partaken of sacramentally by the worshippers as will be seen subsequently. the ox as the tiller of the ground, with the cow as milk-giver and mother of the ox, are especially venerated by races in the early agricultural stage. egyptian and greek instances have already been given. in modern egypt, as in india, bulls are let loose and held sacred. "sometimes a peasant vows that he will sacrifice, for the sake of a saint, a calf which he possesses, as soon as it is full grown and fatted. it is let loose, by consent of all his neighbours, to pasture where it will, even in fields of young wheat; and at last, after it has been sacrificed, a public feast is made with its meat. many a large bull is thus given away." [337] dionysus zagreus was a young bull devoured by the titans, whom zeus raised again to a glorious life. [338] the babylonians had a bull-god, ninit. [339] brazen images of bulls were placed in babylonian temples. the parsis hold the bull sacred, and a child is made to drink a bull's urine as a rite of purification. after a funeral the mourners free themselves from the impurity caused by contact with the dead in a similar manner. [340] the monotheistic religion of persia, mitraism, which was an outcome of the faith of zoroaster, and being introduced by the emperors commodus and julian into the roman world contended for some time with christianity, was apparently sun-worship, mitra being the sun-god of the ancient aryans and iranians; m. reinach says: "mitra is born from a rock; he makes water flow from the rock by striking it with an arrow, makes an alliance with the sun, and enters into a struggle with a bull, whom he conquers and sacrifices. the sacrifice of the bull appears to indicate that the worship of mitra in its most ancient form was that of a sacred bull, conjoined to or representing the sun, which was sacrificed as a god, and its flesh and blood eaten in a sacrificial meal. mitra, the slayer of the bull, figures in a double rôle as one finds in all the religions which have passed from totemism to anthropomorphism." [341] in scandinavia the god odin and his brothers were the grandsons of a divine cow, born from the melting ice in the region of snow and darkness. [342] in rome a white bull was sacrificed to the feriae latinae, apparently the spirit of the latin holy days, and distributed among all the towns of latium. [343] altars of the ancient celts or gauls have been found in france carved with the image of a bull. [344] in palestine there is the familiar instance of the golden calf. in the open court of solomon's temple stood the brazen sea on twelve oxen, and figures of lions, oxen and cherubim covered the portable tanks. [345] the veneration of the bull survived into christian england in the middle ages. "at st. edmundsbury a white bull, which enjoyed full ease and plenty in the fields, and was never yoked to the plough nor employed in any service, was led in procession in the chief streets of the town to the principal gate of the monastery, attended by all the monks singing and a shouting crowd. [346] "such remedies as cowdung and cow's urine have been used on the continent of europe by peasant physicians down to our times"; [347] and the belief in their efficacy must apparently have arisen from the sanctity attaching to the animal. in india siva rides upon the bull nandi, and when the kunbis were too weak from famine to plough the fields, he had nandi castrated and harnessed to the plough, thus teaching them to use oxen for ploughing; the image of nandi is always carved in stone in front of siva, and there seems little reason to doubt that in his beneficent aspect of mahadeo the god was originally the deified bull. bulls were let loose in his honour and allowed to graze where they would, and formerly a good hindu would not even sell a bull, though this rule has fallen into abeyance. the sacred cow, kamdhenu, was the giver of all wealth in hindu mythology, and lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, is considered to have been the deified cow. hindus are purified from grave offences by drinking the five products of the sacred cow, milk, curds, butter, dung and urine; and the floors of hindu houses are daily plastered with cowdung to the same end. 6. other animals. of the exaltation of minor animals into anthropomorphic gods and goddesses only a few instances need be given. as is shown by sir j. g. frazer, demeter and proserpine probably both represent the deified pig. [348] "the greek drama has arisen from the celebrations of dionysus. in the beginning the people sacrificed a goat totem-god, that is to say, dionysus himself; they wept for his death and then celebrated his resurrection with transports of joy." [349] and again m. reinach states: "there are more than mere vestiges of totemism in ancient greece. we may take first the attendant animals of the gods, the eagle of zeus, the owl of athena, the fawn of artemis, the dolphin of poseidon, the dove of aphrodite and so on; the sacred animal can develop into the companion of the god, but also into his enemy or victim; thus apollo sauroctonos is, as the epithet shows, a killer of lizards; but in the beginning it was the lizard itself which was divine. we have seen that the boar before becoming the slayer of adonis had been adonis himself." [350] in early rome "the wolf was the animal most venerated. its association with mars, as the sacrifice most pleasing to him, leaves no doubt as to the primitive nature of the god. it was a wolf which acted as guide to the samnites in their search for a place to settle in, and these samnites called themselves hirpi or hirpini, that is to say, wolves. romulus and remus, sons of the wolf mars and the she-wolf silvia (the forest-dweller), are suckled by a she-wolf." [351] it seems possible that mars as the deified wolf was at first an agricultural deity, the wolf being worshipped by the shepherd and farmer because he was their principal enemy, as the sambhar stag and the wild buffalo are similarly venerated by indian cultivators. at a later period, in becoming the god of war, he may have represented the deified horse as well. races of war-horses were held at his festivals on 14th march and 27th february, and a great race on the ides of october when the winner was solemnly slain. [352] "in egypt the baboon was regarded as the emblem of tahuti, the god of wisdom; the serious expression and human ways of the large baboons are an obvious cause for their being regarded as the wisest of animals. tahuti is represented as a baboon from the earliest dynasty down to late times; and four baboons were sacred in his temple at heliopolis." [353] "the hippopotamus was the goddess ta-urt, 'the great one,' the patroness of pregnancy, who is never shown in any other form. rarely this animal appears as the emblem of the god set. the jackal haunted the cemeteries on the edge of the desert, and so came to be taken as the guardian of the dead and identified with anubis, the god of departing souls. the vulture was the emblem of maternity as being supposed to care especially for her young. hence she is identified with mut, the mother-goddess of thebes. the cobra serpent was sacred from the earliest times to the present day. it was never identified with any of the great deities, but three goddesses appear in serpent form." [354] 7. animals worshipped in india. finally, in india we have hanuman, originally the deified ape, about whose identity there can be no doubt as he still retains his monkey's tail in all sculpture. bhairon, the watchman of mahadeo's temples, rides on a black dog, and was perhaps originally the watch-dog, or in his more terrible character of the devourer of human beings, the wolf. ganesh or ganpati has the head of an elephant and rides on a rat and appears to have derived his divine attributes from both these animals, as will be explained elsewhere; [355] kartikeya, the god of war, rides on a peacock, and as the peacock is sacred, he may originally have been that bird, perhaps because its plumes were a favourite war emblem. among his epithets are sarabhu, born in the thicket, dwadasakara and dwadasaksha, twelve-handed and twelve-eyed. he was fostered by the maidens who make the pleiades, and his epithet of twelve-eyed may be taken from the eyes in the peacock's feathers. [356] but, like the greek gods, the hindu gods have now long become anthropomorphic, and only vestiges remain of their animal associations. enough has been said to show that most of the pantheons are largely occupied by deified animals and birds. 8. the sacrificial meal. the original sacrifice was that in which the community of kinsmen ate together the flesh of their divine or totem animal-god and drank its blood. in early religion the tribal god was the ancestor and relative of the tribe. he protected and fostered the tribe in its public concerns, but took no special care of individuals; the only offences of which he took cognisance were those against the tribe as a whole, such as shedding a kinsman's blood. at periodical intervals the tribe renewed their kinship with the god and each other by eating his flesh together at a sacrificial meal by which they acquired his divine attributes; and every tribesman was not only invited, but bound, to participate. "according to antique ideas those who eat and drink together are by this very act tied to one another by a bond of friendship and mutual obligation. hence when we find that in ancient religions all the ordinary functions of worship are summed up in the sacrificial meal, and that the ordinary intercourse between gods and men has no other form, we are to remember that the act of eating and drinking together is the solemn and stated expression of the fact that all who share the meal are brethren, and that the duties of friendship and brotherhood are implicitly acknowledged in their common act. [357] the one thing directly expressed in the sacrificial meal is that the god and his worshippers are commensals, but every other point in their mutual relations is included in what this involves. those who sit at meat together are united for all social effects; those who do not eat together are aliens to one another, without fellowship in religion and without reciprocal social duties. the extent to which this view prevailed among the ancient semites, and still prevails among the arabs, may be brought out most clearly by reference to the law of hospitality. among the arabs every stranger whom one meets in the desert is a natural enemy, and has no protection against violence except his own strong hand or the fear that his tribe will avenge him if his blood be spilt. but if i have eaten the smallest morsel of food with a man i have nothing further to fear from him; 'there is salt between us,' and he is bound not only to do me no harm, but to help and defend me as if i were his brother. so far was this principle carried by the old arabs that zaid-al-khail, a famous warrior in the days of muhammad, refused to slay a vagabond who carried off his camels, because the thief had surreptitiously drunk from his father's milk-bowl before committing the theft." [358] it is in this idea that the feeling of hospitality originally arose. those who ate together the sacred food consisting of the body of the god were brothers, and bound to assist each other and do each other no harm; and the obligation extended in a modified form to all food partaken of together, more especially as with some races, as the ancient romans and the hindus, all the regular household meals are sacred; they may only be partaken of after purifying the body, and a portion of the food at each meal is offered to the gods. "there was a sworn alliance between the lihyan and the mostalic--they were wont to eat and drink together. this phrase of an arab narrator supplies exactly what is wanted to define the significance of the sacrificial meal. the god and his worshippers are wont to eat and drink together, and by this token their fellowship is declared and sealed." [359] 9. primitive basis of kinship. the primitive idea of kinship rested on this participation in the sacrificial meal, and not on blood-relationship. "in ancient times the fundamental obligations of kinship had nothing to do with degrees of relationship, but rested with absolute and identical force on every member of the clan. to know that a man's life was sacred to me and that every blood-feud that touched him involved me also, it was not necessary for me to count cousinship with him by reckoning up to our common ancestor; it was enough that we belonged to the same clan and bore the same clan-name. what was my clan was determined by customary law, which was not the same in all stages of society; in the earliest semitic communities a man was of his mother's clan, in later times he belonged to the clan of his father. but the essential idea of kinship was independent of the particular form of the law. a kin was a group of persons whose lives were so bound up together, in what must be called a physical unity, that they could be treated as parts of one common life. the members of one kindred looked on themselves as one living whole, a single animated mass of blood, flesh, and bones, of which no member could be touched without all the members suffering. this point of view is expressed in the semitic tongues in many familiar forms of speech. in case of homicide arabian tribesmen do not say, 'the blood of m or n has been spilt,' naming the man; they say, 'our blood has been spilt.' in hebrew the phrase by which one claims kinship is, 'i am your bone and your flesh.' both in hebrew and in arabic 'flesh' is synonymous with 'clan' or kindred group." [360] similarly in india a hindu speaks of any member of his subcaste or clan as his bhai or brother. "indeed, in a religion based on kinship, where the god and his worshippers are of one stock, the principle of sanctity and that of kinship are identical. the sanctity of a kinsman's life and the sanctity of the godhead are not two things but one; for ultimately the only thing which is sacred is the common tribal life or the common blood which is identified with the life. whatever being partakes in this life is holy, and its holiness may be described indifferently as participation in the divine life and nature, or as participation in the kindred blood." [361] 10. the bond of food. "at a later period the conception is found current that any food which two men partake of together, so that the same substance enters into their flesh and blood, is enough to establish some sacred unity of life between them; but in ancient times this significance seems to be always attached to participation in the flesh of a sacrosanct victim, and the solemn mystery of its death is justified by the consideration that only in this way can the sacred cement be procured which creates or keeps alive a living bond of union between the worshippers and their god. this cement is nothing less than the actual life of the sacred and kindred animal, which is conceived as residing in its flesh, but especially in its blood, and so, in the sacred meal, is actually distributed among all the participants, each of whom incorporated a particle of it with his own individual life." [362] 11. the blood-feud. it thus appears that the sacrifice of the divine animal which was the god of the tribe or clan, and the eating of its flesh and drinking of its blood together, was the only tangible bond or obligation on which such law and morality as existed in primitive society was based. those who participated in this sacrifice were brothers and forbidden to shed each other's blood, because in so doing they would have spilt the blood of the god impiously and unlawfully; the only lawful occasion on which it could be shed being by participation of all the clan or kinsmen in the sacrificial meal. all other persons outside the clan were strangers or enemies, and no rights or obligations existed in connection with them; the only restraint on killing them being the fear that their kinsmen would take blood-revenge, not solely on the murderer, but on any member of his clan. a man's life was protected only by this readiness of his clansmen to avenge him; if he slew a fellow-kinsman, thus shedding the blood of the god which flowed in the veins of every member, or committed any other great impiety against the god, he was outlawed, and henceforth there was no protection for his life except such as he could afford himself by his own strength. this reflection puts the importance of the blood-feud in primitive society in a clear light. it was at that time really a beneficent institution, being the only protection for human life; and its survival among such backward races as the pathans and corsicans, long after the state has undertaken the protection and avenging of life and the blood-feud has become almost wholly useless and evil, is more easily understood. 12. taking food together and hospitality. the original idea of the sacrificial meal was that the kinsmen in concert partook of the body of the god, thereby renewing their kinship with him and with each other. by analogy, however, the tie thus formed was extended to the whole practice of eating together. it has been seen how a stranger who partook of food with an arab became sacred and as a kinsman to his host and all the latter's clan for such time as any part of the food might remain in his system, a period which was conventionally taken as about three days. "the old testament records many cases where a covenant was sealed by the parties eating and drinking together. in most of these the meal is sacrificial, and the deity is taken in as a third party to the covenant. but in joshua i. 14 the israelites enter into alliance with the gibeonites by taking of their victuals without consulting jehovah. a formal league confirmed by an oath follows, but by accepting the proffered food the israelites are already committed to the alliance." [363] from the belief in the strength and sanctity of the tie formed by eating together the obligation of hospitality appears to be derived. and this is one of the few moral ideas which are more binding in primitive than in civilised society. 13. the roman sacra. "a good example of the clan sacrifice, in which a whole kinship periodically joins, is afforded by the roman sacra gentilicia. as in primitive society no man can belong to more than one kindred, so among the romans no one could share in the sacra of two gentes--to do so was to confound the ritual and contaminate the purity of the gens. the sacra consisted in common anniversary sacrifices, in which the clansmen honoured the gods of the clan, and after them the whole kin, living and dead, were brought together in the service." [364] 14. the hindu caste-feasts. the intense importance thus attached to eating in common on ceremonial occasions has a very familiar ring to any one possessing some acquaintance with the indian caste-system. the resemblance of the gotra or clan and the subcaste to the greek phratry and phule and the roman gens and curia or tribe has been pointed out by m. emile senart in les castes dans l'inde. the origin of the subcaste or group, whose members eat together and intermarry, cannot be discussed here. but it seems probable that the real bond which unites it is the capacity of its members to join in the ceremonial feasts at marriages, funerals, and the readmission of members temporarily excluded, which are of a type closely resembling and seemingly derived from the sacrificial meal. before a wedding the ancestors of the family are formally invited, and when the wedding-cakes are made they are offered to the ancestors and then partaken of by all relatives of the family as in the roman sacra. in this case grain would take the place of flesh as the sacrificial food among a people who no longer eat the flesh of animals. thus sir j. g. frazer states: "at the close of the rice harvest in the east indian island of buro each clan (fenna) meets at a common sacramental meal, to which every member of the clan is bound to contribute a little of the new rice. this meal is called 'eating the soul of the rice,' a name which clearly indicates the sacramental character of the repast. some of the rice is also set apart and offered to the spirits." [365] grain cooked with water is sacred food among the hindus. the bride and bridegroom worship gauri, perhaps a corn-goddess, and her son ganesh, the god of prosperity and full granaries. it has been suggested that yellow is the propitious hindu colour for weddings, because it is the colour of the corn. [366] at the wedding feast all the guests sit knee to knee touching each other as a sign of their brotherhood. sometimes the bride eats with the men in token of her inclusion in the brotherhood. in most castes the feast cannot begin until all the guests have come, and every member of the subcaste who is not under the ban of exclusion must be invited. if any considerable number of the guests wilfully abstain from attending it is an insult to the host and an implication that his own position is doubtful. other points of resemblance between the caste feast and the sacrificial meal will be discussed elsewhere. 15. sacrifice of the camel. the sacrifice of the camel in arabia, about the period of the fourth century, is thus described: "the camel chosen as the victim is bound upon a rude altar of stones piled together, and when the leader of the band has thrice led the worshippers round the altar in a solemn procession accompanied with chants, he inflicts the first wound while the last words of the hymn are still upon the lips of the congregation, and in all haste drinks of the blood that gushes forth. forthwith the whole company fall on the victim with their swords, hacking off pieces of the quivering flesh and devouring them raw, with such wild haste that in the short interval between the rise of the day-star, which marked the hour for the service to begin, and the disappearance of its rays before the rising sun, the entire camel, body and bones, skin, blood and entrails, is wholly devoured." [367] in this case the camel was offered as a sacrifice to venus or the morning star, and it had to be devoured while the star was visible. but it is clear that the camel itself had been originally revered, because except for the sacrifice it was unlawful for the arabs to kill the camel otherwise than as a last resort to save themselves from starvation. "the ordinary sustenance of the saracens was derived from pillage or from hunting and from the milk of their herds. only when these supplies failed they fell back on the flesh of their camels, one of which was slain for each clan or for each group which habitually pitched their tents together--always a fraction of a clan--and the flesh was hastily devoured by the kinsmen in dog-like fashion, half raw and merely softened over the fire." [368] in bhopal it is stated that a camel is still sacrificed annually in perpetuation of the ancient rite. hindus who keep camels revere them like other domestic animals. when one of my tent-camels had broken its leg by a fall and had to be killed, i asked the camelman, to whom the animal belonged, to shoot it; but he positively refused, saying, 'how shall i kill him who gives me my bread'; and a muhammadan orderly finally shot it. 16. the joint sacrifice. the camel was devoured raw almost before the life had left the body, so that its divine life and blood might be absorbed by the worshippers. the obligation to devour the whole body perhaps rested on the belief that its slaughter otherwise than as a sacrifice was impious, and if any part of the body was left unconsumed the clan would incur the guilt of murder. afterwards, when more civilised stomachs revolted against the practice of devouring the whole body, the bones were buried or burnt, and it is suggested that our word bonfire comes from bone-fire. [369] primitive usage required the presence of every clansman, so that each might participate in shedding the sacred blood. neither the blood of the god nor of any of the kinsmen might be spilt by private violence, but only by consent of the kindred and the kindred god. similarly in shedding the blood of a member of the kin all the others were required to share the responsibility, and this was the ancient hebrew form of execution where the culprit was stoned by the whole congregation. [370] 17. animal sacrifices in greece. m. salomon reinach gives the following explanation of greek myths in connection with the sacrificial meal: "the primitive sacrifice of the god, usually accompanied by the eating of the god in fellowship, was preserved in their religious rites, and when its meaning had been forgotten numerous legends were invented to account for it. in order to understand their origin it is necessary to remember that the primitive worshippers masqueraded as the god and took his name. as the object of the totem sacrifice is to make the participants like the god and confer his divinity on them, the faithful endeavoured to increase the resemblance by taking the name of the god and covering themselves with the skins of animals of his species. thus the athenian damsels celebrating the worship of the bear artemis dressed themselves in bear-skins and called themselves bears; the maenads who sacrificed the doe penthea were clad in doe-skins. even in the later rites the devotees of bacchus called themselves bacchantes. a whole series of legends can be interpreted as semi-rationalistic explanations of the sacrificial meal. actaeon was really a great stag sacrificed by women devotees who called themselves the great hind and the little hinds; he became the rash hunter who surprised artemis at her bath, and was transformed into a stag and devoured by his own dogs. the dogs are a euphemism; in the early legend they were the human devotees of the sacred stag who tore him to pieces and devoured him with their bare teeth. these feasts of raw flesh survived in the secret religious cults of greece long after uncooked meat had ceased to be consumed in ordinary life. orpheus (ophreus, the haughty), who appears in art with the skin of a fox on his head, was originally a sacred fox devoured by the women of the fox totem-clan; these women call themselves bassarides in the legend, and bassareus is one of the old names of the fox. zagreus is a son of zeus and persephone who transformed himself into a bull to escape from the titans, excited against him by hera; the titans, worshippers of the divine bull, killed and ate him; zagreus was invoked in his worship as the 'good bull,' and when zagreus by the grace of zeus was reborn as dionysus, the young god carried on his forehead the horns which bore witness to his animal nature. hippolytus in the fable is the son of theseus who repels the advances of phaedra, his stepmother, and was killed by his runaway horses because theseus, deceived by phaedra, invoked the anger of a god upon him. but hippolytus in greek means 'one torn to pieces by horses.' hippolytus is himself a horse whom the worshippers of the horse, calling themselves horses and disguised as such, tore to pieces and devoured. phaethon (the shining one) is a son of apollo, who demands leave to drive the chariot of the sun, drives it badly, nearly burns up the world, and finally falls and perishes in the sea. this legend is the product of an old rite at rhodes, the island of the sun, where every year a white horse and a burning chariot were thrown into the sea to help the sun, fatigued by his labours." [371] 18. the passover. m. reinach points out that the passover of the israelites was in its origin a similar sacrifice. a lamb or kid, the first-fruit of the flocks, was eaten entire without the bones being broken, the blood smeared on the doorway being an offering to the god. the story connecting this sacrifice with the death of the first-born in egypt was of later origin, devised to account for it when the real meaning had been forgotten. [372] the name rachel [373] means a ewe, and it would appear that the children of israel in the pastoral stage had the sheep for their totem deity and supposed themselves to be descended from it, as the jats consider themselves to be descended from siva, probably in his form of mahadeo, the deified bull. as held in canaan, the festival may have been a relic of the former migratory life of the israelites when they tended flocks and regarded the sheep, or goat, as their most important domestic animal. it may have been in memory of this wandering life that the festival was accompanied by the eating of unleavened bread, and the sacrifice was consumed with loins girded up and staffs in their hands, as if in readiness for a journey. the banjaras retain in their marriage and other customs various reminiscences of their former migratory life, as shown in the article on that caste. the gadarias of the central provinces worship a goddess called dishai devi, who is represented by a stone platform just outside the sheep-pen. she has thus probably developed from the deified sheep or goat, which itself was formerly worshipped. on the eighth day of the fasts in chait and kunwar the gadarias offer the goddess a virgin she-goat. they wash the goat's feet in water and rub turmeric on its feet and head. it is given rice to eat and brought before the goddess, and water is poured over its body; when the goat begins to shiver they think that the goddess has accepted the offering, and cut its throat with a sickle or knife. then the animal is roasted whole and eaten in the veranda of the house, nothing being thrown away but the bones. only men may join in this sacrifice, and not women. 19. sanctity of domestic animals. thus it was a more or less general rule among several races that the domestic animals were deified and held sacred, and were slain only at a sacrifice. it followed that it was sinful to kill these animals on any other occasion. it has already been seen that the arabs forbore to kill their worn-out camels for food except when driven to it by hunger as a last resort. "that it was once a capital offence to kill an ox, both in attica and the peloponnesus, is attested by varro. so far as athens is concerned, this statement seems to be drawn from the legend that was told in connection with the annual sacrifice at the diipolia, where the victim was a bull and its death was followed by a solemn inquiry as to who was responsible for the act. in this trial everyone who had anything to do with the slaughter was called as a party; the maidens who drew water to sharpen the axe and knife threw the blame on the sharpeners, they put it on the man who handed the axe, he on the man who struck down the victim, and he again on the one who cut its throat, who finally fixed the responsibility on the knife, which was accordingly found guilty of murder and cast into the sea." [374] "at tenedos the priest who offered a bull-calf to dionysus anthroporraistes was attacked with stones and had to flee for his life; and at corinth, in the annual sacrifice of a goat to hera acraea, care was taken to shift the responsibility of the death off the shoulders of the community by employing hirelings as ministers. even they did no more than hide the knife in such a way that the goat, scraping with its feet, procured its own death." [375] "agatharchides, describing the troglodytes of east africa, a primitive pastoral people in the polyandrous state of society, tells us that their whole sustenance was derived from their flocks and herds. when pasture abounded, after the rainy season, they lived on milk mingled with blood (drawn apparently, as in arabia, from the living animal), and in the dry season they had recourse to the flesh of aged or weakly beasts. further, 'they gave the name of parent to no human being, but only to the ox and cow, the ram and ewe, from whom they had their nourishment.' among the caffres the cattle kraal is sacred; women may not enter it, and to defile it is a capital offence." [376] among the egyptians also cows were never killed. [377] 20. sacrificial slaughter for food. gradually, however, as the reverence for animals declined and the true level of their intelligence compared to that of man came to be better appreciated, the sanctity attaching to their lives no doubt grew weaker. then it would become permissible to kill a domestic animal privately and otherwise than by a joint sacrifice of the clan; but the old custom of justifying the slaughter by offering it to the god would still remain. "at this stage, [378] at least among the hebrews, the original sanctity of the life of domestic animals is still recognised in a modified form, inasmuch as it is held unlawful to use their flesh for food except in a sacrificial meal. but this rule is not strict enough to prevent flesh from becoming a familiar luxury. sacrifices are multiplied on trivial occasions of religious gladness or social festivity, and the rite of eating at the sanctuary loses the character of an exceptional sacrament, and means no more than that men are invited to feast and be merry at the table of their god, or that no feast is complete in which the god has not his share." [379] this is the stage reached by the hebrews in the time of samuel, as described by professor robertson smith, and it bears much resemblance to that of the lower hindu castes and the gonds at the present time. they too, when they can afford to kill a goat or a pig, cows being prohibited in deference to hindu susceptibility, take it to the shrine of some village deity and offer it there prior to feasting on it with their friends. at intervals of a year or more many of the lower castes sacrifice a goat to dulha deo, the bridegroom-god, and thakur deo, the corn-god, and eat the body as a sacrificial meal within the house, burying the bones and other remnants beneath the floor of the house. [380] among the kafirs of the hindu kush, when a man wishes to become a jast, apparently a revered elder or senator, he must give a series of feasts to the whole community, so expensive that many men utterly ruin themselves in becoming jast. the initiatory proceedings are sacrifices of bulls and male goats to gish, the war-god, at the village shrine. the animals are examined with jealous eyes by the spectators, to see that they come up to the prescribed standard of excellence. after the sacrifice the meat is divided among the people, who carry it to their homes. these special sacrifices at the shrine recur at intervals; but the great slaughterings are at the feast-giver's own house, where he entertains sometimes the jast exclusively and sometimes the whole tribe, as already mentioned. [381] even in the latter case, however, after a big distribution at the giver's house one or two goats are offered to the war-god at his shrine; and while the animals are being killed at the house offerings are made on a sacrificial fire, and as each goat is slain a handful of its blood is taken and thrown on the fire. [382] the kafirs would therefore appear to be in the stage when it is still usual to kill domestic animals as a sacrifice to the god, but no longer obligatory. 21. animal fights. finally animals are recognised for what they are, all sanctity ceases to attach to them, and they are killed for food in an ordinary manner. possibly, however, such customs as roasting an ox whole, and the sports of bull-baiting and bull-fighting, may be relics of the ancient sacrifice. formerly the buffaloes sacrificed at the shrine of the goddess rankini or kali in dalbhum zamindari of chota nagpur were made to fight. "two male buffaloes are driven into a small enclosure and on a raised stage adjoining and overlooking it the raja and his suite take up their position. after some ceremonies the raja and his family priest discharge arrows at the buffaloes, others follow their example, and the tormented and enraged beasts fall to and gore each other whilst arrow after arrow is discharged. when the animals are past doing very much mischief, the people rush in and hack at them with battle-axes till they are dead." [383] 22. the sacrificial method of killing. muhammadans however cannot eat the flesh of an animal unless its throat is cut and the blood allowed to flow before it dies. at the time of cutting the throat a sacred text or invocation must be repeated. it has been seen that in former times the blood of the animal was offered to the god and scattered on the altar or collected in a pit at its foot. it may be suggested that the method of killing which still survives was that formerly practised in offering the sacrifice, and that the necessity of allowing the blood to flow is a relic of the blood offering. when it no longer became necessary to sacrifice every animal at a shrine the sacrificial method of slaughter and the invocation to the god might be retained as removing the impiety of the act. at present it is said that unless an animal's blood flows it is a murda or corpse, and hence not suitable for food. but this idea may have grown up to account for the custom when its original meaning had been forgotten. the gonds, when sacrificing a fowl, hold it over the sacred post or stone, which represents the god, and let the blood drop upon it. and when sacrificing a pig they first cut its tongue and let the blood fall upon the symbol of the god. in chhattisgarh, when a hindu is ill he makes a vow of the affected limb to the god; then on recovering he goes to the temple, and cutting this limb, lets the blood fall on to the symbol of the god as an offering. similarly the sikhs are forbidden to eat flesh unless the animal has been killed by jatka or cutting off the head with one stroke, and the same rule is observed by some of the lower hindu castes. in hindu sacrifices it is often customary that the head of the animal should be made over to the officiating priest as his share, and so in killing the animal he would naturally cut off its head. the above rule may therefore be of the same character as the rite of halal among the muhammadans, and here also the sacrificial method of killing an animal may be retained to legalise its slaughter after the sacrifice itself has fallen into desuetude. in berar some time ago the mullah or muhammadan priest was a village servant and the hindus paid him dues. in return he was accustomed to kill the goats and sheep which they wished to sacrifice at temples, or in their fields to propitiate the deities presiding over them. he also killed animals for the khatik or mutton-butcher and the latter exposed them for sale. the mullah was entitled to the heart of the animal killed as his perquisite and a fee of two pice. some of the marathas were unmindful of the ceremony, but in general they professed not to eat flesh unless the sacred verse had been pronounced either by the mullah or some muhammadan capable of rendering it halal or lawful to be eaten. [384] hence it would appear that the hindus, unprovided by their own religion with any sacrificial mode of legalising the slaughter of animals, adopted the ritual of a foreign faith in order to make animal sacrifices acceptable to their own deities. the belief that it is sinful to kill a domestic animal except with some religious sanction is thus clearly shown in full force. 23. animal sacrifices in indian ritual. among high-caste hindus also sacrifices, including the killing of cows, were at one time legal. this is shown by several legends, [385] and is also a historical fact. one of asoka's royal edicts prohibited at the capital the celebration of animal sacrifices and merry-makings involving the use of meat, but in the provinces apparently they continued to be lawful. [386] this indicates that prior to the rise of buddhism such sacrifices had been customary, and also that when a feast was to be given, involving the consumption of meat, the animal was offered as a sacrifice. it is noteworthy that asoka's rules do not forbid the slaughter of cows. [387] in ancient times also the most important royal sacrifice was that of the horse. the development of religious belief and practice in connection with the killing of domestic animals has thus proceeded on exactly opposite lines in india as compared with most of the world. domestic animals have become more instead of less sacred and several of them cannot be killed at all. the reason usually given to account for this is the belief in the transmigration of souls, leading to the conclusion that the bodies of animals might be tenanted by human souls. probably also buddhism left powerful traces of its influence on the hindu view of the sanctity of animal life even after it had ceased to be the state religion. perhaps the brahmans desired to make their faith more popular and took advantage of the favourite reverence of all cultivators for the cow to exalt her into one of their most powerful deities, and at the same time to extend the local cult of krishna, the divine cowherd, thus following exactly the contrary course to that taken by moses with the golden calf. generally the growth of political and national feeling has mainly operated to limit the influence of the priesthood, and the spread of education and development of reasoned criticism and discussion have softened the strictness of religious observance and ritual. both these factors have been almost entirely wanting in hindu society, and this perhaps explains the continued sanctity attaching to the lives of domestic animals as well as the unabated power of the caste system. kasar 1. distribution and origin of the caste. kasar, kasera, kansari, bharewa. [388]--the professional caste of makers and sellers of brass and copper vessels. in 1911 the kasars numbered 20,000 persons in the central provinces and berar, and were distributed over all districts, except in the jubbulpore division, where they are scarcely found outside mandla. their place in the other districts of this division is taken by the tameras. in mandla the kasars are represented by the inferior bharewa group. the name of the caste is derived from kansa, a term now applied to bell-metal. the kindred caste of tameras take their name from tamba, copper, but both castes work in this metal indifferently, and in saugor, damoh and jubbulpore no distinction exists between the kasars and tameras, the same caste being known by both names. a similar confusion exists in northern india in the use of the corresponding terms kasera and thathera. [389] in wardha the kasars are no longer artificers, but only dealers, employing panchals to make the vessels which they retail in their shops. and the same is the case with the maratha and deshkar subcastes in nagpur. the kasars are a respectable caste, ranking next to the sunars among the urban craftsmen. according to a legend given by mr. sadasheo jairam they trace their origin from dharampal, the son of sahasra arjun or arjun of the thousand arms. arjun was the greatgrandson of ekshvaku, who was born in the forests of kalinga, from the union of a mare and a snake. on this account the kasars of the maratha country say that they all belong to the ahihaya clan (ahi, a snake; and haya, a mare). arjun was killed by parasurama during the slaughter of the kshatriyas and dharampal's mother escaped with three other pregnant women. according to another version all the four women were the wives of the king of the somvansi rajputs who stole the sacred cow kamdhenu. their four sons on growing up wished to avenge their father and prayed to the goddess kali for weapons. but unfortunately in their prayer, instead of saying ban, arrow, they said van, which means pot, and hence brass pots were given to them instead of arrows. they set out to sell the pots, but got involved in a quarrel with a raja, who killed three of them, but was defeated by the fourth, to whom he afterwards gave his daughter and half his kingdom; and this hero became the ancestor of the kasars. in some localities the kasars say that dharampal, the rajput founder of their caste, was the ancestor of the haihaya rajput kings of ratanpur; and it is noticeable that the thatheras of the united provinces state that their original home was a place called ratanpur, in the deccan. [390] both ratanpur and mandla, which are very old towns, have important brass and bell-metal industries, their bell-metal wares being especially well known on account of the brilliant polish which is imparted to them. and the story of the kasars may well indicate, as suggested by mr. hira lal, that ratanpur was a very early centre of the brass-working industry, from which it has spread to other localities in this part of india. 2. internal structure. the caste have a number of subdivisions, mainly of a territorial nature. among these are the maratha kasars; the deshkar, who also belong to the maratha country; the pardeshi or foreigners, the jhade or residents of the forest country of the central provinces, and the audhia or ajudhiabasi who are immigrants from oudh. another subdivision, the bharewas, are of a distinctly lower status than the body of the caste, and have non-aryan customs, such as the eating of pork. they make the heavy brass ornaments which the gonds and other tribes wear on their legs, and are probably an occupational offshoot from one of these tribes. in chanda some of the bharewas serve as grooms and are looked down upon by the others. they have totemistic septs, named after animals and plants, some of which are gond words; and among them the bride goes to the bridegroom's house to be married, which is a gond custom. the bharewas may more properly be considered as a separate caste of lower status. as previously stated, the maratha and deshkar subcastes of the maratha country no longer make vessels, but only keep them for sale. one subcaste, the otaris, make vessels from moulds, while the remainder cut and hammer into shape the imported sheets of brass. lastly comes a group comprising those members of the caste who are of doubtful or illegitimate descent, and these are known either as takle ('thrown out' in marathi), bidur, 'bastard,' or laondi bachcha, 'issue of a kept wife.' in the maratha country the kasars, as already seen, say that they all belong to one gotra, the ahihaya. they have, however, collections of families distinguished by different surnames, and persons having the same surname are forbidden to marry. in the northern districts they have the usual collection of exogamous septs, usually named after villages. 3. social customs. the marriages of first cousins are generally forbidden, as well as of members of the same sept. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. devi or bhawani is the principal deity of the caste, as of so many hindus. at her festival of mando amawas or the day of the new moon of phagun (february), every kasar must return to the community of which he is a member and celebrate the feast with them. and in default of this he will be expelled from caste until the next amawas of phagun comes round. they close their shops and worship the implements of their trade on this day and also on the pola day. the kasars, as already stated, rank next to the sunars among the artisan castes, and the audhia sunars, who make ornaments of bell-metal, form a connecting link between the two groups. the social status of the kasars varies in different localities. in some places brahmans take water from them but not in others. some kasars now invest boys with the sacred thread at their weddings, and thereafter it is regularly worn. 4. occupation. the caste make eating and drinking vessels, ornaments and ornamental figures from brass, copper and bell-metal. brass is the metal most in favour for utensils, and it is usually imported in sheets from bombay, but in places it is manufactured from a mixture of three parts of copper and two of zinc. this is considered the best brass, though it is not so hard as the inferior kinds, in which the proportion of zinc is increased. ornaments of a grey colour, intended to resemble silver, are made from a mixture of four parts of copper with five of zinc. bell-metal is an alloy of copper and tin, and in chanda is made of four parts of copper to one part tin or tinfoil, the tin being the more expensive metal. bells of fairly good size and excellent tone are moulded from this amalgam, and plates or saucers in which anything acid in the way of food is to be kept are also made of it, since acids do not corrode this metal as they do brass and copper. but bell-metal vessels are fragile and sometimes break when dropped. they cannot also be heated in the fire to clean them, and therefore cannot be lent to persons outside the family; while brass vessels may be lent to friends of other castes, and on being received back pollution is removed by heating them in the fire or placing hot ashes in them. brahmans make a small fire of grass for this purpose and pass the vessels through the flame. copper cooking-pots are commonly used by muhammadans but not by hindus, as they have to be coated with tin; the hindus consider that tin is an inferior metal whose application to copper degrades the latter. pots made of brass with a copper rim are called 'ganga jamni' after the confluence of the dark water of the jumna with the muddy stream of the ganges, whose union they are supposed to symbolise. small figures of the deities or idols are also made of brass, but some kasars will not attempt this work, because they are afraid of the displeasure of the god in case the figure should not be well or symmetrically shaped. kasbi list of paragraphs 1. general notice. 2. girls dedicated to temples. 3. music and dancing. 4. education of courtesans. 5. caste customs. 6. first pregnancy. 7. different classes of women. 8. dancing and singing. 1. general notice. kasbi, [391] tawaif, devadasi.--the caste of dancing-girls and prostitutes. the name kasbi is derived from the arabic kasab, prostitution, and signifies rather a profession than a caste. in india practically all female dancers and singers are prostitutes, the hindus being still in that stage of the development of intersexual relations when it is considered impossible that a woman should perform before the public and yet retain her modesty. it is not so long that this idea has been abandoned by western nations, and the fashion of employing women actors is perhaps not more than two or three centuries old in england. the gradual disappearance of the distinctive influence of sex in the public and social conduct of women is presumably a sign of advancing civilisation, and is greatest in the west, the old standards retaining more and more vitality as we proceed eastward. among the anglo-saxon races women are almost entirely emancipated from any handicap due to their sex, and direct their lives with the same freedom and independence as men. among the latin races many people still object to girls walking out alone in towns, and in italy the number of women to be seen in the streets is so small that it must be considered improper for a young and respectable woman to go about alone. here also survives the mariage de convenance or arrangement of matches by the parents; the underlying reason for this custom, which also partly accounts for the institution of infant-marriage, appears to be that it is not considered safe to permit a young girl to frequent the society of unmarried men with sufficient freedom to be able to make her own choice. and, finally, on arrival in egypt and turkey we find the seclusion of women still practised, and only now beginning to weaken before the influence of western ideas. but again in the lowest scale of civilisation, among the gonds and other primitive tribes, women are found to enjoy great freedom of social intercourse. this is partly no doubt because their lives are too hard and rude to permit of any seclusion of women, but also partly because they do not yet consider it an obligatory feature of the institution of marriage that a girl should enter upon it in the condition of a virgin. 2. girls dedicated to temples. in the deccan girls dedicated to temples are called devadasis or 'hand-maidens of the gods.' they are thus described by marco polo: "in this country," he says, "there are certain abbeys in which are gods and goddesses, and here fathers and mothers often consecrate their daughters to the service of the deity. when the priests desire to feast their god they send for those damsels, who serve the god with meats and other goods, and then sing and dance before him for about as long as a great baron would be eating his dinner. then they say that the god has devoured the essence of the food, and fall to and eat it themselves." [392] mr. francis writes of the devadasis as follows:1 "it is one of the many inconsistences of the hindu religion that though their profession is repeatedly and vehemently condemned by the shastras it has always received the countenance of the church. the rise of the caste and its euphemistic name seem both of them to date from the ninth and tenth centuries of our era, during which much activity prevailed in southern india in the matter of building temples and elaborating the services held in them. the dancing-girls' duties then as now were to fan the idol with chamaras or thibetan ox-tails, to hold the sacred light called kumbarti and to sing and dance before the god when he was carried in procession. inscriptions show that in a.d. 1004 the great temple of the chola king rajaraja at tanjore had attached to it 400 women of the temple who lived in free quarters in the surrounding streets, and were given a grant of land from the endowment. other temples had similar arrangements. at the beginning of last century there were a hundred dancing-girls attached to the temple at conjeeveram, and at madura, conjeeveram and tanjore there are still numbers of them who receive allowances from the endowments of the big temples at those places. in former days the profession was countenanced not only by the church but by the state. abdur razak, a turkish ambassador to the court of vijayanagar in the fifteenth century, describes women of this class as living in state-controlled institutions, the revenue of which went towards the upkeep of the police." the dedication of girls to temples and religious prostitution was by no means confined to india but is a common feature of ancient civilisation. the subject has been mentioned by dr. westermarck in the origin and development of the moral ideas, and fully discussed by sir james frazer in attis, adonis, osiris. the best known and most peculiar instance is that of the temple of istar in babylonia. "herodotus says that every woman born in that country was obliged once in her life to go and sit down in the precinct of aphrodite and there consort with a stranger. a woman who had once taken her seat was not allowed to return home till one of the strangers threw a silver coin into her lap and took her with him beyond the holy ground. the silver coin could not be refused because, since once thrown, it was sacred. the woman went with the first man who threw her money, rejecting no one. when she had gone with him and so satisfied the goddess, she returned home, and from that time forth no gift, however great, would prevail with her. in the canaanitish cults there were women called kedeshoth, who were consecrated to the deity with whose temple they were associated, and who at the same time acted as prostitutes." [393] other instances are given from africa, egypt and ancient greece. the principal explanation of these practices was that the act of intercourse, according to the principle of sympathetic magic, produced fertility, usually of the crops, though in the babylonian case, dr. westermarck thinks, of the woman herself. several instances have been recorded of people who perform the sexual act as a preliminary or accompaniment to sowing the crops, [394] and there seems little doubt that this explanation is correct. a secondary idea of religious prostitution may have been to afford to the god the same sexual pleasures as delighted an earthly king. thus the skanda purana relates that kartikeya, the hindu god of war, was sent by his father to frustrate the sacrifice of daksha, and at the instigation of the latter was delayed on his way by beautiful damsels, who entertained him with song and dance. hence it is the practice still for dancing-girls who serve in the pagodas to be betrothed and married to him, after which they may prostitute themselves but cannot marry a man. [395] similarly the murlis or dancing-girls in maratha temples are married to khandoba, the maratha god of war. sometimes the practice of prostitution might begin by the priests of the temple as representatives of the god having intercourse with the women. this is stated to have been the custom at the temple of jagannath in orissa, where the officiating brahmans had adulterous connection with the women who danced and sang before the god. [396] 3. music and dancing. both music and dancing, like others of the arts, probably originated as part of a religious or magical service or ritual, and hence would come to be practised by the women attached to temples. and it would soon be realised what potent attractions these arts possessed when displayed by women, and in course of time they would be valued as accomplishments in themselves, and either acquired independently by other courtesans or divorced from a sole application to religious ritual. in this manner music, singing and dancing may have grown to be considered as the regular attractions of the courtesan and hence immoral in themselves, and not suitable for display by respectable women. the emperor shah jahan is said to have delighted in the performances of the tawaif or muhammadan singing and dancing girls, who at that time lived in bands and occupied mansions as large as palaces. [397] aurangzeb ordered them all to be married or banished from his dominions, but they did not submit without a protest; and one morning as the emperor was going to the mosque he saw a vast crowd of mourners marching in file behind a bier, and filling the air with screams and lamentations. he asked what it meant, and was told that they were going to bury music; their mother had been executed, and they were weeping over her loss. 'bury her deep,' the emperor cried, 'she must never rise again.' 4. education of courtesans. the possession of these attractions naturally gave the courtesan an advantage over ordinary women who lacked them, and her society was much sought after, as shown in the following description of a native court: [398] "nor is the courtesan excluded, she of the smart saying, famed for the much-valued cleverness which is gained in 'the world,' who when the learned fail is ever ready to cut the gordian knot of solemn question with the sharp blade of her repartee, for--the sight of foreign lands; the possession of a pandit for a friend; a courtesan; access to the royal court; patient study of the shastras; the roots of cleverness are these five." mr. crooke also remarks on the tolerance extended to this class of women: "the curious point about indian prostitutes is the tolerance with which they are received into even respectable houses, and the absence of that strong social disfavour in which this class is held in european countries. this feeling has prevailed for a lengthened period. we read in the buddhist histories of ambapata, the famous courtesan, and the price of her favours fixed at two thousand masurans. the same feeling appears in the folk-tales and early records of indian courts." [399] it may be remarked, however, that the social ostracism of such women has not always been the rule in europe, while as regards conjugal morality indian society would probably appear to great advantage beside that of europe in the middle ages. but when the courtesan is alone possessed of the feminine accomplishments, and also sees much of society and can converse with point and intelligence on public affairs, her company must necessarily be more attractive than that of the women of the family, secluded and uneducated, and able to talk about nothing but the petty details of household management. education so far as women were concerned was to a large extent confined to courtesans, who were taught all the feminine attainments on account of the large return to be obtained in the practice of their profession. this is well brought out in the following passage from a hindu work in which the mother speaks: [400] "worthy sir, this daughter of mine would make it appear that i am to blame, but indeed i have done my duty, and have carefully prepared her for that profession for which by birth she was intended. from earliest childhood i have bestowed the greatest care upon her, doing everything in my power to promote her health and beauty. as soon as she was old enough i had her carefully instructed in the arts of dancing, acting, playing on musical instruments, singing, painting, preparing perfumes and flowers, in writing and conversation, and even to some extent in grammar, logic and philosophy. she was taught to play various games with skill and dexterity, how to dress well and show herself off to the greatest advantage in public; yet after all the time, trouble and money which i have spent upon her, just when i was beginning to reap the fruit of my labours, the ungrateful girl has fallen in love with a stranger, a young brahman without property, and wishes to marry him and give up her profession (of a prostitute), notwithstanding all my entreaties and representations of the poverty and distress to which all her family will be reduced if she persists in her purpose; and because i oppose this marriage, she declares that she will renounce the world and become a devotee." similarly the education of another dancing-girl is thus described: [401] "gauhar jan did her duty by the child according to her lights. she engaged the best 'gawayyas' to teach her music, the best 'kathaks' to teach her dancing, the best 'ustads' to teach her elocution and deportment, and the best of munshis to ground her in urdu and persian belles lettres; so that when imtiazan reached her fifteenth year her accomplishments were noised abroad in the bazar." it is still said to be the custom for the hindus in large towns, as among the greeks of the time of pericles, to frequent the society of courtesans for the charm of their witty and pointed conversation. betel-nut is provided at such receptions, and at the time of departure each person is expected to deposit a rupee in the tray. of course it is in no way meant to assert that the custom is at all generally prevalent among educated men, as this would be quite untrue. the association of all feminine charms and intellectual attainments with public women led to the belief that they were incompatible with feminine modesty; and this was even extended to certain ornamental articles of clothing such as shoes. the abbé dubois remarks: [402] "the courtesans are the only women in india who enjoy the privilege of learning to read, to dance and to sing. a well-bred respectable woman would for this reason blush to acquire any one of these accomplishments." buchanan says: [403] "the higher classes of hindu women consider every approach to wearing shoes as quite indecent; so that their use is confined to muhammadans, camp trulls and europeans, and most of the muhammadans have adopted the hindu notion on this subject; women of low rank wear sandals." and again: [404] "a woman who appears clean in public on ordinary occasions may pretty confidently be taken for a prostitute; such care of her person would indeed be considered by her husband as totally incompatible with modesty." and as regards accomplishments: [405] "it is considered very disgraceful for a modest woman to sing or play on any musical instrument; the only time when such a practice is permitted is among the muhammadans at the muharram, when women are allowed to join in the praises of fatima and her son." and a current saying is: "a woman who sings in the house as she goes about her work and one who is fond of music can never be a sati"; a term which is here used as an equivalent for a virtuous woman. buchanan wrote a hundred years ago, and things have no doubt improved since his time, but this feeling appears to be principally responsible for much of the prejudice against female education, which has hitherto been so strong even among the literate classes of hindus; and is only now beginning to break down as the highly cultivated young men of the present day have learned to appreciate and demand a greater measure of intelligence from their wives. 5. caste customs. among the better class of kasbis a certain caste feeling and organisation exists. when a girl attains adolescence her mother makes a bargain with some rich man to be her first consort. oil and turmeric are rubbed on her body for five days as in the case of a bride. a feast is given to the caste and the girl is married to a dagger, walking seven times round the sacred post with it. her human consort then marks her forehead with vermilion and covers her head with her head-cloth seven times. in the evening she goes to live with him for as long as he likes to maintain her, and afterwards takes up the practice of her profession. in this case it is necessary that the man should be an outsider and not a member of the kasbi caste, because the quasi-marriage is the formal commencement on the part of the woman of her hereditary trade. as already seen, the feeling of shame and degradation attaching to this profession in europe appears to be somewhat attenuated in india, and it is counterbalanced by that acquiescence in and attachment to the caste-calling which is the principal feature of hindu society. and no doubt the life of the dancing-girl has, at any rate during youth, its attractions as compared with that of a respectable married woman. tavernier tells the story [406] of a shah of persia who, desiring to punish a dancing-girl for having boxed the ears of one of her companions within his hearing (it being clearly not the effect of the operation on the patient which annoyed his majesty) made an order that she should be married. and a more curious instance still is the following from a recent review: [407] "the natives of india are by instinct and custom the most conservative race in the world. when i was stationed at aurangabad--fifty years ago it is true, but that is but a week in regard to this question--a case occurred within my own knowledge which shows the strength of hereditary feeling. an elderly wealthy native adopted two baby girls, whose mother and family had died during a local famine. the children grew up with his own girls and were in all respects satisfactory, and apparently quite happy until they arrived at the usual age for marriage. they then asked to see their papa by adoption, and said to him, 'we are very grateful to you for your care of us, but we are now grown up. we are told our mother was a kasbi (prostitute), and we must insist on our rights, go out into the world, and do as our mother did.'" 6. first pregnancy. in the fifth or seventh month of the first pregnancy of a kasbi woman 108 fried wafers of flour and sugar, known as gujahs, are prepared, and are eaten by her as well as distributed to friends and relatives who are invited to the house. after this they in return prepare similar wafers and send them to the pregnant woman. some little time before the birth the mother washes her head with gram flour, puts on new clothes and jewels, and invites all her friends to the house, feasting them with rice boiled in milk, cakes and sweetmeats. 7. different classes of women. though the better-class kasbis appear to have a sort of caste union, this is naturally quite indefinite, inasmuch as marriage, at present the essential bond of caste-organisation, is absent. the sons of kasbis take up any profession that they choose; and many of them marry and live respectably with their wives. others become musicians and assist at the performances of the dancing-girls, as the bhadua who beats the cymbals and sings in chorus and also acts as a pimp, and the sarangia, one who performs on the sarangi or fiddle. the girls themselves are of different classes, as the kasbi or gayan who are hindus, the tawaif who are muhammadans, and the bogam or telugu dancing-girls. gond women are known as deogarhni, and are supposed to have come from deogarh in chhindwara, formerly the headquarters of a gond dynasty. the sarangias or fiddlers are now a separate caste. in the northern districts the dancing-girls are usually women of the beria caste and are known as berni. after the spring harvest the village headman hires one or two of these girls, who dance and do acrobatic feats by torchlight. they will continue all through the night, stimulated by draughts of liquor, and it is said that one woman will drink two or three bottles of the country spirit. the young men of the village beat the drum to accompany her dancing, and take turns to see how long they can go on doing so without breaking down. after the performance each cultivator gives the woman one or two pice (farthings) and the headman gives her a rupee. such a celebration is known as rai, and is distinctive of bundelkhand. in bengal this class of women often become religious mendicants and join the vaishnava or bairagi community, as stated by sir h. risley: [408] "the mendicant members of the vaishnava community are of evil repute, their ranks being recruited by those who have no relatives, by widows, by individuals too idle or depraved to lead a steady working life, and by prostitutes. vaishnavi, or baishtabi according to the vulgar pronunciation, has come to mean a courtesan. a few undoubtedly join from sincere and worthy motives, but their numbers are too small to produce any appreciable effect on the behaviour of their comrades. the habits of these beggars are very unsettled. they wander from village to village and from one akhara (monastery) to another, fleecing the frugal and industrious peasantry on the plea of religion, and singing songs in praise of hari beneath the village tree or shrine. members of both sexes smoke indian hemp (ganja), and although living as brothers and sisters are notorious for licentiousness. there is every reason for suspecting that infanticide is common, as children are never seen. in the course of their wanderings they entice away unmarried girls, widows, and even married women on the pretence of visiting sri kshetra (jagannath) brindaban or benares, for which reason they are shunned by all respectable natives, who gladly give charity to be rid of them." in large towns prostitutes belong to all castes. an old list obtained by rai bahadur hira lal of registered prostitutes in jubbulpore showed the following numbers of different castes: barai six, dhimar four, and nai, khangar, kachhi, gond, teli, brahman, rajput and bania three each. each woman usually has one or two girls in training if she can obtain them, with a view to support herself by their earnings in the same method of livelihood when her own attractions have waned. fatherless and orphan girls run a risk of falling into this mode of life, partly because their marriages cannot conveniently be arranged, and also from the absence of strict paternal supervision. for it is to be feared that a girl who is allowed to run about at her will in the bazar has little chance of retaining her chastity even up to the period of her arrival at adolescence. this is no doubt one of the principal considerations in favour of early marriage. the caste-people often subscribe for the marriage of a girl who is left without support, and it is said that in former times an unmarried orphan girl might go and sit dharna, or starving herself, at the king's gate until he arranged for her wedding. formerly the practice of obtaining young girls was carried on to a much greater extent than at present. malcolm remarks: [409] "slavery in malwa and the adjoining provinces is chiefly limited to females; but there is perhaps no part of india where there are so many slaves of this sex. the dancing-girls are all purchased, when young, by the nakins or heads of the different sets or companies, who often lay out large sums in these speculations, obtaining advances from the bankers on interest like other classes." but the attractions of the profession and the numbers of those who engage in it have now largely declined. 8. dancing and singing. the better class of kasbi women, when seen in public, are conspicuous by their wealth of jewellery and their shoes of patent leather or other good material. women of other castes do not commonly wear shoes in the streets. the kasbis are always well and completely clothed, and it has been noticed elsewhere that the indian courtesan is more modestly dressed than most women. no doubt in this matter she knows her business. a well-to-do dancing-girl has a dress of coloured muslin or gauze trimmed with tinsel lace, with a short waist, long straight sleeves, and skirts which reach a little below the knee, a shawl falling from the head over the shoulders and wrapped round the body, and a pair of tight satin trousers, reaching to the ankles. the feet are bare, and strings of small bells are tied round them. they usually dance and sing to the accompaniment of the tabla, sarangi and majira. the tabla or drum is made of two half-bowls--one brass or clay for the bass, and the other of wood for the treble. they are covered with goat-skin and played together. the sarangi is a fiddle. the majira (cymbals) consist of two metallic cups slung together and used for beating time. before a dancing-girl begins her performance she often invokes the aid of saraswati, the goddess of music. she then pulls her ear as a sign of remembrance of tansen, india's greatest musician, and a confession to his spirit of the imperfection of her own sense of music. the movements of the feet are accompanied by a continual opening and closing of henna-dyed hands; and at intervals the girl kneels at the feet of one or other of the audience. on the festival of basant panchmi or the commencement of spring these girls worship their dancing-dress and musical instruments with offerings of rice, flowers and a cocoanut. katia 1. general notice. katia, katwa, katua.--an occupational caste of cotton-spinners and village watchmen belonging to the satpura districts and the nerbudda valley. in 1911 they numbered 41,000 persons and were returned mainly from the hoshangabad, seoni and chhindwara districts. the caste is almost confined to the central provinces. the name is derived from the hindi katna, to spin thread, and the katias are an occupational group probably recruited from the mahars and koris. they have a tradition, mr. crooke states, [410] that they were originally bais rajputs, whose ancestors, having been imprisoned for resistance to authority, were released on the promise that they would follow a woman's occupation of spinning thread. in the central provinces they are sometimes called renhta rajputs or knights of the spinning wheel. the tradition of rajput descent need not of course be taken seriously. the drudgery of spinning thread was naturally imposed on any widow in the household, and hence the saying, 'it is always moving, like a widow's spinning-wheel.' [411] 2. subcastes and exogamous groups. the katias have several subcastes, with names generally derived from places in the central provinces, as pathari from a village in the chhindwara district, mandilwar from mandla, gadhewal from garha, near jubbulpore, and so on. the dulbuha group consist of those who were formerly palanquin-bearers (from doli, a litter). they have also more than fifty exogamous septs, with names of the usual low-caste type, derived from places, animals or plants, or natural objects. some of the septs are subdivided. thus the nagotia sept, named after the cobra, is split up into the nagotia, dirat [412] nag, bharowar [413] nag, kosam karia and hazari [414] nag groups. it is said that the different groups do not intermarry; but it is probable that they do, as otherwise there seems to be no object in the subdivision. the kosam karias worship a cobra at their weddings, but not the others. the singhotia sept, from singh, a horn, is divided into the bakaria (goat) and ghagar-bharia (one who fills an earthen vessel) subsepts. the bakarias offer goats to their gods; and the ghagar-bharias on the akti [415] festival, just before the breaking of the rains, fill an earthen vessel and worship it, and consider it sacred for that day. next day it is brought into ordinary use. the dongaria sept, from dongar, a hill, revere the chheola tree. [416] they choose any tree of this species outside the village, and say that it is placed on a hill, and go and worship it once a year. in this case it would appear that a hill was first venerated as an animate being and the ancestor of the sept. when hills were no longer so regarded, a chheola tree growing on a hill was substituted; and now the tree only is revered, probably a good deal for form's sake, and so far as the hill is concerned, the mere pretence that it is growing on a hill is sufficient. 3. marriage customs. a man must not take a wife from his own sept nor from that of his mother or grandmother. girls are commonly married between eight and twelve years of age; and a customary payment of rs. 9 is made to the father of the bride, double this amount being given by a widower. an unmarried girl seduced by a man of the caste is united to him by the ceremony used for a widow, and a fine is imposed on her parents; if she goes wrong with an outsider she is expelled from the community. in the marriage ceremony the customary ritual of the northern districts is followed, [417] and the binding portion of it consists in the bride and bridegroom walking seven times around the bhanwar or sacred pole. while she does this it is essential that the bride should wear a string of black beads round her neck and brass anklets on her feet. after the ceremony the bride's mother and other women dance before the company. whether the bride be a child or young woman she always returns home after a stay of a few days at her husband's house, and at her subsequent final departure the gauna or going-away ceremony is performed. if the bridegroom dies after the wedding and before the gauna, his younger brother or cousin or anybody else may come and take away the bride after performing this ceremony, and she will be considered as fully married to him. she is known as a gonhyai wife, as distinguished from a byahta or one married in the ordinary manner, and a karta or widow married a second time. but the children of all three inherit equally. a widow may marry again, and take any one she pleases for her second husband. widow-marriages must not be celebrated in the rainy months of shrawan, bhadon and kunwar. no music is allowed at them, and the husband must present a fee of a rupee and a cocoanut to the malguzar (proprietor) of the village and four annas to the kotwar or watchman. a bachelor who is to marry a widow first goes through a formal ceremony with a cotton plant. divorce is permitted for mutual disagreement. the couple stand before the caste committee and each takes a stick, breaks it in two halves, and throws them apart, saying, "i have no further connection with my husband (or wife), and i break my marriage with him (or her) as i break this stick." 4. funeral rites. the dead may be either buried or burnt, as convenient, and mourning is always observed for three days. before the corpse is removed a new earthen pot filled with rice is placed on the bier. the chief mourner raises it, and addressing the deceased informs him that after a certain period he will be united to the sainted dead, and until that day his spirit should abide happily in the pot and not trouble his family. the mouth of the pot is then covered, and after the funeral the mourners take it home with them. when the day appointed for the final ceremony has come, a miniature platform is made from sticks tied together, and garlands and offerings of cakes are hung on to it. a small heap of rice is made on the platform, and just above it a clove is suspended from a thread. songs are sung, and the principal relative opens the pot in which the spirit of the deceased has been enclosed. the spirit is called upon to join the sacred company of the dead, and the party continue to sing and to adjure it with all their force. the thread from which the clove is suspended begins to swing backwards and forwards over the rice; and a pig and two or three chickens are crushed to death as offerings to the soul of the deceased. finally the clove touches the rice, and it is believed that the spirit of the dead man has departed to join the sainted dead. the katias consider that after this he requires nothing more from the living, and so they do not make the annual offerings to the souls of the departed. 5. social rules. the caste sometimes employ a brahman for the marriage ceremony; but generally his services are limited to fixing an auspicious date, and the functions of a priest are undertaken by members of the family. they invite a brahman to give a name to a boy, and call him by this name. they think that if they changed the name they would not be able to get a wife for the child. they will eat any kind of flesh, including pork and fowls, but they are not considered to be impure. they are generally illiterate, and dirty in appearance. unmarried girls wear glass bangles on both hands, but married women wear metal bracelets on the right hand and glass on the left. girls are twice tattooed: first in childhood, and a second time after marriage. the proper avocations of the katias were the spinning of cotton thread and the weaving of the finer kinds of cloth; but most of them have had to abandon their ancestral calling from want of custom, and they are now either village watchmen or cultivators and labourers. a few of them own villages. the katias think themselves rather knowing; but this opinion is not shared by their neighbours, who say ironically of them, "a katia is eight times as wise as an ordinary man, and a kayasth thirteen times. any one who pretends to be wiser than these must be an idiot." kawar [418] list of paragraphs 1. tribal legend. 2. tribal subdivisions. 3. exogamous groups. 4. betrothal and marriage. 5. other customs connected with marriage. 6. childbirth. 7. disposal of the dead. 8. laying spirits. 9. religion. 10. magic and witchcraft. 11. dress. 12. occupation and social rules. 1. tribal legend. kawar, kanwar, kaur (honorific title, sirdar).--a primitive tribe living in the hills of the chhattisgarh districts north of the mahanadi. the hill-country comprised in the northern zamindari estates of bilaspur and the adjoining feudatory states of jashpur, udaipur, sarguja, chang bhakar and korea is the home of the kawars, and is sometimes known after them as the kamran. eight of the bilaspur zamindars are of the kawar tribe. the total numbers of the tribe are nearly 200,000, practically all of whom belong to the central provinces. in bilaspur the name is always pronounced with a nasal as kanwar. the kawars trace their origin from the kauravas of the mahabharata, who were defeated by the pandavas at the great battle of hastinapur. they say that only two pregnant women survived and fled to the hills of central india, where they took refuge in the houses of a rawat (grazier) and a dhobi (washerman) respectively, and the boy and girl children who were born to them became the ancestors of the kawar tribe. consequently, the kawars will take food from the hands of rawats, especially those of the kauria subcaste, who are in all probability descended from kawars. and when a kawar is put out of caste for having maggots in a wound, a dhobi is always employed to readmit him to social intercourse. these facts show that the tribe have some close ancestral connection with the rawats and dhobis, though the legend of descent from the kauravas is, of course, a myth based on the similarity of the names. the tribe have lost their own language, if they ever had one, and now speak a corrupt form of the chhattisgarhi dialect of hindi. it is probable that they belong to the dravidian tribal family. 2. tribal subdivisions. the kawars have the following eight endogamous divisions: tanwar, kamalbansi, paikara, dudh-kawar, rathia, chanti, cherwa and rautia. the tanwar group, also known as umrao, is that to which the zamindars belong, and they now claim to be tomara rajputs, and wear the sacred thread. they prohibit widow-remarriage, and do not eat fowls or drink liquor; but they have not yet induced brahmans to take water from them or rajputs to accept their daughters in marriage. the name tanwar is not improbably simply a corruption of kawar, and they are also altering their sept names to make them resemble those of eponymous brahmanical gotras. thus dhangur, the name of a sept, has been altered to dhananjaya, and sarvaria to sandilya. telasi is the name of a sept to which four zamindars belong, and is on this account sometimes returned as their caste by other kawars, who consider it as a distinction. the zamindari families have now, however, changed the name telasi to kairava. the paikaras are the most numerous subtribe, being three-fifths of the total. they derive their name from paik, a foot-soldier, and formerly followed this occupation, being employed in the armies of the haihaivansi rajas of ratanpur. they still worship a two-edged sword, known as the jhagra khand, or 'sword of strife,' on the day of dasahra. the kamalbansi, or 'stock of the lotus,' may be so called as being the oldest subdivision; for the lotus is sometimes considered the root of all things, on account of the belief that brahma, the creator of the world, was himself born from this flower. in bilaspur the kamalbansis are considered to rank next after the tanwars or zamindars' group. colonel dalton states that the term dudh or 'milk' kawar has the signification of 'cream of the kawars,' and he considered this subcaste to be the highest. the rathias are a territorial group, being immigrants from rath, a wild tract of the raigarh state. the rautias are probably the descendants of kawar fathers and mothers of the rawat (herdsman) caste. the traditional connection of the kawars with a rawat has already been mentioned, and even now if a kawar marries a rawat girl she will be admitted into the tribe, and the children will become full kawars. similarly, the rawats have a kauria subcaste, who are also probably the offspring of mixed marriages; and if a kawar girl is seduced by a kauria rawat, she is not expelled from the tribe, as she would be for a liaison with any other man who was not a kawar. this connection is no doubt due to the fact that until recently the kawars and rawats, who are themselves a very mixed caste, were accustomed to intermarry. at the census persons returned as rautia were included in the kol tribe, which has a subdivision of that name. but mr. hira lal's inquiries establish the fact that in chhattisgarh they are undoubtedly kawars. the cherwas are probably another hybrid group descended from connections formed by kawars with girls of the chero tribe of chota nagpur. the chanti, who derive their name from the ant, are considered to be the lowest group, as that insect is the most insignificant of living things. of the above subcastes the tanwars are naturally the highest, while the chanti, cherwa and rautia, who keep pigs, are considered as the lowest. the others occupy an intermediate position. none of the subcastes will eat together, except at the houses of their zamindars, from whom they will all take food. but the kawars of the chhuri estate no longer attend the feasts of their zamindar, for the following curious reason. one of the latter's village thekadars or farmers had got the hide taken off a dead buffalo so as to keep it for his own use, instead of making the body over to a chamar (tanner). the caste-fellows saw no harm in this act, but it offended the zamindar's more orthodox hindu conscience. soon afterwards, at some marriage-feast of his family, when the kawars of his zamindari attended in accordance with the usual custom, he remarked, 'here come our chamars,' or words to that effect. the chhuri kawars were insulted, and the more so because the pendra zamindar and other outsiders were present. so they declined to take food any longer from their zamindar. they continued to accept it, however, from the other zamindars, until their master of chhuri represented to them that this would result in a slur being put upon his standing among his fellows. so they have now given up taking food from any zamindar. 3. exogamous groups. the tribe have a large number of exogamous septs, which are generally totemistic or named after plants and animals. the names of 117 septs have been recorded, and there are probably even more. the following list gives a selection of the names: andil born from an egg. bagh tiger. bichhi scorpion. bilwa wild cat. bokra goat. chandrama moon. chanwar a whisk. chita leopard. chuva a well. champa a sweet-scented flower. dhenki a pounding-lever. darpan a mirror. gobira a dung insect. hundar a wolf. janta grinding-mill. kothi a store-house. khumari a leaf-umbrella. lodha a wild dog. mama maternal uncle. mahadeo the deity. nunmutaria a packet of salt. sendur vermilion. sua a parrot. telasi oily. thath murra pressed in a sugarcane press. generally it may be said that every common animal or bird and even articles of food or dress and household implements have given their names to a sept. in the paikara subcaste a figure of the plant or animal after which the sept is named is made by each party at the time of marriage. thus a bridegroom of the bagh or tiger sept prepares a small image of a tiger with flour and bakes it in oil; this he shows to the bride's family to represent, as it were, his pedigree, or prove his legitimacy; while she on her part, assuming that she is, say, of the bilwa or cat sept, will bring a similar image of a cat with her in proof of her origin. the andil sept make a representation of a hen sitting on eggs. they do not worship the totem animal or plant, but when they learn of the death of one of the species, they throw away an earthen cooking-pot as a sign of mourning. they generally think themselves descended from the totem animal or plant, but when the sept is called after some inanimate object, such as a grinding-mill or pounding-lever, they repudiate the idea of descent from it, and are at a loss to account for the origin of the name. those whose septs are named after plants or animals usually abstain from injuring or cutting them, but where this rule would cause too much inconvenience it is transgressed: thus the members of the karsayal or deer sept find it too hard for them to abjure the flesh of that animal, nor can those of the bokra sept abstain from eating goats. in some cases new septs have been formed by a conjunction of the names of two others, as bagh-daharia, gauriya-sonwani, and so on. these may possibly be analogous to the use of double names in english, a family of one sept when it has contracted a marriage with another of better position adding the latter's name to its own as a slight distinction. but it may also simply arise from the constant tendency to increase the number of septs in order to remove difficulties from the arrangement of matches. 4. betrothal and marriage. marriage within the same sept is prohibited and also between the children of brothers and sisters. a man may not marry his wife's elder sister but he can take her younger one in her lifetime. marriage is usually adult and, contrary to the hindu rule, the proposal for a match always comes from the boy's father, as a man would think it undignified to try and find a husband for his daughter. the kawar says, 'shall my daughter leap over the wall to get a husband.' in consequence of this girls not infrequently remain unmarried until a comparatively late age, especially in the zamindari families where the provision of a husband of suitable rank may be difficult. having selected a bride for his son the boy's father sends some friends to her village, and they address a friend of the girl's family, saying, "so-and-so (giving his name and village) would like to have a cup of pej (boiled rice-water) from you; what do you say?" the proposal is communicated to the girl's family, and if they approve of it they commence preparing the rice-water, which is partaken of by the parties and their friends. if the bride's people do not begin cooking the pej, it is understood that the proposal is rejected. the ceremony of betrothal comes next, when the boy's party go to the girl's house with a present of bangles, clothes, and fried cakes of rice and urad carried by a kaurai rawat. they also take with them the bride-price, known as suk, which is made up of cash, husked or unhusked rice, pulses and oil. it is a fixed amount, but differs for each subcaste, and the average value is about rs. 25. to this is added three or four goats to be consumed at the wedding. if a widower marries a girl, a larger bride-price is exacted. the wedding follows, and in many respects conforms to the ordinary hindu ritual, but brahmans are not employed. the bridegroom's party is accompanied by tomtom-players on its way to the wedding, and as each village is approached plenty of noise is made, so that the residents may come out and admire the dresses, a great part of whose merit consists in their antiquity, while the wearer delights in recounting to any who will listen the history of his garb and of his distinguished ancestors who have worn it. the marriage is performed by walking round the sacred pole, six times on one day and once on the following day. after the marriage the bride's parents wash the feet of the couple in milk, and then drink it in atonement for the sin committed in bringing their daughter into the world. the couple then return home to the bridegroom's house, where all the ceremonies are repeated, as it is said that otherwise his courtyard would remain unmarried. on the following day the couple go and bathe in a tank, where each throws five pots full of water over the other. and on their return the bridegroom shoots arrows at seven straw images of deer over his wife's shoulder, and after each shot she puts a little sugar in his mouth. this is a common ceremony among the forest tribes, and symbolises the idea that the man will support himself and his wife by hunting. on the fourth day the bride returns to her father's house. she visits her husband for two or three months in the following month of asarh (june-july), but again goes home to play what is known as 'the game of gauri,' gauri being the name of siva's consort. the young men and girls of the village assemble round her in the evening, and the girls sing songs while the men play on drums. an obscene representation of gauri is made, and some of them pretend to be possessed by the deity, while the men beat the girls with ropes of grass. after she has enjoyed this amusement with her mates for some three months, the bride finally goes to her husband's house. 5. other customs connected with marriage. the wedding expenses come to about seventy rupees on the bridegroom's part in an ordinary marriage, while the bride's family spend the amount of the bride-price and a few rupees more. if the parties are poor the ceremony can be curtailed so far as to provide food for only five guests. it is permissible for two families to effect an exchange of girls in lieu of payment of the bride-price, this practice being known as gunrawat. or a prospective bridegroom may give his services for three or four years instead of a price. the system of serving for a wife is known as gharjian, and is generally resorted to by widows having daughters. a girl going wrong with a kawar or with a kaurai rawat before marriage may be pardoned with the exaction of a feast from her parents. for a liaison with any other outsider she is finally expelled, and the exception of the kaurai rawats shows that they are recognised as in reality kawars. widow-remarriage is permitted except in the tanwar subcaste. new bangles and clothes are given to the widow, and the pair then stand under the eaves of the house; the bridegroom touches the woman's ear or puts a rolled mango-leaf into it, and she becomes his wife. if a widower marries a girl for his third wife it is considered unlucky for her. an earthen image of a woman is therefore made, and he goes through the marriage ceremony with it; he then throws the image to the ground so that it is broken, when it is considered to be dead and its funeral ceremony is performed. after this the widower may marry the girl, who becomes his fourth wife. such cases are naturally very rare. if a widow marries her deceased husband's younger brother, which is considered the most suitable match, the children by her first husband rank equally with those of the second. if she marries outside the family her children and property remain with her first husband's relatives. dalton [419] records that the kawars of sarguja had adopted the practice of sati: "i found that the kawars of sarguja encouraged widows to become satis and greatly venerated those who did so. sati shrines are not uncommon in the tributary mahals. between partabpur and jhilmili in sarguja i encamped in a grove sacred to a kauraini sati. several generations have elapsed since the self-sacrifice that led to her canonisation, but she is now the principal object of worship in the village and neighbourhood, and i was informed that every year a fowl was sacrificed to her, and every third year a black goat. the hindus with me were intensely amused at the idea of offering fowls to a sati!" polygamy is permitted, but is not common. members of the tanwar subtribe, when they have occasion to do so, will take the daughters of kawars of other groups for wives, though they will not give their daughters to them. such marriages are generally made clandestinely, and it has become doubtful as to whether some families are true tanwars. the zamindars have therefore introduced a rule that no family can be recognised as a tanwar for purposes of marriage unless it has a certificate to that effect signed by the zamindar. some of the zamindars charge considerable sums for these certificates, and all cannot afford them; but in that case they are usually unable to get husbands for their daughters, who remain unwed. divorce is permitted for serious disagreement or bad conduct on the part of the wife. 6. childbirth. during childbirth the mother sits on the ground with her legs apart, and her back against the wall or supported by another woman. the umbilical cord is cut by the midwife: if the parents wish the boy to become eloquent she buries it in the village council-place; or if they wish him to be a good trader, in the market; or if they desire him to be pious, before some shrine; in the case of a girl the cord is usually buried in a dung-heap, which is regarded as an emblem of fertility. as is usual in chhattisgarh, the mother receives no food or water for three days after the birth of a child. on the fifth day she is given regular food and on that day the house is purified. five months after birth the lips of the child are touched with rice and milk and it is named. when twins are born a metal vessel is broken to sever the connection between them, as it is believed that otherwise they must die at the same time. if a boy is born after three girls he is called titura, and a girl after three boys, tituri. there is a saying that 'a titura child either fills the storehouse or empties it'; that is, his parents either become rich or penniless. to avert ill-luck in this case oil and salt are thrown away, and the mother gives one of her bangles to the midwife. 7. disposal of the dead. the dead are usually buried, though well-to-do families have adopted cremation. the corpse is laid on its side in the grave, with head to the north and face to the east. a little til, cotton, urad and rice are thrown on the grave to serve as seed-grain for the dead man's cultivation in the other world. a dish, a drinking vessel and a cooking-pot are placed on the grave with the same idea, but are afterwards taken away by the dhobi (washerman). they observe mourning for ten days for a man, nine days for a woman, and three days for children under three years old. during the period of mourning the chief mourner keeps a knife beside him, so that the iron may ward off the attacks of evil spirits, to which he is believed to be peculiarly exposed. the ordinary rules of abstinence and retirement are observed during mourning. in the case of cremation the ceremonies are very elaborate and generally resemble those of the hindus. when the corpse is half burnt, all the men present throw five pieces of wood on to the pyre, and a number of pieces are carried in a winnowing fan to the dead man's house, where they are touched by the women and then brought back and thrown on to the fire. after the funeral the mourners bathe and return home walking one behind the other in indian file. when they come to a cross-road, the foremost man picks up a pebble with his left foot, and it is passed from hand to hand down the line of men until the hindmost throws it away. this is supposed to sever their connection with the spirit of the deceased and prevent it from following them home. on the third day they return to the cremation ground to collect the ashes and bones. a brahman is called who cooks a preparation of milk and rice at the head of the corpse, boils urad pulse at its feet, and bakes eight wheaten chapatis at the sides. this food is placed in leaf-cups at two corners of the ground. the mourners sprinkle cow's urine and milk over the bones, and picking them up with a palas (butea frondosa) stick, wash them in milk and deposit them in a new earthen pot until such time as they can be carried to the ganges. the bodies of men dying of smallpox must never be burnt, because that would be equivalent to destroying the goddess, incarnate in the body. the corpses of cholera patients are buried in order to dispose of them at once, and are sometimes exhumed subsequently within a period of six months and cremated. in such a case the kawars spread a layer of unhusked rice in the grave, and address a prayer to the earth-goddess stating that the body has been placed with her on deposit, and asking that she will give it back intact when they call upon her for it. they believe that in such cases the process of decay is arrested for six months. 8. laying spirits. when a man has been killed by a tiger they have a ceremony called 'breaking the string,' or the connection which they believe the animal establishes with a family on having tasted its blood. otherwise they think that the tiger would gradually kill off all the remaining members of the family of his victim, and when he had finished with them would proceed to other families in the same village. this curious belief is no doubt confirmed by the tiger's habit of frequenting the locality of a village from which it has once obtained a victim, in the natural expectation that others may be forthcoming from the same source. in this ceremony the village baiga or medicine-man is painted with red ochre and soot to represent the tiger, and proceeds to the place where the victim was carried off. having picked up some of the blood-stained earth in his mouth, he tries to run away to the jungle, but the spectators hold him back until he spits out the earth. this represents the tiger being forced to give up his victim. the baiga then ties a string round all the members of the dead man's family standing together; he places some grain before a fowl saying, 'if my charm has worked, eat of this'; and as soon as the fowl has eaten some grain the baiga states that his efforts have been successful and the attraction of the man-eater has been broken; he then breaks the string and all the party return to the village. a similar ceremony is performed when a man has died of snake-bite. 9. religion. the religion of the kawars is entirely of an animistic character. they have a vague idea of a supreme deity whom they call bhagwan and identify with the sun. they bow to him in reverence, but do no more as he does not interfere with men's concerns. they also have a host of local and tribal deities, of whom the principal is the jhagra khand or two-edged sword, already mentioned. the tiger is deified as bagharra deo and worshipped in every village for the protection of cattle from wild animals. they are also in great fear of a mythical snake with a red crest on its head, the mere sight of which is believed to cause death. it lives in deep pools in the forest which are known as shesk kund, and when it moves the grass along its track takes fire. if a man crosses its track his colour turns to black and he suffers excruciating pains which end in death, unless he is relieved by the baiga. in one village where the snake was said to have recently appeared, the proprietor was so afraid of it that he never went out to his field without first offering a chicken. they have various local deities, of which the mandwa rani or goddess of the mandwa hill in korba zamindari may be noticed as an example. she is a mild-hearted maiden who puts people right when they have gone astray in the forest, or provides them with food for the night and guides them to the water-springs on her hill. recently a wayfarer had lost his path when she appeared and, guiding him into it, gave him a basket of brinjals. [420] as the traveller proceeded he felt his burden growing heavier and heavier on his head, and finally on inspecting it found that the goddess had played a little joke on him and the brinjals had turned into stones. the kawars implicitly believe this story. rivers are tenanted by a set of goddesses called the sat bahini or seven sisters. they delight in playing near waterfalls, holding up the water and suddenly letting it drop. trees are believed to be harmless sentient beings, except when occasionally possessed by evil spirits, such as the ghosts of man-eating tigers. sometimes a tree catches hold of a cow's tail as the animal passes by and winds it up over a branch, and many cattle have lost their tails in this way. every tank in which the lotus grows is tenanted by purainha, the godling who tends this plant. the sword, the gun, the axe, the spear have each a special deity, and, in fact, in the bangawan, the tract where the wilder kawars dwell, it is believed that every article of household furniture is the residence of a spirit, and that if any one steals or injures it without the owner's leave, the spirit will bring some misfortune on him in revenge. theft is said to be unknown among them, partly on this account and partly, perhaps, because no one has much property worth stealing. instances of deified human beings are kolin sati, a kol concubine of a zamindar of pendra who died during pregnancy, and sarangarhni, a ghasia woman who was believed to have been the mistress of a raja of sarangarh and was murdered. both are now kawar deities. thakur deo is the deity of agriculture, and is worshipped by the whole village in concert at the commencement of the rains. rice is brought by each cultivator and offered to the god, a little being sown at his shrine and the remainder taken home and mixed with the seed-grain to give it fertility. two bachelors carry water round the village and sprinkle it on the brass plates of the cultivators or the roofs of their houses in imitation of rain. 10. magic and witchcraft. the belief in witchcraft is universal and every village has its tonhi or witch, to whom epidemic diseases, sudden illnesses and other calamities are ascribed. the witch is nearly always some unpopular old woman, and several instances are known of the murder of these unfortunate creatures, after their crimes had been proclaimed by the baiga or medicine-man. in the famine of 1900 an old woman from another village came and joined one of the famine-kitchens. a few days afterwards the village watchman got ill, and when the baiga was called in he said the old woman was a witch who had vowed the lives of twenty children to her goddess, and had joined the kitchen to kill them. the woman was threatened with a beating with castor-oil plants if she did not leave the village, and as the kitchen officer refused to supply her with food, she had to go. the baiga takes action to stop and keep off epidemics by the methods common in chhattisgarh villages. when a woman asks him to procure her offspring, the baiga sits dharna in front of devi's shrine and fasts until the goddess, wearied by his importunity, descends on him and causes him to prophesy the birth of a child. they have the usual belief in imitative and sympathetic magic. if a person is wounded by an axe he throws it first into fire and then into cold water. by the first operation he thinks to dry up the wound and prevent its festering, and by the second to keep it cool. thin and lean children are weighed in a balance against moist cowdung with the idea that they will swell out as the dung dries up. in order to make a bullock's hump grow, a large grain-measure is placed over it. if cattle go astray an iron implement is placed in a pitcher of water, and it is believed that this will keep wild animals off the cattle, though the connection of ideas is obscure. to cure intermittent fever a man walks through a narrow passage between two houses. if the children in a family die, the baiga takes the parents outside the village and breaks the stem of some plant in their presence. after this they never again touch that particular plant, and it is believed that their children will not die. tuesday is considered the best day for weddings, thursday and monday for beginning field-work and saturday for worshipping the gods. to have bats in one's granary is considered to be fortunate, and there is a large harmless snake which, they say, produces fertility when it makes its home in a field. if a crow caws on the house-top they consider that the arrival of a guest is portended. a snake or a cat crossing the road in front and a man sneezing are bad omens. 11. dress. the dress of the kawars presents no special features calling for remark. women wear pewter ornaments on the feet, and silver or pewter rings on the neck. they decorate the ears with silver pendants, but as a rule do not wear nose-rings. women are tattooed on the breast with a figure of krishna, on the arms with that of a deer, and on the legs with miscellaneous patterns. the operation is carried out immediately after marriage in accordance with the usual custom in chhattisgarh. 12. occupation and social rules. the tribe consider military service to be their traditional occupation, but the bulk of them are now cultivators and labourers. many of them are farmers of villages in the zamindaris. rautias weave ropes and make sleeping-cots, but the other kawars consider such work to be degrading. they have the ordinary hindu rules of inheritance, but a son claiming partition in his father's lifetime is entitled to two bullocks and nothing more. when the property is divided on the death of the father, the eldest son receives an allowance known as jithai over and above his share, this being a common custom in the chhattisgarh country where the kawars reside. the tribe do not admit outsiders with the exception of kaurai rawat girls married to kawars. they have a tribal panchayat or committee, the head of which is known as pardhan. its proceedings are generally very deliberate, and this has led to the saying: "the ganda's panchayat always ends in a quarrel; the gond's panchayat cares only for the feast; and the kawar's panchayat takes a year to make up its mind." but when the kawars have decided, they act with vigour. they require numerous goats as fines for the caste feast, and these, with fried urad, form the regular provision. liquor, however, is only sparingly consumed. temporary exclusion from caste is imposed for the usual offences, which include going to jail, getting the ears split, or getting maggots in a wound. the last is the most serious offence, and when the culprit is readmitted to social intercourse the dhobi (washerman) is employed to eat with him first from five different plates, thus taking upon himself any risk of contagion from the impurity which may still remain. the kawar eats flesh, fowls and pork, but abjures beef, crocodiles, monkeys and reptiles. from birds he selects the parrot, dove, pigeon, quail and partridge as fit for food. he will not eat meat sold in market because he considers it halali or killed in the muhammadan fashion, and therefore impure. he also refuses a particular species of fish called rechha, which is black and fleshy and has been nicknamed 'the teli's bullock.' the higher subtribes have now given up eating pork and the tanwars abstain from fowls also. the kawars will take food only from a gond or a kaurai rawat, and gonds will also take food from them. in appearance and manners they greatly resemble the gonds, from whom they are hardly distinguished by the hindus. dalton [421] described them as "a dark, coarse-featured, broad-nosed, wide-mouthed and thick-lipped race, decidedly ugly, but taller and better set up than most of the other tribes. i have also found them a clean, well-to-do, industrious people, living in comfortable, carefully-constructed and healthily-kept houses and well dressed." of their method of dancing ball [422] writes as follows: "in the evening some of the villagers--kaurs they were i believe--entertained us with a dance, which was very different from anything seen among the santals or kols. a number of men performed a kind of ladies' chain, striking together as they passed one another's pronged sticks which they carried in their hands. by foot, hand and voice the time given by a tom-tom is most admirably kept." kayasth list of paragraphs 1. general notice and legend of origin. 2. the origin of the caste. 3. the rise of the kayasths under foreign rulers. 4. the original profession of the kayasths. 5. the caste an offshoot from brahmans. 6. the success of the kayasths and their present position. 7. subcastes. 8. exogamy. 9. marriage customs. 10. marriage songs. 11. social rules. 12. birth customs. 13. religion. 14. social customs. 15. occupation. 1. general notice and legend of origin. kayasth, [423] kaith, lala.--the caste of writers and village accountants. the kayasths numbered 34,000 persons in 1911 and were found over the whole province, but they are most numerous in the saugor, damoh, jubbulpore and narsinghpur districts. in the maratha country their place is to some extent taken by the prabhus, the maratha writer caste, and also by the vidurs. no probable derivation of the name kayasth appears to have been suggested. the earliest reference to kayasths appears in an inscription in malwa dated a.d. 738-739. the inscription is of a maurya king, and the term kayasth is used there as a proper noun to mean a writer. another dated a.d. 987 is written by a kayasth named kanchana. an inscription on the delhi siwalik pillar dated a.d. 1164 is stated to have been written by a kayasth named sispati, the son of mahava, by the king's command. the inscription adds that the kayasth was of gauda (bengal) descent, and the term kayasth is here used in the sense of a member of the kayasth caste and not simply meaning a writer as in the malwa inscription. [424] from the above account it seems possible that the caste was of comparatively late origin. according to their own legend the first progenitor of the kayasths was chitragupta, who was created by brahma from his own body and given to yama the king of the dead, to record the good and evil actions of all beings, and produce the result when they arrived in the kingdom of the dead. chitragupta was called kayastha, from kaya stha, existing in or incorporate in the body, because he was in the body of brahma. chitragupta was born of a dark complexion, and having a pen and ink-pot in his hand. he married two wives, the elder being the granddaughter of the sun, who bore him four sons, while the younger was the daughter of a brahman rishi, and by her he had eight sons. these sons were married to princesses of the naga or snake race; the nagas are supposed to have been the early nomad invaders from central asia, or scythians. the twelve sons were entrusted with the government of different parts of india and the twelve subcastes of kayasths are named after these localities. 2. the origin of the caste. there has been much discussion on the origin of the kayasth caste, which now occupies a high social position owing to the ability and industry of its members and their attainment of good positions in the public services. all indications, however, point to the fact that the caste has obtained within a comparatively recent period a great rise in social status, and formerly ranked much lower than it does now. dr. bhattacharya states: [425] "the kayasths of bengal are described in some of the hindu sacred books as kshatriyas, but the majority of the kayasth clans do not wear the sacred thread, and admit their status as sudra also by the observance of mourning for thirty days. but whether kshatriya or sudra, they belong to the upper layer of hindu society, and though the higher classes of brahmans neither perform their religious ceremonies nor enlist them among their disciples, yet the gifts of the kayasths are usually accepted by the great pandits of the country without hesitation." there is no doubt that a hundred years ago the kayasths of bengal and bihar were commonly looked upon as sudras. dr. buchanan, an excellent observer, states this several times. in bihar he says that the kayasths are the chief caste who are looked upon by all as pure sudras and do not reject the appellation. [426] and again that "pandits in gorakhpur insist that kayasths are mere sudras, but on account of their influence included among gentry (ashraf). all who have been long settled in the district live pure and endeavour to elevate themselves; but this has failed of success as kindred from other countries who still drink liquor and eat meat come and sit on the same mat with them." [427] again he calls the kayasths the highest sudras next to vaidyas. [428] and "in bihar the penmen (kayasthas) are placed next to the kshatris and by the brahmans are considered as illegitimate, to whom the rank of sudras has been given, and in general they do not presume to be angry at this decision, which in bengal would be highly offensive. [429] colebrooke remarks of the caste: "karana, from a vaishya by a woman of the sudra class, is an attendant on princes or secretary. the appellation of kayastha is in general considered as synonymous with karana; and accordingly the karana tribe commonly assumes the name of kayastha; but the kayasthas of bengal have pretensions to be considered as true sudras, which the jatimala seems to authorise, for the origin of the kayastha is there mentioned before the subject of mixed castes is introduced, immediately after describing the gopa as a true sudra." [430] similarly colonel dalton says: "i believe that in the present day the kayasths arrogate to themselves the position of first among commoners, or first of the sudras, but their origin is involved in some mystery. intelligent kayasths make no pretension to be other than sudras." [431] in his census report of the united provinces mr. r. burn discusses the subject as follows: [432] "on the authority of these puranic accounts, and in view of the fact that the kayasths observe certain of the sanskars in the same method as is prescribed for kshatriyas, the pandits of several places have given formal opinions that the kayasths are kshatriyas. on the other hand, there is not the slightest doubt that the kayasths are commonly regarded either as a mixed caste, with some relationship to two if not three of the twice-born castes, or as sudras. this is openly stated in some of the reports, and not a single hindu who was not a kayasth of the many i have personally asked about the matter would admit privately that the kayasths are twice-born, and the same opinion was expressed by muhammadans, who were in a position to gauge the ordinary ideas held by hindus, and are entirely free from prejudice in the matter. one of the most highly respected orthodox brahmans in the provinces wrote to me confirming this opinion, and at the same time asked that his name might not be published in connection with it. the matter has been very minutely examined in a paper sent up by a member of the benares committee who came to the conclusion that while the kayasths have been declared to be kshatriyas in the puranas, by pandits, and in several judgments of subordinate courts, and to be sudras by manu and various commentators on him, by public opinion, and in a judgment of the high court of calcutta, they are really of brahmanical origin. he holds that those who to-day follow literary occupations are the descendants of chitragupta by his brahman and kshatriya wives, that the so-called unaya kayasths are descended from vaishya mothers, and the tailors and cobblers from sudra mothers. it is possible to trace to some extent points which have affected public opinion on this question. the kayasths themselves admit that in the past their reputation as hard drinkers was not altogether unmerited, but they deserve the highest credit for the improvements which have been effected in this regard. there is also a widespread belief that the existing general observance by kayasths of the ceremonies prescribed for the twice-born castes, especially in the matter of wearing the sacred thread, is comparatively recent. it is almost superfluous to add that notwithstanding the theoretical views held as to their origin and position, kayasths undoubtedly rank high in the social scale. all european writers have borne testimony to their excellence and success in many walks of life, and even before the commencement of british power many kayasths occupied high social positions and enjoyed the confidence of their rulers." 3. the rise of the kayasths under foreign rulers. it appears then a legitimate conclusion from the evidence that the claim of the kayasths to be kshatriyas is comparatively recent, and that a century ago they occupied a very much lower social position than they do now. we do not find them playing any prominent part in the early or mediæval hindu kingdoms. there is considerable reason for supposing that their rise to importance took place under the foreign or non-hindu governments in india. thus a prominent kayasth gentleman says of his own caste: [433] "the people of this caste were the first to learn persian, the language of the muhammadan invaders of india, and to obtain the posts of accountants and revenue collectors under muhammadan kings. their chief occupation is government service, and if one of the caste adopts any other profession he is degraded in the estimation of his caste-fellows." malcolm states: [434] "when the muhammadans invaded hindustan and conquered its rajput princes, we may conclude that the brahmans of that country who possessed knowledge or distinction fled from their intolerance and violence; but the conquerors found in the kayastha or kaith tribe more pliable and better instruments for the conduct of the details of their new government. this tribe had few religious scruples, as they stand low in the scale of hindus. they were, according to their own records, which there is no reason to question, qualified by their previous employment in all affairs of state; and to render themselves completely useful had only to add the language of their new masters to those with which they were already acquainted. the muhammadans carried these hindus into their southern conquests, and they spread over the countries of central india and the deccan; and some families who are kanungos [435] of districts and patwaris of villages trace their settlement in this country from the earliest muhammadan conquest." similarly the bombay gazetteer states that under the arrangements made by the emperor akbar, the work of collecting the revenues of the twenty-eight districts subordinate to surat was entrusted to kayasths. [436] and the mathur kayasths of gujarat came from mathura in the train of the mughal viceroys as their clerks and interpreters. [437] under the muhammadans and for some time after the introduction of english rule, a knowledge of persian was required in a government clerk, and in this language most of the kayasths were proficient, and some were excellent clerks. [438] kayasths attained very high positions under the muhammadan kings of bengal and were in charge of the revenue department under the nawabs of murshidabad; while rai durlao ram, prime minister of ali verdi khan, was a kayasth. the governors of bihar in the period between the battle of plassey and the removal of the exchequer to calcutta were also kayasths. [439] the bhatnagar kayasths, it is said, came to bengal at the time of the muhammadan conquest. [440] under the muhammadan kings of oudh, too, numerous kayasths occupied posts of high trust. [441] similarly the kayasths entered the service of the gond kings of the central provinces. it is said that when the gond ruler bakht buland of deogarh in chhindwara went to delhi, he brought a number of kayasths back with him and introduced them into the administration. one of these was appointed bakshi or paymaster to the army of bakht buland. his descendant is a leading landholder in the seoni district with an estate of eighty-four villages. another kayasth landholder of jubbulpore and mandla occupied some similar position in the service of the gond kings of garha-mandla. finally in the english administration the kayasths at first monopolised the ministerial service. in the united provinces, bengal and bihar, it is stated that the number of kayasths may perhaps even now exceed that of all other castes taken together. [442] and in gujarat the kayasths have lost in recent years the monopoly they once enjoyed as government clerks. [443] the mathura kayasths of gujarat are said to be declining in prosperity on account of the present keen competition for government service, [444] of which it would thus appear they formerly had as large a share as they desired. the prabhus, the writer-caste of western india corresponding to the kayasths, were from the time of the earliest european settlements much trusted by english merchants, and when the british first became supreme in gujarat they had almost a monopoly of the government service as english writers. to such an extent was this the case that the word prabhu or purvu was the general term for a clerk who could write english, whether he was a brahman, sunar, prabhu, portuguese or of english descent. [445] similarly the word cranny was a name applied to a clerk writing english, and thence vulgarly applied in general to the east indians or half-caste class from among whom english copyists were afterwards chiefly recruited. the original is the hindi karani, kirani, which wilson derives from the sanskrit karan, a doer. karana is also the name of the orissa writer-caste, who are writers and accountants. it is probable that the name is derived from this caste, that is the uriya kayasths, who may have been chiefly employed as clerks before any considerable eurasian community had come into existence. writers' buildings at calcutta were recently still known to the natives as karani ki barik, and this supports the derivation from the karans or uriya kayasths, the case thus being an exact parallel to that of the prabhus in bombay. [446] 4. the original profession of the kayasths. from the above argument it seems legitimate to deduce that the kayasths formerly occupied a lower position in hindu society. the brahmans were no doubt jealous of them and, as dr. bhattacharya states, would not let them learn sanskrit. [447] but when india became subject to foreign rulers the kayasths readily entered their service, learning the language of their new employers in order to increase their efficiency. thus they first learnt persian and then english, and both by muhammadans and english were employed largely, if not at first almost exclusively, as clerks in the public offices. it must be remembered that there were at this time practically only two other literate castes among hindus, the brahmans and the banias. the brahmans naturally would be for long reluctant to lower their dignity by taking service under foreign masters, whom they regarded as outcaste and impure; while the banias down to within the last twenty years or so have never cared for education beyond the degree necessary for managing their business. thus the kayasths had at first almost a monopoly of public employment under foreign governments. it has been seen also that it is only within about the last century that the status of the kayasths has greatly risen, and it is a legitimate deduction that the improvement dates from the period when they began to earn distinction and importance under these governments. but they were always a literate caste, and the conclusion is that in former times they discharged duties to which literacy was essential in a comparatively humble sphere. "the earliest reference to the kayasths as a distinct caste," sir h. risley states, "occurs in yajnavalkya, who describes them as writers and village accountants, very exacting in their demands from the cultivators." the profession of patwari or village accountant appears to have been that formerly appertaining to the kayasth caste, and it is one which they still largely follow. in bengal it is now stated that kayasths of good position object to marry their daughters in the families of those who have served as patwaris or village accountants. patwaris, one of them said to sir h. risley, however rich they may be, are considered as socially lower than other kayasths, e.g. kanungo, akhauri, pande or bakshi. thus it appears that the old patwari kayasths are looked down upon by those who have improved their position in more important branches of government service. kanungo, as explained, is a sort of head of the patwaris; and bakshi, a post already noticed as held by a kayasth in the central provinces, is the muhammadan office of paymaster. similarly mr. crooke states that while the higher members of the caste stand well in general repute, the village lala (or kayasth), who is very often an accountant, is in evil odour for his astuteness and chicanery. in central india, as already seen, they are kanungos of districts and patwaris of villages; and here again malcolm states that these officials were the oldest settlers, and that the later comers, who held more important posts, did not intermarry with them. [448] in gujarat the work of collecting the revenue in the surat tract was entrusted to kayasths. till 1868, in the english villages, and up to the present time in the baroda villages, the subdivisional accountants were mostly kayasths. [449] in the central provinces the bulk of the patwaris in the northern districts and a large proportion in other districts outside the maratha country are kayasths. if the kayasths were originally patwaris or village accountants, their former low status is fully explained. the village accountant would be a village servant, though an important one, and would be supported like the other village artisans by contributions of grain from the cultivators. this is the manner in which patwaris of the central provinces were formerly paid. his status would technically be lower than that of the cultivators, and he might be considered as a sudra or a mixed caste. 5. the caste an offshoot from brahmans. as regards the origin of the kayasths, the most probable hypothesis would seem to be that they were an offshoot of brahmans of irregular descent. the reason for this is that the kayasths must have learnt reading and writing from some outside source, and the brahmans were the only class who could teach it them. the brahmans were not disposed to spread the benefits of education, which was the main source of their power, with undue liberality, and when another literate class was required for the performance of duties which they disdained to discharge themselves, it would be natural that they should prefer to educate people closely connected with them and having claims on their support. in this connection the tradition recorded by sir h. risley may be noted to the effect that the ancestors of the bengal kayasths were five of the caste who came from kanauj in attendance on five brahmans who had been summoned by the king of bengal to perform for him certain vedic ceremonies. [450] it may be noted also that the vidurs, another caste admittedly of irregular descent from brahmans, occupy the position of patwaris and village accountants in the maratha districts. the names of their subcastes indicate generally that the home of the kayasths is the country of hindustan, the united provinces, and part of bengal. this is also the place of origin of the northern brahmans, as shown by the names of their most important groups. the rajputs and banias on the other hand belong mainly to rajputana, gujarat and bundelkhand, and in most of this area the kayasths are immigrants. it has been seen that they came to malwa and gujarat with the muhammadans; the number of kayasths returned from rajputana at the census was quite small, and it is doubtful whether the kayasths are so much as mentioned in tod's rajasthan. the hypothesis therefore of their being derived either from the rajputs or banias appears to be untenable. in the punjab also the kayasths are found only in small numbers and are immigrants. as stated by sir h. risley, both the physical type of the kayasths and their remarkable intellectual attainments indicate that they possess aryan blood; similarly mr. sherring remarks: "he nevertheless exhibits a family likeness to the brahman; you may not know where to place him or how to designate him; but on looking at him and conversing with him you feel quite sure that you are in the presence of a hindu of no mean order of intellect." [451] no doubt there was formerly much mixture of blood in the caste; some time ago the kayasths were rather noted for keeping women of other castes, and sir h. risley gives instances of outsiders being admitted into the caste. dr. bhattacharya states [452] that, "there are many kayasths in eastern bengal who are called ghulams or slaves. some of them are still attached as domestic servants to the families of the local brahmans, vaidyas and aristocratic kayasths. some of the ghulams have in recent times become rich landholders, and it is said that one of them has got the title of rai bahadur from government. the marriage of a ghulam generally takes place in his own class, but instances of ghulams marrying into aristocratic kayasth families are at present not very rare." further, the dakshina rarhi kayasths affect the greatest veneration for the brahmans and profess to believe in the legend that traces their descent from the five menial servants who accompanied the five brahmans invited by king adisur. the uttara rarhi kayasths or those of northern burdwan, on the other hand, do not profess the same veneration for brahmans as the southerners, and deny the authenticity of the legend. it was this class which held some of the highest offices under the muhammadan rulers of bengal, and several leading zamindars or landholders at present belong to it. [453] it was probably in this capacity of village accountant that the kayasth incurred the traditional hostility of one or two of the lower castes which still subsists in legend. [454] the influence which the patwari possesses at present, even under the most vigorous and careful supervision and with the liability to severe punishment for any abuse of his position, is a sufficient indication of what his power must have been when supervision and control were almost nominal. on this point sir henry maine remarks in his description of the village community: "there is always a village accountant, an important personage among an unlettered population; so important indeed, and so conspicuous that, according to the reports current in india, the earliest english functionaries engaged in settlements of land were occasionally led, by their assumption that there must be a single proprietor somewhere, to mistake the accountant for the owner of the village, and to record him as such in the official register. [455] in bihar sir h. risley shows that kayasths have obtained proprietary right in a large area. 6. the success of the kayasths and their present position. it may be hoped that the leading members of the kayasth caste will not take offence, because in the discussion of the origin of their caste, one of the most interesting problems of indian ethnology, it has been necessary to put forward a hypothesis other than that which they hold themselves. it would be as unreasonable for a kayasth to feel aggrieved at the suggestion that centuries ago their ancestors were to some extent the offspring of mixed unions as for an englishman to be insulted by the statement that the english are of mixed descent from saxons, danes and normans. if the kayasths formerly had a comparatively humble status in hindu society, then it is the more creditable to the whole community that they should have succeeded in raising themselves by their native industry and ability without adventitious advantages to the high position in which by general admission the caste now stands. at present the kayasths are certainly the highest caste after brahman, rajput and bania, and probably in hindustan, bengal and the central provinces they may be accounted as practically equal to rajputs and banias. of the bengal kayasths dr. bhattacharya wrote: [456] "they generally prove equal to any position in which they are placed. they have been successful not only as clerks but in the very highest executive and judicial offices that have yet been thrown open to the natives of this country. the names of the kayastha judges, dwarka nath mitra, ramesh chandra mitra and chandra madhava ghose are well known and respected by all. in the executive services the kayasths have attained the same kind of success. one of them, mr. r. c. dutt, is now the commissioner of one of the most important divisions of bengal. another, named kalika das datta, has been for several years employed as prime minister of the kuch bihar state, giving signal proofs of his ability as an administrator by the success with which he has been managing the affairs of the principality in his charge." in the central provinces, too, kayasth gentlemen hold the most important positions in the administrative, judicial and public works departments, as well as being strongly represented in the provincial and subordinate executive services. and in many districts kayasths form the backbone of the ministerial staff of the public offices, a class whose patient laboriousness and devotion to duty, with only the most remote prospects of advancement to encourage them to persevere, deserve high commendation. 7. subcastes. the northern india kayasths are divided into the following twelve subcastes, which are mainly of a territorial character: (a) srivastab. (b) saksena. (c) bhatnagar. (d) ambastha or amisht. (e) ashthana or aithana. (f) balmik or valmiki. (g) mathur. (h) kulsreshtha. (i) suryadhwaja. (k) karan. (l) gaur. (m) nigum. (a) the srivastab subcaste take their name from the old town of sravasti, now sahet-mahet, in the north of the united provinces. they are by far the most numerous subcaste both there and here. in these provinces nearly all the kayasths are srivastabs except a few saksenas. they are divided into two sections, khare and dusre, which correspond to the bisa and dasa groups of the banias. the khare are those of pure descent, and the dusre the offspring of remarried widows or other irregular alliances. (b) the saksena are named from the old town of sankisa, in the farukhabad district. they also have the khare and dusre groups, and a third section called kharua, which is said to mean pure, and is perhaps the most aristocratic. a number of saksena kayasths are resident in seoni district, where their ancestors were settled by bakht buland, the gond raja of deogarh in chhindwara. these constituted hitherto a separate endogamous group, marrying among themselves, but since the opening of the railway negotiations have been initiated with the saksenas of northern india, with the result that intermarriage is to be resumed between the two sections. (c) the bhatnagar take their name from the old town of bhatner, near bikaner. they are divided into the vaishya or kadim, of pure descent, and the gaur, who are apparently the offspring of intermarriage with the gaur subcaste. (d) ambastha or amisht. these are said to have settled on the girnar hill, and to take their name from their worship of the goddess ambaji or amba devi. mr. crooke suggests that they may be connected with the old ambastha caste who were noted for their skill in medicine. the practice of surgery is the occupation of some kayasths. [457] it is also supposed that the names may come from the ameth pargana of oudh. the ambastha kayasths are chiefly found in south bihar, where they are numerous and influential. [458] (e) ashthana or aithana. this is an oudh subcaste. they have two groups, the purabi or eastern, who are found in jaunpur and its neighbourhood, and the pachhauri or western, who live in or about lucknow. (f) balmik or valmiki. these are a subcaste of western india. balmik or valmik was the traditional author of the ramayana, but they do not trace their descent from him. the name may have some territorial meaning. the valmiki are divided into three endogamous groups according as they live in bombay, cutch or surat. (g) the mathur subcaste are named after mathura or muttra. they are also split into the local groups dihlawi of delhi, katchi of cutch and lachauli of jodhpur. (h) the kulsreshtha or 'well-born' kayasths belong chiefly to the districts of agra and etah. they are divided into the barakhhera, or those of twelve villages, and the chha khera of six villages. (i) the suryadhwaja subcaste belong to ballia, ghazi-pur and bijnor. their origin is obscure. they profess excessive purity, and call themselves sakadwipi or scythian brahmans. (k) the karan subcaste belong to bihar, and have two local divisions, the gayawale from gaya, and the tirhutia from tirhut. (l) the gaur kayasths, like the gaur brahmans and rajputs, apparently take their name from gaur or lakhnauti, the old kingdom of bengal. they have the khare and dusre subdivisions, and also three local groups named after bengal, delhi and budaun. (m) the nigum subcaste, whose name is apparently the same as that of the nikumbh rajputs, are divided into two endogamous groups, the kadim or old, and the unaya, or those coming from unao. sometimes the unaya are considered as a separate thirteenth subcaste of mixed descent. 8. exogamy. educated kayasths now follow the standard rule of exogamy, which prohibits marriage between persons within five degrees of affinity on the female side and seven on the male. that is, persons having a common grandparent on the female side cannot intermarry, while for those related through males the prohibition extends a generation further back. this is believed to be the meaning of the rule but it is not quite clear. in damoh the srivastab kayasths still retain exogamous sections which are all named after places in the united provinces, as hamirpur ki baink (section), lucknowbar, kashi ki pande (a wise man of benares), partabpuria, cawnpore-bar, sultanpuria and so on. they say that the ancestors of these sections were families who came from the above places in northern india, and settled in damoh; here they came to be known by the places from which they had immigrated, and so founded new exogamous sections. a man cannot marry in his own section, or that of his mother or grandmother. in the central provinces a man may marry two sisters, but in northern india this is prohibited. 9. marriage customs. marriage may be infant or adult, and, as in many places husbands are difficult to find, girls occasionally remain unmarried till nearly twenty, and may also be mated to boys younger than themselves. in northern india a substantial bridegroom-price is paid, which increases for a well-educated boy, but this custom is not so well established in the central provinces. however, in damoh it is said that a sum of rs. 200 is paid to the bridegroom's family. the marriage ceremony is performed according to the proper ritual for the highest or brahma form of marriage recognised by manu with vedic texts. when the bridegroom arrives at the bride's house he is given sherbet to drink. it is said that he then stands on a pestle, and the bride's mother throws wheat-flour balls to the four points of the compass, and shows the bridegroom a miniature plough, a grinding pestle, a churning-staff and an arrow, and pulls his nose. the bridegroom's struggles to prevent his mother-in-law pulling his nose are the cause of much merriment, while the two parties afterwards have a fight for the footstool on which he stands. [459] an image of a cow in flour is then brought, and the bridegroom pierces its nostrils with a little stick of gold. kayasths do not pierce the nostrils of bullocks themselves, but these rites perhaps recall their dependence on agriculture in their capacity of village accountants. after the wedding the bridegroom's father takes various kinds of fruit, as almonds, dates and raisins, and fills the bride's lap with them four times, finally adding a cocoanut and a rupee. this is a ceremony to induce fertility, and the cocoanut perhaps represents a child. 10. marriage songs. the following are some specimens of songs sung at weddings. the first is about rama's departure from ajodhia when he went to the forests: now hari (rama) has driven his chariot forth to the jungle. his father and mother are weeping. kaushilya [460] stood up and said, 'now, whom shall i call my diamond and my ruby?' dasrath went to the tower of his palace to see his son; as rama's chariot set forth under the shade of the trees, he wished that he might die. bharat ran after his brother with naked feet. he said, 'oh brother, you are going to the forest, to whom do you give the kingdom of oudh?' rama said, 'when fourteen years have passed away i shall come back from the jungles. till then i give the kingdom to you.' the following is a love dialogue: make a beautiful garden for me to see my king. in that garden what flowers shall i set? lemons, oranges, pomegranates, figs. in that garden what music shall there be? a tambourine, a fiddle, a guitar and a dancing girl. in that garden what attendants shall there be? a writer, a supervisor, a secretary for writing letters. [461] the next is a love-song by a woman: how has your countenance changed, my lord? why speak you not to your slave? if i were a deer in the forest and you a famous warrior, would you not shoot me with your gun? if i were a fish in the water and you the son of a fisherman, would you not catch me with your drag-net? if i were a cuckoo in the garden and you the gardener's son, would you not trap me with your liming-stick? the last is a dialogue between radha and krishna. radha with her maidens was bathing in the river when krishna stole all their clothes and climbed up a tree with them. girdhari is a name of krishna: r. you and i cannot be friends, girdhari; i am wearing a silk-embroidered cloth and you a black blanket. you are the son of old nand, the shepherd, and i am a princess of mathura. you have taken my clothes and climbed up a kadamb tree. i am naked in the river. k. i will not give you your clothes till you come out of the water. r. if i come out of the water the people will laugh and clap at me. all my companions seeing your beauty say, 'you have vanquished us; we are overcome.' 11. social rules. polygamy is permitted but is seldom resorted to, except for the sake of offspring. neither widow-marriage nor divorce are recognised, and either a girl or married woman is expelled from the caste if detected in a liaison. a man may keep a woman of another caste if he does not eat from her hand nor permit her to eat in the chauk or purified place where he and his family take their meals. the practice of keeping women was formerly common but has now been largely suppressed. women of all castes were kept except brahmans and kayasths. illegitimate children were known as dogle or surait and called kayasths, ranking as an inferior group of the caste. and it is not unlikely that in the past the descendants of such irregular unions have been admitted to the dusre or lower branch of the different subcastes. 12. birth customs. during the seventh month of a woman's pregnancy a dinner is given to the caste-fellows and songs are sung. after this occasion the woman must not go outside her own village, nor can she go to draw water from a well or to bathe in a tank. she can only go into the street or to another house in her own village. on the sixth day after a birth a dinner is given to the caste and songs are sung. the women bring small silver coins or rupees and place them in the mother's lap. the occasion of the first appearance of the signs of maturity in a girl is not observed at all if she is in her father's house. but if she has gone to her father-in-law's house, she is dressed in new clothes, her hair after being washed is tied up, and she is seated in the chauk or purified space, while the women come and sing songs. 13. religion. the kayasths venerate the ordinary hindu deities. they worship chitragupta, their divine ancestor, at weddings and at the holi and diwali festivals. twice a year they venerate the pen and ink, the implements of their profession, to which they owe their great success. the patwaris in hoshangabad formerly received small fees, known as diwat puja, from the cultivators for worshipping the ink-bottle on their behalf, presumably owing to the idea that, if neglected, it might make a malicious mistake in the record of their rights. 14. social customs. the dead are burnt, and the proper offerings are made on the anniversaries, according to the prescribed hindu ritual. kayasth names usually end in prasad, singh, baksh, sewak, and lala in the central provinces. lala, which is a term of endearment, is often employed as a synonym for the caste. dada or uncle is a respectful term of address for kayasths. two names are usually given to a boy, one for ceremonial and the other for ordinary use. the kayasths will take food cooked with water from brahmans, and that cooked without water (pakki) from rajputs and banias. some hindustani brahmans, as well as khatris and certain classes of banias, will take pakki food from kayasths. kayasths of different subcastes will sometimes also take it from each other. they will give the huqqa with the reed in to members of their own subcaste, and without the reed to any kayasth. the caste eat the flesh of goats, sheep, fish, and birds. they were formerly somewhat notorious for drinking freely, but a great reform has been effected in this respect by the community itself through the agency of their caste conference, and many are now total abstainers. 15. occupation. the occupations of the kayasths have been treated in discussing the origin of the caste. they set the greatest store by their profession of writing and say that the son of a kayasth should be either literate or dead. the following is the definition of a lekhak or writer, a term said to be used for the kayasths in puranic literature: "in all courts of justice he who is acquainted with the languages of all countries and conversant with all the shastras, who can arrange his letters in writing in even and parallel lines, who is possessed of presence of mind, who knows the art of how and what to speak in order to carry out an object in view, who is well versed in all the shastras, who can express much thought in short and pithy sentences, who is apt to understand the mind of one when one begins to speak, who knows the different divisions of countries and of time, [462] who is not a slave to his passions, and who is faithful to the king deserves the name and rank of a lekhak or writer." [463] kewat 1. general notice. kewat, khewat, kaibartta. [464]--a caste of fishermen, boatmen, grain-parchers, and cultivators, chiefly found in the chhattisgarh districts of drug, raipur, and bilaspur. they numbered 170,000 persons in 1911. the kewats or kaibarttas, as they are called in bengal, are the modern representatives of the kaivartas, a caste mentioned in hindu classical literature. sir h. risley explains the origin of the name as follows: [465] "concerning the origin of the name kaibartta there has been considerable difference of opinion. some derive it from ka, water, and vartta, livelihood; but lassen says that the use of ka in this sense is extremely unusual in early sanskrit, and that the true derivation is kivarta, a corruption of kimvarta, meaning a person following a low or degrading occupation. this, he adds, would be in keeping with the pedigree assigned to the caste in manu, where the kaivarta, also known as margava or dasa, is said to have been begotten by a nishada father and an ayogavi mother, and to subsist by his labour in boats. on the other hand, the brahma-vaivarta purana gives the kaibartta a kshatriya father and a vaishya mother, a far more distinguished parentage; for the ayogavi having been born from a sudra father and a vaishya mother is classed as pratiloma, begotten against the hair, or in the inverse order of the precedence of the castes." the kewats are a mixed caste. mr. crooke says that they merge on one side into the mallahs and on the other into the binds. in the central provinces their two principal subdivisions are the laria and uriya, or the residents of the chhattisgarh and sambalpur plains respectively. the larias are further split up into the larias proper, the kosbonwas, who grow kosa or tasar silk cocoons, and the binjhwars and dhuris (grain-parchers). the binjhwars are a hinduised group of the baiga tribe, and in bhandara they have become a separate hindu caste, dropping the first letter of the name, and being known as injhwar. the binjhwar kewats are a group of the same nature. the dhuris are grain-parchers, and there is a separate dhuri caste; but as grain-parching is also a traditional occupation of the kewats, the dhuris may be an offshoot from them. the kewats are so closely connected with the dhimars that it is difficult to make any distinction; in chhattisgarh it is said that the dhimars will not act as ferrymen, while the kewats will not grow or sell singara or water-nut. the dhimars worship their fishing-nets on the akti day, which the kewats will not do. both the kewats and dhimars are almost certainly derived from the primitive tribes. the kewats say that formerly the hindus would not take water from them; but on one occasion during his exile rama came to them and asked them to ferry him across a river; before doing so they washed his feet and drank the water, and since that time the hindus have considered them pure and take water from their hands. this story has no doubt been invented to explain the fact that brahmans will take water from the non-aryan kewats, the custom having in reality been adopted as a convenience on account of their employment as palanquin-bearers and indoor servants. but in saugor, where they are not employed as servants, and also grow san-hemp, their position is distinctly lower and no high caste will take water from them. 2. exogamous divisions and marriage. the caste have also a number of exogamous groups, generally named after plants or animals, or bearing some nickname given to the reputed founder. instances of the first class are tuma, a gourd, karsayal, a deer, bhalwa, a bear, ghughu, an owl, and so on. members of such a sept abstain from injuring the animal after which the sept is named or eating its flesh; those of the tuma sept worship a gourd with offerings of milk and a cocoanut at the holi festival. instances of titular names are garhtod, one who destroyed a fort, jhagarha quarrelsome, dehri priest, kala black, and so on. one sept is named rawat, its founder having probably belonged to the grazier caste. members of this sept must not visit the temple of mahadeo at rajim during the annual fair, but give no explanation of the prohibition. others are the ahira, also from the ahir (herdsman) caste; the rautele, which is the name of a subdivision of kols and other tribes; and the sonwani or 'gold water' sept, which is often found among the primitive tribes. in some localities these three have now developed into separate subcastes, marrying among themselves; and if any of their members become kabirpanthis, the others refuse to eat and intermarry with them. the marriage of members of the same sept is prohibited, and also the union of first cousins. girls are generally married under ten years of age, but if a suitable husband cannot be found for a daughter, the parents will make her over to any member of the caste who offers himself on condition that he bears the expenses of the marriage. in sambalpur she is married to a flower. sir h. risley notes [466] the curious fact that in bihar it is deemed less material that the bridegroom should be older than the bride than that he should be taller. "this point is of the first importance, and is ascertained by actual measurement. if the boy shorter than the girl, or if his height is exactly the same as hers, it is believed that the union of the two would bring ill-luck, and the match is at once broken off." the marriage is celebrated in the customary manner by walking round the sacred pole, after which the bridegroom marks the forehead of the bride seven times with vermilion, parts her hair with a comb, and then draws her cloth over her head. the last act signifies that the bride has become a married woman, as a girl never covers her head. in bengal [467] a drop of blood is drawn from the fingers of the bride and bridegroom and mixed with rice, and each eats the rice containing the blood of the other. the anointing with vermilion is probably a substitute for this. widow-remarriage and divorce are permitted. in sambalpur a girl who is left a widow under ten years of age is remarried with full rites as a virgin. 3. social customs. the kewats worship the ordinary hindu deities and believe that a special goddess, chaurasi devi, dwells in their boats and keeps them from sinking. she is propitiated at the beginning of the rains and in times of flood, and an image of her is painted on their boats. they bury the dead, laying the corpse with the feet to the south, while some clothes, cotton, til and salt are placed in the grave, apparently as a provision for the dead man's soul. they worship their ancestors at intervals on a monday or a saturday with an offering of a fowl. as is usual in chhattisgarh, their rules as to food are very lax, and they will eat both fowls and pork. nevertheless brahmans will take water at their hands and eat the rice and gram which they have parched. the caste consider fishing to have been their original occupation, and tell a story to the effect that their ancestors saved the deity in their boat on the occasion of the deluge, and in return were given the power of catching three or four times as many fish as ordinary persons in the same space of time. some of them parch gram and rice, and others act as coolies and banghy-bearers. [468] kewats are usually in poor circumstances, but they boast that the town of bilaspur is named after bilasa keotin, a woman of their caste. she was married, but was sought after by the king of the country, so she held out her cloth to the sun, calling on him to set it on fire, and was burnt alive, preserving her virtue. her husband burnt himself with her, and the pair ascended to heaven. khairwar [authorities: colonel dalton's ethnology of bengal; sir h. risley's tribes and castes of bengal; mr. crooke's tribes and castes of the n.-w.p. and oudh.] list of paragraphs 1. historical notice of the tribe. 2. its origin. 3. tribal subdivisions. 4. exogamous septs. 5. marriage. 6. disposal of the dead. 7. religion. 8. inheritance. 9. the khairwas of damoh. 1. historical notice of the tribe. khairwar, kharwar, khaira, khairwa. [469]--a primitive tribe of the chota nagpur plateau and bihar. nearly 20,000 khairwars are now under the jurisdiction of the central provinces, of whom two-thirds belong to the recently acquired sarguja state, and the remainder to the adjoining states and the bilaspur district. a few hundred khairwars or khairwas are also returned from the damoh district in the bundelkhand country. colonel dalton considers the khairwars to be closely connected with the cheros. he relates that the cheros, once dominant in gorakhpur and shahabad, were expelled from these tracts many centuries ago by the gorkhas and other tribes, and came into palamau. "it is said that the palamau population then consisted of kharwars, gonds, mars, korwas, parheyas and kisans. of these the kharwars were the people of most consideration. the cheros conciliated them and allowed them to remain in peaceful possession of the hill tracts bordering on sarguja; all the cheros of note who assisted in the expedition obtained military service grants of land, which they still retain. it is popularly asserted that at the commencement of the chero rule in palamau they numbered twelve thousand families and the kharwars eighteen thousand, and if an individual of one or the other is asked to what tribe he belongs, he will say not that he is a chero or a kharwar, but that he belongs to the twelve thousand or the eighteen thousand, as the case may be. intermarriages between chero and kharwar families have taken place. a relative of the palamau raja married a sister of maninath singh, raja of ramgarh, and this is among themselves an admission of identity of origin, as both claiming to be rajputs they could not intermarry till it was proved to the satisfaction of the family priest that the parties belonged to the same class.... the rajas of ramgarh and jashpur are members of this tribe, who have nearly succeeded in obliterating their turanian traits by successive intermarriages with aryan families. the jashpur raja is wedded to a lady of pure rajput blood, and by liberal dowries has succeeded in obtaining a similar union for three of his daughters. it is a costly ambition, but there is no doubt that the liberal infusion of fresh blood greatly improves the kharwar physique." [470] this passage demonstrates the existence of a close connection between the cheros and khairwars. elsewhere colonel dalton connects the santals with the khairwars as follows: [471] "a wild goose coming from the great ocean alighted at ahiri pipri and there laid two eggs. from these two eggs a male and female were produced, who were the parents of the santal race. from ahiri pipri our (santal) ancestors migrated to hara dutti, and there they greatly increased and multiplied and were called kharwar." this also affords some reason for supposing that the khairwars are an offshoot of the cheros and santals. mr. crooke remarks, "that in mirzapur the people themselves derive their name either from their occupation as makers of catechu (khair) or on account of their emigration from some place called khairagarh, regarding which there is a great difference of opinion. if the santal tradition is to be accepted, khairagarh is the place of that name in the hazaribagh district; but the mirzapur tradition seems to point to some locality in the south or west, in which case khairagarh may be identified with the most important of the chhattisgarh feudatory states, or with the pargana of that name in the allahabad district." [472] according to their own traditions in chota nagpur, sir h. risley states that, [473] "the kharwars declare their original seat to have been the fort of rohtas, so called as having been the chosen abode of rohitaswa, son of harischandra, of the family of the sun. from this ancient house they also claim descent, calling themselves surajvansis, and wearing the janeo or caste thread distinguishing the rajputs. a less flattering tradition makes them out to be the offspring of a marriage between a kshatriya man and a bhar woman contracted in the days of king ben, when distinctions of caste were abolished and men might marry whom they would." a somewhat similar story of themselves is told by the tribe in the bamra state. here they say that their original ancestors were the sun and a daughter of lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, who lived in the town of sara. she was very beautiful and the sun desired her, and began blowing into a conch-shell to express his passion. while the girl was gaping at the sight and sound, a drop of the spittle fell into her mouth and impregnated her. subsequently a son was born from her arm and a daughter from her thigh, who were known as bhujbalrai and janghrai. [474] bhujbalrai was given great strength by the sun, and he fought with the people of the country, and became king of rathgarh. but in consequence of this he and his family grew proud, and lakshmi determined to test them whether they were worthy of the riches she had given them. so she came in the guise of a beggar to the door, but was driven away without alms. on this she cursed them, and said that their descendants, the khairwars, should always be poor, and should eke out a scanty subsistence from the forests. and in consequence the khairwars have ever since been engaged in boiling wood for catechu. mr. hira lal identifies the rathgarh of this story with the tract of rath in the north of the raigarh state and the town of sara, where lakshmi's daughter lived and her children were born, with saria in sarangarh. 2. its origin. on the information available as to the past history of the tribe it seems probable that the khairwars may, as suggested by sir h. risley, be an offshoot from some other group. the most probable derivation of the name seems to be from the khair or catechu tree (acacia catechu); and it may be supposed that it was the adoption as a calling of the making of catechu which led to their differentiation. mr. crooke derives their name either from the khair tree or a place called khairagarh; but this latter name almost certainly means 'the fort of the khair trees.' the khairwas or khairwars of the kaimur hills, who are identified by colonel dalton and in the india census of 1901 with the khairwars of chota nagpur, are certainly named after the tree; they are generally recognised as being gonds who have taken to the business of boiling catechu, and are hence distinguished, being a little looked down upon by other gonds. mr. crooke describes them in mirzapur as "admittedly a compound of various jungle tribes who have taken to this special occupation; while according to another account they are the offspring of the saharias or saonrs, with whom their sept names are said to be identical." he also identifies them with the kathkaris of bombay, whose name means 'makers of katha or prepared catechu.' the khairwars of chota nagpur have everywhere a subdivision which makes catechu, this being known as khairchura in the central provinces, khairi in bengal and khairaha in the united provinces. this group is looked down upon by the other khairwars, who consider their occupation to be disreputable and do not marry with them. possibly the preparation of catechu, like basketand mat-making, is despised as being a profession practised by primitive dwellers in forests, and so those khairwars who have become more civilised are now anxious to disclaim it. sir h. risley has several times pointed out the indeterminate nature of the constitution of the chota nagpur tribes, between several of whom intermarriage is common. and it seems certain that the tribes as we know them now must have been differentiated from one or more common stocks much in the same fashion as castes, though rather by the influence of local settlement than by differences of occupation, and at a much earlier date. and on the above facts it seems likely that the khairwars of chota nagpur are an occupational offshoot of the cheros and santals, as those of the kaimur hills are of the gonds and savars. 3. tribal subdivisions. colonel dalton states that the tribe had four subdivisions, bhogta, mahto, rawat and manjhi. of these mahto simply means a village headman, and is used as a title by many castes and tribes; rawat is a term meaning chief, and is in common use as a title; and manjhi too is a title, being specially applied to boatmen, and also means a village headman among the santals. these divisions, too, afford some reason for considering the tribe to be a mixed group. other occupational subtribes are recorded by sir h. risley, and are found in the central provinces, but these apparently have grown up since colonel dalton's time. the most important group in bengal are the bhogtas, who are found, says colonel dalton, "in the hills of palamau, skirting sarguja, in tori and bhanwar pahar of chota nagpur and other places. they have always had an indifferent reputation. the head of the clan in palamau was a notorious freebooter, who, after having been outlawed and successfully evaded every attempt to capture him, obtained a jagir [475] on his surrendering and promising to keep the peace. he kept to his engagement and died in fair repute, but his two sons could not resist the opportunity afforded by the disturbances of 1857-58. after giving much trouble they were captured; one was hanged, the other transported for life and the estate was confiscated." mr. crooke notes that the khairwars since adopting hinduism performed human sacrifices to kali. some of our people who fell into their hands during the mutiny were so dealt with. [476] in the central provinces there is a group known as surajvansi or descendants of the sun, or janeodhari, 'those who wear the sacred thread.' this is the aristocratic division of the caste, to which the chiefs and zamindars belong, and according to the usual practice they have consolidated their higher position by marrying only among themselves. other groups are the dualbandhi, who say that they are so called because they make a livelihood by building the earthen diwals or walls for houses and yards; but in mirzapur they derive the name from dual, a leather belt which is supposed to have been the uniform of their forefathers when serving as soldiers. [477] the patbandhi or silk-makers, according to their own story, are thus named because their ancestors were once very rich and wore silk; but a more probable hypothesis is that they were rearers of tasar silk cocoons. the beldar or matkora work as navvies, and are also known as kawarvansi or 'descendants of the kawars,' another tribe of the locality; and last come the khairchura, who take their name from the khair tree and are catechu-makers. 4. exogamous septs. the tribe have a large number of exogamous groups named after plants and animals. members of the mouse, tortoise, parrot, pig, monkey, vulture, banyan tree and date-palm septs worship their totem animal or tree, and when they find the dead body of the animal they throw away an earthen cooking-pot to purify themselves, as is done when a member of the family dies. those of the dhan (rice), non (salt), dila (plough) and dhenki (rice pounding-lever) septs cannot dispense with the use of these objects, but make a preliminary obeisance before employing them. those of the kansi sept sprinkle water mixed with kans [478] grass over the bride and bridegroom at the marriage ceremony, and those of the chandan or sandalwood sept apply sandal-paste to their foreheads. they cannot clearly explain the meaning of these observances, but some of them have a vague idea that they are descended from the totem object. 5. marriage. marriage is either infant or adult, and in the latter case a girl is not disposed of without her consent. a bride-price varying from five to ten rupees is paid, and in the case of a girl given to a widower the amount is doubled. the hindu ceremonial has been adopted for the wedding, and an auspicious day is fixed by a brahman. in bengal sir h. risley notes that "remnants of non-aryan usage may be discerned in the marriage ceremony itself. both parties must first go through the form of marriage to a mango tree or at least a branch of the tree; and must exchange blood mixed with sindur, though in the final and binding act sindur alone is smeared by the bridegroom upon the bride's forehead and the parting of her hair." as has been pointed out by mr. crooke, the custom of smearing vermilion on the bride's forehead is a substitute for an earlier anointing with blood; just as the original idea underlying the offering of a cocoanut was that of substitution for a human head. in some cases blood alone is still used. thus sir h. risley notes that among the birhors the marriage rite is performed by drawing blood from the little fingers of the bride and bridegroom and smearing it on each of them. [479] the blood-covenant by which a bride was admitted to her husband's sept by being smeared with his blood is believed to have been a common rite among primitive tribes. 6. disposal of the dead. as a rule, the tribe bury the dead, though the hindu custom of cremation is coming into fashion among the well-to-do. before the interment they carry the corpse seven times round the grave, and it is buried with the feet pointing to the north. they observe mourning for ten days and abstain from animal food and liquor during that period. a curious custom is reported from the bilaspur district, where it is said that children cut a small piece of flesh from the finger of a dead parent and swallow it, considering this as a requital for the labour of the mother in having carried the child for nine months in her womb. so in return they carry a piece of her flesh in their bodies. but the correct explanation as given by sir j. g. frazer is that they do it to prevent themselves from being haunted by the ghosts of their parents. "thus orestes, [480] after he had gone mad from murdering his mother, recovered his wits by biting off one of his own fingers; since his victim was his own mother it might be supposed that the tasting of his own blood was the same as hers; and the furies of his murdered mother, which had appeared black to him before, appeared white as soon as he had mutilated himself in this way. the indians of guiana believe that an avenger of blood who has slain his man must go mad unless he tastes the blood of his victim, the notion apparently being that the ghost drives him crazy. a similar custom was observed by the maoris in battle. when a warrior had slain his foe in combat, he tasted his blood, believing that this preserved him from the avenging spirit (atua) of his victim; for they imagined that 'the moment a slayer had tasted the blood of the slain, the dead man became a part of his being and placed him under the protection of the atua or guardian-spirit of the deceased.' some of the north american indians also drank the blood of their enemies in battle. strange as it may seem, this truly savage superstition exists apparently in italy to this day. there is a widespread opinion in calabria that if a murderer is to escape he must suck his victim's blood from the reeking blade of the dagger with which he did the deed." 7. religion. the religion of the tribe is of the usual animistic type. colonel dalton notes that they have, like the kols, a village priest, known as pahan or baiga. he is always one of the impure tribes, a bhuiya, a kharwar or a korwa, and he offers a great triennial sacrifice of a buffalo in the sacred grove, or on a rock near the village. the fact that the khairwars employed members of the korwa and bhuiya tribes as their village priests may be taken to indicate that the latter are the earlier residents of the country, and are on this account employed by the khairwars as later arrivals for the conciliation of the indigenous deities. colonel dalton states that the khairwars made no prayers to any of the hindu gods, but when in great trouble they appealed to the sun. in the central provinces the main body of the tribe, and particularly those who belong to the landholding class, profess the hindu religion. 8. inheritance. the khairwars have now also adopted the hindu rule of inheritance, and have abandoned the tribal custom which sir h. risley records as existing in bengal. "here the eldest son of the senior wife, even if younger than one of the sons of the second wife, inherits the entire property, subject to the obligation of providing for all other legitimate children. if the inheritance consists of land, the heir is expected to create separate maintenance grants in favour of his younger brothers. daughters can never inherit, but are entitled to live in the ancestral home till they are married." [481] 9. the khairwas of damoh. the khairwas or khairwars of the kaimur hills are derived, as already seen, from the gonds and savars, and therefore are ethnologically a distinct group from those of the chota nagpur plateau, who have been described above. but as nearly every caste is made up of diverse ethnological elements held together by the tie of a common occupation, it does not seem worth while to treat these groups separately. colonel dalton, who also identifies them with the main tribe, records an interesting notice of them at an earlier period: [482] "there is in the seventh volume of the asiatic researches a notice of the kharwars of the kaimur hills in the mirzapur district, to the north of the son river, by captain j. p. blunt, who in his journey from chunar to ellora in a.d. 1794, met with them and describes them as a very primitive tribe. he visited one of their villages consisting of half a dozen poor huts, and though proceeding with the utmost caution, unattended, to prevent alarm, the inhabitants fled at his approach. the women were seen, assisted by the men, carrying off their children and moving with speed to hide themselves in the woods. it was observed that they were nearly naked, and the only articles of domestic use found in the deserted huts were a few gourds for water-vessels, some bows and arrows, and some fowls as wild as their masters. with great difficulty, by the employment of kols as mediators, some of the men were induced to return. they were nearly naked, but armed with bows and arrows and a hatchet." in damoh the khairwars are said to come from panna state. during the working season they live in temporary sheds in the forest, and migrate from place to place as the supply of trees is exhausted. having cut down a tree they strip off the bark and cut the inner and tender wood into small pieces, which are boiled for two or three days until a thick black paste is obtained. from this the water is allowed to drain off, and the residue is made into cakes and dried in the sun. it is eaten in small pieces with betel-leaf and areca-nut. duty is levied by the forest department at the rate of a rupee per handi or pot in which boiling is carried on. in bombay various superstitious observances are connected with the manufacture of catechu; and mr. crooke quoted the following description of them from the bombay gazetteer: [483] "every year on the day after the holi the chulha ceremony takes place. in a trench seven feet long by three, and about three deep, khair logs are carefully stacked and closely packed till they stand in a heap about three feet above ground. the pile is then set on fire and allowed to burn to the level of the ground. the village sweeper breaks a cocoanut, kills a couple of fowls and sprinkles a little liquor near the pile. then, after washing their feet, the sweeper and the village headman walk barefoot hurriedly across the fire. after this strangers come to fulfil vows, and giving one anna and a half cocoanut to the sweeper, and the other half cocoanut to the headman, wash their feet, and turning to the left, walk over the pile. the fire seems to cause none of them any pain." the following description of the kathkaris as hunters of monkeys is also taken by mr. crooke from the bombay gazetteer: [484] "the kathkaris represent themselves as descended from the monkeys of rama. now that their legitimate occupation of preparing catechu (kath) has been interfered with, they subsist almost entirely by hunting, and habitually kill and eat monkeys, shooting them with bows and arrows. in order to approach within range they are obliged to have recourse to stratagems, as the monkeys at once recognise them in their ordinary costume. the ruse usually adopted is for one of the best shots to put on a woman's robe (sari), under the ample folds of which he conceals his murderous weapons. approaching the tree in which the monkeys are seated, the sportsman affects the utmost unconcern, and busies himself with the innocent occupation of picking up twigs and leaves, and thus disarming suspicion he is enabled to get a sufficiently close shot to render success a certainty." khandait khandait, khandayat.--the military caste of orissa, the word khandait meaning 'swordsman,' and being derived from the uriya khanda, a sword. sir h. risley remarks of the khandaits: [485] "the caste is for the most part, if not entirely, composed of bhuiyas, whose true affinities have been disguised under a functional name, while their customs, their religion and in some cases even their complexion and features have been modified by long contact with hindus of relatively pure aryan descent. the ancient rajas of orissa kept up large armies and partitioned the land on strictly military tenures. these armies consisted of various castes and races, the upper ranks being officered by men of good aryan descent, while the lower ones were recruited from the low castes alike of the hills and the plains. in the social system of orissa, the sresta or 'best' khandaits rank next to the rajputs, who have not the intimate connection with the land which has helped to raise the khandaits to their present position." the khandaits are thus like the marathas, and the small body of paiks in the northern districts, a caste formed from military service; and though recruited for the most part originally from the dravidian tribes, they have obtained a considerable rise in status owing to their occupation and the opportunity which has been afforded to many of them to become landholders. the best khandaits now aspire to rajput rank, while the bulk of them have the position of cultivators, from whom brahmans will take water, or a much higher one than they are entitled to by descent. in [486] the central provinces the khandaits have no subcastes, and only two gotras or clans, named after the kachhap or tortoise and the nagas or cobra respectively. these divisions appear, however, to be nominal, and do not regulate marriage, as to which the only rule observed is that persons whose descent can be traced from the same parent should not marry each other. early marriage is usual, and if a girl arrives at adolescence without a husband having been found for her, she goes through the ceremony of wedlock with an arrow. polygamy is permitted, but a person resorting to it is looked down on and nicknamed maipkhia or wife-eater. the essential portion of the marriage ceremony is the bandan or tying of the hands of the bride and bridegroom together with kusha grass. the bridegroom must lift up the bride and walk seven times round the marriage altar carrying her. widow-marriage and divorce are permitted in the central provinces, and brahmans are employed for religious and ceremonial purposes. khangar list of paragraphs 1. origin and traditions. 2. caste subdivisions. 3. marriage. 4. religion. 5. social status. 6. occupation. 1. origin and traditions. khangar, [487] called also kotwal, jemadar or darbania (gatekeeper).--a low caste of village watchmen and field-labourers belonging to bundelkhand, and found in the saugor, damoh, narsinghpur and jubbulpore districts. they numbered nearly 13,000 in 1911. the khangars are also numerous in the united provinces. hindu ingenuity has evolved various explanations of the word khangar, such as 'khand,' a pit, and 'gar,' maker, digger, because the khangar digs holes in other people's houses for the purposes of theft. the caste is, however, almost certainly of non-aryan origin, and there is little doubt also that bundelkhand was its original home. it may be noted that the munda tribe have a division called khangar with which the caste may have some connection. the khangars themselves relate the following story of their origin. their ancestors were formerly the rulers of the fort and territory of kurar in bundelkhand, when a bundela rajput came and settled there. the bundela had a very pretty daughter whom the khangar raja demanded in marriage. the bundela did not wish to give his daughter to the khangar, but could not refuse the raja outright, so he said that he would consent if all the khangars would agree to adopt bundela practices. this the khangars readily agreed to do, and the bundela thereupon invited them all to a wedding feast, and having summoned his companions and plied the khangars with liquor until they were dead drunk, cut them all to pieces. one pregnant woman only escaped by hiding in a field of kusum or safflower, [488] and on this account the khangars still venerate the kusum and will not wear cloths dyed with saffron. she fled to the house of a muhammadan eunuch or fakir, who gave her shelter and afterwards placed her with a dangi landowner. the bundelas followed her up and came to the house of the dangi, who denied that the khangar woman was with him. the bundelas then asked him to make all the women in his house eat together to prove that none of them was the khangarin, on which the dangi five times distributed the maihar, a sacrificial cake which is only given to relations, to all the women of the household including the khangarin, and thus convinced the bundelas that she was not in the house. the woman who was thus saved became the ancestor of the whole khangar caste, and in memory of this act the khangars and nadia dangis are still each bidden to eat the maihar cake at the weddings of the other, or at least so it is said; while the fakirs, in honour of this great occasion when one of their number acted as giver rather than receiver, do not beg for alms at the wedding of a khangar, but on the contrary bring presents. the basis of the story, that the khangars were the indigenous inhabitants of bundelkhand and were driven out and slaughtered by the immigrant bundelas, may not improbably be historically correct. it is also said that no khangar is even now allowed to enter the fort of kurar, and that the spirit of the murdered chief still haunts it; so that if a bed is placed there in the evening with a tooth-stick, the tooth-stick will be split in the morning as after use, and the bed will appear as if it had been slept in. [489] 2. caste subdivisions. the caste has four subdivisions, named rai, mirdha or nakib, karbal and dahat. the rai or royal khangars are the highest group and practise hypergamy with families of the mirdha and karbal groups, taking daughters from them in marriage but not giving their daughters to them. the mirdhas or nakibs are so called because they act as mace-bearers and form the bodyguard of princes. very few, if any, are to be found in the central provinces. the karbal are supposed to be especially valorous. the dahats have developed into a separate caste called dahait, and are looked down on by all the other divisions as they keep pigs. the caste is also divided into numerous exogamous septs, all of which are totemistic; and the members of the sept usually show veneration to the object from which the sept takes its name. some of the names of septs are as follows: bachhiya from bachhra a calf; barha from barah a pig, this sept worshipping the pig; belgotia from the bel tree; chandan from the sandalwood tree; chirai from chiriya a bird, this sept revering sparrows; ghurgotia from ghora a horse (members of this sept touch the feet of a horse before mounting it and do not ride on a horse in wedding processions); guae from the iguana; hanuman from the monkey god; hathi from the elephant; kasgotia from kansa bell-metal (members of this sept do not use vessels of bell-metal on ceremonial occasions nor sell them); mahiyar from maihar fried cakes (members of this sept do not use ghi at their weddings and may not sell ghi by weight though they may sell it by measure); san after san-hemp (members of this sept place pieces of hemp near their family god); sandgotia from sand a bullock; tambagotia from tamba copper; and vishnu from the god of that name, whom the sept worship. the names of 31 septs in all are reported and there are probably others. the fact that two or three septs are named after hindu deities may be noticed as peculiar. 3. marriage. the marriage of members of the same sept is prohibited and also that of first cousins. girls are usually married at about ten years of age, the parents of the girl having to undertake the duty of finding a husband. the ceremonial in vogue in the northern districts is followed throughout, an astrologer being consulted to ascertain that the horoscopes of the pair are favourable, and a brahman employed to draw up the lagan or auspicious paper fixing the date of the marriage. the bridegroom is dressed in a yellow gown and over-cloth, with trousers of red chintz, red shoes, and a marriage-crown of date-palm leaves. he has the silver ornaments usually worn by women on his neck, as the khangwari or silver ring, and the hamel or necklace of rupees. in order to avert the evil eye he carries a dagger or nutcracker, and a smudge of lampblack is made on his forehead to disfigure him and thus avert the evil eye, which it is thought would otherwise be too probably attracted by his exquisitely beautiful appearance in his wedding garments. the binding portion of the ceremony is the bhanwar or walking round the sacred post of the munga tree (moringa pterygosperma). this is done six times by the couple, the bridegroom leading, and they then make a seventh turn round the bedi or sacrificial fire. if the bride is a child this seventh round is omitted at the marriage and performed at the dusarta or going-away ceremony. after the marriage the haldi ceremony takes place, the father of the bridegroom being dressed in women's clothes; he then dances with the mother of the bride, while they throw turmeric mixed with water over each other. widow-marriage is allowed, and the widow may marry anybody in the caste; the ceremony consists in the placing of bangles on her wrist, and is always performed at night, a wednesday being usually selected. a feast must afterwards be given to the caste-fellows. divorce is also permitted, and may be effected at the instance of either party in the presence of the caste panchayat or committee. when a husband divorces his wife he must give a feast. 4. religion. the khangars worship the usual hindu deities and especially venerate dulha deo, a favourite household godling in the northern districts. pachgara deo is a deity who seems to have been created to commemorate the occasion when the dangi distributed the marriage cakes five times to the fugitive ancestress of the caste. his cult is now on the decline, but some still consider him the most important deity of all, and it is said that no khangar will tell an untruth after having sworn by this god. children dying unmarried and persons dying of leprosy or smallpox are buried, while others are buried or burnt according as the family can afford the more expensive rite of cremation or not. as among other castes a corpse must not be burnt between sunset and sunrise, as it is believed that this would cause the soul to be born blind in the next birth. nor must the corpse be wrapped in stitched clothes, as in that case the child in which it is reincarnated would be born with its arms and legs entangled. the corpse is laid on its back and some ghi, til, barley cakes and sandalwood, if available, are placed on the body. the soul of the deceased is believed to haunt the house for three days, and each night a lamp and a little water in an earthen pot are placed ready for it. when cremation takes place the ashes are collected on the third day and the burning ground is cleaned with cowdung and sprinkled with milk, mustard and salt, in order that a cow may lick over the place and the soul of the deceased may thus find more easy admission into baikunth or heaven. well-to-do persons take the bones of the dead to the ganges, a few from the different parts of the body being selected and tied round the bearer's neck. mourning is usually only observed for three days. 5. social status. the khangars do not admit outsiders into the caste, except children born of a khangar father and a mother belonging to one of the highest castes. a woman going wrong with a man of another caste is finally expelled, but liaisons within the caste may be atoned for by the usual penalty of a feast. the caste eat flesh and drink liquor but abjure fowls, pork and beef. they will take food cooked without water from banias, sunars and tameras, but katchi roti only from the brahmans who act as their priests. such brahmans are received on terms of equality by others of the caste. khangars bathe daily, and their women take off their outer cloth to eat food, because this is not washed every day. food cooked with water must be consumed in the chauka or place where it is prepared, and not carried outside the house. men of the caste often have the suffix singh after their names in imitation of the rajputs. although their social observances are thus in some respects strict, the status of the caste is low, and brahmans do not take water from them. 6. occupation. the khangars say that their ancestors were soldiers, but at present they are generally tenants, field-labourers and village watchmen. they were formerly noted thieves, and several proverbs remain in testimony to this. "the khangar is strong only when he possesses a khunta (a pointed iron rod to break through the wall of a house)." 'the sunar and the khangar only flourish together'; because the sunar acts as a receiver of the property stolen by the khangar. they are said to have had different ways of breaking into a house, those who got through the roof being called chhappartor, while others who dug through the side walls were known as khonpaphor. they have now, however, generally relinquished their criminal practices and settled down to live as respectable citizens. kharia list of paragraphs 1. general notice. 2. legend of origin. 3. subcastes. 4. exogamy and totemism. 5. marriage. 6. taboos as to food. 7. widow-marriage and divorce. 8. religion. 9. funeral rites. 10. bringing back the souls of the dead. 11. social customs. 12. caste rules and organisation. 13. occupation and character. 14. language. 1. general notice. kharia. [490]--a primitive kolarian tribe, of which about 900 persons were returned from the central provinces in 1911. they belong to the bilaspur district and the jashpur and raigarh states. the kharias are one of the most backward of the kolarian tribes, and appear to be allied to the mundas and savars. colonel dalton says of them: "in the chota nagpur estate they are found in large communities, and the kharias belonging to these communities are far more civilised than those who live apart. their best settlements lie near the southern koel river, which stream they venerate as the santals do the damudar, and into it they throw the ashes of their dead." chota nagpur is the home of the kharias, and their total strength is over a lakh. they are found elsewhere only in assam, where they have probably migrated to the tea-gardens. 2. legend of origin. the kharia legend of origin resembles that of the mundas, and tends to show that they are an elder branch of that tribe. they say that a child was born to a woman in the jungle, and she left it to fetch a basket in which to carry it home. on her return she saw a cobra spreading its hood over the child to protect it from the sun. on this account the child was called nagvansi (of the race of the cobra), and became the ancestor of the nagvansi rajas of chota nagpur. the kharias say this child had an elder brother, and the two brothers set out on a journey, the younger riding a horse and the elder carrying a kawar or banghy with their luggage. when they came to chota nagpur the younger was made king, on which the elder brother also asked for a share of the inheritance. the people then put two caskets before him and asked him to choose one. one of the caskets contained silver and the other only some earth. the elder brother chose that which contained earth, and on this he was told that the fate of himself and his descendants would be to till the soil, and carry banghys as he had been doing. the kharias say that they are descended from the elder brother, while the younger was the ancestor of the nagvansi rajas, who are really mundas. they say that they can never enter the house of the nagvansi rajas because they stand in the relation of elder brother-in-law to the ranis, who are consequently prohibited from looking on the face of a kharia. this story is exactly like that of the parjas in connection with the rajas of bastar. and as the parjas are probably an older branch of the gonds, who were reduced to subjection by the subsequent raj-gond immigrants under the ancestors of the bastar rajas, so it seems a reasonable hypothesis that the kharias stood in a similar relationship to the mundas or kols. this theory derives some support from the fact that, according to sir h. risley, the mundas will take daughters in marriage from the kharias, but will not give their daughters to them, and the kharias speak of the mundas as their elder brethren. [491] mr. hira lal suggests that the name kharia is derived from kharkhari, a palanquin or litter, and that the original name kharkharia has been contracted into kharia. he states that in the uriya country oraons, who carry litters, are also called kharias. this derivation is in accordance with the tradition of the kharias that their first ancestor carried a banghy, and with the fact that the kols are the best professional dhoolie-bearers. 3. subcastes. in raigarh the kharias have only two subtribes, the dudh, or milk kharias, and the delki. of these the delki are said to be of mixed origin. they take food from brahmans, and explain that they do so because an ancestress went wrong with a brahman. it seems likely that they may be descended from the offspring of immigrant hindus in chota nagpur with kharia women, like similar subdivisions in other tribes. the delkis look down on the dudh kharias, saying that the latter eat the flesh of tigers and monkeys, from which the delkis abstain. in bengal the tribe have two other divisions, the erenga and munda kharias. 4. exogamy and totemism. the tribe is divided, like others, into totemistic exogamous septs, which pay reverence to their totems. thus members of the kulu (tortoise), kiro (tiger), nag (cobra), kankul (leopard) and kuto (crocodile) septs abstain from killing their totem animal, fold their hands in obeisance when they meet it, and taking up some dust from the animal's track place it on their heads as a mark of veneration. certain septs cannot wholly abstain from the consumption of their sept totem, so they make a compromise. thus members of the baa, or rice sept, cannot help eating rice, but they will not eat the scum which gathers over the rice as it is being boiled. those of the bilum or salt sept must not take up a little salt on one finger and suck it, but must always use two or more fingers for conveying salt to the mouth, presumably as a mark of respect. members of the suren or stone sept will not make ovens with stones but only with clods of earth. the tribe do not now think they are actually descended from their totems, but tell stories accounting for the connection. thus the katang kondai or bamboo sept say that a girl in the family of their ancestors went to cut bamboos and never came back. her parents went to search for her and heard a voice calling out from the bamboos, but could not find their daughter. then they understood that the bamboo was of their own family and must not be cut by them. the supposition is apparently that the girl was transformed into a bamboo. 5. marriage. marriage between members of the same sept is forbidden, but the rule is not always observed. a brother's daughter may marry a sister's son, but not vice versa. marriage is always adult, and overtures come from the boy's father. the customary bride-price is twelve bullocks, but many families cannot afford this, and resort is then made to a fiction. the boy's party make twelve models of bullocks in earth, and placing each in a leaf-plate send them to the girl's party, who throw away two, saying that one has been eaten by a tiger, and the other has fallen into a pit and died. the remaining ten are returned to the bridegroom's party, who throw away two, saying that they have been sold to provide liquor for the panch. for two of the eight now left real animals are substituted, and for the other six one rupee each, and the two cattle and six rupees are sent back to the bride's party as the real bride-price. poor families, however, give four rupees instead of the two cattle, and ten rupees is among them considered as the proper price, though even this is reduced on occasion. the marriage party goes from the bride's to the bridegroom's house, and consists of women only. the men do not go, as they say that on one occasion all the men of a kharia wedding procession were turned into stones, and they fear to undergo a similar fate. the real reason may probably be that the journey of the bride is a symbolic reminiscence of the time when she was carried off by force, and hence it would be derogatory for the men to accompany her. the bridegroom comes out to meet the bride riding on the shoulders of his brother-in-law or paternal aunt's husband, who is known as dherha. he touches the bride, and both of them perform a dance. at the wedding the bridegroom stands on a plough-yoke, and the bride on a grinding-slab, and the dherha walks seven times round them sprinkling water on them from a mango-leaf. the couple are shut up alone for the night, and next morning the girl goes to the river to wash her husband's clothes. on her return a fowl is killed, and the couple drink two drops of its blood in water mixed with turmeric, as a symbol of the mixing of their own blood. a goat is killed, and they step in its blood and enter their houses. the caste-people say to them, "whenever a kharia comes to your house, give him a cup of water and tobacco and food if you have it," and the wedding is over. 6. taboos as to food. after a girl is married her own mother will not eat food cooked by her, as no two kharias will take food together unless they are of the same sept. when a married daughter goes back to the house of her parents she cooks her food separately, and does not enter their cook-room; if she did all the earthen pots would be defiled and would have to be thrown away. a similar taboo marks the relations of a woman towards her husband's elder brother, who is known as kura sasur. she must not enter his house nor sit on a cot or stool before him, nor touch him, nor cook food for him. if she touches him a fine of a fowl with liquor is imposed by the caste, and for his touching her a goat and liquor. this idea may perhaps have been established as a check on the custom of fraternal polyandry, when the idea of the eldest brother taking the father's place as head of the joint family became prevalent. 7. widow-marriage and divorce. widow-marriage is permitted at the price of a feast to the caste, and the payment of a small sum to the woman's family. a widow must leave her children with her first husband's family if required to do so. if she takes them with her they become entitled to inherit her second husband's property, but receive only a half-share as against a full share taken by his children. divorce is permitted by mutual agreement or for adultery of the woman. but the practice is not looked upon with favour, and a divorced man or woman rarely succeeds in obtaining another mate. 8. religion. the principal deity of the kharias is a hero called banda. they say that an oraon had vowed to give his daughter to the man who would clear the kans [492] grass off a hillock. several men tried, and at last banda did it by cutting out the roots. he then demanded the girl's hand, but the oraon refused, thinking that banda had cleared the grass by magic. then banda went away and the girl died, and on learning of this banda went and dug her out of her grave, when she came to life and they were married. since then banda has been worshipped. the tribe also venerate their ploughs and axes, and on the day of dasahra they make offerings to the sun. 9. funeral rites. the tribe bury the dead, placing the head to the north. when the corpse is taken out of the house two grains of rice are thrown to each point of the compass to invite the ancestors of the family to the funeral. and on the way, where two roads meet, the corpse is set down and a little rice and cotton-seed sprinkled on the ground as a guiding-mark to the ancestors. before burial the corpse is anointed with turmeric and oil, and carried seven times round the grave, probably as a symbol of marriage to it. each relative puts a piece of cloth in the grave, and the dead man's cooking and drinking-pots, his axe, stick, pipe and other belongings, and a basketful of rice are buried with him. the mourners set three plants of orai or khas-khas grass on the grave over the dead man's head, middle and feet, and then they go to a tank and bathe, chewing the roots of this grass. it would appear that the orai grass may be an agent of purification or means of severance from the dead man's ghost, like the leaves of the sacred nim [493] tree. 10. bringing back the souls of the dead. on the third day they bathe and are shaved, and catch a fish, which is divided among all the relatives, however small it may be, and eaten raw with salt, turmeric and garlic. it seems likely that this fish may be considered to represent the dead man's spirit, and is eaten in order to avoid being haunted by his ghost or for some other object, and the fish may be eaten as a substitute for the dead man's body, itself consumed in former times. on the tenth night after the death the soul is called back, a lighted wick being set in a vessel at the cross-roads where the rice and cotton had been sprinkled. they call on the dead man, and when the flame of the lamp wavers in the wind they break the vessel holding the lamp, saying that his soul has come and joined them, and go home. on the following dasahra festival, when ancestors are worshipped, the spirit of the deceased is mingled with the ancestors. a cock and hen are fed and let loose, and the headman of the sept calls on the soul to come and join the ancestors and give his protection to the family. when a man is killed by a tiger the remains are collected and burnt on the spot. a goat is sacrificed and eaten by the caste, and thereafter, when a wedding takes place in that man's family, a goat is offered to his spirit. the kharias believe that the spirits of the dead are reborn in children, and on the barhi day, a month after the child's birth, they ascertain which ancestor has been reborn by the usual method of divination with grains of rice in water. 11. social customs. the strict taboos practised by the tribe as regards food have already been mentioned. men will take food from one another, but not women. men will also accept food cooked without water from brahmans, rajputs and bhuiyas. the kharias will eat almost any kind of flesh, including crocodile, rat, pig, tiger and bear; they have now generally abandoned beef in deference to hindu prejudice, and also monkeys, though they formerly ate these animals, the topno sept especially being noted on this account. 12. caste rules and organisation. temporary expulsion from caste is imposed for the usual offences, and also for getting shaved or having clothes washed by a barber or washerman other than a member of the caste. this rule seems to arise either from an ultra-strict desire for social purity or from a hostile reaction against the hindus for the low estimation in which the kharias are held. again it is a caste offence to carry the palanquin of a kayasth, a muhammadan, a koshta (weaver) or a nai (barber), or to carry the tazias or representations of the tomb of husain in the muharram procession. the caste have a headman who has the title of pardhan, with an assistant called negi and a messenger who is known as ganda. the headman must always be of the samer sept, the negi of the suren sept, and the ganda of the bartha or messenger sept. the headman's duty is to give water for the first time to caste offenders on readmission, the negi must make all arrangements for the caste feast, and the ganda goes and summons the tribesmen. in addition to the penalty feast a cash fine is imposed on an erring member; of this rather more than half is given to the assembled tribesmen for the purpose of buying murra or fried grain on their way home on the following morning. the remaining sum is divided between the three officers, the pardhan and negi getting two shares each and the ganda one share. but the division is only approximate, as the kharias are unable to do the necessary calculation for an odd number of rupees. the men have their hair tied in a knot on the right side of the head, and women on the left. the women are tattooed, but not the men. colonel dalton writes of the tribal dances: [494] "the nuptial dances of the kharias are very wild, and the gestures of the dancers and the songs all bear more directly than delicately on what is evidently considered the main object of the festivities, the public recognition of the consummation of the marriage. the bride and bridegroom are carried through the dances seated on the hips of two of their companions. dancing is an amusement to which the kharias, like all kolarians, are passionately devoted. the only noticeable difference in their style is that in the energy, vivacity and warmth of their movements they excel all their brethren." 13. occupation and character. the kharias say that their original occupation is to carry dhoolies or litters, and this, as well as the social rules prohibiting them from carrying those of certain castes, is in favour of the derivation of the name from kharkhari, a litter. they are also cultivators, and collect forest produce. they are a wild and backward tribe, as shown in the following extracts from an account by mr. ball: [495] "the first kharias i met with were encamped in the jungle at the foot of some hills. the hut was rudely made of a few sal branches, its occupants being one man, an old and two young women, besides three or four children. at the time of my visit they were taking their morning meal; and as they regarded my presence with the utmost indifference, without even turning round or ceasing from their occupations, i remained for some time watching them. they had evidently recently captured some small animal, but what it was, as they had already eaten the skin, i could not ascertain. as i looked on, the old woman distributed to the others, on plates of sal leaves, what appeared to be the entrails of the animal, and wrapping up her own portion between a couple of leaves threw it on the fire in order to give it a very primitive cooking. with regard to their ordinary food the kharias chiefly depend on the jungle for a supply of fruits, leaves and roots. "the kharias never make iron themselves, but are altogether dependent on the neighbouring bazars for their supplies. had they at any period possessed a knowledge of the art of making iron, conservative of their customs as such races are, it is scarcely likely that they would have forgotten it. it is therefore not unreasonable to suppose that there was a period prior to the advent of the hindus when iron was quite unknown to them--when, owing to the absence of cultivation in the plains, they were even more dependent on the supply of jungle food than they are at present. in those times their axes and their implements for grubbing up roots were in all probability made of stone, and their arrows had tips of the same material. "in their persons the kharias are very dirty, seldom if ever washing themselves. their features are decidedly of a low character, not unlike the bhumij, but there seemed to me to be an absence of any strongly-marked type in their faces or build, such as enables one to know a santal and even a kurmi at a glance." 14. language. of the kharia dialect sir george grierson states that it is closely allied to savara, and has also some similarity to korku and juang: [496] "kharia grammar has all the characteristics of a language which is gradually dying out and being superseded by dialects of quite different families. the vocabulary is strongly aryanised, and aryan principles have pervaded the grammatical structure. kharia is no longer a typical munda language. it is like a palimpsest, the original writing on which can only be recognised with some difficulty." [497] an account of the kharia dialect has been published in mr. g. b. banerjee's introduction to the kharia language (calcutta, 1894). khatik khatik.--a functional caste of hindu mutton-butchers and vegetable sellers. they numbered nearly 13,000 persons in the central provinces and berar in 1911, and are, as might be expected, principally returned from the districts with a considerable urban population, amraoti, jubbulpore, nagpur and saugor. the name is derived from the sanskrit khattika, [498] a butcher or hunter. in northern india mr. crooke states that the caste are engaged in keeping and selling pigs and retailing vegetables and fruits, and does not specially mention that they slaughter animals, though in agra one of their subcastes is named buchar, a corruption of the english word butcher. in the punjab sir d. ibbetson [499] says of them that, "they form a connecting link between the scavengers and the leather-workers, though they occupy a social position distinctly inferior to that of the latter. they are great keepers of pigs and poultry, which a chamar would not keep. [500] at the same time many of them tan and dye leather and indeed are not seldom confused with the chamrang. the khatik is said sometimes to keep sheep and goats and twist their hair into waist-bands for sale." sir h. risley again describes the khatiks of bihar as a cultivating and vegetable-selling caste. [501] the differences in the principal occupations ascribed to the caste are thus somewhat remarkable. in the central provinces the khatiks are primarily slaughterers of sheep and goats and mutton-butchers, though they also keep pigs, and some of them, who object to this trade, make their livelihood by selling vegetables. both in the united provinces and punjab the khatiks are considered to be connected with the pasis and probably an offshoot of that caste. in the central provinces they are said to be an inferior branch of the gadaria or shepherd caste. the gadarias state that their old sheep were formerly allowed to die. then they appointed some poor men of the community to kill them and sell the flesh, dividing the profits with the owner, and thus the khatik caste arose. the khatiks accept cooked food from the gadarias, but the latter do not reciprocate. the khatiks are both hindu and muhammadan by religion, the latter being also known as gai-khatik or cow-killer; but these may more suitably be classed with the kasais or muhammadan butchers. in the maratha districts the hindu khatiks are divided into two subcastes, the beraria or those from berar, and the jhadi or those of the forest country of the wainganga valley. these will take food together, but do not intermarry. they have the usual set of exogamous clans or septs, many of which are of a totemistic nature, being named after plants, animals or natural objects. in jubbulpore, owing to their habit of keeping pigs and the dirty state of their dwellings, one of their divisions is named lendha, which signifies the excrement of swine. here the sept is called ban, while in wardha it is known as kul or adnam. marriage within the sept is forbidden. when arranging a match they consider it essential that the boy should be taller than the girl, but do not insist on his being older. a bride-price is sometimes paid, especially if the parents of the girl are poor, but the practice is considered derogatory. in such a case the father is thought to sell his daughter and he is called bad or bhand. marriages commonly take place on the fifth, seventh or ninth day after the holi festival, or on the festival of badsavitri, the third day of baisakh (light fortnight). when the bridegroom leaves the house to set out for the wedding his mother or aunt waves a pestle and churning-stick round him, puts a piece of betel-vine in his mouth and gives him her breast to suck. he then steps on a little earthen lamp-saucer placed over an egg and breaks them, and leaves the house without looking back. these rites are common to many castes, but their exact significance is obscure. the pestle and churning-stick and egg may perhaps be emblems of fertility. at the wedding the fathers of the couple split some wood into shreds, and, placing it in a little pit with cotton, set a light to it. if it is all burnt up the ceremony has been properly performed, but if any is left, the people laugh and say that the corpses of the family's ancestors were not wholly consumed on the pyre. to effect a divorce the husband and wife break a stick in the presence of the caste panchayat or committee, and if a divorced woman or one who has deserted her husband marries again, the first husband has to give a feast to the caste on the tenth day after the wedding; this is perhaps in the nature of a funeral feast to signify that she is dead to him. the remarriage of widows is permitted. a girl who is seduced by a member of the caste, even though she may be delivered of a child, may be married to him by the maimed rites used for widows. but she cannot take part in auspicious ceremonies, and her feet are not washed by married women like those of a proper bride. even if a girl be seduced by an outsider, except a hindu of the impure castes or a muhammadan, she may be taken back into the community and her child will be recognised as a member of it. but they say that if a khatik keeps a woman of another caste he will be excommunicated until he has put her away, and his children will be known as akre or bastard khatiks, these being numerous in berar. the caste burn or bury the dead as their means permit, and on the third day they place on the pyre some sugar, cakes, liquor, sweets and fruit for the use of the dead man's soul. the occupation of the khatik is of course horrible to hindu ideas, and the social position of the caste is very low. in some localities they are considered impure, and high-caste hindus who do not eat meat will wash themselves if forced to touch a khatik. elsewhere they rank just above the impure castes, but do not enter hindu temples. these khatiks slaughter sheep and goats and sell the flesh, but they do not cure the skins, which are generally exported to madras. the hindu khatiks often refuse to slaughter animals themselves and employ a muhammadan to do so by the rite of halal. the blood is sometimes sold to gonds, who cook and eat it mixed with grain. other members of the caste are engaged in cultivation, or retail vegetables and grain. khatri 1. rajput origin. khatri.--a prominent mercantile caste of the punjab, whose members to the number of about 5000 have settled in the central provinces and berar, being distributed over most districts. the khatris claim to be derived from the rajput caste, and say that their name is a corruption of kshatriya. at the census of 1901 sir herbert risley approved of their demand on the evidence laid before him by the leading representatives of the caste. this view is assented to by mr. crooke and mr. nesfield. in gujarat also the caste are known as brahma-kshatris, and their rajput origin is considered probable, while their appearance bears out the claim to be derived either from the aryans or some later immigrants from central asia: "they are a handsome fair-skinned class, some of them with blue or grey eyes, in make and appearance like vanias (banias), only larger and more vigorous." [502] mr. crooke states that, "their women have a reputation for their beauty and fair complexion. the proverb runs, 'a khatri woman would be fair without fine clothes or ornaments,' and, 'only an albino is fairer than a khatri woman.'" [503] their legend of origin is as follows: "when parasurama the brahman was slaying the kshatriyas in revenge for the theft of the sacred cow kamdhenu and for the murder of his father, a pregnant kshatriya woman took refuge in the hut of a saraswat brahman. when parasurama came up he asked the brahman who the woman was, and he said she was his daughter. parasurama then told him to eat with her in order to prove it, and the brahman ate out of the same leaf-plate as the woman. the child to whom she subsequently gave birth was the ancestor of the khatris, and in memory of this saraswat brahmans will eat with khatris to the present day." the saraswat brahman priests of the khatris do as a matter of fact take katcha food or that cooked with water from them, and smoke from their huqqas, and this is another strong argument in favour of their origin either from brahmans or rajputs. the classical account of the khatris is that given in sir george campbell's ethnology of india, and it may be reproduced here as in other descriptions of the caste: 2. sir george campbell's account of the khatris. "trade is their main occupation; but in fact they have broader and more distinguishing features. besides monopolising the trade of the punjab and the greater part of afghanistan, and doing a good deal beyond those limits, they are in the punjab the chief civil administrators, and have almost all literate work in their hands. so far as the sikhs have a priesthood, they are, moreover, the priests or gurus of the sikhs. both nanak and govind were, and the sodis and bedis of the present day are, khatris. thus then they are in fact in the punjab, so far as a more energetic race will permit them, all that mahratta brahmins are in the mahratta country, besides engrossing the trade which the mahratta brahmins have not. they are not usually military in their character, but are quite capable of using the sword when necessary. diwan sawan mal, governor of multan, and his notorious successor mulraj, and very many of ranjit singh's chief functionaries were khatris. "even under mahomedan rulers in the west they have risen to high administrative posts. there is a record of a khatri diwan of badakshan or kurdaz; and, i believe, of a khatri governor of peshawar under the afghans. the emperor akbar's famous minister, todarmal, was a khatri; and a relative of that man of undoubted energy, the great commissariat contractor of agra, joti pershad, lately informed me that he also is a khatri. altogether, there can be no doubt that these khatris are one of the most acute, energetic and remarkable races in india, though in fact, except locally in the punjab, they are not much known to europeans. the khatris are staunch hindus, and it is somewhat singular that, while giving a religion and priests to the sikhs, they themselves are comparatively seldom sikhs. the khatris are a very fine, fair, handsome race, and, as may be gathered from what i have already said, they are very generally educated. "there is a large subordinate class of khatris, somewhat lower, but of equal mercantile energy, called rors or roras. the proper khatris of higher grade will often deny all connection with them, or at least only admit that they have some sort of bastard kindred with khatris, but i think there can be no doubt that they are ethnologically the same, and they are certainly mixed up with khatris in their avocations. i shall treat the whole kindred as generically khatris. "speaking of the khatris then thus broadly, they have, as i have said, the whole trade of the punjab and of most of afghanistan. no village can get on without the khatri who keeps the accounts, does the banking business, and buys and sells the grain. they seem, too, to get on with the people better than most traders and usurers of this kind. in afghanistan, among a rough and alien people, the khatris are as a rule confined to the position of humble dealers, shopkeepers and moneylenders; but in that capacity the pathans seem to look on them as a kind of valuable animal, and a pathan will steal another man's khatri, not only for the sake of ransom, as is frequently done on the frontier of peshawar and hazara, but also as he might steal a milch-cow, or as jews might, i dare say, be carried off in the middle ages with a view to render them profitable. "i do not know the exact limits of khatri occupation to the west, but certainly in all eastern afghanistan they seem to be just as much a part of the established community as they are in the punjab. they find their way far into central asia, but the further they get the more depressed and humiliating is their position. in turkistan, vambéry speaks of them with great contempt, as yellow-faced hindus of a cowardly and sneaking character. under turcoman rule they could hardly be otherwise. they are the only hindus known in central asia. in the punjab they are so numerous that they cannot all be rich and mercantile; and many of them hold land, cultivate, take service, and follow various avocations." 3. higher and lower groups. the khatris have a very complicated system of subdivisions, which it is not necessary to detail here in view of their small strength in the province. as a rule they marry only one wife, though a second may be taken for the purpose of getting offspring. but parents are very reluctant to give their daughters to a man who is already married. the remarriage of widows is forbidden and divorce also is not recognised, but an unfaithful wife may be turned out of the house and expelled from the caste. though they practise monogamy, however, the khatris place no restrictions on the keeping of concubines, and from the offspring of such women inferior branches of the caste have grown up. in gujarat these are known as the dasa and pancha groups, and they may not eat or intermarry with proper khatris. [504] the name khatri seems there to be restricted to these inferior groups, while the caste proper is called brahma-kshatri. there is also a marked distinction in their occupation, for, while the brahma-kshatris are hereditary district officials, pleaders, bankers and government servants, the khatris are engaged in weaving, and formerly prepared the fine cotton cloth of surat and broach, while they also make gold and silver thread, and the lace used for embroidery. [505] as a class they are said to be thriftless and idle, and at least the khatris of surat to be excessively fond of strong drink. the khatris of nimar in the central provinces are also weavers, and it seems not unlikely that they may be a branch of these gujarat khatris of the inferior class, and that the well-known gold and silver lace and embroidery industry of burhanpur may have been introduced by them from surat. the khatris of narsinghpur are dyers, and may not improbably be connected with the nimar weavers. the other khatris scattered here and there over the provinces may belong to the higher branch of the caste. 4. marriage and funeral customs. in conclusion some extracts may be given from the interesting account of the marriage and funeral customs of the brahma-kshatris in gujarat: [506] "on the wedding-day shortly before the marriage hour the bridegroom, his face covered with flower-garlands and wearing a long tunic and a yellow silk waistcloth, escorted by the women of his family, goes to the bride's house on horseback in procession.... before the bridegroom's party arrive the bride, dressed in a head-cloth, bodice, a red robe, and loose yellow muhammadan trousers, is seated in a closed palanquin or balai set in front of the house. the bridegroom on dismounting walks seven times round the palanquin, the bride's brother at each turn giving him a cut with an oleander twig, and the women of the family throwing showers of cake from the windows. he retires, and while mounting his horse, and before he is in the saddle, the bride's father comes out, and, giving him a present, leads him into the marriage-hall.... the girl keeps her eyes closed throughout the whole day, not opening them until the bridegroom is ushered into the marriage-booth, so that the first object she sees is her intended husband. on the first monday, thursday or friday after the marriage the bride is hid either in her own or in a neighbour's house. the bridegroom comes in state, and with the point of his sword touches the outer doors of seven houses, and then begins to search for his wife. the time is one of much fun and merriment, the women of the house bantering and taunting the bridegroom, especially when he is long in finding his wife's hiding-place. when she is found the bridegroom leads the bride to the marriage-hall, and they sit there combing each other's hair." in connection with their funeral ceremonies mr. bhimbhai kirparam gives the following particulars of the custom of beating the breasts: [507] "contrary to the gujarat practice of beating only the breast, the brahma-kshatri women beat the forehead, breast and knees. for thirteen days after a death women weep and beat their breasts thrice a day, at morning, noon and evening. afterwards they weep and beat their breasts every evening till a year has passed, not even excepting sundays, tuesdays or hindu holidays. during this year of mourning the female relations of the deceased used to eat nothing but millet-bread and pulse; but this custom is gradually being given up." khojah khojah. [508]--a small muhammadan sect of traders belonging to gujarat, who retain some hindu practices. they reside in wardha, nagpur and the berar districts, and numbered about 500 persons in 1911 as against 300 in 1901. the khojahs are muhammadans of the shia sect, and their ancestors were converted hindus of the lohana trading caste of sind, who are probably akin to the khatris. as shown in the article on cutchi, the cutchi or meman traders are also converted lohanas. the name khojah is a corruption of the turkish khwajah, lord, and this is supposed to be a muhammadan equivalent for the title thakur or thakkar applied to the lohanas. the khojahs belong to the nazarian branch of the egyptian ismailia sect, and the founder of this sect in persia was hasan sabah, who lived at the beginning of the eleventh century and founded the order of the fidawis or devotees, who were the assassins of the crusades. hasan subsequently threw off his allegiance to the egyptian caliph and made himself the head of his own sect with the title of shaikh-ul-jabal or lord. he was known to the crusaders as the 'old man of the mountain.' his third successor hasan (a.d. 1163) declared himself to be the unrevealed imam and preached that no action of a believer in him could be a sin. it is through this hasan that his highness the aga khan traces his descent from ali. subsequently emissaries of the sect came to india, and one pir sadr-ud-din converted the lohanas. according to one account this man was a hindu slave of imam hasan. sadr-ud-din preached that his master hasan was the nishkalanki or tenth incarnation of vishnu. the adam of the semitic story of the creation was identified with the hindu deity vishnu, the prophet muhammad with siva, and the first five imams of ismailia with the five pandava brothers. by this means the new faith was made more acceptable to the lohanas. in 1845 aga shah hasan ali, the ismailia unrevealed imam, came and settled in india, and his successor is his highness the aga khan. the khojahs retain some hindu customs. boys have their ears bored and a lock of hair is left on a child's head to be shaved and offered at some shrine. circumcision and the wearing of a beard are optional. they do not have mosques, but meet to pray at a lodge called the jama'at khana. they repeat the names of their pirs or saints on a rosary made of 101 beads of clay from karbala, the scene of the death of hasan and husain. at their marriages, deaths and on every new-moon day, contributions are levied which are sent to his highness the aga khan. "a remarkable feature at a khojah's death," mr. faridi states, "is the samarchhanta or holy drop. the jama'at officer asks the dying khojah whether he wishes for the holy drop, and if the latter agrees he must bequeath rs. 5 to rs. 500 to the jama'at. the officer dilutes a cake of karbala clay in water and moistens the lips of the dying man with it, sprinkling the remainder over his face, neck and chest. the touch of the holy drop is believed to save the departing soul from the temptation of the arch-fiend, and to remove the death-agony as completely as among the sunnis does the recital at a death-bed of the chapter of the koran known as the surah-i-ya-sin. if the dead man is old and grey-haired the hair after death is dyed with henna. a garland of cakes of karbala clay is tied round the neck of the corpse. if the body is to be buried locally two small circular patches of silk cloth cut from the covering of husain's tomb, called chashmah or spectacles, are laid over the eyes. those khojahs who can afford it have their bodies placed in air-tight coffins and transported to the field of karbala in persia to be buried there. the bodies are taken by steamer to baghdad, and thence by camel to karbala. "the khojahs are keen and enterprising traders, and are great travellers by land and sea, visiting and settling in distant countries for purposes of trade. they have business connections with ceylon, burma, singapore, china and japan, and with ports of the persian gulf, arabia and east africa. khojah boys go as apprentices in foreign khojah firms on salaries of rs. 200 to rs. 2000 a year with board and lodging." khond [509] [the principal authorities on the khonds are sir h. risley's tribes and castes of bengal, major-general campbell's wild tribes of khondistan, and major macpherson's report on the khonds of the districts of ganjam and cuttack (reprint, madras scottish united press, 1863). when the inquiries leading up to these volumes were undertaken, the central provinces contained a large body of the tribe, but the bulk of these have passed to bihar and orissa with the transfer of the kalahandi and patna states and the sambalpur district. nevertheless, as information of interest had been collected, it has been thought desirable to reproduce it, and sir james frazer's description of the human sacrifices formerly in vogue has been added. much of the original information contained in this article was furnished by mr. panda baijnath, extra assistant commissioner, when diwan of patna state. papers were also contributed by rai sahib dinbandhu patnaik, diwan of sonpur, mr. mian bhai, extra assistant commissioner, sambalpur, and mr. charu chandra ghose, deputy inspector of schools, kalahandi.] list of paragraphs 1. traditions of the tribe. 2. tribal divisions. 3. exogamous septs. 4. marriage. 5. customs at birth. 6. disposal of the dead. 7. occupation. 8. a khond combat. 9. social customs. 10. festivals. 11. religion. 12. human sacrifice. 13. last human sacrifices. 14. khond rising in 1882. 15. language. 1. traditions of the tribe. khond, kandh.1--a dravidian tribe found in the uriya-speaking tract of the sambalpur district and the adjoining feudatory states of patna and kalahandi, which up to 1905 were included in the central provinces, but now belong to bihar and orissa. the province formerly contained 168,000 khonds, but the number has been reduced to about 10,000, residing mainly in the khariar zamindari to the south-east of the raipur district and the sarangarh state. the tract inhabited by the khonds was known generally as the kondhan. the tribe call themselves kuiloka, or kuienju, which may possibly be derived from ko or ku, a telugu word for a mountain. [510] their own traditions as to their origin are of little historical value, but they were almost certainly at one time the rulers of the country in which they now reside. it was the custom until recently for the raja of kalahandi to sit on the lap of a khond on his accession while he received the oaths of fealty. the man who held the raja was the eldest member of a particular family, residing in the village of gugsai patna, and had the title of patnaji. the coronation of a new raja took place in this village, to which all the chiefs repaired. the patnaji would be seated on a large rock, richly dressed, with a cloth over his knees on which the raja sat. the diwan or minister then tied the turban of state on the raja's head, while all the other chiefs present held the ends of the cloth. the ceremony fell into abeyance when raghu kesari deo was made raja on the deposition of his predecessor for misconduct, as the patnaji refused to install a second raja, while one previously consecrated by him was still living. the raja was also accustomed to marry a khond girl as one of his wives, though latterly he did not allow her to live in the palace. these customs have lately been abandoned; they may probably be interpreted as a recognition that the rajas of kalahandi derived their rights from the khonds. many of the zamindari estates of kalahandi and sonpur are still held by members of the tribe. 2. tribal divisions. there is no strict endogamy within the khond tribe. it has two main divisions: the kutia khonds who are hillmen and retain their primitive tribal customs, and the plain-dwelling khonds who have acquired a tincture of hinduism. the kutia or hill khonds are said to be so called because they break the skulls of animals when they kill them for food; the word kutia meaning one who breaks or smashes. the plain-dwelling khonds have a number of subdivisions which are supposed to be endogamous, though the rule is not strictly observed. among these the raj khonds are the highest, and are usually landed proprietors. a man, however, is not considered to be a raj khond unless he possesses some land, and if a raj khond takes a bride from another group he descends to it. a similar rule applies among some of the other groups, a man being relegated to his wife's division when he marries into one which is lower than his own. the dal khonds may probably have been soldiers, the word dal meaning an army. they are also known as adi kandh or the superior khonds, and as balusudia or 'shaven.' at present they usually hold the honourable position of village priest, and have to a certain extent adopted hindu usages, refusing to eat fowls or buffaloes, and offering the leaves of the tulsi (basil) to their deities. the kandhanas are so called because they grow turmeric, which is considered rather a low thing to do, and the pakhia because they eat the flesh of the por or buffalo. the gauria are graziers, and the nagla or naked ones apparently take their name from their paucity of clothing. the utar or satbhuiyan are a degraded group, probably of illegitimate descent; for the other khonds will take daughters from them, but will not give their daughters to them. 3. exogamous septs. traditionally the khonds have thirty-two exogamous septs, but the number has now increased. all the members of one sept live in the same locality about some central village. thus the tupa sept are collected round the village of teplagarh in the patna state, the loa sept round sindhekala, the borga sept round bangomunda, and so on. the names of the septs are derived either from the names of villages or from titles or nicknames. each sept is further divided into a number of subsepts whose names are of a totemistic nature, being derived from animals, plants or natural objects. instances of these are bachhas calf, chhatra umbrella, hikoka horse, kelka the kingfisher, konjaka the monkey, mandinga an earthen pot, and so on. it is a very curious fact that while the names of the septs appear to belong to the khond language, those of the subsepts are all uriya words, and this affords some ground for the supposition that they are more recent than the septs, an opinion to which sir h. risley inclines. on the other hand, the fact that the subsepts have totemistic names appears difficult of explanation under this hypothesis. members of the subsept regard the animal or plant after which it is named as sacred. those of the kadam group will not stand under the tree of that name. those of the narsingha [511] sept will not kill a tiger or eat the meat of any animal wounded or killed by this animal. the same subsept will be found in several different septs, and a man may not marry a woman belonging either to the same sept or subsept as his own. but kinship through females is disregarded, and he may take his maternal uncle's daughter to wife, and in kalahandi is not debarred from wedding his mother's sister. [512] 4. marriage. marriage is adult and a large price, varying from 12 to 20 head of cattle, was formerly demanded for the bride. this has now, however, been reduced in some localities to two or three animals and a rupee each in lieu of the others, or cattle may be entirely dispensed with and some grain given. if a man cannot afford to purchase a bride he may serve his father-in-law for seven years as the condition of obtaining her. a proposal for marriage is made by placing a brass cup and three arrows at the door of the girl's father. he will remove these once to show his reluctance, and they will be again replaced. if he removes them a second time, it signifies his definite refusal of the match, but if he allows them to remain, the bridegroom's friends go to him and say, 'we have noticed a beautiful flower in passing through your village and desire to pluck it.' the wedding procession goes from the bride's to the bridegroom's house as among the gonds; this custom, as remarked by mr. bell, is not improbably a survival of marriage by capture, when the husband carried off his wife and married her at his own house. at the marriage the bride and bridegroom come out, each sitting on the shoulders of one of their relatives. the bridegroom pulls the bride to his side, when a piece of cloth is thrown over them, and they are tied together with a string of new yarn wound round them seven times. a cock is sacrificed, and the cheeks of the couple are singed with burnt bread. they pass the night in a veranda, and next day are taken to a tank, the bridegroom being armed with a bow and arrows. he shoots one through each of seven cowdung cakes, the bride after each shot washing his forehead and giving him a green twig for a tooth-brush and some sweets. this is symbolical of their future course of life, when the husband will procure food by hunting, while the wife will wait on him and prepare his food. sexual intercourse before marriage between a man and girl of the tribe is condoned so long as they are not within the prohibited degrees of relationship, and in kalahandi such liaisons are a matter of ordinary occurrence. if a girl is seduced by one man and subsequently married to another, the first lover usually pays the husband a sum of seven to twelve rupees as compensation. in sambalpur a girl may choose her own husband, and the couple commonly form an intimacy while engaged in agricultural work. such unions are known as udhlia or 'love in the fields.' if the parents raise any objection to the match the couple elope and return as man and wife, when they have to give a feast to the caste, and if the girl was previously betrothed to another man the husband must pay him compensation. in the last case the union is called paisa moli or marriage by purchase. a trace of fraternal polyandry survives in the custom by which the younger brothers are allowed access to the elder brother's wife till the time of their own marriage. widow-marriage and divorce are recognised. 5. customs at birth. for one day after a child has been born the mother is allowed no food. on the sixth day she herself shaves the child's head and bites his nails short with her teeth, after which she takes a bow and arrows and stands with the child facing successively to the four points of the compass. the idea of this is to make the child a skilful hunter when he grows up. children are named in their fifth or sixth year. names are sometimes given after some personal peculiarity, as lammudia, long-headed, or khanja, one having six fingers; or after some circumstance of the birth, as ghosian, in compliment to the ghasia (grass-cutter) woman who acts as midwife; jugi, because some holy mendicant (yogi) was halting in the village when the child was born; or a child may be named after the day of the week or month on which it was born. the tribe believe that the souls of the departed are born again as children, and boys have on occasion been named majhian budhi or the old head-woman, whom they suppose to have been born again with a change of sex. major macpherson observed the same belief: [513] "to determine the best name for the child, the priest drops grains of rice into a cup of water, naming with each grain a deceased ancestor. he pronounces, from the movements of the seed in the fluid, and from observations made on the person of the infant, which of his progenitors has reappeared in him, and the child generally, but not uniformly, receives the name of that ancestor." when the children are named, they are made to ride a goat or a pig, as a mark of respect, it is said, to the ancestor who has been reborn in them. names usually recur after the third generation. 6. disposal of the dead. the dead are buried as a rule, but the practice of cremating the bodies of adults is increasing. when a body is buried a rupee or a copper coin is tied in the sheet, so that the deceased may not go penniless to the other world. sometimes the dead man's clothes and bows and arrows are buried with him. on the tenth day the soul is brought back. outside the village, where two roads meet, rice is offered to a cock, and if it eats, this is a sign that the soul has come. the soul is then asked to ride on a bowstick covered with cloth, and is brought to the house and placed in a corner with those of other relatives. the souls are fed annually with rice on the harvest and dasahra festivals. in sambalpur a ball of powdered rice is placed under a tree with a lamp near it, and the first insect that settles on the ball is taken to be the soul, and is brought home and worshipped. the souls of infants who die before the umbilical cord has dropped are not brought back, because they are considered to have scarcely come into existence; and sir e. gait records that one of the causes of female infanticide was the belief that the souls of girl-children thus killed would not be born again, and hence the number of future female births would decrease. this belief partially conflicts with that of the change of sex on rebirth mentioned above; but the two might very well exist together. the souls of women who die during pregnancy or after a miscarriage, or during the monthly period of impurity are also not brought back, no doubt because they are held to be malignant spirits. 7. occupation. the khond traditionally despises all occupations except those of husbandry, hunting and war. "in orissa," sir h. risky states, "they claim full rights of property in the soil in virtue of having cleared the jungle and prepared the land for cultivation. in some villages individual ownership is unknown, and the land is cultivated on a system of temporary occupation subject to periodical redistribution under the orders of the headman or malik." like the other forest tribes they are improvident and fond of drink. macpherson [514] described the khonds as faithful to friends, devoted to their chiefs, resolute, brave, hospitable and laborious; but these high qualities meet with no recognition among the uriya hindus, who regard their stupidity as the salient attribute of the khonds and have various tales in derision of them, like those told of the weavers. they consider the khonds as only a little superior to the impure doms (musicians and sweepers), and say, 'kandh ghare domna mantri,' or 'in a kandh house the dom is prime minister.' this is paralleled by the similar relation between the gonds and pardhans. the arms of the khonds were a light, long-handled sword with a blade very curiously carved, the bow and arrow and the sling--no shields being used. the axe also was used with both hands, to strike and guard, its handle being partly defended by brass plates and wire for the latter purpose. the following description of a battle between rival khond clans was recorded by major macpherson as having been given to him by an eye-witness, and may be reproduced for its intrinsic interest; the fight was between the hostile tribes of bora muta and bora des in the gumsur territory: 8. a khond combat. "at about 12 o'clock in the day the people of bora des began to advance in a mass across the salki river, the boundary between the districts, into the plain of kurmingia, where a much smaller force was arrayed to oppose them. the combatants were protected from the neck to the loins by skins, and cloth was wound round their legs down to the heel, but the arms were quite bare. round the heads of many, too, cloth was wound, and for distinction the people of bora muta wore peacock's feathers in their hair, while those of bora des had cock's tail plumes. they advanced with horns blowing, and the gongs beat when they passed a village. the women followed behind carrying pots of water and food for refreshments, and the old men who were past bearing arms were there, giving advice and encouragement. as the adverse parties approached, showers of stones, handed by the women, flew from slings from either side, and when they came within range arrows came in flights and many fell back wounded. at length single combats sprang up betwixt individuals who advanced before the rest, and when the first man fell all rushed to dip their axes in his blood, and hacked the body to pieces. the first man who himself unwounded slew his opponent, struck off the latter's right arm and rushed with it to the priest in the rear, who bore it off as an offering to loha pennu (the iron god or the god of arms) in his grove. the right arms of the rest who fell were cut off in like manner and heaped in the rear beside the women, and to them the wounded were carried for care, and the fatigued men constantly retired for water. the conflict was at length general. all were engaged hand-to-hand, and now fought fiercely, now paused by common consent for a moment's breathing. in the end the men of bora des, although superior in numbers, began to give way, and before four o'clock they were driven across the salki, leaving sixty men dead on the field, while the killed on the side of the bora muta did not exceed thirty. and from the entire ignorance of the khonds of the simplest healing processes, at least an equal number of the wounded died after the battle. the right hands of the slain were hung up by both parties on the trees of the villages and the dead were carried off to be burned. the people of bora des the next morning flung a piece of bloody cloth on the field of battle, a challenge to renew the conflict which was quickly accepted, and so the contest was kept up for three days." the above account could, of course, find no place in a description of the khonds of this generation, but has been thought worthy of quotation, as detailed descriptions of the manner of fighting of these tribes, now weaned from war by the british government, are so rarely to be found. 9. social customs. the khonds will admit into the community a male orphan child of any superior caste, including the binjhwars and gonds. a virgin of any age of one of these castes will also be admitted. a gond man who takes a khond girl to wife can become a khond by giving a feast. as might be expected the tribe are closely connected with the gaurs or uriya shepherds, whose business leads them to frequent the forests. either a man or woman of the gaurs can be taken into the community on marrying a khond, and if a khond girl marries a gaur her children, though not herself, can become members of that caste. the khonds will eat all kinds of animals, including rats, snakes and lizards, but with the exception of the kutia khonds they have now given up beef. in kalahandi social delinquencies are punished by a fine of so many field-mice, which the khond considers a great delicacy. the catching of twenty to forty field-mice to liquidate the fine imposes on the culprit a large amount of trouble and labour, and when his task is completed his friends and neighbours fry the mice and have a feast with plenty of liquor, but he himself is not allowed to participate. khond women are profusely tattooed with figures of trees, flowers, fishes, crocodiles, lizards and scorpions on the calf of the leg and the arms, hands and chest, but seldom on the face. this is done for purposes of ornament. husband and wife do not mention each other's names, and a woman may not speak the names of any of her husband's younger brothers, as, if left a widow, she might subsequently have to marry one of them. a paternal or maternal aunt may not name her nephew, nor a man his younger brother's wife. 10. festivals. the tribe have three principal festivals, known as the semi jatra, the mahul jatra and the chawal dhuba jatra. the semi jatra is held on the tenth day of the waning moon of aghan (november) when the new semi or country beans are roasted, a goat or fowl is sacrificed, and some milk or water is offered to the earth god. from this day the tribe commence eating the new crop of beans. similarly the mahul jatra is held on the tenth of the waning moon of chait (march), and until this date a khond may eat boiled mahua flowers, but not roasted ones. the principal festival is the dasahra or chawal dhuba (boiled rice) on the tenth day of the waning moon of kunwar (september), which, in the case of the khonds, marks the rice-harvest. the new rice is washed and boiled and offered to the earth god with the same accompaniment as in the case of the semi jatra, and until this date the khond may not clean the new rice by washing it before being boiled, though he apparently may partake of it so long as it is not washed or cleaned, this rule and that regarding the mahua flowers being so made as concessions to convenience. 11. religion. the khond pantheon consists of eighty-four gods, of whom dharni deota, the earth god, is the chief. in former times the earth goddess was apparently female and was known as tari pennu or bera pennu. to her were offered the terrible human sacrifices presently to be described. there is nothing surprising in the change of sex of the divine being, for which parallels are forthcoming. thus in chhattisgarh the deity of the earth, who also received human sacrifices, is either thakur deo, a god, or thakurani mai, a goddess. deota is an aryan term, and the proper khond name for a god is pennu. the earth god is usually accompanied by bhatbarsi deota, the god of hunting. dharni deota is represented by a rectangular peg of wood driven into the ground, while bhatbarsi has a place at his feet in the shape of a piece of conglomerate stone covered with circular granules. once in four or five years a buffalo is offered to the earth god, in lieu of the human sacrifice which was formerly in vogue. the animal is predestined for sacrifice from its birth, and is allowed to wander loose and graze on the crops at its will. the stone representing bhatbarsi is examined periodically, and when the granules on it appear to have increased, it is decided that the time has come for the sacrifice. in kalahandi a lamb is sacrificed every year, and strips of its flesh distributed to all the villagers, who bury it in their fields as a divine agent of fertilisation, in the same way as the flesh of the human victim was formerly buried. the khond worships his bow and arrows before he goes out hunting, and believes that every hill and valley has its separate deity, who must be propitiated with the promise of a sacrifice before his territory is entered, or he will hide the animals within it from the hunter, and enable them to escape when wounded. these deities are closely related to each other, and it is important when arranging for an expedition to know the connection between them all; this information can be obtained from any one on whom the divine afflatus from time to time descends. 12. human sacrifice. the following account of the well-known system of human sacrifice, formerly in vogue among the khonds, is contained in sir james frazer's golden bough, having been compiled by him from the accounts of major macpherson and major-general john campbell, two of the officers deputed to suppress it: "the best known case of human sacrifices systematically offered to ensure good crops is supplied by the khonds or kandhs, another dravidian race in bengal. our knowledge of them is derived from the accounts written by british officers who, forty or fifty years ago, were engaged in putting them down. the sacrifices were offered to the earth-goddess, tari pennu or bera pennu, and were believed to ensure good crops and immunity from all disease and accidents. in particular they were considered necessary in the cultivation of turmeric, the khonds arguing that the turmeric could not have a deep red colour without the shedding of blood. the victim or meriah was acceptable to the goddess only if he had been purchased, or had been born a victim--that is the son of a victim father--or had been devoted as a child by his father or guardian. khonds in distress often sold their children for victims, 'considering the beatification of their souls certain, and their death, for the benefit of mankind, the most honourable possible.' a man of the panua (pan) tribe was once seen to load a khond with curses, and finally to spit in his face, because the khond had sold for a victim his own child, whom the panua had wished to marry. a party of khonds, who saw this, immediately pressed forward to comfort the seller of his child, saying, 'your child has died that all the world may live, and the earth-goddess herself will wipe that spittle from your face.' the victims were often kept for years before they were sacrificed. being regarded as consecrated beings, they were treated with extreme affection, mingled with deference, and were welcomed wherever they went. a meriah youth, on attaining maturity, was generally given a wife, who was herself usually a meriah or victim, and with her he received a portion of land and farm-stock. their offspring were also victims. human sacrifices were offered to the earth-goddess by tribes, branches of tribes, or villages, both at periodical festivals and on extraordinary occasions. the periodical sacrifices were generally so arranged by tribes and divisions of tribes that each head of a family was enabled, at least once a year, to procure a shred of flesh for his fields, generally about the time when his chief crop was laid down. the mode of performing these tribal sacrifices was as follows. ten or twelve days before the sacrifice, the victim was devoted by cutting off his hair, which, until then, had been kept unshorn. crowds of men and women assembled to witness the sacrifice; none might be excluded, since the sacrifice was declared to be for all mankind. it was preceded by several days of wild revelry and gross debauchery. on the day before the sacrifice the victim, dressed in a new garment, was led forth from the village in solemn procession, with music and dancing, to the meriah grove, a clump of high forest trees standing a little way from the village and untouched by the axe. here they tied him to a post, which was sometimes placed between two plants of the sankissar shrub. he was then anointed with oil, ghee and turmeric, and adorned with flowers; and 'a species of reverence, which it is not easy to distinguish from adoration,' was paid to him throughout the day. a great struggle now arose to obtain the smallest relic from his person; a particle of the turmeric paste with which he was smeared, or a drop of his spittle, was esteemed of sovereign virtue, especially by the women. the crowd danced round the post to music, and addressing the earth said, 'o god, we offer this sacrifice to you; give us good crops, seasons, and health.' "on the last morning the orgies, which had been scarcely interrupted during the night, were resumed and continued till noon, when they ceased, and the assembly proceeded to consummate the sacrifice. the victim was again anointed with oil, and each person touched the anointed part, and wiped the oil on his own head. in some places they took the victim in procession round the village, from door to door, where some plucked hair from his head, and others begged for a drop of his spittle, with which they anointed their heads. as the victim might not be bound nor make any show of resistance, the bones of his arms and, if necessary, his legs were broken; but often this precaution was rendered unnecessary by stupefying him with opium. the mode of putting him to death varied in different places. one of the commonest modes seems to have been strangulation, or squeezing to death. the branch of a green tree was cleft several feet down the middle; the victim's neck (in other places, his chest) was inserted in the cleft, which the priest, aided by his assistants, strove with all his force to close. then he wounded the victim slightly with his axe, whereupon the crowd rushed at the wretch and cut the flesh from the bones, leaving the head and bowels untouched. sometimes he was cut up alive. in chinna kimedy he was dragged along the fields, surrounded by the crowd, who, avoiding his head and intestines, hacked the flesh from his body with their knives till he died. another very common mode of sacrifice in the same district was to fasten the victim to the proboscis of a wooden elephant, which revolved on a stout post, and, as it whirled round, the crowd cut the flesh from the victim while life remained. in some villages major campbell found as many as fourteen of these wooden elephants, which had been used at sacrifices. [515] in one district the victim was put to death slowly by fire. a low stage was formed, sloping on either side like a roof; upon it they laid the victim, his limbs wound round with cords to confine his struggles. fires were then lighted and hot brands applied, to make him roll up and down the slopes of the stage as long as possible; for the more tears he shed the more abundant would be the supply of rain. next day the body was cut to pieces. "the flesh cut from the victim was instantly taken home by the persons who had been deputed by each village to bring it. to secure its rapid arrival it was sometimes forwarded by relays of men, and conveyed with postal fleetness fifty or sixty miles. in each village all who stayed at home fasted rigidly until the flesh arrived. the bearer deposited it in the place of public assembly, where it was received by the priest and the heads of families. the priest divided it into two portions, one of which he offered to the earth-goddess by burying it in a hole in the ground with his back turned, and without looking. then each man added a little earth to bury it, and the priest poured water on the spot from a hill gourd. the other portion of flesh he divided into as many shares as there were heads of houses present. each head of a house rolled his shred of flesh in leaves and buried it in his favourite field, placing it in the earth behind his back without looking. in some places each man carried his portion of flesh to the stream which watered his fields, and there hung it on a pole. for three days thereafter no house was swept; and, in one district, strict silence was observed, no fire might be given out, no wood cut, and no strangers received. the remains of the human victim (namely, the head, bowels and bones) were watched by strong parties the night after the sacrifice, and next morning they were burned along with a whole sheep, on a funeral pile. the ashes were scattered over the fields, laid as paste over the houses and granaries, or mixed with the new corn to preserve it from insects. sometimes, however, the head and bones were buried, not burnt. after the suppression of the human sacrifices, inferior victims were substituted in some places; for instance, in the capital of chinna kimedy a goat took the place of a human victim. "in these khond sacrifices the meriahs are represented by our authorities as victims offered to propitiate the earth-goddess. but from the treatment of the victims both before and after death it appears that the custom cannot be explained as merely a propitiatory sacrifice. a part of the flesh certainly was offered to the earth-goddess, but the rest of the flesh was buried by each householder in his fields, and the ashes of the other parts of the body were scattered over the fields, laid as paste on the granaries, or mixed with the new corn. these latter customs imply that to the body of the meriah there was ascribed a direct or intrinsic power of making the crops to grow, quite independent of the indirect efficacy which it might have as an offering to secure the good-will of the deity. in other words, the flesh and ashes of the victim were believed to be endowed with a magical or physical power of fertilising the land. the same intrinsic power was ascribed to the blood and tears of the meriah, his blood causing the redness of the turmeric, and his tears producing rain; for it can hardly be doubted that, originally at least, the tears were supposed to bring down the rain, not merely to prognosticate it. similarly the custom of pouring water on the buried flesh of the meriah was no doubt a rain-charm. again, magical power as an attribute of the meriah appears in the sovereign virtue believed to reside in anything that came from his person, as his hair or spittle. the ascription of such power to the meriah indicates that he was much more than a mere man sacrificed to propitiate a deity. once more, the extreme reverence paid him points to the same conclusion. major campbell speaks of the meriah as 'being regarded as something more than mortal,' and major macpherson says: 'a species of reverence, which it is not easy to distinguish from adoration, is paid to him.' in short, the meriah appears to have been regarded as divine. as such, he may originally have represented the earth-goddess, or perhaps a deity of vegetation, though in later times he came to be regarded rather as a victim offered to a deity than as himself an incarnate god. this later view of the meriah as a victim rather than a divinity may perhaps have received undue emphasis from the european writers who have described the khond religion. habituated to the later idea of sacrifice as an offering made to a god for the purpose of conciliating his favour, european observers are apt to interpret all religious slaughter in this sense, and to suppose that wherever such slaughter takes place, there must necessarily be a deity to whom the carnage is believed by the slayers to be acceptable. thus their preconceived ideas unconsciously colour and warp their descriptions of savage rites." [516] 13. last human sacrifices. in his ethnographic notes in southern india mr. thurston states: [517] "the last recorded meriah sacrifice in the ganjam maliahs occurred in 1852, and there are still khonds alive who were present at it. twenty-five descendants of persons who were reserved for sacrifice, but were rescued by government officers, returned themselves as meriah at the census of 1901. the khonds have now substituted a buffalo for a human being. the animal is hewn to pieces while alive, and the villagers rush home to their villages to bury the flesh in the soil, and so secure prosperous crops. the sacrifice is not unaccompanied by risk to the performers, as the buffalo, before dying, frequently kills one or more of its tormentors. it was stated by the officers of the maliah agency that there was reason to believe that the raja of jaipur (madras), when he was installed at his father's decease in 1860-61, sacrificed a girl thirteen years of age at the shrine of the goddess durga in the town of jaipur. the last attempted human sacrifice (which was nearly successful) in the vizagapatam district, among the kutia khonds, was, i believe, in 1880. but the memory of the abandoned practice is kept green by one of the khond songs, for a translation of which we are indebted to mr. j. e. friend-pereira: [518] at the time of the great kiabon (campbell) sahib's coming, the country was in darkness; it was enveloped in mist. having sent paiks to collect the people of the land, they, having surrounded them, caught the meriah sacrificers. having caught the meriah sacrificers, they brought them; and again they went and seized the evil councillors. having seen the chains and shackles, the people were afraid; murder and bloodshed were quelled. then the land became beautiful; and a certain mokodella (macpherson) sahib came. he destroyed the lairs of the tigers and bears in the hills and rocks, and taught wisdom to the people. after the lapse of a month he built bungalows and schools; and he advised them to learn reading and law. they learnt wisdom and reading; they acquired silver and gold. then all the people became wealthy. 14. khond rising in 1882. in 1882 an armed rising of the khonds of the kalahandi state occurred as a result of agrarian trouble. the feudatory chief had encouraged the settlement in the state of members of the kolta caste who are excellent cultivators and keenly acquisitive of land. they soon got the khonds heavily indebted to them for loans of food and seed-grain, and began to oust them from their villages. the khonds, recognising with some justice that this process was likely to end in their total expropriation from the soil, concerted a conspiracy, and in may 1882 rose and murdered the koltas of a number of villages. the signal for the outbreak was given by passing a knotted string from village to village; other signals were a bent arrow and a branch of a mahua tree. when the khond leaders were assembled an axe was thrown on to the ground and each of them grasping it in turn swore to join in the rising and support his fellows. the taint of cruelty in the tribe is shown by the fact that the kutia khonds, on being requested to join in the rising, replied that if plunder was the only object they would not do so, but if the koltas were to be murdered they agreed. some of the murdered koltas were anointed with turmeric and offered at temples, the khonds calling them their goats, and in one case a kolta is believed to have been made a meriah sacrifice to the earth god. the khonds appeared before the police, who were protecting a body of refugees at the village of norla, with the hair and scalps of their murdered victims tied to their bows. to the political officer, who was sent to suppress the rising, the khonds complained that the koltas had degraded them from the position of lords of the soil to that of servants, and justified their plundering of the koltas on the ground that they were merely taking back the produce of their own land, which the koltas had stolen from them. they said that if they were not to have back their land government might either drive them out of the country or exterminate them, and that koltas and khonds could no more live together than tigers and goats. another grievance was that a new raja of kalahandi had been installed without their consent having been obtained. the political officer, mr. berry, hanged seven of the khond ringleaders and effected a settlement of their grievances. peace was restored and has not since been broken. at a later date in the same year, 1882, and independently of the rising, a khond landholder was convicted and executed for having offered a five-year-old girl as a meriah sacrifice. 15. language. the khond or kandh language, called kui by the khonds themselves, is spoken by rather more than half of the total body of the tribe. it is much more nearly related to telugu than is gondi and has no written character. [519] kir 1. origin and traditions. kir. [520]--a cultivating caste found principally in the hoshangabad district. they numbered about 7000 persons in 1911. the kirs claim to have come from the jaipur state, and this is borne out by the fact that they still retain a dialect of marwari, though they have been living among the hindi-speaking population of hoshangabad for several generations. according to their traditions they immigrated into the central provinces when raja man was ruling at jaipur. he was a contemporary of akbar's and died in a.d. 1615. [521] this story tallies with colonel sleeman's statement that the first important influx of hindus into the nerbudda valley took place in the time of akbar. [522] the kirs are akin to the kirars, and at the india census of 1901 were amalgamated with them. like the kirars they claim to be descended from the mythical raja karan of jaipur. their story is that on a summer day mahadeo and parvati created a melon-garden, and mahadeo made a man and a woman out of a piece of kusha grass (eragrostis cynosuroides) to tend the garden. from these the kirs are descended. the name may possibly be a corruption of karar, a river-bank. 2. marriage. the kirs have no endogamous divisions. for the purpose of marriage the caste is divided into 12 1/2 gotras or sections. a man must not marry within his own gotra or in that to which his mother belonged. the names of the 12 gotras are as follows: namchuria, daima, bania, baman, nayar, jat, huwad, gadri, loharia, hekdya, mochi and mali, while the half-gotra contains the bhats or genealogists of the caste, who are not allowed to marry with the other subdivisions and have now formed one of their own. of the twelve names of gotras at least seven--baman (brahman), bania, mali, mochi, gadri (gadaria), loharia and jat--are derived from other castes, and this fact is sufficient to show that the origin of the kirs is occupational, and that they are made up of recruits from different castes. infant-marriage is customary, but no penalty is incurred if a girl remains unmarried after puberty. only the poorest members of the caste, however, fail to marry their daughters at an early age. for the marriage of girls who are left unprovided for, a subscription is raised among the caste-fellows in accordance with the usual hindu practice, the giving of money for this purpose being considered to be an especially pious act. at the time of the betrothal a bride-price called chari, varying between rs. 14 and rs. 20, is paid by the boy's father, and the deed of betrothal, called lagan, is then drawn up in the presence of the caste panchayat who are regaled with liquor purchased out of the bride-price. a peculiarity of the marriage ceremony is that the bridegroom is taken to the bride's house riding on a buffalo. this custom is noteworthy, since other hindus will not usually ride on a buffalo, as being the animal on which yama, the god of death, rides. after the marriage the bride returns to the bridegroom's house with the wedding party and stays there for eight days, during which period she worships the family gods of her father-in-law's house. the cost of the marriage is usually rs. 60 for the boy's party and rs. 40 for the girl's. but a widower on his remarriage has to spend double this sum. the ceremonies called gauna and rauna are both performed after the marriage. the former generally takes place within a year, the bride being dressed in special new clothes called bes, and sent with ceremony to her husband's house on an auspicious day fixed by a brahman. she remains there for two months and the marriage is consummated, when she returns to her father's house. four months afterwards the bridegroom again goes to fetch her and takes her away permanently, this being the rauna ceremony. no social stigma attaches to polygamy, and divorce is allowed on the usual grounds. widow-marriage is permitted, the ceremony consisting in giving new clothes and ornaments to the widow and feeding the panch for a day. 3. religion. the caste worships especially bhairon and devi, and each section of it reveres a special incarnation of devi, and the bhairon of some particular village. thus, for instance, the namchurias worship the goddess parvati and the bhairon of jaria gowara; the bania, nayar, hekdya and mochi septs worship chamunda mata and the bhairon of jaipur, and so on. members of the caste get triangular, rectangular or round pieces of silver impressed with the images of these gods, and wear them suspended by a thread from their necks. a similar respect is paid to the ahut or the spirit of a relative who has met with a violent death or died without progeny or as a bachelor, the spirits of such persons being always prone to trouble their living relatives. in order to appease them songs are sung in their praise on important festivals, the members of the family staying awake the whole night, and wearing their images on a silver piece round the neck. when they eat and drink they first touch the food with the image by way of offering it to the dead, so that their spirits may be appeased and refrain from harassing the living. kirs revere and worship the cow and the pipal tree. no kir may sell a cow to a butcher. a man who is about to die makes a present of a cow to a brahman or a temple in order that by catching hold of the tail of this cow he may be able to cross the horrible river vaitarni, the styx of hinduism, which bars the passage to the nether regions. the kirs believe in magic, and some members of the caste profess to cure snake-bite. the poison-curer, when sent for, has a small space cleared and plastered with cowdung, on which he draws lines with wheat flour. a new earthen pot is then brought and placed over the drawing. on the pot the operator draws a figure of hanuman in vermilion, and another figure on the nearest wall facing the pot. a brass plate is put over the pot and the person who has been bitten by the snake is brought near it. the snake-charmer then begins to name various gods and goddesses and to play upon the plate, which emits, it is said, a very melancholy sound. this performance is called bharni and is supposed to charm all beings, even gods and serpents. the snake who has inflicted the bite is then believed to appear in an invisible form to listen to the bharni, and to enter into the sufferer. the sufferer is questioned, being supposed to be possessed by the snake, and asked why the bite was inflicted and how the snake can be appeased. the replies are thought to be given by the snake, who explains that he was trampled on, or something to that effect, and asks that milk or some sweet-smelling article be placed at his hole. the offering is promised, and the snake is asked not to kill the sufferer, to which he agrees. the snake usually gives the history of his former human birth, stating his name and village and the cause of his transmigration into the body of a serpent. the kirs believe that human beings who commit offences are re-born as snakes, and they think that snakes live for a thousand years. after giving this information the snake departs, and the person who has been bitten is supposed to recover. the chief festivals of the kirs are diwali and sitala athain. they worship their ancestors at diwali, making offerings of cooked food, kusha grass and lamps made of dough at the river-side. the head of the family sprinkles water and throws the kusha grass into the river, lights the wicks placed in the lamps and burns a little food in them, calling on the names of his ancestors. the rest of the food he takes home and distributes to his caste-fellows. sitala athain is observed on the seventh day of the dark fortnight of chait. devi is worshipped at night with offerings of milk and whey, and on the next day no food is cooked, the remains of that of the previous day being eaten cold, and the whole day is devoted to singing the praises of the goddess. 4. birth and death ceremonies. the kirs usually burn their dead, but children under twelve are buried. the ashes and bones are either sent to the ganges or consigned to the nearest river or lake. children have only one name, which is given on the seventh day after birth by a brahman. during the birth ceremony the husband's younger brother catches hold of the skirt of the child's mother, who on this pays him a few pice and pulls away her cloth. if this custom has any meaning it is apparently in symbolical memory of polyandry, the women bribing her husband's younger brother so that he may not claim the child as his own. 5. food, dress and occupation. the kirs do not take food from any caste except the dadharia brahmans, who are marwaris, and act as their family priests. brahmans and other high castes will drink water brought in a brass vessel by a kir. the kirs eat no meat except goats' flesh and fish, but are much addicted to liquor, which is always conspicuous at their feasts and festivals. they have a caste panchayat, which deals with the ordinary offences. temporary excommunication is removed by the offender giving three feasts, on which an amount varying with his social position and means must be expended. the first of these is eaten on a river-bank, the second in a garden, and the third, which confers complete readmission to caste intercourse, in the offender's house. the kirs live along river-banks, where they grow melons in the sand and castor and vegetables in alluvial soil. they are considered very skilful at raising these crops, and fully appreciate the use of manure. for their own consumption they usually grow bajra and arhar, being, like all marwaris, very fond of bajra. the members of the caste are easily distinguished by their dress, the men wearing a white mirzai or short coat, a dhoti reaching to the knees, and a head-cloth placed in a crooked position on the head, so as to leave the hair of the scalp uncovered. they wear necklaces of black wooden beads, besides the images of bhairon and devi. the women wear jaipur chunris or over-cloths and ghanghras or skirts. they have red lac bangles on their wrists and arms above the elbow, and ornaments called ramjhul on their legs. the women have a gait like that of men. the speech of the kirs sounds like marwari, and they are peculiar in their preference for riding on buffaloes. kirar 1. origin and traditions. kirar [523] or kirad.--a cultivating caste found in the narsinghpur, hoshangabad, betul, seoni, chhindwara and nagpur districts. they numbered 48,000 persons in 1911. the kirars claim to be dhakar or bastard rajputs, and in 1891 more than half of them returned themselves under this designation. about a thousand persons who were returned as dhakar rajputs from hoshangabad in 1901 are probably kirars. the caste say that they immigrated from gwalior, and this statement seems to be correct, as about 66,000 of them are found in that state. they claim to have left gwalior as early as samvat 1525 or a.d. 1468, when alru and dalru, the leaders of the migration into the central provinces, abandoned their native village, doderi kheda in gwalior, and settled in chandon, a village in the sohagpur tahsil of hoshangabad. but according to the story related to mr. (sir charles) elliott, the migration took place in a.d. 1650 or at the beginning of aurangzeb's reign. [524] he quotes the names of the leaders as alrawat and dalrawat, and says that the migration took place from the dholpur country, but this is probably a mistake, as none of the caste are now found in dholpur. elliott stated that he could find no traces of any cultivating caste having settled in hoshangabad as far back as akbar's time, though sir w. sleeman was of opinion that the first great migration into the nerbudda valley took place in that reign. the truth is probably that the valley began to be regularly colonised by hindus during the years that aurangzeb spent at burhanpur and in the deccan, and the immigration of the kirars may most reasonably be attributed to this period. the kirars, gujars, and raghuvansis apparently entered the central provinces together, and the fact that they still smoke from the same huqqa and take water from each other's drinking vessels may be a reminiscence of this bond of fellowship. all these castes claim, and probably with truth, to be degraded rajputs. the kirars' version is that they took to widow-marriage and were consequently degraded. according to another story they were driven from their native place by a muhammadan invasion. mr. j. d. cunningham says that the word kirar in central india literally means dalesmen or foresters, but during the lapse of centuries has become the name of a caste. [525] another derivation is from kirar, a corn-chandler, an occupation which they may originally have followed in combination with agriculture. in the punjab the name kirar appears to be given to all the western or punjabi traders as distinct from a bania of hindustan, and is so used even in the kangra hills, but the arora, who is the trader par excellence of the south-west of the punjab, is the person to whom the term is most commonly applied. [526] as a curiosity of folk-etymology it may be stated that some derive the caste-name from the fact that a holy sage's wife, who was about to be delivered of a child, was being pursued by a rakshas or demon, and fell over the steep bank (karar) of a river and was thereupon delivered. the child was consequently called karar and became the ancestor of the kirar caste. the name may in fact be derived from the habit which the kirars have in some localities of cultivating on the banks of rivers, like the kirs, who are probably a branch of the same caste. 2. marriage. in the central provinces the kirars have no regular subcastes. in chhindwara a subdivision is in course of formation from the illegitimate offspring of male kirars, who are known as vidur or saoneria. the dhakar kirars do not marry or eat with saonerias. the section-names of the kirars are not eponymous, as might be anticipated from their claim to rajput descent, but they are generally territorial. instances are bankhedi, from bankhedi, a village in hoshangabad; garhya, from garha, near jubbulpore; and teharia, from tehri, a state in bundelkhand. other section-names are chaudharia, from chaudhari, headman; khandait or swordsman, and banda, or tailless. some gotras are derived from the names of other castes or subcastes, or of rajput septs, as loharia, from lohar (blacksmith); chauria, a subcaste of kurmis; lilorhia, a subcaste of gujars; and solanki and chauhan, the names of rajput septs. these names may probably be taken to indicate the mixed origin of the caste, and record the admission of families from other castes. a man cannot marry in his own gotra nor in the families of his grandmother, paternal uncle or maternal aunt to three degrees of consanguinity. boys and girls are usually married between the ages of five and twelve. marriages take place so long as the planet venus or shukra is visible at nights, i.e. between the months of aghan (november) and asarh (june). the proposal for marriage proceeds from the boy's father, who ascertains the wishes of the girl's father through a barber. if the latter is willing, the sagai or betrothal ceremony is performed at the girl's house. the boy's father proceeds there with a rupee, two pice and a cocoanut-core, which he presents to the girl, taking her into his lap. the fathers of the boy and girl embrace, and this seals the compact of betrothal. the date of the marriage is usually fixed in consultation with a brahman, who computes an auspicious day from the ceremonial names of the couple. but if it is desired to perform the marriage at once, it may take place on akhatij, or the third day of the bright fortnight of baisakh (april-may), which is always auspicious. the lagan or paper containing the date of the marriage is drawn up ceremonially by a brahman of the girl's house, and he also writes another, giving the names of the relatives who are selected to officiate at the ceremony. the first ceremony at the marriage is that of mangar mati, or bringing earth for ovens, the earth being worshipped by a burnt offering of butter and sugar, and then dug up by the sawasin or girl's attendant for the marriage, and carried home by several women in baskets. this is done in the morning, and in the evening the boy and girl in their respective houses are anointed with oil and turmeric, a little being first thrown on the ground for the family gods. this ceremony is repeated every evening for some three to fifteen days. the mandwa or marriage-shed is then erected at both houses, under which the ceremony of tel or touching the feet, knees, shoulders and forehead of the boy and the girl with oil is performed. next day the kham or marriage-post is placed in the mandwa, a little rice, turmeric and two pice being put in the hole in which it is fixed, and the shed is covered with leaves. the bridegroom, clad in a blanket and with date-leaves tied on his head, is taken out for the binaiki or the marriage procession on horseback. before mounting, he bows to mata or devi, mahabir, hardaul lala, and patel deo, the spirit of the deceased malguzar of the village. he is taken round to the houses of friends and relatives, who present him with a few pice. on his return he bathes and puts on the marriage dress, which consists of a red or yellow jama or gown, a pair of trousers, a pagri, a maur or marriage crown and a cloth about his waist. a few women's ornaments are put on his neck, and he is furnished with a katar or dagger, and in its absence a nutcracker or knife. he then comes out of the house and the parchhan ceremony is performed, the boy's mother putting her nipple in his mouth and giving him a little ghi and sugar to eat as a symbol of the termination of his infancy. the barat or marriage procession then sets out for the girl's village, being met on its outskirts by the bride's father, and the forehead of the bridegroom is marked with sandalwood paste. the bridegroom touches the mandwa with his hand or throws a bamboo fan over it and returns with his followers to the janwasa or lodging given to the barat. next morning the ceremony of chadhao or decorating the bride is performed, and the bridegroom's party give her the clothes and ornaments which they have brought for her, these being first offered to an image of ganesh made of cowdung. the bride is then mounted on a horse provided by the bridegroom's party and goes round to the houses of the friends of the family, accompanied by music and the women of her party, and receives small presents. the bhanwar ceremony is performed during the night, the couple being seated near the marriage-post with their backs to the house. a ball of kneaded flour is put in the girl's right hand, which is then placed on the right hand of the bridegroom, and the bride's brother pours water over their hands. the bride's maternal uncle and aunt, with the skirts of their clothes tied together, step forward and wash the feet of the couple and give them presents. the other relatives follow suit, and this completes the ceremony of paon pakhurai or daija, that is giving the dowry. the couple then go round the marriage-post seven times, the girl leading for the first four rounds and the boy for the last three. this is the bhanwar ceremony or binding portion of the marriage, and the polar star is called on to make it inviolable. the bridegroom's party are then feasted, the women meantime singing obscene songs. the bride goes back to the bridegroom's house and stays there for a few days, after which she returns to her parents' house and does not leave it again until the gauna ceremony is performed. on this occasion the bridegroom's party go to the girl's house with a present of sweets and clothes which they present to her parents, and they then take away the girl. even after this she is again sent back to her parents' house, and the bridegroom comes a second time to fetch her, on which occasion the parents of the bride have to make a present in return for the sweets and clothes previously given to them. the marriage expenses are said to average between rs. 50 and rs. 100, but the extravagance of kirars is notorious. sir r. craddock says [527] that they are much given to display, the richer members of the caste being heavily weighted with jewellery, while a well-to-do kirar will think nothing of spending rs. 1000 on his house, or if he is a landowner rs. 5000. extravagance ruins a great many of the kirar community. this statement, however, perhaps applies to those of the nagpur district rather than to their comrades of the nerbudda valley and satpura highlands. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and the widow may marry either her husband's younger brother or any other member of the caste at her choice. the ceremony takes place at night, the woman being brought to her husband's house by the back door and given a new cloth and bangles. turmeric is then applied to her body, and the clothes of the couple are tied together. when a bachelor marries a widow, he must first be married to an akau plant (swallow-wort). divorce may be effected for infidelity on the part of the wife or for serious disagreement. a divorced woman may marry again. polygamy is allowed, and in chhindwara is said to be restricted to three wives, all living within the district, but elsewhere no such limitation is enforced. a man seldom, however, takes more than one wife, except for the sake of children. 3. religion. they worship the ordinary hindu gods and especially devi, to whom they offer female kids. during the months of baisakh and jeth (april-june) those living in betul and chhindwara make a pilgrimage to the nag deo or cobra god, who is supposed to have his seat somewhere on the border of the two districts. every third year they also take their cattle outside the village, and turning their faces in the direction of the nag deo sprinkle a little water and kill goats and fowls. they worship the patel deo or spirit of the deceased malguzar of the village only on the occasion of marriages. they consider the service of the village headman to be their traditional occupation besides agriculture, and they therefore probably pay this special compliment to the spirit of their employer. they worship their implements of husbandry on some convenient day, which must be a wednesday or a sunday, after they have sown the spring crops. those who grow sugarcane offer a goat or a cocoanut to the crop before it is cut, and a similar offering is made to the stock of grain after harvest, so that its bulk may not decrease. they observe the ordinary festivals, and like other hindus cease to observe one on which a death has occurred in the family, until some happy event such as the birth of a child, or even of a calf, supervenes on the same day. unmarried children under seven and persons dying of smallpox, snake-bite or cholera are buried, and others are either buried or burnt according to the convenience of the family. males are placed on the pyre or in the grave on their faces and females on their backs, with their feet pointing to the south in each case. in some places the corpse is buried stark naked, and in others with a piece of cloth wrapped round it, and two pice are usually placed in the grave to buy the site. when a corpse is burnt the head is touched with a bamboo before it is laid on the funeral pyre, by way of breaking it in and allowing the soul to escape if it has not already done so. for three days the mourners place food, water and tobacco in cups for the disembodied soul. mourning is observed for children for three days and for adults from seven to ten days. during this period the mourners refrain from luxurious food such as flesh, turmeric, vegetables, milk and sweets; they do not wear shoes, nor change their clothes, and males are not shaved until the last day of mourning. balls of rice are then offered to the dead, and the caste people are feasted. oblations of water are offered to ancestors in the month of kunwar (september-october). 4. social customs. the caste do not admit outsiders. in the matter of food they eat flesh and fish, but abstain from liquor and from eating fowls, except in the maratha country. they will take pakka food or that cooked without water from gujars, raghuvansis and lodhis. in the nagpur country, where the difference between katcha and pakka food is not usually observed, they will not take it from any but maratha brahmans. abirs and dhimars are said to eat with them, and the northern brahmans will take water from them. they have a caste panchayat or committee with a hereditary president called sethia, whose business it is to eat first when admitting a person who has been put out of caste. killing a cat or a squirrel, selling a cow to a butcher, growing hemp or selling shoes are offences which entail temporary excommunication from caste. a woman who commits adultery with a man of another caste is permanently excluded. the kirars are tall in stature and well and stoutly built. they have regular features and are generally of a fair colour. they are regarded as quarrelsome and untruthful, and as tyrannical landlords. as agriculturists they are supposed to be of encroaching tendencies, and the proverbial prayer attributed to them is, "o god, give me two bullocks, and i shall plough up the common way." another proverb quoted in mr. standen's betul settlement report, in illustration of their avarice, is "if you put a rupee between two kirars, they become like mast buffaloes in kunwar." the men always wear turbans, while the women may be distinguished in the maratha country by their adherence to the dress of the northern districts. girls are tattooed on the back of their hands before they begin to live with their husbands. a woman may not name her husband's elder brother or even touch his clothes or the vessels in which he has eaten food. they are not distinguished for cleanliness. 5. occupation. agriculture and the service of the village headman are the traditional occupations of kirars. in nagpur they are considered to be very good cultivators, but they have no special reputation in the northern districts. about a thousand of them are landowners, and the large majority are tenants. they grow garden crops and sugarcane, but abstain from the cultivation of hemp. kohli 1. general notice. kohli.--a small caste of cultivators found in the marathi-speaking tracts of the wainganga valley, comprised in the bhandara and chanda districts. they numbered about 26,000 persons in 1911. the kohlis are a notable caste as being the builders of the great irrigation reservoirs or tanks, for which the wainganga valley is celebrated. the water is used for irrigating rice and sugarcane, the latter being the favourite crop of the kohlis. the origin of the caste is somewhat doubtful. the name closely resembles that of the koiri caste of market-gardeners in northern india; and the terms kohiri and kohli are used there as variations of the caste name koiri. the caste themselves have a tradition that they were brought to bhandara from benares by one of the gond kings of chanda on his return from a visit to that place; [528] and the kohlis of bhandara say that their first settlement in the central provinces was at lanji, which lies north of bhandara in balaghat. but on the other hand all that is known of their language, customs, and sept or family names points to a purely maratha origin, the caste being in all these respects closely analogous to the kunbis. the settlement officer of chanda, colonel lucie smith, stated that they thought their forefathers came from the south. they tie their head-cloths in a similar fashion to the gandlis, who are oilmen from the telugu country. if they belonged to the south of india they might be an offshoot from the well-known koli tribe of bombay, and this hypothesis appears the more probable. as a general rule castes from northern india settling in the maratha country have not completely abandoned their ancestral language and customs even after a residence of several centuries. in the case of such castes as the panwars and bhoyars their foreign extraction can be detected at once; and if the kohlis had come from hindustan the rule would probably hold good with them. on the other hand the kolis have in some parts of bombay now taken to cultivation and closely resemble the kunbis. in satara it is said [529] that they associate and occasionally eat with kunbis, and their social and religious customs resemble those of the kunbi caste. they are quiet, orderly, settled and hard-working. besides fishing they work ferries along the krishna, are employed in villages as water-carriers, and grow melons in river-beds with much skill. the kolis of bombay are presumably the same tribe as the kols of chota nagpur, and they probably migrated to gujarat along the vindhyan plateau, where they are found in considerable numbers, and over the hills of rajputana and central india. the kols are one of the most adaptive of all the non-aryan tribes, and when they reached the sea they may have become fishermen and boatmen, and practised these callings also in rivers. from plying on rivers they might take to cultivating melons and garden-crops on the stretches of silt left uncovered in their beds in the dry season, which is the common custom of the boating and fishing castes. and from this, as seen in satara, some of them attained to regular cultivation and, modelling themselves on the kunbis, came to have nearly the same status. they may thus have migrated to chanda and bhandara with the kunbis, as their language and customs would indicate, and retaining their preference for irrigated and garden-crops have become expert growers of sugarcane. the description which has been received of the kohlis of bhandara would be rather favourable than otherwise to the hypothesis of their ultimate origin from the kol tribe, allowing for their having acquired the maratha language and customs from a lengthened residence in bombay. it has been mentioned above that the kohlis have a legend of their ancestors having come from benares, but this story appears to be not infrequently devised as a means of obtaining increased social estimation, benares being the principal centre of orthodox hinduism. thus the dangris, a small caste of vegetableand melon-growers who are certainly an offshoot of the kunbis, and therefore of maratha extraction, have the same story. as regards the tradition of the bhandara kohlis that their first settlement was at lanji, this may well have been the case even though they came from the south, as lanji was an important place and a centre of administration under the marathas. it is probable, however, that they first came to chanda and from here spread north to lanji, as, if they had entered bhandara through wardha and nagpur, some of them would probably have remained in these districts. 2. marriage and other customs. the kohlis have no subcastes. they are divided into the usual exogamous groups or septs with the object of preventing marriages between relations, and these have marathi names of the territorial or titular type. among them may be mentioned handifode (one who breaks a cooking vessel), sahre (from shahar, a town), nagpure (from nagpur), shende (from shend, cowdung), parwate (from parwat, mountain), hatwade (an obstinate man), mungus-mare (one who killed a mongoose), pustode (one who broke a bullock's tail), and so on. marriage within the sept is prohibited. a brother's daughter may be married to his sister's son, but not vice versa. girls are usually wedded before arriving at adolescence, more especially as there is a great demand for brides. like other castes engaged in spade cultivation, the kohlis marry two or more wives when they can afford it, a wife being a more willing servant than a hired labourer, apart from the other advantages. if his wives do not get on together, the kohli gives them separate huts in his courtyard, where each lives and cooks her meals for herself. he will also allot them separate tasks, assigning to one the care of his household affairs, to another the watching of his sugarcane plot, and so on. if he does this successfully the wives are kept well at work and have not time to quarrel. it is said that whenever a kohli has a bountiful harvest he looks out for another wife. this naturally leads to a scarcity of women and the payment of a substantial bride-price. the recognised amount is rs. 30, but this is only formal, and from rs. 50 to rs. 150 may be given according to the attractions of the girl, the largest sum being paid for a woman of full age who can go and live with her husband at once. as a consequence of this state of things poor men are sometimes unable to get wives at all. though they pay highly for their wives the kohlis are averse to extravagant expenditure on weddings, and all marriages in a village are generally celebrated on the same day once a year, the number of guests at each being thus necessarily restricted. the officiating brahman ascends the roof of a house and, after beating a brass dish to warn the parties, repeats the marriage texts as the sun goes down. at this moment all the couples place garlands of flowers on each other's shoulders, each bridegroom ties the mangal-sutram or necklace of black beads round his bride's neck, and the weddings are completed. the bride's brother winds a thread round the marriage crowns of the couple and is given two rupees for untying it. the services of a brahman are not indispensable, and an elder of the caste may officiate as priest. next day the barber and washerman take the bridegroom and bride in their arms and dance, holding them, to the accompaniment of music, while the women throw red rose-powder over the couple. at their weddings the kohlis make models in wood of a chamar's rampi or knife and khurpa or scraper, this custom perhaps indicating some connection with the chamars; or it may have arisen simply on account of the important assistance rendered by the chamar to the cultivation of sugarcane, in supplying the mot or leather bag for raising water from the well. after the wedding is over a string of hemp from a cot is tied round the necks of the pair, and their maternal uncles then run and offer it at the shrine of marai mata, the goddess of cholera. widows with any remains of youth or personal attractions always marry again, the ceremony being held at midnight according to the customary ritual of the maratha districts. [530] sometimes the husband does not attend at all, and the widow is united to a sword or dagger as representing him. otherwise the widow may be conducted to her new husband's house by five other widows, and in this case they halt at a stream by the way and the bangles and beads are broken from off her neck and wrists. on account, perhaps, of the utility of their wives, and the social temptations which beset them from being continually abroad at work, the kohlis are lenient to conjugal offences, and a woman going wrong even with an outsider will be taken back by her husband and only a trifling punishment imposed by the caste. a kohli can also keep a woman of any other caste, except of those regarded as impure, without incurring any censure. divorce is very seldom resorted to and involves severe penalties to both parties. as among the panwars, a wife retains any property she may bring to her husband and her wedding gifts at her own disposal, this separate portion being known as khamora. the caste burn their dead when they can afford it, placing the head of the corpse to the north on the pyre. the bodies of those who have died from cholera or smallpox are buried. like the panwars it is the custom of the kohlis on bathing after a funeral to have a meal of cakes and sugar on the river-bank, a practice which is looked down on by orthodox hindus. after a month or so the deceased person is considered to be united to the ancestors, and when he was the head of the family his successor is inducted to the position by the presentation of a new head-cloth and a silver bangle. the bereaved family are then formally escorted to the weekly market and are considered to have resumed their regular social relations. the kohlis revere the ordinary hindu deities, and on the day of dasahra they worship their axe, sickle and ploughshare by washing them and making an offering of rice, flowers and turmeric. the axe is no doubt included because it serves to cut the wood for fencing the sugarcane garden. 3. the kohlis as tank-builders. the kohlis were the builders of the great tanks of the bhandara district. the most important of these are nawegaon with an area of five square miles and a circumference of seventeen, and seoni, over seven miles round, while smaller tanks are counted by thousands. though the largest are the work of the kohlis, many of the others have been constructed by the panwars of this tract, who have also much aptitude for irrigation. built as they were without technical engineering knowledge, the tanks form an enduring monument to the native ability and industry of these enterprising cultivators. "working," mr. danks remarks, [531] "without instruments, unable even to take a level, finding out their mistakes by the destruction of the works they had built, ever repairing, reconstructing, altering, they have raised in every village a testimony to their wisdom, their industry and their perseverance." although nawegaon tank has a water area of seven square miles, the combined length of the two artificial embankments is only 760 yards, and this demonstrates the great skill with which the site has been selected. at some of the tanks men are stationed day and night during the rainy season to see if the embankment is anywhere weakened by the action of the water, and in that case to give the alarm to the village by beating a drum. the nawegaon tank is said to have been built at the commencement of the eighteenth century by one kolu patel kohli. as might be expected, kolu patel has been deified as kolasur deo, and his shrine is on one of the peaks surrounding the tank. seven other peaks are known as the sat bahini or 'seven sisters,' and it is said that these deities assisted kolu in building the tank, by coming and working on the embankment at night when the labourers had left. some whitish-yellow stones on kolasur's hill are said to be the baskets of the seven sisters in which they carried earth. "the kohli," mr. napier states, [532] "sacrifices all to his sugarcane, his one ambition and his one extravagance being to build a large reservoir which will contain water for the irrigation of his sugarcane during the long, hot months." each rates the other according to the size of his tank and the strength of its embankment. under the gond kings a man who built a tank received a grant of the fields lying below it either free of revenue or on a very light assessment. such grants were known as tukm, and were probably a considerable incentive to tank-building. unfortunately sugarcane, formerly a most profitable crop, has been undersold by the canaland tank-irrigated product of northern india, and at present scarcely repays cultivation. 4. agricultural customs. the kohli villages are managed on a somewhat patriarchal system, and the dealings between proprietors and cultivators are regulated by their own custom without much regard to the rules imposed by government. mr. napier says of them: [533] "the kohlis are very good landlords as a general rule; but in their dealings with their tenants and their labourers follow their own customs, while the provisions of the tenancy act often remain in abeyance. they admit no tenant right in land capable of being irrigated for sugarcane, and change the tenants as they please; and in many villages a large number of the labourers are practically serfs, being fed, clothed and married by their employers, for whom they and their children work all their lives without any fixed wages. these customs are acquiesced in by all parties, and, so far as i could learn, there was no discontent. they have a splendid caste discipline, and their quarrels are settled expeditiously by their panchayats or committees without reference to courts of law." 5. general characteristics. in appearance and character the kohlis cannot be said to show much trace of distinction. the men wear a short white bandi or coat, and a small head-cloth only three feet long. this is often scarcely more than a handkerchief which tightly covers the crown, and terminates in knots, inelegant and cheap. the women wear glass bangles only on the left hand and brass or silver ones on the right, no doubt because glass ornaments would interfere with their work and get broken. their cloth is drawn over the left shoulder instead of the right, a custom which they share with gonds, kapewars and buruds. in appearance the caste are generally dirty. they are ignorant themselves and do not care that their children should be educated. their custom of polygamy leads to family quarrels and excessive subdivision of property; thus in one village, ashti, the proprietary right is divided into 192 shares. on this account they are seldom well-to-do. their countenances are of a somewhat inferior type and generally dark in colour. in character they are peaceful and amenable, and have the reputation of being very respectful to government officials, who as a consequence look on them with favour. 'their heart is good,' a tahsildar [534] of the bhandara district remarked. if a guest comes to a kohli, the host himself offers to wash his feet, and if the guest be a brahman, will insist on doing so. they eat flesh and fowls, but abstain from liquor. in social status they are on a level with the malis and a little below the regular cultivating castes. kol [this article is based mainly on colonel dalton's classical description of the mundas and hos in the ethnology of bengal and on sir h. risley's article on munda in the tribes and castes of bengal. extracts have also been made from mr. sarat chandra roy's exhaustive account in the mundas and their country (calcutta, 1912). information on the mundas and kols of the central provinces has been collected by mr. hira lal in raigarh and by the author in mandla, and a monograph has been furnished by mr. b. c. mazumdar, pleader, sambalpur. it should be mentioned that most of the kols of the central provinces have abandoned the old tribal customs and religion described by colonel dalton, and are rapidly coming to resemble an ordinary low hindu caste.] list of paragraphs 1. general notice. strength of the kols in india. 2. names of the tribe. 3. origin of the kolarian tribes. 4. the kolarians and dravidians. 5. date of the dravidian immigration. 6. strength of the kols in the central provinces. 7. legend of origin. 8. tribal subdivisions. 9. totemism. 10. marriage customs. 11. divorce and widow-marriage. 12. religion. 13. witchcraft. 14. funeral rites. 15. inheritance. 16. physical appearance. 17. dances. 18. social rules and offences. 19. the caste panchayat. 20. names. 21. occupation. 22. language. 1. general notice. strength of the kols in india. kol, munda, ho.--a great tribe of chota nagpur, which has given its name to the kolarian family of tribes and languages. a part of the district of singhbhum near chaibasa is named the kolhan as being the special home of the larka kols, but they are distributed all over chota nagpur, whence they have spread to the united provinces, central provinces and central india. it seems probable also that the koli tribe of gujarat may be an offshoot of the kols, who migrated there by way of central india. if the total of the kols, mundas and hos or larka kols be taken together they number about a million persons in india. the real strength of the tribe is, however, much greater than this. as shown in the article on that tribe, the santals are a branch of the kols, who have broken off from the parent stock and been given a separate designation by the hindus. they numbered two millions in 1911. the bhumij (400,000) are also probably a section of the tribe. sir h. risley [535] states that they are closely allied to if not identical with the mundas. in some localities they intermarry with the mundas and are known as bhumij munda. [536] if the kolis also be taken as an offshoot of the kol tribe, a further addition of nearly three millions is made to the tribes whose parentage can be traced to this stock. there is little doubt also that other kolarian tribes, as the kharias, khairwars, korwas and korkus, whose tribal languages closely approximate to mundari, were originally one with the mundas, but have been separated for so long a period that their direct connection can no longer be proved. the disintegrating causes, which have split up what was originally one into a number of distinct tribes, are probably no more than distance and settlement in different parts of the country, leading to cessation of intermarriage and social intercourse. the tribes have then obtained some variation in the original name or been given separate territorial or occupational designations by the hindus and their former identity has gradually been forgotten. 2. names of the tribe. "the word kol is probably the santali har, a man. this word is used under various forms, such as har, hara, ho and koro by most munda tribes in order to denote themselves. the change of r to l is familiar and does not give rise to any difficulty." [537] the word korku is simply a corruption of kodaku, young men, and there is every probability that the hindus, hearing the kol tribe call themselves hor or horo, may have corrupted the name to a form more familiar to themselves. an alternative derivation from the sanskrit word kola, a pig, is improbable. but it is possible, as suggested by sir g. grierson, that after the name had been given, its sanskrit meaning of pig may have added zest to its employment by the hindus. the word munda, sir h. risley states, is the common term employed by the kols for the headman of a village, and has come into general use as an honorific title, as the santals call themselves manjhi, the gonds bhoi, and the bhangis and other sweepers mehtar. munda, like mehtar, originally a title, has become a popular alternative name for the caste. in chota nagpur those kols who have partly adopted hinduism and become to some degree civilised are commonly known as munda, while the name ho or larka kol is reserved for the branch of the tribe in singhbhum who, as stated by colonel dalton, "from their jealous isolation for so many years, their independence, their long occupation of one territory, and their contempt for all other classes that come in contact with them, especially the hindus, probably furnish the best illustration, not of the mundaris in their present state, but of what, if left to themselves and permanently located, they were likely to become. even at the present day the exclusiveness of the old hos is remarkable. they will not allow aliens to hold land near their villages; and indeed if it were left to them no strangers would be permitted to settle in the kolhan." it is this branch of the tribe whose members have come several times into contact with british troops, and on account of their bravery and warlike disposition they are called the larka or fighting kols. the mundas on the other hand appear now to be a very mixed group. the list of their subcastes given [538] by sir h. risley includes the khangar, kharia, mahali, oraon and savar mundas, all of which are the names of separate tribes, now considered as distinct, though with the exception of the oraons they were perhaps originally offshoots of the kols or akin to them; while the bhuinhar or landholders and nagvansi or mundas of the royal house are apparently the aristocracy of the original tribe. it would appear possible from the list of sub-tribes already given that the village headmen of other tribes, having adopted the designation of munda and intermarried with other headmen so as to make a superior group, have in some cases been admitted into the munda tribe, which may enjoy a higher rank than other tribes as the raja of chota nagpur belongs to it; but it is also quite likely that these groups may have simply arisen from the intermarriages of mundas with other tribes, alliances of this sort being common. the kols of the central provinces probably belong to the munda tribe of chota nagpur, and not to the hos or larka kols, as the latter would be less likely to emigrate. but quite a separate set of subcastes is found here, which will be given later. 3. origin of the kolarian tribes. the munda languages have been shown by sir g. grierson to have originated from the same source as those spoken in the indo-pacific islands and the malay peninsula. "the mundas, the mon-khmer, the wild tribes of the malay peninsula and the nicobarese all use forms of speech which can be traced back to a common source though they mutually differ widely from each other." [539] it would appear therefore that the mundas, the oldest known inhabitants of india, perhaps came originally from the south-east, the islands of the indian archipelago and the malay peninsula, unless india was their original home and these countries were colonised from it. sir e. gait states: "geologists tell us that the indian peninsula was formerly cut off from the north of asia by sea, while a land connection existed on the one side with madagascar and on the other with the malay archipelago; and though there is nothing to show that india was then inhabited we know that it was so in palaeolithic times, when communication was probably still easier with the countries to the north-east and south-west than with those beyond the himalayas." [540] in the south of india, however, no traces of munda languages remain at present, and it seems therefore necessary to conclude that the mundas of the central provinces and chota nagpur have been separated from the tribes of malaysia who speak cognate languages for an indefinitely long period, or else that they did not come through southern india to these countries, but by way of assam and bengal or by sea through orissa. there is good reason to believe from the names of places and from local tradition that the munda tribes were once spread over bihar and parts of the ganges valley; and if the kolis are an offshoot of the kols, as is supposed, they also penetrated across central india to the sea in gujarat and the hills of the western ghats. it is presumed that the advance of the aryans or hindus drove the mundas from the open country to the seclusion of the hills and forests. the munda and dravidian languages are shown by sir g. grierson to be distinct groups without any real connection. 4. the kolarians and dravidians. though the physical characteristics of the two sets of tribes display no marked points of difference, it has been generally held by ethnologists who know them that they represent two distinct waves of immigration, and the absence of connection between their languages bears out this view. it has always been supposed that the mundas were in the country of chota nagpur and the central provinces first, and that the dravidians, the gonds, khonds and oraons came afterwards. the grounds for this view are the more advanced culture of the dravidians; the fact that where the two sets of tribes are in contact those of the munda group have been ousted from the more open and fertile country, of which according to tradition they were formerly in possession; and the practice of the gonds and other dravidian tribes of employing the baigas, bhuiyas and other munda tribes for their village priests, which is an acknowledgment that the latter as the earlier residents have a more familiar acquaintance with the local deities, and can solicit their favour and protection with more prospect of success. such a belief is the more easily understood when it is remembered that these deities are not infrequently either the human ancestors of the earliest residents or the local animals and plants from which they supposed themselves to be descended. 5. date of the dravidian immigration. the dravidian languages, gondi, kurukh and khond, are of one family with tamil, telugu, malayalam and canarese, and their home is the south of india. as stated [541] by sir e. gait, there is at present no evidence to show that the dravidians came to southern india from any other part of the world, and for anything that is known to the contrary the languages may have originated there. the existence of the small brahui tribe in baluchistan, who speak a dravidian language but have no physical resemblance to other dravidian races, cannot be satisfactorily explained, but as he points out this is no reason for holding that the whole body of speakers of dravidian languages entered india from the north-west, and, with the exception of this small group of brahuis, penetrated to the south of india and settled there without leaving any traces of their passage. the dravidian languages occupy a large area in madras, mysore and hyderabad, and they extend north into the central provinces and chota nagpur, where they die out, practically not being found west and north of this tract. as the languages are more highly developed and the culture of their speakers is far more advanced in the south, it is justifiable to suppose, pending evidence to the contrary, that the south is their home and that they have spread thence as far north as the central provinces. the gonds and oraons too have stories to the effect that they came from the south. it has hitherto been believed, at least in the central provinces, that both the gonds and baigas have been settled in this territory for an indefinite period, that is, from prior to any aryan or hindu immigration. mr. h. a. crump, however, has questioned this assumption. he points out that the baiga tribe have entirely lost their own language and speak a dialect of chhattisgarhi hindi in mandla, while half the gonds still speak gondi. if the baigas and gonds were settled here together before the arrival of any hindus, how is it that the baigas do not speak gondi instead of hindi? a comparison of the caste and language tables of the census of 1901 shows that several of the munda tribes have entirely lost their own language, among these being the binjhwar, baiga, bhaina, bhuiya, bhumij, chero and khairwar, and the bhils and kolis if these are held to be munda tribes. none of these tribes have adopted a dravidian language, but all speak corrupt forms of the current aryan vernaculars derived from sanskrit. the mundas and hos themselves with the kharias, santals and korkus retain munda languages. on the other hand a half of the gonds, nearly all the oraons and three-fourths of the khonds still preserve their own dravidian speech. it would therefore seem that the munda tribes who speak aryan vernaculars must have been in close contact with hindu peoples at the time they lost their own language and not with gonds or oraons. in the central provinces it is known that rajput dynasties were ruling in jubbulpore from the sixth to the twelfth century, in seoni about the sixth century and in bhandak near chanda from an early period as well as at ratanpur in chhattisgarh. from about the twelfth century these disappear and there is a blank till the fourteenth century or later, when gond kingdoms are found established at kherla in betul, at deogarh in chhindwara, at garha-mandla [542] including the jubbulpore country, and at chanda fourteen miles from bhandak. it seems clear then that the hindu dynasties were subverted by the gonds after the muhammadan invasions of northern india had weakened or destroyed the central powers of the hindus and prevented any assistance being afforded to the outlying settlements. but it seems prima facie more likely that the hindu kingdoms of the central provinces should have been destroyed by an invasion of barbarians from without rather than by successful risings of their own subjects once thoroughly subdued. the haihaya rajput dynasty of ratanpur was the only one which survived, all the others being supplanted by gond states. if then the gond incursion was subsequent to the establishment of the old hindu kingdoms, its probable date may be placed from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries, the subjugation of the greater part of the province being no doubt a gradual affair. in favour of this it may be noted that some recollection still exists of the settlement of the oraons in chota nagpur being later than that of the mundas, while if it had taken place long before this time all tradition of it would probably have been forgotten. in chhindwara the legend still remains that the founder of the deogarh gond dynasty, jatba, slew and supplanted the gaoli kings ransur and ghansur, who were previously ruling on the plateau. and the bastar raj-gond rajas have a story that they came from warangal in the south so late as the fourteenth century, accompanied by the ancestors of some of the existing bastar tribes. jadu rai, the founder of the gond-rajput dynasty of garha-mandla, is supposed to have lived near the godavari. a large section of the gonds of the central provinces are known as rawanvansi or of the race of rawan, the demon king of ceylon, who was conquered by rama. the oraons also claim to be descended from rawan. [543] this name and story must clearly have been given to the tribes by the hindus, and the explanation appears to be that the hindus considered the dravidian gonds and oraons to have been the enemy encountered in the aryan expedition to southern india and ceylon, which is dimly recorded in the legend of rama. on the other hand the bhuiyas, a munda tribe, call themselves pawan-ka-put or children of the wind, that is of the race of hanuman, who was the son of the wind; and this name would appear to show, as suggested by colonel dalton, that the munda tribes gave assistance to the aryan expedition and accompanied it, an alliance which has been preserved in the tale of the exploits of hanuman and his army of apes. similarly the name of the ramosi caste of berar is a corruption of ramvansi or of the race of rama; and the ramosis appear to be an offshoot of the bhils or kolis, both of whom are not improbably munda tribes. a hindu writer compared the bhil auxiliaries in the camp of the famous chalukya rajput king sidhraj of gujarat to hanuman and his apes, on account of their agility. [544] these instances seem to be in favour of the idea that the munda tribes assisted the aryans, and if this were the case it would appear to be a legitimate inference that at the same period the dravidian tribes were still in southern india and not mixed up with the munda tribes in the central provinces and chota nagpur as at present. though the evidence is perhaps not very strong, the hypothesis, as suggested by mr. crump, that the settlement of the gonds in the central provinces is comparatively recent and subsequent to the early rajput dynasties, is well worth putting forward. 6. strength of the kols in the central provinces. in the central provinces the kols and mundas numbered 85,000 persons in 1911. the name kol is in general use except in the chota nagpur states, but it seems probable that the kols who have immigrated here really belong to the munda tribe of chota nagpur. about 52,000 kols, or nearly a third of the total number, reside in the jubbulpore district, and the remainder are scattered over all districts and states of the province. 7. legend of origin. the kol legend of origin is that sing-bonga or the sun created a boy and a girl and put them together in a cave to people the world; but finding them to be too innocent to give hope of progeny he instructed them in the art of making rice-beer, which inflames the passions, and in course of time they had twelve sons and twelve daughters. the divine origin ascribed by the kols, in common with other peoples, to their favourite liquor may be noticed. the children were divided into pairs, and sing-bonga set before them various kinds of food to choose for their sustenance before starting out into the world; and the fate of their descendants depended on their choice. thus the first and second pairs took the flesh of bullocks and buffaloes, and from them are descended the kols and bhumij; one pair took shell-fish and became bhuiyas, two pairs took pigs and were the ancestors of the santals, one pair took vegetables only and originated the brahman and rajput castes, and other pairs took goats and fish, from whom the various sudra castes are sprung. one pair got nothing, and seeing this the kol pair gave them of their superfluity and the descendants of these became the ghasias, who are menials in kol villages and supported by the cultivators. the larka kols attribute their strength and fine physique to the fact that they eat beef. when they first met english soldiers in the beginning of the nineteenth century the kols were quickly impressed by their wonderful fighting powers, and finding that the english too ate the flesh of bullocks, paid them the high compliment of assigning to them the same pair of ancestors as themselves. the nagvansi rajas of chota nagpur say that their original ancestor was a snake-god who assumed human form and married a brahman's daughter. but, like lohengrin, the condition of his remaining a man was that he should not disclose his origin, and when he was finally brought to satisfy the incessant curiosity of his wife, he reverted to his first shape, and she burned herself from remorse. their child was found by some wood-cutters lying in the forest beneath a cobra's extended hood, and was brought up in their family. he subsequently became king, and his seven elder brothers attended him as banghy-bearers when he rode abroad. the mundas are said to be descended from the seven brothers, and their sign-manual is a kawar or banghy. [545] hence the rajas of chota nagpur regard the mundas as their elder brothers, and the ranis veil their faces when they meet a munda as to a husband's elder brother. the probable explanation of the story is that the hos or mundas, from whom the kings are sprung, were a separate section of the tribe who subdued the older mundas. in memory of their progenitor the nagvansi rajas wear a turban folded to resemble the coils of a snake with a projection over the brow for its head. [546] 8. tribal subdivisions. the subcastes of the kols in the central provinces differ entirely from those in chota nagpur. of the important subcastes here the rautia and rautele take their name from rawat, a prince, and appear to be a military or landholding group. in chota nagpur the rautias are a separate caste, holding land. the rautia kols practise hypergamy with the rauteles, taking their daughters in marriage but not giving daughters. they will eat with rauteles at wedding feasts only and not on any other occasion. the thakuria, from thakur, a lord, are said to be the progeny of rajput fathers and kol mothers; and the kagwaria to be named from kagwar, an offering made to ancestors in the month of kunwar. the desaha, from desh, native country, belong principally to rewah. in some localities bharias, savars and khairwars are found who call themselves kols and appear to be included in the tribe. the bharias may be an offshoot of the bhar tribe of northern india. it has already been seen that several groups of other tribes have been amalgamated with the mundas of chota nagpur, probably in a great measure from intermarriage, and a similar fusion seems to have occurred in the central provinces. intermarriage between the different subtribes, though nominally prohibited, not infrequently takes place, and a girl forming a liaison with a man of another division may be married to him and received into it. the rautias, however, say that they forbid this practice. 9. totemism. the mandla kols have a number of totemistic septs. the bargaiyan are really called after a village bargaon, but they connect their name with the bar or banyan tree, and revere it. at their weddings a branch of this tree is laid on the roof of the marriage-shed, and the wedding-cakes are cooked in a fire made of the wood of the banyan tree and served to all the relations of the sept on its leaves. at other times they will not pluck a leaf or a branch from a banyan tree or even go beneath its shade. the kathotia sept is named after kathota, a bowl, but they revere the tiger. bagheshwar deo, the tiger-god, resides on a little platform in their verandas. they may not join in a tiger-beat nor sit up for a tiger over a kill. in the latter case they think that the tiger would not come and would be deprived of his food, and all the members of their family would get ill. if a tiger takes one of their cattle, they think there has been some neglect in their worship of him. they say that if one of them meets a tiger in the forest he will fold his hands and say, 'maharaj, let me pass,' and the tiger will then get out of his way. if a tiger is killed within the limits of his village a kathotia kol will throw away his earthen pots as in mourning for a relative, have his head shaved and feed a few men of his sept. the katharia sept take their name from kathri, a mattress. a member of this sept must never have a mattress in his house nor wear clothes sewn in crosspieces as mattresses are sewn. the word kathri should never be mentioned before him as he thinks some great misfortune would thereby happen to his family, but this belief is falling into abeyance. the name of the mudia or mudrundia sept is said to mean shaven head, but they apparently revere the white kumhra or gourd, perhaps because it has some resemblance to a shaven head. they give a white gourd to a woman on the third day after she has borne a child, and her family then do not eat this vegetable for three years. at the expiration of the period the head of the family offers a chicken to dulha deo, frying it with the feathers left on the head, and eating the head and feet himself. women may not join in this sacrifice. the kumraya sept revere the brown kumhra or gourd. they grow this vegetable on the thatch of their house-roof, and from the time of planting it until the fruits have been plucked they do not touch it. the bhuwar sept are named after bhu or bhumi, the earth. they must always sleep on the earth and not on cots. other septs are nathunia, a nose-ring; karpatia, a kind of grass; and binjhwar, from the tribe of that name. from raigarh a separate group of septs is reported, the names of which further demonstrate the mixed nature of the tribe. among these are bandi, a slave; kawar, gond, dhanuhar, birjhia, all of which are the names of distinct tribes; sonwani, gold-water; keriari, or bridle; khunta, a peg; and kapat, a shutter. 10. marriage customs. marriage within the sept is prohibited, but violations of this rule are not infrequent. outside the sept a man may marry any woman except the sisters of his mother or stepmother. where, as in some localities, the septs have been forgotten, marriage is forbidden between those relatives to whom the sacramental cakes are distributed at a wedding. among the mundas, before a father sets out to seek a bride for his son, he invites three or four relatives, and at midnight taking a bottle of liquor pours a little over the household god as a libation and drinks the rest with them. they go to the girl's village, and addressing her father say that they have come to hunt. he asks them in what jungle they wish to hunt, and they name the sarna or sacred grove in which the bones of his ancestors are buried. if the girl's father is satisfied with the match, he then agrees to it. a bride-price of rs. 10-8 is paid in the central provinces. among the hos of chota nagpur so large a number of cattle was formerly demanded in exchange for a bride that many girls were never married. afterwards it was reduced to ten head of cattle, and it was decided that one pair of bullocks, one cow and seven rupees should be equivalent to ten head, while for poor families rs. 7 was to be the whole price. [547] among the mundas of raigarh the price is three or four bullocks, but poor men may give rs. 12 or rs. 18 in substitution. here weddings may only be held in the three months of aghan, magh and phagun, [548] and preferably in magh. their marriage ceremony is very simple, the bridegroom simply smearing vermilion on the bride's forehead, after which water is poured over the heads of the pair. two pots of liquor are placed beside them during the ceremony. it is also a good marriage if a girl of her own accord goes and lives in a man's house and he shows his acceptance by dabbing vermilion on her. but her offspring are of inferior status to those of a regular marriage. the kols of jubbulpore and mandla have adopted the regular hindu ceremony. 11. divorce and widow-marriage. divorce and widow-marriage are permitted. in raigarh the widow is bound to marry her deceased husband's younger brother, but not elsewhere. among these mundas, if divorce is effected by mutual consent, the husband must give his wife a pair of loin-cloths and provisions for six months. polygamy is seldom practised, as women can earn their own living, and if a wife is superseded she will often run away home or set up in a house by herself. in mandla a divorce can be obtained by either party, the person in fault having to pay a fee of rs. 1-4 to the panchayat; the woman then breaks her bangles and the divorce is complete. 12. religion. at the head of the munda pantheon, sir h. risley states, [549] stands sing-bonga or the sun, a beneficent but ineffective deity who concerns himself but little with human affairs. but he may be invoked to avert sickness or calamity, and to this end sacrifices of white goats or white cocks are offered to him. next to him comes marang buru, the mountain god, who resides on the summit of the most prominent hill in the neighbourhood. animals are sacrificed to him here, and the heads left and appropriated by the priest. he controls the rainfall, and is appealed to in time of drought and when epidemic sickness is abroad. other deities preside over rivers, tanks, wells and springs, and it is believed that when offended they cause people who bathe in the water to be attacked by leprosy and skin diseases. even the low swampy rice-fields are haunted by separate spirits. deswali is the god of the village, and he lives with his wife in the sarna or sacred grove, a patch of the primeval forest left intact to afford a refuge for the forest gods. every village has its own deswali, who is held responsible for the crops, and receives an offering of a buffalo at the agricultural festival. the jubbulpore kols have entirely abandoned their tribal gods and now worship hindu deities. devi is their favourite goddess, and they carry her iron tridents about with them wherever they go. twice in the year, when the baskets of wheat or gardens of adonis are sown in the name of devi, she descends on some of her worshippers, and they become possessed and pierce their cheeks with the trident, sometimes leaving it in the face for hours, with one or two men standing beside to support it. when the trident is taken out a quid of betel is given to the wounded man, and the part is believed to heal up at once. these kols also employ brahmans for their ceremonies. before sowing their fields they say- thuiya, bhuiya, [550] dharti mata, thakur deo, bhainsa sur; khub paida kariye maharaj; that is, they invoke mother earth, thakur deo, the corn-god, and bhainsasur, the buffalo demon, to give them good crops; and as they say this they throw a handful of grain in the air in the name of each god. 13. witchcraft. "among the hos," colonel dalton states, "all disease in men or animals is attributed to one of two causes--the wrath of some evil spirit who has to be appeased, or the spell of some witch or sorcerer who should be destroyed or driven out of the land. in the latter case a sokha or witch-finder is employed to ascertain who has cast the spell, and various methods of divination are resorted to. in former times the person denounced and all his family were put to death in the belief that witches breed witches and sorcerers. the taint is in the blood. when, during the mutiny, singhbhum district was left for a short time without officers, a terrible raid was made against all who had been suspected for years of dealing with the evil one, and the most atrocious murders were committed. young men were told off for the duty by the elders; neither age nor sex were spared. when order was restored, these crimes were brought to light, and the actual perpetrators punished; and since then we have not only had no recurrence of witch murders, but the superstition itself is dying out in the kolhan." mr. h. c. streatfeild states that among the mundas witches used to be hung head downwards from a pipal tree over a slow fire, the whole village dancing as they were gradually roasted, but whether this ceremony was purely vindictive or had any other significance there is nothing to show. [551] 14. funeral rites. the hos of chota nagpur were accustomed to place large slabs of stone as tombstones over their graves, and a collection of these massive gravestones indelibly marks the site of every ho or mundari village, being still found in parts of the country where there have been no kols for ages. in addition to this slab, a megalithic monument is set up to the deceased in some conspicuous spot outside the village; the pillars vary in height from five or six to fifteen feet, and apparently fragments of rock of the most fantastic shape are most favoured. all the clothes, ornaments and agricultural implements of the dead man were buried with the body. the funeral rites were of a somewhat touching character: [552] "when all is ready, a funeral party collects in front of the deceased's house, three or four men with very deep-toned drums, and a group of about eight young girls. the chief mourner comes forth, carrying the bones exposed on a decorated tray, and behind him the girls form two rows, carrying empty or broken pitchers or battered brass vessels, while the men with drums bring up the rear. the procession advances with a ghostly dancing movement, slow and solemn as a minuet, in time to the beat of the deep-toned drums, not straight forward, but mysteriously gliding--now right, now left, now marking time, all in the same mournful cadence. in this manner the remains are taken to the house of every friend and relative of the deceased within a circle of a few miles, and to every house in the village. as the procession approaches each house in the manner described, the inmates all come out, and the tray having been placed on the ground at their door, they kneel over it and mourn. the bones are also thus conveyed to all his favourite haunts, the fields he cultivated, the grove he planted, the tank he excavated, the threshing-floor where he worked with his people, the akhara or dancing-arena where he made merry with them, and each spot which is hallowed with reminiscences of the deceased draws forth fresh tears." in sambalpur [553] the dead body of a munda is washed in wine before interment, and a mark of vermilion is made on the forehead. the mourners drink wine sitting by the grave. they then bathe, and catch a small fish and roast it on a fire, smearing their hands with oil and warming them at the fire. it would appear that this last rite is a purification of the hands after contact with the dead body, but whether the fish is meant to represent the deceased and the roasting of it is a substitute for the rite of cremation is not clear. during the eight days of mourning the relatives abstain from flesh-meat, but they eat fish. the kols of jubbulpore now bury or burn the dead, and observe mourning exactly like ordinary hindus. 15. inheritance. succession among the mundas passes to sons only. failing these, the property goes to the father or brothers if any. at partition the eldest son as a rule gets a slightly larger share than the other sons, a piece of land, and in well-to-do families a yoke of plough cattle, or only a bullock or a goat, and sometimes a bundle of paddy weighing from 10 to 16 maunds. [554] partition cannot usually be made till the youngest son is of age. daughters get no share in the inheritance, and are allotted among the sons just like live-stock. thus if a man dies leaving three sons and three daughters and thirty head of cattle, on a division each son would get ten head of cattle and one sister; but should there be only one sister, they wait till she marries and divide the bride-price. a father may, however, in his lifetime make presents of cash or movables to a daughter, though not of land. it is doubtful whether these rules still obtain among the hinduised kols. 16. physical appearance. "the mundas," colonel dalton states, "are one of the finest of the aboriginal tribes. the men average something like 5 feet 6 inches, and many of them are remarkably well developed and muscular. their skin is of the darkest brown, almost black in many cases, and their features coarse, with broad flat noses, low foreheads and thick lips, presenting as a rule a by no means prepossessing appearance. the women are often more pleasing, the coarseness of the features being less accentuated or less noticeable on account of the extreme good-nature and happy carelessness that seldom fail to mark their countenance. they are fond of ornament, and a group of men and girls fully decked out for a festival makes a fine show. every ornament in the shape of bead necklace, silver collar, bracelet, armlet and anklet would seem to have been brought out for the occasion. the head-dress is the crowning point of the turn-out. the long black hair is gathered up in a big coil, most often artificially enlarged, the whole being fastened at the right-hand side of the back of the head just on a level with and touching the right ear. in this knot are fastened all sorts of ornaments of brass and silver, and surmounting it, stuck in every available space, are gay plumes of feathers that nod and wave bravely with the movements of the dance. the ears are distorted almost beyond recognition by huge earrings that pierce the lobe and smaller ones that ornament them all round." in mandla women are tattooed with the figure of a man or a man on horseback, and on the legs behind also with the figure of a man. they are not tattooed on the face. men are never tattooed. 17. dances. "dancing is the inevitable accompaniment of every gathering, and they have a great variety suitable to the special times and seasons. the motion is slow and graceful, a monotonous sing-song being kept up all through. the steps are in perfect time and the action wonderfully even and regular. this is particularly noticeable in some of the variations of the dances representing the different seasons and the necessary acts of cultivation that each brings with it. in one the dancers bending down make a motion with their hands as though they were sowing the grain, keeping step with their feet all the time. then come the reaping of the crop and the binding of the sheaves, all done in perfect time and rhythm, and making with the continuous droning of the voices a quaint and picturesque performance." in the central provinces the kols now dance the karma dance of the gonds, but they dance it in more lively fashion. the step consists simply in advancing or withdrawing one foot and bringing the other up or back beside it. the men and women stand opposite each other in two lines, holding hands, and the musicians alternately face each line and advance and retreat with them. then the lines move round in a circle with the musicians in the centre. 18. social rules and offences. munda boys are allowed to eat food cooked by other castes, except the very lowest, until they are married, and girls until they let their hair grow long, which is usually at the age of six or seven. after this they do not take food as a tribe from any other caste, even a brahman, though some subtribes accept it from certain castes as the telis (oil-pressers) and sundis or liquor-vendors. in jubbulpore the kols take food from kurmis, dhimars and ahirs. the mundas will eat almost all kinds of flesh, including tigers and pigs, while in raigarh they consider monkey as a delicacy, hunting these animals with dogs. in the central provinces they have generally abjured beef, in deference to hindu prejudice, and sometimes refuse field-mice, to which the khonds and gonds are very partial. neither kols nor mundas are, however, considered impure and the barber and washerman will work for them. in sambalpur a woman is finally expelled from caste for a liaison with one of the impure gandas, ghasias or doms, and a man is expelled for taking food from a woman of these castes, but adultery with her may be expiated by a big feast. other offences are much the same as among the hindus. a woman who gets her ear torn through where it is pierced is put out of caste for six months or a year and has to give two feasts on readmission. 19. the caste panchayat. in mandla the head of the panchayat is known as gaontia, a name for a village headman, and he is always of the bargaiya sept, the office being usually hereditary. when a serious offence is committed the gaontia fixes a period of six months to a year for the readmission of the culprit, or the latter begs for reinstatement when he has obtained the materials for the penalty feast. a feast for the whole rautele subcaste will entail 500 seers or nearly 9 cwt. of kodon, costing perhaps rs. 30, and they say there would not be enough left for a cold breakfast for the offender's family in the morning. when a man has a petition to make to the gaontia, he folds his turban round his neck, leaving the head bare, takes a piece of grass in his mouth, and with four prominent elders to support him goes to the gaontia and falls at his feet. the others stand on one leg behind him and the gaontia asks them for their recommendation. their reverence for the caste panchayat is shown by their solemn form of oath, 'sing-bonga on high and the panch on earth.' [555] the kols of jubbulpore and mandla are now completely conforming to hindu usage and employ brahmans for their ceremonies. they are most anxious to be considered as good hindus and ape every high-caste custom they get hold of. on one occasion i was being carried on a litter by kol coolies and accompanied by a rajput chuprassie and was talking to the kols, who eagerly proclaimed their rigid hindu observances. finally the chuprassie said that brahmans and rajputs must have three separate brushes of date-palm fibre for their houses, one to sweep the cook-room which is especially sacred, one for the rest of the house, and one for the yard. lying gallantly the kols said that they also kept three palm brushes for cleaning their houses, and when it was pointed out that there were no date-palms within several miles of their village, they said they sent periodical expeditions to the adjoining district to bring back fibre for brushes. 20. names. colonel dalton notes that the kols, like the gonds, give names to their children after officers visiting the village when they are born. thus captain, major, doctor are common names in the kolhan. mr. mazumdar gives an instance of a kol servant of the raja of bamra who greatly admired some english lamp-chimneys sent for by the raja and called his daughter 'chimney.' they do not address any relative or caste-man by his name if he is older than themselves, but use the term of relationship to a relative and to others the honorific title of gaontia. 21. occupation. the mundari language has no words for the village trades nor for the implements of cultivation, and so it may be concluded that prior to their contact with the hindus the mundas lived on the fruits and roots of the forests and the pursuit of game and fish. now, however, they have taken kindly to several kinds of labour. they are much in request on the assam tea-gardens owing to their good physique and muscular power, and they make the best bearers of dhoolies or palanquins. kol bearers will carry a dhoolie four miles an hour as against the best gond pace of about three, and they shake the occupant less. they also make excellent masons and navvies, and are generally more honest workers than the other jungle tribes. a munda seldom comes into a criminal court. 22. language. the kols of the central provinces have practically abandoned their own language, mundari being retained only by about 1000 persons in 1911. the kols and mundas now speak the hindu vernacular current in the tracts where they reside. mundari, santali, korwa and bhumij are practically all forms of one language which sir g. grierson designates as kherwari. [556] kolam list of paragraphs 1. general notice of the tribe. 2. marriage. 3. disposal of the dead. 4. religion and superstitions. 5. social position. 6. miscellaneous customs. 1. general notice of the tribe. kolam. [557]--a dravidian tribe residing principally in the wun taluk of the yeotmal district. they number altogether about 25,000 persons, of whom 23,000 belong to wun and the remainder to the adjoining tracts of wardha and hyderabad. they are not found elsewhere. the tribe are generally considered to be akin to the gonds [558] on the authority of mr. hislop. he wrote of them: "the kolams extend all along the kandi konda or pindi hills on the south of the wardha river and along the table-land stretching east and north of manikgad and thence south to dantanpalli, running parallel to the western bank of the pranhita. the kolams and the common gonds do not intermarry, but they are present at each other's nuptials and eat from each other's hand. their dress is similar, but the kolam women wear fewer ornaments, being generally content with a few black beads of glass round their neck. among their deities, which are the usual objects of gond adoration, bhimsen is chiefly honoured." mr. hislop was, however, not always of this opinion, because he first excluded the kolams from the gond tribes and afterwards included them. [559] in wardha they are usually distinguished from the gonds. they have a language of their own, called after them kolami. sir g. grierson [560] describes it as, "a minor dialect of berar and the central provinces which occupies a position like that of gondi between canarese, tamil and telugu. the so-called kolami, the bhili spoken in the pusad taluk of basim and the so-called naiki of chanda agree in so many particulars that they can almost be considered as one and the same dialect. they are closely related to gondi. the points in which they differ from that language are, however, of sufficient importance to make it necessary to separate them from that form of speech. the kolami dialect differs widely from the language of the neighbouring gonds. in some points it agrees with telugu, in other characteristics with canarese and connected forms of speech. there are also some interesting points of analogy with the toda dialect of the nilgiris, and the kolams must, from a philological point of view, be considered as the remnants of an old dravidian tribe who have not been involved in the development of the principal dravidian languages, or of a tribe who have not originally spoken a dravidian form of speech." the family names of the tribe also are not gondi, but resemble those of maratha castes. out of fifty sept names recorded, only one, tekam, is found among the gonds. "all their songs and ballads," colonel mackenzie says, "are borrowed from the marathas: even their women when grinding corn sing marathi songs." in wun their dress and appearance resembles that of the kunbis, but in some respects they retain very primitive customs. colonel mackenzie states that until recently in berar they had the practice of capturing husbands for women who would otherwise have gone unwedded, this being apparently a survival of the matriarchate. it does not appear that the husbands so captured were ever unphilosophical enough to rebel under the old regime, though british enlightenment has taught them otherwise. widows and widowers were exempt from capture and debarred from capturing. in view of the connection mentioned by sir g. grierson between the kolami dialect and that of the todas of the nilgiri hills who are a small remnant of an ancient tribe and still practise polyandry, mr. hira lal suggests that the kolams may be connected with the kolas, a tribe akin to the todas [561] and as low in the scale of civilisation, who regard the kolamallai hills as their original home. [562] he further notes that the name of the era by which the calendar is reckoned on the malabar coast is kolamba. in view of sir g. grierson's statement that the kolami dialect is the same as that of the naik gonds of chanda it may be noted that the headman of a kolam village is known as naik, and it is possible that the kolams may be connected with the so-called naik gonds. 2. marriage. the kolams have no subtribes, but are divided for purposes of marriage into a number of exogamous groups. the names of these are in the marathi form, but the tribe do not know their meaning. marriage between members of the same group is forbidden, and a man may not marry two sisters. marriage is usually adult, and neither a betrothal nor a marriage can be concluded in the month of poush (december), because in this month ancestors are worshipped. colonel mackenzie states that marriages should be celebrated on wednesdays and saturdays at sundown, and monday is considered a peculiarly inauspicious day. if a betrothal, once contracted, is broken, a fine of five or ten rupees must be paid to the caste-fellows together with a quantity of liquor. formerly, as stated above, the tribe sometimes captured husbands, and they still have a curious method of seizing a wife when the father cannot procure a mate for his son. the latter attended by his comrades resorts to the jungle where his wife-elect is working in company with her female relations and friends. it is a custom of the tribe that the sexes should, as a rule, work in separate parties. on catching sight of her the bridegroom pursues her, and unless he touches her hand before she gets back to her village, his friends will afford him no assistance. if he can lay hold of the girl a struggle ensues between the two parties for her possession, the girl being sometimes only protected by women, while on other occasions her male relatives hear of the fray and come to her assistance. in the latter case a fight ensues with sticks, in which, however, no combatant may hit another on the head. if the girl is captured the marriage is subsequently performed, and even if she is rescued the matter is often arranged by the payment of a few rupees to the girl's father. nowadays the whole affair tends to degenerate into a pretence and is often arranged beforehand by the parties. the marriage ceremony resembles that of the kunbis except that the bridegroom takes the bride on his lap and their clothes are tied together in two places. after the ceremony each of the guests takes a few grains of rice, and after touching the feet, knees and shoulders of the bridal couple with the rice, throws it over his own back. the idea may be to remove any contagion of misfortune or evil spirits who may be hovering about them. a widow can remarry only with her parents' consent, but if she takes a fancy to a man and chooses to enter his house with a pot of water on her head he cannot turn her out. a man cannot marry a widow unless he has been regularly wedded once to a girl, and once having espoused a widow by what is known as the pat ceremony, he cannot again go through a proper marriage. a couple who wish to be divorced must go before the caste panchayat or committee with a pot of liquor. over this is laid a dry stick and the couple each hold an end of it. the husband then addresses his wife as sister in the presence of the caste-fellows, and the wife her husband as brother; they break the stick and the divorce is complete. 3. disposal of the dead. the tribe bury their dead, and observe mourning for one to five days in different localities. the spirits of deceased ancestors are worshipped on any monday in the month of poush. the mourner goes and dips his head into a tank or stream, and afterwards sacrifices a fowl on the bank, and gives a meal to the caste-fellows. he then has the hair of his face and head shaved. sons inherit equally, and if there are no sons the property devolves on daughters. 4. religion and superstitions. the kolams, colonel mackenzie states, recognise no god as a principle of beneficence in the world; their principal deities are sita, to whom the first-fruits of the harvest are offered, and devi who is the guardian of the village, and is propitiated with offerings of goats and fowls to preserve it from harm. she is represented by two stones set up in the centre of the village when it is founded. they worship their implements of agriculture on the last day of chait (april), applying turmeric and vermilion to them. in may they collect the stumps of juari from a field, and, burning them to ashes, make an offering of the same articles. they have a curious ceremony for protecting the village from disease. all the men go outside the village and on the boundary at the four points pointing north-east, north-west and opposite place four stones known as bandi, burying a fowl beneath each stone. the naik or headman then sacrifices a goat and other fowls to sita, and placing four men by the stones, proceeds to sprinkle salt all along the boundary line, except across one path on which he lays his stick. he then calls out to the men that the village is closed and that they must enter it only by that path. this rule remains in force throughout the year, and if any stranger enters the village by any other than the appointed route, they consider that he should pay the expenses of drawing the boundary circuit again. but the rule is often applied only to carts, and relaxed in favour of travellers on foot. the line marked with salt is called bandesh, and it is believed that wild animals cannot cross it, while they are prevented from coming into the village along the only open road by the stick of the naik. diseases also cannot cross the line. women during their monthly impurity are made to live in a hut in the fields outside the boundary line. the open road does not lead across the village, but terminates at the chauri or meeting-house. 5. social position. though the kolams retain some very primitive customs, those of yeotmal, as already stated, are hardly distinguishable from the kunbis or hindu cultivators. colonel mackenzie notes that they are held to be lower than the gonds, because a kolam will take food from a gond, but the latter will not return the compliment. they will eat the flesh of rats, tigers, snakes, squirrels and of almost any animals except dogs, donkeys and jackals. in another respect they are on a level with the lowest aborigines, as some of them do not use water to clean their bodies after performing natural functions, but only leaves. yet they are not considered as impure by the hindus, are permitted to enter hindu temples, and hold themselves to be defiled by the touch of a mahar or a mang. a kolam is forbidden to beg by the rules of the tribe, and he looks down on the mahars and mangs, who are often professional beggars. in wardha, too, the kolams will not collect dead-wood for sale as fuel. 6. miscellaneous customs. here their houses contain only a single room with a small store-house, and all the family sleep together without privacy. consequently there is no opportunity at night for conjugal intimacy, and husband and wife seek the solitude of the forest in the daytime. colonel mackenzie states: "all kolams are great smokers, but they are not allowed to smoke in their own houses, but only at the chauri or meeting-house, where pipes and fire are kept; and this rule is enforced so that the naik or headman can keep an eye on all male members of the community; if these do not appear at least once a day, satisfactory reasons are demanded for their absence, and from this rule only the sick and infirm are exempt. the kolams have two musical instruments: the tapate or drum, and the wass or flute, the name of which is probably derived from the sanskrit waunsh, meaning bamboo (of which the instrument is made). in old times all kolams could read and write, and it is probably only poverty which prevents them from having all their children educated now." this last statement must, however, be accepted with reserve in the absence of intimation of the evidence on which it is based. at present they are, as a rule, quite illiterate. the naik or headman formerly had considerable powers, being entrusted with the distribution of land among the cultivators, and exercising civil and criminal jurisdiction with the assistance of the panchayat. his own land was ploughed for him by the villagers. even now they seldom enter a court of justice and their disputes are settled by the panchayat. a strong feeling of clannishness exists among them, and the village unites to avenge an injury done to one of its members. excommunication from caste is imposed for the usual offences, and the ceremony of readmission is as follows: the offender dips his head in a river or stream and the village barber shaves his head and moustaches. he then sits beside a lighted pile of wood, being held to be purified by the proximity of the holy element, and afterwards bathes, and drinks some water into which the caste-fellows have dipped their toes. a woman has to undergo the same ceremony and have her head shaved. if an unmarried girl becomes with child by a member of the caste, she is married to him by the simple rite used for widow-remarriage. a kolam must not swear by a dog or cat, and is expelled from caste for killing either of these two animals. a kolam does not visit a friend's house in the evening, as he would be suspected in such an event of having designs upon his wife's virtue. the tribe are cultivators and labourers. they have not a very good reputation for honesty, and are said to be addicted to stealing the ripe cotton from the bolls. they never wear shoes, and the soles of their feet become nearly invulnerable and capable of traversing the most thorny ground without injury. they have an excellent knowledge of the medicinal and other uses of all trees, shrubs and herbs. kolhati [bibliography: mr. kitts' berar census report (1881); major gunthorpe's criminal tribes of bombay, berar and the central provinces (times press, bombay).] list of paragraphs 1. introductory notice. 2. internal structure. 3. marriage. 4. funeral rites. 5. other customs. 6. occupation. 1. introductory notice. kolhati, dandewala, bansberia, kabutari. [563]--the name by which the beria caste of northern and central india is known in berar. the berias themselves, in central india at any rate, are a branch of the sansias, a vagrant and criminal class, whose traditional occupation was that of acting as bards and genealogists to the jat caste. the main difference between the sansias and berias is that the latter prostitute their women, or those of them who are not married. [564] the kolhatis of berar, who also do this, appear to be a branch of the beria caste who have settled in the deccan and now have customs differing in several respects from those of the parent caste. it is therefore desirable to reproduce briefly the main heads of the information given about them in the works cited above. in 1901 the kolhatis numbered 1300 persons in berar. in the central provinces they were not shown separately, but were included with the nats. but in 1891 a total of 250 kolhatis were returned. the word kolhati is said to be derived from the long bamboo poles which they use for jumping, known as kolhat. the other names, dandewala and bansberia, meaning those who perform feats with a stick or bamboo, also have reference to this pole. kabutari as applied to the women signifies that their dancing resembles the flight of a pigeon (kabutar). they say that once on a time a demon had captured some kunbis and shut them up in a cavern. but the kunbis besought mahadeo to save them, and he created a man and a woman who danced before the demon and so pleased him that he promised them whatever they should ask; and they thus obtained the freedom of the kunbis. the man and woman were named kabutar and kabutari on account of their skilful dancing, and were the ancestors of the kolhatis. the kolhatis of the central provinces appear to differ in several respects from those of berar, with whom the following article is mainly concerned. 2. internal structure. the caste has two main divisions in berar, the dukar kolhatis and the kham or pal kolhatis. the name of the former is derived from dukar, hog, because they are accustomed to hunt the wild pig with dogs and spears when these animals become too numerous and damage the crops of the villagers. they also labour for themselves by cultivating land and taking service as village watchmen; and they are daring criminals and commit dacoity, burglary and theft; but they do not steal cattle. the kham kolhatis, on the other hand, are a lazy, good-for-nothing class of men, who, beyond making a few combs and shuttles of bone, will set their hands to no kind of labour, but subsist mainly by the immoral pursuits of their women. at every large fair may be seen some of the portable huts of this tribe, made of rusa grass, [565] the women decked in jewels and gaudy attire sitting at each door, while the men are lounging lazily at the back. the dukar kolhati women, mr. kitts states, also resort to the same mode of life, but take up their abode in villages instead of attending fairs. among the dukar kolhatis the subdivisions have rajput names; and just as a chauhan rajput may not marry another chauhan so also a chauhan dukar kolhati may not marry a person of his own clan. in bilaspur they are said to have four subcastes, the marethi or those coming from the maratha country, the bansberia or pole-jumpers, the suarwale or hunters of the wild pig, and the muhammadan kolhatis, none of whom marry or take food with each other. each group is further subdivided into the asal and kamsal (kam-asal), or the pure and mixed kolhatis, who marry among themselves, outsiders being admitted to the kamsal or mixed group. 3. marriage. the marriage ceremony in berar [566] consists simply in a feast at which the bride and bridegroom, dressed in new clothes, preside. much liquor is consumed and the dancing-girls of the tribe dance before them, and the happy couple are considered duly married according to kolhati rites. married women do not perform in public and are no less moral and faithful than those of other castes, while those brought up as dancing-girls do not marry at all. in bilaspur weddings are arranged through the headman of the village, who receives a fee for his services, and the ceremony includes some of the ordinary hindu rites. here a widow is compelled to marry her late husband's younger brother on pain of exclusion from caste. people of almost any caste may become kolhatis. when an outsider is admitted he must have a sponsor into whose clan he is adopted. a feast is given to the caste, and the applicant catches the right little finger of his sponsor before the assembly. great numbers of rajputs and muhammadans join them, and on the other hand a large proportion of the fair but frail kolhatis embrace the muhammadan faith. [567] 4. funeral rites. the bodies of children are buried, and those of the adult dead may be either buried or cremated. mr. kitts states that on the third day, if they can afford the ceremony, they bring back the skull and placing it on a bed offer to it powder, dates and betel-leaves; and after a feast lasting for three days it is again buried. according to major gunthorpe the proceedings are more elaborate: "each division of the caste has its own burial-ground in some special spot, to which it is the heart's desire of every kolhati to carry, when he can afford it, the bones of his deceased relatives. after the cremation of an adult the bones are collected and buried pending such time as they can be conveyed to the appointed cemetery, if this be at a distance. when the time comes, that is, when means can be found for the removal, the bones are disinterred and placed in two saddle-bags on a donkey, the skull and upper bones in the right bag and the leg and lower bones in the left. the ass is then led to the deceased's house, where the bags of bones are placed under a canopy made ready for their reception. high festival, as for a marriage, is held for three days, and at the end of this time the bags are replaced on the donkey, and with tom-toms beating and dancing-girls of the tribe dancing in front, the animal is led off to the cemetery. on arrival, the bags, with the bones in them, are laid in a circular hole, and over it a stone is placed to mark the spot, and covered with oil and vermilion; and the spirit of the deceased is then considered to be appeased." they believe that the spirits of dead ancestors enter the bodies of the living and work evil to them, unless they are appeased with offerings. the dukar kolhatis offer a boar to the spirits of male ancestors and a sow to females. an offering of a boar is also made to bhagwan (vishnu), who is the principal deity of the caste and is worshipped with great ceremony every second year. [568] 5. other customs. although of low caste the kolhatis refrain from eating the flesh of the cow and other animals of the same tribe. the wild cat, mongoose, wild and tame pig and jackal are considered as delicacies. the caste have the same ordeals as are described in the article on the sansias. as might be expected in a class which makes a living by immoral practices the women considerably outnumber the men. no one is permanently expelled from caste, and temporary exclusion is imposed only for a few offences, such as an intrigue with or being touched by a member of an impure caste. the offender gives a feast, and in the case of a man the moustache is shaved, while a woman has five hairs of her head cut off. the women have names meant to indicate their attractions, as panna emerald, munga coral, mehtab dazzling, gulti a flower, moti a pearl, and kesar saffron. if a girl is detected in an intrigue with a caste-fellow they are fined seven rupees and must give a feast to the caste, and are then married. when, however, a girl is suspected of unchastity and no man will take the responsibility on himself, she is put to an ordeal. she fasts all night, and next morning is dressed in a white cloth, and water is poured over her head from a new earthen pot. a piece of iron is heated red hot between cowdung cakes, and she must take up this in her hand and walk five steps with it, also applying it to the tip of her tongue. if she is burnt her unchastity is considered to be proved, and the idea is therefore apparently that if she is innocent the deity will intervene to save her. 6. occupation. the dukar kolhati males, major gunthorpe states, are a fine manly set of fellows. they hunt the wild boar with dogs, the men armed with spears following on foot. they show much pluck in attacking the boar, and there is hardly a man of years who does not bear scars received in fights with these animals. the villagers send long distances for a gang to come and rid them of the wild pig, which play havoc with the crops, and pay them in grain for doing so. but they are also much addicted to crime, and when they have decided on a dacoity or house-breaking they have a good drinking-bout and start off with their dogs as if to hunt the boar. and if they are successful they bury the spoil, and return with the body of a pig or a hare as evidence of what they have been doing. stolen property is either buried at some distance from their homes or made over to the safe keeping of men with whom the women of the caste may be living. such men, who become intimate with the kolhatis through their women, are often headmen of villages or hold other respectable positions, and are thus enabled to escape suspicion. boys who are to become acrobats are taught to jump from early youth. the acrobats and dancing-girls go about to fairs and other gatherings and make a platform on a cart, which serves as a stage for their performances. the dancing-girl is assisted by her admirers, who accompany her with music. some of them are said now to have obtained european instruments, as harmoniums or gramophones. they do not give their performances on thursdays and mondays, which are considered to be unlucky days. in bombay they are said to make a practice of kidnapping girls, preferably of high caste, whom they sell or bring up as prostitutes. [569] koli list of paragraphs 1. general notice of the caste. 2. subdivisions. 3. exogamous divisions. 4. widow-marriage or divorce. 5. religion. 6. disposal of the dead. 7. social rules. 1. general notice of the caste. koli.--a primitive tribe akin to the bhils, who are residents of the western satpura hills. they have the honorific title of naik. they numbered 36,000 persons in 1911, nearly all of whom belong to berar, with the exception of some 2000 odd, who live in the nimar district. these have hitherto been confused with the kori caste. the koris or weavers are also known as koli, but in nimar they have the designation of khangar koli to distinguish them from the tribe of the same name. the kolis proper are found in the burhanpur tahsil, where most villages are said to possess one or two families, and on the southern satpura hills adjoining berar. they are usually village servants, their duties being to wait on government officers, cleaning their cooking-vessels and collecting carts and provisions. the duties of village watchman or kotwar were formerly divided between two officials, and while the koli did the most respectable part of the work, the mahar or balahi carried baggage, sent messages, and made the prescribed reports to the police. in berar the kolis acted for a time as guardians of the hill passes. a chain of outposts or watch towers ran along the satpura hills to the north of berar, and these were held by kolis and bhils, whose duties were to restrain the predatory inroads of their own tribesmen, in the same manner as the khyber rifles now guard the passes on the north-west frontier. and again along the ajanta hills to the south of the berar valley a tribe of kolis under their naiks had charge of the ghats or gates of the ridge, and acted as a kind of local militia paid by assignments of land in the villages. [570] in nimar the kolis, like the bhils, made a trade of plunder and dacoity during the unsettled times of the eighteenth century, and the phrase 'nahal, bhil, koli' is commonly used in old marathi documents to designate the hill-robbers as a class. the priest of a muhammadan tomb in burhanpur still exhibits an imperial parwana or intimation from delhi announcing the dispatch of a force for the suppression of the kolis, dated a.d. 1637. in the bombay presidency, so late as 1804, colonel walker wrote: "most kolis are thieves by profession, and embrace every opportunity of plundering either public or private property." [571] the tribe are important in bombay, where their numbers amount to more than 1 1/2 million. it is supposed that the common term 'coolie' is a corruption of koli, [572] because the kolis were usually employed as porters and carriers in western india, as 'slave' comes from slav. the tribe have also given their name to colaba. [573] various derivations have been given of the meaning of the word koli, [574] and according to one account the kolis and mairs were originally the same tribe and came from sind, while the mairs were the same as the meyds or mihiras who entered india in the fifth century as one of the branches of the great white hun horde. "again, since the settlement of the mairs in gujarat," the writer of the gujarat gazetteer continues, "reverses of fortune, especially the depression of the rajputs under the yoke of the muhammadans in the fourteenth century, did much to draw close the bond between the higher and middle grades of the warrior class. then many rajputs sought shelter among the kolis and married with them, leaving descendants who still claim a rajput descent and bear the names of rajput families. apart from this, and probably as the result of an original sameness of race, in some parts of gujarat and kathiawar intermarriage goes on between the daughters of talabda kolis and the sons of rajputs." thus the thakur of talpuri mahi kantha in bombay calls himself a pramara koli, and explains the term by saying that his ancestor, who was a pramara or panwar rajput, took water at a koli's house. [575] as regards the origin of the kolis, however, whom the author of the gujarat gazetteer derives from the white huns, stating them to be immigrants from sind, another and perhaps more probable theory is that they are simply a western outpost of the great kol or munda tribe, to which the korkus and nahals and perhaps the bhils may also belong. mr. hira lal suggests that it is a common custom in marathi to add or alter so as to make names end in i. thus halbi for halba, koshti for koshta, patwi for patwa, wanjari for banjara, gowari for goala; and in the same manner koli from kol. this supposition appears a very reasonable one, though there is little direct evidence. the nimar kolis have no tradition of their origin beyond the saying- siva ki jholi us men ka koli, or 'the koli was born from siva's wallet.' 2. subdivisions. in the central provinces the tribe have the five subdivisions of surajvansi, malhar, bhilaophod, singade, and the muhammadan kolis. the surajvansi or 'descendants of the sun' claim to be rajputs. the malhar or panbhari subtribe are named from their deity malhari deo, while the alternative name of panbhari means water-carrier. the bhilaophod extract the oil from bhilwa [576] nuts like the nahals, and the singade (sing, horn, and gadna, to bury) are so called because when their buffaloes die they bury the horns in their compounds. as with several other castes in burhanpur and berar, a number of kolis embraced islam at the time of the muhammadan domination and form a separate subcaste. in berar the principal group is that of the mahadeo kolis, whose name may be derived from the mahadeo or pachmarhi hills. this would tend to connect them with the korkus, and through them with the kols. they are divided into the bhas or pure and the akaramase or impure kolis. [577] in akola most of the kolis are stated to belong to the kshatriya group, while other divisions are the naiks or soldiers, the begging kolis, and the watandars who are probably hereditary holders of the post of village watchman. [578] 3. exogamous divisions. the tribe have exogamous septs of the usual nature, but they have forgotten the meaning of the names, and they cannot be explained. in bombay their family names are the same as the maratha surnames, and the writer of the ahmadnagar gazetteer [579] considers that some connection exists between the two classes. a man must not marry a girl of his own sept nor the daughter of his maternal uncle. girls are usually married at an early age. a brahman is employed to conduct the marriage ceremony, which takes place at sunset: a cloth is held between the couple, and as the sun disappears it is removed and they join hands amid the clapping of the assembled guests. afterwards they march seven times round a stone slab surrounded by four plough-yokes. among the rewa kantha kolis the boy's father must not proceed on his journey to find a bride for his son until on leaving his house he sees a small bird called devi on his right hand; and consequently he is sometimes kept waiting for weeks, or even for months. when the betrothal is arranged the bridegroom and his father are invited to a feast at the bride's house, and on leaving the father must stumble over the threshold of the girl's door; without this omen no wedding can prosper. [580] 4. widow-marriage or divorce. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and the ceremony consists simply in tying a knot in the clothes of the couple; in ahmadabad all they need do is to sit on the ground while the bridegroom's father knocks their heads together. [581] divorce is allowed for a wife's misconduct, and if she marries her fellow delinquent he must repay to the husband the expenses incurred by him on his wedding. otherwise the caste committee may inflict a fine of rs. 100 on him and put him out of caste for twelve years in default of payment, and order one side of his moustache to be shaved. in gujarat a married woman who has an intrigue with another man is called savasan, and it is said that a practice exists, or did exist, for her lover to pay her husband a price for the woman and marry her, though it is held neither respectable nor safe. [582] in ahmadabad, if one koli runs away with another's wife, leaving his own wife behind him, the caste committee sometimes order the offender's relatives to supply the bereaved husband with a fresh wife. they produce one or more women, and he selects one and is quite content with her. [583] 5. religion. the kolis of nimar chiefly revere the goddess bhawani, and almost every family has a silver image of her. an important shrine of the goddess is situated in ichhapur, ten or twelve miles from burhanpur, and here members of the tribe were accustomed to perform the hook-swinging rite in honour of the goddess. since this has been forbidden they have an imitation ceremony of swinging a bundle of bamboos covered with cloth in lieu of a human being. 6. disposal of the dead. the kolis both bury and burn the dead, but the former practice is more common. they place the body in the grave with head to the south and face to the north. on the third day after the funeral they perform the ceremony called kandhe kanchhna or 'rubbing the shoulder.' the four bearers of the corpse come to the house of the deceased and stand as if they were carrying the bier. his widow smears a little ghi (butter) on each man's shoulder and rubs the place with a small cake which she afterwards gives to him. the men go to a river or tank and throw the cakes into it, afterwards bathing in the water. this ceremony is clearly designed to sever the connection established by the contact of the bier with their shoulders, which they imagine might otherwise render them likely to require the use of a bier themselves. on the eleventh day a brahman is called in, who seats eleven friends of the deceased in a row and applies sandal-paste to their foreheads. all the women whose husbands are alive then have turmeric rubbed on their foreheads, and a caste feast follows. 7. social rules. the kolis eat flesh, including fowls and pork, and drink liquor. they will not eat beef, but have no special reverence for the cow. they will not remove the carcase of a dead cow or a dead horse. the social status of the tribe is low, but they are not considered as impure, and gujars, kunbis, and even some rajputs will take water from them. children are named on the twelfth day after birth. their hair is shaved in the month of magh following the birth, and on the first day of the next month, phagun, a little oil is applied to the child's ear, after which it may be pierced at any time that is convenient. kolta 1. origin and traditions. kolta, [584] kolita, kulta.--an agricultural caste of the sambalpur district and the adjoining uriya states. in 1901 the central provinces contained 127,000 koltas out of 132,000 in india, but since the transfer of sambalpur the headquarters of the caste belong to bihar and orissa, and only 36,000 remain in the central provinces. in assam more than two lakhs of persons were enumerated under the caste name of kalita in 1901, but in spite of the resemblance of the name the kalitas apparently have no connection with the uriya country, while the koltas know nothing of a section of their caste in assam. the koltas of sambalpur say that they immigrated from baud state, which they regard as their ancestral home, and a member of their caste formerly held the position of diwan of the state. according to one of their legends their first ancestors were born from the leavings of food of the legendary raja janak of mithila or tirhut, whose daughter sita married king rama of ajodhya, the hero of the ramayana. some koltas went with sita to ajodhya and were employed as water-bearers in the royal household. when rama was banished they accompanied him in his wanderings, and were permitted to settle in the uriya country at the request of the raghunathia brahmans, who wanted cultivators to till the soil. another legend is that once upon a time, when rama was wandering in the forests of sambalpur, he met three brothers and asked them to draw water for him. the first brought water in a clean brass pot, and was called sudh (good-mannered). the second made a cup of leaves and drew water from a well with a rope; he was called dumal, from dori-mal, a coil of rope. the third brought water only in a hollow gourd, and he was named kolta, from ku-rita, bad-mannered. this story serves to show that the koltas, sudhs and dumals acknowledge some connection, and in the sambalpur district they will take food together at festivals. but this degree of intimacy may simply have arisen from their common calling of agriculture, and may be noticed among the cultivating castes elsewhere, as the kirars, gujars and raghuvansis in hoshangabad. the most probable theory of the origin of the koltas is that they are an offshoot of the great chasa caste, the principal cultivating caste of the uriya country, corresponding to the kurmis and kunbis in hindustan and the deccan. several of their family names are identical with those of the chasas, and there is actually a subcaste of kolita chasas. mr. hira lal conjectures that the koltas may be those chasas who took to growing kultha (dolichos uniflorus), a favourite pulse in sambalpur; just as the santora kurmis are so named from their growing san-hemp, and the alia banias and kunbis from the al or indian madder. this hypothesis derives some support from the fact that the koltas have no subcastes, and the formation of the caste may therefore be supposed to have occurred at a comparatively recent period. 2. exogamous groups. the koltas have both family names or gotras and exogamous sections or bargas. the gotras are generally named after animals or other objects, as dip (lamp), bachhas (calf), hasti (elephant), bharadwaj (blue-jay), and so on. members of the bachhas gotra must not yoke a young bullock to the plough for the first time, but must get this done by somebody else. the names of the bargas are generally derived from villages or from offices or titles. in one or two cases they show the admission of members of other castes; thus the rawat barga are the descendants of a rawat (herdsman) who was in the service of the raja of sambalpur. the raja had brought him up from infancy, and, wishing to make him a kolta, married him to a kolta girl, despite the protests of the caste. the ancestor of the hinmiya bhoi barga had a mistress of the khond tribe, who left him some property, and is still worshipped in the family. the number of gotras is smaller than that of the bargas, and some gotras, as the nag or cobra, the tortoise and the pipal tree, are common to many bargas. marriage is forbidden between members of the same barga, and between first cousins on the father's side. to have the same gotra is no bar to marriage. 3. marriage girls should be wedded before maturity, as among most of the uriya castes, and if no suitable husband is forthcoming a nominal marriage is sometimes arranged with an old man, and the girl is afterwards disposed of as a widow. the boy's father makes the proposal for the marriage, and if this is accepted the following formal ceremony takes place. he goes to the girl's village, accompanied by some friends, and taking a quantity of gur (raw sugar), and staying at some other house, sends a messenger known as jalangia to the girl's father, intimating that he has a request to make. the girl's father pretends not to know what it is, and replies that if he has anything to say the elders of the village should be called to hear it. these assemble, and the girl's father informs them that a stranger from another village has come to ask something of him, and as he is ignorant of its purport, he has asked them to do him the favour of being present. the boy's father then opens a parable, saying that he was carried down a river in flood, and saved himself by grasping a tree on the bank. the girl's father replies that the roots of a riverside tree are weak, and he fears that the tree itself would go down in the flood. the boy's father replies that in that case he would be content to perish with the tree. thereupon the caste priest places a nut and some sacred rice cooked at jagannath's temple in the hands of the parties, who stand together facing the company, and the girl's father says he has no objection to giving his daughter in marriage, provided that she may not be abandoned if she should subsequently become disfigured. the nut is broken and distributed to all present in ratification of the agreement. after this, other visits and a formal interchange of presents take place prior to the marriage proper. this is performed with the customary ceremonial of the uriya castes. the marriage altar is made of earth brought from outside the village by seven married women. branches of the mahua tree are placed on the altar, and after the conclusion of the ceremony are thrown into a tank. the women also take a jar of water to a tank and, emptying it, fill the jar with the tank water. they go round to seven houses, and at each empty and refill the jar with water from the house. the water finally brought back is used for bathing the bride and bridegroom, and is believed to protect them from all supernatural dangers. an image of the family totem made from powdered rice is anointed with oil and turmeric, and worshipped daily while the marriage is in progress. if the boy or girl is the eldest child, the parents go through a mock marriage ceremony which the child is not allowed to see. when the couple are brought into the marriage-shed, they throw seven handfuls of rice mixed with mung [585] and salt on each other. the priest ties the hands of the couple with thread spun by virgins, and the relatives then pour water over the knot. the bride's brother comes up and unties the knot, and gives the bridegroom a blow on the back. this is meant to show his anger at being deprived of his sister. he is given a piece of cloth and goes away. presents are made to the pair, and the women throw rice on them. they are then taken inside the house and set to gamble with cowries. if the bridegroom wins he promises an ornament to the bride. if she wins she promises to serve him. the boy then asks her to sit with him on a bench, and she at first refuses, and agrees when he promises her other presents. next day the bride's mother singes the cheeks of the bridegroom with betel-leaves heated over a lamp, and throws cowdung and rice over the couple to protect them from evil. the party takes its departure for the bridegroom's village, and on arrival there his sisters hold a cloth over the door of the house and will not let the couple in till they are given a present. the bridegroom then shoots an arrow at an image of a monkey or a deer, made of powdered rice, which is brought back, cooked and eaten. the bride goes home in a day or two, and the bandapana ceremony is performed when she finally departs to live with her husband on arrival at maturity. the koltas allow widow-marriage, but the husband has to pay a sum of about rs. 100 to the caste-people, the bulk of which is expended in feasting. divorce may be effected in the presence of the caste committee. 4. religion. the caste worship the goddess ramchandi, whose principal shrine is at sarsara in baud state. in order to establish a local ramchandi, a handful of earth must be brought from her shrine at sarsara and made into a representation of the goddess. some consider that ramchandi is the personification of mother earth, and the koltas will not swear by the earth. they worship the plough in the month of shrawan, washing it with water and milk, and applying sandal-paste with offerings of flowers and food. the puajiuntia festival is observed in kunwar for the well-being of a son. on this occasion barren women try to ascertain whether they will get a son. a hole is made in the ground and filled with water, and a living fish is placed in it. the woman sits by the hole holding her cloth spread out, and if the fish in struggling jumps into her cloth, it is held to prognosticate the birth of a son. the caste worship their family gods and totems on the 10th day of asarh, bhadon, kartik and magh, which are called the pure months. they employ brahmans for religious ceremonies. every man has a guru who is a bairagi, and he must be initiated by his guru before he is allowed to marry. the caste both burn and bury the dead. they eat flesh and fish, but generally abstain from liquor and the flesh of unclean animals, though in some places they are known to eat rats and crocodiles, and also the leavings of brahmans. brahmans will take water from koltas, and their social standing is equal to that of the good agricultural castes. 5. occupation. the koltas are skilful cultivators and have the usual characteristics belonging to the cultivating castes, of frugality, industry, hunger for land, and readiness to resort to any degree of litigation rather than relinquish a supposed right to it. they strongly appreciate the advantages of irrigation and show considerable public spirit in constructing tanks which will benefit the lands of their tenants as well as their own. nevertheless they are not popular, probably because they are generally more prosperous than their neighbours. the rising of the khonds of kalahandi in 1882 was caused by their discontent at being ousted from their lands by the koltas. the raja of kalahandi had imported a number of kolta cultivators, and these speedily got the khond headmen and ryots into their debt, and possessed themselves of all the best land in the khond villages. in may 1882 the khonds rose and slaughtered more than 80 koltas, while 300 more were besieged in the village of norla, the khonds appearing with portions of the scalp and hair of the murdered victims hanging to their bows. on the arrival of a body of police which had been summoned from vizagapatam, they dispersed, and the outbreak was soon afterwards suppressed, seven of the ringleaders being arrested, tried and hanged by the political officer. a settlement was made of the grievances of the khonds and tranquillity was restored. komti komti, komati.--the madras caste of traders corresponding to banias. in 1911 they numbered 11,000 persons in the central provinces, principally in the chanda and yeotmal districts. the komtis claim to be of the same status as banias and to belong to the vaishya division of the aryans, but this is a very doubtful pretension. mr. francis remarks of them: [586] "three points which show them to be of dravidian origin are their adherence to the custom of obliging a boy to marry his paternal uncle's daughter, however unattractive she may be, a practice which is condemned by manu; their use of the puranic or lower ritual instead of the vedic rites in their ceremonies; and the fact that none of the 102 gotras into which the caste is divided are those of the twice-born, while some at any rate seem to be totemistic as they are the names of trees and plants, and the members of each gotra abstain from touching or using the plant or tree after which their gotra is called." they are also of noticeably dark complexion. komati is said to be a corruption of gomati, a tender of cows. [587] the caste have, however, a great reputation for cunning and astuteness, and hence have arisen the popular derivations of ko-mati, fox-minded, and go-mati, cow-minded. the real meaning of the word is obscure. in mysore the caste have the title of setti or chetty, which is a corruption of the sanskrit sreshtha, good, and in the central provinces their names often terminate with appa. the komtis have the following story about themselves: long ago, in the kaliyuga era, there lived a rajput king of rajahmundry, who on his travels saw a beautiful vaishya girl and fell in love with her. her father refused him, saying that they were of different castes. but the king persisted and would not be denied. on which the maiden determined to sacrifice herself to save her honour, and her clansmen resolved to die with her. so she told the king that she would marry him if he would agree to the hom sacrifice being performed at the ceremony. when the fire was kindled the girl threw herself on it and perished, followed by a hundred and two of her kinsmen. but the others were cowardly and fled from the fire. before she died the girl cursed the king and her caste-fellows who had fled, and they and their families were cut off from the earth. but from those who died the hundred and two clans of the komtis are descended, and they worship the maiden as kanika devi. she is considered to have been an incarnation of parvati and is the heroine of the kanikya puran. it is also said that she ordained that henceforth all komtis should be black, so that none of their women might come to harm by being desired for their beauty as she had been. it is said that the caste look out for a specially dark girl as a bride, and think that she will bring luck to her husband and cause him to make money. another explanation of their dark colour is that they originally lived in ceylon, and when the island was set on fire by rama their faces were blackened in the smoke. the hundred and two clans have each a particular kind of flower or tree which they do not grow, eat, touch or burn, and the explanation they give of this custom is that their ancestors who went into the fire were transformed into these trees and plants. the names of the plants revered by each clan in the central provinces appear to be the same as in mysore. they include the brinjal, the mango, the cotton-plant, wheat, linseed and others. the caste have several subcastes, among which are the yajna, or those whose ancestors went into the fire; the patti, who are apparently thread-sellers; the jaina, or those who follow the jain faith; and the vidurs, a half-caste section, who are the offspring of a yajna father and a mother of some low caste. there is a scarcity of girls, and a bride-price of rs. 200 to rs. 500 is often paid. perhaps for the same reason the obligation to give a daughter to a sister's son is strictly enforced, and a man who refuses to do this is temporarily put out of caste. the gotras of the mothers of the bride and bridegroom should not be the same, and there should be no 'turning back of the creeper,' as they say, that is, when a girl has married into a family, the latter cannot give a girl in marriage to that girl's family ever afterwards. before the regular betrothal when a girl has been selected, they appoint a day and the bridegroom's party proceed outside the village to take the omens. if a bad omen occurs, they give up the idea of the match and choose another girl. when the bridegroom has arrived at the bride's village, before the marriage takes place, he performs the kashi-yatra or going to benares. he is dressed as for a journey and carries a small handful of rice and other provisions tied up in packages in his upper garment. thus accoutred, he sets out with a stick and umbrella on a pretended visit to benares, for the purpose of devoting his life to study. the parents of the bride meet him and beg him to give up the journey, promising him their daughter in marriage. [588] the binding function of the marriage is the tying of the mangal-sutram or piece of gold strung on a thread round the bride's neck by the bridegroom. this gold piece is called pushti and must never be taken off. if a woman loses it, she should hide herself from everybody until it is replaced. on the way to her husband's house, the bride should upset with her foot a measure of rice kept on purpose in the way, perhaps with the idea of showing that there will be so much grain in her household that she can afford to waste it. [589] the komtis did not eat in kitchens in the famines, but accepted dry rations of food with great reluctance. they wear the sacred thread and have caste-marks on their foreheads. they usually rub powdered turmeric on their face and hands, and this lends an unpleasant greenish tinge to the skin. kori 1. description of the caste. kori.--the hindu weaving caste of northern india, as distinct from the julahas or momins who are muhammadans. in 1911 the koris numbered 35,000 persons, and resided mainly in jubbulpore, saugor and damoh. mr. crooke states that their name has been derived from that of the kol caste, of whom they have by some been assumed to be an offshoot. [590] the koris themselves trace their origin from kabir, the apostle of the weaving castes. he, they say, met a brahman girl on the bank of a tank, and, being saluted by her, replied, 'may god give you a son.' she objected that she was a virgin and unmarried, but kabir answered that his word could not fail; and a boy was born out of her hand, whom she left on the bank of the tank. he was suckled by a heifer and subsequently adopted by a weaver and was the ancestor of the koris. therefore the caste say of themselves: "he was born of an undefiled vessel, and free from passion; he lowered his body and entered the ocean of existence." this legend is a mere perversion of the story of kabir himself, designed to give the koris a distinguished pedigree. in the central provinces the caste appears to be almost entirely a functional group, made up of members of other castes who were either expelled from their own community or of their own accord adopted the profession of weaving. the principal subdivision is the ahirwar, taking its name from the old town of ahar in the bulandshahr district. among the others are kushta (koshta), chadar, katia, mehra, dhimar and kotwar, all of which, except the last, are the names of distinct castes; while the kotwars represent members of the caste who became village watchmen, and considering themselves somewhat superior to the others, have formed a separate subcaste. none of the subcastes will eat together or intermarry, and this fact is in favour of the supposition that they are distinct groups amalgamated into a caste by their common profession of weaving. the caste seem to have a fairly close connection with chamars in some localities. a number of koris belong to the sect of rohidas, and some of their family names are the same, while a chamar will often call himself a kori to conceal his identity. for the purposes of marriage they are divided into a number of bainks or septs, the names of which are territorial or totemistic. among the latter may be mentioned the kulhariya from kulhari, an axe, and the barmaiya from the bar or banyan tree; members of these septs pay reverence to an axe and a banyan tree respectively at weddings. 2. marriages the marriage of persons belonging to the same sept and also that of first cousins is prohibited, while a family will not, if they can help it, marry a daughter into the sept from which a son has taken a wife. the rule of exogamy is thus rather wide in its action, as is often found to be the case among the lowest and most primitive castes. at the betrothal the father of the girl produces a red cloth folded up, and on this the boy's father lays a rupee. this is passed round to five members of the caste who cry, 'so-and-so's daughter and so-and-so's son, har bolo (in the name of vishnu).' this completes the betrothal, the father of the boy giving three rupees for a feast to the caste-fellows. a girl who is made pregnant by a man of the caste or any higher caste may be disposed of in marriage as a widow, but if the man is of a lower caste than the koris she is finally expelled. the lagan or paper fixing the date of the marriage is written by a brahman and must not be shown to the bridegroom in the interval, lest he should grow as thin as the paper bearing his name. while he is being anointed and rubbed with turmeric the bridegroom is wrapped in a black blanket, and his bridal dress consists of a yellow shirt, pyjamas of red cloth, and red shoes, while he carries in his hand a dagger, nut-cracker or knife. as he leaves his house to proceed to the bride's village he steps on two clay lamp-saucers, crushing them with his foot. when the party arrives the fathers of the bride and bridegroom sit together with a pot full of curds between them and give each other to drink from it as a mark of amity. the binding portion of the marriage consists in walking round the sacred pole and the other ceremonies customary in the northern districts are performed. the bride does not return with her husband unless she is adult; otherwise the usual gauna ceremony is held subsequently. when she arrives at her husband's house she makes prints of her hands smeared with turmeric on the wall before entering it for the first time. the remarriage of widows is freely permitted; the second husband takes the widow to his house after sunset, and here she is washed by the barber's wife and puts on glass bangles again, and new jewellery and clothes, if any are provided. no married woman may see her as she enters the house. the husband must give a feast to the caste-fellows, or at least to the panchayat or committee. divorce is freely permitted on payment of a fine to the panchayat. when a man takes a second wife a sot or silver image of the deceased first wife is hung round her neck when she enters his house, and is worshipped on ceremonial occasions. 3. customs at birth and death. a child is named on the day after its birth by some woman of the caste; a brahman is asked whether the day is auspicious, and he also chooses the name. if this is the same as that of any living relation or one recently dead, another name is given for ordinary use. a daughter-in-law is usually given a new name when she goes to her husband's house, such as badi (elder), manjhli (second son's wife), bari (innocent or simple), jabalpurwali (belonging to jubbulpore), and so on. if a woman has borne only female children, the umbilical cord is sometimes put in a small earthen pot and buried at a place where three cross-roads meet, and it is supposed that the birth of a male child will follow. children whose shaving ceremony has not been performed, and adults dying from snake-bite, cholera, smallpox or leprosy, are buried, while others are burnt. children are carried to the grave in their parents' arms. on the return of a funeral party, liquor, provided by the relatives of the family, is drunk at the house of the deceased. 4. religion. the koris worship the ordinary hindu deities and especially devi. they become inspired by this goddess at the jawara festival and pierce their cheeks with iron needles and tridents. every family has a household god or kul-deo to whom a small platform is erected; offerings other than animal sacrifices are made to him on festivals and on the celebration of a marriage. 5. occupation and social status. those of the caste who are kabirpanthis abstain from animal food, but the others eat the flesh of most animals except tame pig, and also drink liquor. their social status is very low, but they are not usually considered as impure. their women are tattooed on the right arm before marriage, and on the left after arrival at their husband's house. like several other low castes, they do not wear nose-rings. the principal occupation of the caste is the weaving of coarse country cloth, but as the trade of the hand-weaver is nowadays precarious and unprofitable many of them have forsaken it and taken to cultivation or daily labour. mr. nesfield says of them: "the material used by the kori is the thread supplied by the dhunia (bahna); and thus the weaver caste has risen imperceptibly out of that of the cotton-carder, in the same way as the cobbler caste has risen out of the tanner. the art of weaving and plaiting threads is very much the same process as that of plaiting osiers, reeds and grass, and converting them into baskets and mats. this circumstance explains the puzzle why the weaver caste in india stands at such a low social level. he, however, ranks several degrees above the chamar or tanner; as, among hindus, herbs and their products (cotton being of course included) are invariably considered pure, while the hides of dead animals are regarded as a pollution." this argument is part of mr. nesfield's theory that the rank of each caste depends on the period of civilisation at which its occupation came into being, which is scarcely tenable. the reason why the weavers rank so low may, perhaps, be that the aryans when they settled in villages in northern india despised all handicrafts as derogatory to their dignity. these were left to the subject tribes, and as a large number of weavers would be required, the industry would necessarily be embraced by the bulk of those who formed the lowest stratum of the population, and has ever since remained in their hands. if cloth was first woven from the tree-cotton plant growing wild, the business of picking and weaving it would naturally have fallen to the non-aryan jungle tribes, who afterwards became the impure menial and labouring castes of the villages. the weaver is the proverbial butt of hindu ridicule, like the tailor in england. 'one gadaria will account for ten weavers'; 'four weavers will spoil any business.' the following story also illustrates their stupidity: twenty weavers got into a field of kans grass. they thought it was a tank and began swimming. when they got out they said, "let us all count and see how many we are, in case anybody has been left in the tank." they counted and each left out himself, so that they all made out nineteen. just then a sowar came by, and they cried, to him, 'oh, sir, we were twenty, and one of us has been drowned in this tank.' the sowar seeing that there was only a field of grass, counted them and found there were twenty; so he said, 'what will you give me if i find the twentieth?' they promised him a piece of cloth, on which the sowar, taking his whip, lashed each of the weavers across the shoulders, counting as he did so. when he had counted twenty he took the cloth and rode away. another story is that a weaver bought a buffalo for twenty rupees. his brother then came to him and wanted a share in the buffalo. they did not know how he should be given a share until at last the weaver said, "you go and pay the man who sold me the buffalo twenty rupees; and then you will have given as much as i have and will be half-owner of the buffalo." which was done. the ridicule attaching to the weaver's occupation is due to its being considered proper for a woman rather than a man, and similar jests were current at the tailor's expense in england. in india the weaver probably takes the tailor's place because woven and not sewn clothes have hitherto been generally worn, as explained in the article on darzi. korku list of paragraphs 1. distribution and origin. 2. tribal legends. 3. tribal subdivisions. 4. marriage. betrothal. 5. the marriage ceremony. 6. religion. 7. the bhumka. 8. magical practices. 9. funeral rites. 10. appearance and social customs. 11. character. 12. inheritance. 13. occupation. 14. language. 1. distribution and origin. korku. [591]--a munda or a kolarian tribe akin to the korwas, with whom they have been identified in the india census of 1901. they number about 150,000 persons in the central provinces and berar, and belong to the west of the satpura plateau, residing only in the hoshangabad, nimar, betul and chhindwara districts. about 30,000 korkus dwell in the berar plain adjoining the satpuras, and a few thousand belong to bhopal. the word korku means simply 'men' or 'tribesmen,' koru being their term for a man and ku a plural termination. the tribe have a language of their own, which resembles that of the kols of chota nagpur. the language of the korwas, another munda tribe found in chota nagpur, is also known as koraku or korku, and one of their subcastes has the same name. [592] some korkus or mowasis are found in chota nagpur, and colonel dalton considered them a branch of the korwas. another argument may be adduced from the sept names of the korkus which are in many cases identical with those of the kols and korwas. there is little reason to doubt then that the korkus are the same tribe as the korwas, and both of these may be taken to be offshoots of the great kol or munda tribe. the korkus have come much further west than their kinsmen, and between their residence on the mahadeo or western satpura hills and the korwas and kols, there lies a large expanse mainly peopled by the gonds and other dravidian tribes, though with a considerable sprinkling of kols in mandla, jubbulpore and bilaspur. these latter may have immigrated in comparatively recent times, but the kolis of bombay may not improbably be another offshoot of the kols, who with the korkus came west at a period before the commencement of authentic history. [593] one of the largest subdivisions of the korkus is termed mowasi, and this name is sometimes applied to the whole tribe, while the tract of country where they dwell was formerly known as the mowas. numerous derivations of this term have been given, and the one commonly accepted is that it signifies 'the troubled country,' and was applied to the hills at the time when bands of koli or korku freebooters, often led by dispossessed rajput chieftains, harried the rich lowlands of berar from their hill forts on the satpuras, exacting from the marathas, with poetical justice, the payments known as 'tankha mowasi' for the ransom of the settled and peaceful villages of the plains. the fact, however, that the korkus found in chota nagpur are also known as mowasi militates against this supposition, for if the name was applied only to the korkus of the satpura plateau it would hardly have travelled as far east as chota nagpur. mr. hislop derived it from the mahua tree. but at any rate mowasi meant a robber to maratha ears, and the forests of kalibhit and melghat are known as the mowas. 2. tribal legends. according to their own traditions the korkus like so many other early people were born from the soil. they state that rawan, the demon king of ceylon, observed that the vindhyan and satpura ranges were uninhabited and besought mahadeo [594] to populate them. mahadeo despatched his messenger, the crow kageshwar, to find for him an ant-hill made of red earth, and the crow discovered such an ant-hill between the saoligarh and bhanwargarh ranges of betul. mahadeo went to the place, and, taking a handful of red earth, made images in the form of a man and a woman, but immediately two fiery horses sent by indra rose from the earth and trampled the images to dust. for two days mahadeo persisted in his attempts, but as often as the images were made they were destroyed in a similar manner. but at length the god made an image of a dog and breathed into it the breath of life, and this dog kept off the horses of indra. mahadeo then made again his two images of a man and woman, and giving them human life, called them mula and mulai with the surname of pothre, and these two became the ancestors of the korku tribe. mahadeo then created various plants for their use, the mahul [595] from whose strong and fibrous leaves they could make aprons and head-coverings, the wild plantain whose leaves would afford other clothing, and the mahua, the chironji, the sewan and kullu [596] to provide them with food. time went on and mula and mulai had children, and being dissatisfied with their condition as compared with that of their neighbours, besought mahadeo to visit them once more. when he appeared mula asked the god to give him grain to eat such as he had heard of elsewhere on the earth. mahadeo sent the crow kageshwar to look for grain, and he found it stored in the house of a mang named japre who lived at some distance within the hills. japre on hearing what was required besought the honour of a visit from the god himself. mahadeo went, and japre laid before him an offering of 12 khandis [597] of grain, 12 goats and 12 buckets of water, and invited mahadeo to eat and drink. the god was pleased with the offering and unwilling to reject it, but considered that he could not eat food defiled by the touch of the outcaste mang, so parvati created the giant bhimsen and bade him eat up the food offered to mahadeo. when bhimsen had finished the offering, however, it occurred to him that he also had been defiled by taking food from a mang, and in revenge he destroyed japre's house and covered the site of it with débris and dirt. japre then complained to mahadeo of this sorry requital of his offering and prayed to have his house restored to him. bhimsen was ordered to do this, and agreed to comply on condition that mula should pay to him the same honour and worship as he accorded to rawan, the demon king. mula promised to do so, and bhimsen then sent the crow kageshwar to the tank daldal, bidding him bring thence the pig buddu, who being brought was ordered to eat up all the dirt that covered japre's house. buddu demurred except on condition that he also should be worshipped by mula and his descendants for ever. mula agreed to pay worship to him every third year, whereupon buddu ate up all the dirt, and dying from the effects received the name of mahabissum, under which he is worshipped to the present day. mahadeo then took some seed from the mang and planted it for mula's use, and from it sprang the seven grains--kodon, kutki, gurgi, mandgi, barai, rala and dhan [598] which the korkus principally cultivate. it may be noticed that the story ingeniously accounts for and sheds as it were an orthodox sanction on the custom of the korkus of worshipping the pig and the local demon bhimsen, who is placed on a sort of level with rawan, the opponent of rama. after recounting the above story mr. crosthwaite remarks: "this legend given by the korkus of their creation bears a curious analogy to our own belief as set forth in the old testament. they even give the tradition of a flood, in which a crow plays the part of noah's dove. there is a most curious similarity between their belief in this respect and that found in such distant and widely separated parts as otaheite and siberia. remembering our own name 'adam,' which i believe means in hebrew 'made of red earth,' it is curious to observe the stress that is laid in the legend on the necessity for finding red earth for the making of man." another story told by the korkus with the object of providing themselves with rajput ancestry is to the effect that their forefathers dwelt in the city of dharanagar, the modern dhar. it happened one day that they were out hunting and followed a sambhar stag, which fled on and on until it finally came to the mahadeo or pachmarhi hills and entered a cave. the hunters remained at the mouth waiting for the stag to come out, when a hermit appeared and gave them a handful of rice. this they at once cooked and ate as they were hungry from their long journey, and they found to their surprise that the rice sufficed for the whole party to eat their fill. the hermit then told them that he was the god mahadeo, and had assumed the form of a stag in order to lead them to these hills, where they were to settle and worship him. they obeyed the command of the god, and a korku zamindar is still the hereditary guardian of mahadeo's shrine at pachmarhi. this story has of course no historical value, and the korkus have simply stolen the city of dharanagar for their ancestral home from their neighbours the bhoyars and panwars. these castes relate similar stories, which may in their case be founded on fact. 3. tribal subdivisions. as is usual among the forest tribes the korkus formerly had a subdivision called raj-korku, who were made up of landowning members of the caste and were admitted to rank among those from whom a brahman would take water, while in some cases a spurious rajput ancestry was devised for them, as in the story given above. the remainder of the tribe were called potharia, or those to whom a certain dirty habit is imputed. these main divisions have, however, become more or less obsolete, and have been supplanted by four subcastes with territorial names, mowasi, bawaria, ruma and bondoya. the meaning of the term mowasi has already been given, and this subcaste ranks as the highest, probably owing to the gentlemanly calling of armed robbery formerly practised by its members. the bawarias are the dwellers in the bhanwargarh tract of betul, the rumas those who belong to basim and gangra in the amraoti district, and the bondoyas the residents of the jitgarh and pachmarhi tract. these last are also called bhovadaya and bhopa, and this name has been corrupted into bopchi in the wardha district, a few hundred bondoya korkus who live there being known as bopchi and considered a distinct caste. except among the mowasis, who usually marry in their own subcaste, the rule of endogamy is not strictly observed. the above description refers to betul and nimar, but in hoshangabad, mr. crosthwaite says: "four-fifths of the korkus have been so affected by the spread of brahmanical influence as to have ceased to differ in any marked way from the hindu element in the population, and the korku has become so civilised as to have learnt to be ashamed of being a korku." each subcaste has traditionally 36 exogamous septs, but the numbers have now increased. the sept names are generally taken from those of plants and animals. these were no doubt originally totemistic, but the korkus now say that the names are derived from trees and other articles in or behind which the ancestors of each sept took refuge after being defeated in a great battle. thus the ancestor of the atkul sept hid in a gorge, that of the bhuri rana sept behind a dove's nest, that of the dewda sept behind a rice plant, that of the jambu sept behind a jamun tree, [599] that of the kasada sept in the bed of a river, that of the takhar sept behind a cucumber plant, that of the sakum sept behind a teak tree, and so on. other names are banku or a forest-dweller; bhurswa or bhoyar, perhaps from the caste of that name; basam or baoria, the god of beehives; and marskola or mawasi, which the korkus take to mean a field flooded by rain. one sept has the name killibhasam, and its ancestor is said to have eaten the flesh of a heifer half-devoured by a tiger and parched by a forest fire. in hoshangabad the legend of the battle is not known, and among the names given by mr. crosthwaite are akandi, the benighted one; tandil, a rat; and chuthar, the flying black-bug. in a few cases the names of septs are hindi or marathi words, these perhaps affording a trace of the foundation of separate families by members of other castes. no totemistic usages are followed as a rule, but one curious instance may be given. one sept has the name lobo, which means a piece of cloth. but the word lobo also signifies 'to leak.' if a person says a sentence containing the word lobo in either signification before a member of the sept while he is eating, he will throw away the food before him as if it were contaminated and prepare a meal afresh. ten of the septs [600] consider the regular marriage of girls to be inauspicious, and the members of these simply give away their daughters without performing a ceremony. 4. marriage betrothal. marriage between members of the same sept is prohibited and also the union of first cousins. the preliminaries to a marriage commence with the bali-dudna or arrangement of the match. the boy's father having selected a suitable bride for his son sends two elders of the caste to propose the match to her father, who as a matter of etiquette invariably declines it, swearing with great oaths that he will not allow his daughter to get married or that he will have a son-in-law who will serve for her. the messengers depart, but return again and again until the father's obduracy is overcome, which may take from six months to two years, while from nine to twelve months is considered a respectable period. when his consent is finally obtained the residents of the girl's village are called to hear it, and the compact is sealed with large potations of liquor. a ceremony of betrothal follows at which the daij or dowry is arranged, this signifying among the korkus the compensation to be paid to the girl's father for the loss of her services. it is computed by a curious system of symbolic higgling. the women of the girl's party take two plates and place on them two heaps containing respectively ten and fifty seeds of a sort used for reckoning. the ten seeds on the first plate represent five rupees for the panchayat and five cloths for the mother, brother, paternal aunt and paternal and maternal uncles of the girl. the heap of fifty seeds indicates that rs. 50 must be paid to the girl's father. when the plates are received by the boy's party they take away forty-five of the seeds from the larger heap and return the plate, to indicate that they will only pay five rupees to the girl's father. the women add twenty-five seeds and send back the plate again. the men then take away fifteen, thus advancing the bride-price to fifteen rupees. the women again add twenty-five seeds and send back the plate, and the men again take away twenty, and returning the remaining twenty which are taken as the sum agreed upon, in addition to the five cloths and five rupees for the panchayat. the total amount paid averages about rs. 60. wealthy men sometimes refuse this payment or exchange a bride for a bridegroom. the dowry should be paid before the wedding, and in default of this the bridegroom's father is made not a little uncomfortable at that festival. should a betrothed girl die before marriage, the dowry does not abate and the parents of the girl have a right to stop her burial until it is paid. but if a father shows himself hard to please and refuses eligible offers, or if a daughter has fallen in love, as sometimes happens, she will leave her home quietly some morning and betake herself to the house of the man of her choice. if her young affections have not been engaged, she may select of her own accord a protector whose circumstances and position make him attractive, and preferably one whose mother is dead. occasionally a girl will install herself in the house of a man who does not want her, and his position then is truly pitiable. he dare not turn her out as he would be punished by the caste for his want of gallantry, and his only course is to vacate his own house and leave her in possession. after a time his relations represent to her that the man she wants has gone on a journey and will not be back for a long time, and induce her to return to the paternal abode. but such a case is very rare. 5. the marriage ceremony. the marriage ceremony resembles that of the hindus but has one or two special features. after the customary cleaning of the house which should be performed on a tuesday, the bridegroom is carried to the heap of stones which represents mutua deo, and there the bhumka or priest invokes the various sylvan deities, offering to them the blood of chickens. again when he is dressed for the wedding the boy is given a knife or dagger carrying a pierced lemon on the blade, and he and his parents and relatives proceed to a ber [601] or wild plum tree. the boy and his parents sit at the foot of the tree and are tied to it with a thread, while the bhumka again spills the blood of a fowl on the roots of the tree and invokes the sun and moon, whom the korkus consider to be their ultimate ancestors. the ber fruit may perhaps be selected as symbolising the red orb of the setting sun. the party then dance round the tree. when the wedding procession is formed the following ceremony takes place: a blanket is spread in the yard of the house and the bridegroom and his elder brother's wife are made to stand on it and embrace each other seven times. this may probably be a survival of the modified system of polyandry still practised by the khonds, under which the younger brothers are allowed access to the elder brother's wife until their own marriage. the ceremony would then typify the cessation of this intercourse at the wedding of the boy. the procession must reach the bride's village on a monday, a wednesday or a friday, a breach of this rule entailing a fine of rs. 8 on the boy's father. on arrival at the bride's village its progress is barred by a rope stretched across the road by the bride's relatives, who must be given two pice each before it is removed. the bridegroom touches the marriage-shed with a bamboo fan. next day the couple are seated in the shed and covered with a blanket on to which water is poured to symbolise the fertilising influence of rain. the groom ties a necklace of beads to the girl's neck, and the couple are then lifted up by the relatives and carried three times round the yard of the house, while they throw yellow-coloured rice at each other. their clothes are tied together and they proceed to make an offering to mutua deo. in hoshangabad, mr. crosthwaite states, the marriage ceremony is presided over by the bridegroom's aunt or other collateral female relative. the bride is hidden in her father's house. the aunt then enters carrying the bridegroom and searches for the bride. when the bride is found the brother-in-law of the bridegroom takes her up, and bride and bridegroom are then seated under a sheet. the rings worn on the little finger of the right hand are exchanged under the sheet and the clothes of the couple are knotted together. then follow the sapta padi or seven steps round the post, and the ceremony concludes with a dance, a feast and an orgy of drunkenness. a priest takes no part in a korku marriage ceremony, which is a purely social affair. if a man has only one daughter, or if he requires an assistant for his cultivation, he often makes his prospective son-in-law serve for his wife for a period varying from five to twelve years, the marriage being then celebrated at the father-in-law's expense. if the boy runs away with the girl before the end of his service, his parents have to pay to the girl's father five rupees for each year of the unexpired term. marriage is usually adult, girls being wedded between the ages of ten and sixteen and boys at about twenty. polygamy is freely practised by those who are well enough off to afford it, and instances are known of a man having as many as twelve wives living. a man must not marry his wife's younger sister if she is the widow of a member of his own sept nor his elder brother's widow if she is his wife's elder sister. widow-marriage is allowed, and divorce may be effected by a simple proclamation of the fact to the panchayat in a caste assembly. 6. religion. the korkus consider themselves as hindus, and are held to have a better claim to a place in the social structure of hinduism than most of the other forest tribes, as they worship the sun and moon which are hindu deities and also mahadeo. in truth, however, their religion, like that of many low hindu castes, is almost purely animistic. the sun and moon are their principal deities, the name for these luminaries in their language being gomaj, which is also the term for god or a god. the head of each family offers a white she-goat and a white fowl to the sun every third year, and the korkus stand with the face to the sun when beginning to sow, and perform other ceremonies with the face turned to the east. the moon has no special observances, but as she is a female deity she is probably considered to participate in those paid to the sun. these gods are, however, scarcely expected to interest themselves in the happenings of a korku's daily life, and the local godlings who are believed to regulate these are therefore propitiated with greater fervour. the three most important village deities are dongar deo, the god of the hills, who resides on the nearest hill outside the village and is worshipped at dasahra with offerings of cocoanuts, limes, dates, vermilion and a goat; mutua deo, who is represented by a heap of stones within the village and receives a pig for a sacrifice, besides special oblations when disease and sickness are prevalent; and mata, the goddess of smallpox, to whom cocoanuts and sweetmeats, but no animal sacrifices, are offered. 7. the bhumka. the priests of the korkus are of two kinds--parihars and bhumkas. the parihar may be any man who is visited with the divine afflatus or selected as a mouthpiece by the deity; that is to say, a man of hysterical disposition or one subject to epileptic fits. he is more a prophet than a priest, and is consulted only on special occasions. parihars are also rare, but every village has its bhumka, who performs the regular sacrifices to the village gods and the special ones entailed by disease or other calamities. on him devolves the dangerous duty of keeping tigers out of the boundaries. when a tiger visits the village the bhumka repairs to bagh deo [602] and makes an offering to the god, promising to repeat it for so many years on condition that the tiger does not appear for that time. the tiger on his part never fails to fulfil the contract thus silently made, for he is pre-eminently an honourable upright beast, not faithless and treacherous like the leopard whom no contract can bind. some bhumkas, however, masters of the most powerful spells, are not obliged to rely on the traditional honour of the tiger, but compel his attendance before bagh deo; and such a bhumka has been seen as a very daniel among tigers muttering his incantations over two or three at a time as they crouched before him. of one bhumka in kalibhit it is related that he had a fine large saj tree, into which, when he uttered his spells, he would drive a nail, and on this the tiger came and ratified the compact with his enormous paw, with which he deeply scored the bark. in this way some have lost their lives, victims of misplaced confidence in their own powers. [603] if a man is sick and it is desired to ascertain what god or spirit of an ancestor has sent the malady, a handful of grain is waved over the sick man and then carried to the bhumka. he makes a heap of it on the floor, and, sitting over it, swings a lighted lamp suspended by four strings from his fingers. he then repeats slowly the name of the village deities and the sick man's ancestors, pausing between each, and the name at which the lamp stops swinging is that of the offended one. he then inquires in a similar manner whether the propitiation shall be a pig, a chicken, a goat, a cocoanut and so on. the office of bhumka is usually, but not necessarily, hereditary, and a new one is frequently chosen by lot, this being also done when a new village is founded. all the villagers then sit in a line before the shrine of mutua deo, to whom a black and a white chicken are offered. the parihar, or, if none be available, the oldest man present, then sets a pai [604] rolling before the line of men, and the person before whom it stops is marked out by this intervention of the deity as the new bhumka. when a new village is to be founded a pai measure is filled with grain to a level with the brim, but with no head (this being known as a mundi or bald pai), and is placed before mutua deo in the evening and watched all night. in the morning the grain is poured out and again replaced in the measure; if it now fills this and also leaves enough for a head, and still more if it brims and runs over, it is a sign that the village will be very prosperous and that every cultivator's granaries will run over in the same way. but it is an evil omen if the grain does not fill up to the level of the rim of the measure. the explanation of the difference in bulk may be that the grains increase or decrease slightly in size according as the atmosphere is moist or dry, or perhaps the bhumka works the oracle. the bhumka usually receives contributions in grain from all the houses in the village; but occasionally each cultivator gives him a day's ploughing, a day's weeding and a day's wood-cutting free. the bhumka is also employed in hindu villages for the service of the village gods. but the belief in the powers of these deities is decaying, and with it the tribute paid to the bhumka for securing their favour. whereas formerly he received substantial contributions of grain on the same scale as a village menial, the cultivator will now often put him off with a basketful or even a handful, and say, 'i cannot spare you any more, bhumka; you must make all the gods content with that.' in curing diseases the parihar resorts to swindling tricks. he will tell the sick man that a sacrifice is necessary, asking for a goat if the patient can afford one. he will say it must be of a particular colour, as all black, white or red, so that the sick man's family may have much trouble in finding one, and they naturally think the sacrifice is more efficacious in proportion to the difficulty they experience in arranging for it. if they cannot afford a goat the parihar tells them to sacrifice a cock, and requires one whose feathers curl backwards, as they occasionally do. if the family is very poor any chicken which has come out of the shell, so long as it has a beak, will do duty for a cock. if a man has a pain in his body the parihar will suck the place and produce small pieces of bone from his mouth, stained with vermilion to imitate blood, and say that he has extracted them from the patient's body. perhaps the idea may be that the bones have been caused to enter his body and make him ill by the practice of magic. formerly the parihar had to prove his supernatural powers by whipping himself on the back with a rope into which the ends of nails were twisted, and to continue this ordeal for a period long enough to satisfy the villagers that he could not have borne it without some divine assistance. but this salutary custom has fallen into abeyance. 8. magical practices. the korkus have the same belief in the efficacy of imitative and sympathetic magic as other primitive peoples. [605] thus to injure an enemy, a clay image of him is made and pierced with a knife, in the belief that the real person will suffer in the same manner. if the clay can be taken from a place where his foot has made an impression in walking, or the image wrapped round with his hair, the charm is more efficacious. or an image may be made with charcoal on some stolen portion of his apparel, and similarly wrapped in his hair; it is then burnt in the belief that the real person will be attacked by fever. sometimes the image is buried in a place where it is likely that the victim will walk over it, when the same result is hoped for. in order to produce rain, a frog, as the animal delighting in the element of water, is caught and slung on a stick; the boys and girls then carry it from house to house and the householders pour water over it. if it is desired to stop rain a frog is caught and buried alive, this being done by a naked boy. another device for producing rain is to yoke two naked women to a plough, who are then driven across a field like bullocks and goaded by a third naked woman. this device may possibly be intended to cause the gods to send rain, by showing how the natural order of the world is upset and reversed by the continued drought. in order to stop rain an unmarried youth collects water in a new earthen pot from the eaves and buries it below the hearth so that the water may disappear by evaporation and the rain may cease in the same manner. another method is to send a man belonging to the kasada sept--kasada meaning slime--to bring a plough from the field and place it in his house. he also stops bathing or washing for the period for which a break in the rains is required, and the idea is perhaps that as the man whose name and nature are mud or slime is dry so the mud on the earth will dry up; and as the plough is dry, the ploughed fields which have been in contact with it will also become dry. in order to produce a quarrel the quills of a porcupine are smoked with the burnt parings of an enemy's nails and deposited in the eaves of his house. and as the fretful porcupine raises his quills when angry with an enemy, these will have the effect of causing strife among the members of the household. if a person wishes to transfer his sickness to another, he obtains the latter's cloth and draws on it with lamp-black two effigies, one upright and the other upside down. as soon as the owner puts on the cloth, he will fall a victim to the ailment of the person who drew the effigies. in order to obtain children the hair of a woman who has borne several is secured by a barren woman and buried below her bathing-stone, when the quality of fertility will be transferred to her from the owner of the hair. in order to facilitate child-birth a twisted thread is untwined before the eyes of the pregnant woman with the idea that the delivery will thus be made direct and easy; or she is given water to drink in which her husband's left leg, a gun-barrel, a pestle, or a thunder-bolt has been washed; it being supposed that as each of these articles has the quality of direct and powerful propulsion, this quality will be conveyed to the woman and enable her to propel the child from her womb. the korkus also trust largely to omens. it is inauspicious when starting out on some business to see a black-faced monkey or a hare passing either on the left or right, or a snake crossing in front. a person seeing any of these will usually return and postpone his business to a more favourable occasion. it is a bad omen for a hen to cackle or lay eggs at night. one sneeze is a bad omen, but two neutralise the effect and are favourable. an empty pot is a bad omen and a full one good. to break a pot when commencing any business is fatal, and shows that the work will come to naught. thursdays and fridays are favourable days for working, and mondays and tuesdays for propitiating one's ancestors. odd numbers are lucky. in order to lay to rest the spirit of a dead person, who it is feared may trouble the living, five pieces of bamboo are taken as representing the bones of the dead man, and these with five crab's legs, five grains of rice and other articles are put into a basket and thrust into a crab's hole under water. the occasion is made an excuse for much feasting and drinking, and the son or other representative who lays the spirit works himself up into a state of drunken excitement before he enters the water to search for a suitable hole. the fat of a tiger is considered to be an excellent medicine for rheumatism and sprains, and much store is set by it. the tiger's tongue is also supposed to be a very powerful tonic or strengthening medicine for weakly children. it is cooked, pounded up, and a small quantity administered in milk or water. when a tiger has been killed the gonds and korkus will singe off his whiskers, as they think this will prevent the tiger's spirit from haunting them. another idea is that the whiskers if chopped up and mixed in the food of an enemy will poison him. they frequently object to touch a man who has been injured or mauled by a tiger, as they think that to do so would bring down the tiger's vengeance on them. and in some places any gond or korku who touches a man mauled by a tiger is put temporarily out of caste and has to be purified and give a feast on readmission. 9. funeral rites. the dead are usually buried, two pice being first thrown into the grave to buy the site. the body is laid on its back, naked and with the head pointing to the south. the earth is mixed with briars and thorns while being filled in so as to keep off hyenas, and stones are placed over the grave. no fixed period of mourning is observed, but after the lapse of some days, the deceased's family or relatives go to the burial-place, taking with them a piece of turmeric. this they cut into strips, and, placing them in a leaf-cup, pour water over them. as the water falls on the tomb, a god is called to witness that this day the dead man's spirit has been sent to live with the ancestors. the pieces of turmeric are then tied in a cloth which, after receiving an oblation of fowl's blood, is suspended from the main beam of the house, this being considered the dwelling-place of the departed. this ceremony, called pitar miloni, is the first rite for the admission of the deceased with the spirits of his ancestors, and is preliminary to the final ceremony of sedoli which may be performed at any time between four months and fifteen years after the death. but until it is complete the spirit of the deceased has not been laid finally to rest and has the power of sending aches and pains to molest the bodies of its living relatives. each sept has a place in which the sedoli rites must be performed, and however far the korku may have wandered from the original centre of his tribe, he must return there to set his father's spirit at rest and enable it to join the ancestral ghosts. when the sedoli is to be performed an unblemished teak or salai [606] tree is selected and wrapped round with a thread, while seven circuits of it are made and a bottle of liquor and two pice are offered as purchase money. it is then cut down and brought home, and from it a smooth stake called munda is fashioned, 24 to 30 inches high, and squared or pointed at the top, often being arrow-headed. on it are carved representations of the sun and moon, a spider and a human ear, and below these a figure representing the principal person in whose honour the stake is erected, on horseback with weapons in his hand. the proper method is to have one munda for each ancestor, but poor persons make one do for several and their figures are then carved below. but care must be taken that the total number of figures representing the dead does not exceed that of the members of the family who have died during the period for which the sedoli is performed. for in that case another person is likely to die for each extra figure. the little bags of turmeric representing the ancestors are then taken from the main beam of the house and carried with the munda to the burial-place. there a goat is sacrificed and these articles are besmeared with its blood, after which a feast is held accompanied by singing and dancing. next day the party again go to the burial-place and plant the munda in it, placing two pice in the hole beneath it. they then proceed to the riverside, and, making a little ball from the flesh of the sacrificed animal, place it together with the bags of turmeric on a leaf platter, and throw the whole into the river saying, 'ancestors, find your home.' if the ball sinks at once they consider that the ancestors have been successful, but if any delay takes place, they attribute it to the difficulty experienced by the ancestors in the selection of a home and throw in two pice to assist them. the pith of a bamboo may be substituted for turmeric to represent the bones. the dead are supposed to inhabit a village of their own similar to that in which they dwelt on earth and to lead there a colourless existence devoid alike of pleasure and of pain. 10. appearance and social customs. the following description of the korkus is given by major forsyth in the nimar settlement report of 1868-69, with the addition of some remarks made by other observers. the korkus are well built and muscular. the average korku has a round face, a nose rather wide but not flat like a negro's, prominent cheek-bones, a scanty moustache and his head shaved after the hindu fashion. they are slightly taller than the gond, a shade darker and a good many shades dirtier. in the wilder parts one may come across some quite too awful korkus, from whom an intervening space of fifty yards is an insufficient protection, though strange to say there are no less than six words in their language which mean 'to wash'; one to wash the whole body, one the limbs, one for the face, one for the mouth, one for the hair and one for the clothes, besides a word for scouring the body with a stone and another word for bathing in a stream. their habitations on the other hand present quite a contrast to their individual want of cleanliness. they build their villages of a close bamboo wattle-work and with almost swisslike neatness, a picturesque site being usually chosen, and the plan being one long street with a wide open roadway, or several such parallel with each other. the villages are kept remarkably clean, in striking contrast to the habitations of other aboriginal tribes. the average village contains about twenty huts, and it is the custom to bind these so closely together that forest fires often sweep through a whole village before a hut can be removed to check their course. the average hut is about fifteen feet square with a rather flat roof covered with loose grass over a layer of leaves and pressed down by outside poles. no nails are required as the posts are bound firmly together with bamboo or creeper fibre. the inmates generally sleep on the ground, and a few low stools carved from teak wood serve them for pillows. every village has a few pigs and fowls running about, both of which are eaten after being sacrificed. the korku is an adept in the crude process of distillation in which the only apparatus required consists of two gharas or earthen pots, a hollow bamboo, some mahua flowers, water and a fire. by this means the korku manages to produce liquor upon which he can effectually get drunk. they are by no means particular about what they eat. fowls, pork, fish, crabs and tortoise are all consumed, and beef and rats are eaten in some localities but not in others. the ruma and bondoya korkus eat buffaloes, and the latter add monkeys to an already comprehensive dietary. the lowest caste with whom they are said to eat are kolis. they do not eat with gonds. gonds, mangs, basors and a few other low castes take food from them and also, it is said, bhils. the korkus will freely admit members of the higher castes into the community, and a woman incurs no social penalty for a liaison with a member of any caste from which a korku can take food. but if she goes wrong with a low-caste man she is permanently expelled and a fine of rs. 40 is exacted from the parents before they are readmitted to social intercourse. in the case of adultery with a member of the caste, if the husband does not wish to keep his wife, the offending parties have a lock of hair cut off and give a dinner, and are then considered to be married. but if the husband does not turn his wife away, he, on his wife's account, and the seducer must give a joint dinner to the caste. they have a tribal council or panchayat which inflicts the usual penalties for social offences, while in very serious cases, such as intercourse with a low caste, it causes the offender to be born again. he is placed inside a large earthen pot which is sealed up, and when taken out of this he is said to be born again from his mother's womb. he is then buried in sand and comes out as a fresh incarnation from the earth, placed in a grass hut which is fired, and from within which he runs out as it is burning, immersed in water, and finally has a tuft cut from his scalp-lock and is fined two and a half rupees. the korkus as a race are very poor, and a poor korku manages to exist with even less clothing than a poor gond. a loincloth of the scantiest and a wisp of turban coiled on the top of the head and leaving the centre of the skull uncovered form his complete costume for dry weather. sometimes a large brass chain is worn in the turban or attached to the waist, and to it are suspended a flint and steel and a small dry gourd full of cotton--the implements for obtaining fire. it is also common to wear a large brass ring in one ear. a special habit of the korku in nimar, major forsyth states, is to carry a small bamboo flute behind the ear like a pen, from which he discourses a not unpleasant strain, chiefly when drunk or engaged in propitiating bagh deo, devi or any other dread power whom he reverences. the women as a rule wear only a dirty white sari and are loaded with cheap ornaments. necklaces of beads are worn on the neck, covering the chest, while the arms and legs are weighed down with brass and iron. 11. character. like most hill tribes the korkus are remarkably honest and truthful, slow at calculation and very indignant at being cheated. they are very improvident and great drunkards, and it is the latter habit which has aggravated the obstacles to their improvement. 12. inheritance. the korku law of inheritance differs somewhat from that of the hindus. among them a grandson does not inherit the property of his grandfather unless it is openly and clearly granted to him during the latter's lifetime. a married son living separately from his father has no right of succession to the paternal property, but if he is unmarried, he receives half the share of a son who is living with his father. a daughter or a daughter's son does not inherit the father's property unless it is granted to either of them by a deed of gift. the sons and mother share equally. 13. occupation. the korkus formerly lived principally by hunting, and practised the shifting cultivation in the forests which is now forbidden. very few of them are landowners, but some large zamindari estates in hoshangabad and chhindwara are held by korku proprietors, who are protected by the prohibition of alienation. though too improvident and lazy to be good cultivators, they are in great request as farmservants and ploughmen, being too honest to defraud their master of labour or material. a remarkable change has thus taken place from their former character of notorious robbers. they cultivate mainly in the hilly tracts and grow light grains, though some have colonised the waste lands of the upper tapti valley in nimar and raise good crops of wheat. they do not as a rule keep cattle other than the few oxen required for cultivating the soil and hauling out timber. game of all kinds is caught by means of heavy log traps for the larger varieties such as sambhar, bear and spotted deer and even leopard; while hares, jungle-fowl and the smaller sort of game are caught under heavy stones held up by nicely adjusted strings. occasionally, when in search of meat, a whole village will sally out into the forest. the shikari has generally a matchlock concealed in some hiding-place in the jungle, and once he is posted the others beat towards him and any animal that turns up is shot at. in the hot weather the water-hole and the bow and arrow play no small part in helping to fill the korku larder. another method of catching birds is to spread the pounded fruit of a certain parasitic airplant on a rock. a thick shining gum exudes which so entangles the feet of the smaller birds as to prevent their escape. fish dams are built when the water subsides after the rains, and a cylindrical basket six or eight feet in length being adjusted at the outlet, the fish are driven into this from above. during the hot season the fruit of the ghetu is thrown into the pools, and this stupefies the fish and causes them to float on the surface of the water, where they are easily caught. 14. language. the korkus have a language of their own which belongs to the kolarian or munda sub-family. dr. grierson says of it: "the munda, sometimes called the kolarian family, is probably the older branch of the dravido-munda languages. it exhibits the characteristics of an agglutinative language to an extraordinarily complete degree." in the central provinces nearly 90 per cent of korkus were returned as speaking their own language in 1911. mr. crosthwaite remarks: "the language is in a state of decay and transition, and hindi and marathi terms have crept into its vocabulary. but very few gondi words have been adopted. a grammar of the korku language by drake has been printed at the baptist mission press, calcutta." korwa list of paragraphs 1. general notice. 2. physical appearance. 3. subdivisions. 4. marriage customs. 5. funeral rites. 6. religion. 7. social customs. 8. dancing. 9. occupation. 10. dacoity. 11. folk-tales. 1. general notice. korwa. [607]--a kolarian tribe of the chota nagpur plateau. in 1911 about 34,000 korwas were returned in the central provinces, the great bulk of whom belong to the sarguja and jashpur states and a few to the bilaspur district. the korwas are one of the wildest tribes. colonel dalton writes of them: [608] "mixed up with the asuras and not greatly differing from them, except that they are more cultivators of the soil than smelters, we first meet the korwas, a few stragglers of the tribe which under that name take up the dropped links of the kolarian chain, and carry it on west, over the sarguja, jashpur and palamau highlands till it reaches another cognate tribe, the kurs (korkus) or muasis of rewah and the central provinces, and passes from the vindhyan to the satpura range. "in the fertile valleys that skirt and wind among the plateaus other tribes are now found intermixed with the korwas, but all admit that the latter were first in the field and were at one time masters of the whole; and we have good confirmatory proof of their being the first settlers in the fact that for the propitiation of the local spirits korwa baigas are always selected. there were in existence within the last twenty years, as highland chiefs and holders of manors, four korwa notables, two in sarguja and two in jashpur; all four estates were valuable, as they comprised substantial villages in the fertile plains held by industrious cultivators, and great tracts of hill country on which were scattered the hamlets of their more savage followers. the sarguja korwa chiefs were, however, continually at strife with the sarguja raja, and for various acts of rebellion against the lord paramount lost manor after manor till to each but one or two villages remained. the two jashpur thanes conducted themselves right loyally at the crucial period of the mutiny and they are now prosperous gentlemen in full enjoyment of their estates, the only korwa families left that keep up any appearance of respectability. one of them is the hereditary diwan of jashpur, lord of the mountain tract of khuria and maini, and chief of perhaps two-thirds of the whole tribe of korwas. the other holds an estate called kakia comprising twenty-two villages. 2. physical appearance. "the hill korwas are the most savage-looking of all the kolarian tribes. they are frightfully wild and uncouth in their appearance, and have good-humouredly accepted the following singular tradition to account for it. they say that the first human beings that settled in sarguja, being very much troubled by the depredations of wild beasts on their crops, put up scarecrows in their fields, figures made of bamboos dangling in the air, the most hideous caricatures of humanity that they could devise to frighten the animals. when the great spirit saw the scarecrow he hit on an expedient to save his votaries the trouble of reconstructing them. he animated the dangling figures, thus bringing into existence creatures ugly enough to frighten all the birds and beasts in creation, and they were the ancestors of the wild korwas." this legend is not peculiar to the korwas but is also told by the halbas, lodhis and other castes, and is a favourite brahmanical device for accounting for the existence of the autochthonous tribes. "the korwas," dalton continues, "are short of stature and dark brown in complexion, strongly built and active, with good muscular development, but, as appeared to me, disproportionately short-legged. the average height of twenty sarguja korwas that i measured was 5 feet 3 inches and of their women 4 feet 9 inches only. notwithstanding the scarecrow tradition the korwas are, as a rule, better-looking than the gonds and oraons. the males, i noticed, were more hirsute than the generality of their cognates, many of them cultivating beards or rather not interfering with their spontaneous growth, for in truth in their toilets there is nothing like cultivation. they are as utterly ungroomed as the wildest animals. the neglected back hair grows in matted tails which fall behind like badly-frayed ropes, or is massed in a chignon of gigantic proportions, as preposterous as any that the present tasteless period has produced; sticking out behind sometimes a foot from the back of the head. "the women appear ground down by the hard work imposed on them, stunted in growth, black, ugly, and wretchedly clad, some having only a few dirty rags tied round their persons, and in other respects untidy and unclean." it is noticeable that the korwas have a subtribe called koraku, and like the korkus of the satpura range they are called muasi, a term having the meaning of raider or robber. mr. crooke thinks that the korwas and korkus are probably branches of the same tribe, but sir g. grierson dissents from this opinion. he states that the korwa dialect is most closely related to asuri and resembles mundari and santali. the korwas have the honorific title of manjhi, also used by the santals. the korba zamindari in bilaspur is probably named after the korwas. 3. subdivisions. the principal subdivisions of the tribe are the diharia or kisan korwas, those who live in villages (dih) and cultivate, and the paharia korwas of the hills, who are also called benwaria from their practising bewar or shifting cultivation. two minor groups are the koraku or young men, from kora, a young man, and the birjias, who are probably the descendants of mixed marriages between korwas and the tribe of that name, themselves an offshoot of the baigas. the tribe is also divided into totemistic exogamous septs. 4. marriage customs. marriage within the sept is forbidden, but this appears to be the only restriction. in korba the paharia korwas are said to marry their own sisters on occasion. the ordinary bride-price is rs. 12. in bilaspur there is reported to be no regular marriage feast, but the people dance together round a big earthen drum, called mandhar, which is played in the centre. this is bound with strips of leather along the sides and leather faces at the ends to be played on by the hands. they dance in a circle taking hands, men and women being placed alternately. among the paharia korwas of sarguja, mr. kunte states, the consent of the parents is not required, and boys and girls arrange their own weddings. men who can afford the bride-price have a number of wives, sometimes as many as eight or ten. after she has had a child each wife lives and cooks her food separately, but gives a part of it to her husband. the women bring roots and herbs from the forest and feed their husbands, so that the man with several wives enjoys a larger share of creature comforts. among these people adultery is said to be very rare, but if a woman is detected in adultery she is at once made over to the partner of her act and becomes his wife. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted, and a widow usually marries her late husband's younger brother, though she is not obliged to do so. a husband divorcing his wife is obliged to feed the caste for five days. 5. funeral rites. the tribe bury the dead, placing the corpse in the grave with the head to the south. a little rice is buried with the corpse. in bilaspur the dead are buried in the forest, and the graves of old men are covered with branches of the sal [609] tree. then they go to a little distance and make a fire, and pour ghi and incense on it as an offering to the ancestors, and when they hear a noise in the forest they take it to be the voice of the dead man. when a man dies his hut is broken down and they do not live in it again. the bodies of children under five are buried either in the house or under the shade of a banyan tree, probably with the idea that the spirit will come back and be born again. they say that a banyan tree is chosen because it lives longest of all trees and is evergreen, and hence it is supposed that the child's spirit will also live out its proper span instead of being untimely cut off in its next birth. 6. religion. the korwas worship dulha deo, the bridegroom god of the gonds, and in sarguja their principal deity is khuria rani, the tutelary goddess of the khuria plateau. she is a bloodthirsty goddess and requires animal sacrifices; formerly at special sacrifices 30 or 40 buffaloes were slaughtered as well as an unlimited number of goats. [610] thakur deo, who is usually considered a corn-god, dwells in a sacred grove, of which no tree or branch may be cut or broken. the penalty for breach of the rules is a goat, but an exception is allowed if an animal has to be pursued and killed in the grove. thakur deo protects the village from epidemic disease such as cholera and smallpox. the korwas have three festivals: the deothan is observed on the full moon day of pus (december), and all their gods are worshipped; the nawanna or harvest festival falls in kunwar (september), when the new grain is eaten; and the faguwa or holi is the common celebration of the spring and the new vegetation. 7. social customs. the korwas do not admit outsiders into the tribe. they will take food from a gond or kawar, but not from a brahman. a man is permanently expelled from caste for a liaison with a woman of the impure ganda and ghasia castes, and a woman for adultery with any person other than a korwa. women are tattooed with patterns of dots on the arms, breasts and feet, and a girl must have this operation done before she can be married. neither men nor women ever cut their hair. 8. dancing. of their appearance at a dance colonel dalton states: [611] "forming a huge circle, or rather coil, they hooked on to each other and wildly danced. in their hands they sternly grasped their weapons, the long stiff bow and arrows with bright, broad, barbed heads and spirally-feathered reed shafts in the left hand, and the gleaming battle-axe in the right. some of the men accompanied the singing on deep-toned drums and all sang. a few scantily-clad females formed the inner curl of the coil, but in the centre was the choragus who played on a stringed instrument, promoting by his grotesque motions unbounded hilarity, and keeping up the spirit of the dancers by his unflagging energy. their matted back hair was either massed into a chignon, sticking out from the back of the head like a handle, from which spare arrows depended hanging by the bands, or was divided into clusters of long matted tails, each supporting a spare arrow, which, flinging about as they sprang to the lively movements of the dance, added greatly to the dramatic effect and the wildness of their appearance. the women were very diminutive creatures, on the average a foot shorter than their lords, clothed in scanty rags, and with no ornaments except a few tufts of cotton dyed red taking the place of flowers in the hair, a common practice also with the santal girls. both tribes are fond of the flower of the cockscomb for this purpose, and when that is not procurable, use the red cotton." they dance the karma dance in the autumn, thinking that it will procure them good crops, the dance being a kind of ritual or service and accompanied by songs in praise of the gods. if the rains fail they dance every night in the belief that the gods will be propitiated and send rain. 9. occupation. of their occupation colonel dalton states: "the korwas cultivate newly cleared ground, changing their homesteads every two or three years to have command of virgin soil. they sow rice that ripens in the summer, vetches, millets, pumpkins, cucumbers--some of gigantic size--sweet potatoes, yams and chillies. they also grow and prepare arrowroot and have a wild kind which they use and sell. they have as keen a knowledge of what is edible among the spontaneous products of the jungle as have monkeys, and have often to use this knowledge for self-preservation, as they are frequently subjected to failure of crops, while even in favourable seasons some of them do not raise sufficient for the year's consumption; but the best of this description of food is neither palatable nor wholesome. they brought to me nine different kinds of edible roots, and descanted so earnestly on the delicate flavour and nutritive qualities of some of them, that i was induced to have two or three varieties cooked under their instructions and served up, but the result was far from pleasant; my civilised stomach indignantly repelled the savage food, and was not pacified till it had made me suffer for some hours from cold sweat, sickness and giddiness." [612] 10. dacoity. the korwas in the tributary states have other resources than these. they are expert hunters, and to kill a bird flying or an animal running is their greatest delight. they do not care to kill their game without rousing it first. they are also very fond of dacoity and often proceed on expeditions, their victims being usually travellers, or the ahirs who bring large herds of cattle to graze in the sarguja forests. these cattle do much damage to the village crops, and hence the korwas have a standing feud with the herdsmen. they think nothing of murder, and when asked why he committed a murder, a korwa will reply, 'i did it for my pleasure'; but they despise both house-breaking and theft as cowardly offences, and are seldom or never guilty of them. the women are also of an adventurous disposition and often accompany their husbands on raids. before starting they take the omens. they throw some rice before a chicken, and if the bird picks up large solid grains first they think that a substantial booty is intended, but if it chooses the thin and withered grains that the expedition will have poor results. one of their bad omens is that a child should begin to cry before the expedition starts; and mr. kunte, who has furnished the above account, relates that on one occasion when a korwa was about to start on a looting expedition his two-year-old child began to cry. he was enraged at the omen, and picking up the child by the feet dashed its brains out against a stone. 11. folk-tales. before going out hunting the korwas tell each other hunting tales, and they think that the effect of doing this is to bring them success in the chase. a specimen of one of these tales is as follows: there were seven brothers and they went out hunting. the youngest brother's name was chilhra. they had a beat, and four of them lay in ambush with their bows and arrows. a deer came past chilhra and he shot an arrow at it, but missed. then all the brothers were very angry with chilhra and they said to him, "we have been wandering about hungry for the whole day, and you have let our prey escape." then the brothers got a lot of mahul [613] fibre and twisted it into rope, and from the rope they wove a bag. and they forced chilhra into this bag, and tied up the mouth and threw it into the river where there was a whirlpool. then they went home. now chilhra's bag was spinning round and round in the whirlpool when suddenly a sambhar stag came out of the forest and walked down to the river to drink opposite the pool. chilhra cried out to the sambhar to pull his bag ashore and save him. the sambhar took pity on him, and seizing the bag in his teeth pulled it out of the water on to the bank. chilhra then asked the sambhar after he had quenched his thirst to free him from the bag. the sambhar drank and then came and bit through the mahul ropes till chilhra could get out. he then proposed to the sambhar to try and get into the bag to see if it would hold him. the sambhar agreed, but no sooner had he got inside than chilhra tied up the bag, threw it over his shoulder and went home. when the brothers saw him they were greatly astonished, and asked him how he had got out of the bag and caught a sambhar, and chilhra told them. then they killed and ate the sambhar. then all the brothers said to chilhra that he should tie them up in bags as he had been tied and throw them into the river, so that they might each catch and bring home a sambhar. so they made six bags and went to the river, and chilhra tied them up securely and threw them into the river, when they were all quickly drowned. but chilhra went home and lived happily ever afterwards. in this story we observe the low standard of moral feeling noticeable among many primitive races, in the fact that the ingratitude displayed by chilhra in deceiving and killing the sambhar who had saved his life conveys no shock to the moral sense of the korwas. if the episode had been considered discreditable to the hero chilhra, it would not have found a place in the tale. the following is another folk-tale of the characteristic type of fairy story found all over the world. this as well as the last has been furnished by mr. narbad dhanu sao, assistant manager, uprora: a certain rich man, a banker and moneylender (sahu), had twelve sons. he got them all married and they went out on a journey to trade. there came a holy mendicant to the house of the rich man and asked for alms. the banker was giving him alms, but the saint said he would only take them from his son or son's wife. as his sons were away the rich man called his daughter-in-law, and she began to give alms to the saint. but he caught her up and carried her off. then her father-in-law went to search for her, saying that he would not return until he had found her. he came to the saint's house upon a mountain and said to him, 'why did you carry off my son's wife?' the saint said to him, 'what can you do?' and turned him into stone by waving his hand. then all the other brothers went in turn to search for her down to the youngest, and all were turned into stone. at last the youngest brother set out to search but he did not go to the saint, but travelled across the sea and sat under a tree on the other side. in that tree was the nest with young of the raigidan and jatagidan [614] birds. a snake was climbing up the tree to eat the nestlings, and the youngest brother saw the snake and killed it. when the parent birds returned the young birds said, "we will not eat or drink till you have rewarded this boy who killed the snake which was climbing the tree to devour us." then the parent birds said to the boy, 'ask of us whatever you will and we will give it to you.' and the boy said,' i want only a gold parrot in a gold cage.' then the parent birds said, "you have asked nothing of us, ask for something more; but if you will accept only a gold parrot in a gold cage wait here a little and we will fly across the sea and get it for you." so they brought the parrot and cage, and the youngest brother took them and went home. immediately the saint came to him and asked him for the gold parrot and cage because the saint's soul was in that parrot. then the youngest brother told him to dance and he would give him the parrot; and the saint danced, and his legs and arms were broken one after the other, as often as he asked for the parrot and cage. then the youngest brother buried the saint's body and went to his house and passed his hands before all the stone images and they all came to life again. koshti list of paragraphs 1. general notice. 2. subdivisions. 3. marriage. 4. funeral customs. 5. religion. 6. superstitions. 7. clothes, etc. 8. social rules and status. 9. occupation. 1. general notice. koshti, koshta, salewar. [615]--the maratha and telugu caste of weavers of silk and fine cotton cloth. they belong principally to the nagpur and chhattisgarh divisions of the central provinces, where they totalled 157,000 persons in 1901, while 1300 were returned from berar. koshti is the marathi and salewar the telugu name. koshti may perhaps have something to do with kosa or tasar silk; salewar is said to be from the sanskrit salika, a weaver, [616] and to be connected with the common word sari, the name for a woman's cloth; while the english 'shawl' may be a derivative from the same root. the caste suppose themselves to be descended from the famous saint markandi rishi, who, they say, first wove cloth from the fibres of the lotus flower to clothe the nakedness of the gods. in reward for this he was married to the daughter of surya, the sun, and received with her as dowry a giant named bhavani and a tiger. but the giant was disobedient, and so markandi killed him, and from his bones fashioned the first weaver's loom. [617] the tiger remained obedient to markandi, and the koshtis think that he still respects them as his descendants; so that if a koshti should meet a tiger in the forest and say the name of markandi, the tiger will pass by and not molest him; and they say that no koshti has ever been killed by a tiger. on their side they will not kill or injure a tiger, and at their weddings the bhat or genealogist brings a picture of a tiger attached to his sacred scroll, known as padgia, and the koshtis worship the picture. a koshti will not join in a beat for tiger for the same reason; and other hindus say that if he did the tiger would single him out and kill him, presumably in revenge for his breaking the pact of peace between them. they also worship the singhwahini devi, or devi riding on a tiger, from which it may probably be deduced that the tiger itself was formerly the deity, and has now developed into an anthropomorphic goddess. 2. subdivisions. the caste have several subdivisions of different types. the halbis appear to be an offshoot of the primitive halba tribe, who have taken to weaving; the lad koshtis come from gujarat, the gadhewal from garha or jubbulpore, the deshkar and martha from the maratha country, while the dewangan probably take their name from the old town of that name on the wardha river. the patwis are dyers, and colour the silk thread which the weavers use to border their cotton cloth. it is usually dyed red with lac. they also make braid and sew silk thread on ornaments like the separate patwa caste. and the onkule are the offspring of illegitimate unions. in berar there is a separate subcaste named hatghar, which may be a branch of the dhangar or shepherd caste. berar also has a group known as jain koshtis, who may formerly have professed the jain religion, but are now strict sivites. [618] the salewars are said to be divided into the sutsale or thread-weavers, the padmasale or those who originally wove the lotus flower and the sagunsale, a group of illegitimate descent. the above names show that the caste is of mixed origin, containing a large telugu element, while a body of the primitive halbas has been incorporated into it. many of the maratha koshtis are probably kunbis (cultivators) who have taken up weaving. the caste has also a number of exogamous divisions of the usual type which serve to prevent the marriage of near relatives. 3. marriage. at a koshti wedding in nagpur, the bride and bridegroom with their parents sit in a circle, and round them a long hempen rope is drawn seven times; the bride's mother then holds a lamp, while the bridegroom's mother pours water from a vessel on to the floor. the salewars perform the wedding ceremony at the bridegroom's house, to which the bride is brought at midnight for this purpose. a display of fireworks is held and the thun or log of wood belonging to the loom is laid on the ground between the couple and covered with a black blanket. the bridegroom stands facing the east and places his right foot on the thun, and the bride stands opposite to him with her left foot upon it. a brahman holds a curtain between them and they throw rice upon each other's heads five times and then sit on the log. the bride's father washes the feet of the bridegroom and gives him a cloth and bows down before him. the wedding party then proceed with music and a display of fireworks to the bridegroom's house and a round of feasts is given continuously for five days. the remarriage of widows is freely permitted. in chanda if the widow is living with her father he receives rs. 40 from the second husband, but if with her father-in-law no price is given. on the day fixed for the wedding he fills her lap with nuts, cocoanuts, dates and rice, and applies vermilion to her forehead. during the night she proceeds to her new husband's house, and, emptying the fruit from her lap into a dish which he holds, falls at his feet. the wedding is completed the next day by a feast to the caste-fellows. the procedure appears to have some symbolical idea of transferring the fruit of her womb to her new husband. divorce is allowed, but is very rare, a wife being too valuable a helper in the koshti's industry to be put away except as a last resort. for a koshti who is in business on his own account it is essential to have a number of women to assist in sizing the thread and fixing it on the loom. a wife is really a factory-hand and a well-to-do koshti will buy or occasionally steal as many women as he can. in bhandara a recent case is known where a man bought a girl and married her to his son and eight months afterwards sold her to another family for an increased price. in another case a man mortgaged his wife as security for a debt and in lieu of interest, and she lived with his creditor until he paid off the principal. quarrels over women not infrequently result in cases of assault and riot. 4. funeral customs. members of the lingayat and kabirpanthi sects bury their dead and the others cremate them. with the tirmendar koshtis on the fifth day the ayawar priest goes to the cremation-ground accompanied by the deceased's family and worships the image of vishnu and the tulsi or basil upon the grave; and after this the whole party take their food at the place. mourning is observed during five days for married and three for unmarried persons; and when a woman has lost her husband she is taken on the fifth day to the bank of some river or tank and her bangles are broken, her bead necklace is taken off, the vermilion is rubbed off her forehead, and her foot ornaments are removed; and these things she must not wear again while she is a widow. on the fourth day the panch or caste elders come and place a new turban on the head of the chief mourner or deceased's heir; they then take him round the bazar and seat him at his loom, where he weaves a little. after this he goes and sits with the panch and they take food together. this ceremony indicates that the impurity caused by the death is removed, and the mourners return to common life. the caste do not perform the shraddh ceremony, but on the akhatij day or commencement of the agricultural year a family which has lost a male member will invite a man from some other family of the caste, and one which has lost a female member a woman, and will feed the guest with good food in the name of the dead. in chhindwara during the fortnight of pitripaksh or the worship of ancestors, a koshti family will have a feast and invite guests of the caste. then the host stands in the doorway with a pestle and as the guest comes he bars his entrance, saying: 'are you one of my ancestors; this feast is for my ancestors?' to which the guest will reply: 'yes, i am your great-grandfather; take away the pestle.' by this ingenious device the resourceful koshti combines the difficult filial duty of the feeding of his ancestors with the entertainment of his friends. 5. religion. the principal deity of the koshtis is gajanand or ganpati, whom they revere on the festival of ganesh chathurthi or the fourth day of the month of bhadon (august). they clean all their weaving implements and worship them and make an image of ganpati in cowdung to which they make offerings of flowers, rice and turmeric. on this day they do not work and fast till evening, when the image of ganpati is thrown into a tank and they return home and eat delicacies. some of them observe the tij or third day of every month as a fast for ganpati, and when the moon of the fourth day rises they eat cakes of dough roasted on a cowdung fire and mixed with butter and sugar, and offer these to ganpati. some of the salewars are vaishnavas and others lingayats: the former employ ayawars for their gurus or spiritual preceptors and are sometimes known as tirmendar; while the lingayats, who are also called woheda, have jangams as their priests. in balaghat and chhattisgarh many of the koshtis belong to the kabirpanthi sect, and these revere the special priests of the sect and abstain from the use of flesh and liquor. they are also known as ghatibandhia, from the ghat or string of beads of basil-wool (tulsi) which they tie round their necks. in mandla the kabirpanthi koshtis eat flesh and will intermarry with the others, who are known distinctively as saktaha. the gurmukhis are a special sect of the nagpur country and are the followers of a saint named koliba baba, who lived at dhapewara near kalmeshwar. he is said to have fed five hundred persons with food which was sufficient for ten and to have raised a brahman from the dead in umrer. some brahmans wished to test him and told him to perform a miracle, so he had a lot of brass pots filled with water and put a cloth over them, and when he withdrew it the water had changed into curded milk. the gurmukhis have a descendant of koliba baba for their preceptor, and each of them keeps a cocoanut in his house, which may represent koliba baba or else the unseen deity. to this he makes offerings of sandalwood, rice and flowers. the gurmukhis are forbidden to venerate any of the ordinary hindu deities, but they cannot refrain from making offerings to mata mai when smallpox breaks out, and if any person has the disease in his house they refrain from worshipping the cocoanut so long as it lasts, because they think that this would be to offer a slight to the smallpox goddess who is sojourning with them. another sect is that of the matwales who worship vishnu as narayan, as well as siva and sakti. they are so called because they drink liquor at their religious feasts. they have a small platform on which fresh cowdung is spread every day, and they bow to this before taking their food. once in four or five years after a wedding offerings are made to narayan deo on the bank of a tank outside the village; chickens and goats are killed and the more extreme of them sacrifice a pig, but the majority will not join with these. offerings of liquor are also made and must be drunk by the worshippers. mehras and other low castes also belong to this sect, but the koshtis will not eat with them. but in chhindwara it is said that on the day after the pola festival in august, when insects are prevalent and the season of disease begins, the koshtis and mangs go out together to look for the narbod shrub, [619] and here they break a small piece of bread and eat it together. in bhandara the koshtis worship the spirit of one kadu, patel or headman of the village of mohali, who was imprisoned in the fort of ambagarh under an accusation of sorcery in maratha times and died there. he is known as ambagarhia deo, and the people offer goats and fowls to him in order to be cured of diseases. the above notice indicates that the caste are somewhat especially inclined to religious feeling and readily welcome reformers striving against hindu polytheism and brahman supremacy. this is probably due in part to the social stigma which attaches to the weaving industry among the hindus and is resented as an injustice by the koshtis, and in part also to the nature of their calling, which leaves the mind free for thought during long hours while the fingers are playing on the loom; and with the uneducated serious reflection must almost necessarily be of a religious character. in this respect the koshti may be said to resemble his fellow-weavers of thrums. in nagpur district the koshtis observe the muharram festival, and many of them go out begging on the first day with a green thread tied round their body and a beggar's wallet. they cook the grain which is given to them on the tenth day of the festival, giving a little to the muhammadan priest and eating the rest. this observance of a muhammadan rite is no doubt due to their long association with followers of that religion in berar. 6. superstitions. before beginning work for the day the salewar makes obeisance to his loom and implements, nor may he touch them without having washed his face and hands. a woman must not approach the loom during her periodical impurity, and if anybody sneezes as work is about to be begun, they wait a little time to let the ill luck pass off. in nagpur they believe that the posts to which the ends of the loom are fastened have magical powers, and if any one touches them with his leg he will get ulcers up to the knee. if a woman steps on the kuchi or loom-brush she is put out of caste and a feast has to be given to the community before she is readmitted. to cure inflammation in the eyes they take a piece of plaited grass and wrap it round with cotton soaked in oil. then it is held before the sufferer's eyes and set on fire and the drops of oil are allowed to fall into water, and as they get cold and congeal the inflammation is believed to abate. among some classes of koshtis the killing of a cat is a very serious offence, almost equivalent to killing a cow. even if a man touches a dead cat he has to give two feasts and be fully purified. the sanctity of the cat among hindus is sometimes explained on the ground that it kills rats, which attract snakes into the house. but the real reason is probably that primitive people regard all domestic animals as sacred. the koshti also reveres the dog and jackal. 7. clothes, etc. the salewars of the godavari tract wrap a short rectangular piece of cloth round their head as a turban. formerly, mr. raghunath waman states, the caste had a distinctive form of turban by which it could be recognised, but under british administration these rules of dress are falling into abeyance. a few of the salewars put on the sacred thread, but it is not generally worn. salewar women have a device representing a half-moon tattooed on the forehead between the ends of the eyebrows; the cheeks are marked with a small dot and the arms adorned with a representation of the sacred tulsi or basil. 8. social rules and status. the caste eat flesh and fish and drink liquor, and in the maratha districts they will eat chickens like most castes of this country. in mandla they have recently prohibited the keeping of fowls, under pain of temporary expulsion. those who took food in charity-kitchens during the famine of 1900 were readmitted to the community with the penalty of shaving the beard and moustaches in the case of a man, and cutting a few hairs from the head in that of a woman. in berar the lad, jain and katghar koshtis are all strict vegetarians. the koshtis employ brahmans for their ceremonies, but their social status is about on a level with the village menials, below the cultivating castes. this, however, is a very good position for weavers, as most of the weaving castes are stigmatised as impure. but the koshtis live in towns and not in villages and weave the finer kinds of cloth for which considerable skill is required, while in former times their work also yielded a good remuneration. these facts probably account for their higher status; similarly the tantis or weavers of bengal who produce the fine muslins of dacca, so famous in mughal times, have obtained such a high rank there that brahmans will take water from their hands; [620] while the few tantis who are found in the central provinces are regarded as impure and are not touched. the caste are of a turbulent disposition, perhaps on account of their comparatively light work, which does not tire their bodies like cultivation and other manual labour. one or two serious riots have been caused by the koshtis in recent years. 9. occupation. the standard occupation of the caste is the weaving of the fine silk-bordered cloths which are universally worn on the body by brahmans and other well-to-do persons of the maratha country. the cloth is usually white with borders of red silk. they dye their own thread with lac or the flowers of the palas tree (butea frondosa). the price of a pair of loin-cloths of this kind is rs. 14, and of a pair of dupattas or shoulder-cloths rs. 10, while women's saris also are made. each colony of koshtis in a separate town usually only weave one kind of cloth of the size for which their looms are made. the silk-bordered loin-cloths of umrer and pauni are well known and are sent all over india. the export of hand-woven cloth from all towns of the nagpur plain has been estimated at rs. 5 lakhs a year. the rich sometimes have the cloths made with gold lace borders. the following account of the caste is given in sir r. craddock's nagpur settlement report: "the koshti is an inveterate grumbler, and indeed from his point of view he has a great deal to complain of. on the one hand the price of raw cotton and the cost of his living have increased very largely; on the other hand, the product of his loom commands no higher price than it did before, and he cannot rely on selling it when the market is slack. he cannot adapt himself to the altered environment and clings to his loom. he dislikes rough manual labour and alleges, no doubt with truth, that it deprives him of the delicacy of touch needed in weaving the finer cloths. if prices rise he is the first to be distressed, and on relief works he cannot perform the requisite task and has to be treated with special indulgence. the mills have been established many years in nagpur, but very few of the older weavers have sought employment there. they have begun to send their children, but work at home themselves, though they really all use machine-spun yarn. the koshtis are quarrelsome and addicted to drink, and they have generally been the chief instigators of grain riots when prices rise. they often marry several wives and their houses swarm with a proportionate number of children. but although the poorer members of the community are in struggling circumstances and are put to great straits when prices of food rise, those who turn out the fine silk-bordered work are fairly prosperous in ordinary times." end of vol. iii notes [1] this article is based on information collected by mr. hira lal in jubbulpore, and the author in mandla. [2] the word dishai really means direction or cardinal point, but as the goddess dwells in the sheep-pen it is probable that she was originally the sheep itself. [3] the following particulars are taken from the central provinces monograph on woollen industries, by mr. j. t. marten. [4] a naturalist on the prowl, 3rd ed., p. 219. in the quotation the hindustani word kammal, commonly used in the central provinces, is substituted for the marathi word kambli. [5] this article is compiled from an excellent monograph contributed by surgeon-major mitchell of bastar state, with extracts from colonel glasfurd's report on bastar (selections from the records of the government of india in the foreign department, no. 39 of 1863). [6] india census report (1901), p. 283. [7] madras census report (1891), p. 253. [8] ethnographic notes in southern india, p. 22. [9] madras census report (1891), p. 253. [10] report on the dependency of bastar, p. 37. [11] report on the dependency of bastar, p. 37. [12] ethnographic notes in southern india, p. 270. [13] risley, tribes and castes of bengal, art. pan. [14] the human sacrifices of the khonds were suppressed about 1860. see the article on that tribe. [15] this article is compiled from papers by mr. jhanjhan rai, tahsildar, sarangarh, and satyabadi misra of the sambalpur census office. [16] mund-jhulana, to swing the head. [17] based on notes taken by mr. hira lal at chanda and the notices of the garpagari in the district gazetteers. [18] village watchman. [19] dr. jevons, introduction to the history of religion, p. 171. [20] the golden bough, 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 68, quoting from french authorities. [21] this article is based on papers by mr. jeorakhan lal, deputy inspector of schools, bilaspur, and bhagwan singh, court of wards clerk, bilaspur. [22] the celestial physician. [23] this article is compiled partly from papers by munshis pyare lal misra and kanhya lal of the gazetteer office. [24] tribes and castes of bengal, art. ghasi. [25] central provinces gazetteer (1871), p. 273. [26] descriptive ethnology of bengal, p. 325. [27] ficus glomerata. [28] cynodon dactylon. [29] tribes and castes of bengal, art. ghasi. [30] this article is based partly on a paper by khan bahadur imdad ali, pleader, damoh. [31] punjab census report (1881), para. 272. [32] crooke's tribes and castes, art. ghosi. [33] from a note by mr. hira lal. [34] this article is compiled from papers by kanhya lal of the gazetteer office, and madho rao, deputy inspector of schools, balaghat. [35] balaghat district gazetteer (c. e. low), p. 80. [36] linguistic survey of india, vol. iv. dravidian language, p. 386. [37] the country of gondwana properly included the satpura plateau and a section of the nagpur plain and nerbudda valley to the south and west. [38] early history of india, 3rd ed. p. 337. [39] art. gondwana. [40] linguistic survey, munda and dravidian languages, iv. p. 285. [41] notes, p. 15. [42] garha is six miles from jubbulpore. [43] see article on kol. [44] mr. standen's betul settlement report. [45] the argument in this section will be followed more easily if read after the legend in the following paragraphs. [46] highlands of central india (chapman & hall). [47] deo-khulla or threshing-floor of the gods. see section on religion. [48] passage from mr. hislop's version. [49] dhupgarh in pachmarhi might be indicated, which has a steep summit. [50] terminalia arjuna. [51] this extract is reproduced by permission of the publishers, messrs. chapman & hall, london. [52] tekam the teak tree, markam the mango tree, and telengam the telugu. these are the names of well-known exogamous septs. [53] see section on religion. [54] see also art. kahar. [55] the theory is stated and explained in vol. iv. of exogamy and totemism. [56] see para. 15. [57] boswellia serrata. [58] semecarpus anacardium. [59] anogeissus latifolia. [60] diosypyros tomentosa. [61] one rupee = 1s. 4d. [62] from mr. langhorne's monograph. [63] the above rite has some resemblance to the test required of the suitors of penelope in the odyssey of bending the bow of odysseus and shooting an arrow through the axes, which they could not perform. [64] the information on child-birth is obtained from papers by mr. durga prasad pande, extra assistant commissioner, and the rev. mr. franzen of chhindwara, and from notes taken in mandla. [65] see articles on kunbi, kurmi, and mehtar. [66] boswellia serrata. [67] the following examples of names were furnished by the rev. mr. franzen and mr. d. p. pande. [68] see article on kurmi. [69] boswellia serrata. [70] deputy-commissioner, chhindwara. the note was contributed to the central provinces census report for 1881 (mr. drysdale). [71] ghora, a horse. [72] diospyros tomentosa. [73] cassia fistula. [74] this is incorrect, at present at any rate, as the karma is danced during the harvest period. but it is probable that the ritual observances for communal fishing and hunting have now fallen into abeyance. [75] c. p. gazetteer (1871), introduction, p. 130. [76] this section contains some information furnished by r. b. hira lal. [77] notes on the gonds, pp. 15, 16. [78] indian caste, i. p. 325. [79] see article birhor. [80] see article bhunjia. [81] notes, p. 1. [82] highlands of central india, p. 156. [83] report on bastar dependency, p. 41. [84] assessment of revenue for land. [85] quoted in c.p. gazetteer (1871), introduction, p. 113. [86] chhindwara settlement report. [87] report on bastar dependency, p. 43. [88] ind. ant. (1876), p. 359. [89] see para. 65, tattooing. [90] see para. 41, religion. [91] balaghat district gazetteer, p. 87. [92] rawan was the demon king of ceylon who fought against rama, and from whom the gonds are supposed to be descended. hence this song may perhaps refer to a gond revolt against the hindus. [93] the amaltas or cassia fistula, which has flowers like a laburnum. the idea is perhaps that its leaves are too small to make a proper leaf-cup, and she will not take the trouble to get suitable leaves. [94] hislop, notes, p. 2. [95] chhindwara settlement report. [96] this article is based on a paper by pandit pyare lal misra. [97] this article is compiled from papers by mr. kesho rao joshi, headmaster, city school, nagpur, and pyare lal misra, ethnographic clerk. [98] page 67. [99] in the maratha districts the term ganges sometimes signifies the wainganga. [100] dam apparently here means life or breath. [101] gunthorpe, p. 91. [102] this article contains material from mr. j. c. oman's mystics, ascetics and saints of india, sir e. maclagan's punjab census report, 1891, and dr. j. n. bhattacharya's hindu castes and sects (calcutta, messrs. thacker, spink and co.). [103] elaeocarpus. [104] mr. marten's c.p. census report (1911), p. 79. [105] orphéus, p. 137. [106] oman, mystics, ascetics and saints, p. 269. [107] bhattacharya, hindu castes and sects, p. 380. [108] bhattacharya, ibidem, and oman, mystics, ascetics and saints, pp. 160, 161. [109] buchanan, eastern india, i. pp. 197, 198. [110] nesfield, brief view of the caste system, p. 86. [111] j. c. oman, cults, customs and superstitions of india (london, t. fisher unwin), p. 11. [112] mystics, ascetics and saints of india, pp. 156, 157. [113] sir e. maclagan, punjab census report (1891), p. 112. [114] this article is based on notes by mr. percival, assistant conservator of forests, and rai bahadur hira lal. [115] for further details see article on gond gowari. [116] see article on kunbi. [117] early history of india, 3rd ed. pp. 409, 411. [118] mr. smith ascribes this discovery to messrs. a. m. t. jackson (bombay gazetteer, vol. i. part i., 1896, p. 467); d. r. bhandarkar, gurjaras (j. bo. r.a.s. vol. xx.); and epigraphic notes (ibidem, vol. xxi.); and professor kielhorn's paper on the gwalior inscription of mihira bhoja in a german journal. [119] bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat, appendix b, the gujars. [120] the khazars were known to the chinese as yetas, the beginning of yeta-i-li-to, the name of their ruling family, and the nations of the west altered this to hyatilah and ephthalite. campbell, ibidem. [121] see article on panwar rajput, para. 1. [122] campbell, loc. cit. p. 495. [123] tribes and castes, article gujar, para. 12. the description is mainly taken from elliott's history of india as told by its own historians. [124] description of the kangra gujars by mr. barnes. quoted in ibbetson's punjab census report (1881), para. 481. [125] census report, para. 481. [126] cf. krishna's epithet of murlidhar or the flute-player, and the general association of the flute with herdsmen and shepherds in greek and roman mythology. [127] ibidem. [128] hoshangabad settlement report, para. 16. [129] nimar settlement report (1868). [130] this article is based partly on a paper by mr. abdus subhan khan, tahsildar, hinganghat, and mr. aduram chaudhri of the gazetteer office. [131] the trifoliate leaf of aegle marmelos. [132] bombay gazetteer, vol. xviii. p. 266. [133] history of the marathas, vol. i. p. 26, footnote. [134] bombay gazetteer, vol. x. p. 119. [135] bombay ethnographic survey, monograph on gurao. [136] sesamum. [137] bombay gazetteer, vol. xix. p. 101. [138] this article is compiled principally from a monograph by munshi kanhya lal, assistant master, raipur high school, and formerly of the gazetteer office; and also from papers by mr. panda baijnath, superintendent of bastar state, and mr. gokul prasad, tahsildar of dhamtari. the descriptions of marriage, funeral and birth customs are taken from munshi kanhya lal's monograph. [139] by the rev. g. k. gilder of the methodist episcopal mission of raipur. [140] chalki is said to have been a brahman who gave shelter to the pregnant fugitive widow of a raja; and her child was the ancestor of the bastar dynasty. but the name may also be taken from the chalukya rajput clan. [141] the rawats or ahirs are graziers, and the bhatra, parja and muria are primitive tribes allied to the gonds. [142] linguistic survey, vol. vii. p. 331, and a note kindly furnished by sir g. grierson at the time of the census. [143] buchanania latifolia. [144] bassia latifolia. both these trees are valued because the fruit of the first and the flowers of the second afford food. [145] a black pulse. [146] the hindus number the days of each lunar fortnight separately. [147] it is simply water in which gold has been dipped. [148] crooke, ii. 481. [149] brief view, p. 31. [150] buchanania latifolia. [151] based principally on the account of the hatkars on p. 200 of sir a. lyall's berar gazetteer, with some notes taken by mr. hira lal in buldana. [152] colonel meadows taylor, tara, p. 404. [153] ain-i-akbari, quoted in berar gazetteer, p. 200. [154] berar gazetteer. [155] partly based on a paper by munshi kanhaya lal of the gazetteer office. [156] muhammadans of gujarat, by khan bahadur fazalullah lutfullah faridi, pp. 21, 22. [157] rasmala, ii. p. 90. [158] faridi, ibidem. [159] see article on bhat. [160] acacia arabica. [161] the late mr. a. m. t. jackson's notes, ind. ant., august 1912, p. 56. [162] laws of manu, xi. p. 175, quoted in the origin and development of the moral ideas, ii. p. 476. [163] westermarck, the origin and development of the moral ideas, ii. p. 470. [164] ibidem, ii. p. 471. [165] ibidem, ii. pp. 481, 482. [166] ibidem, ii. pp. 487-489. [167] this article is compiled from a paper by mr. babu rao, deputy inspector of schools, seoni district. [168] in this year only 33 holias were returned as against more than 4000 in 1891; but, on the other hand, in 1901 the number of golars was double that of the previous census. [169] mysore census report (1891), p. 254. [170] ethnographic notes in southern india, p. 258. [171] this article is principally based on information collected by mr. hira lal in bhandara. [172] a corruption of uika. [173] see the articles mahar and kunbi. [174] this article is partly based on a paper by bihari lal, patwari, of hoshangabad. [175] semaria is a common name of villages, and is of course as such derived from the semar tree, but the argument is that the jadams took the name from the village and not from the tree. totem is perhaps rather a strong word for the kind of veneration paid; the vernacular term used in bombay is devak. [176] this article is based on an account of the jaduas by mr. a. knyvett, superintendent of police, patna, and kindly communicated by mr. c. w. c. plowden, deputy inspector-general of police, bengal, through mr. g. w. gayer, in charge of the central provinces criminal investigation department. [177] sherring, castes and tribes, iii. p. 123. [178] the nut of eleocarpus lanceolatus. [179] aegle marmelos. [180] hindu manners, customs, and ceremonies, 1897 ed. p. 118. [181] this article is partly based on information contributed by mr. debendra nath dutt, pleader, narsinghpur; mr. ganga singh, extra assistant commissioner, hoshangabad; and mr. aduram chaudhri of the gazetteer office. the correct pronunciation of the caste name is jat, but in the central provinces it is always called jat. [182] punjab census report (1881), para. 421. [183] early history of india. [184] mahabharata, viii. 2026, et seq., translated by professor h. h. wilson, and quoted in vol. i. pp. 260, 262 of dr. j. wilson's indian caste. [185] ibidem, paras. 422-424. [186] kashyap was a rishi or saint, but he may probably have developed into an eponymous hero from kachhap, a tortoise. [187] hoshangabad settlement report, p. 62. [188] aegle marmelos. [189] hoshangabad settlement report, loc. cit. [190] this article is entirely based on an account of the caste furnished by rai bahadur panda baijnath, superintendent, bastar state. [191] bassia latifolia. [192] boswellia serrata. [193] this has been fully demonstrated by sir j. g. frazer in the golden bough. [194] colebrooke's essays. [195] quoting from dr. george smith's life of dr. wilson, p. 74. [196] ibidem, pp. 13-15. [197] weber's indian literature, p. 239. [198] gibbon's decline and fall of the roman empire, chap, lxiii. [199] republished in the theosophist. [200] eastern india, ii. p. 756. [201] travels in the mughal empire, constable's edition, p. 316. [202] rajasthan, ii. p. 19. [203] maclagan, l.c. p. 115. [204] ibidem, l.c. [205] maclagan, l.c. [206] crooke's tribes and castes, art. kanphata. [207] crooke's tribes and castes, art. jogi. [208] sleeman, report on the badhaks, pp. 332, 333. [209] these proverbs are taken from temple and fallon's hindustani proverbs. [210] bombay gazetteer, vol. xxi. p. 184. [211] phaseolus radiatus. [212] newcomb's astronomy for everybody, p. 33. [213] owing to the precession of the equinoxes, the sidereal year is not the same as the solar year, being about 20 minutes longer. that is, the sun passes a particular star a second time in a period of 365 days 6 hours and 9 minutes, while it passes the equatorial point in 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 49 seconds, this latter period being the solar year. the difference is due to slight changes in the direction of the earth's axis, which change the position of the celestial equator and of the equinoctial point where the sun crosses it. it is not clear how the hindus get over this difficulty, but the point does not affect the general account. [214] the stars corresponding to the nakshatras and their symbols are mainly taken from mr. l. d. barnett's antiquities of india, pp. 190, 191, compared with the list in mr. w. brennand's hindu astronomy, pp. 40, 42. [215] taken from professor newcomb's astronomy for everybody. [216] the moon's orbit is really an ellipse like that of the earth and all the planets. [217] barnett, op. cit. p. 190. [218] the indian calendar, by messrs. sewell and dikshit, pp. 11 and 25. [219] brennand's hindu astronomy, p. 100. [220] the indian calendar, sewell and dikshit, p. 28 and table i. [221] this seems to have been done by some ancient indian astronomers. [222] the indian calendar, p. 29. [223] taken from brennand's hindu astronomy, p. 39. [224] barnett, antiquities of india, p. 193. [225] the above particulars regarding the measurement of time by the gharial are taken from 'an account of the hindustani horometry' in asiatic researches, vol. v. p. 81, by john gilchrist, esq. the account appears to be to some extent controversial, and it is possible that the arrangement of the gharis may have varied in different localities. [226] the information contained in this paragraph is taken from captain mackintosh's report on the ramosis, chap. iii. (india office library tracts), in which a large variety of rules are given. [227] some of these names and also some of the women's names have been taken from colonel temple's proper names of the punjabis. [228] punjab ethnography, para. 612. [229] this passage is taken from sir g. grierson's peasant life in bihar, p. 64. [230] this article is based on a paper by mr. pancham lal, naib-tahsildar, murwara, with extracts from the central provinces monograph on pottery and glassware, by mr. jowers, and some information collected by mr. hira lal. [231] dhal means a shield, and the ornament is of this shape. [232] crooke's tribes and castes, article kachhi. [233] partly based on a paper by munshi kanhya lal of the gazetteer office. [234] irvine, army of the mughals, pp. 158, 159. [235] boswellia serrata. [236] sesamum indicum. [237] this article is compiled from papers by mr. sarat chandra sanyal, sessions judge, nagpur, and mr. abdul samad, tahsildar, sohagpur. [238] eastern india, ii. 426. [239] ibidem, iii. pp. 119, 120. [240] moor, hindu infanticide, p. 91. [241] yule and burnell's hobson-jobson, crooke's edition, s.v. boy. [242] tribes and castes of the n.w.p., art. kahar. [243] private life of an eastern king, p. 207. [244] ibidem, pp. 200, 202. [245] stevens, in india, p. 313. [246] tribes and castes of bengal, art. kahar. [247] tribes and castes of bengal, ibidem. [248] s.v. boy. [249] this article is partly compiled from papers by mr. g. falconer taylor, forest divisional officer, and by kanhya lal, clerk in the gazetteer office. [250] berar census report (1881), p. 141. [251] hislop papers. vocabulary. [252] north arcot manual, p. 247. [253] 1881, p. 141. [254] ibidem. [255] bombay gazetteer (campbell), vol. xii. p. 120. [256] bombay gazetteer (campbell), vol. xxi. p. 172. [257] berar census report (1881), p. 141. [258] some information for this article has been supplied by babu lal, excise sub-inspector, mr. aduram chaudhri, tahsildar, and sundar lal richaria, sub-inspector of police. [259] tribes and castes of bengal, art. kalar. [260] bassia latifolia, the tree from whose flowers fermented liquor is made. [261] the headquarters of the sanjari tahsil in drug district. [262] phulbaba, lit. 'flower-father.' [263] this story is only transplanted, a similar one being related by colonel tod in the annals of the bundi state (rajasthan, ii. p. 441). [264] saccharum spontaneum. [265] settlement report, p. 26. [266] mr. (sir e.) maclagan's punjab census report (1891). [267] religions of india, p. 113. [268] apparently also called sarcostemma viminalis. [269] bombay gazetteer, parsis of guiarat, by messrs. nasarvanji girvai and behramji patel, p. 228, footnote. [270] ibidem. [271] hopkins, loc. cit. p. 213. [272] rajendra lal mitra, indo-aryans, ii. p. 419. [273] deussen, outlines of indian philosophy, p. 12. [274] indo-aryans, i. p. 393. [275] ibidem, p. 396. [276] ibidem, p. 402. [277] indo-aryans, i. p. 411. [278] garrett's classical dictionary, s.v. varuni and vishnu. [279] the golden bough, 2nd edition, i. pp. 359, 360. [280] indo-aryans, pp. 408, 409. [281] ibidem, pp. 404, 405. [282] indo-aryans, pp. 405, 406. [283] bombay gazetteer, poona, p. 549. [284] cannabis sativa. [285] a liquor made from the flowers of the hemp plant, commonly drunk in the hot weather. [286] see mr. e. clodd's myths and dreams, under dreams. [287] a name of siva or mahadeo. [288] 'victory to shankar.' [289] a preparation of opium for smoking. [290] t. h. hendley, account of the bhils, j.a.s.b. xliv., 1875, p. 360. [291] m. salomon reinach in orphéus, p. 120. [292] sir james frazer in attis, adonis, osiris, ii. p. 241. [293] book iv., chap. lxxv., quoted in lane's modern egyptians, p. 347. [294] lane, modern egyptians, p. 348. [295] eastern india, iii. p. 163. [296] sir g. watt's commercial products of india, s.v. nicotiana. [297] ind. ant., january 1911, p. 39. [298] tobacco is no doubt a derivative from some american word, and platts derives the hindi tanbaku or tambaku from tobacco. the fact that tanbaku is also persian for tobacco militates against the sanskrit derivation suggested by mr. ganpat rai and others, and tends to demonstrate its american importation. [299] this article is based on papers drawn up by mr. hira lal, extra assistant commissioner, pyare lal misra, ethnographic clerk, and a very full account of the tribe by mr. ganpati giri, manager of bindranawagarh, which has furnished the greater part of the article, especially the paragraphs on birth, religion and social customs. [300] jungle life in india, p. 588. [301] criminal tribes, p. 78. [302] criminal classes. [303] berar census report (1881), p. 140. [304] page 139. [305] see art. beria, para. 1. [306] ibbetson, punjab census report (1881), para. 527. [307] ibidem. [308] art. kanjar, para. 3. [309] ibbetson. [310] crooke, art. dom, para. 21. [311] lectures, p. 59. [312] bombay gazetteer, muhammadans of gujarat, p. 83. [313] kennedy, criminal tribes of bombay, p. 257. [314] criminal tribes, p. 46. [315] berar census report (1881), p. 140. [316] tribes and castes of bengal, art. dom. [317] nesfield, l.c. p. 393. [318] ind. ant. xvi. p. 37. [319] ind. ant. xv. p. 15. [320] in sir g. grierson's account the bhojpuri version is printed in the nagari character; but this cannot be reproduced. it is possible that one or two mistakes have been made in transliteration. [321] quoted in mr. crooke's article on dom. [322] gayer, lectures, p. 59. [323] gunthorpe, p. 81. mr. kennedy says: "sansia and beria women have a clove (lavang) in the left nostril; the sansias, but not the berias, wear a bullaq or pendant in the fleshy part of the nose." [324] gayer, l.c. p. 61. [325] crooke, l.c. para. 3. [326] in a footnote mr. nesfield states: "the kanjar who communicated these facts said that the child used to open out its neck to the knife as if it desired to be sacrificed to the deity." [327] butea frondosa. [328] it is not, i think, used for weaving now, but only for stuffing quilts and cushions. [329] but elsewhere mr. nesfield says that the brushes are made from the khas-khas grass, and this is, i think, the case in the central provinces. [330] this article is compiled principally from a note by mr. paiku, inspector of police, chanda. [331] this article is based principally on a paper by nand kishore, bohidar, sambalpur. [332] hobson-jobson, art. cranny. [333] eragrostis cynosuroides. [334] (london, a. & c. black.) [335] this definition of totemism is more or less in accord with that held by the late professor robertson smith, but is not generally accepted. the exhaustive collection of totemic beliefs and customs contained in sir j. g. frazer's totemism and exogamy affords, however, substantial evidence in favour of it among tribes still in the hunting stage in australia, north america and africa. the indian form of totemism is, in the writer's opinion, a later one, arising when the totem animal has ceased to be the main source of life, and when the clan come to think that they are descended from their totem animal and that the spirits of their ancestors pass into the totem animal. when this belief arises, they cease eating the totem as a mark of veneration and respect, and abstain from killing or injuring it. finally the totem comes to be little more than a clan-name or family name, which serves the purpose of preventing marriage between persons related through males, who believe themselves to be descended from a common ancestor. [336] orphéus (heinemann), p. 197. [337] lane, modern egyptians, p. 248. [338] orphéus, p. 47. [339] ibidem, p. 50. [340] b. g. parsis of gujarat, pp. 232, 241. [341] orphéus, pp. 101, 102. [342] ibidem, p. 204. [343] ibidem, p. 144. [344] ibidem, p. 169. [345] d. m. flinders-petrie, egypt and israel, p. 61. [346] gomme, folk-lore as a historical science, p. 161. [347] haug's essays on the parsis, p. 286. [348] golden bough, ii. pp. 299-301. see article on kumhar. [349] orphéus, p. 139. [350] orphéus, pp. 119, 120. [351] ibidem, p. 144. [352] religions, ancient and modern, ancient rome, cyril bailey, p. 86. [353] religions, ancient and modern, ancient egypt, professor flinders-petrie, p. 22. [354] religions, ancient and modern, ancient egypt, professor flinders-petrie, pp. 24, 26. [355] vide article on bania. [356] dowson's and garrett's classical dictionaries, art. kartikeya. [357] religion of the semites, p. 265. [358] ibidem, pp. 269, 270. [359] religion of the semites, pp. 270, 271. [360] ibidem, pp. 273, 274. [361] religion of the semites, p. 289. [362] ibidem, p. 313. [363] religion of the semites, p. 271. [364] religion of the semites, p. 275. [365] golden bough, ii. p. 321. [366] vide art. kumhar. [367] religion of the semites, p. 338. [368] ibidem, p. 281. [369] dr jevons, introduction to the history of religion, p. 150. [370] religion of the semites, p. 285. [371] orphéus, pp. 123, 125. [372] in following the explanation of the passover given by professor robertson smith and m. reinach, it is necessary with great diffidence to dissent from the hypothesis of sir j. g. frazer that the lamb was a substitute for the previous sacrifice by the israelites of their first-born sons. [373] orphéus, p. 272; religion of the semites, p. 311. [374] religion of the semites, p. 304. [375] ibidem, pp. 305, 306. [376] religion of the semites, pp. 296, 297. [377] golden bough, ii. p. 313. [378] when the blood of the animal was poured out before the god as his share. [379] religion of the semites, p. 246. [380] vide article on dhanwar. [381] sir g. robertson, kafirs of the hindu kush, pp. 450, 451. [382] ibidem, p. 460. [383] dalton, ethnology of bengal, p. 176. [384] grant-duff, history of the marathas, vol. i. p. 27. mr. hira lal notes that owing to the predominance of muhammadans in berar the practice of slaughtering all animals by the method of halal and the regular employment of the mullah to pronounce the sacred text before slaughter may have grown up for their convenience. and, as in other instances, the hindus may have simply imitated the muhammadans in regarding this method of slaughter as necessary. this however scarcely seems to impair the force of the argument if the hindus actually refused to eat animals not killed by halal; they must in that case have attached some religious significance or virtue to the rite, and the most probable significance is perhaps that stated in the text. as mr. hira lal points out, the hindu sacred books provide an elaborate ritual for the sacrifice of animals, but this may have fallen into abeyance with the decline in the custom of eating meat. [385] vide article on mochi. [386] v. a. smith, asoka, p. 56. [387] ibidem, p. 58. [388] this article is compiled from papers by mr. rajaram gangadhar, tahsildar, arvi; mr. sadasheo jairam, sanskrit professor, hislop college; and mr. deodatta namdar, manager, court of wards, chauri. [389] crooke's tribes and castes, art. thathera. [390] crooke's art. thathera. [391] a part of the information contained in this article is furnished by mr. aduram chaudhri of the gazetteer office. [392] madras census report (1901), p. 151, quoting from south indian inscriptions, buchanan's mysore, canara and malabar, and elliot's history of india. [393] origin and development of the moral ideas, ii. pp. 444, 445. [394] the golden bough, vol. ii. p. 205 et seq. [395] garrett's classical dictionary of the hindus, p. 322. [396] westermarck, ibidem, quoting ward's hindus, p. 134. [397] wheeler's history of india, vol. iv. part ii. pp. 324, 325. [398] forbes, rasmala, i. p. 247. [399] crooke's tribes and castes, art. tawaif. [400] extract from the dasa kumara charita or adventures of the ten youths, in a group of hindu stories, p. 72. [401] s. m. edwardes, by-ways of bombay, p. 31. [402] hindu manners, customs and ceremonies, p. 93. [403] eastern india, i. p. 119. [404] ibidem, iii. p. 107. [405] ibidem, ii. p. 930. [406] persian travels, book iii. chap. xvii. [407] from a review of a german staff officer in india, written by sir evelyn wood in the saturday review, 5th february 1910. [408] tribes and castes of bengal, art. vaishnava. the notice, as stated, refers only to the lowest section of bairagis. [409] memoir of central india. [410] tribes and castes of the n.-w. p., art. katwa. [411] temple and fallon's hindustani proverbs. [412] perhaps a leather strap or belt. [413] a revolution or circuit. [414] a thousand. [415] the third baisakh (june). [416] butea frondosa. [417] a description of the ceremony is given in the article on kurmi. [418] this article is based almost entirely on a monograph contributed by mr. hira lal. [419] ethnology, p. 158. [420] fruit of the egg-plant. [421] ethnology, pp. 136, 137. [422] jungle life in india, pp. 315, 316. [423] this article is based partly on papers by munshi kanhya lal of the gazetteer office, mr. sundar lal, extra assistant commissioner, saugor, and mr. j. n. sil, pleader, seoni. [424] hindus of gujarat, p. 59, quoting from ind. ant. vi. 192-193. [425] hindu castes and sects, p. 175. [426] eastern india, i. p. 162. [427] ibidem, ii. p. 466. [428] ibidem, ii. p. 736. [429] ibidem, ii. p. 122. [430] essays, vol. ii. p. 182. [431] ethnology of bengal, pp. 312, 313. [432] united provinces census report (1901), pp. 222-223. [433] lala jwala prasad, extra assistant commissioner, in sir e. a. maclagan's punjab census report for 1891. [434] memoir of central india, vol. ii. pp. 165-166. [435] the kanungo maintains the statistical registers of land-revenue, rent, cultivation, cropping, etc., for the district as a whole which are compiled from those prepared by the patwaris for each village. [436] hindus of gujarat, p. 60. [437] ibidem, p. 64. [438] ibidem, p. 61. [439] bhattacharya, hindu castes and sects, p. 177. it is true that dr. bhattacharya states that the kayasths were also largely employed under the hindu kings of bengal, but he gives no authority for this. the gaur kayasths also claim that the sena kings of bengal were of their caste, but considering that these kings were looked on as spiritual heads of the country and one of them laid down rules for the structure and intermarriage of the brahman caste, it is practically impossible that they could have been kayasths. the muhammadan conquest of bengal took place at an early period, and very little detail is known about the preceding hindu dynasties. [440] risley, tribes and castes of bengal, art. bihar kayasth. [441] sherring, tribes and castes, vol. iii. pp. 253-254. [442] bhattacharya, hindu castes and tribes, p. 177. [443] hindus of gujarat, p. 81. [444] ibidem, p. 67. [445] ibidem, p. 68, and mackintosh, report in the ramosis, india office tracts, p. 77. [446] hobson-jobson, s.v. cranny. [447] hobson-jobson, p. 167. [448] memoir of central india, loc. cit. [449] hindus of gujarat, p. 60. [450] tribes and castes of bengal, art. bengal kayasth. the kayasths deny the story that the five kayasths were servants of the five brahmans, and say that they were kshatriyas sent on a mission from the king of kanauj to the king of bengal. this, however, is improbable in view of the evidence already given as to the historical status of the kayasths. [451] tribes and castes, ibidem. [452] hindu castes and sects, p. 155. [453] ibidem, pp. 375, 380. [454] see articles on ghasia and dhobi. [455] village communities, p. 125. [456] hindu castes and sects, ibidem, p. 177. [457] tribes and castes, art. kayasth. [458] bhattacharya, loc. cit., p. 188. [459] hindus of gujarat, p. 72. [460] dasrath and kaushilya were the father and mother of rama. [461] these are the occupations of the kayasths. [462] geography and astronomy. [463] quoted from the matsapuran in a criticism by babu krishna nag verma. [464] this article is based on papers by mr. mahfuz ali, tahsildar, rajnand-gaon, mr. jowahir singh, settlement superintendent, sambalpur, and mr. aduram chaudhri of the gazetteer office. [465] tribes and castes of bengal, art. kaibartta. [466] tribes and castes of bengal, art. kewat. [467] tribes and castes of bengal, ibidem. [468] a curved stick carried across the shoulders, from which are suspended two panniers. [469] this article is based on mr. crooke's and colonel dalton's accounts, and some notes taken by mr. hira lal at raigarh. [470] ethnology of bengal, pp. 128, 129. [471] ibidem, pp. 209, 210. [472] tribes and castes, art. kharwar. [473] tribes and castes of bengal. [474] from bhuj, an arm, and jangh, a thigh. these are hindi words, and the whole story is obviously a brahmanical legend. balrai seems a corruption of balaram, the brother of krishna. [475] estate held on feudal tenure. [476] religion and folklore of northern india, vol. ii. p. 170. [477] crooke, tribes and castes. [478] saccharum spontaneum. [479] tribes and castes, art. birhor. [480] the above instances are reproduced from sir j. g. frazer's psyche's task (london, 1909). these cases are all of homicide, but it seems likely that the action of the khairwars may be based on the same motives, as the fear of ghosts is strong among these tribes. [481] risley, loc. cit. [482] ethnology of bengal, pp. 128, 129. [483] crooke's tribes and castes, art. khairwa. quoting from bombay gazetteer, x. 48 and iii. 310. [484] loc. cit. [485] tribes and castes of bengal, art. khandait. in 1911, after the transfer of sambalpur, only 18 khandaits remained in the central provinces. [486] the following particulars are from a paper by mr. kashinath bohidar, assistant settlement superintendent, sonpur. [487] compiled principally from a paper by kanhya lal, clerk in the gazetteer office. [488] carthamus tinctorius. [489] in the ethnographic appendices to the india census report of 1901 a slightly different version of the story is given by captain luard. the dangis, it must be remembered, are a high caste ranking just below rajputs. [490] this article is mainly based on notes taken by rai bahadur hira lal at raigarh, with extracts from colonel dalton's and sir h. risley's accounts of the tribe. [491] tribes and castes of bengal, art. kharia. [492] saccharum spontaneum. this grass infests cultivated fields and is very difficult to eradicate. [493] melia indica. [494] ethnology of bengal. [495] jungle life in india, p. 89. [496] linguistic survey, vol. iv. munda and dravidian languages, p. 22. [497] ibidem, p. 129. [498] mr. crooke's tribes and castes, art. khatik. [499] census report (1881), para. 502. [500] this statement does not apply to the chamars of the central provinces. [501] tribes and castes of bengal, art. khatik. [502] bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat, pp. 55, 56. [503] tribes and castes, art. khatri. [504] bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat, p. 55. [505] bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat, p. 189. [506] ibidem, pp. 58, 59. [507] hindus of gujarat, pp. 58, 59. [508] this article consists mainly of extracts from mr. f. l. faridi's full account of the khojahs in the bombay gazetteer, muhammadans of gujarat. [509] kandh is the uriya spelling, and kond or khond that of the telugus. [510] linguistic survey of india. [511] narsingha means a man-lion and is one of vishnu's incarnations; this subsept would seem, therefore, to have been formed since the khonds adopted hinduism. [512] in orissa, however, relationship through females is a bar to marriage, as recorded in sir h. risley's article. [513] report on the khonds, p. 56. [514] report, p. 59. [515] sir h. risley notes that the elephant represented the earth-goddess herself, who was here conceived in elephant form. in the hill tracts of gumsur she was represented in peacock form, and the post to which the victim was bound bore the effigy of a peacock. macpherson also records that when the khonds attacked the victim they shouted, 'no sin rests on us; we have bought you with a price.' [516] golden bough, 2nd ed. vol. ii. p. 241 sq. [517] pages 517-519. published 1906. [518] journal, a. s. of bengal, 1898. [519] sir g. a. grierson's linguistic survey, munda and dravidian languages. [520] this article is compiled principally from a paper by pandit sakharam, revenue inspector, hoshangabad district. [521] tod's rajasthan, vol. ii. p. 327. [522] elliott's hoshangabad settlement report, p. 60. [523] compiled from papers by mr. mulchand, deputy inspector of schools, betul; mr. shams-ul-husain, tahsildar, sohagpur; mr. kalyan chand, manager, court of wards, betul; and kanhya lal, clerk in the gazetteer office. [524] hoshangabad settlement report (1867), p. 60. [525] history of the sikhs, p. 15, footnote. [526] ibbetson's census report (1881), p. 297. [527] nagpur settlement report, p. 24. [528] mr. lawrence's bhandara settlement report (1867), p. 46. [529] bombay gazetteer, satara, p. 106. [530] see article on kunbi. [531] bhandara district gazetteer, para. 90. [532] bhandara settlement report. [533] ibidem. [534] subordinate revenue officer. [535] tribes and castes of bengal, art. bhumij. [536] the mundas and their country, p. 400. [537] linguistic survey, munda and dravidian languages, vol. vi. p. 7. [538] tribes and castes of bengal, art. munda. [539] tribes and castes of bengal, p. 15. [540] introduction to the mundas and their country, p. 9. [541] introduction to the mundas and their country, p. 9. [542] garha is six miles from jubbulpore. [543] the mundas and their country, p. 124. [544] rasmala, i. p. 113. [545] two baskets slung from a stick across the shoulders. [546] dalton, ethnology of bengal, p. 166. [547] dalton, p. 152. [548] november, january and february. [549] tribes and castes, art. munda. [550] thuiya, bhuiya is a mere jingle. [551] j.a.s.b., no. 1 of 1903, p. 31. [552] dalton, ibidem. [553] mr. b. c. mazumdar's monograph. [554] roy, ibidem, p. 428. [555] the mundas and their country, p. 121. [556] linguistic survey, vol. iv., munda and dravidian languages, p. 27. [557] this article includes some extracts from notes made by colonel mackenzie when commissioner of berar, and subsequently published in the pioneer newspaper; and information collected for the district gazetteers in yeotmal and wardha. [558] papers relating to the aboriginal tribes of the central provinces, p. 10. [559] ibidem, editor's note. [560] linguistic survey, vol. iv., munda and dravidian languages, p. 561. [561] india census report (1901), p. 287. [562] hunter's imperial gazetteer, art. kolamallai hills. [563] based partly on papers by mr. bihari lal, naib-tahsildar, bilaspur, and mr. aduram chaudhri of the gazetteer office. [564] for further information the articles on sansia and beria may be consulted. [565] andropagon schoenanthus. [566] gunthorpe, loc. cit. [567] ibidem, p. 49. [568] kitts, loc. cit. [569] ind. ant. iii. p. 185, satara gazetteer, p. 119. [570] lyall's berar gazetteer, pp. 103-5. [571] kathiawar gazetteer, p. 140. [572] crooke's edition of hobson-jobson, art. koli. [573] bombay city census report (1901) (edwards). [574] gujarat gazetteer, p. 238. [575] golden book of india, s.v. [576] semecarpus anacardium, the marking-nut tree. [577] kitts, berar census report (1881), p. 131. [578] akola gazetteer (mr. c. brown), p. 116. [579] p. 197. [580] hindus of gujarat, l.c. [581] indian antiquary, vol. iii. p. 236. [582] bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat, p. 250. [583] indian antiquary, vol. iii. p. 236. [584] this article is largely compiled from an interesting paper submitted by mr. parmanand tiwari, extra assistant commissioner and assistant settlement officer, sambalpur. [585] phaseolus mungo. [586] madras census report (1901), p. 162. [587] mysore ethnographic survey, komati caste (h. v. nanjundayya). [588] h. v. nanjundayya, loc. cit. [589] h. v. nanjundayya, loc. cit. [590] tribes and castes of the north-west provinces, iii. 316. [591] this article is largely based on a monograph contributed by mr. h. r. crosthwaite, assistant commissioner, hoshangabad, and contains also extracts from a monograph by mr. ganga prasad khatri, forest divisional officer, betul, and from the description of the korkus given by mr. (sir charles) elliott in the hoshangabad settlement report (1867), and by major forsyth in the nimar settlement report (1868-69). [592] risley's tribes and castes of bengal, appendix v.: korwa. [593] see also art. kol. [594] the local term for the god siva. [595] bauhinia vahlii. [596] bassia latifolia, buchanania latifolia, gmelina arborea and sterculia urens. [597] nearly 3 1/2 tons. [598] paspalum scrobiculatum, panicum psilopodium, coix lachryma, eleusine coracana, saccharum officianarum, setaria italica, oryza sativa. [599] eugenia jambolana. [600] makyatotha, jondhratotha, dharsiima, changri, lobo, khambi, dagde, kullya, bursuma and killibhasam. [601] zizyphus jujuba. [602] the tiger-god. [603] the above passage is taken from mr. (sir charles) elliott's hoshangabad settlement report written in 1867. since that time the belief in the magical powers of the bhumka has somewhat declined. [604] a small measure for grain. [605] most of the information in this paragraph is taken from mr. ganga prasad khatri's report. [606] boswellia serrata. [607] this article is based on colonel dalton's account of the tribe and on notes by mr. n. t. kunte, jailor, sarguja, and mr. narbad dhanu sao, assistant manager, uprora. [608] ethnology of bengal, p. 221. [609] shorea robusta. [610] dalton, loc. cit. p. 229. [611] ethnology of bengal, p. 228. [612] ethnology of bengal, pp. 228, 229. [613] bauhinia vahlii. [614] believed to be some kind of vulture. [615] this article is based on a good paper by mr. raghunath waman vaidya, schoolmaster, hinganghat, and others by mr. m. e. hardas, tahsildar, umrer, and messrs. aduram chaudhri and pyare lal misra of the gazetteer office. [616] v. nanjundayya, monograph on the sale caste (mysore ethnographical survey). [617] with this may be compared the tradition of the sweeper caste that winnowing fans and sieves were first made out of bones and sinews. [618] kitts, berar census report (1881), p. 127. [619] bauhinia rusa. [620] sir h. risley's tribes and castes of bengal, art. tanti. produced partly from images generously made available by the internet archive/million book project) the tribes and castes of the central provinces of india by r.v. russell of the indian civil service superintendent of ethnography, central provinces assisted by rai bahadur hira lal extra assistant commissioner published under the orders of the central provinces administration in four volumes vol. iv. macmillan and co., limited st. martin's street, london. 1916 contents of volume iv articles on castes and tribes of the central provinces in alphabetical order the articles which are considered to be of most general interest are shown in capitals kumhar (potter) 3 kunbi (cultivator) 16 kunjra (greengrocer) 50 kuramwar (shepherd) 52 kurmi (cultivator) 55 lakhera (worker in lac) 104 lodhi (landowner and cultivator) 112 lohar (blacksmith) 120 lorha (growers of san-hemp) 126 mahar (weaver and labourer) 129 mahli (forest tribe) 146 majhwar (forest tribe) 149 mal (forest tribe) 153 mala (cotton-weaver and labourer) 156 mali (gardener and vegetable-grower) 159 mallah (boatman and fisherman) 171 mana (forest tribe, cultivator) 172 manbhao (religious mendicant) 176 mang (labourer and village musician) 184 mang-garori (criminal caste) 189 manihar (pedlar) 193 mannewar (forest tribe) 195 maratha (soldier, cultivator and service) 198 mehtar (sweeper and scavenge) 215 meo (tribe) 233 mina or deswali (non-aryan tribe, cultivator) 235 mirasi (bard and genealogist) 242 mochi (shoemaker) 244 mowar (cultivator) 250 murha (digger and navvy) 252 nagasia (forest tribe) 257 nahal (forest tribe) 259 nai (barber) 262 naoda (boatman and fisherman) 283 nat (acrobat) 286 nunia (salt-refiner; digger and navvy) 294 ojha (augur and soothsayer) 296 oraon (forest tribe) 299 paik (soldier, cultivator) 321 panka (labourer and village watchman) 324 panwar rajput (landowner and cultivator) 330 pardhan (minstrel and priest) 352 pardhi (hunter and fowler) 359 parja (forest tribe) 371 pasi (toddy-drawer and labourer) 380 patwa (maker of silk braid and thread) 385 pindari (freebooter) 388 prabhu (writer and clerk) 399 raghuvansi (cultivator) 403 rajjhar (agricultural labourer) 405 rajput (soldier and landowner) 410 rajput clans baghel. bagri. bais. baksaria. banaphar. bhadauria. bisen. bundela. chandel. chauhan. dhakar. gaharwar. gaur. haihaya. huna. kachhwaha. nagvansi. nikumbh. paik. parihar. rathor. sesodia. solankhi. somvansi. surajvansi. tomara. yadu. rajwar (forest tribe) 470 ramosi (village watchmen and labourers, formerly thieves) 472 rangrez (dyer) 477 rautia (forest tribe and cultivators, formerly soldiers) 479 sanaurhia (criminal thieving caste) 483 sansia (vagrant criminal tribe) 488 sansia (uria) (mason and digger) 496 savar (forest tribe) 500 sonjhara (gold-washer) 509 sudh (cultivator) 514 sunar (goldsmith and silversmith) 517 sundi (liquor distiller) 534 tamera (coppersmith) 536 taonla (soldier and labourer) 539 teli (oilman) 542 thug (criminal community of murderers by strangulation) 558 turi (bamboo-worker) 588 velama (cultivator) 593 vidur (village accountant, clerk and writer) 596 waghya (religious mendicant) 603 yerukala (criminal thieving caste) 606 illustrations in volume iv 97. potter and his wheel 4 98. group of kunbis 16 99. figures of animals made for pola festival 40 100. hindu boys on stilts 42 101. throwing stilts into the water at the pola festival 46 102. carrying out the dead 48 103. pounding rice 60 104. sowing 84 105. threshing 86 106. winnowing 88 107. women grinding wheat and husking rice 90 108. group of women in hindustani dress 92 109. _coloured plate_: examples of spangles worn by women on the forehead 106 110. weaving: sizing the warp 142 111. winding thread 144 112. bride and bridegroom with marriage crowns 166 113. bullocks drawing water with _mot_ 170 114. mang musicians with drums 186 115. statue of maratha leader, bimbaji bhonsla, in armour 200 116. image of the god vishnu as vithoba 248 117. coolie women with babies slung at the side 256 118. hindu men showing the _choti_ or scalp-lock 272 119. snake-charmer with cobras 292 120. transplanting rice 340 121. group of pardhans 352 122. little girls playing 400 123. gujarati girls doing figures with strings and sticks 402 124. ornaments 524 125. teli's oil-press 544 126. the goddess kali 574 127. waghya mendicants 604 pronunciation a has the sound of u in _but_ or _murmur_. a has the sound of a in _bath_ or _tar_. e has the sound of é in _écarté_ or ai in _maid_. i has the sound of i in _bit_, or (as a final letter) of y in _sulky_. i has the sound of ee in _beet_. o has the sound of o in _bore_ or _bowl_. u has the sound of u in _put_ or _bull_. u has the sound of oo in _poor_ or _boot_ the plural of caste names and a few common hindustani words is formed by adding _s_ in the english manner according to ordinary usage, though this is not, of course, the hindustani plural. note.--the rupee contains 16 annas, and an anna is of the same value as a penny. a pice is a quarter of an anna, or a farthing. rs. 1-8 signifies one rupee and eight annas. a lakh is a hundred thousand, and a krore ten million. part ii articles on castes and tribes kumhar--yemkala vol. iv kumhar list of paragraphs 1. _traditions of origin_. 2. _caste subdivisions_. 3. _social customs_. 4. _the kumhar as a village menial_. 5. _occupation_. 6. _breeding pigs for sacrifices_. 7. _the goddess demeter_. 8. _estimation of the pig in india_. 9. _the buffalo as a corn-god._ 10. _the dasahra festival_. 11. _the goddess devi_. 1. traditions of origin _kumhar, kumbhar_.--the caste of potters, the name being derived from the sanskrit _kumbh_, a water-pot. the kumhars numbered nearly 120,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911 and were most numerous in the northern and eastern or hindustani-speaking districts, where earthen vessels have a greater vogue than in the south. the caste is of course an ancient one, vessels of earthenware having probably been in use at a very early period, and the old hindu scriptures consequently give various accounts of its origin from mixed marriages between the four classical castes. "concerning the traditional parentage of the caste," sir h. risley writes, [1] "there seems to be a wide difference of opinion among the recognised authorities on the subject. thus the brahma vaivartta purana says that the kumbhakar or maker of water-jars (_kumbka_), is born of a vaishya woman by a brahman father; the parasara samhita makes the father a malakar (gardener) and the mother a chamar; while the parasara padhati holds that the ancestor of the caste was begotten of a tili woman by a pattikar or weaver of silk cloth." sir monier williams again, in his sanskrit dictionary, describes them as the offspring of a kshatriya woman by a brahman. no importance can of course be attached to such statements as the above from the point of view of actual fact, but they are interesting as showing the view taken of the formation of castes by the old brahman writers, and also the position given to the kumhar at the time when they wrote. this varies from a moderately respectable to a very humble one according to the different accounts of his lineage. the caste themselves have a legend of the usual brahmanical type: "in the kritayuga, when maheshwar (siva) intended to marry the daughter of hemvanta, the devas and asuras [2] assembled at kailas (heaven). then a question arose as to who should furnish the vessels required for the ceremony, and one kulalaka, a brahman, was ordered to make them. then kulalaka stood before the assembly with folded hands, and prayed that materials might be given to him for making the pots. so vishnu gave his sudarsana (discus) to be used as a wheel, and the mountain of mandara was fixed as a pivot beneath it to hold it up. the scraper was adi kurma the tortoise, and a rain-cloud was used for the water-tub. so kulalaka made the pots and gave them to maheshwar for his marriage, and ever since his descendants have been known as kumbhakar or maker of water-jars." 2. caste sub-divisions the kumhars have a number of subcastes, many of which, as might be expected, are of the territorial type and indicate the different localities from which they migrated to the central provinces. such are the malwi from malwa, the telenga from the telugu country in hyderabad, the pardeshi from northern india and the maratha from the maratha districts. other divisions are the lingayats who belong to the sect of this name, the gadhewal or gadhere who make tiles and carry them about on donkeys (_gadha_), the bardia who use bullocks for transport and the sungaria who keep pigs (_suar_). certain endogamous groups have arisen simply from differences in the method of working. thus the hathgarhia [3] mould vessels with their hands only without using the wheel; the goria [4] make white or red pots only and not black ones; the kurere mould their vessels on a stone slab revolving on a stick and not on a wheel; while the chakere are kumhars who use the wheel (_chak_) in localities where other kumhars do not use it. the chhutakia and rakhotia are illegitimate sections, being the offspring of kept women. 3. social customs girls are married at an early age when their parents can afford it, the matches being usually arranged at caste feasts. in chanda parents who allow a daughter to become adolescent while still unwed are put out of caste, but elsewhere the rule is by no means so strict. the ceremony is of the normal type and a brahman usually officiates, but in betul it is performed by the sawasa or husband of the bride's paternal aunt. after the wedding the couple are given kneaded flour to hold in their hands and snatch from each other as an emblem of their trade. in mandla a bride price of rs. 50 is paid. the kumhars recognise divorce and the remarriage of widows. if an unmarried girl is detected in criminal intimacy with a member of the caste, she has to give a feast to the caste-fellows and pay a fine of rs. 1-4 and five locks of her hair are also cut off by way of purification. the caste usually burn the dead, but the lingayat kumhars always bury them in accordance with the practice of their sect. they worship the ordinary hindu deities and make an offering to the implements of their trade on the festival of deothan igaras. the village brahman serves as their priest. in balaghat a kumhar is put out of caste if a dead cat is found in his house. at the census of 1901 the kumhar was ranked with the impure castes, but his status is not really so low. sir d. ibbetson said of him: "he is a true village menial; his social standing is very low, far below that of the lohar and not much above the chamar. his association with that impure beast, the donkey, the animal sacred to sitala, the smallpox goddess, pollutes him and also his readiness to carry manure and sweepings." as already seen there are in the central provinces sungaria and gadheria subcastes which keep donkeys and pigs, and these are regarded as impure. but in most districts the kumhar ranks not much below the barhai and lohar, that is in what i have designated the grade of village menials above the impure and below the cultivating castes. in bengal the kumhars have a much higher status and brahmans will take water from their hands. but the gradation of caste in bengal differs very greatly from that of other parts of india. 4. the kumhar as a village menial the kumhar is not now paid regularly by dues from the cultivators like other village menials, as the ordinary system of sale has no doubt been found more convenient in his case. but he sometimes takes the soiled grass from the stalls of the cattle and gives pots free to the cultivator in exchange. on akti day, at the beginning of the agricultural year, the village kumhar of saugor presents five pots with covers on them to each cultivator and receives 2 1/2 lbs. of grain in exchange. one of these the tenant fills with water and presents to a brahman and the rest he reserves for his own purposes. on the occasion of a wedding also the bridegroom's party take the bride to the kumharin's house as part of the _sohag_ ceremony for making the marriage propitious. the kumhar seats the bride on his wheel and turns it round with her seven times. the kumharin presents her with seven new pots, which are taken back to the house and used at the wedding. they are filled with water and are supposed to represent the seven seas. if any two of these pots accidentally clash together it is supposed that the bride and bridegroom will quarrel during their married life. in return for this the kumharin receives a present of clothes. at a funeral also the kumhar must supply thirteen vessels which are known as _ghats_, and must also replace the broken earthenware. like the other village menials at the harvest he takes a new vessel to the cultivator in his field and receives a present of grain. these customs appear to indicate his old position as one of the menials or general servants of the village ranking below the cultivators. grant-duff also includes the potter in his list of village menials in the maratha villages. [5] 5. occupation the potter is not particular as to the clay he uses and does not go far afield for the finer qualities, but digs it from the nearest place in the neighbourhood where he can get it free of cost. red and black clay are employed, the former being obtained near the base of hills or on high-lying land, probably of the laterite formation, and the latter in the beds of tanks or streams. when the clay is thoroughly kneaded and ready for use a lump of it is placed on the centre of the wheel. the potter seats himself in front of the wheel and fixes his stick or _chakrait_ into the slanting hole in its upper surface. with this stick the wheel is made to revolve very rapidly, and sufficient impetus is given to it to keep it in motion for several minutes. the potter then lays aside the stick and with his hands moulds the lump of clay into the shape required, stopping every now and then to give the wheel a fresh spin as it loses its momentum. when satisfied with the shape of his vessel he separates it from the lump with a piece of string, and places it on a bed of ashes to prevent it sticking to the ground. the wheel is either a circular disc cut out of a single piece of stone about a yard in diameter, or an ordinary wooden wheel with spokes forming two diameters at right angles. the rim is then thickened with the addition of a coating of mud strengthened with fibre. [6] the articles made by the potter are ordinary circular vessels or _gharas_ used for storing and collecting water, larger ones for keeping grain, flour and vegetables, and _surahis_ or amphoras for drinking-water. in the manufacture of these last salt and saltpetre are mixed with the clay to make them more porous and so increase their cooling capacity. a very useful thing is the small saucer which serves as a lamp, being filled with oil on which a lighted wick is floated. these saucers resemble those found in the excavations of roman remains. earthen vessels are more commonly used, both for cooking and eating purposes among the people of northern india, and especially by muhammadans, than among the marathas, and, as already noticed, the kumhar caste musters strong in the north of the province. an earthen vessel is polluted if any one of another caste takes food or drink from it and is at once discarded. on the occasion of a death all the vessels in the house are thrown away and a new set obtained, and the same measure is adopted at the holi festival and on the occasion of an eclipse, and at various other ceremonial purifications, such as that entailed if a member of the household has had maggots in a wound. on this account cheapness is an indispensable quality in pottery, and there is no opening for the kumhar to improve his art. another product of the kumhar's industry is the _chilam_ or pipe-bowl. this has the usual opening for inhaling the smoke but no stem, an impromptu stem being made by the hands and the smoke inhaled through it. as the _chilam_ is not touched by the mouth, hindus of all except the impure castes can smoke it together, passing it round, and hindus can also smoke it with muhammadans. it is a local belief that, if an earthen pot is filled with salt and plastered over, the rains will stop until it is opened. this device is adopted when the fall is excessive, but, on the other hand, if there is drought, the people sometimes think that the potter has used it to keep off the rain, because he cannot pursue his calling when the clay is very wet. and on occasions of a long break in the rains, they have been known to attack his shop and break all his vessels under the influence of this belief. the potter is sometimes known as prajapati or the 'the creator,' in accordance with the favourite comparison made by ancient writers of the moulding of his pots with the creation of human beings, the justice of which will be recognised by any one who watches the masses of mud on a whirling wheel growing into shapely vessels in the potter's creating hands. 6. breeding pigs for sacrifices certain kumhars as well as the dhimars make the breeding of pigs a means of subsistence, and they sell these pigs for sacrifices at prices varying from eight annas (8d.) to a rupee. the pigs are sacrificed by the gonds to their god bura deo and by hindus to the deity bhainsasur, or the buffalo demon, for the protection of the crops. bhainsasur is represented by a stone in the fields, and when crops are beaten down at night by the wind it is supposed that bhainsasur has passed over them and trampled them down. hindus, usually of the lower castes, offer pigs to bhainsasur to propitiate him and preserve their crops from his ravages, but they cannot touch the impure pig themselves. what they have to do, therefore, is to pay the kumhar the price of the pig and get him to offer it to bhainsasur on their behalf. the kumhar goes to the god and sacrifices the pig and then takes the body home and eats it, so that his trade is a profitable one, while conversely to sacrifice a pig without partaking of its flesh must necessarily be bitter to the frugal hindu mind, and this indicates the importance of the deity who is to be propitiated by the offering. the first question which arises in connection with this curious custom is why pigs should be sacrificed for the preservation of the crops; and the reason appears to be that the wild pig is the animal which, at present, mainly damages the crops. 7. the goddess demeter in ancient greece pigs were offered to demeter, the corn-goddess, for the protection of the crops, and there is good reason to suppose that the conceptions of demeter herself and the lovely proserpine grew out of the worship of the pig, and that both goddesses were in the beginning merely the deified pig. the highly instructive passage in which sir j. g. frazer advances this theory is reproduced almost in full [7]: "passing next to the corn-goddess demeter, and remembering that in european folklore the pig is a common embodiment of the corn-spirit, we may now ask whether the pig, which was so closely associated with demeter, may not originally have been the goddess herself in animal form? the pig was sacred to her; in art she was portrayed carrying or accompanied by a pig; and the pig was regularly sacrificed in her mysteries, the reason assigned being that the pig injures the corn and is therefore an enemy of the goddess. but after an animal has been conceived as a god, or a god as an animal, it sometimes happens, as we have seen, that the god sloughs off his animal form and becomes purely anthropomorphic; and that then the animal which at first had been slain in the character of the god, comes to be viewed as a victim offered to the god on the ground of its hostility to the deity; in short, that the god is sacrificed to himself on the ground that he is his own enemy. this happened to dionysus and it may have happened to demeter also. and in fact the rites of one of her festivals, the thesmophoria, bear out the view that originally the pig was an embodiment of the corn-goddess herself, either demeter or her daughter and double proserpine. the thesmophoria was an autumn festival celebrated by women alone in october, and appears to have represented with mourning rites the descent of proserpine (or demeter) into the lower world, and with joy her return from the dead. hence the name descent or ascent variously applied to the first, and the name _kalligeneia_ (fair-born) applied to the third day of the festival. now from an old scholium on lucian we learn some details about the mode of celebrating the thesmophoria, which shed important light on the part of the festival called the descent or the ascent. the scholiast tells us that it was customary at the thesmophoria to throw pigs, cakes of dough, and branches of pine-trees into 'the chasms of demeter and proserpine,' which appear to have been sacred caverns or vaults. "in these caverns or vaults there were said to be serpents, which guarded the caverns and consumed most of the flesh of the pigs and dough-cakes which were thrown in. afterwards--apparently at the next annual festival--the decayed remains of the pigs, the cakes, and the pine-branches were fetched by women called 'drawers,' who, after observing, rules of ceremonial purity for three days, descended into the caverns, and, frightening away the serpents by clapping their hands, brought up the remains and placed them on the altar. whoever got a piece of the decayed flesh and cakes, and sowed it with the seed-corn in his field, was believed to be sure of a good crop. "to explain this rude and ancient rite the following legend was told. at the moment when pluto carried off proserpine, a swineherd called eubuleus chanced to be herding his swine on the spot, and his herd was engulfed in the chasm down which pluto vanished with proserpine. accordingly, at the thesmophoria pigs were annually thrown into caverns to commemorate the disappearance of the swine of eubuleus. it follows from this that the casting of the pigs into the vaults at the thesmophoria formed part of the dramatic representation of proserpine's descent into the lower world; and as no image of proserpine appears to have been thrown in, we may infer that the descent of the pigs was not so much an accompaniment of her descent as the descent itself, in short, that the pigs were proserpine. afterwards, when proserpine or demeter (for the two are equivalent) became anthropomorphic, a reason had to be found for the custom of throwing pigs into caverns at her festival; and this was done by saying that when pluto carried off proserpine, there happened to be some swine browsing near, which were swallowed up along with her. the story is obviously a forced and awkward attempt to bridge over the gulf between the old conception of the corn-spirit as a pig and the new conception of her as an anthropomorphic goddess. a trace of the older conception survived in the legend that when the sad mother was searching for traces of the vanished proserpine, the footprints of the lost one were obliterated by the footprints of a pig; originally, we may conjecture, the footprints of the pig were the footprints of proserpine and of demeter herself. a consciousness of the intimate connection of the pig with the corn lurks in the legend that the swineherd eubuleus was a brother of triptolemus, to whom demeter first imparted the secret of the corn. indeed, according to one version of the story, eubuleus himself received, jointly with his brother triptolemus, the gift of the corn from demeter as a reward for revealing to her the fate of proserpine. further, it is to be noted that at the thesmophoria the women appear to have eaten swine's flesh. the meal, if i am right, must have been a solemn sacrament or communion, the worshippers partaking of the body of the god." 8. estimation of the pig in india we thus see how the pig in ancient greece was worshipped as a corn-deity because it damaged the crops and subsequently became an anthropomorphic goddess. it is suggested that pigs are offered to bhainsasur by the hindus for the same reason. but there is no hindu deity representing the pig, this animal on the contrary being regarded as impure. it seems doubtful, however, whether this was always so. in rajputana on the stone which the regent of kotah set up to commemorate the abolition of forced taxes were carved the effigies of the sun, the moon, the cow and the hog, with an imprecation on whoever should revoke the edict. [8] colonel tod says that the pig was included as being execrated by all classes, but this seems very doubtful. it would scarcely occur to any hindu nowadays to associate the image of the impure pig with those of the sun, moon and cow, the representations of three of his greatest deities. rather it gives some reason for supposing that the pig was once worshipped, and the rajputs still do not hold the wild boar impure, as they hunt it and eat its flesh. moreover, vishnu in his fourth incarnation was a boar. the gonds regularly offer pigs to their great god bura deo, and though they now offer goats as well, this seems to be a later innovation. the principal sacrifice of the early romans was the suovetaurilia or the sacrifice of a pig, a ram and a bull. the order of the words, m. reinach remarks, [9] is significant as showing the importance formerly attached to the pig or boar. since the pig was the principal sacrificial animal of the primitive tribes, the gonds and baigas, its connection with the ritual of an alien and at one time hostile religion may have strengthened the feeling of aversion for it among the hindus, which would naturally be engendered by its own dirty habits. 9. the buffalo as a corn-god it seems possible then that the hindus reverenced the wild boar in the past as one of the strongest and fiercest animals of the forest and also as a destroyer of the crops. and they still make sacrifices of the pig to guard their fields from his ravages. these sacrifices, however, are not offered to any deity who can represent a deified pig but to bhainsasur, the deified buffalo. the explanation seems to be that in former times, when forests extended over most of the country, the cultivator had in the wild buffalo a direr foe than the wild pig. and one can well understand how the peasant, winning a scanty subsistence from his poor fields near the forest, and seeing his harvest destroyed in a night by the trampling of a herd of these great brutes against whom his puny weapons were powerless, looked on them as terrible and malignant deities. the sacrifice of a buffalo would be beyond the means of a single man, and the animal is now more or less sacred as one of the cow tribe. but the annual joint sacrifice of one or more buffaloes is a regular feature of the dasahra festival and extends over a great part of india. in betul and other districts the procedure is that on the dasahra day, or a day before, the mang and kotwar, two of the lowest village menials, take a buffalo bull and bring it to the village proprietor, who makes a cut on its nose and draws blood. then it is taken all round the village and to the shrines of the gods, and in the evening it is killed and the mang and kotwar eat the flesh. it is now believed that if the blood of a buffalo does not fall at dasahra some epidemic will attack the village, but as there are no longer any wild buffaloes except in the denser forests of one or two districts, the original meaning of the rite might naturally have been forgotten. [10] 10. the dasahra festival the dasahra festival probably marks the autumnal equinox and also the time when the sowing of wheat and other spring crops begins. many hindus still postpone sowing the wheat until after dasahra, even though it might be convenient to begin before, especially as the festival goes by the lunar month and its date varies in different years by more than a fortnight. the name signifies the tenth day, and prior to the festival a fast of nine days is observed, when the pots of wheat corresponding to the gardens of adonis are sown and quickly sprout up. this is an imitation of the sowing and growth of the real crop and is meant to ensure its success. during these nine days it is said that the goddess devi was engaged in mortal combat with the buffalo demon mahisasur or bhainsasur, and on the tenth day or the dasahra she slew him. the fast is explained as being observed in order to help her to victory, but it is really perhaps a fast in connection with the growing of the crops. a similar nine daysfast for the crops was observed by the greeks. [11] 11. the goddess devi devi signifies '_the_ goddess' _par excellence_. she is often the tutelary goddess of the village and of the family, and is held to have been originally mother earth, which may be supposed to be correct. in tracts where the people of northern and southern india meet she is identified with anna purna, the corn-goddess of the telugu country; and in her form of gauri or 'the yellow one' she is perhaps herself the yellow corn. as gauri she is worshipped at weddings in conjunction with ganesh or ganpati, the god of good fortune; and it is probably in honour of the harvest colour that hindus of the upper castes wear yellow at their weddings and consider it lucky. a brahman also prefers to wear yellow when eating his food. it has been seen [12] that red is the lucky colour of the lower castes of hindus, and the reason probably is that the shrines of their gods are stained red with the blood of the animals sacrificed. high-caste hindus no longer make animal sacrifices, and their offerings to siva, vishnu and devi consist of food, flowers and blades of corn. thus yellow would be similarly associated with the shrines of the gods. all hindu brides have their bodies rubbed with yellow turmeric, and the principal religious flower, the marigold, is orange-yellow. yellow is, however, also lucky as being the colour of vishnu or the sun, and a yellow flag is waved above his great temple at ramtek on the occasion of the fair. thus devi as the corn-goddess perhaps corresponds to demeter, but she is not in this form an animal goddess. the hindus worshipping mother earth, as all races do in the early stage of religion, may by a natural and proper analogy have ascribed the gift of the corn to her from whom it really comes, and have identified her with the corn-goddess. this is by no means a full explanation of the goddess devi, who has many forms. as parvati, the hill-maiden, and durga, the inaccessible one, she is the consort of siva in his character of the mountain-god of the himalayas; as kali, the devourer of human flesh, she is perhaps the deified tiger; and she may have assimilated yet more objects of worship into her wide divinity. but there seems no special reason to hold that she is anywhere believed to be the deified buffalo; and the probable explanation of the dasahra rite would therefore seem to be that the buffalo was at first venerated as the corn-god because, like the pig in greece, he was most destructive to the crops, and a buffalo was originally slaughtered and eaten sacramentally as an act of worship. at a later period the divinity attaching to the corn was transferred to devi, an anthropomorphic deity of a higher class, and in order to explain the customary slaughter of the buffalo, which had to be retained, the story became current that the beneficent goddess fought and slew the buffalo-demon which injured the crops, for the benefit of her worshippers, and the fast was observed and the buffalo sacrificed in commemoration of this event. it is possible that the sacrifice of the buffalo may have been a non-aryan rite, as the mundas still offer a buffalo to deswali, their forest god, in the sacred grove; and the korwas of sarguja nave periodical sacrifices to kali in which many buffaloes are slaughtered. in the pictures of her fight with bhainsasur, devi is shown as riding on a tiger, and the uneducated might imagine the struggle to have resembled that between a tiger and a buffalo. as the destroyer of buffaloes and deer which graze on the crops the tiger may even be considered the cultivator's friend. but in the rural tracts bhainsasur himself is still venerated in the guise of a corn-deity, and pig are perhaps offered to him as the animals which nowadays do most harm to the crops. kunbi [this article is based on the information collected for the district gazetteers of the central provinces, manuscript notes furnished by mr. a.k. smith, c.s., and from papers by pandit pyare lal misra and munshi kanhya lal. the kunbis are treated in the _poona_ and _khandesh_ volumes of the _bombay gazetteer_. the caste has been taken as typical of the marathi-speaking districts, and a fairly full description of the marriage and other ceremonies has therefore been given, some information on houses, dress and food being also reproduced from the _wardha_ and _yeotmal district gazetteers_.] list of paragraphs 1. _distribution of the caste and origin of name_. 2. _settlement in the central provinces_. 3. _sub castes_. 4. _the cultivating status_. 5. _exogamous septs_. 6. _restrictions on marriage of relatives_. 7. _betrothal and marriage_. 8. _polygamy and divorce_. 9. _widow-marriage_. 10. _customs at birth_. 11. _sixthand twelfth-day ceremonies_. 12. _devices for procuring children_. 13. _love charms_. 14. _disposal of the dead_. 15. _mourning_. 16. _religion_. 17. _the pola festival_. 18. _muhammadan tendencies of berar kunbis_. 19. _villages and houses_. 20. _furniture_. 21. _food_. 22. _clothes and ornaments_. 23. _the kunbi as cultivator_. 24. _social and moral characteristics_. 1. distribution of the caste and origin of name _kunbi_--the great agricultural caste of the maratha country. in the central provinces and berar the kunbis numbered nearly 1,400,000 persons in 1911; they belong to the nagpur, chanda, bhandara, wardha, nimar and betul districts of the central provinces. in berar their strength was 800,000, or nearly a third of the total population. here they form the principal cultivating class over the whole area except in the jungles of the north and south, but muster most strongly in the buldana district to the west, where in some taluks nearly half the population belongs to the kunbi caste. in the combined province they are the most numerous caste except the gonds. the name has various forms in bombay, being kunbi or kulambi in the deccan, kulwadi in the south konkan, kanbi in gujarat, and kulbi in belgaum. in sanskrit inscriptions it is given as kutumbika (householder), and hence it has been derived from _kutumba_, a family. a chronicle of the eleventh century quoted by forbes speaks of the kutumbiks or cultivators of the _grams,_ or small villages. [13] another writer describing the early rajput dynasties says: [14] "the villagers were koutombiks (householders) or husbandmen (karshuks); the village headmen were putkeels (patels)." another suggested derivation is from a dravidian root _kul_ a husbandman or labourer; while that favoured by the caste and their neighbours is from _kun_, a root, or _kan_ grain, and _bi_, seed; but this is too ingenious to be probable. 2. settlement in the central provinces it is stated that the kunbis entered khandesh from gujarat in the eleventh century, being forced to leave gujarat by the encroachments of rajput tribes, driven south before the early muhammadan invaders of northern india. [15] from khandesh they probably spread into berar and the adjoining nagpur and wardha districts. it seems probable that their first settlement in nagpur and wardha took place not later than the fourteenth century, because during the subsequent period of gond rule we find the offices of deshmukh and deshpandia in existence in this area. the deshmukh was the manager or headman of a circle of villages and was responsible for apportioning and collecting the land revenue, while the deshpandia was a head _patwari_ or accountant. the deshmukhs were usually the leading kunbis, and the titles are still borne by many families in wardha and nagpur. these offices [16] belong to the maratha country, and it seems necessary to suppose that their introduction into wardha and berar dates from a period at least as early as the fourteenth century, when these territories were included in the dominions of the bahmani kings of bijapur. a subsequent large influx of kunbis into wardha and nagpur took place in the eighteenth century with the conquest of raghuji bhonsla and the establishment of the maratha kingdom of nagpur. traces of these separate immigrations survive in the subdivisions of the caste, which will now be mentioned. 3. subcastes the internal structure of the kunbi caste in the central provinces shows that it is a mixed occupational body recruited from different classes of the population. the jhare or jungly [17] kunbis are the oldest immigrants and have no doubt an admixture of gond blood. they do not break their earthen vessels after a death in the house. with them may be classed the manwa kunbis of the nagpur district; these appear to be a group recruited from the manas, a primitive tribe who were dominant in chanda perhaps even before the advent of the gonds. the manwa kunbi women wear their cloths drawn up so as to expose the thigh like the gonds, and have some other primitive practices. they do not employ brahmans at their marriages, but consult a mahar mohturia or soothsayer to fix the date of the ceremony. other kunbis will not eat with the manwas, and the latter retaliate in the usual manner by refusing to accept food from them; and say that they are superior to other kunbis because they always use brass vessels for cooking and not earthen ones. among the other subcastes in the central provinces are the khaire, who take their name from the _khair_ [18] or catechu tree, presumably because they formerly prepared catechu; this is a regular occupation of the forest tribes, with whom it may be supposed that the khaire have some affinity. the dhanoje are those who took to the occupation of tending _dhan_ [19] or small stock, and they are probably an offshoot of the dhangar or shepherd caste whose name is similarly derived. like the dhangar women they wear cocoanut-shell bangles, and the manwa kunbis also do this; these bangles are not broken when a child is born, and hence the dhanojes and manwas are looked down on by the other subcastes, who refuse to remove their leaf-plates after a feast. the name of the khedule subcaste may be derived from _kheda_ a village, while another version given by mr. kitts [20] is that it signifies 'a beardless youth.' the highest subcaste in the central provinces are the tirole or tilole, who now claim to be rajputs. they say that their ancestors came from therol in rajputana, and, taking to agriculture, gradually became merged with the kunbis. another more probable derivation of the name is from the _til_ or sesamum plant. the families who held the hereditary office of deshmukh, which conferred a considerable local position, were usually members of the tirole subcaste, and they have now developed into a sort of aristocratic branch of the caste, and marry among themselves when matches can be arranged. they do not allow the remarriage of widows nor permit their women to accompany the wedding procession. the wandhekars are another group which also includes some deshmukh families, and ranks next to the tiroles in position. mr. kitts records a large number of subcastes in berar. [21] among them are some groups from northern india, as the hindustani, pardesi, dholewar, jaiswar and singrore; these are probably kurmis who have settled in berar and become amalgamated with the kunbis. similarly the tailanges and munurwars appear to be an offshoot of the great kapu caste of cultivators in the telugu country. the wanjari subcaste is a fairly large one and almost certainly represents a branch of the banjara caste of carriers, who have taken to agriculture and been promoted into the kunbi community. the lonhare take their name from lonar mehkar, the well-known bitter lake of the buldana district, whose salt they may formerly have refined. the ghatole are those who dwelt above the _ghats_ or passes of the saihadri range to the south of the berar plain. the baone are an important subcaste both in berar and the central provinces, and take their name from the phrase bawan berar, [22] a term applied to the province by the mughals because it paid fifty-two lakhs of revenue, as against only eight lakhs realised from the adjoining jhadi or hill country in the central provinces. in chhindwara is found a small local subcaste called gadhao because they formerly kept donkeys, though they no longer do so; they are looked down on by the others who will not even take water from their hands. in nimar is a group of gujarati kunbis who are considered to have been originally gujars. [23] their local subdivisions are leve and karwa and many of them are also known as dalia, because they made the _dal_ or pulse of burhanpur, which had a great reputation under native rule. it is said that it was formerly despatched daily to sindhia's kitchen. 4. the cultivating status it appears then that a kunbi has in the past been synonymous with a cultivator, and that large groups from other castes have taken to agriculture, have been admitted into the community and usually obtained a rise in rank. in many villages kunbis are the only ryots, while below them are the village menials and artisans, several of whom perform functions at weddings or on other occasions denoting their recognition of the kunbi as their master or employer; and beneath these again are the impure mahars or labourers. thus at a kunbi betrothal the services of the barber and washerman must be requisitioned; the barber washes the feet of the boy and girl and places vermilion on the foreheads of the guests. the washerman spreads a sheet on the ground on which the boy and girl sit. at the end of the ceremony the barber and washerman take the bride and bridegroom on their shoulders and dance to music in the marriage-shed; for this they receive small presents. after a death has occurred at a kunbi's house the impurity is not removed until the barber and washerman have eaten in it. at a kunbi's wedding the gurao or village priest brings the leafy branches of five trees, the mango, _jamun_ [24] _umar_ [25] and two others and deposits them at maroti's temple, whence they are removed by the parents of the bride. before a wedding again a kunbi bride must go to the potter's house and be seated on his wheel while it is turned round seven times for good luck. at seed-time and harvest all the village menials go to the cultivator's field and present him with a specimen of their wares or make obeisance to him, receiving in return a small present of grain. this state of things seems to represent the primitive form of hindu society from which the present widely ramified system, of castes may have expanded, and even now the outlines of the original structure may be discernible under all subsequent accretions. 5. exogamus septs each subcaste has a number of exogamous septs or clans which serve as a table of affinities in regulating marriage. the vernacular term for these is _kul_. some of the septs are named after natural objects or animals, others from titles or nicknames borne by the reputed founder of the group, or from some other caste to which he may have belonged, while others again are derived from the names of villages which maybe taken to have been the original home of the sept or clan. the following are some septs of the tirole subcaste: kole, jackal; wankhede, a village; kadu, bitter; jagthap, famous; kadam, a tree; meghe, a cloud; lohekari, a worker in iron; ughde, a child who has been exposed at birth; shinde, a palm-tree; hagre, one who suffers from diarrhoea; aglawe, an incendiary; kalamkar, a writer; wani (bania), a caste; sutar, a carpenter, and so on, a few of the groups of the baone subcaste are:--kantode, one with a torn ear; dokarmare, a killer of pigs; lute, a plunderer; titarmare, a pigeon-killer; and of the khedule: patre, a leaf-plate; ghoremare, one who killed a horse; bagmare, a tiger-slayer; gadhe, a donkey; burade, one of the burud or basor caste; naktode, one with a broken nose, and so on. each subcaste has a number of septs, a total of 66 being recorded for the tiroles alone. the names of the septs confirm the hypothesis arrived at from a scrutiny of the subcastes that the kunbis are largely recruited from the pre-aryan or aboriginal tribes. conclusions as to the origin of the caste can better be made in its home in bombay, but it may be noted that in canara, according to the accomplished author of _a naturalist on the prowl_ [26] the kunbi is quite a primitive forest-dweller, who only a few years back lived by scattering his seed on patches of land burnt clear of vegetation, collecting myrobalans and other fruits, and snaring and trapping animals exactly like the gonds and baigas of the central provinces. similarly in nasik it is stated that a large proportion of the kunbi caste are probably derived from the primitive tribes [27]. yet in the cultivated plains which he has so largely occupied, he is reckoned the equal in rank of the kurmi and other cultivating castes of hindustan, who in theory at any rate are of aryan origin and of so high a grade of social purity that brahmans will take water from them. the only reasonable explanation of this rise in status appears to be that the kunbi has taken possession of the land and has obtained the rank which from time immemorial belongs to the hereditary cultivator as a member and citizen of the village community. it is interesting to note that the wanjari kunbis of berar, who, being as already seen banjaras, are of rajput descent at any rate, now strenuously disclaim all connection with the banjara caste and regard their reception into the kunbi community as a gain in status. at the same time the refusal of the maratha brahmans to take water to drink from kunbis may perhaps have been due to the recognition of their non-aryan origin. most of the kunbis also eat fowls, which the cultivating castes of northern india would not usually do. 6. restrictions on marriage of relatives a man is forbidden to marry within his own sept or _kul_, or in that of his mother or either of his grandmothers. he may marry his wife's younger sister but not her elder sister. alliances between first and second cousins are also prohibited except that a sister's son may be married to a brother's daughter. such marriages are also favoured by the maratha brahmans and other castes, and the suitability of the match is expressed in the saying _ato ghari bhasi sun_, or 'at a sister's house her brother's daughter is a daughter-in-law.' the sister claims it as a right and not unfrequently there are quarrels if the brother decides to give his daughter to somebody else, while the general feeling is so strongly in favour of these marriages that the caste committee sometimes imposes a fine on fathers who wish to break through the rule. the fact that in this single case the marriage of near relatives is not only permitted but considered almost as an obligation, while in all other instances it is strictly prohibited, probably points to the conclusion that the custom is a survival of the matriarchate, when a brother's property would pass to his sister's son. under such a law of inheritance he would naturally desire that his heir should be united to his own daughter, and this union might gradually become customary and at length almost obligatory. the custom in this case may survive when the reasons which justified it have entirely vanished. and while formerly it was the brother who would have had reason to desire the match for his daughter, it is now the sister who insists on it for her son, the explanation being that among the kunbis as with other agricultural castes, to whom a wife's labour is a valuable asset, girls are expensive and a considerable price has to be paid for a bride. 7. betrothal and marriage girls are usually married between the ages of five and eleven and boys between ten and twenty. the kunbis still think it a mark of social distinction to have their daughters married as young as possible. the recognised bride-price is about twenty rupees, but much larger sums are often paid. the boy's father goes in search of a girl to be married to his son, and when the bride-price has been settled and the match arranged the ceremony of mangni or betrothal takes place. in the first place the boy's father proceeds to his future daughter-in-law's house, where he washes her feet, smears her forehead with red powder and gives her a present of a rupee and some sweetmeats. all the party then eat together. this is followed by a visit of the girl's father to the boy's house where a similar ceremony is enacted and the boy is presented with a cocoanut, a _pagri_ and cloth, and a silver or gold ring. again the boy's relatives go to the girl's house and give her more valuable presents of jewellery and clothing. a brahman is afterwards consulted to fix the date of the marriage, but the poorer kunbis dispense with his services as he charges two or three rupees. prior to the ceremony the bodies of the bride and bridegroom are well massaged with vegetable oil and turmeric in their respective houses, partly with a view to enhance their beauty and also perhaps to protect them during the trying period of the ceremony when maleficent spirits are particularly on the alert. the marriage-shed is made of eleven poles festooned with leaves, and inside it are placed two posts of the _saleh_ (_boswellia serrata_) or _umar_ (_ficus glomerata_) tree, one longer than the other, to represent the bride and bridegroom. two jars filled with water are set near the posts, and a small earthen platform called _baola_ is made. the bridegroom wears a yellow or white dress, and has a triangular frame of bamboo covered with tinsel over his forehead, which is known as _basing_ and is a substitute for the _maur_ or marriage-crown of the hindustani castes. over his shoulder he carries a pickaxe as the representative implement of husbandry with one or two wheaten cakes tied to it. this is placed on the top of the marriage-shed and at the end of the five days' ceremonies the members of the families eat the dried cakes with milk, no outsider being allowed to participate. the _barat_ or wedding procession sets out for the bride's village, the women of the bridegroom's family accompanying it except among the tirole kunbis, who forbid the practice in order to demonstrate their higher social position. it is received on the border of the girl's village by her father and his friends and relatives, and conducted to the _janwasa_ or temporary lodging prepared for it, with the exception of the bridegroom, who is left alone before the shrine of maroti or hanuman. the bridegroom's father goes to the marriage-shed where he washes the bride's feet and gives her another present of clothes, and her relatives then proceed to maroti's temple where they worship and make offerings, and return bringing the bridegroom with them. as he arrives at the marriage pavilion he touches it with a stick, on which the bride's brother who is seated above the shed pours down some water and is given a present of money by the bridegroom. the bridegroom's feet are then washed by his father-in-law and he is given a yellow cloth which he wears. the couple are made to stand on two wooden planks opposite each other with a curtain between them, the bridegroom facing east and the bride west, holding some akshata or rice covered with saffron in their hands. as the sun sets the officiating brahman gets on to the roof of the house and repeats the marriage texts from there. at his signal the couple throw the rice over each other, the curtain between them is withdrawn, and they change their seats. the assembled party applaud and the marriage proper is over. the brahman marks their foreheads with rice and turmeric and presses them together. he then seats them on the earthen platform or _baola_, and ties their clothes together, this being known as the brahma ganthi or brahman's knot. the wedding usually takes place on the day after the arrival of the marriage procession and another two days are consumed in feasting and worshipping the deities. when the bride and bridegroom return home after the wedding one of the party waves a pot of water round their heads and throws it away at a little distance on the ground, and after this some grain in the same manner. this is a provision of food and drink to any evil spirits who may be hovering round the couple, so that they may stop to consume it and refrain from entering the house. the expenses of the bride's family may vary from rs. 60 to rs. 100 and those of the bridegroom's from rs. 160 to rs. 600. a wedding carried out on a lavish scale by a well-to-do man is known as lal biah or a red marriage, but when the parties are poor the expenses are curtailed and it is then called safed biah or a white marriage. in this case the bridegroom's mother does not accompany the wedding procession and the proceedings last only two days. the bride goes back with the wedding procession for a few days to her husband's house and then returns home. when she arrives at maturity her parents give a feast to the caste and send her to her husband's house, this occasion being known as bolvan (the calling). the karwa kunbis of nimar have a peculiar rule for the celebration of marriages. they have a _guru_ or priest in gujarat who sends them a notice once in every ten or twelve years, and in this year only marriages can be performed. it is called _singhast ki sal_ and is the year in which the planet guru (jupiter) comes into conjunction with the constellation sinh (leo). but the karwas themselves think that there is a large temple in gujarat with a locked door to which there is no key. but once in ten or twelve years the door unlocks of itself, and in that year their marriages are celebrated. a certain day is fixed and all the weddings are held on it together. on this occasion children from infants in arms to ten or twelve years are married, and if a match cannot be arranged for them they will have to wait another ten or twelve years. a girl child who is born on the day fixed for weddings may, however, be married twelve days afterwards, the twelfth night being called mando rat, and on this occasion any other weddings which may have been unavoidably postponed owing to a death or illness in the families may also be completed. the rule affords a loophole of escape for the victims of any such _contretemps_ and also insures that every girl shall be married before she is fully twelve years old. rather than not marry their daughter in the _singhast ki sal_ before she is twelve the parents will accept any bridegroom, even though he be very poor or younger than the bride. this is the same year in which the celebration of marriages is forbidden among the hindus generally. the other kunbis have the general hindu rule that weddings are forbidden during the four months from the 11th asarh sudi (june) to the 11th kartik sudi (october). this is the period of the rains, when the crops are growing and the gods are said to go to sleep, and it is observed more or less as a time of abstinence and fasting. the hindus should properly abstain from eating sugarcane, brinjals, onions, garlic and other vegetables for the whole four months. on the 12th of kartik the marriage of tulsi or the basil plant with the saligram or ammonite representing vishnu is performed and all these vegetables are offered to her and afterwards generally consumed. two days afterwards, beginning from the 14th of kartik, comes the diwali festival. in betul the bridal couple are seated in the centre of a square made of four plough yokes, while a leaf of the pipal tree and a piece of turmeric are tied by a string round both their wrists. the untying of the string by the local brahman constitutes the essential and binding portion of the marriage. among the lonhare subcaste a curious ceremony is performed after the wedding. a swing is made, and a round pestle, which is supposed to represent a child, is placed on it and swung to and fro. it is then taken off and placed in the lap of the bride, and the effect of performing this symbolical ceremony is supposed to be that she will soon become a mother. 8. polygamy and divorce polygamy is permitted but rarely practised, a second wife being only taken if the first be childless or of bad character, or destitute of attractions. divorce is allowed, but in some localities at any rate a divorced woman cannot marry again unless she is permitted to do so in writing by her first husband. if a girl be seduced before marriage a fine is imposed on both parties and they are readmitted to social intercourse, but are not married to each other. curiously enough, in the tirole and wandhekar, the highest subcastes, the keeping of a woman is not an offence entailing temporary exclusion from caste, whereas among the lower subcastes it is. [28] 9. widow-marriage the kunbis permit the remarriage of widows, with the exception of the deshmukh families of the tirole subcaste who have forbidden it. if a woman's husband dies she returns to her father's house and he arranges her second marriage, which is called _choli-patal,_ or giving her new clothes. he takes a price for her which may vary from twenty-five to five hundred rupees according to the age and attractions of the woman. a widow may marry any one outside the family of her deceased husband, but she may not marry his younger brother. this union, which among the hindustani castes is looked upon as most suitable if not obligatory, is strictly forbidden among the maratha castes, the reason assigned being that a wife stands in the position of a mother to her husband's younger brothers. the contrast is curious. the ceremony of widow-marriage is largely governed by the idea of escaping or placating the wrath of the first husband's ghost, and also of its being something to be ashamed of and contrary to orthodox hinduism. it always takes place in the dark fortnight of the month and always at night. sometimes no women are present, and if any do attend they must be widows, as it would be the worst of omens for a married woman or unmarried girl to witness the ceremony. this, it is thought, would lead to her shortly becoming a widow herself. the bridegroom goes to the widow's house with his male friends and two wooden seats are set side by side. on one of these a betel-nut is placed which represents the deceased husband of the widow. the new bridegroom advances with a small wooden sword, touches the nut with its tip, and then kicks it off the seat with his right toe. the barber picks up the nut and burns it. this is supposed to lay the deceased husband's spirit and prevent his interference with the new union. the bridegroom then takes the seat from which the nut has been displaced and the woman sits on the other side to his left. he puts a necklace of beads round her neck and the couple leave the house in a stealthy fashion and go to the husband's village. it is considered unlucky to see them as they go away because the second husband is regarded in the light of a robber. sometimes they stop by a stream on the way home, and, taking off the woman's clothes and bangles, bury them by the side of the stream. an exorcist may also be called in, who will confine the late husband's spirit in a horn by putting in some grains of wheat, and after sealing up the horn deposit it with the clothes. when a widower or widow marries a second time and is afterwards attacked by illness, it is ascribed to the illwill of their former partner's spirit. the metal image of the first husband or wife is then made and worn as an amulet on the arm or round the neck. a bachelor who wishes to marry a widow must first go through a mock ceremony with an _akra_ or swallow-wort plant, as the widow-marriage is not considered a real one, and it is inauspicious for any one to die without having been properly married once. a similar ceremony must be gone through when a man is married for the third time, as it is held that if he marries a woman for the third time he will quickly die. the _akra_ or swallow-wort (_calotropis gigantea_) is a very common plant growing on waste land with mauve or purple flowers. when cut or broken a copious milky juice exudes from the stem, and in some places parents are said to poison children whom they do not desire to keep alive by rubbing this on their lips. 10. customs at birth during her monthly impurity a woman stays apart and may not cook for herself nor touch anybody nor sleep on a bed made of cotton thread. as soon as she is in this condition she will untie the cotton threads confining her hair and throw them away, letting her hair hang down. this is because they have become impure. but if there is no other woman in the house and she must continue to do the household work herself, she does not throw them away until the last day. [29] similarly she must not sleep on a cotton sheet or mattress during this time because she would defile it, but she may sleep on a woollen blanket as wool is a holy material and is not defiled. at the end of the period she proceeds to a stream and purifies herself by bathing and washing her head with earth. when a woman is with child for the first time her women friends come and give her new green clothes and bangles in the seventh month; they then put her into a swing and sing songs. while she is pregnant she is made to work in the house so as not to be inactive. after the birth of a child the mother remains impure for twelve days. a woman of the mang or mahar caste acts as midwife, and always breaks her bangles and puts on new ones after she has assisted at a birth. if delivery is prolonged the woman is given hot water and sugar or camphor wrapped in a betel-leaf, or they put a few grains of gram into her hand and then someone takes and feeds them to a mare, as it is thought that the woman's pregnancy has been prolonged by her having walked behind the tethering-ropes of a mare, which is twelve months in foal. or she is given water to drink in which a sulaimani onyx or a rupee of akbar's time has been washed; in the former case the idea is perhaps that a passage will be made for the child like the hole through the bead, while the virtue of the rupee probably consists in its being a silver coin and having the image or device of a powerful king like akbar. or it may be thought that as the coin has passed from hand to hand for so long, it will facilitate the passage of the child from the womb. a pregnant woman must not look on a dead body or her child may be still-born, and she must not see an eclipse or the child may be born maimed. some believe that if a child is born during an eclipse it will suffer from lung-disease; so they make a silver model of the moon while the eclipse lasts and hang it round the child's neck as a charm. sometimes when delivery is delayed they take a folded flower and place it in a pot of water and believe that as its petals unfold so the womb will be opened and the child born; or they seat the woman on a wooden bench and pour oil on her head, her forehead being afterwards rubbed with it in the belief that as the oil falls so the child will be born. if a child is a long time before learning to speak they give it leaves of the pipal tree to eat, because the leaves of this tree make a noise by rustling in the wind; or a root which is very light in weight, because they think that the tongue is heavy and the quality of lightness will thus be communicated to it. or the mother, when she has kneaded dough and washed her hands afterwards, will pour a drop or two of the water down the child's throat. and the water which made her hands clean and smooth will similarly clear the child's throat of the obstruction which prevented it from speaking. if a child's neck is weak and its head rolls about they make it look at a crow perching on the house and think this will make its neck strong like the crow's. if he cannot walk they make a little triangle on wheels with a pole called _ghurghuri_, and make him walk holding on to the pole. the first teeth of the child are thrown on to the roof of the house, because the rats, who have especially good and sharp teeth, live there, and it is hoped that the child's second teeth may grow like theirs. a few grains of rice are also thrown so that the teeth may be hard and pointed like the rice; the same word, _kani_, being used for the end of a grain of rice and the tip of a tooth. or the teeth are placed under a water-pot in the hope that the child's second teeth may grow as fast as the grass does under water-pots. if a child is lean some people take it to a place where asses have lain down and rolled in ashes; they roll the child in the ashes similarly and believe that it will get fat like the asses are. or they may lay the child in a pigsty with the same idea. people who want to injure a child get hold of its coat and lay it out in the sun to dry, in the belief that the child's body will dry up in a similar manner. in order to avert the evil eye they burn some turmeric and juari flour and hold the newly-born child in the smoke. it is also branded on the stomach with a burning piece of turmeric, perhaps to keep off cold. for the first day or two after birth a child is given cow's milk mixed with water or honey and a little castor oil, and after this it is suckled by the mother. but if she is unable to nourish it a wet-nurse is called in, who may be a woman of low caste or even a muhammadan. the mother is given no regular food for the first two days, but only some sugar and spices. until the child is six months old its head and body are oiled every second or third day and the body is well hand-rubbed and bathed. the rubbing is meant to make the limbs supple and the oil to render the child less susceptible to cold. if a child when sitting soon after birth looks down through its legs they think it is looking for its companions whom it has left behind and that more children will be born. it is considered a bad sign if a child bites its upper teeth on its underlip; this is thought to prognosticate illness and the child is prevented from doing so as far as possible. 11. sixth and twelfth day ceremonies on the sixth day after birth they believe that chhathi or satwai devi, the sixth-day goddess, comes at midnight and writes on the child's forehead its fate in life, which writing, it is said, may be seen on a man's skull when the flesh has come off it after death. on this night the women of the family stay awake all night singing songs and eating sweetmeats. a picture of the goddess is drawn with turmeric and vermilion over the mother's bed. the door of the birth-room is left open, and at midnight she comes. sometimes a sunar is employed to make a small image of chhathi devi, for which he is paid rs. 1-4, and it is hung round the child's neck. on this day the mother is given to eat all kinds of grain, and among flesh-eating castes the soup of fish and meat, because it is thought that every kind of food which the mother eats this day will be easily digested by the child throughout its life. on this day the mother is given a second bath, the first being on the day of the birth, and she must not bathe in between. sometimes after childbirth a woman buys several bottles of liquor and has a bath in it; the stimulating effect of the spirit is supposed to remedy the distension of the body caused by the birth. if the child is a boy it is named on the twelfth and if a girl on the thirteenth day. on the twelfth day the mother's bangles are thrown away and new ones put on. the kunbis are very kind to their children, and never harsh or quick-tempered, but this may perhaps be partly due to their constitutional lethargy. they seldom refuse a child anything, but taking advantage of its innocence will by dissimulation make it forget what it wanted. the time arrives when this course of conduct is useless, and then the child learns to mistrust the word of its parents. minute quantities of opium are generally administered to children as a narcotic. 12. devices for procuring children if a woman is barren and has no children one of the remedies prescribed by the sarodis or wandering soothsayers is that she should set fire to somebody's house, going alone and at night to perform the deed. so long as some small part of the house is burnt it does not matter if the fire be extinguished, but the woman should not give the alarm herself. it is supposed that the spirit of some insect which is burnt will enter her womb and be born as a child. perhaps she sets fire to someone else's house so as to obtain the spirit of one of the family's dead children, which may be supposed to have entered the insects dwelling on the house. some years ago at bhandak in chanda complaints were made of houses being set on fire. the police officer [30] sent to investigate found that other small fires continued to occur. he searched the roofs of the houses, and on two or three found little smouldering balls of rolled-up cloth. knowing of the superstition he called all the childless married women of the place together and admonished them severely, and the fires stopped. on another occasion the same officer's wife was ill, and his little son, having fever, was sent daily to the dispensary for medicine in charge of a maid. one morning he noticed on one of the soles of the boy's feet a stain of the juice of the _bhilawa_ [31] or marking-nut tree, which raises blisters on the skin. on looking at the other foot he found six similar marks, and on inquiry he learned that these were made by a childless woman in the expectation that the boy would soon die and be born again as her child. the boy suffered no harm, but his mother, being in bad health, nearly died of shock on learning of the magic practised against her son. another device is to make a _pradakshana_ or pilgrimage round a pipal tree, going naked at midnight after worshipping maroti or hanuman, and holding a necklace of _tulsi_ beads in the hand. the pipal is of course a sacred tree, and is the abode of brahma, the original creator of the world. brahma has no consort, and it is believed that while all other trees are both male and female the pipal is only male, and is capable of impregnating a woman and rendering her fertile. a variation of this belief is that pipal trees are inhabited by the spirits of unmarried brahman boys, and hence a woman sometimes takes a piece of new thread and winds it round the tree, perhaps with the idea of investing the spirit of the boy with the sacred thread. she will then walk round the tree as a symbol of the wedding ceremony of walking round the sacred post, and hopes that the boy, being thus brought to man's estate and married, will cause her to bear a son. but modest women do not go naked round the tree. the amawas or new moon day, if it falls on a monday, is specially observed by married women. on this day they will walk 108 times round a pipal tree, and then give 108 mangoes or other fruits to a brahman, choosing a different fruit every time. the number 108 means a hundred and a little more to show there is no stint, 'full measure and flowing over,' like the customary present of rs. 1-4 instead of a rupee. this is also no doubt a birth-charm, fruit being given so that the woman may become fruitful. or a childless woman will pray to hanuman or mahabir. every morning she will go to his shrine with an offering of fruit or flowers, and every evening will set a lamp burning there; and morning and evening, prostrating herself, she makes her continuous prayer to the god: '_oh, mahabir, maharaj! hamko ek batcha do, sirf ek batcha do_.' [32] then, after many days, mahabir, as might be anticipated, appears to her in a dream and promises her a child. it does not seem that they believe that mahabir himself directly renders the woman fertile, because similar prayers are made to the river nerbudda, a goddess. but perhaps he, being the god of strength, lends virile power to her husband. another prescription is to go to the burying-ground, and, after worshipping it, to take some of the bone-ash of a burnt corpse and wear this wrapped up in an amulet on the body. occasionally, if a woman can get no children she will go to the father of a large family and let him beget a child upon her, with or without the connivance of her husband. but only the more immodest women do this. or she cuts a piece off the breast-cloth of a woman who has children, and, after burning incense on it, wears it as an amulet for a stronger charm she will take a piece of such a woman's cloth and a lock of her hair and some earth which her feet have pressed and bury these in a pot before devi's shrine, sometimes fashioning an image of the woman out of them. then, as they rot away, the child-bearing power of the fertile woman will be transferred to her. if a woman's first children have died and she wishes to preserve a later one, she sometimes weighs the child against sugar or copper and distributes the amount in charity. or she gives the child a bad name, such as dagharia (a stone), kachria (sweepings), ukandia (a dunghill). 13. love charms if a woman's husband is not in love with her, a prescription of a _mohani_ or love-charm given by the wise women is that she should kill an owl and serve some of its flesh to her husband as a charm. "it has not occurred," mr. kipling writes, "to the oriental jester to speak of a boiled owl in connection with intoxication, but when a husband is abjectly submissive to his wife her friends say that she has given him boiled owl's flesh to eat." [33] if a man is in love with some woman and wishes to kindle a similar sentiment in her the following method is given: on a saturday night he should go to a graveyard and call out, 'i am giving a dinner tomorrow night, and i invite you all to attend.' then on the sunday night he takes cocoanuts, sweetmeats, liquor and flowers to the cemetery and sets them all out, and all the spirits or shaitans come and partake. the host chooses a particularly big shaitan and calls to him to come near and says to him, 'will you go with me and do what i ask you.' if the spirit assents he follows the man home. next night the man again offers cocoanuts and incense to the shaitan, whom he can see by night but not by day, and tells him to go to the woman's house and call her. then the spirit goes and troubles her heart, so that she falls in love with the man and has no rest till she goes to him. if the man afterwards gets tired of her he will again secretly worship and call up the shaitan and order him to turn the woman's inclination away. another method is to fetch a skull from a graveyard and go to a banyan tree at midnight. there, divesting himself of his clothes, the operator partially cooks some rice in the skull, and then throws it against the tree; he gathers all the grains that stick to the trunk in one box and those that fall to the ground in another box, and the first rice given to the woman to eat will turn her inclination towards him, while the second will turn it away from him. this is a sympathetic charm, the rice which sticks to the tree having the property of attracting the woman. 14. disposal of the dead the kunbis either bury or burn the dead. in berar sepulture is the more common method of disposal, perhaps in imitation of the muhammadans. here the village has usually a field set apart for the disposal of corpses, which is known as smashan. hindus fill up the earth practically level with the ground after burial and erect no monument, so that after a few years another corpse can be buried in the same place. when a kunbi dies the body is washed in warm water and placed on a bier made of bamboos, with a network of _san-_hemp. [34] ordinary rope must not be used. the mourners then take it to the grave, scattering almonds, sandalwood, dates, betel-leaf and small coins as they go. these are picked up by the menial mahars or labourers. halfway to the grave the corpse is set down and the bearers change their positions, those behind going in front. here a little wheat and pulse which have been tied in the cloth covering the corpse are left by the way. on the journey to the grave the body is covered with a new unwashed cloth. the grave is dug three or four feet deep, and the corpse is buried naked, lying on its back with the head to the south. after the burial one of the mourners is sent to get an earthen pot from the kurnhar; this is filled with water at a river or stream, and a small piece is broken out of it with a stone; one of the mourners then takes the pot and walks round the corpse with it, dropping a stream of water all the way. having done this, he throws the pot behind him over his shoulder without looking round, and then all the mourners go home without looking behind them. the stone with which the hole has been made in the earthen pot is held to represent the spirit of the deceased. it is placed under a tree or on the bank of a stream, and for ten days the mourners come and offer it _pindas_ or balls of rice, one ball being offered on the first day, two on the second, and so on, up to ten on the tenth. on this last day a little mound of earth is made, which is considered to represent mahadeo. four miniature flags are planted round, and three cakes of rice are laid on it; and all the mourners sit round the mound until a crow comes and eats some of the cake. then they say that the dead man's spirit has been freed from troubling about his household and mundane affairs and has departed to the other world. but if no real crow comes to eat the cake, they make a representation of one out of the sacred _kusha_ grass, and touch the cake with it and consider that a crow has eaten it. after this the mourners go to a stream and put a little cow's urine on their bodies, and dip ten times in the water or throw it over them. the officiating brahman sprinkles them with holy water in which he has dipped the toe of his right foot, and they present to the brahman the vessels in which the funeral cakes have been cooked and the clothes which the chief mourner has worn for ten days. on coming home they also give him a stick, umbrella, shoes, a bed and anything else which they think the dead man will want in the next world. on the thirteenth day they feed the caste-fellows and the head of the caste ties a new _pagri_ on the chief mourner's head backside foremost; and the chief mourner breaking an areca-nut on the threshold places it in his mouth and spits it out of the door, signifying the final ejectment of the deceased's spirit from the house. finally, the chief mourner goes to worship at maroti's shrine, and the household resumes its ordinary life. the different relatives of the deceased man usually invite the bereaved family to their house for a day and give them a feast, and if they have many relations this may go on for a considerable time. the complete procedure as detailed above is observed only in the case of the head of the household, and for less important members is considerably abbreviated. the position of chief mourner is occupied by a man's eldest son, or in the absence of sons by his younger brother, or failing him by the eldest son of an elder brother, or failing male relations by the widow. the chief mourner is considered to have a special claim to the property. he has the whole of his head and face shaved, and the hair is tied up in a corner of the grave-cloth. if the widow is chief mourner a small lock of her hair is cut off and tied up in the cloth. when the corpse is being carried out for burial the widow breaks her _mangalsutram_ or marriage necklace, and wipes off the _kunku_ or vermilion from her forehead. this necklace consists of a string of black glass beads with a piece of gold, and is always placed on the bride's neck at the wedding. the widow does not break her glass bangles at all, but on the eleventh day changes them for new ones. 15. mourning the period of mourning for adults of the family is ten days, and for children three, while in the case of distant relatives it is sufficient to take a bath as a mark of respect for them. the male mourners shave their heads, the walls of the house are whitewashed and the floor spread with cowdung. the chief mourner avoids social intercourse and abstains from ordinary work and from all kinds of amusements. he debars himself from such luxuries as betel-leaf and from visiting his wife. oblations are offered to the dead on the third day of the light fortnight of baisakh (june) and on the last day of bhadrapad (september). the kunbi is a firm believer in the action of ghosts and spirits, and never omits the attentions due to his ancestors. on the appointed day he diligently calls on the crows, who represent the spirits of ancestors, to come and eat the food which he places ready for them; and if no crow turns up, he is disturbed at having incurred the displeasure of the dead. he changes the food and goes on calling until a crow comes, and then concludes that their previous failure to appear was due to the fact that his ancestors were not pleased with the kind of food he first offered. in future years, therefore, he changes it, and puts out that which was eaten, until a similar _contretemps_ of the non-appearance of crows again occurs. the belief that the spirits of the dead pass into crows is no doubt connected with that of the crow's longevity. many hindus think that a crow lives a thousand years, and others that it never dies of disease, but only when killed by violence. tennyson's 'many-wintered crow' may indicate some similar idea in europe. similarly if the gonds find a crow's nest they give the nestlings to young children to eat, and think that this will make them long-lived. if a crow perches in the house when a woman's husband or other relative is away, she says, 'fly away, crow; fly away and i will feed you'; and if the crow then flies away she thinks that the absent one will return. here the idea is no doubt that if he had been killed his spirit might have come home in the shape of the crow perching on the house. if a married woman sees two crows breeding it is considered a very bad omen, the effect being that her husband will soon die. it is probably supposed that his spirit will pass into the young crow which is born as a result of the meeting which she has seen. mr. a. k. smith states that the omen applies to men also, and relates a story of a young advocate who saw two crows thus engaged on alighting from the train at some station. in order to avert the consequences he ran to the telegraph office and sent messages to all his relatives and friends announcing his own death, the idea being that this fictitious death would fulfil the omen, and the real death would thus become unnecessary. in this case the belief would be that the man's own spirit would pass into the young crow. 16. religion the principal deities of the caste are maroti or hanuman, mahadeo or siva, devi, satwai and khandoba. maroti is worshipped principally on saturdays, so that he may counteract the evil influences exercised by the planet saturn on that day. when a new village is founded maroti must first be brought and placed in the village and worshipped, and after this houses are built. the name maroti is derived from marut, the vedic god of the wind, and he is considered to be the son of vayu, the wind, and anjini. khandoba is an incarnation of siva as a warrior, and is the favourite deity of the marathas. devi is usually venerated in her incarnation of marhai mata, the goddess of smallpox and cholera--the most dreaded scourges of the hindu villager. they offer goats and fowls to marhai devi, cutting the throat of the animal and letting its blood drop over the stone, which represents the goddess; after this they cut off a leg and hang it to the tree above her shrine, and eat the remainder. sometimes also they offer wooden images of human beings, which are buried before the shrine of the goddess and are obviously substitutes for a human sacrifice; and the lower castes offer pigs. if a man dies of snake-bite they make a little silver image of a snake, and then kill a real snake, and make a platform outside the village and place the image on it, which is afterwards regularly worshipped as nagoba deo. they may perhaps think that the spirit of the snake which is killed passes into the silver image. somebody afterwards steals the image, but this does not matter. similarly if a man is killed by a tiger he is deified and worshipped as baghoba deo, though they cannot kill a tiger as a preliminary. the kunbis make images of their ancestors in silver or brass, and keep them in a basket with their other household deities. but when these get too numerous they take them on a pilgrimage to some sacred river and deposit them in it. a man who has lost both parents will invite some man and woman on akshaya tritiya, [35] and call them by the names of his parents, and give them a feast. among the mythological stories known to the caste is one of some interest, explaining how the dark spots came on the face of the moon. they say that once all the gods were going to a dinner-party, each riding on his favourite animal or _vahan_ (conveyance). but the _vahan_ of ganpati, the fat god with the head of an elephant, was a rat, and the rat naturally could not go as fast as the other animals, and as it was very far from being up to ganpati's weight, it tripped and fell, and ganpati came off. the moon was looking on, and laughed so much that ganpati was enraged, and cursed it, saying, 'thy face shall be black for laughing at me.' accordingly the moon turned quite black; but the other gods interfered, and said that the curse was too hard, so ganpati agreed that only a part of the moon's face should be blackened in revenge for the insult. this happened on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of bhadon (september), and on that day it is said that nobody should look at the moon, as if he does, his reputation will probably be lowered by some false charge or libel being promulgated against him. as already stated, the kunbi firmly believes in the influence exercised by spirits, and a proverb has it, 'brahmans die of indigestion, sunars from bile, and kunbis from ghosts'; because the brahman is always feasted as an act of charity and given the best food, so that he over-eats himself, while the sunar gets bilious from sitting all day before a furnace. when somebody falls ill his family get a brahman's cast-off sacred thread, and folding it to hold a little lamp, will wave this to and fro. if it moves in a straight line they say that the patient is possessed by a spirit, but if in a circle that his illness is due to natural causes. in the former case they promise an offering to the spirit to induce it to depart from the patient. the brahmans, it is said, try to prevent the kunbis from getting hold of their sacred threads, because they think that by waving the lamp in them, all the virtue which they have obtained by their repetitions of the gayatri or sacred prayer is transferred to the sick kunbi. they therefore tear up their cast-off threads or sew them into clothes. 17. the pola festival the principal festival of the kunbis is the pola, falling at about the middle of the rainy season, when they have a procession of plough-bullocks. an old bullock goes first, and on his horns is tied the _makhar_, a wooden frame with pegs to which torches are affixed. they make a rope of mango-leaves stretched between two posts, and the _makhar_ bullock is made to break this and stampede back to the village, followed by all the other cattle. it is said that the _makhar_ bullock will die within three years. behind him come the bullocks of the proprietors and then those of the tenants in the order, not so much of their wealth, but of their standing in the village and of the traditional position held by their families. a kunbi feels it very bitterly if he is not given what he considers to be his proper rank in this procession. it has often been remarked that the feudal feeling of reverence for hereditary rights and position is as strong among the maratha people as anywhere in the world. 18. muhammadan tendencies of berar kunbis in wardha and berar the customs of the kunbis show in several respects the influence of islam, due no doubt to the long period of muhammadan dominance in the country. to this may perhaps be attributed the prevalence of burial of the dead instead of cremation, the more respectable method according to hindu ideas. the dhanoje kunbis commonly revere dawal malik, a muhammadan saint, whose tomb is at uprai in amraoti district. an _urus_ or fair is held here on thursdays, the day commonly sacred to muhammadan saints, and on this account the kunbis will not be shaved on thursdays. they also make vows of mendicancy at the muharram festival, and go round begging for rice and pulse; they give a little of what they obtain to muhammadan beggars and eat the rest. at the muharram they tie a red thread on their necks and dance round the _alawa_, a small hole in which fire is kindled in front of the _tasias_ or tombs of hussain. at the muharram [36] they also carry horseshoes of silver or gilt tinsel on the top of a stick decorated with peacock's feathers. the horseshoe is a model of that of the horse of hussain. the men who carry these horseshoes are supposed to be possessed by the spirit of the saint, and people make prayers to them for anything they want. if one of the horseshoes is dropped the finder will keep it in his house, and next year if he feels that the spirit moves him will carry it himself. in wardha the kunbis worship khwaja sheikh farid of girar, and occasionally sheikh farid appears to a kunbi in a dream and places him under a vow. then he and all his household make little imitation beggars' wallets of cloth and dye them with red ochre, and little hoes on the model of those which saises use to drag out horses' dung, this hoe being the badge of sheikh farid. then they go round begging to all the houses in the village, saying, '_dam_, [37] _sahib_, _dam_.' with the alms given them they make cakes of _malida_, wheat, sugar and butter, and give them to the priest of the shrine. sometimes sheikh farid tells the kunbi in the dream that he must buy a goat of a certain dhangar (shepherd), naming the price, while the dhangar is similarly warned to sell it at the same price, and the goat is then purchased and sacrificed without any haggling: at the end of the sacrifice the priest releases the kunbi from his vow, and he must then shave the whole of his head and distribute liquor to the caste-fellows in order to be received back into the community. the water of the well at sheikh farid's shrine at girar is considered to preserve the crops against insects, and for this purpose it is carried to considerable distances to be sprinkled on them. 19. villages and houses an ordinary kunbi village [38] contains between 70 and 80 houses or some 400 souls. the village generally lies on a slight eminence near a _nullah_ or stream, and is often nicely planted with tamarind or pipal trees. the houses are now generally tiled for fear of fire, and their red roofs may be seen from a distance forming a little cluster on high lying ground, an elevated site being selected so as to keep the roads fairly dry, as the surface tracks in black-soil country become almost impassable sloughs of mud as soon as the rains have broken. the better houses stand round an old mud fort, a relic of the pindari raids, when, on the first alarm of the approach of these marauding bands, the whole population hurried within its walls. the village proprietor's house is now often built inside the fort. it is an oblong building surrounded by a compound wall of unbaked bricks, and with a gateway through which a cart can drive. adjoining the entrance on each side are rooms for the reception of guests, in which constables, chuprassies and others are lodged when they stay at night in the village. _kothas_ or sheds for keeping cattle and grain stand against the walls, and the dwelling-house is at the back. substantial tenants have a house like the proprietor's, of well-laid mud, whitewashed and with tiled roof; but the ordinary cultivator's house is one-roomed, with an _angan_ or small yard in front and a little space for a garden behind, in which vegetables are grown during the rains. the walls are of bamboo matting plastered over with mud. the married couples sleep inside, the room being partitioned off if there are two or more in the family, and the older persons sleep in the verandahs. in the middle of the village by the biggest temple will be an old pipal tree, the trunk encircled by an earthen or stone platform, which answers to the village club. the respectable inhabitants will meet here while the lower classes go to the liquor-shop nearly every night to smoke and chat. the blacksmith's and carpenter's shops are also places of common resort for the cultivators. hither they wend in the morning and evening, often taking with them some implement which has to be mended, and stay to talk. the blacksmith in particular is said to be a great gossip, and will often waste much of his customer's time, plying him for news and retailing it, before he repairs and hands back the tool brought to him. the village is sure to contain two or three little temples of maroti or mahadeo. the stones which do duty for the images are daily oiled with butter or _ghi_, and a miscellaneous store of offerings will accumulate round the buildings. outside the village will be a temple of devi or mata mai (smallpox goddess) with a heap of little earthen horses and a string of hens' feet and feathers hung up on the wall. the little platforms which are the shrines of the other village gods will be found in the fields or near groves. in the evening the elders often meet at maroti's temple and pay their respects to the deity, bowing or prostrating themselves before him. a lamp before the temple is fed by contributions of oil from the women, and is kept burning usually up to midnight. once a year in the month, of shrawan (july) the villagers subscribe and have a feast, the kunbis eating first and the menial and labouring castes after them. in this month also all the village deities are worshipped by the joshi or priest and the villagers. in summer the cultivators usually live in their fields, where they erect temporary sheds of bamboo matting roofed with juari stalks. in these most of the household furniture is stored, while at a little distance in another funnel-shaped erection of bamboo matting is kept the owner's grain. this system of camping out is mainly adopted for fear of fire in the village, when the cultivator's whole stock of grain and his household goods might be destroyed in a few minutes without possibility of saving them. the women stay in the village, and the men and boys go there for their midday and evening meals. 20. furniture ordinary cultivators have earthen pots for cooking purposes and brass ones for eating from, while the well-to-do have all their vessels of brass. the furniture consists of a few stools and cots. no kunbi will lie on the ground, probably because a dying man is always laid on the ground to breathe his last; and so every one has a cot consisting of a wooden frame with a bed made of hempen string or of the root-fibres of the _palas_ tree (_butea frondosa_). these cots are always too short for a man to lie on them at full length, and are in consequence supremely uncomfortable. the reason may perhaps be found in the belief that a man should always lie on a bed a little shorter than himself so that his feet project over the end. because if the bed is longer than he is, it resembles a bier, and if he lies on a bier once he may soon die and lie on it a second time. for bathing they make a little enclosure in the compound with mats, and place two or three flat stones in it. hot water is generally used and they rub the perspiration off their bodies with a flat stone called jhawar. most kunbis bathe daily. on days when they are shaved they plaster the head with soft black earth, and then wash it off and rub their bodies with a little linseed or sesamum oil, or, if they can afford it, with cocoanut oil. 21. food the kunbis eat three times a day, at about eight in the morning, at midday and after dark. the morning meal is commonly eaten in the field and the two others at home. at midday the cultivator comes home from work, bathes and takes his meal, having a rest for about two hours in all. after finishing work he again comes home and has his evening meal, and then, after a rest, at about ten o'clock he goes again to the fields, if the crops are on the ground, and sleeps on the _mara_ or small elevated platform erected in the field to protect the grain from birds and wild animals; occasionally waking and emitting long-drawn howls or pulling the strings which connect with clappers in various parts of the field. thus for nearly eight months of the year the kunbi sleeps in his fields, and only during the remaining period at home. juari is the staple food of the caste, and is eaten both raw and cooked. the raw pods of juari were the provision carried with them on their saddles by the marauding maratha horsemen, and the description of sivaji getting his sustenance from gnawing at one of these as he rode along is said to have struck fear into the heart of the nizam. it is a common custom among well-to-do tenants and proprietors to invite their friends to a picnic in the fields when the crop is ripe to eat _hurda_ or the pods of juari roasted in hot ashes. for cooking purposes juari is ground in an ordinary handmill and then passed through a sieve, which separates the finer from the coarser particles. the finer flour is made into dough with hot water and baked into thick flat _chapatis_ or cakes, weighing more than half a pound each; while the coarse flour is boiled in water like rice. the boiled pulse of _arhar_ (_cajanus indicus_) is commonly eaten with juari, and the _chapatis_ are either dipped into cold linseed oil or consumed dry. the sameness of this diet is varied by a number of green vegetables, generally with very little savour to a european palate. these are usually boiled and then mixed into a salad with linseed or sesamum oil and flavoured with salt or powdered chillies, these last being the kunbi's indispensable condiment. he is also very fond of onions and garlic, which are either chopped and boiled, or eaten raw. butter-milk when available is mixed with the boiled juari after it is cooked, while wheat and rice, butter and sugar are delicacies reserved for festivals. as a rule only water is drunk, but the caste indulge in country liquor on festive occasions. tobacco is commonly chewed after each meal or smoked in leaf cigarettes, or in _chilams_ or clay pipe-bowls without a stem. men also take snuff, and a few women chew tobacco and take snuff, though they do not smoke. it is noticeable that different subdivisions of the caste will commonly take food from each other in berar, whereas in the central provinces they refuse to do so. the more liberal usage in berar is possibly another case of muhammadan influence. small children eat with their father and brothers, but the women always wait on the men, and take their own food afterwards. among the dalia kunbis of nimar, however, women eat before men at caste feasts in opposition to the usual practice. it is stated in explanation that on one occasion when the men had finished their meal first and gone home, the women on returning were waylaid in the dark and robbed of their ornaments. and hence it was decided that they should always eat first and go home before nightfall. the kunbi is fairly liberal in the matter of food. he will eat the flesh of goats, sheep and deer, all kinds of fish and fowls, and will drink liquor. in hoshangabad and nimar the higher subcastes abstain from flesh and wine. the caste will take food cooked without water from brahmans, banias and sunars, and that mixed with water only from maratha brahmans. all castes except maratha brahmans will take water from the hands of a kunbi. 22. clothes and ornaments the dress of the ordinary cultivator is most common-place and consists only of a loin-cloth, another cloth thrown over the shoulders and upper part of the body, which except for this is often bare, and a third rough cloth wound loosely round the head. all these, originally white, soon assume a very dingy hue. there is thus no colour in a man's everyday attire, but the gala dress for holidays consists of a red _pagri_ or turban, a black, coloured or white coat, and a white loin-cloth with red silk borders if he can afford it. the kunbi is seldom or never seen with his head bare; this being considered a bad omen because every one bares his head when a death occurs. women wear _lugras_, or a single long cloth of red, blue or black cotton, and under this the _choli_, or small breast-cloth. they have one silk-bordered cloth for special occasions. a woman having a husband alive must not wear a white cloth with no colour in it, as this is the dress of widows. a white cloth with a coloured border may be worn. the men generally wear shoes which are open at the back of the heel, and clatter as they move along. women do not, as a rule, wear shoes unless these are necessary for field work, or if they go out just after their confinement. but they have now begun to do so in towns. women have the usual collection of ornaments on all parts of the person. the head ornaments should be of gold when this metal can be afforded. on the finger they have a miniature mirror set in a ring; as a rule not more than one ring is worn, so that the hands may be free for work. for a similar reason glass bangles, being fragile, are worn only on the left wrist and metal ones on the right. but the dhanoje kunbis, as already stated, have cocoanut shell bangles on both wrists. they smear a mark of red powder on the forehead or have a spangle there. girls are generally tattooed in childhood when the skin is tender, and the operation is consequently less painful. they usually have a small crescent and circle between the brows, small circles or dots on each temple and on the nose, cheeks and chin, and five small marks on the back of the hands to represent flies. some of the deshmukh families have now adopted the sacred thread; they also put caste marks on the forehead, and wear the shape of _pagri_ or turban formerly distinctive of maratha brahmans. 23. the kunbi as cultivator the kunbi has the stolidity, conservative instincts, dulness and patience of the typical agriculturist. sir r. craddock describes him as follows [39]: "of the purely agricultural classes the kunbis claim first notice. they are divided into several sections or classes, and are of maratha origin, the jhari kunbis (the kunbis of the wild country) being the oldest settlers, and the deshkar (the kunbis from the deccan) the most recent. the kunbi is certainly a most plodding, patient mortal, with a cat-like affection for his land, and the proprietary and cultivating communities, of both of which kunbis are the most numerous members, are unlikely to fail so long as he keeps these characteristics. some of the more intelligent and affluent of the caste, who have risen to be among the most prosperous members of the community, are as shrewd men of business in their way as any section of the people, though lacking in education. i remember one of these, a member of the local board, who believed that the land revenue of the country was remitted to england annually to form part of the private purse of the queen empress. but of the general body of the kunbi caste it is true to say that in the matter of enterprise, capacity to hold their own with the moneylender, determination to improve their standard of comfort, or their style of agriculture, they lag far behind such cultivating classes as the kirar, the raghvi and the lodhi. while, however, the kunbi yields to these classes in some of the more showy attributes which lead to success in life, he is much their superior in endurance under adversity, he is more law-abiding, and he commands, both by reason of his character and his caste, greater social respect among the people at large. the wealthy kunbi proprietor is occasionally rather spoilt by good fortune, or, if he continues a keen cultivator, is apt to be too fond of land-grabbing. but these are the exceptional cases, and there is generally no such pleasing spectacle as that afforded by a village in which the cultivators and the proprietors are all kunbis living in harmony together." the feeling [40] of the kunbi towards agricultural improvements has hitherto probably been something the same as that of the sussex farmer who said, 'our old land, it likes our old ploughs' to the agent who was vainly trying to demonstrate to him the advantages of the modern two-horse iron plough over the great wooden local tool; and the emblem ascribed to old sussex--a pig couchant with the motto 'i wun't be druv'--would suit the kunbi equally well. but the kunbi, too, though he could not express it, knows something of the pleasure of the simple outdoor life, the fresh smell of the soil after rain, the joy of the yearly miracle when the earth is again carpeted with green from the bursting into life of the seed which he has sown, and the pleasure of watching the harvest of his labours come to fruition. he, too, as has been seen, feels something corresponding to "that inarticulate love of the english farmer for his land, his mute enjoyment of the furrow crumbling from the ploughshare or the elastic tread of his best pastures under his heel, his ever-fresh satisfaction at the sight of the bullocks stretching themselves as they rise from the soft grass." 24. social and moral characteristics some characteristics of the maratha people are noticed by sir r. jenkins as follows [41]: "the most remarkable feature perhaps in the character of the marathas of all descriptions is the little regard they pay to show or ceremony in the common intercourse of life. a peasant or mechanic of the lowest order, appearing before his superiors, will sit down of his own accord, tell his story without ceremony, and converse more like an equal than an inferior; and if he has a petition he talks in a loud and boisterous tone and fearlessly sets forth his claims. both the peasantry and the better classes are often coarse and indelicate in their language, and many of the proverbs, which they are fond of introducing into conversation, are extremely gross. in general the marathas, and particularly the cultivators, are not possessed of much activity or energy of character, but they have quick perception of their own interest, though their ignorance of writing and accounts often renders them the dupes of the artful brahmans." "the kunbi," mr. forbes remarks, [42] "though frequently all submission and prostration when he makes his appearance in a revenue office, is sturdy and bold enough among his own people. he is fond of asserting his independence and the helplessness of others without his aid, on which subject he has several proverbs, as: 'wherever it thunders there the kunbi is a landholder,' and 'tens of millions are dependent on the kunbi, but the kunbi depends on no man.'" this sense of his own importance, which has also been noticed among the jats, may perhaps be ascribed to the kunbi's ancient status as a free and full member of the village community. "the kunbi and his bullocks are inseparable, and in speaking of the one it is difficult to dissociate the other. his pride in these animals is excusable, for they are most admirably suited to the circumstances in which nature has placed them, and possess a very wide-extended fame. but the kunbi frequently exhibits his fondness for them in the somewhat peculiar form of unmeasured abuse. 'may the kathis [43] seize you!' is his objurgation if in the peninsula of surat; if in the idar district or among the mountains it is there 'may the tiger kill you!' and all over gujarat, 'may your master die!' however, he means by this the animal's former owner, not himself; and when more than usually cautious he will word his chiding thus--'may the fellow that sold you to me perish.'" but now the kathis raid no more and the tiger, though still taking good toll of cattle in the central provinces, is not the ever-present terror that once he was. but the bullock himself is no longer so sacrosanct in the kunbi's eyes, and cannot look forward with the same certainty to an old age of idleness, threatened only by starvation in the hot weather or death by surfeit of the new moist grass in the rains; and when therefore the kunbi's patience is exhausted by these aggravating animals, his favourite threat at present is, 'i will sell you to the kasais' (butchers); and not so very infrequently he ends by doing so. it may be noted that with the development of the cotton industry the kunbi of wardha is becoming much sharper and more capable of protecting his own interests, while with the assistance and teaching which he now receives from the agricultural department, a rapid and decided improvement is taking place in his skill as a cultivator. kunjra _kunjra_. [44]--a caste of greengrocers, who sell country vegetables and fruit and are classed as muhammadans. mr. crooke derives the name from the sanskrit _kunj_, 'a bower or arbour.' they numbered about 1600 persons in the central provinces in 1911, principally in the jubbulpore division. the customs of the kunjras appear to combine hindu and muhammadan rites in an indiscriminate medley. it is reported that marriage is barred only between real brothers and sisters and foster brothers and sisters, the latter rule being known as _dudh bachana_, or 'observing the tie of the milk.' at their betrothal presents are given to the parties, and after this a powder of henna leaves is sent to the boy, who rubs it on his fingers and returns it to the girl that she may do the same. as among the hindus, the bodies of the bridal couple are anointed with oil and turmeric at their respective houses before the wedding. a marriage-shed is made and the bridegroom goes to the bride's house wearing a cotton quilt and riding on a bullock. the barber holds the umbrella over his head and must be given a present before he will fold it, but the wedding is performed by the kazi according to the nikah ceremony by the repetition of verses from the koran. the wedding is held at four o'clock in the morning, and as a preliminary to it the bride is presented with some money by the boy's father, which is known as the meher or dowry. on its conclusion a cup of sherbet is given to the bridegroom, of which he drinks half and hands the remainder to the bride. the gift of the meher is considered to seal the marriage contract. when a widow is married the kazi is also employed, and he simply recites the kalama or muhammadan profession of belief, and the ceremony is completed by the distribution of dates to the elders of the caste. divorce is permitted and is known as _talaq_. the caste observe the muhammadan festivals, and have some favourite saints of their own to whom they make offerings of _gulgula_ a kind of pudding, with sacrifices of goats and fowls. participation in these rites is confined to members of the family. children are named on the day of their birth, the muhammadan kazi or a hindu brahman being employed indifferently to select the name. if the parents lose one or more children, in order to preserve the lives of those subsequently born, they will allow the _choti_ or scalp-lock to grow on their heads in the hindu fashion, dedicating it to one of their muhammadan saints. others will put a _hasli_ or silver circlet round the neck of the child and add a ring to this every year; a strip of leather is sometimes also tied round the neck. when the child reaches the age of twelve years the scalp-lock is shaved, the leather band thrown into a river and the silver necklet sold. offerings are made to the saints and a feast is given to the friends of the family. the dead are buried, camphor and attar of roses being applied to the corpse. on the _tija_ and _chalisa_, or third and fortieth days after a death, a feast is given to the caste-fellows, but no mourning is observed, neither do the mourners bathe nor perform ceremonies of purification. on the _tija_ the koran is also read and fried grain is distributed to children. for the death of a child the ordinary feasts need not be given, but prayers are offered for their souls with those of the other dead once a year on the night of shab-i-barat or the fifteenth day of the month shaban, [45] which is observed as a vigil with prayer, feasts and illuminations and offerings to the ancestors. kunjra men are usually clean-shaven with the exception of the beard, which is allowed to grow long below the chin. their women are not tattooed. in the cities, mr. crooke remarks, [46] their women have an equivocal reputation, as the better-looking girls who sit in the shops are said to use considerable freedom of manners to attract customers. they are also very quarrelsome and abusive when bargaining for the sale of their wares or arguing with each other. this is so much the case that men who become very abusive are said to be behaving like kunjras; while in dacca sir h. risley states [47] that the word kunjra has become a term of abuse, so that the caste are ashamed to be known by it, and call themselves mewa-farosh, sabzi-farosh or bepari. when two women are having an altercation, their husbands and other male relatives are forbidden to interfere on pain of social degradation. the women never sit on the ground, but on small wooden stools or _pirhis_. the kunjras belong chiefly to the north of the province, and in the south their place is taken by the marars and malis who carry their own produce for sale to the markets. the kunjras sell sugarcane, potatoes, onions and all kinds of vegetables, and others deal in the dried fruits imported by kabuli merchants. kuramwar _kuramwar_. [48]--the shepherd caste of southern india, who are identical with the tamil kurumba and the telugu kuruba. the caste is an important one in madras, but in the central provinces is confined to the chanda district where it numbered some 4000 persons in 1911. the kuramwars are considered to be the modern representatives of the ancient pallava tribe whose kings were powerful in southern india in the seventh century. [49] the marriage rules of the kuramwars are interesting. if a girl reaches adolescence while still single, she is finally expelled from the caste, her parents being also subjected to a penalty for readmission. formerly it is said that such a girl was sacrificed to the river-goddess by being placed in a small hut on the river-bank till a flood came and swept her away. now she is taken to the river and kept in a hut, while offerings are made to the river-goddess, and she may then return and live in the village though she is out of caste. in madras, as a preliminary to the marriage, the bridegroom's father observes certain marks or 'curls' on the head or hair of the bride proposed. some of these are believed to forecast prosperity and others misery to the family into which she enters. they are therefore very cautious in selecting only such girls as possess curls (_suli_) of good fortune. the writer of the _north arcot manual_ [50] after recording the above particulars, remarks: "this curious custom obtaining among this primitive tribe is observed by others only in the case of the purchase of cows, bulls and horses." in the central provinces, however, at least one parallel instance can be given from the northern districts where any mark resembling the v on the head of a cobra is considered to be very inauspicious. and it is told that a girl who married into one well-known family bore it, and to this fact the remarkable succession of misfortunes which has attended the family is locally attributed. among the kuramwars marriages can be celebrated only on four days in the year, the fifth day of both fortnights of phagun (february), the tenth day of the second fortnight of the same month and the third day of baisakh (april). at the marriage the bride and bridegroom are seated together under the canopy, with the shuttle which is used for weaving blankets between them, and they throw coloured rice at each other. after this a miniature swing is put up and a doll is placed in it in imitation of a child and swung to and fro. the bride then takes the doll out and gives it to the bridegroom, saying: 'here, take care of it, i am now going to cook food'; while after a time the boy returns the doll to the girl, saying, 'i must now weave the blanket and go to tend the flock.' the proceeding seems a symbolic enactment of the cares of married life and the joint tending of the baby, this sort of symbolism being particularly noticeable in the marriage ceremonies of the people of madras. divorce is not permitted even though the wife be guilty of adultery, and if she runs away to her father's house her husband cannot use force to bring her back if she refuses to return to him. the kuramwars worship the implements of their calling at the festival of ganesh chaturthi, and if any family fails to do this it is put out of caste. they also revere annually mallana deva and mallani devi who guard their flocks respectively from attacks of tigers and epidemics of murrain. the shrines of these deities are generally built under a banyan tree and open to the east. the caste are shepherds and graziers and also make blankets. they are poor and ignorant, and the abbé dubois [51] says of them: "being confined to the society of their woolly charge, they seem to have contracted the stupid nature of the animal, and from the rudeness of their nature they are as much beneath the other castes of hindus as the sheep by their simplicity and imperfect instruction are beneath the other quadrupeds." hence the proverbial comparison 'as stupid as a kuramwar.' when out of doors the kuramwar retains the most primitive method of eating and drinking; he takes his food in a leaf and licks it up with his tongue, and sucks up water from a tank or river with his mouth. they justify this custom by saying that on one occasion their god had taken his food out of the house on a leaf-plate and was proceeding to eat it with his hands when his sheep ran away and he had to go and fetch them back. in the meantime a crow came and pecked at the food and so spoilt it. it was therefore ordained that all the caste should eat their food straight off the leaf, in order to do which they would have to take it from the cooking-pot in small quantities and there would be no chance of leaving any for the crows to spoil. the story is interesting as showing how very completely the deity of the kuramwars is imagined on the principle that god made man in his own image. or, as a frenchman has expressed the idea, '_dieu a fait l'homme à son image, mais l'homme le lui a bein rendu._' the caste are dark in colour and may be distinguished by their caps made from pieces of blankets, and by their wearing a woollen cord round the waist over the loin-cloth. they speak a dialect of canarese. kurmi list of paragraphs 1. _numbers and derivation of name._ 2. _functional character of the caste._ 3. _sub castes._ 4. _exogamous groups._ 5. _marriage rules. betrothal_. 6. _the marriage-shed or pavillion._ 7. _the marriage cakes_. 8. _customs at the wedding_. 9. _walking round the sacred post_. 10. _other ceremonies_. 11. _polygamy, widow-marriage and divorce_. 12. _impurity of women_. 13. _pregnancy rites_. 14. _earth-eating._ 15. _customs at birth_. 16. _treatment of mother and child_. 17. _ceremonies after birth_. 18. _suckling children_. 19. _beliefs about twins_. 20. _disposal of the dead_. 21. _funeral rites_. 22. _burning the dead_. 23. _burial_. 24. _return of the soul_. 25. _mourning_. 26. _shaving, and presents to brahmans_. 27. _end of mourning_. 28. _anniversaries of the dead_. 29. _beliefs in the hereafter_. 30. _religion. village gods_. 31. _sowing the jawaras or gardens of adonis_. 32. _rites connected with the crops. customs of cultivation_. 33. _agricultural superstitions_. 34. _houses_. 35. _superstitions about houses_. 36. _furniture._ 37. _clothes_. 38. _women's clothes_. 39. _bathing_. 40. _food_. 41. _caste feasts_. 42. _hospitality_. 43. _social customs. tattooing_. 44. _caste penalties_. 45. _the cultivating status_. 46. _occupation_. _appendix. list of exogamous clans._ 1. numbers and derivation of name _kurmi_. [52]--the representative cultivating caste of hindustan or the country comprised roughly in the united provinces, bihar arid the central provinces north of the nerbudda. in 1911 the kurmis numbered about 300,000 persons in the central provinces, of whom half belonged to the chhattisgarh division and a third to the jubbulpore division; the districts in which they were most numerous being saugor, damoh, jubbulpore, hoshangabad, raipur, bilaspur and drug. the name is considered to be derived from the sanskrit _krishi_, cultivation, or from _kurma_, the tortoise incarnation of vishnu, whether because it is the totem of the caste or because, as suggested by one writer, the kurmi supports the population of india as the tortoise supports the earth. it is true that many kurmis say they belong to the kashyap _gotra_, kashyap being the name of a rishi, which seems to have been derived from _kachhap_, the tortoise; but many other castes also say they belong to the kashyap _gotra_ or worship the tortoise, and if this has any connection with the name of the caste it is probable that the caste-name suggested the _gotra_-name and not the reverse. it is highly improbable that a large occupational caste should be named after an animal, and the metaphorical similitude can safely be rejected. the name seems therefore either to come from _krishi_, cultivation, or from some other unknown source. 2. functional character of the caste there seems little reason to doubt that the kurmis, like the kunbis, are a functional caste. in bihar they show traces of aryan blood, and are a fine-looking race. but in chota nagpur sir h. risley states: "short, sturdy and of very dark complexion, the kurmis closely resemble in feature the dravidian tribes around them. it is difficult to distinguish a kurmi from a bhumij or santal, and the santals will take cooked food from them." [53] in the central provinces they are fairly dark in complexion and of moderate height, and no doubt of very mixed blood. where the kurmis and kunbis meet the castes sometimes amalgamate, and there is little doubt that various groups of kurmis settling in the maratha country have become kunbis, and kunbis migrating to northern india have become kurmis. each caste has certain subdivisions whose names belong to the other. it has been seen in the article on kunbi that this caste is of very diverse origin, having assimilated large bodies of persons from several other castes, and is probably to a considerable extent recruited from the local non-aryan tribes; if then the kurmis mix so readily with the kunbis, the presumption is that they are of a similar mixed origin, as otherwise they should consider themselves superior. mr. crooke gives several names of subcastes showing the diverse constitution of the kurmis. thus three, gaharwar, jadon and chandel are the names of rajput clans; the kori subcaste must be a branch of the low weaver caste of that name; and in the central provinces the names of such subcastes as the agaria or iron-workers, the lonhare or salt-refiners, and the khaira or catechu-collectors indicate that these kurmis are derived from low hindu castes or the aboriginal tribes. 3. subcastes the caste has a large number of subdivisions. the usrete belonged to bundelkhand, where this name is found in several castes; they are also known as havelia, because they live in the rich level tract of the jubbulpore haveli, covered like a chessboard with large embanked wheat-fields. the name haveli seems to have signified a palace or headquarters of a ruler, and hence was applied to the tract surrounding it, which was usually of special fertility, and provided for the maintenance of the chief's establishment and household troops. thus in jubbulpore, mandia and betul we find the forts of the old gond rulers dominating an expanse of rich plain-country. the usrete kurmis abstain from meat and liquor, and may be considered as one of the highest subcastes. their name may be derived from _a-sreshtha,_ or not the best, and its significance would be that formerly they were considered to be of mixed origin, like most castes in bundelkhand. the group of sreshtha or best-born kurmis has now, however, died out if it ever existed, and the usretes have succeeded in establishing themselves in its place. the chandnahes of jubbulpore or chandnahus of chhattisgarh are another large subdivision. the name may be derived from the village chandnoha in bundelkhand, but the chandnahus of chhattisgarh say that three or four centuries ago a rajput general of the raja of ratanpur had been so successful in war that the king allowed him to appear in durbar in his uniform with his forehead marked with sandalwood, as a special honour. when he died his son continued to do the same, and on the king's attention being drawn to it he forbade him. but the son did not obey, and hence the king ordered the sandalwood to be rubbed from his forehead in open durbar. but when this was done the mark miraculously reappeared through the agency of the goddess devi, whose favourite he was. three times the king had the mark rubbed out and three times it came again. so he was allowed to wear it thereafter, and was called chandan singh from _chandan_, sandalwood; and his descendants are the chandnahu kurmis. another derivation is from chandra, the moon. in jubbulpore these chandnahes sometimes kill a pig under the palanquin of a newly married bride. in bilaspur they are prosperous and capable cultivators, but are generally reputed to be stingy, and therefore are not very popular. here they are divided into the ekbahinyas and dobahinyas, or those who wear glass bangles on one or both arms respectively. the chandraha kurmis of raipur are probably a branch of the chandnahus. they sprinkle with water the wood with which they are about to cook their food in order to purify it, and will eat food only in the _chauka_ or sanctified place in the house. at harvest when they must take meals in the fields, one of them prepares a patch of ground, cleaning and watering it, and there cooks food for them all. the singrore kurmis derive their name from singror, a place near allahabad. singror is said to have once been a very important town, and the lodhis and other castes have subdivisions of this name. the desha kurmis are a group of the mungeli tahsil of bilaspur. desh means one's native country, but in this case the name probably refers to bundelkhand. mr. gordon states [54] that they do not rear poultry and avoid residing in villages in which their neighbours keep poultry. the santore kurmis are a group found in several districts, who grow _san_-hemp, [55] and are hence looked down upon by the remainder of the caste. in raipur the manwa kurmis will also do this; mana is a word sometimes applied to a loom, and the manwa kurmis may be so called because they grow hemp and weave sacking from the fibres. the pataria are an inferior group in bilaspur, who are similarly despised because they grow hemp and will take their food in the fields in _patris_ or leaf-plates. the gohbaiyan are considered to be an illegitimate group; the name is said to signify 'holding the arm.' the bahargaiyan, or 'those who live outside the town,' are another subcaste to which children born out of wedlock are relegated. the palkiha subcaste of jubbulpore are said to be so named because their ancestors were in the service of a certain raja and spread his bedding for him; hence they are somewhat looked down on by the others. the name may really be derived from _palal_, a kind of vegetable, and they may originally have been despised for growing this vegetable, and thus placing themselves on a level with the gardening castes. the masuria take their name from the _masur_ or lentil, a common cold-weather crop in the northern districts, which is, however, grown by all kurmis and other cultivators; and the agaria or iron-workers, the kharia or catechu-makers, and the lonhare or salt-makers, have already been mentioned. there are also numerous local or territorial subcastes, as the chaurasia or those living in a chaurasi [56] estate of eighty-four villages, the pardeshi or foreigners, the bundelkhandi or those who came from bundelkhand, the kanaujias from oudh, the gaur from northern india, and the marathe and telenge or marathas and telugus; these are probably kunbis who have been taken into the caste. the gabel are a small subcaste in sakti state, who now prefer to drop the name kurmi and call themselves simply gabel. the reason apparently is that the other kurmis about them sow _san_-hemp, and as they have ceased doing this they try to separate themselves and rank above the rest. but they call the bastard group of their community rakhaut kurmis, and other people speak of all of them as gabel kurmis, so that there is no doubt that they belong to the caste. it is said that formerly they were pack-carriers, but have now abandoned this calling in favour of cultivation. 4. exogamous groups each subcaste has a number of exogamous divisions and these present a large variety of all types. some groups have the names of brahman saints as sandil, bharadwaj, kausil and kashyap; others are called after rajput septs, as chauhan, rathor, panwar and solanki; other names are of villages, as khairagarhi from khairagarh, pandariha from pandaria, bhadaria, and harkotia from harkoti; others are titular, as sondeha, gold-bodied, sonkharchi, spender of gold, bimba lohir, stick-carrier, banhpagar, one wearing a thread on the arm, bhandari, a store-keeper, kumaria, a potter, and shikaria, a hunter; and a large number are totemistic, named after plants, animals or natural objects, as sadaphal, a fruit; kathail from _kath_ or catechu; dhorha, from _dhor_, cattle; kansia, the _kans_ grass; karaiya, a frying-pan; sarang, a peacock; samundha, the ocean; sindia, the date-palm tree; dudhua from _dudh_, milk, and so on. some sections are subdivided; thus the tidha section, supposed to be named after a village, is divided into three subsections named ghurepake, a mound of cowdung, dwarparke, door-jamb, and jangi, a warrior, which are themselves exogamous. similarly the chaudhri section, named after the title of the caste headman, is divided into four subsections, two, majhgawan bamuria, named after villages, and two, purwa thok and pascham thok, signifying the eastern and western groups. presumably when sections get so large as to bar the marriage of persons not really related to each other at all, relief is obtained by subdividing them in this manner. a list of the sections of certain subcastes so far as they have been obtained is given at the end of the article. 5. marriage rules. betrothal marriage is prohibited between members of the same section and between first and second cousins on the mother's side. but the chandnahe kurmis permit the wedding of a brother's daughter to a sister's son. most kurmis forbid a man to marry his wife's sister during her lifetime. the chhattisgarh kurmis have the practice of exchanging girls between two families. there is usually no objection to marriage on account of religious differences within the pale of hinduism, but the difficulty of a union between a member of a vaishnava sect who abstains from flesh and liquor, and a partner who does not, is felt and expressed in the following saying: vaishnava purush avaishnava nari unt beil ki jot bichari, or 'a vaishnava husband with a non-vaishnava wife is like a camel yoked with a bullock.' muhammadans and christians are not retained in the caste. girls are usually wedded between nine and eleven, but well-to-do kurmis like other agriculturists, sometimes marry their daughters when only a few months old. the people say that when a kurmi gets rich he will do three things: marry his daughters very young and with great display, build a fine house, and buy the best bullocks he can afford. the second and third methods of spending his money are very sensible, whatever may be thought of the first. no penalty is imposed for allowing a girl to exceed the age of puberty before marriage. boys are married between nine and fifteen years, but the tendency is towards the postponement of the ceremony. the boy's father goes and asks for a bride and says to the girl's father, 'i have placed my son with you,' that is, given him in adoption; if the match be acceptable the girl's father replies, 'yes, i will give my daughter to collect cowdung for you'; to which the boy's father responds, 'i will hold her as the apple of my eye.' then the girl's father sends the barber and the brahman to the boy's house, carrying a rupee and a cocoanut. the boy's relatives return the visit and perform the '_god bharna_,' or 'filling the lap of the girl.' they take some sweetmeats, a rupee and a cocoanut, and place them in the girl's lap, this being meant to induce fertility. the ceremony of betrothal succeeds, when the couple are seated together on a wooden plank and touch the feet of the guests and are blessed by them. the auspicious date of the wedding is fixed by the brahman and intimation is given to the boy's family through the _lagan_ or formal invitation, which is sent on a paper coloured yellow with powdered rice and turmeric. a bride-price is paid, which in the case of well-to-do families may amount to as much as rs. 100 to rs. 400. 6. the marriage-shed or pavilion before the wedding the women of the family go out and fetch new earth for making the stoves on which the marriage feast will be cooked. when about to dig they worship the earth by sprinkling water over it and offering flowers and rice. the marriage-shed is made of the wood of the _saleh_ tree, [57] because this wood is considered to be alive. if a pole of _saleh_ is cut and planted in the ground it takes root and sprouts, though otherwise the wood is quite useless. the wood of the _kekar_ tree has similar properties and may also be used. the shed is covered with leaves of the mango or _jamun_ [58] trees, because these trees are evergreen and hence typify perpetual life. the marriage-post in the centre of the shed is called magrohan or kham; the women go and worship it at the carpenter's house; two pice, a piece of turmeric and an areca-nut are buried below it in the earth and a new thread and a _toran_ or string of mango-leaves is wound round it. oil and turmeric are also rubbed on the marriage-post at the same time as on the bride and bridegroom. in saugor the marriage-post is often a four-sided wooden frame or a pillar with four pieces of wood suspended from it. the larger the marriage-shed is made the greater honour accrues to the host, even though the guests may be insufficient to fill it. in towns it has often to be made in the street and is an obstacle to traffic. there may be eight or ten posts besides the centre one. 7. the marriage-cakes another preliminary ceremony is the family sacrament of the meher or marriage-cakes. small balls of wheat-flour are kneaded and fried in an earthen pan with sesamum oil by the eldest woman of the family. no metal vessel may be used to hold the water, flour or oil required for these cakes, probably because earthen vessels were employed before metal ones and are therefore considered more sacred. in measuring the ingredients a quarter of a measure is always taken in excess, such as a seer [59] and a quarter for a seer of wheat, to foreshadow the perpetual increase of the family. when made the cakes are offered to the kul deo or household god. the god is worshipped and the bride and bridegroom then first partake of the cakes and after them all members of the family and relatives. married daughters and daughters-in-law may eat of the cakes, but not widows, who are probably too impure to join in a sacred sacrament every person admitted to partake of the marriage-cakes is held to belong to the family, so that all other members of it have to observe impurity for ten days after a birth or death has occurred in his house and shave their heads for a death. when the family is so large that this becomes irksome it is cut down by not inviting persons beyond seven degrees of relationship to the meher sacrament this exclusion has sometimes led to bitter quarrels and actions for defamation. it seems likely that the meher may be a kind of substitute for the sacrificial meal, at which all the members of the clan ate the body of the totem or divine animal, and some similar significance perhaps once attached to the wedding-cake in england, pieces of which are sent to relatives unable to be present at the wedding. 8. customs at the wedding before the wedding the women of each party go and anoint the village gods with oil and turmeric, worshipping them, and then similarly anoint the bride and bridegroom at their respective houses for three days. the bridegroom's head is shaved except for his scalp-lock; he wears a silver necklet on his neck, puts lamp-black on his eyes, and is dressed in new yellow and white clothes. thus attired he goes round and worships all the village gods and visits the houses of his relatives and friends, who mark his forehead with rice and turmeric and give him a silver piece. a list of the money thus received is made and similar presents are returned to the donors when they have weddings. the bridegroom goes to the wedding either in a litter or on a horse, and must not look behind him. after being received at the bride's village and conducted to his lodging, he proceeds to the bride's house and strikes a grass mat hung before the house seven times with a reed-stick. on entering the bride's house the bridegroom is taken to worship her family gods, the men of the party usually remaining outside. then, as he goes through the room, one of the women who has tied a long thread round her toe gets behind him and measures his height with the thread without his seeing. she breaks off the thread at his height and doubling it once or twice sews it round the top of the bride's skirt, and they think that as long as the bride wears this thread she will be able to make her husband do as she likes. if the girls wish to have a joke they take one of the bridegroom's shoes which he has left outside the house, wrap it up in a piece of cloth, and place it on a shelf or in a cupboard, where the family god would be kept, with two lamps burning before it. then they say to the bridegroom, 'come and worship our household god'; and if he goes and does reverence to it they unwrap the cloth and show him his own shoe and laugh at him. but if he has been to one or two weddings and knows the joke he just gives it a kick. the bride's younger brother steals the bridegroom's other shoe and hides it, and will not give it back without a present of a rupee or two. the bride and bridegroom are seated on wooden seats, and while the brahman recites texts, they make the following promises. the bridegroom covenants to live with his wife and her children, to support them and tell her all his concerns, consult her, make her a partner of his religious worship and almsgiving, and be with her on the night following the termination of her monthly impurity. the bride promises to remain faithful to her husband, to obey his wishes and orders, to perform her household duties as well as she can, and not to go anywhere without his permission. the last promise of the bridegroom has reference to the general rule among hindus that a man should always sleep with his wife on the night following the termination of her menses because at this time she is most likely to conceive and the prospect of a child being born must not be lost. the shastras lay it down that a man should not visit his wife before going into battle, this being no doubt an instance of the common custom of abstinence from conjugal intercourse prior to some important business or undertaking; but it is stated that if on such an occasion she should have just completed a period of impurity and have bathed and should desire him to come in to her, he should do so, even with his armour on, because by refusing, in the event of his being killed in battle, the chance of a child being born would be finally lost. to hindu ideas the neglect to produce life is a sin of the same character, though in a minor degree, as that of destroying life; and it is to be feared that it will be some time before this ingrained superstition gives way to any considerations of prudential restraint some people say that for a man not to visit his wife at this time is as great a sin as murder. 9. walking round the sacred post the binding ceremony of the marriage is the walking seven times round the marriage-post in the direction of the sun. the post probably represents the sun and the walk of the bridal couple round it may be an imitation of the movement of the planets round the sun. the reverence paid to the marriage-post has already been noticed. during the procession the bride leads and the bridegroom puts his left hand on her left shoulder. the household pounding-slab is near the post and on it are placed seven little heaps of rice, turmeric, areca-nut, and a small winnowing-fan. each time the bride passes the slab the bridegroom catches her right foot and with it makes her brush one of the little heaps off the slab. these seven heaps represent the seven rishis or saints who are the seven large stars of the constellation of the great bear. 10. other ceremonies after the wedding the bride and bridegroom resume their seats and the parents of the bride wash their feet in a brass tray, marking their foreheads with rice and turmeric. they put some silver in the tray, and other relations and friends do the same. the presents thus collected go to the bridegroom. the chandnahu kurmis then have a ceremony known as _palkachar_. the bride's father provides a bed on which a mattress and quilt are laid and the bride and bridegroom are seated on it, while their brother and sister sprinkle parched rice round them. this is supposed to typify the consummation of the marriage, but the ceremony is purely formal as the bridal couple are children. the bridegroom is given two lamps and he has to mix their flames, probably to symbolise the mixing of the spirits of his wife and himself. he requires a present of a rupee or two before he consents to do so. during the wedding the bride is bathed in the same water as the bridegroom, the joint use of the sacred element being perhaps another symbolic mark of their union. at the feasts the bride eats rice and milk with her husband from one dish, once at her own house and once after she goes to her husband's house. subsequently she never eats with her husband but always after him. she also sits and eats at the wedding-feasts with her husband's relations. this is perhaps meant to mark her admission into her husband's clan. after the wedding the brahmans on either side recite sanskrit verses, praising their respective families and displaying their own learning. the competition often becomes bitter and would end in a quarrel, but that the elders of the party interfere and stop it. the expenses of an ordinary wedding on the bridegroom's side may be rs. 100 in addition to the bride-price, and on the bride's rs. 200. the bride goes home for a day or two with the bridegroom's party in chhattisgarh but not in the northern districts, as women accompany the wedding procession in the former but not in the latter locality. if she is too small to go, her shoes and marriage-crown are sent to represent her. when she attains maturity the _chauk_ or _gauna_ ceremony is performed, her husband going to fetch her with a few friends. at this time her parents give her clothes, food and ornaments in a basket called _jhanpi_ or _tipara_ specially prepared for the occasion. 11. polygamy widow-marriage and divorce a girl who becomes pregnant by a man of the caste before marriage is wedded to him by the rite used for widows. if the man is an outsider she is expelled from the community. women are much valued for the sake of their labour in the fields, and the transgressions of a wife are viewed with a lenient eye. in damoh it is said that a man readily condones his wife's adultery with another kurmi, and if it becomes known and she is put out of caste, he will give the penalty feasts himself for her admission. if she is detected in a _liaison_ with an outsider she is usually discarded, but the offence may be condoned should the man be a brahman. and one instance is mentioned of a malguzar's wife who had gone wrong with a gond, and was forgiven and taken back by her husband and the caste. but the leniency was misplaced as she subsequently eloped with an ahir. polygamy is usual with those who can afford to pay for several wives, as a wife's labour is more efficient and she is a more profitable investment than a hired servant. an instance is on record of a blind kurmi in jubbulpore, who had nine wives. a man who is faithful to one wife, and does not visit her on fast-days, is called a brahmachari or saint and it is thought that he will go to heaven. the remarriage of widows is permitted and is usual. the widow goes to a well on some night in the dark fortnight, and leaving her old clothes there puts on new ones which are given to her by the barber's wife. she then fills a pitcher with water and takes it to her new husband's house. he meets her on the threshold and lifts it from her head, and she goes into the house and puts bangles on her wrists. the following saying shows that the second marriage of widows is looked upon as quite natural and normal by the cultivating castes: "if the clouds are like partridge feathers it will rain, and if a widow puts lamp-black on her eyes she will marry again; these things are certain." [60] a bachelor marrying a widow must first go through the ceremony with a ring which he thereafter wears on his finger, and if it is lost he must perform a funeral ceremony as if a wife had died. if a widower marries a girl she must wear round her neck an image of his first wife. a girl who is twice married by going round the sacred post is called chandelia and is most unlucky. she is considered as bad or worse than a widow, and the people sometimes make her live outside the village and forbid her to show them her face. divorce is open to either party, to a wife on account of the impotency or ill-treatment of her husband, and to a husband for the bad character, ill-health or quarrelsome disposition of his wife. a deed of divorce is executed and delivered before the caste committee. 12. impurity of women during her periodical impurity, which lasts for four or five days, a woman should not sleep on a cot. she must not walk across the shadow of any man not her husband, because it is thought that if she does so her next child will be like that man. formerly she did not see her husband's face for all these days, but this rule was too irksome and has been abandoned. she should eat the same kind of food for the whole period, and therefore must take nothing special on one day which she cannot get on other days. at this time she will let her hair hang loose, taking out all the cotton strings by which it is tied up. [61] these strings, being cotton, have become impure, and must be thrown away. but if there is no other woman to do the household work and she has to do it herself, she will keep her hair tied up for convenience, and only throw away the strings on the last day when she bathes. all cotton things are rendered impure by her at this time, and any cloth or other article which she touches must be washed before it can be touched by anybody else; but woollen cloth, being sacred, is not rendered impure, and she can sleep on a woollen blanket without its thereby becoming a defilement to other persons. when bathing at the end of the period a woman should see no other face but her husband's; but as her husband is usually not present, she wears a ring with a tiny mirror and looks at her own face in this as a substitute. if a woman desires to procure a miscarriage she eats a raw _papaya_ fruit, and drinks a mixture of ginger, sugar, bamboo leaves and milk boiled together. she then has her abdomen well rubbed by a professional _masseuse_, who comes at a time when she can escape observation. after a prolonged course of this treatment it is said that a miscarriage is obtained. it would seem that the rubbing is the only treatment which is directly effective. the _papaya_, which is a very digestible fruit, can hardly be of assistance, but may be eaten from some magical idea of its resemblance to a foetus. the mixture drunk is perhaps designed to be a tonic to the stomach against the painful effects of the massage. 13. pregnancy rites as regards pregnancy mr. marten writes as follows: [62] "a woman in pregnancy is in a state of taboo and is peculiarly liable to the influence of magic and in some respects dangerous to others. she is exempt from the observance of fasts, is allowed any food she fancies, and is fed with sweets and all sorts of rich food, especially in the fifth month. she should not visit her neighbour's houses nor sleep in any open place. her clothes are kept separate from others. she is subject to a large number of restrictions in her ordinary life with a view of avoiding everything that might prejudice or retard her delivery. she should eschew all red clothes or red things of any sort, such as suggest blood, till the third or fourth month, when conception is certain. she will be careful not to touch the dress of any woman who has had a miscarriage. she will not cross running water, as it might cause premature delivery, nor go near a she-buffalo or a mare lest delivery be retarded, since a mare is twelve months in foal. if she does by chance approach these animals she must propitiate them by offerings of grain. nor in some cases will she light a lamp, for fear the flame in some way may hurt the child. she should not finish any sowing, previously begun, during pregnancy, nor should her husband thatch the house or repair his axe. an eclipse is particularly dangerous to the unborn child and she must not leave the house during its continuance, but must sit still with a stone pestle in her lap and anoint her womb with cowdung. under no circumstances must she touch any cutting instrument as it might cause her child to be born mutilated. "during the fifth month of pregnancy the family gods are worshipped to avoid generally any difficulties in her labour. towards the end of that month and sometimes in the seventh month she rubs her body with a preparation of gram-flour, castor-oil and turmeric, bathes herself, and is clothed with new garments and seated on a wooden stool in a space freshly cleaned and spread with cowdung. her lap is then filled with sweets called _pakwan_ made of cocoanut. a similar ceremony called boha jewan is sometimes performed in the seventh or eighth month, when a new _sari_ is given to her and grain is thrown into her lap. another special rite is the _pansavan_ ceremony, performed to remove all defects in the child, give it a male form, increase its size and beauty, give it wisdom and avert the influence of evil spirits." 14. earth-eating pregnant women sometimes have a craving for eating earth. they eat the earth which has been mixed with wheat on the threshing-floor, or the ashes of cowdung cakes which have been used for cooking. they consider it as a sort of medicine which will prevent them from vomiting. children also sometimes get the taste for eating earth, licking it up from the floor, or taking pieces of lime-plaster from the walls. possibly they may be attracted by the saltish taste, but the result is that they get ill and their stomachs are distended. the panwar women of balaghat eat red and white clay in order that their children may be born with red and white complexions. 15. customs at birth during the period of labour the barber's wife watches over the case, but as delivery approaches hands it over to a recognised midwife, usually the basorin or chamarin, who remains in the lying-in room till about the tenth day after delivery. "if delivery is retarded," mr. marten continues, [63] "pressure and massage are used, but coffee and other herbal decoctions are given, and various means, mostly depending on sympathetic magic, are employed to avert the adverse spirits and hasten and ease the labour. she may be given water to drink in which the feet of her husband [64] or her mother-in-law or a young unmarried girl have been dipped, or she is shown the _swastik_ or some other lucky sign, or the _chakra-vyuha_, a spiral figure showing the arrangement of the armies of the pandavas and kauravas which resembles the intestines with the exit at the lower end." the menstrual blood of the mother during child-birth is efficacious as a charm for fertility. the nain or basorin will sometimes try and dip her big toe into it and go to her house. there she will wash her toe and give the water to a barren woman, who by drinking it will transfer to herself the fertility of the woman whose blood it is. the women of the family are in the lying-in room and they watch her carefully, while some of the men stand about outside. if they see the midwife coming out they examine her, and if they find any blood exclaim, 'you have eaten of our salt and will you play us this trick'; and they force her back into the room where the blood is washed off. all the stained clothes are washed in the birth-room, and the water as well as that in which the mother and child are bathed is poured into a hole dug inside the room, so that none of it may be used as a charm. 16. treatment of mother and child the great object of the treatment after birth is to prevent the mother and child from catching cold. they appear to confuse the symptoms of pneumonia and infantile lockjaw in a disease called _sanpat_, to the prevention of which their efforts are directed. a _sigri_ or stove is kept alight under the bed, and in this the seeds of _ajwain_ or coriander are burnt. the mother eats the seeds, and the child is waved over the stove in the smoke of the burning _ajwain_. raw asafoetida is put in the woman's ears wrapped in cotton-wool, and she eats a little half-cooked. a freshly-dried piece of cowdung is also picked up from the ground and half-burnt and put in water, and some of this water is given to her to drink, the process being repeated every day for a month. other details of the treatment of the mother and child after birth are given in the articles on mehtar and kunbi. for the first five days after birth the child is given a little honey and calf's urine mixed. if the child coughs it is given _bans-lochan_, which is said to be some kind of silicate found in bamboos. the mother does not suckle the child for three days, and for that period she is not washed and nobody goes near her, at least in mandla. on the third day after the birth of a girl, or the fourth after that of a boy, the mother is washed and the child is then suckled by her for the first time, at an auspicious moment pointed out by the astrologer. generally speaking the whole treatment of child-birth is directed towards the avoidance of various imaginary magical dangers, while the real sanitary precautions and other assistance which should be given to the mother are not only totally neglected, but the treatment employed greatly aggravates the ordinary risks which a woman has to take, especially in the middle and higher castes. 17. ceremonies after birth when a boy is born the father's younger brother or one of his friends lets off a gun and beats a brass plate to proclaim the event the women often announce the birth of a boy by saying that it is a one-eyed girl. this is in case any enemy should hear the mention of the boy's birth, and the envy felt by him should injure the child. on the sixth day after the birth the chhathi ceremony is performed and the mother is given ordinary food to eat, as described in the article on kunbi. the twelfth day is known as barhon or chauk. on this day the father is shaved for the first time after the child's birth. the mother bathes and cuts the nails of her hands and feet; if she is living by a river she throws them into it, otherwise on to the roof of the house. the father and mother sit in the _chauk_ or space marked out for worship with cowdung and flour; the woman is on the man's left side, a woman being known as bamangi or the left limb, either because the left limb is weak or because woman is supposed to have been made from man's left side, as in genesis. the household god is brought into the _chauk_ and they worship it. the bua or husband's sister brings presents to the mother known as _bharti_, for filling her lap: silver or gold bangles if she can afford them, a coat and cap for the boy; dates, rice and a breast-cloth for the mother; for the father a rupee and a cocoanut. these things are placed in the mother's lap as a charm to sustain her fertility. the father gives his sister back double the value of the presents if he can afford it. he gives her husband a head-cloth and shoulder-cloth; he waves two or three pice round his wife's head and gives them to the barber's wife. the latter and the midwife take the clothes worn by the mother at child-birth, and the father gives them each a new cloth if he can afford it. the part of the navel-string which falls off the child's body is believed to have the power of rendering a barren woman fertile, and is also intimately connected with the child's destiny. it is therefore carefully preserved and buried in some auspicious place, as by the bank of a river. in the sixth month the pasni ceremony is performed, when the child is given grain for the first time, consisting of rice and milk. brahmans or religious mendicants are invited and fed. the child's hair and nails are cut for the first time on the shivratri or akti festival following the birth, and are wrapped up in a ball of dough and thrown into a sacred river. if a child is born during an eclipse they think that it will suffer from lung disease; so a silver model of the moon is made immediately during the eclipse, and hung round the child's neck, and this is supposed to preserve it from harm. 18. suckling children a hindu woman will normally suckle her child for two to three years after its birth, and even beyond this up to six years if it sleeps with her. but they think that the child becomes short of breath if suckled for so long, and advise the mother to wean it. and if she becomes pregnant again, when she has been three or four months in this condition, she will wean the child by putting _nim_ leaves or some other bitter thing on her breasts. a hindu should not visit his wife for the last six months of her pregnancy nor until the child has been fed with grain for the first time six months after its birth. during the former period such action is thought to be a sin, while during the latter it may have the effect of rendering the mother pregnant again too quickly, and hence may not allow her a sufficiently long period to suckle the first child. 19. beliefs about twins twins, mr. marten states, are not usually considered to be inauspicious. [65] "it is held that if they are of the same sex they will survive, and if they are of a different sex one of them will die. boy twins are called rama and lachhman, a boy and a girl mahadeo and parvati, and two girls ganga and jamuni or sita and konda. they should always be kept separate so as to break the essential connection which exists between them and may cause any misfortune which happens to the one to extend to the other. thus the mother always sleeps between them in bed and never carries both of them nor suckles both at the same time. again, among some castes in chhattisgarh, when the twins are of different sex, they are considered to be _pap_ (sinful) and are called papi and papin, an allusion to the horror of a brother and sister sharing the same bed (the mother's womb)." hindus think that if two people comb their hair with the same comb they will lose their affection for each other. hence the hair of twins is combed with the same comb to weaken the tie which exists between them, and may cause the illness or death of either to follow on that of the other. 20. disposal of the dead the dead are usually burnt with the head to the north. children whose ears have not been bored and adults who die of smallpox or leprosy are buried, and members of poor families who cannot afford firewood. if a person has died by hanging or drowning or from the bite of a snake, his body is burnt without any rites, but in order that his soul may be saved, the _hom_ sacrifice is performed subsequently to the cremation. those who live near the nerbudda and mahanadi sometimes throw the bodies of the dead into these rivers and think that this will make them go to heaven. the following account of a funeral ceremony among the middle and higher castes in saugor is mainly furnished by major w. d. sutherland, i.m.s., with some additions from mandla, and from material furnished by the rev. e. m. gordon: [66] "when a man is near his end, gifts to brahmans are made by him, or by his son on his behalf. these, if he is a rich man, consist of five cows with their calves, marked on the forehead and hoofs with turmeric, and with garlands of flowers round their necks. ordinary people give the price of one calf, which is fictitiously taken at rs. 3-4, rs. 1-4, ten annas or five annas according to their means. by holding on to the tail of this calf the dead man will be able to swim across the dreadful river vaitarni, the hindu styx. this calf is called bachra sankal or 'the chain-calf,' as it furnishes a chain across the river, and it may be given three times, once before the death and twice afterwards. when near his end the dying man is taken down from his cot and laid on a woollen blanket spread on the ground, perhaps with the idea that he should at death be in contact with the earth and not suspended in mid-air as a man on a cot is held to be. in his mouth are placed a piece of gold, some leaves of the _tulsi_ or basil plant, or ganges water, or rice cooked in jagannath's temple. the dying man keeps on repeating 'ram, ram, sitaram.'" 21. funeral rites as soon as death occurs the corpse is bathed, clothed and smeared with a mixture of powdered sandalwood, camphor and spices. a bier is constructed of planks, or if this cannot be afforded the man's cot is turned upside down and the body is carried out for burial on it in this fashion, with the legs of the cot pointing upwards. straw is laid on the bier, and the corpse, covered with fine white cloth, is tied securely on to it, the hands being crossed on the breast, with the thumbs and great toes tied together. when a married woman dies she is covered with a red cloth which reaches only to the neck, and her face is left open to the view of everybody, whether she went abroad unveiled in her life or not. it is considered a highly auspicious thing for a woman to die in the lifetime of her husband and children, and the corpse is sometimes dressed like a bride and ornaments put on it. the corpse of a widow or girl is wrapped in a white cloth with the head covered. at the head of the funeral procession walks the son of the deceased, or other chief mourner, and in his hand he takes smouldering cowdung cakes in an earthen pot, from which the pyre will be kindled. this fire is brought from the hearth of the house by the barber, and he sometimes also carries it to the pyre. on the way the mourners change places so that each may assist in bearing the bier, and once they set the bier on the ground and leave two pice and some grain where it lay, before taking it up again. after the funeral each person who has helped to carry it takes up a clod of earth and with it touches successively the place on his shoulder where the bier rested, his waist and his knee, afterwards dropping the clod on the ground. it is believed that by so doing he removes from his shoulder the weight of the corpse, which would otherwise press on it for some time. 22. burning the dead at the cremation-ground the corpse is taken from the bier and placed on the pyre. the cloth which covered it and that on which it lay are given to a sweeper, who is always present to receive this perquisite. to the corpse's mouth, eyes, ears, nostrils and throat is applied a mixture of barley-flour, butter, sesamum seeds and powdered sandalwood. logs of wood and cowdung cakes are then piled on the body and the pyre is fired by the son, who first holds a burning stick to the mouth of the corpse as if to inform it that he is about to apply the fire. the pyre of a man is fired at the head and of a woman at the foot. rich people burn the corpse with sandalwood, and others have a little of this, and incense and sweet-smelling gum. nowadays if the rain comes on and the pyre will not burn they use kerosine oil. when the body is half-consumed the son takes up a piece of wood and with it strikes the skull seven times, to break it and give exit to the soul. this, however, is not always done. the son then takes up on his right shoulder an earthen pot full of water, at the bottom of which is a small hole. he walks round the pyre three times in the direction of the sun's course and stands facing to the south, and dashes the pot on the ground, crying out in his grief, 'oh, my father.' while this is going on _mantras_ or sacred verses are recited by the officiating brahman. when the corpse is partly consumed each member of the assembly throws the _panch lakariya_ (five pieces of wood or sprigs of basil) on to the pyre, making obeisance to the deceased and saying, '_swarg ko jao_,' or 'ascend to heaven.' or they may say, 'go, become incarnate in some human being.' they stay by the corpse for 1 1/4 _pahars_ or watches or some four hours, until either the skull is broken by the chief mourner or breaks of itself with a crack. then they bathe and come home and after some hours again return to the corpse, to see that it is properly burnt. if the pyre should go out and a dog or other animal should get hold of the corpse when it is half-burnt, all the relatives are put out of caste, and have to give a feast to all the caste, costing for a rich family about rs. 50 and for a poor one rs. 10 to rs. 15. then they return home and chew _nim_ leaves, which are bitter and purifying, and spit them out of their mouth, thus severing their connection with the corpse. when the mourners have left the deceased's house the women of the family bathe, the bangles of the widow are broken, the vermilion on the parting of her hair and the glass ornament (_tikli_) on her forehead are removed, and she is clad in white clothing of coarse texture to show that henceforth she is only a widow. on the third day the mourners go again and collect the ashes and throw them into the nearest river. the bones are placed in a silken bag or an earthen pot or a leaf basket, and taken to the ganges or nerbudda within ten days if possible, or otherwise after a longer interval, being buried meantime. some milk, salt and calfs urine are sprinkled over the place where the corpse was burnt. these will cool the place, and the soul of the dead will similarly be cooled, and a cow will probably come and lick up the salt, and this will sanctify the place and also the soul. when the bones are to be taken to a sacred river they are tied up in a little piece of cloth and carried at the end of a stick by the chief mourner, who is usually accompanied by several caste-fellows. at night during the journey this stick is planted in the ground, so that the bones may not touch the earth. 23. burial graves are always dug from north to south. some people say that heaven is to the north, being situated in the himalayas, and others that in the satyug or golden age the sun rose to the north. the digging of the grave only commences on the arrival of the funeral party, so there is of necessity a delay of several hours at the site, and all who attend a funeral are supposed to help in digging. it is considered to be meritorious to assist at a burial, and there is a saying that a man who has himself conducted a hundred funerals will become a raja in his next birth. when the grave has been filled in and a mound raised to mark the spot, each person present makes five small balls of earth and places them in a heap at the head of the grave. this custom is also known as _panch lakariya_, and must therefore be an imitation of the placing of the five sticks on the pyre; its original meaning in the latter case may have been that the mourners should assist the family by bringing a contribution of wood to the pyre. as adopted in burial it seems to have no special significance, but somewhat resembles the european custom of the mourners throwing a little dust into the grave. 24. return of the soul on the third day the _pindas_ or sacrificial cakes are offered and this goes on till the tenth day. these cakes are not eaten by the priest or maha-brahman, but are thrown into a river. on the evening of the third day the son goes, accompanied by a brahman and a barber, and carrying a key to avert evil, to a pipal [67] tree, on whose branches he hangs two earthen pots: one containing water, which trickles out through a hole in the bottom, and the other a lamp. on each succeeding night the son replenishes the contents of these pots, which are intended to refresh the spirit of the deceased and to light it on its way to the lower world. in some localities on the evening of the third day the ashes of the cooking-place are sifted, and laid out on a tray at night on the spot where the deceased died, or near the cooking-place. in the morning the layer of ashes is inspected, and if what appears to be a handor footprint is seen, it is held that the spirit of the deceased has visited the house. some people look for handprints, some for footprints, and some for both, and the nais look for the print of a cow's hoof, which when seen is held to prove that the deceased in consideration of his singular merits has been reborn a cow. if a woman has died in child-birth, or after the birth of a child and before the performance of the sixth-day ceremony of purification, her hands are tied with a cotton thread when she is buried, in order that her spirit may be unable to rise and trouble the living. it is believed that the souls of such women become evil spirits or _churels_. thorns are also placed over her grave for the same purpose. 25. mourning during the days of mourning the chief mourner sits apart and does no work. the others do their work but do not touch any one else, as they are impure. they leave their hair unkempt, do not worship the gods nor sleep on cots, and abjure betel, milk, butter, curds, meat, the wearing of shoes, new clothes and other luxuries. in these days the friends of the family come and comfort the mourners with conversation on the shortness and uncertainty of human life and kindred topics. during the period of mourning when the family go to bathe they march one behind the other in indian file. and on the last day all the people of the village accompany them, the men first and after they have returned the women, all marching one behind the other. they also come back in this manner from the actual funeral, and the idea is perhaps to prevent the dead man's spirit from following them. he would probably feel impelled to adopt the same formation and fall in behind the last of the line, and then some means is devised, such as spreading thorns in the path, for leaving him behind. 26. shaving, and presents to brahmans on the ninth, tenth or eleventh day the males of the family have the front of the head from the crown, and the beard and moustaches, shaved in token of mourning. the maha-brahman who receives the gifts for the dead is shaved with them. this must be done for an elder relation, but a man need not be shaved on the death of his wife, sister or children. the day is the end of mourning and is called gauri ganesh, gauri being parvati or the wife of siva, and ganesh the god of good fortune. on the occasion the family give to the maha-brahman [68] a new cot and bedding with a cloth, an umbrella to shield the spirit from the sun's rays, a copper vessel full of water to quench its thirst, a brass lamp to guide it on its journey, and if the family is well-to-do a horse and a cow, all these things are meant to be for the use of the dead man in the other world. it is also the brahman's business to eat a quantity of cooked food, which will form the dead man's food. it is of great spiritual importance to the dead man's soul that the brahman should finish the dish set before him, and if he does not do so the soul will fare badly. he takes advantage of this by stopping in the middle of the meal, saying that he has eaten all he is capable of and cannot go on, so that the relations have to give him large presents to induce him to finish the food. these maha-brahmans are utterly despised and looked down on by all other brahmans and by the community generally, and are sometimes made to live outside the village. the regular priest, the malai or purohit, can accept no gifts from the time of the death to the end of the period of mourning. afterwards he also receives presents in money according to the means of his clients, which it is supposed will benefit the dead man's soul in the next world; but no disgrace attaches to the acceptance of these. 27. end of mourning when the mourning is complete on the gauri-ganesh day all the relatives take their food at the chief mourner's house, and afterwards the _panchayat_ invest him with a new turban provided by a relative. on the next bazar day the members of the _panchayat_ take him to the bazar and tell him to take up his regular occupation and earn his livelihood. thereafter all his relatives and friends invite him to take food at their houses, probably to mark his accession to the position of head of the family. 28. anniversaries of the dead three months, six months and twelve months after the death presents are made to a brahman, consisting of sidha, or butter, wheat and rice for a day's food. the anniversaries of the dead are celebrated during pitripaksh or the dark fortnight of kunwar (september-october). if a man died on the third day of any fortnight in the year, his anniversary is celebrated on the third day of this fortnight and so on. on that day it is supposed that his spirit will visit his earthly house where his relatives reside. but the souls of women all return to their homes on the ninth day of the fortnight, and on the thirteenth day come the souls of all those who have met with a violent death, as by a fall, or have been killed by wild animals or snakes. the spirits of such persons are supposed, on account of their untimely end, to entertain a special grudge against the living. 29. beliefs in the hereafter as regards the belief in the hereafter mr. gordon writes: [69] "that they have the idea of hell as a place of punishment may be gathered from the belief that when salt is spilt the one who does this will in patal or the infernal region have to gather up each grain of salt with his eyelids. salt is for this reason handed round with great care, and it is considered unlucky to receive it in the palm of the hand; it is therefore invariably taken in a cloth or vessel. there is a belief that the spirit of the deceased hovers round familiar scenes and places, and on this account, whenever possible, a house in which any one has died is destroyed or deserted. after the spirit has wandered round restlessly for a certain time it is said that it will again become incarnate and take the form either of man or of one of the lower animals." in mandla they think that the soul after death is arraigned and judged before yama, and is then chained to a flaming pillar for a longer or shorter period according to its sins. the gifts made to brahmans for the dead somewhat shorten the period. after that time it is born again with a good or bad body and human or animal according to its deserts. 30. religion. village gods the caste worship the principal hindu deities. either bhagwan or parmeshwar is usually referred to as the supreme deity, as we speak of god. bhagwan appears to be vishnu or the sun, and parmeshwar is siva or mahadeo. there are few temples to vishnu in villages, but none are required as the sun is daily visible. sunday or raviwar is the day sacred to him, and some people fast in his honour on sundays, eating only one meal without salt. a man salutes the sun after he gets up by joining his hands and looking towards it, again when he has washed his face, and a third time when he has bathed, by throwing a little water in the sun's direction. he must not spit in front of the sun nor perform the lower functions of the body in its sight. others say that the sun and moon are the eyes of god, and the light of the sun is the effulgence of god, because by its light and heat all moving and immobile creatures sustain their life and all corn and other products of the earth grow. in his incarnations of rama and krishna there are temples to vishnu in large villages and towns. khermata, the mother of the village, is the local form of devi or the earth-goddess. she has a small hut and an image of devi, either black or red. she is worshipped by a priest called panda, who may be of any caste except the impure castes. the earth is worshipped in various ways. a man taking medicine for the first time in an illness sprinkles a few drops on the earth in its honour. similarly for the first three or four times that a cow is milked after the birth of a calf the stream is allowed to fall on the ground. a man who is travelling offers a little food to the earth before eating himself. devi is sometimes considered to be one of seven sisters, but of the others only two are known, marhai devi, the goddess of cholera, and sitala devi, the goddess of smallpox. when an epidemic of cholera breaks out the panda performs the following ceremony to avert it. he takes a kid and a small pig or chicken, and some cloth, cakes, glass bangles, vermilion, an earthen lamp, and some country liquor, which is sprinkled all along the way from where he starts to where he stops. he proceeds in this manner to the boundary of the village at a place where there are cross-roads, and leaves all the things there. sometimes the animals are sacrificed and eaten. while the panda is doing this every one collects the sweepings of his house in a winnowing-fan and throws them outside the village boundary, at the same time ringing a bell continuously. the panda must perform his ceremony at night and, if possible, on the day of the new moon. he is accompanied by a few other low-caste persons called gunias. a gunia is one who can be possessed by a spirit in the temple of khermata. when possessed he shakes his head up and down violently and foams at the mouth, and sometimes strikes his head on the ground. another favourite godling is hardaul, who was the brother of jujhar singh, raja of orchha, and was suspected by jujhar singh of loving the latter's wife, and poisoned in consequence by his orders. hardaul has a platform and sometimes a hut with an image of a man on horseback carrying a spear in his hand. his shrine is outside the village, and two days before a marriage the women of the family visit his shrine and cook and eat their food there and invite him to the wedding. clay horses are offered to him, and he is supposed to be able to keep off rain and storms during the ceremony. hardaul is perhaps the deified rajput horseman. hanuman or mahabir is represented by an image of a monkey coloured with vermilion, with a club in his hand and a slain man beneath his feet. he is principally worshipped on saturdays so that he may counteract the evil influences exercised by the planet saturn on that day. his image is painted with oil mixed with vermilion and has a wreath of flowers of the cotton tree; and _gugal_ or incense made of resin, sandalwood and other ingredients is burnt before him. he is the deified ape, and is the god of strength and swiftness, owing to the exploits performed by him during rama's invasion of ceylon. dulha deo is another godling whose shrine is in every village. he was a young bridegroom who was carried off by a tiger on his way to his wedding, or, according to another account, was turned into a stone pillar by a flash of lightning. before the starting of a wedding procession the members go to dulha deo and offer a pair of shoes and a miniature post and marriage-crown. on their return they offer a cocoanut. dulha deo has a stone and platform to the east of the village, or occasionally an image of a man on horseback like hardaul. mirohia is the god of the field boundary. there is no sign of him, but every tenant, when he begins sowing and cutting the crops, offers a little curds and rice and a cocoanut and lays them on the boundary of the field, saying the name of mirohia deo. it is believed among agriculturists that if this godling is neglected he will flatten the corn by a wind, or cause the cart to break on its way to the threshing-floor. 31. sowing the _jawaras_ or gardens of adonis the sowing of the jawaras, corresponding to the gardens of adonis, takes place during the first nine days of the months of kunwar and chait (september and march). the former is a nine days' fast preceding the dasahra festival, and it is supposed that the goddess devi was during this time employed in fighting the buffalo-demon (bhainsasur), whom she slew on the tenth day. the latter is a nine days' fast at the new year, preceding the triumphant entry of rama into ajodhia on the tenth day on his return from ceylon. the first period comes before the sowing of the spring crop of wheat and other grains, and the second is at the commencement of the harvest of the same crop. in some localities the jawaras are also grown a third time in the rains, probably as a preparation for the juari sowings, [70] as juari is planted in the baskets or 'gardens' at this time. on the first day a small room is cleared and whitewashed, and is known as the _diwala_ or temple. some earth is brought from the fields and mixed with manure in a basket, and a male member of the family sows wheat in it, bathing before he does so. the basket is kept in the _diwala_ and the same man attends on it throughout the nine days, fasting all day and eating only milk and fruit at night. a similar nine days' fast was observed by the eleusinians before the sacramental eating of corn and the worship of the corn goddess, which constituted the eleusinian mysteries. [71] during the period of nine days, called the naoratra, the plants are watered, and long stalks spring up. on the eighth day the _hom_ or fire offering is performed, and the gunias or devotees are possessed by devi. on the evening of the ninth day the women, putting on their best clothes, walk out of the houses with the pots of grain on their heads, singing songs in praise of devi. the men accompany them beating drums and cymbals. the devotees pierce their cheeks with long iron needles and walk in the procession. high-caste women, who cannot go themselves, hire the barber's or waterman's wife to go for them. the pots are taken to a tank and thrown in, the stalks of grain being kept and distributed as a mark of amity. the wheat which is sown in kunwar gives a forecast of the spring crops. a plant is pulled out, and the return of the crop will be the same number of times the seed as it has roots. the woman who gets to the tank first counts the number of plants in her pot, and this gives the price of wheat in rupees per _mani_. [72] sometimes marks of red rust appear on the plants, and this shows that the crop will suffer from rust. the ceremony performed in chait is said to be a sort of harvest thanksgiving. on the ninth day of the autumn ceremony another celebration called 'jhinjhia' or 'norta' takes place in large villages. a number of young unmarried girls take earthen pots and, making holes in them and placing lamps inside, carry them on their heads through the village, singing and dancing. they receive presents from the villagers, with which they hold a feast. at this a small platform is erected and two earthen dolls, male and female, are placed on it; rice and flowers are offered to them and their marriage is celebrated. the following observances in connection with the crops are practised by the agricultural castes in chhattisgarh: 32. rites connected with the crops. customs of cultivation the agricultural year begins on akti or the 3rd day of baisakh (april-may). on that day a cup made of _palas_ [73] leaves and filled with rice is offered to thakur deo. in some villages the boys sow rice seeds before thakur deo's shrine with little toy ploughs. the cultivator then goes to his field, and covering his hand with wheat-flour and turmeric, stamps it five times on the plough. the malguzar takes five handfuls of the seed consecrated to thakur deo and sows it, and each of the cultivators also sows a little. after this regular cultivation may begin on any day, though monday and friday are considered auspicious days for the commencement of sowing. on the hareli, or festival of the fresh verdure, which falls on the 15th day of shrawan (july-august), balls of flour mixed with salt are given to the cattle. the plough and all the implements of agriculture are taken to a tank and washed, and are then set up in the courtyard of the house and plastered with cowdung. the plough is set facing towards the sun, and butter and sugar are offered to it. an earthen pot is whitewashed and human figures are drawn on it with charcoal, one upside down. it is then hung over the entrance to the house and is believed to avert the evil eye. all the holes in the cattle-sheds and courtyards are filled and levelled with gravel. while the rice is growing, holidays are observed on five sundays and no work is done. before harvest thakur deo must be propitiated with an offering of a white goat or a black fowl. any one who begins to cut his crop before this offering has been made to thakur deo is fined the price of a goat by the village community. before threshing his corn each cultivator offers a separate sacrifice to thakur deo of a goat, a fowl or a broken cocoanut. each evening, on the conclusion of a day's threshing, a wisp of straw is rubbed on the forehead of each bullock, and a hair is then pulled from its tail, and the hairs and straw made into a bundle are tied to the pole of the threshing-floor. the cultivator prays, 'o god of plenty! enter here full and go out empty.' before leaving the threshing-floor for the night some straw is burnt and three circles are drawn with the ashes, one round the heap of grain and the others round the pole. outside the circles are drawn pictures of the sun, the moon, a lion and a monkey, or of a cart and a pair of bullocks. next morning before sunrise the ashes are swept away by waving a winnowing-fan over them. this ceremony is called _anjan chadhana_ or placing lamp-black on the face of the threshing-floor to avert the evil eye, as women put it on their eyes. before the grain is measured it must be stacked in the form of a trapezium with the shorter end to the south, and not in that of a square or oblong heap. the measurer stands facing the east, and having the shorter end of the heap on his left hand. on the larger side of the heap are laid the _kalara_ or hook, a winnowing-fan, the _dauri_, a rope by which the bullocks are tied to the threshing-pole, one or three branches of the _ber_ or wild plum tree, and the twisted bundle of straw and hair of the bullocks which had been tied to the pole. on the top of the heap are placed five balls of cowdung, and the _hom_ or fire sacrifice is offered to it. the first _katha_ [74] of rice measured is also laid by the heap. the measurer never quite empties his measure while the work is going on, as it is feared that if he does this the god of abundance will leave the threshing-floor. while measuring he should always wear a turban. it is considered unlucky for any one who has ridden on an elephant to enter the threshing-floor, but a person who has ridden on a tiger brings luck. consequently the gonds and baigas, if they capture a young tiger and tame it, will take it round the country, and the cultivators pay them a little to give their children a ride on it. to enter a threshing-floor with shod feet is also unlucky. grain is not usually measured at noon but in the morning or evening. 33. agricultural superstitions the cultivators think that each grain should bear a hundredfold, but they do not get this as kuvera, the treasurer of the gods, or bhainsasur, the buffalo demon who lives in the fields, takes it. bhainsasur is worshipped when the rice is coming into ear, and if they think he is likely to be mischievous they give him a pig, but otherwise a smaller offering. when the standing corn in the fields is beaten down at night they think that bhainsasur has been passing over it. he also steals the crop while it is being cut and is lying on the ground. once bhainsasur was absent while the particular field in the village from which he stole his supply of grain was cut and the crop removed, and afterwards he was heard crying that all his provision for the year had been lost. sometimes the oldest man in the house cuts the first five bundles of the crop, and they are afterwards left in the field for the birds to eat. and at the end of harvest the last one or two sheaves are left standing in the field, and any one who likes can cut and carry them away. in some localities the last stalks are left standing in the field and are known as _barhona_ or the giver of increase. then all the labourers rush together at this last patch of corn and tear it up by the roots; everybody seizes as much as he can and keeps it, the master having no share in this patch. after the _barhona_ has been torn up all the labourers fall on their faces to the ground and worship the field. in other places the _barhona_ is left standing for the birds to eat. this custom, arises from the belief demonstrated by sir j. g. frazer in _the golden bough_ that the corn-spirit takes refuge in the last patch of grain, and that when it is cut he flies away or his life is extinguished. and the idea is supported by the fact that the rats and other vermin, who have been living in the field, seek shelter in the last patch of corn, and when this is cut have to dart out in front of the reapers. in some countries it is thought, as shown by sir j. g. frazer, that the corn-spirit takes refuge in the body of one of these animals. 34. houses the house of a malguzar or good tenant stands in a courtyard or _angan_ 45 to 60 feet square and surrounded by a brick or mud wall. the plan of a typical house is shown below:-the _dalan_ or hall is for the reception of visitors. one of the living-rooms is set apart for storing grain. those who keep their women secluded have a door at the back of the courtyard for their use. cooking is done in one of the rooms, and there are no chimneys, the smoke escaping through the tiles. they bathe either in the _chauk_ or central courtyard, or go out and bathe in a tank or river or at a well. the family usually sleep inside the house in the winter and outside in the hot weather. a poor malguzar or tenant has only two rooms with a veranda in front, one of which is used by the family, while cattle are kept in the other; while the small tenants and labourers have only one room in which both men and cattle reside. the walls are of bamboo matting plastered on both sides with mud, and the roof usually consists of single small tiles roughly baked in an improvised kiln. the house is surrounded by a mud wall or hedge, and sometimes has a garden behind in which tobacco, maize or vegetables are grown. the interior is dark, for light is admitted only by the low door, and the smoke-stained ceiling contributes to the gloom. the floor is of beaten earth well plastered with cowdung, the plastering being repeated weekly. 35. superstitions about houses the following are some superstitious beliefs and customs about houses. a house should face north or east and not south or west, as the south is the region of yama, the god of death, who lives in ceylon, and the west the quarter of the setting sun. a muhammadan's house, on the other hand, should face south or west because mecca lies to the south-west. a house may have verandas front and back, or on the front and two sides, but not on all four sides. the front of a house should be lower than the back, this shape being known as _gai-mukh_ or cow-mouthed, and not higher than the back, which is _singh-mukh_ or tiger-mouthed. the front and back doors should not be in a straight line, which would enable one to look right through the house. the _angan_ or compound of a house should be a little longer than it is wide, no matter how little. conversely the building itself should be a little wider along the front than it is long from front to rear. the kitchen should always be on the right side if there is a veranda, or else behind. when an astrologer is about to found a house he calculates the direction in which shesh nag, the snake on whom the world reposes, is holding his head at that time, and plants the first brick or stone to the left of that direction, because snakes and elephants do not turn to the left but always to the right. consequently the house will be more secure and less likely to be shaken down by shesh nag's movements, which cause the phenomenon known to us as an earthquake. below the foundation-stone or brick are buried a pice, an areca-nut and a grain of rice, and it is lucky if the stone be laid by a man who has been faithful to his wife. there should be no echo in a house, as an echo is considered to be the voice of evil spirits. the main beam should be placed in position on a lucky day, and the carpenter breaks a cocoanut against it and receives a present. the width of the rooms along the front of a house should be five cubits each, and if there is a staircase it must have an uneven number of steps. the door should be low so that a man must bend his head on entering and thus show respect to the household god. the floor of the verandas should be lower than that of the room inside; the hindus say that the compound should not see the veranda nor the veranda the house. but this rule has of course also the advantage of keeping the house-floor dry. if the main beam of a house breaks it is a very bad omen, as also for a vulture or kite to perch on the roof; if this should happen seven days running the house will inevitably be left empty by sickness or other misfortune. a dog howling in front of the house is very unlucky, and if, as may occasionally happen, a dog should get on to the roof of the house and bark, the omen is of the worst kind. neither the pipal nor banyan trees should be planted in the yard of a house, because the leavings of food might fall upon them, and this would be an insult to the deities who inhabit the sacred trees. neither is it well to plant the _nim_ tree, because the _nim_ is the tree of anchorites, and the frequent contemplation of it will take away from a man the desire of offspring and lead to the extinction of his family. bananas should not be grown close to the house, because the sound of this fruit bursting the pod is said to be audible, and to hear it is most unlucky. it is a good thing to have a _gular_ [75] tree in the yard, but at a little distance from the house so that the leavings of food may not fall upon it; this is the tree of the saint dattatreya, and will cause wealth to increase in the house. a plant of the sacred _tulsi_ or basil is usually kept in the yard, and every morning the householder pours a vessel of water over it as he bathes, and in the evening places a lamp beside it. this holy plant sanctifies the air which passes over it to the house. no one should ever sit on the threshold of a house; this is the seat of lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and to sit on it is disrespectful to her. a house should never be swept at twilight, because it is then that lakshmi makes her rounds, and she would curse it and pass by. at this time a lamp should be lighted, no one should be allowed to sleep, and even if a man is sick he should sit up on his bed. at this time the grinding-mill should not be turned nor grain be husked, but reverence should be paid to ancestors and to the household deities. no one must sit on the grinding-mill; it is regarded as a mother because it gives out the flour by which the family is fed. no one must sit on cowdung cakes because they are the seat of saturn, the evil one, and their smell is called _sanichar ke bas_. no one must step on the _chulka_ or cooking-hearth nor jar it with his foot. at the midday meal, when food is freshly cooked, each man will take a little fire from the hearth and place it in front of him, and will throw a little of everything he eats on to the fire, and some _ghi_ as an offering to agni, the god of fire. and he will also walk round the hearth, taking water in his hand and then throwing it on the ground as an offering to agni. a man should not sleep with his feet to the south, because a corpse is always laid in that direction. he should not sleep with his feet to the east, nor spit out water from his mouth in the direction of the east. 36. furniture of furniture there is very little. carefully arranged in their places are the brass cooking-pots, water-pots and plates, well polished with mud and water applied with plenty of elbow-grease by the careful housewife. poor tenants frequently only have one or two brass plates and cups and an iron girdle, while all the rest of their vessels are of earthenware. each house has several _chulhas_ or small horseshoe erections of earth for cooking. each person in the house has a sleeping-cot if the family is comfortably off, and a spare one is also kept. these must be put out and exposed to the sun at least once a week to clear them of fleas and bugs. it is said that the jains cannot adopt this method of disinfecting their beds owing to the sacrifice of insect life thereby involved; and that there are persons in calcutta who make it their profession to go round and offer to lie on these cots for a time; they lie on them for some hours, and the little denizens being surfeited with their blood subsequently allow the owner of the cot to have a quiet night. a cot should always be shorter than a man's length, so that his legs project over the end; if it is so long as to contain his whole length it is like a bier, and it is feared that lying on a cot of this kind will cause him shortly to lie on a bier. poor tenants do not usually have cots, but sleep on the ground, spreading kodon-straw on it for warmth. they have no bedding except a _gudri_ or mattress made of old rags and clothes sewn together. in winter they put it over them, and sleep on it in summer. they will have a wooden log to rest their heads on when sleeping, and this will also serve as a seat for a guest. malguzars have a _razai_ or quilt, and a _doria_ or thick cloth like those used for covering carts. clothes and other things are kept in _jhampis_ or round bamboo baskets. for sitting on there are _machnis_ or four-legged stools about a foot high with seats of grass rope or _pirhis_, little wooden stools only an inch or two from the ground. for lighting, wicks are set afloat in little earthen saucers filled with oil. 37. clothes landowners usually have a long coat known as _angarkha_ reaching to the knees, with flaps folding over the breasts and tied with strings. the _bandi_ is a short coat like this but coming only to the hips, and is more popular with cultivators. in the cold weather it is frequently stuffed with cotton and dyed dark green or dark blue so as not to show the dirt. for visits of ceremony a pair of _paijamas_ are kept, but otherwise the _dhoti_ or loin-cloth is commonly worn. wearing the _dhoti_ pulled half-way up to the thighs is called 'cultivator's fashion.' a shirt may be worn under the coat; but cultivators usually have only one garment, nowadays often a sleeveless coat with buttons in front. the proper head-dress is the _pagri_, a piece of coloured cloth perhaps 30 feet long and a foot wide, twisted tightly into folds, which is lifted on and off the head and is only rarely undone. twisting the _pagri_ is an art, and a man is usually hired to do it and paid four annas. the _pagris_ have different shapes in different parts of the country, and a hindu can tell by the shape of a man's _pagri_ where he comes from. but nowadays cultivators usually wear a _dupatta_ or short piece of cloth tied, loosely round the head. the tenant arranges his head-cloth with a large projection on one side, and in it he carries his _chilam_ or pipe-bowl, and also small quantities of vegetables, salt or condiments purchased at the bazar. in case of necessity he can transform it into a loin-cloth, or tie up a bundle of grass with it, or tie his _lota_ to it to draw water from a well. 'what can the washerman do in a village where the people live naked?' is a chhattisgarhi proverb which aptly indicates that scantiness is the most prominent feature of the local apparel. here a cloth round the loins, and this usually of meagre dimensions, constituted, until recently, the full dress of a cultivator. those who have progressed a stage farther throw a cloth loosely over one shoulder, covering the chest, and assume an apology for a turban by wrapping another small rag carelessly round the head, leaving the crown generally bare, as if this part of the person required special sunning and ventilation. hindus will not be seen out-of-doors with the head bare, though the gonds and other tribes only begin to wear head-cloths when they are adopting hinduism. the gondi fashion was formerly prevalent in chhattisgarh. some sanctity attaches to the turban, probably because it is the covering of the head. to knock off a man's turban is a great insult, and if it drops off or he lets it fall, it is a very bad omen. 38. women's clothes women, in the northern districts wear a skirt made of coarse cloth, usually red or blue, and a shoulder-cloth of the same material. hand-woven cloth is still commonly used in the interior. the skirt is sometimes drawn up through the legs behind so as to give it a divided appearance; this is called _kachhota_. on the upper part of the body they wear an _angia_ or breast-cloth, that is a short, tight, sleeveless jacket reaching only to below the breasts. the _angia_ is tied behind, while the maratha _choli_, which is the same thing, is buttoned or tied in front. high-caste women draw their shoulder-cloth right over the head so that the face cannot be seen. when a woman goes before a person of position she covers her head, as it is considered immodest to leave it bare. women of respectable families wear a sheet of fine white, yellow, or red cloth drawn over the head and reaching to the ankles when they go on a journey, this being known as _pichhora_. in chhattisgarh all the requirements of fashion among women are satisfied by one cloth from 8 to 12 yards long and about a yard wide, which envelops the person in one fold from the waist to below the knee, hanging somewhat loosely. it is tied at the waist, and the remaining half is spread over the breast and drawn across the right shoulder, the end covering the head like a sheet and falling over the left shoulder. the simplicity of this solitary garment displays a graceful figure to advantage, especially on festival days, when those who can afford it are arrayed in tasar silk. when a girl is married the bridegroom's family give her expensive clothes to wear at festivals and her own people give her ordinary clothes, but usually not more than will last a year. whenever she goes back to her father's house after her marriage, he gives her one or two cloths if he can afford it. women of the middle and lower classes wear ornaments of bell-metal, a mixture of copper and zinc, which are very popular. some women wear brass and zinc ornaments, and well-to-do persons have them of silver or gold. 39. bathing hot water is not used for bathing in saugor, except by invalids, but is customary in betul and other districts. the bathing-place in the courtyard is usually a large square stone on which the bather sits; he has a big circular brass vessel by him called _gangal_, [76] and from this he takes water either in a cup or with his hands and throws it over himself, rubbing his body. where there is a tank or stream people go to bathe in it, and if there is none the poorer classes sometimes bathe at the village well. each man or woman has two body-or loin-cloths, and they change the cloth whenever they bathe--going into the water in the one which they have worn from the previous day, and changing into the other when they come out; long practice enables them to do this in public without any undue exposure of the body. a good tank or a river is a great amenity to a village, especially if it has a _ghat_ or flight of stone steps. many people will spend an hour or so here daily, disporting themselves in the water or on the bank, and wedding and funeral parties are held by it, owing to the facilities for ceremonial bathing. 40. food people who do not cultivate with their own hands have only two daily meals, one at midday and the other at eight or nine in the evening. agriculturists require a third meal in the early morning before going out to the fields. wheat and the millets juari and kodon are the staple foods of the cultivating classes in the northern districts, and rice is kept for festivals. the millets are made into thick _chapatis_ or cakes, their flour not being sufficiently adhesive for thin ones, and are eaten with the pulses, lentils, arhar, [77] mung [78] and urad. [79] the pulses are split into half and boiled in water, and when they get soft, chillies, salt and turmeric are mixed with them. pieces of _chapati_ are broken off and dipped into this mixture. various vegetables are also eaten. when pulse is not available the _chapatis_ are simply dipped into buttermilk. if _chapatis_ cannot be afforded at both meals, _ghorna_ or the flour of kodon or juar boiled into a paste with water is substituted for them, a smaller quantity of this being sufficient to allay hunger. wheat-cakes are fried in _ghi_ (clarified butter) as a luxury, and at other times in sesamum oil. rice or ground gram boiled in buttermilk are other favourite foods. in chhattisgarh rice is the common food: it is eaten with pulses at midday and with vegetables cooked in _ghi_ in the evening. in the morning they drink a rice-gruel, called _basi>_ which consists of the previous night's repast mixed with water and taken cold. on festivals rice is boiled in milk. milk is often drunk at night, and there is a saying, "he who drinks water in the morning and milk at night and takes _harra_ before he sleeps will never need a doctor." a little powdered _harra_ or myrobalan acts as an aperient. the food of landowners and tenants is much the same, except that the former have more butter and vegetables, according to the saying, '_raja praja ka ekhi khana_' or 'the king and peasant eat the same food.' those who eat flesh have an occasional change of food, but most kurmis abstain from it. farmservants eat the gruel of rice or kodon boiled in water when they can afford it, and if not they eat mahua flowers. these are sometimes boiled in water, and the juice is then strained off and mixed with half-ground flour, and they are also pounded and made into _chapatis_ with flour and water. the leaves of the young gram-plants make a very favourite vegetable and are eaten raw, either moist or dried. in times of scarcity the poorer classes eat tamarind leaves, the pith of the banyan tree, the seeds of the bamboo, the bark of the _semar_ tree, [80] the fruit of the _babul_, [81] and other articles. a cultivator will eat 2 lbs. of grain a day if he can get it, or more in the case of rice. their stomachs get distended owing to the large quantities of boiled rice eaten at one time. the leaves of the _chirota_ or _chakora_ a little plant [82] which grows thickly at the commencement of the rains near inhabited sites, are also a favourite vegetable, and a resource in famine time. the people call it '_gaon ka thakur_,' or 'lord of the village,' and have a saying: amarbel aur kamalgata, gaon ka thakur, gai ka matha, nagar sowasan, unmen milai, khaj, dad, sehua mit jawe. _amarbel_ is an endless creeper, with long yellow strings like stalks, which infests and destroys trees; it is called _amarbel_ or the immortal, because it has no visible root. _kamalgata_ is the seed of the lotus; _gai ka matha_ is buttermilk; _nagar sowasan_, 'the happiness of the town,' is turmeric, because married women whose husbands are alive put turmeric on their foreheads every day; _khaj, dad_ and _sehua_ are itch, ringworm and some kind of rash, perhaps measles; and the verse therefore means: "eat _amarbel_, lotus seeds, chirota, buttermilk and turmeric mixed together, and you will keep off itch, ringworm and measles." chirota is good for the itch. 41. caste-feasts at the commencement of a marriage or other ceremonial feast the host must wash the feet of all the guests himself. if he does not do this they will be dissatisfied, and, though they will eat at his house, will consider they have not been properly welcomed. he takes a large brass plate and placing the feet of his guest on it, pours water over them and then rubs and dries them; the water is thrown away and fresh water poured out for the next guest unless they should be brothers. little flat stools about three inches high are provided for the guests, and if there are not enough of them a carpet is spread; or _baithkis_ or sitting-mats plaited from five or six large leaves are set out. these serve as a mark of attention, as it would be discourteous to make a man sit on the ground, and they also prevent the body-cloth from getting wet. the guests sit in the _chauk_ or yard of the house inside, or in the _angan_ or outside yard, either in lines or in a circle; members of the same caste sit with their crossed knees actually touching those of the man on either side of them to emphasise their brotherhood; if a man sat even a few inches apart from his fellows people would say he was out of caste--and this is how a man who is put out of caste actually does sit. before each guest may be set two plates of leaves and eight _donas_ or leaf-cups. on the plates are heaped rice, cakes of wheat fried in butter, and of husked urad pulse cooked with tilli or sesamum oil, and the pulse of gram and lentils. in the cups will be sugar, _ghi_, _dahi_ or curded milk, various vegetables, pumpkins, and _besin_ or ground gram cooked with buttermilk. all the male members of the host's family serve the food and they take it round, heaping and pouring it into each man's plates or cups until he says enough; and they continue to give further helpings as required. all the food is served at once in the different plates and cups, but owing to the number of guests a considerable time elapses before all are fully served, and the dinner lasts about two hours. the guests eat all the different dishes together with their fingers, taking a little of each according to their fancy. each man has his _lota_ or vessel of water by him and drinks as he eats. when the meal is finished large brass plates are brought in, one being given to about ten guests, and they wash their hands over these, pouring water on them from their vessels. a fresh carpet is then spread in the yard and the guests sit on it, and betel-leaf and tobacco are distributed. the huqqa is passed round, and _chilams_ and _chongis_ (clay pipe-bowls and leaf-pipes) are provided for those who want them. the women do not appear at the feast but stay inside, sitting in the _angan_ or inner court, which is behind the _purda_. 42. hospitality the people still show great hospitality, and it is the custom of many malguzars, at least in chhattisgarh, to afford food and a night's rest to all travellers who may require it. when a brahman comes to the village such malguzars will give him one or two annas, and to a pandit or learned man as much as a rupee. formerly it is said that when any stranger came through the village he was at once offered a cup of milk and told to drink it or throw it away. but this custom has died out in chhattisgarh, though one has met with it once or twice in sambalpur. when district officers go on tour, well-to-do landowners ask to be allowed to supply free provisions for the whole camp at least for a day, and it is difficult to refuse them gracefully. in mandla, banias and malguzars in villages near the nerbudda sometimes undertake to give a pound of grain to every _parikramawasi_ or pilgrim perambulating the nerbudda. and as the number of these steadily increases in consequence, they often become impoverished as a result of such indiscriminate charity. 43. social customs. tattooing the kurmis employ brahmans for their ceremonies. they have _gurus_ or spiritual preceptors who may be brahmans or bairagis; the _guru_ is given from 8 annas to rs. 5 when he initiates a neophyte, as well as his food and a new white cloth. the _guru_ is occasionally consulted on some religious question, but otherwise he does nothing for his disciple except to pay him an occasional visit, when he is hospitably entertained. the kurmis of the northern districts do not as a rule eat meat and also abstain from alcohol, but in chhattisgarh they eat the flesh of clean animals and fish, and also of fowls, and drink country liquor. old men often give up flesh and wine as a mark of piety, when they are known as bhagat or holy. they will take food cooked with water only from brahmans, and that cooked without water from rajputs, banias and kayasths as well. brahmans and rajputs will take water from kurmis in the northern districts though not in chhattisgarh. here the kurmis do not object to eating cooked food which has been carried from the house to the fields. this is called _rengai roti_, and castes which will eat it are considered inferior to those who always take their food in the _chauka_ or purified place in the house. they say 'ram, ram' to each other in greeting, and the raipur kurmis swear by a dog or a pig. generally they do not plough on the new or full moon days. their women are tattooed after marriage with dots on the cheeks, marks of flies on the fingers, scorpions on the arms, and other devices on the legs. 44. caste penalties permanent expulsion from caste is inflicted for a change of religion, taking food or having sexual intercourse with a member of an impure caste, and for eating beef. for killing a man, a cow, a buffalo, an ass, a horse, a squirrel, a cat or a monkey a man must purify himself by bathing in the ganges at allahabad or benares and giving a feast to the caste. it will be seen that all these are domestic animals except the monkey, who is the god hanuman. the squirrel is counted as a domestic animal because it is always about the house, and the souls of children are believed to go into squirrels. one household animal, the dog, is omitted, and he appears to be less sacred than the others. for getting maggots in a wound the offender must bathe in a sacred river, such as the nerbudda or mahanadi, and give a feast to the caste. for eating or having intercourse with a member of any caste other than the impure ones, or for a _liaison_ within the caste, or for divorcing a wife or marrying a widow, or in the case of a woman for breaking her bangles in a quarrel with her husband, a penalty feast must be given. if a man omits to feast the caste after a death in his family a second feast is imposed, and if he insults the _panchayat_ he is fined. 45. the cultivating status the social status of the kurmi appears to be that of the cultivator. he is above the menial and artisan castes of the village and the impure weaving and labouring castes; he is theoretically equal to the artisan castes of towns, but one or two of these, such as the sunar or goldsmith and kasar or brass-worker, have risen in the world owing to the prosperity or importance of their members, and now rank above the kurmi. the kurmi's status appears to be that of the cultivator and member of the village community, but a large proportion of the kurmis are recruited from the non-aryan tribes, who have obtained land and been admitted into the caste, and this tends to lower the status of the caste as a whole. in the punjab kurmis apparently do not hold land and are employed in grass-cutting, weaving, and tending horses, and are even said to keep pigs. [83] here their status is necessarily very low as they follow the occupations of the impure castes. the reason why the kurmi as cultivator ranks above the village handicraftsmen may perhaps be that industrial pursuits were despised in early times and left to the impure sudras and to the castes of mixed descent; while agriculture and trade were the occupations of the vaishya. further, the village artisans and menials were supported before the general use of current coin by contributions of grain from the cultivators and by presents of grain at seed-time and harvest; and among the hindus it is considered very derogatory to accept a gift, a man who does so being held to admit his social inferiority to the giver. some exception to this is made in the case of brahmans, though even with them the rule partly applies. of these two reasons for the cultivator's superiority to the menial and artisan castes the former has to a large extent lost its force. the handicrafts are no longer considered despicable, and, as has been seen, some of the urban tradesmen, as the sunar and kasar, now rank above the kurmi, or are at least equal to him. perhaps even in ancient times these urban artificers were not despised like the village menials, as their skill was held in high repute. but the latter ground is still in full force and effect in the central provinces at least: the village artisans are still paid by contributions from the cultivator and receive presents from him at seed-time and harvest. the remuneration of the village menials, the blacksmith, carpenter, washerman, tanner, barber and waterman is paid at the rate of so much grain per plough of land according to the estimated value of the work done by them for the cultivators during the year. other village tradesmen, as the potter, oilman and liquor-vendor, are no longer paid in grain, but since the introduction of currency sell their wares for cash; but there seems no reason to doubt that in former times when no money circulated in villages they were remunerated in the same manner. they still all receive presents, consisting of a sowing-basketful of grain at seed-time and one or two sheaves at harvest. the former are known as _bijphuti_, or 'the breaking of the seed,' and the latter as _khanvar_, or 'that which is left.' in bilaspur the kamias or village menials also receive as much grain as will fill a winnowing-fan when it has been threshed. when the peasant has harvested his grain all come and beg from him. the dhimar brings waternut, the kachhi or market-gardener some chillies, the teli oil and tobacco, the kalar some liquor if he drinks it, the bania some sugar, and all receive grain in excess of the value of their gifts. the village menials come for their customary dues, and the brahman, the nat or acrobat, the gosain or religious mendicant, and the fakir or muhammadan beggar solicit alms. on that day the cultivator is like a little king in his fields, and it is said that sometimes a quarter of the crop may go in this way; but the reference must be only to the spring crop and not to the whole holding. in former times grain must have been the principal source of wealth, and this old custom gives us a reason for the status of the cultivator in hindu society. there is also a saying: uttam kheti, madhyam ban, kanisht chakri, bhik nidan, or 'cultivation is the best calling, trade is respectable, service is menial, and begging is degraded.' 46. occupation the kurmi is the typical cultivator. he loves his land, and to lose it is to break the mainspring of his life. his land gives him a freedom and independence of character which is not found among the english farm-labourers. he is industrious and plodding, and inured to hardship. in some districts the excellent tilth of the kurmi's fields well portrays the result of his persevering labour, which he does not grudge to the land because it is his own. his wife is in no way behind him; the proverb says, "good is the caste of the kurmin; with a hoe in her hand she goes to the fields and works with her husband." the chandnahu kurmi women are said to be more enterprising than the men, keeping them up to their work, and managing the business of the farm as well as the household. appendix list of exogamous clans sections of the chandnahu subcaste: chanwar bambar fly fan. sandil name of a rishi. gaind ball. sadaphal a fruit. sondeha gold-bodied. sonkharchi spender of gold. kathail kath, wood, or kaththa, catechu. kashi enares. the desha kurmis are all of this gotra. it may also be a corruption of kachhap, tortoise. dhorha dhor, cattle. sumer a mountain. chatur midalia chatur, clever. bharadwaj after the rishi of that name; also a bird. kousil name of a rishi. ishwar god. samund karkari a particle in an ocean. akalchuwa akal, famine. padel fallow. baghmar tiger-slayer. harduba green grass. kansia kans, a kind of grass. ghiu sagar ocean of ghi dharam dhurandar most charitable. singnaha singh, a lion. chimangarhia belonging to chimangarh. khairagarhia belonging to khairagarh. gotam a rishi. kaskyap a rishi. pandariha from pandaria, a village. paipakhar one who washes feet. banhpakhar one who washes arms. chauria chaurai, a vegetable. sand sathi sand, bullock. singhi singh, lion or horn. agra--chandan sandalwood. tek sanichar saturday. karaiya frying-pan. pukharia pond. dhubinha dhobi, a caste. pawanbare pawan, air. modganga ganges. sections of the gabel subcaste: gangajal ganges water. bimba lohir bearer of a lathi (stick). sarang peacock. raja rawat royal prince. singur beauty. bank pagar with a thread on the arm. samundha ocean. parasram, rishi katarmal katar, dagger. chaultan sept of rajputs. patan village. gajmani elephant. deori sumer village. lahura samudra small sea. hansbimbraon hans, goose. sunwani purifier. sections of the santora subcaste: narvaria narwar, a town in gwalior state. mundharia mundhra, a village. naigaiyan naogaon, a town in bundelkhand. pipraiya piparia, a village. dindoria dindori, a village in mandla district. baheria a village. bandha bandh, embankment. ktmusar wooden pestle. sections of the tirole subcaste: baghele bagh, tiger, or a sept of rajputs. rathor clan of rajputs. panwar clan of rajputs. solanki clan of rajputs. aulia aonla, a fruit-bearing tree. sindia sindi, date-palm tree. khusia khusi, happiness. sanoria san, hemp. gora fair-coloured. bhakrya bhakar, a thick bread. sections of the gaur subcaste: bhandari storekeeper. dudhua dudh, milk. patele a headman. lonia salt-maker. kumaria a potter. sionia seoni town. chhaparia chhapara, a town. bijoria a tree. simra a village. ketharia keth, a fruit. usarguiyan perhaps a village. bhadoria village. rurgaiyan village. musrele musar, a pestle. sections of the usrete subcaste: shikare hunter. nahar tiger. gursaraiyan gursarai, a town. bardia a village. sandia sand, a bull. sirwaiyan sirwai, a village. itguhan a village. sengaiyan or singaiyan sengai, a village. harkotia harkoti, a village. noria norai, a village. larent lareti, a village. rabia rabai, a village. lakhauria (lakori village. it is said that whoever utters the name of this section early in the morning is sure to remain hungry the whole day, or at least will get into some trouble that day.) dhandkonya dhandakna, to roll. badgaiyan badagaon, a large village. kotia kot, a fort bilwar billi, cat thutha stump of a tree. sections of the kanaujia subcaste: tidha.--from tidha, a village. this section is subdivided into (a) ghureparke (of the cow-dung hill); (b) dwarparke (of the door); and (c) jangi (warrior). chamania--from chamyani (village). this is also subdivided into: (a) gomarkya (b) mathuria (muttra town). chaudhri (caste headman). this is divided as follows: (a) majhgawan a village. (b) purva thok eastern group. (c) pashchim thok western group. (d) bamurya a village. rawat title. malha perhaps sailor or wrestler. chilolian chiloli, a village. dhanuiyan dhanu kheda, a village. lakhera list of paragraphs 1. _general notice_. 2. _social customs_. 3. _the lac industry_. 4. _lac bangles_. 5. _red, a lucky colour_. 6. _vermilion and spangles_. 7. _red dye on the feet_. 8. _red threads_. 9. _lac toys_. 1. general notice _lakhera, laheri._--the small caste whose members make bangles and other articles of lac. about 3000 persons were shown as belonging to the caste in the central provinces in 1911, being most numerous in the jubbulpore, chhindwara and betul districts. from berar 150 persons were returned, chiefly from amraoti. the name is derived from the sanskrit _laksha-kara_, a worker in lac. the caste are a mixed functional group closely connected with the kacheras and patwas; no distinction being recognised between the patwas and lakheras in some localities of the central provinces. mr. baillie gives the following notice of them in the _census report of the north-western provinces_ (1891): "the accounts given by members of the caste of their origin are very various and sometimes ingenious. one story is that like the patwas, with whom they are connected, they were originally kayasths. according to another account they were made from the dirt washed from parvati before her marriage with siva, being created by the god to make bangles for his wife, and hence called deobansi. again, it is stated, they were created by krishna to make bangles for the gopis or milkmaids. the most elaborate account is that they were originally yaduvansi rajputs, who assisted the kurus to make a fort of lac, in which the pandavas were to be treacherously burned. for this traitorous conduct they were degraded and compelled eternally to work in lac or glass." 2. social customs the bulk of these artisan and manufacturing castes tell stories showing that their ancestors were kayasths and rajputs, but no importance can be attached to such legends, which are obviously manufactured by the family priests to minister to the harmless vanity of their clients. to support their claim the lakheras have divided themselves like the rajputs into the surajvansi and somvansi subcastes or those who belong to the solar and lunar races. other subdivisions are the marwari or those coming from marwar in rajputana, and the tarkhera or makers of the large earrings which low-caste women wear. these consist of a circular piece of wood or fibre, nearly an inch across, which is worked through a large hole in the lobe of the ear. it is often the stalk of the _ambari_ fibre, and on the outer end is fixed a slab decorated with little pieces of glass. the exogamous sections of the lakheras are generally named after animals, plants and natural objects, and indicate that the caste is recruited from the lower classes of the population. their social customs resemble those of the middle and lower hindustani castes. girls are married at an early age when the parents can afford the expense of the ceremony, but no penalty is incurred if the wedding is postponed for want of means. the remarriage of widows and divorce are permitted. they eat flesh, but not fowls or pork, and some of them drink liquor, while others abstain. rajputs and banias will take water from them, but not brahmans. in bombay, however, they are considered to rank above kunbis. 3. the lac industry the traditional occupation of the lakheras is to make and sell bangles and other articles of lac. lac is regarded with a certain degree of superstitious repugnance by the hindus because of its red colour, resembling blood. on this account and also because of the sin committed in killing them, no hindu caste will propagate the lac insect, and the calling is practised only by gonds, korkus and other primitive tribes. even gonds will often refuse employment in growing lac if they can make their living by cultivation. various superstitions attach to the propagation of the insects to a fresh tree. this is done in kunwar (september) and always by men, the insects being carried in a leaf-cup and placed on a branch of an uninfected tree, usually the _kusum_. [84] it is said that the work should be done at night and the man should be naked when he places the insects on the tree. the tree is fenced round and nobody is allowed to touch it, as it is considered that the crop would thus be spoiled. if a woman has lost her husband and has to sow lac, she takes her son in her arms and places the cup containing the insects on his head; on arriving at the tree she manages to apply the insects by means of a stick, not touching the cup with her own hands. all this ritual attaches simply to the infection of the first tree, and afterwards in january or february the insects are propagated on to other trees without ceremony. the juice of onions is dropped on to them to make them healthy. the stick-lac is collected by the gonds and korkus and sold to the lakheras; they clear it of wood as far as possible and then place the incrusted twigs and bark in long cotton bags and heat them before a fire, squeezing out the gum, which is spread out on flat plates so as to congeal into the shape of a pancake. this is again heated and mixed with white clay and forms the material for the bangles. they are coloured with _chapra_, the pure gum prepared like sealing-wax, which is mixed with vermilion, or arsenic and turmeric for a yellow colour. in some localities at least only the lakheras and patwas and no higher caste will sell articles made of lac. 4. lac bangles the trade in lac bangles has now greatly declined, as they have been supplanted by the more ornamental glass bangles. they are thick and clumsy and five of them will cover a large part of the space between the elbow and the wrist. they may be observed on banjara women. lac bangles are also still used by the hindus, generally on ceremonial occasions, as at a marriage, when they are presented to and worn by the bride, and during the month of shrawan (july), when the hindus observe a fast on behalf of the growing crops and the women wear bangles of lac. for these customs mr. hira lal suggests the explanation that lac bangles were at one time generally worn by the hindus, while glass ones are a comparatively recent fashion introduced by the muhammadans. in support of this it may be urged that glass bangles are largely made by the muhammadan turkari or sisgar, and also that lac bangles must have been worn prior to glass ones, because if the latter had been known the clumsy and unornamental bracelet made of lac and clay could never have come into existence. the wearing of lac bangles on the above occasions would therefore be explained according to the common usage of adhering on religious and ceremonial occasions to the more ancient methods and accessories, which are sanctified by association and custom. similarly the holi pyre is often kindled with fire produced by the friction of wood, and temples are lighted with vegetable instead of mineral oil. 5. red, a lucky colour it may be noted, however, that lac bangles are not always worn by the bride at a wedding, the custom being unknown in some localities. moreover, it appears that glass was known to the hindus at a period prior to the muhammadan invasions, though bangles may not have been made from it. another reason for the use of lac bangles on the occasions noticed is that lac, as already seen, represents blood. though blood itself is now repugnant to the hindus, yet red is pre-eminently their lucky colour, being worn at weddings and generally preferred. it is suggested in the _bombay gazetteer_ [85] that blood was lucky as having been the first food of primitive man, who learnt to suck the blood of animals before he ate their flesh. but it does not seem necessary to go back quite so far as this. the earliest form of sacrifice, as shown by professor robertson smith, [86] was that in which the community of kinsmen ate together the flesh of their divine or totem animal god and drank its blood. when the god became separated from the animal and was represented by a stone at the place of worship and the people had ceased to eat raw flesh and drink blood, the blood was poured out over the stone as an offering to the god. this practice still obtains among the lower castes of hindus and the primitive tribes, the blood of animals offered to devi and other village deities being allowed to drop on to the stones representing them. but the higher castes of hindus have abandoned animal sacrifices, and hence cannot make the blood-offering. in place of it they smear the stone with vermilion, which seems obviously a substitute for blood, since it is used to colour the stones representing the deities in exactly the same manner. even vermilion, however, is not offered to the highest deities of neo-hinduism, siva or mahadeo and vishnu, to whom animal sacrifices would be abhorrent. it is offered to hanuman, whose image is covered with it, and to devi and bhairon and to the many local and village deities. in past times animal sacrifices were offered to bhairon, as they still are to devi, and though it is not known that they were made to hanuman, this is highly probable, as he is the god of strength and a mighty warrior. the manbhao mendicants, who abhor all forms of bloodshed like the jains, never pass one of these stones painted with vermilion if they can avoid doing so, and if they are aware that there is one on their road will make a circuit so as not to see it. [87] there seems, therefore, every reason to suppose that vermilion is a substitute for blood in offerings and hence probably on other occasions. as the places of the gods were thus always coloured red with blood, red would come to be the divine and therefore the propitious colour among the hindus and other races. 6. vermilion and spangles among the constituents of the sohag or lucky _trousseau_ without which no hindu girl of good caste can be married are _sendur_ or vermilion, _kunku_ or red powder or a spangle (_tikli_), and _mahawar_ or red balls of cotton-wool. in chhattisgarh and bengal the principal marriage rite is usually the smearing of vermilion by the bridegroom on the parting of the bride's hair, and elsewhere this is commonly done as a subsidiary ceremony. here also there is little reason to doubt that vermilion is a substitute for blood; indeed, in some castes in bengal, as noted by sir h. risley, the blood of the parties is actually mixed. [88] this marking of the bride with blood is a result of the sacrifice and communal feast of kinsmen already described; only those who could join in the sacrificial meal and eat the flesh of the sacred animal god were kin to it and to each other; but in quite early times the custom prevailed of taking wives from outside the clan; and consequently, to admit the wife into her husband's kin, it was necessary that she also should drink or be marked with the blood of the god. the mixing of blood at marriage appears to be a relic of this, and the marking of the forehead with vermilion is a substitute for the anointing with blood. _kunku_ is a pink powder made of turmeric, lime-juice and borax, which last is called by the hindus 'the milk of anjini,' the mother of hanuman. it seems to be a more agreeable substitute for vermilion, whose constant use has probably an injurious effect on the skin and hair. _kunku_ is used in the maratha country in the same way as vermilion, and a married woman will smear a little patch on her forehead every day and never allow her husband to see her without it. she omits it only during the monthly period of impurity. the _tikli_ or spangle is worn in the hindustani districts and not in the south. it consists of a small piece of lac over which is smeared vermilion, while above it a piece of mica or thin glass is fixed for ornament. other adornments may be added, and women from rajputana, such as the marwari banias and banjaras, wear large spangles set in gold with a border of jewels if they can afford it. the spangle is made and sold by lakheras and patwas; it is part of the sohag at marriages and is affixed to the girl's forehead on her wedding and thereafter always worn; as a rule, if a woman has a spangle it is said that she does not smear vermilion on her forehead, though both may occasionally be seen. the name _tikli_ is simply a corruption of _tika_, which means a mark of anointing or initiation on the forehead; as has been seen, the basis of the _tikli_ is vermilion smeared on lac-clay, and it is made by lakheras; and there is thus good reason to suppose that the spangle is also a more ornamental substitute for the smear of vermilion, the ancient blood-mark by which a married woman was admitted into her husband's clan. at her marriage a bride must always receive the glass bangles and the vermilion, _kunku_, or spangle from her husband, the other ornaments of the sohag being usually given to her by her parents. unmarried girls now also sometimes wear small ornamental spangles, and put _kunku_ on their foreheads. but before marriage it is optional and afterwards compulsory. a widow may not wear vermilion, _kunku_, or spangles. 7. red dye on the feet the lakheras also sell balls of red cotton-wool known as _mahur ki guleli_ or _mahawar_. the cotton-wool is dipped in the melted lac-gum and is rubbed on to the feet of women to colour them red or pink at marriages and festivals. this is done by the barber's wife, who will colour the feet of the whole party, at the same time drawing lines round the outside of the foot and inward from the toes. the _mahawar_ is also an essential part of the sohag of marriage. instead of lac the muhammadans use _mehndi_ or henna, the henna-leaves being pounded with catechu and the mixture rubbed on to the feet and hands. after a little time it is washed off and a red dye remains on the skin. it is supposed that the similar custom which prevailed among the ancient greeks is alluded to in the epithet of 'rosy-fingered aurora.' the hindus use henna dye only in the month shrawan (july), which is a period of fasting; the auspicious _kunku_ and _mahawar_ are therefore perhaps not considered suitable at such a time, but as special protection is needed against evil spirits, the necessary red colouring is obtained from henna. when a married woman rubs henna on her hands, if the dye comes out a deep red tinge, the other women say that her husband is not in love with her; but if of a pale yellowish tinge, that he is very much in love. 8. red threads the lakheras and patwas also make the _kardora_ or waist-band of red thread. this is worn by hindu men and women, except maratha brahmans. after he is married, if a man breaks this thread he must not take food until he has put on a fresh one, and the same rule applies to a woman all her life. other threads are the _rakhis_ tied round the wrists for protection against evil spirits on the day of rakshabandhan, and the necklets of silk or cotton thread wound round with thin silver wire, which the hindus put on at anant chaudas and frequently retain for the whole year. the colour of all these threads is generally red in the first place, but they soon get blackened by contact with the skin. 9. lac toys toys of lac are especially made during the fast of shrawan (july). at this time for five years after her marriage a hindu bride receives annually from her husband a present called shraoni, or that which is given in shrawan. it consists of a _chakri_ or reel, to which a string is attached, and the reel is thrown up into the air and wound and unwound on the string; a _bhora_ or wooden top spun by a string; a _bansuli_ or wooden flute; a stick and ball, lac bangles and a spangle, and cloth, usually of red chintz. all these toys are made by the carpenter and coloured red with lac by the lakhera, with the exception of the bangles which may be yellow or green. for five years the bride plays with the toys, and then they are sent to her no longer as her childhood has passed. it is probable that some, if not all of them, are in a manner connected with the crops, and supposed to have a magical influence, because during the same period it is the custom for boys to walk on stilts and play at swinging themselves; and in these cases the original idea is to make the crops grow as high as the stilts or swing. as in the other cases, the red colour appears to have a protective influence against evil spirits, who are more than usually active at a time of fasting. lodhi list of paragraphs 1. _origin and traditions_. 2. _position in the central provinces_. 3. _subdivisions_. 4. _exogamous groups_. 5. _marriage customs_. 6. _the gauna ceremony. fertility rites_. 7. _widow-marriage and puberty rite_. 8. _mourning impurity_. 9. _social customs_. 10. _greetings and method of address_. 11. _sacred thread and social status_. 1. origin and traditions _lodhi, lodha._--an important agricultural caste residing principally in the vindhyan districts and nerbudda valley, whence they have spread to the wainganga valley and the khairagarh state of chhattisgarh. their total strength in the province is 300,000 persons. the lodhis are immigrants from the united provinces, in whose gazetteers it is stated that they belonged originally to the ludhiana district and took their name from it. their proper designation is lodha, but it has become corrupted to lodhi in the central provinces. a number of persons resident in the harda tahsil of hoshangabad are called lodha and say that they are distinct from the lodhis. there is nothing to support their statement, however, and it is probable that they simply represent the separate wave of immigration which took place from central india into the hoshangabad and betul districts in the fifteenth century. they spoke a different dialect of the group known as rajasthani, and hence perhaps the caste-name did not get corrupted. the lodhis of the jubbulpore division probably came here at a later date from northern india. the mandla lodhis are said to have been brought to the district by raja hirde sah of the gond-rajput dynasty of garha-mandla in the seventeenth century, and they were given large grants of the waste land in the interior in order that they might clear it of forest. [89] the lodhis are a good instance of a caste who have obtained a great rise in social status on migrating to a new area. in northern india mr. nesfield places them lowest among the agricultural castes and states that they are little better than a forest tribe. he derives the name from _lod_, a clod, according to which lodhi would mean clodhopper. [90] another suggestion is that the name is derived from the bark of the _lodh_ tree, [91] which is collected by the lodhas in northern india and sold for use as a dyeing agent. in bulandshahr they are described as "of short stature and uncouth appearance, and from this as well as from their want of a tradition of immigration from other parts they appear to be a mixed class proceeding from aboriginal and aryan parents. in the districts below agra they are considered so low that no one drinks water touched by them; but this is not the case in the districts above agra." [92] in hamirpur they appear to have some connection with the kurmis, and a story told of them in saugor is that the first lodhi was created by mahadeo from a scarecrow in a kurmi woman's field and given the vocation of a farmservant but the lodhis themselves claim rajput ancestry and say that they are descended from lava, the eldest of the two sons of raja ramchandra of ajodhya. 2. position in the central provinces in the central provinces they have become landholders and are addressed by the honorific title of thakur, ranking with the higher cultivating castes. several lodhi landholders in damoh and saugor formerly held a quasi-independent position under the muhammadans, and subsequently acknowledged the raja of panna as their suzerain, who conferred on some families the titles of raja and diwan. they kept up a certain amount of state, and small contingents of soldiery, attended by whom they went to pay their respects to the representative of the ruling power. "it would be difficult," says grant, [93] "to recognise the descendants of the peaceful cultivators of northern india in the strangely accoutred rajas who support their style and title by a score of ragged matchlock-men and a ruined mud fort on a hill-side." sir b. fuller's _damoh settlement report_ says of them: "a considerable number of villages had been for long time past in the possession of certain important families, who held them by prescription or by a grant from the ruling power, on a right which approximated as nearly to the english idea of proprietorship as native custom permitted. the most prominent of these families were of the lodhi caste. they have developed tastes for sport and freebooting and have become decidedly the most troublesome item in the population. during the mutiny the lodhis as a class were openly disaffected, and one of their proprietors, the talukdar of hindoria, marched on the district headquarters and looted the treasury." similarly the ramgarh family of mandla took to arms and lost the large estates till then held by them. on the other hand the village of imjhira in narsinghpur belonging to a lodhi malguzar was gallantly defended against a band of marauding rebels from saugor. sir r. craddock describes them as follows: "they are men of strong character, but their constant family feuds and love of faction militate against their prosperity. a cluster of lodhi villages forms a hotbed of strife and the nearest relations are generally divided by bitter animosities. the revenue officer who visits them is beset by reckless charges and counter-charges and no communities are less amenable to conciliatory compromises. agrarian outrages are only too common in some of the lodhi villages." [94] the high status of the lodhi caste in the central provinces as compared with their position in the country of their origin may be simply explained by the fact that they here became landholders and ruling chiefs. 3. sub-divisions in the northern districts the landholding lodhis are divided into a number of exogamous clans who marry with each other in imitation of the rajputs. these are the mahdele, kerbania, dongaria, narwaria, bhadoria and others. the name of the kerbanias is derived from kerbana, a village in damoh, and the balakote family of that district are the head of the clan. the mahdeles are the highest clan and have the titles of raja and diwan, while the others hold those of rao and kunwar, the terms diwan and kunwar being always applied to the younger brother of the head of the house. these titles are still occasionally conferred by the raja of panna, whom the lodhi clans looked on as their suzerain. the name of the mahdeles is said to be derived from the _mehndi_ or henna plant. the above clans sometimes practise hypergamy among themselves and also with the other lodhis, taking daughters from the latter on receipt of a large bridegroom-price for the honour conferred by the marriage. this custom is now, however, tending to die out. there are also several endogamous subcastes ranking below the clans, of whom the principal are the singrore, jarha, jangra and mahalodhi. the singrore take their name from the old town of singraur or shrengera in northern india, singrore, like kanaujia, being a common subcaste name among several castes. it is also connected more lately with the singram ghat or ferry of the ganges in allahabad district, and the title of rawat is said to have been conferred on the singrore lodhis by the emperor akbar on a visit there. the jarha lodhis belong to mandla. the name is probably a form of jharia or jungly, but since the leading members of the caste have become large landholders they repudiate this derivation. the jangra lodhis are of chhattisgarh, and the mahalodhis or 'great lodhis' are an inferior group to which the offspring of irregular unions are or were relegated. the mahalodhis are said to condone adultery either by a man or woman on penalty of a feast to the caste. other groups are the hardiha, who grow turmeric (_haldi_), and the gwalhare or cowherds. the lodhas of hoshangabad may also be considered a separate subcaste. they disclaim connection with the lodhis, but the fact that the parent caste in the united provinces is known as lodha appears to establish their identity. they abstain from flesh and liquor, which most lodhis consume. this division of the superior branch of a caste into large exogamous clans and the lower one into endogamous subcastes is only found, so far as is known, among the rajputs and one or two landholding castes who have imitated them. its origin is discussed in the introduction. 4. exogamous groups the subcastes are as usual divided into exogamous groups of the territorial, titular and totemistic classes. among sections named after places may be mentioned the chandpuria from chandpur, the kharpuria from kharpur, and the nagpuriha, raipuria, dhamonia, damauha and shahgariha from nagpur, raipur, dhamoni, damoh and shahgarh. two-thirds of the sections have the names of towns or villages. among titular names are saulakhia, owner of 100 lakhs, bhainsmar, one who killed a buffalo, kodonchor, one who stole kodon, [95] kumharha perhaps from kumhar a potter, and rajbhar and barhai (carpenter), names of castes. among totemistic names are baghela, tiger, also the name of a rajput sept; kutria, a dog; khajuria, the date-palm tree; mirchaunia, chillies; andwar, from the castor-oil plant; bhainsaiya, a buffalo; and nak, the nose. 5. marriage customs a man must not marry in his own section nor in that of his mother. he may marry two sisters. the exchange of girls between families is only in force among the bilaspur lodhis, who say, 'eat with those who have eaten with you and marry with those who have married with you.' girls are usually wedded before puberty, but in the northern districts the marriage is sometimes postponed from desire to marry into a good family or from want of funds to pay a bridegroom-price, and girls of twenty or more may be unmarried. a case is known of a man who had two daughters unmarried at twenty-two and twenty-three years old, because he had been waiting for good _partis_, with the result that one of them went and lived with a man and he then married off the other in the singhast [96] year, which is forbidden among the lodhis, and was put out of caste. the marriage and other ceremonies of the lodhis resemble those of the kurmis, except in chhattisgarh where the maratha fashion is followed. here, at the wedding, the bride and bridegroom hold between them a doll made of dough with 21 cowries inside, and as the priest repeats the marriage texts they pull it apart like a cracker and see how many cowries each has got. it is considered auspicious if the bridegroom has the larger number. the priest is on the roof of the house, and before the wedding he cries out: 'are the king and queen here?' and a man below answers, 'yes.' 'have they shoes on their feet?' 'yes.' 'have they bracelets on their hands?' 'yes.' 'have they rings in their ears?' 'yes.' 'have they crowns on their heads?' 'yes.' 'has she glass beads round her neck?' 'yes.' 'have they the doll in their hands?' 'yes.' and the priest then repeats the marriage texts and beats a brass dish while the doll is pulled apart in the northern districts after the wedding the bridegroom must untie one of the festoons of the marriage-shed, and if he refuses to do this, it is an indelible disgrace on the bride's party. before doing so he requires a valuable present, such as a buffalo. 6. the gauna ceremoney. fertility rites when the girl becomes mature the gauna or going-away ceremony is performed. in chhattisgarh before leaving her home the bride goes out with her sister and worships a _palas_ tree. [97] her sister waves a lighted lamp seven times over it, and the bride goes seven times round it in imitation of the marriage ceremony. at her husband's house seven pictures of the family gods are drawn on a wall inside the house and the bride worships these, placing a little sugar and bread on the mouth of each and bowing before them. she is then seated before the family god while an old woman brings a stone rolling-pin [98] wrapped up in a piece of cloth, which is supposed to be a baby, and the old woman imitates a baby crying. she puts the roller in the bride's lap saying, 'take this and give it milk.' the bride is abashed and throws it aside. the old woman picks it up and shows it to the assembled women saying, 'the bride has just had a baby,' amid loud laughter. then she gives the stone to the bridegroom who also throws it aside. this ceremony is meant to induce fertility, and it is supposed that by making believe that the bride has had a baby she will quickly have one. 7. widow-marriage and puberty rite the higher clans of lodhis in damoh and saugor prohibit the remarriage of widows, but instances of it occur. it is said that a man who marries a widow is relegated to the mahalodhi subcaste or the lahuri sen, an illegitimate group, and the lodhis of his clan no longer acknowledge his family. but if a girl's husband dies before she has lived with him she may marry again. the other lodhis freely permit widow-marriage and divorce. when a girl first becomes mature she is secluded, and though she may stay in the house cannot enter the cook-room. at the end of the period she is dressed in red cloth, and a present of cocoanuts stripped of their shells, sweetmeats, and a little money, is placed in her lap, while a few women are invited to a feast. this rite is also meant to induce fertility, the kernel of the cocoanut being held to resemble an unborn baby. 8. mourning impurity the higher clans consider themselves impure for a period of 12 days after a birth, and if the birth falls in the mul asterism or nakshatra, for 27 days. after death they observe mourning for 10 days; on the 10th day they offer ten _pindas_ or funeral cakes, and on the 11th day make one large _pinda_ or cake and divide it into eleven parts; on the 12th day they make sixteen _pindas_ and unite the spirit of the dead man with the ancestors; and on the 13th day they give a feast and feed brahmans and are clean. the lower subcastes only observe impurity for three days after a birth and a death. their funeral rites are the same as those of the kurmis. 9. social customs the caste employ brahmans for weddings, but not necessarily for birth and death ceremonies. they eat flesh and fish, and the bulk of the caste eat fowls and drink liquor, but the landowning section abjures these practices. they will take food cooked with water from brahmans, and that cooked without water also from rajputs, kayasths and sunars. in narsinghpur they also accept cooked food from such a low caste as rajjahrs, [99] probably because the rajjhars are commonly employed by them as farmservants, and hence have been accustomed to carry their master's food. a similar relation has been found to exist between the panwar rajputs and their gond farmservants. the higher class lodhis make an inordinate show of hospitality at their weddings. the plates of the guests are piled up profusely with food, and these latter think it a point of honour never to refuse it or say enough. when melted butter is poured out into their cups the stream must never be broken as it passes from one guest to the other, or it is said that they will all get up and leave the feast. apparently a lot of butter must be wasted on the ground. the higher clans seclude their women, and these when they go out must wear long clothes covering the head and reaching to the feet. the women are not allowed to wear ornaments of a cheaper metal than silver, except of course their glass bangles. the mahalodhis will eat food cooked with water in the cook-room and carried to the fields, which the higher clans will not do. their women wear the _sari_ drawn through the legs and knotted behind according to the maratha fashion, but whenever they meet their husband's elder brother or any other elder of the family they must undo the knot and let the cloth hang down round their legs as a mark of respect. they wear no breast-cloth. girls are tattooed before adolescence with dots on the chin and forehead, and marks on one hand. before she is tattooed the girl is given sweets to eat, and during the process the operator sings songs in order that her attention may be diverted and she may not feel the pain. after she has finished the operator mutters a charm to prevent evil spirits from troubling the girl and causing her pain. 10. greetings and method of address the caste have some strict taboos on names and on conversation between the sexes. a man will only address his wife, sister, daughter, paternal aunt or niece directly. if he has occasion to speak to some other woman he will take his daughter or other female relative with him and do his business through her. he will not speak even to his own women before a crowd. a woman will similarly only speak to her father, son or nephew, and father-, sonor younger brother-in-law. she will not speak to her elder brother-in-law, and she will not address her husband in the presence of his father, elder brother or any other relative whom he reveres. a wife will never call her husband by his name, but always address him as father of her son, and, if she has no son, will sometimes speak to him through his younger brother. neither the father nor mother will call their eldest son by his name, but will use some other name. similarly a daughter-in-law is given a fresh name on coming into the house, and on her arrival her mother-in-law looks at her for the first time through a _guna_ or ring of baked gram-flour. a man meeting his father or elder brother will touch his feet in silence. one meeting his sister's husband, sister's son or son-in-law, will touch his feet and say, '_sahib, salaam_.' 11. sacred thread and social status the higher clans invest boys with the sacred thread either when they are initiated by a guru or spiritual preceptor, or when they are married. the thread is made by a brahman and has five knots. recently a large landholder in mandla, a jarha lodhi, has assumed the sacred thread himself for the first time and sent round a circular to his caste-men enjoining them also to wear it. his family priest has produced a legend of the usual type showing how the jarha lodhis are rajputs whose ancestors threw away their sacred threads in order to escape the vengeance of parasurama. generally in social position the lodhis may be considered to rank with, but slightly above, the ordinary cultivating castes, such as the kurmis. this superiority in no way arises from their origin, since, as already seen, they are a very low caste in their home in northern india, but from the fact that they have become large landholders in the central provinces and in former times their leaders exercised quasi-sovereign powers. many lodhis are fine-looking men and have still some appearance of having been soldiers. they are passionate and quarrelsome, especially in the jubbulpore district. this is put forcibly in the saying that 'a lodhi's temper is as crooked as the stream of a bullock's urine.' they are generally cultivators, but the bulk of them are not very prosperous as they are inclined to extravagance and display at weddings and on other ceremonial occasions. lohar 1. legends of the caste _lohar_, _khati_, _ghantra_, _ghisari_, _panchal._--the occupational caste of blacksmiths. the name is derived from the sanskrit _lauha-kara>_, a worker in iron. in the central provinces the loharhas in the past frequently combined the occupations of carpenter and blacksmith, and in such a capacity he is known as khati. the honorific designations applied to the caste are karigar, which means skilful, and mistri, a corruption of the english 'master' or 'mister.' in 1911 the lohars numbered about 180,000 persons in the central provinces and berar. the lohar is indispensable to the village economy, and the caste is found over the whole rural area of the province. "practically all the lohars," mr. crooke writes [100], "trace their origin to visvakarma, who is the later representative of the vedic twashtri, the architect and handicraftsman of the gods, 'the fashioner of all ornaments, the most eminent of artisans, who formed the celestial chariots of the deities, on whose craft men subsist, and whom, a great and immortal god, they continually worship,' one [101] tradition tells that visvakarma was a brahman and married the daughter of an ahir, who in her previous birth had been a dancing-girl of the gods. by her he had nine sons, who became the ancestors of various artisan castes, such as the lohar, barhai, sunar, and kasera." the lohars of the uriya country in the central provinces tell a similar story, according to which kamar, the celestial architect, had twelve sons. the eldest son was accustomed to propitiate the family god with wine, and one day he drank some of the wine, thinking that it could not be sinful to do so as it was offered to the deity. but for this act his other brothers refused to live with him and left their home, adopting various professions; but the eldest brother became a worker in iron and laid a curse upon the others that they should not be able to practise their calling except with the implements which he had made. the second brother thus became a woodcutter (barhai), the third a painter (maharana), the fourth learnt the science of vaccination and medicine and became a vaccinator (suthiar), the fifth a goldsmith, the sixth a brass-smith, the seventh a coppersmith, and the eighth a carpenter, while the ninth brother was weak in the head and married his eldest sister, on account of which fact his descendants are known as ghantra. [102] the ghantras are an inferior class of blacksmiths, probably an offshoot from some of the forest tribes, who are looked down on by the others. it is said that even to the present day the ghantra lohars have no objection to eating the leavings of food of their wives, whom they regard as their eldest sisters. 2. social position of the lohar the above story is noticeable as indicating that the social position of the lohar is somewhat below that of the other artisan castes, or at least of those who work in metals. this fact has been recorded in other localities, and has been explained by some stigma arising from his occupation, as in the following passage: "his social position is low even for a menial, and he is classed as an impure caste, in so far that jats and others of similar standing will have no social communion with him, though not as an outcast like the scavenger. his impurity, like that of the barber, washerman and dyer, springs solely from the nature of his employment; perhaps because it is a dirty one, but more probably because black is a colour of evil omen. it is not improbable that the necessity under which he labours of using bellows made of cowhide may have something to do with his impurity," [103] mr. nesfield also says: "it is owing to the ubiquitous industry of the lohar that the stone knives, arrow-heads and hatchets of the indigenous tribes of upper india have been so entirely superseded by iron-ores. the memory of the stone age has not survived even in tradition. in consequence of the evil associations which hinduism has attached to the colour of black, the caste of lohar has not been able to raise itself to the same social level as the three metallurgic castes which follow." the following saying also indicates that the lohar is of evil omen: ar, dhar, chuchkar in tinon se bachawe kartar. here _ar_ means an iron goad and signifies the lohar; _dhar_ represents the sound of the oil falling from the press and means a teli or oilman; _chuchkar_ is an imitation of the sound of clothes being beaten against a stone and denotes the dhobi or washerman; and the phrase thus runs, 'my friend, beware of the lohar, teli, and dhobi, for they are of evil omen.' it is not quite clear why this disrepute should attach to the lohar, because iron itself is lucky, though its colour, black, may be of bad omen. but the low status of the lohar may partly arise from the fact of his being a village menial and a servant of the cultivators; whereas the trades of the goldsmith, brass-smith and carpenter are of later origin than the blacksmith's, and are urban rather than rural industries; and thus these artisans do not commonly occupy the position of village menials. another important consideration is that the iron industry is associated with the primitive tribes, who furnished the whole supply of the metal prior to its importation from europe: and it is hence probable that the lohar caste was originally constituted from these and would thus naturally be looked down upon by the hindus. in bengal, where few or no traces of the village community remain, the lohar ranks as the equal of koiris and kurmis, and brahmans will take water from his hands; [104] and this somewhat favours the argument that his lower status elsewhere is not due to incidents of his occupation. 3. caste subdivisions the constitution of the lohar caste is of a heterogeneous nature. in some localities gonds who work as blacksmiths are considered to belong to the caste and are known as gondi lohars. but hindus who work in gond villages also sometimes bear this designation. another subdivision returned consists of the agarias, also an offshoot of the gonds, who collect and smelt iron-ore in the vindhyan and satpura hills. the panchals are a class of itinerant smiths in berar. the ghantras or inferior blacksmiths of the uriya country have already been noticed. the ghisaris are a similar low class of smiths in the southern districts who do rough work only, but sometimes claim rajput origin. other subcastes are of the usual local or territorial type, as mahulia, from mahul in berar; jhade or jhadia, those living in the jungles; ojha, or those professing a brahmanical origin; maratha, kanaujia, mathuria, and so on. 4. marriage and other customs infant-marriage is the custom of the caste, and the ceremony is that prevalent among the agricultural castes of the locality. the remarriage of widows is permitted, and they have the privilege of selecting their own husbands, or at least of refusing to accept any proposed suitor. a widow is always married from her father's house, and never from that of her deceased husband. the first husband's property is taken by his relatives, if there be any, and they also assume the custody of his children as soon as they are old enough to dispense with a mother's care. the dead are both buried and burnt, and in the eastern districts some water and a tooth-stick are daily placed at a cross-road for the use of the departed spirit during the customary period of mourning, which extends to ten days. on the eleventh day the relatives go and bathe, and the chief mourner puts on a new loin-cloth. some rice is taken and seven persons pass it from hand to hand. they then pound the rice, and making from it a figure to represent a human being, they place some grain in its mouth and say to it, 'go and become incarnate in some human being,' and throw the image into the water. after this the impurity caused by the death is removed, and they go home and feast with their friends. in the evening they make cakes of rice, and place them seven times on the shoulder of each person who has carried the corpse to the cemetery or pyre, to remove the impurity contracted from touching it. it is also said that if this be not done the shoulder will feel the weight of the coffin for a period of six months. the caste endeavour to ascertain whether the spirit of the dead person returns to join in the funeral feast, and in what shape it will be born again. for this purpose rice-flour is spread on the floor of the cooking-room and covered with a brass plate. the women retire and sit in an adjoining room while the chief mourner with a few companions goes outside the village, and sprinkles some more rice-flour on the ground. they call to the deceased person by name, saying, 'come, come,' and then wait patiently till some worm or insect crawls on to the floor. some dough is then applied to this and it is carried home and let loose in the house. the flour under the brass plate is examined, and it is said that they usually see the footprints of a person or animal, indicating the corporeal entity in which the deceased soul has found a resting-place. during the period of mourning members of the bereaved family do not follow their ordinary business, nor eat flesh, sweets or other delicate food. they may not make offerings to their deities nor touch any persons outside the family, nor wear head-cloths or shoes. in the eastern districts the principal deities of the lohars are dulha deo and somlai or devi, the former being represented by a knife set in the ground inside the house, and the latter by the painting of a woman on the wall. both deities are kept in the cooking-room, and here the head of the family offers to them rice soaked in milk, with sandal-paste, flowers, vermilion and lamp-black. he burns some melted butter in an earthen lamp and places incense upon it. if a man has been affected by the evil eye an exorcist will place some salt on his hand and burn it, muttering spells, and the evil influence is removed. they believe that a spell can be cast on a man by giving him to eat the bones of an owl, when he will become an idiot. 5. occupation in the rural area of the province the lohar is still a village menial, making and mending the iron implements of agriculture, such as the ploughshare, axe, sickle, goad and other articles. for doing this he is paid in saugor a yearly contribution of twenty pounds of grain per plough of land [105] held by each cultivator, together with a handful of grain at sowing-time and a sheaf at harvest from both the autumn and spring crops. in wardha he gets fifty pounds of grain per plough of four bullocks or forty acres. for making new implements the lohar is sometimes paid separately and is always supplied with the iron and charcoal. the hand-smelting iron industry has practically died out in the province and the imported metal is used for nearly all purposes. the village lohars are usually very poor, their income seldom exceeding that of an unskilled labourer. in the towns, owing to the rapid extension of milling and factory industries, blacksmiths readily find employment and some of them earn very high wages. in the manufacture of cutlery, nails and other articles the capital is often found by a bhatia or bohra merchant, who acts as the capitalist and employs the lohars as his workmen. the women help their husbands by blowing the bellows and dragging the hot iron from the furnace, while the men wield the hammer. the panchals of berar are described as a wandering caste of smiths, living in grass mat-huts and using as fuel the roots of thorn bushes, which they batter out of the ground with the back of a short-handled axe peculiar to themselves. they move from place to place with buffaloes, donkeys and ponies to carry their kit. [106] another class of wandering smiths, the ghisaris, are described by mr. crooke as follows: "occasional camps of these most interesting people are to be met with in the districts of the meerut division. they wander about with small carts and pack-animals, and, being more expert than the ordinary village lohar, their services are in demand for the making of tools for carpenters, weavers and other craftsmen. they are known in the punjab as gadiya or those who have carts (_gadi, gari_). sir d. ibbetson [107] says that they come up from rajputana and the north-western provinces, but their real country is the deccan. in the punjab they travel about with their families and implements in carts from village to village, doing the finer kinds of iron-work, which are beyond the capacity of the village artisan. in the deccan [108] this class of wandering blacksmiths are called saiqalgar, or knife-grinders, or ghisara, or grinders (hindi, _ghisana_ 'to rub'). they wander about grinding knives and tools." lorha _lorha._ [109]--a small caste of cultivators in the hoshangabad and nimar districts, whose distinctive occupation is to grow _san_-hemp (_crotalaria juncea_) and to make sacking and gunny-bags from the fibre. a very strong prejudice against this crop exists among the hindus, and those who grow it are usually cut off from their parent caste and become a separate community. thus we have the castes known as kumrawat, patbina and dangur in different parts of the province, who are probably offshoots from the kurmis and kunbis, but now rank below them because they grow this crop; and in the kurmi caste itself a subcaste of santora (hemp-picking) kurmis has grown up. in bilaspur the patharia kurmis will grow _san_-hemp and ret it, but will not spin or weave the fibre; while the atharia kurmis will not grow the crop, but will spin the fibre and make sacking. the saugor kewats grow this fibre, and here brahmans and other high castes will not take water from kewats, though in the eastern districts they will do so. the narsinghpur mallahs, a branch of the kewats, have also adopted the cultivation of _san_-hemp as a regular profession. the basis of the prejudice against the _san_-hemp plant is not altogether clear. the lorhas themselves say that they are looked down upon because they use wheat-starch (_lapsi_) for smoothing the fibre, and that their name is somehow derived from this fact. but the explanation does not seem satisfactory. many of the country people appear to think that there is something uncanny about the plant because it grows so quickly, and they say that on one occasion a cultivator went out to sow hemp in the morning, and his wife was very late in bringing his dinner to the field. he grew hungry and angry, and at last the shoots of the hemp-seeds which he had sown in the morning began to appear above the ground. at this he was so enraged that when his wife finally came he said she had kept him waiting so long that the crop had come up in the meantime, and murdered her. since then the hindus have been forbidden to grow _san_-hemp lest they should lose their tempers in the same manner. this story makes a somewhat excessive demand on the hearer's credulity. one probable cause of the taboo seems to be that the process of soaking and retting the stalks of the plant pollutes the water, and if carried on in a tank or in the pools of a stream might destroy the village supply of drinking-water. in former times it may have been thought that the desecration of their sacred element was an insult to the deities of rivers and streams, which would bring down retribution on the offender. it is also the case that the proper separation of the fibres requires a considerable degree of dexterity which can only be acquired by practice. owing to the recent increase in the price of the fibre and the large profits which can now be obtained from hemp cultivation, the prejudice against it is gradually breaking down, and the gonds, korkus and lower hindu castes have waived their religious scruples and are glad to turn an honest penny by sowing hemp either on their own account or for hire. other partially tabooed crops are turmeric and _al_ or indian madder (_morinda citrifolia_), while onions and garlic are generally eschewed by hindu cultivators. for growing turmeric and _al_ special subcastes have been formed, as the alia kunbis and the hardia malis and kachhis (from _haldi_, turmeric), just as in the case of _san_-hemp. the objection to these two crops is believed to lie in the fact that the roots which yield the commercial product have to be boiled, and by this process a number of insects contained in them are destroyed. but the preparation of the hemp-fibre does not seem to involve any such sacrifice of insect life. the lorhas appear to be a mixed group, with a certain amount of rajput blood in them, perhaps an offshoot of the kirars, with whose social customs their own are said to be identical. according to another account, they are a lower or illegitimate branch of the lodha caste of cultivators, of whose name their own is said to be a corruption. the nimar gujars have a subcaste named lorha, and the lorhas of hoshangabad may be connected with these. they live in the seoni and harda tahsils of hoshangabad, the _san_-hemp crop being a favourite one in villages adjoining the forests, because it is not subject to the depredations of wild animals. cultivators are often glad to sublet their fields for the purpose of having a crop of hemp grown upon them, because the stalks are left for manure and fertilise the ground. string and sacking are also made from the hemp-fibre by vagrant and criminal castes like the banjaras and bhamtas, who formerly required the bags for carrying their goods and possessions about with them. mahar list of paragraphs 1. _general notice._ 2. _length of residence in the central provinces._ 3. _legend of origin._ 4. _sub castes._ 5. _exogamous groups and marriage customs._ 6. _funeral rites._ 7. _childbirth._ 8. _names._ 9. _religion._ 10. _adoption of foreign religions._ 11. _superstitions._ 12. _social rules_. 13. _social subjection_. 14. _their position improving_. 15. _occupation_. 1. general notice. _mahar, mehra, dhed._--the impure caste of menials, labourers and village watchmen of the maratha country, corresponding to the chamars and koris of northern india. they numbered nearly 1,200,000 persons in the combined province in 1911, and are most numerous in the nagpur, bhandara, chanda and wardha districts of the central provinces, while considerable colonies are also found in balaghat, chhindwara and betul. their distribution thus follows largely that of the marathi language and the castes speaking it. berar contained 400,000, distributed over the four districts. in the whole province this caste is third in point of numerical strength. in india the mahars number about three million persons, of whom a half belong to bombay. i am not aware of any accepted derivation for the word mahar, but the balance of opinion seems to be that the native name of bombay, maharashtra, is derived from that of the caste, as suggested by wilson. another derivation which holds it to be a corruption of maha rastrakuta, and to be so called after the rashtrakuta rajput dynasty of the eighth and ninth centuries, seems less probable because countries are very seldom named after ruling dynasties. [110] whereas in support of maharashtra as 'the country of the mahars,' we have gujarashtra or gujarat, 'the country of the gujars,' and saurashtra or surat, 'the country of the sauras.' according to platts' dictionary, however, maharashtra means 'the great country,' and this is what the maratha brahmans themselves say. mehra appears to be a variant of the name current in the hindustani districts, while dheda, or dhada, is said to be a corruption of dharadas or billmen. [111] in the punjab it is said to be a general term of contempt meaning 'any low fellow.' [112] wilson considers the mahars to be an aboriginal or pre-aryan tribe, and all that is known of the caste seems to point to the correctness of this hypothesis. in the _bombay gazetteer_ the writer of the interesting gujarat volume suggests that the mahars are fallen rajputs; but there seems little to support this opinion except their appearance and countenance, which is of the hindu rather than the dravidian type. in gujarat they have also some rajput surnames, as chauhan, panwar, rathor, solanki and so on, but these may have been adopted by imitation or may indicate a mixture of rajput blood. again, the mahars of gujarat are the farmservants and serfs of the kunbis. "each family is closely connected with the house of some landholder or _pattidar_ (sharer). for his master he brings in loads from the fields and cleans out the stable, receiving in return daily allowances of buttermilk and the carcases of any cattle that die. this connection seems to show traces of a form of slavery. rich _pattidars_ have always a certain number of dheda families whom they speak of as ours (_hamara_) and when a man dies he distributes along with his lands a certain number of dheda families to each of his sons. an old tradition among dhedas points to some relation between the kunbis and dhedas. two brothers, leva and deva, were the ancestors, the former of the kunbis, the latter of the dhedas." [113] such a relation as this in hindu society would imply that many mahar women held the position of concubines to their kunbi masters, and would therefore account for the resemblance of the mahar to hindus rather than the forest tribes. but if this is to be regarded as evidence of rajput descent, a similar claim would have to be allowed to many of the chamars and sweepers. others of the lowest castes also have rajput sept names, as the pardhis and bhils; but the fact can at most be taken, i venture to think, to indicate a connection of the 'droit de seigneur' type. on the other hand, the mahars occupy the debased and impure position which was the lot of those non-aryan tribes who became subject to the hindus and lived in their villages; they eat the flesh of dead cattle and this and other customs appear to point decisively to a non-aryan origin. 2. length of residence in the central provinces several circumstances indicate that the mahar is recognised as the oldest resident of the plain country of berar and nagpur. in berar he is a village servant and is the referee on village boundaries and customs, a position implying that his knowledge of them is the most ancient. at the holi festival the fire of the mahars is kindled first and that of the kunbis is set alight from it. the kamdar mahar, who acts as village watchman, also has the right of bringing the _toran_ or rope of leaves which is placed on the marriage-shed of the kunbis; and for this he receives a present of three annas. in bhandra the telis, lohars, dhimars and several other castes employ a mahar _mohturia_ or wise man to fix the date of their weddings. and most curious of all, when the panwar rajputs of this tract celebrate the festival of narayan deo, they call a mahar to their house and make him the first partaker of the feast before beginning to eat themselves. again in berar [114] the mahar officiates at the killing of the buffalo on dasahra. on the day before the festival the chief mahar of the village and his wife with their garments knotted together bring some earth from the jungle and fashioning two images set one on a clay elephant and the other on a clay bullock. the images are placed on a small platform outside the village site and worshipped; a young he-buffalo is bathed and brought before the images as though for the same object. the patel wounds the buffalo in the nose with a sword and it is then marched through the village. in the evening it is killed by the head mahar, buried in the customary spot, and any evil that might happen during the coming year is thus deprecated and, it is hoped, averted. the claim to take the leading part in this ceremony is the occasion of many a quarrel and an occasional affray or riot such customs tend to show that the mahars were the earliest immigrants from bombay into the berar and nagpur plain, excluding of course the gonds and other tribes, who have practically been ousted from this tract. and if it is supposed that the panwars came here in the tenth century, as seems not improbable, [115] the mahars, whom the panwars recognise as older residents than themselves, must have been earlier still, and were probably numbered among the subjects of the old hindu kingdoms of bhandak and nagardhan. 3. legend of origin the mahars say they are descended from mahamuni, who was a foundling picked up by the goddess parvati on the banks of the ganges. at this time beef had not become a forbidden food; and when the divine cow, tripad gayatri, died, the gods determined to cook and eat her body and mahamuni was set to watch the pot boiling. he was as inattentive as king alfred, and a piece of flesh fell out of the pot. not wishing to return the dirty piece to the pot mahamuni ate it; but the gods discovered the delinquency, and doomed him and his descendants to live on the flesh of dead cows. [116] 4. sub-castes the caste have a number of subdivisions, generally of a local or territorial type, as daharia, the residents of dahar or the jubbulpore country, baonia (52) of berar, nemadya or from nimar, khandeshi from khandesh, and so on; the katia group are probably derived from that caste, katia meaning a spinner; the barkias are another group whose name is supposed to mean spinners of fine thread; while the lonarias are salt-makers. the highest division are the somvansis or children of the moon; these claim to have taken part with the pandavas against the kauravas in the war of the mahabharata, and subsequently to have settled in maharashtra. [117] but the somvansi mahars consent to groom horses, which the baone and kosaria subcastes will not do. baone and somvansi mahars will take food together, but will not intermarry. the ladwan subcaste are supposed to be the offspring of kept women of the somvansi mahars; and in wardha the dharmik group are also the descendants of illicit unions and their name is satirical, meaning 'virtuous.' as has been seen, the caste have a subdivision named katia, which is the name of a separate hindustani caste; and other subcastes have names belonging to northern india, as the mahobia, from mahoba in the united provinces, the kosaria or those from chhattisgarh, and the kanaujia from kanauj. this may perhaps be taken to indicate that bodies of the kori and katia weaving castes of northern india have been amalgamated with the mahars in districts where they have come together along the satpura hills and nerbudda valley. 5. exogamous groups and marriage customs the caste have also a large number of exogamous groups, the names of which are usually derived from plants, animals, and natural objects. a few may be given as examples out of fifty-seven recorded in the central provinces, though this is far from representing the real total; all the common animals have septs named after them, as the tiger, cobra, tortoise, peacock, jackal, lizard, elephant, lark, scorpion, calf, and so on; while more curious names are--darpan, a mirror; khanda phari, sword and shield; undrimaria, a rat-killer; aglavi, an incendiary; andhare, a blind man; kutramaria, a dog-killer; kodu dudh, sour milk; khobragade, cocoanut-kernel; bhajikhai, a vegetable eater, and so on. a man must not marry in his own sept, but may take a wife from his mother's or grandmother's. a sister's son may marry a brother's daughter, but not vice versa. a girl who is seduced before marriage by a man of her own caste or any higher one can be married as if she were a widow, but if she has a child she must first get some other family to take it off her hands. the custom of _lamjhana_ or serving for a wife is recognised, and the expectant bridegroom will live with his father-in-law and work for him for a period varying from one to five years. the marriage ceremony follows the customary hindustani or maratha ritual [118] as the case may be. in wardha the right foot of the bridegroom and the left one of the bride are placed together in a new basket, while they stand one on each side of the threshold. they throw five handfuls of coloured rice over each other, and each time, as he throws, the bridegroom presses his toe on the bride's foot; at the end he catches the girl by the finger and the marriage is complete. in the central provinces the mohturia or caste priest officiates at weddings, but in berar, mr. kitts states [119] the caste employ the brahman joshi or village priest. but as he will not come to their house they hold the wedding on the day that one takes place among the higher castes, and when the priest gives the signal the dividing cloth (antarpat) between the couple is withdrawn, and the garments of the bride and bridegroom are knotted, while the bystanders clap their hands and pelt the couple with coloured grain. as the priest frequently takes up his position on the roof of the house for a wedding it is easy for the mahars to see him. in mandla some of the lower class of brahmans will officiate at the weddings of mahars. in chhindwara the mahars seat the bride and bridegroom in the frame of a loom for the ceremony, and they worship the hide of a cow or bullock filled with water. they drink together ceremoniously, a pot of liquor being placed on a folded cloth and all the guests sitting round it in a circle. an elder man then lays a new piece of cloth on the pot and worships it. he takes a cup of the liquor himself and hands round a cupful to every person present. in mandla at a wedding the barber comes and cuts the bride's nails, and the cuttings are rolled up in dough and placed in a little earthen pot beside the marriage-post. the bridegroom's nails and hair are similarly cut in his own house and placed in another vessel. a month or two after the wedding the two little pots are taken out and thrown into the nerbudda. a wedding costs the bridegroom's party about rs. 40 or rs. 50 and the bride's about rs. 25. they have no going-away ceremony, but the occasion of a girl's coming to maturity is known as bolawan. she is kept apart for six days and given new clothes, and the caste-people are invited to a meal. when a woman's husband dies the barber breaks her bangles, and her anklets are taken off and given to him as his perquisite. her brother-in-law or other relative gives her a new white cloth, and she wears this at first, and afterwards white or coloured clothes at her pleasure. her hair is not cut, and she may wear _patelas_ or flat metal bangles on the forearm and armlets above the elbow, but not other ornaments. a widow is under no obligation to marry her first husband's younger brother; when she marries a stranger he usually pays a sum of about rs. 30 to her parents. when the price has been paid the couple exchange a ring and a bangle respectively in token of the agreement. when the woman is proceeding to her second husband's house, her old clothes, necklace and bangles are thrown into a river or stream and she is given new ones to wear. this is done to lay the first husband's spirit, which may be supposed to hang about the clothes she wore as his wife, and when they are thrown away or buried the exorcist mutters spells over them in order to lay the spirit. no music is allowed at the marriage of a widow except the crooked trumpet called _singara_. a bachelor who marries a widow must first go through a mock ceremony with a cotton-plant, a sword or a ring. divorce must be effected before the caste _panchayat_ or committee, and if a divorced woman marries again, her first husband performs funeral and mourning ceremonies as if she were dead. in gujarat the practice is much more lax and "divorce can be obtained almost to an indefinite extent. before they finally settle down to wedded life most couples have more than once changed their partners." [120] but here also, before the change takes place, there must be a formal divorce recognised by the caste. 6. funeral rites the caste either burn or bury the dead and observe mourning for three days, [121] having their houses whitewashed and their faces shaved. on the tenth day they give a feast to the caste-fellows. on the akshaya tritia [122] and the 30th day of kunwar (september) they offer rice and cakes to the crows in the names of their ancestors. in berar mr. kitts writes: [123] "if a mahar's child has died, he will on the third day place bread on the grave; if an infant, milk; if an adult, on the tenth day, with five pice in one hand and five betel-leaves in the other, he goes into the river, dips himself five times and throws these things away; he then places five lighted lamps on the tomb, and after these simple ceremonies gets himself shaved as though he were an orthodox hindu." 7. childbirth in mandla the mother is secluded at childbirth in a separate house if one is available, and if not they fence in a part of the veranda for her use with bamboo screens. after the birth the mother must remain impure until the barber comes and colours her toe-nails and draws a line round her feet with red _mahur_ powder. this is indispensable, and if the barber is not immediately available she must wait until his services can be obtained. when the navel-string drops it is buried in the place on which the mother sat while giving birth, and when this has been done the purification may be effected. the dhobi is then called to wash the clothes of the household, and their earthen pots are thrown away. the head of the newborn child is shaved clean, as the birth-hair is considered to be impure, and the hair is wrapped up in dough and thrown into a river. 8. names a child is named on the seventh or twelfth day after its birth, the name being chosen by the mohturia or caste headman. the ordinary hindu names of deities for men and sacred rivers or pious and faithful wives for women are employed; instances of the latter being ganga, godavari, jamuna, sita, laxmi and radha. opprobrious names are sometimes given to avert ill-luck, as damdya (purchased for eight cowries), kauria (a cowrie), bhikaria (a beggar), ghusia (from _ghus_, a mallet for stamping earth), harchatt (refuse), akali (born in famine-time), langra (lame), lula (having an arm useless); or the name of another low caste is given, as bhangi (sweeper), domari (dom sweeper), chamra (tanner), basori (basket-maker). not infrequently children are named after the month or day when they were born, as pusau, born in pus (december), chaitu, born in chait (march), manglu (born on tuesday), buddhi (born on wednesday), sukka (born on friday), sanichra (born on saturday). one boy was called mulua or 'sold' (_mol-dena_). his mother had no other children, so sold him for one pice (farthing) to a gond woman. after five or six months, as he did not get fat, his name was changed to jhuma or 'lean,' probably as an additional means of averting ill-luck. another boy was named ghurka, from the noise he made when being suckled. a child born in the absence of its father is called sonwa, or one born in an empty house. 9. religion the great body of the caste worship the ordinary deities devi, hanuman, dulha deo, and others, though of course they are not allowed to enter hindu temples. they principally observe the holi and dasahra festivals and the days of the new and full moon. on the festival of nag-panchmi they make an image of a snake with flour and sugar and eat it. at the sacred ambala tank at ramtek the mahars have a special bathing-ghat set apart for them, and they may enter the citadel and go as far as the lowest step leading up to the temples; here they worship the god and think that he accepts their offerings. they are thus permitted to traverse the outer enclosures of the citadel, which are also sacred. in wardha the mahars may not touch the shrines of mahadeo, but must stand before them with their hands joined. they may sometimes deposit offerings with their own hands on those of bhimsen, originally a gond god, and mata devi, the goddess of smallpox. 10. adoption of foreign religions in berar and bombay the mahars have some curious forms of belief. "of the confusion which obtains in the mahar theogony the names of six of their gods will afford a striking example. while some mahars worship vithoba, the god of pandharpur, others revere varuna's twin sons, meghoni and deghoni, and his four messengers, gabriel, azrael, michael and anadin, all of whom they say hail from pandharpur." [124] the names of archangels thus mixed up with hindu deities may most probably have been obtained from the muhammadans, as they include azrael; but in gujarat their religion appears to have been borrowed from christianity. "the karia dhedas have some rather remarkable beliefs. in the satya yug the dhedas say they were called satyas; in the dvapar yug they were called meghas; in the treta yug, elias; and in the kali yug, dhedas. the name elias came, they say, from a prophet elia, and of him their religious men have vague stories; some of them especially about a famine that lasted for three years and a half, easily fitting into the accounts of elijah in the jewish scriptures. they have also prophecies of a high future in store for their tribe. the king or leader of the new era, kuyam rai by name, will marry a dheda woman and will raise the caste to the position of brahmans. they hold religious meetings or _ochhavas_, and at these with great excitement sing songs full of hope of the good things in store for them. when a man wishes to hold an _ochhava_ he invites the whole caste, and beginning about eight in the evening they often spend the night in singing. except perhaps for a few sweetmeats there is no eating or drinking, and the excitement is altogether religious and musical. the singers are chiefly religious dhedas or bhagats, and the people join in a refrain '_avore kuyam rai raja_', 'oh! come kuyam rai, our king.'" [125] it seems that the attraction which outside faiths exercise on the mahars is the hope held out of ameliorating the social degradation under which they labour, itself an outcome of the hindu theory of caste. hence they turn to islam, or to what is possibly a degraded version of the christian story, because these religions do not recognise caste, and hold out a promise to the mahar of equality with his co-religionists, and in the case of christianity of a recompense in the world to come for the sufferings which he has to endure in this one. similarly, the mahars are the warmest adherents of the muhammadan saint sheikh farid, and flock to the fairs held in his honour at girar in wardha and partapgarh in bhandara, where he is supposed to have slain a couple of giants. [126] in berar [127] also they revere muhammadan tombs. the remains of the muhammadan fort and tank on pimpardol hill in jalgaon taluk are now one of the sacred places of the mahars, though to the muhammadans they have no religious associations. even at present mahars are inclined to adopt islam, and a case was recently reported when a body of twenty of them set out to do so, but turned back on being told that they would not be admitted to the mosque. [128] a large proportion of the mahars are also adherents of the kabirpanthi sect, one of the main tenets of whose founder was the abolition of caste. and it is from the same point of view that christianity appeals to them, enabling european missionaries to draw a large number of converts from this caste. but even the hindu attitude towards the mahars is not one of unmixed intolerance. once in three or four years in the southern districts, the panwars, mahars, pankas and other castes celebrate the worship of narayan deo or vishnu, the officiating priest being a mahar. members of all castes come to the panwar's house at night for the ceremony, and a vessel of water is placed at the door in which they wash their feet and hands as they enter; and when inside they are all considered to be equal, and they sit in a line and eat the same food, and bind wreaths of flowers round their heads. after the cock crows the equality of status is ended, and no one who goes out of the house can enter again. at present also many educated brahmans recognise fully the social evils resulting from the degraded position of the mahars, and are doing their best to remove the caste prejudices against them. 11. superstitions they have various spells to cure a man possessed of an evil spirit, or stung by a snake or scorpion, or likely to be in danger from tigers or wild bears; and in the morsi taluk of berar it is stated that they so greatly fear the effect of an enemy writing their name on a piece of paper and tying it to a sweeper's broom that the threat to do this can be used with great effect by their creditors. [129] to drive out the evil eye they make a small human image of powdered turmeric and throw it into boiled water, mentioning as they do so the names of any persons whom they suspect of having cast the evil eye upon them. then the pot of water is taken out at midnight of a wednesday or a sunday and placed upside down on some cross-roads with a shoe over it, and the sufferer should be cured. their belief about the sun and moon is that an old woman had two sons who were invited by the gods to dinner. before they left she said to them that as they were going out there would be no one to cook, so they must remember to bring back something for her. the elder brother forgot what his mother had said and took nothing away with him; but the younger remembered her and brought back something from the feast. so when they came back the old woman cursed the elder brother and said that as he had forgotten her he should be the sun and scorch and dry up all vegetation with his beams; but the younger brother should be the moon and make the world cool and pleasant at night. the story is so puerile that it is only worth reproduction as a specimen of the level of a mahar's intelligence. the belief in evil spirits appears to be on the decline, as a result of education and accumulated experience. mr. c. brown states that in malkapur of berar the mahars say that there are no wandering spirits in the hills by night of such a nature that people need fear them. there are only tiny _pari_ or fairies, small creatures in human form, but with the power of changing their appearance, who do no harm to any one. 12. social rules when an outsider is to be received into the community all the hair on his face is shaved, being wetted with the urine of a boy belonging to the group to which he seeks admission. mahars will eat all kinds of food including the flesh of crocodiles and rats, but some of them abstain from beef. there is nothing peculiar in their dress except that the men wear a black woollen thread round their necks. [130] the women may be recognised by their bold carriage, the absence of nose-rings and the large irregular dabs of vermilion on the forehead. mahar women do not, as a rule, wear the _choli_ or breast-cloth. an unmarried girl does not put on vermilion nor draw her cloth over her head. women must be tattooed with dots on the face, representations of scorpions, flowers and snakes on the arms and legs, and some dots to represent flies on the hands. it is the custom for a girl's father or mother or father-in-law to have her tattooed in one place on the hand or arm immediately on her marriage. then when girls are sitting together they will show this mark and say, 'my mother or father-in-law had this done,' as the case may be. afterwards if a woman so desires she gets herself tattooed on her other limbs. if an unmarried girl or widow becomes with child by a man of the mahar caste or any higher one she is subjected after delivery to a semblance of the purification by fire known as agnikasht. she is taken to the bank of a river and there five stalks of juari are placed round her and burnt. having fasted all day, at night she gives a feast to the caste-men and eats with them. if she offends with a man of lower caste she is finally expelled. temporary exclusion from caste is imposed for taking food or drink from the hands of a mang or chamar or for being imprisoned in jail, or on a mahar man if he lives with a woman of any higher caste; the penalty being the shaving of a man's face or cutting off a lock of a woman's hair, together with a feast to the caste. in the last case it is said that the man is not readmitted until he has put the woman away. if a man touches a dead dog, cat, pony or donkey, he has to be shaved and give a feast to the caste. and if a dog or cat dies in his house, or a litter of puppies or kittens is born, the house is considered to be defiled; all the earthen pots must be thrown away, the whole house washed and cleaned and a caste feast given. the most solemn oath of a mahar is by a cat or dog and in yeotmal by a black dog. [131] in berar, the same paper states, the pig is the only animal regarded as unclean, and they must on no account touch it. this is probably owing to muhammadan influence. the worst social sin which a mahar can commit is to get vermin in a wound, which is known as deogan or being smitten by god. while the affliction continues he is quite ostracised, no one going to his house or giving him food or water; and when it is cured the mahars of ten or twelve surrounding villages assemble and he must give a feast to the whole community. the reason for this calamity being looked upon with such peculiar abhorrence is obscure, but the feeling about it is general among hindus. 13. social subjection the social position of the mahars is one of distressing degradation. their touch is considered to defile and they live in a quarter by themselves outside the village. they usually have a separate well assigned to them from which to draw water, and if the village has only one well the mahars and hindus take water from different sides of it. mahar boys were not until recently allowed to attend school with hindu boys, and when they could not be refused admission to government schools, they were allotted a small corner of the veranda and separately taught. when dher boys were first received into the chanda high school a mutiny took place and the school was boycotted for some time. the people say, '_mahar sarva jaticha bahar_' or 'the mahar is outside all castes.' having a bad name, they are also given unwarrantably a bad character; and '_mahar jaticha_' is a phrase used for a man with no moral or kindly feelings. but in theory at least, as conforming to hinduism, they were supposed to be better than muhammadans and other unbelievers, as shown by the following story from the rasmala: [132] a muhammadan sovereign asked his hindu minister which was the lowest caste. the minister begged for leisure to consider his reply and, having obtained it, went to where the dhedas lived and said to them: "you have given offence to the padishah. it is his intention to deprive you of caste and make you muhammadans." the dhedas, in the greatest terror, pushed off in a body to the sovereign's palace, and standing at a respectful distance shouted at the top of their lungs: "if we've offended your majesty, punish us in some other way than that. beat us, fine us, hang us if you like, but don't make us muhammadans." the padishah smiled, and turning to his minister who sat by him affecting to hear nothing, said, 'so the lowest caste is that to which i belong.' but of course this cannot be said to represent the general view of the position of muhammadans in hindu eyes; they, like the english, are regarded as distinguished foreigners, who, if they consented to be proselytised, would probably in time become brahmans or at least rajputs. a repartee of a mahar to a brahman abusing him is: the brahman, '_jare maharya_' or 'avaunt, ye mahar'; the mahar, '_kona diushi nein tumchi goburya_' or 'some day i shall carry cowdung cakes for you (at his funeral)'; as in the maratha districts the mahar is commonly engaged for carrying fuel to the funeral pyre. under native rule the mahar was subjected to painful degradations. he might not spit on the ground lest a hindu should be polluted by touching it with his foot, but had to hang an earthen pot round his neck to hold his spittle. [133] he was made to drag a thorny branch with him to brush out his footsteps, and when a brahman came by had to lie at a distance on his face lest his shadow might fall on the brahman. in gujarat [134] they were not allowed to tuck up the loin-cloth but had to trail it along the ground. even quite recently in bombay a mahar was not allowed to talk loudly in the street while a well-to-do brahman or his wife was dining in one of the houses. in the reign of sidhraj, the great solanki raja of gujarat, the dheras were for a time at any rate freed from such disabilities by the sacrifice of one of their number. [135] the great tank at anhilvada patan in gujarat had been built by the ods (navvies), but sidhraj desired jusma odni, one of their wives, and sought to possess her. but the ods fled with her and when he pursued her she plunged a dagger into her stomach, cursing sidhraj and saying that his tank should never hold water. the raja, returning to anhilvada, found the tank dry, and asked his minister what should be done that water might remain in the tank. the pardhan, after consulting the astrologers, said that if a man's life were sacrificed the curse might be removed. at that time the dhers or outcastes were compelled to live at a distance from the towns; they wore untwisted cotton round their heads and a stag's horn as a mark hanging from their waists so that people might be able to avoid touching them. the raja commanded that a dher named mayo should be beheaded in the tank that water might remain. mayo died, singing the praises of vishnu, and the water after that began to remain in the tank. at the time of his death mayo had begged as a reward for his sacrifice that the dhers should not in future be compelled to live at a distance from the towns nor wear a distinctive dress. the raja assented and these privileges were afterwards permitted to the dhers for the sake of mayo. 14. their position improving from the painful state of degradation described above the mahars are gradually being rescued by the levelling and liberalising tendency of british rule, which must be to these depressed classes an untold blessing. with the right of acquiring property they have begun to assert themselves, and the extension of railways more especially has a great effect in abolishing caste distinctions. the brahman who cannot afford a second-class fare must either not travel or take the risk of rubbing shoulders with a mahar in a third-class carriage, and if he chooses to consider himself defiled will have to go hungry and thirsty until he gets the opportunity of bathing at his journey's end. the observance of the rules of impurity thus becomes so irksome that they are gradually falling into abeyance. 15. occupation the principal occupations of the mahars are the weaving of coarse country cloth and general labour. they formerly spun their own yarn, and their fabrics were preferred by the cultivators for their durability. but practically all thread is now bought from the mills; and the weaving industry is also in a depressed condition. many mahars have now taken to working in the mills, and earn better wages than they could at home. in bombay a number of them are employed as police-constables. [136] they are usually the village watchmen of the maratha districts, and in this capacity were remunerated by contributions of grain from the tenants, the hides and flesh of animals dying in the village, and plots of rent-free land. for these have now been substituted in the central provinces a cash payment fixed by government. in berar the corresponding official is known as the kamdar mahar. mr. kitts writes of him: [137] as fourth _balutedar_ on the village establishment the mahar holds a post of great importance to himself and convenience to the village. to the patel (headman), patwari and big men of the village, he acts often as a personal servant and errand-runner; for a smaller cultivator he will also at times carry a torch or act as escort. he had formerly to clean the horses of travellers, and was also obliged, if required, to carry their baggage. [138] for the services which he thus renders as _pandhewar_ the mahar receives from the cultivators certain grain-dues. when the cut juari is lying in the field the mahars go round and beg for a measure of the ears (_bhik payali_). but the regular payment is made when the grain has been threshed. another duty performed by the mahar is the removal of the carcases of dead animals. the flesh is eaten and the skin retained as wage for the work. the patel and his relatives, however, usually claim to have the skins of their own animals returned; and in some places where half the agriculturists of the village claim kinship with the patel, the mahars feel and resent the loss. a third duty is the opening of grain-pits, the noxious gas from which sometimes produces asphyxia. for this the mahars receive the tainted grain. they also get the clothes from a corpse which is laid on the pyre, and the pieces of the burnt wood which remain when the body has been consumed. recent observations in the nagpur country show that the position of the mahars is improving. in nagpur it is stated: [139] "looked down upon as outcastes by the hindus they are hampered by no sense of dignity or family prejudice. they are fond of drink, but are also hard workers. they turn their hands to anything and everything, but the great majority are agricultural labourers. at present the rural mahar is in the background. if there is only one well in the village he may not use it, but has to get his water where he can. his sons are consigned to a corner in the village school, and the schoolmaster, if not superior to caste prejudices, discourages their attendance. nevertheless, mahars will not remain for years downtrodden in this fashion, and are already pushing themselves up from this state of degradation. in some places they have combined to dig wells, and in nagpur have opened a school for members of their own community. occasionally a mahar is the most prosperous man in the village. several of them are moneylenders in a small way, and a few are malguzars." similarly in bhandara mr. napier writes that a new class of small creditors has arisen from the mahar caste. these people have given up drinking, and lead an abstemious life, wishing to raise themselves in social estimation. twenty or more village kotwars were found to be carrying on moneylending transactions on a small scale, and in addition many of the mahars in towns were exceedingly well off. mahli 1. origin of the caste _mahli, mahili_. [140]--a small caste of labourers, palanquin-bearers and workers in bamboo belonging to chota nagpur. in 1911 about 300 mahlis were returned from the feudatory states in this tract. they are divided into five subcastes: the bansphor-mahli, who make baskets and do all kinds of bamboo-work; the pahar-mahli, basket-makers and cultivators; the sulunkhi, cultivators and labourers; the tanti who carry litters; and the mahli-munda, who belong to lohardaga. sir h. risley states that a comparison of the totemistic sections of the mahlis given in the appendix to his _tribes and castes_ with those of the santals seems to warrant the conjecture that the main body of the caste are merely a branch of the santals. four or five septs, hansda a wild goose, hemron, murmu the nilgai, saren or sarihin, and perhaps tudu or turu are common to the two tribes. the mahlis are also closely connected with the mundas. seven septs of the main body of the mahlis, dumriar the wild fig, gundli a kind of grain, kerketa a bird, mahukal a bird (long-tail), tirki, tunduar and turu are also munda septs; and the three septs given of the mahli-munda subcaste, bhuktuar, lang chenre, and sanga are all found among the mundas; while four septs, hansda a wild goose, induar a kind of eel, as well as kerketa and tirki, already mentioned, are common to the mahlis and turis who are also recognised by sir h. risley as an offshoot of the munda tribe with the same occupation as the mahlis, of making baskets. [141] the santals and mundas were no doubt originally one tribe, and it seems that the mahlis are derived from both of them, and have become a separate caste owing to their having settled in villages more or less of the open country, and worked as labourers, palanquin-bearers and bamboo-workers much in the same manner as the turis. probably they work for hire for hindus, and hence their status may have fallen lower than that of the parent tribe, who remained in their own villages in the jungles. colonel dalton notes [142] that the gipsy berias use manjhi and mahali as titles, and it is possible that some of the mahlis may have joined the beria community. 2. social customs only a very few points from sir h. risley's account of the caste need be recorded here, and for further details the reader may be referred to his article in the _tribes and castes of bengal_. a bride-price of rs. 5 is customary, but it varies according to the means of the parties. on the wedding day, before the usual procession starts to escort the bridegroom to the bride's house, he is formally married to a mango tree, while the bride goes through the same ceremony with a mahua. at the entrance to the bride's house the bridegroom, riding on the shoulders of some male relation and bearing on his head a vessel of water, is received by the bride's brother, equipped in similar fashion, and the two cavaliers sprinkle one another with water. at the wedding the bridegroom touches the bride's forehead five times with vermilion and presents her with an iron armlet. the remarriage of widows and divorce are permitted. when a man divorces his wife he gives her a rupee and takes away the iron armlet which was given her at her wedding. the mahlis will admit members of any higher caste into the community. the candidate for admission must pay a small sum to the caste headman, and give a feast to the mahlis of the neighbourhood, at which he must eat a little of the leavings of food left by each guest on his leaf-plate. after this humiliating rite he could not, of course, be taken back into his own caste, and is bound to remain a mahli. majhwar list of paragraphs 1. _origin of the tribe_. 2. _the mirzapur majhwars derived from the gonds_. 3. _connection with the kawars_. 4. _exogamy and totemism_. 5. _marriage customs_. 6. _birth and funeral rites_. 7. _religious dance_. 1. origin of the tribe _majhwar, manjhi, majhia_. [143]--a small mixed tribe who have apparently originated from the gonds, mundas and kawars. about 14,000 majhwars were returned in 1911 from the raigarh, sarguja and udaipur states. the word manjhi means the headman of a tribal subdivision, being derived from the sanskrit _madhya_, or he who is in the centre. [144] in bengal manjhi has the meaning of the steersman of a boat or a ferryman, and this may have been its original application, as the steersman might well be he who sat in the centre. [145] when a tribal party makes an expedition by boat, the leader would naturally occupy the position of steersman, and hence it is easy to see how the term manjhi came to be applied to the leader or head of the clan and to be retained as a title for general use. sir h. risley gives it as a title of the kewats or fishermen and many other castes and tribes in bengal. but it is also the name for a village headman among the santals, and whether this meaning is derived from the prior signification of steersman or is of independent origin is, uncertain. in raigarh mr. hira lal states that the manjhis or majhias are fishermen and are sometimes classed, with the kewats. they appear to be kols who have taken to fishing and, being looked down on by the other kols on this account, took the name of majhia or manjhi, which they now derive from machh, a fish. "the appearance of the majhias whom i saw and examined was typically aboriginal and their language was a curious mixture of mundari, santal and korwa, though they stoutly repudiated connection with any of these tribes. they could count only up to three in their own language, using the santal words _mit, baria, pia_. most of their terms for parts of the body were derived from mundari, but they also used some santali and korwa words. in their own language they called themselves hor, which means a man, and is the tribal name of the mundas." 2. the mirzapur majhwars derived from the gonds on the other hand the majhwars of mirzapur, of whom mr. crooke gives a detailed and interesting account, clearly appear to be derived from the gonds. they have five subdivisions, which they say are descended from the five sons of their first gond ancestor. these are poiya, tekam, marai, chika and oiku. four of these names are those of gond clans, and each of the five subtribes is further divided into a number of exogamous septs, of which a large proportion bear typical gond names, as markam, netam, tekam, masham, sindram and so on. the majhwars of mirzapur also, like the gonds, employ patharis or pardhans as their priests, and there can thus be no doubt that they are mainly derived from the gonds. they would appear to have come to mirzapur from sarguja and the vindhyan and satpura hills, as they say that their ancestors ruled from the forts of mandla, garha in jubbulpore, sarangarh, raigarh and other places in the central provinces. [146] they worship a deified ahir, whose legs were cut off in a fight with some raja, since when he has become a troublesome ghost. "he now lives on the ahlor hill in sarguja, where his petrified body may still be seen, and the manjhis go there to worship him. his wife lives on the jhoba hill in sarguja. nobody but a baiga dares to ascend the hill, and even the raja of sarguja when he visits the neighbourhood sacrifices a black goat. manjhis believe that if these two deities are duly propitiated they can give anything they need." the story makes it probable that the ancestors of these manjhis dwelt in sarguja. the manjhis of mirzapur are not boatmen or fishermen and have no traditions of having ever been so. they are a backward tribe and practise shifting cultivation on burnt-out patches of forest. it is possible that they may have abandoned their former aquatic profession on leaving the neighbourhood of the rivers, or they may have simply adopted the name, especially since it has the meaning of a village headman and is used as a title by the santals and other castes and tribes. similarly the term munda, which at first meant the headman of a kol village, is now the common name for the kol tribe in chota nagpur. 3. connection with the kawars again the manjhis appear to be connected with the kawar tribe. mr. hira lal states that in raigarh they will take food with kewats, gonds, kawars and rawats or ahirs, but they will not eat rice and pulse, the most important and sacred food, with any outsiders except kawars; and this they explain by the statement that their ancestors and those of the kawars were connected. in mirzapur the kaurai ahirs will take food and water from the majhwars, and these ahirs are not improbably derived from the kawars. [147] here the majhwars also hold an oath taken when touching a broadsword as most binding, and the kawars of the central provinces worship a sword as one of their principal deities. [148] not improbably the manjhis may include some kewats, as this caste also use manjhi for a title; and manjhi is both a subcaste and title of the khairwars. the general conclusion from the above evidence appears to be that the caste is a very heterogeneous group whose most important constituents come from the gond, munda, santal and kawar tribes. whether the original bond of connection among the various people who call themselves manjhi was the common occupation of boating and fishing is a doubtful point. 4. exogamy and totemism the manjhis of sarguja, like those of raigarh, appear to be of munda and santal rather than of gond origin. they have no subdivisions, but a number of totemistic septs. those of the bhainsa or buffalo sept are split into the lotan and singhan subsepts, _lotan_ meaning a place where buffaloes wallow and _singh_ a horn. the lotan bhainsa sept say that their ancestor was born in a place where a buffalo had wallowed, and the singhan bhainsa that their ancestor was born while his mother was holding the horn of a buffalo. these septs consider the buffalo sacred and will not yoke it to a plough or cart, though they will drink its milk. they think that if one of them killed a buffalo their clan would become extinct. the baghani majhwars, named after the _bagh_ or tiger, think that a tiger will not attack any member of their sept unless he has committed an offence entailing temporary excommunication from caste. until this offence has been expiated his relationship with the tiger as head of his sept is in abeyance and the tiger will eat him as he would any other stranger. if a tiger meets a member of the sept who is free from sin, he will run away. when the baghani sept hear that any majhwar has killed a tiger they purify their houses by washing them with cowdung and water. members of the khoba or peg sept will not make a peg or drive one into the ground. those of the dumar [149] or fig-tree sept say that their first ancestor was born under this tree. they consider the tree to be sacred and never eat its fruit, and worship it once a year. members of the sept named after the _shiroti_ tree worship the tree every sunday. 5. marriage customs. marriage within the sept is prohibited and for three generations between persons related through females. marriage is adult, but matches are arranged by the parents of the parties. at betrothal the elders of the caste must be regaled with _cheora_ or parched rice and liquor. a bride-price of rs. 10 is paid, but a suitor who cannot afford this may do service to his father-in-law for one or two years in lieu of it. at the wedding the bridegroom puts a copper ring on the bride's finger and marks her forehead with vermilion. the couple walk seven times round the sacred post, and seven little heaps of rice and pieces of turmeric are arranged so that they may touch one of them with their big toes at each round. the bride's mother and seven other women place some rice in the skirts of their cloths and the bridegroom throws this over his shoulder. after this he picks up the rice and distributes it to all the women present, and the bride goes through the same ceremony. the rice is no doubt an emblem of fertility, and its presentation to the women may perhaps be expected to render them fertile. 6. birth and funeral rites on the birth of a child the navel-string is buried in front of the house. when a man is at the point of death they place a little cooked rice and curds in his mouth so that he may not go hungry to the other world, in view of the fact that he has probably eaten very little during his illness. some cotton and rice are also placed near the head of the corpse in the grave so that he may have food and clothing in the next world. mourning is observed for five days, and at the end of this period the mourners should have their hair cut, but if they cannot get it done on this day, the rite may be performed on the same day in the following year. 7. religious dance the tribe worship dulha deo, the bridegroom god, and also make offerings to their ploughs at the time of eating the new rice and at the holi and dasahra festivals. they dance the _karma_ dance in the months of asarh and kunwar or at the beginning and end of the rains. when the time has come the gaontia headman or the baiga priest fetches a branch of the _karma_ tree from the forest and sets it up in his yard as a notice and invitation to the village. after sunset all the people, men, women and children, assemble and dance round the tree, to the accompaniment of a drum known as mandar. the dancing continues all night, and in the morning the host plucks up the branch of the _karma_ tree and consigns it to a stream, at the same time regaling the dancers with rice, pulse and a goat. this dance is a religious rite in honour of karam raja, and is believed to keep sickness from the village and bring it prosperity. the tribe eat flesh, but abstain from beef and pork. girls are tattooed on arrival at puberty with representations of the _tulsi_ or basil, four arrow-heads in the form of a cross, and the foot-ornament known as _pairi_. mal _mal, male, maler, mal paharia._ [150]--a tribe of the rajmahal hills, who may be an isolated branch of the savars. in 1911 about 1700 mals were returned from the chota nagpur feudatory states recently transferred to the central provinces. the customs of the mals resemble those of the other hill tribes of chota nagpur. sir h. risley states that the average stature is low, the complexion dark and the figure short and sturdy. the following particulars are reproduced from colonel dalton's account of the tribe: "the hill lads and lasses are represented as forming very romantic attachments, exhibiting the spectacle of real lovers 'sighing like furnaces,' and the cockney expression of 'keeping company' is peculiarly applicable to their courtship. if separated only for an hour they are miserable, but there are apparently few obstacles to the enjoyment of each other's society, as they work together, go to market together, eat together, and sleep together! but if it be found that they have overstepped the prescribed limits of billing and cooing, the elders declare them to be out of the pale, and the blood of animals must be shed at their expense to wash away the indiscretion and obtain their readmission into society. "on the day fixed for a marriage the bridegroom with his relations proceeds to the bride's father's house, where they are seated on cots and mats, and after a repast the bride's father takes his daughter's hand and places it in that of the bridegroom, and exhorts him to be loving and kind to the girl that he thus makes over to him. the groom then with the little finger of his right hand marks the girl on the forehead with vermilion, and then, linking the same finger with the little finger of her right hand, he leads her away to his own house. "the god of hunting is called autga, and at the close of every successful expedition a thank-offering is made to him. this is the favourite pastime, and one of the chief occupations of the malers, and they have their game laws, which are strictly enforced. if a man, losing an animal which he has killed or wounded, seeks for assistance to find it, those who aid are entitled to one-half of the animal when found. another person accidentally coming on dead or wounded game and appropriating it, is subjected to a severe fine. the manjhi or headman of the village is entitled to a share of all game killed by any of his people. any one who kills a hunting dog is fined twelve rupees. certain parts of an animal are tabooed to females as food, and if they infringe this law autga is offended and game becomes scarce. when the hunters are unsuccessful it is often assumed that this is the cause, and the augur never fails to point out the transgressing female, who must provide a propitiatory offering. the malers use poisoned arrows, and when they kill game the flesh round the wound is cut off and thrown away as unfit for food. cats are under the protection of the game laws, and a person found guilty of killing one is made to give a small quantity of salt to every child in the village. "i nowhere find any description of the dances and songs of the paharias. mr. atkinson found the malers extremely reticent on the subject, and with difficulty elicited that they had a dancing-place in every village, but it is only when under the influence of god bacchus that they indulge in the amusement. all accounts agree in ascribing to the paharias an immoderate devotion to strong drink, and buchanan tells us that when they are dancing a person goes round with a pitcher of the home-brew and, without disarranging the performers, who are probably linked together by circling or entwining arms, pours into the mouth of each, male and female, a refreshing and invigorating draught. the beverage is the universal _pachwai_, that is, fermented grain. the grain, either maize, rice or _janera_ (_holcus sorghum_), is boiled and spread out on a mat to cool. it is then mixed with a ferment of vegetables called _takar_, and kept in a large earthen vessel for some days; warm water may at any time be mixed with it, and in a few hours it ferments and is ready for use." when the attention of english officers was first drawn to them in 1770 the males of the rajmahal hills were a tribe of predatory freebooters, raiding and terrorising the plain country from the foot of the hills to the ganges. it was mr. augustus cleveland, collector of bhagalpur, who reduced them to order by entering into engagements with the chiefs for the prevention and punishment of offences among their own tribesmen, confirming them in their estates and jurisdiction, and enrolling a corps of males, which became the bhagalpur hill rangers, and was not disbanded till the mutiny. mr. cleveland died at the age of 29, having successfully demonstrated the correct method of dealing with the wild forest tribes, and the governor-general in council erected a tomb and inscription to his memory, which was the original of that described by mr. kipling in _the tomb of his ancestors_, though the character of the first john chinn in the story was copied from outram. [151] mala _mala._--a low telugu caste of labourers and cotton-weavers. they numbered nearly 14,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911, belonging mainly to the chanda, nagpur, jubbulpore, and yeotmal districts, and the bastar state. the marathas commonly call them telugu dhers, but they themselves prefer to be known as 'telangi sadar bhoi,' which sounds a more respectable designation. they are also known as mannepuwar and netkani. they are the pariahs of the telugu country, and are regarded as impure and degraded. they may be distinguished by their manner of tying the head-cloth more or less in a square shape, and by their loin-cloths, which are worn very loose and not knotted. those who worship narsinghswami, the man-lion incarnation of vishnu, are called namaddar, while the followers of mahadeo are known as lingadars. the former paint their foreheads with vertical lines of sandal-paste, and the latter with horizontal ones. the malas were formerly zealous partisans of the right-handed sect in madras, and the description of this curious system of faction given by the abbé dubois more than a century ago may be reproduced: [152] "most castes belong either to the left-hand or right-hand faction. the former comprises the vaishyas or trading classes, the panchalas or artisan classes and some of the low sudra castes. it also contains the lowest caste, viz. the chaklas or leather-workers, who are looked upon as its chief support. to the right-hand faction belong most of the higher castes of sudras. the pariahs (malas) are also its great support, as a proof of which they glory in the title of _valangai maugattar_ or friends of the right hand. in the disputes and conflicts which so often take place between the two factions it is always the pariahs who make the most disturbance and do the most damage. the brahmans, rajas and several classes of sudras are content to remain neutral and take no part in these quarrels. the opposition between the two factions arises from certain exclusive privileges to which both lay claim. but as these alleged privileges are nowhere clearly defined and recognised, they result in confusion and uncertainty, and are with difficulty capable of settlement. when one faction trespasses on the so-called right of the other, tumults arise which spread gradually over large tracts of territory, afford opportunity for excesses of all kinds, and generally end in bloody conflicts. the hindu, ordinarily so timid and gentle in all other circumstances of life, seems to change his nature completely on occasions like these. there is no danger that he will not brave in maintaining what he calls his rights, and rather than sacrifice a little of them he will expose himself without fear to the risk of losing his life. the rights and privileges for which the hindus are ready to fight such sanguinary battles appear highly ridiculous, especially to a european. perhaps the sole cause of the contest is the right to wear slippers or to ride through the streets in a palanquin or on horseback during marriage festivals. sometimes it is the privilege of being escorted on certain occasions by armed retainers, sometimes that of having a trumpet sounded in front of a procession, or of being accompanied by native musicians at public ceremonies." the writer of the _madras census report_ of 1871 states: [153] "it is curious that the females of two of the inferior castes should take different sides to their husbands in these disputes. the wives of the agricultural labourers side with the left hand, while their husbands help in fighting the battles of the right, and the shoemakers' wives also take the side opposed to their husbands. during these festival disturbances, the ladies who hold political views opposed to those of their husbands deny to the latter all the privileges of the connubial state." the same writer states that the right-hand castes claimed the prerogative of riding on horseback in processions, of appearing with standards bearing certain devices, and of erecting twelve pillars to sustain their marriage booths; while the left-hand castes might not have more than eleven pillars, nor use the same standards as the right. the quarrels arising out of these small differences of opinion were so frequent and serious in the seventeenth century that in the town of madras it was found necessary to mark the respective boundaries of the rightand left-hand castes, and to forbid the right-hand castes in their processions from occupying the streets of the left hand and vice versa. these disturbances have gradually tended to disappear under the influence of education and good government, and no instance of them is known to have occurred in the central provinces. the division appears to have originated among the members of the sakta sect or the worshippers of sakti as the female principle of life in nature. dr. l. d. barnett writes: [154]--"the followers of the sect are of two schools. the 'walkers in the right way' (_dakshinachari_) pay a service of devotion to the deity in both male and female aspects, and except in their more pronounced tendency to dwell upon the horrific aspects of the deity (as kali, durga, etc.), they differ little from ordinary saivas and vaishnavas. the 'walkers in the left way' (_vamachari_), on the other hand, concentrate their thought upon the godhead in its sexually maternal aspect, and follow rites of senseless magic and--theoretically at least--promiscuous debauchery." as has been seen, the religious differences subsequently gave rise to political factions. mali list of paragraphs 1. _general notice of the caste, and its social position_. 2. _caste legend_. 3. _flowers offered to the gods_. 4. _custom of wearing garlands_. 5. _subcastes_. 6. _marriage_. 7. _widow-marriage, divorce and polygamy_. 8. _disposal of the dead_. 9. _religion_. 10. _occupation_. 11. _traits and characters_. 12. _other functions of the mali_. 13. _physical appearance_. 1. general notice of the caste, and its social position _mali, marar, maral_. [155]--the functional caste of vegetable and flower-gardeners. the terms mali and marar appear to be used indifferently for the same caste, the former being more common in the west of the province and the latter in the eastern satpura districts and the chhattisgarh plain. in the nerbudda valley and on the vindhyan plateau the place of both mali and marar is taken by the kachhi of upper india. [156] marar appears to be a marathi name, the original term, as pointed out by mr. hira lal, being malal, or one who grows garden-crops in a field; but the caste is often called mali in the maratha country and marar in the hindi districts. the word mali is derived from the sanskrit _mala_, a garland. in 1911 the malis numbered nearly 360,000 persons in the present area of the central provinces, and 200,000 in berar. a german writer remarks of the caste [157] that: "it cannot be considered to be a very ancient one. generally speaking, it may be said that flowers have scarcely a place in the veda. wreaths of flowers, of course, are used as decorations, but the separate flowers and their beauty are not yet appreciated. that lesson was first learned later by the hindus when surrounded by another flora. amongst the homeric greeks, too, in spite of their extensive gardening and different flowers, not a trace of horticulture is yet to be found." it seems probable that the first malis were not included among the regular cultivators of the village but were a lower group permitted to take up the small waste plots of land adjoining the inhabited area and fertilised by its drainage, and the sandy stretches in the beds of rivers, on which they were able to raise the flowers required for offerings and such vegetables as were known. they still hold a lower rank than the ordinary cultivator. sir d. ibbetson writes [158] of the gardening castes: "the group now to be discussed very generally hold an inferior position among the agricultural community and seldom if ever occupy the position of the dominant tribe in any considerable tract of country. the cultivation of vegetables is looked upon as degrading by the agricultural classes, why i know not, unless it be that night-soil is generally used for their fertilisation; and a rajput would say: 'what! do you take me for an arain?' if anything was proposed which he considered derogatory." but since most malis in the central provinces strenuously object to using night-soil as a manure the explanation that this practice has caused them to rank below the agricultural castes does not seem sufficient. and if the use of night-soil were the real circumstance which determined their social position, it seems certain that brahmans would not take water from their hands as they do. elsewhere sir d. ibbetson remarks: [159] "the malis and sainis, like all vegetable growers, occupy a very inferior position among the agricultural castes; but of the two the sainis are probably the higher, as they more often own land or even whole villages, and are less generally mere market-gardeners than are the malis." here is given what may perhaps be the true reason for the status of the mali caste as a whole. again sir c. elliot wrote in the _hoshangabad settlement report_: "garden crops are considered as a kind of fancy agriculture and the true cultivator, the kisan, looks on them with contempt as little peddling matters; what stirs his ambition is a fine large wheat-field eighty or a hundred acres in extent, as flat as a billiard-table and as black as a gond." similarly mr. low [160] states that in balaghat the panwars, the principal agricultural caste, look down on the marars as growers of petty crops like _sama_ and kutki. in wardha the dangris, a small caste of melon and vegetable growers, are an offshoot of the kunbis; and they will take food from the kunbis, though these will not accept it from them, their social status being thus distinctly lower than that of the parent caste. again the kohlis of bhandara, who grow sugarcane with irrigation, are probably derived from an aboriginal tribe, the kols, and, though they possess a number of villages, rank lower than the regular cultivating castes. it is also worth noting that they do not admit tenant-right in their villages among their own caste, and allot the sugarcane plots among the cultivators at pleasure. [161] in nimar the malis rank below the kunbis and gujars, the good agricultural castes, and it is said that they grow the crops which the cultivators proper do not care to grow. the kachhis, the gardening caste of the northern districts, have a very low status, markedly inferior to that of the lodhis and kurmis and little if any better than the menial dhimars. similarly, as will be seen later, the marars themselves have customs pointing clearly to a non-aryan origin. the bhoyars of betul, who grow sugarcane, are probably of mixed origin from rajput fathers and mothers of the indigenous tribes; they eat fowls and are much addicted to liquor and rank below the cultivating castes. the explanation seems to be that the gardening castes are not considered as landholders, and have not therefore the position which attaches to the holding of land among all early agricultural peoples, and which in india consisted in the status of a constituent member of the village community. so far as ceremonial purity goes there is no difference between the malis and the cultivating castes, as brahmans will take water from both. it may be surmised that this privilege has been given to the malis because they grow the flowers required for offerings to the gods, and sometimes officiate as village priests and temple servants; and their occupation, though not on a level with regular agriculture, is still respectable. but the fact that brahmans will take water from them does not place the malis on an equality with the cultivating castes, any more than it does the nais (barbers) and dhimars (watermen), the condemned menial servants of the cultivators, from whom brahmans will also take water from motives of convenience. 2. caste legend the malis have a brahmanical legend of the usual type indicating that their hereditary calling was conferred and ratified by divine authority. [162] this is to the effect that the first mali was a garland-maker attached to the household of raja kansa of mathura. one day he met with krishna, and, on being asked by him for a chaplet of flowers, at once gave it. on being told to fasten it with string, he, for want of any other, took off his sacred thread and tied it, on which krishna most ungenerously rebuked him for his simplicity in parting with his _paita_, and announced that for the future his caste would be ranked among the sudras. the above story, combined with the derivation of mali from _mala_, a garland, makes it a plausible hypothesis that the calling of the first malis was to grow flowers for the adornment of the gods, and especially for making the garlands with which their images were and still are decorated. thus the malis were intimately connected with the gods and naturally became priests of the village temples, in which capacity they are often employed. mr. nesfield remarks of the mali: [163] "to hindus of all ranks, including even the brahmans, he acts as a priest of mahadeo in places where no gosain is to be found, and lays the flower offerings on the _lingam_ by which the deity is symbolised. as the mali is believed to have some influence with the god to whose temple he is attached, none objects to his appropriating the fee which is nominally presented to the god himself. in the worship of those village godlings whom the brahmans disdain to recognise and whom the gosain is not permitted to honour the mali is sometimes employed to present the offering. he is thus the recognised hereditary priest of the lower and more ignorant classes of the population." in the central provinces malis are commonly employed in the temples of devi because goats are offered to the goddess and hence the worship cannot be conducted by brahmans. they also work as servants in jain temples under the priest. they sweep the temple, clean the utensils, and do other menial business. this service, however, does not affect their religion and they continue to be hindus. his services in providing flowers for the gods would be remunerated by contributions of grain from the cultivators, the acceptance of which would place the mali below them in the rank of a village menial, though higher than most of the class owing to the purity of his occupation. his status was probably much the same as that of the guraos or village priests of mahadeo in the maratha country. and though he has now become a cultivator, his position has not improved to the level of other cultivating castes for the reasons already given. it was probably the necessity of regularly watering his plants in order to obtain a longer and more constant supply of blooms which first taught the mali the uses of irrigation. 3. flowers offered to the gods flowers are _par excellence_ suited for the offerings and adornment of the gods, and many hindus have rose or other plants in their houses whose flowers are destined to the household god. there is little reason to doubt that this was the purpose for which cultivated flowers were first grown. the marigold, lotus and champak are favourite religious flowers, while the _tulsi_ or basil is itself worshipped as the consort of vishnu; in this case, however, the scent is perhaps the more valued feature. in many hindu households all flowers brought into the house are offered to the household god before being put to any other use. a brahman school-boy to whom i had given some flowers to copy in drawing said that his mother had offered them to the god krishna before he used them. when faded or done with they should be consigned to the sacred element, water, in any stream or river. the statues of the gods are adorned with sculptured garlands or hold them in their hands. a similar state of things prevailed in classical antiquity: who are these coming to the sacrifice? to what green altar, o mysterious priest, lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies, and all her silken flanks with garlands drest? and, fairer than these, though temple thou hast none, nor altar decked with flowers, nor virgin choir to make delicious moan upon the midnight hours. m. fustel de coulanges describes the custom of wearing crowns or garlands of flowers in ancient rome and greece as follows: "it is clear that the communal feasts were religious ceremonies. each guest had a crown on the head; it was an ancient custom to crown oneself with leaves or flowers for any solemn religious act." "the more a man is adorned with flowers," they said, "the more pleasing he is to the gods; but they turn away from him who wears no crown at his sacrifice." and again, 'a crown is the auspicious herald which announces a prayer to the gods.' [164] among the persians the flowers themselves are worshipped: [165] "when a pure iranian sauntered through (the victoria gardens in bombay) ... he would stand awhile and meditate over every flower in his path, and always as in a vision; and when at last the vision was fulfilled, and the ideal flower found, he would spread his mat or carpet before it, and sit before it to the going down of the sun, when he would arise and pray before it, and then refold his mat or carpet and go home; and the next night, and night after night, until that bright particular flower faded away, he would return to it, bringing his friends with him in ever-increasing numbers, and sit and sing and play the guitar or lute before it--and anon they all would arise together and pray before it; and after prayers, still sit on, sipping sherbet and talking the most hilarious and shocking scandal, late into the moonlight." 4. custom of wearing garlands from the custom of placing garlands on the gods as a mark of honour has no doubt arisen that of garlanding guests. this is not confined to india but obtained in rome and probably in other countries. the word 'chaplet' [166] originally meant a garland or wreath to be worn on the head; and a garland of leaves with four flowers at equal distances. dryden says, 'with chaplets green upon their foreheads placed.' the word _mala_ originally meant a garland, and subsequently a rosary or string of beads. from this it seems a legitimate deduction that rosaries or strings of beads of a sacred wood were substituted for flower-garlands as ornaments for the gods in view of their more permanent nature. having been thus sanctified they may have come to be worn as a mark of holiness by saints or priests in imitation of the divine images, this being a common or universal fashion of hindu ascetics. subsequently they were found to serve as a useful means of counting the continuous repetition of prayers, whence arose the phrase 'telling one's beads.' like the sanskrit _mala_, the english word rosary at first meant a garland of roses and subsequently a string of beads, probably made from rose-wood, on which prayers were counted. from this it may perhaps be concluded that the images of the deities were decorated with garlands of roses in europe, and the development of the rosary was the same as the indian _mala_. if the rose was a sacred flower we can more easily understand its importance as a badge in the wars of the roses. 5. sub-castes the caste has numerous endogamous groups, varying in different localities. the phulmalis, who derive their name from their occupation of growing and selling flowers (_phul_), usually rank as the highest. the ghase malis are the only subcaste which will grow and prepare turmeric in wardha; but they will not sell milk or curds, an occupation to which the phulmalis, though the highest subcaste, have no objection. in chanda the kosaria malis, who take their name from kosala, the classical designation of the chhattisgarh country, are the sole growers of turmeric, while in berar the halde subcaste, named after the plant, occupy the same position. the kosaria or kosre subcaste abstain from liquor, and their women wear glass bangles only on one hand and silver ones on the other. the objection entertained to the cultivation of turmeric by hindus generally is said to be based on the fact that when the roots are boiled numbers of small insects are necessarily destroyed; but the other malis relate that one of the ancestors of the caste had a calf called hardulia, and one day he said to his daughter, _haldi paka_, or 'cook turmeric.' but the daughter thought that he said 'cook hardulia,' so she killed and roasted the calf, and in consequence of this her father was expelled from the caste, and his descendants are the ghase or halde subcaste. ever since this happened the shape of a calf may be seen in the flower of turmeric. this legend has, however, no real value and the meaning of the superstition attaching to the plant is obscure. though the growing of turmeric is tabooed yet it is a sacred plant, and no hindu girl, at least in the central provinces, can be married without having turmeric powder rubbed on her body. mr. gordon remarks in _indian folk-tales_: "i was once speaking to a hindu gardener of the possibility of turmeric and garlic being stolen from his garden. 'these two vegetables are never stolen,' he replied, 'for we hindus believe that he who steals turmeric and garlic will appear with six fingers in the next birth, and this deformity is always considered the birth-mark of a thief.'" the jire malis are so named because they were formerly the only subcaste who would grow cumin (_jira_), but this distinction no longer exists as other malis, except perhaps the phulmalis, now grow it. other subcastes have territorial names, as baone from berar, jaipuria, kanaujia, and so on. the caste have also exogamous septs or _bargas_, with designations taken from villages, titles or nicknames or inanimate objects. 6. marriage marriage is forbidden between members of the same sept and between first and second cousins. girls are generally betrothed in childhood and should be married before maturity. in the uriya country if no suitable husband can be found for a girl she is sometimes made to go through the marriage ceremony with a peg of mahua wood driven into the ground and covered over with a cloth. she is then tied to a tree in the forest and any member of the caste may go and release her, when she becomes his wife. the marars of balaghat and bhandara have the _lamjhana_ form of marriage, in which the prospective husband serves for his wife; this is a dravidian custom and shows their connection with the forest tribes. the marriage ceremony follows the standard form prevalent in the locality. in betul the couple go seven times round a slab on which a stone roller is placed, with their clothes knotted together and holding in their hands a lighted lamp. the slab and roller may be the implements used in powdering turmeric. "among the marars of balaghat [167] the maternal uncle of the bridegroom goes to the village of the bride and brings back with him the bridal party. the bride's party do not at once cross the boundary of the bridegroom's village, but will stay outside it for a few hours. word is sent and the bridegroom's party will bring out cooked food, which they eat with the bride's party. this done, they go to the house of the bridegroom and the bride forthwith walks five times round a pounding-stone. next day turmeric is applied to the couple, and the caste people are given a feast. the essential portion of the ceremony consists in the rubbing of vermilion on the foreheads of the couple under the cover of a cloth. the caste permit the practice of _ralla-palla_ or exchanging sisters in marriage. they are said to have a custom at weddings known as _kondia_, according to which a young man of the bridegroom's party, called the _sand_ or bull, is shut up in a house at night with all the women of the bride's party; he is at liberty to seize and have intercourse with any of them he can catch, while they are allowed to beat him as much as they like. it is said that he seldom has much cause to congratulate himself." but the caste have now become ashamed of this custom and it is being abandoned. in chhattisgarh the marars, like other castes, have the forms of marriage known as the _badi shadi_ and _chhoti shadi_ or great and small weddings. the former is an elaborate form of marriage, taking place at the house of the bride. those who cannot afford the expense of this have a 'small wedding' at the house of the bridegroom, at which the rites are curtailed and the expenditure considerably reduced. 7. widow-marriage, divorce and polygamy widow-marriage is permitted. the widower, accompanied by his relatives and a horn-blower, goes to the house of the widow, and here a space is plastered with cowdung and the couple sit on two wooden boards while their clothes are knotted together. in balaghat [168] the bridegroom and bride bathe in a tank and on emerging the widow throws away her old cloth and puts on a new one. after this they walk five times round a spear planted in the ground. divorce is permitted and can be effected by mutual consent of the parties. like other castes practising intensive cultivation the malis marry several wives when they can afford it, in order to obtain the benefit of their labour in the vegetable garden; a wife being more industrious and honest than a hired labourer. but this practice results in large families and household dissensions, leading to excessive subdivision of property, and wealthy members of the caste are rare. the standard of sexual morality is low, and if an unmarried girl goes wrong her family conceal the fact and sometimes try to procure an abortion. if these efforts are unsuccessful a feast must be given to the caste and a lock of the woman's hair is cut off by way of punishment. a young hard-working wife is never divorced, however bad her character may be, but an old woman is sometimes abandoned for very little cause. 8. disposal of the dead the dead may be either buried or burnt; in the former case the corpse is laid with the feet to the north. mourning is observed only for three days and propitiatory offerings are made to the spirits of the dead. if a man is killed by a tiger his family make a wooden image of a tiger and worship it. 9. religion devi is the principal deity of the malis. weddings are celebrated before her temple and large numbers of goats are sacrificed to the favourite goddess at her festival in the month of magh (january). many of the marars of balaghat are kabirpanthis and wear the necklace of that sect; but they appear none the less to intermarry freely with their hindu caste-fellows. [169] after the birth of a child it is stated that all the members of the sept to which the parents belong remain impure for five days, and no one will take food or water from them. 10. occupation the mali combines the callings of a gardener and nurseryman. "in laying out a flower-garden and in arranging beds," mr. shearing remarks, [170] "the mali is exceedingly expert. his powers in this respect are hardly surpassed by gardeners in england. he lacks of course the excellent botanical knowledge of many english gardeners, and also the peculiar skill displayed by them in grafting and crossing, and in watching the habits of plants. yet in manipulative labour, especially when superintended by a european, he is, though much slower in execution, almost if not quite equal to gardeners at home." they are excellent and very laborious cultivators, and show much skill in intensive cultivation and the use of water. malis are the best sugarcane growers of betul and their holdings usually pay a higher rental than those of other castes. "in balaghat," mr. low remarks, [171] "they are great growers of tobacco and sugarcane, favouring the alluvial land on the banks of rivers. they mostly irrigate by a _dhekli_ or dipping lift, from temporary wells or from water-holes in rivers. the pole of the lift has a weight at one end and a kerosene tin suspended from the other. another form of lift is a hollowed tree trunk worked on a fulcrum, but this only raises the water a foot or two. the marars do general cultivation as well; but as a class are not considered skilled agriculturists. the proverb about their cultivating status is: marar, mali jote tali tali margayi, dhare kudali or, 'the marar yokes cows; if the cow dies he takes to the pickaxe'; implying that he is not usually rich enough to keep bullocks." the saying has also a derogatory sense, as no good hindu would yoke a cow to the plough. another form of lift used by the kachhis is the persian wheel. in this two wheels are fixed above the well or tank and long looped ropes pass over them and down into the well, between which a line of earthen pots is secured. as the ropes move on the wheels the pots descend into the well, are filled with water, brought up, and just after they reach the apex of the wheel and turn to descend again, the water pours out to a hollow open tree-trunk, from which a channel conveys it to the field. the wheel which turns the rope is worked by a man pedalling, but he cannot do more than about three hours a day. the common lift for gardens is the _mot_ or bag made of the hide of a bullock or buffalo. this is usually worked by a pair of bullocks moving forwards down a slope to raise the _mot_ from the well and backwards up the slope to let it down when empty. 11. traits and character "it is necessary," the account continues, "for the marar's business for one member at least of his family to go to market with his vegetables; and the mararin is a noteworthy feature in all bazars, sitting with her basket or garment spread on the ground, full of white onions and garlic, purple brinjals and scarlet chillies, with a few handfuls of strongly flavoured green stuff. whether from the publicity which it entails on their women or from whatever cause, the mararin does not bear the best of reputations for chastity; and is usually considered rather a bold, coarse creature. the distinctive feature of her attire is the way in which she ties up her body-cloth so as to leave a tail sticking up behind; whence the proverb shouted after her by rude little boys: 'jump from roof to roof, monkey. pull the tail of the mararin, monkey,' she also rejoices in a very large _tikli_ or spangle on her forehead and in a peculiar kind of _angia_ (waistcoat). the caste are usually considered rather clannish and morose. they live in communities by themselves, and nearly always inhabit a separate hamlet of the village. the marars of a certain place are said to have boycotted a village carpenter who lost an axe belonging to one of their number, so that he had to leave the neighbourhood for lack of custom." 12. other functions of the mali many malis live in the towns and keep vegetableor flower-gardens just outside. they sell flowers, and the mali girls are very good flower-sellers, major sutherland says, being famous for their coquetry. a saying about them is: "the crow among birds, the jackal among beasts, the barber among men and the malin among women; all these are much too clever." the mali also prepares the _maur_ or marriage-crown, made from the leaves of the date-palm, both for the bride and bridegroom at marriages. in return he gets a present of a rupee, a piece of cloth and a day's food. he also makes the garlands which are used for presentation at entertainments, and supplies the daily bunches of flowers which are required as offerings for mahadeo. the mali keeps garlands for sale in the bazar, and when a well-to-do person passes he goes up and puts a garland round his neck and expects a present of a pice or two. 13. physical appearance "physically," mr. low states, "the marar is rather a poor-looking creature, dark and undersized; but the women are often not bad looking, and dressed up in their best at a wedding, rattling their castanets and waving light-coloured silk handkerchiefs, give a very graceful dance. the caste are not as a rule celebrated for their cleanliness. a polite way of addressing a marar is to call him patel." mallah _mallah, malha_. [172]--a small caste of boatmen and fishermen in the jubbulpore and narsinghpur districts, which numbered about 5000 persons in 1911. it is scarcely correct to designate the mallahs as a distinct caste, as in both these districts it appears from inquiry that the term is synonymous with kewat. apparently, however, the mallahs do form a separate endogamous group, and owing to many of them having adopted the profession of growing hemp, a crop which respectable hindu castes usually refuse to cultivate, it is probable that they would not be allowed to intermarry with the kewats of other districts. in the united provinces mr. crooke states that the mallahs, though, as their arabic name indicates, of recent origin, have matured into a definite social group, including a number of endogamous tribes. the term mallah has nothing to do with the mulla or muhammadan priest among the frontier tribes, but comes from an arabic word meaning 'to be salt,' or, according to another derivation, 'to move the wings as a bird.' [173] the mallahs of the central provinces are also, in spite of their arabic name, a purely hindu caste. in narsinghpur they say that their original ancestor was one bali or baliram, who was a boatman and was so strong that he could carry his boat to the river and back under his armpit. on one occasion he ferried rama across the ganges in benares, and it is said that rama gave him a horse to show his gratitude; but baliram was so ignorant that he placed the bridle on the horse's tail instead of the head. and from this act of baliram's arose the custom of having the rudder of a boat at the stern instead of at the bow. the mallahs in the central provinces appear from their family names to be immigrants from bundelkhand. their customs resemble those of lower-class hindus. girls are usually married under the age of twelve years, and the remarriage of widows is permitted, while divorce may be effected in the presence of the _panchayat_ or caste committee by the husband and wife breaking a straw between them. they are scantily clothed and are generally poor. a proverb about them says: jahan bethen malao tahan lage alao, or, 'where mallahs sit, there is always a fire.' this refers to their custom of kindling fires on the river-bank to protect themselves from cold. in narsinghpur the mallahs have found a profitable opening in the cultivation of hemp, a crop which other hindu castes until recently tabooed on account probably of the dirty nature of the process of cleaning out the fibre and the pollution necessarily caused to the water-supply. they sow and cut hemp on sundays and wednesdays, which are regarded as auspicious days. they also grow melons, and will not enter a melon-field with their shoes on or allow a woman during her periodical impurity to approach it. the mallahs are poor and illiterate, but rank with dhimars and kewats, and brahmans will take water from their hands. mana _mana_. [174]--a dravidian caste of cultivators and labourers belonging to the chanda district, from which they have spread to nagpur, bhandara and balaghat. in 1911 they numbered nearly 50,000 persons, of whom 34,000 belonged to chanda. the origin of the caste is obscure. in the _chanda settlement report_ of 1869 major lucie smith wrote of them: "tradition asserts that prior to the gond conquest the manas reigned over the country, having their strongholds at surajgarh in ahiri and at manikgarh in the manikgarh hills, now of hyderabad, and that after a troubled rule of two hundred years they fell before the gonds. in appearance they are of the gond type, and are strongly and stoutly made; while in character they are hardy, industrious and truthful. many warlike traditions still linger among them, and doubtless in days gone by they did their duty as good soldiers, but they have long since hung up sword and shield and now rank among the best cultivators of rice in chanda." another local tradition states that a line of mana princes ruled at wairagarh. the names of three princes are remembered: kurumpruhoda, the founder of the line; surjat badwaik, who fortified surjagarh; and gahilu, who built manikgarh. as regards the name manikgarh, it may be mentioned that the tutelary deity of the nagvansi kings of bastar, who ruled there before the accession of the present raj-gond dynasty in the fourteenth century, was manikya devi, and it is possible that the chiefs of wairagarh were connected with the bastar kings. some of the manas say that they, as well as the gowaris, are offshoots of the gond tribe; and a local saying to the effect that 'the gond, the gowari and the mana eat boiled juari or beans on leaf-plates' shows that they are associated together in the popular mind. hislop states that the ojhas, or soothsayers and minstrels of the gonds, have a subdivision of mana ojhas, who lay claim to special sanctity, refusing to take food from any other caste. [175] the gonds have a subdivision called mannewar, and as _war_ is only a telugu suffix for the plural, the proper name manne closely resembles mana. it is shown in the article on the parja tribe that the parjas were a class of gonds or a tribe akin to them, who were dominant in bastar prior to the later immigration under the ancestors of the present bastar dynasty. and the most plausible hypothesis as to the past history of the manas is that they were also the rulers of some tracts of chanda, and were displaced like the parjas by a gond invasion from the south. in bhandara, where the manas hold land, it is related that in former times a gigantic kite lived on the hill of ghurkundi, near sakoli, and devoured the crops of the surrounding country by whole fields at a time. the king of chanda proclaimed that whoever killed the kite would be granted the adjoining lands. a mana shot the kite with an arrow and its remains were taken to chanda in eight carts, and as his reward he received the grant of a zamindari. in appearance the manas, or at least some of them, are rather fine men, nor do their complexion and features show more noticeable traces of aboriginal descent than those of the local hindus. but their neighbours in chanda and bastar, the maria gonds, are also taller and of a better physical type than the average dravidian, so that their physical appearance need not militate against the above hypothesis. they retained their taste for fighting until within quite recent times, and in katol and other towns below the satpura hills, manas were regularly enlisted as a town guard for repelling the pindari raids. their descendants still retain the ancestral matchlocks, and several of them make good use of these as professional _shikaris_ or hunters. many of them are employed as servants by landowners and moneylenders for the collection of debts or the protection of crops, and others are proprietors, cultivators and labourers, while a few even lend money on their own account. manas hold three zamindari estates in bhandara and a few villages in chanda; here they are considered to be good cultivators, but have the reputation as a caste of being very miserly, and though possessed of plenty, living only on the poorest and coarsest food. [176] the mana women are proverbial for the assistance which they render to their husbands in the work of cultivation. owing to their general adoption of maratha customs, the manas are now commonly regarded as a caste and not a forest tribe, and this view may be accepted. they have two subcastes, the badwaik manas, or soldiers, and the khad manas, who live in the plains and are considered to be of impure descent. badwaik or 'the great ones' is a titular term applied to a person carrying arms, and assumed by certain rajputs and also by some of the lower castes. a third group of manas are now amalgamated with the kunbis as a regular subdivision of that caste, though they are regarded as somewhat lower than the others. they have also a number of exogamous septs of the usual titular and totemistic types, the few recognisable names being marathi. it is worth noticing that several pairs of these septs, as jamare and gazbe, narnari and chudri, wagh and rawat, and others are prohibited from intermarriage. and this may be a relic of some wider scheme of division of the type common among the australian aborigines. the social customs of the manas are the same as those of the other lower maratha castes, as described in the articles on kunbi, kohli and mahar. a bride-price of rs. 12-8 is usually paid, and if the bridegroom's father has the money, he takes it with him on going to arrange for the match. only one married woman of the bridegroom's family accompanies him to the wedding, and she throws rice over him five times. four days in the year are appointed for the celebration of weddings, the festivals of shivratri and of akhatij, and a day each in the months of magh (january) and phagun (february). this rule, however, is not universal. brahmans do not usually officiate at their ceremonies, but they employ a brahman to prepare the rice which is thrown over the couples. marriage within the sept is forbidden, as well as the union of the children of two sisters. but the practice of marrying a brother's daughter to a sister's son is a very favourite one, being known as mahunchar, and in this respect the manas resemble the gonds. when a widow is to be remarried, she stops on the way by the bank of a stream as she is proceeding to her new husband's house, and here her clothes are taken off and buried by an exorcist with a view to laying the first husband's spirit and preventing it from troubling the new household. if a woman goes wrong with a man of another caste she is not finally cast out, but if she has a child she must first dispose of it to somebody else after it is weaned. she may then be re-admitted into caste by having her hair shaved off and giving three feasts; the first is prepared by the caste and eaten outside her house, the second is prepared by her relatives and eaten within her house, and at the third the caste reinstate her by partaking of food cooked by herself. the dead are either buried or burnt; in the former case a feast is given immediately after the burial and no further mourning is observed; in the latter the period of mourning is three days. as among the gonds, the dead are laid with feet to the north. a woman is impure for seven days after child-birth. the manas have bhats or genealogists of their own caste, a separate one being appointed for each sept. the bhat of any sept can only accept gifts from members of that sept, though he may take food from any one of the caste. the bhats are in the position of beggars, and the other manas will not take food from them. every man must have a bhat for his family under penalty of being temporarily put out of caste. it is said that the bhats formerly had books showing the pedigrees of the different families, but that once in a spirit of arrogance they placed their shoes upon the books; and the other manas, not brooking this insolence, burnt the books. the gravity of such an act may be realised when it is stated that if anybody even threatens to hit a mana with a shoe, the indignity put upon him is so great that he is temporarily excluded from caste and penalised for readmission. since this incident the bhats have to address the manas as 'brahma,' to show their respect, the mana replying 'ram, ram.' their women wear short loin-cloths, exposing part of the thigh, like the gonds. they eat pork and drink liquor, but will take cooked food only from brahmans. manbhao 1. history and nature of the sect _manbhao_. [177]--a religious sect or order, which has now become a caste, belonging to the maratha districts of the central provinces and to berar. their total strength in india in 1911 was 10,000 persons, of whom the central provinces and berar contained 4000. the name would appear to have some such meaning as 'the reverend brothers.' the manbhaos are stated to be a vaishnavite order founded in berar some two centuries ago. [178] they themselves say that their order is a thousand years old and that it was founded by one arjun bhat, who lived at domegaon, near ahmadnagar. he was a great sanskrit scholar and a devotee of krishna, and preached his doctrines to all except the impure castes. ridhpur, in berar, is the present headquarters of the order, and contains a monastery and three temples, dedicated to krishna and dattatreya, [179] the only deities recognised by the manbhaos. each temple is named after a village, and is presided over by a mahant elected from the celibate manbhaos. there are other mahants, also known after the names of villages or towns in which the monasteries over which they preside are located. among these are sheone, from the village near chandur in amraoti district; akulne, a village near ahmadnagar; lasorkar, from lasor, near aurangabad; mehkarkar, from mehkar in buldana; and others. the order thus belongs to berar and the adjoining parts of india. colonel mackenzie describes ridhpur as follows: "the name is said to be derived from _ridh_, meaning blood, a rakshas or demon having been killed there by parasurama, and it owes its sanctity to the fact that the god lived there. black stones innumerable scattered about the town show where the god's footsteps became visible. at ridhpur krishna is represented by an ever-open, sleeplessly watching eye, and some manbhaos carry about a small black stone disk with an eye painted on it as an amulet." frequently their shrines contain no images, but are simply _chabutras_ or platforms built over the place where krishna or dattatreya left marks of their footprints. over the platform is a small veranda, which the manbhaos kiss, calling upon the name of the god. sukli, in bhandara, is also a headquarters of the caste, and contains many manbhao tombs. here they burn camphor in honour of dattatreya and make offerings of cocoanuts. they make pilgrimages to the different shrines at the full moons of chait (march) and kartik (october). they pay reverence to no deities except krishna and dattatreya, and observe the festivals of gokul ashtami in august and datta-jayantri in december. they consider the month of aghan (november) as holy, because krishna called it so in the bhagavat-gita. this is their sacred book, and they reject the other hindu scriptures. their conception of krishna is based on his description of himself to arjun in the bhagavat-gita as follows: "'behold things wonderful, never seen before, behold in this my body the whole world, animate and inanimate. but as thou art unable to see with these thy natural eyes, i will give thee a heavenly eye, with which behold my divine connection.' "the son of pandu then beheld within the body of the god of gods standing together the whole universe divided forth into its vast variety. he was overwhelmed with wonder and every hair was raised on end. 'but i am not to be seen as thou hast seen me even by the assistance of the vedas, by mortification, by sacrifices, by charitable gifts: but i am to be seen, to be known in truth, and to be obtained by that worship which is offered up to me alone: and he goeth unto me whose works are done for me: who esteemeth me supreme: who is my servant only: who hath abandoned all consequences, and who liveth amongst all men without hatred.'" again: "he my servant is dear to me who is free from enmity, the friend of all nature, merciful, exempt from all pride and selfishness, the same in pain and in pleasure, patient of wrong, contented, constantly devout, of subdued passions and firm resolves, and whose mind and understanding are fixed on me alone." 2. divisions of the order the manbhaos are now divided into three classes: the brahmachari; the gharbari; and the bhope. the brahmachari are the ascetic members of the sect who subsist by begging and devote their lives to meditation, prayer and spiritual instruction. the gharbari are those who, while leading a mendicant life, wearing the distinctive black dress of the order and having their heads shaved, are permitted to get married with the permission of their mahant or _guru_. the ceremony is performed in strict privacy inside a temple. a man sometimes signifies his choice of a spouse by putting his _jholi_ or beggar's wallet upon hers; if she lets it remain there, the betrothal is complete. a woman may show her preference for a man by bringing a pair of garlands and placing one on his head and the other on that of the image of krishna. the marriage is celebrated according to the custom of the kunbis, but without feasting or music. widows are permitted to marry again. married women do not wear bangles nor toe-rings nor the customary necklace of beads; they put on no jewellery, and have no _choli_ or bodice. the bhope or bhoall, the third division of the caste, are wholly secular and wear no distinctive dress, except sometimes a black head-cloth. they may engage in any occupation that pleases them, and sometimes act as servants in the temples of the caste. in berar they are divided into thirteen _bas_ or orders, named after the disciples of arjun bhat, who founded the various shrines. the manbhaos are recruited by initiation of both men and women from any except the impure castes. young children who have been vowed by their parents to a religious life or are left without relations, are taken into the order. women usually join it either as children or late in life. the celibate members, male or female, live separately in companies like monks and nuns. they do not travel together, and hold services in their temples at different times. a woman admitted into the order is henceforward the disciple of the woman who initiated her by whispering the _guru mantra_ or sacred verse into her ear. she addresses her preceptress as mother and the other women as sisters. the manbhaos are intelligent and generally literate, and they lead a simple and pure life. they are respectable and are respected by the people, and a _guru_ or spiritual teacher is often taken from them in place of a brahman or gosain. they often act as priests or _gurus_ to the mahars, for whom brahmans will not perform these services. their honesty and humility are proverbial among the kunbis, and are in pleasing contrast to the character of many of the hindu mendicant orders. they consider it essential that all their converts should be able to read the bhagavat-gita or a commentary on it, and for this purpose teach them to read and write during the rainy season when they are assembled at one of their monasteries. 3. religious observances and customs one of the leading tenets of the manbhaos is a respect for all forms of animal and even vegetable life, much on a par with that of the jains. they strain water through a cloth before drinking it, and then delicately wipe the cloth to preserve any insects that may be upon it. they should not drink water in, and hence cannot reside in, any village where animal sacrifices are offered to a deity. they will not cut down a tree nor break off a branch, or even a blade of grass, nor pluck a fruit or an ear of corn. some, it is said, will not even bathe in tanks for fear of destroying insect-life. for this reason also they readily accept cooked food as alms, so that they may avoid the risk of the destruction of life involved in cooking. the manbhaos dislike the din and noise of towns, and live generally in secluded places, coming into the towns only to beg. except in the rains they wander about from place to place. they beg in the morning, and then return home and, after bathing and taking their food, read their religious books. they must always worship krishna before taking food, and for this purpose when travelling they carry an image of the deity about with them. they will take food and water from the higher castes, but they must not do so from persons of low caste on pain of temporary excommunication. they neither smoke nor chew tobacco. both men and women shave the head clean, and men also the face. this is first done on initiation by the village barber. but the _sendhi_ or scalp-lock and moustaches of the novice must be cut off by his _guru_, this being the special mark of his renunciation of the world. the scalp-locks of the various candidates are preserved until a sufficient quantity of hair has been collected, when ropes are made of it, which they fasten round their loins. this may be because hindus attach a special efficacy to the scalp-lock, perhaps as being the seat of a man's strength or power. the nuns also shave their heads, and generally eschew every kind of personal adornment. both monks and nuns usually dress in black or ashen-grey clothes as a mark of humility, though some have discarded black in favour of the usual hindu mendicant colour of red ochre. the black colour is in keeping with the complexion of krishna, their chief god. they dye their cloths with lamp-black mixed with a little water and oil. they usually sleep on the ground, with the exception of those who are mahants, and they sometimes have no metal vessels, but use bags made of strong cloth for holding food and water. men's names have the suffix _boa_, as datto boa, kesho boa, while those of boys end in _da_, as manoda, raojida, and those of women in _bai_, as gopa bai, som bai. the dead are buried, not in the common burial-grounds, but in some waste place. the corpse is laid on its side, facing the east, with head to the north and feet to the south. a piece of silk or other valuable cloth is placed on it, on which salt is sprinkled, and the earth is then filled in and the ground levelled so as to leave no trace of the grave. no memorial is erected over a manbhao tomb, and no mourning nor ceremony of purification is observed, nor are oblations offered to the spirits of the dead. if the dead man leaves any property, it is expended on feeding the brotherhood for ten days; and if not, the mahant of his order usually does this in his name. 4. hostility between manbhaos and brahmans the manbhaos are dissenters from orthodox hinduism, and have thus naturally incurred the hostility of the brahmans. mr. kitts remarks of them: [180] "the brahmans hate the manbhaos, who have not only thrown off the brahmanical yoke themselves, but do much to oppose the influence of brahmans among the agriculturists. the brahmans represent them as descended from one krishna bhat, a brahman who was outcasted for keeping a beautiful mang woman as his mistress. his four sons were called the _mang-bhaos_ or mang brothers." this is an excellent instance of the brahman talent for pressing etymology into their service as an argument, in which respect they resemble the jesuits. by asserting that the manbhaos are descended from a mang woman, one of the most despised castes, they attempt to dispose of these enemies of a brahman hegemony without further ado. another story about their wearing black or ashen-coloured clothes related by colonel mackenzie is that krishna bhat's followers, refusing to believe the aspersions cast on their leader by the brahmans, but knowing that some one among them had been guilty of the sin imputed to him, determined to decide the matter by the ordeal of fire. having made a fire, they cast into it their own clothes and those of their _guru_, each man having previously written his name on his garments. the sacred fire made short work of all the clothes except those of krishna bhat, which it rejected and refused to burn, thereby forcing the unwilling disciples to believe that the finger of god pointed to their revered _guru_ as the sinner. in spite of the shock of thus discovering that their idol had feet of very human clay, they still continued to regard krishna bhat's precepts as good and worthy of being followed, only stipulating that for all time manbhaos should wear clothes the colour of ashes, in memory of the sacred fire which had disclosed to them their _guru's_ sin. captain mackintosh also relates that "about a.d. 1780, a brahman named anand rishi, an inhabitant of paithan on the godavari, maltreated a manbhao, who came to ask for alms at his door. this manbhao, after being beaten, proceeded to his friends in the vicinity, and they collected a large number of brethren and went to the brahman to demand satisfaction; anand rishi assembled a number of gosains and his friends, and pursued and attacked the manbhaos, who fled and asked ahalya bai, rani of indore, to protect them; she endeavoured to pacify anand rishi by telling him that the manbhaos were her _gurus_; he said that they were mangs, but declared that if they agreed to his proposals he would forgive them; one of them was that they were not to go to a brahman's house to ask for alms, and another that if any brahman repeated anand rishi's name and drew a line across the road when a manbhao was advancing, the manbhao, without saying a word, must return the road he came. notwithstanding this attempt to prevent their approaching a brahman's house, they continue to ask alms of the brahmans, and some brahmans make a point of supplying them with provisions." this story endeavours to explain a superstition still observed by the caste. this is that when a manbhao is proceeding along a road, if any one draws a line across the road with a stick in front of him the manbhao will wait without passing the line until some one else comes up and crosses it before him. in reality this is probably a primitive superstition similar to that which makes a man stop when a snake has crossed the road in front of him and efface its track before proceeding. it is said that the members of the order also carry their sticks upside down, and a saying is repeated about them: manbhao hokar kale kapre darhi muchi mundhata hai, ulti lakri hath men pakri woh kya sahib milta hai; or, "the manbhao wears black clothes, shaves his face and holds his stick upside down, and thinks he will find god that way." this saying is attributed to kabir. mang list of paragraphs 1. _origin and traditions_. 2. _subdivisions_. 3. _marriage_. 4. _widow-marriage._ 5. _burial_. 6. _occupation_. 7. _religion and social status_. 1. origin and traditions _mang._ [181]--a low impure caste of the maratha districts, who act as village musicians and castrate bullocks, while their women serve as midwives. the mangs are also sometimes known as vajantri or musician. they numbered more than 90,000 persons in 1911, of whom 30,000 belonged to the nagpur and nerbudda divisions of the central provinces, and 60,000 to berar. the real origin of the mangs is obscure, but they probably originated from the subject tribes and became a caste through the adoption of the menial services which constitute their profession. in a maratha book called the shudra kamlakar [182], it is stated that the mang was the offspring of the union of a vaideh man and an ambashtha woman. a vaideh was the illegitimate child of a vaishya father and a brahman mother, and an ambashtha of a brahman father and a vaishya mother. the business of the mang was to play on the flute and to make known the wishes of the raja to his subjects by beat of drum. he was to live in the forest or outside the village, and was not to enter it except with the raja's permission. he was to remove the dead bodies of strangers, to hang criminals, and to take away and appropriate the clothes and bedding of the dead. the mangs themselves relate the following legend of their origin as given by mr. sathe: long ago before cattle were used for ploughing, there was so terrible a famine upon the earth that all the grain was eaten up, and there was none left for seed. mahadeo took pity on the few men who were left alive, and gave them some grain for sowing. in those days men used to drag the plough through the earth themselves. but when a kunbi, to whom mahadeo had given some seed, went to try and sow it, he and his family were so emaciated by hunger that they were unable, in spite of their united efforts, to get the plough through the ground. in this pitiable case the kunbi besought mahadeo to give him some further assistance, and mahadeo then appeared, and, bringing with him the bull nandi, upon which he rode, told the kunbi to yoke it to the plough. this was done, and so long as mahadeo remained present, nandi dragged the plough peaceably and successfully. but as soon as the god disappeared, the bull became restive and refused to work any longer. the kunbi being helpless, again complained to mahadeo, when the god appeared, and in his wrath at the conduct of the bull, great drops of perspiration stood upon his brow. one of these fell to the ground, and immediately a coal-black man sprang up and stood ready to do mahadeo's bidding. he was ordered to bring the bull to reason, and he went and castrated it, after which it worked well and quietly; and since then the kunbis have always used bullocks for ploughing, and the descendants of the man, who was the first mang, are employed in the office for which he was created. it is further related that nandi, the bull, cursed the mang in his pain, saying that he and his descendants should never derive any profit from ploughing with cattle. and the mangs say that to this day none of them prosper by taking to cultivation, and quote the following proverb: '_keli kheti, zhali mati_,' or, 'if a mang sows grain he will only reap dust.' 2. subdivisions the caste is divided into the following subcastes: dakhne, khandeshe and berarya, or those belonging to the deccan, khandesh and berar; ghodke, those who tend horses; dafle, tom-tom players; uchle, pickpockets; pindari, descendants of the old freebooters; kakarkadhe, stone-diggers; holer, hide-curers; and garori. the garoris [183] are a sept of vagrant snake-charmers and jugglers. many are professional criminals. 3. marriage the caste is divided into exogamous family groups named after animals or other objects, or of a titular nature. one or two have the names of other castes. members of the same group may not intermarry. those who are well-to-do marry their daughters very young for the sake of social estimation, but there is no compulsion in this matter. in families which are particularly friendly, mr. sathe remarks, children may be betrothed before birth if the two mothers are with child together. betel is distributed, and a definite contract is made, on the supposition that a boy and girl will be born. sometimes the abdomen of each woman is marked with red vermilion. a grown-up girl should not be allowed to see her husband's face before marriage. the wedding is held at the bride's house, but if it is more convenient that it should be in the bridegroom's village, a temporary house is found for the bride's party, and the marriage-shed is built in front of it. the bride must wear a yellow bodice and cloth, yellow and red being generally considered among hindus as the auspicious colours for weddings. when she leaves for her husband's house she puts on another or going-away dress, which should be as fine as the family can afford, and thereafter she may wear any colour except white. the distinguishing marks of a married woman are the _mangal-sutram_ or holy thread, which her husband ties on her neck at marriage; the _garsoli_ or string of black beads round the neck; the silver toe-rings and glass bangles. if any one of these is lost, it must be replaced at once, or she is likely soon to be a widow. the food served at the wedding-feast consists of rice and pulse, but more essential than these is an ample provision of liquor. it is a necessary feature of a mang wedding that the bridegroom should go to it riding on a horse. the mahars, another low caste of the maratha districts, worship the horse, and between them and the mangs there exists a long-standing feud, so that they do not, if they can help it, drink of the same well. the sight of a mang riding on a horse is thus gall and wormwood to the mahars, who consider it a terrible degradation to the noble animal, and this fact inflaming their natural enmity, formerly led to riots between the castes. under native rule the mangs were public executioners, and it was said to be the proudest moment of mang's life when he could perform his office on a mahar. the bride proceeds to her husband's house for a short visit immediately after the marriage, and then goes home again. thereafter, till such time as she finally goes to live with him, she makes brief visits for festivals or on other social occasions, or to help her mother-in-law, if her assistance is required. if the mother-in-law is ill and requires somebody to wait on her, or if she is a shrew and wants some one to bully, or if she has strict ideas of discipline and wishes personally to conduct the bride's training for married life, she makes the girl come more frequently and stay longer. 4. widow marriage the remarriage of widows is permitted, and a widow may marry any one except persons of her own family group or her husband's elder brother, who stands to her in the light of a father. she is permitted, but not obliged, to marry her husband's younger brother, but if he has performed the dead man's obsequies, she may not marry him, as this act has placed him in the relation of a son to her deceased husband. more usually the widow marries some one in another village, because the remarriage is always held in some slight disrepute, and she prefers to be at a distance from her first husband's family. divorce is said to be permitted only for persistent misconduct on the part of the wife. 5. burial the caste always bury the dead and observe mourning only for three days. on returning from a burial they all get drunk, and then go to the house of the deceased and chew the bitter leaves of the _nim_ tree (_melia indica_). these they then spit out of their mouths to indicate their complete severance from the dead man. 6. occupation the caste beat drums at village festivals, and castrate cattle, and they also make brooms and mats of date-palm and keep leeches for blood-letting. some of them are village watchmen and their women act as midwives. as soon as a baby is born, the midwife blows into its mouth, ears and nose in order to clear them of any impediments. when a man is initiated by a _guru_ or spiritual preceptor, the latter blows into his ear, and the mangs therefore say that on account of this act of the midwife they are the _gurus_ of all hindus. during an eclipse the mangs beg, because the demons rahu and ketu, who are believed to swallow the sun and moon on such occasions, were both mangs, and devout hindus give alms to their fellow-castemen in order to appease them. those of them who are thieves are said not to steal from the persons of a woman, a bangle-seller, a lingayat mali or another mang. [184] in maratha villages they sometimes take the place of chamars, and work in leather, and one writer says of them: "the mang is a village menial in the maratha villages, making all leather ropes, thongs and whips, which are used by the cultivators; he frequently acts as watchman; he is by profession a thief and executioner; he readily hires himself as an assassin, and when he commits a robbery he also frequently murders." in his menial capacity he receives presents at seed-time and harvest, and it is said that the kunbi will never send the mang empty away, because he represents the wrath of mahadeo, being made from the god's sweat when he was angry. 7. religion and social status the caste especially venerate the goddess devi. they apparently identify devi with saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, and they have a story to the effect that once brahma wished to ravish his daughter saraswati. she fled from him and went to all the gods, but none of them would protect her for fear of brahma. at last in despair she came to a mang's house, and the mang stood in the door and kept off brahma with a wooden club. in return for this saraswati blessed him and said that he and his descendants should never lack for food. they also revere mahadeo, and on every monday they worship the cow, placing vermilion on her forehead and washing her feet. the cat is regarded as a sacred animal, and a mang's most solemn oath is sworn on a cat. a house is defiled if a cat or a dog dies or a cat has kittens in it, and all the earthen pots must be broken. if a man accidentally kills a cat or a dog a heavy penance is exacted, and two feasts must be given to the caste. to kill an ass or a monkey is a sin only less heinous. a man is also put out of caste if kicked or beaten with a shoe by any one of another caste, even a brahman, or if he is struck with the _kathri_ or mattress made of rags which the villagers put on their sleeping-cots. mr. gayer remarks [185] that "the mangs show great respect for the bamboo; and at a marriage the bridal couple are made to stand in a bamboo basket. they also reverence the _nim_ tree, and the mangs of sholapur spread _hariali_ [186] grass and _nim_ leaves on the spot where one of their caste dies." the social status of the mangs is of the lowest. they usually live in a separate quarter of the village and have a well for their own use. they may not enter temples. it is recorded that under native rule the mahars and mangs were not allowed within the gates of poona between 3 p.m. and 9 a.m., because before nine and after three their bodies cast too long a shadow; and whenever their shadow fell upon a brahman it polluted him, so that he dare not taste food or water until he had bathed and washed the impurity away. so also no low-caste man was allowed to live in a walled town; cattle and dogs could freely enter and remain but not the mahar or mang. [187] the caste will eat the flesh of pigs, rats, crocodiles and jackals and the leavings of others, and some of them will eat beef. men may be distinguished by the _senai_ flute which they carry and by a large ring of gold or brass worn in the lobe of the ear. a mang's sign-manual is a representation of his _bhall-singara_ or castration-knife. women are tattooed before marriage, with dots on the forehead, nose, cheeks and chin, and with figures of a date-palm on the forearm, a scorpion on the palm of the hand, and flies on the fingers. the caste do not bear a good character, and it is said of a cruel man, '_mang-nirdayi_,' or 'hardhearted as a mang.' mang-garori _mang-garori._--this is a criminal subdivision of the mang caste, residing principally in berar. they were not separately recorded at the census. the name garori appears to be a corruption of garudi, and signifies a snake-charmer. [188] garuda, the brahminy kite, the bird on which vishnu rides, was the great subduer of snakes, and hence probably snake-charmers are called garudi. some of the mang-garoris are snake-charmers, and this may have been the original occupation of the caste, though the bulk of them now appear to live by dealing in cattle and thieving. the following notice of them is abstracted from major gunthorpe's _notes on criminal tribes_. [189] they usually travel about with small _pals_ or tents, taking their wives, children, buffaloes and dogs with them. the men are well set up and tall. their costume is something like that worn by professional gymnasts, consisting of light and short reddish-brown drawers (_chaddi_), a waistband with fringe at either end (_katchhe_), and a sheet thrown over the shoulders. the naik or headman of the camp may be recognised by his wearing some red woollen cloth about his person or a red shawl over his shoulders. the women have short _saris_ (body-cloths), usually of blue, and tied in the telugu fashion. they are generally very violent when any attempt is made to search an encampment, especially if there is stolen property concealed in it. instances have been known of their seizing their infants by the ankles and swinging them round their heads, declaring they would continue doing so till the children died, if the police did not leave the camp. sometimes also the women of a gang have been known to throw off all their clothing and appear in a perfect state of nudity, declaring they would charge the police with violating their modesty. men of this tribe are expert cattle-lifters, but confine themselves chiefly to buffaloes, which they steal while out grazing and very dexterously disguise by trimming the horns and firing, so as to avoid recognition by their rightful owners. to steal goats and sheep is also one of their favourite occupations, and they will either carry the animals off from their pens at night or kill them while out grazing, in the following manner: having marked a sheep or goat which is feeding farthest away from the flock, the thief awaits his opportunity till the shepherd's back is turned, when the animal is quickly captured. placing his foot on the back of the neck near the head, and seizing it under the chin with his right hand, the thief breaks the animal's neck by a sudden jerk; he then throws the body into a bush or in some dip in the ground to hide it, and walks away, watching from a distance. the shepherd, ignorant of the loss of one of his animals, goes on leisurely driving his flock before him, and when he is well out of sight the mang-garori removes the captured carcase to his encampment. great care is taken that the skin, horns and hoofs should be immediately burnt so as to avoid detection. their ostensible occupation is to trade in barren half-starved buffaloes and buffalo calves, or in country ponies. they also purchase from gaoli herdsmen barren buffaloes, which they profess to be able to make fertile; if successful they return them for double the purchase-money, but if not, having obtained if possible some earnest-money, they abscond and sell the animals at a distance. [190] like the bhamtas, the mang-garoris, major gunthorpe states, make it a rule not to give a girl in marriage until the intended husband has proved himself an efficient thief. mr. gayer [191] writes as follows of the caste: "i do not think major gunthorpe lays sufficient emphasis on the part taken by the women in crimes, for they apparently do by far the major part of the thieving, sherring says the men never commit house-breaking and very seldom rob on the highway: he calls them 'wanderers, showmen, jugglers and conjurors,' and describes them as robbers who get their information by performing before the houses of rich bankers and others. mang-garori [192] women steal in markets and other places of public resort. they wait to see somebody put down his clothes or bag of rupees and watch till his attention is attracted elsewhere, when, walking up quietly between the article and its owner, they drop their petticoat either over or by it, and manage to transfer the stolen property into their basket while picking up the petticoat. if an unfavourable omen occurs on the way when the women set out to pilfer they place a stone on the ground and dash another on to it saying, 'if the obstacle is removed, break'; if the stone struck is broken, they consider that the obstacle portended by the unfavourable omen is removed from their path, and proceed on their way; but if not, they return. stolen articles are often bartered at liquor-shops for drink, and the kalars act as receivers of stolen property for the mang-garoris." the following are some particulars taken from an old account of the criminal mangs; [193] their leader or headman was called the _naik_ and was elected by a majority of votes, though considerable regard was paid to heredity. the _naik's_ person and property were alike inviolable; after a successful foray each of the gang contributed a quarter of his share to the _naik_, and from the fund thus made up were defrayed the expenses of preparation, religious offerings and the triumphal feast. a pair of shoes were usually given to a brahman and alms to the poor. to each band was attached an informer, who was also receiver of the stolen goods. these persons were usually bangleor perfume-sellers or jewellers. in this capacity they were admitted into the women's apartments and so enabled to form a correct notion of the topography of a house and a shrewd guess as to the wealth of its inmates. like all barbarous tribes and all persons addicted to criminal practices the mangs were extremely superstitious. they never set out on an expedition on a friday. after the birth of a child the mother and another woman stood on opposite sides of the cradle, and the former tossed her child to the other, commending it to the mercy of jai gopal, and waited to receive it back in like manner in the name of jai govind. both gopal and govind are names of krishna, the mangs usually married young in life. if a girl happened to hang heavy on hand she was married at the age of puberty to the deity. in other words, she was attached as a prostitute to the temple of the god khandoba or the goddess yellama. those belonging to the service of the latter were wont in the month of february to parade the streets in a state of utter nudity. when a bachelor wished to marry a widow he was first united to a swallow-wort plant, and this was immediately dug up and transplanted, and withering away left him at liberty to marry the widow. if a lady survived the sorrow caused by the death of two or three husbands she could not again enter the holy state unless she consented to be married with a fowl under her armpit; the unfortunate bird being afterwards killed to appease the manes of her former consorts. manihar _manihar._ [194]--a small caste of pedlars and hawkers. in northern india the manihars are makers of glass bangles, and correspond to the kachera caste of the central provinces. mr. nesfield remarks [195] that the special industry of the manihars of the united provinces is the making of glass bangles or bracelets. these are an indispensable adjunct to the domestic life of the hindu woman; for the glass bangle is not worn for personal ornament, but as the badge of the matrimonial state, like the wedding-ring in europe. but in the central provinces glass bangles are made by the kacheras and the muhammadan turkaris or sisgars, and the manihars are petty hawkers of stationery and articles for the toilet, such as miniature looking-glasses, boxes, stockings, needles and thread, spangles, and imitation jewellery; and hindu jogis and others who take to this occupation are accustomed to give their caste as manihar. in 1911 nearly 700 persons belonging to the caste were returned from the northern districts of the central provinces. the manihars are nominally muhammadans, but they retain many hindu customs. at their weddings they erect a marriage-tent, anoint the couple with oil and turmeric and make them wear a _kankan_ or wrist-band, to which is attached a small purse containing a little mustard-seed and a silver ring. the mustard is intended to scare away the evil spirits. when the marriage procession reaches the bride's village it is met by her people, one of whom holds a bamboo in his hands and bars the advance of the procession. the bridegroom's father thereupon makes a present of a rupee to the village _panchayat_, and his people are allowed to proceed. when the bridegroom reaches the bride's house he finds her younger sister carrying a _kalas_ or pot of water on her head; he drops a rupee into it and enters the house. the bride's sister then comes holding above her head a small frame like a _tazia_ [196] with a cocoanut core hanging inside. she raises the frame as high as she can to prevent the bridegroom from plucking out the cocoanut core, which, however, he succeeds in doing in the end. the girl applies powdered _mehndi_ or henna to the little finger of the boy's right hand, in return for which she receives a rupee and a piece of cloth. the kazi then recites verses from the koran which the bridegroom repeats after him, and the bride does the same in her turn. this is the nikah or marriage proper, and before it takes place the bridegroom's father must present a nose-ring to the bride. the parents also fix the meher or dowry, which, however, is not a dowry proper, but a stipulation that if the bridegroom should put away his wife after marriage he will pay her a certain agreed sum. after the nikah the bridegroom is given some spices, which he grinds on a slab with a roller. he must do the grinding very slowly and gently so as to make no noise, or it is believed that the married life of the couple will be broken by quarrels. a widow is permitted to marry the younger brother of her deceased husband, but not his elder brother. the caste bury their dead with the head to the north. the corpse is first bathed and wrapped in a new white sheet, with another sheet over it, and is then laid on a cot or in a _janaza_ or coffin. while it is being carried to the cemetery the bearers are changed every few steps, so that every man who accompanies the funeral may carry the corpse for a short distance. when it is lowered into the grave the sheet is taken off and given to a fakir or beggar. when the body is covered with earth the priest reads the funeral verses at a distance of forty steps from the grave. feasts are given to the caste-fellows on the third, tenth, twentieth and fortieth days after the death. the manihars observe the shabrat festival by distributing to the caste-fellows _halua_ or a mixture of melted butter and flour. the shabrat is the middle night of the month shaban, and muhammad declared that on this night god registers the actions which every man will perform during the following year, and all those who are fated to die and the children who are to be born. like hindu widows the manihar women break their bangles when their husband's corpse is removed to the burial-ground. the manihars eat flesh, but not beef or pork; and they also abstain from alcoholic liquor. if a girl is seduced and made pregnant before marriage either by a man of the caste or an outsider, she remains in her father's house until her child has been born, and may then be married either to her paramour or any other man of the caste by the simple repetition of the nikah or marriage verses, omitting all other ceremonies. the manihars will admit into their community converted hindus belonging even to the lowest castes. mannewar _mannewar._ [197]--a small tribe belonging to the south or telugu-speaking portion of the chanda district, where they mustered about 1600 persons in 1911. the home of the tribe is the hyderabad state, where it numbers 22,000 persons, and the mannewars are said to have once been dominant over a part of that territory. the name is derived from a telugu word _mannem_, meaning forest, while _war_ is the plural termination in telugu, mannewar thus signifying 'the people of the forest.' the tribe appear to be the inferior branch of the koya gonds, and they are commonly called mannewar koyas as opposed to the koya doras or the superior branch, dora meaning 'lord' or master. the koya doras thus correspond to the raj-gonds of the north of the province and the mannewar koyas to the dhur or 'dust' gonds. [198] the tribe is divided into three exogamous groups: the nalugu velpulu worshipping four gods, the ayidu velpulu worshipping five, and the anu velpulu six. a man must marry a woman of one of the divisions worshipping a different number of gods from his own, but the mannewars do not appear to know the names of these gods, and consequently no veneration can be paid to them at present, and they survive solely for the purpose of regulating marriage. when a betrothal is made a day is fixed for taking an omen. in the early morning the boy who is to be married has his face washed and turmeric smeared on his feet, and is seated on a wooden seat inside the house. the elders of the village then proceed outside it towards the rising sun and watch for any omen given by an animal or bird crossing their path. if this is good the marriage is celebrated, and if bad the match is broken off. in the former case five of the elders take their food on returning from the search for the omen and immediately proceed to the bride's village. here they are met by the pesamuda or village priest, and stay for three days, when the amount of the dowry is settled and a date fixed for the wedding. the marriage ceremony resembles that of the low telugu castes. the couple are seated on a plough-yoke, and coloured rice is thrown on to their heads, and the bridegroom ties the _mangalya_ or bead necklace, which is the sign of marriage, round the neck of the bride. if a girl is deformed, or has some other drawback which prevents her from being sought in marriage, she is given away with her sister to a first cousin [199] or some other near relative, the two sisters being married to him together. a widow may marry any man of the tribe except her first husband's brothers. if a man takes a widow to his house without marrying her he is fined three rupees, while for adultery with a married woman the penalty is twenty rupees. a divorce can always be obtained, but if the husband demands it he is mulcted of twenty rupees by the caste committee, while a wife who seeks a divorce must pay ten rupees. the mannewars make an offering of a fowl and some liquor to the ploughshare on the festival of ganesh chaturthi. after the picking of the flowers of the mahua [200] they worship that tree, offering to it some of the liquor distilled from the new flowers, with a fowl and a goat. this is known as the burri festival. at the holi feast the mannewars make two human figures to represent kami and rati, or the god of love and his wife. the male figure is then thrown on to the holi fire with a live chicken or an egg. this may be a reminiscence of a former human sacrifice, which was a common custom in many parts of the world at the spring festival. the caste usually bury the dead, but are beginning to adopt cremation. they do not employ brahmans for their ceremonies and eat all kinds of food, including the flesh of pigs, fowls and crocodiles, but in view of their having nominally adopted hinduism, they abstain from beef. maratha list of paragraphs 1. _numerical statistics_. 2. _double meaning of the term maratha_. 3. _origin and position of the caste_. 4. _exogamous clans_. 5. _other subdivisions_. 6. _social customs_. 7. _religion_. 8. _present position of the caste_. 9. _nature of the maratha insurrection_. 10. _maratha women in past times_. 11. _the maratha horseman_. 12. _cavalry in the field_. 13. _military administration_. 14. _sitting dharna_. 15. _the infantry_. 16. _character of the maratha armies_. 1. numerical statistics _maratha, mahratta._--the military caste of southern india which manned the armies of sivaji, and of the peshwa and other princes of the maratha confederacy. in the central provinces the marathas numbered 34,000 persons in 1911, of whom nagpur contained 9000 and wardha 8000, while the remainder were distributed over raipur, hoshangabad and nimar. in berar their strength was 60,000 persons, the total for the combined province being thus 94,000. the caste is found in large numbers in bombay and hyderabad, and in 1901 the india census tables show a total of not less than five million persons belonging to it. 2. double meaning of the term maratha it is difficult to avoid confusion in the use of the term maratha, which signifies both an inhabitant of the area in which the marathi language is spoken, and a member of the caste to which the general name has in view of their historical importance been specifically applied. the native name for the marathi-speaking country is maharashtra, which has been variously interpreted as 'the great country' or 'the country of the mahars.' [201] a third explanation of the name is from the rashtrakuta dynasty which was dominant in this area for some centuries after a.d. 750. the name rashtrakuta was contracted into rattha, and with the prefix of maha or great might evolve into the term maratha. the rashtrakutas have been conjecturally identified with the rathor rajputs. the _nasik gazetteer_ [202] states that in 246 b.c. maharatta is mentioned as one of the places to which asoka sent an embassy, and maharashtraka is recorded in a chalukyan inscription of a.d. 580 as including three provinces and 99,000 villages. several other references are given in sir j. campbell's erudite note, and the name is therefore without doubt ancient. but the marathas as a people do not seem to be mentioned before the thirteenth or fourteenth century. [203] the antiquity of the name would appear to militate against the derivation from the rashtrakuta dynasty, which did not become prominent till much later, and the most probable meaning of maharashtra would therefore seem to be 'the country of the mahars.' maharatta and maratha are presumably derivatives from maharashtra. 3. origin and position of the caste the marathas are a caste formed from military service, and it seems probable that they sprang mainly from the peasant population of kunbis, though at what period they were formed into a separate caste has not yet been determined. grant-duff mentions several of their leading families as holding offices under the muhammadan rulers of bijapur and ahmadnagar in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as the nimbhalkar, gharpure and bhonsla; [204] and presumably their clansmen served in the armies of those states. but whether or no the designation of maratha had been previously used by them, it first became prominent during the period of sivaji's guerilla warfare against aurangzeb. the marathas claim a rajput origin, and several of their clans have the names of rajput tribes, as chauhan, panwar, solanki and suryavansi. in 1836 mr. enthoven states, [205] the sesodia rana of udaipur, the head of the purest rajput house, was satisfied from inquiries conducted by an agent that the bhonslas and certain other families had a right to be recognised as rajputs. colonel tod states that sivaji was descended from a rajput prince sujunsi, who was expelled from mewar to avoid a dispute about the succession about a.d. 1300. sivaji is shown as 13th in descent from sujunsi. similarly the bhonslas of nagpur were said to derive their origin from one bunbir, who was expelled from udaipur about 1541, having attempted to usurp the kingdom. [206] as rajput dynasties ruled in the deccan for some centuries before the muhammadan conquest, it seems reasonable to suppose that a rajput aristocracy may have taken root there. this was colonel tod's opinion, who wrote: "these kingdoms of the south as well as the north were held by rajput sovereigns, whose offspring, blending with the original population, produced that mixed race of marathas inheriting with the names the warlike propensities of their ancestors, but who assume the names of their abodes as titles, as the nimalkars, the phalkias, the patunkars, instead of their tribes of jadon, tüar, püar, etc." [207] this statement would, however, apply only to the leading houses and not to the bulk of the maratha caste, who appear to be mainly derived from the kunbis. in sholapur the marathas and kunbis eat together, and the kunbis are said to be bastard marathas. [208] in satara the kunbis have the same division into 96 clans as the marathas have, and many of the same surnames. [209] the writer of the _satara gazetteer_ says: [210] "the census of 1851 included the marathas with the kunbis, from whom they do not form a separate caste. some maratha families may have a larger strain of northern or rajput blood than the kunbis, but this is not always the case. the distinction between kunbis and marathas is almost entirely social, the marathas as a rule being better off, and preferring even service as a constable or messenger to husbandry." exactly the same state of affairs prevails in the central provinces and berar, where the body of the caste are commonly known as maratha kunbis. in bombay the marathas will take daughters from the kunbis in marriage for their sons, though they will not give their daughters in return. but a kunbi who has got on in the world and become wealthy may by sufficient payment get his sons married into maratha families, and even be adopted as a member of the caste. [211] in 1798 colonel tone, who commanded a regiment of the peshwa's army, wrote [212] of the marathas: "the three great tribes which compose the maratha caste are the kunbi or farmer, the dhangar or shepherd, and the goala or cowherd; to this original cause may perhaps be ascribed that great simplicity of manner which distinguishes the maratha people." it seems then most probable that, as already stated, the maratha caste was of purely military origin, constituted from the various castes of maharashtra who adopted military service, though some of the leading families may have had rajputs for their ancestors. sir d. ibbetson thought that a similar relation existed in past times between the rajputs and jats, the landed aristocracy of the jat caste being gradually admitted to rajput rank. the khandaits or swordsmen of orissa are a caste formed in the same manner from military service. in the _imperial gazetteer_ sir h. risley suggests that the maratha people were of scythian origin: "the physical type of the people of this region accords fairly well with this theory, while the arguments derived from language and religion do not seem to conflict with it.... on this view the wide-ranging forays of the marathas, their guerilla methods of warfare, their unscrupulous dealings with friend and foe, their genius for intrigue and their consequent failure to build up an enduring dominion, might well be regarded as inherited from their scythian ancestors." 4. exogamous clans in the central provinces the marathas are divided into 96 exogamous clans, known as the chhanava kule, which marry with one another. during the period when the bhonsla family were rulers of nagpur they constituted a sort of inner circle, consisting of seven of the leading clans, with whom alone they intermarried; these are known as the satghare or seven houses, and consist of the bhonsla, gujar, ahirrao, mahadik, sirke, palke and mohte clans. these houses at one time formed an endogamous group, marrying only among themselves, but recently the restriction has been relaxed, and they have arranged marriages with other maratha families. it may be noted that the present representatives of the bhonsla family are of the gujar clan to which the last raja of nagpur, raghuji iii., belonged prior to his adoption. several of the clans, as already noted, have rajput sept names; and some are considered to be derived from those of former ruling dynasties; as chalke, from the chalukya rajput kings of the deccan and carnatic; more, who may represent a branch of the great maurya dynasty of northern india; salunke, perhaps derived from the solanki kings of gujarat; and yadav, the name of the kings of deogiri or daulatabad. [213] others appear to be named after animals or natural objects, as sinde from _sindi_ the date-palm tree, ghorpade from _ghorpad_ the iguana; or to be of a titular nature, as kale black, pandhre white, bhagore a renegade, jagthap renowned, and so on. the more, nimbhalkar, ghatge, mane, ghorpade, dafle, jadav and bhonsla clans are the oldest, and held prominent positions in the old muhammadan kingdoms of bijapur and ahmadnagar. the nimbhalkar family were formerly panwar rajputs, and took the name of nimbhalkar from their ancestral village nimbalik. the ghorpade family are an offshoot of the bhonslas, and obtained their present name from the exploit of one of their ancestors, who scaled a fort in the konkan, previously deemed impregnable, by passing a cord round the body of a _ghorpad_ or iguana. [214] a noticeable trait of these maratha houses is the fondness with which they clung to the small estates or villages in the deccan in which they had originally held the office of a patel or village headman as a _watan_ or hereditary right, even after they had carved out for themselves principalities and states in other parts of india. the present bhonsla raja takes his title from the village of deor in the poona country. in former times we read of the raja of satara clinging to the _watans_ he had inherited from sivaji after he had lost his crown in all but the name; sindhia was always termed patel or village headman in the revenue accounts of the villages he acquired in nimar; while it is said that holkar and the panwar of dhar fought desperately after the british conquest to recover the _pateli_ rights of deccan villages which had belonged to their ancestors. [215] 5. other subdivisions besides the 96 clans there are now in the central provinces some local subcastes who occupy a lower position and do not intermarry with the marathas proper. among these are the deshkar or 'residents of the country'; the waindesha or those of berar and khandesh; the gangthade or those dwelling on the banks of the godavari and wainganga; and the ghatmathe or residents of the mahadeo plateau in berar. it is also stated that the marathas are divided into the _khasi_ or 'pure' and the _kharchi_ or the descendants of handmaids. in bombay the latter are known as the akarmashes or 11 _mashas_, meaning that as twelve _mashas_ make a tola, a twelfth part of them is alloy. 6. social customs a man must not marry in his own clan or that of his mother. a sister's son may be married to a brother's daughter, but not vice versa. girls are commonly married between five and twelve years of age, and the ceremony resembles that of the kunbis. the bridegroom goes to the bride's house riding on horseback and covered with a black blanket when a girl first becomes mature, usually after marriage, the marathas perform the shantik ceremony. the girl is secluded for four days, after which she is bathed and puts on new clothes and dresses her hair and a feast is given to the caste-fellows. sometimes the bridegroom comes and is asked whether he has visited his wife before she became mature, and if he confesses that he has done so a small fine is imposed on him. such cases are, however, believed to be rare. the marathas proper forbid widow-marriage, but the lower groups allow it. if a maiden is seduced by one of the caste she may be married to him as if she were a widow, a fine being imposed on her family; but if she goes wrong with an outsider she is finally expelled. divorce is not ostensibly allowed but may be concluded by agreement between the parties. a wife who commits adultery is cast off and expelled from the caste. the caste burn their dead when they can afford it and perform the _shraddh_ ceremony in the month of _kunwar_ (september), when oblations are offered to the dead and a feast is given to the caste-fellows. sometimes a tomb is erected as a memorial to the dead, but without his name, and is surmounted usually by an image of mahadeo. the caste eat the flesh of clean animals and of fowls and wild pig, and drink liquor. their rules about food are liberal like those of the rajputs, a too great stringency being no doubt in both cases incompatible with the exigencies of military service. they make no difference between food cooked with or without water, and will accept either from a brahman, rajput, tirole kunbi, lingayat bania or phulmali. the marathas proper observe the _parda_ system with regard to their women, and will go to the well and draw water themselves rather than permit their wives to do so. the women wear ornaments only of gold or glass and not of silver or any baser metal. they are not permitted to spin cotton as being an occupation of the lower classes. the women are tattooed in the centre of the forehead with a device resembling a trident. the men commonly wear a turban made of many folds of cloth twisted into a narrow rope and large gold rings with pearls in the upper part of the ear. like the rajputs they often have their hair long and wear beards and whiskers. they assume the sacred thread and invest a boy with it when he is seven or eight years old or on his marriage. till then they let the hair grow on the front of his head, and when the thread ceremony is performed they cut this off and let the _choti_ or scalp-lock grow at the back. in appearance the men are often tall and well-built and of a light wheat-coloured complexion. 7. religion the principal deity of the marathas is khandoba, a warrior incarnation of mahadeo. he is supposed to have been born in a field of millet near poona and to have led the people against the muhammadans in early times. he had a watch-dog who warned him of the approach of his enemies, and he is named after the _khanda_ or sword which he always carried. in bombay [216] he is represented on horseback with two women, one of the bania caste, his wedded wife, in front of him, and another, a dhangarin, his kept mistress, behind. he is considered the tutelary deity of the maratha country, and his symbol is a bag of turmeric powder known as _bhandar_. the caste worship khandoba on sundays with rice, flowers and incense, and also on the 21st day of magh (january), which is called _champa sashthi_ and is his special festival. on this day they will catch hold of any dog, and after adorning him with flowers and turmeric give him a good feed and let him go again. the marathas are generally kind to dogs and will not injure them. at the dasahra festival the caste worship their horses and swords and go out into the field to see a blue-jay in memory of the fact that the maratha marauding expeditions started on dasahra. on coming back they distribute to each other leaves of the _shami_ tree (_bauhinia racemosa_) as a substitute for gold. it was formerly held to be fitting among the hindus that the warrior should ride a horse (geldings being unknown) and the zamindar or landowner a mare, as more suitable to a man of peace. the warriors celebrated their dasahra, and worshipped their horses on the tenth day of the light fortnight of _kunwar_ (september), while the cultivators held their festival and worshipped their mares on the ninth day. it is recorded that the great raghuji bhonsla, the first raja of nagpur, held his dasahra on the ninth day, in order to proclaim the fact that he was by family an agriculturist and only incidentally a man of arms. [217] 8. present position of the caste the marathas present the somewhat melancholy spectacle of an impoverished aristocratic class attempting to maintain some semblance of their former position, though they no longer have the means to do so. they flourished during two or three centuries of almost continuous war, and became a wealthy and powerful caste, but they find a difficulty in turning their hands to the arts of peace. sir r. craddock writes of them in nagpur: "among the marathas a large number represent connections of the bhonsla family, related by marriage or by illegitimate descent to that house. a considerable proportion of the government political pensioners are marathas. many of them own villages or hold tenant land, but as a rule they are extravagant in their living; and several of the old maratha nobility have fallen very much in the world. pensions diminish with each generation, but the expenditure shows no corresponding decrease. the sons are brought up to no employment and the daughters are married with lavish pomp and show. the native army does not much attract them, and but few are educated well enough for the dignified posts in the civil employ of government. it is a question whether their pride of race will give way before the necessity of earning their livelihood soon enough for them to maintain or regain some of their former position. otherwise those with the largest landed estates may be saved by the intervention of government, but the rest must gradually deteriorate till the dignities of their class have become a mere memory. the humbler members of the caste find their employment as petty contractors or traders, private servants, government peons, _sowars_ and hangers-on in the retinue of the more important families. "what [218] little display his means afford a maratha still tries to maintain. though he may be clad in rags at home, he has a spare dress which he himself washes and keeps with great care and puts on when he goes to pay a visit. he will hire a boy to attend him with a lantern at night, or to take care of his shoes when he goes to a friend's house and hold them before him when he comes out. well-to-do marathas have usually in their service a brahman clerk known as _divanji_ or minister, who often takes advantage of his master's want of education to defraud him. a maratha seldom rises early or goes out in the morning. he will get up at seven or eight o'clock, a late hour for a hindu, and attend to business if he has any or simply idle about chewing or smoking tobacco and talking till ten o'clock. he will then bathe and dress in a freshly-washed cloth and bow before the family gods which the priest has already worshipped. he will dine, chew betel and smoke tobacco and enjoy a short midday rest. rising at three, he will play cards, dice or chess, and in the evening will go out walking or riding or pay a visit to a friend. he will come back at eight or nine and go to bed at ten or eleven. but marathas who have estates to manage lead regular, fairly busy lives." 9. nature of the maratha insurrection sir d. ibbetson drew attention to the fact that the rising of the marathas against the muhammadans was almost the only instance in indian history of what might correctly be called a really national movement. in other cases, as that of the sikhs, though the essential motive was perhaps of the same nature, it was obscured by the fact that its ostensible tendency was religious. the _gurus_ of the sikhs did not call on their followers to fight for their country but for a new religion. this was only in accordance with the hindu intellect, to which the idea of nationality has hitherto been foreign, while its protests against both alien and domestic tyrannies tend to take the shape of a religious revolt. a similar tendency is observable even in the case of the marathas, for the rising was from its inception largely engineered by the maratha brahmans, who on its success hastened to annex for themselves a leading position in the new poona state. and it has been recorded that in calling his countrymen to arms, sivaji did not ask them to defend their hearths and homes or wives and children, but to rally for the protection of the sacred persons of brahmans and cows. 10. maratha women in past times although the marathas have now in imitation of the rajputs and muhammadans adopted the _parda_ system, this is not a native custom, and women have played quite an important part in their history. the women of the household have also exercised a considerable influence and their opinions are treated with respect by the men. several instances occur in which women of high rank have successfully acted as governors and administrators. in the bhonsla family the princess baka bai, widow of raghuji ii., is a conspicuous instance, while the famous or notorious rani of jhansi is another case of a maratha lady who led her troops in person, and was called the best man on the native side in the mutiny. 11. the maratha horseman this article may conclude with one or two extracts to give an idea of the way in which the maratha soldiery took the field. grant duff describes the troopers as follows: "the maratha horsemen are commonly dressed in a pair of light breeches covering the knee, a turban which many of them fasten by passing a fold of it under the chin, a frock of quilted cotton, and a cloth round the waist, with which they generally gird on their swords in preference to securing them with their belts. the horseman is armed with a sword and shield; a proportion in each body carry matchlocks, but the great national weapon is the spear, in the use of which and the management of their horse they evince both grace and dexterity. the spearmen have generally a sword, and sometimes a shield; but the latter is unwieldy and only carried in case the spear should be broken. the trained spearmen may always be known by their riding very long, the ball of the toe touching the stirrup; some of the matchlockmen and most of the brahmans ride very short and ungracefully. the bridle consists of a single headstall of cotton-rope, with a small but very severe flexible bit" 12. cavalry in the field the following account of the maratha cavalry is given in general hislop's _summary of the maratha and pindari campaigns_ of 1817-1819: "the marathas possess extraordinary skill in horsemanship, and so intimate an acquaintance with their horses, that they can make their animals do anything, even in full speed, in halting, wheeling, etc.; they likewise use the spear with remarkable dexterity, sometimes in full gallop, grasping their spears short and quickly sticking the point in the ground; still holding the handles, they turn their horse suddenly round it, thus performing on the point of a spear as on a pivot the same circle round and round again. their horses likewise never leave the particular class or body to which they belong; so that if the rider should be knocked off, away gallops the animal after its fellows, never separating itself from the main body. every maratha brings his own horse and his own arms with him to the field, and possibly in the interest they possess in this private equipment we shall find their usual shyness to expose themselves or even to make a bold vigorous attack. but if armies or troops could be frightened by appearances these horses of the marathas would dishearten the bravest, actually darkening the plains with their numbers and clouding the horizon with dust for miles and miles around. a little fighting, however, goes a great way with them, as with most others of the native powers in india." on this account the marathas were called _razah-bazan_ or lance-wielders. one muhammadan historian says: "they so use the lance that no cavalry can cope with them. some 20,000 or 30,000 lances are held up against their enemy so close together as not to leave a span between their heads. if horsemen try to ride them down the points of the spears are levelled at the assailants and they are unhorsed. while cavalry are charging them they strike their lances against each other and the noise so frightens the horses of the enemy that they turn round and bolt." [219] the battle-cries of the marathas were, '_har, har mahadeo_,' and '_gopal, gopal_.' [220] 13. military administration an interesting description of the internal administration of the maratha cavalry is contained in the letter on the marathas by colonel tone already quoted. but his account must refer to a period of declining efficiency and cannot represent the military system at its best: "in the great scale of rank and eminence which is one peculiar feature of hindu institutions the maratha holds a very inferior situation, being just removed one degree above those castes which are considered absolutely unclean. he is happily free from the rigorous observances as regards food which fetter the actions of the higher castes. he can eat of all kinds of food with the exception of beef; can dress his meal at all times and seasons; can partake of all victuals dressed by any caste superior to his own; washing and praying are not indispensable in his order and may be practised or omitted at pleasure. the three great tribes which compose the maratha caste are the kunbi or farmer, the dhangar or shepherd and the goala or cowherd; to this original cause may perhaps be ascribed that great simplicity of manner which distinguishes the maratha people. homer mentions princesses going in person to the fountain to wash their household linen. i can affirm having seen the daughters of a prince who was able to bring an army into the field much larger than the whole greek confederacy, making bread with their own hands and otherwise employed in the ordinary business of domestic housewifery. i have seen one of the most powerful chiefs of the empire, after a day of action, assisting in kindling a fire to keep himself warm during the night, and sitting on the ground on a spread saddle-cloth dictating to his secretaries. "the chief military force of the marathas consists in their cavalry, which may be divided into four distinct classes: first the khasi pagah or household forces of the prince; these are always a fine well-appointed body, the horses excellent, being the property of the sirkar, who gives a monthly allowance to each trooper of the value of about eight rupees. the second class are the cavalry furnished by the silladars, [221] who contract to supply a certain number of horse on specified terms, generally about rs. 35 a month, including the trooper's pay. the third and most numerous description are volunteers, who join the camp bringing with them their own horse and accoutrements; their pay is generally from rs. 40 to rs. 50 a month in proportion to the value of their horse. there is a fourth kind of native cavalry called pindaris, who are mere marauders, serve without any pay and subsist but by plunder, a fourth part of which they give to the sirkar; but these are so very licentious a body that they are not employed but in one or two of the maratha services. "the troops collected in this manner are under no discipline whatever and engage for no specific period, but quit the army whenever they please; with the exception of furnishing a picquet while in camp, they do no duty but in the day of battle. "the maratha cavalry is always irregularly and badly paid; the household troops scarcely ever receive money, but are furnished with a daily allowance of coarse flour and some other ingredients from the bazar which just enable them to exist. the silladar is very nearly as badly situated. in his arrangements with the state he has allotted to him a certain proportion of jungle where he pastures his cattle; here he and his family reside, and his sole occupation when not on actual service is increasing his pagah or troop by breeding out of his mares, of which the maratha cavalry almost entirely consist. there are no people in the world who understand the method of rearing and multiplying the breed of cattle equal to the marathas. it is by no means uncommon for a silladar to enter a service with one mare and in a few years be able to muster a very respectable pagah. they have many methods of rendering the animal prolific; they back their colts much earlier than we do and they are consequently more valuable as they come sooner on the effective strength. "when called upon for actual service the silladar is obliged to give muster. upon this occasion it is always necessary that the brahman who takes it should have a bribe; and indeed the hazri, as the muster is termed, is of such a nature that it could not pass by any fair or honourable means. not only any despicable _tattus_ are substituted in the place of horses but animals are borrowed to fill up the complement. heel-ropes and grain-bags are produced as belonging to cattle supposed to be at grass; in short every mode is practised to impose on the sirkar, which in turn reimburses itself by irregular and bad payments; for it is always considered if the silladars receive six months' arrears out of the year that they are exceedingly well paid. the volunteers who join the camp are still worse situated, as they have no collective force, and money is very seldom given in a maratha state without being extorted. in one word, the native cavalry are the worst-paid body of troops in the world. but there is another grand error in this mode of raising troops which is productive of the worst effects. every man in a maratha camp is totally independent; he is the proprietor of the horse he rides, which he is never inclined to risk, since without it he can get no service. this single circumstance destroys all enterprise and spirit in the soldier, whose sole business, instead of being desirous of distinguishing himself, is to keep out of the way of danger; for notwithstanding every horseman on entering a service has a certain value put upon his horse, yet should he lose it even in action he never receives any compensation or at least none proportioned to his loss. if at any time a silladar is disgusted with the service he can go away without meeting any molestation even though in the face of an enemy. in fact the pay is in general so shamefully irregular that a man is justified in resorting to any measure, however apparently unbecoming, to attain it. it is also another very curious circumstance attending this service that many great silladars have troops in the pay of two or three chiefs at the same time, who are frequently at open war with each other. 14. sitting dharna "to recover an arrear of pay there is but one known mode which is universally adopted in all native services, the mughal as well as the maratha; this is called dharna, [222] which consists in putting the debtor, be he who he will, into a state of restraint or imprisonment, until satisfaction be given or the money actually obtained. any person in the sirkar's service has a right to demand his pay of the prince or his minister, and to sit in dharna if it be not given; nor will he meet with the least hindrance in doing so; for none would obey an order that interfered with the dharna, as it is a common cause; nor does the soldier incur the slightest charge of mutiny for his conduct, or suffer in the smallest manner in the opinion of his chief, so universal is the custom. the dharna is sometimes carried to very violent lengths and may either be executed on the prince or his minister indifferently, with the same effect; as the chief always makes it a point of honour not to eat or drink while his diwan is in duress; sometimes the dharna lasts for many days, during which time the party upon whom it is exercised is not suffered to eat or drink or wash or pray, or in short is not permitted to move from the spot where he sits, which is frequently bare-headed in the sun, until the money or security be given; so general is this mode of recovery that i suppose the maratha chiefs may be said to be nearly one-half of their time in a state of dharna. 15. the infantry "in the various maratha services there are very little more than a bare majority who are marathas by caste, and very few instances occur of their ever entering into the infantry at all. the sepoys in the pay of the different princes are recruited in hindustan, and principally of the rajput and purbia caste; these are perhaps the finest race of men in the world for figure and appearance; of lofty stature, strong, graceful and athletic; of acute feelings, high military pride, quick, apprehensive, brave, prudent and economic; at the same time it must be confessed they are impatient of discipline, and naturally inclined to mutiny. they are mere soldiers of fortune and serve only for their pay. there are also a great number of musalmans who serve in the different maratha armies, some of whom have very great commands. 16. character of the maratha armies "the maratha cavalry at times make very long and rapid marches, in which they do not suffer themselves to be interrupted by the monsoon or any violence of weather. in very pressing exigencies it is incredible the fatigue a maratha horseman will endure; frequently many days pass without his enjoying one regular meal, but he depends entirely for subsistence on the different corn-fields through which the army passes: a few heads of juari, which he chafes in his hands while on horseback, will serve him for the day; his horse subsists on the same fare, and with the addition of opium, which the marathas frequently administer to their cattle, is enabled to perform incredible marches." the above analysis of the maratha troops indicates that their real character was that of freebooting cavalry, largely of the same type as, though no doubt greatly superior in tone and discipline to the pindaris. like them they lived by plundering the country. "the marathas," elphinstone remarked, "are excellent foragers. every morning at daybreak long lines of men on small horses and ponies are seen issuing from their camps in all directions, who return before night loaded with fodder for the cattle, with firewood torn down from houses, and grain dug up from the pits where it had been concealed by the villagers; while other detachments go to a distance for some days and collect proportionately larger supplies of the same kind." [223] they could thus dispense with a commissariat, and being nearly all mounted were able to make extraordinarily long marches, and consequently to carry out effectively surprise attacks and when repulsed to escape injury in the retreat. even at panipat where their largest regular force took the field under sadasheo rao bhao, he had 70,000 regular and irregular cavalry and only 15,000 infantry, of whom 9000 were hired sepoys under a muhammadan leader. the marathas were at their best in attacking the slow-moving and effeminate mughal armies, while during their period of national ascendancy under the peshwa there was no strong military power in india which could oppose their forays. when they were by the skill of their opponents at length brought to a set battle, their fighting qualities usually proved to be distinctly poor. at panipat they lost the day by a sudden panic and flight after ibrahim khan gardi had obtained for them a decided advantage; while at argaon and assaye their performances were contemptible. after the recovery from panipat and the rise of the independent maratha states, the assistance of european officers was invoked to discipline and train the soldiery. [224] mehtar [_bibliography_: mr. r. greeven's _knights of the broom, benares_ 1894 (pamphlet); mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. bhangi; sir h. risley's _tribes and castes_, art. hari; sir e. maclagan's _punjab census report_, 1891 (sweeper sects); sir d. ibbetson's _punjab census report_, 1881 (art. chuhra); _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat_, mr. bhimbhai kirparam.] list of paragraphs 1. _introductory notice_. 2. _caste subdivisions_. 3. _social organisation_. 4. _caste punishments_. 5. _admission of outsiders_. 6. _marriage customs_. 7. _disposal of the dead_. 8. _devices for procuring children_. 9. _divination of sex_. 10. _childbirth_. 11. _treatment of the mother_. 12. _protecting the lives of children_. 13. _infantile diseases_. 14. _religion. valmiki_. 15. _lalbeg_. 16. _adoption of foreign religions_. 17. _social status_. 18. _occupation_. 19. _occupation_ (_continued_). 1. introductory notice _mehtar, bhangi, hari, [225] dom, lalbegi._--the caste of sweepers and scavengers. in 1911 persons returning themselves as mehtar, bhangi and dom were separately classified, and the total of all three was only 30,000. in this province they generally confine themselves to their hereditary occupation of scavenging, and are rarely met with outside the towns and large villages. in most localities the supply of sweepers does not meet the demand. the case is quite different in northern india, where the sweeper castes--the chuhra in the punjab, the bhangi in the united provinces and the dom in bengal--are all of them of great numerical strength. with these castes only a small proportion are employed on scavengers' work and the rest are labourers like the chamars and mahars of the central provinces. the present sweeper caste is made up of diverse elements, and the name mehtar, generally applied to it, is a title meaning a prince or leader. its application to the caste, the most abject and despised in the hindu community, is perhaps partly ironical; but all the low castes have honorific titles, which are used as a method of address either from ordinary politeness or by those requiring some service, on the principle, as the hindus say, that you may call an ass your uncle if you want him to do something for you. the regular caste of sweepers in northern india are the bhangis, whose name is derived by mr. crooke from the sanskrit _bhanga,_ hemp, in allusion to the drunken habits of the caste. in support of this derivation he advances the beria custom of calling their leaders bhangi or hemp-drinker as a title of honour. [226] in mr. greeven's account also, lalbeg, the patron saint of the sweepers, is described as intoxicated with the hemp drug on two occasions. [227] mr. bhimbhai kirparam suggests [228] that bhangia means broken, and is applied to the sweepers because they split bamboos. in kaira, he states, the regular trade of the bhangias is the plaiting of baskets and other articles of split bamboo, and in that part of gujarat if a koli is asked to split a bamboo he will say, 'am i to do bhangia's work?' the derivation from the hemp-plant is, however, the more probable. in the punjab, sweepers are known as chuhra, and this, name has been derived from their business of collecting and sweeping up scraps (_chura-jharna_) similarly, in bombay they are known as olganas or scrap-eaters. the bengal name hari is supposed to come from _haddi_, a bone; the hari is the bone-gatherer, and was familiar to early settlers of calcutta under the quaint designation of the 'harry-wench,' [229] in the central provinces sections of the ghasia, mahar and dom castes will do sweepers' work, and are therefore amalgamated with the mehtars. the caste is thus of mixed constitution, and also forms a refuge for persons expelled from their own societies for social offences. but though called by different names, the sweeper community in most provinces appears to have the same stock of traditions and legends. the name of mehtar is now generally employed, and has therefore been taken as the designation of the caste. 2. caste subdivisions mr. greeven gives seven main subdivisions, of which the lalbegis or the followers of lalbeg, the patron saint of sweepers, are the most important. the rawats appear to be an aristocratic subdivision of the lalbegis, their name being a corruption of the sanskrit rajputra, a prince. the shaikh mehtars are the only real muhammadan branch, for though the lalbegis worship a musalman saint they remain hindus. the haris or bone-gatherers, as already stated, are the sweepers of bengal. the helas may either be those who carry baskets of sweepings, or may derive their name from _hela_, a cry; and in that case they are so called as performing the office of town-criers, a function which the bhangi usually still discharges in northern india [230]. the other subcastes in his list are the dhanuks or bowmen and the bansphors or cleavers of bamboos. in the central provinces the shaikh mehtars belong principally to nagpur, and another subcaste, the makhia, is also found in the maratha districts and in berar; those branches of the ghasia and dom castes who consent to do scavengers' work now form separate subcastes of mehtars in the same locality, and another group are called narnolia, being said to take their name from a place called narnol in the punjab. the lalbegis are often considered here as muhammadans rather than hindus, and bury their dead. in saugor the sweepers are said to be divided into lalbegis or muhammadans and doms or hindus. the lalbegi, dom or dumar and the hela are the principal subcastes of the north of the province, and chuhra mehtars are found in chhattisgarh. each subcaste is divided into a number of exogamous sections named after plants and animals. 3. social organisation in benares each subdivision, mr. greeven states, has an elaborate and quasi-military organisation. thus the lalbegi sweepers have eight companies or _berhas_, consisting of the sweepers working in different localities; these are the sadar, or those employed by private residents in cantonments; the kali paltan, who serve the bengal infantry; the lal kurti, or red-coats, who are employed by the british infantry; the teshan (station), or those engaged at the three railway stations of the town; the shahar, or those of the city; the ramnagar, taking their name from the residence of the maharaja of benares, whom they serve; the kothiwal, or bungalow men, who belong to residents in the civil lines; and lastly the genereli, who are the descendants of sweepers employed at the military headquarters when benares was commanded by a general of division. this special organisation is obviously copied from that of the garrison and is not found in other localities, but deserves mention for its own interest. all the eight companies are commanded by a brigadier, the local head of the caste, whose office is now almost hereditary; his principal duty is to give two dinners to the whole caste on election, with sweetmeats to the value of fourteen rupees. each company has four officers--a jamadar or president, a munsif or spokesman, a chaudhari or treasurer and a naib or summoner. these offices are also practically hereditary, if the candidate entitled by birth can afford to give a dinner to the whole subcaste and a turban to each president of a company. all the other members of the company are designated as sipahis or soldiers. a caste dispute is first considered by the inferior officers of each company, who report their view to the president; he confers with the other presidents, and when an agreement has been reached the sentence is formally confirmed by the brigadier. when any dispute arises, the aggrieved party, depositing a process-fee of a rupee and a quarter, addresses the officers of his company. unless the question is so trivial that it can be settled without caste punishments, the president fixes a time and place, of which notice is given to the messengers of the other companies; each of these receives a fee of one and a quarter annas and informs all the sipahis in his company. 4. caste punishments only worthy members of the caste, mr. greeven continues, are allowed to sit on the tribal matting and smoke the tribal pipe (huqqa). the proceedings begin with the outspreading (usually symbolic) of a carpet and the smoking of a water-pipe handed in turn to each clansman. for this purpose the members sit on the carpet in three lines, the officers in front and the private soldiers behind. the parties and their witnesses are heard and examined, and a decision is pronounced. the punishments imposed consist of fines, compulsory dinners and expulsion from the caste; expulsion being inflicted for failure to comply with an order of fine or entertainment. the formal method of outcasting consists in seating the culprit on the ground and drawing the tribal mat over his head, from which the turban is removed; after this the messengers of the eight companies inflict a few taps with slippers and birch brooms. it is alleged that unfaithful women were formerly tied naked to trees and flogged with birch brooms, but that owing to the fatal results that occasionally followed such punishment, as in the case of the five kicks among chamars (tanners) and the scourging with the clothes line which used to prevail among dhobis (washer men), the caste has now found it expedient to abandon these practices. when an outcaste is readmitted on submission, whether by paying a fine or giving a dinner, he is seated apart from the tribal mat and does penance by holding his ears with his hands and confessing his offence. a new huqqa, which he supplies, is carried round by the messenger, and a few whiffs are taken by all the officers and sipahis in turn. the messenger repeats to the culprit the council's order, and informs him that should he again offend his punishment will be doubled. with this warning he hands him the water-pipe, and after smoking this the offender is admitted to the carpet and all is forgotten in a banquet at his expense. 5. admission of outsiders the sweepers will freely admit outsiders into their community, and the caste forms a refuge for persons expelled from their own societies for sexual or moral offences. various methods are employed for the initiation of a neophyte; in some places he, or more frequently she, is beaten with a broom made of wood taken from a bier, and has to give a feast to the caste; in others a slight wound is made in his body and the blood of another sweeper is allowed to flow on to it so that they mix; and a glass of sherbet and sugar, known as the cup of nectar, is prepared by the priest and all the members of the committee put their fingers into it, after which it is given to the candidate to drink; or he has to drink water mixed with cowdung into which the caste-people have dipped their little fingers, and a lock of his hair is cut off. or he fasts all day at the shrine of lalbeg and in the evening drinks sherbet after burning incense at the shrine; and gives three feasts, the first on the bank of a tank, the second in his courtyard and the third in his house, representing his gradual purification for membership; at this last he puts a little water into every man's cup and receives from him a piece of bread, and so becomes a fully qualified caste-man. owing to this reinforcement from higher castes, and perhaps also to their flesh diet, the sweepers are not infrequently taller and stronger as well as lighter in colour than the average hindu. 6. marriage customs the marriage ceremony in the central provinces follows the ordinary hindu ritual. the _lagan_ or paper fixing the date of the wedding is written by a brahman, who seats himself at some distance from the sweeper's house and composes the letter. this paper must not be seen by the bride or bridegroom, nor may its contents be read to them, as it is believed that to do so would cause them to fall ill during the ceremony. before the bridegroom starts for the wedding his mother waves a wooden pestle five times over his head, passing it between his legs and shoulders. after this the bridegroom breaks two lamp-saucers with his right foot, steps over the rice-pounder and departs for the bride's house without looking behind him. the _sawasas_ or relatives of the parties usually officiate at the ceremony, but the well-to-do sometimes engage a brahman, who sits at a distance from the house and calls out his instructions. when a man wishes to marry a widow he must pay six rupees to the caste committee and give a feast to the community. divorce is permitted for incompatibility of temper, or immorality on the part of the wife, or if the husband suffers from leprosy or impotence. among the lalbegis, when a man wishes to get rid of his wife he assembles the brethren and in their presence says to her, 'you are as my sister,' and she answers, 'you are as my father and brother.' [231] 7. disposal of the dead the dead are usually buried, but the well-to-do sometimes cremate them. in benares the face or hand of the corpse is scorched with fire to symbolise cremation and it is then buried. in the punjab the ghosts of sweepers are considered to be malevolent and are much dreaded; and their bodies are therefore always buried or burnt face downwards to prevent the spirit escaping; and riots have taken place and the magistrates have been appealed to to prevent a chuhra from being buried face upwards. [232] in benares as the body is lowered into the grave the sheet is withdrawn for a moment from the features of the departed to afford him one last glimpse of the heavens, while with muhammadans the face is turned towards mecca. each clansman flings a handful of dust over the corpse, and after the earth is filled in crumbles a little bread and sugar-cake and sprinkles water upon the grave. a provision of bread, sweetmeats and water is also left upon it for the soul of the departed. [233] in the central provinces the body of a man is covered with a white winding-sheet and that of a woman with a red one. if the death occurs during the lunar conjunction known as panchak, four human images of flour are made and buried with the dead man, as they think that if this is not done four more deaths will occur in the family. 8. devices for procuring children if a woman greatly desires a child she will go to a shrine and lay a stone on it which she calls the _dharna_ or deposit or pledge. then she thinks that she has put the god under an obligation to give her a child. she vows that if she becomes pregnant within a certain period, six or nine months, she will make an offering of a certain value. if the pregnancy comes she goes to the temple, makes the offering and removes the stone. if the desired result does not happen, however, she considers that the god has broken his obligation and ceases to worship him. if a barren woman desires a child she should steal on a sunday or a wednesday a strip from the body-cloth of a fertile woman when it is hung out to dry; or she may steal a piece of rope from the bed in which a woman has been delivered of a child, or a piece of the baby's soiled swaddling clothes or a piece of cloth stained with the blood of a fertile woman. this last she will take and bury in a cemetery and the others wear round her waist; then she will become fertile and the fertile woman will become barren. another device is to obtain from the midwife a piece of the navel-string of a newborn child and swallow it. for this reason the navel-string is always carefully guarded and its disposal seen to. 9. divination of sex if a pregnant woman is thin and ailing they think a boy will be born; but if fat and well that it will be a girl. in order to divine the sex of a coming child they pour a little oil on the stomach of the woman; if the oil flows straight down it is thought that a boy will be born and if crooked a girl. similarly if the hair on the front of her body grows straight they think the child will be a boy, but if crooked a girl; and if the swelling of pregnancy is more apparent on the right side a boy is portended, but if on the left side a girl. if delivery is retarded they go to a gunmaker and obtain from him a gun which has been discharged and the soiling of the barrel left uncleaned; some water is put into the barrel and shaken up and then poured into a vessel and given to the woman to drink, and it is thought that the quality of swift movement appertaining to the bullet which soiled the barrel will be communicated to the woman and cause the swift expulsion of the child from her womb. 10. childbirth when a woman is in labour she squats down with her legs apart holding to the bed in front of her, while the midwife rubs her back. if delivery is retarded the midwife gets a broom and sitting behind the woman presses it on her stomach, at the same time drawing back the upper part of her body. by this means they think the child will be forced from the womb. or the mother of the woman in labour will take a grinding-stone and stand holding it on her head so long as the child is not born. she says to her daughter, 'take my name,' and the daughter repeats her mother's name aloud. here the idea is apparently that the mother takes on herself some of the pain which has to be endured by the daughter, and the repetition of her name by the daughter will cause the goddess of childbirth to hasten the period of delivery in order to terminate the unjust sufferings of the mother for which the goddess has become responsible. the mother's name exerts pressure or influence on the goddess who is at the time occupied with the daughter or perhaps sojourning in her body. 11. treatment of the mother if a child is born in the morning they will give the mother a little sugar and cocoanut to eat in the evening, but if it is born in the evening they will give her nothing till next morning. milk is given only sparingly as it is supposed to produce coughing. the main idea of treatment in childbirth is to prevent either the mother or child from taking cold or chill, this being the principal danger to which they are thought to be exposed. the door of the birth chamber is therefore kept shut and a fire is continually burning in it night and day. the woman is not bathed for several days, and the atmosphere and general insanitary conditions can better be imagined than described. with the same end of preventing cold they feed the mother on a hot liquid produced by cooking thirty-six ingredients together. most of these are considered to have the quality of producing heat or warmth in the body, and the following are a few of them: pepper, ginger, _azgan_ (a condiment), turmeric, nutmeg, _ajwain_ (aniseed), dates, almonds, raisins, cocoanut, wild _singara_ or water-nut, cumin, _chironji_, [234] the gum of the _babul_ [235] or _khair_, [236] asafoetida, borax, saffron, clarified butter and sugar. the mixture cannot be prepared for less than two rupees and the woman is fed on it for five days beginning from the second day after birth, if the family can afford the expense. 12. protecting the lives of children if the mother's milk runs dry, they use the dried bodies of the little fish caught in the shallow water of fields and tanks, and sometimes supposed to have fallen down with the rain. they are boiled in a little water and the fish and water are given to the woman to consume. here the idea is apparently that as the fish has the quality of liquidness because it lives in water, so by eating it this will be communicated to the breasts and the milk will flow again. if a woman's children die, then the next time she is in labour they bring a goat all of one colour. when the birth of the child takes place and it falls from the womb on to the ground no one must touch it, but the goat, which should if possible be of the same sex as the child, is taken and passed over the child twenty-one times. then they take the goat and the after-birth to a cemetery and here cut the goat's throat by the _halal_ rite and bury it with the after-birth. the idea is thus that the goat's life is a substitute for that of the child. by being passed over the child it takes the child's evil destiny upon itself, and the burial in a cemetery causes the goat to resemble a human being, while the after-birth communicates to it some part of the life of the child. if a mother is afraid her child will die, she sells it for a few cowries to another woman. of course the sale is only nominal, but the woman who has purchased the child takes a special interest in it, and at the naming or other ceremony she will give it a jewel or such other present as she can afford. thus she considers that the fictitious sale has had some effect and that she has acquired a certain interest in the child. 13. infantile diseases if a baby, especially a girl, has much hair on its body, they make a cake of gram-flour and rub it with sesamum oil all over the body, and this is supposed to remove the hair. if a child's skin dries up and it pines away, they think that an owl has taken away a cloth stained by the child when it was hung out to dry. the remedy is to obtain the liver of an owl and hang it round the child's neck. for jaundice they get the flesh of a yellow snake which appears in the rains, and of the _rohu_ fish which has yellowish scales, and hang them to its neck; or they get a verse of the koran written out by a maulvi or muhammadan priest and use this as an amulet; or they catch a small frog alive, tie it up in a yellow cloth and hang it to the child's neck by a blue thread until it dies. for tetanus the jaws are branded outside and a little musk is placed on the mother's breast so that the child may drink it with the milk. when the child begins to cut its teeth they put honey on the gums and think that this will make the teeth slip out early as the honey is smooth and slippery. but as the child licks the gums when the honey is on them they fear that this may cause the teeth to grow broad and crooked like the tongue. another device is to pass a piece of gold round the child's gums. if they want the child to have pretty teeth its maternal uncle threads a number of grains of rice on a piece of string and hangs them round its neck, so that the teeth may grow like the rice. if the child's navel is swollen, the maternal uncle will go out for a walk and on his return place his turban over the navel. for averting the evil eye the liver of the indian badger is worn in an amulet, this badger being supposed to haunt cemeteries and feed on corpses; some hairs of a bear also form a very favourite amulet, or a tiger's claws set in silver, or the tail of a lizard enclosed in lac and made into a ring. 14. religion. valmiki the religion of the sweepers has been described at length by mr. greeven and mr. crooke. it centres round the worship of two saints, lalbeg or bale shah and balnek or balmik, who is really the huntsman valmiki, the reputed author of the ramayana. balmik was originally a low-caste hunter called ratnakar, and when he could not get game he was accustomed to rob and kill travellers. but one day he met brahma and wished to kill him; but he could not raise his club against brahma, and the god spoke and convinced him of his sins, directing him to repeat the name of rama until he should be purified of them. but the hunter's heart was so evil that he could not pronounce the divine name, and instead he repeated '_mara, mara_' (_struck, struck_), but in the end by repetition this came to the same thing. mr. greeven's account continues: "as a small spark of fire burneth up a heap of cotton, so the word rama cleaneth a man of all his sins. so the words 'ram, ram,' were taught unto ratnakar who ever repeated them for sixty thousand years at the self-same spot with a heart sincere. all his skin was eaten up by the white ants. only the skeleton remained. mud had been heaped over the body and grass had grown up, yet within the mound of mud the saint was still repeating the name of rama. after sixty thousand years brahma returned. no man could he see, yet he heard the voice of ram, ram, rising from the mound of mud. then brahma bethought him that the saint was beneath. he besought indra to pour down rain and to wash away the mud. indra complied with his request and the rain washed away the mud. the saint came forth. nought save bones remained. brahma called aloud to the saint. when the saint beheld him he prostrated himself and spake: 'thou hast taught me the words "ram, ram," which have cleansed away all my sins.' then spake brahma: 'hitherto thou wast ratnakar. from to-day thy name shall be valmiki (from _valmik_, an ant-hill). now do thou compose a ramayana in seven parts, containing the deeds and exploits of rama.'" valmiki had been or afterwards became a sweeper and was known as 'cooker of dog's food' (swapach), a name applied to sweepers [237], who have adopted him as their eponymous ancestor and patron saint. 15. lalbeg lalbeg, who is still more widely venerated, is considered to have been ghazi miyan, the nephew of sultan muhammad of ghazni, and a saint much worshipped in the punjab. many legends are told of lalbeg, and his worship is described by mr. greeven as follows: [238] "the ritual of lalbeg is conducted in the presence of the whole brotherhood, as a rule at the festival of the diwali and on other occasions when special business arises. the time for worship is after sunset and if possible at midnight. his shrine consists of a mud platform surrounded by steps, with four little turrets at the corners and a spire in the centre, in which is placed a lamp filled with clarified butter and containing a wick of twisted tow. incense is thrown into the flame and offerings of cakes and sweetmeats are made. a lighted huqqa is placed before the altar and as soon as the smoke rises it is understood that a whiff has been drawn by the hero." a cock is offered to lalbeg at the dasahra festival. when a man is believed to have been affected by the evil eye they wave a broom in front of the sufferer muttering the name of the saint. in the damoh district the _guru_ or priest who is the successor of lalbeg comes from the punjab every year or two. he is richly clad and is followed by a sweeper carrying an umbrella. other hindus say that his teaching is that no one who is not a lalbegi can go to heaven, but those on whom the dust raised by a lalbegi sweeping settles acquire some modicum of virtue. similarly mr. greeven remarks: [239] "sweepers by no means endorse the humble opinion entertained with respect to them; for they allude to castes such as kunbis and chamars as petty (_chhota_), while a common anecdote is related to the effect that a lalbegi, when asked whether muhammadans could obtain salvation, replied: 'i never heard of it, but perhaps they might slip in behind lalbeg.'" 16. adoption of foreign religions on the whole the religion of the lalbegis appears to be monotheistic and of a sufficiently elevated character, resembling that of the kabirpanthis and other reforming sects. its claim to the exclusive possession of the way of salvation is a method of revolt against the menial and debased position of the caste. similarly many sweepers have become muhammadans and sikhs with the same end in view, as stated by mr. greeven: [240] "as may be readily imagined, the scavengers are merely in name the disciples of nanak shah, professing in fact to be his followers just as they are prepared at a moment's notice to become christians or muhammadans. their object is, of course, merely to acquire a status which may elevate them above the utter degradation of their caste. the acquaintance of most of them with the doctrines of nanak shah is at zero. they know little and care less about his rules of life, habitually disregarding, for instance, the prohibitions against smoking and hair-cutting. in fact, a scavenger at benares no more becomes a sikh by taking nanak shah's motto than he becomes a christian by wearing a round hat and a pair of trousers." it was probably with a similar leaning towards the more liberal religion that the lalbegis, though themselves hindus, adopted a muhammadan for their tutelary saint. in the punjab muhammadan sweepers who have given up eating carrion and refuse to remove night-soil rank higher than the others, and are known as musalli. [241] and in saugor the muhammadans allow the sweepers to come into a mosque and to stand at the back, whereas, of course, they cannot approach a hindu temple. again in bengal it is stated, "the dom is regarded with both disgust and fear by all classes of hindus, not only on account of his habits being abhorrent and abominable, but also because he is believed to have no humane or kindly feelings"; and further, "it is universally believed that doms do not bury or burn their dead, but dismember the corpse at night like the inhabitants of thibet, placing the fragments in a pot and sinking them in the nearest river or reservoir. this horrid idea probably originated from the old hindu law, which compelled the doms to bury their dead at night." [242] it is not astonishing that the sweepers prefer a religion whose followers will treat them somewhat more kindly. another muhammadan saint revered by the sweepers of saugor is one zahir pir. at the fasts in chait and kunwar (march and september) they tie cocoanuts wrapped in cloth to the top of a long bamboo, and marching to the tomb of zahir pir make offerings of cakes and sweetmeats. before starting for his day's work the sweeper does obeisance to his basket and broom. 17. social status the sweeper stands at the very bottom of the social ladder of hinduism. he is considered to be the representative of the chandala of manu, [243] who was said to be descended of a sudra father and a brahman woman. "it was ordained that the chandala should live without the town; his sole wealth should be dogs and asses; his clothes should consist of the cerecloths of the dead; his dishes should be broken pots and his ornaments rusty iron. no one who regarded his duties should hold intercourse with the chandalas and they should marry only among themselves. by day they might roam about for the purposes of work, but should be distinguished by the badges of the raja, and should carry out the corpse of any one who died without kindred. they should always be employed to slay those who by the law were sentenced to be put to death, and they might take the clothes of the slain, their beds and their ornaments." elsewhere the chandala is said to rank in impurity with the town boar, the dog, a woman during her monthly illness and a eunuch, none of whom must a brahman allow to see him when eating. [244] like the chandala, the sweeper cannot be touched, and he himself acquiesces in this and walks apart. in large towns he sometimes carries a kite's wing in his turban to show his caste, or goes aloof saying _pois_, which is equivalent to a warning. when the sweeper is in company he will efface himself as far as possible behind other people. he is known by his basket and broom, and men of other castes will not carry these articles lest they should be mistaken for a sweeper. the sweeper's broom is made of bamboo, whereas the ordinary house-broom is made of date-palm leaves. the house-broom is considered sacred as the implement of lakshmi used in cleaning the house. no one should tread upon or touch it with his foot. the sweeper's broom is a powerful agent for curing the evil eye, and mothers get him to come and wave it up and down in front of a sick child for this purpose. nevertheless it is lucky to see a sweeper in the morning, especially if he has his basket with him. in gujarat mr. bhimbhai kirparam writes of him: "though he is held to be lower and more unclean, the bhangia is viewed with kindlier feelings than the dhed (mahar). to meet the basket-bearing bhangia is lucky, and the bhangia's blessing is valued. even now if a government officer goes into a bhangia hamlet the men with hands raised in blessing say: 'may your rule last for ever.'" a sweeper will eat the leavings of other people, but he will not eat in their houses; he will take the food away to his own house. it is related that on one occasion a sweeper accompanied a marriage party of lodhis (cultivators), and the lodhi who was the host was anxious that all should share his hospitality and asked the sweeper to eat in his house; [245] but he repeatedly refused, until finally the lodhi gave him a she-buffalo to induce him to eat, so that it might not be said that any one had declined to share in his feast. no other caste, of course, will accept food or water from a sweeper, and only a chamar (tanner) will take a _chilam_ or clay pipe-bowl from his hand. the sweeper will eat carrion and the flesh of almost all animals, including snakes, lizards, crocodiles and tigers, and also the leavings of food of almost any caste. mr. greeven remarks: [246] "only lalbegis and rawats eat food left by europeans, but all eat food left either by hindus or muhammadans; the sheikh mehtars as muhammadans alone are circumcised and reject pig's flesh. each subcaste eats uncooked food with all the others, but cooked food alone." from betul it is reported that the mehtars there will not accept food, water or tobacco from a kayasth, and will not allow one to enter their houses. 18. occupation sweeping and scavenging in the streets and in private houses are the traditional occupations of the caste, but they have others. in bombay they serve as night watchmen, town-criers, drummers, trumpeters and hangmen. formerly the office of hangman was confined to sweepers, but now many low-caste prisoners are willing to undertake it for the sake of the privilege of smoking tobacco in jail which it confers. in mirzapur when a dom hangman is tying a rope round the neck of a criminal he shouts out, '_dohai maharani, dohai sarkar, dohai judge sahib_,' or 'hail great queen! hail government! hail judge sahib!' in order to shelter himself under their authority and escape any guilt attaching to the death. [247] in the central provinces the hangman was accompanied by four or five other sweepers of the caste _panchayat_ the idea being perhaps that his act should be condoned by their presence and approval and he should escape guilt. in order to free the executioner from blame the prisoner would also say: "_dohai sarkar ke, dohai kampani ke; jaisa maine khun kiya waisa apne khun ko pahunchha_" or "hail to the government and the company; since i caused the death of another, now i am come to my own death"; and all the _panches_ said, '_ram, ram_.' the hangman received ten rupees as his fee, and of this five rupees were given to the caste for a feast and an offering to lalbeg to expiate his sin. in bundelkhand sweepers are employed as grooms by the lodhis, and may put everything on to the horse except a saddle-cloth. they are also the village musicians, and some of them play on the rustic flute called _shahnai_ at weddings, and receive their food all the time that the ceremony lasts. sweepers are, as a rule, to be found only in large villages, as in small ones there is no work for them. the caste is none too numerous in the central provinces, and in villages the sweeper is often not available when wanted for cleaning the streets. the chamars of bundelkhand will not remove the corpses of a cat or a dog or a squirrel, and a sweeper must be obtained for the purpose. these three animals are in a manner holy, and it is considered a sin to kill any one of them. but their corpses are unclean. a chamar also refuses to touch the corpse of a donkey, but a kumhar (potter) will sometimes do this; if he declines a sweeper must be fetched. when a sweeper has to enter a house in order to take out the body of an animal, it is cleaned and whitewashed after he has been in. in hoshangabad an objection appears to be felt to the entry of a sweeper by the door, as it is stated that a ladder is placed for him, so that he presumably climbs through a window. or where there are no windows it is possible that the ladder may protect the sacred threshold from contact with his feet. the sweeper also attends at funerals and assists to prepare the pyre; he receives the winding-sheet when this is not burnt or buried with the corpse, and the copper coins which are left on the ground as purchase-money for the site of the grave. in bombay in rich families the winding-sheet is often a worked shawl costing from fifty to a hundred rupees. [248] when a hindu widow breaks her bangles after her husband's death, she gives them, including one or two whole ones, to a bhangia woman. [249] a letter announcing a death is always carried by a sweeper. [250] in bengal a funeral could not be held without the presence of a dom, whose functions are described by mr. sherring [251] as follows: "on the arrival of the dead body at the place of cremation, which in benares is at the basis of one of the steep stairs or _ghats_, called the burning-ghat, leading down from the streets above to the bed of the river ganges, the dom supplies five logs of wood, which he lays in order upon the ground, the rest of the wood being given by the family of the deceased. when the pile is ready for burning a handful of lighted straw is brought by the dom, and is taken from him and applied by one of the chief members of the family to the wood. the dom is the only person who can furnish the light for the purpose; and if for any reason no dom is available, great delay and inconvenience are apt to arise. the dom exacts his fee for three things, namely, first for the five logs, secondly for the bunch of straw, and thirdly for the light." 19. occupation (continued) during an eclipse the sweepers reap a good harvest; for it is believed that rahu, the demon who devours the sun and moon and thus causes an eclipse, was either a sweeper or the deity of the sweepers, and alms given to them at this time will appease him and cause him to let the luminaries go. or, according to another account, the sun and moon are in rahu's debt, and he comes and duns them, and this is the eclipse; and the alms given to sweepers are a means of paying the debt. in gujarat as soon as the darkening sets in the bhangis go about shouting, '_garhandan, vastradan, rupadan_,' or 'gifts for the eclipse, gifts of clothes, gifts of silver.' [252] the sweepers are no doubt derived from the primitive or dravidian tribes, and, as has been seen, they also practise the art of making bamboo mats and baskets, being known as bansphor in bombay on this account. in the punjab the chuhras are a very numerous caste, being exceeded only by the jats, rajputs and brahmans. only a small proportion of them naturally find employment as scavengers, and the remainder are agricultural labourers, and together with the vagrants and gipsies are the hereditary workers in grass and reeds. [253] they are closely connected with the dhanuks, a caste of hunters, fowlers and village watchmen, being of nearly the same status. [254] and dhanuk, again, is in some localities a complimentary term for a basor or bamboo-worker. it has been seen that valmiki, the patron saint of the sweepers, was a low-caste hunter, and this gives some reason for the supposition that the primary occupations of the chuhras and bhangis were hunting and working in grass and bamboo. in one of the legends of the sweeper saint balmik or valmiki given by mr. greeven, [255] balmik was the youngest of the five pandava brothers, and was persuaded by the others to remove the body of a calf which had died in their courtyard. but after he had done so they refused to touch him, so he went into the wilderness with the body; and when he did not know how to feed himself the carcase started into life and gave him milk until he was full grown, when it died again of its own accord. balmik burst into tears, not knowing how he was to live henceforward, but a voice cried from heaven saying, "of the sinews (of the calf's body) do thou tie winnows (_sup_), and of the caul do thou plait sieves (_chalni_)." balmik obeyed, and by his handiwork gained the name of supaj or the maker of winnowing-fans. these are natural occupations of the non-aryan forest tribes, and are now practised by the gonds. meo _meo, mewati._--the muhammadan branch of the mina tribe belonging to the country of mewat in rajputana which is comprised in the alwar, bharatpur and jaipur states and the british district of gurgaon. a few meos were returned from the hoshangabad and nimar districts in 1911, but it is doubtful whether any are settled here, as they may be wandering criminals. the origin of the meo is discussed in the article on the mina tribe, but some interesting remarks on them by mr. channing and major powlett in the _rajputana gazetteer_ may be reproduced here. mr. channing writes: [256] "the tribe, which has been known in hindustan according to the kutub tawarikh for 850 years, was originally hindu and became muhammadan. their origin is obscure. they themselves claim descent from the rajput races of jadon, kachhwaha and tuar, and they may possibly have some rajput blood in their veins; but they are probably, like many other similar tribes, a combination from ruling and other various stocks and sources, and there is reason to believe them very nearly allied with the minas, who are certainly a tribe of the same structure and species. the meos have twelve clans or _pals_, the first six of which are identical in name and claim the same descent as the first six clans of the minas. intermarriage between them both was the rule until the time of akbar, when owing to an affray at the marriage of a meo with a mina the custom was discontinued. finally, their mode of life is or was similar, as both tribes were once notoriously predatory. it is probable that the original meos were supplemented by converts to islam from other castes. it is said that the tribe were conquered and converted in the eleventh century by masud, son of amir salar and grandson of sultan mahmud subaktagin on the mother's side, the general of the forces of mahmud of ghazni. masud is still venerated by the meos, and they swear by his name. they have a mixture of hindu and muhammadan customs. they practise circumcision, _nikah_ [257] and the burial of the dead. they make pilgrimages to the tomb of masud in bahraich in oudh, and consider the oath taken on his banner the most binding. they also make pilgrimages to muhammadan shrines in india, but never perform the _haj_. of hindu customs they observe the holi or diwali; their marriages are never arranged in the same _got_ or sept; and they permit daughters to inherit. they call their children indiscriminately by both muhammadan and hindu names. they are almost entirely uneducated, but have bards and musicians to whom they make large presents. these sing songs known as ratwai, which are commonly on pastoral and agricultural subjects. the meos are given to the use of intoxicating drinks, and are very superstitious and have great faith in omens. the dress of the men and women resembles that of the hindus. infanticide was formerly common among them, but it is said to have entirely died out. they were also formerly robbers by avocation; and though they have improved they are still noted cattle-lifters." in another description of them by major powlett it is stated that, besides worshipping hindu gods and keeping hindu festivals, they employ a brahman to write the pili chhitthi or yellow note fixing the date of a marriage. they call themselves by hindu names with the exception of ram; and singh is a frequent affix, though not so common as khan. on the amawas or monthly conjunction of the sun and moon, meos, in common with hindu ahirs and gujars, cease from labour; and when they make a well the first proceeding is to erect a _chabutra_ (platform) to bhaironji or hanuman. however, when plunder was to be obtained they have often shown little respect for hindu shrines and temples; and when the sanctity of a threatened place has been urged, the retort has been, '_tum to deo, ham meo_' or 'you may be a deo (god), but i am a meo.' meos do not marry in their _pal_ or clan, but they are lax about forming connections with women of other castes, whose children they receive into the community. as already stated, brahmans take part in the formalities preceding a marriage, but the ceremony itself is performed by a kazi. as agriculturists meos are inferior to their hindu neighbours. the point in which they chiefly fail is in working their wells, for which they lack patience. their women, whom they do not confine, will, it is said, do more field-work than the men; indeed, one often finds women at work in the crops when the men are lying down. like the women of low hindu castes they tattoo their bodies, a practice disapproved by musalmans in general. abul fazl writes that the meos were in his time famous runners, and one thousand of them were employed by akbar as carriers of the post. mina 1. the minas locally termed deswa _mina, deswali, maina._--a well-known caste of rajputana which is found in the central provinces in the hoshangabad, nimar and saugor districts. about 8000 persons of the caste were returned in 1911. the proper name for them is mina, but here they are generally known as deswali, a term which they probably prefer, as that of mina is too notorious. a large part of the population of the northern districts is recruited from bundelkhand and marwar, and these tracts are therefore often known among them as 'desh' or native country. the term deswali is applied to groups of many castes coming from bundelkhand, and has apparently been specially appropriated as an _alias_ by the minas. the caste are sometimes known in hoshangabad as maina, which colonel tod states to be the name of the highest division of the minas. the designation of pardeshi or 'foreigner' is also given to them in some localities. the deswalis came to harda about a.d. 1750, being invited by the maratha amil or governor, who gave one family a grant of three villages. they thus gained a position of some dignity, and this reaching the ears of their brothers in jaipur they also came and settled all over the district. [258] in view of the history and character of the minas, of which some account will be given, it should be first stated that under the _régime_ of british law and order most of the deswalis of hoshangabad have settled down into steady and honest agriculturists. 2. historical notice of the mina tribe the minas were a famous robber tribe of the country of mewat in rajputana, comprised in the alwar and bharatpur states and the british district of gurgaon. [259] they are also found in large numbers in jaipur state, which was formerly held by them. the meos and minas are now considered to be branches of one tribe, the former being at least nominally muhammadans by religion and the latter hindus. a favourite story for recitation at their feasts is that of darya khan meo and sasibadani mini, a pair of lovers whose marriage led to a quarrel between the tribes to which they belonged, in the time of akbar. this dispute caused the cessation of the practice of intermarriage between meos and minas which had formerly obtained. both the meos and minas are divided into twelve large clans called _pal_, the word _pal_ meaning, according to colonel tod, 'a defile in a valley suitable for cultivation or defence.' in a sandy desert like rajputana the valleys of streams might be expected to be the only favourable tracts for settlement, and the name perhaps therefore is a record of the process by which the colonies of minas in these isolated patches of culturable land developed into exogamous clans marrying with each other. the meos have similarly twelve _pals_, and the names of six of these are identical with those of the minas. [260] the names of the _pals_ are taken from those of rajput clans, [261] but the recorded lists differ, and there are now many other _gots_ or septs outside the _pals_. the minas seem originally to have been an aboriginal or pre-aryan tribe of rajputana, where they are still found in considerable numbers. the raja of jaipur was formerly marked on the forehead with blood taken from the great toe of a mina on the occasion of his installation. colonel tod records that the amber or jaipur state was founded by one dholesai in a.d. 967 after he had slaughtered large numbers of the minas by treachery. and in his time the minas still possessed large immunities and privileges in the jaipur state. when the rajputs settled in force in rajputana, reducing the minas to subjection, illicit connections would naturally arise on a large scale between the invaders and the women of the conquered country. for even when the rajputs only came as small isolated parties of adventurers, as into the central provinces, we find traces of such connections in the survival of castes or subcastes of mixed descent from them and the indigenous tribes. it follows therefore that where they occupied the country and settled on the soil the process would be still more common. accordingly it is generally recognised that the minas are a caste of the most mixed and impure descent, and it has sometimes been supposed that they were themselves a branch of the rajputs. in the punjab when one woman accuses another of illicit intercourse she is said '_mina dena_,' or to designate her as a mina. [262] further it is stated [263] that "the minas are of two classes, the zamindari or agricultural and the chaukidari or watchmen. these chaukidari minas are the famous marauders." the office of village watchman was commonly held by members of the aboriginal tribes, and these too furnished the criminal classes. another piece of evidence of the dravidian origin of the tribe is the fact that there exists even now a group of dhedia or impure minas who do not refuse to eat cow's flesh. the chaukidari minas, dispossessed of their land, resorted to the hills, and here they developed into a community of thieves and bandits recruited from all the outcastes of society. sir a. lyall wrote [264] of the caste as "a cave of adullam which has stood open for centuries. with them a captured woman is solemnly admitted by a form of adoption into one circle of affinity, in order that she may be lawfully married into another." with the conquest of northern india by the muhammadans, many of the minas, being bound by no ties to hinduism, might be expected to embrace the new and actively proselytising religion, while their robber bands would receive fugitive muhammadans as recruits as well as hindus. thus probably arose a musalman branch of the community, who afterwards became separately designated as the meos. as already seen, the meos and minas intermarried for a time, but subsequently ceased to do so. as might be expected, the form of islam professed by the meos is of a very bastard order, and major powlett's account of it is reproduced in a short separate notice of that tribe. 3. their robberies the crimes and daring of the minas have obtained for them a considerable place in history. a muhammadan historian, zia-ud-din bami, wrote of the tribe: [265] "at night they were accustomed to come prowling into the city of delhi, giving all kinds of trouble and depriving people of their rest, and they plundered the country houses in the neighbourhood of the city. their daring was carried to such an extent that the western gates of the city were shut at afternoon prayer and no one dared to leave it after that hour, whether he travelled as a pilgrim or with the display of a king. at afternoon prayer they would often come to the sarhouy, and assaulting the water-carriers and girls who were fetching water they would strip them and carry off their clothes. in turn they were treated by the muhammadan rulers with the most merciless cruelty. some were thrown under the feet of elephants, others were cut in halves with knives, and others again were flayed alive from head to foot." regular campaigns against them were undertaken by the muhammadans, [266] as in later times british forces had to be despatched to subdue the pindaris. babar on his arrival at agra described the mewati leader raja hasan khan as 'the chief agitator in all these confusions and insurrections'; and firishta mentions two terrible slaughters of mewatis in a.d. 1259 and 1265. in 1857 major powlett records that in alwar they assembled and burnt the state ricks and carried off cattle, though they did not succeed in plundering any towns or villages there. in british territory they sacked firozpur and other villages, and when a british force came to restore order many were hanged. sir d. ibbetson wrote of them in the punjab: [267] "the minas are the boldest of our criminal classes. their headquarters so far as the punjab is concerned are in the village of shahjahanpur, attached to the gurgaon district but surrounded on all sides by rajputana territory. there they until lately defied our police and even resisted them with armed force. their enterprises are on a large scale, and they are always prepared to use violence if necessary. in marwar they are armed with small bows which do considerable execution. they travel great distances in gangs of from twelve to twenty men, practising robbery and dacoity even as far as the deccan. the gangs usually start off immediately after the diwali feast and often remain absent the whole year. they have agents in all the large cities of rajputana and the deccan who give them information, and they are in league with the carrying castes of marwar. after a successful foray they offer one-tenth of the proceeds at the shrine of kali devi." like other criminals they were very superstitious, and colonel tod records that the partridge and the _maloli_ or wagtail were their chief birds of omen. a partridge clamouring on the left when he commenced a foray was a certain presage of success to a mina. similarly, mr. kennedy notes that the finding of a dried goatskin, either whole or in pieces, among the effects of a suspected criminal is said to be an infallible indication of his identity as a mina, the flesh of the goat's tongue being indispensable in connection with the taking of omens. in jaipur the minas were employed as guards, as a method of protection against their fellows, for whose misdeeds they were held responsible. rent-free lands were given to them, and they were always employed to escort treasure. here they became the most faithful and trusted of the raja's servants. it is related that on one occasion a mina sentinel at the palace had received charge of a basket of oranges. a friend of the same tribe came to him and asked to be shown the palace, which he had never seen. the sentinel agreed and took him over the palace, but when his back was turned the friend stole one orange from the basket. subsequently the sentinel counted the oranges and found one short; on this he ran after his friend and taxed him with the theft, which being admitted, the mina said that he had been made to betray his trust and had become dishonoured, and drawing his sword cut off his friend's head. the ancient treasure of jaipur or amber was, according to tradition, kept in a secret cave in the hills under a body of mina guards who alone knew the hiding-place, and would only permit any part of it to be withdrawn for a great emergency. nor would they accept the orders of the raja alone, but required the consent of the heads of the twelve principal noble families of amber, branches of the royal house, before they would give up any part of the treasure. the criminal minas are said to inhabit a tract of country about sixty-five miles long and forty broad, stretching from shahpur forty miles north of jaipur to guraora in gurgaon on the rohtak border. the popular idea of the mina, mr. crooke remarks, [268] is quite in accordance with his historical character; his niggardliness is shown in the saying, 'the meo will not give his daughter in marriage till he gets a mortar full of silver'; his pugnacity is expressed in, 'the meo's son begins to avenge his feuds when he is twelve years old'; and his toughness in, 'never be sure that a meo is dead till you see the third-day funeral ceremony performed.' 4. the deswalis of the central provinces as already stated, the deswalis of the central provinces have abandoned the wild life of their ancestors and settled down as respectable cultivators. only a few particulars about them need be recorded. girls are usually married before they are twelve years old and boys at sixteen to twenty. a sum of rs. 24 is commonly paid for the bride, and a higher amount up to rs. 71 may be given, but this is the maximum, and if the father of the girl takes more he will be fined by the caste and made to refund the balance. a triangle with some wooden models of birds is placed on the marriage-shed and the bridegroom strikes at these with a stick; formerly he fired a gun at them to indicate that he was a hunter by profession. a brahman is employed to celebrate the marriage. a widow is usually taken by her late husband's younger brother, but if there be none the elder brother may marry her, contrary to the general rule among hindus. the object is to keep the woman in the family, as wives are costly. if she is unwilling to marry her brother-in-law, however, no compulsion is exercised and she may wed another man. divorce is allowed, and in rajputana is very simply effected. if tempers do not assimilate or other causes prompt them to part, the husband tears a shred from his turban which he gives to his wife, and with this simple bill of divorce, placing two jars of water on her head, she takes whatever path she pleases, and the first man who chooses to ease her of her load becomes her future lord. '_jehur nikala_,' 'took the jar and went forth,' is a common saying among the mountaineers of merwara. [269] the dead are cremated, the corpse of a man being wrapped in a white and that of a woman in a coloured cloth. they have no _shraddh_ ceremony, but mourn for the dead only on the last day of kartik (october), when they offer water and burn incense. deswalis employ the parsai or village brahman to officiate at their ceremonies, but owing to their mixed origin they rank below the cultivating castes, and brahmans will not take water from them. in jaipur, however, major powlett says, their position is higher. they are, as already seen, the trusted guards of the palace and treasury, and rajputs will accept food and water from their hands. this concession is no doubt due to the familiarity induced by living together for a long period, and parallel instances of it can be given, as that of the panwars and gonds in the central provinces. the deswalis eat flesh and drink liquor, but abstain from fowls and pork. when they are invited to a feast they do not take their own brass vessels with them, but drink out of earthen pots supplied by the host, having the liquor poured on to their hands held to the mouth to avoid actual contact with the vessel. this is a marwari custom and the jats also have it. before the commencement of the feast the guests wait until food has been given to as many beggars as like to attend. in saugor the food served consists only of rice and pulse without vegetables or other dishes. it is said that a mina will not eat salt in the house of another man, because he considers that to do so would establish the bond of _nimak-khai_ or salt-eating between them, and he would be debarred for ever from robbing that man or breaking into his house. the guests need not sit down together as among other hindus, but may take their food in batches; so that the necessity of awaiting the arrival of every guest before commencing the feast is avoided. the deswalis will not kill a black-buck nor eat the flesh of one, but they assign no reason for this and do not now worship the animal. the rule is probably, however, a totemistic survival. the men may be known by their manly gait and harsh tone of voice, as well as by a peculiar method of tying the turban; the women have a special ornament called _rakhdi_ on the forehead and do not wear spangles or toe-rings. they are said also to despise ornaments of the baser metals as brass and pewter. they are tattooed with dots on the face to set off the fair-coloured skin by contrast, in the same manner as patches were carried on the face in europe in the eighteenth century. a tattoo dot on a fair face is likened by a hindu poet to a bee sitting on a half-opened mango. mirasi _mirasi._--a muhammadan caste of singers, minstrels and genealogists, of which a few members are found in the central provinces. general cunningham says that they are the bards and singers of the meos or mewatis at all their marriages and festivals. [270] mr. crooke is of opinion that they are undoubtedly an offshoot of the great dom caste who are little better than sweepers. [271] the word mirasi is derived from the arabic _miras_, inheritance, and its signification is supposed to be that the mirasis are the hereditary bards and singers of the lower castes, as the bhat is of the rajputs. _miras_ as a word may, however, be used of any hereditary right, as that of the village headman or karnam, or even those of the village watchman or temple dancing-girl, all of whom may have a _mirasi_ right to fees or perquisites or plots of land held as remuneration for service. [272] the mirasis are also known as pakhawaji, from the _pakhawaj_ or timbrel which they play; as kawwal or one who speaks fluently, that is a professional, story-teller; and as kalawant or one possessed of art or skill. the mirasis are most numerous in the punjab, where they number a quarter of a million. sir d. ibbetson says of them: [273] "the social position of the mirasi as of all minstrel castes is exceedingly low, but he attends at weddings and similar occasions to recite genealogies. moreover there are grades even among mirasis. the outcaste tribes have their mirasis, who though they do not eat with their clients and merely render their professional services are considered impure by the mirasis of the higher castes. the mirasi is generally a hereditary servant like the bhat, and is notorious for his exactions, which he makes under the threat of lampooning the ancestors of him from whom he demands fees. the mirasi is almost always a muhammadan." they are said to have been converted to islam in response to the request of the poet amir khusru, who lived in the reign of ala-ud-din khilji (a.d. 1295). the mirasi has two functions, the men being musicians, storytellers and genealogists, while the women dance and sing, but only before the ladies of the zenana. mr. nesfield [274] says that they are sometimes regularly entertained as jesters to help these ladies to kill time and reconcile them to their domestic prisons. as they do not dance before men they are reputed to be chaste, as no woman who is not a prostitute will dance in the presence of men, though singing and playing are not equally condemned. the implements of the mirasis are generally the small drum (_dholak_), the cymbals (_majira_) and the gourd lute (_kingri_). [275] mochi [276] list of paragraphs 1. _general notice_. 2. _legends of origin_. 3. _art among the hindus_. 4. _antagonism of mochis and chamars_. 5. _exogamous groups_. 6. _social customs_. 7. _shoes_. 1. general notice _mochi, muchi, jingar, jirayat, jildgar, chitrakar, chitevari, musabir._--the occupational caste of saddlers and cobblers. in 1911 about 4000 mochis and 2000 jingars were returned from the central provinces and berar, the former residing principally in the hindustani and the latter in the marathi-speaking districts. the name is derived from the sanskrit _mochika_ and the hindustani _mojna_, to fold, and the common name _mojah_ for socks and stockings is from the same root (platts). by origin the mochis are no doubt an offshoot of the chamar caste, but they now generally disclaim the connection. mr. nesfield observes [277] that, "the industry of tanning is preparatory to and lower than that of cobblery, and hence the caste of chamar ranks decidedly below that of mochi. the ordinary hindu does not consider the touch of a mochi so impure as that of the chamar, and there is a hindu proverb to the effect that 'dried or prepared hide is the same thing as cloth,' whereas the touch of the raw hide before it has been tanned by the chamar is considered a pollution. the mochi does not eat carrion like the chamar, nor does he eat swine's flesh; nor does his wife ever practise the much-loathed art of midwifery." in the central provinces, as in northern india, the caste may be considered to have two branches, the lower one consisting of the mochis who make and cobble shoes and are admittedly descended from chamars; while the better-class men either make saddles and harness, when they are known as jingar; or bind books, when they are called jildgar; or paint and make clay idols, when they are given the designation either of chitrakar, chitevari or murtikar. in berar some jingars have taken up the finer kinds of iron-work, such as mending guns, and are known as jirayat. all these are at great pains to dissociate themselves from the chamar caste. they call themselves thakur or rajput and have exogamous sections the names of which are identical with those of the rajput septs. the same people have assumed the name of rishi in bengal, and, according to a story related by sir h. risley, claim to be debased brahmans; while in the united provinces mr. crooke considers them to be connected with the srivastab kayasths, with whom they intermarry and agree in manners and customs. the fact that in the three provinces these workers in leather claim descent from three separate high castes is an interesting instance of the trouble which the lower-class hindus will take to obtain a slight increase in social consideration; but the very diversity of the accounts given induces the belief that all mochis were originally sprung from the chamars. in bombay, again, mr. enthoven [278] writes that the caste prefers to style itself arya somavansi kshatriya or aryan kshatriyas of the moon division; while they have all the regular brahmanical _gotras_ as bharadwaja, vasishtha, gautam and so on. 2. legends of origin the following interesting legends as to the origin of the caste adduced by them in support of their brahmanical descent are related [279] by sir h. risley: "one of the praja-pati, or mind-born sons of brahma, was in the habit of providing the flesh of cows and clarified butter as a burnt-offering (_ahuti_) to the gods. it was then the custom to eat a portion of the sacrifice, restore the victim to life, and drive it into the forest. on one occasion the praja-pati failed to resuscitate the sacrificial animal, owing to his wife, who was pregnant at the time, having clandestinely made away with a portion. alarmed at this he summoned all the other praja-patis, and they sought by divination to discover the cause of the failure. at last they ascertained what had occurred, and as a punishment the wife was cursed and expelled from their society. the child which she bore was the first mochi or tanner, and from that time forth, mankind being deprived of the power of reanimating cattle slaughtered for food, the pious abandoned the practice of killing kine altogether. another story is that muchiram, the ancestor of the caste, was born from the sweat of brahma while dancing. he chanced to offend the irritable sage durvasa, who sent a pretty brahman widow to allure him into a breach of chastity. muchiram accosted the widow as mother, and refused to have anything to do with her; but durvasa used the miraculous power he had acquired by penance to render the widow pregnant so that the innocent muchiram was made an outcaste on suspicion. from her two sons are descended the two main branches of the caste in bengal." 3. art among the hindus in the central provinces the term mochi is often used for the whole caste in the northern districts, and jingar in the maratha country; while the chitrakars or painters form a separate group. though the trades of cobbler and book-binder are now widely separated in civilised countries, the connection between them is apparent since both work in leather. it is not at first sight clear why the painter should be of the same caste, but the reason is perhaps that his brushes are made of the hair of animals, and this is also regarded as impure, as being a part of the hide. if such be the case a senseless caste rule of ceremonial impurity has prevented the art of painting from being cultivated by the hindus; and the comparatively poor development of their music may perhaps be ascribed to the same cause, since the use of the sinews of animals for stringed instruments would also prevent the educated classes from learning to play them. thus no stringed instruments are permitted to be used in temples, but only the gong, cymbal, horn and conch-shell. and this rule would greatly discourage the cultivation of music, which art, like all the others, has usually served in its early period as an appanage to religious services. it has been held that instruments were originally employed at temples and shrines in order to scare away evil spirits by their noise while the god was being fed or worshipped, and not for the purpose of calling the worshippers together; since noise is a recognised means of driving away spirits, probably in consequence of its effect in frightening wild animals. it is for the same end that music is essential at weddings, especially during the night when the spirits are more potent; and this is the primary object of the continuous discordant din which the hindus consider a necessary accompaniment to a wedding. except for this ceremonial strictness hinduism should have been favourable to the development of both painting and sculpture, as being a polytheistic religion. in the early stages of society religion and art are intimately connected, as is shown by the fact that images and paintings are at first nearly always of deities or sacred persons or animals, and it is only after a considerable period of development that secular subjects are treated. similarly architecture is in its commencement found to be applied solely to sacred buildings, as temples and churches, and is only gradually diverted to secular buildings. the figures sculptured by the mochis are usually images for temples, and those who practise this art are called murtikar, from _murti_, an image or idol; and the pictures of the chitrakars were until recently all of deities or divine animals, though secular paintings may now occasionally be met with. and the uneducated believers in a polytheistic religion regularly take the image for the deity himself, at first scarcely conceiving of the one apart from the other. thus some bharewas or brass-workers say that they dare not make metal images of the gods, because they are afraid that the badness of their handiwork might arouse the wrath of the gods and move them to take revenge. the surmise might in fact be almost justifiable that the end to which figures of men and animals were first drawn or painted, or modelled in clay or metal was that they might be worshipped as images of the deities, the savage mind not distinguishing at all between an image of the god and the god himself. for this reason monotheistic religions would be severely antagonistic to the arts, and such is in fact the case. thus the muhammadan commentary, the hadith, has a verse: "woe to him who has painted a living creature! at the day of the last judgment the persons represented by him will come out of the tomb and join themselves to him to demand of him a soul. then that man, unable to give life to his work, will burn in eternal flames." and in judaism the familiar prohibition of the second commandment appears to be directed to the same end. hindu sculpture has indeed been fairly prolific, but is not generally considered to have attained to any degree of artistic merit. since sculpture is mainly concerned with the human form it seems clear that an appreciation of the beauty of muscular strength and the symmetrical development of the limbs is an essential preliminary to success in this art; and such a feeling can only arise among a people who set much store on feats of bodily strength and agility. this has never been the character of the hindus, whose religion encourages asceticism and mortification of the body, and points to mental self-absorption and detachment from worldly cares and exercises as the highest type of virtue. 4. antagonism of mochis and chamars as a natural result of the pretensions to nobility made by the mochis, there is no love lost between them and the chamars; and the latter allege that the mochis have stolen their _rampi_, the knife with which they cut leather. on this account the chamars will neither take water to drink from the mochis nor mend their shoes, and will not even permit them to try on a new pair of shoes until they have paid the price set on them; for they say that the mochis are half-bred chamars and therefore cannot be permitted to defile the shoes of a true chamar by trying them on; but when they have been paid for, the maker has severed connection with them, and the use to which they may be put no longer affects him. 5. exogamous groups in the central provinces the mochis are said to have forty exogamous sections or _gotras_, of which the bulk are named after all the well-known rajput clans, while two agree with those of the chamars. and they have also an equal number of _kheras_ or groups named after villages. the limits of the two groups seem to be identical; thus members of the sept named after the kachhwaha rajputs say that their _khera_ or village name is mungavali in gwalior; those of the ghangere sept give chanderi as their _khera_, the sitawat sept dhamoni in saugor, the didoria chhatarpur, the narele narwar, and so on. the names of the village groups have now been generally forgotten and they are said to have no influence on marriage, which is regulated by the rajput sept names; but it seems probable that the _kheras_ were the original divisions and the rajput _gotras_ have been more recently adopted in support of the claims already noticed. 6. social customs the mochis have adopted the customs of the higher hindu castes. a man may not take a wife from his own _gotra_, his mother's _gotra_ or from a family into which a girl from his own family has married. they usually marry their daughters in childhood and employ brahmans in their ceremonies, and no degradation attaches to these latter for serving as their priests. in minor domestic ceremonies for which the brahman is not engaged his place is taken by a relative, who is called _sawasa_, and is either the sister's husband, daughter's husband, or father's sister's husband, of the head of the family. they permit widow-remarriage and divorce, and in the southern districts effect a divorce by laying a pestle between the wife and husband. they burn their dead and observe mourning for the usual period. after a death they will not again put on a coloured head-cloth until some relative sets it on their heads for the first time on the expiry of the period of mourning. they revere the ordinary hindu deities, and like the chamars they have a family god, known as mair, whose representation in the shape of a lump of clay is enshrined within the house and worshipped at marriages and deaths. in saugor he is said to be the collective representative of the spirits of their ancestors. in some localities they eat flesh and drink liquor, but in others abstain from both. among the hindus the mochis rank considerably higher than the chamars; their touch does not defile and they are permitted to enter temples and take part in religious ceremonies. the name of a saugor mochi is remembered who became a good drawer and painter and was held in much esteem at the peshwa's court. in northern india about half the mochis are muhammadans, but in the central provinces they are all hindus. 7. shoes in view of the fact that many of the mochis were muhammadans and that slippers are mainly a muhammadan article of attire buchanan thought it probable that they were brought into india by the invaders, the hindus having previously been content with sandals and wooden shoes. he wrote: "many hindus now use leather slippers, but some adhere to the proper custom of wearing sandals, which have wooden soles, a strap of leather to pass over the instep, and a wooden or horn peg with a button on its top. the foot is passed through the strap and the peg is placed between two of the toes." [280] it is certain, however, that leather shoes and slippers were known to the hindus from a fairly early period: "the episode related in the ramayana of bharata placing on the vacant throne of ajodhya a pair of rama's slippers, which he worshipped during the latter's protracted exile, shows that shoes were important articles of wear and worthy of attention. in manu and the mahabharata slippers are also mentioned and the time and mode of putting them on pointed out. the vishnu purana enjoins all who wish to protect their persons never to be without leather shoes. manu in one place expresses great repugnance to stepping into another's shoes and peremptorily forbids it, and the puranas recommend the use of shoes when walking out of the house, particularly in thorny places and on hot sand." [281] thus shoes were certainly worn by the hindus before muhammadan times, though loose slippers may have been brought into fashion by the latter. and it seems possible that the mochis may have adopted islam, partly to obtain the patronage of the followers of the new religion, and also to escape from the degraded position to which their profession of leather-working was relegated by hinduism and to dissociate themselves from the chamars. mowar _mowar._--a small caste of cultivators found in the chhattisgarh country, in the raipur and bilaspur districts and the raigarh state. they numbered 2500 persons in 1901. the derivation of the name is obscure, but they themselves say that it is derived from mow or mowagarh, a town in the jhansi district of the united provinces, and they also call themselves mahuwar or the inhabitants of mow. they say that the raja of mowagarh, under whom they were serving, desired to marry the daughter of one of their sirdars (headmen), because she was extremely beautiful, but her father refused, and when the raja persisted in his desire they left the place in a body and came to ratanpur in the time of raja bimbaji, in a.d. 1770. a bilaspur writer states that the mowars are an offshoot from the rajwar rajputs of sarguja state. colonel dalton writes [282] of the rajwar rajputs of sarguja and other adjoining states that they are peaceably disposed cultivators, who declare themselves to be fallen kshatriyas; but he remarks later that they are probably aborigines, as they do not conform to hindu customs, and they are skilled in a dance called chailo, which he considers to be of dravidian origin. in another place he remarks that the rajwars of bengal admit that they are derived from the miscegenation of kurmis and kols. the fact that the mowars of sarangarh make a representation of a bow and arrow on their documents, instead of signing their names, affords some support to the theory that they are probably a branch of one of the aboriginal tribes. the name may be derived from _mowa_, a radish, as the mowars of bilaspur are engaged principally in garden cultivation. the mowars have no subcastes, but are divided into a number of exogamous groups, principally of a totemistic nature. those of the surajha or sun sept throw away their earthen pots on the occasion of an eclipse, and those of the hataia or elephant sept will not ride on an elephant and worship that animal at the dasahra festival. members of other septs named after the cobra, the crow, the monkey and the tiger will not kill their totem animal, and when they see the dead body of one of its species they throw away their earthen cooking-pots as a sign of mourning. the marriage of persons belonging to the same sept and also that of first cousins is prohibited. if an unmarried girl is seduced by a man of the caste she becomes his wife and is not expelled, but the caste will not eat food cooked by her. but a girl going wrong with an outsider is finally cast out. the marriage and other social customs resemble those of the kurmis. the caste employ brahmans at their ceremonies and have a great regard for them. their _gurus_ or spiritual preceptors are bairagis and gosains. they eat the flesh of clean animals and a few drink liquor, but most of them abstain from it. their women are tattooed on the arms and hands with figures intended to represent deer, flies and other animals and insects. the caste say that they were formerly employed as soldiers under the native chiefs, but they are now all cultivators. they grow all kinds of grain and vegetables, except turmeric and onions. a few of them are landowners, and the majority tenants. very few are constrained to labour for hire. in appearance the men are generally strong and healthy, and of a dark complexion. murha 1. origin of the caste _murha._--a dravidian, caste of navvies and labourers found in jubbulpore and the adjoining districts, to the number of about 1500 persons. the name murha has been held to show that the caste are connected with the munda tribe. the murhas, however, call themselves also khare bind kewat and lunia or nunia (salt-maker), and in jubbulpore they give these two names as subdivisions of the caste. and these names indicate that the caste are an offshoot of the large bind tribe of bengal and northern india, though in parts of the central provinces they have probably been recruited from the kols or mundas. sir h. risley [283] records a story related by the binds to the effect that they and the nunias were formerly one, and that the existing nunias are descended from a bind who consented to dig a grave for a muhammadan king and was put out of caste for doing so. and he remarks that the binds may be a true primitive tribe and the nunias a functional group differentiated from them by taking to the manufacture of earth salt. this explanation of the relationship of the binds and nunias seems almost certainly correct. in the united provinces the binds are divided into the khare and dhusia or first and second subcastes, and the khare binds also call themselves kewat. [284] and the murhas of narsinghpur call themselves khare bind kewats, though the other kewats repudiate all connection with them. there seems thus to be no doubt that the murhas of these provinces are another offshoot of the bind tribe like the nunias, who have taken up the profession of navvies and earthworkers and thus become a separate caste. mr. hira lal notes that the narsinghpur district contains a village nonia, which is inhabited solely by murhas who call themselves khare bind kewat. as the village is no doubt named nonia or nunia after them, we thus have an instance of all the three designations being applied to the same set of persons. the murhas say that they came into narsinghpur from rewah, and they still speak the bagheli dialect, though the current vernacular of the locality is bundeli. the binds themselves derive their name from the vindhya (bindhya) hills. [285] they relate that a traveller passing by the vindhya hills heard a strange flute-like sound coming out of a clump of bamboos. he cut a shoot and took from it a fleshy substance, which afterwards grew into a man, the supposed ancestor of the binds. in mandla the murhas say that the difference between themselves and the nunias is that the latter make field-embankments and other earthwork, while the murhas work in stone and build bridges. according to their own story they were brought to mandla from their home in eastern oudh more than ten generations ago by a gond king of the garha-mandla dynasty for the purpose of building his fort or castle. he gave them two villages for their maintenance which they have now lost. the caste has, however, probably received some local accretions and in mandla some murhas appear to be kols; members of this tribe are generally above the average in bodily strength and are in considerable request for employment on earthand stone-work. 2. marriage customs in narsinghpur the murhas appear to have no regular exogamous divisions. some of them remember the names of their _kheros_ or ancestral villages and do not marry with families belonging to the same _khero_, but this is not a regular rule of the caste. generally speaking, persons descended through males from a common ancestor do not intermarry so long as they remember the relationship. in mandla they have five divisions, of which the highest is purbia. the name purbia (eastern) is commonly applied in the central provinces to persons coming from oudh, and in this case the purbia murhas are probably the latest immigrants from home and have a superior status on this account. up till recently they practised hypergamy with the other groups, taking daughters from them in marriage, but not giving their daughters to them. this rule is now, however, breaking down on account of the difficulty they find in getting their daughters married. the children of brothers and sisters may marry in some places, but in others neither they nor their children may marry with each other. anta santa or the exchange of girls between two families is permitted. the bridegroom's father has to pay from five to twenty rupees as a _chari_ or bride-price to the girl's father, which sum is regarded as the remuneration of the latter for having brought up his daughter. in the case of the daughter of a headman the bride-price is sometimes as high as rs. 150. in damoh a curious survival of marriage by capture remains. the bridegroom's party give a ram or he-goat to the bride's party and these take it to their shed, cut its head off and hang it by the side of the _kham_ or marriage-pole. the brother-in-law of the bridegroom or of his father then sallies forth to bring back the head of the animal, but is opposed by the women of the bride's party, who belabour him and his friends with sticks, brooms and rolling-pins. but in the end the head is always taken away. the binding portion of the marriage is the _bhanwar_ or walking round the sacred post. when the bride is leaving for her husband's house the women of her party take seven balls of flour with burning wicks thrust into them, and place them in a winnowing-fan. they wave this round the bride's head and then throw the balls and after them the fan over the litter in which the bride is seated. the bridegroom's party must catch the fan, and if they let it fall to the ground they are much laughed at for their clumsiness. when the pair arrive at the bridegroom's house, the fan is again waved over their heads; and a cloth is spread before the house, on which seven burning wicks are placed like the previous ones. the bride walks quickly over the cloth to the house and the bridegroom must keep pace with her, picking up the burning flour balls as he goes. when the pair arrive at the house the bridegroom's sister shuts the door and will not open it until she is given a present. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. 3. funeral rites the caste worship the ordinary hindu deities. well-to-do members burn their dead and the poorer ones bury them. the corpse is usually placed with the head to the south as is the custom among the primitive tribes, but in some localities the hindu fashion of laying the head to the north has been adopted. two pice are thrown down by the grave or burning-_ghat_ to buy the site, and these are taken by the sweeper. the ashes are collected on the third day and thrown into a river. the usual period of mourning is only three days, but it is sometimes extended to nine days when the chief mourner is unable to feed the caste-fellows on the third day, and the feast may in case of necessity be postponed to any time within six months of the death. the chief mourner puts on a new white cloth and eats nothing but rice and pulse without salt. 4. occupation the caste are employed on all kinds of earthwork, such as building walls, excavating trenches, and making embankments in fields. their trade implements consist of a pickaxe, a basket, and a thin wooden hod to fill the earth into the basket. the murha invokes these as follows: "oh! my lord the basket, my lord the pickaxe shaped like a snake, and my lady the hod, come and eat up those who do not pay me for my work!" the murhas are strict in their rules about food and will not accept cooked food even from a brahman, but notwithstanding this, their social position is so low that not even a sweeper would take food from them. the caste eat flesh and drink liquor, but abstain from fowls, pork and beef. they engage brahmans on the occasion of births and marriages, but not usually for funerals. the women tattoo their bodies after marriage, and the charge for this should always be paid by the maternal uncle's wife, the paternal aunt, or some other similar relation of the girl. the fact that among most hindus a girl must be tattooed before leaving for her husband's house, and that the cost of the operation must always be paid for by her own family, seems to indicate that tattooing was formerly a rite of puberty for the female sex. a wife must not mention the name of her husband or of any person who stands in the relation of father, mother, uncle or aunt to him. parents do not call their eldest son by his proper name, but by some pet name. women are impure for five days during menstruation and are not allowed to cook for that period. the murhas have a caste _panchayat_ or committee, the head of which is known as patel or mukhia, the office being hereditary. he receives a part of all fines levied for the commission of social offences. in appearance the caste are dark and short of stature, and have some resemblance to the kols. 5. women's song in conclusion, i reproduce one of the songs which the women sing as they are carrying the basketfuls of earth or stones at their work; in the original each line consists of two parts, the last words of which sometimes rhyme with each other: our mother nerbudda is very kind; blow, wind, we are hot with labour. he said to the maina: go, carry my message to my love. the red ants climb up the mango-tree; and the daughter follows her mother's way. i have no money to give her even lime and tobacco; i am poor, so how can i tell her of my love. the boat has gone down on the flood of the nerbudda; the fisherwoman is weeping for her husband. she has no bangles on her arm nor necklace on her neck; she has no beauty, but seeks her lovers throughout the village. bread from the girdle, curry from the _lota_; let us go, beloved, the moon is shining. the leaves of gram have been plucked from the plants; i think much on dadaria, but she does not come. the love of a stranger is as a dream; think not of him, beloved, he cannot be yours. twelve has struck and it is thirteen time (past the time of labour); oh, overseer, let your poor labourers go. the betel-leaf is pressed in the mouth (and gives pleasure); attractive eyes delight the heart. catechu, areca and black cloves; my heart's secret troubles me in my dreams. the nerbudda came and swept away the rubbish (from the works); fly away, bees, do not perch on my cloth. the colour does not come on the wheat; her youth is passing, but she cannot yet drape her cloth on her body. like the sight of rain-drops splashing on the ground; so beautiful is she to look upon. it rains and the hidden streams in the woodland are filled (and come to view); hide as long as you may, some day you must be seen. the mahua flowers are falling from the trees on the hill; leave me your cloth so that i may know you will return. he went to the bazar and brought back a cocoanut; it is green without, but insects are eating the core. he went to the hill and cut strings of bamboo; you cannot drape your cloth, you have wound it round your body. the coral necklace hangs on the peg; if you become the second wife of my husband i shall give you clothes. she put on her clothes and went to the forest; she met her lover and said you are welcome to me. he went to the bazar and bought potatoes; but if he had loved me he would have brought me liquor. the fish in the river are on the look-out; the brahman's daughter is bathing with her hair down. the arhar-stumps stand in the field; i loved one of another caste, but must give him up. he ate betel and coloured his teeth; his beloved came from without and knew him. the ploughmen are gone to the field; my clever writer is gone to the court-house. the nerbudda flows like a bent bow; a beautiful youth is standing in court. [286] the broken areca-nuts lie in the forest; when a man comes to misfortune no one will help him. the broken areca-nuts cannot be mended; and two hearts which are sundered cannot be joined. ask me for five rupees and i will give you twenty-five; but i will not give my lover for the whole world. i will put bangles on my arm; when the other wife sees me she will die of jealousy. break the bangles which your husband gave you; and put others on your wrists in my name. o my lover, give me bangles; make me armlets, for i am content with you. my lover went to the bazar at lakhanpur; but he has not brought me even a _choli_ [287] that i liked. i had gone to the bazar and bought fish; she is so ugly that the flies would not settle on her. nagasia _nagasia, naksia._--a primitive tribe found principally in the chota nagpur states. they now number 16,000 persons in the central provinces, being returned almost entirely from jashpur and sarguja. the census returns are, however, liable to be inaccurate as the nagasias frequently call themselves kisan, a term which is also applied to the oraons. the nagasias say that they are the true kisans whereas the oraons are only so by occupation. the oraons, on the other hand, call the nagasias kisada. the tribe derive their name from the nag or cobra, and they say that somebody left an infant in the forest of setambu and a cobra came and spread its hood over the child to protect him from the rays of the sun. some mundas happened to pass by and on seeing this curious sight they thought the child must be destined to greatness, so they took him home and made him their king, calling him nagasia, and from him the tribe are descended. the episode of the snake is, of course, a stock legend related by many tribes, but the story appears to indicate that the nagasias are an offshoot of the mundas; and this hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that nagbasia is often used as an alternative name for the mundas by their hindu neighbours. the term nagbasia is supposed to mean the original settlers (_basia_) in nag (chota nagpur). the tribe are divided into the telha, dhuria and senduria groups. the telhas are so called because at the marriage ceremony they mark the forehead of the bride with _tel_ (oil), while the dhurias instead of oil use dust (_dhur_) taken from the sole of the bridegroom's foot, and the sendurias like most hindu castes employ vermilion (_sendur_) for this purpose. the telhas and dhurias marry with each other, but not with the sendurias, who consider themselves to be superior to the others and use the term nagbansia or 'descendants of the snake' as their tribal name. the telha and dhuria women do not wear glass bangles on their arms but only bracelets of brass, while the sendurias wear glass bangles and also armlets above the elbow. telha women do not wear nose-rings or tattoo their bodies, while the sendurias do both. the telhas say that the tattooing needle and vermilion, which they formerly employed in their marriages, were stolen from them by wagdeo or the tiger god. so they hit upon sesamum oil as a substitute, which must be pressed for ceremonial purposes in a bamboo basket by unmarried boys using a plough-yoke. this is probably, mr. hira lal remarks, merely the primitive method of extracting oil, prior to the invention of the teli's _ghani_ or oil-press; and the practice is an instance of the common rule that articles employed in ceremonial and religious rites should be prepared by the ancient and primitive methods which for ordinary purposes have been superseded by more recent labour-saving inventions. nahal 1. the tribe and its subdivisions _nahal, nihal._ [288]--a forest tribe who are probably a mixture of bhils and korkus. in 1911 they numbered 12,000 persons, of whom 8000 belonged to the hoshangabad, nimar and betul districts, and nearly 4000 to berar. they were classed at the census as a subtribe of korkus. according to one story they are descended from a bhil father and a korku mother, and the writer of the _khandesh gazetteer_ calls them the most savage of the bhils. but in the central provinces their family or sept names are the same as those of the korkus, and they speak the korku language. mr. kitts [289] says that the korkus who first went to berar found the nahals in possession of the melghat hills. gradually the latter caste lost their power and became the village drudges of the former. he adds that the nahals were fast losing their language, and the younger generation spoke only korku. the two tribes were very friendly, and the nahals acknowledged the superior position of the korkus. this, if it accurately represents the state of things prevailing for a long period, and was not merely an incidental feature of their relative position at the time mr. kitts' observations were made, would tend to show that the nahals were the older tribe and had been subjected by the korkus, just as the korkus themselves and the baigas have given way to the gonds. mr. crosthwaite also states that the nahal is the drudge of the korku and belongs to a race which is supposed to have been glorious before the korku star arose, and which is now fast dying out. in any case there is no doubt that the nahals are a very mixed tribe, as they will even now admit into the community gonds, korkus and nearly all the hindu castes, though in some localities they will not eat from the other tribes and the lower hindu castes and therefore refuse to admit them. there are, moreover, two subdivisions of the caste called korku and marathi nahals respectively. the latter are more hinduised than the former and disclaim any connection with the korkus. the nahals have totemistic exogamous septs. those of the kasa sept worship a tortoise and also a bell-metal plate, which is their family god. they never eat off a bell-metal plate except on one day in the month of magh (january), when they worship it. the members of the nagbel sept worship the betel-vine or 'snake-creeper,' and refrain from chewing betel-leaves, and they also worship the nag or cobra and do not kill it, thus having a sort of double totem. the bhawaria sept, named after the _bhaunr_ or black bee, do not eat honey, and if they see a person taking the honey-comb from a nest they will run away. the khadia sept worship the spirits of their ancestors enshrined in a heap of stones (_khad_), or according to another account they worship a snake which sits on a heap of pebbles. the surja sept worship surya or the sun by offering him a fowl in the month of pus (december-january), and some members of the sept keep a fast every sunday. the saoner sept worship the _san_ or flax plant. 2. marriage marriage is prohibited between members of the same sept, but there are no other restrictions and first cousins may marry. both sexes usually marry when adult, and sexual license before wedlock is tolerated. a brahman is employed only for fixing the date of the ceremony. the principal part of the marriage is the knotting together of the bride's and bridegroom's clothes on two successive days. they also gamble with tamarind seeds, and it is considered a lucky union if the bridegroom wins. a bride-price is usually paid consisting of rs. 1-4 to rs. 5 in cash, some grain and a piece of cloth for the bride's mother. the remarriage of widows is allowed, and the couple go five times round a bamboo stick which is held up to represent a spear, the ceremony being called _barchhi se bhanwar phirna_ or the marriage of the spear. 3. religion the nahals worship the forest god called jharkhandi in the month of chait, and until this rite has been performed they do not use the leaves or fruits of the _palas_, [290] _aonla_ [291] or mango trees. when the god is worshipped they collect branches and leaves of these trees and offer cooked food to them and thereafter commence using the new leaves, and the fruit and timber. they also worship the ordinary village godlings. the dead are buried, except in the case of members of the surja or sun sept, whose corpses are burnt. cooked food is offered at the grave for four days after the death. 4. occupation the nahals were formerly a community of hill-robbers, 'nahal, bhil, koli' being the phrase generally used in old documents to designate the marauding bands of the western satpura hills. the raja of jitgarh and mohkot in nimar has a long account in his genealogy of a treacherous massacre of a whole tribe of nahals by his ancestor in akbar's time, in recognition of which the jitgarh pargana was granted to the family. mr. kitts speaks of the nahals of berar as having once been much addicted to cattle-lifting, and this propensity still exists in a minor degree in the central provinces, accentuated probably by the fact that a considerable number of nahals follow the occupation of graziers. some of them are also village watchmen, and another special avocation of theirs is the collection of the oil of the marking-nut tree (_semecarpus anacardium_). this is to some extent a dangerous trade, as the oil causes swellings on the body, besides staining the skin and leaving a peculiar odour. the workers wrap a fourfold layer of cloth round their fingers with ashes between each fold, while the rest of the body is also protected by cloth when gathering the nuts and pounding them to extract the oil. at the end of the day's work powdered tamarind and _ghi_ are rubbed on the whole body. the oil is a stimulant, and is given to women after delivery and to persons suffering from rheumatism. 5. social status the social status of the nahals is very low and they eat the flesh of almost all animals, while those who graze cattle eat beef. cow-killing is not regarded as an offence. they are also dirty and do not bathe for weeks together. to get maggots in a wound is, however, regarded as a grave offence, and the sufferer is put out of the village and has to live alone until he recovers. nai list of paragraphs 1. _structure of the caste_. 2. _marriage and other customs_. 3. _occupation_. 4. _other services_. 5. _duties at weddings_. 6. _the barber-surgeon._ 7. _a barber at the court of oudh_. 8. _character and position of the barber_. 9. _beliefs about hair_. 10. _hair of kings and priests_. 11. _the beard_. 12. _significance of removal of the hair and shaving the head_. 13. _shaving the head by mourners_. 14. _hair offerings_. 15. _keeping hair unshorn during a vow_. 16. _disposal of cut hair and nails_. 17. _superstitions about shaving the hair_. 18. _reasons why the hair was considered the source of strength._ 1. structure of the caste _nai, nao, mhali, hajjam, bhanari, mangala_. [292]--the occupational caste of barbers. the name is said to be derived from the sanskrit _napita_ according to some a corruption of _snapitri_, one who bathes. in bundelkhand he is also known as khawas, which was a title for the attendant on a grandee; and birtiya, or 'he that gets his maintenance (_vritti_) from his constituents.' [293] mhali is the marathi name for the caste, bhandari the uriya name and mangala the telugu name. the caste numbered nearly 190,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911, being distributed over all districts. various legends of the usual type are related of its origin, but, as sir. h. risley observes, it is no doubt wholly of a functional character. the subcastes in the central provinces entirely bear out this view, as they are very numerous and principally of the territorial type: telange of the telugu country, marathe, pardeshi or northerners, jharia or those of the forest country of the wainganga valley, bandhaiya or those of bandhogarh, barade of berar, bundelkhandi, marwari, mathuria from mathura, gadhwaria from garha near jubbulpore, lanjia from lanji in balaghat, malwi from malwa, nimari from nimar, deccane, gujarati, and so on. twenty-six divisions in all are given. the exogamous groups are also of different types, some of them being named after brahman saints, as gautam, kashyap, kosil, sandil and bharadwaj; others after rajput clans as surajvansi, jaduvansi, solanki and panwar; while others are titular or totemistic, as naik, leader; seth, banker; rawat, chief; nagesh, cobra; bagh, a tiger; bhadrawa, a fish. 2. marriage and other customs the exogamous groups are known as _khero_ or _kul_, and marriage between members of the same group is prohibited. girls are usually wedded between the ages of eight and twelve and boys between fifteen and twenty. a girl who goes wrong before marriage is finally expelled from the caste. the wedding ceremony follows the ritual prevalent in the locality as described in the articles on kurmi and kunbi. at an ordinary wedding the expenses on the girl's side amount to about rs. 150, and on the boy's to rs. 200. the remarriage of widows is permitted. in the northern districts the widow may wed the younger brother of her deceased husband, but in the maratha country she may not be married to any of his relatives. divorce may be effected at the instance of the husband before the caste committee, and a divorced woman is at liberty to marry again. the nais worship all the ordinary hindu deities. on the dasahra and diwali festivals they wash and revere their implements, the razor, scissors and nail-pruners. they pay regard to omens. it is unpropitious to sneeze or hear the report of a gun when about to commence any business; and when a man is starting on a journey, if a cat, a squirrel, a hare or a snake should cross the road in front of him he will give it up and return home. the bodies of the dead are usually burnt. in chhattisgarh the poor throw the corpses of their dead into the mahanadi, and the bodies of children dying under one year of age were until recently buried in the courtyard of the house. the period of mourning for adults is ten days and for children three days. the chief mourner must take only one meal a day, which he cooks himself until the ceremony of the tenth day is performed. 3. occupation "the barber's trade," mr. crooke states, [294] "is undoubtedly of great antiquity. in the veda we read, 'sharpen us like the razor in the hands of the barber'; and again, 'driven by the wind, agni shaves the hair of the earth like the barber shaving a beard.'" in early times they must have enjoyed considerable dignity; upali the barber was the first propounder of the law of the buddhist church. the village barber's leather bag contains a small mirror (_arsi_), a pair of iron pincers (_chimta_), a leather strap, a comb (_kanghi_), a piece of cloth about a yard square and some oil in a phial. he shaves the faces, heads and armpits of his customers, and cuts the nails of both their hands and feet. he uses cold water in summer and hot in winter, but no soap, though this has now been introduced in towns. for the poorer cultivators he does a rapid scrape, and this process is called '_asudhal_' or a 'tearful shave,' because the person undergoing it is often constrained to weep. the barber acquires the knowledge of his art by practice on the more obliging of his customers, hence the proverb, 'the barber's son learns his trade on the heads of fools.' the village barber is usually paid by a contribution of grain from the cultivators, calculated in some cases according to the number of ploughs of land possessed by each, in others according to the number of adult males in the family. in saugor he receives 20 lbs. of grain annually for each adult male or 22 1/2 lbs. per plough of land, besides presents of a basket of grain at seed-time and a sheaf at harvest. cultivators are usually shaved about once a fortnight. in towns the barber's fee may vary from a pice to two annas for a shave, which is, as has been seen, a much more protracted operation with a hindu than with a european. it is said that berar is now so rich that even ordinary cultivators can afford to pay the barber two annas (2d.) for a single shave, or the same price as in the suburbs of london. 4. other services after he has shaved a client the barber pinches and rubs his arms, presses his fingers together and cracks the joints of each finger, this last action being perhaps meant to avert evil spirits. he also does massage, a very favourite method of treatment in india, and also inexpensive as compared with europe. for one rupee a month in towns the barber will come and rub a man's legs five or ten minutes every day. cultivators have their legs rubbed in the sowing season, when the labour is intensely hard owing to the necessity of sowing all the land in a short period. if a man is well-to-do he may have his whole head and body rubbed with scented oil. landowners have often a barber as a family servant, the office descending from father to son. such a man will light his master's _chilam_ (pipe-bowl) or huqqa (water-pipe), clean and light lamps, prepare his bed, tell his master stories to send him to sleep, act as escort for the women of the family when they go on a journey and arrange matches for the children. the barber's wife attends on women in child-birth after the days of pollution are over, and rubs oil on the bodies of her clients, pares their nails and paints their feet with red dye at marriages and on other festival occasions. 5. duties at weddings the barber has also numerous and important duties [295] in connection with marriages and other festival occasions. he acts as the brahman's assistant, and to the lower castes, who cannot employ a brahman, he is himself the matrimonial priest. the important part which he plays in marriage ceremonies has led to his becoming the matchmaker among all respectable castes. he searches for a suitable bride or bridegroom, and is often sent to inspect the other party to a match and report his or her defects to his clients. he may arrange the price or dowry, distribute the invitations and carry the presents from one house to the other. he supplies the leaf-plates and cups which are used at weddings, as the family's stock of metal vessels is usually quite inadequate for the number of guests. the price of these is about 4 annas (4d.) a hundred. he also provides the _torans_ or strings of leaves which are hung over the door of the house and round the marriage-shed. at the feast the barber is present to hand to the guests water, betel-leaf and pipes as they may desire. he also partakes of the food, seated at a short distance from the guests, in the intervals of his service. he lights the lamps and carries the torches during the ceremony. hence he was known as masalchi or torch-bearer, a name now applied by europeans to a menial servant who lights and cleans the lamps and washes the plates after meals. the barber and his wife act as prompters to the bride and bridegroom, and guide them through the complicated ritual of the wedding ceremony, taking the couple on their knees if they are children, and otherwise sitting behind them. the barber has a prescriptive right to receive the clothes in which the bridegroom goes to the bride's house, as on the latter's arrival he is always presented with new clothes by the bride's father. as the bridegroom's clothes may be an ancestral heirloom, a compact is often made to buy them back from the barber, and he may receive as much as rs. 50 in lieu of them. when the first son is born in a family the barber takes a long bamboo stick, wraps it round with cloth and puts an earthen pot over it and carries this round to the relatives, telling them the good news. he receives a small present from each household. 6. the barber-surgeon the barber also cleans the ears of his clients and cuts their nails, and is the village surgeon in a small way. he cups and bleeds his patients, applies leeches, takes out teeth and lances boils. in this capacity he is the counterpart of the barber-surgeon of mediaeval europe. the hindu physicians are called baid, and are, as a rule, a class of brahmans. they derive their knowledge from ancient sanskrit treatises on medicine, which are considered to have divine authority. consequently they think it unnecessary to acquire fresh knowledge by experiment and observation, as they suppose the perfect science of medicine to be contained in their sacred books. as these books probably do not describe surgical operations, of which little or nothing was known at the time when they were written, and as surgery involves contact with blood and other impure substances, the baids do not practise it, and the villagers are left to get on as best they can with the ministrations of the barber. it is interesting to note that a similar state of things appears to have prevailed in europe. the monks were the early practitioners of medicine and were forbidden to practise surgery, which was thus left to the barber-chirurgeon. the status of the surgeon was thus for long much below that of the physician. [296] the mediaeval barber of europe kept a bottle of blood in his window, to indicate that he undertook bleeding and the application of leeches, and the coloured bottles in the chemist's window may have been derived from this. it is also said that the barber's pole originally served as a support for the patient to lean on while he was being bled, and those barbers who did the work of bleeding patients painted their poles in variegated red and white stripes to show it. 7. a barber at the court of oudh perhaps the most successful barber known to indian history was not a hindu at all, but a peninsular and oriental company's cabin-boy, who became the barber of one of the last kings of oudh, nasir-ud-din, in the early part of the nineteenth century, and rose to the position of a favourite courtier. he was entrusted with the supply of every european article used at court, and by degrees became a regular guest at the royal table, and sat down to take dinner with the king as a matter of right; nor would his majesty taste a bottle of wine opened by any other hands than the barber's. [297] this was, however, a wise precaution as it turned out, since after he had finally been forced to part with the barber the king was poisoned by his own relatives. the barber was also made keeper of the royal menagerie, for which he supplied the animals and their food, and made enormous profits. the following is an account of the presentation of the barber's monthly bill of expenses: [298] "it was after tiffin, or lunch, when we usually retired from the palace until dinner-time at nine o'clock, that the favourite entered with a roll of paper in his hand. in india, long documents, legal and commercial, are usually written, not in books or on successive sheets, but on a long roll, strip being joined to strip for that purpose, and the whole rolled up like a map. "'ha, khan!' said the king, observing him; 'the monthly bill, is it?' "'it is, your majesty,' was the smiling reply. "'come, out with it; let us see the extent. unroll it, khan.' "the king was in a playful humour; and the barber was always in the same mood as the king. he held the end of the roll in his hand, and threw the rest along the floor, allowing it to unroll itself as it retreated. it reached to the other side of the long apartment--a goodly array of items and figures, closely written too. the king wanted it measured. a measure was brought and the bill was found to be four yards and a half long. i glanced at the amount; it was upwards of rs. 90,000, or £9000!" the barber, however, encouraged the king in every form of dissipation and excess, until the state of the oudh court became such a scandal that the king was forced by the british government to dismiss him. [299] he retired, it was said, with a fortune of £240,000. 8. character and position of the barber the barber is also, mr. low writes, [300] the scandal-bearer and gossip-monger of the village. his cunning is proverbial, and he is known as _chhattisa_ from the saying- nai hai chhattisa khai an ka pisa, or 'a barber has thirty-six talents by which he eats at the expense of others.' his loquacity is shown in the proverb, 'as the crow among birds so the barber among men.' the barber and the professional brahman are considered to be jealous of their perquisites and unwilling to share with their caste-fellows, and this is exemplified in the proverb, "the barber, the dog and the brahman, these three snarl at meeting one of their own kind." the joint association of the brahman priest and the barber with marriages and other ceremonies has led to the saying, "as there are always reeds in a river so there is always a barber with a brahman." the barber's astuteness is alluded to in the saying, 'nine barbers are equal to seventy-two tailors.' the fact that it is the barber's duty to carry the lights in marriage processions has led to the proverb, "at the barber's wedding all are gentlemen and it is awkward to have to ask somebody to carry the torch." the point of this is clear, though no english equivalent occurs to the mind. and a similar idea is expressed by 'the barber washes the feet of others but is ashamed to wash his own.' it would appear from these proverbs that the nai is considered to enjoy a social position somewhat above his deserts. owing to the nature of his duties, which make him a familiar inmate of the household and bring him into contact with the persons of his high-caste clients, the caste of the nai is necessarily considered to be a pure one and brahmans will take water from his hands. but, on the other hand, his calling is that of a village menial and has also some elements of impurity, as in cupping which involves contact with blood, and in cutting the nails and hair of the corpse before cremation. he is thus looked down upon as a menial and also considered as to some extent impure. no member of a cultivating caste would salute a barber first or look upon him as an equal, though brahmans put them on the same level of ceremonial purity by taking water from both. the barber's loquacity and assurance have been made famous by the _arabian nights_, but they have perhaps been affected by the more strenuous character of life, and his conversation does not flow so freely as it did. often he now confines himself to approving and adding emphasis to any remarks of the patron and greeting any of his little witticisms with bursts of obsequious laughter. in madras, mr. pandian states, the village barber, like the washerman, is known as the son of the village. if a customer does not pay him his dues, he lies low, and when he has begun to shave the defaulter, engages him in a dispute and says something to excite his anger. the latter will then become abusive to the barber, whom he regards as a menial, and perhaps strike him, and this gives the barber an opportunity to stop shaving him and rush off to lay a complaint at the village court-house, leaving his enemy to proceed home with half his head shaved and thus exposed to general ridicule. [301] 9. beliefs about hair numerous customs appear to indicate that the hair was regarded as the special seat of bodily strength. the rajput warriors formerly wore their hair long and never cut it, but trained it in locks over their shoulders. similarly the maratha soldiers wore their hair long. the hatkars, a class of maratha spearmen, might never cut their hair while engaged on military service. a sikh writer states of guru govind, the founder of the militant sikh confederacy: "he appeared as the tenth avatar (incarnation of vishnu). he established the khalsa, his own sect, and by exhibiting singular energy, leaving the hair on his head, and seizing the scimitar, he smote every wicked person." [302] as is well known, no sikh may cut his hair, and one of the five marks of the sikh is the _kanga_ or comb, which he must always carry in order to keep his hair in proper order. a proverb states that 'the origin of a sikh is in his hair.' [303] the following story, related by sir j. malcolm, shows the vital importance attached by the sikh to his hair and beard: "three inferior agents of sikh chiefs were one day in my tent. i was laughing and joking with one of them, a khalsa sikh, who said he had been ordered to attend me to calcutta. among other subjects of our mirth i rallied him on trusting himself so much in my power. 'why, what is the worst,' he said, 'that you can do to me?' i passed my hand across my chin, imitating the act of shaving. the man's face was in an instant distorted with rage and his sword half-drawn. 'you are ignorant,' he said to me, 'of the offence you have given; i cannot strike you who are above me, and the friend of my master and the state; but no power,' he added, indicating the khalsa sikhs, 'shall save these fellows who dared to smile at your action.' it was with the greatest difficulty and only by the good offices of some sikh chiefs that i was able to pacify his wounded honour." [304] these instances appear to show clearly that the sikhs considered their hair of vital importance; and as fighting was their object in life, it seems most probable that they thought their strength in war was bound up in it. similarly when the ancient spartans were on a military expedition purple garments were worn and their hair was carefully decked with wreaths, a thing which was never done at home. [305] and when leonidas and his three hundred were holding the pass of thermopylae, and xerxes sent scouts to ascertain what the greeks were doing in their camp, the report was that some of them were engaged in gymnastics and warlike exercises, while others were merely sitting and combing their long hair. if the hypothesis already suggested is correct, the spartan youths so engaged were perhaps not merely adorning themselves for death, but, as they thought, obtaining their full strength for battle. "the custom of keeping the hair unshorn during a dangerous expedition appears to have been observed, at least occasionally, by the romans. achilles kept unshorn his yellow hair, because his father had vowed to offer it to the river sperchius if ever his son came home from the wars beyond the sea." [306] when the bhils turned out to fight they let down their long hair prior to beginning the conflict with their bows and arrows. [307] the pirates of surat, before boarding a ship, drank _bhang_ and hemp-liquor, and when they wore their long hair loose they gave no quarter. [308] the mundas appear to have formerly worn their hair long and some still do. those who are converted to christianity must cut their hair, but a non-christian munda must always keep the _chundi_ or pigtail. if the _chundi_ is very long it is sometimes tied up in a knot. [309] similarly the oraons wore their hair long like women, gathered in a knot behind, with a wooden or iron comb in it. those who are christians can be recognised by the fact that they have cut off their pigtails. a man of the low pardhi caste of hunters must never have his hair touched by a razor after he has once killed a deer. as already seen, every orthodox hindu wore till recently a _choti_ or scalp-lock, which should theoretically be as long as a cow's tail. perhaps the idea was that for those who were not warriors it was sufficient to retain this and have the rest of the head shaved. the _choti_ was never shaved off in mourning for any one but a father. the lower castes of muhammadans, if they have lost several children, will allow the scalp-lock to grow on the heads of those subsequently born, dedicating it to one of their muhammadan saints. the kanjars relate of their heroic ancestor mana that after he had plunged a bow so deeply into the ground that no one could withdraw it, he was set by the emperor of delhi to wrestle against the two most famous imperial wrestlers. these could not overcome him fairly, so they made a stratagem, and while one provoked him in front the other secretly took hold of his _choti_ behind. when mana started forward his _choti_ was thus left in the wrestler's hands, and though he conquered the other wrestler, showing him the sky as it is said, the loss of his _choti_ deprived him for ever after of his virtue as a hindu and in no small degree of his renown as an ancestor. [310] thus it seems clear that a special virtue attaches to the _choti_. before every warlike expedition the people of minahassa in celebes used to take the locks of hair of a slain foe and dabble them in boiling water to extract the courage; this infusion of bravery was then drunk by the warriors. [311] in a modern greek folk-tale a man's strength lies in three golden hairs on his head. when his mother plucks them out, he grows weak and timid and is slain by his enemies. [312] the red indian custom of taking the scalp, of a slain enemy and sometimes wearing the scalps at the waist-belt may be due to the same relief. in ceram the hair might not be cut because it was the seat of a man's strength; and the gaboon negroes for the same reason would not allow any of their hair to pass into the possession of a stranger. [313] 10. hair of kings and priests if the hair was considered to be the special source of strength and hence frequently of life, that of the kings and priests, in whose existence the primitive tribe believed its own communal life to be bound up, would naturally be a matter of peculiar concern. that it was so has been shown in the _golden bough_. two hundred years ago the hair and nails of the mikado of japan could only be cut when he was asleep. [314] the hair of the flamen dialis at rome could be cut only by a freeman and with a bronze knife, and his hair and nails when cut had to be buried under a lucky tree. [315] the frankish kings were never allowed to crop their hair; from their childhood upwards they had to keep it unshorn. the hair of the aztec priests hung down to their hams so that the weight of it became very troublesome; for they might never crop it so long as they lived, or at least till they had been relieved from their office on the score of old age. [316] in the male paharia tribe from the time that any one devoted himself to the profession of priest and augur his hair was allowed to grow like that of a nazarite; his power of divination entirely disappeared if he cut it. [317] among the bawarias of india the bhuva or priest of devi may not cut or shave his hair under penalty of a fine of rs. 10. a parsi priest or mobed must never be bare-headed and never shave his head or face. [318] professor robertson smith states: "as a diadem is in its origin nothing more than a fillet to confine hair that is worn long, i apprehend that in old times the hair of hebrew princes like that of a maori chief, was taboo, and that absalom's long locks (2 sam. xiv. 26) were the mark of his political pretensions and not of his vanity. when the hair of a maori chief was cut, it was collected and buried in a sacred place or hung on a tree; and it is noteworthy that absalom's hair was cut annually at the end of the year, in the sacred season of pilgrimage, and that it was collected and weighed." [319] 11. the beard the importance attached by other races to the hair of the head seems among the muhammadans to have been concentrated specially in the beard. the veneration displayed for the beard in this community is well known. the prophet ordained that the minimum length of the beard should be the breadth of five fingers. when the beard is turning grey they usually dye it with henna and sometimes with indigo; it may be thought that a grey beard is a sign of weakness. the prophet said, 'change the whiteness of your hair, but not with anything black.' it is not clear why black was prohibited. it is said that the first caliph abu bakar was accustomed to dye his beard red with henna, and hence this practice has been adopted by muhammadans. [320] the custom of shaving the chin is now being adopted by young muhammadans, but as they get older they still let the beard grow. a very favourite muhammadan oath is, 'by the beard of the prophet'; and in persia if a man thinks another is mocking him he says, 'do you laugh at my beard?' neither hindus nor muhammadans have any objection to becoming bald, as the head is always covered by the turban in society. but when a man wishes to grow a beard it is a serious drawback if he is unable to do it; and he will then sometimes pluck the young wheat-ears and rub the juice over his cheeks and chin so that he may grow bearded like the wheat. among the hindus, rajputs and marathas, as well as the sikhs, commonly wore beards, all of these being military castes. both the beard and hair were considered to impart an aspect of ferocity to the countenance, and when the rajputs and muhammadans were going into battle they combed the hair and trained the beard to project sideways from the face. when a muhammadan wears a beard he must have hair in the centre of his chin, whereas a hindu shaves this part. a muhammadan must have his moustache short so that it may not touch and defile food entering the mouth. it is related that a certain kazi had a small head and a very long beard; and he had a dream that a man with a small head and a long beard must be a fool. when he woke up he thought this was applicable to himself. as he could not make his head larger he decided to make his beard smaller, and looked for scissors to cut part of it off. but he could not find any scissors, and being in a hurry to shorten his beard he decided to burn away part of it, and set it alight. but the fire consumed the whole of his beard before he could put it out, and he then realised the truth of the dream. 12. significance of removal of the hair and shaving the head if the hair was considered to be the source of a man's strength and vigour, the removal of it would involve the loss of this and might be considered especially to debar him from fighting or governing. the instances given from the _golden bough_ have shown the fear felt by many people of the consequences of the removal of their hair. the custom of shaving the head might also betoken the renunciation of the world and of the pursuit of arms. this may be the reason why monks shaved the head, a practice which was followed by buddhist as well as christian monks. a very clear case is also given by sir james frazer: "when the wicked brothers clotaire and childebert coveted the kingdom of their dead brother clodomir, they inveigled into their power their little nephews, the two sons of clodomir; and having done so, they sent a messenger bearing scissors and a naked sword to the children's grandmother, queen clotilde, at paris. the envoy showed the scissors and the sword to clotilde, and bade her choose whether the children should be shorn and live, or remain unshorn and die. the proud queen replied that if her grandchildren were not to come to the throne she would rather see them dead than shorn. and murdered they were by their ruthless uncle clotaire with his own hand." [321] in this case it appears that if their hair was shorn the children could not come to the throne but would be destined to become monks. similarly, in speaking of the georgians, marco polo remarks that they cut their hair short like churchmen. [322] when a member of the religious order of the manbhaos is initiated his head is shaved clean by the village barber, and the scalp-lock and moustache must be cut off by his _guru_ or preceptor, this being perhaps the special mark of his renunciation of the world. the scalp-locks are preserved and made into ropes which some of them fasten round their loins. members of the hindu orders generally shave their scalp-locks and the head on initiation, probably for the same reason as the manbhaos. but afterwards they often let the whole of their hair grow long. these men imagine that by the force of their austerities they will obtain divine power, so their religious character appears to be of a different order from monasticism. perhaps, therefore, they wear their hair long in order to increase their spiritual potency. they themselves now say that they do it in imitation of the god siva and the ancient ascetics who had long matted locks. the common hindu practice of shaving the heads of widows may thus be interpreted as a symbol of their complete renunciation of the world and of any idea of remarriage. it was accompanied by numerous other rules designed to make a widow's life a continual penance. this barbarous custom was formerly fairly general, at least among the higher castes, but is rapidly being abandoned except by one or two of the stricter sections of brahmans. shaving the head might also be imposed as a punishment. thus in the time of the reign of the emperor chandraguptra maurya in the fourth century b.c. it is stated that ordinary wounding by mutilation was punished by the corresponding mutilation of the offender, in addition to the amputation of his hand. the crime of giving false evidence was visited with mutilation of the extremities; and in certain unspecified cases, serious offences were punished by the shaving of the offender's hair, a penalty regarded as specially infamous. [323] the cutting off of some or all of the hair is at the present time a common punishment for caste offences. among the korkus a man and woman caught in adultery have each a lock of hair cut off. if a chamar man and woman are detected in the same offence, the heads of both are shaved clean of hair. a dhimar girl who goes wrong before marriage has a lock of her hair cut off as a penalty, the same being done in several other castes. 13. shaving the head by mourners the exact significance which is to be attached to the removal by mourners of their hair after a death is perhaps doubtful. sir james frazer shows that the australian aborigines are accustomed to let their own blood flow on to the corpse of a dead kinsman and to place their cut hair on the corpse. he suggests that in both cases the object is to strengthen the feeble spirit within the corpse and sustain its life, in order that it may be born again. as a development of such a rite the hair might have become an offering to the dead, and later still its removal might become a sacrifice and indication of grief. in this manner the common custom of tearing the hair in token of grief and mourning for the dead would be accounted for. whether the hindu custom of shaving the heads of mourners was also originally a sacrifice and offering appears to be uncertain. professor robertson smith considered [324] that in this case the hair is shaved off as a means of removing impurity, and quotes instances from the bible where lepers and persons defiled by contact with the dead are purified by shaving the hair. [325] as the father of a child is also shaved after its birth, and the shaving must here apparently be a rite of purification, it probably has the same significance in the case of mourners; it is not clear whether any element of sacrifice is also involved. the degree to which the hindu mourner parts with his hair varies to some extent with the nearness of the relationship, and for females or distant relatives they do not always shave. the mourners are shaved on the last day of the impurity, when presents are given to the maha-brahman, and the latter, representing the dead man, is also shaved with them. when a hindu is at the point of death, before he makes the gifts for the good of his soul the head is shaved with the exception of his _choti_ or scalp-lock, the chin and upper lip. often the corpse is also shaved after death. 14. hair offerings another case of the hair offering is that made in fulfilment of a vow or at a temple. in this case the hair appears to be a gift-offering which is made to the god as representing the life and strength of the donor; owing to the importance attached to the hair as the source of life and strength, it was a very precious sacrifice. sir james frazer also suggests that the hair so given would impart life and strength to the god, of which he stood in need, just as he needed food to nourish him. among the hindus it is a common practice to take a child to some well-known temple to have its hair cut for the first time, and to offer the clippings of hair to the deity. if they cannot go to the temple to have the hair cut they have it cut at home, and either preserve the whole hair or a lock of it, until an opportunity occurs to offer it at the temple. in some castes a brahman is invited at the first cutting of a child's hair, and he repeats texts and blesses the child; the first lock of hair is then cut by the child's maternal uncle, and its head is shaved by the barber. a child's hair is cut in the first, third or fifth year after birth, but not in the second or fourth year. among the muhammadans when a child's hair is cut for the first time, or at least on one occasion in its life, the hair should be weighed against silver or gold and the amount distributed in charity. in these cases also it would appear that the hair as a valuable part of the child is offered to the god to obtain his protection for the life of the child. if a woman has no child and desires one, or if she has had children and lost them, she will vow her next child's hair to some god or temple. a small patch known as _chench_ is then left unshorn on the child's head until it can be taken to the temple. 15. keeping hair unshorn during a vow it was also the custom to keep the hair unshorn during the performance of a vow. "while his vow lasted a nazarite might not have his hair cut: 'all the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head.' [326] the egyptians on a journey kept their hair uncut till they returned home. [327] among the chatti tribe of the ancient germans the young warriors never clipped their hair or their beard till they had slain an enemy. six thousand saxons once swore that they would not clip their hair nor shave their beards until they had taken vengeance on their enemies." [328] similarly, hindu religious mendicants keep their hair long while they are journeying on a pilgrimage, and when they arrive at the temple which is their goal they shave it all off and offer it to the god. in this case, as the hair is vowed as an offering, it clearly cannot be cut during the performance of the vow, but must be preserved intact. when the task to be accomplished for the fulfilment of a vow is a journey or the slaying of enemies, the retention of the hair is probably also meant to support and increase the wearer's strength for the accomplishment of his purpose. 16. disposal of cut hair and nails if the hair contained a part of the wearer's life and strength its disposal would be a matter of great importance, because, according to primitive belief, these qualities would remain in it after it had been severed. hence, if an enemy obtained it, by destroying the hair or some analogous action he might injure or destroy the life and strength of the person to whom it belonged. the hindus usually wrap up a child's first hair in a ball of dough and throw it into a running stream, with the cuttings of his nails. well-to-do people also place a rupee in the ball, so that it is now regarded as an offering. the same course is sometimes followed with the hair and nails cut ceremoniously at a wedding, and possibly on one or two other occasions, such as the investiture with the sacred thread; but the belief is decaying, and ordinarily no care is taken of the shorn hair. in berar when the hindus cut a child's hair for the first time they sometimes bury it under a water-pot where the ground is damp, perhaps with the idea that the child's hair will grow thickly and plentifully like grass in a damp place. it is a common belief that if a barren woman gets hold of a child's first hair and wears it round her waist the fertility of the child's mother will be transferred to her. the sarwaria brahmans shave a child's hair in its third year. a small silver razor is made specially for the occasion, costing a rupee and a quarter, and the barber first touches the child's hair with this and then shaves it ceremoniously with his own razor. [329] the halbas think that the severed clippings of hair are of no use for magic, but if a witch can cut a lock of hair from a man's head she can use it to work magic on him. in making an image of a person with intent to injure or destroy him, it was customary to put a little of his hair into the image, by which means his life and strength were conveyed to it. a few years ago a london newspaper mentioned the case of an essex man entering a hairdresser's and requesting the barber to procure for him a piece of a certain customer's hair. when asked the reason for this curious demand, he stated that the customer had injured him and he wished to 'work a spell' against him. [330] in the parsi zend-avesta it is stated that if the clippings of hair or nails are allowed to fall in the ground or ditches, evil spirits spring up from them and devour grain and clothing in the house. it was therefore ordained for the parsis through their prophet zarathustra that the cuttings of hair or nails should be buried in a deep hole ten paces from a dwelling, twenty paces from fire, and fifty paces from the sacred bundles called _baresman_. texts should be said over them and the hole filled in. many parsis still bury their cut hair and nails four inches under ground, and an extracted tooth is disposed of in the same manner. [331] some hindus think that the nail-parings should always be thrown into a frequented place, where they will be destroyed by the traffic. if they are thrown on to damp earth they will grow into a plant which will ruin the person from whose body they came. it is said that about twenty years ago a man in nagpur was ruined by the growth of a piece of finger-nail, which had accidentally dropped into a flower-pot in his house. apparently in this case the nail is supposed to contain a portion of the life and strength of the person to whom it belonged, and if the nail grows it gradually absorbs more and more of his life and strength, and he consequently becomes weaker and weaker through being deprived of it. the hindu superstition against shaving the head appears to find a parallel regarding the nails in the old english saying: cut no horn on the sabbath morn. among some hindus it is said that the toe-nails should not be cut at all until a child is married, when they are cut ceremoniously by the barber. 17. superstitions about shaving the hair since the removal of the hair is held to involve a certain loss of strength and power, it should only be effected at certain seasons and not on auspicious days. a man who has male children should not have his head shaved on monday, as this may cause his children to die. on the other hand, a man who has no children will fast on sunday in the hope of getting them, and therefore he will neither shave his head nor visit his wife on that day. a hindu must not be shaved on thursday, because this is the day of the planet jupiter, which is also known as guru, and his act would be disrespectful to his own _guru_ or preceptor. tuesday is devi's day, and a man will not get shaved on that day; nor on saturday, because it is hanuman's day. [332] on sundays, wednesdays and fridays he may be shaved, but not if the day happens to be the new moon, full moon, or the ashtami or ekadashi, that is the eighth or eleventh day of the fortnight. he should not shave on the day that he is going on a journey. if all these rules were strictly observed there would be very few days on which one could get shaved, but many of them are necessarily more honoured in the breach. wednesdays and fridays are the best days for shaving, and by shaving on these days a man will see old age. debtors are shaved on wednesdays, as they think that this will help them to pay off their debts. some brahmans are not shaved during the month of shrawan (july), when the crops are growing, nor during the nine days of the months of kunwar (september) and chait (march), when a fast is observed and the _jawaras_ [333] are sown. after they have been shaved high-caste hindus consider themselves impure till they have bathed. they touch no person or thing in the house, and sometimes have the water thrown on them by a servant so as to avoid contact with the vessels. they will also neither eat, drink nor smoke until they have bathed. sometimes they throw so much water over the head in order to purify themselves as to catch a bad cold. in this case, apparently, the impurity accrues from the loss of the hair, and the man feels that virtue has gone out of him. women never shave their hair with a razor, as they think that to do so would make the body so heavy after death that it could not be carried to the place of cremation. they carefully pluck out the hair under the armpits and the pubic hair with a pair of pincers. a girl's hair may be cut with scissors, but not after she is ten years old or is married. sometimes a girl's hair is not cut at all, but her father will take a pearl and entwine it into her hair, where it is left until she is married. it is considered very auspicious to give away a girl in marriage with hair which has never been cut, and a pearl in it. after marriage she will take out the pearl and wear it in an ornament. 18. reasons why the hair was considered the source of strength the above evidence appears to indicate that the belief of a man's strength and vigour being contained in his hair is by no means confined to the legend of samson, but is spread all over the world. this has been pointed out by professor robertson smith, [334] professor wilken and others. sir j.g. frazer also adduces several instances in the _golden bough_ to show that the life or soul was believed to be contained in the hair. this may well have been the case, but the hair was also specialised, so to speak, as the seat of bodily vigour and strength. the same idea appears to have applied in a minor measure to the nails and teeth. the rules for disposing of the cut hair usually apply to the parings of nails, and the first teeth are also deposited in a rat's hole or on the roof of the house. as suggested by professor robertson smith it seems likely that the strength and vigour of the body was believed to be located in the hair, and also to a less extent in the nails and teeth, because they grew more visibly and quickly than the body and continued to do so after it had attained to maturity. the hair and nails continue to grow all through life, and though the teeth do not grow when fully formed, the second teeth appear when the body is considerably developed and the wisdom teeth after it is fully developed. the hair grows much more palpably and vigorously than the nails and teeth, and hence might be considered especially the source of strength. other considerations which might confirm the idea are that men have more hair on their bodies than women, and strongly built men often have a large quantity of hair. some of the stronger wild animals have long hair, as the lion, bear and wild boar; and the horse, often considered the embodiment of strength, has a long mane. and when anger is excited the hair sometimes appears to rise, as it were, from the skin. the nails and teeth were formerly used on occasion as weapons of offence, and hence might be considered to contain part of the strength and vigour of the body. finally, it may be suggested as a possibility that the roundheads cut their hair short as a protest against the superstition that a soldier's hair must be long, which originated in the idea that strength is located in the hair and may have still been current in their time. we know that the puritans strove vainly against the veneration of the maypole as the spirit of the new vegetation, [335] and against the old nature-rites observed at christmas, the veneration of fire as the preserver of life against cold, and the veneration of the evergreen plants, the fir tree, the holly, and the mistletoe, which retained their foliage through the long night of the northern winter, and were thus a pledge to man of the return of warmth and the renewal of vegetation in the spring. and it therefore seems not altogether improbable that the puritans may have similarly contended against the superstition as to the wearing of long hair. naoda _naoda._ [336]--a small caste found in the nimar district and in central india. the name means a rower and is derived from _nao_, a boat. the caste are closely connected with the mallahs or kewats, but have a slightly distinctive position, as they are employed to row pilgrims over the nerbudda at the great fair held at siva's temple on the island of mandhata. they say that their ancestors were rajputs, and some of their family names, as solanki, rawat and mori, are derived from those of rajput septs. but these have probably been adopted in imitation of their kshatriya overlords. the caste is an occupational one. they have a tradition that in former times a naoda boatman recovered the corpse of a king's daughter, who had drowned herself in the river wearing costly jewels, and the king as a reward granted them the right of ferrying pilgrims at mandhata, which they still continue to enjoy, keeping their earnings for themselves. they have a division of impure blood called the gate or bastard naodas, who marry among themselves, and any girl who reaches the age of puberty without being married is relegated to this. in the case of a caste whose numbers are so small, irregular connections with outsiders must probably be not infrequent. another report states that adult unmarried girls are not expelled but are married to a pipal tree. but girls are sought after, and it is customary to pay a bride-price, the average amount of which is rs. 25. before the bridegroom starts for his wedding his mother takes and passes in front of him, successively from his head to his feet, a pestle, some stalks of _rusa_ grass, a churning rod and a winnowing-fan. this is done with the object of keeping off evil spirits, and it is said that by her action she threatens to pound the spirits with the pestle, to tie them up with the grass, to churn and mash them with the churning-rod, and to scatter them to the winds with the winnowing-fan. when a man wishes to divorce his wife he simply turns her out of the house in the presence of four or five respectable men of the caste. the marriage of a widow is celebrated on a sunday or tuesday, the clothes of the couple being tied together by another widow at night. the following day they spend together in a garden, and in the evening are escorted home by their relatives with torches and music. next morning the woman goes to the well and draws water, and her husband, accompanying her, helps her to lift the water-pots on to her shoulder. the caste worship the ordinary hindu deities and especially bhairon, the guardian of the gate of mahadeo's temple. they have a nail driven into the bow of their boat which is called 'bhairon's nail,' and at the dasahra festival they offer to this a white pumpkin with cocoanuts, vermilion, incense and liquor. the caste hold in special reverence the cow, the dog and the tamarind tree. the dog is sacred as being the animal on which bhairava rides, and their most solemn oaths are sworn by a dog or a cow. they will on no account cut or burn the tamarind tree, and the women veil their faces before it. they cannot explain this sentiment, which is probably due to some forgotten belief of the nature of totemism. to kill a cow or a cat intentionally involves permanent exclusion from the caste, while the slaughter of a squirrel, dog, horse, buffalo or monkey is punished by temporary exclusion, it being equally sinful to allow any of these animals to die with a rope round its neck. the naodas eat the flesh of pigs and fowls, but they occupy a fairly good social position and brahmans will take water from their hands. nat list of paragraphs 1. _the nats not a proper caste_. 2. _muhammadan nats_. 3. _social customs of the nats_. _their low status_. 4. _acrobatic performances_. 5. _sliding or walking on ropes as a charm for the crops_. 6. _snake-charmers_. 1. the nats not a proper caste _nat, [337] badi, dang-charha, karnati, bazigar, sapera._--the term nat (sanskrit nata--a dancer) appears to be applied indefinitely to a number of groups of vagrant acrobats and showmen, especially those who make it their business to do feats on the tight-rope or with poles, and those who train and exhibit snakes. badi and bazigar mean a rope-walker, dang-charha a rope-climber, and sapera a snake-charmer. in the central provinces the garudis or snake-charmers, and the kolhatis, a class of gipsy acrobats akin to the berias, are also known as nat, and these are treated in separate articles. it is almost certain that a considerable section, if not the majority, of the nats really belong to the kanjar or beria gipsy castes, who themselves maybe sprung from the doms. [338] sir d. ibbetson says: "they wander about with their families, settling for a few days or weeks at a time in the vicinity of large villages or towns, and constructing temporary shelters of grass. in addition to practising acrobatic feats and conjuring of a low class, they make articles of grass, straw and reeds for sale; and in the centre of the punjab are said to act as mirasis, though this is perhaps doubtful. they often practise surgery and physic in a small way and are not free from suspicion of sorcery." [339] this account would just as well apply to the kanjar gipsies, and the nat women sometimes do tattooing like kanjar or beria women. in jubbulpore also the caste is known as nat beria, indicating that the nats there are probably derived from the beria caste. similarly sir h. risley gives bazigar and kabutari as groups of the berias of bengal, and states that these are closely akin to the nats and kanjars of hindustan. [340] an old account of the nats or bazigars [341] would equally well apply to the kanjars; and in mr. crooke's detailed article on the nats several connecting links are noticed. the nat women are sometimes known as kabutari or pigeon, either because their acrobatic feats are like the flight of the tumbler pigeon, or on account of the flirting manner with which they attract their male customers. [342] in the central provinces the women of the small gopal caste of acrobats are called kabutari, and this further supports the hypothesis that nat is rather an occupational term than the name of a distinct caste, though it is quite likely that there may be nats who have no other caste. the badi or rope-dancer group again is an offshoot of the gond tribe, at least in the tracts adjoining the central provinces. they have gond septs as marai, netam, wika, [343] and they have the _damru_ or drum used by the gaurias or snake-charmers and jugglers of chhattisgarh, who are also derived from the gonds. the chhattisgarhi dang-charhas are gonds who say they formerly belonged to panna state and were supported by raja aman singh of panna, a great patron of their art. they sing a song lamenting his death in the flower of his youth. the karnatis or karnataks are a class of nats who are supposed to have come from the carnatic. mr. crooke notes that they will eat the leavings of all high castes, and are hence known as khushhaliya or 'those in prosperous circumstances.' [344] 2. muhammadan nats one division of the nats are muhammadans and seem to be to some extent a distinctive group. they have seven _gotras_--chicharia, damaria, dhalbalki, purbia, dhondabalki, karimki and kalasia. they worship two birs or spirits, halaila bir and sheikh saddu, to whom they sacrifice fowls in the months of bhadon (august) and baisakh (april). hindus of any caste are freely admitted into their community, and they can marry hindu girls. 3. social customs of the nats. their low status generally the customs of the nats show them to be the dregs of the population. there is no offence which entails permanent expulsion from caste. they will eat any kind of food including snakes, crocodiles and rats, and also take food from the hands of any caste, even it is said from sweepers. it is not reported that they prostitute their women, but there is little doubt that this is the case; in the punjab [345] when a nat woman marries, the first child is either given to the grandmother as compensation for the loss of the mother's gains as a prostitute, or is redeemed by a payment of rs. 30. among the chhattisgarhi dang-charhas a bride-price of rs. 40 is paid, of which the girl's father only keeps ten, and the remaining sum of rs. 30 is expended on a feast to the caste. some of the nats have taken to cultivation and become much more respectable, eschewing the flesh of unclean animals. another group of the caste keep trained dogs and hunt the wild pig with spears like the kolhatis of berar. the villagers readily pay for their services in order to get the pig destroyed, and they sell the flesh to the gonds and lower castes of hindus. others hunt jackals with dogs in the same manner. they eat the flesh of the jackals and dispose of any surplus to the gonds, who also eat it. the nats worship devi and also hanuman, the monkey god, on account of the acrobatic powers of monkeys. but in bombay they say that their favourite and only living gods are their bread-winners and averters of hunger, the drum, the rope and the balancing-pole. [346] 4. acrobatic performances the tight-rope is stretched between two pairs of bamboos, each pair being fixed obliquely in the ground and crossing each other at the top so as to form a socket over which the rope passes. the ends of the rope are taken over the crossed bamboos and firmly secured to the ground by heavy pegs. the performer takes another balancing-pole in his hands and walks along the rope between the poles which are about 12 feet high. another man beats a drum, and a third stands under the rope singing the performer's praises and giving him encouragement. after this the performer ties two sets of cow or buffalo horns to his feet, which are secured to the back of the skulls so that the flat front between the horns rests on the rope, and with these he walks over the rope, holding the balancing-rod in his hands and descends again. finally he takes a brass plate and a cloth and again ascends the rope. he places the plate on the rope and folds the cloth over it to make a pad. he then stands on his head on the pad with his feet in the air and holds the balancing-rod in his hands; two strings are tied to the end of this rod and the other ends of the strings are held by the man underneath. with the assistance of the balancing-rod the performer then jerks the plate along the rope with his head, his feet being in the air, until he arrives at the end and finally descends again. this usually concludes the performance, which demands a high degree of skill. women occasionally, though rarely, do the same feats. another class of nats walk on high stilts and the women show their confidence by dancing and singing under them. a saying about the nats is: _nat ka bachcha to kalabazi hi karega_; or 'the rope-dancer's son is always turning somersaults.' [347] 5. sliding or walking on ropes as a charm for the crops the feats of the nats as tight-rope walkers used apparently to make a considerable impression on the minds of the people, as it is not uncommon to find a deified nat, called nat baba or father nat, as a village god. a natni or nat woman is also sometimes worshipped, and where two sharp peaks of hills are situated close to each other, it is related that in former times there was a natni, very skilful on the tight-rope, who performed before the king; and he promised her that if she would stretch a rope from the peak of one hill to that of the other and walk across it he would marry her and make her wealthy. accordingly the rope was stretched, but the queen from jealousy went and cut it half through in the night, and when the natni started to walk the rope broke and she fell down and was killed. she was therefore deified and worshipped. it is probable that this legend recalls some rite in which the nat was employed to walk on a tight-rope for the benefit of the crops, and, if he failed, was killed as a sacrifice; for the following passage taken from traill's account of kumaon [348] seems clearly to refer to some such rite: "drought, want of fertility in the soil, murrain in cattle, and other calamities incident to husbandry are here invariably ascribed to the wrath of particular gods, to appease which recourse is had to various ceremonies. in the kumaon district offerings and singing and dancing are resorted to on such occasions. in garhwal the measures pursued with the same view are of a peculiar nature, deserving of more particular notice. in villages dedicated to the protection of mahadeva propitiatory festivals are held in his honour. at these badis or rope-dancers are engaged to perform on the tight-rope, and slide down an inclined rope stretched from the summit of a cliff to the valley beneath and made fast to posts driven into the ground. the badi sits astride on a wooden saddle, to which he is tied by thongs; the saddle is similarly secured to the _bast_ or sliding cable, along which it runs, by means of a deep groove; sandbags are tied to the badi's feet sufficient to secure his balance, and he is then, after various ceremonies and the sacrifice of a kid, started off; the velocity of his descent is very great, and the saddle, however well greased, emits a volume of smoke throughout the greater part of his progress. the length and inclination of the _bast_ necessarily vary with the nature of the cliff, but as the badi is remunerated at the rate of a rupee for every hundred cubits, hence termed a tola, a correct measurement always takes place; the longest _bast_ which has fallen within my observation has been twenty-one tolas, or 2100 cubits in length. from the precautions taken as above mentioned the only danger to be apprehended by the badi is from breaking of the rope, to provide against which the latter, commonly from one and a half to two inches in diameter, is made wholly by his own hand; the material used is the _bhabar_ grass. formerly, if a badi fell to the ground in his course, he was immediately despatched with a sword by the surrounding spectators, but this practice is now, of course, prohibited. no fatal accident has occurred from the performance of this ceremony since 1815, though it is probably celebrated at not less than fifty villages in each year. after the completion of the sliding, the _bast_ or rope is cut up and distributed among the inhabitants of the village, who hang the pieces as charms on the eaves of their houses. the hair of the badi is also taken and preserved as possessing similar virtues. he being thus made the organ to obtain fertility for the lands of others, the badi is supposed to entail sterility on his own; and it is firmly believed that no grain sown with his hand can ever vegetate. each district has its hereditary badi, who is supported by annual contributions of grain from the inhabitants." it is not improbable that the performance of the nat is a reminiscence of a period when human victims were sacrificed for the crops, this being a common practice among primitive peoples, as shown by sir j.g. frazer in _attis, adonis, osiris_. similarly the spirits of nats which are revered in the central provinces may really be those of victims killed during the performance of some charm for the good of the crops, akin to that still prevalent in the himalayas. the custom of making the nat slide down a rope is of the same character as that of swinging a man in the air by a hook secured in his flesh, which was formerly common in these provinces. but in both cases the meaning of the rite is obscure. 6. snake-charmers the groups who practise snake-charming are known as sapera or garudi and in the maratha districts as madari. another name for them is nag-nathi, or one who seizes a cobra. they keep cobras, pythons, scorpions, and the iguana or large lizard, which they consider to be poisonous. some of them when engaged with their snakes wear two pieces of tiger-skin on their back and chest, and a cap of tiger-skin in which they fix the eyes of various birds. they have a hollow gourd on which they produce a kind of music and this is supposed to charm the snakes. when catching a cobra they pin its head to the ground with a stick and then seize it in a cleft bamboo and prick out the poison-fangs with a large needle. they think that the teeth of the iguana are also poisonous and they knock them out with a stick, and if fresh teeth afterwards grow they believe them not to contain poison. the python is called ajgar, which is said to mean eater of goats. in captivity the pythons will not eat of themselves, and the snake-charmers chop up pieces of meat and fowls and placing the food in the reptile's mouth massage it down the body. they feed the pythons only once in four or five days. they have antidotes for snake-bite, the root of a creeper called _kalipar_ and the bark of the _karheya_ tree. when a patient is brought to them they give him a little pepper, and if he tastes the pungent flavour they think that he has not been affected by snake-poison, but if it seems tasteless that he has been bitten. then they give him small pieces of the two antidotes already mentioned with tobacco and 2 1/2 leaves of the _nim_ tree [349] which is sacred to devi. on the festival of nag-panchmi (cobra's fifth) they worship their cobras and give them milk to drink and then take them round the town or village and the people also worship and feed the snakes and give a present of a few annas to the sapera. in towns much frequented by cobras, a special adoration is paid to them. thus in hatta in the damoh district a stone image of a snake, known as nag-baba or father cobra is worshipped for a month before the festival of nag-panchmi. during this period one man from every house in the village must go to nag-baba's shrine outside and take food there and come back. and on nag-panchmi the whole town goes out in a body to pay him reverence, and it is thought that if any one is absent the cobras will harass him for the whole year. but others say that cobras will only bite men of low caste. the saperas will not kill a snake as a rule, but occasionally it is said that they kill one and cut off the head and eat the body, this being possibly an instance of eating the divine animal at a sacrificial meal. the following is an old account of the performances of snake-charmers in bengal: [350] "hence, on many occasions throughout the year, the dread manasa devi, the queen of snakes, is propitiated by presents, vows and religious rites. in the month of shrabana the worship of the snake goddess is celebrated with great éclat. an image of the goddess, seated on a water-lily, encircled with serpents, or a branch of the snake-tree (a species of euphorbia), or a pot of water, with images of serpents made of clay, forms the object of worship. men, women and children, all offer presents to avert from themselves the wrath of the terrific deity. the mals or snake-catchers signalise themselves on this occasion. temporary scaffolds of bamboo work are set up in the presence of the goddess. vessels filled with all sorts of snakes are brought in. the mals, often reeling with intoxication, mount the scaffolds, take out serpents from the vessels, and allow them to bite their arms. bite after bite succeeds; the arms run with blood; and the mals go on with their pranks, amid the deafening plaudits of the spectators. now and then they fall off from the scaffold and pretend to feel the effects of poison, and cure themselves by their incantations. but all is mere pretence. the serpents displayed on the occasion and challenged to do their worst, have passed through a preparatory state. their fangs have been carefully extracted from their jaws. but most of the vulgar spectators easily persuade themselves to believe that the mals are the chosen servants of siva and the favourites of manasa. although their supernatural pretensions are ridiculous, yet it must be confessed that the mals have made snakes the subject of their peculiar study. they are thoroughly acquainted with their qualities, their dispositions, and their habits. they will run down a snake into its hole, and bring it out thence by main force. even the terrible cobra is cowed down by the controlling influence of a mal. when in the act of bringing out snakes from their subterranean holes, the mals are in the habit of muttering charms, in which the names of manasa and mahadeva frequently occur; superstition alone can clothe these unmeaning words with supernatural potency. but it is not inconsistent with the soundest philosophy to suppose that there may be some plants whose roots are disagreeable to serpents, and from which they instinctively turn away. all snake-catchers of bengal are provided with a bundle of the roots of some plant which they carefully carry along with them, when they set out on their serpent-hunting expeditions. when a serpent, disturbed in its hole, comes out furiously hissing with rage, with its body coiled, and its head lifted up, the mal has only to present before it the bundle of roots above alluded to, at the sight of which it becomes spiritless as an eel. this we have ourselves witnessed more than once." these mals appear to have been members of the aboriginal male or male paharia tribe of bengal. nunia _nunia, lunia._ [351]--a mixed occupational caste of salt-makers and earth-workers, made up of recruits from the different non-aryan tribes of northern india. the word _non_ means salt, and is a corruption of the sanskrit _lavana_, 'the moist,' which first occurs as a name for sea-salt in the atharva veda. [352] in the oldest prose writings salt is known as saindhava or 'that which is brought from the indus,' this perhaps being punjab rock-salt. the nunias are a fairly large caste in bengal and northern india, numbering 800,000 persons, but the central provinces and berar contain only 3000, who are immigrants from upper india. here they are navvies and masons, a calling which they have generally adopted since the government monopoly has interfered with their proper business of salt-refining. the mixed origin of the caste is shown by the list of their subdivisions in the united provinces, which includes the names mallah, kewat, kuchbandhia, bind, musahar, bhuinhar and lodha, all of which are distinct castes, besides a number of territorial subcastes. a list of nearly thirty subcastes is given by mr. crooke, and this is an instance of the tendency of migratory castes to split up into small groups for the purpose of arranging marriages, owing to the difficulty of ascertaining the status and respectability of each other's families, and the unwillingness to contract alliances with those whose social position may turn out to be not wholly satisfactory. "the internal structure of the caste," mr. crooke remarks, "is far from clear; it would appear that they are still in a state of transition, and the different endogamous subcastes are not as yet fully recognised." in bilaspur the nunias have three local subcastes, the bandhaiya, the ratanpuria and the kharodhia. the two last, deriving their names from the towns of ratanpur and kharod in bilaspur, are said to have been employed in former times in the construction of the temples and other buildings which abound in these localities, and have thus acquired a considerable degree of professional skill in masonry work; while the bandhaiya, who take their name from bandhogarh, confine themselves to the excavation of tanks and wells. the exogamous divisions of the caste are also by no means clearly defined; in mirzapur they have a system of local subdivisions called _dih_, each subdivision being named after the village which is supposed to be its home. the word _dih_ itself means a site or village. those who have a common _dih_ do not intermarry. [353] this fact is interesting as being an instance of the direct derivation of the exogamous clan from residence in a parent village and not from any heroic or supposititious ancestor. the caste have a legend which shows their mixed origin. some centuries ago, they say, a marriage procession consisting of brahmans, rajputs, banias and gosains went to a place near ajodhya. after the ceremony was over the bride, on being taken to the bridegroom's lodging, scraped up a little earth with her fingers and put it in her mouth. she found it had a saltish taste, and spat it out on the ground, and this enraged the tutelary goddess of the village, who considered herself insulted, and swore that all the bride's descendants should excavate salt in atonement; and thus the caste arose. in bilaspur the caste permit a girl to be married to a boy younger than herself. a price of five rupees has to be paid for the bride, unless her family give a girl in exchange. the bridegroom is taken to the wedding in a palanquin borne by mahars. after its conclusion the couple are carried back in the litter for some distance, after which the bridegroom gets out and walks or rides. when he goes to fetch his wife on her coming of age the bridegroom wears white clothes, which is rather peculiar, as white is not a lucky colour among the hindus. the nunias employ brahmans at their ceremonies, and they have a caste _panchayat_ or committee, whose headman is known as kurha. the bilaspur section of the caste has two kurhas. here brahmans take water from them, but not in all places. they consider their traditional occupation to have been the extraction of salt and saltpetre from saline earth. at present they are generally employed in the excavation of tanks and the embankment of fields, and they also sink wells, build and erect houses, and undertake all kinds of agricultural labour. ojha _ojha._--the community of soothsayers and minstrels of the gonds. the ojhas may now be considered a distinct subtribe, as they are looked down upon by the gonds and marry among themselves. they derive their name from the word _ojh_ meaning 'entrail,' their original duty having been, like that of the roman augurs, to examine the entrails of the victim immediately after it had been slain as an offering to the gods. in 1911 the ojhas numbered about 5000 persons distributed over all districts of the central provinces. at present the bulk of the community subsist by beggary. the word ojha is of sanskrit and not of gond origin and is applied by the hindus to the seers or magicians of several of the primitive tribes, while there is also a class of ojha brahmans who practise magic and divination. the gond ojhas, who are the subject of this article, originally served the gonds and begged from them alone, but in some parts of the western satpuras they are also the minstrels of the korkus. those who beg from the korkus play on a kind of drum called _dhank_ while the gond ojhas use the _kingri_ or lyre. some of them also catch birds and are therefore known as moghia. mr. hislop [354] remarks of them: "the ojhas follow the two occupations of bard and fowler. they lead a wandering life and when passing through villages they sing from house to house the praises of their heroes, dancing with castanets in their hands, bells at their ankles and long feathers of jungle birds in their turbans. they sell live quails and the skins of a species of buceros named dhan-chiria; these are used for making caps and for hanging up in houses in order to secure wealth (_dhan_), while the thigh-bones of the same bird when fastened round the waists of children are deemed an infallible preservative against the assaults of devils and other such calamities. their wives tattoo the arms of hindu and gond women. among them there is a subdivision known as the mana ojhas, who rank higher than the others. laying claim to unusual sanctity, they refuse to eat with any one, gonds, rajputs or even brahmans, and devote themselves to the manufacture of rings and bells which are in request among their own race, and even of _lingas_ (phallic emblems) and _nandis_ (bull images), which they sell to all ranks of the hindu community. their wives are distinguished by wearing the cloth of the upper part of the body over the right shoulder, whereas those of the common ojhas and of all the other gonds wear it over the left." mr. tawney wrote of the ojhas as follows: [355] "the ojha women do not dance. it is only men who do so, and when thus engaged they put on special attire and wear anklets with bells. the ojhas like the gonds are divided into six or seven god _gots_ (classes or septs), and those with the same number of gods cannot intermarry. they worship at the same deokhala (god's threshing-floor) as the gonds, but being regarded as an inferior caste they are not allowed so near the sacred presence. like the gonds they incorporate the spirits of the dead with the gods, but their manner of doing so is somewhat different, as they make an image of brass to represent the soul of the deceased and keep this with the household gods. as with the gonds, if a household god makes himself too objectionable he is quietly buried to keep him out of mischief and a new god is introduced into the family. the latter should properly bear the same name as his degraded predecessor, but very often does not. the ojhas are too poor to indulge in the luxury of burning their deceased friends and therefore invariably bury them." the customs of the ojhas resemble those of the gonds. they take the bride to the bridegroom's house to be married, and a widow among them is expected, though not obliged, to wed her late husband's younger brother. they eat the flesh of fowls, pigs, and even oxen, but abstain from that of monkeys, crocodiles and jackals. they will not touch an ass, a cat or a dog, and consider it sinful to kill animals which bark or bray. they will take food from the hands of all except the most impure castes, and will admit into the community any man who has taken an ojha woman to live with him, even though he be a sweeper, provided that he will submit to the prescribed test of begging from the houses of five gonds and eating the leavings of food of the other ojhas. they will pardon the transgression of one of their women with an outsider of any caste whatever, if she is able and willing to provide the usual penalty feast. they have no _sutak_ or period of impurity after a death, but merely take a mouthful of liquor and consider themselves clean. in physical appearance the ojhas resemble the gonds but are less robust. they rank below the gonds and are considered as impure by the hindu castes. in 1865, an ojha held a village in hoshangabad district which he had obtained as follows: [356] "he was singing and dancing before raja raghuji, when the raja said he would give a rent-free village to any one who would pick up and chew a quid of betel-leaf which he (the raja) had had in his mouth and had spat out. the ojha did this and got the village." the maithil or tirhut brahmans who are especially learned in tantric magic are also sometimes known as ojha, and a family bearing this title were formerly in the service of the gond kings of mandla. they do not now admit that they acted as augurs or soothsayers, but state that their business was to pray continuously for the king's success when he was engaged in any battle, and to sit outside the rooms of sick persons repeating the sacred gayatri verse for their recovery. this is often repeated ten times, counting by a special method on the joints of the fingers and is then known as _jap_. when it is repeated a larger number of times, as 54 or 108, a rosary is used. oraon [_authorities_: the most complete account of the oraons is a monograph entitled, _the religion and customs of the oraons_, by the late rev. father p. dehon, published in 1906 in the _memoirs of the asiatic society of bengal_, vol. i. no. 9. the tribe is also described at length by colonel dalton in _the ethnography of bengal_, and an article on it is included in mr. (sir h.) risley's _tribes and castes of bengal_. references to the oraons are contained in mr. bradley-birt's _chota nagpur_, and mr. ball's _jungle life in india_. the kurukh language is treated by dr. grierson in the volume of the linguistic survey on _munda and dravidian languages_. the following article is principally made up of extracts from the accounts of father dehon and colonel dalton. papers have also been received from mr. hira lal, mr. balaram nand, deputy inspector of schools, sambalpur, mr. jeorakhan lal, deputy inspector of schools, bilaspur, and munshi kanhya lal of the gazetteer office.] list of paragraphs 1. _general notice_. 2. _settlement in chota nagpur_. 3. _subdivisions_. 4. _pre-nuptial licence_. 5. _betrothal_. 6. _marriage ceremony_. 7. _special customs_. 8. _widow-remarriage and divorce_. 9. _customs at birth_. 10. _naming a child_. 11. _branding and tattooing_. 12. _dormitory discipline_. 13. _disposal of the dead_. 14. _worship of ancestors_. 15. _religion_. _the supreme deity_. 16. _minor godlings_. 17. _human sacrifice_. 18. _christianity_. 19. _festivals_. _the karma or may-day_. 20. _the sal flower festival_. 21. _the harvest festival_. 22. _fast for the crops_. 23. _physical appearance and costume of the oraons_. 24. _dress of women_. 25. _dances_. 26. _social customs_. 27. _social rules_. 28. _character_. 29. _language_. 1. general notice _oraon, uraon, kurukh, dhangar, kuda, kisan._--the oraons are an important dravidian tribe of the chota nagpur plateau, numbering altogether about 750,000 persons, of whom 85,000 now belong to the central provinces, being residents of the jashpur and sarguja states and the neighbouring tracts. they are commonly known in the central provinces as dhangar or dhangar-oraon. in chota nagpur the word dhangar means a farmservant engaged according to a special customary contract, and it has come to be applied to the oraons, who are commonly employed in this capacity. kuda means a digger or navvy in uriya, and enquiries made by mr. b.c. mazumdar and mr. hira lal have demonstrated that the 18,000 persons returned under this designation from raigarh and sambalpur in 1901 were really oraons. the same remark applies to 33,000 persons returned from sambalpur as kisan or cultivator, these also being members of the tribe. the name by which the oraons know themselves is kurukh or kurunkh, and the designation of oraon or orao has been applied to them by outsiders. the meaning of both names is obscure. dr. halm [357] was of opinion that the word _kurukh_ might be identified with the kolarian _horo_, man, and explained the term oraon as the totem of one of the septs into which the kurukhs were divided. according to him oraon was a name coined by the hindus, its base being _orgoran_, hawk or cunny bird, used as the name of a totemistic sept. sir g. grierson, however, suggested a connection with the kaikari, _urupai_, man; burgandi _urapo_, man; _urang_, men. the kaikaris are a telugu caste, and as the oraons are believed to have come from the south of india, this derivation sounds plausible. in a similar way sir. g. grierson states, kurukh may be connected with tamil _kurugu_, an eagle, and be the name of a totemistic clan. compare also names, such as korava, kurru, a dialect of tamil, and kudagu. in the nerbudda valley the farmservant who pours the seed through the tube of the sowing-plough is known as oraya; this word is probably derived from the verb _urna_ to pour, and means 'one who pours.' since the principal characteristic of the oraons among the hindus is their universal employment as farmservants and labourers, it may be suggested that the name is derived from this term. of the other names by which they are known to outsiders dhangar means a farmservant, kuda a digger, and kisan a cultivator. the name oraon and its variant orao is very close to oraya, which, as already seen, means a farmservant. the nasal seems to be often added or omitted in this part of the country, as kurukh or kurunkh. 2. settlement in chota nagpur according to their own traditions, mr. gait writes, [358] "the kurukh tribe originally lived in the carnatic, whence they went up the nerbudda river and settled in bihar on the banks of the son. driven out by the muhammadans, the tribe split into two divisions, one of which followed the course of the ganges and finally settled in the rajmahal hills: while the other went up the son and occupied the north-western portion of the chota nagpur plateau, where many of the villages they occupy are still known by mundari names. the latter were the ancestors of the oraons or kurukhs, while the former were the progenitors of the male or saonria as they often call themselves." towards lohardaga the oraons found themselves among the mundas or kols, who probably retired by degrees and left them in possession of the country. "the oraons," father dehon states, "are an exceedingly prolific tribe and soon become the preponderant element, while the mundas, being conservative and averse to living among strangers, emigrate towards another jungle. the mundas hate zamindars, and whenever they can do so, prefer to live in a retired corner in full possession of their small holding; and it is not at all improbable that, as the zamindars took possession of the newly-formed villages, they retired towards the east, while the oraons, being good beasts of burden and more accustomed to subjection, remained." in view of the fine physique and martial character of the larka or fighting kols or mundas, dalton was sceptical of the theory that they could ever have retired before the oraons; but in addition to the fact that many villages in which oraons now live have mundari names, it may be noted that the headman of an oraon village is termed munda and is considered to be descended from its founder, while for the pahan or priest of the village gods, the oraons always employ a munda if available, and it is one of the pahan's duties to point out the boundary of the village in cases of dispute; this is a function regularly assigned to the earliest residents, and seems to be strong evidence that the oraons found the mundas settled in chota nagpur when they arrived there. it is not necessary to suppose that any conquest or forcible expropriation took place; and it is probable that, as the country was opened up, the mundas by preference retired to the wilder forest tracts, just as in the central provinces the korkus and baigas gave way to the gonds, and the gonds themselves relinquished the open country to the hindus. none of the writers quoted notice the name munda as applied to the headman of an oraon village, but it can hardly be doubted that it is connected with that of the tribe; and it would be interesting also to know whether the pahan or village priest takes his name from the pans or gandas. dalton says that the pans are domesticated as essential constituents of every ho or kol village community, but does not allude to their presence among the oraons. the custom in the central provinces, by which in gond villages the village priest is always known as baiga, because in some localities members of the baiga tribe are commonly employed in the office, suggests the hypothesis of a similar usage here. in villages first settled by oraons, the population, father dehon states, is divided into three _khunts_ or branches, named after the munda, pahan and mahto, the founders of the three branches being held to have been sons of the first settler. members of each branch belong therefore to the same sept or _got_. each _khunt_ has a share of the village lands. 3. subdivisions the oraons have no proper subcastes in the central provinces, but the kudas and kisans, having a distinctive name and occupation, sometimes regard themselves as separate bodies and decline intermarriage with other oraons. in bengal sir h. risley gives five divisions, barga, dhanka, kharia, khendro and munda; of these kharia and munda are the names of other tribes, and dhanka may be a variant for dhangar. the names show that as usual with the tribes of this part of the country the law of endogamy is by no means strict. the tribe have also a large number of exogamous septs of the totemistic type, named after plants and animals. members of any sept commonly abstain from killing or eating their sept totem. a man must not marry a member of his own sept nor a first cousin on the mother's side. 4. pre-nuptial licence marriage is adult and pre-nuptial unchastity appears to be tacitly recognised. oraon villages have the institution of the dhumkuria or bachelors' dormitory, which dalton describes as follows: [359] "in all the older oraon villages when there is any conservation of ancient customs, there is a house called the dhumkuria in which all the bachelors of the village must sleep under penalty of a fine. the huts of the oraons have insufficient accommodation for a family, so that separate quarters for the young men are a necessity. the same remark applies to the young unmarried women, and it is a fact that they do not sleep in the house with their parents. they are generally frank enough when questioned about their habits, but on this subject there is always a certain amount of reticence, and i have seen girls quietly withdraw when it was mooted. i am told that in some villages a separate building is provided for them like the dhumkuria, in which they consort under the guardianship of an elderly duenna, but i believe the more common practice is to distribute them among the houses of the widows, and this is what the girls themselves assert, if they answer at all when the question is asked; but however billeted, it is well known that they often find their way to the bachelors' hall, and in some villages actually sleep there. i not long ago saw a dhumkuria in a sarguja village in which the boys and girls all slept every night." colonel dalton considered it uncertain that the practice led to actual immorality, but the fact can hardly be doubted. sexual intercourse before marriage, sir h. risley says, is tacitly recognised, and is so generally practised that in the opinion of the best observers no oraon girl is a virgin at the time of her marriage. "to call this state of things immoral is to apply a modern conception to primitive habits of life. within the tribe, indeed, the idea of sexual morality seems hardly to exist, and the unmarried oraons are not far removed from the condition of modified promiscuity which prevails among many of the australian tribes. provided that the exogamous circle defined by the totem is respected, an unmarried woman may bestow her favours on whom she will. if, however, she becomes pregnant, arrangements are made to get her married without delay, and she is then expected to lead a virtuous life." [360] according to dalton, however, _liaisons_ between boys and girls of the same village seldom end in marriage, as it is considered more respectable to bring home a bride from a distance. this appears to arise from the primitive rule of exogamy that marriage should not be allowed between those who have been brought up together. the young men can choose for themselves, and at dances, festivals and other social gatherings they freely woo their sweethearts, giving them flowers for the hair and presents of grilled field-mice, which the oraons consider to be the most delicate of food. father dehon, however, states that matches are arranged by the parents, and the bride and bridegroom have nothing to say in the matter. boys are usually married at sixteen and girls at fourteen or fifteen. the girls thus have only about two years of preliminary flirtation or dhumkuria life before they are settled. 5. betrothal the first ceremony for a marriage is known as _pan bandhi_ or the settling of the price; for which the boy's father, accompanied by some men of his village to represent _the panch_ or elders, goes to the girl's house. father dehon states that the bride-price is five rupees and four maunds of grain. when this has been settled the rejoicings begin. "all the people of the village are invited; two boys come and anoint the visitors with oil. from every house of the village that can afford it a _handia_ or pot of rice-beer is brought, and they drink together and make merry. all this time the girl has been kept inside, but now she suddenly sallies forth carrying a _handia_ on her head. a murmur of admiration greets her when stepping through the crowd she comes and stands in front of her future father-in-law, who at once takes the _handia_ from her head, embraces her, and gives her one rupee. from that time during the whole of the feast the girl remains sitting at the feet of her father-in-law. the whole party meanwhile continue drinking and talking; and voices rise so high that they cannot hear one another. as a diversion the old women of the village all come tumbling in, very drunk and wearing fantastic hats made of leaves, gesticulating like devils and carrying a straw manikin representing the bridegroom. they all look like old witches, and in their drunken state are very mischievous." 6. marriage ceremony the marriage takes place after about two years, visits being exchanged twice a year in the meantime. when the day comes the bridegroom proceeds with a large party of his friends, male and female, to the bride's house. most of the males have warlike weapons, real or sham, and as they approach the village of the bride's family the young men from thence emerge, also armed, as if to repel the invasion, and a mimic fight ensues, which like a dissolving view blends pleasantly into a dance. in this the bride and bridegroom join, each riding on the hips of one of their friends. after this they have a feast till late in the night. next morning bread cooked by the bride's mother is taken to the _dari_ or village spring, where all the women partake of it. when they have finished they bring a vessel of water with some leaves of the mango tree in it. meanwhile the bride and bridegroom are in the house, being anointed with oil and turmeric by their respective sisters. when everybody has gathered under the marriage-bower the boy and girl are brought out of the house and a heap is made of a plough-yoke, a bundle of thatching-grass and a curry-stone. the bride and bridegroom are made to stand on the curry-stone, the boy touching the heels of the bride with his toes, and a long piece of cloth is put round them to screen them from the public. only their heads and feet can be seen. a goblet full of vermilion is presented to the boy, who dips his finger in it and makes three lines on the forehead of the girl; and the girl does the same to the boy, but as she has to reach him over her shoulder and cannot see him, the boy gets it anywhere, on his face, which never fails to provoke hearty bursts of laughter. "when this is complete," dalton states, "a gun is fired and then by some arrangement vessels full of water, placed over the bower, are upset, and the young couple and those near them receive a drenching shower-bath, the women shouting, 'the marriage is done, the marriage is done.' they now retire into an apartment prepared for them, ostensibly to change their clothes, but they do not emerge for some time, and when they do appear they are saluted as man and wife." 7. special customs meanwhile the guests sit round drinking _handias_ or earthen pots full of rice-beer. the bride and bridegroom come out and retire a second time and are called out for the following rite. a vessel of beer is brought and the bride carries a cupful of it to the bridegroom's brother, but instead of giving it into his hand she deposits it on the ground in front of him. this is to seal a kind of tacit agreement that from that time the bridegroom's brother will not touch his sister-in-law, and was probably instituted to mark the abolition of the former system of fraternal polyandry, customs of an analogous nature being found among the khonds and korkus. "then," father dehon continues, "comes the last ceremony, which is called _khiritengna handia_ or the _handia_ of the story, and is considered by the oraons to be the true form of marriage which has been handed down to them by their forefathers. the boy and girl sit together before the people, and one of the elder men present rises and addressing the boy says: 'if your wife goes to fetch _sag_ and falls from a tree and breaks her leg, do not say that she is disfigured or crippled. you will have to keep and feed her.' then turning to the girl: 'when your husband goes hunting, if his arm or leg is broken, do not say, "he is a cripple, i won't live with him." do not say that, for you have to remain with him. if you prepare meat, give two shares to him and keep only one for yourself. if you prepare vegetables, give him two parts and keep only one part for yourself. if he gets sick and cannot go out, do not say that he is dirty, but clean his mat and wash him.' a feast follows, and at night the girl is brought to the boy by her mother, who says to him, 'now this my child is yours; i do not give her for a few days but for ever; take care of her and love her well.' a companion of the bridegroom's then seizes the girl in his arms and carries her inside the house." 8. widow-remarriage and divorce it is uncommon for a man to have two wives. divorce is permitted, and is usually effected by the boy or girl running away to the duars or assam. widow-remarriage is a regular practice. the first time a widow marries again, father dehon states, the bridegroom must pay rs. 3-8 for her; if successive husbands die her price goes down by a rupee on each fresh marriage, so that a fifth husband would pay only eight annas. cases of adultery are comparatively rare. when offenders are caught a heavy fine is imposed if they are well-to-do, and if they are not, a smaller fine and a beating. 9. customs at birth "the oraons," father dehon continues, "are a very prolific race, and whenever they are allowed to live without being too much oppressed they increase prodigiously. what strikes you when you come to an oraon village is the number of small dirty children playing everywhere, while you can scarcely meet a woman that does not carry a baby on her back. the women seem, to a great extent, to have been exempted from the curse of our first mother: 'thou shalt bring forth, etc.' they seem to give birth to their children with the greatest ease. there is no period of uncleanness, and the very day after giving birth to a child, you will see the mother with her baby tied up in a cloth on her back and a pitcher on her head going, as if nothing had happened, to the village spring." this practice, it may be remarked in parenthesis, may arise from the former observance of the couvade, the peculiar custom prevailing among several primitive races, by which, when a child is born, the father lies in the house and pretends to be ill, while the mother gets up immediately and goes about her work. the custom has been reported as existing among the oraons by one observer from bilaspur, [361] but so far without confirmation. 10. naming a child "a child is named eight or ten days after birth, and on this day some men of the village and the members of the family assemble at the parents' house. two leaf-cups are brought, one full of water and the other of rice. after a preliminary formula grains of rice are let fall into the cup, first in the name of the child and then successively in those of his ancestors in the following order: paternal grandfather, paternal great-grandfather, father, paternal uncle, maternal grandfather, other relatives. when the grain dropped in the name of any relative meets the first one dropped to represent the child, he is given the name of that relative and is probably considered to be a reincarnation of him." 11. branding and tattooing "when a boy is six or seven years old it is time for him to become a member of the dhumkuria or common dormitory. the eldest boys catch hold of his left arm and, with burning cloth, burn out five deep marks on the lower part of his arm. this is done so that he may be recognised as an oraon at his death when he goes into the other world." the ceremony was probably the initiation to manhood on arrival at puberty, and resembled those prevalent among the australian tribes. with this exception men are not tattooed, but this decoration is profusely resorted to by women. they have three parallel vertical lines on the forehead which form a distinctive mark, and other patterns on the arms, chest, knees and ankles. these usually consist of lines vertical and horizontal as shown below: the marks on the knees are considered to be steps by which the wearer will ascend to heaven after her death. if a baby cries much it is also tattooed on the nose and chin. 12. dormitory discipline the dhumkuria fraternity, colonel dalton remarks, are, under the severest penalties, bound down to secrecy in regard to all that takes place in their dormitory; and even girls are punished if they dare to tell tales. they are not allowed to join in the dances till the offence is condoned. they have a regular system of fagging in this curious institution. the small boys serve those of larger growth, shampoo their limbs, comb their hair, and so on, and they are sometimes subjected to severe discipline to make men of them. 13. disposal of the dead the oraons either bury or burn the dead. as the corpse is carried to the grave, beginning from the first crossroads, they sprinkle a line of rice as far as the grave or pyre. this is done so that the soul of the deceased may find its way back to the house. before the burial or cremation cooked food and some small pieces of money are placed in the mouth of the corpse. they are subsequently, however, removed or recovered from the ashes and taken by the musicians as their fee. some clothes belonging to the deceased and a vessel with some rice are either burnt with the corpse or placed in the grave. as the grave is being filled in they place a stalk of _orai_ [362] grass vertically on the head of the corpse and gradually draw it upwards as the earth is piled on the grave. they say that this is done in order to leave a passage for the air to pass to the nostrils of the deceased. this is the grass from which reed pens are made, and the stalk is hard and hollow. afterwards they plant a root of the same grass where the stalk is standing over the head of the corpse. on the tenth day they sacrifice a pig and fowl and bury the legs, tail, ears and nose of the pig in a hole with seven balls of iron dross. they then proceed to the grave scattering a little parched rice all the way along the path. cooked rice is offered at the grave. if the corpse has been burnt they pick up the bones and place them in a pot, which is brought home and hung up behind the dead man's house. at night-time a relative sits inside the house watching a burning lamp, while some friends go outside the village and make a miniature hut with sticks and grass and set fire to it. they then call out to the dead man, 'come, your house is being burnt,' and walk home striking a mattock and sickle together. on coming to the house they kick down the matting which covers the doorway; the man inside says, 'who are you?' and they answer, 'it is we.' they watch the lamp and when the flame wavers they believe it to show that the spirit of the deceased has followed them and has also entered the house. next day the bones are thrown into a river and the earthen pot broken against a stone. 14. worship of ancestors the _pitras_ or ancestors are worshipped at every festival, and when the new rice is reaped a hen is offered to them. they pray to their dead parents to accept the offering and then place a few grains of rice before the hen. if she eats them, it is a sign that the ancestors have accepted the offering and a man kills the hen by crushing its head with his closed fist. this is probably, as remarked by father dehon, in recollection of the method employed before the introduction of knives, and the same explanation may be given of the barbaric method of the baigas of crushing a pig to death by a beam of wood used as a see-saw across its body, and of the gond bride and bridegroom killing a fowl by treading on it when they first enter their house after the wedding. 15. religion. the supreme deity the following account of the tribal religion is abridged from father dehon's full and interesting description: "the oraons worship a supreme god who is known as dharmes; him they invoke in their greatest difficulties when recourse to the village priests and magicians has proved useless. then they turn to dharmes and say, 'now we have tried everything, but we have still you who can help us.' they sacrifice to him a white cock. they think that god is too good to punish them, and that they are not answerable to him in any way for their conduct; they believe that everybody will be treated in the same way in the other world. there is no hell for them or place of punishment, but everybody will go to _merkha_ or heaven. the red indians speak of the happy hunting-grounds and the oraons imagine something like the happy ploughing-grounds, where everybody will have plenty of land, plenty of bullocks to plough it with, and plenty of rice-beer to drink after his labour. they look on god as a big zamindar or landowner, who does nothing himself, but keeps a _chaprasi_ as an agent or debt-collector; and they conceive the latter as having all the defects so common to his profession. baranda, the _chaprasi_, exacts tribute from them mercilessly, not exactly out of zeal for the service of his master, but out of greed for his _talbana_ or perquisites. when making a sacrifice to dharmes they pray: 'o god, from to-day do not send any more your _chaprasi_ to punish us. you see we have paid our respects to you, and we are going to give him his _dasturi_ (tip).' 16. minor godlings "but in the concerns of this world, to obtain good crops and freedom from sickness, a host of minor deities have to be propitiated. these consist of _bhuts_ or spirits of the household, the sept, the village, and common deities, such as the earth and sun. chola pacho or the lady of the grove lives in the _sarna_ or sacred grove, which has been left standing when the forest was cleared. she is credited with the power of giving rain and consequently good crops. churel is the shade of a woman who has died while pregnant or in childbirth. she hovers over her burial-place and is an object of horror and fright to every passer-by. it is her nature to look out for a companion, and she is said always to choose that member of a family whom she liked best during her lifetime. she will then come at night and embrace him and tickle him under the arms, making him laugh till he dies. bhula or the wanderers are the shades of persons who have died an unnatural death, either having been murdered, hanged, or killed by a tiger. they all keep the scars of their respective wounds and one can imagine what a weird-looking lot they are. they are always on the move, and are, as it were, the mendicant portion of the invisible community. they are not very powerful and are responsible only for small ailments, like nightmares and slight indispositions. when an ojha or spirit-raiser discovers that a bhula has appeared in the light of his lamp he shows a disappointed face, and says: 'pshaw, only bhula!' no sacrifice is offered to him, but the ojha then and there takes a few grains of rice, rubs them in charcoal and throws them at the flame of his lamp, saying, 'take this, bhula, and go away.' murkuri is the thumping _bhut_. europeans to show their kindness and familiarity thump people on the back. if this is followed by fever or any kind of sickness it will be ascribed to the passing of murkuri from the body of the european into the body of the native. "_chordewa_ is a witch rather than a _bhut_. it is believed that some women have the power to change their soul into a black cat, who then goes about in the houses where there are sick people. such a cat has a peculiar way of mewing, quite different from its brethren, and is easily recognised. it steals quietly into the house, licks the lips of the sick man and eats the food which has been prepared for him. the sick man soon gets worse and dies. they say it is very difficult to catch the cat, as it has all the nimbleness of its nature and the cleverness of a _bhut_. however, they sometimes succeed, and then something wonderful happens. the woman out of whom the cat has come remains insensible, as it were in a state of temporary death, until the cat re-enters her body. any wound inflicted on the cat will be inflicted on her; if they cut its ears or break its legs or put out its eyes the woman will suffer the same mutilation. the oraons say that formerly they used to burn any woman who was suspected of being a _chordewa_. 17. human sacrifice "there is also anna kuari or mahadhani, who is in our estimation the most cruel and repulsive deity of all, as she requires human sacrifice. those savage people, who put good crops above everything, look upon her in a different light. she can give good crops and make a man rich, and this covers a multitude of sins. people may be sceptical about it and say that it is impossible that in any part of india under the british government there should still be human sacrifices. well, in spite of all the vigilance of the authorities, there are still human sacrifices in chota nagpur. as the vigilance of the authorities increases, so also does the carefulness of the urkas or otongas increase. they choose for their victims poor waifs or strangers, whose disappearance no one will notice. april and may are the months in which the urkas are at work. doisa, panari, kukra and sarguja have a very bad reputation. during these months no strangers will go about the country alone and during that time nowhere will boys and girls be allowed to go to the jungle and graze the cattle for fear of the urkas. when an urka has found a victim he cuts his throat and carries away the upper part of the ring finger and the nose. anna kuari finds votaries not only among the oraons, but especially among the big zamindars and rajas of the native states. when a man has offered a sacrifice to anna kuari she goes and lives in his house in the form of a small child. from that time his fields yield double harvest, and when he brings in his paddy he takes anna kuari and rolls her over the heap to double its size. but she soon becomes restless and is only pacified by new human sacrifices. at last after some years she cannot bear remaining in the same house any more and kills every one." 18. christianity in jashpur state where the oraons number 47,000 about half the total number have become christians. the non-christians call themselves sansar, and the principal difference between them is that the christians have cut off the pigtail, while the sansar retain it. in some families the father may be a sansar and the son a kiristan, and they live together without any distinction. the christians belong to the roman catholic and lutheran missions, but though they all know their church, they naturally have little or no idea of the distinctions of doctrine. 19. festivals. the karma or may-day the principal festivals are the sarhul, celebrated when the _sal_ tree [363] flowers, the karma or may-day when the rice is ready for planting out, and the kanihari or harvest celebration. "at the karma festival a party of young people of both sexes," says colonel dalton, "proceed to the forest and cut a young _karma_ tree (_nauclea parvifolia_) or the branch of one; they bear this home in triumph and plant it in the centre of the akhara or wrestling ground. next morning all may be seen at an early hour in holiday array, the elders in groups under the fine old tamarind trees that surround the akhara, and the youth of both sexes, arm-linked in a huge circle, dancing round the _karma_ tree, which, festooned with garlands, decorated with strips of coloured cloth and sham bracelets and necklets of plaited straw, and with the bright faces and merry laughter of the young people encircling it, reminds one of the gift-bearing tree so often introduced at our own great festival." the tree, however, probably corresponds to the english maypole, and the festival celebrates the renewal of vegetation. 20. the _sal_ flower festival at the sarhul festival the marriage of the sun-god and earth-mother is celebrated, and this cannot be done till the _sal_ tree gives the flowers for the ceremony. it takes place about the beginning of april on any day when the tree is in flower. a white cock is taken to represent the sun and a black hen the earth; their marriage is celebrated by marking them with vermilion, and they are sacrificed. the villagers then accompany the pahan or baiga, the village priest, to the _sarna_ or sacred grove, a remnant of the old _sal_ forest in which is located sarna burhi or 'the old women of the grove.' "to this dryad," writes colonel dalton, "who is supposed to have great influence over the rain (a superstition not improbably founded on the importance of trees as cloud-compellers), the party offer five fowls, which are afterwards eaten, and the remainder of the day is spent in feasting. they return laden with the flowers of the _sal_ tree, and next morning with the baiga pay a visit to every house, carrying the flowers. the women of the village all stand on the threshold of their houses, each holding two leaf-cups; one empty to receive the holy water; the other with rice-beer for the baiga. his reverence stops at each house, and places flowers over it and in the hair of the women. he sprinkles the holy water on the seeds that have been kept for the new year and showers blessings on every house, saying, 'may your rooms and granary be filled with paddy that the baiga's name may be great.' when this is accomplished the woman throws a vessel of water over his venerable person, heartily dousing the man whom the moment before they were treating with such profound respect. this is no doubt a rain-charm, and is a familiar process. the baiga is prevented from catching cold by being given the cup of rice-beer and is generally gloriously drunk before he completes his round. there is now a general feast, and afterwards the youth of both sexes, gaily decked with the _sal_ blossoms, the pale cream-white flowers of which make the most becoming of ornaments against their dusky skins and coal-black hair, proceed to the akhara and dance all night." 21. the harvest festival the kanihari, as described by father dehon, is held previous to the threshing of the rice, and none is allowed to prepare his threshing-floor until it has been celebrated. it can only take place on a tuesday. a fowl is sacrificed and its blood sprinkled on the new rice. in the evening a common feast is held at which the baiga presides, and when this is over they go to the place where mahadeo is worshipped and the baiga pours milk over the stone that represents him. the people then dance. plenty of rice-beer is brought, and a scene of debauchery takes place in which all restraint is put aside. they sing the most obscene songs and give vent to all their passions. on that day no one is responsible for any breach of morality. 22. fast for the crops like other primitive races, and the hindus generally, the oraons observe the lenten fast, as explained by sir j.g. frazer, after sowing their crops. having committed his seed with every propitiatory rite to the bosom of mother earth, the savage waits with anxious expectation to see whether she will once again perform on his behalf the yearly miracle of the renewal of vegetation, and the growth of the corn-plants from the seed which the greeks typified by the descent of proserpine into hades for a season of the year and her triumphant re-emergence to the upper air. meanwhile he fasts and atones for any sin or shortcoming of his which may possibly have offended the goddess and cause her to hold her hand. from the beginning of _asarh_ (june) the oraons cease to shave, abstain from eating turmeric, and make no leaf-plates for their food, but eat it straight from the cooking-vessel. this they now say is to prevent the field-mice from consuming the seeds of the rice. 23. physical appearance and costume of the oraons "the colour of most oraons," sir h. risley states, "is the darkest brown approaching to black; the hair being jet-black, coarse and rather inclined to be frizzy. projecting jaws and teeth, thick lips, low narrow foreheads, and broad flat noses are the features characteristic of the tribe. the eyes are often bright and full, and no obliquity is observable in the opening of the eyelids." "the oraon youths," dalton states, "though with features very far from being in accordance with the statutes of beauty, are of a singularly pleasing class, their faces beaming with animation and good humour. they are a small race, averaging 4 feet 5 inches, but there is perfect proportion in all parts of their form, and their supple, pliant, lithe figures are often models of symmetry. there is about the young oraon a jaunty air and mirthful expression that distinguishes him from the munda or ho, who has more of the dignified gravity that is said to characterise the north american indian. the oraon is particular about his personal appearance only so long as he is unmarried, but he is in no hurry to withdraw from the dhumkuria community, and generally his first youth is passed before he resigns his decorative propensities. "he wears his hair long like a woman, gathered in a knot behind, supporting, when he is in gala costume, a red or white turban. in the knot are wooden combs and other instruments useful and ornamental, with numerous ornaments of brass. [364] at the very extremity of the roll of hair gleams a small circular mirror set in brass, from which, and also from his ears, bright brass chains with spiky pendants dangle, and as he moves with the springy elastic step of youth and tosses his head like a high-mettled steed in the buoyancy of his animal spirits, he sets all his glittering ornaments in motion and displays as he laughs a row of teeth, round, white and regular, that give light and animation to his dusky features. he wears nothing in the form of a coat; his decorated neck and chest are undraped, displaying how the latter tapers to the waist, which the young dandies compress within the smallest compass. in addition to the cloth, there is always round the waist a girdle of cords made of tasar-silk or of cane. this is now a superfluity, but it is no doubt the remnant of a more primitive costume, perhaps the support of the antique fig-leaves. "out of the age of ornamentation nothing can be more untidy or more unprepossessing than the appearance of the oraon. the ornaments are nearly all discarded, hair utterly neglected, and for raiment any rags are used. this applies both to males and females of middle age. 24. dress of women "the dress of the women consists of one cloth, six yards long, gracefully adjusted so as to form a shawl and a petticoat. the upper end is thrown over the left shoulder and falls with its fringe and ornamented border prettily over the back of the figure. vast quantities of red beads and a large, heavy brass ornament shaped like a _torque_ are worn round the neck. on the left hand are rings of copper, as many as can be induced on each finger up to the first joint, on the right hand a smaller quantity; rings on the second toe only of brass or bell-metal, and anklets and bracelets of the same material are also worn." the women wear only metal and not glass bangles, and this with the three vertical tattoo-marks on the forehead and the fact that the head and right arm are uncovered enables them to be easily recognised. "the hair is made tolerably smooth and amenable by much lubrication, and false hair or some other substance is used to give size to the mass into which it is gathered not immediately behind, but more or less on one side, so that it lies on the neck just behind and touching the right ear; and flowers are arranged in a receptacle made for them between the roll of hair and the head." rings are worn in the lobes of the ear, but not other ornaments. "when in dancing costume on grand occasions they add to their head-dress plumes of heron feathers, and a gay bordered scarf is tightly bound round the upper part of the body." 25. dances "the tribe i am treating of are seen to best advantage at the great national dance meetings called jatras, which are held once a year at convenient centres, generally large mango groves in the vicinity of old villages. as a signal to the country round, the flags of each village are brought out on the day fixed and set upon the road that leads to the place of meeting. this incites the young men and maidens to hurry through their morning's work and look up their _jatra_ dresses, which are by no means ordinary attire. those who have some miles to go put up their finery in a bundle to keep it fresh and clean, and proceed to some tank or stream in the vicinity of the tryst grove; and about two o'clock in the afternoon may be seen all around groups of girls laughingly making their toilets in the open air, and young men in separate parties similarly employed. when they are ready the drums are beaten, huge horns are blown, and thus summoned the group from each village forms its procession. in front are young men with swords and shields or other weapons, the village standard-bearers with their flags, and boys waving yaks' tails or bearing poles with fantastic arrangements of garlands and wreaths intended to represent umbrellas of dignity. sometimes a man riding on a wooden horse is carried, horse and all, by his friends as the raja, and others assume the form of or paint themselves up to represent certain beasts of prey. behind this motley group the main body form compactly together as a close column of dancers in alternate ranks of boys and girls, and thus they enter the grove, where the meeting is held in a cheery dashing style, wheeling and countermarching and forming lines, circles and columns with grace and precision. the dance with these movements is called _kharia_, and it is considered to be an oraon rather than a munda dance, though munda girls join in it. when they enter the grove the different groups join and dance the _kharia_ together, forming one vast procession and then a monstrous circle. the drums and musical instruments are laid aside, and it is by the voices alone that the time is given; but as many hundreds, nay, thousands, join, the effect is imposing. in serried ranks, so closed up that they appear jammed, they circle round in file, all keeping perfect step, but at regular intervals the strain is terminated by a _hururu_, which reminds one of paddy's 'huroosh' as he 'welts the floor,' and at the same moment they all face inwards and simultaneously jumping up come down on the ground with a resounding stamp that makes the finale of the movements, but only for a momentary pause. one voice with a startling yell takes up the strain again, a fresh start is made, and after gyrating thus till they tire of it the ring breaks up, and separating into village groups they perform other dances independently till near sunset, and then go dancing home." 26. social customs but more often they go on all night. mr. ball mentions their dance as follows: [365] "the oraon dance was distinct from any i had seen by the santals or other races. the girls, carefully arranged in lines by sizes, with the tallest at one end and the smallest at the other, firmly grasp one another's hands, and the whole movements are so perfectly in concert that they spring about with as much agility as could a single individual." father dehon gives the following interesting notice of their social customs: "the oraons are very sociable beings, and like to enjoy life together. they are paying visits or _pahis_ to one another nearly the whole year round. in these the _handia_ (beer-jar) always plays a great part. any man who would presume to receive visitors without offering them a _handia_ would be hooted and insulted by his guests, who would find a sympathising echo from all the people of the village. one may say that from the time of the new rice at the end of september to the end of the marriage feast or till march there is a continual coming and going of visitors. for a marriage feast forty _handias_ are prepared by the groom's father, and all the people of the village who can afford it supply one also. each _handia_ gives about three gallons of rice-beer, so that in one day and a half, in a village of thirty houses, about 200 gallons of rice-beer are despatched. the oraons are famous for their dances. they delight in spending the whole night from sunset till morning in this most exciting amusement, and in the dancing season they go from village to village. they get, as it were, intoxicated with the music, and there is never any slackening of the pace. on the contrary, the evolutions seem to increase till very early in the morning, and it sometimes happens that one of the dancers shoots off rapidly from the gyrating group, and speeds away like a spent top, and, whirlwind-like, disappears through paddy-fields and ditches till he falls entirely exhausted. of course it is the devil who has taken possession of him. one can well imagine in what state the dancers are at the first crow of the cock, and when '_l'aurore avec ses doigts de rose entr'ouvre les portes de l'orient,_' she finds the girls straggling home one by one, dishevelled, _traînant l'aile_, too tired even to enjoy the company of the boys, who remain behind in small groups, still sounding their tom-toms at intervals as if sorry that the performance was so soon over. and, wonderful to say and incredible to witness, they will go straight to the stalls, yoke their bullocks, and work the whole morning with the same spirit and cheerfulness as if they had spent the whole night in refreshing sleep. at eleven o'clock they come home, eat their meal, and stretched out in the verandah sleep like logs until two, when poked and kicked about unmercifully by the people of the house, they reluctantly get up with heavy eyes and weary limbs to resume their work." 27. social rules the oraons do not now admit outsiders into the tribe. there is no offence for which a man is permanently put out of caste, but a woman living with any man other than an oraon is so expelled. temporary expulsion is awarded for the usual offences. the head of the caste _panchayat_ is called panua, and when an offender is reinstated, the panua first drinks water from his hand, and takes upon himself the burden of the erring one's transgression. for this he usually receives a fee of five rupees, and in some states the appointment is in the hands of the raja, who exacts a fine of a hundred rupees or more from a new candidate. the oraons eat almost all kinds of food, including pork, fowls and crocodiles, but abstain from beef. their status is very low among the hindus; they are usually made to live in a separate corner of the village, and are sometimes not allowed to draw water from the village well. as already stated, the dress of the men consists only of a narrow wisp of cloth round the loins. some of them say, like the gonds, that they are descended from the subjects of rawan, the demon king of ceylon; this ancestry having no doubt in the first instance been imputed to them by the hindus. and they explain that when hanuman in the shape of a giant monkey came to the assistance of rama, their king rawan tried to destroy hanuman by taking all the loin-cloths of his subjects and tying them soaked in oil to the monkey's tail with a view to setting them on fire and burning him to death. the device was unsuccessful and hanuman escaped, but since then the subjects of rawan and their descendants have never had a sufficient allowance of cloth to cover them properly. 28. character "the oraons," colonel dalton says, "if not the most virtuous, are the most cheerful of the human race. their lot is not a particularly happy one. they submit to be told that they are especially created as a labouring class, and they have had this so often dinned into their ears that they believe and admit it. i believe they relish work if the taskmaster be not over-exacting. oraons sentenced to imprisonment without labour, as sometimes happens, for offences against the excise laws, insist on joining the working gangs, and wherever employed, if kindly treated, they work as if they felt an interest in their task. in cold weather or hot, rain or sun, they go cheerfully about it, and after some nine or ten hours of toil (seasoned with a little play and chaff among themselves) they return blithely home in flower-decked groups holding each other by the hand or round the waist and singing." 29. language the kurukh language, dr. grierson states, has no written character, but the gospels have been printed in it in the devanagri type. the translation is due to the rev. f. halm, who has also published a biblical history, a catechism and other small books in kurukh. more than five-sixths of the oraons are still returned as speaking their own language. paik _paik._--a small caste of the uriya country formed from military service, the term _paik_ meaning 'a foot-soldier.' in 1901 the paiks numbered 19,000 persons in the kalahandi and patna states and the raipur district, but since the transfer of the uriya states to bengal less than 3000 remain in the central provinces. in kalahandi, where the bulk of them reside, they are called nalia sipahis from the fact that they were formerly armed with _nalis_ or matchlocks by the state. after the khond rising of 1882 in kalahandi these were confiscated and bows and arrows given in lieu of them. the paiks say that they were the followers of two warriors, kalmir and jaimir, who conquered the kalahandi and jaipur states from the khonds about a thousand years ago. there is no doubt that they formed the rough militia of the uriya rajas, a sort of rabble half military and half police, like the khandaits. but the khandaits were probably the leaders and officers, and, as a consequence, though originally only a mixed occupational group, have acquired a higher status than the paiks and in orissa rank next to the rajputs. the paiks were the rank and file, mainly recruited from the forest tribes, and they are counted as a comparatively low caste, though to strangers they profess to be rajputs. in sambalpur it is said that rajputs, sudhs, bhuiyas and gonds are called paiks. in kalahandi they wear the sacred thread, being invested with it by a brahman at the time of their marriage, and they say that this privilege was conferred on them by the raja. it is reported, however, that social distinctions may be purchased in some of the uriya states for comparatively small sums. a bhatra or member of a forest tribe was observed wearing the sacred thread, and, on being questioned, stated that his grandfather had purchased the right from the raja for rs. 50. the privileges of wearing gold ear ornaments, carrying an umbrella, and riding on horseback were obtainable in a similar manner. it is also related that when one raja imported the first pair of boots seen in his state, the local landholders were allowed to wear them in turn for a few minutes on payment of five rupees each, as a token of their right thereafter to procure and wear boots of their own. in damoh and jubbulpore another set of paiks is to be found who also claim to be rajputs, and are commonly so called, though true rajputs will not eat or intermarry with them. these are quite distinct from the sambalpur paiks, but have probably been formed into a caste in exactly the same manner. the sept or family names of the uriya paiks sufficiently indicate their mixed descent. some of them are as follows: dube (a brahman title), chalak bansi (of the chalukya royal family), chhit karan (belonging to the karans or uriya kayasths), sahani (a sais or groom), sudh (the name of an uriya caste), benet uriya (a subdivision of the uriya or od mason caste), and so on. it is clear that members of different castes who became paiks founded separate families, which in time developed into exogamous septs. some of the septs will not eat food cooked with water in company with the rest of the caste, though they do not object to intermarrying with them. after her marriage a girl may not take food cooked by her parents nor will they accept it from her. and at a marriage party each guest is supplied with grain and cooks it himself, but everybody will eat with the bride and bridegroom as a special concession to their position. besides the exogamous clans the paiks have totemistic _gots_ or groups named after plants and animals, as harin (a deer), kadamb (a tree), and so on. but these have no bearing on marriage, and the bulk of the caste have the nagesh or cobra as their sept name. it is said that anybody who does not know his sept considers himself to be a nagesh, and if he does not know his clan, he calls himself a mahanti. each family among the paiks has also a sainga or title, of a high-sounding nature, as naik (lord), pujari (worshipper), baidya (physician), raut (noble), and so on. marriages are generally celebrated in early youth, but no penalty is incurred for a breach of this rule. if the signs of adolescence appear in a girl for the first time on a tuesday, saturday or sunday, it is considered a bad omen, and she is sometimes married to a tree to avert the consequences. widow-marriage and divorce are freely permitted. the caste burn their dead and perform the _shraddh_ ceremony. the women are tattooed, and men sometimes tattoo their arms with figures of the sun and moon in the belief that this will protect them from snake-bite. the paiks eat flesh and fish, but abstain from fowls and other unclean animals and from liquor. brahmans will not take water from them, but other castes generally do so. some of them are still employed as armed retainers and are remunerated by free grants of land. panka list of paragraphs 1. _origin of the caste._ 2. _caste subdivisions._ 3. _endogamous divisions._ 4. _marriage._ 5. _religion._ 6. _other customs._ 7. _occupation._ 1. origin of the caste _panka._ [366]--a dravidian caste of weavers and labourers found in mandla, raipur and bilaspur, and numbering 215,000 persons in 1911. the name is a variant on that of the pan tribe of orissa and chota nagpur, who are also known as panika, chik, ganda and by various other designations. in the central provinces it has, however, a peculiar application; for while the pan tribe proper is called ganda in chhattisgarh and the uriya country, the pankas form a separate division of the gandas, consisting of those who have become members of the kabirpanthi sect. in this way the name has been found very convenient, for since kabir, the founder of the sect, was discovered by a weaver woman lying on the lotus leaves of a tank, like moses in the bulrushes, and as a newly initiated convert is purified with water, so the pankas hold that their name is _pani ka_ or 'from water.' as far as possible then they disown their connection with the gandas, one of the most despised castes, and say that they are a separate caste consisting of the disciples of kabir. this has given rise to the following doggerel rhyme about them: pani se panka bhae, bundan rache sharir, age age panka bhae, pachhe das kabir. which may be rendered, 'the panka indeed is born of water, and his body is made of drops of water, but there were pankas before kabir.' or another rendering of the second line is, 'first he was a panka, and afterwards he became a disciple of kabir,' nevertheless the pankas have been successful in obtaining a somewhat higher position than the gandas, in that their touch is not considered to convey impurity. this is therefore an instance of a body of persons from a low caste embracing a new religion and thereby forming themselves into a separate caste and obtaining an advance in social position. 2. caste subdivisions of the whole caste 84 per cent are kabirpanthis and these form one subcaste; but there are a few others. the manikpuria say that their ancestors came from manikpur in darbhanga state about three centuries ago; the saktaha are those who profess to belong to the sakta sect, which simply means that they eat flesh and drink liquor, being unwilling to submit to the restrictions imposed on kabirpanthis; the bajania are those who play on musical instruments, an occupation which tends to lower them in hindu eyes; and the dom pankas are probably a section of the dom or sweeper caste who have somehow managed to become pankas. the main distinction is however between the kabirha, who have abjured flesh and liquor, and the saktaha, who indulge in them; and the saktaha group is naturally recruited from backsliding kabirpanthis. properly the kabirha and saktaha do not intermarry, but if a girl from either section goes to a man of the other she will be admitted into the community and recognised as his wife, though the regular ceremony is not performed. the saktaha worship all the ordinary village deities, but some of the kabirha at any rate entirely refrain from doing so, and have no religious rites except when a priest of their sect comes round, when he gives them a discourse and they sing religious songs. 3. endogamous divisions the caste have a number of exogamous septs, many of which are named after plants and animals: as tandia an earthen pot, chhura a razor, neora the mongoose, parewa the wild pigeon, and others. other septs are panaria the bringer of betel-leaf, kuldip the lamp-lighter, pandwar the washer of feet, ghughua one who eats the leavings of the assembly, and khetgarhia, one who watches the fields during religious worship. the sonwania or 'gold-water' sept has among the pankas, as with several of the primitive tribes, the duty of readmitting persons temporarily put out of caste; while the naurang or nine-coloured sept may be the offspring of some illegitimate unions. the sati sept apparently commemorate by their name an ancestress who distinguished herself by self-immolation, naturally a very rare occurrence in so low a caste as the pankas. each sept has its own bhat or genealogist who begs only from members of the sept and takes food from them. 4. marriage marriage is prohibited between members of the same sept and also between first cousins, and a second sister may not be married during the lifetime of the first. girls are usually wedded under twelve years of age. in mandla the father of the boy and his relatives go to discuss the match, and if this is arranged each of them kisses the girl and gives her a piece of small silver. when a saktaha is going to look for a wife he makes a fire offering to dulha deo, the young bridegroom god, whose shrine is in the cook-room, and prays to him saying, 'i am going to such and such a village to ask for a wife; give me good fortune.' the father of the girl at first refuses his consent as a matter of etiquette, but finally agrees to let the marriage take place within a year. the boy pays rs. 9, which is spent on the feast, and makes a present of clothes and jewels to the bride. in chanda a _chauka_ or consecrated space spread with cowdung with a pattern of lines of flour is prepared and the fathers of the parties stand inside this, while a member of the pandwar sept cries out the names of the _gotras_ of the bride and bridegroom and says that the everlasting knot is to be tied between them with the consent of five caste-people and the sun and moon as witnesses. before the wedding the betrothed couple worship mahadeo and parvati under the direction of a brahman, who also fixes the date of the wedding. this is the only purpose for which a brahman is employed by the caste. between this date and that of the marriage neither the boy nor girl should be allowed to go to a tank or cross a river, as it is considered dangerous to their lives. the superstition has apparently some connection with the belief that the pankas are sprung from water, but its exact meaning cannot be determined. if a girl goes wrong before marriage with a man of the caste, she is given to him as wife without any ceremony. before the marriage seven small pitchers full of water are placed in a bamboo basket and shaken over the bride's head so that the water may fall on her. the principal ceremony consists in walking round the sacred pole called _magrohan_, the skirts of the pair being knotted together. in some localities this is done twice, a first set of perambulations being called the kunwari (maiden) bhanwar, and the second one of seven, the byahi (married) bhanwar. after the wedding the bride and her relations return with the bridegroom to his house, their party being known as chauthia. the couple are taken to a river and throw their tinsel wedding ornaments into the water. the bride then returns home if she is a minor, and when she subsequently goes to live with her husband the _gauna_ ceremony is performed. widow-marriage is permitted, and divorce may be effected for bad conduct on the part of the wife, the husband giving a sort of funeral feast, called _marti jiti ka bhat_, to the castefellows. usually a man gives several warnings to his wife to amend her bad conduct before he finally casts her off. 5. religion the pankas worship only kabir. they prepare a _chauka_ and, sitting in it, sing songs in his praise, and a cocoanut is afterwards broken and distributed to those who are present. the assembly is presided over by a mahant or priest and the _chauka_ is prepared by his subordinate called the diwan. the offices of mahant and diwan are hereditary, and they officiate for a collection of ten or fifteen villages. otherwise the caste perform no special worship, but observe the full moon days of magh (january), phagun (february) and kartik (october) as fasts in honour of kabir. some of the kabirhas observe the hindu festivals, and the saktahas, as already stated, have the same religious practices as other hindus. they admit into the community members of most castes except the impure ones. in chhattisgarh a new convert is shaved and the other pankas wash their feet over him in order to purify him. he then breaks a stick in token of having given up his former caste and is invested with a necklace of _tulsi_ [367] beads. a woman of any such caste who has gone wrong with a man of the panka caste may be admitted after she has lived with him for a certain period on probation, during which her conduct must be satisfactory, her paramour also being put out of caste for the same time. both are then shaved and invested with the necklaces of _tulsi_ beads. in mandla a new convert must clean and whitewash his house and then vacate it with his family while the panch or caste committee come and stay there for some time in order to purify it. while they are there neither the owner nor any member of his family may enter the house. the panch then proceed to the riverside and cook food, after driving the new convert across the river by pelting him with cowdung. here he changes his clothes and puts on new ones, and coming back again across the stream is made to stand in the _chauk_ and sip the urine of a calf. the _chauk_ is then washed out and a fresh one made with lines of flour, and standing in this the convert receives to drink the _dal_, that is, water in which a little betel, raw sugar and black pepper have been mixed and a piece of gold dipped. in the evening the panch again take their food in the convert's house, while he eats outside it at a distance. then he again sips the _dal_, and the mahant or priest takes him on his lap and a cloth is put over them both; the mahant whispers the _mantra_ or sacred verse into his ear, and he is finally considered to have become a full kabirha panka and admitted to eat with the panch. 6. other customs the pankas are strict vegetarians and do not drink liquor. a kabirha panka is put out of caste for eating flesh meat. both men and women generally wear white clothes, and men have the garland of beads round the neck. the dead are buried, being laid on the back with the head pointing to the north. after a funeral the mourners bathe and then break a cocoanut over the grave and distribute it among themselves. on the tenth day they go again and break a cocoanut and each man buries a little piece of it in the earth over the grave. a little cup made of flour containing a lamp is placed on the grave for three days afterwards, and some food and water are put in a leaf cup outside the house for the same period. during these days the family do not cook for themselves but are supplied with food by their friends. after childbirth a mother is supposed not to eat food during the time that the midwife attends on her, on account of the impurity caused by this woman's presence in the room. 7. occupation the caste are generally weavers, producing coarse country cloth, and a number of them serve as village watchmen, while others are cultivators and labourers. they will not grow _san_-hemp nor breed tasar silk cocoons. they are somewhat poorly esteemed by their neighbours, who say of them, 'where a panka can get a little boiled rice and a pumpkin, he will stay for ever,' meaning that he is satisfied with this and will not work to get more. another saying is, 'the panka felt brave and thought he would go to war; but he set out to fight a frog and was beaten'; and another, 'every man tells one lie a day; but the ahir tells sixteen, the chamar twenty, and the lies of the panka cannot be counted.' such gibes, however, do not really mean much. owing to the abstinence of the pankas from flesh and liquor they rank above the gandas and other impure castes. in bilaspur they are generally held to be quiet and industrious. [368] in chhattisgarh the pankas are considered above the average in intelligence and sometimes act as spokesmen for the village people and as advisers to zamindars and village proprietors. some of them become religious mendicants and act as _gurus_ or preceptors to kabirpanthis. [369] panwar rajput list of paragraphs 1. _historical notice. the agnikula clans and the slaughter of the kshatriyas by parasurama_. 2. _the legend of parasurama_. 3. _the panwar dynasty of dhar and ujjain_. 4. _diffusion of the panwars over india_. 5. _the nagpur panwars_. 6. _subdivisions_. 7. _marriage customs_. 8. _widow-marriage_. 9. _religion_. 10. _worship of the spirits of those dying a violent death_. 11. _funeral rites_. 12. _caste discipline_. 13. _social customs_. 1. historical notice. the agnikula clans and the slaughter of the kshatriyas by parasurama _panwar_, [370] _puar_, _ponwar_, _pramara rajput_.--the panwar or pramara is one of the most ancient and famous of the rajput clans. it was the first of the four agnikulas, who were created from the fire-pit on the summit of mount abu after the kshatriyas had been exterminated by parasurama the brahman. "the fire-fountain was lustrated with the waters of the ganges; [371] expiatory rites were performed, and after a protracted debate among the gods it was resolved that indra should initiate the work of recreation. having formed an image of _duba_ grass he sprinkled it with the water of life and threw it into the fire-fountain. thence on pronouncing the _sajivan mantra_ (incantation to give life) a figure slowly emerged from the flame, bearing in the right hand a mace and exclaiming, '_mar, mar!_' (slay, slay). he was called pramar; and abu, dhar, and ujjain were assigned to him as a territory." the four clans known as agnikula, or born from the fire-pit, were the panwar, the chauhan, the parihar and the chalukya or solanki. mr. d.r. bhandarkar adduces evidence in support of the opinion that all these were of foreign origin, derived from the gujars or other scythian or hun tribes. [372] and it seems therefore not unlikely that the legend of the fire-pit may commemorate the reconstitution of the kshatriya aristocracy by the admission of these tribes to hinduism after its partial extinction during their wars of invasion; the latter event having perhaps been euphemised into the slaughter of the kshatriyas by parasurama the brahman. a great number of indian castes date their origin from the traditional massacre of the kshatriyas by parasurama, saying that their ancestors were rajputs who escaped and took to various occupations; and it would appear that an event which bulks so largely in popular tradition must have some historical basis. it is noticeable also that buddhism, which for some five centuries since the time of asoka maurya had been the official and principal religion of northern india, had recently entered on its decline. "the restoration of the brahmanical religion to popular favour and the associated revival of the sanskrit language first became noticeable in the second century, were fostered by the satraps of gujarat and surashtra during the third, and made a success by the gupta emperors in the fourth century. [373] the decline of buddhism and the diffusion of sanskrit proceeded side by side with the result that by the end of the gupta period the force of buddhism on indian soil had been nearly spent; and india with certain local exceptions had again become the land of the brahman. [374] the gupta dynasty as an important power ended about a.d. 490 and was overthrown by the huns, whose leader toramana was established at malwa in central india prior to a.d. 500." [375] the revival of brahmanism and the hun supremacy were therefore nearly contemporaneous. moreover one of the hun leaders, mihiragula, was a strong supporter of brahmanism and an opponent of the buddhists. mr. v.a. smith writes: "the savage invader, who worshipped as his patron deity siva, the god of destruction, exhibited ferocious hostility against the peaceful buddhist cult, and remorselessly overthrew the _stupas_ and monasteries, which he plundered of their treasures." [376] this warrior might therefore well be venerated by the brahmans as the great restorer of their faith and would easily obtain divine honours. the huns also subdued rajputana and central india and were dominant here for a time until their extreme cruelty and oppression led to a concerted rising of the indian princes by whom they were defeated. the discovery of the hun or scythian origin of several of the existing rajput clans fits in well with the legend. the stories told by many indian castes of their first ancestors having been rajputs who escaped from the massacre of parasurama would then have some historical value as indicating that the existing occupational grouping of castes dates from the period of the revival of the brahman cult after a long interval of buddhist supremacy. it is however an objection to the identification of parasurama with the huns that he is the sixth incarnation of vishnu, coming before rama and being mentioned in the mahabharata, and thus if he was in any way historical his proper date should be long before their time. as to this it may be said that he might have been interpolated or put back in date, as the brahmans had a strong interest in demonstrating the continuity of the kshatriya caste from vedic times and suppressing the hun episode, which indeed they have succeeded in doing so well that the foreign origin of several of the most prominent rajput clans has only been established quite recently by modern historical and archaeological research. the name parasurama signifies 'rama with the axe' and seems to indicate that this hero came after the original rama. and the list of the incarnations of vishnu is not always the same, as in one list the incarnations are nearly all of the animal type and neither parasurama, rama nor krishna appear. 2. the legend of parasurama the legend of parasurama is not altogether opposed to this view in itself. [377] he was the son of a brahman muni or hermit, named jamadagni, by a lady, renuka, of the kshatriya caste. he is therefore not held to have been a brahman and neither was he a true kshatriya. this might portray the foreign origin of the huns. jamadagni found his wife renuka to be harbouring thoughts of conjugal infidelity, and commanded his sons, one by one, to slay her. the four elder ones successively refused, and being cursed by jamadagni lost all understanding and became as idiots; but the youngest, parasurama, at his father's bidding, struck off his mother's head with a blow of his axe. jamadagni thereupon was very pleased and promised to give parasurama whatever he might desire. on which parasurama begged first for the restoration of his mother to life, with forgetfulness of his having slain her and purification from all defilement; secondly, the return of his brothers to sanity and understanding; and for himself that he should live long and be invincible in battle; and all these boons his father bestowed. here the hermit jamadagni might represent the brahman priesthood, and his wife renuka might be india, unfaithful to the brahmans and turning towards the buddhist heresy. the four elder sons would typify the princes of india refusing to respond to the exhortations of the brahmans for the suppression of buddhism, and hence themselves made blind to the true faith and their understandings darkened with buddhist falsehood. but parasurama, the youngest, killed his mother, that is, the huns devastated india and slaughtered the buddhists; in reward for this he was made invincible as the huns were, and his mother, india, and his brothers, the indigenous princes, regained life and understanding, that is, returned to the true brahman faith. afterwards, the legend proceeds, the king karrtavirya, the head of the haihaya tribe of kshatriyas, stole the calf of the sacred cow kamdhenu from jamadagni's hermitage and cut down the trees surrounding it. when parasurama returned, his father told him what had happened, and he followed karrtavirya and killed him in battle. but in revenge for this the sons of the king, when parasurama was away, returned to the hermitage and slew the pious and unresisting sage jamadagni, who called fruitlessly for succour on his valiant son. when parasurama returned and found his father dead he vowed to extirpate the whole kshatriya race. 'thrice times seven did he clear the earth of the kshatriya caste,' says the mahabharata. if the first part of the story refers to the hun conquest of northern india and the overthrow of the gupta dynasty, the second may similarly portray their invasion of rajputana. the theft of the cow and desecration of jamadagni's hermitage by the haihaya rajputs would represent the apostasy of the rajput princes to buddhist monotheism, the consequent abandonment of the veneration of the cow and the spoliation of the brahman shrines; while the hun invasions of rajputana and the accompanying slaughter of rajputs would be parasurama's terrible revenge. 3. the panwar dynasty of dhar and ujjain the kings of malwa or ujjain who reigned at dhar and flourished from the ninth to the twelfth centuries were of the panwar clan. the seventh and ninth kings of this dynasty rendered it famous. [378] "raja munja, the seventh king (974-995), renowned for his learning and eloquence, was not only a patron of poets, but was himself a poet of no small reputation, the anthologies including various works from his pen. he penetrated in a career of conquest as far as the godavari, but was finally defeated and executed there by the chalukya king. his nephew, the famous bhoja, ascended the throne of dhara about a.d. 1018 and reigned gloriously for more than forty years. like his uncle he cultivated with equal assiduity the arts of peace and war. though his fights with neighbouring powers, including one of the muhammadan armies of mahmud of ghazni, are now forgotten, his fame as an enlightened patron of learning and a skilled author remains undimmed, and his name has become proverbial as that of the model king according to the hindu standard. works on astronomy, architecture, the art of poetry and other subjects are attributed to him. about a.d. 1060 bhoja was attacked and defeated by the confederate kings of gujarat and chedi, and the panwar kingdom was reduced to a petty local dynasty until the thirteenth century. it was finally superseded by the chiefs of the tomara and chauhan clans, who in their turn succumbed to the muhammadans in 1401." the city of ujjain was at this time a centre of indian intellectual life. some celebrated astronomers made it their home, and it was adopted as the basis of the hindu meridional system like greenwich in england. the capital of the state was changed from ujjain to dhar or dharanagra by the raja bhoja already mentioned; [379] and the name of dhar is better remembered in connection with the panwars than ujjain. a saying about it quoted by colonel tod was: jahan puar tahan dhar hai; aur dhar jahan puar; dhar bina puar nahin; aur nahin puar bina dhar: or, "where the panwar is there is dhar, and dhar is where the panwar is; without the panwars dhar cannot stand, nor the panwars without dhar." it is related that in consequence of one of his merchants having been held to ransom by the ruler of dhar, the bhatti raja of jaisalmer made a vow to subdue the town. but as he found the undertaking too great for him, in order to fulfil his vow he had a model of the city made in clay and was about to break it up. but there were panwars in his army, and they stood out to defend their mock capital, repeating as their reason the above lines; and in resisting the raja were cut to pieces to the number of a hundred and twenty. [380] there is little reason to doubt that the incident, if historical, was produced by the belief in sympathetic magic; the panwars really thought that by destroying its image the raja could effect injury to the capital itself, [381] just as many primitive races believe that if they make a doll as a model of an enemy and stick pins into or otherwise injure it, the man himself is similarly affected. a kindred belief prevails concerning certain mythical old kings of the golden age of india, of whom it is said that to destroy their opponents all they had to do was to collect a bundle of juari stalks and cut off the heads, when the heads of their enemies flew off in unison. the panwars were held to have ruled from nine castles over the marusthali or 'region of death,' the name given to the great desert of rajputana, which extends from sind to the aravalli mountains and from the great salt lake to the flat skirting the garah. the principal of these castles were abu, nundore, umarkot, arore, and lodorva. [382] and, 'the world is the pramara's,' was another saying expressive of the resplendent position of dharanagra or ujjain at this epoch. the siege and capture of the town by the muhammadans and consequent expulsion of the panwars are still a well-remembered tradition, and certain castes of the central provinces, as the bhoyars and korkus, say that their ancestors formed part of the garrison and fled to the satpura hills after the fall of dharanagra. mr. crooke [383] states that the expulsion of the panwars from ujjain under their leader mitra sen is ascribed to the attack of the muhammadans under shahab-ud-din ghori about a.d. 1190. 4. diffusion of the panwars over india after this they spread to various places in northern india, and to the central provinces and bombay. the modern state of dhar is or was recently still held by a panwar family, who had attained high rank under the marathas and received it as a grant from the peshwa. malcolm considered them to be the descendants of rajput emigrants to the deccan. he wrote of them: [384] "in the early period of maratha history the family of puar appears to have been one of the most distinguished. they were of the rajput tribe, numbers of which had been settled in malwa at a remote era; from whence this branch had migrated to the deccan. sivaji puar, the first of the family that can be traced in the latter country, was a landholder; and his grandsons, sambaji and kaloji, were military commanders in the service of the celebrated sivaji. anand rao puar was vested with authority to collect the maratha share of the revenue of malwa and gujarat in 1734, and he soon afterwards settled at dhar, which province, with the adjoining districts and the tributes of some neighbouring rajput chiefs, was assigned for the support of himself and his adherents. it is a curious coincidence that the success of the marathas should, by making dhar the capital of anand rao and his descendants, restore the sovereignty of a race who had seven centuries before been expelled from the government of that city and territory. but the present family, though of the same tribe (puar), claim no descent from the ancient hindu princes of malwa. they have, like all the kshatriya tribes who became incorporated with the marathas, adopted even in their modes of thinking the habits of that people. the heads of the family, with feelings more suited to chiefs of that nation than rajput princes, have purchased the office of patel or headman in some villages in the deccan; and their descendants continue to attach value to their ancient, though humble, rights of village officers in that quarter. notwithstanding that these usages and the connections they formed have amalgamated this family with the marathas, they still claim, both on account of their high birth and of being officers of the raja of satara (not of the peshwa), rank and precedence over the houses of sindhia and holkar; and these claims, even when their fortunes were at the lowest ebb, were always admitted as far as related to points of form and ceremony." the great maratha house of nimbhalkar is believed to have originated from ancestors of the panwar rajput clan. while one branch of the panwars went to the deccan after the fall of dhar and marrying with the people there became a leading military family of the marathas, the destiny of another group who migrated to northern india was less distinguished. here they split into two, and the inferior section is described by mr. crooke as follows: [385] "the khidmatia, barwar or chobdar are said to be an inferior branch of the panwars, descended from a low-caste woman. no high-caste hindu eats food or drinks water touched by them." according to the ain-i-akbari [386] a thousand men of the sept guarded the environs of the palace of akbar, and abul fazl says of them: "the caste to which they belong was notorious for highway robbery, and former rulers were not able to keep them in check. the effective orders of his majesty have led them to honesty; they are now famous for their trustworthiness. they were formerly called _mawis_. their chief has received the title of khidmat rao. being near the person of his majesty he lives in affluence. his men are called khidmatias." thus another body of panwars went north and sold their swords to the mughal emperor, who formed them into a bodyguard. their case is exactly analogous to that of the scotch and swiss guards of the french kings. in both cases the monarch preferred to entrust the care of his person to foreigners, on whose fidelity he could the better rely, as their only means of support and advancement lay in his personal favour, and they had no local sympathies which could be used as a lever to undermine their loyalty. buchanan states that a panwar dynasty ruled for a considerable period over the territory of shahabad in bengal. and jagdeo panwar was the trusted minister of sidhraj, the great solanki raja of gujarat. the story of the adventures of jagdeo and his wife when they set out together to seek their fortune is an interesting episode in the rasmala. in the punjab the panwars are found settled up the whole course of the sutlej and along the lower indus, and have also spread up the bias into jalandhar and gurdaspur. [387] 5. the nagpur panwars while the above extracts have been given to show how the panwars migrated from dhar to different parts of india in search of fortune, this article is mainly concerned with a branch of the clan who came to nagpur, and subsequently settled in the rice country of the wainganga valley. at the end of the eleventh century nagpur appears to have been held by a panwar ruler as an appanage of the kingdom of malwa. [388] it has already been seen how the kings of malwa penetrated to berar and the godavari, and nagpur may well also have fallen to them. mr. muhammad yusuf quotes an inscription as existing at bhandak in chanda of the year a.d. 1326, in which it is mentioned that the panwar of dhar repaired a statue of jag narayan in that place. [389] nothing more is heard of them in nagpur, and their rule probably came to an end with the subversion of the kingdom of malwa in the thirteenth century. but there remain in nagpur and in the districts of bhandara, balaghat and seoni to the north and east of it a large number of panwars, who have now developed into an agricultural caste. it may be surmised that the ancestors of these people settled in the country at the time when nagpur was held by their clan, and a second influx may have taken place after the fall of dhar. according to their own account, they first came to nagardhan, an older town than nagpur, and once the headquarters of the locality. one of their legends is that the men who first came had no wives, and were therefore allowed to take widows of other castes into their houses. it seems reasonable to suppose that something of this kind happened, though they probably did not restrict themselves to widows. the existing family names of the caste show that it is of mixed ancestry, but the original rajput strain is still perfectly apparent in their fair complexions, high foreheads and in many cases grey eyes. the panwars have still the habit of keeping women of lower castes to a greater degree than the ordinary, and this has been found to be a trait of other castes of mixed origin, and they are sometimes known as dhakar, a name having the sense of illegitimacy. though they have lived for centuries among a marathi-speaking people, the panwars retain a dialect of their own, the basis of which is bagheli or eastern hindi. when the marathas established themselves at nagpur in the eighteenth century some of the panwars took military service under them and accompanied a general of the bhonsla ruling family on an expedition to cuttack. in return for this they were rewarded with grants of the waste and forest lands in the valley of the wainganga river, and here they developed great skill in the construction of tanks and the irrigation of rice land, and are the best agricultural caste in this part of the country. their customs have many points of interest, and, as is natural, they have abandoned many of the caste observances of the rajputs. it is to this group of panwars [390] settled in the maratha rice country of the wainganga valley that the remainder of this article is devoted. 6. subdivisions they number about 150,000 persons, and include many village proprietors and substantial cultivators. the quotations already given have shown how this virile clan of rajputs travelled to the north, south and east from their own country in search of a livelihood. everywhere they made their mark so that they live in history, but they paid no regard to the purity of their rajput blood and took to themselves wives from the women of the country as they could get them. the panwars of the wainganga valley have developed into a caste marrying among themselves. they have no subcastes but thirty-six exogamous sections. some of these have the names of rajput clans, while others are derived from villages, titles or names of offices, or from other castes. among the titular names are chaudhri (headman), patlia (patel or chief officer of a village) and sonwania (one who purifies offenders among the gonds and other tribes). among the names of other castes are bopcha or korku, bhoyar (a caste of cultivators), pardhi (hunter), kohli (a local cultivating caste) and sahria (from the saonr tribe). these names indicate how freely they have intermarried. it is noticeable that the bhoyars and korkus of betul both say that their ancestors were panwars of dhar, and the occurrence of both names among the panwars of balaghat may indicate that these castes also have some panwar blood. three names, rahmat (kind), turukh or turk, and farid (a well-known saint), are of muhammadan origin, and indicate intermarriage in that quarter. 7. marriage customs girls are usually, but not necessarily, wedded before adolescence. occasionally a panwar boy who cannot afford a regular marriage will enter his prospective father-in-law's house and serve him for a year or more, when he will obtain a daughter in marriage. and sometimes a girl will contract a liking for some man or boy of the caste and will go to his house, leaving her home. in such cases the parents accept the accomplished fact, and the couple are married. if the boy's parents refuse their consent they are temporarily put out of caste, and subsequently the neighbours will not pay them the customary visits on the occasions of family joys and griefs. even if a girl has lived with a man of another caste, as long as she has not borne a child, she may be re-admitted to the community on payment of such penalty as the elders may determine. if her own parents will not take her back, a man of the same _gotra_ or section is appointed as her guardian and she can be married from his house. the ceremonies of a panwar marriage are elaborate. marriage-sheds are erected at the houses both of the bride and bridegroom in accordance with the usual practice, and just before the marriage, parties are given at both houses; the village watchman brings the _toran_ or string of mango-leaves, which is hung round the marriage-shed in the manner of a triumphal arch, and in the evening the party assembles, the men sitting at one side of the shed and the women at the other. presents of clothes are made to the child who is to be married, and the following song is sung: the mother of the bride grew angry and went away to the mango grove. come soon, come quickly, mother, it is the time for giving clothes. the father of the bridegroom has sent the bride a fold of cloth from his house, the fold of it is like the curve of the winnowing-fan, and there is a bodice decked with coral and pearls. before the actual wedding the father of the bridegroom goes to the bride's house and gives her clothes and other presents, and the following is a specimen given by mr. muhammad yusuf of the songs sung on this occasion: five years old to-day is baja bai the bride; send word to the mother of the bridegroom; her dress is too short, send for the koshta, husband; the koshta came and wove a border to the dress. afterwards the girl's father goes and makes similar presents to the bridegroom. after many preliminary ceremonies the marriage procession proper sets forth, consisting of men only. before the boy starts his mother places her breast in his mouth; the maid-servants stand before him with vessels of water, and he puts a pice in each. during the journey songs are sung, of which the following is a specimen: the linseed and gram are in flower in chait. [391] o! the boy bridegroom is going to another country; o mother! how may he go to another country? make payment before he enters another country; o mother! how may he cross the border of another country? make payment before he crosses the border of another country; o mother! how may he touch another's bower? make payment before he touches another's bower; o mother! how shall he bathe with strange water? make payment before he bathes with strange water; o mother! how may he eat another's _banwat_? [392] make payment before he eats another's _banwat_; o mother! how shall he marry another woman? he shall wed her holding the little finger of her left hand. the bridegroom's party are always driven to the wedding in bullock-carts, and when they approach the bride's village her people also come to meet them in carts. all the party then turn and race to the village, and the winner obtains much distinction. the cartmen afterwards go to the bridegroom's father and he has to make them a present of from one to forty rupees. on arriving at the village the bridegroom is carried to devi's shrine in a man's arms, while four other men hold a canopy over him, and from there to the marriage-shed. he touches a bamboo of this, and a man seated on the top pours turmeric and water over his head. five men of the groom's party go to the bride's house carrying salt, and here their feet are washed and the _tika_ or mark of anointing is made on their foreheads. afterwards they carry rice in the same manner and with this is the wedding-rice, coloured yellow with turmeric and known as the lagun-gath. before sunset the bridegroom goes to the bride's house for the wedding. two baskets are hung before dulha deo's shrine inside the house, and the couple are seated in these with a cloth between them. the ends of their clothes are knotted, each places the right foot on the left foot of the other and holds the other's ear with the hand. meanwhile a brahman has climbed on to the roof of the house, and after saying the names of the bride and bridegroom shouts loudly, '_ram nawara, sita nawari, saodhan_,' or 'ram, the bridegroom, and sita, the bride, pay heed,' the people inside the house repeat these words and someone beats on a brass plate; the wedding-rice is poured over the heads of the couple, and a quid of betel is placed first in the mouth of one and then of the other. the bridegroom's party dance in the marriage-shed and their feet are washed. two plough-yokes are brought in and a cloth spread over them, and the couple are seated on them face to face. a string of twisted grass is drawn round their necks and a thread is tied round their marriage-crowns. the bride's dowry is given and her relatives make presents to her. this property is known as _khamora_, and is retained by a wife for her own use, her husband having no control over it. it is customary also in the caste for the parents to supply clothes to a married daughter as long as they live, and during this period a wife will not accept any clothes from her husband. on the following day the maid-servants bring a present of _gulal_ or red powder to the fathers of the bride and bridegroom, who sprinkle it over each other. the bridegroom's father makes them a present of from one to twenty rupees according to his means, and also gives suitable fees to the barber, the washerman, the barai or betel-leaf seller and the bhat or bard. the maid-servants then bring vessels of water and throw it over each other in sport. after the evening meal, the party go back, the bride and bridegroom riding in the same cart. as they start the women sing: let us go to the basket-maker and buy a costly pair of fans; fans worth a lot of money; let us praise the mother of the bride. 8. widow-marriage after a few days at her husband's house the bride returns home, and though she pays short visits to his family from time to time, she does not go to live with her husband until she is adolescent, when the usual _pathoni_ or going-away ceremony is performed to celebrate the event. the people repeat a set of verses containing advice which the bride's mother is supposed to give her on this occasion, in which the desire imputed to the caste to make money out of their daughters is satirised. they are no doubt libellous as being a gross exaggeration, but may contain some substratum of truth. the gist of them is as follows: "girl, if you are my daughter, heed what i say. i will make you many sweetmeats and speak words of wisdom. always treat your husband better than his parents. increase your private money (_khamora_) by selling rice and sugar; abuse your sisters-in-law to your husband's mother and become her favourite. get influence over your husband and make him come with you to live with us. if you cannot persuade him, abandon your modesty and make quarrels in the household. do not fear the village officers, but go to the houses of the patel [393] and pandia [394] and ask them to arrange your quarrel." it is not intended to imply that panwar women behave in this manner, but the passage is interesting as a sidelight on the joint family system. it concludes by advising the girl, if she cannot detach her husband from his family, to poison him and return as a widow. this last counsel is a gibe at the custom which the caste have of taking large sums of money for a widow on her second marriage. as such a woman is usually adult, and able at once to perform the duties of a wife and to work in the fields, she is highly valued, and her price ranges from rs. 25 to rs. 1000. in former times, it is stated, the disposal of widows did not rest with their parents but with the sendia or headman of the caste. the last of them was karun panwar of tumsar, who was empowered by the bhonsla raja of nagpur to act in this manner, and was accustomed to receive an average sum of rs. 25 for each widow or divorced woman whom he gave away in marriage. his power extended even to the reinstatement of women expelled from the caste, whom he could subsequently make over to any one who would pay for them. at the end of his life he lost his authority among the people by keeping a dhimar woman as a mistress, and he had no successor. a panwar widow must not marry again until the expiry of six months after her husband's death. the stool on which a widow sits for her second marriage is afterwards stolen by her husband's friends. after the wedding when she reaches the boundary of his village the axle of her cart is removed, and a new one made of _tendu_ wood is substituted for it. the discarded axle and the shoes worn by the husband at the ceremony are thrown away, and the stolen stool is buried in a field. these things, mr. hira lal points out, are regarded as defiled, because they have been accessories in an unlucky ceremony, that of the marriage of a widow. on this point dr. jevons writes [395] that the peculiar characteristic of taboo is this transmissibility of its infection or contagion. in ancient greece the offerings used for the purification of the murderer became themselves polluted during the process and had to be buried. a similar reasoning applies to the articles employed in the marriage of a widow. the wood of the _tendu_ or ebony tree [396] is chosen for the substituted axle, because it has the valuable property of keeping off spirits and ghosts. when a child is born a plank of this wood is laid along the door of the room to keep the spirits from troubling the mother and the newborn infant. in the same way, no doubt, this wood keeps the ghost of the first husband from entering with the widow into her second husband's village. the reason for the ebony-wood being a spirit-scarer seems to lie in its property of giving out sparks when burnt. "the burning wood gives out showers of sparks, and it is a common amusement to put pieces in a camp fire in order to see the column of sparks ascend." [397] the sparks would have a powerful effect on the primitive mind and probably impart a sacred character to the tree, and as they would scare away wild animals, the property of averting spirits might come to attach to the wood. the panwars seldom resort to divorce, except in the case of open and flagrant immorality on the part of a wife. "they are not strict," mr. low writes, [398] "in the matter of sexual offences within the caste, though they bitterly resent and if able heavily avenge any attempt on the virtue of their women by an outsider. the men of the caste are on the other hand somewhat notorious for the freedom with which they enter into relations with the women of other castes." they not infrequently have gond and ahir girls from the families of their farmservants as members of their households. 9. religion the caste worship the ordinary hindu divinities, and their household god is dulha deo, the deified bridegroom. he is represented by a nut and a date, which are wrapped in a cloth and hung on a peg in the wall of the house above the platform erected to him. every year, or at the time of a marriage or the birth of a first child, a goat is offered to dulha deo. the animal is brought to the platform and given some rice to eat. a dedicatory mark of red ochre is made on its forehead and water is poured over the body, and as soon as it shivers it is killed. the shivering is considered to be an indication from the deity that the sacrifice is acceptable. the flesh is cooked and eaten by the family inside the house, and the skin and bones are buried below the floor. narayan deo or vishnu or the sun is represented by a bunch of peacock's feathers. he is generally kept in the house of a mahar, and when his worship is to be celebrated he is brought thence in a gourd to the panwar's house, and a black goat, rice and cakes are offered to him by the head of the household. while the offering is being made the mahar sings and dances, and when the flesh of the goat is eaten he is permitted to sit inside the panwar's house and begin the feast, the panwars eating after him. on ordinary occasions a mahar is not allowed to come inside the house, and any panwar who took food with him would be put out of caste; and this rite is no doubt a recognition of the position of the mahars as the earlier residents of the country before the panwars came to it. the turukh or turk sept of panwars pay a similar worship to baba farid, the muhammadan saint of girar. he is also represented by a bundle of peacock's feathers, and when a goat is sacrificed to him a muhammadan kills it and is the first to partake of its flesh. 10. worship of the spirits of those dying a violent death when a man has been killed by a tiger (_bagh_) he is deified and worshipped as bagh deo. a hut is made in the yard of the house, and an image of a tiger is placed inside and worshipped on the anniversary of the man's death. the members of the household will not afterwards kill a tiger, as they think the animal has become a member of the family. a man who is bitten by a cobra (_nag_) and dies is similarly worshipped as nag deo. the image of a snake made of silver or iron is venerated, and the family will not kill a snake. if a man is killed by some other animal, or by drowning or a fall from a tree, his spirit is worshipped as ban deo or the forest god with similar rites, being represented by a little lump of rice and red lead. in all these cases it is supposed, as pointed out by sir james frazer, that the ghost of the man who has come to such an untimely end is especially malignant, and will bring trouble upon the survivors unless appeased with sacrifices and offerings. a good instance of the same belief is given by him in _psyche's task_ [399] as found among the karens of burma: "they put red, yellow and white rice in a basket and leave it in the forest, saying: ghosts of such as died by falling from a tree, ghosts of such as died of hunger or thirst, ghosts of such as died by the tiger's tooth or the serpent's fang, ghosts of the murdered dead, ghosts of such as died by smallpox or cholera, ghosts of dead lepers, oh ill-treat us not, seize not upon our persons, do us no harm! oh stay here in this wood! we will bring hither red rice, yellow rice, and white rice for your subsistence." that the same superstition is generally prevalent in the central provinces appears to be shown by the fact that among castes who practise cremation, the bodies of men who come to a violent end or die of smallpox or leprosy are buried, though whether burial is considered as more likely to prevent the ghost from walking than cremation, is not clear. possibly, however, it may be considered that the bodies are too impure to be committed to the sacred fire. 11. funeral rites cremation of the dead is the rule, but the bodies of those who have not died a natural death are buried, as also of persons who are believed to have been possessed of the goddess devi in their lifetime. the bodies of small children are buried when the khir chatai ceremony has not been performed. this takes place when a child is about two years old: he is invited to the house of some member of the same section on the diwali day and given to eat some khir or a mess of new rice with milk and sugar, and thus apparently is held to become a proper member of the caste, as boys do in other castes on having their ears pierced. when a corpse is to be burnt a heap of cowdung cakes is made, on which it is laid, while others are spread over it, together with butter, sugar and linseed. the fire with which the pyre is kindled is carried by the son or other chief mourner in an earthen pot at the head of the corpse. after the cremation the ashes of the body are thrown into water, but the bones are kept by the chief mourner; his head and face are then shaved by the barber, and the hair is thrown into the water with most of the bones; he may retain a few to carry them to the nerbudda at a convenient season, burying them meanwhile under a mango or pipal tree. a present of a rupee or a cow may be made to the barber. after the removal of a dead body the house is swept, and the rubbish with the broom and dustpan are thrown away outside the village. before the body is taken away the widow of the dead man places her hands on his breast and forehead, and her bangles are broken by another widow. the _shraddh_ ceremony is performed every year in the month of kunwar (september) on the same day of the fortnight as that on which the death took place. on the day before the ceremony the head of the household goes to the houses of those whom he wishes to invite, and sticks some grains of rice on their foreheads. the guests must then fast up to the ceremony. on the following day, when they arrive at noon, the host, wearing a sacred thread of twisted grass, washes their feet with water in which the sacred _kusa_ grass has been mixed, and marks their foreheads with sandal-paste and rice. the leaf-plates of the guests are set out inside the house, and a very small quantity of cooked rice is placed in each. the host then gathers up all this rice and throws it on to the roof of the house while his wife throws up some water, calling aloud the name of the dead man whose _shraddh_ ceremony is being performed, and after this the whole party take their dinner. 12. caste discipline as has been shown, the panwars have abandoned most of the distinctive rajput customs. they do not wear the sacred thread and they permit the remarriage of widows. they eat the flesh of goats, fowls, wild pig, game-birds and fish, but abstain from liquor except on such ceremonial occasions as the worship of narayan deo, when every one must partake of it. mr. low states that the injurious habit of smoking _madak_ (a preparation of opium) is growing in the caste. they will take water to drink from a gond's hand and in some localities even cooked food. this is the outcome of their close association in agriculture, the gonds having been commonly employed as farmservants by panwar cultivators. a brahman usually officiates at their ceremonies, but his presence is not essential and his duties may be performed by a member of the caste. every panwar male or female has a _guru_ or spiritual preceptor, who is either a brahman, a gosain or a bairagi. from time to time the _guru_ comes to visit his _chela_ or disciple, and on such occasions the _chauk_ or sacred place is prepared with lines of wheat-flour. two wooden stools are set within it and the _guru_ and his _chela_ take their seats on these. their heads are covered with a new piece of cloth and the _guru_ whispers some text into the ear of the disciple. sweetmeats and other delicacies are then offered to the _guru_, and the disciple makes him a present of one to five rupees. when a panwar is put out of caste two feasts have to be given on reinstatement, known as the maili and chokhi roti (impure and pure food). the former is held in the morning on the bank of a tank or river and is attended by men only. a goat is killed and served with rice to the caste-fellows, and in serious cases the offender's head and face are shaved, and he prays, 'god forgive me the sin, it will never be repeated.' the chokhi roti is held in the evening at the offender's house, the elders and women as well as men of the caste being present. the sendia or leader of the caste eats first, and he will not begin his meal unless he finds a _douceur_ of from one to five rupees deposited beneath his leaf-plate. the whole cost of the ceremony of readmission is from fifteen to fifty rupees. 13. social customs the panwar women wear their clothes tied in the hindustani and not in the maratha fashion. they are tattooed on the legs, hands and face, the face being usually decorated with single dots which are supposed to enhance its beauty, much after the same fashion as patches in england. padmakar, the saugor poet, mr. hira lal remarks, compared the dot on a woman's chin to a black bee buried in a half-ripe mango. the women, mr. low says, are addicted to dances, plays and charades, the first being especially graceful performances. they are skilful with their fingers and make pretty grass mats and screens for the house, and are also very good cooks and appreciate variety in food. the panwars do not eat off the ground, but place their dishes on little iron stands, sitting themselves on low wooden stools. the housewife is a very important person, and the husband will not give anything to eat or drink out of the house without her concurrence. mr. low writes on the character and abilities of the panwars as follows: "the panwar is to balaghat what the kunbi is to berar or the gujar to hoshangabad, but at the same time he is less entirely attached to the soil and its cultivation, and much more intelligent and cosmopolitan than either. one of the most intelligent officials in the agricultural department is a panwar, and several members of the caste have made large sums as forest and railway contractors in this district; panwar _shikaris_ are also not uncommon. they are generally averse to sedentary occupations, and though quite ready to avail themselves of the advantages of primary education, they do not, as a rule, care to carry their studies to a point that would ensure their admission to the higher ranks of government service. very few of them are to be found as patwaris, constables or peons. they are a handsome race, with intelligent faces, unusually fair, with high foreheads, and often grey eyes. they are not, as a rule, above middle height, but they are active and hard-working and by no means deficient in courage and animal spirits, or a sense of humour. they are clannish in the extreme, and to elucidate a criminal case in which no one but panwars are concerned, and in a panwar village, is usually a harder task than the average local police officer can tackle. at times they are apt to affect, in conversation with government officials, a whining and unpleasant tone, especially when pleading their claim to some concession or other; and they are by no means lacking in astuteness and are good hands at a bargain. but they are a pleasant, intelligent and plucky race, not easily cast down by misfortune and always ready to attempt new enterprises in almost any direction save those indicated by the agricultural department. "in the art of rice cultivation they are past masters. they are skilled tank-builders, though perhaps hardly equal to the kohlis of chanda. but they excel especially in the mending and levelling of their fields, in neat transplantation, and in the choice and adaptation of the different varieties of rice to land of varying qualities. they are by no means specially efficient as labourers, though they and their wives do their fair share of field work; but they are well able to control the labour of others, especially of aborigines, through whom most of their tank and other works are executed." pardhan list of paragraphs 1. _general notice_. 2. _tribal subdivisions_. 3. _marriage_. 4. _religion_. 5. _social customs_. 6. _methods of cheating among patharis_. 7. _musicians and priests_. 1. general notice _pardhan, pathari, panal._--an inferior branch of the gond tribe whose occupation is to act as the priests and minstrels of the gonds. in 1911 the pardhans numbered nearly 120,000 persons in the central provinces and berar. the only other locality where they are found is hyderabad, which returned 8000. the name pardhan is of sanskrit origin and signifies a minister or agent. it is the regular designation of the principal minister of a rajput state, who often fulfils the functions of a mayor of the palace. that it was applied to the tribe in this sense is shown by the fact that they are also known as diwan, which has the same meaning. there is a tradition that the gond kings employed pardhans as their ministers, and as the pardhans acted as genealogists they may have been more intelligent than the gonds, though they are in no degree less illiterate. to themselves and their gond relations the pardhans are frequently not known by that name, which has been given to them by the hindus, but as panal. other names for the tribe are parganiha, desai and pathari. parganiha is a title signifying the head of a _pargana_, and is now applied by courtesy to some families in chhattisgarh. desai has the same signification, being a variant of deshmukh or the maratha revenue officer in charge of a circle of villages. pathari means a bard or genealogist, or according to another derivation a hillman. on the satpura plateau and in chhattisgarh the tribe is known as pardhan patharia. in balaghat they are also called mokasi. the gonds themselves look down on the pardhans and say that the word patharia means inferior, and they relate that bura deo, their god, had seven sons. these were talking together one day as they dined and they said that every caste had an inferior branch to do it homage, but they had none; and they therefore agreed that the youngest brother and his descendants should be inferior to the others and make obeisance to them, while the others promised to treat him almost as their equal and give him a share in all the offerings to the dead. the pardhans or patharias are the descendants of the youngest brother and they accost the gonds with the greeting 'babu johar,' or 'good luck, sir.' the gonds return the greeting by saying 'pathari johar,' or 'how do you do, pathari.' curiously enough johar is also the salutation sent by a rajput chief to an inferior landholder, [400] and the custom must apparently have been imitated by the gonds. a variant of the story is that one day the seven gond brothers were worshipping their god, but he did not make his appearance; so the youngest of them made a musical instrument out of a string and a piece of wood and played on it. the god was pleased with the music and came down to be worshipped, and hence the pardhans as the descendants of the youngest brother continue to play on the _kingri_ or lyre, which is their distinctive instrument. the above stories have been invented to account for the social inferiority of the pardhans to the gonds, but their position merely accords with the general rule that the bards and genealogists of any caste are a degraded section. the fact is somewhat contrary to preconceived ideas, but the explanation given of it is that such persons make their living by begging from the remainder of the caste and hence are naturally looked down upon by them; and further, that in pursuit of their calling they wander about to attend at wedding feasts all over the country, and consequently take food with many people of doubtful social position. this seems a reasonable interpretation of the rule of the inferiority of the bard, which at any rate obtains generally among the hindu castes. 2. tribal subdivisions the tribe have several endogamous divisions, of which the principal are the raj pardhans, the ganda pardhans and the thothia pardhans. the raj pardhans appear to be the descendants of alliances between raj gonds and pardhan women. they say that formerly the priests of bura deo lived a celibate life, and both men and women attended to worship the god; but on one occasion the priests ran away with some women and after this the gonds did not know who should be appointed to serve the deity. while they were thus perplexed, a _kingri_ (or rude wooden lyre) fell from heaven on to the lap of one of them, and, in accordance with this plain indication of the divine will, he became the priest, and was the ancestor of the raj pardhans; and since this _contretemps_ the priests are permitted to marry, while women are no longer allowed to attend the worship of bura deo. the thothia subtribe are said to be the descendants of illicit unions, the word thothia meaning 'maimed'; while the gandas are the offspring of intermarriages between the pardhans and members of that degraded caste. other groups are the mades or those of the mad country in chanda and bastar, the khalotias or those of the chhattisgarh plain, and the deogarhias of deogarh in chhindwara; and there are also some occupational divisions, as the kandres or bamboo-workers, the gaitas who act as priests in chhattisgarh, and the arakhs who engage in service and sell old clothes. a curious grouping is found in chanda, where the tribe are divided into the gond patharis and chor or 'thief' patharis. the latter have obtained their name from their criminal propensities, but they are said to be proud of it and to refuse to intermarry with any families not having the designation of chor pathari. in raipur the patharis are said to be the offspring of gonds by women of other castes, and the descendants of such unions. the exogamous divisions of the pardhans are the same as those of the gonds, and like them they are split up into groups worshipping different numbers of gods whose members may not marry with one another. 3. marriage a pardhan wedding is usually held in the bridegroom's village in some public place, such as the market or cross-roads. the boy wears a blanket and carries a dagger in his hand. the couple walk five times round in a circle, after which the boy catches hold of the girl's hand. he tries to open her fist which she keeps closed, and when he succeeds in this he places an iron ring on her little finger and puts his right toe over that of the girl's. the officiating priest then ties the ends of their clothes together and five chickens are killed. the customary bride-price is rs. 12, but it varies in different localities. a widower taking a girl bride has, as a rule, to pay a double price. a widow is usually taken in marriage by her deceased husband's younger brother. 4. religion as the priests of the gonds, the pardhans are employed to conduct the ceremonial worship of their great god bura deo, which takes place on the third day of the bright fortnight of baisakh (april). many goats or pigs are then offered to him with liquor, cocoanuts, betel-leaves, flowers, lemons and rice. bura deo is always enshrined under a tree outside the village, either of the mahua or _saj_ (_terminalia tomentosa_) varieties. in chhattisgarh the gonds say that the origin of bura deo was from a child born of an illicit union between a gond and a rawat woman. the father murdered the child by strangling it, and its spirit then began to haunt and annoy the man and all his relations, and gradually extended its attentions to all the gonds of the surrounding country. it finally consented to be appeased by a promise of adoration from the whole tribe, and since then has been installed as the principal deity of the gonds. the story is interesting as showing how completely devoid of any supernatural majesty or power is the gond conception of their principal deity. 5. social customs like the gonds, the pardhans will eat almost any kind of food, including beef, pork and the flesh of rats and mice, but they will not eat the leavings of others. they will take food from the hands of gonds, but the gonds do not return the compliment. among the hindus generally the pardhans are much despised, and their touch conveys impurity while that of a gond does not. every pardhan has tattooed on his left arm near the inside of the elbow a dotted figure which represents his totem or the animal, plant or other natural object after which his sept is named. many of them have a better type of countenance than the gonds, which is perhaps due to an infusion of hindu blood. they are also generally more intelligent and cunning. they have criminal propensities, and the patharias of chhattisgarh are especially noted for cattle-lifting and thieving. writing forty years ago captain thomson [401] described the pardhans of seoni as bearing the very worst of characters, many of them being regular cattle-lifters and gang robbers. in some parts of seoni they had become the terror of the village proprietors, whose houses and granaries they fired if they were in any way reported on or molested. since that time the pardhans have become quite peaceable, but they still have a bad reputation for petty thieving. 6. methods of cheating among patharis in chhattisgarh one subdivision is said to be known as sonthaga (_sona_, gold, and _thag_, a cheat), because they cheat people by passing counterfeit gold. their methods were described as follows in 1872 by captain mcneill, district superintendent of police: [402] "they procure a quantity of the dry bark of the pipal, [403] mahua, [404] tamarind or _gular_ [405] trees and set it on fire; when it has become red-hot it is raked into a small hole and a piece of well-polished brass is deposited among the glowing embers. it is constantly moved and turned about and in ten or fifteen minutes has taken a deep orange colour resembling gold. it is then placed in a small heap of wood-ashes and after a few minutes taken out again and carefully wrapped in cotton-wool. the peculiar orange colour results from the sulphur and resin in the bark being rendered volatile. they then proceed to dispose of the gold, sometimes going to a fair and buying cattle. on concluding a bargain they suddenly find they have no money, and after some hesitation reluctantly produce the gold, and say they are willing to part with it at a disadvantage, thereby usually inducing the belief that it has been stolen. the cupidity of the owner of the cattle is aroused, and he accepts the gold at a rate which would be very advantageous if it were genuine. at other times they join a party of pilgrims, to which some of their confederates have already obtained admission in disguise, and offer to sell their gold as being in great want of money. a piece is first sold to the confederates on very cheap terms and the other pilgrims eagerly participate." it would appear that the patharis have not much to learn from the owners of buried treasure or the confidence or three-card trick performers of london, and their methods are in striking contrast to the guileless simplicity usually supposed to be a characteristic of the primitive tribes. mr. white states that "all the property acquired is taken back to the village and there distributed by a _panchayat_ or committee, whose head is known as mokasi. the mokasi is elected by the community and may also be deposed by it, though he usually holds office for life; to be a successful candidate for the position of mokasi one should have wealth and experience and it is not a disadvantage to have been in jail. the mokasi superintends the internal affairs of the community and maintains good relations with the proprietor and village watchman by means of gifts." 7. musicians and priests the pardhans and patharis are also, as already stated, village musicians, and their distinctive instrument the _kingri_ or _kingadi_ is described by mr. white as consisting of a stick passed through a gourd. a string or wire is stretched over this and the instrument is played with the fingers. another kind possesses three strings of woven horse-hair and is played with the help of a bow. the women of the ganda pardhan subtribe act as midwives. mr. tawney wrote of the pardhans of chhindwara: [406] "the raj-pardhans are the bards of the gonds and they can also officiate as priests, but the bhumka generally acts in the latter capacity and the pardhans confine themselves to singing the praises of the god. at every public worship in the deo-khalla or dwelling-place of the gods, there should, if possible, be a pardhan, and great men use them on less important occasions. they cannot even worship their household gods or be married without the pardhans. the raj-pardhans are looked down on by the gonds, and considered as somewhat inferior, seeing that they take the offerings at religious ceremonies and the clothes of the dear departed at funerals. this has never been the business of a true gond, who seems never happier than when wandering in the jungle, and who above all things loves his axe, and next to that a tree to chop at. there is nothing in the ceremonies or religion of the pardhans to distinguish them from the gonds." pardhi list of paragraphs 1. _general notice of the caste_. 2. _subdivisions_. 3. _marriage and funeral customs_. 4. _religion_. 5. _dress, food and social customs_. 6. _ordeals_. 7. _methods of catching birds_. 8. _hunting with leopards_. 9. _decoy stags_. 10. _hawks_. 11. _crocodile fishing_. 12. _other occupations and criminal practices_. 1. general notice of the caste _pardhi, [407] bahelia, mirshikar, moghia, shikari, takankar._--a low caste of wandering fowlers and hunters. they numbered about 15,000 persons in the central provinces and berar in 1911, and are found scattered over several districts. these figures include about 2000 bahelias. the word pardhi is derived from the marathi _paradh_, hunting. shikari, the common term for a native hunter, is an alternative name for the caste, but particularly applied to those who use firearms, which most pardhis refuse to do. moghia is the hindustani word for fowler, and takankar is the name of a small occupational offshoot of the pardhis in berar, who travel from village to village and roughen the household grinding-mills when they have worn smooth. the word is derived from _takna_, to tap or chisel. the caste appears to be a mixed group made up of bawarias or other rajput outcastes, gonds and social derelicts from all sources. the pardhis perhaps belong more especially to the maratha country, as they are numerous in khandesh, and many of them talk a dialect of gujarati. in the northern districts their speech is a mixture of marwari and hindi, while they often know marathi or urdu as well. the name for the similar class of people in northern india is bahelia, and in the central provinces the bahelias and pardhis merge into one another and are not recognisable as distinct groups. the caste is recruited from the most diverse elements, and women of any except the impure castes can be admitted into the community; and on this account their customs differ greatly in different localities. according to their own legends the first ancestor of the pardhis was a gond, to whom mahadeo taught the art of snaring game so that he might avoid the sin of shooting it; and hence the ordinary pardhis never use a gun. 2. subdivisions like other wandering castes the pardhis have a large number of endogamous groups, varying lists being often given in different areas. the principal subcastes appear to be the shikari or bhil pardhis, who use firearms; the phanse pardhis, who hunt with traps and snares; the langoti pardhis, so called because they wear only a narrow strip of cloth round the loins; and the takankars. both the takankars and langotis have strong criminal tendencies. several other groups are recorded in different districts, as the chitewale, who hunt with a tame leopard; the gayake, who stalk their prey behind a bullock; the gosain pardhis, who dress like religious mendicants in ochre-coloured clothes and do not kill deer, but only hares, jackals and foxes; the shishi ke telwale, who sell crocodile's oil; and the bandarwale who go about with performing monkeys. the bahelias have a subcaste known as karijat, the members of which only kill birds of a black colour. their exogamous groups are nearly all those of rajput tribes, as sesodia, panwar, solanki, chauhan, rathor, and soon; it is probable that these have been adopted through imitation by vagrant bawarias and others sojourning in rajputana. there are also a few groups with titular or other names, and it is stated that members of clans bearing rajput names will take daughters from the others in marriage, but will not give their daughters to them. 3. marriage and funeral customs girls appear to be somewhat scarce in the caste and a bride-price is usually paid, which is given as rs. 9 in chanda, rs. 35 in bilaspur, and rs. 60 or more in hoshangabad and saugor. if a girl should be seduced by a man of the caste she would be united to him by the ceremony of a widow's marriage: but her family will require a bride from her husband's family in exchange for the girl whose value he has destroyed. even if led astray by an outsider a girl may be readmitted into the caste; and in the extreme case of her being debauched by her brother, she may still be married to one of the community, but no one will take food from her hands during her lifetime, though her children will be recognised as proper pardhis. a special fine of rs. 100 is imposed on a brother who commits this crime. the ceremony of marriage varies according to the locality in which they reside; usually the couple walk seven times round a _tanda_ or collection of their small mat tents. in berar a cloth is held up by four poles as a canopy over them and they are preceded by a married woman carrying five pitchers of water. divorce and the marriage of widows are freely permitted. the caste commonly bury their dead, placing the head to the north. they do not shave their heads in token of mourning. 4. religion in berar their principal deity is the goddess devi, who is known by different names. every family of langoti pardhis has, mr. gayer states, [408] its image in silver of the goddess, and because of this no langoti pardhi woman will wear silver below the waist or hang her _sari_ on a peg, as it must never be put on the same level as the goddess. they also sometimes refuse to wear red or coloured clothes, one explanation for this being that the image of the goddess is placed on a bed of red cloth. in hoshangabad their principal deity is called guraiya deo, and his image, consisting of a human figure embossed in silver, is kept in a leather bag on the west side of their tents; and for this reason women going out of the encampment for a necessary purpose always proceed to the east. they also sleep with their feet to the east. goats are offered to guraiya deo and their horns are placed in his leather bag. in hoshangabad they sacrifice a fowl to the ropes of their tents at the dasahra and diwali festivals, and on the former occasion clean their hunting implements and make offerings to them of turmeric and rice. they are reported to believe that the sun and moon die and are reborn daily. the hunter's calling is one largely dependent on luck or chance, and, as might be expected, the pardhis are firm believers in omens, and observe various rules by which they think their fortune will be affected. a favourite omen is the simple device of taking some rice or juari in the hand and counting the grains. contrary to the usual rule, even numbers are considered lucky and odd ones unlucky. if the first result is unsatisfactory a second or third trial may be made. if a winnowing basket or millstone be let fall and drop to the right hand it is a lucky omen, and similarly if a flower from devi's garland should fall to the right side. the bellowing of cows, the mewing of a cat, the howling of a jackal and sneezing are other unlucky omens. if a snake passes from left to right it is a bad omen and if from right to left a good one. a man must not sleep with his head on the threshold of a house or in the doorway of a tent under penalty of a fine of rs. 2-8; the only explanation given of this rule is that such a position is unlucky because a corpse is carried out across the threshold. a similar penalty is imposed if he falls down before his wife even by accident. a pardhi, with the exception of members of the sesodia clan, must never sleep on a cot, a fine of five rupees being imposed for a breach of this rule. a man who has once caught a deer must not again have the hair of his head touched by a razor, and thus the pardhis may be recognised by their long and unkempt locks. a breach of this rule is punished with a fine of fifteen rupees, but it is not observed everywhere. a woman must never step across the rope or peg of a tent, nor upon the place where the blood of a deer has flowed on to the ground. during her monthly period of impurity a woman must not cross a river nor sit in a boat. a pardhi will never kill or sell a dog and they will not hunt wild dogs even if money is offered to them. this is probably because they look upon the wild dog as a fellow-hunter, and consider that to do him injury would bring ill-luck upon themselves. a pardhi has also theoretically a care for the preservation of game. when he has caught a number of birds in his trap, he will let a pair of them loose so that they may go on breeding. women are not permitted to take any part in the work of hunting, but are confined strictly to their household duties. a woman who kicks her husband's stick is fined rs. 2-8. the butt end of the stick is employed for mixing vegetables and other purposes, but the meaning of the rule is not clear unless one of its uses is for the enforcement of conjugal discipline. a pardhi may not swear by a dog, a cat or a squirrel. their most solemn oath is in the name of their deity guraiya deo, and it is believed that any one who falsely takes this oath will become a leper. the phans pardhis may not travel in a railway train, and some of them are forbidden even to use a cart or other conveyance. 5. dress, food and social customs in dress and appearance the pardhis are disreputable and dirty. their features are dark and their hair matted and unkempt. they never wear shoes and say that they are protected by a special promise of the goddess devi to their first ancestor that no insect or reptile in the forests should injure them. the truth is, no doubt, that shoes would make it impossible for them to approach their game without disturbing it, and from long practice the soles of their feet become impervious to thorns and minor injuries. similarly the langoti pardhis are so called because they wear only a narrow strip of cloth round the loins, the reason probably being that a long one would impede them by flapping and catching in the brushwood. but the explanation which they themselves give, [409] a somewhat curious one in view of their appearance, is that an ordinary _dhoti_ or loin-cloth if worn might become soiled and therefore unlucky. their women do not have their noses pierced and never wear spangles or other marks on the forehead. the pardhis still obtain fire by igniting a piece of cotton with flint and iron. mr. sewell notes that their women eat at the same time as the men, instead of after them as among most hindus. they explain this custom by saying that on one occasion a woman tried to poison her husband and it was therefore adopted as a precaution against similar attempts; but no doubt it has always prevailed, and the more orthodox practice would be almost incompatible with their gipsy life. similar reasons of convenience account for their custom of celebrating marriages all the year round and neglecting the hindu close season of the four months of the rains. they travel about with little huts made of matting, which can be rolled up and carried off in a few minutes. if rain comes on they seek shelter in the nearest village. [410] in some localities the caste eat no food cooked with butter or oil. they are usually considered as an impure caste, whose touch is a defilement to hindus. brahmans do not officiate at their ceremonies, though the pardhis resort to the village joshi or astrologer to have a propitious date indicated for marriages. they have to pay for such services in money, as brahmans usually refuse to accept even uncooked grain from them. after childbirth women are held to be impure and forbidden to cook for their families for a period varying from six weeks to six months. during their periodical impurity they are secluded for four, six or eight days, the pardhis observing very strict rules in these matters, as is not infrequently the case with the lowest castes. their caste meetings, mr. sewell states, are known as deokaria or 'an act performed in honour of god'; at these meetings arrangements for expeditions are discussed and caste disputes decided. the penalty for social offences is a fine of a specified quantity of liquor, the liquor provided by male and female delinquents being drunk by the men and women respectively. the punishment for adultery in either sex consists in cutting off a piece of the left ear with a razor, and a man guilty of intercourse with a prostitute is punished as if he had committed adultery. the pardhi women are said to be virtuous. 6. ordeals the pardhis still preserve the primitive method of trial by ordeal. if a woman is suspected of misconduct she is made to pick a pice coin out of boiling oil; or a pipal leaf is placed on her hand and a red-hot axe laid over it, and if her hand is burnt or she refuses to stand the test she is pronounced guilty. or, in the case of a man, the accused is made to dive into water; and as he dives an arrow is shot from a bow. a swift runner fetches and brings back the arrow, and if the diver can remain under water until the runner has returned he is held to be innocent. in nimar, if an unmarried girl becomes pregnant, two cakes of dough are prepared, a piece of silver being placed in one and a lump of coal in the other. the girl takes one of the cakes, and if it is found to contain the coal she is expelled from the community, while if she chooses the piece of silver, she is pardoned and made over to one of the caste. the idea of the ordeal is apparently to decide the question whether her condition was caused by a pardhi or an outsider. 7. methods of catching birds the phans pardhis hunt all kinds of birds and the smaller animals with the _phanda_ or snare. mr. ball describes their procedure as follows: [411] "for peacock, saras crane and bustard they have a long series of nooses, each provided with a wooden peg and all connected with a long string. the tension necessary to keep the nooses open is afforded by a slender slip of antelope's horn (very much resembling whalebone), which forms the core of the loop. provided with several sets of these nooses, a trained bullock and a shield-like cloth screen dyed buff and pierced with eye-holes, the bird-catcher sets out for the jungle, and on seeing a flock of pea-fowl circles round them under cover of the screen and the bullock, which he guides by a nose-string. the birds feed on undisturbed, and the man rapidly pegs out his long strings of nooses, and when all are properly disposed, moves round to the opposite side of the birds and shows himself; when they of course run off, and one or more getting their feet in the nooses fall forwards and flap on the ground; the man immediately captures them, knowing that if the strain is relaxed the nooses will open and permit of the bird's escape. very cruel practices are in vogue with these people with reference to the captured birds, in order to keep them alive until a purchaser is found. the peacocks have a feather passed through the eyelids, by which means they are effectually blinded, while in the case of smaller birds both the legs and wings are broken." deer, hares and even pig are also caught by a strong rope with running nooses. for smaller birds the appliance is a little rack about four inches high with uprights a few inches apart, between each of which is hung a noose. another appliance mentioned by mr. ball is a set of long conical bag nets, which are kept open by hooks and provided with a pair of folding doors. the pardhi has also a whistle made of deer-horn, with which he can imitate the call of the birds. tree birds are caught with bird-lime as described by sir g. grierson. [412] the bahelia has several long shafts of bamboos called _nal_ or _nar_, which are tied together like a fishing rod, the endmost one being covered with bird-lime. concealing himself behind his bamboo screen the bahelia approaches the bird and when near enough strikes and secures it with his rod; or he may spread some grain out at a short distance, and as the birds are hopping about over it he introduces the pole, giving it a zig-zag movement and imitating as far as possible the progress of a snake. having brought the point near one of the birds, which is fascinated by its stealthy approach, he suddenly jerks it into its breast and then drawing it to him, releases the poor palpitating creature, putting it away in his bag, and recommences the same operation. this method does not require the use of bird-lime. 8. hunting with leopards the manner in which the chita pardhis use the hunting leopard (_felis jubata_) for catching deer has often been described. [413] the leopard is caught full-grown by a noose in the manner related above. its neck is first clasped in a wooden vice until it is half-strangled, and its feet are then bound with ropes and a cap slipped over its head. it is partially starved for a time, and being always fed by the same man, after a month or so it becomes tame and learns to know its master. it is then led through villages held by ropes on each side to accustom it to the presence of human beings. on a hunting party the leopard is carried on a cart, hooded, and, being approached from down wind, the deer allow the cart to get fairly close to them. the indian antelope or black-buck are the usual quarry, and as these frequent cultivated land, they regard country carts without suspicion. the hood is then taken off and the leopard springs forward at the game with extreme velocity, perhaps exceeding that which any other quadruped possesses. the accounts given by jerdon say that for the moment its speed is greater than that of a race-horse. it cannot maintain this for more than three or four hundred yards, however, and if in that distance the animal has not seized its prey, it relinquishes the pursuit and stalks about in a towering passion. the pardhis say that when it misses the game the leopard is as sulky as a human being and sometimes refuses food for a couple of days. if successful in the pursuit, it seizes the antelope by the throat; the keeper then comes up, and cutting the animal's throat collects some of the blood in the wooden ladle with which the leopard is always fed; this is offered to him, and dropping his hold he laps it up eagerly, when the hood is cleverly slipped on again. the conducting of the cheetah from its cage to the chase is by no means an easy matter. the keeper leads him along, as he would a large dog, with a chain; and for a time as they scamper over the country the leopard goes willingly enough; but if anything arrests his attention, some noise from the forest, some scented trail upon the ground, he moves more slowly, throws his head aloft and peers savagely round. a few more minutes perhaps and he would be unmanageable. the keeper, however, is prepared for the emergency. he holds in his left hand a cocoanut shell, sprinkled on the inside with salt; and by means of a handle affixed to the shell he puts it at once over the nose of the cheetah. the animal licks the salt, loses the scent, forgets the object which arrested his attention, and is led quietly along again. [414] 9. decoy stags for hunting stags, tame stags were formerly used as decoys according to the method described as follows: "we had about a dozen trained stags, all males, with us. these, well acquainted with the object for which they were sent forward, advanced at a gentle trot over the open ground towards the skirt of the wood. they were observed at once by the watchers of the herd, and the boldest of the wild animals advanced to meet them. whether the intention was to welcome them peacefully or to do battle for their pasturage i cannot tell; but in a few minutes the two parties were engaged in a furious contest. head to head, antlers to antlers, the tame deer and the wild fought with great fury. each of the tame animals, every one of them large and formidable, was closely engaged in contest with a wild adversary, standing chiefly on the defensive, not in any feigned battle or mimicry of war but in a hard-fought combat. we now made our appearance in the open ground on horseback, advancing towards the scene of conflict. the deer on the skirts of the wood, seeing us, took to flight; but those actually engaged maintained their ground and continued the contest. in the meantime a party of native huntsmen, sent for the purpose, gradually drew near to the wild stags, getting in between them and the forest. what their object was we were not at the time aware; in truth it was not one that we could have approved or encouraged. they made their way into the rear of the wild stags, which were still combating too fiercely to mind them; they approached the animals, and with a skilful cut of their long knives the poor warriors fell hamstrung. we felt pity for the noble animals as we saw them fall helplessly on the ground, unable longer to continue the contest and pushed down of course by the decoy-stags. once down, they were unable to rise again." [415] 10. hawks hawks were also used in a very ingenious fashion to prevent duck from flying away when put upon water: "the trained hawks were now brought into requisition, and marvellous it was to see the instinct with which they seconded the efforts of their trainers. the ordinary hawking of the heron we had at a later period of this expedition; but the use now made of the animal was altogether different, and displayed infinitely more sagacity than one would suppose likely to be possessed by such an animal. these were trained especially for the purpose for which they were now employed. a flight of ducks--thousands of birds--were enticed upon the water as before by scattering corn over it. the hawks were then let fly, four or five of them. we made our appearance openly upon the bank, guns in hand, and the living swarm of birds rose at once into the air. the hawks circled above them, however, in a rapid revolving flight and they dared not ascend high. thus was our prey retained fluttering in mid-air, until hundreds had paid the penalty with their lives. only picture in your mind's eye the circling hawks above gyrating monotonously, the fluttering captives in mid-air, darting now here, now there to escape, and still coward-like huddling together; and the motley group of sportsmen on the bank and you have the whole scene before you at once." [416] 11. crocodile fishing for catching crocodile, a method by which as already stated one group of the pardhis earn their livelihood, a large double hook is used, baited with a piece of putrid deer's flesh and attached to a hempen rope 70 or 80 feet long. when the crocodile has swallowed the hook, twenty or thirty persons drag the animal out of the water and it is despatched with axes. crocodiles are hunted only in the months of pus (december), magh (january) and chait (march), when they are generally fat and yield plenty of oil. the flesh is cut into pieces and stewed over a slow fire, when it exudes a watery oil. this is strained and sold in bottles at a rupee a seer (2 lbs.). it is used as an embrocation for rheumatism and for neck galls of cattle. the pardhis do not eat crocodile's flesh. 12. other occupations and criminal practices a body of pardhis are sometimes employed by all the cultivators of a village jointly for the purpose of watching the spring crops during the day and keeping black-buck out of them. they do this perhaps for two or three months and receive a fixed quantity of grain. the takankars are regularly employed as village servants in berar and travel about roughening the stones of the household grinding-mills when their surfaces have worn smooth. for this they receive an annual contribution of grain from each household. the caste generally have criminal tendencies and mr. sewell states, that "the langoti pardhis and takankars are the worst offenders. ordinarily when committing dacoity they are armed with sticks and stones only. in digging through a wall they generally leave a thin strip at which the leader carefully listens before finally bursting through. then when the hole has been made large enough, he strikes a match and holding it in front of him so that his features are shielded has a good survey of the room before entering.... as a rule, they do not divide the property on or near the scene of the crime, but take it home. generally it is carried by one of the gang well behind the rest so as to enable it to be hidden if the party is challenged." in bombay they openly rob the standing crops, and the landlords stand in such awe of them that they secure their goodwill by submitting to a regular system of blackmail. [417] parja list of paragraphs 1. _general notice of the tribe_. 2. _exogamous septs_. 3. _kinship and marriage_. 4. _marriage dance_. 5. _nuptial ceremony_. 6. _widow-marriage and divorce_. 7. _religion and festivals_. 8. _disposal of the dead_. 9. _occupation and social customs_. 1. general notice of the tribe _parja._--a small tribe, [418] originally an offshoot of the gonds, who reside in the centre and east of the bastar state and the adjoining jaipur zamindari of madras. they number about 13,000 persons in the central provinces and 92,000 in madras, where they are also known as poroja. the name parja appears to be derived from the sanskrit parja, a subject. the following notice of it is taken from the _madras census report_ [419] of 1871: "the term parja is, as mr. carmichael has pointed out, merely a corruption of a sanskrit term signifying a subject; and it is understood as such by the people themselves, who use it in contradistinction to a free hillman. formerly, says a tradition that runs through the whole tribe, rajas and parjas were brothers, but the rajas took to riding horses or, as the barenja parjas put it, sitting still, and we became carriers of burdens and parjas. it is quite certain in fact that the term parja is not a tribal denomination, but a class denomination; and it may be fitly rendered by the familiar epithet of ryot. there is no doubt, however, that by far the greater number of these parjas are akin to the khonds of the ganjam maliahs. they are thrifty, hardworking cultivators, undisturbed by the intestinal broils which their cousins in the north engage in, and they bear in their breasts an inalienable reverence for their soil, the value of which they are rapidly becoming acquainted with. their ancient rights to these lands are acknowledged by colonists from among the aryans, and when a dispute arises about the boundaries of a field possessed by recent arrivals a parja is usually called in to point out the ancient landmarks. gadbas are also represented as indigenous from the long lapse of years that they have been in the country, but they are by no means of the patriarchal type that characterises the parjas." in bastar the caste are also known as dhurwa, which may be derived from dhur, the name applied to the body of gonds as opposed to the raj-gonds. in bastar, dhurwa now conveys the sense of a headman of a village. the tribe have three divisions, thakara or tagara, peng and mudara, of which only the first is found in bastar. thakara appears to be a corruption of thakur, a lord, and the two names point to the conclusion that the parjas were formerly dominant in this tract. they themselves have a story, somewhat resembling the one quoted above from madras, to the effect that their ancestor was the elder brother of the first raja of bastar when he lived in madras, to the south of warangal. from there he had to flee on account of an invasion of the muhammadans, and was accompanied by the goddess danteshwari, the tutelary deity of the rajas of bastar. in accordance with the command of the goddess the younger brother was considered as the raja and rode on a horse, while the elder went before him carrying their baggage. at bhadrachallam they met the bhatras, and further on the halbas. the goddess followed them, guiding their steps, but she strictly enjoined on the raja not to look behind him so as to see her. but when they came to the sands of the rivers sankani and dankani, the tinkle of the anklets of the goddess could not be heard for the sand. the raja therefore looked behind him to see if she was following, on which she said that she could go no more with him, but he was to march as far as he could and then settle down. the two brothers settled in bastar, where the descendants of the younger became the ruling clan, and those of the elder were their servants, the parjas. the story indicates, perhaps, that the parjas were the original gond inhabitants and rulers of the country, and were supplanted by a later immigration of the same tribe, who reduced them to subjection, and became raj-gonds. possibly the first transfer of power was effected by the marriage of an immigrant into a parja raja's family, as so often happened with these old dynasties. the parjas still talk about the rani of bastar as their _bohu_ or 'younger brother's wife,' and the custom is probably based on some such legend. the madras account of them as the arbiters of boundary disputes points to the same conclusion, as this function is invariably assigned to the oldest residents in any locality. the parjas appear to be gonds and not khonds. their sept names are gondi words, and their language is a form of gondi, called after them parji. parji has hitherto been considered a form of bhatri, but sir g. grierson [420] has now classified the latter as a dialect of the uriya language, while parji remains 'a local and very corrupt variation of gondi, considerably mixed with hindi forms.' while then the parjas, in bastar at any rate, must be held to be a branch of the gonds, they may have a considerable admixture of the khonds, or other tribes in different localities, as the rules of marriage are very loose in this part of the country. [421] 2. exogamous septs the tribe have exogamous totemistic septs, as bagh a tiger, kachhim a tortoise, bokda a goat, netam a dog, gohi a big lizard, pandki a dove and so on. if a man kills accidentally the animal after which his sept is named, the earthen cooking-pots of his household are thrown away, the clothes are washed, and the house is purified with water in which the bark of the mango or _jamun_ [422] tree has been steeped. this is in sign of mourning, as it is thought that such an act will bring misfortune. if a man of the snake sept kills a snake accidentally, he places a piece of new yarn on his head, praying for forgiveness, and deposits the body on an anthill, where snakes are supposed to live. if a man of the goat sept eats goat's flesh, it is thought that he will become blind at once. a parja will not touch the body of his totem-animal when dead, and if he sees any one killing or teasing it when alive, he will go away out of sight. it is said that a man of the kachhim sept once found a tortoise while on a journey, and leaving it undisturbed, passed on. when the tortoise died it was reborn in the man's belly and troubled him greatly, and since then every parja is liable to be afflicted in the same way in the side of the abdomen, the disease which is produced being in fact enlarged spleen. the tortoise told the man that as he had left it lying by the road, and had not devoted it to any useful purpose, he was afflicted in this way. consequently, when a man of the kachhim sept finds a tortoise nowadays, he gives it to somebody else who can cut it up. the story is interesting as a legend of the origin of spleen, but has apparently been invented as an excuse for killing the sacred animal. 3. kinship and marriage marriage is prohibited in theory between members of the same sept. but as the number of septs is rather small, the rule is not adhered to, and members of the same sept are permitted to marry so long as they do not come from the same village; the original rule of exogamy being perhaps thus exemplified. the proposal for a match is made by the boy's father, who first offers a cup of liquor to the girl's father in the bazar, and subsequently explains his errand. if the girl's father, after consulting with his family, disapproves of the match, he returns an equal quantity of liquor to the boy's father in token of his decision. the girl is usually consulted, and asked if she would like to marry her suitor, but not much regard is had to her opinion. if she dislikes him, however, she usually runs away from him after a short interlude of married life. if a girl becomes pregnant with a caste-fellow before marriage, he is required to take her, and give to the family the presents which he would make to them on a regular marriage. the man can subsequently be properly married to some other woman, but the girl cannot be married at all. if a girl is seduced by a man outside the caste, she is made over to him. it is essential for a man to be properly married at least once, and an old bachelor will sometimes go through the form of being wedded to his maternal uncle's daughter, even though she may be an infant. if no proposal for marriage is made for a girl, she is sometimes handed over informally to any man who likes to take her, and who is willing to give as much for her as the parents would receive for a regular marriage. a short time before the wedding, the boy's father sends a considerable quantity of rice to the girl's father, and on the day before he sends a calf, a pot of liquor, fifteen annas worth of copper coin, and a new cloth. the bridegroom's expenses are about rs. 50, and the bride's about rs. 10. 4. marriage dance at weddings the tribe have a dance called surcha, for which the men wear a particular dress consisting of a long coat, a turban and two or three scarves thrown loosely over the shoulders. strings of little bells are tied about the feet, and garlands of beads round the neck; sometimes men and women dance separately, and sometimes both sexes together in a long line or a circle. music is provided by bamboo flutes, drums and an iron instrument something like a flute. as they dance, songs are sung in the form of question and answer between the lines of men and women, usually of a somewhat indecent character. the following short specimen may be given:-_man_. if you are willing to go with me we will both follow the officer's elephant. if i go back without you my heart can have no rest. _woman_. who dare take me away from my husband while the company is reigning. my husband will beat me and who will pay him the compensation? _man_. you had better make up your mind to go with me. i will ask the treasurer for some money and pay it to your husband as compensation. _woman_. very well, i will make ready some food, and will run away with you in the next bright fortnight. these dialogues often, it is said, lead to quarrels between husband and wife, as the husband cannot rebuke his wife in the assembly. sometimes the women fall in love with men in the dance, and afterwards run away with them. 5. nuptial ceremony the marriage takes place at the boy's house, where two marriage-sheds are made. it is noticeable that the bride on going to the bridegroom's house to be married is accompanied only by her female relatives, no man of her family being allowed to be with her. this is probably a reminiscence of the old custom of marriage by capture, as in former times she was carried off by force, the opposition of her male relatives having been quelled. in memory of this the men still do not countenance the wedding procession by their presence. the bridal couple are made to sit down together on a mat, and from three to seven pots of cold water are poured over them. about a week after the wedding the couple go to a market with their friends, and after walking round it they all sit down and drink liquor. 6. widow-marriage and divorce the remarriage of widows is permitted, and a widow is practically compelled to marry her late husband's younger brother, if he has one. if she persistently refuses to do so, in spite of the strongest pressure, her parents turn her out of their house. in order to be married the woman goes to the man's house with some friends; they sit together on the ground, and the friends apply the _tika_ or sign by touching their foreheads with dry rice. a man can divorce his wife if she is of bad character, or if she is supposed to be under an unfavourable star, or if her children die in infancy. a divorced woman can marry again as if she were a widow. 7. religion and festivals the parjas worship the class of divinities of the hills and forests usually revered among primitive tribes, as well as danteshwari, the tutelary goddess of bastar. on the day that sowing begins they offer a fowl to the field, first placing some grains of rice before it. if the fowl eats the rice they prognosticate a good harvest, and if not the reverse. a few members of the tribe belong to the ramanandi sect, and on this account a little extra attention is paid to them. if such a one is invited to a feast he is given a wooden seat, while others sit on the ground. it is said that a few years ago a man became a kabirpanthi, but he subsequently went blind and his son died, and since this event the sect is absolutely without adherents. most villages have a sirha or man who is possessed by the deity, and his advice is taken in religious matters, such as the detection of witches. another official is called medha gantia or 'the counter of posts.' he appoints the days for weddings, calculating them by counting on his fingers, and also fixes auspicious days for the construction of a house or for the commencement of sowing. it is probable that in former times he kept count of the days by numbering posts or trees. when rain is wanted the people fix a piece of wood into the ground, calling it bhimsen deo or king of the clouds. they pour water over it and pray to it, asking for rain. every year, after the crops are harvested, they worship the rivers or streams in the village. a snake, a jackal, a hare and a dog wagging its ears are unlucky objects to see when starting on a journey, and also a dust devil blowing along in front. they do not kill wild dogs, because they say that tigers avoid the forests where these reside, and some of them hold that a tiger on meeting a wild dog climbs a tree to get out of his way. wednesday and thursday are lucky days for starting on a journey, and the operations of sowing, reaping and threshing should be commenced and completed on one of these days. when a man intends to build a house he places a number of sets of three grains of rice, one resting on the other two, on the ground in different places. each set is covered by a leaf-cup with some earth to hold it down. next morning the grains are inspected, and if the top one has fallen down the site is considered to be lucky, as indicating that the earth is wishful to bear the burden of a house in this place. a house should face to the east or west, and not to the north or south. similarly, the roads leading out of the village should run east or west from the starting-point. the principal festivals of the parjas are the hareli [423] or feast of the new vegetation in july, the nawakhani [424] or feast of the new rice crop in august or september, and the am nawakhani or that of the new mango crop in april or may. at the feasts the new season's crop should be eaten, but if no fresh rice has ripened, they touch some of the old grain with a blade of a growing rice-plant, and consider that it has become the new crop. on these occasions ancestors are worshipped by members of the family only inside the house, and offerings of the new crops are made to them. 8. disposal of the dead the dead are invariably buried, the corpse being laid in the ground with head to the east and feet to the west. this is probably the most primitive burial, it being supposed that the region of the dead is towards the west, as the setting sun disappears in that direction. the corpse is therefore laid in the grave with the feet to the west ready to start on its journey. members of the tribe who have imbibed hindu ideas now occasionally lay the corpse with the head to the north in the direction of the ganges. rice-gruel, water and a tooth-stick are placed on the grave nightly for some days after death. as an interesting parallel instance, near home, of the belief that the soul starts on a long journey after death, the following passage may be quoted from mr. gomme's folklore: "among the superstitions of lancashire is one which tells us of a lingering belief in a long journey after death, when food is necessary to support the soul. a man having died of apoplexy at a public dinner near manchester, one of the company was heard to remark, 'well, poor joe, god rest his soul! he has at least gone to his long rest wi' a belly full o' good meat, and that's some consolation!' and perhaps a still more remarkable instance is that of the woman buried in curton church, near rochester, who directed by her will that the coffin was to have a lock and key, the key being placed in her dead hand, so that she might be able to release herself at pleasure." [425] after the burial a dead fish is brought on a leaf-plate to the mourners, who touch it, and are partly purified. the meaning of this rite, if there be any, is not known. after the period of mourning, which varies from three to nine days, is over, the mourners and their relatives must attend the next weekly bazar, and there offer liquor and sweets in the name of the dead man, who upon this becomes ranked among the ancestors. 9. occupation and social customs the parjas are cultivators, and grow rice and other crops in the ordinary manner. many of them are village headmen, and to these the term dhurwa is more particularly applied. the tribe will eat fowls, pig, monkeys, the large lizard, field-rats, and bison and wild buffalo, but they do not eat carnivorous animals, crocodiles, snakes or jackals. some of them eat beef while others have abjured it, and they will not accept the leavings of others. they are not considered to be an impure caste. if any man or woman belonging to a higher caste has a _liaison_ with a parja, and is on that account expelled from their own caste, he or she can be admitted as a parja. in their other customs and dress and ornaments the tribe resemble the gonds of bastar. women are tattooed on the chest and arms with patterns of dots. the young men sometimes wear their hair long, and tie it in a bunch behind, secured by a strip of cloth. pasi list of paragraphs 1. _the nature and origin of the caste_. 2. _brahmanical legends_. 3. _its mixed composition_. 4. _marriage and other customs_. 5. _religion, superstitions and social customs_. 6. _occupation_. 7. _criminal tendencies_. 1. the nature and origin of the caste _pasi, passi._ [426]--a dravidian occupational caste of northern india, whose hereditary employment is the tapping of the palmyra, date and other palm trees for their sap. the name is derived from the sanskrit _pashika_, 'one who uses a noose,' and the hindi, _pas_ or _pasa_, a noose. it is a curious fact that when the first immigrant parsis from persia landed in gujarat they took to the occupation of tapping palm trees, and the poorer of them still follow it. the resemblance in the name, however, can presumably be nothing more than a coincidence. the total strength of the pasis in india is about a million and a half persons, nearly all of whom belong to the united provinces and bihar. in the central provinces they number 3500, and reside principally in the jubbulpore and hoshangabad districts. the caste is now largely occupational, and is connected with the bhars, arakhs, khatiks and other dravidian groups of low status. but in the past they seem to have been of some importance in oudh. "all through oudh," mr. crooke states, "they have traditions that they were lords of the country, and that their kings reigned in the districts of kheri, hardoi and unao. ramkot, where the town of bangarmau in unao now stands, is said to have been one of their chief strongholds. the last of the pasi lords of ramkot, raja santhar, threw off his allegiance to kanauj and refused to pay tribute. on this raja jaichand gave his country to the banaphar heroes alha and udal, and they attacked and destroyed ramkot, leaving it the shapeless mass of ruins which it now is." similar traditions prevail in other parts of oudh. it is also recorded that the rajpasis, the highest division of the caste, claim descent from tilokchand, the eponymous hero of the bais rajputs. it would appear then that the pasis were a dravidian tribe who held a part of oudh before it was conquered by the rajputs. as the designation of pasi is an occupational term and is derived from the sanskrit, it would seem that the tribe must formerly have had some other name, or they may be an occupational offshoot of the bhars. in favour of this suggestion it may be noted that the bhars also have strong traditions of their former dominance in oudh. thus sir c. elliott states in his _chronicles of unao_ [427] that after the close of the heroic age, when ajodhya was held by the surajvansi rajputs under the great rama, we find after an interval of historic darkness that ajodhya has been destroyed, the surajvansis utterly banished, and a large extent of country is being ruled over by aborigines called cheros in the far east, bhars in the centre and rajpasis in the west. again, in kheri the pasis always claim kindred with the bhars, [428] and in mirzapur [429] the local pasis represent the bhars as merely a subcaste of their own tribe, though this is denied by the bhars themselves. it seems therefore a not improbable hypothesis that the pasis and perhaps also the kindred tribe of arakhs are functional groups formed from the bhar tribe. for a discussion of the early history of this important tribe the reader must be referred to mr. crooke's excellent article. 2. brahmanical legends the following tradition is related by the pasis themselves in mirzapur and the central provinces: one day a man was going to kill a number of cows. parasurama was at that time practising austerities in the jungles. hearing the cries of the sacred animals he rushed to their assistance, but the cow-killer was aided by his friends. so parasurama made five men out of _kusha_ grass and brought them to life by letting drops of his perspiration fall upon them. hence arose the name pasi, from the hindi _pasina_, sweat. the men thus created rescued the cows. then they returned to parasurama and asked him to provide them with a wife. just at that moment a kayasth girl was passing by, and her parasurama seized and made over to the pasis. from them sprang the kaithwas subcaste. another legend related by mr. crooke tells that during the time parasurama was incarnate there was an austere devotee called kuphal who was asked by brahma to demand of him a boon, whereupon he requested that he might be perfected in the art of thieving. his request was granted, and there is a well-known verse regarding the devotions of kuphal, the pith of which is that the mention of the name of kuphal, who received a boon from brahma, removes all fear of thieves; and the mention of his three wives--maya (illusion), nidra (sleep), and mohani (enchantment)--deprives thieves of success in their attempts against the property of those who repeat these names. kuphal is apparently the progenitor of the caste, and the legend is intended to show how the position of the pasis in the hindu cosmos or order of society according to the caste system has been divinely ordained and sanctioned, even to the recognition of theft as their hereditary pursuit. 3. its mixed composition whatever their origin may have been the composition of the caste is now of a very mixed nature. several names of other castes, as gujar, gual or ahir, arakh, khatik, bahelia, bhil and bania, are returned as divisions of the pasis in the united provinces. like all migratory castes they are split into a number of small groups, whose constitution is probably not very definite. the principal subcastes in the central provinces are the rajpasis or highest class, who probably were at one time landowners; the kaithwas or kaithmas, supposed to be descended from a kayasth, as already related; the tirsulia, who take their name from the _trisula_ or three-bladed knife used to pierce the stem of the palm tree; the bahelia or hunters, and chiriyamar or fowlers; the ghudchadha or those who ride on ponies, these being probably saises or horse-keepers; the khatik or butchers and gujar or graziers; and the mangta or beggars, these being the bards and genealogists of the caste, who beg from their clients and take food from their hands; they are looked down on by the other pasis. 4. marriage and other customs in the central provinces the tribe have now no exogamous groups; they avoid marriage with blood relations as far back as their memory carries them. at their weddings the couple walk round the _srawan_ or heavy log of wood, which is dragged over the fields before sowing to break up the larger clods of earth. in the absence of this an ordinary plough or harrow will serve as a substitute, though why the pasis should impart a distinctively agricultural implement into their marriage ceremony is not clear. like the gonds, the pasis celebrate their weddings at the bridegroom's house and not at the bride's. before the wedding the bridegroom's mother goes and sits over a well, taking with her seven _urad_ cakes [430] and stalks of the plant. the bridegroom walks seven times round the well, and at each turn the parapet is marked with red and white clay and his mother throws one of the cakes and stalks into the well. finally, the mother threatens to throw herself into the well, and the bridegroom begs her not to do so, promising that he will serve and support her. divorce and the remarriage of widows are freely permitted. conjugal morality is somewhat lax, and mr. crooke quotes a report from pertabgarh to the effect that if a woman of a tribe become pregnant by a stranger and the child be born in the house of her father or husband, it will be accepted as a pasi of pure blood and admitted to all tribal privileges. the bodies of adults may be buried or burnt as convenient, but those of children or of persons dying from smallpox, cholera or snake-bite are always buried. mourning is observed during ten days for a man and nine days for a woman, while children who die unmarried are not mourned at all. 5. religion, superstitions and social customs the pasis worship all the ordinary hindu deities. all classes of brahmans will officiate at their marriages and other ceremonies, and do anything for them which does not involve touching them or any article in their houses. in bengal, sir h. risley writes, the employment of brahmans for the performance of ceremonies appears to be a very recent reform for, as a rule, in sacrifices and funeral ceremonies, the worshipper's sister's son performs the functions of a priest. "among the pasis of monghyr this ancient custom, which admits of being plausibly interpreted as a survival of female kinship, still prevails generally." the social status of the pasis is low, but they are not regarded as impure. at their marriage festivals, mr. gayer notes, boys are dressed up as girls and made to dance in public, but they do not use drums or other musical instruments. they breed pigs and cure the bacon obtained from them. marriage questions are decided by the tribal council, which is presided over by a chairman (_chaudhri_) selected at each meeting from among the most influential adult males present. the council deals especially with cases of immorality and pollution caused by journeys across the black water (_kala pani_) which the criminal pursuits of the tribe occasionally necessitate. 6. occupation the traditional occupation of the pasis, as already stated, is the extraction of the sap of palm trees. but some of them are hunters and fowlers like the pardhis, and like them also they make and mend grindstones, while others are agriculturists; and the caste has also strong criminal propensities, and includes a number of professional thieves. some are employed in the nagpur mills and others have taken small building contracts. pasis are generally illiterate and in poor circumstances, and are much addicted to drink. in climbing [431] palm trees to tap them for their juice the worker uses a heel-rope, by which his feet are tied closely together. at the same time he has a stout rope passing round the tree and his body. he leans back against this rope and presses the soles of his feet, thus tied together, against the tree. he then climbs up the tree by a series of hitches or jerks of his back and feet alternately. the juice of the palmyra palm (_tar_) and the date palm (_khajur_) is extracted by the pasi. the _tar_ trees, sir h. risley states, [432] are tapped from march to may, and the date palm in the cold season. the juice of the former, known as _tari_ or toddy, is used in the manufacture of bread, and an intoxicating liquor is obtained from it by adding sugar and grains of rice. hindustani drunkards often mix _dhatura_ with the toddy to increase its intoxicating properties. the quantity of juice extracted from one tree varies from five to ten pounds. date palm _tari_ is less commonly drunk, being popularly believed to cause rheumatism, but is extensively used in preparing sugar. 7. criminal tendencies eighty years ago, when general sleeman wrote, the pasis were noted thieves. in his _journey through oudh_ [433] he states that in oudh there were then supposed to be one hundred thousand families of pasis, who were skilful thieves and robbers by profession, and were formerly thugs and poisoners as well. they generally formed the worst part of the gangs maintained by refractory landowners, "who keep pasis to fight for them, as they pay themselves out of the plunder and cost little to their employers. they are all armed with bows and are very formidable at night. they and their refractory employés keep the country in a perpetual state of disorder." mr. gayer notes [434] that the criminally disposed members of the caste take contracts for the watch and sale of mangoes in groves distant from habitations, so that their movements will not be seen by prying eyes. they also seek employment as roof-thatchers, in which capacity they are enabled to ascertain which houses contain articles worth stealing. they show considerable cunning in disposing of their stolen property. the men will go openly in the daytime to the receiver and acquaint him with the fact that they have property to dispose of; the receiver goes to the bazar, and the women come to him with grass for sale. they sell the grass to the receiver, and then accompany him home with it and the stolen property, which is artfully concealed in it. patwa _patwa, patwi, patra, ilakelband._--the occupational caste of weavers of fancy silk braid and thread. in 1911 the patwas numbered nearly 6000 persons in the central provinces, being returned principally from the narsinghpur, raipur, saugor, jubbulpore and hoshangabad districts. about 800 were resident in berar. the name is derived from the sanskrit _pata_, woven cloth, or hindi _pat_, silk. the principal subcastes of the patwas are the naraina; the kanaujia, also known as chhipi, because they sew marriage robes; the deobansi or 'descendants of a god,' who sell lac and glass bangles; the lakhera, who prepare lac bangles; the kachera, who make glass bangles; and others. three of the above groups are thus functional in character. they have also rajput and kayastha subcastes, who may consist of refugees from those castes received into the patwa community. in the central provinces the patwas and lakheras are in many localities considered to be the same caste, as they both deal in lac and sell articles made of it; and the account of the occupations of the lakhera caste also applies largely to the patwas. the exogamous groups of the caste are named after villages, or titles or nicknames borne by the reputed founder of the group. they indicate that the patwas of the central provinces are generally descended from immigrants from northern india. the patwa usually purchases silk and colours it himself. he makes silk strings for pyjamas and coats, armlets and other articles. among these are the silk threads called _rakhis_, used on the rakshabandhan festival, [435] when the brahmans go round in the morning tying them on to the wrists of all hindus as a protection against evil spirits. for this the brahman receives a present of one or two pice. the _rakhi_ is made of pieces of raw silk fibre twisted together, with a knot at one end and a loop at the other. it goes round the wrist, and the knot is passed through the loop. sisters also tie it round their brothers' wrists and are given a present. the patwas make the _phundri_ threads for tying up the hair of women, whether of silk or cotton, and various threads used as amulets, such as the _janjira_, worn by men round the neck, and the _ganda_ or wizard's thread, which is tied round the arm after incantations have been said over it; and the necklets of silk or cotton thread bound with thin silver wire which the hindus wear at anant chaudas, a sort of all saints' day, when all the gods are worshipped. in this various knots are made by the brahmans, and in each a number of deities are tied up to exert their beneficent influence for the wearer of the thread. these are the bands which hindus commonly wear on their necks. the patwas thread necklaces of gold and jewels on silk thread, and also make the strings of cowries, slung on pack-thread, which are tied round the necks of bullocks when they race on the pola day, and on ponies, probably as a charm. after a child is born in the family of one of their clients, the patwas make tassels of cotton and hemp thread coloured red, green and yellow, and hang them to the centre-beam of the house and the top of the child's cradle, and for this they get a present, which from a rich man may be as much as ten rupees. the sacred thread proper is usually made by brahmans in the central provinces. some of the patwas wander about hawking their wares from village to village. besides the silk threads they sell the _tiklis_ or large spangles which women wear on their foreheads, lac bangles and balls of henna, and the large necklaces of lac beads covered with tinsel of various colours which are worn in chhattisgarh. a patwa must not rear the tasar silkworm nor boil the cocoons on pain of expulsion from caste. pindari list of paragraphs 1. _origin of the name_. 2. _rise of the pindaris_. 3. _their strength and sphere of operations_. 4. _pindari expeditions and methods_. 5. _return from an expedition_. 6. _suppression of the pindaris_. _death of chitu_. 7. _character of the pindaris_. 8. _the existing pindaris_. 9. _attractions of a pindari's life_. 1. origin of the name _pindari, pindara, pendhari._ [436]--the well-known professional class of freebooters, whose descendants now form a small cultivating caste. in the central provinces they numbered about 150 persons in 1911, while there are about 10,000 in india. they are mainly muhammadans but include some hindus. the pindaris of the central provinces are for the most part the descendants of gonds, korkus and bhils whose children were carried off in the course of raids, circumcised, and brought up to follow the profession of a pindari. when the bands were dispersed many of them returned to their native villages and settled down. malcolm considered that the name pindari was derived from _pinda_, an intoxicating drink, and was given to them on account of their dissolute habits. he adds that karim khan, a famous pindari leader, had never heard of any other reason for the name, and major henley had the etymology confirmed by the most intelligent of the pindaris of whom he inquired. [437] in support of this may be adduced the name of bhangi, given to the sweeper caste on account of their drinking _bhang_ or hemp. wilson again held the most probable derivation to be from the marathi _pendha_, in the sense of a bundle of rice-straw, and _hara_ one who takes, because the name was originally applied to horsemen who hung on to an army and were employed in collecting forage. the fact that the existing pindaris are herdsmen and tenders of buffaloes and thus might well have been employed for the collection of forage may be considered somewhat to favour the above view; but the authors of _hobson-jobson_, after citing these derivations, continue: "we cannot think any of the etymologies very satisfactory. we venture another as a plausible suggestion merely. both _pind-parna_ in hindi and _pindas-basnen_ in marathi signify 'to follow,' the latter being defined as 'to stick closely; to follow to the death; used of the adherence of a disagreeable fellow.' such phrases could apply to these hangers-on of an army in the field looking out for prey." mr. w. irvine [438] has suggested that the word comes from a place or region called pandhar, which is referred to by native historians and seems to have been situated between burhanpur and handia on the nerbudda; and states that there is good evidence to prove that a large number of pindaris were settled in this part of the country. mr. d. chisholm reports from nimar that "pandhar or pandhar is the name given to a stream which rises in the gularghat hills of the asir range and flows after a very circuitous course into the masak river by mandeva. the name signifies five, as it is joined by four other small streams. the asir hills were the haunts of the pindaris, and the country about these, especially by the banks of the pandhar, is very wild; but it is not commonly known that the pindaris derived their name from this stream." and as the pindaris are first heard of as hangers-on of the maratha armies in the deccan prior to a.d. 1700, it seems unlikely also that their name can be taken from a place in the nimar district, where it is not recorded that they were settled before 1794. nor does the pandhar itself seem sufficiently important to have given a name to the whole body of freebooters. malcolm's or wilson's derivations are perhaps on the whole the most probable. prinsep writes: "pindara seems to have the same reference to pandour that kuzak has to cossack. the latter word is of turkish origin but is commonly used to express a mounted robber in hindustan." though the pandours were the predatory light cavalry of the austrian army, and had considerable resemblance to the pindaris, it does not seem possible to suppose that there is any connection between the two words. the pendra zamindari in bilaspur is named after the pindaris, the dense forests of the rewah plateau which includes pendra having been one of their favourite asylums of refuge. 2. rise of the pindaris the pindari bands appear to have come into existence during the wars of the late muhammadan dynasties in the deccan, and in the latter part of the seventeenth century they attached themselves to the marathas in their revolt against aurangzeb. the first mention of the name occurs at this time. during and after the maratha wars many of the pindari leaders obtained grants in central india from sindhia and holkar, and were divided into two parties owing a nominal allegiance to these princes and designated as the sindhia shahi and holkar shahi. in the period of chaos which reigned at this time outside british territories their raids in all directions attended by the most savage atrocities became more and more intolerable. these outrages extended from bundelkhand to cuddapah south of madras and from orissa to gujarat. when attached to the maratha armies, malcolm states, the pindaris always camped separately and were not permitted to plunder in the maratha territories; they were given an allowance averaging four annas each a day, and further supported themselves by employing their small horses and bullocks in carrying grain, forage and wood, for which articles the pindari bazar was the great mart. when let loose to pillage, which was always the case some days before the army entered an enemy's country, all allowances stopped; no restraint whatever was put upon these freebooters till the campaign was over, when the maratha commander, if he had the power, generally seized the pindari chiefs or surrounded their camps and forced them to yield up the greater part of their booty. a knowledge of this practice led the pindaris to redouble their excesses, that they might be able to satisfy without ruin the expected rapacity of their employers. in 1794, grant-duff writes, sindhia assigned some lands to the pindaris near the banks of the nerbudda, which they soon extended by conquests from the grassias or original independent landholders in their neighbourhood. their principal leaders at that time were two brothers named hiru and burun, who are said to have been put to death for their aggressions on the territory of sindhia and of raghuji bhonsla. the sons of hiru and burun became pindari chiefs; but karim khan, a pindara who had acquired great booty at the plunder of the nizam's troops after the battle of hurdla, and was distinguished by superior cunning and enterprise, was the principal leader of this refuse of the maratha armies. karim got the district of shujahalpur from umar khan which, with some additions, was afterwards confirmed to him by sindhia. during the war of 1803 and the subsequent disturbed state of the country karim contrived to obtain possession of several districts in malwa belonging to sindhia's jagirdars; and his land revenue at one time is said to have amounted to fifteen lakhs of rupees a year. he also wrested some territory from the nawab of bhopal on which he built a fort as a place of security for his family and of deposit for his plunder. karim was originally a sindhia shahi, but like most of the pindaris, except about 5000 of the holkar shahis who remained faithful, he changed sides or plundered his master whenever it suited his convenience, which was as often as he found an opportunity. sindhia, jealous of his encroachments, on pretence of lending him some gems inveigled him to an interview, made him prisoner, plundered his camp, recovered the usurped districts and lodged karim in the fort of gwalior. a number of leaders started up after the confinement of karim, of whom chitu, dost muhammad, namdar khan and sheikh dullah became the most conspicuous. they associated themselves with amir khan in 1809 during his expedition to berar; and in 1810, when karim khan purchased his release from gwalior, they assembled under that leader a body of 25,000 horse and some battalions of newly raised infantry with which they again proposed to invade berar; but chitu, always jealous of karim's ascendency, was detached by raghuji bhonsla from the alliance, and afterwards co-operated with sindhia in attacking him; karim was in consequence driven to seek an asylum with his old patron amir khan, but by the influence of sindhia amir khan kept him in a state of confinement until 1816. when the marathas ceased to spread themselves over india, the pindaris who had attended their armies were obliged to plunder the territories of their former protectors for subsistence. to the unemployed soldiery of india, particularly to the muhammadans, the life of a pindara had many allurements; but the maratha horsemen who possessed hereditary rights or had any pretensions to respectability did not readily join them. one of the above leaders, sheikh dullah or abdullah, apparently became a dacoit after the pindaris had been dispersed, and he is still remembered in hoshangabad and nimar in the following saying: niche zamin aur upar allah, aur bich men phiren sheikh dullah, or 'god is above and the earth beneath, and sheikh dullah ranges at his will between.' 3. their strength and sphere of operations in 1814, prinsep states, [439] the actual military force at the disposal of the pindaris amounted to 40,000 horse, inclusive of the pathans, who though more orderly and better disciplined than the pindaris of the nerbudda, possessed the same character and were similarly circumstanced in every respect, supporting themselves entirely by depredations whenever they could practise them. their number would be doubled were we to add the remainder of holkar's troops of the irregular kind, which were daily deserting the service of a falling house in order to engage in the more profitable career of predatory enterprise; and the loose cavalry establishments of sindhia and the bhonsla, which were bound by no ties but those of present entertainment, and were always in great arrears of pay. the presence of this force in the centre of india and able to threaten each of the three presidencies imposed the most extensive annual precautions for defence, in spite of which the territories of our allies were continually overrun. on two occasions, once when they entered gujarat in 1808-9 and again in 1812 when the bengal provinces of mirzapur and shahabad were devastated, they penetrated into our immediate territories. grant-duff records that in one raid on the coast from masulipatam northward they in ten days plundered 339 villages, burning many, killing and wounding 682 persons, torturing 3600 and carrying off or destroying property to the amount of two lakhs and a half. indeed their reputation was such that the mere rumour of an incursion caused a regular panic at madras in 1816, of which general hislop gives an amusing account: [440] "in the middle of this year the troops composing the garrison of fort st. george were moved out and encamped on the island outside black town wall. this imprudent step was taken, as was affirmed, to be in readiness to meet the pindaris, who were reported to be on their road to madras, although it was well known that not half a dozen of them were at that time within 200 miles of the place. the native inhabitants of all classes throughout madras and its vicinity were in the utmost alarm, and looked for places of retreat and security for their property. it brought on madras all the distresses in imagination of hyder ali's invasion. it was about this period that an idle rumour reached madras of the arrival of the pindaris at the mount; all was uproar, flight and despair to the walls of madras. this alarm originated in a few dhobis and grass-cutters of the artillery having mounted their _tattus_ and, in mock imitation of the pindaris, galloped about and played with long bamboos in their hands in the vicinity of the mount. the effect was such, however, that many of the civil servants and inhabitants of the mount road packed up and moved to the fort for protection. troopers, messengers, etc., were seen galloping to the government house and thence to the different public authorities. such was the alarm in the government house that on the afternoon of that day an old officer, anxious to offer some advice to the governor, rode smartly to the government gardens, and on reaching the entrance observed the younger son of the governor running with all possible speed into the house; who having got to a place of security ventured to look back and then discovered in the old officer a face which he had before seen; when turning back again he exclaimed, 'upon my word, sir, i was so frightened i took you for a pindari.'" 4. pindari expeditions and methods a pindari expedition [441] usually started at the close of the rains, as soon as the rivers became fordable after the dasahra festival in october. their horses were then shod, having previously been carefully trained to prepare them for long marches and hard work. a leader of tried courage having been chosen as luhbaria, all who were so inclined set forth on a foray, or luhbar as it was called in the pindari nomenclature, the strength of the party often amounting to several thousands. in every thousand pindaris about 400 were tolerably well mounted and armed; of this number about every fifteenth man carried a matchlock, but their favourite weapon was the ordinary bamboo spear of the marathas, from 12 to 18 feet long. of the remaining 600 two-thirds were usually common lootais or plunderers, indifferently mounted and armed with every variety of weapon; and the rest slaves, attendants and camp-followers, mounted on _tattus_ or wild ponies and keeping up with the luhbar in the best manner they could. they were encumbered neither by tents nor baggage; each horseman carried a few cakes of bread for his own subsistence and some feeds of grain for his horse. they advanced at the rapid rate of forty or fifty miles a day, neither turning to the right nor to the left till they arrived at their place of destination. they then divided, and made a sweep of all the cattle and property they could find; committing at the same time the most horrid atrocities and destroying what they could not carry away. they trusted to the secrecy and suddenness of the irruption for avoiding those who guarded the frontiers of the countries they invaded; and before a force could be brought against them they were on their return. their chief strength lay in their being intangible. if pursued they made marches of extraordinary length, sometimes upwards of sixty miles, by roads almost impracticable for regular troops. if overtaken they dispersed and reassembled at an appointed rendezvous; if followed to the country from which they issued they broke into small parties. the cruelties they perpetrated were beyond belief. as it was impossible for them to remain more than a few hours on the same spot the utmost despatch was necessary in rifling any towns or villages into which they could force an entrance; every one whose appearance indicated the probability of his possessing money was immediately put to the most horrid torture till he either pointed out his hoard or died under the infliction. nothing was safe from the pursuit of pindari lust or avarice; it was their common practice to burn and destroy what they could not carry away; and in the wantonness of barbarity to ravish and murder women and children under the eyes of their husbands and parents. the ordinary modes of torture inflicted by these miscreants were to apply red-hot irons to the soles of the feet; or to throw the victim on the ground and place a plank or beam across his chest on which two men pressed with their whole weight; and to throw oil on the clothes and set fire to them, or tie wisps of rag soaked in oil to the ends of all the victim's fingers and set fire to these. another favourite method was to put hot ashes into a horse-bag, which they tied over a man's mouth and nostrils and thumped him on the back until he inhaled the ashes. the effect on the lungs of the sufferer was such that few long survived the operation. 5. return from an expedition the return of the pindaris from an expedition presented at one view their character and habits. when they recrossed the nerbudda and reached their homes their camp became like a fair. after the claims of the chief of the territory (whose right was a fourth part of the booty, but who generally compounded for one or two valuable articles) had been satisfied, the usual share paid to their luhbaria, or chosen leader for the expedition, and all debts to merchants and others who had made advances discharged, the plunder of each man was exposed for sale; traders from every part came to make cheap bargains; and while the women were busy in disposing of their husbands' property, the men, who were on such occasions certain of visits from all their friends, were engaged in hearing music, seeing dancers and drolls, and in drinking. this life of debauchery and excess lasted till their money was gone; they were then compelled to look for new scenes of rapine, or, if the season was favourable, were supported by their chiefs, or by loans at high interest from merchants who lived in their camps, many of whom amassed large fortunes. this worst part of the late population of central india is, as a separate community, now extinct. [442] 6. suppression of the pindaris. death of chitu the result of the pindari raids was that central india was being rapidly reduced to the condition of a desert, and the peasants, unable to support themselves on the land, had no option but to join the robber bands or starve. it was not until 1817 that lord hastings obtained authority from home to take regular measures for their repression; and at the same time he also forced or persuaded the principal chiefs of central india to act vigorously in concert with him. when these were put into operation and the principal routes from central india occupied by british detachments, the pindaris were completely broken up and scattered in the course of a single campaign. they made no stand against regular troops, and their bands, unable to escape from the ring of forces drawn round them, were rapidly dispersed over the country. the people eagerly plundered and seized them in revenge for the wrongs long suffered at their hands, and the bhil grassias or border landholders gladly carried out the instructions to hunt them down. on one occasion a native havildar with only thirty-four men attacked and put a large body of them to flight. the principal chiefs, reduced to the condition of hunted outlaws in the jungles, soon accepted the promise of their lives, and on surrendering were either settled on a grant of land or kept in confinement. the well-known leader chitu joined apa sahib, who had then escaped from nagpur and was in hiding in the pachmarhi hills. being expelled from there in february 1819 he proceeded to the fort of asirgarh in nimar, but was refused admittance by sindhia's commandant. he sought shelter in the neighbouring jungle, and on horseback and alone attempted to penetrate a thick cover known to be infested with tigers. he was missed for some days afterwards and no one knew what had become of him. his horse was at last discovered grazing near the margin of the forest, saddled and bridled, and exactly in the state in which it was when chitu had last been seen upon it. upon search a bag of rs. 250 was found in the saddle; and several seal rings with some letters of apa sahib, promising future reward, served more completely to fix the identity of the horse's late master. these circumstances, combined with the known resort of tigers to the spot, induced a search for the body, when at no great distance some clothes clotted with blood, and farther on fragments of bones, and at last the pindari's head entire with features in a state to be recognised, were successively discovered. the chief's mangled remains were given over to his son for interment, and the miserable fate of one who so shortly before had ridden at the head of twenty thousand horse gave an awful lesson of the uncertainty of fortune and drew pity even from those who had been victims of his barbarity when living. [443] 7. character of the pindaris the pindaris, as might be expected, were recruited from all classes and castes, and though many became muhammadans the hindus preserved the usages of their respective castes. most of the hindu men belonged to the ladul or grass-cutter class, and their occupation was to bring grass and firewood to the camps. "those born in the durrahs or camps," malcolm states, [444] "appear to have been ignorant in a degree almost beyond belief and were in the same ratio superstitious. the women of almost all the muhammadan pindaris dressed like hindus and worshipped hindu deities. from accompanying their husbands in most of their excursions they became hardy and masculine; they were usually mounted on small horses or camels, and were more dreaded by the villagers than the men, whom they exceeded in cruelty and rapacity." colonel tod notes that the pindaris, like other indian robbers, were devout in the observance of their religion: "a short distance to the west of the regent's (kotah) camp is the pindari-ka-chhaoni, where the sons of karim khan, the chief leader of those hordes, resided; for in those days of strife the old regent would have allied himself with satan, if he had led a horde of plunderers. i was greatly amused to see in this camp the commencement of an id-gah or place of prayer; for the villains, while they robbed and murdered even defenceless women, prayed five times a day!" [445] 8. the existing pindaris while the freebooting pindaris had no regular caste organisation, their descendants have now become more or less of a caste in accordance with the usual tendency of a distinctive occupation, producing a difference in status, to form a fresh caste. the existing pindaris in the central provinces are both muhammadans and hindus, the muhammadans, as already stated, having been originally the children of hindus who were kidnapped and converted. it is one of the very few merits of the pindaris that they did not sell their captives to slavery. their numerous prisoners of all ages and both sexes were employed as servants, made over to the chiefs or held to ransom from their relatives, but the pindaris did not carry on like the banjaras a traffic in slaves. [446] the muhammadan pindaris were said some time ago to have no religion, but with the diffusion of knowledge they have now adopted the rites of islam and observe its rules and restrictions. in bhandara the hindu pindaris are garoris or gowaris, they say that the ancestors of the pindaris and gowaris were two brothers, the business of the pindari brother being to tend buffaloes and that of the gowari brother to herd cows. these pindaris will beg from the owners of buffaloes for the above reason. they revere the dog and will not kill it, and also worship snakes and tigers, believing that these animals never do them injury. they carry their dead to the grave in a sitting posture, seated in a _jholi_ or wallet, and bury them in the same position. they wear their beards and do not shave. some of these pindaris are personal servants, others cultivators and labourers, and others snake-charmers and jugglers. 9. attractions of a pindari's life the freebooting life of the pindaris, unmitigated scoundrels though they were, no doubt had great charms, and must often have been recalled with regret by those who settled down to the quiet humdrum existence of a cultivator. this feeling has been admirably depicted in sir alfred lyall's well-known poem, of which it will be permissible to quote a short extract: when i rode a dekhani charger with the saddle-cloth gold-laced, and a persian sword and a twelve-foot spear and a pistol at my waist. it's many a year gone by now; and yet i often dream of a long dark march to the jumna, of splashing across the stream, of the waning moon on the water and the spears in the dim starlight as i rode in front of my mother [447] and wondered at all the sight. then the streak of the pearly dawn--the flash of a sentinel's gun, the gallop and glint of horsemen who wheeled in the level sun, the shots in the clear still morning, the white smoke's eddying wreath, is this the same land that i live in, the dull dank air that i breathe? and if i were forty years younger, with my life before me to choose, i wouldn't be lectured by kafirs or bullied by fat hindoos; but i'd go to some far-off country where musalmans still are men, or take to the jungle like chetoo, and die in the tiger's den. prabhu 1. historical notice _prabhu, parbhu._--the maratha caste of clerks, accountants and patwaris corresponding to the kayasths. they numbered about 1400 persons in the southern districts of the central provinces and berar in 1911. the prabhus, like the kayasths, claim to be descendants of a child of chandra sena, a kshatriya king and himself a son of arjun, one of the five pandava brothers. chandra sena was slain by parasurama, the brahman destroyer of the kshatriyas, but the child was saved by a rishi, who promised that he should be brought up as a clerk. the boy was named somraj and was married to the daughter of chitra gupta, the recorder of the dead. the caste thus claim kshatriya origin. the name prabhu signifies 'lord,' but the brahmans pretend that the real name of the caste was parbhu, meaning one of irregular birth. the prabhus say that parbhu is a colloquial corruption used by the uneducated. the _gotras_ of the prabhus are eponymous, the names being the same as those of brahmans. in the central provinces many of them have the surname of chitnavis or secretary. child-marriage is in vogue and widow-remarriage is forbidden. the wedding ceremony resembles that of the brahmans. in his _description of a prabhu marriage_ [448] rai bahadur b.a. gupte shows how the old customs are being broken through among the educated classes under the influence of modern ideas. marriages are no longer arranged without regard to the wishes of the couple, which are thus ascertained: "the next step [449] is to find out the inclination of the hero of the tale. his friends and equals do that easily enough. they begin talking of the family and the girl, and are soon able to fathom his mind. they leave on his desk all the photographs of the girls offered and watch his movements. if he is sensible he quietly drops or returns all the likenesses except the one he prefers, and keeps this in his drawer. he dare not display it, for it is immodest to do so. the news of the approval by the boy soon reaches the parents of the girl." similarly in her case: "the girl has no direct voice, but her likes and dislikes are carefully fathomed through her girl friends. if she says, 'why is papa in such a hurry to get rid of me,' or turns her face and goes away as soon as the proposed family is mentioned, a sensible father drops the case and turns his attention to some other boy. this is the direct result of higher education under british rule, but among the masses the girl has absolutely no voice, and the boy has very little unless he revolts and disobediently declines to accept a girl already selected." similarly the educated prabhus are beginning to dispense with the astrologer's calculations showing the agreement of the horoscopes of the couple, which are too often made a cloak for the extortion of large presents. "it very often happens that everything is amicably settled except the greed of the priest, and he manages to find out some disagreement between the horoscopes of the marriageable parties to vent his anger. this trick has been sufficiently exposed, and the educated portion of this ultra-literary caste have in most cases discarded horoscopes and planetary conjunctions altogether. under these restrictions the only thing the council of astrologers have to do is to draw up two documents giving diagrams based on the names of the parties--for names are presumably selected according to the conjunctions of the stars at birth. but they are often not, and depend on the liking of the father for a family god, a mythological hero, a patron or a celebrated ancestor in the case of the boy. in that of the girl the favourite deity or a character in the most recent fable or drama the father has just read." according to custom the bridegroom should go to the bride's house to be married, but if it is more convenient to have the wedding at the bridegroom's town, the bride goes there to a temporary house taken by her father, and then the bridegroom proceeds to a temple with his party and is welcomed as if he had arrived on completion of a journey. mr. gupte thus describes the reception of the bride when she has come to be married: "but there comes an urgent telegram. the bride and her mother are expected and information is given to the bridegroom's father. in all haste preparations are made to give her a grand and suitable reception. oh, the flutter among the girls assembled in the house of the bridegroom from all quarters. every one is dressed in her best and is trying to be the foremost in welcoming the new bride, the goddess lakshmi. the numerous maidservants of the house want to prostrate themselves before their future queen on the suna or borderland of the city, which is of course the railway station. musicians have been already despatched and the platform is full of gaily dressed girls. the train arrives, the party assemble at the waiting-room, a maidservant waves rice and water to 'take off' the effects of evil eyes and they start amid admiring eyes of the passengers and onlookers. as soon as the bride reaches her father's temporary residence another girl waves rice and water and throws it away. the girls of the bridegroom's house run home and come back again with a kalash (water-pot) full of water, with its mouth covered with mango-leaves and topped over with a cocoanut and a large tray of sugar. this is called _sakhar pani_, sugar and water, the first to wash the mouth with and the second to sweeten it. the girls have by this time all gathered round the bride and are busy cheering her up with encouraging remarks: 'oh, she is a rati, the goddess of beauty,' says one, and another, 'how delicate,' 'what a fine nose' from a third, and 'look at her eyes' from a fourth. all complimentary and comforting. 'we are glad it is our house you are coming to,' says a sister-in-law in prospect. 'we are happy you are going to be our _malikin_ (mistress),' adds a maidservant. as soon as the elder ladies have completed their courteous inquiries _pan-supari_ and _attar_ are distributed and the party returns home. but on arrival the girls gather round the bridegroom to tease him. 'oh, you sudharak (reformer),' 'oh, you sahib (european), _you_ have selected your bride.' 'you have seen her _before_ marriage. you have broken the rule of the society. you ought to be excommunicated.' 'but,' says another, 'he will now have no time to speak to us. his rati (goddess of beauty) and he! the sahib and the memsahib! we shall all be forgotten now. who cares for sisters and cousins in these days of civilisation?' but all these little jokes of the little girls are meant as congratulations to him for having secured a good girl." at a wedding among the highest families such as is described here, the bridegroom is presented with drinking cups and plates, trays for holding sandalwood paste, betel-leaf and an incense-burner, all in solid silver to the value of about rs. 1000; water-pots and cooking vessels and a small bath in german silver costing rs. 300 to rs. 400; and a set of brass vessels. [450] 2. general customs the prabhus wear the sacred thread. in bombay boys receive it a short time before their marriage without the ceremonies which form part of the regular brahman investiture. on the fifth day after the birth of a child, the sword and also pens, paper and ink are worshipped, the sword being the symbol of their kshatriya origin and the pens, paper and ink of their present occupation of clerks. [451] the funeral ceremonies, mr. enthoven writes, are performed during the first thirteen days after death. oblations of rice are offered every day, in consequence of which the soul of the dead attains a spiritual body, limb by limb, till on the thirteenth day it is enabled to start on its journey. in twelve months the journey ends, and a _shraddh_ ceremony is performed on an extensive scale on the anniversary of the death. most of the prabhus are in government service and others are landowners. in the bombay presidency [452] they had at first almost a monopoly of government service as english writers, and the term prabhu was commonly employed to denote a clerk of any caste who could write english. both men and women of the caste are generally of a fair complexion, resembling the maratha brahmans. the taste of the women in dress is proverbial, and when a sunar, sutar or kasar woman has dressed herself in her best for some family festival, she will ask her friends, '_prabhuin disto_,' or 'do i look like a prabhu?' raghuvansi 1. historical notice _raghuvansi, raghvi._--a class of rajputs of impure descent, who have now developed in the central provinces into a caste of cultivators, marrying among themselves. their first settlement here was in the nerbudda valley, and sir c. elliott wrote of them: [453] "they are a queer class, all professing to be rajputs from ajodhia, though on cross-examination they are obliged to confess that they did not come here straight from ajodhia, but stopped in bundelkhand and the gwalior territory by the way. they are obviously of impure blood as they marry only among themselves; but when they get wealthy and influential they assume the sacred thread, stop all familiarity with gujars and kirars (with whom they are accustomed to smoke the huqqa and to take water) and profess to be very high-caste rajputs indeed." from hoshangabad they have spread to betul, chhindwara and nagpur and now number 24,000 persons in all in the central provinces. chhindwara, on the satpura plateau, is supposed to have been founded by one ratan raghuvansi, who built the first house on the site, burying a goat alive under the foundations. the goat is still worshipped as the tutelary deity of the town. the name raghuvansi is derived from raja raghu, king of ajodhia and ancestor of the great rama, the hero of the ramayana. in nagpur the name has been shortened to raghvi, and the branch of the caste settled here is somewhat looked down upon by their fellows in hoshangabad. sir r. craddock [454] states that their religion is unorthodox and they have _gurus_ or priests of their own caste, discarding brahmans. their names end in deo. their origin, however, is still plainly discernible in their height, strength of body and fair complexion. the notice continues: "whatever may happen to other classes the raghvi will never give way to the moneylender. though he is fond of comfort he combines a good deal of thrift with it, and the clannish spirit of the caste would prevent any oppression of raghvi tenants by a landlord or moneylender of their own body." in chhindwara, mr. montgomerie states, [455] they rank among the best cultivators, and formerly lived in clans, holding villages on _bhaiachari_ or communal tenure. as malguzars or village proprietors, they are very prone to absorb tenant land into their home-farms. 2. social customs the raghuvansis have now a set of exogamous groups of the usual low-caste type, designated after titles, nicknames or natural objects. they sometimes invest their sons with the sacred thread at the time of marriage instead of performing the proper thread ceremony. some discard the cord after the wedding is over. at a marriage the raghuvansis of chhindwara and nagpur combine the hindustani custom of walking round the sacred pole with the maratha one of throwing coloured rice on the bridal couple. sometimes they have what is known as a _gankar_ wedding. at this, flour, sugar and _ghi_ [456] are the only kinds of food permissible, large cakes of flour and sugar being boiled in pitchers full of _ghi_, and everybody being given as much of this as he can eat. the guests generally over-eat themselves, and as weddings are celebrated in the hot weather, one or two may occasionally die of repletion. the neighbours of raghuvansis say that the host considers such an occurrence as evidence of the complete success of his party, but this is probably a libel. such a wedding feast may cost two or three thousand rupees. after the wedding the women of the bride's party attack those of the bridegroom's with bamboo sticks, while these retaliate by throwing red powder on them. the remarriage of widows is freely permitted, but a widow must be taken from the house of her own parents or relatives, and not from that of her first husband or his parents. in fact, if any members of the dead husband's family meet the second husband on the night of the wedding they will attack him and a serious affray may follow. on reaching her new house the woman enters it by a back door, after bathing and changing all her clothes. the old clothes are given away to a barber or washerman, and the presentation of new clothes by the second husband is the only essential ceremony. no wife will look on a widow's face on the night of her second marriage, for fear lest by doing so she should come to the same position. the majority of the caste abstain from liquor, and they eat flesh in some localities, but not in others. the men commonly wear beards divided by a shaven patch in the centre of the chin; and the women have two body-cloths, one worn like a skirt according to the northern custom. mr. crooke states [457] that "in northern india a tradition exists among them that the cultivation of sugar is fatal to the farmer, and that the tiling of a house brings down divine displeasure upon the owner; hence to this day no sugar is grown and not a tiled house is to be seen in their estates." these superstitions do not appear to be known at all in the central provinces. rajjhar 1. general notice _rajjhar, rajbhar, lajjhar._--a caste of farmservants found in the northern districts. in 1911 they numbered about 8000 persons in the central provinces, being returned principally from the districts of the satpura plateau. the names rajjhar and rajbhar appear to be applied indiscriminately to the same caste, who are an offshoot of the great bhar tribe of northern india. the original name appears to have been raj bhar, which signifies a landowning bhar, like raj-gond, raj-korku and so on. in mandla all the members of the caste were shown as rajbhar in 1891, and rajjhar in 1901, and the two names seem to be used interchangeably in other districts in the same manner. some section or family names, such as bamhania, patela, barhele and others, are common to people calling themselves rajjhar and rajbhar. but, though practically the same caste, the rajjhars seem, in some localities, to be more backward and primitive than the rajbhars. this is also the case in berar, where they are commonly known as lajjhar and are said to be akin to the gonds. a gond will there take food from a lajjhar, but not a lajjhar from a gond. they are more hinduised than the gonds and have prohibited the killing or injuring of cows by some caste penalties. [458] 2. origin and subdivisions the caste appears to be in part of mixed origin arising from the unions of hindu fathers with women of the bhar tribe. several of their family names are derived from those of other castes, as bamhania (from brahman), sunarya (from sunar), baksaria (a rajput sept), ahiriya (an ahir or cowherd), and bisatia from bisati (a hawker). other names are after plants or animals, as baslya from the _bans_ or bamboo, mohanya from the _mohin_ tree, chhitkaria from the _sitaphal_ or custard-apple tree, hardaya from the banyan tree, richhya from the bear, and dukhania from the buffalo. members of this last sept will not drink buffalo's milk or wear black cloth, because this is the colour of their totem animal. members of septs named after other castes have also adopted some natural object as a sept totem; thus those of the sunarya sept worship gold as being the metal with which the sunar is associated. those of the bamhania sept revere the banyan and pipal trees, as these are held sacred by brahmans. the bakraria or bagsaria sept believe their name to be derived from that of the _bagh_ or tiger, and they worship this animal's footprints by tying a thread round them. 3. marriage the marriage of members of the same sept, and also that of first cousins, is forbidden. the caste do not employ brahmans at their marriage and other ceremonies, and they account for this somewhat quaintly by saying that their ancestors were at one time accustomed to rely on the calculations of brahman priests; but many marriages which the brahman foretold as auspicious turned out very much the reverse; and on this account they have discarded the brahman, and now determine the suitability or otherwise of a projected union by the common primitive custom of throwing two grains of rice into a vessel of water and seeing whether they will meet. the truth is probably that they are too backward ever to have had recourse to the brahman priest, but now, though they still apparently have no desire for his services, they recognise the fact to be somewhat discreditable to themselves, and desire to explain it away by the story already given. in hoshangabad the bride still goes to the bridegroom's house to be married as among the gonds. a bride-price is paid, which consists of four rupees, a _khandi_ [459] of juari or wheat, and two pieces of cloth. this is received by the bride's father, who, however, has in turn to pay seven rupees eight annas and a goat to the caste _panchayat_ or committee for the arrangement and sanction of the match. this last payment is known as _skarab-ka-rupaya_ or liquor-money, and with the goat furnishes the wherewithal for a sumptuous feast to the caste. the marriage-shed must be made of freshly-cut timber, which should not be allowed to fall to the ground, but must be supported and carried off on men's shoulders as it is cut. when the bridegroom arrives at the marriage-shed he is met by the bride's mother and conducted by her to an inner room of the house, where he finds the bride standing. he seizes her fist, which she holds clenched, and opens her fingers by force. the couple then walk five times round the _chauk_ or sacred space made with lines of flour on the floor, the bridegroom holding the bride by her little finger. they are preceded by some relative of the bride, who walks round the post carrying a pot of water, with seven holes in it; the water spouts from these holes on to the ground, and the couple must tread in it as they go round the post. this forms the essential and binding portion of the marriage. that night the couple sleep in the same room with a woman lying between them. next day they return to the bridegroom's house, and on arriving at his door the boy's mother meets him and touches his head, breast and knees with a churning-stick, a winnowing-fan and a pestle, with the object of exorcising any evil spirits who may be accompanying the bridal couple. as the pair enter the marriage-shed erected before the bridegroom's house they are drenched with water by a man sitting on the roof, and when they come to the door of the house the bridegroom's younger brother, or some other boy, sits across it with his legs stretched out to prevent the bride from entering. the girl pushes his legs aside and goes into the house, where she stays for three months with her husband, and then returns to her parents for a year. after this she is sent to her husband with a basket of fried cakes and a piece of cloth, and takes up her residence with him. when a widow is to be married, the couple pour turmeric and water over each other, and then walk seven times round in a circle in an empty space, holding each other by the hand. a widow commonly marries her deceased husband's younger brother, but is not compelled to do so. divorce is permitted for adultery on the part of the wife. 4. social customs the caste bury their dead with the head pointing to the west. this practice is peculiar, and is also followed, colonel dalton states, by the hill bhuiyas of bengal, who in so doing honour the quarter of the setting sun. when a burial takes place, all the mourners who accompany the corpse throw a little earth into the grave. on the same day some food and liquor are taken to the grave and offered to the dead man's spirit, and a feast is given to the caste-fellows. this concludes the ceremonies of mourning, and the next day the relatives go about their business. the caste are usually petty cultivators and labourers, while they also collect grass and fuel for sale, and propagate the lac insect. in seoni they have a special relation with the ahirs, from whom they will take cooked food, while they say that the ahirs will also eat from their hands. in narsinghpur a similar connection has been observed between the rajjhars and the lodhi caste. this probably arises from the fact that the former have worked for several generations as the farm-servants of lodhi or ahir employers, and have been accustomed to live in their houses and partake of their meals, so that caste rules have been abandoned for the sake of convenience. a similar intimacy has been observed between the panwars and gonds, and other castes who stand in this relation to each other. the rajjhars will also eat _katcha_ food (cooked with water) from kunbis and kahars. but in hoshangabad some of them will not take food from any caste, even from brahmans. their women wear glass bangles only on the right hand, and a brass ornament known as _mathi_ on the left wrist. they wear no ornaments in the nose or ears, and have no breast-cloth. they are tattooed with dots on the face and patterns of animals on the right arm, but not on the left arm or legs. a _liaison_ between a youth and maiden of the caste is considered a trifling matter, being punished only with a fine of two to four annas or pence. a married woman detected in an intrigue is mulcted in a sum of four or five rupees, and if her partner be a man of another caste a lock of her hair is cut off. the caste are generally ignorant and dirty, and are not much better than the gonds and other forest tribes. rajput [the following article is based mainly on colonel tod's classical _annals and antiquities of rajasthan_, 2nd ed., madras, higginbotham, 1873, and mr. crooke's articles on the rajput clans in his _tribes and castes of the north-western provinces and oudh_. much information as to the origin of the rajput clans has been obtained from inscriptions and worked up mainly by the late mr. a.m.t. jackson and messrs. b.g. and d.r. bhandarkar; this has been set out with additions and suggestions in mr. v.a. smith's _early history of india_, 3rd ed., and has been reproduced in the subordinate articles on the different clans. though many of the leading clans are very weakly represented in the central provinces, some notice of them is really essential in an article treating generally of the rajput caste, on however limited a scale, and has therefore been included. in four cases, panwar, jadum, raghuvansi and daharia, the original rajput clans have now developed into separate cultivating castes, ranking well below the rajputs; separate articles have been written on these as for independent castes.] list of paragraphs 1. _introductory notice_. 2. _the thirty-six royal races_. 3. _the origin of the rajputs_. 4. _subdivisions of the clans_. 5. _marriage customs_. 6. _funeral rites_. 7. _religion_. 8. _food_. 9. _opium_. 10. _improved training of rajput chiefs_. 11. _dress_. 12. _social customs_. 13. _seclusion of women_. 14. _traditional character of the rajputs_. 15. _occupation_. list of subordinate articles 1. baghel. 2. bagri. 3. bais. 4. baksaria. 5. banaphar. 6. bhadauria. 7. bisen. 8. bundela. 9. chandel. 10. chauhan. 11. dhakar. 12. gaharwar, gherwal. 13. gaur, chamar-gaur. 14. haihaya, haihaivansi, kalachuri. 15. huna, hoon. 16. kachhwaha, cutchwaha. 17. nagvansi. 18. nikumbh. 19. paik. 20. parihar. 21. rathor, rathaur. 22. sesodia, gahlot, aharia. 23. solankhi, solanki, chalukya. 24. somvansi, chandravansi. 25. surajvansi. 26. tomara, tuar, tunwar. 27. yadu, yadava, yadu-bhatti, jadon. 1. introductory notice _rajput, kshatriya, chhatri, thakur._--the rajputs are the representatives of the old kshatriya or warrior class, the second of the four main castes or orders of classical hinduism, and were supposed to have been made originally from the arms of brahma. the old name of kshatriya is still commonly used in the hindi form chhatri, but the designation rajput, or son of a king, has now superseded it as the standard name of the caste. thakur, or lord, is the common rajput title, and that by which they are generally addressed. the total number of persons returned as rajputs in the province in 1911 was about 440,000. india has about nine million rajputs in all, and they are most numerous in the punjab, the united provinces, and bihar and orissa, rajputana returning under 700,000 and central india about 800,000. the bulk of the rajputs in the central provinces are of very impure blood. several groups, such as the panwars of the wainganga valley, the raghuvansis of chhindwara and nagpur, the jadams of hoshangabad and the daharias of chhattisgarh, have developed into separate castes and marry among themselves, though a true rajput must not marry in his own clan. some of them have abandoned the sacred thread and now rank with the good cultivating castes below banias. reference may be made to the separate articles on these castes. similarly the surajvansi, gaur or gorai, chauhan, and bagri clans marry among themselves in the central provinces, and it is probable that detailed research would establish the same of many clans or parts of clans bearing the name of rajput in all parts of india. if the definition of a proper rajput were taken, as it should be correctly, as one whose family intermarried with clans of good standing, the caste would be reduced to comparatively small dimensions. the name dhakar, also shown as a rajput clan, is applied to a person of illegitimate birth, like vidur. over 100,000 persons, or nearly a quarter of the total, did not return the name of any clan in 1911, and these are all of mixed or illegitimate descent. they are numerous in nimar, and are there known as _chhoti-tur_ or low-class rajputs. the bagri rajputs of seoni and the surajvansis of betal marry among themselves, while the bundelas of saugor intermarry with two other local groups, the panwar and dhundhele, all the three being of impure blood. in jubbulpore a small clan of persons known as paik or foot-soldier return themselves as rajputs, but are no doubt a mixed low-caste group. again, some landholding sections of the primitive tribes have assumed the names of rajput clans. thus the zamindars of bilaspur, who originally belonged to the kawar tribe, call themselves tuar or tomara rajputs, and the landholding section of the mundas in chota nagpur say that they are of the nagvansi clan. other names are returned which are not those of rajput clans or their offshoots at all. if these subdivisions, which cannot be considered as proper rajputs, and all those who have returned no clan be deducted, there remain not more than 100,000 who might be admitted to be pure rajputs in rajputana. but a close local scrutiny even of these would no doubt result in the detection of many persons who have assumed and returned the names of good clans without being entitled to them. and many more would come away as being the descendants of remarried widows. a rajput of really pure family and descent is in fact a person of some consideration in most parts of the central provinces. 2. the thirty-six royal races traditionally the rajputs are divided into thirty-six great clans or races, of which colonel tod gives a list compiled from different authorities as follows (alternative names by which the clan or important branches of it are known are shown in brackets): 1. ikshwaka or surajvansi. 2. indu, somvansi or chandravansi. 3. gahlot or sesodia (raghuvansi). 4. yadu (bhatti, jareja, jadon, banaphar). 5. tuar or tomara. 6. rathor. 7. kachhwaha (cutchwaha). 8. pramara or panwar (mori). 9. chauhan (hara, khichi, nikumbh, bhadauria). 10. chalukya or solankhi (baghel). 11. parihar. 12. chawara or chaura. 13. tak or takshac (nagvansi, mori). 14. jit or gete. 15. huna. 16. kathi. 17. balla. 18. jhalla. 19. jaitwa or kamari. 20. gohil. 21. sarweya. 22. silar. 23. dhabi. 24. gaur. 25. doda or dor. 26. gherwal or gaharwar (bundela). 27. badgujar. 28. sengar. 29. sikarwal. 30. bais. 31. dahia. 32. johia. 33. mohil. 34. nikumbh. 35. rajpali. 36. dahima. and two extra, hul and daharia. several of the above races are extinct or nearly so, and on the other hand some very important modern clans, as the gautam, dikhit and bisen, and such historically important ones as the chandel and haihaya, are not included in the thirty-six royal races at all. practically all the clans should belong either to the solar and lunar branch, that is, should be descended from the sun or moon, but the division, if it ever existed, is not fully given by colonel tod. two special clans, the surajvansi and chandra or somvansi, are named after the sun and moon respectively; and a few others, as the sesodia, kachhwaha, gohil, bais and badgujar, are recorded as being of the solar race, descended from vishnu through his incarnation as rama. the rathors also claimed solar lineage, but this was not wholly conceded by the bhats, and the dikhits are assigned to the solar branch by their legends. the great clan of the yadavas, of whom the present jadon or jadum and bhatti rajputs are representatives, was of the lunar race, tracing their descent from krishna, though, as a matter of fact, krishna was also an incarnation of vishnu or the sun; and the tuar or tomara, as well as the jit or gete, the rajput section of the modern jats, who were considered to be branches of the yadavas, would also be of the moon division, the gautam and bisen clans, who are not included in the thirty-six royal races, now claim lunar descent. four clans, the panwar, chauhan, chalukya or solankhi, and parihar, had a different origin, being held to have been born through the agency of the gods from a firepit on the summit of mount abu. they are hence known as agnikula or the fire races. several clans, such as the tak or takshac, the huna and the chaura, were considered by colonel tod to be the representatives of the huns or scythians, that is, the nomad invading tribes from central asia, whose principal incursions took place during the first five centuries of the christian era. at least six of the thirty-six royal races, the sarweya, silar, doda or dor, dahia, johia and mohil, were extinct in colonel tod's time, and others were represented only by small settlements in rajputana and surat. on the other hand, there are now a large number of new clans, whose connection with the thirty-six is doubtful, though in many cases they are probably branches of the old clans who have obtained a new name on settling in a different locality. 3. the origin of the rajputs it was for long the custom to regard the rajputs as the direct descendants and representatives of the old kshatriya or warrior class of the indian aryans, as described in the vedas and the great epics. even colonel tod by no means held this view in its entirety, and modern epigraphic research has caused its partial or complete abandonment mr. v.a. smith indeed says: [460] "the main points to remember are that the kshatriya or rajput caste is essentially an occupational caste, composed of all clans following the hindu ritual who actually undertook the act of government; that consequently people of most diverse races were and are lumped together as rajputs, and that most of the great clans now in existence are descended either from foreign immigrants of the fifth or sixth century a.d. or from indigenous races such as the gonds and bhars." colonel tod held three clans, the tak or takshac, the huna and the chaura, to be descended from scythian or nomad central asian immigrants, and the same origin has been given for the haihaya. the huna clan actually retains the name of the white huns, from whose conquests in the fifth century it probably dates its existence. the principal clan of the lunar race, the yadavas, are said to have first settled in delhi and at dwarka in gujarat. but on the death of krishna, who was their prince, they were expelled from these places, and retired across the indus, settling in afghanistan. again, for some reason which the account does not clearly explain, they came at a later period to india and settled first in the punjab and afterwards in rajputana. the jit or jat and the tomara clans were branches of the yadavas, and it is supposed that the jits or jats were also descended from the nomad invading tribes, possibly from the yueh-chi tribe who conquered and occupied the punjab during the first and second centuries. [461] the legend of the yadavas, who lived in gujarat with their chief krishna, but after his defeat and death retired to central asia, and at a later date returned to india, would appear to correspond fairly well with the saka invasion of the second century b.c. which penetrated to kathiawar and founded a dynasty there. in a.d. 124 the second saka king was defeated by the andhra king vilivayakura ii. and his kingdom destroyed. [462] but at about the same period, the close of the first century, a fresh horde of the sakas came to gujarat from central asia and founded another kingdom, which lasted until it was subverted by chandragupta vikramaditya about a.d. 390. [463] the historical facts about the sakas, as given on the authority of mr. v.a. smith, thus correspond fairly closely with the yadava legend. and the later yueh-chi immigrants might well be connected by the bhats with the saka hordes who had come at an earlier date from the same direction, and so the jats [464] might be held to be an offshoot of the yadavas. this connection of the yadava and jat legends with the facts of the immigration of the sakas and yueh-chi appears a plausible one, but may be contradicted by historical arguments of which the writer is ignorant. if it were correct we should be justified in identifying the lunar clans of rajputs with the early scythian immigrants of the first and second centuries. another point is that buddha is said to be the progenitor of the whole indu or lunar race. [465] it is obvious that buddha had no real connection with these central asian tribes, as he died some centuries before their appearance in india. but the yueh-chi or kushan kings of the punjab in the first and second centuries a.d. were fervent buddhists and established that religion in the punjab. hence we can easily understand how, if the yadus or jats and other lunar clans were descended from the saka and yueh-chi immigrants, the legend of their descent from buddha, who was himself a kshatriya, might be devised for them by their bards when they were subsequently converted from buddhism to hinduism. the sakas of western india, on the other hand, who it is suggested may be represented by the yadavas, were not buddhists in the beginning, whether or not they became so afterwards. but as has been seen, though buddha was their first progenitor, krishna was also their king while they were in gujarat, so that at this time they must have been supposed to be hindus. the legend of descent from buddha arising with the yueh-chi or kushans might have been extended to them. again, the four agnikula or fire-born clans, the parihar, chalukya or solankhi, panwar and chauhan, are considered to be the descendants of the white hun and gujar invaders of the fifth and sixth centuries. these clans were said to have been created by the gods from a firepit on the summit of mount abu for the re-birth of the kshatriya caste after it had been exterminated by the slaughter of parasurama the brahman. and it has been suggested that this legend refers to the cruel massacres of the huns, by which the bulk of the old aristocracy, then mainly buddhist, was wiped out; while the huns and gujars, one at least of whose leaders was a fervent adherent of brahmanism and slaughtered the buddhists of the punjab, became the new fire-born clans on being absorbed into hinduism. [466] the name of the huns is still retained in the huna clan, now almost extinct. there remain the clans descended from the sun through rama, and it would be tempting to suppose that these are the representatives of the old aryan kshatriyas. but mr. bhandarkar has shown [467] that the sesodias, the premier clan of the solar race and of all rajputs, are probably sprung from nagar brahmans of gujarat, and hence from the gujar tribes; and it must therefore be supposed that the story of solar origin and divine ancestry was devised because they were once brahmans, and hence, in the view of the bards, of more honourable origin than the other clans. similarly the badgujar clan, also of solar descent, is shown by its name of _bara_ or great gujar to have been simply an aristocratic section of the gujars; while the pedigree of the rathors, another solar clan, and one of those who have shed most lustre on the rajput name, was held to be somewhat doubtful by the bhats, and their solar origin was not fully admitted. mr. smith gives two great clans as very probably of aboriginal or dravidian origin, the gaharwar or gherwal, from whom the bundelas are derived, and the chandel, who ruled bundelkhand from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, and built the fine temples at mahoba, kalanjar and khajaraho as well as making many great tanks. this corresponds with colonel tod's account, which gives no place to the chandels among the thirty-six royal races, and states that the gherwal rajput is scarcely known to his brethren in rajasthan, who will not admit his contaminated blood to mix with theirs, though as a brave warrior he is entitled to their fellowship. [468] similarly the kathi clan may be derived from the indigenous kathi tribe who gave their name to kathiawar. and the surajvansi, somvansi and nagvansi clans, or descendants of the sun, moon and snake, which are scarcely known in rajputana, may represent landholding sections of lower castes or non-aryan tribes who have been admitted to rajput rank. but even though it be found that the majority of the rajput clans cannot boast a pedigree dating farther back than the first five centuries of our era, this is at any rate an antiquity to which few if any of the greatest european houses can lay claim. 4. subdivisions of the clans many of the great clans are now split up into a number of branches. the most important of these were according to locality, the different _sachae_ or branches being groups settled in separate areas. thus the chalukya or solankhi had sixteen branches, of which the baghels of rewah or baghelkhand were the most important. the panwars had thirty-five branches, of which the mori and the dhunda, now perhaps the dhundele of saugor, are the best known. the gahlot had twenty-four branches, of which one, the sesodia, became so important that it has given its name to the whole clan. the chamar-gaur section of the gaur clan now claim a higher rank than the other gaurs, though the name would apparently indicate the appearance of a chamar in their family tree; while the tilokchandi bais form an aristocratic section of the bais clan, named after a well-known king, tilokchand, who reigned in upper india about the twelfth century and is presumably claimed by them as an ancestor. besides this the rajputs have _gotras_, named after eponymous saints exactly like the brahman _gotras_, and probably adopted in imitation of the brahmans. since, theoretically, marriage is prohibited in the whole clan, the _gotra_ divisions would appear to be useless, but sir h. risley states that persons of the same clan but with different _gotras_ have begun to intermarry. similarly it would appear that the different branches of the great clans mentioned above must intermarry in some cases; while in the central provinces, as already stated, several clans have become regular castes and form endogamous and not exogamous groups. in northern india, however, mr. crooke's accounts of the different clans indicate that marriage within the clan is as a rule not permitted. the clans themselves and their branches have different degrees of rank for purposes of marriage, according to the purity of their descent, while in each clan or subclan there is an inferior section formed of the descendants of remarried widows, or even the offspring of women of another caste, who have probably in the course of generations not infrequently got back into their father's clan. thus many groups of varying status arise, and one of the principal rules of a rajput's life was that he must marry his daughter, sometimes into a clan of equal, or sometimes into one of higher rank than his own. hence arose great difficulty in arranging the marriages of girls and sometimes the payment of a price to the bridegroom; while in order to retain the favour of the bhats and avoid their sarcasm, lavish expenditure had to be incurred by the bride's father on presents to these rapacious mendicants. [469] thus a daughter became in a rajput's eyes a long step on the road to ruin, and female infanticide was extensively practised. this crime has never been at all common in the central provinces, where the rule of marrying a daughter into an equal or higher clan has not been enforced with the same strictness as in northern india. but occasional instances formerly occurred in which the child's neck was placed under one leg of its mother's cot, or it was poisoned with opium or by placing the juice of the _akra_ or swallow-wort plant on the mother's nipple. 5. marriage customs properly the proposal for a rajput marriage should emanate from the bride's side, and the customary method of making it was to send a cocoanut to the bridegroom. 'the cocoanut came,' was the phrase used to intimate that a proposal of marriage had been made. [470] it is possible that the bride's initiative was a relic of the swayamwara or maiden's choice, when a king's daughter placed a garland on the neck of the youth she preferred among the competitors in a tournament, and among some rajputs the jayamala or garland of victory is still hung round the bridegroom's neck in memory of this custom; but it may also have been due to the fact that the bride had to pay the dowry. one tenth of this was paid as earnest when the match had been arranged, and the boy's party could not then recede from it. at the entrance of the marriage-shed was hung the _toran_, a triangle of three wooden bars, having the apex crowned with the effigy of a peacock. the bridegroom on horseback, lance in hand, proceeded to break the _toran_, which was defended by the damsels of the bride. they assailed him with missiles of various kinds, and especially with red powder made from the flowers of the _palas_ [471] tree, at the same time singing songs full of immoral allusions. at length the _toran_ was broken amid the shouts of the retainers, and the fair defenders retired. if the bridegroom could not attend in person his sword was sent to represent him, and was carried round the marriage-post, with the bride, this being considered a proper and valid marriage. at the rite of _hatleva_ or joining the hands of the couple it was customary that any request made by the bridegroom to the bride's father should meet with compliance, and this usage has led to many fatal results in history. another now obsolete custom was that the bride's father should present an elephant to his son-in-law as part of the dowry, but when a man could not afford a real elephant a small golden image of the animal might be substituted. in noble families the bride was often accompanied to her husband's house by a number of maidens belonging to the servant and menial castes. these were called devadhari or lamp-bearers, and became inmates of the harem, their offspring being _golas_ or slaves. in time of famine many of the poor had also perforce to sell themselves as slaves in order to obtain subsistence, and a chiefs household would thus contain a large number of them. they were still adorned in mewar, colonel tod states, like the saxon slaves of old, with a silver ring round the left ankle instead of the neck. they were well treated, and were often among the best of the military retainers; they took rank among themselves according to the quality of the mothers, and often held confidential places about the ruler's person. a former chief of deogarh would appear at court with three hundred _golas_ or slaves on horseback in his train, men whose lives were his own. [472] these special customs have now generally been abandoned by the rajputs of the central provinces, and their weddings conform to the usual hindu type as described in the article on kurmi. the remarriage of widows is now recognised in the southern districts, though not in the north; but even here widows frequently do marry and their offspring are received into the caste, though with a lower status than those who do not permit this custom. among the baghels a full rajput will allow a relative born of a remarried widow to cook his food for him, but not to add the salt nor to eat it with him. those who permit the second marriage of widows also allow a divorced woman to remain in the caste and to marry again. but among proper rajputs, as with brahmans, a wife who goes wrong is simply put away and expelled from the society. polygamy is permitted and was formerly common among the chiefs. each wife was maintained in a separate suite of rooms, and the chief dined and spent the evening alternately with each of them in her own quarters. the lady with her attendants would prepare dinner for him and wait upon him while he ate it, waving the punkah or fan behind him and entertaining him with her remarks, which, according to report, frequently constituted a pretty severe curtain lecture. 6. funeral rites the dead are burnt, except infants, whose bodies are buried. mourning is observed for thirteen days for a man, nine days for a woman, and three days for a child. the _shraddh_ ceremony or offering of sacrificial cakes to the spirit is performed either during the usual period in the month of kunwar (september), or on the anniversary day of the death. it was formerly held that if a kshatriya died on the battlefield it was unnecessary to perform his funeral rites because his spirit went straight to heaven, and thus the end to which the ceremonies were directed was already attained without them. it was also said that the wife of a man dying such a death should not regard herself as a widow nor undergo the privations imposed on widowhood. but this did not apply so far as self-immolation was concerned, since the wives of warriors dying in battle very frequently became _sati_. in the case of chiefs also it was sometimes the custom, probably for political reasons, that the heir should not observe mourning; because if he did so he would be incapable of appearing in an assembly for thirteen days, or of taking the public action which might be requisite to safeguard his succession. the body of the late chief would be carried out by the back door of the house, and as soon as it left his successor would take his seat on the _gaddi_ or cushion and begin to discharge the public business of government. 7. religion the principal deity of the rajputs is the goddess devi or durga in her more terrible form as the goddess of war. their swords were sacred to her, and at the dasahra festival they worshipped their swords and other weapons of war and their horses. the dreadful goddess also protected the virtue of the rajput women and caused to be enacted the terrible holocausts, not infrequent in rajput history, when some stronghold was besieged and could hold out no longer. a great furnace was then kindled in the citadel and into this the women, young and old, threw themselves, or else died by their husbands' swords, while the men, drunk with _bhang_ and wearing saffron-coloured robes, sallied out to sell their lives to the enemy as dearly as possible. it is related that on one occasion akbar desired to attempt the virtue of a queen of the sesodia clan, and for that purpose caused her to lose herself in one of the mazes of his palace. the emperor appeared before her suddenly as she was alone, but the lady, drawing a dagger, threatened to plunge it into her breast if he did not respect her, and at the same time the goddess of her house appeared riding on a tiger. the baffled emperor gave way and retired, and her life and virtue were saved. the rajputs also worship the sun, whom many of them look upon as their first ancestor. they revere the animals and trees sacred to the hindus, and some clans show special veneration to a particular tree, never cutting or breaking the branches or leaves. in this manner the bundelas revere the _kadamb_ tree, the panwars the _nim_ [473] tree, the rathors the pipal [474] tree, and so on. this seems to be a relic of totemistic usage. in former times each clan had also a tribal god, who was its protector and leader and watched over the destinies of the clan. sometimes it accompanied the clan into battle. "every royal house has its palladium, which is frequently borne to battle at the saddle-bow of the prince. rao bhima hara of kotah lost his life and protecting deity together. the celebrated khichi (chauhan) leader jai singh never took the field without the god before him. 'victory to bujrung' was his signal for the charge so dreaded by the maratha, and often has the deity been sprinkled with his blood and that of the foe." [475] it is said that a rajput should always kill a snake if he sees one, because the snake, though a prince among rajputs, is an enemy, and he should not let it live. if he does not kill it, the snake will curse him and bring ill-luck upon him. the same rule applies, though with less binding force, to a tiger. 8. food the rajputs eat the flesh of clean animals, but not pigs or fowls. they are, however, fond of the sport of pig-sticking, and many clans, as the bundelas and others, will eat the flesh of the wild pig. this custom was perhaps formerly universal. some of them eat of male animals only and not of females, either because they fear that the latter would render them effeminate or that they consider the sin to be less. some only eat animals killed by the method of _jatka_ or severing the head with one stroke of the sword or knife. they will not eat animals killed in the muhammadan fashion by cutting the throat. they abstain from the flesh of the _nilgai_ or blue bull as being an animal of the cow tribe. among the brahmans and rajputs food cooked with water must not be placed in bamboo baskets, nor must anything made of bamboo be brought into the _rasoya_ or cooking-place, or the _chauka_, the space cleaned and marked out for meals. a special brush of date-palm fibre is kept solely for sweeping these parts of the house. at a rajput banquet it was the custom for the prince to send a little food from his own plate or from the dish before him to any guest whom he especially wished to honour, and to receive this was considered a very high distinction. in mewar the test of legitimacy in a prince of the royal house was the permission to eat from the chief's plate. the grant of this privilege conferred a recognised position, while its denial excluded the member in question from the right to the succession. [476] this custom indicates the importance attached to the taking of food together as a covenant or sacrament. 9. opium the rajputs abstain from alcoholic liquor, though some of the lower class, as the bundelas, drink it. in classical times there is no doubt that they drank freely, but have had to conform to the prohibition of liquor imposed by the brahmans on high-caste hindus. in lieu of liquor they became much addicted to the noxious drugs, opium and ganja or indian hemp, drinking the latter in the form of the intoxicating liquid known as _bhangs_, which is prepared from its leaves. _bhang_ was as a rule drunk by the rajputs before battle, and especially as a preparation for those last sallies from a besieged fortress in which the defenders threw away their lives. there is little reason to doubt that they considered the frenzy and carelessness of death produced by the liquor as a form of divine possession. opium has contributed much to the degeneration of the rajputs, and their relapse to an idle, sensuous life when their energies were no longer maintained by the need of continuous fighting for the protection of their country. the following account by forbes of a rajput's daily life well illustrates the slothful effeminacy caused by the drug: [477] "in times of peace and ease the rajput leads an indolent and monotonous life. it is usually some time after sunrise before he bestirs himself and begins to call for his hookah; after smoking he enjoys the luxury of tea or coffee, and commences his toilet and ablutions, which dispose of a considerable part of the morning. it is soon breakfast-time, and after breakfast the hookah is again in requisition, with but few intervals of conversation until noon. the time has now arrived for a siesta, which lasts till about three in the afternoon. at this hour the chief gets up again, washes his hands and face, and prepares for the great business of the day, the distribution of the red cup, _kusumba_ or opium. he calls together his friends into the public hall, or perhaps retires with them to a garden-house. opium is produced, which is pounded in a brass vessel and mixed with water; it is then strained into a dish with a spout, from which it is poured into the chief's hand. one after the other the guests now come up, each protesting that _kusumba_ is wholly repugnant to his taste and very injurious to his health, but after a little pressing first one and then another touches the chief's hand in two or three places, muttering the names of deos (gods), friends or others, and drains the draught. each after drinking washes the chief's hand in a dish of water which a servant offers, and after wiping it dry with his own scarf makes way for his neighbour. after this refreshment the chief and his guests sit down in the public hall, and amuse themselves with chess, draughts or games of chance, or perhaps dancing-girls are called in to exhibit their monotonous measures, or musicians and singers, or the never-failing favourites, the bhats and charans. at sunset the torch-bearers appear and supply the chamber with light, upon which all those who are seated therein rise and make obeisance towards the chief's cushion. they resume their seats, and playing, singing, dancing, story-telling go on as before. at about eight the chief rises to retire to his dinner and his hookah, and the party is broken up." there is little reason to doubt that the rajputs ascribed a divine character to opium and the mental exaltation produced by it, as suggested in the article on kalar in reference to the hindus generally. opium was commonly offered at the shrines of deified rajput heroes. colonel tod states: "_umul lar khana_, to eat opium together, is the most inviolable, pledge, and an agreement ratified by this ceremony is stronger than any adjuration." [478] the account given by forbes of the manner in which the drug was distributed by the chief from his own hand to all his clansmen indicates that the drinking of it was the renewal of a kind of pledge or covenant between them, analogous to the custom of pledging one another with wine, and a substitute for the covenant made by taking food together, which originated from the sacrificial meal. it has already been seen that the rajputs attached the most solemn meaning and virtue to the act of partaking of the chief's food, and it is legitimate to infer that they regarded the drinking of a sacred drug like opium from his hand in the same light. the following account [479] of the drinking of healths in a highland clan had, it may be suggested, originally the same significance as the distribution of opium by the rajput chief: "lord lovat was wont in the hall before dinner to have a kind of herald proclaiming his pedigree, which reached almost up to noah, and showed each man present to be a cadet of his family, whilst after dinner he drank to every one of his cousins by name, each of them in return pledging him--the better sort in french claret, the lower class in husky (whisky)." here also the drinking of wine together perhaps implied the renewal of a pledge of fealty and protection between the chief and his clansmen, all of whom were held to be of his kin. the belief in the kinship of the whole clan existed among the rajputs exactly as in the scotch clans. in speaking of the rathors colonel tod states that they brought into the field fifty thousand men, _ek bap ka beta_, the sons of one father, to combat with the emperor of delhi; and remarks: "what a sensation does it not excite when we know that a sentiment of kindred pervades every individual of this immense affiliated body, who can point out in the great tree the branch of his origin, of which not one is too remote from the main stem to forget his pristine connection with it." [480] the taking of opium and wine together, as already described, thus appear to be ceremonies of the same character, both symbolising the renewal of a covenant between kinsmen. 10. improved training of rajput chiefs the temptations to a life of idleness and debauchery to which rajput gentlemen were exposed by the cessation of war have happily been largely met and overcome by the careful education and training which their sons now receive in the different chiefs' colleges and schools, and by the fostering of their taste for polo and other games. there is every reason to hope that a rajput prince's life will now be much like that of an english country gentleman, spent largely in public business and the service of his country, with sport and games as relaxation. nor are the rajputs slow to avail themselves of the opportunities for the harder calling of arms afforded by the wars of the british empire, in which they are usually the first to proffer their single-hearted and unselfish assistance. 11. dress the most distinctive feature of a rajput's dress was formerly his turban; the more voluminous and heavy this was, the greater distinction attached to the bearer. the cloth was wound in many folds above the head, or cocked over one ear as a special mark of pride. an english gentleman once remarked to the minister of the rao of cutch on the size and weight of his turban, when the latter replied, 'oh, this is nothing, it only weighs fifteen pounds.' [481] a considerable reverence attached to the turban, probably because it was the covering of the head, the seat of life, and the exchanging of turbans was the mark of the closest friendship. on one occasion shah jahan, before he came to the throne of delhi, changed turbans with the rana of mewar as a mark of amity. shah jahan's turban was still preserved at udaipur, and seen there by colonel tod in 1820. they also wore the beard and moustaches very long and full, the moustache either drooping far below the chin, or being twisted out stiffly on each side to impart an aspect of fierceness. many rajputs considered it a disgrace to have grey beards or moustaches, and these were accustomed to dye them with a preparation of indigo. thus dyed, however, after a few days the beard and moustache assumed a purple tint, and finally faded to a pale plum colour, far from being either deceptive or ornamental. the process of dyeing was said to be tedious, and the artist compelled his patient to sit many hours under the indigo treatment with his head wrapped up in plantain leaves. [482] during the muhammadan wars, however, the rajputs gave up their custom of wearing beards in order to be distinguished from moslems, and now, as a rule, do not retain them, while most of them have also discarded the long moustaches and large turbans. in battle, especially when they expected to die, the rajputs wore saffron-coloured robes as at a wedding. at the same time their wives frequently performed _sati_, and the idea was perhaps that they looked on their deaths as the occasion of a fresh bridal in the warrior's valhalla. women wear skirts and shoulder-cloths, and in rajputana they have bangles of ivory or bone instead of the ordinary glass, sometimes covering the arm from the shoulders to the wrist. their other ornaments should be of gold if possible, but the rule is not strictly observed, and silver and baser metals are worn. 12. social customs the rajputs wear the sacred thread, but many of them have abandoned the proper _upanayana_ or thread ceremony, and simply invest boys with it at their marriage. in former times, when a boy became fit to bear arms, the ceremony of _kharg bandai_, or binding on of the sword, was performed, and considered to mark his attainment of manhood. the king himself had his sword thus bound on by the first of his vassals. the rajputs take food cooked with water (_katchi_) only from brahmans, and that cooked without water (_pakki_) from banias, and sometimes from lodhis and dhimars. brahmans will take _pakki_ food from rajputs, and nais and dhimars _katchi_ food. when a man is ill, however, he may take food from members of such castes as kurmi and lodhi as a matter of convenience without incurring caste penalties. the large turbans and long moustaches and beards no longer characterise their appearance, and the only point which distinguishes a rajput is that his name ends with singh (lion). but this suffix has also been adopted by others, especially the sikhs, and by such castes as the lodhis and raj-gonds who aspire to rank as rajputs. a rajput is usually addressed as thakur or lord, a title which properly applies only to a rajput landholder, but has now come into general use. the head of a state has the designation of raja or rana, and those of the leading states of maharaja or maharana, that is, great king. maharana, which appears to be a gujarati form, is used by the sesodia family of udaipur. the sons of a raja are called kunwar or prince. the title rao appears to be a marathi form of raj or raja; it is retained by one or two chiefs, but has now been generally adopted as an honorific suffix by maratha brahmans. rawat appears to have been originally equivalent to rajput, being simply a diminutive of rajputra, the sanskrit form of the latter. it is the name of a clan of rajputs in the punjab, and is used as an honorific designation by ahirs, saonrs, kols and others. 13. seclusion of women women are strictly secluded by the rajputs, especially in upper india, but this practice does not appear to have been customary in ancient times, and it would be interesting to know whether it has been copied from the muhammadans. it is said that a good rajput in the central provinces must not drive the plough, his wife must not use the _rehnta_ or spinning-wheel, and his household may not have the _kathri_ or _gudri_, the mattress made of old pieces of cloth or rag sewn one on top of the other, which is common in the poorer hindu households. 14. traditional character of the rajputs the rajputs as depicted by colonel tod resembled the knights of the age of chivalry. courage, strength and endurance were the virtues most highly prized. one of the rajput trials of strength, it is recorded, was to gallop at full speed under the horizontal branch of a tree and cling to it while the horse passed on. this feat appears to have been a common amusement, and it is related in the annals of mewar that the chief of bunera broke his spine in the attempt; and there were few who came off without bruises and falls, in which consisted the sport. of their martial spirit colonel tod writes: "the rajput mother claims her full share in the glory of her son, who imbibes at the maternal fount his first rudiments of chivalry; and the importance of this parental instruction cannot be better illustrated than in the ever-recurring simile, 'make thy mother's milk resplendent.' one need not reason on the intensity of sentiment thus implanted in the infant rajput, of whom we may say without metaphor the shield is his cradle and daggers his playthings, and with whom the first commandment is 'avenge thy father's feud.' [483] a rajput yet loves to talk of the days of chivalry, when three things alone occupied him, his horse, his lance and his mistress; for she is but third in his estimation after all, and to the first two he owed her." [484] and of their desire for fame: "this sacrifice (of the johar) accomplished, their sole thought was to secure a niche in that immortal temple of fame, which the rajput bard, as well as the great minstrel of the west peoples 'with youths who died to be by poets sung.' for this the rajput's anxiety has in all ages been so great as often to defeat even the purpose of revenge, his object being to die gloriously rather than to inflict death; assured that his name would never perish, but, preserved in immortal rhyme by the bard, would serve as the incentive to similar deeds." [485] he sums up their character in the following terms: "high courage, patriotism, loyalty, honour, hospitality and simplicity are qualities which must at once be conceded to them; and if we cannot vindicate them from charges to which human nature in every clime is obnoxious; if we are compelled to admit the deterioration of moral dignity from continual inroads of, and their consequent collision with rapacious conquerors; we must yet admire the quantum of virtue which even oppression and bad example have failed to banish. the meaner vices of deceit and falsehood, which the delineators of national character attach to the asiatic without distinction, i deny to be universal with the rajputs, though some tribes may have been obliged from position to use these shields of the weak against continuous oppression." [486] the women prized martial courage no less than the men: they would hear with equanimity of the death of their sons or husbands in the battlefield, while they heaped scorn and contumely on those who returned after defeat. they were constantly ready to sacrifice themselves to the flames rather than fall into the hands of a conqueror; and the johar, the final act of a besieged garrison, when the women threw themselves into the furnace, while the men sallied forth to die in battle against the enemy, is recorded again and again in rajput annals. three times was this tragedy enacted at the fall of chitor, formerly the capital fortress of the sesodia clan; and the following vivid account is given by colonel tod of a similar deed at jaisalmer, when the town fell to the muhammadans: [487] "the chiefs were assembled; all were unanimous to make jaisalmer resplendent by their deeds and preserve the honour of the yadu race. muhaj thus addressed them: 'you are of a warlike race and strong are your arms in the cause of your prince; what heroes excel you who thus tread in the chhatri's path? for the maintenance of my honour the sword is in your hands; let jaisalmer be illumined by its blows upon the foe.' having thus inspired the chiefs and men, muhaj and ratan repaired to the palace of their queens. they told them to take the _sohag_ [488] and prepare to meet in heaven, while they gave up their lives in defence of their honour and their faith. smiling the rani replied, 'this night we shall prepare, and by the morning's light we shall be inhabitants of heaven'; and thus it was with all the chiefs and their wives. the night was passed together for the last time in preparation for the awful morn. it came; ablutions and prayers were finished and at the royal gate were convened children, wives and mothers. they bade a last farewell to all their kin; the johar commenced, and twenty-four thousand females, from infancy to old age, surrendered their lives, some by the sword, others in the volcano of fire. blood flowed in torrents, while the smoke of the pyre ascended to the heavens: not one feared to die, and every valuable was consumed with them, so that not the worth of a straw was preserved for the foe. the work done, the brothers looked upon the spectacle with horror. life was now a burden and they prepared to quit it they purified themselves with water, paid adoration to the divinity, made gifts to the poor, placed a branch of the _tulsi_ [489] in their casques, the _saligram_ [490] round their neck; and having cased themselves in armour and put on the saffron robe, they bound the marriage crown around their heads and embraced each other for the last time. thus they awaited the hour of battle. three thousand eight hundred warriors, their faces red with wrath, prepared to die with their chiefs." in this account the preparation for the johar as if for a wedding is clearly brought out, and it seems likely that husbands and wives looked on it as a bridal preparatory to the resumption of their life together in heaven. colonel tod gives the following account of a rajput's arms: [491] "no prince or chief is without his _silla-khana_ or armoury, where he passes hours in viewing and arranging his arms. every favourite weapon, whether sword, dagger, spear, matchlock or bow, has a distinctive epithet. the keeper of the armoury is one of the most confidential officers about the person of the prince. these arms are beautiful and costly. the _sirohi_ or slightly curved blade is formed like that of damascus, and is the greatest favourite of all the variety of weapons throughout rajputana. the long cut-and-thrust sword is not uncommon, and also the _khanda_ or double-edged sword. the matchlocks, both of lahore and the country, are often highly finished and inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold; those of boondi are the best. the shield of the rhinoceros-hide offers the best resistance, and is often ornamented with animals beautifully painted and enamelled in gold and silver. the bow is of buffalo-horn, and the arrows of reed, which are barbed in a variety of fashions, as the crescent, the trident, the snake's tongue, and other fanciful forms." it is probable that the forms were in reality by no means fanciful, but were copied from sacred or divine objects; and similarly the animals painted on the shields may have been originally the totem animals of the clan. 15. occupation the traditional occupation of a rajput was that of a warrior and landholder. their high-flown titles, bhupal (protector of the earth), bhupati (lord of the earth), bhusur (god of the earth), bahuja (born from the arms), indicate, sir h. risley says, [492] the exalted claims of the tribe. the notion that the trade of arms was their proper vocation clung to them for a very long time, and has retarded their education, so that they have perhaps lost status relatively to other castes under british supremacy. the rule that a rajput must not touch the plough was until recently very strictly observed in the more conservative centres, and the poorer rajputs were reduced by it to pathetic straits for a livelihood, as is excellently shown by mr. barnes in the _kangra settlement report_: [493] "a mian or well-known rajput, to preserve his name and honour unsullied, must scrupulously observe four fundamental maxims: first, he must never drive the plough; second, he must never give his daughter in marriage to an inferior nor marry himself much below his rank; thirdly, he must never accept money in exchange for the betrothal of his daughter; and lastly, his female household must observe strict seclusion. the prejudice against the plough is perhaps the most inveterate of all; that step can never be recalled; the offender at once loses the privileged salutation; he is reduced to the second grade of rajputs; no man will marry his daughter, and he must go a step lower in the social scale to get a wife for himself. in every occupation of life he is made to feel his degraded position. in meetings of the tribe and at marriages the rajputs undefiled by the plough will refuse to sit at meals with the hal bah or plough-driver as he is contemptuously styled; and many to avoid the indignity of exclusion never appear at public assemblies.... it is melancholy to see with what devoted tenacity the rajput clings to these deep-rooted prejudices. their emaciated looks and coarse clothes attest the vicissitudes they have undergone to maintain their fancied purity. in the quantity of waste land which abounds in the hills, a ready livelihood is offered to those who will cultivate the soil for their daily bread; but this alternative involves a forfeiture of their dearest rights, and they would rather follow any precarious pursuit than submit to the disgrace. some lounge away their time on the tops of the mountains, spreading nets for the capture of hawks; many a day they watch in vain, subsisting on berries and on game accidentally entangled in their nets; at last, when fortune grants them success, they despatch the prize to their friends below, who tame and instruct the bird for the purpose of sale. others will stay at home and pass their time in sporting, either with a hawk or, if they can afford it, with a gun; one rajput beats the bushes and the other carries the hawk ready to be sprung after any quarry that rises to the view. at the close of the day if they have been successful they exchange the game for a little meal and thus prolong existence over another span. the marksman armed with a gun will sit up for wild pig returning from the fields, and in the same manner barter their flesh for other necessaries of life. however, the prospect of starvation has already driven many to take the plough, and the number of seceders daily increases. our administration, though just and liberal, has a levelling tendency; service is no longer to be procured, and to many the stern alternative has arrived of taking to agriculture and securing comparative comfort, or enduring the pangs of hunger and death. so long as any resource remains the fatal step will be postponed, but it is easy to foresee that the struggle cannot be long protracted; necessity is a hard task-master, and sooner or later the pressure of want will overcome the scruples of the most bigoted." the objection to ploughing appears happily to have been quite overcome in the central provinces, as at the last census nine-tenths of the whole caste were shown as employed in pasture and agriculture, one-tenth of the rajputs being landholders, three-fifths actual cultivators, and one-fifth labourers and woodcutters. the bulk of the remaining tenth are probably in the police or other branches of government service. rajput, baghel _rajput, baghel._--the baghel rajputs, who have given their name to baghelkhand or rewah, the eastern part of central india, are a branch of the chalukya or solankhi clan, one of the four agnikulas or those born from the firepit on mount abu. the chiefs of rewah are baghel rajputs, and the late maharaja raghuraj singh has written a traditional history of the sept in a book called the _bhakt mala_. [494] he derives their origin from a child, having the form of a tiger (_bagh_) who was born to the solankhi raja of gujarat at the intercession of the famous saint kabir. one of the headquarters of the kabirpanthi sect are at kawardha, which is close to rewah, and the ruling family are members of the sect; hence probably the association of the prophet with their origin. the _bombay gazetteer_ [495] states that the founder of the clan was one anoka, a nephew of the solankhi king of gujarat, kumarpal (a.d. 1143-1174). he obtained a grant of the village vaghela, the tiger's lair, about ten miles from anhilvada, the capital of the solankhi dynasty, and the baghel clan takes its name from this village. subsequently the baghels extended their power over the whole of gujarat, but in a.d. 1304 the last king, karnadeva, was driven out by the muhammadans, and one of his most beautiful wives was captured and sent to the emperor's harem. karnadeva and his daughter fled and hid themselves near nasik, but the daughter was subsequently also taken, while it is not stated what became of karnadeva. mr. hira lal suggests that he fled towards rewah, and that he is the karnadeva of the list of rewah rajas, who married a daughter of the gond-rajput dynasty of garha-mandla. [496] at any rate the baghel branch of the solankhis apparently migrated to rewah from gujarat and founded that state about the fourteenth century, as in the fifteenth they became prominent. according to captain forsyth, the baghels claim descent from a tiger, and protect it when they can; and, probably, as suggested by mr. crooke, [497] the name is really totemistic, or is derived from some ancestor of the clan who obtained the name of the tiger as a title or nickname, like the american red indians. the baghels are found in the hoshangabad district, and in mandla and chhattisgarh which are close to rewah. amarkantak, at the source of the nerbudda, is the sepulchre of the maharajas of rewah, and was ceded to them with the sohagpur tahsil of mandla after the mutiny, in consideration of their loyalty and services during that period. rajput, bagri _rajput, bagri._--this clan is found in small numbers in the hoshangabad and seoni districts. the name bagri, malcolm says, [498] is derived from that large tract of plain called bagar or 'hedge of thorns,' the bagar being surrounded by ridges of wooded hills on all sides as if by a hedge. the bagar is the plain country of the bikaner state, and any jat or rajput coming from this tract is called bagri. [499] the rajputs of bikaner are rathors, but they are not numerous, and the great bulk of the people are jats. hence it is probable that the bagris of the central provinces were originally jats. in seoni they say that they are baghel rajputs, but this claim is unsupported by any tradition or evidence. in central india the bagris are professed robbers and thieves, but these seem to be a separate group, a section of the badhak or bawaria dacoits, and derived from the aboriginal population of central india. the bagris of seoni are respectable cultivators and own a number of villages. they rank higher than the local panwars and wear the sacred thread, but will remove dead cattle with their own hands. they marry among themselves. rajput, bais _rajput, bais._ [500]--the bais are one of the thirty-six royal races. colonel tod considered them a branch of the surajvansi, but according to their own account their eponymous ancestor was salivahana, the mythic son of a snake, who conquered the great raja vikramaditya of ujjain and fixed his own era in a.d. 55. this is the saka era, and salivahana was the leader of the saka nomads who invaded gujarat on two occasions, before and shortly after the beginning of the christian era. it is suggested in the article on rajput that the yadava lunar clan are the representatives of these sakas, and if this were correct the bais would be a branch of the lunar race. the fact that they are snake-worshippers is in favour of their connection with the yadavas and other clans, who are supposed to represent the scythian invaders of the first and subsequent centuries, and had the legend of being descended from a snake. the bais, mr. crooke says, believe that no snake has destroyed, or ever can destroy, one of the clan. they seem to take no precautions against the bite except hanging a vessel of water at the head of the sufferer, with a small tube at the bottom, from which the water is poured on his head as long as he can bear it. the cobra is, in fact, the tribal god. the name is derived by mr. crooke from the sanskrit vaishya, one who occupies the soil. the principal hero of the bais was tilokchand, who is supposed to have come from the central provinces. he lived about a.d. 1400, and was the premier raja of oudh. he extended his dominions over all the tract known as baiswara, which comprises the bulk of the rai bareli and unao districts, and is the home of the bais rajputs. the descendants of tilokchand form a separate subdivision known as tilokchandi bais, who rank higher than the ordinary bais, and will not eat with them. the bais rajputs are found all over the united provinces. in the central provinces they have settled in small numbers in the northern and eastern districts. rajput, baksaria _rajput, baksaria._--a small clan found principally in the bilaspur district, who derive their name from baxar in bengal. they were accustomed to send a litter, that is to say, a girl of their clan, to the harem of each mughal emperor, and this has degraded them. they allow widow-marriage, and do not wear the sacred thread. it is probable that they marry among themselves, as other rajputs do not intermarry with them, and they are no doubt an impure group with little pretension to be rajputs. the name baksaria is found in the united provinces as a territorial subcaste of several castes. rajput, banaphar _rajput, banaphar._--mr. crooke states that this sept is a branch of the yadavas, and hence it is of the lunar race. the sept is famous on account of the exploits of the heroes alha and udal who belonged to it, and who fought for the chandel kings of mahoba and khajuraha in their wars against prithwi raj chauhan, the king of delhi. the exploits of alha and udal form the theme of poems still well known and popular in bundelkhand, to which the sept belongs. the banaphars have only a moderately respectable rank among rajputs. [501] rajput, bhadauria _rajput, bhadauria._--an important clan who take their name from the village of bhadawar near ater, south of the jumna. they are probably a branch of the chauhans, being given as such by colonel tod and sir h.m. elliot. [502] mr. crooke remarks [503] that the chauhans are disposed to deny this relationship, now that from motives of convenience the two tribes have begun to intermarry. if they are, as supposed, an offshoot of the chauhans, this is an instance of the subdivision of a large clan leading to intermarriage between two sections, which has probably occurred in other instances also. this clan is returned from the hoshangabad district. rajput, bisen _rajput, bisen._--this clan belongs to the united provinces and oudh. they do not appear in history before the time of akbar, and claim descent from a well-known brahman saint and a woman of the surajvansi rajputs whom he married. the bisens occupy a respectable position among rajputs, and intermarry with other good clans. rajput, bundela _rajput, bundela._--a well-known clan of rajputs of somewhat inferior position, who have given their name to bundelkhand, or the tract comprised principally in the districts of saugor, damoh, jhansi, hamirpur and banda, and the panna, orchha, datia and other states. the bundelas are held to be derived from the gaharwar or gherwal rajputs, and there is some reason for supposing that these latter were originally an aristocratic section of the bhar tribe with some infusion of rajput blood. but the gaharwars now rank almost with the highest clans. according to tradition one of the gaharwar rajas offered a sacrifice of his own head to the vindhya-basini devi or the goddess of the vindhya hills, and out of the drops (_bund_) of blood which fell on the altar a boy was born. he returned to panna and founded the clan which bears the name bundela, from _bund_, a drop. [504] it is probable that, as suggested by captain luard, the name is really a corruption of vindhya or vindhyela, a dweller in the vindhya hills, where, according to their own tradition, the clan had its birth. the bundelas became prominent in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, after the fall of the chandels. "orchha became the chief of the numerous bundela principalities; but its founder drew upon himself everlasting infamy, by putting to death the wise abul fazl, the historian and friend of the magnanimous akbar, and the encomiast and advocate of the hindu race. from the period of akbar the bundelas bore a distinguished part in all the grand conflicts, to the very close of the monarchy." [505] the bundelas held the country up to the nerbudda in the central provinces, and, raiding continually into the gond territories south of the nerbudda on the pretence of protecting the sacred cow which the gonds used for ploughing, they destroyed the castle on chauragarh in narsinghpur on a crest of the satpuras, and reduced the nerbudda valley to subjection. the most successful chieftain of the tribe was chhatarsal, the raja of panna, in the eighteenth century, who was virtually ruler of all bundelkhand; his dominions extending from banda in the north to jubbulpore in the south, and from rewah in the east to the betwa river in the west. but he had to call in the help of the peshwa to repel an invasion of the mughal armies, and left a third of his territory by will to the marathas. chhatarsal left twenty-two legitimate and thirty illegitimate sons, and their descendants now hold several small bundela states, while the territories left to the peshwa subsequently became british. the chiefs of panna, orchha, datia, chhatarpur and numerous other small states in the bundelkhand agency are bundela rajputs. [506] the bundelas of saugor do not intermarry with the good rajput clans, but with an inferior group of panwars and another clan called dhundhele, perhaps an offshoot of the panwars, who are also residents of saugor. their character, as disclosed in a number of proverbial sayings and stories current regarding them, somewhat resembles that of the scotch highlanders as depicted by stevenson. they are proud and penurious to the last degree, and quick to resent the smallest slight. they make good _shikaris_ or sportsmen, but are so impatient of discipline that they have never found a vocation by enlisting in the indian army. their characteristics are thus described in a doggerel verse: "the bundelas salute each other from miles apart, their _pagris_ are cocked on the side of the head till they touch the shoulders. a bundela would dive into a well for the sake of a cowrie, but would fight with the sardars of government." no bania could go past a bundela's house riding on a pony or holding up an umbrella; and all low-caste persons who passed his house must salute it with the words, _diwan ji ko ram ram_. women must take their shoes off to pass by. it is related that a few years ago a bundela was brought up before the assistant commissioner, charged with assaulting a tahsil process-server, and threatening him with his sword. the bundela, who was very poor and wearing rags, was asked by the magistrate whether he had threatened the man with his sword. he replied "certainly not; the sword is for gentlemen like you and me of equal position. to him, if i had wished to beat him i would have taken my shoe." another story is that there was once a very overbearing tahsildar, who had a shoe 2 1/2 feet long with which he used to collect the land revenue. one day a bundela malguzar appeared before him on some business. the tahsildar kept his seat. the bundela walked quietly up to the table and said, "will the sirkar step aside with me for a moment, as i have something private to say." the tahsildar got up and walked aside with him, on which the bundela said, 'that is sufficient, i only wished to tell you that you should rise to receive me.' when the bundelas are collected at a feast they sit with their hands folded across their stomachs and their eyes turned up, and remain impassive while food is being put on their plates, and never say, 'enough,' because they think that they would show themselves to be feeble men if they refused to eat as much as was put before them. much of the food is thus ultimately wasted, and given to the sweepers, and this leads to great extravagance at marriages and other ceremonial occasions. the bundelas were much feared and were not popular landlords, but they are now losing their old characteristics and settling down into respectable cultivators. rajput, chandel _rajput, chandel._--an important clan of rajputs, of which a small number reside in the northern districts of saugor, damoh and jubbulpore, and also in chhattisgarh. the name is derived by mr. crooke from the sanskrit _chandra_, the moon. the chandel are not included in the thirty-six royal races, and are supposed to have been a section of one of the indigenous tribes which rose to power. mr. v.a. smith states that the chandels, like several other dynasties, first came into history early in the ninth century, when nannuka chandel about a.d. 831 overthrew a parihar chieftain and became lord of the southern parts of jejakabhukti or bundelkhand. their chief towns were mahoba and kalanjar in bundelkhand, and they gradually advanced northwards till the jumna became the frontier between their dominions and those of kanauj. they fought with the gujar-parihar kings of kanauj and the kalachuris of chedi, who had their capital at tewar in jubbulpore, and joined in resisting the incursions of the muhammadans. in a.d. 1182 parmal, the chandel king, was defeated by prithwi raja, the chauhan king of delhi, after the latter had abducted the chandel's daughter. this was the war in which alha and udal, the famous banaphar heroes, fought for the chandels, and it is commemorated in the chand-raisa, a poem still well known to the people of bundelkhand. in a.d. 1203 kalanjar was taken by the muhammadan kutb-ud-din ibak, and the importance of the chandel rulers came to an end, though they lingered on as purely local chiefs until the sixteenth century. the chandel princes were great builders, and beautified their chief towns, mahoba, kalanjar and khajuraho with many magnificent temples and lovely lakes, formed by throwing massive dams across the openings between the hills. [507] among these were great irrigation works in the hamirpur district, the forts of kalanjar and ajaighar, and the noble temples at khajuraho and mahoba. [508] even now the ruins of old forts and temples in the saugor and damoh districts are attributed by the people to the chandels, though many were in fact probably constructed by the kalachuris of chedi. mr. smith derives the chandels either from the gonds or bhars, but inclines to the view that they were gonds. the following considerations tend, i venture to think, to favour the hypothesis of their origin from the bhars. according to the best traditions, the gonds came from the south, and practically did not penetrate to bundelkhand. though saugor and damoh contain a fair number of gonds they have never been of importance there, and this is almost their farthest limit to the north-west. the gond states in the central provinces did not come into existence for several centuries after the commencement of the chandel dynasty, and while there are authentic records of all these states, the gonds have no tradition of their dominance in bundelkhand. the gonds have nowhere else built such temples as are attributed to the chandels at khajuraho, whilst the bhars were famous builders. "in mirzapur traces of the bhars abound on all sides in the shape of old tanks and village forts. the bricks found in the bhar-dihs or forts are of enormous dimensions, and frequently measure 19 by 11 inches, and are 2 1/4 inches thick. in quality and size they are similar to bricks often seen in ancient buddhist buildings. the old capital of the bhars, five miles from mirzapur, is said to have had 150 temples." [509] elliot remarks [510] that "common tradition assigns to the bhars the possession of the whole tract from gorakhpur to bundelkhand and saugor, and many old stone forts, embankments and subterranean caverns in gorakhpur, azamgarh, jaunpur, mirzapur and allahabad, which are ascribed to them, would seem to indicate no inconsiderable advance in civilisation." though there are few or no bhars now in bundelkhand, there are a large number of pasis in allahabad which partly belongs to it, and small numbers in bundelkhand; and the pasi caste is mainly derived from the bhars; [511] while a gaharwar dynasty, which is held to be derived from the bhars, was dominant in bundelkhand and central india before the rise of the chandels. according to one legend, the ancestor of the chandels was born with the moon as a father from the daughter of the high priest of the gaharwar raja indrajit of benares or of indrajit himself. [512] as will be seen, the gaharwars were an aristocratic section of the bhars. another legend states that the first chandel was the offspring of the moon by the daughter of a brahman pandit of kalanjar. [513] in his _notes on the bhars of bundelkhand_ [514] mr. smith argues that the bhars adopted the jain religion, and also states that several of the temples at khajuraho and mahoba, erected in the eleventh century, are jain. these were presumably erected by the chandels, but i have never seen it suggested that the gonds were jains or were capable of building jain temples in the eleventh century. mr. smith also states that maniya deo, to whom a temple exists at mahoba, was the tutelary deity of the chandels; and that the only other shrine of maniya deo discovered by him in the hamirpur district was in a village reputed formerly to have been held by the bhars. [515] two instances of intercourse between the chandels and gonds are given, but the second of them, that the rani durgavati of mandla was a chandel princess, belongs to the sixteenth century, and has no bearing on the origin of the chandels. the first instance, that of the chandel raja kirat singh hunting at maniagarh with the gond raja of garha-mandla, cannot either be said to furnish any real evidence in favour of a gond origin for the chandels; it maybe doubted whether there was any gond raja of garha-mandla till after the fall of the kalachuri dynasty of tewar, which is quite close to garha-mandla, in the twelfth century; and a reference so late as this would not affect the question. [516] finally, the chandels are numerous in mirzapur, which was formerly the chief seat of the bhars, while the gonds have never been either numerous or important in mirzapur. these considerations seem to point to the possibility of the derivation of the chandels from the bhars rather than from the gonds; and the point is perhaps of some interest in view of the suggestion in the article on kol that the gonds did not arrive in the central provinces for some centuries after the rise of the chandel dynasty of khajuraho and mahoba. the chandels may have simply been a local branch of the gaharwars, who obtained a territorial designation from chanderi, or in some other manner, as has continually happened in the case of other clans. the gaharwars were probably derived from the bhars. the chandels now rank as a good rajput clan, and intermarry with the other leading clans. rajput, chauhan _rajput, chauhan_.--the chauhan was the last of the agnikula or fire-born clans, according to the legend: "again vasishtha seated on the lotus prepared incantations; again he called the gods to aid; and as he poured forth the libation a figure arose, lofty in stature, of elevated front, hair like jet, eyes rolling, breast expanded, fierce, terrific, clad in armour with quiver filled, a bow in one hand and a brand in the other, quadriform (chaturanga), whence his name was given as chauhan." this account makes the chauhan the most important of the fire-born clans, and colonel tod says that he was the most valiant of the agnikulas, and it may be asserted not of them only but of the whole rajput race; and though the swords of the rahtors would be ready to contest the point, impartial decision must assign to the chauhan the van in the long career of arms. [517] general cunningham shows that even so late as the time of prithwi raj in the twelfth century the chauhans had no claim to be sprung from fire, but were content to be considered descendants of a brahman sage bhrigu. [518] like the other agnikula clans the chauhans are now considered to have sprung from the gurjara or white hun invaders of the fifth and sixth centuries, but i do not know whether this is held to be definitely proved in their case. sambhar and ajmer in rajputana appear to have been the first home of the clan, and inscriptions record a long line of thirty-nine kings as reigning there from anhul, the first created chauhan. the last but one of them, vigraha raja or bisal deo, in the middle of the twelfth century extended the ancestral dominions considerably, and conquered delhi from a chief of the tomara clan. at this time the chauhans, according to their own bards, held the line of the nerbudda from garha-mandla to maheshwar and also asirgarh, while their dominions extended north to hissar and south to the aravalli hills. [519] the nephew of bisal deo was prithwi raj, the most famous chauhan hero, who ruled at sambhar, ajmer and delhi. his first exploit was the abduction of the daughter of jaichand, the gaharwar raja of kanauj, in about a.d. 1175. the king of kanauj had claimed the title of universal sovereign and determined to celebrate the ashwa-medha or horse-sacrifice, at which all the offices should be performed by vassal kings. prithwi raj alone declined to attend as a subordinate, and jaichand therefore made a wooden image of him and set it up at the gate in the part of doorkeeper. but when his daughter after the tournament took the garland of flowers to bestow it on the chief whom she chose for her husband, she passed by all the assembled nobles and threw the garland on the neck of the wooden image. at this moment prithwi raj dashed in with a few companions, and catching her up, escaped with her from her father's court. [520] afterwards, in 1182, prithwi raj defeated the chandel raja parmal and captured mahoba. in 1191 prithwi raj was the head of a confederacy of hindu princes in combating the invasion of muhammad ghori. he repelled the muhammadans at tarain about two miles north of delhi, but in the following year was completely defeated and killed at thaneswar, and soon afterwards delhi and ajmer fell to the muhammadans. the chauhan kingdom was broken up, but scattered parts of it remained, and about a.d. 1307 asirgarh in nimar, which continued to be held by the chauhans, was taken by ala-ud-din khilji and the whole garrison put to the sword except one boy. this boy, raisi chauhan, escaped to rajputana, and according to the bardic chronicle his descendants formed the hara branch of the chauhans and conquered from the minas the tract known as haravati, from which they perhaps took their name. [521] this is now comprised in the kotah and bundi states, ruled by hara chiefs. another well-known offshoot from the chauhans are the khichi clan, who belong to the sind-sagar doab; and the nikumbh and bhadauria clans are also derived from them. the chauhans are numerous in the punjab and united provinces and rank as one of the highest rajput clans. in the central provinces they are found principally in the narsinghpur and hoshangabad districts, and also in mandla. the chauhan rajputs of mandla marry among themselves, with other chauhans of mandla, seoni and balaghat they have exogamous sections with names apparently derived from villages like an ordinary caste. the remarriage of widows is forbidden, but those widows who desire to do so go and live with a man and are put out of caste. this, however, is said not to happen frequently. a widow's hair is not shaved, but her glass bangles are broken, she is dressed in white, made to sleep on the ground, and can wear no ornaments. owing to the renown of the clan their name has been adopted by numerous classes of inferior rajputs and low hindu castes who have no right to it. thus in the punjab a large subcaste of chamars call themselves chauhan, and in the bilaspur district a low caste of village watchmen go by this name. these latter may be descendants of the illegitimate offspring of chauhan rajputs by low-caste women. rajput, dhakar _rajput, dhakar_.--in the central provinces this term has the meaning of one of illegitimate descent, and it is often used by the kirars, who are probably of mixed descent from rajputs. in northern india, however, the dhakars are a clan of rajputs, who claim surajvansi origin; but this is not generally admitted. mr. crooke states that some are said to be emigrants from the banks of the nerbudda; but the main body say they came from ajmer in the sixteenth century. they were notorious in the eighteenth century for their lawlessness, and gave the imperial mughal officers much trouble in the neighbourhood of agra, rendering the communications between that city and etawah insecure. in the mutiny they broke out again, and are generally a turbulent, ill-conducted sept, always ready for petty acts of violence and cattle-stealing. they are, however, recognised as rajputs of good position and intermarry with the best clans. [522] in the central provinces the dhakars are found principally in hoshangabad, and it is doubtful if they are proper rajputs. rajput, gaharwar _rajput, gaharwar, gherwal_.--this is an old clan. mr. v.a. smith states that they had been dominant in central india about nowgong and chhatarpur before the parihars in the eighth century. the parihar kings were subsequently overthrown by the chandels of mahoba. in their practice of building embankments and constructing lakes the chandels were imitators of the gaharwars, who are credited with the formation of some of the most charming lakes in bundelkhand. [523] and in a.d. 1090 a raja of the gaharwar clan called chandradeva seized kanauj (on the ganges north-west of lucknow), and established his authority certainly over benares and ajodhia, and perhaps over the delhi territory. govindachandra, grandson of chandradeva, enjoyed a long reign, which included the years a.d. 1114 and 1154. his numerous land grants and widely distributed coins prove that he succeeded to a large extent in restoring the glories of kanauj, and in making himself a power of considerable importance. the grandson of govindachandra was jayachandra, renowned in the popular hindu poems and tales of northern india as raja jaichand, whose daughter was carried off by the gallant rai pithora or prithwi raj of ajmer. kanauj was finally captured and destroyed by shihab-ud-din in 1193, when jaichand retired towards benares but was overtaken and slain. [524] his grandson, mr. crooke says, [525] afterwards fled to kantit in the mirzapur district and, overcoming the bhar raja of that place, founded the family of the gaharwar rajas of kantit bijaypur, which was recently still in existence. all the other gaharwars trace their lineage to benares or bijaypur. the predecessors of the gaharwars in kantit and in a large tract of country lying contiguous to it were the bhars, an indigenous race of great enterprise, who, though not highly civilised, were far removed from barbarism. according to sherring they have left numerous evidences of their energy and skill in earthworks, forts, dams and the like. [526] similarly elliot says of the bhars: "common tradition assigns to them the possession of the whole tract from gorakhpur to bundelkhand and saugor, and the large pargana of bhadoi or bhardai in benares is called after their name. many old stone forts, embankments and subterranean caverns in gorakhpur, azamgarh, jaunpur, mirzapur and allahabad, which are ascribed to them, would seem to indicate no inconsiderable advance in civilisation." [527] colonel tod says of the gaharwars: "the gherwal rajput is scarcely known to his brethren in rajasthan, who will not admit his contaminated blood to mix with theirs, though as a brave warrior he is entitled to their fellowship." [528] it is thus curious that the gaharwars, who are one of the oldest clans to appear in authentic history, if they ruled central india in the eighth century before the parihars, should be considered to be of very impure origin. and as they are subsequently found in mirzapur, a backward forest tract which is also the home of the bhars, and both the gaharwars and bhars have a reputation as builders of tanks and forts, it seems likely that the gaharwars were really, as suggested by mr. v.a. smith, the aristocratic branch of the bhars, probably with a considerable mixture of rajput blood. elliot states that the bhars formerly occupied the whole of azamgarh, the pargana of bara in allahabad and khariagarh in the kanauj tract. this widespread dominance corresponds with what has been already stated as regards the gaharwars, who, according to mr. v.a. smith, ruled in central india, kanauj, oudh, benares and mirzapur. and the name gaharwar, according to dr. hoernle, is connected with the sanskrit root _gah_, and has the sense of 'dwellers in caves or deep jungle.' [529] the origin of the gaharwars is of interest in the central provinces, because it is from them that the bundela clan of saugor and bundelkhand is probably descended. [530] the gaharwars, mr. crooke states, now hold a high rank among rajput septs; they give daughters to the baghel, chandel and bisen, and take brides of the bais, gautam, chauhan, parihar and other clans. the gaharwars are found in small numbers in the central provinces, chiefly in the chhattisgarh districts and feudatory states. rajput, gaur _rajput, gaur, chamar gaur_.--colonel tod remarks of this tribe: "the gaur tribe was once respected in rajasthan, though it never there attained to any considerable eminence. the ancient kings of bengal were of this race, and gave their name to the capital, lakhnauti." this town in bengal, and the kingdom of which it was the capital, were known as ganda, and it has been conjectured that the gaur brahmans and rajputs were named after it. sir h.m. elliot and mr. crooke, however, point out that the home of the gaur brahmans and rajputs and a cultivating caste, the gaur tagas, is in the centre and west of the united provinces, far removed from bengal; the gaur brahmans now reside principally in the meerut division, and between them and bengal is the home of the kanaujia brahmans. general cunningham suggests that the country comprised in the present gonda district round the old town of sravasti, was formerly known as gauda, and was hence the origin of the caste name. [531] the derivation from gaur in bengal is perhaps, however, more probable, as the name was best known in connection with this tract. the gaur rajputs do not make much figure in history. "repeated mention of them is found in the wars of prithwi raj as leaders of considerable renown, one of whom founded a small state in the centre of india. this survived through seven centuries of mogul domination, till it at length fell a prey indirectly to the successes of the british over the marathas, when sindhia in 1809 annihilated the power of the gaur and took possession of his capital, supur." [532] in the united provinces the gaur rajputs are divided into three groups, the bahman, or brahman, the bhat, and the chamar gaur. of these the chamar gaur, curiously enough appear to rank the highest, which is accounted for by the following story: when trouble fell upon the gaur family, one of their ladies, far advanced in pregnancy, took refuge in a chamar's house, and was so grateful to him for his disinterested protection that she promised to call her child by his name. the bhats and brahmans, to whom the others fled, do not appear to have shown a like chivalry, and hence, strange as it may appear, the subdivisions called after their name rank below the chamar gaur. [533] the names of the subsepts indicate that this clan of rajputs is probably of mixed origin. if the brahman subsept is descended from brahmans, it would be only one of several probable cases of rajput clans originating from this caste. as regards the bhat subcaste, the charans or bhats of rajputana are admittedly rajputs, and there is therefore nothing curious in finding a bhat subsection in a rajput clan. what the real origin of the chamar gaurs was is difficult to surmise. the chamar gaur is now a separate clan, and its members intermarry with the other gaur rajputs, affording an instance of the subdivision of clans. in the central provinces the greater number of the persons returned as gaur rajputs really belong to a group known as gorai, who are considered to be the descendants of widows or kept women in the gaur clan, and marry among themselves. they should really therefore be considered a separate caste, and not members of the rajput caste proper. in the united provinces the gaurs rank with the good rajput clans. in the central provinces the gaur and chamar-gaur clans are returned from most districts of the jubbulpore and nerbudda divisions, and also in considerable numbers from bhandara. rajput, haihaya _rajput, haihaya, haihaivansi, kalaehuri_.--this well-known historical clan of the central provinces is not included among the thirty-six royal races, and colonel tod gives no information about them. the name haihaya is stated to be a corruption of ahihaya, which means snake-horse, the legend being that the first ancestor of the clan was the issue of a snake and a mare. haihaivansi signifies descendants of the horse. colonel tod states that the first capital of the indu or lunar race was at mahesvati on the nerbudda, still existing as maheshwar, and was founded by sahasra arjuna of the haihaya tribe. [534] this arjuna of the thousand arms was one of the pandava brothers, and it may be noted that the ratanpur haihaivansis still have a story of their first ancestor stealing a horse from arjuna, and a consequent visit of arjuna and krishna to ratanpur for its recovery. since the haihayas also claim descent from a snake and are of the lunar race, it seems not unlikely that they may have belonged to one of the scythian or tartar tribes, the sakas or yueh-chi, who invaded india shortly after the commencement of the christian era, as it has been conjectured that the other lunar rajput clans worshipping or claiming descent from a snake originated from these tribes. the haihaivansis or kalachuris became dominant in the nerbudda valley about the sixth century, their earliest inscription being dated a.d. 580. their capital was moved to tripura or tewar near jubbulpore about a.d. 900, and from here they appear to have governed an extensive territory for about 300 years, and were frequently engaged in war with the adjoining kingdoms, the chandels of mahoba, the panwars of malwa, and the chalukyas of the south. one king, gangeyadeva, appears even to have aspired to become the paramount power in northern india, and his sovereignty was recognised in distant tirhut. gangeyadeva was fond of residing at the foot of the holy fig-tree of prayaga (allahabad), and eventually found salvation there with his hundred wives. from about a.d. 1100 the power of the kalachuri or haihaya princes began to decline, and their last inscription is dated a.d. 1196. it is probable that they were subverted by the gond kings of garha-mandla, the first of whom, jadurai, appears to have been in the service of the kalachuri king, and subsequently with the aid of a dismissed minister to have supplanted his former-master. [535] the kingdom of the kalachuri or haihaya kings was known as chedi, and, according to mr. v.a. smith, corresponded more or less roughly to the present area of the central provinces. [536] in about the tenth century a member of the reigning family of tripura was appointed viceroy of some territories in chhattisgarh, and two or three generations afterwards his family became practically independent of the parent house, and established their own capital at ratanpur in bilaspur district (a.d. 1050). this state was known as dakshin or southern kosala. during the twelfth century its importance rapidly increased, partly no doubt on the ruins of the jubbulpore kingdom, until the influence of the ratanpur princes, ratnadeva ii. and prithwideva ii., may be said to have extended from amarkantak to beyond the godavari, and from the confines of berar in the west to the boundaries of orissa in the east. [537] the ratanpur kingdom of chedi or dakshin kosala was the only one of the rajput states in the central provinces which escaped subversion by the gonds, and it enjoyed a comparatively tranquil existence till a.d. 1740, when ratanpur fell to the marathas almost without striking a blow. "the only surviving representative of the haihayas of ratanpur," mr. wills states, [538] "is a quite simple-minded rajput who lives at bargaon in raipur district. he represents the junior or raipur branch of the family, and holds five villages which were given him revenue-free by the marathas for his maintenance. the malguzar of senduras claims descent from the ratanpur family, but his pretensions are doubtful. he enjoys no privileges such as those of the bargaon thakur, to whom presents are still made when he visits the chiefs who were once subordinate to his ancient house." in the ballia district of the united provinces [539] are some hayobans rajputs who claim descent from the ratanpur kings. chandra got, a cadet of this house, is said to have migrated northwards in a.d. 850 [540] and settled in the saran district on the ganges, where he waged successful war with the aboriginal cheros. subsequently one of his descendants violated a brahman woman called maheni of the house of his purohit or family priest, who burnt herself to death, and is still locally worshipped. after this tragedy the hayobans rajputs left saran and settled in ballia. colonel tod states that, "a small branch of these ancient haihayas yet exist in the country of the nerbudda, near the very top of the valley, at sohagpur in baghelkhand, aware of their ancient lineage, and, though few in number, are still celebrated for their valour." [541] this sohagpur must apparently be the sohagpur tahsil of rewah, ceded from mandla after the mutiny. rajput, huna _rajput, huna, hoon_.--this clan retains the name and memory of the hun barbarian hordes, who invaded india at or near the epoch of their incursions into europe. it is practically extinct; but in his _western india_ colonel tod records the discovery of a few families of hunas in baroda state: "at a small village opposite ometa i discovered a few huts of huns, still existing under the ancient name of hoon, by which they are known to hindu history. there are said to be three or four families of them at the village of trisavi, three _kos_ from baroda, and although neither feature nor complexion indicate much relation to the tartar-visaged hun, we may ascribe the change to climate and admixture of blood, as there is little doubt that they are descended from these invaders, who established a sovereignty on the indus in the second and sixth centuries of the christian era, and became so incorporated with the rajput population as to obtain a place among the thirty-six royal races of india, together with the gete, the kathi, and other tribes of the sacae from central asia, whose descendants still occupy the land of the sun-worshipping saura or chaura, no doubt one of the same race." rajput, kachhwaha _rajput, kachhwaha, cutchwaha_--a celebrated clan of rajputs included among the thirty-six royal races, to which the maharajas of the important states of amber or jaipur and alwar belong. they are of the solar race and claim descent from kash, the second son of the great king rama of ajodhia, the incarnation of vishnu. their original seat, according to tradition, was rohtas on the son river, and another of their famous progenitors was raja nal, who migrated from rohtas and founded narwar. [542] the town of damoh in the central provinces is supposed to be named after damyanti, raja nal's wife. according to general cunningham the name kachhwaha is an abbreviation of kachhaha-ghata or tortoise-killer. the earliest appearance of the kachhwaha rajputs in authentic history is in the tenth century, when a chief of the clan captured gwalior from the parihar-gujar kings of kanauj and established himself there. his dynasty had an independent existence till a.d. 1128, when it became tributary to the chandel kings of mahoba. [543] the last prince of gwalior was tejkaran, called dulha rai or the bridegroom prince, and he received from his father-in-law the district of daora in the present jaipur state, where he settled. in 1150 one of his successors wrested amber from the minas and made it his capital. the amber state from the first acknowledged the supremacy of the mughal emperors, and the chief of the period gave his daughter in marriage to akbar. this chief's son, bhagwan das, is said to have saved akbar's life at the battle of sarnal. bhagwan das gave a daughter to jahangir, and his adopted son, man singh, the next chief, was one of the most conspicuous of the mughal generals, and at different periods was governor of kabul, bengal, bihar and the deccan. the next chief of note, jai singh i., appears in all the wars of aurangzeb in the deccan. he was commander of 6000 horse, and captured sivaji, the celebrated founder of the maratha power. the present city of jaipur was founded by a subsequent chief, jai singh ii., in 1728. during the mutiny the maharaja of jaipur placed all his military power at the disposal of the political agent, and in every way assisted the british government. at the durbar of 1877 his salute was raised to 21 guns. jaipur, one of the largest states in rajputana, has an area of nearly 16,000 square miles, and a population of 2 1/2 million persons. the alwar state was founded about 1776 by pratap singh, a descendant of a prince of the jaipur house, who had separated from it three centuries before. it has an area of 3000 square miles and a population of nearly a million. [544] in colonel tod's time the kachhwaha chiefs in memory of their descent from rama, the incarnation of the sun, celebrated with great solemnity the annual feast of the sun. on this occasion a stately car called the chariot of the sun was brought from rama's temple, and the maharaja ascending into it perambulated his capital. the images of rama and siva were carried with the army both in alwar and jaipur. the banner of amber was always called the _panchranga_ or five-coloured flag, and is frequently mentioned in the traditions of the rajput bards. but it does not seem to be stated what the five colours were. some of the finest soldiers in the old sepoy army were kachhwaha rajputs. the kachhwahas are fairly numerous in the united provinces and rank with the highest rajput clans. [545] in the central provinces they are found principally in the saugor, hoshangabad and nimar districts. rajput, nagvansi _rajput, nagvansi_.--this clan are considered to be the descendants of the tak or takshac, which is one of the thirty-six royal races, and was considered by colonel tod to be of scythian origin. the takshac were also snake-worshippers. "naga and takshac are synonymous appellations in sanskrit for the snake, and the takshac is the celebrated nagvansa of the early heroic history of india. the mahabharat describes in its usual allegorical style the war between the pandus of indraprestha and the takshacs of the north. parikhita, a prince on the pandu side, was assassinated by the takshac, and his son and successor, janamejaya, avenged his death and made a bonfire of 20,000 snakes." [546] this allegory is supposed to have represented the warfare of the aryan races against the sakas or scythians. the tak or takshac would be one of the clans held to be derived from the earlier invading tribes from central asia, and of the lunar race. the tak are scarcely known in authentic history, but the poet chand mentions the tak from aser or asirgarh as one of the princes who assembled at the summons of prithwi raj of delhi to fight against the muhammadans. in another place he is called chatto the tak. nothing more is known of the tak clan unless the cultivating taga caste of northern india is derived from them. but the nagvansi clan of rajputs, who profess to be descended from them, is fairly numerous. most of the nagvansis, however, are probably in reality descended from landholders of the indigenous tribes who have adopted the name of this clan, when they wished to claim rank as rajputs. the change is rendered more easy by the fact that many of these tribes have legends of their own, showing the descent of their ruling families from snakes, the snake and tiger, owing to their deadly character, being the two animals most commonly worshipped. thus the landholding section of the kols or mundas of chota nagpur have a long legend [547] of their descent from a princess who married a snake in human form, and hence call themselves nagvansi rajputs; and dr. buchanan states that the nagvansi clan of gorakhpur is similarly derived from the chero tribe. [548] in the central provinces the nagvansi rajputs number about 400 persons, nearly all of whom are found in the chhattisgarh districts and feudatory states, and are probably descendants of kol or munda landholding families. rajput, nikumbh _rajput, nikumbh_.--the nikumbh is given as one of the thirty-six royal races, but it is also the name of a branch of the chauhans, and it seems that, as suggested by sherring, [549] it may be an offshoot from the great chauhan clan. the nikumbh are said to have been given the title of sirnet by an emperor of delhi, because they would not bow their heads on entering his presence, and when he fixed a sword at the door some of them allowed their necks to be cut through by the sword rather than bend the head. the term sirnet is supposed to mean headless. a chauhan column with an inscription of raja bisal deo was erected at nigumbode, a place of pilgrimage on the jumna, a few miles below delhi, and it seems a possible conjecture that the nikumbhs may have obtained their name from this place. [550] mr. crooke, however, takes the nikumbh to be a separate clan. the foundation of most of the old forts and cities in alwar and northern jaipur is ascribed to them, and two of their inscriptions of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries have been discovered in khandesh. in northern india some of them are now known as raghuvansi. [551] they are chiefly found in the hoshangabad and nimar districts, and may be connected with the raghuvansi or raghwi caste of these provinces. rajput, paik _rajput, paik_.--this term means a foot-soldier, and is returned from the northern districts. it belongs to a class of men formerly maintained as a militia by zamindars and landholders for the purpose of collecting their revenue and maintaining order. they were probably employed in much the same manner in the central provinces as in bengal, where buchanan thus describes them: [552] "in order to protect the money of landowners and convey it from place to place, and also, as it is alleged, to enforce orders, two kinds of guards are kept. one body called burkandaz, commanded by duffadars and jemadars, seems to be a more recent establishment the other called paik, commanded by mirdhas and sirdars, are the remains of the militia of the bengal kingdom. both seem to have constituted the foot-soldiers whose number makes such a formidable appearance in the ain-i-akbari. these unwieldy establishments seem to have been formed when the government collected rent immediately from the farmer and cultivator, and when the same persons managed not only the collections but the police and a great part of the judicial department. this vast number of armed men, more especially the latter, formed the infantry of the mughal government, and were continued under the zamindars, who were anxious to have as many armed men as possible to support them in their depredations. and these establishments formed no charge, as they lived on lands which the zamindar did not bring to account." the paiks are thus a small caste formed from military service like the khandaits or swordsmen of orissa, and are no doubt recruited from all sections of the population. they have no claim to be considered as rajputs. rajput, parihar _rajput, parihar_.--this clan was one of the four agnikulas or fire-born. their founder was the first to issue from the fire-fountain, but he had not a warrior's mien. the brahmans placed him as guardian of the gate, and hence his name, _prithi-ha-dwara_ of which parihar is supposed to be a corruption [553]. like the chauhans and solankis the parihar clan is held to have originated from the gurjara or gujar invaders who came with the white huns in the fifth and sixth centuries, and they were one of the first of the gujar rajput clans to emerge into prominence. they were dominant in bundelkhand before the chandels, their last chieftain having been overthrown by a chandel prince in a.d. 831 [554]. a parihar-gujar chieftain, whose capital was at bhinmal in rajputana, conquered the king of kanauj, the ruler of what remained of the dominions of the great harsha vardhana, and established himself there about a.d. 816 [555]. kanauj was then held by gujar-parihar kings till about 1090, when it was seized by chandradeva of the gaharwar rajput clan. the parihar rulers were thus subverted by the gaharwars and chandels, both of whom are thought to be derived from the bhars or other aboriginal tribes, and these events appear to have been in the nature of a rising of the aristocratic section of the indigenous residents against the gujar rulers, by whom they had been conquered and perhaps taught the trade of arms. after this period the parihars are of little importance. they appear to have retired to rajputana, as colonel tod states that mundore, five miles north of jodhpur, was their headquarters until it was taken by the rahtors. the walls of the ruined fortress of mundore are built of enormous square masses of stone without cement, and attest both its antiquity and its former strength [556]. the parihars are scattered over rajputana, and a colony of them on the chambal was characterised as the most notorious body of thieves in the annals of thug history [557]. similarly in etawah they are said to be a peculiarly lawless and desperate community [558]. the parihar rajputs rank with the leading clans and intermarry with them. in the central provinces they are found principally in saugor, damoh and jubbulpore. rajput, rathor _rajput, rathor, rathaur._--the rathor of jodhpur or marwar is one of the most famous clans of rajputs, and that which is most widely dominant at the present time, including as it does the rajas of jodhpur, bikaner, ratlam, kishengarh and idar, as well as several smaller states. the origin of the rathor clan is uncertain. colonel tod states that they claim to be of the solar race, but by the bards of the race are denied this honour; and though descended from kash, the second son of rama, are held to be the offspring of one of his progeny, kashyap, by the daughter of a dait (titan). the view was formerly held that the dynasty which wrested kanauj from the descendants of harsha vardhana, and held it from a.d. 810 to 1090, until subverted by the gaharwars, were rathors, but proof has now been obtained that they were really parihar-gujars. mr. smith suggests that after the destruction of kanauj by the muhammadans under shihab-ud-din ghori in a.d. 1193 the gaharwar clan, whose kings had conquered it in 1090 and reigned there for a century, migrated to the deserts of marwar in rajputana, where they settled and became known as rathors. [559] it has also been generally held that the rashtrakuta dynasty of nasik and malkhed in the deccan which reigned from a.d. 753 to 973, and built the kailasa temples at ellora were rathors, but mr. smith states that there is no evidence of any social connection between the rashtrakutas and rathors. [560] at any rate siahji, the grandson or nephew of jai chand, the last king of kanauj, who had been drowned in the ganges while attempting to escape, accomplished with about 200 followers--the wreck of his vassalage--the pilgrimage to dwarka in gujarat. he then sought in the sands and deserts of rajputana a second line of defence against the advancing wave of muhammadan invasion, and planted the standard of the rathors among the sandhills of the luni in 1212. this, however, was not the first settlement of the rathors in rajputana, for an inscription, dated a.d. 997, among the ruins of the ancient city of hathundi or hastikundi, near bali in jodhpur state, tells of five rathor rajas who ruled there early in the tenth century, and this fact shows that the name rathor is really much older than the date of the fall of kanauj. [561] in 1381 siahji's tenth successor, rao chonda, took mundore from a parihar chief, and made his possession secure by marrying the latter's daughter. a subsequent chief, rao jodha, laid the foundation of jodhpur in 1459, and transferred thither the seat of government. the site of jodhpur was selected on a peak known as joda-gir, or the hill of strife, four miles distant from mundore on a crest of the range overlooking the expanse of the desert plains of marwar. the position for the new city was chosen at the bidding of a forest ascetic, and was excellently adapted for defence, but had no good water-supply. [562] joda had fourteen sons, of whom the sixth, bika, was the founder of the bikaner state. raja sur singh (1595-1620) was one of akbar's greatest generals, and the emperor jahangir buckled the sword on to his son gaj singh with his own hands. gaj singh, the next raja (1620-1635), was appointed viceroy of the deccan, as was his successor, jaswant singh, under aurangzeb. the mughal emperors, colonel tod remarks, were indebted for half their conquests to the lakh tulwar rahtoran, the hundred thousand swords which the rathors boasted that they could muster. [563] on another occasion, when jahangir successfully appealed to the rajputs for support against his rebel son khusru, he was so pleased with the zeal of the rathor prince, raja gaj singh, that he not only took the latter's hand, but kissed it, [564] perhaps an unprecedented honour. but the constant absence from his home on service in distant parts of the empire was so distasteful to raja sur singh that, when dying in the deccan, he ordered a pillar to be erected on his grave containing his curse upon any of his race who should cross the nerbudda. the pomp of imperial greatness or the sunshine of court favour was as nothing with the rathor chiefs, colonel tod says, when weighed against the exercise of their influence within their own cherished patrimony. the simple fare of the desert was dearer to the rathor than all the luxuries of the imperial banquet, which he turned from in disgust to the recollection of the green pulse of mundore, or his favourite _rabi_ or maize porridge, the prime dish of the rathor. [565] the rathor princes have been not less ready in placing themselves and the forces of their states at the disposal of the british government, and the latest and perhaps most brilliant example of their loyalty occurred during 1914, when the veteran sir partap singh of idar insisted on proceeding to the front against germany, though over seventy years of age, and was accompanied by his nephew, a boy of sixteen. the ratlam state was founded by ratan singh, a grandson of raja udai singh of jodhpur, who was born about 1618, and obtained it as a grant for good service against the usbegs at kandahar and the persians in khorasan about 1651-52. kishangarh was founded by kishan singh, a son of the same raja udai singh, who obtained a grant of territory from akbar about 1611. idar state in gujarat has, according to its traditions, been held by rathor princes from a very early period. jodhpur state is the largest in rajputana, with an area of 35,000 square miles, and a population of two million. the maharaja is entitled to a salute of twenty-one guns. a great part of the state is a sandy desert, and its older name of marwar is, according to colonel tod, a corruption of marusthan, or the region of death. in the central provinces the rathor rajputs number about 6000 persons, and are found mainly in the saugor, jubbulpore, narsinghpur and hoshangabad districts. the census statistics include about 5000 persons enumerated in mandla and bilaspur, nearly all of whom are really rathor telis. rajput, sesodia _rajput, sesodia, gahlot, aharia_.--the gahlot or sesodia is generally admitted to be the premier rajput clan. their chief is described by the bards as "the suryavansi rana, of royal race, lord of chitor, the ornament of the thirty-six royal races." the sesodias claim descent from the sun, through loh, the eldest son of the divine rama of ajodhia. in token of their ancestry the royal banner of mewar consisted of a golden sun on a crimson field. loh is supposed to have founded lahore. his descendants migrated to saurashtra or kathiawar, where they settled at vidurbha or balabhi, the capital of the valabhi dynasty. the last king of valabhi was siladitya, who was killed by an invasion of barbarians, and his posthumous son, gohaditya, ruled in idar and the hilly country in the south-west of mewar. from him the clan took its name of gohelot or gahlot. mr. d.r. bhandarkar, however, from a detailed examination of the inscriptions relating to the sesodias, arrives at the conclusion that the founders of the line were nagar brahmans from vadnagar in gujarat, the first of the line being one guhadatta, from which the clan takes its name of gahlot [566] the family were also connected with the ruling princes of valabhi. mr. bhandarkar thinks that the valabhi princes, and also the nagar brahmans, belonged to the maitraka tribe, who, like the gujars, were allied to the huns, and entered india in the fifth or sixth century. mr. bhandarkar's account really agrees quite closely with the traditions of the sesodia bards themselves, except that he considers guhadatta to have been a nagar brahman of valabhi, and descended from the maitrakas, a race allied to the huns, while the bards say that he was a descendant of the aryan kshatriyas of ajodhia, who migrated to surat and established the valabhi kingdom. the earliest prince of the gahlot dynasty for whom a date has been obtained is sila, a.d. 646, and he was fifth in descent from guhadatta, who may therefore be placed in the first part of the sixth century. bapa, the founder of the gahlot clan in mewar, was, according to tradition, sixth in descent from gohaditya, and he had his capital at nagda, a few miles to the north of udaipur city. [567] a tradition quoted by mr. bhandarkar states that bapa was the son of grahadata. he succeeded in propitiating the god siva. one day the king of chitor died and left no heir to his throne. it was decided that whoever would be garlanded by a certain elephant would be placed on the throne. bapa was present on the occasion, and the elephant put the garland round his neck not only once, but thrice. bapa was thus seated on the throne. one day he was suffering from some eye-disease. a physician mixed a certain medicine in alcoholic liquor and applied it to his eyes, which were speedily cured. bapa afterwards inquired what the medicine was, and learnt the truth. he trembled like a reed and said, "i am a brahman, and you have given me medicine mixed in liquor. i have lost my caste," so saying he drank molten lead (_sisa_), and forthwith died, and hence arose the family name sesodia. [568] this story, current in rajputana, supports mr. bhandarkar's view of the brahman origin of the clan. according to tradition bapa went to chitor, then held by the mori or pramara rajputs, to seek his fortune, and was appointed to lead the chitor forces against the muhammadans on their first invasion of india. [569] after defeating and expelling them he ousted the mori ruler and established himself at chitor, which has since been the capital of the sesodias. the name sesodia is really derived from sesoda, the residence of a subsequent chief rahup, who captured mundore and was the first to bear the title of rana of mewar. similarly aharia is another local name from ahar, a place in mewar, which was given to the clan. they were also known as raghuvansi, or of the race of king raghu, the ancestor of the divine rama. the raghuvansis of the central provinces, an impure caste of rajput origin, are treated in a separate article, but it is not known whether they were derived from the sesodias. from the fourteenth century the chronicles of the sesodias contain many instances of rajput courage and devotion. chitor was sacked three times before the capital was removed to udaipur, first by ala-ul-din khilji in 1303, next by bahadur shah, the muhammadan king of gujarat in 1534, and lastly by akbar in 1567. these events were known as saka or massacres of the clan. on each occasion the women of the garrison performed the johar or general immolation by fire, while the men sallied forth, clad in their saffron-coloured robes and inspired by _bhang_, to die sword in hand against the foe. at the first sack the goddess of the clan appeared in a dream to the rana and demanded the lives of twelve of its chiefs as a condition of its preservation. his eleven sons were in their turn crowned as chief, each ruling for three days, while on the fourth he sallied out and fell in battle. [570] lastly, the rana devoted himself in order that his favourite son ajeysi might be spared and might perpetuate the clan. at the second sack 32,000 were slain, and at the third 30,000. finally aurangzeb destroyed the temples and idols at chitor, and only its ruins remain. udaipur city was founded in 1559. the sesodias resisted the muhammadans for long, and several times defeated them. udai singh, the founder of udaipur, abandoned his capital and fled to the hills, whence he caused his own territory to be laid waste, with the object of impeding the imperial forces. of this period it is recorded that the ranas were from father to son in outlawry against the emperor, and that sovereign had carried away the doors of the gate of chitor, and had set them up in delhi. fifty-two rajas and chiefs had perished in the struggle, and the rana in his trouble lay at nights on a counterpane spread on the ground, and neither slept in his bed nor shaved his hair; and if he perchance broke his fast, had nothing better with which to satisfy it than beans baked in an earthen pot. for this reason it is that certain practices are to this day observed at udaipur. a counterpane is spread below the rana's bed, and his head remains unshaven and baked beans are daily laid upon his plate. [571] a custom of perhaps somewhat similar origin is that in this clan man and wife take food together, and the wife does not wait till her husband has finished. it is said that the sesodia rajputs are the only caste in india among whom this rule prevails, and it may have been due to the fact that they had to eat together in haste when occasion offered during this period of guerilla warfare. in 1614 rana amar singh, recognising that further opposition was hopeless, made his submission to the emperor, on the condition that he should never have to present himself in person but might send his two sons in his place. this stipulation being accepted, the heir-apparent karan singh proceeded to ajmer where he was magnanimously treated by jahangir and shortly afterwards the imperial troops were withdrawn from chitor. it is the pride of the udaipur house that it never gave a daughter in marriage to any of the musalman emperors, and for many years ceased to intermarry with other rajput families who had formed such alliances. but amar singh ii. (1698-1710) made a league with the maharajas of jodhpur and jaipur for mutual protection against the muhammadans; and it was one of the conditions of the compact that the latter chiefs should regain the privilege of marriage with the udaipur family which had been suspended since they had given daughters in marriage to the emperors. but the rana unfortunately added a proviso that the son of an udaipur princess should succeed to the jodhpur or jaipur states in preference to any elder son by another mother. the quarrels to which this stipulation gave rise led to the conquest of the country by the marathas, at whose hands mewar suffered more cruel devastation than it had ever been subjected to by the muhammadans. ruinous war also ensued between jodhpur and jaipur for the hand of the famous udaipur princess kishen kumari at the time when rajputana was being devastated by the marathas and pindaris; and the quarrel was only settled by the voluntary death of the object of contention, who, after the kinsman sent to slay her had recoiled before her young beauty and innocence, willingly drank the draught of opium four times administered before the fatal result could be produced. [572] the maharana of udaipur is entitled to a salute of nineteen guns. the udaipur state has an area of nearly 13,000 square miles and a population of about a million persons. besides udaipur three minor states, partabgarh, dungarpur and banswara, are held by members of the sesodia clan. in the central provinces the sesodias numbered nearly 2000 persons in 1911, being mainly found in the districts of the nerbudda division. rajput, solankhi _rajput, solankhi, solanki, chalukya._--this clan was one of the agnikula or fire-born, and are hence considered to have probably been gurjaras or gujars. their original name is said to have been chaluka, because they were formed in the palm (_chalu_) of the hand. they were not much known in rajputana, but were very prominent in the deccan. here they were generally called chalukya, though in northern india the name solankhi is more common. as early as a.d. 350 pulakesin i. made himself master of the town of vatapi, the modern badami in the bijapur district, and founded a dynasty, which developed into the most powerful kingdom south of the nerbudda, and lasted for two centuries, when it was overthrown by the rashtrakutas [573]. pulakesin ii. of this chalukya dynasty successfully resisted an inroad of the great emperor harsha vardhana of kanauj, who aspired to the conquest of the whole of india. the rashtrakuta kings governed for two centuries, and in a.d. 973 taila or tailapa ii., a scion of the old chalukya stock, restored the family of his ancestors to its former glory, and founded the dynasty known as that of the chalukyas of kalyan, which lasted like that which it superseded for nearly two centuries and a quarter, up to about a.d. 1190. in the tenth century apparently another branch of the clan migrated from rajputana into gujarat and established a new dynasty there, owing to which gujarat, which had formerly been known as lata, obtained its present name [574]. the principal king of this line was sidh raj solankhi, who is well known to tradition. from these chalukya or solankhi rulers the baghel clan arose, which afterwards migrated to rewah. the solankhis are found in the united provinces, and a small number are returned from the central provinces, belonging mainly to hoshangabad and nimar. rajput, somvansi _rajput, somvansi, chandravansi._--these two are returned as separate septs, though both names mean 'descendants of the moon.' colonel tod considers surajvansi and somvansi, or the descendants of the sun and moon as the first two of the thirty-six royal clans, from which all the others were evolved. but he gives no account of them, nor does it appear that they were regularly recognised clans in rajputana. it is probable that both somvansi and chandravansi, as well as surajvansi and perhaps nagvansi (descendants of the snake) have served as convenient designations for rajputs of illegitimate birth, or for landholding sections of the cultivating castes and indigenous tribes when they aspired to become rajputs. thus the surajvansis, and somvansis of different parts of the country might be quite different sets of people. there seems some reason for supposing that the somvansis of the united provinces as described by mr. crooke are derived from the bhar tribe; [575] in the central provinces a number of somvansis and chandravansis are returned from the feudatory states, and are probably landholders who originally belonged to one of the forest tribes residing in them. i have heard the name somvansi applied to a boy who belonged to the baghel clan of rajputs, but he was of inferior status on account of his mother being a remarried widow, or something of the kind. rajput, surajvansi _rajput, surajvansi._--the surajvansi (descendants of the sun) is recorded as the first of the thirty-six royal clans, but colonel tod gives no account of it, and it does not seem to be known to history as a separate clan. mr. crooke mentions an early tradition that the surajvansis migrated from ajodhia to gujarat in a.d. 224, but this is scarcely likely to be authentic in view, of the late dates now assigned for the origin of the important rajput clans. surajvansi should properly be a generic term denoting any rajput belonging to a clan of the solar race, and it seems likely that it may at different times have been adopted by rajputs who were no longer recognised in their own clan, or by families of the cultivating castes or indigenous tribes who aspired to become rajputs. thus mr. crooke notes that a large section of the soiris (savaras or saonrs) have entirely abandoned their own tribal name and call themselves surajvansi rajputs; [576] and the same thing has probably happened in other cases. in the central provinces the surajvansis belong mainly to hoshangabad, and here they form a separate caste, marrying among themselves and not with other rajput clans. hence they would not be recognised as proper rajputs, and are probably a promoted group of some cultivating caste. rajput, tomara _rajput, tomara, tuar, turtwar_.--this clan is an ancient one, supposed by colonel tod to be derived from the yadavas or lunar race. the name is said to come from _tomar_ a club. [577] the tomara clan was considered to be a very ancient one, and the great king vikramaditya, whose reign was the hindu golden age, was held to have been sprung from it. these traditions are, however, now discredited, as well as that of delhi having been built by a tomara king, anang pal i., in a.d. 733. mr. v.a. smith states that delhi was founded in 993-994, and anangapala, a tomara king, built the red fort about 1050. in 1052 he removed the celebrated iron pillar, on which the eulogy of chandragupta vikramaditya is incised, from its original position, probably at mathura, and set it up in delhi as an adjunct to a group of temples from which the muhammadans afterwards constructed the great mosque. [578] this act apparently led to the tradition that vikramaditya had been a tomara, and also to a much longer historical antiquity being ascribed to the clan than it really possessed. the tomara rule at delhi only lasted about 150 years, and in the middle of the twelfth century the town was taken by bisal deo, the chauhan chieftain of ajmer, whose successor, prithwi raj, reigned at delhi, but was defeated and killed by the muhammadans in a.d. 1192. subsequently, perhaps in the reign of ala-ud-din khilji, a tomara dynasty established itself at gwalior, and one of their kings, dungara singh (1425-1454), had executed the celebrated rock-sculptures of gwalior. [579] in 1518 gwalior was taken by the muhammadans, and the last tomara king reduced to the status of an ordinary jagirdar. the tomara clan is numerous in the punjab country near delhi, where it still possesses high rank, but in the united provinces it is not so much esteemed. [580] no ruling chief now belongs to this clan. in the central provinces the tomaras or tunwars belong principally to the hoshangabad district the zamindars of bilaspur, who were originally of the tawar subcaste of the kawar tribe, now also claim to be tomara rajputs on the strength of the similarity of the name. rajput; yadu _rajput; yadu, yadava, yadu-bhatti, jadon._ [581]--the yadus are a well-known historical clan. colonel tod says that the yadu was the most illustrious of all the tribes of ind, and became the patronymic of the descendants of buddha, progenitor of the lunar (indu) race. it is not clear, even according to legendary tradition, what, if any, connection the yadus had with buddha, but krishna is held to have been a prince of this tribe and founded dwarka in gujarat with them, in which locality he is afterwards supposed to have been killed. colonel tod states that the yadu after the death of krishna, and their expulsion from dwarka and delhi, the last stronghold of their power, retired by multan across the indus, founded ghazni in afghanistan, and peopled these countries even to samarcand. again driven back on the indus they obtained possession of the punjab and founded salbhanpur. thence expelled they retired across the sutlej and gara into the indian deserts, where they founded tannote, derawal and jaisalmer, the last in a.d. 1157. it has been suggested in the main article on rajput that the yadus might have been the sakas, who invaded india in the second century a.d. this is only a speculation. at a later date a yadava kingdom existed in the deccan, with its capital at deogiri or daulatabad and its territory lying between that place and nasik. [582] mr. smith states that these yadava kings were descendants of feudatory nobles of the chalukya kingdom, which embraced parts of western india and also gujarat. the yadu clan can scarcely, however, be a more recent one than the chalukya, as in that case it would not probably have been credited with having had krishna as its member. the yadava dynasty only lasted from a.d. 1150 to 1318, when the last prince of the line, harapala, stirred up a revolt against the muhammadans to whom the king, his father-in-law, had submitted, and being defeated, was flayed alive and decapitated. it is noticeable that the yadu-bhatti rajputs of jaisalmer claim descent from salivahana, who founded the saka era in a.d. 78, and it is believed that this era belonged to the saka dynasty of gujarat, where, according to the tradition given above, the yadus also settled. this point is not important, but so far as it goes would favour the identification of the sakas with the yadavas. the bhatti branch of the yadus claim descent from bhati, the grandson of salivahana. they have no legend of having come from gujarat, but they had the title of rawal, which is used in gujarat, and also by the sesodia clan who came from there. the bhattis are said to have arrived in jaisalmer about the middle of the eighth century, jaisalmer city being founded much later in a.d. 1183. jaisalmer state, the third in rajputana, has an area of 16,000 square miles, most of which is desert, and a population of about 100,000 persons. the chief has the title of maharawal and receives a salute of fifteen guns. the jareja rajputs of sind and cutch are another branch of the yadus who have largely intermarried with muhammadans. they now claim descent from jamshid, the persian hero, and on this account, colonel tod states, the title of their rulers is jam. they were formerly much addicted to female infanticide. the name yadu has in other parts of india been corrupted into jadon, and the class of jadon rajputs is fairly numerous in the united provinces, and in some places is said to have become a caste, its members marrying among themselves. this is also the case in the central provinces, where they are known as jadum, and have been treated under that name in a separate article. the small state of karauli in rajputana is held by a jadon chief. rajwar _rajwar._ [583]--a low cultivating caste of bihar and chota nagpur, who are probably an offshoot of the bhuiyas. in 1911 a total of 25,000 rajwars were returned in the central provinces, of whom 22,000 belong to the sarguja state recently transferred from bengal. another 2000 persons are shown in bilaspur, but these are mowars, an offshoot of the rajwars, who have taken to the profession of gardening and have changed their name. they probably rank a little higher than the bulk of the rajwars. "traditionally," colonel dalton states, "the rajwars appear to connect themselves with the bhuiyas; but this is only in bihar. the rajwars in sarguja and the adjoining states are peaceably disposed cultivators, who declare themselves to be fallen kshatriyas; they do not, however, conform to hindu customs, and they are skilled in a dance called chailo, which i believe to be of dravidian origin. the rajwars of bengal admit that they are the descendants of mixed unions between kurmis and kols. they are looked upon as very impure by the hindus, who will not take water from their hands." the rajwars of bihar told buchanan that their ancestor was a certain rishi, who had two sons. from the elder were descended the rajwars, who became soldiers and obtained their noble title; and from the younger the musahars, who were so called from their practice of eating rats, which the rajwars rejected. the musahars, as shown by sir h. risley, are probably bhuiyas degraded to servitude in hindu villages, and this story confirms the bhuiya origin of the rajwars. in the central provinces the bhuiyas have a subcaste called rajwar, which further supports this hypothesis, and in the absence of evidence to the contrary it is reasonable to suppose that the rajwars are an offshoot of the bhuiyas, as they themselves say, in bihar. the substitution of kols for bhuiyas in bengal need not cause much concern in view of the great admixture of blood and confused nomenclature of all the chota nagpur tribes. in bengal, where the bhuiyas have settled in hindu villages, and according to the usual lot of the forest tribes who entered the hindu system have been degraded into the servile and impure caste of musahars, the rajwars have shared their fate, and are also looked upon as impure. but in chota nagpur the bhuiyas have their own villages and live apart from the hindus, and here the rajwars, like the landholding branches of other forest tribes, claim to be an inferior class of rajputs. in sarguja the caste have largely adopted hindu customs. they abstain from liquor, employ low-class brahmans as priests, and worship the hindu deities. when a man wishes to arrange a match for his son he takes a basket of wheat-cakes and proceeding to the house of the girl's father sets them down outside. if the match is acceptable the girl's mother comes and takes the cakes into the house and the betrothal is then considered to be ratified. at the wedding the bridegroom smears vermilion seven times on the parting of the bride's hair, and the bride's younger sister then wipes a little of it off with the end of the cloth. for this service she is paid a rupee by the bridegroom. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. after the birth of a child the mother is given neither food nor water for two whole days; on the third day she gets only boiled water to drink and on the fourth day receives some food. the period of impurity after a birth extends to twelve days. when the navel-string drops it is carefully put away until the next dasahra, together with the child's hair, which is cut on the sixth day. on the dasahra festival all the women of the village take them to a tank, where a lotus plant is worshipped and anointed with oil and vermilion, and the hair and navel-string are then buried at its roots. the dead are burned, and the more pious keep the bones with a view to carrying them to the ganges or some other sacred river. pending this, the bones are deposited in the cow-house, and a lamp is kept burning in it every night so long as they are there. the rajwars believe that every man has a soul or pran, and they think that the soul leaves the body, not only at death, but whenever he is asleep or becomes unconscious owing to injury or illness. dreams are the adventures of the soul while wandering over the world apart from the body. they think it very unlucky for a man to see his own reflection in water and carefully avoid doing so. ramosi 1. general notice _ramosi, ramoshi._--a criminal tribe of the bombay presidency, of which about 150 persons were returned from the central provinces and berar in 1911. they belong to the western tract of the satpuras adjoining khandesh. the name is supposed to be a corruption of ramvansi, meaning 'the descendants of rama.' they say [584] that when rama, the hero of the ramayana, was driven from his kingdom by his step-mother kaikeyi, he went to the forest land south of the nerbudda. his brother bharat, who had been raised to the throne, could not bear to part with rama, so he followed him to the forest, began to do penance, and made friends with a rough but kindly forest tribe. after rama's restoration bharat took two foresters with him to ajodhia (oudh) and brought them to the notice of rama, who appointed them village watchmen and allowed them to take his name. if this is the correct derivation it may be compared with the name of rawanvansi or children of rawan, the opponent of rama, which is applied to the gonds of the central provinces. the ramosis appear to be a hinduised caste derived from the bhils or kolis or a mixture of the two tribes. they were formerly a well-known class of robbers and dacoits. the principal scenes of their depredations were the western ghats, and an interesting description of their methods is given by captain mackintosh in his account of the tribe. [585] some extracts from this are here reproduced. 2. methods of robbery they armed themselves chiefly with swords, taking one, two or three matchlocks, or more should they judge it necessary. several also carried their shields and a few had merely sticks, which were in general shod with small bars of iron from eight to twelve inches in length, strongly secured by means of rings and somewhat resembling the ancient mace. one of the party carried a small copper or earthen pot or a cocoanut-shell with a supply of _ghi_ or clarified butter in it, to moisten their torches with before they commenced their operations. the ramosis endeavoured as much as possible to avoid being seen by anybody either when they were proceeding to the object of their attack or returning afterwards to their houses. they therefore travelled during the night-time; and before daylight in the morning they concealed themselves in a jungle or ravine near some water, and slept all day, proceeding in this way for a long distance till they reached the vicinity of the village to be attacked. when they were pursued and much pressed, at times they would throw themselves into a bush or under a prickly pear plant, coiling themselves up so carefully that the chances were their pursuers would pass them unnoticed. if they intended to attack a treasure party they would wait at some convenient spot on the road and sally out when it came abreast of them, first girding up their loins and twisting a cloth tightly round their faces, to prevent the features from being recognised. before entering the village where their dacoity or _durrowa_ was to be perpetrated, torches were made from the turban of one of the party, which was torn into three, five or seven pieces, but never into more, the pieces being then soaked with butter. the same man always supplied the turban and received in exchange the best one taken in the robbery. those who were unarmed collected bags of stones, and these were thrown at any people who tried to interfere with them during the dacoity. they carried firearms, but avoided using them if possible, as their discharge might summon defenders from a distance. they seldom killed or mutilated their victims, except in a fight, but occasionally travellers were killed after being robbed as a measure of precaution. they retreated with their spoils as rapidly as possible to the nearest forest or hill, and from there, after distributing the booty into bags to make it portable, they marched off in a different direction from that in which they had come. before reaching their homes one of the party was deputed with an offering of one, two or five rupees to be presented as an offering to their god khandoba or the goddess bhawani in fulfilment of a vow. all the spoil was then deposited before their naik or headman, who divided it into equal shares for members of the gang, keeping a double share for himself. 3. ramosis employed as village watchmen in order to protect themselves from the depredations of these gangs the villagers adopted a system of hiring a ramosi as a surety to be responsible for their property, and this man gradually became a rakhwaldar or village watchman. he received a grant of land rent-free and other perquisites, and also a fee from all travellers and gangs of traders who halted in the village in return for his protection during the night. if a theft or house-breaking occurred in a village, the ramosi was held responsible to the owner for the value of the property, unless a large gang had been engaged. if he failed to discover the thief he engaged to make the lost property good to the owner within fifteen days or a month unless its value was considerable. if a gang had been engaged, the ramosi, accompanied by the patel and other village officials and cultivators, proceeded to track them by their footprints. obtaining a stick he cut it to the exact length of the footprint, or several such if a number of prints could be discovered, and followed the tracks, measuring the footprints, to the boundary of the village. the inhabitants of the adjoining village were then called and were responsible for carrying on the trail through their village. the measures of footprints were handed over to them, and after satisfying themselves that the marks came from outside and extended into their land they took up the trail accompanied by the ramosi. in this way the gang was tracked from village to village, and if it was run to earth the residents of the villages to which it belonged had to make good the loss. if the tracks were lost owing to the robbers having waded along a stream or got on to rocky ground or into a public road, then the residents of the village in whose borders the line failed were considered responsible for the stolen property. usually, however, a compromise was made, and they paid half, while the other half was raised from the village in which the theft occurred. if the ramosi failed to track the thieves out of the village he had to make good the value of the theft, but he was usually assisted by the village officer. often, too, the owner had to be contented with half or a quarter of the amount lost as compensation. in the early part of the century the ramosis of poona became very troublesome and constantly committed robberies in the houses of europeans. as a consequence a custom grew up of employing a ramosi as chaukidar or watchman for guarding the bungalow at night on a salary of seven rupees a month, and soon became general. it was the business of the ramosi watchman to prevent other ramosis from robbing the house. apparently this was the common motive for the custom, prevalent up to recent years, of paying a man solely for the purpose of watching the house at night, and it originated, as in poona, as a form of insurance and an application of the proverb of setting a thief to catch a thief. the selection of village watchmen from among the low, criminal castes appears to have been made on the same principle. 4. social customs the principal deity of the ramosis is khandoba, the maratha god of war. [586] he is the deified sword, the name being _khanda-aba_ or sword-father. an oath taken on the bhandar or little bag of turmeric dedicated to khandoba is held by them most sacred and no ramosi will break this oath. every ramosi has a family god known as devak, and persons having the same devak cannot intermarry. the devak is usually a tree or a bunch of the leaves of several trees. no one may eat the fruit of or otherwise use the tree which is his devak. at their weddings the branches of several trees are consecrated as devaks or guardians of the wedding. a gurao cuts the leafy branches of the mango, _umar_, [587] _jamun_ [588] and of the _rui_ [589] and _shami_ [590] shrubs and a few stalks of grass and sets them in hanuman's temple. from here the bridegroom's parents, after worshipping hanuman with a betel-leaf and five areca-nuts, take them home and fasten them to the front post of the marriage-shed. when the bridegroom is taken before the family gods of the bride, he steals one of them in token of his profession, but afterwards restores it in return for a payment of money. in social position the ramosis rank a little above the mahars and mangs, not being impure. they speak marathi but have also a separate thieves' jargon of their own, of which a vocabulary is given in the account of captain mackintosh. when a ramosi child is seven or eight years old he must steal something. if he is caught and goes to prison the people are delighted, fall at his feet when he comes out and try to obtain him as a husband for their daughters. [591] it is doubtful whether these practices obtain in the central provinces, and as the ramosis are not usually reckoned here among the notorious criminal tribes they may probably have taken to more honest pursuits. rangrez _rangrez._--the muhammadan caste of dyers. the caste is found generally in the northern districts, and in 1901 its members were included with the chhipas, from whom, however, they should be distinguished as having a different religion and also because they practise a separate branch of the dyeing industry. the strength of the caste in the central provinces does not exceed a few hundred persons. the rangrez is nominally a muhammadan of the sunni sect, but the community forms an endogamous group after the hindu fashion, marrying only among themselves. good-class muhammadans will neither intermarry with nor even take food from members of the rangrez community. in sohagpur town of hoshangabad this is divided into two branches, the kheralawalas or immigrants from kherala in malwa and the local rangrezes. these two groups will take food together but will not intermarry. kheralawala women commonly wear a skirt like hindu women and not muhammadan pyjamas. in jubbulpore the rangrez community employ brahmans to conduct their marriage and other ceremonies. long association with hindus has as usual caused the rangrez to conform to their religious practices and the caste might almost be described as a hindu community with muhammadan customs. the bulk of them no doubt were originally converted hindus, but as their ancestors probably immigrated from northern india their present leaning to that religion would perhaps be not so much an obstinate retention of pre-islamic ritual as a subsequent lapse following on another change of environment. in northern india mr. crooke records them as being governed mainly by muhammadan rules. there [592] they hold themselves to be the descendants of one khwaja bali, a very pious man, about whom the following verse is current: khwaja bali rangrez range khuda ki sez: 'khwaja bali dyes the bed of god.' the name is derived from _rang_, colour, and _rez, rekhtan_, to pour. in bihar, sir g. grierson states [593] the word rangrez is often confounded with 'angrezi' or 'english'; and the english are sometimes nicknamed facetiously rangrez or 'dyers,' the saying, 'were i a dyer i would dye my own beard first,' in reference to the muhammadan custom of dyeing the beard, has the meaning of 'charity begins at home,' [594] the art of the rangrez differs considerably from that of the chhipa or rangari, the hindu dyer, and he produces a much greater variety of colours. his principal agents were formerly the safflower (_carthamus tinctorius_), turmeric and myrobalans. the fact that the brilliant red dye of safflower was as a rule only used by muhammadan dyers, gives some ground for the supposition that it may have been introduced by them to india. this would account for the existence of a separate caste of muhammadan dyers, and in support of it may be adduced the fact that the variety of colours is much greater in the dress of the residents of northern india and rajputana than in those of the maratha districts. the former patronise many different shades, more especially for head-cloths, while the latter as a rule do not travel beyond red, black or blue. the rangrez obtains his red shades from safflower, yellow from _haldi_ or turmeric, green from a mixture of indigo and turmeric, purple from indigo and safflower, _khaki_ or dust-colour from myrobalans and iron filings, orange from turmeric and safflower, and _badami_ or almond-colour from turmeric and two wild plants _kachora_ and _nagarmothi_, the former of which gives a scent. cloths dyed in the _badami_ shades are affected, when they can afford it, by gosains and other religious mendicants, who thus dwell literally in the odour of sanctity. muhammadans generally patronise the shades of green or purple, the latter being often used as a lining for white coats. fakirs or muhammadan beggars wear light green. marwari banias and others from rajputana like the light yellow, pink or orange shades. a green or black head-cloth is with them a sign of mourning. cloths dyed in yellow or scarlet are bought by brahmans and other castes of hindus for their marriages. blue is not a lucky colour among the hindus and is considered as on a level with black. it may be worn on ordinary occasions, but not at festivals or at auspicious periods. muhammadans rather affect black and do not consider it an unlucky colour. i have seen a rangrez dye a piece of cloth in about twenty colours in the course of two or three hours, but several of these dyes are fugitive and will not stand washing. the trade of the rangrez is being undermined by the competition of cheap chemical dyes imported from germany and sold in the form of powders; the process of dyeing with these is absolutely simple and can be carried out by any one. they are far cheaper than safflower, and this agent has consequently been almost driven from the market. people buy a little dyeing powder from the bazar and dye their own cloths. but men will only wear cloths dyed in this manner, and known as _katcha kapra_, on their heads and not on their bodies; women sometimes wear them also on their bodies. the decay in the indigenous art of dyeing must be a matter for regret. rautia 1. origin of the tribe _rautia._ [595]--a cultivating caste of the chota nagpur plateau. in 1911 about 12,000 rautias were enumerated in the province, nearly all of whom belong to the jashpur state with a few in sarguja. these states lie outside the scope of the ethnographic survey and hence no regular inquiry has been made on the rautias. the following brief notice is mainly taken from the account of the caste in sir h. risley's _tribes and castes of bengal_. he describes the caste as, "refined in features and complexion by a large infusion of aryan blood. their chief men hold estates on quit-rent from the maharaja of chota nagpur, and the bulk of the remainder are tenants with occupancy right and often paying only a low quit-rent or half the normal assessment." these favourable tenures may probably be explained by the fact that they were held in former times on condition of military service, and were analogous to the feudal fiefs of europe. the rautias themselves say that this was their original occupation in chota nagpur. the name rautia is a form of rawat, and this latter word signifies a prince and is a title borne by relatives of a raja. it may be noticed that rawat is the ordinary name by which the ahir caste is known in chhattisgarh, the neighbouring country to chota nagpur in the central provinces; and further that the rautias will take food from a chhattisgarhi rawat. this fact, coupled with the identity of the name, appears to demonstrate a relationship of the two castes. the rautias will not take food from any other hindu caste, but they will eat with the kawar and gond tribes, at least in raigarh. the kawars have a subtribe called rautia as also have the kols. in sir h. risley's list of the sept-names of the rautias [596] we find two names, aind the eel, and rukhi a squirrel, which are also the names of munda septs, and one, karsayal or deer, which is the name of a kawar sept. they have also a name sanwani, which is probably sonwani or 'gold-water,' and is common to many of the primitive tribes. the most plausible hypothesis of the origin of the rautias on the above facts seems to be that they were a tribal militia in chota nagpur, the leaders being ahirs or rawats with possibly a sprinkling of the local rajputs, while the main body were recruited from the kawar and kol tribes. the khandaits or swordsmen of orissa furnish an exact parallel to the rautias, being a tribal militia, who have now become a caste, and are constituted mainly from the bhuiya tribe with a proportion of chasas or cultivators and rajputs. they also have obtained possession of the land, and in orissa the sresta or good khandaits rank next to the rajputs. the history and position of the rautias appears to be similar to that of the khandaits. the halbas of bastar are probably another nearly analogous instance. they were gonds, who apparently formed the tribal militia of the rajas of bastar and got grants of land and consequently a certain rise in status though not to the same level as the khandaits and rautias. it does not seem that the rautias have any special connection with the gonds, and their acceptance of food from gonds may perhaps, as suggested by mr. hira lal, be due to the fact that they served a gond raja. 2. subdivisions the rautias had formerly three subdivisions, the barki, majhli and chhotki bhir or gorhi, or the high, middle and low class rautias. but it is related that the barki group found that they could not obtain girls in marriage for their sons, so they extended the privileges of the _connubium_ to the majhli group after taking a caste feast. possibly the barki rautias formerly practised hypergamy with the majhli, taking daughters in marriage but not giving daughters, and in course of time this has led to the obliteration of the distinction between them. the different status of the three groups was based on their purity of descent. the majhli and chhotki were the descendants of rautia fathers and mothers of other castes; the offspring going to the majhli group if the mother was a gond or kawar or of respectable caste, while the children of impure ganda and ghasia women by rautia fathers were admitted into the chhotki group. these divisions confirm the hypothesis previously given of the genesis of the rautia caste; and it is further worth noting that the khandaits have also bar and chhot gohir divisions or those of pure and mixed blood, and the halbas of bastar are similarly divided into the purait or pure halbas, and the surait or descendants of halba fathers by women of other castes. in a military society, where the men were frequently on the move or stationed in outlying forts and posts, temporary unions and illegitimate children would naturally be of common occurrence. and the mixed nature of the three castes affords some support to the hypothesis of their common origin from military service. the tribe have totemistic septs, and retain some veneration for their totems. those of the bagh or tiger sept throw away their earthen pots on hearing of the death of a tiger. those of the sand or bull sept will not castrate bullocks themselves, and must have this operation performed on their plough-bullocks by others. those of the kansi sept formerly, according to their own account, would not root up the _kans_ grass [597] growing in their fields, but now they no longer object to do so. other septs are tithi a bird, bira a hawk, barwan a wild dog, and so on. 3. marriage marriage is forbidden within the sept, but is permitted between the children of a brother and a sister or of two sisters. matches are arranged at the caste feasts and the usual bride-price is four rupees with six or seven pieces of cloth and some grain. when the procession arrives at the bride's village her party go out to meet it, and the gandas or musicians on each side try to break each other's drums, but are stopped by their employers. at the wedding two wooden images of the bridegroom and bride are made and placed in the centre of the marriage-shed. a goat is led round these and killed, and the bride and bridegroom walk round them seven times. they rub vermilion on the wooden images and then on each other's foreheads. it is probable that the wooden images are made and set up in the centre of the shed to attract the evil eye and divert it from the real bride and bridegroom, and the goat may be a substituted sacrifice on their behalf. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. 4. funeral rites in the forest tracts the tribe bury the dead, placing the corpse with the feet to the south. before being placed in the grave the corpse is rubbed with oil and turmeric and carried seven times round the grave according to the ritual of a wedding. this is called the _chhed vivah_ or marriage to the grave. the kabirpanthi rautias are placed standing in the grave with the face turned to the north. well-to-do members of the caste burn their dead and employ brahmans to perform the _shraddh_ ceremony. 5. inheritance the tribe have some special rules of inheritance. in bengal [598] the eldest son of the legitimate wife inherits the whole of the father's property, subject to the obligation of making grants for the maintenance of his younger brothers. these grants decrease according to the standing of the brothers, the elder ones getting more and the younger less. sons of a wife married by the ceremony used for widows receive smaller grants. but the widow of an elder brother counts as the regular wife of a younger brother and her sons have full rights of succession. in the central provinces the eldest son does not succeed to the whole property but obtains a share half as large again as the other sons. and if the father divides the property in his lifetime and participates in it he himself takes only the share of a younger son. sanaurhia 1. a band of criminals _sanaurhia, chandravedi._ [599]--a small but well-known community of criminals in bundelkhand. they claim to be derived from the sanadhya brahmans, and it seems possible that this may in fact have been their origin; but at present they are a confraternity recruited by the initiation of promising boys from all castes except sweepers and chamars; [600] and a census taken of them in northern india in 1872 showed that they included members of the following castes: brahman, rajput, teli, kurmi, ahir, kanjar, nai, dhobi, dhimar, sunar and lodhi. it is said, however, that they do not form a caste or intermarry, members of each caste continuing their relations with their own community. their regular method of stealing is through the agency of a boy, and no doubt they pick up a likely urchin whenever they get the chance, as only selected boys would be clever enough for the work. their trade is said to possess much fascination, and mr. crooke quotes a saying, 'once a sanaurhia always a sanaurhia'; so that unless the increased efficiency of the police has caused the dangers of their calling to outweigh its pleasures they should have no difficulty in obtaining recruits. 2. traditions of origin mr. seagrim [601] states that their home is in the datia state of bundelkhand, and some of them live in the adjoining alamgarh tract of indore state. formerly they also resided in the orchha and chanderi states of bundelkhand, having six or eight villages in each state [602] in their sole occupation, with colonies in other villages. in 1857 it was estimated that the tehri state contained 4000 sanaurhias, banpur 300 and datia 300. they occupied twelve villages in tehri, and an officer of the state presided over the community and acted as umpire in the division of the spoils. the office of mukhia or leader was hereditary in the caste, and in default of male issue descended to females. if among the booty there happened to be any object of peculiar elegance or value, it was ceremoniously presented to the chief of the state. they say that their ancestors were two sanadhya brahmans of the village of ramra in datia state. they were both highly accomplished men, and one had the gift of prophecy, while the other could understand the language of birds. one day they met at a river a rich merchant and his wife, who were on a pilgrimage to jagannath. as they were drinking water a crow sitting on a tree commenced cawing, and the sanadhya heard him say that whoever got hold of the merchant's walking-stick would be rich. the two brahmans then accompanied the merchant until they obtained an opportunity of making off with his stick; and they found it to be full of gold mohurs, the traveller having adopted this device as a precaution against being robbed. the brahmans were so pleased at their success that they took up stealing as a profession, and opened a school where they taught small boys of all castes the art of stealing property in the daytime. prior to admission the boys were made to swear by the moon that they would never commit theft at night, and on this account they are known as chandravedi or 'those who observe the moon.' in bombay and central india this name is more commonly used than sanaurhia. another name for them is uthaigira or 'a picker-up of that which has fallen,' corresponding to the nickname of uchla or 'lifter' applied to the bhamtas. mr. seagrim described them as going about in small gangs of ten to twenty persons without women, under a leader who has the title of mukhia or nalband. the other men are called upardar, and each of these has with him one or two boys of between eight and twelve years old, who are known as _chauwa_ (chicks) and do the actual stealing. the nalband or leader trains these boys to their work, and also teaches them a code vocabulary (_parsi_) and a set of signals (_teni_) by which the upardar can convey to them his instructions while business is proceeding. the whole gang set out at the end of the rains and, arriving at some distant place, break up into small parties; the nalband remains at a temporary headquarters, where he receives and disposes of the spoil, and arranges for the defence of any member of the gang who is arrested, and for the support of his wife and children if he is condemned to imprisonment. 3. methods of stealing the methods of the sanaurhias as described by mr. seagrim show considerable ingenuity. when they desire to steal something from a stall in a crowded market two of the gang pretend to have a violent quarrel, on which all the people in the vicinity collect to watch, including probably the owner of the stall. in this case the _chauwa_ or boy, who has posted himself in a position of vantage, will quickly abstract the article agreed upon and make off. or if there are several purchasers at a shop, the man will wait until one of them lays down his bundle while he makes payment, and then pushing up against him signal to the _chauwa_, who snatches up the bundle and bolts. if he is caught, the sanaurhia will come up as an innocent member of the crowd and plead for mercy on the score of his youth; and the boy will often be let off with a few slaps. sometimes three or four sanaurhias will proceed to some place of resort for pilgrims to bathe, and two or three of them entering the water will divert the attention of the bather by pointing out some strange object or starting a discussion. in the meantime the _chauwas_ or chicks, under the direction of another on the bank, will steal any valuable article left by the bather. the attention of any one left on shore to watch the property is diverted by a similar device. if they see a man with expensive clothes the _chauwa_ will accidentally brush against him and smear him with dirt or something that causes pollution; the victim will proceed to bathe, and one of the usual stratagems is adopted. or the sanaurhia will engage the man in conversation and the _chauwa_ will come running along and collide with them; on being abused by the sanaurhia for his clumsiness he asks to be pardoned, explaining that he is only a poor sweeper and meant no harm; and on hearing this the victim, being polluted, must go off and bathe. [603] colonel sleeman relates the following case of such a theft: [604] "while at saugor i got a note one morning from an officer in command of a treasure escort just arrived from narsinghpur stating that the old subahdar of his company had that morning been robbed of his gold necklace valued at rs. 150, and requesting that i would assist him in recovering it. the old subahdar brought the note, and stated that he had undressed at the brook near the cantonments, and placed the necklace with his clothes, about twenty yards from the place where he bathed; that on returning to his clothes he could not find the necklace, and the only person he saw near the place was a young lad who was sauntering in the mango grove close by. this lad he had taken and brought with him, and i found after a few questions that he belonged to the sanaurhia brahmans of bundelkhand. as the old subahdar had not seen the boy take the necklace or even approach the clothes, i told him that we could do nothing, and he must take the boy back to camp and question him in his own way. the boy, as i expected, became alarmed, and told me that if i would not send him back with the angry old subahdar he would do anything i pleased. i bade him tell me how he had managed to secure the necklace; and he told me that while the subahdar turned his back upon his clothes in prayer, he had taken it up and made it over to one of the men of his party; and that it must have been taken to their bivouac, which was in a grove about three miles from the cantonments. i sent off a few policemen, who secured the whole party, but could not find anything upon them. seeing some signs of a hole having been freshly made under one of the trees they dug up the fresh earth and discovered the necklace, which the old man was delighted to recover so easily." another device which they have is to beat the _chauwa_ severely in the sight of a rich stranger. the boy runs crying and clings to the stranger asking him for help, and in the meantime picks his pocket. when the sanaurhias are convicted in native states and put into jail they refuse to eat, pleading that they are poor brahmans, and pretend to starve themselves to death, and thus often get out of jail. in reply to a letter inquiring about these people from the superintendent of chanderi about 1851, the raja of banpur wrote: "i have to state that from former times these people following their profession have resided in my territory and in the states of other native princes; and they have always followed this calling, but no former kings or princes or authority have ever forbidden the practice. in consequence of these people stealing by day only, and that they do not take life or distress any person by personal ill-usage, and that they do not break into houses by digging walls or breaking door-locks, but simply by their smartness manage to abstract property; owing to such trifling thefts i looked upon their proceedings as a petty matter and have not interfered with them." [605] this recalls another famous excuse. sansia list of paragraphs 1. _historical notice of the caste_. 2. _social customs_. 3. _taboos of relationship_. 4. _organisation for dacoity_. 5. _description of a dacoity_. 6. _omens_. 7. _ordeals_. 8. _sansias at the present time_. 1. historical notice of the caste _sansia_. [606]--a small caste of wandering criminals of northern india, who live by begging and dealing in cattle. they also steal and commit dacoities, house-breaking and thefts on railway trains. the name sansia is borne as well by the uriya or od masons of the uriya country, but these are believed to be quite a distinct group from the criminal sansias of central india and are noticed in another short article. separate statistics of the two groups were not obtained at the census. the sansias are closely connected with the berias, and say that their ancestors were two brothers sains mul and sansi, and that the berias are descended from the former and the sansias from the latter. they were the bards of the jat caste, and it was their custom to chronicle the names of the jats and their ancestors, and when they begged from jat families to recite their praises. the sansias, colonel sleeman states, had particular families (of the jats) allotted to them, from whom they had not only the privilege of begging, but received certain dues; some had fifty, some a hundred houses appointed to them, and they received yearly from the head of each house one rupee and a quarter and one day's food. when the jats celebrated their marriages they were accustomed to invite the sansias, who as their minstrels recited the praises of the ancestors of the jats, tracing them up to the time of punya jat; and for this they received presents, according to the means of the parties, of cows, ponies or buffaloes. should any jat demur to paying the customary dues the sansias would dress up a cloth figure of his father and parade with it before the house, when the sum demanded was generally given; for if the figure were fastened on a bamboo and placed over the house the family would lose caste and no one would smoke or drink water with them. [607] the sansias say that their ancestors have always resided in marwar and ajmer. about twenty-four miles distant from ajmer are two towns, pisangan and sagun; on their eastern side is a large tank, and the bones of all persons of the sansia tribe who died in any part of the country were formerly buried there, being covered by a wooden platform with four pillars. [608] on one occasion a quarrel had arisen over a sansia woman, and a large number of the caste were killed in this place. so they left marwar, and some of them came to the deccan, where they took to house-breaking and dacoity; and so successful were they that the other sansias followed them and gave up all their former customs, even those of reciting the praises of and begging from the jats. 2. social customs the sansias are divided into two groups, kalkar and malha; and these two are further subdivided into eight and twelve sections respectively. no one belonging to the kalkar group may marry another person of that group, but he may marry anybody belonging to any section of the malha group. thus the two groups being exogamous the sections do not serve any purpose, but it is possible that the rules are really more complicated. in the punjab their marriage ceremony is peculiar, the bride being covered by a basket, on which the bridegroom sits while the nuptial rites are being performed. [609] according to colonel sleeman, after the arrangement of a match the caste committee assemble to determine the price to be paid to the father of the girl, which may amount to as much as rs. 2000. when this is settled some liquor is spilt on the ground in the name of bhagwan or vishnu, and an elder pronounces that the two have become man and wife; a feast is given to the caste, and the ceremony is concluded. after child-birth a woman cannot wash herself for five days, but on the sixth she may go to a stream and wash. even on ordinary occasions a woman must never wash herself inside the house, but must always go to a stream, which rule does not apply to men. when the hair of a child begins to grow it is all shaved except the scalp-lock, which is dedicated to bhagwan; and at ten or twelve years of age this lock is also shaved off and a dinner is given to members of the caste. the last ceremony is of the nature of a puberty-rite, and if children die prior to its performance their bodies are buried, whereas after it they have a right to cremation. after a body has been burnt the bones are buried on the spot in an earthen vessel, over the mouth of which a large stone is placed. some pig's flesh is cooked and sweet cakes prepared, portions of which are placed upon the stone; and the deceased is then called upon, by reason of the usual ceremonies having been performed at his death, to watch over his surviving relatives. if any sansia happened to commit a murder when engaged in a dacoity he was afterwards obliged to make an offering for forgiveness, and to spend a rupee and a quarter in liquor for the caste-fellows. if a dacoit had himself been killed and his body abandoned, his clothes, with some new clothes, were put upon a sleeping-cot, and his companions of the same caste carried it to a convenient spot, where it was either burnt or buried in the ground. 3. taboos of relationship colonel sleeman records some curious taboos among relations. [610] a man cannot go into the hut of his mother-in-law or of his son's wife; for if their petticoat should touch him he would be turned out of his caste and would not be admitted into it until he had paid a large sum. "if we quarrel with a woman," said a sansia, "and she strikes us with her petticoat we lose our caste; we should be allowed to eat and drink with our tribe, but not to perform worship with them nor to assist in burial rites. if a woman piles up a heap of stones and puts her petticoat upon it and throws filth upon it and says to any other, 'this disgrace fell upon your ancestors for seven generations back,' both are immediately expelled from our caste, and cannot return to it until they have paid a large sum of money." 4. organisation for dacoity as in the case of the badhaks the arrangements for a dacoity were carefully organised. each band had a jemadar or leader, while the others were called sipahis or soldiers. a tenth of all the booty taken was given to the jemadar in return for the provision of the spears, torches and other articles, and of the remainder the jemadar received two shares and the sipahis one each. but no novice was permitted to share in the booty or carry a spear until he had participated in two or three successful dacoities; and inasmuch as outsiders, with the exception of the impure dhers and mangs, were freely admitted to the sansia community in return for a small money payment, some such apprenticeship as this was no doubt necessary. if a sipahi was killed in a dacoity his wife was entitled to a sum of rs. 350 and half an ordinary share in future dacoities as long as she remained with the gang. the sansias never pitched their camp in the vicinity of the place in which they contemplated an enterprise, but despatched their scouts to it, themselves remaining some twenty miles distant. 5. description of a dacoity the scouts, [611] having prospected the town and determined the house to be exploited, usually that of the leading banker, would then proceed to it in the early morning before business began and ask to purchase some ornaments or change some money; by this request they often induced the banker to bring out his cash chest from the place of security where he was accustomed to deposit it at night, and learnt where it should be looked for. having picked up as much information as possible, the scouts would purchase some spear-heads, bury them in a neighbouring ravine, and rejoin the main body. the party would arrive at the rendezvous in the evening, and having fitted their spears to bamboo shafts, would enter the town carrying them concealed in a bundle of _karbi_ or the long thick stalks of the large millet, juari. [612] one man was appointed to carry the torch, [613] and the oil to be poured on this had always to be purchased in the town or village where the dacoity was to take place, the use of any other oil being considered most unlucky. the vessel containing the oil was not allowed to touch the earth until its contents had been poured upon the torch, when it was dashed upon the ground. from this time until the completion of the dacoity no one might spit or drink water or relieve himself under penalty of putting a stop to the enterprise. the jemadar invoked khandoba, an incarnation of mahadeo, and said that if by his assistance the box of money was broken at the first or second stroke of the axe, a chain of gold weighing one and a quarter tolas would be made over to him. the party then approached the shop, the roads surrounding it being picketed to guard against a rescue, and the jemadar, accompanied by four or five men and the torch-bearer, rushed into the shop crying din, din. the doors usually gave way under a few heavy blows with the axe, which they wielded with great expertness, and the scout pointed out the location of the money and valuables. once in possession of the property the torch was extinguished and the whole party made off as rapidly as possible. during their retreat they tried to avoid spearing people who pursued them, first calling out to them to go away. if any member of the party was killed or so desperately wounded that he could not be removed, the others cut off his head and carried it off so as to prevent recognition; a man who was slightly wounded would be carried off by his companions, but if the pursuit became hot and he had to be left, they cut off his head also and took it with them, escaping by this drastic method the risk of his turning approver with the consequent danger of conviction for the rest of the gang. about a mile from the place of the dacoity they stopped and mustered their party, and the jemadar called out to the god bhagwan to direct any pursuers in the wrong direction and enable them to reach their families. if any dacoit had ever been killed at this particular town they also called upon his spirit to assist them, promising to offer him a goat or some liquor; and so, throwing down a rupee or two at any temple or stream which they might pass on their way, they came to their families. when about a mile away from the camp they called out 'cuckoo' to ascertain if any misfortune had occurred during their absence; if they thought all was well they went nearer and imitated the call of the partridge; and finally when close to the encampment made a hissing noise like a snake. on arrival at the camp they at once mounted their ponies and started off, marching fifty or sixty miles a day, for two or three days. 6. omens the sansias never committed a dacoity on moonlight nights, but had five appointed days during the dark half of the month, the seventh, ninth, eleventh, thirteenth and the night of the day on which the new moon was first seen. if they did not meet with a favourable omen on any of these nights, no dacoity was committed that month. the following is a list of omens given by one of the caste: [614] "if we see a cat when we are near the place where we intend to commit a dacoity, or we hear the relations of a dead person lamenting, or hear a person sneeze while cooking his meal, or see a dog run away with a portion of any person's food, or a kite screams while sitting on a tree, or a woman breaks the earthen vessel in which she may have been drawing water, we consider the omens unfavourable. if a person drops his turban or we meet a corpse, or the jemadar has forgotten to put some bread into his waistbelt, or any dacoit forgets his axe or spear or sees a snake whether dead or alive; these omens are also considered unfavourable and we do not commit the dacoity. should we see a wolf and any one of us have on a red turban, we take this and tear it into seven pieces and hang each piece upon a separate tree. we then purchase a rupee's worth of liquor and kill a goat, which is cut up into four pieces. four men pretend that they are wolves and rushing on the four quarters of the meat seize them, imitating the howl of these animals, while the rest of the dacoits pelt them with the entrails; the meat is afterwards cooked and eaten in the name of bhagwan." it would appear that the explanation of this curious ceremony must be that the sansias thought the appearance of the wolf to be an omen that one of them would furnish a meal for him. the turban is venerated on account of its close association with the head, a sacred part of the body among hindus, and in this case it probably served as a substituted offering for the head, while its red colour represented blood; and the mimic rite of the goat being devoured by men pretending to be wolves fulfilled the omen which portended that the wolves would be provided with a meal, and hence averted the necessity of one of the band being really devoured. in somewhat analogous fashion the gonds and baigas placate or drive away a tiger who has killed a man in order to prevent him from obtaining further victims. some similar idea apparently underlay the omen of the dog running away with food. perhaps the portent of hearing the kite scream on a tree also meant that he looked on them with a prescient eye as a future meal. on the other hand, meeting a corpse and seeing a snake are commonly considered to be lucky omens, and their inclusion in this list is curious. [615] the passage continues: "among our favourable omens are meeting a woman selling milk; or a person carrying a basket of grain or a bag of money; or if we see a calf sucking its mother, or meet a person with a vessel of water, or a marriage procession; or if any person finds a rupee that he has lost; or we meet a bearer carrying fish or a pig or a blue-jay; if any of these occur near our camp on the day we contemplate a dacoity, we proceed forthwith to commit it and consider that these signs assure us a good booty. if a fakir begs from us while we are on our way to the place of dacoity we cannot give him anything." another sansia said: "we think it very favourable if, when on the way to commit a dacoity we hear or see the jackal; it is as good as gold and silver to us; also if we hear the bray of the ass in a village we consider it to be lucky." 7. ordeals the following is a description given by a sansia of their ordeals: [616] if a jemadar suspects a sipahi of secreting plunder a _panchayat_ is assembled, [617] the members of which receive five rupees from both parties. seven pipal [618] leaves are laid upon his hand and bound round with thread, and upon these a heated iron _tawa_ or plate is set; he is then ordered to walk seven paces and put the plate down upon seven thorns; should he be able to do so he is pronounced innocent, but if he is burnt by the plate and throws it down he is considered guilty. another ordeal is by fixing arrows, two of which are shot off at once from one bow, one in the name of bhagwan (god), and the other in the name of the _panchayat_; the place being on the bank of the river. the arrow that flies the farthest is stuck upright into the ground; upon which a man carrying a long bamboo walks up to his breast in the water and the suspected person is desired to join him. one of the _panchayat_ then claps his hands seven times and runs off to pick up the arrow; at this instant the suspected person is obliged to put his head under water, and if he can hold his breath until the other returns to the bank with the arrow and has again clapped his hands seven times he is pronounced innocent. if he cannot do so he is declared guilty and punished. a third form of ordeal was as follows: the jemadar and the gang assemble under a pipal tree, and after knocking off the neck of an earthen pitcher they kill a goat and collect its blood in the pitcher, and put some glass bangles in it. four lines are drawn on the pitcher with vermilion (representing blood), and it is placed under a tree and 1 1/4 seers [619] of _gur_ (sugar) are tied up in a piece of cloth 1 1/4 cubits in length and hung on to a branch of the tree. the jemadar then says, 'i will forgive any person who has not secreted more than fifteen or twenty rupees, but whoever has stolen more than that sum shall be punished.' the jemadar dips his finger in the pitcher of blood, and afterwards touches the sugar and calls out loudly, 'if i have embezzled any money may bhagwan punish me'; and each dacoit in turn pronounces the same sentence. no one who is guilty will do this but at once makes his confession. the oath pronounced on 1 1/4 seers of sugar tied up in 1 1/4 cubits of cloth was considered the most solemn and binding which a sansia could take. 8. sansias at the present time at present, mr. kennedy states, [620] the sansias travel about in gangs of varying strength with their families, bullocks, sheep, goats and dogs. the last mentioned of these animals are usually small mongrels with a terrier strain, mostly stolen or bred from types dishonestly obtained during their peregrinations. dacoity is still the crime which they most affect, and they also break into houses and steal cattle. men usually have a necklace of red coral and gold beads round the neck, from which is suspended a square piece of silver or gold bearing an effigy of a man on horseback. this represents either the deity ramdeo pir or one of the wearer's ancestors, and is venerated as a charm. they are very quarrelsome, and their drinking-bouts in camp usually end in a free fight, in which they also beat their women, and the affray not infrequently results in the death of one of the combatants. when this happens the slayer makes restitution to the relatives by defraying the expenses of a fresh drinking-bout. [621] during the daytime men are seldom to be found in the encampment, as they are in the habit of hiding in the ditches and jungle, where the women take them their food; at night they return to their tents, but are off again at dawn. sansia, uria 1. the caste and its subdivisions _sansia, uria_. [622]--a caste of masons and navvies of the uriya country. the sansias are really a branch of the great migratory ud or odde caste of earth-workers, whose name has been corrupted into various forms. [623] thus in chanda they are known as wadewar or waddar. the term uria is here a corruption of odde, and it is the one by which the caste prefer to be known, but they are generally called sansia by outsiders. the caste sometimes class the sansias as a subcaste of urias, the others being benatia urias and khandait urias. since the uriya tract has been transferred to bengal, and subsequently to bihar and orissa, there remain only about 1000 sansias in the chhattisgarh districts and states. although it is possible that the name of the caste may have been derived from some past connection, the sansias of the uriya country have at present no affinities with the outcaste and criminal tribe of sansis or sansias of northern india. they enjoy a fairly high position in sarnbalpur, and brahmans will take water from them. they are divided into two subcastes, the benetia and khandait. the benetia are the higher and look down on the khandaits, because, it is said, these latter have accepted service as foot-soldiers, and this is considered a menial occupation. perhaps in the households of the uriya rajas the tribal militia had also to perform personal services, and this may have been considered derogatory., in orissa, on the other hand, the khandaits have become landholders and occupy a high position next to rajputs. the benetia sansias practise hypergamy with the khandait sansias, taking their daughters in marriage, but not giving daughters to them. when a benetia is marrying a khandait girl his party will not take food with the bride's relatives, but only partake of some sugar and curds and depart with the bride. the sansias have totemistic exogamous septs, usually derived from the names of sacred objects, as kachhap, tortoise, sankh, the conch-shell, tulsi, basil, and so on. 2. marriage customs girls are married between seven and ten, and after she is twelve years old a girl cannot go through the proper ceremony, but can only be wedded by a simple rite used for widows, in which vermilion is rubbed on her forehead and some grains of rice stuck on it. the marriage procession, as described by mr. rama prasad bohidar, is a gorgeous affair: "the drummers, all drunk, head the procession, beating their drums to the tune set by the piper. next in order are placed dancing-boys between two rows of lights carried on poles adorned with festoons of paper flowers. rockets and fireworks have their proper share in the procession, and last of all comes the bridegroom in his wedding apparel, mounted on a horse. his person is studded with various kinds of gold necklaces borrowed for the occasion, and the fingers of his right hand are covered with rings. bangles and chains of silver shine on his wrists and arms. his forehead is beautifully painted with ground sandalwood divided in the centre by a streak of vermilion. his head carries a crown of palm-leaves overlaid with bright paper of various colours. a network of _malti_ flowers hangs loosely from the head over the back and covers a portion of the loins of the steed. the eyes are painted with collyrium and the feet with red dye. the lips and teeth are also reddened by the betel-leaf, which the bridegroom chews in profusion. a silk cloth does the work of a belt, in which is fixed a dagger on the right side." here the red colour which predominates in the bridegroom's decorations is lucky for the reasons given in the article on lakhera; the blacking of the eyes is also considered to keep off evil spirits; betel-leaf is itself a powerful agent of magic and averter of spirits, and to the same end the bridegroom carries iron in the shape of the dagger. the ceremony is of the customary uriya type. on the seventh day of the wedding the husband and wife go to the river and bathe, throwing away the sacred threads worn at the time of marriage, and also those which have been tied round their wrists. on returning home the wife piles up seven brass vessels and seven stools one above the other and the husband kicks them over, this being repeated seven times. the husband then washes his teeth with water brought from the river, breaks the vessel containing the water in the bride's house, and runs away, while the women of her family throw pailfuls of coloured water over him. on the ninth day the bride comes and smears a mixture of curds and sugar on the forehead of each member of the bridegroom's family, probably as a sign of her admission to their clan, and returns home. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. 3. religion and worship of ancestors the caste worship viswakarma, the celestial architect, and on four principal festivals they revere their trade-implements and the book on architecture, by which they work. at dasahra a pumpkin is offered to these articles in lieu of a goat. they observe the _shraddh_ ceremony, and first make two offerings to the spirits of ancestors who have died a violent death or have committed suicide, and to those of relatives who died unmarried, for fear lest these unclean and malignant spirits should seize and defile the offerings to the beneficent ancestors. thereafter _pindas_ or sacrificial cakes are offered to three male and three female ancestors both on the father's and mother's side, twelve cakes being offered in all. the sansias eat the flesh of clean animals, but the consumption of liquor is strictly forbidden, on pain, it is said, of permanent exclusion from caste. 4. occupation in sambalpur the caste are usually stone-workers, making cups, mortars, images of idols and other articles. they also build tanks and wander from place to place for this purpose in large companies. it is related that on one occasion they came to dig a tank in drug, and the raja of that place, while watching their work, took a fancy to one of the odnis, as their women were called, and wanted her to marry him. but as she was already married, and was a virtuous woman, she refused. the raja persisted in his demand, on which the whole body of sansias from chhattisgarh, numbering, it is said, nine lakhs of persons, left their work and proceeded to wararbandh, near raj-nandgaon. here they dug the great tank of wararbandh [624] in one night to obtain a supply of water for themselves. but the raja followed them, and as they could not resist him by force, the woman whom he was pursuing burnt herself alive, and thus earned undying fame in the caste. this legend is perpetuated in the odni git, a popular folk-song in chhattisgarh. but it is a traditional story of the sansias in connection with large tanks, and in another version the scene is laid in gujarat. [625] savar list of paragraphs 1. _distribution and historical notices_. 2. _tribal legends_. 3. _tribal subdivisions_. 4. _marriage_. 5. _death ceremonies_. 6. _religion_. 7. _occupation_. 1. distribution and historical notices _savar, [626] sawara, savara, saonr, sahra_ (and several other variations. in bundelkhand the savars, there called saonrs, are frequently known by the honorific title of rawat).--a primitive tribe numbering about 70,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911, and principally found in the chhattisgarh districts and those of saugor and damoh. the eastern branch of the tribe belongs chiefly to the uriya country. the savars are found in large numbers in the madras districts of ganjam and vizagapatam and in orissa. they also live in the bundelkhand districts of the united provinces. the total number of savars enumerated in india in 1911 was 600,000, of which the bundelkhand districts contained about 100,000 and the uriya country the remainder. the two branches of the tribe are thus separated by a wide expanse of territory. as regards this peculiarity of distribution general cunningham says: "indeed there seems good reason to believe that the savaras were formerly the dominant branch of the great kolarian family, and that their power lasted down to a comparatively late period, when they were pushed aside by other kolarian tribes in the north and east, and by the gonds in the south. in the saugor district i was informed that the savaras had formerly fought with the gonds and that the latter had conquered them by treacherously making them drunk." [627] similarly cunningham notices that the zamindar of suarmar in raipur, which name is derived from savar, is a gond. a difference of opinion has existed as to whether the savars were kolarian or dravidian so far as their language was concerned, colonel dalton adopting the latter view and other authorities the former and correct one. in the central provinces the savars have lost their own language and speak the aryan hindi or uriya vernacular current around them. but in madras they still retain their original speech, which is classified by sir g. grierson as mundari or kolarian. he says: "the most southerly forms of munda speech are those spoken by the savars and gadabas of the north-east of madras. the former have been identified with the suari of pliny and the sabarae of ptolemy. a wild tribe of the same name is mentioned in sanskrit literature, even so far back as in late vedic times, as inhabiting the deccan, so that the name at least can boast great antiquity." [628] as to the origin of the name savar, general cunningham says that it must be sought for outside the language of the aryans. "in sanskrit _savara_ simply means 'a corpse.' from herodotus, however, we learn that the scythian word for an axe was _sagaris_, and as 'g' and 'v' are interchangeable letters _savar_ is the same word as _sagar_. it seems therefore not unreasonable to infer that the tribe who were so called took their name from their habit of carrying axes. now it is one of the striking peculiarities of the savars that they are rarely seen without an axe in their hands. the peculiarity has been frequently noticed by all who have seen them." [629] the above opinion of cunningham, which is of course highly speculative, is disputed by mr. crooke, who says that "the word savara, if it be, as some believe, derived from _sava_ a corpse, comes from the root _sav_ 'to cause to decay,' and need not necessarily therefore be of non-aryan origin, while on the other hand no distinct inference can be drawn from the use of the axe by the savars, when it is equally used by various other dravidian jungle tribes such as the korwas, bhuiyas and the like." [630] in the classical stories of their origin the first ancestor of the savars is sometimes described as a bhil. the word savar is mentioned in several sanskrit works written between 800 b.c. and a.d. 1200, and it seems probable that they are a munda tribe who occupied the tracts of country which they live in prior to the arrival of the gonds. the classical name savar has been corrupted into various forms. thus in the bundeli dialect '_ava_' changes into '_au_' and a nasal is sometimes interpolated. _savar_ has here become saunr or saonr. the addition of 'a' at the end of the word sometimes expresses contempt, and savar becomes savara as chamar is corrupted into _chamra_. in the uriya country 'v' is changed into 'b' and an aspirate is interpolated, and thus savara became sabra or sahara, as gaur has become gahra. the word sahara, mr. crooke remarks, [631] has excited speculation as to its derivation from arabic, in which sahara means a wilderness; and the name of the savars has accordingly been deduced from the same source as the great sahara desert. this is of course incorrect. 2. tribal legends various stories of the origin of the savars are given in sanskrit literature. in the aitareya brahmana they are spoken of as the descendants of vishwamitra, while in the mahabharat they are said to have been created by kamdhenu, vasishtha's wonder-working cow, in order to repel the aggression of vishwamitra. local tradition traces their origin to the celebrated seori of the ramayana, who is supposed to have lived somewhere near the present seorinarayan in the bilaspur district and to have given her name to this place. ramchandra in his wanderings met her there, ate the plums which she had gathered for him after tasting each one herself, and out of regard for her devotion permitted her name to precede his own of narayan in that given to the locality. another story makes one jara savar their original ancestor, who was said to have shot krishna in the form of a deer. another states that they were created for carrying stones for the construction of the great temple at puri and for dragging the car of jagannath, which they still do at the present time. yet another connecting them with the temple of jagannath states that their ancestor was an old bhil hermit called sawar, who lived in karod, two miles from seorinarayan. the god jagannath had at this time appeared in seorinarayan and the old sawar used to worship him. the king of orissa had built the great temple at puri and wished to install jagannath in it, and he sent a brahman to fetch him from seorinarayan, but nobody knew where he was except the old hermit sawar. the brahman besought him in vain to be allowed to see the god and even went so far as to marry his daughter, and finally the old man consented to take him blindfold to the place. the brahman, however, tied some mustard seeds in a corner of his cloth and made a hole in it so that they dropped out one by one on the way. after some time they grew up and served to guide him to the spot. this story of the mustard seeds of course finds a place in the folklore of many nations. the brahman then went to seorinarayan alone and begged the god to go to puri. jagannath consented, and assuming the form of a log of wood floated down the mahanadi to puri, where he was taken out and placed in the temple. a carpenter agreed to carve the god's image out of the log of wood on condition that the temple should be shut up for six months while the work was going on. but some curious people opened the door before the time and the work could not proceed, and thus the image of the god is only half carved out of the wood up to the present day. as a consolation to the old man the god ordained that the place should bear the hermit's name before his own as seorinarayan. lastly the saonrs of bundelkhand have the following tradition. in the beginning of creation mahadeo wished to teach the people how to cultivate the ground, and so he made a plough and took out his bull nandi to yoke to it but there was dense forest on the earth, so he created a being whom he called savar and gave him an axe to clear the forest. in the meantime mahadeo went away to get another bullock. the savar after clearing the forest felt very hungry, and finding nothing else to eat killed nandi and ate his flesh on a teak leaf. and for this reason the young teak leaves when rubbed give out sap which is the colour of blood to the present day. after some time mahadeo returned, and finding the forest well cleared was pleased with the savar, and as a reward endowed him with the knowledge of all edible and medicinal roots and fruits of the forest. but on looking round for nandi he found him lying dead with some of his flesh cut off. the savar pleaded ignorance, but mahadeo sprinkled a little nectar on nandi, who came to life again and told what had happened. then mahadeo was enraged with the savar and said, 'you shall remain a barbarian and dwell for ever in poverty in the jungles without enough to eat.' and accordingly this has always been the condition of the savar's descendants. other old authors speak of the parna or leaf-clad savars; and a savar messenger is described as carrying a bow in his hand "with his hair tied up in a knot behind with a creeper, black himself, and wearing a loin-cloth of _bhilawan_ leaves"; [632] an excellent example of 'a leaf-fringed legend.' 3. tribal subdivisions the bundelkhand savars have been so long separated from the others that they have sometimes forgotten their identity and consider themselves as a subtribe of gonds, though the better informed repudiate this. they may be regarded as a separate endogamous group. the eastern branch have two main divisions called laria and uriya, or those belonging to chhattisgarh and sambalpur respectively. a third division known as the kalapithia or 'black backs' are found in orissa, and are employed to drag the car of jagannath. these on account of their sacred occupation consider themselves superior to the others, abstain from fowls and liquor, and sometimes wear the sacred thread. the larias are the lowest subdivision. marriage is regulated by exogamous septs or _bargas_. the northern savars say that they have 52 of these, 52 being a number frequently adopted to express the highest possible magnitude, as if no more could be imagined. the uriya savars say they have 80 _bargas_. besides the prohibition of marriage within the same _barga_, the union of first cousins is sometimes forbidden. among the uriya savars each _barga_ has the two further divisions of joria and khuntia, the jorias being those who bury or burn their dead near a _jor_ or brook, and the khuntias those who bury or burn them near a _khunt_ or old tree. jorias and khuntias of the same _barga_ cannot intermarry, but in the case of some other subdivisions of the _barga_, as between those who eat rice at one festival in the year and those eating it at two, marriage is allowed between members of the two subdivisions, thus splitting the exogamous group into two. the names of the _bargas_ are usually totemistic, and the following are some examples: badaiya, the carpenter bird; bagh, the tiger; bagula, the heron; bahra, a cook; bhatia, a _brinjal_ or egg-plant; bisi, the scorpion; basantia, the trunk of the cotton tree; hathia, an elephant; jancher, a tree (this _barga_ is divided into bada and kachcha, the bada worshipping the tree and the kachcha a branch of it, and marriage between the two subdivisions is allowed); jharia (this _barga_ keeps a lock of a child's hair unshaved for four or five years after its birth); juadi, a gambler; karsa, a deer; khairaiya, the _khair_ or catechu tree; lodhi, born from the caste of that name (in saugor); markam, the name of a gond sept; rajhans, a swan; suriya bansia, from the sun (members of this _barga_ feed the caste-fellows on the occasion of a solar eclipse and throw away their earthen pots); silgainya from _sil_, a slate; and tiparia from _tipari_, a basket (these two septs are divided into kachcha and pakka groups which can marry with each other); sona, gold (a member of this sept does not wear gold ornaments until he has given a feast and a caste-fellow has placed one on his person). 4. marriage marriage is usually adult, but in places where the savars live near hindus they have adopted early marriage. a reason for preferring the latter custom is found in the marriage ceremony, when the bride and bridegroom must be carried on the shoulders of their relatives from the bride's house to the bridegroom's. if they are grown up, this part of the ceremony entails no inconsiderable labour on the relatives. in the uriya country, while the khuntia subdivision of each _barga_ see nothing wrong in marrying a girl after adolescence, the jorias consider it a great sin, to avoid which they sometimes marry a girl to an arrow before she attains puberty. an arrow is tied to her hand, and she goes seven times round a mahua branch stuck on an improvised altar, and drinks _ghi_ and oil, thus creating the fiction of a marriage. the arrow is then thrown into a river to imply that her husband is dead, and she is afterwards disposed of by the ceremony of widow-marriage. if this mock ceremony has not been performed before the girl becomes adult, she is taken to the forest by a relative and there tied to a tree, to which she is considered to be married. she is not taken back to her father's house but to that of some relative, such as her brother-in-law or grandfather, who is permitted to talk to her in an obscene and jesting manner, and is subsequently disposed of as a widow. or in sambalpur she may be nominally married to an old man and then again married as a widow. the savars follow generally the local hindu form of the marriage ceremony. on the return of the bridal pair seven lines are drawn in front of the entrance to the bridegroom's house. some relative takes rice and throws it at the persons returning with the marriage procession, and then pushes the pair hastily across the lines and into the house. they are thus freed from the evil spirits who might have accompanied them home and who are kept back by the rice and the seven lines. a price of rs. 5 is sometimes paid for the bride. in saugor if the bride's family cannot afford a wedding feast they distribute small pieces of bread to the guests, who place them in their head-cloths to show their acceptance of this substitute. to those guests to whom it is necessary to make presents five cowries are given. widow-marriage is allowed, and in some places the widow is bound to marry her late husband's younger brother unless he declines to take her. if she marries somebody else the new husband pays a sum by way of compensation either to her father or to the late husband's family. divorce is permitted on the husband's initiative for adultery or serious disagreement. if the wife wishes for a divorce she simply runs away from her husband. the laria savars must give a _marti-jiti ka bhat_ or death-feast on the occasion of a divorce. the uriyas simply pay a rupee to the headman of the caste. 5. death ceremonies the savars both burn and bury their dead, placing the corpse on the pyre with its head to the north, in the belief that heaven lies in that direction. on the eleventh day after the death in sambalpur those members of the caste who can afford it present a goat to the mourners. the savars believe that the souls of those who die become ghosts, and in bundelkhand they used formerly to bury the dead near their fields in the belief that the spirits would watch over and protect the crops. if a man has died a violent death they raise a small platform of earth under a teak or _saj_ tree, in which the ghost of the dead man is believed to take up its residence, and nobody thereafter may cut down that tree. the uriya savars take no special measures unless the ghost appears to somebody in a dream and asks to be worshipped as baghiapat (tiger-eaten) or masan (serpent-bitten). in such cases a _gunia_ or sorcerer is consulted, and such measures as he prescribes are taken to appease the dead man's soul. if a person dies without a child a hole is made in a stone, and his soul is induced to enter it by the _gunia_. a few grains of rice are placed in the hole, and it is then closed with melted lead to imprison the ghost, and the stone is thrown into a stream so that it may never be able to get out and trouble the family. savars offer water to the dead. a second wife usually wears a metal impression of the first wife by way of propitiation to her. 6. religion the savars worship bhawani under various names and also dulha deo, the young bridegroom who was killed by a tiger. he is located in the kitchen of every house in some localities, and this has given rise to the proverb, '_jai chulha, tai dulha_,' or 'there is a dulha deo to every hearth.' the savars are considered to be great sorcerers. '_sawara ke pange, rawat ke bandhe_,' or 'the man bewitched by a savar and the bullock tied up by a rawat (grazier) cannot escape'; and again, 'verily the saonr is a cup of poison.' their charms, called sabari _mantras_, are especially intended to appease the spirits of persons who have died a violent death. if one of their family was seriously ill they were accustomed formerly to set fire to the forest, so that by burning the small animals and insects which could not escape they might propitiate the angry gods. 7. occupation the dress of the savars is of the scantiest. the women wear _khilwan_ or pith ornaments in the ear, and abstain from wearing nose-rings, a traditional method of deference to the higher castes. the proverb has it, 'the ornaments of the sawara are _gumchi_ seeds.' these are the red and black seeds of _abrus precatorius_ which are used in weighing gold and silver and are called _rati_. women are tattooed and sometimes men also to avoid being pierced with a red-hot iron by the god of death. tattooing is further said to allay the sexual passion of women, which is eight times more intense than that of men. their occupations are the collection of jungle produce and cultivation. they are very clever in taking honeycombs: 'it is the savar who can drive the black bees from their hive.' the eastern branch of the caste is more civilised than the saonras of bundelkhand, who still sow juari with a pointed stick, saying that it was the implement given to them by mahadeo for this purpose. in saugor and damoh they employ brahmans for marriage ceremonies if they can afford it, but on other occasions their own caste priests. in some places they will take food from most castes but in others from nobody who is not a savar. sometimes they admit outsiders and in others the children only of irregular unions; thus a gond woman kept by a savar would not be recognised as a member of the caste herself but her children would be savars. a woman going wrong with an outsider of low caste is permanently excommunicated. sonjhara list of paragraphs 1. _origin and constitution of the caste_. 2. _totemism_. 3. _marriage_. 4. _customs at birth_ 5. _funeral rites_. 6. _religion._ 7. _social customs_. 8. _occupation_. 1. origin and constitution of the caste _sonjhara, jhara, jhora, jhira._--a small occupational caste who wash for gold in river-beds, belonging to the sambalpur, mandla, balaghat and chanda districts and the chota nagpur feudatory states. in 1911 they numbered about 1500 persons. the name probably comes from _sona_, gold, and _jharna_, to sweep or wash, though, when the term jhara only is used, some derive it from _jhori_ a streamlet. colonel dalton surmised that the sonjharas were an offshoot of the gonds, and this appears to be demonstrated by the fact that the names of their exogamous septs are identical with gond names as marabi, tekam, netam, dhurwa and madao. the sonjharas of bilaspur say that their ancestors were gonds who dwelt at lanji in balaghat. the caste relate the tradition that they were condemned by mahadeo to perpetual poverty because their first ancestor stole a little gold from parvatis crown when it fell into the river jamuna (in chota nagpur) and he was sent to fetch it out. the metal which is found in the river sands they hold to be the remains of a shower of gold which fell for two and a half days while the banaphar heroes alha and udal were fighting their great battle with prithvi raj, king of delhi. the caste is partly occupational, and recruited from different sources. this is shown by the fact that in chanda members of different septs will not eat together, though they are obliged to intermarry. in sambalpur the behra, patar, naik and padhan septs eat together and intermarry. two other septs, the kanar and peltrai who eat fowls and drink liquor, occupy a lower position, and members of the first four will not take food from them nor give daughters to them in marriage, though they will take daughters from these lower groups for their sons. here they have three subcastes, the laria or residents of chhattisgarh, the uriya belonging to the uriya country, and the bhuinhar, who may be an offshoot from the bhuiya tribe. 2. totemism they have one recorded instance of totemism, which is of some interest. members of the sept named after a tree called _kausa_ revere the tree and explain it by saying that their ancestor, when flying from some danger, sought protection from this tree, which thereupon opened and enfolded him in its trunk. no member of the sept will touch the tree without first bathing, and on auspicious occasions, such as births and weddings, they will dig up a little earth from the roots of the tree and taking this home worship it in the house. if any member of the sept finds that he has cut off a branch or other part of this tree unwittingly he will take and consign it to a stream, observing ceremonies of mourning. women of the nag or cobra sept will not mention the name of this snake aloud, just as they refrain from speaking the names of male relatives. 3. marriage marriage within the sept is forbidden, and they permit the intermarriage of the children of a brother and sister, but not of those of two sisters, though their husbands may be of different septs. marriage is usually adult except in sambalpur, where a girl must be provided with a husband before reaching maturity in accordance with the general rule among the uriya castes. in chhindwara it is said that the sonjharas revere the crocodile and that the presence of this animal is essential at their weddings. they do not, however, kill and eat it at a sacrificial feast as the singrore dhimars are reported to do, but catch and keep it alive, and when the ceremony is concluded take it back again and deposit it in a river. after a girl has been married neither her father nor any of her own near relatives will ever take food again in the house of her husband's family, saying that they would rather starve. each married couple also becomes a separate commensal group and will not eat with the parents of either of them. this is a common custom among low castes of mixed origin where every man is doubtful of his neighbour's parentage. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted, and a woman may be divorced merely on the ground of incompetence in household management or because she does not please her husband's parents. 4. customs at birth at child-birth they make a little separate hut for the mother near the river where they are encamped, and she remains in it for two days and a half. during this time her husband does no work; he stays a few paces distant from his wife's hut and prepares her food but does not go to the hut or touch her, and he kindles a fire between them. during the first two days the woman gets three handfuls of rice boiled thin in water, and on the third day she receives nothing until the evening, when the sendia or head of the sept takes a little cowdung, gold and silver in his hand, and pouring water over this gives her of it to drink as many times as the number of gods worshipped by her family up to seven. then she is pure. on this day the father sacrifices a chicken and gives a meal with liquor to the caste and names the child, calling it after one of his ancestors who is dead. then an old woman beats on a brass plate and calls out the name which has been given in a loud voice to the whole camp so that they may all know the child's name. in bilaspur the sonjharas observe the custom of the couvade, and for six days after the birth of a child the husband lies prone in his house, while the wife gets up and goes to work, coming home to give suck to the child when necessary. the man takes no food for three days and on the fourth is given ginger and raw sugar, thus undergoing the ordinary treatment of a woman after childbirth. this is supposed by them to be a sort of compensation for the labours sustained by the woman in bearing the child. the custom obtains among some other primitive races, but is now rapidly being abandoned by the sonjharas. 5. funeral rites the bodies of the old are cremated as a special honour, and those of other persons are buried. no one other than a member of the dead man's family may touch his corpse under a penalty of five rupees. a relative will remove the body and bury it with the feet pointing to the river or burn it by the water's edge. they mourn a child for one day and an adult for four days, and at the end the mourner is shaved and provides liquor for the community. if there be no relative, since no other man can touch the corpse, they fire the hut over it and burn it as it is lying or bury hut and body under a high mound of sand. 6. religion their principal deities are dulha deo, the boy bridegroom, nira his servant, and kauria a form of devi. nira lives under an _umar_ [633] tree and he and dulha deo his master are worshipped every third year in the month of magh (january). kauria is also worshipped once in three years on a sunday in the month of magh with an offering of a cocoanut, and in her honour they never sit on a cot nor sleep on a stool because they think that the goddess has her seat on these articles. the real reason, however, is probably that the sonjharas consider the use of such furniture an indication of a settled life and permanent residence, and therefore abjure it as being wanderers. some analogous customs have been recorded of the banjaras. they also revere the spirit of one of their female ancestors who became a sati. they sacrifice a goat to the _genius loci_ or spirit haunting the spot where they decide to start work; and they will leave it for fear of angering this spirit, which is said to appear in the form of a tiger, should they make a particularly good find. [634] they never keep dogs, and it is said that they are defiled by the touch of a dog and will throw away their food if one comes near them during their meal. the same rule applies to a cat, and they will throw away an earthen vessel touched by either of these animals. on the diwali day they wash their implements, and setting them up near the huts worship them with offerings of a cocoanut and vermilion. 7. social customs their rule is always to camp outside a village at a distance of not less than a mile. in the rains they make huts with a roof of bamboos sloping from a central ridge and walls of matting. the huts are built in one line and do not touch each other, at least a cubit's distance being left between each. each hut has one door facing the east. as a rule they avoid the water of village wells and tanks, though it is not absolutely forbidden. each man digs a shallow well in the sand behind his hut and drinks the water from it, and no man may drink the water of his neighbour's well; if he should do so or if any water from his well gets into his neighbour's, the latter is abandoned and a fresh one made. if the ground is too swampy for wells they collect the water in their wooden washing-tray and fill their vessels from it. in the cold weather they make little leaf-huts on the sand or simply camp out in the open, but they must never sleep under a tree. when living in the open each family makes two fires and sleeps together between them. some of them have their stomachs burned and blackened from sleeping too near the fire. the sonjharas will not take cooked food from the hands of any other caste, but their social status is very low, about equivalent to that of the parent gond tribe. they have no fear of wild animals, not even the children. perhaps they think that as fellow-denizens of the jungle these animals are kin to them and will not injure them. 8. occupation the traditional occupation of the caste is to wash gold from the sandy beds of streams, while they formerly also washed for diamonds at hirakud on the mahanadi near sambalpur and at wairagarh in chanda. the industry is decaying, and in 1901 only a quarter of the total number of sonjharas were still employed in it. some have become cultivators and fishermen, while others earn their livelihood by sweeping up the refuse dirt of the workshops of goldsmiths and brass-workers; they wash out the particles of metal from this and sell it back to the sunars. the mahanadi and jonk rivers in sambalpur, the banjar in mandla, the son and other rivers in balaghat, and the wainganga and the eastern streams of chanda contain minute particles of gold. the washers earn a miserable and uncertain livelihood, and indeed appear not to desire anything beyond a bare subsistence. in bhandara [635] it is said that they avoid any spot where they have previously been lucky, while in chanda they have a superstition that a person making a good find of gold will be childless, and hence many dread the search. [636] when they set out to look for gold they wash three small trayfuls at three places about five cubits apart. if they find no appreciable quantity of gold they go on for one or two hundred yards and wash three more trayfuls, and proceed thus until they find a profitable place where they will halt for two or three days. a spot [637] in the dry river-bed is usually selected at the outside of a bend, where the finer sediment is likely to be found; after removing the stones and pebbles from above, the sand below is washed several times in circular wooden cradles, shaped like the top of an umbrella, of diminishing sizes, until all the clay is removed and fine particles of sand mixed with gold are visible. a large wooden spoon is used to stir up the sediment, which is washed and rubbed by hand to separate the gold more completely from the sand, and a blackish residue is left, containing particles of gold and mercury coloured black with oxide of iron. mercury is used to pick up the gold with which it forms an amalgam. this is evaporated in a clay cupel called a _ghariya_ by which the mercury is got rid of and the gold left behind. sudh _sudh, [638] sudha, sudho, suda_.--a cultivating caste in the uriya country. since the transfer of sambalpur to bengal only a few sudhs remain in the central provinces. they are divided into four subcastes--the bada or high sudhs, the dehri or worshippers, the kabat-konia or those holding the corners of the gate, and the butka. these last are the most primitive and think that rairakhol is their first home. they relate that they were born of the pandava hero bhimsen and the female demon hedembiki, and were originally occupied in supplying leaves for the funeral ceremonies of the pandava brothers, from which business they obtained their name of butka or 'one who brings leaves.' they are practically a forest tribe and carry on shifting cultivation like the khonds. according to their own story the ancestors of the butka sudhs once ruled in rairakhol and reclaimed the land from the forest, that is so far as it has been reclaimed. the following story connects them with the ruling family of rairakhol. in former times there was constant war between bamra and rairakhol, and on one occasion the whole of the rairakhol royal family was destroyed with the exception of one boy who was hidden by a butka sudh woman. she placed him in a cradle supported on four uprights, and when the bamra raja's soldiers came to seek for him the sudhs swore, "if we have kept him either in heaven or earth may our god destroy us." the bamra people were satisfied with this reply and the child was saved, and on coming to manhood he won back his kingdom. he received the name of janamani or 'jewel among men,' which the family still bear. in consequence of this incident, the butka sudhs are considered by the rairakhol house as relations on their mother's side; they have several villages allotted to them and perform sacrifices for the ruling family. in some of these villages nobody may sleep on a cot or sit on a high chair, so as to be between heaven and earth in the position in which the child was saved. the bada sudhs are the most numerous subdivision and have generally adopted hindu customs, so that the higher castes will take water from their hands. they neither drink liquor nor eat fowls, but the other subcastes do both. the sudhs have totemistic _gotras_ as bhalluka (bear), bagh (tiger), ulluka (owl), and others. they also have _bargas_ or family names as thakur (lord), danaik, amayat and bishi. the thakur clan say that they used to hold the baud kings in their lap for their coronation, and the danaik used to tie the king's turban. the bishi were so named because of their skill in arms, and the amayat collected materials for the worship of the panch khanda or five swords. the _bargas_ are much more numerous than the totemistic septs, and marriage either within the _barga_ or within the sept is forbidden. girls must be married before adolescence; and in the absence of a suitable husband, the girl is married to an old man who divorces her immediately afterwards, and she may then take a second husband at any time by the form for widow-remarriage. a betrothal is sealed by tying an areca-nut in a knot made from the clothes of a relative of each party and pounding it seven times with a pestle. after the marriage a silver ring is placed in a pot of water, over the mouth of which a leaf-plate is bound. the bridegroom pierces the leaf-plate with a knife, and the bride then thrusts her hand through the hole, picks out the ring and puts it on. the couple then go inside the house and sit down to a meal. the bridegroom, after eating part of his food, throws the leavings on to the bride's plate. she stops eating in displeasure, whereupon the bridegroom promises her some ornaments, and she relents and eats his leavings. it is customary for a hindu wife to eat the leavings of food of her husband as a mark of her veneration for him. divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. the sudhs worship the panch khanda or five swords, and in the central provinces they say that these are a representation of the five pandava brothers, in whose service their first ancestors were engaged. their tutelary goddess is khambeshwari, represented by a wooden peg (_khamba_). she dwells in the wilds of the baud state and is supposed to fulfil all the desires of the sudhs. liquor, goats, buffaloes, vermilion and swallow-wort flowers are offered to her, the last two being in representation of blood. the dehri sudhs worship a goddess called kandrapat who dwells always on the summits of hills. it is believed that whenever worship is concluded the roar of her tiger is heard, and the worshippers then leave the place and allow the tiger to come and take the offerings. the goddess would therefore appear to be the deified tiger. the bada sudhs rank with the cultivating castes of sambalpur, but the other three subcastes have a lower position. sunar list of paragraphs 1. _general notice of the caste_. 2. _internal structure_. 3. _marriage and other customs_. 4. _religion_. 5. _social position_. 6. _manufacture of ornaments_. 7. _the sanctity of gold_. 8. _ornaments. the marriage ornaments_. 9. _beads and other ornaments_. 10. _ear-piercing._ 11. _origin of ear-piercing._ 12. _ornaments worn as amulets_. 13. _audhia sunars_. 14. _the sunar as money-changer._ 15. _malpractices of lower-class sunars_. 1. general notice of the caste sunar, [639] sonar, soni, hon-potdar, saraf.--the occupational caste of goldsmiths and silversmiths. the name is derived from the sanskrit _suvarna kar_, a worker in gold. in 1911 the sunars numbered 96,000 persons in the central provinces and 30,000 in berar. they live all over the province and are most numerous in the large towns. the caste appears to be a functional one of comparatively recent formation, and there is nothing on record as to its origin, except a collection of brahmanical legends of the usual type. the most interesting of these as related by sir h. risley is as follows: [640] "in the beginning of time, when the goddess devi was busy with the construction of mankind, a giant called sonwa-daitya, whose body consisted entirely of gold, devoured her creations as fast as she made them. to baffle this monster the goddess created a goldsmith, furnished him with the tools of his art, and instructed him how to proceed. when the giant proposed to eat him, the goldsmith suggested to him that if his body were polished his appearance would be vastly improved, and asked to be allowed to undertake the job. with the characteristic stupidity of his tribe the giant fell into the trap, and having had one finger polished was so pleased with the result that he agreed to be polished all over. for this purpose, like aetes in the greek legend of medea, he had to be melted down, and the goldsmith, who was to get the body as his perquisite, giving the head only to devi, took care not to put him together again. the goldsmith, however, overreached himself. not content with his legitimate earnings, he must needs steal a part of the head, and being detected in this by devi, he and his descendants were condemned to be for ever poor." the sunars also have a story that they are the descendants of one of two rajput brothers, who were saved as boys by a saraswat brahman from the wrath of parasurama when he was destroying the kshatriyas. the descendants of the other brother were the khatris. this is the same story as is told by the khatris of their own origin, but they do not acknowledge the connection with sunars, nor can the sunars allege that saraswat brahmans eat with them as they do with khatris. in gujarat they have a similar legend connecting them with banias. in bombay they also claim to be brahmans, and in the central provinces a caste of goldsmiths akin to the sunars call themselves vishwa brahmans. on the other hand, before and during the time of the peshwas, sunars were not allowed to wear the sacred thread, and they were forbidden to hold their marriages in public, as it was considered unlucky to see a sunar bridegroom. sunar bridegrooms were not allowed to see the state umbrella or to ride in a palanquin, and had to be married at night and in secluded places, being subject to restrictions and annoyances from which even mahars were free. [641] their _raison d'être_ may possibly be found in the fact that the brahmans, all-powerful in the poona state, were jealous of the pretensions of the sunars, and devised these rules as a means of suppressing them. it may be suggested that the sunars, being workers at an important urban industry, profitable in itself and sanctified by its association with the sacred metal gold, aspired to rank above the other artisans, and put forward the pretensions already mentioned, because they felt that their position was not commensurate with their deserts. but the sunar is included in grant-duff's list of the twenty-four village menials of a maratha village, and consequently he would in past times have ranked below the cultivators, from whom he must have accepted the annual presents of grain. 2. internal structure the caste have a number of subdivisions, nearly all of which are of the territorial class and indicate the various localities from which it has been recruited in these provinces. the most important subcastes are the audhia from ajodhia or oudh; the purania or old settlers; the bundelkhandi from bundelkhand; the malwi from malwa; the lad from lat, the old name for the southern portion of gujarat; and the mair, who appear to have been the first immigrants from upper india and are named after mair, the original ancestor, who melted down the golden demon. other small groups are the patkars, so called because they allow _pat_ or widow-marriage, though, as a matter of fact, it is permitted by the great majority of the caste; the pandhare or 'white sunars'; and the ahir sunars, whose ancestors must presumably have belonged to the caste whose name they bear. the caste have also numerous _bainks_ or exogamous septs, which differ entirely from the long lists given for bengal and the united provinces, and show, as mr. crooke remarks, the extreme fertility with which sections of this kind spring up. in the central provinces the names are of a titular or territorial nature. examples of the former kind, that is, a title or nickname supposed to have been borne by the sept's founder, are: dantele, one who has projecting teeth; kale, black; munde, bald; kolhimare, a killer of jackals; and ladaiya, a jackal or a quarrelsome person. among the territorial names are narwaria from narwar; bhilsainyan from bhilsa; kanaujia from kanauj; dilliwal from delhi; kalpiwal from kalpi. besides the _bainks_ or septs by which marriage is regulated, they have adopted the brahmanical eponymous _gotra_-names as kashyap, garg, sandilya, and so on. these are employed on ceremonial occasions as when a gift is made for the purpose of obtaining religious merit, and the _gotra-_ name of the owner is recorded, but they do not influence marriage. the use of them is a harmless vanity analogous to the assumption of distinguished surnames by people who were not born to them. 3. marriage and other customs marriage is forbidden within the sept. in some localities persons descended from a common ancestor may not intermarry for five generations, but in others a brother's daughter may be wedded to a sister's son. a man is forbidden to marry two sisters while both are alive, and after his wife's death he may espouse her younger sister, but not her elder one. girls are usually wedded at a tender age, but some sunars have hitherto had a rule that neither a girl nor a boy should be married until they had had smallpox, the idea being that there can be no satisfactory basis for a contract of marriage while either party is still exposed to such a danger to life and personal appearance; just as it might be considered more prudent not to buy a young dog until it had had distemper. but with the spread of vaccination the sunars are giving up this custom. the marriage ceremony follows the hindustani or maratha ritual according to locality. [642] in betul the mother of the bride ties the mother of the bridegroom to a pole with the ropes used for tethering buffaloes and beats her with a piece of twisted cloth, until the bridegroom's mother gives her a present of money or cloth and is released. the ceremony may be designed to express the annoyance of the bride's mother at being deprived of her daughter. polygamy is permitted, but people will not give their daughter to a married man if they can find a bachelor husband for her. well-to-do sunars who desire increased social distinction prohibit the marriage of widows, but the caste generally allow it. 4. religion the caste venerate the ordinary hindu deities, and many of them have sects and return themselves as vaishnavas, saivas or saktas. in some places they are said to make a daily offering to their melting-furnace so that it may bring them in a profit. when a child has been born they make a sacrifice of a goat to dulha deo, the marriage-god, on the following dasahra festival, and the body of this must be eaten by the family only, no outsider being allowed to participate. in hoshangabad it is stated that on the night before the dasahra festival all the sunars assemble beside a river and hold a feast. each of them is then believed to take an oath that he will not during the coming year disclose the amount of the alloy which a fellow-craftsman may mix with the precious metals. any sunar who violates this agreement is put out of caste. on the 15th day of jeth (may) the village sunar stops work for five days and worships his implements after washing them. he draws pictures of the goddess devi on a piece of paper and goes round the village to affix them to the doors of his clients, receiving in return a small present. the caste usually burn their dead and take the ashes to the nerbudda or ganges; those living to the south of the nerbudda always stop at this river, because they think that if they crossed it to go to the ganges, the nerbudda would be offended at their not considering it good enough. if a man meets with a violent death and his body is lost, they construct a small image of him and burn this with all the proper ceremonies. mourning is observed for ten or thirteen days, and the _shraddh_ ceremony is performed on the anniversary of a death, while the usual oblations are offered to the ancestors during the fortnight of pitr paksh in kunwar (september). 5. social position the more ambitious members of the caste abjure all flesh and liquor, and wear the sacred thread. these will not take cooked food even from a brahman. others do not observe these restrictions. brahmans will usually take water from sunars, especially from those who wear the sacred thread. owing to their association with the sacred metal gold, and the fact that they generally live in towns or large villages, and many of their members are well-to-do, the sunars occupy a fairly high position, ranking equal with, or above the cultivating castes. but, as already stated, the goldsmith was a village menial in the maratha villages, and sir d. ibbetson thinks that the jat really considers the sunar to be distinctly inferior to himself. 6. manufacture of ornaments the sunar makes all kinds of ornaments of gold and silver, being usually supplied with the metal by his customers. he is paid according to the weight of metal used, the rate varying from four annas to two rupees with an average of a rupee per tola weight of metal for gold, and from one to two annas per tola weight of silver. [643] the lowness of these rates is astonishing when compared with those charged by european jewellers, being less than 10 per cent on the value of the metal for quite delicate ornaments. the reason is partly that ornaments are widely regarded as a means for the safe keeping of money, and to spend a large sum on the goldsmith's labour would defeat this end, as it would be lost on the reconversion of the ornaments into cash. articles of elaborate workmanship are also easily injured when worn by women who have to labour in the fields or at home. these considerations have probably retarded the development of the goldsmith's art, except in a few isolated localities where it may have had the patronage of native courts, and they account for the often clumsy form and workmanship of his ornaments. the value set on the products of skilled artisans in early times is nevertheless shown by the statement in m'crindle's _ancient india_ that any one who caused an artisan to lose the use of an eye or a hand was put to death. [644] in england the jeweller's profit on his wares is from 33 to 50 per cent or more, in which, of course, allowance is made for the large amount of capital locked up in them and the time they may remain on his hands. but the difference in rates is nevertheless striking, and allowance must be made for it in considering the bad reputation which the sunar has for mixing alloy with the metal. gold ornaments are simply hammered or punched into shape or rudely engraved, and are practically never cast or moulded. they are often made hollow from thin plate or leaf, the interior being filled up with lac. silver ones are commonly cast in saugor and jubbulpore, but rarely elsewhere. the sunar's trade appears now to be fairly prosperous, but during the famines it was greatly depressed and many members of the caste took to other occupations. many sunars make small articles of brass, such as chains, bells and little boxes. others have become cultivators and drive the plough themselves, a practice which has the effect of spoiling their hands, and also prevents them from giving their sons a proper training. to be a good sunar the hands must be trained from early youth to acquire the necessary delicacy of touch. the sunar's son sits all day with his father watching him work and handling the ornaments. formerly the sunar never touched a plough. like the pekin ivory painter- from early dawn he works; and all day long, and when night comes the lamp lights up his studious forehead and thin hands. 7. the sanctity of gold as already stated, the sunar obtains some social distinction from working in gold, which is a very sacred metal with the hindus. gold ornaments must not on this account be worn below the waist, as to do so would be considered an indignity to the holy material. maratha and khedawal brahman women will not have ornaments for the head and arms of any baser metal than gold. if they cannot afford gold bracelets they wear only glass ones. other castes should, if they can afford it, wear only gold on the head. and at any rate the nose-ring and small earrings in the upper ear should be of gold if worn at all. when a man is at the point of death, a little gold, ganges water, and a leaf of the _tulsi_ or basil plant are placed in his mouth, so that these sacred articles may accompany him to the other world. so valuable as a means of securing a pure death is the presence of gold in the mouth that some castes have small pieces inserted into a couple of their upper teeth, in order that wherever and whenever they may die, the gold may be present to purify them. [645] a similar idea was prevalent in europe. _aurum potabile_ [646] or drinkable gold was a favourite nostrum of the middle ages, because gold being perfect should produce perfect health; and patients when _in extremis_ were commonly given water in which gold had been washed. and the belief is referred to by shakespeare: therefore, thou best of gold art worst of gold: other, less fine in carat, is more precious, preserving life in medicine potable. [647] the metals which are used for currency, gold, silver and copper, are all held sacred by the hindus, and this is easily explained on the grounds of their intrinsic value and their potency when employed as coin. it may be noted that when the nickel anna coinage was introduced, it was held in some localities that the coins could not be presented at temples as this metal was not sacred. 8. ornaments. the marriage ornaments it can scarcely also be doubted in view of this feeling that the wearing of both gold and silver in ornaments is considered to have a protective magical effect, like that attributed to charms and amulets. and the suggestion has been made that this was the object with which all ornaments were originally worn. professor robertson smith remarks: [648] "jewels, too, such as women wore in the sanctuary, had a sacred character; the syriac word for an earring is _c' dasha_, 'the holy thing,' and generally speaking, jewels serve as amulets. as such they are mainly worn to protect the chief organs of action (the hands and feet), but especially the orifices of the body, as earrings; nose-rings hanging over the mouth; jewels on the forehead hanging down and protecting the eyes." the precious metals, as has been seen, are usually sacred among primitive people, and when made into ornaments they have the same sanctity and protective virtue as jewels. the subject has been treated [649] with great fullness of detail by sir j. campbell, and the different ornaments worn by hindu women of the central provinces point to the same conclusion. the _bindia_ or head ornament of a maratha brahman woman consists of two chains of silver or gold and in the centre an image of a cobra erect. this is shesh-nag, the sacred snake, who spreads his hood over all the _lingas_ of mahadeo and is placed on the woman's head to guard her in the same way. the kurmis and other castes do not have shesh-nag, but instead the centre of the _bindia_ consists of an ornament known as _bija_, which represents the custard-apple, the sacred fruit of sita. the _nathni_ or nose-ring, which was formerly confined to high-caste women, represents the sun and moon. the large hoop circle is the sun, and underneath in the part below the nose is a small segment, which is the crescent moon and is hidden when the ornament is in wear. on the front side of this are red stones, representing the sun, and on the underside white ones for the moon. the _nathni_ has some mysterious connection with a woman's virtue, and to take off her nose-ring--_nathni utdarna_--signifies to dishonour a woman (platts). in northern india women wear the nose-ring very large and sometimes cover it with a piece of cloth to guard it from view or keep it in _parda_. it is possible that the practice of hindu husbands of cutting off the nose of a wife detected in adultery has some similar association, and is partly intended to prevent her from again wearing a nose-ring. the toe ornament of a high-caste woman is called _bichhia_ and it represents a scorpion (_bichhu_). a ring on the big toe stands for the scorpion's head, a silver chain across the foot ending in another ring on the little toe is his body, and three rings with high projecting knobs on the middle toes are the joints of his tail folded back. it is of course supposed that the ornament protects the feet from scorpion bites. these three ornaments, the _bindia_, the _nathni_ and the _bichhia_, must form part of the sohag or wedding dowry of every high-caste hindu girl in the northern districts, and she cannot be married without them. but if the family is poor a _laong_ or gold stud to be worn in the nose may be substituted for the nose-ring. this stud, as its name indicates, is in the form of a clove, which is sacred food and is eaten on fast-days. burning cloves are often used to brand children for cold; a fresh one being employed for each mark. a widow may not wear any of these ornaments; she is always impure, being perpetually haunted by the ghost of her dead husband, and they could thus be of no advantage to her; while, on the other hand, her wearing them would probably be considered a kind of sacrilege or pollution of the holy ornaments. 9. beads and other ornaments in the maratha districts an essential feature of a wedding is the hanging of the _mangal-sutram_ or necklace of black beads round the bride's neck. all beads which shine and reflect the light are considered to be efficacious in averting the evil eye, and a peculiar virtue, sir j. campbell states, attaches to black beads. a woman wears the _mangalsutram_ or marriage string of beads all her life, and considers that her husband's life is to some extent bound up in it. if she breaks the thread she will not say 'my thread is broken,' but 'my thread has increased'; and she will not let her husband see her until she has got a new thread, as she thinks that to do so would cause his death. the many necklaces of beads worn by the primitive tribes and the strings of blue beads tied round the necks of oxen and ponies have the same end in view. a similar belief was probably partly responsible for the value set on precious stones as ornaments, and especially on diamonds, which sparkle most of all. the pearl is very sacred among the hindus, and madrasis put a pearl into the mouth at the time of death instead of gold. partly at least for this purpose pearls are worn set in a ring of gold in the ear, so that they may be available at need. coral is also highly esteemed as an amulet, largely because it is supposed to change colour. the coral given to babies to suck may have been intended to render the soft and swollen gums at teething hard like the hard red stone. another favourite shape for beads of gold is that of grains of rice, rice being a sacred grain. the gold ornament called _kantha_ worn on the neck has carvings of the flowers of the _singara_ or water-nut this is a holy plant, the eating of which on fast-days gives purity. hence women think that water thrown over the carved flowers of the ornament when bathing will have greater virtue to purify their bodies. another favourite ornament is the _hamel_ or necklace of rupees. the sanctity of coined metal would probably be increased by the royal image and superscription and also by its virtue as currency. mr. nunn states that gold mohur coins are still made solely for the purpose of ornament, being commonly engraved with the formula of belief of islam and worn by muhammadans as a charm. suspended to the _hamel_ or necklace of rupees in front is a silver pendant in the shape of a betel-leaf, this leaf being very efficacious in magic; and on this is carved either the image of hanuman, the god of strength, or a peacock's feather as a symbol of kartikeya, the god of war. the silver bar necklet known as _hasli_ is intended to resemble the collar-bone. children carried in their mother's cloth are liable to be jarred and shaken against her body, so that the collar-bone is bruised and becomes painful. it is thought that the wearing of a silver collar-bone will prevent this, just as silver eyes are offered in smallpox to protect the sufferer's eyes and a silver wire to save his throat from being choked. little children sometimes have round the waist a band of silver beads which is called _bora_; these beads are meant to resemble the smallpox pustules and the _bora_ protects the wearer from smallpox. there are usually 84 beads, this number being lucky among the hindus. at her wedding a hindu bride must wear a wristlet of nine little cones of silver like the _kalas_ or pinnacle of a temple. this is called _nau-graha_ or _nau-giri_ and represents the nine planets which are worshipped at weddings--that is, the sun, moon and the five planets, mars, mercury, jupiter, venus and saturn, which were known to the ancients and gave their names to the days of the week in many of the aryan languages; while the remaining two are said to have been rahu and ketu, the nodes of the moon and the demons which cause eclipses. the _bonhta_ or _bankra_, the rigid circular bangle on the upper arm, is supposed to make a woman's arm stronger by the pressure exercised on the veins and muscles. circular ornaments worn on the legs similarly strengthen them and prevent a woman from getting stiffness or pins and needles in her legs after long squatting on the ground. the _chutka_, a large silver ring worn by men on the big toe, is believed to attract to itself the ends of all the veins and ligaments from the navel downwards, and hold them all braced in their proper position, thus preventing rupture. on their feet children and young girls wear the _paijan_ or hollow anklet with tinkling balls inside. but when a married woman has had two or three children she leaves off the _paijan_ and wears a solid anklet like the _tora_ or _kasa_. it is now said that the reason why girls wear sounding anklets is that their whereabouts may be known and they may be prevented from getting into mischief in dark corners. but the real reason was probably that they served as spirit scarers, which they would do in effect by frightening away snakes, scorpions and noxious insects; for it is clear that the bites of such reptiles and insects, which often escape unseen, must be largely responsible for the vast imaginative fabric of the belief in evil spirits, just as professor robertson smith demonstrates that the _jins_ or _genii_ of arabia were really wild animals. [650] in india, owing to the early age of marriage and the superstitious maltreatment of women at child-birth, the mortality among girls at this period is very high; and the hindus, ignorant of the true causes, probably consider them especially susceptible to the attacks of evil spirits. 10. ear-piercing before treating of ear-ornaments it will be convenient to mention briefly the custom of ear-piercing. this is universal among hindus and muhammadans, both male and female, and the operation is often performed by the sunar. the lower hindu castes and the gonds consider piercing the ears to be the mark of admission to the caste community. it is done when the child is four or five years old, and till then he or she is not considered to be a member of the caste and may consequently take food from anybody. the raj-gonds will not have the ears of their children pierced by any one but a sunar; and for this they give him _sidha_ or a seer [651] of wheat, a seer of rice and an anna. hindus employ a sunar when one is available, but if not, an old man of the family may act. after the piercing a peacock's feather or some stalks of grass or straw are put in to keep the hole open and enlarge it. a hindu girl has her ear pierced in five places, three being in the upper ear, one in the lobe and one in the small flap over the orifice. muhammadans make a large number of holes all down the ear and in each of these they place a gold or silver ring, so that the ears are dragged down by the weight. similarly their women will have ten or fifteen bangles on the legs. the hindus also have this custom in bhopal, but if they do it in the central provinces they are chaffed with having become muhammadans. in the upper ear hindu women have an ornament in the shape of the _genda_ or marigold, a sacred flower which is offered to all the deities. the holes in the upper and middle ear are only large enough to contain a small ring, but that in the lobe is greatly distended among the lower castes. the _tarkhi_ or gond ear-ornament consists of a glass plate fixed on to a stem of _ambari_ fibre nearly an inch thick, which passes through the lobe. as a consequence the lower rim is a thin pendulous strip of flesh, very liable to get torn. but to have the hole torn open is one of the worst social mishaps which can happen to a woman. she is immediately put out of caste for a long period, and only readmitted after severe penalties, equivalent to those inflicted for getting vermin in a wound. when a woman gets her ear torn she sits weeping in her house and refuses to be comforted. at the ceremony of readmission a sunar is sometimes called in who stitches up the ear with silver thread. [652] low-caste hindu and gond women often wear a large circular embossed silver ornament over the ear which is known as _dhara_ or shield and is in the shape of an indian shield. this is secured by chains to the hair and apparently affords some support to the lower part of the ear, which it also covers. its object seems to be to shield and protect the lobe, which is so vulnerable in a woman, and hence the name. a similar ornament worn in bengal is known as _dhenri_ and consists of a shield-shaped disk of gold, worn on the lobe of the ear, sometimes with and sometimes without a pendant. [653] 11. origin of ear-piercing the character of the special significance which apparently attaches to the custom of ear-piercing is obscure. dr. jevons considers that it is merely a relic of the practice of shedding the blood of different parts of the body as an offering to the deity, and analogous to the various methods of self-mutilation, flagellation and gashing of the flesh, whose common origin is ascribed to the same custom. "to commend themselves and their prayers the quiches pierced their ears and gashed their arms and offered the sacrifice of their blood to their gods. the practice of drawing blood from the ears is said by bastian to be common in the orient; and lippert conjectures that the marks left in the ears were valued as visible and permanent indications that the person possessing them was under the protection of the god with whom the worshipper had united himself by his blood offering. in that case earrings were originally designed, not for ornament, but to keep open and therefore permanently visible the marks of former worship. the marks or scars left on legs or arms from which blood had been drawn were probably the origin of tattooing, as has occurred to various anthropologists." [654] this explanation, while it may account for the general custom of ear-piercing, does not explain the special guilt imputed by the hindus to getting the lobe of the ear torn. apparently the penalty is not imposed for the tearing of the upper part of the ear, and it is not known whether men are held liable as well as women; but as large holes are not made in the upper ear at all, nor by men in the lobe, such cases would very seldom occur. the suggestion may be made as a speculation that the continuous distension of the lobe of the ear by women and the large hole produced is supposed to have some sympathetic effect in opening the womb and making child-birth more easy. the tearing of the ear might then be considered to render, the women incapable of bearing a child, and the penalties attached to it would be sufficiently explained. 12. ornaments worn as amulets the above account of the ornaments of a hindu woman is sufficient to show that her profuse display of them is not to be attributed, as is often supposed, to the mere desire for adornment. each ornament originally played its part in protecting some limb or feature from various dangers of the seen or unseen world. and though the reasons which led to their adoption have now been to a large extent forgotten and the ornaments are valued for themselves, the shape and character remain to show their real significance. women as being weaker and less accustomed to mix in society are naturally more superstitious and fearful of the machinations of spirits. and the same argument applies in greater degree to children. the hindus have probably recognised that children are very delicate and succumb easily to disease, and they could scarcely fail to have done so when statistics show that about a quarter of all the babies born in india die in the first year of age. but they do not attribute the mortality to its real causes of congenital weakness arising from the immaturity of the parents, insanitary treatment at and after birth, unsuitable food, and the general frailty of the undeveloped organism. they ascribe the loss of their offspring solely to the machinations of jealous deities and evil spirits, and the envy and admiration of other people, especially childless women and witches, who cast the evil eye upon them. and in order to guard against these dangers their bodies are decorated with amulets and ornaments as a means of protection. but the result is quite other than that intended, and the ornaments which are meant to protect the children from the imaginary terrors of the evil eye, in reality merely serve as a whet to illicit cupidity, and expose them a rich, defenceless prey to the violence of the murderer and the thief. 13. audhia sunars the audhia sunars usually work in bell-metal, an alloy of copper or tin and pewter. when used for ornaments the proportion of tin or pewter is increased so as to make them of a light colour, resembling silver as far as may be. women of the higher castes may wear bell-metal ornaments only on their ankles and feet, and maratha and khedawal brahmans may not wear them at all. in consequence of having adopted this derogatory occupation, as it is considered, the audhia sunars are looked down on by the rest of the caste. they travel about to the different village markets carrying their wares on ponies; among these, perhaps, the favourite ornament is the _kara_ or curved bar anklets, which the audhia works on to the purchaser's feet for her, forcing them over the heels with a piece of iron like a shoe-horn. the process takes time and is often painful, the skin being rasped by the iron. the woman is supported by a friend as her foot is held up behind, and is sometimes reduced to cries and tears. high-caste women do not much affect the _kara_ as they object to having their foot grasped by the sunar. they wear instead a chain anklet which they can work on themselves. the sunars set precious stones in ornaments, and this is also done by a class of persons called jadia, who do not appear to be a caste. another body of persons accessory to the trade are the niarias, who take the ashes and sweepings from the goldsmith's shop, paying a sum of ten or twenty rupees annually for them. [655] they wash away the refuse and separate the grains of gold and silver, which they sell back to the sunars. niaria also appears to be an occupational term, and not a caste. 14. the sunar as money-changer formerly sunars were employed for counting and testing money in the public treasuries, and in this capacity they were designated as potdar and saraf or shroff. before the introduction of the standard english coinage the money-changer's business was important and profitable, as the rupee varied over different parts of the country exactly as grain measures do now. thus the pondicherry rupee was worth 26 annas, while the gujarat rupee would not fetch 12 1/2 annas in the bazar. in bengal, [656] at the beginning of the nineteenth century, people who wished to make purchases had first to exchange their rupees for cowries. the potdar carried his cowries to market in the morning on a bullock, and gave 5760 cowries for a new _kaldar_ or english rupee, while he took 5920 cowries in exchange for a rupee when his customers wanted silver back in the evening to take away with them. the profit on the _kaldar_ rupee was thus one thirty-sixth on the two transactions, while all old rupees, and every kind of rupee but the _kaldar_, paid various rates of exchange or _batta_, according to the will of the money-changers, who made a higher profit on all other kinds of money than the _kaldar_. they therefore resisted the general introduction of these rupees as long as possible, and when this failed they hit on a device of marking the rupees with a stamp, under pretext of ascertaining whether they were true or false; after which the rupee was not exchangeable without paying an additional _batta_, and became as valuable to the money-changers as if it were foreign coin. as justification for their action they pretended to the people that the marks would enable those who had received the rupees to have them changed should any other dealer refuse them, and the necessities of the poor compelled them to agree to any _batta_ or exchange rather than suffer delay. this was apparently the origin of the 'shroff-marked rupees,' familiar to readers of the _treasury manual_; and the line in a bhat song, 'the english have made current the _kaldar_ (milled) rupee,' is thus seen to be no empty praise. 15. malpractices of lower-class sumars as the bulk of the capital of the poorer classes is hoarded in the shape of gold and silver ornaments, these are regularly pledged when ready money is needed, and the sunar often acts as a pawnbroker. in this capacity he too often degenerates into a receiver of stolen property, and mr. nunn suggested that his proceedings should be supervised by license. generally, the sunar is suspected of making an illicit profit by mixing alloy with the metal entrusted to him by his customers, and some bitter sayings are current about him. one of his customs is to filch a little gold from his mother and sister on the last day of shrawan (july) and make it into a luck-penny. [657] this has given rise to the saying, 'the sunar will not respect even his mother's gold'; but the implication appears to be unjust. another saying is: _'sona sunar ka, abharan sansar ka,'_ or, 'the ornament is the customer's, but the gold remains with the sunar.' [658] gold is usually melted in the employer's presence, who, to guard against fraud, keeps a small piece of the metal called _chasni_ or _maslo_, that is a sample, and when the ornament is ready sends it with the sample to an assayer or _chokshi_ who, by rubbing them on a touchstone, tells whether the gold in the sample and the ornament is of the same quality. further, the employer either himself sits near the sunar while the ornament is being made or sends one of his family to watch. in spite of these precautions the sunar seldom fails to filch some of the gold while the spy's attention is distracted by the prattling of the parrot, by the coquetting of a handsomely dressed young woman of the family or by some organised mishap in the inner rooms among the women of the house. [659] one of his favourite practices is to substitute copper for gold in the interior, and this he has the best chance of doing with the marriage ornaments, as many people consider it unlucky to weigh or test the quality of these. [660] the account must, however, be taken to apply only to the small artisans, and well-to-do reputable sunars would be above such practices. the goldsmith's industry has hitherto not been affected to any serious extent by the competition of imported goods, and except during periods of agricultural depression the sunar continues to prosper. a persian couplet said by a lover to his mistress is, 'gold has no scent and in the scent of flowers there is no gold; but thou both art gold and hast scent.' _sundi, sundhi, sunri or sondhi._ [661]--the liquor-distilling caste of the uriya country. the transfer of sambalpur and the uriya states to bihar and orissa has reduced their strength in the central provinces to about 5000, found in the raipur district and the bastar and chota nagpur feudatory states. the caste is an important one in bengal, numbering more than six lakhs of persons and being found in western bengal and bihar as well as in orissa. the word sundi is derived from the sanskrit shaundik, a spirit-seller. the caste has various genealogies of differing degrees of respectability, tracing their origin to cross unions between other castes born of brahmans, kshatriyas, and vaishyas. the following story is told of them in madras. [662] in ancient times a certain brahman was famous for his magical attainments. the king of the country sent for him one day and asked him to cause the water in a tank to burn. the brahman saw no way of doing this, and returned homewards uneasy in his mind. on the way he met a distiller who asked him to explain what troubled him. when the brahman told his story the distiller promised to cause the water to burn on condition that the brahman gave him his daughter in marriage. this the brahman agreed to do, and the distiller, after surreptitiously pouring large quantities of liquor into the tank, set fire to it in the presence of the king. in accordance with the agreement he married the daughter of the brahman and the pair became the ancestors of the sundi caste. in confirmation of the story it is alleged that up to the present day the women of the caste maintain the recollection of their brahman ancestors by refusing to eat fowls or the remains of their husbands' meals. nor will they take food from the hands of any other caste. sir h. risley relates the following stories current about the caste in bengal, where its status is very low: "according to hindu ideas, distillers and sellers of strong drink rank among the most degraded castes, and a curious story in the vaivarta purana keeps alive the memory of their degradation. it is said that when sani, the hindu saturn, failed to adapt an elephant's head to the mutilated trunk of ganesh who had been accidentally slain by siva, viswakarma, the celestial artificer, was sent for, and by careful dissection and manipulation he fitted the incongruous parts together, and made a man called kedara sena from the slices cut off in fashioning his work. this kedara sena was ordered to fetch a drink of water for bhagavati, weary and athirst. finding on the river's bank a shell full of water he presented it to her, without noticing that a few grains of rice left in it by a parrot had fermented and formed an intoxicating liquid. bhagavati, as soon as she had drunk, became aware of the fact, and in her anger condemned the offender to the vile and servile occupation of making spirituous liquors for mankind." like other castes in sambalpur the sundis have two subcastes, the jharua and the utkal or uriya, of whom the jharuas probably immigrated from orissa at an earlier period and adopted some of the customs of the indigenous tribes; for this reason they are looked down on by the more orthodox utkalis. the caste say that they belong to the nagas or snake gotra, because they consider themselves to be descended from basuki, the serpent with a thousand heads who formed a canopy for vishnu. they also have _bargas_ or family titles, but these at present exercise no influence on marriage. the sundis have in fact outgrown the system of exogamy and regulate their marriages by a table of prohibited degrees in the ordinary manner, the unions of _sapindas_ or persons who observe mourning together at a death being prohibited. the prohibition does not extend to cognatic relationship, but a man must not marry into the family of his paternal aunt. the fact that the old _bargas_ or exogamous groups are still in existence is interesting, and an intermediate step in the process of their abandonment may be recognised in the fact that some of them are subdivided. thus the sahu (lord) group has split into the gaj sahu (lord of the elephant), dhavila sahu (white lord), and amila sahu sub-groups, and it need not be doubted that this was a convenient method adopted for splitting up the sahu group when it became so large as to include persons so distantly connected with each other that the prohibition of marriage between them was obviously ridiculous. as the number of sundis in the central provinces is now insignificant no detailed description of their customs need be given, but one or two interesting points may be noted. their method of observing the _pitripaksh_ or worship of ancestors is as follows: a human figure is made of _kusha_ grass and placed under a miniature straw hut. a lamp is kept burning before it for ten days, and every day a twig for cleaning the teeth is placed before it, and it is supplied with fried rice in the morning and rice, pulse and vegetables in the evening. on the tenth day the priest comes, and after bathing the figure seven times, places boiled rice before it for the last meal, and then sets fire to the hut and burns it, while repeating sacred verses. on the eleventh day after a death, when presents for the use of the deceased are made to a priest as his representative, the priest lies down in the new bed which is given to him, and the members of the family rub his feet and attend on him as if he were the dead man. he is also given a present sufficient to purchase food for him for a year. the sundis worship suradevi or the goddess of wine, whom they consider as their mother, and they refuse to drink liquor, saying that this would be to enjoy their own mother. they worship the still and all articles used in distillation at the rice-harvest and when the new mango crop appears. large numbers of them have taken to cultivation. tamera 1. the tamera and kasar _tamera, tambatkar_. [663]--the professional caste of coppersmiths, the name being derived from _tamba_, copper. the tameras, however, like the kasars or brass-workers, use copper, brass and bell-metal indifferently, and in the northern districts the castes are not really distinguished, tamera and kasar being almost interchangeable terms. in the maratha country, however, and other localities they are considered as distinct castes. copper is a sacred metal, and the copper-smith's calling would be considered somewhat more respectable than that of the worker in brass or bell-metal, just as the sunar or goldsmith ranks above both; and probably, therefore, the tameras may consider themselves a little better than the kasars. as brass is an alloy made from copper and zinc, it seems likely that vessels were made from copper before they were made from brass. but copper being a comparatively rare and expensive metal, utensils made from it could scarcely have ever been generally used, and it is therefore not necessary to suppose that either the tamera or kasar caste came into being before the adoption of brass as a convenient material for the household pots and pans. 2. social traditions and customs in 1911 the tameras numbered about 5000 persons in the central provinces and berar. they tell the same story of their origin which has already been related in the article on the kasar caste, and trace their descent from the haihaya rajput dynasty of ratanpur. they say that when the king dharampal, the first ancestor of the caste, was married, a bevy of 119 girls were sent with his bride in accordance with the practice still occasionally obtaining among royal hindu families, and these, as usual, became the concubines of the husband or, as the tameras say, his wives: and from the bride and her companions the 120 exogamous sections of the caste are sprung. as a fact, however, many of the sections are named after villages or natural objects. a man is not permitted to marry any one belonging to his own section or that of his mother, the union of first cousins being thus prohibited. the caste also do not favour _anta santa_ or the practice of exchanging girls between families, the reason alleged being that after the bride's father has acknowledged the superiority of the bridegroom's father by washing his feet, it is absurd to require the latter to do the same, that is, to wash the feet of his inferior. so they may not take a girl from a family to which they have given one of their own. the real reason for the rule lies possibly in an extension of the principle of exogamy, whether based on a real fear of carrying too far the practice of intermarriage between families or an unfounded superstition that intermarriage between families already connected may have the same evil results on the offspring as the union of blood-relations. when the wedding procession is about to start, after the bridegroom has been bathed and before he puts on the _kankan_ or iron wristlet which is to protect him from evil spirits, he is seated on a stool while all the male members of the household come up with their _choti_ or scalp-lock untied and rub it against that of the bridegroom. again, after the wedding ceremonies are over and the bridegroom has, according to rule, untied one of the fastenings of the marriage-shed, he also turns over a tile of the roof of the house. the meaning of the latter ceremony is not clear; the significance attaching to the _choti_ has been discussed in the article on nai. 3. disposal of the dead the caste burn their dead except children, who can be buried, and observe mourning for ten days in the case of an adult and for three days for a child. a cake of flour containing two pice (farthings) is buried or burnt with the corpse. when a death takes place among the community all the members of it stop making vessels for that day, though they will transact retail sales. when mourning is over, a feast is given to the caste-fellows and to seven members of the menial and serving castes. these are known as the 'sattiho jat' or seven castes, and it may be conjectured that in former times they were the menials of the village and were given a meal in much the same spirit as prompts an english landlord to give his tenants a dinner on occasions of ceremony. instances of a similar custom are noted among the kunbis and other castes. before food is served to the guests a leaf-plate containing a portion for the deceased is placed outside the house with a pot of water, and a burning lamp to guide his spirit to the food. 4. religion the caste worship the goddess singhbahani. or devi riding on a tiger. they make an image of her in the most expensive metal they can afford, and worship it daily. they will on no account swear by this goddess. they worship their trade implements on the day of the new moon in chait (march) and bhadon (august). a trident, as a symbol of devi, is then drawn with powdered rice and vermilion on the furnace for casting metal. a lamp is waved over the furnace and a cocoanut is broken and distributed to the caste-fellows, no outsider being allowed to be present. they quench their furnace on the new moon day of every month, the ramnaomi and durgapuja or nine days' fasts in the months of chait and kunwar, and for the two days following the diwali and holi festivals. on these days they will not prepare any new vessels, but will sell those which they have ready. the tameras have kanaujia brahmans for their priests, and the brahmans will take food from them which has been cooked without water and salt. on this account other kanaujia brahmans require a heavy payment before they will marry with the priests of the tameras. the caste abstain from liquor, and some of them have abjured all flesh food while others partake of it. they usually wear the sacred thread. brahmans will take water from their hands, and the menial castes will eat food which they have touched. they work in brass, copper and bell-metal in exactly the same manner as the kasars, and have an equivalent social position. taonla _taonla_.--a small non-aryan caste of the uriya states. they reside principally in bamra and sonpur, and numbered about 2000 persons in 1901, but since the transfer of these states to bengal are not found in the central provinces. the name is said to be derived from talmul, a village in the angul district of orissa, and they came to bamra and sonpur during the orissa famine of 1866. the taonlas appear to be a low occupational caste of mixed origin, but derived principally from the khond tribe. formerly their profession was military service, and it is probable that like the khandaits and paiks they formed the levies of some of the uriya rajas, and gradually became a caste. they have three subdivisions, of which the first consists of the taonlas whose ancestors were soldiers. these consider themselves superior to the others, and their family names as naik (leader), padhan (chief), khandait (swordsman), and behra (master of the kitchen) indicate their ancestral profession. the other subcastes are called dangua and khond; the danguas, who are hill-dwellers, are more primitive than the military taonlas, and the khonds are apparently members of that tribe of comparatively pure descent who marry among themselves and not with other taonlas. in orissa dr. hunter says that the taonlas are allied to the savaras, and that they will admit a member of any caste, from whose hands they can take water, into the community. this is also the case in bamra. the candidate has simply to worship kalapat, the god of the taonlas, and after drinking some water in which basil leaves have been dipped, to touch the food prepared for a caste feast, and his initiation is complete. as usual among the mixed castes, female morality is very lax, and a taonla woman may have a _liaison_ with a man of her own or any other caste from whom a taonla can take water without incurring any penalty whatsoever. a man committing a similar offence must give a feast to the caste. in sonpur the taonlas admit a close connection with chasas, and say that some of their families are descended from the union of chasa men and taonla women. they will eat the leavings of chasas. the custom may be accounted for by the fact that the taonlas are now generally farmservants and field-labourers, and the chasas, as cultivators, would be their employers. a similar close connection is observable among other castes standing in the same position towards each other as the panwars and gonds and the rajbhars and lodhis. the taonlas have no exogamous divisions as they all belong to the same _gotra_, that of the nag or cobra. their marriages are therefore regulated by relationship in the ordinary manner. if two families find that they have no common ancestor up to the third generation they consider it lawful to intermarry. the marriage ritual is of the usual uriya form. after the marriage the bride and the bridegroom have a ceremony of throwing a mahua branch into a river together. divorce and widow remarriage are permitted. when a woman is divorced she returns her bangles to her husband, and receives from him a _chhor-chitthi_ or letter severing connection. then she goes before the caste _panchayat_ and pronounces her husband's name aloud. this shows that she is no longer his wife, since so long as she continued to be so, she would never mention his name. the tutelary deity of the caste is kalapat, who resides at talmul in angul district. they offer him a goat at the festival of nawakhai when the new rice is first eaten. on this day they also worship a cattle-goad as the symbol of their vocation. they revere the cobra, and will not wear wooden sandals because they think that the marks on a cobra's head are in the form of a sandal. they believe in re-birth, and when a child is born they proceed to ascertain what ancestor has become reincarnate by dropping rice grains coloured with turmeric into a pot of water. as each one is dropped they repeat the name of an ancestor, and when the first grain floats conclude that the one named has been born again. the dead are both buried and burnt. at the head of a grave they plant a bough of the _jamun_ tree (_eugenia jambolana_) so that the departed spirit may dwell under this cool and shady tree in the other world or in his next birth. they have also a ceremony for bringing back the soul. an earthen pot is placed upside down on four legs outside the village, and on the eleventh day after a death they proceed to the place, ringing a bell suspended to an iron rod. a cloth is spread before the spot on which the spirit of the deceased is supposed to be sitting, and they wait till an insect alights on it. this is taken to be the soul of the dead person, and it is carefully wrapped up in the cloth and carried to the house. there the cloth is unfolded and the insect allowed to go, while they proceed to inspect some rice-flour which has been spread on the ground under another pot in the house. if any mark is found on the surface of the flour they think that the dead man's spirit has returned to the house. the carrying back of the insect is thus an act calculated to assist their belief, by the simple performance of which they are able to suppose more easily that the invisible spirit has returned to the house. as already stated, the taonlas are now generally farmservants and labourers, and their social position is low, though they rank above the impure castes and the forest tribes. teli list of paragraphs 1. _strength and distribution of the caste._ 2. _origin and traditions._ 3. _endogamous subcastes._ 4. _exogamous divisions._ 5. _marriage customs._ 6. _widow-remarriage._ 7. _religion. caste deities._ 8. _driving out evil._ 9. _customs at birth and death._ 10. _social status._ 11. _social customs and caste penalties._ 12. _the rathor telis._ 13. _gujarati telis of nimar._ 14. _the teli an unlucky caste._ 15. _occupation. oil-pressing._ 16. _trade and agriculture._ 17. _teli beneficence._ 1. strength and distribution of the caste _teli._ [664]--the occupational caste of oil-pressers and sellers. the telis numbered nearly 900,000 persons in 1911, being the fifth caste in the province in point of population. they are numerous in the chhattisgarh and nagpur divisions, nearly 400,000 belonging to the former and 200,000 to the latter tract; while in berar and the north of the province they are sparsely represented. the reason for such a distribution of the caste is somewhat obscure. vegetable oil is more largely used for food in the south and east than in the north, but while this custom might explain the preponderance of telis in nagpur and chhattisgarh it gives no reason to account for their small numbers in berar. in chhattisgarh again nearly all the telis are cultivators, and it may be supposed that, like the chamars, they have found opportunity here to get possession of the land owing to its not being already taken up by the cultivating castes proper; but in the nagpur division, with the exception of part of wardha, the telis have had no such opening and are not large landholders. their distribution thus remains a somewhat curious problem. but all over the province the telis have generally abandoned their hereditary trade of pressing oil, and have taken to trade and agriculture, the number of those returned as oil-pressers being only about seven per cent of the total strength of the caste. the name comes from the sanskrit _tailika_ or _taila_, oil, and this word, is derived from the _tilli_ or sesamum plant. 2. origin and traditions the caste have few traditions of origin. their usual story is that during siva's absence the goddess parvati felt nervous because she had no doorkeeper to her palace, and therefore she made the god ganesh from the sweat of her body and set him to guard the southern gate. but when siva returned ganesh did not know him and refused to let him enter; on which siva was so enraged that he cut off the head of ganesh with a stroke of his sword. he then entered the palace, and parvati, observing the blood on his sword, asked him what had happened, and reproached him bitterly for having slain her son. siva was distressed, but said that he could not replace the head as it was already reduced to ashes. but he said that if any animal could be found looking towards the south he could put its head on ganesh and bring him to life. as it happened a trader was then resting outside the palace and had with him an elephant, which was seated with its head to the south. so siva quickly struck off the head of the elephant and placed it on the body of ganesh and brought him to life again, and thus ganesh got his elephant's head. but the trader made loud lamentation about the loss of his elephant, so to pacify him siva made a pestle and mortar, utensils till then unknown, and showed him how to pound oil-seeds in them and express the oil, and enjoined him to earn a livelihood in future by this calling, and his descendants after him; and so the merchant became the first teli. and the pestle was considered to be siva and the mortar parvati. this last statement affords some support to mr. marten's suggestion [665] that a certain veneration attaching to the pestle and mortar and their use in marriage ceremonies may be due to the idea of their typifying the male and female organs. the fact that ganesh was set to guard the southern gate, and that the animal whose head could be placed on his body must be looking to the south, probably hinges in some way on the south being the abode of yama, the god of death, but the connection has been forgotten by the teller of the story; it may also be noted that if the palace was in the himalayas, the site of kailas or siva's heaven, the whole of india would be to the south. another story related by mr. crooke [666] from mirzapur is that a certain man had three sons and owned fifty-two mahua [667] trees. when he became aged and infirm he told his sons to divide the trees, but after some discussion they decided to divide not the trees themselves but their produce. one of them fell to picking up the leaves, and he was the ancestor of the bharbhunjas or grain-parchers, who still use leaves in their ovens; the second collected the flowers and corollas, and having distilled liquor from them became a kalar; while the third took the kernels or fruit and crushed the oil out of them, and was the founder of the teli caste. the country spirit generally drunk is distilled from the flowers of the mahua tree, and a cheap vegetable oil in common use is obtained from its seeds. the telis and kalars are also castes of about the same status and have other points of resemblance; and the legend connecting them is therefore of some interest some groups of telis who have become landed proprietors or prospered in trade have stories giving them a more exalted origin. thus the landholding rathor telis of mandla say that they were rathor rajputs who fled from the muhammadans and threw away their swords and sacred threads; and the telis of nimar, several of whom are wealthy merchants, give out that their ancestors were modh banias from gujarat who had to take to oil-pressing for a livelihood under muhammadan rule. but these legends may perhaps be considered a natural result of their rise in the world. 3. endogamous subcastes the caste has a large number of subdivisions. the principal groups in chhattisgarh are the halia, jharia and ekbahia telis. the halias, who perhaps take their name from _hal_, a plough, are considered to be the best cultivators, and are said to have immigrated from mandla some generations ago. probably the bulk of the hindu population of chhattisgarh came from this direction. the name jharia means jungly or savage, and is commonly applied to the oldest residents, but the jharia telis are the highest local subcaste. they require the presence of a brahman at their weddings, and abstain generally from liquor, fowls and pork, to which the halias are not averse. they also bathe the corpse before it is burnt or buried, an observance omitted by the halias. the jharias yoke only one bullock to the oil-press, and the halias two, a distinction which is elsewhere sufficient of itself to produce separate subcastes. the ekbahia (one-armed) telis are so called because their women wear glass bangles only on the right hand and metal ones on the left. this is a custom of several castes whose women do manual labour, and the reason appears to be one of convenience, as glass bangles on the working arm would be continually getting broken. among the ekbahia telis it is said that a woman considers it a point of honour to have these metal bangles as numerous and heavy as her arm can bear; and at a wedding a present of three bracelets from the bridegroom to the bride is held to be indispensable. the madpotwa are a small subcaste living near the hills, who in former times distilled liquor; they keep pigs and poultry, and rank below the others. other groups are the kosarias, who are called after kosala, the old name of chhattisgarh, and the chhote or little telis, who are of illegitimate descent. children born out of wedlock are relegated to this group. in the nagpur country the principal subdivisions are the ekbaile and dobaile, so called because they yoke one and two bullocks respectively to the oil-press; the distinction is still maintained, the dobaile being also known as tarane. this seems a trivial reason for barring intermarriage, but it must be remembered that the yoking of the bullock to the oil-press, coupled as it is with the necessity of blindfolding the animal, is considered a great sin on the teli's part and a degrading incident of his profession; the teli's worst fear is that after death his soul will pass into one of his own bullocks. the yerande telis are so called because they formerly pressed only the _erandi_ or castor-oil seed, but the rule is no longer maintained. the yerande women leave off wearing the _choli_ or breast-cloth after they have had one child, and have nothing under the _sari_ or body-cloth, but they wear this folded double. the ruthia group are said to be so called from the noise _rut, rut_ made by the oil-mill in turning. they say they are descended from the nag or cobra. they salute the snake when they see it and refrain from killing it, and they will not make any drawing or sign having the semblance of a snake or use any article which may be supposed to be like it. the sao telis are the highest group in wardha, and have eschewed the pressing of oil. the word sao or sahu is the title of a moneylender, but they are usually cultivators or village proprietors. a brahman will enter a sao teli's house, but not the houses of any other subcaste. their women wear silver bangles on the right hand and glass ones on the left. the batri subcaste are said to be so called from their growing the _batar_, a kind of pea, and the hardia from raising the _haldi_ or turmeric. the teli-kalars appear to be a mixed group of kalars who have taken to the oilman's profession, and the teli-banias are telis who have become shopkeepers, and may be expected in the course of time to develop either into a plebeian group of banias or an aristocratic one of telis. in nimar the gujarati telis, who have now grown wealthy and prosperous, claim, as already seen, to be modh banias, and the same pretension is put forward by their fellow-castemen in gujarat itself. "the large class of oilmen known in gujarat as modh-ghanelis were originally modh banias, who by taking to making and selling oil lost their position as banias"; [668] it seems doubtful, however, whether the reverse process has not really taken place. the umre telis also have the name of a subcaste of banias. the landholding rathor telis of mandla, who now claim to be rathor rajputs, will be more fully noticed later. there are also several local subcastes, as the mattha or maratha telis, who say they came from patan in gujarat, the sirwas from the ancient city of sravasti in gonda district, and the kanaujia from oudh. 4. exogamous divisions each subcaste is divided into a number of exogamous groups for the regulation of marriages. the names of the groups appear to be taken either from villages or titles or nicknames. most of them cannot be recognised, but the following are a few: baghmare, a tiger-killer; deshmukh, a village officer; vaidya, a physician; bawankule, the fifty-two septs; badwaik, the great ones; satpute, seven sons; bhajikhaya, an eater of vegetables; satapaise, seven pice; ghoremadia, a horse-killer; chaudhri, a caste headman; ardona, a kind of gram; malghati, a valley; chandan-malagar, one who presented sandalwood; and sanichara, born on saturday. three septs, dhurwa, besram, a hawk, and sonwani, gold-water, belong to the gonds or other tribes. the clans of the rathor telis of mandla are said to be named after villages in jubbulpore and maihar state. 5. marriage customs the marriage of persons of the same sept and of first cousins is usually forbidden. a man may marry his wife's younger sister while she herself is alive, but never her elder sister. an unmarried girl becoming pregnant by a man of the caste is married to him by the ceremony used for a widow, and she may be readmitted even after a _liaison_ with an outsider among most telis. in chanda the parents of a girl who is not married before puberty are fined. the proposal comes from the boy's side and a bride-price is usually paid, though not of large amount. the halia telis of chhattisgarh, like other agricultural castes, sometimes betroth their children when they are five or six months old, but as a rule no penalty attaches to the breaking of the betrothal. the betrothal is celebrated by the distribution of one or two rupees' worth of liquor to the neighbours of the caste. as among other low castes, on the day before the wedding procession starts, the bridegroom goes round to all the houses in the village and his sister dances round him with her head bent, and all the people give him presents. this is known as the binaiki or farewell, and the bride does the same in her village. among the jharia telis the women go and worship the marriage-post at the carpenter's house while it is being made. in this subcaste the bridegroom goes to the wedding in a cart and not on horseback or in a litter as among some castes. the rule may perhaps be a recognition of their humble station. the halia subcaste can dispense with the presence of a brahman at the wedding, but not the jharias. in wardha the bridegroom's head is covered with a blanket, over which is placed the marriage-crown. on the arrival of the bridegroom's party they are regaled with _sherbet_ or sugar and water by the bride's relatives, and sometimes red pepper is mixed with this by way of a joke. at a wedding of the gujarati tells in nimar the caste-priest carries the tutelary goddess kali in procession, and in front of her a pot filled with burning cotton-seeds and oil. a cloth is held over the pot, and it is believed that the power of the goddess prevents the cloth from taking fire. if this should happen some great calamity would be portended. rathor teli girls, whether married or unmarried, go with their heads bare, and a woman draws her cloth over her head for the first time when she begins to live in her husband's house. 6. widow-remarriage divorce and widow-marriage are permitted. in chhattisgarh a widow is always kept in the family if possible, and if her late husband's brother be only a boy she is sometimes induced to put on the bangles and wait for him. if a _barandi_ widow, that is one who has been married but has not lived with her husband, desires to marry again out of his family, the second husband must repay to them the amount spent on her first marriage. in chanda, on the other hand, some telis do not permit a widow to marry her late husband's younger brother at all, and others only when he is a bachelor or a widower. here the minimum period for which a widow must remain single after her husband's death is one month. the engagement with a widow is arranged by the suitor's female relatives, and they pay her a rupee as earnest money. on the day fixed she goes with one or two other widows to the bridegroom's house, and from there to the bazar, where she buys two pairs of bell-metal rings, to be worn on the second toe of each foot, and some glass bangles. she remains sitting in the bazar till well after dark, when some widow goes to fetch her on behalf of her suitor. they bring her to his house, where the couple sit together, and red powder is applied to their foreheads. they then bathe and present their clothes to the washerman, putting on new clothes. the idea in all this is clearly to sever the widow as completely as possible from her old home and prevent her from being accompanied to the new one by the first husband's spirit. in some localities when a teli widow remarries it is considered most unlucky for any one to see the face of the bride or bridegroom for twenty-four hours, or as some say for three days after the wedding. the ceremony is therefore held at night, and for this period the couple either remain shut up in the house or retire to the jungle. 7. religion: caste deities the caste especially revere mahadeo or siva, who gave them the oil-mill. in the nagpur country they do not work the mill on monday, because it is mahadeo's day, he having the moon on his forehead. they revere the oil-mill, and when the trunk is brought to be set up in the house, if there is difficulty in moving it they make offerings to it of a goat or wheat-cakes or cocoanuts, after which it moves easily. when a teli first sets the trunk-socket of the oil-press in the ground he buries beneath it five pieces of turmeric, some cowries and an areca-nut in the northern districts the telis worship masan baba, who is supposed to be the ghost of a teli boy. he is a boy about three feet in height, black-coloured, with a long black scalp-lock. some telis have masan baba in their possession, and when they are turning the oil-press they set him on top of it, and he makes the bullocks keep on working, so that the master can go away and leave the press. but in order to prevent him from getting into mischief a cake of flour mixed with human hair must be placed in front of the press; he will eat this, but will first pick out all the hairs one by one, and this will occupy him the whole night; but if no cake is put for him he will eat all the food in the house. a teli who has not got masan must go to one who has and hire him for rs. 1-4 a night. they then both go to the owner's oil-press, and the hirer says, 'i have hired you to-night,' and the owner says, 'yes, i have let you for to-night'; and then the hirer goes away, and masan baba follows him and will turn the oil-mill all night. a teli who has not got masan baba puts a stone on the oil-mill, and then the bullock thinks that his master masan is sitting on it, and will go on turning the press; but this is not so good as having masan baba. some say that he will repay his hirer the sum of rs. 1-4 by stealing something during the year and giving it to him. masan may perhaps be considered as a divine personification of the oil-press, and as being the teli's explanation of the fact that the bullock goes on turning the press without being driven, which he does not attribute simply to the animal's docility. in chhattisgarh dulha deo is the household god of the caste, and he is said not to have any visible image or symbol, but is considered to reside in a cupboard in the house. when any member of the family falls ill it is thought that dulha deo is angry, and a goat is offered to appease him. like the other low castes the telis of the nagpur country make the sacrifice of a pig to narayan deo or the sun at intervals. 8. driving out evil here on the third day after the pola festival in the rains the women of the caste bring the branches of a thorny creeper, with very small leaves, and call it marbod, and sweep out the whole house with it, saying: 'ira, pira, khatka, khatkira, khansi, kokhala, rai, rog, murkuto gheunja ga marbod,' or, 'oh marbod! sweep away all diseases, pains, coughs, bugs, flies and mosquitoes.' and then they take the pot of sweepings and throw it outside the village. marbod is the deity represented by the branch of the creeper. this rite takes place in the middle of the rainy season, when all kinds of insects infest the house, and colds and fever are prevalent mr. h.r. crosthwaite sends the following explanation given by a teli cultivator of an eclipse of the sun: "the sun is indebted to a sweeper. the sweeper has gone to collect the debt and the sun has refused to pay. the sweeper is in need of the money and is sitting _dharna_ at the sun's door; you can see his shadow across the sun's threshold. presently the debt will be paid and the sweeper will go away." the telis of nimar observe various muhammadan practices. they fast during the month of ramazan, taking their food in the morning before sunrise; and at id they eat the vermicelli and dates which the muhammadans eat in memory of the time when their forefathers lived on this food in the arabian desert. such customs are a relic of the long period of muhammadan dominance in nimar, when the hindus conformed partly to the religion of their masters. many telis are also members of the swami-narayan reforming sect, which may have attracted them by its disregard of the distinctions of caste and of the low status which attaches to them under hinduism. 9. customs at birth and death in patna state a pregnant woman must not cross a river nor eat any fruit or vegetables of red colour, nor wear any black cloth. these taboos preserve her health and that of her unborn child. after the birth of a child a woman is impure for seven or nine days in chhattisgarh, and is then permitted to cook. the dead are either buried or burnt, cremation being an honour reserved for the old. the body is placed in both cases with the head to the north and face downwards or upwards for a male or female respectively. 10. social status the social status of the telis is low, in the group of castes from which brahmans will not take water, and below such menials as the blacksmith and carpenter. manu classes them with butchers and liquor-vendors: "from a king not born in the military class let a brahman accept no gift nor from such as keep a slaughter-house, or an oil-press, or put out a vintner's flag or subsist by the gains of prostitutes." this is much about the position which the telis have occupied till recently. brahmans will not usually enter their houses, though they have begun to do so in the case of the landholding subcastes. it is noticeable that the teli has a much better position in bengal than elsewhere. sir h. risley says: "their original profession was probably oil-pressing, and the caste may be regarded as a functional group recruited from the respectable middle class of hindu society. oil is used by all hindus for domestic and ceremonial purposes, and its manufacture could only be carried on by men whose social purity was beyond dispute." this is, however, quite exceptional, and mr. crooke, mr. nesfield and sir d. ibbetson are agreed as to his inferior, if not partly impure, status. this is only one of several instances, such as those of the barber, the potter and the weaver, of menial castes which in bengal have now obtained a position above the agricultural castes. it may be suggested in explanation that the old fabric of hindu society, that is the village community, has long decayed in bengal owing to muhammadan dominance, the concentration of estates in the hands of large proprietors and the weakening or lapse of the customary rights of tenants. coupled with this has been the growth of an important urban population, in which the castes mentioned have raised themselves from their menial position in the villages and attained wealth and influence, just as the gujarati telis are now doing in burhanpur, while the agricultural castes of bengal have been comparatively depressed. hence the urban industrial castes have obtained a great rise in status. sir h. risley's emphasis of the importance of oil in hindu domestic ceremonial is no doubt quite true, though it is perhaps little used in sacrifices, butter being generally preferred as a product of the sacred cow. but the inference does not seem necessarily to follow that the producer of any article shares exactly in the estimation attaching to the thing itself. turmeric, for instance, is a sacred plant and indispensable at every wedding; but those who grow turmeric always incur a certain stigma and loss in social position. the reason for the impurity of the teli's calling seems somewhat doubtful. that generally given is his sinful conduct in harnessing the sacred ox and blindfolding the animal's eyes to make it work continuously on the tread-mill. the labour is said to be very severe, and the bullocks often die after two or three years. as already seen, the teli fears that after death his soul may pass into one of his own bullocks in retribution for his treatment of them during life. another reason which may be suggested is that the crushing of oil-seeds must involve a large destruction of insect life, many of the seeds being at times infested with insects. the teli's occupation would naturally rank with the other village industries, that is below agriculture; and prior to the introduction of cash coinage he must have received contributions of grain from the tenants for supplying them with oil like the other village menials. he still takes his oil to the fields at harvest-time and gets his sheaf of grain from each holding. 11. social customs and caste penalties the telis will take cooked food from kurmis and kunbis, and in some localities from a lohar or barhai. dhimars are the highest caste which will take food from them. in mandla if a man does not attend the meeting of the _panchayat_ when summoned for some special purpose, he is fined. in chanda a teli beaten with a shoe by any other caste has to have his head shaved and pay a rupee or two to the priest. in mandla the telis have made it a rule that not less than four _puris_ or wheat-cakes fried in butter [669] must be given to each guest at a caste-feast, besides rice and pulse. but if an offender is poor only four or five men go to his feast, while if he is rich the whole caste go. 12. the rathor telis the rathor telis of mandla hold a number of villages. they now call themselves rathor, and entirely disown the name of teli. they say that they came from the maihar state near panna, and that the title of mahto, from _mahat_, great, which is borne by the leading men of the caste, was conferred on them by the raja of maihar. another story is that, as already related, they are debased rathor rajputs. recently they have given up eating fowls and drinking liquor. they are good cultivators, borrowing among themselves at low interest and avoiding debt, and their villages are generally prosperous. 13. gujarati telis of nimar again, as has been seen, the gujarati telis of burhanpur have taken to trade, and some of them have become wealthy merchants and capitalists from their dealings in cotton. the position of telis in burhanpur was apparently one of peculiar degradation under muhammadan rule. according to local tradition they had to remove the corpses of dead elephants, which no other caste would consent to do, and also to dig the graves of muhammadans. it is also said that even now a hindu becomes impure by passing under the eaves of a teli's house, and that no dancing-girl may dance before a teli, and if she does so will incur a penalty of rs. 50 to her caste. the telis, on the other hand, vigorously repudiate these allegations, which no doubt are due partly to jealousy of their present prosperity and consequent attempts to better their status. the telis allege that they were modh banias in gujarat and when they came to burhanpur adopted the occupation of oil-pressing, which is also countenanced by the shastras for a vaishya. they say that formerly they did not permit widow-marriage, but when living under muhammadan rule they were constrained to get their widows married in the caste, or the muhammadans would have taken them. the muhammadan practices already noticed as prevalent among them are being severely repressed, and they are believed to have made a caste rule that any teli who goes to the house of a muhammadan will have his hair and beard shaved and be fined rs. 50. they are also supposed to have made offers to brahmans of sums of rs. 500 to rs. 1000 to come and take their food in the verandas of the telis' houses, but hitherto these have not been accepted. 14. the teli an unlucky caste the teli is considered a caste of bad omen. the proverb says, 'god protect me from a teli, a chamar and a dhobi'; and the teli is considered the most unlucky of the three. he is also talkative: 'where there is a teli there is sure to be contention.' the teli is thought to be very close-fisted, but occasionally his cunning overreaches itself: 'the teli counts every drop of oil as it issues from the press, but sometimes he upsets the whole pot.' the reason given for his being unlucky is his practice of harnessing and blindfolding bullocks already mentioned, and also that he presses _urad_ [670] a black-coloured pulse, the oil from which is offered to the unlucky planet saturn on saturdays. '_teli ka bail_,' or 'a teli's bullock,' is a proverbial expression for a man who has to slave very hard for small pay. [671] the teli is believed to have magical powers. a good magician in search of an attendant spirit will, it is said, prefer to raise the corpse of a teli who died on a tuesday. he proceeds to the burning-_ghat_ with chickens, eggs, some vermilion and red cloth. he seats himself near to where the corpse was burnt, and after repeating some spells offers up the chickens and eggs and breaks the cocoanut. then it is believed that the corpse will gradually rise and take shape and be at the magician's service so long as the latter may desire. the following prescription is given for a love-charm: take the skull of a teli's wife and cook some rice in it under a _babul_ [672] tree on a sunday. this if given to a girl to eat will make her fall in love with him who gives it to her. 15. occupation. oil-pressing the teli's oil-press is a very primitive affair. it consists of a hollowed tree-trunk in which a post is placed with rounded lower end. the top of this projects perhaps three feet above the hollow trunk and is secured by two pieces of wood to a horizontal bar, one end of which presses against the trunk, while the bullock is harnessed to the outer end. the yoke-bar hangs about a foot from the ground, the inner end resting in a groove of the trunk, while the outer is supported by the poles connecting it with the churning-post. from the top of this latter a rope is also tied to the bullock's horn to keep the animal in position. the press is usually set up inside a shed, and it is said that if the bullock were not blindfolded it would quickly become too giddy to work. the bullock drags the yoke-bar round the trunk and this gives a circular movement to the top of the churning-post, causing the lower end of the latter to move as on a pivot inside the trunk. the friction thus produced crushes the oil-seed, and the oil trickles out through a hole in the lower part of the trunk. the oil of _ramtilli_ or _jagni_ is commonly burnt for lighting in villages, and also that of the mahua-seed. linseed-oil is generally exported, but if used at home it is mainly as an illuminant. it is mixed with food by the maratha castes but not in northern india. all the vegetable oils are rapidly being supplanted by kerosene, even in villages; but the inferior quality generally purchased, burnt as it is in small open saucers, gives out a great deal of smoke and is said to be very injurious to the eyesight, and students especially sustain permanent injury to the sight by working with these lamps. this want is, however, being met, and cheap lamp-burners can be bought in bombay for about twelve annas. owing to their having until recently supplied the only means of illumination the telis sometimes call themselves _dipabans_, or 'sons of the lamp.' tilli or sesamum is called sweet oil; it is much eaten by brahmans and others in the maratha country, and is always used for rubbing on the hair and body. on the festivals of diwali and til sankrant all hindus rub sesamum oil on their bodies; otherwise they put it on their hair once or twice a week, and on their bodies if they get a chill, or as a protective against cold twice or thrice a month in the winter. the uriya castes rub oil on the body if they can afford it every day after bathing and say that it keeps off malaria. castor-oil is used as a medicine, and by some people even as ordinary food. it is also a good lubricant, being applied to cart-wheels and machinery. other oils mentioned by mr. crooke are poppy-seed, mustard, cocoanut and safflower, and those prepared from almond and the berries of the _nim_ [673] tree. the teli's occupation is a dirty one, his house being filled with the refuse of oil and oil-seed, and mr. gordon notes that leprosy is very prevalent in the caste. [674] 16. trade and agriculture the telis are a very enterprising caste, and the great bulk of them have abandoned their traditional occupation and taken to others which are more profitable and respectable. in their trade, like that of the kalar, cash payment by barter must have been substituted for customary annual contributions at an early period, and hence they learnt to keep accounts when their customers were ignorant of this accomplishment. the knowledge has stood them in good stead. many of them have become moneylenders in a small way, and by this means have acquired villages. in the raipur and bilaspur districts they own more than 200 villages and 700 in the central provinces as a whole. they are also shopkeepers and petty traders, travelling about with pack-bullocks like the banjaras. mr. a. k. smith notes that formerly the teli hired banjaras to carry his goods through the jungle, as he would have been killed by them if he had ventured to do so himself. but now he travels with his own bullocks. even in mughal times mr. smith states telis occasionally rose to important positions; kawaji teli was sutler to the imperial army, and obtained from the emperor jahangir a grant of ashti in wardha and an order that no one should plant betel-vine gardens in ashti without his permission. this rule is still observed and any one wishing to have a betel-vine garden makes a present to the patel. krishna kanta nandi or kanta babu, the banyan of warren hastings, was a teli by caste and did much to raise their position among the hindus. [675] 17. teli beneficence colonel tod gives instances in udaipur of works of beneficence executed by telis. "the _teli-ki-sarai_ or oilman's caravanserai is not conspicuous for magnitude; but it is remarkable not merely for its utility but even for its elegance of design. the _teli-ka-pul_ or oilman's bridge at nurabad is a magnificent memorial of the trade and deserves preservation. these telis perambulate the country with skins of oil on a bullock and from hard-earned pence erect the structures which bear their name." [676] similarly the temple of vishnu at rajim is said to be named after one rajan telin, who discovered the image lying abandoned by the roadside. she placed her skin of oil on it to rest herself and on that day her oil never decreased, and when she had finished selling in the market she had all her oil as well as the money. her husband suspected her of evil practices, but, when next day her mother-in-law laid a skinful of oil on the image and the same thing happened, it was seen that the god had made himself manifest to her, and a temple was built and named after her and the image enshrined in it. similarly the image of mahadeo at pithampur in bilaspur was seen buried by a teli in a dream, and he dug it up and made a shrine to it and was cured of dysentery. so an annual fair is held and many people go there to be healed of their diseases. thug [this article is based almost entirely on colonel (sir william) sleeman's _ramaseeana or vocabulary of the thugs_ (1835). a small work, hutton's _thugs and dacoits_, has been quoted for convenience, but it is compiled entirely from colonel sleeman's reports. another book by colonel sleeman, _reports on the depredations of the thug gangs_, is mainly a series of accounts of the journeys of different gangs and contains only a very brief general notice.] list of paragraphs 1. _historical notice_. 2. _thuggee depicted in the caves of ellora_. 3. _origin of the thugs_. 4. _methods of assassination_. 5. _account of certain murders_. 6. _special incidents (continued)_. 7. _disguises of the thugs_. 8. _secrecy of their operations_. 9. _support of landholders and villagers_. 10. _murder of sepoys_. 11. _callous nature of the thugs_. 12. _belief in divine support_. 13. _theory of thuggee as a religious sect_. 14. _worship of kali_. 15. _the sacred pickaxe_. 16. _the sacred gur (sugar)_. 17. _worship of ancestors_. 18. _fasting_. 19. _initiation of a novice_. 20. _prohibition of murder of women_. 21. _other classes of persons not killed_. 22. _belief in omens_. 23. _omens and taboos_. 24. _nature of the belief in omens_. 25. _suppression of thuggee_. 1. historical notice _thug, phansigar._--the famous community of murderers who were accustomed to infest the high-roads and strangle travellers for their property. the thugs are, of course, now extinct, having been finally suppressed by measures taken under the direction of colonel sleeman between 1825 and 1850. the only existing traces of them are a small number of persons known as goranda or goyanda in jubbulpore, the descendants of thugs employed in the school of industry which was established at that town. these work honestly for their living and are believed to have no marked criminal tendencies. in the course of his inquiries, however, colonel sleeman collected a considerable mass of information about the thugs, some of which is of ethnological interest, and as the works in which this is contained are out of print and not easily accessible, it seems desirable to record a portion of it here. the word thug signifies generically a cheat or robber, while phansigar, which was the name used in southern india, is derived from _phansi_, a noose, and means a strangler. the form of robbery and murder practised by these people was probably of considerable antiquity, and is referred to as follows by a french traveller, thevenot, in the sixteenth century: "though the road i have been speaking of from delhi to agra be tolerable yet it hath many inconveniences. one may meet with tigers, panthers and lions upon it, and one can also best have a care of robbers, and above all things not to suffer anybody to come near one upon the road. the cunningest robbers in the world are in that country. they use a certain slip with a running noose which they can cast with so much sleight about a man's neck, when they are within reach of him, that they never fail, so that they can strangle him in a trice. they have another cunning trick also to catch travellers with. they send out a handsome woman upon the road, who with her hair dishevelled seems to be all in tears, sighing and complaining of some misfortune which she pretends has befallen her. now, as she takes the same way that the traveller goes he falls easily into conversation with her, and finding her beautiful, offers her his assistance, which she accepts; but he hath no sooner taken her up behind him on horseback, but she throws the snare about his neck and strangles him, or at least stuns him until the robbers who lie hid come running to her assistance and complete what she hath begun. but besides that, there are men in those quarters so skilful in casting the snare, that they succeed as well at a distance as near at hand; and if an ox or any other beast belonging to a caravan run away, as sometimes it happens, they fail not to catch it by the neck." [677] this passage seems to demonstrate an antiquity of three centuries for the thugs down to 1850. but during the period over which sir william sleeman's inquiries extended women never accompanied them on their expeditions, and were frequently even, as a measure of precaution, left in ignorance of the profession of their husbands. 2. thuggees depicted in the caves of ellora the thugs themselves believed that the operations of their trade were depicted in the carvings of the ellora caves, and a noted leader, feringia, and other thugs spoke of these carvings as follows: "every one of the operations is to be seen there: in one place you see men strangling; in another burying the bodies; in another carrying them off to the graves. whenever we passed near we used to go and see these caves. every man will there find his trade described and they were all made in one night. "everybody there can see the secret operations of his trade; but he does not tell others of them; and no other person can understand what they mean. they are the works of god. no human hands were employed on them. that everybody admits." another thug: "i have seen there the sotha (inveigler) sitting upon the same carpet as the traveller, and in close conversation with him, just as we are when we worm out their secrets. in another place the strangler has got his _rumal_ (handkerchief) over his neck and is strangling him; while another, the chamochi, is holding him by the legs." i do not think there is any reason to suppose that these carvings really have anything to do with the thugs. 3. origin of the thugs the thugs did not apparently ever constitute a distinct caste like the badhaks, but were recruited from different classes of the population. in northern and southern india three-fourths or more, and in central india about a half, were muhammadans, whether genuine or the descendants of converted hindus. the muhammadan thugs consisted of seven clans, bhais, barsote, kachuni, hattar, garru, tandel and rathur: "and these, by the common consent of all thugs throughout india, whether hindus or muhammadans, are admitted to be the most ancient and the great original trunk upon which all the others have at different times and in different places been grafted." [678] these names, however, are of hindu and not of muhammadan origin; and it seems probable that many of the thugs were originally banjaras or cattle-dealers and kanjars or gipsies. one of the muhammadan thugs told colonel sleeman that, "the arcot gangs will never intermarry with our families, saying that we once drove bullocks and were itinerant tradesmen, and consequently of lower caste." [679] another man said [680] that at their marriages an old matron would sometimes repeat as she threw down the _tulsi_ or basil, "here's to the spirits of those who once led bears and monkeys; to those who drove bullocks and marked with the _godini_ (tattooing-needle); and those who made baskets for the head." these are the regular occupations of the kanjars and berias, the gipsy castes who are probably derived from the doms. and it seems not unlikely that these people may have been the true progenitors of the thugs. there is at present a large section of muhammadan kanjars who are recognised as members of the caste by the hindu section. colonel sleeman was of opinion that the kanjars also practised murder by strangling, but not as a regular profession; for this would have been too dangerous, as they were accustomed to wander about with their wives and all their belongings, and the disappearance of many travellers in the locality of their camps would naturally excite suspicion. whereas the true thugs resided in villages and towns and many of them had other ostensible occupations, their periodical excursions for robbery and murder being veiled under the pretence of some necessary journey. but the kanjars may have changed their mode of life on taking to this profession, and their adroitness in other forms of crime, such as killing and carrying off cattle, would make them likely persons to have discovered the advantages of a system of murder of travellers by strangulation. the existing descendants of the thugs at jubbulpore appear to be mainly kanjars and berias. for such a life it is clear that the profession of the muhammadan religion would be of much assistance in maintaining the disguise; for it set a man free from many caste obligations and ties and also from a host of irksome restrictions as to eating and drinking with others. we may therefore conjecture, though without certain knowledge, that many of the thugs may originally have become muhammadans for convenience; and this is supported by the well-known fact that the principal deity of all of them was the hindu goddess kali. many bodies of thugs were also recruited from other hindu castes, of whom the lodhas or lodhis were perhaps the most numerous; others of the fraternity were rajputs, brahmans, tantis or weavers, goalas or cowherds, multanis or muhammadan banjaras, as well as the sansias and kanjars or criminal vagrants and gipsies. these seem to have observed their caste rules and to have intermarried among themselves; sometimes they obtained wives from other families who had no connection with thuggee and kept their wives in ignorance of their nefarious trade; occasionally a girl would be spared from a murdered party and married to a son of one of the thugs; while boys were more frequently saved and brought up to the business. the thugs said [681] that the fidelity of their wives was proverbial and they were not less loving and dutiful than those of other men, while several instances are recorded of the strong affection borne by fathers to their children. 4. methods of assassination as is well known the method of the thugs was to attach themselves to travellers, either single men or small parties, and at a convenient opportunity to strangle them, bury the bodies and make off with the property found on them. the gangs of thugs usually contained from ten to fifty men and were sometimes much larger; on one occasion as many as three hundred and sixty thugs accomplished the murder of a party of forty persons in bilaspur. [682] they pretended to be traders, soldiers or cultivators and usually went without weapons in order to disarm suspicion; and this practice also furnished them with an excuse for seeking for permission to accompany parties travelling with arms. there was nothing to excite alarm or suspicion in the appearance of these murderers; but on the contrary they are described as being mild and benevolent of aspect, and peculiarly courteous, gentle and obliging. in their palmy days the leader of the gang often travelled on horseback with a tent and passed for a person of consequence or a wealthy merchant. they were accustomed to get into conversation with travellers by doing them some service or asking permission to unite their parties as a measure of precaution. they would then journey on together, and strive to win the confidence of their victims by a demeanour of warm friendship and feigned interest in their affairs. sometimes days would elapse before a favourable opportunity occurred for the murder; an instance is mentioned of a gang having accompanied a family of eleven persons for twenty days during which they had traversed upwards of 200 miles and then murdered the whole of them; and another gang accomplished 160 miles in twelve days in company with a party of sixty men, women and children, before they found a propitious occasion. [683] their favourite time for the murder was in the evening when the whole party would be seated in the open, the thugs mingled with their victims, talking, smoking and singing. if their numbers were sufficient three thugs would be allotted to every victim, so that on the signal being given two of them could lay hold of his hands and feet, while the bhurtot or strangler passed the _rumal_ over his head and tightened it round his neck, forcing the victim backwards and not relaxing his hold till life was extinct. the _rumal_ or 'handkerchief,' always employed for throttling victims, was really a loin-cloth or turban, in which a loop was made with a slip-knot. the thugs called it their _sikka_ or 'ensign,' but it was not held sacred like the pickaxe. when the leader of the gang cleared his throat violently it was a sign to prepare for action, and he afterwards gave the _jhirni_ or signal for the murder, by saying either '_tamakhu kha lo_,' 'begin chewing tobacco'; '_bhanja ko pan do_,' 'give betel to my nephew'; or '_ayi ho to ghiri chalo_,' 'if you are come, pray descend.' their adroitness was such that their victims seldom or never escaped nor even had a chance of making a fight for their lives. but if several persons were to be killed some men were detached to surround the camp and cut down any one who tried to escape. the thugs do not therefore appear to have had any religious objection to the shedding of blood, but they preferred murder by strangling as being safer. after the murder the bodies were at once buried, being first cut about to prevent them from swelling on decomposition, as this might raise the surface of the earth over the grave and so attract attention. if the ground was too hard they were thrown into a ravine or down one of the shallow irrigation wells which abound in north india; and it was stated that the discovery of a body in one of these wells was so common an occurrence that the cultivators took no notice of it. if there were people in the vicinity so that it was dangerous to dig the graves in the open air, the thugs did not scruple to inter the bodies of victims inside their own tents and to eat their food sitting on the soil above. for the attack of a horseman three men were always detailed, if practicable, so that one could seize the bridle and the other two pull him out of the saddle and strangle him; but if, as happened occasionally, a single thug managed to kill a man on horseback, he obtained a great reputation, which even descended to his children. on the other hand, if a strangler was unlucky or clumsy, so that the cloth fell on the victim's head or face, or he got blood on his clothes or other suspicious signs, and these accidents recurred, he was known as bisul, and was excluded from the office of strangler on account of presumed unfitness for the duty. when it was necessary for some reason to murder a party on the march, some _belhas_ or scouts were sent on ahead to choose a _beil_ or suitable place for the business, and see that no one was coming in the opposite direction; and when the leader said, 'wash the cup,' it was a signal for the scouts to go forward for this purpose. if a traveller had a dog with him the dog was also killed, lest he might stay beside his master's grave and call attention to it. another device in case of difficulty was for one of the thugs to feign sickness. the garru or man who did this fell down on a sudden and pretended to be taken violently ill. some of his friends raised and supported him, while others brought water and felt his pulse; and at last one of them pretended that a charm would restore him. all were then requested to sit down, the pot of water being in the centre; all were desired to take off their belts, if they had any, and uncover their necks, and lastly to look up and see if they could count a certain number of stars. while they were thus occupied intently gazing at the sky to carry out the charm for the recovery of the sick man, the cloths were passed round their necks and they were strangled. 5. account of certain murders the secrecy and adroitness with which the thugs conducted their murders are well illustrated by the narrative of the assassination of a native official or pleader at lakhnadon in seoni as given by one of the gang: [684] "we fell in with the munshi and his family at chhapara between nagpur and jubbulpore; and they came on with us to lakhnadon, where we found that some companies of a native regiment under european officers were expected the next morning. it was determined to put them all to death that evening as the munshi seemed likely to join the soldiers. the encampment was near the village and the munshi's tent was pitched close to us. in the afternoon some of the officers' tents came on in advance and were pitched on the other side, leaving us between them and the village. the _khalasis_ were all busily occupied in pitching them. nur khan and his son sadi khan and a few others went as soon as it became dark to the munshi's tent, and began to play and sing upon a _sitar_ as they had been accustomed to do. during this time some of them took up the munshi's sword on pretence of wishing to look at it. his wife and children were inside listening to the music. the _jhirni_ or signal was given, but at this moment the munshi saw his danger, called out murder, and attempted to rush through, but was seized and strangled. his wife hearing him ran out with the infant in her arms, but was seized by ghabbu khan, who strangled her and took the infant. the other daughter was strangled in the tent. the _saises_ (grooms) were at the time cleaning their horses, and one of them seeing his danger ran under the belly of his horse and called murder; but he was soon seized and strangled as well as all the rest. in order to prevent the party pitching the officers' tents from hearing the disturbance, as soon as the signal was given those of the gang who were idle began to play and sing as loud as they could; and two vicious horses were let loose, and many ran after them calling out as loud as they could; so that the calls of the munshi and his party were drowned." they thought at first of keeping the infant, but decided that it was too risky, and threw it alive into the grave in which the other bodies had been placed. it is surprising to realise that in the above case about half a dozen people, awake and conscious, were killed forcibly in broad daylight within a few paces of a number of men occupied in pitching tents, without their noticing anything of the matter; and this may certainly be characterised as an instance of murder as a fine art to show the absolute callousness of the thugs towards their victims and the complete absence of any feelings of compassion, the story of the following murder by the same gang may be recorded. [685] the thugs were travelling from nagpur toward jubbulpore with a party consisting of newal singh, a jemadar (petty officer) in the nizam's army, his brother, his two daughters, one thirteen and the other eleven years old, his son about seven years old, two young men who were to marry the daughters, and four servants. at dhurna the house in which the thugs lodged took fire, and the greater number of them were seized by the police, but were released at the urgent request of newal singh and his two daughters, who had taken a great fancy to khimoli, the principal leader of the gang, and some of the others. newal singh was related to a native officer of the british detachment at seoni and obtained his assistance for the release of the thugs. at this time the gang had with them two bags of silk, the property of three carriers whom they had murdered in the great temple of kamptee, and if they had been searched by the police these must have been discovered. on reaching jubbulpore the thugs found a lodging in the town with newal singh and his family. but the merchants who were expecting the silk from nagpur and found that it had not arrived, induced the kotwal to search the lodging of the thugs. hearing of the approach of the police, the leader khimoli again availed himself of the attachment of newal singh and his daughters, and the girls were made to sit each upon one of the two bags of silk while the police searched the place. nothing was found and the party again set out; and five days afterwards newal singh and his whole family were murdered at biseni by the thugs whom they had twice preserved from arrest. 6. special incidents (continued) these murderers looked on all travellers as their legitimate prey, as sportsmen regard game. on one occasion the noted thug, feringia, [686] with his gang were cooking their dinners under some trees on the road when five travellers came by, but could not be persuaded to stop and partake of the meal, saying they wished to sleep at a place called hirora that night, and had yet eight miles to go. the thugs afterwards followed, but found no traces of the travellers at hirora. feringia therefore concluded that they must have fallen into the hands of another gang, and suddenly recollected having passed an encampment of banjaras (pack-carriers) not far from the town. on the following morning he accordingly went back with a few of his comrades, and at once recognised a horse and pony which he had observed in the possession of the travellers. so he asked the banjaras, "what have you done with the five travellers, my good friends? you have taken from us our _banij_ (merchandise)." they apologised for what they had done, pleading ignorance of the lien of the other thugs, and offered to share the booty; but feringia declined, as none of his party had been present at the _loading._ they were accustomed to distinguish their most important exploits by the number of persons who were killed. thus one murder in the jubbulpore district was known as the 'sathrup,' or 'sixty soul affair,' and another in bilaspur as the 'chalisrup,' or 'murder of forty.' at this time (1807) the road between northern and southern india through the nerbudda valley had been rendered so unsafe by the incursions of the pindaris that travellers preferred to go through chhattisgarh and sambalpur to the ganges. this route, passing for long distances through dense forest, offered great advantages to the thugs, and was soon infested by them. in 1806, owing to the success [687] of previous expeditions, it was determined that all the thugs of northern india should work on this road; accordingly after the dasahra festival six hundred of them, under forty jemadars or leaders of note, set out from their homes, and having worshipped in the temple of devi at bindhyachal, met at ratanpur in bilaspur. the gangs split up, and after several murders sixty of them came to lanji in balaghat, and here in two days' time fell in with a party of thirty-one men, seven women and two girls on their way to the ganges. the jemadars soon became intimate with the principal men of the party, pretended to be going to the same part of india and won their confidence; and next day they all set out and in four days reached ratanpur, where they met 160 thugs returning from the murder of a wealthy widow and her escort. shortly afterwards another 200 men who had heard of the travellers near nagpur also came up, but all the different bodies pretended to be strangers to each other. they detached sixty men to return to nagpur, leaving 360 to deal with the forty travellers. from ratanpur they all journeyed to chura (chhuri?), and here scouts were sent on to select a proper place for the murder. this was chosen in a long stretch of forest, and two men were despatched to the village of sutranja, farther on the road, to see that no one was coming in the opposite direction, while another picket remained behind to prevent interruption from the rear. by the time they reached the appointed place, the bhurtots (stranglers) and shamsias (holders) had all on some pretext or other got close to the side of the persons whom they were appointed to kill; and on reaching the spot the signal was given in several places at the same time; and thirty-eight out of forty were immediately seized and strangled. one of the girls was a very handsome young woman, and pancham, a jemadar, wished to preserve her as a wife for his son. but when she saw her father and mother strangled she screamed and beat her head against the ground and tried to kill herself. pancham tried in vain to quiet her, and promised to take great care of her and marry her to his own son, who would be a great chief; but all to no effect. she continued to scream, and at last pancham put the _rumal_ (handkerchief) round her neck and strangled her. one little girl of three years old was preserved by another jemadar and married to his son, and when she grew up often heard the story of the affair narrated. the bodies were buried in a ravine and the booty amounted to rs. 17,000. the thugs then decided to return home, and arrived without mishap, except that the jemadar, pancham, died on the way. 7. disguises of the thugs they were not particular, however, to ascertain that their victims carried valuable property before disposing of them. eight annas (8d.), one of them said, [688] was sufficient remuneration for murdering a man. on another occasion two river thugs killed two old men and obtained only a rupee's worth of coppers, two brass vessels and their body-cloths. but as a rule the gains were much larger. it sometimes happened that the thugs themselves were robbed at night by ordinary thieves, though they usually set a watch. on one occasion a band of more than a hundred thugs fell in with a party of twenty-seven dacoits who had with them stolen property of rs. 13,000 in cash, with gold ornaments, gems and shawls. the thugs asked to be allowed to travel under their protection, and the dacoits carelessly assenting were shortly afterwards all murdered. [689] as already stated, the thugs were accustomed to live in towns or villages and many of them ostensibly followed respectable callings. the following instance of this is given by sir w. sleeman: [690] "the first party of thug approvers whom i sent into the deccan to aid captain reynolds recognised in the person of one of the most respectable linen-drapers of the cantonment of hingoli, hari singh, the adopted son of jawahir sukul, subahdar of thugs, who had been executed twenty years before. on hearing that the hari singh of the list sent to him of noted thugs at large in the deccan was the hari singh of the sadar bazar, captain reynolds was quite astounded; so correct had he been in his deportment and all his dealings that he had won the esteem of all the gentlemen of the station, who used to assist him in procuring passports for his goods on their way from bombay; and yet he had, as he has since himself shown, been carrying on his trade of murder up to the very day of his arrest with gangs of hindustan and the deccan on all the roads around and close to the cantonments of hingoli; and leading out his band of assassins while he pretended to be on his way to bombay for a supply of fresh linen and broad-cloth." another case is quoted by mr. oman from taylor's _thirty-eight years in india_. [691] "dr. cheek had a child's bearer who had charge of his children. the man was a special favourite, remarkable for his kind and tender ways with his little charges, gentle in manner and unexceptionable in all his conduct. every year he obtained leave from his master and mistress, as he said, for the filial purpose of visiting his aged mother for one month; and returning after the expiry of that time, with the utmost punctuality, resumed with the accustomed affection and tenderness the charge of his little darlings. this mild and exemplary being was the missing thug; kind, gentle, conscientious and regular at his post for eleven months in the year he devoted the twelfth to strangulation." 8. secrecy of their operations again, as regards the secrecy with which murders were perpetrated and all traces of them hidden, sir w. sleeman writes: [692] "while i was in civil charge of the district of narsinghpur, in the valley of the nerbudda, in the years 1822-1824, no ordinary robbery or theft could be committed without my becoming aware of it, nor was there a robber or thief of the ordinary kind in the district with whose character i had not become acquainted in the discharge of my duties as magistrate; and if any man had then told me that a gang of assassins by profession resided in the village of kandeli, [693] not four hundred yards from my court, and that the extensive groves of the village of mundesur, only one stage from me on the road to saugor and bhopal, were one of the greatest _beles_ or places of murder in all india, and that large gangs from hindustan and the deccan used to _rendezvous_ in these groves, remain in them for many days every year, and carry on their dreadful trade along all the lines of road that pass by and branch off from them, with the knowledge and connivance of the two landholders by whose ancestors these groves had been planted, i should have thought him a fool or a madman; and yet nothing could have been more true. the bodies of a hundred travellers lie buried in and around the groves of mundesur; and a gang of assassins lived in and about the village of kandeli while i was magistrate of the district, and extended their depredations to the cities of poona and hyderabad." 9. support of landholders and villagers the system of thuggee reached its zenith during the anarchic period of the decline of the mughal empire, when only the strongest and most influential could obtain any assistance from the state in recovering property or exacting reparation for the deaths of murdered friends and relatives. nevertheless, the thugs could hardly have escaped considerable loss even from private vengeance had they been compelled to rely on themselves for protection. but this was not the case, for, like the badhaks and other robbers, they enjoyed the countenance and support of landholders and ruling chiefs in return for presenting them with the choicest of their booty and taking holdings of land at very high rents. sir w. sleeman wrote [694] that, "the zamindars and landholders of every description have everywhere been found ready to receive these people under their protection from the desire to share in the fruits of their expeditions, and without the slightest feeling of religious or moral responsibility for the murders which they know must be perpetrated to secure these fruits. all that they require from them is a promise that they will not commit murders within their estates and thereby involve them in trouble." sometimes the police could also be conciliated by bribes, and on one occasion when a body of thugs who had killed twenty-five persons were being pursued by the thakur of powai [695] they retired upon the village of tigura, and even the villagers came out to their support and defended them against his attack. another officer wrote: [696] "to conclude, there seems no doubt but that this horrid crime has been fostered by all classes in the community--the landholders, the native officers of our courts, the police and village authorities--all, i think, have been more or less guilty; my meaning is not, of course, that every member of these classes, but that individuals varying in number in each class were concerned. the subordinate police officials have in many cases been _practising thugs_, and the _chaukidars_ or village watchmen frequently so." 10. murder of sepoys a favourite class of victims were sepoys proceeding to their homes on furlough and carrying their small savings; such men would not be quickly missed, as their relatives would think they had not started, and the regimental authorities would ascribe their failure to return to desertion. so many of these disappeared that a special army order was issued warning them not to travel alone, and arranging for the transmission of their money through the government treasuries. [697] in this order it is stated that the thugs were accustomed first to stupefy their victim by surreptitiously administering the common narcotic _dhatura_, still a familiar method of highway robbery. 11. callous nature of the thugs like the badhaks and other indian robbers and the italian banditti the thugs were of a very religious or superstitious turn of mind. there was not one among them, colonel sleeman wrote, [698] who doubted the divine origin of thuggee: "not one who doubts that he and all who have followed the trade of murder, with the prescribed rites and observance, were acting under the immediate orders and auspices of the goddess, devi, durga, kali or bhawani, as she is indifferently called, and consequently there is not one who feels the slightest remorse for the murders which he may have perpetrated or abetted in the course of his vocation. a thug considers the persons murdered precisely in the light of victims offered up to the goddess; and he remembers them as a priest of jupiter remembered the oxen and a priest of saturn the children sacrificed upon their altars. he meditates his murders without any misgivings, he perpetrates them without any emotions of pity, and he recalls them without any feeling of remorse. they trouble not his dreams, nor does their recollection ever cause him inquietude in darkness, in solitude or in the hour of death." and again: "the most extraordinary trait in the characters of these people is not this that they can look back upon all the murders they have perpetrated without any feelings of remorse, but that they can look forward indifferently to their children, whom they love as tenderly as any man in the world, following the same trade of murder or being united in marriage to men who follow the trade. when i have asked them how they could cherish these children through infancy and childhood under the determination to make them murderers or marry them to murderers, the only observation they have ever made was that formerly there was no danger of their ever being hung or transported, but that now they would rather that their children should learn some less dangerous trade." 12. belief in divine support they considered that all their victims were killed by the agency of god and that they were merely irresponsible agents, appointed to live by killing travellers as tigers by feeding on deer. if a man committed a real murder they held that his family must become extinct, and adduced the fact that this fate had not befallen them as proof that their acts of killing were justifiable. nay, they even held that those who oppressed them were punished by the goddess: [699] "was not nanha, the raja of jalon," said one of them, "made leprous by devi for putting to death budhu and his brother khumoli, two of the most noted thugs of their day? he had them trampled under the feet of elephants, but the leprosy broke out on his body the very next day. when mudhaji sindhia caused seventy thugs to be executed at mathura was he not warned in a dream by devi that he should release them? and did he not the very day after their execution begin to spit blood? and did he not die within three months?" their subsequent misfortunes and the success of the british officers against them they attributed to their disobedience of the ordinances of devi in slaying women and other classes of prohibited persons and their disregard of her omens. they also held that the spirits of all their victims went straight to paradise, and this was the reason why the thugs were not troubled by them as other murderers were. 13. theory of thuggee as a religious sect the fact that the thugs considered themselves to be directed by the deity, reinforced by their numerous superstitious beliefs and observances, has led to the suggestion by one writer that they were originally a religious sect, whose principal tenet was the prohibition of the shedding of blood. there is, however, no evidence in support of this view in the accounts of colonel sleeman, incomparably the best authority. their method of strangulation was, as has been seen, simply the safest and most convenient means of murder: it enabled them to dispense with arms, by the sight of which the apprehensions of their victims would have been aroused, and left no traces on the site of the crime to be observed by other travellers. on occasion also they did not scruple to employ weapons; as in the murder of seven treasure-bearers near hindoria in damoh, who would not probably have allowed the thugs to approach them, and in consequence were openly attacked and killed with swords. [700] other instances are given in colonel sleeman's narrative, and they were also accustomed to cut and slash about the bodies of their victims after death. the belief that they were guided by the divine will may probably have arisen as a means of excusing their own misdeeds to themselves and allaying their fear of such retribution as being haunted by the ghosts of their victims. similar instances of religious beliefs and practices are given in the accounts of other criminals, such as the badhaks and sansias. and the more strict and serious observances of the thugs may be accounted for by the more atrocious character of their crimes and the more urgent necessity of finding some palliative. the veneration paid to the pickaxe, which will shortly be described, merely arises from the common animistic belief that tools and implements generally achieve the results obtained from them by their inherent virtue and of their own volition, and not from the human hand which guides them and the human brain which fashioned them to serve their ends. members of practically all castes worship the implements of their profession and thus afford evidence of the same belief, the most familiar instance of which is perhaps, 'the pestilence that walketh in the darkness and the arrow that flieth by noonday'; where the writer intended no metaphor but actually thought that the pestilence walked and the arrow flew of their own volition. 14. worship of kali kali or bhawani was the principal deity of the thugs, as of most of the criminal and lower castes; and those who were muhammadans got over the difficulty of her being a hindu goddess by pretending that fatima, the daughter of the prophet, was an incarnation of her. in former times they held that the goddess was accustomed to relieve them of the trouble of destroying the dead bodies by devouring them herself; but in order that they might not see her doing this she had strictly enjoined on them never to look back on leaving the site of a murder. on one occasion a novice of the fraternity disobeyed this rule and, unguardedly looking behind him, saw the goddess in the act of feasting upon a body with the half of it hanging out of her mouth. upon this she declared that she would no longer devour those whom the thugs slaughtered; but she agreed to present them with one of her teeth for a pickaxe, a rib for a knife and the hem of her lower garment for a noose, and ordered them for the future to cut about and bury the bodies of those whom they destroyed. as there seems reason to suppose that the goddess kali represents the deified tiger, on which she rides, she was eminently appropriate as the patroness of the thugs and in the capacity of the devourer of corpses. 15. the sacred pickaxe when the sacred pickaxe used for burying corpses had to be made, the leader of the gang, having ascertained a lucky day from the priest, went to a blacksmith and after closing the door so that no other person might enter, got him to make the axe in his presence without touching any other work until it was completed. a day was then chosen for the consecration of the pickaxe, either monday, tuesday, wednesday or friday; and the ceremony was performed inside a house or tent, so that the shadow of no living thing might fall on and contaminate the sacred implement. a pit was dug in the ground and over it the pickaxe was washed successively with water, sugar and water, sour milk, and alcoholic liquor, all of which were poured over it into the pit. finally it was marked seven times with vermilion. a burnt offering was then made with all the usual ingredients for sacrifice and the pickaxe was passed seven times through the flames. a cocoanut was placed on the ground, and the priest, holding the pickaxe by the point in his right hand, said, 'shall i strike?' the others replied yes, and striking the cocoanut with the butt end he broke it in pieces, upon which all exclaimed, 'all hail, devi, and prosper the thugs.' all then partook of the kernel of the cocoanut, and collecting the fragments put them into the pit so that they might not afterwards be contaminated by the touch of any man's foot. here the cocoanut may probably be considered as a substituted sacrifice for a human being. thereafter the pickaxe was called kassi or mahi instead of _kudali_ the ordinary name, and was given to the shrewdest, cleanest and most sober and careful man of the party, who carried it in his waist-belt. while in camp he buried it in a secure place with its point in the direction they intended to go; and they believed that if another direction was better the point would be found changed towards it. they said that formerly the pickaxe was thrown into a well and would come up of itself when summoned with due ceremonies; but since they disregarded the ordinances of kali it had lost that virtue. many thugs told colonel sleeman [701] that they had seen the pickaxe rise out of the well in the morning of its own accord and come to the hands of the man who carried it; and even the several pickaxes of different gangs had been known to come up of themselves from the same well and go to their respective bearers. the pickaxe was also worshipped on every seventh day during an expedition, and it was believed that the sound made by it in digging a grave was never heard by any one but a thug. the oath by the pickaxe was in their esteem far more sacred than that by the ganges water or the koran, and they believed that a man who perjured himself by this oath would die or suffer some great calamity within six days. in prison, when administering an oath to each other in cases of dispute, they sometimes made an image of the pickaxe out of a piece of cloth and consecrated it for the purpose. if the pickaxe at any time fell from the hands of the carrier it was a dreadful omen and portended either that he would be killed that year or that the gang would suffer some grievous misfortune. he was deprived of his office and the gang either returned home or chose a fresh route and consecrated the pickaxe anew. 16. the sacred _gur_ (sugar) after each murder they had a sacrificial feast of _gur_ or unrefined sugar. this was purchased to the value of rs. 1-4, and the leader of the gang and the other bhurtotes (stranglers) sat on a blanket with the rest of the gang round them. a little sugar was dropped into a hole and the leader prayed to devi to send them some rich victims. the remainder of the sugar was divided among all present. one of them gave the _jhirni_ or signal for strangling and they consumed the sugar in solemn silence, no fragment of it being lost they believed that it was this consecrated _gur_ which gave the desire for the trade of a thug and made them callous to the sufferings of their victims, and they thought that if any outsider tasted it he would at once become a thug and continue so all his life. when colonel sleeman asked [702] a young man who had strangled a beautiful young woman in opposition to their rules, whether he felt no pity for her, the leader feringia exclaimed: "we all feel pity sometimes, but the _gur_ of the tuponi (sacrifice) changes our nature. it would change the nature of a horse. let any man once taste of that _gur_ and he will be a thug, though he knows all the trades and have all the wealth in the world. i never wanted food; my mother's family was opulent, her relations high in office. i have been high in office myself, and became so great a favourite wherever i went that i was sure of promotion; yet i was always miserable while absent from my gang and obliged to return to thuggee. my father made me taste of that fatal _gur_ when i was yet a mere boy; and if i were to live a thousand years i should never be able to follow any other trade." the eating of this _gur_ was clearly the sacrificial meal of the thugs. on the analogy of other races they should have partaken of the body of an animal god at their sacrificial meal, and if the goddess kali is the deified tiger, they should have eaten tiger's flesh. this custom, if it ever existed, had been abandoned, and the _gur_ would in that case be a substitute; and as has been seen the eating of the _gur_ was held to confer on them the same cruelty, callousness and desire to kill which might be expected to follow from eating tiger's flesh and thus assimilating the qualities of the animal. since they went unarmed as a rule, in order to avoid exciting the suspicions of their victims, it would be quite impossible for them to obtain tiger's flesh, except by the rarest accident; and the _gur_ might be considered a suitable substitute, since its yellow colour would be held to make it resemble the tiger. 17. worship of ancestors the thugs also worshipped the spirits of their ancestors. one of these was dadu dhira, an ancient thug of the barsote class, who was invoked at certain religious ceremonies, when liquor was drunk. vows were made to offer libations of ardent spirits to him, and if the prayer was answered the worshipper drank the liquor, or if his caste precluded him from doing this, threw it on the ground with an expression of thanks. another deity was the spirit of jhora naik, who was a muhammadan. he and his servant killed a man who had jewels and other articles laden on a mule to the value of more than a lakh and a half. they brought home the booty, assembled all the members of their fraternity within reach, and honestly divided the whole as if all had been present the thugs also said that nizam-ud-din aulia, a well-known muhammadan saint, famed for his generosity, whose shrine is near delhi, had been a thug, at any rate in his younger days. he distributed so much money in charity that he was supposed to be endowed with a dustul ghib or supernatural purse; and they supposed that he obtained it by the practice of thuggee. orthodox muhammadans would, however, no doubt indignantly repudiate this. 18. fasting whenever they set out on a fresh expedition the first week was known as satha (seven). during this period the families of those who were engaged in it would admit no visitors from the relatives of other thugs, lest the travellers destined for their own gang should go over to these others; neither could they eat any food belonging to the families of other thugs. during the satha period the thugs engaged in the expedition ate no animal food except fish and nothing cooked with _ghi_ (melted butter). they did not shave or bathe or have their clothes washed or indulge in sexual intercourse, or give away anything in charity or throw any part of their food to dogs or jackals. at one time they ate no salt or turmeric, but this rule was afterwards abandoned. but if the sourka or first murder took place within the seven days they considered themselves relieved by it from all these restraints. 19. initiation of a novice a thug seldom attained to the office of bhurtote or strangler until he had been on several expeditions and acquired the requisite courage or insensibility by slow degrees. at first they were almost always shocked or frightened; but after a time they said they lost all sympathy with the victims. they were first employed as scouts, then as buriers of the dead, next as shamsias or holders of hands, and finally as stranglers. when a man felt that he had sufficient courage and insensibility he begged the oldest and most renowned thug of the gang to make him his _chela_ or disciple. if his proposal was accepted he awaited the arrival of a suitable victim of not too great bodily strength. while the traveller was asleep with the gang at their quarters the _guru_ or preceptor took his disciple into a neighbouring field, followed by three or four old members of the gang. here they all faced in the direction in which the gang intended to move, and the _guru_ said, "_oh kali, kunkali, bhudkali, [703] oh kali, maha kali, kalkatawali!_ if it seemeth to thee fit that the traveller now at our lodging should die by the hands of this thy slave, vouchsafe, we pray thee, the omen on the right." if they got this within a certain interval the candidate was considered to be accepted, and if not some other thug put the traveller to death and he had to wait for another chance. in the former case they returned to their quarters and the _guru_ took a handkerchief and tied the slip-knot in one end of it with a rupee inside it. the disciple received it respectfully in his right hand and stood over the victim with the shamsia or holder by his side. the traveller was roused on some pretence or other and the disciple passed the handkerchief over his neck and strangled him. he then bowed down to his _guru_ and all his relations and friends in gratitude for the honour he had obtained. he gave the rupee from the knot with other money, if he had it, to the _guru_, and with this sugar or sweetmeats were bought and the _gur_ sacrifice was celebrated, the new strangler taking one of the seats of honour on the blanket for the first time. the relation between a strangler and his _guru_ was considered most sacred, and a thug would often rather betray his father than the preceptor by whom he had been initiated. there were certain classes of persons whom they were forbidden to kill, and they considered that the rapid success of the english officers in finally breaking up the gangs was to be attributed to the divine wrath at breaches of these rules. the original rule [704] was that the sourka or first victim must not be a brahman, nor a saiyad, nor any very poor man, nor any man with gold on his person, nor any man who had a quadruped with him, nor a washerwoman, nor a sweeper, nor a teli (oilman), nor a bhat (bard), nor a kayasth (writer), nor a leper, dancing-woman, pilgrim or devotee. the reason for some of these exemptions is obvious: brahmans, muhammadan saiyads, bards, religious mendicants and devotees were excluded owing to their sanctity; and sweepers, washermen and lepers owing to their impurity, which would have the same evil and unlucky effect on their murderers as the holiness of the first classes. a man wearing gold ornaments would be protected by the sacred character of the metal; and the killing of a poor man as the first victim would naturally presage a lack of valuable booty during the remainder of the expedition. telis and kayasths are often considered as unlucky castes, and even in the capacity of victims might be held to bring an evil fortune on their murderers. 20. prohibition of murder of women another list is given of persons whom it was forbidden to kill at any time, and of these the principal category was women. it was a rule of all thugs that women should not be murdered, but one which they constantly broke, for few large parties consisted solely of men, and to allow victims to escape from a party would have been a suicidal policy. in all the important exploits related to colonel sleeman the women who accompanied victims were regularly strangled, with the occasional exception of young girls who might be saved and married to the sons of thug leaders. the breach of the rule as to the murder of women was, however, that which they believed to be specially offensive to their patroness bhawani; and no thug, colonel sleeman states, was ever known to offer insult either in act or speech to the women whom they were about to murder. no gang would ever dare to murder a woman with whom one of its members should be suspected of having had criminal intercourse. the murder of women was especially reprobated by hindus, and the muhammadan thugs were apparently responsible for the disregard of this rule which ultimately became prevalent, as shown by the dispute over the killing of a wealthy old lady, [705] narrated by one of the thugs as follows: "i remember the murder of kali bibi well; i was at the time on an expedition to baroda and not present, but punua must have been there. a dispute arose between the musalmans and hindus before and after the murder. the musalmans insisted upon killing her as she had rs. 4000 of property with her, but the hindus would not agree. she was killed, and the hindus refused to take any part of the booty; they came to blows, but at last the hindus gave in and consented to share in all but the clothes and ornaments which the woman wore. feringia's father, parasram brahman, was there, and when they came home parasram's brother, rai singh, refused to eat, drink or smoke with his brother till he had purged himself from this great sin; and he, with two other thugs, a rajput and a brahman, gave a feast which cost them a thousand rupees each. four or five thousand brahmans were assembled at that feast. had it rested here we should have thrived; but in the affair of the sixty victims women were again murdered; in the affair of the forty several women were murdered; and from that time we may trace our decline." 21. other classes of persons not killed another rule was that a man having a cow with him should not be murdered, no doubt on account of the sanctity attaching to the animal. but in one case of a murder of fourteen persons including women and a man with a cow at kotri in the damoh district, the thugs, having made acquaintance with the party, pretended that they had made a vow to offer a cow at a temple in shahpur lying on their road and persuaded the cow's owner to sell her to them for this sacred purpose, and having duly made the offering and deprived him of the protection afforded by the cow, they had no compunction in strangling him with all the travellers. travellers who had lost a limb were also exempted from death, but this rule too was broken, as in the case of the native officer with his two daughters who was murdered by the thugs he had befriended; for it is recorded that this man had lost a leg. pilgrims carrying ganges water could not be killed if they actually had the ganges water with them; and others who should not be murdered were washermen, sweepers, oil-vendors, dancers and musicians, carpenters and blacksmiths, if found travelling together, and religious mendicants. the reason for the exemption of carpenters and blacksmiths only when travelling together may probably have been that the sacred pickaxe was their joint handiwork, having a wooden handle and an iron head; and this seems a more likely explanation than any other in view of the deep veneration shown for the pickaxe. maimed persons would probably not be acceptable victims to the goddess, according to the rule that the sacrifice must be without spot or blemish. the other classes have already been discussed under the exemption of first victims. among the deccan thugs if a man strangled any victim of a class whom it was forbidden to kill, he was expelled from the community and never readmitted to it. this was considered a most dreadful crime. 22. belief in omens the thugs believed that the wishes of the deity were constantly indicated to them by the appearance or cries of a large number of wild animals and birds from which they drew their omens; and indeed the number of these was so extensive that they could never be at a loss for an indication of the divine will, and difficulties could only arise when the omens were conflicting. as a general rule the omen varied according as it was heard on the left hand, known as pilhao, or the right, known as thibao. on first opening an expedition an omen must be heard on the left and be followed by one on the right, or no start was made; it signified that the deity took them first by the left hand and then by the right to lead them on. when they were preparing to march or starting on a road, an omen heard on the left encouraged them to go on, but if it came from the right they halted. when arriving at their camping-place on the other hand the omen on the right was auspicious and they stayed, but if it came from the left the projected site was abandoned and the march continued. in the case of the calls of a very few animals these rules were reversed, left and right being transposed in each instance. the howl of the jackal was always bad if heard during the day, and the gang immediately quitted the locality, leaving untouched any victims whom they might have inveigled, however wealthy. the jackal's cry at night followed the rule of right and left. the jackal was probably revered by the thugs as the devourer of corpses. the sound made by the lizard was at all times and places a very good omen; but if a lizard fell upon a thug it was bad, and any garment touched by it must be given away in charity. the call of the _saras_ crane was a very important omen, and when heard first on the left and then on the right or vice versa according to the rules given above, they expected a great booty in jewels or money. the call of the partridge followed the same rules but was not of so much importance. that of the large crow was favourable if the bird was sitting on a tree, especially when a tank or river could be seen; but if the crow was perched on the back of a buffalo or pig or on the skeleton of any animal, it was a bad omen. tanks or rivers were likely places for booty in the shape of resting travellers, whose death the appearance of the crow might portend; whereas in the other positions it might prognosticate a thug's own death. the chirping of the small owlet was considered to be a bad omen, whether made while the bird was sitting or flying; it was known as _chiraiya_ and is a low and melancholy sound seldom repeated. they considered it a very bad omen to hear the hare squeaking; this, unless it was averted by sacrifices, signified, they said, that they would perish in the jungles, and the hare or some other animal of the forest would drink water from their skulls. "we know that the hare was used in brittany as an animal of augury for foretelling the future; and all animals of augury were once venerated." [706] the hare has still some remnant of sanctity among the hindus. women will not eat its flesh, and men eat the flesh of wild hares only, not of tame ones. it seems likely that the hare may have been considered capable of foretelling the future on account of its long ears. the omen of the donkey was considered the most important of all, whether it threatened evil or promised good. it was a maxim of augury that the ass was equal to a hundred birds, and it was also more important than all other quadrupeds. if they heard its bray on the left on the opening of an expedition and it was soon after repeated on the right, they believed that nothing on earth could prevent their success during that expedition though it should last for years. the ass is the sacred animal of sitala, the goddess of smallpox, who is a form of kali. the ears and also the bray of the ass would give it importance. the noise of two cats heard fighting was propitious only during the first watch of the night; if heard later in the night it was known as '_kali ki mauj_' or 'kali's temper,' and threatened evil, and if during the daytime as '_dhamoni [707] ki mauj_,' and was a prelude of great misfortune; while if the cats fell from a height while fighting it was worst of all. the above shows that the cat was also the animal of kali and is a point in favour of her derivation from the tiger; and on this hypothesis the importance of the omen of the cat is explained. if they obtained a good omen when in company with travellers they believed that it was a direct order from heaven to kill them, and that if they disobeyed the sign and let the travellers go they would never obtain any more victims. [708] 23. omens and taboos if a mare dropped a foal in their camp while they were travelling, they were all contaminated or came under the itak; and the only remedy for this was to return home and start the journey afresh. various other events [709] also produced the itak, especially among the deccan thugs; these were the birth of a child in a thug family; the first courses of a thug's daughter; a marriage in a thug's family; a death of any member of his family except an infant at the breast; circumcision of a boy; a buffalo or cow giving calf or dying; and a cat or dog giving a litter or dying. if a party fell under the itak or contamination at a time when it was extremely inconvenient or impossible to return home, they sometimes marched back for a few miles and slept the night, making a fresh start in the morning, and this was considered equivalent to beginning a new journey after getting rid of the contamination. if any member of the party sneezed on setting out on an expedition or on the day's march, it was a bad omen and required expiatory sacrifices; and if they had travellers with them when this omen occurred, these must be allowed to escape and could not be put to death. omens were also taken from the turban, without which no thug, except perhaps in bengal, would travel. [710] if a turban caught fire a great evil was portended, and the gang must, if near home, return and wait for seven days. but if they had travelled for some distance an offering of _gur_ (sugar) was made, and the owner of the turban alone returned home. if a man's turban fell off it was also considered a very bad omen, requiring expiatory sacrifices. the turban is important as being the covering of the head, which many primitive people consider to contain the life or soul (_golden bough_). a shower of rain falling at any time except during the monsoon period from june to september was also a bad omen which must be averted by sacrifices. prior to the commencement [711] of an expedition a brahman was employed to select a propitious day and hour for the start and for the direction in which the gang should proceed. after this the auspices were taken with great solemnity and, if favourable omens were obtained, the party set out and made a few steps in the direction indicated; after this they might turn to the right or left as impediments or incentives presented themselves. if they heard any one weeping for a death as they left the village, it threatened great evil; and so, too, if they met the corpse of any one belonging to their own village, but not that of a stranger. and it was also a bad omen to meet an oil-vendor, a carpenter, a potter, a dancing-master, a blind or lame man, a fakir (beggar) with a brown waistband or a jogi (mendicant) with long matted hair. most of these were included in the class of persons who might not be killed. 24. nature of the belief in omens the custom of the thugs, and in a less degree of ignorant and primitive races generally, of being guided in their every action by the chance indications afforded from the voices and movements of birds and animals appears to the civilised mind extremely foolish. but its explanation is not difficult when the character of early religious beliefs is realised. it was held by savages generally that animals, birds and all other living things, as well as trees and other inanimate objects, had souls and exercised conscious volition like themselves. and those animals, such as the tiger and cow, and other objects, such as the sun and moon and high mountains or trees, which appeared most imposing and terrible, or exercised the most influence on their lives, were their principal deities, the spirits of which at a later period developed into anthropomorphic gods. even the lesser animals and birds were revered and considered to be capable of affecting the lives of men. hence their appearance, their flight and their cries were naturally taken to be direct indications afforded by the god to his worshippers; and it was in the interpretation of these, the signs given by the divine beings by whom man was surrounded, and whom at one time he considered superior to himself, that the science of augury consisted. "the priestesses of the oracle of zeus at dodona called themselves doves, as those of diana at ephesus called themselves bees; this proves that the oracles of the temples were formerly founded on observations of the flight of doves and bees, and no doubt also that the original cult consisted in the worship of these animals." [712] thus, as is seen here, when the deity was no longer an animal but had developed into a god in human shape, the animal remained associated with him and partook of his sanctity; and what could be more natural than that he should convey the indications of his will through the appearance, movements and cries of the sacred animal to his human _protégés_. the pseudo-science of omens is thus seen to be a natural corollary of the veneration of animals and inanimate objects. 25. suppression of thuggee when the suppression of the thugs was seriously taken in hand by the thuggee and dacoity department under the direction of sir william sleeman, this abominable confraternity, which had for centuries infested the main roads of india and made away with tens of thousands of helpless travellers, never to be heard of again by their families and friends, was destroyed with comparatively little difficulty. the thugs when arrested readily furnished the fullest information of their murders and the names of their confederates in return for the promise of their lives, and colonel sleeman started a separate file or _dossier_ for every thug whose name became known to him, in which all information obtained about him from different informers was collected. in this manner, as soon as a man was arrested and identified, a mass of evidence was usually at once forthcoming to secure his conviction. between 1826 and 1835 about 2000 thugs were arrested and hanged, transported or kept under restraint; subsequently to this a larger number of british officers were deputed to the work of hunting down the thugs, and by 1848 it was considered that this form of crime had been practically stamped out. for the support of the approver thugs and the families of these and others a labour colony was instituted at jubbulpore, which subsequently developed into the school of industry and was the parent of the existing reformatory school. here these criminals were taught tent and carpet-making and other trades, and in time grew to be ashamed of the murderous calling in which they had once taken a pride. turi list of paragraphs 1. _origin of the caste_. 2. _subdivisions_. 3. _marriage_. 4. _funeral rites_. 5. _occupation_. 6. _social status_. 1. origin of the caste _turi._--a non-aryan caste of cultivators, workers in bamboo, and basket-makers, belonging to the chota nagpur plateau. they number about 4000 persons in raigarh, sarangarh and the states recently transferred from bengal. the physical type of the turis, sir h. risley states, their language, and their religion place it beyond doubt that they are a hinduised offshoot of the munda tribe. they still speak a dialect derived from mundari, and their principal deity is singbonga or the sun, the great god of the mundas: "in lohardaga, where the caste is most numerous, it is divided into four subcastes--turi or kisan-turi, or, dom, and domra--distinguished by the particular modes of basket and bamboo-work which they practise. thus the turi or kisan-turi, who are also cultivators and hold _bhuinhari_ land, make the _sup_, a winnowing sieve made of _sirki_, the upper joint of _saccharum procerum_; the _tokri_ or _tokiya_, a large open basket of split bamboo twigs woven up with the fibre of the leaves of the _tal_ palm; the _sair_ and _nadua_, used for catching fish. the ors are said to take their name from the _oriya_ basket used by the sower, and made of split bamboo, sometimes helped out with _tal_ fibre. they also make umbrellas, and the _chhota dali_ or _dala_, a flat basket with vertical sides used for handling grain in small quantities. doms make the _harka_ and scale-pans (_taraju_). domras make the _peti_ and fans. turis frequently reckon in as a fifth subcaste the birhors, who cut bamboos and make the _sikas_ used for carrying loads slung on a shoulder-yoke (_bhangi_), and a kind of basket called _phanda_. doms and domras speak hindi; turis, ors and birhors use among themselves a dialect of mundari." [713] 2. subdivisions in raigarh and sarangarh of the central provinces the above subcastes are not found, and there are no distinct endogamous groups; but the more hinduised members of the caste have begun to marry among themselves and call themselves turia, while they look down on the others to whom they restrict the designation turi. the names of subcastes given by sir h. risley appear to indicate that the turis are an offshoot from the mundas, with an admixture of doms and other low uriya castes. among themselves the caste is also known as husil, a term which signifies a worker in bamboo. the caste say that their original ancestor was created by singbonga, the sun, and had five sons, one of whom found a wooden image of their deity in the baranda forest, near the barpahari hill in chota nagpur. this image was adopted as their family deity, and is revered to the present day as barpahari deo. the deity is thus called after the hill, of which it is clear that he is the personified representative. from the five sons are descended the five main septs of the turis. the eldest was called mailuar, and his descendants are the leaders or headmen of the caste. the group sprung from the second son are known as chardhagia, and it is their business to purify and readmit offenders to caste intercourse. the descendants of the third son conduct the ceremonial shaving of such offenders, and are known as surennar, while those of the fourth son bring water for the ceremony and are called tirkuar. the fifth group is known as hasdagia, and it is said that they are the offspring of the youngest brother, who committed some offence, and the four other brothers took the parts which are still played by their descendants in his ceremony of purification. traces of similar divisions appear to be found in bengal, as sir h. risley states that before a marriage can be celebrated the consent of the heads of the madalwar and surinwar sections, who are known respectively as raja and thakur, is obtained, while the head of the charchagiya section officiates as priest. the above names are clearly only variants of those found in the central provinces. but besides the above groups the turis have a large number of exogamous septs of a totemistic nature, some of which are identical with those of the mundas. 3. marriage marriage is adult, and the bride and bridegroom are usually about the same age; but girls are scarce in the caste, and betrothals are usually effected at an early age, so that the fathers of boys may obtain brides for their sons. a contract of betrothal, once made, cannot be broken without incurring social disgrace, and compensation in money is also exacted. a small bride-price of three or four rupees and a piece of cloth is payable to the girl's father. as in the case of some other uriya castes the proposal for a marriage is couched in poetic phraseology, the turi bridegroom's ambassador announcing his business with the phrase: 'i hear that a sweet-scented flower has blossomed in your house and i have come to gather it'; to which the bride's father, if the match be acceptable, replies: 'you may take away my flower if you will not throw it away when its sweet scent has gone.' the girl then appears, and the boy's father gives her a piece of cloth and throws a little liquor over her feet. he then takes her on his lap and gives her an anna to buy a ring for herself, and sometimes kisses her and says, 'you will preserve my lineage.' he washes the feet of her relatives, and the contract of betrothal is thus completed, and its violation by either party is a serious matter. the wedding is performed according to the ritual commonly practised by the uriya castes. the binding portion of it consists in the perambulation of the sacred pole five or seven times. after each circle the bridegroom takes hold of the bride's toe and makes her kick away a small heap of rice on which a nut and a pice coin are placed. after this a cloth is held over the couple and each rubs vermilion on the other's forehead. at this moment the bride's brother appears, and gives the bridegroom a blow on the back. this is probably in token of his wrath at being deprived of his sister. a meal of rice and fowls is set before the bridegroom, but he feigns displeasure, and refuses to eat them. the bride's parents then present him with a pickaxe and a crooked knife, saying that these are the implements of their trade, and will suffice him for a livelihood. the bridegroom, however, continues obdurate until they promise him a cow or a bullock, when he consents to eat. the bride's family usually spend some twenty or more rupees on her wedding, and the bridegroom's family about fifty rupees. a widow is expected to marry her dewar or deceased husband's younger brother, and if she takes somebody else he must repay to the dewar the expenditure incurred by the latter's family on her first marriage. divorce is permitted for misconduct on the part of the wife or for incompatibility of temper. 4. funeral rites the caste bury the dead, placing the head to the north. they make libations to the spirits of their ancestors on the last day of phagun (february), and not during the fortnight of pitripaksh in kunwar (september) like other hindu castes. they believe that the spirits of ancestors are reborn in children, and when a baby is born they put a grain of rice into a pot of water and then five other grains in the names of ancestors recently deceased. when one of these meets the grain representing the child they hold that the ancestor in question has been born again. the principal deity of the caste is singbonga, the sun, and according to one of their stories the sun is female. they say that the sun and moon were two sisters, both of whom had children, but when the sun gave out great heat the moon was afraid that her children would be burnt up, so she hid them in a _handi_ or earthen pot. when the sun missed her sister's children she asked her where they were, and the moon replied that she had eaten them up; on which the sun also ate up her own children. but when night came the moon took her children out of the earthen pot and they spread out in the sky and became the stars. and when the sun saw this she was greatly angered and vowed that she would never look on the moon's face again. and it is on this account that the moon is not seen in the daytime, and as the sun ate up all her children there are no stars during the day. 5. occupation the caste make and sell all kinds of articles manufactured from the wood of the bamboo, and the following list of their wares will give an idea of the variety of purposes for which this product is utilised: _tukna_, an ordinary basket; _dauri_, a basket for washing rice in a stream; _lodhar_, a large basket for carrying grain on carts; _chuki_, a small basket for measuring grain; _garni_ and _sikosi_, a small basket for holding betel-leaf and a box for carrying it in the pocket; _dhitori_, a fish-basket; _dholi_, a large bamboo shed for storing grain; _ghurki_ and _paili_, grain measures; _chhanni_, a sieve; _taji_) a balance; _pankha_ and _bijna_, fans; _pelna_, a triangular frame for a fishing-net; _choniya_, a cage for catching fish; _chatai_) matting; _chhata_, an umbrella; _chhitori_, a leaf hat for protecting the body from rain; _pinjra_, a cage; _khunkhuna_, a rattle; and _guna_, a muzzle for bullocks. most of them are very poor, and they say that when singbonga made their ancestors he told them to fetch something in which to carry away the grain which he would give them for their support; but the turis brought a bamboo sieve, and when singbonga poured the grain into the sieve nearly the whole of it ran out. so he reproved them for their foolishness, and said, '_khasar, khasar, tin pasar_,' which meant that, however hard they should work, they would never earn more than three handfuls of grain a day. 6. social status the social status of the turis is very low, and their touch is regarded as impure. they must live outside the village and may not draw water from the common well; the village barber will not shave them nor the washerman wash their clothes. they will eat all kinds of food, including the flesh of rats and other vermin, but not beef. the rules regarding social impurity are more strictly observed in the uriya country than elsewhere, owing to the predominant influence of the brahmans, and this is probably the reason why the turis are so severely ostracised. their code of social morality is not strict, and a girl who is seduced by a man of the caste is simply made over to him as his wife, the ordinary bride-price being exacted from him. he must also feed the caste-fellows, and any money which is received by the girl's father is expended in the same manner. members of hindu castes and gonds may be admitted into the community, but not the munda tribes, such as the mundas themselves and the kharias and korwas; and this, though the turis, as has been seen, are themselves an offshoot of the munda tribe. the fact indicates that in chota nagpur the tribes of the munda family occupy a lower social position than the gonds and others belonging to the dravidian family. when an offender of either sex is to be readmitted into caste after having been temporarily expelled for some offence he or she is given water to drink and has a lock of hair cut off. their women are tattooed on the arms, breast and feet, and say that this is the only ornament which they can carry to the grave. velama 1. origin and social status _velama, elama, yelama._--a telugu cultivating caste found in large numbers in vizagapatam and ganjam, while in 1911 about 700 persons were returned from chanda and other districts in the central provinces. the caste frequently also call themselves by the honorific titles of naidu or dora (lord). the velamas are said formerly to have been one with the kamma caste, but to have separated on the question of retaining the custom of _parda_ or _gosha_ which they had borrowed from the muhammadans. the kammas abandoned _parda_, and, signing a bond written on palm-leaf to this effect, obtained their name from _kamma_, a leaf. the velamas retained the custom, but a further division has taken place on the subject, and one subcaste, called the adi or original velamas, do not seclude their women. the caste has at present a fairly high position, and several important madras chiefs are velamas, as well as the zamindar of sironcha in the central provinces. they appear, however, to have improved their status, and thus to have incurred the jealousy of their countrymen, as is evidenced by some derogatory sayings current about the caste. thus the balijas call them guni sakalvandlu or hunchbacked washermen, because some of them print chintz and carry their goods in a bundle on their backs. [714] according to another derivation _guna_ is the large pot in which they dye their cloth. another story is that the name of the caste is velimala, meaning those who are above or better than the dhers, and was a title conferred on them by the raja of bastar in recognition of the bravery displayed by the velamas in his army. these stories are probably the outcome of the feeling of jealousy which attaches to castes which have raised themselves in the social scale. the customs of the velamas do not indicate a very high standard of ceremonial observance, as they eat fowls and pork and drink liquor. they are said to take food from bestas and dhimars, while kunbis will take it from them. the men of the caste are tall and strong, of a comparatively fair complexion and of a bold and arrogant demeanour. it is said that a velama will never do anything himself which a servant can do for him, and a story is told of one of them who was smoking when a spark fell on his moustache. he called his servant to remove it, but by the time the man came, his master's moustache had been burnt away. these stories and the customs of the velamas appear to indicate that they are a caste of comparatively low position, who have gone up in the world, and are therefore tenacious in asserting a social position which is not universally admitted. their subcastes show that a considerable difference in standing exists in the different branches of the caste. of these the racha or royal velamas, to whom the chiefs and zamindars belong, are the highest. while others are the guna velamas or those who use a dyer's pot, the eku or 'cotton-skein' who are weavers and carders, and the tellaku or white leaf velamas, the significance of this last name not being known. it is probable that the velamas were originally a branch of the great kapu or reddi caste of cultivators, corresponding in the telugu country to the kurmis and kunbis, as many of their section names are the same as those of the kapus. the velamas apparently took up the trades of weaving and dyeing, and some of them engaged in military service and acquired property. these are now landowners and cultivators and breed cattle, while others dye and weave cloth. they will not engage themselves as hired labourers, and they do not allow their women to work in the fields. 2. marriage and social customs the caste are said to have 77 exogamous groups descended from the 77 followers or spearsmen who attended raja rudra pratap of bastar when he was ousted from warangal. these section names are eponymous, territorial and totemistic, instances of the last kind being cherukunula from _cheruku_, sugarcane, and pasapunula from _pasapu_, turmeric, and _nula_, thread. marriage within the section or _gotra_ is prohibited, but first cousins may intermarry. marriage is usually adult, and the binding portion of the ceremony consists in the tying of the _mangal-sutram_ or happy thread by the bridegroom round the bride's neck. at the end of the marriage the _kankans_ or bracelets of the bridegroom and bride are taken off in signification that all obstacles to complete freedom of intercourse and mutual confidence between the married pair have been removed. in past years, when the guna velamas had a marriage, they were bound to pay the marriage expenses of a couple of the palli or fisherman caste, in memory of the fact that on one occasion when the guna velamas were in danger of being exterminated by their enemies, the pallis rescued them in their boats and carried them to a place of safety. but now it is considered sufficient to hang up a fishing-net in the house when a marriage ceremony of the guna velamas is being celebrated. [715] the caste do not permit the marriage of widows, and divorce is confined to cases in which a wife is guilty of adultery. the velamas usually employ vaishnava brahmans as their priests. they burn the bodies of those who die after marriage, and bury those dying before it. children are named on the twenty-first day after birth, the child being placed in a swing, and the name selected by the parents being called out three times by the oldest woman present. on this day the mother is taken to a well and made to draw a bucket of water by way of declaration that she is fit to do household work. vidur list of paragraphs 1. _origin and traditions_. 2. _the purads, golaks and borals_. 3. _illegitimacy among hindustani castes_. 4. _legend of origin_. 5. _marriage_. 6. _social rules and occupation_. 1. origin and traditions _vidur, [716] bidur_.--a maratha caste numbering 21,000 persons in the central provinces in 1911, and found in the nagpur division and berar. they are also returned from hyderabad and bombay. vidur means a wise or intelligent man, and was the name of the younger brother of pandu, the father of the pandava brothers. the vidurs are a caste of mixed descent, principally formed from the offspring of brahman fathers with women of other castes. but the descendants of panchals, kunbis, malis and others from women of lower caste are also known as vidurs and are considered as different subcastes. each of these groups follow the customs and usually adopt the occupation of the castes to which their fathers belonged. they are known as kharchi or khaltatya, meaning 'below the plate' or 'below the salt,' as they are not admitted to dine with the proper vidurs. but the rule varies in different places, and sometimes after the death of their mother such persons become full members of the caste, and with each succeeding generation the status of their descendants improves. in poona the name vidur is restricted to the descendants of brahman fathers, and they are also known as brahmanja or 'born from brahmans.' elsewhere the brahman vidurs are designated especially as krishnapakshi, which means 'one born during the dark fortnight,' the term krishnapakshi is or was also used in bengal, and buchanan defined it as follows: "men of the rajput, khatri and kayasth tribes, but no others, openly keep women slaves of any pure tribe, and the children are of the same caste with their father, but are called krishnapakshis and can only marry with each other." [717] in bastar a considerable class of persons of similar illegitimate descent also exist, being the offspring of the unions of immigrant hindus with women of the gond, halba and other tribes. the name applied to them, however, is dhakar, and as their status and customs are quite different from those of the maratha vidurs they are treated in a short separate article. 2. the purads, golaks and borals another small group related to the vidurs are the purads of nagpur; they say that their ancestor was a brahman who was carried away in a flooded river and lost his sacred thread. he could not put on a new thread afterwards because the sacred thread must be changed without swallowing the spittle in the interval. hence he was put out of caste and his descendants are the purads, the name being derived from _pur_, a flood. these people are mainly shopkeepers. in berar two other groups are found, the golaks and borals. the golaks are the illegitimate offspring of a brahman widow; if after her husband's decease she did not shave her head, her illegitimate children are known as rand [718] golaks; if her head was shaved, they are called mund (shaven) golaks; and if their father be unknown, they are named kund golaks. the golaks are found in malkapur and balapur and number about 400 persons. a large proportion of them are beggars. a boral is said to be the child of a father of any caste and a mother of one of those in which widows shave their heads. as a matter of fact widows, except among brahmans, rarely shave their heads in the central provinces, and it would therefore appear, if mr. kitts' definition is correct, that the borals are the offspring of women by fathers of lower caste than themselves; a most revolting union to hindu ideas. as, however, the borals are mostly grocers and shopkeepers, it is possible that they may be the same class as the purads. in 1881 they numbered only 163 persons and were found in darhwa, mehkar and chikhli taluks. 3. illegitimacy among hindustani castes there is no caste corresponding to the vidurs in the hindi districts and the offspring of unions which transgress the caste marriage rules are variously treated. many castes both in the north and south say that they have 12 1/2 subdivisions and that the half subcaste comprises the descendants of illicit unions. of course the twelve subdivisions are as a rule mythical, the number of subcastes being always liable to fluctuate as fresh endogamous groups are formed by migration or slight changes in the caste calling. other castes have a lohri sen or degraded group which corresponds to the half caste. in other cases the illegitimate branch has a special name; thus the niche pat bundelas of saugor and chhoti tar rajputs of nimar are the offspring of fathers of the bundela and other rajput tribes with women of lower castes; both these terms have the same meaning as lohri sen, that is a low-caste or bastard group. similarly the dauwa (wet-nurse) ahirs are the offspring of bundela fathers and the ahir women who act as nurses in their households. in saugor is found a class of persons called kunwar [719] who are descended from the offspring of the maratha brahman rulers of saugor and their kept women. they now form a separate caste and hindustani brahmans will take water from them. they refuse to accept _katcha_ food (cooked with water) from maratha brahmans, which all other castes will do. another class of bastard children of brahmans are called dogle, and such people commonly act as servants of maratha brahmans; as these brahmans do not take water to drink from the hands of any caste except their own, they have much difficulty in procuring household servants and readily accept a dogle in this capacity without too close a scrutiny of his antecedents. there is also a class of dogle kayasths of similar, origin, who are admitted as members of the caste on an inferior status and marry among themselves. after several generations such groups tend to become legitimised; thus the origin of the distinction between the khare and dusre srivastab kayasths and the dasa and bisa agarwala banias was probably of this character, but now both groups are reckoned as full members of the caste, one only ranking somewhat below the other so that they do not take food together. the parwar banias have four divisions of different social status known as the bare, manjhile, sanjhile and lohri seg or sen, or first, second, third and fourth class. a man and woman detected in a serious social offence descend into the class next below their own, unless they can pay the severe penalties prescribed for it. if either marries or forms a connection with a man or woman of a lower class they descend into that class. similarly, one who marries a widow goes into the lohri seg or lowest class. other castes have a similar system of divisions. among the great body of hindus cases of men living with women of different caste are now very common, and the children of such unions sometimes inherit their father's property. though in such cases the man is out of caste this does not mean that he is quite cut off from social intercourse. he will be invited to the caste dinners, but must sit in a different row from the orthodox members so as not to touch them. as an instance of these mixed marriages the case of a private servant, a mali or gardener, may be quoted. he always called himself a brahman, and though thinking it somewhat curious that a brahman should be a gardener, i took no notice of it until he asked leave to attend the funeral of his niece, whose father was a government menial, an agarwala bania. it was then discovered that he was the son of a brahman landowner by a mistress of the kachhi caste of sugarcane and vegetable growers, so that the profession of a private or ornamental gardener, for which a special degree of intelligence is requisite, was very suitable to him. his sister by the same parents was married to this agarwala bania, who said his own family was legitimate and he had been deceived about the girl. the marriage of one of this latter couple's daughters was being arranged with the son of a brahman, father and bania mother in jubbulpore; while the gardener himself had never been married, but was living with a girl of the gadaria (shepherd) caste who had been married in her caste but had never lived with her husband. inquiries made in a small town as to the status of seventy families showed that ten were out of caste on account of irregular matrimonial or sexual relations; and it may therefore be concluded that a substantial proportion of hindus have no real caste at present. 4. legend of origin the vidurs say that they are the descendants of a son who was born to a slave girl by the sage vyas, the celebrated compiler of the mahabharata, to whom the girl was sent to provide an heir to the kingdom of hastinapur. this son was named vidur and was remarkable for his great wisdom, being one of the leading characters in the mahabharata and giving advice both to the pandavas and the kauravas. 5. marriage as already stated, the vidurs who are sprung from fathers of different castes form subcastes marrying among themselves. among the brahman vidurs also, a social difference exists between the older members of the caste who are descended from vidurs for several generations, and the new ones who are admitted into it as being the offspring of brahman fathers from recent illicit unions, the former considering themselves to be superior and avoiding intermarriage with the latter as far as possible. the brahman vidurs, to whom this article chiefly relates, have exogamous sections of different kinds, the names being eponymous, territorial, titular and totemistic. among the names of their sections are indurkar from indore; chaurikar, a whisk-maker; acharya and pande, a priest; menjokhe, a measurer of wax; mine, a fish; dudhmande, one who makes wheaten cakes with milk; goihe, a lizard; wadabhat, a ball of pulse and cooked rice; diwale, bankrupt; and joshi, an astrologer. the brahman vidurs have the same sect groups as the maratha brahmans, according to the veda which they especially revere. marriage is forbidden within the section and in that of the paternal and maternal uncles and aunts. in chanda, when a boy of one section marries a girl of another, all subsequent alliances between members of the two sections must follow the same course, and a girl of the first section must not marry a boy of the second. this rule is probably in imitation of that by which their caste is formed, that is from the union of a man of higher with a woman of lower caste. as already stated, the reverse form of connection is considered most disgraceful by the hindus, and children born of it could not be vidurs. on the same analogy they probably object to taking both husbands and wives from the same section. marriage is usually infant, and a second wife is taken only if the first be barren or if she is sickly or quarrelsome. as a rule, no price is paid either for the bride or bridegroom. vidurs have the same marriage ceremony as maratha brahmans, except that puranic instead of vedic _mantras_ or texts are repeated at the service. as among the lower castes the father of a boy seeks for a bride for his son, while with brahmans it is the girl's father who makes the proposal. when the bridegroom arrives he is conducted to the inner room of the bride's house; mr. tucker states that this is known as the _gaurighar_ because it contains the shrine of gauri or parvati, wife of mahadeo; and here he is received by the bride who has been occupied in worshipping the goddess. a curtain is held between them and coloured rice is thrown over them and distributed, and they then proceed to the marriage-shed, where an earthen mound or platform, known as bohala, has been erected. they first sit on this on two stools and then fire is kindled on the platform and they walk five times round it. the bohala is thus a fire altar. the expenses of marriage amount for the bridegroom's family to rs. 300 on an average, and for the bride's to a little more. widows are allowed to remarry, but the second union must not take place with any member of the family of the late husband, whose property remains with his children or, failing them, with his family. in the marriage of a widow the common _pat_ ceremony of the maratha districts is used. a price is commonly paid to the parents of a widow by her second husband. divorce is allowed on the instance of the husband by a written agreement, and divorced women may marry again by the _pat_ ceremony. in chanda it is stated that when a widower marries again a silver or golden image is made of the first wife and being placed with the household gods is daily worshipped by the second wife. 6. social rules and occupation the vidurs employ maratha brahmans for religious and ceremonial purposes, while their _gurus_ are either brahmans or bairagis. they have two names, one for ceremonial and the other for ordinary use. when a child is to be named it is placed in a cradle and parties of women sit on opposite sides of it. one of the women takes the child in her arms and passes it across the cradle to another saying, 'take the child named ramchandra' or whatever it may be. the other woman passes the child back using the same phrase, and it is then placed in the cradle and rocked, and boiled wheat and gram are distributed to the party. the vidurs burn the dead, and during the period of mourning the well-to-do employ a brahman to read the garud puran to them, which tells how a sinner is punished in the next world and a virtuous man is rewarded. this, it is said, occupies their minds and prevents them from feeling their bereavement. they will take food only from maratha brahmans and water from rajputs and kunbis. brahmans will, as a rule, not take anything from a vidur's hand, but some of them have begun to accept water and sweetmeats, especially in the case of educated vidurs. the vidurs will not eat flesh of any kind nor drink liquor. the brahman vidurs did not eat in kitchens in the famine. their dress resembles that of maratha brahmans. the men do not usually wear the sacred thread, but some have adopted it. in bombay, however, boys are regularly invested with the sacred thread before the age of ten. [720] in nagpur it is stated that the vidurs like to be regarded as brahmans. [721] they are now quite respectable and hold land. many of them are in government service, some being officers of the subordinate grades and others clerks, and they are also agents to landowners, patwaris and shopkeepers. the vidurs are the best educated caste with the exception of brahmans, kayasths and banias, and this fact has enabled them to obtain a considerable rise in social status. their aptitude for learning may be attributed to their brahman parentage, while in some cases vidurs have probably been given an education by their brahman relatives. their correct position should be a low one, distinctly beneath that of the good cultivating castes. a saying has it, 'as the _amarbel_ creeper has no roots, so the vidur has no ancestry.' but owing to their education and official position the higher classes of vidurs have obtained a social status not much below that of kayasths. this rise in position is assisted by their adherence in matters of dress, food and social practice to the customs of maratha brahmans, so that many of them are scarcely distinguishable from a brahman. a story is told of a vidur tahsildar or naib-tahsildar who was transferred to a district at some distance from his home, and on his arrival there pretended to be a maratha brahman. he was duly accepted by the other brahmans, who took food with him in his house and invited him to their own. after an interval of some months the imposture was discovered, and it is stated that this official was at a short subsequent period dismissed from government service on a charge of bribery. the vidurs are also considered to be clever at personation, and one or two stories are told of frauds being carried out through a vidur returning to some family in the character of a long-lost relative. waghya _waghya,_ [722] _vaghe, murli._--an order of mendicant devotees of the god khandoba, an incarnation of siva; they belong to the maratha districts and bombay where khandoba is worshipped. the term waghya is derived from _vagh_, a tiger, and has been given to the order on account of the small bag of tiger-skin, containing _bhandar_, or powdered turmeric, which they carry round their necks. this has been consecrated to khandoba and they apply a pinch of it to the foreheads of those who give them alms. murli, signifying 'a flute' is the name given to female devotees. waghya is a somewhat indefinite term and in the central provinces does not strictly denote a caste. the order originated in the practice followed by childless mothers of vowing to khandoba that if they should bear a child, their first-born should be devoted to his service. such a child became a waghya or murli according as it was a boy or a girl. but they were not necessarily severed from their own caste and might remain members of it and marry in it. thus there are waghya telis in wardha, who marry with other telis. the child might also be kept in the temple for a period and then withdrawn, and nowadays this is always done. the children of rich parents sometimes simply remain at home and worship khandoba there. but they must beg on every sunday from at least five persons all their lives. another practice, formerly existing, was for the father and mother to vow that if a child was born they would be swung. they were then suspended from a wooden post on a rope by an iron hook inserted in the back and swung round four or five times. the sacred turmeric was applied to the wound and it quickly healed up. others would take a waghya child to mahadeo's cave in pachmarhi and let it fall from the top of a high tree. if it lived it was considered to be a raja of mahadeo, and if it died happiness might confidently be anticipated for it in the next birth. besides the children who are dedicated to khandoba, a man may become a waghya either for life or for a certain period in fulfilment of a vow, and in the latter case will be an ordinary member of his own caste again on its termination. the waghyas and murlis who are permanent members of the order sometimes also live together and have children who are brought up in it. the constitution of the order is therefore in several respects indefinite, and it has not become a self-contained caste, though there are waghyas who have no other caste. the following description of the dedication of children to khandoba is taken from the _bombay gazetteer_ [723]. when parents have to dedicate a boy to khandoba they go to his temple at jejuri in poona on any day in the month of chaitra (march-april). they stay at a gurao's house and tell him the object of their visit. the boy's father brings offerings and they go in procession to khandoba's temple. there the gurao marks the boy's brow with turmeric, throws turmeric over his head, fastens round his neck a deer-or tiger-skin wallet hung from a black woollen string and throws turmeric over the god, asking him to take the boy. the murlis or girls dedicated to the god are married to him between one and twelve years of age. the girl is taken to the temple by her parents accompanied by the gurao priest and other murlis. at the temple she is bathed and her body rubbed with turmeric, with which the feet of the idol are also anointed. she is dressed in a new robe and bodice, and green glass bangles are put on her wrists. a turban and sash are presented to the god, and the _guru_ taking a necklace of nine cowries (shells) fastens it round the girl's neck. she then stands before the god, a cloth being held between them as at a proper wedding, and the priest repeats the marriage verses. powdered turmeric is thrown on the heads of the girl and of the idol, and from that day she is considered to be the wife of khandoba and cannot marry any other man. when a murli comes of age she sits by herself for four days. then she looks about for a patron, and when she succeeds in getting one she calls a meeting of her brethren, the waghyas, and in their presence the patron says, 'i will fill the murli's lap.' the waghyas ask him what he will pay and after some haggling a sum is agreed on, which thirty years ago varied between twenty-five and a hundred rupees. if it is more than rs. 50 a half of the money goes to the community, who spend it on a feast. with the balance the girl buys clothes for herself. she lives with her patron for as long as he wishes to keep her, and is then either attached to the temple or travels about as a female mendicant. sometimes a married woman will leave her home and become a murli, with the object as a rule of leading a vicious life. a man who takes a vow to become a waghya must be initiated by a _guru_, who is some elder member of the order. the initiation takes place early on a sunday morning, and after the disciple is shaved, bathed and newly clad, the _guru_ places a string of cowries round his neck and gives him the tiger-skin bag in which the turmeric is kept. he always retains much reverence for his _guru_, and invokes him with the exclamation, 'jai guru,' before starting out to beg in the morning. the following articles are carried by the waghyas when begging. the _dapdi_ a circular single drum of wood, covered with goat-skin, and suspended to the shoulder. the _chouka_ consists of a single wire suspended from a bar and passing inside a hollow wooden conical frame. the wire is struck with a stick to produce the sound. the _ghati_ is an ordinary temple bell; and the _kutumba_ is a metal saucer which serves for a begging-bowl. this is considered sacred, and sandalwood is applied to it before starting out in the morning. the waghyas usually beg in parties of four, each man carrying one of these articles. two of them walk in front and two behind, and they sing songs in praise of khandoba and play on the instruments. every waghya has also the bag made of tiger-skin, or, if this cannot be had, of deer-skin, and the cowrie necklace, and a _seli_ or string of goat-hair round the neck. alms, after being received in the _kutumba_ or saucer, are carried in a bag, and before setting out in the morning they put a little grain in this bag, as they think that it would be unlucky to start with it empty. at the end of the day they set out their takings on the ground and make a little offering of fire to them, throwing a pinch of turmeric in the air in the name of khandoba. the four men then divide the takings and go home. marathas, murlis and telis are the castes who revere khandoba, and they invite the waghyas to sing on the dasahra and also at their marriages. in bombay the waghyas force iron bars through their calves and pierce the palms of their hands with needles. to the needle a strip of wood is attached, and on this five lighted torches are set out, and the waghya waves them about on his hand before the god. [724] once in three years each waghya makes a pilgrimage to khandoba's chief temple at jejuri near poona, and there are also local temples to this deity at hinganghat and nagpur. the waghyas eat flesh and drink liquor, and their social and religious customs resemble those of the marathas and kunbis. yerukala _yerukala._--a vagrant gipsy tribe of madras of whom a small number are returned from the chanda district. they live by thieving, begging, fortune-telling and making baskets, and are usually treated as identical with the koravas or kuravas, who have the same occupations. both speak a corrupt tamil, and the yerukalas are said to call one another kurru or kura. it has been supposed that korava was the tamil name which in the telugu country became yerukalavandlu or fortune-teller. mr. (sir h.) stewart thought there could be no doubt of the identity of the two castes, [725] though mr. francis points out differences between them. [726] the yerukalas are expert thieves. they frequent villages on the pretence of begging, and rob by day in regular groups under a female leader, who is known as jemadarin. each gang is provided with a bunch of keys and picklocks. they locate a locked house in an unfrequented lane, and one of them stands in front as if begging; the remainder are posted as watchers in the vicinity, and the jemadarin picks the lock and enters the house. when the leader comes out with the booty she locks the door and they all walk away. if any one comes up while the leader is in the house the woman at the door engages him in conversation by some device, such as producing a silver coin and asking if it is good. she then begins to dispute, and laying hold of him calls out to her comrades that the man has abused her or been taking liberties with her. the others run up and jostle him away from the door, and while they are all occupied with the quarrel the thief escapes. or an old woman goes from house to house pretending to be a fortune-teller. when she finds a woman at home alone, she flatters and astonishes her by relating the chief events in her life, how many children she has, how many more are coming, and so on. when the woman of the house is satisfied that the fortune-teller has supernatural powers, she allows the witch to cover her face with her robe, and shuts her eyes while the fortune-teller breathes on them, and blows into her ears and sits muttering charms. meanwhile one or two of the latter's friends who have been lurking close by walk into the house and carry away whatever they can lay their hands on. when they have left the house the woman's face is uncovered and the fortune-teller takes her fee and departs, leaving her dupe to find out that her house has been robbed. [727] the conjugal morals of these people are equally low. they sell or pledge their wives and unmarried daughters, and will take them back on the redemption of the pledge with any children born in the interval, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. when a man is sentenced to imprisonment his wife selects another partner for the period of her husband's absence, going back to him on his release with all her children, who are considered as his. mr. thurston gives the following story of a gang of koravas or yerukalas in tinnevelly: "one morning, in tinnevelly, while the butler in a missionary's house was attending to his duties, an individual turned up with a fine fowl for sale. the butler, finding that he could purchase it for about half the real price, bought it, and showed it to his wife with no small pride in his ability in making a bargain. but he was distinctly crestfallen when his wife pointed out that it was his own bird, which had been lost on the previous night. the seller was a korava." [728] in madras they have also now developed into expert railway thieves. they have few restrictions as to food, eating cats and mice, though not dogs. [729] the yerukalas practised the custom of the couvade as described by the rev. john cain, of dumagudem: [730] "directly the woman feels the birth-pangs she informs her husband, who immediately takes some of her clothes, puts them on, places on his forehead the mark which the women usually place on theirs, retires into a dark room where there is only a very dim lamp, and lies down on the bed, covering himself up with a long cloth. when the child is born it is washed and placed on the cot beside the father. asafoetida, jaggery and other articles are then given, not to the mother but to the father. during the days of ceremonial impurity the man is treated as other hindus treat their women on such occasions. he is not allowed to leave his bed, but has everything needful brought to him. "the yerukalas marry when quite young. at the birth of a daughter the father of an unmarried little boy often brings a rupee and ties it in the cloth of the father of a newly-born girl. when the girl is grown up he can then claim her for his son." notes [1] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. kumhar. [2] gods and demons. [3] _hath_, hand and _garhna_ to make or mould. [4] _gora_, white or red, applied to europeans. [5] _history of the marathas_, edition 1878, vol. i. p. 26. [6] the above description is taken from the central provinces _monograph on pottery and glassware_ by mr. jowers, p. 4. [7] _golden bough,_ ii. pp. 299, 301. [8] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 524. [9] _orphèus_, p. 152. [10] the sacrifice is now falling into abeyance, as landowners refuse to supply the buffalo. [11] dr. jevons, _introduction to the history of religion_, p. 368. [12] _vide_ article on lakhera. [13] _rasmala_, i. p. 100. [14] _ibidem_, p. 241. [15] _khandesh gazetteer_, p. 62. [16] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. i. part ii. p. 34. [17] from _jihar_, a tree or shrub. [18] _acacia catechu_. [19] _dhan_ properly means wealth, _cf._ the two meanings of the word stock in english. [20] _berar census report_ (1881), para. 180. [21] _ibidem_. [22] _bawan_ = fifty-two. [23] _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat_ p. 490, app. b, gujar. [24] _eugenia jambolana_. [25] _ficus glomerata_. [26] see the article entitled 'an anthropoid.' [27] _bombay gazetteer; nasik_ p. 26. [28] this is the rule in the nagpur district. [29] from a note by mr. a. k. smith, c.s. [30] circle inspector ganesh prasad. [31] _semicarpus anacardium_. [32] 'oh, lord mahabir, give me a child, only one child.' [33] _beast and man in india_, p. 44. but, according to the same writer, the hindus do say, 'drunk as an owl' and also 'stupid as an owl.' [34] _crotalaria juncea_. [35] the 3rd baisakh (may) sudi, the commencement of the agricultural year. the name means, 'the day of immortality.' [36] furnished by inspector ganesh prasad. [37] _dam_: breath or life. [38] these paragraphs are largely based on a description of a wardha village by mr. a.k. smith, c.s. [39] _nagpur settlement report_, para. 45. [40] the references to english farming in this paragraph are taken from an article in the _saturday review_ of 22nd august 1908. [41] _report on the territories of the raja of nagpur_. [42] _rasmala_, ii. 242. [43] a freebooting tribe who gave their name to kathiawar. [44] this article is partly based on papers by nanhe khan, sub-inspector of police, khurai, saugor, and kesho rao, headmaster, middle school, seoni-chhapara. [45] literally 'the month of separatica.' it is the eighth month of the muhammadan year and is said to be so called because in this month the arabs broke up their encampments and scattered in search of water. on the night of shab-i-barat god registers all the actions of men which they are to perform during the year; and all the children of men who are to be born and die in the year are recorded. though properly a fast, it is generally observed with rejoicings and a display of fireworks. hughes' _dictionary of islam_, p. 570. [46] _tribes and castes of the n.w.p.,_ art. kunjra. [47] _tribes and castes of bengal_, _ibidem_. [48] this article is compiled from notes taken by mr. hira lal and by pyare lal misra, ethnographic clerk. [49] _north arcot manual_, vol. i. p. 220. [50] vol. i. p. 224. [51] _hindu manners, customs and ceremonies_. [52] in this article some account of the houses, clothes and food of the hindus generally of the northern districts has been inserted, being mainly reproduced from the district gazetteers. [53] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. kurmi. [54] _indian folk tales_, p. 8. [55] _crotalaria juncea_. see article on lorha for a discussion of the hindus' prejudice against this crop. [56] there are several chaurasis, a grant of an estate of this special size being common under native rule. [57] _boswellia serrata_. [58] _eugenia jambolana_. [59] 2 lbs. [60] elliot, _hoshangabad settlement report_, p. 115. [61] the custom is pointed out by mr. a. k. smith, c.s. [62] _central provinces census report_ (1911), p. 153. [63] _c.p. census report_ (1911), p. 153. [64] or his big toe. [65] _c.p. census report_ (1911), p. 158. [66] in _indian folk tales_. [67] _ficus r_. [68] he is also known as katia or kattaha brahman and as mahapatra. [69] _indian folk tales_, p. 54. [70] _sorghum vulgare_, a large millet. [71] dr. jevons, _introduction to the history of religion_, p. 365. [72] a measure of 400 lbs. [73] _butea frondosa_. [74] a measure containing 9 lb. 2 oz. of rice. [75] _ficus glomerata_. [76] from ganga, or the ganges, and _ala_ a pot. [77] _cajanus indicus_. [78] _phaseolus mungo_. [79] _phaseolus radiatus_. [80] _bombax malabaricum_. [81] _acacia arabica_. [82] _cassia tora_. [83] _punjab census report_ (1881), p. 340. [84] _schleichera trijuga_. [85] _hindus of gujarat_, app., art. vaghri, footnote. [86] _religion of the semites_. [87] mackintosh, _report on the manbhaos._. [88] see articles on khairwar and kewat. [89] colonel ward's _mandia settlement report_ p. 29. [90] _brief view of the caste system_, p. 14. [91] _symplocos racemosa_. [92] raja lachman singh's _bulandshahr memo,_ p. 182, quoted in mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. lodha. [93] _narsinghpur settlement report_ (1866), p. 28. [94] _nagpur settlement report_, p. 24. [95] a small millet. [96] every twelfth year when the planet jupiter is in conjunction with the constellation sinh (leo). [97] _butea frondosa_. [98] this is known as _lodha_. [99] the rajjhars are a low caste of farmservants and labourers, probably an offshoot of the bhar tribe. [100] _tribes and castes of the n.w.p. and oudh_, art. lohar. [101] dowson, _classical dictionary, s.v._ [102] in uriya the term, _ghantrabela_ means a person who has illicit intercourse with another. the ghantra lohars are thus probably of bastard origin, like the groups known as half-castes and others which are frequently found. [103] _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 624. (ibbetson.) [104] _tribes and castes of bengal,_ art. lohar [105] about 15 acres. [106] _berar census report_, 1881 (kitts). [107] _punjab ethnography_, para. 624. [108] _bombay gazetteer_, xvi. 82. [109] this article is partly based on papers by mr. p.b. telang, munsiff seoni-malwa, and mr. waman rao mandloi, naib-tahsildar, harda. [110] this derivation is also negatived by the fact that the name maharatta was known in the third century b.c., or long before the rastrakutas became prominent. [111] _bombay gazetteer; gujarat hindus_, p. 338. [112] ibbetson, _punjab census report_ (1881). [113] _bombay gazetteer, l.c._ text and footnote by r. v. j. s. taylor. [114] kitts' _berar census report_ (1881), p. 143. [115] see article on panwar rajput. [116] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 144. [117] kitts' _berar census report_ p. 144. [118] described in the articles on kurmi and kunbi. [119] _loc. cit_. [120] _bombay gazetteer, gujarat hindus, loc. cit._ [121] in berar for ten days--kitts' _berar census report, l.c._ [122] 3rd baisakh (april) sudi, commencement of agricultural year. [123] _berar census report, l.c._ [124] _berar census report, l.c._ [125] _bombay gazetteer, gujarat hindus_. [126] it was formerly suggested that the fact of the mahars being the chief worshippers at the shrines of sheikh farid indicated that the places themselves had been previously held sacred, and had been annexed by the muhammadan priests; and the legend of the giant, who might represent the demonolatry of the aboriginal faith, being slain by the saint might be a parable, so to say, expressing this process. but in view of the way in which the mehtars worship musalman saints, it seems quite likely that the mahars might do so for the same reason, that is, because islam partly frees them from the utter degradation imposed by hinduism. both views may have some truth. as regards the legends themselves, it is highly improbable that sheikh farid, a well-known saint of northern india, can ever have been within several hundred miles of either of the places with which they connect him. [127] from mr. c. brown's notes. [128] _c.p. police gazette_. [129] kitts, _l.c._ [130] _ibidem_. [131] stated by mr. c. brown. [132] vol. ii. p. 237. [133] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xii. p. 175. [134] rev. a. taylor in _bombay gazetteer, gujarat hindus_, p. 341 f. [135] the following passage is taken from forbes, _rasmala_, i. p. 112. [136] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xi p. 73. [137] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xi. p. 73. [138] grant duff; _history of the marathas_, vol. i. p. 24. [139] _nagpur settlement report_ (1899), p. 29. [140] this article consists of extracts from sir h. risley's account of the caste in the _tribes and castes of bengal_. [141] see lists of exogamous septs of mahli, sandal, munda and puri in appendix to _tribes and castes cf bengal_. [142] _ethnology of bengal_, p. 326. [143] this article is based on papers by mr. hira lal and suraj baksh singh, assistant superintendent, udaipur state, with references to mr. crooke's exhaustive article on the majhwars in his _tribes and castes_. [144] crooke, art majhwar, para. 1. [145] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. manjhi. [146] crooke, _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. manjhi, para. 4. [147] crooke, _tribes and castes of bengal,_ art. manjhi, para. 63. [148] _ibidem,_ para. 54. [149] _ficus glomerata_. [150] based entirely on colonel dalton's account in the _ethnology of bengal_, and sir h. risley's in the _tribes and castes of bengal_. [151] see _the khandesh bhil corps_, by mr. a. h. a. simcox, p. 62. [152] _hindu manners, customs and ceremonies_, ed. 1897, pp. 25, 26. [153] page 130. [154] _hinduism_, in 'religions ancient and modern' series, p. 26. [155] this article is based principally on mr. low's description of the marars in the _balaghat district gazetteer_ and on a paper by major sutherland, i.m.s. [156] _c.p. census report_ (1891), para. 180. [157] schröder, _prehistoric antiquities_, 121, quoted in crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. mali. [158] _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 483. [159] _ibidem_, para. 484. [160] _balaghat district gazetteer_, para. 59. [161] mr. napier's _bhandara settlement report_, quoted in article on kohli. [162] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. mali. [163] _brief view of the caste system_, p. 15. [164] _la cité antique_, 21st ed., p. 181. [165] _the antiquity of oriental carpets_, sir g. birdwood (society of arts, 6th november 1908). [166] the derivations of chaplet and rosary are taken from ogilvy's _dictionary_. [167] _balaghat district gazetteer_ (c.e. low), para. 59. [168] _ibidem, loc. cit._ [169] _balaghat district gazetteer_, para. 59. [170] _hindu castes_, vol. i. p. 327. [171] _balaghat district gazetteer, loc. cit._ [172] this article is based on papers by mr. shyamacharan, b.a., b.l., pleader, narsinghpur, and pyare lal misra, ethnographic clerk. [173] crooke's _tribes and castes of the n. w. p. and oudh_, art. mallah. [174] this article is based on papers by mr. hira lal and g. padaya naidu of the gazetteer office. [175] _papers on the aboriginal tribes of the central provinces_, p. 6. [176] rev. a. wood in _chanda district gazetteer_, para. 96. [177] this article is compiled from notes on the caste drawn up by colonel mackenzie and contributed to the _pioneer_ newspaper by mrs. horsburgh; captain mackintosh's _account of the manbhaos_ (india office tracts); and a paper by pyare lal misra, ethnographic clerk. [178] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 62. [179] dattatreya was a celebrated sivite devotee who has been deified as an incarnation of siva. [180] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 62. [181] this article is based partly on a paper by mr. achyut sitaram sathe, extra assistant commissioner. [182] p. 389. [183] see also separate article mang-garori. [184] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 147. [185] _lectures on the criminal tribes of the central provinces_, p. 79. [186] _cynodon dactylon_. [187] dr, murray mitchell's _great religions of india_, p. 63. [188] from a note by mr. hira lal. [189] times press, bombay, 1882. [190] kennedy, _criminal classes of the bombay presidency_, p. 122. [191] _lectures on some criminal tribes of india_. [192] this passage is quoted by mr. gayer from the supplement to the central provinces police gazette of 24th january 1905. [193] hutton's _thugs, dacoits and gang-robbers of india_ (1857), pp. 164-168, quoting an account by captain barr. [194] this article is based on papers by rai sahib nanakchand, b.a., headmaster, saugor high school, and munshi pyare lal misra of the gazetteer office. [195] _brief view_, p. 30. [196] the _tazias_ are ornamental representations of the tomb of hussain, which the muhammadans make at the muharram festival. [197] this article is based on a note furnished by mr. m. aziz, officiating naib-tahsildar, sironcha. [198] from a glossary published by mr. gupta, assistant director of ethnology for india. [199] generally the paternal aunt's son. [200] _bassia latifolia_. [201] sir h. risley's _india census report_ (1901), ethnographic appendices, p. 93. [202] p. 48, footnote. [203] _nasik gazetteer_, _ibidem_. elphinstone's _history_, p. 246. [204] the proper spelling is bhosle, but bhonsla is adopted in deference to established usage. [205] _bombay census report_ (1901), pp. 184-185. [206] _rajasthan_, i. 269. [207] _ibidem_, ii. 420. [208] _sholapur gazetteer_, p. 87. [209] _satara gazetteer_, p. 64. [210] _ibidem_, p. 75. [211] _bombay census report_ (1907), _ibidem_. [212] _letter on the marathas_ (india office tracts). [213] _satara gazetteer_, p. 75. [214] grant-duff, 4th edition (1878), vol. i. pp. 70-72. [215] forsyth, _nimar settlement report_. [216] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xviii. part i. pp. 413-414. [217] elliott, _hoshangabad settlement report_. [218] the following description is taken from the ethnographic appendices to sir h.h. risley's _india census report_ of 1901. [219] irvine's _army of the mughals_, p. 82. [220] _ibidem_, p. 232. gopal is a name of krishna. [221] lit. armour-bearers. colonel tone writes: "i apprehend from the meaning of this term that it was formerly the custom of this nation, as was the case in europe, to appear in armour. i have frequently seen a kind of coat-of-mail worn by the maratha horsemen, known as a _beuta_, which resembles our ancient hauberk; it is made of chain work, interlinked throughout, fits close to the body and adapts itself to all its motions." [222] in order to obtain redress by dharna the creditor or injured person would sit starving himself outside his debtor's door, and if he died the latter would be held to have committed a mortal sin and would be haunted by his ghost; see also article on bhat. the account here given must be exaggerated. [223] elphinstone's _history_, 7th ed. p. 748. [224] _ibidem_, p. 753. [225] some information has been obtained from a paper by mr. harbans rai, clerk of court, damoh. [226] rajendra lal mitra, quoted in art. on beria. [227] greeven, op. cit. pp. 29, 33. [228] op. cit p. 334. [229] greeven, p. 66, quoting from _echoes of old calcutta_. [230] crooke, _op. cit._ [231] crooke, _op. cit._ para. 52. [232] ibbetson, _op. cit._ para. 227. [233] greeven, _op. cit._ p. 21. [234] the fruit of the _achar_ (_buchanamia latifolia_). [235] _acacia arabica_. [236] _acacia catechu_. [237] some writers consider that balmik, the sweeper-saint, and valmiki, the author of the ramayana, are not identical. [238] page 38. [239] page 8. [240] page 54. [241] _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 599. [242] sir h. risley, _l.c._, art. dom. [243] _institutes_, x. 12-29-30. [244] _ibidem_, iv. 239, quoted by mr. crooke, art. dom. [245] probably not within the house but in the veranda or courtyard. [246] _ibidem_. [247] crooke, _tribes and castes_, art. dom, para. 34. [248] _bombay gazetteer_, _l.c._ [249] _ibidem_. [250] _punjab census report_ (1881), and _bombay gazetteer_, _l.c._ [251] _hindu tribes and castes_, quoted by sir h. risley, art. dom. [252] _bombay gazetteer_, _l.c._ [253] ibbetson, _l.c._ para. 596. [254] _ibidem_, para. 601. [255] _l.c._ pp. 25, 26. [256] _rajputana gazetteer_, vol. i. p. 165. [257] a muhammadan form of marriage. [258] elliott's _hoshangabad settlement report_, p. 63. [259] cunningham's _archaeological survey reports_, xx. p. 24. [260] _ibidem_. [261] general cunningham's enumeration of the _pals_ is as follows: five jadon clans--chhirkilta, dalat, dermot, nai, pundelot; five tuar clans--balot, darwar, kalesa, lundavat, rattawat; one kachhwaha clan--dingal; one bargjuar clan--singal. besides these there is one miscellaneous or half-blood clan, palakra, making up the common total of 12 1/2 clans. [262] ibbetson's _punjab census report_, para. 582. sir d. ibbetson considered it doubtful, however, whether the expression referred to the mina caste. [263] major powlett, _gazetteer of alwar_. [264] _asiatic studies_, vol. i. p. 162. [265] quoted in dowson's _elliott's history of india_, iii. p. 103. [266] dowson's _elliott_, iv. pp. 60, 75, 283, quoted in crooke's _tribes and castes_. [267] _census report_ (1881), para. 582. [268] _tribes and castes of the n.w.p._ art. meo. [269] _rajasthan_, i. p. 589. [270] _archaeological reports_. vol. xx. p. 26. [271] _tribes and castes of the north-western provinces_, vol. iii. p. 496. [272] baden powell's _land systems of british india_, vol. iii. p. 116. [273] _punjab ethnography_, p. 289. [274] _brief view_, p. 43. [275] crooke, _loc. cit._ [276] this article is partly based on papers by mr. gopal parmanand, deputy inspector of schools, saugor, and mr. shamsuddin, sub-inspector, city police, saugor. [277] _brief view_. [278] _bombay ethnographic survey draft monograph on jingar_. [279] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. mochi. [280] _eastern india_, vol. iii. p. 105. [281] rajendra lal mitra, _indo-aryans_, vol. i. pp. 222, 223. [282] _ethnology of bengal_, p. 326. [283] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. bind. [284] crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. bind. [285] _tribes and castes of bengal_, _loc. cit._ [286] the clever writer referred to in the preceding line. [287] breast-cloth. [288] this article is mainly compiled from papers by mr. hira lal and babu gulab singh, superintendent of land records, betul. [289] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 158. [290] _butea frondosa_. [291] _phyllanthus emiblica_. [292] this article is compiled from papers by mr. chatterji, retired e.a.c., jubbulpore; professor sadashiva jairam, m.a., hislop college, nagpur; and mr. c. shrinivas naidu, first assistant master, sironcha, chanda; and from the central provinces district gazetteers. [293] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes,_ art. nai. [294] _tribes and castes_, art. nai, para. 5. [295] the following account is largely taken from mr. nesfield's _brief view of the caste system_, pp. 42, 43. [296] _eighteenth century middle-class life_, by c.s. torres, in the _nineteenth century and after_, sept. 1910. [297] _private life of an eastern king_, p. 17. [298] _ibidem_, p. 107. [299] _private life of an eastern king_, p. 330. [300] in the _balaghat district gazetteer_. [301] d.b. pandian, _indian village life_, under barber. [302] quoted in malcolm's _sketch of the sikhs, asiatic researches_, vol. xi., 1810, p. 289. [303] quoted in sir d. ibbetson's account of the sikhs in _punjab census report_ (1881). [304] _sketch of the sikhs_, _ibidem_, pp. 284, 285. [305] professor blümners, _home life of the ancient greeks_, translation, p. 455. [306] _golden bough_, 2nd ed. vol. iii. p. 370. [307] hendley, _account of the bhils_, _j.a.s.b._ vol. xxxiv., 1875, p. 360. [308] _bombay gazetteer_, _hindus of gujarat_, p. 528. [309] s.c. roy, _the mundas and their country_, p. 369. [310] w. kirkpatrick in _j.a.s.b._, july 1911, p. 438. [311] _golden bough_, 3rd ed. vol. viii. p. 153. [312] _g.b._, 3rd ed., _balder the beautiful_, vol. ii. p. 103. [313] dr. jevons, _introduction to the history of religion_, p. 45. [314] _golden bough_, 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 234. [315] _ibidem_, vol. i. p. 242. [316] _ibidem_, vol. i. pp. 368, 369. [317] dalton, _ethnology of bengal_, p. 270. [318] _bombay gazetteer_, _parsis of gujarat_, p. 226. [319] _religion of the semites_, note i. pp. 483, 484. [320] _bombay gazetteer_, _muhammadans of gujarat_, p. 52. [321] _golden bough_, 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 368. [322] yule's ed. i. 50, quoted in _bombay gazetteer_, _hindus of gujarat_, p. 470. [323] mr. v.a. smith, _early history of india_, 2nd ed. p. 128. [324] _religion of the semites_, p. 33. [325] lev. xiv. 9 and deut. xxi. 12. [326] _golden bough_, 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 371. [327] _ibidem_, 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 370. [328] _ibidem_, 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 371. [329] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. sarwaria. [330] _occult review_, october 1909. [331] _orpheus_, p. 99, and _bombay gazetteer_, _parsis of gujarat_; p. 220. [332] hanuman is worshipped on this day in order to counteract the evil influence of the planet saturn, whose day it really is. [333] pots in which wheat-stalks are sown and tended for nine days, corresponding to the gardens of adonis. [334] _religion of the semites_ p. 324. [335] _golden bough_, 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 203. [336] in 1911 the naodas numbered 700 persons in the central provinces. about 1000 were returned in central india in 1891, but in 1901 they were amalgamated with the mallahs or kewats. this article is based on a paper by mr. p.r. kaipitia, forest ranger. [337] this article is partly compiled from notes furnished by mr. aduram chaudhri and mr. jagannath prasad, naib-tahsildars. [338] see art. kanjar. [339] _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 588. [340] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. beria. [341] _asiatic researches_, vol. vii., 1803, by captain richardson. [342] _tribes and castes_, art. nat. [343] crooke, _l.c._, art. nat. [344] _ibidem._ [345] ibbetson, _punjab census report_ (1886), para. 588. [346] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xx. p. 186, quoted in mr. crooke's article. [347] temple and fallon's _hindustani proverbs_, p. 171. [348] _as. res._ vol. xvi., 1828, p. 213. [349] _melia indica_. [350] _bengali festivals and holidays_, by the rev. bihari lal de, _calcutta review_, vol. v. pp. 59, 60. [351] based on papers by munshi kanhya lal of the gazetteer office, and mr. mir patcha, tahsildar, bilaspur. [352] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. lunia. [353] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. lunia. [354] _papers relating to the aboriginal tribes of the c.p._, p. 6. [355] note by mr. tawney as deputy commissioner of chhindwara, quoted in _central provinces census report_ of 1881 (mr. drysdale). [356] sir c.a. elliott's _hoshangabad settlement report_, p. 70. [357] _linguistic survey_, vol. iv. p. 406. [358] _bengal census report_ (1901). [359] _ethnography_, p. 248. [360] _tribes and castes_, vol. ii. p. 141. [361] panna lal, revenue inspector. [362] _sorghum halepense_. [363] _shorea robusta_. [364] in bilaspur the men have an iron comb in the hair with a circular end and two prongs like a fork. women do not wear this. [365] _jungle life in india_, p. 134. [366] this article is compiled from papers by pyare lal misra, ethnographic clerk, and hazari lal, manager, court of wards, chanda. [367] the basil plant. [368] _bilaspur settlement report_ (1868), p. 49. [369] from a note by mr. gauri shankar, manager, court of wards, drug. [370] with the exception of the historical notice, this article is principally based on a paper by mr. muhammad yusuf, reader to mr. c.e. low, deputy commissioner of balaghat. [371] tod's _rajasthan_, ii. p. 407. [372] foreign elements in the hindu population, _ind. ant._ (january 1911), vol. xl. [373] _early history of india_ (oxford, clarendon press), 3rd ed., p. 303. [374] _ibidem_, 2nd ed., p. 288. [375] _ibidem_, p. 316. [376] _early history of india_ (oxford, clarendon press), 3rd ed., p. 319. [377] _garret's classical dictionary of hinduism_, _s.v._ jamadagni and rama. [378] the following extract is taken from mr. v.a. smith's _early history of india_, 3rd ed. pp. 395, 396. the passage has been somewhat abridged in reproduction. [379] malcolm, i. p. 26. [380] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 215. [381] a similar instance in europe is related by colonel tod, concerning the origin of the madrid restaurant in the bois de boulogne at paris. after francis i had been captured by the spaniards he was allowed to return to his capital, on pledging his parole that he would go back to madrid. but the delights of liberty and paris were too much for honour; and while he wavered a hint was thrown out similar to that of destroying the clay city. a mock madrid arose in the bois de boulogne, to which francis retired. (_rajasthan_, ii. p. 428.) [382] _rajasthan_, ii. pp. 264, 265. [383] _tribes and castes_, art. panwar. [384] _memoir of central india_, i. 96. [385] _tribes and castes_, art. panwar. [386] blockmann, i. 252, quoted by crooke. [387] ibbetson, p.c.r., para. 448. [388] his name, lakshma deva, is given in a stone inscription dated a.d. 1104-1105. [389] the inscription is said to be in one of the temples in winj basini, near bhandak, in the devanagri character in marathi, and to run as follows: "consecration of jagnarayan (the serpent of the world). dajíanashnaku, the son of chogneka, he it was who consecrated the god. the panwar, the ruler of dhar, was the third repairer of the statue. the image was carved by gopinath pandit, inhabitant of lonar mehkar. let this shrine be the pride of all the citizens, and let this religious act be notified to the chief and other officers." [390] a few panwar rajputs are found in the saugor district, but they are quite distinct from those of the maratha country, and marry with the bundelas. they are mentioned in the article on that clan. [391] march. [392] rice boiled with milk and sugar. [393] village headman. [394] patwari or village accountant. [395] _introduction to the history of religion_, p. 59. [396] _diospyros tomentosa_. [397] gamble, _manual of indian timbers_, p. 461. [398] _balaghat district gazetteer_. [399] p. 62, quoting from bringand, _les karens de la birmanie, les missions catholiques_, xx. (1888), p. 208. [400] _tod's rajasthan_, i. p. 165. but johar is a common term of salutation among the hindus. [401] _seoni settlement report_ (1867), p. 43. [402] from a collection of notes on patharis by various police officers. the passage is somewhat abridged in reproduction. [403] _ficus r._ [404] _bassia latifolia_. [405] _ficus glomerata_. [406] note already quoted. [407] this article is partly compiled from papers by mr. aduram chaudhri and pandit pyare lal misra of the gazetteer office, and extracts from mr. kitts' _berar census report_ (1881), and mr. sewell's note on the caste quoted in mr. gayer's _lectures on the criminal tribes of the central provinces_. [408] _lectures on criminal tribes of the c.p._, p. 19. [409] _berar census report_ (1881), p. 135. [410] _bombay ethnographic survey_, art. pardhi. [411] _jungle life in india_, pp. 586-587. [412] _peasant life in bihar_, p. 80. [413] see jerdon's _mammals of india_, p, 97. the account there given is quoted in the _chhindwara district gazetteer_, pp. 16-17. [414] _private life of an eastern king_, p. 75. [415] _private life of an eastern king_, pp. 69, 71. [416] _private life of an eastern king_, pp. 39-40. [417] _bombay ethnographic survey_, _ibidem_. [418] this article is based on papers by mr. panda baijnath and other officers of the bastar state. [419] by dr. cornish. [420] _linguistic survey_; vol. ix, p. 554; vol. ii. part ii. pp. 434 ff. [421] in the article on gond it is suggested that the gonds and khonds were originally one tribe, and the fact that the parjas have affinities with both of them appears to support this view. [422] _eugenia jambolana_. [423] hareli, _lit._ 'the season of greenness.' [424] nawakhani, _lit._ 'the new eating.' [425] _folklore as a historical science_ (g.l. gomme), pp. 191, 192. [426] based principally on mr. crooke's article on the caste in his _tribes and castes of the north-western provinces and oudh_. [427] quoted in mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. bhar. [428] art. pasi, para. 3. [429] art. bhar, para. 4. [430] a pulse of a black colour (_phaseolus radiatus_). [431] these sentences are taken from dr. grierson's _peasant life in behar_, p. 79. [432] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. pasi. [433] the following passage is taken from mr. crooke's article on pasi, and includes quotations from the _sitapur_ and _hardoi settlement reports_. [434] _lectures on criminal tribes of the central provinces_. [435] the word rakshabandhan is said to mean literally, 'the bond of protection.' another suggested derivation, 'binding the devil,' is perhaps incorrect. [436] the historical account of the pindaris is compiled from malcolm's _memoir of central india_, grant-duff's _history of the marathas_, and prinsep's _transactions in india_ (1825). some notes on the modern pindaris have been furnished by mr. hira lal, and mr. waman rustom mandloi, naib-tahsildar, harda. [437] _memoir of central india_, i, p. 433. [438] _indian antiquary_, 1900. [439] _transactions in india_, 1813-23, by h.t. prinsep. [440] _maratha and pindari campaigns_. [441] the above is compiled from the accounts given by prinsep and malcolm. [442] that is when malcolm wrote his _memoir_. [443] this account is copied from prinsep's _transactions_. [444] _memoir_, ii. p. 177. [445] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 674. [446] malcolm, ii. p. 177. [447] the pindari's childhood is recalled here, _vide_ poem. [448] pamphlet published in connection with the ethnographic survey. [449] _a prabhu marriage_, p. 3 _et seq._ [450] _a prabhu marriage_, pp. 26-27. [451] _bombay ethnographic survey_, art. prabhu. [452] _bombay gazetteer_, ix. p. 68, footnotes. [453] _hoshangabad settlement report_ (1807), p. 60. [454] _nagpur settlement report_. [455] _settlement report_. [456] preserved butter. [457] _tribes and castes_, art. raghuvansi. [458] kitts' _berar census report_ (1881), p. 157. [459] about 400 lbs. [460] _early history of india_ (oxford, clarendon press), 3rd edition, p. 414. [461] _early history of india_, pp. 252, 254. [462] _ibidem_, p. 210. [463] _ibidem_, p. 227. [464] colonel tod states that, the proper name of the caste was jit or jat, and was changed to jat by a section of them who also adopted muhammadanism. colonel tod also identifies the jats or jits with the yueh-chi as suggested in the text (_rajasthan_, i. p. 97). [465] _rajasthan_, i. p. 42. mr. crooke points out that the buddha here referred to is probably the planet mercury. but it is possible that he may have been identified with the religious reformer as the names seem to have a common origin. [466] see also separate articles on panwar, rajput and gujar. [467] _j.a.s.b._, 1909, p. 167, _guhilots_. see also annexed article on rajput sesodia. [468] _ibidem_, i. p. 105. [469] see also article bhat. [470] _rajasthan_, i. pp. 231, 232. [471] _butea frondosa_. this powder is also used at the holi festival and has some sexual significance. [472] _rajasthan_, i. p. 159. [473] _melia indica_. [474] _ficus r._ [475] _rajasthan_, i. p. 123. [476] _rajasthan_, i. pp. 267, 268. [477] _rasmala_, ii. p. 261. [478] _rajasthan_, i. p. 553. [479] _reminiscences of lady dorothy nevill_, nelson's edition, p. 367. [480] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 3. [481] mrs. postans, _cutch_, p. 35. [482] mrs. postans, _cutch_, p. 138. [483] _rajasthan_, i. pp. 543, 544. [484] _ibidem_, i. p. 125. [485] _ibidem_, ii. p. 52. [486] _rajasthan_, i. p. 552. [487] vol. ii. p. 227. [488] a ceremony of smearing vermilion on the bride before a wedding, which is believed to bring good fortune. [489] the basil plant, sacred to vishnu. [490] a round black stone, considered to be a form of vishnu. [491] _rajasthan_, i. p. 555. [492] _tribes and castes of bengal_. art. rajput. [493] quoted in sir d. ibbetson's _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 456. [494] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. baghel. [495] vol. i. part i. p. 198. [496] see also a history of the baghels, called _pratap vinod_, written by khan bahadur rahmat ali khan, and translated by thakur pratap singh, revenue commissioner of rewah. [497] article baghel, quoting forsyth's _highlands of central india_. [498] _memoir of central india_, vol. ii. p. 479. [499] _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 445. [500] this article consists entirely of extracts from mr. crooke's article on the bais rajputs. [501] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. banaphar. [502] _rajasthan_, i. p. 88, and _supplementary glossary_, _s.v._ [503] _tribes and castes_, _s.v._ [504] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. bundela. [505] _rajasthan_, i. p. 106. [506] _imperial gazetteer_, articles bundelkhand and panna. [507] _early history of india_, 3rd edition, pp. 390-394. [508] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. chandel. [509] sherring's _castes and tribes_, i. pp. 359, 360. [510] _supplemental glossary_, art. bhar. [511] see art. pasi. [512] crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. chandel. [513] _ibidem_. [514] _j.a.s.b._ vol. xlvi. (1877), p. 232. [515] _ibidem_, p. 233. [516] _j.a.s.b._ vol. xlvi. (1877), p. 233. [517] _rajasthan_, i. pp. 86, 87. [518] _archaeological reports_, ii. 255, quoted in mr. crooke's art. chauhan. [519] _imperial gazetteer, india_, vol. ii, p. 312. [520] _early history of india_ and _imperial gazetteer, loc. cit._ [521] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 419. [522] the above particulars are taken from mr. crooke's article dhakara in his _tribes and castes_. [523] _early history of india_, 3rd edition, p. 391. [524] _early history of india_, 3rd edition, p. 385. [525] _tribes and castes_, art. gaharwar. [526] _tribes and castes_, i. p. 75. [527] _supplementary glossary_, p. 33. [528] _rajasthan_, i. p. 105. [529] quoted in mr. crooke's article on gaharwar. [530] see art. rajput, bundela. [531] quoted in mr. crooke's article gaur brahman. [532] _rajasthan_, i. p. 105. [533] _supplemental glossary, s.v._ [534] _rajasthan_, i. p. 36. [535] the above notice of the kalachuri or haihaya dynasty of tripura is taken from the detailed account in the _jubbulpore district gazetteer_, pp. 42-47, compiled by mr. a.e. nelson, c.s., and rai bahadur hira lal. [536] _early history of india_, 3rd edition, p. 390. this, however, does not only refer to the jubbulpore branch, whose territories did not probably include the south and east of the present central provinces, but includes also the country over which the ratanpur kings subsequently extended their separate jurisdiction. [537] _bilaspur district gazetteer_, chap. ii., in which a full and interesting account of the ratanpur kingdom is given by mr. c.u. wills, c.s. [538] _ibidem_, p. 49. [539] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. hayobans. [540] the date is too early, as is usual in these traditions. though the haihaivansis only founded ratanpur about a.d. 1050, their own legends put it ten centuries earlier. [541] _rajasthan_, i. p. 36. [542] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 319. [543] _early history of india_, 3rd edition, p. 381. [544] the above information is taken from the new _imperial gazetteer_, articles jaipur and alwar states. [545] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. kachhwaha. [546] _rajasthan_, i. p. 94; elliot's _supplemental glossary_, art. gaur taga. [547] see article on kol. [548] _eastern india_, ii. 461, quoted in mr. crooke's art. nagvansi. [549] _tribes and castes_, vol. i. art. nikumbh. [550] _rajasthan_, ii. p. 417. [551] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. nikumbh. [552] _eastern india_, ii. p. 919. [553] _rajasthan_, i. p. 86. [554] _early history of india_, 3rd edition, p. 390. [555] ibidem, pp. 378, 379. [556] _rajasthan_, i. p. 91. [557] ibidem. [558] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. parihar. [559] _early history of india_, 3rd edition, p. 389. [560] _ibidem_, p. 413. [561] _imperial gazetteer_, art. bali. [562] _rajasthan_, ii. pp. 16, 17. [563] _ibidem_, i. p. 81. [564] _ibidem_, ii. p. 37. [565] _ibidem_, ii. p. 35. [566] _j.a.s.b._ (1909), vol. v. p. 167. [567] _imperial gazetteer, loc. cit_. [568] bhandarkar, _loc. cit._ p. 180. [569] the following extracts from the history of the clan are mainly taken from the article on udaipur state in the _imperial gazetteer_. [570] _rajasthan_, pp. 222, 223. [571] forbes, _rasmala_ i. p. 400. [572] _rajasthan_ i. pp, 398, 399. the death of the young princess was mainly the work of amir khan pindari who brought pressure on the rana to consent to it in order to save his state. [573] if the chalukyas were in the deccan in the fourth century they could not have originated from the hun and gujar invaders of the fifth and sixth centuries, but must have belonged to an earlier horde. [574] _some problems of ancient indian history_, by dr. rudolf hoernle, _j.r.a.s._ (1905) pp. 1-14. [575] _tribes and castes, s.v._ [576] _ibidem_, art. soiri. [577] mr crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. tomara. [578] _early history of india_, 3rd edition, p. 386. [579] elliot, _supplemental glossary, s.v._ [580] mr. crooke's _tribes, and castes,_ art. tomara. [581] see also article jadum for a separate account of the local caste in the central provinces. [582] _early history of india_, 3rd edition, p. 434. [583] based on the accounts of sir h. risley and colonel dalton and a paper by pandit g.l. pathak, superintendent, korea state. [584] _b. g. poona_, part i., p. 409. [585] _an account of the origin and present condition of the tribe of ramosis_ (bombay, 1833; india office tracts. also published in the _madras journal of literature and science_.) [586] this paragraph is mainly compiled from the _nasik_ and _poona_ volumes of the _bombay gazetteer_. [587] _ficus glomerata_. [588] _eugenia jambolana_. [589] _calotropis gigantea_. [590] _bauhinia racemosa_. [591] _poona gazetteer_, part i. p. 425. [592] _tribes and castes_, art. rangrez. [593] _peasant life in bihar_, p. 101, footnote. [594] temple and fallon's _hindustani proverbs_. [595] based on sir h. risley's account of the tribe in the _tribes and castes of bengal_, and on notes taken by mr. hira lal at raigarh. [596] _tribes and castes of bengal_, vol. ii. app. i. [597] _saccharum spontaneum_. [598] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. rautia. [599] this article is based principally on an account of the sanaurhias written by mr. c.m. seagrim, inspector-general of police, indore, and included in mr. kennedy's _criminal classes of bombay_ (1908). [600] crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. sanaurhia. [601] _criminal classes of bombay presidency_, pp. 296, 297. [602] sleeman's _reports on the badhaks_, p. 327. [603] mr. gayer's _lectures on some criminal tribes_. [604] _report on the badhak or bagri dacoits_ (1849), p. 328. [605] j. hutton, _a popular account of the thugs and dacoits and gang-robbers of india_ (london, 1857). [606] this article is based almost entirely on a description of the sansias contained in colonel sleeman's _report on the badhak or bagri dacoits_ (1849). most of the material belongs to a report drawn up at nagpur by mr. c. ramsay, assistant resident, in 1845. [607] sleeman's _report on the badhaks_, p. 253. [608] _ibidem_, p. 254. [609] sir d. ibbetson, _punjab census report_ (1881), para. 577. [610] p. 259. [611] the description of a dacoity is combined from two accounts given at pp. 257, 273 of colonel sleeman's _report_. [612] _sorghum vulgare_. [613] made of the bark of the date-palm tied with strips of cloth round some inflammable wood. [614] sleeman, p. 263. [615] but it is unlucky for a snake to cross one's path in front. [616] sleeman, pp. 261, 262. [617] committee of five persons. [618] _ficus religiosa_. [619] the seer = 2 lbs. [620] _criminal classes in the bombay presidency_; sansias and berias. [621] mr. gayer, _central provinces police lectures_; p. 68. [622] this article is mainly based on a paper by mr. rama prasad bohidar, assistant master, sambalpur high school. [623] see article beldar for a notice of the different groups of earth-workers. [624] said to be derived from their name waddar. [625] story of jasma odni in sati charita sangrah. [626] this article is principally based on papers by munshi gopinath, naib-tahsildar, sonpur, mr. kaluram pachore, assistant settlement officer, sambalpur, and mr. hira lal, assistant gazetteer superintendent. [627] _archaeological reports_, vol. xvii. pp. 120, 122. [628] _india census report_ (1901), p. 283. [629] _archaeological reports_, vol. xvii. p. 113. [630] crooke's _tribes and castes of n.w.p._, art savara. [631] _tribes and castes of n.w.p._, art. savara. [632] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. savar. [633] _f. glomerata_. [634] _balaghat gazetteer_, c.e. low, p. 207. [635] _bhandara settlement report_ (a.j. lawrence), p. 49. [636] major lucie smith's _chanda settlement report_ (1869), p. 105. [637] the following account of the process of gold-washing is taken from mr. low's _balaghat gazetteer_, p. 201. [638] this article is compiled from a paper by mr. bhagirath patnaik, diwan of rairakhol, and from notes taken by mr. hira lal at rairakhol. [639] this article is partly based on an article by mr. raghunath prasad, e.a.c., formerly deputy superintendent of census, with extracts from the late mr. nunn's monograph on the gold and silver industries, and on information furnished by krishna rao, revenue inspector, mandla. [640] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. sunar. [641] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xvii. p. 134. [642] see articles on kunbi and kurmi. [643] monograph on the gold and silverware of the central provinces (mr. h. nunn, i.c.s.), 1904. the tola is a rupee's weight, or two-fifths of an ounce. [644] _journal of indian art_, july 1909, p. 172. [645] from a monograph on rural customs in saugor, by major w.d. sutherland, i.m.s. [646] lang, _myth, ritual and religion_, i. p. 98. [647] _2 king henry iv._ act iv. sc. 4. [648] _religion of the semites_, note b., p. 453. [649] _bombay gazetteer_, _poona_, app. d., ornaments. [650] _religion of the semites_, lecture iii. [651] 2 lbs. [652] from a paper on caste panchayats, by the rev. failbus, c.m.s. mission, mandla. [653] rajendra lal mitra, _indo-aryans_ vol. i. p. 231. [654] _introduction to the history of religion_, 3rd ed. p. 172. [655] monograph, _loc. cit._ [656] this account is taken from buchanan's _eastern india_, vol. ii. p. 100. [657] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xii. p. 71. [658] temple and fallon's _hindustani proverbs._ [659] _bombay gazetteer, hindus of gujarat,_ pp. 199, 200. [660] pandian's _indian village folk_, p. 41. [661] this article is compiled from a paper by mr. d. mitra, pleader, sambalpur. [662] _madras census report_, 1891, p. 301. [663] this article is based on information: contributed by nand kishore, nazir of the deputy commissioner's office, damoh; mr. tarachand dube, municipal member, bilaspur; and mr. aduram chaudhri of the gazetteer office. [664] this article is based on papers by mr. prem narayan, extra assistant commissioner, chanda; mr. mir pacha, tahsildar, seoni; mr. chintaman rao, tahsildar, chanda; and mr. k.g. vaidya, chanda. [665] _c.p. census report_ (1911), p. 147, referring to professor karl pearson's _chances of death_. [666] _tribes and castes_, art. teli. [667] _bassia latifolia._ [668] _hindus of gujarat_, p. 72. [669] weighing. 2 oz. each. [670] _phaseolus radiatas._ [671] mr. crooke's _tribes and castes_, art. teli. [672] _acacia arabica_. [673] _melia indica_. [674] _indian folk tales_, p. 10. [675] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. teli. [676] _rajasthan_, vol. ii. pp. 678, 679. [677] thevenot's _travels_, part iii. p. 41, quoted in dr. sherwood's account, _ramaseeana_, p. 359. [678] sleeman, p. 11. [679] p. 144. [680] p. 162. [681] p. 147. [682] p. 205. [683] hutton's _thugs and dacoits_. [684] sleeman, p. 170. [685] sleeman, p. 168. [686] he was called feringia because he was born while his mother was fleeing from an attack on her village by troops under european officers (feringis). [687] sleeman, p. 205. [688] hutton, p. 70. [689] _ibidem_, p. 71. [690] pp. 34, 35. [691] see _cults, customs and superstitions of india_, p. 249. [692] pp. 32, 33. [693] kandeli adjoins the headquarters station of narsinghpur, the two towns being divided only by a stream. [694] p. 23. [695] near bilehri in jubbulpore. [696] captain lowis in sleeman's _report on the thug gangs_ (1840). [697] pp. 15, 16. [698] p. 7. [699] p. 150. [700] sleeman's _report on the thug gangs_, introduction, p. vi. [701] p. 142. [702] p. 216. [703] 'oh kali, eater of men, oh great kali of calcutta.' the name calcutta signifies kali-ghat or kali-kota, that is kali's ferry or house. the story is that job charnock was exploring on the banks of the hoogly, when he found a widow about to be burnt as a sacrifice to kali. he rescued her, married her, and founded a settlement on the site, which grew into the town of calcutta. [704] p. 133. [705] p. 173. [706] _orphéus_, p. 170. [707] dhamoni is an old ruined fort and town in the north of saugor district, still a favourite haunt of tigers; and the thugs may often have lain there in concealment and heard the tigers quarrelling in the jungle. [708] sleeman, p. 196. [709] p. 91. [710] p. 67. [711] p. 100. [712] _orphéus_ (m. salomon reinach), p. 316. [713] _tribes and castes of bengal_, art. turi. [714] _north arcot manual_, i. p. 216. [715] _indian antiquary_ (1879), p. 216. [716] this article is compiled from papers by mr. w.a. tucker, extra assistant commissioner, bhandara, and mr. b.m. deshmukh, pleader, chanda. [717] buchanan, _eastern india_, i. p. 186. [718] rand = widow or prostitute. [719] the term kunwar is a title applied to the eldest son of a chief. [720] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xviii. p. 185. [721] _nagpur settlement report_, p. 27. [722] this article is partly based on a paper by pandit pyare lal misra, ethnographic clerk. [723] vol. xx. pp. 189-190. [724] _bombay gazetteer_; vol. xxii. p. 212. [725] _madras census report_ (1891). [726] _madras census report_ (1901). [727] _bombay gazetteer_, vol. xxi. pp. 170, 171. [728] _tribes and castes of southern india_, art. korava. [729] _north arcot manual_, p. 247. [730] _ind. ant._ vol. iii., 1874, p. 157. the end printed by r. & r. clark, limited, edinburgh.